South Africa: Creecy highlights urgency of moving towards a low carbon economy South Africas economy risks being left behind if it does not transition to a low-carbon economy, says Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Barbara Creecy. Unless we join the technological transition taking place across the globe, our economy risks being left behind, and in due course, facing redundancy and/or non-competitiveness of our exports in a trade environment that favours goods and services produced in a low carbon environment, she said on Thursday. Research indicates that this transition risk will affect major sectors of the countrys economy including energy, mining, agriculture, transport and manufacturing. The global transition to a low-carbon economy has begun and will continue. Countries that are investing significantly in low-carbon technologies are seeking to protect their investments with a range of non-tariff and border tax adjustments. She made these remarks at the launch of a research publication: A just transition to a carbon future in South Africa. Conscious of both the physical and transition risks in relation to climate change, the National Development Plan has a commitment to building a low-carbon economy and climate resilient society by mid-century. Over the last two and a half years we have steadily put in place the architecture to pursue the Paris goals. Our revised Nationally Determined Contribution to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions was submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in October last year, the Minister said. The range of the reduction has the two-degree temperature increase as its upper limit. The lower limit is compatible with keeping temperature increase to 1.5 degrees. Climate Bill and carbon tax Last year, Cabinet approved the Climate Bill for submission to the National Assembly. We are working with seven sectors of our economy to set sectoral emission targets and the mechanisms to monitor compliance once low emission pathways are defined. To enhance domestic financing of the transition, National Treasury has introduced the carbon tax, and I must say we welcome the announcements made by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on the proposed trajectory for the carbon tax over the next ten years, Creecy said. The National Adaptation Strategy has been adopted and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is working with municipalities across the country to mainstream climate resilience into municipal planning and budgeting. Just transition Central to our governments understanding of the role and place of our transition to a low carbon economy and climate resilient society is the understanding that this transition will only succeed if it helps us not just to address climate risk, but to also address broader development challenges. When government included green technology in the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery plan, we understood that this sector can open up new sectors for energy generation, mining, manufacturing and the agricultural sector. But we are also clear that it must also help us with our broader objectives of re-industrialisation, localisation, economic inclusion and most importantly, job creation, the Minister said. The Minister said the just transition is not a sudden shift in economic activity but must occur in a conscious, researched and phased manner over time. Equally important, it must be characterised by the active involvement of workers and communities who will be impacted upon by the transition in defining both the objectives and road map of the transition. It is for this reason that the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) has been established and driven by the Presidency to ensure a focused drive on the Just Transition, particularly identifying pathways for all sectors and buy-in by all stakeholders. She said the second aspect of the climate transition is the concept of climate justice, meaning that workers and communities in sectors most effected by the transition cannot carry a disproportionate burden of the technological changes. A central aspect of identifying transition pathways must be addressing the transitional processes facing workers and communities and how they will be an integral part of developing and benefitting from new industries and enterprises, so that no one is left behind, the Minister said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2022-02-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Portions of Central Maryland are under a winter weather advisory Friday morning, with freezing rain forecast to cauce icy conditions, according to the National Weather Service. Several school districts in the Baltimore region are operating under a two-hour delay, including Baltimore County, Howard County, Harford County and Carroll County. Advertisement Up to one-tenth of an inch of ice and one inch of snow and sleet is expected in parts of the Baltimore region. Conditions are expected to be slightly worse in northern parts of Carroll, Baltimore and Howard counties, the weather service said. National Weather Service forecasters warned that Marylanders should use caution while traversing potentially icy roads and sidewalks. DURHAM The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics held a virtual event on Tuesday, Feb. 22 to roll out fundraising plans for the school. During the event, which was held over Zoom, NCSSM rolled out its Ignite+Transform campaign to the public. The campaign is NCSSMs comprehensive fundraising initiative that has been in place since 2018 with the goal of raising $50 million for the school within five years. With Tuesdays announcement, the campaign moves out of its silent phase and is introduced to the public. According to the campaigns website, the money will be used to create innovative academic opportunities, update and build new learning environments in Durham and Morganton, and extend the reach of STEM education throughout the state through our online extended learning offerings. Campaign Manager Deborah Thompson said that the silent phase of the campaign targeted specific donors and foundations and has already raised more than $34.5 million for the school. During the virtual roll out of the campaign, school officials and students updated and informed attendees on the latest developments at NCSSM and asked for support so the school could continue to grow and adapt to the changing needs of students. One of the key developments cited during the virtual roll out was the future opening of the schools new campus in Morganton. Kevin Baxter, NCSSM-Morganton vice chancellor and chief campus officer, said that the new campus is nearing completion and plans are being made for a grand opening this summer. He also said that a campus in Morganton will allow NCSSM to extend all its programs, including online offerings, distance education partnerships and summer programming. Its a really exciting boom for the institution to be able to leverage this second site, and one that is on such beautiful grounds here, Baxter said. Its a real opportunity for us here in Morganton to leverage this space the environment, the landscape and also some historic and new buildings to deliver a campus that will maximize programming opportunities for our students. The Ignite+Transform roll-out, is only one milestone NCSSM-Morganton expects to hit in the coming weeks. Baxter said the campus already is gearing up to welcome its first residential class for the 2022-23 school year after record applications this year, with more than 2,000 prospective students applying for enrollment. Baxter said the selection process for Morgantons inaugural class of 150 high school juniors is expected to be completed in March. Applicants will learn of their selection on April 7, along with their Durham and online peers. The Morganton campus student population, like that of the Durham campus, will represent communities across North Carolina from the mountains to the coast. According to Baxter, the school also recently hosted its virtual Discovery Day, a virtual informational session and tour of the campus which drew more than 1,400 prospective families. Plans also are underway to begin hosting in-person tours of the new campus for applicants and their families throughout the month of March. For more information about or to contribute to NCSSM or the Ignite+Tranform campaign, visit the campaigns website at ignite.ncssm.edu. Jason Koon is a staff writer and can be reached at jkoon@morganton.com A judge sentenced a Butte woman to four years in custody of state prison officials Thursday for possessing drugs, including methamphetamine, with intent to distribute. District Judge Kurt Krueger said as part of her sentence, 29-year-old Krysta Denise Voorhies must complete a substance abuse program at the Elkhorn Treatment Center in Boulder. He specifically sentenced her to 10 years in custody of the Montana Department of Corrections but suspended six of those years. She was originally charged with two counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute, the first drug being meth and the second being Alprazolam, the generic name for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. She was also charged with one count of possessing property subject to criminal forfeiture and one count of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. Prosecutors dismissed all but the first charge, which carries a maximum 20 years in prison and $50,000 fine. According to charging documents, police went to the 400 block of North Washington Street on June 12, 2020 to assist Montana Adult Probation and Parole Officers. Voorhies was in the residence and there was a white, powdery substance officials determined to be meth, a scale, needles, Alprazolam, Narcan, naloxone, a glass pipe, a mason jar manipulated to be a smoking device, a Glock and magazine, and $1,252 in cash, found in Voorhies wallet. Prosecutor Ann Shea said at the hearing that Voorhies has a chemical dependency problem and she was intending to distribute drugs to feed it. The state recommended Voorhies get a three-year sentence with seven years suspended. She and Voorhies attorney, Jessica Polan, agreed that she should go to a treatment center to work through her substance abuse issues. Polan agreed to those plea-deal terms but asked Krueger to send Voohries to a different corrections program that was shorter than Elkhorns nine-month program. Krueger added an extra year because he wanted her to have enough time to complete the Elkhorn program. Voorhies appeared in court via video Thursday. She already served 604 days in jail, some related to a federal firearm conviction. That time is subtracted from her sentence. Love 0 Funny 8 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 3 Eight people who worked at a U.S. Minerals slag-processing plant in Anaconda have sued the company, saying it failed to protect them from toxic dust and exposed them to high levels of arsenic. The lawsuit follows fines, probation and other conditions imposed on U.S. Minerals last year after it was convicted of negligent endangerment in federal court for arsenic exposure at the plant. It closed last June. The criminal case did not preclude employees from suing on their own, even if they took part in a medical monitoring plan the company was ordered to implement after its federal conviction. Eight of them filed suit in state District Court in Butte on Feb. 17 that seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Five live in Butte-Silver Bow County, two in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County and one in Ravalli County. The Montana Standard sent an email and left a voice mail seeking comment from U.S. Minerals at its corporate office in Tinley Park, Illinois. The lawsuit says U.S. Minerals and two managers at the Anaconda plant failed to prevent and contain toxic dust, exposing workers to impermissible levels of arsenic, lead and other metals even after federal agencies advised them to do so. Exposure to arsenic is known to cause lung and skin disease, including skin cancer, and can cause other cancers. According to court documents, arsenic at the plant was nearly five times the permissible levels from July 2015 to early 2019. They rejected requests from workers for proper respirators and required workers to wear N-95 masks that provided inadequate protection against arsenic dust, the lawsuit says. Further, they refused to provide the most basic of hazardous materials safety training at one of the largest Superfund sites in the USA and when they were asked why employees were not provided adequate training, defendants responded that we dont handle slag we sell it. Due to exposures, the suit says, plaintiffs suffered medical problems during their employment and will continue to suffer problems, including possible serious injury or death, the rest of their lives. There were times the employees were removed from work, with pay, because of high levels of arsenic and other metals found in their urine samples, the lawsuit says. When the levels dropped, they were returned to work in unsafe conditions. The suit also includes fraud claims, alleging the company made false representations about the safety of the Anaconda plant and misled employees by saying it would enact changes and programs to protect workers. Had employees known the statements were false or misleading, they would have quit, the suit says. From 2013 to 2021, the plant converted black slag from the towering pile along Montana Highway 1 near Anaconda into roofing materials called Black Diamond Abrasive Products. The slag is smelter waste from around 100 years of historic copper processing, and contains a variety of toxic substances including inorganic arsenic. Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against U.S. Minerals under the Clean Air Act and in a plea deal last year, the company pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of negligent endangerment. A federal judge sentenced the company in December to five years of probation and ordered it to pay a $393,200 fine. The criminal fine is in addition to civil penalties totaling $106,800 imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in a related civil proceeding. U.S. Minerals was ordered to implement a medical monitoring program for employees at the Anaconda plant and an environmental health and safety plan at all five of its plants in the U.S. After the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said the case had ended U.S. Minerals criminal conduct in Montana and would hold it accountable in other states. Despite repeated warnings and enforcement actions from regulators, U.S. Minerals continued to poison its workers and put profits before the well-being of its employees, Johnson said then. U.S. Minerals history of misconduct showed a lack of care for employee safety and an utter disregard for regulations intended to protect human health and the environment. As of noon Friday, U.S. Minerals had not filed a response to the lawsuit filed in Butte. The former employees are being represented by Butte attorney Wayne Harper and A. Clifford Edwards and Triel Culver in Billings. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 5 Angry 2 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Montana National Guard spokesman on Thursday said officials are monitoring the ongoing situation in Ukraine, however, at this time there are no changes to its readiness status or Force Protection Condition and no impacts to its operations. Maj. Ryan Finnegan, state public affairs officer, said the Force Protection Condition, known as FPCON, has five levels. We are currently at Bravo which is in the middle, he said in an email. There has been no change to this level due to the Ukraine situation. We are standing by for any changes that may be ordered by higher headquarters or as the situation develops, Finnegan said. Finnegan said Montana now has about 520 troops overseas. About 40 are in Europe and the rest are in the Central Command area of operations in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. The Montana National Guard, which originally formed in 1867, has about 3,300 members, Finnegan said. It is a component of the U.S. Army and the U.S. National Guard. Nationwide, it makes up nearly half of the U.S. Army's available combat forces and about one-third of its support organization. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to attack Ukraine early Thursday after weeks of failed diplomacy and a massive military buildup. He said it was to liberate and protect the Russia-backed separatist eastern region of Ukraine. President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. will impose severe economic sanctions on Russia over what he described as an unprovoked and unjustified attack. The Pentagon announced the deployment of 7,000 additional U.S. service members to Europe, an effort to shore up defenses around NATOs eastern flank countries along Russias western border. This story contains information from the Associated Press. Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ARCHIVED - Dog training course in Spain will be short, free and simple Spain will introduce mandatory training course for dog owners this year The first national Animal Protection Law in Spain was given the green light last week and promises to revolutionise the way pets are treated in this country. Covering everything from the sale of live animals to canine breeding regulations, the groundbreaking law will impose sanctions of up to 600,000 euros for the most serious offences. You might also like: Up to two years in prison for abusing animals in Spain What will the mandatory training course entail? According to the current Minister of Social Rights and Agenda 2030 of the Government of Spain, Ione Belarra, the course will be short, free, and relatively simple. It is available online but can also be taken as a face-to-face class by those not comfortable with the digital version, so that older people or those with fewer resources can also have their desired pet. The fundamental message of the training course, according to the Minister, is that taking on a pet is a big responsibility and so requires some important prior knowledge. They are some basic guidelines that I think people will be grateful to receive beforehand so as not to encounter problems at home and then situations arise that nobody wants, Ms Belarra said. At the moment, its not clear who will teach the courses, but the Minister insisted that veterinarians are going to play a very important role. Spain has one of the worst records in Europe for animal abuse, with one pet abandoned every two minutes in this country; it is hoped that the training course will adequately prepare potential dog owners for the huge undertaking and drastically reduce the number of dogs abandoned in Spain. Also of interest: Five popular animals prohibited as pets in Spain Image: Archive ARCHIVED - Fatalities exceed 99,000: Spain Covid update February 25 The incidence rate has dropped another 28 points to 648 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in Spain In the past seven days, Spain has made great headway against the coronavirus pandemic , with the cumulative incidence rate dropping below 1,000 points this week for the first time since December. The vaccination campaign is rolling on, albeit at a much slower pace, which may explain why, on Thursday February 24, the improvements in the data appear to be dawdling slightly. All of the important indicators have still declined in the past 24 hours, which is of course the important point, but not with the same intensity as previous days. Coronavirus infections The Ministry of Health has notified an additional 35,892 cases of coronavirus on February 24, very similar data to yesterday when 33,911 infections were registered and bringing the total number of Covid cases since the pandemic began to 10,949,997. Cumulative incidence rate Regarding the incidence rate of infections in the last 14 days, the report shows that it continues to decline, dropping a further 28 points to stand at 648.87 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. As has been the trend all week, the north African enclave of Melilla and the community of Andalucia have once again registered the best figures, with 319.96 and 418.56 cases respectively. On the other hand, Galicia is struggling to bring its incidence rate below the 1,000-mark and registered 1,059.19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on Wednesday. Theres been little change in the incidence by population, with young people aged between 12 and 19 still occupying the top spot, with 983.57 cases, followed by those aged 20 to 29 (792.55). You might also like: Spanish scientists devise ultra-accurate Covid saliva test Hospitalisations and fatalities Hospital pressure also continues its downward trend and there are currently 7,824 patients admitted for Covid throughout Spain (down from 8,258 yesterday) while 1,112 people are being treated for more serious conditions in the countrys ICUs (down from 1,162). In the last 24 hours, 675 people have been admitted to hospital while 1,112 patients have recovered and been discharged. With these figures, the percentage of hospital beds occupied by people with coronavirus has dropped to 6.27% (down from 6.64% yesterday) while intensive care occupancy levels have fallen from 12.52% to 11.95% in the past 24 hours. Covid-related fatalities have now sadly exceeded 99,000 as a further 226 deaths have been reported. In the last seven days alone, 432 people in Spain have lost their lives, bringing the overall death toll since the health crisis began to 99,162. Also of interest: Sanchez opens the door to ending mask-wearing in Spain Vaccination data As of February 24, a total of 39,158,856 people, representing 92.8% of the population over the age of 12, have received their first vaccine while 38,401,260 people, or 91%, are now double jabbed. Image: Archive article_detail MUSCATINE When Kayla Carlsten decided to open her own practice to help people with their mental health, she wanted to do things differently. Nearly a year later, Carlstens strategies are working well, according to her growing number of patients, she said. Carlsten, a psychiatric nurse practitioner for 10 years, opened Calamity Rose Ranch on the north side of her farm, 1612 Taylor Ave., Muscatine, last May. She assesses, diagnoses and treats her patient's mental health needs. When I first started, my goal was to have 40 patients, Carlsten said. Ive since quadrupled that, so its been eye-opening on the need of mental health services in Iowa and Muscatine specifically. Carlsten previously worked in the Alzheimers unit at Lutheran Homes, as a psych nurse in emergency rooms and intensive care units. After working in cities like Des Moines for so long, Carlsten realized how under-served rural communities are. She returned to her hometown of Muscatine to open Calamity Rose Ranch to serve that need. One of her unique services is animal-assisted therapy. Her patients can interact with rabbits, cats and goats as they talk about their mental health. Animals have always been something Ive had a love for. To be able to pet an animal for about 15 minutes releases anxiety, and some people may not have that option where they live, she said. So instead they can come to my office and just hang out with an animal. She also offers free, open-for-anyone goat yoga," three times a week. We have baby goats running around, and during goat yoga they may jump on your back or you may cuddle them for a while. Fifteen minutes of petting or playing with an animal really can reduce stress in people, so just adding that option to yoga for me is a lot more fun. Her practices main goal, however, is to be there for those in crisis. Carlsten will offer a walk-in clinic every other Thursday, beginning March 31. The benefit of the walk-in clinic is to work to prevent ER visits for mental health, taking some of that burden off our local ER, Carlsten said, having the experience to know that emergency rooms cant always handle patients who are in crisis in a timely manner. With this clinic, she said that she hopes to see 20 patients throughout the walk-in period, which takes place throughout the day (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.). (The walk-in appointments) would be shorter appointments, but it would be enough to follow up with my other patients if theyre having an emergency or to help a patient who just couldnt get an appointment otherwise, she said. In some cases for some psych providers, it could be a two- to three-month wait to schedule an appointment, but keeping every other Thursday open allows for people to just walk in and be seen. They may have to still wait a little bit, but at least theyre not waiting months. Carlsten said she hoped to eventually expand her practice to create a wellness center for her community. For more information, visit calamityroseranch.com. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. MUSCATINE COUNTY Russian forces began invading Ukraine early Friday. Citizens across the world watched with concern while elected officials across the United States condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for the attacks. Though shocking and concerning, Muscatine officials said its too early to tell what effect the conflict will have locally and nationally. "We may see gas prices go even higher, which could affect commutes to work, so thats always something that we have to be concerned about," Kevin Jenison, communications manager for the city of Muscatine, said. "But right now, I think most people are holding their breath and saying prayers and waiting to see what happens." Muscatine County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott Sauer shared similar sentiments. "Its just so hard to say, as this conflict has just begun in the last 24 hours," Sauer said. "Its obviously going to be a negative situation, but I dont know on how many fronts. I think the No. 1 concern is going to be the energy concern with the United States as an importer of oil from Russia. That will probably be the biggest issue, but that is just a guess on my behalf." Sauer added that he found the situation in Ukraine "incredibly unfortunate," saying that nothing good could come from it. On a national level, the U.S. government has also shown concern for potential cyberattacks from Russian hackers. Lt. David O'Connor of the Muscatine Police Department said the department had not yet seen any incidents of cyberterrorism from Russia. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FBI have advised businesses across the country to keep an eye out for digital threats. OConnor advised residents who may be concerned about their accounts getting hacked to back up their data and keep software and systems fully up to date with spam filters and anti-malware software. He also suggested multiple passwords for every application, as well as changing passwords often and using multi-factor authentication. O'Connor also recommended that residents make sure their wifi networks are secure and hidden. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Iowa and Illinois elected officials strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and several called for sanctions and for democratic nations to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for the invasion. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois Duckworth, who is a combat veteran and member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, said the U.S. and allies must "hold (Putin) and his cronies fully, painfully and immediately accountable." The human suffering causedand any blood spilledas a result of this unjustified and unjustifiable attack on Ukraines sovereign territory are solely on Vladimir Putins hands. Our nation, our NATO allies and all countries who value human rights, sovereignty and the rule of law must hold him and his cronies fully, painfully and immediately accountable. Vladimir Putins unprovoked and inexcusable escalation of this violent invasion will succeed in only one thing: uniting the free world against Russias autocratic regime in support of Ukraines territorial sovereignty, its people and its right to self-governance. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois Dick Durbin wrote on Twitter that this week he visited Lithuania, and talked with U.S. soldiers from Illinois who were training Lithuanian soldiers in a NATO exercise. "This week, I had lunch w/ soldiers from Kankakee, Montgomery, & Latham, IL. They are in Lithuania training their soldiers in a NATO exercise. Now, they will awaken to the most dangerous land war in Europe since World War II. We need to stand together for them & thousands more like them. "Let me be clear: Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine's sovereign land is a dire threat to the established international order and must be resolutely deterred. Ukraine and our NATO allies facing ongoing Russian belligerence have strong bipartisan, bicameral support in the U.S. Congress. As someone who who has strong ties to the region, my prayers are with the Ukrainian people and all of Eastern Europe." Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa Ernst made a more personal statement noting her experience living in Ukraine. "I first traveled to Ukraine in 1989 as a college student, celebrated when they voted for independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, & served alongside Ukrainians in the Global War on Terror. Ukraine wants freedom; the free world must stand with them. My prayers are with the Ukrainian people." This morning, Ernst tweeted again: "Vladimir Putin is a ruthless thug who seeks to stamp out freedom. He is a brutal autocrat intent on restoring Soviet-era rule if allowed to advance unchecked. The unnecessary bloodshed in Ukraine is on Putin's hands. America and all of our freedom-loving partners around the world, must not only strongly condemn, but swiftly and severely respond and hold Putin accountable for his unjust actions." Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa In a tweet, Grassley said: "Putin is inhumane to benefit his own ego He has no respect for agreements Russia signed to respect sovereignty of Ukraine Hes killing innocent people like Stalin did in 1930s. Im praying for the ppl of Ukraine" Illinois 17th Congressional District Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Illinois Bustos, a member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, spoke on News Nation, a subscription television network, to say Americans "must put Country over party." "We are protecting democracy in this. That is what this is about. We know this is far away from us from a miles perspective, but this is about protecting democracy and not allowing a leader like Vladimir Putin to continue to spread his authoritarian ways." Iowa 2nd Congressional District Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa Miller-Meeks tweeted: "Praying for the people of #Ukraine. The U.S. and our allies must immediately impose the strongest possible sanctions on the economies and governments of both #Russia and #Belarus, who has been a willing accomplice to Russias invasion. Anything less is unacceptable" Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker Pritzker tweeted Wednesday night: "Tonight we stand together in prayer for the people of Ukraine and united in our resolve against the tyranny of a Russian autocrat determined to undermine democracy and threaten peace on the European continent." Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Reynolds had not issued a statement as of 11:30 a..m. Thursday. Democratic Senate candidate and retired Adm. Mike Franken Franken, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa and retired three-star admiral, issued a statement on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I join President Biden in condemning Russian militarys assault against Ukraine, said Franken. I trust that actions from our nation, our NATO allies, and other like-minded nations will be swift, significant, and focused at Russian leadership. We must hold Russia accountable." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Prayers for Ukraine Despite the lighthearted topics on todays show, we know these are not lighthearted times. Please keep the people of Ukraine in your thoughts and prayers. Let us encourage world leaders to work to end this aggression and bring it to a close as quickly and as peacefully as possible. Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter If you care about big societal issues, consider having our newsletter and podcasts delivered to your email inbox instantly upon release. For free you get all podcast episodes instantly as well as articles such as: This Episode. . . On this Utterly Moderate episode we are joined by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory astronomer Varoujan Gorjian to discuss not only wormholes but aliens, exoplanets, the James Webb Telescope, and more! Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Limpopo province gave environmental authorization to a China-backed proposal to spend more than $10 billion building a 4,600 megawatt coal-fired power plant, a coking facility and ferroalloy and steel plants. The authorization, granted on Wednesday, backed the establishment of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone, in which a number of Chinese companies have pledged to invest, according to South Africas Trade, Industry and Competition ministry. The project, which is not factored into the countrys emissions targets, may still be opposed by the government at a national level. It will also draw opposition from activists concerned about its impact on thousands of Baobab trees, which take hundreds of years to grow, water supplies and air pollution. The Chinese government has also said it wont invest in coal projects outside the country. The province acknowledged the potential impact on ancestral graves, cautioned against air pollution, saying measures would need to be taken to mitigate emissions and water will be imported from neighbouring Zimbabwe. Still, in justifying the decision, it said the province is South Africas poorest and has high unemployment. A former North Bay schoolteacher was arrested last week in Sacramento on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman at a Napa business last year, Napa Police reported. John Davidson, 55, was detained by police detectives Feb. 17 at a preschool in Sacramentos Robla School District, where he worked as a special education teacher, according to police Sgt. Pete Piersig. Jail booking information was not available as of Thursday night. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Davidson, whose address was not immediately available, had been sought in connection with an Aug. 25 incident in the 2000 block of Redwood Road, Piersig said in an email. Two women were inside a business when Davidson entered, walked directly to the woman closer to the door, and tried to grab her breast and kiss her, according to Piersig. When the woman recoiled and pulled away, Davidson immediately left the building and fled in a rental vehicle, but the woman was able to take down the license plate number and the incident was captured on a surveillance camera, Piersig said. A Napa Police detective learned that Davidson had been contacted regarding the same vehicle causing damage in Santa Rosa, and also at a Sonoma school where he was teaching special education students. Police also learned from the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office that Davidson had vandalized his Sonoma classroom on the same day as the Napa incident and had been fired by the school a day later, Piersig said. Afterward, Davidsons location remained unknown until the discovery of records that showed his application for a Sacramento-area teaching job, according to Piersig. Lacking a current home address for Davidson, Napa detectives tracked him to the school where he was arrested, Piersig said. Davidson had no prior criminal history, and Napa detectives are not aware of any similar incidents involving him, police reported. Friends and family of Crystal Lea McCarthy came together at two memorial events this month to remember and celebrate her life, and are set to gather again in Sacramento for a public benefit memorial concert on Sunday. McCarthy, 37, a musician, artist, culinary worker and Napa resident for about two years, went missing near the Napa River on Dec. 13, 2021. In the following days, Napa law enforcement and many of her friends some of whom traveled out to Napa from Sacramento or the greater Bay Area carried out intensive search efforts in areas around the river. McCarthys body was found in the river on Dec. 23. The memorial events were planned in part to celebrate McCarthys bright, welcoming personality, according to several of her friends. Echoing the comments of many speakers at the memorial events, Drew Wright, McCarthys boyfriend and organizer of a Feb. 3 Napa memorial event, said McCarthy really did brighten up rooms for others. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. The amount of people she touched, if you knew her youd understand, Wright said. She was the most nonjudgmental person, the most welcoming, the most bubbly and just full of life. And so you couldnt not be drawn to her; you couldnt not be friends with her. Wright said that though he personally hasnt found much closure, the amount of support hes found from friends of McCarthy has been kind of overwhelming, and that its been beautiful particularly with the breakdown of social connections during the COVID-19 pandemic to see how the people who loved her have come together. Galine Tumosova, one of McCarthys close friends, organized a Feb.5 memorial event that took place at the El Rio Bar in San Francisco. Tumosova said she first met McCarthy about 12 years ago, while she was practicing with her Sacramento-based band FAVORS. She was just like playing drums with her bright orange hair, full of life and joy and dancing around, Tumosova said. I was mesmerized with her and right away wanted to become best friends with her. And we did. We were inseparable since then; we called each other twins because our spirits we felt like they were very similar. Tumosova said she knew the San Francisco event was something McCarthy wouldve wanted. Many of McCarthys friends were present at the event, which took place outside in the courtyard of the El Rio bar. They celebrated McCarthys life while mourning her loss, Tumosova said. Some of McCarthys favorite music was played, she added, and drag queen Pirhanna gave a performance of the David Bowie song "Moonage Daydream." A lot of people call her our best friend, Tumosova said She was kind of like this majestic, rock-n-roll wonderful creature; wed never met anyone like this before. I think thats why at every memorial thats happening; it was important to capture that. Its something were all going to miss very much, and its also something that made her so special. McCarthys father Mark McCarthy also gave a speech celebrating his daughters life. He said she was a creative soul who sought to understand others, who made people feel truly seen. She also possessed an incredibly resilient spirit, he said, and he was in awe of how profound an impact she made on many people, though he was not surprised. Crystal connected with other people in a way that no one else could, Mark McCarthy said. "There was never a soul that she couldnt connect with. She once called someone a majestic creature of light, and although thats such a Crystal thing to say, it is Crystal; it speaks so much to who she was as a human being. Amanda Chavez, McCarthys close friend and organizer of the public Sacramento event set to take place at the Red Museum at 212 15 St., from noon to 5 p.m. said its highly important to her that the event focus on celebrating the positives of McCarthys life and the joy she brought to others. Most prominently, that means the event will feature several live music acts from bands and musicians with connections to Crystal, who was highly involved in the Sacramento music scene. The event, seeking to raise money for McCarthys family, will also include sales of art and other assorted items Crystal loved, such as plants and vintage clothing. The event will include a $10 cover charge to make sure there are guaranteed funds coming in, Chavez said, and all money raised will be donated to McCarthys family. Of course, theres going to be sad moments throughout the day, but I really want to focus on the color and the positive light that Crystal was to lots of people, Chavez said. And so I am just really putting my energy into making something special for her. Chavez said she met McCarthy in Sacramento. Along with music, they both shared an interest in fashion. McCarthy used to model Chavezs vintage clothing line, and Chavez said she got into photography because McCarthy let her borrow her camera to take photos. Chavez also said she used to call McCarthy her little Fizzgig after the small, furry Muppet in the 1982 Jim Henson film "The Dark Crystal." McCarthy did certainly face significant struggles in her life, Chavez added, such as caring for a sick mother. She definitely did not like to show that side of herself; she definitely did not like to let people know when she was struggling, Chavez said. Shed always just keep smiling. I swear I can still hear her voice all the time. I would get in my moods and get bratty, and she would just be like, come here and, Im like, get away from me my feet stink right now, I dont want you near me. And she would grab my feet. Thats the kind of person she was; she would turn your mood around so quickly. Chavez added its been hard on her that McCarthy only met her 4-year-old son once, during a moment in time when neither were highly involved in each others lives. Because she knows McCarthy loved him, Chavez said, shell be bringing her son to the Sacramento event celebrating McCarthys. I know that shes totally in love with that little guy even though he hasnt been around, Chavez said. So its going to be an up and down day, but I think at the end, were going to really capture the vibrant life of her, and thats what she was. She was just a vibrant, colorful soul. Im going to be wearing bright, brightness because thats how she always was; she was always bright and colorful and loved unicorns and dinosaurs. A GoFundMe to support McCarthy's family and cover memorial expenses was set up in December and has raised $14,930. You can reach Edward Booth at (707) 256-2213. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Traditional homeless shelters have long been off limits to pets, leaving animal owners who want to get off the streets with a difficult choice. But as homelessness surges across the U.S., those working toward a solution are increasingly recognizing the importance pets have for vulnerable populations and are looking for ways to keep owners and pets together. Pending legislation in California would make a pilot program known the Pet Assistance and Support program permanent and expand it across the state. The pilot program in recent years has provided millions of dollars in funding to nonprofits and local jurisdictions that has been used in part for things like food, crates, toys and veterinary services for the pets of homeless people. California parents and voters largely favor requiring COVID-19 vaccines and masks in schools although there's a steep political divide between those who approve of the policies and those who disagree with them, a new poll shows. A Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies-Los Angeles Times poll surveyed more than 8,900 California registered voters in early February about how kindergarten through 12th grade schools are responding to the COVID pandemic. The results of the poll released on Thursday indicate about 55% of voters who are parents of school-age children approve of adding the COVID vaccine to the list of required shots for students in kindergarten through 12th grade schools, while 42% disapprove. The poll also shows 61% of parents approve of requiring masks for students, teachers and staff in schools this year, while 37% disapprove. The poll results do not add up to 100% because the remaining respondents reported no opinion. Voters without school-age children are even more supportive of vaccine and mask requirements. About 66% of these respondents approve of both adding vaccines to the list of required shots and mandating masks in schools. Only about 29% disapprove of requiring vaccines and 30% disapprove of masks. Overall, 64% of California voters approve of requiring COVID vaccines in schools, while 32% disapprove. About 65% of voters approve of school mask mandates, and 32% of voters disapprove. When asked about the importance of having their child vaccinated against COVID, 48% of parents said it's "essential," 16% said it's "important," 5% said it's "not too important," 21% said it's "not at all important" and 10% had no opinion. California school vaccine, mask rules Statewide, about 65% of 12 to 17-year-olds are fully vaccinated against COVID, 8.3% are partially vaccinated and 26.7% are unvaccinated, according to California Department of Public Health data. Only about 30% of 5 to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, 7% are partially vaccinated and nearly 63% are unvaccinated. Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2021 issued an order requiring California students to get COVID vaccines to attend in-person classes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approves shots for their age groups. State lawmakers are also pushing a series of bills designed to increase COVID vaccine rates. A bill from Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, would end a personal belief exemption in Newsom's order, while a bill from Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would allow children 12 and older to get COVID vaccines without their parents' permission. Pan on Thursday touted the results of the poll on Twitter, saying "a clear two-thirds of Californians want to keep schools open and to stop the #COVID19 #pandemic." Although there's no longer a statewide indoor mask rule in place, students and staff in California schools still must wear face coverings. State health officials have said they'll re-evaluate the school mask requirement on Feb. 28. Poll results vary by race/ethnicity and political party The poll results show a massive divide between Democrats and Republicans, as well as voters who identify as conservative or liberal. About 85% of Democrats approve of mandating COVID vaccines in schools, and 87% approve of requiring masks. On the other hand, just 29% of Republicans approve of requiring shots for students, and 26% approve of school mask rules. Unsurprisingly, "strongly conservative" voters are the least supportive of school vaccine and mask rules, while "strongly liberal" voters overwhelmingly approve of the requirements. About 24% of strongly conservative voters disapprove of COVID school vaccines requirements, and 23% disapprove of mask rules. Conversely, 92% of strongly liberal voters approve of both vaccine and mask rules. Most voters who identified as "moderate" also approve of mask and vaccine rules. About 63% of moderate voters approve of requiring COVID vaccines for students, and 68% approve of school mask mandates. Poll results also varied by respondents' race or ethnicity. Black and Asian/Pacific Islander voters show more support for school vaccine and mask rules than other races or ethnicities. About 74% of Asian/Pacific Islander voters approve of school vaccine requirements and 76% support mask rules. About 69% of Black voters support student vaccine rules, and 82% approve of mask requirements. White voters show the least amount of support for school vaccine and mask requirements, although 61% still approve of vaccine rules, and 56% approve of mask mandates. About 64% of Latino voters approve of school vaccine rules, and 76% support mask mandates. Most California regions support vaccine, mask rules Voters throughout California approve of school vaccine and mask rules, although support varies by region. San Francisco Bay Area voters are the biggest proponents of requiring vaccines and masks 76% approve of COVID shot requirements and 74% approve of school mask mandates. Voters on the North Coast and in the Sierras expressed the least support for vaccine and mask rules. About 47% of voters surveyed in the region approve of school vaccine requirements, and just 41% approve of mask mandates. In Southern California, about 68% of Los Angeles County voters support COVID vaccines in school, and 71% approve of mask requirements. About 58% of Orange County voters approve of vaccine requirements, and 57% support mask rules. On the Central Coast, 66% of voters approve of student vaccine mandates, and 67% support school mask rules. In the Central Valley, 53% of voters support school vaccine requirements, and 54% approve of mask-wearing requirements. In spite of the support for school mask requirements, a handful of districts have opted to defy the state mandate and end the rule requiring face coverings early. In the Sacramento region, Roseville Joint Union High School District's board made masks optional at its facilities starting on Feb. 15. On the Central Coast, Paso Robles Joint Unified School District's board voted on Tuesday to allow students to choose whether they wear masks, although face coverings are still required for staff, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported. In the San Joaquin Valley, the Clovis Unified School District board on Wednesday voted to allow students who refuse to wear masks to remain in class, the Fresno Bee reported. Confidence in school COVID safety varies by race/ethnicity The poll also asked parents whether they feel their children are safe from COVID at school, whether in-person instruction should be allowed and whether there's been a perceived change in the overall quality of education in local public schools during the pandemic. Parents overwhelmingly support in-person instruction, with 79% saying they favor it and 13% saying they oppose it. About 57% of overall respondents said they're confident their kids are safe from COVID at school, while 37% said they're not confident. White parents reported feeling better about their children's COVID safety at school, while parents of color aren't as confident. About 68% of white parents are confident about their children's school COVID safety, while only 46% of Latino parents feel the same way. About 59% of Asian parents said they feel confident about their kids' COVID safety at school, as did 54% of Black parents. Parents across the political ideology spectrum reported feeling that the quality of their children's public school education has "gotten worse." However, 83% of "strongly conservative" parents said their kids' schooling has suffered, compared to 66% of "strongly liberal" parents. "These results suggest that while concerns about the impact of COVID on education span all major voter subgroups, big partisan differences remain when voters are asked how schools should respond to the pandemic," said Eric Schickler, IGS co-director. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. We would like to applaud those in our community who have recently stepped up in support of these three pillars of democracy: transparency, ethics, and trust. Sadly, there is evidence that all three have been eroded within our county government. Yet thankfully, courageous citizens are asking, How can the serious issues of today be addressed without these fundamental democratic values? It takes courage to speak up in a small community like ours. The reality is that ordinary citizens, our non-elected and unpaid neighbors, are often the ones who care about and engage in the issues that matter most to the welfare of our entire community. We thank them! From small-town America to the U.S. Capitol, we must be able to trust that the needs of the common good and the natural resources that support all of us are given the highest consideration. Given the current issues in our county, it appears that this is not happening. Consequently, we as community members must endeavor to ensure that our elected leaders work for all of us without conflicts of interest, transactional agreements, or personal gain. Going forward, could there be a silver lining in the disturbing county leadership issues related to Supervisor Pedroza and the land adjacent to the Halls Walt Ranch development project? It took amazing effort, vision, and camaraderie to make Napa Valley the world-class winegrowing region that it is today, and to protect our agricultural lands via the establishment of the Agricultural Preserve in 1968. Our mission reads, Protect the long-term viability of agriculture in Napa County by preserving the natural environment and resources upon which the health of our vineyards, wineries and entire community relies. GVFRA advocates on behalf of Napa Valley, a national treasure, to assure a sustainable, responsible, agriculturally based community. It is time to circle the wagons, stay factually informed and take the needed steps to assure the sustainability of this special place for all of us who are lucky enough to live and work here. We must have a county government that works for all of us, rather than for a monied and select few. Yeoryios Apallas, Laurie Claudon Clark, Randy Dunn, Mike Hackett, Beth Novak Milliken, Julia Levitan, Cio Perez, Joyce Black Sears, Jim Wilson, and Warren Winiarski Board of Directors, Growers/Vintners for Responsible Agriculture An aerial view shows damage caused by the Buffalo Creek flood in Logan County, West Virginia, in February 1972. The flood was caused by the failure of a mine impoundment system and cost more than 100 people their lives and thousands of people their homes. The United States has imposed sanctions on 24 Belarusian individuals and entities in their support of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the US Treasury Department informed in a statement Thursday. These sanctions apply to the Belarusian Minister of Defense and the State Secretary of the Security Council, as well as the two largest state-owned banks of Belarus. A number of enterprises of the Belarusian defense industry have also fallen under these US sanctions. "() the U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning 24 Belarusian individuals and entities due to Belaruss support for, and facilitation of, the invasion," the statement reads, in particular. It is noted that sanctions have been imposed especially on a number of companies of the Belarusian defense industry, Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, and State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Aleksandr Volfovich. During a telephonic conversation on the initiative of the French side, a serious and frank exchange of views took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron on the situation around Ukraine, TASS reported, citing the Kremlin press service. It is also noted that Putin "gave an exhaustive explanation about the reasons and circumstances of the decision [of Russia] to conduct a special military operation [in Ukraine]." In addition, the Presidents of Russia and France agreed to continue contacts. "It was decided to stay in touch," concludes the Kremlin statement. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin will attempt to occupy the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and overthrow the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said this in an interview with CBS News. The Secretary of State noted that the Ukrainian capital was definitely in danger of being invaded and could be under siege. According to Blinken, the Russian mass invasion continues and threatens Kyiv and other major cities in Ukraine. In addition, Blinken expressed confidence that the Russian president will attempt to overthrow the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, the Secretary of State stressed that all the actions taken by Putin since 2014, when he annexed Crimea into Russia and allowed pro-Russian separatists to occupy parts of eastern Ukraine, Putin has achieved only to completely repulse the Ukrainian people from Russia. Now 90% of Ukrainians are disgustedso to speakwith Russia, and hate President Putin, Blinken said, noting that he believes that they will resist any attempt to deprive them of their sovereignty and independence, and adding that Ukraine's democracy and independence will prevail. Asked by NBC News if Russia might make direct threats to NATO countries, Blinken suggested listening to what President Putin has personally said. The US Secretary of State said Putin planned the invasion all the time, they have made every effort to keep him from this course, but it is clear that he planned it a long time ago, and it is much more than a threat to NATO countries. Blinken noted that the new round of sanctions, which the United States has adopted in agreement with its European partners and allies, will have serious consequences for Russia. He noted that the 10 largest financial institutions which own about 80% of Russia's banking assets will not be able to trade in US dollars and partly in euros, and this will have very serious consequences. A special Russian military operation has killed 137 Ukrainian citizens. This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Ten of them were [military] officers. 316 citizens were injured," he added. According to Zelenskyy, all the Ukrainian border guards on Zmiinyi Island were killed, and they will be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. It should be noted that Zelenskyy has decided to create the post of Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine, and he has declared a general mobilization in the country. Russia's defense ministry, in turn, said that the Russian armed forces are targeting Ukraine's military infrastructure and aviation, but the civilian population is not at risk, RBC reports. "In total, 83 units of Ukrainian ground military infrastructure have been rendered ineffective as a result of strikes by the Russian Armed Forces. Since the beginning of the special military operation, two SU-27s, two SU-24s, one [military] helicopter, and four Bayraktar combat drones have been shot down," Russian defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Thursday evening. European Union (EU) leaders have agreed to a sweeping second set of sanctions against Russia at an emergency meeting of the bloc in Brussels Thursday evening, DW reported. The EU statement said the sanctions cover the financial sector, the energy and transport sectors, dual-use goods as well as export controls and export financing, visa policy, and additional sanctions against Russian individuals. However, both the EU and US decided for the time being not to cut Russia off from the SWIFT global interbank payments system, as demanded by Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the sanctions would target 70% of the Russian banking market and key state owned companies, including in defense. The export ban would "hit the oil sector by making it impossible for Russia to upgrade its refineries," von der Leyen said. The EU was also banning the sale of aircrafts and equipment to Russian airlines, she added. The visa restrictions will see diplomats and business people no longer having privileged access to the European Union. European Council President Charles Michel said the measures would have "massive and severe consequences" for Russia in response to the "unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine." The sanctions, which come after Russia invaded Ukraine Thursday morning, had been billed by the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borell as "one of the harshest packages of sanctions we have ever implemented." YEREVAN. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and the Heads of Government of the other EEU member states met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. The President of Kazakhstan welcomed the heads of delegations of the EEU countries and expressed hope that the sitting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Nur-Sultan will be fruitful. In his speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan, in particular, noted that the President of Kazakhstan was right in noting that today's sitting coincides with the drastic aggravation of the geopolitical situation. "It is obvious that we are in a sensitive period, in sensitive geopolitical tectonic processes, and in this context, of course, the Eurasian Economic Union is an important format to develop the economies of our countries. Of course, it is obvious that sanctions will have a clear impact on the economic climate in the Eurasian region, and in this regard, we need to discuss what operative decisions we should make to minimize these negative consequences and if possible, bypass them by taking appropriate steps. You are right. The results of 2021 are quite positive for the Eurasian Economic Union, because, in fact, last year was already a crisis year, but the total volume of trade and economic ties within the EEU, trade turnover has increased, which is quite a positive signal for all of us," the Prime Minister of Armenia said. Nikol Pashinyan stressed that there is a potential for expansion of the Eurasian economic region. "There are observer states with which we cooperate quite effectively. There is also some interest from other countries to strengthen ties with the Eurasian Economic Union. I think this is a generally positive process, and I hope that the Eurasian Economic Union, we all will succeed in implementing a policy that in the current situation will strengthen the EEU as an economic platform, will continue to give impetus to the development of the economies of our countries," PM Pashinyan said. The representation of the Donetsk People's Republic reports that the Ukrainian armed forces violated the indefinite ceasefire 139 times in the past day, and as a result, two civilians were killed, 12 others were injured, and 53 buildings in Donetsk and Horlivka were damaged. Also, 29 civilian infrastructure facilities and two vehicles were targeted. According to operative information, as a result of the shelling in Horlivka, 19 transformer substations lost power, more than 1,500 subscribers were left without electricity, and three boilers suspended operation. Also, the Ukrainian armed forces violated the "silence regime" 33 times in the past one day in the "Luhansk Peoples Republic." Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is on a working visit in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan, met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan. Welcoming Prime Minister Pashinyan, the President of Kazakhstan, in particular, noted, Dear Nikol Vovaevich, I am very glad to see you, the relations between Kazakhstan and Armenia are developing steadily. This year we mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, a very important year. An open political dialogue has been established between us at the top and high levels, parliamentary, cultural and humanitarian ties are developing. You know that we have the warmest feelings for Armenia and the Armenian people, I personally have great respect for you and the Armenian people. I think I know the history of your people quite well, I appreciate the achievements in culture and other spheres. In practice, we are allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union, so I think that just these relations between our countries are considered the most optimal. As for Kazakhstan, we will continue to work in that direction." In turn, Prime Minister Pashinyan noted. "Dear Kassym-Jomart Kemelovich, I am glad to meet you. This is our first face-to-face meeting this year, but we have talked on the phone many times. I am very glad that after the events that took place in Kazakhstan, normal life has been fully restored, and we are already discussing our further economic cooperation in the Eurasian Economic Union, further development of the Eurasian Economic Area. I would like to emphasize that I am glad that the crisis management mechanisms of the Collective Security Treaty Organization have finally worked. You know that this was the priority of the presidency of the Republic of Armenia. We have always believed that the CSTO rapid crisis response mechanisms should work properly. Unfortunately, Armenia was in a situation when we thought that the mechanism should work, but, unfortunately, that did not happen. After that, we became the CSTO chairing country and announced that this is one of our priorities. I am very glad that we were able to launch that mechanism when it was necessary. I would like to thank you once again for your warm words and hospitality." During the meeting the interlocutors discussed various issues on the agenda of the Armenian-Kazakh relations, touched upon a number of topics related to the integration processes. WHO: Food delivery apps and online games cause obesity in children AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak 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 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 Gold is getting cheaper U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement 4 surprising benefits of using Kiwi fruit daily in your diet 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 Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone 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 Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO What habits contribute to gaining excess weight? 50 Cent announces concert in Yerevan 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 Sergio Busquets receives offers from MLS clubs Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance Scientists create most accurate 3D model of female anatomy in history 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 Popular TV series screenwriter lies for years about her terminal illness Alashkert and Urartu play draw 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 Antibiotics and childhood vaccinations: what you need to know? Thomas Muller extends his contract with Bayern Eurovision producer says Russians will not be able to vote 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 France senator: We are leaving for Armenia with Senate group Putin signs decree on economic measures against unfriendly countries Armenia legislature speaker: Authorities have repeatedly proposed dialogue to opposition Backpack action of protest being held outside Armenia parliament (PHOTOS) Armenia defense ministry: Azerbaijan MOD statement does not correspond to reality Garnik Cholakyan becomes gold medalist of World Youth Championship Armenia defense minister receives Kansas National Guard delegation Armenia Police: Yerevan-Sevan motorway reopened Ned Price: Mirzoyan-Blinken meeting will launch US-Armenia strategic dialogue Mirzoyan, Nuland discuss Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement process COVID-19 situation in Armenia stabilizing: from now on, health ministry will publish data once a week Civil disobedience actions are carried out in some Armenia cities Bill Gates wants to marry his ex-wife Armenia 2nd-President Kocharyan, ex-deputy PM and now lawmaker Gevorgyan trial to resume Pashinyan to Morawiecki: This year we mark 30th anniversary of Armenia-Poland diplomatic relations No new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Ronaldo leads Premier League for home goals Met Gala 2022: Best carpet looks you shouldn't miss (PHOTOS) Armenia Central Bank leaves refinancing rate unchanged at 9.25% Demonstrators demanding PM Pashinyan's resignation block Sevan-Yerevan motorway Police: 117 demonstrators apprehended in Yerevan Kansas National Guard leadership visiting Armenia Bloomberg: EU new gas partners Armenian member of Turkey legislature says he was thrown at table of wolves Italian PM slams Lavrov for his 'Hitler' statements in interview with local television Artur Azaryan appointed as UEFA delegate for Real Madrid vs Man City match Armenia has capabilities in the field of microelectronics, which allow to produce complex electronic products, which can also be an important step in the development of cooperation between microelectronics enterprises within our Union. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia stated this at Fridays sitting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council. The Republic of Armenia considers the transition to a digital economy as a key driver of economic growth, actively participates in and supports the formation and implementation of the Union's digital agenda, Pashinyan said. In this context, I would like to emphasize the importance of implementing the Eurasian network project of industrial cooperation, subcontracting and technology transfer. Industrial cooperation between the countries of the Union should be aimed at deepening cooperation in priority areas, eliminating trade barriers, developing import substitution, introducing innovations, and creating new high-tech industries, the Armenian PM added. We attach importance to the expansion of industrial cooperation in the field of civil aviation. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia stated this at Fridays sitting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council. The development of this direction will allow manufacturers to focus their efforts on their own production of the most demanded products, Pashinyan added. In this regard, it is necessary to expand the tools of state support for industry in the countries of the Union, and the possible directions of their progressive convergence, he said. The diversification of transport infrastructure will stimulate the growth of trade within the Union, the export of goods to foreign markets, as well as the development of transit transport corridors, the Armenian premier added. No less important is the development of e-commerce, which not only is rapidly gaining momentum, changing the consumer behavior of the world market, but also expands its cross-border capabilities. At the same time, it is necessary to accelerate the work on improving the e-commerce taxation mechanism within the Union, in accordance with the best global experience of tax administration, Nikol Pashinyan stressed. What is happening in Eastern Europeespecially around Ukrainesince 2014, sooner or later would have lead to what we have today. Artak Zakaryan, a member of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia and ex-deputy defense minister of the country, told this to a press conference Friday. The former Armenian official blamed the Ukrainian political elitein the person of his leadershipfor the new escalation in Ukraine. "The processes that were going on in Ukraine have intensified during the last 4-5 months. The harmful populism of the Ukrainian authorities eventually led to a new military conflict and escalation. I believe it will lead to the ultimate end of the whole process. So, we will sum up the results soon," Zakaryan said. According to him, Ukraine will have to reconcile, it will no longer be able to ignore Russia's security interests, and will have to take these interests into account. As per the former deputy minister of defense of Armenia, Ukraine should renounce its incumbent authorities which, in his opinion, includes populists. "At least from now on, Kyiv will have to take a neutral positionpursuing a corresponding foreign policy. It is also obvious that the issue of [Ukraine] entering NATO, of being a member of that organization, will never again be put on the current agenda of Ukraine," Artak Zakaryan said, adding that populism is, in fact, an evil for all countries and peoples. Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak 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 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 France senator: We are leaving for Armenia with Senate group Putin signs decree on economic measures against unfriendly countries Armenia legislature speaker: Authorities have repeatedly proposed dialogue to opposition Backpack action of protest being held outside Armenia parliament (PHOTOS) Armenia defense ministry: Azerbaijan MOD statement does not correspond to reality Armenia defense minister receives Kansas National Guard delegation Armenia Police: Yerevan-Sevan motorway reopened Ned Price: Mirzoyan-Blinken meeting will launch US-Armenia strategic dialogue Mirzoyan, Nuland discuss Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement process Civil disobedience actions are carried out in some Armenia cities Armenia 2nd-President Kocharyan, ex-deputy PM and now lawmaker Gevorgyan trial to resume Pashinyan to Morawiecki: This year we mark 30th anniversary of Armenia-Poland diplomatic relations No new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia Central Bank leaves refinancing rate unchanged at 9.25% Demonstrators demanding PM Pashinyan's resignation block Sevan-Yerevan motorway Police: 117 demonstrators apprehended in Yerevan Kansas National Guard leadership visiting Armenia Bloomberg: EU new gas partners Armenian member of Turkey legislature says he was thrown at table of wolves Italian PM slams Lavrov for his 'Hitler' statements in interview with local television South Korea and US plan to start air force exercises on May 9 Police special forces apprehend Armenia ex-president Robert Kocharyans son Police: 70 people apprehended from Yerevan streets World Press Freedom Index 2022: Journalism as a profession is humiliated in Armenia Newspaper: Armenia ruling party MPs are worried Borrell speaks on possible disconnection from SWIFT of new Russian banks Cyprus becomes first EU country with full 5G coverage Police apprehending participants of civil disobedience actions in Yerevan State Department: Deepening US-Armenia cooperation in nuclear energy will strengthen bilateral relations Peaceful disobedience actions resume in Yerevan early morning Mirzoyan: Armenia appreciates US support for developing energy sector Blinken underscores US commitment to help Armenia, Azerbaijan find sustainable peace, prosperity Eurozone economic sentiment falls much more than expected in April Apple faces big fine Armenia ex-president joins discussion in France Square Poland wants the EU to set a clear date for stopping Russian oil imports Armenia FM meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Armenia FM meets with Director of USAID Samantha Power Ann Linde says Finland will almost certainly apply for NATO membership Police beat reporters, obstruct their work in Yerevan European Commission may relieve Hungary, Slovakia of embargo on Russian oil purchase Resistance Movement to continue large-scale civil disobedience actions on 3 May in Yerevan and regions EU countries to continue to pay in euros or dollars for Russian gas Resistance Movement participants return to France Square YEREVAN. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, on Friday met with Kazakh Ambassador Bolat Imanbayev, the Office of the Security Council informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. The ambassador lauded the dynamics of the development of trade and economic relations, as well as the cultural and political cooperation between Armenia and Kazakhstan. In this context, the head of the Security Council of Armenia underscored the uninterrupted implementation of their agenda of cooperation within the CSTO and the EEU. The parties touched also upon other economic and political matters of mutual interest, and reaffirmed their readiness for the further development of Armenian-Kazakh relations. Japanese companies selling used cars at auctions have announced the suspension of shipments to the Russian Far East. According to FederalPress, all scheduled container ship flights were canceled on Friday, including those that were supposed to deliver cars that had already been bought and paid for. Acceptance of bids for the purchase of used cars at upcoming auctions in Japan is also paused. According to the portal VL.ru, difficulties are observed not only with the delivery of cars from Japan, but also with money transfers - they took place only in dollars. On the morning of February 25, at least one flight of the cargo ship Viking Coral was canceled, which was heading to Vladivostok. It was also reported that many companies are removing their cars from ships bound for Russia. How long the problems in the international "secondary" will last is not yet clear. In the market, delays in delivery are associated with sanctions and fluctuations in the ruble, which this week became the first currency in terms of volatility in the world. Due to the sharp fall of the ruble, the size of the import duty, which depends on the price of the car, has increased, which has made exports to Russia unprofitable for sellers, Motor reports. Several foreign companies at once stopped the shipment of new cars to Russia. Audi, General Motors, Volkswagen, Skoda and Jaguar Land Rover decided to take such measures. In most cases, cars that have already passed customs and are scheduled for shipment will reach car dealerships. After the Ukrainian events, I believe the Armenian-Turkish agenda will slowly be thrown into the garbage. Artak Zakaryan, a member of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia and ex-deputy defense minister of the country, told this to a press conference Friday. Moreover, according to him, the respective welcoming by the Turkish president means nothing. "Our region should be viewed from above, not through the prism of the current [Armenian] authorities consisting of capitulators. I believe that the Armenian-Turkish 'love intrigue' that emanated between the political elites of the two countries, which was imposed on us as a result of capitulation [in the 44-day Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war in the fall of 2020], will gradually end. Turkey's role in international processes will also gradually decrease. The thing is that due to the new global conflict, Turkey must also make a decision," Zakaryan explained. However, as per the former Armenian official, Turkey still manages to maneuver. YEREVAN. Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan received Jelena Milosevic, United Nations World Food Program (WFP) Representative and Country Director in Armenia, and Daud Khan, a food security expert. The development of a strategy and action plan for the development of the food security system in Armenia were discussed during this meeting, the Ministry of Economy informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. Kerobyan noted that the Armenian government pays great attention to food security, and informed that this point is enshrined in the government's action plan. The economy minister added that food security can also open up new investment opportunities and contribute to the improvement of trade and exports. Daud Khan, for his part, presented the importance of food security in the current geopolitical context. At the end of the meeting, the participants once again stressed their readiness to work together. According to a respective arrangement, a working group will be set up to work on the development and localization of the food security strategyand taking into account Armenia's priorities, peculiarities, risks. The Liberation Movement announced Friday, February 25on the birth anniversary of legendary military commander and statesman Andranik Ozanianat Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan that it is starting a signature campaign demanding the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Nairi Hokhikyan, a representative of the aforesaid movement, said that this signature campaign will be carried out not only in the capital Yerevan, but also in all provinces of Armenia, as well as in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). According to him, this signature campaign will be carried out in paper form, as well as onlinewhich is intended more for the Diaspora Armenians. "We would not have had so many human and territorial losses in the 44-day [Artsakh] war [in the fall of 2020] if it were not for Nikol Pashinyan's anti-national, treacherous deal with the enemy. Therefore () we are obligated to unitewithout party interests. We invite all political forces, individuals to go on this road together because this is not a fight for power, but a fight for the liberation of the homeland," Hokhikyan added. Uganda's own Papa Doc, Gen. Museveni. In power for 36 years now. Photo: Facebook. [The View From Uganda] Last week, the police in Uganda announced that they had found two more terror cells in two placesLukaya (Kalungu) and Butambala. Police claimed theyd busted the terror cells after a security operation. Police mouthpiece Fred Enanga noted that thanks to intelligence leads, counter terrorism security teams were also able to shut down terror operations allegedly linked to Imam Suleman Nsubuga. The Imams cell in Lweza, Wakiso district, was raided last year and this resulted in him purportedly being on the run, the police claim. Our teams raided two hideouts of suspected terror cells and seven suspects were arrested who indicated they were being inspired to carry out attacks on security personnel and installations within the country by one Imam Nsubuga Suleman, Enanga said. Enanga warned that although terror cells in the country have either been smashed or their members put to flight, there was no time for Ugandans to rest on their laurels. He added that there are other terrorist cells whose backers want to reverse the security situation in the country and play havoc with the peace in Uganda. These are operational cells which are autonomous, mobile and flexible. However, we want to reassure the public we will ensure we eliminate them and prevent creation of new cells, he said. At the start of the year, 15 people were charged with offenses ranging from committing acts of terrorism and aiding terrorism, in connection to their alleged role in the multiple bombings which occurred in the Ugandan capital city Kampala and other parts of the country last October and November. These explosions were caused by an improvised explosive device that left at least nine people dead. In the early hours of Nov. 16, at least six people including three suicide bombers were killed and 33 others injured in multiple bomb blasts in Kampala. Under Gen. Yoweri Musevenis dictatorship, the junta continues to write alternative histories to suit its insatiable desire to subjugate and annihilate its opponents in order to prolong its rule. Uganda has 111 districts; 26 of these districts are in Buganda. Every single case of alleged terrorism reported by the regime has been in Buganda. After a succession of violent attacks on police posts, mainly in Kiboga and Mityana districtsin which police were killed and their weapons stolensecurity agencies claimed theyd discovered a rebel group called Ugandan Coalition Forces of Change (UCFC). Before that, there were killings in Lwengo and Masaka districts. At that time the Uganda police claimed the Member of Parliament from Kawempe North, Muhammad Ssegirinya, and the one from Makindye West, Allan Ssewanyana were the two masterminds behind the killings. Most Ugandans believe the opposition party lawmakers were mere scapegoats in the regimes retaliation for Buganda region, which overwhelmingly repudiated dictator Museveni in the 2021 general elections. Museveni has launched an undeclared war against the leaders of Buganda. However, the Buganda leaders are not taking dictator Musevenis assault lying down. The acting Leader of Opposition in parliament Mathius Mpuuga is currently boycotting plenary sessions over the governments torture campaign. When the most prominent torture victim, the PEN International 2021 Writer of Courage honoree Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was recently released from bail, the world gasped when he showed the ugly scars left on his back from torture by the regime. Before he fled the country Rukirabashaija showed his scars to Western diplomats based in Kampala and some of them reportedly wept. The regime's wicked souvenir for Kakwenza. Some Western diplomats who saw his back wept. The names of Members of Parliament whove signed a motion seeking to censure the Minister of Security, Gen. Jim Muhwezi, will soon be published, according to MP Muwanga Kivumbi who is leading the charge against the regime. Now, suddenly, the regime has claimed terrorist cells have been discovered in Kivumbis constituency. So far, about 70 MPs have signed. Joseph Ssewungu, the Kalungu West Member of Parliament is also in the governments crosshairs. He allegedly embarrassed the First Lady, Janet Kataaha Museveni, wife of the dictator and Minister for Education and Sports. After she summoned Members of Parliament to Kololo independence grounds last year to discuss the reopening of schools, Ssewungu said: "Why cant we instead give the money that will be spent to facilitate this consultative meeting with the minister to the schools that have been affected the Covid situation to aid their reopening in January 2020. Now terror cells have also been discovered in Ssewungus constituency. A pattern has emerged. Leaders in Buganda region are being told that a vote against Museveni is a vote for terrorism. The regime believes that playing the Islam card will curry favor with the United States. Meanwhile its used to justify oppression in the name of patriotism. The U.S. is duped into thinking that Uganda Muslims, such as the assassinated Sheikh Muhammad Kirevu and Ahamad Kyamanyi, are in league with radical extremists who want to destroy the U.S. and people like Gen. Museveni who does Washingtons bidding. The regimes false flag operation is sure to leave many Ugandans dead. Until freedom is won, Kivumbi Muwanga and Joseph Ssewungu must sleep with their eyes wide open. Columnist Matogo can be reached via Mugashop74@gmail.clom Yerevan should take into account the fact that Ukraine has almost always voted against Armenia on all international platforms. Artak Zakaryan, a member of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia and ex-deputy defense minister of the country, told this to a press conference Friday. According to him, these disagreements between Armenia and Ukraine have been at the level of both parliamentary and official diplomacy. "We have had disagreements in foreign policy, too. It is obvious that Ukraine has always spoken in favor of Azerbaijan, not taking into account Armenia's position. This refers to matters in connection with both Karabakh and other security issues. Kyiv adopted this position back in 2014," Zakaryan explained. So, as per the former Armenian official, Yerevan's position on the current events unrolling over Ukraine should be clear, simple, and grounded. In Artak Zakaryans view, the baseline justification in this regard should be that the recognition of the right of peoples to self-determination has always been key for Armenia. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not get in touch with him 1.5 hours ago, although it was agreed to have a call, Sky reported. Draghi said that the night before, on Thursday, he and Zelenskyy attended an extraordinary meeting of the European Council. According to the prime minister, the Ukrainian president took refuge in some part of Kyiv and said that he and his family were the target of the Russian armed forces. Draghi said that the statement deeply shocked everyone at the European Council. "He found me this morning and we agreed to have a phone conversation at 9:30 am, but the conversation did not take place, Zelenskyy was no longer available," the Italian prime minister said. Moldova is setting up distribution centres for refugees from Ukraine in the south and north of the country. The authorities have made it easier for them to enter their territory. On Friday night, multi-kilometre traffic jams formed at a major checkpoint at the entrance to Moldova. So far, 15,816 Ukrainian citizens have crossed the border. According to the Moldovan government's press service, Ukrainian citizens will be allowed into the country even if they do not have a foreign passport. It will be possible to cross the border on the basis of internal documents. Ukrainian citizens who do not have a certificate of vaccination against coronavirus will also be allowed to enter Moldova. Children will be allowed in Moldova on the basis of a birth certificate, a regular passport or a foreign passport. Two distribution centres for refugees will open in Palanca and Calarasovca settlements in the south and north of the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. Moldovan border guards told local media that on Friday night, 60-kilometre-long queues stretched out at one of the major border checkpoints as hundreds of Ukrainian citizens attempted to enter Moldova. A team from the Legal Advocacy Centre is on duty at the checkpoint 24 hours a day. They help Ukrainian citizens fill in asylum applications. On Friday, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry advised its citizens in Ukraine to cross the land border into Moldova in case of danger. Russia is ready to hold high-level talks with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During the conversation, the Chinese side said that it supports the settlement of relations between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations. Putin confirmed that he is ready to communicate with Kyiv at a high level, RIA Novosti reported. On Friday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested the Russian leader "sit down at the negotiating table to stop deaths among people". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained why he did not speak to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on time, he wrote on Twitter. "Today at 10:30 am at the entrances to Chernihiv, Hostomel and Melitopol there were heavy fighting. People died. Next time I'll try to move the war schedule to talk to Mario Draghi at a specific time. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to fight for its people," the Ukrainian head of state wrote. Earlier, the Italian prime minister said that he and Zelenskyy agreed to have another phone talk this morning, but the Ukrainian president did not get in touch. Putin is ready to send a Russian delegation to Minsk for talks with Ukraine, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, RIA Novosti reported. "Zelenskyy said he was ready to discuss Ukraine's neutral status. Initially, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the purpose of the operation was to help Donetsk and Luhansk, including by demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine. And this, in fact, is an integral component of the neutral status," he explained. According to him, the Russian delegation will include representatives of the Defence Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the Kremlin administration. "In this context, in response to Zelenskyy's proposal, Vladimir Putin is ready to send to Minsk a Russian delegation at the level of representatives of the Defence Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the presidential administration for negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation," Peskov said. Research News Chatbot provides safe space to learn about sexual, reproductive health By BERT GAMBINI Its not just a random visual representation of a human. Thats important because this avatar is connected to powerful stories seeded with accurate information modeled by positive characters. Our research team looked exclusively at SnehAIs effectiveness with regard to SRH, but Im confident that the chatbots design can be easily adapted for different purposes, in different countries. In fact, I know our partners have developed similar applications to address domestic violence in South Africa. The latest version of SnehAI will also include child protection, says Wang. The findings from Wangs instrumental case study appear in the Journal of Medical Internet Research . Many AI technologies today are motivated by profit, but we must also be aware that AI can be leveraged in ways that facilitate social and behavior change, says Wang, who specializes in entertainment-education and storytelling as instruments for health promotion. SnehAI is a powerful testimonial of the vital potential that lies in AI for good. Working with the Population Foundation of India (PFI), Helen Wang, associate professor of communication, College of Arts and Sciences, examined the user-centered design and engagement of SnehAI, the first Hinglish (Hindi and English) chatbot purposefully developed for social and behavioral change. An innovative chatbot designed for sharing critical information about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) with young people in India is demonstrating how artificial intelligence (AI) applications can engage vulnerable and hard-to-reach population segments. SnehAI's chatbot avatar is based on the protagonist of a popular television drama in India. Graphic courtesy of the Population Foundation of India. The interface of SnehAI (pronounced SNAY-ha eh-eye) is an avatar based on a popular television drama in India. The show presents themes that include gender equality and family planning. After two successful seasons, the PFI, with a technical partner, developed the chatbot in order to extend the shows reach from rural and adult populations to include urban youth in ways that promoted SRH and advocated for the well-being of women and girls. About 18% of the worlds population lives in India. Thats 1.4 billion people, about half of whom are under the age of 25. Despite policy commitments and some recent progress, the SRH needs of young people in India are lacking, according to Wang. Quality education about SRH is highly limited, contraceptive practices are heavily skewed toward female sterilization, and unsafe abortions are rampant, she says. SRH misinformation compounds existing problems, with young people often unware of contraceptive options and the dangers of sexually transmitted infections. Embarrassed or uncomfortable, young people remain silent, or direct their questions and acquire information through often unreliable web-based platforms. But Wang says SnehAI provides whats perceived as a safe space. Its an intelligent bot that provides a non-judgmental arena that arouses no concern from users about how questions might be received. The avatar is based on the protagonist in the drama, a trusted medical doctor and a champion for health and social issues in society, says Wang. Its not just a random visual representation of a human. Thats important because this avatar is connected to powerful stories seeded with accurate information modeled by positive characters. But the chatbot itself always clearly explains to its users, as soon as they launch the app on Facebook Messenger, that there is no human behind the avatar. Some people might ask: Who wants to talk about sensitive personal issues with a machine? But we observed the opposite effect, says Wang. There was no concern for how someone might react to a question. Chatting with an intelligent being without having to worry about embarrassment, shame and guilt in this case actually helps build confidence and trust, especially when the users are informed about what data may be recorded and their rights to protect personal privacy. Over five months, SnehAI interacted with almost 120,000 unique users, especially young men, with more than 8 million messages. About half of those messages were deeply personal questions and genuine concerns regarding SRH exchanged through texts and handled by the chatbots natural language processing capacity. Overall, SnehAI successfully presented itself as a trusted friend and mentor across 15 areas representing opportunities for engagement and action, says Wang. In particular, it fostered curiosity about SRH and a willingness to ask questions. And 71,211 is the number of visits to the helplines feature of the chatbot, which demonstrates how transmedia storytelling from a television drama to social media and then an AI chatbot can inspire users to take action. SnehAI is a significant representation of the potential impact of AI technologies for social good. Wangs collaborators for the study include Sneha Gupta, a UB doctoral student in the Department of Communication; Arvind Singhal, an endowed professor of communication and director of the Social Justice Initiative at the University of Texas at El Paso; Poonam Muttreja and Sanghamitra Singh of Population Foundation of India; and Poorva Sharma and Alice Piterova of AI for Good UK. US and European officials hold one key financial sanction against Russia in reserve, determined not to exclude it from the dominant system of global financial transactions - SWIFT, Associated Press reported. The military operation of Russia in Ukraine became the reason for numerous sanctions imposed by the US and the EU against Russia. However, US President Joe Biden, speaking about the possibility of blocking Russia from SWIFT, noted that although this always remains an option, this is not the position that the rest of Europe wants to take now. He also suggested that imposed sanctions will have more teeth. The sanctions that we have imposed are outside the scope of SWIFT, Biden said in response to a related question on Thursday. Let's talk in another month or so to see if they work, Biden added. However, some European leaders, including those in the UK, are advocating an additional step: blocking Russia from SWIFT. Ukraine is also pushing for Russia's exclusion from SWIFT, but some European leaders prefer not to lose patience, as a ban could hamper international trade and hurt their economies. As Deutsche Welle notes, some EU countries fear the consequences of Russia's disconnection from the SWIFT payment system. In addition, a number of countries are against the fact that the sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine affect the supply of Russian oil and gas. Germany's government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Friday that Italy and France also share this opinion, believing that it is technically difficult to implement this measure, it will require lengthy preparations and its consequences will be felt in Europe. According to Hebeshtreit, some EU states oppose the imposition of any sanctions against Russia related to oil and gas supplies, since they cannot be immediately replaced. Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 25.02.22: Kyivs mayor said they are starting to defend the country. According to him, some sabotage groups have already entered the country. The military actions started in Ukraine on Friday night. The situation remains highly tense in Ukraine now. Since Friday morning, the alarm signals have been on in Kyiv and residents have been called to hide in shelters. Subway stations have been built as shelters for residents to hide from attacks. On Friday night, multi-kilometre traffic jams formed at a major checkpoint at the entrance to Moldova. Kyivs busy streets were empty of cars and people. Shops were closed. At ATMs, residents lined up to get cash. Gas stations, facing long lines of cars, ran empty. Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that a special Russian military operation has killed 137 Ukrainian citizens. Ten of them were military officers. 316 citizens were injured," he added. The Russian defense ministry spokesman also presented the military losses inflicted on the Ukrainian side. Accordingly, 5 combat planes, a helicopter, and 5 drones have been shot down so far. In addition, 18 armored vehicles were destroyed. Russia also said it had blockaded Kyiv from the western side. On Thursday, it was reported that Russian An-26 aircraft crashed in the Voronezh region, leaving all on board dead. Putin, in turn, noted that Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine at a high level. His remarks came during talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During the talks, the Chinese side also said it supports the settlement of relations between Russia and Ukraine through talks. Russian president Vladimir Putin talked with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, who said his country can host talks and guarantee the security of the delegations. Putin has already held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi giving exhaustive explanations about the reasons and circumstances of the decision of Russia to conduct a special military operation in Ukraine. Since the situation in Ukraine escalated, the UK said they are ready to provide the Ukrainian president with the shelter. According to PM Boris Johnson, the UK is ready to provide asylum to both Volodymyr Zelenskyy and members of his government if they need a safe place. In turn, the US is calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to go to Lviv for his safety, ABC TV channel reported. NBC correspondent Richard Engel tweeted that the US authorities discussed with the government of Ukraine the possible departure of Zelenskyy if the situation escalated. The US, Poland and the OSCE began to close their offices in Kyiv, and more than 30 countries urged their citizens to leave Ukraine. Major international leaders and organizations, including the US, the EU and NATO, have already issued statements noting that they are not going to send troops to Ukraine. NATO has no troops on the territory of Ukraine and has no plans to deploy them into the country, said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. US President Joe Biden, in turn, noted that US forces will not fight in Ukraine. Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies, he added. Amid the situation created, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that NATO failed to show proper resolve in the situation with Ukraine and that the West's attitude towards it was far from friendly. The West, EU countries and NATO have failed to show determination towards Ukraine. They are all giving advice. The West's attitude towards Ukraine cannot be considered either friendship or solidarity," the president told reporters in Istanbul on Friday. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country is forced to "heroically" defend its independence and "territorial integrity" because world leaders refused to help them. He again urged EU member states citizens to help Ukraine fight. If you have military experience in Europe and do not want to look at the indecisiveness of politicians, you can already arrive in our state and defend Europe with us, the Ukrainian leader noted. Meanwhile, Russian Chechnyas region leader Ramzan Kadyrov said about 70,000 of their security officials are ready to voluntarily go to and fight in Ukraine. He noted volunteers are ready to go to any special operation in any territory to secure Russia. Countries around the world are imposing fresh sanctions against Russia. The EU, the US, the UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan all hit Moscow with new injunctions on Friday. On Thursday, the US and UK also revealed more measures against Russia as both nations' leaders condemned the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. US freezes assets of four Russian banks, including VTB, for $1 trillion. Canada, in turn, imposed sanctions against members of the Security Council of Russia, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. UK PM Boris Johnson said that sanctions have been imposed on Aeroflot's operations in the UK. He also said the UK was freezing VTB's assets. However, the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia sent a notice to the British aviation authorities on the need to comply with the provisions of the air service agreement, warning that after the sanctions on Aeroflot, Moscow could apply mirror measures. In the meantime, Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili said they are not going to participate in economic sanctions against Russia as this will only further harm their country and people Armenians form the fourth largest community in Ukraine. Most of them live in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other major cities where the situation is tense. The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they had no verified information about Armenian citizens killed in the conflict yet. According to MFA spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan, the work in that regard continues. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Kristine Grigoryan is also in constant contact with the Armenian Embassy in Kyiv and periodically receives information about the problems faced by the Armenian community of Ukraine and the Armenian citizens. A report was disseminated Thursday that military tank crewman Davit Aghajanyan, an ethnic Armenian, was killed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by the Russian side. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is on a working visit in Kazakhstan, met with the country's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. During the talks, Tokayev highlighted developing relations between the countries as allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Union. However, PM Pashinyan said that unfortunately, Armenia was in a situation when we thought that the CSTO mechanism should work, but that did not happen. Later, the PM took part in the sitting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and attached importance to expansion of the EEU industrial cooperation in civil aviation and e-commerce. The total number of COVID-19 cases reached 418,792 in the country. Also 21 more deaths were registered, making the respective total 8,413 cases. The number of people who have recovered so far is 399,241, and the number of people currently being treated is 10,535. Almost 2,000,000 COVID-19 vaccination doses have been given in Armenia, while over 870,000 people are fully vaccinated. Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan assured his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu during a meeting in Moscow that he will do everything possible to boost Armenian-Russian defense cooperation in the future. A video of the meeting between the defence heads of the two countries has been posted on the website of the Zvezda TV channel. "We are witnessing that the decrease of tension is not visible and every time we have to face new challenges and threats. Obviously, all these challenges and threats facing our states can only be overcome by acting solely together. I can assure that I will do my utmost to further enhance the Armenian-Russian defense cooperation," Papikyan said. It was noted that the defense ministers of Armenia and Russia discussed on Friday in Moscow the prospects of bilateral cooperation in the military sphere. "I would like to thank you for your prompt and very important work during the aggravation of the situation in Kazakhstan, when you, as the CSTO chairman for our part of the CSTO Defence Ministers Council, took difficult but very important and necessary decisions which allowed to help our Kazakh colleagues in resolving this situation very effectively," said Sergey Shoygu. Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the Ukrainian Armed Forces to take power in Kyiv into their own hands, RBC reported. His remarks came at an urgent meeting with the Russian Security Council. "I appeal to the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: do not allow the neo-Nazis and Benderovites to use your children, wives and elderly people as human shields, take power into your own hands. It will be easier for us to come to an agreement with you than with this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have settled in Kyiv and taken the entire Ukrainian nation hostage," he said. Putin also said that Russian officers in Ukraine "act bravely, professionally, heroically". As part of his working visit to Russia, Armenian Defence Minister Suren Papikyan met with Russian Defence Minister, Army General Sergey Shoygu on Friday, the Armenian Defence Ministry press service informed NEWS.am. During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on international and regional security issues. A range of issues related to Armenian-Russian bilateral and multilateral military cooperation were discussed. The sides highly assessed the dynamics in Armenian-Russian allied cooperation and political dialogue, the role and efforts of Russia aimed at stabilizing the military and political situation in the region, and the efficiency of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Karabakh. Discussions highlighted the modernisation of the Armenian Armed Forces, as well as the reform process. At the end of the meeting the Armenian defence minister invited his Russian colleague to Armenia for an official visit. On the same day Papikyan laid a wreath at the monument of the Unknown Soldier. The Ukrainian side responded to the idea of holding talks in Minsk by suggesting Warsaw instead and then went off the conversation, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitriy Peskov said, TASS reported. The Kremlin considers it extremely dangerous when nationalists deploy multiple rocket launchers in major Ukrainian cities. As noted in RIA Novosti's Telegram, the Russian presidential spokesman also said that "Kyiv's pause in thinking about negotiations is accompanied by the deployment of volley fire systems in residential areas, including in Kyiv". According to Dmitry Peskov, Russia has conveyed to Ukraine its agreement to organize talks, RIA Novosti reported. "We have conveyed to the Ukrainians to organize negotiations in Minsk. This information was communicated to the Ukrainians. Putin immediately called President Lukashenko and agreed that the Belarusian side and the president would do everything possible to organize the arrival of the delegations in the best way and to ensure their security. The Russian side immediately set up a delegation of representatives of the Defence Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Administration. All this information has been communicated to the Ukrainians," Peskov told reporters. The building of the regional directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in Chernihiv is on fire, the UNIAN news agency reported. According to eyewitnesses, the fire has now spread to the roof of the building. According to Chernihiv resident, there was an explosion in the building. Several rescue crews have arrived on the scene, but they fear the building could be mined and explode. "It is not known for sure now whether shells hit the building or whether it was defused to prevent it from being used by the enemy. Near Chernihiv, on the Gomel and Mensk directions, there are battles with the Russian military and the situation is difficult. It is especially dangerous now to go out into the streets near Rokossovsky, May 1, and other streets, the news agency reported. It is calm in the city of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region of Ukraine, the head of the Armenian community of the town, Aghasi Barseghyan told NEWS.am. According to him, the city is located 800 km away from Kyiv. It is home to 60-70 thousand people. About 1000 out of them are Armenians. "The residents, for the most part, do not leave their houses. The city authorities suggested evacuating the population, but there is no point in leaving because there is fighting in Kyiv. A military headquarters three kilometres away has been blown up. The opposite side is not shelling civilians," Barseghyan noted. At the same time the shops and public transportation are functioning. Banks also operate, but with some interruptions. "Residents are certainly tense, but there is no anxiety. This is already a second war for us. We are used to it," said the head of the Armenian community. Buffalo, WY (82834) Today Rain showers early becoming more intermittent for the afternoon. High 53F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low near 40F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has discussed with US President Joe Biden the strengthening of sanctions against Russia, defence assistance and the anti-war coalition, the UNIAN news agency reported. "Strengthening sanctions, concrete defense assistance and an anti-war coalition have just been discussed with Biden. Grateful to the US for the strong support to Ukraine," Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter. The White House and Biden himself have not yet informed about the fact and content of the conversation. UK MPs vote to raise minimum age for marriage The UK government urged the devolved administrations of Scotland and Northern Ireland to follow suit. File photo: AFP UK lawmakers on Friday voted to raise the minimum age for marriage in England and Wales from 16 to 18, after a pressure campaign joined by victims of forced child marriages. The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill passed its final stage unopposed in the House of Commons, and is expected to be adopted too by the Lords upper chamber before it becomes law. Currently, anyone aged 16 or 17 in England and Wales can get married as long as they have parental consent. But in too many cases, campaigners say, parents are complicit in trafficking young daughters into arranged marriages. In the early 2000s, Payzee Mahmod and her sister Banaz were taken from their London home to become child brides in Iraqi Kurdistan. Payzee escaped her marriage and went on to campaign for a change in the law. But Banaz was strangled in 2006 in a so-called honour killing. Their father and uncle were among those convicted of her murder. The bill would make it easier to prosecute parents or relatives who send under-18s abroad to be wed. Payzee Mahmod said that at the age of 16, she was too young to realise what was happening when she was escorted into a room and told to say words that turned out to be marital vows. "This is actually amounting to parental coercion, which is what I experienced," she told the BBC in an interview to mark the bill's passage. "It should have been on all the adults around me to safeguard me, and to protect me from that." The bill's Conservative sponsor, Pauline Latham, said it marked "a huge step in the right direction" that brought England and Wales into line with UN campaigns against child marriage, of which the UK is a signatory. Anna McMorrin of the opposition Labour party said: "The fact that a young person must remain in education until they are 18 but can marry at 16 is bewildering, and has no place in the 21st century." The UK government urged the devolved administrations of Scotland and Northern Ireland - where 16- and 17-year-olds can still marry without parental consent - to fall into line. (AFP) EU, Britain add Putin, Lavrov to sanctions lists Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov join a fairly exclusive list of high-ranking officials hit by EU sanctions. Photo: AFP The EU on Friday added Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to its sanctions list over Moscow's incursion into Ukraine, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell confirmed. The step was agreed at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels held to formally adopt a broad package of sanctions on Russia that Borrell has called the "harshest" ever drawn up by the bloc. The package, approved by EU leaders in an overnight summit, hammers Russia's financial, energy and transport sectors, and curbs the ability of Russians to keep large amounts of cash in EU banks. It also expands the number of Russians on the EU's list of sanctioned individuals barred from entering the bloc's 27 countries and whose EU assets are blocked. Two EU officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Germany and Italy had resisted putting Putin and Lavrov on the EU's list. The only other leaders on it are Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But that reluctance faded on Friday as Russian forces kept up their pounding of several Ukrainian cities and tightened their noose on the capital Kyiv, as tens of thousands of Ukrainians fled their country. "We are hitting Putin's system where it has to be hit, not only economically and financially, but also at the heart of its power," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said as she arrived for the Brussels meeting. The UK government on Friday ordered all assets of Putin and Lavrov frozen. The Treasury issued a financial sanctions notice against the two men, adding them to a list of Russian oligarchs who have already had their property and bank accounts in the UK frozen. The West's response to Russia's assault on Ukraine has been coordinated between the EU, US, Canada and Britain. The EU's sanctions package - the second adopted this week as Russia's went from threats to full-on military assault - comes into effect once it is published in the bloc's Official Journal, expected to be late on Friday or on Saturday. The measures however stop short of kicking Russia out of the Swift messaging system used globally by banks to arrange transfers - a major tool that has been used to devastating effect against Iran. Around 300 Russian banks use Swift. "That question was considered. But we didn't get necessary unanimity on it," Borrell said. "So it's not in the package, but it's still on the table." Ukraine has lobbied fiercely for a Swift ban on Russia, but Germany and Italy - which rely on Swift to pay for Russian natural gas deliveries - are hesitant. That reluctance, too, appeared to be softening. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in Paris on Friday that for a possible next round of EU sanctions on Russia, "we should also look into instruments that go beyond even the latest sanctions package, that includes Swift". Borrell, however, said the focus now for the EU was to implement the latest sanctions, and a third packet should not be expected "in the next days or hours". (AFP) Pakistan's objections to the hydro-power projects Pakal Dul, Lower Kalnai and Kiru in Jammu and Kashmir are likely to figure in the agenda at the annual meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission between March 1 and 3 in Pakistan this year. To be held at Islamabad, this will be the 117th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission since the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) was signed by India and Pakistan in 1960. Article VIII (5) of the Indus Waters Treaty requires the Permanent Indus Commission to meet at least once a year, alternately in India and Pakistan. The last such meeting was held here on March 23 and 24 last year. The Indian delegation will be led by Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters, Pradeep Kumar Saxena, and will comprise advisors from the Central Water Commission, the Central Electricity Authority, NHPC Ltd, and the Ministry of External Affairs. There would be three three female officers, a first since signing of the Treaty. The Pakistan side will be led by its Commissioner for Indus Waters, Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah. The agenda for the meeting is being fine tuned by the two Commissioners. Pakistan's objections to the hydropower projects Pakal Dul (1,000 MW), Lower Kalnai (48 MW), and Kiru (624 MW) in Chenab basin in Jammu and Kashmir and few small hydroelectric projects in Ladakh are likely to be discussed during the meeting. The Indian delegation will leave for Pakistan through Atari border on February 28 and return via the same route on March 4. "We shall be leaving on Monday," Saxena confirmed. Under the 1960 vintage IWT, India and Pakistan share waters of six rivers in the Indus basin. Of these, India has complete rights over three eastern rivers - Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi, while Pakistan has rights over the western rivers - Chenab, Jhelum, and Indus. India can, however, build only run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers. Pakistan gets almost 80 per cent share of the Indus basin waters (approx 135 MAF) against India's 33 MAF. --IANS niv/vd ( 351 Words) 2022-02-25-20:32:03 (IANS) The Kremlin said that the two leaders discussed the main aspects of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on current regional topics, including developments in South Asia. In a handout, the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that the two leaders held wide-ranging consultations on bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest. "Recalling the telephone conversations during the recent months between the two leaders, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the positive trajectory of bilateral relations will continue to move forward in the future," the handout issued late on Thursday said. Imran Khan expressed the hope that the trust and cordiality marking the relationship would translate into further deepening and broadening of mutual cooperation in diverse fields. He also reaffirmed the importance of the Pakistan Stream gas pipeline as a flagship economic project between the two countries and also discussed cooperation on prospective energy related projects. "The Prime Minister underscored Pakistan's commitment to [forging] a long-term, multi-dimensional relationship with Russia," the Pakistan PMO said. --IANS san/ ( 216 Words) 2022-02-24-23:20:05 (IANS) Sonipat (Haryana) [India], February 25 (ANI/OP Jindal University): Jindal Global Business School (JGBS), of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), has expanded its international partnership portfolio by signing 11 new Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with prestigious business schools and universities in five countries spanning four continents. The new international collaborations include top business schools such as the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, USA and the University of Queensland Business School, Australia. As part of its global ambition and a commitment to provide global education, exposure, and experience to its students, JGBS has expanded its reach to institutions in Vietnam, in addition to its numerous collaborations in Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The list of new partner institutions are as follows: 1. Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, United States of America 2. Kelley School of Business, Indiana University-Bloomington, United States of America 2. Florida State University, United States of America 3. Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University, United States of America 4. University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom 5. The University of Nottingham, United Kingdom 6. Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom 7. The University of Queensland, Australia 8. Faculty of Business and Economics, Macquarie University, Australia 9. Bond University, Australia 10. Frankfurt School of Finance and Economics, Germany 11. FPT University, Vietnam The new MoUs create a range of opportunities for JGBS students. JGBS has partnered with one of the globe's most recognised business schools, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, to add strong value as an elite study abroad component to its 1-year Global MBA in Business Analytics. The Thunderbird School of Global Management's Master of Global Management (MGM) dual degree programme brings JGBS students one step closer to living and working for up to 3 years in the United States through the USA's Optional Practical Training program. Study abroad and student exchange programmes with Florida State University and the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in the United States offer learning experiences in a global setting. Through the difficult months of the pandemic, JGBS persevered and remained committed to providing international exposure to its students. A list of curated partners was created who were able to offer long-term and short-term mobility options, keeping in mind the health and safety concerns with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 200 students have explored exchange and study abroad options through partnership arrangements since 2020, many of whom have pursued advanced degree programmes in top institutions in Australia, the UK, and the USA. It is worth noting that since its inception in 2010, JGBS has established international collaborations with over 72 business schools and universities in 24 different countries. Professor Dr C Raj Kumar, Founding Vice-Chancellor of OP Jindal Global University, explained that "These partnerships are developed to enable the students of JGBS to enrol in international business and management education programmes with our partner institutions. The vision of JGU since our inception has been to constantly provide quality global education experiences for our students so that we produce globally oriented business professionals. The institutional opportunities created by JGBS have provided students with strong levels of global exposure through exchange programmes, immersion programmes, dual degree programmes, and short-term study abroad programmes. Additionally, JGBS has exploited the potential of blended learning and hybrid education to help our students continue to reap the benefits of international collaboration through various technological platforms." Professor Dr Mayank Dhaundiyal, Dean, JGBS, observed that "as the country's top global business school, JGBS is committed to providing world-class international mobility options to the students of JGBS. The students of JGBS have access to more than 70 partner business schools and universities located in five continents, providing them with an unparalleled network for international mobility. Today's supply chains frequently span multiple continents and countries, necessitating the presence of business professionals who are well travelled and capable of fostering synergies between diverse business teams operating in disparate geographies. Our international student mobility programmes assist our management students in preparing for these critical and rewarding positions. " JGBS explored and developed unique pedagogical options with select partners such as Monash University and Singapore Management University to bring global classrooms to student homes by organising "first of its kind" collaboratively taught online short-term immersions in niche areas of business-like social enterprise and sustainable business and management. More than 100 students from JGBS and partner institutions combined have benefited from the various online programmes and have had the opportunity to build a community through virtual platforms. All these collaborations have resulted in deeper relationships between the institutions in the form of joint research and advanced degree programmes. Ambassador Prof. Dr Mohan Kumar, Dean, Office of International Affairs and Global Initiatives (IAGI), observed, "These international collaborations enhance student experiences and learning--professionally and personally--especially during this post-COVID-19 moment we seem to be entering. JGU carefully selects the leading international partners who can provide the global knowledge, social and cultural intelligence, and capacity-building opportunities to drive our students' careers further." Prof. Dr Laknath Jayasinghe, Vice Dean (Internationalization and Mobility), JGBS, added, "The need of the hour is to develop global business leaders who are imbued with a sense of social purpose in a sustainable and post-COVID-19 world. Going forward, business school students' skills, capabilities, and knowledge will be built upon a mix of traditional and digital learning frameworks that permit global engagement, experience, and exposure. These new collaborations enhance the opportunity to develop such capabilities and prepare our students to leverage transnational employment and business opportunities." JGBS is committed to providing a diverse range of international perspectives and cultivating cultural awareness through international mobility in order to provide students with a truly global education. This includes opportunities for research and internships in cutting-edge fields such as business analytics, deep learning algorithms, cyber security, and digital marketing. Negotiations to expand student and faculty mobility continue with new partners in Columbia, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. JGBS is also exploring other novel collaborations, such as short-term study tours and collaborative student immersions, for its students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate dual degree programmes. As travel restrictions ease globally, JGBS is optimistic about further increasing its overall student mobility numbers. This story is provided by OP Jindal University. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/OP Jindal University) New Delhi [India], February 25 (ANI/BusinessWire India): The Coca-Cola System in India* released its Sustainability Update for the year 2020-21, in line with its principle of 'building sustainable communities as foundations for sustainable businesses'. The update outlines the Company's (Company refers to the Coca-Cola System in India) endeavor to 'Refresh the World and Make a Difference'. In conjunction with a strong emphasis on 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', India's journey of economic self-reliance, it focusses on identifying issues that matter most to the ecosystem and facilitate the creation of sustainable solutions in line with its ESG priorities. This report further delves into the same and reflects how the Company remained steadfast while responding to the evolving situations during the pandemic. Commenting on the release of the Sustainability Update 2020-21, Devyani Rajya Laxmi Rana, Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability said, "Our environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals are embedded in how we operate as a business--they are a part of our very foundation. While keeping health, safety and wellbeing of our people, communities, and planet as a top priority, we remain resolute in our commitment towards creating a better shared future. This report, transparently, sheds light on consistent efforts undertaken by the Coca-Cola system in India along with its partners in furthering the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We feel humbled to share our sustainability journey comprising of initiatives including World Without Waste, Water Leadership, Fruit Circular Economy and others, in line with our ESG priorities and imperatives." The annual Sustainability Update, which is being published for a decade now, attempts to highlight these initiatives in a transparent manner. To know more, please click here KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE 2020 - 21 World Without Waste As part of its World Without Waste initiative, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) is committed to make 100 per cent of its packaging recyclable globally by 2025 and use at least 50 per cent recycled material in its packaging by 2030. Aimed at bringing organisations and people together to support a debris-free environment. The initiative lays emphasis on the company's entire packaging lifecycle--from how bottles and cans are designed and produced to how they're recycled and repurposed -- through focusing on three fundamental goals i.e., design, collect and partner. Fruit Circular Economy In the Sustainability Update 2020-21, the Company has reiterated its commitment towards supporting farmer incomes by promoting sustainable agriculture through Project 'Unnati' (training and capacity building of farmers on - Good Agricultural Practices - GAPS) under its 'Fruit Circular Economy' Program. Under this initiative, a productivity increase of 5X has been achieved. Plans are underway to benefit 500,000+ farmers in the next three years. Water Leadership The Coca-Cola system in India, on account of its strategy 'Reduce, Recycle and Replenish', exceeded its 2020 replenish goal. The Company has created a combined water replenishment potential of 25.1 billion liters. Demonstrating significant improvements in its Water Use Ratio (WUR) by reducing it to almost half, from 2.56 liters of water used to produce a liter of beverage in 2010 to 1.73 liters used in 2020. Through its water replenishment initiatives, the Coca-Cola India Foundation (CCIF) - Anandana, implemented 150+ water conservation projects across 750+ villages benefitting 900,000+ community members over the last decade. Response To COVID-19 The Company spearheaded community response programs by taking cognizance of pandemic related challenges and supported the Government of India initiative in containing the spread of the virus. Distributed PPE kits to health personnel across 48 hospitals, ensuring the safety of nearly 70,000 frontline workers. Distribution of Oxygen Concentrators to hospitals and Covid care centres set up by local administration. Contributions towards setting up of Oxygen Plants in select districts across the country. To meet the nutritional needs of migrant and marginalized communities, distributed 1.8 Lakh dry ration kits, helping over 37,000 families. A grant of INR 3 Crores (USD 0.4 million) was extended by The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) to cyclone AMPHAN hit areas in partnership with "Save The Children". The program aided 4400+ households and positively impacted 25,000+ people by providing immediate food security and shelter kits. With its futuristic approach, the Coca-Cola system in India has resolved to continue tending to its people and communities. Recently The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) announced the creation of a networked global organization to further strengthen its position locally by combining the power of scale along with its deep-rooted knowledge. *The Coca-Cola System in India comprises of a wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) namely Coca-Cola India Private Limited (CCIPL), a company-owned bottling entity, namely, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited (HCCBPL), part of the Bottling Investments Group (BIG) of TCCC, and licensed franchise bottling partners of TCCC and Coca-Cola India Foundation 'Anandana' the philanthropic arm of CCIPL. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) New Delhi [India], February 25 (ANI/PR Newswire): Leena AI, an innovative technology solution that's transforming the employee experience, today announced the launch of the Covid-19 Workplace Response app on the Microsoft Teams marketplace. The app is designed to help organizations easily track and maintain employee vaccination and RT-PCR test records. With hybrid workplaces becoming the norm, employees are gradually returning to the workplace, where their safety and health need to be of utmost priority. This requires careful planning and execution by the HR teams in collaboration with multiple functions. Leena AI Covid-19 Workplace Response Suite empowers these teams with workflows and analytics that capture employee information necessary to maintain workplace safety. The automated suite of solutions helps you save time and resources on endless manual documentation. Leena AI announced the launch of Covid-19 Workplace Response Suite to ensure a safer return to work for organizations last week. Now the app is also available on Teams. Here are some highlights of the Covid-19 Workplace Response Suite that Teams users can now leverage: Employee Covid Vaccination Tracker Maintain a record of your employee's vaccination status to ensure they are workplace-ready. For the partially vaccinated, trigger campaigns to encourage or remind them to get vaccinated. Automated Reminders for Test Reports Regularly prompt employees to upload test reports or health declarations or initiate health checkups if they feel unwell. Take proactive measures to prevent the spread of infection. Roster Management Based on employees' vaccination status and health declarations, easily create a roster of employees on a rotational basis and take preventive actions wherever necessary. Customizable Workflows Depending on your organization's needs, quickly set up custom workflows with minimal deployment time. For example, organizations can request specific workflows such as 'Request for PPE kits,' 'Request a workstation setup,' etc., wherever necessary. "We recognized a rising demand from organizations wanting to facilitate better inter-departmental communication in the workplace to ensure workplace safety and employee health. Our Covid-19 Workplace Response Suite is a first-of-its-kind product that covers all aspects from tracking and monitoring vaccination records to customizing rostering as per one's requirements," said Adit Jain, co-founder and CEO, Leena AI. "We have built a holistic platform in alignment with Leena AI's objective to improve the enterprise employee experience. A number of our clients have already implemented this at their workplace and are benefitting from the comprehensive set of features it offers." "The integration with Microsoft Teams will help Leena AI add further value to their customers and end-users," said Daniel Canning, Director Product Marketing at Microsoft. "The suite also fits right into Microsoft's commitment to empowering hybrid workers with collaborative apps in Teams." Leena AI is an autonomous conversational AI platform that helps enterprises better HR Service Delivery. With Leena AI, companies can eliminate the need for HR staff to work on tasks such as answering policy-related questions, knowledge management, generating employee documents on demand, and managing employee tickets so they can focus on high-value activities. Leena AI plays well with 100+ platforms, including SAP SuccessFactors, ADP, Oracle, Workday, Microsoft Office 365, and over 250+ customers, including Nestle, Puma, and AirAsia Coca-cola, Lafarge Holcim, and Abbott, with millions of employees worldwide relying on the platform. Leena AI was founded in 2018. For more information, visit https://leena.ai. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1637941/Leena_AI_Logo.jpg This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PR Newswire) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 25 (ANI/NewsVoir): Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a 'Maharatna' and a Fortune Global 500 Company has introduced four new MAK lubricant products. Each product is designed to enhance performance, reliability, and durability for customer use. The New range of MAK lubricants were launched in presence of V.R.K. Gupta, Director Finance, Sanjay Khanna, Director Refineries, Meenaxi Rawat IES, CVO, G. Krishnakumar, ED Lubes and other officials of BPCL. After recently launching southern India's first EV Fast-Charging corridors on Chennai-Trichy-Madurai Highway, BPCL's MAK lubricants launches MAK e-Drive, a premium quality synthetic driveline fluid specifically developed to meet the special requirements of Electric Vehicles (EV's). MAK e-Drive is formulated with synthetic base oil and an advanced additive technology that ensures gear protection and compatibility with various materials used in EV powertrain. The second lubricant named MAK e-Kool, is a long-life Anti-freeze coolant concentrate, used in indirect cooling of battery packs of BEV (battery operated electric vehicle). Free from harmful nitrites, amines, phosphate and borates the product gives excellent protection against corrosion and also provides enhanced protection to the engine around the year against overheating and frost. Eco-friendly products are no more a choice, but a future necessity. Owning the responsibility MAK Eco-Mini has also been introduced. The eco-friendly engine oil is suitable for mini-truck and light commercial vehicles working on Diesel or CNG as fuel. Apart from offering protection to the engine against wear and tear, the oil also helps reduce carbon footprint and prolongs the life of emission control system. MAK has also launched MAK Chain Spray Oil and MAK Multipurpose Spray. The chain spray adds to the better performance of motorcycles and is especially recommended for chains in high-performance motorcycles. The multipurpose spray marks the entry of MAK into the household of consumers catering to their requirements eliminating squeaks, and easing household machines. Both these products also provide protection from rust and damage, lubricate the moving parts to keep them working smoothly and efficiently. Commenting on the new products launched, G. Krishnakumar, ED Lubes BPCL said, "We are extremely delighted to launch these 4 new MAK products that reflect our company's focus on innovation, sustainability, and dynamic product offerings. At BPCL, we have always provided our customers with high quality products and services consistently. Continuing to create new values for customers and our belief that the future of mobility is EV, with the correct use of products, we aim to continue to create meaningful experiences for our customers." MAK Lubricants - from Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) - reign eminently as a trusted brand in lubricants and greases in India and international markets. The comprehensive range offers an extensive selection of 400+ grades spanning various segments - to cater to varied and constantly evolving requirements of the automotive segment as well as the industrial domain. The philosophy that drives MAK Lubricants is the cognizance that our customers are not just consumers but indeed our partners in progress - in our onward quest for better products, longer service life of equipment and greater environment-friendliness. Fortune Global 500 Company, Bharat Petroleum is the second largest Indian Oil Marketing Company and one of the premier integrated energy companies in India, engaged in refining of crude oil and marketing of petroleum products, with a significant presence in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. The company attained the coveted Maharatna status, joining the elite club of companies having greater operational & financial autonomy. Bharat Petroleum's Refineries at Mumbai & Kochi and subsidiary Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd., at Bina, Madhya Pradesh have a combined refining capacity of around 35.3 MMTPA. Its marketing infrastructure includes a network of installations, depots, energy stations, aviation service stations and LPG distributors. Its distribution network comprises over 19,000 Energy Stations, over 6,100 LPG distributorships, 733 Lubes distributorships, 123 POL storage locations, 53 LPG Bottling Plants, 60 Aviation Service Stations, 3 Lube blending plants and 4 cross-country pipelines. Bharat Petroleum is integrating its strategy, investments, environmental and social ambitions to move towards a sustainable planet. The company has chalked out the plan to offer electric vehicle charging stations at around 7000 energy stations over next 5 years. With a focus on sustainable solutions, the company is developing a vibrant ecosystem and a road-map to become a Net Zero Energy Company by 2040, in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Bharat Petroleum has been partnering communities by supporting innumerable initiatives connected primarily in the areas of education, water conservation, skill development, health, community development, capacity building and employee volunteering. With 'Energising Lives' as its core purpose, Bharat Petroleum's vision is to be the most admired global energy company leveraging talent, innovation and technology. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) It's a great place to visit or shop The new street is nice but shops have disappeared I have no reason to go there Vote View Results New Delhi [India], February 25 (ANI/PNN): Aruna Goud, the renowned businesswoman, and fashion designer has become the only Indian designer to present her lavish collections at Fashions Finest AW 22 London Fashion Week, dated from February 18 to 22. She was also the only fashion designer to showcase her exclusive collection at the Cannes film festival 2021. Fashion has become an essential and inevitable part of today's generation. The fashion industry in India has evolved beautifully over the past few decades. The brilliant Indian artists have showcased the country's dressing sense and have brought originality with the blend of new trends. Aruna Goud, the founder of Indian Glam Fashion Week and label brand Almara by Aruna Goud, has made India proud by showcasing her stunning collection at Fashions Finest AW 22 London Fashion Week, held at St John's Church Hyde Park, February 19, 2022. Fashions Finest AW 22 London Fashion Week - The Fashions Finest AW 22 London Fashion Week has thrilled everyone as fashion designers showcased their exclusive designs on the show carpet. The five-day event commenced on February 18 and lasted till February 22, when plenty of swoon-worthy looks was displayed. Many designers came in front with their exclusive winter and autumn collections, while others launched their new fashion on the show. The show had incredible selections of fashion trends, catwalks, digital events, campaigns, and many more. Despite some dramatic events that occurred in the capital, the show still turned out to be a hit. Almara by Aruna Goud- Aruna's label brand Almara by Aruna Goud provides an exclusive collection of comfortable outfits while keeping in mind the fashion trends. Her eponymous collection is artistic and creative to meet the desires of all fashionistas. Indians go crazy during the wedding seasons. They are known to spend lakhs to get incredible bridal costumes to make their look wedding-perfect. Almara stores are well known for their exclusive bridal collection with stunning Indian weaves. Her stores are located in Hyderabad and Goa, where you can go and check the exclusive bridal couture that points out India's aesthetic value and rich culture. Aruna believes that one must not wait for the right moment. If you want to do it, put in the right kind of effort and positivity, and surely you will be able to achieve whatever you want. Starting her career from the city of Hyderabad, Aruna has gone beyond anyone's imagination. She has done many shows in different parts of the world. In an interview, she revealed that more than 150 fashion designers have participated in her event to present their best collections. The designer has two stores in Goa and the production setup in Hyderabad. All her production process happens in Hyderabad, and products are sent to the stores. Aruna's all shows have been a successful event. She has become one of the best fashion designers India can ever have. Her fresh designs have set a benchmark in the fashion world and have made India proud many times. She is a perfect example for those seeking a career in the fashion industry that nothing is impossible if you are determined to do it. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN) New Delhi [India], February 25 (ANI/NewsVoir): Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM) and Zyngo, a zero-emission logistics provider, has today announced a strategic partnership to deploy 1,500 electric cargo vehicles for last-mile delivery across India. The OSM Rage+ EVs will further expand Zyngo's fleet to cater to the ever-growing demand for last-mile delivery solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdowns and the rising demand by e-commerce marketplaces have increased the demand for eco-friendly and pollution free last-mile delivery solutions. To cater to this growing demand OSM will be introducing a second shift at its Faridabad mother plant from April 2022 onwards. Zyngo makes the best use of modern technology to ensure optimum service efficiency, fleet utilization and productivity. A high-tech app along with GPS & IOT enabled vehicle tracking systems help Zyngo to manage logistics operations better & in a productive way. Zyngo tech app for Drivers/Delivery Xperts is a self-sufficient Hyperlocal delivery app for generating steady delivery volumes to e-commerce and FMCG sectors. Speaking on the association with Zyngo, Uday Narang, Founder and Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility, said "OSM is a pure-electric OEM which aims to 'empower electric mobility in India' in its truest sense. Last-mile delivery has seen exponential growth in the last couple of years and is expected to balloon 6 times to over 5,000 million shipments in the next three years. Our latest collaboration with Zyngo is a major step in this direction. The company has a strong background of the sector and coupled with its EV charging solution and modern technology to ensure optimum service efficiency, fleet utilization and enhanced productivity, will play a pivotal role in making OSM Rage+ India's most loved electric three-wheeler." On plans to partner with last mile delivery providers Narang added, "We at OSM believe associations are the best solution in this cost intensive and cut-throat electric vehicle segment. With partnerships like Zyngo and Magenta we are targeting to deliver over 15k electric vehicles in last mile sector by end of FY23." Speaking on the partnership Prateek Rao, Founder & CEO, Zyngo said, "We are driving ahead the electrification of hyperlocal delivery services across E-commerce spectrum. The company aims to deliver 5.0 lakh shipments monthly in the last mile by the next fiscal year. This initiative requires such collaborations to enable the empanelment of EV ecosystem in the Last mile delivery space. OSM Rage+ combined with Zyngo's fully competent and advanced Logistics tech platform & fleet management will strive the EV ecosystem and enable faster adoption". He further added, "We are the delivery partner of several E-commerce, FMCG, Retail and Grocery organizations, and our aim is to expand to become one of the leading EV logistics service-providers in the last mile sector." Vivek Dhawan, Director-Marketing, Sales, and Service at Omega Seiki Mobility said, "We are pleased to partner with a brand like Zyngo which has been a consistent performer in the last-mile logistics market. We are looking, towards developing a cohesive ecosystem for the sector and EV users across the country. Zyngo, with its unique proposition is a fitting partner as both the organizations will jointly benefit from the cross-utilization of resources in the Electric mobility space." "The alliance with Zyngo is a key step forward towards providing our customers with an option of fixed, rapid charging and swappable battery within our entire range of commercial electric vehicles. This makes OSM the only company to offer such a unique proposition," added Dhawan. With over 35 years of cumulative experience in the consumer logistics industry, driving the green movement in logistics, Zyngo ventured into E-mobility solutions and complete infrastructure in the Last Mile Delivery ecosystem and commenced its operations in January 2020. Zyngo believes in adapting the new-age technology to deliver the needs of its customers without compromising the needs of Mother Nature. Company aims at easing business costs with the promise of a greener tomorrow. Omega Seiki Mobility has been growing its product line up and manufacturing footprint rapidly in India. The company is the first OEM to have 2,3 and 4 wheelers in its product portfolio. The company has set up large scale manufacturing facilities in Delhi NCR and now looking to expand in Pune. The company is a leading last mile service provider with under its brand "UNOXpress". The company is currently running its fleet in 20 cities, doing more than 10 lac Km per month. For more information, head over to omegaseikimobility.com. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 25 (ANI/PR Newswire): Following the amalgamation with DBIL, the IFSC & MICR codes of all branches of erstwhile LVB have changed. While the new codes have been active since October 25, 2021, the older IFSC codes will remain valid until February 28, 2022, to ensure customers' convenience and ease of transition. Customers will be required to use the new DBS IFSC code from March 1, 2022, onwards to receive funds through NEFT/RTGS/IMPS. The change was communicated to customers through physical letters, emails, and SMS as well as at the branches. They were requested to share the new IFSC code with business partners, associates and vendors to update their records, recurring payments and receivables well in time. All existing cheques issued to the third party will have to be replaced with new cheques before February 28, 2022. Any cheque with old MICR codes presented after the aforementioned date will not be honoured. New cheque books (with new MICR code) have been available since 1st November 2021. Customers can apply for a new cheque book by visiting their branch, calling customer care at 1860 267 4567 or through the internet/mobile banking channels. A complete list of new IFSC codes / MICR codes can be viewed athttps://www.lvbank.com/view-new-ifsc-details.aspx LVB was amalgamated with DBS Bank India Limited, the wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS Group Holdings Ltd, as part of a scheme of amalgamation under the special powers of the Government of India and Reserve Bank of India under Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, India. The amalgamation came into effect on 27th November 2020. DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 18 markets. Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named "World's Best Bank" by Euromoney, "Global Bank of the Year" by The Banker and "Best Bank in the World" by Global Finance. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named "World's Best Digital Bank" by Euromoney and the world's "Most Innovative in Digital Banking" by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the "Safest Bank in Asia" award by Global Finance for 13 consecutive years from 2009 to 2021. DBS was also ranked No. 1 on Forbes' list of the World's Best Banks in India for two consecutive years. DBS Bank has been present in India for 27 years, opening its first office in Mumbai in 1994. DBS Bank India Limited is the first among the large foreign banks in India to start operating as a wholly-owned, locally incorporated subsidiary of a leading global bank. DBS provides an entire range of banking services for large, medium and small enterprises and individual consumers in India. In 2016, DBS launched India's first mobile-only bank - digibank, which now has ~1 million savings accounts. In November 2020, Lakshmi Vilas Bank was amalgamated with DBS Bank India Limited. The bank now has a network of nearly 600 branches across 19 states in India. DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region's most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established an SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia. In 2020, DBS introduced the "Towards Zero Food Waste" initiative as part of a global sustainability practice to encourage a shift in behaviours and mindsets to reduce food waste. With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all our 30,000+ staff representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PR Newswire) CGST Commissionerate, Belapur of CGST Mumbai Zone, said it has also arrested the proprietor of Amarnath Enterprises, Navi Mumbai for availing and passing on of fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) of Rs 26.28 crore by issuing bogus invoices to the tune of Rs 132.7 crores. Based on a tip-off received from the Central Intelligence Unit of CGST Mumbai Zone an investigation was initiated, which revealed that only invoices were issued and no supply of goods had taken place, CGST Commissionerate said in a statement. Evidence gathered during the investigation and confession of the proprietor indicated that an offence, as specified in Section 132 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, was being committed with full disregard to the statutory provisions, with an intention to defraud the Government of its due revenue. The proprietor of Amarnath Enterprises was arrested on 24th February 2022 and produced before the court on the same day, who has remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days. This case is a part of a special Anti-Evasion drive launched by CGST, Mumbai Zone against the fraudsters and tax evaders who are creating unhealthy competition for compliant taxpayers and defrauding the Government exchequer. Belapur Commissionerate has detected tax evasion of Rs 1138.59 crore and arrested 4 persons, in the financial year 2021-22 so far. The CGST department is using data analytics and network analysis tools to identify fake ITC networks and other tax evaders. (ANI) Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 25 (ANI/NewsVoir): SpaceBasic, an edtech company that is empowering student housing communities by digitising everyday tasks and communication, has partnered with PES University, a leading teaching and research institution in Bengaluru, to introduce a smart AI-powered Cafeteria system at PES University's student hostels. PES University in Bengaluru is a premier institution known for its technological programs and it was ranked fifth in the Outlook-ICARE India University Rankings 2020. With SpaceBasic's Cafeteria Manager, educational institutions can automate student cafeteria usage in minutes with code-free automation workflows. Hostel Management can easily analyse student food consumption trends while effectively reducing wastage and costs. SpaceBasic's AI powered platform analyses data via a cloud analytic and ML engines to deliver cost reductions and enable streamlined operations. Furthermore, hostel management can also view real-time student foot traffic, can keep track of student meal bookings and cafeteria check-ins. Commenting on the partnership, Madhavi Shankar, CEO and Co-founder, SpaceBasic, said, "We are thrilled to partner with PES University to implement our cafeteria management system. One of the main goals behind building a smart cafeteria system is to reduce food waste. We found that a lot of students were keen on a tech-driven solution that would avert food wastage in college cafeterias. Our solution completely transforms the way cafeterias are managed by reducing the food waste while creating a seamless experience for students. Furthermore, it plays a key role in providing data-driven actionable insights. These insights not only help institutions to streamline their operations but it also leads to significant cost savings and improved student satisfaction." Anudeep Seemalamudi Mallesh, Manager Administration, PES University, said, "Every month our students had to stand in queues for long hours to book a monthly meal plan from a cafeteria of their choice. With 3 cafeterias catering to 1000+ students, day-to-day cafeteria management involves a lot of manual processes mainly in terms of recording student foot traffic, planning menu, and meal bookings. A lot of these manual processes can now be completely automated through the SpaceBasic App and it takes less than a couple of minutes for our students to book a cafeteria of their choice. New age solutions like this not only help us streamline our processes but also improve student satisfaction and experience." SpaceBasic empowers campus housing communities by digitising everyday tasks and communication, in one workspace. Whether it's rising maintenance requests, or booking meals, students will be able to seamlessly navigate the university experience, and faculty will be able to get data-driven insights to work more efficiently every day! For more details, please visit www.spacebasic.com. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Gurugram (Haryana) [India], February 25 (ANI/NewsVoir): BML Munjal University (BMU), a Hero Group initiative, hosted a two-day virtual Leadership Summit on 17th and 18th February 2022. The second edition of the summit was attended by business leaders, policymakers, educators and entrepreneurs who discussed how businesses have started to rethink and remodel strategies of organizations towards a more sustainable future. This year's summit reflected on the theme of "Global Sustainability & the Corporation". The summit in its second season had discussions touching upon how corporations should align themselves to India aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2070 and how we need to collaborate and strategically plan the decades ahead to achieve this ambition. The summit hosted eminent leaders from startup founders to Industry executives - bringing rich perspectives on Technology, Product Development, Marketing, Supply Chain, HR and talent management, Potential Financiers and Consultants, to define the new sustainable organisation and enterprise. Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice-Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited was the keynote speaker of the first day, while Sunil Kant Munjal, Chancellor, BMU & Chairman, Hero Enterprise was the keynote speaker on the second day. Prof. Manoj Arora, Vice Chancellor, BMU opened the event calling for the need to rethink the purpose of our education systems in order to live in a more sustainable world. He stressed that it is education which is one of the most important mechanisms available to government, regulators and communities to bring about social transformation and thus create sustainable, equitable and resilient societies. The summit hosted six panel discussions over two days and aimed to discuss how the world came to the realization that while the market economy model focussed on improving the standard of living, it was harmful for the entire ecosystem. Today the awareness has spread across the globe hence the upcoming entrepreneurs and corporations are exploring opportunities in the field of sustainability and pivoting to sustainable business models. Overall, the summit reiterated the necessity to balance the Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet and Profit. Addressing the summit, Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice-Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, said, "Collaboration is the key to taking one business practice to the next level. If you need to emerge as the leader in your space of work, then you need to have a collaborative mindset as a powerful business-building strategy. The power of symbiotic collaborations is often overlooked yet it is a practice that produces the strongest of results. During COVID, most of the leaders thought beyond their organization to collectively solve problems that impact humanity at ground level. At BML Munjal University this collaborative mindset underlines in their ethos, which is clearly about building a talent pool for the nation and not just for their organization. Sustainability management is nothing new and we must move on to inclusiveness, collaborations, highlight the 'Karm yogi' concept, and use these concepts for sustainable development. Coming from a healthcare background, I feel sustainability should talk about holistic health which includes preventive health as well." Sunil Kant Munjal, Chancellor, BMU & Chairman, Hero Enterprise said, "Transitioning to net-zero carbon can catalyse new industries, create millions of jobs, and drive trillions of dollars of economic value. The World Economic Forum has suggested that India's decarbonisation journey represents a USD 15 trillion economic opportunity by 2070 and is set to create as many as 50 million net new jobs. This will require education, training, and skilling. Today's generation is responsible - it is easier for them to adopt, adapt and understand." He added, "With Propel, our incubator at BMU (BML Munjal University), we encourage ecoprenuers, and sustainable technology. Our partnership with the Atal Innovation Mission allows us to get into the larger ecosystem." Named after the late Founder Chairman of the Hero Group, BML Munjal University (BMU) is a state-private university founded by the promoters of the Hero Group. BMU is mentored by Imperial College London and is engaged in creating, preserving, and imparting internationally benchmarked knowledge and skills. The university seeks to transform higher education in India by creating a world-class innovative teaching, learning, and research environment across Schools spanning the disciplines of law, management, economics, commerce, and engineering. The School of Management at BML Munjal University has been ranked 41st among all management institutions All India in the NIRF Rankings 2021. The university offers undergraduate to doctoral programmes comprising BA (Hons) in Economics, BBA, BCom (Hons), BA LLB (Hons), BBA LLB (Hons), BBA, Integrated BBA-MBA at the undergraduate level and MBA, LLB (Hons) and PhD at the post-graduate level. For more information log in to www.bmu.edu.in. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 25 (ANI/NewsVoir): In a bid to recognize and celebrate the initiatives driving change in the country, Ketto, Southeast Asia's most trusted crowdfunding platform, hosted the third edition of the Ketto awards. The Ketto awards have been instituted to recognize key initiatives taken up by individuals, corporate and social entrepreneurs to create meaningful and sustainable change in society. The power-packed jury, enriched with years of experience in the social and philanthropic sector selected the best social projects in each category. A comprehensive nomination brief has been shared with the jury members to select the best social project/changemaker. The Impact and scalability of the project were the two major qualities to choose the winner. "Ketto aims to build a better, healthy, and safe tomorrow. The company is continuously working towards bridging the affordability gap. Ketto's vision and mission are to make quality healthcare accessible to all. The company has created a platform to felicitate all those who are working towards community building and are determined to bring significant change. The purpose of the Ketto Awards is to ensure that the work doesn't go unnoticed," said Varun Sheth, Co-founder & CEO of Ketto. The award highlights the role of prominent NGOs and individuals, often in partnership with the public or private sectors, in addressing social challenges and improving the communities in which they operate. The Ketto Awards recognize those organizations and individuals that have achieved a meaningful and sustainable social impact through their own endeavors, or through partnership, investment, and pro-bono work initiatives. The awards were presented in eight different categories: Best NGO in New Enterprise category, Best National NGO, Best International NGO, Best Social Icon of the year, Best Celebrity Changemaker, Best Young Changemaker, Best Corporate CSR Campaign, and Best School Initiative of the year. Three nominees were shortlisted from each category after meticulous research on their work and the winners were declared after rigorous evaluations depending on the effectiveness of their campaigns for the society. The jury consisted of Dr. Rajan Samuel Managing Director of Habitat for Humanity, Sheila Nair CEO of ThoughtFrame, and Chanda Peswani Director - Donor Relations of the Akanksha Foundation. A panel of judges presented the awards to prominent NGOs and individuals including celebrities like Palak Muchhal, Doctors for You, and Democracy People Foundation for their extensive philanthropic work during the year 2021. Here is the list of winners for the 3rd Annual Ketto Awards: Best NGO in New Enterprise Category: Democracy People Foundation Best National NGO of the Year: Enabling Leadership Best International NGO of the Year: Doctors for you Best Social Change Icon of the Year: Shahnawaaz Shaikh Best Celebrity Changemaker of the Year: Palak Muchhal Best Young Changemaker of the Year: Jasper Paul Best CSR Campaign of the Year: Vahdam Teas Best School Initiative of the Year: The JB Petit High School Ketto.org is South East Asia's most visited and trusted crowdfunding platform. Co-founded by Varun Sheth, Zaheer Adenwala and Actor Kunal Kapoor with an aim to bridge the affordability gap. Ketto.org enables people to raise funds for health and medical emergencies, natural calamities, education, travel, short-term emergency needs, sports, competitions, arts, animal welfare, women empowerment, and many more. Ketto's primary objective is to use technology to optimize efficiency, reduce redundancy, and increase impact targeting the social sector of the country. The company is closely working with hospitals, NGOs, and individuals to bring positive change to the community. Currently, Ketto campaigns are raising over Rs. 300 crores per year for various causes. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said on Friday it has partnered with the University of Kashmir to offer education and training programmes to improve the employability skills of students in Kashmir. Over the next three years, TCS will carry out its Youth Employment Programme (YEP), BridgeIT, goIT, Ignite My Future (IMF) and Adult Literacy Programme (ALP) in Jammu and Kashmir. Under the YEP, school and college students will be trained in 21st-century skills that are required to be successful in the digital economy, TCS said in a statement. The training programme covers English communication, corporate etiquette, analytical thinking, and problem-solving, basic computer and technical skills, and self-confidence. The University of Kashmir will play the role of a facilitator to create linkages for TCS to drive its goIT and IMF initiatives. goIT is a programme for school students that increases interest in technology through design thinking, mobile app development, and mentorship from TCS employees. TCS Ignite My Future Programme is a pioneering, trans-disciplinary educator training and resource programme which aims to transform the way students learn. The ALP will augment the Government of India's efforts to address the challenge of educating adults. The ALP will be implemented through the university's Directorate of Lifelong Learning. The country's largest IT firm will run the education, skilling and entrepreneurship programmes in Jammu & Kashmir under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. "TCS believes in investing in helping young people to become responsible and productive citizens. We are pleased to partner with the University of Kashmir to empower students and educators in the region with skill-sets and mindsets for the digital economy," said Balaji Ganapathy, Global Head, Corporate Social Responsibility, TCS. "We strive to create digital social innovators among school children. We are delighted that the University has agreed to play the role of a facilitator to connect us with institutions at the school level," Ganapathy added. Additionally, TCS will pilot an 'Entrepreneurship in Tourism' programme under its flagship BridgeIT programme for promising students from the university's Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Studies. The goal of this project is to build the requisite skills to participate in the tourism industry in the valley and elsewhere. These students will be mentored in key domain functions, portal management, data management and analytics and market assessment. They will also be guided around seed funding and human resources development to establish a tourism start-up. The programme will also help entrepreneurs connect with the larger tourism ecosystem, including travel agencies, tour operators, rural tourism and agri-tourism and adventure tourism. "Such collaboration between academia and the industry shall go a long way in fostering strong linkages for skill enhancement, proper placement and entrepreneurship development among students and youth," said Talat Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor, University of Kashmir. "Strengthening such relationships with industry and corporates for building competencies and resulting in industry orientation for students will translate into timely placement and greater work efficiency. I urge more corporates to come forward to make the youth of Kashmir realize their potential," Ahmad said. (ANI) "Held a detailed discussion with the Australian Trade Minister @DanTehanWannon on the way ahead for our Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement," Piyush Goyal said in a tweet. "Both sides are committed to a mutually beneficial deal covering goods, services & investments for the prosperity of our people," Goyal said. The minister had said recently that the proposed deal is likely to include lower tariffs and greater market access for Indian exporters in areas such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, footwear, and leather. The two ministers held a virtual meeting to discuss the way ahead for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. Earlier this month, Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan visited New Delhi. He held discussions with India's Commerce and Industry Minister to expedite the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations. During his visit to New Delhi earlier this month Tehan also met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss economic cooperation and issues related to taxation of off-shore income of Indian firms in Australia. (ANI) Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], February 25 (ANI/NewsVoir): While Stanford University, The Society for Space and Education Research and Development (SSERD) and The University of California - are known to be among the world's top universities, three of the students from Oakridge International School, Bachupally stands out by cracking into the most sought-after institutions in 2022. Ishvi, Tiya and Ridah have outshined amongst thousands of students globally who apply for this opportunity, making a mark of their own. Standing out from the crowd, Ishvi made tremendous achievement by receiving an 85% scholarship from the Top 10 in QS world ranking, Stanford University. She will be pursuing an Undergraduate Program in Computer Science. "I am very thankful to my teachers and friends for believing in me. The support I have received from our principal Ms. Baljeet is unimaginable. I'm elated that I not only made my parents proud, but my school marked on the maps of our country. The right guidance from the start has really helped me reach the height I'm today. Stanford is a dream come true for me," says Ishvi, Student of Grade 12, CBSE Oakridge Bachupally. At the age of 14, Tiya, another student from Oakridge Bachupally, has become one of the youngest students to be selected for the GirlInSpace Mentorship Program in the SSERD. Having immense curiosity towards learning about space and the unlimited opportunity provided in school with MIT and workshops led Tiya to indulge more in learning about space. "As a Career Counselor, I help students explore various opportunities through workshops/internship programs so that they get to the depth of it. She took part in this challenge and bagged herself a brilliant opportunity. It is indeed of immense pleasure to have our students represent our school at such prestigious platforms like SSERD," said Tiyasa, Career Counselor at Oakridge Bachupally. Along with school activities and events, she also had the opportunity to participate in global activities and different university programs like Harvard, Stanford, and Berkley. "This is the perfect opportunity that will build my knowledge and pave my career in space and astronomy. When I look back to that day I feel one thing, make every chance count and give your 100%," says Tiya, Grade 8 IGCSE, Student from Oakridge Bachupally. Ridah, an Oakridger from Grade 12, CBSE is one of the top three students from our country to get selected in the prestigious University of California, Berkley. "She will be pursuing Double Major Program (Biology and Business) with a minor in Economics. Berkley is ranked No. 1 in the USA and ranked 4 overall as per the best global universities ranking 2022. She is very excited and wanted the school to know how much she owes it for all the support, guidance and inspiration, she has received from her school," said Ridah's Mother. At Oakridge, the process of shaping students for their future and dreams is initiated at a very early stage in Grade 8, as larger dreams take time and persistence. The skills that are imbibed in them through the process of years are the result of such great achievements. "It gives immense joy and gratification to share the exemplary performance exhibited by our students who have raised the bar of learning to the next level. It was just not about the academic achievements that our students had embraced but they had simultaneously worked and achieved their dream goals and carved their career path all along the way. Well, life is an endless process of self-discovery - There is no need to reach high for the stars. They are already within you; just reach deep into yourself!" says Baljeet Oberoi, Principal Oakridge Bachupally. To know more about Oakridge Bachupally, please visit www.oakridge.in/bachupally. 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 25 (ANI/BusinessWire India): The Indian e-commerce industry is set to grow by 84% to USD 111 billion by 2024. The Indian e-commerce market has transformed the way business is carried out in India, especially over the last two years by supporting small businesses in leveraging online platforms and giving them wider access to audiences, scaling-up production, and accelerating digital transformation. Festive season and the sales that come with it, play a crucial role in increasing the output of businesses, influencing the level of economic growth, employment, and the balance of payments. India is home to approximately 6.3 crore MSMEs, contributing around 6.11 percent of the manufacturing GDP and 24.63 percent of the GDP from service-activities to the country. Given that Indians have a tendency to make large purchases during festivals, with the rise of e-commerce we only see this trend getting stronger in the coming years. E-commerce platforms like Amazon managed to service customers shopping online from 99.7% of India's pin-codes during the month-long festive celebrations; including 79% of new customers which hailed from tier 2 and 3 towns. Additionally, 12 local shops on Amazon grossed sales of more than 1 crore and over 330 local shop owners became Lakhpatis during the Great Indian Festival clocking in a 2X spike and selling over 10 products every minute. In line with this, CUTS Institute for Regulation and Competition (CIRC), a not for profit and independent research and capacity building organisation, conducted a multi stakeholder discussion on "Festive economy and e-commerce sales of small and medium businesses in India" to understand the festive economy in India with respect to e-commerce channels serving as a vehicle to promote the festive businesses for SMBs. Speaking on this, Kundan Kumar, Joint Secretary and Adviser, NITI Aayog, highlighted, "E-commerce has changed the way businesses are conducted in India especially with regards to the rate of growth seen in the sector. It has also led to an increase in demand post pandemic especially during the festive season as e-commerce platforms were used by consumers to buy goods for themselves and relatives." Bidyut Swain, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, highlighted that, "We are gradually moving into a hybrid field where physical retail will stay and virtual retail will continue it. 68% of MSMEs in the country are service oriented, and are onboarding onto e-commerce platforms today. Many micro businesses that reported temporary close-down in 3-4 months of COVID lockdown, have shown resilience and have been able to reel out of the effects of the pandemic due to e-commerce platforms. E-commerce is no longer a luxury but a necessity for MSMEs. It is an inescapable reality." Vinod Kumar, President, India SME Forum, stated that, "During the last lockdown, local circles were created by most of the big e-commerce platforms. Amazon claims to have more than 28,000 neighbourhood Kirana partners as a part of their AmazonFresh initiative and other networks. This acts as an enabler for retailers, sellers and service producers to be able to stock and deliver to customers within 15 minutes. Sellers now only need to handover their product to e-commerce platforms and then the fulfilment services offered by the platforms take the product forward to the consumers in major cities and two-tier and three-tier towns." Pradeep S. Mehta, Secretary General, CUTS International said, "There is a need to protect the retail chain. Linking of the e-commerce supply chain with the kirana stores is unique in India given the extra push from policy, as it also benefits consumers by delivering the product faster. For a country like India which is projected to become a two hundred billion dollar e-commerce industry by 2026, there is a need for a level playing field with regards to policies to tackle the challenges that occur when a new sector comes in." Ramesh Abhishek, Former Secretary, DPIIT and Director, Paytm Payments Bank, highlighted, "The e-commerce space is driven by FDI and FEMA related laws, making it crucial to have a level playing field, where same laws apply to all the players whether domestic or FDI controlled. With regards to innovations in e-commerce like flash sales, one cannot be selective about discounting schemes wherein the discounts in the offline sector are condoned but not on online platforms. There should be no law or policy for regulating commercial decisions like discounting, and should be left to the people to decide." Dr Arvind Mayaram - Former Finance Secretary of India, Chairman of CIRC, said that, "For a country like India, that is home to approximately 6.3 crore MSMEs and small businesses makes it all the more vital to encourage ease of doing business and foster a business-friendly environment by leveraging the opportunities offered by online platforms. Local shops form the backbone of the retail market and e-commerce companies have been actively working on onboarding them for greater market access with innovations like converting local shops to last mile delivery centres." This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Friday said it has entered into an agreement with Vodafone to buy its 4.7 per cent equity interest in Indus Towers. According to Bharti Airtel, the agreement is based on the principal condition that the amount paid for the equity stake shall be inducted by Vodafone as fresh equity in Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) and simultaneously remitted to Indus Towers to clear VIL's outstanding dues. "The said acquisition purchase would be at an attractive price representing a significant discount typically available for such large block transactions," the telcom major said. "In addition, Airtel is also protected with a capped price which is lower than the price for the block of Indus shares sold by Vodafone on February 24, 2022. This shall be value accretive to Airtel and protect its existing significant shareholding in Indus Towers." Besides, the telecom major said that any such acquisition shall only be done when such proceeds are confirmed to be utilised by Vodafone to infuse as equity into VIL including any regulatory or shareholders' approval being fully obtained. "We believe this transaction allows Airtel to secure continued strong provision of services from Indus Towers, protects and enhances Airtel's value in Indus Towers, enables it to receive rich dividends and as also paves the way for subsequent financial consolidation of Indus Towers in Airtel. "We believe that this self-paying capital allocation serves multiple strategic purposes for Airtel." Furthermore, Airtel said it remains committed to look at opportunities for monetising this vital asset at an appropriate time. "In doing so, it will ensure that the tower company has been stabilised and any new strategic or financial investor/s has the ability to continue to serve the critical needs of Airtel." In addition, the company said that the telecom market structure has started to stabilise on account of the efforts of the Centre including the recent relief package. "With the likely introduction of 5G in the future, we believe a lot more infrastructure would be required in which Indus Towers, an undisputed leader, has a significant role to play and partake the potential growth in the business. "The stability and sustenance of a specialised and strong infrastructure company like Indus Towers is vital for a continued strong provision of co-location services including the support to rollout 5G." --IANS rv/vd ( 399 Words) 2022-02-25-20:52:02 (IANS) Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, who has spent almost two decades working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is extremely worried about people's safety in Ukraine. Taking to Instagram, Angelina penned a note expressing her concern over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. "Like many of you, I'm praying for the people in Ukraine. My focus along with my @refugees colleagues is that everything possible is done to ensure the protection and basic human rights of those displaced, and refugees in the region," she wrote. She added, "We have already seen reports of casualties and people starting to flee their homes to seek safety. It is too soon to know what will happen, but the significance of this moment - for the people of Ukraine, and for the international rule of law - cannot be overstated." Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences they have never seen." (ANI) According to Variety, from director Michael Mailer, Mann joins Freeman, Cole Hauser and Jamie Alexander in the project, billed as a neo-noir thriller. Its plot follows a stockbroker in a small southern town who gets involved in an insurance scam with a next-door neighbour, which leads to multiple murders. Timothy Holland wrote the screenplay, and Milestone Studios is handling production finance and sales. Mann had broken out in the 2018 drama 'Giant Little Ones', an official selection of the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. His performance as a closeted teen earned him the 2019 Leo Award (one of three), which is given to the best in film and television in British Columbia. Mann's upcoming credits include the final season of TNT's 'Animal Kingdom', as well as the indie 'Breakwater'. As per Variety, in the latter, he'll star opposite Dermot Mulroney and Mena Suvari in a story of a young ex-con who risks his newfound freedom to track down the estranged daughter of a fellow inmate, unknowingly bringing her past straight to her doorstep. (ANI) According to The Hollywood Reporter, the planned September 8-18 festival will see TIFF's industry networking and parties return on the ground in Toronto. This would include an opening-night party, the industry conference, filmmaker dinners, dealmaker networking events, press conferences and the TIFF Tribute Awards gala. Those physical event plans follow two years of a mostly digital-first festival in Toronto with international guests participating online and limited physical screenings in the city. Dealmakers being welcomed back to TIFF follows the informal film market mostly taking place online for two years running during the pandemic. TIFF organizers gave no indication on the number of films expected as part of the 2022 line-up after scaled-down 2020 and 2021 editions. The return of a physical event next September as the impact of the COVID-19 crisis in Ontario begins to wane, will be crucial to the success of Toronto's 47th edition as the event relies on the broad support of the city's film-going audiences to woo Hollywood and other international talents, the global media and local advertisers. As per The Hollywood Reporter, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey will select the festival's glitzy Gala Presentation lineup for Roy Thomson Hall. (ANI) Amid heightened tensions between Ukraine and Russia following Russian military operation, a series of social media users noted that 'The Simpsons' appeared to once again predict the future back in 1998. These social media posts did not go unnoticed by 'Simpsons' showrunner Al Jean, who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and said that the 24-year-old gag, now a stark reality, is "very sad." Previously also through the years, this long-running Fox cartoon has made news several times for seemingly predicting the future. For the most part, the situations are humorous, such as a Super Bowl matchup or the invention of FaceTime. However, this instance is different. Speaking on this, Jean said, "In terms of predictions, there are two kinds we have: The trivial, like Don Mattingly getting in trouble for his hair in 'Homer at the Bat' and then there are predictions like this." "I hate to say it, but I was born in 1961, so 30 years of my life were lived with the specter of the Soviet Union. So, to me, this is sadly more the norm than it is a prediction. We just figured things were going to go bad," he continued. The moment, which is now being considered to be a prediction, occurred in the 1998 episode 'Simpson Tide'. While on a nuclear submarine participating in a military exercise, Homer unintentionally fires the sub captain out of the vessel into Russian waters. Cut to Russia revealing that the Soviet Union never truly dissolved; troops and tanks descend upon the streets as the Berlin Wall is instantly resurrected. Jean noted that the show was able to clear the rights to use 'The Internationale' for the 1998-episode gag, so there was no pushback. "Historical aggression never really goes away, and you have to be super vigilant. In 1998, when this clip aired, it was maybe the zenith of U.S.-Russia relations. But ever since [Russian President Vladimir] Putin got in, almost everybody has made it clear that he's a bad guy and bad things are going to happen," Jean said. "There is the kind of prediction, where we reference something that has happened, happening again, we hope it wouldn't, but sadly, it does," stated Jean, adding that the series will likely address how the world is changing, but viewers shouldn't expect a specific Russia-Ukraine reference. (ANI) American actor AnnaLynne McCord faced backlash on Thursday when she recited an original poem addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The internet lambasted the poem as tone-deaf and likened it to Gal Gadot's infamous 2020 'Imagine' video. McCord's poem seemed to suggest that she could have positively influenced him had she been his mother. "Dear President Vladimir Putin, I'm so sorry that I was not your mother," the '90210' alum began a spoken-word poem she tweeted. The actor addressed the video to the Russian president after he ordered a military operation in Ukraine on early Thursday. "I'm so sorry that I was not your mother. If I was your mother you would have been so loved. Held in the arms of joyous light. Never would this story's plight, the world unfurled before our eyes. A pure demise. Of nation sitting peaceful under a night sky," said McCord in the video. The poem continued, "If I was your mother, the world would have been warm. So much laughter and joy, nothing would harm. I can't imagine the stain. The soul-stealing pain that the little boy, you must have seen and believed and the formulation of thought quickly taught that you lived in a cruel, unjust world. Is this why you now decide no one will get the best of you? Is this why you do not hide nor shy away from taking back the world? Was it because so early in life all that strife wracked your little body with fear?" Further, into the video, which was over two minutes, McCord expressed, "Oh, dear Mr President Putin, if only I'd been your mother, perhaps the torture of unwrit youth would not within your heart imbue ascription to such fealty against that world that seemed so cruel." While some of the actor's followers argued that she meant well, countless others were perplexed. Among those who took to social media to comment on McCord's poem was writer and actor Giulia Rozzi, who commented, "Dear actress AnnaLynne McCord, I am so sorry I was not your mother. If I was your mother I would've taught you not to blame women for the behaviour of men." Another user referenced McCord's video and called it "self-involved and careless." On Instagram, one user joked, "Gal Gadot's crown just slipped a little," while others offered McCord some notes on her prose. "you gon have to up your rhyme game if you tryna stop a war... this ain't no lullaby booboo," one netizen wrote. Since posting early in the morning, the poem has been viewed 20 million times, retweeted close to 14,000 times and is continuing to receive attention. (ANI) Microsoft Co-founder and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-chair Bill Gates was all praise for India for development, manufacturing and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and termed the country's vaccine coverage as "very impressive". He said that the Gates Foundation is working with its partners in India not just for Covid vaccines but using new platforms like mRNA to make vaccines for diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. Speaking virtually at BioAsia 2022 during a fireside chat with Telangana's Industries and Information Technology Minister K. T. Rama Rao on Thursday, he noted that India stood out for two things - creating great vaccines with global partners including Gates Foundation, and getting those vaccines out. He said companies like Serum, Bharat Biotech, Biological E and many Indian partners really stepped up and they did fantastic job. "India's vaccine coverage is very impressive even better than most rich countries. This is quite phenomenal. The design of vaccines, manufacturing and distribution of vaccines all of that handled well and that ended up saving massive number of lives," he said. The philanthropic billionaire said in future, Gates Foundation would like to work with partners to make vaccines even faster and have even better vaccines that could avoid breakthrough cases. "We have a research agenda with our partners in India not just for Covid vaccines but also for creating new platforms including m-RNA and building up capacity as a standby for future pandemics. The new platforms can also be used to get vaccines for some of the most difficult diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria," he said. Replying to a query from the minister, Gates said the world learnt a lot during this pandemic. "The speed with which we responded was not as fast as it would have been ideal. Getting diagnostic capacity up and quarantine people when the level of infection was low...only few countries like Australia did that. On the other hand, miraculous things happened. Development of vaccines is really incredible." Gates, who had predicted the pandemic in 2015, said the last gigantic pandemic was almost 100 years ago but it won't be long until the next one breaks. "It won't necessarily be a coronavirus or even flu. It is likely to be respiratory virus with all human travel we have it can spread in such a rapid way," he said while revealing that he is writing a book which deals with this in detail. He, however, next pandemic won't be like this. He said in this pandemic millions of lives were lost, health system was disrupted and economies suffered. "We need to be better whether it's lives and economies and make sure this does not happen." "We do need to get the world to spend more on R&D infectious diseases in some rich countries are sometimes ignored because the disease burden is quite modest compared to cancer, heart disease and others. This pandemic reminder we have to go back and do a better job to improve health equity," Gates said. He noted that India is in transition as it has some of diseases of rich countries which are becoming a challenge and still some infectious diseases. He said innovators all over in India see this as an opportunity. Gates pointed out gene-therapy is now a ray of hope for conditions like sickle cell anaemia but is now prohibitively expensive. The effort should be to bring down the costs drastically to bring it within the reach of many people and this could take 10 to 15 years, he said. Asked about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Gates said that AMR continues to be a big challenge and accounts for a significant number of deaths across the world. The disease burden is more in developing countries. Newborns contract pneumonia in many cases. "We should get rid of the infectious diseases. Incredible work is happening in the area of biology. We should find ways to cure HIV and malnutrition," Gates said. Gates, who visited Hyderabad twice in the past, said he was looking forward to getting back to Hyderabad as soon as things opened up. To another question by KTR, Gates said that he is anxious to visit Hyderabad. "I have a lot to thank the vaccine companies for their key role. They have made them not just for India but for the world," he said. --IANS ms/vd ( 731 Words) 2022-02-24-23:04:02 (IANS) Amid fears of over blood clot risk, about 4.7 million Covid vaccine doses were wasted in the UK by the end of October 2021, according to a government report. According to the National Audit Office (NAO), this included about 1.9 million AstraZeneca shots that ended up in the bins, BBC reported. The NAO, which scrutinises spending of public money, said the wastage is far lower than projected for the country's most ambitious vaccination programme ever. Experts had assumed 20 per cent of stocks might not be used, because of handling and storage problems or expiry dates. The NAO said the vaccine programme met "stretching and unprecedented targets" to save lives. But it was left with too many expiring AstraZeneca doses, after experts recommended that people under 40 should preferably be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, to avoid a rare but possible link to blood clots. Some wastage was avoided by redirecting 4.5 million AstraZeneca doses to other countries, but stocks already at local sites had to be destroyed in line with regulations. Approximately 1.9 million doses were written off, the report said. "The vaccine programme has been successful in getting early access to what were brand new vaccines, securing supply of them, and administering them to a large proportion of the population at unprecedented speed," Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, was quoted as saying. "The programme must now redouble its efforts to reach those who are not yet vaccinated, while also considering what a more sustainable model will involve as it moves out of its emergency phase," he added. AstraZeneca Covid vaccine was developed in collaboration with Oxford University and rolled out in less than 12 months in the UK. It was celebrated as a UK success story and billed as "Britain's gift to the world". But fears over the links to blood clots led several countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria, Iceland, and Thailand, to pause their use of the vaccine. Doubts cast by several scientists and politicians alike over the efficacy of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, developed in collaboration with the Oxford University "probably killed hundreds of thousands of people", Prof John Bell, an Oxford scientist who worked on the jab, told a BBC Two documentary, early this month. "I think bad behaviour from scientists and from politicians has probably killed hundreds of thousands of people -- and they cannot be proud of that," Bell said "They have damaged the reputation of the vaccine in a way that echoes around the rest of the world," he added. --IANS rvt/vd ( 449 Words) 2022-02-25-19:42:01 (IANS) Amid Russia's ongoing military operations in Ukraine, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will speak to Foreign ministers of Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary, said Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla on Thursday. "External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will speak to Foreign ministers of Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary," said Shringla during a special briefing on the Ukraine situation. He further said that number of steps have been taken to deal with the emerging situation in Ukraine. Highlighting the steps taken by the government for facilitating the return of Indians from Ukraine, he said, "We started the registration of Indian nationals in Ukraine about a month ago. Based on online registration, we found that 20,000 Indian nationals were there." "4000 Indian nationals have already left Ukraine in the past few days. The MEA control room in Delhi has got 980 calls and 850 emails, he added. "At the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated that the topmost priority of the government is the safety and security of Indian nationals including students in Ukraine," he said. The Foreign Secretary also informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that teams are being sent to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. The tensions between the two nations escalated after Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities escalating the ongoing tensions between the two countries. Ukraine gained independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Earlier today, Putin said special military operations are being launched "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region. Moreover, many Indian citizens and students are stranded in Ukraine. The Indian Embassy on Thursday issued a third travel advisory to Indian nationals/students. The Mission asked Indians to be aware of the surroundings, be safe, do not leave homes unless necessary and stress on carrying their documents at all times. (ANI) Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on Thursday said 1,356 persons accused in the infamous northeast Delhi riots are still in judicial custody and the investigation is still underway in several cases. "Several cases are still under investigation because until and unless we identify the accused, we can't file a charge sheet. So whatever digital evidence we have, using facial recognition technology, we are trying to complete the investigation in the pending cases," said the Delhi Police chief while addressing the annual presser. He said, "those cases in which a charge sheet has been filed, if there is trial or even a re-trial, we are trying our best to present the police's investigation in the courts in a better way." The communal riots broke out in the national capital in February, 2020, during which 53 people were killed. Since then the Delhi Police has been investigating the riots and has detained and produced several accused persons before the courts. The Commissioner informed that the police registered over 700 cases in the riots, of which around 62 cases, in which murders happened, are being investigated by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police while one case of larger conspiracy is being investigated by the Special cell. "The rest of the cases are being probed by local police stations," he said. Speaking about charge sheets filed in the said cases till now, the Delhi Police chief informed that they have already filed 100 charge sheets. "Among these, charges have also been framed in several cases," he said. The Commissioner further informed to streamline the investigation that was done during the riots and even after the riots, a Special Team under North DCP and Special CP Zone-1 was constituted and many supplementary charge sheets were also filed. Sharing the exact figures of the riot cases, Asthana said, "Total number of 758 FIRs were registered, 2,456 arrests made, of which 1,053 were released on bail; 1,356 still continue to be in judicial custody." "The charge sheet has been filed against 1,610 accused, cognizance was taken in 338 cases. Among the total charge sheet filed, in 100 cases charges have been framed, the trial has started and so far two have been convicted," the police chief added. Speaking on the quality of the investigation of the northeast Delhi communal riots, Commissioner said, "As far as the quality of the investigation is concerned, the figure of cognizance taken, the figure of charges framed and keeping in view the observations made by the courts, whatever improvements are to be made, we're doing it." --IANS uj/skp/ ( 441 Words) 2022-02-24-20:50:02 (IANS) The Centre on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that 66.91 per cent of the total loss caused to various banks -- due to fraud committed by fugitives Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi -- has been returned back to them by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, submitted before a bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar that "timely attachment of proceeds of crime has led to attachment of assets worth of Rs 19,111.20 crore out of total fraud of Rs 22,585.83 crore by three fugitive offenders namely Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi". "The proceeds of crime of Rs 98,368 crore were identified and attached under Section 5 of the PMLA out of which, proceeds of crime of Rs 55,899 crore has been confirmed by Adjudicating Authority and substantial part of attached proceeds of crime are still under adjudication by the Adjudicating Authority. In addition to this, proceeds of crime of Rs. 853.16 crore has already been confiscated to the Central Government under the orders of the competent court." "Out of the attached proceeds of crime from these 3 individuals, assets of Rs 15,113.91 crore has already been returned back to public sector banks by the ED u/s 8(7) PMLA through the order of the Court and assets worth Rs 335.06 crore has been confiscated to the Government of India i.e. 66.91 per cent of total loss to the banks in these 3 cases has been returned back to them by the ED." Mehta also submitted it is pertinent to mention that the SBI has already recovered cash of Rs 7,975.27 crore by selling a part of assets returned to it by the ED and the process of liquidation of other restituted assets by the banks is continuing. The Centre added that the investigation in 57 cases of terror and Maoist financing has resulted in identification of proceeds of crime of Rs 1,249 crore and attachment of proceeds of crime of Rs 982 crore (256 properties) and filing of 37 prosecution complaints and conviction of two terrorists under PMLA. "The attachment of proceeds of crime include properties of Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed (UN designated terrorist), Syed Salahuddin (Head of Hijbul Mujahideen) and Iqbal Mirchi (involved in Mumbai blasts and international narcotics smuggler) also," Mehta said. Mehta said PMLA is a new law which came into force on July 1, 2005, and the process of filing of prosecution complaint started mainly from 2012 and 2013. He added till date, prosecution complaint has been filed in 930 cases which are under different stages of trial as on date 21 persons have been convicted under the PMLA. "In last 17 years, 4,850 cases have been taken up for investigation under the PMLA. The investigation in these offences were carried out by using investigative tools as provided under the PMLA including 2,883 searches and arresting 313 persons," he saida. On Wednesday, Mehta submitted before the bench, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and C.T. Ravikumar, that the ED only arrested 313 people under the Act in the last 20 years. The top court is hearing 242 petitions challenging some provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) including the stringent bail conditions and arrest of people without supply of ECIR (equivalent to FIR). Over the past few weeks, a battery of senior advocates, including Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Mukul Rohatgi, Sidharth Luthra, Amit Desai, and others have made submissions before the top court on various aspects related to potential misuse of PMLA provisions introduced by way of amendments to the Act. The law has been criticised on various aspects: stringent bail conditions, non-communication of grounds of arrest, arrest of persons without supply of ECIR (akin to FIR), broad definitions of money laundering and proceeds of crime, and statements given by accused during investigation made admissible as evidence during trial. --IANS ss/vd ( 660 Words) 2022-02-24-20:52:01 (IANS) As a countdown towards 2023 that has been declared as the International Year for Millets by the UN, India on Thursday announced four major steps to make the country a leading exporter of millets. Union Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution Minister, Piyush Goyal who equated millets with yoga, said: "India is going back to its roots like yoga. Bringing back the glory of millets will make the country Aatmanirbhar in three areas: Food, Nutrition & Economy." He was addressing a webinar on 'Smart Agriculture: Bringing Back Glory of Millets; Moving Towards Aatmanirbharta in Edible Oil', soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken about the positive impact of Union Budget 2022 in the agriculture sector earlier in the morning. Goyal's four mantras to make India a leading exporter of millets included suggestion for other states to duplicate the success of Karnataka's Fruits Model for crop diversification with a focus on millets, collaboration with agri startups to provide the latest tech to ensure quality & aid in bio fortification of millets, launching campaigns to create awareness regarding health and nutrition benefits of millets in families and international outreach to promote 'Brand India Millets'. India produces all nine common millets and is the second-largest producer and second-largest exporter of millets in the world. It produces more than 170 lakh tonnes - 80 per cent of Asia's & 20 per cent of global production of millets. Global average yield is 1,229 kgs/ha while India's is 1,239 kgs/ha. The Minister also said that nearly 4 lakh hectare area of rice fallow is to be used for oilseeds cultivation in 100 districts of 10 states. Also, 230 high-yielding districts of oilseeds have been identified. Nearly 20 lakh hectares area will also be brought under intercropping of oilseeds in next five years. Goyal also said that Smart Agriculture is about using technology to leapfrog into a new era to build a resilient infrastructure for farmers. Secretary, Agricultural Research & Education, and DG, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), T. Mohapatra said support will be provided for post-harvest value addition, enhancing domestic consumption & branding millet products nationally and internationally. --IANS niv/vd ( 363 Words) 2022-02-24-20:56:02 (IANS) The police official said that a total of three bomb blasts occurred according to the initial probe out of which two were of low intensity. Briefing media persons about the incident, Kumar said, "A total of 14 people were injured in a bomb blast in Khagaria. As per the primary probe, a total of 3 blasts took place out of which 2 were of low intensity." "An eyewitness claimed, the major blast occurred after a cluster of 20-23 small bombs fell on the ground," he added. Further investigation is underway. (ANI) It was 20 years ago on this day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on his journey as an elected public representative. On February 24, 2002, Modi, as the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, had won the Rajkot II assembly bypoll. It was Modi's first electoral foray as till then he was assigned organisational duties in the BJP and prior to it, with RSS. Modi had been sent by the BJP from Delhi to Gandhinagar to take over as the Gujarat Chief Minister in October 2001, following which it was necessary that he win the assembly seat within six months. Senior BJP leader, Vajubhai Vala had vacated the seat for Modi, who defeated the Congress candidate by a margin of 14,718 votes. Nine months later, Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat had returned with a thumping majority at the assembly polls regular schedule in December 2002. However, this time, he chose to represent Maninagar constituency, part of Ahmedabad. He went on to win from the same constituency in 2007 and 2012 to govern Gujarat for three consecutive terms. In 2014, Modi was the Prime Ministerial face of the BJP and contested Lok Sabha from Vadodara in Gujarat and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, winning both with massive margins. He went on to become the Prime Minister and chose to resign from Vadodara and continued to represent the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 too. Last year, Prime Minister Modi completed 20 years as head of a public office. On October 7, 2001, Modi was first sworn in as the Chief Minister of Gujarat and remained in the office for 13 years till he was sworn in as the Prime Minister in May 2014. On completion of two decades as head of public office, the BJP had launched 20 days 'Seva Aur Samarpan Abhiyaan' on his birthday on September 17 and concluded it on October 7 to mark the anniversary of his two decades in public life. --IANS ssb/skp/ ( 340 Words) 2022-02-24-21:08:03 (IANS) Setting aside the demand for a CBI probe raised by the victim's family, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday rested its faith on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the West Bengal government in connection with the murder of student leader Anis Khan, and ordered for a second post-mortem as demanded by the SIT. The court also asked the team to submit its progress report to the family and the court within two weeks. Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, who had ordered that the issue of Khan's death be taken up as a suo motu petition of the court, also directed the district judge of Howrah to supervise the second post-mortem of Khan's body. The court also ordered the district judge to take custody of Khan's mobile phone for the purpose of investigation. Justice Mantha asked the SIT to seal the mobile phone of Khan in the presence of the judge and the family members and send it to Hyderabad for forensic test. The SIT will also have to analyse everything in detail and inform the family members. The judgement came following allegations by the family members that Khan was murdered by the police on February 18. Khan's father Sabir Khan alleged that the police were responsible for the murder and only a CBI investigation under the supervision of the court can bring the truth to light. He along with the many others from his village went to the Amta police station and demanded the arrest of officer-in-charge, Debashis Chakraborty. Meanwhile, the members of the SIT interrogated Chakraborty and four others from Amta police station in connection with the murder of the student leader. "The investigation team is trying to find out under whose instruction the police went to their house just before the murder. The team is also trying to figure out the team members who were present on the spot on that day," a senior police officer said. Two security personnel of Amta police station in Howrah district -- Home Guard Kashinath Bera and Civic Volunteer Pritam Bhattacharya -- who were arrested by the police on Wednesday morning in connection with Khan's murder, were was produced before the court on Thursday which sent them to 14-day police custody. The duo while being taken to the court told the media that they went to Khan's home on that day on the instruction of the officer-in-charge of Amta police station. "We are being framed to save some influential people. We are being made scapegoats," one of them said. Sources in the police, however, said that it is now clear that on the night of the murder, two police vans from Amta police station went to Khan's home and they were the last people to meet the student leader. "There is no doubt that the police went to their house, but what happened after that is still not clear. The police are trying to find out the details," a senior police officer said. Earlier on Tuesday, the state government had suspended two policemen and a Home Guard for dereliction of duty. The suspended persons are ASI Nirmal Das, constable Jitendra Hembram and Home Guard Bera, who was arrested on Wednesday. Anis Khan, a former Aliah University student, was allegedly thrown off the terrace of his residence in the dark of night by the assailants, who visited his home identifying themselves as personnel from the Amta police station, as testified by his father who was held at a gunpoint when the assailants committed the murder. --IANS sbg/arm ( 594 Words) 2022-02-24-21:48:03 (IANS) Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said on Thursday that the police are awaiting a digital evidence certificate from the forensic science laboratory (FSL) in the Clubhouse hate chat case to proceed further with the investigation. "We have seized their devices and sent them to FSL for securing digital evidence. As soon as we have the digital evidence certificate, we will proceed further with our probe," Asthana said. He also informed that the police have identified the people who were involved in the Clubhouse hate chat case, who have been interrogated. On January 17, a video of a Clubhouse conversation on the topic 'Muslim gals are more beautiful than Hindu gals' went viral on social media. In the said conversation, the participants were allegedly heard making obscene, vulgar and derogatory remarks targeting Muslim women and girls. The next day, taking suo-motu cognisance of the matter, the Delhi Commission for Women issued a notice to the cyber cell of the Delhi Police demanding immediate registration of an FIR and punitive action against the alleged culprits. An FIR was then registered under the relevant sections of IPC at the Special Cell police station. The Delhi Police had identified six persons, of which two were women and one a minor boy. Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO), K.P.S. Malhotra, too had last month informed IANS that before making any arrest in the case and proceeding further, the authenticity of the videos and the voice matching of the alleged persons has to be done. "We have to rule out any voice modulation in the video, as the same may affect the trial of the case," Malhotra had said. According to the officer, the only evidence in the present case is the first source, who had video recorded the audio conversation. "That is the only evidence of the vulgar remarks, as the app does not record the audio conversations in the chat rooms," he added. --IANS uj/arm ( 335 Words) 2022-02-24-22:00:05 (IANS) Amid the shrinking footprints of Maoists in Chhattisgarh, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to set up more Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in the state soon to increase its operational dominance in the so-called 'Red Corridor' region there, officials said. According to CRPF officials, the force has 34 operative FOBs in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) regions while it was decided to add up 25 more by the end of 2022. "So far, 11 bases have been set up and the rest will be added up by the end of this year," an official said. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in March 2021, had tasked the CRPF to set up six FOBs each on Bheji-Chintagufa axis, Kistaram- Chintalnar axis, Basaguad-Pamed axis, Basaguda- Jagdargunda axis, and the Usoor-Pamed axis. As per the force officials, the four FOBs - Elarmadugu, Kollaiguda, Karigundam, and Potakpalli - on the Bheji-Chintagufa axis have been set up while Minapa, Elmagunda and Mukram Nala on the Kistaram-Chintalnar axis, Tarrem and Mokur on Basaguad-Pamed axis, and Dharmavaram and Galgam on Usoor-Pamed axis have been established. The CRPF officials said that the pending FOB at Silger on Basaguad-Pamed axis, T -Junction, Kunded, Bedre on Basaguda-Jagdargunda axis and Nabmi on Usoor-Pamed axis Awill be taken up this year. Out of the proposed new bases, 10 will be set up in Chhattisgarh, six in Jharkhand, one each in Odisha and Telangana, seven in Maharashtra, including the Garhchiroli area, and one each in Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The lands for constructing the FOBs have already been identified where work will begin soon, the officials said, adding that this will further help the force penetrate deep into the hardcore areas of Maoist dominance. The FOBs will be better fortified while the security forces will be equipped with the latest weapons, bullet and land mine proof vehicles and better medical facilities. A source in the operational team said that most of the casualties take place because late medical treatment causes deaths in many cases. So better medical treatment will be provided at these FOBs once set up in the operational areas, the source added. As of now, only minor operations are being performed by the paramedics in most of the base camps, and in case of multiple bullet injuries or landmine blasts, the injured troopers are airlifted to the nearby bigger hospitals. The new FOBs will have better medical treatment facilities. --IANS ams/vd ( 416 Words) 2022-02-24-22:08:03 (IANS) Madhuri Jain Grover, former head of controls at BharatPe who has been sacked over charges of financial fraud, has escalated the battle via social media, posting questions over the board's handling of the situation. Fintech platform BharatPe had sacked Madhuri Jain, the wife of its co-founder and Managing Director Ashneer Grover, on Wednesday for alleged financial irregularities during her tenure. "The whole thing is a conspiracy. Why did @mickymalka and @HarshjitSethi of @Sequoia_India seek my resignation on 19.1.22 (same day Ashneer went on voluntary leave) ? The current review is clearly just an eyewash and means to an end. Why was @SuhailSameer14 taking instructions?," she tweeted. "And these are the people Suhail Sameer (CEO, BharatPe) sitting on Governance Review and passing judgement on me! Great work by Sequoia and Harshjit Sethi (MD at Sequoia Capital India) and Chairman Rajnish Kumar for a perfectly executed witch hunt with your accomplices Sumeet Singh (General Counsel and Head- Corporate Strategy, BharatPe) and Bhavik Koladiya (Co-founder and Group Head of Product & Technology at BharatPe)," she further tweeted, tagging all of them. Jain said law firms Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Alvarez & Marsel (A&M) did not present any documents regarding the governance review. "@AMS_Shardul and A&M never presented a single document to me when I was called. They did not present any proof for me to address. Where is the concept of natural justice? I have learned of allegations from the media. A&M has not till date been able to explain how their report leaked," she argued via Twitter. She also posted a video clip of an office party where Sameer and Koladiya were seen. "Congrats @SuhailSameer14 @BhavikKoladiya and Shashvat Nakrani. Now you may indulge in your 'drunken orgies' without having to wait for me (righteous lady) to leave office. Slow clap," she posted. BharatPe terminated the services of Madhuri Jain, head of controls, after an internal probe found misappropriation of funds during her time at the fintech platform. "We can confirm that the services of Madhuri Jain Grover have been terminated in accordance with the terms of her employment agreement," the company said in a statement. Alvarez and Marsal, a leading management consultant and risk advisory firm, is set to submit its report into financial irregularities at the firm during Grovers' time some time next week. --IANS na/vd ( 397 Words) 2022-02-24-22:10:02 (IANS) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday urged the striking anganwadi workers and helpers of the state not to get misled or instigated by political leaders, as in the past seven years several steps have been taken by the state government to safeguard their interests. Addressing the media here, Khattar said, "We have taken several concrete steps in the interest of anganwadi workers and helpers. In December last year, the honorarium of anganwadi workers and helpers was increased by Rs 850 and Rs 736, respectively." "Haryana is among the first three states where the highest honorarium is being given. In north India, Haryana ranks first," he added. The Chief Minister said that Rs 12,661 is given to the anganwadi worker with more than 10 years of experience, while Rs 11,401 is being given to those with less than 10 years of experience. In Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Puducherry and West Bengal, Khattar said anganwadi workers are getting Rs 9,500, Rs 6,500, Rs 10,000, Rs 9,678, Rs 10,500, Rs 6,540 and Rs 6,750, respectively. "We have increased their honorarium from time to time. In 2014, the honorarium of anganwadi workers was Rs 7,500 per month, which has now been increased to Rs 12,661. Similarly, the honorarium of the helpers was Rs 3,500 per month in 2014, which has now gone up to Rs 6, 781," Khattar said. --IANS vg/arm ( 244 Words) 2022-02-24-22:56:03 (IANS) Evangelist Daniel Kolenda is Coming to a City Near You NEWS PROVIDED BY Christ for All Nations Feb. 25, 2022 ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 25, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- Christ for All Nations (CfaN) is thrilled to announce the dates and locations of the 2022 Impartation Breakfast Meetings. This series of strategic, in-person meetings will bring together partners and friends of the international ministry in an intimate setting and give them the chance to hear from and meet with CfaN President and Lead Evangelist Daniel Kolenda. Events are confirmed for: Atlanta, GA April 23rd Kansas City, MO May 13th San Antonio, TX June 11th The dates for Impartation Breakfast Meetings in Charlotte, NC, Chicago, IL, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Los Angeles, CA, Miami, FL, Naples, FL, Nashville, TN, New York, NY, Oklahoma City, OK, Orlando, FL, Portland, OR, Tampa, FL, Tulsa, OK, and West Palm Beach, FL are all forthcoming. Be sure to check out CfaNImpartation.org to register and learn when this incredible gathering will take place near you. Over the past few years, CfaN has experienced an extraordinary acceleration in the impact of its core mission, which Founding Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke described as "plundering hell to populate heaven." Sparked by innovative new outreach strategies and a focus on training and releasing like-minded evangelists into the global harvest field, this growth in the number of salvations is the culmination of years of prayer and support from thousands of CfaN supporters across the globe. With that in mind, Evangelist Kolenda designed the Impartation Breakfast Meeting (IBM) as a time of ministry that will honor guests for their partnership in the Great Commission and empower them in their personal walk with the Lord. Evangelist Kolenda will attend each IBM in person to expand on his vision for CfaN and personally pray for every attendee, filled with faith, that they will receive a special impartation from Jesus. The gatherings will be limited seating. So, visit www.cfanimpartation.org to reserve your opportunity to connect with fellow believers and senior CfaN leadership. SOURCE Christ for All Nations CONTACT: Sam Rodriguez, Director of Product Development, 407-854-4400, srodriguez@cfan.org A Baltimore County doctor was sentenced Thursday to eight months in federal prison and one year of supervised release for his involvement with kickbacks to prescribe highly addictive pain medication. Howard J. Hoffberg, 65, who was associate medical director and part-owner of Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management, pleaded guilty in June 2021 to conspiracy to violate anti-kickback statutes for taking money from an Arizona-based pharmaceutical company from 2012 to 2018 to prescribe a fentanyl spray called Subsys. Advertisement His case was part of the fallout of a racketeering case and civil penalties levied against executives of Insys Therapeutics who prosecutors said helped fuel the opioid crisis. Hoffberg, of Reisterstown, received $66,000 in payments after entering into a contract to conduct speaking engagements for Insys. Federal prosecutors called the arrangement a sham, designed to funnel the kickbacks. Advertisement A box of the Fentanyl-based drug Subsys, made by Insys Therapeutics Inc, is seen in an undated photograph provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama. (Reuters) Hoffbergs attorneys Neel Lalchandani and Joshua Treem could not be reached Friday for comment. John Kapoor, the founder of Insys, and others were accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to doctors across the United States to prescribe Subsys. In addition to paying bribes, the company also was accused of misleading insurers to get payments approved for the drug, which is meant to treat cancer patients in severe pain and can cost as much as $19,000 a month. Along with Kapoor, four others from Insys were convicted last year and two pleaded guilty. All of them have been dealt prison sentences, ranging from a year and a day to nearly three years. Insys last year reached a $225 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to end its criminal and civil probes, and the company has since filed for bankruptcy protection. With the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Uttarakhand's Principal Secretary (Home) RK Sudhanshu on Thursday directed the District Magistrates of all the 13 districts to provide complete details of citizens living in the country. He said that it is important to provide complete information about citizens of Uttarakhand living in Ukraine so that their security can be ensured through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of India. "I had directed the District Magistrates of all the 13 districts of the state to provide information about Uttarakhand citizens living in Ukraine so that their security can be ensured through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Government of India," Sudhanshu said. Earlier in the day, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also assured that all the people of Uttarakhand who are stuck in Ukraine will be repatriated. Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Thursday said that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is taking steps to bring back about 18,000 Indians including students from Ukraine. The tensions between the two nations escalated after Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Ukraine had gained independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Putin on Thursday said special military operations are being launched "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Following the Russian military operations, the Indian embassy in Kyiv earlier today said the present situation in Ukraine is highly uncertain and Indian citizens should remain safe. Leaders from a number of countries, including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union, have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region. (ANI) Differences between Russia and the NATO can only be resolved through "honest and sincere" dialogue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday told Russian President Vladimir Putin as they discussed the ongoing Ukraine crisis. President Putin briefed Modi about the recent developments regarding Ukraine. Reiterating his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and the NATO can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue, the Prime Minister appealed for an immediate cessation of violence, and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue. He also sensitised the Russian President about India's concerns regarding the safety of the Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students, and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India. The leaders agreed that their officials and diplomatic teams would continue to maintain regular contacts on issues of topical interest. Before Modi spoke to Putin, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla called India a "stakeholder" and a "concerned party" in the conflict. He also had said that Prime MinisterA Narendra will be speaking to Russian President over the prevailing crisis. Shringla also stated that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had spoken to several ministers from the European Union and those from neighbouring countries which will help in evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. About being a stakeholder, the Foreign Secretary said: "We are in touch with all. We have interest. Whatever we do will be in the interest of our people." "We have been in touch with all parties, both as a member of UNSC, as a country with stakes in that region, with nationals stuck." He said that 4,000 Indian nationals have left the country. --IANS sk/vd ( 298 Words) 2022-02-24-23:12:04 (IANS) Amidst a raging debate over illegal Bt Brinjal and Bt Cotton, opinion is split amongst farmers' groups even as the Centre has maintained that it is the responsibility of the state governments to take action against such cultivators. Agriculture being a state subject, any complaints that come to the notice of Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) secretariat are flagged for action at state level, and communications are sent to the Chief Secretary concerned, the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry said. Violations have been flagged from Maharashtra and Haryana, prompting the Centre to alert the states for action. Shetkari Sanghatana leader, Anil Ghanwat, who was one of the three members of the committee appointed by the Supreme Court in connection with the now repealed three farm laws, had carried out an agitation in Maharashtra last week wherein he and his team had publicly planted the seeds as part of the agitation. "Almost 50 per cent cotton sowing is of HtBT cotton. Almost 15 lakh packets of HtBt cotton seeds have been sold in the market. There is lot of corruption and black marketing going on as there is a demand for this seed," Ghanwat told IANS on phone from Maharashtra. He also claimed that an Indian company has come up with Bt Brinjal seeds in association with an Agriculture University. "Farmers from Bangladesh are benefitting with those seeds and here you are damning our agitation." Kishor Tiwari, who heads the Maharashtra Farm Taskforce, alleged that it is only a handful of farmers that are sowing these illegal seeds and claimed that "the agitation that happened last week was sponsored by seed companies". The farmers have a right to technology, but it is for the Centre to decide with a larger discussion on the topic, he said. Two FIRs were launched against members of the farmers union involved in the agitation. Similarly, complaints/reports received in the Environment Ministry on illegal cultivation of unapproved Bt Brinjal in Haryana were forwarded to the Chief Secretary, Haryana. "Haryana government confirmed the presence of Bt positive Brinjal in Fatehabad district and has destroyed the crop," said an official from the Ministry. Complaints regarding sowing of unapproved GM crops in Maharashtra were forwarded to its Chief Secretary, who in turn, informed that efforts were made to dissuade the sowing of unapproved GM seeds. "Such seeds were seized and sealed in the presence of farmers and government officials and sent to CICR Nagpur for HTBT testing," the Maharashtra government told the Ministry. In response to IANS' query on the issue, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said, "Since only Bt cotton is approved by GEAC for environmental release, it follows that seeds of any other GM crop are illegal and unauthorised, and State Agriculture departments are expected to maintain vigilance and supervision to prevent spread of unapproved seeds." States/UTs have been requested to provide lateral flow strip test kits for preliminary field level testing of GM crops, and also train the front line staffs who visits the fields for field inspections. "We have also written to Chief Secretaries of all states/UTs to constitute and strengthen State Biotechnology Coordination Committee (SBCC) and district level committees and take penal action under Section 15, 16 and 17 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, in case of any cultivation of illegal Genetically Modified Crops," Yadav said. Suman Sahay of Gene Campaign, an organisation that has been opposing GM/Bt seeds, said: "As far as I know, no Indian company has developed a Bt gene for creating Bt crop. As on today, any and every Bt gene can come only from Monsanto." So, whatever Ht/Bt seeds are being grown, all are illegal, she said, adding, "The MoEF&CC has done the right thing to alert the states and now, it is the states that are to take action." The Centre has to decide on the policy, she added. --IANS niv/vd ( 661 Words) 2022-02-24-23:14:01 (IANS) The helplines at the Telangana Bhavan in Delhi and at the state secretariat in Hyderabad will help students and professionals from Telangana stranded in Ukraine, which is under military attack by Russia. The helpline numbers at Telangana Bhavan are +91 7042566955, +91 9949351270 and +91 9654663661. The email id is rctelangana@gmail.com. The helpline numbers at Telangana secretariat in Hyderabad are 040-23220603, +91 9440854433. The email id is so_nri@telangana.gov.in. Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar has requested the Resident Commissioner at Telangana Bhavan to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs and to be in touch with the students/professional from Telangana to extend all possible support. Telangana's Minister for Industries and Information Technology, K.T. Rama Rao, has urged External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to ensure the safety of the stranded students. Rama Rao took to twitter to appeal to Jaishankar to ensure the safety of Indian students in these times of distress, saying: "Have been receiving several messages from anxious parents of students. Hope Govt of India can work through diplomatic channels & reassure all Indians at the earliest." Students from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have appealed to the government of India and the respective state governments to ensure their evacuation. --IANS ms/arm ( 235 Words) 2022-02-24-23:26:03 (IANS) Karnataka Minister for Higher Education, Dr Ashwathnarayan CN, on Thursday, asked the business houses to work for the welfare of the poor people of urban areas and said that the social fabric will not be strong if their voices are not heard. He stated that poor people in cities such as Bengaluru are deprived of the benefits that they deserve. Addressing the gathering at the 'CSR and Sustainable Development Conclave' and 'Award Presentation' event organised by ASSOCHAM, South India Division, he said, "Poor people in cities such as Bengaluru are deprived of benefits which they deserve. There will be a threat to social well-being if their voices are not being heard." The Minister further emphasised that the corporate sector should be in contact with society and opined that the culture of entrepreneurship cannot evolve if it stays away from people. "The government alone cannot bridge the gap that exists in society. It is the hardship of the poor that is contributing to economic growth. Keeping this in mind, we need to ensure that benefits of economic growth reach them," Narayana added. Prashanth Prakash, venture capitalist, and Chairman, State Vision Group for Startup was presented with the 'Social Transformative Entrepreneur' award. (ANI) Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) on Thursday wrote to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya over their demand for risk hazard allowance for resident doctors. The association noted in the letter that the resident doctors constitute a major chunk of the healthcare workforce of a nation, many of who got infected with or succumbed to COVID-19 during the last two years while working on the frontline. "Through this letter, we once again wish to bring to your notice, the long-pending demand of risk hazard allowance for resident doctors. Though we had submitted ourrepresentation regarding the same twice on January 31, 2020, and March 6, 2020, at the onset of COVID-19 Pandemic followed by another representation on January 10, 2022, after dealing with subsequent waves of the Pandemic, there has been no positive response from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) yet," reads the letter. "It is pertinent to mention that as per OM No. Z.28015/119/2012-H dated 18/09/2019 issued by MoHFW (Hospital-II Section), Government of India, Hospital Patient Care Allowance (HPCA)/Patient Care Allowance (PCA) under R1H3 cell of Risk & Hardship Matrix of 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) is implemented for Allied healthcare professionals," the letter added. The association noted in the letter that though risk hazard allowance is provided to employees/staff in other sectors and doctors should also be entitled to the same. "We would hereby once again request you to kindly take note of the demand of riskhazard allowance and take necessary measures for implementing the same," added the letter. (ANI) Delhi Police on Thursday informed that recruitment for about 9000 personnel is underway of which more than 5000 constables will join training in March. "Around 5,076 constables will join training in March even as further recruitment for 8,981 personnel is underway," said Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana while addressing a press conference. Asthana said that about one thousand police personnel have been given special training so that they become proficient in investigations. This training has been given in the area of 'Cyber Forensics and Field Investigation'. The Delhi Police Commissioner further highlighted that cyber-related crimes are increasing. "In such a situation, cyber forensics and field investigation is the need of the hour and the future," he said. According to the police commissioner, there are many complaints about the attitude of the policeman in the police stations. "In such a situation, there is a great need to teach them soft skills. Seeing this need, the police personnel are trained in such a way that they can learn soft skills," he said. A Memorandum of Understanding of Police has been signed with organizations like National Law University Dwarka and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights respectively to investigate legal issues and cases related to children, he added. Delhi Police has created Delhi Police Academy by merging Police Training School and Police Training College to make training more professional. Asthana further said, "Delhi Police does not just crack down on criminals, but many important works related to law and order continue throughout the year. In the past, for more than a year, the Delhi Police did duty promptly in the farmers' movement, and in protests related to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi continue in Delhi." "Opposing elements often create challenges for the police by gathering small crowds somewhere through campaigns on social media. In such a situation, the police not only need staff but also trained policemen in such soft skills, who can calmly explain to the people who come to protest," he said. "In the year 2021, 3721 protests took place inside Delhi, while 85 processions were taken out. On more than 2,000 occasions, there were dharnas or strikes on different streets of Delhi where the police made heavy preparations to maintain law and order," the police commissioner added. (ANI) With the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday said that many students of Chattisgarh are stranded in Ukraine and that a call center has been set up in the state where about 70 students have reached out so far. He added that the government is trying to help them at every level and that the state government is in constant touch with the Government of India. "Many students of the country are stuck in Ukraine. Many children of our state are also trapped there. A call center has been set up in the state where about 70 students have reached out. We are trying to help them at every level. We are in constant touch with the Government of India," Baghel told the reporters in Raipur. Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Thursday had said that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is taking steps to bring back about 18,000 Indians including students from Ukraine. The tensions between the two nations escalated after Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Ukraine had gained independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Putin on Thursday said special military operations are being launched "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Following the Russian military operations, the Indian embassy in Kyiv earlier today said the present situation in Ukraine is highly uncertain and Indian citizens should remain safe.Leaders from a number of countries, including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union, have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the inaugural address of the post-budget webinar of the Ministry of Defence on 'Aatmanirbharta in Defence - Call to Action' on Friday. Union Budget 2022-23 related to the Ministry of Defence has given further impetus to Aatmanirbharta in Defence, said the Ministry of Defence in an official statement. The Ministry has organised a post-budget webinar titled 'Aatmanirbharta in Defence - Call to Action' on the announcements made in the budget for the defence sector. The objective of the webinar is to involve all the stakeholders in taking forward the various initiatives of the Government in the defence sector. The webinar will be held on Friday morning. "The Prime Minister will deliver the inaugural address," added the ministry in the statement. The webinar will have panel discussions with eminent speakers and experts from the Ministry of Defence, defence industry, Industry fora, Startups, academia, besides interactive sessions with the stakeholders. The valedictory session will be chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The webinar will have breakout sessions, which include progressive increase in the capital procurement Budget for the domestic industry (Opportunities and Challenges), developing all-round Defence R&D ecosystem in the country, Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) by Industries with DRDO and other organisations, and also meeting wide-ranging testing and certification requirements with the setting up of an independent nodal umbrella body. The sessions are planned in a manner that allows for ample interaction with stakeholders, with a view to evolving a participative approach for the time-bound implementation of announcements made in the Budget. The webinar will also be streamed live on the YouTube channel of the Department of Defence Production. (ANI) The four-year-old boy Gaurav Dubey, fell into a borewell in Badchhad of Umaria district on Thursday. After the rescue mission which lasted till 4 am in the morning on Friday, Gaurav was brought out of the borewell and taken to the Barhi Community Health Centre in Katni district where Dr Rajamani Patel declared him dead. The doctor stated the cause of death was drowning. Collector of Umaria, Sanjeev Srivastava tweeted, "The boy Gaurav was taken out of the borewell after the rescue operation which lasted till 4 am on Friday morning in village Badchhad, but unfortunately the child has died. The body was handed over to the relatives after post-mortem. The district administration and the entire rescue team have paid tributes to the child." (ANI) Baltimore Police officers body-worn camera footage showed the moments leading up to the deadly shooting of an 18-year-old as he attempted to flee from police Saturday. At least four officers approached a white Honda Accord, driven by 18-year-old Donnell Rochester, just after 3 p.m. Saturday in Northeast Baltimore. Advertisement Stop it, stop the car, Officer Connor Murray yells as Rochester drives the car toward him in the video released by the department Friday. Murray, a three-year veteran, fires his gun toward the vehicle as Rochester continues to drive toward the officer. Murray then drops to the ground and rolls out of the way as the car continues down the street. Advertisement Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison and Deputy Commissioner Brian Nadeau, who oversees the departments Public Integrity Bureau, played videos from four officers at a news conference Friday afternoon. I understand fully the high level of public scrutiny that results of any use of force from our department, and law enforcement agencies across the country, Harrison said. The Baltimore Police Department is committed to conducting a thorough investigation into these incidents. Harrison previously said an officer fired his weapon before being struck by the car, but on Friday he said, based on the videos, we cannot tell if Officer Murray is struck by the vehicle. Police have not said any officers were injured. The Baltimore Sun has been unable to reach Rochesters family. He did not have a prior criminal record, according to online court records. Officers pursued Rochester after license plate readers indicated the driver had an open bench warrant related to an armed robbery carjacking against him, Harrison said. Investigators have learned since of a second warrant against Rochester from another jurisdiction, but Harrison did not provide additional details about that warrant. The officers attempted to stop Rochester in the 1800 block of Chilton St., near Lake Montebello. There, Rochester and a female passenger are seen getting out of the vehicle, and then when they see the officers approach, Rochester walks back to the car to drive away, Nadeau said at the news conference. The female passenger fled the area. Advertisement In the footage, Murray is running up the street toward the front of the car when Rochester starts driving toward him. The officer calls out commands for Rochester to stop before firing his gun at the vehicle. The officer then rolls out of the way of the car, as it moves down the street. He can be heard yelling shots fired. In a separate video, Officer Robert Mauri is seen rushing up toward the vehicle. Murray is seen at a distance, standing in front of the car, and his shots can be heard. Murray is then seen jumping away from the car when Mauri also opens fire. The car travels a short distance down the street, where Rochester slowly exits the vehicle with his hands up, and the officers rush over and handcuff him. The officers roll Rochester over onto his back, and blood can be seen on the ground beneath him. An officer can be heard calling for a medic over the radio. One officer asks: Where are you hit at? The officers then put gloves on and attempt to search Rochesters body for a gunshot wound. The department said medics arrived and took Rochester to an area hospital where he later died. Advertisement Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > Harrison said the officers who fired are assigned to the mobile metro unit, which had been deployed to the Northeast District because of a recent spree of armed robberies and carjackings. Officers from the unit are deployed to different areas of the city, based on recent crime trends. The officers remain on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Harrison said. A reporter asked Harrison on Friday about the departments policy regarding firing at a fleeing vehicle. Thats a question that the investigation will ask and answer and produce an answer for, Harrison responded. According to the departments use-of-force policy, officers are permitted to use deadly force to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect under certain circumstances, including if the escape of the suspect would pose an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer. The Attorney Generals Office also is investigating the shooting. The office is now responsible for investigating all police-involved shootings in the state as part of sweeping police reform legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly last year. Advertisement Baltimore Police and the Attorney Generals Office reached an agreement to also allow the police department to conduct its own investigations to meet certain requirements of its federal consent decree. Indian students, who returned home after the launch of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, said that situation there had been normal until Thursday morning after which the bombing began, leading to escalation of tension in quick time. Malavika Sunil, a third-year medical student, studying at Bogomolets National Medical University in Kyiv, Ukraine, told ANI, "A few of my friends, who are still stranded in Ukraine, have heard an explosion nearby and as of now they are all safe." Malavika returned to Kerala on February 18 after her parents started panicking over the possible invasion by Russia, which became a reality on Friday. On her parents' insistence, Malavika decided to return to Thiruvananthapuram via Sharjah. Malavika says, "For the past one month, tension was rising between Russia and Ukraine. The situation was normal in Ukraine and at the University. As there were reports in media about the possible military operation by Russia, our parents began pressing the panic button. I spoke with professors and opted for online classes." She further said, "Our professors agreed to go back to the hybrid modes of learning." She booked air tickets to return home with the help of a few travel agents. Malavika told ANI, "The price of air tickets from Kyiv to India was hovering around Rs 56,000 to 1 lakh. There were no direct flights to Kerala. So I went to Sharjah and from there I took a direct flight to Thiruvananthapuram." The medico said that some of her friends are still stranded in Ukraine and they are unable to return as the airport has been shut down. She said, "I am still in touch with a few friends there. The situation worsened after Thursday's bombing. It is difficult for them to move out of the apartments amidst the bombing taking place all over the place. They have to arrange documents, go out and withdraw cash, purchase essentials, and moreover, there are long queues outside all the stores." As of now, the University has provided accommodation to all students in the hostels and they are safe, she said. Malavika said, "Until now, the Indian government and the Embassy were assuring us that there will be no war-like situation in Ukraine." The third-year medical student also wished to go back to Ukraine so that she can join offline classes. She said that she loves Ukraine. All the stranded Indian students are expected to reach by March 9. (ANI) Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar laid wreaths at the National War Memorial to mark its third anniversary. The memorial was dedicated to the nation on February 25, 2019, and stands testimony to sacrifices by gallant soldiers since the country's independence. The memorial is dedicated to soldiers who laid down their lives defending the nation during the Sino-Indian war in 1962, the Indo-Pak wars in 1947, 1965 and 1971, Indian Peace Keeping Force operations in Sri Lanka and in the Kargil Conflict in 1999. It also commemorates the soldiers who participated and made supreme sacrifices in UN Peace Keeping Missions, during HADR Operations, Counter Insurgency Operations and Low-Intensity Capital Operation (LICO). (ANI) The release read that the Nodal Office will coordinate with MEA and Embassy of India, Kyiv and provide support for evacuation of stranded people from the State. The government said, "Ukraine is under martial law and the prevailing situation is uncertain. The Ukraine Air Space is closed, hence schedule of special flights stands cancelled, which has made evacuation of stranded Indian people/students in Ukraine difficult. The Embassy of India in Kyiv is open and fully operational and is making all efforts to reach out to the stranded people/students from India and working on a mission mode to find solution to this difficult situation." The state government has appointed Dr Manoj Rajan, IFS, Commissioner, Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority as the nodal officer. For further assistance, it has issued helpline number 0801070, 080-22340676 and email id- manoarya@gmail.com, revenuedmkar@gmail.com. (ANI) Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday slammed Opposition parties for promoting dynastic politics and not rewarding their hard-working party workers. Naqvi was speaking on the remaining phases of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur. Speaking to ANI, Naqvi said, "If you observe, there has been a big change in the culture of politics in the country. The change is that earlier, those who did the circumambulation of the family were considered to be mighty. But today, the people who are doing politics with hard work and giving results, be it in the government or whatever important work they are doing, are considered important." The Union Minister added that "family worship" is not important but the hard work of the party workers and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for changing the political norms. "Today family worship is not important, but hard work. This is the change that has been possible due to the leadership of PM Modi. He works tirelessly. There is a big change in the politics of the country," he said. Naqvi also took a potshot at the political dynasts, saying there are some who launch themselves into politics right after coming out of the cradle. "They treat themselves as an almighty without any hard work to showcase," he added. (ANI) The latest edition of the Indian Navy's multilateral exercise - MILAN 2022 will witness its largest-ever participation, with more than 40 countries sending their warships/high-level delegations. MILAN 2022 is scheduled to commence from Friday in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam with the theme of 'Camaraderie-Cohesion-Collaboration' aiming to hone operational skills and enable doctrinal learning in the maritime domain, through professional interaction between friendly navies. MILAN 2022 is being conducted over nine days in two phases with the harbour phase scheduled from February 25 to 28 and the sea phase from March 1 to 4. Since the inception of MILAN in 1995, the event has been held biennially except for 2001, 2005, 2016, and 2020. While the 2001 and 2016 editions were not held due to International Fleet Reviews, the 2005 editions were rescheduled to 2006 due to the 2004 Tsunami. 2020 edition of MILAN was postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19. (ANI) The operation by the department is currently underway. His wife Yamini Jadhav is the party MLA from the Byculla Assembly seat in Maharashtra. The action of the Income Tax comes after Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik in connection with links with the underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and a money laundering case. Malik has been remanded to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till March 3. (ANI) Regional Sericulture Research Centre, Central Silk Board of Jammu organised a five-day Farmer Skill Training Programme under Capacity Building and Training at Sericulture Farm, Ghordi, Udhampur. The main aim of the programme is to make sericulture farmers aware of the latest techniques introduced recently in the sector, the use of which will help boost their income. Over 25 sericulture farmers especially women from different panchayats of Ghordi block will receive training under the programme. Trainees appreciated this programme and said that this will help them become independent. "My parents did sericulture and I learnt some of it from them as I observed them. This is my first day of training and it will help me stand on my feet and not stay dependent on anyone," Sawarna, a trainee told ANI. Another trainee Meena thanked the Modi government saying that because of them she finally got an opportunity to be a part of sericulture training and learn something new. "Such programmes did not take place earlier, they are only happening now. We will take knowledge from this programme," added another trainee named Rubey. Dr Chatra Pal, a scientist with the Central Silk Board said that the intention of the programme is to introduce new technologies to farmers which will boost their income. "The aim of the training programme is to make farmers aware of the latest techniques in order to boost their income. We are getting help from the State Sericulture Department. We encourage farmers to adopt new technologies. This programme will last for five days," said Pal to ANI. Pal also said that the trainees will get food along with Rs 150 as a daily stipend. Arti Sharma, the Chairman of Block Development Council, Ghordi said that during the programme, government schemes on sericulture and plenty of practical and theoretical knowledge about the field will be shared with the beneficiaries. "Our Prime Minister has a dream of 'Aatamnirbhar Bharat, which can only be attained if we are able to stand on our own two feet. The programme will do the beneficiaries a lot of benefits," she added. Sanjay Kumar Sharma, Senior Technical Assistant, and Vinod Sharma, Circle Incharge, Ghordi were also present on behalf of the Sericulture Department for providing training on behalf of the Central Silk Board. (ANI) Communist Party of India's Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam has sought immediate intervention of Union Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar for the safe return of Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine. Viswam in a letter to External Affairs Minister said, "I seek the Ministry's urgent intervention to ensure the safe return of hundreds of Indians who are stranded in Ukraine." "The Government must be aware that more than 20,000 Indians reside in Ukraine, including students. With the break out of military operations in Ukraine, the measures taken by the Indian government need to be stepped up. While many have managed to return, several arestill stuck," the CPI MP said in the letter Senior CPI leader further mentioned that the Ukrainian airspace is being closed for civilian flights. "I urge the government that every option should be explored for the emergency evacuation of the Indian nationals including the rail and road methods," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities escalating the ongoing tensions between the two countries. Ukraine gained independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that special military operations are being launched "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region. (ANI) Malik has been remanded to ED custody till March 3, in connection with Dawood Ibrahim's money laundering case. He was sent to ED custody for seven days by a court in Mumbai in connection with the case. Earlier, ED had sought 14-day custody of the NCP leader from the court. He was arrested on Wednesday by the ED. According to the sources, Malik was not cooperating during the questioning. Soon after his arrest, Malik said that he is not scared and will fight and win. Earlier this month, the ED conducted raids at the residence of Dawood Ibrahim's sister Haseena Parkar in Mumbai in connection with the money laundering case. Searches were carried out by the ED at several places linked to people associated with the underworld in Mumbai, informed sources said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party is demanding the resignation of the State Minister but the Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA-- comprising Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP) government has rejected the demand for Nawab Malik's resignation. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved order on the plea of former West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay challenging Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Principal Bench order which ordered to transfer his application from CAT Kolkata bench to Delhi branch. The bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh after hearing the submission and asked the parties to file their written submission till tomorrow. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Union of India in the matter and said that the tribunal has an exclusive power to transfer the case from one bench to another. He also said that the chief secretary in May Last year chose to not receive the Prime Minister at the Kalaikunda airbase in West Midnapore district, and then skipping his review meeting to assess the damage caused by Cyclone Yaas, was a great violation. Alapan Bandyopadhyay in January month had approached the Delhi High Court challenging the order passed by the principal bench of CAT transferring his case from Kolkata to Delhi. He submitted that the Impugned Order was passed in complete violation of the principles of natural justice, equity and fair play inasmuch as the Petitioner was not even granted a right to file its written objections to the Transfer Petition. The Transfer Petition was allowed on the very first day of its listing, stated Bandhopadhyay plea. On October 22, 2021, Chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench at New Delhi transferred the application filed by the Petitioner before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Kolkata Bench to the Principal Bench in the national capital. The plea stated that the petitioner is the former Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal and retired on 31st May 2021. The petitioner ordinarily and permanently resides in Kolkata. Therefore, the Petitioner had unqualified rights under Rule 6(2) of the Central Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1987 to file the Original Application before the Kolkata Bench. Further, the entire cause of action in respect of the Original Application, as well as the underlying disciplinary proceedings against the Petitioner, occurred within the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Bench, the plea said. There were absolutely no material circumstances that warranted the transfer of the original application to New Delhi. The respondents - Union of India has sought transfer on the ground that the department is based in New Delhi. However, the impugned order fails to appreciate that situs of the office of the Union of India or the convenience of the Union of India can never be a valid ground to transfer an original application. On the contrary, the convenience of a retired officer ought to have been given precedence. Further, as set out in detail in writ petition, the Chairman of the Principal Bench exceeded the jurisdiction under Section 25 of the Act while dealing with the Transfer Petition by making an observation on the merits of the case which has absolutely no basis. On May 31, Bandyopadhyay superannuated. Subsequently, an inquiry was initiated against him by the Centre for not attending a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on May 28, 2021, for assessing the loss of life and property caused by the cyclonic storm YAAS. After the inquiry order, Bandyopadhyay moved CAT's Kolkata Bench challenging it. Thereafter, the Centre moved the Principal Bench for the transfer of the case here and on October 22 order was passed allowing the transfer petition. Bandyopadhyay then moved the High Court against CAT, New Delhi order. The High court on October 29, took strong objection to the manner in which the CAT Principal Bench favoured the Central government in transferring Bandyopadhyay's case to itself and quashed CAT's order. Thereafter, the Centre approached the apex court against the High Court order. The apex court said that the Calcutta High Court did not have the jurisdiction to decide the plea of Bandyopadhyay. It also granted liberty to Bandyopadhyay to approach the jurisdictional High Court (Delhi) to challenge the order of the CAT Principal Bench. (ANI) Maryland Transportation Authoritys board voted Thursday to temporarily stop charging late fees on video toll bills to alleviate stress from customers who owe outstanding toll fees and are unable to connect by phone with understaffed customer service representatives. A customer assistance plan gives customers a nine-month grace period to pay overdue video tolls bills without being charged an additional $25 late fee for every unpaid toll. The plan will also waive pending late fees on outstanding toll bills if customers pay the full amounts of their toll transactions by the end of the grace period. Advertisement William Pines, acting executive director for MDTA, emphasized that the program should be considered a temporary payment plan and not a forgiveness program that eliminates outstanding bills. Customers are still required to pay their toll fees, he said. The customer assistance plan started Thursday and ends Nov. 30. MDTA will again refer unpaid toll bills and late fees to the Motor Vehicle Administrations central collection unit starting Dec. 1. The MVA can suspend a persons vehicle registration if they have more than $1,000 in unpaid tolls and late fees. Advertisement Marylands road tolls switched quickly to electronic-only tolling during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. MDTA paused sending bills for video tolls while transitioning to a new toll vendor and continued to postpone collecting payments for a year during the public health emergency. But those decisions have created chaos for customers who are now being charged hundreds of dollars at once, with additional $25 late fees for unpaid bills. Customers have complained of limited success reaching an employee to dispute charges because customer service phone lines are tied up. As part of the plan approved by the transit authority board, MDTA will use additional funds to hire subcontractors to make more representatives available to customers. Callers have previously been placed on hourslong waits to speak with someone about their bills. Gov. Larry Hogan this month called the backlogged bills a huge problem and asked MDTA to provide leniency during the transition from customers not being charged for video tolls for over a year to suddenly being billed all at once. The deferral of toll bills during the pandemic protected Marylanders from hardship during one of the greatest health and economic emergencies of our lifetimes, but we realize paying off those bills now can be a challenge for many families, James Ports Jr., Maryland transportation secretary and MDTA board chairman, said in a statement. A number of bills have been proposed in the General Assembly this session that deal with Marylanders toll debt. State Del. Alfred Carr Jr. and state Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher introduced bills that would prohibit the Motor Vehicle Administration from suspending motor vehicle registration as a penalty for toll violations. State Del. Linda Foley proposed a bill to allow E-ZPass customers to dispute any fee charged to their accounts within three years after a fee is posted. EZPass holders have also complained of steep bills due to incorrect charges or problems with faulty transponders. More than 26,000 people have signed a petition urging Hogan to create a task force to pause MDTAs fines while investigating the issues related to E-ZPass video tolls. Ports offered several reasons for E-ZPass woes: The video tolls are misreading E-ZPass transponders, customers accounts are linked to expired credit cards, accounts that are not set up for auto-replenishment might run out of funds, the wrong license plate might be registered to an E-ZPass transponder, or a customer is not properly mounting their transponder in their car. Advertisement Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > Since October 2020, when MDTA started mailing backlogged bills from March, people experiencing problems have had trouble resolving them over the phone or by online chat because wait times are too long, Pines said. The call center recently lost 100 call center employees in four months, dropping from 160 employees in April 2021 to 60 employees in August. Its been a really tough battle, Pines said during the board meeting. He attributed the drop in employees to the nationwide resignation trend and cited a general shortage of state workers. Ragina Ali, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, an advocacy group for Maryland motorists, said MDTAs waiver plan is a hopeful relief to the nightmare many tolls customers are experiencing. While the deferral of tolls during the pandemic may have been well-intended to provide relief for Maryland motorists during a challenging time, the unexpected bills and fees that have mounted, for many has created a hardship within itself, Ali said in a statement. We are also hopeful that additional staff will enable Marylanders to address their issues in a timely manner, without them having to wait long hours on the phone for a resolution. Late fees that have already been paid will not be reimbursed, MDTA said. Late fees will be waived for each paid toll, but there may be a delay in reflecting the waiver on an online account until the payment is processed. MDTA will continue to send customers their toll fees that have been backlogged by the pandemic into summer. If customers do not pay the total amount they owe by the end of the grace period, their late fees will not be waived. Advertisement People with unpaid video tolls can check their accounts online at csc.driveezmd.com/pay-tolls-now and in person at one of five customer service centers. The locations of those centers can be found at driveezmd.com/contact-us. Account totals can also be checked by calling 1-866-320-9995; select Option 1 for Notice of Toll Due then enter the mailing number on the notice when prompted. A petition has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking to issue directions to the respondent Centre to take immediately the effective diplomatic steps and measures for the escalation of the stranded Indian citizens including students and families in Ukraine. The petition has been moved by advocate Vishal Tiwari, who also sought to issue directions to Respondent to ensure the essential and emergency supplies like medical facilities, housing and lodging facilities and supply of food to the stranded Indian citizens in Ukraine. The petitioner also sought to issue directions to Respondent to ensure that the MBBS degree of the Indian students Studied from Ukraine through online mode shall be recognized so that the medical students shall not lose their career. Advocate Vishal Tiwari said that he has filed the petition for the protection of Indian Citizens including thousands of students and families who are stranded in Ukraine during the present Russia and Ukraine conflict/war. "The ongoing war in Russia and Ukraine has left the life and liberty of the Indian Students and Families in danger who are residing in Ukraine for the studies and work. Over 20,000 Indians are presently in Ukraine including 18,000 students while the world is watching the developments in Ukraine with Russia's military build-up on the borders of the country, " the petitioner said. "However, flights to India have become costlier and are only available after February 2022. But recently on Thursday, the Russian President Mr Putin has announced a military operation against Ukraine claiming that it is intended to protect civilians. The present military Action has put the question mark on the safety and life of the Indian Students studying in Ukraine. The Air Space has been Shut down in Ukraine and there is no hope for Indian Students to escape from that war land," said the petition. There are thousands of Indian medical Students studying in Ukraine, their future has been gone in the dark because their studies and degrees are at stake. Some of the Universities are giving online classes but some of the universities are forcing for offline classes due to which the medical Students are in fear that their degrees are at risk if they leave Ukraine, the petition said. Advocate Tiwari further added that some of the universities are refusing to allow foreign students to leave the country and not allowing them to take online classes. He further said that the students from every state of our Nation are stuck and trapped in Ukraine and their family members and parents are crying and looking for hope towards the Government. "The Government has the responsibility to protect the life and liberty of its Citizens Guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India not only in its Country but in foreign Countries also, especially when the Citizens are helpless and all mode of Transports is Shutdown. Government has to take and Adopt several Diplomatic measures," stated the petition. (ANI) Further relaxation in the COVID-19 restrictions in the national capital in wake of a drop in cases is likely to be taken up. The meeting is being held under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Revenue Minister Kailash Gehlot, NITI Aayog member VK Paul and Health Department officials are also present in the meeting. (ANI) Earlier in the day, the Enforcement Directorate took Malik to the hospital for medical examination. Malik has been remanded to ED custody till March 3, in connection with the Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case. He was sent to ED custody for seven days by a court in Mumbai in connection with the case. Earlier, ED had sought 14-day custody of the NCP leader from the court. He was arrested on Wednesday by the ED. According to the sources, Malik was not cooperating during the questioning. Soon after his arrest, Malik said that he is not scared and will fight and win. Earlier this month, the ED conducted raids at the residence of Dawood Ibrahim's sister Haseena Parkar in Mumbai in connection with the money laundering case. Searches were carried out by the ED at several places linked to people associated with the underworld in Mumbai, informed sources said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party had demanded the resignation of the State Minister but the Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA-- comprising Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP) government has rejected the demand for Nawab Malik's resignation. (ANI) He also said that a nodal officer for this purpose has been appointed and a toll-free number has been launched. "We are in touch with MEA and senior officials to see that all students/people are brought back. We have appointed a Nodal Officer, and a toll-free number has been issued," Dhami told ANI. The Chief Minister said that he spoke with some children and their parents yesterday and the government will provide all possible help. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. Air India is operating three flights between India-Ukraine on February 22, 24, and 26. The flights will take off from Boryspil International Airport and bookings are open through Air India booking offices, website, call centres, and authorized travel agents. India strongly emphasized the need for all sides to exercise the utmost restraint and intensify diplomatic efforts to ensure a mutually amicable solution. (ANI) The police said that the gangster Yunus Badri is a member of the Mewat-based gang of robbers. According to police, Yunus is involved in nine criminal cases including assault on police, attempt to murder, robbery, extortion, threatening, arms act, and Cow Slaughtering Act in Delhi. The police have recovered one semi-automatic pistol of .32 bore with two live cartridges and one empty shell fired by the accused. (ANI) Stranded Indians who were scheduled to come to India from Ukraine, have levelled serious allegations against an airlines company saying it is overcharging. The airline company, Ukraine International Airlines has rubbished the allegations of selling expensive tickets. The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) representatives in Delhi have denied the charge of collecting increased airfare from students and families wanting to return urgently from the war-torn country. Anju Wariah, GSA (General Sales Agent) representative of Ukraine International Airlines in India told ANI that the company can make money anytime and that this isn't the right time to do so. "We can make money anytime. This is not the right time to do so. We understand the concern of the parents and we are trying our level best to bring the students back," Wariah added. Wariah further said the airline fares were in line with what TATA owned Air India was charging. "I would refute the allegation that airlines company including UIA charging skyrocketing fares from the students is totally baseless... We are charging what Air India is charging that is around Rs 50,000-Rs 55,000 only," stated Wariah. Highlighting the urgency to bring the students back, Wariah said they are planning to see if students can be brought back to India or if Indian citizens can be moved to the Western part of Ukraine or nearby bordering countries. Amid the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, several airlines were announced to operate special flights, including Air India, to bring back Indian nationals safely. However, the Ukraine airspace is currently closed at the moment. Sunayna Pandit, a sales manager at STIC Travel Group, which operates Ukraine International Airlines from India, said, "We are in touch with several nearby countries in Ukraine and flight operations to evacuate Indians from there, waiting for permission to start flight services." Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities escalating the ongoing tensions between the two countries. Ukraine gained independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that special military operations are being launched "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region. (ANI) The Control room numbers are 033-22143526 and 1070. The team will be headed by a senior IAS officer and will be manned by West Bengal Civil Servant officers for assisting and helping the students. The helpline number will be operational from 9 am to 9 pm. Following the Russian military operations, the Indian embassy in Kyiv had earlier said the present situation in Ukraine is highly uncertain and Indian citizens should remain safe. (ANI) "Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the telephone and has requested him for the safe evacuation of stranded Odia students and labourers from Ukraine, said the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). Shah has assured that the government is in touch with the Ukrainian government and working to bring back students and labourers at the earliest, informed the CMO. The tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalated after Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Ukraine had gained independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Putin on Thursday said special military operations are being launched "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Following the Russian military operations, the Indian embassy in Kyiv had earlier said the present situation in Ukraine is highly uncertain and Indian citizens should remain safe. (ANI) Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has appealed to Union Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar to bring back Karnataka students safely from war-torn Ukraine, said a press release. Speaking to media persons here today, Bommai said, "I have spoken to the Union External Affairs minister in the morning. The Union government is doing everything possible to bring back the stranded Indians safely. Possibilities of taking them to safety back through land route options are being explored as the air services have been hit by the war with Russia. There is information about secure movement possibilities towards the western part of Ukraine and the Indian Embassy in Ukraine is in touch with stranded Indian students." "We have appealed to ensure the safety of the students and make arrangements for their food and accommodation. Helplines have been set up by both Union and State governments. The Union Minister for External Affairs has appealed to the students to be careful till the war subsides," Bommai added. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. Air India is operating three flights between India-Ukraine on February 22, 24, and 26.The flights will take off from Boryspil International Airport and bookings are open through Air India booking offices, website, call centres, and authorized travel agents. India strongly emphasized the need for all sides to exercise the utmost restraint and intensify diplomatic efforts to ensure a mutually amicable solution. (ANI) NORKA is a department of the Government of Kerala formed to redress the grievances of Non-Resident Keralites. Sreeramakrishnan, a former Kerala Assembly Speaker, said, "In the last two days, 829 Kerala students have reached out to NORKA, requesting evacuation from the country. There are over 2300 students from Kerala, who are studying in Ukraine." He further said that out of the 2300 students, only 150 are registered with NORKA. He also pointed out that the NORKA has set up 24*7 helpline number to facilitate students who are stranded in Ukraine. (ANI) Renata Helga Ramsburg, a German-born World War II bride who established herself as a hardworking mainstay of Baltimores Zion Lutheran Church and its annual sour beef dinners, died of heart failure Feb. 14 at Northwest Hospital Center. The longtime Reisterstown resident was 99. Born in Auerbach, Germany, in a territory that became East Germany, she was the daughter of Max Poley, a lacemaker and baker, and his wife, Martha Roscher. Advertisement The Nazi government separated her from her parents and assigned them work duties during World War II. She was an amazing woman. She said, Worrying will not help. When there was a situation she could not change, she went along. She did say that it was up to yourself to make the best personal decisions, said her daughter, also named Renata Ramsburg. Advertisement Mrs. Ramsburg recalled surviving an air raid and firebombing on her home in Duesseldorf during World War II. Her sisters hair caught fire and my mother ran her to a well and applied water, her daughter said. After the end of hostilities, she took a job in an American Army mess hall in Frankfurt where she felt she would find kind GIs and a source of food. There she met her future husband, a Frederick County farmer, William Bill Ramsburg, a truck driver who ran supplies to the front line at the Battle of Remagen. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 61 Ron Galella, the celebrity photographer whose pursuit of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis resulted in a restraining order against him after he stalked her for years, died at age 91 on April 30, 2022, at his home in Montville, N.J., of congestive heart failure. (Carlo Allegri/AP) My mother just fell for him, said her daughter. They married in Frankfurt and she flew to the U.S. on a DC-3 with an infant baby girl in her lap. She cried all the way, she was so scared, her daughter said. When she arrived, she was in shock, not knowing anyone in Frederick County and moving to a farm that was fairly primitive and had no inside toilets. She attended a carnival near the farm with her husband and thanks to a random health screening, learned she had tuberculosis and recovered in the early 1950s at Mount Wilson State Hospital. She told her friends she considered herself lucky because her father and sister died of the condition in Germany. She worked alongside her husband, who built homes in Baltimore County near Reisterstown. Advertisement To get money for a down payment on their first home, she spent her weekends installing hardwood floors with him. She learned English, worked as a real estate agent in Reisterstown and managed a charity consignment shop for Womens American ORT. She longed for ties to Germany and soon joined downtown Baltimores Zion Lutheran Church, where services were held in German. She also became an enthusiastic participant in the postwar German community in Baltimore. She was president of the churchs Ladies Aid for many years. She and her friends staged the annual sour beef and dumpling dinners for decades. Its a terrible job, she said in a 1988 Sun story. We have 104 members in the Ladies Aid. Anybody not in a nursing home is helping. A lot of young people help and take off from their jobs. Men come and handle the meat and gravy. We prepare for 650. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 24 Lois H. Feinblatt was a pioneering sex therapist who practiced with the Johns Hopkins Sex and Gender Clinic for more than three decades and was a also a philanthropist. (handout) Growing up in a family of accomplished bakers, she brought her chocolate cakes to the church events. Advertisement Her German cakes were avidly sought out at the churchs bake sales so much I resorted to selling them by the piece to satisfy the most customers, her daughter said. The cake was made of dense chocolate layers with whipped cream, cherries and kirschwasser. She also provided Black Forest cakes to The Grill at Harryman House, a landmark Reisterstown property. She and her husband purchased the property in the 1960s and raised their family there before it became a restaurant. When choral groups and bands toured Baltimore from Germany, she hosted members in her home. The choristers became lifelong friends, and she and her husband visited them on their trips to Germany. Mrs. Ramsburg retained contact with her family in Dresden and witnessed the deprivations of communism and subsequent renaissance after reunification. Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > She was an avid dancer, a member of the Baltimore Kickers and the Edelweiss Club. She and her husband were regulars at Blobs Park. Having established a circle of friends, she attended social events related to the German community into her 90s. She showed off her polka skills, despite a hip replacement at age 89. Advertisement [ Walter J. Addison, who oversaw the planning and construction of the Baltimore Metro, dies ] She became well known and celebrated her birthday annually at the Zion Church Sour Beef Dinner in the church parish hall, known as the Adlersaal. She sang along with the Heidi and Heimat Echo Band. She epitomized Gemutlichkeit [the feeling of coziness and warmth], her daughter said. The dancing events ended with her and her friends singing, God Bless America. A life celebration will be held at 1:30 p.m. March 13 at Harryman House at 340 Main St. in Reisterstown. Survivors include two daughters, Renata Ramsburg of Roland Park and Alexandra Ramsburg Kirk of Cody, Wyoming; a son, Kenneth Ramsburg of Reisterstown; a brother, Egon Poley of Calgary, Alberta; and three great-grandchildren. Her husband of 56 years, a contractor, died in 2002. The ongoing Ukrainian crisis has left many Indian families in fear and distress as their children, family, and friends are currently in the conflict-hit country. Families in the Amritsar district of Punjab are extremely distressed about the well-being of their children currently pursuing academic courses in the country. One such mother is Rekha, who is extremely anxious about the well-being and security of her daughter Kayinaat, who is pursuing MBBS in Ukraine. "She went there in August 2021 when the fourth semester started. She could not come back because of her fear of missing offline classes as there was no online mode option. Later she showed us a blast taking place just 13 kilometres from her institution which scared the children. They all packed their bags and shifted. They were given food. But when they came upstairs, a blast happened just outside their hostel. She is currently pursuing her MBBS. We appeal to the Prime Minister that they should be brought back home safely," she said to ANI. Soni family is also waiting for their son's return to India. The last time his mother Saloni communicated with him, she got to know of the military operations there. "It has been five years since he has gone here. Kids got scared after the attack and had to go to the basement. We want that they are brought back home soon safely. He is also pursuing his MBBS," said Saloni to ANI. Hasija family from Amritsar is also waiting for the return of their child, Saumya, who initially could not come back due to fear of missing out on offline classes. "She is in Kharkiv. She had a flight on February 26, but the airports closed and there is no chance of flights right now. They are eating what they have with them. Before the conditions get any worse, we appeal to the Prime Minister that they are taken out of there," said her mother Komal. Her grandmother Meena Das also said that she is fearful for her granddaughter's life and requested the government to intervene. "We appeal to the Prime Minister that she is brought safely. She did not come because of offline classes going on. We sent her to Ukraine for her studies with great difficulty. She was adamant about pursuing MBBS and could not find a seat here. She is a brilliant child and loves studying. We cannot sleep properly without her and it is causing a lot of inconveniences," added Saumya's grandfather Ghanshyam Das. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. Air India is operating three flights between India-Ukraine on February 22, 24, and 26. The flights will take off from Boryspil International Airport and bookings are open through Air India booking offices, website, call centres, and authorized travel agents. India strongly emphasized the need for all sides to exercise the utmost restraint and intensify diplomatic efforts to ensure a mutually amicable solution. (ANI) Authorities of the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife department have made arrangements for food for the endangered Kashmiri stag or deer which is locally known as "Hangul" in the Dachigam National Park following a snowfall in the region. The Hangul is the only surviving sub-species in the Indian subcontinent of the Red Deer family native to Europe. The magnificent mammal has been declared as a critically endangered species by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). "This year the months of December and January were almost dry. But for the last two days, climatic conditions have totally changed and the whole valley including Dachigam national park received a good snowfall. Hence we have geared up again to arrange food for 'Hangul' who come down to the Dachigam National Park in search of food. They are our animals and we are being careful and making sure that they get enough to eat," said Altaf Hussain, Wildlife Warden Central Division. "Usually when the weather changes the wild animals adapt to it. But the Hangul are a critically endangered species and are indigenous to our area. Keeping this in mind, we have to take specific measures," added Hussain. Fresh vegetables and salt licks have been placed in specific hotspots across the park for the Kashmiri stag which helps maintain the calcium level and survive during severe cold. (ANI) The sources further said that the cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation. "Two flights for Bucharest today and one flight for Budapest for tomorrow are being planned to be operated as GOI chartered flights," said Government sources. Air India is operating three flights between India-Ukraine on February 22, 24, and 26. The flights will take off from Boryspil International Airport and bookings are open through Air India booking offices, website, call centers, and authorized travel agents. Earlier on Thursday, with Ukraine closing its airspace after Russia launched a military operation against it, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. India strongly emphasized the need for all sides to exercise the utmost restraint and intensify diplomatic efforts to ensure a mutually amicable solution. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. (ANI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday exhibited confidence over the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls by saying that BJP will win more than 300 seats in a 403 member assembly. He also claimed that Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have already lost the election looking at the trends of the last four phases that have voted so far. "I have travelled across UP in the last four phases of polls. I can say that SP and BSP have lost the election looking at the polling so far. With more than 300 seats, BJP will once again form the government in UP," said Amit Shah while addressing a public rally in Kaushambhi. Further slamming the opposition parties, Shah alleged that SP and BSP are parties that practice casteism and Dynasty politics. "They indulge in appeasement politics. Mafias and Bahubalis used to govern during the tenure of SP and BSP," Shah added. In the last four phases of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, 232 out of 403 assembly seats have gone to the polls. The seven-phased UP Assembly polls are underway in the state and the fifth phase, which is scheduled on February 27, will majorly cover the eastern region, including Ayodhya, Rae Bareli, and Amethi districts. The remaining two phases will take place on March 3 and March 6. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI) Other than the tourist attractions as well as politically crucial battlefield amid ongoing Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, a melting point of many religions, attracts pilgrims from across the country for its locally made sandalwood 'Maharaja Chandan' used for 'tilak' in Hindu religion. 'Maharaja Chandan', a locally manufactured sandalwood prepared by using turmeric, sandalwood and some other secret ingredients, is not only auspicious in terms of its use by saints and religious people but also is a source of major income for several locals who reside in the periphery of around 2 km of 'Ram Ki Paidi', 'Ram Janmabhoomi' and 'Hanumangarhi temple'. Besides 'Maharaja Chandan, 'Mailkota Chandan', 'Shri Chandan, 'Ramraj Chandan', 'Jankiraj Chandan' and 'Gopiraj Chandan' are manufactured in Ayodhya. One of the shopkeepers Geeta Sahu, who runs six to seven generations old shop told ANI, "There are different kinds of uses of chandan. Mailkota chandan is especially used by people belonging to 'Vaishnav Sampraday'. Similarly, other people belonging to different 'sampraday' use different chandan." "In Ramraj chandan, the soil of Ram Janmabhoomi is mixed. Similarly, Janakiraj and Gopiraj chandan are manufactured by using soils of places respectively from where goddess Sita belonged to and from Vrindavan," Shahu said. She said that "Maharaja Chandan is specially manufactured in Ayodhya and it is in more in demand compared to other chandan. Roli chandan is also in demand here as it is used as Tilak by Vaishnav Sampraday people after putting Mailkota chandan on their forehead in almost 'U' shape". All these sandalwood pastes are sold in different ranges beginning from Rs 200 per kg. One can visit the markets in Ayodhya to understand from close quarters the true essence of life for sandalwood sellers doing business in decades-old shops situated in narrow winding lanes in the region based on the banks of the Saryu river. Besides, sandalwood, the shops in the markets in Ayodhya keep a good stock of souvenirs that makes for interesting gift packages back home like photos of temples, devotional objects and idols of Ram and Sita. Pilgrims always want to take back something from the holy places or even the places they have visited, and sandalwood as a memento or a gift for the loved ones back home is one of the key souvenirs in Ayodhya. Even people from other religious places like Mathura and Haridwar are reportedly visited Ayodhya to buy locally made 'Maharaja Chandan'. A resident of Mathura, Kanha Sharma told ANI that he visited Ayodhya to buy "original 'Shri' which is known as 'Roli Chandan' here". "There are many Sampradaya in Hindu religion in which we first put chandan as Tilak before worshipping 'Thakurji' (Lord Krishna). Those who worship Lord Shiva put 'Tripund' (a way of putting tilak)...Shri Chandan is used in Hindu religion," Sharma said. Outside most temples, you would see piles of shops where various kinds of sandalwood pastes including 'Maharaja Chandan' are sold in different shades like white, yellow, red, and brown and the purpose of these colourful sandalwood pastes are also different. "Chandan is in demand in Ayodhya for old times as it is used by saints and religious people here. Maharaja Chandan, Mailkota Chandan and Shri Chandan are specially manufactured here in Ayodhya," Vishnu, another shop owner told ANI. Ayodhya is the melting point of many religions like Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Interestingly enough a large part of the Muslim population resides here too. It is situated on the banks of River Saryu and references to it could be found in many ancient documents like Atharvaveda and some of the early Buddhist texts. Some of the important tourist destinations here are the Hanuman Garhi, Kanak Bhawan, Swarg Dwar, Mani Parvat and Surgiv Parvat, Nageshwarnath Temple are a major source of income for chandan sellers here. Known for the birthplace of Lord Rama and setting of the epic Ramayana, Ayodhya, which is adjacent to Faizabad city, Ayodhya is well accessible from all other cities of Uttar Pradesh and India and sandalwood is among many souvenirs which are the key attraction of the auspicious place. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Friday adjourned sine die the plea challenging the legality and constitutional validity of a Delhi government's decision to exclude private doctors from its compensation policy related to the kin of doctors who died due to COVID-19 while performing their duty during the outbreak of the pandemic. Justice V Kameswar Rao adjourned the matter after hearing the submission of the Counsels for the Delhi Government and for the petitioner. The counsel for the Delhi Government submitted that the victim, who is a doctor, in this case, was 85 years of age and was running his own private clinic. He was neither assigned nor empanelled for COVID-19 duty by the Delhi government. He is not covered under the scheme. On the other hand, Advocate Ashok Agarwal submitted that the issue related to private doctors is pending before the division bench of the High Court and the Supreme Court. The bench adjourned the matter sine die till the disposal of those petitions. The plea stated that the Delhi government had excluded private doctors and paramedical staff from its policy of ex-gratia grant worth Rs 1 crore to the kin of 'Corona Warriors' who died due to coronavirus while they were performing their COVID-19 duties. The petitioner, Saroj Gupta, wife of Dr Shyam Gupta who died due to COVID-19 in April last year, states in her petition that the decision of the Delhi government is in violation of the fundamental right of the petitioner's husband as guaranteed to him under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. The plea further submits that, since the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic in February/ March 2020, all government health authorities of as well as private hospitals have been urging all the doctors to their services and attend patients due to inadequate public health infrastructure to deal with the outbreak. "All clinics, nursing homes, hospitals were asked to pitch in to manage the sheer numbers. It is also submitted that doctors and facilities were even asked to even attend patients who can be managed without hospitalization. It is a fact that private practitioners were the first point of contact for a sick patient. A patient with fever always first approaches his/her family physician who treats him even as he prescribes the patient a test of COVID 19," reads the plea. Advocate Ashok Aggarwal and Kumar Utkarsh, counsel for petitioner, further stated in the plea, "COVID 19 pandemic was fought by both private and government doctors, jointly as a challenge, they rose to the unseen enemy despite huge personal risk. Healthcare workers both from the private and public sectors lost their lives worldwide. The disease did not discriminate based on the status of employment, gender, age even pregnant healthcare workers died. It is also submitted that COVID-19 martyrs according to media reports or IMA sources is about 1700 doctors across the country. In fact, private practitioners of general physician had significant limitations in terms of protective equipment and still continued their duty, more out of commitment, rather than for financial gains." "Cabinet decision to discriminate between doctors deployed by government and private doctors, who were also giving their selfless service during the COVID-19 outbreak, is totally arbitrary, discriminatory, contrary, unjust, unreasonable, illegal and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India," it added. It is submitted that "respondent Delhi government has arbitrarily, without proper application of mind has determined that sacrifice of private doctors is less than doctors deployed by respondent Government." "It is also submitted that both Government and private doctors were doing their duty, serving the mankind in face of an unforeseen pandemic of unimaginable magnitude," reads the petition. The petitioner, in its plea, submitted that it is "sickening' that the discrimination is being made after the demise of doctors. (ANI) Amid heightened tensions between Ukraine and Russia following Russian military operations, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking early evacuation of medical students stranded in Ukraine. The IMA also urged the government to establish a dedicated helpdesk for medical students and also help them financially. "As you are aware that thousands of Indian students pursuing their medical studies are stranded in Ukraine. Most of them cannot afford the escalated costs of air travel. Even those affording cannot travel due to the adverse conditions there. Even the day-to-day rations are dwindling, creating severe hardships for their survival. Their parents here are anxious and worried about the safety and well-being of their children," the letter said. IMA said it is aware of the various efforts taken by the Union Government to get back Indian citizens. "We sincerely and humbly appeal to your good self to give priority to our young students and bring them back as soon as possible. We request further to the Government to help them financially and make all possible efforts to get them out. A dedicated Helpdesk for medical students should also be created," it added. According to sources, the central government will arrange evacuation flights for Indian nationals in Ukraine. They said that the cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation. "Two flights for Bucharest today and one flight for Budapest for tomorrow are being planned to be operated as GOI chartered flights," a source said. Ukraine has closed its airspace after Russia launched a military operation against it. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. In his telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, PM Modi also sensitised him about India's concerns regarding the safety of the Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students, and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India. (ANI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his friends have "broken the backbone" of India's employment. Addressing an election rally in Amethi, the Wayanad MP said, "The backbone of India's employment sector has been broken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his friends. You'll see in the coming times, the youth of this country won't get employment, teach them however much you want. No one listened to me during COVID, but you saw bodies in Ganga." As the first four phases of the seven-phased Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections have been completed and campaigning for the fifth phase is on, Rahul Gandhi finally hit the ground for electioneering in Amethi during the fifth phase of elections in the electorally crucial state. The fifth phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh will take place on February 27 when 60 assembly constituencies will go to the polls. Questioning the government's policies over not providing employment opportunities to the people, he said, "Why doesn't he (PM) talk about employment in his (election) speeches. When he comes to Uttar Pradesh, then why doesn't he tell the youth of the state that he will give them employment opportunities? Why doesn't he say that in 2014 he promised to give employment opportunity and how many people he gave employment to and in the coming times, he will give more employment to people." In the backdrop of employment promises in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress MP further accused the Prime Minister of lying. "When they (BJP) say nothing happened in our 70 years, they actually meant nothing happened for Ambani, Adani in these 70 years... remember, India's biggest billionaires do not give employment, small shopkeepers, traders, and farmers do," said Rahul Gandhi while slamming the government for not doing enough for the common man. He also said that the Prime Minister promised to double farmers' income. "And then he implemented three black laws," he added. The aim of these three (now repealed) agricultural laws, the Congress MP said is to "snatch away what the farmers are getting and give it to India's top billionaires." With the first three phases of seven-phased Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections over and campaigning having ended for the fourth phase also, Rahul Gandhi finally hit the ground for electioneering in Amethi during the fifth phase of elections in the electorally crucial state. The campaigning for the fifth phase of the election will end today. The fifth phase of the elections, which is scheduled to be held on February 27. In this phase, 60 Uttar Pradesh assembly seats across 11 districts including Amethi, Ayodhya, Bahraich, Barabanki, Chitrakoot, Gonda, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Shrawasti and Sultanpur are scheduled to go to polls. (ANI) A Delhi Court granted interim bail for six weeks to the accused in the 2008 Saumya Vishwanathan murder case on medical grounds. The accused had sought interim bail for eight weeks to undergo renal surgery. Journalist Saumya Vishwanathan was found shot dead in her car at Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj on the night of September 28, 2008. The accused was arrested on March 28, 2009. He is already convicted in the Jigisha Ghosh murder case. Additional Sessions Judge Anil Kumar granted the bail to accused Amit Shukla for six weeks from date of release subject to furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 along with two sureties of near relatives in the like amount. On the expiry of the interim bail period, the applicant shall surrender before Jail Authority, the court order said. Advocate Amit Kumar, the counsel for the petitioner, submitted that the applicant is suffering due to stones in his kidneys. He was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital on January 13, 2022, and underwent Right DJ STENT IN SITU surgery the very next day. Later, he was discharged on January 16 from the Hospital. The Counsel further submitted that the STENT is to be removed through an operation after six weeks on February 25 and after removal of the said STENT, another operation regarding his left RIRS/ESWL is to be advised. He is medically advised to have food without salt with normal calcium intake and has also been advised to maintain hygiene. The plea stated that the applicant has not been able to follow the prescribed medical advice inside the jail and urgently needs the help of his family members for post-surgery care. It was further stated that the applicant wants to take further treatment/operation from some private hospital with the support of his family members. On the other hand, the Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that the applicant is facing trial in a heinous offence including the Maharashtra State Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The case is at fag end and only one prosecution witness remains to be examined. He also submitted that the accused is getting treatment from the hospital itself and in case his health is not improving he may be sent to the hospital of his choice in custody. If the accused is released on bail he may flee from justice. The Court, after hearing the submission, observed, "Having considered the submissions and medical condition of the applicant, this court thinks that applicant should be granted interim bail for his better treatment of choice." (ANI) "In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by Article 174 of the Constitution, I, Jagdeep Dhankhar, Governor of the State of West Bengal, hereby summon the West Bengal Legislative Assembly to meet on Monday, March 7, 2022," reads West Bengal Governor's order. Earlier on Wednesday, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar called out Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and said that the Raj Bhavan had received no recommendation for summoning the state Legislative Assembly. This came after media reports claimed that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader had accused Dhankhar of not signing files. "No such recommendation for summoning West Bengal Legislative Assembly by CM Mamata Banerjee has been received at Raj Bhavan for consideration of the Governor," Raj Bhavan's statement read. "It is also indicated that no files, pertaining to appointment or bills or otherwise are pending for Governor's consideration," it added. Further, in the statement, the Governor said that Budget papers can be considered after assembly is summoned. Recently, Dhankhar had written to Mamata Banerjee and had urged her to "make it convenient for an interaction" at Raj Bhavan as "lack of response to issues flagged has potential to lead to constitutional stalemate". West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar are at loggerheads after the latter took office. The chief minister had several times alleged that the Governor makes statements in political interest and interferes in the business of State government. Governor Dhankhar on other hand accused the state government of mishandling the law and order situation. Last month, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday blocked Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on microblogging site Twitter alleging that the latter makes unethical and unconstitutional statements against the state administration. (ANI) OCEAN CITY Keep those tops on in Ocean City, ladies. The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a challenge of the Maryland beach towns 2017 ordinance banning topless sunbathing by women, while allowing men to go bare-chested, The Daily Record reported. The justices let stand the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in August that Ocean Citys gender-based prohibition is constitutional because it is substantially related to the important governmental interest in protecting the public sensibilities of Ocean City. The court denied a request to rehear the case. Advertisement In the unsuccessful petition for Supreme Court review, the attorney for five women challenging the ban stated the ordinance codifies long-standing discriminatory and sexist ideology in which women are viewed as inherently sexual objects without the agency to decide when they are sexual and when they are not. Ocean Citys ordinance that is intended to protect traditional moral sensibilities perpetuates a stereotype ingrained in our society that female breasts are primarily objects of sexual desire whereas male breasts are not, Devon M. Jacob wrote. Jacob did not immediately respond to the newspapers request for comment Tuesday. Advertisement The town is pleased with this latest and final judicial ruling on the ordinance, Ocean Citys attorney, Bruce F. Bright, wrote in an email. The five women sued Ocean City in 2018, arguing they had the right to appear topless in public like men. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore after officials passed an emergency ordinance prohibiting the nude display of a persons specified anatomical areas. Violations carry a fine of up to $1,000. Local officials passed the ordinance after one of the women sent letters to local authorities stating her intention to go topless, touching off a community debate. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday announced that a monitoring mechanism will be created with the representatives of three forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) to monitor the budget earmarked, specifically for private industry and startups, so that it is fully utilised. "A monitoring mechanism under Director General (Acquisition) to be created, with representatives from all the three Services to monitor the budget earmarked, specifically for private industry and startups, so that it is fully utilised," said Singh addressing a webinar titled 'Aatmanirbharta in Defence - Call to Action' on the announcements made in Union budget 2022-23. In an effort to encourage the private industry and startups to venture into the manufacturing and services in the Defence sector, Singh announced that Quality Assurance (QA) process will be reformed to make it non-intrusive, prevention-based and free from the Inspector-Raj. "We would come up with iDEX-Prime to support projects, requiring support beyond Rs 1.5 crore up to Rs 10 crore, to help ever-growing startups in the defence sector," he said. In a bid to promote Research and Development in the industry, Defence Minister announced that "at least five projects under Make-I during Financial Year 2022-23 will be sanctioned to promote Industry-led R&D efforts." "In the annual budget of 2022-23, it has been announced that Defence R&D will be opened up for industry, startups and academia. 25 per cent of Defence R&D budget has also been earmarked for this purpose," he said. Appreciating the detailed discussion during the webinar over the issue of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) model, Union Minister said, "many projects will soon be undertaken by the private industry for design and development of military platforms and equipment in collaboration with DRDO and other organisations through the SPV model." Earlier in the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed the same webinar. "This Budget is a blueprint for developing a vibrant ecosystem from research, design and development to manufacturing. Around 70 per cent of Defence allocation has been kept just for domestic industry. So far, Defence Ministry issued indigenisation list of over 200 defence platforms and equipment," PM Modi said. Further sharing details of the procurement, Prime Minister said, "After the announcement of this list, contracts of around Rs 54,000 crores have been signed for domestic procurement." "Besides this, the procurement process related to equipment worth more than Rs 4.5 lakh crores is in different stages. The third list is going to come soon," he added. (ANI) Amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine after Russia's military operations, family members of one of the Indians stuck in the eastern European country urged the Centre and the state government to bring their daughter and all the other citizens back to the country. The girl is a third-year medical student, who hails from Karnataka's Yaraguppi village of Kundgol Taluk, is studying in a government medical college in Ukraine. Speaking to ANI, her father Gangadhar said, "We are in touch with the Embassy. I believe that the government would extend help. I have a request from the government, please bring back all the residents of Karnataka and the rest of the country safely back to India." Explaining the situation, her daughter is facing in Ukraine amid the tensions, he said that they have been sent to stay in a bunker for their safety and are not allowed to go out. "She is in the bunker now. They have put all of them in the bunker for safety. She was studying at a government university. She has been studying there for three years. She was about to return home after three months following her exams. Nobody is allowed to go out of the bunker. There is a network problem," he said. The father said that her daughter's flight tickets for India were booked but all of a sudden "the war broke out". "Her flight back to India was already booked but the war broke out all of a sudden. 18,000 Indian students are stuck there. One flight for the evacuation of students went there, the second flight was not allowed to land. The war started. So, they are finding it difficult to return home. There is no facility for flight. An emergency war has been declared and so we are in pain," he said. Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking early evacuation of medical students stranded in Ukraine. The IMA also urged the government to establish a dedicated helpdesk for medical students and also help them financially. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. In his telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, PM Modi also sensitised him about India's concerns regarding the safety of the Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students, and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India. (ANI) "Officials of all 13 districts have been called to provide information about people of Uttarakhand stranded in Ukraine. So far we have got the information of 85 people," Ashok Kumar, Uttarakhand's Director-General of Police (DGP) told ANI. The DGP also added that the information gathered by the police department has been sent to The Indian Ministry of External Affairs. As Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine on Thursday, various Indians trying to come out of the country have been stranded there. Nearly 16,000 Indians. mostly students studying in universities, are in Ukraine. Uttarakhand Police department earlier asked people of the state to share the information of their kin and friends who are stuck in Ukraine. "People are instructed to provide details of their friends and kin who are stuck in Ukraine on helpline 112. Once the details are submitted, further action will be taken to provide assistance," Kumar informed. Meanwhile, the central government is planning to operate two flights to Bucharest in Romania and one to Budapest in Hungary on Saturday to evacuate the Indians from the war-torn region. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. (ANI) Amid the ongoing hijab controversy in Karnataka, the Education Committee of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has issued an order asking its education department officials to ensure that no student comes to its schools in "religious attire". In a phone conversation with ANI, SDMC's Education Committee Chairperson Nitika Sharma said, "An incident had come to the fore from an East Delhi school where a girl had gone to the school wearing a hijab. Keeping that in mind, we have issued the order of following the dress code in school. All primary schools come under MCD. We cannot allow children to dress on the basis of religion." "Schools are being divided on the basis of religion. According to me, students should look similar in their dressing style otherwise a sense of inequality will rise among them. We have primary schools which is the foundation period of a student. We respect all religions and all the students are equal to us," she added. Sharma has written the letter to the Director, Education (SDMC). The SDMC runs primary schools up to Class 5. In the letter to the Director, Sharma wrote, "It has been observed that some parents are sending their children to school in religious attire which is not right. This may develop the mentality of inequality among students, which is not good at all for their future. Keeping in view all these factors, all zonal officials should be directed to ensure that students can wear dress other than their uniforms only during school competitions and festivals." Meanwhile, speaking on the incident of a school refusing entry to a girl in hijab, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "Girls of every religion and every caste study in Delhi schools. There is no restriction and every tradition is respected, so far no one has any problem. We value each and every child." The hijab protests in Karnataka began in January this year when some students of Government Girls PU college in the Udupi district of the state alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students claimed they were denied entry into the college for wearing hijab. Following this incident, students of different colleges arrived at Shanteshwar Education Trust in Vijayapura wearing saffron stoles. The situation was the same in several colleges in the Udupi district. The Karnataka pre-University education board had released a circular stating that students can wear only the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious practices will be allowed in colleges. Meanwhile, the Delhi government has announced that all schools will function completely in offline mode from April 1. (ANI) Amid Russian military operations in Ukraine, the Resident Doctor Association (RDA) of Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to evacuate medical students stranded in Ukraine. "More than 17,000 Indian students pursuing their medical studies are stranded in Ukraine. AIR INDIA has increased flight fares 2-3 times in such a grave situation. It is very difficult for them to afford the escalated costs of air travel. Even those affording cannot travel due to the adverse conditions there. Everyday we are getting information of bomb explosions," RDA wrote to Prime Minister Modi. "Their parents here are anxious and worried about the safety and well-being of their children. We sincerely and humbly appeal to your good self to give prior to our young students and bring them back as soon as possible. We request further to the Government to help them financially and make all possible efforts to get them out," urged the RDA. Ukraine has closed its airspace after Russia launched a military operation against it. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. According to sources, the central government will arrange evacuation flights for Indian nationals in Ukraine. They said that the cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation. "Two flights for Bucharest today and one flight for Budapest for tomorrow are being planned to be operated as GOI chartered flights," a source said. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. In his telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, PM Modi also sensitised him about India's concerns regarding the safety of the Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students, and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India. (ANI) He stressed the need for root cause analysis of all accidents and incidents, improve maintenance practices to boost mission effectiveness besides maintaining impregnable physical and cyber security at all times, stated the Defence Ministry. He praised WAC for the quantum of flying carried out and urged all Commanders to continue their efforts towards providing a safe operational flying environment. Western Air Command Commanders' Conclave was held on February 24 at Subroto Park in New Delhi. It was attended by Commanders of all bases under Western Air Command (WAC). Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Air Staff was received by Air Marshal Amit Dev, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief WAC and was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour on his arrival at the Command Headquarters. (ANI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday targetted the Samajwadi Party (SP) over casteism and dynastic politics and said that the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) uprooted these practices. Shah, who has been on a campaigning trail, promised free power for irrigation to farmers of Uttar Pradesh for five years if BJP retains power. Addressing an election rally in Rampur Khas in Pratapgarh district, Shah said, "We've brought an end to casteism, dynastic politics. Where is Azam Khan, Atiq Ahmed today? If you want them to remain in jail, you should vote for BJP... Our government will give a gas cylinder free on Holi and Diwali." Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did the work of depositing Rs 6,000 every year to the bank accounts of 2.54 crore farmers. "Form the BJP government again in Uttar Pradesh, no farmer of the state will have to pay the electricity bill for five years," he added. Listing the works of the BJP government in the state, Shah said that in Uttar Pradesh, "maximum" work for poor welfare has been done by their government. "BJP gave 1.67 crore women free gas connections. The BJP government did the work of constructing toilets in the homes of 2.61 crore poor people. The BJP government did the work of providing free electricity to 1.41 crore homes," Shah said. Taking a jibe at the previous government, Shah said, "In the previous government, government land worth Rs 2,000 crore was occupied by mafia and musclemen. The BJP government of Uttar Pradesh has used land worth Rs 2,000 crore to build houses for the poor by freeing them from mafia." Exuding confidence in BJP's victory in the Assembly elections, Shah said that the party will win over 300 seats. The fifth phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh will take place on February 27 when 60 assembly constituencies will go to the polls. In this phase, 60 Uttar Pradesh assembly seats across 11 districts including Amethi, Ayodhya, Bahraich, Barabanki, Chitrakoot, Gonda, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Shrawasti and Sultanpur are scheduled to go to polls. (ANI) Amid Russian military operations in Ukraine, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday said it is geared for the evacuation of Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine. "Indian Air Force is geared up for any requirements of the evacuation of our citizens from Ukraine," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Ashish Moghe told ANI when asked about the possibility of its planes going for bringing back Indian nationals. The IAF has the C-17 Globemasters and the Ilyushin-76 transport aircraft which can go such long distances and evacuate Indian nationals from Ukraine. The aircraft of both the fleets are ready and whenever required, they can be sent to help the Indian citizens including students studying there in different educational institutes. The IAF played a key role recently in bringing back Indian citizens and officials stranded in Afghanistan following the Taliban's take over the country. Ukraine has closed its airspace after Russia launched a military operation against it. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. According to sources, the central government will arrange evacuation flights for Indian nationals in Ukraine.They said that the cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation. "Two flights for Bucharest today and one flight for Budapest for tomorrow are being planned to be operated as GOI chartered flights," a source said. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. In his telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, PM Modi also sensitised him about India's concerns regarding the safety of the Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students, and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India. (ANI) Amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday issued a helpline number for the citizens stranded in the Eastern European country and said that the government is working to bring back the people of the state. The number launched by the government is 94544 41081. The government also appointed IAS Ranvir Prasad, Relief Commissioner and Secretary, Revenue Department, as the nodal officer to coordinate the return of the citizens. "In view of the emergency situation arising in Ukraine, all commercial flights to and from Ukraine are closed. Ukraine's airspace is also closed. The Embassy of India, Kiev, is striving to provide all possible help to all Indians (Indian students and others) present in Ukraine. Helpline numbers are being operated by Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and Embassy of India, Kiev, Ukraine," said the statement by the government. "According to the notification, the Nodal Officer, in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and the Embassy of India, Kiev, Ukraine, will facilitate the process of repatriation of students/persons from Uttar Pradesh who are present in Ukraine," added the statement. The state government further stated that the state control room will provide 24-hour helpline service to the people. (ANI) Patnaik also spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the issue today following which the Union Minister assured of the safe evacuation of Indians stranded in Ukraine, said a press release by the Chief Minister's Office. Earlier today, the Chief Minister also spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the phone on the issue requested him for the safe evacuation of stranded Odia students and labourers from Ukraine. "CM Patnaik also directed that Development Commissioner-cum-Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena will coordinate the overall issue of bringing back citizens from Odisha. Besides, the Resident Commissioner at New Delhi will coordinate with the Government of India over this issue," said the release. "The government designated Ravi Kant, IPS, Resident Commissioner as the Nodal Officer for the purpose and can be contacted on Mobile/Whatsapp-8527580245 Land line-011-23012751," said an official order by the government. The Chief Minister also directed the District Administration to collect information regarding students and workers in Ukraine and effectively coordinate with their family members at this hour of crisis. (ANI) "I held a meeting for schools in Mumbai to resume from March, with pre-covid timings, attendance, curricular and extracurricular activities, school buses, apart from certain essential covid appropriate norms, as cases steadily decline in Mumbai," tweeted Thackeray who is also the Guardian Minister of Mumbai Suburban District. In a bid to increase the vaccination coverage in children, Thackeray said, "Schools will be encouraged to organise vaccination camps for students above 15 yrs of age, with BMC Education Dept and doctors with the consent of parents." Meanwhile, Mumbai reported 128 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, as per the bulletin released by BMC on Friday evening. There are 1,014 active cases in the city with 200 patients discharged in the last 24 hours. (ANI) The Union Minister also held a roadshow in the Barabanki. Speaking to ANI, Thakur took a jibe at Akhilesh who is claiming to win 200 seats in UP Assembly polls and said the party(SP) which couldn't reach 50 seats is talking about scoring a double ton this time. "Samajwadi Party leaders are linked to terrorists. Akhilesh backed Nawab Malik who bought land from terrorists. The SP candidates list comprised those who are in jail or seeking bail. The party which couldn't reach 50 seats is talking about scoring a double ton this time," said the Union Minister. After Malik got arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case, Samajwadi Party supremo alleged that the BJP government brings agencies to defame leaders. "If BJP is scared of someone, it brings agencies (ED) to defame them (Nawab Malik) and sends them to prison after false trials. We've seen this multiple times, BJP once said it's in danger after a pouch was found in the Assembly, which was sawdust," said Yadav. Malik has been remanded to ED custody till March 3, in connection with the Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case. He was sent to ED custody for seven days by a court in Mumbai in connection with the case. (ANI) President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday paid tributes to Lachit Barphukan on his 400th birth anniversary in Assam's Guwahati and said that the warrior remains a hero in the hearts of the people and an inspiration for the "brave soldiers of our country". Addressing on the occasion, President Kovind said, "Lachit Barphukan remains a hero in the hearts of people. 'Lachit Barphukan Gold Medal Award' was instituted at the National Defence Academy, in the year 1999 which is given annually to the best cadet. A statue of this great warrior was also established on the NDA campus. Barphukan would continue to be an inspiration for the brave soldiers of our country." The President further described Barphukan as one of the greatest sons of India. He noted that many stories of Lachit Barphukan are popular among the people of Assam and his birth anniversary on 24th November is celebrated as 'Lachit Divas' across the state. "We are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our independence. The Government of India is organising several programs under the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'. The people and especially youth are participating in these programs with enthusiasm. He said that such events give us an opportunity to connect with our past and re-visit our history," the President said. President Kovind said that Assam is one of the few states that "all the attempts of the invaders in the medieval period were thwarted". "Mughals made repeated attempts for expanding their empire in the north-eastern region. In the battle of Alaboi in the year 1669, around ten thousand brave soldiers of Assam sacrificed their lives. After that, the feeling of patriotism got stronger. Two years later, in the battle of Alaboi, Lachit Barphukan retaliated and not only Aurangzeb's army was defeated in the historic battle of Saraighat, but that defeat proved to be the final nail in the coffin of the expansionist policies of the Mughals in the north-east," he said. (ANI) A total of nine Commanders-in-Chief from the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force took part in a high-level meeting to discuss and deliberate on various aspects related to setting up of the Integrated Maritime Theatre Command in Mumbai, informed Ministry of Defence on Friday. The ministry said that the tri-services discussions on the modalities and structural framework for the creation of Integrated Theatre Commands for the Indian Armed Forces were held under the aegis of Western Naval Command at Mumbai. The meeting was conducted over a period of two days from February 24 to 25. The meeting was chaired by Vice Adm Ajendra Bahadur Singh, who has been nominated as the lead C-in-C for the Study. "This is yet another milestone towards building jointness and enhancing organisational synergy among the three Services. A total of nine Commanders-in-Chief from the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and ANC, came together for a high-level meeting to discuss and deliberate on various aspects related to setting up of the Integrated Maritime Theatre Command," the ministry said in a statement. In addition to the Commanders-in-Chief, almost 50 senior officers from various Commands of the three Services as well as from Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff and Department of Military Affairs also attended the meeting. They provided inputs towards laying a strong foundation for the Theatre Command. (ANI) The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) arrested three people in connection with the investigation into the affairs of Jagat Agro Commodities Pvt. Ltd on Friday. In the investigation assigned by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to SFIO based on the orders passed by the National Company Law Tribunal, the SFIO arrested promoter and shareholder Satish Kumar Pawa, son of promoter Saurav Aggarwal and statutory auditor Suhas S Paranjpe in connection with the investigation into the affairs of Jagat Agro Commodities Pvt. Ltd, according to a release from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The investigation was assigned by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to SFIO based on the orders passed by the National Company Law Tribunal. The arrest has been made by SFIO in the exercise of the powers under Section 212(8) of the Companies Act, 2013, based on the material in its possession which has revealed that these persons were guilty of indulging in serious corporate fraud punishable under Section 447 of the Companies Act, 2013. They have falsified the financial statements over a period of 3 years by inflating their stock position and falsely induced banks to lend on the strength of the falsified financial statements. The company borrowed funds from public banks viz. SBoP and PNB and diverted/ siphoned through various channels, the release said. They were produced before the court of Competent Jurisdiction in Delhi and transit remand orders were obtained for producing them before the Special Court (Companies Act, 2013), Mumbai. The additional session judge, Mumbai, has remanded all the three accused in SFIO custody till Match 1. The investigation is currently in progress. (ANI) "Considering the gravity and nature of the offences, the serious objection raised on the side of prosecution and intervener, the court is on the view of petitioner and accused shall not be released," the court said. Dismissing the bail petition, the court said that the "complainant is still in hospital" and the "investigation is at the preliminary stage." Earlier in the day, the police had filed a petition in a metropolitan magistrate court in George Town court complex seeking five-day custodial interrogation but the court rejected the plea. On the voting day of urban local body poll on February 19, a case was registered against Jayakumar for allegedly assaulting a DMK cadre and also forcing a DMK worker to remove his shirt and parading him half-naked on the day of local body polls. Jayakumar accused the DMK cadre of indulging in booth capturing during polling for the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) council elections on February 19. (ANI) Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday wrote to Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar in connection with the citizens stranded in Ukraine amid the ongoing crisis in the Eastern European country and appealed to bring the "stranded Telugu people back home safely at the earliest". "Concerned about the safety and wellbeing of Indians (especially Telugus) stuck in Ukraine amidst #UkraineRussia crisis. Wrote to @DrSJaishankar Garu requesting to evacuate our people on an emergency basis," Naidu tweeted with the letter attached to the tweet. In the letter, the TDP president recalled the government's efforts to bring back the citizens from foreign countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and said that the memories are still fresh and added that there are nearly 4,000 students studying in Ukraine besides professionals. "The manner in which you have taken initiative to bring our loved ones to home during the COVID pandemic is still fresh in our memories. I would like to bring to your notice about the stranded Telugu people in Ukraine due to the war situation in this region. There are numerous Telugu people in Ukraine including professionals and around 4,000 students studying there," he wrote. "Due to the prevailing tension in the region, family members living in India have become a worried lot about their loved ones stranded in Ukraine. In this backdrop, it is appealed to bring the stranded Telugu people back home safely at the earliest. Such action would provide great relief to the family members back home," Naidu added further in the letter stating the problems being faced by the residents like the "access ATMs for money and depleting food supplies" in Ukraine. "Telugu people in cities like Odessa and Kyiv are facing severe crisis due to closure of Universities and Offices Some Telugu people along with their fellow Indians tried to board flight from Kyiv airport, but in vain. At present they are provided shelter at a school by the Indian Embassy," he wrote. (ANI) Several parts of the national capital received rainfall on Friday evening and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more rainfall in the city along with thunderstorms and lightning in the next two hours. The weather forecasting agency has also predicted hail precipitation in Delhi and its adjacent areas. "Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds with speed of 30-40 Km/h would occur over and adjoining areas of North, Northwest, West, New and Central Delhi and NCR, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan during next 2 hours and Hail precipitation is likely to occur over and adjoining areas of Hodal (Haryana) during next one hour," IMD said in a tweet at 9:10 pm. Earlier, (IMD) had predicted light to moderate intensity rain in parts of Delhi-NCR during the next two hours. (ANI) Telangana Congress unit chief Revanth Reddy on Friday said the Congress will not accept any hike in the power tariff in the state and slammed Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for allegedly failing to clear arrears of discoms. The Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) on Friday held a meeting over the hike in power tariffs and has also invited public suggestions in this regard. "The government is also a consumer. All the subsidies and charges on the schemes announced by the state government should be paid to discoms. Every year, the government need to pay Rs 16,000 crores to discoms, while the government is only paying Rs 6,000 crores avoiding 10,000 crores. The debts rose to Rs 60,000 crores," Revanth said in addressing a press conference while asking TSERC to reject the proposal of tariff hike. He said that the Telangana government failed to clear the arrears resulting in debts for discoms. He added that the main defaulter of discoms is the state government and action should be taken against it. "There is only one megawatt of solar power generation in the state. The dues are higher in Hyderabad and Siddipet. The Congress leader stated also that many accidents are taking place with the electric wires hanging in several places, due to the negligence of officials, and further questioned why cases are not being registered against them. (ANI) Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday slammed the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and said the opposition party has given tickets during Uttar Pradesh polls to those "who are in jail and are on bail". "In the first four phases of the Uttar Pradesh election, people have voted to wash away SP, BSP and Congress. The first list of candidates of the Samajwadi Party had names of those in jail and the ones who were on bail," he said at a press conference here. The minister sought an apology from Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav for her remarks that BJP's "double-engine" government has "rusted and it now resembles the colour of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's attire". "The saffron that the SP leader (Dimple Yadav) is insulting is a symbol of Sanatan Dharma and tenacity, renunciation and sacrifice. These 'families' living in the palaces hate the saffron-clad leader only because he considers the 25 crore people of Uttar Pradesh as his family," he said. "Dimple Yadav should take back her words. Yogi Adityanath worked for the safety of women, gave electricity, worked for the backward people. He was voted to power by the people of the state. Dimple Yadav should apologise to the people of UP also," he added. The Uttar Pradesh BJP has said the people of the state "will not tolerate the insult to saffron colour just to please a 'special' vote bank'". Dimple Yadav had said at a rally that the "BJP's double-engine has rusted". "When the iron gets rusted, what is its colour. I think it is the same as the chief minister's clothes," she said referring to Adityanath's saffron clothes and added that it "is time to remove the rust from Uttar Pradesh". (ANI) As Carroll Countys newly rebranded Workforce Development Center continues to expand, the Board of County Commissioners has approved changes to the centers staffing. The Carroll County Workforce Development Center is an office of the countys Department of Economic Development and is where job seekers and businesses can address their employment and workforce needs. Formerly known as the Business Employment Resource Center (BERC), the office was renamed in November to better reflect its purpose. Advertisement We transitioned this last year to become an independent workforce area and stand up our own workforce board, said Denise Beaver, deputy director of the countys economic development department. As well as representing Carroll County in the region and the state, we have a lot of direct reporting to the state now that we did not have before. Advertisement With new dollars acquired through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the center is adding workplace training, and needs more staff to manage new programs. Heather Powell, the centers manager, asked county commissioners during a meeting last week to approve the addition of two positions and the adjustment of two existing positions. One of the existing positions, the centers youth program specialist, is responsible for providing direct service to youth customers including intake, assessment, job search assistance, case consultations, referral and crisis intervention. This position is funded by a Coronavirus Relief Act grant distributed by the Maryland Department of Labor, which had a one-year term. We hired that position later than we thought as a part-time person, knowing that we would continue that position under the American Rescue Plan Act funding beginning July 1, Powell said. The original plan was to make the position full-time in July, Powell said, but since there is no one currently in the job it makes more sense to go ahead and roll it into the full-time position now instead. The next request was to reclassify the current business services consultant position into a managerial position. Powell said the elevation of the position will allow the consultant to be more customer-facing when interacting with local businesses. Under the [American Rescue Plan] grant, we need to bring another business consultant in, Powell said. A lot of the work I see us doing in the next three years is really addressing the shortage of workforce and helping businesses retain their employees. We need more than one person on deck working with businesses locally. The business consultant manager would oversee this new position. Advertisement Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > Powell also requested to add a part-time contractual workshop facilitator to the team. The position would provide basic career skills workshops on resume development, interviewing skills and using LinkedIn as a way to connect with employers, Powell said. Commissioner Dennis Frazier, a Republican representing District 3, asked whether the positions under discussion would end once federal funding runs out. Powell said the grant funding is promised for three years, through 2025. [The positions] could go away in 2026, Powell said. Most positions at [the workforce development center] are grant contingent. Traditionally, the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act has provided primary funding for many of the centers positions, supported by some funding from county. Advertisement The act was signed into law in 2014 and designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. Carrolls local workforce development board has received $2.4 million through the American Rescue Plan Act, a payment received directly through the Maryland Department of Labor. The Telangana government has set up helplines at Telangana Bhavan in New Delhi and at the General Administration Department in the State Secretariat to help students from the state who are stranded in Ukraine. "To extend all possible support to help the migrants and students from Telangana, stranded in Ukraine, Telangana CM office has established a helpline in Delhi and also in Hyderabad", tweeted K Kavitha. The state government has released a statement and helpline numbers for the students in Ukraine. The statement stated that The government of Telangana has decided to establish a helpline in Delhi at Telangana Bhavan, as well as at Hyderabad at the General Administration (NRI) Department, Telangana State Secretariat, Hyderabad to help the migrants and students from Telangana State who are stranded in Ukraine. The helpline numbers at Telangana Bhavan are +91 7042566955, +91 9949351270 and +91 9654663661. The email id is rctelangana@gmail.com. The helpline numbers at the Telangana secretariat in Hyderabad are 040-23220603, +91 9440854433. The email id is so_nri@telangana.gov.in. Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar has requested the Resident Commissioner at Telangana Bhavan to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs and to be in touch with the students/professionals from Telangana to extend all possible support. Meanwhile, KTR took to Twitter to appeal to Jaishankar to ensure the safety of Indian students in distress. He wrote, "We appeal to Govt of India to arrange for special aircraft and Telangana Govt is ready to bear the full travel expenses for these students so we can bring them home safe & soonest." (ANI) "Received call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasised that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the way out," Jaishankar tweeted. The minister also stated that they discussed the predicament of Indian nationals, including students. "Appreciate his support for their safe return," Jaishankar said. Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke to Jaishankar and called for collective response over the ongoing crisis. Blinken tweeted, "Spoke with @DrSJaishankar today about the crisis in Ukraine and the importance of a strong collective response to Russian aggression. Russia's attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is a clear violation of the rules-based international order." The spokesperson for the US Secretary of State, Ned Price, said, "Antony Blinken spoke with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar today to discuss Russia's premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine." Price also stated that Blinken stressed the importance of a strong, collective response to condemn Russia's invasion and call for immediate force withdrawal and ceasefire. On Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had stated that Jaishankar has spoken to concerned officials in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia for setting up camps on the border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. India is working out evacuation plans through Romania, Hungary and Poland, after Ukraine shut its airspace soon after the Russian military operation began on Thursday. --IANS sk/arm ( 283 Words) 2022-02-25-19:20:02 (IANS) The India Meteorological Department on Friday predicted hail precipitation likely over South, New, Central, East, Northeast, Southeast Delhi, Noida during the next one hour. "Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds with speed of 30-40 Km/h would occur over and adjoining areas of NCR (Hindon AF Station, Ghaziabad, Chhapraula, Dadri) Karnal, Rajaund, Assandh, Safidon, Barwala, Jind, Panipat, Gohana,...and Hail precipitation likely over South, New, Central, East, Northeast, Southeast Delhi, Noida during next 1 hour," IMD tweeted. Earlier, (IMD) had also predicted light to moderate intensity rain in parts of Delhi-NCR during the next two hours. (ANI) In the letter, TMC MP said, "As the Government is aware that thousands of Indians including many students reside in Ukraine, in the present situation of military operation, their lives are in danger. They are not able to return to India as the Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civilian aircraft." Further, Roy requested the Government to explore every option and arrange emergency evacuation and safe return of all the stranded Indians. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. India strongly emphasized the need for all sides to exercise the utmost restraint and intensify diplomatic efforts to ensure a mutually amicable solution. (ANI) "From Thursday afternoon, the Embassy of India in Bratislava has stationed officials at the Slovak-Ukraine border to provide essential assistance to India nationals who might cross over to Slovakia," the Embassy stated. The Embassy also released numbers of the officials for the stranded nationals -- Manoj Kumar, Consular Officer is available on +421908025212, while Ivan Kozinka is available on +421908458724. Apart from them, few more officials have been moved. India is working out evacuation plans for Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine through Romania, Hungary and Poland. "Slovakia at this point of time is not yet a designated evacuation point. However, we are ready to provide assistance to Indian nationals in Ukraine who may come to Slovakia," said the Embassy. On Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had stated that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken to the concerned officials in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia for setting up camps on the border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. The Foreign Secretary also stated that flight options will available from Dubai and Istanbul and the Indian Embassy continues to be operational in Ukraine. --IANS sk/arm ( 229 Words) 2022-02-25-20:14:03 (IANS) As per information received by the Indian army, Naravane also witnessed the technology adaptation of the Army's first 3D Printed Living Shelter as part of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat's endeavours. "Indian Army chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane today reviewed the ongoing preparations for DefExpo2022 and witnessed the technology adaptation of Army's first 3D Printed Living Shelter as part of AatmaNirbhar Bharat endeavours during the visit to Gujarat's Gandhinagar," Indian Army said. DefExpo-2022 is Asia's largest exhibition on land, naval, and homeland security systems which will showcase India's defence manufacturing capabilities and includes participation from the world's top defence manufacturing companies This 12th edition is being held in the capital of Gujarat, Gandhinagar from March 10-14 this year and the Defence Ministry said that it is the "biggest ever so far." DefExpo-2022 will be held in hybrid format, with stalls in both physical and virtual realms to ensure greater engagement as the exhibitors will be able to cater to both physical and virtual attendees. The exhibition is being planned in a three-venue format - exhibition at the Helipad Exhibition Center (HEC); Events and Seminars at the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Center (MMCEC) and live demonstration for the public at Sabarmati Riverfront. Safety protocols as instituted by Health Ministry will be ensured and followed. (ANI) According to an official statement issued by Chief Minister's Office, the first five documentaries give details about the supply of restaurant services through e-Commerce operators, communication between taxpayers on the GSTN portal, GST on maintenance charges in apartments, the procedure for claiming ITC refund on exports and CTD Karnataka website. The Commercial Taxes Department of the Karnataka government is releasing a set of 20 documentaries on the subject. The remaining movies will be addressing the issues of misuse of PAN Card by bogus dealers, CTD Helpdesk and other topics to address the issues faced by dealers, the statement said. During the inauguration, Bommai said that a better understanding of GST law will go a long way for dealers to ensure better compliance. (ANI) Momentary acceleration of evolution is a trait recently discovered by the Doherty Institute in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, during a recent study. This results in the variants of this virus emerging more rapidly than their counterparts. The findings of the study were published in the journal 'Molecular Biology and Evolution'. It was conducted by a team that was led by University of Melbourne's Dr Sebastian Duchene, an Australian Research Council DECRA Research Fellow at the Doherty Institute and lead author on the paper. They found the virus that causes the disease COVID-19 is actually undergoing short-lived mutational bursts and then returning to its 'normal' rate. Dr Sebastian Duchene, an Australian Research Council DECRA Research Fellow at the Doherty Institute explained that usually all viruses mutate at a fairly constant rate, with most taking a year or more to develop a new variant. "However, what we were seeing with the variants of SARS-CoV-2, particularly the variants of concern, is that they have undergone many more mutations than we would expect under the normal evolutionary pace of similar coronaviruses," Dr Duchene said. "The Delta variant, for example, emerged within just six weeks from its ancestral form", he added. To understand why this was occurring, Dr Duchene's laboratory conducted computational analyses of hundreds of genome sequences from SARS-CoV-2 strains to understand the mechanisms under which variants of concern emerge, with a focus on the first four: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. "Initially it was believed that SARS-CoV-2 must have increased its evolutionary rate in general, but actually it's the virus's ability to temporarily increase its speed which is causing the difference in pace," Dr Duchene said. "It's like someone pumping the accelerator on a car", he added. Dr Duchene said these bursts could be driven by a number of factors including prolonged infections in individuals, strong natural selection, which is enabling the virus to favour immune escape, or increased transmissibility with unvaccinated populations allowing the virus to rapidly spread and evolve. The discovery highlights the importance of continued genome surveillance efforts to ensure early detection of new variants. "With this virus evolving so rapidly, early detection is paramount in enabling us to monitor and respond to the virus," said Dr Duchene. He also stressed the need for increased vaccination. "Anything we can do to have less virus out there will help reduce the probability that new variants will emerge," he said. (ANI) The UK government is introducing a bill that will require tech giants like Facebook, Google and other tech platforms to verify the identities of users. According to Engadget, the measure is part of the government's Online Safety Bill announced last year and is ostensibly designed to help users block anonymous trolls online. "Tech firms have a responsibility to stop anonymous trolls polluting their platforms," UK Digital Minister Nadine Dorries was quoted as saying in a statement. "People will now have more control over who can contact them and be able to stop the tidal wave of hate served up to them by rogue algorithms," Dorries added. Tech firms would need to decide how to carry out the checks when users create social media accounts. Some options proposed by the government include facial recognition via profile pictures, two-factor authentication and government-issued ID, the report said. The UK's media regulator Ofcom would be in charge of laying out the rules, it added. The government has also proposed measures that would force companies to filter out "legal but harmful" material. That would allow parents, for instance, to apply settings stopping their kids from receiving search results about certain topics, or putting "sensitivity screens" over them. Tech firms in violation could face fines of up to 10 per cent of their global annual revenues, which could be in the billions with companies like Google and Facebook. The government could also block services from being accessed in the UK under the proposed rules, which would need to be approved by parliament to become law. --IANS vc/vd ( 276 Words) 2022-02-25-19:10:03 (IANS) With Ukraine closing its airspace after Russia launched a military operation against it, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that teams are being sent to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. "To assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine, MEA Teams from @IndiaInHungary, @IndiainPoland, @IndiaInSlovakia and @eoiromania are on their way to the adjoining land borders with Ukraine," said Arindam Bagchi spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs. Indian nationals in Ukraine near the border points can contact the following teams. Indian nationals can contact the following persons--- S Ramji, (Mobile: +36305199944, Whatsapp: +917395983990), Ankur (Mobile and Whatsapp: +36308644597), and Mohit Nagpal (Mobile: +36302286566, Whatsapp: +918950493059)--- at Zahony border post opposite Uzhhorod in Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine. In Krakowiec land border with Ukraine people can contact Pankaj Garg (Mobile: +48660460814 / +48606700105), Manoj Kumar (Mobile: +421908025212), Ivan Kozinka (Mobile: +421908458724) can be contacted at Vysne Nemecke land border with Ukraine. Moreover, Gaushul Ansari (Mobile: +40731347728), Uddeshya Priyadarshi (Mobile: +40724382287), Andra Harionov (Mobile: +40763528454) and Marius Sima (Mobile: +40722220823) can be contacted at Suceava land border with Ukraine. "Indian nationals in Ukraine near the above border points can contact the above teams in case they wish to depart Ukraine," said MEA in a statement. Partha Satpathy, Ambassador of India in Ukraine, said that the Embassy of India in Kiev will continue to operate till every Indian is evacuated. "The Embassy of India in Kiev continues to operate round the clock 24X7. Today morning we woke up with the news that Kiev is under attack, the whole of Ukraine is under attack. This has generated a lot of anxiety, uncertainty, and created tension. I would like to assure all of you that the Embassy of India continues to operate around the clock looking out for the safety and security of Indians here," he said. He further urged people to stay calm, level-headed and take necessary safety and precautions. "The Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy are fully alert and working on modalities to see how we can evacuate our citizens through the neighbouring countries along the western borders of Ukraine. As I say times are uncertain and therefore it is important to be calm, level-headed and take necessary safety and precautions that are important to all of us. We will continue to operate here till every Indian is back," he added. The Embassy of India in Ukraine accommodated more than 200 Indian students at a school near the Embassy in Kiev. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities escalating the ongoing tensions between the two countries. Ukraine gained independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Earlier today, Russian President Vladimir Putin said special military operations are being launched "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region. (ANI) Bounded by the Chesapeake Bay, Belle Vue Farm in Havre de Grace is a 347-acre property on the Oakington Peninsula with a unique vantage point in American history. Advertisement A designated site for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, Belle Vue Farm is also recognized for its role in helping to kindle a civil war that eventually led to the freeing of 4 million enslaved people. Belle Vue is one of several properties in Harford County with a history that predates the Civil War, according to Iris Barnes, of the Historical Society of Harford County. Garrett Rutton obtained the land in 1661, and his daughter, Mary Garrettson, married Dr. Elijah Davis, who took title of the land in 1794. Advertisement After Elijah Davis died in 1829, the family passed it down throughout the generations and Belle Vue became one of the largest and longest single-family property ownership histories in the county. Our ancestors were able to make a living by harvesting game, fish, lumber, agricultural crops and livestock, said a descendant of Elijah Davis, who declined to be named. They appreciated living on Belle Vue for its recreational opportunities and were interested in passing on this unique property to their descendants for many generations. Between 1790 and 1800, the number of enslaved people at Belle Vue grew from 14 to 36. Eliza Howard was a 12-year-old slave on the plantation when Elijah Davis died. Eliza worked there with her mother and three siblings. In 1846, Eliza escaped with her mother and sister to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and later settled in Christiana, Pennsylvania, which is about 90 miles from the Maryland state line. Eliza married William Parker and lived in the Christiana stone home where they rescued and protected runaway slaves. Baltimore landowner Edward Gorsuch came to the Parkers home in search for three men whom he claimed to be his slaves. Gorsuch and his crew attacked the home until Eliza blew her horn. Her horn galvanized her Black and white neighbors, who came to the familys aid and helped them stand their ground. By the end of the resistance, Gorsuch was dead and 40 participants, including Eliza, were arrested. Those arrested were charged with the highest form of treason. The charges were eventually dropped, which was a victory for the anti-slavery movement and kindled the flame for civil war, Barnes said. Advertisement On Sept. 11, 1851, the nation was shocked by the standoff between a slaveholder and freedom seeker in Christiana, Barnes said. It was a complex series of events that culminated in the largest treason trial in U.S. history. When Eliza was released, she went to Canada where she reunited with William Parker. On her way to Canada, in Rochester, New York, she met up with her friend and the abolitionist, Frederick Douglass. However, Elizas mother, weary from the years of being on the run, returned to Belle Vue as a retired slave, which meant she wasnt a field slave, but she was no longer free. Eliza lived the rest of her life in Canada. Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. > Although the resistance occurred in Pennsylvania, the key figures were from Maryland. Harford County was a common stop on the Underground Railroad, according to Barnes, and runaway slaves referred to Havre de Grace as the promised land. Yet, for Eliza Parker and her family, freedom was found north of the Susquehanna River. Advertisement Harford County purchased the property in 2020 as part of its parks and recreation system. We are excited that Belle Vue has become open to the public to learn more about the people who have lived through hundreds of years of habitation, said Elijah Davis descendant. We hope the discoveries will continue to reveal deeper and more detailed insights and understanding of American and African American history. Dr. Iris Leigh Barnes, a historian, stands in front of the Davis house at Belle Vue Farm in Havre de Grace. Belle Vue Farm is a significant site on the Underground Railroad, she said, "because of its association with the Christiana Resistance. Eliza Parker, Hannah Pinckney, and Cassandra Harris were freedom-seekers from Belle Vue that were later involved in the 1851 standoff in Christiana, Pennsylvania, between Baltimore County slaveholder Edward Gorsuch and the Vigilance Committee for Mutual Protection." February 5, 2021 (Barbara Haddock Taylor) Representatives of Harford County Goverment, Harford Land Trust and others joined County Executive Barry Glassman to officially close the purchase of Belle Vue Farm, a 347-acre waterfront property that will become a Harford County park. The property located on the Oakington Peninsula in Havre de Grace and includes one mile of Chesapeake Bay coastline. It is also contiguous with public parkland at Swan Harbor Farm to the North and Tydings Park to the South, making it the missing puzzle piece to a total of 1,250 acres of preserved land in the area. (Matt Button / The Aegis/Baltimore Sun Media) Representatives of Harford County Goverment, Harford Land Trust and others joined County Executive Barry Glassman to officially close the purchase of Belle Vue Farm, a 347-acre waterfront property that will become a Harford County park. The property located on the Oakington Peninsula in Havre de Grace and includes one mile of Chesapeake Bay coastline. It is also contiguous with public parkland at Swan Harbor Farm to the North and Tydings Park to the South, making it the missing puzzle piece to a total of 1,250 acres of preserved land in the area. (Matt Button / The Aegis/Baltimore Sun Media) (Courtesy Harford Land Trust) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said that Russian occupation forces are trying to seize control of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. "Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated. Reported this to Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe," he said in a tweet. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry tweeted that a Russian attack on Ukraine could "cause another ecological disaster." "In 1986, the world saw the biggest technological disaster in Chernobyl," the ministry tweeted. "If Russia continues the war, Chernobyl can happen again in 2022." Amid Russian military operations, Ukrainian President is creating an anti-Russia coalition against President Vladimir Putin. He said that he has spoken to French President, Emmanuel Macron, President of EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Karl Nehammer, about concrete sanctions and concrete assistance. "We are creating an anti-Putin coalition. I spoke with@vonderleyen, @EmmanuelMacron, @karlnehammer and @RTErdogan about concrete sanctions and concrete assistance for our military. We are waiting for decisive action," tweeted Zelensky. Earlier in series of tweets, the Ukranian President said that he will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country and lift sanctions on all citizens of Ukraine who are ready to defend the country. "We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country. Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities," tweeted Zelensky. "We will lift sanctions on all citizens of Ukraine who are ready to defend our country as part of territorial defense with weapons in hands," added Zelensky. Soon after Russia launched its military operations in the Donbas region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday announced the decision of severing his country's diplomatic relations with Moscow. "We have severed diplomatic relations with Russia. For all those who have not yet lost their conscience in Russia, it is time to go out and protest against the war with Ukraine," said Zelensky. He said that Russia has treacherously attacked Ukraine in the morning and compared the act with Nazi Germany. "Russia treacherously attacked our state in the morning, as Nazi Germany did in #2WW years. As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history. Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom no matter what Moscow thinks," added Zelensky. Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba called on its partners to severe diplomatic relations with Russia. "Ukraine has severed diplomatic relations with Russia. I call on all our partners to do the same. By this concrete step you will demonstrate that you stand by Ukraine and categorically reject the most blatant act of aggression in Europe since WWII," tweeted Kuleba. (ANI) On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Japan, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla on Thursday said that Japan has been a valuable partner in India's developmental journey. Addressing a conference 'India-Japan: 70 years of Cooperation and the Way Forward' organized by the Ananta Centre and Embassy of Japan, India, Shringla said, "Over the course of the last 70 years, Japan has emerged as one of India's most trusted partners. The iconic Delhi Metro has transformed the way we imagine urban mobility. Flagship projects such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR), Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) are under various stages of implementation." He said that both countries are planning to organize a number of events throughout this year to celebrate this historic milestone in our relationship. "The last few years have also witnessed an increasing convergence of strategic outlook, a consequence of the shift in global geopolitics towards the Indo-Pacific region. This convergence is, for instance, reflected in our respective approaches towards the Indo-Pacific region. Both countries are working towards a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific," Shringla said. The Foreign Secretary said that this also has a growing salience on India's Act East Policy. "Connectivity and other developmental projects being implemented under the India-Japan Act East Forum, which the Ambassador of Japan to India and I co-chair, are contributing to the development of the North Eastern Region of India. This assumes greater significance given that the North East is India's gateway to South-East Asia. In addition, we are increasingly comfortable in engaging with other like-minded partners in various regional and multilateral forums," said Shringla. Talking about the COVID-19 pandemic that has generated severe economic stresses and fundamentally altered geopolitical and geo-economic equations, he said, "It has also opened up prospects for India and Japan to enhance their cooperation. We need to capitalize on these opportunities. This is the mantra that should guide us as we go forward." He said that both countries should aim to develop stronger partnerships in various areas such as: Enhancing defence and strategic ties, especially on defence equipment and technology; Re-working supply chains to make them more resilient, trustworthy and secure; Ensuring energy security through a Green Energy Partnership; Creating new innovative partnerships in Manufacturing and MSME sectors. He also focussed on working together on frontier technologies of 5G, data analytics, blockchain, Internet of things (IOT), telecom security, submarine optical fibre cable system, quantum computing and startups, as well as, enhancing people to people linkages and human capital development through mechanisms such as the Specified Skill Workers (SSW). On 28 April 1952, India and Japan signed the 'Treaty of Peace' which established diplomatic relations between the two countries. Moreover, Japan's support to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in his historic efforts in the Indian freedom struggle is still greatly appreciated in India. Further, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan in 2014 led to the elevation of ties to a 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership'. In fact, PM Modi, during the inauguration last year of the Rudraksha convention centre in Varanasi, constructed in partnership with Japan, referred to the India-Japan relationship as being one of the most natural in the region. (ANI) Heartbreaking images from Ukraine have emerged showing bloodied civilians staggering through the streets despite Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming he declared war to "protect civilians" after ordering an all-out invasion of the east European country on Thursday morning, Daily Mail reported. Russia on Thursday launched simultaneous attacks from the south, east and north, by land and by air, killing at least 40 civilians by midday, including a young boy in an apartment block in Kharkiv, Ukrainian authorities said. Other civilians were also injured and some others are believed to have died in 203 attacks launched so far by the Russian forces, the Ukrainian police said after tanks rolled across the border and troops parachuted down on eastern regions earlier in the day, Daily Mail reported. The Russian Defence Ministry has claimed that it is not targeting cities or civilians and in a warped attempt to reassure Ukrainians, it said there is 'no threat to the population' because Moscow's forces are using precision weapons, the report said. But Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv in the east of Ukraine have all reported coming under attack, with blasts also reported in the west - in Zhytomyr and Lviv, close to the border with Poland. Pictures showed the true face of the war with blood-covered civilians being helped to safety by emergency services following shelling and others with injuries to their heads, faces and arms being patched up by medics, the report said. In the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuguiv, a son wept over the body of his father among the wreckage of a missile strike in a residential district. "I told him to leave," the man sobbed repeatedly, next to the twisted ruins of a car. Meanwhile Kyiv's main international airport was hit in the first bombing of the city since World War II and air raid sirens sounded over the capital at the break of dawn, the report said. --IANS san/arm ( 330 Words) 2022-02-24-21:28:02 (IANS) Ukraine is calling on the European Union and its member states to urgently provide air-defence and anti-missile systems, as well as use "all means" to jam Russian satellite signals, The Guardian reported. In a list of requests sent to the EU leaders ahead of an emergency summit on Thursday night in Brussels, Ukraine also calls for the "fiercest restriction measures against Belarus, which directly supported (the) Russian full-scale invasion", the report said. The paper, drafted by Ukrainian diplomats in Brussels and seen by the Guardian, also calls for ending software licenses for military and civilian equipment in Russia and Belarus, blocking or interfering with Russian satellite navigation systems in the air, over the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, using all means to block the Russian satellite navigation system Glonass, including jamming its signal over the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, Belarus and Ukrainian airspace. As well as an appeal to end "business as usual" with Russia, Kyiv wants the EU to open its emergency aid system (the civil protection mechanism) to Ukrainians, The Guardian reported. --IANS san/ ( 192 Words) 2022-02-24-21:40:04 (IANS) Clashes have also been taking place around the capital Kiev in the north and the Black Sea port cities of Odesa and Mariupol in the south, the report said. Air strikes from Russia have been carried out on Ukrainian military bases and airports, with fierce fighting reported around a key airport near Kiev. The Ukrainian military claims to have shot down at least six Russian aircraft, while Russia claims to have destroyed more than 70 military targets in Ukraine, BBC reported. Many Ukrainians are seeking shelter or trying to leave larger cities around the country, including thousands seen fleeing Kiev. Soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, videos and images claiming to be from the conflict zones began trending on major social networks. While there are many genuine footage, some viral clips racking up hundreds of thousands of views show events from past conflicts or old military exercises. Many of these seem to coming from users posting content without checking, BBC reported. The BBC has seen videos of the 2014 Russia-Ukraine war, the 2011 Libyan war and the 2020 Beirut explosions going viral. In one example, a former Ukrainian ambassador to the US tweeted a video which he claimed was taken in Mariupol, but a version of the same clip was uploaded on TikTok weeks ago, apparently showing a lightning hitting a power station, the report said. Another viral video claiming to show Russian military paratroopers landing in Ukraine first appeared online in 2016, BBC reported. --IANS san/arm ( 301 Words) 2022-02-24-21:56:03 (IANS) Afghan journalists blamed the Taliban's spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid, for restrictions on access to information and said that pieces of information were not provided to them. They said that Mujahid have not been cooperating with the media and providing access to information for the past two weeks, reported Tolo News. "This makes obstacles for the media. The government should be responding to the media so that the people know about the situation," said journalist Jawad Etimad. Media watchdogs also expressed concerns over the restriction on access to information, and urged the government to share the information with the media community, reported Tolo News. "Based on an appropriate programme, they should provide information to the media and put an end to the concerns of the people and media community over access to information which is very slow now," said Masror Lutfi, head of the Afghanistan National Journalists' Union. "The spokespersons are not ready to provide us with a clip. They make excuses that they are not available or sometimes they see the messages on WhatsApp but don't reply to it," said Sahib Deen Samim, a journalist. The Afghan media community is also struggling with refusals by government spokesmen to participate in interviews to provide information over the ongoing situation in the country. (ANI) The operation "has its goals and they need to be achieved", the official said, when asked by journalists when the offensive would end. In his Thursday morning address, Putin said he'd ordered Russian troops to attack Ukraine to demilitarise and, as he put it, "denazify" the country. He claimed that Russia's national security was compromised by NATO encroachment in Ukraine, the report said. He further stated that Russia was duty-bound to protect the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk from continued attacks by the Ukrainian forces. Moscow recognised the two entities as sovereign states on Monday. Russia is determined to "neutralise the [Ukrainian] military potential, which was boosted considerably lately, including with the active assistance of foreign nations", Peskov said, RT reported. He added that "ideally", Ukraine needs to be "cleansed" from neo-Nazi ideology. Peskov rejected the idea that Russia was in the process of occupying Ukraine, saying the Russian invasion had limited goals of protecting Russia and the separatist regions. He said the future of Ukraine will be determined by the Ukrainian people. --IANS san/arm ( 230 Words) 2022-02-24-22:32:04 (IANS) More than 150 senior Russian officials have signed an open letter condemning President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine as 'an unprecedented atrocity' and warning of 'catastrophic consequences', Daily Mail reported. The deputies said they were 'convinced' Russian citizens do not back the war and blamed Putin 'personally' for ordering troops into Ukraine in an attack 'for which there is no and cannot be any justification', the report said. The letter urged Russians 'not to participate in the aggression' and called on citizens to speak out against the invasion because 'only massive popular condemnation can stop the war'. Among the letter's signatories were Moscow deputies Elena Rusakova, Maxim Gongalsky, Andrey Morev, Elena Kotenochkina and Elena Filina, as well as St Petersburg officials David Kuvaev and Polina Sizova, and Veliky Novgorod deputy Anna Cherepanova. It was a surprising step for Russian officials to speak out against Putin, who usually holds an iron grip on dissent, and last week televised a meeting with Moscow's top security chiefs in which they appeared to be railroaded into backing his plans to invade Ukraine, Daily Mail reported. The letter, which described the signatories as those 'elected by the people', said they 'unreservedly condemn the attack of the Russian army on Ukraine'. "This is an unprecedented atrocity for which there is no and cannot be justification. The decision to attack was made personally by Russian President Vladimir Putin. We are convinced that the citizens of Russia did not give him such a mandate," it said. The letter warned of 'catastrophic consequences' - 'Thousands of people will die, be injured and maimed, cities dear to many Russians will be destroyed', the report said. --IANS san/arm ( 289 Words) 2022-02-24-23:28:02 (IANS) The World Bank, in its statement on Thursday, said that it is ready to provide immediate financial support to Ukraine amid the present political and military crisis. "We stand ready to provide immediate support to Ukraine and are preparing options for such support, including fast-disbursing financing. Alongside development partners, the World Bank Group will use all our financing and technical support tools for rapid response," as per the statement. David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, in the Thursday statement, said, "The World Bank Group is horrified by the shocking violence and loss of life as a result of the events unfolding in Ukraine. We are a long-standing partner of Ukraine and stand with its people at this critical moment." According to the World Bank statement, "The devastating developments in Ukraine will have far-reaching economic and social impacts," it added, "We are coordinating closely with the IMF to assess these costs." Malpass discussed the situation with the Board of Directors and said that they have mobilized their Global Crisis Risk Platform to accelerate coordination across the World Bank Group. Malpass met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich on Saturday where he reaffirmed the World Bank Group's "strong support and commitment" to the people of Ukraine and the region. The World Bank Group is also in active dialogue to support neighbouring countries and people that may be affected by this conflict and will make additional resources available, said Malpass in the statement. (ANI) Trudeau said Canada will target 62 individuals and entities, including members of the Russian elite and their family members, the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group and major Russian banks, reported CBC News. Furthermore, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said hundreds of permits covering goods worth more than USD 700 million will be immediately canceled. "These sanctions are wide-reaching. They will impose severe costs on complicit Russian elites, and they will limit President Putin's ability to continue funding this unjustified invasion," Trudeau said. Trudeau said the conflict is the "greatest threat to European stability since the Second World War." "These are deeply disturbing times for the international community and for people everywhere who care about freedom and democracy," Trudeau said. "Canada is unequivocal in our condemnation of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on the sovereign, the democratic state of Ukraine." (ANI) Carelessly discarded ashes, whether they be from chimneys or smoking materials, are the leading cause of accidental fires this time of year, according to Ron Sollod, the fire prevention and life safety chair/coordinator for the Harford County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Association. These can be prevented if people just put things away, Sollod said. With any outlet, fireplace, or wood stove, make sure that your ashes are completely out or put them in a metal container and put them outside somewhere. Advertisement Sollod spoke during public comment at the Feb. 15 County Council meeting to bring attention to the issue. Since Jan. 1, two of the 13 fires investigated by the State Fire Marshal in Harford County were caused by discarded smoking materials or ashes, according to Oliver Alkire, senior deputy state fire marshal. Those two fires did not result in any injuries, but did cause $160,000 in damage. Advertisement Accidents can happen, Sollod said. Thats why theyre called accidents. Not only should discarded ashes be placed in a fireproof container, Sollod said, but that container should be placed on a fireproof surface such as cement or dirt. Ashes in a metal container on a wooden deck are a recipe for a problem, he said, and could cause the deck to catch fire. Sollod also said that ashes may appear to be dark and unlit, but on the inside, theyre still burning, theyre still smoldering. Alkire had the same advice: We always suggest for people to treat all ashes or coals as hot ashes. Alkire said when disposing of ashes, place them in an airtight container at least 10 feet from a home or structure. Rich Gardiner, media spokesperson for the HCVFA, added that containers should not be placed near any trees or vegetation. Sollod recommends extinguishing cigarette ashes in a nonflammable substance such as a cup of water. Gardiner also recommends getting chimneys and fireplaces routinely inspected and cleaned. The Taliban have lodged a protest against Islamabad over the incident of heavy & light weapons firing by the Pakistani Army in Afghanistan's Dand Aw Patan district of Paktia province. Directorate General of Security Cooperation & Border Affairs of Taliban MoFA lodged a protest on February 16 against Islamabad over the incident of heavy & light weapons firing on January 20 by the Pak Army. Earlier, citing violations of Afghan airspace by Pak aircraft in Asmar on January 28-29 and Dur Baba on January 30 districts of Nangarhar Province, Taliban MoFA had registered its protest with Islamabad on February 13. Furthermore, differences between the Taliban and Pakistan continue to persist over the issue of the Durand Line. In this context, Pakistan Consulate in Jalalabad (Nangarhar Province), while highlighting the situation at Ghulam Khan border crossing in Khost-North Waziristan area over the past few days, conveyed to the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday that the Taliban had removed the Pakistani flag from a border post and deployed humvees and armed personnel on the zero line in contravention of the border conventions, as part of its "pressure tactics", reported local media. In response, Pakistan issued warnings to the Taliban of possible counter-action and trade was suspended for a few days. The issue was later resolved with the intervention of traders and tribal elders from both sides, said the local media. However, bilateral relations between Pakistan and the Taliban are turning hostile over the issue of Durand Line and cross-border "terror activities" of groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) against Islamabad. Pakistan intends to bring the tribal areas near the Durand Line under its control and complete its Durand barbed wire fencing. Following deadly attacks on Pakistani troops, the Pakistani military has launched an operation along the Durand Line near Afghanistan. According to the Military analysts, Pakistan has not changed its bilateral policy and the country wants to get rid of international criticism, which has been accused of training and financing terrorism for years. (ANI) Tokyo [Japan], February 25 (ANI/Sputnik): Japan is imposing new sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday. "In addition to the sanctions announced on February 23, our country is intensifying them in the following way: freezing capitals, ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens and entities, freezing assets of financial organizations, ban on the goods that may be used for military purposes," Kishida said at a press conference. (ANI/Sputnik) Pakistan's deteriorating economic conditions are giving a blow to its embassies overseas, especially in Europe and the US, with missions finding it difficult to even pay their staff and service providers. In one of the incidents, Pakistan Embassy in Rome has reportedly been recently sued for non-payment of telephone dues. The embassy was sued by Vodafone, the telecom operator for Euros 11,300 in unpaid invoices. The company has knocked on the doors of a local civil court and is seeking compensation for not only non-payment of invoices but also late fee payment surcharges and legal fees with respect to Pak Embassy/staff's unpaid bills reported Al Arabiya. To settle the dispute, the telecom provider asked the embassy to settle the case for a lesser amount. However, even then the matter could not be resolved due to the lack of funds. Vodafone is not the only company that is at loggerheads with Pakistan over nonpayment. Notably, Earlier, Pakistan Embassies in Serbia as well as in the US were in the news for non-payment of salaries due to financial crunch. The dispute in cases, like in Serbia leads to protests on social media against the non-remittal of dues. The embassy members were even compelled to pull out their children from school due to default of fees. In another such case, Pak Embassy in Washington was unable to pay the monthly wages of its contractual employees for around 4 months. What transpired after that was the tendering resignation owing to delays and non-payment of dues by the staff members, reported Al Arabiya. At times, the lack of funds was also attributed to the diversion of funds from Pak Community Welfare (PCW) following the Covid-19 crisis. These reports were discarded by the Foreign office at a time when the country is reeling under a severe economic crisis already. (ANI) Fight between Talibani and Pakistani forces erupted over the Durand Line in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar leaving 20 injured and 3 killed during the scuffle. So far, 20 civilians have been injured and three killed in the incident. Taking to Asvaka News said, "Fighting has been raging in the Spin Boldak district of #Kandahar between #Taliban & #Paki forces on the #Durand Line since this afternoon. 20 civilians injured & three killed so far. Civilians have fled their homes near the Durand Line." According to the sources in Kandahar, Pakistani border guards beat an Afghan child at the Spin Boldak Gate and Afghan security forces opened fire on Pakistani border guards in the area. The incident took place afternoon on Thursday, after which the gate was closed to traffic. It added that after the incident, the army forces from the Al-Badr corps arrived at the scene and are preparing to respond to the Pakistani border guards. So far, the details of this incident have not been given by the border gate officials of Sepineh Boldak. Differences between the Taliban and Pakistan continue to persist over the issue of the Durand Line. In this context, Pakistan Consulate in Jalalabad (Nangarhar Province), while highlighting the situation at Ghulam Khan border crossing in Khost-North Waziristan area over the past few days, conveyed to the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday that the Taliban had removed the Pakistani flag from a border post and deployed humvees and armed personnel on the zero line in contravention of the border conventions, as part of its "pressure tactics", reported local media. In response, Pakistan issued warnings to the Taliban of possible counter-action and trade was suspended for a few days. The issue was later resolved with the intervention of traders and tribal elders from both sides, said the local media. However, bilateral relations between Pakistan and the Taliban are turning hostile over the issue of Durand Line and cross-border "terror activities" of groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) against Islamabad. Pakistan intends to bring the tribal areas near the Durand Line under its control and complete its Durand barbed wire fencing. Following deadly attacks on Pakistani troops, the Pakistani military has launched an operation along the Durand Line near Afghanistan. According to the Military analysts, Pakistan has not changed its bilateral policy and the country wants to get rid of international criticism, which has been accused of training and financing terrorism for years. (ANI) He said that it is to be carried out within 90 days. Zelenskyy also said 137 Ukrainians had been killed so far, reported DW. Moreover, US President Joe Biden, while addressing the nation on the situation in Ukraine, condemned Russia for launching the military strike on Thursday and announced "new strong sanctions and limitations" on Russia. The sanctions include limiting Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen to be part of the global economy, stopping the ability to finance and grow the Russian military, and impairing Russia's ability to compete in a high-tech 21st-century economy. (ANI) Demonstrators gathered outside the White House for a rally that followed hours of demonstrations outside the Russian Embassy throughout the day, when Ukrainians began gathering overnight in the aftermath of Russia's military operations. In Lafayette Square Park, just outside the White House fence, the demonstrators urged President Joe Biden to do more to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin's advance. The group was seen holding blue and yellow Ukrainian flags, that were held high as people shouted for "stop the war!", "sanctions now!" and "defend Ukraine now!" Many from Ukraine, who still have family members there were teary-eyed. They told ANI that they fear for the safety of their family members back in Ukraine. "Most of my family is in the west of Ukraine, a lot of people have been evacuated and hoped they are safe but even now it's uncertain if it will be safe," said Maryna, a volunteer of United Help Ukraine that organized the protest. "We want to make sure sanctions are enacted now. We want to stop the war," Maryana told ANI. A protestor who did not want to share his name, like many others at the protest, expressed fear, worry, and uncertainty about the fate of his family members and of Ukraine itself. One man said that even though he is here, he is constantly worried about his family members who have now moved to Western Ukraine. He said he feels helpless and doesn't know what he can do now to help them. The group repeatedly called on Biden to do more to support Ukraine, such as imposing harsher sanctions on President Putin than the ones already instituted. The demonstrators stood outside the White House in the bitter cold and rainy weather said they plan to continue their protest over the weekend. Meanwhile, protests were also seen in cities across Russia, where thousands of people defied police threats to take to central squares and protest against the military campaign. White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday praised the courage of Russians protesting the military operations in neighboring Ukraine despite government threats. Psaki highlighted mass demonstrations in cities like St. Petersburg and open letters and social media posts from Russian journalists and celebrities speaking out against President Vladimir Putin's decision to launch operations in Ukraine early Thursday morning. "I think it's important to remember back in 2014 when they didn't even acknowledge they were sending Russian soldiers, they didn't even acknowledge there were body bags coming back from Ukraine into Russia," Psaki said, referencing the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. "And there is an outcry in the streets by Russian people, by more Russian people than I think many would expect." "Despite Putin's crackdown at home, dissenting views remain, and I think that's important to note," Psaki continued. "To publicly protest against President Putin and his war is a deeply courageous act. Their actions show the world that despite the Kremlin's propaganda, there are Russian people who profoundly disagree with what he is doing in Ukraine." (ANI) Amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the decision by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit Moscow has been termed 'ill-timed' and 'foolhardy'. Terming it 'bad diplomacy', Federico Giuliani, writing for 'Inside Over' said that getting cozy with Putin is especially bad when Khan is facing a no-confidence motion and is in dire need of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans. Calling the visit 'badly timed' for taking place during the Ukraine crisis, the article highlights that no major deal has been promised, nor there is a chance of Pakistan being able to secure a loan from the Russians. The domestic audience in Pakistan has been told that the visit is a 'successful' attempt to wean Russia away from India. However, any notion of India and Russia falling apart is 'foolish', when India is a major buyer of defense equipment and can offer more business to Russia than Pakistan can, the article further argued. Imran Khan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday amid the ongoing crisis at the Ukraine-Russia border. Khan's ill-timed two-day visit, the first such trip by a Pakistani PM in 23 years, also aims to push for the construction of a long-delayed, multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline to be built in collaboration with Russian companies. Pakistani security experts doubt if Khan has gone to Moscow with any strategy in mind. He has been urged to "be careful" while dealing with Putin as the Russian retains 'high regard for India and Modi as a leader.' (ANI) "The government deeply regrets that Russia, instead of resolving disputes through peaceful diplomatic negotiations, has chosen to use force and intimidation in bullying others," the ministry said in a statement. "In order to compel Russia to halt its military aggression against Ukraine, and to restart peaceful dialogue among all parties concerned as soon as possible... Taiwan announces it will join international economic sanctions against Russia," the ministry said. Taiwan on Wednesday denounced Russia's recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent and urged all parties to pursue a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision on Monday to recognize Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities have escalated the ongoing tensions between the two countries. Russia's military operations in Ukraine have prompted sanctions from several western countries and the EU. Moscow has maintained that the operation is being conducted to save the people of eastern Ukraine and demilitarize the country. (ANI) The spy chief highlighted that terror groups may use the Afghan soil to plan attacks against the UK, reported Tolo News. McCallum also claimed that some people in the UK are keen on traveling to Afghanistan to become part of these terror networks. "We have seen the beginning of some travel attempts and so with our partners, we remain very vigilant," said McCallum, the report, quoting The Daily Mail, said. Abdul Haq Humad, a political analyst based in Afghanistan, asserted, "The Islamic Emirate will not allow anyone to be active on Afghan soil and I believe this is just a propagandist pressure." The report claimed that the spokespersons of the Taliban regime did not reply to the requests for comment. The report comes after the UN Special Representative Deborah Lyons met with the acting Foreign Minister of the Taliban regime, Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul on Tuesday Recently, the Taliban regime has been facing a renewed surge of resistance, especially in the provinces of Panjshir and Bamiyan. (ANI) "We took a political decision to add an additional package of mass sanction which will be painful for the Russian regime," Michel said after the extraordinary EU Summit. "We also discussed support for the Ukrainian people and state to mobilize financing capacity and humanitarian support," he added. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the new EU sanctions against Russia will hit 70 percent of the Russian banking sector, key state-run corporations and deprive Russia of access to modern technologies. "First, this package includes financial sanctions that cut Russia's access to the most important capital markets. We are now targeting 70% of the Russian banking market. But also, key state-owned companies including in field of defense," von der Leyen said after the extraordinary EU Summit. The European Council has agreed on further restrictive measures that will impose massive and severe consequences on Russia for its action in Ukraine. "These sanctions cover the financial sector, the energy and transport sectors, dual-use goods as well as export control and export financing, visa policy, additional listings of Russian individuals and new listing criteria," the European Council statement read. Amid Russia's ongoing military operation in Ukraine, a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on a resolution has been listed on a UN schedule for Friday. However, the proposal could be vetoed by Moscow, CNN reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region. (ANI) Two major events are taking place during March. First is the rescheduled 34th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards Dinner, which will take place at 6 p.m. on March 11, at the BWI Westin Hotel in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. The next major event, scheduled for March 29, is the Fourth Annual Michelle Obama Awards that honor women of various racial backgrounds that have made a significant contribution to Anne Arundel County. Advertisement The Martin Luther King awards dinner will honor members of the community who have through their words, deeds and actions have kept the dream of Dr. King alive. Some of those being honored are Annapolis police Chief Edward C. Jackson, Apostle Antonio Palmer, Anne Arundel County police Chief Amal Awad, Dimtri Sfakiyanudis, Alan J. Hyatt, Emily Legum, and Judge Claudia Barber. Advertisement A special thank you to entrepreneur and philanthropist Maurice B. Tose for his generous contribution to this dinner and the United States Naval Academy for its participation. Officials attending the celebration include Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Sean Buck, County Executive Steuart Pittman, Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, Bowie Mayor Tim Adams, state Dels. Shaneka Henson and Brooke Lierman, U.S. Rep. Anthony Brown, and a host of other local officials. Marylands gubernatorial candidates attending the dinner will include former Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, Comptroller Peter Franchot, former U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. John King, and author Wes Moore. Proceeds from the event will be used to host the annual Fannie Lou Hamer Reception in October. The Michelle Obama Awards event will be held at the Blue Heron Center located at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis. It will be broadcast over the countys public access channe and streamed live on Facebook, Zoom and other social media platforms. This program, a collaboration of the Office of the County Executive and the Caucus of African American Leaders, is widely popular. Kudos to Dee Goodwyn, Vincent Moulden, James Kitchen, Pete Hill, and Asa Smith, who are the organizing committee. The month of March, which has been designated as Womens History Month, allows the public to appreciate the contributions of women to our nation. The recent nomination of the first African-American woman to the U.S. Supreme Court is a poignant reminder that full equality for women has not been achieved. Advertisement Just as it took hundreds of years for a Black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court, it took over 300 years before a Black woman, Elizabeth Morris, was elected to the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, thanks to the trailblazing efforts of Judge Barber. Make no mistake, there has been and continues to be an insalubrious movement that would deny women and African-Americans their rightful place in this society. Dr. King once said, One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status and its fraternities of indifference who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. As we celebrate the birthday of Dr. King and Womens History Month, let us remember Dr. Kings advice for those who are engaged in the social justice movement: Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant, and to face the challenge of change. Advertisement I might add that this years midterm elections will be the most consequential election in our lifetime and remaining awake isnt hyperbole; it is a reality that we must face head on. I hope that you can join us in celebrating the people who are making a difference. Readers who would like information on these events may call 443-871-5656 or visit www.mlkjrmd.org and or www.aacaal.org websites. Carl Snowden is the convener of the Caucus of African American Leaders. Ukraine's Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin said explosions over Kiev were caused by Ukrainian "anti-missile system shooting" a missile out of the sky, CNN reported, noting that the inputs were not independently verified. Separately, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kiev was under attack from "horrific Russian rocket strikes." "Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Severe all ties. Kick Russia out of everywhere," Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet. According to US media reports, Russian mechanized forces that had entered Ukraine through Belarus were some 32 kilometers from Kiev. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. (ANI) Public confidence in the government is at a new low due to financial mismanagement and over-dependence on foreign funds to run the country, 'Islam Khabar' claimed. Angry reactions followed a tweet by Pakistan's Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin announcing the approval of the 6th tranche of IMF loans. "I am pleased to announce that IMF Board has approved 6th tranche of their programme for Pakistan," Tarin tweeted. "It is not only surprising but also regrettable that the Finance Minister, by enslaving the nation, expressed happiness over the receipt of a new installment from the IMF," the report noted. A media editorial in Pakistan underlined that Pakistan is "probably the only nuclear country whose daily affairs require loans, begging for aid and this has continued for decades." The backlash followed IMF's release of USD 1 billion to Pakistan, subject to fulfilling certain conditions. Fuel prices and power tariffs in Pakistan are at historic highs as a result. The fresh funds constitute an installment of a USD 6 billion bailout package. IMF's Executive Board had cleared the bailout package for Pakistan on July 3, 2019. "Pakistan remains vulnerable to possible flare-ups of the pandemic, tighter international financial conditions, a rise in geopolitical tensions, as well as delayed implementation of structural reforms," the IMF noted in a staff report prepared for the executive board. (ANI) The ministry said more than 30 Russian tanks had been destroyed, along with seven Russian aircraft and six helicopters. This comes hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree ordering general mobilization, in the wake of Russian military operations. "Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Malyar informs: Estimated losses of the enemy as of 03:00 25.02.2022 Aircraft 7 units Helicopters 6 units Tanks - more than 30 units. BBM - 130 units. The loss of enemy personnel is approximately (to be specified) 800 people," Ukraine's Defense Ministry tweeted in Ukrainian. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Since then, several nations including the UK, the US and Canada have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. The European Union has decided to impose additional sanctions on Russia over the latter's military operation in Ukraine. Earlier today, explosions were heard in the capital city of Kiev as the Russian special military operation entered the second day. Ukraine's Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin said explosions were caused by Ukrainian "anti-missile system shooting" a missile out of the sky, CNN reported, noting that the inputs were not independently verified. On Thursday, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said over 70 ground infrastructure facilities belonging to Ukraine were incapacitated by strikes carried out by Russia's Armed Forces. "As a result of the strikes conducted by Russia's Armed Forces, 74 ground facilities of Ukraine's military infrastructure were knocked out of action. Among them are 11 airfields belonging to the Air Force, three command points, a Ukrainian Navy base and 18 radar stations of S-300 and Buk-M1 missile systems," Konashenkov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency. The spokesperson further said that the Russian strikes are not targeting Ukrainian cities as well as social facilities in military garrisons. (ANI) Frederiksen also pledged humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and its neighbors. "There will be internally displaced refugees. There will, of course, also be a lot of pressure on a country like Poland, but also on Moldova and other countries. And then the refugee flows can enter Europe, which Denmark will facilitate," Frederiksen explained. However, she added that "it is far too early to put figures on how many refugees Denmark will take in." According to the Danish news agency Ritzau, immigration authorities have started preparations to take in Ukrainian refugees. Meanwhile, as a NATO member state, Denmark will bolster its own national preparedness and the NATO defense alliance's readiness, Frederiksen said. "Denmark is not threatened directly ... But (the crisis in Ukraine) will have an impact on our economy and our energy supply. We expect a lasting international crisis, potentially with large costs for the Danish society. We are living in uncertain times," she said. According to Chief of Defense Flemming Lentfer, Denmark will be used as a "springboard" for Allied forces in the future. "This may mean that additional Danish forces must be deployed outside the border," Lentfer said. Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a "special military operation," and Ukraine confirmed that military installations across the country were under attack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law in the country following that. (ANI/Xinhua) China is attempting to impose its agenda in Southeast Asia by establishing its Confucius Institutes (CIs), expanding 'soft borders' without using military force, Global Strat View asserted. Cultural appropriation happens when someone from one culture adopts another culture's fashion, iconography, ideas, or styles. Recently, the issue of cultural appropriation surfaced when a Chinese girl was seen wearing what seemed to be a Korean hanbok dress during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. "This is not the first time China has incorporated Korean culture as if it were its own," Lee So-Young, a lawmaker for South Korea's ruling party was quoted in the report. He also stated that if the Korean people's anti-China feelings get exacerbated to a dangerous level due to the current situation, it will be a significant impediment to future negotiations with China. The issue of cultural appropriation between Korea and China ranges from the areas of history, culture, clothing, food, and going as far as debating the nationality of poets and ancient kingdoms. Vietnam and the Philippines have also been at the receiving end of this tactic of China. In 2019, a film called 'Abominable' showed a scene that included a map supporting China's claims to the South China Sea, a disputed area shared by Vietnam, the Philippines, China, Brunei, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines banned the movie in their respective countries. The report comes amid the Chinese assertion on Thursday that Taiwan is an 'inalienable part of China's territory.' China continues to regard Taiwan as a breakaway province even after decades of separate governance. (ANI) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with fifteen of his NATO ally and European counterparts regarding Russia's military operations in Ukraine, Pentagon informed on Friday. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that Austin the Secretary spoke individually with Defense Ministers from Canada and Turkey. Austin also convened a virtual European Quint meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, Kirby said. According to the Pentagon statement, Austin also participated for the first time in a secure teleconference with the counterparts from the Bucharest Nine (B-9) Countries - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. "Secretary Austin made clear that the United States stands united with our Allies and partners to support Ukraine and to deter aggression against NATO, while avoiding conflict with Russia. The United States' commitment to defending NATO territory is ironclad and the United States will continue to bolster our posture to better defend our NATO Allies," the US Defense said in a release. In the wake of Russian military operations, Austin said the US has deployed an additional 15,000 forces in recent days and weeks and now has more than 90,000 U.S. service members in Europe. "We have repositioned other forces within Europe to assure our Allies and deter Russian aggression against NATO," the Pentagon said. Austin lauded the unifying steps taken at NATO and commended its allies for the steps they have taken to bolster NATO's Eastern Flank and to provide security assistance to Ukraine. He asked NATO Allies to consider additional contributions to strengthen NATO's defensive posture and bolster Ukraine's capacity to defend itself in the face of "Russian aggression". Austin also spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov. The US Defense Secretary made clear that the United States' support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering and that it will continue to provide defensive assistance to Ukraine. (ANI) China has again accused the US of employing coercive diplomacy against Nepal over the ongoing controversy on the "Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)-Nepal Compact" that awaits Parliamentary ratification by the Himalayan nation. On Thursday, the scheduled Parliament meeting was postponed until Friday, as the government sought to ensure the required numbers to pass the MCC grant agreement in the House, The Kathmandu Post reported. The deal, under which Nepal will get the USD 500 million grant from the US, was tabled in the House on Sunday, after it was registered in July 2019. The 500 million US Dollars grant assistance to the Himalayan Nation has become a subject of protest as reports have claimed it to be a military pact. Dozens of protestors were injured on Thursday in the clash near the Parliament with some reported to have sustained serious injuries. At a press briefing on Wednesday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying stressed the earlier remarks made by the US State Department spokesperson that "Nepal's failure to ratify the MCC compact will affect bilateral ties." In response to this statement, Chunying said, "The US Embassy in Nepal described the USD 500 million MCC grant as 'gift from the American people to Nepalis'. I wonder, since when does a gift come with the package of an ultimatum?" "How can anyone accept such a gift? Is it a gift or Pandora's box? I'm afraid it will turn out like a Nepalese saying: It looks good, but you will find the meat difficult to chew," she further asked. The Chinese spokesperson went on to add that "there should be no interference in any country's domestic affairs, no political strings attached, no coercive diplomacy, and certainly no infringement on other countries' sovereignty and interests for selfish gains." (ANI) The sanctions imposed on Moscow are not enough to curtail Russian military operations against Ukraine, the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday and added that they are defending their country alone. Speaking after a reported Russian operation in the capital of Kiev, Zelenskyy said the world was still just observing the events in Ukraine from a distance. "This morning, we are defending our country alone. Just like yesterday, the most powerful country in the world looked on from a distance," he said in a Facebook video, as quoted by CNN. "Russia was hit with sanctions yesterday, but these are not enough to get these foreign troops off our soil. Only through solidarity and determination can this be achieved," he added. Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine. They have also imposed heavy sanctions on Russia. US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the US will introduce a new wave of sanctions against Russia in a broad effort to isolate Moscow from the global economy. The new package of sanctions aims to cut Russia off from the US financial markets and includes freezing the assets of four major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, the nation's second-biggest bank. Hours after that, President of the European Council Charles Michel said that the EU has made a political decision to impose additional sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine. "We took a political decision to add an additional package of mass sanction which will be painful for the Russian regime," Michel said after the extraordinary EU Summit. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the new EU sanctions against Russia will hit 70 percent of the Russian banking sector, key state-run corporations and deprive Russia of access to modern technologies. "First, this package includes financial sanctions that cut Russia's access to the most important capital markets. We are now targeting 70% of the Russian banking market. But also, key state-owned companies including in field of defense," von der Leyen said after the extraordinary EU Summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in eastern Ukraine and "demilitarise" the country. (ANI) Deshun stood trial on Tuesday at court in east China's Shandong Province, Xinhua news agency reported. Sun was accused of taking advantage of his various former positions to assist others in matters such as gaining loan approval and credit lines from 2003 to 2019. In return, Sun accepted money and gifts worth USD 154.3 million. During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that was, in turn, examined by the defendant and his lawyers. In his final statement, Sun pleaded guilty and expressed remorse. Sun's sentence will be announced at a later date. (ANI) The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, which was widely celebrated in Pakistan in August last year, has worsened the terror situation in the country. In 2021, terror incidents increased by a massive 42 percent over the last year according to the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), reported The New York Times on Tuesday. A significant surge in incidents was recorded after Kabul fell to the Taliban. The PIPS report also went on to say that the change in Afghanistan is "not helping in any way Pakistan's efforts to deal with the militant groups threatening its security." The Pakistan Taliban, which was considerably weakened by late 2020, has regrouped and is involved in running extortion rackets throughout Pakistan. "Traders are forced to pay huge amounts of extortion money because of fear," The New York Times quoted a Karachi-based trader, Muhammad Azam as saying. "If a trader refuses to pay it, the militants detonate small bombs near their homes to frighten them into succumbing to their demands. If they continue to refuse payment, militants harm them or their family members," Azam further said. Terrorists have also been particularly targetting polio vaccination teams. Police officers to protect such teams have been on the target. In 2021, militants, mainly belonging to the Pakistani Taliban, killed 48 policemen and injured 44 others in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Most of the violent incidents took place in the last few months of the year (after the Taliban takeover). Despite repeated attempts, Pakistan has been unable to get firm guarantees from the Afghan Taliban that they would take action against the Pakistani Taliban operating in Afghanistan, the publication said. Taliban also refuses to accept the Durand Line as the boundary between the two countries. In the past two months, there have been clashes between Afghan Taliban and Pakistani forces along the Durand Line in Nangarhar, Kandahar, Nimroz, Kunar, and Khost provinces over the construction of barbed wire fences, some of which have been fenced off by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. However, the top leadership in Pakistan continues to argue for international recognition of the new Taliban regime. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Imran Khan in an interview with CNN said, "The only alternative we have right now is to work with them (Taliban) and incentivize them for what the world wants: inclusive government, human rights, and women's rights in particular." (ANI) News Vietnam Bamboo Airways launches regular direct flights to Germany Anne Arundel County is reviewing a lawsuit aimed at voiding a bill passed by the County Council in January that is designed to prevent smash-and-grab style burglaries at gun stores by imposing more security requirements. The law, which passed along party lines with the four Democrats voting for it and the three Republicans against it, requires gun store owners to take extra measures to prevent their stores from being burglarized. Advertisement Requirements include having their buildings monitored at all times by video surveillance, installing exterior bollards and concrete barriers to prevent intruders from driving into the building, and setting up interior or exterior security gates or screens. It also requires that all guns be secured in a locked rack, metal cabinet, wire cage, glass case or safe when the business is closed. Police who find gun stores not in compliance may post a security guard at the location until the business is no longer in violation. Police also may issue a citation for $500 on the first offense and $1,000 on the second or subsequent offenses. The law took effect Thursday, but businesses have 180 days to comply. Advertisement Bill 109-21, sponsored by Andrew Pruski, a Gambrills Democrat, was modeled after similar legislation in Baltimore County known as the SAFE Act. Pruski declined to comment on the lawsuit. Our suit challenges that bill on multiple grounds including that its preempted by state law and that its too vague to be enforced, said Mark Pennak, one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit. Specifically, Pennak says the county is preempted from taking this action because, according to state code, its up to the state to make laws about certain issues, in this case guns. Pennak is also the president of Maryland Shall Issue, Inc., a nonprofit group that advocates for gun owners rights in Maryland. The organization is one of five plaintiffs in the case along with four gun stores: Field Traders in Pasadena, Cindys Hot Shots in Glen Burnie, Pasadena Arms and Worth-A-Shot in Millersville. The lawsuit was filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court on Feb. 7 and the county was served the following week. The countys Office of Law has 30 days to file a response. While County Attorney Gregory Swain said he was familiar with the preempted section of the code, he said his office justified the law under section 4-209 in the criminal law article of state code. The code addresses counties having their rights preempted by state law but cites a few exceptions, including being able to regulate gun sales within 100 yards of or in a park, church, school, public building, and other place of public assembly. The exception of being near a public place is written into bill 109-21. Pennak said the new law has brought a lot of distress to county gun dealers, who fear the high costs they will have to bear to increase security at their shops. Advertisement These requirements are so expensive and they impose such costs on the dealers that it would drive a lot of dealers out of business. If they cant be driven out of business theyre going to drive up the costs so high they wont be competitive with arms dealers outside of Anne Arundel County, Pennak said. This is a matter of their survival as a business. John Walker, owner of Pasadena Arms, said he cant comply with the law because he doesnt own the property he rents it so he cannot install bollards outside the store. He added that the space outside the store is small and leaves room for only a few parking spots. If they want to force us to do it, Ill close the store and theyll lose taxes and theyll lose business, Walker said. Theyre putting additional costs on us, its ridiculous. Walker said he doesnt worry about smash-and-grabs at his store because all the guns inside are locked in safes. Not only will this law affect the 21 stores that sell guns in the county, it will also negatively impact residents, Pennak said. It bears on the rights of everybody to buy firearms because it drives up the cost of firearms, Pennak said. If [these stores] go out of business, thered be less availability of firearms to the citizens of Anne Arundel County. Advertisement Pennak also argued the bill would not be effective in preventing smash-and-grab burglaries. It may well be that people can smash into stores and steal, but the requirements imposed by this bill will not stop that. It might slow it down, but then the thieves will just change their tactics, Pennak said. Thieves are not nearly as stupid as this bill seems to think they are. Breaking News Alerts As it happens When big news breaks in our area, be the first to know. > However, Lt. Jacklyn Davis, spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Police, said just because the law might not stop all smash-and-grab burglaries doesnt mean it will have no impact. Anything that makes it harder will help. Will it stop it all? Probably not. But I think anything that can be an additional precaution that may keep a weapon out of somebodys hand who may want to use it for a criminal reason or to hurt somebody is well worth it, Davis said. While smash-and-grabs at gun stores are not all that common in the county only two were reported last year, both at Anglers Sport Center in Annapolis they can cause major issues for police. Unregistered guns are exceptionally problematic for us, Davis said. Because when we do find them used in a crime and recover them, obviously the owner theyre registered to is not the person that is our suspect. Advertisement Davis said most guns related to criminal activity are unregistered and anything that prevents residents from obtaining guns illegally is worth it to the department. While Swain did not say how the county plans to respond to the lawsuit, he said his office always takes great pains to review every bill that crosses its desk. The Office of Law reviews all legislation to ensure that the legislation complies with state law and we did that in this case, as well, Swain said. We feel the law is defendable. A member of the vaccination transit team was killed in Taloqan district in Takhar province, while four members of house-to-house teams were murdered in two separate incidents in Kunduz city, according to a statement from the UN Country Team. Two vaccinators and a social mobilizer were killed in the Kunduz province's Emamsaheb district. Ramiz Alakbarov, the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, condemned these killings. Alakbarov said the attacks and assassinations were a violation of international humanitarian law. World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Ghebreyeus also expressed his profound shock. "We extend our deepest condolences to their families and colleagues," he wrote, adding that health workers should not be targeted. Last year, nine polio workers were killed during national polio vaccination campaigns. (ANI) Seoul [South Korea], February 25 (ANI/Global Economic): As Russia has ordered operations in Ukraine, Korean companies have been also impacted. Korean companies have returned their expatriates from Ukraine, and are closely watching the situation. According to the industry on the 22nd, Samsung Electronics, which operates a local unit in Ukraine, has ordered its expatriates and their families to move to Korea or nearby countries. Korean employees working at Samsung AI Research Center in Kiev also moved to other countries or returned to Korea. LG Electronics and POSCO also have returned expatriates and their families to Korea first and temporarily relocated other Korean employees in Ukraine to Korea or nearby countries. This is because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a Level 4 travel warning and banned the travel to all regions in Ukraine. Under the Level 4, Koreans and Korean companies should leave the country immediately. However, considering that it is difficult to re-enter the local market after complete withdrawal, the companies are continuing to run their businesses in Ukraine. Local employees are currently working from home and communicating online. LG Electronics is also continuing its business with local employees. POSCO International, which operates a grain terminal business in Ukraine, is also working as usual but has put the new projects on hold. A business official said, "We will keep monitoring to decide whether to respond or not. As the U.S. and Europe are likely to impose sanctions on Russia, we are keeping a close eye on the situation." Airlines are also paying keen attention. Airlines are currently operating their flights on a route bypassing Ukrainian airspace, and considering suspending flights in accordance with the authorities' guidelines. Korean companies in Russia have not yet consider withdrawing but they also are concerned about impacts of Ukraine crisis. Supply disruptions of raw materials and local production delays are expected. As of last year, Russia is the 10th largest country in trade with Korea, accounting for about 1.6% of total exports and 2.8% of imports. Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Hyundai Motor, which have factories in Russia, are currently continuing the production at local plants. Samsung Electronics operates a TV plant in Kaluga near Moscow, Russia, and LG Electronics operates a TV and home appliance plant in Luza near Moscow. Hyundai Motor has production facilities in St. Petersburg. The three companies said there is no problem with operation in Russia. However, if the Russia-Ukraine war breaks out, the demand is expected to rapidly decrease, having a serious impact on profits. In addition, there are concerns about worsening profitability and supply chain disruptions due to ruble weakness. Currently, companies are keeping monitoring the situation. An official from the company said "There are limitations for corporate responses in this urgent situation. We continue to operate plants as usual." (ANI/Global Economic) Pakistani authorities who remain predisposed to the West have even offered to scrap or sideline the CPEC if Washington could offer similar financial assistance, said Asia Times citing inside sources. Imran Khan has been attempting to warm up relations with the US, even appointing Moeed Yusuf, a US-based Pakistani analyst who worked for years for the US government-funded United States Institute of Peace, as national security advisor. However, not much has been achieved apart from an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package in July 2019. Pakistan's prospects for better ties with the US diminished further when the US declared Qatar as its diplomatic representative in Afghanistan in November 2021, making Doha, to quote Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the "protecting power" for the US in Afghanistan, the news report said. The continued snubbing has forced the Imran Khan regime to appease the Chinese for the requisite economic and geopolitical assistance. Earlier this month, Imran Khan, in an interview with Eric Li, director of the Advisory Committee of the China Institute of Fudan University, said, "We see CPEC and Gwadar as a great opportunity for geo-economics." At the same time, Pakistan has dismissed the reports of CPEC being a 'debt trap.' (ANI) Alvi made these remarks during a session of a conference on 'South Asia: Emerging Opportunities and Challenges'. "I mistakenly believed that the US would have learned a lesson from the Vietnam War and would not fall into another trap," the Pakistan President was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper. This comes amidst the Ukraine conflict, during which Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has undertaken his maiden Moscow visit. Analysts have termed this visit as 'ill-timed' and 'foolhardy'. Federico Giuliani, writing for 'Inside Over' said that getting cozy with Putin is especially bad when Khan is facing a no-confidence motion and is in dire need of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans. Calling the visit 'badly timed' for taking place during the Ukraine crisis, the article highlights that no major deal has been promised, nor there is a chance of Pakistan being able to secure a loan from the Russians. (ANI) "I call for an immediate ceasefire, deescalation of tensions and a firm return to diplomacy and dialogue," said the UNGA president in a statement.Underscoring that the UN Charter is based on the principle of sovereign equality, Shahid called on all member states to settle their international disputes by peaceful means. "I renew my call to all member states to uphold their obligations under international law and international humanitarian law," said the UNGA president. "The safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and its people is a priority and the need of the hour," he said. (ANI/Xinhua) Kelash Kumar, who hails from Thar district in Sindh province, is a "brilliant officer", the Pakistan Armed Forces' media wing said in a statement. Kumar is the first Hindu-Pakistani to be elevated to the position, Pakistan's Saama News reported. His rank was upgraded from major to lieutenant colonel. Media reports said Kumar passed out from the Pakistan Military Academy. He was serving in the Pakistan army's Medical corps. (ANI) Arms abandoned by the retreating US forces and the Afghan National Army (ANA) during the Taliban assault last year have found their way to Baloch militants in Pakistan, a report has said. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants who attacked the paramilitary camps of Noshki and Panjgur in early February were armed with high-tech military gear, far superior to that carried by Pakistan army soldiers, who according to reports struggled to defend their positions at the targeted military camps, said Asia Times on Wednesday. The attacks left at least nine Pakistani soldiers and 20 militants dead. The BLA militants were mostly holding M-16A4 and M-4A2 rifles during the assaults, while also equipped with Dual Beam Aiming Lasers (DBALs) that can be attached to any weapon for accurate fire in the darkness. The militants were also carrying PVS 7D head-mounted night sight devices that allowed them to accurately aim at off-guard Pakistani soldiers. "These modern technologies are now in the hands of terrorists, which sent a warning bell to Islamabad. The terrorists were holding weapons far superior to the ones carried by Army soldiers," quoted Asia Times citing an anonymous Pakistani official. In an October 2021 report, the New York Times revealed that American weapons and military accessories were being openly sold in shops by Afghan gun dealers who paid then-government soldiers as well as Taliban fighters for the equipment. "The BLA had sanctuaries in Afghanistan and Iran and it was quite easy for them to get hold of this weaponry through arm-runners or from the Taliban fighters who have just pushed behind the carpet Islamabad's demand to take major action against the Baloch separatists," Mansur Khan Mahsud, executive director of the Islamabad-based FATA Research Centre (FRC), was quoted as saying. (ANI) "During a telephone conversation held at the initiative of the French side, Vladimir Putin and President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron had a serious and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine," read a Kremlin statement. Putin gave an exhaustive explanation of the reasons for and the circumstances in which the decision to start a special military operation was made. The parties agreed to stay in contact. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. On Monday, Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. (ANI) "The contingent of @Japan_GSDF arrived in #India to take part in 12 days long #ExerciseDharmaGuardian. The Joint Military Exercise will further enhance inter-operability and foster mutual understanding between the two Armies," the Army tweeted. On Thursday, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla said that Japan has been a valuable partner in India's developmental journey. Addressing a conference 'India-Japan: 70 years of Cooperation and the Way Forward' organized by the Ananta Centre and Embassy of Japan, India, Shringla said, "Over the course of the last 70 years, Japan has emerged as one of India's most trusted partners. The iconic Delhi Metro has transformed the way we imagine urban mobility. Flagship projects such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR), Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) are under various stages of implementation." He said that both countries are planning to organize a number of events throughout this year to celebrate this historic milestone in our relationship. On 28 April 1952, India and Japan signed the "Treaty of Peace" which established diplomatic relations between the two countries. (ANI) Amid Russian military operations in Ukraine, Indian Embassy in Kiev issued a fresh advisory informing stranded Indian citizens that the government is working to evacuate them through Romania and Hungary. "Government of India and the Embassy of India are working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary. At present, teams are getting in place at the following checkpoints Chop-Zahony Hungarian Border near Uzhhorod Porubne-Siret Romanian Border near Chernivtsi," read the Embassy statement. The Indian Embassy also advised Indian nationals, especially students living closest to the above border checkpoints to depart first in an organized manner, in coordination with teams from the Ministry of External Affairs to actualize this option. "Once above routes are operational Indian nationals travelling by their own arrangements for transport would be advised to proceed to above border checkpoints, and remain in touch with the Helpline Numbers set up at respective check-points for facilitation through the border. Numbers would be shared once the control rooms are established," added the statement. It also advised students to remain in touch with student contractors, for orderly movement and requested Indian nationals to continue to remain strong, safe and alert. The Embassy also reiterated that it is working round the clock to support the Indian community in Ukraine. Meanwhile, it is also urged to print out the Indian flag and paste it prominently on vehicles and buses while travelling, carry a passport, cash preferably in USD for any emergency expenses, and other essentials and a COVID-19 double vaccination certificate, if available. (ANI) Afghan refugees who entered Turkey after paying fortunes to human traffickers are now struggling with a very difficult situation - fearing police may deport them as they are without any official documents or visa. "I went to cross the border for the second time but I was deported once from Greece and a second time from Bulgaria," said Hameed, a refugee, reported Tolo News. The refugees said they paid a great amount of money to human traffickers to take them to Turkey, but now they are living secretly in order to not be caught by the Turkish forces, which would result in their deportation back to Afghanistan. "The human trafficker was a cruel person. He told us it is an hour-long path, but it took us two days--with an empty stomach--to pass," said Abdullah, an Afghan refugee in Turkey. "It was a difficult path. We came to Iran and from there to Turkey, we were beaten up on the way. We have seen troubles which we had experienced before," said Nadeem, an Afghan refugee in Turkey, reported Tolo News. Abdul Jalil is an Afghan refugee who arrived in Turkey five months ago via Iran. He lives in secret places fearing detention by the Turkish police. "Life is difficult here. We cannot go and hang around because of the fear that we will be caught by the police," he said. Many of the Afghan refugees in Turkey are attempting to make it to European states where they can appeal for asylum. "It is all danger here. If the police catch us, they will beat us, they break people's feet and sometimes take off people's clothes and send them back naked," said Naqibullah, an Afghan refugee. Tens of thousands of Afghans mostly youth are resorting to dangerous ways to get out of the war-torn nation after the Taliban's takeover on August 15 last year. (ANI) Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested to Russian President Vladimir Putin that they sit down at the negotiation table amid escalating tensions over Russia's military actions in Ukraine. "I would like to address the president of Russia once again ... let us sit down at the negotiation table to stop people dying," Zelenskyy said in a video address, Sputnik News Agency reported. The Ukraine President also said he will talk to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. "Today at 10.30 am at the entrances to Chernihiv, Hostomel and Melitopol there were heavy fighting. People died. Next time I'll try to move the war schedule to talk to #MarioDraghi at a specific time. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to fight for its people," Zelenskyy said in a tweet. He also said that Sweden has provided military, technical and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. "Grateful to @SwedishPMfor her effective support. Building an anti-Putin coalition together!" he said in another tweet. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said earlier in the day that Moscow is ready for negotiations on Kiev at any moment. "We are ready for negotiations. At any moment, as soon as the armed forces of Ukraine respond to the call of our president (Vladimir Putin), stop resisting and lay down their arms. No one is going to attack them, no one is going to oppress them, let them return to their families," Lavrov said. Zelenskyy also criticized some European countries for not being fast enough in extending assistance to Ukraine amid tensions. "We do not quite see what you are going to do with this; how are you going to defend yourselves if you are so slow helping us in Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a televised statement, Sputnik reported. He said that Western actions against Russia were not enough. He urged Western leaders to disconnect Moscow from the SWIFT banking system and withdraw ambassadors from the Russian capital. Zelensky urged European countries to demand stoppage of "the war". Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine. They have also imposed heavy sanctions on Russia. US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the US will introduce a new wave of sanctions against Russia in a broad effort to isolate Moscow from the global economy. The new package of sanctions aims to cut Russia off from the US financial markets and includes freezing the assets of four major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, the nation's second-biggest bank. Hours after that, President of the European Council Charles Michel said that the EU has made a political decision to impose additional sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine. "We took a political decision to add an additional package of mass sanction which will be painful for the Russian regime," Michel said after the extraordinary EU Summit. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the new EU sanctions against Russia will hit 70 per cent of the Russian banking sector, key state-run corporations and deprive Russia of access to modern technologies. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in eastern Ukraine. (ANI) Amid Russian military operations in Ukraine and condition worsening, the Indian Embassy in Warsaw issued an urgent advisory for its citizens who desire to be evacuated via Poland. The Mission concurrently accredited to Lithuania said, "Indian nationals arriving at the Poland-Ukraine border by public conveyance i.e. by bus or taxi, are advised to make for the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing, not Krakowiec crossing." The embassy office at the Krakowiec crossings will be operational later today, headed by Shubham Kumar (Tel +48 881 551 271). "The Government of Poland is allowing people to cross the border on foot only via Shehyni-Medyka point. The Krakowiec crossing is only for persons travelling in their own vehicles," read the embassy statement. "Embassy official Pankaj Garg (Tel +48660460815) is stationed at the Shehyni-Medyka. The Liaison Office in Lviv, Ukraine is operational and the contact details are: Mira Berezovska (Mb +380679335064), Vivek Kumar (Tel +48 881 551 273) will be available from late February 25. The embassy further advised Indians crossing into Poland to register their details by filling the Google Form (https:117orms.gle/TPmtUeMh98Q4XgvP9) for processing their requests for seats in the repatriation flights. Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs Camp Offices are now operational in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine. Additional Russian-speaking officials are being sent to these Camp Offices. Officials are assisting Indian citizens who reach these cities and will facilitate their departure from Ukraine through adjoining border crossings. The first batch of Indian students has now left Chernivtsi for the Ukraine/Romania border. A group of around 40 Indian medical students of Daynlo Halytsky Medical University, Lviv walk towards the Ukraine-Poland border for evacuation. They were dropped around 8 km from the border point by a college bus. Also, Embassy of India in Bratislava has stationed officials at the Slovak-Ukraine border to provide essential assistance to Indian nationals who might cross over to Slovakia from Thursday. The government of India will arrange evacuation flights for Indian nationals in Ukraine, said sources on Friday. The sources further said that the cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation. "Two flights for Bucharest today and one flight for Budapest for tomorrow are being planned to be operated as GOI chartered flights," said Government sources. Earlier on Thursday, with Ukraine closing its airspace after Russia launched a military operation against it, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. (ANI) The Uyghur genocide in China is the characterization of the series of ongoing human rights abuses against other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang by the Chinese government, resulting in the severe birth drop in the region. Birth rates in Xinjiang fell 24 per cent in 2019, compared to a nationwide decrease of 4.2 per cent, according to Al - Arabia Post. It further reported that the Chinese government statistics reported that from 2015 to 2018, birth rates in the mostly Uyghur regions of Hotan and Kashgar fell by more than 60 per cent. In the same period, the birth rate of the whole country decreased by 9.69 per cent. However, the authorities acknowledged that birth rates dropped by almost a third in 2018 in Xinjiang, but denied reports of forced sterilization and genocide. Following the abuse, the Government policies have included the arbitrary detention of Uyghurs in state-sponsored internment camps, forced labour, suppression of Uyghur religious practices, political indoctrination, severe ill-treatment forced sterilization forced contraception and forced abortion, Al Arabia reported. Since 2014, the Chinese government, under the administration of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping, has pursued policies that incarcerated more than an estimated one million Muslims (the majority of them Uyghurs) in internment camps without any legal process. This is the largest-scale detention of ethnic and religious minorities since WorldWar II. Thousands of mosques have been destroyed or damaged, and hundreds of thousands of children have been forcibly separated from their parents and sent to boarding schools, as per Al Arabia. At first, these actions were described as the forced assimilation of Xinjiang, and an ethnocide or cultural genocide. As more details emerged, some governments, activists, NGOs, human rights experts, and academics termed it genocide, pointing to intentional acts committed by the Chinese government that they say run afoul of Article II of the Genocide Convention. China publicly denies that it has committed human rights abuses in Xinjiang. International reactions have varied. Some United Nations (UN) member states issued statements to the United Nations Human Rights Council condemning China's policies, while others supported China's policies. The United States was the first country to declare human rights abuses a genocide, announcing its finding on January 19 last year. (ANI) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said that the United Kingdom will work for as long as it takes to ensure the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine is restored, adding that the National flag of Ukraine flies over Downing Street. "The national flag of Ukraine flies over Downing Street. The United Kingdom will work for as long as it takes to ensure that the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine is restored," the Prime Minister's Office said in a Tweet. Meanwhile, he pledged that the UK will provide further support to Kiev "in the coming days." "The Prime Minister committed to providing further UK support to Ukraine in the coming days," Johnson's office said in the readout of the telephone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday morning. According to the statement cited by Sputnik News Agency, Zelenskyy updated Johnson on the most recent developments in Ukraine and the "terrible developments in Kyiv in the early hours of this morning." Meanwhile, Zelenskyy suggested to Putin that they sit down at the negotiation table amid escalating tensions over Russia's military actions in Ukraine. "I would like to address the president of Russia once again ... let us sit down at the negotiation table to stop people dying," Zelenskyy said in a video address, Sputnik News Agency reported. Zelensky urged European countries to demand stoppage of "the war". Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine. They have also imposed heavy sanctions on Russia. US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the US will introduce a new wave of sanctions against Russia in a broad effort to isolate Moscow from the global economy. The new package of sanctions aims to cut Russia off from the US financial markets and includes freezing the assets of four major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, the nation's second-biggest bank. (ANI) Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine at a high level, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. "Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine at a high level," Putin said, cited by Sputnik News Agency. Meanwhile, Beijing supports the settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through dialogue, the Chinese President said. "Recently, the situation in eastern Ukraine has been changing rapidly, which has attracted increased attention from the international community... China supports the settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations," Xi was quoted as saying by the CCTV. "China consistently advocates respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, the implementation of the provisions and principles of the UN Charter," Xi pointed out. The Chinese president emphasized that Beijing would cooperate with the international community in building integrated, stable and comprehensive security and ensuring a world order based on the United Nations and international law, according to TASS News Agency. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said earlier in the day that Moscow is ready for negotiations on Kiev at any moment. "We are ready for negotiations. At any moment, as soon as the armed forces of Ukraine respond to the call of our president (Vladimir Putin), stop resisting and lay down their arms. No one is going to attack them, no one is going to oppress them, let them return to their families," Lavrov said. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized some European countries for not being fast enough in extending assistance to Ukraine amid tensions. Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine. They have also imposed heavy sanctions on Russia. US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the US will introduce a new wave of sanctions against Russia in a broad effort to isolate Moscow from the global economy. The new package of sanctions aims to cut Russia off from the US financial markets and includes freezing the assets of four major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, the nation's second-biggest bank. Hours after that, President of the European Council Charles Michel said that the EU has made a political decision to impose additional sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine. (ANI) Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation of high-ranking officials to Minsk to hold talks with Kiev, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday. Putin also confirmed talks in Minsk in a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine at a high level," Putin said, cited by Sputnik News Agency. Meanwhile, Beijing supported the settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through dialogue, the Chinese President said. "Recently, the situation in eastern Ukraine has been changing rapidly, which has attracted increased attention from the international community... China supports the settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations," Xi was quoted as saying by the CCTV. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said earlier in the day that Moscow is ready for negotiations on Kiev at any moment. "We are ready for negotiations. At any moment, as soon as the armed forces of Ukraine respond to the call of our president (Vladimir Putin), stop resisting and lay down their arms. No one is going to attack them, no one is going to oppress them, let them return to their families," Lavrov said. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported. "The Russian Armed Forces are not targeting Ukrainian cities in the special military operation, but putting the Ukrainian Armed Forces' infrastructure out of operation," said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. "Measures will be taken to ensure the safety of UN and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) missions' staff in Ukraine," she added. "For 8 years, we have tried to encourage the authorities in Kiev to stop the punitive operation against its own people and settle the conflict in Donbas by peaceful, political and diplomatic means. Unfortunately, they simply ignored us," said Zakharova in a tweet. She said that Ukrainian authorities made no bones of violating their own Constitution and laws and adopted discriminatory laws on language, education and indigenous peoples. "On February 24, @MFA_Ukraine notified us that it had cut diplomatic ties with Russia. We regret that the Kiev regime has chosen the path of severing its ties with Russia and everything Russian. We do hope that history will soon set everything straight," tweeted Zakharova. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the US will introduce a new wave of sanctions against Russia in a broad effort to isolate Moscow from the global economy. The new package of sanctions aims to cut Russia off from the US financial markets and includes freezing the assets of four major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, the nation's second-biggest bank. (ANI) MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in tweets that bilateral defence ties were also discussed during the meetings held separately. The visit of the senior officers are in India coincides with the Indian Navy's multilateral exercise MILAN 2022. "Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla welcomed Admiral Paparo, Commander @USPacificFleet in India for Ex #MILAN2022. Discussed India and US bilateral maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region," Bagchi said in a tweet. "Foreign Secretary @harshvshringla welcomed Australian Navy Chief Vice Adm. Michael Noonan @CN_Australia to India for Ex #MILAN2022. Defence ties and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region between India and Australia were discussed," he added. US Navy's P-8A Multi-Mission Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft arrived at Naval Air Station INS Dega Visakhapatnam on Thursday to participate in the MILAN 2022. The latest edition of the Indian Navy's multilateral exercise - MILAN 2022 will witness its largest-ever participation, with more than 40 countries sending their warships/high-level delegations. MILAN 2022 is being conducted over nine days in two phases with the harbour phase scheduled from February 25 to 28 and the sea phase from March 1 to 4. Since the inception of MILAN in 1995, the event has been held biennially except for 2001, 2005, 2016, and 2020. While the 2001 and 2016 editions were not held due to International Fleet Reviews, the 2005 editions were rescheduled to 2006 due to the 2004 Tsunami. 2020 edition of MILAN was postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19. (ANI) The 9th meeting of India-Nepal Joint Working Group (Joint Secretary level) and Joint Steering Committee (Secretary level) on bilateral power sector cooperation has concluded in Kathmandu. The two mechanisms provide the necessary framework to support bilateral cooperation in the power sector. The meeting was commenced on February 23 and 24. The apex JSC meeting was co-chaired by Alok Kumar, Secretary (Power), Government of India and DevendraKarki, Secretary (Energy), Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Government of Nepal. Prior to the JSC meeting, Secretary (Power) Alok Kumar also called on Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal. During the JSC and JWG meetings, the two sides reaffirmed that power sector cooperation is a strong pillar of India Nepal partnership and agreed to pursue it along the following axes: joint development of generation projects in Nepal, joint development of cross-border power transmission infrastructure, power trade under respective domestic regulations and policy framework, and capacity building assistance, as per the release from Indian Embassy. Indian side thanked the Nepali side for their warm welcome and hospitality in Kathmandu and briefed the Nepali side on recent developments in India's power sector scenario, including installation of a large renewable energy capacity and the achievement of "One Nation, One Grid, One Market". "Nepali side briefed the Indian side on the recent developments and future trends in power generation, transmission and demand scenario in Nepal. The Indian side also acknowledged the recent enhancement in the installed power generation capacity in Nepal which paves the way for stronger and mutually beneficial cooperation in the power sector. The two sides also agreed to constitute a Joint Hydro Development Committee (JHDC) to further explore the development of viable hydropower projects in Nepal with particular focus on storage projects," the release states further. The two sides decided to continue the discussions on the subject towards expeditious follow-up and agreed to meet soon for the next sessions of the JSC/JWG meetings to be hosted by the Indian side. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday received a call from Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and they both discussed the evacuation of Indian citizens in the light of ongoing military operations of Russia. "Received a call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasized that India supports diplomacy & dialogue as the way out. Discussed predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return," tweeted Jaishankar. Meanwhile, Indian embassies in the neighbouring countries of Ukraine have organized massive evacuation operations for the Indian citizens. The Indian Embassy in Warsaw issued an urgent advisory for its citizens who desire to be evacuated via Poland and said, "Indian nationals arriving at the Poland-Ukraine border by public conveyance i.e. by bus or taxi, are advised to make for the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing, not Krakowiec crossing." The Ministry of External Affairs Camp Offices are now operational in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine. Additional Russian-speaking officials are being sent to these Camp Offices. Officials are assisting Indian citizens who reach these cities and will facilitate their departure from Ukraine through adjoining border crossings. A group of around 40 Indian medical students of Daynlo Halytsky Medical University, Lviv walk towards the Ukraine-Poland border for evacuation. They were dropped around 8 km from the border point by a college bus. Also, the Embassy of India in Bratislava has stationed officials at the Slovak-Ukraine border to provide essential assistance to Indian nationals who might cross over to Slovakia from Thursday. Meanwhile, Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine chided European leaders for their hesitancy in taking economic sanctions against Russia. "To some European leaders who are still hesitant: each year at commemorative events you say 'Never again'. The time to prove it is now. Russia is waging a horrific war of aggression in Europe. Here is your 'never again' test: BAN RUSSIA FROM SWIFT and kick it out of everywhere," tweeted Kuleba. He said that he spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and urged him to ban Russia from SWIFT. "Another call with my American friend and counterpart @SecBlinken on the need to use all US influence on some hesitant European countries in order to ban Russia from SWIFT. We also discussed the further supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine," tweeted Kuleba. US President Joe Biden, in his address to the nation on Thursday (local time), said that removing Russia from the SWIFT international financial system is always an option but not one Europe wishes to take now. "It is always an option, but right now, that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take," Biden said during a press conference at the White House. (ANI) The first batch of evacuees from Ukraine reach Romania via Suceava border crossing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Friday. Bagchi also said that the Indian team at Suceava will now facilitate travel to Bucharest for their onward journey to India. "The first batch of evacuees from Ukraine reach Romania via Suceava border crossing. Our team at Suceava will now facilitate travel to Bucharest for their onward journey to India," he tweeted. Earlier in the day, the Embassy of India in Kyiv said that more than 470 Indian students will exit Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret Border, amid escalating tensions over Russia's military actions in Ukraine. "Today afternoon more than 470 students will exit Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret Border. We are moving Indians located at the border to neighbouring countries for onward evacuation. Efforts are underway to relocate Indians coming from the hinterland," India in Ukraine Tweeted. The Indian Embassy also informed that the massive evacuation operation was organized through the joint efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs, Embassy of India in Kyiv, Embassy of India, representing India in Hungary and Bosnia, Embassy of India, Bucharest accredited to Romania, and Embassy of India in Warsaw, Poland. "This massive evacuation operation was organized through the joint efforts of @MEAIndia @IndiainUkraine @IndiaInHungary @eoiromania @IndiainPoland. Preparations are underway for continued movements," it said in another Tweet. Indian Embassy in Kiev issued a fresh advisory informing stranded Indian citizens that the government is working to evacuate them through Romania and Hungary. In addition to the Control Rooms in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi and the Embassy of India in Kyiv, the presence of MEA Teams have been expanded in western Ukraine and its neighbouring border regions to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine, as per the MEA statement today. MEA Control Room 1800118797 (Toll free), +91 1123012113, +91 1123014104, +91 1123017905, +91 11 23088124 (Fax). The contacts numbers of Embassy of India in Ukraine, Kyiv are: +380 997300428, +380 997300483, +380 933980327, +380 635917881 and +380 935046170. While contact numbers of Camp Office in Lviv, Ukraine are +380 679335064 and +48 881551273. MEA Team in Poland: Shehyni-Medyka border crossing (for pedestrians / using public transport) +48 575 762 557, +48 660 460 814. Team in Poland: Krakowiec border crossing (for personal cars): +48 575 467 147 Team in Hungary: Zahony / Kpp Tysa border crossing: +36 305199944, +36 308644597, +36 302286566 Whatsapp: +91 7395983990, +36 308644597, +91 8950493059 Team in Slovak Republic: Vysne Nemecke border crossing, +421 908025212, +421 908458724 Team in Romania: Suceava border crossing: +40 731347728, +40 724382287, +40 763528454, +40 722220823 The Indian Embassy also advised Indian nationals, especially students living closest to the above border checkpoints to depart first in an organized manner, in coordination with teams from the Ministry of External Affairs to actualize this option. (ANI) Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the visit. "The Holy See press office confirms that the pope went to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See on Via della Conciliazione, clearly to express his concern about the war. He was there for just over a half-hour," reported Arab News. Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict and has urged the faithful to set next Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. (ANI) US Department of State on Friday reissued the travel advisory for Ukraine and asked its citizens not to travel to the country. "Do not travel to Ukraine due to armed conflict and COVID-19. US citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options," read the US Department of State release. The Department of State reissued the travel advisory for Ukraine to include information regarding Russia's military actions. This replaces the previous travel advisory issued on February 12, 2022. "US citizens remaining in Ukraine should carefully monitor government notices and local and international media outlets for information about changing security conditions and alerts to shelter in place. Those remaining in Ukraine should exercise increased caution due to the potential for active combat, crime, and civil unrest," read the entire Travel Advisory. On February 24, Russia's forces launched military operations in major Ukrainian cities, and the Ukrainian government closed its airspace to commercial flights due to Russia's military actions. The Ukrainian government declared a state of emergency. Ukrainian province (oblast) will decide on the measures to be implemented according to local conditions. Measures could include curfews, restrictions on the freedom of movement, ID verification, and increased security inspections, among other measures. "The security situation throughout Ukraine is highly volatile, and conditions may deteriorate without warning. US citizens should remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness," read the release. "Know the location of your closest shelter or protected space. In the event of a mortar and/or rocket fire, follow the instructions from local authorities and seek shelter immediately. If you feel your current location is no longer safe, you should carefully assess the potential risks involved in moving to a different location," added the release. Earlier on February 12, the Department of State had ordered the departure of US direct-hire employees from Kiev Embassy and ordered the departure of eligible family members on January 23. The advisory urged US citizens seeking emergency assistance and chose to remain in Ukraine to complete the online form and the State Department will respond. "The US government will not be able to evacuate US citizens from Ukraine. Please review what the US government can and cannot do to assist you in a crisis overseas. US citizens may seek consular services, including requests for repatriation loans, passport, and visa services, at U.S. embassies and consulates in neighbouring countries," added the release. (ANI) China and Russia are the two most prominent security threats, particularly targeting Norwegian cyber networks, stealing military technology/strategic acquisitions as well as promoting anti-government forces and influence operations in the country, a recent report on public threat and risk assessment for 2022 said. Norwegian Intelligence/Police Security Service & National Security Authority has presented their public threat and risk assessment for 2022 and highlighted that their national security interests were being challenged both directly and indirectly across all sectors and areas of society. In a statement, it was noted that as a small state, Norway was in an exposed position, and that its competitive industrial sector and business expertise were of interest to others. The Chinese and Russian intelligence actors were particularly interested to penetrate into the areas in which Norway's technology was highly advanced apart from information pertaining to policy making and emergency preparedness. Regarding Beijing's intelligence operations, it was viewed that Chinese cyber operations were increasingly focusing on political issues in Norway as Beijing's interest was growing in European foreign and trade policies. There were also efforts to identify anti-China Norwegian politicians and activists. It was apprehended that Chinese influence networks could affect Norway's freedom of action and undermine the country's ability to deal with crises. The risk of Chinese proliferation into Norwegian business environment, impairing its competitiveness of business and industry was also underlined. Blaming China and Russia for cyber attacks on the Norwegian Parliament in 2020 and 2021, the Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM) underscored the recent increase in serious cyber incidents targeted at public and private sector undertakings in the country. These were apparently aimed at stealing data from companies and research groups in the fields of defence, health and maritime technology, petroleum and space sector. Norwegian Foreign Service was also being targeted and this assumed importance due to Oslo's membership of the UN Security Council as well. The threat assessment acknowledged that actors working on behalf of Chinese and Russian intelligence agencies were spreading disinformation, which exposes Norwegians to global disinformation campaigns including conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic. The report further stated that 'although Chinese intelligence services were sophisticated and technically advanced; they often made use of civilians with access to information. These people exploit their positions voluntarily or under duress'. Identifying the challenges in tackling Chinese intelligence activity it was noted that 'according to Chinese law, any Chinese citizen or business can be ordered to cooperate with the country's intelligence apparatus. This means that actors whose intentions are initially legitimate can be ordered to obtain information'. The report underscored that 'China is characterized by its lack of distinction between the private sector, state and the party'. In such a circumstance, it was exceptionally challenging to distinguish between purely commercial actors and actors being exploited for intelligence purposes. Norway is not alone in suspecting involvement of Chinese intelligence agencies' penetration into their cyber space, data system and civil society. Chinese activities and influence strategies in intelligence are well documented in Western countries. FBI Director Christopher Wray warned (January 31) that the Chinese government's ruthless hunger for economic superiority and desire to influence American politics makes it a threat to the US national security. (ANI) Amid ongoing military operations by Russia on Ukraine, Kremlin on Friday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation of high-ranking officials to Minsk to hold talks with Kiev. Here are the top developments on Russia-Ukraine tensions: NATO has issued a statement stating that it will continue to coordinate closely with relevant stakeholders and other international organisations including the EU. "We've deployed defensive land&air forces in eastern part of the Alliance&maritime assets across NATO area. We've activated NATO's defence plans to prepare ourselves to respond to a range of contingencies &secure Alliance territory including by drawing on our response forces," NATO This comes with Ukraine is under significant pressure, as Russian forces appear to be closing in on Keiv. They have entered the Obolon district in the north of the city, just a few miles from its center, according to the Ukrainian defense ministry as reported by CNN. The units of the Lugansk People's Republic in the Severodonetsk direction rapidly advanced to a depth of 12 km. The grouping of troops of Donetsk People's Republic in direction of Volnovakha advanced 11 km deep into the defence of nationalist battalions: Russian Defence Ministry The units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have completed blocking Chernihiv city. On February 24, Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a successful landing operation in the area of Gostomel airfield in suburbs of Kiev, " Russian Defence Ministry said. Zelensky has not directly proposed neutral status but has signaled a willingness to discuss it, while insisting his country be provided security guarantees. As per media reports, speaking during Friday's meeting of his Security Council, Putin claimed that most Ukrainian military units are reluctant to engage Russian forces. He said the units offering resistance are mostly volunteer battalions made up of right-wing Ukrainian nationalists but offered no evidence for his claims. "Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine at a high level," Putin said, cited by Sputnik News Agency. Meanwhile, Beijing supported the settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through dialogue, the Chinese President said. "Recently, the situation in eastern Ukraine has been changing rapidly, which has attracted increased attention from the international community... China supports the settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations," Xi was quoted as saying by the CCTV. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said earlier in the day that Moscow is ready for negotiations on Kiev at any moment. "We are ready for negotiations. At any moment, as soon as the armed forces of Ukraine respond to the call of our president (Vladimir Putin), stop resisting and lay down their arms. No one is going to attack them, no one is going to oppress them, let them return to their families," Lavrov said. Belarus stands ready to do everything possible to help bring peace to Ukraine, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Glaz told reporters commenting on the possibility of arranging peace talks in Minsk. "We reaffirm our commitment to make every effort to bring back peace to Ukraine, to stop the bloodshed between the fraternal Slavic peoples," tweeted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. "Belarus has always pushed for using diplomatic means and negotiations to address any issues," said Glaz. He recalled the work of the tripartite contact group in Minsk. Back then all the parties expressed gratitude to Minsk for its efforts. "In the current situation, we just have to do everything we can. In this regard, if the parties reach an agreement, we will be ready to provide any assistance and do everything in our power," Anatoly Glaz emphasized. Meanwhile, European Union leaders have been considering the "nuclear option" of removing Russia from SWIFT, a high-security network that connects thousands of financial institutions around the world, following the invasion of Ukraine. "The sanctions that we've proposed on all their banks are of equal consequence, maybe more consequence than SWIFT," Biden said, referring to the latest round of sanctions he announced today. The Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday urged the West to ban Russia from SWIFT in a tweet. Earlier on Thursday, Moscow on Friday claimed to have destroyed 118 military facilities of Ukraine's military infrastructure in a counter-offensive operation by the groupings of troops of Donetsk and Lugansk with fire support from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. "During the special military operation, the Russian Air Force destroyed 118 military facilities of Ukraine's military infrastructure, including 11 military airfields, 13 command posts and communication centres, 14 S-300 and Osa anti-aircraft missile systems, 36 radar stations," tweeted Russian Embassy in India. Today at 10:30 am at the entrances to Chernihiv, Hostomel and Melitopol there was heavy fighting. People died, informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile, Sweden on Friday provided military, technical and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. "Grateful to @SwedishPM for her effective support. Building an anti-Putin coalition together!" tweeted Zelensky. Indian embassies in the neighbouring countries of Ukraine have organized massive evacuation operations for the Indian citizens. The Indian Embassy in Warsaw issued an urgent advisory for its citizens who desire to be evacuated via Poland and said, "Indian nationals arriving at the Poland-Ukraine border by public conveyance i.e. by bus or taxi, are advised to make for the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing, not Krakowiec crossing." The Ministry of External Affairs Camp Offices are now operational in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine. Additional Russian speaking officials are being sent to these Camp Offices. Officials are assisting Indian citizens who reach these cities and will facilitate their departure from Ukraine through adjoining border crossings. A group of around 40 Indian medical students of Daynlo Halytsky Medical University, Lviv walk towards the Ukraine-Poland border for evacuation. They were dropped around 8 km from the border point by a college bus. Also, the Embassy of India in Bratislava has stationed officials at the Slovak-Ukraine border to provide essential assistance to Indian nationals who might cross over to Slovakia from Thursday. Meanwhile, Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine chided European leaders for their hesitancy in taking economic sanctions against Russia. "To some European leaders who are still hesitant: each year at commemorative events you say 'Never again'. The time to prove it is now. Russia is waging a horrific war of aggression in Europe. Here is your 'never again' test: BAN RUSSIA FROM SWIFT and kick it out of everywhere," tweeted Kuleba. He said that he spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and urged him to ban Russia from SWIFT. "Another call with my American friend and counterpart @SecBlinken on the need to use all US influence on some hesitant European countries in order to ban Russia from SWIFT. We also discussed the further supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine," tweeted Kuleba. On Thursday night, units of the Russian Airborne Troops took full control of the territory in the area of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. An agreement was reached with the servicemen of a separate battalion of protection of the nuclear power plant of Ukraine on joint security of the power units and the sarcophagus of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, said the Russian Defence Ministry release. US President Joe Biden, in his address to the nation on Thursday (local time), said that removing Russia from the SWIFT international financial system is always an option but not one Europe wishes to take now. "It is always an option, but right now, that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take," Biden said during a press conference at the White House. (ANI) Russian Defence Ministry on Friday said that its forces have staged a "successful landing operation" to capture Gostomel airfield in the suburbs of Kiev in Ukraine. "On February 24, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a successful landing operation in the area of Gostomel airfield in the suburbs of Kiev. More than 200 Russian helicopters were involved in the operation," the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement. "During the capture of the airfield, more than 200 nationalists from the special units of Ukraine were eliminated. The success of the landing was ensured by the suppression of the entire air defence system in the landing area, the complete isolation of the combat area from the air and active electronic warfare," the statement added. The statement said there are no casualties in the Russian Armed Forces. "At present, the main forces of the airborne troops have connected with the units of the Russian servicemen at the Gostomel airfield, blocking Kiev from the west. The units of the Russian Armed Forces continue to perform tasks in the area of Kiev and other cities," the statement said. "At present, reconnaissance data show that Grad multiple launch rocket system mounts have been deployed on Shevchenko Square in Kiev to strike at the Gostomel airfield," it added. The Ministry claimed that Pentagon and CIA advisers "taught the Ukrainian military leadership how to place rocket artillery systems in residential areas to provoke return fire on local residents". "Use by the Kiev regime of residential areas to cover the firing positions of its artillery is a war crime. This is familiar to us. These techniques are actively used by terrorists supervised by the CIA in the Middle East and other countries," the statement said. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that Ukraine "nationalist leadership uses the same methods as the terrorists" and that it wants to use citizens "as a human shield". "Russian Armed Forces will not inflict any strikes on residential areas of the Ukrainian capital," the statement said. The Russian Defence Ministry also said that the units of the Lugansk People's Republic in the Severodonetsk direction rapidly advanced to a depth of 12 kilometers. It said the troops of the Donetsk People's Republic in the direction of Volnovakha advanced 11 kilometres deep into the defence of the nationalist battalions. The statement said the units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have completed blocking Chernihiv city. "Russian servicemen are taking all measures to prevent casualties among the civilian population," it said. The statement claimed that "units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not participate in hostilities for the most part" and "only battalions of Ukrainian Nazis are resisting". "Moreover, in advance, the Security Service of Ukraine integrated into the military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces groups of notorious nationalists numbering 25-30 people who underwent special training. Nationalists identify unreliable among Ukrainian servicemen. And if the commanders of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decide to withdraw from the occupied lines, they act as barrage detachments. In some directions, they blow up bridges to exclude the possibility of retreat of military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the statement said. The statement claimed citing "Ukrainian servicemen who laid down their arms" that more than one case has been recorded of "lynching and reprisals by nationalists against who do not want to fight to intimidate the personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine". Russian President Vladimir Putin had on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. (ANI) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday (local time) said that the intergovernmental military alliance will "do what it takes" to protect and defend all its allies, including Ukraine, and "every inch of NATO territory." This comes in response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. "Russia has shattered peace in Europe. The people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom in the face of Russia's unprovoked invasion. We deplore the tragic loss of life, enormous human suffering, and destruction. Our thoughts are with those killed, injured, and displaced," Stoltenberg during the press conference following the extraordinary virtual summit of NATO Heads of State and Government. NATO chief also called on Russia to stop this "senseless war". "Immediately cease its assault. Withdraw all its forces from Ukraine. And turn back to the path of dialogue. And turn away from aggression," Stoltenberg added. Stoltenberg noted that the Kremlin's objectives are "not limited to Ukraine". "President Putin's decision to pursue his aggression against Ukraine is a terrible strategic mistake. For which Russia will pay a severe price for years to come," he said. He also said that the world will hold Russia and Belarus accountable for their actions. Russia as the "aggressor" and Belarus as the "enabler." NATO chief highlighted that NATO Allies and the European Union have already introduced significant sanctions and many of their partners around the globe have joined them. "We must stand ready to do more. Even if it means we have to pay a price, Because we are in this for the long haul," he added. NATO chief said that Russian people must know, that the Kremlin's war on Ukraine will not make Russia "more secure", it will not make Russia more "respected" in the world and it will not lead to a better future for "your children". He said that in response to Russia's massive military build-up over the past months,we have already strengthened our deterrence and defense. "There must be no space for miscalculation or misunderstanding. We will do what it takes to protect and defend every Ally. And every inch of NATO territory. Leaders today also made clear that we must continue our support to Ukraine," he added. (ANI) The negotiations could put an end to Ukraine's NATO ambitions after its President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was willing to discuss Ukraine's "neutrality" -- a demand of Putin's -- in his latest attempt to appeal to the Russian leader to negotiate. The Kremlin said it took note of Zelensky's offer. China's Foreign Ministry has also said that Putin told Chinese leader Xi Jinping over phone that "Russia is ready for high-level talks with Ukraine". "Vladimir Putin is ready to send a Russian delegation to Minsk in response to Zelensky's proposal," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, Moscow Times reported. The delegation would comprise Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Presidential Administration officials, Interfax quoted him as saying. Peskov added that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close Russian ally, welcomed the opportunity to host the Russia-Ukraine talks. Minsk was previously the site of negotiations for an eastern Ukraine ceasefire in 2014 and 2015. Belarus is currently hosting thousands of Russian troops on its territory after joint military exercises ended on February 20. The Kremlin spokesman reiterated Putin's stated goal of invading Ukraine to "help" eastern Ukraine's pro-Moscow breakaway republics "including through the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine". "This, in fact, is an integral component of [Ukraine's] neutral status," Peskov told reporters. Putin recognised the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics as independent and mounted the military campaign against Ukraine after they requested his military assistance this week. Donetsk and Luhansk foreign ministers arrived in Moscow earlier on Friday to formally establish diplomatic relations, the report said. --IANS san/arm ( 308 Words) 2022-02-25-20:36:03 (IANS) "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to offer support and condemn reports of mounting civilian deaths, including those of Ukrainian children due to airstrikes and rocket launch systems in and around Kyiv," US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. According to the statement, Blinken expressed his outrage at the Kremlin's brutal tactics and underscored continued US support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Blinken also emphasized to Foreign Minister Kuleba that the United States would continue to provide support to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russian aggression," the statement added. Earlier, Kuleba stated that he had a call with Blinken and discussed the further supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine. "Another call with my American friend and counterpart @SecBlinken on the need to use all US influence on some hesitant European countries in order to ban Russia from SWIFT. We also discussed further supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine," he tweeted. (ANI) Amid the growing tensions between Moscow and Kiev, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that Russia's diplomacy takes place at the barrel of a gun and termed it "not real diplomacy." "Moscow engaged in a pretence of diplomacy that was before the invasion started. Now we see Moscow suggesting that diplomacy take place at the barrel of a gun or as Moscow's rocket, mortars target the Ukrainian people, this is not real diplomacy," US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during the press briefing. Price highlighted that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly reached out to US President Joe Biden. "We and our Allies have called for a real diplomatic solution from day one, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly reached out to President Putin but his outstretched hand at every turn was met by silence and now bombs," Price said. "If President Vladimir Putin is serious about diplomacy, he knows what he can do. He should immediately stop bombing campaign against civilians, order withdrawal of his forces from Ukraine and indicate very clearly to the world that Moscow is prepared to de-escalate. We've not seen any indication that Putin is willing to de-escalate," he said. Talking about US's strategic partnership with India, Price said, "We've a broad strategic partnership with India, share values. India has a relationship with Russia that is distinct from the relationship that we've with Russia which is okay. What we've asked every country is to use that leverage in a constructive way." "We're confident that Russia will be isolated on the world stage. Confident that partners, allies will stand in stark opposition to this aggression on Ukraine's independence. We've expectation (on India & UAE to vote in favour of resolution against Russia at UNSC)," he added. (ANI) The Illinois wine industry, a small but growing network of boutique wineries and vineyards dotting the state, is looking for a little more shelf space at your local retailer. Struggling during the pandemic with a business model built mostly on tours, tastings and in-person sales, Illinois wine producers are pushing for legislation to increase self-distribution to stores and restaurants, bypassing a Prohibition-era state law requiring a middleman in such transactions. Advertisement Lynfred Winery in Roselle, a 43-year-old former basement hobby that has grown into one of the states oldest and largest family-owned wine producers, saw its sales decline sharply as visits by its 6,000 wine club members to the northwest suburban winery and satellite tasting rooms were curtailed by the pandemic. State law prevented the winery from delivering the products to retailers without a distributor, making it difficult to compensate for the lost in-person sales, according to Andres Basso, general manager at Lynfred Winery. Advertisement We make really good wine in the state of Illinois, and were not allowed to self-distribute a single gallon, said Basso, 49, a Chilean-born winemaker who has been at Lynfred for more than 20 years. Its been a very, very difficult thing for us to survive. Roselle is a long way from Napa Valley 2,090 miles, to be exact. But the Illinois industry is more robust than many people realize, with 139 wineries, 53 vineyards and two homegrown viticultural areas: Shawnee Hills in the southernmost part of the state and the Upper Midwest Valley in northwest Illinois. Most Illinois wineries are more mom-and-pop than Ernest and Julio Gallo, however, lacking the retail heft and distributor relationships to end up on store shelves and restaurant wine lists. The pandemic disrupted the primary in-person sales channel for the wineries, highlighting the need for more retail distribution. Our biggest issue is limits on self-distribution and production, said Lisa Ellis, executive director of the nonprofit Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance. Were for the most part small boutique winery operations, not producing millions of gallons a year like some of the West Coast wineries that you see on the shelves and grocery stores and liquor stores all across the country. The Springfield-based alliance is backing a proposed amendment to the states Liquor Control Act of 1934 that would substantially increase the amount that wineries could self-distribute to restaurants, retailers and other customers without the required middleman. Under the current law, only wineries that produce less than 25,000 gallons a year are allowed to self-distribute their wine, with a maximum of 5,000 gallons to sell themselves to outside retailers. The proposed legislation, sponsored by Sen. Rachelle Crowe, a Democrat from suburban St. Louis, seeks to raise the production threshold to 250,000 gallons and the self-distribution limits to 50,000 gallons, enabling smaller wineries to bypass distributors and grow their own local connections. Lynfred produces about 95,000 gallons of wine per year, Basso said. The bill also would reduce a 60% increase in licensing fees for Illinois wineries implemented last year and allow them to retain a premises license the ability to sell alcoholic products they dont make if wineries expand manufacturing operations to include beer or spirits. Advertisement The Illinois Liquor Control Act of 1934 created a three-tier system of producers, distributors and retailers. It requires that most alcohol produced for sale in the state go through a distributor and be sold by a licensed retailer. There are 305 licensed liquor distributors in the state, according to the Wine and Spirits Distributors of Illinois, a not-for-profit trade organization. Wine and Spirits Distributors of Illinois supports the efforts of the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association to lower their state licensing fees, Jeremy Kruidenier, vice executive director of the trade organization, said in a statement Wednesday. Kruidenier declined to comment on the self-distribution portion of the legislation. When the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance formed in 1992, there were only seven wineries across the state, Ellis said. Since then, Illinois has grown into the 18th largest wine-producing state in the U.S. with nearly 1.2 million gallons vinified in 2019, according to an economic impact study commissioned by the alliance. The Illinois wine industry generated $5.7 billion in annual economic impact and created more than 36,000 jobs, according to the study, which was conducted by liquor industry economist John Dunham. It is still only a drop in the bucket compared with California, which led the nation with nearly 799 million gallons of wine produced in 2019, according to the study. Advertisement Illinois is a much bigger player on the drinking end of the wine business, ranking fifth among all states at nearly 38 million gallons consumed in 2020, generating $3.45 billion in sales, Dunham told the Tribune. That leaves plenty of upside for Illinois wineries, which accounted for only about 3% of total wine sales in the state, but distribution remains the biggest obstacle, he said. In Illinois, where the wineries tend to be small, youre totally dependent on people coming to the winery to buy wine because it doesnt go into general distribution, Dunham said. And COVID has kind of screwed that up. Started as a hobby by the late Fred and Lynn Koehler, Lynfred Winery opened for business in 1979 in a stately, century-old home, and is now housed in a three-level, 24,000-square-foot building added in the 1990s to the 1-acre site. The winery includes a 100,000-gallon production facility, a bed-and-breakfast and tasting rooms. Lynfred produces more than 70 varietals and 40,000 cases of wine each year, most of which are sold on-site. But the pandemic has shifted the dynamic, with 40% of sales now coming through distribution at a handful of Chicago-area retailers. That has reduced profitability while adding a cumbersome step to a process that could be handled directly for many local customers, Basso said. Future growth for Lynfred and other Illinois wineries, even as wine tours return in a post-pandemic landscape, could depend on the proposed legislation. Basso said it would reshape the business, allowing distributors to keep the big accounts, while wineries focus on getting into the pizza place down the street. What would it mean to Lynfred Winery if this bill passes is that we could improve our service to the small consumer like restaurants and retailers and things like that, because we can control them directly from the winery, Basso said. We can just send our delivery guys. Advertisement rchannick@chicagotribune.com US President Joe Biden on Friday (local time) said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will maintain its "open door" to those European states who share its values and who one day may seek to join our Alliance. Biden's remarks came after he met with leaders from NATO Allies to discuss their shared commitment to collective defense and Transatlantic security, the White House said in a statement. "As President Putin threatens the very foundations of international peace and security, NATO is once again demonstrating that it stands for freedom and democracy," Biden said. He highlighted that the United States will defend "every inch of NATO territory". Our commitment to Article 5 is ironclad. I have ordered the deployment of additional forces to augment our capabilities in Europe to support our NATO Allies, Biden said. US President said that he welcomed the decision "to activate NATO's defensive plans and elements of the NATO Response Force to strengthen our collective posture as well as the commitments by our Allies to deploy additional land and air forces to the eastern flank and maritime forces from the High North to the Mediterranean." "NATO is as united and resolute as it's ever been, and NATO will maintain its Open Door to those European states who share our values and who one day may seek to join our Alliance," Biden said. After the NATO Summit, Biden spoke with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "I spoke with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. I commended the brave actions of the Ukrainian people who were fighting to defend their country. I also conveyed ongoing economic, humanitarian, and security support being provided by the United States as well as our continued efforts to rally other countries to provide similar assistance," Biden said. (ANI) Ottawa [Canada], February 26 (ANI/Sputnik): The Canadian government will impose new sanctions on Belarusian leadership for their cooperation with Russia on current military operations in Ukraine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during an update to the press on the situation between Russia and Ukraine. "Canada is also announcing that we will levy additional sanctions on Belarus and its leader for abetting President Putin's invasion of a free and sovereign nation. These will target 57 individuals and are in addition to the dozens of existing, strong sanctions already leveled against Alexander Lukanshenko's regime for their repeated, systematic human rights violations and decades of oppression of their own people," Trudeau said on Friday. (ANI/Sputnik) A Thursday night crash in Florida left one person dead and six others hospitalized, according to local officials. The Miami Beach Police Department said preliminary information indicates an elderly woman was attempting to parallel park, but instead accelerated her vehicle onto the outdoor cafe area of a restaurant. The woman struck "several tables" in the crash, which occurred at about 6 p.m., police said. The status of those transported to the hospital is unclear. As accident investigators continue to gather information, some streets near the accident are closed, officials said. Police have advised residents to avoid the area between South Pointe Drive and 1 Street along Washington Avenue. The woman struck several tables resulting in 7 patients being transported to the hospital. Unfortunately, one of the patients transported has died at the hospital. 2/3 Miami Beach Police (@MiamiBeachPD) February 25, 2022 Students surprised with promise of free college Trayvon Martin's mother on grief 10 years later One dead, six injured after car crashes into Miami cafe The Daily Beast Claudio Peri/Pool/ReutersROMESince the beginning of Russias invasion of Ukraine, Pope Francis has floated the idea that he wants to take a trip to Kyiv to try to broker a ceasefire. But now he says he would prefer to go to Moscow to try to talk some sense into Vladimir Putin, who he has not outwardly condemned in the now nearly three-month-old war and only did so lightly in a lengthy interview with an Italian newspaper.I feel that before going to Kyiv, I must go to Moscow, he told Corriere D MANILA, Philippines (AP) Memories of the People Power revolt by millions of Filipinos who helped overthrow Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos 36 years ago are bittersweet for Loretta Rosales, who opposed him as an activist and was arrested and tortured by his forces before his downfall. Her battle has gone full circle. The euphoria over that triumph of democracy in Asia has faded through the years and now looks upended with the late dictators son and namesake a leading candidate in the May 9 presidential election. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s rise loomed large as the Southeast Asian nation marked the anniversary Friday of the army-backed uprising that toppled Marcos and became a harbinger of change in authoritarian regimes worldwide. It puzzles and dismays me, said Rosales, who remains a pro-democracy activist at age 82 and is now raising alarms over Marcos Jr. She expressed fears he will take after his father and seek to cover up his crimes and failures. Rosales was among human rights victims who asked the Commission on Elections to disqualify Marcos Jr. from the presidential race because of a past tax conviction they say showed moral turpitude that should bar him from holding public office. The commission dismissed her petition and five others. All are now on appeal, and an additional one remains pending but will likely also be rejected. This is history repeating itself, Rosales said in an interview. This is round two. Marcos Jr., 64, who has served as a governor, congressman and senator, leads popularity surveys in the presidential race by a large margin despite his family's history. He has called the allegations against his father lies and his campaign steadfastly focuses on a call for unity while staying away from past controversies. The four-day revolt that forced the elder Marcos from power in 1986 unfolded when then-defense chief Juan Ponce Enrile and his forces withdrew their support from him after their coup plot against the ailing leader was uncovered. Later joined by a top general, Fidel Ramos, they barricaded themselves in two military camps along the main EDSA highway in the capital, where a Roman Catholic leader summoned Filipinos to bring food and support the mutinous troops. Story continues A mammoth crowd turned up and served as a human shield for the defectors. Rosary-clutching nuns, priests and civilians kneeled in front of them and stopped tanks deployed to crush the largely peaceful uprising. The elder Marcos died in 1989 while in exile in Hawaii without admitting any wrongdoing, including accusations that he, his family and cronies amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power. A Hawaii court later found him liable for human rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos led by Rosales who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, extrajudicial killings, incarceration and disappearances. After the Marcos family returned from exile in the early 1990s, Marcos Jr. decided to run for Congress to protect his family from being hounded politically, he told broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez-Roxas in a recent interview. In Rosaless suburban Manila home, a wall is filled with mementos of a life of activism, including as a member of the House of Representatives for nine years and later as head of the Commission on Human Rights until 2015. The only reminder of the worst moments is a grainy military mugshot showing her with a tense smile and carrying a nameplate with the scribbled date 4 Aug 76. That was when she and five other anti-Marcos activists were arrested by military agents while meeting in a restaurant four years after Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972. I was smiling, that was before the torture, Rosales said. For about two days in a military hideout, her captors blindfolded her and clipped wires on her fingers and toes and ran streams of electricity that caused her body to convulse wildly, she said. Her mouth was gagged so she could not scream. At other times, she said she was subjected to Russian roulette, in which a captor pointed a revolver to her head and pulled the trigger several times to force her to inform on other activists. There was sexual molestation, said Rosales, who was eventually freed. Nearly four decades after democracy was restored, the Philippines remains mired in poverty, corruption, inequality, long-running communist and Muslim insurgencies and political divisions. Pre-pandemic economic growth mostly benefited the wealthiest families and failed to lift millions from desperation. At the height of the pandemic, unemployment and hunger worsened to record levels. Ordinary Filipinos look at these realities and they question whether this is really what they want, Manila-based academic and analyst Richard Heydarian said, adding that disenchantment over the failures of liberal reformist politics in the post-dictatorship era steadily grew. This is where Marcos came in and said we are the ultimate alternative. Many Filipinos remember relative peace and quiet under martial law in the 1970s and well as lavish infrastructure projects, and Marcos Jr. has promised increased prosperity and peace. His current strong following did not emerge overnight. As a vice presidential candidate in 2016, he won more than 14 million votes, losing to Leni Robredo by only 263,000 votes. Robredo, the leading liberal opposition candidate in the presidential race, ranks second in most popularity polls but is far behind Marcos Jr. three months before the vote. In a measure of how history has shifted, Enrile, now 98, has endorsed Marcos Jr.'s candidacy. Ex-army Col. Gregorio Honasan, a key leader of the coup plot against the elder Marcos, has been adopted by Marcos Jr. in his senatorial slate. Honasan, 73, said he has not decided whom to support among the presidential aspirants but that the choice of the people should be respected. If the Filipino people decide to have a collective national amnesia and say, `lets give another Marcos a chance, who are we to question that? Honasan said in an interview. Rosales, who backs Robredo, remains hopeful and pointed to large numbers of volunteers who are campaigning for the current vice president on social media and across the country due to exasperation over corrupt and inept politicians. This volunteerism is a new kind of resistance, Rosales said. It is people power. ___ Associated Press journalist Kiko Rosario contributed to this report. STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish climate and environment activist Greta Thunberg said on Twitter she was taking part in a protest on Friday outside the Russian embassy in Stockholm against its invasion of Ukraine. Thunberg, 19, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, posted on Twitter https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1497163346772176932/photo/1 a picture of her standing with other protesters holding a sign with "Stand With Ukraine" written on it, saying she was "outside the Russian embassy right now". Russia on Friday pressed on with the invasion launched Thursday, with European Union countries planning more sanctions against Russia and tens of thousands of people crossing Ukraninan borders into Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia as missiles pounded Kyiv. (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) Two years after he was arrested, University of Tennessee at Knoxville professor Anming Hu talks out his case, from being questioned by the FBI to ultimately being acquitted by a federal judge and getting his job back at the university. Exactly two year ago on Feb. 27, 2020, Anming Hu was sitting in a jail cell, staring at a concrete wall and wondering how he ended up there in the first place. The U.S. Justice Department had accused Hu, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, of hiding his ties to China and attempting to defraud NASA. "When I was thrown into the jail, the first 48 hours was real darkness in my life," Hu told Knox News in an exclusive interview. The details are too painful for him to talk about publicly. Now, Hu sits in his new office in the Nathan W. Dougherty Engineering Building at UT. A federal judge acquitted Hu of all charges in September 2021, and after an exhausting battle with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Services to secure his work visa, Hu is back on the university's payroll. It's clear he's only been in his office three weeks; his desk is nearly empty, and the dark blue walls are bare. But it's a symbol of a new start for Hu. Anming Hu is photographed in his office inside the Nathan W. Dougherty Engineering Building on the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. Hu, a professor, was falsely accused of espionage and later reinstated by UT. "I feel this is kind of a reloading of a new life," Hu said. "I feel really happy, and I'm enjoying a new start. It's also a good starting point for healing. That's very important. While a new life starts, the painful feeling and damage are still there in my heart and my family's hearts." Hu could have gone back to being a private resident or moved back to Canada, where he's a citizen and his wife and kids live, as soon as U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan ordered his acquittal on six federal charges, three of fraud and three of making false statements. Instead, he's been sharing his story and advocating for the end of the China Initiative, a Trump-era program created in 2018 to thwart Chinese spying. Hu was the first target of the program to stand trial. The China Initiative has resulted in some convictions, but Hu's acquittal and the dismissal of charges against Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Gang Chen have forced the Justice Department to take a closer look at how the program operates. Story continues In a two-hour interview with Knox News this month, Hu shared his experience in the fight that hurt not only his reputation but his family and the scientific community as well. Anming Hu's journey to UT When Hu got an interview to work at UT, he wasn't even sure where Tennessee was. The world-renowned nanotechnology expert had been working at the University of Waterloo, where he received his second doctorate in physics. His first doctorate is from the Institute of Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences, but he's no longer a Chinese citizen. The Waterloo job wasn't tenure track, though, and Hu started looking for somewhere he could work long-term. He sent out more than 70 applications to universities. Only one bit. UT offered him a job as a tenure-track assistant professor, and Hu took it, secured his work visa and moved away from his family. Nathan W. Dougherty Engineering Building on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, Tennessee on Tuesday, January 1, 2019. Over five years, Hu established his research lab and created relationships with students and colleagues. Then, in April 2018, a pair of federal agents showed up, one from the FBI and one from the Department of Energy. Hu wasn't sure why they were there or why they wanted to speak with him. But, looking back, the motive seems clear. They asked him about his international collaborations, specifically with China. He answered honestly. "I didn't feel fear because that's only science collaboration. I don't have anything to hide. I didn't do anything wrong," Hu said. "What they asked, I directly told them. International collaboration and open science this is a basic value and principal." During the conversation, the agents asked Hu to work as a spy for the U.S. government. When he refused, they surveilled him and his oldest son, a UT student at the time, for more than a year, but found no evidence that he was a Chinese spy. "The problem is they thought I was a spy, then they looked for the evidence," Hu said. Ultimately, Hu was arrested on the six federal charges under a 2011 law that prevents NASA from distributing research funds to China or corporations owned by China. Hu received a NASA-funded grant in 2016. Federal prosecutors alleged Hu intentionally hid his summer job at Beijing University of Technology from NASA. Looking back, Hu wishes he had kept quiet. "The best practice is keep silent. And ask a lawyer to appear and talk with the law enforcement agent," Hu said. Under house arrest Hu was released from jail and placed under house arrest. Unlike others bound to their homes by the pandemic, Hu wasn't even able to step out onto his front porch to get fresh air his leg monitor would alert the authorities. His only visitors were a neighbor who took out his trash, friends from Knoxville Chinese Christian Church who brought him groceries, and his lawyer, Phil Lomonaco. David, his oldest son who was attending UT, returned to Canada just before the border closed because of the pandemic. Despite being away from his research lab, Hu continued to work. He reviewed more than 400 research papers for scientific journals, helped his former students get their theses published, published three papers of his own and finished writing a book. Anming Hu is photographed inside the Nathan W. Dougherty Engineering Building on the University of Tennessee at Knoxville campus on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022. Hu, a professor, was falsely accused of espionage and later reinstated by UT. He worked out, too, running 50 laps on the second floor of his house every day. And even though he couldn't see his family, he still spoke to them. He helped his middle son, Daniel, with his physics homework. He called his daughter, Grace, every night and told her a bedtime story. "My family is the biggest source of support," Hu said. "My family, especially my wife, Ivy, she's helped me a lot." But as Hu's family watched federal agencies tarnish his reputation, their trust in the U.S. dwindled, Hu said. Both Daniel and Ivy started having nightmares after his arrest. "They still are very fearful that the U.S. is still a dangerous country," Hu said. And a huge financial burden hung over Hu's family's head. UT suspended Hu without pay after he was arrested, and in October 2020, the university fired him because he couldn't renew his work visa. A GoFundMe raised more than $157,000 to help pay for Hu's legal fees. Anming Hu enters the Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse in downtown Knoxville, Monday, June 7, 2021. Hu faces charges stemming from the allegation that he hid from UT his dual professorship with a Chinese university. The trial started in June. A jury deadlocked. The federal prosecutors said they would try Hu again, but Varlan acquitted Hu before they had the chance. The day he was acquitted, Ivy told Hu to drive back to Canada immediately. But Hu couldn't immediately return to Canada for two reasons. First, his car had broken down after nearly two years without use. More importantly, returning to Canada would be giving up, Hu said. Giving up his tenured faculty position, giving up years of research and giving up his chance to become a U.S. citizen, a process that he had started before he was arrested. "I could not leave my career permanently damaged," Hu said. Working for justice After a nearly four-month waiting game, Hu's work visa application was approved, and he started back at UT on Feb. 1. He's getting his research lab back together and reached out to the few students still at the university who were a part of his original team. But Hu doesn't feel like he's achieved justice. "Even though I was reinstated at UTK, the pain and damage are still there," Hu said. "I think the FBI misconduct has to be punished, and the China Initiative should be stopped." Hu's not denying national security threats exist, but he questions whether targeting professors, many of whom are Asian, is effective. "Asian Americans ... have a strong, fearful feeling. This issue is going to affect a lot of people's lives and families," Hu said. Signs were left in the courtyard of the U.S. District Court in Knoxville, reading "Equal justice" and "Stop racial profiling" on the first day of University of Tennessee professor Anming Hu's trial. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it is dropping the name "China Initiative" after a review of the program. "I want to emphasize my belief that the departments actions have been driven by genuine national security concerns," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said in a speech addressing the changes. "But by grouping cases under the China Initiative rubric, we helped give rise to a harmful perception that the department applies a lower standard to investigate and prosecute criminal conduct related to that country or that we in some way view people with racial, ethnic or familial ties to China differently." Hu said the name change is positive step in the right direction, but that he and others will remain vigilant, as there are pending cases against professors. "This moment is pretty good," Hu told Knox News on Wednesday. "I felt encouraged, but at the same time, we should keep our eyes open for whether the Department of Justice will carefully review the FBI misconduct. The initiative had a chilling effect on the scientific community, which traditionally encourages open, international collaboration among researchers. "If we give up one of the cores of our spirit, of our community and culture, the U.S. will not be the U.S. anymore," Hu said. Without international collaboration, Hu says that the whole scientific community will suffer. "To keep (advancing) science, we have to pursue novelty. And to pursue novelty, we have to tell our story to (each) other and gather examination. We are not free from examination or question by others," Hu said. "Because of that, we are better." Rebecca Wright: Higher education reporter at Knox News Instagram | Twitter | Email | 865-466-3731 Enjoy exclusive content and premium perks while supporting strong local journalism. To get started, visit knoxnews.com/subscribe. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Anming Hu rebuilds career at UT after false China Initiative charges Antonio Conte suggested he was not the right man for the Tottenham job after the Burnley defeat in midweek (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire) Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte insists he is committed to the club and has spoken to chairman Daniel Levy about his future. The Italian cast doubt over his future when he suggested he was not good enough to fix Spurs problems following the midweek defeat to Burnley the fourth loss in five games and the club would have to make an assessment on the job he was doing. He has since spoken to Levy and says Tottenham are happy with his performance. Our chairman Daniel Levy, he knows very well that Im here to help the club in every moment and will help the club until the end, he said. This is the reality and he knows this, and he knows that we are working very hard and he has great consideration about my job, about the job of my staff, and we speak. I repeat, I want to help the club in every aspect, also with my vision, with my idea and my ideas about football, for improvement. And, I repeat, no problem. He shows me great consideration every day and for this reason I am committed for this club much more because I know that the consideration of the club for myself is very high. We need patience, the club is the first to know the real situation and the club confirmed to me they know what the reality is. The club is very happy with my work, what I am doing with my staff. I am sure the club appreciates what we are doing. The problem is I am a perfectionist and I know very well which is my work and the improvement my work will bring in the future. When I lose I dont stay so happy, this has helped me have success in my career. Conte is known to be emotional after games and often delays his press duties in order to cool off. He accepts he is a bad loser and apologised for being too emotional in his interviews at Turf Moor. For sure, when you lose a game, Im not the person to have dinner with. You understand? Im not the right person, he said. When I lose a game my mood is very bad, I prefer to stay alone. I prefer to live the defeat, stay alone and metabolise the defeat. For sure I need one day to recover at least. Its me, you understand? I dont like to lose. If you ask me what I hate in life, its to lose games. Story continues My mentality is to prepare myself, to prepare my players, my team and to avoid this type of situation because I suffer. There are many coaches that dont suffer. Sometimes I envy this person because I wanted to be a little soft, but at the same time to be this way makes me a person that in his career I won before as a player and then as a coach. For sure when I lose, if you expect that I am happy or to come to a press conference and laugh, I am not this person. I am sorry if I show my disappointment because maybe it would be good to keep this inside and not show my emotion. I am an honest person, it is difficult for me to lie or hide the truth. And for this reason, sometimes after a loss my mood is not top. Sorry for this but I am this. Spurs are in the process of rebuilding their squad in order to get back to the heights they were hitting under Mauricio Pochettino. Conte is used to delivering success at clubs and admits he has mixed feelings about the task he has at Spurs, saying on one hand he is enjoying a long-term project but on the other hand he would enjoy having a ready-made squad. Here is a great experience because you have to build from the foundations, and on one hand it could be very good and also to make me not happy but to be totally involved in this to build a new structure, a strong structure, he said. On another hand, for sure there is the will also to have a situation already made, already ready to fight to win but its OK. I repeat I like to work, Im enjoying my time in Tottenham and Im showing to enjoy this time in Tottenham especially when I show the disappointment after a defeat, because it means I felt this commitment for this club. Spurs are back in action against Leeds in the Saturday lunchtime game, with Rodrigo Bentancur (ankle) and Oliver Skipp (groin) missing. With the end date to Illinois and City of Chicago mask mandates close at hand, most music clubs and performing arts venues say they are not yet ready to relax their COVID protocols. Earlier this week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that she would fall in line with Gov. J.B. Pritzker and lift mask and proof-of-vaccination requirements at the end of the month. Cook Countys public health department announced a similar move. Effective March 1, Chicagoans no longer need to mask up indoors, nor will vaccination cards be checked when entering restaurants, bars, gyms and other public spaces, and museums including the Shedd say they will follow suit. For music, opera, dance and theatergoers, however, most venues are continuing their current COVID protocols. A coalition of performing arts organizations (who together developed unified precautions ahead of state and municipal mask mandates last summer) met Feb. 21. The coalition, led by the League of Chicago Theatres, determined that in most cases masks and proof of vaccination will continue to be required of patrons. Advertisement The coalition includes Loop theaters run by Broadway in Chicago; the big nonprofits such as Steppenwolf, the Goodman and Chicago Shakes; as well as more than 60 other theaters in the city and suburbs and presenters such as the Joffrey Ballet and Harris Theater. Guidelines regarding concessions and for children under the age of five, who cannot yet be vaccinated, vary by location and event type. The Lyric Opera, a participant in the coalition, intends to maintain the protocols put in place this fall, at least until their season ends in April. Face coverings are required when not eating or drinking and proof of vaccination will continue to be enforced at the front doors. Advertisement The feedback we received consistently through the fall was overwhelmingly positive, Lyric Opera General Director, President and CEO Anthony Freud said in an interview. People seemed reassured by the clarity and simplicity of the approach we were taking. Our view is that given the 3,300-seat opera house and given that the demographic of our audience skews older, it feels like the right thing to do. The omicron variant wreaked havoc on much of the winter arts calendar, with the Goodman, Joffrey, Broadway in Chicago and Lyric Opera among the companies forced to cancel performances in December and January due to COVID complications. Joffrey, which performs at the Lyric Opera House, also preemptively postponed Don Quixote originally scheduled to open Feb. 16 with additional postponements announced by Lookingglass and Court Theatre, among others. Audience members find their seats before a concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Jan. 23, 2022 at Symphony Center. The CSO is part of a coalition of Chicago theaters and arts venues that will keep mask requirements in place after Feb. 28. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) While the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, another coalition member, did not face as much interruption to its winter season, current protocols will continue until further notice. Unlike the Lyric, Symphony Center does not restrict attendance for children under five and recently reintroduced family programming. On the music club front, another venue consortium, the Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL), said that many of its more than 40 partners including Park West, Thalia Hall, Old Town School of Folk Music, Metro, The Vic, Joes on Weed, Schubas Tavern and Hideout will also continue to require masks and vaccination checks. But final decisions are left to individual venues and may differ show-to-show. Our door staff had checked tens of thousands of vaccine cards before the city introduced its mandate, and our masked bartenders have served countless masked patrons, a CIVL spokesperson said in a statement to the Tribune. Were proud of Chicagos progress in the face of increasingly contagious variants, but were only here because safety has been our priority. Among Chicagos major museums, the Art Institute and both the Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium on the Museum Campus said they would follow the city and states timetable and not require masks or proof of vaccinations after Feb. 28 the Adler when it reopens March 4. In addition, the Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, which had previously relaxed its vaccine requirements for audiences ahead of other area theaters, confirmed to the Tribune it would also follow the states timetable. Most other theaters, including presenter Broadway in Chicago, when asked individually about their COVID protocols, referred the Tribune to the League of Chicago Theatres statement. The Associated Press canceled the sale of a non-fungible token showing an inflatable raft crowded with migrants, capitulating to a wave of backlash on Thursday evening. The AP has an NFT marketplace offering images and videos taken by the organizations photographers. This video contained top-down footage of migrants and refugees awaiting rescue in the Mediterranean Sea, shot by the photographer Felipe Dana. The news agencys since-deleted tweet promoting the sale characterized it as a drop, a descriptor some commentators considered crass in the context of Europes refugee crises. One viral tweet described APs tweet as grotesque; another called it far beyond the bounds of appropriate. The @AP had their grotesque NFT tweet up for 4 hours, @JortsTheCat posted about it and they deleted it in 5 minutes. pic.twitter.com/9dWCSBekBj Brett "Solidarity 2022" Banditelli (@banditelli) February 24, 2022 This was a poor choice of imagery for an NFT, AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said. It has not and will not be put up for auction. The tweet promoting it was also deleted. The Discord server for the APs NFT marketplace was abuzz on Thursday evening with users demanding answers directly from staffers. I too wish to buy ownership of suffering migrants, wrote one. We shared the tweet before fully telling the story behind the video to give proper context, wrote a community moderator identified as Brian. This is something we will address in the future. This isnt the AP's first foray into crypto: In 2020, the organization published presidential election results on the blockchain. It also made plans to provide certain data to blockchains over the crypto network Chainlink. The photojournalism NFT marketplace launched last month. APs NFT marketplace is a very early pilot program, and we are immediately reviewing our efforts, Easton said. Feb. 24Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a lawsuit against the 14 Providence-affiliated hospitals in the state, including Sacred Heart Medical Center and Holy Family Hospital, for allegedly failing to offer charity care to patients who qualify according to state law and sending them to debt collections . The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, says that Providence is failing to offer charity care to patients despite knowing their income and family data would enable the hospital to offer those patients free or discounted care. Providence operates some of the largest hospitals in the state, including Swedish First Hill and Sacred Heart Medical Center, and in 2020, all 14 Providence hospitals reported more than $18 billion in patient service revenues, according to the attorney general's office. For two years from Sept. 2019 to 2021, Providence hospitals in Washington sent 46,783 accounts associated with patients who would have been eligible for charity care to debt collectors, the lawsuit says. Those accounts had outstanding balances of $53 million. Ferguson alleges that Providence hospitals are violating the Charity Care Act, a law in Washington that requires hospitals to offer free or reduced-cost care to patients who are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, which is $55,500 for a family of four. The lawsuit states that Providence's strategy and tactics used by employees create the impression that patients must pay their hospital bills, even if they are eligible for assistance. State attorneys obtained internal training materials that show how staff are supposed to ask for payment. These slides show that only after an employee asks how a patient will pay, if they can pay partially or be put on a payment plan, that they offer education on financial assistance options. "These aggressive collection measures capitalize on the power and knowledge imbalance between Providence and its patients," the lawsuit states. "Providence is fully aware of the availability of charity care. Many of Providence's low-income patients, however, are not." Story continues Providence released a statement on Thursday calling the lawsuit "inaccurate and unfair charges." The health care organization maintains that they comply with the Washington Charity Care Act. Providence hospitals, including Swedish and Kadlec facilities, paid $79 million in free and discounted care in 2020, the statement said. The attorney general's office raised concerns with Providence hospitals two years ago, and the nonprofit says it cooperated in good faith. The lawsuit includes testimony from former Providence directors involved with collections, and customer experience. "While we strongly disagree with the allegations in this complaint, we'll continue to support policies that expand access to charity care and make health care more accessible to vulnerable patients," the statement from Providence says. Arielle Dreher's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is primarily funded by the Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund, with additional support from Report for America and members of the Spokane community. These stories can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor. SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia imposed more sanctions on Friday against Russia targeting several of its elite citizens and lawmakers, and said it was "unacceptable" that China was easing trade restrictions with Moscow at a time when it invaded Ukraine. "We will work along with our partners for a rolling wave of sanctions and continuing to ratchet up that pressure on Russia," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said during a media conference. Morrison said the fresh sanctions will be placed against "oligarchs whose economic weight is of strategic significance to Moscow" and over 300 members of the Russian parliament who voted to authorise sending Russian troops into Ukraine. Australia is also working with the United States to align with their sanctions overnight on key Belarussian individuals and entities who helped Russia and NATO to provide non-lethal military equipment and medical supplies for Ukraine, he said. Morrison voiced concerns over the "lack of strong response" from China and criticised Beijing about reports it had eased trade curbs with Moscow by allowing imports of wheat from Russia. "You don't go and throw a lifeline to Russia in the middle of a period when they are invading another country. That is simply unacceptable," he said. In early February, during a visit to Beijing by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's state agricultural watchdog said China had agreed to allow imports of wheat and barley from all regions of Russia. China officially confirmed the agreement on Thursday. China and Australia have recently clashed over a number of issues including trade, the origins of the coronavirus and accusations from Australia of foreign interference. Neigbouring New Zealand also imposed targeted travel bans on Russia and prohibited goods trade to its military as it joined Western allies in imposing sanctions on Moscow. (Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Lincoln Feast.) LONDON (Reuters) -British Airways said "significant technical issues" had resulted in a number of flight cancellations and disruption across its operation on Friday. The airline said the problem, which was affecting its website, app, and airport operations, had not been caused by a cyber attack. "We are experiencing significant technical issues this evening which are affecting the running of our operation and regrettably has led to the cancellation of a number of flights," it said in a statement. It was working to get as many flights away as possible, it said, and customers on flights that had not been cancelled could still check in at the airport. The airline, owned by IAG, was hit by a major computer system failure in 2017 that stranded 75,000 passengers over a holiday weekend, sparking a public relations disaster and pledges from the carrier that it would do better in future. Users on Twitter posted messages on Friday asking BA when the problem would be fixed, with one customer showing a video of lengthy queues at check-in for what he said was a Miami to London flight, while another user posted pictures of blank screens. BA and Virgin Atlantic began routing flights around Russian airspace on Friday after London and Moscow banned each other's airlines in tit-for-tat retaliation over the Ukraine invasion. Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of the GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency, had warned companies and organisations to bolster their online defences against cyber attacks after Russia invaded Ukraine. The airline said it would make decisions about its schedule on Saturday as soon as it could. (Reporting by Kate Holton and Paul Sandle, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) JohnnyGreig / iStock.com The average Social Security benefit for retired workers is $1,548 per month. That comes out to $18,576 in annual benefits for a single person, or $37,152 per year for a couple -- about $31,500 less than the U.S. median household income of $68,703, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. Find Out: 27 Best Strategies To Get the Most Out of Your 401(k) Learn More: 30 Greatest Threats to Your Retirement Living on a fixed income basically means you're solely or almost entirely dependent on funds such as Social Security, pensions and inheritance, with little to no flexibility in the amount you're paid each month. Unstable costs, such as a volatile housing market, can be especially challenging to deal with on a fixed income. Read: 50 Ways To Live the Big Life on a Small Budget If you rely mostly -- or solely -- on a fixed income, click through to see the best places to live in your state. Chris Pruitt / Wikimedia Commons Alabama: Jasper Alabama might be the best state to retire on a fixed income, especially if you want your retirement nest egg to stretch the furthest. Jasper has a stable housing market, making it a safe choice for those on a fixed income. Home values increased by 4.84% year over year, but rents dropped. Additionally, homes are relatively affordable, with the median home value at $126,233. Pictured: Decatur, Alabama lippyjr / Getty Images Alaska: Fairbanks Alaska is an income-tax and sales-tax-free state, making it one of the best places to retire on a fixed income. Home values in Fairbanks increased about 12.09% year over year, and the median home value is $255,438 -- below the national median of $287,148. And there is good news for renters, as the median rent in Fairbanks decreased about 2.3% year over year. Tim Roberts Photography / Shutterstock.com Arizona: Sierra Vista If you're thinking of buying a home on a fixed income, consider Sierra Vista -- but act quickly. Home values in Sierra Vista rose over 12% year over year, making it one of the cities with the largest increase in the past 12 months. Average rents also rose by $12 to $994 a month, but they still are less than the national average. Story continues Davel5957 / Getty Images Arkansas: Little Rock Rent prices in Little Rock went up $57 a month year over year, and the current median rent is $953. Little Rock is one of the more affordable places to own a home, though, with the median home value coming in at $165,027. Armona / Wikimedia Commons California: Delano Zillow lists the price of a typical California home at $668,300, but a median-valued home in Delano is much less at $257,342. Home values rose 12.09% in the past year, above the California average of 10.9% Rents also increased by 2.64%. Pictured: Hanlon, California chapin31 / iStock.com Colorado: Pueblo The median home price in Pueblo is $244,009 but going up fast, increasing about 17.90% year over year. Rent prices have remained stagnant, even decreasing less than 1% year over year to $908 a month. SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Connecticut: Hartford Real estate prices in Hartford increased 15.23%, with the median home value going up to $188,305. Rent prices went up even more -- by about 10.2% -- to $1,392 a month. Robert Kirk / Getty Images/iStockphoto Delaware: New Castle Delaware is one of the few states that doesn't levy a state sales tax. It also does not tax Social Security benefits, which makes it one of the best places to retire in the U.S. In the past year, New Castle home values rose about 11.88% to a median of $264,884, while rents increased 2.79%. VisionsbyAtlee / Getty Images/iStockphoto Florida: Kissimmee Home values in Kissimmee went up 7.37% year over year, with a median home value of $264,884. Rents also rose 5.70% over the same time span to an average of $1,457 per month. ESB Professional / Shutterstock.com Georgia: Statesboro Home prices in Statesboro are flat, increasing 1.20% year over year to $162,557. Rent prices grew 1.43% in the same span but remain on the low side at $837 per month. Pictured: Augusta, Georgia steinphoto / iStock.com Hawaii: Pahoa In uber-expensive Hawaii, Pahoa is an affordable option. Zillow puts the typical home prices in the 50th state at $718,095, but the median home value in Pahoa is just $217,858. That's up 13.88% year over year. The average rent is close to $1,500 a month, up 3.52% year over year. Pictured: Hilo, Hawaii B Brown / Shutterstock.com Idaho: Pocatello In Pocatello, home values increased almost 18% in the past year, making it one of the biggest gainers in the study. The median home value now is $231,035, which is still about $56,000 less than the national median. Rents went up about 1.54% to $872 per month. James R. Martin / Shutterstock.com Illinois: Galesburg The median home value in Galesburg is the lowest in the GOBankingRates study: $73,009. That makes homeownership more accessible for people who live on a fixed income. The average rent also is affordable at $715, and both housing and rental prices remained virtually the same year over year. Shutterstock.com Indiana: Richmond Home prices in Richmond increased about 5.25% year over year to a median value of $99,402. And rent prices also remained stable, with about a 1.2% increase year over year -- good news for renters living on a fixed income. EJ_Rodriquez / iStock.com Iowa: Burlington Burlington has stable housing and rental markets: Home values increased about 2.69% year over year, and rent prices increased about 4.45%. The median home value in the city is $96,243, making it one of the most affordable cities on the list. DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com Kansas: Manhattan In Manhattan, the location of Kansas State University, the median home value is $225,182, up 3.85% year over year. The average rent fell substantially, dropping about 7.2% to $1,023 a month. DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Kentucky: Bowling Green Bowling Green is a good place for renters on a fixed income to live, but prices are rising. The median rent is $928, up about 3.3% over the past year. A median-priced home costs $192,853, which is almost $95,000 less than the national median but is less than a 1% rise year over year. DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com Louisiana: Pineville Home values in Pineville have remained steady, with about a 1.06% increase over the past year to $145,066, while rent decreased 2.70%. Median rent in the city is $858. Pictured: Lafayette, Louisiana jiawangkun / Shutterstock.com Maine: Bangor Home values in Bangor increased a whopping 20% over the past year, but with a median home price of $197,690, homes there are still much more affordable than the national median of $287,148. And rent prices are increasing as well: They went up about 5.88% year over year. Eric Fischer / Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA 2 Maryland: Salisbury Home prices in Salisbury increased about 9.60% year over year, but the median home value is affordable at $182,212. Rent costs also rose slightly, by 2.08%, with the average rent at $1,131. DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com Massachusetts: West Springfield The median home value in West Springfield is $275,707. Although this is nearly $12,000 below the national median value, it's much less than the median home price in the state of Massachusetts as a whole, which is $508,232, according to Zillow.Home values in the city increased about 10.81% year over year. Davel5957 / Getty Images Michigan: Mount Pleasant Rent in Mount Pleasant increased 5.87% year over year to $834. Home values increased 6.75%, however, and the median home value is now $155,448. Pictured: Lansing, Michigan nikitsin / Getty Images/iStockphoto Minnesota: Winona Homebuyers on a fixed income can benefit from Winona's relatively stable housing market: Home values increased about 6.50% year over year to $186,452. Rent decreased by $3 month to an average of $808. Pictured: Minneapolis, Minnesota sshepard / Getty Images Mississippi: Starkville The median home price in Starkville is $189,873 -- appealing to those on a fixed income. Home value increased by 3.84% and rents by 3.65%. Shutterstock.com Missouri: Joplin Home and rent prices are both well below the national median in Joplin: The median home value in the city is $130,466 and rent is $814. The home values rose by 7.38%, and rents went up 8.24% year over year. Pictured: Springfield, Missouri Christopher Boswell / Shutterstock.com Montana: Butte Renters with a fixed income in Butte shouldn't have to worry too much about rent hikes: Prices went up less than 2% in the past year to an average of $888. The median home price, however, rose about 10.13% to $166,952. marekuliasz / Getty Images Nebraska: Kearney Housing costs in Kearney are about $50,000 below the U.S. median. Home values showed nearly a 5.35% growth year over year, bringing the median value in Kearney to $236,999. CrackerClips Stock Media / Shutterstock.com Nevada: Pahrump Rental costs in Pahrump, in the northern part of the state, dropped about 3.4% year over year to $918. The median value of a home is $279,920, about $7,200 below the national figure. DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto New Hampshire: Rochester Home values in Rochester were among the biggest risers year over year, increasing by about 17.63% to $280,307. Rent prices barely budged, however, rising just $2 to an average cost of $1,472 over the same period. Ultima_Gaina / Getty Images/iStockphoto New Jersey: Franklin Township The median home price in pricey New Jersey is $287,148, according to Zillow, but in Franklin Township it is $265,843 -- up nearly 8% year over year. Rent prices dropped about 1.5%, but they are the highest in the study at $1,801 on average per month. Pictured: Jersey City, New Jersey Jasperdo / Flickr.com New Mexico: Alamogordo Alamogordo is one of the best places to live on a budget, but prices are rising. The median housing price is $145,479, up about 4.85% year over year. The change in rental price was even higher at 4.3%. Kim Carpenter / Flickr.com New York: Town of Orchard Park The median value of a home is $255,916, more than $30,000 below the national average. Home values have increased by about 8.81% year over year and rents have gone up over 9%. traveler1116 / Getty Images North Carolina: Raeford Home values are rising while rents are dropping in Raeford. Home values increased about 3.47% to $175,012, while rents increased less than 1%. Still, the average rental cost is $860 per month. Pictured: Fayetteville, North Carolina Tim Kiser / Wikimedia Commons North Dakota: Fargo Home values in Fargo increased about 7.56% over the past year. The rent rose about 4.4%, bringing it to an average of $988 per month. Davel5957 / Getty Images/iStockphoto Ohio: Findlay The median monthly rent in Findlay is $900 which is nearly 5.96% more than it was a year ago. Home values in the city skyrocketed more than 9.25% to a median value of $176,012. Pictured: Toledo, Ohio DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com Oklahoma: Stillwater In Stillwater the median home value is $184,821, and the median monthly rent is $924. Both increased year over year, however, with home values going up about 3.03% and rents about 4.88%. will_snyder_ / Getty Images/iStockphoto Oregon: Roseburg The median home price in Oregon is $536,921, according to Zillow, but in Roseburg it's $272,470. The market is shifting, though, with about a 14.29% year-over-year increase in home values. Rents went up nearly 2% to $1,216. Flickr.com Pennsylvania: Williamsport Rents in Williamsport went up more than 4.24% over the past year to $909, while home values rose about 2.73%. The median home value is $156,817-- more than $130,000 less than the national figure. Richard Cavalleri / Shutterstock.com Rhode Island: Woonsocket The cost of living in the nation's smallest state, Rhode Island, can be high, but Woonsocket is a more affordable locale for residents on a fixed income. The median home value is below the national average at $108,731, and the cost of rent is about $197 higher than the U.S. price at $1,219. Pictured: Woonsocket, Rhode Islans Kruck20 / Getty Images/iStockphoto South Carolina: Orangeburg South Carolina doesn't tax Social Security benefits. Orangeburg is the best place in the state for people on a fixed income because home prices are relatively affordable, with the median home value at $108,731. The rental market also rose 6.10% year over year, with the average monthly rent now $779. Pictured: Columbia, South Carolina H2O2 / Wikimedia Commons South Dakota: Aberdeen Rent is increasing at a clip of nearly 4.44% in Aberdeen, but the average monthly rent is still just $810. Meanwhile, the year-over-year increase in home values was about 3.17%, bringing them to $177,917. Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Tennessee: Shelbyville People living on fixed incomes can benefit from the relatively low home values in Shelbyville. The metro area's median home value rose nearly 10% year over year. Another money-saver for fixed-income residents is rent cost. The median rent in Morristown increased about 1.27% year over year from 2020 to $831. Pictured: Nashville, Tennessee Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com Texas: Alice Alice's relatively low housing costs could be beneficial to someone on a fixed income. Home values rose by less than 5% year over year but is still among the most affordable cities, with a home value of $93,507 though rents increased. The average monthly rent is $913. Pictured: Corpus Christi, Texas Ken Lund / Flickr.com Utah: Cedar City The increases in median home value is steeply climbing in Cedar City year over year, at 15.17%. The median home value in Cedar City came in at $278,919, less than $1,000 over the national average, with rent at $830. Pictured: St. George, Utah DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com Vermont: Rutland The median home price in Rutland is about $83,000 less than the national median. The housing market is growing here, but not too fast, at 9.27% for home value. Rent actually decreased by a bit more than 1%, with average rent at $1,018. Shutterstock.com Virginia: Martinsville The median home value in Martinsville is just $82,335 making it a very affordable option for those wishing to live on a fixed income in Virginia. It's also a stable housing market: Values increased about 4.84% over the past year. Pictured: Lynchburg, Virginia Erhoman / iStock.com Washington: Moses Lake Home values are on the rise in Moses Lake, increasing nearly 18% to a current median of $273,071. That's the second highest year-over-year rise in the study. Rents, however, have been on the decline, with the average rent decreasing about 2% to $888 per month. Pictured: Wenatchee, Washington matejphoto / iStock.com West Virginia: Huntington Home prices in Huntington are among the lowest compared with the other cities in this study, with the median home value at $89,994, with only a 3.32% year over year increase. Rent also is among the cheapest at $854 per month, and prices decreased year over year by nearly 3%. Pictured: Parkersburg, West Virginia DenisTangneyJr / iStock.com Wisconsin: Racine Home values in Racine rose nearly 8.14% over the past year to $138,222. Rising home values can help retirees on fixed incomes, especially if prolonged costs wipe out retirement savings, leaving their home as their only financial asset. Mr. Satterly / WTFPL Wyoming: Gillette Home values in Gillette are increasing, while rent costs are decreasing. Rents dropped less than 1% over the past year, bringing the median rent price to $1,074. The median home price rose less than 1% to $278,763. More From GOBankingRates Jami Farkas and Jordan Rosenfeld contributed to the reporting for this article. Methodology: In order to find the best city in every state to live on a fixed income, GOBankingRates first looked at every city with both Zillow home value data for May 2020, February 2021, and May 2021 available as well as county fair market rent for both 2020 and 2021 sourced from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's data. With all these data points sourced GOBankingRates then parsed down the list to only include cities that met the following criteria: a size rank according to Zillow of 2,000 or less and a May 2021 home value less than the national average of $287,148. For these qualified cities, GOBankingRates found: (1) the quarter-over-quarter percent change in home value; (2) the year-over-year percent change in home value; and (3)the year-over-year percent change in rent by county. Those cities with negative values for factors (1) or (2) were then eliminated. With the remaining cities GOBankingRates scored and combined all three factors with the lowest score being best. The city with the lowest score from each state was included in our final rankings. These factors were chosen because changes in home values serve as a proxy for measuring the volatility of a housing market, with large increases posing a threat to those living on fixed incomes, while a negative change in value means money is being lost in depreciating house values. However, decreasing rental prices benefit a household on a fixed income. For Utah and Vermont the size rank criteria had to be enlarged to 3,000 and up to 5,000 for Hawaii. All data was collected on and up to date as of June 17, 2021 Photo Disclaimer: Please note photos are for representational purposes only and may represent the nearest large metropolitan area. This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Best Places in Every State To Live on a Fixed Income A nurse checks the weight of a child in a makeshift clinic organized by World Vision at a settlement near Herat, Afghanistan The U.S. government will ease restrictions for private companies and others looking to do business in Afghanistan in an effort to provide a much-needed infusion of funds into its crippled economy. The measure is the seventh so-called general license from the Treasury Department designed to aid Afghanistan, clarifying the institutions and sectors of the Afghan government with which entities can do dealings without violating sanctions in place on the Taliban or the Haqqani network, which remain designated as terrorist organizations. "The license will ensure U.S. sanctions do not stand in the way of transactions and activities needed to provide aid and support the basic human needs of the people of Afghanistan. They reflect our deep commitment to support the people of Afghanistan during this ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis," a senior administration official said on a call with reporters. Prior general licenses issued by the Treasury Department largely outlined how nonprofits could provide humanitarian assistance within the country. Friday's license covers sectors including personal and commercial banking, infrastructure development and maintenance, commercial trade, safety and maintenance operations for transportation systems, and telecommunications. Afghanistan's already struggling economy has been in a tailspin following the U.S. exit from the country. Roughly 75 percent of public expenditures were previously covered by foreign aid, and even in 2020, half the country was living in poverty prior to the withdrawal. "Six months after the takeover by the Taliban, Afghanistan is hanging by a thread," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last month. "For Afghans, daily life has become a frozen hell. We need to jump-start Afghanistan's economy through increased liquidity. We must pull the economy back from the brink." Food is scarce, and there have been electricity shortages as well. Story continues Afghan teachers hadn't been paid for months, though the U.N. just committed to providing them a two-month stipend. The latest effort to infuse cash into the Afghan economy comes as President Biden was heavily criticized for freezing $7 billion from the Afghan central bank deposited in New York, releasing only half of it to be used for humanitarian aid while setting aside the other half for the families of 9/11 victims. Under the latest measure, companies interested in doing business in Afghanistan can deal directly with civil servants without violating prohibitions laid out in sanctions. "[We're] making it very clear that you can continue to make commercial transactions in Afghanistan, as well as transactions with government individuals who aren't blocked," the senior administration official said. The U.S. still has broader issues with the Afghan banking system, including previous demands for its central bank to bring in an independent third party to evaluate some of its functions. "I'll say that we have a range of really tough problems when it comes to fundamentally easing the economic crisis underway that we can't solve by ourselves. And some are frankly unsolvable," another administration official said on the call. -Updated at 5:56 p.m. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson would be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) President Biden on Friday nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court in a historic choice that could make her the first Black woman to ascend to the nation's highest court. "For too long, our government and our courts haven't looked like America," the president said Friday, announcing the nomination at the White House alongside Jackson and Vice President Kamala Harris. Jackson, 51, a U.S. appeals court judge for the District of Columbia, had been the front-runner for the Supreme Court seat ever since Justice Stephen G. Breyer, 83, announced last month that he would retire at the end of the current term. The court has had only two Black justices: Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights pioneer and leading liberal, served from 1967 to 1991. He was replaced by Justice Clarence Thomas, who has been the court's most conservative jurist since then. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson prepares to speak Friday on her nomination. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Jackson's appointment could add a strong progressive voice to the court for decades to come, but it would not alter the current ideological balance of the nine-person bench, which now has a strong conservative majority of six Republican-appointed justices. Jackson served eight years as a federal district judge handling trials in Washington before being confirmed last year to the U.S. Court of Appeals by a vote of 53 to 44, receiving three Republican votes. That bipartisan support is expected to help ease her confirmation in a Senate currently split 50-50, with Harris giving Democrats a tiebreaking vote as needed. Republicans voiced skepticism Friday about Jackson, calling her a favorite of the far left. But they acknowledged that Democrats likely have the votes to confirm her. The appeals court mostly decides regulatory disputes, so Jackson does not have a track record of rulings or other writings on controversies such as abortion, guns or religion. President Biden introduces Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Since her high school days in Miami, Jackson has won friends and admirers for her intellect, character and personal warmth. She earned academic honors at Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Story continues She has broad legal experience from serving in an array of positions, including as a federal public defender, a U.S. Sentencing Commission official and a law clerk at three courts, including for Breyer at the Supreme Court. In her remarks at the White House, Jackson focused on her family and faith. She said her parents, who began their careers as schoolteachers in Miami, have been married for 54 years. She said her first glimpse of the law came when her father was studying at the kitchen table to earn his law degree. He later served as chief attorney for the Miami-Dade County school board, and her mother as principal of a high school for the arts. Jackson said her younger brother was a police detective in Baltimore who volunteered for the Army and served two tours of duty in the Mideast. Her husband is Dr. Patrick Jackson, a cancer surgeon in Washington. They have two daughters, Talia and Leila. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson addresses the news media on her nomination to the Supreme Court. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Jackson also paid tribute to Judge Constance Baker Motley, a civil rights lawyer who was the first Black woman appointed to be a federal judge. She noted they were born on the same day, 49 years apart. "Today, I proudly stand on Judge Motley's shoulders, sharing not only her birthday, but also her steadfast and courageous commitment to equal justice under law," she said. Progressive groups hailed her nomination. "On the federal bench, she has shown her commitment to upholding laws that protect people with disabilities, workers, immigrants and freedom of speech," said Ben Jealous, president of People for the American Way. "As a former public defender, she brings to the Supreme Court the perspective of someone who has seen the justice system through the eyes of our societys most vulnerable." Advocates for civil rights, workers rights, gay rights and environmental protection said they were enthused by Biden's choice. "Her historic nomination promises an end to the erasure of Black women from our most sacred legal institutions," said Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women's Law Center. While antiabortion advocates said they would oppose Jackson's confirmation to the court, the president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, a leading abortion rights advocacy group, stopped short of fully endorsing her. "Judge Jackson has not ruled on any cases that directly address abortion rights," and her legal record "provides minimal insight" into her views, said Nancy Northup, the center's president, saying the group would wait for Jackson's testimony "to learn more about her views on ... reproductive healthcare." For decades, the divide over abortion and the Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in Roe vs. Wade, which guaranteed the right to abortion nationwide, has loomed large in Senate battles over nominees to the court, especially when a new justice could shift the bench's ideological balance. It's not clear abortion will be central to Jackson's confirmation process, however. If confirmed, she could join the two remaining liberal justices in supporting abortion rights. But the conservative majority is widely expected to either strictly limit the right to abortion or to overturn Roe vs. Wade entirely by this summer. However, Jackson could join the court in time to take part in two key cases involving the role of race. The justices will decide next term whether to restrict or outlaw affirmative action policies at colleges and universities that use race as a factor in admissions. The court voted to hear challenges to the policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina. The court will also reconsider the use of race to draw districts that are likely to elect a Black or Latino candidate. Since the 1980s, the Voting Rights Act has been understood to require that states ensure, where possible, that racial and ethnic minorities have an equal opportunity to "elect representatives of their choice." Alabama's attorney general has argued that the practice puts too much emphasis on race. The high court voted to hear his claim in the case of Merrill vs. Milligan. In a potential preview of how Republicans plan to oppose Jackson, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) described her as the favored choice of far-left dark-money groups, and the Republican National Committee labeled her a radical, left-wing activist. Senate Democrats have countered that Jackson is extraordinarily qualified, and have pledged to pursue her confirmation in a quick, fair process. Once the president sends Judge Jacksons nomination to the Senate, Senate Democrats will work to ensure a fair, timely, and expeditious process fair to the nominee, to the Senate and to the American public, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. Breyer has said he expects to retire when the court has handed down all of its decisions for the term, which it usually does by the end of June. Senate Democrats said they would move forward to confirm Jackson over the next month so she can be sworn in as soon as Breyer departs. Biden had long promised to select a Black woman for the high court. Jackson was well-known and highly regarded by the Obama White House, and her name was mentioned as a possible nominee after Justice Antonin Scalia died suddenly in early 2016. That ill-fated nomination went instead to Judge Merrick Garland, whom McConnell denied even a Senate hearing. Soon after Biden moved into the White House, Jackson was nominated for her current seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which has often been a steppingstone to the high court, including for Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Thomas and Brett M. Kavanaugh. Two of Biden's other finalists for the upcoming opening were California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, 45, and Judge J. Michelle Childs, 55, of the U.S. District Court in South Carolina. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Larry Neumann Jr., a gruff, gritty Chicago actor widely regarded as quintessential, died Wednesday at the age of 62. His death was announced by his former wife of 18 years, Sandy Borglum. Borglum said Neumann collapsed and died at his South Shore home, most likely from complications due to Type 1 diabetes. Advertisement Larry was the hardest working man I ever knew, Borglum said in an interview, speaking of her love for her former husband and his furious affection for his entire family. He was lucky in that he always was able to live his life on his own terms. Neumanns contributions to the Chicago theater stretched back decades and are without an obvious peer. He was mostly known as an actor, although he also served for a while as managing director of the Famous Door Theatre Company, an influential off-Loop company. Advertisement In later years, he took on a well-deserved paternalistic role with younger actors, often signing himself off as Uncle Lar. He was a fixture at post-show bar gatherings, pre-pandemic at least, sharing his many war stories from the off-Loop theater. His work here dated back to the mid-1980s, when Neumann worked with Blind Parrot Productions, which performed in the back room of the Amethyst Grill and Tavern on North Broadway, and New Crimes Productions. In 1986, Neumann played the title role in Artaud at Rodez by Charles Marowitz, where he injected himself with a syringe on stage and was nailed into a coffin at the end; witnesses recalled him screaming and pounding on the cover as the audience made its exit. By 1988, he was playing Iago in the Chicago Shakespeare Company production of Othello, opposite Shira Pivens Desdemona. Seminal roles over the years also included the one-man show Judgement, seen at Famous Door in 1995, wherein Neumann played the sole sane survivor of a group of seven Russian officers, all imprisoned, abandoned and left naked in a cell for two months. He matched that psychological intensity stage time and time again, be it as a Shakespearean tragedian or, memorably, as merely a Chestnut Seller (with issues) in the annual Goodman Theatre production of A Christmas Carol. Larry Neumann Jr. in June 1999 at Famous Door Theater in Chicago. (NANCY STONE) And in 1996, he even played the Dalai Lama in Eric Overmyers monologue, The Dalai Lama Goes Three for Four, replete with bald pate and saffron robe. Perhaps most remarkable of all was his performance as Richard Nickel, a Chicago photographer obsessed with saving great architecture, in the 2001 Lookingglass Theatre production of They All Fall Down. Neumann was born in Sept. 1959, according to public records, and grew up in and around Chicago. In an off-Loop world dominated by young actors with an eye on what might be ahead, Neumann was something of an anomaly. As such, given his affinity for curmudgeons and his focus on the work even at the expense of personal career development, Neumann worked constantly. Even his comic turns, as in Will Kerns Hellcab, were tinged with the kind of tragedy he also found in Famous Doors seminal production of Ghetto. He was, by all accounts, one of a kind. And a candidate for the Chicago actor who did the most off-Loop shows, ever. Advertisement There was a time when I dont think there was a theater in Chicago where Larry hadnt worked, said Marc Grapey, formerly the artistic director of Famous Door. He was part of the fabric, he was part of the landscape. He was also a true original. I know the theaters have been dark for quite a while now, but when they do come back, some key players are going to be missing. Survivors include Neumanns mother, Patti, and three siblings: Cindy, Tim and Brian. Plans for a memorial celebration, Grapey said, are pending. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@chicagotribune.com People at a pro-Ukraine rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Thursday after Russian troops attacked Ukraine. AP Photo/Michael Sohn The US and NATO pledged to protect "every inch of NATO territory" amid Russia's assault on Ukraine. Ukraine has expressed interest in joining the alliance but has never been formally admitted. Some of the country's neighbors are long-standing members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As Russia's war against Ukraine wages on, many across the world have wondered what this means for NATO and other European countries and whether they'll be pulled in to the conflict. President Joe Biden on Thursday said no US troops would be sent to Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, but he warned that the US and its allies would "defend every inch of NATO territory." The president also announced that some US troops would be sent to the Baltics to bolster NATO positions in the east. "Our forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict with Russia in Ukraine," Biden said in a Thursday speech from the White House. "Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies." But as scores of Ukrainians flee to neighboring countries, the conflict has rapidly expanded into the most serious armed conflict in Europe for at least a decade. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a press briefing Friday that Ukraine had its support as an ally, and he condemned Russia's "aggression." "We will do what it takes to protect and defend every ally and every inch of NATO territory," he said. "Leaders also made clear today that we must continue our support to Ukraine." What is NATO? The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance created in 1949 to provide collective security against Soviet expansionism and to encourage European political integration in the aftermath of World War II. NATO serves as a collective security system, wherein its member states agree to mutually defend any attack on a member party by any external actor. Story continues The agreement contained just 12 countries when it was founded but has more than doubled in size in the years since. The alliance now consists of 28 European countries and two countries in North America. On Thursday, the organization condemned what it called Russia's "horrifying attack on Ukraine," accusing President Vladimir Putin of violating international law in an act of aggression against an independent peaceful country. A statement from NATO said the organization had agreed to "take additional steps" to strengthen deterrence and protect all allies, but details on its next steps have been notably vague. "We stand united to defend each other," the organization said in the statement. And while NATO cemented its support for the Ukrainians killed and wounded in the conflict, the organization and its members have yet to offer any hint that they plan to directly intervene in Russia's assault against Ukraine. In his speech Thursday, Putin warned that any Western nations choosing to become involved with his Ukrainian invasion would face "consequences greater than any you have faced in history." Ukraine isn't a member of NATO, but it wants to be Ukraine has expressed a desire to join NATO but has yet to be formally admitted. But the body has designated the former Soviet country as one of its "enhanced opportunity partners," a title granted to nonmember countries that have contributed to NATO-led operations and missions. But ongoing unrest in the country, even before 2022, worried some NATO members such as France and Germany, both of which have previously opposed Ukraine's inclusion and a new NATO member can be inducted only by unanimous consent. Russian leaders Putin in particular have long been wary of NATO's eastward expansion, especially after the alliance granted membership to former Soviet nations in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Tensions escalated even further in 2008 when NATO announced its intent to admit both Ukraine and Georgia at an undetermined future time. Ukraine's former Soviet status and close historical ties to Russia made NATO membership for the country a firm line in the sand for Putin, who said in 2008 that its inclusion in the alliance would be viewed as a "hostile act toward Russia." As such, NATO and its members have no legal obligation to act on Ukraine's behalf. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed directly to NATO members on Thursday after Russia's invasion a plea, he said, that was met with silence. "Today I asked the 27 leaders of Europe whether Ukraine will be in NATO, I asked directly," he said during a speech. "Everyone is afraid, does not answer. And we are not afraid, we are not afraid of anything." Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, moments after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine. Reuters Belarus Ukraine's northern neighbor and a close Russian ally isn't a member of NATO Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a longtime ally of Putin, allowed Russian forces to invade Ukraine on Thursday via Belarus. While Lukashenko has said Belarusian troops haven't joined the conflict, Russian forces used Belarusian territory to enter Ukraine from the north, with Belarusian border guards and the country's air-defense system available to Moscow. Lukashenko said this week that his country's forces would join the action "if it is necessary for Belarus and Russia." The state-owned Russian news agency TASS reported Thursday that Lukashenko received assurances from Putin that any attack against Belarus would constitute an attack on Russia as well. Belarus is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Russia's counter to NATO which is its own intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia that includes certain post-Soviet countries. Moldova has no plans to formally join NATO The first train with Ukrainian refugees arriving in Przemysl, Poland, on Thursday. Photo by Maciej Luczniewski/NurPhoto via Getty Images In the immediate aftermath of Thursday's invasion, thousands of Ukrainian refugees have already flocked to Moldova, located to the southwest of Ukraine. The country's president said the government had deployed temporary placement centers for incoming migrants and stressed that Moldova's borders were open for Ukrainian citizens "who need safe transit or stay." But despite the small nation's support for fleeing refugees, unlike Ukraine, the former Soviet country has no plans to formally join NATO. Written into Moldova's constitution is an enshrinement of neutrality: "The Republic of Moldova proclaims its permanent neutrality. The Republic of Moldova does not allow the deployment of armed forces of other states on its territory." The country does, however, cooperate with NATO on a range of issues, according to the alliance's website, primarily in its efforts to reform and modernize its defense and security structures. Poland has been part of NATO since 1999 Ukraine's northwestern neighbor is becoming a key player in the conflict, as thousands of Ukrainian refugees seek solace in the NATO-protected European Union member. The country was also the primary destination for more than 5,000 arriving US troops in Eastern Europe leading up to Thursday's invasion. On Thursday, Poland's defense ministry introduced a high alert level, requiring service members in operational and territorial defense forces to stay in their units, The New York Times reported. Poland, already home to more than 1 million Ukrainians, anticipates welcoming another million Ukrainians in the coming weeks in the wake of the Russian invasion. On Thursday, the country said it would open nine reception centers along its Ukrainian border in anticipation of more arrivals. An analysis published in Foreign Policy speculated Thursday that Poland's capital, Warsaw, was set to become "the linchpin of the West's efforts to project power in Eastern Europe." Should Putin succeed in taking control of Ukraine, a new battle line in Central Europe would be drawn. Russian forces could be stationed along Poland's eastern border, posing significant geopolitical ramifications and considerations for NATO countries, which have pledged to take action if one of their own is attacked. US troops at the Arlamow military base. American service members arrived in Poland after the Pentagon announced additional forces were needed. Photo by Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Ukraine's 3 other western neighbors are members of NATO Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania share a border with Ukraine and are all members of NATO. Hungary joined the organization in 1999, while Slovakia and Romania were granted membership in 2004. All three countries have signaled that they are making preparations to accept incoming Ukrainian refugees. Here is a full list of NATO members and the year they joined the organization: Albania: 2009 Belgium: 1949 Bulgaria: 2004 Canada: 1949 Croatia: 2009 Czech Republic: 1999 Denmark: 1949 Estonia: 2004 France: 1949 Germany: 1955 Greece: 1952 Hungary: 1999 Iceland: 1949 Italy: 1949 Latvia: 2004 Lithuania: 2004 Luxembourg: 1949 Montenegro: 2017 Netherlands: 1949 North Macedonia: 2020 Norway: 1949 Poland: 1999 Portugal: 1949 Romania: 2004 Slovakia: 2004 Slovenia: 2004 Spain: 1982 Turkey: 1952 United Kingdom: 1949 United States: 1949 Read the original article on Business Insider In honor of Black History Month, In The Know by Yahoo brought together a talented group of entrepreneurs to discuss building their brands with ties to their culture and community. The panel event, which was held at Ginnys Supper Club in Harlem and moderated by In The Knows own Amissa Pitter, highlighted five successful Black business owners who shared details on how their brands and missions have been influenced by their families and heritage. The nights speakers included Brandon Blackwood, the founder, creative director and CEO of contemporary accessories brand Brandon Blackwood New York; Brittney Escovedo, the CEO and founder of experiential event production company Beyond 8; Darian Hall, co-founder of wellness brand HealHaus; Myles Loftin, a photographer, artist and storyteller and Fe Noel, founder of the conceptual lifestyle brand Fe Noel. They all shared with the audience how they built their brands to create meaningful impact within their communities and beyond. From Left: Amissa Pitter, Brittney Escovedo, Brandon Blackwood, Fe Noel, Myles Loftin, Darian Hall Credit: In The Know During the discussion, panelists spoke about how they bring their authentic selves to work and the unique challenges they faced in their respective industries. Hall explained that while starting HealHaus, he had to consider how Black to make it, something that white-owned businesses rarely need to think about. I had to kind of check myself, Hall said. Its like, no, were just going to be ourselves. Loftin echoed Halls sentiments, saying he felt it was a duty to myself and to people like me to show up authentically. When Im having Zoom calls with like six, seven white people, I just try to be myself, you know. I dont try to like cut corners or anything or try to put myself in a box or conform into like what I think that people are gonna want to see from me, Loftin said. People are going to either respond to it or not you dont have to water yourself down in order to access these higher levels of success. Noel said she believes there is no single way to be Black or to present as Black. Story continues For me, its like, I am a Black woman, she said. I come in; Im vivacious. I walk in the room like this. I dont necessarily feel like I have to walk into a room and say that. I can walk into the room, and you feel that. The thing about it is that the world is being exposed to different Blackness the spectrum is beyond. For Blackwood, the importance of presenting authentically and fully stems from his start in fashion when he couldnt find anyone in the industry he wanted to emulate. When you start any brand, you always kind of say, I want to be the next Celine. Im going to be the next whatever, he explained. And that kind of thinking really messed me up for a couple of years. Escovedo named representation as a huge motivator for herself as well, expressing her drive to use her business to create more opportunities for others. Years ago, when I first started, I took the time to think about like, okay, what Black-owned companies can we work with? she said. We are always seeking Black-owned vendors, and thats not easy. We didnt have all the lists you have now. You can Google Black-owned anything at this point, and you can find a list or a roundup. I didnt have that. And I thought that it was really important in starting out to make sure that we did the due diligence. Watch footage from the event in the video above to learn more about the panel. In honor of Black History Month, In The Know highlighted changemakers who are impacting the world through cultural advancement, community leadership and entrepreneurial innovation. See all of our honorees here. Bag designer Brandon Blackwood walks away with vintage Chanel during epic shopping spree: The post Black entrepreneurs discuss how they bring their authentic selves to work every day appeared first on In The Know. More from In The Know: TikToker's viral series reveals 'Black history facts you'll never learn in school' Kindergarten teacher uses 'line leader' metaphor to educate students about civil rights Alexis Nikole, TikTok's queen of foraging, explains why food content is 'hollow' without cultural context You need to try these 8 snacks, sauces and more from Black-owned food brands Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominated to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, is seated to testify before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on pending judicial nominations on April 28, 2021. Black leaders and civil rights groups on Friday celebrated President Biden's forthcoming nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court, which will fulfill his campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court. "This is a tremendously historic moment for our nation and our community in particular. President Biden has met this moment with an extraordinarily qualified nominee, who has stellar credentials and an impeccable background," NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. Jennifer Jones Austin, vice-chair of the National Action Network civil rights group, emphasized Jackson would make history as both the first Black woman on the Supreme Court and the first public defender to serve on the bench if she is confirmed to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. "Not only does Judge Brown Jackson have the legal background that makes her more than qualified to perform the duties of a Supreme Court Justice, but she would bring the Court a distinct and increasingly indispensable perspective on how the laws of this land affect a vital and all too often neglected segment of our population," Jones Austin said in a statement. Holli Holiday, president of Sisters Lead Sisters Vote, an advocacy group that has pushed for a Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, noted Biden's announcement coincides with the second anniversary of when he pledge to put a Black woman on the high court. "Representation on the Supreme Court matters. Justices have ruled on every aspect of our lives. Decisions have legalized school segregation and later school integration; same-sex marriage; and woman's reproductive right to an abortion," Holliday said in a statement. "Judge Jackson is ready to serve from day one. With her qualifications and experience, she has earned bipartisan support," Holliday added. "We call on the 100 members of the Senate to conduct a fair and respectful nomination process that is free of personal attacks and slow walking. Let us showcase to the world a swift and unanimous confirmation for a historic nominee." Story continues Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who leads the African American Mayors Association, said Jackson's perspective will be critical as the court weighs cases on affirmative action and voting rights. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, noted Jackson will bring the perspective of a lifetime as a Black woman, "something our nation's highest court has never seen, making the bench look more like the makeup of our nation." Stacey Abrams, a Democrat running for governor in Georgia, called it a "proud day for all Americans of good conscience." Biden announced Friday morning his intention to nominate Jackson to replace Breyer on the Supreme Court. The president will formally introduce Jackson at an event on Friday afternoon. Jackson has spent the last eight months serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a role she was chosen for after eight years as a federal district judge in D.C. She was confirmed to her current role in a 53-47 vote, with three Republicans voting in her favor along with all 50 Democrats in the Senate. Democratic leaders have said they hope to hold confirmation proceedings in March, with a final vote on Jackson's confirmation in early April. A Ukrainian woman is being hailed for her bravery after she confronted a heavily-armed Russian soldier and offered him sunflower seeds so that they might bloom when he dies. The woman was captured on camera voicing her outrage as Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, with tanks rolling across the border and air strikes targeting major cities. Ukraine says it suffered 137 casualties on the first day of the war. The woman can be seen in the video asking the soldiers "Who are you?", to which a soldier standing in the street says: "We have exercises here. Please go this way." After asking if they are Russians, she said: "So what the f*** are you doing here? As the soldiers tried to calm her down, the enraged woman said: "Youre occupants, youre fascists! What the f*** are you doing on our land with all these guns? Take these seeds and put them in your pockets, so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here, she said. She continued to offer him the seeds of the sunflower, which is the national flower of Ukraine. The video was shared online by Internews Ukraine, an independent media charity based in Kiev. It has since gone viral on social media with more than two million views, and has sparked an outpouring of emotional comments. Ukrainian woman confronts Russian soldiers in Henychesk, Kherson region. Asks them why they came to our land and urges to put sunflower seeds in their pockets [so that flowers would grow when they die on the Ukrainian land] pic.twitter.com/ztTx2qK7kB UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) February 24, 2022 The coming days and nights in #Ukraine are likely going to be long and hard. But with spirit like this woman shows, #Putin may find he bit off way more than he can chew. #PocketSunflowers to grow sunflowers from their graves! a Twitter user said. Story continues Am I the only one reading that over and over, and getting chills each time? wrote Chris Taylor, another Twitter user. The viral video comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued into a second day and explosions were heard in the capital Kiev. The EU and US have announced sanctions against Russia in protest against its military action, while thousands of Russians have taken to the streets in Moscow and St Petersburg to express their objections to the war. More than 1,750 protesters were arrested by the Russian authorities on Thursday across 54 cities, at least 957 of them in Moscow. I want to ask Ukrainians for forgiveness. We didnt vote for those who unleashed the war, Tatyana Usmanova, an opposition activist in Moscow, wrote on Facebook. Opening statements have begun in the trial of Brett Hankison, one of the officers involved in the highly controversial 2020 no-knock police raid that killed Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, in Louisville, Kentucky. Officers say they knocked on the door and announced themselves, while Taylors boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, says he asked who was at the door and got no response. He shot his legally owned pistol at officers once they broke down the door, and they returned fire, striking Taylor six times and killing her. Mr Hankison, who was fired from the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department, is the only officer tied to the 13 March 202 raid to receive any criminal charges. They are not related to Taylors death, but rather to the 10 shots he fired which passed through her apartment and into a neighbouring unit. The Kentucky attorney general ruled the other officers conduct was justified, since they were fired upon first. The former LMPD officer has been charged with three counts of felony wanton endangerment and could face up to five years in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty. Heres what you need to know about Brett Hankison: Did Brett Hankison shoot Breonna Taylor? No. According to prosecutors, none of the former officers bullets struck Taylor. Rather, they passed through a glass door and into the next apartment over, where they came perilously close to hitting the homes three residents: Cody Etherton, his pregnant partner Chelsea Napper, and their five-year-old son, who was asleep when the raid started. "This case is about Cody and his partner Chelsea (Napper), who was seven months pregnant at the time, and their 5-year-old son, who was sleeping in the bedroom closest to the front door when the bullets ripped through the apartment and out their sliding glass door, into the night," Kentucky Assistant Attorney General Barbara Whaley said in her opening statement. Mr Hankison has maintained that he only started shooting once his partner, former police sergeant Jonathan Mattingly, was shot in the leg. Mr Hankison has also claimed he saw someone holding an AR rifle, though investigators only located Breonna Taylors boyfriends legally owned Glock pistol. Story continues He was justified," Mr Hankisons defence lawyer Stew Matthews said on Wednesday, adding that the former officer was trying to defend and save the lives of his brother officers who were still caught in what they call the fatal funnel in that doorway. Was Brett Hankison disciplined after the Breonna Taylor killing? Yes. The officer was fired on 23 June 2020, and police officials wrote a scathing letter explaining their decision. The then-police chief wrote that Mr Hankisons actions were a shock to the conscience and created a substantial danger of death and serious injury to Breonna Taylor and three occupants of the apartment next to Ms Taylors. You have never been trained by the Louisville Metro Police Department to use deadly force in this fashion, the letter continues. He has appealed the firing , a process which will be on hold while his trial continues. Does Brett Hankison have a record of alleged misconduct? Yes. Thought Brett Hankison has received multiple commendations on his police work, and once served on the Louisville Police Merit Board, after being chosen by his fellow officers, he has a lengthy record of alleged misconduct. He has been accused multiple times of sexual misconduct, including a 2008 allegation he didnt arrest a woman because she gave him oral sex, and a 2015 allegation that the officer offered to eliminate a ticket in exchange for sex. The LMPD investigated both matters and found no wrongdoing . He was also accused multiple times on social media of offering women rides home from bars when they were drunk and sexually assaulting them . Mr Hankison has not appeared to publicly comment on the allegations, and his attorney did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent. Elsewhere, the former officer had 50 separate internal incident reports or allegations of misconduct on his record, though none appear to have led to formal discipline. He was reprimanded twice by former LMPD chief Robert White after Mr Hankison was found to have violated department regulations on evidence-gathering and medical twice during investigations in 2005 and 2009. It seemed like another George Floyd moment. But was it really? A police officer seemed to unfairly target a Black teen after a fight on a recent Saturday in a suburban New Jersey mall. The moment, captured on video, summoned up connections to the death of George Floyd two years ago on a Minneapolis street. Should it have? On that Saturday afternoon two weeks ago, crowds flocked to the Bridgewater Commons mall, which sits astride the flatlands and highways of Central New Jerseys Somerset County. The COVID-19 pandemic was ebbing. Infection rates were dropping. People wanted to get back to some sort of normalcy and, in New Jersey, that often involves strolling through a bustling mall. Among the teenagers at the mall that day, however, an ominous rumor reportedly circulated: At some point, some students planned to start a fight. That rumor turned out to be true. On the mall's third floor, near an area set up with sofas where shoppers could take a break, two male teenagers squared off. One wore a white hoodie. The other, a blue sweatshirt. The teen in the white hoodie was Black. The boy in the blue sweatshirt was light skinned and later described as white. Since this is the 21st century, we have plenty of cellphone video footage of what happened next. The boys broke into a verbal argument. We dont really know why or what was said. At least one report indicated that one boy told the other to stop picking on a friend. Yet another report suggested that one of the boys asked the other if he planned to "jump someone." This was reportedly met with a challenge to fight outside the mall. The boys inched closer to each other. The white teen in the blue sweatshirt pointed his finger at the Black teen in the white hoodie. When the Black teen slapped away the white teen's hand, punches were thrown. The white teen seemed to quickly get the upper hand. He pushed the Black teen to a sofa, then tossed him to the floor. Suddenly, two police officers arrived a male and a female. Story continues The male officer wrestled the Black teen into a facedown, prone position. The officer pulled the boy's arms behind him and began to handcuff him all the while keeping a knee pressed into the boys back. The female officer, after pushing the white teen to the sofa, appeared to order him to sit there and not move. She did not attempt to handcuff him. Instead, the female officer moved to help her partner handcuff the Black teen even appearing to place her knee on or near the boys neck. The subsequent video of this confrontation went viral, accompanied by the inevitable and important question: Why did the cops appear to treat the white kid differently from the Black kid? Adding to that question was the footage of police officers appearing to use their knees to subdue yet another Black suspect. The episode evoked some of the horrific scenes from nearly two years ago when Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pushed his knee into the neck of George Floyd and eventually choked the life out of him. Chauvin was later sentenced to more than 20 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of murder and manslaughter. He also pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights. On Thursday, three other Minneapolis officers were convicted on federal civil rights charges for refusing to intervene and stop Chauvin from kneeling on Floyd's neck. What took place at the Bridgewater Commons mall, however, was not the same as what took place with George Floyd on that Minneapolis street. Yes, the resulting questions were similar in nature. But the facts differ. That is important. In America's racial history, nuance sometimes gets lost. This time, nuance is important. The Black teen at the Bridgewater Commons mall was not killed, but the episode still raised questions of how police in America interact with Black citizens. In one of the videos that captured the fight and the police response, a bystander can be heard saying: Yo, its because hes Black. Why do cops keep treating Black people differently? Those sentiments are important. They reflect a fear among nonwhites that cops will treat them differently. Police and their supporters don't like to hear that. But it's a truth now in America. And now, once again, in yet another video, America came face to face with the same painful paradox that swept through the nation in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Why do these kinds of incidents continue to take place in a nation of such diversity and such sophistication? Or to put it more bluntly: Why did these officers seem to treat two participants in a brawl in a shopping mall so differently? The cops involved are not talking not publicly. Once again, America has been confronted with a litany of questions of police behavior. But, once again, police have become the symbolic equivalent of monks with a vow of silence. The Bridgewater police department issued a carefully worded statement on its Facebook page. The department said that we recognize that this video has made members of our community upset and that the department is thankful for our community partners and look forward to continuing to build our positive relationships. (Really now?) The police department then went on to say that it is conducting an internal investigation with the help of the Somerset County prosecutor. In politics and in keeping with the need of government bureaucracies to try to reassure constituents often clumsily such a statement is what is known as buying time to figure out what to do. Simply put: it's not enough. Black citizens deserve more. Will there be a public report on the investigation? Who knows? The New Jersey NAACP, the states most prominent civil rights advocacy group, did not hold back in its criticism. When Bridgewater police found two youths fighting, the NAACP said in a letter, the immediate reaction was to aggressively throw the Black child to the ground while at the same time the white youth was carefully eased on to a couch and treated like a victim. The NAACP also demanded the officers be suspended during the investigation. So far, the Bridgewater police have not even released the names of the officers or any background information on them, such as how long they have been on the force. Column continues below gallery. Meanwhile, a day after the video made the rounds of just about every social media platform known to humankind, Gov. Phil Murphy also chimed in. Murphy said he was deeply disturbed by what appears to be racially disparate treatment. And obviously recognizing the delicate politics of the moment, the governor added that he wanted to emphasize that his administration was committed to increasing the trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. In politics, this is what is known as trying to put out all the fires -- before they start. Last, but hardly inconsequential, both fighters decided to talk. And this is where this incident takes on a perplexing and nuanced twist. The Black teen, ZKye Husain, did not apologize for fighting at a crowded mall. But he said that if the police dont know how to deal with the situation equally and fairly, they shouldnt be dealing with the situation at all. He did not offer any suggestion on who should have dealt with "the situation." Hes an eighth grader, in case you wondered. Husain's family is now being represented by noted civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who quickly declared: This is another example of the kind of racial bias that we need to root out of our system of policing. More than 100 people gathered outside Bridgewater Police Headquarters Saturday, chanting "I am Kye!" to call for action after a video showing two officers breaking up a fight between two teens, one Black and one white, at Bridgewater Commons over the weekend went viral. The other teen, Umar Joseph Franco, 15 of Raritan, is a high school sophomore. While described as white in some initial media reports, Franco has now identified as Hispanic and Asian, with ancestral roots in Columbia and Pakistan. Franco claimed in an interview with MyCentralJersey.com that he offered to get arrested. One video even appears to support that claim, showing Franco rising from his seat on the sofa and placing his hands together to be handcuffed as the police subdue the Black teen on the ground. The video shows the female officer ordering Franco to take a seat. He does just that and quiets down. So much for offering to get arrested. "I thought it was wrong because they arrested him and not me. I was confused because I offered for them to arrest me because I knew it was wrong," Franco said in the interview with MyCentralJersey.com. As for Husain, his opponent in the mall brawl, Franco added: "I didn't see him resisting at all" and "I know what the cops did was wrong, so they should have consequences." I dont understand why they arrested him and not me, Franco told NJ Advance Media. I say that was just plain old racist. I dont condone that at all. Like I said, I even offered to get arrested. Questions need answering All of these facts bring us to this question: What should we make of this? For starters, we need to know more about this fight. Both Z'Kye Husain and Umar Joseph Franco have been remarkably unresponsive in explaining why they started punching each other. Details matter here. How did these two teens come together? Were they looking for a fight? Just as important, both teens have been unremorseful in declining to accept responsibility for what appears to be a stupid decision to square off in a crowded shopping mall. It would be nice to hear apologies from both of them. Both have been banned from the mall for three years. But that's hardly much of a punishment. New Jersey has plenty of other malls they can visit. Second, what did the police see when they approached this fight? The video clearly shows one officer wrestling the Black teen to the ground, with the other officer taking a less aggressive stance. Why? Was this just a matter of style and different habits by two officers? Or did one officer sense that the Black teen was more aggressive? If so, why? Police work and the split-second decisions that accompany it is immensely difficult. We all need to acknowledge that essential fact. One officer might decide to pull a gun and even fire it in a tense situation, while another might take cover and call for backup. In judging this situation at the mall, its important to realize that two officers were involved, perhaps with very different views of what to do. Still, the police response as captured on video does not build trust in the nonwhite community. If cops don't see this video as a problem, they are missing the whole point of what happened to George Floyd and the resulting uproar across America. What will build trust is transparency and a clear explanation by police of what took place. We need this explanation soon. We cant wait a year. If mistakes were made, admit them. If not, tell us why. Finally, this disturbing video should remind us of the need for improved training for police. Yes, much has been said about the need to re-imagine how police are trained -- and why that training in far too many policy academies still takes on a military-like tone. But nearly two years after Floyd was murdered, that push for new training is still mostly in the talking stage. Once again, America has watched police rush into a highly charged scene. This was not a repeat of what happened to Floyd on that Minneapolis street. But, once again, we are still asking questions and awaiting answers. Mike Kelly is an award-winning columnist for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to his insightful thoughts on how we live life in New Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. Email: kellym@northjersey.com Twitter: @mikekellycolumn This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bridgewater NJ mall fight raises questions about policing and race BRIDGEWATER Mayor Matthew Moench and Police Chief Paul Payne will participate this week in a private roundtable discussion with local Black community leaders to discuss officers response to a fight at Bridgewater Commons earlier this month. Participants will be invited by the Rev. David Hobbs of the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, which will host the discussion. The Macedonia Baptist Church holds a vision of community that includes outreach, service and support, Hobbs said in a statement. We welcome the opportunity to provide the space and a learning experience for residents, the administration, and our public safety officers. Bridgewater Mayor Matt Moench Bridgewater found itself in the eye of a media storm after a 15-second video went viral of a fight between two teenagers at Bridgewater Commons that was broken up by two township police officers. A white police officer wrestled a Black teenager to the floor while the other teenager, a Hispanic, was seated on a couch by another white officer. Bridgewater mall fight: What we know about viral video and police response On behalf of the entire township, I would like to extend my deep gratitude to Pastor Hobbs for opening his doors and bringing us together to have this conversation, Moench said in a statement. The Bridgewater we strive for is as diverse as it is unified, and that is something we can only achieve if all of our residents feel heard, respected and secure in our township. Bridgewater Police Chief Paul Payne Payne also thanked Hobbs for his efforts in organizing the discussion. I am deeply appreciative of Rev. Hobbs for facilitating this conversation, Payne said in a statement. As chief of police, I strive to maintain and build trust and safety between the police department and the community we serve. This discussion is of critical importance, and I am eager to hear the concerns and ideas from our community together with Pastor Hobbs and Mayor Moench." Since he became chief in July 2020, Payne said he has worked to improve relations between the department and the community. Story continues The chief said the department and the township "have established a great working relationship with Rev. Hobbs, Dameon Stackhouse and many others. Weve attended community events and had numerous talks on how we can better serve our community. I look forward to continuing to build on this relationship. The mayor pledged he will continue to support the police department. Tactics used by police breaking up a fight between two teenagers prompts demands for internal investigation. "I firmly believe that support of the department has to consist of more than empty platitudes," Moench said. "Support means that I will do everything I can to provide those officers with tools and resources they need to protect and serve all who live in and visit our town regardless of race, color or creed. The township also plans to host a public forum to discuss the issues of policing and public safety after the Internal Affairs investigations of the incident are complete. Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bridgewater police chief, mayor to meet with Black community leaders Las Vegas police arrested a man accused of killing a 4-year-old boy and holding his mother and sister captive. JANIFEST/Getty Images A 4-year-old boy was found dead in a Las Vegas man's freezer. Brandon Toseland is accused of holding the boy's mother and 7-year-old sister captive since December. An attorney for the family told Insider how the boy's mother spent months planning their escape. Police on Tuesday found the body of 4-year-old Mason Dominguez in a freezer owned by a Las Vegas man accused of holding the boy's mother and 7-year-old sister captive since December. Brandon Toseland, 35, has been charged with murder and kidnapping, police said. His arrest came months after Mason's mother, who spent her days handcuffed and restrained by Toseland, began devising a plan to get a note to her daughter's teacher without being caught, the family's spokesman and attorney Stephen Stubbs told Insider on Friday. After weeks of scribbling a few words at a time on eight or nine sticky notes that she stashed in a hiding place in Toseland's car during the one minute a day he left her alone, Stubbs said, she managed to get the notes to her daughter. The 7-year-old then gave the sticky notes to a teacher and the school district notified law enforcement, who ultimately rescued the mother and daughter this week, Stubbs said. To this day, the mom isn't sure how Mason died, as his autopsy results are still pending, but she told police that Toseland physically abused her and both of her children at the home. Mason was ill before Toseland separated him from his mother and sister, Stubbs said. "She knew he was sick and eventually [Toseland] said that he's gone, that it was an accident or something to that effect, but he has told her so many different conflicting things about her son that she didn't know for sure," Stubbs told Insider. Toseland's attorney Scott Coffee told the Washington Post that he will seek a mental health evaluation. Coffee accused police of determining the facts of the case too quickly, the Post reported. Story continues How it began Mason's mother, who Insider is not naming because police believe she's an abuse victim, met Toseland through her late husband, Stubbs said. When her husband died in January 2021, Toseland began comforting her and after two months they began dating, the family's spokesman said. When she and her kids moved in with him, "it started out fantastic," Stubbs said. "Slowly and methodically, he started exercising more and more control and it continually got worse until one day in December she tried to leave a room and the door was locked," he said. "She was held captive from then until she was rescued." The woman demanded to see Mason, and he refused, Stubbs said. "From the time she was initially locked up or held captive to the time she was rescued, there was never an opportunity when she could escape and flee with her daughter," Stubbs said. The escape plan Toseland continued to send the 7-year-old girl to school each morning, leaving her handcuffed mother in his car hidden behind a sun shield so nobody would spot her, Stubbs said. Every day, she dug around, looking for something that could get her and her daughter help. One day she found a pack of sticky notes and a pen. "It was a game of him leaving and her knowing that she has less than a minute to take the sticky notes and the pen from their hiding spot, write whatever she could, and then hide it before he could come back, Stubbs said. And keep in mind, she can't even see through the front windshield to know when he's going to come back." When the note was finally finished, the woman needed to find the right moment to slip it to her daughter. A few days before her rescue, Toseland allowed the mother and daughter to sleep in the same room, Stubbs said. The woman spent that night coaching her daughter on how to get the note to a teacher, and what to say. After the school notified law enforcement, police set-up surveillance at the house, and noticed Toseland leaving in the car with the woman. They pulled the car over for a traffic stop and saw that the woman was handcuffed so they detained him, Stubbs said. "Yesterday afternoon the homicide detectives visited her home and explained to her that she's been officially cleared of any wrongdoing," Stubbs told Insider on Friday. "They know she is 100% a victim." The woman and her daughter are staying with family and getting "all the help they need," Stubbs said, adding that they are grateful that the teacher, school administration, and law enforcement all responded to her note and rescued her. Read the original article on Insider 'Art of London Presents: Take A Moment 2202', featuring the late Caroline Flack, Amanda Holden, and many famous-facing pausing for a moment to themselves. (Ray Burmiston/Art of London) Photographs of Caroline Flack, Amanda Holden, Dr Alex George and Holly Willoughby are to be featured in a mental health project exhibiting the faces of celebrities over a decade. The portraits all featuring those involved with their eyes closed as they intimately take a moment to themselves are shot by Ray Burmiston and will be presented by Art of London as Take A Moment 2022. The moving image of Flack, who died in February 2020 at the age of 40, will also be joined by one of her close friend and successor Love Island presenter Laura Whitmore, alongside dozens more portraits. Caroline Flack pictured as part of the Take A Moment 2022 mental health awareness project. (Ray Burmiston/Art of London) These include Liam Gallagher, Kate Moss, Helena Bonham Carter, David Walliams, Olivia Colman, Anthony Joshua, James Corden, Joe Wicks and Gary Barlow, to name but a few. Ex-Love Island contestant and Ambassador for Mental Health Dr Alex George will also be featured in the project, as someone who's done much to raise awareness about the subject, including sharing his own struggles, following the passing of his younger brother Llyr, who was just 19 when he died by suicide in July 2020. 'I hope Ray's photographer encourages everyone to take a moment to think about their mental health,' says Dr Alex Goerge. (Ray Burmiston/Art of London) Dr Alex said, "I'm thrilled to feature in Art of London and Ray Burmiston's stunning photography exhibition, which bravely addresses the importance of looking after our mental health. "I'm proud to be one of hundreds of celebrities captured by Ray, who closed their eyes on camera in a moment of personal reflection. "This is such an important initiative and I hope Ray's photographer encourages everyone to take a moment to think about their mental health." Read more: Stacey Dooley urges mental health discussion and shares coping strategies Amanda Holden among dozens of celebritiy portraits to be exhibited as part of Take A Moment 2022 (Ray Burmiston/Art of London) Art of London Presents: Take A Moment 2202 is a free exhibition and will run throughout March until early April digitally on the Piccadilly Lights in London and in a real-life gallery directly underneath. Landsec, owner of the lights, is donating the screen time, while the event space is being supported by Westminster City Council. Story continues Photographer and project creator Burmiston said, "The exhibition has been created from a decade of outtakes from the studio where I asked my subjects to close their eyes for a few seconds, to refresh their connection with the camera. The portraits capture a variety of different responses from powerful moments of self-reflection to something more whimsical and playful, allowing us to see these well-known faces in a different light. I have been overwhelmed by the public response and I hope the new exhibition will continue to highlight the importance of mental health awareness. Read more: UK musicians share mental health struggles in NHS video Watch: Dr Alex George wants to meet Boris Johnson to discuss mental health education Burmiston's website also explains that, coupled with the celebrity photos, and then "mashed together with selfies uploaded by the public', it expanded from hundreds of photos to thousands of photos, promoting the message: 'we're all in this together', 'whilst raising vital funds and awareness for leading UK mental health charity, Mind. A little piece of 2020 history." Former unified world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua. (Ray Burmiston/Art of London) The full list of stars featured is yet to be released, while West End performers were also photographed for the exhibition, at locations such as The Wolseley, Burlington Arcade, Magic Mike Live at The Hippodrome and The Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square. Read more: Martine McCutcheon praised for inspiring post about mental health struggles James Corden intimately 'taking a moment'. (Ray Burmiston/Art of London) Businesses in the West End, including the Burlington Arcade and Waterstones, also plan to feature some of the portraits to support the mental health campaign. The exhibition will come to an end in early April with a 10-minute video of hundreds of celebrity and public portraits, all curated by Burmiston. Additional reporting by PA. Actors portray the all-white jury during the filming of Collaboraction's production of "Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till" at NBC5 Studios in Chicago on Feb. 23, 2022. (Vincent D. Johnson / Pioneer Press) The pandemic has kept many things on hold or at least at bay. But the 1955 Mississippi murder of Mamie Till-Mobleys 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, brought the cast and crew of Collaboraction together for their first in-person rehearsal in over two years, according to Anthony Moseley, artistic director of the social justice theater company that creates original theatrical and virtual experiences to incite change and grow equity in Chicago. Dozens of people were on site at a space on the University of Chicago campus on a recent February evening to work on the production of Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, an immersive stage adaptation of the 1955 trial transcript featuring Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam, white Mississippi men found not guilty of murdering Black Chicagoan Emmett Till. Days after Till was killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman, his body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River, where it was tossed after being weighted down with a cotton gin fan. Months later, Bryant and Milam confessed to the killing in a paid interview with Look magazine. Advertisement WMAQ-Ch. 5. news anchor Marion Brooks found the transcript in her research of Till and wanted to get the information out but she wanted it to be read, as opposed to words on a screen. I wanted people to be able to hear the words that were spoken, Brooks said in a virtual panel discussion about the project on Feb. 17. Theres power in hearing, and all the senses need to be touched. I was moved to try to find a way to get somebody to be able to bring it to the public, so they could hear it and see it. Advertisement Collaboraction ran with the challenge with the help of G. Riley Mills and Willie Round (co-creators, co-producers and writers) and co-directors Moseley and Dana Anderson. The work will be performed for audiences at the DuSable Museum of African American History on Saturday and Sunday. The play will also live on screen as part two of Brooks documentary on Till, The Lost Story of Emmett Till: The Universal Child, which aired this month on NBC5. Collaboraction's Artistic Director Anthony Moseley, center, talks with Associate Producer Pricilla Torres, left, in-between filming scenes of the "Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till," Feb. 23, 2022. (Vincent D. Johnson / Pioneer Press) The Emmett Till story is timeless. Sadly in the United States of America, we are still seeing parallels to the Emmett Till story today, Brooks said. Some key things that we were able to showcase in the story was how young Emmett Till was. You hear 14-year-old but he had just turned 14; he was a young boy. And the scope of what happened to him happens in a period of six months from the time that he left Chicago until the time that the Look magazine article came out where the killers confessed to killing him. And after that, his name started to fall away from public consciousness. Can you imagine after six months, nobody talking about George Floyd? Round and Mills edited down the hundreds of pages of text to less than 100 for the stage. But Round admits the process of editing a document about such a historical, traumatic moment in U.S. history was tough. It was horrific, to be honest, he said. Just reading every single line of what Emmett Till went through ... it was horrific for me being a Black man. It was sinister to read and it seemed a little bit demonic, just the way that they would do a 14-year-old boy. It was hard to get through. I had to tell Gary (Mills), I gotta go for a walk, on many occasions. Its trauma, repeated trauma over the years. And then you got the George Floyds of the world all over again. Its like, What has really changed? Mills said reading it as a white person brought out a deep connection of shame and horror; Mills said the closing arguments in Tills murder trial were very similar to those in the Ahmaud Arbery case. The depths and the lengths that were made to free these guys? Its ridiculous, he said of the Till script. Everything youre hearing in there was said in the courtroom. 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, all those classic trials that have you on the edge of your seat? We want it to be the new one of that and telling Emmetts story. Anderson said working with the actors in the production meant letting the actors find the story for themselves within the historical text and paying attention to the nuances therein. As were listening to the actors, Im like, Wow, people are finding themselves in these parallels that for us as Black people, its second nature stuff to us, she said. We want to bring the story to life not just for us to share Black stories, but also for us to impact social change, to bring light to whats still happening in the justice system and the cracks that are there. Humanity is something we have to raise the stakes on for the universal message here. Something that I liked about that NBC documentary, its called the universal child. Mamie said that ... he served as this universal child, this image that was the impetus for a huge shift in this world, not just this nation. Advertisement Adia Alli plays Emmett Till's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, during the filming of a scene from Collaboraction's production "Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till." (Vincent D. Johnson / Pioneer Press) Anderson said the play is another entry point to remembering the nations history. She said a lot of the younger actors at callbacks werent familiar with Tills story, regardless of race. However, Darren Jones, the actor who plays Mose Wright, Emmett Tills great-uncle (the person he stayed with when visiting Mississippi that ill-fated summer), said he knew about Emmett Till before he knew about Martin Luther King Jr. Born in 1962, Jones said Tills story was the most important story in his life. Jones wants to impart that sense of trauma that Tills death had at that time through his acting. By the time I was born, of course, it was still one of the most traumatic and impactful events in our community, he said. Its what you knew as you grew up and it is part of the fabric of my life. It comes up maybe not daily but in times of challenge ... the impact of it. When Jones shared with an older uncle, who lived in Bronzeville at the time of Tills murder, that he was playing the role of Wright, Jones said he grew silent. Advertisement That just tells me that it still has its effect. And thats why I really wanted to impress upon the trauma that people still carry around with them. Its a new story to some people, but boy its so ingrained in a whole lot of us, Jones said. Andy Luther plays district attorney Gerald Chatham. He said working with the trial script has been eye-opening given the amount of detail. He wasnt hesitant to take on the role. Whenever it comes to something like this, dealing with race, I think its important to have the discussion, he said. And as an actor, thats something that you have to accept, especially being a white male actor, almost 50 years old. ... And if were going to be true to our craft, then its important to tell those stories truthfully. Round wants people to walk away from the play knowing the truth and knowing that Black witnesses risked their lives to stand up and tell their stories. To me, this is like were keeping the casket open, Round said about the play. Mamie Till doesnt want the casket to close. She doesnt want the word to end about Emmett Till, so this is a way of us keeping that casket open, put it in their face. Thats the reason why were doing it ... keep the truth out there. Brooks said people really only heard an all-white jury say not guilty in the trial. But since the transcript had been found in 2005, she hopes the real drama of the court case pounds home the injustice of what happened to Emmett Till. Advertisement Ill tell you the three critical decisions that we point out: Mamie deciding to bring (Tills) body back from Mississippi, they wanted to bury it right then and there; deciding to showcase his body by leaving an open casket and allowing so many people to see it; and allowing him to be photographed for that image. Theres no question that changed the trajectory of the civil rights movement and was a major catalyst, Brooks said in the panel discussion. Rosa Parks talks about how she was inspired. What would have happened if (Mamie Till-Mobley) had not taken those brave stances that she did? I want this to be as uncomfortable as it can be, Jones said. I want people to be as uncomfortable because it was the most uncomfortable thing. We didnt know it was civil rights yet. We didnt have a title or a name for what the heck was going on. But we knew that this was the time to act. Thats probably as authentic as it gets. Trial in the Delta will be presented at 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at The DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place. The Sunday matinee will be preceded by a free Community Day gathering at 2 p.m. Tickets on sale at collaboraction.org are $45 for general admission, $25 for CollaborActivists and DuSable Museum members, and $15 for youth, educators, seniors, artists, activists and low-income individuals. The play will be followed by a Crucial Conversation with the audience. This event is recommended for ages 12 and older. drockett@chicagotribune.com The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new COVID-19 risk guidance map Friday that indicates counties representing more than 70% of the U.S. population may not need to wear masks indoors including Franklin County and its surrounding counties. However, the map is intended only as guidance and any decisions about mask-wearing requirements or mandates remain with local and state officials with one major exception. Masks are still required on all public transportation, including aboard airplanes, trains, and buses. In Columbus, a mask mandate remains in effect for now. A Columbus Public Health spokesperson said Friday: "We look forward to seeing the guidance and will make a determination (about the mask mandate) after weve had a chance to review it and the most-recent local data." CDC's new COVID risk map: What it means The CDC says its new map is a tool "to help communities decide what prevention measures to take based on the latest data." CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday that data now goes beyond just looking at the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population and percentage of positive tests to also include factors related to the severity of the cases, such as hospitalizations and the capacity of hospitals at the community level to handle those cases. The new classification system increased by one-third the number of counties across America that the CDC now considers at low- or medium risk from last week. The national public health agency's new guidance map got rid of the red color for "high-risk" designation contained in its maps just days ago, something that triggered some questions and ridicule on Twitter and other social media. The new guidance map now classifies risk levels based on the colors green, yellow and orange: Green, or low-risk, means there is "limited impact on healthcare system, low levels of severe illness. Yellow, or medium risk, means there is "some impact on healthcare system, more people with severe illness." Story continues Orange, or high-risk, means there is "high potential for healthcare system strain; high level of severe illness." Most of Ohio is now in the medium- to low-risk COVID-19 community level, according to the CDC's new map. Franklin County and a majority of its surrounding counties are now at medium risk, the map shows. Fairfield County is the only adjacent county designated at low risk. In low-risk areas, the CDC guidance is that no masking is needed. The CDC recommends that in counties in medium-risk locations, people should talk to their healthcare providers about the need for wearing a mask, especially immunocompromised individuals or those with increased health risks. But in high-risk counties, the CDC guidance continues to recommend masks in public indoor spaces and schools. COVID-19 restrictions: More than 70% of Americans can take off their masks indoors with new CDC guidelines on COVID risk The new map comes as reported COVID-19 case numbers have continued to see a downward trend in Ohio, after cases peaked in early January with more than 30,000 cases, according to the state Department of Health. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new COVID map Friday, showing that most of Ohio, including Franklin and surrounding counties, sit in medium to low-risk COVID-19 community levels. Greater Columbus officials consider lifting mask mandates On Feb. 16, officials from Bexley, Columbus, Whitehall and Worthington announced in a joint statement that they may consider lifting their cities' mask mandates in the near future due to the decrease in COVID cases around the state. And on Tuesday, the Bexley City Council did just so, as its members unanimously voted to lift the city's indoor mask mandate. However, the city's school district decided to keep its mandate and will review the superintendent's recommendations at a board meeting on March 9. "At the time we instituted the mask mandate we committed to following the guidance of public health authorities. Public health authorities around the country have recognized the lower risk from omicron, particularly in the face of mass vaccination and increasing public immunity, and restrictions around the country are lessening," Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler wrote in a statement explaining the change in direction. COVID-19 numbers: Ohio reports 1,612 new COVID-19 cases Friday However, the Columbus City Council told The Dispatch that it will continue to wait for health guidance from Columbus Public Health to decide whether to lift the city's mask mandate. "Council is continuing to work collaboratively with Columbus Public Health and Dr. Mysheika Roberts (the city's health commissioner) on following the cases and hospitalization numbers impacting the mask mandate," Council spokesman David Miller said. If trends continue to head in the right direction, Miller said, the mask mandate will be lifted to accommodate the lower COVID-19 spread in the community." Ohio experts: Although COVID case numbers decreasing, pandemic not yet over Dr. Joe Gastaldo, OhioHealth medical director of infectious diseases, said that while the numbers have been decreasing, the pandemic is not over. He said that he liked the CDC's announcement Friday because the guidance is easier for people to digest and understand since it's based on how cases are affecting hospitals and the rest of the healthcare system. COVID-19 and travel: Yes, masks are still required on planes and at airports despite new CDC mask guidelines "I like this because it is a living document that can change. We have to be transparent with people about that," Gastaldo said. "If things get worse, and they may get worse, we have to be prepared to go back up to the mask wearing and the other mitigation recommendations that we've had for the last couple years." Gastaldo said that with home testing being more prevalent, the CDC's new map should be more accurate when measuring COVID severity in communities. "From a hospital perspective, if you're fully vaccinated, if you're up to date on your vaccine and you get COVID and you're home with a cold or mild flu symptoms, we can live with that because it's not going to impact how we take care of patients in the hospital," he said. Local school districts lift COVID-19 mask mandates Several area school districts have already lifted their mask mandates such as Canal Winchester, Dublin, Gahanna-Jefferson, New Albany-Plain, Wand Westerville and other districts are discussing the issue. Columbus City Schools, the state's largest school district, continues to have a mask mandate in place. COVID-19: Are schools ditching their mask mandates too soon? mylee@dispatch.com @leem386 This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: COVID risk: Franklin County, surrounding area at medium or low CDC Feb. 24State senators approved new maps for the Cobb Board of Commissioners and the Cobb Board of Education in a pair of votes along party lines Wednesday. With Senate approval, the maps will head to the governor's desk for his signature. Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to sign both bills, making the maps law. The redrawing of both maps has been contentious, with Democrats alleging their Republican colleagues have drawn the maps to protect vulnerable Republican incumbents and to oust certain Democrats from their seats by drawing them out of their districts. Republicans have said the maps are compact, were drawn in accordance with the law and combine "communities of interest." Districts whether they be U.S. House districts, statehouse districts or county commission districts must be roughly equal in population. District lines are redrawn every 10 years across the United States to reflect demographic changes captured in the decennial census. In presenting the new map for the Cobb Board of Commissioners, state Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-east Cobb, said it creates four districts with shared interests: District 3 in northeast Cobb, District 1 in northwest Cobb, District 4 in southwest Cobb and a District 2 that stretches along Interstate 75 from the Cumberland area and Truist Park to Kennesaw State University. It is a significant change for a district that currently encompasses parts of Smyrna and east Cobb. "This is a vibrant district that has exploded over the last 10 years," Kirkpatrick said. "It's home to a lot of young professionals and many major corporations." The map also maintains the Cobb Board of Commissioners' current partisan split of two districts that tend to vote for Democrats and two that tend to vote for Republicans. (The fifth member of the board, its chairperson, is elected countywide. The current chair is Lisa Cupid, a Democrat.) But Democrats say Republicans have made an "unprecedented power grab" in breaking with a tradition in which the state legislature simply approves maps agreed to by the county delegation. There are presently 11 Democrats and 9 Republicans in the Cobb delegation. Both sides released maps of their own, but the state legislature declined to consider the Democrats' maps. Story continues "There was never a consensus among the Cobb delegation on any map," Kirkpatrick said. "The local process works when an agreement can be reached. That is not the case with this map and a vote was never taken by the Cobb delegation." Democrats have expressed outrage that first-term Commissioner Jerica Richardson, a Democrat, would no longer live within the boundaries of District 2 if the proposed map takes effect next year. Republicans, in turn, have said Richardson made herself vulnerable when she recently moved within her own district to a home near its border with Commissioner JoAnn Birrell's District 3. "She certainly knew that redistricting was about to occur," Kirkpatrick said Thursday. "Incumbent protection is not a priority of redistricting." State Sen. Jen Jordan, D-Sandy Springs, attacked that line of thinking from the Senate floor Thursday. "Y'all, this is a woman of color (who) is the first woman of color to represent this particular district. And she just gets drawn out?" Jordan said. "And we have members of the majority party basically saying, 'Well, you know, she committed political suicide, it's not my fault'?" Jordan said the school board and congressional maps were no better. Republicans, she said, drew Democrat Charisse Davis out of her Cobb school board district and tried to "oust" U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, from Georgia's 6th congressional district. McBath recently decided to run for Georgia's 7th congressional district after determining a Democrat could not win a general election in the redrawn 6th district. Jordan's remark about Davis is inaccurate, Cobb school board member Randy Scamihorn told the MDJ. When in December the Cobb school board recommended the map the Senate has now approved, it drew board member Dr. Jaha Howard into Davis' district. Scamihorn said it only did this because Howard had moved so close to Davis that it was impossible to keep them in separate districts while complying with the standards governing redistricting as spelled out in the U.S. and Georgia constitutions. Additionally, Howard had already announced he was running for state school superintendent. All in all, Jordan called the maps "an effort by the majority party to actually try to take back power after they've lost elections previously. "In terms of reapportionment, this has been ugly," she said. "Why don't y'all just try to win elections, instead of changing the lines and changing the rules." In response, Kirkpatrick said "people make decisions, and I don't think we bend district lines to follow a commissioner and a Realtor around the district. I think what we're supposed to do is draw fair maps. This one's fair and balanced." The map passed 33-18 along party lines, with four Democrats choosing not to vote and one Republican excused. When asked about passage of the bill Thursday, Richardson had no comment but said she would have an update when it is signed by the governor. State Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-west Cobb, said he expects the governor to sign both bills early next week. Tippins presented the school board map Thursday. "This is a fairly drawn map, it's a good map. It tries as much as possible to preserve communities of interest," Tippins said. "There are more concise districts than currently exist, and you'll see there's no wild fingers on these maps." Nobody else spoke in favor of or in opposition to the school map, which was also approved along party lines in a 33-20 vote, with two Democrats choosing not to vote and one Republican excused. A federal grand jury in an East St. Louis courtroom on Wednesday indicted a pair of Florida businessmen in a health insurance scheme that generated more than $190 million in revenue for their company. According to the complaint, which was filed by the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S. Court of the Southern District of Illinois, Simple Health Plans LLC sold policies to more than 400,000 people nationwide, including 1,175 of them in all 38 counties that comprise Southern Illinois. Simple Health Plans also is known as Health Benefits One. The companys former owner, Steven Dorfman, 27, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, former Chief Compliance Officer Candida L. Girouard, 45 of Valrico, Florida, and former Vice President of Sales John A. Sand, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, each face single counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud, and eight counts of wire fraud. The three Florida men are scheduled to appear at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis on March 7 for arraignments. If convicted, they face potential sentencing of up to 30 years on the conspiracy charges and 20 years on each of the mail and wire fraud counts. We credit the Federal Trade Commission for their continued vigilance to protect the community from predatory and unscrupulous businesses operating online, United States Attorney Steven Weinhoeft said in a statement Thursday. Crimes like those alleged in the indictment rob people of their hard-earned money, but worse, they have catastrophic consequences when expected insurance benefits arent there in a time of need. These offenses ruin lives and must be dealt with harshly. According to federal court documents, Simple Health Plans sold health insurance policies over the phone, most of which were indemnity plans with a low cap on the amount of medical expenses they cover. After the caps are reached, patients are responsible for 100% of the balance out of pocket. The indictment alleges that the companys sales agents were scripted with a deceptive sales pitch. Story continues The whole idea of this plan is to make your out-of-pocket expenses as low as possible, the script said, according to the court records. When all is said and done, you end up with pennies on the dollar. According to the indictment, it wasnt long after the indemnity plans were purchased that customers called Simple Health to complain: That they had incurred significant medical expense for treatments and services they were led to believe were covered That their doctors and hospitals did not accept the limited indemnity plans That prescription drug costs were not covered, contrary to what the company had told them. The alleged fraud occurred between 2013 and October of 2018, when the FTC filed a complaint with the federal court in southern Florida, which granted a temporary restraining order halting the companys operation and freezing its assets. Earlier this month, the court certified a nationwide class-action lawsuit it anticipates could sign on as many as 200,000 former customers as plaintiffs. In the meantime, federal courts are prosecuting the companys officers criminally in their local districts. The St. Louis Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Verseman and Peter Reed are prosecuting the case. The University of Houston has been sued on behalf of three students claiming they feel constrained in what they can say there. A non-profit group has sued the University of Houston on behalf of three self-described conservative students who say they feel constrained in what they can say on campus. The group, Speech First, said in a press release on its website that the universitys anti-discrimination policy stifles free speech. The University of Houston has been sued on behalf of three reportedly conservative students who claim they feel constrained in what they can say there. (Photo: Screenshot/uh.com) Universities should not be ideological instruments for propagating expression carefully curated to match whatever ideas and beliefs happen to be popular at the moment, said Cherise Trump, the executive director of Speech First. The universitys policy, posted on its website, says, in part: Examples that could satisfy this legal standard include, but are not limited to: epithets or slurs, negative stereotyping, threatening, intimidating or hostile acts, denigrating jokes and display or circulation (including through e-mail) of written or graphic material in the learning, living, or working environment. The lawsuit lists the unnamed students as Students A, B and C, and notes beliefs they say theyre afraid to discuss, given the universitys policy. Student A, for example, believes affirmative action is racist and marriage can only be between a man and a woman. Student B doesnt want to use pronouns and play along with the fiction that people can decide whether they are a male, a female, or neither, according to the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas. Student C believes Black Lives Matter is an activist group that harms race relations. We look forward to fighting to protect student speech at the University of Houston pic.twitter.com/dYly700GGm Speech First (@Speech_First) February 23, 2022 The university released a statement to The Houston Chronicle that stood behind its policy. Story continues This lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the University of Houston Systems Anti-Discrimination policy based on the First Amendment, it read. We believe Speech First has misconstrued or misread this policy as our policy clearly indicates that actionable harassment must be unlawfully severe, pervasive, or persistent treatment, the standard cited by Plaintiffs and adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Speech First lawsuit is just the latest in an onslaught of actions by conservative groups challenging everything from campus speech to admissions policies. The Pacific Legal Foundation has filed lawsuits challenging high school admissions policies meant to diversify student populations. The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to issue a ruling that could scrap affirmative action on college campuses. And earlier this month, an affluent public school had to back off initiating its diversity, equity and inclusion plan when it was challenged by a conservative group, Parents Defending Education. The Wellesley (Massachusetts) School District wanted to create affinity groups for Black and other students of color so they could openly share their experiences without risk of feeling like they will offend someone from another group, and without another groups voices. WBUR reported. But the parents collective objected, claiming the groups foster racial division and do more harm than good. The school district settled the suit, and now the groups are open to anyone. TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today! The post Conservative students file lawsuit to end policy banning slurs, disparaging jokes appeared first on TheGrio. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) After giving birth, most new moms can't wait to see their child. For Macenzee Keller, it would take more than two months, as she fought for her life against COVID-19 while under sedation and breathing with the help of machines. Mother and child were reunited on Feb. 3 when Keller's mom brought the healthy, 11-pound, 13-ounce baby boy named Zachery to her hospital bedside. It was very emotional because I was like, Oh, I got to finally see my baby that I was waiting for so long to see, said Keller, who has since returned home to Manchester, New Hampshire. Two weeks before her Dec. 7 due date, Keller was diagnosed with COVID-19. She remembers leaving her apartment for the hospital on Nov. 27, suffering from shortness of breath and that's it. Her son, Zachery, was born the next day via emergency cesarean section at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester. She was sedated and intubated at the time. She was later transferred to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in the city of Lebanon. Keller still sedated, still very sick was put on a specialized blood oxygenation treatment. Blood was pumped out of her body into an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, ECMO for short, which removes carbon dioxide, then pumps the blood back into the body. People like Macenzee who are younger and have a really good chance of getting better she's kind of the perfect candidate for us to offer it, said Ciaran Moloney, a nurse who was part of her care team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. There have been other cases of expectant mothers who were so sick with COVID-19 that they had to deliver quickly. In Wisconsin, a mother was in a medically-induced coma with the virus when she gave birth to her daughter via cesarean section in November 2020. She ended up spending 75 days on life and lung support. She met her daughter over two months later, when she was discharged from the hospital. Keller was on the ECMO circuit for 47 days. Patients usually get the treatment for closer to a month or less, Moloney said. One of the physicians handling her treatment had read research saying recent post-partum patients benefit from extended time on ECMO, he said. Story continues It was touch and go at times. Keller was still hooked up to a ventilator. I would come in some days and she would be taking larger breaths, and then she would have setbacks, Moloney said. She had a number of setbacks while she was on the ECMO circuit. ... There were times where we were very scared of how she was doing. Kellers mother, Brandi Milliner, got phone updates from Moloney. She and family members participated in Zoom calls with her daughter during the holidays just so she could hopefully still hear us and know that she was loved, and we were still there. She finally got to visit Keller on Jan. 7. They were starting to wean off some of the sedation. So I could go in and I could say her name and shed open her eyes a little bit, small commands that she was following, Milliner said. By the end of my visit, she had actually kind of squeezed my hand a couple of times. So that was an amazing feeling. Keller continued to improve over the next few weeks, eventually being taken off of the equipment. It took her a little while to realize where she was when she came to. Do you know like when you fall asleep somewhere and then you wake up somewhere new? And youre like, Whoa! Thats kind of what I felt, Keller said. It wasnt too long after that she was able to move around with a walker, continuing to improve. Keller was not vaccinated against COVID-19, and says she planned to wait until after she delivered to get the shot. She'd heard that some people feel sick for a day after getting the vaccine, and I was just nervous that if I did get it, it would cause complications to Zachery. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are pregnant, and that the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy. Doctors told Keller she has to wait a couple more weeks before she can be vaccinated now. In hindsight, when asked if she would have made the same choice, she said, I don't know. Part of me says I would have got the vaccine, but then another part of me still says that I didn't want to risk anything. Keller, who is engaged to be married, still uses a pulse oximeter to measure her blood oxygen levels and has additional therapy appointments to help with her walking. But her recovery is considered amazing, Moloney said. She went from being completely reliant on the ECMO pump to being fully interactive within just a span of a couple of weeks, he said. He added, My wife, we found out she was pregnant roughly around the same time, and that just made it very emotional for me to see everything that Macenzee was going through. High-profile Republicans are converging in Orlando, Florida for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference this week, with former President Donald Trump headlining the event. The conservative confab attracts a whos who of GOP luminaries. Typically held just outside of Washington DC, this years conference is being held in Orlando, Florida, likely due to its proximity to the former presidents Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach in the free state. High-profile speakers this year include Donald Trump Jr, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen Ted Cruz, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, Nigel Farage, and Rep Jim Jordan. During his remarks on Thursday evening, Mr Cruz railed against Big Tech and praised crypto. Big is bad, the Texas senator told the crowd. Across the board. Big government sucks. Big business sucks. Big tech, big Hollywood, big university. Any accumulation of power that is centralised is fundamentally dangerous for individual liberty. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, gave a barnstorming speech to a standing ovation in a clear pitch to be the GOP candidate in 2024 to take on the Brandon administration, citing his record with Covid-19 preventing his state becoming a Faucian dystopia. Missouris GOP Senator Josh Hawley also slammed the Biden administration, claiming it emboldened Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine by holding off on sanctioning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline until this week. Mike Pompeo spoke in the style of a stump speech giving a preview of his own likely 2024 campaign, warning of the enemy within as well as China. Key Points Ted Cruz calls for Americans to be unruly and uncontrollable in meandering CPAC rant CPAC vice chair slams Cheney and Kinzinger Speaker list includes leaders, rising stars and far-right agitators Ron DeSantis just turned into Trumps worst nightmare Republicans at CPAC cast blame for Russias Ukraine invasion but not on Vladimir Putin Biden responds to erratic Trump statements praising Putin Story continues 14:56 , John Bowden Joe Biden finally responded in an interview on Saturday after his predecessor made a handful of remarks praising Russias Vladimir Putin for his strategy regarding the invasion of Ukraine. In the interview, which looked to have been recorded some time during the week following Russias invasion late Wednesday night, the US president was asked to respond to Donald Trumps statement referring to Mr Putins plan to send so-called peacekeeping forces into the Donbas a genius move. The troop deployment immediately preceded the full-scale invasion of the rest of Ukraines territory. Biden laughs off Trump praise of Putin and mocks his own stable genius claims What time is Donald Trumps CPAC speech today? 14:36 , Bevan Hurley Donald Trump is due to deliver the keynote speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at 7pm EST on Saturday. The former president is seeking to re-establish his grasp over the Republican Party ahead of a long-rumoured presidential run in 2024. His audience can expect plenty of plugs for the former presidents new Truth Social app, gripes about his ongoing legal troubles and more conspiracy theorising about his defeat at the ballot box in 2020 and he may even hug the flag again. The Independents Joe Sommerlad has more details. When is Trump speaking at CPAC today? Full 2022 schedule Why Republicans and Trump suddenly have an unexpected Putin problem 13:41 , Bevan Hurley In the five years since Vladimir Putin ordered Russian hackers to break into Democratic National Committee email systems and conduct a widespread social media campaign to boost Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign, the idea that the Russian dictator was an ally of the Republican Party gained widespread traction among Democrats. It was that partisan sentiment and Mr Trumps recent decision to call Vladimir Putin a genius recognising two break-away regions of eastern Ukraine ahead of his all-out assault that led a Democratic political action committee to hire an airplane to tow a banner reading Putin Welcomes CPAC to Orlando above the Florida site of this years Conservative Political Action Conference, where Mr Trump is set to speak on Saturday. But Mr Putins order to invade Ukraine and shatter the peace Europe has enjoyed since 1945 may have cost him what little support he has had among the Republican grassroots. The Independents Richard Hall and Andrew Feinberg report. Rank-and-file Republicans at CPAC are turning on Vladimir Putin Voices: Nigel Farage made the most awkward speech of his career 07:01 , Oliver O'Connell As Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Nigel Farage made the most awkward speech of his career, writes Holly Baxter. Farage made his most awkward speech ever as tanks rolled into Ukraine Why wait until Saturday to talk election fraud when Josh Mandell is on hand 06:01 , Oliver O'Connell Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel was on the case with election fraud, so we dont have to wait for Donald Trumps speech on Saturday. He is big on the Big Lie. One of the problems we have in America is that we have democrats and leftists who think its ok to cheat in elections. The loudest applause of the day came when he said: I believe this election was stolen from Donald J Trump! We should abolish the January 6 commission, and replace it with the November 3 commission. OH Senate candidate Josh Mandel saying his go-to line on the CPAC main stage: "I believe the election was stolen from Donald J. Trump...we should abolish the Jan. 6 commission and replace it with a Nov. 3rd commission." pic.twitter.com/aTGbcCVSvb The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) February 25, 2022 Mr Mandel also calls Reps Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger traitors. He wants photo ID for voting, the elimination of all electronic voting machines and of mail-in voting, and for voting to be restricted to just one day. Mr Mandel declares he is Pro-God, Pro-Gun, Pro-Trump, and will make decisions with the Bible in one hand and the Constitution in the other. Presumably with either Siri or a stenographer nearby to take notes or write legislation. Kristi Noem hits out at Biden, reiterates call to resign 05:01 , Oliver O'Connell Governor Kristi Noem opens with a joke about temperatures in her home state of South Dakota being as low as Joe Bidens approval ratings. She pivots to Ukraine: Our hearts and our prayers are with the people of Ukraine... The hell of war has come to their country... The last 48 hours have shown us what happens when America projects weakness. That is exactly what President Biden has done. Like many speakers before her, she says that elections have consequences and if President Biden cannot act toughly on Ukraine by leading Nato to cut Russia off financially and replace Europes Russian energy supply. If Joe Biden cant or wont do these things, he should resign, she says, echoing tweets from yesterday. Kristi Noem at CPAC 2022 (REUTERS) Governor Noem says that if you think cancel culture is bad now, wait until they force financial institutions to freeze your accounts because of something you said she goes on to say its already happening now, not in China, but in Canada. Justin Trudeau gets a big boo from the audience. Moving on to the pandemic, she brags about South Dakotas lack of Covid-19 policies: We never issued mask mandates... We never stopped anyone going to church and we kept kids in the classroom. Ms Noem rails against experts saying that conservatives know that everyone can contribute. Experts are often the last group who should be put in charge, she says. The left lives on lies, says the governor. Its part of their power to frighten people into falling into line. Candace Owens leads mama bear panel 04:00 , Oliver O'Connell Candace Owens is currently hosting a panel encouraging more mothers to act like mama bears to defend their young from predators such as school boards. It began with a long story about bears and infanticide. Ms Owens says that schools are violating children with masks, vaccines, and Critical Race Theory. (REUTERS) When did we agree to allow the government to co-parent with us? she asks, before blaming the perceived problem on radical feminism from the 1970s. She wonders why police arent involved when schools teach children about issues such as sex and gender. One panelist is pushing for a rating system for books to save children from radical librarians. State Department left speechless over Trump and Pompeo praise of Putin 03:00 , Oliver O'Connell State Department spokesman Ned Price was left speechless by Donald Trump and Mike Pompeos praise of genius Vladimir Putin. Asked for his reaction to the accolades for Mr Putins cleverness, strength and smartness, Mr Price said he had no response. In fact, I have no words, Mr Price said. State Department has no words in reaction to Trumps praise of Putin Pompeo: No threat greater to US than that which emanates inside our republic' 02:00 , Oliver O'Connell Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes to the stage and immediately joke about his impressive weight loss. He says he misses being in office and wishes he was still at the helm instead of the Biden administration. I miss every single minute of it. I wish we were back there leading America. Immediately touching on CPACs talking points, he mentions masks, trans athletes, Russia, civil disorder, the border, and the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2022 (AFP via Getty Images) Responding to Bidens rhetorical question: What are Republicans for?, Mr Pompeo starts by saying the list begins with getting Democrats out of office in every branch of government. Of his time in office, he says: We were disrupters. We were prepared to break glass when the way the establishment did it made no sense. On foreign policy America demands good leadership and the world is depending upon it. He adds: We put America first and we told people around the world: you cannot tread on us. In a portion focussed on China, he says: I could see that the greatest threat from abroad was the Chinese Communist Party, and talks about closing the Chinese consulate in Houston to the dismay of the State Department. After saying that conservatives must protect the countrys Judeo-Christian footing he moves onto schools, anti-CRT, and anti-wokeness, saying: There is no threat greater to the United States than that which emanates inside our republic. If we dont teach them [children] that we are not a racist nation, then surely the bad guys will tell them theyre right about America in decline. Concluding his remarks, he says: Lets be in the fight. Lets never give an inch... This is the greatest nation in civilisation. Cawthorn: What I want in a president is for the rest of world to be terrified of him' 01:15 , Oliver O'Connell Rep Madison Cawthorn attacked Mark Elias and lawfare for a coordinated effort to knock him off the ballot in the coming election. He framed it as a spiritual battle and asked the crowd to pray for the judges involved, the lawyers involved in the lawsuit trying to disqualify him as a candidate for supporting the January 6 insurrection. If the effort succeeds, he says, they will come for anyone who questioned 2020. Mr Cawthorn was joined on stage by former Governor Scott Walker who is now running the Young America Foundation. The pair were asked about Ukraine. Mr Walker said: Woke weakness leads to what were seeing... this president seems to be more like Neville Chamberlain than Jimmy Carter. To which Rep Cawthorn added that he wanted the American people to love the president, but: What I want in a president is for the rest of the world to be terrified of them. He then added: This president has been corrupted by the radicals across this country, by Putin, by Xi Jinping. Its unclear what he meant by that. Rep Jim Banks says historic moment for America to lead but Biden is no leader 00:45 , Oliver O'Connell Indiana congressman Jim Banks in conversation with Mercedes Chlapp says he wont stop apologising for objecting to what he calls an unconstitutional election and calls President Joe Biden the worst president weve ever had. Using a familiar Trump line, he also blames Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the January 6 security lapse and praises hero Ohio congressman Jim Jordan. On Ukraine, Mr Banks says Vladimir Putin seized upon President Bidens handling of Afghanistan to attack. He knew he could get away with it because he had Joe Biden figured out when he came into office. Asked what his message to US troops stationed in Poland is, he replies: This is a historic moment for America to lead. And right now we have a while we have a president a commander in chief who is not a leader. Marco Rubio commends inspiring Ukrainian people 00:15 , Oliver O'Connell Senator Marco Rubio took a moment in his speech to praise the people of Ukraine. No matter where you stand on the Ukraine-Russia situation, the one thing I think everyone can agree on is that the people of Ukraine are inspiring to the world. You have 70 year-old men, elderly women taking up arms. I dont know if you heard the audio of those 13 defenders of Snake Island. It reminds us how precious freedom and liberty is, how quickly it can be lost. The second thing is that the reason weve had freedom and liberty is that people at one point were willing to do that for our country here. If you havent heard the audio from Snake Island you can find it here. Marco Rubio - CPAC 2022 Rubio invokes Ukraine invasion to warn of what he says is a threat to freedom in America from cancel culture. Says Ukraine shows how easily freedom can be lost. pic.twitter.com/RBGGa1zG8e Zac Anderson (@zacjanderson) February 25, 2022 This probably didnt come across on the live stream... 00:00 , Oliver O'Connell Marco Rubios CPAC attendance is yikes. pic.twitter.com/0Ob4B45yVB Retire Rubio (@RetireMarco) February 25, 2022 The Lincoln Project video wins unexpected praise Friday 25 February 2022 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell In case you missed the first day of CPAC, anti-Trump Republican group The Lincoln Project has put together a compilation video of Thursdays action. And surprisingly, Ted Cruz found it funny. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, he tweeted. This is pretty damn funny! Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. This is pretty damn funny! https://t.co/ZjaRHNw2nW Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 25, 2022 Farage calls on US to strengthen Nato to counter dangerous Putin Friday 25 February 2022 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell Nigel Farage has called on the US to strengthen Nato in order to stop Vladimir Putin following his invasion of Ukraine. The GB News presenter, known in the US primarily for his role in Britains exit from the European Union and his friendship with Donald Trump, told a crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference that US commitment to the military alliance was vital to stop Russia from threatening other countries. Richard Hall reports from Orlando. Nigel Farage calls on US to strengthen Nato to send a message to dangerous Putin Widespread condemnation of Russia at CPAC Friday 25 February 2022 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell But the finger of blame is being pointed at Joe Biden. At CPAC, GOP casts blame for Russias Ukraine invasion but not on Putin Voices: Nigel Farage made the most awkward speech of his career Friday 25 February 2022 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell As Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Nigel Farage made the most awkward speech of his career, writes Holly Baxter. Farage made his most awkward speech ever as tanks rolled into Ukraine CPAC has its own AOC dress cutout Friday 25 February 2022 22:40 , Oliver O'Connell CPAC has its own AOC Met Gala dress as a cutout, and with a slight edit... January 6 Committee meeting with Kimberly Guilfoyle Friday 25 February 2022 22:20 , Oliver O'Connell Fresh from an exuberant appearance at CPAC 2022, Kimberly Guilfoyle today met with the House Committee investigating the events of the Capitol riot. Ms Guilfoyle is currently engaged to former president Donald Trumps son Donald Trump Jr and was involved in raising money for the Stop the Steal rally on 6 January 2021. While the committee had subpoenaed and obtained Ms Guilfoyles phone records, it had not subpoenaed her. January 6 Committee meeting with Kimberly Guilfoyle Mike Pompeo dodges questions on his praise for Putin as talented and savvy Friday 25 February 2022 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday exhibited no desire to revisit the glowing opinion of Russian president Vladimir Putin hed shared across multiple news appearances this year after Mr Putin ordered an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday. Mr Pompeo scooted away on an orthopedic scooter rather than answer questions from The Independents Andrew Feinberg. Mike Pompeo dodges questions on his praise for Putin as talented and savvy Friday 25 February 2022 21:44 , Oliver O'Connell After labelling universities as madrasas of Marxism and getting a boo from the crowd for a mention of Black Lives Matter, Mr Farage said that to save western civilization, America must first be saved Because if America falls, the free world falls. He lectures the crowd on referencing the 2020 election being stolen as the general public has got on with their lives and it comes across poorly. This message of a stolen election is actually a negative, backward-looking message. There is a more positive message the Republican party needs to embrace. Mr Brexit takes the stage Friday 25 February 2022 21:32 , Oliver O'Connell Nigel Farage, introduced as Mr Brexit is the final speaker of the day. After some compliments to Florida, he begins with a focus on Russia. Vladimir Putin is a nationalist Russian... Id always thought we were dealing with somebody who was actually very logical. But I now begin to wonder whether he is. He calls Joe Biden: the worst American president in the history of this nation. Mr Farage then slipped in a Lets go Brandon! This is where we are folks pic.twitter.com/yNFA5gOVId steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) February 25, 2022 If Donald Trump had still been the president, that invasion of Ukraine would not have happened, Mr Farage says. I have no doubt. Do Americans still want to be leaders of the western world? asks Mr Farage. Because if theyre not, we have a problem... Without America, Putin can do what he wants. He continues: What Putin has done is truly dreadful. It is dangerous, it is frightening... America, and Britain by your side, have to send that message: no further can you go. Ric Grenell: Biden 'radiated provocative weakness Friday 25 February 2022 21:26 , Oliver O'Connell Former Trump ambassador to Germany and briefly acting director of national intelligence Ric Grenell says Joe Biden radiated provocative weakness. He echoes other speakers by suggesting the solution to the Ukraine crisis is all down to energy policy. Mr Grenell calls for a weaponising of US energy policy. Why wait until tomorrow to talk election fraud when Josh Mandell is on hand Friday 25 February 2022 21:10 , Oliver O'Connell Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel was on the case with election fraud, so we dont have to wait for Donald Trumps speech tomorrow. He is big on the Big Lie. One of the problems we have in America is that we have democrats and leftists who think its ok to cheat in elections. The loudest applause of the day came when he said: I believe this election was stolen from Donald J Trump! OH Senate candidate Josh Mandel saying his go-to line on the CPAC main stage: "I believe the election was stolen from Donald J. Trump...we should abolish the Jan. 6 commission and replace it with a Nov. 3rd commission." pic.twitter.com/aTGbcCVSvb The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) February 25, 2022 We should abolish the January 6 commission, and replace it with the November 3 commission. Mr Mandel also calls Reps Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger traitors. He wants photo ID for voting, the elimination of all electronic voting machines and of mail-in voting, and for voting to be restricted to just one day. Mr Mandel declares he is Pro-God, Pro-Gun, Pro-Trump, and will make decisions with the Bible in one hand and the Constitution in the other. Presumably with either Siri or a stenographer nearby to take notes or write legislation. CPAC trolled with billboards by anti-Trump Republican group Friday 25 February 2022 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell As the Republican Party and right-wing figures gather for this years CPAC conference in Orlando, Florida, a campaign group of anti-Trump Republicans has mounted a billboard campaign around the city calling attention to the state of the party. The Republican Accountability Project, which was started during the Trump presidency and ran pro-Biden ads during the 2020 election, has erected ads featuring everyday former Republicans expressing their displeasure with the former president and the party he still all but dominates. Andrew Naughtie reports. Im disgusted: CPAC trolled with billboards by anti-Trump Republican group Noem: The last 48 hours has shown us what happens when America projects weakness Friday 25 February 2022 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell .@KristiNoem at #CPAC2022: "Our hearts and our prayers are with the people of Ukraine...the hell of war has come to their country. If we ever needed a reminder that leadership has consequences...the last 48 hours has shown us what happens when America projects weakness." pic.twitter.com/UpZVETTL1n CSPAN (@cspan) February 25, 2022 Ben Carson claims country has lost confidence in medical establishment Friday 25 February 2022 20:32 , Oliver O'Connell There was a wide ranging discussion of health issues in A Conversation with Dr Ben Carson and Ben Ferguson. Mr Ferguson says he wishes Dr Carson had Dr Faucis job and says doctors careers are being ruined for not going along with the nations leading expert on infectious disease. Dr Carson then claims: Even though they dont want to let it go, Covid is going away. Ben Carson on covid: "Even though they dont want it to go, it is going away. The good Lord has a way of taking care of things." David Weigel (@daveweigel) February 25, 2022 He then implies it will be gone by November before the mid-term elections. Both Bens agree that Dr Fauci, the CDC and the National Institutes of Health have lost the confidence of the country with Mr Ferguson worrying that no one will listen next time. Ben Carson, at #CPAC2022, endorsing hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, apparently seeking to foster a worm-free far right. Also opposing masks, and praising parents keeping kids from getting vaccinated. Ugh. pic.twitter.com/sABzbFQwMq IREHR (@IREHR) February 25, 2022 Dr Carson goes on to promote the study of hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives would have been saved. He also voices his opposition to masks, mandates, and praises parents who dont vaccinate their children. Ben Carson once ran for president. GOP/MAGA luminaries make the rounds at CPAC Friday 25 February 2022 20:25 , Oliver O'Connell Matt Gaetz is here, hanging out with some youth pic.twitter.com/oEsa3uv6CX steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) February 25, 2022 Lawmakers are making the rounds on the #CPAC floor. A crowd has huddled around Rep. @CawthornforNC. pic.twitter.com/xmR9sW7gi9 Corbin Bolies (@CorbinBolies) February 25, 2022 Surprisingly little mention of election fraud Friday 25 February 2022 20:08 , Oliver O'Connell While the 2020 election has come up in speeches with reference to elections having consequences and the state now of whatever subject matter the speaker is focussing on (mostly American weakness and China/Russia by my count), there has been little to no mention of election fraud or the election being stolen. If there has been it has been fairly oblique. However, as the BBCs Anthony Zurcher notes, that will probably change tomorrow evening when Donald Trump makes his much anticipated appearance. Conservatives are moving on from 2020. Of course, that will likely change when Trump himself speaks here tomorrow. Anthony Zurcher (@awzurcher) February 25, 2022 Friday 25 February 2022 19:42 , Oliver O'Connell You could read this quote as: Yes, Trumps great, but there are other people who could be president like me! We have inherited the greatest legacy of freedom in human history and we have to fight to hold on to it. We have some fantastic fighters like President Donald Trump. But hes not alone. The American people are on our side. We will win if we remember what we are conserving. Governor Kristi Noem Also worth noting that in various straw polls at CPAC, Ms Noem is reportedly doing well in the potential Veepstakes for a second Trump term. As are Tim Scott and Candace Owens. Friday 25 February 2022 19:35 , Oliver O'Connell Governor Noem says that if you think cancel culture is bad now, wait until they force financial institutions to freeze your accounts because of something you said she goes on to say its already happening now, not in China, but in Canada. Justin Trudeau gets a big boo from the audience. Kristi Noem at CPAC 2022 (REUTERS) Moving on to the pandemic, she brags about South Dakotas lack of Covid-19 policies: We never issued mask mandates... We never stopped anyone going to church and we kept kids in the classroom. Ms Noem rails against experts saying that conservatives know that everyone can contribute. Experts are often the last group who should be put in charge, she says. The left lives on lies, says the governor. Its part of their power to frighten people into falling into line. Kristi Noem hits out at Biden, reiterates call to resign Friday 25 February 2022 19:26 , Oliver O'Connell Governor Kristi Noem opens with a joke about temperatures in her home state of South Dakota being as low as Joe Bidens approval ratings. She pivots to Ukraine: Our hearts and our prayers are with the people of Ukraine... The hell of war has come to their country... The last 48 hours have shown us what happens when America projects weakness. That is exactly what President Biden has done. Like many speakers before her, she says that elections have consequences and if President Biden cannot act toughly on Ukraine by leading Nato to cut Russia off financially and replace Europes Russian energy supply. If Joe Biden cant or wont do these things, he should resign, she says, echoing tweets from yesterday. If Joe Biden cant or wont do all of those things, he should resign immediately before his weak leadership and poor decision-making drag America into another needless war. Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) February 24, 2022 Mike Flynn has arrived at CPAC Friday 25 February 2022 19:12 , Oliver O'Connell Michael Flynn in attendance at CPAC pic.twitter.com/G63BAcME9Q Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) February 25, 2022 Owens call for abolition of Department of Education Friday 25 February 2022 19:07 , Oliver O'Connell Owens calls for the Department of Education to be abolished. Gets a huge applause. Budd says, "It's about the 10th Amendment...This starts at the kitchen table." IREHR (@IREHR) February 25, 2022 Candace Owens leads mama bear panel Friday 25 February 2022 19:05 , Oliver O'Connell Candace Owens is currently hosting a panel encouraging more mothers to act like mama bears to defend their young from predators such as school boards. It began with a long story about bears and infanticide. Ms Owens says that schools are violating children with masks, vaccines, and Critical Race Theory. (REUTERS) When did we agree to allow the government to co-parent with us? she asks, before blaming the perceived problem on radical feminism from the 1970s. She wonders why police arent involved when schools teach children about issues such as sex and gender. One panelist is pushing for a rating system for books to save children from radical librarians. Merch time! Whats on offer at the various stalls at CPAC Friday 25 February 2022 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell Conference attendees shop for merchandise at a trade show at the Conservative Political Action Conference (AP) President Bone Spurs' looking jacked (AP) I hope you like red... (AP) ...or gold. (AP) Jan 6 conspiracy theorist compares Biden and Putin Friday 25 February 2022 18:14 , Oliver O'Connell This was something... Julie Kelly is making a long winded comparison between Putin and Biden, regarding the post Jan 6 investigation. Despicable. pic.twitter.com/eW0i5ZWbON steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) February 25, 2022 State Department left speechless over Trump and Pompeo praise of Putin Friday 25 February 2022 17:39 , Oliver O'Connell State Department spokesman Ned Price was left speechless by Donald Trump and Mike Pompeos praise of genius Vladimir Putin. Asked for his reaction to the accolades for Mr Putins cleverness, strength and smartness, Mr Price said he had no response. In fact, I have no words, Mr Price said. State Department has no words in reaction to Trumps praise of Putin Drill Dummy Drill? Friday 25 February 2022 16:57 , Oliver O'Connell How else to follow Mike Pompeo than with an energy panel hosted by Sean Spicer and featuring Alaska governor Mike Dunleavy and Harriet Hageman who is running against Liz Cheney in Wyoming. Mr Dunleavy calls for more energy exploration by pointing out that Russia drills in the Arctic: They dont have the environmental regulations that the United States does. They dont have the environmental regulations that Alaska has. Theyre unencumbered. Ms Hageman agrees saying other countries are not willing to harm their countries and their economies to pursue this radical green agenda. The governor adds that he wants an energy emergency declared to do away with regulation and get drilling right now. Pompeo asked about previous Putin comments Friday 25 February 2022 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell NBCs Vaughn Hillyard managed to ask Mike Pompeo about his previous comments regarding Putin when he called the Russian leader shrewd and capable and said he had enormous respect for him. Pompeo: Ive been fighting communism since I was a teenager. Im going to keep fighting communism. From CPAC> NBC: Russian state media has played your own words[calling] Putin shrewd, capable & you said you have enormous respect. Do you regret your words? Pompeo: Ive been fighting communism since I was a teenager. Im going to keep fighting communism. pic.twitter.com/sPJGoKCd72 Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) February 25, 2022 Pompeo: No threat greater to US than that which emanates inside our republic' Friday 25 February 2022 16:20 , Oliver O'Connell Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes to the stage and immediately joke about his impressive weight loss. He says he misses being in office and wishes he was still at the helm instead of the Biden administration. I miss every single minute of it. I wish we were back there leading America. Immediately touching on CPACs talking points, he mentions masks, trans athletes, Russia, civil disorder, the border, and the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2022 (AFP via Getty Images) Responding to Bidens rhetorical question: What are Republicans for?, Mr Pompeo starts by saying the list begins with getting Democrats out of office in every branch of government. Of his time in office, he says: We were disrupters. We were prepared to break glass when the way the establishment did it made no sense. On foreign policy America demands good leadership and the world is depending upon it. He adds: We put America first and we told people around the world: you cannot tread on us. In a portion focussed on China, he says: I could see that the greatest threat from abroad was the Chinese Communist Party, and talks about closing the Chinese consulate in Houston to the dismay of the State Department. After saying that conservatives must protect the countrys Judeo-Christian footing he moves onto schools, anti-CRT, and anti-wokeness, saying: There is no threat greater to the United States than that which emanates inside our republic. If we dont teach them [children] that we are not a racist nation, then surely the bad guys will tell them theyre right about America in decline. Concluding his remarks, he says: Lets be in the fight. Lets never give an inch... This is the greatest nation in civilisation. Cheering and booing Democrats Friday 25 February 2022 15:53 , Oliver O'Connell Florida Rep Byron Donalds is speaking now and got a big cheer from the crowd when he mentioned obstructionist Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. This was paired with a loud boo from the audience when he mentioned Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Oh, so youre heard of her? Cawthorn: What I want in a president is for the rest of world to be terrified of him' Friday 25 February 2022 15:33 , Oliver O'Connell Rep Madison Cawthorn attacked Mark Elias and lawfare for a coordinated effort to knock him off the ballot in the coming election. He framed it as a spiritual battle and asked the crowd to pray for the judges involved, the lawyers involved in the lawsuit trying to disqualify him as a candidate for supporting the January 6 insurrection. If the effort succeeds, he says, they will come for anyone who questioned 2020. Mr Cawthorn was joined on stage by former Governor Scott Walker who is now running the Young America Foundation. The pair were asked about Ukraine. Mr Walker said: Woke weakness leads to what were seeing... this president seems to be more like Neville Chamberlain than Jimmy Carter. To which Rep Cawthorn added that he wanted the American people to love the president, but: What I want in a president is for the rest of the world to be terrified of them. He then added: This president has been corrupted by the radicals across this country, by Putin, by Xi Jinping. Its unclear what he meant by that. Rep Jim Banks says historic moment for America to lead but Biden is no leader Friday 25 February 2022 15:05 , Oliver O'Connell Indiana congressman Jim Banks in conversation with Mercedes Chlapp says he wont stop apologising for objecting to what he calls an unconstitutional election and calls President Joe Biden the worst president weve ever had. Using a familiar Trump line, he also blames Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the January 6 security lapse and praises hero Ohio congressman Jim Jordan. On Ukraine, Mr Banks says Vladimir Putin seized upon President Bidens handling of Afghanistan to attack. He knew he could get away with it because he had Joe Biden figured out when he came into office. Asked what his message to US troops stationed in Poland is, he replies: This is a historic moment for America to lead. And right now we have a while we have a president a commander in chief who is not a leader. Marco Rubio commends inspiring Ukrainian people Friday 25 February 2022 15:00 , Oliver O'Connell Senator Marco Rubio took a moment in his speech to praise the people of Ukraine. No matter where you stand on the Ukraine-Russia situation, the one thing I think everyone can agree on is that the people of Ukraine are inspiring to the world. You have 70 year-old men, elderly women taking up arms. I dont know if you heard the audio of those 13 defenders of Snake Island. It reminds us how precious freedom and liberty is, how quickly it can be lost. The second thing is that the reason weve had freedom and liberty is that people at one point were willing to do that for our country here. Marco Rubio - CPAC 2022 If you havent heard the audio from Snake Island you can find it here. Rubio invokes Ukraine invasion to warn of what he says is a threat to freedom in America from cancel culture. Says Ukraine shows how easily freedom can be lost. pic.twitter.com/RBGGa1zG8e Zac Anderson (@zacjanderson) February 25, 2022 Speaking today: Kristi Noem Friday 25 February 2022 14:34 , Andrew Naughtie Taking the stage at 14:10 ET is South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, one of various state leaders working hard to raise her profile ahead of the 2024 election. Ms Noems broadly anti-restrictions approach to the Covid-19 pandemic is a highly politically polarizing matter, but has shored up her among some conservatives. She has lately pushed hard on conservative red-meat issues like abortion and in a telltale sign of high ambition, she recently announced she would be publishing a book about herself, a memoir titled Not My First Time At The Rodeo. As a former member of the House Armed Svcs Cmte, I'm very clear on what peace through strength means. Many have said Joe Biden has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy decision in his 50 yrs in DC. Add cancelling Keystone XL and propping up Nord Stream 2 to the list. pic.twitter.com/7nyS1JMkYe Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) February 24, 2022 Speaking today: Marco Rubio Friday 25 February 2022 13:43 , Andrew Naughtie Day two of CPAC sees a particularly intriguing moment: the appearance of Marco Rubio, a Florida Senator and Russia hawk who has taken quite a different line on the unfolding Ukraine invasion than many in his party. Where others have questioned why the US should care or sought to blame Joe Biden solely for whats happening, Mr Rubio has focused on raising the alarm about the seriousness of Russias attack and the urgency of countering it. How (and whether) he conveys that message from the stage this morning remains to be seen. The courage,strength & determination of the people of #Ukraine is inspiring the world,revealing the moral laziness of many in the West & exposing #Putins sadistic criminality Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 25, 2022 ICYMI: Jen Psaki shrugs off Ted Cruz's insult Friday 25 February 2022 13:00 , Andrew Naughtie White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked at her briefing yesterday for a response to Ted Cruz after he called her Peppermint Patty during his CPAC speech. She was clearly untroubled by the Senators words. Reporter: Ted Cruz called you "peppermint patty" at CPAC and encouraged people to boo you Psaki: Don't tell him I like "peppermint patty" ... I'm a little tougher than that pic.twitter.com/tjTomjVtXd Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 24, 2022 Speaking today: Mike Pompeo Friday 25 February 2022 12:09 , Andrew Naughtie One of todays highest-profile CPAC speakers is Mike Pompeo, Donald Trumps Secretary of State, who has lately taken his former bosss line when it comes to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Last week, as it became increasingly clear that Mr Putin was prepared to make a full-on military assault on his neighbouring country, Mr Pompeo told an interviewer the Russian autocrat was savvy and shrewd. I consider him an elegantly sophisticated counterpart, he said, and one who is not reckless but has always done the math. And we might disagree with his priorities, we may disagree with his math, we certainly disagree that the interests that he seeks are reasonable for his country, in many cases, but we should never underestimate that he is doing this in a way where he is exhibiting his capacity to control. Asked for comment at a press conference, a State Department spokesman said he had no words. State Department has no words in reaction to Trumps praise of Putin Voices: CPAC has already disgraced itself Friday 25 February 2022 11:20 , Andrew Naughtie As he reports from Orlando, The Independents Andrew Feinberg has this piece on how CPAC has gone off the rails this year. ...the complete and continued Trumpification of the GOPs largest grassroots gathering would be an ordinary story on what would be just another day in America. But with Europe and the world facing the specter of war for the first time in generations, the continued focus of one of Americas two major parties on one man and his personal agenda seems particularly absurd. Even for devoted CPAC attendees, the optics of America First might come out looking that much worse for wear. Read the full piece below. CPAC has only just begun and its already disgraced itself | Andrew Feinberg Anti-Trump Republican reflects on CPAC spectacle Friday 25 February 2022 10:29 , Andrew Naughtie Joe Walsh, the onetime Tea Party congressman who turned into a caustic Trump critic, has been tweeting his reaction to the scenes unfolding at CPAC in Orlando... I used to speak at CPAC. Im really glad Im not invited to speak there anymore. https://t.co/YnIMfu4Aip Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) February 24, 2022 Charlie Kirk: Ukraine not worth bothering with because Americans dont know where it is Friday 25 February 2022 09:26 , Andrew Naughtie Charlie Kirk, founder and leader of far-right campaign group Turning Point USA, gave a bizarre speech yesterday where he celebrated Americans who are rising up against authoritarianism at home, called for an extinction level event for the woke left, and complained about the US government worrying about Ukraine when there is an invasion happening at the US-Mexico border. Charlie Kirk says he wants every politician speaking at CPAC to call whats happening on the southern border an invasion instead of being concerned about cities we cant pronounce, places that most Americans cant find on a map in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/bcYpK1hM79 The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) February 24, 2022 Ron DeSantis fuels presidential run speculation after CPAC speech Friday 25 February 2022 07:50 , Maroosha Muzaffar Ron DeSantis has fueled speculation about his presidential run after his speech at CPAC. He said: I can tell you theres one fellow that just hates Florida: his name is Joe Biden. He added: Always trying to take potshots at Florida and he does things like take our medication. He stiffs storm victims of relief just because he doesnt like the governor. He doesnt like Florida. He doesnt like me because we stand up to him. During his speech, he said: They want us to be powerless, they want us to be voiceless, they want us to be second-class citizens. Mr DeSantis is running for reelection as governor of Florida this year. And what are these ideological aims? The woke is the new religion of the left, and this is what they have in mind. Kimberly Guilfoyle lauds her ex-boss at CPAC Friday 25 February 2022 07:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar Kimberly Guilfoyle spoke at CPAC in Orlando and said that what is happening in Ukraine is because of the weakness of the Biden administration. Ms Guilfoyle, who dates Mr Trumps oldest son Don Jr, says [the invasion] would not have happened under Trumps leadership. We are at the risk of losing freedom and respect... and fear that people had from other countries about this country being strong, Ms Guilfoyle said. She added: Forget Miley Cyrus, the real wrecking ball is Joe Biden. Woke leftists are working overtime to strip us of our freedoms... Every major social media platform banned President Trump last year... No one is safe. Ted Cruz at CPAC blames Joe Biden for Russia invasion Friday 25 February 2022 07:15 , Maroosha Muzaffar Republicans at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando made it clear that the Russian president didnt invade any countries while former Donald Trump was in office. Ted Cruz said that Joe Biden immediately projected weakness once he took office and that prompted Mr Putin to pursue ambitions that Mr Trump would have never allowed. He said: Unfortunately, the Biden White House made a political decision to surrender to Russia and to surrender to Putin, the Texas Republican said. Were all podcasters now, apparently Friday 25 February 2022 04:30 , Josh Marcus One of the stranger moments of Thursdays CPAC proceedings was when Ted Cruz spent a notable amount of time talking about his podcast. How he started it a few years ago. How it was once a top show in the podcast rankings. How young people should subscribe to it, and how old people should call those young people and learn how to subscribe as well. Heres a still from Mr Cruzs remarks that captures the very 2022 moment of a major politician acting like a garden variety content creator. Ted Cruz is now begging people to subscribe to his podcast pic.twitter.com/uqKUkCGWYE steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) February 24, 2022 Voices: CPAC has only just begun and its already disgraced itself Friday 25 February 2022 04:00 , Josh Marcus For the second year in a row, the most prominent speaker at the conference isnt a senator, a governor, or even a reality TV star hoping to jump into presidential politics on the Republican ballot line. Instead, the keynote speakers the last to take the stage on Saturday and Sunday are two men with the same name: Donald John Trump. The former president will speak on Saturday to close out the days program, while his son Donald Jr will close out the conference the next day. The man who many consider to be waiting in the wings if Trump doesnt run Florida governor Ron DeSantis has been relegated to a relatively sleepy Thursday afternoon speaking slot. And Trumps former vice president, Mike Pence, is persona non grata after declining to hijack the certification of electoral college votes to install himself and the former president in the White House for a second term.Read more of Andrew Feinbergs column from CPAC. CPAC has only just begun and its already disgraced itself | Andrew Feinberg WATCH: Josh Hawley defends decision to try and halt 2020 election certification Friday 25 February 2022 03:35 , Josh Marcus Two years later, and Josh Hawley says he still doesnt regret his decision to try and halt the certification of the 2020 election results. The Missouri senator told the CPAC crowd on Thursday, I wasnt backing down then, and I havent changed my mind now. Watch an excerpt of the speech below. Hawley opens his CPAC speech by defending his vote to reject the 2020 election results pic.twitter.com/37AnoxbqjW Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 24, 2022 Is Ron DeSantis using CPAC to run for president? Friday 25 February 2022 02:40 , Josh Marcus According to the latest Voices column from Holly Baxter, Florida governor Ron DeSantis used the CPAC stage to make a not-so-subtle pitch for himself as a national conservative leader, maybe even a presidential candidate in 2024. She writes: What DeSantis offers is a more cerebral-sounding Trumpism. Hes energetic but calm onstage, talking about how we reject the biomedical security state rather than ranting on about how UV light can probably cure Covid. He rejected science as much as any other far-right Republican, but he did it by invoking Eisenhowers farewell speech as president and claiming that what Eisenhower was really doing was warning us all about a future scientific elite and health bureaucrats who would take away peoples freedoms with their data and their medicine and their objective numbers. Read more here. Ron DeSantis just turned into Trumps worst nightmare while onstage at CPAC Josh Hawley says he has no plans to run for president in 2024 after CPAC speech Friday 25 February 2022 02:10 , Josh Marcus Despite getting top billing at CPAC, a traditional stepping stone for GOP candidates for the White House, Senator Josh Hawley says he has no presidential plans for 2024. Speaking with NBC News after his CPAC address, Mr Hawley said, There is no potential candidacy. Ive said Im not planning to run for president. Instead, he said he wants to run for Senate again, clearing the field of a potential competitor to Donald Trumps long-rumoured comeback bid for the White House. NBC: If Trump announces a 2024 run, would you take your presidential candidacy off table? @HawleyMO: "There is no potential candidacy. Ive said Im not planning to run for president" NBC: Hoping that he announces? Hawley: "I never give him adviceincluding on this. Full: pic.twitter.com/GzzKQncOmn Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) February 25, 2022 Republicans at CPAC cast blame for Russias Ukraine invasion but not on Vladimir Putin Friday 25 February 2022 01:55 , Josh Marcus Russian president Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine could ignite the bloodiest conflict on European soil since the Second World War ended in 1945. But to hear top Republicans at the American Conservative Unions annual confab tell the story of the last 24 hours, the order to invade was given by the president of the United States. One by one, in remarks from the Conservative Political Action Conference stage and in comments to The Independent, current and former GOP officeholders credited the assault on Ukraine not to Mr Putin who announced the invasion in a televised speech around 6am on Thursday in Moscow but to Mr Biden, despite the American presidents lack of any authority or mechanism to pass orders to Russias armed forces. According to a GOP source who spoke to The Independent on condition of anonymity, model talking points instructing Republican officeholders to blame Mr Biden for the invasion have been distributed though official GOP channels in recent days. The Independents Andrew Feinberg has the scoop. At CPAC, GOP casts blame for Russias Ukraine invasion but not on Putin A very non-CPAC view of Trump: White House spokesperson compares Trump and Putin to pigs Friday 25 February 2022 01:30 , Josh Marcus Donald Trump may still be a superhero for the CPAC crowd, but not so for those in the White House.Deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates called former president Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin nauseating, fearful pigs what America stands for. Mr Bates broadside in a tweet posted on Thursday, came as he shared a HuffPost article that featured quotes from a speech Mr Trump gave on Tuesday night, at Mar-a-Lago praising the Russian leader as pretty smart for taking over a country for $2 worth of sanctions. Hes taking over a country, really a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people, just walking right in, Mr Trump said.Abe Asher has the story for The Independent. White House spokesperson compares Trump and Putin to pigs What are the drinking at CPAC? We The People wine Friday 25 February 2022 01:15 , Josh Marcus We The People, an American brand dedicated to Conservative values, is being served at CPAC. The brand says it stands for exceptionalism, free markets, free people, free speech and limited government. So if you want a cabernet sauvignon that tastes like Milton Friedman, head on over to CPAC. We The People wine is taking over CPAC pic.twitter.com/aYPCZD0xDy Benjamin Goggin (@BenjaminGoggin) February 24, 2022 Ted Cruz calls for Americans to be unruly and uncontrollable in meandering CPAC rant Friday 25 February 2022 00:59 , Josh Marcus US Senator Ted Cruz called for Americans to be unruly and uncontrollable in a speech to conservative activists in Florida. In an address Thursday to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an annual gathering of right-wing activists from across the country, the senator from Texas railed against big tech and big government and, perhaps surprisingly, big business. The Chinese communists and Elizabeth Warren both want to control you. Your assets, your savings, your speech, your life, your children, every decision they want to control, and so we need to break up the means of controlling the citizenry, he said.The Independents Richard Hall was there in Orlando to see it live. Ted Cruz calls for Americans to be unruly and uncontrollable in CPAC rant Naturally, Ted Cruz had people chanting, Lets go Brandon' Friday 25 February 2022 00:35 , Josh Marcus It was only a matter of time before the CPAC crowd started chanting, Lets go, Brandon, a meme-ified Republican chant meant to signify F*** Joe Biden for reasons explained below. During his remarks, Senator Ted Cruz even took the prevalence of the chant as a sign that change is coming.Change is coming. It is powerful, he said. You wanna know how powerful? Find me one person on planet Earth who doesnt know what Lets go, Brandon means.As he left the CPAC stage, the crowd began chanting the slogan. If you are among those people on planet Earth who are not familiar with the snarky slogan, heres more info. Why are MAGA supporters chanting Lets Go Brandon to mock Democrats? ICYMI: No changes to agenda of GOP conference in light of Russia invading Ukraine, chairman says Friday 25 February 2022 00:16 , Josh Marcus American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp has said there will not be any changes to the programme at the groups annual conference as a result of Russias invasion of Ukraine. In an interview just before the start of the ACUs annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, Mr Schlapp told The Independent the conference would go on as planned. He said the programming for the groups yearly confab, which is organised around the theme Awake not Woke, already has a strong foreign policy focus, with a number of very prominent speakers such as former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grinnell, ex-Trump national security adviser Robert OBrien, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and other former Trump administration officials.The Independents Andrew Feinberg had the story. CPAC agenda not changing despite Russia invading Ukraine Meanwhile in MAGAland: Steve Bannon and Erik Prince celebrate Russia for being anti-LGBT Friday 25 February 2022 00:10 , Josh Marcus As many on the American right defend Vladimir Putins actions in Ukraine or seek to blame his invasion on Joe Biden, two figures in the right-wing firmament have celebrated Mr Putins government for its homophobia and transphobia. On his War Room podcast, former Trump aide Steve Bannon hosted private security maven Erik Prince, the Blackwater founder who has previously been accused of dubious contacts with Russian entities including private mercenary firms. The two of them were discussing the Russian governments behaviour when their conversation strayed into the subject of wokeness. Putin aint woke, Mr Bannon declared. Hes anti-woke. The Russian people still know which bathroom to use, Mr Prince said. Mr Bannon riffed on the theme: How many genders are there in Russia? The Independents Andrew Naughtie has more. Steve Bannon and Erik Prince celebrate Russia for being anti-LGBT Were proud of our heritage: Josh Hawley says US isnt racist during CPAC remarks Thursday 24 February 2022 23:51 , Josh Marcus Critical race theory has reigned over the GOP for the last year as its leading bogeyman, and that trend continued at CPAC. US Senator Josh Hawley argued that proponents of critical race theory want people to hate America. They believe that America is systemically racist, systematically broken, he said. They believe that were a nation of oppression. (CRT, in fact, is a relatively straightforward academic concept that explores the influence of racism beyond the explicit, de jure racial segregation and enslavement of old, but its meaning has been vastly distorted by the American right.) Ive got news for you and for them, Mr Hawley continued. Were a nation of liberators. Were proud of our history. Were proud of our heritage, and were going to stand up for it. Republican caller tells C-Span that GOP let American people down over Putin and Trump Thursday 24 February 2022 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell A Republican caller to a phone-in show on C-Span said the Republican Party had let the American people down over Vladimir Putin. GOP and Trump let American people down over Putin says Republican caller to C-Span Missouri senator rips Joe Bidens foreign policy Thursday 24 February 2022 23:17 , Josh Marcus Josh Hawley is tearing into Joe Bidens foreign policy. He called the Afghanistan withdrawal, The worst foreign policy disaster since the Vietnam War.He also held the president responsible for Russian aggression in Ukraine. He comes to office and what does he do? Mr Hawley said. He shut down American energy production. He green lights Putins pipeline and he shuts down American pipelines. Is it any wonder that Vladimir Putin feels emboldened to do whatever the heck he wants to do? Indeed, Mr Biden did waive sanctions against Russias Nord Stream 2 energy pipeline to Germany for a time out of diplomatic considerations, though the White House recently changed course as Vladimir Putin escalated aggression in Ukraine and hit the company with major penalties. Biden sanctioning company behind Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Russia Josh Hawley takes the stage Thursday 24 February 2022 23:07 , Josh Marcus Missouris Republican US Senator Josh Hawley is next up at CPAC. Hawley was one of the senators who led the effort to challenge the certification of the 2020 election results. Podcast ads and calls for righty revolution?: Ted Cruzs CPAC speech gets whacky Thursday 24 February 2022 23:06 , Josh Marcus Sounding like something between a pitch man and a right-wing revolutionary, Ted Cruzs CPAC speech is getting a bit strange. The Texas senator said he wants to break up the means of controlling the citizensocial media companies, the justice system, and the woke media, according to Cruzin order to create an unruly, uncontrollable American. We the people! he added. Moments latter, Mr Cruz was shilling for his podcast, telling audience members it was the top show in the world two years ago, and asking them to subscribe. So anyway, the future of conservatism is looking...eclectic. Ted Cruz says big is bad in calls for anti-monopoly regulations and more crypto Thursday 24 February 2022 22:59 , Josh Marcus Ted Cruz, an Ivy League educated lawyer, who serves in the US Senate, and is married to a Wall Street executive, had a message for CPAC: Big is bad. Big is bad, the Texas senator told the crowd. Across the board. Big government sucks. Big business sucks. Big tech, big Hollywood, big university. Any accumulation of power that is centralised is fundamentally dangerous for individual liberty. During his remarks, Mr Cruz called for more regulation of big companies, and said he was bullish on decentralised financial products like cryptocurrency. For what its worth, Mr Cruz doesnt have a problem with all big business, it seems. Ted Cruz received more money from oil and gas companies in 2018 than any other senator Ted Cruz celebrates CPAC for not seeing a damn mask in sight' Thursday 24 February 2022 22:48 , Josh Marcus After running a bit behind schedule, US Senator Ted Cruz is now up at CPAC. He said he loves the event because it features thousands of patriots and not a damn mask in sight. NRA CEO says even Hollywood hypocrites' part of record gun sales Thursday 24 February 2022 22:46 , Josh Marcus National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre says fears over Joe Bidens criminal justice reform proposals have driven a record 5.4 million gun sales over the last year, even among Hollywood hypocrites. All of them can see whats happening all round them in their country, he said. They want to be able to protect themselves, and they want to be able to protect their families. He also accused Joe Biden, through supporting measures like reducing the availability of military style assault-weapons and magazines, as well speaking out against cash bail, which disproportionately impacts low-income people of colour, of caring more about protecting criminals than protecting law-abiding Americans. I Heart Jesus and Lets Go Brandon: Photos of CPAC merch Thursday 24 February 2022 22:40 , Josh Marcus No CPAC would be complete with a merch section, and this years convention was no disappointment. There were hats with phrases like Lets go Brandon and I Love Jesus, as well as rhinestone-plated guns and as always, copious amounts of Donald Trump swag. Journalist Steven Monacelli has photos. The merch and vendor booths are really something pic.twitter.com/EluvkQWExQ steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) February 24, 2022 Former Missouri governor compares left to Pol Pot and Lenin Thursday 24 February 2022 22:37 , Josh Marcus Former Missouri governor Eric Greitens just finished speaking, and hes comparing the left to a score of historical dictators, citing examples like school closures, Joe Bidens border policies, and intelligence services probing of Donald Trumps ties to Russian meddling as tyranny. The nature of leftism is that it never stops. They always progress to more and more tyranny, he said, name-dropping dictators and leaders like Pol Pot, Mao, and Lenin. Those who ride the tiger of tyranny, they keep progressing to more and more oppression, he added. Donald Trump is true elected president, CPAC speaker says Thursday 24 February 2022 22:26 , Josh Marcus Speaking now is US combat veteran and Florida congressional candidate Cory Mills, who has repeated the Big Lie once again, stating that Donald Trump is the true elected, not selected, president of the United States. Mr Mills also praised Floridas GOP Ron DeSantis for defeating Fauci-ism and choosing America First when it comes to pandemic policy, and blamed critical race theory for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Trump-DeSantis rivalry hits CPAC Thursday 24 February 2022 22:20 , Oliver O'Connell Ron DeSantis has been closing on Trump in the polls, but can he really challenge his Florida neighbours grip on the Republican Party? Richard Hall reports from CPAC. Dont mention the Donald: The Trump-DeSantis rivalry hits CPAC Former North Carolina congressman Mark Walker speaking now Thursday 24 February 2022 22:17 , Josh Marcus Former North Carolina congressman Mark Walker is the next up on the CPAC stage. Alex Berenson: 'Stop trying to ban books Thursday 24 February 2022 22:07 , Oliver O'Connell Flagging it as something the CPAC crowd may not want to hear, Alex Berenson says: Stop trying to ban books. Alex Berenson, who made his brand in the last two years on COVID misinformation, started his speech by telling the #CPAC2022 crowd something he said they wouldn't want to hear: "Stop trying to ban books." Corbin Bolies (@CorbinBolies) February 24, 2022 War through Weakness, Elections matter Thursday 24 February 2022 21:42 , Oliver O'Connell Further to Ted Cruzs comments, former Trump national security adviser KT McFarland is now on stage wearing yellow in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. She is discussing the Trump administration foreign and energy policies which she says kept Russian cash liquidity low by keeping the price of oil low and therefore avoid war. KT McFarland, Trump's deputy NSA, was in green this morning. In yellow on stage at CPAC - for the Ukrainian flag, she says pic.twitter.com/uC3puHANMM Rob Crilly (@robcrilly) February 24, 2022 Ted Cruz: No invasion of Ukraine if Trump president Thursday 24 February 2022 21:35 , Oliver O'Connell I think the chances that Putin would be invading Ukraine today if Trump were still president are essentially zero, Senator Ted Cruz told Nigel Farage today. 'I think the chances that Putin would be invading Ukraine today if Trump were still president are essentially zero.' Senator @TedCruz speaks with @Nigel_Farage during @CPAC on whether America is still a world leader. Exclusively on GB News.#FarageOnGBNews #CPAC2022 pic.twitter.com/fyGZ36nrDa GB News (@GBNEWS) February 24, 2022 Thursday 24 February 2022 21:25 , Oliver O'Connell Former Advisor to former US President Donald Trump Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2022 (AFP via Getty Images) Thursday 24 February 2022 21:12 , Oliver O'Connell In 2022 the American people will retake Congress and will retire Nancy Pelosi, says Ms Guilfoyle, saying they will send Speaker Pelosi back to San Francisco so she can ruin it some more. Step two she says is reclaiming the White House and returning President Trump to the Oval Office. I am confident that if we are lucky enough to have President Trump make that sacrifice, he will defeat Joe Biden for the second time! TRUMP 2024: Kimberly Guilfoyle spoke about President Trump "returning to the Oval Office" during her #CPAC 2022 speech; the former President has continually hinted at another White House attempt. pic.twitter.com/jt2sk7RGsY Forbes (@Forbes) February 24, 2022 Ms Guilfoyle ends call with a call to Fight! Fight! and The Silent Majority is silent no more!... She finishes with a resounding: Make America Great Again! Thursday 24 February 2022 21:03 , Oliver O'Connell Woke leftists are working overtime to strip us of our freedoms... Every major social media platform banned President Trump last year... No one is safe. Twitter and Facebook are not the be all and end all. We have other platforms now... Ms Guilfoyle then plugs former President Trumps Truth Social platform. Thursday 24 February 2022 21:02 , Oliver O'Connell We do not apologise for putting America first, she says. Someone needs to tell him, youre wearing the America first jersey, not the Russia first jersey, not the China first jersey. Protestors weep as they hold multiple posters and a banner reading "Stop Putin Stop War" while organizing in Rome, Protestors from the Christian Ukrainian Community of Rome hold banners in support of Ukraine following Russias invasion. Earlier this week Russian troops, acting on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, invaded Ukraine and launched 200 missiles, some of which reportedly hit residential areas near the capital city of Kyiv. At least 50,000 Ukrainian citizens have been displaced and are fleeing the country, according to CNN. While some game developers based in Ukraine responded promptly to this act of aggression, now an increasing number of studios outside the invaded nation, including Cyberpunk 2077 maker CD Projekt Red, are also speaking out in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and in condemnation of Russias actions. Read More: Ukraine Game Developers Respond To Russian Invasion [Update] Read more 11 Bit Studios, the Polish studio behind Frostpunk and the anti-war survival game This War of Mine, came out in vigorous opposition to the war, releasing a statement on Twitter brandishing the #FuckTheWar hashtag and reading, in part, Let this message resonate with everything you know about this war and how war kills people, devastates their lives and homes. The statement also declared that all profits earned from This War of Mine for the next seven days will be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross to aid victims of the war. The recent invasion on Ukraine, our friends and neighbours, left us shocked and outraged. In solidarity with all victims of this act of aggression, the CD PROJEKT Group has decided to support humanitarian aid efforts by donating 1 million PLN to the @PAH_org (1/2) CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) February 25, 2022 This morning, Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red, also based in Poland which borders Ukraine to the west, announced on Twitter that it will be donating 1 million PLN (or Polish zloty), roughly $242,400 USD, to Polska Akcja Humanitarna, a Poland-based humanitarian group in support of Ukrainian victims. Story continues The recent invasion on Ukraine, our friends and neighbours, left us shocked and outraged, CD Projekt Red said on Twitter. We cannot remain indifferent in the face of such injustice and we ask everybody to join in and help in any way you can. Together we can make a huge difference! Crytivo, the California-based indie game publisher and developer behind the city-builder game The Universim, posted a statement on Twitter yesterday signed by CEO and founder Alex Koshelkov announcing that it will be donating all proceeds from February and March to the Ukrainian Red Cross. Koshelkov also said that Crytivo will be giving its Ukrainian employees paid leave until they can find a safe environment that will allow them to work again. With the recent military development in Ukraine, I feel obliged to let our fans and others know that our company Crytivo is firmly anti-war as we stand with the people of Ukraine, Koshelkovs statement said. The last couple years have already been difficult for us all and I hope we can inspire others to lend a helping hand to our brothers and sisters in need. State of Play Games, the Czech developers behind the BAFTA-award-winning puzzle game Lumino City, also issued a statement this morning saying it will be joining 11 Bit studios in solidarity with Ukraine by donating all proceeds from its games on the App Store, Google Play, and Steam to the Ukrainian Red Cross. Ukraine needs help, right now Our next weeks earnings from Machinarium, CHUCHEL, and Creaks will be donated to @CLOVEKVTISNI, a nonprofit organization that will use the money to aid the most vulnerable people in Ukraine affected by the ongoing Russian invasion. pic.twitter.com/PFLAjqyIoY Amanita Design (@Amanita_Design) February 25, 2022 And Amanita Design, the Czech studio behind the psychedelic horror game Happy Game, announced on Twitter that itll be donating its earnings from Machinarium, CHUCHEL, and Creaks next week to Clovekvtisni, a nonprofit organization based in Prague that it said would use the money to aid the most vulnerable people in Ukraine affected by the ongoing Russian invasion. Amanita Design also thanked 11 Bit studios and State of Play Games in a following tweet for inspiring it to come out in solidarity with Ukraine. Ukraine needs help right now, Amanita Design said in a statement. We condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This horrible act of aggression has absolutely no place in any democratic society. With the opening of Creature, English National Ballet quenches a three-year-long thirst. It had been 30 years since their previous engagement in Chicago when the British ballet company arrived in 2019 with Akram Khans landmark production of Giselle. The past three years have felt nearly as long, and patrons eagerly anticipated this exquisite troupes return with a new Khan ballet called Creature. Creature continues through Saturday at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. Advertisement There is the question of whether lightning can strike twice in the same place. If Creature suffers at all, it might be from expectation. Comparing Creature with Giselle easily one of the best works this critic has seen in a decade is perhaps justified when you look at the two side-by-side. The designs, choreography and the story share similarities. But even with Khan and his artistic teams clear aesthetic entrenchment (which, by the way, is consistently gorgeous), Creature deserves a life of its own. The two-act ballet (which until now had not been seen outside England) is set in a dystopian present time with principal dancer Jeffrey Cirio as the central character, called Creature. Mary Shelleys Frankenstein echoes throughout the piece, though it is unclear if Cirios Creature is a man, a monster or some hybrid of the two. Advertisement Drawing further inspiration from Georg Buchners Woyzeck, the Creature is seemingly held captive, relegated to pointlessly cleaning the floors and walls of his sparsely appointed, cavernous cell. He is joined by two others, Andres (Victor Prigent) and Marie (Erina Takahashi), while he intermittently undergoes military-style conditioning and a cruel series of physiological and psychological tests by the Doctor (Stina Quagebeur). Jeffrey Cirio and Erina Takahashi, and ensemble, in "Creature" by English National Ballet, now at the Harris Theater in Chicago. (Kyle Flubacker) The narrative moves in and out of consciousness here, and its easy to get a little lost in the swirls of military exercises as Cirio is joined by a corps de ballet dressed in costume and designer Tim Yips zip-up onesies akin to elegant moon suits. On occasion, these cadets envelop the Creature, and he is gradually persuaded to join their ranks, even as every cell in his body periodically convulses in anguish. Cirios recurring movement motif demonstrates this duality: In one moment, he snaps into a regal fifth position, knee popped and broad-chested as if he had just finished the Don Quixote pas de deux; in the next, Creature is nearly inhuman as tides ripple through his now hunched over chest and liquefied arms and legs. For what, exactly, is Creature preparing? Outside his clapboard, drafty lair the scant trappings of which include just a table and bucket of water appears to be a frigid Arctic landscape. In Vincenzo Lamagnas sound score, we hear distorted bits from President Richard Nixons 1969 conversation with Apollo 11 astronauts, beeps and countdowns, startling whispers vocalizing Creatures delusions and deconstructions of Maurice Ravels Bolero, magically intertwined orchestrations and audio playback led by maestro Gavin Sutherland. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Having used up our resources elsewhere, they embark on what I imagine to be the modern mission to make inhospitable environments hospitable. While that is a very contemporary conundrum, I dont have to tell you that exploration, colonization and manifest destiny are hardly new concepts. Jeffrey Cirio and Stina Quagebeur, and ensemble, in "Creature" by English National Ballet, now at the Harris Theater in Chicago. (Kyle Flubacker) To quote that Nixon speech, Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of mans world. Again and again throughout time, man takes ownership over that which he believes he has discovered, as if by virtue of being there, it is now his. That a critical mass could embrace such a mission is all too relevant today, on the same day that Russia has once again invaded Ukraine. Shelley and Buchner, and, by extension, Khan, also deal with a kind of psychological sovereignty. Creature is poked and prodded, coerced and repeatedly brought to his breaking point. In exercising their free will, the Doctor and Major (Fabian Reimair, who portrays the military captain) strip Creature of his. And what of Maries free will? She is a Cinderella-type character who spends most of this ballet aimlessly mopping the floor. Creature is in love with her an excuse for a few exquisite pas de deux. Major, looking to prove his manhood, or something, attempts to overpower and rape Marie. Infuriated by her refusal, Major strangles her. The ballet ends with Creature dancing with Maries limp, lifeless body a heartbreaking and stunning image backed by a heart-rending, sparsely orchestrated aria played by a few of the Chicago Philharmonics strings. One could ask if we really need another ballet subjugating women. Arguably, yes. While most of Creature is subversive and nonlinear, there is no mistake about whats happening to Marie. True, Cirio and Takahashis final duet romanticizes Creatures grief, but Khan breaks from ballets canonical roots by neither downplaying nor glorifying misogyny. After all, Creature is about taking control over that which does not belong to you. The consequences here could not be clearer, with the actors and audience collectively realizing that the only way to exert absolute power over something is to destroy it. Advertisement Review: English National Ballet presents Creature When: Through Saturday Where: Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes Tickets: $35-$140 at 312-334-7777 and www.harristheaterchicago.org Feb. 24GRAND FORKS In the hours after Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered his military forces to invade Ukraine, federal lawmakers from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota condemned the attack and called for heavy sanctions against Russia. According to various reports, at least 40 Ukrainian soldiers died in the early hours of the attack, which began Wednesday and continued Thursday. Wednesday evening, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement, saying Putin has started "a premeditated war that will bring catastrophic loss of life and human suffering." Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., was the first of North Dakota's delegates to issue a statement. Cramer, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and participant in the Senate Ukraine Caucus, said "it's crystal clear that Vladimir Putin harbors fantasies of reuniting the Soviet Union and now he's translated this fantasy into action." Cramer said Russia had no right to cross Ukraine's border. "The United States fiercely condemns this violent action and stands strongly in support of Ukraine," Cramer said. "We needed sanctions months ago to ward off exactly this type of action. Now that Putin has taken these steps we must implement strong, primary and secondary sanctions immediately." Kelly Armstrong, a Republican and North Dakota's lone delegate in the House of Representatives, also said it's time to support Ukraine. "Say a prayer for the Ukrainian people," Armstrong said. "They want peace. Putin has chosen war. America and our allies must stand strong in support of Ukraine. They deserve freedom." Russia's first movement into Ukraine came shortly after Putin, in a televised speech, said he had authorized military action and that any countries that try to intervene will face a severe response. The invasion came after weeks of speculation and heightened anxiety in recent days. The crisis is drawing comparisons to Germany's attack on Poland in 1939, an event that sparked World War II. Story continues In the hours since Wednesday's initial attack, congressional delegates across the nation have been calling for harsher sanctions against Russia. "America and our allies must answer the call to protect freedom by subjecting Putin and Russia to the harshest economic penalties, by expelling them from global institutions, and by committing ourselves to the expansion and modernization of our national defense," said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Romney said "history shows that a tyrant's appetite for conquest is never satiated." U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said the Russian attack should serve as a warning to other European nations. "The United States must work closely with our allies to oppose Putin's efforts to subvert European peace and security," Hoeven said in a statement released shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday. "We must ensure Putin pays a heavy price not only as a response to his aggression in Ukraine but also as a deterrent against future aggression in eastern Europe. We need to support the people of Ukraine, reinforce our allies, and immediately implement severe sanctions on Russia. We pray for the people of Ukraine in this tragic moment." Earlier in the week, Hoeven used Twitter to say the Ukraine crisis "is the latest in a long series of steps Putin has taken to subvert Europe's peace and security. It is clear that Putin will continue to act aggressively unless we impose heavy costs for his actions." In January, a delegation of senators that included Cramer, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and five others traveled to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky. During the meeting, according to a release from Cramer's office, members of the caucus declared strong solidarity with Ukraine as the tension between Ukraine and Russia mounted. "Our bipartisan delegation demonstrates to Vladimir Putin the United States' resolve and sends the message we stand with Ukraine," Cramer said at the time. Early Wednesday morning, Klobuchar said via Twitter that "the warnings from our (intelligence) sources were right" and noted that Putin's invasion is against a "free democracy." She called for sanctions and consequences worldwide. "It is the time for our country and our world to unite," she said in the Twitter post. "We stand with the brave people of Ukraine." Cramer said the implications of Wednesday's invasion and the U.S. response go beyond relations between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine. "What we choose to do will also send a message to China on Taiwan," he said. In South Dakota, senior Sen. John Thune, a Republican, said Putin only will respond to strength. "So the United States must send a strong and unified message that this aggression will not be tolerated," Thune said. "In addition to making it clear that there are more sanctions on the table ... we must provide the necessary support to our NATO allies and assist Ukraine with what it needs to fight this battle." Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said in a Twitter post that Putin has chosen war. "America and our European allies must stand united in bringing the full force of economic sanctions against Putin and his oligarchs," Johnson said. "Pray for the Ukrainian people." North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Thursday offered support and prayers for the Ukrainian people and the "brazen acts of aggression" by Russia. "The United States and its allies must stand together in support of Ukraine and hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks. This international crisis underscores the importance of U.S. energy security and increasing American production so we can sell energy to our friends and allies versus buying it from our enemies," Burgum said in a statement to the media. "Our thoughts also are with those of Ukrainian heritage here in North Dakota who are concerned for the safety of their relatives as their homeland is under siege, as well as those North Dakota farmers and businesses with interests in Ukraine." U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., said Russia's military action is "unjust and unacceptable" and, in a statement sent late Thursday morning, referenced policies implemented by the Biden administration. "We are dealing with a culmination of this administration's failed economic policy, energy policy, and foreign policy. It is past time for the United States to reassert its leadership. America and the rest of the free world must stand together in face of this aggression," said Fischbach. "I pray for and stand in solidarity with our friends and democratic allies, the people of Ukraine." Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., said she condemns, "in the strongest possible terms," Russia's action. She believes the invasion will lead to great human loss and suffering. "In the hours and days to come, the United States, in coordination with its allies around the globe, must impose severe economic consequences on Russia, support NATO and rally international support for the legitimate, democratically elected government of Ukraine," Craig said. And Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., called the invasion "unacceptable." On Twitter, he said the U.S. "must stand strong with the Ukrainian people and our allies against this aggression" and that Putin's actions "must have severe consequences." Maksim Chmerkovskiy in March 2020. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images Former "Dancing With the Stars" pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy is posting Instagram updates from Ukraine. Though he lives in the US, he's been in Kyiv working as a judge on their dance competition show. He's staying in Kyiv for now because it's "not safe" to leave, he said in a recent video. "Dancing with the Stars" alum Maksim Chmerkovskiy said he's currently "stuck" in Kyiv after Putin authorized a full-scale attack on the country. On Thursday, the Ukrainian-born professional dancer began updating his 886,000 followers on Instagram about his location and current safety in Ukraine. By Friday, Chmerkovskiy said he had heard it's "not safe" to move towards the border and attempt to leave. "I'm safe. We haven't been told to move and I'm just following instructions," he said in an Instagram video. "That's all I can say." Chmerkovskiy was born in Ukraine in 1980 and immigrated to the US with his family in the mid-90s, according to People magazine. He and his brother, Valentin, continued their professional dance career in the US and eventually became contestants on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." As reported by Us Weekly, Chmerkovskiy had temporarily returned to his home country of Ukraine to serve as a judge on their version of the same TV series. In his Instagram video update, Chmerkovskiy said he's talking to local friends in Ukraine who tell him the situation is "pretty dire." "People are being mobilized. The whole country's been called to go to war," he said. "Men, women, boys, these people that I was judging some days ago in dance competitions, are going forward and getting guns and getting deployed to defend the country." "I'm not reporting the news," Chmerkovskiy continued, adding that she's just sharing his thoughts "from my experience and people that I'm talking to are very aggressively charged." Story continues His brother, Valentin, and wife Peta Murgatroyd have been vocal on their own Instagram accounts, asking for fans and followers to "pray" for Chmerkovskiy's safe return home to the US. But for now, the professional dancer said he can't even attempt to get home. "I'm not currently trying to leave," he said on Instagram. "I'm staying here. I'm gonna do my best to make sure I'm as safe as possible, but I am not moving towards the border currently." Chmerkovskiy said that his friends shared with him "that it's quite dangerous and a lot of senseless activity is going on outside of war stuff" closer to the borders. On Thursday, a representative for Chmerkovskiy declined to add an additional statement, referring Insider back to Chmerkovskiy's video updates as his official comments. Russia's conflict with Ukraine has been rumbling for years but escalated dramatically in recent weeks. Russia assembled vast numbers of troops around Ukraine as many as 190,000, per US estimates in the largest military operation in the region since World War II. On Monday, Putin recognized the claims to independence of the breakaway Luhansk and Donetsk areas of Ukraine, ordering troops there for what he described as a limited peacekeeping operation in the east of the country. Less than 72 hours later, Putin authorized a full-scale attack on Ukraine. In the hours that followed, explosions pounded cities around Ukraine, many hundreds of miles from the previous conflict zone. Ukrainian officials reported fighting on its borders with Russia and dozens of casualties. Insider's live blog of the invasion is covering developments as they happen. Read the original article on Insider Influential U.S. lobbying firms have severed ties with VTB Bank and Sberbank after President Biden announced sanctions on the Russian state-owned financial institutions. Powerhouse firm Venable LLP ended its lobbying contract with Sberbank Friday, according to a new filing. Sidley Austin LLP, another top Washington law and lobbying firm, said Friday that it ended its years-long representation of VTB Bank. Venable filed a report with Congress Friday indicating that it dropped Sberbank after lobbying lawmakers on the Russian state-controlled bank's behalf since 2017. Venable took in $240,000 from Sberbank last year to lobby Congress and the State Department on a slew of bills relating to Ukraine, Russia, and sanctions against Russian entities, according to lobbying filings. "The firm cut ties today," a Venable spokesperson confirmed in an email. Sidley Austin, which has been representing VTB Bank since 2015 after the institution was hit by smaller sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Crimea, confirmed Friday that it dropped VTB as a client. The Washington firm took in $180,000 from VTB between late April and September 2021 to "provide a weekly policy memorandum explaining developments in U.S.- Russia relations," according to a recent Justice Department filing. For years, VTB has attempted to make inroads with lawmakers and U.S. officials in an effort to quash sanctions. "VTB Group is no longer a client of Sidley Austin LLP in compliance with U.S. sanctions," a spokesperson for the firm said in an email. CNBC first reported that Sidley Austin was dropping VTB Bank Friday. These moves come after the Biden administration imposed sanctions on five of Russia's largest banks that prevent them from accessing the U.S. financial system. Sberbank holds more than one-third of Russian assets - the bank says that one in every two Russian companies has a Sberbank account - while VTB Bank has nearly one-fifth of the nation's assets. The sanctions, which target roughly 80 percent of Russian banking assets, are designed to inflict economic pain on Russia and its oligarchs as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues a violent military campaign in Ukraine. "Treasury is taking serious and unprecedented action to deliver swift and severe consequences to the Kremlin and significantly impair their ability to use the Russian economy and financial system to further their malign activity," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday. "Our actions, taken in coordination with partners and allies, will degrade Russia's ability to project power and threaten the peace and stability of Europe." A map shows where two people were shot by sheriff's deputies in an unincorporated area between Norwalk and La Mirada Authorities identified two suspects and released more details about what led Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies to shoot and injure two people, including one of the suspects, on Wednesday. The shooting occurred shortly before 2:40 p.m. in the 14500 block of Chere Drive in an unincorporated area near La Mirada, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. Deputies from the Norwalk station tried to contact the occupants of a blue sedan that was parked in the driveway of a home because they believed an auto theft suspect was inside the car, according to the agency. As deputies approached, a man in the driver's seat started backing the car toward them, and the deputies opened fire, authorities said. The driver continued backing up, crashed into the deputies' patrol car and tried driving away. The sedan crashed into a wall and was found disabled in the nearby intersection of Telegraph Road and Armsdale Avenue, deputies said. Footage from KABC-TV Channel 7 on Wednesday showed the silver sedan with several bullet holes on its driver's side. The driver and another man fled on foot before they were captured nearby, deputies said. A woman in her early 20s was found in the car suffering gunshot wounds to her upper body. She was taken to a nearby hospital, treated and released, according to the Sheriff's Department. She was not arrested. On Thursday, the department identified the driver as 20-year-old Adrian Romero. He suffered gunshot wounds to one of his legs and was taken to a hospital, where he was stable, deputies said. Romero was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and will be booked into jail when he's released from the hospital, deputies said. His brother, 21-year-old Aldo Romero, was identified Thursday as the third person in the car, deputies said. He was detained by concerned residents in a backyard near where the car was disabled. Aldo Romero, who was not injured, had a loaded, semiautomatic pistol in his waistband, deputies said. He was booked on a vehicle theft warrant and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Story continues A deputy was hit by the sedan during the incident and was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released, authorities said. An investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the L.A. County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A 16-year-old accused of fatally shooting a 5-year-old boy, the boy's mother, and her boyfriend in their Detroit home has been charged with felony murder, the prosecutor's office announced. A second teenager was also arrested but charges were not filed due to "insufficient evidence," according to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Five-year-old Caleb Harris, his mother, LaShon Marshall, 28, and her boyfriend, Aaron Benson, 32, were found dead Sunday evening in a home on Evergreen Road. The prosecutor's office said Benson's cousin went to the home after not hearing from him for several days and discovered the bodies. All three victims had been shot multiple times. The two teenagers were arrested Monday following tips from the community, police said. Worthy identified the 16-year-old as Malcolm Ray Hardy. In addition to three counts of felony murder, he's being charged with three counts of first-degree premeditated murder, two counts of armed robbery, and eight counts of felony firearm. Hardy is being charged as an adult, according to the prosecutor's office. Authorities have not revealed a motive for the slayings. Worthy's office said certain "aspects of the case remain under investigation." "The allegations in this case warrant charging the defendant as an adult," Worthy said in a statement. "This case is truly disturbing, especially as it relates to young Caleb. For many reasons it is disheartening to know that a juvenile is alleged to have committed these acts." Detroit Police Commander Michael McGinnis said at a news conference Tuesday that Caleb was close to celebrating his 6th birthday. He said his death was unimaginable. Shalesa Floyd, Caleb's paternal grandmother, said the boy's father lives out of state and "is in turmoil." "My son is falling apart, she said earlier this week. Im hurting deep. Hardy is expected to be arraigned on March 1. It's not clear if he has obtained an attorney. Dr Nicholas Chapman denies depositing his semen in a cup of tea he gave to a woman. (SWNS) A doctor will stand trial after denying he deposited his semen in a cup of tea he gave to a woman. Dr Nicholas John Chapman was suspended from his post at the North Curry Health Centre in Taunton, Somerset, after he was accused of depositing his semen in a cup of tea and giving it to a woman on at least two occasions in September 2021. The 54-year-old appeared in court this week where he pleaded not guilty to two counts of attempting to cause a woman aged 16 or over to engage in sexual activity without her consent. He will now stand trial, with an exact date to be set. Chapman, 54, is currently suspended from his post at the 4,000-patient North Curry Health Centre. (SWNS) Read more: Ukrainian woman who became bloodied face of war: 'I never thought this would happen in my lifetime.' At a previous hearing at Taunton Magistrates' Court, prosecutor Giles Tippett said the victim discovered a substance at the bottom of her cup when she finished the drink given to her by the defendant in September last year. He said the incident was reported to the police three days later and a laboratory test confirmed the substance was "semen that related to the doctor". Appearing at Taunton Crown Court this week, the South African entered not guilty pleas to both charges during the short hearing at Taunton Crown Court. He was remanded on conditional bail, and has been ordered not to contact his victim or other named witnesses directly or indirectly. Chapman was born in South Africa, where he qualified as a doctor at the University of Cape Town in 1993. Nigel Yeo, defending, said "all his community ties" are in the UK, while he lives with his partner and part-time with a child. Nearly two weeks after the shooting of lineworker in Norfolk, Dominion Energy is working with the Crime Line to offer a $5,000 reward to anyone who has information leading to an arrest. Dominion crews were replacing an underground transformer in the 400 block of Monticello Avenue around 1:50 a.m. Feb. 11 when the worker, a man, was shot in his leg. Three other lineworkers suffered minor injuries while diving away from the gunfire, according to Dominion Energy spokesperson Bonita Harris. Just before 2 a.m., cars sped through the work zone, which had been temporarily closed to through-traffic by the Dominion Energy workers, Harris said. The supervisor attempted to stop a third car when the driver pulled the gun and started shooting, Harris said. Norfolk police previously released a suspect vehicle, which was captured on video surveillance leaving the scene. The vehicle is described as a dark-colored, two-door sedan. Police are still investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call Norfolk Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com By Nate Raymond (Reuters) - The three largest U.S. drug distributors and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson have agreed to finalize a proposed $26 billion settlement resolving claims by states and local governments that they helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic. Distributors McKesson Corp, AmerisourceBergen Corp and Cardinal Health Inc along with J&J had until Friday to decide whether enough cities and counties nationally had opted to join the landmark settlement to justify moving forward with it. The deal aims to resolve around 3,000 lawsuits by state and local governments seeking to hold the companies responsible for an opioid abuse crisis that has led to hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths in the United States over the last two decades.. The distributors and J&J in separate statements on Friday confirmed they had determined there was "sufficient" participation to move forward with the settlement, which was first announced in July. They are not admitting wrongdoing. The announcement paves the way for the companies to begin making payments to the governments in April, money that officials say will be used to fund treatment and other programs aimed at addressing the health crisis. "Because of the money, there will be people alive next year who otherwise would have died," North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a lead settlement negotiator, said in an interview. The lawsuits accuse the distributors of lax controls that allowed massive amounts of addictive painkillers to be diverted into illegal channels, and that drugmakers, including J&J, downplayed the risk of addiction when marketing the pain medicines. The proposed settlement calls for the distributors to pay up to $21 billion over 18 years and for J&J to pay up to $5 billion over nine years. About $2.3 billion is set aside to cover fees and expenses of plaintiffs' lawyers and state attorneys general. "Billions of dollars are now going to flow to treatment, recovery, education and abating this public health crisis," said Paul Geller, a lawyer for local governments at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd. Story continues Most states are settling. All four companies continue to face claims in Alabama, Oklahoma, Washington and West Virginia, while New Hampshire did not settle with J&J. The companies recently also agreed to settle with Native American tribes. Peter Mougey, a plaintiffs' lawyer at the law firm Levin Papantonio involved in the negotiations, said over 7,000 local governments opted into the settlement. "Almost 40 states are 99% or higher," he said of participation within the states. It is likely the biggest, though not the last, settlement to result from opioid litigation. This month, the Sackler family owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma in its bankruptcy proposed a revised settlement worth up to $6 billion that would resolve claims the company fueled the epidemic. Drugmaker Mallinckrodt this month won bankruptcy court approval for a $1.7 billion settlement. Other drugmakers like Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd as well as major pharmacy chains remain in litigation. Talks with those companies are ongoing, Stein said. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Bill Berkrot) Last week in this space, writing about Hollywoods recent tendency to turn a solid premise for movie into a multi-episode TV series instead (and not to the storys betterment), I mentioned that even though season-long arcs have become the norm, television doesnt have to rely on them in order to be good. And I noted my habit of returning to shows like Murder, She Wrote to remind myself of the ways a self-contained story can actually work, introducing a handful of new characters each time, and coming to a satisfying conclusion some 40 minutes later. Not long after that column ran, I got an email from Chicago native Thomas B. Sawyer, who was a writer on Murder, She Wrote from its inception in 1984, later becoming showrunner for the last five seasons until the series came to an end in 1996. Advertisement Angela Lansbury (center) as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher, in a scene from "Murder, She Wrote" with Linda Purl (right) and Wayne Rogers (left). (CBS Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images) At its height, the show was drawing 23 million viewers a week on CBS. Curious to hear his thoughts about why the show connected with audiences, I called Sawyer at his Malibu home. Everything about the shows success hinged, he said, on as murder mystery novelist and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher, a winning marriage of actor and character, resulting in a performance that is smart and no-nonsense. Practical but cosmopolitan. Compassionate when the situation warrants and no clutching at pearls when she learns of sexual affairs. She never doubts her self-worth or her instincts and she doesnt let fame go to her head. She lives a full life! And she fits in just about anywhere, regardless of the company, which is why a crossover episode with Magnum, P.I. from 1986 somehow actually works. Advertisement Sawyer also talked about his approach to storytelling, which he details in his memoir, The Adventures of the REAL Tom Sawyer (yes, he goes by Tom Sawyer, more on that below) where he writes: My take was that each show was a play in which a group of interesting, colorful characters were before page one in conflict with each other about something. And, in the course of their struggles, a murder had to take place I almost didnt care about the details of the murder, because our main challenge was to make the method, circumstances and surrounding characters seem different from the last six or seven episodes. It had to be a brand new story every time, starting from scratch. Thats the challenge of episodic TV writing. Murder, She Wrote airs daily in reruns across several cable channels and is streamable on Peacock. Sawyer offered his insights into why the show still has such staying power. Q: What do you think makes Murder, She Wrote work as well as it does, even all these years later? A: Certainly having Angela as the lead didnt hurt. In my career up to that point, I was writing for a lot of mediocre actors. So when I got a chance to write for Angela, I felt like, holy (crap), what an honor. I was on staff on 15 series, but most of them didnt last more than a season. So to get lucky enough to get hooked up to a series with that kind of longevity was just astonishing. The frustrating part for me was, here we have one of the worlds greatest actresses and we were using such a tiny portion of her range. At one point, I wrote an episode thats a callback to the pilot episode, when she had just become a published writer and the publisher, Preston Giles, is the murderer. So I wrote an episode called The Return of Preston Giles and he gets shot at the end, and I wanted him to die in her arms. Thats the way I wrote the script. But the way they shot it, shes standing there looking down at his body (laughs). I had wanted to give her something more emotional to play, but she just didnt want to do it. I never discussed it with her, she just chose to stay away from that. And that wasnt the style of the show, anyway. Q: Did you write your scripts on your own or was it a group effort? A: I would come up with a premise a one line thing you would pitch and if they liked it, youd go write it. My favorite episode that I wrote was called No Laughing Murder starring Buddy Hackett and Steve Lawrence as an old comedy duo whod had a falling out, like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. And the idea was, the son of one (an early role for George Clooney) is about to marry the daughter of the other, and the two guys have been at loggerheads for years. So my pitch on it was: Martin and Lewis meets Romeo and Juliet. Angela Lansbury starred as Jessica Fletcher on "Murder, She Wrote" from 1984-1996. (GENE TRINDL / CBS) It was one of the rare times where I wrote the thing for a particular actor, in this case Buddy Hackett. Buddy was famously coarse around women and so we literally made a deal with his attorney that Buddy would promise to behave himself around Angela. So its the first day of the shoot and Im standing on the entry ramp with Buddy and the crew is getting set up, and everybodys a little nervous about how Buddys going to behave with her. And the sedan pulls up and Angela gets out and I introduce her to Buddy and hes very polite with her. She had just won a Golden Globe, I should mention that. So they have this brief hello and then she excused herself to go up to makeup and wardrobe. And as shes walking away, Buddy turns to the crowd and says, out of the side of his mouth, typical Buddy Hackett: Those really are a pair of golden globes. Advertisement Q: Oh no. A: Angela cracked up, as well as everyone else. Q: Do you have an opinion about stand-alone episodes, which is what you wrote, versus season-long arcs that predominate today? A: Oh, a lot. Today, the requirement is that you have these ongoing character arcs but its hard to sustain that harder to do it than the way we did it. Take a show like Weeds (about a suburban mom-turned-drug-dealer) where, two years into it, it began to fall apart because of that requirement to keep those characters in their arcs. Its a tough challenge for writers. Q: Telling a succinct story in 40-minutes probably has its own challenges. You have so little time to establish these new characters. A: Its almost unheard of today. Basically the idea is to get into your story as late as you can. You want it to feel like theres so much thats already been happening by the time the episode begins. The story is already in progress when the episode opens and wed catch the audience up on what the hell theyre arguing about (laughs). No gore, no violence. And we had three motives: Money, sex or power. We didnt have to get into forensics, and we never did serial killers. Serial killer stories or kidnapping stories are always the same; theyre about the good guys trying to get into the heads of a crazy person and that doesnt interest me. Advertisement Veteran actress Angela Lansbury, star of the CBS-TV series "Murder, She Wrote," cuts a huge cake Feb. 13, 1989, in celebration of the show's 100th episode. (Douglas C. Pizac/ASSOCIATED PRESS) By the way, let me tell you something about the songs in one of my episodes called Broadway Malady. Several years earlier, when I was just starting in the business, I had lunch with some writers and they said, Whenever you have an episode and you have an opportunity to write song lyrics like, if the characters go into a nightclub and a song is playing do it, because youll get royalties. So, Im writing Broadway Malady, which is about a Broadway musical in rehearsals, and I turned the script in and that evening I get a call and they asked, When you indicate that theyre rehearsing, do want us to write the song lyrics or do you want to write them? And I instantly remembered what these guys had advised me and I said, Ill do it! And I knocked off several pastiches of Broadway show lyrics and joined ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and so far I have earned, from that one 10-minute stint of writing lyrics, about $60,000 in royalties. Thats on top of the residuals I get for writing the episode itself. Its a mindblower! You know, I actually began as a commercial artist. I grew up in the South Shore neighborhood, just a few blocks south of Jackson Park and then I moved to New York when I was 20 and started drawing comic books for Stan Lee. And once I got into advertising illustration, it drove me crazy that your artwork gets used over and over again but you never see another nickel beyond the one-time fee you were paid to do it. So when I came to Hollywood, it blew my mind. Its been a life-changer, income-wise. Q: Tell me about being named Tom Sawyer. A: My original family name is not Sawyer, its Scheuer. And if you pronounce it properly in German it sounds a little like Sawyer. But no one could ever pronounce it I would hear Shewer, Sheever, Shaner, and on and on. And once Id explain that, no, its Shawyer, theyd ask me, Hows Huck? I felt like I spent all this time explaining how to pronounce my name, so when I was still in New York doing advertising illustration, I began to sign my work Tom Sawyer. And when I got to Hollywood and got my first gig, I decided that was time to change my name and I legally changed it to Sawyer. It made my life so much easier! Advertisement Nina Metz is a Tribune critic nmetz@chicagotribune.com What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. Sign up for our Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here. After two days of trial and an hour of deliberation, on Feb. 17, a Charlevoix County jury convicted Mark Allen Ingersoll, Jr., 35, of East Jordan on two counts of delivery of cocaine, possession with intent to deliver cocaine, possession of a controlled substance and maintaining a drug house, according to Charlevoix County Prosecuting Attorney Allen Telgenhof. Ingersoll will be sentenced on March 18 in the 33rd Circuit Court. The three cocaine charges usually carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, however, because Ingersoll is a habitual offender, fourth offense, the maximum penalty is life in prison. The other charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The sentences will be served concurrently. The investigation in the case was conducted by the Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement team (SANE) and officers from the Michigan State Police and Emmet County Sheriffs Office testified at trial. I want to thank the jury for their time, attention and consideration in this matter, Telgenhof said. Telgenhof tried the case for the prosecution. This was a case with an excellent investigation where the police got a timely search warrant leading to the discovery of critical evidence and conducted interviews on the scene which resulted in admissions which were difficult for the defense to overcome. At trial, jurors heard a recorded interview with Ingersoll where he admitted that on Jan. 21, 2020, he had traveled down to Detroit to purchase cocaine and returned with it to East Jordan where he had sold to a number of individuals, according to Telgenhof. The search of Ingersolls residence in the City of East Jordan led to the discovery of more cocaine and suboxone. Witnesses also testified regarding cocaine sales which occurred on Jan. 14 and 21, 2020. This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: East Jordan man convicted on drug charges Feb. 24EFFINGHAM Effingham County Sheriff Paul Kuhns recognized three county deputies during an Effingham County Board meeting Tuesday for saving the life of a woman during a recent fire. County deputies Johnathon Schuette, Robin Brown and Dustin Lustig were presented lifesaving ribbons for their uniforms by Kuhns. At approximately 3:01 a.m. Jan. 27, the Effingham County Sheriff's Office 911 dispatch center received a call of a residential structure fire in rural Dieterich with one female occupant still inside the home. Kuhns said Brown was the first deputy on scene, with Schuette and Lustig arriving soon after. Another resident of the home and a neighbor tried to get the female out of the home without success. He said all three deputies successfully located the female, who was disoriented from smoke inhalation, and removed her from a west bedroom window. During the removal, the room was full of smoke and became involved with fire shortly after the female was removed. The deputies then monitored the condition of the female and two other adults who were injured while attempting to rescue the female. "This incident illustrates Deputy Schuette's, Deputy Brown's and Deputy Lustig's commitment to their jobs and demonstrates how valuable they are to the mission of the Effingham County Sheriff's Department," Kuhns said. "Working diligently as a team, they were able to remove this woman from direct harm from the fire conditions and provide her a previously unavailable chance at recovery by insuring she was able to receive medical treatment. The woman was flown to a regional trauma center for urgent care. She has recently returned home." Kuhns gave a uniform ribbon with two stars to Brown for his two lifesaving events, while Schuette and Lustig were each presented ribbons with one star. The rescue was the second for Brown. In August of 2020, Brown performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking motorist in Heartville. Story continues Also Tuesday, the board approved the objectives of a Child Care Research Committee and made the following appointments to the committee: Voting Child Care Committee Members: Effingham County Board Member Elizabeth Huston Effingham County Board Member Norbert Soltwedel Effingham County Regional Growth Alliance Courtney Yockey, President & CEO Parent Molly Laue, Altamont In-Home Family Child Care Provider Angela LaSarge, Owner Local Business Sherwin-Williams Teresa Harmon, HR Manager Local Business Washington Savings Bank Trina Niemerg, Compliance Officer Unit of Local Government City of Effingham Sasha Althoff, Economic Development Specialist At-Large Committee Member Carla Holtz, Director and Owner of Little Lambs Early Childhood Center Center Child Care Provider Representative Lutheran Child Care Center Lena Myers, Director of LLC Kids Non-voting Ex-Officio Child Care Committee Members: Project CHILD Courtney Hatcher, Provider Recruitment and Quality Specialist CEFS Connie Jerden, COO Unit 40 Jennifer Fox, Principal Early Learning Center and East Side Preschool Effingham County Health Department Samantha Weidner, Early Childhood Development Director Crisis Nursery of Effingham County Meghan Rewers, Executive Director Effingham Public Library Johnna Schultz, Assistant Director In another matter, the board approved a request from Effingham County Chamber President and CEO Lucinda Hart for use of the county parking lot and Effingham County Museum lawn for the EffingHam-Jam 2022, to be held Friday, July 22, through Saturday, July 23. "I definitely want to continue working with the county on this. I think it is a great community event and the proceeds go to a good cause," Hart said. Hart said after the meeting a portion of the proceeds from EffingHam-Jam go to the Chamber Foundation of Effingham County Scholarship Foundation. In other business, the board: * Appointed Effingham Fire Department Chief Brant Yochum to the Ambulance Oversight Committee. * Approved the placement of food trucks on the Effingham County Museum parking lot on Mondays and Fridays this summer. * Approved digital directory, bulletin board and signage for the Effingham County Sheriff's Office at a cost of approximately $500. * Approved a $5,000 donation to the Effingham County Regional Growth Alliance. The Alliance requested $15,000. * Approved the replacement of the Effingham County Government Center entrance door with American Rescue Plan Act funds. Effingham County Sheriff Paul Kuhns said the door replacement cost, which includes both demolition and new door, is approximately $16,000. * Increased the rate per hour of the Deputy Coroner to $25. * Increased the adoption fee for dogs from $100 to $130. County Board Chairman Jim Niemann said during last week's Effingham County Tax and Finance Committee meeting the reason for the increase is due to the cost to neuter or spade a dog. The $65 adoption fee for a kitten or cat will remain unchanged. * Approved a $1,000 donation to the Dieterich Fourth of July fireworks display from the Hotel/Motel Tax Fund. * Approved a measure that would move forward a Request for Proposal for cooling towers for the Effingham County facilities downtown. During officials' reports, Effingham County Clerk Kerry Hirtzel said the dates to file for office is March 7 through 14. The clerk's office would be open on March 14 until 5 p.m. County Board Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Economic Development Board Dave Campbell reported there is $50,000 in the revolving loan fund available to loan to an existing or new business. Charles Mills can be reached at charles.mills@effinghamdailynews.com or by phone at 217-347-7151 ext. 126. Elon Musk arriving at the Delaware Court of Chancery. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters A federal judge on Thursday quashed Elon Musk's attempt to bring the SEC into court. The CEO filed a letter last week accusing the agency of "endless, unfounded investigations" into Tesla. The judge said that Musk's "precise application to the Court is unclear." A federal judge denied Elon Musk's recent attempt to call the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into court in an order that the judge posted on Thursday. The district judge, Alison J. Nathan, said in the court order that Musk's "precise application to the Court is unclear," CNBC first reported. Last week, Musk filed a letter in federal court via his attorney Alex Spiro that accused the agency of harassment in the form of "endless, unfounded investigations" into Tesla. The letter said the regulator had leaked information regarding investigations into the electric carmaker and withheld $40 million in funds from a 2018 settlement with Tesla and Musk regarding his tweets around potential plans to take the company private. In the letter, Musk requested a conference with the SEC that would be facilitated by the US District Court to address its accusations. In response, the SEC said it has "sought to meet and confer with Tesla and Mr. Musk to address any concerns" and that it expects to submit a "proposed plan of distribution" for the $40 million in funds by the end of March. Nathan said that the court cannot impose a deadline on the $40 million in funds that "does not currently exist." The district judge also said that the CEO's letter does not include "specific facts or legal authority" to justify "on-the-record assurance that the Commission has not leaked investigative details." She noted Musk and Tesla could file a motion to inhibit an SEC subpoena, but would need "a non-frivolous basis." Musk and the SEC have had a rocky relationship. As recently as last year, the SEC cited Musk for what it said were violations of the terms of the 2018 settlement. Earlier this week, Musk said on Twitter that he has been "building a case" against the SEC. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the agency is investigating Musk and his brother, Kimbal Musk, for potentially violating insider trading rules. Read the original article on Business Insider STORY: Its an incredibly strong signal that both the president as well as his foreign minister are complicit in what is happening right now, the first war in Europe since 1945, Chancellor Nehammer told reporters. He added that Austria backed the idea of excluding Russia from the global SWIFT system of interbank payments provided there is unity within the European Union on the issue. (Instagram/@maryfurtas) A Ukrainian fashion designer behind celebrity-loved brand Cult Naked has condemned Russias move to war. Mary Furtas, founder and creative director of the slow fashion brand loved by celebrities like Hilary Duff, Kendall Jenner and Megan Fox has described the invasion as the worst day in our lives. Posting on her Instagram Story, Furtas said she hadnt slept for 30 hours and pleaded with Kyiv to hold on. Furtas is based in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine. On Thursday, as Russian soldiers began their invasion into Ukraine, the designer posted a picture of text to her Instagram feed which read: Every Russian is responsible for this. In the caption she wrote: 5 AM. All cities of peaceful Ukraine are under Russian rocket attack. YOUR SILENCE KILLS PEOPLE. GET UP IF YOU WANT PEACE!!!!!!! STOP SAYING YOURE ASHAMED. ACT!!! She also used the hashtag #ww3 in her post. Cult Naked has also posted a picture to its Instagram feed with the text: #standwithukraine. In the caption, it reads: Dear #cultgen, today Russia started a full scale war in Ukraine. As a team of Ukrainians who create our pieces for you on the territory of our country, we and the rest of Ukraine are in danger! Our army is working hard to protect us and not let Putin go further. But we need your support. Please, donate to Ukrainian army to help us. Every dollar of support matters! In her Instagram Stories, Furtas also posted a picture comparing London during WWII to Ukraine now. The image shows Londoners taking shelter in underground tube stations and shows Ukrainians doing the same thing. Furtas wrote: Just because we dont want to be like them. Just because he [Russian president Vladmir Putin] has a complex. Just because one sick gang wants to have fun. (Instagram/@maryfurtas @cultnaked) The designer also pleaded with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to close Ukrainian skies to help stop air raids. Furtas has also posted a link to the charity Save Lives which people can donate to to help Ukrainians. You can find other ways to help Ukrainians in need here. By Daphne Psaledakis WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Russia in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, targeting major banks and members of the elite coupled with new export control measures. Washington warned that more action could follow and that all options are on the table. The below are some ways in which the United States could further escalate sanctions on Russia. SANCTIONS ON PUTIN The United States could take the rare but not unprecedented step of imposing sanctions on a head of state and designate Russian President Vladimir Putin. The United States has in the past imposed sanctions on heads of state, including on Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and Syria's Bashar al-Assad. The EU on Friday agreed to freeze any European assets of Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. SWIFT Another option could be shutting Russia out of SWIFT - the world's main international payments network - which would hit Russian trade and make it harder for Russian companies to do business. SWIFT is a secure messaging system that facilitates rapid cross-border payments and has become the principal mechanism for financing international trade. In 2020, around 38 million SWIFT 'FIN messages' were sent each day over the SWIFT platform, according to its 2020 annual review. Each year, trillions of dollars are transferred using the system. Asked why Washington did not shut Russia out of the payment system in Thursday's action, U.S. President Joe Biden said the sanctions that were rolled out against Russian banks incurred "equal consequence," if not more. "It is always an option, but right now that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take," Biden said. The EU is looking at what the consequences would be of cutting Russia off from SWIFT, France's finance minister said on Friday. Some countries are reluctant over concerns about how payments for Russian energy imports would be made and whether EU creditors would get paid. Story continues OLIGARCHS The Treasury this week imposed sanctions on what it said were Russian "elites," including on some with ties to Sberbank, VTB, Rosneft and the Federal Security Service (FSB). Brian O'Toole, a former U.S. Treasury Department official now with the Atlantic Council, said the United States could also impose sanctions on more significant Russian oligarchs. O'Toole said those listed in Thursday's action were not "the major tycoons." TIGHTENED SANCTIONS ON BANKS, FIRMS Another option could include tightening sanctions on banks and firms the United States targeted in Thursday's action but did not designate using its most powerful sanctioning tool, the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. Washington said U.S. banks must sever their correspondent banking ties - which allow banks to make payments between one another and move money around the globe - with Russia's largest lender, Sberbank, but did not freeze its assets. It also expanded the scope of existing curbs on U.S. persons dealing in the debt and equity of Russian state-owned enterprises. The restrictions apply to 13 firms, including Gazprombank, the Russian Agricultural Bank, and Gazprom. Washington could tighten the restrictions on those entities and add them to the SDN list, a move that effectively kicks them out of the U.S. financial system, bans their trade with Americans and freezes their U.S. assets. "We still have all options on the table. We have room to further escalate as Russia's aggression escalates," a senior U.S. administration official said. OIL COMPANIES Washington could decide to go after Russian oil companies, which it has so far largely held back from doing. The Biden administration has seemed concerned that its sanctions could trigger higher energy prices and has taken steps to mitigate those effects, including by issuing a general license on Thursday authorizing energy-related transactions involving certain banks until June 24. The official on Thursday said: "We know there are going to be some costs that we have to bear, but our goal is to mitigate those and that's why we stayed away from targeting energy." (Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Additional reporting by David Lawder, Andrea Shalal and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) Associated Press Twitter and Facebook encouraged users, especially those in Ukraine, to take measures to protect their accounts on Thursday. Russia's military has previously used social media to manipulate political events, often spreading misinformation. False information about Russia's invasion of Ukraine already account for half of recent Twitter and Facebook posts, one media tracker found. In the hours after Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, social media platforms alluded to users in the country being at increased risk of their accounts being manipulated, a tactic Russia has used to spread disinformation for years. The recommendations, from Twitter's corporate account and Facebook's director of threat intelligence, ranged from what to do if your account was hacked to preemptively closing an account for safety concerns. Overall, the platforms encouraged users to be mindful of how they operated on the internet, as they are at increased risk due to the conflict. In encouraging people in Ukraine to to protect their accounts on Thursday, Twitter did not mention Russia by name, but posted a thread on avoiding manipulation and listing various methods how to do so. It offered tips and guides on "how to control your account and digital information," first telling users to simply deactivate their accounts if they felt unsafe. Then it explained what to do if an account had been hacked, how to know if it had been, and suggested not tweeting locations. It explained how to disable location tracking on a smartphone altogether. It posted the tips in English, Ukrainian, and Russian. Some hours later, David Agranovich, Meta's director of threat intelligence, said on Twitter that the company, which recently changed its name from Facebook, added additional features on Wednesday night for users in Ukraine to protect their accounts. Story continues Writing entirely in Ukrainian, Agranovich said any user in the region now had a one-click tool to effectively lock their profiles and add security to them, something the company had previously rolled out in select countries in "dangerous situations," like Afghanistan. He also linked to several outside guides offering steps for anyone living or working in Ukraine to protect their digital files and devices. "It is important for journalists and activists in Ukraine (and other vulnerable groups)," Agranovich wrote, "to remember that Meta is only one element of the online ecosystem." These companies also face the challenge of increased misinformation on the platforms. The amount of false information on Twitter and Facebook has steadily increased over the last week, according to Cyabra, a platform that monitors disinformation. Since Feb. 14, content referring to Ukraine in a negative way on Twitter has increased 11,000%. The firm also found that 56% of all content about Ukraine on Facebook and Twitter over the last two weeks was created by "inauthentic profiles," like bots or puppet accounts. Russia has long used social media to manipulate political events, often, though not always, by creating and amplifying intentionally false or misleading isinformation. The country used a sophisticated social media misinformation scheme involving hundreds of thousands of fake accounts in attempt to influence the result of the 2016 US election, according to special prosecutor Robert Mueller's report. Russia used similar methods in 2011 to obscure posts questioning or protesting the results of its own parliamentary elections. A Twitter spokeswoman said the platform is "proactively monitoring for emerging narratives" that violate its use rules, including "identifying and disrupting attempts to amplify false and misleading information and to advance the speed and scale of our enforcement." Representatives from Facebook, TikTok and YouTube did not respond to requests for comment about their strategy or moderation efforts around Russia-Ukraine content. In a separate post to Twitter, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of security policy did say the company had formed "a special operations center to respond in real time" to the conflict and content around it. "It is staffed by experts (including native speakers) so we can closely monitor the situation and act as fast as possible," Gleicher added. Are you a Facebook, Twitter, or Snap employee with insight to share? Got a tip? Contact this reporter at khays@insider.com or through secure messaging app Signal at 949-280-0267. Reach out using a non-work device. Twitter DM at @hayskali. Read the original article on Business Insider STORY: Juliana had made the journey with her young daughter to Romania's border town of Sighetu Marmatiei, joining a mostly female crowd of refugees with children. Alona, from Kyiv, painted a bleak picture, saying: "There is nothing good there, just blood, ruins and all the worst that war can bring with it." Asked why she was crossing without her husband, she said: "He fights for Ukraine." U.N. agencies said as many as 5 million people could try to flee abroad. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden on Friday nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the first Black woman selected to serve on a court that once declared her race unworthy of citizenship and endorsed American segregation. Introducing Jackson at the White House, Biden declared, I believe its time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation. Advertisement With his nominee standing alongside, the president praised her as having a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people. He said, She strives to be fair, to get it right, to do justice. In Jackson, Biden delivered on a campaign promise to make the historic appointment and further diversify a court that was made up entirely of white men for almost two centuries. Advertisement He also chose an attorney who would be the high courts first former public defender, though she possesses the elite legal background of other justices as well. Jackson would be the current courts second Black member Clarence Thomas, a conservative, is the other and just the third in history. She would replace liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who is retiring at the end of the term this summer, so she wont change the courts 6-3 conservative majority. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks after President Joe Biden announced Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court in the Cross Hall of the White House, Feb. 25, 2022, in Washington. (Carolyn Kaster/AP) Jackson would join the court as it weighs cutbacks to abortion rights and will be considering ending affirmative action in college admissions and restricting voting rights efforts to increase minority representation. She would be only the sixth woman to serve on the court, but she would join three others already there, including the first Latina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In brief remarks, Jackson thanked Biden, saying she was humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination. She highlighted her familys first-hand experience with the entirety of the legal system, as judges and lawyers, an uncle who was Miamis police chief and another who was imprisoned on drug charges. She also spoke of the historic nature of her nomination, noting she shared a birthday with Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to be confirmed to the federal bench. If Im fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court United States, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans, she said. Jackson, 51, once worked as one of Breyers law clerks early in her legal career. She attended Harvard as an undergraduate and for law school, and served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the agency that develops federal sentencing policy, before becoming a federal judge in 2013. Advertisement Her nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority by a razor-thin 50-50 margin with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker. Party leaders have promised swift but deliberate consideration. Fridays ceremony was attended only by White House staff, Jacksons family and news media, in part because the Senate is out of session this week. Everyone wore masks because of the pandemic, Biden and Jackson removing theirs to speak. He bent to pull out a lectern step for her to stand on as she made her remarks. Her introduction came two years to the day after Biden, then struggling to capture the Democratic presidential nomination, pledged in a South Carolina debate to nominate a Black woman if presented with a vacancy. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said in a statement that the panel will begin immediately to move forward on consideration of an extraordinary nominee. Senators have set a tentative goal of confirmation by April 8, when they leave for a two-week spring recess. Hearings could start as soon as mid-March. That timeline could be complicated by a number of things, including Russias invasion of Ukraine and the extended absence of Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, who suffered a stroke last month and is out for several weeks. Democrats would need Lujans vote to confirm Bidens pick if no Republicans support her. Advertisement Once the nomination is sent to the Senate, it is up to the Senate Judiciary Committee to vet the nominee and hold confirmation hearings. After the committee approves a nomination, it goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. Biden and Senate Democrats are hoping for a bipartisan vote on the nomination, but its unclear if they will be able to win over any GOP senators after bitterly partisan confirmation battles under President Donald Trump. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of three Republicans who voted to confirm Jackson to the appeals court last year, had pushed Biden to nominate a different candidate from his home state, Judge J. Michelle Childs, who also was favored by home-state Rep. James Clyburn, a Biden ally. Graham said earlier this month his vote would be very problematic if it were anyone else, and he expressed disappointment in a tweet Friday. Previewing a likely Republican attack line, he and several others on the right said Biden was going with the choice of the radical left. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he looked forward to meeting with Jackson and studying her record, legal views and judicial philosophy. But he noted he had voted against her a year ago. Biden has said he was interested in selecting a nominee in the mold of Breyer who could be a persuasive force with fellow justices. Although Breyers votes tended to put him to the left of center on an increasingly conservative court, he frequently saw the gray in situations that colleagues were more likely to find black or white. Justice Breyer the members of the Senate will decide if I fill your seat, Jackson said Friday, praising the retiring justices civility, grace, pragmatism and generosity of spirit. Advertisement But please know that I could never fill your shoes, she said. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, With her exceptional qualifications and record of evenhandedness, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be a justice who will uphold the Constitution and protect the rights of all Americans, including the voiceless and vulnerable. As part of his search process, Biden, a longtime chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also interviewed Childs and California Supreme Court Judge Leondra Kruger, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, saying all three interviews took place on Feb. 14. As part of his process, Biden also consulted with a range of legal experts and lawmakers in both parties and delved deeply into the finalists legal writings. Biden called Jackson late Thursday to inform her that she was his choice, Psaki said, and he informed Democratic congressional leaders Friday morning. Jackson serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a position that Biden elevated her to last year from her previous job as a federal trial court judge. Three current justices Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts, the chief justice previously served on the same appeals court. Jackson was confirmed to that post on a 53-44 Senate vote, winning the backing of three Republicans: Graham, Maines Susan Collins and Alaskas Lisa Murkowski. Advertisement In one of Jacksons most high-profile decisions, as a trial court judge she ordered former White House Counsel Don McGahn to appear before Congress. That was a setback to Trumps efforts to keep his top aides from testifying. The case was appealed, and a deal was ultimately reached for McGahns testimony. As an appeals court judge, she was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in December against Trumps effort to shield documents from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Miami. She has said that her parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, chose her name to express their pride in her familys African ancestry. They asked an aunt who was in the Peace Corps in Africa at the time to send a list of African girls names and they picked Ketanji Onyika, which they were told meant lovely one. Jackson traces her interest in the law to when she was in preschool and her father was in law school and they would sit together at the dining room table, she with coloring books and he with law books. Her father became an attorney for the county school board and her mother was a high school principal. A brother, nine years younger, served in the Army, including in Iraq, and is now a lawyer, too. Associated Press writers Mark Sherman, Jessica Gresko and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. Investigators said video from inside the U.S. Capitol showed First Coast resident Jeffrey Register (face circled) was present during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. This image was used in prosecutors' court filings. A Northeast Florida man will spend 75 days behind bars for his part in last years U.S. Capitol riot by people challenging President Joe Bidens election, federal court records show. Jeffrey Register could have been sentenced to up to six months in jail for parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, the single misdemeanor charge he pleaded guilty to in October. Deciding a fitting sentence, announced Thursday in federal court in Washington, depended partly on which of two narratives U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly accepted about Registers role in the Jan. 6, 2021, melee. The 39-year-old warehouse worker was part of a crowd gathered in hallways outside the U.S. House of Representatives meeting chamber shortly before a police officer shot and killed a rioter trying to slip through a window in a barricaded door. Florida rioters: Florida connections to the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot: A Top 10 list More from the riot: 2 from Middleburg get probation, restitution orders for roles in U.S. Capitol riot The rioter, Ashli Babbitt, was one of five people who died during or shortly after the riot, which temporarily shut down action by Congress to certify the election results. A prosecutor who wanted Register locked up for five months argued before Thursdays sentencing that his behavior arguably contributed to the circumstances surrounding Babbitts death. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Dreher contended in December that Register, whose home is listed on court records as being in both Jacksonville and Nassau County, actively led others within the building, by waving them forward to the door where Babbitt was shot. This image of two men waving to a crowd in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot was included in a sentencing memo a prosecutor filed about First Coast resident Jeffrey Register. The memo identifies Register as the man marked by an arrow, standing in a hallway leading to the speaker of the House lobby. But Registers lawyer told the judge last month that argument was thoroughly disingenuous, and that Babbitt passed Register on her way to that door before he waved anyone that way. When the shooting happened, Register was in a restroom, the defense lawyer said. Emerging from the restroom quickly, Mr. Register saw people standing over a body, Assistant Federal Public Defender Cara Halverson wrote in a memo arguing her client deserved probation. He heard others scream, They shot her! They killed her! Panicked and feeling the gravity of chaos around him, Mr. Register found the nearest exit and left the building. Story continues Capitol Riot Roll Call: A running list of those who have been arrested Halverson told the judge Register is a hard-working family man who was fired for being charged in connection with the riot, though he later found another job at a distribution company. Halverson argued her client had been fed lies and disingenuous directions by people that should have known better during a rally for former President Donald Trump just before the Capitol was breached He entered the building, but his unlawful entrance cannot, and should not, be conflated with the many other, wider, failures that occurred that day. Arguably, the former president, the rallys organizers and speakers, and other nefarious, organized groups contributed to the chaos and are greatly more culpable for what happened on January 6, the defense lawyer argued. Besides the jail time, Kelly ordered Register to pay $500 as restitution. Prosecutors dropped three other charges as part of Registers plea deal. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: U.S. Capitol riot: Florida man near Babbitt shooting gets 75 days STORY: Ukraine has restricted passage over its borders for men between 18 and 60 years old. One woman from Kyiv said she was "very worried" about friends and family taking cover in bomb shelters in the capital. "It's a terrible tragedy," she said, adding that she had relatives in Russia who believed the motivation for the invasion, given by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was to protect people from "genocide" in Ukraine - an accusation the West calls baseless propaganda. People have also been crossing to Ukraine to Romania's fellow EU and NATO members Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Tens of thousands of people have fled the major cities and dozens have been reported killed, after Russia invaded by land, sea and air on Thursday (February 24). Adam Johnson, the Manatee County man who became a prominent face of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol when he famously posed for a photo while toting Nancy Pelosis lectern, was sentenced Friday to 75 days in jail. Senior U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton also ordered Johnson to serve a year of supervised release and pay a $5,000 fine and $500 in restitution for damage to the Capitol. Before he pronounced the sentence, the judge lamented a highly partisan political culture that he worried was ripping this country apart. He said he felt a term of incarceration was necessary to send a message that conduct like Johnsons was unacceptable. Society needs to appreciate that if youre going to do something like what happened, there are going to be severe consequences, the judge said. Johnson admitted his presence in the Capitol made worse what occurred that day. He admitted what he did was wrong. He called his famous pose with the lectern a very stupid idea. There were things that happened there that should never happen again, Johnson said. And Im ashamed to have been a part of it. Johnson, 37, was among the first rioters identified. A stay-at-home father of five who is married to a doctor, he traveled to Washington D.C., with a friend ahead of a planned rally in support of former President Donald Trump. He was there when Trump and others spoke and urged the crowd to march on the Capitol. As the mob breached barriers and fought with police, Johnson climbed scaffolding up the side of the building and made his way inside the Senate wing. He marched with others through an office. He posed for a photo beside a sign reading, Closed to all tours, and posted it to Facebook with a caption reading,No. He entered the office suite of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, jiggling locked door handles as the speakers staff sat barricaded in a nearby office. He found the lectern in a cloakroom and toted it to the Rotunda, where he posed for photos and pretended to make a speech. Story continues He left the lectern there, and afterward walked to an entryway to the House chamber where rioters overwhelmed police. He saw officers being crushed and people using flag poles to try to break down the chamber doors. He noticed a bust of George Washington and remarked that it would be a great battering ram. Johnson left after white smoke began filling the hallways. He spent 35 minutes inside the Capitol. In the days immediately following the attack, Johnson boasted on social media about his presence there, writing that he broke the internet and was finally famous. Johnson later deleted social media posts and pictures from Jan. 6 and 7. When FBI agents contacted him, he turned himself in and spent a weekend in jail. He cooperated with the investigation, detailing everything he did in Washington. In November, he pleaded guilty to a single charge of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. Since his arrest, defense lawyers said, Johnson has dealt with ridicule and threats. Friends stopped talking to him. His wifes medical practice suffered financially. As he stands before the court today, he deeply regrets his participation in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, attorneys David Bigney and Dan Eckhart wrote in a sentencing memo. The damage and violence inflicted on that date by others is contrary to everything he believes in. He has no history of violence and does not condone it. Prosecutors had sought a short jail term. While acknowledging Johnsons cooperation, they argued that he saw and encouraged the violent acts of other rioters as they attacked police and destroyed property. His actions illustrate his sense of entitlement and privilege, prosecutor Jessica Arco wrote. The now-viral podium photo portrays Johnson as confident, arguably gleeful, while converting government property to his own use during an unlawful siege of the Capitol. Amid plea negotiations, prosecutors received a tip that Johnson wanted to publish a memoir about his experience. This led to a provision of the agreement that he must turn over to the government any profits he makes from books, interviews or products bearing his name or likeness. This is a developing story. Check with tampabay.com for updates. A former Bluffton police officer faces criminal charges two years after being accused of discarding evidence and interfering in the court case of someone he was romantically involved with, according to documents. Robert Harman, 39, of Bluffton was arraigned Thursday on indictments of one count of misconduct in office and one count of obstruction of justice. He pleaded not guilty. In January 2020, the Bluffton Police Department fired Harman after an internal investigation revealed Officer Harman did in fact discard evidence that was detrimental to a DRE (Drug Recognition Expert) case, a document submitted by the department to the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy said. The document goes on to say Harman began to have a relationship with the same person who was involved in the case. More specifically, he was accused of having sexual relations with someone he had arrested/transported. Finally it was found that Officer Harman interjected himself in the lawful process of court without recusing himself for the same case, the document signed by former Bluffton Police Chief Christopher Chapmond said. The department contacted the S.C. Law Enforcement Division and the 14th Circuit Solicitors Office to open an investigation. Two years later, the allegations were brought to a Beaufort County grand jury. On Jan. 13, the grand jury indicted Harman on two counts. The indictments dont contain any description of what Harman is accused of doing, only that he allegedly obstructed justice and engaged in misconduct in office. While 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone signed off on the indictments, the case will be prosecuted by Michael Spears from the First Circuit Solicitors Office, according to 14th Circuit spokesperson Jeff Kidd. Kidd said Stones office sought to avoid a conflict of interest because Harman worked for Bluffton Police, an agency that works with prosecutors on cases in the circuit, so Stones agency handed the case off. Former Bluffton Police Officer Robert Harman Harman in court Story continues Harman no longer works as a police officer. He still lives in Bluffton and now works in construction, according to his lawyer, Jim Brown of Law Offices of Jim Brown, P.A. in Beaufort. In court Thursday, Harman turned himself in after learning a warrant was issued for his arrest saying he failed to show up for court on his indicted charges. Brown said Harman was never served with the indictments and only found out about it when a warrant was drawn up. A prosecutor asked Judge R. Ferrell Cothran, Jr. for a surety bond for Harman, requiring him to post money to get out of jail and ensure he comes back to court, according to Brown. They said it was because SLED couldnt find Harman after the Jan. 13 indictments, Brown said. We pointed out his phone number was the same that he gave to (the Bluffton Police Department) he has the same address as the one on the drivers license, Brown said. Judge Cothran instead gave Harman two personal recognizance bonds, meaning he could leave jail and the courthouse without posting any money. Past discipline Harman is a graduate of The Citadel and a native-South Carolinian. He got his start in the Irmo Police Department in 2007, according to records. Previous reporting in the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers revealed Harman had been disciplined by the agency he worked for prior to Bluffton Police. Harman worked for the South Carolina State Transport Police from 2010-15. He resigned in 2015, pending an investigation. A spokesperson for the S.C. Department of Public Safety told the newspapers Harman received a reprimand in May 2015 for presenting himself as a supervisor to a member of the public when he was not. Then State Transport Police Officer Robert Harman wins a 2014 Officer of the Year award Additionally, Harman was asked to resign or be terminated from the Irmo Police Department, where he worked from 2007-09, according to his job application to Bluffton. Harman disclosed in a letter that his ex-fiance and her new boyfriend had filed a complaint against him for harassment and stalking, leading to his departure from the department. He denied in the letter that ever occurred. When we publish mugshots The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette publishes police booking photos, or mugshots, in the following instances: In situations where a public figure or someone in a position of public trust is arrested In cases where there is an immediate and widespread threat to public safety In cases where the arrested person is accused of a crime reporters have evidence to believe involved numerous, unknown victims Reporters will avoid using mugshots as lead images for online articles in order to limit their circulation on social media, except in cases where the public is served by the immediate identification of the accused. Reporters and editors may use discretion in situations that dont meet the criteria outlined in this policy but still present a compelling reason to publish a mugshot. While Donald Trump has spent this week heaping praise on savvy Vladimir Putin for his genius initial moves on Ukraine preceding the invasion, one of the former presidents aides has come out against the stunning comments. Dan Coats, who served as the former presidents director of national intelligence, told The Daily Beast on Thursday: I cannot think of any other US president that would in a situation like this say what he said. Asked to further comment on the situation, specifically how President Joe Biden is handling the crisis, Mr Coats declined to comment on the matter. He did however concede that Mr Biden has a lot to do right now. This is not the first time that Mr Trump has stunned Mr Coats with regards to the Russian president. In July 2018, news broke that Mr Putin was in talks for a visit to Washington later that year, according to the White House. Mr Coats was being interviewed by NBC News Andrea Mitchell at an event when he was told the news which Ms Mitchell read out from Twitter. Asked to comment on how President Biden is currently handling the crisis, Coats declined to comment on the matter except to say Biden has a lot to do right now Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) February 25, 2022 Say that again, said Mr Coats to laughter from the room. Okay Thats going to be special, he said, later adding that he was not aware of any planned meeting. There have been other stunned reactions to Mr Trumps most recent comments. The State Department said it had no words, and comedian John Stewart called Mr Trumps comments f***ing bonkers. The formal response of the Republican Party has been to condemn Mr Putins actions in Ukraine. White House chief of staff John Kelly listens as then-President Donald Trump speaks at the Cabinet Room of the White House. Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images Trump and some other Republican figures have praised Putin during Russia's conflict with Ukraine. Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told CNN he was in "disbelief" over such GOP support. "I don't get it," Kelly said. Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told CNN he was in "disbelief" over some Republicans' support for Russian President Vladimir Putin during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. When asked about former President Donald Trump's recent praise for Putin, Kelly told CNN's Jake Tapper on Thursday that he doesn't "get it." "[Putin] is a tyrant. He's a murderer. He has attacked an innocent country whose only crime is that they want to be free and democratic and they're working in that direction and have been working in that direction," Kelly said. "Is Putin smart?" he added. "Yes. I mean, tyrants are smart. They know what they're doing. But I can't imagine why someone would look at what's happening there and see it [as] anything other than a criminal act." Kelly, who served as Trump's chief of staff from 2017 to 2019, did not mention his former boss by name. You can watch the interview below: Russia attacked Ukraine early Thursday morning after stationing hundreds of thousands of troops at its border. Explosions pounded cities across Ukraine, including its capital Kyiv. In the last few weeks, Trump and many other leading conservative figures, including Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, had praised Putin as he threatened the attack. Trump told the "Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" on Tuesday that Putin's justification for invading Ukraine was "savvy" and "genius." In an interview with the Center for the National Interest last week, Trump's former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, also expressed "enormous respect" for Putin. Insider's live blog of the invasion is covering developments as they happen. Read the original article on Business Insider The body of a man who had been missing for four months was found not far from his home on Feb. 24, Georgia officials say. Coweta County Sheriffs Office authorities told McClatchy News that they located the body of Gary Harper in a field not far from his residence in Newnan, Georgia. Harper had been listed as a missing person on a national database since October 2021, officials say. Police say foul play isnt suspected in Harpers death as of Feb. 24. His body has been sent to the GBI Crime Lab, which is protocol for unexplained deaths, they say. The investigation continues, police say. Missing NC woman found safe after flying to Las Vegas for beauty pageant, family says Dog walker discovers human skull and bones in Massachusetts woods, officials say Mystery surrounds human skull, scattered bones found in wooded area, Illinois cops say Hiker finds remains of man missing for just short of a decade, Oklahoma sheriff says Mohamed Hassan Adam, an imam at a mosque on Columbus' Northeast Side and leader of the local Muslim and Somali communities who was slain Dec. 24. Those who knew a local Muslim imam and pillar of the Somali community expressed relief Friday after Columbus police said they have arrested and charged a Franklinton man they say is responsible for the fatal shooting of Mohamed Hassan Adam in December. Adam's daughter, Shukri Hassan, said Thursday when family members learned of the arrest was a good day in a difficult time. "I hope that we receive justice," she said. "We cannot sit down and sit back until that time." Shukri Hassan, daughter of slain Imam Mohamed Hassan Adam, speaks Friday at a news conference at Columbus City Hall, where police formally announced a Franklinton man has been charged in murder. John W. Wooden Jr., 46, of Franklinton, has been charged with murder in connection with the Dec. 24 death of the 48-year-old Adam, according to Franklin County court records. Detective Earl Westfall, the lead investigator on the case, said Friday that he believes at least one other person, and possibly more, were involved in Adam's homicide, saying the investigation is not over. Westfall said Wooden and Adam are believed to have been engaged in a business transaction and had minimal prior contact with each other before the shooting. He declined to say what the transaction was about. Columbus police detective Earl Westfall, at left, speaks Friday at a news conference at City Hall, where police formally announced that a suspect had been arrested in the murder of Mohamed Hassan Adam. Horsed Noah, outreach director at the Somali Islamic Centers of Ohio and an imam in his own right, said his community appreciates police sticking to their word of making solving Adam's homicide a priority. Homicide map: View the Dispatch map with the location and data for every homicide in Columbus since 2017 "They fulfilled their word," Noah said. "We know the investigation could take a while and we're eagerly waiting until (Wooden is) convicted." Noah said the last two months since Adam's death have been trying. "It was really stressful days ... it was many sleepless nights for me," Noah said. "I lost a personal friend, mentor and colleague. The community he built, the students he mentored were all very stressed and shocked." As news has spread of Wooden's arrest, Noah said the entire community is buzzing, calling it a "bright morning." Story continues Amina Barhumi, the acting executive director of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the last two months since Adam's death have been an "emotional rollercoaster." "There is a sense of relief that there are some questions that are being answered. An arrest is definitely step in the right direction," she said. Adam was found dead inside a van behind a chain link fence on the 1400 block of Windsor Avenue on the city's North Side. An autopsy revealed he had been shot multiple times. Paying homage: Hundreds gather at funeral service to mourn death of Imam Mohamed Hassan Adam Adam, who was an imam at Masjid Abu Hurairah mosque on the city's Northeast Side, had last been seen on Dec. 22, when he left home to pick up his child from a day care center on Oakland Park Avenue. Members of Adam's family and the communities he served began a search for Adam and the van that ultimately led to them discovering his body on Dec. 24. Several hundred members of the Islamic and Somali communities then gathered in the area to mourn and pray as police investigated. In this December 2021 file photo, men gather to pray at Joyce and Windor avenues near the site where the body of Mohamed Hassan Adam was discovered. Wooden has been in the Franklin County jail on a federal charge of weapons possession by a convicted felon since his arrest Feb. 18 outside the North Guilford Avenue home where he had been living. He is scheduled to have his first court appearance on the murder charge on Saturday morning. Federal court records show Wooden had been released from federal prison in March 2021 after serving more than 10 years for a federal robbery conviction. Westfall said Wooden is suspected in other violent crimes since his release, but did not elaborate on the specifics. Vice officer convicted: Federal jury splits verdicts in the trial of two former Columbus police vice officers After Columbus police identified Wooden as a suspect in the homicide of Adam, a search warrant was executed at the home where he was living by a Columbus police SWAT team. During that search, a shotgun was found in the basement area where Wooden was living, and a loaded handgun was found underneath a pair of women's underwear in a basket that was in the kitchen area, records state. Wooden, who arrived at the home while the search warrant was being executed, was taken into custody without incident and has been held in the county jail on the federal charge since his arrest last week. Columbus police said that working in conjunction with the ATF on the Crime Gun Task Force helped identify Wooden as the suspected killer. A ballistics match confirmed the handgun found in the kitchen was the weapon used to kill Adam, according to court records. "Some things were moved in a lot faster direction than they normally would be," Westfall said of the quick ballistic testing to match the gun to evidence recovered in the case. Adam was remembered by hundreds who gathered at his funeral. The case has drawn international attention and a $20,000 reward had been offered by the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for information leading to an arrest. Police released a 15-second video clip in January of someone not Adam driving the van he was last seen in. Westfall said he believes at least one other person, and possibly more, were involved in Adam's homicide, saying the investigation is not over. Mourners pray during a memorial service Dec. 30 for slain Imam Mohamed Hassan Adam held at IbnuTaymiyah Masjid and Islamic Center in Columbus. Several people within the Muslim and Somali communities had reached out to The Dispatch expressing concerns over how Columbus police initially had handled the investigation into Adam's missing persons report. Hassan Omar, president of the Somali Community Association of Ohio, said Friday that the dedication of Columbus police to find Adam's killer dispelled any suggestions that police didn't treat the Somali community the same as others. "Columbus is our city, Columbus police are our police, we trust them," Omar said. Prior coverage: Columbus police seek tips as they investigate homicide of imam Mohamed Hassan Adam Westfall said Friday there is no indication that Adam was targeted because of his faith or being a member of the Somali community. Omar said the larger community, dozens of whom gathered at City Hall Friday with members of Adam's family to hear the formal announcement of the arrest of a suspect formally announced, has let out a collective sigh of relief. "It took some pressure off," Omar said. "Today's a dream come true." Anyone with information about or any other Columbus homicide is asked to call detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. Dispatch reporter Monroe Trombly contributed to this report. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklinton man charged in homicide of local Muslim, Somali leader Export firms cancel orders due to rising logistics costs Many export firms have had to cancel some orders due to increased logistical costs following the sharp rise in petrol prices. Banana Brother Farm Company faces more difficulties exporting their goods due to increased logistical costs. CEO of Banana Brother Farm Company, Le Thi My Hanh, said that they are facing more difficulties exporting their goods after the Lunar New Year. "We've been unable to properly prepare for the accelerating logistics costs after continuous petrol price hikes," Hanh said. Adding to the fuel price challenges is the closure of border gates with China. "The sudden closure of many northern border gates due to Covid-19 prevention measures issued by Chinese authorities has resulted in great losses for Vietnamese farm produce exporters like us," Hanh said. "Our banana containers ran from the southern province of Dong Nai to the northern border gates but had to return due to the sudden closure. We then had to transport our goods to ports in Haiphong and Ho Chi Minh City for sea shipment." The CEO said that they've incurred big losses as their goods were spoiled following long-time shipment and the transportation costs soared. "Shipment costs to China have increased from VND 170 million to VND 200 million per container," she said. Weve had to cancel many orders due to rising costs. We planned to send 40 containers this February but only sent 12 so far. This has affected our reputation but weve no other choice. I hope that local authorities will help us reduce logistics costs. CEO of Ameii Vietnam Company, Ngo Thi Hong Thu, also said that logistical costs have become too high for them to make a profit. "We have received many orders for our cabbages from South Korea, Europe, Australia, and the US since the beginning of 2022 but we have had to cancel orders with long-distance shipping due to rising costs," she said. "With these high logistics costs, farmers are also facing losses." Truong Dinh Hoe - General Secretary of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that the rising logistics costs over the past months had affected international trade activities in Vietnam. We've sent letters to the government asking for help to solve this situation," he said. "If not, many seafood companies wont be able to recover this year." A judge has ordered the parents of a 15-year-old boy charged with killing four students at his Michigan high school to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. Rochester Hills District Court Judge Julie Nicholson said following Thursdays preliminary examination for Jennifer and James Crumbley that she found enough evidence to send their case to circuit court. Advertisement They are accused of making the gun used in the shooting available to the teen and failing to intervene when he showed signs of mental distress at home and at school. Ethan Crumbley is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism and gun charges in the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School, about 30 miles north of Detroit. In addition to the four students slain, six other students and a teacher were wounded. Advertisement The gun used in the shooting was given to Ethan Crumbley as an early Christmas present, prosecutors have said. The Crumbleys attorneys have insisted the couple didnt know their son might plan an attack and didnt make the gun easy to find in their home. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below. The counselor of a 15-year-old boy charged with killing four students at his Michigan high school says he told the teens parents the morning of the shootings that he believed their son was a threat to himself and needed mental health support. I said as soon as possible, today if possible, Shawn Hopkins testified Thursday in the preliminary examination for Jennifer and James Crumbley. But, he testified, Jennifer Crumbley told him, today was not an option because they had to return to work. I didnt want Ethan to be alone at home, Hopkins added. Ethan Crumbley is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism and gun charges in the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School, about 30 miles north of Detroit. In addition to the four students slain, six other students and a teacher were wounded. The judge presiding over the proceedings in Rochester Hills District Court will decide if theres enough evidence to send the Crumbleys to trial for involuntary manslaughter. They are accused of making the gun used in the shooting available to the teen and failing to intervene when he showed signs of mental distress at home and at school. Advertisement On the morning of the shooting, Ethans parents were summoned to the school and confronted with his drawings, which included a handgun and the words: The thoughts wont stop. Help me. Authorities said the parents refused to take him home after the 13-minute meeting. Hopkins testified that he provided Ethans parents with a list of mental health support resources at that meeting and that as it was ending Jennifer Crumbley asked, Are we done? I wrote Ethan a pass back to class, Hopkins continued. I told him, I just want you to know I care about you. I dont remember them saying goodbye (to Ethan). Earlier Thursday, defense attorneys asked Oakland County sheriffs Detective Edward Wagrowski whether he thought Jennifer and James Crumbley were aware their son was planning the shooting. Videos and texts between Ethan and his friend, Brady, in August show Ethan with a gun and inviting Brady to a gun range, said Shannon Smith, Jennifer Crumbleys attorney. The friend is saying things like Nice. Now pull the trigger. jk, jk, jk, Smith told Wagrowski, who explained that jk is shorthand for just kidding. Advertisement Ethan responds about how his dad left the gun out but Ethan knows gun safety so its no problem. And then he says: Now, its time to shoot up the school. JK JK JK JK, Smith said. This conversation existed between Ethan and his friend, but there is not any kind of conversation like this between Ethan and his mother or Ethan and his father? Smith asked, to which Wagorwski responded no. But prosecutors alluded to a disconnect between Ethan and his parents, including texts to his friend in which he talks about his dark side. In a text on April 5, 2021, Ethan writes: Now my mom thinks I take drugs. Like she thinks the reason why Im so mad and sad all the time is because I take drugs, and she doesnt worry about my mental health, assistant prosecutor Marc Keast said. And then he writes: They make me feel like Im the problem. A day before the shooting, the school left a voicemail for Jennifer Crumbley informing her that a teacher was concerned that Ethan had been searching for ammunition online using his phone. A sheriffs office computer crimes investigator testified Feb. 8 at the couples preliminary examination that she later asked her son in a text if he at least showed school officials a photo of the gun the parents gave Ethan as an early Christmas gift. The Crumbleys are jailed on $500,000 bond. The case against them is highly unusual because parents are rarely held criminally responsible for teens accused in mass school shootings. Advertisement The Crumbleys attorneys have insisted the couple didnt know their son might be planning an attack and didnt make the gun easy to find in their home. Last month, Ethan Crumbleys attorneys filed a notice of an insanity defense. He is lodged alone in a cell in the Oakland County Jails clinic to keep him from seeing and hearing adult inmates. Defense attorneys want him moved to a juvenile facility, but prosecutors say he would pose a potential risk of harm to the safety of other juveniles. An Oakland County Circuit Court judge said during a hearing for Ethan Crumbley on Tuesday that he expected to have a ruling by early next week on whether the teen will remain in the adult jail or be transferred to the countys Childrens Village. Williams reported from West Bloomfield, Michigan. (REUTERS) The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has called for Ghislaine Maxwell to get a new trial after a juror on the original was accused of hiding his history of sexual abuse. The group made their call in a brief filed in New York court on Friday, one day after the judge who oversaw the original trial ordered Juror 50 to give testimony under oath in response to the Courts questions at a hearing on 8 March. Juror 50 has previously spoken to the press under the name Scotty David, revealing he had personally suffered sexual abuse as a child something Maxwells lawyers say he did not disclose during jury selection. The NACDL said Juror 50s media statements establish both implied and inferred bias. The average person who was sexually victimized and had Juror 50s feelings about the crime and those who complain about it could not be fair, his protestations notwithstanding, read the brief obtained by journalist Julie K Brown. To borrow Chief Justice Marshalls phrase, Juror 50 should have been cautiously incapacitate[d] from serving on this jury. It concludes: The Court should not allow any juror to thwart its screening process by giving inaccurate answers and thereby create such a grave potential, realized in this case, for depriving the defendant of her right to a fair trial. A new trial is required. More follows James Tavernier celebrates scoring Rangers second goal (Action Images via Reuters) Giovanni Van Bronckhorst praised Rangers perfect mentality after the Gers battled past Borussia Dortmund and into the Europa League last 16 with a dramatic 6-4 aggregate win at Ibrox. Leading 4-2 from the first leg in Dortmund, Light Blues skipper James Tavernier scored from the spot in the 22nd minute but goals from England international Jude Bellingham and striker Donyell Malan had the Bundesliga visitors ahead at the interval. The Dutchman brought on Leon Balogun for Borna Barisic and went to a back three for the second half and in a more composed performance Tavernier restored parity in the 57th minute and the 2-2 draw resulted in one of the finest European outcomes in the clubs history. Awaiting the draw on Friday, Van Bronckhorst said: You start with belief. Of course we have huge respect for the opposition because they are a big team, they play in the Champions League finals and challenge for German titles so we knew it was going to be difficult. There are always moments in games when you have to dig deep and make sure you overcome these moments. We had them last week and we had them today but we reacted really well, also the switch of system but I think our mentality today was perfect and the spirit we showed was fantastic and my message before the game was that this is a night when we could make everyone proud, involved with this beautiful club and we did. Asked about Rangers chances for the rest of the tournament, Van Bronckhorst said: We knew it was going to be difficult to overcome this draw which we did so I am very happy that we did it. The last 16 is only big teams but the most important thing is we have to have the belief to be able to compete against anyone But we also need two performances, the first one was away which gave us a two-goal lead and today we had another massive performance. If you dont have your night in European football, especially in the last 16, it is going to be very difficult. Story continues Our aim is to see the draw tomorrow, it is going to be two good nights but as long as we have two good nights again we are able to go through but it is going to be tough. Of course if you can beat Dortmund away and you can have a good result at home it has to give you confidence. We are facing tough opposition in the next round, it is a good moment to challenge ourselves but we have to get good performances again, that is our goal. File: YouTubes parent company Google is under pressure to remove pro-Russia channels on its platform (AFP via Getty Images) YouTubes parent company Google is facing pressure to remove pro-Russia propaganda channels on its platform amid the countrys invasion of Ukraine. Several social media activists in the US pointed out that YouTube has continued to host Russian propaganda channels. Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday and is carrying out military attacks across multiple cities, including capital Kiev, with nearly 137 Ukrainians reported to have been killed. World leaders have condemned the invasion and the US said sanctions and other economic penalties on Russia would continue to escalate if the crisis does not cease. YouTube has a tremendous reach in Russia, and the platform continues to be used widely by critics of the Kremlin government, state-backed media, as well as pro-Russian propagandists. Amid the war in Ukraine, officials in the US, UK and the European Union are discussing further sanctions and other moves to target propaganda groups and people with huge audiences on the platform. One such sanction by the EU, for instance, is intended to target Vladimir Solovyov, a TV and radio journalist behind a YouTube channel with more than a million subscribers. An EU report, published on Wednesday, noted that Mr Solovyov is known for his extremely hostile attitude toward Ukraine and praise of the Russian government, adding that he is responsible for supporting actions or policies which undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine. A four-hour livestream published on his YouTube channel about the Russian military attacks in Ukraine had over 2.7 million views within its first nine hours, Bloomberg reported. As the US and other countries sanction Russia, *American* social platform @YouTube is still hosting multiple channels for RT with over 5 million subscribers. https://t.co/FpVwnhYGyQ Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) February 24, 2022 Several critics in the US have pointed out on Twitter that YouTube has not only allowed pro-Russian propaganda to be hosted on its platform but is also monetising such channels with ads from American brands. Story continues Media Matters, a media watchdog in the US, found in a limited review last year that at least 13 Russian government accounts labeled by YouTube as funded by a government entity or a public broadcast have pre-roll advertisements running on their channels. Silicon Valley Must Pull the Plug on the Kremlin I argue it is time for Silicon Valley leaders to choose sides, and to suspend Russian official and state media accounts until Russia ceases its wholly illegal attack and withdraws from Ukraine:https://t.co/kUKK8B7Rj3 pic.twitter.com/t7f2sKiLXa Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) February 24, 2022 UK regulator Ofcom is also facing calls to crackdown on the Kremlin-backed TV station Russia Today (RT). Putins campaign of misinformation should be tackled. British Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said RT should be prevented from broadcasting its propaganda around the world. In response, RT deputy editor-in-chief Anna Belkina said: Always a joy to see Western and particularly British politicians finally drop their hypocritical disguise in favour of open interference in institutions they touted as supposedly totally independent and wholly free from political pressure and interference. Some sanctions imposed by the US have also attempted to curb Russian propaganda. Earlier this week, US president Joe Biden banned the supply of goods, services or technology to parts of Ukraines separatist Donetsk region, where a TV network connected to separatists has more than 200,000 subscribers on YouTube and has published over 25 videos about the Ukraine conflict in the past day. Sergei Hovyadinov, a former Google lawyer in Russia reportedly said Russias telecom laws force large tech platforms such as YouTube and Facebook to comply with state requests to remove or reinstate content. We are dealing with a very robust Russian propaganda machine, he said. YouTube has not immediately responded to requests for comment from The Independent. In a televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his country's military offensive in Ukraine early Thursday. As Feb. 22, 2022, dawns, the world watches to see if Russia launches an invasion of Ukraine. Yesterday Vladimir Putin formally recognized two Russian-backed separatist regions of eastern Ukraine and this morning ordered Russian troops to occupy the breakaway regimes. Within minutes the West condemned the occupation. President Joe Biden ordered a mild set of sanctions against Russia. Where the situation goes from here is anyones guess, but there is an interesting, even frightening history to this incident. Russia, and its predecessor the Soviet Union, has had a long history of invading its neighbors. For instance: In September 1939, the Soviet Union, in cooperation with Nazi Germany, invaded Poland and by prior agreement divided the country in half. Between 1944 and 1946, the USSR invaded Poland again to put down anti-Communist resistance. (Also, during this period the USSR occupied the Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, until the 1991 fall of the USSR). The USSR invaded Hungary in 1956 to halt democratic reforms of the government In 1968, Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia in order to overthrow a democratically elected government and reforms implemented by Czech President Alexander Dubcek. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to bolster the corrupt Communist regime in Kabul in its fight against Taliban insurrectionists. The Soviets occupied the country for 10 years before evacuating the country in disgrace. Russian troops invaded Georgia in 2008 and occupy one-fourth of the country today. Russia invaded and occupied the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014, under the guise of protecting Russian-speaking Cossacks living there. Also, in 2014, simultaneous to the invasion of Crimea, separatist Russian groups took control of two regions of eastern Ukraine and set up their own governments. They were assisted by Russian military troops wearing no identifiable insignia. In an incident of international significance, the participating Russian troops shot down a Malaysian commercial airliner transiting Ukrainian airspace. The Boeing 777 carried 283 passengers and 15 crew. All were killed in the missile attack. Story continues Today, Russian troops have entered eastern Ukraine in support of the Russian-speaking separatists who have been fighting Ukrainian troops since 2014. It also serves to remember how Putin came to power in 1999. At the time he was the head of the FSB, the Russian re-branding of the KGB. President Boris Yeltsin was in need of a prime minister; Putin was recommended by former Communists in the government. The Russian government was teetering on the brink, faced with a sinking economy, wholesale theft of industrial assets and a growing revolt in Chechnya. Putin was appointed prime minister in 1999. Between Sept. 4 and 16 of that year, a series of bombings of apartment blocks in Buynaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk took place, killing 300 residents and injuring more than 100. A fourth bomb, in Ryazan, failed to explode. Journalists on the scene reported that residents of the block identified local FSB agents as placing the bombs. Fear of additional attacks swept the country. The Russian government blamed the bombings as the act of Chechen terrorists and Putin ordered the bombing of Grozny, the Chechen capital. The bombing and Russian invasion of Dagestan launched the Second Chechen War. Putins handling of the bombings and Chechen terrorism increased his popularity throughout Russia. Several Russian journalists investigated these events and reported FSB involvement. Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who investigated and reported on the bombings and war in Chechnya, was gunned down in the lobby of her Moscow apartment building by unidentified assailants. Accusations of Russian FSB involvement have been the subject of a number of articles and books over the years, Former Russian State Security Council chief Alexandr Lebed, in his Sept. 29, 1999, interview with Le Figaro, said he was almost convinced that the government organized the terrorist acts. Andrei Illovionov, a former key economic adviser to the Russian president, said that FSB involvement "is not a theory, it is a fact. There is no other element that could have organized the bombings except for the FSB. In his tenure, Vladimir Putin has orchestrated Russian terror attacks from within his regime. Now he has invaded a neighboring sovereign country under another false flag subterfuge. What is next? Putin is a bully, an aggressor and only gets into fights that he is guaranteed to win. The U.S. and West needs to remember that. And one more thing, hes an autocrat. The only way they leave power is in a box. Bill Browning is a Gadsden resident This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: A look at Putin's decision to evade Ukraine A gun expert was the central witness in the third day of the trial of a Cayce doctor accused of killing a man in the doctors home. Master Armorer Charles Mills III of FN America, a gun manufacturer that makes its weapons in northeast Columbia, discussed the 9 mm pistol that was used in the shooting of William Player Holland. That gun was manufactured by FN. Adam Lazzarini, a surgeon, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in Hollands death. The doctors attorneys have said the shooting was an accident. Mills said he has worked with FN for more than 20 years. He sells large quantities of guns to police agencies and trains officers how to use them. Before joining FN, Mills was a police officer. Prosecutor Shawn Graham of the 11th Circuit Solicitors Office had Mills explain in detail the features of the 9 mm that stop it from firing. The intent was clearly to have Mills show the jury how many unsafe steps Lazzarini would have had to take for Holland to be shot. The prosecution has said that it plans to prove Lazzarini was criminally negligent while handling the firearms. Lazzarini is charged with shooting Holland in the chest from close range while the two were looking at guns in an upstairs room. Investigators have testified that Lazzarini had been drinking before the shooting, but whether he was impaired has yet to be revealed by testimony. Defense attorney Jack Swerling pressed Mills on reports of gun malfunctions and complaints about the 9 mm FN pistol, with the two verbally sparring at times. Mills testified that one of the two complaints filed about the gun by a police agency was found to be caused by an officer unknowingly pulling a trigger. The other complaint from a police agency came after it tested loaded FN 9 mm pistols. With the slides slightly pushed back, the guns might not go off when the triggers were pulled, but could go off later if hit with a hammer or handled roughly. Under questioning from Swerling, Mills said a novice could safely handle the gun and that no safety advisory had been issued about the gun. The two also jousted about whether a gun can accidentally or unintentionally go off. Story continues The defense team is clearly pushing that Hollands shooting was a tragic accident and have used the word accident frequently. If you pull the trigger on a loaded gun, its going to go off, Mills told the court in response to one of Swerlings questions. Mills told the court he had never heard of a gun going off without the trigger being pulled. Both the defense and prosecution had Mills dry fire an FN 9 mm, meaning he pulled the trigger without the gun being loaded. An extremely precarious person with firearms, Mills ensured the gun wasnt loaded, aimed at a back wall with no one in the line of sight and pulled the trigger on an FN 9 mm pistol that was brought for demonstration purposes. The click of the gun after Mills pulled the trigger was heard in the courtroom. The trial continues Monday. Along with Swerling, Greg Harris and Alissa Wilson are defending Lazzarini. Luke Pincelli, also of the 11th Circuit Solicitors Office, is prosecuting the case as well. Judge Debra McCaslin is presiding over the case. Check back with The State for the latest in the trial. HAMPTON Police are seeking the public's help in locating a missing Hampton man. Hampton Police Deputy Chief Alex Reno said Roland "Kenny" Beaudry, 52, was last seen at 7 a.m. on Feb. 25 in the area of the marsh by Tuttle Avenue. Beaudry is described as 5-foot-5 and weighs 140 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, black pants, and black sneakers. Hampton Police Deputy Chief Alex Reno said Roland "Kenny" Beaudry, 52, was last seen at 7 a.m. on Feb. 25 in the area of the marsh by Tuttle Avenue. "We ask neighbors to check their surrounding property and buildings," stated Reno in a press release. Anyone with information on Beaudry's whereabouts is asked to contact the Hampton Police Department at 603-929-4444. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Missing man: Hampton NH police want help finding Kenny Beaudry The Fox News host Tucker Carlson on December 7, 2021. Fox News Archbishop Borys Gudziak is the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States. Speaking to the Catholic News Agency, he called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "sociopath." He urged Americans to pray for Ukraine and "call out" those who are "enchanted by President Putin." The leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States warns that Russia's invasion could end with his religious tradition being erased from the map. Speaking to the Catholic News Agency on Thursday, Archbishop Borys Gudziak urged Americans to pray for Ukraine, but added that they should not stop there. "They can be critically informed and call out people like Tucker Carlson and others who are enchanted by President Putin," Gudziak said. Carlson, a prime-time personality on Fox News, has used his television platform to attack Ukraine, falsely claiming it is "not a democracy," and to dismiss criticisms of Putin. "Why do I hate Putin so much? Has Putin ever called me a racist?" Carlson asked in a recent broadcast. "Is he trying to snuff out Christianity?" He also defended Russia's stated concerns about Ukraine joining the NATO military alliance, despite Putin himself stating that he simply does not believe Ukraine has a right to exist as an sovereign nation. Indeed, current tensions, dating back to at least 2013, were not about NATO but Ukraine seeking closer trade relations with Europe. It's been a long-held position for Carlson. In 2019, he said that in the event of a war "I think we should probably take the side of Russia, if we have to choose between Russia and Ukraine. That is my view." Some 48 hours into the actual war, however, he did concede that Putin "does deserve to be punished" for invading. Steve Bannon, a one-time adviser to former President Donald Trump, has likewise attacked Ukraine, recently stating that it is "not even a country" but rather a place "the Clintons have turned into a colony where they can steal money" a view echoed by others on the right, including Trump, who as president pushed a conspiracy theory that Ukraine's political elites conspired with Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. Story continues Gudziak whose church has more than 200 parishes catering to the Ukrainian diaspora across the US told the Catholic News Agency that he has had to spend a lot of time since Russia's invasion challenging such falsehoods, saying there is "still a lot of disinformation and ignorance around what is going on in Ukraine and why it is being attacked." Gudziak said he was particularly concerned about the future of his religion under Putin, despite the Russian leader portraying himself as a defender of traditional values, a fact that has enhanced his appeal with right-wing elements abroad. Under previous Russian empires, "the Ukrainian Catholic Church was wiped out." "It might be in a year or two," he said, "or it might be in 20 years or 30 years. But, sooner or later, the visible, public, existence, and ministry of the Ukrainian Catholic Church was strangled," In the meantime, Gudziak said he is praying for the future of Ukraine, as well as for the soul of the man who launched a war of aggression against it. Earlier in the week, he visited the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux, the patron saint of Russian Catholics, he said. "I went to pray there for the conversion of Vladimir Putin," Gudziak said. "I prayed that through miraculous grace the Lord touch the heart of a man that is a sociopath, who's killing, and who's leading his own country and neighbors into an abyss." Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com Read the original article on Business Insider PROVIDENCE Members of Rhode Islands legal and Black community hailed President Bidens nomination Friday of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court as a well-deserved and long overdue step to diversify the nations high court. I think its a terrific appointment. She is a very thoughtful person and wonderfully well-qualified. Im happy not only for her, but for the whole country, said Senior 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Bruce M. Selya, for whom Jackson clerked in the late 1990s. Selya credited Jackson, with whom he has stayed in touch through the years, as an extremely bright and capable jurist. RI Courts: Appeals court upholds settlement in landmark Brown gender-equity case She listens well. She gets the whole picture and has great respect for the rule of law I think shes got the whole package, Selya said. Jackson will bring to the high court a crucial perspective as a former trial court judge and litigator with the federal public defenders office that is lacking in many of the high courts nine justices, he said. She will help restore that balance, he said. Supreme Court nominee: Jackson says she's 'humbled' by historic nomination to Supreme Court as focus shifts to Senate First Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Bruce M. Selya Jackson would become the first Black woman named to the Supreme Court, if confirmed. She would join Justice Clarence Thomas as one of two African Americans on the high court bench, and the third Black Supreme Court justice ever. I think that it is well past time that we have an African-American justice, Selya said. (Jacksons name is on a plaque outside a courtroom dedicated to Judge Selya at Roger Williams Law School.) Who is Judge Jackson?: What to know about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden's Supreme Court pick Jim Vincent, president of the NAACPs Providence branch, also celebrated the momentousness of Bidens judicial pick. Im overjoyed and thrilled. I think Ketanji Jackson will bring a lot to the Supreme Court. Shes unbelievably qualified, Vincent said. Story continues Vincent emphasized, in particular, Jacksons experience as a federal public defender as essential to bringing necessary insight and understanding to the court. She is the first nominee since Justice Thurgood Marshall to bring to the bench a background in representing criminal defendants. Jim Vincent, president of the Providence branch of the NAACP. It served Justice Thurgood Marshall well. It will serve her well, Vincent said. Vincent noted Jacksons Ivy League credentials as a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School. I think shes as qualified as any justice and more qualified than some, Vincent said. In his view, she and other female judges of color had been overlooked for the Supreme Court due to their gender and the color of their skin. Theres no shortage of Black female candidates. Its a shortage of access to opportunity, Vincent said. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose said she initially recoiled upon hearing of Biden's intention to name a Black woman to the court. She feared it would prove polarizing and divert discussion away from a nominee's qualifications. "With [Jackson], her qualifications are beyond. On every single level, she's beyond qualified," DuBose said. DuBose, a public school teacher turned lawyer, was heartened that Jackson was the daughter of teachers, one who eventually became a lawyer. "This is an authentic American story," Dubose said. "On a personal level, as a Black woman, it always feels good," she said. Its long overdue. I think an African American woman should have been on the court, said state District Court Judge William J. Trezvant, president of the Thurgood Marshall Law Society in Rhode Island. In his view, Jacksons middle-class upbringing and time working on the federal Sentencing Commission would add insight to the courts deliberations. Pioneers: For Black women judges like Jackson, blazing a trail has meant scrutiny, assumptions While Jackson joining the court wont shift its political balance, her role as the first African-American woman to be seated cant be overstated, said Roger Williams University School of Law Professor Michael J. Yelnosky. Justice Scalia famously stated that having Justice Marshall in the room changed our discussions about race, Yelnosky said. He expected Jackson's perspective as a former public defender to have a quiet impact on the court. Thats going to have an impact on how you view issues. It's a really interesting and different perspective, he said. Labor shortage: Should Rhode Island give bonuses to private-sector workers, as some states have done? He observed, too, that Jackson comes from a family with roots in law enforcement and an uncle who had been sentenced to life in prison under the federal three strikes law. She has been on the front lines of all facets of criminal justice, he said. That makes this a great pick, Yelnosky said. "Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and I were born in the same city -- Washington, DC -- 10 days apart, so I feel both a sense of affinity and a wellspring of admiration," said state Supreme Court Justice Melissa Long. "I can only imagine what her ascent to the highest court in the land will inspire in young women of all races, but especially young black women. For my part, picturing her taking her seat on that bench, in those robes, fills my eyes with tears and my heart with a sense of the possible," Long added. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI legal leaders react to Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson A McDonald's restaurant in Moscow. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev McDonald's, KFC, and Burger King together have thousands of outlets in Russia. The Russia-Ukraine conflict could hurt sales if stores close and sanctions impact operations. Western fast-food giants have been expanding at a rapid rate in the region in recent years. US fast-food chains are bracing for a sales hit as the Russia-Ukraine conflict unfurls. In commentary published alongside their annual reports this week, the fast-food giants behind Burger King and KFC addressed concerns around the conflict and said that instability in the area could lead to restaurant closures and loss of sales. Moreover, sanctions from Western nations could make it harder for the companies to do business in Russia or make them a target for retaliation from Putin, they said. There's a lot at stake for McDonald's, KFC, and Burger King who are among the major global fast-food chains that have over the past decade been growing at a rapid rate in Russia, and where they have thousands of outlets between them. Previous experience suggests that the chains have reason to be concerned. When the US hit Moscow with sanctions in response to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin quickly closed a series of McDonald's restaurants in Moscow, citing "sanitary violations." At the time, critics questioned the motive behind the closures, with some suggesting it was a response to US and European sanctions. Yum! Brands, which owns KFC, and has more than 1,000 locations in Russia, counts the country as one of its top 10 markets. In a statement alongside its annual results, released this week, the company said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could impact "macroeconomic conditions, give rise to regional instability and result in heightened economic sanctions from the US and the international community in a manner that adversely affects us." US and other government sanctions could also restrict Yum!'s ability to do business with certain suppliers and prevent it moving money in and out of the country, it said. Sanctions announced by the US and Europe this week targeted Russia's financial institutions among other areas. Story continues Burger King owner, American-Canadian Restaurant Brands International, which has around 550 locations in Russia, echoed those sentiments in its own annual report, released on Wednesday. McDonald's, which, according to Reuters, has around 750 locations in Russia, did not respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider MOSCOW Shocked Russians turned out by the thousands Thursday to decry their countrys invasion of Ukraine as emotional calls for protests grew on social media. Some 1,702 people in 53 Russian cities were detained, at least 940 of them in Moscow. Hundreds of posts came pouring in condemning Moscows most aggressive actions since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Vladimir Putin called the attack a special military operation to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine from genocide a false claim the U.S. had predicted would be a pretext for invasion, and which many Russians roundly rejected. Advertisement Police officer detain a woman during an action against Russia's attack on Ukraine in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Hundreds of people gathered in the center of Moscow on Thursday, protesting against Russia's attack on Ukraine. Many of the demonstrators were detained. Similar protests took place in other Russian cities, and activists were also arrested. (Dmitry Serebryakov/AP) Tatyana Usmanova, an opposition activist in Moscow, wrote on Facebook that she thought she was dreaming when she awoke at 5:30 a.m. to the news, which she called a disgrace that will be forever with us now. I want to ask Ukrainians for forgiveness. We didnt vote for those who unleashed the war, she said. Advertisement As sirens blasted in Kyiv, Ukraines capital, and large explosions were heard there and in other cities, Russians were signing open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault, which Ukrainian forces reported had killed more than 40 soldiers and wounded dozens. Public opinion is in shock, people are in shock, political analyst Abbas Gallyamov told The Associated Press. One petition, started by a prominent human rights advocate, Lev Ponomavyov, garnered over 150,000 signatures within several hours and 289,000 by the end of the day. More than 250 journalists put their names on an open letter decrying the aggression. Another one was signed by some 250 scientists, while 194 municipal council members in Moscow and other cities signed a third. Im worried about the people very much, Im worried to tears, said Zoya Vorobey, a resident of Korolyov, a town outside Moscow, her voice cracking. Ive been watching television since this morning, every minute, to see if anything changes. Unfortunately, nothing. Several Russian celebrities and public figures, including some working for state TV, spoke out against the attack. Yelena Kovalskaya, director of a state-funded Moscow theater, announced on Facebook she was quitting her job, saying its impossible to work for a killer and get paid by him. I know that right now many of you feel desperation, helplessness, shame over Vladimir Putins attack on the friendly nation of Ukraine. But I urge you not to despair, human rights activist Marina Litvinovich said in a video statement on Facebook, calling for mass protests Thursday evening. We, the Russian people, are against the war Putin has unleashed. We dont support this war, it is being waged not on our behalf, Litvinovich said. But the authorities were having none of that. Advertisement In Moscow and other cities, they moved swiftly to crack down on critical voices. Litvinovich was detained outside of her residence shortly after posting the protest call. OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests, reported that 1,702 people in 53 cities had been detained by Thursday evening, at least 940 of them in Moscow. Russias Investigative Committee issued a warning Thursday afternoon reminding Russians that unauthorized protests are against the law. Roskomnadzor, state communications and media watchdog, demanded that Russian media use information and data they get only from official Russian sources. Some media reported that employees of certain state-funded companies were instructed not to comment publicly on the events in Ukraine. Human rights advocates warned of a new wave of repression on dissent. There will be new (criminal) cases involving subverters, spies, treason, prosecution for antiwar protests, there will be detentions of journalists and bloggers, those who authored critical posts on social media, bans on investigations of the situation in the army and so on, prominent human rights advocate Pavel Chikov wrote on Facebook. It is hard to say how big this new wave will be, given that everything has been suppressed already. Advertisement Despite the pressure from the authorities, more than 1,000 people gathered in the center of Moscow Thursday evening, chanting No to war! as passing cars honked their horns. Hundreds also took to the streets in St. Petersburg and dozens in Yekaterinburg. This is the most shameful and terrible day in my life. I even was not able to go to work. My country is an aggressor. I hate Putin. What else should be done to make people open their eyes? Yekaterina Kuznetsova, 40-year-old engineer who joined the demonstration in St. Petersburg, told the AP. Russias official line in the meantime remained intransigent. Speaker of the upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko charged that those who spoke out against the attack were only caring about their momentary problems. State TV painted the attack in line with what Putin said in his televised address announcing it. Russia 1 TV host Olga Skabeyeva called it an effort to protect people in Donbas from a Nazi regime and said it was without exaggeration, a crucial junction in history. Advertisement AP writer Kirill Zarubin contributed to this report from Korolyov, Russia. PHOTO: Charles & Keith Since its inception into the French luxury house, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) in 2011, Singapore-born brand Charles & Keith has made Singaporeans proud. The quality, style and range of products just keep getting better. And the result is evident. 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For the quality, style and range of value-for-money products that the brand pushes out regularly, you are due for the street cred you have been coveting. The bags, shoes, sunglasses and accessories we wear and carry every day are extensions of our self-identity. Let these one-of-a-kind accessories do the talking as you make a splash while carving a niche for yourself at work, having a night out with the gals or enjoying a relaxing weekend with your S.O. Here are our Yahoo Shopping teams picks for the prettiest bags, shoes, sunglasses and small leather goods that not only look good but are so versatile you can probably carry or wear them to any event. Now that we are heading back to the office more regularly, this is the best time to shop Charles and Keith's Spring Summer 2022 collection! Story continues Our editorial team is dedicated to finding and telling you more about the products and deals we love. 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Did you know sunglasses help you prevent the formation of crow lines formed by squinting your eyes? Tip: Pick one in a similar colour accent as your outfit when planning a more cohesive look. PHOTO: Charles & Keith. Cut-Out Tinted Sunglasses By Farah Master HONG KONG (Reuters) -Guada, a mother of two young children and pregnant with twins, cries herself to sleep at night, worried that Hong Kong's severe COVID-19 rules will separate her from her kids or force her to give birth alone. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 in Hong Kong, including infants and children, are put into isolation facilities with no family contact allowed, as authorities enforce their "dynamic zero" COVID policy. As coronavirus cases hit record daily highs, the government plans to roll out compulsory mass testing for the city's 7.4 million people in March, exacerbating separation fears among many local and expatriate families. "Imagine the stress I'm having right now ... scared of having to give birth alone, scared of them taking my daughters away, taking my babies away, scared that if I'm positive, they are going to take me away," said Guada, an Argentinian who has lived in Hong Kong for 3-1/2 years and has two girls aged 3 and 5. She declined to give her last name due to the sensitivity of the situation. Parents' worries have been heightened after authorities made an infected 11-month-old isolate by herself in hospital. In the past two weeks, authorities have reported the deaths of several children who were infected with coronavirus, the youngest another 11-month-old. Diplomats in the global financial hub say they have repeatedly raised concerns with the government over the issue of parents being separated from children in a city with some of the world's most stringent coronavirus measures. In response to media questions, Hong Kong's Hospital Authority said it "understands the concern of parents and carers" but noted that child isolation facilities in public hospitals are seriously overloaded. Where parents or carers were also COVID-positive, a hospital would try to ensure they could stay in the same ward as their infected child. Story continues VIDEO CALLS Authorities have said they are overwhelmed and cannot accommodate parents staying with infected infants as hospitals operate at maximum or over capacity with close to 10,000 new daily infections from nearly zero at the start of the year. Parents can arrange video calls three times a day to stay in contact with their young ones, health authorities said. "For me, it's very inhumane. I'm very afraid. I have a daughter aged 14 months, she doesn't speak, she doesn't know how our phone works," said a university lecturer who declined to be identified. Medical clinic Central Health said isolating infants presented a "significant risk" of child fatalities "as parents may delay taking their children to hospital during critical periods when intervention could save lives". Some families, particularly in the expatriate community, have decided to leave ahead of the mandatory coronavirus testing in March. While details of the testing remain vague, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said people will not be able to isolate at home if they test positive and must go to government centres. Isolation and quarantine centres are currently at their maximum capacity with around 60,000 residents waiting at home to be admitted. The government is building tens of thousands of new isolation units, with the help of the Chinese government, compounding worries families will be separated. Hong Kong has recorded over 80,000 infections and more than 400 deaths since 2020, fewer than other major cities. Spanish expatriate Veronica, who has lived in Hong Kong for nine years and also declined to give her last name, said she was distressed about the prospect of being separated from her three-month-old. "I'm worried about leaving him alone, I'm not worried about the virus, I have the vaccine. I'm just worried about the situation," she said. (Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Karishma Singh and Emelia Sithole-Matarise) Feb. 25Honolulu police seized more than 20 gambling machines, ammunition, drug paraphernalia and cash Wednesday night from an apparent illegal gambling house operating out of a storefront in Palolo. Honolulu resident Bang Cong Nguyen, 53, was arrested at 8 p.m. Wednesday on suspicion of promoting gambling and possession of a gambling device. The search warrant was executed at a white with blue trim building at 1720 Palolo Ave. by HPD's Narcotics /Vice Division, Specialized Services Division, and District 7 Crime Reduction Unit, according to police. This marked the second shutdown of an illegal gaming den executed by HPD this month. Honolulu police seized ten gambling machines, cash, and drugs from an illegal game room in Kalihi on Feb. 4. Officers with HPD's Narcotics /Vice and Specialized Services Divisions shut down a portion of the street around a red commercial building and executed a search warrant, according to photos on HPD's social media feeds. On Jan. 25, Narcotics /Vice officers and SSD executed a search warrant and confiscated 16 gambling machines and "a large amount of cash " from an illegal game room in Liliha. On any given day there are between 50 and 80 illegal game rooms operating on Oahu, according to police. From Jan. 1 through Oct. 22, HPD shut down 45 illegal game rooms and seized 641 gaming machines, surpassing the 37 search warrants executed in 2020. After executing a warrant at a game room, police served the property owner with a notice that they are subject to HRS 712-1271, which allows the state attorney general, county prosecutors, or a private citizen to file a lawsuit seeking an end to the activity and abatement of the nuisance. (Reuters) - Satellite imagery taken on Friday showed several large deployments of ground forces and about 150 transport helicopters in southern Belarus, about 20 miles from the border with Ukraine, a private U.S. company said. The images showed one large helicopter deployment near the Belarusian town of Chojniki, which had over 90 helicopters parked on a road with the deployment extending for more than five miles. Images also showed a large deployment of ground forces with several hundred vehicles in convoy position in several fields. The images released by Maxar Technologies, which has been tracking the buildup of Russian forces for weeks, could not be independently verified by Reuters. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese) Indiana's top Republican lawmakers said they were "frustrated" and "very disappointed" after the head of the Indiana State Police offered a searing rebuke of the supermajority at the Statehouse earlier this week. During testimony on a bill that would eliminate handgun carry permits, ISP Superintendent Douglas Carter said that a supermajority "stifles, prohibits, oftentimes limits public debate." But I never remember a time when outside influence of national associations or political posturing became the driving force behind any legislation in our great state until now," Carter said. I sure hope you choose to show deference to law enforcement professionals that understand the magnitude and the frontline effects of this legislation, rather than the possibility of getting reelected or elected the next primary. More: Indiana Senate GOP commits to moving 'constitutional carry' measure, despite setback Carter, who was appointed by former Republican Gov. Mike Pence and reappointed by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, was opposed to House Bill 1077 due to safety concerns for his officers. Both Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, and House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, criticized Carter's comments and signaled they intend to move forward with the legislation. "I understand this is an emotional topic for Superintendent Carter," Huston said, "just very disappointed in his comments." Huston added that he's been friends with Carter for a long time, and has "tremendous amount of respect" for him and his service. Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Attorney's office, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. U.S. Attorney Minkler, the FBI, Indiana State Police, and the State Board of Accounts release details about joint operation in a crackdown involving "state-wide corruption," from Operation Public Accountability. Likewise, Bray said that he's been involved with conversations on this topic with Carter for years. "It's a little ironic after about eight and a half or nine hours of testimony, that he says it's not an opportunity to fully vet something," Bray said. "(I) have a tremendous amount of respect for him, was a little frustrated with that comment." Story continues More: Indiana Republicans push social issues in legislature as heavily contested primary nears He added that just because there's a difference in opinion on this topic, doesn't mean his caucus is not supportive of police. "We do an awful lot of things around here to support law enforcement," Bray said, "and we'll continue to do that because we value everything that they do, and they're extremely important to us." After a marathon eight-hour meeting Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee had amended House Bill 1077 to enable qualified candidates who have applied for a permit to carry a handgun without a license until they receive their permit. That bill though will not move forward because the gutting of the bill broke procedural rules, Bray said. Republicans committed to putting the "constitutional carry" measure into another bill before the March 14 deadline to end session. Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana lawmakers respond to state police constitutional carry remark By Sanjeev Miglani and Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A Hindu nationalist group close to India's ruling party is calling on the government to block the appointment of Ilker Ayci as chief executive of Air India, citing his previous political links in Turkey, with which New Delhi has strained relations. The call from the economic wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, comes as government agencies carry out what one government official said were more intensive than usual background checks on Ayci, who was an adviser in 1994 to Tayyip Erdogan, when the Turkish president was mayor of Istanbul. Ayci, a former chairman of Turkish Airlines, did not answer repeated calls by Reuters for comment. Tata Group, the Indian conglomerate which announced Ayci's appointment as CEO of previously state-run Air India after recently taking over the debt-laden airline in a $2.4 billion equity and debt deal, also did not respond. In its Feb. 14 statement announcing Ayci's appointment, Tata said Ayci was "an aviation industry leader" who would "lead Air India into the new era". Ayci said in the same statement that he was delighted to lead "an iconic airline". India's main government spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. Ashwani Mahajan, co-convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, which is seen as having significant influence on Indian policy making, said the government must not approve Ayci's appointment as Turkey had been sympathetic to India's rival Pakistan. "It (Air India) has been a national carrier and it still carries the same importance ... Tata should not get clearance for this," Mahajan told Reuters. The appointment of a foreign national as CEO of an airline in India requires government clearance before it can proceed. While checks on a CEO are in most cases a formality, they are more stringent in Air India's case, the government source told Reuters, flagging concerns security agencies have about Ayci's links in Turkey. The source declined to be identified due to lack of authority to discuss intelligence matters publicly. India lodged a diplomatic protest in 2020 after Erdogan said New Delhi's decision to impose federal rule in the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan, was worsening the situation there and that Turkey stood in solidarity with its people. (Additional reporting by Aditi Shah in New Delhi and by Ebru Tuncay and Dominic Evans in Turkey; Editing by Alexander Smith) Manhattan prosecutors have been investigating Donald Trump's business dealings. He's shown here in his Trump Tower office in 2012. Jennifer S. Altman/For The Washington Post via Getty Images When the Manhattan DA's Trump probe began, eager prosecutors 'crowded' the grand jury room. Even Zoom meetings with witnesses had 'piles' of prosecutors tuning in, one source told Insider. Now, probe insiders say the momentum is lost and, as one fears, 'Trump is not going to be charged.' Early last year at the height of their probe into The Trump Organization as many as nine Manhattan prosecutors at a time, and sometimes then-DA Cyrus Vance himself, would file into the grand jury room, eager to see the testimony for themselves. During interviews, probe witnesses would find themselves in Zoom meetings with a small crowd of prosecutors occupying the other squares of their screen, apparently also just to watch. "There were piles of prosecutors on every call, including two from the [New York Attorney General's] office," one person involved in the probe told Insider. "Everything was highly staffed." But now, the DA's three year investigation into alleged financial fraud at The Trump Organization appears to be losing steam. On Wednesday, the two probe's two lead prosecutors, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, resigned in protest over newly-elected DA Alvin Bragg's handling of the case, as first reported by The New York Times. The prosecutors left behind are "just upset," said the person involved in the probe, who asked not to be named. "They think [Dunne and Pomerantz] were trying to stick it to Bragg by resigning publicly," the person said. "It sounds like they wanted to charge [Donald Trump,] and Bragg just exercised his discretion, and said, 'We don't have it.'" The person acknowledged they were "making a guess that these two prosecutors think they have Trump dead to rights. But that's Bragg's call." Wednesday's resignations have only heartened Trump's lawyers. One of them, Ron Fischetti, told Insider that they expect the DA's office will wind up with the only criminal case they have filed to date last summer's tax fraud indictment of The Trump Organization and company CFO Allen Weisselberg. Story continues "I think it's going to work out that any case [against Trump] is going to be dropped by the DA's office and Weisselberg is going to be all they have," to show for themselves, Fischetti said. "A big, massive case, and they wind up with somebody accused of getting a free car and an apartment, and tuition for his grandkids?" he added. "Ridiculous." Weisselberg has pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired over the course of 15 years to hide $1.7 million in income from tax authorities. Prosecutors accused him of accepting the money as undeclared fringe benefits, including use of a Mercedes and an apartment in the former "Trump Place" on Riverside Boulevard in Manhattan. The hard-charging Dunne, speaking at Weisselberg's arraignment, called it "a sweeping and audacious illegal payments scheme." In a motion to dismiss unsealed in Manhattan Supreme Court this week, Weisselberg's lawyers complained that the DA's investigation, and a parallel criminal probe by New York Attorney General Letitia James, are motivated by political animus. They also complained about the number of prosecutors who "crowded" the grand jury room during testimony in Weisselberg's case, saying that alone warrants a dismissal of the case. "During the presentation of this case, up to 9 prosecutors were present in the grand jury, including attorneys cross-designated by the [office of the Attorney General], senior staff members of the District Attorney's Office, and, on occasion, the former District Attorney, Cyrus Vance," the filing said, citing grand jury minutes turned over by prosecutors as part of the discovery process. "At all times, only one or two prosecutors were questioning a witness or presenting evidence," the filing said, calling the crowd of extraneous onlookers highly "unusual." The crowd of prosecutors was there to "intimidate and influence" the grand jury, the filing alleged. A Manhattan Supreme Court judge has yet to rule on the motion to dismiss; the case is next in court for a pre-trial hearing in mid-June. A trial is expected to begin as early as late summer, during the final weeks of the 2022 midterm election campaign. Read the original article on Business Insider Iowa will move to a 3.9% flat income tax rate under a compromise between legislative Republicans and Gov. Kim Reynolds that paves the way for passage of the massive tax cut. Senate lawmakers voted to pass the bill Thursday afternoon, with the House expected to follow, which would send the bill to Reynolds' desk for her signature. The deal means the governor will have a new achievement to tout in a nationally televised speech Tuesday, when she gives the Republican Party's rebuttal to President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech. House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said the plan will provide significant tax relief and shows Republicans are upholding the promises they made to cut taxes. "Before session, we said we were going to provide real tax relief for Iowans, he said. We have an overcollection of their money, and were going to get it back in their hands as quickly as possible. More: What the high-profile job of delivering the State of the Union response could mean for Kim Reynolds In all, the bill would reduce state revenues by nearly $1.9 billion when fully implemented, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency. Democrats have said repeatedly that the plan skews benefits toward wealthy Iowans. "Our biggest concern is that this plan preserves extraordinary tax cuts for the richest people in the state of Iowa," said Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville. "People who are earning high incomes will have the biggest benefit. Everyday Iowa families will see a real but small tax cut." Whats in the Iowa tax cut deal? Whats out? The bill would cut Iowa's income tax to a 3.9% flat rate for individuals by 2026. It would also exempt retirement income such as 401(k)s, pensions and IRAs from state taxes and overhaul some of Iowa's corporate tax credits. Along the way, the bill would eliminate Iowa's progressive income tax system, where wealthier Iowans pay higher rates than lower-income Iowans. Iowa would join 10 other states with some form of flat income tax. Story continues It represents a compromise between Republicans' competing plans. Reynolds and House Republicans had initially proposed a 4% flat tax rate by 2026, while Senate Republicans had called for a 3.6% rate by 2027, with a mechanism for eventually zeroing out the income tax entirely. The compromise does not include a proposal from the original Senate Republican plan to eliminate the 1-cent local option sales taxes in individual communities and establish a 1-cent statewide sales tax, some of which could then be used to pay for water quality and outdoor recreation projects. More: A 4% income tax in Iowa is one step closer to reality. But hurdles remain for key GOP priority Democrats had unsuccessfully proposed a separate plan that would double the state's earned income tax credit and increase the child and dependent care tax credit for those making less than $90,000 per year. Democrats have also pushed for raising Iowa's per-pupil spending on K-12 education next year in place of cutting corporate taxes. How would Iowans individual income taxes change? The new proposal would build upon a series of tax cuts that were previously set to start for Iowans in 2023, meaning multiple new tax laws would take effect during the same year. Iowa is already set to reduce the number of tax brackets from nine to four starting in 2023. That year, the lowest tax rate will be 4.4% and the highest rate will be 6.5%. The proposal introduced Thursday would lower the highest rate even further in 2023, to 6%. All tax rates would gradually transition to a flat rate of 3.9% in 2026. That means higher earners would receive a significantly larger cut to their taxes than lower income earners under the plan. Democrats on Thursday shared an analysis of the tax proposal that showed a family with a household income of $68,000 per year the median in Iowa according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve that took a $20,000 standard deduction would average a $593 reduction per year. For comparison, they said, a person who earns more than $1 million would receive an average cut of $66,879. The Republican plan rewards the ultrarich 100 times more than the average Iowa taxpayer, Wahls said. This plan is not fair. Its out of touch, and it is completely disconnected from the lives of everyday Iowans. About seven in 10 Iowans had a taxable income below the highest tax bracket in 2020, according to the data Democrats shared. Republicans have said all Iowans will see their taxes decrease under the plan. In her Condition of the State address in January, Reynolds called her plan flat and fair. Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, said Thursday that if the goal is the eventual elimination of the income tax, moving to a flat tax is a first step. Reducing rates for only low- or middle-income Iowans would not accomplish that, he said. How would the tax cuts affect Iowas state budget? The total plan would reduce Iowas state revenues by more than $236 million in the first year, an amount that would increase to nearly $1.9 billion by the sixth year, according to the financial analysis the Legislative Services Agency released Thursday. Iowa took in nearly $9 billion in revenue during the last fiscal year. The largest portion would be from the reduction in the individual income tax rate and the exemption for retirement income, which combined would reduce Iowas revenue by $1.7 billion when fully phased in. The individual income tax accounts for a significant portion of Iowas revenue. During the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021, the individual income tax totaled $4.25 billion, just under half of the states overall $8.8 billion in net general fund revenue. Republicans have said they believe Iowas projected growth will be enough to sustain the cuts. Dont forget were entering a position where we have a billon-dollar surplus, we have a billion dollars in the taxpayer relief fund, our rainy day and cash reserves are full at around $800 million, Grassley said. Were entering this position doing tax cuts with all of this added revenue. But Democrats say theyre worried the tax cuts will mean future cuts to services if state revenue growth doesnt keep up with projections. Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, said the pandemic, global events like Russias invasion of Ukraine and the influx of federal COVID relief funds into Iowas economy make future growth difficult to predict. I hope the economy does the 3 to 4% growth each year thats predicted, he said. But COVID, ARPA, Ukraine, I dont know how that looks. Iowa's corporate tax rate will drop, and some corporate credits will be reduced Iowas corporate tax rate will drop and some refundable business tax credits will be reduced under the bill, representing a compromise on one of the largest differences among the Republicans three original proposals. Republicans struck a deal that sticks closely to Reynolds original proposal. It will drop the corporate tax rate to a 5.5% flat rate over time assuming the state takes in at least $700 million in tax revenue from corporations. Lowering the rate is projected to reduce state revenues by more than $229 million in fiscal year 2028, according to the LSA analysis. Corporations also wont be able to receive as much money back from the state in the form of refundable tax credits essentially a check that Iowa cuts to corporations each year. The bill will take several fully refundable tax credits and lower refundability by 25% over five years. That means companies with no tax liability will get smaller checks from the government when they claim those tax credits. For the states Research Activities Tax Credit which paid out nearly $44 million in refunds last year, much of it to large companies such as Deere & Co. the refundability will be lowered by 50%, cutting the size of the payments in half. The change to that tax credit alone is expected to increase state revenues by nearly $45 million in fiscal year 2028, according to the LSA analysis. Grassley said the bill shows Republicans are serious about lowering corporate tax rates while also clawing back some of Iowas generous tax credits. This is the most significant review and change in tax credit policy with the goal of trying to lower the corporate rate that has happened in my 16 years, he said. And I would say long before Ive even been here. Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller. Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa lawmakers strike deal on tax cuts for flat income tax rate The father of a 6-year-old boy who brought a gun to his West Side school on Wednesday is accused of child endangerment, Chicago police said. Marcus Daniel, 30, of the East Garfield Park neighborhood, was charged with misdemeanor endangering the life of a child, police said. Advertisement On Wednesday about noon, police responded to a disturbance at Ella Flagg Young Elementary School, 1434 N. Parkside Ave., where a school social worker on lunch duty was made aware by several students that the 6-year-old had a gun, according to a police report. The staffer performed a pat-down of the boy and didnt find anything but shortly after, found a gun under the table where hed been sitting, the report said. Advertisement The unloaded gun was kept safe until a school security officer got there and spoke to the boy, who said he and his friends been talking about guns and he told them he knew where his dads hiding place was: under a radiator, according to the report. On Wednesday, he brought the gun to school, pulled it out of his bookbag and tucked it in his waistband. His mom told police hed been spending the last couple of days at his fathers home but Daniel said he had no knowledge of the gun, the report said. Reached by phone Friday afternoon, the boys mother said she was terrified when she received a call from the school saying there had been an incident. I was so worried. ... I really didnt know what to expect, she said. Her son later explained that his friends told him to do it. She said she sat down with him and they talked about the seriousness of the situation. I couldnt believe that he did that, she said. I just wanted him to know that he ever sees any further guns lying around that he knows hes not supposed to touch it. The staffer who found the gun declined to comment. Advertisement The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was contacted and Daniel, of the 3200 block of West Fulton Street, is due in court April 4. rsobol@chicagotribune.com By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Friday to mediate in the conflict with Russia, the Ukrainian envoy to Israel said, adding that it was latest in a string of so-far fruitless requests from Kyiv. "We have been talking to the Israelis for at least the last year about a possible intermediary role for Israel," Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk told Reuters. "Our leadership believes that Israel is the only democratic state that has excellent relations with both countries." Bennett's spokespeople were not immediately available for comment. An earlier statement by his office about Bennett's conversation with Zelenskiy made no mention of any mediation. "Bennett reiterated his hope for a speedy end to the fighting, and said that he stands by the people of Ukraine in these difficult days," the statement said, adding that the prime minister offered Kyiv humanitarian aid. Korniychuk said Friday's phone conversation between the leaders was the fifth time that Zelenskiy had asked Bennett for Israeli mediation, and that he had previously asked former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Following up with the Israelis after one of the earlier appeals, "I heard (that) this offer was not well-accepted by the Russian side," Korniychuk said. Reached by Reuters, a diplomat at Russia's embassy to Israel declined comment, saying he was not authorised to speak to the media. While calling for a peaceful solution in Ukraine, Israel has been cautious about openly criticising Russia, a major player in the conflict in neighbouring Syria. It has offered shelter to members of Ukraine's Jewish community caught up in the fighting. Israel, whose main ally is the United States, condemned the Russian invasion on Thursday as "a serious violation of international order" and has since remained largely muted on Moscow's actions. Story continues The Israeli ambassador in Moscow was summoned for talks, the Russian embassy in Israel said on Friday. "The hope was expressed that Israel would treat with due understanding the reasons that prompted the Russian leadership to decide to conduct a special military operation to protect civilians in Donbass, demilitarize and denazify Ukraine," the embassy said. (Additional reporting by Henriette Chacar and Maayan Lubell; Editing by James Mackenzie, Alistair Bell and Sandra Maler) A judge on Thursday sentenced a man who during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol directed a crowd of other rioters to the Speaker's Lobby, where one person died during the rioting, to 75 days in prison. Jeffrey Register, of Jacksonville, Fla., was also fined $500, according to a Justice Department press release. According to court documents, Register entered the Capitol from the west side and moved through the building as Capitol Police officers attempted to clear it. About half an hour after entering the building, documents said he ended up outside the Speaker's Lobby and waved at a group of other rioters to come toward him. "Minutes later, and with Register as a witness, Ashli Babbitt was killed while attempting to breach that hastily barricaded entrance," a sentencing memo read. Babbitt was shot by U.S. Capitol police while attempting to climb through a shattered window at the barricaded entrance to the Speaker's Lobby. According to court documents, Register was photographed during the riot and when interviewed by FBI agents on Feb. 24, 2021, he initially lied before he eventually admitted to entering the Capitol. He also admitted to performing a factory reset on his phone to delete evidence linking him to the rioting, the sentencing memo said. The 39-year-old Florida man was charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct in any restricted building or grounds. He pleaded guilty in October to parading, demonstrating and picketing in a Capitol building. Register's attorneys argued that he should receive a light sentence because he was "fed lies and disingenuous directions by people that should have known better," according to the sentencing memo . "He was not the cause of January 6, nor was he in the classification of people that caused physical harm to the Capitol or others," his attorneys argued . "He entered the building, but his unlawful entrance cannot, and should not, be conflated with the many other, wider, failures that occurred that day." Story continues But prosecutors had argued for jail time because Register had appeared to be "excited" during the rioting and had initially lied to the FBI before his confession. "Rather than avoid or retreat from the chaos within the U.S. Capitol that day, Register appeared excited by it, and on several occasions burst past a line of law enforcement officers himself or encouraged or led others to do the same," prosecutors argued, according to the sentencing memo. More than 750 defendants have been arrested in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., in connection to the Jan. 6 rioting, according to the Justice Department. There is no such thing as a slam-dunk Supreme Court confirmation in a 50-50 Senate. Ketanji Brown Jackson comes pretty close. With the nomination of Jackson to succeed Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, Chuck Schumer is getting the unity opportunity he needs to jump-start Democrats agenda. The Senate confirmed her just last year for a D.C. Circuit seat, and there is little consternation in the Democratic Caucus that she will fall short in her bid to join the high court. The Senate majority leaders two latest attempts at getting all 50 Democrats on the same page on major priorities proved fruitless and frustrating, as Democrats razor-thin majority fell short on enacting elections reform and installing new social and climate programs. But in Jackson, the Democratic Party has far better odds of coming together allowing them to treat potential Republican support as a bonus, not an imperative. Given the partys success over the past year at confirming lower-level judges and the dearth of defections, Schumer said in a statement to POLITICO that he believes that unity will continue as we move forward with Judge Jacksons Supreme Court nomination. We've had tremendous unity and success on judges. Senate Democrats worked with President Biden to put more judges on the federal bench than any president in his first year since JFK, Schumer said. He touted the diversity of those judges, including that many are women and people of color, plus their "professional diversity and exceptional qualifications. Confirming Jackson is a vital assignment for both Schumer, a former Judiciary Committee stalwart, and his top deputy, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who serves both as party whip and the Judiciary Committee chair. Biden spoke to Schumer on Friday morning and will closely coordinate with Durbin as the committee process moves forward. Those top two Senate Democrats will play prime roles in making sure everyone in the party is on board pushing for Democrats to unilaterally confirm Jackson. And they start off with a strong hand. Story continues People are familiar with her record and experience and they supported her for D.C. Court of Appeals, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told reporters on Friday afternoon. I have great faith the Senate will confirm her nomination I cant speak to all of my colleagues, but given the previous vote on Judge Jackson Im very optimistic shell have the votes to get through. Jackson has broad support from the partys liberal wing, including a new $1 million ad buy from progressive group Demand Justice. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who explained recently he wanted a nominee who understands that we are moving towards an oligarchy in this country, said on Friday he strongly supports Jacksons nomination. And though Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) suggested he might have preferred the mainstream approach of Judge J. Michelle Childs, he also said the candidates on Biden's short-list were all good. Democrats don't currently see him or Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) as potential obstacles to Jacksons confirmation. Neither moderate senator has opposed any of Bidens judicial nominees. Those dynamics are important for Schumer and Senate Democrats, as they try to dust themselves off from Manchins opposition to Bidens $1.7 trillion social and climate-spending bill, plus Sinema's and Manchins votes against a filibuster change to pass a federal elections bill. Confirming the first Black woman to the Supreme Court over most Republicans opposition would amount to a major win for a majority leader who could use a shot in the arm, especially if he still hopes to revive parts of his party's social spending bill. Thats not to say it will be easy; the next month and a half will be grueling. Schumer and Durbin have made no secret of their plans to confirm Jackson before the Easter break, which starts in early April. The Senate is scheduled to be in session for six straight weeks starting on Monday, a rare elongated stretch that allows Democrats to begin and end the confirmation process for Jackson in the same work period, provided they can avoid any hiccups. Durbin said his panel will begin immediately to move forward on her nomination, and Schumer said Friday afternoon that after a prompt hearing and Judiciary Committee vote he will ask the Senate to move immediately to confirm her. Democrats have been discussing a confirmation timeline similar to Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was nominated and confirmed in about a month. Republicans will have some sway over the timeline, although they ultimately cannot stop the nomination unless a Democrat defects or has another health issue. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) is expected to return to the Senate after suffering a stroke earlier this year, in time to help confirm Jackson. Schumer said Lujan is recovering well and his stroke diagnosis will not stand in the way of us moving quickly. After Jackson's hearings, the GOP can try to delay a committee vote, under Judiciary Committee practices. And if every Republican voted against her in committee and every Democrat voted to advance her the tie would force Schumer to hold extra votes to bring her nomination to the Senate floor. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a Judiciary Committee member, had supported Jacksons confirmation to the D.C. Circuit but vocally backed Childs for the Supreme Court spot. He said Jacksons selection means the radical left has won President Biden over yet again. Graham could make Schumer's and Durbins lives easier if he supports her, but Democrats are not counting on his support. Nonetheless, Graham has discouraged the tactic of denying a committee quorum for Jackson, which Republicans have used on the Senate Banking Committee to delay Federal Reserve nominees. So has Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. I intend to show up and do the job that Iowans pay me to do, Grassley said Friday. That means Schumer and Durbin can hope for a relatively drama-free confirmation as long as they can round up the 50 votes that eluded them on the partys last two top priorities. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks after being nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25, 2022. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks after being nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25, 2022. Credit - Saul LoebAFP/Getty Images As she braced for graduation from Miami Palmetto Senior High School in 1988, Ketanji Brown wrote in her high school yearbook that she wanted to be a judge. 34 years later, she walked into the Cross Hall at the White House and President Joe Biden nominated her to be the first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. For too long our government and our courts havent looked like America, Biden said while introducing Jackson on Friday. I believe its time we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation, with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications. Jackson would be the first Black woman to sit on the court in its 232 year history, and her confirmation would bring the bench to near gender parity, with four women and five men. A third of the court would be made up of people of color. Speaking at the White House on Friday, Jackson said that she shares a birthday with Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to ever be appointed as a federal judge. Today I proudly stand on Judge Motleys shoulders, sharing not only her birthday, but also her steadfast and courageous commitment to equal justice under law, Jackson said. Judge Motleys life and career have been a true inspiration to me as I have pursued this professional path. [If confirmed] I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans. Throughout her career, Jackson has built a reputation with colleagues and observers across the political spectrum as a thoughtful and collegial unifier whose approach to judging is informed by her years of public service. A meticulous writer, shes known as an even-keeled judge who writes detailed, sometimes lengthy opinions. During her eight years on the D.C. District Court, Jackson had to weigh in on thorny political cases during Donald Trumps presidency. But she has never ruled on some of the most controversial topics that would come before her on the Supreme Court, including abortion, voting rights or gun rights. And her confirmation would not tilt the ideological makeup of the court, which has a firm 6-3 conservative supermajority. Court-watchers expect shell settle into the liberal minority alongside Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. But Jackson isnt a firebrand. Those who know her predict shell seek consensus-building on the high court and look for compromises with her conservative colleagues. Story continues Some say this thinking was influenced by her clerkship with Justice Stephen Breyer the man she has been nominated to replace. She learned from his willingness to work with colleagues of different viewpoints, Biden said of Jacksons time clerking for Breyer from 1999 to 2000. Now the confirmation process will move to the evenly-divided Senate, where Jackson will face the bitter partisan politics that have consumed many Supreme Court fights, on her way to joining the high court during one of its most momentous periods in recent history. Some high-stakes cases are already set to come before the Supreme Court next term, including one that could decide the fate of affirmative action in higher education. If confirmed, Jackson would likely be on the bench in time to hear that case and many others that will affect the lives of people throughout the country. And at 51, she is poised to serve as one of the most powerful people in America for decades. Jackson with D.C. District Court colleagues. Courtesy Ketanji Brown JacksonThe White House A worthy calling During her eight years on the D.C. district court, Jackson had to render decisions on heated political cases. In 2019, she ruled that President Donald Trump could not prevent White House counsel Don McGahn from responding to a legislative subpoena on the grounds of absolute immunity. Presidents are not kings, Jackson wrote in that 2019 decision, which totaled an eye-catching 119 pages. They do not have subjects bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control. Republican Senators questioned Jackson about the ruling in her 2021 confirmation hearings for her role on the D.C. Circuit Court, and it may prove an issue once again in the coming nomination battle. It was not the only time Jackson would rule against the Trump Administration. In 2018, she sided with a group of federal employee unions who had challenged several of Trumps executive orders on the grounds that the orders limited their collective bargaining rights. (The ruling was ultimately overturned on appeal.) But Jackson also sided with the Trump Administration in 2019, ruling that the Department of Homeland Security could waive environmental laws in order to build a border wall between New Mexico and Mexico. Jackson became known for opinions that were as deeply researched as they were sometimes long-winded. She issued several noteworthy First Amendment opinionssuch as her 2013 ruling in which she allowed a civil action brought by a person whod been arrested for screaming obscenities in a public park to proceedand criminal justice cases, including her 2015 ruling in favor of a deaf inmate to whom the D.C. jail had failed to provide a sign-language interpreter during his period of incarceration. Last year, Biden nominated Jackson to the powerful D.C. Circuit Court, and she was confirmed by a bipartisan vote of 53-44, with three Republican Senators voting in her favor. Shes been careful to honor precedent on both courts, her colleague on the D.C. Circuit Court Judge Robert L. Wilkins tells TIME. If confirmed to the high court, he predicts shed strive to figure out how to be most effective in the majority when possible, and if not then in the minority. In a 6-3 court, this could mean seeking collegiality and compromises with the conservative justices. Shes not someone who is going to necessarily be a bull in the china shop, Wilkins says. But shes also not going to join an institution and not question what the institution is doing and how its doing it, why its doing it, and whether thats the best way to be doing things. Jacksons professional career prior to joining the federal bench also sheds light on how she might perform as a justice. The U.S. Sentencing Commission included a mix of Democrats and Republicans during Jacksons tenure as the commissions vice chair from 2010 to 2014, yet many of the commissions decisions were unanimous. Jackson played a key role in achieving such unity, says Rachel Barkow, who served on the commission with her. Like Justices on the Supreme Court, commissioners work closely with colleagues across the aisle and come to conclusions that directly impact Americans lives. You have to build those relationships with your fellow commissioners, says Michael E. Horowitz, the Justice Departments Inspector General who served as vice chair of the commission before Jackson. You have to be willing to compromise. Jackson participated in the commissions reassessment of the 100-to-1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity, after Congress declined to say whether its 2010 reduction of sentences for crack convictions should retroactively grant relief to people sentenced under the prior guidelines. Jackson firmly argued for the Commission to take action. I believe the commission has no choice but to make this right, she told the commission in 2011. Our failure to do so would harm not only those serving sentences pursuant to the prior guideline penalty, but all who believe in equal application of the law and the fundamental fairness of our criminal justice system. Jackson served as a federal public defender in D.C. for two and a half years before serving as a commissioner, representing indigent clients in criminal cases and detainees held in the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She wanted to help people who are indigent and in trouble, says D.C. Federal Public Defender A. J. Kramer, who Jackson worked for from 2003 to 2005. I think she saw it as a worthy calling. From left, Antoinette Coakley, Nina Coleman, Lisa Fairfax and Ketanji Brown Jackson in 1996. Courtesy of Lisa Fairfax Go ladies Jacksons academic and professional ambitions have always been nurtured by her close communities of family and friendseven when the balance between them was hard to find. Jackson was raised in Miami, Florida, in a family of virtuous, smart, big hearted people, says her childhood friend Stephen Rosenthal. Her mother was a school teacher, and father became counsel for the Miami-Dade County School District. They instilled in Jackson and the rest of the family a deep appreciation for public service and education, friends say. Her brother went on to serve in the military, and two of her uncles served in law enforcement. As a teenager, Jackson was her high school class president and a national debate champion, and friends say she exuded natural charisma. Imagine the Simone Biles of oratory, Rosenthal says. Upon entering Harvard University for her undergraduate studies, Jackson met some of the most important guiding figures in life: her eventual husband Patrick Jackson, now a surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, and her close knit group of female friends. One of the first times I met her she came bopping into the room, and I was like, Shes so tiny, who is this person? recalls her friend Nina Simmons. And then she started talking and I thought, Wow, who is this person? Jacksons college friends called themselves the ladies, and when theyd go out dancing, Jackson would always hype them up, Simmons recalls, yelling, Go ladies! Go ladies! Theyve stayed lifelong friends. Jackson graduated from Harvard magna cum laude in 1992. (Her first job out of college was as a reporter and researcher for TIME magazine from 1992 to 1993, where she wrote stories on economic policy and rising drug prices.) She returned to Harvard for law school, where she served on the prestigious Harvard Law Review. She was attentive to mentoring younger women, particularly other women of color, says Tracy-Elizabeth Clay, who was a year below her on the Review. She had this unique sense of confidence, Clay recalls. She was comfortable in her skin in a place that wasnt necessarily meant for her to be comfortable. After graduating Harvard Law in 1996, Jackson clerked for Massachusetts District Court Judge Patti B. Saris and First Circuit Judge Bruce M. Selya, before working in private practice for a year and then clerking on the Supreme Court with Breyer. Selya recalls that Jackson had been newly married when she applied for his clerkship in Rhode Island, and her husband was completing his residency in Massachusetts. She looked me right in the eye and told me that, If you make me an offer, I will accept it and I will move to Providence. And Patrick and I will work it out, Selya recalls. I was very impressed by that, because there arent many young married people who would unhesitatingly make that kind of choice. Jackson has been open about the difficulties that come with balancing her career and her family. In a 2017 speech before the University of Georgia School of Law, Jackson spoke about the period in her life after she completed her clerkship for Justice Breyer in 2000 and began working for the law firm Goodwin Procter in Boston. She gave birth to her eldest daughter Talia a few months later. The firm was very supportive, but I dont think it is possible to overstate the degree of difficulty that many young women and especially new mothers face in the law firm context, Jackson said in the speech. That was a realization for me, the understanding that if I was going to leave my baby and go to work outside the home, I needed to find a law job that was not only fulfilling, but was also compatible with the needs of my family. Jackson left Goodwin Procter in 2002, becoming something of a professional vagabond, moving from place to place as my family needs and circumstances changed, she said. She joined the U.S. sentencing commission as assistant special counsel in 2003, and her second daughter was born four years later. Family is deeply important to her, friends say, and being a mother is as meaningful to her as her commitments to the legal profession. To my daughters, Talia and Leila, you are the light of my life, Jackson said Friday afternoon. Please know whatever title I may hold, or whatever job I may have, I will still be your mom. That will never change. Now, Jacksons daughters will grow up in a world that is far different than the one she herself came up in. A world thats seen significant strides in racial and gender equity; a world where they watched on Friday as their mother was nominated as the first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Coons, who chairs the Senate subcommittee that oversees foreign aid, said on Friday he would support an emergency spending bill of $10 billion or more to address the crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "It would be a wild guess on my part, but I would be supportive of an emergency supplemental of at least $10 billion, if not more, to meet these vital security and humanitarian needs," Coons told a call with journalists just after returning from a weeklong trip to Europe. Listing issues, including millions of refugees who may flood into other countries, the cost of enacting and enforcing sanctions, humanitarian support for Ukraine and military support for Ukraine and NATO states in eastern Europe, Coons said, "So $10 billion is probably on the low end, because I'm not factoring in what may be a robust defense-side request. "There is strong enthusiasm to provide ongoing resupply and training and whatever other covert and overt support is necessary and appropriate for the Ukrainian resistance," he said. Coons stressed that he would not support shifting billions from existing programs to cover Ukraine-related costs, given the ongoing global coronavirus health crisis and international food insecurity issues, funding for which needs to be replenished. Coons is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee that handles funding for diplomatic and aid programs.Departing from recent party divisions, both President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats and opposition Republicans have expressed strong support for sharp increases in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, with some calling for passage of an emergency supplemental spending bill as soon as next week. The Biden administration has not yet said how much money it would like Congress to appropriate for the crisis. Russian missiles pounded Kyiv on Friday, families cowered in shelters and authorities told residents to prepare Molotov cocktails to defend Ukraine's capital from an assault that the mayor said had already begun with saboteurs in the city. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Jonathan Oatis) President Biden plans to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, according to a source familiar with the process. If confirmed by the Senate, she is likely to hold the position for decades. Here's what you need to know about the 51-year-old federal appeals court judge, who could become the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Historic appointment Jackson is the first Black woman selected to serve on the Supreme Court, an institution that once upheld segregation. Her confirmation would continue to diversify a court that for nearly two centuries was comprised entirely of White men. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson / Credit: The Washington Post She would be the second Black justice on the current court, alongside Clarence Thomas, and just the third in history. She would also become the fourth woman on the current court the highest number ever and only the sixth female justice in history. Harvard Law School graduate A native of Washington, D.C., Jackson grew up in Florida. A White House bio page that went up late Friday morning notes that her parents attended segregated primary schools in the South, and eventually became public school teachers and administrators in the Miami area. Becoming a judge appears to have been her longtime dream. The 1998 Miami Palmetto Senior High School yearbook describes her as a member of multiple honor societies and quotes her as saying, "I want to go into law and eventually have a judicial appointment." Jackson attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School. According to the White House, when she told her high school guidance counselor she wanted to go to Harvard, the counselor cautioned her against setting her sights "so high." Jackson graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and cum laude from Harvard Law School. Former Supreme Court clerk and public defender She clerked for Breyer on the Supreme Court during the term beginning in October 1999. After stints at elite law firms, she went on to serve as assistant special counsel for the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Story continues She also worked for two years as an assistant federal public defender before returning to the U.S. Sentencing Commission in 2010 as vice chair. Jackson's time as a public defender makes her the first justice since Thurgood Marshall to have experience representing criminal defendants. A leading candidate before vacancy Jackson was considered a leading candidate for the Supreme Court even before there was a vacancy, with her professional experience representing indigent criminal defendants and nearly nine years on the federal bench making her a favorite. She was selected by Mr. Biden last year to replace Attorney General Merrick Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is considered to be the nation's second most powerful court and on which three current Supreme Court justices served. Jackson was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit in June 2021, winning support from all Senate Democrats and three Republicans: Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Before her appointment to the D.C. Circuit, Jackson served for more than eight years as a judge on the federal district court in the District of Columbia. She was selected for that post by former President Barack Obama in 2012 and introduced at her confirmation hearing by then-Congressman Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin who would go on to serve as speaker of the House before retiring in 2018. Ryan and Jackson are related by marriage, and he has called her "an amazing person." Ryan tweeted Friday: "Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal." Mr. Obama considered Jackson for the Supreme Court in 2016 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. High-profile cases During her tenure on the district court, Jackson ruled in the high-profile dispute between the House Judiciary Committee and former White House counsel Don McGahn, finding in 2019 that McGahn had to comply with the subpoena for testimony. "Presidents are not kings. This means that they do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control," she wrote. "Rather, in this land of liberty, it is indisputable that employees of the White House work for the people of the United States, and that they take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." She also was on the three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit that rejected former President Donald Trump's attempt to keep the National Archives and Records Administration from turning over his White House records to the House select committee investigating the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. Jackson joined the opinion written by Judge Patricia Millett that found Trump "provided no basis for this court to override President Biden's judgment and the agreement and accommodations worked out between the Political Branches over these documents." The Supreme Court ultimately gave the green-light for the National Archives to give the records to the January 6 committee, declining a request from Mr. Trump to block their release. Melissa Quinn, Nancy Cordes, Jacob Rosen and The Associated Press contributed reporting. Saturday Sessions: Punch Brothers perform Cattle in the Cane" Saturday Sessions: Punch Brothers perform Any Old Time" Saturday Sessions: Punch Brothers perform Church Street Blues" Shannon Gilday, 23, has been named as a suspect in the killing of Jordan Morgan. He has an active warrant for murder, among several other charges. Shannon Gilday, a suspect in the killing of lawyer Jordan Morgan in Richmond, could be traveling with camping gear, according to Kentucky State Police. The 23-year-old from Taylor Mill, Kentucky, was named as a suspect Thursday two days after police allege he forced his way into the home of Morgan's parents, armed with a rifle, and almost immediately shot Morgan while she was in bed. The Madison County Coroner's Office has said she was shot more than once. Sgt. Robert Purdy, a spokesman for the state police, asked people in rural areas, state parks and national forests to be on the lookout for Gilday and his vehicle. Gilday is believed to be driving a white 2016 Toyota Corolla with minor damage to the front grill and a license plate of 379-VMJ. He is about 6-foot tall and 167 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Jordan Morgan's death: Here's what we know about the lawyer's fatal shooting in Richmond His car was spotted in Cincinnati the week prior to the shooting. He has an active warrant for murder, burglary, criminal mischief, assault and two counts of attempted murder. Police believe Shannon Gilday, 23, is driving this model of car. Surveillance footage from the house in the 1200 block of Willis Branch Road showed a person investigators believe was Gilday before the incident, in a dark camo or tactical-style jacket and pants, a hooded sweatshirt, gloves and a facemask, walking around the house moments before the shooting, Purdy said. A tip Tuesday night from someone outside the area helped lead police to identify Gilday, he said. After shooting Jordan Morgan, Gilday then allegedly confronted her father Wesley Morgan a former Kentucky lawmaker and gunshots were exchanged between the two. Wesley Morgan sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Jordan Morgan Gilday may have also been wounded in the exchange. State police have not been able to establish a connection between Gilday and Jordan Morgan, but they don't believe she was specifically targeted. As for motive, Purdy said its still under investigation. While police may have ideas, he said, they need to find Gilday. Purdy said they have no information about any connections Gilday had to Madison County. Story continues It doesnt appear it was necessarily just a burglary, he said. There was a criminal action and a violent intent, we believe. Gilday does not have a criminal history, according to an online search of Kentucky records. He is considered armed and dangerous and police have urged the public not to approach the vehicle or attempt to contact him. Anyone with additional information about the investigation is urged to call KSP Post 7 at 859-623-2404. Who was Jordan Morgan? Jordan Morgan was a lawyer who had also worked as a deputy press secretary in former Gov. Matt Bevin's administration. She earned degrees from Eastern Kentucky and Northern Kentucky universities. She earned her law degree at NKU. She had worked as an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Boone and Gallatin counties and had just joined the Reminger law office in Lexington one week ago. Who is Wesley Morgan? Wesley Morgan served one term as a state representative for Richmond and Berea in Madison County. After losing his seat in 2018, Morgan said his defeat was orchestrated by Republican leaders in the state and thus announced he would support the Democratic candidate in the race. He owns several liquor stores, and in the legislature he authored more than half a dozen bills to rewrite the state's liquor laws. Contact reporter Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Shannon Gilday, suspect in Jordan Morgan shooting in, may be camping: Police Rick Caruso after filing paperwork to run for mayor this month. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) The Los Angeles Police Protective League on Thursday endorsed Rick Caruso for mayor, a coveted nod for the businessman because of the union's considerable political clout. It represents the first major endorsement for Caruso since entering the race this month. He previously served as president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, where he maintained a good relationship with the union leadership. "We believe that the people of Los Angeles and the members of the LAPD agree: Our approach to public safety needs to change. Rick is not a typical politician, and we believe that he can fix L.A., Lt. Craig Lally, the union president, said in a news release put out by the Caruso campaign. Caruso was unanimously selected by the the union's political action committee and board of directors. Lally said. The union represents about 9,500 rank-and-file officers at the Los Angeles Police Department. "Im deeply grateful to have the support of the front-line police officers in the city. We cannot reduce crime in L.A. without their contributions, Caruso said in a statement. I have deep respect for the citys labor unions and look forward to working with them as mayor. The endorsement is a setback for Councilman Joe Buscaino, a rival in the mayor's race and a former LAPD officer. The political arm of the police union made a bet against one of their own," Buscaino said. "Public safety is the most important responsibility of a local government. Everything hinges on it. This is why I will always be supportive of the rank-and-file officers who serve and protect our city, and I know they support my candidacy for mayor." While Caruso, a billionaire, may not need the union's money, the endorsement means it won't be spent in support of an opponent. The union's political power derives partially from the big checks it has written to candidates. When then-Councilman Eric Garcetti ran for mayor in 2013, the union spent about $1.5 million supporting his opponent, then-City Controller Wendy Greuel. Story continues Its relationship with the current mayor has been strained in recent years particularly throughout the protests and civil unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Union leaders criticized Garcetti's push to cut the LAPD budget, saying at the time that police officers had lost confidence in his ability to lead the city. In the wake of Floyd's murder, some candidates said they would no longer accept the union's money. The question of how big the LAPD should be has become central to the campaign messaging of several candidates. Caruso has called for there to be 11,000 sworn officers up from the 9,700 currently budgeted. Buscaino had said prior to Caruso's entry into the race that he'd like to see the department grow to that size. Buscaino had made crime and clearing homeless encampments a central part of his campaign to this point. He also has gone to great lengths to paint Caruso as anti-union, pointing out during a debate this week that he'd given to a failed 2005 ballot initiative that would have barred government employee unions from spending members dues on political campaigns without consent. Caruso said in a statement that given the U.S. Supreme Courts Citizens United decision, allowing unlimited corporate contributions to campaigns, he believes that unions should have the right to use every tool at their disposal to even the playing field. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Queens Assemblymember Ron Kim has issued a proposal to fund the creation of programs that will include free taxi rides and walking buddies for groups targeted by hate crimes. Kim sent a missive to Governor Kathy Hochul requesting a declaration of disaster emergency to fund the programs in light of the recent surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans. According to the New York Post, the letter read, This is a disaster of unequivocal proportions that must be met with the total mobilization of law enforcement and social service funds and resources from the Government. If the program, estimated to cost around $30 to $40 million, were to be funded, eligibility would require that the protected group have experienced a 200% increase in hate crimes against them from the previous year. One of Kims programs would include a voucher system that covers 15 round-trip taxi rides per month. Kim also proposed the creation of a protection agency called the Security Companion Service for Protected Groups, which would have officers trained in hand-to-hand combat measures readily available as walking buddies, reported the Post. Kim also wrote in his letter to Hochul that he wants to fund a program that provides paratransit services to seniors, allowing them access to unlimited free rides and trained peace officers. In a post uploaded to Kims official Twitter page, he writes that the attacks against Asian Americans are not random. This is not "random" and I'm not just saying this to fearmonger. The violence against Asian women and older adults has become a state of emergency. https://t.co/Af4E4qVEes Ron T. Kim (@rontkim) February 23, 2022 An anonymous state lawmaker told the Post that they believe that Kims proposal may not provide the best solution. They said that there are more simple solutions to providing targeted communities with safety resources. One example would be ensuring that hate crime perpetrators are not released immediately to strike again, given that they are more likely to be repeat offenders, they said. Feature Image via Asian Youth Center of New York Story continues Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Major Brands Around the World Share #StopAsianHate in Solidarity NY City Council Candidate Says She Was Pushed Down Subway Stairs Racists are Refusing to See Asian American Doctors Because of Coronavirus Master Artist and Storyteller: Berserk Creator Kentaro Miura Passes Away at 54 John Kronenberger, outside of Major Hector P. Garcia M.D. High School, where Kronenberger had been mistakenly ticketed for speeding on Nov. 12. The city of Chicago sent out speeding tickets from cameras near the school on that date, even though school was not in session because of a citywide push to encourage students to get vaccinated. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) The city of Chicago has framed its school speed camera program as a way to keep kids safe, pushing back against claims its a cash grab by pointing to a simple rule: Drivers dont get tickets on days students arent in class. One day last fall, that standard broke down. Advertisement On a Friday in November when a Southwest Side charter school was closed to give students a chance to get vaccinated against COVID-19, nearly two dozen cars nonetheless got hit for speeding in the nearby automated camera school safety zone. Eight of those drivers near Aceros Major Hector P. Garcia M.D. High School got tickets Nov. 12 for exceeding a camera-enforced 20 mph speed limit, intended to apply on school days when children are present. Advertisement Another 15 were ticketed by one of two cameras assigned to the school on West 47th Street in Archer Heights for going over a 30 mph limit thats in place when kids arent nearby. The Tribune received data through an open records request about all speed camera tickets near schools on vaccine awareness day, when Chicago Public Schools and other schools shut down to promote the idea students should get vaccinated. After a reporter informed the Chicago Department of Transportation cars were ticketed passing Major Hector Garcia when the campus was closed, the city said it would cancel outstanding citations and offer refunds to those who already paid. City workers are assigned to verify speed camera photos before tickets are sent out, according to CDOT spokesman Michael Claffey. They track school schedules, and arent supposed to approve tickets from any of the 79 cameras outside 33 public, private and charter schools across the city when theyre closed. On Nov. 12, Aceros decision to shutter Major Hector Garcia slipped by those monitors, Claffey said. This was an unusual circumstance with Acero, he said, noting both city and state laws allow for school speed camera enforcement on school days only. But Mark Wallace, executive director of the local anti-camera group Citizens to Abolish Red Light Cameras, said the situation at Major Hector Garcia seems all too familiar given the citys past stance on the cameras. Their M.O. all along has been, Well issue the tickets, and if nobody says anything, well get away with it, Wallace said. Its always been that theyre responsive to correcting it when they get found out. Theyll defend the program right up until somebody hands them the proof theres a problem. Advertisement John Kronenberger was one of those mistakenly ticketed for speeding outside of Major Hector P. Garcia M.D. High School on Nov. 12. The city of Chicago sent out speeding tickets from cameras near the school on that date, even though school was not in session because of a citywide push to encourage students to get vaccinated. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) John Kronenberger got a $35 ticket in the mail in January, informing him hed been caught by a speed camera driving over the 30 mph limit near Major Hector Garcia on Nov. 12. Usually its very trafficky there, and I know those cameras are there because theyre forever flashing, said Kronenberger, who owns a nearby rehearsal facility. So I usually am going very slow there. Im surprised when you said that it was 36 (mph). But he said he wasnt surprised to learn he was ticketed mistakenly. Its Chicago. Theyre broke, and the cameras, realistically, are just a way for the city to make money, he said. If the goal is to protect kids from speeding cars before and after school, theres no need on 47th Street, Kronenberger added. If you go there during school, and there are pedestrians around there, and its time for school to start or end, its impossible to do 5 miles an hour there. Its so congested, he said. Theres no school parking lot. Its an industrial area, and a residential area on the other side of the street. So its total chaos. Advertisement Kronenberger had already paid the ticket by the time he found out the city was canceling it, and the city cashed his check, he said. Kronenberger said he would try to get a refund, but on Wednesday, he said he had not yet received it. Mayor Lori Lightfoot inherited about 160 automated speed cameras near Chicago schools and parks from her predecessor, Rahm Emanuel. But as part of her 2021 budget, Lightfoot lowered the threshold at which the cameras snap pictures of license plates and the city issues tickets, from 10 mph over the limit to 6. The number of tickets and the revenue to the city if drivers paid the fines skyrocketed in the months after her new rules took effect. Lightfoot has defended the change, saying she enacted it to keep pedestrians, cyclists and motorists safe. She and allies on the City Council have so far beaten back an attempt by Far South Side Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, to go back to the old speed camera benchmarks. For Wallace, the Major Hector Garcia tickets highlight why so many Chicago drivers are angry at the city about the ticket system. Theyll say, Well do our best to follow the rules we set. But they want to hold the public to the absolute letter of the law: Six mph over and theyll ticket you every time. Advertisement jebyrne@chicagotribune.com tswartz@tribpub.com Feb. 24A nurse for the Lawrence County Jail was honored Thursday for saving the life of a man who had quit breathing while being processed into the jail in January. Sheriff Max Sanders presented nurse Lisa Terry with a medal and a certificate of appreciation. On Jan. 13, Terry administered CPR to reestablish a pulse in the man. The sheriff said a jailer and fellow arrestee assisted in the life-saving procedure. The man was transported to the hospital for observation, the sheriff said. The man is believed to have ingested unknown narcotics before his arrest. mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel. Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario's Minister of Finance, confirmed Friday that the provincial government will direct the LCBO to remove products produced in Russia. Ontario joins Canadas allies in condemning the Russian governments act of aggression against the Ukrainian people, and will direct the LCBO to withdraw all products produced in Russia from store shelves. #StandwithUkraine Peter Bethlenfalvy (@PBethlenfalvy) February 25, 2022 This came after Ontario Liberal Party Leader, Steven Del Duca, is calling for a ban on Russian alcohol in LCBO stores. "Watching what's happening in Ukraine is absolutely heartbreaking," Del Duca wrote in a letter to LCBO President and CEO Dr. George Soleas. "The world needs to help in any way we can." The LCBO is one of the largest purchasers of alcohol in the world. Imported spirits, including Russia vodka brands, are among your most popular products. I urge you to remove all Russian made products from your shelves until this Russian aggression ends.Steven Del Duca, Ontario Liberal Party Leader The @LCBO must pull Russian Vodka from its shelves. Ontario Liberals are calling on this to happen immediately. We must send a clear message to Putin, including halting all money going to Russia during his Ukraine invasion: https://t.co/taDpyHXvju 1/2#onpoli #StandWithUkriane pic.twitter.com/vANGcuiPG4 Steven Del Duca (@StevenDelDuca) February 25, 2022 Del Duca stated that this would send a "clear message" to President Vladimir Putin and would stop money from going to Russia during this invasion. On Thursday evening, the Ontario government announced that it would provide $300,000 in humanitarian aid. Story continues "Last night we witnessed a violent attack on a sovereign nation as Vladimir Putin launched a war of aggression against Ukraine," a statement from Ontario Premier Doug Ford reads. "The bonds between Canada and Ukraine run deep, and generations of Ukrainian-Canadians have helped build the Canada we know and love. This morning I spoke with the Consul General of Ukraine and assured him that the people of Ontario stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Ukraine." The province's monetary support will be donated to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation to support medical aid, emergency shelter and food security in Ukraine. "We share Premier Fords concern over Russian aggression into Ukraine. We know the required humanitarian support will be significant and we are grateful to the government and the people of Ontario for supporting this worthy endeavour," a statement Orest Sklierenko, President of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation reads. "We hope to continue to work with the province of Ontario in the coming weeks as we support the people of Ukraine during this trying time." This week we saw a number of gadgets from Lenovo, Samsung and others go on sale. Lenovo's new Smart Clock Essential with Alexa support is down to only $50 right now, while a number of Samsung Odyssey gaming monitors have great discounts. You can officially buy Samsung's latest smartphones today, too, and you'll get a credit if you go through Amazon. Plus, Roku's Streaming Stick 4K+ is 30 percent off and down to $49. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. Lenovo Smart Clock Essential (Alexa) Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Lenovo's new Smart Clock Essential with Alexa support is on sale for $50 right now, or 29 percent off its normal price. This version has a slightly different design than the original, featuring pogo docking pins on the bottom, and new fabric colors. Otherwise, it does all of the things the Google Assistant-version did, only with Alexa. It also doesn't have a built-in camera, which will make it more appealing to those concerned about privacy. Buy Smart Clock Essential (Alexa) at Amazon - $50 Apple Watch Series 7 Apple Watch Series 7 Certain colors of the Apple Watch Series 7 are down to $349, or $50 off their normal price. Apple's latest flagship smartwatch earned a score of 90 from us for its slightly larger display, faster charging and handy watchOS8 features. Buy Apple Watch Series 7 at Amazon - $349 Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 gaming monitor Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 mini-LED curved gaming monitor Samsung's 49-inch Odyssey Neo G9 mini-LED curved gaming monitor is still $500 off and down to $2,000. Yes, it's still a pricey display, but serious gamers who want a more immersive experience will find it worthwhile. It has a 5,120 x 1,440 resolution with a 240Hz refresh rate, along with high contrast ratios, bright HDR performance and support for NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. If you don't want to drop so much on one monitor, a number of other Odyssey displays are on sale, too, including the 34-inch Odyssey G5 curved monitor for $430. Buy 49-inch Odyssey Neo G9 monitor at Amazon - $2,000 Buy 34-inch Odyssey G5 monitor at Amazon - $430 Buy 32-inch Odyssey G3 monitor at Amazon - $230 Buy 24-inch Odyssey G3 monitor at Amazon - $150 Story continues Samsung Galaxy S22 series The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Amazon's offering a $100 credit to those that order any of the three smartphones in the new Samsung Galaxy S22 lineup. All you have to do is enter the promo code on the product page before you check out, and you'll get an email after your handset ships with the details of the credit being added to your Amazon account. Those considering the Galaxy S22 have an extra incentive on top of that $100 off in the form of an on-page coupon that you can clip, which will bring the price of the base model down to $700. Buy Galaxy S22 Ultra at Amazon - $1,200 Buy Galaxy S22+ at Amazon - $1,000 Buy Galaxy S22 at Amazon - $700 Roku Streaming Stick 4K+ Roku Roku's new Streaming Stick 4K+ is down to $49, or 30 percent off its normal price. In addition to 4K streaming, it supports HDR10+, a faster processor and it comes bundled with the Roku Voice Remote Pro, which lets you use voice commands to search and issue verbal commands. Buy Roku Streaming Stick 4K+ at Amazon - $49 Instant Pot Max Instant Pot Max The six-quart Instant Pot Max is down to a record low of $75, or half off its normal price. This multicooker has a large touch screen for easy programming, 15psi of pressure so you can experiment with canning and a sous vide cooking option. Buy Instant Pot Max at Amazon - $75 Samsung T7 SSD (1TB) Samsung's T7 portable SSD in 1TB is down to a record low of $110, or 35 percent off its usual rate. It's one of our preferred drives if you need something compact, speedy and compatible with a bunch of devices. We also like its aluminum unibody and its Dynamic Thermal Guard that helps control heat levels. Buy Samsung T7 (1TB) at Amazon - $110 Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Samsung's cellular Galaxy Watch 4 models are on sale for record-low prices right now. The 40mm model is down to $220 while the 44mm version is down to $250. We consider the Galaxy Watch 4 to be the best Android smartwatch you can get and it earned a score of 85 for its bright screen, comprehensive health tracking and new Wear OS features, like downloading apps directly from the Play Store. Buy Galaxy Watch 4 (40mm) at Amazon - $220 Buy Galaxy Watch 4 (44mm) at Amazon - $250 Samsung 980 Pro SSD (2TB) Samsung's 980 Pro internal drive in 2TB is 35 percent off and down to $280 a great price for a powerful SSD that works with the PS5 (provided you have a heatsink). It has read speeds up to 7,000 MB/s, advanced thermal controls and works with Samsung's Magician Software, which lets you check its health and optimize settings as you'd like. Buy Samsung 980 Pro (2TB) at Amazon - $280 Nintendo Switch Prime members can get $20 off the Nintendo Switch at Woot right now. While the discount isn't on the OLED model, it's a good sale on a console that rarely sees sales like this. Just make sure to check out Woot's return policy before buying. Buy Nintendo Switch at Woot - $280 New tech deals Eufy Security baby monitor Eufy's baby monitor is on sale for $119, which is close to its all-time-low price. This model comes with one camera and a separate monitor display with a 5-inch 720p screen. The camera lens can pan and tilt to see most of your baby's nursery, and it can send alerts when your baby starts crying. The monitor supports two way audio and, since it's not a WiFi-connected device, the feed is secure and private. Buy Eufy baby monitor at Amazon - $119 Apple MagSafe battery pack Apple's magnetic battery pack for iPhones is down to $88, which is 11 percent off its normal price. We have seen it cheaper in the past, but this is the best price we've seen since December. The accessory attaches magnetically to the back of the latest iPhones and provides up to 15W of wireless charging. Buy MagSafe battery pack at Amazon - $88 Alo Moves The on-demand fitness service Alo Moves has an offer few new members that knocks 50 percent off the price of a one-year membership, bringing it down to $99. The platform has dozens of yoga, pilates, barre and strength training classes, along with guided meditations and series that help you master specific skills over the course of longer periods of time. Subscribe to Alo Moves - $99 NordVPN NordVPN's latest sale knocks the price of a two-year subscription down to just under $96, plus you'll get a free gift on top of it. The prize isn't anything physical, but rather additional subscription time on top of the two-year plan you paid for. Prizes are chosen at random, but after you make your purchase, you'll get either an extra month, and extra year or an extra two years added on to your subscription. Subscribe to NordVPN (2 years) - $96 UK deals AirPods (2nd gen) Apple's second-generation AirPods are down to 99 at Amazon. These don't have some of the bells and whistles that the new third-gen models do, but they remain a decent option for Apple users on a budget. We gave them a score of 84 when they first came out for their improved wireless performance and solid battery life. Buy AirPods at Amazon - 99 Sony WF-1000XM3 Sony's WF-1000XM3 earbuds are on sale for 76, or 31 percent off their normal price. These buds earned a score of 89 for their excellent sound quality, great battery life and full-featured companion app. Buy Sony WF-1000XM3 at Amazon - 76 Fitbit Sense Fitbit's most advanced smartwatch, the Sense, is down to 189 right now. That's not a record low, but it's still 37 percent off its usual rate. We gave it a score of 82 for its comprehensive health tracking features and big, bold display. Buy Fitbit Sense at Amazon - 189 Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice. WASHINGTON, D.C. A Lindenwold man is accused of taking part in the Capitol riot and live-streaming his activities on a social-media account. Michael Oliveras, 48, allegedly narrated videos while inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, at one point calling for traitors to be dragged out by their hair, a court record says. Tipsters contacted investigators after the videos were posted to a personal account at the Parler social media platform, according to a statement of facts filed in federal court in the District of Columbia. One video showed items believed to belong to the press being thrown into a pile, the statement says. It contends a person believed to be Olivares is heard saying, Thats what happens when the f---ing fake news shows up at a patriot rally. More: Camden County Jail gets hiring change to address 'dire need' for officers More: Cherry Hill youth baseball coach accused of sexual assaults In another video, Oliveras allegedly narrates as rioters force their way into the Capitol; Here we go. Heres the next rush. Theres a push inside, with resistance. Investigators allege surveillance video shows Michael Olivares of Lindenwold taking part in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Olivares did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. At least 12 South Jersey residents have now been accused of joining in a riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. The Capitol siege occurred as members of Congress were formalizing the election of President Joseph R. Biden. The first tip about Oliveras alleged actions came from a Parler user two days after the riot, the statement says. The tipster reported seeing videos from the riot at a Parler account, and said the person who posted them has been talking about overthrowing the government for weeks in public chat rooms pushing disinformation and talking about hanging and executing people repetitively , according to the statement. Screenshots provided by the tipster included Olivares name and telephone number, the statement says. Another Parler user contacted investigators two days later, reporting the account had posted multiple videos of inside the Capitol building and them harassing members of the press." Story continues A review of the account also found a Jan. 6 post that said, I m inside the capital. Search warrants showed the Parler account was created in October 2020 using a telephone number confirmed to belong to Olivares, the statement says. It claims surveillance images show Olivares, wearing a Trump sweatshirt and carrying an American flag, inside the Capitol. Information provided by a cellphone service also indicates Olivares was at the riot scene, the statement alleges. Olivares was arrested Dec. 22 on charges that include disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The charges are only allegations. Oliveras has not been convicted in the case. Jim Walsh covers public safety, economic development and other beats for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Support local journalism with a subscription. This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Feds: Michael Olivares of Lindenwold live-streamed during Capitol riot NEW YORK - It's National Clam Chowder Day, so chefs from Boston and New York will compete Friday afternoon on "The Talk" to see who has the best chowder: New England or Manhattan. Joe Reale of Popei's Clam Bar and Seafood Restaurant in Bethpage, Long Island is representing New York. He's taking on Meredith Tipping from the Boston Sail Loft. Both are family-owned businesses that have been making chowder for decades. Reale explains what makes Popei's Manhattan clam chowder stand out. "It's just fresh products, from the potatoes, the onions, tomatoes, carrots, celery. And then you have to have a nice Long Island fresh clam. All that juice goes in there, you put that in. That's the secret ingredient," he said. The judges clearly enjoyed tasting the chowder, but who won? You'll have to tune in Friday afternoon to find out. You can watch "The Talk" right here on CBS2 at 2 p.m. Danny Fenster describes his detention in Myanmar Retired NYPD detective shares her story of survival Cedella Marley on "Marley and the Family Band" LOUISVILLE, Ky. The city agreed to pay a Louisville Metro Corrections officer more than $60,000 to settle her lawsuit that claimed a former jail union president retaliated against her when she refused to have sex with him. Emily Nichols sued Metro Corrections and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 77, which represents jail staff, in June 2019 over alleged retaliation from Tracy Dotson, who was the union's president at the time. Nichols, among other complaints, accused Dotson of refusing to give her "lighter duty" work following an injury, unless she sent him explicit photos or had sex with him. Attorney Tom Coffey, who represented Nichols, confirmed the city agreed to pay out $60,000 equivalent to roughly two years of the officer's salary to settle the suit, which court records show both sides agreed to dismiss in January. Jefferson County Attorney's Office spokesman Josh Abner provided The Courier Journal with a copy of the settlement agreement, which shows the two sides met to mediate in December. It gives $34,462.54 to Nichols as "emotional distress damages" and $25,537.46 to Coffey for attorney fees. 6 deaths in 4 months: Louisville's jail is in crisis. Here's what can be done to fix it The FOP lodge had been dismissed from the complaint after Jefferson Circuit Judge Audra Eckerle determined the union was not liable and "did not know about the private text messaging between Dotson and Nichols," according to a court order. The suit alleged sexual discrimination and that Nichols suffered "mental anguish, embarrassment and humiliation." The settlement is compensation "for the emotional trauma that she endured for what she believed was sexual harassment," Coffey told The Courier Journal, adding that Nichols continues to work as a Metro Corrections officer. Claims made in a lawsuit represent only side of a case. Dotson, who is now a Metro Corrections training instructor and serves as one of the spokesmen for the FOP union, had previously called the allegations "all false." Story continues Jordan Morgan: Kentucky State Police name suspect in Richmond murder Dotson, who was not named as a defendant, deferred to the current union president, Daniel Johnson, when reached for comment Thursday. Dotson previously noted that Nichols filed the same complaint against him in 2017 and that he kept his job after an 11-month investigation. The former union leader, however, had faced several misconduct complaints over the years. Johnson told The Courier Journal the allegations against the FOP and Dotson "were not true." "An investigation was done through the Professional Standards Unit and he was cleared," Johnson said in a text message, adding Nichols "received representation throughout the entire process of her work injury regardless of any personal relationships she had during that time." Nichols alleged she hurt her hand and wrist while working at the jail in January 2017 and asked to be switched to "lighter duty" work. But Metro Corrections repeatedly denied her request, according to the lawsuit. Nichols claims she asked Dotson, her union president, for help. Kentucky news: Murder indictments could be dismissed over possible prosecutor errors Dotson allegedly replied via text messages that he would only help her if she had sex with him and sent him sexually explicit photos of herself, according to the suit. According to the lawsuit, Nichols sent Dotson several photos in "an effort to appease" him, and she received the job change she requested. I told you I would take care of you, Dotson allegedly told Nichols, according to the suit. For about one month, when she asked several more times for lighter work, Nichols claimed Dotson would demand "sexual relations" and more sexually explicit photos. Nichols said she told Dotson she would not have sex with him and she would not send him any more sexually explicit photos. At that point, the suit claims Dotson allegedly told Nichols, "Good luck with your situation." The next time Nichols went to work, according to the suit, her light duty shift was taken away. Metro Corrections spokesman Steve Durham told The Courier Journal in an email that Ms. Nichols testified under oath as to her abuse. Union leaderships decision to shame the victim is outrageous, Durham said. Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Metro Corrections officer sex request lawsuit is settled Feb. 24ROCKLAND, Maine One of Rockland's signature events, the Maine Lobster Festival, is returning to the city's waterfront this summer after a two-year pandemic hiatus. The event will kick off on Wednesday, Aug. 3 and run though Sunday, Aug. 7. This summer's festival will mark the 75th anniversary of the Maine Lobster Festival, an event that draws thousands to Rockland for the first week of August to celebrate all things lobster. "We've been working on this big celebration for our 75th for the last two years basically. So we're in full swing and ready to go," Maine Lobster Festival President Celia Knight said. This year's festival will feature some noticeable changes. In honor of the 75th anniversary, admission to the festival will be free. Knight said the free admission is also in recognition of the tough times people have experienced in recent years and is an effort to allow as many people as possible to attend. Festival organizers have also decided to eliminate carnival rides. Knight said the decision to forgo this element was to provide "greener" options for festival activities. In lieu of the rides, the festival will feature two large playsets, a larger tent for children's activities, a rock climbing wall and an arcade. While the carnival rides will no longer be a part of the festival, Knight said people will still be able to find fair-style food and games. "We are trying to make the carnival a greener experience I think for people. There's a lot of things for kids to do that are more hands-on than the carnival rides. We appreciate the carnivals that we've had over the years, but there are a lot of different things that we want kids to be able to enjoy," Knight said. Having to cancel the festival for the last two years due to the pandemic was a difficult decision, according to Knight, who said she is more than excited for the event to return this summer. "I've volunteered for [the festival] my entire life and it is like Christmas in my family, so yes, I am extremely excited," Knight said. Markiian Ryzhuk, 5, attends a rally opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 27, 2022, outside Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church in Chicago's Ukrainian Village. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Wrapped in bright blue and yellow flags with the shining gold facade of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church behind them, Ukrainian Chicagoans rallied Thursday against Russias attacks on their homeland. Feelings among them ranged from anxiety and dread to numbness and heartbreak on a frantic day of trying to contact family members in Ukraine and following the dizzying updates online about the invasion. Advertisement Ukrainians will fight. Ukrainians will resist. Ukrainians just need our support, Pavlo Bandriwsky, of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America in Illinois, said to rallygoers. They will do what they need to do, because for Ukraine, this is existential battle. Bandriwsky and others at the rally in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood repeatedly called for the United States full support of Ukraine, including humanitarian aid and harsh sanctions against Russia. Advertisement Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, igniting the largest attack on European soil since World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ignored widespread condemnation of his actions, and threatened any interfering country with consequences you have never seen. Many Ukrainians have attempted to flee the country, or have been forced to go underground to seek shelter. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government have pleaded the international community for help. Dozens of people rally in support of Ukraine as they wave Ukrainian flags and hold up signs at Harlem Avenue over the Kennedy expressway in Chicago on Feb. 24, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) The crowd of a couple hundred in Chicago was generally quiet and somber as they listened to speakers. But they broke out into forceful chants toward the end of the rally, calling out in Ukrainian, Ukraine! Above all! and a popular salute symbolizing free Ukraine: Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes! Before dispersing, protesters sang a subdued patriotic march: Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow. Oleina Prysiazh, 27, lingered after the event ended. She was visibly anxious. She said she hadnt heard from her parents, who live in Ukraine, for at least five hours. Im scared, but I dont have any other choice, Prysiazh said. Like you just believe, and you pray that everythings going to be all right. Prysiazhs companion at the rally, 36-year-old Maria Ivanus, said she felt like she had to do something to feel a connection with her community. You go online, you lose your mind. You come here, you see people and you talk to someone, you feel a bit better. Maybe you can provide comfort to someone, Ivanus said. I just want to be with my people. Advertisement Not all Ukrainians who are relatives of Chicagoans are trying to leave the embattled country, according to their loved ones. Some are planning to stay and defend their home, including some of Ivanus friends, she said. People gather to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine outside of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church in Chicago on Feb. 24, 2022. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) Thursdays protest was organized spontaneously in response to the attacks by Russia, Bandriwsky said. Organizers are planning a larger event Sunday near the same location, hoping to attract thousands of supporters, he said. Many people with ties to Ukraine said they feel like the country is their home, even if theyve never lived there. Just to watch our motherland being attacked like this is extremely, extremely painful, said Danylo Melnyk, a leader with Plast Ukrainian Scouting, a youth organization in Chicago. One small thing could escalate into an incredible amount of destruction. Dania Hrynewycz said her Ukrainian identity was always in the background of everything as she grew up in Chicago, from attending Ukrainian Saturday school, to being part of a Ukrainian dance ensemble. The 20-year-old Loyola University student said she was distracted in class all day Thursday, glued to the News app and feeling a sense of guilt at being thousands of miles away. Advertisement But she felt like she had an obligation to focus on her midterms, she said, because her grandparents immigrated to the United States for her to live out her full potential. They went through the trauma of leaving their homes ... so that I could thrive, and so that my mother and my father and all other future generations that come after will thrive, Hrynewycz said. Mariana Semanyshyn, 21, attended Thursdays rally after a sleepless night. I was awake ever since we received word from our family in Ukraine, said Semanyshyn, a first-generation Ukrainian American. Family members reported hearing bombs and feeling their windows and floors shaking, but are trying not to panic, she said. Dozens of people, including Inna Zotikova, right, rally in support of Ukraine as they wave Ukrainian flags and hold up signs at Harlem Avenue over the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago on Feb. 24, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) She and others expressed disbelief that the attacks had actually come, that no one had been able to turn Putin away from invasion. Some Ukrainians in Chicago said they hoped U.S. President Joe Bidens administration would take a stronger stance against Russia. Advertisement Its amazing how quickly our community can mobilize, said Myron Wasiunec, a leader with the American Ukrainian Youth Association from Palatine. And at the same time, it is mind-boggling how slowly our government has been to react to what was obviously about to happen. Biden on Thursday announced that the U.S. would impose severe economic sanctions against Russia, saying Putin chose this war. America stands up to bullies, Biden tweeted on Thursday. We stand up for freedom. Thats who we are. Advertisement Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich requested that prayers for Ukraine be added to all Masses throughout the Archdiocese of Chicago on Thursday. Most of us know war in Europe from the stories of our parents and grandparents, from history portrayed in films and books, Cupich tweeted. This attack on a peaceful, sovereign nation is a sad reminder that the work of peace is never over. The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv became a sister city to Chicago in 1991, the same year Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union. About 200,000 people of Ukrainian descent live in Illinois, according to Chicago Sister Cities International. Ukraine declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine; a written statement from the embassy urged U.S. citizens to refrain from travel to Ukraine and urged Americans already there to depart immediately using commercial or other privately available ground transportation options. A separate security alert after the bombings advised Americans in Ukraine to shelter in place, with instructions on how to seek cover if a siren or explosion is heard. Further Russian military action can occur at any time without warning, the alert said. U.S. citizens throughout Ukraine are strongly encouraged to remain vigilant. Advertisement The Associated Press contributed. Founded in 2012, Initiative Arts creates and presents new work across the visual and performing arts made by artists who identify as Queer. A Manchester based project launched last week is aiming to illuminate the stories and histories of LGBT+ people prior to and after the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967 before they are lost forever. Founded in 2012, Initiative Arts creates and presents new work across the visual and performing arts made by artists who identify as Queer. Thanks to 76,000 in funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Initiative Arts have launched their Legacy of 67 project during LGBT+ History Month. Through oral history techniques, the project aims to record and share the experiences of LGBT+ Manchester residents who were young adults in the late 1950s, 60s and early 70s. Launched last week (17th of February) the project is inspiring and encouraging people in the community to come forward, share their stories and spread the word on LGBT+ History to the wider population. These stories have not been recorded systematically and are in danger of being lost forever. The 1967 Sexual Offences Act permitted homosexual acts between two consenting adults over the age of 21 a milestone in LGBT+ history, but more work was still to be done, according to the founders of Initiative Arts. Through oral history techniques, the project aims to record and share the experiences of LGBT+ Manchester residents who were young adults in the late 1950s, 60s and early 70s. Founded in 2012 by theatre consultant David Martin Nolan and visual artist Jez Nolan, who will be celebrating 33 years together in November, Initiative Arts are ecstatic to be launching the new project thanks to the grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Jez said: David and I were talking about the 1967 Act and how it was a significant legislative change in the country, but realistically, if you were out of a centre like London or Manchester, what direct impact did it have? "Women weren't mentioned in the legislation at all it only applied to men in England and Wales over 21. "It is still very significant, but not necessarily as significant as people might suggest in its direct impact on particularly gay men but also more widely on LGBT+ people at that time. Story continues "Arrests for importuning and entrapment really increased after the 1967 Act, up until the mid-1980s. Then HIV and AIDS started to appear in 1981 and Section 28 in 1983, which forbade schools to talk about homosexuality as a pretended family relationship. David added: If you were a young, sexually active queer person at the time of the legislation, your age now is somewhere between mid-70s and 90, so their stories, unless theyre captured now, were going to go untold. We were aware that not a lot of these stories have ever been recorded, particularly the stories of working-class people and people of colour. A lot of people who have spoken about LGBT+ History tend to be well-educated white men, so we thought this would be an opportunity to broaden the canon. Founded in 2012 by theatre consultant David Martin Nolan and visual artist Jez Nolan, who will be celebrating 33 years together in November, Initiative Arts are ecstatic to be launching the new project. Initiative Arts has previously worked on other projects, such as Polari Mission an exploration into the language of Polari and Lifes a Drag a meta-comedy wherein the audience observes two drag queens preparing backstage for a show. But Legacy of 67 is key to understanding LGBT+ history in Britain. Some of the stories had come out in the Polari and Life's a Drag project, David said, Stories about pubs being raided by the police in the late-1950s and early 1960s. If the police were coming round, they would tend to tip you off theyd come into one establishment and, because they had a supper licence, the pub got a load of frozen fish out of the freezer, gave everybody a piece of fish and a plate. "The police came in, saw that everybody was eating, went away, came back a little bit later, sat down at the bar and started drinking beer! It's those stories which are interesting. Jez said: If you give people the opportunity to tell their stories, they are keen to do so when they are invited. "These are very vivid times that people have lived through and some people like to talk." And the project is something that is very close to both Jez and Davids hearts. David said: Growing up as a scared child who knows he's different, you're aware that the public perception of who you are is quite negative. It can be quite a traumatic experience and it's good to find your place and your people. "Having said that, intolerance seems to be on the rise again. Its important to make sure our voices are still heard. It's a case of standing up and being counted. The 1967 Sexual Offences Act permitted homosexual acts between two consenting adults over the age of 21 a milestone in LGBT+ history Jez said: Where do you learn about queer culture? You can go to Old Compton Street or Soho and party and go drinking, but you don't learn very much! "When I've done work with LGBT+ youth groups, they go: 'what do you mean it was illegal?' In this country, queer British history isn't taught at all. There are opportunities to get involved with Legacy of 67, as a participant or the volunteer, which is the most immediate way, David added. We've tried to put information out in lots of different media and there really is something for everyone. "We're happy to be working with the Heritage Fund because they are promoting the project very strongly. Jez said: There are two paid traineeships for queer people who are interested in developing their career in this area too. As a funder, The National Lottery are very open to ideas and very encouraging. There are elements of the project we have incorporated that have come from them, for example, we are going to incorporate trauma training into our interviewers as people might get very upset. That was a direct result of the Heritage Fund support. "A lot of it comes from the resources of people who play The National Lottery, so that too is an important element of the project." To find out more about the Legacy of 67 project and how you can get involved, click here. More than 30 million goes to good causes from The National Lottery across the country every week, making vital projects like these possible. To find out more about how The National Lottery supports good causes throughout the UK, visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk. Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene speak outside the US Capitol on January 6, 2022. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster Far-right lawmakers are trying to balance tough talk on foreign policy with isolationist slogans. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, they say, is a product of Biden's "weakness" but also not the US's fight. The only real consistency is the argument that whatever Biden does they could do better. Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine is providing an opportunity for some Republicans to have it both ways, some of the brightest stars in MAGA World charging President Joe Biden with both weakness and aggression in his approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "It's no surprise to anyone that Putin invaded Ukraine," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green wrote on Twitter. "Biden," she posted, "gave him the green light by saying the US is not going to war with Russia." A month earlier, however, the Republican from Georgia was accusing the president of just that, saying Biden was "threatening war with nuclear Russia" because of "his son Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine." But one need not go back a month to uncover inconsistency. Moments after lamenting, on Thursday, Biden's failure to promise a full-on military intervention in defense of Ukraine, Greene reverted back to the line that "neocons and liberals" were agitating for one. "Americans don't want to be dragged into more never-ending foreign wars on another continent," she wrote. The "America First" politics of former President Donald Trump and his allies is defined less by a consistent foreign policy of "isolationism" than what it is against, which is often enough, whatever liberals are for. The opportunistic "antiwar" rhetoric, deployed then forgotten then deployed again, is also not so novel: Out of power, even more traditional Republicans, such as former President George W. Bush, have fallen back on the twin arguments that Democrats are "weak" but also overly committed to military adventurism. Story continues What's arguably different now is the soft spot that some on the right have for a Russian government that is seen as upholding "traditional" values and challenging the elite consensus. As Insider's John Haltiwanger noted on Wednesday, some can't help but admire a strongman who has, above all, succeeded at making liberals from Brussels to Washington look ineffectual. In a radio appearance on the eve of the Russian attack, former President Donald Trump who embraced a debunked conspiracy theory that Ukraine's political elite conspired with Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election, a line pushed by a Russian government that itself intervened in that election praised Putin as a "genius." But Trump too has played both sides, praising Putin for outmaneuvering his successor in the White House, yes, but also insinuating he himself would have been tougher, issuing a statement this week that blasted Biden's "weak sanctions" and deplored Russia's "taking over a country and a massive piece of strategically located land." And following up with a statement on Thursday evening saying that Russia would not attack Ukraine if he was president. It's the same dance back in Congress, where far-right lawmakers such as Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona have praised Putin, saying he "puts Russia first as he should," but see a Russian invasion as a can't-miss opportunity to criticize the White House. "It is obvious the world thinks the Biden regime is incompetent and impotent," Gosar tweeted on Thursday. "Russia's actions make that clear." Literally, one minute earlier, Gosar was lamenting the fact that Biden was ordering "our border patrol to leave our border open to help Ukraine with its borders" a mischaracterization of an article about the Biden administration sending staff overseas to help evacuate US citizens (Gosar then shared a post about "endless wars" distracting from how "our 2020 election was rigged"). Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Trump ally from Florida, likewise spun Russia's invasion as a failure of the Biden administration to protect borders after previously mocking Democrats' concern over "the phony threat of Russia." The rough pivots to the most damaging argument of the minute may appear cynical, but it's not all that confusing. The constant here is politics, partisanship, and an unwillingness to fault a right-wing authoritarian who makes "woke" liberal elites look bad. Putin may be responding to American weakness or aggression, who can really say, but per these politicians' statements, one thing's for sure: Joe Biden did something wrong to provoke a war that's not our fight. Read the original article on Business Insider The Maryland State Department of Education released more data this week on student achievement, offering a sobering look at how the pandemic has affected school systems across the region. The scores come from the first Maryland standardized tests given since the beginning of the pandemic. The assessments measured a students proficiency in English language arts, math and science at the grade level they completed the year before. Students in grades 3 through 8 as well as some high schools completed the testing in the fall. Even before the pandemic, the standardized tests known as the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program were considered difficult. More than half of the states public school students regularly failed tests given in math and English in grades three through eight, as well as in some high school subjects. Scores have fallen since Maryland students were last tested in spring of 2019. However, state leaders say this years standardized exams were short diagnostic tests aimed at giving teachers and school leaders a snapshot of the pandemics effect on learning. The tests were not intended to provide the detailed view of achievement provided by the much longer, federally mandated tests usually given each spring. The state released in December an early snapshot of the assessments, showing just 15% of public school students passed in math and 35% passed in English. It marked the greatest single-year declines on any state tests given in at least the past two decades in Maryland. Data released this week offered a deeper look at student proficiency within each school system. Percent proficient on early fall 2021 MCAP standardized tests In Baltimore City, just 7% of elementary students in grades 3-5 were proficient in math, 9% were proficient in English language arts and 16% were proficient in science. Another 8% of the citys middle schoolers in grades 6-7 scored proficient in math, 19% in English and 12% in science. Story continues Students at the high school level were found to be 15% proficient in science and 39% in English. Baltimore Citys districtwide proficiency was not reported for algebra and geometry assessments given at the middle and high school levels. In a statement Thursday, city school officials said they are keenly aware of the learning loss many students have experienced due to the ongoing pandemic. The school system has a COVID recovery plan in place to support students social, emotional and academic needs, said spokesman Andre Riley in an email. The recovery plans strategies include accelerated learning, tutoring, small group instruction, digital learning platforms and extended learning opportunities for students who are not meeting grade-level standards. School system leaders review the fall standardized testing scores along with various assessments throughout the school year and anecdotal information from teachers, students, and families. Baltimore County students fared somewhat better than the city. The state data shows 18% of the countys elementary students in grades 3-5 scored proficient in math, 25% in English and 40% in science. In grades 6-8, 17% of students were proficient in math, 37% in English and 34% in science. High schoolers faired better on the assessments, with 60% of 10th graders scoring proficient in English and 45% in science. About 16% of the countys middle and high school students who completed algebra and geometry courses scored proficient in the assessments. Baltimore County school system representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Math proficiency significantly lags English Language Arts The distribution of individual schools proficiency percentages on 8th grade assessments is emblematic of the 20 percentage point gap statewide between the share of math tests scored as proficient (15%) and the share of ELA tests scored as such (35%). The state also released data measuring kindergarten readiness, meaning the knowledge, skills and behaviors a student has when they begin kindergarten. School systems in 21 of the states 24 jurisdictions administered an assessment to 73% of the states kindergarteners in the fall, finding that 40% demonstrated readiness. Thats a 7% decrease from how kindergarteners performed on the assessment prior in 2019. Only 65% of kindergarteners were assessed that year, according to state records. Other school systems around the region achieved the following scores: Anne Arundel County elementary students were 19% proficient in math, 25% proficient in English and 45% proficient in science. Middle schoolers scored better in English, with 42% demonstrating proficiency. At the high school level, 58% of 10th graders passed English and 57% in science. Only 6% of students who completed algebra and geometry courses were proficient, according to the assessment data. Anne Arundel school representatives did not respond to a request for comment. Carroll County schools outperformed the state average across grade levels in most content areas. About 33% of elementary students were proficient in math, 35% were proficient in English and 56% were proficient in science. Just 17% of middle school students were proficient in math, but 48% and 43% were proficient in English and science, respectively. Nearly half of 10th graders were proficient in English and 54% of high schoolers were proficient in science. Carroll County school officials were proud of student performance despite timing challenges, student and employee quarantines and staffing shortages, said school system coordinator Lauren Nicole Wilder-Schaeffer. Harford County elementary students were 20% proficient in math and 27% proficient in English. Nearly half of fifth-graders tested proficient in science. About 24% of middle schoolers were assessed as proficient in math, 42% in English and 43% in science. A majority of high schoolers passed the 10th grade English assessment, at 62%. And 48% passed in science. About 6% of students who completed algebra and geometry courses were deemed proficient. Harford school representatives did not respond to a request for comment. Howard County also fared better than the state as a whole. About 36% of elementary students passed math, 37% in English and 55% in science. More than half of middle schoolers were proficient in English and science, although 24% were proficient in math. High schoolers also did well, with 71% of 10th graders passing the English assessment and 62% passing in science. About 19% of students who completed algebra and geometry courses were deemed proficient. Howard school representatives did not respond to a request for comment. Marylands declines in student achievement reflect a wider nationwide trend as school systems attempt to recover from three academic years interrupted by a pandemic. And many school systems are also balancing widespread staffing shortages and intense public pressure over curriculum and COVID-19 mitigation measures such as masking and vaccines. Maryland students were among the last in the nation to return to school buildings, which is reflected in the data, State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury said in December. Students are expected to complete another expanded round of state proficiency assessments later this spring. Baltimore Sun data journalist Steve Earley and Baltimore Sun Media reporter Cameron Goodnight contributed to this article. Maryland lawmakers voted Friday to rescind a statewide emergency regulation that had mandated the use of face masks in schools since August. The General Assemblys joint administrative, executive and legislative review committee gave the final approval in a 17-1 vote Friday to lift the mandate at the request of the State Board of Education and Maryland Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury. Local counties and school boards may shift to a mask-optional policy as early as Tuesday, or continue to maintain masking until a later date. We cant mask our kids forever, Choudhury said after citing the availability of vaccines, rapid testing and improving health metrics. This is the time to do it. The State Board of Education voted Tuesday to rescind the regulation, which recently was expanded to include offramps that would allow school systems to lift masking requirements if they reached specific health metrics. Less than an hour after the hearing adjourned, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated masking guidelines that say healthy people, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks in counties where the coronavirus poses a low or medium threat to hospitals. At least four school systems Anne Arundel, Frederick, Howard and Montgomery already have qualified to lift their masking requirements under the state regulations new offramps, Maryland State Department of Education officials said this week. Face coverings are optional in Anne Arundel and Frederick county schools; Howard County schools announced that they would make masks optional next week. Baltimore County school leaders said this week that masking would become optional as soon as the county has recorded 14 consecutive days of case rates in the moderate or low transmission levels. The countys transmission levels are currently low, according to the CDC. Baltimore City schools will continue to rely on guidance from the Baltimore City Health Department and local health professionals in considering changes to universal masking policies, a representative said Tuesday. Story continues Ahead of the lawmakers vote Friday, students, parents, grandparents and education activists testified both in favor of and against reversing the mandate. Disability Rights Maryland attorney Megan Jones told lawmakers that repealing the mandate puts some children with disabilities at greater health risk while the pandemic persists. The organization opposed the mandates withdrawal and said it is necessary to prevent discrimination. Rescinding it will create an unsafe environment for many Maryland students and will exclude some students with disabilities from attending schools, Jones said. A number of parents who testified came from Carroll County, where the school board has repeatedly challenged the states authority to require masks in schools and earlier this month filed a lawsuit over the matter against the Maryland State Department of Education. Carroll County mother Kit Hart, whose children attend Catholic school, told lawmakers that she believes some parents are beholden to the most fearful among us. She helped organize a rally Tuesday outside of the State Board of Education meeting during which members considered lifting the mandate. We need to get back to families being in charge of decisions for their children and local authorities making decisions for their communities, she said this week. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan joined his partys legislative leadership earlier this month in calling for the mandate and its offramps to be rescinded, citing the availability of vaccines and recent improving health metrics. Following the vote, Hogan took to Twitter to claim the decision as an important victory for students and parents. Meanwhile, other states around the country including Connecticut, Delaware and Massachusetts are moving toward optional masking as the worst wave of the pandemic brought on by the highly contagious omicron variant appears to ease. Maryland surpassed 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases Friday in the approximately two years since the pandemic began. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged President Joe Biden to not hold back with tough sanctions on Russia. Drew Angerer/Getty Images Mitch McConnell urged Biden to "ratchet the sanctions all the way up" following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Every single available tough sanction should be employed and should be employed now," he said. Biden on Thursday announced a raft of new sanctions on Russian banks. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday advised President Joe Biden to hold nothing back when imposing sanctions on Russia following the country's invasion of Ukraine. "We're all together at this point, and we need to be together about what should be done," McConnell said. "Ratchet the sanctions all the way up. Don't hold any back," he added. "Every single available tough sanction should be employed and should be employed now." According to The Hill, McConnell was speaking to reporters after roundtable briefings on the opioid and substance abuse epidemic. He was also asked about former President Donald Trump's praise for Russian leader Vladimir Putin but avoided answering the question, the outlet reported. "Look, I just told you how I feel about the Russians. Vladimir Putin is a bad guy. He's an authoritarian. He yearns for an empire, and we need to do everything we can to stop it," McConnell said. Biden on Thursday announced a fresh raft of sanctions on Russia, this time targeting four major banks in the country along with Russian elites. "Every asset they have in America will be frozen," he said of the sanctions, which build on previous economic penalties imposed by the US. Some Ukrainian officials, along with several Baltic states in the NATO alliance, have called for Russia to be cut off from Swift, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. Launched in 1973, Swift serves as a neutral platform for banks to communicate regarding transfers, transactions, and trades. Russia's conflict with Ukraine has escalated dramatically in recent weeks, with as many as 190,000 Russian troops assembling around Ukraine's borders. Story continues On Monday, Putin recognized the claims to independence of eastern Ukraine's separatist Luhansk and Donetsk regions, ordering troops there for what he described as a limited peacekeeping operation. Less than 72 hours later, the Russian president authorized a full-scale attack on Ukraine. In the hours that followed, explosions were seen and heard in cities around Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have also reported fighting on its borders with Russia and dozens of casualties. Just over 24 hours into the Russian invasion, large explosions were also heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Insider's live blog of the invasion is covering developments as they happen. Read the original article on Business Insider Markiian Ryzhuk, 5, attends a rally opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 27, 2022, outside Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church in Chicago's Ukrainian Village. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune) Maria Klimchak experiences waves of guilt because shes in Chicago and safe while so many of her loved ones including her 84-year-old mother face peril and uncertainty in her homeland of Ukraine. I am crying all morning, she said, her voice strained and tense. But just to cry, its not helping. I feel guilty that I am not in Ukraine. Advertisement Klimchak emigrated from Ukraine in 1993, a few years after her motherland gained independence from the former Soviet Union. Three decades later, the nations hard-won sovereignty hangs in the balance. Advertisement News broke in Chicago late Wednesday that Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, spurring the largest conventional attack of a European state since World War II. The next morning, Klimchak was at the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago, where she works as a curator. She and other staff members clutched their cellphones, awaiting calls and text messages and emails from relatives overseas. The phone in the office was ringing nonstop, with supporters asking how they could help or where they could make donations to be sent to Ukraine. Maria Klimchak, curator at the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago, reacts to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022. Klimchak came to Chicago from the Ukraine in 1993 with her family. The portraits in the background are Cossack leaders in Ukrainian history. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Many callers of all races and ethnic backgrounds were requesting large blue and yellow Ukrainian flags, to be draped from the windows and balconies of Chicago-area homes in solidarity. It is a terrible time for everyone who lives around the world, not only for Ukrainians, Klimchak said. Even the moral support, its very important at this time. Russian President Vladimir Putin has essentially argued that Ukraine was always a part of Russia. Yet the exhibits and galleries that Klimchak curates tell a very different story, showcasing centuries of distinctive Ukrainian history, art and culture. On display are a variety of kylym, intricately woven Ukrainian tapestries, and rushnyky, embroidered ritual cloths. The museums collection of more than 10,000 objects includes ancient Bibles and religious icons, as well as a replica of a Carpathian wooden church, built hundreds of years ago with a unique form of carpentry that used no nails or bolts. Shelves of pysanky, ornately decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs, line a wall. Legend has it that the fate of humanity rests on the survival of these fragile eggs: An evil serpent would be unleashed to overrun the world if the custom of egg decorating ends, according to the museums website. Costumes from various regions in Ukraine are on display at the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago, Feb. 24, 2022. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Shortly before missiles rained down on Ukraine, the nations President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said that the future of European security is being decided now, here in Ukraine. Advertisement Russian forces on Friday were closing in on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, though Moscow agreed to engage in talks with the Ukrainian government. President Joe Biden had announced severe economic sanctions against Russia, and other nations have followed suit. The Pentagon is deploying some 7,000 more troops to Europe, not to fight in Ukraine but to defend and reassure NATO allies, Biden said. We stand up to bullies, he said on Twitter. We stand up for freedom. This is who we are. The museum collection also includes modern artifacts, commentary on present-day politics: Behind one glass display case is a small statue of a dragon with a face sculpted in the likeness of Putin. Straddling the dragon is a Ukrainian soldier with a club behind his back, poised to strike. I hate this face, but I like this item, said Klimchak, nodding in the direction of the statue. Ukraine will never be back under the umbrella of the Soviet Union. Theyll never fall. Theyll never give up. Doesnt seem possible Orysia Kourbatov, the museums administrator, was up all night watching the invasion unfold on the news, in disbelief. Advertisement Is this really happening? she keeps asking herself. It doesnt seem real. It doesnt seem possible. Her husband and parents emigrated from eastern Ukraine, the scene of some of the worst fighting, where many of their relatives remain. She was able to reach and speak with one cousin in Kyiv. At first, they said they were going to go west but theres traffic lines, Kourbatov said, tears welling in her eyes. Theyre all stuck, theres nowhere to go. So, she said theyre staying put. Orysia Kourbatov, administrator at the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago, talks about the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Kourbatov is a first generation Ukrainian and has family in eastern Ukraine. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) Another cousin in eastern Ukraine emailed her a prayer, which translated into English reads in part: Bless us and turn away the hands of those who plot evil against humanity! We stand and are strengthened only by faith in Your Almighty and Power! Our people, everyone has been through so, so much, Kourbatov said. Advertisement She recalled how her grandmother lost five children during the Holodomor, an intentional man-made famine engineered by Josef Stalin from 1932 to 1933, which killed millions of Ukrainians. A museum exhibit documents this horrific period with photos and articles; the Soviet tactic was an attempt to crush the Ukrainian peoples desire to create a separate destiny for their country, according to a museum description. While Kourbatov said she believes Ukraine has been supported by other European nations and the United States, she added that the international community needs to do more, including banning Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication system, known as SWIFT, as well as charging Putin with war crimes. Now its a full-out war, she said. Those sanctions arent enough. Uniting with Ukraine Lydia Tkaczuk, president of the board of directors of the museum, said some of her relatives in Ukraine are fleeing or making preparations for their safety. One family member, she wouldnt even talk to me, Tkaczuk said. She said Were packing up and leaving. But I dont even know where they are going to. Other family members say they know of bomb shelters. So, if need be, they will go to the bomb shelter, but they are getting everything ready. Advertisement Others, including several male relatives in Kyiv, intend to stay. Because they said they are going to be there, they are going to defend Ukraine, she said. Tkaczuk recalled her first trip to her ancestral homeland in the 1970s, while it was under Soviet rule. She recounts how a culture of fear and starkness permeated everyday life. Her relatives didnt tell any neighbors in their apartment building that she was from the United States; instead, they said she was visiting from Poland. Lydia Tkaczuk, president of the board of directors of the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago, talks about the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Tkaczuk is a first generation Ukrainian and has family in western Ukraine. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune) When we talked about any family issues, we did it outside as we would walk, Tkaczuk said. We wouldnt talk about it in the house. They were afraid that somebody might be listening. The contrast was striking when she visited multiple times following Ukraines independence in 1991. Advertisement She described Kyiv as a cosmopolitan, Western city; its population is just a little larger than Chicagos. Its like Paris, she said. Its a beautiful city. Her most recent trip was over the summer. She stayed in a hotel overlooking the Maidan, Kyivs Independence Square, the scene of a series of protests eight years ago that culminated in Ukraines Revolution of Dignity in February 2014. The civil unrest was sparked by then-President Viktor Yanukovychs refusal to sign a European Union agreement, seen as caving to Russian pressure. The pro-Western demonstrations eventually toppled the government, and a Ukrainian court found Yanukovych guilty of treason in 2019. More than 100 protesters mainly civilians who were killed during these demonstrations have been termed the Heavenly Hundred. The museum hosted a candlelight vigil this month in their memory. Advertisement This is how we unite with Ukraine, Tkaczuk said. Defeat the aggressor Vasyl Stetsyuk didnt sleep the night of the invasion. It is surreal to see that and realize what is happening, he said. The 34-year-old from west suburban Bartlett immigrated here a decade ago, but his mother, grandfather, cousins and many friends are still in Ukraine. Emotionally Im just, like everybody, stressed out, he said. Concentrating on anything else proved difficult, so he took a day off work and spent the morning at a rally where he and other supporters flew Ukrainian flags over the Kennedy Expressway at Harlem Avenue. Later that day, he headed to a protest against the Russian invasion at Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church. Advertisement God save Ukraine! the church posted on its Facebook page. Lord, have mercy on us! Another demonstration is scheduled at the church Sunday afternoon. Around midday Thursday, Stetsyuk visited the museum, which is across the street from the church, in the heart of the citys Ukrainian Village neighborhood. The museum was founded in 1952 by several displaced Ukrainian scholars, so its exhibits and archives would reflect the lives of those forced by cruel circumstances to leave their homeland, according to the museum website. I am not sure whats going to happen in the next couple of days, Stetsyuk said. But I hope that slowly but surely we will defeat the aggressor and I hope its going to end at some point. He doesnt believe the Ukrainian army will fall. Hes optimistic Ukraine will persevere and remain independent. Advertisement Im pretty sure they will fight until they cant breathe, he said. At some point it will end. But I hope it doesnt take a long time. And a lot of casualties. The Associated Press contributed. eleventis@chicagotribune.com Russia's invasion of Ukraine is now affecting technology trade shows. TechCrunch and Reuters report the GSMA will ban some Russian companies from exhibiting at Mobile World Congress 2022 when it starts February 28th. While the wireless industry association didn't say which companies were barred from attending, it said there would be no Russian Pavilion to showcase that country's mobile products. There are no plans to cancel or delay MWC 2022 itself, GSMA chief John Hoffman told Reuters. However, the organization said on its website that it would honor all "sanctions and policies" targeting Russia. Some companies are on the sanctions list, Hoffmann added. The measures allow mobile devices, but only as long as they aren't sent to Russian government workers or affiliates. Like with some trade shows, Russian companies like the carrier VimpelCom can buy dedicated show floor space that could give them a presence. The main ban will primarily affect those companies that were leaning on the Russian Pavilion for a presence. The bans arrive as tech increasingly serves as a battleground for Russia and its Western opponents. Meta's Facebook and Twitter have respectively taken steps to protect Ukranians and those tracking Russian military movements. Russia, in turn, has limited access to Facebook in retaliation for actions restricting four Russian media outlets. Whether it wants to or not, the GSMA is embroiling itself in politics that could affect the mobile world at large. Catch up on all of the news from MWC 2022 right here! A man faces a criminal homicide charge after the fatal shooting of a woman during a burglary last month, the Metro Nashville Police Department said in a news release. Police arrested Redear Haji, 24, on Thursday in connection with the fatal shooting of Amanda McComb, 33. Haji told detectives that he retrieved his hand gun after reportedly seeing McComb in the garage of his home in the 100 block of Evelyn Drive on Jan. 27. He said he fired at McComb as she climbed out an open garage window and reached for something, according to MNPD. However, police said surveillance footage from a neighbor's home showed McComb running away when she was shot and that no weapons were found on her. MNPD said Haji admitted the marijuana in a backpack found next to McComb belonged to him. He was initially arrested on felony marijuana and gun charges last month. Undercover detectives then arrested him on the criminal homicide charge Thursday at a home on Brockman Lane, MNPD said. He is being held without bond and is set to appear before a judge on Monday, records show. Find reporter Rachel Wegner at rawegner@tennessean.com or on Twitter @rachelannwegner. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville police: Man faces homicide charge in fatal January shooting LATVIA-US-UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-NATO-DEFENCE Soldiers of an airborne brigade of the US Army are seen at the Adazi Military Base of the Latvian armed forces in Adazi, Latvia on Feb. 25, 2022, upon arrival for their mission to strengthen the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) multinational battlegroup in the wake of Russia's military aggression of Ukraine. Credit - Gints IvuskansAFP/Getty Images The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has for the first time activated a military response force designed to boost the defenses of frontline nations in eastern Europe that feel vulnerable after Russias military assault on Ukraine. Gen. Tod Wolters, NATOs Supreme Allied Commander and the top U.S. military officer in Europe, said the multinational force consisting of land, air, sea and special operations troops intended to deter Russia from further aggression. This is an historic moment, Wolters said in a statement. These deterrence measures are prudent and enhance our speed, responsiveness and capability to shield and protect the one billion citizens we swore to protect. Read More: Heres What We Know So Far About Russias Assault on Ukraine The first-time activation of thousands of NATO troops in Europe represents the latest escalation in a volatile ground war that has no modern precedent. In recent months, U.S. and European allies have increased air-policing missions over allied nations and moved troops, naval ships and heavy weaponry eastward on the continent, near where the Russian military is operating. Ukraine is not a NATO member, but it borders four nations that are: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. The U.S. and other NATO allies have pledged to protect their eastern and central European members under the alliances defining Article 5 mutual defense commitments. President Joe Biden has repeatedly insisted U.S. troops will not fight in Ukraine, but he has redoubled defenses in surrounding countries by moving roughly 14,000 troops eastward in Europe during the past three weeks. Washington has also provided about $650 million in military aid to the pro-Western government. Story continues Read More: Russias Invasion of Ukraine Is a Major Test for Joe Bidens Foreign Policy Vision NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday he received commitments to provide additional equipment, including air defense systems, to Ukraine after leaders from the 30-member alliance held a virtual meeting. We see rhetoric, the messages, which is strongly indicating that [Russias] aim is to remove the democratically-elected government in Kyiv, he told reporters. The Russian military advance on Kyiv is going slower than U.S. intelligence anticipated, a senior U.S. defense official said Friday, with Ukrainian forces showing stiff resistance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holds a news conference after NATO Heads of State and Government Summit, in Brussels, Belgium on Feb. 25, 2022. Dursun AydemirAnadolu Agency/Getty Images The Russians have lost a little bit of their momentum, the official said. They are not advancing as far or as fast as we believe they expected they would. A good indicator of that is no population centers have been taken. We also assess that Russia has yet to achieve air superiority over Ukraine. Despite fears that the Ukrainian military would crumble under the combat power Russia continues to pour into the country, Ukrainian command and control remains intact. Air missile defense systems are still working even though installations were destroyed by Russias opening salvos, and Ukrainian fighter jets continue to engage Russian warplanes, the U.S. official said. Read More: We Will Defend Ourselves. Photographs of Ukraine Under Attack Russia has yet to commit most of its forces to the assault, the official cautioned, with only about a third of the more than 150,000 troops amassed on Ukraines borders moving in so far. Russia launched an amphibious assault Friday on the port city of Mariupol, located on the Sea of Azov. Indications are right now that they are putting potentially thousands of naval infantry ashore there, the official said. Explosions continue to rock several Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, in what the Pentagon believes is the first phase of a Russian decapitation strategy aimed at toppling the President Volodymir Zelenskys government. More than 200 missiles have pummeled weapons depots, military installations and other targets, the Pentagon said. Amnesty International said Friday that Russias invasion has been marked by indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas and strikes on protected targets such as hospitals. Amnesty issued a report that documented three incidents estimated to have killed at least six civilians and injured at least 12. The Russian military has shown a blatant disregard for civilian lives by using ballistic missiles and other explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas, said Agnes Callamard, the nonprofits secretary general. Read More: How Russias Invasion of Ukraine Could Change the Global Order Forever At least 137 Ukrainians were killed and more than 300 injured on the first day of the invasion, Zelensky said Thursday evening. Thirteen border guards were killed Thursday on Snake Island, a 42-acre scrap of land in the Black Sea, near Romania, according to an audio recording reported by the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda. Russias navy is heard imploring the unit to give up over radio communications. Lay down your arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary deaths, a Russian officer said. Otherwise, you will be bombed. The reply from the Ukraines border guards was simple: Russian warship, go fk yourself. Moments later, they were all killed. By Joan Faus and Supantha Mukherjee BARCELONA/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - There will be no Russian pavilion at the telecoms industry's biggest annual gathering and a "handful" of Russian firms will be barred from it because of sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the event's organizer said on Friday. The organizers of the Mobile World Congress condemned Moscow's actions, but have no plans to cancel or postpone the gathering scheduled between Feb. 28 and March 3 in Barcelona, John Hoffman, the chief executive of event organizer GSMA, told Reuters. "As we see the situation today, we don't see any need or requirement to do that. Of course it's an evolving situation and we will continue to monitor it," Hoffman said. He said "a handful, a few" Russian companies and their executives would be banned but did not name them, saying the sanctions lists were evolving. "We are guided by the international sanctions and there are some companies that are identified on the sanction list and those will be barred from participating," he said, adding GSMA would strictly follow U.S. sanctions as well as others. Conference organisers expect between 40,000 and 60,000 people at the show, making it one of the biggest in-person events since the start of the pandemic, though still below 2019's numbers. Hoffman said the figure would probably be closer to 60,000 and attendance would be very high among top executives. Constanti Serrallonga, general manager of Fira de Barcelona, the event's venue, spoke of a good build-up to the gathering. "We are expecting to see an edition that will almost look like a pre-pandemic event." The Ukraine invasion has not led to any significant hotel cancellations in Barcelona related to the event with the exception of some representatives from eastern Europe, tourism website Hosteltur reported. For Barcelona's Nobu Hotel the return of a large-format conference meant it could reopen after it remained shut for two years because of the pandemic. "We expect the Mobile World Congress to meet our expectations ... we are setting the tone that Barcelona is back", manager Laurence Dubey said. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Joan Faus and Horaci Garcia in Barcelona; additional reporting by Christina Thykjaer; editing by Hugh Lawson and Jason Neely) A plane carrying eight people including four teenagers had issued no distress calls and made no declarations of an emergency before it crashed off the North Carolina coast, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary accident report released Friday. The single-engine Pilatus PC-12/47 went down in the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 13 near the southern edge of the Outer Banks. Everyone onboard died. The six passengers were from Carteret County and were returning from a charity hunting event. The plane had taken off from the Hyde County Airport on the mainland and was headed south to Beaufort, which is the Carteret County seat. During the flight, the plane's pilot had been in contact with air traffic controllers because they told him he was about to enter restricted airspace where a military aircraft was flying, the report said. After multiple calls with no response from the pilot, the controller instructed the military aircraft in the restricted airspace to remain above 4,000 (feet)," the report stated. The pilot later told the air traffic controllers that he didn't respond to their calls because he 'was trying to get out' and was unable to receive the radio transmissions, the report stated. The pilot was eventually cleared for an approach to a runway at Michael J. Smith Field Airport in Beaufort, the report said. There were more radio exchanges about the plane's direction and altitude. The controller told the pilot that the airplane was at 1,700 feet and was supposed to maintain an altitude of 1,900 feet. The pilot read back the altimeter setting correctly, and that was the last transmission from the airplane, the report stated. Shortly after 2 p.m., the report stated that the controller called the airplane and asked what altitude it was at because the airplane was at 4,700 (feet, mean sea level) and climbing quickly. There was no response, and radar contact was lost, the report said. Story continues Throughout the communication with air traffic control, there were no distress calls or a declaration of emergency from the airplane, the report stated. Divers found the planes fuselage and cabin about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from shore in about 55 feet (17 meters) of water. Human remains were removed as well as equipment and instruments that could help investigators determine the cause of the crash, Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck told reporters last week. Carteret County includes communities such as Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach as well as the Cape Lookout National Seashore. But the mostly rural county is also home to older fishing villages. The four teenagers went to East Carteret High School, which has about 600 students. The sheriffs office identified the adults on board the plane as pilot Ernest Durwood Rawls, 67, of Greenville; Jeffrey Worthington Rawls, 28, of Greenville; Stephanie Ann McInnis Fulcher, 42, of Sea Level; and Douglas Hunter Parks, 45, of Sea Level. The teenagers were identified as Jonathan Kole McInnis, 15, of Sea Level; Noah Lee Styron, 15, of Cedar Island; Michael Daily Shepard, 15, of Atlantic; and Jacob Nolan Taylor, 16, of Atlantic. Charlie Snow, a close friend of the pilot, told The Associated Press last week that Ernest Rawls and passenger Jeff Rawls, were father and son. The elder Rawls had previously flown for Snows company, Outer Banks Airlines, and was a highly trained and extremely capable, Snow said. If anybody could get out of something, if it was possible to get out of it, he could have done it, Snow said during a telephone interview. So it makes me think that whatever happened was catastrophic. But you know, its just speculation. U.S. chipmaker Nvidia has confirmed that it's investigating a cyber incident that has reportedly downed the companys developer tools and email systems. Nvidia told TechCrunch in a statement that the nature and scope of the incident are still being evaluated, adding that the companys commercial activities have not been impacted as a result. We are investigating an incident. Our business and commercial activities continue uninterrupted. We are still working to evaluate the nature and scope of the event and don't have any additional information to share at this time," the statement read. While Nvidia isnt sharing any more details about the incident, The Telegraph reports that the companys email systems and developer tools have been suffering from outages over the last two days following a "malicious network intrusion." Citing an insider, the report claims that the companys systems had been offline for two days but that portions of its email systems had started working on Friday. Its not yet clear whether hackers obtained data on Nvidia or its customers, nor whether any of its partners were affected. Nvidia has not yet identified the culprit, and customers say they had not been informed of any incident, according to The Telegraph's report. News of a potential cyberattack at Nvidia comes just weeks after the Santa Clara-based company terminated its $40 billion bid to acquire British chip designer Arm. The company said the decision was mutual, resulting from "significant regulatory challenges preventing the consummation of the transaction, despite good faith efforts by the parties." (Bloomberg) -- A cyber breach suffered by Nvidia Corp. in recent days appears to have been a ransomware attack thats not connected to the crisis in Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the incident. Most Read from Bloomberg The hack looks to be relatively minor and not fueled by geopolitical tensions, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the details arent public. Nvidia, the most valuable publicly traded chipmaker in the U.S., disclosed the breach earlier on Friday, saying it was investigating an attack on its computer systems. Our business and commercial activities continue uninterrupted, Nvidia said in a statement. We are still working to evaluate the nature and scope of the event and dont have any additional information to share at this time. Nvidia chips are an essential component of the millions of personal computers used by gamers. The company also has a growing position in data centers, where its powerful processors help run artificial intelligence software. The company, valued at more than $600 billion, has its main offices in Santa Clara, California, a short distance from the headquarters of other U.S. chip companies, including Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Governments and companies around the world are on the lookout for online attacks following Russias invasion of the Ukraine. The Telegraph reported earlier that some Nvidia computer systems were knocked offline for up to two days because of illicit access from the outside. Investors brushed off the concerns Friday, sending the shares up 1.7% to $241.57 at the close in New York. Still, Nvidia is down 18% this year, hurt by a broader slump in chip stocks. Story continues Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Former US President Barack Obama Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images Obama praised Joe Biden's historic Supreme Court pick, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson "Judge Jackson has already inspired young Black women like my daughters to set their sights higher," Obama said in a statement. Obama nominated Jackson to the federal court in 2012. Former President Barack Obama praised President Joe Biden's historic Supreme Court nominee, underlying what Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's selection means to "young Black women like my daughters." "Judge Jackson has already inspired young Black women like my daughters to set their sights higher, and her confirmation will help them believe they can be anything they want to be," Obama said in a statement. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the high court. She would also be just the third Black woman to serve on a body that once defended segregation before the landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of education. Obama nominated Jackson to the US Sentencing Commission in 2009. Three years later, he tapped her to become a federal court judge. He also pointed out that Jackson clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and noted similarities between the two. "As a protege of Justice Breyer, Judge Jackson earned a reputation for pragmatism and consensus building. It's part of why I nominated her twice first as a district judge, and then to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, where she earned praise from both Democrats and Republicans," Obama said. Jackson was confirmed to the sentencing commission and later the federal court via voice vote, a procedural step which means individual senators were not required to record a position on her nominations. Voice votes are historically used for uncontroversial nominees and lower court judges, though the latter practice has waned in recent years. She was narrowly confirmed to the DC Circuit Court last year, a body that is widely viewed as a stepping stone to the Supreme Court. Three Republican senators supported her confirmation then, though Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of those votes, was an enthusiastic supporter of another judge on Biden's shortlist and sounded less convinced on supporting Jackson again. Story continues Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have often invoked their children when speaking about their own racial identities and their historic lives. Obama famously declared that Trayvon Martin "could have been my son" after he was killed in 2013. Michelle Obama spoke about what it was like to be a Black woman living in a White House that was partially built by enslaved people during her speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. "That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves," she said. "And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn." Read the original article on Business Insider Westbound traffic on Interstate 70 is shown backed up to the Indiana 1 interchange after a July 9, 2020, crash near Cambridge City that left four children ages 5-15 dead and their father seriously injured. Corey Withrow, the driver of the truck that hit the family's car, faces felony charges in the crash. RICHMOND, Ind. A Camden, Ohio, man's incarceration in his home state caused a delay in a Wayne County case resulting from an Interstate 70 accident that killed four children. Corey Robert Withrow, 33, was scheduled Thursday to plead guilty to nine felonies resulting from the accident and be sentenced for those convictions. Instead, his attorneys were granted a continuance by Superior Court 1 Judge Charles Todd Jr. because of difficulties transporting Withrow from Ohio. The hearing has now been rescheduled for 1:30 p.m. June 8. According to his the motion for continuance filed by Withrow's attorneys, Jon Paul Rion and Joshua Moody, they are seeking judicial release for Withrow in Ohio. That would essentially mean a judge frees Withrow by deeming his sentence complete, so he could be transported to Wayne County. STAY INFORMED AND SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Subscribe today using the link at the top of this page. Withrow has about 11 months left on a three-year sentence, with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction listing Jan. 8, 2023, as his expected release date. He is serving the sentence at the Southeastern Correctional Institution in Lancaster, Ohio. In Preble County, Ohio, Withrow was sentenced Sept. 15, 2020, to three years of incarceration for violating community control requirements from a burglary conviction. That sentencing came just more than two months after the July 9, 2020, accident near the 137 mile marker of eastbound I-70. Withrow is charged with four counts of causing death and one count of causing catastrophic injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated, all as Level 4 felonies, and with four counts of reckless homicide, all Level 5 felonies. From 2020: Federal safety agency bans Ohio trucker as 'imminent hazard' A witness said Withrow was driving his semi-tractor trailer erratically as he approached slowed traffic merging into a single lane because of a construction zone, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The GPS of Withrow's truck shows it was traveling 72 miles per hour when it struck a rented Chevrolet Impala and shoved the car into a second truck, then into the median. The car caught fire. Story continues The Impala's seriously injured driver was pulled from the burning car; however, his four children ages 15, 13, 8 and 6 could not be rescued, according to the affidavit. Withrow displayed impairment symptoms at the crash scene, and toxicology tests revealed the presence of cannabis, amphetamines and MDMA (ecstasy) in Withrow's system, the affidavit said. Court records show that Withrow has a history of drug-related and other charges in several western Ohio counties, including aggravated possession of drugs and possession of heroin convictions in Preble County. From 2020: Company with truck in deadly accident rated satisfactory for safety Thursday's hearing had been scheduled after Withrow filed his intent to plead guilty without a plea agreement. In that instance, his sentence would be argued before a judge, who then makes the final sentencing decision. The standard sentence for a Level 4 felony conviction is six years with a range of two to 12 years, while a Level 5 felony conviction carries a three-year standard sentence and a range of one to six years. This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Ohio man's incarceration delays plans to plead guilty to 9 felonies Three homemade explosive devices allegedly found in a backpack belonging to Xavier Pelkey, 18, of Waterville, Maine, who is accused by federal prosecutors of threatening to blow up Chicago-area mosques. (U.S. District Court records) A Maine teenager allegedly found with several shrapnel-packed explosives in his home had been plotting online to travel to Chicago and commit mass murder at area places of worship, federal prosecutors said this week. Xavier Pelkey, 18, of Waterville, Maine, was arrested Feb. 11 at the home he shares with his mother, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed in the U.S. District Court in Bangor. His ultimate plan was to commit the acts and be killed by police, authorities said. Advertisement Inside a backpack in his bedroom, FBI agents found three homemade explosive devices that had been fashioned with fireworks and taped together with staples, pins and thumbtacks to increase the amount of shrapnel propelled by an explosion if the devices were detonated, the complaint stated. Pelkey, who was charged with unlawful possession of a destructive device, first told agents hed taped the fireworks together because he wanted to make a bigger boom, according to the complaint. When asked why the metal items were in the devices, Pelkey didnt respond. Advertisement At a bond hearing earlier this week, prosecutors told U.S. Magistrate Judge John Nivison that the devices were intended to be used in a calculated act of violence that was designed to take many lives. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Wolff, the FBI spoke with two witnesses both juveniles who had corresponded on Instagram with Pelkey, who was using the pseudonym Abdullah. Juvenile No. 1 described a plot that he, Abdullah and another individual had devised that involved going to a mosque in Chicago and committing, frankly, mass murder, Wolff said, according to a transcript of the Tuesday hearing. Wolff said the plot involved separating the men in this mosque from the women and children and killing all the men, (then) potentially moving on to another mosque or synagogue and doing the same thing and then ultimately culminating in being shot by police. Wolff said the first witness told investigators that Abdullah had told him about an explosive he built to get more people. The second witness told agents hed also corresponded online with Abdullah, who said he had gathered material to create fireworks to attack someone and he wanted to die fighting for Allah, Wolff told the judge. Wolff did not provide any further details at the hearing, including whether Pelkey had any specific targets or travel plans. An FBI affidavit describing the investigation was filed under seal for reasons that were not explained in open court. In asking that Pelkey be held without bond, Wolff said that although he is young and has a relatively minor juvenile record, Pelkey appeared to have been involved in a very serious, very disturbing set of events and clearly was a danger to the community. Advertisement Obviously he is a young man, but we also know that it appears that he has an ideology that hes developed where he has aligned himself with radical thinking under which he is willing to commit acts of violence ... that would culminate with him martyring himself, Wolff said, according to the transcript. Pelkeys attorney, Christopher Maclean, asked the judge for release on electronic monitoring or home confinement, saying his client was a bright young man who has a loving, supportive family. Pelkey lives with his mother, grandparents, and a 16-year-old autistic brother in an apartment in downtown Waterville, a town of 15,000 about 50 miles west of Bangor, according to Maclean and public records. Though hes spent some time in juvenile detention, there was nothing in Pelkeys background that would suggest that hes ineligible for release under these circumstances, Maclean said, according to the transcript. Maclean also called the governments accusations of a terrorist plot in Chicago posturing to some degree and that once all the facts come out it will be clear this is a much more mundane situation than whats been alleged. He certainly disavowed any of the desires or intentions that the government has suggested during this detention hearing and is fully committed to adhering to whatever strict conditions the court sets here, Maclean said. Advertisement But Nivison denied bond, siding with prosecutors in declaring Pelkey a danger to the community and potential flight risk. In his ruling, the judge noted both the disturbing nature of the explosives that were allegedly found in Pelkeys home as well as the allegation that he was involved in activity that was designed to produce significant injury to many people. I find that there are no conditions that would adequately or reasonably address the appearance issue and would adequately address the safety concern, Nivison said, according to the transcript. Maclean did not respond to requests from the Tribune for comment. The allegations of the Chicago plot, which were first reported by an NBC News affiliate in Portland, prompted an outcry from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nations largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, which called for state and federal hate crime charges to be filed against Pelkey. This disturbing case highlights the real threat posed by anti-Muslim bigotry, antisemitism and other forms of hate, CAIR Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement Wednesday. jmeisner@chicagotribune.com Former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, a Wadsworth Republican who is challenging GOP Gov. Mike DeWine in the 2022 election. Ohio's Supreme Court announced plans to haul state leaders down to their chambers, Republicans moved to limit how cities can restrict short-term rentals and Jim Renacci touted an endorsement from 2018. We break down what it all means on this week's episode of Ohio Politics Explained. It's a podcast from the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau where we catch you up on the state's political news in 15 minutes or less. This week, host Anna Staver was joined by bureau chief Anthony Shoemaker. 1) Redistricting four ways A lot happened in the world of redistricting this week. The Ohio Supreme Court told the seven members of the redistricting commission to come explain why they missed a deadline and shouldn't be held in contempt. Justice Pat DeWine recused himself from that discussion because his father, Gov. Mike DeWine, is on the commission. And the commission also released another set of maps for the state House and Senate districts ahead of their date with the court. 2) The latest fight over local control A pair of Republican lawmakers want to limit how cities and other local governments can restrict short-term rentals like AirBnb or VRBO. State Rep. Sarah Fowler Arthur, R-Rock Creek, said it's simply a property rights issue. Ohioans should always have the right to use what is often their most valuable asset, their homes, as an investment to make money through short-term rental, said Fowler Arthur in a written statement. But cities and counties remain uncertain on whether their current rules like requiring background checks and remitting certain taxes. 3) Ohio reacts to Russia's invasion As Russia sent troops over the border into Ukraine, Ohio's federal lawmakers (and those who hope to be) weighed in on America's response. Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman called Russia's actions a crisis for "all freedom-loving countries around the globe." While one of them who hopes to replace him, J.D. Vance, said, ""I gotta be honest with you, I dont really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another." Story continues 4) An old Trump endorsement makes news Former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci recently sent mailers touting his endorsement by former President Donald Trump. But the flyer didn't mention that the endorsement was for Renacci's 2018 Senate race and not his current 2022 campaign for governor. Trump hasn't endorsed any candidate in that race. Listen to "Ohio Politics Explained" on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts and TuneIn Radio. The episode is also available by clicking the link at the top of the article. The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau serves The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio politics podcast: Airbnb rules, Russia and redistricting Are we at the start of a new Cold War? For the past several months, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has amassed troops and weaponry and menaced his neighbors, commentators have frequently invoked Cold War analogies and language in an effort to understand the burgeoning conflict. The historical echoes are audible. Moscow and Washington have competing narratives. They represent to the world separate and rival political principles. They are contesting the overall geopolitical disposition of Europe. The nuclear element is still there between the superpowers. Nor were invasions unknown during the Cold War. The Soviet Union invaded Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968, massive military operations in the heart of Europe. All through the Cold War, Western military planners counted the number of Soviet tanks and helicopters and soldiers. At the moment, the empirical details of the Russian military are once again a matter of obsessive concern. For those in the West, the Cold War frame is comforting because it is the most familiar template for international relations. It gives us a lot of our vocabulary: the Iron Curtain, brinkmanship, deterrence, summit meetings, etc. And it gives us a lot of our analogies: the Berlin airlift, the hypothetical invasion of the Fulda Gap, the quagmires of Vietnam and Afghanistan. But the real comfort in the comparisons with the Cold War derives from its ending. It did not end in nuclear war. It did not finish with the triumph of totalitarianism. It did not culminatein its final yearsin great bloodshed. The Soviet Union lost the Cold War, capitulating so politely that it simply ceased to exist. It performed the miracle of defeating itself. The Cold War narrative has the satisfying arc of a Hollywood movie, happy ending included. The conflict between Russia and the West that began this week is terrifying precisely because it does not resemble the Cold War. In fact, it is crucial to work through the distinctions between this evolving conflict and the Cold War in order to address the policy challenges coming to the United States and its allies. If we dont, we could fail to understand the true dangers Russia currently poses to its neighbors, to the West and to the rest of the world. Story continues These distinctions crystallize around four sets of ideasthe Iron Curtain, the competition of the nuclear era, the nature of diplomacy, and the rise of social media and cyber warfare. Careful consideration of these four issues describes the acutely uncertain terrain of European security and of U.S.-Russian relations in the winter of 2022. Iron Curtain. The Iron Curtain was a defining feature of the Cold War. Established roughly in 1945, it divided Europe in two. Announced by Winston Churchill in 1946 speech, the Iron Curtain connoted a border that could not be crossed (or not easily crossed) as well as the line of contact between East and West in Europe, the Cold Wars archetypal dividing line. With the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1962, it acquired its final symbolic form in the mileslong concrete wall that cut through the city. The Iron Curtain was tragic for Europe, an unnatural barrier in the regions culture and politics. It was resented in East and West alike, but it also kept the peace (for the most part). It followed from agreements made in the wake of World War II in Yalta and Potsdam, through which the Soviet Union was granted its sphere of influence in Europe and the Western allies were granted theirs, despite their dislike for spheres of influence in theory. The Iron Curtain prevented the United States from intervening during the Soviet invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia. It also kept the Soviets on their side of the division, although Moscow could never quite tolerate the awkward little island of West Berlin behind the bona fide Iron Curtain separating East from West Germany. There will be no Iron Curtain in this conflict. Perhaps with an enormous display of force, followed by an occupation of western Ukraine, the Russian military can build an Iron Curtain around Belarus and Ukraine, but this is unlikely. The Russian occupation of Ukraine will have its limits and once the initial round of fighting stops it will be contestedmost likely by an insurgency with no Cold War analogy. This insurgency will have a coalition of the willing behind it, an ad hoc group of Central and Eastern European nations who see Russian victory in Ukraine as an existential threat. Russia may in turn respond to this insurgency by threatening the territory of these countries, many of them NATO members. If so, nothing would be curtained off, or if there is a curtain it will be made of something much more flimsy: It will be a loose, long and unsteady line of contact stretching from Estonia to Bulgaria and Turkey. Rather than an Iron Curtain, there will be a vortex of instability, radiating tension into Europe and the Middle East. Nuclear stalemate. Among the most memorable Cold War moments was the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Despite some moments of panicked escalation, though, the Cold War was more typically characterized by the reluctance on both sides of the Iron Curtain to use nuclear weapons. The primary function of nuclear arsenals was to deter enemies, and thats what they did. The Cold War also witnessed a great deal of successful arms control. Superpowers beholden to the idea of containment showed themselves to be good at containing nuclear war. The Cold War was cold for this very reason. The severity of its weapons imposed limits on strategy and on action. President Putin does not speak in these terms. In an interview he gave shortly after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, he claimed that he would have been willing to use nuclear weapons if the annexation had been challenged militarily. And after beginning a wide-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin made a not very veiled threat to any country that might consider aiding and abetting Kyiv. Running counter to Russias military objectives might result in punitive measures never seen before in history. Putin may be contemplating a new kind of war, in which conventional military action is conducted on the assumption that, if necessary, it will be backed up by a nuclear attack or by the threat of nuclear attack. This is a sharp departure from Cold War precedent. Diplomacy and Detente. The Cold War was marked by stretches of real diplomatic engagement. Some of this was arms control. Some of it was, as with Leonid Brezhnev and Richard Nixon, a function of good personal relations. Some of it was detente, a relaxation of tension, a suspension of hostilities. And some of it was real conflict resolution, especially the diplomacy Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan pioneered, which was so effective that it ended the Cold War. In this new conflict, diplomacy will not disappear overnight. Deconfliction is more necessary than ever, and Russia will play a role with Iran, with North Korea and in the Middle East that Western diplomats will not have the luxury of ignoring. But diplomacy with Russia has made little headway in recent years, and Putin has gone out of his way to humiliate diplomats, many of whom voyaged to Moscow to be enlisted (unknowingly) in a game of deception. Their visits helped to convince many that negotiations were still on the table. It was all a ruse. Diplomacy requires some degree of trust, and Putin merely takes advantage of the trust he is given. Real diplomacy between Russia and the West will not return until Putin leaves the Kremlin. Covert operations. The Cold War was the golden age of espionage and of active measuressometimes called covert operationswith many examples of disinformation and manipulated public opinion. Spies went into and came out from the cold. But many of the political and informational borders were far less permeable during the Cold War than they are today. Now surveillance and covert operations take place virtually, on social media or through cyberwarfare. Cyber has made espionage and active measures much cheaper and much more powerful. Russian election meddling in 2016 demonstrated how destabilizing even a cyber operation that did not attack critical infrastructure could be. In escalating tensions between Russia and the West, cyber weapons might well be turned on critical infrastructure. There are many theories about cyber war. There is only limited experience of it, and none of it is of Cold War pedigree. The truth is that the current conflict between Russia and the West will be less stable than the Cold War was (in Europe) and in a sense more frightening. At the same time, by being different from the Cold War it may prove not as all-consuming. Todays tensions with Russia are not as rooted in ideology. Putins Russia has more civil society than the Soviet Union ever did, and authoritarian governments exist within the NATO alliance. Putin does not have access to allies in the worlds communist parties as Stalin and Khrushchev did. Social media, which was overpraised in the 2000s for its contributions to democracy and international community, does contribute to democracy and international community. Nor is there an Iron Curtain to prevent it from doing so. And it is very possible that the hostilities Russia initiated this week will not lead to four decades of tension and will not amount to a long twilight struggle, as John F. Kennedy described the Cold War. By invading Ukraine, Putin has thrown overboard the gifts of stalemate. He is rushing past the warning signs of overreach. He is piling up risks and costs of enormous size and scope. These may be the foundation of his eventual failure, following on the heels of early battlefield successes. Or they may be the foundation of his rapid failure, of having gone too far too fast and with too little respect for the excruciating limits that had once characterized the Cold War. The Cold War still contains lessons for us. One of them is to move slowly, to build internal resilience, and to have patience. A Palm City resident has died after two intruders broke into his home and shot him, according to South Annville Township police. Cory Heft, 41, passed away Tuesday, according South Annville Police Chief Ben Sutcliffe. The resident of the Palm City Mobile Home park was shot when two masked intruders broke into his home Feb. 16. "The investigation in the shooting and the cause of death of Heft, is an active, ongoing investigation," South Annville Police Chief Ben Sutcliffe said in a statement Thursday, adding no further details would be released at this time. Cory Heft, 41, was shot and killed when two intruders broke into his Palm City home Feb. 16. The two masked subjects entered the 3rd Avenue residence around 8 a.m. and got into an altercation with Heft, according to an earlier report. During this fight, one of the suspects displayed the gun and shot the homeowner twice. During this altercation, the shooter also shot one of the family dogs, who was taken to a local animal hospital. "The two subjects then fled the scene on foot, chased by another family dog; this dog is also believed to have been shot as well and has not been located," Sutcliffe said in a Feb. 18 statement. Palm City Shooting: Homeowner, dogs shot while defending Palm City home from masked intruders, police say Lebanon City Shooting: Man dies from injuries suffered in Lebanon city shooting late Wednesday New County Commissioner: Michael Kuhn sworn in as new Lebanon County Commissioner A GoFundMe page was set up after Heft's attack last week, with organizers saying that a bullet from the shooting was lodged near Heft's Spine. Police have not confirmed a cause of death as of Friday morning. "Two men broke into Cory's home and stole their sense of security and the peace of mind that one has in their own home," Tim Spence, the organizer of the page, wrote. "What a horrible thing to be awoken to on a Wednesday morning in your own home." A second GoFundMe account has been setup for Heft's 14-year-old daughter, who was not at her home during last week's shooting. Story continues Officials believe this was a targeted shooting and there is no danger to neighbors or anyone else in the area. The two suspects fled from the scene in a black SUV, which appeared to have a driver waiting for them. Officials said the SUV may have an out-of-state license plate. Anyone with information about Wednesday's shooting is asked to contact the South Annville Township police at 717-867-1003. This is a developing story. Please check back with the Lebanon Daily News for updates. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Palm City resident has died after defending his home from intruders Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Thursday as Russia's military incursion against Ukraine rages on. The two defense chiefs spoke about "Russia's unfounded and unprovoked war against Ukraine," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a readout of the call. "Secretary Austin made clear that the United States' support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering and that the United States will continue to provide defensive assistance to Ukraine," Kirby said. "Secretary Austin and Minister Reznikov committed to continuing their close coordination during this conflict that Russia alone has created," he continued. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in eastern Ukraine early on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that preliminary data showed that 137 people died and 316 others were wounded less than 24 hours after the incursion was launched. The Pentagon has sent over 6,000 troops to Poland, Romania and Germany over the past few weeks to bolster NATO's defense capabilities in the region, and on Wednesday repositioned another 800 troops stationed in Europe to the Baltic region. On Thursday, at President Biden's direction, Austin ordered an additional 7,000 troops to deploy to Germany after NATO activated its defense plans. These troops were part of an initial 8,500 troops placed on heightened alert to deploy in late January. WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland will ban Russian airlines from its airspace from midnight on Friday, the government said a day after Russia attacked Ukraine. "I have ordered the preparation of a resolution of the council of ministers which will lead to the closure of the airspace over Poland to Russian airlines," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Facebook. A government spokesman later said on Twitter that "the ban will come into force from midnight". (Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Marek Strzelecki; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Andrew Heavens) New Jersey State Police arrested a 21-year-old man wanted as a fugitive suspect in a string of Wells Fargo bank robberies in Raleigh this month, Raleigh police said Friday. Dominic Glenn fled to New Jersey following an active manhunt on Tuesday, police said. Glenn is charged by Raleigh police with three counts of common law robbery and misdemeanor possession of a stolen registration plate in connection with at least three bank robberies, police said in a news release. He was taken into custody without incident through a fugitive warrant request. Police have not released details on Glenns whereabouts at the time of the arrest. Authorities say Glenn is suspected to have robbed: a Wells Fargo bank on Feb. 18 at 10:30 a.m. at 3400 Spring Forest Road a Wells Fargo bank on Feb. 22 at 12:25 p.m. at 2001 Clark Avenue at the Village District a Wells Fargo bank later on Feb. 22 at 12:43 p.m. on 2016 Fairview Road. Two other bank robberies that occurred in Cary and Morrisville are connected, police said. A Wells Fargo location at 305 Colonades Way in Cary was robbed on Feb. 22, police said. Morrisville police previously said First Horizon Bank on Chapel Hill Road was also robbed the same day by someone whose description matched the suspects in the Raleigh robberies. A spokesman for the Morrisville Police Department declined to say whether Glenn will face additional charges as a suspect in the towns bank robbery. Cary police did not return a News & Observer request Friday afternoon asking for updated information on the Cary bank robbery. How manhunt began A manhunt on Tuesday began when N.C. State University campus police said the Raleigh Police Department told them two suspects had fled on foot toward Centennial Campus after a traffic stop in the parking lot of the Mission Valley shopping center. The suspects fled police and crashed a Ford Mustang near Centennial Parkway before escaping on foot. The vehicle was left behind damaged and charred from catching fire, according to CBS17. Story continues Authorities are searching for at least one other suspect in connection to the robberies as part of an ongoing investigation. Anyone who believes they may have information that might assist the investigation of the crime is asked to call Raleigh CrimeStoppers at 919-834-HELP or visit raleighcrimestoppers.org for text and email reporting options. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for anonymous tips that help solve cases. Ukainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the press in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, on April 4, 2022. (Ronaldo Schemidt/Getty-AFP) U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said Friday that the U.S. needs to send a strong message in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine and urged a doubling down on the U.S. commitment to NATO, stricter sanctions against Russia and its oligarchs and cutting off energy purchases from the nation. If we are going to have a peaceful world, we need world order, Durbin, the second highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said during a visit to the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Chicagos Ukrainian Village neighborhood. Someone like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin cannot defy that world order and set out to control an innocent nation like Ukraine. Advertisement While noting that President Joe Biden is seeking to balance sanctions against U.S. economic stability, Durbin said that to think that the U.S. is dependent on Russia for oil and gas at all, at all, is unacceptable. We have to let the Russian president and the people of this nation know they will pay a heavy price for this deadly attack on innocent Ukraine, Durbin said. Advertisement Elo Vandriwsky asks questions about Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a Q&A with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Chicago on Feb. 25, 2022, (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) While the U.S. is unlikely to get involved in defending Ukraine on the ground, Durbin said that any invasion of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia or any other NATO state will unleash an overwhelming force. Durbin spoke to leaders of Chicagos Ukrainian community, assuring them that he is a pro-Ukraine voice in Congress. Members of the Senate and the Biden administration met Thursday to discuss sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Poland, which has welcomed those fleeing Ukraine, said Durbin, who co-chairs the Senate Ukraine Caucus and the Baltic Freedom Caucus. The Biden administration announced sanctions against Russia Thursday, targeting Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors, though the president said U.S. troops in Europe are there to defend NATO allies which include Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia not to engage in the conflict. Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Durbin vowed to push for Congress to extend temporary protected status to Ukraine and allow Ukrainian visitors in America to stay until the conflict is over. Asked whether the U.S. would waive visa requirements for Ukrainians, Durbin said he would be willing to consider the notion, though it would be a very difficult time for the U.S. to implement such an action. Also elevating concern is the movement of 30,000 Russian troops to Belarus in recent weeks under the guise of running drills. Belarus makes up much of Ukraines northern border and also neighbors Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. The nations leader, President Alexander Lukashenko, is the last dictator in Europe, Durbin said. While Russias deployment to Belarus provokes concern, Durbin said people living in Poland and the Baltic States should be reassured that NATO forces have fortified those areas. Durbin attended the Munich Security Conference last weekend, where world leaders discussed the expectation of Putins invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a personal appeal at the meeting for support, risking his life to do so, said Durbin, who noted the U.S. provided Zelenskyy with security for the trip. He then traveled to Poland and Lithuania before returning to his home state. Advertisement For those from the Chicagoland area who say, Well, Im from a different part of the world, this doesnt affect me, it does, Durbin said. What is at stake here is really very basic. As you travel across Europe, you come across cemeteries of the fallen soldiers of the United States, the men and women who went overseas to fight the battle against the Nazis, against the communists, over the years, and gave their lives in doing that, Durbin said. They were standing up for principles and values, which are still as viable today as they were 75 years ago. cspaulding@chicagotribune.com Feb. 25SALEM, N.H. A Lynn, Massachusetts, man is accused of stealing a U-Haul from the Salem police impound lot after being arrested the same day for theft, according to a statement from the department. Police say John Murray, 27, took off from Best Buy in a U-Haul after a reported theft at the store. Officers found him near Kohl's, a mile away on Route 28, after video games were reported stolen there. Murray gave officers a fake name and attempted to run away, according to police, but was taken into custody for resisting arrest, disobeying an officer and driving after suspension. Police said they towed the U-Haul to the impound lot at the Veterans Memorial Parkway station while awaiting approval for a search warrant. Records show that Murray was released on personal recognizance bail at 9:25 p.m. But about an hour later, at 10:22 p.m., Officer Dan Nelson reported that he heard noise near the fenced-in impound lot. He said Murray was in the process of removing evidence from the U-Haul and then took off running. Nelson says he deployed his K-9, Apollo, who brought Murray to the ground. Murray is now held without bail for the additional charges of criminal trespass, falsifying physical evidence, breach of bail, resisting arrest and theft with two priors. LAS CRUCES Rachel Stevens has been watching the news from Ukraine and hearing from friends and colleagues in the western city of Lviv as Russia invades its neighboring country and former Soviet state. Stevens, a two-time Fulbright scholar who lived and worked in Lviv in 2018, said she has heard of long lines at ATM machines and banks limiting cash withdrawals; and crowds at the nearby Polish border. "A lot of people in Kyiv are going to Lviv or to the west, and people in Lviv are running to the Polish border," she said in an interview Thursday. "And now they've started to conscript the men and this is when it gets really hard. Our partners over there, our friends, and the idea of anyone being hurt or worse, is just " and she trailed off. Ukraine declared martial law Thursday after the Russian military launched strikes against air fields and population centers on three sides of the country. Males from the age of 18 to 60 are being enlisted to fight. On Friday, officials urged Kyiv residents to stay indoors and prepare Molotov cocktails in a fight for the nation's capital as Moscow's forces made their way south from Belarus. People wait in line to use the ATM in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. "It's earth shaking, from the point of view of history," emeritus Bradley University Russian history professor Elmo Roach said in an interview from his home in Las Cruces Thursday. "It's a major step that totally disrupts the postwar security and geopolitical situation." Roach did not find the escalation by Russian president Vladimir Putin a surprise. "He's been in power for 20 years, and every brutal act he takes, whether it's domestic or international, he's never had to pay any consequence for it," Roach said. Putin, who has held power in Russia effectively since 1999 and as president for most of those years, announced the assault in an early-morning address denouncing the elected Ukrainian government and accusing it of attempting to eradicate Russian language and culture, among other claims justifying the invasion. Story continues Ukrainian servicemen walk at fragments of a downed aircraft seen in in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. It was unclear what aicraft crashed and what brought it down amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine Russia is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides. Jack Wright, emeritus professor of geography at New Mexico State University and Stevens' husband, scoffed at the argument. "There are many Russian speakers in Ukraine who identify their country as Ukraine," he said. "Think of any frontera in the world. Language doesn't match borders, but the people on either side of the line fully identify (with) the country that they love and represent." Moreover, he argued that historically, Kyiv alone boasts a cultural heritage older than the Russian empire. 'They would be a Slavic Scandinavia' Stevens saw Putin's claims as part of a broader effort to quash Ukraine's distinct cultural identity one she described as encompassing diverse cultures and languages and seizing its territory and natural resources for Russia. A night view of Kyiv as the Kyiv mayor declared a curfew from 10pm to 7am on February 24, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Overnight, Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine, with explosions reported in multiple cities and far outside the restive eastern regions held by Russian-backed rebels. "They are a democracy," she said. "If they were allowed to thrive, they would be a Slavic Scandinavia. They're very sophisticated, if that's the word great artists, poets, great minds, and musicians." Stevens, also a retired NMSU professor, researched remnants of Jewish culture in the region of eastern Galicia, which included today's western Ukraine. Much of that heritage, including her own ancestors from the region, was eliminated in the Holocaust. She produced 75 glass keys modeled on an iron key that once belonged to a Lviv synagogue. Her exhibition commemorated the 75th anniversary of the extermination of the city's Jewish population. Her keys were subsequently presented by Lviv's mayor to honor individuals working to preserve the historical record and cultural legacy. Glass keys produced by New Mexico-based sculptor Rachel Stevens, based on an iron key she found that had belonged to a synagogue in western Ukraine, where she was a Fulbright scholar in 2018. The keys were later presented by the mayor of Lviv to honorees preserving regional history and Jewish heritage. "To me, it was part of Ukraine fully emerging as its own country," Wright recalled, "Looking at its full past, breathing fresh air as an independent country. And despite the 2014 invasion (of Crimea by Russia), there was still a lot of hope. And now, this is so crushing." "Ukrainian people live side by side along with all these other ethnic groups which were either murdered or shipped out after the Second World War," Stevens said. "Who gets to tell stories in history? It's always the winners. The Ukrainian people, until 30 years ago, never had that opportunity to tell their own histories. They were colonized within their own land, is how I see it." 'I just pray for the least loss of life' Roach portrayed Putin as a dictator who had come to believe propaganda exalting him as "a Superman," yet needed to divert domestic attention from his country's economic struggles: "It's a huge country with lots of nuclear weapons and a big army; but economically, it's not strong." Roach argued Putin is vulnerable to a small inner circle who will not tolerate the extended pain of broad international sanctions now targeting Russia's financial sector as well as its energy, mining, transportation and other industries. Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to chair a Security Council meeting in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Feb. 25. [ALEXEI NIKOLSKY, SPUTNIKE, KREMLIN POOL PHOTO via AP) "Putin has his great dream of taking over the whole of Ukraine, and if it works out in time, his friends in the Kremlin are liable to get rid of him," he said. "They don't have an ideology. They're not nationalistic Russians. They're just power hungry, money grubbing oligarchs and KGB veterans. All they want is money." "He'll fall on his face," Roach predicted, "but there are going to be a lot of dead Ukrainians and a lot of dead Russians." "The Ukrainian people will be very motivated to fight," Stevens said. "They want to be a part of the West. We saw that when we were there. They want to be part of NATO. They want to be part of the European Union. They are very energized about these possibilities. And they want peace. They're very peaceful people." "I just pray for the least loss of life, and an outcome that ensures that Ukraine continues to move forward as a democracy," she continued. "I'm not a religious person, but man, I'm praying for a miracle." On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported 137 Ukrainians, including civilians, had been killed and hundreds wounded. Estimates of Russians killed in the offensive ranged from 500 to 1,000, USA Today reported. Algernon D'Ammassa can be reached at 575-541-5451, adammassa@lcsun-news.com or @AlgernonWrites on Twitter. This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Las Cruces artist and history expert react to Russia war on Ukraine Feb. 24Jessica Fields had 24 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead Mount Paran Christian to a 66-37 victory over Wesleyan in the opening round of the Class A Private state tournament Wednesday. Kara Dunn had 22 points, while Katelyn Dunning finished with 11 points and five assists. Libby Hein added six points. The Lady Eagles (21-4) will host Deerfield-Windsor on Friday. Lowndes 66, Marietta 55: The Lady Blue Devils' rein as Class AAAAAAA state champions came to an end in the opening round of the state tournament. BOYS BASKETBALL Wednesday Hillgrove 46, Camden County 34: The Hawks rolled in the first round of the Class AAAAAAA playoffs. Hillgrove (23-3) will play at Berkmar on Friday. MADISON - President Joe Biden will return to Wisconsin next week to detail how a $1 trillion infrastructure law he last visited the Badger State to promote before its passage will improve the state's roads, bridges and job market. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit Superior on Wednesday his first trip to Wisconsin in eight months and one that comes as the Republican-controlled Legislature is passing new rules for voting and election administration in response to pressure from former President Donald Trump and his supporters who say Biden did not legitimately win his presidency. Biden plans to discuss how the bipartisan infrastructure law will improve economy and transportation needs. He signed the sweeping bipartisan infrastructure package into law in November, completing the most significant legislative victory of his presidency and the largest investment in the countrys infrastructure in decades. Subscribe to our On Wisconsin Politics newsletter for the week's political news explained. "This will be a generational investment to modernize our infrastructure," Biden said in June during a visit to La Crosse just after the bipartisan deal nearly collapsed during negotiations. More: Wisconsin will soon receive nearly $143 million for water infrastructure to address lead, 'forever chemicals' in drinking water His visit also comes just after his administration leveled economic sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Given the state of emergency in Ukraine, Wisconsinites want real leadership from Joe Biden not a midterm photo opp," Anna Kelly, spokeswoman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said in a statement. The infrastructure law Biden will promote tackles nearly every facet of American infrastructure, including public transportation, roads, bridges, ports, railways, power grids, broadband internet, as well as water and sewage systems. More: Milwaukee expects to see the impact of federal infrastructure funds on lead service line replacement next year Story continues The package, which includes $550 billion in new spending, is meant to repair and enhance the countrys beleaguered infrastructure, which has languished as investment has slowed. About $650 billion of the funding will be reallocated from already existing projects and funds. Biden's visit to Wisconsin comes as his 2020 victory here remains a focus of Republican politics. Questioning whether Biden won Wisconsin legitimately despite judges, recounts, reviews, audits confirming his victory is now a feature of Republican campaigns in Wisconsin. Republican candidates for governor Rebecca Kleefisch and Kevin Nicholson are running on pledges of election integrity and won't answer affirmatively whether Biden won the state, and his presidency, fairly. Kleefisch declined in an interview to say whether she would have certified Wisconsins results if she had been governor during the 2020 presidential election. Meanwhile, Nicholson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel if he had been governor at the time, he would have ensured before the election that voting practices were changed so that no one would question the results. That would have allowed him to certify the 2020 results with confidence, he said. Nicholson said he disagreed with Trump on counting electoral votes. Vice President Mike Pence had no choice but to count the Electoral College results that were sent to Congress, he said. Kleefisch would not say whether she believed the vice president has the power to prevent the counting of some electoral votes, as former President Donald Trump has maintained. Biden beat Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers certified those results, which were confirmed by recounts and court rulings. Matthew Brown and Joey Garrison of USA TODAY contributed to this report. Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck. Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal. DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: President Joe Biden will return to Wisconsin to talk infrastructure WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Wisconsin on March 3, to discuss the need to create more union jobs and how an infrastructure bill he signed into law will help rebuild roads and bridges in America, the White House said in a statement. Earlier in the day, Biden hit Russia with a wave of sanctions after Moscow invaded Ukraine. The measures hurt Russia's ability to do business in major currencies along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises. (Reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Sandra Maler) Prince Harry is said to feel unable to return to the UK to see his family without police protection - Jeremy Selwyn/Pool via REUTERS The Duke of Sussex has complained that he was not given the identities of those behind a decision to deny him police protection when he is in the UK, the High Court has heard. He is challenging the February 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) to withdraw the police protection that he and the Duchess of Sussex enjoyed as senior royals. He has taken legal action against the Government, arguing that the decision made by Ravec, which is comprised of representatives from the police, Home Office and Royal household, was wrong as he falls within the immediate line of succession. The Duke has also launched a libel action against the Mail on Sunday over its coverage of the case. At a preliminary hearing on Friday, Mr Justice Swift set out the four grounds that form the basis of the Dukes legal challenge. They include the over-rigid application of Ravec policy and a failure to take into account relevant considerations. The Duke has also argued that the committees conclusions were unreasonable and that insufficient information was provided about Ravec policy and/or members or those involved in Ravecs decision. Shaheed Fatima QC, the Dukes barrister, who was accompanied in court by the Sussexes solicitor, Jenny Afia, handed the judge two letters "on the membership of Ravec". But she suggested they had struggled to ascertain who sits on the committee. Ms Fatima told the court they had been asking about the membership", later adding that it was in relation to "the relevance of the claimant's knowledge about who he was dealing with and in what capacity". The court heard that the Duke had been in correspondence with Sir Mark Sedwill, a senior civil servant who served as Cabinet Secretary from April 2018 until September 2020. We now know that entity is a member of Ravec, Ms Fatima said, referring to the Cabinet Office. The Duke is said to feel unable to return to the UK to see his family without police protection. Story continues Prince Harry said he offered to pay for his own protection in January 2020 but that the offer was refused - Caitlin Ochs/Reuters He has argued that his private protection team in the US does not have adequate jurisdiction abroad or access to the relevant UK intelligence that is needed to keep his family safe. He has insisted that he offered to pay for his own protection in January 2020 but that the offer was refused. However, Robert Palmer QC, for the Home Office, previously told the court that the offer of private funding was irrelevant. Mr Palmer said in written submissions: Personal protective security by the police is not available on a privately financed basis. The preliminary hearings, which were largely held in private, concerned an application by the Duke and the Home Office for some information contained in court documents to be kept private. Mr Justice Swift repeatedly rebuked Ms Fatima over her submissions, at one point telling her: This is not a public inquiry into whether the committee reached the right decision or the wrong decision, adding that it was a discussion about the legal merits of the case. The judge said he would hand down his ruling at a later date. Meanwhile, the Duke is embroiled in separate legal proceedings against the publisher of the Mail on Sunday. A libel action lodged on his behalf on Wednesday is understood to relate to a story that suggested he had tried to keep the legal fight over his police protection secret. He is also expected to argue that it was false and defamatory to allege that he lied about offering to pay personally for UK police protection for himself and his family in January 2020. The article claimed that the offer to pay was not made in the Dukes initial pre-action letters to the Home Office, which it said suggested that he expected British taxpayers to cover it. Feb. 25As the world watches the Russian attacks against Ukraine that began this week, professors at Washington State University and the University of Idaho gave presentations Wednesday putting the conflict into context and explaining Russian President Vladimir Putin's motivations. Russia's actions in Ukraine should not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Putin's career, Washington State University Political Science Professor Tom Preston said during a presentation for the WSU Foley Institute. Preston said Putin is a strong nationalist who believes bringing Ukraine into Russian control would cement his legacy as a great Russian leader. Additionally, Putin believes the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's potential expansion to include Eastern European countries like Ukraine is an existential threat to Russia's security and influence. "He has been angry for years and he's been expressing this view and feeling that it has been ignored," Preston said. Preston said Putin is fueled by fear of Western encroachment and believes the West is working to undermine his regime. Florian Justwan, UI associate professor of political science, said a country that joins NATO turns away from Russia and aligns itself with the European Union and U.S. "Ukraine has historically been the political backyard, or part of the political backyard, of Russia, and the Soviet Union before them," Justwan said. "This idea that such a big country directly next to Russia is explicitly turning away from Russia toward the West is deeply concerning to Putin for a variety of reasons." Erin Damman, clinical assistant professor for the UI International Studies Program, said Putin is making false claims to suggest that what he is doing is protected under international laws. For example, he claimed Russia is acting in self-defense against NATO and Ukraine, that Russia is protecting Russian-speaking Ukranians from genocide and that Ukraine is not a sovereign state. Story continues "They are designed to spread these little sprinklings of doubt over whether what he is doing is actually in line with international norms and legal under international statutes," she said about these claims. Justwan said Russian misinformation is often picked up by American media outlets, so it is important for Americans to fact check what they read. Putin is also afraid of democratic revolutions overthrowing pro-Russian regimes, also known as "color" revolutions, Preston said. This is what happened when Ukraine protesters with U.S. support overthrew pro-Russian Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. "(Putin) saw this as a Western-supported coup attempt against a democratically elected pro-Russian leader," Preston said. While Russia's attacks against Ukraine are not surprising, Preston said it may not work in Putin's favor. "It may well be a big miscalculation," he said. "I think this is a hornet's nest that he has stirred up that is going to have a lot of second-, third-, fourth-order effects that he has not necessarily thought through completely." The conflict has already led to European countries and the U.S. imposing economic sanctions on Russia, but Preston said Putin believes he can weather that storm. "I don't think any degree of economic sanctions is enough to change Putin's mind on this," he said, adding that this may be a miscalculation on Putin's part. Charles Dainoff, a UI clinical assistant professor of political science, said the U.S. has the ability to gather information on Russian financial transactions, freeze assets on Russian accounts and lock Russians out of the financial system. "Right now, the steps that the Biden administration took today were to freeze out the two largest banks in Russia that are responsible for, I think, over half of the financial transactions in Russia," Dainoff said. Preston said it is not a viable option to send U.S. troops into Ukraine, but he would not be surprised to see military forces deployed in other Eastern European countries to support NATO members. Another reason for this is to help countries accepting millions of Ukrainian refugees. Preston also expects there to be a Ukrainian insurgency against Russia, even if Ukraine's military falls. Here in the U.S., Justwan said Americans should expect increases in the price of gas and inflation if this conflict continues, as Russia is a major exporter of oil. Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called for Ukrainian military forces to overthrow their own government as Russia conducts a full-fledged military invasion in the European nation. Putin said in a recorded address filmed before meeting with the Russian Security Council that Ukrainians need to "take power into your own hands" and overthrow a government he dubbed "neo-Nazis," Politico reported. "It seems that it will be easier for us to come to an agreement than with this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis, who occupied Kyiv and took the entire Ukrainian people hostage," he said, according to Politico. Putin also said Russian forces were fighting bravely for "our fatherland" and claimed Ukrainian fighters had launched artillery strikes from Kyiv to provoke Russian forces, The Guardian reported. The fighting in Ukraine has drawn closer to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine where the government led by President Volodymyr Zelensky is operating from. Zelensky, who is Jewish, posted a video before fighting began directed to the Russian people, in which he countered Putin's claims about his country. "You are told we are Nazis. But can a people support Nazis that gave more than 8 million lives for the victory over Nazism? How can I be a Nazi?" he said. "Tell my grandpa, who went through the whole war in the infantry of the Soviet Army and died as a colonel in independent Ukraine." U.S. intelligence has said Russians are meeting more resistance than they had expected in the second day of fighting. Ukraine claims to have killed hundreds of Russian soldiers and downed Russian aircraft. Audience at the Shasta County Board of Supervisors' meeting on Feb. 8, 2022, with Sheriff Michael Johnson at right. As the Shasta County Board of Supervisors prepares to consider a 10-point COVID-19 declaration brought by a group of physicians opposed to vaccine mandates, another group of doctors supports a different approach. In a letter sent to the supervisors on Wednesday, executives representing Redding's two main hospitals, major nonprofit medical center and other health facilities voiced support for COVID-19 vaccinations. In the letter, the group also urged medical providers to avoid recommending "unproven" coronavirus medications and treatments. The letter health executives sent to the supervisors was signed by top officials from Dignity Health/Mercy Medical Center, Shasta Regional Medical Center, Shasta Community Health Center, Hill Country Health and Wellness Center and the Redding Rancheria, which operates a health care network in Shasta and Trinity counties. Subscription sale: Get 6 months of unlimited access for just $1. Subscribe today! The health executives' letter did not ask for the board's adoption. No mandates: Shasta doctors' objections to vaccine mandates get mixed reaction from supervisors, Redding City Council "It's not a disrespect to the doctors who've expressed a different opinion from what I know and see, I think they're very good doctors," said Shasta Community Health Center CEO Dean Germano. "But they do not represent the vast majority of physicians in this community. The main purpose of the response was that they do not speak for the mainstream of health care in our community." The health executives said they wrote their letter to respond to a group of physicians who held a public forum in Redding during which they said they support the use of vaccines for some individuals, but do not support vaccine mandates, among other things. The statement from the executive group says that "the presenters of this statement, though respected, do not represent the vast majority of over 400 physicians practicing in Shasta County. They do not represent medical or health care organizations, clinics or hospitals." Story continues On vaccines, the executive group said, "The vast majority of your medical community is vaccinated. We hoped our residents would follow our lead. COVID-19 vaccines have been extensively tested and found to have an impressive benefit and safety. Currently, over 90% of COVID-19 patients hospitalized locally are unvaccinated, which is evidence of vaccine efficacy." Who are the Public Forum doctors? The group of 44 doctors opposed to mandates calls itself the COVID-19 Public Forum Team and is promoting a 10-point COVID-19 declaration that opposes vaccine mandates; supports vaccination for individuals at high medical risk; and opposes what it calls "mass" COVID-19 testing of asymptomatic people. The group said this week that it wants to spark "productive dialogue within the local medical community." The public forum group is planning a second public forum, on COVID-19 and children. Its 10-point coronavirus declaration expressed concern about the negative physical and psychological impacts that mask-wearing and vaccine mandates have on children. The public forum group also approves of using various "early treatment protocols" for people who test positive for COVID-19 but aren't in the hospital. That approach has not received legitimacy from the mainstream medical establishment. According to the executives group's letter, "While we are grateful for new medications for the treatment of people with COVID-19, these are not a substitute for vaccinations. For now, the use of unproven medications/treatments should be avoided by our medical community." Several of the Public Forum Team's physicians including gastroenterologist Dr. Paul Dhanuka, family medicine Dr. James Mu, internal medicine Dr. Neil Louwrens and emergency room Dr. Kathy Reschke addressed the supervisors and Redding City Council earlier this month. At the supervisors' meeting, Supervisor Patrick Jones signaled that the topic of vaccine mandates and mask mandates will continue to be spotlighted by the board, saying he believes its the number one issue of the day. Redding council members did not take action on the doctors' measure, which, like the supervisors meeting earlier in the day, was presented during the public comment period. At the council meeting, Dhanuka said, "Our sincere hope is that this can serve as a future roadmap for this community to come together, unite and find a better path forward." Dr. Paul Dhanuka, an Independent, ran in the 2020 race for California's 1st Assembly District. After hearing from three of the public forum doctors on Feb. 15, the supervisors voted unanimously to put their declaration on its March 1 agenda for further discussion and potential approval. Supervisor Joe Chimenti said the supervisors have never been in favor of the coronavirus mandates, but said he was willing to hear more about the declaration. But Chimenti also questioned the value of continuing the discussion. Since we are not a policy-making board when it comes to mandates, no matter how onerous we may believe they are, I dont know that its time well spent, said Chimenti at that meeting, urging supervisors to instead focus on issues and policies the board is able to change. Germano stated similar concerns. "At the end of the day, this group can do what they want to do," said Germano of the public forum doctors. "And the supervisors will do what they need to do. But as far as the impact on the state and the feds, it will have absolutely zero impact." Record Searchlight reporter David Benda contributed to this report. Michele Chandler covers city government and housing issues for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Follow her on Twitter at @MChandler_RS, call her at 530-225-8344 or email her at michele.chandler@redding.com. Please support our entire newsroom's commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today. This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Anti-mandate doctors 'do not speak for the mainstream of health care' Yekaterina Galat, the COO and co-founder of Artec Biotech, Inc., checks something on a computer while CEO and the other co-founder of the business, Vasil Galat, work in their laboratory in Rosalind Franklins Helix 51 business incubator. - Original Credit: News-Sun (Steve Sadin / HANDOUT) Scientists and entrepreneurs using stem cell research to repair damaged hearts and kill cancer cells, as well as other health science technology, are part of the rapid growth of Rosalind Franklin Universitys Helix 51 business incubator. Were repairing hearts, said Catherine Phillips, the CEO of TargaCell, a Helix tenant since August. Once a heart is damaged from a heart attack, its a slippery slope. Were developing a way to use stem cells to repair the heart. Advertisement Were making and using stem cells to kill cancer cells, added Yekaterina Galat, the COO and co-founder of Artec Biotech, Inc. The principle is to use stem cells to strengthen the immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells. Artec and TargaCell are among five of the eight tenants of the Helix 51 incubator on Rosalind Franklins North Chicago campus who arrived in the past six months benefiting from the available resources within 15 minutes of some of the worlds major life science companies. Advertisement Michael Rosen, the managing director of the incubator and Rosalind Franklins adjoining Innovation and Research Park, said Lake County is home to 122 life science businesses, including some of the worlds largest employing more than 33,000 people. Rosen said life science entrepreneurs needed to go to downtown Chicago for incubator space to nurture their ideas before Helix opened. Now they can work near Abbott, and AbbVie, Inc. in North Chicago; Baxter and Horizon in Deerfield, as well as a Pfizer facility in Lake Forest. Theyre all a 15-minute drive, Rosen said. Our hope is they will move into the Innovation and Research Park, like Inspirotec, (Inc.), he added, referring to the incubators first tenant which is now headquartered in the park. Kevin Considine, the president and CEO of Lake County Partners which developed the economic impact study for the incubator, said helping budding entrepreneurs helps feed the large companies in the county like Abbott, Baxter, AbbVie, Horizon and Pfizer. Considine said 80% of all health science jobs in Illinois are located in Lake County. The startups in the incubator are part of the ecosystem which keeps the industry thriving locally. This keeps everything growing here, from the startups to the big guys, Considine said. Prasanth Bijjam, the chief technology officer of Everyplace Labs, works on tests from the portable test station the company is creating. (Steve Sadin / Lake County News-Sun) U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Hoffman Estates, who recently visited the Innovation and Research Park with U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Deerfield, said when she met with Rosalind Franklin officials four years ago, she saw the potential for the park and incubator. Its no surprise weve seen this incubator begin to grow and thrive, Duckworth said in an email. I think its clear that were seeing that vision play out today. This incubator and research park will only continue to make Lake County a leader not only in our state but the entire region in biomedical research and innovation. Advertisement The incubator contributes to Lake County being the home of the nations life sciences corridor, added Schneider in an email. None of these cures being developed in the incubator will be available for several years. That is one of the reasons Targacell, Artec and the others are working in the incubator to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration so they can market their innovations. Peter Farmakis, the CEO of Covira Surgical, which is developing a medicine to reduce post-surgical infections, said he is in the process of raising approximately $6 million to grow the business to the point human trials can start by the end of next year. It may take until 2026 or 2027 before there is final FDA approval. Farmakis said he came to the incubator because of the resources it offers scientists and researchers. They can use a boost from people with business savvy, which Helix 51 provides as part of the rent tenants pay. I get collaboration with a group of people to help grow the business, Farmakis said. There are a lot of supportive resources at Helix 51. Rosen said the incubator provides entrepreneurs in residence offering mentoring in the FDA regulatory process, patents, finance, legal formation of a business and product development assistance to move the product from the lab to a factory. There is also a Rosalind Franklin intern program which can provide marketing help. Advertisement People entering the incubator have two options. Rosen said one program provides a laboratory and office space, which is important to scientists developing treatment for which they must prove there is creditability. The other plan offers office space with the collaboration and mentoring available. Were the only wet lab in Lake County and northern Cook County, Rosen said. Iyad Ayoub, the COO of Resuscitation Therapeutics, Inc., which is another incubator member, is developing a drug which will improve recovery chances of a person who suffers cardiac arrest. He said it will be used by paramedics who try to restart a heart. Ayoub said the vast majority of people who go into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital do not survive but a 1% improvement will save approximately 3,500 lives a year. It is administered by paramedics before they apply CPR. Just improving by 1% is worth it, he said. Talking about the Helix 51 business incubator at Rosalind Franklin University are, clockwise from left, Catherine Phillips, the CEO of TargaCell; Robin McWherter, TargaCells president; Claire Zhou, the COO of Everyplace Labs (partially hidden); Iyad Ayoub, the COO of Resuscitation Therapeutics, Inc.; Michael Rosen, the incubators managing director; Peter Farmakis, the CEO of Covira Surgical; Yekaterina Galat, the COO and co-founder of Artec Biotech, Inc., Vasil Galat, the CEO and the other co-founder of Artec. (Steve Sadin / Lake County News-Sun) Claire Zhou, the COO of Everyplace Labs, said the coronavirus pandemic gave the companys portable testing station, which looks similar to a cash station machine, a boost testing for COVID-19 at a workplace. As the pandemic wanes, the company is seeking other applications. Advertisement It can do drug testing, biometric testing and testing for other diseases, Zhou said. Employers like the fact employees dont have to leave work to get tested. Rosen said there are plans to grow the incubator further. With two more slots left for budding entrepreneurs, he said Rosalind Franklin will use a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to renovate the second floor and double the size. Feb. 25As the city of Aberdeen updates its Comprehensive Plan, it hosted its last public workshop on Feb. 12 where businesses and residents had the opportunity to discuss their ideas on land use, transportation, future growth, public facilities and more. The Aberdeen Comprehensive Plan is an official long-range policy statement that has been adopted and amended multiple times. This plan acts as a guide to day-to-day decisions by the city in issues related to development. The purpose of a Comprehensive Plan is to give direction to both public and private decisions, so the city can find the best arrangement for land use and the delivery of public services for current and future residents. As stated in its official document, the Comprehensive Plan can only be effective if it's made for current social, economic and environmental realities. The comprehensive plan must address the state's 12 Planning Visions as follows: quality of life and sustainability, public participation, growth areas, community design, infrastructure, transportation, housing, economic development, environmental protection, resource conservation, stewardship and implementation, according to Phyllis Grover, Director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Aberdeen. The plan is updated every 10 years, and the city hosts workshops to hear the opinion of residents and business owners. Aberdeen has started the process of updating its 2011 Comprehensive Plan with three workshops. These workshops allow current residents to discuss their views on the different portions of the plan. These are required by state law to make sure the Comprehensive Plan reflects the community. The next step will be to hold data reveals from the Community Surveys and Visioning Workshops at 7 p.m. on Mar. 9 with the Planning Commission in the City Council Chambers and at 7 p.m. on Mar. 14 with the City Council, according to Grover. A project planning portal has been created and it is https://planaberdeen.com or you may visit the city's website for the link and updates on the 2022 Comprehensive Plan. The draft 2022 Comprehensive Plan will be completed by the end of October, and it is anticipated that the City Council will adopt the plan the following month, according to Grover. A new interactive map published by the University of Michigan found that students in Michigan who have experienced homelessness were twice as likely to be suspended or expelled as the statewide average of students who were suspended or expelled. The data map is an extension from a report released by the U of Ms Poverty Solutions initiative that analyzed data from the 2017-18 school year. An estimated one in 10 Michigan students will experience homelessness by the time they leave their K-12 education, according to the report. Sign up here for The 74s daily newsletter. Donate here to support The 74's independent journalism. The main takeaway really is that there is a lot of room for improvement and more investigation and research needs to be done, not only into the areas where the rates are really high, but into the areas of where the rates are low, to find out what is happening, said Jennifer Erb-Downward, a senior research associate at Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan. The map shows that some districts had rates below 5%, while others had a rate of over 40%. Only 50 out of 537 non-charter public school districts made up one-third of all students who were suspended or expelled in the 2017-18 school year. Those 50 school districts only served about 13% of students in Michigan. In 48 school districts, over 25% of students who had experienced homelessness were suspended or expelled. The 10 school districts where discipline rates for students who had experienced homelessness were the highest included: Benton Harbor Area Schools at 41.1%, Atlanta Community Schools at 40.7%, Flint City School District at 40.5%, Kelloggsville Public Schools at 38.8%, Beecher Community School District at 38.7%, Alba Public Schools at 38.1%, Hamtramck Public Schools at 37.9%, Eastpointe Community Schools at 37.2%, Westwood Community Schools at 36.2%, and Kalamazoo Public School District at 34.9%. None of these school districts responded to a request for comment. Story continues There were 60 school districts that had no suspensions or expulsions reported in statewide data as a result of either zero suspensions or expulsions or their failure to report using these discipline practices. Erb-Downward also highlighted the impacts of housing instability on students, saying many people do not accurately grasp the impact that housing instability has on children from an educational perspective, or from a health perspective. Reality is we have a lot of kids in the United States who are experiencing housing instability and homelessness and this type of instability really has an educational impact, Erb-Downward said. And it has a health impact that [and] has a mental health impact. If we dont recognize that as a society, were not going to be able to provide the support that kids really need to succeed. A study by the American Institutes for Research found that, generally, suspensions do not disincentivize misbehavior in the future and that more severe school discipline translates into worse academic performance. Another 2018 study found that children, 12 years after a suspension, were less likely to go on to earn college degrees and were more likely to be arrested than students who never faced suspensions. Peri Stone-Palmquist, executive director of the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan, said its important for school districts to really take a close look, not to be defensive, but just to be curious about the data from the U of M. We know that behavior is communication, Stone-Palmquist said. And we know that homelessness is experienced as a traumatic event for young people. So it makes sense that you might see an increase in behavior, both during homelessness and an after. I think whats unfortunate and sad is that were not thinking about other ways to handle that behavior in schools. A package of bills introduced in the Michigan Legislature last yeartakes aim at reforming the states disciplinary systems, with the specific intention of mitigating the effects of zero-tolerance policies that were scrapped in 2016 after subjecting students to expulsions or suspensions after just one act of misconduct. The package of bills, Senate Bills 634, 635 and 636, were introduced by state Sens. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) and Adam Hollier (D-Detroit). The bills, which havent moved from the Senate Education and Career Readiness Committee, would establish guidelines for schools to release reports regarding how many days a student was suspended for; their race, ethnicity and gender; and their current economic and living situation. The bills also seek to establish due process for students facing disciplinary action as well as adding a living situation factor to the seven factors of whether a student should face disciplinary action. Irwin told the Advance the U of M report shines a light on how much of a problem school disciplinary action is for students who have experienced homelessness. When folks are struggling to fit in, when folks are struggling to connect those positive elements of the community, its extra important that the community reach out and try to help them connect, because thats healthy behavior, Irwin said. Thats how we get a healthy community. Erb-Downward said the interactive data map should also further empower state and local leaders to figure out better methods on how to help kids navigate strong feelings and emotions and to create a school environment thats safe for all students. When were starting to suspend and expel one in 10 children who have ever experienced homelessness in their life up to that point, were not helping those kids whove experienced trauma and have some real challenges, Erb-Downward said. They need support. Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter. Related: Sign up for The 74s newsletter It's been a sad week for Bank of Georgia Group PLC (LON:BGEO), who've watched their investment drop 15% to UK13.26 in the week since the company reported its yearly result. The result was positive overall - although revenues of GEL1.3b were in line with what the analysts predicted, Bank of Georgia Group surprised by delivering a statutory profit of GEL15.40 per share, modestly greater than expected. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year. Check out our latest analysis for Bank of Georgia Group Following the latest results, Bank of Georgia Group's six analysts are now forecasting revenues of GEL1.59b in 2022. This would be a major 21% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to rise 5.9% to GEL16.30. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of GEL1.50b and earnings per share (EPS) of GEL13.80 in 2022. There's been a pretty noticeable increase in sentiment, with the analysts upgrading revenues and making a decent improvement in earnings per share in particular. Despite these upgrades,the analysts have not made any major changes to their price target of UK21.35, suggesting that the higher estimates are not likely to have a long term impact on what the stock is worth. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic Bank of Georgia Group analyst has a price target of UK27.90 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at UK14.00. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business. Story continues One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. It's clear from the latest estimates that Bank of Georgia Group's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 21% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2022 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 12% p.a. over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 4.4% per year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Bank of Georgia Group is expected to grow much faster than its industry. The Bottom Line The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Bank of Georgia Group following these results. Happily, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting revenues to grow faster than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates. Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have forecasts for Bank of Georgia Group going out to 2024, and you can see them free on our platform here. Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Bank of Georgia Group that you should be aware of. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. PROVIDENCE Hospital systems, nursing homes and other health care organizations had mixed reactions Friday to the Rhode Island Department of Health's announcement this week that it may ease the COVID-19 vaccination mandate on health care workers. The mandate, announced in August and implemented in October, was met with resistance from some individuals and entities. Contention subsided, however, as autumn progressed and the delta and omicron variants ravaged the state and nation. The proposed easing which would allow "workers who are not up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations to return to work provided they "wear a medical-grade N95 mask when transmission rates in Rhode Island are substantial" are open for public comment until March 25. "Lifespan strongly supports health care worker vaccinations to protect our team members and patients from COVID and other diseases," Jane Bruno, the system's senior vice president of marketing and communications, told The Journal on Friday. "Lifespan supports the RIDOHs efforts to mitigate risk for health care workers and help keep patients safe." Care New England will "track the further activity on the proposed regulation before considering changes to current requirements," according to spokeswoman Raina Smith. Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz: As COVID surged at state hospital, chief medical officer panned school COVID precautions New CDC guidelines on COVID risk: More than 70% of Americans can take off their masks indoors Westerly Hospital, which belongs to the Yale New Haven Health system, anticipates no changes, according to spokeswoman Fiona Phelan. "Yale New Haven Health is committed to protecting the health of our patients and staff," Phelan wrote in an email. "As such, our employees are still required to have two doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or one dose of J&J. Boosters are also mandatory as of March 31, unless the staff member receives an approved religious or medical exemption." Story continues Healthy drinking water: Move to cap 'forever chemicals' in RI drinking water still under discussion South County Health spokesman Eric Dickervitz said "we will be reviewing the new proposal as we always do, with patient and employee quality and safety as our primary concern." "Well have no comment at this time," CharterCARE spokesman Otis Brown said. CharterCARE owns Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence. RI's hospital staffing is in crisis: A message from nurses and doctors inside the ICU Brad Dufault, spokesman for United Nurses and Allied Professionals, told The Journal that the union plans no change in policy should the Health Department adopt the new rule. "UNAPs position on the vaccine requirement for health care workers has not changed," Dufault said. "We continue to support the mandate. While this recent omicron wave may be subsiding, the pandemic is not over and we still have too many COVID patients in our hospitals. We must continue to ensure our hospitals are safe for patients and health care workers, and we urge all Rhode Islanders to get vaccinated and boosted in an effort to prevent another surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths." Labor shortage: Should Rhode Island give bonuses to private-sector workers, as some states have done? Teresa Paiva Weed, president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, said the vaccination mandate is "an important part of the state response to maintain the health and well-being of the health care workforce and patients seeking care." The association. Paiva Weed said, "continues to encourage all health care workers and eligible Rhode Islanders to get fully vaccinated. But nursing homes must also meet federal regulations, according to John E. Gage, president & CEO of the Rhode Island Health Care Association. Gage shared an email the association sent to 64 facilities on Friday in which he wrote that the federal "Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate will become fully implemented and effective February 28, 2022 prior to the implementation of any [state] changes to these regulations. Per the Federal Health Care Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate, any RI provider who participates with Medicare or Medicaid must ensure their employees must be fully vaccinated by February 25, 2022 (today)." Gage wrote that "the real change" affecting nursing homes involves the definition of "up to date." That, he stated, "means a person has received all recommended doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, including any booster dose(s) when eligible per CDC guidance. Therefore, you CANNOT (re)hire unvaccinated workers. For your vaccinated staff, if they are up to date, they do not have to wear an N-95 mask during periods of substantial transmission. "Those vaccinated staff who are NOT up to date (vaccinated but have not received booster dose(s) when eligible MUST wear an N-95 whenever the states transmissibility rate is 'substantial' at or above 50 new cases/100,000 or higher. Currently, RIs transmissibility rate is 139.3 new cases/100,000 or 'high.' If this regulation is passed, your staff who are up to date would be required to wear an N-95 mask until such time as the transmissibility lessens to the moderate or low category less than 50 new cases/100,000." COVID by the numbers Cases in R.I.: 355,509 (215 reported Friday) Negative tests in R.I.: 7,040,260 (6,338 reported Friday, 3.2% positive rate) R.I. COVID-related deaths: 3,406 (0 reported Friday) Rhode Islanders hospitalized with COVID: 142 (9 in intensive care) Fully vaccinated in R.I.: 815,879 (936,469 at least partially vaccinated) Cases in Mass.: 1,668,242 Mass COVID-related deaths: 23,341 Cases in U.S.: 78,835,812 U.S. COVID-related deaths: 945,843 This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI may ease the COVID vaccine mandate for health care workers MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has banned British airlines from landing at its airports or crossing its airspace, its state civil aviation regulator said on Friday. The move follows London's ban on the flights of Russian flag carrier Aeroflot imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by John Stonestreet) A British Airways Airbus A380. Philip Pilosian / Shutterstock.com Russia said on Friday that all UK airplanes were banned from entering its airspace. The ban was a response to "unfriendly decisions" made by UK aviation authorities, Russia said. British Airways told Insider it has canceled flights to Moscow and is avoiding Russian airspace. Russia has banned all UK airplanes from landing or crossing into its airspace, Reuters first reported on Friday, a day after the British government barred Russian carriers from entering the UK. Russia's civil aviation regulator announced on Friday morning that any aircraft owned, leased or operated by individuals associated with the UK, or registered there, would not be allowed to enter its airspace. The move was a response to "unfriendly decisions" made by the UK Aviation Authorities, the Russian regulator said in the announcement. The UK government banned all Russian airlines including the country's flag carrier, Aeroflot from entering its airspace Thursday. The decision to restrict Russian flights was part of a fresh round of sanctions announced by the UK government Thursday following President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. "Putin's heinous actions will not be ignored, and we will never tolerate those who put people's lives in danger," Grant Shapps, secretary of state for transport in the UK, tweeted Thursday. Not long before Russia announced its ban, the owner of British Airways, International Airlines Group, said it was avoiding Russian airspace, CEO Luis Gallego told Reuters. "We are avoiding Russian airspace for the time being," Gallego told Reuters on Friday. "The impact for us is not huge because right now we are only flying to a small number of destinations in Asia and we can reroute our flights." A British Airways spokesperson told Insider that the airline has suspended flights to Moscow and would avoid Russian airspace following the announcement of Russia's restrictions. The latest UK sanctions come on top of moves outlined by London in response to Russia ordering troops into two breakaway regions of Ukraine earlier in the week, which included sanctioning five Russian banks and three individuals. Read the original article on Business Insider MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with officials from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics of eastern Ukraine on Friday on their plans to open embassies in Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees on Monday to recognise the two breakaway regions as independent states before ordering a full-blown invasion of Ukraine. The ministry said in a statement the sides would discuss Russian military operations in Ukraine, as well as the opening of the embassies of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in Moscow. They will also discuss the opening of Russian diplomatic outposts in the two regions. Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, collectively known as the Donbass, broke away from Ukrainian government control in 2014 and proclaimed themselves independent "people's republics". Putin authorised "a special military operation" against Ukraine on Thursday to eliminate what he called a serious security threat to Russia. He said his aim was to demilitarise Russia's southern neighbour. Ukraine said its capital Kyiv and other parts of the country were struck by Russian missiles in the early hours of Friday. A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces would enter areas just outside Kyiv later on Friday. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Susan Fenton and Gareth Jones) Lake Forests Abel E. and Mildred Fagen House appeared destined for demolition, deemed too expensive to repair. However, the house got a reprieve when a local architect purchased the one-story home in embarking on a renovation. - Original Credit: Lake Forester (Eileen Campbell / HANDOUT) Not that long ago, Lake Forests Abel E. and Mildred Fagen House appeared destined for demolition, deemed too expensive to repair. However, the house got a reprieve when a local architect purchased the one-story home in embarking on a renovation. Those efforts paid off earlier this month when it was one of 15 Illinois sites placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Advertisement It is really exciting to be able to save a house that might have been demolished or severely changed, said that local architect Chris Enck. There is so much demolition of historic and existing houses in the suburbs, especially as the housing market has taken off in the last couple of years. Sitting on 2 acres in the 1700 block of Devonshire Lane in the western part of the city, the Fagen House was designed by the Keck & Keck architectural firm, combining modernist style with influences from noted architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Advertisement In its announcement of the selection to the National Register, the IDNR mentioned how the house features natural materials such as limestone, cedar and glass, with a design displaying careful attention to detail, while not using historic references. Local architectural historian Arthur Miller provided additional details on the styles used by the Keck & Keck team, whose homes dot the North Shore. This house uses the modernist international style with walls of windows on the south, with the great big Frank Lloyd Wright overhang, immense roofs, said Miller, who is also a member of the Lake Forest Preservation Foundation. Miller spoke admiringly of the original placement of the roofs allowing for smart energy use. That meant low-angle winter sunlight could get into the house, but high summer sunlight couldnt get into house, Miller said. The homes history goes back over 70 years as designed in 1948, the Fagens were the client/residents as Mildred Fagen was a prominent figure in the local arts community and served on a committee at Lake Forest College, according to Miller. Yet many years later, a cloud began to hang over the homes future in an era of redevelopment, combined with the original property being subdivided, according to Miller. Miller recounted how the house then appeared to be safe from demolition when notable Chicago artist Franklin McMahon and his wife Irene moved in approximately 30 years ago, according to Miller. It then received recognition from the local preservation foundation for historic importance and its condition. Advertisement But after the McMahon sold the house, new problems surfaced when someone rented it. Someone was camping out there and destroying it, Miller said. As the condition of the house deteriorating combined with the effects of the 2008 financial crash on the greater real estate market, Miller acknowledged he was resigned to demolition because of economics and the high costs of preservation. That is when Enck entered. Enck, a preservation architect, who once moved a house from Wilmette to Evanston, and volunteers with Landmarks Illinois, discovered the Fagen house through that organizations website. Intrigued with the prospect of a renovation of a house with a distinctive exterior, notably the projecting triangular roof corners, Enck purchased the house in 2019. Advertisement Shortly after the purchase, Enck applied to have the house designated as a local landmark, which was approved in June 2019. Like Miller, Enck admired Keck & Keck for their early sustainability practices. They were one of the first architecture firms with passive solar design to use the power of the sun to help heat the house, Enck said. They were really early in their time for doing that in the 1940s and 1950s. After the purchase, Enck and his associates faced a task of salvaging a house where the bathrooms and cabinets could be preserved, but the HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems needed to be replaced, as well as large chunks of the homes interior. Moreover, a new roof had to be installed. The work began both inside and outside, with Enck crediting local architect John Eifler with the suggestion of removing non-original dark stain, thus highlighting a feature of the original construction. Advertisement The natural cedar siding, and the stone, and the big walls on the side of the house were most striking from the exterior, Enck said. Enck said an area of the kitchen (which has been reconfigured) and flooring materials still need to be installed, but even with the coronavirus pandemic causing delays, he hopes the process will be completed within a couple of months, and he is now in negotiations to sell the house. Its been a fun project to spend so much time in the space, and learning about the architects, and learning about the families who have lived there in the past, Enck said. The Fagen house joins over 25 other properties in the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff area listed on the National Registry, according to IDNR spokeswoman Jayette Bolinski. WASHINGTON Few regions on Earth are as poorly equipped to handle military conflict as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine, where a reactor meltdown in 1986 caused the greatest release of radioactive material in human history. But two days of occupation by Russian forces have raised concerns that safety issues are being ignored. Russian and Ukrainian forces waged a battle at the site of the nuclear facility on Thursday, with Russia ultimately prevailing, and prompting questions about the safety of the plant, which is in the process of being decommissioned. After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe, Myhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told the Associated Press. So far, there is no reason to believe that either Ukrainians living nearby or anyone else is endangered by the recent developments. But the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement on Friday that it was of vital importance that the safe and secure operations of the zones nuclear facilities should not be affected or disrupted in any way. The agency confirmed Ukrainian reports of higher radioactivity readings caused by heavy military vehicles stirring up soil that is soaked through with some of the most dangerous elements known to humankind. The Ukrainian National Guard holds a training exercise near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on Feb. 4. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images) Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, said on Friday that Russian forces were holding 92 workers at the plant hostage. Chernobyls fragile and fraught peace was shattered on Thursday, when Russian troops crossed the border between Ukraine and Belarus, part of an invasion that has been widely condemned by the international community and by many Russian citizens. When the reactor melted down on April 26, 1986, during what was supposed to be an ordinary test, an explosion followed by raging fires spewed radiation into the atmosphere. The accident is believed to have released far more radioactivity than did the detonation of a nuclear bomb in Hiroshima. Since then, the site has required constant attention. On Thursday, the White House described the Russian occupation of Chernobyl as incredibly alarming and gravely concerning, in keeping with its broader condemnation of the Ukrainian occupation. MONMOUTH Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "a dark day for everyone" and it will have implications for geopolitics, U.S. politics and everyday American life, according to Monmouth College political science professors. "Although the Russian invasion of Ukraine may seem distant, we are going to feel the effects of it in the United States whether we engage in military combat or not," said Monmouth political science professor Andre Audette. "We will almost certainly have higher gas prices at a time where inflation is already hurting American consumers. I suspect that this will drive a deeper wedge through the current partisan divide. This is also another challenge to preserving the standing of democracy, rule of law and the international order." Smoke and flame rise near a military building after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian troops have launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine. Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of a Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. Department colleague Michael Nelson said "they're at least six reasons why Americans should care about this story." "This is clearly a gross injustice against the Ukrainians, as a country and as a people. It's also a clear violation of international law and norms at a scale that we have not seen in recent history, and that is something that should concern us all," said Nelson. Nelson said that Russia's invasion is also "indicative of the rise of authoritarianism in the world." "It's a challenge to democracies everywhere, and something we should be paying attention to," he said. "It also threatens the peace and stability of Europe, and I think that's also something that we should care about with our allies over there." Especially worrisome is that Russian military aggression "could be a signal to other countries." "A lot of people have their eyes on China and China's actions with Taiwan," said Nelson. "If we don't respond well to Russia, then this could be an incentive for others to do similar actions, or Russia itself, in the future." The final reason that Americans should care about this war is because of assurances made to Ukraine shortly after it became an independent nation in 1991. Story continues "Ukraine had nuclear weapons at the end of the Cold War, and in 1994, we made an agreement with the U.K. and with Russia and Ukraine that we would respect Ukraine's sovereignty and that we would assure, not guarantee, their security," said Nelson. "And so what President Joe Biden is doing right now is following through on the promises we made to the Ukrainians back in 1994." Limited options Monmouth's political science professors said that both domestic and military factors limit the U.S. response to the Russian invasion to severe political and economic sanctions. "With Russia's access to nuclear weapons and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's very clear declarations that anyone against him would face severe consequences, we have to recognize that we are also facing some concrete limits on what we can do here," said Nelson. "And I think that that's something that we'll be facing over the next weeks, months to come. This is going to be tragic, horribly tragic." Monmouth College political science professor Michael Nelson. Audette said that Putin "seems to be taking advantage of the internal weakness and division in countries" such as the United States, where President Biden has limited options to respond to Russian aggression. "Polls show that Americans are still reeling from long ground wars in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Audette. "We are also highly polarized, and former President Donald Trump and his allies are casting Biden as a weak president while taking a tepid stand against Russian aggression. Even some in the Democratic Party are grumbling that the Russian issue will detract from Biden's upcoming State of the Union address, Supreme Court nomination, and attempt to reset his political agenda ahead of the midterm election." Russians' reaction Monmouth College political science professor Jessica Vivian Political science professor Jessica Vivian said that Russians' "appetite for this adventure" might also affect the outcome in Ukraine. "The Russian people were considering this to be basically propaganda by the U.S.," said Vivian. "They thought, 'Of course, we won't go to war with Ukraine.' That's because they think of the Ukrainians as their cousins, their brothers, their compatriots. Once the news starts penetrating the Russian population, how willing are they going to be to go along with that? Russia's Crimean invasion (of 2014) was very popular at home, but there was not a shot fired. Widespread bombing is going to be a different situation." Nevertheless, Nelson said that for Europeans, the outbreak of war on the continent is scary. "It's something that was mostly unthinkable for a lot of people," said Nelson. "We're hearing that for a lot of Russians this was unthinkable. They didn't recognize that their own leaders were going to take them to war in this way, and they're only now awakening to that. It will be interesting to see how the Russian people react to this over the coming weeks as they face these sanctions, as they have to evaluate the actions of their own government. I hope that many of them will be disappointed and will act on that disappointment." Impact on U.S. elections Audette said that Russia's war on Ukraine could also affect this fall's general elections in the United States. Monmouth College political science professor Andre Audette. "Political scientists often refer to the 'midterm law,' which means that an incumbent president's party nearly always loses seats in Congress in the midterm election," said Audette. "One exception to this was 2002 when there was a 'rally-around-the-flag' effect for George W. Bush and the Republicans after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The difference between this election and that one, however, is that the country was relatively united in support of war, while today we face more polarization and division. It's too early to tell exactly how this will impact the election, but there are relatively few scenarios I see in which it helps Democrats." Audette said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could reshape the geopolitical map. "Depending on how far Putin plans to take this, we may be in store for a vastly different world than we lived in yesterday," said Audette. "It is a dark day for everyone." This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Monmouth College professors on Ukraine: 'A dark day for everyone' Santa Ana police are asking for the public's help in finding a man suspected of rerouting more than $1 million worth of coronavirus tests from a warehouse where he worked to his home. Carlitos Peralta, 33, of Santa Ana was a warehouse manager for the Covid Clinic at 3401 W. MacArthur Blvd., said Sgt. Maria Lopez, a police spokeswoman. The business has seven warehouses across the United States and ships tests to clinics, pop-up sites, schools, hotels and other customers, according to a police alert. Peralta had access to the Covid Clinic's shipping and delivery system, the alert said. Lopez said Peralta rerouted one shipment to his home by putting a co-worker's name down as the sender. That co-worker alerted their supervisors, who informed police, she said. Detectives tried to arrest Peralta on Feb. 9 but weren't able to find him, Lopez said. He remains at large. A preliminary investigation found that Peralta started rerouting shipments on Dec. 30, she said. The scheme continued until Feb. 7. The total number of tests stolen isn't known, but detectives found that nearly 100 shipments were sent to his home, police said. Authorities estimate the total value of the tests is $1,000,575. Anyone with information on Peralta's whereabouts is asked to call Det. Rashad Wilson at (714) 245-8551 or email him at RashadWilson@santa-ana.org. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Vietnamese, Singaporean leaders agree to foster cooperation across spheres President Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with his host Singaporean counterpart Halimah Yacob on February 25 following a welcome ceremony earlier the same day. At the meeting between President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his host Singaporean counterpart Halimah Yacob (Photo: VNA) At the meeting, Yacob emphasised the significance of Phucs visit, noting this is the first State visit to Singapore by a foreign leader after the COVID-19 broke out. The host expressed her belief that the visit will contribute to raising the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership to a new high. For his part, Phuc affirmed that Vietnam always wishes to boost the bilateral strategic partnership practically and effectively. The leaders expressed their delight at the rapid and strong developments of the bilateral ties, especially after the establishment of the strategic partnership in 2013. Mutual political trust has been consolidated and economic cooperation become a bright spot in the region, they said. The two reached consensus on major cooperation orientations to mark the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties, and 10 years of the strategic partnership in 2023. Accordingly, the two countries will soon resume all-level delegation exchanges, maintain bilateral cooperation mechanisms to remove difficulties, and beef up cooperation in specific spheres. They will focus on boosting economic links and pay attention to cooperation in such areas as digital economy, digital transformation, innovation, high-quality human resources development, and green, sustainable growth. On this occasion, the leaders welcomed the mutual recognition of vaccine certificates which facilitates travelling and trade of the two countries, and contributes to socio-economic recovery and development in each nation. They also consented to foster partnerships in other fields like education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange, as well as cooperation at regional and international forums. President Phuc invited President Yacob and her spouse to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time. The Singaporean leader accepted the invitation with pleasure. China expects robust rigid demand for housing, the country's housing regulator said Thursday, with demand in the sector shored up by an influx of migrants to urban areas and people's desire for better housing. Over 11 million new jobs are created in urban areas every year, one factor that has generated rigid demand for housing in the country, Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development, told a press conference. China is still in the stage of rapid urbanization, as indicated by the increase in population and the number of families in urban areas, Wang noted. Official data shows that the number of permanent urban residents in China had risen to 64.72 percent of its population by the end of 2021, with the number expected to continue growing amid the country's urbanization drive. On top of demand from new arrivals in cities, Wang said that exiting city-dwellers also wish to improve their living environment and conditions, while residential communities built before 2000 are failing to satisfy the desire for bigger and better houses. China's urban development has entered a crucial phase of urban renewal and the country boasts great domestic demand, Wang said, explaining that that process entails upgrading old infrastructure as well as building it anew. Factoring in these demands, the ministry plans to ramp up the supply of government-subsidized rental housing, including the provision of 2.4 million housing units this year, and to renovate over 1.2 million homes in run-down areas, according to Wang. While rolling out policies to ensure that both rigid demand for housing and the demand for improvements are met, China will also make efforts to stabilize the prices of land and houses, as well as expectations. The minister said that the country will work to make sure that the property market is running smoothly and maintain the continuity and stability of regulatory policies. The rebuilding of old urban residential communities, along with major renovation projects like urban pipeline networks, will be promoted, Wang said, adding that the country also aims to advance the construction of new infrastructure that is digitalized, network-based and intelligent. In a tone-setting annual economic meeting held in December, China pledged efforts to better cater to the reasonable demand from home buyers and adopt city-specific policies to boost the virtuous cycle and healthy development of the sector. As the real-estate industry is an important sector in bolstering the domestic market, the ministry will take measures to expand domestic demand and stabilize growth, making contributions to broader economic development, Wang said. BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia respects Ukraine's territorial integrity and considers Russia's military action against it to be "wrong," but will not impose sanctions against Moscow, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday. Serbia, led by Vucic, is performing a delicate balancing act between its European aspirations, partnership with NATO and its centuries-old religious, ethnic and political alliance with Russia. But as tensions between Russia and the European Union over Ukraine are rising, Serbia is under pressure to harmonise its foreign policy with that of the EU, which it aims to join, and introduce sanctions against Moscow, among other things. "They (Russia) were the only country not to have imposed sanctions against us in the 1990s," Vucic said after a National Security Council meeting. "They also supported our territorial integrity in the United Nations. We must not forget that," Vucic said, referring to Russia's stance on Serbia's former province of Kosovo whose independence Moscow refuses to recognise. However, Vucic said the National Security Council concluded the Republic of Serbia considers "very wrong the violation of territorial integrity of a number of countries including Ukraine." Serbia has put its gas and oil sectors in Russia's hands. In 2008 the Balkan country sold a majority stake of its oil company to Gazprom Neft. Gazprom is the majority stakeholder in the country's sole gas storage facility. In return, Russia has been blocking membership of Serbia's former province Kosovo in the United Nations. Serbia lost control of Kosovo after a NATO bombing campaign in 1999 to halt killing of ethnic Albanians by Serb forces during a two-year counterinsurgency. Vucic said the National Security Council decided that Serbia will stop all military drills with foreign troops to preserve military neutrality. He said Serbia will take legal action against its citizens who fight abroad. (Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; editing by Jonathan Oatis) Baken co-founder Ms Rachel Carrasco. (PHOTO: Rachel Carrasco) When it comes to taking the bull by the horns, marketing guru and serial entrepreneur Rachel Carrasco welcomes the opportunity to jump on for a wild ride. Ms Carrasco moved to Singapore from the Philippines in 2012, quickly scoring several high-powered jobs, eventually becoming the brand manager for LVMH's prestige champagne houses Dom Perignon, Krug and Ruinart in 2014. She also scored stints later as Regional Senior Brand Manager APAC for Kimberly-Clark and in 2020 to manage CRM for its baby care brand, Huggies. While managing a busy professional life, Ms Carrasco has also recently launched two of her own gourmet food brands - Baken and a ready-to-drink canned cocktail brand Rio. She is definitely not one to sit still. Why start a business during a global pandemic? "Baken and Rio had been in the pipeline for quite some time prior to the pandemic," Ms Carrasco explains. "It does take time to launch a brand, especially if it entails mapping out an extensive supply chain model." According to Ms Carrasco, ideas for Baken started percolating in 2018, and thoughts about Rio began in 2019. "When my partners pitched the idea of Rio to me, it was at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Ironically, as I was going through some shifts that year, that also put me in a good position to take risks," says Ms Carrasco. "You could say that with every yes I said, it was followed by a big question of, but will we make it through? Fortunately, we're still here today, and I believe we're barely scratching the surface of what these brands can do. "I'd like to think that while the pandemic brought along a couple of speed bumps and even setbacks on some days, it too gave us the gift of time. Time to reassess our position and improve on our playbooks, our products, and our people and time to capitalise on an audience that was tuned in almost 24/7." While both brands come from the same creative team, Baken and Rio have been designed with different markets in mind, all based on rigorous research. Story continues "There will always be brands - or specific products of a brand - that will be perfect for certain countries or regions. And as a brand owner, this is where your expertise comes in," Ms Carrasco explains. "Sometimes you can decide to have a heavy presence and heavy investment in a market, depending on factors like consumer behaviours, cultural values, and spending power; and other times you may just decide on brand presence yet have zero to low investment." Baken products. (PHOTO: Rachel Carrasco) Ms Carrasco says that the aim for Baken has always been to become a global brand, and they are already looking to expand into other regions like the Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. "With the nature of our products (pork), it requires us to go at it in phases. Our initial phase is APAC, and that alone already consists of several layers of regulatory compliances. In the interim, Baken is available in select APAC countries via our online store in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia," says Ms Carrasco. Unlike Baken, Rio's ready-to-drink canned cocktail brand was a pre-existing global brand, which Ms Carrasco's team bought the exclusive distributor rights for the Philippine market. "Unlike the rest of the markets in APAC who launched with the classic series, we decided to launch with the strong series. Our rationale is that Filipino drinkers are quite known to be hard drinkers, often finding ways to get a stronger buzz. So why not Rio Strong? One can is equivalent to three cans of beer, and has zero to fewer calories versus regular hard seltzers, and is available in six refreshing flavours," explains Ms Carrasco. Dealing with the vagaries of business When it comes to working on different brands, Ms Carrasco says that each brand has various issues to deal with: "Each brand brings with it its own unique experiences. It always does. And though Rio and Baken may have launched separately, it always feels like things are happening concurrently!" "I would say Rio is easier to deal with as the foundations have already been set for us and all we had to do is localise it. The responsibility I was also tasked with was to focus on the brand and marketing while my partners covered operations. And with my background in fine wines and spirits, this is a job I can do with my eyes closed," says Ms Carrasco. However, it has not always been easy. Ms Carrasco admits to having some "facepalm moments" during the launch phase of the brands. "Every time we would set a launch date, the [coronavirus] cases in the Philippines would surge so the government would impose liquor bans. We'd all be like, come on; we just want to launch! But then, we would end up using the extra time to refine our work further, so nothing was ever truly wasted." "Baken though is an entirely different - and new - ball game. As this is a brand we are building from scratch, we all contribute to all work areas. On top of that, we are learning as we go. For example, having been working on this for a little over three years now, we have started running jokes internally." "One of which was when I bounced the idea of the brand to my business partner Kelly. I said, 'I want to make ready-to-eat bacon in a bag. Crispy bacon, not jerky. No one has ever done it before.' Well, let me tell you what I'm learning now... I know exactly why no one has ever done it before. But hey... nothing is ever impossible, so we keep going!" However, when it comes to being a female entrepreneur, Ms Carrasco doesn't let business vagaries get to her, saying that she hasn't experienced any particular issues regarding being a woman and working in the branding industry. "None so far. Though I do encourage women to speak up should they come face to face with such gender bias issues," says Ms Carrasco. "Gender is gender male, female, non-binary, etc. their character and capabilities should always measure one's success. "Besides, we are all unique individuals. We each have our own gifts to bring to the table. I'm all for the collective." Top tips on launching a brand 1. Know Your Why. This is the very first thing to answer why are you doing what you're doing? Whether that is a personal or professional goal or both, you must be able to answer this. It's more than just a mission and vision statement. It's your purpose. And when you know this, trust me, it will make the ride more manageable. 2. Be Savvy. There's no perfect formula to the success of a brand, but if you can be a winning combination of commercially and creatively savvy, you'll go a long way. This will help you ensure that every $ spent on creative thinking will ROI in multiple $ values. 3. Get Good People. There definitely is no I in 'brand team', so you can use all the help you can get! Build your A-team; it will move the dial faster than doing it alone. Where our brands are today has got a lot to do with the teams working behind it. I'm incredibly grateful for them. 4. Trust Your Gut. I had made the best decisions when I trusted my gut. Learn to listen to it. It will give you a sounding yes, or no, or ask me again later. It's usually right. 5. Take Your Time. This one is the most challenging, personally. Sometimes when push comes to shove, the tendency is to panic and then rush, and then you suddenly have made room for errors. So, yes, set timelines but go at a steady pace especially if it's a new brand. Remind yourself... there is time. I chant this every day. You can shop Baken online at shopbaken.com. And you can follow Baken on Instagram at @shopbaken. (ABC6) One person was killed after a small plane crashed in a residential neighbourhood in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The plane hit an unoccupied truck before bursting into flames when it came down in Hilltown Township, north of Philadelphia, on Thursday evening, according to CBS3. The Federal Aviation Administration says that one pilot was on board the plane and the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will now investigate the crash. Township police say that no homes were damaged in the incident, whihc took place just miles from the Pennridge Airport, but they have asked people to avoid the area. Firefighters put out the blaze, but helicopter footage showed burned out piece of the aircraft on the street, with a blue sheet covering up the cockpit. Helicopter footage also showed firefighters surrounding the wreckage. The house shook, resident Amanda Cichanowsky told The Morning Call. #BREAKING UPDATE: @SkyForce10 is over the scene of a small plane crash in Perkasie, Bucks County. At least one person died in the crash: https://t.co/PvxTgx3nmy pic.twitter.com/y0Sl3IekRi NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) February 24, 2022 We at first thought a motorcycle hit a pole or tree. We ran outside and saw a plane hit the corner of our intersection, about 100 yards from our house. The plane was engulfed in flames. There was a car parked on the corner that I guess also caught fire when fluid from the plane spread to the car. Nobody was in the car, though. And she added: Everybody in our neighborhood was calling 911 at the same time. Luckily, we have quite a few families in the neighborhood who are firefighters and they came to the scene within 30 seconds. Police cars sit outside John Adams High School as the school continues a lockdown following an incident on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2021, in South Bend. SOUTH BEND A 15-year-old, who officials say stabbed a classmate in a bathroom at Adams High School in January after stealing a THC vape cartridge from him, pleaded guilty this week. The boy was originally charged with armed robbery, battery with a deadly weapon, battery with serious bodily injury and bringing a weapon onto school property, all of which would be felony charges if committed by an adult. As a condition of the boy admitting to the charges at a hearing Thursday, prosecutors have reduced the armed robbery charge to robbery and dismissed the battery with a deadly weapon count. The student will be sentenced next month in juvenile court and will remain in custody at the Juvenile Justice Center until the dispositional hearing. The Tribune does not name juvenile suspects unless they are charged in adult court. Indiana: Jury: Mishawaka doctor who drove through protesters guilty of criminal recklessness The agreement also stipulates the boy "agrees to identify all parties involved" and to testify truthfully "at all proceedings related to the robbery." Police and medics were called to Adams shortly after 8 a.m. on Jan. 11 after a teacher and the school's student resource officer found a student with stab wounds in a second-floor bathroom. The student told police five males attacked him, according to scanner traffic from the incident. South Bend police officers detained "several" juveniles over the course of the day as they investigated the stabbing, though only one teenager has been charged in connection to the incident as of Friday, per a spokesman for the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's office. Court documents say the accused assailant stabbed his classmate in the rib cage and that the attack caused "extreme pain." The 15-year-old threatened the victim with a knife and took "currency and/or THC cartridges" from him, the documents say. The victim's uncle told reporters last month that his 16-year-old nephew was stabbed in his lower left back and was hospitalized for four days. Story continues Were just lucky hes still alive, the boys uncle said. St. Joseph Probate Court Magistrate Graham Polando will preside over the teenager's sentencing in probate, or juvenile, court. Sentences, or dispositions, in probate courts are often focused on rehabilitation rather than punishment and could range from detention in the Indiana Department of Corrections, to house arrest and probation, to treatment in a secure facility. The defendant's attorneys and parents have previously petitioned Polando to release the boy to house arrest, saying he has no other criminal record and has behaved well while in custody. Polando ordered he remain in detention, saying the potential harm to the community outweighed any mitigating factors. Polando has also granted a no-contact order which prevents the defendant from contacting, or being contacted by, the victim or any potential witnesses in the incident. Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: A South Bend student has pleaded guilty to stabbing at Adams High School Support local journalism. Unlock unlimited digital access to floridatoday.com Click here and subscribe today. Cars backed up almost to Huntington Lane on Barton Blvd. from the Rockledge City Center, formerly the Village Green Shopping Center, for people waiting to be tested for COVID-19 during omicron's peak in January. As COVID-19 cases continue to fall, a local Department of Health official announced Friday that Brevard County may soon lose it's status as a community of high transmission and drop to a community of substantial transmission. But he warned, the pandemic is by no means over. "We still have a ways to go to get to that low level of transmission which is less than 10 cases per 100,000," John Davis, Community Health Nursing Director of the Florida Department of Health Brevard, told the weekly public briefing here. According to the CDC, a community of high transmission is one which cases are over 100 cases per 100,000 population and the percent positivity is over 10%. As of last week, the Space Coast had 214.3 cases per 100,000 population. To be a community of substantial transmission Brevard County would need to have between 50 and 100 cases per 100,000 population. Davis said if the trend continues the county may become a community of substantial transmission as early as next week. This comes on the heels of the CDC potentially changing its masking guidelines from relying on transmission rates to other community indicators. The CDC plans on announcing Friday that measures used when recommending face masks may change from being based on COVID-19 transmission rates to considering things like hospitalizations, hospital capacity in addition to case rates. Based on current CDC recommendations, Brevard County residents should wear a mask since it is a community of high transmission. When new recommendations come out this recommendation may change given the hospitalization rate and local hospital capacity. Davis stated that hospitalizations are down and hospitals are no longer overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases. Based on data from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Firsts four hospitals Holmes Regional Medical Center, Palm Bay Hospital, Viera Hospital, and Cape Canaveral Hospital, had an ICU capacity rate of 7.35%, 0%, 20% and 16.67% respectively as of Feb. 10. Story continues Steward Regional Medical Center's ICU capacity was at 33.33% and Rockledge Regional Medical center's ICU capacity was at 22.58%. And Parrish Medical Center in Titusville had an ICU capacity rate of 41.67%. In response to the potential change in recommendations Davis stated that, "Our health department is an integrated system. We're not coming out with recommendations on a county by county basis here, I mean this is driven as one department from the state level. So again, you know, based on the guidance that comes down from that level that's what we put out." In a Feb. 24 guidance statement from the Florida Department of Health, it announced that it would be changing its COVID-19 guidance, stating that "unlike CDC guidance, this guidance does not rely on wearing facial coverings in a community setting." The statement claimed that "there is not strong evidence that facial coverings reduce the transmission of respiratory viruses." New FDOH COVID-19 guidance recommends are as follows: If an individual tests positive for COVID-19 and is symptomatic they should social isolate for five days from when symptoms started. Individuals can go back to work after the five days of isolation if they are fever-free and if symptoms are getting better. If an individual tests positive for COVID-19 and is asymptomatic they should social distance for five days after getting a positive COVID-19 test. Individuals can go back to work after the five days if they are fever-free for 24 hours and symptoms, if any have appeared, are getting better. If individuals are exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, they should socially isolate if symptomatic. Quarantining is not necessary if an individual is asymptomatic after exposure to someone who tested positive but should monitor symptoms. Davis added that since transmission rates are still high, so doing things like hand hygiene and social distancing are still recommended. John Scott, Brevard County emergency management director, reiterated that residents should avoid crowded spaces and mask-up. "We want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to get down not just out of high transmission into substantial transmission but really what I'm talking about is getting into that low transmission," Scott said. Scott also said that as cases are on the decline and demand for testing is low, residents should get test kits as well as hand sanitizer in case there is another surge while demand is low. "Let's not wait till the next wave comes to get prepared," Scott said. Where to get tested: The following Brevard County Emergency Management Office-supported sites are available for COVID-19 testing. Florida Department of Health-Brevard, 2555 Judge Fran Jamison Way, Viera; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. This is a walk-up site. Preregister at nomihealth.com. Parrish Medical Center, 951 N. Washington Ave., Titusville; 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday. This is a drive-thru site. No appointments are required. West Melbourne Community Park, 3000 Minton Road, West Melbourne (use Fell Road entrance to the park); 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday. This is a walk-up site, with preregistration recommended, but walk-ins are welcome. Preregister at patientportalfl.com. Testing also is available to established or new Omni Healthcare patients at its offices in Brevard County. To book an appointment, patients can call their Omni doctor's office. Various other urgent-care centers, private physicians' offices and pharmacies also provide COVID-19 tests, and some retailers sell in-home test kits. Additionally, the website www.211Brevard.org has a list of sites offering testing. Some of those sites require reservations, while others allow walk-ins. Where to get vaccinated: The Florida Department of Health is offering COVID-19 vaccines at three sites. Melbourne clinic, 601 E. University Blvd., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Those ages 5-11 can get vaccinated only from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Friday. Titusville clinic, 611 N. Singleton Ave., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Those ages 5-11 can get vaccinated only from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Friday. Viera clinic, 2555 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Those ages 5-11 can get vaccinated only from 8 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday. Residents also can get vaccinated at Omni Healthcare's offices, as well as at its walk-in vaccination clinic located in Suite 303 on the third floor of 1344 S. Apollo Blvd. in Melbourne, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Vaccinations also are available from 9 a.m. to noon in Suite 2C of Omni's 1344 S. Apollo Blvd. complex. Walk-ins are accepted. But appointments can be made by calling 321-802-5515 or by emailing the request and including a name and phone number to COVID@OMNIhealthcare.com. COVID-19 vaccines also are available at pharmacies at various local CVS, Publix, Sams Club, Walgreens, Walmart and Winn-Dixie stores, as well as some urgent-care centers and physician offices. Check the individual site for appointment requirements and vaccine availability. Monoclonal antibody treatments: Dependent on the weekly allocation that Omni Healthcare receives from the state of Florida, Omni Healthcare will continue to administer the monoclonal antibody treatment sotrovimab to patients. Those interested in receiving the treatment can check whether supply is available that week on the website omnihealthcare.com and at covid19testbrevard.com. However, because of the nationwide shortage, eligibility is limited to patients who are unvaccinated and meet CDC guidelines. Treatment will be administered at Omni's offices on 1344 S. Apollo Blvd. Suite 303, in Melbourne, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays; and at 845 Century Medical Drive, Suite B, in Titusville, from 1 to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Amira Sweilem is the data reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Sweilem at 386-406-5648 or asweilem@floridatoday.com. Support local journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Amid declining case rates Space Coast officials warn residents to stay vigilant BERLIN (Reuters) - The head of Germany's foreign intelligence service was in Ukraine when Russia invaded and had to be taken home overland in a gruelling two-day journey by special forces when the country's airspace was closed, Focus magazine reported. The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) confirmed that Bruno Kahl had been in Ukraine on Wednesday for "urgent talks" but had to change his departure plans after the invasion began. "Because of the outbreak of hostilities and the closure of Ukraine's airspace, the President had taken the land route back," the BND said in a statement on Friday, which did not mention the part special forces had allegedly played. "This was a difficult and lengthy journey because of the streams of refugees going in the same direction. He is back in the European Union and is expected in Berlin today." Related video: German president said in an address, 'Stop the craziness of this war' Bild newspaper quoted sources as saying that Kahl had been in Ukraine to pass on important information in person. Kahl, a former politician rather than a career secret agent, had missed an earlier evacuation of German diplomats. He was now in Poland. Massive flows of refugees fleeing the advancing Russian army have resulted in queues of many hours at Ukraine's borders with its western neighbours. Yahoo Immersive: Where are Russian forces attacking Ukraine? (Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Jonathan Oatis; Editing by Miranda Murray) ST. PETERSBURG A 66-year-old woman died early Friday after her Chevrolet Impala hit a utility pole off 58th Street North, St. Petersburg police say. Gladys Lewis was alone in the car when it struck the pole around 3:30 a.m. She was taken to a nearby hospital but died there from her injuries, police said. Police say Lewis was driving south on 58th Street North approaching 22nd Avenue North when her car left the roadway for an unknown reason and struck the pole. The crash closed the intersection of 58th Street and 22nd Avenue for several hours, police said. The southbound lanes of 58th Street remained closed early Friday afternoon. Many Americans dont have access to an employer-provided retirement plan. Traditional employer-based retirement plans are typically not available for contractors, freelancers, gig economy workers, and part-time workers. And only 42% of small businesses with fewer than 100 employees offer retirement benefits, according to a LIMRA 2019 study. We have to encourage people to start saving for retirement, Aaron Schumm, founder and CEO of Vestwell, a workplace savings platform, recently told Yahoo Finance (video above). The states have really taken an active role in this, which has been great to see. More than one-third of Americans say theyve never had a retirement account, such as a 401(k) or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), according to a Bankrate.com survey. A Harris Poll released in December reported that more than a fifth of the more than 2,000 adults canvassed are saving nothing each year for retirement. Only 42% of small businesses with under 100 employees provide retirement benefits, according to a LIMRA 2019 study (Photo credit: Getty Creative) The easiest way to begin to save for retirement is through the workplace, Schumm said. We need to focus on helping Americans save upfront and plan for the future in the most seamless way possible. A handful of states Oregon, California, and Illinois now offer auto-IRA state-sponsored retirement savings plans to workers without employer-sponsored plans. Other states are considering crafting similar offerings. These state-facilitated programs automatically enroll workers in moderate risk, low-cost retirement savings accounts called auto-IRAs. We want to hear from you! Tell us your retirement questions or concerns by emailing yahoomoney@yahooinc.com Oregon was the first to go to market with the OregonSaves program, where they stepped back and said, listen, we have to encourage people to start saving, Schumm said. Private sector businesses in Oregon that dont have a retirement plan for employees are required to enroll their employees in OregonSaves, which started in 2017. To keep costs low for employers, theres no company match. (Full disclosure: Vestwell provides an online platform for employers to manage OregonSaves accounts.) Story continues The default after-tax contribution rate for employees is 5% of gross pay through payroll deductions to their personal Roth IRA account. Workers can choose not to participate. The contribution rate increases automatically by 1% each year, until it reaches 10 %, unless the employee opts out. Self-employed workers can also sign up for the savings plan and set up automatic contributions from their bank account. More than one-third of Americans say theyve never had a retirement account, such as a 401(k) or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), according to a Bankrate.com survey. (Photo credit: Getty Creative) Three-quarters of Americans say they would participate in state-supported retirement programs if offered one in their state, according to a survey by the National Institute on Retirement Security, a nonprofit, non-partisan research and education organization. Encouraging small businesses to put something in place that's really cost effective and not burdensome from an overhead perspective, but really allowing those individual employees to start saving for the future is incredibly important, Schumm said. Kerry is a Senior Columnist and Senior Reporter at Yahoo Money. Follow her on Twitter @kerryhannon Read the latest personal finance trends and news from Yahoo Money. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn. A total of 25 financial institutions have received feedback as the result of the eighth-round disciplinary inspection launched by the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). From Feb. 22 to 24, these financial institutions, including financial regulators, banks, stock exchanges and asset-management companies, were given one-on-one feedback by the 15 inspection teams deployed to conduct the mission and were informed of the prominent issues found during the process. China has launched stringent crackdowns on financial corruption, and effectively forestalled and defused major financial risks. Its financial sector has achieved new progress, noted the feedback. However, a range of issues, such as a lack of adequate political consciousness, risk awareness and resolve to push financial reform, and activities violating frugality rules, still remained in these institutions, the feedback pointed out. Efforts are demanded to conduct thorough examinations on relevant risks while remedying the issues found in the inspection, and shielding the stable financial landscape, said the feedback. Urging efforts to build a long-term mechanism for the implementation of inspection results, the feedback stressed that remediation efforts should also be combined with financial reform, and boost the high-quality development of the sector. By Johan Ahlander and Niklas Pollard STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden should have shut venues and taken other tougher measures early in the COVID-19 pandemic, though its no-lockdown strategy was broadly beneficial, a commission said on Friday. Sweden polarised opinion at home and abroad when it chose not to follow most of the rest of the world in ordering lockdowns and adopted a largely voluntary approach of promoting social distancing and good hygiene. The commission - set up by the government under pressure from parliament - said Sweden's broad policy was "fundamentally correct". "It meant that citizens retained more of their personal freedom than in many other countries," the report read. But the panel of eight experts, including professors of economics and political science, said the government should have taken clearer leadership and acted sooner. The criticisms could become a liability for the ruling Social Democrats with elections due in September. "In February-March 2020, Sweden should have opted for more rigorous and intrusive disease prevention and control measures," the commission said in the report. It criticised decisions not to close venues such as restaurants and shopping centres even briefly and to reject face masks early in the pandemic. It also said the government had delegated too much responsibility to government agencies, primarily the Health Agency, and that it was not always clear who took decisions. "In a crisis, there must be no uncertainty about who is in charge," it said. Sweden only gradually tightened curbs and never closed schools for younger children. Authorities eventually recommended masks, but only for situations such as rush hour commutes. More than 17,000 people have died from or with COVID-19 in Sweden, far more per capita than among Nordic neighbours but fewer than in most European countries that opted for lockdowns. Statistics agency Eurostat figures showed the country had 7.7% more deaths in 2020 than its average for the preceding four years, among the lowest excess mortality rates in Europe. Story continues Previous commission reports have highlighted serious deficiencies in the elderly care going into the pandemic, such as understaffing and poor hygiene. Sweden has not seen the large-scale protests against COVID curbs that have rocked many other countries. (Reporting by Johan Ahlander and Niklas Pollard; Editing by Andrew Heavens) TAMPA After more than two dozen residents spoke and as midnight drew near, the Tampa City Council late Thursday denied a land-use change for a Tampa Heights cemetery, preventing a portion of from getting turned into residences. The 6-0 vote came after impassioned arguments from Tampa Heights residents, family members of those buried in the separate and adjacent Woodlawn Cemetery. The matter had been delayed since late September after a developer associated with a proposal to build up to 15 single-family or townhomes on 1.56 acres of the Greater Tampa Showmans Association-owned cemetery next to Woodlawn pulled out. The Showmens Association board continued with its request, hiring a firm that said it didnt locate any bodies on portion of the cemetery that hadnt been used for burials. But many opponents remained unpersuaded. Council member John Dingfelder missed the meeting due to minor surgery. The Showmens Association bought three acres from the city in 1971 on the 3400 block of N Boulevard to provide final resting places for the areas circus and carnival workers. Urinals (PHOTO: Getty Images) SINGAPORE A male teacher who illicitly filmed students and colleagues in male toilets was caught after a man he filmed in his condominium clubhouse toilet turned out to be a policeman. When the 49-year-old was caught, he was found to have video recordings of at least three teachers and two students from the secondary school where he had taught, in addition to scores of videos from his condo's clubhouse toilet. The man pleaded guilty on Friday (25 February) to four charges, including committing a public nuisance offence by filming the males, and making obscene films. Another six charges of a similar nature will be considered for his sentencing. A gag order has been imposed on the identities of all the victims and the accused man. The man will be sentenced on 23 March. Filmed police officer by pretending to look for access card The police officer, who is an investigation officer, was at the condo's clubhouse toilet after a swim on 15 April 2018, when he encountered the accused man. After showering, the officer dried himself with a tower at a bench while naked. The accused man pretended to look for his condo access card, but placed his mobile phone in front of himself instead, with its camera lens angled at the officer to record a video. He then stood on a bench to ostensibly look for his access card on the ledge of the shower stalls, but was actually filming the victim. The 60-second video captured the victims face and bare genitals. After the man left, the police officer followed him as he felt the man had been behaving suspiciously. He went to his family members' unit in the condo to collect his police warrant card and lanyard, before commencing a search for the accused. He found the accused at night and identified himself at a police officer, and told him of his suspicions. The victim eventually handed over his phone and both headed towards the guardhouse. The victim pleaded with the accused to give him another chance but the victim briefed security officers of what happened and asked the accused to unlock his phone. Story continues The first thing on the screen was the video recording of the victim. The victim then saw other similar videos and lodged a police report. 117 videos filmed without subjects' consent Earlier on the same day, the man had also filmed his colleague, a 51-year-old male teacher in his school, urinating in the male toilet. Towards the end of 2017, the man had also filmed his male students. One was a 16-year-old who had been urinating in the school toilet when the man filmed him, capturing his face and genitals. He captured another student changing out of a pair of shorts. After the mans devices were seized, the authorities found at least 98 obscene films made between 16 February and 29 December 2017, as well as 30 obscene films taken between 16 February and 12 April 2018. Out of these 128 films, 117 were recorded without the male victims' consent and with the use of a similar modus operandi, with the man pretending to look for an item. In some cases, he barged into the shower cubicles of victims despite their doors being closed, under the pretext of looking for an item. In other instances, the man would pretend to speak on his mobile phone while actually recording the unsuspecting victims. The remaining 11 films appeared to have been recorded with the subjects consent. During an interview with a government psychiatrist, the man claimed that he would watch the films again or transfer them onto his laptop to view them on a bigger screen. He claimed he would feel guilty and delete the films for fear of being caught. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore STORY: "I have family throughout Ukraine, and all of them are hearing explosions everywhere. They are staying in their home and hoping for the best. And it's truly, really scary," added Oksana Dydiuk, a 29-year-old from Central Ukraine. Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., graffiti on the grounds of the entryway to the Russian embassy spelled out "murder" as a handful of demonstrators gathered on Thursday to send a message to Russia's president about invading Ukraine. Protests took place across the U.S. on Thursday, including New York, Washington, Houston, and Denver, as well as cities around the world. Russia's invasion, the biggest attack on a European country since World War Two, has left many Ukrainian-Americans fearful for the safety of loved ones still living in the eastern European country. Dozens of Ukrainians began fleeing Ukraine into Poland and other neighboring central European countries after Russia's assault began on Thursday, some taking only what they could carry and leaving behind possessions and pets. Donald Trump said Russia's invasion of Ukraine wouldn't have happened if he were still president. Trump was impeached in 2019 after freezing nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine. He previously said Crimea was part of Russia and praised Vladimir Putin's actions as "genius." Former US President Donald Trump, who was impeached for withholding nearly $400 million in military aid from Ukraine, said the country's current crisis "would never have happened" if he were still in office. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine early Thursday, with Russian troops swarming into the country from its northern, eastern, and southern borders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Thursday-evening address that 137 Ukrainians had died and 306 had been wounded as a result of the invasion. Trump released a statement Thursday, saying, "If I were in Office, this deadly Ukraine situation would never have happened!" Trump earlier this week praised Putin's justification for invading Ukraine as "genius" and "savvy." "I went in yesterday, and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine of Ukraine Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful," Trump said when asked about the news. "I said, 'How smart is that?' And he's going to go in and be a peacekeeper." His comments stood in contrast to those of US officials, who warned that Putin's recognition of two Kremlin-backed separatist regions in Ukraine was part of an effort to create a false pretext and invade the country. Trump was impeached in 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The articles of impeachment were related, in part, to Trump's efforts to strong-arm Zelensky into launching politically motivated investigations against the Bidens ahead of the 2020 election and withholding vital military aid while doing so. Story continues The hold on the security assistance was lifted after Politico reported on Trump's actions and House Democrats launched an investigation into the matter. In 2018, Trump again shocked American allies by eschewing years of US foreign policy and telling G7 leaders that the territory of Crimea was part of Russia. His remarks were especially jarring to the leaders of other member states given that it was Russia's decision to annex Crimea in 2014 that led to its expulsion from the G8. But Trump told reporters before that year's G7 summit that he believed Russia should be admitted back into the alliance, and he also reportedly wondered aloud at the summit why world leaders sided with Ukraine over Russia. Before Trump's statement Thursday, he made similar remarks during a Fox News interview. Just as the Russian offensive in Ukraine was beginning to unfold, he blamed the situation on the 2020 US election, which he called "rigged." "Well, what went wrong was a rigged election and what went wrong is a candidate that shouldn't be there and a man that has no concept of what he's doing," Trump said on Fox News, adding that the invasion "never would have happened with us had I been in office, not even thinkable. This would never have happened." Read the original article on Business Insider By Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland and Daphne Psaledakis (Reuters) -The U.S. government on Friday joined European countries in slapping sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as Western nations sought to increase pressure on Moscow to halt its invasion of Ukraine. The rare but not unprecedented U.S. imposition of sanctions on a head of state came just a day after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, assaulting by land, sea and air in the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. "President Putin and Minister Lavrov are directly responsible for Russias unprovoked and unlawful further invasion of Ukraine, a democratic sovereign state," the Treasury Department said in a statement late on Friday announcing the sanctions. It said sanctions against a head of state were "exceedingly rare," and put Putin on a short list that included the leaders of North Korea, Syria and Belarus. Further actions could follow. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters that President Joe Biden decided to target Putin, Lavrov and other officials after speaking by phone with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier on Friday. Treasury said the moves built on a raft of other sanctions imposed this week that targeted Russian banks and rich oligarchs, cut Russia off from access to critical technologies, and restricted its ability to raise capital. Earlier on Friday, EU states and Britain agreed to freeze any European assets of Putin and Lavrov, as Ukraine's leader pleaded for faster and more forceful sanctions to punish Russia's invasion of his country. The imposition of sanctions against Putin and Lavrov reflect the West's "absolute impotence" when it comes to foreign policy, RIA news agency cited a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman as saying on Friday. Edward Fishman, an Atlantic Council fellow who worked on Russia sanctions at the State Department during the Obama administration, said that while the sanctions on Putin are largely symbolic, targeting the Russian leader was a reasonable step for the United States and its partners to take. Story continues "It certainly sends a very strong message of solidarity with Ukrainians who are under fire right now," Fishman said. The U.S. government also sanctioned two other senior Russian officials, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Treasury Department said. Psaki said on Twitter that the Treasury Department would also impose sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which she described as a "state owned financial entity that functions as a sovereign wealth fund, which is supposed to attract capital into the Russian economy in high-growth sectors." A Treasury spokesperson said the action against the Russian Direct Investment Fund would be in the coming days. "We are united with our international allies and partners to ensure Russia pays a severe economic and diplomatic price for its further invasion of Ukraine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in statement. "If necessary, we are prepared to impose further costs on Russia for its appalling behavior on the world stage." Treasury, which has already designated 11 members of the Russian Security Council, said it would continue to target Russian elites for "their role in bankrolling Russia's further aggression against Ukraine, empowering Putin or participating in Russia's kleptocracy." Putin urged Ukraine's military to overthrow its political leaders and negotiate peace on Friday, as authorities in Kyiv called on citizens to help defend the capital from a Russian assault that its mayor said had already begun. The sanctions targeting Putin are the latest punitive action from Washington over Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The United States this week imposed sanctions on Russian banks, members of the elite, and the company in charge of building the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany. Responding to reports that the U.S. government had ordered officials to stop most contacts with Russia, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the invasion of Ukraine had "fundamentally changed" Moscow's relationship with Washington and other nations. Price told reporters that U.S. officials will continue to engage with their Russian counterparts on important national security issues, including the talks to return to a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. ((Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland, Daphne Psaledakis, Trevor Hunnicutt, Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis and David Lawder in Washington, and Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)) Filing litigations can be done with clicks of the mouse at all Chinese courts now, as one-stop online litigation services have been made available at more than 3,500 courts across the country. The platform has integrated the whole process of litigations, ranging from case-filing, fee payment, trial hearings to appraisals, said a report released by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Thursday. China's courts have seen more judicial services available online over the past few years. More than 11 million cases were filed online last year. The courts nationwide have completed more than 24 million mediations on the internet since a mediation platform was launched in February 2018, figures from the report show. "About 43,000 disputes are now handled on the platform each working day on average, with 51 cases being resolved before litigations every minute," said Qian Xiaochen, an SPC official. Qian said the courts will not ignore offline services just because they now have the online platform, noting that multiple options would be provided for those unwilling or not good at using online applications. "Dancing With the Stars'" Maksim Chmerkovskiy arrives at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards. (Dan Steinberg / Invision/Associated Press) An emotional Maksim Chmerkovskiy, the "Dancing With the Stars" pro, was posting emotional videos Thursday on Instagram from the capital of Ukraine, the country of his birth. Russia began an invasion of Ukraine early Thursday morning Wednesday night, West Coast time with airstrikes and shelling. "You know me, I stay strong and I don't show it," he said from Kyiv, fighting back tears, "but I want to go back home and I realize that I have the way to. ... I have a different passport and my family is far away. What I'm realizing is that my friends, whose kids are here, whose moms [and] dads are here, and elderly people are here, that they can't just escape." The dancer and choreographer, who married fellow "DWTS" pro Peta Murgatroyd in 2017, spoke directly to the Russian people, urging them to ignore the "complete nonsense" and propaganda they were being fed. He said he was not a journalist but would do his best to keep people informed. "I am not at this point someone who is pleading for someone else's safety from a far distance, from a safe distance," he said. "I'm somebody who is about to go into a bomb shelter cause s is going down." Chmerkovskiy referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he urged the Russian people to speak up, saying, "This is all one man's ambition." Sirens blared in the background of his videos, which included shots of empty streets and families walking toward shelters with their belongings packed in rolling suitcases. "Everyone was hoping that the finality of the situation was going to be averted," Chmerkovskiy said in another video. "That there was not going to be this kind of aggression." He wrote in one caption that he was once again experiencing PTSD symptoms that he thought he had overcome. "I literally only just forgot about those 'always on the edge' feelings and actually started worrying about things like bbq grills," he wrote. "Im crying as Im typing this because all man deserves to worry about 'bbq grills' and not f war." Story continues Among other celebrities posting about the invasion, pop musician Miley Cyrus said she was "standing in solidarity with everyone in Ukraine who is affected by this attack and with our global community who is calling for an immediate end to this violence." "My paternal grandparents emigrated from Ukraine," Barbra Streisand tweeted, "and my heart breaks for the courageous people there fighting this Russian invasion. Putins propaganda about 'denazification' as a rationale is one of the great lies of this Century." "The whole world is praying for the people of Ukraine," actor Shohreh Aghdashloo tweeted, sharing a photo of a woman praying by the Ganges River in India. My paternal grandparents emigrated from Ukraine and my heart breaks for the courageous people there fighting this Russian invasion. Putins propaganda about denazification as a rationale is one of the great lies of this Century. Barbra Streisand (@BarbraStreisand) February 24, 2022 This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Olena Maksymenko Desperate to avoid the shadow of Vladimir Putins bigoted regime falling over Ukraine, LGBTQ combat volunteers told The Daily Beast that members of the gay community had been rushing to prepare for this invasion of Ukraine in recent weeks. Now, they stand ready to fight back and resist a Russian occupation if Putins forces look to remain on Ukrainian soil. Veronika Limina, who lives in Lviv in the far West of the country, has been running a camp, teaching volunteer LGBTQ cadets basic combat and paramedic skills. Olena Maksymenko She has signed up for Lvivs territorial defense force and says she is ready to join the fighting, as Putins forces move West across the country. I am angry, she told The Daily Beast, as the Russians bombed cities and drove tanks deeper into Ukrainian territory. We will kill Putin. Limina, who works for an NGO promoting equal rights for LGBT people in the military, says the gay community in Ukraine will resist Russian occupation despite continued discrimination at home. The alternative is unbearable. On Sunday, the U.S. warned that Russia has a kill list of Ukrainians to be detained or killed. The list reportedly contains many journalists, LGBTQ+ people, politicians, and government officials. Andrii Kravchuk, who works at the LGBTQ Nash Svit Center, in Kyiv said the impact of Russias homophobia had been felt in his hometown in the Donbas region, which he fled after the 2014 invasion. We are very conscious of the threats which we have facedas both Ukrainians and LGBT+ people. We understand that the Russian occupation would mean total lawlessness and repressionswe see it right now in the Ukrainian-occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas, he said. Now we have only two options: either we defend our country, and it will become a part of the free world, or there will not be any freedom for us and will not be Ukraine at all. Though the war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for the last eight years mostly in the east, it turned into a full invasion on Thursday morning. Story continues Many LGBT+ activists, who have an experience of participation in the Euromaidan events, are joining the Territorial Defense forces or holding training in paramedical help, said Kravchuk. LGBT+ people who served in the army and military volunteers are ready to come back to their service. We are doing the same as the rest of the nation. Russia has a history of gross human rights violations. The anti-gay purge in the Russian republic of Chechnya has driven the LGBTQ community underground. Many were detained in the region, while many more fled. Demonstrators lay roses on a rainbow flag as they protest over an alleged crackdown on gay men in Chechnya outside the Russian Embassy in London on June 2, 2017. JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Image In Donbas, a south-eastern Russian-backed separatist region of Ukraine, the LGBTQ community has already seen what happens if pro-Putin thugs take control. Before the Donbas war, the gay community was flourishing but since 2013, Russia-backed separatists brought increased homophobic rhetoric to the region. In many cases, the LGBTQ community faced assault, detention, and violence. Putin himself has a history of homophobia. While speaking at the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club last year, he said gender fluidity is a crime against humanity. He also signed a gay propaganda law in 2013, which pledged to uphold traditional values. Kravchuk himself fled Luhansk, a region close to the Russia-Ukraine border, in 2014 after shelling started. After escaping, he moved to Kyiv where he lives with his boyfriend. His family remained at home. While returning from the market in recent days, his brother was captured by Russian occupation forces and told he would be forcibly conscripted to defend the pro-Russian Luhansk Peoples Republic, despite his artificial knee joint. Even though his brother may be fighting for the other sideagainst his willKravchuk said he would fight on. On Friday morning, he texted The Daily Beast: For now, were safe, but nobody knows what may happen in few hours. Olena Maksymenko Valery Brown, who identifies as a lesbian, said she had also been training up to resist Putins invasion. Before the conflict began, she told The Daily Beast: I am trying to do my best to be prepared for different outcomes. Twenty-four hours after the invasion began, she wrote back: This is horrible. Not all LGBTQ Ukrainians are preparing to fight. Some are volunteering to help frontline soldiers and LGBTQ civilians. Viktor Pylypenko, head of the NGO Ukrainian LGBT Soldiers, said many LGBTQ military folks are already on the frontline, and LGBTQ civilians are helping to gather money, equipment, weapons, and medical aid for frontline soldiers. The Ukrainian LGBTQ community is showing strength and fearlessness even when Russian-backed separatists have already started shelling, and the western world is bracing for any possible outcome. Many have nowhere to goUkrainians and the LGBTQ community say they will fight to save their country. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A former head of the European Council says Germany and Italy have disgraced themselves after blocking tough sanctions against Russia. The EU hailed a 2am agreement on a massive package of measures in punishment for the Ukraine invasion, including a freeze on assets and a block on Russian banks access to European financial markets. But there is an exemption for Moscows main source of revenue energy exports which means its banks will still enjoy lucrative revenues from gas and oil sales. And Germany, France and Italy opposed a UK request to shut Russia out of the SWIFT international payments system despite Ukraine saying the West would have blood on its hands if it refused. The German finance minister, Christian Lindner, admitted Berlin refused to go further because of a high risk that Germany will no longer be supplied with gas or raw materials. Donald Tusk, the European Commission president during the Brexit negotiations, hit out at EU countries for their pretend sanctions. In this war everything is real: Putins madness and cruelty, Ukrainian victims, bombs falling on Kyiv. Only your sanctions are pretended, he tweeted. Those EU governments, which blocked tough decisions (i.e. Germany, Hungary, Italy) have disgraced themselves. Russian forces movements since the invasion began (Press Association Images) The Ukrainian president has pleaded for tougher sanctions, as Kyiv was struck by air strikes with an expectation that Russian tanks would roll in later on Friday. After speaking with Boris Johnson, Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needs the support of partners more than ever. We demand effective counteraction to the Russian Federation. Sanctions must be further strengthened, he said. The former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who became a lobbyist for Russian gas, has raised eyebrows by calling for restraint in the use of sanctions, to avoid endangering a return to dialogue. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, said Britain will work all day to try to get the SWIFT international payment system turned off for Russia. Story continues Unfortunately the Swift system is not in our control - its not a unilateral decision, he told BBC Radio 4. Setting out how SWIFT is used to move money around, Mr Wallace said: When you pay Russia for its gas, it probably goes through the Swift system, for example. It is based in Belgium. It has a number of partners that control it, or nation states. We want it switched off. Other countries do not. We only have so many options. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, said he opposed Russia being excluded from SWIFT, following the EU discussions. Its very important that we decide on measures that have been prepared in recent weeks and reserve everything else for a situation where it is necessary to do other things as well, he argued. The Ukraine military wrote early Friday morning that a soldier blew himself up on a bridge to stop Russian soldiers trying to advance. Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Skakun was an engineer for a battalion of marines on the Crimean isthmus, where Russian tanks and military forces began to advance into Ukraine. The marines decided to blow up the Genichesky Bridge to stop the invasion, a task for which Skakun volunteered despite being in a different battalion. Skakun placed mines on the bridge and told his fellow soldiers that he was blowing up the bridge. The bridge blew up before Skakun was able to run away, and he died in the explosion. "His heroic deed significantly slowed the advance of the enemy, which allowed the unit to redeploy and organize the defense," wrote the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of Skakun in a Facebook post. Skakun's death allowed the rest of the soldiers to prepare for the oncoming Russians and saved the Ukrainian military time and ammunition. Skakun will be awarded for his actions, the Armed Forces announced, and the Marine Command will honor him as a sailor in one of its battalions. The post from the Armed Forces of Ukraine honored Skakun as a "hero," using the hashtag #stoprussia to bring attention to the death and destruction resulting from the Kremlin's invasion. The post concluded: "Russian occupiers, know that the earth will burn under your feet! We will fight while we live! And while we are alive we will fight!" In this article: (Reuters) - Ukraine and Russia are discussing a place and time for talks, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's spokesman said on social media on Friday. "Ukraine was and remains ready to talk about a ceasefire and peace," spokesman Sergii Nykyforov added. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; writing by Polina Devitt) Ukrainian servicemen walk among fragments of a downed aircraft in Kyiv on February 25, 2022. AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak Russia attacked Ukraine on Thursday. NATO and the West have condemned and sanctioned Russia over its attack on Ukraine, but not sent troops. Ukraine's president said: "We are left alone in defense of our state. Who is ready to fight with us?" Ukraine's president said his country had been "left alone" to defend itself from Russia's attacks. President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to the people of Ukraine in a speech early Friday, saying: "You are brilliantly defending the country from one of the most powerful countries in the world." "Today Russia attacked the entire territory of our state. And today our defenders have done a lot. They defended almost the entire territory of Ukraine, which suffered direct blows." But he said Ukraine was not getting help. "But there is another we are left alone in defense of our state. Who is ready to fight with us? Honestly I do not see such. Who is ready to guarantee Ukraine's accession to NATO? Honestly, everyone is afraid." Russia's attack on Ukraine was criticized by NATO and countries including the US, UK, and other Western nations. Many have reacted by sanctions against Russia and sending weapons to Russia. But Zelensky appeared to be critical that none of those power had sent troops to Ukraine. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, though it has expressed interest in joining. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday the bloc had no plans to send troops. US President Joe Biden also said that US troops would not be sent to Ukraine, but would defend NATO member states that are impacted. "Our forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict with Russia in Ukraine," Biden said. "Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies." Russia is opposed to Ukraine joining NATO, and has said that Ukraine doing so would be a hostile act against Russia. Read the original article on Business Insider Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive Carrie Lam has directed all HKSAR government departments to work together to combat the ongoing fifth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Information Services Department said on Thursday. The HKSAR government is currently fully engaged in the planning of the mass mandatory testing for COVID-19 in March among all Hong Kong residents, which aims to more thoroughly identify infection cases in the community, Lam stressed during a virtual meeting attended by over 100 officials of the HKSAR government on Wednesday. From preparation to implementation, the universal testing will require support from various bureaux and departments, she added. Lam also urged confidence in an early victory over the epidemic with the strong support from the central government and the close collaboration of all sectors in the Hong Kong society. Officials who spoke at the meeting said they would mobilize staff and recruit retired civil servants when needed to strengthen their teams to effectively carry out the tasks assigned to them in the fight against the epidemic. Cambridge Judge finance professor Andrei Kirilenko: The facts of this war are simple its about values: freedom versus captivity, democracy versus authoritarianism, truth versus propaganda Andrei Kirilenkos mother has survived Nazi occupation, Stalins famine, harsh Soviet rule, and much more in her 85 years on Earth. Now she is one of more than 430,000 residents of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine who are under siege in the Russian attack on her country that began February 24. Kirilenko, a finance professor at Cambridge University Judge Business School, has spoken periodically with his mother in recent days as war crept closer and finally broke out Thursday. She tells him she can hear loud shelling from her home harkening to memories of the many perils she has faced in an eventful and difficult life. Its all the same to her taking away her freedom, he says. The facts of this war are simple its about values: freedom versus captivity, democracy versus authoritarianism, truth versus propaganda. The Russians are not there to get another piece of land on which they could build another gas pipeline. They are there to impose their values. And the world should make sure that they fail. A UNITED RESISTANCE Kirilenko, who was born in Miriupol on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov a little over 100 miles from the Russian border, works at the intersection of finance, technology, and regulation. His focus has been on fintech, digital technologies, and the design of automated financial markets and instruments. A former chief economist of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, he spent 12 years at the International Monetary Fund working on financial crises around the world. He was the founding director of the Centre for Global Finance and Technology at Imperial College Business School; before that he was professor of the practice of finance at MIT Sloan School of Management and co-director of the MIT Center for Finance and Policy. Story continues He says Europe and the world must reckon with the reality that the template for collective security in Europe is no more. I mean, there is war going on in Europe right now, Kirilenko tells Poets&Quants by phone from Cambridge. My understanding from monitoring things on the ground, and having various people be very transparent from different echelons of government and military about whats going on, is that it looks like Russias plan for now and they may be changing it as they go along is to take over or try to take over parts of critical infrastructure, hydroelectric power plants, nuclear power plants, rivers, bridges, with the idea that if they have control over those theyll shut down power. They will basically create a siege-like environment and force a change of government. And that is unlikely to happen from what I can see, because the country is uniting around their politicians, around their elected representatives, around their president. Not everyone in the country is happy with the president, but the overwhelming feeling is, Now is not the time. Lets push the aggressor back, then we will decide, Ukrainians will decide, what kind of president they want, what kind of parliament they want, what kind of supreme court they want. It may not be the best people, it may not be the brightest people, it may not be the people who even have the experience to do it but itll be their choice. They want to have their choice. And that is what the fighting is about now, having the the choice to govern themselves without someone else telling them what to do. HELP DEFEND UKRAINE FROM NAZI RUSSIA Roman Sheremata Kirilenko is not alone among business school faculty in condemning the Russian invasion. Roman Sheremeta, an associate professor of economics at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, says the West has learned nothing since the Second World War ended nearly 80 years ago. Sheremeta, who is also a research affiliate at the Economic Science Institute at Chapman University, was listed as a Top Economic Thinker of Ukrainian descent by Forbes in 2015, a top-rated young economist in the world according to the IDEAS ranking in 2018, and recognized as a Best 40 Under 40 Professor by Poets&Quants in 2019. He is one of the most-cited Ukrainian economists globally, having been published in more than 70 leading scholarly journals in economics, business, psychology, and political science. In a social media post titled Never Again Is Now, Sheremeta writes: After the war in Ukraine in which the West has done nothing to help Ukraine defend against Nazi Russia, the phrase Never Again will be a shameful reminder that even after atrocities of Hitler, West has learned nothing. Dear American and Europeans citizens: You forgot your history. Nazis are those who attack in the morning without announcing war, shell cities, kill innocent people, and create lists of people whom they will need to eliminate first once they take over. Right now, in this finest hour, Ukraine is defending West from Nazis, while West is silent. I call all people around the world, the countries of NATO it is now or never. Please, help defend Ukraine from Nazi Russia while there still time. Otherwise, please stop using this phrase Never Again, because clearly you did not learn the lesson. LESSONS FOR MBAs At Cambridge, Andrei Kirilenko says the Russian invasion of Ukraine has widely applicable lessons for the MBA classroom, particularly in his areas of specialty: fintech and how digital technologies are changing finance. I worked a lot on financial crises around the world, he says. And so my narrative currently is that theres a fintech revolution that came out of the global financial crisis blockchain and crypto, mobile banking, various elements of artificial intelligence, cloud computing. All this originated in 2007, 2008, 2009. These technologies, to me, are about freedom, are about individuals being able to conduct their own financial matters without intermediaries. You can go and create your assets, or you can conduct your own banking directly. Given that choice, there are fundamental principles behind it, so I see this conflict really finding its way into the classroom, perhaps in a couple of ways. One is something probably related to energy and ESG, because one of the things that powers the Russian regime is hydrocarbons. I think the broader transition to be environmentally and socially responsible certainly includes not working with regimes that could go and direct their military and other processes to go and kill other people. So if you are making business decisions on whether or not to engage with certain sorts of regimes that are, again, civilizationally suspect, whats the point if you are ultimately compromising other social structures around the world? Why are you doing this, and what kind of a business is this? Whats this based on? What are the models behind it? So thats perhaps one aspect in which we can sort of look at it sort of from the business school angle. ITS ABOUT VALUES AND FREEDOM Kirilenko has spoken with his 85-year-old mother in Mariupol regularly since the Russian invasion began. She is old, you know. Shes an old lady, shes been through a lot, he says. And she hasnt had an easy life, and her family hasnt had an easy life. But you know, shes calm now things are happening, as opposed to anticipation. He says sanctions by the U.S., European Union, UK, and others will work in time, if history is any guide. The last time sanctions were put on Russia was because of the invasion in Afghanistan, Kirilenko says. The Soviet Union, they invaded in 79, and in 89 the Soviet Union collapsed. So it may take 10 years. It may be sooner. But it will happen. Unfortunately, lots and lots of people in Russia are going to suffer, to the point where they will find that they do not find those governing them legitimate. And those people who are governing them are getting old. Similar to the story of the Soviet Union: When they invaded Afghanistan, they were sort of old men, and 10 years later they were kind of like dying every other month, the leadership of the Communist Party. Similar thing could happen in Russia the West imposes the strictest possible sanctions, and then it will take a decade until they really start dying out, and take their outdated ideas away with them. What I think is really needed much more now is, really to the extent possible, supplying Ukrainians with weapons. I think that every day that Ukrainians are fighting the Russian aggression is a day that Russia gets closer to its own freedom. Because people will see that it is possible. Its not about the piece of land. Its not about buildings. Its not about another pipeline. Its not about a port, or even a natural resource. Its not about that. Its about values and freedom. Unfortunately, freedom has to be earned. Unfortunately. DONT MISS I LOST SEVERAL FRIENDS: MBA VETERANS REFLECT ON THE END OF THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN and A BERKELEY HAAS MBA VOWS TO KEEP HIS WARTIME PROMISE The post Ukrainian B-School Prof: The World Should Make Sure That Russia Fails appeared first on Poets&Quants. Russian troops entered the outskirts of Kyiv on Friday morning, and Ukraines Ministry of Defense urged citizens to make Molotov cocktails in advance of the expected battle. The Defense Ministry told citizens to prepare Molotov cocktails but remain indoors in a Facebook post. Instructions for how to make Molotov cocktails were broadcast on local television. Kyiv was rocked by missile strikes early on Friday morning, with one rocket striking a residential building, the New York Times confirmed. Ukrainian and Russian troops were fighting in the streets by Friday morning, according to Agence France Presse. Ukrainian military police in full combat gear running to defend the city as Russian troops close in on Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/UDe9YIhWTN Ian Pannell (@IanPannell) February 25, 2022 Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that 13 border guards would be posthumously awarded Ukraines highest military honor, after they died defending an island in the Black Sea from Russian naval forces. A recording of a radio exchange between the two sides reportedly captured a Ukrainian border guard saying Russian warship, go f*** yourself. In a separate address early on Friday morning, Zelensky said 137 Ukrainians, civilians and soldiers, have been confirmed killed since the start of the Russian invasion. According to the available intelligence, the enemy marked me as a target No. 1 and my family as the target No. 2, Zelensky said. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of the state. Zelensky told Ukrainians that other countries would likely not send aid during the invasion. Even so, Zelensky called on Europeans with combat experience to fight with the Ukrainian military. We are left to our own devices in defense of our state, he said. Who is ready to fight together with us? Honestly, I do not see such. Story continues Zelensky reportedly told leaders of European Union nations in a conference call on Friday that this might be the last time you see me alive, two sources briefed on the matter told Axioss Barack Ravid. While Zelensky said his government was open to negotiations with Russia, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said negotiations could begin only once Ukraine stops fighting. What were talking about is preventing Nazis and those who push methods of genocide to rule in this country, Lavrov told reporters at a press conference in Moscow. Right now, the regime that is located in Kyiv is under two mechanisms of external control: first, the West, led by the United States, and secondly, neo-Nazis. More from National Review In this article: (Reuters) - Ukrainian military vehicles are entering the country's capital Kyiv to defend it against approaching Russian troops, Ukraine's interior ministry said on Friday. Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said earlier the city had "entered into a defensive phase". (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Writing by Anna Pruchnicka; editing by John Stonestreet) NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) Delegates from United Nations member countries are considering proposals for a binding global treaty to curb plastic pollution. The U.N. Environment Assembly, meeting Feb. 28 to March 2 in Kenyas capital Nairobi, is expected to propose an international framework to address the growing problem of plastic waste in the worlds oceans, rivers and landscape. For the first time in history, we are seeing unprecedented global momentum to tackle the plague of plastic pollution, said U.N. Environment Program Executive Director Inger Andersen. During preparations for the session, Andersen implored member states to take the opportunity to reshape humanitys relationship with plastic once and for all by developing a comprehensive global agreement to combat the problem. Two major proposals have emerged during years of international discussions about ways to reduce single use plastic. The first, by Peru and Rwanda, calls for a full spectrum approach to plastic pollution, covering raw materials extraction, plastic production, as well as plastic use and disposal. It urges creation of an international legally binding agreement ... to prevent and reduce plastic pollution in the environment, including micro plastics. The proposal is co-sponsored by Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Norway, the Philippines, Senegal, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Uganda along with the European Union. A second proposal, sponsored by Japan, calls for an international agreement to address marine plastic pollution covering the whole life cycle and promoting resource efficiency and circular economy, including reuse. The key difference is that Japans approach concentrates on marine plastic pollution, while the Peru-Rwanda proposal covers plastic pollution in all environments. Both proposals envision establishment of a negotiating committee to complete the new plastic treaty by 2024. If such a plastics treaty is endorsed by the U.N. Environment Assembly, Andersen said it would be the most significant global; environmental governance decision since the Paris (Climate) Agreement in 2015. Story continues The environmental group Greenpeace supports the Peru-Rwanda proposals full lifecycle approach to addressing plastic pollution. Over 140 countries have declared support for opening negotiations on a global plastic treaty, said Erastus Ooko, the plastics engagement lead for Greenpeace Africa. However, support for negotiations is not enough," Ooko said. These countries should be calling for a legally binding treaty that will match the scale and depth of the plastics crisis. You are here: China China will work to expand the supply of affordable rental housing as part of efforts to resolve housing difficulties, said the country's housing authorities at a Thursday press conference. With developing subsidized rental housing as one of the priorities this year, China will have 2.4 million units of government-subsidized rental homes available nationwide this year, said Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development. The country will also add another 100,000 public rental houses and renovate 1.2 million houses in rundown areas, said the minister. In 2021, a total of 942,000 government-subsidized rental homes in 40 key cities were provided to help new city dwellers and young people in need of affordable housing, data from the ministry showed. The country will maintain the continuity and stability of its housing policies and strengthen precision and coordination in policy maneuver, said Wang. U.S. intelligence officials have expressed concerns that Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv could fall to Russia within days, according to multiple reports. Newsweek, citing three U.S. officials, said the U.S. thinks that Kyiv will fall within the next few days, which would severely hurt Ukraine's resistance in the war. "After the air and artillery end and the ground war really starts, I think Kyiv falls in just a few days," a former senior U.S. intelligence official told the outlet, noting the military could hold out, "but this isn't going to last long." "Then it either becomes a robust insurgency or it doesn't, depending largely on Biden," the official added. Another individual close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's government said it is "too early to say" whether the government will fall when Kyiv gets surrounded, adding, "They say Ukraine is holding better than they expected." That individual, however, did agree with the U.S. assessment that Russian forces could surround Kyiv in 96 hours. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine's presidential chief of staff, issued a statement to Newsweek. "The Office of the President of Ukraine believes the Russian federation has two tactical goals - to seize territories and attack the legitimate political leadership of Ukraine in order to spread chaos and install a marionette government that would sign a peace deal on bilateral relations with Russia," Podolyak said. "The enemy attempts to destabilize [the] situation in large cities, in particular Kharkiv and Kyiv. The probability exists the Russian armed forces will seize the government quarters." A NATO official told the outlet that the report "sounds rather believable." Two sources familiar with the U.S. intelligence confirmed to CNN that U.S. officials originally saw the likelihood of Kyiv falling in the first few days but noted that Ukraine is putting up tougher resistance than originally expected. Story continues Speaking to CNN, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee, said Friday the U.S. should give weapons to the resistance if Kyiv falls. "It certainly does impact our response about who we're actually arming. At that point we have to make the realization that the Ukrainian military as we know it may be compromised and then I think we have to shift to actually supporting partisans and resistance fighters who are willing to take up the fight against Russia," Gallego said. Reports early on Friday said that Russian troops had entered the capital. Feb. 24Letters mailed out last week to Colusa County residents regarding beet leafhoppers were sent in error and those that received them are asked to disregard. According to a release issued by the Colusa County Agriculture Department, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Integrated Pest Control branch mailed a letter to the owners of 2,222 assessor's parcel number (APN) in Colusa County concerning the beet leafhopper and requested access to properties for abatement purposes. "This letter was sent in error, and Colusa County property owners who received this correspondence are asked to disregard it," read the release. The CDFA is expected to release additional information in the coming days. At this time, there is no action needed from those who have received this letter, and no need to contact the Colusa County Agriculture Department or any other county agency. Adam Beard is relishing Wales clash against England (PA Wire) Adam Beard says that Wales attention to detail must be spot-on when they target a first Six Nations victory over England at Twickenham for 10 years. Wales have only won there twice in Six Nations history Grand Slam campaigns of 2008 and 2012 and they will again arrive as underdogs on Saturday. Beard and company also know that a second defeat of this seasons campaign will effectively end all hope of a successful title defence. Its about getting our detail right from minute one to minute 80, Wales vice-captain Beard said. But it is definitely important that we come out firing from the offset tomorrow and we start well. This is the one you do look forward to, and there is probably a bit more heat on it because it is Wales versus England. As long as we are confident going into tomorrow we have had a good weeks training going into this and as long as we get our stuff right tomorrow, I am sure we will have a pretty good day. Wales will encounter an England side shorn of powerhouse centre Manu Tuilagi, whose first Six Nations appearance for almost two years has been dashed by injury, with either Joe Marchant or Elliot Daly set to replace him. Beard added: He is a quality player and he has probably been unlucky with a few injuries. But in terms of our preparation, it doesnt really change. Whoever comes in to replace him will be a quality replacement, so we know there are going to be threats along the back-line. We know it is definitely going to take an 80-minute performance to get the win over a tough side like England. To get one up against England is definitely on the bucket-list for any player. While Wales have four players in their starting line-up who were part of the victorious World Cup team at Twickenham seven years ago, it will be a new experience for prospects like flanker Taine Basham. The 22-year-old Dragons forward has excelled during his nine-cap Test career, and a first Twickenham Test match appearance now awaits in a reshaped back-row alongside Ross Moriarty and Taulupe Faletau. Story continues He has been awesome, to be fair. He is just a bundle of energy, lock Beard said. You just look at his work-rate around the park, he just gives us that go-forward and that spark. He has been great ever since he has come in. He is a confident character, but for someone like him he needs to breathe that confidence because that is when he brings the best out of himself. These youngsters have got to be confident, they have got to push their chest out, go out there and give the best account of themselves. Wales captain Dan Biggar, meanwhile, readily acknowledges Englands strengths up-front. Englands driving maul and set-piece traditionally is always very strong, Biggar said. Whoever you play against, you want to limit their strengths, so if we can keep the number of driving mauls and set-pieces they have to a minimum, then it gives us a good chance of taking a particular strength away from England. We want to try and keep the ball in play quite high and back ourselves that way, as opposed to giving England a lot of set-pieces and allowing them to get one of their strengths going. Wauwatosa police on Thursday announced the arrest of two teenagers, a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old, in connection with an armed carjacking that occurred in the city earlier in the month. The two teens, who will likely soon face charges from the Milwaukee County District Attorneys Office, committed the carjacking on Feb. 3 near the 4200 block of Raymir Circle, police said. A female victim was sitting in her car just after 8 p.m. while it was parked in her driveway. "One of the subjects pointed a handgun at her face and demanded she give them her vehicle," a news release from the Wauwatosa Police Department said. The victim did give them her car, a Honda Odyssey. Officers saw the stolen vehicle and pursued it while responding to the crime but both of the teens abandoned the vehicle near the 4300 block of North 65th Street in Milwaukee and fled the scene. Wauwatosa police said they executed a search warrant in Milwaukee Thursday morning, arresting one suspect. The other suspect was arrested "at a separate location." Both suspects are in custody at the Milwaukee County Juvenile Detention Facility. Their names have not been released yet. Carjacking is a growing problem in Wauwatosa The carjacking is the latest example of a recent uptick in vehicle thefts and vehicle break-ins in the city. Thieves are taking cars from private driveways, apartment building complexes, parking lots and more. There was a 168% increase in vehicle thefts from 2020 to 2021 in Wauwatosa. During a one-week period in January, 25 illegal entries to vehicles were reported across the city. More recent numbers from the department have not been released yet. Four juveniles are also facing charges for a 2021 hit-and-run crash that struck and killed a 47-year-old woman who was trying to stop an attempted vehicle theft at a Wauwatosa hotel. Police said the four teens a 13-year old male, 14-year-old female, 15-year-old male and 15-year-old female were trying to steal the car from a parking lot at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel when Sunita Balogun tried to alert hotel staff of the incident. Story continues Evan Casey can be reached at 414-403-4391 or evan.casey@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @ecaseymedia. Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal. DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wauwatosa police arrest teenagers in armed carjacking The Tobin Packing Co. was a meat-packing company known for its First Prize Hots and a major employer in northwest Rochester for decades. Tobin once employed as many as 700 people at its Maple Street plant and was the city's largest meat processor and among the biggest in the country. The company was an innovator with its "white hots" and known for quality products, as described in a 1956 Democrat and Chronicle story. "Tobin Packing is called the Tiffany of the meat-packing industry and some of its prices are higher because of the high standard of raw materials used," Don Record wrote in the story. "Quality has been a major factor in the outstanding success of the business." News accounts from that era said Tobin was the only sausage maker in the area whose plant was federally inspected. The business roots started in 1921, when Frederick M. Tobin bought a controlling interest in the Rochester Packing Co. A Syracuse native, Tobin started in the meat business as a salesman for a Buffalo company before rising through the ranks there and at a Utica plant. More: Woman says NY doctor secretly fathered her and then violated her as OB-GYN Rochester connections: Famous people's connections to Rochester. Bet you didn't know this By 1924, Tobin broke ground for the Albany Packing Co. in the state capital and a decade later built another plant in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Those plants merged into the Tobin Packing Co. in 1942. White hots, long a Rochester favorite and unique to the area, were already being made when Tobin bought the Rochester Packing Co., he wrote in a 1961 letter to the Times Union. Tobin quickly upgraded the recipe. "I understand that white hots originated long before 1921 by two brothers who came over here from Germany by the name of Ottman who ran a saloon on Front Street," Tobin wrote. "They made their white hots out of 50 percent stale bread, some pork, veal and beef and gave them away in free lunches. They were white because of the bread and the gray color of the veal and pork." Story continues In this 1957 photo, Lillian Young inspects tons of hot dogs in the cold room of Arpeako Division of Tobin Packing in Rochester. The plant was on Maple Street. Tobin's started making its white hots "all meat with milk and fresh eggs added," he wrote. "We were also the first to parboil hots to insure them of arriving in fresh condition." The firm also acquired a plant in Estherville, Iowa, as part of its operations. The post-World War II era brought huge challenges to the company, as the Iowa plants and the one in Albany closed temporarily in 1946 because of a livestock shortage. The Rochester plant stayed open, but 150 workers were laid off. Meat-packing companies were stymied by controls imposed by federal regulations tied in with World War II rationing. Tobin opposed the plans in post-war 1946, calling them "unsuited to peacetime operations and tending to create artificial scarcity in a land of natural plenty," as news accounts from that year stated. Dr. Robert Kerns, an inspector with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, checks hogs at Tobin Packing Co. in this 1970 photo. "This is the most crucial period in the packing industry," Tobin was quoted as saying in a 1946 Times-Union story. "There are going to be a lot of empty counters in many local butcher shops by next weekend The only solution is to eliminate all controls on meat." A Times-Union editorial from that year noted that "Rochester families prepared to get through another weekend on poultry, fish and the bountiful supplies of vegetables and fruits." Tobin's generosity and affinity for his employees was evident during those trying times. He found new jobs for most of the laid-off workers and paid the difference if the new jobs didn't meet his company's hourly wage, according to a 1978 news story. The regulations eventually were eased and Tobin Packing again thrived. A 1953 expansion doubled the capacity of the Rochester plant to more than 320,000 square feet and Tobin in 1954 opened the city's largest private garage, "large enough to store 61 trucks." In 1957, the firm acquired a Buffalo plant, which it ran as a wholly owned subsidiary. A 1957 news account also noted that Tobin Packing sent five tons of meat and meat products that year to Hungarians who were in Austrian refugee camps. Frederick Tobin Frederick Tobin retired in 1969, when his company was said to be the largest meat-packing company in the Northeast. Problems started soon after: The company showed a profit only once from 1971 to 1976. Tobin ended its meat-processing operations in Rochester in 1975 and switched operations to its Albany and Buffalo plants. The Rochester facility was used mainly as an area distribution center until it closed in 1976. The impact was devastating, Del Ray wrote in a 1975 Times-Union story. "The word spread through Rochester's Dutchtown yesterday in about the time it would take to eat a hot dog," he wrote. Corporate headquarters were moved to Albany. By 1979, the company was sold to Halco Products of New York City. Tobin products continued to be sold here and elsewhere for a while. Tobin filed for bankruptcy in 1981, and John Morrell & Co., based in Cincinnati, acquired Tobin's line of meat products. The owner of the nearby Mapledale Party House which was featured in an earlier "Whatever Happened To" installment bought the Tobin plant on Maple Street. When news came that it would be demolished, it might have been too much for the company founder. "The new owner of the former home of Tobin Packing Company announced March 8 that the wrecking crew was on the way," Michael Cordts wrote in a 1978 Democrat and Chronicle story. "Frederick Tobin died the next day at age 90." Whatever Happened to ? is a feature about Rochesters haunts of yesteryear and is based on our archives. Morrell is a Rochester-based freelance writer. Editor's note: This story was originally published in April 2015. This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Tobin Packing was innovator in white hots in Rochester NY Images from John Cox's time in service and as a young man at his apartment at the Village of Westland in Westland on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Cox is a WWII veteran and will be 102 years old on March 10. John Cox could tell you about his time in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, but he'd much rather chat about cars, crossword puzzles or his time spent working in a bowling alley as a youngster. "One game cost 20 cents to bowl," he said, "and I got four cents for setting pins." Dressed in a dapper plaid shirt and navy cardigan, Cox smiles brightly from a plush easy chair in his apartment at Presbyterian Village of Westland. He'll turn 102 on March 10, he says proudly, making him one of just 240,000 American WWII veterans still alive today, according to the Department of Veteran's Affairs. Approximately 234 World War II veterans die every day, the VA says, taking their memories and experiences with them. But Cox isn't bothered with all that. Instead, he tells the story of why, in 1928, his family moved to Detroit from his hometown of Linneus, Missouri. His father, a baker, had lost his job at a Linneus bakeshop when the authorities discovered his boss was making contraband booze using bread yeast. "(The police) caught up with him much too often, and they told him, 'You better lay low, or we're gonna put you in jail,' " Cox explained through lighthearted chuckles. After some gentle prodding, he agrees to talk about being drafted in World War II. John Cox's 27th Troop Carrier Squadron U.S.A.A.F scrapbook at the Village of Westland in Westland on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Cox is a WWII veteran and will be 102 years old on March 10. "Except I didn't get drafted," he gently corrects, beaming. "I enlisted!" Enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Corps Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese military forces in December 1941, Cox, then 21, realized the draft deferment he had banked on was likely to be revoked. He made his way to Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, where he enlisted as a member of the Army Air Corps. There he attended a six-month training program, during which he learned how to pack, inspect and repair parachutes. Eventually, he joined the Air Corps' 27th Troop Carrier Squadron and deployed to Burma, a then-British colony where Japanese forces had invaded. Story continues John Cox looks his 27th Troop Carrier Squadron U.S.A.A.F scrapbook at his apartment at the Village of Westland in Westland on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Cox is a WWII veteran and will be 102 years old on March 10. "With help from other outfits, we flew parachute troopers and supplies and all that stuff into Burma," Cox said, "and got the (Japanese troops) out of there." From Burma, Cox's regiment headed to Sylhet, Bangladesh, where his squadron supported a spunky aviation general named Claire Lee Chennault as he trained the First American Volunteer Group of the Republic of China Air Force an initiative Chennault dubbed "The Flying Tigers." "We stayed (in Sylhet) for quite a while delivering packages, gasoline and supplies with our C-47s. We were there for the rest of the war - for a year and six months," Cox said, clearly ready to move on to more interesting topics. Cox's son, Bill Cox, daughter, Sheryl Cox Bellono, and daughter-in-law, Carol Cox, pass around framed photo montages and mementos as their father talks, explaining that he has never been particularly forthcoming about sharing his experiences in the war. Westland residents Carol Cox, 62, left, John Cox, 102, top center, Bill Cox, 66, bottom center, and Sheryl Cox-Bellono, 68, right, pose for a photo at Cox's apartment at the Village of Westland in Westland on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Cox is a WWII veteran and will be 102 years old on March 10. "We didn't learn about this until we were well into our 40s," Cox Bellono said. "My dad was kind of a quiet guy. He went to work, came home, we had dinner, he bowled on Tuesday and Friday nights." After their mother, Jean, passed away in 2000, Bill Cox said he began taking his father to his annual Army Air Corps reunions, where he finally learned about the integral role his dad had played in Asia during the war. "There's a guy that put together a huge collection of what the 27th (Squadron) did, and we'd go to these reunions, and I would read about what had happened," Bill Cox said.. "I was just kind of amazed by it all. You know, that he had actually been where he'd been and gone through what hed gone through. Because he's always been just a real quiet kind of person." Risky assignments After gentle coaxing from his family, Cox opens up about some of the scarier parts of his time overseas. "One of our fighter planes got hit with firebombs," he recalled. "It was after hours, so we all got out of the barracks and jumped in our trenches to hide." Sensing his dad's reluctance, Bill Cox shared details of his some of his dad's high-stakes assignments, including a campaign to remove a radio jammer - a piece of technology designed to scramble airwaves and interfere with military communications that took him and three other privates on a risky midnight drive through the Sylhet countryside. "They had to go up and down hills without having any of their lights or anything on, because if they did, they were going to be vulnerable," Bill Cox explained. "They never did find (the radio jammer), but they made it back safe." Personalized stamps from WWII of John Cox sit at his apartment at the Village of Westland in Westland on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Cox is a WWII veteran and will be 102 years old on March 10. Cox's cousin, also a member of the corps, got shot down in transit between Italy and Germany. He survived and was redeployed to China, where he hoped to be reunited with Cox. "The dummy writes me a letter saying, How do I get a hold of you? But I couldn't write him back, because I'd get censored," Cox explained, laughing at his cousin's foolishness. It's one of many times during the interview when Cox seems to find levity in a memory that sounds anything but humorous. That sunny, good-natured disposition has helped Cox thrive into his hundredth year and beyond, said Cox Bellono. John Cox's 27th Troop Carrier Squadron U.S.A.A.F scrapbook at the Village of Westland in Westland on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Cox is a WWII veteran and will be 102 years old on March 10. "The original Energizer Bunny" "We call him the original Energizer Bunny," Cox Bellono said, smiling. "He just keeps on ticking. He has a lady that comes twice a month, and she plays the guitar, and they sing together. He can tell you every car he's ever owned make, model, color. We're just astonished." At Presbyterian Village of Westland, Cox has become something of a celebrity since he moved in roughly two years ago, despite the fact that he only leaves his apartment for dinner and special occasions, said the Village's resident relations manager Breana Wallace. Other residents feel inspired when they learn Cox is over 100 and still largely independent, she adds. "Some of the residents are like, 'Hey, I can make it to that age,' " Wallace explained. "Its like a challenge. It's definitely been a joy to have him with us, and just letting him experience this next chapter in his life." That chapter started with a bang on Cox's 100th birthday in March 2020, during which more than 100 friends and family members gathered at a local restaurant to celebrate the milestone. COVID-19 eliminated any hope of a birthday celebration last year, Cox Bellono said, but she's hopeful they'll be able to get the family - which includes two children, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren together this year. An image of John Cox's hundredth birthday party in 2020 is displayed on the wall at his apartment in Westland on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Cox is a WWII veteran and will be 102 years old on March 10. "All his friends have passed away," Cox Bellono added. "He's like the lone survivor." Cox said he'd like to celebrate his upcoming birthday at his favorite restaurant, Deluca's in Dearborn Heights, which he has been frequenting since it opened in 1957. He talks in vivid detail about the restaurant's humble beginnings as a dinner trolley on the corner, placing special emphasis on the fact that delivery was not available "You had to go pick it up yourself!" As Cox rattles off a detailed list of original menu items that Deluca's served more than 60 years ago, Cox Bellono shares that she attributes her dad's sharpness in part to his lifelong love of reading. "We got Reader's Digest, National Geographic, Life magazine," she said, motioning toward the stacks of newspapers and magazines on her father's coffee table. "He read the Detroit Free Press in the morning and the Detroit News in the evening, every day, for as long as I can remember." Lauren Wethington is a breaking news reporter. You can email her at LGilpin@freepress.com or find her on Twitter at @laurenelizw1. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Westland WWII veteran John Cox had high-stakes assignments WASHINGTON The Biden administration on Friday joined the European Union in directly sanctioning President Vladimir Putin, as Russian forces continued a brutal invasion of Ukraine, threatening to take over the capital city of Kyiv. Putin has "perpetrated horrific aggression against Ukraine," the Treasury Department said in a release detailing the sanctions that also targeted Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other members of Russia's security council. Treasury's actions essentially mean that any property or monetary assets Putin or his top advisers may have in the U.S. are frozen. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the decision to go after Putins finances was made after consultation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She said the sanctions also include a travel ban. Sanctioning Putin is largely symbolic. The Russian leader has buried his wealth, making it difficult to freeze his assets. Asked by reporters Thursday whether the U.S. knew where Putins money was, deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh responded: Not going to comment on that. Some experts have estimated that Putin's net worth is in the tens of billions. The Biden administration has been ratcheting up sanctions against Moscow over the past few days, working in coordination with European allies to take measures in hopes of deterring Putin from a wide-scale attack against Ukraine. President Joe Biden on Thursday restricted the exports of some products from the U.S. to Russia, blocking Moscows ability to acquire semiconductor chips and other technology essential to defense, aerospace and other critical sectors. He also announced sanctions targeting Russian banks and elites with close ties to Putin, freezing every asset Russia has in the U.S. Earlier in the week, Biden sanctioned large Russian financial institutions, elites and worked with allies halt the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. But those actions appeared to do little to keep Putin from pushing Russian forces farther into Ukraine on Friday, as Kyiv was rocked by explosions and the sound of air-raid sirens. Ukrainian officials encouraged residents of the capital city to make Molotov cocktails to defend against the Russian military. Biden spoke with Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier Friday after the Ukrainian president released a video message lamenting that Ukraine had been left alone to fight Russia. In the video, Zelenskyy pledged to stay in Kyiv and said that he was Russias No. 1 target. Joe Biden (L), Vladimir Putin (R). Alex Brandon/AP Photo; Sergei Karpukhin\TASS via Getty Images President Biden announced several sanctions against Russia on Thursday over its invasion of Ukraine. They include measures targeting Russia's largest financial institutions and restricting its tech imports. See the full list of sanctions below. President Biden unveiled new sanctions on Russia on Thursday in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine. The measures take aim at Russia's economy, military, financial system, and technological imports. "We will limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen to be part of the global economy," Biden said in remarks Thursday. "We're going to stop the ability to finance and grow the Russian military. We're going to impair their ability to compete in a high-tech 21st-century economy." "Putin is the aggressor," the president added. "Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences." Here's an overview of the sanctions: The White House is cutting off Sberbank, Russia's biggest bank and largest financial institution, from the US financial system, blocking it from processing transactions made in dollars. Sberbank holds nearly one-third of the assets in Russia's banking sector. Assets of Russia's second-biggest bank, VTB Bank, that are held in the US will be frozen. The White House is freezing US assets of three other major Russian financial institutions: Bank Otkritie, Sovcombank OJSC, and Novikombank. With Thursday's financial sanctions, the White House says it has targeted Russia's 10 biggest financial institutions and nearly 80% of the country's banking assets. The US is imposing new debt and equity restrictions on several enterprises and entities critical to the Russian economy, stopping them from raising money through the US market. A handful of Russian oligarchs and Putin allies are being sanctioned. Assets they hold in the US will be frozen, and they'll be blocked from entering the country. The US is also slapping sanctions on Belarus for its support of Russia's invasion. The measures will apply to 24 individuals and entities, including two state-owned banks, nine defense firms, and seven officials and elites. The White House is taking measures, including US export restrictions, against the Russian Ministry of Defense to limit Russia's military growth. The US is cutting off Russia's supply of technological goods, restricting its import of semiconductors, telecommunication, encryption security, lasers, sensors, maritime technologies, and more. To encourage other countries to take action against Russia for the invasion, the White House will exempt nations from new US licensing requirements for items made in their countries if they impose similar export restrictions on Russia. You can read the list of sanctions from the White House here. Read the original article on Business Insider On the early morning of Feb. 21, Luohu imposed some going-out restrictions on certain areas of Sungang sub-district due to the resurgence of COVID-19. And the second day, it imposed similar restrictions on some areas of Guiyuan sub-district. The staff working on the front of the COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control are in charge of disinfecting fast delivery parcels and carrying them to a designated point for the recipients after the couriers put the packs at the entrance of the neighborhoods. To accelerate nucleic acid testing, the Sungang village set up eight testing sites and 13 teams in charge of epidemiological investigation. As a result, the complicated epidemic prevention and control work could be done efficiently. The government has launched ten 24-hour hotlines for the people living and working in the lockdown areas to ask for help in case of emergency. At the same time, the supplies of food and life necessities in the affected areas are fully guaranteed, and the prices remain the same as that out of the lockdown neighborhoods. Within 12 hours of the lockdown, the Guiyuan sub-district office opened an online platform and two 24-hour hotlines for the residents living in the affected areas to express their appeals. Elderly residents who need to see a doctor regularly can now be sent to the hospital for treatment following a closed-loop management model. And for those with physical disabilities and who cannot move conveniently, the community workers will visit them to collect the nucleic acid testing samples. On the afternoon of Feb. 22, the Guiyuan sub-district office built another four nucleic acid testing sitesites to increase its testing capacity, based on the original eleven ones. The community workers said that with the full support of the residents, they are confident that the virus can be defeated. Ukrainian border guard officers patrol the Ukrainian-Belarusian state border at a checkpoint in Novi Yarylovychi, Ukraine, on Feb. 21 Credit - Oleksandr RatushniakAP The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Belarusian regime defense sector and financial institutions Thursday following Russias invasion of Ukraine, citing Minsks support for, and facilitation of Moscows attack. Among the 24 individuals and entities facing these sanctions are Belarusian defense minister Viktor Khrenin, two large state-owned banks, several security companies that the U.S. says have close links with Russia, and a businessman linked to authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Having already sacrificed its legitimacy to suppress the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people, the Lukashenko regime is now jeopardizing Belarus sovereignty by supporting Russias further invasion of Ukraine, said U.S. treasury minister Janet Yellen. Read More: Heres What We Know So Far About Russias Assault on Ukraine The U.S. isnt the only country sanctioning these institutions and individuals. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced similar punitive measures for Belarus reported role in the assault. As tensions between Moscow and Kyiv escalated last week, some 30,000 Russian troops extended their stay in Belarus. For months, the U.S. has been warning that Russia is creating pretexts to swoop on Kyiv, and flagged that the recent war games and this extension in Belarus was a prelude to the attack on Ukraine, which was ultimately launched Thursday. Lukashenko has denied the involvement of Belarusian troops in Moscows attack, although he said he was willing to support Russian forces if necessary, state media reported. But with reports of Russian troops entering Ukraine from its northern border, the Belarusian regimes role in the emerging conflict in Europe has come under increased scrutiny. I think the most alarming thing we now understand is that were not quite sure whether Belarus could be considered as a sovereign state in terms of control on its own territory, especially in terms of military control, says Olga Dryndova, editor of Belarus-Analysen at the University of Bremens Research Center for East European Studies in Germany. Story continues CCTV cameras at Belarusian-Ukrainian checkpoint Senkovka-Veselovka captures a convoy crossing the border from Belarus to Ukraine on Feb. 24 State Border Guard Service of Ukraine/EYEPRESS/Reuters The relationship between Russia and Belarus Both Russia and Belarus belonged to the former Soviet Union. These days, Russia is also Belarus key trade partner. Bilateral trading between the countries was $29.5 billion in 2020, according to government data. The two nations also hold regular military drills together, with the most recent one on Feb.10 near Belarus southern border with Ukraine. Read More: In the Standoff Between Belarus and Europe, Migrants Are Being Used as Human Weapons The Kremlin has long urged for the better implementation of a 1999 treaty between Russia and Belarus. In the treaty, the two countries vowed to form a union similar to that of the European Union, promising broad cooperation but also maintaining their independence. Lukashenko reportedly hoped that in signing the treaty, he would be chosen to replace outgoing Russian President Boris Yeltsinwho was sick at the time. However, the presidency went to Vladimir Putin, and the treaty was never fully implemented. Lukashenko went on to rebuff several proposals from Moscow for deeper integration of the two countries. The hotly contested 2020 Belarusian elections changed that. Lukashenko claimed to have won a sixth term by a landslide, despite claims of electoral fraud and widespread vote-rigging. Minsk has since warmed up to Moscowespecially after Putin recognized Lukashenkos victory in the polls and offered to provide security aid if massive electoral protests in the country worsened. Dryndova believes that Lukashenko was able to stay in power in Belarus because of Russias show of support. I dont see how possible it was for him to stay in power without the support of Putin, she says. But it came at a price. Thats also the tragedy of the protests of 2020that they made [Lukashenko] so weak that he is now not able to ask Putin to move his tanks out of the territory. Read More: Russias Invasion of Ukraine Is a Major Test for Joe Bidens Foreign Policy Vision Ihar Tyshkevich, an expert on Belarus from the Ukrainian Institute of the Future in Kyiv, says Lukashenko has no power to oppose Russia from stationing its troops in Belarus, and has nothing to gain from letting Moscow use Minsk territory. Lukashenko cannot benefit from Russian aggression in Ukraine, Tyshkevich says. But he has no choice. Russian vehicles, aircraft & soldiers are spotted in cities & towns - Minsk, Brest, Homiel, Mozyr, Babruisk, Pinsk, all over southern Belarus. Lukashenka committed high treason by supporting Russia in the assault on Ukraine. He is a war criminal & shares responsibility with Putin pic.twitter.com/Db1nI8Pclk Franak Viacorka (@franakviacorka) February 25, 2022 What does Belarus stand to lose? By allowing Russian troops to enter Ukraine from the northern border, Lukashenko has effectively surrendered the sovereignty of Belarus, according to Jorg Forbrig, Director for Central and Eastern Europe of the German Marshall Fund. By now, his country is basically part of the Russian military space, Forbrig says. It is a staging ground for the Russian army. Belarusian authorities have called Ukraine an important trading partner, but that relationship will likely also be severely impacted by the latest developments, says Forbrig. A large part of that trade is oil: In 2019, around half of Belarus $4.14 billion in exports to Ukraine is refined petroleum products. Another major export from Belarus to Ukraine is electricity. Belarusian state media previously forecast electricity exports to Ukraine could rise as high as 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours in 2021. That relationship is set to end now, after Ukraine said it would suspend imports of its electricity from Belarus in response to the crisis. Ukrainian border guard officers patrol the Ukrainian-Belarusian state border at a checkpoint in Novi Yarylovychi, Ukraine, on Feb. 21 Oleksandr RatushniakAP Strengthened ties between Minsk and Moscow also signify Russias growing counter-response to the NATO alliance, which Ukraine has expressed interest in joining. The Kremlins ability to station troops in Belarus puts pressure on NATO powers to respond to the precarious defense and security situation in the region, Forbrig says. Three of Belarus neighboring states are members of NATOLatvia, Lithuania and Polandand other member-states in the region are already on high-alert due to the Ukraine crisis. Lukashenko had offered to host Russian nuclear weapons in the country if NATO were to move American nuclear bombs from Germany to Eastern Europe. His regime can soon host the weapons in Belarus after it renounced non-nuclear status in a constitutional referendum that claimed to have the approval of majority of votersmade possible by a brutal crackdown on opponents following a 2020 election that was widely criticized as neither free nor fair. Read More: How NATO Is Responding to Russias Invasion of Ukraine And though Lukashenko has ruled Belarus for 28 years, that may not last. As an autocracy, Belarus has little to no reliable data on Lukashenkos popularity, but one 2020 poll before the Aug. 9 elections and the protests that followed showed Lukashenkos approval rating at 24%. Thousands of protesters claimed that the election results were rigged. The bigger question at some stage is whether or not Lukashenko at some stage becomes dispensable to Moscow, says Forbrig, noting that the Belarusian leaders power is effectively sponsored by Putin. They may find at some stage that installing a different ruler in Belarus will be beneficial for them. Emilio Morenatti Impending doom is how CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward described the feeling among hundreds of civilians who had taken refuge in a subway station-turned-bomb shelter in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Thursday. The reporter, who was sheltering in place there with her crew, spoke to The Daily Beast hours after leaving the metro station, where desperate families were holed up after grabbing whatever they could from their homes. Above ground, just outside the citys borders, Ukrainian soldiers clashed with Russian troops for control over Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine. Residents now worry that Kharkiv will devolve into one of the many battlegrounds across the country after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion on Wednesday. Many Ukrainian people are spending the night in these shelters because they have no idea what kind of bombardment to expect overnight. The city that were in, Kharkiv, is very close to the Russian border, Ward told The Daily Beast, referring to the onslaught of Russian missile and artillery attacks pummeling targets across Ukraine, including the capital city of Kyiv. Theres been a huge buildup of Russian troops just across that border. They have made their way across it, and so the fear here is that the city will be attacked, it could be encircled, or it could be laid siege too. Ward went on: The feeling on the ground right now in Ukraine is one of profound shock, horror, disbelief [and] fear, deep, deep fear. People have no idea what the future holds, where they should go, where is the safest place for them to be, what the outcome is going to be as this onslaught continues and there's a sense that people are trying not to panic. Other journalists, like Kyiv-based investigative reporter Tanya Kozyreva, are still processing the horror of watching their own country turn into a war zone. This is not new to me, she told The Daily Beast. But its one thing when you go for a week but its another thing when its in your city, she said, adding that its difficult not to think about the safety of your friends, family, your loved ones. Story continues She explained that one of the most difficult things to witness is seeing the citizens of Kyiv flee the city in droves, fearing for their lives. Its heartbreaking. People are trying to get on the bus and train to get out of the city. Kyiv seems to be the main target right now. Many civilians are trying to leave Kyiv, she told The Daily Beast. People are leaving their houses. A young couple with a six-month-old baby left with only a couple slices of bread and a couple of diapers. They have no idea what to do. Theyre concerned they will be shelled. Kyiv-based journalist Iryna Matviyishyn echoed the terror on the ground. Its chaotic right now, she said. Nobody knows where is the safe place except western Ukraine. Its a total terror by Russians here. But all Ukrainian men who can fight are joining military defense and armed forces. Ukrainians wont give up. Meanwhile, in the city of Mariupol in Eastern Ukraine, Al Jazeera reporter Liz Cookman told The Daily Beast about how unnerving it was to report from a city that is so close to separatist territory, where pro-Russia forces had first called on Putin to send troops into Ukraine. The fighting grows closer and closer. The explosions get louder and louder, she said. [And] it is now moving towards us Its very uncertain at the moment. I just this evening went to an underground church to meet people sheltering there, adding that she saw a lot of tears and a lot of emotions from civilians who had fled there. Cookman provided video of the solemn-looking worshippers gathered in a small underground church, many with their eyes closed, gently swaying and singing along to a hymn as the threat of violence loomed large outside. No one expects this to end tomorrow, Ward told The Daily Beast. Nobody knows how its going to end but clearly Ukraine will be profoundly destabilized by this invasion. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. CHICAGO AREA, IL Here is a roundup of top stories from recent days in the northern Chicago suburbs. The 34-year-old Round Lake woman faces battery charges in connection with the Feb. 4 incident in Libertyville. A 62-year-old Rogers Park resident with a previous sex assault conviction has been charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child. Police said Chloe Poters is not believed to be in danger and did not leave under any suspicious circumstances. Ahead of Fat Tuesday this year, warmer weather is in the forecast and coronavirus-related restrictions are set to be lifted. The spacious five-bedroom home, and its impressive backyard, is selling for $775,000. More On Patch: This article originally appeared on the Algonquin-Lake In The Hills Patch By Cooper Inveen and George Obulutsa (Reuters) - When Percy Ohene-Yeboah peered down from his high-rise apartment in the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine on Thursday morning, the street below was clogged with traffic. People hurried along the sidewalks, wheeling suitcases behind them. The Ghanaian engineering student went to a window on the other side and discovered why: Russian planes were flying low above the city, trying to evade missiles that rifled through the sky - a scene resembling one of his favourite video games, Call of Duty. As reality dawned, and with nowhere to turn, the 24-year-old, packed a bag and ran to the nearest underground train station for shelter, one of thousands of African students stranded in Ukraine during a Russian invasion, with no idea of how to escape. "In a situation like this, you're on your own. You've got to find the best way to find refuge for yourself," he told Reuters by phone from the basement of a church where he eventually settled on Thursday night. Cities under siege across Ukraine are home to tens of thousands of African students studying medicine, engineering and military affairs. Morocco, Nigeria and Egypt are among the top 10 countries with foreign students in Ukraine, together supplying over 16,000 students, according to the education ministry. Thousands of Indian students are also trying to flee. What was meant to be a cheaper alternative to studying in Western Europe or the United States has turned overnight into a war zone as Russian tanks, planes and ships launch the biggest European invasion of another nation since World War Two. With flights grounded, African governments thousands of miles away are struggling to support their students. The students Reuters spoke to said they had had no help from home. "It's now that the reality is really hitting me," said Ohene-Yeboah. "I think for me it's a bit too late for evacuation and all those things." Story continues STAY PUT OR RUN Ghana's student presence in Ukraine is big enough for it to have a local union chapter. In the days before the invasion, the union sent reports about the situation to the government in Accra. "They confirmed that they received things like that, but we never got any real reply to any of our concerns," said Ohene-Yeboah. Afraid of taking the road west, and without flights or money, he will stay put for now. Others are on the move. When Russian bombs began to fall near the capital Kyiv, 400 km (250 miles) west of Kharkiv, on Thursday morning, a group of Kenyan medical students decided to leave. They have been in touch with officials from their government, one of them said, but they must find their own way out of Ukraine. The five students rushed to Kyiv's train station on Friday morning in the hope of boarding a train to the western city of Lviv. From there, they aim to go over the border into Poland from where they can return home. A spot on board the train is not guaranteed. "It is really, really bad. Everyone is fleeing the city," said one of the medical students, who asked not to be named. She and her colleagues brought nothing with them in the rush, only vital documents. "We can't carry luggage. Luggage will make us lag behind." (Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Alison Williams) Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference in Kiev, Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a defiant second speech on Thursday night. He said that enemy forces had entered the capital and that he and his family were the prime targets. "I stay in the capital, I stay with my people," Zelensky said. In his second video address on Thursday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "enemy sabotage groups" entered Kyiv, and that he plans to remain, despite being Russia's "number one target." "According to preliminary data, unfortunately, we have lost 137 of our heroes today our citizens. Ten of them are officers," Zelensky said in his address. "316 are wounded." He added that after Ukrainian and Russian forces fought for hours on Thursday over a critical airfield in Hostomel on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukrainian forces had beat back Russian troops. "They defended almost the entire territory of Ukraine, which suffered direct blows," he said. "They regain the one that the enemy managed to occupy. For example, Hostomel near Kyiv. This gives more confidence to the capital." He used the opportunity to dispel rumors that he had fled Kyiv, and that his family had left the country. "I stay in the capital, I stay with my people. During the day, I held dozens of international talks, directly managed our country. And I will stay in the capital," he said. "My family is also in Ukraine. My children are also in Ukraine. My family is not traitors. They are the citizens of Ukraine. But I have no right to say where they are now." Zelensky added that, "the enemy marked me as the number one target," and that his family "is the number two target." "They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the Head of State," he said. "We also have information that enemy sabotage groups have entered Kyiv. That's why I am asking Kyivites very much: be careful, follow the rules of curfew." Story continues Zelensky also lamented elements of NATO's response so far to Russia's military attacks, saying Ukrainians were "left alone in defense of our state." "Today, I asked the twenty-seven leaders of Europe whether Ukraine will be in NATO. I asked directly. Everyone is afraid. They do not answer," he said. Zelensky finished his speech by calling for an end to the war. "We need to talk about the end of this invasion," he said. "We need to talk about a ceasefire." On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Around 5 a.m. Kyiv time on Thursday, as members of the United Nations Security Council called on Putin to de-escalate in an emergency session, he simultaneously launched a "special military operation," effectively declaring war on Ukraine in a televised address. Read the original article on Business Insider LOVINGSTON A Nelson County jury declined to find a mentally ill Nelson County man not guilty by reason of insanity for the 2019 killing of a Charlottesville man but did find him guilty of a lesser charge. The multi-day trial of Roger Dale Beverly, 36, started Tuesday in Nelson County Circuit Court. Beverly faced charges of first-degree murder, stabbing with intent to maim or kill and concealing a body in the death of Winfred W. Watson, 48, of Charlottesville. Neither man knew each other prior to the incident. Throughout the three-day trial, Beverlys attorney, Brady S. Nicks, and four expert defense witnesses presented ample evidence of the defendants mental illness and difficult family history. Although earlier testimony seemed to suggest Beverly had not been diagnosed with schizophrenia prior to the May 2, 2019, killing of Watson, Dr. Eugene Simopoulos, a doctor of psychiatry from Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, said he diagnosed the defendant in February of the same year. Beverly had been arrested for a failure to appear and was evaluated during his time at ACRJ, Simopoulos said. Beverly was prescribed medicine to treat schizophrenia but, upon release, there was no indication he took the medication or sought further treatment from Region Ten, a Central Virginia community services board, Simopoulos said. Region Ten does excellent work, but they can only do so much if the person does not seek treatment or doesnt show up, he said. Simopolous said Beverlys mental health had declined dramatically when he returned to the jail in May following the killing of Watson. Now, nearly three years later, Beverly is on three different medications, including anti-psychotics, and has improved, the psychiatrist said. Nicks attempted to emphasize the psychological evidence to the jury during closing arguments, arguing all of Beverlys actions surrounding the death of Watson were expressions of his insanity. The only way this case makes sense is if you acknowledge Mr. Beverly was crazy at the time of the incident, Nicks said. While two psychologists testified Wednesday they believed Beverlys attack on Watson was influenced by his insanity, the two also declined to endorse the view Beverly was insane when he attempted to light Watsons body on fire. Watson, who was stabbed 13 times by Beverly, was found face down on the side of a trail behind the Food Lion in Lovingston. Surrounding his body were the smoldering signs of a fire and a burned and warped 8-inch knife police said was used by Beverly to take Watsons life. The sheer ineptitude of this apparent attempt to hide Watsons body was evidence of disorganized thinking, Nicks said, itself a symptom of schizophrenia. The defense attorney argued if Beverly had been trying to conceal the body while not under the effects of psychosis he would have done a better job and not drawn attention to himself or remained near the scene of the crime. Erik Laub, assistant commonwealths attorney for Nelson County, disagreed with this argument and urged the jury to see the crime for what it is. Acknowledging the attempt to conceal Watsons body was, at best, poorly thought out, Laub said it was clear Beverlys intention was to hide the evidence of his crime. Im not going to stand here and tell you that I dont think Roger Beverly has schizophrenia; he clearly does, and the evidence has shown that, Laub said. But, as the experts testified to, there is no evidence that he was insane at the time of the concealment. Laub also urged the jury to find Beverly guilty of first-degree murder, arguing that his actions met the premeditation requirement. To bolster this argument, Laub in-part argued the use of a folding pocket knife was evidence of malice and premeditation because of the time it would take to unfold the knife. After about three hours of deliberations, the 12-person jury returned with a verdict. They found Beverly guilty on the concealment and stabbing charges and found him guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter instead of first-degree murder. Although the jury did not find Beverly not guilty by reason of insanity for any of the three charges, he would not have been a free man if they had. In Virginia, a defendant acquitted of a crime due to insanity still must be evaluated and treated by the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, a process which can involve being held at a hospital for an indefinite period of time. Beverly will be sentenced by a judge May 31 in Nelson County Circuit Court. Per sentencing guidelines, for the three charges he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, although it is unlikely a judge will choose to run his sentences consecutively. Lynchburg Vice Mayor Beau Wright announced Friday on social media he will not seek reelection in the 2022 city council elections. Wright, who was chosen to serve as vice mayor by his colleagues on council, will not run for the at-large seat he won in May 2018. Lynchburg City Council is composed of seven members who serve four-year terms. Four are elected from each of the city's four wards, and the remaining three are elected from the city at large. "With deep gratitude I want to share that I will not be seeking re-election this year to Lynchburg City Council," Wright said in a post on his Instagram page. "... I love Lynchburg. It's my home. And the opportunity to represent this community this place we all love has been an immense privilege." Wright, a third-generation Lynchburg native, graduated from E.C. Glass High School in 2007 and earned a degree from the College of William & Mary. From 2011 to 2017, Wright served in several roles in President Barack Obama's White House, with his final position being senior deputy director of operations and director for finance, where he managed finances for the White House and assisted with the budget. In his post, Wright reflected on some of the opportunities he's had serving on council. "I've gotten to spend time with thousands of incredible people who make Lynchburg home who make our city what it is," he wrote. "... I've gotten to run every street in Lynchburg and see every nook, every cranny, every cul de sac that we have to offer. I've gotten to run each of our hills, and I can tell you, shin splints aside: We live in a beautiful place." Wright finished by saying, "I have loved serving as your representative, and while this is the right time, personally, for me to step back, make no mistake: I'm going to keep fighting for Lynchburg over the next 10 months and beyond." Wright will serve out his term until the end of this year. Voters will head to the polls in November to elect the three representatives for the at-large seats in the city. Bryson Gordon Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Lynchburg area continue to decline steadily as the latest wave of infections dwindle. As of Thursday, Centra reported a total of 57 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Lynchburg General, Southside Community and Bedford Memorial hospitals down from 79 reported last week. The hospital system reached an all-time high of COVID-19 patients just more than a month ago, when more than 200 people were hospitalized with the virus. Out of the 57 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Centra facilities, five are in the intensive care unit, two of whom are on ventilators. The Virginia Department of Health reported 85 confirmed new COVID-19 cases Thursday in Lynchburg, down from a high of 320 new confirmed cases set Jan. 8, though cases have been climbing since Monday, when 23 cases were reported. The seven-day average of new cases per day stands at 54. Statewide, 2,176 cases were reported Thursday, down from the statewide single-day record of 26,175 set Jan. 8. In Lynchburg, 47.3% of the population is fully vaccinated and 23.5% have received a booster shot, according to the health department. Across the Central Virginia Health District, which includes Lynchburg plus the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell, vaccination rates range from 48.9% to 53%. Centras catchment area for Lynchburg General and Southside Community hospitals covers Lynchburg and the surrounding counties, the Farmville area and several smaller satellite locations. Mt. Hope United Methodist Church Mt. Hope United Methodist Church, 290th and Highway 6, McClelland, would like to invite all to join us on Sunday mornings for our worship service at 9:30 a.m. Children are welcome for the regular worship service and children sermon during the worship service. Upcoming event, on March 13 we will have a council meeting at 8:30 a.m. followed by our breakfast and worship at 9:30 a.m. in our fellowship room. Also watch for our yard sale coming in June. You do not have to be a member to participate in our church activities. Everyone is welcome. Underwood Lutheran Church Underwood Lutheran Church, 10 Third Ave., will hold Sunday activities. Education begins at 9 a.m. In-person Worship begins at 10:15 a.m. with online video available later in the day. Pastor Lisa Johnson will deliver a sermon based on Luke 6:27-38. Gethsemane Presbyterian Church Gethsemane Presbyterian Church, 224 Wallace Ave, invites you to worship with us. Our service runs from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and children are invited to participate in Sunday school. Rev. Dr. Edwin G. Steinmetz will be delivering the sermon Eyewitnesses to His Majesty. Refreshments will be served following service. Adult Bible study meets on Mondays and Thursdays from 9-10 a.m. Ash Wednesday service will be held at 6 p.m. on March 2. Mark your calendars for sloppy Joe bingo on Thursday, March 24. Dinner at 6 p.m. and bingo starts at 6:30 p.m. Our food pantry is open on Mondays and Thursdays until 10:30 a.m. We have an abundance of food! For more information contact the church office at 712-366-2513 or visit us on Facebook at gethsemanepresbyterianchurch.org. Timothy Lutheran Church Timothy Lutheran Church, 3112 W. Broadway, offers services at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. The church alternates between traditional services and praise services each week. Sunday, Feb. 20, will be a traditional service. Bible study and Sunday school at 9:15 a.m. If a month has a fifth Sunday, the church hosts a combined service at 9 a.m. Food and fellowship after service on fifth Sundays and there is no Bible study or Sunday school on those days. The church is handicap accessible. St. Pauls Evangelical Country Church St. Pauls Evangelical Country Church, 11055 Dumfries Ave., rings the church bell at 10:30 a.m. to welcome people to worship each Sunday morning. There are directional signs from Wabash Avenue and Pioneer Trail leading to the church. We are a friendly, growing Bible-teaching church led by Rev. Jason Kinney. Sunday School for all ages, including adults, begins at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday night activities include adult small group Bible study and youth groups. Saturday morning at 9 .m. is the mens breakfast. This Sundays scripture is Joshua 4:1-7, with the sermon title Remembering God. The mens breakfast will be at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Discipleship training will begin at 6 p.m. on March 6. Greeters will be Vianne and Richard Coleman. Plans are being made for the chili dinner and Gospel music on Saturday, March 19. Visit our website stpaulsecc.org for more information. We are handicapped accessible. Compass Christian Church Compass Christian Church, 2007 S. Seventh St., welcomes you to worship with us Sundays at 10:30 a.m. We are located just west of the South Expressway. The church is handicap accessible. During worship a cry room is available, and childcare for ages 1-4 with drop off at the beginning of the service and pick up after service. Following communion, Compass Kids grades K-5 meet downstairs for special Bible lessons. You may also worship with us on YouTube at Compass Christian Church CB. Weekly schedules include Mondays Mens Bible Study 7:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. includes Childrens Group K-5, student group 6th-12th and Adult Prayer Group. Mens and womens groups are held at various times throughout the year. Sunday evenings through March 13 at 7 p.m., Compass Christian Church is hosting Dave Ramseys Financial Peace University. This is a Christian-based, 12-week course designed to help you in finding financial freedom through better money management. The facilitator of the class is Dave Bayer. You may sign up for the classes by going to ramseysolutions.com/ramseyplus/classes/1144131. More information may be found on Facebook at Compass Christian Church CB, compasscb.org, or call the church office at 712-366-9112. Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church, 1800 Fifth Ave., invites the public to participate in our live worship service at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Face masks are optional and the Sunday worship service will continue to be recorded live and can be viewed on our Facebook page: Fifth Avenue UMC, Council Bluffs. The church office can be reached Monday or Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for prayer or other requests at 712-323-7374 or through our email at fifthaveumchurch@gmail.com. Upcoming events At 6 p.m. March 2, pancake dinner followed by Ash Wednesday service in Fellowship Hall. At 6 p.m. March 9 Meal and Message, at 6 p.m. March 19 potluck and movie (Daniel), at 6 p.m. March 23 Meal and Message. Bethany Presbyterian Church Bethany Presbyterian Church, 1900 S. Seventh St., has worship at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Pastor Nancy Ross-Hullingers message will be Not Telling Anyone and the scripture is Luke 9:28-43. Liturgist is Earl Hallberg and the greeters are Jack and Cindy Johnson. We will have cleaning of the church at 9 a.m. today. Remember to bring change for our Bucket of Hope. Remember the Golden Rule. We are a handicap accessible facility. Community of Christ Church Community of Christ Church, 140 W. Kanesville Blvd, holds Sunday worship. Our theme this week is Transform Us. Our scriptures for this week are Luke 9:28-43, Exodus 34:29-35, Psalm 99:2, Corinthians 3:12-4:2. Services will begin at 10:15 a.m., come join us as Frank Gunderson will be speaking the message. Please call our office at 712-323-4498 for any questions. There are virtual ministries out on our World Church Website at ministries cofchrist.org. Epworth United Methodist Church Epworth United Methodist Church, 2447 Ave. B, worships on Sundays at 9:25 a.m. The people are friendly, the worship is meaningful and the building is handicap accessible. Masks and hand sanitizer are available. We also invite you to our Bible study on Thursdays at 9 a.m. Our church is hosting Lenten Luncheons from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every Wednesday from March 2 to April 6 and you are welcome to attend. We keep in prayer for the healing of our community and the nation for God. If you want us to pray for you, let us know your prayer requests by phone or online at facebook.com/groups/friends.epworth. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and our phone number is 712-323-3124. Faith Lutheran Church Faith Lutheran Church, 2100 S. 11th Street, will celebrate the Transfiguration of our Lord with creative worship at 9 a.m. Sunday worship service and the LWML mite box will be out. Tuesday there is a 9:30 a.m. Bible study that is open to everyone, in the church fellowship hall please enter by the rear door. Ash Wednesday services at 7 p.m. on March 2. Thursday the LMWL will meet at 1 p.m. for a contemporary Bible study with Pastor Ron, followed by a brief meeting and all women of the congregation are invited to attend. Faith is observing social distancing but masks are optional. Services are also available on Faiths Facebook page and on YouTube by searching to Ron Rosenkaimer. For more information about worship opportunities at Faith contact the church office at 323-6445. New Horizon Presbyterian Church New Horizon Presbyterian Church has traditional services at 8 and 11 a.m. and a praise service at 9 a.m. Sunday School is 10-10:45 a.m. New Horizon will host an evening musical at 7 p.m. on Sunday. On Wednesdays the Dulcimer Group practices from 4:30-5:30 p.m., the Praise Team from 5:45-6:30 p.m., the Chancel Bell Choir from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and the Chancel Choir at 7:30-8:30 p.m. The deacons will meet at 6 p.m. on March 3. Food and coffee will remain unavailable. Children are welcome to attend but the nursery will not be available. If you are ill, please worship from home by watching our Facebook page: facebook.com/NewHorizonPC. Westminster Presbyterian Church Westminster Presbyterian Church, 517 S. 32nd St., welcomes everyone to join us for worship on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Rev. Doug Darnold will be our guest speaker and his sermon is entitled Our Focus in Prayer. Scriptures for Sunday are Psalm 100 and Matthew 6:5-15. The sacrament of Holy Community will be served during worship. Following worship we will meet in the conference room for coffee and hold our annual meeting. We are handicapped accessible through the northeast door of church. Corpus Christi Catholic Parish Corpus Christi Queen of Apostles, 3304 Fourth Ave. in Council Bluffs, and Corpus Christi Our Lady of Carter Lake, 3501 N. Ninth St. in Carter Lake, celebrates the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every day of the week. Daily Mass is celebrated as follows: In English on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8 a.m. and in Spanish on Monday and Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Council Bluffs location. Our weekend Mass in English is celebrated on Saturday at 4 p.m. and on Sunday at 8 and 10 a.m. in Council Bluffs and at 9:30 a.m. in Carter Lake. Our Sunday Spanish Mass is at noon in Council Bluffs. Eucharistic Adoration is held every Monday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. in Council Bluffs. Ash Wednesday is on March 2. The Ash Wednesday Mass and the distribution of ashes will be held at Corpus Christi Queen of Apostles as follows: 7 a.m., noon and 6:30 p.m. (bilingual). Parish Mini Lenten Retreat and Eucharistic Adoration led by Rev. Victor Schinstock O.S.B. from Conception Abby on Saturday, March 5, from 9 a.m. until noon at Corpus Christi Queen of Apostles. All are welcome! For more information, call the parish office at 712-323-2916 or 712-323-4716 for Spanish, or visit our parish website at corpuschristiparishiowa.org. Emanuel Lutheran Church Emanuel Lutheran Church, 2444 N Broadway, welcomes everyone to come as you are and be who you are! Our weekly worship service as well as Sunday school are at 9:30 a.m. each Sunday. The service will be followed by coffee and fellowship in community room. Other events this week include Mardi Gras Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m., Tai Chi in the youth center Monday at 10 a.m., Ash Wednesday services at noon and 7 p.m. on March 2, Bible study in the conference room Thursday at 9:30 a.m. and Tai Chi Thursday at 10 a.m. On Sunday, Feb. 27, we will host our annual Mardi Gras celebration from 4 to 6 p.m. Go to our Facebook page for details. Our worship service and weekly Sunday school show can be found on our YouTube channel or Facebook page. Visit us online at emanuelcb.org. Saint John Lutheran Church Saint John Lutheran Church, 633 Willow Ave., holds worship at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 8:30 and 11 a.m. on Sundays. Sunday school starts at 9:45 a.m. Worship is also available to watch on YouTube, our website is www.SaintJohnELCA.org. Our Facebook page is Saint John Lutheran Church Council Bluffs IA. Wednesday morning Bible study meets at 9 a.m., and Wednesday evening Bible study meets at 6 p.m., along with the Bell Choir. No confirmation class this week, as you will be working on your Lent projects. Other meetings this week: There will be a Lenten meal at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, followed by Ash Wednesday worship at 7 p.m. The building is handicap accessible. Please call the church office with any questions, 712-323-7173. In mid-June, 1982, Lee Rotatori made the roughly 617-mile trek from Nunica, Michigan, to Council Bluffs. The 32-year-old arrived in Council Bluffs for a job as food service director at Jennie Edmundson Hospital and checked into the Best Western Motel at 27th Avenue, where she would stay until her husband arrived with the couples mobile home. Rotatori started orientation for the position on Monday, June 21. That Thursday afternoon, she went boating on Lake Manawa with her newfound hospital friends. She later went to a local McDonalds to pick up some dinner on her way back to the motel. The next day, Friday, June 25, a motel employee found Rotatori dead in her room, the victim of a single stab wound. Its a case that remained cold for decades, before advancements in DNA technology and the relentless work of Council Bluffs Police Department officials and a civilian from Pennsylvania helped crack the case. According to coverage from The Daily Nonpareil and Omaha World-Herald, along with material from the Iowa Cold Cases database, there was no sign of forced entry. The restaurant employees were the last to see Rotatori alive before her death, and the amount of food from the restaurant indicated it was for only one person. The Pottawattamie County medical examiner determined she mightve been dead for 12 hours before her body was found. A medical examiners report also determined Rotatori had been sexually assaulted. Because of the hotels proximity to Interstates 80 and 29, then-Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Larry Williams told the World-Herald the killer could be a local or already thousands of miles away. Council Bluffs authorities worked on the case with the Michigan State Police, which checked into Rotatoris background in the state. Together, the agencies chased down leads, examined murders with similar circumstances and talked to countless witnesses and sources. Her husband Jerry Nemke had a solid alibi and was ruled out as a suspect. Jennie Edmundson Hospital, Service-Master Inc. the Chicago-based food services company Rotatori worked for that had placed her at the hospital and Kinseth Hospitality, which owned the motel, teamed up to create a $3,000 reward fund for information leading to an arrest. But despite exhaustive efforts, law enforcement was unable to figure out who killed Rotatori. Rotatoris living siblings, Ann Chinn and Greg Gunsalus, described their sister as mostly happy and outgoing, an artistic woman with lots of friends. Growing up she loved drawing horses and in adulthood fulfilled the dream of owning one while in Michigan. In her teens she teamed with Greg on the Rochester junior rifle club. She participated in quite a few matches. And she usually did quite well, Gunsalus said, while also noting she was a fairly good student who went on to earn her bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Monomoy. The Gunsaluses lived in upstate New York before moving to Rochester, Minnesota in March of 1958. Rotatori graduated from Mayo High School in 1967. Her remains were buried in Rochester. Rotatori married her first husband while an undergraduate, Gunsalus said, And I can basically say, from that point on, I would maybe see her once a year. As technology improved, evidence collected in 1982 was submitted to the state crime lab for examination in 2001, which determined a male DNA profile, according to police. But there were no matches in state and federal databases. In 2011, Council Bluffs Police Det. Steve Andrews took on the cold case. He said new developments in DNA technology led the department to believe a solution to the case might be in reach. Andrews and Crime Lab Manager Katie Pattee pursued answers. Fast forward to 2018. Police Capt. Todd Weddum was watching a news program on the Golden State Killer case. Through the use of genetic genealogy, law enforcement were able to tie Joseph J. DeAngelo Jr. to a string of murders and other crimes that spanned from roughly 1973 to 1986 in California. I said, How do we go about doing this? with the Rotatori murder, Weddum told the Nonpareil. There wasnt much else we could do on the case. Pattee said she wasnt extensively familiar with the process and in April of 2019 sent the DNA sample to Reston, Virginia-based Parabon Nanolabs, which specializes in working with law enforcement on DNA forensics cases and on technologies for the medical industry. A few months later, Parabon sent back a profile of the suspect, albeit a fuzzy one a white man of northern European descent. So were looking at a pretty big pool, Andrews said. Parabon took the profile and compared it against DNA submitted to family tree companies think 23 and Me, Ancestry.com and their ilk in which the client allowed for use by law enforcement. A follow-up report by the company helped police start making contacts with family members. The initial match was a sixth to eighth cousin of the suspect. They said with that, the probability of finding your person is slim to none, Andrews said. After hours of research by Parabon, police werent much closer. They told us basically, Hey, kits are coming in every day. Its going to take one to break this thing open, Weddum said. At that point, its a waiting game. Were waiting for someone thats a close enough relative to our murder suspect that that would be the key. So they waited. In March 2020, Weddum pulled up his email to find a note from Eric Schubert, a college kid from Pennsylvania with an interest in genealogy. He said, Do you have any cold cases youd like help on?, Weddum said, noting Schubert included his resume the 20-year-old has assisted law enforcement agencies in multiple states work cold cases since he was 18. Schubert is a junior history major at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. He said after helping solve his first case, he reached out to departments, asking if theyd tried investigative genetic genealogy or if theyd like to try, offering his volunteer services. After vetting Schubert through other agencies hed assisted and having the citys legal department draw up a non-disclosure agreement, Andrews, Weddum and crew filled him in on the cold case. I knew pretty much nothing about the Rotatori case until CBPD told me about it, Schubert told the Nonpareil. He was very rapidly able to get to the great-grandparent of our subject, Andrews said. From that, the family tree branched in a multitude of branches, hundreds of names of people. Id locate those people, reach out to family members, request their assistance on the case. More often than not they were happy to submit a kit for us. Theyd submit a kit, then Eric would go to work. The kid is just the mad genius of genealogy. Schubert said he was happy to assist. Genealogy is such a great tool that often can be very meaningful, he said. It was a privilege to be helpful. I was so pleased to see Lees killer identified through the work of the Council Bluffs PD and their previous genetic genealogy findings that I assisted with interpreting for them. And I am so glad there is justice for Lee. As they worked their way through potential family members, the investigative team eventually determined their suspects biological father did not raise him. Identifying him was not as easy as it looked when I first started research. In the end, we had a good picture of where he was and what family he was in, however his exact identity within the family was unclear, Schubert said. A man police hadnt yet contacted to submit a DNA kit submitted one on his own that Parabon flagged, which helped unlock the mystery, narrowing the case down to a pair of brothers. Based on the mens ages and the date of the crime one wouldve been too young at the time it could only be one man. Thomas O. Freeman was a trucker from West Frankfort, Illinois, who was 35 at the time of the crime. Weddum and Andrews said Parabon and Schubert called about an hour apart reporting his name. To confirm, law enforcement tracked down Freemans daughter, whose DNA was a match with the suspect DNA found at the crime scene when run through the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation crime lab. Police believe Freeman killed Rotatori while passing through the area as a trucker. Four months after Rotatoris death, Freemans body was found near Cobden, a small town in southern Illinois, the victim of four gunshot wounds in the chest. The case remains unsolved. Shot four times and dumped in a wooded area not far from where he lived, Weddum said, who noted Freeman was found at the end of October and a death investigation determined hed been killed sometime around late August or early September. Two months later, he dies a violent death. Im not a real big believer in coincidences, Weddum said, so we reached out to the Illinois State Police and got a hold of the sergeant in charge of Freemans cold case investigation. The agencies shared reports and have been working together ever since. We know who killed Lee, Weddum said, now were working to figure out if Freemans death is somehow connected with him murdering Lee. Theres no known direct connection between Rotatori and Freeman. But, police believe its possible Freeman and her husband crossed paths. Nemke and Rotatori first married in 1978, divorcing a year later before remarrying in December 1981. Years earlier, Nemke, then 17, was arrested in the spring of 1960 in Chicago and later convicted of beating a local waitress to death. Nemke served his time at the Menard Correctional Facility in southern Illinois before his release in 1978. Andrews said after his release, Nemke went to college in Carbondale, Illinois, about 26 miles outside West Frankfurt and 15 miles from Cobden. Hes familiar with the area, has a history with the area, Weddum said. When Andrews picked up the cold case in 2011, the first DNA sample he tracked down was Nemkes. He voluntarily gave a sample, Andrews said, noting Rotatoris husband lived in Florida at the time. Nemke died in March 2019. Andrews said its safe to call him a person of interest in the Freeman case. With his known history of being in the area of where our suspect lived and where our suspect died, it raises suspicions of his involvement. That he possibly couldve been involved, Weddum said. Chinn and Gunsalus said theres a sense of closure now that the case has been solved, though they regret the fact their parents, Clifford and Gwen, went to their graves not knowing what happened. Gunsalus, 71, splits his time between St. Louis and Las Vegas, while Chinn, 64, lives in Rochester, Minnesota. Rotatori was the oldest, followed by Gunsalus, their brother Tom, who has since died, and Ann. About a year ago, Andrews reached out to Gunsalus, telling him they had a suspect. Gunsalus said hes been in touch with Rotatoris son from her first marriage, who was 11 when his mother died and didnt see her often after his parents divorced four years before her death. The son declined to participate in a Nonpareil interview with the family. Reflecting on June of 1982, Gunsalus noted his parents were living in Texas at the time. I was informed by my parents. They were contacted, and they made plans to go to Council Bluffs, Gunsalus said. They stopped by St. Louis and stayed overnight with me on the way there. I was at work and received a phone call, Chinn said. It was a shock. We slowly got additional details, that she was murdered in the hotel room, was stabbed, Gunsalus said. Its nice to know that they were able to resolve the case. I only wish that my parents were here to hear that. Mmm, hmm, Chinn agreed. I just wish it couldve been years ago, Gunsalus said. *** Its important to note, from reading the case file from Lees initial investigation, the investigators who worked that case were very thorough, Weddum said. They did everything they could do. It took this new technology to solve this case. Andrews said the case contained boxes and boxes of files. He noted Freemans name was not on the Best Western registry for the night of June 24, 1982, so he wouldnt have been on anyones radar. The work they did was extensive, Andrews said. They were looking at similar M.O.s, followed tips. We want to shout out those guys for what they did. The technology was just not there at the time. Andrews said hes been in contact with the lead investigator, Lyle Brown, who was a detective at the time before retiring as a lieutenant in the 1990s. Brown remembers the case well. He told me, This is one of those cases that stayed with me ever since I left, Andrew said. He said I think about this case all the time. Hes expressed how happy and proud he is that we brought this to a close. Brown declined to join Weddum, Andrews and Pattee for an interview with the Nonpareil. During that interview at the Council Bluffs Police Department headquarters, Andrews, Weddum and Pattee reflected on the case. When Weddum tried to defer his piece of the credit, Andrews credited the captain for helping secure funds to enlist Parabons help. If not for that, and Weddum turning on the TV that night in 2018, perhaps the case would remain cold. Weddum lauded Andrews and Pattee for their hours spent on the case, hours that came in spurts when they found time to work on the almost-40-year-old case. Its extremely satisfying, Andrews said of closing the case. There were high points and low points throughout the whole process, all the while youre hoping to get to this point, but never knowing if youll make it or not. But when you get the confirmation that everything you worked for has come to fruition its exciting, to say the least. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Lewis Central Community School District students continued to show progress on the i-Ready assessment this winter after rebounding from a pandemic-induced dip last year. The school district uses i-Ready exams to measure proficiency and progress in reading and math for students in kindergarten through sixth grade every fall, winter and spring. On Monday, school improvement specialist Dave Black presented the results to the Board of Education. Weve done a very good job of accelerating learning the past two years, he said. The tests have three parts: screening, placement and growth. Screening helps identify students most at risk for failure who may need supplemental supports. In reading, 81% of Lewis Central students in kindergarten through sixth grade just above the goal of 80% scored in an acceptable range, meaning they are not at risk of failing. That was well above the state average of 66%. By school, 98% of students at Kreft Primary School, 78% of those at Titan Hill Intermediate School and 63% of those at Lewis Central Middle School (sixth grade only) scored in that acceptable range, according to screening results. By grade, 99% of kindergartners, 96% of first-graders, 81% of second-graders, 77% of third-graders, 87% of fourth-graders, 66% of fifth-graders and 63% of sixth-graders scored in that range. Placement levels are based on a students proficiency compared to grade-level standards, Black said. District-wide, 53% of Lewis Central students placed in Tier 1, meaning equal to proficiency in the middle of their grade or better. That was up from 33% last fall. For them, universal instruction is adequate. Were pretty proud of those kids, Black said. About 29% scored in Tier 2, meaning equal to proficiency in the early part of their grade or the previous grade. This was down from 38% last fall. Those students may need some supplemental supports. And 18% of students placed in Tier 3, or two or more grades below their grade. That was down from 29%. Those students may need significant supplemental supports. Growth was strong in reading. The middle kid the student with the median score made 88% of a full year of average growth in reading. Almost half of the students 46% chalked up a full year of growth. About 7% of the students made 80% to 99% of a year of growth, 6% made 60% to 79%, 8% made 40% to 59%, 8% made 20% to 39%, and 24% of students made 19% of annual growth or less. Stretch growth is recommended to put below-grade students on a path to proficiency and on-grade students on a path to advanced proficiency levels. Nationally, 25% to 35% of students in a district reach stretch growth in a school year. The percentage of Lewis Central students who achieved stretch growth in reading was 19%, while 10% of the students reached 80% to 99% of stretch growth, 13% made 60% to 79% of stretch growth, 15% made 40% to 59%, 13% made 20% to 39% and 30% made less than 19% of stretch growth. In mathematics, 79% of Lewis Central students in kindergarten through sixth grade earned marks in the acceptable range just a hair short of the 80% goal. That was well above the state average of 68%. By school, 94% of Kreft students, 75% of Titan Hill students and 66% of LCMS sixth-graders scored in that range. By grade, 94% of kindergartners, 95% of first-graders, 79% of second-graders, 73% of third-graders, 75% of fourth-graders, 72% of fifth-graders and 66% of sixth-graders earned marks in that range. In math placements, 42% of the students district-wide achieved Tier 1 up from 24% last fall 41% reached Tier 2 (down from 52%) and 17% placed in Tier 3 (down from 24%). In math, the middle kid the one with the median score made 60% of a year of growth. About 28% of students achieved a full year of growth, 10% reached 80% to 99% of annual growth, 12% made 60% to 79% of annual growth, 11% made 40% to 59%, 11% made 20% to 39% and 28% made 19% or less of annual growth. About 8% of Lewis Central students achieved a whole year of stretch growth, 7% reached 80% to 99% of annual stretch growth, 14% made 60% to 79% of annual stretch growth, 18% made 40% to 59% of stretch growth, 19% made 20% to 39% of stretch growth and 34% made 19% or less of annual stretch growth. Black reminded Board members that students need to grow in other ways, too. Its not just about reading and math, its so much more, he said. Even though weve got a lot to celebrate here with our reading and math scores, its about so much more. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Iowa and Illinois elected officials strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and several called for sanctions and for democratic nations to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for the invasion. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois On a call with reporters, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in response to a question of whether sanctions announced by President Biden earlier on Thursday go far enough, that he'd "like to see more, and I don't think this is the end of our sanctions regime." Biden in a speech on Thursday announced new restrictions to block exports of some products to Russia, including semi conductors and other technology needed for military and other critical sectors. Biden also authorized U.S. troops to be deployed to the Baltic area in NATO countries. "We're not even 24 hours into this invasion of Ukraine," Durbin said. "I want to give the administration the latitude to think through what should be done next, but I would take this war home to Putin and his oligarchs. Let them feel the pain directly. I think we've been playing with kid gloves as far as they're concerned, and I think that this invasion of Ukraine puts an end to that." Durbin wrote on Twitter that this week he visited Lithuania and talked with U.S. soldiers from Illinois who were training Lithuanian soldiers in a NATO exercise. "This week, I had lunch w/ soldiers from Kankakee, Montgomery, & Latham, IL. They are in Lithuania training their soldiers in a NATO exercise. Now, they will awaken to the most dangerous land war in Europe since World War II. We need to stand together for them & thousands more like them. "Let me be clear: Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine's sovereign land is a dire threat to the established international order and must be resolutely deterred. Ukraine and our NATO allies facing ongoing Russian belligerence have strong bipartisan, bicameral support in the U.S. Congress. As someone who who has strong ties to the region, my prayers are with the Ukrainian people and all of Eastern Europe." Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, who is a combat veteran and member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, said the U.S. and allies must "hold (Putin) and his cronies fully, painfully and immediately accountable." The human suffering caused and any blood spilled as a result of this unjustified and unjustifiable attack on Ukraines sovereign territory are solely on Vladimir Putins hands. Our nation, our NATO allies and all countries who value human rights, sovereignty and the rule of law must hold him and his cronies fully, painfully and immediately accountable. Vladimir Putins unprovoked and inexcusable escalation of this violent invasion will succeed in only one thing: uniting the free world against Russias autocratic regime in support of Ukraines territorial sovereignty, its people and its right to self-governance. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, made a more personal statement noting her experience living in Ukraine. "I first traveled to Ukraine in 1989 as a college student, celebrated when they voted for independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, & served alongside Ukrainians in the Global War on Terror," she tweeted. "Ukraine wants freedom; the free world must stand with them. My prayers are with the Ukrainian people." Thursday morning, Ernst tweeted again: "Vladimir Putin is a ruthless thug who seeks to stamp out freedom. He is a brutal autocrat intent on restoring Soviet-era rule if allowed to advance unchecked. The unnecessary bloodshed in Ukraine is on Putin's hands. "America and all of our freedom-loving partners around the world, must not only strongly condemn, but swiftly and severely respond and hold Putin accountable for his unjust actions." After Biden's address to the nation, Ernst issued a statement that called for more sanctions: "Putin deserves no grace. He is slaughtering innocent people and attempting to overrun a sovereign, freedom-loving nation and partner of the United States. The administration should not be holding back; our adversaries are certainly not. Kick Russia out of the SWIFT banking system, sanction Putin and his oligarch friends directly, and ensure that Ukraine has the lethal firepower necessary to win this fight. Anything less will not stop this autocratic thug." Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa In a tweet, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said: "Putin is inhumane to benefit his own ego. He has no respect for agreements Russia signed to respect sovereignty of Ukraine. Hes killing innocent people like Stalin did in 1930s. Im praying for the ppl of Ukraine" Illinois 17th Congressional District Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Illinois Rep., Cheri Bustos, D-Illinois, a member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, spoke on News Nation, a subscription television network, to say Americans "must put country over party." "We are protecting democracy in this. That is what this is about. We know this is far away from us from a miles perspective, but this is about protecting democracy and not allowing a leader like Vladimir Putin to continue to spread his authoritarian ways." Iowa 2nd Congressional District Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, tweeted: "Praying for the people of #Ukraine. "The U.S. and our allies must immediately impose the strongest possible sanctions on the economies and governments of both #Russia and #Belarus, who has been a willing accomplice to Russias invasion. Anything less is unacceptable" Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker tweeted Wednesday night: "Tonight we stand together in prayer for the people of Ukraine and united in our resolve against the tyranny of a Russian autocrat determined to undermine democracy and threaten peace on the European continent." Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds wrote on Twitter Thursday afternoon: "We stand with the people of Ukraine currently fighting for freedom and their country's future. I join with leaders across America and the globe in condemning the brutal actions of the Russian military. I ask Iowans to join me in prayer for Ukraine and peace in the world." Democratic Senate candidate and retired Adm. Mike Franken Franken, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa and retired three-star admiral, issued a statement on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I join President Biden in condemning Russian militarys assault against Ukraine, Franken said. I trust that actions from our nation, our NATO allies, and other like-minded nations will be swift, significant and focused at Russian leadership. We must hold Russia accountable." State Rep. Charlie McConkey of Council Bluffs announced Thursday he would not seek another term after the current session ends. McConkey has served for the last eight years. Its been a great honor serving the people of Council Bluffs in the Iowa House. Its been an amazing experience for me and Im thankful to all the wonderful people Ive met over the years. After eight years in the House, its time to retire and spend more time with my wife and family, McConkey said in a release. We have a deep bench of talented, young leaders in Council Bluffs who are ready to step up and serve our community in the Iowa Legislature. After 31 years, McConkey retired from Griffin Pipe and operated a small business before being elected to the Iowa House, according to the release. He grew up in Council Bluffs and attended Abraham Lincoln High School and Iowa Western Community College. McConkey and his wife, Sheryl, have four children, eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. He is a member of United Steelworkers Local 3141, vice president of the Roberts Park Neighborhood Association and also volunteers at Mohms Place serving meals to the homeless. DES MOINES Most Iowa workers would pay a 3.9% state income tax a large reduction for the states highest wage earners and a modest decrease for low-income workers under a new $1.9 billion tax cut proposal that is likely to become law soon. The new tax plan, introduced Thursday at the Iowa Capitol, is the result of negotiations between Republican leaders in the Iowa House and Senate and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. Legislative leaders planned to debate and pass the bill Thursday. That would give Reynolds time to sign it into law just before she is scheduled to appear on national television next week to deliver the Republican Partys response to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address. Under the plan State income taxes would be gradually reduced over multiple years to a 3.9% rate on the vast majority of workers. Iowa now has nine income brackets, with rates from 8.53% on the highest wage-earners and 4.14% on lower-income workers. The median Iowa household pays 6.25%. State taxes on retirement income would be eliminated, including for retired farmers. The corporate tax rate would be reduced gradually. Each year the state collects $700 million in business tax revenue, the rate will be reduced until it reaches 5.5%. Some corporate tax breaks and incentives would be reduced gradually, including the most expensive: the research and activities credit. At full implementation in five years, the new proposal will result in tax savings and thus a reduction in state revenues of $1.9 billion, according to the states nonpartisan fiscal estimating agency. Iowas current budget is just over $8 billion. Competitive or not fairSenate Republicans are happy to deliver on the promise that weve made to voters for the last year, that when we have surpluses in Iowa, we are going to deliver tax cuts for every single Iowan, said Jack Whitver, the Republican Senate Majority Leader from Ankeny. Were really excited and proud that (Thursday) we were able to reach agreement with the governor and the House to deliver on that promise. Democrats argued the plan overwhelmingly benefits wealthier Iowans. They pointed to an analysis by the Department of Management, the state budget office, which shows the median Iowa household will see an average reduction of $593 on their state income taxes, while the wealthiest Iowans those earning $1 million or more will see a $67,000 reduction. Theyre more focused on the ultrarich that fund their campaigns, Sen. Zach Wahls, the Democratic Senate Minority Leader from Coralville, said of Republicans proposal. Its not fair. Its out of touch. And its completely disconnected form the lives of everyday Iowans. Senate Democrats countered by proposing an expansion of the tax credit for low-income workers and the child care and early childhood tax credits, and lowering rates for all Iowans making less than $250,000 while maintaining current rates for those making more. Budget impact Statehouse Republicans and Democrats disagree on the tax cuts impact on future state budgets. House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said their tax projections, which assumed annual revenue growth of roughly 3%, will be sufficient to cover the revenue reductions and should not require the state to trim its budget. The proposal would use the roughly $1 billion in the states taxpayer relief fund to cover any budget shortfalls that occur as a result of the income tax reductions. We were able to continue to do this in a way that our projections and our runs continued to work to make sure that we could continue to fund state government but also provide the significant tax relief, Grassley said. Rep. Dave Jacoby, the top Democrat on the House tax policy committee, took a more cautious view. I hope the economy does (grow 3 to 4% annually). But COVID, (federal pandemic relief funding), Ukraine I dont know what I would predict, Jacoby said. If it were me, I would be doing this bill after the March (state revenue estimating panel meeting) because that may give us a better picture, a more accurate picture of where were going. No outdoor fund The bill does not, as was proposed by Senate Republicans, shift sales taxes in order to begin funding the states long-starved outdoor and natural resources trust fund. It really wasnt on our radar, Grassley said. The (House Republican) caucus just was not in a position where they had the support to do that. Sen. Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs who chairs the Senates tax policy committee, said he plans to continue the debate on sales taxes and the outdoors trust fund as the session continues. The Senate passed the tax cuts bill Thursday afternoon on a 32-16 vote, with Democratic Sens. Tony Bisignano, of Des Moines, and Kevin Kinney, of Oxford, joining Republicans in support of the measure. The House planned to take up the bill Thursday evening. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Spanish officials and the Spanish monarch have expressed on multiple occasions in recent months readiness to improve ties with Morocco and turn the page on last year escalation, but in the meantime they are repeating the same actions that led to worsening relations with Rabat. In another diplomatic blunder that will further worsen Madrid-Rabat ties, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez was the only European leader to meet the head of the Polisario militias Brahim Ghali during the African Union-European Union summit in Brussels. Ghalis participation was imposed by the African Union as the EU reiterated its non-recognition of the Polisarios self-proclaimed and Algeria-sponsored SADR republic. No other head of an EU delegation had talks with the separatist chief except Sanchez. Ghali was the only participant who was not greeted by French President Macron and European Commision President Ursula von der Leyen during the photo op. But Sanchez insisted on making his talks with Ghali public at a press conference sending a clear signal to Rabat that Madrid is not serious in its rhetoric to mend ties with Morocco. Sanchez has actually met a man who entered Spain under a false identity without respecting Schengen rules. Ghalis case has cost former foreign minister Arancha Gonzales Laya her job for her connivance with Algerian generals in letting Ghali in under a false identity to evade justice. Ghali is sued in Spain for war crimes, rape and kidnapping and his entry is still investigated by the Spanish judiciary. The meeting between Sanchez and Ghali shows the disregard of the former for the protocol rules that all other EU countries observed. It also shows that Spain is not serious in its rapprochement with Morocco. Up to now, Moroccan ambassador to Spain has not yet returned amid mixed signals by the Spanish executive. What would have been the reaction of Spain if Morocco received leaders of the Catalan or Basque separatist movement? For now, the fog in the skies of Moroccan-Spanish relations has yet to dissipate as the crisis is silently brewing. Mohammed VI foundation for African Ulema (religious scholars) held an event on interreligious dialogue in Abidjan during which the Moroccan Kings religious leadership was highlighted as a bulwark against extremism in the continent. Speaking at this event, head of Cote DIvoires Islamic Affairs Council Cheikhoul Aima Ousma Diakite expressed recognition to Morocco under the leadership of King Mohammed VI in championing in the continent the values of moderation and tolerance inherent to Islam. The King has spurred the creation of the Mohammed VI foundation for African Ulema, with branches in many African countries, which aim at safeguarding tolerant traditions that have been passed from a generation to another in West Africa and Morocco in line with the holy values of Islam. Echoing him, head of Mohammed VI foundation for African Ulema in the Central African Republic Cheikh Ndiaye Salehou said Morocco has always been at the forefront of efforts to counter hate-speech and extremism through constructive dialogue. The Kings Muslim authority as Commander of the Faithful and his lineal descent of the Prophet Mohammed gives him an edge in promoting the lofty values of Islam and taking action against extremism. Building on its moderate school of Islam as a bulwark against extremism conducive to pre-empting radicalism at home and abroad, Morocco has extended the project of the Rabat-based Mohammed VI Institute, created in 2015, for the training of Imams to respond to the growing demand from a number of countries in Africa and also in Europe. The Institute has offered training, accommodation and stipends to hundreds of Imams who are now practicing in their homelands spreading the lofty values of the religion. As Commander of the Faithful, I cannot speak of the Land of Islam, as if only Muslims lived there. I am keen to ensure freedom to practice the religions of the Book and I am the guarantor of that freedom. I protect Moroccan Jews as well as Christians from other countries, who are living in Morocco, the King said in a speech at the esplanade of Hassan Mosque in Rabat on the first day of the Popes visit in 2019. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the start of a large-scale attack on Ukraine at dawn on Thursday (24 February) with explosions reported in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Mariupol across the country. European Union and NATO leaders immediately condemned the invasion, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen calling on Russia to withdraw its forces and vowing further sanctions. The attack began in darkness soon after 4.30am local time. There were distant explosions in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and the whine of car alarms. Russias invasion of Ukraine was deliberate, cold-blooded and long-planned, NATOs secretary-general said, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of using force to re-write history. Speaking in Brussels, Jens Stoltenberg called for a summit of NATO alliance leaders on Friday to address Moscows military incursion into neighboring Ukraine and said that the military alliance would be bolstering its land, sea and air forces on its eastern flank. Stoltenberg confirmed NATO does not have any troops inside Ukraine and does not plan to send any, but he said the alliance is still committed to providing Kiev with military and technical support. The EU will impose a massive and targeted raft of sanctions on Russia that will block access to key technologies and cripple the countrys ability to finance the Ukraine invasion, the EU commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said. We will target strategic sectors of the Russian economy by blocking their access to key technologies and markets. We will weaken Russias economic base and its capacity to modernize. In addition, we will freeze Russian assets in the EU and stop the access of Russian banks to the European financial market, the head of EUs top executive body said. We are closely aligned with partners and allies. These sanctions are designed to take a heavy toll on the Kremlins interests and on their ability to finance the war. The EU has already imposed sanctions on 27 individuals and entities close to president Putin and the 351 Duma lawmakers who voted to recognize the breakaway provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent. Meanwhile, EU Council president Charles Michel has called an emergency summit for Thursday to discuss how we deal with Russia, notably holding Russia accountable for its actions, according to Michels invitation letter, referring to Russias latest incursion into Ukraine. The Polish and Lithuanian presidents also called for the EU to grant Ukraine EU membership candidate status in a declaration Wednesday. Ukraine is not a member of NATO but other countries close to the theatre of conflict, including Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Lithuania, are. Under Article 4 of the NATO treaty, all are entitled to direct military support if their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. Though not member of either NATO or EU, todays the day to declare Ukraine an EU candidate country, argues Wolfgang Koeth, a senior lecturer at the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) in Maastricht. It would be a historic chance, a step that would give the EU the chance to become again an agenda setter, rather than just following, late and indecisively, a playbook set by others, he argues in an opinion published today. No European country is more committed to getting closer to the EU than Ukraine, and the EU has exploited this to nudge the country towards major reforms. However, the EU has so far stopped short of declaring Ukraine eligible for EU membership, since our political leaders realized that such a step would not be popular with their own electorates. Koeth concludes by calling on the EU to seize the unique opportunity to change the narrative of the conflict. If [the EU] wants to be taken serious as a geopolitical actor, it should seize it. The media office of Libyas newly designated Prime Minister has said the cabinet of the former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha is ready as the countrys parliament (HoR) called on all its members for a formal session to be held next Monday. Prime minister-designate Fathi Bashagha announces that his government is ready and will be presented to the House of Representatives for a vote of confidence, the office said in a statement. The HoR designated Bashagha on Feb. 10 to name a new government as part of efforts to replace incumbent Abdulhamid Dbeibah whose mandate, the house said, came to an end on Dec. 24. The HoR has blamed Dbeibah for failing to hold the countrys Dec. 24 elections backed by the UN and expected to end years of rivalries in the oil-rich country following the assassination of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-led revolution in 2011. Dbeibah has rejected the blame and vowed to resist his removal. He also pledged to organize the elections in June in opposition to a new 14-month roadmap to presidential elections proposed by the HoR. It is unclear if Bashaghas cabinet line-up will be approved next week. Three men involved in an attempt to smuggle in 12,000 psychotropic tablets were arrested Friday in Casablanca highway, and the illicit substance was seized by the authorities. The pills were found in a truck coming from the Northern region of the country. The driver and two people accompanying him, including one wanted for drugs trafficking, were arrested by the Police. An investigation was opened to identify all those involved in this criminal activity in order to bring them to justice. This anti-drug smuggling operation is part of sustained efforts made by Moroccan security services in the fight against narcotics and psychotropic drug trafficking at the national and international levels. Former state Sen. James Pappas of North Platte poured his passions into every part of his life, say one of his sons and his immediate successor in the Legislature. A celebration of life will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. CT Friday at a Lincoln funeral home for Pappas, 77, who died Sunday morning. He served District 42 in the Unicameral from 1982 to 1987, resigning nearly a year into his second term amid legal troubles from his involvement in a failed petition drive to start a state lottery. Pappas ashes will be scattered later over Lake McConaughy near Ogallala, where he long owned a Martin Bay cabin and kept bringing his family after he sold it. He wanted people to realize that community is important and you should build that, but it starts with family, said Calvin, one of four children from Jim Pappas second marriage. His father had beaten lung cancer, suffered from back-surgery complications and coped with congenital heart failure. Kidney failure began setting in during December, but it was COVID-19 that sent Jim Pappas to a Lincoln hospital late last month, Calvin said. When he went home last Friday, doctors said he had recovered from the virus. He beat COVID-19, his son said. We want to be clear. But Jim Pappas had decided to discontinue kidney dialysis. He spent his last weekend with his family before slipping away. He fought through many different things, Calvin said, until it was just too much. Pappas was born in Julesburg, Colorado, on June 13, 1944. He grew up on a ranch near North Platte, where Jim joined the Union Pacific Railroad in the footsteps of his father, Fred, and his grandfather, George. He moved on to other work pursuits, Calvin Pappas said, but he remained interested in railroad union issues all the way through his time in the Legislature. Jim Pappas became a senator when then-Republican Gov. Charles Thone appointed him after the death of Sen. Myron Rumery of North Platte. When he talked about his time there, he had that excitement about being to make a different on both the macro and micro sides for his state and district, Calvin Pappas said. He only had partial college (education) but got to be involved in education bills that affected the entire state. Pappas, who defeated Corinne Jochum for a full term, won passage of several railroad-related bills, including a short-lived law requiring railroads to maintain cabooses on trains of 1,000 feet or longer. He pushed for telephone deregulation and worked to repeal Initiative 300, a since-overturned state constitutional ban on corporate ownership of farmland. A different petition drive, eight years before senators approved the Nebraska Lottery, led Pappas to call off his legislative career. As he sought re-election in 1986 against then-North Platte businessman Bill Hord, he and six others were charged with felonies over alleged irregularities in how the lottery drives signatures were gathered. Pappas submitted his resignation Sept. 22 to then-Gov. Bob Kerrey, effective the day after the Nov. 4 general election. But it was too late to take his name off the ballot. He said hed return to Lincoln if re-elected, and District 42 voters gave him a 567-vote victory over Hord. Pappas took back his resignation. But in April 1987, Lancaster County District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront convicted him of aiding and abetting the false swearing of a petition signature in Lancaster County while living in Lincoln County. Pappas appealed, but the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld his two-year probation term and $2,000 fine in June 1988. He had left the Legislature behind six months earlier. Pappas resigned in December 1987 after making the 225-mile drive to Lincoln for the 499th time. It just dawned on me that I cant afford to do this, he told Omaha World-Herald reporter Henry Cordes. Theres no way I can better myself financially and serve, even though I love it. I finally just decided its time to help myself. Pappas became a State Capitol lobbyist for several years, then tried his hand at landscaping in his last years. But he never lost his pride in having served his community and state, Calvin Pappas said. I remember the excitement of him taking me to the State Capitol and showing me around, he said. Out of all his careers ... it was that civic service that got his face lit up. Jim Pappas helped find his own Unicameral successor: David Bernard-Stevens, whom Gov. Kay Orr plucked out of his North Platte High School social studies classroom. Bernard-Stevens, who resigned after 8 years in August 1996, said Sen. Ron Withem had hired him some years earlier as a Papillion-LaVista High School teacher. Withem mentioned Bernard-Stevens to Pappas, who remembered his own oldest son, James Jr., had been in his NPHS class. It led to Jim and me working together on so many educational issues, Bernard-Stevens said from his home in Kenya. He was one of the good guys who put the needs of Nebraskans over politics and party. Pappas is survived by his wife, Kimberly; their children, Fallyn, Nikki, Calvin and Brandy; and two children from his first marriage, James Jr. and Amy. He had nine grandchildren between his two marriages, as well as one great-grandchild. Memories have been requested in lieu of flowers. Colonial Chapel Funeral Home of Lincoln is in charge of arrangements. More by Todd von Kampen Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. This article was featured in One Great Story, New Yorks reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly. Illustration: Philip Burke Approximately 5 million people start their day with David Leonhardt, the author of the New York Times morning newsletter. That figure makes Leonhardt one of the most influential writers at the most influential paper in the country. Since its launch in May 2020, The Morning has focused primarily, though not exclusively, on COVID-19. As Leonhardt recently told me, COVID turned out to be the perfect story for a daily newsletter because people are desperate for information. The audience, he found, was insatiable. For a newsletter focused on the latest pandemic developments, he said, every day is not too frequent. Times science and health reporters won a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for their coverage of the pandemic, but even big A1 stories receive but a fraction of the bleary eyeballs that greet Leonhardts genial, data-driven missives every day. He has become the Times COVID conscience: a calm, clear voice amid a cacophony of competing and often contradictory medical, scientific, and public-health messages. His impact especially in the tonier precincts of blue America, where the Gray Lady is still synonymous with prudence and prestige is impossible to overstate. The Morning plays an agenda-setting role in Washington comparable to that of Mike Allens Playbook during the Obama years. According to Politico, even President Joe Biden reads Leonhardt. More than perhaps any writer in America, Leonhardt is positioned to shape our collective common sense about the state of the virus and our societys responses to it. Its a huge platform and a huge responsibility, both of which he takes seriously (as he takes most things). Internally, Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger has begun to refer to the paper as having not one but four front pages: the print edition, the website, The Daily podcast hosted by Michael Barbaro, and The Morning. Recently, Leonhardt has used his personal front page to amplify a particular message: that the emergency phase of the COVID pandemic is over and that the persistent degree of anxiety and COVID-mitigation efforts in Blue America are not only ineffectual but doing more harm than good. Many liberals have spent two years thinking of COVID mitigations as responsible, necessary, even patriotic. This attitude has become part of their identity, Leonhardt told me. This was a good thing earlier in the pandemic, leading to high vaccine uptake, masking, and compliance with social distancing and lockdowns. But thanks to vaccination and the cresting Omicron variant, the costs of liberal caution he cites mental-health problems, anger, frustration, isolation, drug overdoses, vehicle crashes, violent crime, learning loss, student misbehavior have begun to outweigh the benefits. Leonhardt, who has described his journalistic colleagues as having a bad-news bias, sees his role as being an implicit corrective to some of the more alarmist coverage showing up elsewhere in traditional media and even in the Times itself. This position has enraged some readers doctors, scientists, and journalists among them who believe its absurd to call for a return to normal when, according to the Times, around 2,000 people are dying from COVID each day. Leonhardt is one of the key pundits leading the charge of those who want to declare unilateral surrender to COVID-19, Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health, told me. In a January 26 appearance on The Daily, Leonhardt pressed his case that America is at a pivot point in which COVID goes from being this horrible, deadly, life-dominating pandemic to something that is more endemic to something that looks more like things that we deal with all the time without shutting down daily life, like the flu. He cited the results of a poll, conducted by his staff and Morning Consult, purporting to show that while older Republicans remain irrationally unafraid of COVID, younger and vaccinated Democrats are irrationally overcautious about it. The episode produced a wave of denunciation online. What we learn from this episode is not really what Americans think about the pandemic, but rather Leonhardts flawed interpretations thereof, began a viral tweet thread by Cecilia Tomori, a public-health scholar at Johns Hopkins. People cannot simply navigate an infectious disease based on their own individual risk (even if it was fully known) they are part of all the complex networks. They make decisions in relation to one another. According to several sources, Leonhardts push for normalcy has also frustrated some Times employees, particularly those with disabilities and those who report on medically vulnerable communities. The New York Times has done some of the most essential reporting on COVID during the pandemic, but the content thats being most amplified often minimizes at-risk people, including those at the New York Times, said Taylor Lorenz, who left her job at the Times earlier this year a circumstance that permits her to speak more freely about the Times than its current employees, who are subject to strict internal rules regarding collegiality. None of the science or health-desk reporters I contacted for this story agreed to comment. Outside the newsroom, the reaction to Leonhardts Daily episode was unusually large, said Barbaro, and it was divided. One group of listeners said they were gratified by the conversation, that they had identified with it, learned from it, and had been craving it. Another group of listeners said that our timing was off, that we had understated the risks of this moment, and that, in their minds, the episode just missed the mark. Barbaro was moved but not chastened by the feedback. Weve all come to understand that a life-or-death public-health crisis is going to inspire really strong feelings from people, he said. No episode is perfect, and I wouldnt call this episode perfect. (Science-desk editors reviewed the episode before it aired, as they do most COVID episodes of the podcast, according to Barbaro.) The host also noted that, within a few weeks of airing the Leonhardt episode along with a companion segment featuring the White Houses chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci we did start to see a pretty meaningful change in policy. In recent weeks, blue-state governors have loosened mask mandates and other restrictions, signaling what New Jersey governor Phil Murphy called a huge step toward normalcy. Barbaro and Leonhardt see these changes as reflective of the changing national mood and epidemiological reality not as a consequence of their coverage. I think we had the sense that something was happening because something was happening, Barbaro told me. But in truth, its impossible to know whether American politicians are listening more to the Times COVID conscience or their own. Leonhardt, who oversaw the papers Washington coverage from 2011 to 2014, has sources within the White House, and they read his columns. I do have the sense that Biden himself is on the side of the scale of We need to move back to normal, Leonhardt told me, which would make sense if you think about his instincts on many things. Lately, Leonhardt has served as a sort of Rorschach test for liberal America. For those who are healthy and ready to move on with their lives or those who, by choice or necessity, already have his message is comforting and authorizes their behavior, their exhaustion, and even their resentment toward those who still insist on caution. For others, Leonhardt is a dangerous font of wishful thinking: a Pied Piper leading the nations liberal elites into a self-satisfied state of necro-normalcy in which thousands of lives are disposable. These disagreements are as much about how we should regard all this suffering as they are about how we may prevent it. The pandemic has dealt unspeakable damage, but our social system has evinced a remarkable capacity to metabolize mass death and to acquiesce to more and more morbid definitions of normal. For Leonhardts sharpest critics, this appetite for normalcy is a disturbing sign of our callousness; for his defenders, its the only way beyond our despair. Leonhardts career at the Times has had a few ups and downs but mostly ups. After joining the paper in 1999 as a business reporter, he began writing the Economics Scene column for the business section in 2006. In 2011, he won a Pulitzer for commentary and was named D.C. bureau chief, a tough job considered a stepping-stone to the masthead. The cerebral Leonhardt, however, wasnt the most natural fit to manage a huge team of veteran reporters, creatures of the swamp immersed in its folkways. After three years, he was made editor of The Upshot, a venture intended to fill readers itch for Nate Silverstyle data journalism after he left the Times to start FiveThirtyEight. The Upshot was a hit. In 2016, Leonhardt was given an op-ed column and a D.C. office on murderers row alongside Maureen Dowd, Thomas Friedman, and David Brooks. Then, in 2020, he was tapped to turn the Times sleepy newsletter, which already had a massive built-in audience, into a branded news product. That became The Morning, and its readership has only grown. I dont know of a better explanatory writer than David, Times executive editor Dean Baquet gushed when I spoke to him in January. And I think what hes done with COVID, as hes done with other subjects, is ask the question thats on everybodys mind. Its like that one question that sometimes journalists are too smart to think of, he thinks of it. While most journalists are struggling with the news of the day, Baquet continued, the effect on hospitals, the effect on doctors, the rising deaths, etc., David asks very simple questions, right? Like, Are things getting better or not? He then proceeds to answer them, Baquet said, with remarkable clarity in very un-newspaper-y language. For my money, David is the best the Times has at answering the big Where Are We Now in This Pandemic? questions, said Donald G. McNeil Jr., a former science-desk reporter who resigned under pressure in 2021 after he was accused of uttering a racial slur in front of high-school students. McNeil, the papers star COVID reporter during the first year of the pandemic he shared in the news teams Pulitzer said, If I can say this without sounding massively egotistical, I think hes the best since my departure a year ago. When I first spoke to Leonhardt over the phone in late December 2021, I was struck by how similar his demeanor is to his writing style. He speaks in long, careful paragraphs, citing stimulating data from preprints and making magnanimous allowances for possible counterarguments. It felt like having a conversation with a newspaper column. I struggled to get him to talk about himself (he insists he is not private, only uninteresting), and he elegantly evaded my efforts to goad him into provocative indiscretions. Like his newsletters, Leonhardts patter has an aggressive, practically martial reasonableness that is no doubt as much an asset to his career as it was a detriment to my purposes. Once, while explaining his discomfort as a green columnist with abandoning the old news-desk imperative to represent the view from nowhere, I thought to myself, Okay, David, how about abandoning the view from no one? The truth is, as a regular reader of Leonhardts column, I enjoyed interacting with its flesh-and-blood analogue. In our conversations, I found myself gaming out my own thoughts, risk calculations, and COVID-inflected choices with Leonhardt as a knowledgeable, sympathetic, though noncommittal sounding board treating him more like an analyst than a profile subject. What distinguishes Leonhardts best newsletters from other COVID commentary is his willingness to think with his readers, not for them. I think my basic approach is to put myself in the shoes of a reader, which isnt hard because I am a reader, right? he said. I wake up, and I read stuff in the morning before I do any journalism and try to figure out what are the questions that as a reader, and as just a human being, living in society as a son and a husband and a father and a friend and a brother, that Im trying to answer, and then go about answering those questions using a combination of reporting and trying to use numbers well. The therapeutic dimension of Leonhardts approach is perhaps not incidental. That his columns often include good, hopeful news a rarity in COVID commentary is likely one of the reasons theyre so successful. Ive spoken to several friends (vaccinated young people) who told me they feel Leonhardts newsletter is gratifying precisely because it gives them permission to stop being terrified all the time: a forgiving COVID superego to replace the exclusively punishing one they encountered elsewhere in the progressive ecosystem. For his part, Leonhardt admits to being an optimist by nature. It has caused him some trouble along the way. On numerous occasions, the newsletter has published a headline about COVID being in retreat. In each case, a new wave of disease was lurking around the corner. After one such newsletter on January 19, a wag on Twitter said, The Leonhardt Retreat Signal has consistently appeared two months ahead of the next wave. I am now concerned about late March 2022. Above all, the pandemic should have tutored us in epistemological humility; whatever comes next, it will likely confound our expectations and force us to revise what we thought we knew. But I dont think Leonhardt is entirely mistaken when he describes a bad- news bias in COVID reporting. I suggested to him that one explanation for this phenomenon is a hangover from the Trump era when most of the sunny news about COVID came from world-historic liars seeking to minimize the pandemic for political gain. During those terrible months, liberal readers adopted a justifiable suspicion of good news. Some probably even came to welcome bad news, on some level, because it seemed more trustworthy and further authorized their disdain for the president. Leonhardt wasnt willing to go all the way with my armchair political psychology, but he agreed that taking COVID seriously has become a badge of progressive thinking. Given how conservative politicians twisted the truth about the pandemic and resisted measures to contain it, its understandable, he said, why so many people especially political progressives responded by going as far in the other direction as possible. He added, Those steps saved lives. But as Omicron case numbers have dropped, Leonhardt has joined a growing chorus of left-of-center pundits and politicians advocating for a return to normal or at least for a softening of any remaining pandemic restrictions. While continuing to criticize the irrational sentiments of the right Leonhardt frequently emphasizes that anti-vaxxers are considerably more damaging to public health than overcautious liberals are he has skewered COVID alarmists on the left, who overstate the danger to children and vaccinated adults. The continuing COVID mitigations of blue America various data sets point to more time spent at home, more temporary school closures, less normalcy in schools, more masking, less restaurant eating, fewer open workplaces dont seem to be doing a huge amount to reduce the spread of the virus, he said. Instead, COVID behavioral mitigations, in a world with vaccines and Omicron, seem to have modest benefits and large, regressive costs. Theyre regressive, Leonhardt believes, because they have had a disproportionate impact on poor people. Schools in blue areas have been more likely to shut down, he said. That really damages kids. It damages poor kids and kids of color the most. Leonhardts position, which some have called COVID realism (he told me he accepts this designation), has inspired criticism from public-health experts. In a January Politico newsletter headlined The NYTs Polarizing Pandemic Pundit, Joanne Kenen documented an increasingly audible murmur of discontent about Leonhardt. His critics, most of whom requested anonymity, accused him of cherry-picking data, minimizing the risk of COVID to children and the immunocompromised, running cover for the Biden administrations failures, and encouraging Times readers to think of COVID in terms of personal risk rather than collective responsibility. Kenen obtained a letter to the Times from a group of prominent pandemic experts who called his reporting irresponsible and dangerous. Leonhardt, however, has stuck to his guns. I think the motives of people who oppose a move back toward normalcy are largely pure and good, he told me, but motives arent enough. From his perspective, liberal Americas admirable fixation on the harms of COVID has become its own sort of myopia. The Times COVID tracker, for example, was a brilliant innovation that allowed readers to see the damage of the pandemic when government officials would just as soon have hidden it. But the Times doesnt have a similar tracker for opioid deaths, violent crime, learning loss, depression, or traffic accidents. I often find in these discussions, theres a kind of yes, but, he said. Yes, but the elderly. I mean, Ive written the Yes, but the elderly myself. Yes, but the immunocompromised. Yes, but were not talking about zero death. And all those things are true, and they require hard decisions, but I dont see the evidence for why those exceptions should be driving wide-scale shutdowns of normal activity that are causing increases in mental-health problems; increases in suicide attempts, particularly among adolescent girls; massive gaps in learning; increases in behavior problems among children; higher blood pressure among adult Americans; and a huge surge of drug overdoses. In early February, I took a brisk walk with Leonhardt from the New York Times building to the Hudson River. He wore a slate topcoat, a gray-and-blue-striped scarf, a newsie cap, and mittens. He was precisely as tall as I thought he would be. When we entered a Starbucks, he put on a KN95 mask and ordered a black tea. (Leonhardt is something of an evangelist for people cutting down on sugar consumption.) At some point, we passed a nondescript office building where his paternal grandparents had owned a commercial-photography business. My dad, as a toddler, was their unpaid diaper model, he told me. When Leonhardts grandfather, a German Jewish refugee, died in 1950 at age 42, Leonhardts grandmother kept the store going; it was uncommon enough at the time for a woman to own a business in Times Square that she was profiled in the Times. Leonhardt has a copy of that story framed in his office. He was born in Manhattan. His parents were leftists. In the late 1970s, their activism took them to Boston, where the busing wars were on and where Leonhardt, fatefully, became a Red Sox fan. The family returned to New York when Leonhardt was 8. He described himself as a classic bored, acting-out adolescent. Nothing terribly illegal, but still not ideal. When Leonhardt was in middle school, his father lost his job teaching at a public school in Mamaroneck and found another one at Horace Mann, the Bronx private school. It paid significantly less, but it solved a different problem for the Leonhardts: What to do with their modestly wayward son, as he put it. Leonhardt got a scholarship to attend Horace Mann, where he quickly found himself among a group of crusading student journalists who criticized the administration over sexism and racism and agitated for apartheid divestment. (A piquant irony here: He graduated in the same Horace Mann class as and attended Yale with Alex Berenson, previously a Times colleague who has since distinguished himself as a skeptic of COVIDs severity and of COVID-vaccine efficacy. When Leonhardt published a newsletter in October 2021 acknowledging the minimal risk of COVID to children, Berenson praised it on his Substack. Wish Dave luck today, Berenson wrote. Telling the truth about COVID at the Times is a risky proposition.) Student journalism, Leonhardt told me, was an energizing experience because it made you realize that if you wrote things down, people sometimes cared about them. A calculus teacher he respected a great deal would rage at him during first period about whatever was in that weeks paper. There is no value in making people angry, Leonhardt told me. But you also cant be afraid of it. Some of the anger directed toward Leonhardt stems from his ambiguous but powerful position in the newsroom, where he helms a nine-person fiefdom. Baquet insisted to me that Leonhardts contribution is neither commentary nor opinion but news analysis. Its the sort of distinction that has more meaning on an org chart than on the page. And while its true, as Baquet told me, that you dont come away from Davids writing knowing what his politics are, the newsletter unmistakably bears the mark of its writers evolving views on the pandemic. Leonhardt admits as much. Early on, before the vaccines came, my focus was on how much worse the U.S. was doing than many other countries, he told me. But over the course of the last year or so that vaccines have become available, I think the story has shifted, and my focus has too. That shift has not gone unnoticed. On a recent episode of the left-wing health policy podcast Death Panel, Abigail Cartus, a public-health postdoc at Brown University, called Leonhardt a relentless minimizer of the pandemic. The purpose of his intervention, said Steven W. Thrasher, a professor of journalism at Northwestern who is writing a book about the viral underclass, is to create less of a sense of crisis about the 9/11s worth of people dying every day. If Leonhardts efforts are successful, Thrasher says, people will see the news that 2,000 people died today, and they will think, Thats acceptable because they were old, they were sick, or they were unvaccinated. And that, Thrasher says, is eugenic and genocidal logic. Theres so much ideological work you need to do to try to convince people that this thing thats killed a million people in your country is fine and were overreacting, said Justin Feldman, a social epidemiologist at Harvard. People like Leonhardt, he said, are doing that work. Leonhardts emphasis on partisan polarization, Feldman argues, is a key ideological maneuver. If the only people dying of COVID are anti-vaxx ideologues, it becomes easier to convince liberals that the deaths are tolerable and that theres nothing we can do to prevent them. But as Feldman notes, undervaccination is also correlated with poverty and the lack of health insurance. You cant escape the fact that the poorest Americans are disproportionately likely to be unvaccinated, said Ed Yong, The Atlantics Pulitzer-winning COVID reporter, and that among the poorest groups, the number of people who say they want or would consider a vaccine outnumbers the people who are outright never going to get it. Thats the access issue right there, just staring you in the face. Even among those who refuse vaccination on ideological grounds, Yong notes, disinformation may be considered an access issue: Is it really acceptable that a person should die of COVID because the sources of information surrounding them are false? Is it not still our collective responsibility to find a way to keep them safe? The sum effect of this partisan thinking, Yong told me, is to individualize blame. Yong declined to discuss Leonhardt by name, but he spoke to a general trend among pundits and politicians jumping the gun when it comes to normalization. We are still getting a daily mass-death event. Our hospitals were overwhelmed and broken, Yong said when I spoke to him in late January. And yet the narrative, I think, from many corners of the media has been one of optimism, of thinking about a return to normal. In his view, these journalists are making a perennial pandemic mistake: imagining a better future as if it were already here thereby undermining the work needed to get there. Saying endemicity is the future doesnt make it the present, Yong said. I feel that a lot of influential people in this pandemic basically got vaccinated and then just kind of lost the plot. In early January 2022, Leonhardt dedicated a lengthy newsletter to the costs of school closures. In our discussions, he emphasized his sympathy for teachers. We underpay them badly in our society, he told me. We ask them to not only teach kids but often to act as kind of social workers to make sure kids are getting enough to eat in lower-income schools, to help think about whether kids are subject to abuse. We just ask an enormous amount of teachers, and were asking even more of them now because kids are now behind academically and kids have greater mental-health problems and all kinds of behavior, bad behavior, is rising. Their jobs are extremely hard, and theyve gotten harder during the pandemic. But, he said, some teachers unions have exaggerated the threat COVID presents to vaccinated people and children. He added that they have downplayed and understated the amount of damage we are doing to kids by keeping them out of school. Days after that newsletter, Leonhardt appeared on a podcast hosted by the American Enterprise Institutes Marc Thiessen and Danielle Pletka. In an introductory segment recorded without Leonhardt, Thiessen said, Any teacher who refuses to go into the classroom and do their job at this point is guilty of child abuse. Not to be outdone, Pletka added that teachers striking for more COVID safeguards in Chicago are a disgrace to their profession. I read Leonhardt the statements. I strongly disagree with that, he told me. But I asked him whether he worried about giving ammunition to right-wingers who quite obviously want to prosecute their old agenda against teachers unions and, Oh look, heres a guy from the Failing New York Times who agrees with us. Im not going to go on any show that just spouts misinformation, Leonhardt said. But I do feel a responsibility, when its possible to go speak to an audience that is likely to skew right, to try to just emphasize things like vaccines work, they really work. But I fully understand theyre having me on because my last name is Of the New York Times, and, right, that allows them to score some points. As I struggled to articulate how I think its bigger than that, that the right is using COVID and the legitimately terrible damage it has caused to students as an excuse to vilify teachers and decimate public education, Leonhardt was off in another direction. Theres a set of opinions in which something like the public left, or the public Democratic Party or parts of it, has gotten way to the left of the American public, and I do think COVID has become another example, he said. I do think for progressives who are legitimately concerned about things like the future of American democracy and the future of our planet and other things like deep inequality in this country, its important for them to be rigorous about what the country actually thinks, rather than to engage in wishful thinking. Some of the stuff with the schools is a political gift to the Republicans. Its a gift. Not all of it but some of it. A few weeks after this conversation, Leonhardt published a newsletter focused on the school-board recall elections in San Francisco, which he used as an opportunity to rail against the ultra-progressive heresies of the Democratic left. Despite the rights manifestly unpopular positions on race, guns, police accountability, and vaccines, Leonhardt wrote, Democrats and progressive activists have responded by overreaching public opinion in the other direction. They have opposed the resumption of normal operations in schools. They have said they would no longer honor popular former presidents, like Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt. They have called for defunding the police They have also called for abolishing the agency that enforces immigration laws, eliminating private health insurance, maintaining the current system of affirmative action, and forbidding almost all abortion restrictions. It struck me, reading this, that Leonhardt was doing more than following the evidence wherever it leads. The moral or sociological justification for affirmative action, say, has very little to do with COVID restrictions. Analogizing the Democrats COVID response to other polarized issues is a reasonable priority for a political consultant, but Im not sure how it should inform news analysis about a global pandemic. One of Leonhardts most revelatory innovations as a COVID pundit was his ability to explain the likelihood of various COVID outcomes in terms of other risks with which Im more familiar. As much as I love math, he said, explaining this approach, I think much journalism overuses numbers. Numbers are theoretical. And not only that, there are many numbers the human mind cant actually engage with in any meaningful way. Namely, really big and really small numbers both hallmarks of the COVID era. For the most part, he said, the more helpful stuff is the comparisons, not the numbers. It seemed to break something of a taboo in liberal COVID commentary when, last April, Leonhardt compared the likelihood of fatal COVID in a vaccinated person to the likelihood of death in a car crash. President Trump and many conservatives spent the pre-vaccine era minimizing the risk of COVID e.g., by saying it was no worse than the flu with no scientific justification. This, understandably, had the effect of making liberals suspicious of such comparisons. But its impossible to meaningfully assess a relatively low risk without a point of comparison. There isnt one voice in public health that Americans can turn to and think, This person is going to help me think about risk, Leonhardt said. And theres just been this kind of bureaucratic timidity and caution that I think has been quite damaging. Since the end of large-scale lockdowns, enhanced unemployment benefits, and other federally coordinated efforts to limit the spread of the virus, Americans, especially those who arent rich, have been expected to decide on their own and without sufficient information what level of COVID risk, to themselves and others, they will tolerate in exchange for being able to live their lives, go to work, see their loved ones, educate their kids, and preserve their mental health. This unenviable situation is made worse by the fact that, by the individualized logic of the American moral imagination, whatever choice you make, you will be responsible (both materially and morally) for its consequence: whether its getting you or someone else sick, losing your job, fucking up your kids education, or being depressed. Some critics have suggested Leonhardts work reifies this dynamic, absolving the government of its responsibility to protect the public or provide material resources so people can make healthy decisions. I think this complaint has merit. But only to a point. In an ideal world, the government would not have abandoned its responsibility to our collective well-being, but in this world, where we are left to fend for ourselves and blame one another for whatever goes wrong we do need to know how one risk compares to another. Otherwise, we will be paralyzed. Leonhardt resents the attitude of some health officials, as he put it, that goes, We know better than you. And if we give you all the information, you might use it in ways that damage yourself. So do I. Critics contend that, in focusing on personal risk, Leonhardt is giving us permission to stop caring about people who are still in danger in particular, the disabled and immunocompromised. Part of the confusion and heat of this discussion among liberals and progressives is that no one agrees on the terms of the debate. Is the point of COVID journalism to help us become better citizens? A better country? Or to help us live better lives? The pandemic briefly widened our aperture for reckoning with the pain and vulnerability of others, many of whom were suffering long before COVID-19 struck. Epidemiologists, meanwhile, encouraged us to take some responsibility for protecting them. But this created a problem. Such thinking chafes with American moral common sense. To maintain sanity in a country as bafflingly unequal as ours, you must convince yourself that your own comfort is causally (and morally) unrelated to the suffering of less fortunate strangers. The alternative is an acknowledgment of our interdependence that is, frankly, incompatible with our social order. In this sense, people who continue to insist on safeguarding the medically vulnerable are irrational, beset by a kind of madness. When I put this to Leonhardt, he seemed to understand my point, in his way. Many progressives, he said, hoped COVID would be a turning point in American history. It is a crisis, and crises can lead to fundamental change. There was talk of Biden being an unexpected FDR. Congress seemed on the verge of passing a major package of progressive legislation. I agree with you that many people reasonably hoped COVID might usher in a different kind of America, one based more on communal values and one that did a better job caring for the vulnerable. But it did not. And so perhaps part of the resistance among progressives is the idea that returning to normal is tantamount to admitting that a better post-COVID world may not happen. As he sees it, this anxiety is misplaced, or at least counterproductive. Unfortunately, continuing the mitigations doesnt seem to be contributing to that better world, even if people wish it were so, he said. The data suggest the restrictions are often doing harm, on net. Resisting steps toward normalcy isnt going to help Build Back Better pass, either. Build Back Better is Godot here. What Leonhardt didnt seem to accept in any of our conversations is the idea that his work is an enormously consequential input into the equation of what is politically possible not merely a disinterested assessment of our political horizons. Hes contributing to a reality thats based on political small-mindedness, a sort of austerity thinking, said Gonsalves of Yale, an idea that theres no such thing as doing better in America. Its really corrosive. Yong, the Atlantic writer, put it this way, I was writing as early as spring of 2020 that this is, in many ways, an opportunity to take stock of societal problems that have been allowed to go unaddressed for too long. The pandemic was an X-ray of the dysfunction and rot in our social order. Things like the child tax credit, universal health care, investments in schools and hospitals, and alleviating poverty: These are all highly effective pandemic preparedness and mitigation policies. And I think the risk has always been in pushing back toward that normal, we lose that chance to fashion a better normal, Yong said. After all, getting back to normal isnt going to be sufficient to fight the next pandemic because normal led to this. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Lev Radin/Pacific Press/Shutterstock (Bragg); James Devaney/GC Images The Manhattan district attorneys offices criminal investigation into Donald Trumps financial dealings has been thrown into disarray following the news Wednesday that the two prosecutors leading the investigation had abruptly resigned. A rough account already seems to have taken shape in the press two well-respected lawyers in New Yorks white-collar legal circles were stymied by a newly elected DA who has been distracted by a barrage of bad press since taking office but there remain considerable reasons to maintain a healthy degree of caution about this version of events as we get our first glimpses behind the scenes of a very consequential mess. The prosecutors who quit, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, were frustrated that after the previous DA, Cyrus Vance Jr., authorized them to seek an indictment against the former president, the new district attorney appeared uninterested, according to the Washington Post, which quoted a spokesperson who said the investigation is ongoing. (Some disclosures: I used to work at the same firm as Pomerantz but did not know him well; I interned for Bragg in law school and have maintained a cordial relationship with him since.) A source familiar with the investigation provided an account to me that is broadly consistent with what has been reported elsewhere but sheds greater light on the breakup. Vance had repeatedly said last year that he was going to make final charging decisions before leaving office at the end of December, reiterating it to the Financial Times in late September. Around that time, Vance was disinclined to move forward against Trump, skeptical about the strength of the proposed case Dunne and Pomerantz had put together. By early December, though, Dunne and Pomerantz persuaded him there was a chargeable case. At that point, Vance authorized the two to move forward with their investigation with an eye toward indicting Trump after Bragg took over January 1, using the second of two grand juries that had been empaneled over the course of the investigation. The charges that might have been brought against Trump were not entirely clear, according to the source, who says prosecutors were considering some combination of charges based on falsifying business records (which can either be a misdemeanor or the lowest-level felony offense in New York), conspiring to falsify Trumps financial condition (in relation, perhaps, to lenders, tax authorities, or insurers), or committing criminal fraud such as grand larceny, which sounds dramatic but can also be charged at a variety of felony levels. After Bragg took over, Dunne and Pomerantz briefed him on the investigation both in writing and in a series of meetings. The Post reported that Bragg appeared not to be focused on the case, taking his time to engage with the duo and their work, and the two prosecutors decided to stop presenting evidence to the grand jury once they realized a case against Trump was not a foregone conclusion. According to the source, things finally reached a breaking point when Bragg recently told the two that he did not think they had sufficient evidence to indict Trump at least not yet and that they should instead wait to see if they could develop or obtain additional evidence. Trump, for instance, might opt not to invoke his right against self-incrimination and could provide testimony to the New York State Attorney Generals Office in its civil probe that could be used against him in the DAs criminal case. Another possibility was Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who was indicted last summer for tax fraud along with the company, might decide to cooperate if he were ultimately convicted. At that point, Dunne and Pomerantz concluded they were at an impasse. They believed they had a provable case against Trump not a slam dunk, necessarily, but a case that was worthy of being brought right now, according to the source familiar with their thinking. Bragg disagreed, and Dunne and Pomerantz did not want to wait longer since there did not appear to be any dramatic breakthroughs on the horizon of the sort Bragg felt were necessary. Weisselberg, for instance, is currently scheduled to go on trial in late summer, but that could be pushed back. It is worth taking a very big step back in order to consider a wider range of possibilities than the one many members of the media and legal commentariat appear to have been quick to adopt. Within hours of the first report of Dunne and Pomerantzs departure, the editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone tweeted that a source had told him Bragg appeared to back away from the politically-sensitive probe after the D.A.s day 1 memo got so much blowback, but the sources claim makes little sense. If the knock on Bragg is that he is too soft on crime, then charging Trump would provide powerful evidence to the contrary; and indeed, anyone who had followed the DAs race even cursorily last year knows Bragg campaigned on an increase in white-collar criminal enforcement. Some of the many legal pundits who became prominent during the Trump years people whose entire public profile depends on the existence of Trump and his legal troubles also quickly weighed in with dubious and occasionally offensive innuendo. On Wednesday evening, George Conway resurfaced an unrelated and unconfirmed allegation of misconduct against Bragg. Harry Litman, a former federal prosecutor and columnist for the Los Angeles Times who repeatedly and incorrectly assured people that a criminal fraud prosecution against Trump would be easy, referred to Dunne and Pomerantz as top dogs and urged his followers to remember that Bragg has very little experience with and feel for state corruption cases, a claim he later had to walk back in a correction of sorts because it is false. Bragg has, after all, worked as a line prosecutor and as a supervisor on complex investigations both as a federal prosecutor and in the New York State Attorney Generals Office. There is no reason to doubt that his strictly professional judgment is just as reliable as that of Dunne or Pomerantz even if he happens not to fit the profile of the mostly white, well-to-do lawyers in the elite legal circles of New York and Washington, D.C., who seem to more easily attain the status of being very seasoned and respected (as Litman described Pomerantz), despite Bragg managing the considerable feat of becoming the first Black DA in Manhattan. In fact, so far as we can tell based on the public record, there are some considerable reasons to doubt the strength of the case that Dunne and Pomerantz were able to build against Trump and that they may have presented to Bragg. This was always going to be a challenging case: Any complex financial fraud is hard to prosecute, particularly one that involves lawyers, accountants, or other advisers, all of whom can complicate the ability of investigators to establish that any particular person much less the head of the relevant enterprise intended to defraud third parties. The fact that the real-estate and hospitality industries appear to have more flexible and debatable methodologies of financial appraisal and valuation would make things harder. Of course, Trumps longtime accountants at Mazars recently disclaimed responsibility for a decades worth of Trumps financial statements, but that development was not as clear-cut as many in the media sought to portray it. In any suspected financial fraud scheme involving records that went through an accountant or auditors, there are, very broadly speaking, two possibilities: The advisers were either lied to, or they were in on the scheme. Mazars clearly wanted to dissociate itself from that second possibility, but even so, the firm carefully noted that it had not concluded that the various financial statements, as a whole, contain material discrepancies not exactly a ringing endorsement of a criminal fraud theory. Then there is the question of key witnesses against Trump. Having evidently tried and failed to flip Weisselberg, Dunne and Pomerantzs best potential cooperator against Trump appears to have been Michael Cohen, and the source familiar with the prosecutors thinking argued Cohen would have been a viable cooperator. But it would be extremely risky to use Cohen a serial liar who did not fully cooperate with federal prosecutors in Manhattan and who has undercut his own value as a witness by spending much of the past two years railing against Trump in cable-news interviews and on his own podcast as the key witness in a case against Trump without many other credible sources of independent corroboration. How about other documentary evidence? Trump, of course, famously does not use email and loves destroying hard copies of documents. This would not foreclose the possibility of a criminal case based in large part on paper since prosecutors could try to establish Trumps knowledge of misrepresentations in his various financial submissions by establishing that he had been apprised of the truth at around the same time as misrepresentations were delivered to third parties he signed off on, but this is one more very real evidentiary challenge in any prosecution of Trump. If this was roughly the state of the investigation, it is not hard to see how reasonable and experienced prosecutors might come to different conclusions about the merits of pushing forward. By themselves, any one of the issues noted above would be significant but potentially manageable; all of them together would make for a serious uphill battle. In any long-term investigation, the sunk-cost fallacy the tendency to push forward after a significant investment of time and resources even when it makes little sense is a major problem, and that is one reason it can be helpful for someone who is clear-eyed and who has less of a mental and emotional stake in the proceedings to make an independent judgment about the strength of the evidence and the merits of moving full speed ahead. In this case, it appears that person may have ended up being Bragg himself the man who would ultimately bear the risk and responsibility of an unprecedented criminal prosecution against a former president. This article was featured in One Great Story, New Yorks reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly. A vigil outside the White House on January 13 for nurses who have died during the pandemic. Photo: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Why are so many Americans still dying of COVID? The seven-day average is now 2,500 a day, higher than at any point in the last two years outside last January before vaccines, at the height of the most devastating phase of the pandemic. Yesterday, the total reported dead was 3,600. For those attuned to the ongoing, horrifying pandemic death toll, it may seem a continuation of the countrys failure stretching back to last spring. But more Americans died of COVID in 2021, the year Joe Biden took office armed with vaccines and promising a pandemic reboot, than in 2020, when Donald Trump bungled his way through everything but vaccine development. In the pandemics first year, defined by the campaign to flatten the curve and fights over mitigation measures like masks and school closures, the United States performed surprisingly poorly given its pre-pandemic reputation. But judging by COVID fatality rates, it was merely below average among the countries it considers its peers in the wealthy West, nearly all of which also struggled to enact the medical surveillance and cultivate the social trust necessary to curb spread without the help of vaccines. It was only in the pandemics second year, defined by the rollout of vaccines developed largely through American ingenuity and capital, that the U.S. has done far, far worse by a large margin. Since December 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, the New York Times calculated Tuesday. Compared to the countries with the lowest Omicron death tolls, the gap is much larger still. The pattern predates Omicron. In early August, as the Delta wave was just beginning to accelerate, I wondered why so many more were dying here than in Europe; ultimately, the surge lasted through the fall, taking 200,000 American lives and producing the deadliest two-month period of the whole pandemic outside last winter. By early December, the American death toll was just as striking. And nearly as quickly as Omicron appeared here, there were signs that the United States would, again, depart from the European experience, where cases were exploding but with only a modest effect on severe outcomes and deaths. While the last few weeks havent fulfilled some worst-case scenarios, there are still 2,500 Americans dying every day now from a variant whose main advance billing was its mildness. On Monday, the Financial Times published a staggeringly good, graphics-heavy digest of this phenomenon and some of the most likely explanations for it, namely low vaccine coverage and slow uptake of boosters. On Tuesday, I spoke with John Burn-Murdoch, whose work for the FT has made him one of the pandemics most trusted chroniclers and data gurus, about just how much more brutal the second year of the American pandemic has been and how much of that brutality can be explained by gaps in vaccine coverage of just a few percentage points. Lets start with the headline observation of your piece, which is just how much worse the U.S. experience has been. You suggest that if the U.S. was as well-vaccinated as most western European countries, only half as many Americans wouldve ended up in the hospital. I first started to notice the gap with the Delta wave in July. As has too often been the case during the pandemic, the U.K. has often been at the front of some of these new variant trends. And we did see case numbers start to mount very quickly, but it became apparent relatively early on that hospitalizations and deaths were already a much smaller proportion of cases in the U.K. during the Delta wave than they had been during Alpha six months earlier. Neither of the more acute indicators was getting anywhere near what theyd been in the previous winter, which was exactly what wed been hoping wed get with the vaccines. Whereas fairly early on in the U.S., we were starting to hear from places like Florida and elsewhere in the South and Midwest that the numbers were getting much closer to what previous waves had been whether in the spring of 2020 or in the winter. And that just struck me. Me too. And when Omicron started taking off in the U.S., it again seemed to be doing something different to what we were seeing elsewhere in western Europe and places like the U.K. We had seen a quite linear story as it was going from South Africa to the U.K. to the rest of western Europe, in terms of seeing these enormous records in case numbers, but with more acute indicators like hospitalizations not rising to as great an extent and not getting close to the previous peaks. In the U.S., we havent gotten quite to the previous peak in terms of deaths, which came during the winter surge last year, entirely before vaccines. But weve passed that peak in terms of hospitalizations. Now, I do think there are obviously some wrinkles here. Something that I think some people miss is if they look at a place like New York, and they say, Oh, hospitalizations have gone as high as they did last winter, theyre missing the fact that in a place like New York, the winter of 2021 was much less bad than the spring of 2020. But that being said, on the national level, we have seen hospitalizations and ICU admissions and in parts of the U.S., deaths get a lot closer to previous peaks than we are seeing in places like the U.K., western Europe. Even in the country as a whole if you take last January out of it, the seven-day average is now, at over 2,600, higher than its ever been. And though we probably wont get as high as those January numbers, the average is still inching up. But before we focus on Omicron, I wanted to talk a bit more about Delta, particularly about the difference between its presenting severity, which also reflects the immunological context in which it emerged, and its inherent severity. Because everywhere in the world, the emphasis with Delta seemed to be on its enhanced transmissibility. But it appears also to have been clearly more severe. Without that playing a role, it would be impossible for a country like the U.S. with more than half its population and three-quarters or more of its senior citizens vaccinated to see its case-fatality ratio not budge from the pre-vaccine winter surge to the Delta wave. I think this is such a fascinating thing. In the first couple of weeks of Delta, I was really quite surprised by how the narrative was forming around that. If we look at somewhere like the U.K. or many western European countries, because of very high rates of vaccination, Delta never presented on the population level as severe as Alpha. But there was never this conversation in May, June, or July of 2021 about things looking good with Delta, despite the fact that if one were to take a thousand cases of Delta and compare them to a thousand cases of Alpha, you would see less severe outcomes. Doctors were talking about this at the time, but it was always framed as a result of vaccination and other forms of immunity. Which is not at all whats happened with Omicron. I remember hearing from a lot of folks doctors, scientists, epidemiologists who were saying we didnt need to resort to enhanced severity in our analysis of Delta, that the increased transmissibility alone could explain why we were seeing so many people in hospitals and dying. All of these things were happening at the same time. But I think part of this is that its human nature that stories around things like this are formed not necessarily based purely on a rational, logical approach but just on a more emotional side. And I think the fact that Indias Delta wave was so bad, it led everyone to think of Delta as very, very bad, but then you saw it really well mitigated by the success of the vaccination campaign in the U.K. And so there was a sense of relief in places like the U.K. What started out being a very, very concerning few weeks at the end of May and coming into June in the U.K., it fizzled out. And I dont mean that as in there werent deaths and hospitalizations, because there were. But looking at India, there were fears of something cataclysmic, and there were huge concerns about Deltas ability to escape vaccine protection. And it turned out that, while there was some escape, it was relatively modest. Photo: Financial Times In your piece, you compare the severity of Omicron to Delta but not to Alpha or the original wild-type that emerged in Wuhan. What would that comparison be? My understanding is that Delta was more severe than the previous variants, which were more severe than the wild-type, and so even though Omicron is less severe than Delta, its in the neighborhood of the wild-type variant in terms of severity. Yeah, thats exactly it. My understanding is that Alpha was an increase in severity upon the wild type, Delta was certainly an increase in severity on Alpha, and Omicron Ive not seen exact numbers comparing it to the wild type, but I believe its in the same ballpark. With Omicron, some of the best research on the specific question of intrinsic severity was the stuff done by Imperial College. Their best effort gets you to a reduction of intrinsic severity somewhere in the region of 30 to 50 percent. Compared to Delta, you mean. Yes. I personally have been using a very rough approximation of roughly half as severe because some other studies which, to be fair, didnt do as much work as Imperial College in terms of controlling for prior infection were often finding somewhere between a half and two-thirds reduction. There was also a study from South Africa recently where they found a smaller reduction in inherent severity just 25 percent, I believe, which is quite striking given how much less severe it looked than their previous wave if you didnt correct for how much more immunity had been gained since the last wave. One additional thing I think really got lost in the noise in the early days of discussions about Omicron was not just the question of immunological context but Omicrons immune escape. One recent report found that more than two-thirds of British Omicron cases have been reinfections. And the same dynamic probably explains why the early spread in many countries was among the vaccinated. If you take a thousand Omicron cases and a thousand Delta cases, the Omicron cases will just be more heavily skewed toward people with some immune protection. And therefore, even if there were no change in its intrinsic severity, that would still mean it would look less severe. But a lot of this stuff has gotten blurred, which is what we were trying to get at in our piece: The general reduction in the severity of COVID over the last two years has not just been some kind of natural blanket change that has happened in the same way everywhere. And it seems to be the case that countries that have patchier vaccination coverage, especially in their elderly and most vulnerable groups, have just not seen that same reduction in realized severity. Which is worrying to consider when you think about parts of the world where vaccination rates may be low or very low and exposure to previous waves may also be pretty low. But in certain ways whats most striking about that data is the American experience, which is to say the American anomaly. Personally, I just cant get over the fact that for the U.S., 2021 was worse than 2020 in terms of the total number of deaths but also in terms of our relative performance compared to our peers, who all saw pretty dramatic reductions in fatality rates. In the U.S., before Omicron, our case-fatality rate hadnt declined at all, as one of your charts illustrates powerfully. Part of that story is about the exact timing of the calendar year. With Alpha, the U.K. saw a lot of bad outcomes hospitalizations and deaths at the back end of 2020. That makes the U.K.s 2020 look particularly bad and 2021 slightly less bad. But the U.S. did certainly start vaccinating ahead of pretty much every other country in the world other than Israel. And yet by the time Delta rolled around, we had fallen behind almost everyone. With the Delta wave in the U.S., you had this perfect storm. Number one, relatively low vaccination rates in places like Florida Really low vaccination nationwide. There are problems with our data, which might be most noticeable in Florida, but at least the official vaccination rate in that state is about average for the U.S., not below. Which is one reason it was so striking, even given the large number of elderly people that live there, that Florida had by far the worst Delta surge of any state in the whole country. It doesnt seem to make sense, which is one reason to be additionally skeptical of those vaccination figures. Yes. On that point, we did a story earlier in the year about the quality of vaccination data out of parts of the U.S., with Florida being the prime example. There were numbers purporting to say that Floridas vaccination coverage among elderly groups is very, very, very high when a large number of the people who have been counted as vaccinated seniors in Florida were actually people who had come from other states to Florida, got vaccinated, and then left. In certain zip codes, they didnt just report vaccination coverage above 100 percent, they reported coverage about 200 percent. And I think what that means is that what looked like smaller gaps in vaccine coverage among the vulnerable between the U.S. and the U.K. ended up being bigger heading into the Delta wave, certainly in parts of the U.S. To get back to the U.S. fatality anomaly, you mentioned vaccination coverage And then the southern states were also those that had been hit less hard the previous spring. And so these were places that had both less immunity acquired by vaccination and less immunity acquired by infection. Whereas in Europe, most places had pretty good vaccination levels and had been through very, very steep winter waves just in the previous winter. I mean, if we look at deaths over last winter, for example, it is not just the U.K. but countries like Portugal as well that had extremely bad waves then. There are other factors that contribute as well. One thing that gets mentioned a lot is the relatively high levels of obesity in the U.S. But just to cut you off obesity is obviously a risk factor, but looking at the data, none of these comorbidities come close to the effect of age. Even the worst of them transplant patients, immunodeficiencies are only the equivalent of adding 10 or 15 years to your age. Most of them, including obesity, have a much smaller effect. Yes. Thats right. So how do you explain the huge gap in outcomes? We hear an awful lot about vaccination coverage, and it was the focus of your piece, but the numbers arent all that different. In the U.K., I believe, 77 percent of the population as a whole has gotten at least one shot and 71 percent has been double vaccinated. In the U.S., the numbers are 75 percent and 64 percent. Thats a gap, of course, but it isnt enormous. And where it really matters, among the vulnerable elderly, the gap is smaller. In the U.K., 95 percent of those over 65 have gotten one shot, and 93 percent have been double-vaccinated. In the U.S., officially at least, the numbers are 95 percent and 88 percent. There is a difference there, but is it sufficient to explain the dramatic divergence in case-fatality rate between the two countries? For most of this year, the U.K.s CFR has been two to three times lower than ours and at a few points, its been as much as six times lower. That means for any given number of cases, about one-third as many Americans have died as Brits. Can a 5 percent gap in the coverage of the elderly really explain that? I think something thats really important to the discussion here is that it has not been ideal that we have always talked about vaccine effectiveness by talking about these numbers out of 100 percent. You say something is 90 percent effective or 80 percent effective when talking about the vaccines themselves, and similarly, when you talk about vaccination coverage, you say youve got 90 percent of people vaccinated or 80 percent. But the important figure is actually the inverse of that its the hundred minus that. Because a place thats got 90 percent coverage and a place that has 85 percent coverage those numbers sound similar, but actually one has 50 percent more vulnerable people, which is a huge gap. Exactly that. And that explains some of the head-scratching that weve all been doing over the last couple of weeks looking at the U.S. versus the U.K. and western Europe. People will say, Well, look, the U.S. has got around 95 percent of its seniors protected perhaps even more than 95 percent of its seniors vaccinated with two doses now. Putting aside the subject of boosters for now Yes, without even getting into things like that, the US could have 98 percent double vaccinated and western European countries could have 99 percent double vaccinated. Which sounds like no difference. But it is a 100 percent difference. Doesnt that mean capping vaccination rates at any level could be misleading? If your cap is 95, like the CDCs, and one place is at 96 and another is at 99, that difference is really quite large. Right. For that reason, I actually capped it at 99, partly because some countries that do have really good data are showing uptake as high as that among the elderly. Although built into that is the assumption that a country that is reporting a higher than 99 percent uptake does in fact have at least 99 percent coverage, right? Absolutely, absolutely. And Id be the first to say, in terms of the analysis that we did, thats the biggest limitation with the data that we used. One percent versus 2 percent is a huge difference. It could also just be an error. It could also be a rounding error. There could actually be no difference. So these things are very sensitive to measurement But even using the measurements we do have looking at the difference between the U.K. and the U.S., its the difference between 29 percent of one country being unvaccinated and 36 percent of the other country being unvaccinated. Thats not even a 100 percent difference, let alone a 200 percent or 300 percent or 600 percent difference its a 25 percent difference. And zooming in just to the elderly, its the difference between 7 percent of the elderly being vulnerable in one country and 12 percent in the other which still isnt a 100 percent difference. Its a 70 percent difference. And for most of the fall, the U.K. case-fatality rate was three times as high. For a stretch there, it was six times as high. Youre talking about the Delta wave in particular? Yeah. We can talk about Omicron in a bit. Well, I think there are a few things there. One is prior immunity. This is not something we built into our analysis the other day because its much harder to get very precise estimates for that. But the U.K. had a very, very, very bad winter wave at the end of 2020 with a very, very large number of infections, which meant that when Delta hit both countries, a significantly larger percentage of the population in the U.K. had been impacted previously than in the U.S. In general, I think infection-acquired immunity has been something thats been underdiscussed throughout the pandemic. Its almost been this taboo to suggest that there may be other ways to reduce ones vulnerability to severe disease in addition to getting vaccinated because no one wants to encourage people to go out and get infected. But those people who have been infected do have protection. I sent you some data from New York State, where the gap in vaccination coverage is even smaller compared to the U.K. The U.K. has 71 percent of its overall population double vaccinated, including 93 percent of those over 65. In New York, the numbers are 73 percent and 90 percent. These are very similar numbers even working backward from 100 percent, you have only 40 percent more vulnerable elderly people in New York. And yet there is still this twofold or threefold difference between how many people are dying in New York compared to how many are dying in the U.K. Is that a function of infection-acquired immunity? That the major New York exposure was now so long ago in the spring of 2020 that theres been significant waning, whereas the exposure in the U.K. has been more recent, suggesting less waning? Yeah. But look, all Im doing here is saying things that to me could reasonably explain the data you sent. And I do think that some of this comes to prior immunity. New York had one really bad outbreak, in spring 2020. The U.K., consistently from April 2020 until November 2021, was probably having more severe disease than New York. Second, boosters could be playing a role there. Right. But before we get to boosters, is testing playing an important role here? If one country tests a lot more than another, its likely to pick up more mild cases, which would drive its case-fatality ratios down. I think it certainly could play a role. But from what Ive looked at in the U.K., the trajectory of case-fatality ratio is a very, very, very close match for the trajectory of the infection-fatality ratio. Another thing to keep in mind is our analysis was primarily about hospitalization rather than death. If were talking about deaths rather than hospitalizations, the age gradient is ever steeper, which means that similar magnitudes of difference in immunity levels can manifest in even steeper differences in mortality rates. And if a 95-year-old is 15 times more likely to die than a 65-year-old and hundreds of times more likely to die than a young adult, small variations in the demographic mix or in the vaccination coverage among the very old can make a very big difference overall. Right, and if we look at the height of the waves, during Delta, as you say, the U.S. was significantly higher at the peak of its Delta wave. But Im seeing more like a threefold increase in the height of daily death. And the data Ive been looking at on vaccination coverage shows that about 90-odd percent of over 65 in England had been double vaccinated by that stage, whereas in the U.S., it was around 75 percent. So that gets you into that region of two and a half or three times the exposure, which to me seems broadly consistent with the magnitude of difference in deaths we saw at that time. But lets toggle over to your case-fatality data. I see the CFR in England, at the peak of its Delta surge, is well below 0.5 percent probably about 0.3 percent or 0.35 percent. In the U.S., at the peak of our Delta surge, were pretty close to 2 percent. Depending on exactly how you want to make the comparison, it looks like more than a threefold increase to me you could make the argument that its more like fivefold, maybe even a little more. But interestingly, the gap is largest in early December, just before Omicron, as the lingering Delta wave started a second surge. There, the U.S. CFR reaches a new peak above 2.0 percent, which means that, as a percentage of total recorded cases, more Americans were dying of COVID than during the last winter surge, which took place entirely before vaccination. This peak was in early December, with more than 70 percent of the country vaccinated, including more than 85 percent of seniors and, by some estimates, more than 85 percent of the country already exposed to COVID in some form or another. In England, by contrast, the CFR at that point was 0.3 percent or so about seven times lower. Thats where prior infection and boosters were doing a lot of work in England. England had this slow-burning Delta wave in which a lot of people were getting infected, particularly younger people, and that was just adding a huge amount of immunity. And then the English booster rollout was pretty rapid once it got going pretty fast and pretty steep. So I think the magnitude of that difference that we see in early December is really the result of those two factors infection-acquired and booster-acquired immunity. But the gap during the Delta wave is roughly in this two- to threefold, maybe threefold ballpark. The thing thats most striking to me about this chart is not necessarily the divergence between the countries, its how flat the American CFR remains all year despite mass vaccination. It doesnt fall much, even though more than 200 million Americans have been vaccinated, including the large majority of the elderly. You could say it roughly halves from October 2020 to pre-Delta spring and early summer. Right. But again, thats a halving that looks very small compared to a much, much bigger decline in western Europe. Its just so striking to me 200 million doses of very effective vaccines managed only to fight Delta to a draw. The really important thing for me here is the dosing interval. Thats the length of time between the first and second dose. The U.S. followed a three-week dosing interval. The U.K. was between an 8- and 12-week interval. Canada also went for the longer interval. European countries were somewhere between the two. A lot of them started doing four and then ended up widening the gap. Do you think that made a big difference? In one of the U.K. health security agency studies, there was around a twofold drop in vaccine effectiveness for a shorter dosing interval. And then there was a study that came out relatively soon after that looking at two-dose efficacy against Delta in Canada and in the U.S. And that also seemed to be showing much faster waning of efficacy in the U.S. than Canada, with dosing interval one of the likely keys there. So I think thats something thats probably still been underdiscussed because, for a long time, we didnt know which of those dosing intervals was going to be the best. I think anyone who says they knew the longer interval was always going to be the better one I think thats a bit of hindsight bias. There were qualitative reasons to believe that a longer interval may be better, but I dont think we can say England just completely nailed the science on that one. I think it was probably a bit of luck. But that would certainly explain why you would see a more modest payoff essentially for the same number of vaccines in the U.S. than you would elsewhere. Right. Just to take that number seriously a twofold reduction. That means that two-dose vaccine efficacy in England could be the equivalent of two-dose-plus-booster efficacy in the U.S. Its like were starting out one shot behind, and we had to get the booster even to get to where the U.K. was pre-booster. If you look at that CFR chart, again, all the countries started around 2 percent going into winter 2021. And then the U.S. comes down to one percent, and the others come down below 0.5 percent. And if we say, very roughly, that that shorter dosing interval had a twofold impact, then the U.S. could have been down at that 0.5 percent line, which is much closer to Portugal. It probably means were a little higher than Portugal but the same ballpark. Yeah. Now, I dont have definitive proof or anything approaching that saying that that was the factor, but I think based on what we know, some of that difference, and perhaps a significant amount of that difference, could be explained by the dosing. Lets talk a bit more about boosters. The headline of this piece was Pandemic of the Unboosted, and I think theres a growing view among American epidemiologists that part of the story of Americas poor performance is that while we may be relatively close in terms of overall vaccine coverage and probably a little farther in terms of our elderly coverage with two doses, the gaps are really, really large at the moment in the booster uptake. Between the U.S. and many European countries, theres a 20-point gap, in some cases higher, and often higher when just looking at boosters among the elderly. When I hear that analysis, it seems absolutely right in theory. But when I look at the CDC data, I see a relatively small share of deaths now among the vaccinated, which is a group that includes the double-dosed but unboosted. All told, all vaccinated deaths account for only about a fifth of recent deaths in the latest quasi-national CDC update. That ratio is about the same as it was during Delta, before waning was really a pronounced problem and before anyone had really begun booster rollout. So how large a role could boosters be playing in this divergence now if no greater share of deaths is among the vaccinated than before? Yes, this is a really interesting one. Before doing this piece, I thought we would see a bigger difference between unvaccinated and double-vaccinated than wed see between double-vaccinated and boosted. But once we look at the actual vaccine efficacy data, it does seem that those impacts are actually closer to one another in terms of the scale of protection. In your piece, you estimate that two-dose vaccination reduces risk with Omicron 2.2-fold, and the effect of adding a booster is even bigger, more than threefold compared to two doses and more than sevenfold compared to the unvaccinated. But I do think theres also an important caveat there looking at the risk of hospitalization. We dont have very good estimates yet for protection against death with Omicron. And it may be that the difference between two and three doses when it comes to death is smaller than the difference between zero and two doses. Whereas for hospitalization, the two differences might be similar. And on hospitalizations, I think part of this story is health-care capacity. Youve got to factor in the fact that the U.S. has a larger health-care capacity. This is an overarching point for the whole discussion: The U.S. has more health-care capacity than a place like the U.K. And therefore is perhaps able to admit patients with slightly less severe COVID than were seeing in the U.K. But to pause there for a second, it raises a bigger issue, which relates to the question of boosters as well. In theory, it doesnt make sense that this data would look different at the individual level and at the collective national level because again, in theory all that is happening as youre just multiplying the individual risk factors by however many people there are. But it is also the case that there has been this apparent gap, which weve been talking through in various ways already. We know that vaccines work very well, and we know that those people who have been vaccinated are very safe. We also know the majority of Americans and the large majority of seniors are vaccinated. And yet, we are still seeing some quite striking death totals and a case-fatality rate that, before Omicron, had not fallen at all from the bleakest period of the pandemic, which was entirely before vaccines. So we do have a different picture when we look at the national level than we might expect, looking at the vaccine efficacy data. And with boosters, the same curious gap applies: Given what we know about how few Americans have gotten them and about how much two-dose immunity wanes, especially among the elderly, I would expect to be seeing, during Omicron, a growing share of deaths among the vaccinated but unboosted. But that doesnt seem to be what we are seeing. Instead, the Omicron surge in the U.S. is dominated by deaths among the unvaccinated, which suggests to me, at least that the large gap between U.K. Omicron severity and U.S. Omicron severity cant be reducible to booster effects. Yeah. I think some of the issue may be with the difference between hospitalization and death data for Omicron. The reason we used hospitalizations rather than death for this story is that we dont have as good estimates of vaccine efficacy against death yet. And I think its entirely possible that just as protection against hospitalization with Omicron has eroded by less than the protection against infection has, it may also be that the protection against death has eroded by even less than protection against hospitalization. Which would mean that while hospitalization figures may reflect a big booster gap, there is a smaller effect on death numbers. There are definitely still moving parts here, and I think all our analysis can say is that for hospitalizations, it looks like the difference between two and three doses has a similar impact as the difference between zero and two doses. But when it comes to death, that may not be the case. Last question. Looking at that same chart we keep coming back to the one comparing the case-fatality ratio of the U.S. and Portugal and England. One notable feature is just how dramatically the CFR is dropping right now in the U.S. And maybe even more so in Portugal. What is going on here? Are we catching up to other countries in terms of immune protection? And if so, what would explain that given that our vaccination numbers are pretty flat and our booster rollout has basically stalled? Perhaps our bigger Delta wave has contributed some protection through natural exposure, but while it was significant, it doesnt seem plausible to me that there was a major increase in infection-derived immunity between October and December does it to you? You mentioned the Imperial College estimate and your rule of thumb that Omicron represented a reduction of severity between 25 percent and 50 percent. Looking at this chart, that is something like what were seeing in England. But in the U.S., the decline with Omicron has been much more pronounced from above 2 percent to about 0.75 percent. Why is that drop so large? In Portugal, I think what were seeing there is the transition from Delta to Omicron plus boosters. Portugals booster campaign was relatively late. Which is one reason why they have such a high peak in the late fall. Yeah, exactly. Thats Portugal. In the U.S., its harder to say. The U.S. is doing a bit more boosting some people will have encountered Omicron on the news and thought, Well, this is more reason to get a booster. Whereas in England, Englands booster push came pretty much entirely before Omicron arrived. I think thats part of why the U.S. drops are slightly steeper. But beyond that, I dont know, to be honest. Sometimes probably less often than I should I look at some of these charts and I think, I dont know entirely whats happening there. It does seem pretty mysterious, though also possibly encouraging. In early January, using that 25 percent reduction figure, I wrote that it was possible the country could hit 5,000 deaths a day and maybe even more. But that no longer seems possible, mercifully. Whats going to be really interesting is if we come back to that CFR chart in a month has the U.S. line come all the way down to join Portugal and England? Or has it seen that threefold drop and then found a new plateau? I think that would tell us how much of this was due to boosters and how much of it was due to other factors. But in the meantime, I dont have a nice, neat explanation for exactly what were seeing in that one. Rep. Mo Brooks told a town hall meeting in Opelika that his taking down names and kicking ass comment before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was taken out of context. Brooks, a Republican from Huntsville who is running for U.S. Senate, brought up the subject before a crowd of about 30 people at the Opelika Public Library on Thursday morning. If youve ever been to a rally, you dont want to be boring, he said of being asked by the White House to give a speech. I gave a rip-roaring speech to try to motivate people to understand America and how were at risk and what they need to do, which is focus on the 2022 and 2024 elections, the fake news media, the Democrats and even some RINOs. Brooks said the media twisted his words and only used a snippet of his speech to say he inspired the attack on the Capitol, which he claims was furthest from the truth. They dont have the full sentence or the preceding sentence that tells you that I was talking about taking down names of RINO Republicans and beating them in the 2022 and 2024 elections, he said. A review of Brooks' speech shows that before his "kicking ass" comment, he was talking about the election and donned a "Fire Pelosi" hat. Immediately after the comment, he talked about sacrifices made by the founding fathers and asked the crowd, "Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America?" Brooks reminded the gathering that U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who was appointed by Barrack Obama, dropped Brooks from a lawsuit by a Democrat colleague alleging that he, President Donald Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Guiliani bore some responsibility for the attack on the Capitol. On Feb. 18, Mehta dismissed all claims against Guiliani and Trump Jr. and said that Brooks' comments were political speech protected by the First Amendment and that if Brooks filed for dismissal he would grant it. Its most unfortunate that the fake news media and several of our adversaries are so willing to distort, deceive and lie in order to achieve their political goals, Brooks said. The American people better wake up before we lose our republic. Brooks said he decided to run for the Senate seat currently filled by Sen. Richard Shelby, who's 87 and will be retiring at the end of this term, because it provides a great ability to impact public policy. In the House, if youre not in the majority then youre like a potted plant up against a steamroller, he said. The steamroller wins. Brooks said the Senate would also provide him with the opportunity to vote on things that the House doesnt get to, including federal judges, cabinet members, treaties and more. Dimon Kendrick-Holmes contributed to this report. 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. Staff Writer 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. Hydroelectric Plant Receives Star Status from OSHA Holster Dam receives the highest level of recognition for workplace safety and health excellence. When the Occupational Safety and Health Administration puts out a press release, we are trained to believe it is going to be about something tragic, an injury or death on site, perhaps large penalties or a long list of violations and citations. This time, however, there is nothing but good news. On February 23, the agency announced the certification of NorthWestern Energys Holter Hydroelectric Plant in Wolf Creek, Montana, as a Star worksite in OSHAs Voluntary Protection Programs. This recognition is the highest level for workplace safety and health. According to the press release, the Star designation recognizes employers and employees who demonstrate exemplary achievement in the prevention and control of workplace safety and health hazards. It also recognizes companies development, implementation and continuous improvement of their safety and health management systems. OSHA said that Holter Dam was recognized because the company prioritized safety through daily meetings where employees discussed workplace hazards and safety. It also had regular community outreach by employees at the dam in support of their emergency preparedness plans. "We conduct outreach to more than 100 people on a regular and annual basis to ensure we're prepared in the event there is ever a major issue with the facility that would threaten the workers or the public," said NorthWestern Energy Operations and Maintenance Superintendent Jeremy Butcher in the press release. "This results in a regularly exercised program with our partners, as many of the dams are in close proximity and the same responders and major players are often involved." The agency said that employees at Holter Dam are regularly trained and equipped to perform lifesaving first aid and work with local law enforcement, fire departments and contractors to ensure familiarity with the facility and access points to help expedite emergency responses. For more information about OSHAs Voluntary Protection Programs, visit their webpage here. Despite $100 oil and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the OPEC+ alliance is set to rubberstamp another 400,000 bpd increase in monthly production targets next week, several OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Friday. Russia and OPEC's de facto leader Saudi Arabia lead the OPEC+ group, which has been managing supply to the market since the beginning of 2017 and survived the 2020 crash in demand and a month-long rift over market share between OPEC's Saudi Arabia and the leader of the non-OPEC group in the pact, Russia. Several OPEC members are also U.S. allies, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait. The Russian invasion of Ukraine the move that triggered oil's jump to $100 earlier this weekhasn't changed the dynamics in the OPEC+ group, sources at the alliance told Reuters. "Russia has a close partnership with the Saudis, so the cooperation will go on," a Russian oil source told Reuters. "Regarding the next meeting - no changes are expected for now," the source added. A senior source with OPEC+ rejected the idea that the Russian attack on Ukraine could be the end of the OPEC+ alliance. Four other sources at OPEC+ told Reuters they did not expect changes in the deal when ministers meet next week to discuss output levels for April. OPEC+ needs to keep a steady policy and not politicize the decision because it is not a political organization, those sources said. Meanwhile, OPEC and OPEC+ have not been pumping as much as the OPEC+ pact calls for, essentially tightening the market and distorting analyst assumptions about market balances. For half a year now, OPEC+ has actually added lower volumes to the market each month than the 400,000 bpd nominal monthly increase announced in each of the OPEC+ meetings since August 2021. Estimates in the International Energy Agency's monthly oil market report for February showed that the gap between OPEC+ production and its target levels surged to as much as 900,000 bpd in January. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Flash China urges the United States to immediately correct its mistakes and stop harassing Chinese students studying in the country, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday. According to reports, several Chinese students studying in the United States have been recently harassed, interrogated and even deported by the U.S. authorities. The United States has rudely asked these students whether they were members of the Communist Party of China (CPC), restricted their personal freedom for extended periods, and prevented them contacting relatives, friends and the local Chinese embassy or consulate. Commenting on the situation, spokesperson Hua Chunying told a news briefing that China has expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the U.S. side's persistent questioning, harassing and repatriating of Chinese students studying abroad, as well as its discrimination against CPC members. She said this discriminatory and vicious practice by the United States seriously violates the basic human rights, fundamental freedoms and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students studying in the United States, and seriously undermines the normal cultural exchanges and educational cooperation between the two countries. "The frequent suppression of Chinese students studying abroad is a reflection of dark psychology and a loss of self-confidence of the U.S. side. Such actions will not make the United States safer and stronger, but will only damage its own interests, image and reputation," said Hua. China urges the U.S. side to immediately correct its mistake, stop stoking ideological confrontation, and stop suppressing and harassing Chinese students and undermining the relevant Chinese personnel's legitimate and lawful rights and interests, she said. On Friday morning, in a telephone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi allegedly urged Putin to negotiate with Ukraine. Beijings move is an apparent attempt to comply with U.S. and European sanctions. According to Bloomberg, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has ceased the issuance of dollar-denominated letters of credit for physical Russian commodities purchases. Beijing, a key Russian ally, has moved to restrict financing for Russian commodities purchases through two of Chinas largest state-owned banks, Bloomberg reports, as Russian forces advance to Kyiv only a day after launching a full-scale invasion plan. According to Bloomberg, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has ceased the issuance of dollar-denominated letters of credit for physical Russian commodities purchases, and the Bank of China has also restricted financing on some level, though details are not forthcoming. Beijings move is an apparent attempt to comply with U.S. and European sanctions, but also follows a move on Thursday to assist Moscow by lifting restrictions on wheat imports from Russia, the worlds top producer of wheat. The Chinese restrictions had been put in place earlier due to fears of a fungal disease. Chinas commodities financing restrictions come despite the lack of any US or European sanctions targeting Russias energy industry. China is Russias biggest trading partner and Western sanctions will impact major investments and financial ties. Ukraine, too, is a key trade partner for China. On Friday morning, in a telephone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi allegedly urged Putin to negotiate with Ukraine and to forego cold war mindsets. Russias invasion of Ukraine contradicts ally Chinas attestations that the sovereignty of all countries should be protected, extending to Ukraine. Territorial sovereignty is a key hallmark of Beijings foreign policy, which makes this invasion tricky for the Russian ally to navigate. On Thursday, Beijing refrained from labeling Russias aggression as an invasion, instead laying the blame at the feet of the U.S. and its Western allies. Chinas Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying described the situation as not what we would hope to see and suggested that Washington was to blame for escalating the situation. China has taken a responsible attitude and persuaded all parties not to escalate tensions or incite warThose who follow the US lead in fanning up flames and then shifting the blame onto others are truly irresponsible, she said. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: This statement supports statements from OPEC members earlier in the week who emphasized that they are focused on the long-term health of oil markets. OPEC claims to have spare capacity but is refusing to increase production growth at the moment as they believe the situation is complicated and volatile." Russias invasion of Ukraine sent an already bullish oil market into overdrive, with both WTI and Brent breaking the $100 mark on Thursday morning. The crisis in Ukraine has dominated the media space for weeks now, with a special focus on potential energy supply disruptions should the invasion scenario the U.S. and Western Europe have been talking about since October materialize. As it became clear early on Thursday morning, the fears that Russia could attack Ukraine were not unfounded. Vladimir Putin's order to deploy troops in the two eastern breakaway regions of Lugansk and Donetsk had already pushed Brent and West Texas Intermediate higher. On Thursday morning after reports of Russia's attack, all benchmarks rose again, with Brent reaching more than $104 per barrel and WTI briefly breaking $100. Now, more than ever, there are concerns about oil and gas supply from one of the world's top producers. Some have compared the situation with the 1973 Yom Kippur war between Israel and a coalition of Arab states. The war led to the Arab oil embargo for the Western world, which led to a sharp and shockingly high rise in prices compared to which this week's $104 for Brent couldn't even compare. In 1973, oil prices practically quadrupled over a few months. This week, they continued on an already established path a path that, until today, had little to do with Russia. A Reuters columnist, George Hay, wrote in a column earlier this week that demand for oil was so strong that prices would have to go further still to start affecting demand in any significant way. Just how high prices would need to go we have yet to see. But he also wrote that this was unlikely to happen because OPEC+ would step in to help. But an OPEC+ rescue is now looking less likely. "The oil market is artificially tight. OPEC+ is pumping around 3 million barrels a day less than it could, and most of that spare capacity is held by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates," Hay wrote. "Both would probably respond to any plea by U.S. President Joe Biden to increase supply to ward off destabilising price spikes." It was an interesting supposition in light of what OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia and with the UAE its staunch ally, has been doing over the past year. There have been numerous calls from President Biden for OPEC to open the taps. These calls were followed by demands and threats to open the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve if OPEC refused to play ball. OPEC refused to play ball. Biden opened the SPR. Prices did not fall consistently. Why should it be any different now? The latest signs from OPEC are not exactly encouraging. Officials in several OPEC producers said on Thursday that there was no immediate need to produce moreeven though Brent has surpassed the $100 mark, calling the situation "complicated and volatile." Both the energy minister of Saudi Arabia and his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates spoke recently to the media, signaling they had no intention to change anything about the OPEC+ pact and the schedule of adding 400,000 bpd to the monthly total production. "Caution, a word that I know some people hate me for, but... I will continue being cautious and (mindful of) the need to retain flexibility in our strategy and adopt a long-term perspective," Saudi Arabia's Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said earlier this week. "I think our plan has been working, and I don't believe that the market is hugely under-supplied currently. It's the other factors that are outside our hands which are impacting the market," his Emirati colleague Suhail al Mazrouei said. Two other OPEC members also made recent comments on oil supply and the chances of additional production boosts, and these comments were along the same lines. "The market will have more and more oil," Iraqi oil minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail told Bloomberg also this week. "We will not create any growth to the commercial storage. We will secure all the demand by making the required supply." "We won't do anything extraordinary at this time because we are expecting a lot of production" from non-OPEC producers, Nigeria's oil minister, Timipre Silva said. There is "no need at all to bring on more barrels than the current plan." Whatever happens in Ukraine, it does not seem to be sitting on the top of OPEC ministers' minds. To them, the global oil market is not in a deficit, and they are doing fine with output additions. This stance is in contrast with the stance of consuming countriesand the International Energy Agencywhich makes for truly interesting times in the oil world. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The latest in a long line of worldwide coal plant closures came this week as Australia announced it has plans to shut down its biggest coal factory in 2025. Thousands of workers in fossil fuel-related jobs are worried about their future employment as governments start the transition to renewable energy. This is particularly true for those working in the coal industry, as several countries aim to shut down their existing coal plants over the next decade, potentially leaving hundreds of thousands unemployed. The latest in a long line of worldwide coal plant closures came this week as Australia announced it has plans to shut down its biggest coal factory in 2025, seven years ahead of schedule. Eraring station in New South Wales, operated by Origin Energy, said it plans to turn the power off on the 2,880MW black coal generator due to changing conditions. CEO of Origin Energy, Frank Calabria, explained of the decision, The reality is the economics of coal-fired power stations are being put under increasing, unsustainable pressure by cleaner and lower-cost generation, including solar, wind and batteries. Several other energy companies in Australia have stated plans to close their coal operations early over the last year. AGL is planning to close its Bayswater generator in 2033 rather than 2035, and its brown coal-fired Loy Yang A plant in 2045 as opposed to 2048. EnergyAustralia has also brought forward its Yallourn power plant closure from 2032 to 2028. This has led many Australian coal workers to fear for their employment prospects heading forward. There are around 400 workers at the Eraring plant that will lose their jobs and more in the supply chain that will be affected. While the green transition and the move away from coal has been a long time coming, calls from coal-reliant towns have gone unanswered by the government. Despite the news of the early closure, the workers were told nothing about their severance package or the transition plan at the time of the announcement, leaving many worried about the future. The Independent party politician for the region, Greg Piper, explains, I have always supported a move away from coal but the fact is, the workers and this power station have been the heavy lifters in giving energy security to NSW. Related: Putin Pushes For Regime Change As Russian Forces Close In On Kyiv This is a sentiment felt by many as the world transitions away from fossil fuels. While it may be important to consider the environmental impact of our energy, the prospects of the workers that have been helping to supply energy for decades should not be overlooked. The Centre for Policy Development released a report in January suggesting that achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 could lead to the cutting of 300,000 jobs in Australia alone. To avoid catastrophe, governments around the world must consider the future of fossil fuel workers in their energy transition strategies. Not only will this help prevent soaring unemployment, but it could also help support the renewable energy industry through the retraining of workers to transition to green energy jobs. Matt Kean, New South Wales treasurer, has suggested just this. He announced last week, the creation of 3,700 roles in clean industries in response to the plant closure. In addition, the state plans to invest $250 million in the next half a decade to increase local manufacturing for components to be used in renewable energy projects, from wind towers to electrolyzers and batteries, creating a further 500 jobs. Other countries are experiencing similar challenges as they strive for a green transition. In India, new coal mines continue to be being built in response to the countrys growing population and increasing energy demand. Several companies are asking people across India to give up their land in return for a job in a new plant. But whereas these jobs used to be permanent many are now temporary, as the number of jobs in the new plants outweighs the number of people losing land. Formal employment in the mining industry has become scarcer, with many across the country left without an income as they lose their land and have no long-term job to fall back on. Many of the coal job cuts worldwide were spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw a high number of job losses across the fossil fuel industry as operations shut down. The U.S. fossil fuel industry is thought to have reduced its workforce by between 10 and 24 percent during 2020. At the same time, renewable energy projects picked up the pace, with wind, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and battery storage operations profiting from the closure of coal and oil projects. As operations resumed the outlook appeared different, with governments, international organizations and environmental activists around the world pushing for a transition away from fossil fuels towards renewable alternatives, meaning an increasing number of job cuts across the industry. In April last year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $109.5 million in funding for projects that support job creation for communities affected by the energy transition, but this is a drop in the ocean considering the number of jobs being lost every month. As job losses become more commonplace worldwide across the energy sector, governments desperately need to consider how the energy transition will affect the workers. By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday shocked the world and sent oil prices soaring above $100, the relatively tepid reaction of Western leaders has brought oil prices back down on Friday as it becomes clear that Russia's energy industry is unlikely to be sanctioned. Oilprice Alert: To read what Oilprice.com's geopolitical and trading experts have to say about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, make sure you sign up for Global Energy Alert and read this week's communique in the Members Section. Friday, February 25th, 2022 One might think that Russias invasion of Ukraine would have triggered a much stronger response from the international community. Instead, there seems to be hesitancy and squabbling between European leaders. The fact that oil prices are hovering around $100 per barrel and gas prices have skyrocketed to $50 per mmBtu will certainly have played a role in feeding this hesitancy. It seems that Russian oil and gas flows are too important to international markets for Western powers to target them with sanctions. The lack of sanctions on the energy industry is the main reason we have seen oil prices fall back on Friday. Russias Invasion into Ukraine Lifts Commodities. The largest war in Europe since WWII sent commodities worldwide into an upward spiral, with European gas soaring to the equivalent of $50/mmBtu, oil above $100 per barrel, and wheat trading at all-time highs. Bank Reluctance to Deal with Russia Dents Prices. Russias flagship Urals grade collapsed on the back of the Kremlin-led invasion into Europe as leading buyers of the barrels were unable to open letters of credit in Western banks to guarantee payment, with banks wary of potential sanctions. Related: Don't Count On OPEC To Bring Oil Prices Down Iraq Wants Partners to Develop Oil Frontiers. The Iraqi government is negotiating a deal with Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:2222) and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) to develop and operate oil and gas reserves in the countrys westernmost Anbar province, a region largely undeveloped after its 2017 retaking from the Islamic State. Disruption Fears Push Asian LNG Prices Higher. Amid concerns that Russias invasion might disrupt global LNG flows as Europe tries to ensure stable gas supply, spot Asian LNG prices shot up some 30% this week, with the JKM LNG market already trading above $37 per mmBtu. Iraq Halts Major Field for Sudden Maintenance. Iraq has temporarily haltedproduction at its 400,000 b/d West Qurna-2 field, reportedly to connect new wells and new pipelines, presumably resulting in another month-on-month decline in total Iraqi crude production. US Offshore Wind Auction Draws Record Interest. The first offshore wind lease sale under President Biden, offering 6 leases off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, exceeded all expectations and raked in $3 billion in bids so far, with Equinor (NYSE:EQNR), BP (NYSE:BP) and EDF (EPA:EDF) vying for the leases. Nigeria Sues JP Morgan for $1.7 Billion. Nigerias government launched a $1.7 billion lawsuit against US investment bank JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) for its alleged negligence in transferring funds for an oilfield license won by Shell (LON:SHEL) and ENI (NYSE:E) to a company owned by the countrys former oil minister instead of government accounts. TotalEnergies Reports Huge Namibia Discovery. French oil major TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) made a significant discovery of light oil off the coast of Namibia, with the much-anticipated Venus-1 wildcat unearthing a net pay of 84 meters of high-quality sandstone reservoirs. ExxonMobil Gets Out of Shallow Water Nigeria. Nigerias Seplat Energy (LON:SEPL) bought the entire share capital of ExxonMobils (NYSE:XOM) shallow water business in Nigeria for $1.28 billion, marking the US majors conclusive exit from the African country. China Tinkers with Coal Prices Again. Amidst once-again soaring coal prices, Chinas economy planner NDRC has set a reasonable price range for the countrys benchmark 5500kcal thermal coal at Qinhuangdao hub, at $90-120 per metric tonne, arguing this bandwidth is mutually acceptable for both miners and power generators. Related: Shells Gas Trading Booms While Oil Trading Slows Anticipating Deal Breakthrough, Iran Starts Hoarding Crude. According to vessel-tracking data, the total amount of oil stored on tankers has increased by 30 million barrels over the past three months, with Iran building up a flotilla of anchored VLCCs off its coast that could be activated as soon as sanctions are cleared. Saudi Aramco Is Having the Time of Its Life. Despite news circulating that Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:2222) is continuously underperforming its OPEC+ production target, the Saudi NOC has seen its shares rising to an all-time high ($11.3 per share) on the back of Russias invasion, gaining more than 16% year-to-date. Ecuador Gives Amazon Drilling Deal to China. Chinas state-owned CNPC landedthe first drilling contract in Ecuadors Ishpingo oilfield, located in the environmentally sensitive Yasuni National Park, seemingly forming a part of Quito paying back its plentiful debts vis-a-vis China. Aluminum Prices Drop Off Record Highs. After concerns about Russian supply being potentially sanctioned pushed aluminum prices to an all-time high of $3,480 per metric tonne this week, Friday trading saw them drop off once it had become known that the EU/US will not sanction aluminum flows. By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: U.S. gasoline prices are rising after the Russian invasion in Ukraine and could hit $4 per gallon, according to data from the AAA. The average price per gallon of gasoline reached $3.57 as of Friday, according to GasBuddy data, after starting the week at $3.51. A year ago, the average price for gasoline was $2.65 per gallon. Russia is one of the leading oil producers globally, behind only the United States and Saudi Arabia and if they choose to withhold their oil from the global market, such a move would eventually be reflected in higher gas prices for American drivers, AAA spokesman Andrew Gross said, as quoted by the Epoch Times. The gas price increase to $4 could happen in the next few weeks, according to analysts, if the conflict continues that long. President Joe Biden this week tried to quench worries about the security of energy supply, saying, Were closely monitoring energy supply for any disruption, and were executing a plan toward a collective investment to secure stability in global energy supplies. The resident also assured the public the White House will take steps to control prices at the pump, with Biden saying, I want to limit the pain to the American people fueling at the gas pump This is critical to me. No concrete measures for reining in prices were mentioned. Fighting the surge in gasoline prices will be even tougher today than it was last year when Biden released crude from the strategic petroleum reserve. First, there is the tight global supply of crude, which has been fueling the price rally even before Russia moved on Ukraine. Second, there is the fact that the U.S. is a major importer of crude oil and has a limited source of it because of its sanctions against Venezuela. As a result, Russia has become a major supplier of the heavy crude U.S. refineries need to produce fuels. Sanction action on Russias energy industry could interfere with Bidens plans for reining in fuel prices at home. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Italy, Hungary, Austria and France are also opposed to adding SWIFT to sanctions against Russia at this time. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has refused to agree with sanctions against Russia that would include barring it from the SWIFT international payments system. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has refused to agree with sanctions against Russia that would include barring it from the SWIFT international payments system, and beyond halting certification for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, he is also against any further energy sanctions. "In terms of unity and determination, it is very important that we decide on the measures that have now been prepared over the last few weeks, and reserve everything else for a situation where it is necessary to do other things as well," Scholz said during an EU summit. Italy, Hungary, Austria and France are also opposed to adding SWIFT to sanctions against Russia at this time, as European countries line up to protect their own Russian oligarchs, and the money they bring in and their system of payment for Russian gas. Russias goal of dividing Europe over Ukraine appears to have succeeded, with Germany and Italy overly dependent on Russian natural gas, which they pay for using the SWIFT system, and with all countries having strong banking ties to Russia. While the Czech Republic is calling for SWIFT to be added to sanctions, Hungaryled by Putin ally Viktor Orbanis not likely to give in. Italy has even gone as far as to plead with the EU to leave luxury goods out of the sanctions equation because Russian oligarchs are among their top consumers. Western Europes muted sanctions response has Kyiv in an uproar, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warning of the Western blood on their hands as Russian forces enter Kyiv, the Guardian reported. I will not be diplomatic on this, he tweeted. Everyone who now doubts whether Russia should be banned from Swift has to understand that the blood of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children will be on their hands too. BAN RUSSIA FROM SWIFT. Energy sanctions are still not on the table. Western European countries, particularly German, Italy and Austria, would balk at the idea. Without European unity, Biden announced yesterday that the new round of sanctions would purposefully reduce impact on the energy sectora sacrifice Europeans are not willing to make for Ukraine, even if the fate of the entire European Union is being decided in this invasion. In our sanctions package, we specifically designed to allow energy payments to continue. We are closely monitoring energy supplies for any disruption, Biden said in a speech on Thursday. Weve been coordinating with major oil-producing and -consuming countries toward our common interest to secure global energy supply. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Natural gas prices in Europe skyrocketed after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine that Western Europe, the United States, and several allies condemned as a full-scale invasion. Wholesale prices at the European gas hub in the Netherlands on Thursday reached $159 (142 euro) per megawatt-hour, the Financial Times reported, before retreating somewhat, for a total daily gain of 40 percent. European commodity traders are rushing to stock up on Russian gas, with pipeline flows increasing by close to 40 percent, Bloomberg reported earlier. Fears about supply disruptions, however, remain, even though some of it went away when President Biden avoided the imposition of energy-related sanctions against Russia. The west cant afford energy sanctions given where oil and gas prices are, Energy Aspects Amrita Sen told the Financial Times. The U.S. sanctions Biden unveiled yesterday targeted Russias banking industry and included measures aimed at curbing Russian lenders ability to operate in dollars, euro, pound sterling, and yen, Reuters reported. Five banks were named as objects of sanctions, including top lenders Sberbank and VTB. Sberbank has been barred from the U.S. financial system, meaning it will no longer be able to make transactions involving U.S. banks. Although Russia has said it will not cut gas supplies to Europe, concern about outages remains. Oil and natural gas prices have become the crisis fear barometer, Norbert Rucker, Julius Baer head of economics and next generation research told the FT. Any disruption of flows between Russia and Europe, due to damage or sanctions, would drastically add to the already present supply scarcity. Russia supplies close to 40 percent of the natural gas Europe consumes, and before the Ukraine escalation, traders had expected this to increase with the entry into operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. However, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany suspended the certification of the project, and the United States imposed sanctions on the consortium in charge of the project, which pushed futures prices significantly higher, too, Reuters noted in a report. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Volodymyr Zelensky called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table to stop the death of people, the Ukrainian President said in a video message early on Friday. Meanwhile, Russian troops are reportedly advancing to Kyiv, and there have been numerous reports of airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital and other cities overnight. Today at 10:30 am at the entrances to Chernihiv, Hostomel and Melitopol there were heavy fighting. People died, Zelensky said on Twitter early on Friday. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, as carried by ABC News: We are ready for negotiations, at any moment, as soon as the Armed Forces of Ukraine respond to the call of our president to cease resistance and lay down their arms. No one intends to attack them. Lavrov was speaking during a televised meeting in Moscow with pro-Russian separatist leaders from eastern Ukraine. Russia attacked Ukraine early on Thursday, confirming the worst-case scenarios of the U.S., which had been warning for weeks that an invasion was imminent. Fears of commodity shortages from oil and gas to wheat and corn sent all commodity prices soaring on Thursday, while equity markets globally plunged. On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that his phone conversation with Putin on Thursday was on behalf of Zelensky, who could not reach Putin directly. It was also to ask him to discuss with President Zelensky, who had requested that, because he could not reach him, Macron said, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal. The French president, who had sought a diplomatic path out of a conflict before the invasion occurred, admitted that Putin had been deceptive discussing potential talks while planning to invade Ukraine. Yes, there was duplicity. Yes, there was a deliberate, conscious choice to launch war when we could still negotiate peace, Macron said on Friday, after an EU summit in Brussels. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Both crude oil benchmarks had slipped back to pre-invasion levels on Friday afternoon, dashing the predictions of some that the oil markets would see apocalyptic pricing. As Russia moved into Ukraine on Thursday by land, air, and sea, crude oil prices shot up in an already volatile oil market. Fears that Russiathe worlds third-largest crude oil producer and exporter of 6-8 million barrels per day of crude oil and refined productsmay find itself unable or unwilling to supply its usual customers with crude oil and natural gas. The price of Brent crude oil reached $105.79 on Thursday, after rising more than $8 per barrel after Putin declared that Russia had engaged in a special military operation in Ukraine that the rest of the world quickly labeled as an invasion. WTI crude oil topped $100 per barrel earlier on Thursday. But by Thursday afternoon, prices had begun to recede after President Biden announced a second wave of sanctions that did not include any energy-related sanctionsRussias bread and butter. On Friday, prices slipped even further, with Brent eventually falling back to $96.99 (-2.23%) at 2:00 p.m. ET, back the levels seen prior to the invasion. The path that WTI crude oil prices took was similar. By Friday, WTI had slipped back to $91.22 per barrel at 2:00 p.m. ETa price that was down $1.59 (-1.71%) on the day and below the levels seen prior to the invasion. The price of Russias Urals grade, on the other hand, is trading at a substantial discount to Brent crude as traders are cautious about trading in a grade that could eventually come with sanctions. Also contributing to a steeper Urals discount are higher insurance premiums on cargoes sailing into the Black Sea, along with difficulties in obtaining letters of credit for Russian crude. Late Friday afternoon, Urals was reportedly trading at a $12 discount to Brent. It is the largest Urals discount in years. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Despite rallying oil prices this year, China has been stocking up on crude oil, ignoring U.S. calls for a global coordinated release from strategic reserves, Reuters reported on Friday, citing traders and industry data. China accelerated its purchases of crude immediately after Vladimir Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing early this month, two oil trading sources told Reuters. Trading sources told Reuters they were not aware of whether China knew about the Russian invasion of Ukraine that took place earlier this week, sending oil prices to above $100 a barrel. It was clear, however, that China has decided to boost its crude stocks despite this years rally in oil prices of over 20%, those sources told Reuters. A Chinese building of oil reserves is a snub to the U.S. Administration, which rallied major oil-consuming countries in November to release crude from their strategic reserves in a bid to lower oil prices. U.S. President Joe Biden said at the end of November that the Department of Energy would release 50 million barrels of oil from the SPR in a bid to lower high gasoline prices in a coordinated effort with other major oil-consuming nations. The SPR release from the United States will be carried out in parallel with other major energy-consuming nations, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the UK, the White House said at the time. At the end of 2021, Japan and South Korea also said they would soon offer oil from their strategic reserves. Japan said it planned to auction in February 629,000 barrels of crude oil from its national reserves, while South Korea plans to release 3.17 million barrels of its oil reserves in the first quarter of 2022. After oil spiked to $105 a barrel in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Biden said on Thursday that another release could be coming. We are actively working with countries around the world to elevate [evaluate] a collective release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves of major energy-consuming countries. And the United States will release additional barrels of oil as conditions warrant, President Biden said on Thursday, announcing the second round of sanctions against Russia over the attack on Ukraine. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Fast-growing e-commerce fuels delivery service boom in Vietnam Vietnams e-commerce has been growing in a robust pace in the wake of COVID-19, fuelling a boom in transport and express delivery services. Vietnams e-commerce has been growing in a robust pace in the wake of COVID-19, fuelling a boom in transport and express delivery services. (Photo: VNA) It was estimated that Vietnams digital economy has been developing at an annual average rate of 38 percent since 2015, higher than the average of 33 percent in Southeast Asia. The COVID-19 pandemic has given a remarkable push for the revolution of e-commerce in Vietnam, with four leading online marketplaces reportedly expanding around 8 50 percent last year, according to a report by the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM). There was a significant surge in the number of orders on e-commerce sites from June to September last year, when social distancing rules were strictly in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, compared to the same period of 2020. The value of each order was 8 10 percent higher than the projected figure at the beginning of the year. Various express delivery and transport services providers have been founded to meet the increasing demand. As of the end of September 2021, the number of postal service providers in Vietnam had reached 650, up 67 from the end of the previous year, data from the Department of Posts under the Ministry of Information and Communications showed. The growing competition in the industry has forced many firms to apply the latest technologies and introduce various innovative solutions to gain a bigger market share. One of the industrys biggest companies J&T Express has launched its international shipping services J&T International to reach more customers at home and overseas. Brand Director Phan Binh said J&T Express has expanded its international freight routes to more than 200 countries and territories. In early January, the company expanded its network to the Middle East, starting in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Vietnamese delivery services companies have been constantly diversifying and upgrading their services to satisfy customers specialised needs and provide enriched experience in an effort to heighten their position in the market. Advanced technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT), Digital Twins, and smart and automated warehouse, are lending a helping hand to allow these companies to handle a huge volume of orders with improved service quality every day. Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, Anh Duc, a resident in Ho Chi Minh City, said he prefers brands which own both offline and online sale channels. For him, those having linkages with reputable transport and delivery services providers are more likely to gain trust among customers and offer them a wide range of products and better experiences./. You are here: World Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that the Chinese side supports the Russian side in solving the issue through negotiation with the Ukrainian side. Xi made the remarks in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Europes energy bill is set to surge to a record-high of $1.2 trillion in 2022 due to soaring energy commodity prices, which further rallied after Russia invaded Ukraine, Citigroup said in a new report cited by Bloomberg. Citi now expects Europe to pay for energy $200 billion more than it expected just last month, and the latest estimate now exceeds the previous all-time high spending on energy from 2008. To compare, Citi estimates that in 2021, Europes energy bill was just $300 billion, four times lower than the expected amount the continent will pay for energy this year. Europe is now facing a big headwind from its energy bill, Citis analysts wrote in their report quoted by Bloomberg. The recent rally in energy prices and the low natural gas inventories in Europe sent energy commodity and power prices surging in recent months. Europe was grappling with high energy bills even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which sent oil and gas prices soaring again on Thursday amid fears of disruption of supplies. Oil prices jumped above $100 per barrel for the first time since the summer of 2014, while Europes benchmark natural gas prices surged by over 60% on Thursday, after the Russian attack on Ukraine. Europe imports from Russia more than one-third of the natural gas and more than one-quarter of the crude oil it consumes. Russia accounted for 26.9 percent of European Union crude oil imports and 41.1 percent of the natural gas imports in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, Eurostat data shows. Russia is the single largest supplier of oil, the fuel most used in the EUs final energy consumption. The latest Western sanctions against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine spared the energy sector and bank transactions related to the flow of energy commodities out of Russia. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Amid a general unwillingness of tanker owners to send their vessels to Russian ports, the freight rates for a medium-sized tanker to load Russian crude jumped nearly threefold on Thursday from Wednesday, shipbrokers and traders told Bloomberg. The freight rate to hire an Aframax tanker on the Baltic Sea to Europe route surged after Russia invaded Ukraine, while owners of oil tankers had already started to avoid Russian ports because of both the military invasion of Ukraine and apprehension that sanctions for oil could also come soon. As a result of the surging Baltic-Europe tanker rates, the Middle East to Europe rates also rose. Two-thirds of Russia's crude oil exports are seaborne, from ports in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. The Russian flagship Urals crude grade loads from ports in the Baltic Sea, and most of it is sold in Europe. While international benchmark oil prices were soaring on Thursday, the Urals grade was offered at the deepest discount in at least 11 years$11.60 a barrel below Dated Brent, as traders feared sanctions on Russian oil, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Owners of tankers have become reluctant to offer their vessels to load crude from Russia for fear that their future cargo could be breaching potential sanctions if the West decides to deploy the harshest sanctions against Russia after it invaded Ukraine early on Thursday. Buyers in Asia, the key crude importing region, were also alarmed that they could soon struggle to procure enough crude. The general perception among Asian oil traders is that the situation is "quite complicated," one trader told Energy Intelligence on Thursday. The latest round of sanctions against Russialatest as of late Thursdaycontinues to allow energy trade and bank settlements for energy flows and does not cut off Russia from the SWIFT global banking system. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: According to the United States Census Bureau, only 27% of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workers are women, despite women encompassing nearly half of the U.S. workforce. STEM fields such as data science, agricultural sciences, computer science and many others offer exciting and often lucrative careers for those who choose to pursue them. However, women are often underrepresented in these industries. While this is due to a number of factors, one major factor is that girls have fewer role models in STEM fields and may lose confidence in their math and science skills at school because of negative stereotypes and biases put on them. Southeast Community College recognizes this discrepancy and wants to empower their female students by giving them the skills and confidence they need to succeed in whichever field they choose to enter. SCC, which has locations in Beatrice, Lincoln and Milford, offers many opportunities for women to break into a STEM field. Whether theyre a full-time student pursuing a degree, a high school upperclassman taking dual enrollment courses or a nontraditional student looking to pick up a few extra skills to advance their career, the faculty at the college enjoy looking for ways to not only teach them new skills, but to show them what career opportunities are available to them. Many of the staff act as mentors to students, helping them sculpt their educational experience in a way that will set them up for success with their long-term career goals. Tracy Niday, co-director of SCCs Biotechnology program, says that many women are held back by not knowing what kind of STEM careers are available to them, or not feeling like they are capable enough to achieve them. That is, until they start taking classes. She says that once they get into their courses and feel the support from their teachers and classmates, they realize just how capable they are, and a whole new world of opportunities is opened up for them. A lot of our students, especially our nontraditional students, have this idea that maybe they cant do it. But then they start taking the classes and we find out that theyre really successful and really good at it. So if they have a little bit of hesitancy, Id tell them to go for it because they probably can do it, she says. Popular STEM programs at SCC include Biotechnology, Geographic Information Systems, Livestock Management & Production, Energy Generation Operations and Precision Agriculture. Many of these programs offer associate of science degrees, diplomas and certificates. The Biotechnology program, which offers all three, aims to give students the necessary lab and science skills to enter an academic, government or industry laboratory. The program also offers a hands-on learning experience that culminates in an industry practicum. Niday has this advice to give to women considering the STEM field: Once theyre at SCC or any program that theyre in, find other people. Find a peer group thats also interested in that, that they can study with and help them through the process. Find mentors or people in the community, go to STEM events and connect with people in the community. I think its really helpful to engage in the field early on to get to know people and find out what possible job opportunities or positions there are. Let SCC help you take the first step to becoming a woman in STEM. Learn more about Southeast Community Colleges programs and course offerings or meet with an admissions counselor by visiting the colleges website at southeast.edu. This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com. Darrel Parker died Feb. 20, 66 years after his wrongful conviction for killing his wife on a snowy December day in Lincoln. And 52 years after his parole from the State Penitentiary. And 31 years after receiving a pardon. And a decade after getting what hed fought for most of his adult life an apology from the state, and a formal admission of his innocence. You never give up hope, you never give up hope, Parker, then 80, said during an emotional press conference at the Capitol. I tell people, Now I can die in peace. He was joined that day by then-Attorney General Jon Bruning, who announced that the state was paying Parker $500,000 the maximum allowed by law and ending his wrongful conviction and imprisonment lawsuit. It became crystal clear that Mr. Parker is innocent, Bruning said. This was the most important thing I could do as attorney general, to right this wrong. The moment marked a symbolic end to a saga that had started Dec. 14, 1955, inside the Parkers small, city-owned house at Antelope Park. Parker, the citys first forester, returned home for lunch to find his wifes beaten, bound and strangled body. Nancy Parker had developed recipes for Goochs flour and noodles and hosted a cooking show on Channel 10/11. She had been addressing Christmas cards when he left for work that morning. Police picked up and released a well-known con. Then, days after Nancy Parker was buried, they interrogated Parker in a windowless room until he confessed. He recanted the next day, maintaining for the rest of his life that hed been psychologically tortured, even drugged, to admit to a crime he didnt commit. The state would ultimately acknowledge that, but not before Parker spent 15 years in prison, argued his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, landed parole in 1970 and a pardon in 1991. By then, hed remarried and rebuilt his life in Moline, Illinois, working his way up to supervisor with the parks department, retiring from there, and taking a job with a law firm. He continued to try to clear his name. He hoped DNA testing would help, but he learned that much of the evidence including hair and semen samples recovered from the crime scene had disappeared. His case got a boost in 2010, when Lincoln native and Colorado author David Strauss published Barbarous Souls, an investigation of the crime, Parkers conviction and his fight for exoneration. A year later, Lincoln attorneys Herb and Dan Friedman took up his case with a $500,000 lawsuit against the state under its then-recent wrongful conviction and imprisonment law. And a year after that, Nebraskas attorney general offered his apology. Parker accepted it. It cant possibly make up for all those years, he said, adding: Im not bitter. Im not built that way. Playing a role in clearing Parkers name was Dan Friedmans proudest moment in his legal career the most consequential accomplishment as a lawyer, he said Tuesday. To represent somebody who had been waiting 50 years for public justice and to know we brought the state of Nebraska to its knees and caused a wake-up moment, that was pretty humbling, he said. Friedman stayed in touch with his client, years after the case was over. So did Strauss, the Colorado author. The two became friends, and Strauss would take him on trips across the country to Parkers childhood farm in northwestern Iowa, to watch the leaves turn in New England, to the Colorado mountains. Parker didnt dwell on the past, but Strauss could sense that his friend remained haunted by the coerced confession that put him in prison for 15 years and cast a shadow over his name. It still bothered him, Im sure, up to the end, Strauss said Tuesday. You are here: World Flash Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he wants to hold negotiations with Russia over its military operation. Zelensky made the remarks in a televised address, according to a statement published in the president's official website. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized "a special military operation" in Donbass, and Ukraine confirmed that military installations across the country were under attack. At least 137 Ukrainians were killed and more than 300 injured in the military operation, Zelensky earlier said. Over the last month, three colleagues and I have eaten several pounds of bread pudding, preparing for todays entry in the Omahas Great Grub series. (Sorry, Doc, its my job. I tried to eat lots of veggies to compensate.) We chose the rustic and classic dessert in honor of this weeks Mardi Gras celebration. Its origins can be traced to an 18th century British cookbook, but it is now a beloved staple in Louisiana, home of the countrys largest Fat Tuesday celebration. We ate it at seven Omaha locations: Acadian Grille, Goldbergs, Herbe Sainte, Mouth of the South, Plank, Sojourn Cafe and Upstream Brewing Co. Each has its own spin on texture, style, ingredients and authenticity, but there wasnt a clunker in the bunch. Id order every one of them again. At the end of our journey, we vowed that it would be a while before we could even think of eating bread pudding. I was pretty sure it wouldnt tempt me for at least a few months. That was before I returned to Mouth of the South with photographer Lily Smith to shoot photos for this story. The Grub team me, Living reporter and editor Kiley Cruse and digital producers Charlotte Higgins and Hunter Paniagua agreed that wed found our favorite bread pudding at this Cajun restaurant near 168th Street and West Center Road. The kitchen prepared a large hunk of the dessert for the photo, topped with vanilla ice cream and a whiskey butter sauce, and manager Katie Woods ceremoniously set it on the table for its closeup. Hmmm, I thought, having not eaten since breakfast. I could eat that right now. So much for vows. Before we embarked on our bread pudding search, we talked a little about what we were looking for. Some of us talked more than others Charlotte and Kiley had never had it before and Hunter and I had eaten it fairly frequently because we both lived in Louisiana Baton Rouge for a while. We told the newbies we liked bread pudding that got caramelized and a bit crunchy on the exterior and soft but not mushy on the inside. It's best if its made with torn-up chunks of day-old French bread. Sauce was a plus for both of us. Mouth of the Souths bread pudding checked all the boxes. Woods said its made from scraps of leftover poboy buns soaked in milk and sugar for 24 hours, then baked. Its served warm with that luscious and faintly boozy sauce. Owner Ryan Ernst hails from tiny Garyville, Louisiana (population 2,123) in St. John the Baptist Parish near New Orleans. So he knows bread pudding. Thats why its on the menu, Woods said. He started making it at the (now closed) Ames Avenue location when everyone kept asking for dessert, she said. Hes not a baker. He doesnt eat desserts. Its the only one he knew how to make. At $8, it was a good value, at least for the four of us. We shared one huge piece after eating lunch and it was more than enough. When I envision bread pudding, this is exactly what I think of, Kiley said. It was served perfectly warmed and had a nice subtle cinnamon flavor throughout. We started our bread pudding tour at Plank Seafood Provisions at 12th and Howard Streets in the Old Market. Plank models its version after another iconic Louisiana dessert. Its Banana Foster Bread Pudding has bruleed bananas, salted caramel sauce and homemade brown sugar rum ice cream, the best ice cream we encountered on our search. It was amazing, Charlotte said of the ice cream. I would honestly just order a dish of that if I could. The bread pudding itself was tasty, with a crisp outer layer and a soft yet firm interior. The bananas were cut in large chunks and seemed to be layered with the pudding rather than incorporated into the bread mixture. Hunter said he thought they werent as consistent as they could be, because his half of the piece he shared was banana-free. The bananas on the side, however, had a brulee topping that was delicious. It too was $8, but was only big enough for two people. After that, we walked a couple of blocks to the Upstream Brewing Company near 10th and Jackson Streets. Cooks there make the bread pudding from a thick chunk of sourdough bread rather than crouton-like chunks, giving it a consistency that resembles pound cake. It comes with a gooey, golden brown caramel sauce that I found irresistible. It appeared to be made in house. We ordered two servings, and one came with abundant caramel and the other with not so much. Drizzled over it all was a delicious creme anglaise that we all loved, though a couple of team members werent wild about the extremely dense texture of the pudding. I was lucky enough to get the uber caramel piece, and I was so giddy over the abundant sauce that the texture barely registered. At $8.50, it was a tad more than some and adequately fed two people. The second day we visited Sojourn Cafe, a few blocks off South 72nd Street on Main Street in downtown Ralston, a charming breakfast and lunch cafe. Owner Brad Groesser offers a different bread pudding each day. It was caramel apple when we were there. It had finely chopped apples and a delicious cinnamon swirl that spread the flavor throughout. I loved the flavor of this bread pudding, Kiley said. It was not one note like some we tried. It was served warm, which we liked, but the heat wasnt consistent. We figured that was because it was kept in the refrigerator and warmed in the microwave. More consistent heat and some kind of sauce would have kicked it up a notch, in my opinion. The price for a large slice enough for at least two was a super-reasonable $4.25. Next, we caravanned to Herbe Sainte, near 67th and Pine Streets in Aksarben Village, another restaurant known for its Cajun food. Chefs there serve King Cake Bread Pudding, very appropriate for this time of year but not so much if youre a purist (you know who you are) who believes the king cake season begins after Epiphany and ends when Ash at the first second of Ash Wednesday. Im willing to break that long-held tradition for this dessert, which features bread scraps baked in a custard, covered with icing and colored sugars and topped with toasted pecans. The sugar and nuts combined with the crusty bread give it a just-right crunch that complements the soft yet chewy interior. The vanilla icing melted and became like a vanilla cream sauce on the top. It really tasted like King Cake, and the topping with caramelized sugar and pecans was really good, Hunter said. Kiley said that vanilla sauce would be delightful to top many desserts. Our only quibble was that it was supposed to be served warm and parts of our pieces seemed like they were barely out of the refrigerator. It was priced at $8 and was enough for two people to share. Several readers recommended Goldbergs near 52nd and Dodge Streets. The bread pudding there was substantially different from the others: It was very moist and had raspberries and syrup throughout. A colleague who wasnt with us on the search said thats only one of the flavors. Shes partial to the blueberry version. If youre into fruit, this is the one for you, said Hunter, who, as a bread pudding traditionalist, didnt care for the texture. I loved the raspberry flavor enough that it mostly outweighed the texture, which was more liquid than any other we tried, partly because it was served with vanilla ice cream that melted because the pudding was warm. I plan to go back and try other versions. Its $6.50 a bowl. We usually dont hit seven places for the Grub series, but we would have been remiss if we hadnt gone to Acadian Grille near 114th Street and West Dodge Road, another of Omahas Cajun restaurants. On a cold Friday, we were glad we did. We warmed up with gooey and great gouda mac and cheese, ordered the bread pudding and gasped as the waitress set it on the table. That is huge, I said. No exaggeration. It was large slabs of bread pudding laid on top of four scoops of ice cream. It could have fed a mid-sized family, justifying its $13 cost. It appeared to be made with banana bread, which was a nice touch. It was the crispiest we tried, fulfilling one of my main tenets for bread pudding. A few spots appeared to be a little charred, but overall that didnt affect the taste. It had a little drizzle of indiscriminate sauce over the top. We thought it could use a bit more. Of the two banana puddings, I enjoyed this one more because it was made with banana bread, not bread with random chunks of banana, he said. When I told readers we were about to embark on a search for great bread pudding in Omaha, I got a lot of suggestions, so it appears that the dessert has many local fans. At Mouth of the South, general manager Yannick Ouedraogo said he sells an average of 100 servings over seven days. Woods, the front of house manager, said she does her part. I eat it at least once a week, she said. Customers also give them plenty of feedback about their whiskey-sauced confection. Some people say theyve died and gone to heaven, Woods said. Omaha World-Herald: Omaha Dines Sign up for the Omaha Dines weekly newsletter to stay up to date on the latest local restaurant and foods news and occasional offers. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. An Illinois man sexually assaulted and fatally stabbed a 32-year-old woman in Council Bluffs in 1982, Council Bluffs police announced Friday as they closed a cold case. Thanks to advancements in DNA and genetic genealogy technology and the help of a teenager the case now has been deemed solved, although questions remain. The body of Lee Rotatori was found on June 25, 1982, in her room at the Best Western Frontier Hotel in Council Bluffs. She died from a single knife wound that pierced her heart, according to World-Herald archives. She also had been sexually assaulted. Rotatori, who was from Nunica, Michigan, had arrived in the Bluffs to look for a place to live before starting her job as a food service manager at Jennie Edmundson Hospital. She did not show up for her first day of work on June 25, 1982, which prompted her boss to ask the hotel staff to look for her. Authorities in 1982 were not able to identify any suspects in her slaying and had no solid leads, a police captain said then. No weapon was found, and investigators found no signs of a robbery or a struggle, according to World-Herald articles at the time. She could have been dead for up to 12 hours before her body was found, authorities said then. In 2001, the evidence that had been collected at the crime scene was resubmitted to the State of Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation lab, police said. While the examination showed that a male profile was present, state and federal databases revealed no matches. Over the next decades, police said, the lab periodically checked the DNA, but never found a match. Council Bluffs investigators then shared the DNA profile in April 2019 with Parabon Nanolabs for a genetic genealogy case. The initial results were abysmal, said Council Bluffs Police Detective Steve Andrews. They showed an extremely distant cousin connection to the killer, now identified as Thomas O. Freeman, a resident of West Frankfort, Illinois. Then, Eric Schubert, a teenager who started ES Genealogy, called a Bluffs police captain explaining his work with investigative genetic genealogy. He offered to provide free assistance on any of the departments cold cases. After vetting Schubert, who now is 20 years old, Council Bluffs police told him about the Rotatori case and shared the DNA findings. Andrews said Schubert was able to find the great-grandparent and grandparent of Freeman. Schubert sent Andrews the names of potential relatives so that he could call those people to ask for voluntary DNA samples. More often than not, (the relatives) were more than willing to help and assist, Andrews said. They found it just as interesting as we did. Freemans grandparent had 13 children meaning his father was one of 13 kids. That extended the family tree and made it more difficult for detectives to rule out sets of relatives. As Andrews narrowed the family tree, investigators also realized that Freeman was not raised by his biological father. That complicated things. With a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work, Andrews, Schubert and researchers with Parabon in February 2021 determined that Freeman was the source of the DNA sample found at the scene. I just helped CBPD get a better picture of where he was probably living and the family he was likely in, and then a DNA match came in, that along with previous work CBPD had done identified the suspect, Schubert wrote in an email. To corroborate the finding, Andrews located Freemans daughter, who voluntarily provided a sample of her DNA. The Iowa DCI lab analysis of Freemans daughters DNA confirmed that there was a parent/child relationship between the DNA found at the scene of Rotatoris murder and Freemans daughter, police said. Thomas Freemans decomposed body was found on Oct. 30, 1982, buried in a shallow grave near Cobden, Illinois. Investigators think he was fatally shot three months before his body was found. Freeman, who was 35 years old when he died, had been shot multiple times. His killer never has been identified, but Council Bluffs investigators are working with Illinois State Police to see whether his slaying was linked to Rotatoris killing. The fact that Thomas was brutally murdered within a short time following Lees murder ... Im not a believer in coincidence, Andrews said. Its very interesting, and we wonder if theres a connection. Andrews said without Schuberts help, solving the case wouldnt have been possible. He was a lot of help. There were good times and bad times throughout the investigation, and he helped to push it along by feeding me more and more information and more and more leads, Andrews said. He did great. If the opportunity presents itself, wed be more than happy to work with Eric again. World-Herald chief librarian Sheritha Jones contributed to this report. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Omaha Public Schools staff and students are no longer required to wear masks following the school boards approval of an updated policy Thursday. The policy makes masks optional in all district buildings starting Friday. Seven people spoke during public comment. Both support and opposition of the decision were heard. OPS parent Nicole Croson said she supported dropping the districts mask requirement, citing the variety in studies about masks over the past two years. Our children have been in masks for about two years, and I think that is well more than enough, she said. Jodi Snodgrass said she has often thought about taking her autistic grandson out of school because its challenging for him to learn while wearing a mask. Charlie Yale, a sophomore at Central High School, said masks are still needed in crowded schools because COVID is not yet gone. He said even though cases are decreasing in Nebraska, the trend could change. Do not throw your umbrellas away in a rainstorm just because you are not getting wet, he said. High school teacher Libby Cruz said that she has felt unsafe this entire school year and that removing the districts mask requirement is another way we will be made to feel unsafe and powerless. The updated policy will give Superintendent Cheryl Logan the authority to require masks in individual classrooms or schools if needed. The board also recommended in the policy that students or staff who have not been vaccinated or boosted should consider doing so. Those who wish to continue wearing a face covering are welcome to do so, Logan said. Since the beginning of the school year, OPS has required all students and staff to wear masks while inside district buildings. Unlike other school districts in the metro area, OPS has not changed that policy throughout the year. The policy change at OPS came after Douglas County Health Director Lindsay Huse lifted the temporary indoor mask mandate for Omaha on Feb. 16 amid declining case numbers and hospitalizations. The number of COVID-19 cases among OPS students and staff has continued to decline since the beginning of the semester, according to the OPS online dashboard. Similarly, Lincoln Public Schools the second largest public school district in Nebraska after OPS lifted its mask requirement after health officials ended Lancaster Countys indoor mask mandate last week. Other Omaha districts also transitioned to optional masking after the city mandate was lifted. Westside Community Schools, Elkhorn Public Schools and Millard Public Schools immediately lifted their own mask requirements after Huse ended Omahas mandate. Masks also continue to be optional in most districts within the metro area. Jurisdictions across the U.S., from states to school districts, are dropping mask requirements as the omicron wave of COVID-19 continues to wane. The Biden administration on Friday is expected to significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines, the Associated Press reported Thursday. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Yulia Dergal didnt sleep Wednesday night, trading messages with relatives and friends in Ukraine as Russia began its attack on her home country. Dergals last contact with her nephew and his mother occurred around 1 a.m. Thursday Omaha time. She could not reach them after that because a cellphone tower had been destroyed near the eastern Ukraine region where her brothers family lives. Dergal said her mother cried and prayed all night while her father, a former Ukrainian air force pilot, kept his cool. Both also live in Omaha. Dergal got a text at 5:30 a.m. from her boss at PayPal, offering prayers. She said she appreciates the support. I believe there is not one Ukrainian all over the world who actually closed their eyes (Wednesday) night, Dergal, 40, said late Thursday morning. We are hoping that our families are alive and safe, but we dont have any information. As the world watched or read news of Russian military troops crossing into Ukraine and launching airstrikes throughout the country, Ukrainians living in Omaha tried to contact their families and friends back home to make sure they were safe. Omaha has a small but dedicated Ukrainian community thanks to the presence of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church, located in the heart of a historically immigrant-heavy area near 16th and Martha Streets. The Rev. Petro Kozar, the churchs priest, estimated the church has 40 members. When asked Thursday how he was feeling, Kozar responded, Very bad. Very, very bad. Taras Serednytsky, a parishioner, counts 40 or more metro-area families who attend special services at the church. The members have ties to nearly all of the more than two dozen regions of Ukraine, Serednytsky said. Serednytsky, who runs a food truck in Omaha called Kebobs, Gyros and Brats, said he was outraged when he saw the attacks on TV. Serednytsky said his parents, who live in a western Ukrainian city close to the Polish border, said Russia was bombing nearby military airports and bases. The spirit of everyone, including my very old parents, in their 80s, they want to fight. They are really enraged, said Serednytsky, 56. We were just peacefully living ... no one expected (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to launch attacks all over Ukraine. This is bad. Serednytsky last visited relatives in Ukraine in December 2015 and had planned to visit in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic caused borders to shut down. Serednytskys wife is from Kyiv, and her parents live in the capital city. Serednytsky moved to the United States in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed and has since become a U.S. citizen. He likened Putins tactics to those of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Understand that this is an evil empire still in existence with Putin and everyone whos around him and whos agreeing with him, he said. Im a proud American ... I know exactly how it feels to have freedom. Thats whats happening right now in Ukraine we are fighting for our freedom. As the violence in Ukraine continues, people in Nebraska and elsewhere in the United States could face an increased risk of cyberattacks, said an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The Russians could try to wreak havoc on daily life here by launching such attacks on the agriculture, health care, finance, information technology and transportation industries, among others, said Austin Doctor, director of counterterrorism research initiatives for the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center at UNO. So many of these key sectors are here and are central to the Nebraska area, Doctor said. This really is a risk that brings this home for those of us living here. Doctor said Russia wants to expand its global influence at the expense of the U.S. and other allied countries in a zero-sum game. He said he expects that Russian disinformation campaigns and violent political arrests could be on the horizon. Russias engagement using irregular methods has a strong precedent in American history, Doctor said. Whats unprecedented is their blatant violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and use of conventional forces. Disinformation campaigns already are occurring in the Russian state-controlled media. Nataliya Nikitina-Demerath, a legal assistant at Omahas Demerath Law Office, said she has messaged friends in Russia, asking why they are not protesting the attacks. The friends responded with propaganda supplied by Putin that Ukrainians are to blame and Russia should be revered for rescuing the rebels in some eastern regions of Ukraine. Nikitina-Demerath, 55, who was born and raised in Kyiv, earned masters degrees in history and business administration there and worked for various international companies. She said she plans to share the truth that shes hearing from friends in Ukraine. I wish I knew how I can help, but the most I can help is to publish all this horrible information on Facebook, she said. Im going to post all the information I have, whats really going on. Nikitina-Demerath said her friends are safe for now, and she plans to keep in contact with them as long as internet and cell service continue. She has some friends with small children who are driving to the western part of the country to find refuge. She said countries should band together to impose sanctions and provide military support while citizens should reject products produced in Russia to add greater financial pressure. Some friends, she said, are trying to continue with daily work and life. In general, this is the attitude: Well keep working as long as possible, well clean our houses as long as possible, well cook food as long as possible, but we will also go to the shop and buy the gun to be able to fight, she said. Everybody, of course, is scared because its impossible to not be scared when there is bombing. Omaha World-Herald: Afternoon Update The latest headlines sent at 4:45 p.m. daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. You are here: World Flash Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the Russian side is ready to hold high-level negotiations with the Ukrainian side. Putin made the remarks during a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The bill known as Nebraska's anti-critical race theory bill got a cool reception at a legislative hearing Thursday. Students, teachers and representatives of higher education were among 40 people who testified against the bill. Many, like Sandra Gable, a high school teacher for 34 years, expressed concern the bill would prevent teaching an accurate history of America that included all its blemishes. Gable said the bill is an attempt to "whitewash or even rewrite American history." "This bill opposes everything that I have spent my life doing and learning and teaching," she said. Three people testified in favor of LB 1077 during the 3-1/2 hour hearing before the Legislature's Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. The bill doesn't specifically mention the controversial theory. Rather than banning it outright, the bill takes an anti-discrimination approach, targeting the concerns that critics raise about the theory. It would allow teaching about the country's checkered past on racism, and allow institutions and schools to advocate for inclusivity, but with limits. The bill would prohibit Nebraska public schools, public colleges and government entities from providing training to teachers, students or employees if that training promoted race or sex "scapegoating," stereotyping or discrimination. If schools or colleges were found to violate the law, the state could withhold funding. The bill would, for example, prohibit teaching that people of certain races are inherently racist or sexist, inclined to oppress people of other races or sexes, or are responsible for the past acts of people of their same race. "I want history to be taught without putting undue burden on our students by making them carry blame that doesn't belong to them," said State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, the bill's sponsor. History is objective, Hansen said, and should be taught "without subjective editorializing that assigns fault to a whole race or sex." The bill would prohibit teaching or training that asserted that the United States or Nebraska are fundamentally or systemically racist or sexist. But some of the bill's opponents said history is inherently subjective and depends on who is telling it. As a result, they fear that the proposed law would open the door to undeserved attacks on teachers. CRT has been a hot topic nationally as lawmakers in multiple states have tried to pass legislation to keep the theory out of public schools. The issue also has come up in Nebraska's governor's race and before the Nebraska Board of Regents. Gov. Pete Ricketts has said he opposes CRT. A couple of years ago, no one had heard of it outside of academics. When asked if CRT is being taught in schools, local school officials have said no. But critics contend that, while it's not explicitly taught, it's showing up in teacher and employee training. Although people have differing interpretations of critical race theory, a central tenet, and a key source of argument, is the assertion that the laws and legal institutions in the U.S. are inherently racist and advantage White people over other races, particularly African Americans. Adherents say the theory is a framework or lens for understanding race in history and society to help illuminate a pathway to improving the country. Committee member State Sen. Carol Blood expressed concern about the bill. "If I were a person of color, if I were a person with a disability, if I were a person who has struggled because of how I identify, where I come from, how I look, I might be insulted by this," Blood said. She said the bill suggests that their perspective is not important. But Kate Anderson, a senior studying political science at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, testified that a political psychology class she took became primarily about race, and the professor was critical of white people. "I never intended to pay for my professor to shame my race in the name of higher education," said Anderson, who supported the bill. Richard Moberly, dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law, testified in opposition on behalf of the University of Nebraska system. Moberly said the bill would undermine constitutional and educational values by prohibiting speech that deserves more debate rather than less. He said the bill's language is vague and overly broad and would weaken educational institutions. The bill would subject the state's university and colleges to "the speech police," and put them at risk of losing funding, he said. If the bill passed it would likely get challenged and overturned in the courts, he said. Will Aviles, a professor of political science and president of the faculty union at the University of Nebraska Kearney, said the bill is a "direct assault" on academic freedom and the First Amendment. Aviles said it would limit how instructors discuss the privileges enjoyed by some and the discrimination experienced by others. "There's no doubt in my mind that passing this bill will have a chilling effect in our institutions, with staff and faculty self-censoring themselves for fear of the legal and budgetary consequences our institutions would suffer if they violated this law," he said. Jake Bogus, a history teacher for Lincoln Public Schools, called the bill "absurd." "To completely eliminate and ban the teaching of tough topics in public school is to rob young people of a reality that they deserve," Bogus said. John Roan, a teacher at Blair Community High School, testified that teachers have been vilified over the past two years as the media and politicians push a false narrative that educators and schools are indoctrinating students. The bill, Roan said, would be used to withhold "already precious resources from schools and our students because of complaints made by parties that do not have the best interest of students and teachers in mind." "We are professionals and should be treated as such," Roan said. Vanessa Chavez Jurado, a fourth-year student in elementary education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said the bill is "extremely concerning" and disrespectful to educators. The bill comes at a time when Nebraska is challenged with recruiting and retaining teachers, she said. "I can tell you this is not the way to do that," she said. But Allie French, representing Nebraskans Against Government Overreach, spoke in favor. "When it comes to teaching prepubescent children, we need to ensure that we're eliminating societal and political arguments," she said. Hansen said the bill "probably is not going to go anywhere this year." He said the bill did not get designated a priority bill and the session is short. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A canal to bring in water from Colorado and a large lake between Omaha and Lincoln both inched one step closer to reality Friday, but both proposals remain awash in questions. Gov. Pete Ricketts has backed the water-related initiatives. Lawmakers on the Legislatures Natural Resources Committee voted to advance bills laying the groundwork for each of them on Friday, and the Appropriations Committee approved a fraction of the $500 million the governor requested to fund the canal project. Legislative Bill 1015 would give the Department of Natural Resources the authority to build and maintain a canal and reservoir system to divert water from the South Platte River in Colorado for use in Nebraska. Under a compact thats nearly a century old, the canal would allow the state to claim up to 500 cubic feet per second of water for irrigation between Oct. 15 and April 1. Six lawmakers on the Natural Resources Committee voted to advance the bill: State Sens. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island, Bruce Bostelman of Brainard, Tim Gragert of Creighton, Dan Hughes of Venango, Mike Jacobson of North Platte and Mike Moser of Columbus. Omaha Sens. John Cavanaugh and Justin Wayne abstained. Ahead of the vote, Cavanaugh cited unanswered questions as his reason for not voting to advance the bill. Hes not the only person with unanswered questions. State officials, including Ricketts, have framed the canal as an urgent matter, crucial to protecting Nebraskas water resources, and, in turn, protecting its economy as Colorados Front Range attracts more and more residents. The project has support from agriculture groups, natural resources districts, the Nebraska Public Power District and others. But Colorado officials have questioned Nebraska officials reasoning and the projects viability. Gov. Jared Polis press secretary has called it a canal to nowhere and boondoggle. Water law experts have said its uncertain how much water the canal could actually yield. Other questions include: how and if it would truly affect drinking water in Lincoln and Omaha; whether Nebraska could actually exercise eminent domain in Colorado; how much the project would ultimately cost; and just how long the state could potentially spend in court fighting over it. While LB 1015 doesnt include funding, Ricketts proposed paying for it with a $400 million transfer from the states cash reserve fund and $100 million in federal COVID-19 relief money from the American Rescue Plan Act. The Appropriations Committee voted unanimously on Friday to allocate a much lower sum $22.5 million from the cash reserve. Appropriations Chair Sen. John Stinner of Gering initially suggested providing $2 million for a feasibility study. No businessperson spends 10% of total revenue without a robust process of study, Stinner said. But the committee ultimately approved the $22.5 million, enough for design work. The package would also require a report back to the Legislature on key issues. I think its important we do something to let Colorado know were coming, Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard said. But Erdman, whose district would potentially be affected by the project, also said he wasnt overly enthused about setting aside $500 million. Another bill Natural Resources advanced Friday, LB 1023, would lay the groundwork for building a 4,000-acre reservoir near the Platte River between Omaha and Lincoln, as well as other projects proposed by the Legislatures Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resources Sustainability (STAR WARS) special committee. Sen. Mike Hilgers of Lincoln, speaker of the Legislature, testified earlier this month that the lake could require an investment of more than $1 billion, most of which would come from private investments. Like the proposed canal, many details regarding the potential lake have yet to be shared publicly. Other parts of LB 1023 enable marina construction projects at Lake McConaughy and the Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area and construction of an event center and lodge at Niobrara State Park. Senators ultimately voted to advance the bill, with Cavanaugh, Moser and Wayne abstaining. Cavanaugh said he had talked to Hilgers, who introduced the bill, and that Hilgers was open to his critiques of the lake proposal. Cavanaughs biggest concern, he said, is that theres not yet strong enough language to ensure public access to the lake. He also said language around the potential board that would oversee the lake needs to be further tightened. Wayne said that hes also concerned about the public-private partnership and how it would be governed. Before we spend $200 million on a lake for millionaire private homes, we need to address some of the issues in North Omaha, Wayne said. Moser, too, voiced concern about ensuring access to the public and the lakes potential location within a floodplain. I just dont think the state should be building lakes, Moser said. While the bill includes flood control among reasons for the lake, Cavanaugh said, nobody at the hearing said its actually for flood control. The governors proposed budget includes $200 million total for the STAR WARS projects $150 million from the general fund and $50 million in ARPA funding. Stinner said the Appropriations Committee intends to fund the projects to that level in its current budget package, but that the $50 million from ARPA would instead come from the cash reserve. Both LB 1015 and 1023 now head to the floor of the Legislature, where theyll need to clear three rounds of debate to become law. Both bills have been designated as priorities, making them more likely to be debated this session, which is scheduled to end April 20. World-Herald Staff Writer Martha Stoddard contributed to this report. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberrys statements are the crux of the federal governments case against the Nebraska congressman. Fortenberry voluntarily sat down for two interviews with authorities investigating illegal campaign contributions, once while his then-attorney was present. In turn, it came as little surprise that a federal judge on Friday rejected Fortenberrys attempts to suppress his two 2019 statements to the FBI and U.S. attorneys investigating whether he knew of the source of illegal contributions originating from a Nigerian billionaire living in France. Judges can grant motions to suppress statements if the statements were the product of illegal, involuntary interrogations. Fortenberrys interviews were voluntary and voluminous, with the congressman speaking at length to FBI agents, U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld wrote. Fortenberry stands accused of three felonies one count of seeking to falsify or conceal the source of conduit contributions and two counts of making false statements to a government agency. Fortenberry is scheduled to go on trial for a week beginning March 15. The nine-term congressman, who is running for reelection, has proclaimed his innocence, alleging that he was the victim of a government scheme to set him up. Prosecutors allege that Fortenberry lied to an FBI agent who showed up at his Lincoln home in March 2019 to interview him about his knowledge of the source of contributions he received at a Los Angeles fundraiser and that he lied again during a July 2019 follow-up interview in Washington, D.C. Fortenberrys attorneys, John Littrell and Ryan Fraser, argue that Fortenberry relied on assurances that he was trending toward a witness rather than a target of the investigation when he agreed to sit down with a prosecutor and FBI agent in the July 2019 follow-up interview. It is doubtful that ... he construed the (trending-toward-a-witness) response to allow him to make false statements with impunity, Blumenfeld ruled. Defendant points to no clear and definite promise made to him. The motion (to suppress) fails on the merits. Blumenfeld also rejected Fortenberrys defense teams attempts to examine internal communications between prosecutors in the case, saying the defense had no evidence that federal prosecutors were withholding evidence. Littrell had pointed to statements the government made that they expected him to, quote, come clean at the second interview and that he instead was doubling down on a lie. Fortenberrys defense attorney suggested that internal communications may undermine the governments case by showing that agents may have expressed anger or indignation. Prosecutors noted that federal court rules exempt from discovery reports, memoranda, or other internal government documents made by an attorney for the government or other government agent in connection with investigating or prosecuting the case. It is further unclear if the disclosure is material such that defendant would be entitled to it, the judge wrote. The Court need not decide the issue, however, as the Government represented at the hearing that it does not have anything in response to this disclosure request beyond what it has already produced. State Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk is challenging Fortenberry in the Republican primary in May. State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks and Jazari Kual, both of Lincoln, are battling for the Democratic nomination. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Weve all been there: An awkward dinner with a relative on the other end of the political spectrum. A hesitation to befriend peers from different backgrounds. For Morgan Lasher, director of marketing and community at Unify America, its these types of situations her organization wants to remedy. Unify America a nonpartisan initiative built on civic harmony and cooperation is partnering with the Civic Nebraska nonprofit group to create a statewide challenge aimed at getting Nebraskans to work together. These live, one-on-one video conversations, collectively called the Nebraska Unify Challenge, mark the first time Unify America has set its sights on a project at the state level. Nancy Petitto, director of civic health programs at Civic Nebraska, said theres no better state to pave the way. It makes me think of Nebraska Nice, Petitto said. I really do think itll be a respectful space and an opportunity to really listen to someone else. The challenge starts with a quiz posted at the Nebraska Unify Challenge website, UnifyNebraska.com. Participants will answer questions about their political standing, geography and race, among other things. They will then sign up for one of three video chat times: March 1 at noon, March 3 at 7 p.m. or March 5 at 10 a.m. From there, theyll receive a link to chat with their designated partner. The system pairs people with different opinions and experiences together, Lasher said, and while theyre on the call theyll answer prompts about their values and beliefs. Lasher said some of the questions will be tailored to the Nebraska Legislature. The purpose of the guided questionnaire is not to persuade others to think a certain way, but to find common ground, encourage both sides to listen to each other and disrupt stereotypes. When two people from totally different geographies or backgrounds or ideologies come together, there is this power that comes from different lived experiences, Lasher said. We can actually get back to the business of problem-solving instead of political fighting. The Nebraska Unify Challenge is backed by state senators on both sides of the political spectrum. State Sens. Anna Wishart of Lincoln, a Democrat, and Tom Brewer of Gordon, a Republican, encourage Nebraskans to participate and embrace the unity challenge. The Unify Challenge isnt about compromising our most cherished and deeply held beliefs. Its about putting away our caricatures about the other side and recognizing our shared humanity, Wishart, of Lincoln, said in a statement. Brewer, a veteran, appears alongside Wishart on the site to share a similar sentiment. My countrys uniform, which I wore for 36 years, doesnt represent only Red America or Blue America. It represents the United States of America, he said. The challenge comes at an opportune time for Nebraska, Petitto said. There are important legislative shifts happening, and ideological separation between the rural and urban parts of the state are becoming more noticeable. We dont necessarily have to agree on everything, but we want to be able to find a space where we can come together and work on some of these issues at the same time, Petitto said. Lasher said shes hopeful about the impact the unity challenge will have on Nebraskans. Her organization has been doing this on a national level since January 2020, and she said the results have been encouraging. Previous participants have been able to find shared goals and passions with their partners, no matter how differently they vote. Those who vote similarly have more different opinions than Lasher expected. Lasher said 74% of participants across political spectrums felt more hopeful about the political landscape after participating in a unity challenge. The interest in the unity challenge came as a surprise to Petitto, but shes heartened by the positive response. Weve seen a spark and an uptick in folks who want to have these types of conversations, but they were just never really sure how to get started or where to go, Petitto said. The employees at Unify America want to get other states on board with the challenge, Lasher said, but shes excited for Nebraskans to kick off this new adventure. This is a really important first step to help Nebraskans feel empowered to be part of political conversations and be part of the problem-solving that the entire country needs, Lasher said. This isnt about kumbaya, this is about having different perspectives. Reach the writer at jthompson@journalstar.com Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion have been trickling into neighboring countries such as Poland, Hungary and Romania in a bid to escape the fighting. The UN's refugee agency has urged countries to keep their borders open to those leaving Ukraine, while estimating that more than 100,000 have been displaced within the country. BLOOMINGTON A 22-year-old Bloomington man was found guilty Thursday of murder connected to a 2018 shooting in Bloomington. A jury found Jordyn H. Thornton guilty of a first-degree murder charge in the Oct. 30, 2018, shooting death of Trevonte Kirkwood, 27, of Bloomington. Kirkwood died of gunshot wounds after he was shot three times around 8:40 p.m. that night in the 1300 block of North Oak Street in Bloomington. Thornton shook his head several times as he stared forward after Judge Casey Costigan read the jurys verdict. He then rested his head on his folded hands and began to cry. The 12-person jury of seven women and five men deliberated the charges for about 10 hours following a weeklong trial that brought mostly circumstantial and testimonial evidence putting Thornton in the area at the time of the shooting. Thornton, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, faces 20 to 60 years in prison. Jurors also determined Thornton fired a gun during the murder, adding 25 years to his prison sentence. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 14. Prosecutors said during the trial that Kirkwood had gone for a walk after his girlfriends car malfunctioned as they and two other friends were leaving a friends house. Meanwhile, Thornton was with Quentin Jackson, 23, of Peoria, and two other friends in a vehicle that happened to be driving through the same neighborhood. Thornton saw a man walking, so he told Jackson to stop the car and he exited the vehicle. Jackson and the two other men heard gunshots and moments later Thornton ran back to the car, Jackson told police. Jackson was sentenced last year to 17 years in prison for his role in the shooting. Prosecutors said Thornton followed Kirkwood, whom he did not know, on the sidewalk, then shot him three times with what was likely a .38-caliber handgun, according to testimony from a firearms analyst who examined the bullets pulled from Kirkwood. A friend of Thornton testified in court that he saw Thornton with a .38 Special firearm earlier on the night of the shooting during a party at Thorntons home on Front Street. After the shooting, Thornton hid the .38 Special at his cousins house on Washington Street, the friend testified. The witness also said he drove Thornton and another friend to a nearby lake days after the shooting to discard the .38 Special. He testified that he stayed in the car and he heard a splash that he believed was the firearm going into the water, a prosecutor said. Thornton no longer had the .38 Special after their trip to the lake, prosecutors said. McLean County Public Defender Ron Lewis accused prosecutors, police and witnesses of pinning the case on Thornton. He said police did not rule out other potential suspects. Lewis argued that witnesses went along with the polices murder accusations against Thornton to protect themselves and other gang members. There was no forensic evidence tying Thornton to the killing, Lewis noted in his arguments throughout the trial. McLean County Assistant States Attorneys Mary Lawson and Ashley Scarborough argued during the trial that Thornton committed murder to gain recognition and respect from his hybrid gang members, as he was new to Bloomington in 2018. Thornton kept certain friends close while he distanced himself from others, such as Jackson, after the shooting and up until his March 2019 arrest on drug charges, prosecutors said. He was charged with murder in June 2019 while he was in the McLean County jail. Lawson said Thornton wanted his hybrid gang members to recognize that hes the real deal. Hes a killer. Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. NORMAL Heartland Community College is now accepting applications for its Workforce Equity Initiative program, with a focus on increasing access to short-term certificate programs for underserved communities. The $1 million grant was announced in December, and Heartland staff have been working hard since then to implement the program locally. That included hiring Tony Jones as the program manager. Its been exiting and high-paced, said Terrance Bond, Heartlands assistant to the president for equity, diversity and inclusion. The WEI program is a statewide initiative to help Illinois residents get community college certificates and training that can lead directly to employment in high-paying fields. The goal is to have the graduates make 30% more than the living wage in their area. What we have been able to do is make certain that we are filling equity gaps that may exist in our entire system, said Jennifer Foster, ICCB deputy executive director. There is a big emphasis on meeting potential students where they are, Bond said. To do that, the grant covers full tuition and fees for the participants and can also go to things like a stipend while they take classes, to help make ends meet. The program is focused on underserved communities, including a requirement that 60% of participants be Black, Foster said. Low-income individuals and others from other racial and ethnic minorities are also a focus. Our goals for the Community College Board is to make certain we are reducing (inequities), she said. () We want to make sure no specific students are left behind. The programs are also specifically targeted at credentials that can fill needs for area employers, Bond said. Heartland has focused on credentials in its manufacturing, engineering, technology and trades; health care; and finance and business services programs. Potential certifications or careers include nursing assistant, EMT, electric vehicle assembly, truck driving, welding, bookkeeping and computer networking support specialist. Really what we want is for employers, as well as community leaders, to know that Heartland is looking to serve their needs, Bond said. The program is in its third year and has been expanding. Heartland is new this year but Bond hopes that the college will be able to continue participating, and maybe expand the certifications it offers to people using the grant. Foster also hopes the program continues expanding, as so far there has been a lot of interest in the program but not enough resources to fill that interest. I would like to see more money I would say I would also like to see an expansion across all of our colleges, across certain (underserved) areas, she said. Bond has been meeting with employers as well as community groups. He hopes to be able to utilize the community groups to create pipelines for people to be recommended to the program. The talks are still in progress, so he did not want to announce any community partners yet. (Were) trying to remove any barrier that might be keeping them from obtaining that certificate and going back out in the workforce," he said. More information about the WEI grant and its programs at Heartland can be found at heartland.edu/wei. Potential participants can find a form to show interest there. Contact Connor Wood at (309)820-3240. Follow Connor on Twitter: @connorkwood Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BLOOMINGTON Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday became the first Black woman selected for nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, a choice leadership the Bloomington-Normal branch of the NAACP called a landmark that they applaud. This specific nomination transmits a message of hope, possibility and empowerment, said Linda Foster, local branch president. District Judge Jackson will fill a void on the Supreme Court. A void that has been ignored and minimized since 1789, as this is the same court that once deemed Black people unworthy of citizenship. President Joe Biden announced Friday that he will nominate Jackson, having previously promised to select a Black woman to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, who will retire in June after serving on the Supreme Court for more than 27 years. Jackson, 51, is a Harvard Law alumna who has served in several roles, including public defender, district judge and private attorney. Former President Barack Obama nominated her to vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission in 2010 and to a U.S. district judgeship in 2012 and 2013. With this nomination, little Black girls and little Black boys will hopefully recognize even greater potential in their possibility, Foster said. Carla Campbell-Jackson, first vice president of the local NAACP, said the NAACP will advocate for swift confirmation of Jackson. The nomination of District Judge Jackson is demonstrative of the diversity required at every level of our judicial system, she said. Jacksons credentials are unquestionable and her resolve towards excellence is indicative by previous bipartisan support. This monumental nomination will ensure the United States Supreme Court is representative, inclusive and diverse." Judge Lisa Holder White, who serves on the 4th District Appellate Court in Springfield, called it an "important milestone in our national history." She became the district's first Black judge. Speaking from experience, I can certainly say it's an honor and privilege to serve as a judge, adjudicating matters involving fellow members of the community, White said. It's a great responsibility. I'm sure she's excited and humbled by the prospect of serving on the nation's highest court, the first Black woman to serve since the court was founded in 1789. As he introduced Brown Jackson on Friday, Biden called her a proven consensus builder who has "a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people. She strives to be fair, to get it right, to do justice, the president said. Jackson would be the current courts second Black justice Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative, is the other and just the third in history. Jackson would join the court as it weighs cutbacks to abortion rights and will be considering ending affirmative action in college admissions and restricting voting rights efforts to increase minority representation. She would be only the sixth woman to serve on the court, but she would join three others already there, including the first Latina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Jackson's nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority by a razor-thin 50-50 margin with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker. Party leaders have promised swift but deliberate consideration of the presidents nominee. The news comes two years to the day after Biden, then struggling to capture the Democratic presidential nomination, pledged in a South Carolina debate to nominate a Black woman if presented with a vacancy. Everyone should be represented, Biden said then. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said in a statement that the panel will begin immediately to move forward on consideration of an extraordinary nominee. Senators have set a tentative goal of confirmation by April 8, when they leave for a two-week spring recess. Hearings could start as soon as mid-March. That timeline could be complicated by a number of things, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the extended absence of Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, who suffered a stroke last month and is out for several weeks. Democrats would need Lujans vote to confirm Bidens pick if no Republicans support her. Once the nomination is sent to the Senate, it is up to the Senate Judiciary Committee to vet the nominee and hold confirmation hearings. After the committee approves a nomination, it goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. Biden and Senate Democrats are hoping for a bipartisan vote on the nomination, but its unclear if they will be able to win over any GOP senators after bitterly partisan confirmation battles under President Donald Trump. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of three Republicans who voted to confirm Jackson to the appeals court last year, had pushed Biden to nominate a different candidate from his home state, Judge J. Michelle Childs, who also was favored by home-state Rep. James Clyburn, a Biden ally. Graham said earlier this month that his vote would be very problematic if it were anyone else, and he expressed disappointment in a tweet Friday that Biden had not nominated his preferred choice. Previewing a likely Republican attack line, he and several others on the right said Biden was going with the choice of the radical left. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he looked forward to meeting with Jackson and "studying her record, legal views and judicial philosophy. But he noted he had voted against her a year ago. Biden has said he was interested in selecting a nominee in the mold of Breyer who could be a persuasive force with fellow justices. Although Breyers votes tended to put him to the left of center on an increasingly conservative court, he frequently saw the gray in situations that colleagues were more likely to find black or white. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, With her exceptional qualifications and record of evenhandedness, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be a justice who will uphold the Constitution and protect the rights of all Americans, including the voiceless and vulnerable,. The historic nomination of Judge Jackson is an important step toward ensuring the Supreme Court reflects the nation as a whole. The Associated Press and the Herald & Review contributed to this report. Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BELLEVILLE COVID-19 isn't gone, but Illinois health officials say numbers have dropped low enough to warrant lifting the state's mask mandate for most indoor public places. "This does not mean that no one needs to wear a mask anymore," Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist and chief hospital epidemiologist at University of Chicago Medicine, said at a news conference in early February. "It's an acknowledgment that cases have fallen to an acceptable or manageable level." While you'll still have to wear a mask in certain settings, grocery stores, movie theaters, restaurants, bars and other businesses won't have to require them. Here are answers to some questions about Illinois lifting the mask mandate. When do the changes go into effect? The statewide mandate for most indoor settings will be lifted as of Monday. Where will masks still be required? They will still be required in places where the federal government requires them, including public transit, health care facilities and congregate living settings such as nursing homes or prisons. They will also be required in day cares for those over the age of 2. Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants masks to remain mandatory in K-12 schools, but many have dropped the requirement as pending litigation threw the rule into question. Pritzker has said he plans to lift the mandate for schools as well. Children and staff may still wear masks they choose. Do I have to wear masks in businesses, like grocery and department stores? Businesses are allowed to set their own rules and customers are obligated to follow them same for workplaces. Can local governments set their own rules? Yes. Should I still wear a mask? Illinois public health officials strongly recommended people continue to wear masks in indoor public places. Illinois Department of Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike has said it's a good idea to keep one handy. "If you find yourself in a crowded, indoor setting, a mask can still help protect you. We will continue to recommend masks," Ezike said earlier this month. A look at what legislation is advancing in Springfield Here are just a few of the interesting proposals, some serious and some perhaps a bit silly, that have passed out of committee in recent weeks. Whether you continue to wear a mask indoors or not, public health officials have some advice. It's safer for people who are fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 or who aren't at high risk of getting really sick to go without a mask, according to Dr. Alex Garza, chief community health officer for SSM Health. People who are at higher risk, such as older people, those with underlying health conditions or who are unvaccinated should consider using a mask, Garza said. If wearing a mask doesn't bother you, it's a "low barrier" with a "high payoff," Garza said, because they're an effective and inexpensive way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control still recommends wearing a mask in indoor public places. In January, the CDC noted that some masks provide better protection than others. Respirator masks such as an N95 or KN95 offer the best protection. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD Carbondale city manager Gary Williams was under no illusions that the 2020 U.S. census count would be good for his community, one of a handful of Illinois college towns devastated by steep enrollment drops this past decade. Williams had expected the city, home to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, to drop from its 2010 population of 25,902 to somewhere below 25,000. But its 2020 count of 21,857 a decline of more than 4,000 was "definitely lower than we expected," he acknowledged. "We were not expected to fall this low," Williams said. "And we don't think that that's an accurate reflection of our population." A mix of enrollment decline at higher education institutions in their communities and the untimely clearing out of students during the COVID-19 pandemic have left these communities bracing for lasting impacts, ranging from greater strain on budgets to the potential loss of "Home Rule" status. Many believe their communities were shortchanged by the census, especially with how students were counted. Some plan to challenge the results while others say it would likely not result in substantial change. This is the first story in an occasional Lee Enterprises series examining the 2020 U.S. Census count and its impact on downstate Illinois. 'Eerily close' All but 14 of Illinois 102 counties experienced population decline this past decade, but the distribution was uneven, with eight counties in populous northeastern Illinois (Cook County, the five suburban collar counties and exurban Grundy and Kendall counties) combining for nearly 149,000 in population growth. But the rest of the state combined to lose nearly 167,000 people, creating a net loss of more than 18,000 residents and making Illinois just one of three states to lose population this decade. Looking a layer even deeper, there was perhaps no collection of downstate communities harder hit than college towns, particularly those where "directional" universities are located. In Charleston, home of Eastern Illinois University, the population dropped from 21,838 to 17,286, a more than one-fifth decrease. Macomb, home of Western Illinois University, saw a similar drop, going from 19,288 in 2010 to 15,051 in 2020. DeKalb, home of Northern Illinois University, went from 43,862 to 40,290, about an 8% decline. Those are declines of 4,552, 4,237 and 3,572, respectively. Combine that with Carbondale's 4,045 drop and the total drop is 16,406. From this perspective, these four communities account for more than 90% of the state's population decline over the previous decade. And the raw population drop in each community is eerily close, said Macomb Mayor Mike Inman. "I think that we can draw a direct connection between all of our declines in population to the pandemic and the way the census bureau conducted it," Inman said. "We knew we were going to be down anyway. Unfortunately, that's been the trend for all of the directional institutions." Other college towns have fared better. Both Bloomington and Normal, home of Illinois State University, registered modest population growth last decade. Champaign and Urbana, which share the state's flagship university, saw a net increase in population with the former's robust growth offsetting the latter's loss. In the case of Bloomington-Normal, a more diversified economy that includes longstanding major employers like State Farm and Country Financial as well as encouraging upstarts like Rivian has helped insulate the Twin Cities from issues that plague other college towns. "With the continued increase in development, real estate growth and projects that are bringing jobs to town, its not a surprise that people continue to move to Bloomington," city spokeswoman Katherine Murphy told The Pantagraph in August 2021. In Champaign-Urbana, the continued growth of the University of Illinois, which recorded its largest enrollment ever last year at 56,299, has fueled the overall growth of the region. "It's a little bit of a different environment for us versus the big institution 40 miles up the road," said Charleston city manager Scott Smith. Indeed, in communities heavily dependent on universities experiencing an enrollment decline as well a pandemic-induced reduction in the time students spend on campus, are struggling. Smith estimated that Charleston's population decline would cost the city about $900,000 annually from the local government distributive fund, which is the share of state income tax revenue shared with cities and counties. The amount given to each local government depends on size. Though federal COVID-19 stimulus funds and better-than-expected revenues have temporarily flushed the city's coffers with cash, Smith said the city's census number will have a more lasting, negative impact. "We're gonna have to find new revenue streams, we're gonna have to be creative," he said. "We're gonna have to cut some corners, we're gonna have to cut expenses. We have to cut personnel. Who knows?" In Macomb, Inman said they have been "making budgetary adjustments for years in anticipation" of population drop, such as reducing the city's workforce through attrition. He estimates about an annual $500,000 to $700,000 hit to the city's budget. But even the best-laid plans will have to be adjusted as the city predicted a population of around 16,000, which ended up being about 1,000 off the census count. Bill Nicklas, city manager of DeKalb, estimated an annual loss from state income tax, motor fuel tax and other shared revenues could be $1.9 million annually. "In economic terms, population is an important factor for municipal revenue forecasting," he said. Williams, the Carbondale city manager, said the city would lose about $800,000 in shared tax revenue with the population loss. But that's not even the "biggest consequence," he said. The Southern Illinois city is in danger of losing its "Home Rule" status, which is granted automatically to municipalities with a population greater than 25,000. Those under that threshold must receive it through a referendum. "Home Rule" essentially grants municipalities much broader authority to impose taxes and regulations. If Carbondale voters fail to approve "Home Rule" at the ballot this November, the city could be cut off from key revenue sources such as local taxes on food and beverage, liquor and cigarettes. But even more importantly, it would take away key regulatory powers, such as the ability to require rental property owners to register with the city and making their units available for inspection once every three years. "In a college town, we're 70% rental," he said. "So you could probably imagine how important it is to us. If we lose 'Home Rule,' we would not be able to have that same style of special program." Special Census? In a sense, the 2020 U.S. Census came at the worst possible time for college towns. Census Day is officially April 1, with respondents expected to tell the government where they are living as of that day. Illinois revenues $4.6 billion higher than expected for current fiscal year A House revenue committee on Thursday heard projections of an Illinois economy that is steadily moving back toward a level of pre-pandemic normalcy, which means revenue spikes realized due to temporary changes in consumer spending habits and federal stimulus packages are expected to subside. With COVID-induced shutdowns commencing in mid-March, most college students were not on campus. To help offset this, the U.S. Census Bureau in March 2020 first allowed universities to partake in its Group Quarters Operation, which allowed all students living in university-owned housing to be automatically counted. With classes switching to online and students returning to live with their parents, the bureau in June 2020 asked all colleges and universities to provide a full roster of students living off-campus. Still, officials in college towns across American believe many student fell through the cracks. An Associated Press review of several college towns last October found that census totals were well below previous estimates. This has leaders in these towns, including those in Illinois, questioning whether to challenge the results by requesting a special census. A special census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is "a basic enumeration" conducted by the agency "at the request of a governmental unit." Basically, it allows governments the chance at a do-over if they felt the previous census did not capture an accurate count. It can be done by census tract, meaning that areas with a disproportionate amount of students can be recounted. The U.S. Census Bureau is not expected to start conducting special censuses until 2023. Whether or not cities take advantage of the option is still an open question. Inman said Macomb has already done the "initial analysis" and plans to have a special census conducted. "We may not be the first community through the door, but I don't want to be the 700th," Inman said. "So we want to have our ducks in a row ready to hand them a packet saying 'here's what we need, tell us what it's going to cost.'" The city has experience with such endeavors a special census in 2014 found the city's population more than 2,000 higher than the 2010 count. Inman said this made the $95,000 investment to have the count done worth it. He said they plan to identify census tracts known to have high numbers of college students for recounting. Though it won't make up the total population loss, Inman estimated that the city could recover $150,000 to $300,000 per year in revenue if the population is closer to what they had projected. Williams, in Carbondale, said they're "still considering it." "I think it's a real uphill battle to get any changes made to the census," he said. "So at this time, we're just going to have to weigh all the pros and cons." In Charleston, Smith was less sure. "It's a gamble," he said, suggesting that a special census could be costly and may not yield the gains the city seeks. "The reality of it is the number is the number and that's what we're going to have to live with and work from." "We didn't think that it was going to be that big of a decline or dip, but 17,286 is the new number and that's what's going to be on the sign out front, so to speak," Smith said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 George Washington sent a letter on Aug. 13, 1776, to the president of Congress regarding the safeguarding of his papers. Washington understood the importance of preserving our new nations history. Many of our first presidents successors also appreciated this. They became stewards of the records of our past, believed that truth and transparency matter, and held onto the idea that our institutions are more significant than one single individual. Before Congress created the National Archives in 1934, each executive department was tasked with keeping its own archives. Congress gave the Department of State the important task of safeguarding the nations early state papers, such as Washingtons papers as commander of the Continental Army, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. During the War of 1812, the British landed troops in Maryland and started advancing north. It became clear to then-Secretary of State James Monroe that the British intended to invade Washington. He dispatched a messenger with a note to President James Madison, saying, The enemy are in full march for Washington. Have the materials prepared to destroy the bridges. In a postscript, Monroe added: You had better remove the records. Department of State individuals bagged up the archives including the Articles of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. Prior to evacuating the White House, first lady Dolly Madison sacrificed packing up private property for Cabinet papers and valuables. She also famously insisted that the Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington be removed to prevent it from falling into the hands of the British. The British had destroyed or removed nearly all the government papers that had remained in the city. When President Madison returned to the city, he denounced the British forces for destroying depositories of the public archives, not only precious to the nation as the memorials of its origin and its early transactions, but interesting to all nations as contributions to the general stock of historical instruction and political science. In 1930, President Herbert Hoover named a panel to draw up specifications for the building that would later become the National Archives. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934 signed legislation creating the National Archives. Roosevelt eventually became the most influential president in establishing the broad outlines of the National Archives agency. President Harry Truman delivered an address during ceremonies dedicating a new shrine for the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights at the National Archives in 1952. The Archives began referring to the three documents collectively as the Charters of Freedom. The Charters of Freedom can still be seen on display today in the rotunda of the National Archives in Washington. Following the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon wanted to take all his presidential records with him. Congress had the foresight to see the issues with this and in 1978 passed the Presidential Records Act. This legislation designated all the records of presidents, beginning with the president who took office January 1981, as the property of the federal government and directed that they be deposited with the National Archives at the end of each presidents term. President Ronald Reagan signed legislation in 1984 removing the National Archives from the General Services Administration and creating an independent agency called the National Archives and Records Administration. There has been a long history of presidents, starting with our first, who grasped the concept that having access to the American peoples records can help us understand our history and strengthen our democracy. Since we can no longer assume they will be protected, let us remember fondly and celebrate our presidents who ensured the safety of our archives. Lynn Schmidt is a columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 I was involved in the 100-vehicle snow related accident on Thursday, February 17. I was traveling from my home in Waterloo, Iowa, to my daughters homes in Indianapolis. My accident left me with a car that will probably be totaled, a body that is sore and bruised and a puppy who is traumatized. But in spite of the trauma, I found human compassion. The ambulance drivers, Illinois State Police and dispatchers were all very kind and helpful. But I have to give special recognition to two of the Farmer City Police Officers. Officer Jacob King and his partner. (I dont remember his name but he was sworn in the morning of the pile-up.) They were exceedingly helpful and went way beyond their duties to ensure that I was taken care of and treated with utmost respect. They got me to a hotel, ensured the owners would allow my dog to stay with me and Officer King even delivered a pizza to me. I drove around with them for about three hours and witnessed the same level of concern for all of the other victims of this horrendous accident. I have worked with police officers for quite some time, especially as I served on the City Council in Waterloo. Too often police personnel are only recognized for unprofessional behavior and rarely thanked when they perform in an exceptional manner. Thus I wanted the Police Department and City and all residents of Farmer City to know how much I appreciated the work of two of their finest. I believe that leadership begins at the top -- leading by example. Chief Guest and the other officers must also be commended it takes a village. Again, thank you for your care and concern, and let Officer King know he has a forever friend in Waterloo. Sharon Juon, Waterloo, Iowa Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SEND GHANA, a non-profit organisation, has appealed to the Government to establish a dedicated fund to avert the incessant delay in payments of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) grants. Dr Emmanuel Ayifah, Deputy Country Director, SEND GHANA, said the Fund would assist Government to always make money available to beneficiaries instead of borrowing, to incur more cost, as provided in the Social Protection Bill, yet to be passed. Dr Ayifah told the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a press conference in Accra that LEAP, which was one of the flagship programmes that were beneficial to the extremely poor and vulnerable in society, was being disrupted by consistent delays in payment. The Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) is a cash transfer programme introduced by the Government in 2008 for extremely poor and vulnerable households to reduce poverty. Currently, about 344,023 households benefit from the intervention. Dr Ayifah said the expectations of the beneficiaries, who sometimes borrowed money to sustain themselves were often cut short by the delays in the payment of the grants. The Deputy Country Director noted that information regarding the specific reasons for the delays had not been effectively communicated to stakeholders. Our checks reveal that there has not been an attempt by the LEAP Management Secretariat, and the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection to engage the beneficiaries and other relevant stakeholders on when payment will be made. This practice in our view is unacceptable and defies the principle of good governance and accountability, he said. Dr Ayifah appealed to Government to fast track the completion of the registration of people for the Ghana National Household Registry to ensure that the real poor people were on the LEAP intervention. Mr Mohammed Tajudeen Abdulai, Communication Officer, SEND GHANA, who read the speech on behalf of the Social Accountability Forum, Civil Society Platform for Social Protection, Civil Society Platform on SDG 10 and SEND GHANA, expressed displeasure at the delay of payments. He said the delays were pervasive in the past couple of years ranging from one to three months, noting that since November 2019, multiple LEAP payments had been delayed by more than two months due to budget allocations not being disbursed on time to the beneficiaries. The six payments accrued for January to December 2021, Mr Abdulai said, were delayed with the cycle payment for November 2021 currently outstanding for three months, and that of January 2022 overdue. He said on September 7, 2021, his outfit issued a statement calling on the Government to immediately release funds for payment of the 73rd cycle, which was due in July 2021, and was followed by another press conference on September 14 to release cash grants regularly and make timely payments. The Communications Officer said since then, the 73rd and 74th payments were made albeit the usual delays. The statement urged Government (Ministry of Finance) to ensure that grants were transferred to the appropriate agency on time, who would in turn, ensure that beneficiaries received their grants on the due dates. Our collective efforts in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, hunger, and reduce inequalities by 2030, will be pointless if we allow needless infractions to undermine impactful social protection interventions such as LEAP, it said. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Commissioner of Police (CoP) Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, the Executive Director, Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has expressed worry about the rate at which some young Ghanaians are being lured into organised and cybercrime activities. CoP Addo-Danquah expressed this concern when she paid a courtesy call on Mr Kwasi Adu-Gyan, the Bono East Regional Minister at his office at Techiman as part of her one-day working visit to the region. She said the youth were the driving force for national development but the situation was making them addicted to the menace at the peril of their lives. The EOCO Executive Director, therefore, suggested the need for stakeholders to make a concerted effort to address that because the future of the countrys political and socio-economic stability, security and sustainability was at stake. CoP Addo-Danquah stated EOCO was in collaboration with the National Cybercrime Authority, the National Communication Authority and other stakeholders to redirect the attention of the youth from cybercrime and other nefarious activities to life-changing ventures that would benefit them in the future. She hoped with the collaborative effort cybercrime would become a thing of the past to enhance the good and positive image of the country. In response, Mr Adu-Gyan assured the Regional Coordinating Councils commitment to provide the regional EOCO office with the support needed to enable it to deal decisively with organised crime and related issues in the region. CoP Addo-Danquah later called on Oseadeeyo Akumfi Ameyaw IV, the Paramount Chief of Techiman Traditional Area and members of the Techiman Traditional Council. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, has called on the Government to as a matter of urgency evacuate Ghanaian students in war threatened Ukraine. He has therefore implored the government to act swiftly to prevent any loss of life. Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, the Minority Leader said immediate government intervention was needed to save Ghanaian students in that country. Mr Speaker, we should ensure the swift evacuation of Ghanaian students in Ukraine. This we must do to assure the students and their parents that they are Ghanaians and that they deserve our support. This is a matter of urgent public importance. I am indulging you to look at the matter because the Minister of Finance needs to make monies readily available to the Foreign Minister. The situation in Ukraine is very worrying, with imminent war," he said. Mr Iddrisu's call comes on the back of rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia. Requests have been made for the Ghana government to evacuate its citizens to safety. On Wednesday, the National Union of Ghanaian Students (NUGS) made a related call to the government. As conflicts escalate within the regions, governments of countries across the world are prioritizing the evacuation of their citizens across the area to forestall harm on their citizens," the statement said. Some of these students including the Executives of the NUGS chapter in Ukraine have arrived in the country and reached out to the National Secretariat of NUGS, advising that urgent steps be taken to ensure the safety of their colleagues still in the regions. Other Members of Parliament contributing to the call, also urged the Government to accord the needed attention to the situation by giving a safe place to the students. Meanwhile, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has urged Ghanaians in Ukraine to find a place of safety and stay there as it considers concrete steps to ensure their safety in that country. The Ministry in a statement said: The Government of Ghana is gravely concerned about the security and safety of our over 1000 students and other Ghanaians in Ukraine. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video British airlines have been banned from landing at Russia's airports and from crossing its airspace, the Russian civil aviation regulator has said. Russia said the move is a response to "the unfriendly decisions by the UK aviation authorities". On Thursday, the UK banned Russia's national airline Aeroflot from landing in Britain. The measure was part of sanctions introduced following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told ITV: "I think that's their retaliation for us yesterday banning Aeroflot from using and landing in the United Kingdom. That's their tit for tat response." Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said: "This measure was taken in accordance with the provisions of the Intergovernmental Air Services Agreement between Russia and the UK as a response to unfriendly decisions by the UK aviation authorities regarding the restriction on regular flights of aircraft owned, leased or operated by a person associated with Russia or registered in Russia." British Airways said in a statement it is notifying customers on cancelled services and will offer full refunds. "We apologise for the inconvenience but this is clearly a matter beyond our control," the airline said. "We will continue to monitor the situation closely." British Airways normally operates three flights per week each way between London and Moscow. Ukraine's airspace closed on Thursday after Russian forces launched a military invasion of the country. Moldova also said it was closing its airspace and Belarus shut part of its airspace on Thursday. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video 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. A Ukrainian woman was filmed confronting a Russian soldier hours after Russias invasion. In the video which has gone viral online, the woman is seen telling the soldier that he has no business in her country. "What the f*** are you doing in our land?" She asks. When the soldier says they are there for "exercises" and says hes Russian, the woman replies: "So what the f*** are you doing here?" The soldier says the conversation will "lead to nothing" and asks her to move on, but she doesn't budge. She replies: "Youre occupants, youre fascists. What the f*** are you doing on our land with all these guns?" She then tells him that he and his comrades will ultimately die in Ukraine if they stay there. With a reference to Ukraines national flower, she says: "Take these seeds and put them in your pockets, so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here." The soldier tells her to "not escalate the situation" but she says: "What situation? Guys, guys, put the sunflower seeds in your pockets please. "You will lie down here with the seeds. You came to my land. Do you understand? You are occupiers, you are enemies." She tells the soldier "from this moment you are cursed", and when shes told again not to escalate the situation, she says: "How can it be further escalated? You f***ing came here uninvited? Pieces of s**t." The footage has since gone viral, with people hailing the womans courage. Watch it below. Ukrainian woman confronts Russian soldiers in Henichesk in the Kherson region. Asks them why they came to our land and urges them to put sunflower seeds in their pockets [so that flowers grow when they die on the land of Ukraine] #Ukrainian #UkraineWar #StopPutin pic.twitter.com/Y19h2wMnAs Madhaw Tiwari (@MadhawTiwari) February 25, 2022 Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) will work closely with businesses and trade associations within its jurisdiction to boost economic activities and ensure business sustainability, Mr Samuel Pyne, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, has said. He said it was important for the Metropolis, being one of the largest trading hubs in West Africa, to give businesses the necessary attention to boost commercial activities and attract investors. We will, therefore, collaborate with you all to ensure sustainable businesses in Kumasi, he said at a meeting with members of the Kumasi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). The meeting, organised by the KCCI, afforded members the opportunity to meet the Chief Executive and discuss issues affecting business growth in the Ashanti Region and Kumasi in particular. It was on the theme: Working Together for the Growth of Businesses in the Ashanti Region. Mr Pyne mentioned the critical role the KCCI played in building the local economy and pledged the Assemblys support to ensure its activities thrived. The Assembly had already met with the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) and would soon meet with other stakeholders to deliberate on ways to correct lapses during the allocation of shops at the new Kejetia Market, he said. That is to ensure that traders got settled at assigned places upon the completion of phase two of the project to avoid controversies. Mr Pyne called on industry players to ensure sanity at their business centers while the Assembly made efforts to manage waste at the Central Business District. He explained that the shop extensions onto the pavements were a major contributory factor to the congestion in the city and called on shop owners to desist from the act. Mr Stephen Acheampong, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of KCCI, said the regional chamber was keen in strengthening relationships with the assemblies, especially the KMA, to foster business development in Kumasi and beyond. He said Kumasi being the trading hub in Ghana, needed a trade centre to enhance business and pleaded with the Assembly to facilitate the acquisition of land at a strategic area to establish the centre. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video NIGERIA: Justice Hakeem Oshodi of the Federal High Court in Lagos state has sentenced kidnapper Chukwudimeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, and two others, Uchenna Amadi and Okuchuwkwu Nwachukwu, to life imprisonment. He gave the judgment today February 25. Evans alongside his accomplices, Uche Amadi, and Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu got the sentence after they were found guilty of two counts of criminal conspiracy and kidnapping. The presiding judge convicted the trio after holding that there was overwhelming evidence to prove the case against them. In reaching his verdict on Evans, the judge held that he observed the demeanor of the witness, stating that in some of the confessional videos played in court, Evans had mentioned some of the other defendants and the roles they played in the crime. He was seen freely laughing and willingly answered questions. A close look at his body shows no sign of torture. He did not look unkempt. He is seen laughing even when he was told that he must be a rich kidnapper. He showed no remorse in the dock and tried to lie his way out of the crimes despite the video evidence.Justice Oshodi said The judge discharged and acquitted Ogechi Uchechukwu and two former soldiers of the Nigerian Army, Chilaka Ifeanyi and Victor Aduba, for lack of sufficient evidence linking them to the crime. The conviction and sentencing come four years after their trial began. Source: LIB Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The leadership of Ghanaian students in Ukraine have set plans in motion to transport their members to Poland for safety. The President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in Ternopil City, Richard Ofori, said Ghanaian students in the region, numbering about 250, are expected to be safely transported by Tuesday. Buses have been booked for tomorrow (Saturday) and Tuesday to transport students to Poland, about 200 to 250 Ghanaian students. We had to make the decision ourselves, Richard said. He said this on the back of a recent attack launched on Ukraine by Russia. Following this development, Ghanaian students in the region have sent home appeals for them to be evacuated. Government in response has asked them to seek safe places of abode in the interim, while it works to ensure their safety in the country. In a statement announcing this, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said it is doing its best to guarantee the wellbeing of Ghanaians. The Government of Ghana is gravely concerned about the security and safety of our over 1,000 students and other Ghanaians in Ukraine as we engage the authorities, our relevant diplomatic missions, and our honorary consul on further measures, it said. The students, however, have taken up the task of ensuring their safety. Richard said, our national executives [NUGS] in Ghana on Tuesday spoke to some officials in Ghana, but we are also trying to be proactive from this side. He also noted that they have a 15-day ultimatum to make plans and exit Poland. In Poland, we heard we have a Maximum of 15 days to be there so within that 15 days we have to make plans and book tickets and fly out of the country, he said. Richard added that students are still living in fear. As of now I have been in touch with only a couple of guys on the Eastern side and most of them are scared and panicking, he said. There is also a limit on cash withdrawals from some ATMs, so I started withdrawing yesterday, and I got just a small percentage of my money. Banks and shops have closed, a friend of mine told me there are queues at the various ATMs. The drivers are not even working, he added. Background Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched an unprecedented attack on Ukraine. The move comes after Putin ordered troops into two pro-Russian, breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine on Monday. There have been multiple reports of explosions, bombings, and Russian Military vehicles entering Ukraine from various parts of the border with Russia, with a growing number of casualties being counted on both sides. Source: myjoyonline.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 Samsung Ghana has officially announced the 2022 edition of the Galaxy Challenge, a popular technology competition for Ghanaian media, content creators, and tech fans. This year's Galaxy Challenge, which focuses on the new groundbreaking Galaxy S22 series, is open to journalists, bloggers, content creators, and social media influencers. The competition aims to create an avenue where participants can express their passionate views on these incredibly-innovative devices and win amazing prizes along the way. These content creators are challenged to publish at least two stories or video content that capture the magic of the Galaxy S22 series devices - Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra. In a statement to announce the Galaxy Challenge, Head of Marketing at Samsung Ghana, Tracy Kyei, said, "Samsung is committed to supporting local content creators and the media by providing the platform to enable them to do more. The Galaxy Challenge allows them to ignite their creativity and express their passions and talent." Winners will be determined based on six thematic areas: Accuracy, Clarity, Eco-System Integration, Device Usability, Consumer Benefit, and the overall Content Appeal. The prizes for the Galaxy Challenge include Samsung's most powerful Galaxy yet, the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the versatile Galaxy TabS8, the popular Galaxy Buds Pro, and other exciting goodies from Samsung. Entry Details for Galaxy Challenge As soon as the entry content or media story is published*, contestants are to notify Ekow Quandzie of Global Media Alliance via WhatsApp (0207810000) or email [email protected] Remember to tag any of Samsung Ghana's official social media pages and hashtag #S22WCWChallenge #SamsungGhana The deadline for submission of published stories and content is 11th March 2022. Terms and conditions apply Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has denied saying that he granted permission to Dome-Kwabenya Member of Parliament Sarah Adwoa Safo to absent herself from Parliament on health grounds. Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday February 24, he revealed that he has received several calls from the media on this issue. It is important I defuse some fake news which is being circulated that I granted interview to say that Honourable Adwoa Safo received permission from me to absent herself from parliament on health grounds. I want it to be known by all that I have not granted any such interview anywhere, I have not said anything like that anywhere. The votes and proceedings of the house are so loud that she is absent without permission for all those days. That is the votes and proceedings of the House, it is not the speaker who determines who is present and who is absent, no. The votes and proceedings will capture those wo are present , those who are absent and those who are absent with permission. The National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Freddie Blay had said Adwoa Safo asked permission to be away for sometime. Adwoa Safo had asked permission to be away for sometime, he said when asked about the whereabout of the Gender Minister. When asked again why members of the NPP are worried about her absence if indeed she asked permission to be away, he answered why shouldnt people be worried. We are in parliament where the numbers are almost at par except that we have one person majority over the NDC. People need to vote for E-levy or any matter that will come to Parliament. Parliament is sharply divided over many issues and the vote is critical. We need every single vote to add to our numbers and therefore, party leadership, government and even the President, we are worried about it. We want our numbers to be in a situation where we can take advantage of our majority, he told TV3s Evelyn Tengmaa in an interview on Wednesday February 23. Some members of the NPP believe Adwoa Safo is sabotaging the government. For instance, the MP for New Juabeng South, Michael Okyere Baafi, said she is making the work of the government in Parliament difficult. All the problems government is facing are attributable to Adwoa Safo. Clearly, her intention and posture show that she wants to sabotage NPP, he said on Kumasi-based Hello FM. The MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong has also revealed that the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare gave him 120,000 to be deposited into the bank account of Adwoa Safo for her to attend to Parliament duties to work for the government. The Chief of Staff called me and I went, I swear my mothers grave, Chief of Staff gave me 120,000 and deposited into Adwoa Safos Fidelity Bank account. I took the money there into the Fidelity Account, ask her personal assistant if what I am saying is not the truth, a furious Kennedy Agyapong said. He added Now we are in opposition, the way Adwoa Safo is treating the party, it is clearly showing that we are in opposition and this shouldnt be tolerated at all, he told Asaase Radio on Tuesday February 22. Mr Agyapong had raised issues against the conduct of Sarah Adwoa Safo. He said that the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection has failed in life for requesting that she should be made a Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament. He wondered why a cabinet minister will now want to occupy a position that is below the rank of a Minister. Speaking on her rampant absence from Parliament, Mr Agyapong, who has two children with her, said: She says she wants to be Deputy Majority, that woman has failed in life. A whole cabinet minister now demanding that she should be made a Deputy Majority Leader before she comes, she should go to hell. You dont come to Parliament and you are on TikTok dancing? Dome Kwabenya is not for Apostle Kwadwo Safo, get it straight. I am very furious because people are insulting me because I went there to campaign for her. Mike Oquaye the Speaker, the man that I respect very well, I campaigned against his son because Adwoa used my kids, calling me and begging me to help her. And now everybody is insulting me for doing that but I have not regretted it, she is very responsible when it comes to the kids, he said on GTV Monday, February 21. Asked how many days she has been absent from Parliament, he answered: More than 15 days and the law says 15 days. Asked again whether Ghanaians should expect her seat to be declared vacant, he said: Why not? She should go and contest on TikTok. 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. Featured Video Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly told European Union leaders in a video call Friday night that it could be the last time they see him alive. Walla News Diplomatic Correspondent Barak claims two people briefed on the call told him. Zelenskyy is currently hiding in Ukraines capital city of Kyiv as more than 100,000 Russian troops continue to attack the country on Russian President Vladimir Putins orders. We were supposed to talk on the phone this morning, but he was no longer available, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told his Parliament Friday morning of Zelenskyy. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who was also on the Thursday-night call with Zelenskyy, reportedly told the Swedish News Agency that this may have been the last time we saw Zelensky. Zelenskyy said in an early Thursday-morning address that Russian saboteurs had entered Kyiv and said intelligence found the enemy has identified me as the number one target. U.S. President Joe Biden issued more sanctions on Russian banks and high-profile oligarchs Thursday but stopped short of sending troops in. We have no intention of fighting Russia, Biden said during a press conference. We want to send an unmistakable message, though, that the United States and our allies will defend every inch of NATO territory. More than 1,700 anti-war protestors have been arrested across more than 50 Russian cities in a rare display of public outrage at Putins invasion. 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 " " Mildred and Richard Loving's marriage led to major civil rights progress in the United States. Bettmann/Getty Images There aren't a lot of couples who can claim their relationship changed the course of history. Sure, there are the big alliances: Antony and Cleopatra's love story is one for the books, and Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's relationship certainly made a splash. But the marriage of unassuming Virginia residents Richard and Mildred Loving in 1958 is historic, due to one small factor he was white, and she was black. In an episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class, hosts Tracy V. Wilson and Holly Frey give us a two-part lesson on Loving v. Virginia, one of the most well-known U.S. Supreme Court cases. The case struck down anti-miscegenation laws around the country, making it legal for white people to marry outside their race. That was no small feat, considering that when the Lovings were married in 1958, 24 states had laws on the books banning interracial marriage. Advertisement Richard and Mildred Loving's relationship wasn't destined to be in the spotlight. The couple grew up in Central Point, Virginia, and married when Mildred was 18 and Richard was 24. But Mildred was of Native American and African-American descent, and her mixed-race ancestry was the only thing that mattered when she and Richard had to leave Virginia to legally marry. Virginia's racial integrity laws mandated that no person with "one drop" of nonwhite blood (barring a small amount of American Indian blood) could marry a white person, and that no interracial couple could travel to a different state to marry and return to Virginia to live as husband and wife. But that's exactly what the Lovings did in 1958, when they left Virginia for Washington, D.C. to marry and returned home to settle. About a month later, the sheriff's department entered their bedroom at 2 a.m. and arrested them for breaking the law. The couple pleaded guilty in trial. Their sentence to one year in jail was overturned so long as they agreed to leave Virginia and not to return together for 25 years. That inflexible arrangement prompted Mildred to seek legal help, and the American Civil Liberties Union eventually used the Lovings' case to challenge Virginia to change its laws on interracial marriage. Listen to part one of the podcast below to find out how these discriminatory laws were created and evolved, and head to part two to learn the legal ins and outs of the sweeping ruling that lead to the 1967 overturn of every anti-miscegenation law in the country. Now That's Interesting While anti-miscegenation laws in the South largely focused on black and white interracial marriage, many western states included Asians, East Indians, Filipinos and Native Americans in their statutes. Mass cullings have been implemented as a highly contagious form of avian flu has swept across the eastern half of the United States in recent weeks, killing both farmed poultry and wild birds. "It's very concerning, given how quickly this thing is accelerating," Henry Niman, a biochemist in Pittsburgh who studies the genetic evolution of viruses, told The New York Times. "I think we could see historic levels of infections," added Niman, who has been tracking the outbreak's spread across the United States. It's likely the virus is being spread by wild birds returning from winter feeding grounds, according to experts, and many fear the worst will come when spring migration peaks in a few weeks, the Times reported. Poultry growers are being urged by federal officials to report sick or dying birds and to take preventive measures such as preventing contact between their farmed flocks and wild birds. "It's important to note that avian influenza is not considered to be a risk to public health and it's not a food-safety risk," Mike Stepien, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, told the Times. The viruscalled Eurasian H5N1has not jumped to humans but is being closely watched by scientists because it's closely related to an Asian strain that has infected hundreds of people since 2003. That strain doesn't spread efficiently among humans, but when it does it has a death rate of 60%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it can decimate a country's poultry industry. Right now, turkey farmers in Indiana and Kentucky are the most worried. Several farms in those states have been shuttered in the past two weeks after officials discovered the virus among birds that spend their entire lives crammed into massive containment sheds. Farmers say they have been stunned by how efficiently the virus kills, with animals dying hours after the initial infection, the Times reported. "Everyone is on super-high alert and trying to be as prepared as possible because we all remember the devastation of 2014 and 2015," Dr. Denise Heard, a veterinarian with the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, told the Times. The 2014-15 outbreak sent poultry and egg prices soaring and cost the industry more than $3 billionthough the federal government compensated farmers for lost flocks. In the end, nearly 50 million birds were killed by the virus or destroyed to prevent its spread, a vast majority of them in Iowa and Minnesota. Explore further US bird flu case puts chicken, turkey farms on high alert More information: Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on the Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on the avian flu 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Credit: University of Science and Technology of China In a recent article published in Nature, a research team led by Prof. Chen Xianhui, Wu Tao and Wang Zhenyu from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found the key evidence for phase transition in a kagome superconductor CsV 3 Sb 5 . At a low temperature, the team observed a transition from charge-density-wave (CDW) order to electronic nematicity which was firstly described by a three-state Potts model. On the heels of the team's previous research on triple-Q modulation of kagome superconductors and the unusual competition between superconductivity and charge-density-wave order, the team made another progress in discovering new states of electronic nematicities. They discovered that the triple-Q charge density wave state would evolve into a thermodynamically stable electron nematic phase before entering the superconducting state. They also managed to determine the transition temperature to be 35 Kelvin. It is noteworthy that the electronic nematicity the team recently found was disparate from the nematicity in high-temperature superconductors (HTS). The electronic nematicity in HTS is the Ising type with Z 2 symmetry; in contrast, the nematic phase found in CsV 3 Sb 5 had Z 3 symmetry. This particular state is theoretically described by the three-state Potts model, thus it is also called Potts nematic phase. Interestingly, this novel nematicity was also observed recently in bilayer corner graphene system. The discovery of this phase transition not only demonstrated a novel electronic nematicity, but provided fundamental experimental evidence for further understanding of the competition between superconductivity and CDW order in kagome systems. The findings also cast new light on the understanding of pair density wave (PDW) state in HTS. Explore further Researchers discover unusual competition between charge density wave and superconductivity More information: Linpeng Nie et al, Charge-density-wave-driven electronic nematicity in a kagome superconductor, Nature (2022). Journal information: Nature Linpeng Nie et al, Charge-density-wave-driven electronic nematicity in a kagome superconductor,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04493-8 Provided by University of Science and Technology of China Credit: Wikipedia User Shujianyang Central planning is literately central to any communist country, though its history has mixed results. As part of that planning, bureaucrats in all parts of the government are occasionally tasked with coming up with goals and milestones for their specific part of the government. These usually take the form of a five- or 10-year plan, which is what the China National Space Agency (CNSA) released on January 28. This is the fifth such report, with previous releases in 2000, 2006, 2011 and 2016, and the current plans for future space exploration build on the efforts of the past plans. At more than 7,500 words, the document itself is hefty but still a relatively high-level overview of what the agency hopes to achieve. Some main focal points include improving the sustainability of their rocket launches, improving their global position system, partnering with Russia on lunar exploration, maintaining and expanding the Tiangong space station, researching the underlying technology for a Mars sample return mission, and building a global partnership to build a research station on the moon. The Long March rocket is China's workhorse rocket, and in the next five years, it should see an environmental improvement, making them pollution-free soon. In addition, CNSA plans to develop an additional fleet of rockets that can respond to the "growing need for regular launches," according to the white paper. This would include reusable systems and upper stages that can reenter the atmosphere. Launching above the atmosphere is key to any global positioning system, which CNSA also plans to improve dramatically in the next five years. BeiDou is CNSA's answer to GPS and includes satellites for remote sensing and environmental monitoring. Improvements in its positioning accuracy and setting up communications relays are wrapped into the five-year plan. Pure scientific satellites will not be left behind, though, with plans to launch the Xuntian telescope in the next five years, with capabilities about equivalent to Hubble. Scientific endeavors won't be limited to space, either. Plenty of lunar exploration is in China's future, with Chang'e 6, 7, and 8 undergoing development and eventually launching in the next five years. With some help from Russia, CNSA hopes to complete another lunar return sample mission and research the lunar polar regions by "hopping" around them. As part of the Sino-Russian Joint Data Center for Lunar and Deep-space Exploration, CNSA hopes to mutually develop plenty of lunar capabilities in the coming years. It may go alone on other scientific endeavors, though, including the ongoing growth of the Tiangong space station. Having successfully launched in April last year, the Tianhe Core module will join the Wentian and Mengtian Laboratory Cabin Modules over the next five years. Expanding the station's capabilities will play a significant role in the agency's operations over the next five years. However, detailed descriptions of what they do will do with it were strangely absent from the white paper. Clearly described in the white paper is China's desire to continue and expand its ability to explore the red planet. Over the next five years, CNSA plans to improve its infrastructural ability to support missions around Mars, including by strengthening deep-space communications and developing the underlying technology for a sample return mission. That most likely won't launch in the next five years, but even with that timeline, it could potentially be competing with NASA's Mars Sample Return mission in a race to get the first material back to Earth from Mars. Despite any hints at a second space race, CNSA also stressed the importance of collaborating with other countries as part of an international effort to build a research station on the moon, among other advancements. An entire subsection of the white paper is devoted to international cooperation and stresses the need for global governance as a basis for continued national space exploration efforts. Our understanding as a species should benefit no matter who is exploring, so the scientific community will likely welcome any further investment in space exploration by China or any other country. If CNSA successfully implements its latest five-year plan, not only will there be much more scientific data available, but the agency will be well placed to reach even further towards the stars in the next five years. Explore further China denies making space junk set to crash into Moon Position of the studied filaments. Credit: LASTRO/EPFL The shape of galaxies and how they evolve depend on a web of cosmological filaments that run across the universe. According to a recent study headed by EPFL's Laboratory of Astrophysics, this cosmic web plays a much bigger role than previously thought. Across the universe, galaxies are distributed along what's called the cosmic web, a complex network of filaments made up of ordinary and dark matter. And where those filaments intersect, galaxy clusterscollections of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies bound to each other by the force of gravitytend to form. They are the biggest and densest clusters in the universe and are the subject of much research by astrophysicists. But precisely how filaments contribute to galactic evolution is still poorly understood. To get deeper insight, an international team of scientists led by Prof. Pascale Jablonka and Gianluca Castignani from EPFL's Laboratory of Astrophysics (LASTRO) examined the vast environment surrounding Virgo, a representative cluster in the local universe. It contains some 1,500 galaxies and is located around 65 million light-years away from our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The team's findings have been published in two articles: one appearing in Astronomy & Astrophysics this past January and the other in Astrophysical Journal last fall. "Many properties of galaxies, like their morphology, gas content and star formation rate, are directly influenced by their environment," says Jablonka. "We know that galaxies form fewer stars in very dense environments and adopt a more elliptical shape. But the exact role that filaments play in this transformation is still not clear. That's what we wanted to investigate with our research." The scientists analyzed the properties of galaxies located around the Virgo cluster, across a region spanning 12 times the radius of the main cluster. Theirs is the largest study conducted to date on this topic and covers a sample size of some 7,000 galaxies, including 250 that are big enough for scientists to be able to precisely estimate their gas contentand especially the amount of cold, dense atomic hydrogen that stars are made out of. Measurements were taken using the decametric radio telescope in Nancay, France, and the IRAM-30m telescope in Pico Veleta, Spain. A transitional environment By combining the new data they collected with measurements from the literature, the scientists found that the properties of galaxiesnamely, their shape, star formation rate, gas content, and the age and metal content of their starsclearly change as the galaxies progress from more isolated positions towards filaments and eventually into clusters. Filaments therefore seem to serve as a transitional environment where galaxies are pre-processed before falling into a cluster. In this environment, star formation slows or even stops altogether, elliptical shapes appear more frequently, and there is less atomic and molecular hydrogen, indicating that the galaxies are reaching the end of their active life. The scientists observed that a galaxy's evolution through its life cycle corresponds to the local galaxy density: galaxies producing few or no stars made up less than 20% of the sample of isolated galaxies, but they accounted for 2060% of galaxies in the filaments and some 80% of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. These findings open up new avenues of research on theories to explain galaxy formation and how galaxies evolve in tandem with major cosmic bodies. More information: G. Castignani et al, Virgo Filaments I: Processing of gas in cosmological filaments around the Virgo cluster. arXiv:2101.04389v3 [astro-ph.GA], G. Castignani et al, Virgo Filaments I: Processing of gas in cosmological filaments around the Virgo cluster. arXiv:2101.04389v3 [astro-ph.GA], arxiv.org/abs/2101.04389 G. Castignani et al, Virgo Filaments II: Catalog and First Results on the Effect of Filaments on galaxy properties. arXiv:2110.13797v2 [astro-ph.GA], arxiv.org/abs/2110.13797 Journal information: Astrophysical Journal , Astronomy & Astrophysics Credit: ArtRose / Pixabay In 1986, US President Ronald Reagan famously observed that the nine most terrifying words in the English language were: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." In other words: skepticism about the competence and even the good intentions of governments and public officials is nothing new. It is however striking to see how much mistrust towards the US government has increased in recent years. We see it in the pushback against government-imposed COVID-19 lockdowns and medical guidelines as well as in the spread of conspiracy theories about the origins and spread of the virus. In the eyes of many sociologists, COVID-19 is likely to become a catalyst and accelerator of ongoing trends. If this is also going to be the case for the ongoing erosion of trust in governments and science, the implications will not be pretty. Heightened skepticism about the competence of government will make it even harder for the relevant public agencies to issue effective public health guidance and get an already suspicious public to adhere to their recommendations. The 'impressionable years' Our own research substantiates these worries. We use individual-level data on confidence in political institutions and leaders from the 200618 Gallup World Polls, fielded in nearly 140 countries annually. We analyze responses to questions about trust in the government, confidence in elections, and approval of national leaders. We link these individual responses to the incidence of epidemics since 1970. We find that exposure to an epidemic when an individual is 18 to 25, when he or she is in what is referred to by psychologies and sociologists as one's "impressionable years," durably reduces confidence in political institutions and negatively affects attitudes toward political leaders. Attitudes and behavior are durably molded in late adolescence and early adulthood, social and natural scientists tell us, because this is when children leave the nest; it is at this stage of the life cycle when they are forming their sense of self and identity. It is also the stage of life where neurologists identify neurochemical and anatomical changes in the brain that may themselves be associated with durable attitude formation. Importantly, when we look for such persistent attitudinal changes among individuals who are younger or older at the time of epidemic exposure, we do not find them. But for those in their impressionable years at the time of exposure, the negative revision in attitudes lasts: we continue to see it in the answers of survey respondents for as long as two decades following the time of epidemic exposure. This affects not only attitude, but also behavior: Exposed individuals are not just less trusting of governments, leaders and elections. They are also less likely to participate in those elections, and more likely to engage in out-of-the-mainstream political action, such as street demonstrations. What's going on here? When we look at the magnitude of the responseshow radically do individuals revise their attitudeswe find that the effects of epidemic exposure are larger and more persistent for individuals living in countries with weak governments at the time of the epidemic. These so-called "weak" governments are characterized by their limited legislative strength, unity and popular support. We take this effect into account by using the data provided by the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) that awards each country a government strength rating from 0 to 12the higher the score, the stronger the government. The influence of government strength becomes astonishingly clear when putting the ICRG score into perspective with actions taken in the early days of COVID-19. Scientists affected Evidently, governments that lack unity and legislative capacity are least capable of reacting effectively to a national health emergency, resulting in a more substantial long-term decline in their citizens' political trust. Consistent with this idea, we find declining trust in public health agencies, especially in countries with weak governments. In contrast, we find no such decline in other public sector institutions, such as the police or military. Science is not exactly an institution; it is more an endeavor, an activity or a body of knowledge. Is there any evidence of declining trust in science and scientists as a result of epidemic exposure? The story gets more complicated when participants are asked about the performers of science: while exposure to epidemics doesn't affect opinion towards "the science," it is negatively associated with trust in scientists and, specifically, with views of their integrity and trustworthiness. This is true especially of opinions of scientists working for private companies (less so of scientists working for universities). Again, this effect is evident only for those in their impressionable years at the time of an epidemic outbreak. Again, the change in attitudes translates into changes in actual behavior: individuals with such exposure are significantly less likely to have their offspring vaccinated against childhood diseases. That respondents exposed to epidemics grow more skeptical about scientists but not science itself suggests that the problem is one of scientific communication and image. Scientists need to convince the public that their conclusions are based not on personal beliefs but on data and analysis. Scientists working for private companies need to show that their work is not being distorted by corporate agendas and convince the public that no shortcuts are being taken in the interest of corporate profitability. They need to explain that disagreements among scientists are integral to the investigative process and not a sign of incompetence. Our results suggest that it is especially important to tailor such communication to the concerns of members of the "Generation Z" currently in their impressionable years. Ultimately, trust comes down to government communication: can a government convince its people, that the enacted policies are for their own wellbeing, and that they actually work? If so, the citizens will likely preserve their good faith. By clear messaging, a government can manage the public's expectations. A good example is New Zealand's successful information campaign that closely worked together with the country's leading scientists. Preparing for the next challenges One should not be surprised to see a dip in trust towards governments in many different countries in the coming years; it would merely be a repetition of things that we've seen before. The policy responses during the initial outbreak in early 2020 certainly matter a lot: governments such as South Korea, that convinced with their rapid and strict response within days, might even leave the year of the pandemic unaffected. Assumingly, the vaccination campaigns that are currently being rolled out all over the world will also lead to differences in trust levels among countries: the slower the vaccination roll-out, the more likely people are to downgrade their trust towards their governments. Another paper finds no evidence that trust to international institutions are affected by COVID-19. Citizens seem to attribute the success and failures of policy responses to their own government. Not all is lost yet: governments and political leaders can still use the ending phase of the current pandemic to demonstrate the efficiency of their public health measures. Scientists can still take quick steps to communicate the integrity of their actions and their advice. The alternative is that social trust, which is already fragile, will grow more fragile still. That will not be good for meeting the next challengebe it another virus or a manmade emergency such as climate changeto confront the public policy and scientific communities. A key outcome of the study was the defining of critical N boundaries for maize production systems in the basin by creating three distinct zones for safe (soil sustaining) operation, inefficient use of available N, and soil mining. Credit: APNI Image In 2006, the Abuja declaration brought together states of the African Union to collectively recommend an increase in fertilizer nitrogen (N) use from 8 kg ha1 to 50 kg ha1 by 2015 to help enable sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to achieve food sufficiency and eradicate poverty while improving the soil fertility. In a recent field study, researchers took a closer look at this generalized recommendation, still striving to be met at scale, in order to evaluate the consequences of the policy in terms of improving yield potential, sustaining soil fertility, and optimizing fertilizer use. The study, published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, looked at four scenarios that compared N use efficiency for business as usual (0 kg N ha-1) and 25%, 50%, and 100% of the Abuja declaration within the Lake Victoria basin. Cereal production within the basin is dominated by smallholder farmers who are largely unable to take advantage of applying optimal amounts of N inputs to their cropping systems. The majority of the smallholder farmers still apply less than 8 kg N ha1 yr1 due to limited purchasing power, inadequate extension services and poor infrastructure to access the inputs. A general lack of resources, and awareness on proper N management, causes most of N from the limited amounts of fertilizer that is applied to be lost to the environment rather than being taken up by crop. As a result, chronic depletion of soil N fertility commonly occursa condition often referred to as soil nutrient mining. In the Lake Victoria basin, and much of SSA, crop yields continue to stagnate. Average cereal yields in SSA still hover near 1.5 t ha1 or less, despite evidence demonstrating yield potentials above 5 t ha1. Yield stagnation is especially important within the Lake Victoria basin, which has 40 million people and one of the highest annual growth rates (3.5%) in the world. To assess how each of the four scenarios functioned in supplying adequate N supplies to maize, researchers used a widely accepted indicator of N use efficiency called Partial N Balance. Past research has determined an optimal range for partial N balances for cereals to be between 5090%. If values exceed this range, often the total N applied, either as fertilizer or organic manure, is significantly less than the amount of N being removed by the crop, which leads to a steady depletion of soil N reserves. In this study, partial N balances exceeded the optimal range across all scenarios, which highlights chronically insufficient N input and elevated risk of soil N depletion. A key outcome of the study is the authors contribution to the definition of critical N boundaries for food production systems in the basin through their definition of three distinct zones for safe (soil sustaining) operation, inefficient use of available N, and soil mining. It is concluded that continued movement towards, and beyond, the Abuja 2006 target for N application is required to support food sufficiency and optimal use of N fertilizer inputs. The authors recognize that improvement may remain a challenge for SSA unless changes are endorsed through progressive policy. "Our study is intended to help inform future policy on the changes of N management required to form adequate recommendations for farmers, and to achieve desired goals for sustainability and regional food security" said co-author Dr. James Mutegi, Senior Program Manager, African Plant Nutrition Institute. Besides N application rate increases, the study points towards more consideration for fully integrated approaches that support increased access to new technologies such as controlled-release fertilizers and nitrification inhibitors, and better use of available manures, composts, and recycled crop residue for improving soil fertility and increasing crop productivity while optimizing N use efficiency. Explore further Optimal soil phosphorus reduces fertilizer-derived nitrous oxide emissions More information: Ntinyari Winnie et al, Assessment of the 2006 Abuja Fertilizer Declaration With Emphasis on Nitrogen Use Efficiency to Reduce Yield Gaps in Maize Production, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (2022). Ntinyari Winnie et al, Assessment of the 2006 Abuja Fertilizer Declaration With Emphasis on Nitrogen Use Efficiency to Reduce Yield Gaps in Maize Production,(2022). DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.758724 Provided by African Plant Nutrition Institute Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain With California entering a third year of drought and its reservoirs at low levels, the federal government has announced plans to deliver minimal amounts of water through the Central Valley Project, putting many farmers on notice that they should prepare to receive no water from the system this year. The federal Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the project's dams and canals, announced a zero-water allocation for irrigation districts that supply many farmers across the Central Valley. Cities that receive water from the project in the Central Valley and parts of the Bay Area were allocated 25% of their historical water use. "Conditions are very dry. And as a result, we have to be very cautious with these allocations," said Ernest Conant, the bureau's regional director. After a wet start to the rainy season in October and December, the state has gone through an extremely dry stretch in January and much of February. Conant pointed out that January and February are on pace to be the driest on record. Without those critical months of snow and rain, the state has less to count on to boost major reservoirs, which were already low after two dry years. Last February, the Bureau of Reclamation started with a 5% allocation for many agricultural water users and a 55% allocation for cities. But the hot, dry conditions last spring shrank inflows from rain and snowmelt much more than projected, Conant said, and the agency decided to reduce allocations to 0% for the irrigation districts and 25% for citiesthe same reductions the agency is starting with this year. "We're getting a certain amount of criticism from the agricultural community for these low allocations, but we have to be prudent and cautious with these very dry conditions," Conant said. "If it doesn't rain in March, it's possible it could get worse." The Central Valley Project stretches about 400 miles from the Redding area to the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, with 20 dams and about 500 miles of main canals. One of California's two main north-south water conduits, the project pumps water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta near the intakes of the other major system, the State Water Project. The federal government has more than 270 water contracts on the Central Valley Project to supply entities including large irrigation districts, individual farmers and cities. The project also supplies agricultural water users with senior rights predating the project's construction, called settlement and exchange contractors, which during critically dry years are still able to receive up to 75% allocations under their contracts. "There'll be certain areas in the Central Valley that have some water, and there'll be other areas that really have no supplemental water," Conant said. "Those farmers are going to have to rely upon groundwater if it's available." Some areas may be able to obtain water transferred from other sources, Conant said. But given how diminished the state's water supplies are, he said, "we'll just simply have to fallow a number of acres" and leave some farmland dry. The reduced water allocations will affect cities in the Central Valley and parts of the Bay Area served by the Santa Clara Valley Water Agency, Contra Costa Water District and East Bay Municipal Utility District. Water suppliers in Southern California, meanwhile, have been told to expect 15% of their full water allocations this year from the State Water Project. The Bureau of Reclamation said its initial allocations for the Central Valley Project, which could still change, are based on estimates of how much water will be available from rain, snow and reservoirs. The total amount of water stored in project's largest reservoirs has dropped significantly over the last year. "Our reservoirs are at about 27% of capacity, about 52% of the 15-year average," Conant said. December storms bought heavy snow to the Sierra Nevada, but the snowpack has since dwindled to 67% of average for this time of year. And this winter's biggest storms have brought relatively less precipitation to the watershed that feeds Shasta Lake, the state's largest reservoir. Water releases from Shasta Dam provide critical cold water for endangered winter-run Chinook salmon. But last summer, with the reservoir at low levels, the water flowing from the dam got so warm that it was lethal for salmon eggs. State biologists estimated only 2.56% of the winter-run eggs hatched and survived to swim downriver past Red Bluff, one of the lowest rates of "egg-to-fry" survival in years. Advocates for the commercial and recreational salmon fishing industries, which depend on the more numerous fall-run Chinook, criticized how officials have managed water releases from Shasta Dam over the last two years. "We're likely looking at another year of decimated natural salmon runs due to water decisions that favor a small group of agricultural landowners over the interests of the rest of California," said John McManus, president of the Golden State Salmon Assn. McManus and others have criticized what they say have been excessive water releases from Shasta Dam during the drought, which they say left the reservoir too low last year to continue supplying water cool enough for the fish. "This highlights the need for more responsible drought planning," McManus said. Officials with the Bureau of Reclamation have defended their handling of water releases, pointing out that the amount of runoff flowing into Shasta Lake last year shrank to a record low that went beyond their projections. State water officials have said they are taking steps to improve water-supply forecasting to account for the effects of climate change on watersheds. Warmer temperatures have worsened the dry conditions across the West in recent years, increasing evaporation, drying soils and shrinking river flows from the Colorado to the Rio Grande. "Soil moisture was really low, and as a result a lot of the runoff just sunk into the ground, rather than running off into reservoirs," Conant said. He said water managers focus on keeping the water cold enough for endangered salmon downstream from Shasta Dam, but "last year was just very difficult because there simply was not enough cold water." "And so we had poor survival, which was expected, and the same could occur this year," Conant said. Conant said the dam managers are working with other state and federal officials to ensure cold-water flows for the endangered fish. "But in a very dry year like this year or last year, the mortality is going to be high, just because there's simply not enough cold water," Conant said. Shasta Lake now stands at 37% of capacity, or 53% of average for this time of year. The agency is aiming to conserve water in the reservoir as much as possible in preparation for late summer, Conant said, when salmon eggs in the Sacramento River will need the cold water. "Our releases from Shasta are the absolute minimum that's required," Conant said. "We're doing everything we can to hold water in Shasta in order to have the maximum supply available there." The Bureau of Reclamation cited worsening runoff projections in a new water supply forecast released by the California Department of Water Resources. The bureau noted that this latest forecast update, between Feb. 1 and Feb. 15, showed a total decrease of 1.2 million acre-feet in the projected annual inflow to four large reservoirsShasta, Oroville, Folsom and New Melones. "Losing over a million acre-feet of projected inflow in two weeks' time is concerning," Conant said in a statement. "We've got our work cut out for us this year." He said the situation calls for "strengthened collaboration and coordination" among different agencies as well as among water users. In California, agriculture uses nearly 80% of the water that is diverted and pumped for human use in an average year, according to state data. When water is available, the Central Valley Project represents a key source for the agriculture industry. Westlands Water District, the largest agricultural irrigation district in the county, said the 0% allocation points to a need for California to invest more in water infrastructure, including projects to store surface water and groundwater, and to transport water. The district said in a statement that it is "disappointed with the allocation" but that dry conditions and the federal government's obligation to meet state-established outflow and water-quality standards in the Delta prevent the Bureau of Reclamation from making water available to the district. Westlands said the drought last year resulted in more than 200,000 acres being left fallow and dry in the district. This year is the fourth in the last decade that Westlands and other irrigators south of the Delta have received a 0% allocation. 2022 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Graphical abstract. 1. Start of SpC-specific transcription correlates with detachment from the nuclear lamina and with spatial insulation. 2. SpC-specific genes are associated in transcription factories upon activation. 3. Non-canonical dosage compensation mechanism operates in the male germline. Credit: DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac109 Russian researchers from Skoltech, the Institute of Molecular Genetics of NRC Kurchatov Institute, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and elsewhere have clarified the mechanism behind the activation of genes in drosophila fly sex cells transitioning between two early stages in spermatozoid development. A similar mechanism makes the cells in our bodyin the muscles, nerves, liver, etc.different from each other and perhaps from sick cells, too. The team's findings were published in Nucleic Acids Research, about how the 3D structure assumed by DNA regulates which genes are active. These findings are a step toward elucidating the mechanisms of diseases and their causes with regard to DNA packaging. Unless you have an unusual genetic condition or an organ transplant, all the cells in your body except the reproductive ones carry the same DNA. What makes brain cells look and behave differently from, say, heart cells is the particular set of genes in the DNA that are activated based on the type of tissue and the stage of development. The mechanisms behind this so-called gene regulation are still unknown, but scientists suspect they have a lot to do with how DNA is packaged inside a cell nucleus. "DNA is a 2-meter-long molecule crammed inside a cell nucleus, which is about one-hundredth of a millimeter across. Depending on the particular 3D configuration assumed by the DNA, regions carrying different genes are either available for activation by proteins or buried where no protein will reach them, rendering them inactive," explains Skoltech Assistant Professor Ekaterina Khrameva. If DNA packaging is how cells regulate what genes are active, then abnormal packaging can result in misregulation and cause disease. She says, "So far, there are few diseases definitively linked to incorrect DNA packaging, but there are probably many more. It's just that the technique used to map DNA conformationthe spatial configuration of the molecule inside the nucleushas only been around since 2009." Anna Kononkova, a junior research scientist, says, "The problem is it is not enough to detect DNA conformation in a healthy cell and contrast it with that in a sick cell. To understand the mechanism behind such a disease and figure out ways of treating it, scientists have to know precisely what effect incorrect packaging has on gene functioning in each particular disorder." "So far, we are trying to understand the general rules that govern how DNA packaging affects gene regulation. The model we're using is the drosophila fly, and specifically, its immature sex cell called spermatogonium as it develops into a spermatocyte, a pre-spermatozoid of sorts," she elaborates. Assistant Professor Ekaterina Khrameva says, "Spermatogonia and spermatocytes are thus two different stages in the development of the same cell. In transitioning between these stages, as many as 1,000 genes are activated. This means that whatever is responsible for their regulation must kick into high gear at that time. So if changes in DNA packaging are at play, they should be detectable. Indeed, we observed that the DNA regions housing the activated genes tended to loosen up their structure. This agrees well with the intuition that they should be 'exposed' to facilitate the approach of activating proteins." The researchers also noted that the shape of the DNA molecule changed in such a way that the activated genes tended to come together in a number of specific locations. This supports the hypothesis that RNA synthesisthat is, copying information from active genes for making proteinsdoes not happen in arbitrary places throughout the cell nucleus. Rather, it occurs at specific spots called transcription factories. To achieve these results, the team carried out computationally intensive experiments using a DNA conformation analysis technique known as Hi-C. It allowed the researchers to quantify the likelihood of finding every small fragment of DNA next to every other one. So rather than produce a pretty 3D picture of how the DNA molecule is folded in the nucleus, the method yields a bunch of numbers, but to a qualified specialist those are more or less equivalent. By documenting the changes in DNA packaging that take place in conjunction with a massive activation of genes, the researchers have made one more step toward uncovering gene regulation mechanisms and understanding the associated diseases. One of the questions for further research to address would be to see if drosophila fly genes come into contact with each other more often than random fragments of DNA. Explore further Russian scientists discover a new function of the nucleus lamina proteins More information: Artem A Ilyin et al, Comparison of genome architecture at two stages of male germline cell differentiation in Drosophila, Nucleic Acids Research (2022). Journal information: Nucleic Acids Research Artem A Ilyin et al, Comparison of genome architecture at two stages of male germline cell differentiation in Drosophila,(2022). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac109 Could regenerative farming be the future of WA food production? The next time you open your pantry or fridge, pick five foods. Do you know where they came from? Who grew that potato? Whose cow produced that milk? How many food miles did they collect on their way from farm to fork? Consumers are asking more and more questions about where their food comes from and how it's farmed. Many want to understand the impact agriculture has on the environment. They're driving the demand for sustainable and socially responsible products. As "eating eco" grows in popularity, so does regenerative farming. The tyranny of distance WA is home to a 15.4 million hectare Wheatbelt so big you can see it from space. But much of our WA produce travels overseas before it reaches our local supermarket. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global food supply chain. It has affected production, processing, distribution and demand. It's the reason shelves at your grocery store might be empty. The flip side is we're becoming more aware of the journey our food takes from paddock to plate. What is regenerative farming? Regenerative agriculture is a holistic approach to farming. The land management practice is low-impact and based on the principle of enhancing the natural ecosystem. It's about leaving the land better than you found it. It's not a new idea. Pre-colonial Aboriginal societies used regenerative farming practices for thousands of years. Bruce Pascoe's book Dark Emu famously posits that Australia's great desert interior was once a vast farmland. And with plenty of case studies of WA farmers embracing modern-day regenerative principles, it's safe to say that there seems to be a resurgence occurring. Tom and Emma Mitchell started using regenerative farming practices to combat parasites on their Worrolong property, 1.5 hours north of Perth. The farm was infected with root-knot nematode, a worm that destroyed their pumpkin crop. They had to choose between applying pesticides each year or encouraging soil biodiversity. They went with the latter. "We sow lupins and legumes for nitrogen. We will also sow oats after our pumpkins to capture any nutrients left in the soil and store carbon," says Tom. Most of the other crops are not sold for profit but make the soil healthy for their annual pumpkin harvest and citrus orchard. A new (re)generation? Dr. Ben Cole runs Wide Open Agriculture, which connects farmers and sellers to produce more sustainable food. "The farmers I speak with describe it as farming with nature rather than against it," says Ben. "It maximizes what nature gives you for free rather relying than on external inputs. [Regenerative farmers] focus on soil health. They focus on building carbon and the soil web. It is feeding the soil, not the plant, then supporting above-ground biodiversity." The soil-first approach values the rhizosphere. This is the area of soil that surrounds a plant's roots. It teems with microscopic organisms that interact with each other and the plant. Farmers know that soils full of nutrients and healthy living things are vital for good crop yields. This means farmers need to cycle crops and care for the soil. But farmers can only sell what we buy. And that's rarely the best crop for the soil. Waking up to nature "The CSIRO found cattle and sheep can graze on some native plants that also have deep roots for the landscape. We've been amazed by just how well they grow," says Ben. But this only works for livestock farms. Millet and legumes revitalize soils after farmers harvest cash crops like sugarcane and wheat. But low demand means farmers plow these crops into the ground or instead use artificial fertilizers sourced internationally. They have large carbon footprints and poorer nutrition. As consumers, we encourage good farming practices by understanding where our food comes from. But what about farmers looking to make a positive change? Tom's advice is to take it one step at a time. "Don't expect to do everything at once. That transition phase can be lethal economically if you're trying to switch everything over in one step. Do what is easy to do first, and slowly work your way to a more complete system." This article first appeared on Particle, a science news website based at Scitech, Perth, Australia. Read the original article. Analysing the unique crystals patterns on the surface of a 3D-printed metal may pave the way for the certification and quality assessment of parts made through additive manufacturing. Credit: Nanyang Technological University Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), have developed a fast and low-cost imaging method that can analyze the structure of 3D-printed metal parts and offer insights into the quality of the material. Most 3D-printed metal alloys consist of a myriad of microscopic crystals, which differ in shape, size, and atomic lattice orientation. By mapping out this information, scientists and engineers can infer the alloy's properties, such as strength and toughness. This is similar to looking at wood grain, where wood is strongest when the grain is continuous in the same direction. This new made-in-NTU technology could benefit, for example, the aerospace sector, where low-cost, rapid assessment of mission critical partsturbine, fan blades and other componentscould be a gamechanger for the maintenance, repair and overhaul industry. Until now, analyzing this 'microstructure' in 3D printed metal alloys has been achieved through laborious and time-consuming measurements using scanning electron microscopes, which are priced from S$100,000 to S$2 million. The method designed by Nanyang Assistant Professor Matteo Seita and his team, provides the same quality of information in a matter of a minutes by using a system consisting of an optical camera, a flashlight, and a notebook computer that runs a proprietary machine-learning software developed by the teamwith the hardware costing about S$25,000. The team's new method first requires treating the metal surface with chemicals to reveal the microstructure, then placing the sample facing the camera, and taking multiple optical images as the flashlight illuminates the metal from different directions. The software then analyzes the patterns produced by light that is reflected off the surface of different metal crystals and deduces their orientation. The entire process takes about 15 minutes to complete. The team's findings were published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal npj Computational Materials. "Using our inexpensive and fast-imaging method, we can easily tell good 3D-printed metal parts from the faulty ones. Currently, it is impossible to tell the difference unless we assess the material's microstructure in detail," explains Asst Prof Seita, from NTU's School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and School of Materials Science and Engineering. "No two 3D-printed metal parts are created equal, even though they may have been produced using the same technique and have the same geometry. Conceptually, this is akin to how two otherwise identical wooden artifacts may each possess a different grain structure." New imaging method a boost for 3D printing certification and quality assessment Asst Prof Seita believes that their innovative imaging method has the potential to simplify the certification and quality assessment of metal alloy parts produced by 3D printing, also known as Additive Manufacturing. One of the most commonly used techniques to 3D print metal parts uses a high-powered laser to melt metal powders and fuse them together, layer by layer, until the full product is printed. However, the microstructure and thus the quality of the resulting printed metal depends on several factors, including how fast or intense the laser is, how much time is given for the metal to cool before the next layer is melted, and even the type and brand of metal powders used. This is why the same design printed by two different machines or production house may result in parts of different quality. Instead of using a complicated computer program to measure the crystal orientation from the optical signals acquired, the "smart software" developed by Asst Prof Seita and his team uses a neutral networkmimicking how the human brain forms association and processes thought. The team then used machine learning to program the software, by feeding it hundreds of optical images. Eventually, their software learned how to predict the orientation of crystals in the metal from the images, based on differences in how light scatters off the metal surface. It was then tested to be able to create a complete 'crystal orientation map', which provides comprehensive information about the crystal shape, size, and atomic lattice orientation. Explore further Tweaking alloy microchemistry for flawless metal 3D printing More information: Mallory Wittwer et al, A machine learning approach to map crystal orientation by optical microscopy, npj Computational Materials (2022). Mallory Wittwer et al, A machine learning approach to map crystal orientation by optical microscopy,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41524-021-00688-1 Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Scientists from the Tonawanda Coke Soil Study hosted a community meeting on Feb. 24 to share the final results of the research with the public. Researchers investigated soil pollution in communities that may have been in the path of emissions from the former Tonawanda Coke Corporation plant. A federal judge ordered Tonawanda Coke to fund the research after the company was convicted of violating the Clean Air Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Beginning in 2017, scientists worked with community members to collect over 350 soil samples from properties in the City of Tonawanda, Town of Tonawanda, Kenmore, Grand Island and a small section of Buffalo. The research team then tested the soil samples for a variety of chemicals, and worked to understand whether certain pollutants may have originated at Tonawanda Coke. The research benefits local communities by providing them with information about what chemicals are in their soil, how widespread any pollution may be, and whether these pollutants may have originated at the Tonawanda Coke plant. Information about the study and its findings will be posted to the Tonawanda Coke Soil Study website. The community has been the focus of the study since it began. Hundreds of local residents, as well as school districts and churches, have participated by having their soil sampled. Some residents took part in sample collection. A community advisory committee helped to guide the project. The study was led by Joseph Gardella Jr., Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University at Buffalo, who has about 40 years of experience studying the environmental impact of industrial pollutants. Professor Michael Milligan, Ph.D., of the SUNY Fredonia Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, also contributed to the study with unique testing results in the final stage of the study. Gardella, Milligan and Tammy Milillo, Ph.D., UB research assistant professor of chemistry, research scientist in epidemiology and environmental health, and a core member of the soil study team, presented at the public meeting, which took place virtually, on Feb. 24. Scientists believe that pollution from Tonawanda Coke left an imprint on the local community. Researchers found evidence that the former Tonawanda Coke plant likely contributed to elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) discovered on certain properties near the plant, but the team could not draw this conclusion with the "level of confidence" that would be required for a peer-reviewed journal study, Gardella says. To assess whether a portion of the PAHs found originated at Tonawanda Coke, scientists considered a variety of factors, including geography, prevailing winds, and the chemical make-up of Tonawanda Coke's coke product and soil from the Tonawanda Coke site. This analysis identified similarities in the chemical make-up of the Tonawanda Coke samples and the soil samples from the community that had elevated PAH concentrations, Milillo says. "Where elevated levels of PAHs were found, we can say that Tonawanda Coke almost certainly contributed to these elevated levels. But given the types of local industries and land use history of the area, we cannot declare that they are the sole contributors," she says, noting that sources of uncertainty in the analysis include the fact that the team could not obtain reference samples from the shuttered Huntley coal-fired power plant and other nearby industrial sources that may have released similar pollutants as Tonawanda Coke. Elevated PAH levels were discovered on some properties near the Tonawanda Coke plant. However, residential neighborhoods near the plant do not appear to be systematically contaminated, scientists say. The study team identified elevated PAH levels on a limited number of properties in two regions of interest: An area in the Town of Tonawanda that lies around and to the east of the Tonawanda Coke plant, and an area in the City of Tonawanda that sits to the northeast of the plant. However, soil contamination can vary significantly between and even within properties, and many other soil samples taken in the regions of interest did not have elevated PAH levels, scientists say. A map of the regions of interest is available in a summary of study findings produced by the soil study team, which will be posted to the soil study website. "From a geographic perspective, the sites and homes with elevated PAH levels were sporadic within the regions where they were found," Milillo says. She adds that in cases where high PAH concentrations were discovered, it was at a 6-inch depth, so there "is limited potential for exposure danger" for residents. In general, scientists note that large areas of the broader study area were found to be free of systematic contamination by PAHs and other selected pollutants. "We didn't find a lot of systematic contamination in residential areas. We found spots," Gardella says. "The biggest benefit is that for many people who live close to the plant, who worried that they were living in a toxic area, the contamination overall was not as bad as they thought it might be. Until you get the data, you don't know. Sometimes, residents want testing and government agencies won't provide it, so one of the big benefits of this study is that it enabled a significant amount of residential soil testing." "That said," he adds, "there were individual properties that had significant levels of contamination, and we gave that information to residents and explained it so they could decide what they wanted to do." All property owners who agreed to participate in the soil study received individualized reports detailing the chemicals found in the soil sample taken from their property. Soil testing results from individual properties cannot be made public out of respect to the privacy of property owners, whose data is protected by confidentiality agreements. For owners of properties with elevated levels of PAHs, "We intend to write a personalized letter to the owners of each residence in that situation and remind them of their data and findings and offer to help them answer any questions they might have now," Gardella says. As a result of the study, soil pollution was detected and remediated at two elementary schools. Elevated levels of arsenic were detected in soil around a playground at Charlotte Sidway Elementary, part of the Grand Island Central School District. In addition, elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and arsenic were detected at William Kaegebein Elementary in soil on the edge of a parking lot. In both cases, the chemicals detected were localized, meaning that they were found only in one area, as opposed to across school grounds. According to a summary of study findings produced by the soil study team, "This contamination was found as a result of our analysis; however, it was unrelated to [Tonawanda Coke Corp.]. The research team reached out to appropriate school district officials, who worked with the research team and the New York State Department of Health (NYS-DOH) to immediately remediate the affected parking lot and playground areas." Explore further Study finds elevated soil lead levels in formerly industrial residential NYC neighborhoods Credit: Queensland Museum Queensland Museum scientists have re-described a species of bright blue octocorals that can only be found on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Visitors to Caloundra would be familiar with the vibrant blue octocorals found in intertidal pools on the beach, which were once thought to be found around the world, but Queensland Museum Collection Manager of Sessile Marine Invertebrates, Dr. Merrick Ekins has proven they are in fact only found on the Sunshine Coast. Dr. Ekins, in collaboration with the Tel Aviv University in Israel, the Hervey Mudd College in the US and Naturalis in Holland, found it was a completely new species of cnidarian. Cnidarian are a group of marine animals of more than 9,000 living species including corals, jellyfish, sea anemones, octocorals, sea pens, sea whips and sea fans amongst others. "This particular Sunshine Coast octocoral, was previously known as Sansibia, but upon further examination, we found it to be a new species," Dr. Ekins said. "I decided to name this species 'opalia' as the color resembles the inner fire you see in opals and it's so beautiful." The new species was recently published in Zootaxa, along with another new species of octocoral Dr. Ekins collected from Ningaloo during the CREERs and Kimberley Expeditions, which he named after the famous region 'ningalooensis." Together the two new species make up a new genus Latissimia. Queensland Museum Network CEO Dr. Jim Thompson said it was a great example of science at work. "The work of a scientist is to question and investigate the world around us," Dr. Thompson said. "I am sure many residents of the Sunshine Coast have seen these beautiful octocorals while exploring the intertidal pools at the beach, not knowing they were unique to this part of the world. "This is just another example of how science is continuing to evolve and new technology can aide with the description or in this case the re-description of new species. "I commend Dr. Ekins for this fortuitous find and the work he continues to do in this field." Explore further New jellyfish named after curious Australian schoolboy More information: YEHUDA BENAYAHU et al, On some encrusting Xeniidae (Octocorallia): Re-examination of the type material of Sansibia flava (May, 1898) and a description of new taxa, Zootaxa (2022). Journal information: Zootaxa YEHUDA BENAYAHU et al, On some encrusting Xeniidae (Octocorallia): Re-examination of the type material of Sansibia flava (May, 1898) and a description of new taxa,(2022). DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5093.4.3 Provided by Queensland Museum The K-lander observatory with a hydroacoustic collection of nearby bubble streams together with oceanic time-series data. Credit: Knut Ola Dlven and Manuel Moser (CAGE/UiT) A new study published in Ocean Science conducted by CAGE Ph.D. candidate Knut Ola Dlven and co-authors presents time-series data from two methane seep sites offshore western Svalbard, in the Arctic. These unique results show high variability both on hourly and seasonal time-scales and describe the interconnectivity between methane seepage and the ocean. "The length and location are what makes these time-series unique, as they answer old and raise new questions related to this variability and how we can better constrain it in future emission estimates." Says Knut Ola Dlven, Dlven, who conducted this study as part of his Ph.D. at CAGE. Areas of intense methane seepage In 2015 and 2016, two K-Lander observatories were deployed over distinct intensive methane seepage sites west of Prins Karls Forland, where thousands of gas bubble streams originating from the seafloor were observed. Despite the knowledge that methane seep sites likely experience high temporal and spatial variability, our understanding of the amount, distribution, and release of methane in the Arctic Ocean has largely relied on studies that were undertaken in the late spring to early autumn due to better ice and weather conditions. Until now. Long term, continuous monitoring of methane release Using data from the K-Lander, Dlven and co-authors processed a unique long time-series that spanned 10 months, measuring methane, carbon dioxide and physical parameters at each site. These measurements provided important insights into the short-term and seasonal variations of methane emissions and concentrations. "It was interesting to observe that, despite the very high short-term variability in methane release, the source of methane emission seemed to be relatively unchanged throughout the 10-month deployment. This has strong implications on future interpretations of methane concentration in seep areas." Says Dlven. There is also increased potential for methane release to the atmosphere during the fall and winter, if seepage persists, due to the weaker water column stratification (increased mixing of the layers in the ocean). While seabed seepage is considered a minor natural source of atmospheric methane, there are large uncertainties related to the current and predicted emission estimates. Dlven and co-authors were, therefore, able to highlight and constrain uncertainties related to variability in methane inventory estimates from seabed methane seepage. K-Lander technology in future research applications This work highlighted the successful cooperation between maritime industry and research teams, providing cutting edge technology for monitoring methane to help explain questions on oceanic greenhouse gas emissions. This is the first long term data series providing exceptional multi-sensor data on methane release and other ocean physical and chemical conditions in the Arctic. "This infrastructure will play a major role in understanding factors controlling methane emissions not only in Arctic, as highlighted in this study, but in other locations worldwide as well. Methane seepage data in combination with other parameters measured by the K-Lander will help in estimating present and future global methane budgets in our oceans" says Benedicte Ferre, the team leader for WP4 'Gas in the Water Column' and EMAN7, and the responsible for the development, acquisition and data analysis related to the K-Lander. Explore further Methane observatories successfully deployed in the Arctic More information: Knut Ola Dlven et al, Autonomous methane seep site monitoring offshore western Svalbard: hourly to seasonal variability and associated oceanographic parameters, Ocean Science (2022). Knut Ola Dlven et al, Autonomous methane seep site monitoring offshore western Svalbard: hourly to seasonal variability and associated oceanographic parameters,(2022). DOI: 10.5194/os-18-233-2022 Provided by UiT The Arctic University of Norway Dr. Stephanie McGrath (right) and Breonna Thomas (left) work with a golden retriever for a clinical trial at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Credit: Colorado State University A groundbreaking new study is underway at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital to understand the response to three different medications in the treatment of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CCDS) in aging dogs, with the long-term hope of advancing Alzheimer's disease treatments in humans. The study, "Investigating the effect of trazodone, rapamycin, and cannabidiol on cognitive dysfunction in dogs," is led by principal investigators Dr. Stephanie McGrath and Julie Moreno, Ph.D. Dementia is a problem for aging humans and dogs alike. As the proportion of older Americans relative to the overall population in the U.S. continues to rise, Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia are becoming increasingly frequent causes of disability and death. The likelihood of Alzheimer's disease increases with age, affecting 5.3% of people between the ages of 6574, rising to 13.8% in 75- to 84-year-olds, and ballooning to 34.6% for those over the age of 85. To further compound the problem, the number of Americans over age 65 is projected to increase from 58 million in 2021 to 88 million by 2050. Given the long duration of the disease, the socioeconomic impact is immense. The loss of independence and the requirements for care both from family members and from nursing facilities is associated with tremendous costs, in addition to the steep emotional toll the disease ensues. Despite this impact, treatments have only been developed to reduce symptoms, but not stop the disease progression. Treatments available include monoclonal antibodies, supplements, and lifestyle interventions, but these options have only shown modest and temporary improvement of symptoms at best. Canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome One of the challenges to discovering a treatment for Alzheimer's disease is identifying a good model for research, which is where canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome comes in. CCDS is a neurodegenerative disease affecting dogs with many similarities to Alzheimer's disease. It affects 14%35% of dogs over the age of 8, and that percentage continues to increase with advancing age, with one study reporting that 68% of dogs 15 to 16 years old are affected. Signs of CCDS include changes in behavior, like disorientation, irritability, changes in sleep cycles, house soiling, and decreased activity. These behaviors can impact quality of life of both the dog and the owner, and given the frequency of the disease, it is an important target for research in companion animals. The disease also has a great deal in common with Alzheimer's disease in humans, even at the biological level. The brains in Alzheimer's disease patients classically have deposits of beta-amyloid protein known as plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles marked by hyperphosphorylated tau proteins; observations also made in dogs with CCDS. Critically, dogs typically share a home closely with their humans and are subject to many of the same environmental exposures. TRAC study McGrath, a veterinary neurologist at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and Moreno, an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, are partnering to tackle these complex diseases. "The discovery of therapeutics for diseases like Alzheimer's disease is essential but extremely difficult as we are unable to fully model it appropriately in the basic research laboratory," Moreno said. "However, when collaborations like ours exist, we can take findings from a mouse or a worm and apply them to a dog with clinical disease. The advantage of dogs is that they have a naturally occurring form of Alzheimer's disease that is similar to the human form." For their study, 48 dogs showing signs of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome will be recruited. They will undergo an extensive battery of neurological exams, laboratory tests, and radiological imaging, and will then be treated with either cannabidiol, rapamycin, trazodone or placebo. Each of the study medications has been shown to have some action against one of the neural pathways known to be involved in CCDS, either in vitro or in laboratory animal models. The dogs will receive one medication twice per day and another given once per week at home, and their owners will closely observe their behaviors. They will return to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for follow-up testing every 12 weeks for two years. "Our hope is that by studying the process of aging and dementia in dogs, we can start finding ways to prevent or even reverse some of the devastating changes that occur in older animals," McGrath said. "The ultimate goal is not only to help our furry companions, but as this disease in dogs closely mimics human dementias, including Alzheimer's disease, to also set the foundation for future success in dementia research in humans." Explore further Companion dogs may be a key to solving dementia Sara Boles of UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory gives an ultrasound to an abalone as part of efforts to help abalone more successfully spawn for aquaculture and conservation. Credit: Jackson Gross/UC Davis The world's abalone are threatened, endangered or otherwise vulnerable in nearly every corner of the planet. While captive breeding efforts are underway for some species, these giant sea snails are notoriously difficult to spawn. If only we could wave a magic wand to know when abalone are ready to reproduce, without even touching them. Scientists from the University of California, Davis, found that wandalthough it isn't magic, and it only looks like a wand. It's an ultrasound transducer, and it can be used to quickly and noninvasively detect when abalone are ready to spawn, according to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. The technique is expected to help abalone farmers and captive breeding managers produce more abalone, with minimal stress to the animal. Increasing abalone welfare Abalone suction onto surfaces and typically have to be pried off for gonad inspection before spawning. For these animalsparticularly endangered abalonethe less they are handled, the less opportunity for stress or physical harm. "There are not a lot of animal welfare methods applied to invertebrate animals, let alone for aquatic species," said corresponding author Jackson Gross, an assistant professor of Cooperative Extension in Aquaculture with the UC Davis Department of Animal Science. "Here's a way to increase the welfare of an abalone without bringing added stress to them." UC Davis Aquaculture gives viewers a tour of the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory to watch Dr. Sara Boles conduct ultrasound examinations of red abalone. Credit: UC Davis Aquaculture Cooperative Extension The United States Navy's Pacific Fleet funded the research as part of its efforts to conserve federally endangered black abalone and find better ways to assess their reproductive health. Because of black abalones' low numbers and high vulnerability, the authors used closely related farmed red abalone to test the effectiveness of ultrasounds on abalone. Gross had used the technique for gonad assessments on sturgeon and catfish, but it had never been tested for sea snails until this study. When Gross saw a video of a veterinarian in Scotland conducting an ultrasound on a large land snail, he felt certain it would work for abalone. Testing the tech With Gross' background, the extensive knowledge of the white abalone captive breeding program at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, and first author Sara Boles' experience studying red abalone, the authors tested the method on 12 farm-raised red abalone and about 100 red abalone raised at Bodega Marine Lab. They monitored the lab-raised abalone for seven weeks to detect seasonal changes in their gonad size. They found that ultrasounds could differentiate reproductive tissues from digestive tissues. They were then able to create a gonad index score ranging from 1 to 5 that indicates the abalones' readiness to reproduce. Abalone measuring in the 3 to 5 range could be ideal candidates for spawning. They also found the technology was sensitive enough to detect changes both before and after spawning. "This is very helpful for broodstock managers when trying to select individuals for a spawning season, whether for production aquaculture or conservation," said Boles, a postdoctoral researcher with the UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute at the Bodega Marine Laboratory. Farmed and captive-raised red abalone served as a proxy for endangered black abalone in UC Davis experiments to test if ultrasounds could be an effective, noninvasive means of assessing abalones reproductive health. Credit: Jackson Gross/UC Davis How to give abalone an ultrasound So how do you ultrasound an abalone? It's fairly straightforward. You submerge the abalone underwater in its tank and place the ultrasound transducer on the outside of the tank by the abalone's foot. The sound passes through the tank and transmits the image. Routine assessments using ultrasounds can be conducted without touching the animal at all. Abalone do still have to be handled for spawning events, but ultrasounds can minimize the handling involved. Abalone are an ecologically and culturally important keystone species for California's coastal ecosystem. They face multiple, often intertwining threatsfrom warming ocean temperatures and disease to crashing kelp forests and habitat degradation. "We're excited to see how much faster we can use this technology to assess the health of these animals, especially in a world where climate change is making an impact," Gross said. Explore further First success for recovering Kalbarri abalone More information: Sara E. Boles et al, Evaluation of Gonad Reproductive Condition Using Non-invasive Ultrasonography in Red Abalone (Haliotis rufescens), Frontiers in Marine Science (2022). Journal information: Frontiers in Marine Science Sara E. Boles et al, Evaluation of Gonad Reproductive Condition Using Non-invasive Ultrasonography in Red Abalone (Haliotis rufescens),(2022). DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2022.784481 Fig. 1: Equity in organizations: distribution of market wage residuals by gender and transparency shocks. Credit: DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01288-9 A pair of researchers, one with HEC Paris, Jouy-en-Josas, the other with the University of Utah, has found that when universities make the salaries of employees public, the gap in gender pay disparity shrinks. In their paper published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, Tomasz Obloj and Todd Zenger describe how they studied datasets containing gender and other demographic information, along with salary data, for thousands of academics over twenty years and what they found when focusing on gender pay disparity. Prior research has shown that despite performing equal duties, men in academia are paid more on average than women. The problem has been allowed to persist, Obloj and Zenger suggest, because pay for academics, as with most other professions, is not made public. Female academics cannot complain about lower wages if they do not know how much their male colleagues are making. Because of this, some universities have begun making salary information publica policy known as salary transparency. In this new effort, the researchers studied whether this has resulted in reducing gender pay gaps. The work involved obtaining datasets (using the Freedom of Information Act) on approximately 100,00 academics working at public universities in the United States from 1997 to 2017. The data came from both universities that have made salary information public and those that have not, allowing for comparisons to be made. The data showed that making salary information easily available to people working at a given university tended to result in a significant reduction in the gender pay gapin many cases by as much as 50%. They also found that making salary information public led to a direct reduction in pay inequality across departments. Unfortunately, they also found that making salary information public also tended to reduce the link between pay and measures of performance. When universities instituted a transparency policy, wage alterations began almost immediately, most particularly involving those who appeared to be grossly underpaid. They conclude by suggesting that instituting salary transparency will have a very big impact on academic pay structures. Explore further Gender gap persists in starting salary for physicians More information: Tomasz Obloj et al, The influence of pay transparency on (gender) inequity, inequality and the performance basis of pay, Nature Human Behaviour (2022). Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour Tomasz Obloj et al, The influence of pay transparency on (gender) inequity, inequality and the performance basis of pay,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01288-9 2022 Science X Network Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain An alarming new United Nations report warns that the number of extreme wildfires is expected to increase 50% globally by the end of the century, and that governments are largely unprepared for the burgeoning crisis. Even the Arctic, previously all but immune to the threat, faces growing wildfire risk because of climate change and other factors, according to the report, which was published Wednesday ahead of the upcoming U.N. Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya. The findings likely sound all too familiar to California residents, who for years have been living with the reality of hotter, more frequent and more intense wildfires. The five largest blazes recorded in the state have all occurred since 2018, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Yet the new report shines a light on the hard lessons California is learningincluding what it's getting right and what more needs to be done. In the fire-prone American West and around the world, too much focus remains on response instead of preparation. What's more, wildfires pose urgent questions about land use and public health that extend far beyond the boundaries of their flames. "We hear that people in D.C. think of fire as a Western issue, or a Californian issue, but it really isn'tit's a global issue," said Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist with the University of California Cooperative Extension in Santa Barbara who contributed to the report. "It affects all of us." While California wildfires have exploded in recent years, the Golden State isn't the only place facing increasingly large and more frequent conflagrations. In 2020, brush fires in Australia burned an estimated 84 million acres, killed at least 30 people and reportedly wiped out billions of domesticated and wild animals. Heat and drought are also priming new terrain for ignition, including rainforests, permafrost and peat swamps, according to the report. In Brazil, wildfires in the last two years seared through almost a third of the world's largest tropical wetland, the Pantanal, and some fear it may never fully recover. In response to the rapidly changing conditions, the report outlines three crucial steps for policymakers adapting to a more fiery future: Investing in more planning and prevention; seeking out and sharing knowledge such as Indigenous fire management practices; and elevating wildfire to the "same category of global humanitarian response as major earthquakes and floods." "Too often, our response is tardy, costly, and after the fact, with many countries suffering from a chronic lack of investment in planning and prevention," the report says, noting that most governments typically dedicate more than half of their wildfire spending to response and less than 1% to planning. In some ways, then, California is already ahead of the curve. Gov. Gavin Newsom last year unveiled a $15 billion climate change package, which included $1.5 billion for wildfire response and forest resilience. This year's proposed budget adds $1.2 billion, much of it for forest thinning, prescribed burns and other projects intended to reduce fire risks. But while the numbers reflect a shift toward preparedness, more can be done. The state last year also spent more than $1.1 billion in fire suppression emergency costs, according to Cal Fire. California's response is also lacking in clarity, according to a separate report from the state's Legislative Analyst's Office, which found that additional wildfire funds are merited "given the worsening pattern of large and severe wildfires in recent years" but that an "absence of a strategic wildfire plan makes it difficult to assess" whether the proposed plans are the best approach. Wildfire adaption doesn't end with budgets and finances, however. Stronger regional and international cooperation, as well as the incorporation of shared best practices, can help elevate the global response, the U.N. report said. One such tool is prescribed burning, a practice that involves the intentional use of fire to clear away the dried vegetation that accumulates over time. The practice is not new in California: For centuries, many of the state's Indigenous communities considered prescribed burns essential for forest health and employed it to great success. But starting about 100 years ago, Indigenous burning practices were suppressed through aggressive firefighting policies, including a now-defunct U.S. Forest Service rule that required all blazes to be extinguished by 10 a.m. the day after they ignited. Those efforts had disastrous consequences for the state, enabling a surplus of growth to build up and later act as fuel for fires. Last year, Newsom signed two new laws paving the way for more prescribed burning, a move largely celebrated by state experts. That the U.N. Report also includes cultural and Indigenous fire management practices is a positive step, said Don Hankins, a professor of geography at Cal State Chico who contributed to the report. "The landscape is constantly telling us these are the things that we need to be paying attention to," said Hankins, who is also a person of Miwok descent. "We need to get to the point where we're playing offensive instead of defensive with fire, and that's where Indigenous fire is at, on the more offensive side of it." Hankins noted that the U.N. report included not just Indigenous communities in California but also South America, Australia and other places around the world. And while the climate in California is constantly changing, "the only time that the forest was resilient to these warming- and climate-induced changes around fire was under Indigenous stewardship," he said. Forest management is still only one piece of the wildfire adaptation puzzle. According to the report, watersheds can be degraded by wildfires, leading to soil erosion, increased flooding and debris flow, and even contamination of the water supply. What's more, wildfire smoke can cause significant respiratory and cardiovascular issues for people who inhale it. In 2020, smoke from California wildfires reached the East Coast and Europedriving home the global nature of the problem. "The true cost of wildfiresfinancial, social, and environmentalextends for days, weeks, and even years after the flames subside," the report said. Although many of those effects pose disproportionate threats to low-income communities and countries around the world, the factors are at times amplified in California, where population growth, demand for housing, urban development and land-use practices are pushing more people and homes into the wildland-urban interface. Smoke from the 2018 Camp fire, which razed the Northern California town of Paradise and killed 85 people, was found to be far more harmful than that of vegetation fires because it spread toxic chemicals as it burned through homes, vehicles and electronic devices, endangering not only residents but also firefighters and first responders. The wildland-urban interface issue is not unique to California, but it's also not one that every other wildfire-prone area is dealing with. Massive Siberian wildfires in 2020 were linked to warming Arctic but threatened fewer lives. "If we don't start thinking of the solutions in terms of where and how we're building, I feel like we're missing something pretty important," said Moritz, who is also an adjunct professor at UC Santa Barbara. Many in the state are starting to get the message: Last month, a California judge paused the plans for a luxury development in Lake County citing concerns about wildfire evacuation plans. The move followed similar actions against plans for a housing development in a fire-prone area of San Diego County and a 19,300-home community in the southern flanks of the Tehachapi Mountains. According to the U.N. report, eliminating the risk of wildfires altogether is not possible, and even under the lowest greenhouse gas emissions scenario, the planet will likely see a significant increase in wildfire events in the years to come. But that doesn't mean all hope is lost. "We have to minimize the risk of extreme wildfires by being better prepared: invest more in fire risk reduction, work with local communities, and strengthen global commitment to fight climate change," United Nations Environment Program chief Inger Andersen said in a statement. Those who worked on the report said they hoped it would stir necessary and urgent conversations about wildfire in the West and worldwide. "We're in that international framework, and governments are coming together to discuss this and recognize it," said Hankins, of Cal State Chico. "It's putting it onto a different level." Explore further World must brace for more extreme wildfires: UN 2022 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The Medusae Fossae formation. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO This image from ESA's Mars Express shows part of possibly the largest single source of dust on Mars: a wind-sculpted feature known as the Medusae Fossae Formation, or MFF. The MFF is not only a veritable dust factory, but also remarkably extensiveit is the largest sedimentary deposit on the planet and stretches out discontinuously for more than 5,000 km, covering an area about the size of India. It is named for the Greek mythological Gorgon Medusa, who was able to turn those who looked into her eyes to stone, with the suffix 'fossae' being Latin for trenches or hollows. The formation is found along the boundary between Mars' southern highlands and northern lowlands (known as the martian dichotomy), and sits between the planet's two most prominent volcanic regions (Tharsis and Elysium). It also contains the Eumenides Dorsum mountain range, the edges of which can be seen in the gentle elevation extending out of the bottom right of the frame (northeast). This change in elevation can be seen especially clearly in the accompanying topographic map of this slice of martian surface. Easily eroded Many different surface features constitute the MFF, which appears to be easily eroded by wind. Its surface alternately appears to be smooth and gently undulating, as seen to the upper left of the frame (southwest), wind-sculpted into kilometer-long ridges and grooves known as yardangs, as seen to the center and lower-left (southeast), and pitted with small, crescent-shaped depressions, visible to the lower right (northeast). Medusae Fossae in context. Credit: NASA/MGS/MOLA Science Team Wind is a powerful sculptor on the Red Planetas well as here on Earth. Mars Express has spied several other landscapes on Mars that have been significantly shaped by wind, such as Nili Fossae, Arabia Terra, Syrtis Major, southern dunes, and Schiaparelli crater. In fact, this region likely formed as a result of wind moving material around on Mars' surface. The MFF is thought to consist of ash released by the volcanoes in the nearby Tharsis regionincluding Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the Solar Systemthat has been deposited either through the air or via fast-moving 'pyroclastic' flows of lava, gas and rocky debris. This stereoscopic image shows Medusae Fossae on Mars, and was generated from data captured by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESAs Mars Express orbiter on 14 May 2021 during orbit 21948. The anaglyph, derived from data acquired by the nadir channel and the stereo channels of the HRSC, offers a three-dimensional view when viewed using red-green or red-blue glasses. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO Eddies and blowouts The aforementioned crescent-shaped depressions are also the doing of martian winds. These saucer- or trough-shaped hollows, known as blowouts, are apparently carved into the sand by wind erosion. To create a blowout, sand-laden wind whips along and erodes the smooth surface until it hits an obstaclea buried object such as a rock or more resistant patch of sediment, for example. The wind is then forced around and beneath the object, creating an eddy, before finally heading back upwards, lifting sand with it as it goes. Perspective view of Medusae Fossae. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO Wind erosion is thought to be the latest stage of erosional processes acting on the MFF. This is evidenced by the general lack of craters seen on the formation's surface; if wind erosion had occurred long ago only, we would expect to see more recent craters atop the wind-sculpted terrain. Overall, the fact that only a few craters are visible here, sitting alongside underlying older rock that has subsequently been covered and draped in dust, implies that the region's surface is young. Exploring the surface features and geology of Mars is a key objective of Mars Express. Launched in 2003, the spacecraft has been orbiting the Red Planet for nearly two decades; it has since been joined by the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), which arrived in 2016, while the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover and its accompanying surface science platform are scheduled for launch in 2022. Together, this fleet of martian explorers is working towards a fuller understanding of Mars and its intriguing landscapes. BALLSTON SPA The Greenfield man who pleaded guilty to the felony charge of first-degree vehicular assault has been sentenced to two to six years in state prison. Jeremy Molnar, 27, admitted at the time of his plea that he caused serious injury to April ODonahoe while driving his 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe, which collided head-on with her 2021 Honda Civic, when his blood alcohol content was above the legal limit of 0.08 on May 16, 2021. He acknowledged during his plea that he did so while knowing or having reason to know that his driving privileges in New York were suspended, according to a news release. Police said at the time of the crash that Molnars license was suspended due to a conviction of an offense that was not alcohol-related. The Saratoga County Sheriffs Office had responded to a report of a serious personal injury motor vehicle crash on Corinth Mountain Road in the town of Wilton at 5:37 a.m. Molnar had fled the scene on foot before patrol officers found him, according to police at the time. As a result of the accident, ODonahoe was transported from the scene by helicopter to Albany Medical Center for treatment. She was facing life-threatening injuries. He had been charged with felony counts of first-degree vehicular assault, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a personal injury crash. Molnar was also charged with a misdemeanor charge of DWI and a traffic violation. Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen announced the sentencing of Molnar on Friday. She thanked members of the Saratoga County Sheriffs Office for their thorough investigation on the day of the crash and in the days after, ensuring that Molnar was held accountable for his actions. The case was prosecuted by Saratoga County Assistant District Attorney Samuel Maxwell. GLENS FALLS Discussion over a proposed lighting law continued at a public hearing during the scheduled Common Council meeting on Tuesday night. Mayor Bill Collins announced at the start of the hearing that the meeting itself would be rescheduled to next Tuesday because the agenda for the meeting had not been uploaded to the citys website. The public hearing had been announced on the website, so the council decided to move ahead with it. The Common Council meeting was rescheduled for this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Matt Webster, of Bay Road, sent a letter to the Common Council a few hours prior to Tuesdays meeting. He appeared before the council to speak about the contents of his letter. He said that while he can empathize with people who have problems with their neighbors lighting, he has a problem with the citys streetlights. He said they light up his entire house. Thats exempt in this law. Youre not covering that issue, Webster said. Ben Lapham, 4th Ward councilman, told Webster that people can file a complaint about streetlights on the citys website. Lapham said that the city has the ability to adjust the lighting, but they dont know about issues unless they are reported. Webster also told the council about a business across the street from his home that had a light shining into his home. He was able to contact the business owner and resolve the issue. He highlighted the fact that local attorney Michael Borgos pointed out at the last meeting that lighting issues are treated as civil cases. Collins replied that he was surprised by that fact as well. Its shocking to think that an attorney would think that a resident should have to take someone to court to get satisfaction isnt it, he said. While Webster agreed, he said that this proposed law would shift the burden to the taxpayer because the issue could end up in court. You say youve put a lot of time into this, I can certainly respect that, but its incredibly vague, he said. Webster pointed out that Kris Vanderzee, the citys code enforcement officer, said during a Building and Codes Committee workshop on Feb. 16 that the law was left vague intentionally. Webster said that Vanderzees reasoning for the vagueness was to give him the discretion in each case. Vanderzee had said during the workshop that the vagueness, which was changed partially with the addition of a 60-watt limit for lighting, would allow for open dialogue between the neighbors involved in the dispute and himself. Webster said that if the council was to go ahead and vote in favor of the law that it should come up with a mechanism for beginning the process. Rather than having, for example, a code enforcement officer whose judgment is questionable at best drive around the city and point out violations himself, he said. Webster questioned why, in the law, it doesnt call for a neighbor to provide documentation detailing that an individual had attempted to rectify the problem with their neighbor before getting the city involved. He said that way, Code Enforcement wouldnt be able to use the law as a pre-emptive tool. Karen Judd, the citys attorney, pointed out that in accordance with the citys code, enforcement officers do not go out looking for violations. They investigate complaints as they are received. Webster said that he and his friends have dealt with Vanderzee in the past, and that wasnt the case. He does actively seek out violations in the city, and thats a conversation for another day entirely, Webster said. Lapham said that in Websters letter, he stated that the law is only applicable to residences. Lapham informed him that wasnt the case. Non-residential places are bound by site review. If they make changes and theyre not consistent with the site plan, then they are in violation, he said. Melissa Verberg, resident of the 3rd Ward who spoke during the councils last meeting in support of the law, brought photos of lighting from her neighbors residence causing a nuisance to her backyard, first and second floor. She gave the photos to the council and asked them if they felt it was fair for her quality of life. It causes daily stress. Ive been losing sleep, Verberg said. Its mentally draining me. She said that she had tried to work with the individual responsible for the lighting, and said that she knows she isnt the only person dealing with issues like this. She said that she has heard people say that the government should be left out of these situations and that it can go through the courts. But at the end of the day, she said you still have to live next to your neighbor, and she believes the proposed law is the best way to go about rectifying these issues. Im not asking people to not feel secure in their homes. I dont need your light in the second story of my house, my dining room table, in my backyard when Im just trying to sit on my porch and enjoy a cup of tea at night looking at the stars, Verberg said. Just please respect my space and Ill respect yours. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the public comment remained open for residents to send concerns or comments regarding the proposed law to city officials. 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. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Warren County Health Services reported 26 new COVID cases on Friday, with four of the cases from at-home test results. There are 10 COVID patients currently at Glens Falls Hospital, with no patients in the ICU, according to hospital spokesperson Ray Agnew. The county reported four residents in the hospital on Friday, with two vaccinated patients. The seven-day rolling positivity rate is still at 5.7%, according to Warren County data. A total of 138 patients are ill with COVID-19 in Capital Region hospitals, one more than the previous day, according to the county. At-home COVID-19 test kits remain available in Warren County town halls and at Glens Falls City Hall for free distribution, according to a report from Warren County officials. Test kits are also available at most Stewarts Shops in Warren County, except at the Glen Street and Broad Street locations in Glens Falls due to traffic concerns. Washington County The county had not updated its COVID data as of Friday afternoon. According to New York state data, of the 287 tests administered in Washington County on Friday, only 12 yielded positive results, which is a 4.2% positivity rate. The positivity rate for the last seven days is 4.5% in the county, which is down 0.1% from Thursdays report. As of Friday, the total cumulative amount of positive cases in the county is 11,813, according to state data. Out of a total population of 61,197, approximately 41,154 people have had at least one vaccination dose. Statewide According to state data, statewide trends show that COVID numbers are slowly decreasing. As of Friday, the total amount of positive cases is 2,320, according to state data. The states seven-day positivity rate is down to 1.9%. For every 100,000 people tested, there are 11.9 cases. Drew Wardle is a reporter for The Post-Star. You can contact him at (518) 681-7343 or email him at dwardle@poststar.com Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Republican David Catalfamo has picked up another key endorsement as he continues to explore the 113th Assembly District race. The Washington County Republican Committee on Thursday endorsed Catalfamo, bringing his Republican committee support to 10 of the 11 municipalities in the district. I am honored and deeply humbled by the endorsement of the Washington County Republican Committee, Catalfamo said in a telephone interview on Friday. He said he has not yet definitively decided whether to run in a primary against Michael York for the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Democrat Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, in the new 113th Assembly District, which includes Glens Falls. York has criticized Catalfamo for being indecisive. The time to decide if your heart is in a race is before you start going through the process, not midway through, York posted Tuesday on his campaign Facebook page. Catalfamo said Friday that it is not a matter of hesitancy on his part, but one of respect for the endorsement process. He said he continues to speak with leaders of the Republican and Conservative parties, and he will make a decision soon. It is important for me to make sure that I am the candidate that the Republican and Conservative leaders of the district want, he said. Candidates begin circulating nominating petitions March 1, to be filed in early April. The Saratoga County Republican Committee previously had endorsed Catalfamo, an economic development official and novelist from Wilton, who lost to Woerner in 2020. The Warren County Republican Committee had previously endorsed York, a real estate agent from Saratoga Springs. Glens Falls is the only Warren County municipality in the Assembly district. York could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday. He has said that his campaign will focus on the importance of the state providing religious and health exemptions for any government mandates, such as, but not limited to, vaccine mandates. Woerner, in a telephone interview on Wednesday, said that she encourages constituents to discuss COVID-19 vaccines with their physicians. I think people should be able to make their own vaccination decisions, she said. Where we have an issue is when it affects the health of others. Thats where the gray area is. Woerner said she agrees with Gov. Kathy Hochuls requirement that teachers and health care workers get vaccinated. As to religious exemptions, Woerner said she is not aware of any organized religion that have made a blanket policy rejecting vaccinations. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As New Jerseys Cannabis Regulatory Commission explores how to handle consumption lounges, along with other thorny regulatory issues for the newly legal market, Atlantic City wants special considerations. Kashawn McKinley, director of constituent services for Atlantic City, made the plea at a meeting Thursday of the commission board of directors, held virtually. He said Atlantic City is not only the biggest convention town in the state, its the convention capital of the East Coast. He asked the commission to consider large-scale consumption areas, both indoor and outdoor, within the city. Cannabis is an entirely new industry that will be driven by conventions. Atlantic City needs special provisions to capitalize on this marketplace, McKinley said at the meeting. With visitors from out of state, he argued, Atlantic City will need large-scale venues for cannabis consumption and places for cannabis-related festivals. Locations like Boardwalk Hall, the Convention Center and Bader Field should be permitted to host large cannabis conventions, McKinley told the board. The state is still working on approving the first licenses for legal cannabis sales, just over a year after Gov. Phil Murphy signed the package of laws creating the legal market. After discussing legalization for years, the state Legislature took the step after voters strongly supported legalization in the 2020 election. On Wednesday, during his regular radio appearance on the WBGO radio station in Newark, Murphy said the first legal recreational sales should be coming soon. The first sales are expected to come from the existing medical marijuana dispensaries. The state has sought to guarantee the centers have enough cannabis on hand to sell to the adult use market without causing shortages for patients. The governor had set a February deadline for the first recreational sales. The deadline was the no earlier than date, Murphy said, admitting he had indicated the sales would be underway by this month. On the radio, he said the state is likely within weeks of the first sales. I would hope in March, Murphy said. At the meeting of the regulatory commission, Executive Director Jeff Brown said the commission staff was sorting through hundreds of applications. We are making tremendous progress, he said. The commission approved the regulations for the new market in August, with the first applications for cultivation and manufacturing licenses for the adult use market submitted in December. That means the 90-day review period will be up on March 15, Brown said, but the commission will likely need an extension of that as staff reviews the applications. The chair of the commission, Dianna Houenou, said the commission is working to make sure there are opportunities for small businesses, particularly cannabis businesses that are owned by minorities, women or veterans. The state is also working to ensure opportunities for people with convictions for nonviolent crimes related to marijuana sales, what she described as the legacy market. There are also provisions for licenses in economically disadvantaged areas. We want to see New Jerseys industry reflect the diversity of our state, Houenou said. That includes racial and ethnic diversity in ownership and in the workforce, she said. And we want to see businesses spread out across the state, from Cape May County to the far reaches of the Delaware Water Gap. Kids' Poisonings Rise as More Parents Bring Pot Edibles Home MONDAY, Feb. 14, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Edibles. In adults, they can be used recreationally or to help manage pain, nausea and anxiety. But these THC-loaded products, often sold as gummies, cookies and brownies, have fueled a four-year increase in the number of emergency calls for young children who mistakenly think they're yummy treats. More than 300 people attended the remote meeting. The commission approved a uniform label to indicate a product contains cannabis, with a stop sign next to a stylized cannabis leaf in a triangle and the words not safe for kids. A similar mark will be imprinted onto products to indicate they include cannabis. Much of the discussion was about the still-to-be decided future of consumption lounges where customers can smoke or vape. The commission had invited Dr. Suzaynn Schick of the University of Californias Center for Tobacco Control, Research and Education, who told them studies in California found that the amount of particles in indoor cannabis consumption areas were off the scale even in spaces with new ventilation systems. She said even low levels of exposure to smoke can be dangerous, including cannabis smoke, even if it remains an open question whether it is less dangerous than tobacco smoke. At the meeting, there were also calls from members of the public to ease planned restrictions on sites selling non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, with some speakers citing the well-known cannabis effect known as cotton mouth. Janice Kovach, the mayor of Clinton, Hunterdon County, spoke on behalf of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, asking the commission to give towns as much say as possible in the locations and operation of consumption lounges. She said the odor is one of the biggest concerns for neighbors. Questions of where visitors from out of state can smoke or vape cannabis has been an issue in other areas that have legalized. Atlantic Citys McKinley pointed out that for people in public housing, cannabis is not allowed, and its use could result in eviction. Summit of Cape officials seeks options on juveniles SEA ISLE CITY Set in the 1950s, the musical Bye Bye Birdie includes a musical complaint If it is illegal to consume in public housing and in public, then cannabis is still illegal for an entire sector of our community, he said. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP Retiring police Chief Donna Higbee says she has prioritized supporting the community during her tenure. On Tuesday, scores of first responders, residents and politicians from around Atlantic County gathered at the township municipal complex to commemorate Higbees 6-year career as chief and her 25 years in law enforcement. Higbee wont officially retire until the end of February, but Tuesday was her last day in her role as chief. Police Capt. Richard Barber will be the townships next chief of police. Higbee, 45, the first female police chief in Atlantic County, said she has spent much of her time thinking about those who have helped her since the start of her career in 1997. I really have been reflecting mostly on, not just my career, but the people who helped me get where I am in my life, if that makes sense, Higbee said. The people who have known Higbee, who was born in Galloway, over her career said they did not forget the support she has given the township and the region. Past and current leaders of the township ambulance and fire departments, current and past mayors, and about a dozen former and current police chiefs filled the room for her sendoff. To say she has made a positive impact on this community is an understatement, Mayor Anthony Coppola said. U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, presented Higbee with several awards, including a proclamation of appreciation from the U.S. House of Representatives and a newly minted congressional challenge coin. Im really proud of Galloway, Im really proud of our police, Im really proud of our chief, Van Drew said. Higbee received another federal honor Tuesday. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jessica Weisman praised Higbee for her work helping the bureau, calling her a true partner of the federal government and the FBI. Weisman presented and read a letter of commendation for Higbee from FBI Director Christopher Wray. Locally, two homeowner communities, Blue Heron Pines and the Four Seasons at Smithville, also expressed their support. Ambulance Chief Chuck Uhl and former fire Chief Rick Smith said they appreciated their time working with Higbee and facilitating inter-departmental cooperation. New Jersey prepared for potential truck convoy, officials say TRENTON New Jersey highway and law enforcement officials are prepared to tow any tractor-t Your friendship to me has meant so much, Uhl said. From my perspective as the fire chief for five years where I really got to know Donna and work with her, she was just a godsend to us, Smith said. Her professionalism, her guidance, to me personally, was priceless. Barber too took time to praise his predecessor. Chief, it was my distinct pleasure and honor to work with you and for you, Barber said as he presented her with an award and mantle from the Police Department. After the ceremony, the Township Council called a recess. The meeting then reconvened outside, where Higbee and Barber each fired a ceremonial cannon provided by the Last Salute, an Atlantic County-area veterans service organization. Higbees time in law enforcement has spanned multiple positions. She began as a 911 dispatcher in 1997 before being hired as an officer in the Wildwood Police Department in 1999. She then worked several years for the Hamilton Township Police Department before coming to work as an officer for Galloway. She rose through the ranks and became police chief in 2015. Amy Kennedy endorses Alexander for Congress vs. Van Drew Former congressional candidate Amy Kennedy, of Brigantine, has endorsed Tim Alexander to be She posted a letter on the Police Department Facebook page thanking her past bosses and colleagues, ranging from her manager Ellen Flynn when she worked as a waitress; to former Wildwood police Chief Bill Fisher, who hired her as an officer there; to former Galloway police Chief Pat Moran, who helped select her as his successor. She said her own officers have helped the force through challenges during her tenure, including those presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a team effort, its like cogs in a wheel, Higbee told The Press of Atlantic City. She also drew support and inspiration from her family. Her father, John Higbee, was a longtime Galloway police officer, and her husband has served with her as a fellow Galloway officer. My dads always given me a lot of guidance on how to treat people with respect and treat people with empathy and do whats right, Higbee said. Recalling the accomplishments during her tenure of which she is most proud, Higbee cited her work founding the interdenominational police chaplain program in 2016 and the Galloway Township Police Foundation, a nonprofit that awards local youth scholarships, in 2018. She also was proud of her efforts organizing charity events and trash and litter pickups, as well as her work with local businesses and schools. Higbee said her efforts as chief were ultimately directed toward building strong community relationships with the people of Galloway. Mazzeo, Fitzpatrick endorse Tim Alexander for Congress Tim Alexander, who is vying to be the Democrat challenger to U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, Really being involved with the community has been my ultimate goal, she said. Higbee is an adjunct professor in criminal justice at Atlantic Cape Community College, a role she says she plans to continue in after her retirement from the Police Department. Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. OCEAN CITY Food, culture and literature came together, at least remotely, on Wednesday during an authors talk with celebrity chef Kwame Onwuachi through the Ocean City Free Public Library. In his author talk, held via Zoom, Onwuachi spoke of his childhood in New York, learning to cook in his mothers apartment in the Bronx, as well as time spent with his father in Nigeria. He talked about his career, which included cooking in a cleanup ship for crews containing the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to leading kitchens in Zagat- and Michelin-reviewed restaurants. He spoke about the way food can bridge cultures, saying, You can travel across an ocean on a plate, and his efforts to find fulfillment and happiness in work, what he described as chasing that ice-cream-truck feeling. Onwuachi has been recognized by the prestigious James Beard Foundation as a rising chef and was a contestant on TVs Top Chef. In 2017, he was hired to open a restaurant at a Washington, D.C., hotel. Kith and Kin, focused on Afro-Caribbean cuisine in a fine dining setting, has been described as a game changer for DC food. He is also a successful author, releasing his memoir Notes from a Young Black Chef with Joshua David Stein in 2019, with a cookbook, My America, Recipes from a Young Black Chef set for release in May. Onwuachi said he was one of his mothers first employees when she started a catering company. Hard Rock casino exhibit illuminates history of Black churches ATLANTIC CITY From the time 400 years ago when enslaved Africans were first forced to Amer She threw me an apron when I was about 4 or 5 years old and had to help out to keep the lights on, he said. He helped chop vegetables, stirring the roux and other tasks. Thats where he began to experiment with food, he said. What had started as a chore turned into a hobby, and that hobby grew into a passion, and that passion turned into a career, he said. It wasnt a straight line from that kitchen to success. Onwuachi spoke of setbacks, including launching his own catering company when he was not prepared, and his first restaurant opening in D.C., which began with a bad review in the Washington Post. Long before that, he said, when he was still a child, his mother sent him to live with his grandfather in Africa. She didnt want to see me end up in a jail cell or a body bag, he said. After 46 years, Yesterdays in Upper Township is changing hands UPPER TOWNSHIP With Olympic curling on TV, classic rock on the speakers and a good size cr He said he learned a great deal, living somewhere without electricity or running water in the house. He also learned to appreciate the conveniences in American life. If we wanted to eat a 10-wing chicken bucket, we had to raise five chickens, he said. I was able to see and really appreciate the things that I had in America. Before Onwuachi turned 30, he had opened five different restaurants. Onwuachi discussed his work and travel, including being hired to cook for a cleanup ship out of Louisiana responding to the Deepwater Horizon spill, the largest spill in the history of the petroleum industry that took place in 2010. He also spoke of his acceptance to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and his restaurant work, including some that were not successful. Throughout, Onwuachi said, he wanted to cook food that reflected who he was. I wanted it to be about my lineage. I wanted to cook Afro-Caribbean cuisine, he said. New Buena restaurants show strength despite hardships BUENA Restaurants across South Jersey shut their doors when the COVID-19 pandemic and its Onwuachi left Kith and Kin in 2020. He had been the executive chef. At the time, he indicated he wanted to own his next endeavor. After moving to takeout service only in 2020, Kith and Kin is now listed as permanently closed. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ATLANTIC CITY Four men face a litany of gun and drug charges in Atlantic County, including the alleged sale of an untraceable fully automatic weapon. Acting state Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin on Thursday announced the arrests of the four men following an investigation by a task force focused on the traffic of illegal guns, heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine in Atlantic City and elsewhere in the county. The investigation also seized 14 prohibited large-capacity ammunition magazines, along with other weapons, oxycodone and crack cocaine. Arrested were Ricardo Lugo Jr., 21, of Egg Harbor Township; Jamal M. George, 26, of Mays Landing; Rashawn S. Parks, 31, of Galloway Township; and Rasan McGee, 30, of Egg Harbor City. Lugo is charged with distribution of methamphetamine, distribution of heroin/fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute narcotics, possession of heroin/fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a defaced firearm. George is charged with distribution of methamphetamine, distribution of heroin/fentanyl, promoting organized street crime, possession of a firearm while committing a drug offense, unlawful possession of a firearm, sale of a machine gun, sale of an assault rifle, possession of heroin, possession of methamphetamine, sale of a Glock handgun, possession of a large-capacity magazine and sale of a large-capacity magazine. Parks is charged with distribution of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of heroin/fentanyl with intent to distribute, possession of heroin/fentanyl, possession of OxyContin pills and possession of drug paraphernalia. McGee is charged with possession of a firearm while committing a drug offense, possession of a weapon as a convicted felon, unlawful possession of a firearm, distribution of oxycodone pills, sale of a pistol, sale of a large-capacity magazine and possession of a large-capacity magazine. The illegal guns and drugs we seized in this investigation illustrate the serious threat allegedly posed by these defendants in Atlantic County, Platkin said in a statement. Ghost guns are manufactured without serial numbers registered with a federally licensed gun manufacturer and sold without licenses, making them difficult to trace. In 2018, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law that makes it a crime to buy, manufacture, possess or sell ghost guns in New Jersey. Over the past year, law enforcement agencies have recovered 275 illegal ghost guns in the state. We have seen an alarming proliferation in New Jersey of untraceable ghost guns, which have become the weapon of choice for many violent criminals because of the inability of law enforcement to trace them when they are used to commit a shooting, said Platkin. Each time we seize one of these guns from the black market in this case a fully automatic assault rifle we save lives. State Police and the state Division of Criminal Justice worked with the Atlantic City Metro Task Force, which includes Atlantic City police, the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office and the county Sheriffs Office. The Ocean County Prosecutors Office also assisted, as did Hamilton Township police, the Cherry Hill office of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 2 Atlantic City men found with drugs in vehicle stop ATLANTIC CITY Two city residents were arrested on drug charges after a car stop at Arkansa Lugo was found to be distributing large amounts of heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine in and around Atlantic City and Mays Landing, Platkin said. Officers allegedly purchased methamphetamine, heroin and/or fentanyl from Lugo nine times. Subsequently, George, Parks and McGee were found to be distributing illegal drugs and firearms throughout Atlantic County, Platkin said. Detectives arranged 14 controlled purchases of firearms or drugs from those defendants: three gun sales and seven sales of heroin/fentanyl or methamphetamine allegedly made by George; two sales of methamphetamine allegedly made by Parks; and one gun sale and a separate sale of 120 high-dose 30 mg oxycodone pills allegedly made by McGee. George, Parks and McGee were arrested Jan. 27, when task force members and partners executed search warrants for their homes and two vehicles. Police allegedly found two 9mm handguns and two .38 caliber handguns with large capacity magazines. In addition to other drugs and ammunition, police allegedly found seven bricks of heroin in Parks home, each containing 50 single doses. Lugo was arrested Feb. 16, resulting in the seizure of a 9mm handgun with a defaced serial number and about 6 ounces of methamphetamine. All four are being held in the Atlantic County jail. Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Iryna Mazur may have been among the first in the Philadelphia region to realize Wednesday night her Ukrainian homeland was minutes from falling under Russian attack. Shes fluent not only in Ukrainian but in Russian. And as she watched a live feed of President Vladimir Putins address on state television shes studied him for a long time she understood exactly what he was saying. It was obvious the attack would be right after the speech, she said. News reports of Russian shelling soon dominated the news channels. And in places like Philadelphia, South Jersey and the Jersey Shore, people with family, friends or roots in the eastern European nation of Ukraine reacted with anger and disbelief. As far as Im concerned, there is only one way to look at it, said Roman Osadchuk II, of North Wildwood. Vladimir Putin is looking to claw back the old Soviet Union and has been for 30 years. Osadchuks mother was born in Ukraine, while his father was born in the United States. His fathers side of the family is also from Ukraine. He still has family there. New Jersey lawmakers react to Russia invading Ukraine Lawmakers are condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine. Below are some of their comments on t Its terrible, horrible to see a country fight to win its independence for six, seven decades to now vindictively be clawed back, Osadchuk said. Mazur, the honorary consul of Ukraine in Philadelphia, spent the rest of Wednesday night on Zoom, talking to members of the regions large Ukrainian community and fielding the latest updates from contacts inside Ukraine itself. All Ukrainians wept, she said. We all cried. ... Watching those missiles hit Kyiv. On Thursday, tears dried. Mazur was on the highway, driving to Washington, D.C., for a late-afternoon rally outside the White House and laying plans for a pro-Ukrainian demonstration in Center City on Friday. We are not panicking, Mazur said. We are regrouping. She and other Ukrainian leaders rallied people to call their elected officials and President Joe Biden to demand greater support for embattled Ukraine. Some 5,245 Ukrainian immigrants make their homes in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburban and South Jersey counties, as do 54,324 people of Ukrainian ancestry. After weeks of international tension, troop buildups, threats and diplomacy, the news when it came still was jarring their homeland being invaded, their family members there in danger. John Bortnyk, 77, of Forked River in Lacey Township, was born in Ukraine and came to the United States with his parents as a 5-year-old in 1950. He has been talking to his cousins, who live near the Polish border about a half-hour outside Lviv, which he said is the capital city of the western region. My cousin Bill says they are still secure. The area hasnt been attacked, Bortnyk said. The city of Lviv has (had some incursions), but nothing drastic. The family is planning to send the women and children over the Polish border to relatives of Bortnyks wife, he said. The men my cousin and his son and the husbands of the grandchildren are staying behind to fight, Bortnyk said. Poland, Romania and Slovakia are bracing for potentially millions of refugees, adding to a worldwide crisis that sees 84 million people roughly the population of Germany now forcibly displaced by persecution, violence or human-rights violations. Ukraine is a nation of about 44 million people, a land roughly the size of Texas. Immigrants from the Black Sea state came to the Philadelphia region and the United States in distinct waves, beginning in about 1870. Poor farmers who had been enslaved by the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires were drawn here by the promise of steady, paying jobs. About 240,000 settled in the U.S. eastern farmlands and in anthracite coal-mining towns in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. As many as 250,000 more Ukrainians arrived in the early 1900s, helping create the new, industrial world through jobs at steel, glass and rail manufacturers in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cleveland and Detroit. Ukrainian immigration paused at the start of World War I, then all but stopped after Congress set limits on migrants. At the end of World War II, tens of thousands of displaced Ukrainians came to the United States, where they helped revive and expand local Ukrainian American organizations. The Soviet Unions control of Ukraine essentially cut off new immigration for four decades. It resumed only with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and official Ukrainian independence in 1991. On Thursday, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia was investigating raising funds to support the 200,000 Jews in Ukraine 9,000 of them Holocaust survivors given what is no longer just unrest but clearly a war, said Michael Balaban, president and CEO of the nonprofit. Were concerned for the safety of everyone in the region, but most especially based on our mission the safety of the Jewish population there, Balaban said. Everyone is in a state of shock, said Denis Sichkar, pastor of the First Ukrainian Baptist Church in Northeast Philadelphia, where parishioners are seeing the war unfold in messages from loved ones overseas. Most of the churchs 200 parishioners are first-generation immigrants who arrived after the collapse of the Soviet Union. All have family members in Ukraine. 177th Fighter Wing practices new military procedures down south Members of the 108th Wing, out of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, joined the 177th at Nava On a cold, damp Thursday night, parishioners trickled in twos and threes into St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, many of them recently immigrants come to say a prayer for their homeland. Some couldnt hold back their tears. I got up and read messages from my sister that theyve been attacked, said Olena Dmytriieva, of Philadelphia. Most parishioners at the church, where the U.S. and Ukraine flags fly side by side outside the main door, came to this country within the past 20 years. Many have parents and siblings who now are in danger. The worst is the unknown Whats going to happen next? said Bishop Andriy Rabiy. Ukrainians here were trying to contact family members and friends in Ukraine. Greg Gioe, of the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township, has been worried about his friend Bojan, a web developer from Ukraine, whom he met in Atlantic City when Bojan was working his way through college as a casino car valet. Bojan had recently relocated from Ukraine to Estonia after Russia started serious saber rattling several weeks ago, Gioe said. His friend was worried about his family, and Gioe was worried for him. And angry. Putin is threatening us all to satisfy his ego, said Gioe, who has been donating to the International Rescue Committee as a gesture to help his friend. Gioe said his feelings are so strongly against Russias actions that he would support U.S. actions even though he has family that could be called to war. I have draft-age children and relatives and I dont say this lightly, but we deserve a world where we are not held hostage by an aging madman and tyrant. We didnt win the Cold War to go back to it, Gioe said. Mazur, the local Ukrainian consul, thought the same. Her parents and brother still live in Ukraine. Its just absolutely horrible, horrible aggression, she said. This would never have happened if the world had acted eight years ago. ... Each time we tolerate him, each time the world communicates with him and negotiates, he takes it as a sign of weakness. This article originally was published in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Press Staff Writers Michelle Brunetti Post and Selena Vasquez contributed to this report. A larger fishing industry thrived in historic South Jersey, supporting many villages along Delaware Bay. A dozen of them already have been lost to the shrinkage of that industry and their inability to adapt to the changing world around them. Those left are quaint and quiet, still threatened by the forces that eliminated the others. But a couple of years ago, two of them were assured of getting the upgrade to ordinary infrastructure they needed to thrive again. Thats when the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would provide $4.5 million to help construct a sewage system to serve the Downe Township neighborhoods of Fortescue and Gandys Beach. The rural and poor township in Cumberland County could never afford the sewage treatment systems that became routine elsewhere, so residents and businesses had to use septic tanks. Theyre fine as long as the waste going into the ground is dispersed over a sufficient area to filter it, let it biodegrade and not contaminate groundwater. But even the best septic tanks still severely restrict the amount of investment and development that is possible. The U.S. Department of Agricultures $4.5 million brought funding for the sewerage project to about $11 million including a $2.5 million N.J. Department of Environmental Protection grant, a previous $2.5 million grant by the USDA, and a $1.5 million low-interest USDA loan. At that point the project became close to certain. Some of the benefits of this overdue infrastructure upgrade are visible on the ground in Fortescue and Gandys Beach. Mike Rothman, mayor of Downe Township, said real estate sales are increasing in Fortescue and Gandys Beach, and some agents have mentioned the infrastructure project in their listings. A waterfront home in Fortescue can be had for less than $300,000. Donald Sullivan, a Vineland real estate agent working in the area, recently told The Philadelphia Inquirer, I dont think well see the full impact until a year or two, but Ive already sold a few properties where the buyer was under the assumption this was going to happen. That was part of the deal. Rothman said someone is interested in buying a waterfront campground and building a 100-room hotel on the site. The sewerage upgrade is also a substantial environmental improvement, removing a source of possible groundwater contamination. For its part the state DEP appropriately balanced the interests of the residents and businesses of Downe Township with everyones concern for the environment. Originally, the fishing village of Money Island was included in the project plans, but the department insisted it be removed, citing repeated claims of flood losses there. The DEPs Blue Acres program already has purchased a few dozen homes on Money Island. Eventually the village will be abandoned and allowed to return to a natural state. Whatever development takes place in Gandys Beach and Fortescue could never be excessive in rural Downe Township. Most of its land is protected open space, much of it owned by conservation nonprofits such as the Natural Lands Trust and the Nature Conservancy, or is farmland. The bayshore will regain some of the more welcoming quiet charm it had for a couple hundred years. Now its residents will have a bit more ease and much more faith in the future of their towns. Theyll be joined by visitors and new residents who appreciate life by the bay. Rain will fall Friday morning but will turn to sun for the afternoon. However, the weather will still impact plans as winds increase. Turning to the weekend, well be calmer and dry with temperatures pretty seasonable for this time of year. Periods of rain will be around Friday morning as low pressure treks through New England and a cold front moves through the area. Temperatures will be in the 40s, rising on a southwest wind. The rain will be fairly light for the morning, ending between 9 a.m. and noon. Then, well break for some sun as the cold front passes, bringing drier air. Also coming will be a west to northwest wind that will pick up during the afternoon. Sustained winds will be 15 to 25 mph with gusts of 40 to 45 mph. That should be just below wind damage criteria. High temperatures will be in the upper 40s around midday, before the front passes. Well be in the 30s when sunset comes. Wind chills will be in the 20s into the evening with a partly cloudy sky. The weekend will be good for most outdoor events, especially for late February. Saturday will be the colder of the two weekend days. High temperatures will be in in the upper 30s. There will be a mix of sun and clouds. Resilient NJ program, Atlantic County residents address climate change mitigation The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has completed its second round of publ Saturday night will be fairly seasonable. Expect 30s during the evening. Overnight will hover around 30 for Egg Harbor City and inland towns, with mid-30s in Beach Haven and the shore. Sunday will still see us slide between a low-pressure system to the south and snow showers to the north. Well wind up with a good amount of sunshine in between. Winds will come out of the west, which will be a warming wind in this case. Highs will be in the mid- to upper 40s. A piece of rotation in the mid-levels of the atmosphere, or vorticity, will pass through Sunday night. That will bring an increase in clouds. Theres still the risk of a snow shower, probably after midnight. However, it looks to be a lower risk. Resilient NJ program, Atlantic County residents address climate change mitigation The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has completed its second round of publ After that passes, well be in for a dry beginning of the week. Monday will be mostly sunny after a cold front passes. Highs will be in the upper 30s. Meanwhile, Tuesday will be mostly cloudy as a weak storm system passes nearby. We get warmer on a southerly wind, getting well into the 40s. Contact Joe Martucci: 609-272-7247 jmartucci@pressofac.com Twitter @acpressmartucci Local Weather Get the latest local weather, meteorologist Joe Martucci's 7-day forecasts, podcasts, and severe weather alerts. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. LeClaires all-volunteer fire department would get a paid fire chief and captain for the first time under the citys proposed new annual budget. A report from the Mercer Group, Inc., a government employment agency based in Georgia, recommended LeClaire hire two leadership positions, as the department has struggled in recent years to recruit and maintain active department volunteers, especially to cover calls during the day. The fire department's ranks have fallen from about 30 volunteer firefighters in 2016 to 18 volunteers today, including the volunteer fire chief. At the same time, LeClaire's population has grown by double digits over the past decade. The city added 945 people since 2010 for a total population of 4,710, according to the 2020 census, with two major housing developments on the way. The fire department responded to a slightly higher number of calls in the last five years, 416 in 2016 and 458 calls in 2021, with a vast majority of those EMS calls. "It's just getting hard to find volunteers that can respond during the day. It's harder, even, to find volunteers to show up during the night time because everybody has a lot of commitments anymore," volunteer fire chief Jim Bradley said. More than half of all calls in recent years have been from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and during the weekday, the report concluded. The 2021 report, which was based on interviews and call statistics, among other metrics, recommended paid personnel staff the station for weekday calls unless otherwise covered by volunteers. The report recommended that a paid chief and captain would be able to more effectively put together a strategic plan for recruiting and retaining high-response volunteers to alleviate staffing shortages. Paid staff would also coordinate with other local agencies, develop and implement a strategic fire prevention and business plan, as well as oversee maintenance and volunteer training. A 2016 report from the same company noted "Mercer is concerned that only about 30-40% of its 30 members are very active in responding to calls and that only a few members are consistently available for weekday calls." Of the 30 volunteer firefighters LeClaire had in 2016, only four to six remain in the department. And the number of high-response volunteers has shrunk from about 12 to five or six, the most recent report stated. When unavailable, the city relies on a mutual aid agreement with other departments in Scott County, like Bettendorf, to respond to calls. Medic, a private ambulance service, also operates in LeClaire. LeClaire is still in the process of finalizing its fiscal year 2023 budget. The City Council is expected to vote to adopt the budget in March. The budget proposal includes a line item for a fire chief salary of $77,671 and a captain's salary of $64,760. Including retirements, FICA, insurance benefits, plus salary, the chief position is budgeted to cost $149,613 and the captain position $128,574. The city has applied for a SAFER grant to help offset the early costs of the salaries, City Administrator Dennis Bockenstedt said. Bockenstedt said once the City Council authorized the budget with the two paid personnel, the City Council would first need to amend city code to allow for a paid fire chief and captain. Then, the city will create a position description and recruit for a chief and afterward do the same for the captain. Bockenstedt said there weren't particular deadlines or dates the city planned for the hires. "Once the fire chief is in place, we can begin getting more detailed for how we are going to integrate the other full-time position," Bockenstedt said. Mayor Dennis Gerard said the city planned to take applications from its volunteer ranks as well as outside the city's current department. The report also recommended that Medic move its operations to the fire station and expand to a "public safety complex" to more efficiently work together. Bockenstedt said there were no ongoing discussions at the moment to move that recommendation forward. Other Scott County cities with all-volunteer fire departments include Eldridge, Princeton, Riverdale, Bluegrass and Walcott. Bettendorf also enlists some volunteers for its fire duties but has shifted to career firefighters as volunteers become more difficult to find, city staff have said. Bettendorf plans to authorize adding at least three more firefighters this coming year's budget. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SPRINGFIELD Illinois Senate Democrats outlined legislation during a Thursday news conference that aims to address the ongoing teacher shortage throughout the state. The bills would extend the number of days retired and substitute teachers would be able to teach in a school year, waive substitute teaching licensing fees, and lower the minimum age for a person who can become a paraprofessional. While the package of legislation is a short-term fix, Senate Democrats said, it is intended to help provide immediate relief to the teaching shortage. Courtney Goss, who works as a social and emotional support professional at Washington Middle School in Springfield, said its difficult to do her job because she often gets called to sub when teachers are absent and not enough substitutes are available. As a support specialist, Goss said she works with students and teachers who have social and emotional concerns. But, she said, she is unable to provide that needed support when she fills in as a substitute. Something must be done, she said, because her students dont receive the help they need when she cannot provide it. I cant just tell people how to take care of themselves, how to prioritize things in their life, if Im not doing the same, Goss said. Illinois State Board of Education data show there are 4,120 teaching and support vacancies across 852 school districts, including 1,703 full-time teaching vacancies, as of October. Overall, 88% of the districts responding to a recent survey by the Illinois Association of School Administrators said they had a shortage of full-time teachers, while 96% said they had a shortage of substitute teachers. Senate Bill 3907 allows short-term substitute teachers to teach for 15 consecutive days instead of five. Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, said it will provide schools an extra two weeks to find a long-term solution to their staffing issues. During floor debate, Turner said the bill is in response to staffing shortages caused by the pandemic and it will be phased out in June 2023. The bill passed the Senate unanimously this week and will await a vote in the House. Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Essex, introduced Senate Bill 3893 that will extend the number of days substitute teachers can teach from 90 to 120 days for the next two years. That bill passed the Senate as well and is awaiting action in the House. Sen. Napoleon Harris, D-Harvey, introduced SB 3201 that would allow retired teachers to return to the classroom for 140 paid days through the 2023 school year without affecting their retirement benefits. Currently, retired teachers are only allowed up to 120 days in the classroom. Only 100 of those days could come in a single classroom under the new bill. Harris said the best way to tackle the shortage is by retaining veteran teachers and encouraging young leaders to join the profession. His bill awaits Senate action. This is a massive burden on our educational system and allowing retired teachers to return to school for a long period of time will help ease that burden, Harris said. According to ISBE, there are 1,242 vacancies for paraprofessionals statewide. Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas, D-Chicago, introduced Senate Bill 3988 that lowers the age from 19 to 18 for individuals seeking to receive a paraprofessional license. It passed the Senate unanimously and awaits House action. Sen. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, said Senate Bill 3465 is similar to a bill that was created for downstate teachers and allows Chicago Public Schools the option of hiring retired teachers without affecting their retirement annuity. It passed the Senate unanimously and awaits House action. Democrats also proposed to waive the application fee for short-term substitute teaching licenses during a governor-declared public health emergency. The Senate Democrats called their news conference a few hours after Senate Republicans unveiled a legislative package that they say promotes transparency and provides parents a voice in their childs education. In Senate Bill 4179, Republicans aim to require school districts to post school curriculum on the district website at least twice per year. Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia, said he believes parents have a right to know what materials are being taught in schools in order to better understand what their child is learning. I have school-aged kids, Anderson said. I want to be able to adopt the same teaching method that instructor is using to help that student. Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, introduced Senate Bill 4180 that creates five new seats on the Illinois State Board of Education. One board member per judicial district would be elected by voters. Bryant said parents have a say in electing local school board officials, but she feels they also deserve a say on the state board level, because of the power the body has over education standards. Republicans also proposed strengthening and improving the states Invest in Kids program that provides scholarships to help low-income students. Scholarships are funded by private donations, the donors of which are eligible for tax credits. Under Senate Bill 4181, Sen. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, said the program would become permanent and provide educational stability for students. The Republican bills had not moved in the Senate as of Friday afternoon, a legislative deadline for bills to move to final passage in the chamber. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 One of nine men caught in a November 2020 federal online sting targeting adults attempting to entice minors for sexual exploitation was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in federal prison. During a hearing in U.S. District Court, Peoria, U.S. District Judge James Shadid sentenced Joseph Allen Wilcher, 40, of Cedar Rapids, to 120 months, or 10 years in prison. He is the sixth man to be sentenced in the case. After a two-day trial in October, a federal jury found Wilcher guilty of one count each of attempted enticement of a minor and travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual activity. Shadid sentenced Wilcher to 10 years in prison on each count, but the sentences will run at the same time. There is no parole in the federal system. Wilcher also must serve 10 years on supervised release after he completes his prison sentence and register as a sex offender. He will receive credit for the time he has spent in custody awaiting trial. Wilcher was arrested Nov. 13 after he drove to Rock Island to meet a person he thought was a 15-year-old girl. The conversations began Nov. 9 over a mobile dating app and then moved to text messages. The status of the other eight cases are: Douglas L. Christensen, 57, of East Moline was sentenced Nov. 3, 2021, to 10 years in federal prison. He is currently being held in the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn., according to the Bureau of Prisons website. Michael Robert McKinney, 24, of Silvis was sentenced July 20, 2021, to 12 years in federal prison. He is currently being held in the Federal Correctional Institution in Marianna, Fla., according to the Bureau of Prisons website. Douglas Michael Speer, 31, of Johnston, Iowa, was sentenced Oct. 20, 2021, to 11 years in federal prison. He is currently being held in the Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, Mich., according to the Bureau of Prisons website. Nicholas Bryan Swank, 32, of Muscatine was sentenced Jan. 6, 2022, to 17 years in federal prison. He is currently being held in the U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Ill., according to the Bureau of Prisons website. Charles Walter Christopher, 43, of West Liberty was sentenced Dec. 15, 2021, to 22 years in federal prison. He is currently being held in the Federal Correctional Institution in Pekin, Ill. Auston. M. McLain, 36, of Davenport is charged with attempted enticement of a minor, travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual activity and soliciting an obscene visual depiction of a minor. A jury trial is scheduled for March 21, in U.S. District Court, Rock Island, before U.S. District Chief Judge Sara Darrow. Jeffrey Alan Bosaw, of Bloomington, Ill., who was 52 at the time of his arrest, is charged with attempted enticement of a minor. A status conference is set for March 2 in U.S. District Court, Rock Island, before Darrow. Damien Pernell Shepherd, 36, is charged with attempted enticement of a minor. A jury trial is scheduled for June 21 in U.S. District Court, Rock Island, before Darrow. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A domestic incident that turned into a standoff lasting more than six hours with Davenport Police and Scott County Sheriffs deputies ended peacefully when the man surrendered to police. He had barricaded himself in a house on West Garfield Street. Alan Wade Buresh, 59, who is on probation out of Wisconsin for a sex offense, was taken into custody by Davenport Police at about 6 p.m. The incident started at about 11:40 a.m. In connection with the incident, Buresh is charged with first-degree burglary, a Class B felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 25 years. He also is charged with interference with official acts using a firearm, a Class D felony that carries a prison sentence of five years. Buresh also is charged with use of a dangerous weapon in the commission of a crime and reckless use of a firearm. Both charges are aggravated misdemeanors that carry a prison sentence of two years. According to the arrest affidavits, at 11:40 a.m. Buresh went to the home of a female acquaintance in the 300 block of West Garfield Street and forced his way inside. Armed with a firearm, Buresh fired the gun once, causing the woman to be in fear for her safety. The woman was able to get out of the house, but Buresh refused to come out of the home. Davenports Emergency Services Team was sent to the scene and negotiations began with Buresh. Late in the negotiations, Davenport police fired gas canisters into the home to force Buresh to surrender. He gave up at about 6 p.m. Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski said no one was injured and that everyone in the neighborhood was safe. It was a peaceful resolution to a situation that was very tense for a while, Sikorski said. Buresh was being held Friday night in the Scott County Jail on a cash-only bond of $25,000 for the new charges, and without bond on a detainer out of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections on a probation violation warrant. During a first appearance on the charges Friday morning in Scott County District Court, Magistrate Stephen Wing scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for March 4. It is the second time in two days Buresh has been in the custody of the jail. Buresh was arrested Wednesday on two charges of violating Iowas sex offender registration statutes. The charges are aggravated misdemeanors under Iowa law that carry a prison sentence of two years. According to the arrest affidavits filed by Scott County Sheriffs Deputy Anthony Johnson, it was learned on Feb. 21 that Buresh has an active Facebook account, two active Instagram accounts and a GoFundMe account. Under Iowa law, Buresh is required to disclose those accounts when registering as a sex offender. In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a North Carolina law that banned convicted sex offenders from using social media such as Facebook, Twitter and similar sites. However, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that people required to register as sex offenders are required to disclose their social media identities and other digital information when they register as sex offenders, and that such registration does not violate their First Amendment rights. Buresh must register as a sex offender in Iowa because on Aug. 17, 2020, he pleaded no contest to a charge of fourth-degree sexual assault in Wisconsins Polk County Circuit Court, according to circuit court electronic records. Under Wisconsin law, fourth-degree sexual assault is defined as having sexual contact with a person without that persons consent. The charge can carry a sentence of up to nine months in the county jail, but that sentence was stayed by the court. Buresh was sentenced to two years on probation. While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot prohibit sex offenders from having social media accounts, the social media companies can determine who is allowed to use their sites According to Meta, formerly known as Facebook, sex offenders are not allowed to use Facebook, and the company can bar sex offenders if the company learns of the accounts. As a publicly-traded company, Meta can determine who can use its site. Buresh was released from the Scott County Jail on Wednesday after posting a $4,000 cash only bond. The investigation into Thursdays incident is continuing. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CHICAGO The family of an armed man who was shot in the back by Chicago police during a foot chase filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the city is partly responsible for his killing because there was no policy dictating officers' actions during such pursuits. "The city's failure to implement a foot-chase policy and its support of a policing culture of impunity were the driving force behind the (officers') unconstitutional actions," according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday by the mother of 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez and Alvarez's daughter, the Chicago Tribune reported. Chicago police spokesman Tom Ahern declined to comment, saying the department does not discuss pending litigation. The fatal shootings of Alvarez and 13-year-old Adam Toledo by police in March of last year during foot pursuits sparked protests and calls in the city for the department to change its foot pursuit policies, with Mayor Lori Lightfoot announcing that a policy would be implemented. In fact, four years earlier the U.S. Department of Justice in its critique of Chicago's policing practices recommended Chicago's police force implement such a policy, but it was never instituted. And today, nearly a full year after Lightfoot said a policy would be created, no policy is in place, though the police department has said it is in the final stages of implementing one. Video of both shootings has been made public by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, the agency that investigates police shootings in the city. While they show Alvarez and Toledo were each holding a handgun right before they were shot, the footage doesn't show either of them pointing the weapons at pursuing officers. Video does show Officer Evan Solano running after Alvarez, shouting at him to drop the weapon, and then Alvarez dropping the weapon as he fell to the ground after Solano shot him. An autopsy revealed he was shot in the back and the thigh. In the lawsuit, Alvarez's family contends that there was no legitimate reason to chase Alvarez and that Alvarez didn't threaten Solano or any other officers. Alvarez's lawsuit names the city, police department, the officer who shot Alvarez Evan Solano and Solano's partner. Shortly after the shooting, there was speculation that Solano might face criminal charges. The Cook County State's Attorney's office is reviewing the shooting but no announcement on criminal charges has been made. Solano has been stripped of his police powers pending the outcome of the probe. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DES MOINES Most Iowa workers would pay a 3.9 percent state income tax a large reduction for the states highest wage earners and a modest decrease for low-income workers under a new $1.9 billion tax cut proposal that is likely to become law soon. The new tax plan, introduced Thursday at the Iowa Capitol, is the result of negotiations between Republican leaders in the Iowa House and Senate and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. Legislative leaders plan to debate and pass the bill Thursday. That would give Reynolds time to sign it into law just before she is scheduled to appear on national television next week to deliver the Republican Partys response to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address. Under the plan: State income taxes would be gradually reduced over multiple years to a 3.9 percent rate on the vast majority of workers. Iowa now has nine income brackets, with rates from 8.53 percent on the highest wage-earners and 4.14 percent on lower-income workers. The median Iowa household pays 6.25 percent. State taxes on retirement income would be eliminated, including for retired farmers. The corporate tax rate would be reduced gradually. Each year the state collects $700 million in business tax revenue, the rate will be reduced until it reaches 5.5 percent. Some corporate tax breaks and incentives would be reduced gradually, including the most expensive: the research and activities credit. At full implementation in five years, the plan will result in tax savings and thus a reduction in state revenues of $1.9 billion, according to the states nonpartisan fiscal estimating agency. Iowas current budget is just over $8 billion. 'COMPETITIVE' OR 'NOT FAIR' "Senate Republicans are happy to deliver on the promise that weve made to voters for the last year, that when we have surpluses in Iowa, we are going to deliver tax cuts for every single Iowan," said Jack Whitver, the Republican Senate Majority Leader from Ankeny. "Were really excited and proud that (Thursday) we were able to reach agreement with the governor and the House to deliver on that promise." Democrats argued the plan overwhelmingly benefits wealthier Iowans. They pointed to an analysis by the Department of Management, the state budget office, which shows the median Iowa household will see an average reduction of $593 on their state income taxes, while the wealthiest Iowans those earning $1 million or more will see a $67,000 reduction. "Theyre more focused on the ultrarich that fund their campaigns," Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, said of Republicans proposal. "Its not fair. Its out of touch. And its completely disconnected form the lives of everyday Iowans." Senate Democrats countered by proposing an expansion of the tax credit for low-income workers and the child care and early childhood tax credits, and lowering rates for all Iowans making less than $250,000 while maintaining current rates for those making more. BUDGET IMPACT Statehouse Republicans and Democrats disagree on the tax cuts impact on future state budgets. House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said their tax projections, which assumed annual revenue growth of roughly 3 percent, will be sufficient to cover the revenue reductions and should not require the state to trim its budget. The proposal would use the roughly $1 billion in the states taxpayer relief fund to cover any budget shortfalls that occur as a result of the income tax reductions. We were able to continue to do this in a way that our projections and our runs continued to work to make sure that we could continue to fund state government but also provide the significant tax relief, Grassley said. Rep. Dave Jacoby of Coralville, the top Democrat on the House tax policy committee, took a more cautious view. "I hope the economy does (grow 3 to 4 percent annually). But COVID, (federal pandemic relief funding), Ukraine I dont know what I would predict," Jacoby said. "If it were me, I would be doing this bill after the March (state revenue estimating panel meeting) because that may give us a better picture, a more accurate picture of where were going." NO OUTDOOR FUND The bill does not, as was proposed by Senate Republicans, shift sales taxes in order to begin funding the states long-starved outdoor and natural resources trust fund. "It really wasnt on our radar, Grassley said. "The (House Republican) caucus just was not in a position where they had the support to do that." Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 1 In a rare show of bipartisanship, members of both parties have stated a desire for peace, with some calling for increased sanctions against Russia. Combat veteran and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., released a statement Thursday morning saying Putin must be held fully, painfully and immediately accountable. The human suffering caused and any blood spilled as a result of this unjustified and unjustifiable attack on Ukraines sovereign territory are solely on Vladimir Putins hands, she said. Duckworths fellow U.S. Senator, Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called the Russian invasion a dire threat to the established international order in a statement released late Wednesday. U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville; Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap; and Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, are all calling for tougher economic sanctions against Russia. "Thugs like Putin only respond to strength. Now is the time for severe economic consequences, Davis said in a statement released Thursday. Strong sanctions are necessary, LaHood said, in order to (cripple) Russias ability to make war. Bost went further, saying U.S. officials should react with decisive action against Russia. This isnt the time for subtle nuance and split hairs, he said in a social media post on Tuesday. On Thursday, President Joe Biden introduced new economic sanctions on Russias security and financial industries. He also announced that more U.S. troops would be deployed to Europe. U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, said on television network News Nation on Thursday that Americans must put country over party. "This is about protecting democracy and not allowing a leader like Vladimir Putin to continue to spread his authoritarian ways, Bustos said. Some other representatives still took the chance for partisan jabs at Biden. U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, on Thursday criticized Bidens withdrawal from Afghanistan and praised former President Donald Trump. "Biden and the Democrats' open border policies allowed more than 2,000 Russian nationals to cross our southern border, and our border is still open while Putin issues threats to our homeland, Miller said. Lawmakers at the Illinois statehouse also issued responses to Ukraine on Thursday. State Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, and Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Burr Ridge, both announced plans to file legislation addressing Russia and Ukraine. Demmers bill would increase funds to the Department of Human Services (DHS) for the current and next fiscal year to aid Ukrainian refugees resettling in Illinois. Durkins bill would require Illinois to divest funds in Russian companies and would prevent the state from holding any Russian assets. Too often partisanship dominates our efforts in the General Assembly, but this is an opportunity for us to stand up as a bipartisan body and do what is right to support the Ukrainian people in the face of unimaginable hardship, Durkin said. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this done. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 One day while working out in the gym, Thomas Keller dropped a barbell loaded with 315 pounds on his chest. At first he thought he was fine. But within minutes, Keller set out on a medical journey that almost cost him his life. The bar slipped out of my hands and landed on my chest, Keller said, who works as a correctional officer at the Rosebud Adult Correctional Facility near Mission, South Dakota. I caught the bar after it bounced off my chest, and I stood up and racked it. Another officer asked if I was all right, and I just told him I needed some water and Id be fine. I walked around the weight room a little bit and I remember it getting really dark, and I went to a knee. A stroke of luck Kellers co-workers called an ambulance, which transported him to the Indian Health Services Rosebud Unit Emergency Room. He had fractured his sternum and punctured his heart a serious condition that would need specialized care. They made the call to arrange for transport to Monument Health Rapid City Hospital. The Oglala Lakota Air Rescue (OLAR) Service had a helicopter that had just fueled up in Winner, South Dakota, on their way home from Sioux Falls. It wasnt a routine stop for them, so they were nearby purely by chance. The crew landed at the Rosebud Emergency Room before they had a full grasp of Kellers injury. Once they understood the severity of the situation, they knew they had to get Keller in the helicopter and transport him to Monument Health as quickly as possible. Racing against the clock When the helicopter landed on Monument Healths helipad, the team took Keller directly to the surgical suite. Kalyan Vunnamadala, M.D., a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon at the Heart and Vascular Institute, had already been briefed by the Rosebud Unit Emergency Department. He understood that every minute spent getting Keller into surgery could be the difference between life and death. I spoke with the emergency room doctor at Rosebud, who said there was fluid around Mr. Kellers heart. My concern was that this was blood pushing on his heart, Dr. Vunnamadala said. We had a team waiting in the operating room already, including our anesthesiologist and our perfusionist who runs the heart-lung machine for us. All of our OR team was waiting, and as soon as Mr. Keller came in the room we knew time was of the essence. Kellers injury had caused pericardial effusion a buildup of fluid inside the pericardium or lining around the heart that results in excess pressure on the heart. Dr. Vunnamadala performed a median sternotomy, which involved opening the breastbone in order to access the heart, and then cut open the pericardium to relieve the pressure. I initially thought I had just broken a rib. I didnt know it was that severe. But when I saw that many doctors suited up and locked in, I knew it was more serious, Keller said. Once they put the gas on my nose, I remember I kind of had a sigh of relief. It felt like my fight was done. It was in this guys hands now, and I felt like it was going to be okay. Keller was close to death. The reason hes alive has a lot to do with all the medical teams involved in his care. But it also has to do with the team that saw him in the emergency room who made that phone call, and having the flight crew bring him to us immediately. Thank God the OLAR team was close because he would not have made it even another 20 minutes. That crew gave him a chance at life, Dr. Vunnamadala said. Oglala Lakota Air Rescue Oglala Lakota Air Rescue was founded in 2019 and is the only Native American-owned air rescue service in the country. They partner with Apollo MedFlight, which provides medical air transport in 11 states, including South Dakota. Together, they provide emergency air rescue services to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota, as well as other rural tribal lands throughout the state. The mission of OLAR is to provide immediate access to life-saving care in the communities we serve, explained CEO Wade Black. We appreciate being recognized for our role in Thomas amazing story, and are proud of the professionalism and focus on patient care that our teams provide day in and day out. Patient of the Year award MedEvac Foundation International's mission is to advance all aspects of critical care medical transport worldwide through the support of academic research, continuing education and outreach benefiting our patients, first-responders and their families. Every year, they recognize an emergency medical transport patient whose survival and recovery can be directly attributed to the transport and intervention by emergency medical transport teams. They selected Keller as their Patient of the Year for 2021 for his experience with Oglala Lakota Air Rescue and Monument Health. Click here to watch the video. For more information about Monument Health, visit monument.health. This content is provided for informational purposes only by Monument Health and is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Please consult your healthcare provider for medical advice. Any views, thoughts or opinions in this paid post belong solely to Monument Health and do not represent the views of Brand Ave. Studios or its parent company. This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A bill that would have assisted some ranchers by classifying more areas as grassland to feed cattle and other livestock failed to move forward Wednesday in a Senate committee. HB 1039, co-authored by Rep. Trish Ladner, R-Hot Springs, and Sen. Jessica Castleberry, R-Rapid City, would have allowed for agricultural land to also be categorized as "non-cropland" regardless of the soil classification of the land. A few stipulations would have needed to be met for the categorization including the land must have been greater than 1,950 feet in elevation, the land must have been seeded for perennial vegetation for animal grazing or left un-harvested, or if the land was already native grassland. Ladner and Castleberry said a study that used artificial intelligence to examine soil structure showed that there were "several ribbons and patches of land" surveyed that would have caused ranchers to lose protection of grassland status and instead would be assessed at a higher level for croplands. Castleberry said if the ranchers lost that grassland protection, their assessed value of land could increase anywhere from 60% to 200%. However, the bill met opposition Wednesday in the Senate Committee on Taxation from the Department of Revenue. Gov. Kristi Noem also said she opposed the legislation. Mike Houdyshell, chief legal counsel for the Department of Revenue, said the new soil tables that were studied are not yet in effect and are not going into effect. "The new soil tables that were generated... are not going to be implemented in South Dakota," Houdyshell said. "That project has essentially been halted because of some issues that we saw, in particular with West River counties with how those new soil tables were switching crop to non-crop and vice versa." Houdyshell said agricultural adjustments were also under some "mis-perceptions" that taxation adjustments were not occurring, or that the Department of Revenue does not allow counties to make adjustments to agricultural lands. "Neither of those statements are true," he said. Houdyshell said the Department of Revenue is holding trainings and issuing printed guidelines on how agricultural land can be assessed. Castleberry sits on the Senate Taxation Committee and moved to pass the bill. Her motion failed due to lack of a second. The committee then moved to defer the legislation to the 41st day, a tactic that effectively kills the measure. The motion passed by a vote of 6-1. Castleberry was the lone dissenting vote. Contact Nathan Thompson at nathan.thompson@rapidcityjournal.com. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Two parents are claiming in a federal lawsuit that their son was abused while attending classes in the Rapid City Area Schools District. Dwayne Milne and Jaclynn Paul are suing Knollwood Elementary School staff, the district, the school board, Superintendent Lori Simon and the state Department of Education for $75,000. The lawsuit was filed on Feb. 17. According to the lawsuit, Milne and Paul's then-8-year-old son, who is diagnosed with Autism Spectrium Disorder, ADHD, insomnia and restless leg syndrome, was assaulted and restrained on numerous occasions by Knollwood staff between September and October 2019. The lawsuit states the couple transferred their son from the Douglas school district to Knollwood Elementary School when he was in third grade. The lawsuit alleges the boy got off a bus on Sept. 4, 2019, and attempted to push past teachers to get into a classroom and then was "tackled, assaulted and restrained by use of a cradle and a seated kneeling cradle for 10 minutes." The same day, the couple's son attempted to leave the school and four other staff members "assaulted and restrained him" for 22 minutes. The lawsuit also alleges that staff secluded him for anywhere between 13 and 35 minutes in a de-escalation area referred to as "Hawaii," which is described as a corner of a classroom walled off by three five-foot-high dividers. When a child was there, students would leave the room, the door was shut and two staff members would monitor the student. On Oct. 4 and 7, Milne and Paul claim they went to the school separately and saw their son crying on the floor of the de-escalation area. He was removed from the school Oct. 7. Milne and Paul said in the lawsuit they filed a complaint with the state Department of Education, which later determined Knollwood violated IDEA on multiple grounds and failed to ensure the student receive an appropriate public education. There are 10 counts listed in the complaint, including excessive use of force, discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, negligent hiring and training and more. The Rapid City Area School District did not return a request for comment. Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Four of Pennington County's bridges will be preserved and two replaced with funding from the state's Bridge Improvement Grant programs. The South Dakota Transportation Commission awarded 39 preservation, rehabilitation and replacement bridge projects during its Thursday meeting totaling $23 million, the state announced Friday. Pennington County received $1,617,900 for six bridges. Doug Kinniburgh, SDDOT engineering supervisor, said the county will receive $130,900 to preserve a bridge southwest of Caputa over Spring Creek, $161,500 for a bridge in 161st Avenue over Box Elder Creek, $219,700 for a bridge on Neck Yoke Drive over Spring Creek, and $135,200 for a bridge on 161st Avenue near New Underwood. A Silver City bridge on Sheridan Street over Rapid Creek will be replaced with $547,800 in BIG funds, and $422,800 will go to replace a bridge on Thunderhead Falls Road over Rapid Creek near Johnson Siding. Local governments are required to pay a minimum of 20% in matching funds for the projects and have three years to use the grant award. The county was able to apply and qualify for BIG program funds after setting a wheel tax in 2020. Through November 2021, the county collected $1,338,790 in 2021 from the tax. The state program was created in 2015 and requires counties to impose a wheel tax in order to access the funds. Counties must also have a county highway and bridge improvement plan that details projects for the next five years. About $7 million per year is dedicated to the fund with money coming from license plate fees and from non-commercial vehicle fees. The Department of Transportation sets aside $8 million per year of state gas tax funds. The commission previously awarded about $1.5 million in preliminary engineering grants, increased the available funding by about $7.5 million, and reallocated about $3.35 million from closed projects to total $34.75 million. The available dollars represents the amount allocated in the cycle. The program has awarded $101.2 million in grants to local governments since it began. Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A South Dakota Senate panel voted unanimously Wednesday to effectively kill a bill that would reaffirm a medical practitioner's right to prescribe ivermectin. HB 1267 was introduced and sponsored by Rep. Phil Jensen, R-Rapid City, with Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, R-Rapid City, acting as the Senate's prime sponsor. It would have allowed practitioners to prescribe or dispense ivermectin "in accordance with accepted medical practices." Jensen previously said he authored the bill because he had heard that some medical providers were facing backlash over prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients. During testimony Wednesday in front of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, Jensen introduced himself as the bill's prime sponsor and then turned over the testimony to Dr. Paul Marik, a physician born in South Africa who recently resigned as a professor of medicine and the chief of pulmonary and critical care at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. According to an article in Newsweek, Marik also had his clinical privileges suspended at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital after he sued Sentara Health for attempting to limit his ability to prescribe ivermectin to COVID-19 patients. Marik is the co-founder of Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), a group of physicians and former journalists that Scientific American called a "fringe doctors' group" that promotes "ivermectin for COVID despite a lack of evidence." At Wednesday's testimony, Marik said he was "forced" to quit because of his views on using ivermectin to treat COVID-19. "Indeed, actually, I was forced to quit because my hospital would not allow me to prescribe the medications that saved my patients' lives," Marik said. That statement differs from one Marik issued in January. This was not an easy decision to make, but I felt it was time to focus my attention and energy to other interests in both academia and public health. I am looking forward to this next chapter in my career and continuing to make a difference in the world of medicine, Marik said in the previous statement. Another proponent of Jensen's bill included testimony from Hermosa resident Kevin Hunter, who spent four months in the hospital with COVID-19. He said he was forced to be treated with remdesivir and was placed on a ventilator against his will. He said his wife asked doctors to treat him with ivermectin but was refused. Rep. Tony Randolph, R-Rapid City, testified that COVID-19 "hit me pretty hard" when he was ill with the disease. "I attribute my recovery to ivermectin and being able to get my hands on ivermectin," Randolph said. "I was concerned with the idea of going to the hospital, so I was really reluctant to go down that road." The Senate committee also heard testimony from Dr. Jonathan Taylor, who is not able to practice medicine in South Dakota because he does not have malpractice insurance. Taylor claimed that because of his views on the efficacy of ivermectin for COVID-19 patients, he faced retribution and "attacks" from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, fellow physicians and medical associations, and Sanford Health. During opponent testimony, the Senate panel heard from Justin Bell, who is a lobbyist for the South Dakota State Medical Association. He said the medical association is not in favor of the bill because health care providers already have the right to prescribe ivermectin and because of the lack of a definition in Jensen's bill for "practitioner." "Those that have prescriptive authority can already do this. We don't have anything in law regarding other prescription drugs... that say they may be allowed," Bell said. Bell also noted the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a Feb. 18 study for a randomized clinical trial of the efficacy of ivermectin in treating COVID-19. The study found "oral ivermectin administered during the first week of illness did not reduce the risk of developing severe disease compared with standard of care alone." The report went on to say that "the study findings do not support the use of ivermectin for patients with COVID-19." Representatives from the South Dakota Pharmacists Association, Avera Health and Sanford Health also spoke in opposition of Jensen's bill. In rebuttal, Marik said the JAMA study was "a lie," and claimed that any medical association, physician, hospital or "person" that was against using ivermectin to treat COVID-19 was being controlled by pharmaceutical companies and money. Following testimony, Sen. Arthur Rusch, R-Vermillion, made the motion to move Jensen's bill to the 41st legislative day, which prevents the legislation moving to the Senate floor for debate. Rusch's motion was seconded by Sen. Blake Curd, R-Sioux Falls. Curd is an orthopedic surgeon. Rusch said he opposed the bill because he is a conservative, "and as a conservative I believe in less government. I believe in less government involvement in these kind of issues." "I think the last thing we need is the Legislature attempting to dictate the propriety or the use of any kind of medicines," Rusch said. "That's up to the doctors. That's exactly what I would expect a liberal government to be dictating." The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 7-0 to move the bill to the 41st day. Contact Nathan Thompson at nathan.thompson@rapidcityjournal.com. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Of course the gun range passed what did you expect? Its South Dakota, where guns, abortion and bathroom choices reign supreme. Now actually helping people with their everyday lives such as food, housing and medical care forget about it, youre in the wrong state. There are only 123 diverging diamond intersections in the entire USA but our clueless DOT thinks we need one. Cant wait for a rural rancher pulling a horse trailer on icy roads to figure out in a few seconds that he has to drive on the wrong side of the road. Dumbest idea yet from our government officials. It is a dark day in America when a politician says how much they admire Putin. Putin isnt a statesman, he is a bully and a thug, nothing to admire about that is there? Having visited East Berlin in 1970, I have witnessed first hand the oppression generated by Putin's predecessors. As a former KGB agent, Putin is using their playbook to attack and control Ukraine. No real freedom-loving American can admire what Putin is doing. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 8 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 Hamilton High School and Stevensville School District have selected new administrators. Hamilton Middle School Principal Marlin Lewis was selected to be the new principal of Hamilton High School, where he graduated in 1988. Lewis gave his reasons to be HHS principal as wanting a new adventure, being with his children and leading ongoing excellence in education. Ive been at the middle school for nine years and feel I have built up a very good school culture, it is a great family with the staff we have here, he said. Its going to be a great move. With both my kids going to be in high school this will allow me to work with them, be at their events and just be able to focus on the high school. He said his most important goal is to continue the tradition of excellence at the high school. This is a top school in the state of Montana and it is recognized for outstanding education, Lewis said. I want to continue that, build on it and be part of that excellence. He felt the biggest challenge facing Hamilton High School is transitioning out of the pandemic and getting kids back into school. A lot of them were online with transitional learning, he said. We will be getting everybody back up to speed and back on track to as much normalcy as we can have. We want to continue to grow in technology and everything else that is going on around here with the influx of people in the Bitterroot Valley. There are a lot of challenges, but we can meet them. Lewis said he enjoys being a principal. He spent 17 years as a middle school and high school teacher in Polson before returning to Hamilton and is in his 11th year as an administrator. Im sitting at my 27th year in education and this will be a new adventure, he said. My goal is to be at Hamilton High School to complete a full circle. My goal is to retire from there and finish with that age of kids at that level. He said Hamilton Middle School is a wonderful place to be and the quality staff and students made his decision to move on very difficult. That part was tough, he said. We have great relationships here and that part is not easy to leave. But Im looking forward to building relationships at the high school. I already know a lot of the staff there, some of them I have worked with before and that will be exciting too. Lewis also knows most of the high school students as they attended Hamilton Middle School. Hamilton Superintendent Tom Korst said Lewis is the perfect choice for HHS principal. We are fortunate to have one of the best principals in the state and look forward to his leadership at the high school level, Korst said. Hamilton School District Communications Director Justine Stewart said Lewis will begin at the high school in August. We are excited to have a Hamilton alumnus and recipient of a Principal of the Year award assume this position, she said. Lewis was selected as Montanas National Distinguished Principal in 2019 by the Montana Association of Elementary and Middle School Principals. The Stevensville School Board has selected Dave Thennis as their new superintendent who will start July 1. School Board Chair Cathi Cook said the board and staff are excited to welcome Thennis. It is going to be a great time with the construction project completed by then and the district continuing to strive for excellence in educating our students and being a part of the Stevensville community, Cook said. In a phone call Tuesday, Thennis said he is eager to start at Stevensville. It is very exciting, he said. I am thrilled and it is definitely tough to leave the position I am in. I enjoy it, but I am really excited to work in Stevensville and become part of the community and lead our schools there. Thennis said he believes in public education. I think it is as far as students and communities, it is the vehicle that makes things go, he said. It is the key to happiness for kids. If we do a good job of providing foundational educational skills for students it sets them up for life with all kinds of options. Thats what I want to bring to the table, creating options for kids, creating a foundation where they can grab onto their dreams and go for it. Thennis is wrapping up the school year in Helena where he is the principal of the C.R. Anderson Middle School in Helena and has been since 2017. For the previous 10 years he was their assistant principal. Thennis has a bachelors degree in chemistry and biology from Whitman College and a masters degree in educational leadership from the University of Montana. I will finish things up here and start learning as much as possible about Stevensville, the community, the school, and what we do well and build upon our strengths, he said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The 2022 Montana Junior Duck Stamp Contest is receiving entries now up until March 25, 2022. Entries can be mailed or hand delivered to Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge at 4567 Wildfowl Lane, Stevensville, MT 59870 (406-777-5552). The art image should be of a live, native North American waterfowl species that measures 9 x 12 in a horizontal layout. Artwork can be drawn using ink, paint, pastel, crayon, or pencil. Entries should not be matted, drawn with a border, signed, initialed or lettered, computer-generated, photographs, or copies or tracings of published art. Entries placing first through honorable mention will be publicly acknowledged and will receive ribbons and awards. The Junior Duck Stamp Contest is an active participatory art and science program designed to teach wetland habitat and waterfowl conservation to students in kindergarten through high school enrolled in private, public or home schools. The curriculum (www.fws.gov/juniorduck/) guides students using wildlife observation principles to draw or paint a waterfowl species in appropriate habitat. About 27,000 students from across the country enter the contest annually. The Best of Show from Montana will compete in the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest in Washington, D.C. In 2021, Montanas Jackson Hall placed third overall nationally with his oil depiction of a redhead duck. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Junior high school students in Yunnan create 17-meter-long painting in salute to ancient Chinese masterpiece People's Daily Online) 17:26, February 24, 2022 A group of junior high school students in Kunming, capital city of southwest Chinas Yunnan Province, created a 17-meter-long landscape painting as a salute to an ancient Chinese painting masterpiece. (Photo provided by the interviewee) Thirty-one eighth-graders from the Xishan High School of Kunming No. 1 High School finished their painting in one week by imitating the style of the 12-meter-long landscape painting masterpiece A Panorama of Mountains and Rivers, by Wang Ximeng (1096-1119), a genius painter from the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Its surprising that these young students could complete a painting that features rolling mountains using traditional Chinese painting techniques, as they learned the skills from scratch in just two months. (Photo provided by the interviewee) To help the students gain a deeper understanding of the charm of traditional art, Li Haiyan, who teaches traditional Chinese painting to them, explained the ancient masterpiece to them in all of its many details. She also let the students watch an episode of the TV program National Treasure, which told the stories behind the masterpiece. The students were stunned by the painting scroll and its blue-green landscape, said Li, adding that its her responsibility to help the students appreciate the beauty of profound traditional Chinese culture and art and to spread Chinese civilization all across the country. Now Li is busy guiding her students to create a scroll about the splendid scenery in Yunnan Province using traditional Chinese painting skills. (Photo provided by the interviewee) (Photo provided by the interviewee) (Photo provided by the interviewee) (Photo provided by the interviewee) (Photo provided by the interviewee) (Photo provided by the interviewee) (Photo provided by the interviewee) (Photo provided by the interviewee) (Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji) Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 State lawmakers with oversight of the state health department have called a special committee meeting for next week to discuss the immediate jeopardy status of Montana State Hospital. The federal government last week issued a notice to Montana State Hospital administrator Kyle Fouts that it has until March 13 to correct noncompliance issues or it may lose federal funding. This week, details emerged about the conditions that led the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to place the facility on "immediate jeopardy" status. "Obviously, the (immediate jeopardy) finding is very concerning," said Rep. Ed Stafman, a Bozeman Democrat who chairs the Children, Families, Health and Human Services Committee. "We're concerned about the danger that patients might be in and we're also concerned about losing our federal funding." The committee is set to meet at 1 p.m. on March 4, although Stafman said the schedule could change in the next week. "Our hope is that we will roll up our sleeves and work together with the (DPHHS Director Adam Meier) to fix these problems," he added. The federal health violations detailed by CMS inspectors earlier this month fall into two categories: patient rights and infection control. Big Sky Lede: Crisis at the Montana State Hospital On this episode, Seaborn Larson talks about an inspection report that lays out how those conditions have affected patients, and in some cases, how violations of federal health rules have had fatal consequences. The inspection found patients had fallen 41 times over the course of January, 10 of which were attributed to one woman who ultimately died as a result of falling from her wheelchair. The hospital is required to implement plans to prevent such events when patients are prone to falls. Inspectors also found the state hospital had no COVID-19 prevention plan in place when the facility was struck by an outbreak in January. All but 20 of the 107 patients were infected with the virus, briefly isolated in one unit before COVID-19 had "overrun" the facility. Staffing sheets showed employees had been assigned to work both COVID-positive units and non-COVID units, sometimes in the same day. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Three Richmond-area companies a maker of ingredient-conscious lipstick and lip balms, a company that helps connect expectant and new parents to care providers, and a firewood delivery service were selected to participate in a Richmond accelerator program for startup companies. The three Richmond businesses will join six others including two from elsewhere in Virginia as part of the 12th cohort of businesses to go through Lighthouse Labs, a program that provides mentoring, advice and financial support to promising startup businesses. This year marks the 10th year that Lighthouse Labs has operated. Including this springs cohort, Lighthouse Labs has worked with 89 companies and more than 160 founders. Over the course of the last decade, weve attracted some of the most talented founders and mentors to the Richmond startup community, said Erin Powell, executive director of Lighthouse Labs. The support for growing our startup ecosystem here in Richmond has been growing steadily for the last few years. The spring 2022 cohort will meet for regularly for 12 weeks starting March 7, and will get mentoring from numerous volunteers and advisory services from Lighthouse Labs partners such as Global Accelerator Network, Kaleo Legal, Sandbox and Startup Virginia. Lighthouse received more than 160 applications for the nine spots in the upcoming cohort. Five of the nine companies are in Virginia. Two are based in Pennsylvania, and two are based in Texas. Six of the nine teams are in the health care industry. There is a lot of focus on health care, said Powell, adding that Lighthouse Labs continues to partner with a consortium of health providers including Virginia Commonwealth University to help bring health innovations to market. Companies participating in the program also get $20,000 of equity-free funding. The companies in the spring 2022 cohort are: Llamawood, a Richmond-based on-demand firewood delivery platform; LipLoveLine, a Richmond-based ingredient-conscious lip care brand; Nessle, a Richmond-based online platform that connects new and expectant parents to perinatal experts for on-demand care; Transfoam, a Charlottesville-based biotechnology firm using engineered microorganisms to turn waste into biodegradable plastic alternatives; Kinometrix, a Fort Belvoir-based developer of an artificial intelligence platform to enhance patient safety in hospitals; On Time Trials , a Round Rock, Texas, software company using machine learning to optimize clinical trial monitoring; Hoth Intelligence , a Philadelphia company that provides augmented reality solutions for medical problems; Viora, a Philadelphia company that reduces health risks due to social and behavioral determinants; and CaseCTRL, a Houston-based software developer of surgical case management systems. More than 100 clergy, activists and supporters nearly all of them bearing signs naming one of the more than 150 people killed in Richmond over the past two years arrived at City Hall Friday morning hoping to meet Mayor Levar Stoney to discuss gun violence and prevention. Stoney recently announced a number of programs targeting gun violence, but not a program proposed by Richmonders Involved to Strengthen Our Communities RISC a justice ministry organization made up of 22 congregations. Its members said they made 11 previous attempts to meet with Stoney since he was re-elected in 2020, and that each was denied. On Feb. 11, the group sent a letter saying they would come to Stoney, at City Hall, on Friday to meet with him at 11 a.m. Again, they were denied a meeting. Stoneys office told the group ahead of Fridays demonstration that the mayor would not meet with them they came anyway. Jim Nolan, Stoneys spokesman, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the mayor or an administration official has met with RISC, which also advocates for fair housing issues, at least a dozen times since 2019, though its unclear if any of those meetings came after Stoneys re-election in 2020. We are not going anywhere, Rabbi Michael Knopf of Temple Beth-El told the crowd Friday. We are going to continue to press forward. We are going to continue to work, to hit the streets, to make our voices heard, so that the mayor and all the leaders in our city will do what they need to do to save lives. Thats what we want. Thats what we demand. In a statement posted to Twitter around 3 p.m., Stoney accused the group of bullying and intimidating public officials and using gun violence victims as pawns. The path we are taking in Richmond has been informed by a vast array of community members, including yourselves, and experts. It is evidence-based, Stoney said in an open letter to RISC Leadership. Please afford me, the Chief of Police, my Administration, and the many members of the community who are working with us, the respect and grace to do what we think is best for the people of Richmond. RISC is pushing a gun violence prevention program called Group Violence Intervention, or GVI. The strategy was pioneered in Boston under Operation Ceasefire in the 1990s. It calls for community members to partner with police and social service providers to work with people identified as likely to commit violence. GVI has since been implemented in Oakland, Calif., where it reduced homicides by half; in New Haven, Conn., where it resulted in a 78% reduction in gun homicides; and in Stockton, Calif., with a 42% reduction, according to National Network for Safe Communities NNSC which helps communities implement the plan. Its effective because it tries to stop the next murder not solve the last one, said Pastor Don Coleman, of East End Fellowship in Richmond and co-president of RISC. The group is calling for a $25,000 problem analysis to pinpoint those most likely to commit violence or be the victims of violence, and a two-year contract with the NNSC to implement GVI, which would cost $250,000. That solution has been ignored for two years and recently the mayor proposed a hodgepodge of strategies to tackle the problem with a price tag of millions, the group said prior to Fridays event. Earlier this month, Stoney announced a $500,000 gun buyback program, promised to distribute $1 million in community grants to combat gun violence, and hired a new community safety coordinator a position that was originally recommended by a task force the city administration formed in 2020 to reimagine public safety. Officials said the funding will come from federal aid the city received last year from the American Rescue Plan Act. The nonprofit NextUp RVA, which operates after-school programming for Richmond Public Schools students, will distribute the grant money to community-led programs focused on parenting support, mental health services, tutoring, mentorships and after-school programs. Stoney is listed among the nonprofits board members. Nolan, Stoneys spokesman, said the city doesnt support the implementation of GVI because we do not support a law enforcement-heavy approach to gun violence prevention, which GVI is. But earlier this month, Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith said his department is also playing a role in the mayors gun violence prevention strategy with the hiring announcement of three civilian violence interrupters. Several people at Fridays demonstration decried both the gun buyback and interrupter programs. Nobody is selling back their guns from the streets, said Shabazz Muhammad, the domestic violence coordinator for REAL Life. The program gives individuals recently released from jail a chance to turn their life around. REAL Life works. Im a proven example. For a problem, you need to have a solution, said Muhammad, who has lost several relatives to gun violence a nephew and brother were murdered, and two nephews are serving double-digit sentences for gun offenses. GVI is a proven solution. Ram Bhagat, who serves as manager of School Culture and Climate Strategy for Richmond Public Schools and heads a nonprofit called Drums No Guns, said he thinks gun violence needs to targeted at the root cause, like poverty, which a gun buyback does little to address. Pastor Ralph Hodge from Second Baptist Church said he was initially encouraged to hear Richmond would be utilizing violence interrupters, but to hear they would be working for the police department is a non-starter, he said. You just told the community who not to listen to, Hodge said, adding that working for the police would likely put them in danger. Hodge said RISC couldnt apply for any of the $1 million the city is giving to nonprofits for grants because it does not provide direct service. Last year, Richmond police recorded 90 homicides, the highest annual count since 2004. So far this year, Richmond police are investigating six slayings. Demario Lonzer could have left George Wythe High School when his family moved to Richmonds North Side last summer. He wanted to stay, though, and now wakes up at 6 a.m. to catch a GRTC bus to a school that government officials say is in dire need of a rebuild more than 60 years after it opened. Lonzer, 18, said he loves the school and its community in South Side, even if there are holes in the ceiling and buckets in the hallway collecting water from leaky pipes. They should have built a new school awhile ago, he said. I know I probably wont be here once a new one is built, but I just want kids in the future to have a better school. The need to rebuild Wythe, which serves a largely Black and Latino student body, has been a top concern for Richmonders for years. Mayor Levar Stoney has touted repairing the deteriorating South Side school, which was originally built in 1960, as a key priority for several years, but the project has been delayed due to rising school construction costs and political debates over management, how big a new school should be and other competing priorities. While the school has been repeatedly highlighted in local news reports and political campaigns, dozens more local schools that are generations old are also in need of replacement or repair, prompting Virginia lawmakers to look for ways to raise the money to modernize school facilities in Richmond and across the state. The fact that rebuilding Wythe remains at an impasse five years after the Richmond School Board approved a $225 million facilities plan serves as a reminder that the board, which voted 5-4 last year to take over all aspects of new school construction from Stoneys administration, faces an ever-worsening crisis of aging school buildings in the city an issue compounded by the three-alarm fire that broke out at William Fox Elementary School two weeks ago. More than 40% of the citys school buildings have not had a major renovation in at least 50 years, according to the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, a panel established in 2020 by the General Assembly to assess the needs of local school divisions across Virginia and provide funding recommendations to the governor and the legislature. That group does not include either Fox or Wythe, but it does include 10 school buildings: Open High, Bellevue Elementary, Summer Hill Preschool Center, Albert Hill Middle, Binford Middle, Barack Obama Elementary, Patrick Henry Elementary, Ginter Park Elementary, Thomas Jefferson High and the Adult Career Development Center that the commission says have not undergone significant renovations in at least 90 years, a threshold shared by just two other Virginia schools: Fairview Elementary in Galax and Madison Alternative Center in Norfolk. Its really important to remember that this is not just an issue for Fox or the Fan District. George Wythe has been having issues and needing a new school for long time, said Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, the chair of the school modernization commission and a Fox parent. The city is near its debt capacity. They are struggling to meet their maintenance, construction and renovation needs. Weve got to provide more tools at the state level. The problem of how to pay for school rebuilding is not exclusive to Richmond; there are nearly 180 Virginia schools, across 40 localities, that have not been renovated in at least half a century. The total replacement value of those schools: $2.7 billion. The cost of rebuilding all schools older than 50 years old is at least $24.8 billion. (The commission only compiles replacement cost for schools built in 1970 or before, so replacement values for some of the schools were not available.) If they arent replaced soon, the risk of buildings catching fire and health complications from moldy facilities or failing HVAC systems could make student learning harder and, at worst, endanger lives. McClellan said she and other lawmakers have known for more than a decade that new comprehensive funding strategies are needed, and that the condition of old schools around the state have worsened as the General Assembly has taken only small steps to help localities replace and renovate schools. Its growing because we keep putting it off, she said. But those looking for answers from the General Assembly have not found them yet. Several House of Delegates bills that would let localities increase their sales tax by 1% to fund school construction projects, subject to a local referendum, were knocked down by a Republican-led subcommittee. A Senate version of the bill proposed by McClellan passed the Senate, but was struck down by a House committee on Friday. Other legislative and budget proposals that she and lawmakers support to guide money for local school construction projects are still up for consideration. Both chambers have acknowledged the need to address deteriorating school facilities in their budget proposals. The Republican-led House has included a loan rebate program in its proposal that could create up to $2 billion for school modernization and replacement, while the majority-Democratic Senate has endorsed former Gov. Ralph Northams plan to use $500 million of state general funds for school construction. To replace all 22 of Richmonds oldest school buildings would cost more than $400 million, according to the commission. But while that figure is mostly theoretical it highlights the scope of the financial and logistical burdens facing a School Board that has added overseeing construction projects to its purview. Cost concerns are especially sensitive given that other projects in Phase I of the boards facilities plan ran over cost estimates And earlier this month, a Richmond City Council committee once again delayed discussion of whether to sign off on transferring $7.3 million to the School Board to start designing a new Wythe. The ongoing dispute over Wythe in recent months has widened to include arguments about the proposed size of the school. The majority of School Board members say they want a smaller facility for up to 1,600 students. Stoney, Superintendent Jason Kamras and their allies, however, say it would likely open over capacity in that case and that they should stick with previous plans for a building that accommodates 2,000 students. In a School Board meeting Tuesday, several parents called on the board to compromise, particularly in light of the fire at Fox and new state budget proposals that could cut funding for Richmond schools by $5 million to $20 million. The boards decision to seize control of construction came as the city was prepared to issue a request for proposals for the Wythe project. Sean McGoey Follow Sean McGoey 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 With a deadline looming for the Richmond School Board to pass an annual budget for next year, the governing body sent an ultimatum to Superintendent Jason Kamras on Thursday: Fire your chief operating officer. In a pair of emails sent to Kamras, School Board Chair Shonda Harris-Muhammed said she and four of her colleagues would be willing to delay approval of the budget again after they rejected his $362.6 million proposal on Tuesday. In addition to asking for a restoration of funding for the divisions virtual academy and a new auditor position, Harris-Muhammed requested that the superintendent eliminate COO Alana Gonzalez job and the vacant chief wellness officer position ahead of the boards next meeting on Monday. If we cannot resolve items they have directly asked for several times over, prepare for another meeting, she said. The ongoing dispute over the budget threatens the potential for new education funding in next years city budget. Mayor Levar Stoney said last week that he would not add money for schools if the board does not approve a budget by Friday. The district is also at risk of losing $5 million to $20 million in state funds, according to budget proposals before the Virginia General Assembly. In a news conference Thursday afternoon, Stoney said he would move forward with plans to present a budget to the City Council next week that does not include new funding for the school district. I need evidence of what they need in order to craft my budget, and right now theyre not providing me enough information, he said. We have no idea at this moment. And so I think my letter speaks for itself. Harris-Muhammed did not respond to a voicemail Thursday evening, but other members who voted against the budget Tuesday said their cadre supports the budget changes she outlined in her email. The requested removal of two cabinet positions escalates tension between the school divisions administration and several board members who allege that the central office is bloated with officials who have failed to cooperate with their policy decisions and requests for information. In the last few months, weve conveyed a lot of concern relevant to the amount of resources invested in our cabinet, specifically the senior leadership, said 4th District School Board member Jonathan Young. Theres real interest in pushing the district to be leaner at the top and adopt a reorganization. Other School Board members in recent weeks have resisted calls for removing central office personnel, arguing that it would make administration of schools and management of construction projects more difficult. Kamras did not immediately respond Thursday evening to questions about Harris-Muhammeds email. The real budget battle is about to begin, and its all about tax cuts. The House of Delegates and Senate adopted competing budgets on Thursday with few changes but plenty of political sparring over billions in proposed tax cuts that separate the spending plans and the money available for public services. The proposed two-year budgets are $3 billion apart. The Republican-controlled House followed the day one game plan of new Gov. Glenn Youngkin to carry out the promises of his gubernatorial campaign last fall, while the Democratic-run Senate drew a line over how much tax relief its willing to provide, while investing more in public education and other core services. Senate Finance Chair Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, said the Senate budget strikes a balance between the right amount of spending on restored or new services for the citizens of the commonwealth, and tax relief for those same individuals and businesses. The Senate approved the two-year, $166 billion spending plan by a 31-9 vote. Earlier, it voted 36-4 to adopt a revised budget for the current fiscal year, which will end on June 30, after rejecting a proposal by Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, to spend $70 million in state tax funds on a forensic audit of the 2020 presidential election in Virginia, which Democrat Joe Biden won by 10 percentage points over then-President Donald Trump. Six Republican senators backed the amendment, including two aspiring congressional candidates Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, who faces an eight-candidate primary for the 7th District GOP nomination in June, and Sen. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, whos in a three-way primary race in the 2nd District. Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, also supported Chases amendment. The Senate approved only one amendment to the current fiscal year budget, which McDougle proposed to accelerate the repeal of special Department of Labor and Industry regulations stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the House, the current fiscal year budget passed on a vote of 100-0, but that was the end of unanimity, as Democrats lodged almost three dozen objections to the proposed two-year budget, as well as a series of floor amendments. The Republican majority dismissed all of them most of them on 52-48 party-line votes. More than 20 Democrats ultimately supported the budget, which passed on a 74-25 vote. But the Democratic minority used the process to make political points about: the House budgets almost $5.5 billion in proposed tax relief, which excluded a refundable tax credit for low-income families; the best way for the state to help local school divisions repair or replace crumbling buildings, either through a loan-rebate program included in the budget to raise up to $2 billion, or grants to localities; the slashing of more than $102 million in aid to Richmond and two other cities for eliminating polluted overflows despite the governors pressure on them to accelerate the work; and the refusal to make public the results of calls to a tip line that Youngkin established for the public to report on teaching of divisive subjects that the governor has sought to ban in public schools. We have a tip line established with taxpayer funds ... things that we as a legislature ought to know about. Nobody can find out what they say, said Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax. House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, said publicizing the emails would defeat the purpose of a tip line, which is to ease fear of retribution by making the tips anonymous. Knight said Democrats attempt at shutting down the tip line through the budget could lead to an unprecedented prohibition on the power of the executive branch. But the core of Democratic objections centered on tax cuts specifically the doubling of the standard deduction for income tax filers at a cost of $2.1 billion over the first two years alone, coupled with the budget and finance committees refusal to support making 15% of the Earned Income Tax Credit refundable for working families that dont earn enough to use all of the credit to offset state taxes. Then-Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, had proposed the refundable credit in the budget he introduced in December and Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, had proposed the measure separately in legislation. The Republican-controlled committees rejected both. We are making a false choice, said Price, who argued that the refundable tax credit is the way to provide significant tax relief to working families. Knight argued that low-income families would benefit from the doubling of the standard deduction and the repeal of the state sales tax on groceries, as well as a proposal to roll back a 5-cent-per-gallon increase in the gas tax for 12 months. In introducing the House budget, he noted that the budget Northam proposed included more than $10 billion in new revenues. Given this unparalleled growth in revenues, we approached this budget intent on spending not just the money we have available, but based our spending choices on what actually is needed, Knight said. The Senate budget excludes the change in the standard deduction and the suspension of the gas tax increase, while partly repealing the 2.5% grocery tax and protecting the 1% that goes directly to local governments. Targeted tax relief for those who need it most is critical, but we must do so in a manner that does not threaten core services for years to come, former House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, said. At this unique moment, we have the ability to do so much more to reinvest in the future, Filler-Corn said. We owe it to Virginians, to our families, and to our children. That is what Virginia parents really want. Next week, the two bodies will appoint a conference committee to begin negotiating the wide differences between the two budgets before the assembly is scheduled to adjourn on March 12. mmartz@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6964 mleonor@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6254 Twitter: @MelLeonor_ Staff writers Patrick Wilson and Andrew Cain contributed to this report. Michael Martz Follow Michael Martz 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 Mel Leonor Follow Mel Leonor Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today A House of Delegates subcommittee rejected pleas on Friday from local government officials, parents and a 4th-grade student from rural Prince Edward County to let them help themselves by allowing voters to impose a 1% sales tax to pay for badly needed school repairs and construction. The same House Finance subcommittee already had killed bills delegates proposed to expand an option that nine local school divisions had received in past years to impose a local sales tax for school modernization. Prince Edward was among the localities denied the option in late January. It was the Senates turn on Friday to watch many of the same proposals die for Isle of Wight County, Charlottesville and other localities across the state looking for an alternative to huge hikes in their real estate taxes or loans they say they cant afford to repay. All we are asking for is a fair chance to improve our school, said Aliza Pope, a fourth-grader at Prince Edward Elementary School near Farmville. The three bills died on identical 4-3, party-line votes, as the House and Senate prepare to negotiate a potential budget solution that wont obligate the state to pay for billions of dollars in local school construction or raise taxes in a year when Gov. Glenn Youngkin has made tax cuts a top priority. Were trying to return extra tax dollars to people at a time that its really needed, said Del. Kathy Byron, R-Bedford, the subcommittee chair. It seems counter-productive to turn around and ask for more. The finance subcommittees hard line this year has surprised House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott. He said recently that the House Republican Caucus had not taken a unified position against tax increases to pay for school construction if local voters approve them. Anytime the voters want to impose a tax on themselves for schools, I dont have a problem with that, Kilgore said in an interview a week ago. Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Caroline, a retired educator on the subcommittee, said he objected to the local option because he doesnt like bifurcating the sales tax between state and local government, putting localities with the higher tax at a disadvantage for retail businesses. Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City, who introduced the bill for Isle of Wight, said he sympathized with concerns about tax increases, but told members that while the state is not directly responsible for shifting the burden to local real estate taxes, indirectly, it very clearly is. The House has long taken a bipartisan position that school repairs and construction is the responsibility of local government, not the state, but with a multi-billion-dollar price tag for replacing or renovating old school buildings that predominate in Virginia, the General Assembly appears poised to take action this year. I do support school construction, but I have a different way to get there, Byron told Aliza and other students at the meeting after Del. Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville, tried to explain the subcommittees actions to them. (Byron admonished Hudson and then adjourned the meeting while Hudson continued to talk.) Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, who sponsored the bill to make the local sales tax a statewide option, said state lawmakers have to do more than expand loan programs for local school divisions that often cant afford to pay back the money without raising real estate taxes. Either were going to have to take on this responsibility fully at the state level or were going to have to start giving our localities more tools to meet it, said McClellan, chair of the Commission on School Construction and Modernization, which made five legislative proposals, including the local sales tax option for all localities. School modernization will be a central issue in the competing House and Senate budgets that a conference committee will begin negotiating next week. Both chambers have approved legislation to create a fund that could give grants or loans to school divisions for repairs and construction, building on the $500 million that then-Gov. Ralph Northam included in the budget he proposed in December before leaving office. House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, fashioned a loan-rebate program in the House budget that would use about $292 million of those funds and $250 million from the literary fund to leverage up to $2 billion in bonds for school construction, with future funding from casino revenues. The program would have two tiers, based on local need and ability to pay. The school divisions with the greatest needs and least means to pay would receive a rebate of up to 30% of the loan, as well as forgiveness of the interest charges. The program would forgive interest charges, but not rebate a portion of the loan principal, for school divisions in the second tier. Del. Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, a former Richmond School Board member and a member of McClellans commission, noted in the budget debate on Thursday that localities have not used an existing loan program offered by the Literary Fund because they had to pay back every penny to it. Knight responded that the current program doesnt forgive interest payments or rebate a portion of the loan principal. Yes, its going to be a loan program, but its a whole lot better than anything weve had before, Knight said. Hudson challenged the House during the budget debate to change its position on giving localities the option to impose a 1% sales tax on themselves to pay for schools. If the members of this body want to make the loan program a meaningful, real option for localities, Id hope they would give localities the freedom they need to raise the money to pay those loans back, she said. Gov. Glenn Youngkins new education department has scrapped dozens of resources for schools aimed at promoting diversity and equity, calling them divisive and at times discriminatory. The administration took aim at virtually every equity and diversity resource the Virginia Department of Education handed down to schools as part of its educational equity initiative, called EdEquityVA. That included an entire website dedicated to increasing cultural competency among Virginia teachers, and a suggested readings list that includes historian and MacArthur Fellow Ibram X. Kendi. News of the decision renewed opponents criticism that the Youngkin administration is targeting efforts to address the legacy of racism in education, not simply opposing certain school lessons. The actions of his Department of Education are cruelly tearing away every attempt at promoting equity and healing division, instead replacing those initiatives with whitewashed history and fake news, said Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, a powerful Black lawmaker. The changes the administration announced Friday are the product of an executive order the governor signed on Jan. 15, the day he took office. It directed state education officials to audit initiatives and resources for signs of inherently divisive concepts and Critical Race Theory, an academic concept that conservatives broadly use to refer to the idea that racism is ongoing and systemic in the U.S. Exactly what the administration classifies as a divisive concept has so far remained murky. A memo from state schools Superintendent Jillian Balow resulting from the audit issued Friday offered the clearest look at what exactly the Youngkin administration is taking aim at. The memo describes affirmative action policies as discriminatory, suggests that historic discrimination in education may not be to blame for disparate outcomes among students of color, and rejects the idea that white people might unwittingly benefit from systemic racism and discrimination. Numerous resources within EdEquityVA employ the concept that current discrimination is needed to address past discrimination. (Treating people differently based on skin color to remedy old/previous discrimination.), Balow wrote to defend the mothballing of the departments EdEquityVA website. Balow said that the approach to equity from previous Gov. Ralph Northams administration did not allow room for differences or disproportionality among students of different races, and she rejected the idea that any difference in what students have or what they achieve is due to systemic racism. Another reason for scrapping the initiative, Balow wrote, was that it was underpinned by the idea that white people benefit from racism, regardless of intentions. She said the now-defunct initiative sought to shift school culture from excellence and opportunity to equitable outcomes for all students. Balow said the department has convened a task force to explore alternatives to the departments work on training teachers and school administrators to better serve diverse groups of students. She said the resources the previous administration issued may be divisive and need to be reviewed. Among the divisive concepts included in the training for teachers and administrators, Balow said, was the need to redress bias in the education system, and to include culturally responsive as a metric in teacher evaluations. Youngkin on Friday said he was encouraged by Balows work. This is the first step in improving Virginias education system, restoring high academic expectations, equipping our future generation to be career or college ready, and providing equal opportunities for all Virginia students, he said in a statement. Balow said in her Friday memo that the concepts the administration is hoping to extricate have become widespread. We will need to proactively review policies, practices, and pedagogies around the state to uphold the Civil Rights Act [of 1964] and comport with Executive Order One, wrote Balow, referencing the federal law enacted to protect Black people from discrimination. A second report from Balow on the topic is due to Youngkin in 60 days. Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said Youngkin and Balow are engaged in a war to erase any history that might be perceived by white students or parents as forcing them to feel inferior. But after decades of being told that I was inferior for my race, for my gender, for the way I look and children in my community facing that same treatment I am sincerely appalled at and fearful of what these reforms will mean for the next generation, Locke said. House Minority Leader Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, said: What parents really want are fully funded schools and affordable child care, not race-based witch hunts designed to intimidate educators and censor our history. Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, said the memo offers a look at what inherently divisive means to Youngkin: eliminating state programs aimed at promoting equity, tools that school divisions can use to ensure fair treatment and education of all students. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, investing in improved relations with Senate Democrats, stopped by a committee meeting Thursday and delivered two of his trademark red vests to Sens. Louise Lucas and Mamie Locke. Lucas, D-Portsmouth, president pro tempore of the Senate, and Locke, D-Hampton, head of the Senate Democratic Caucus, recently trolled the governor by wearing matching red vests after he mistakenly congratulated Lucas for a Black History Month speech that Locke had delivered. Since @GovernorVA cant tell us apart, @SenatorLocke and I decided to steal his look today, Lucas tweeted on Feb. 17. On Thursday, Youngkin walked in during a meeting of the Senate Education and Health Committee, wearing one of his trademark vests. During a lighthearted exchange, he presented two of them to the Democratic senators. I understand, Madam Chairman, that the two of you have taken to wearing red vests, Youngkin told Lucas, leader of the committee. He said such vests have become popular over the last year, and Im worried that you have knockoffs. Based on your fashion sense, I want you to have the originals, Youngkin said. Nothings worse than not having the original. Lucas told Youngkin: Governor, you will see these very soon on Twitter. Before leaving the meeting, Youngkin thanked the senators on the panel, adding: I just so look forward to continuing our constructive working relationship. Lucas later tweeted: He finally knows who we are! She added that she wished her new vest was blue to represent how the Senate will be staying for his time in office. Legislation that would have restricted the use of solitary confinement in state prisons was again stopped in the General Assembly. Republicans on a House public safety committee on Thursday advanced the legislation, but only in the form of a study of solitary confinement in Virginias prisons. The bill from Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, had passed the Senate but was scaled back Thursday. The legislature killed the proposal last year. The American Civil Liberties Union was among groups supporting the original bill. Supporters of ending or reducing solitary confinement point to research showing it has devastating mental health effects on people. Theres been enough studies to show what the effects of solitary confinement are, said Natasha White, a coordinator with the Virginia Coalition on Solitary Confinement. Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington, said the Department of Corrections had done a good job of reducing the numbers of people in solitary confinement, but inhumane treatment continued. He said he wanted DOC to take the study seriously and find ways to bring the estimated 300 people in solitary confinement on any given day out of solitary confinement. The Department of Corrections now calls solitary confinement restorative housing, which caused confusion for legislators during hearings this year. Theres nothing restorative about this, said Del. Candi King, D-Prince William. Hope said he was tired of the word games. Everyone knows what were talking about here. Norfolk State University received a bomb threat Friday morning the second for the university this year and the latest in a series of threats against historically Black colleges and universities nationwide. Elizabeth City State University, a historically Black university in North Carolina, also received a bomb threat Friday. Norfolk State is asking everyone to shelter in place while ECSU has advised students and staff to leave campus immediately. Several law enforcement agencies are investigating the threat on campus, Norfolk State said in a Twitter post. The threat follows dozens around the country. Hampton University was threatened Wednesday, and Norfolk State was among several HBCUs threatened on Jan. 4. Another round of threats against at least six HBCUs came Jan. 31. RUSTBURG An Altavista woman pleaded guilty Thursday to two of three charges against her incurred from a road-rage incident last year that resulted in one death. Jessica Nicole Warren, 24, was charged with involuntary manslaughter; reckless driving and endangerment of life, limb and property; and failure to report an accident after the incident Jan. 23, 2021. Campbell County Commonwealth's Attorney Paul McAndrews, in presenting evidence against Warren, said a witness reported seeing two vehicles driving recklessly down U.S. 29 in what appeared to be an instance of road rage, jockeying positions aggressively, throwing objects at one another from the moving vehicles and flashing high beams at one another. Finally, one vehicle, in which Warren was the passenger, jerked toward the other vehicle and ran it off the road. This second vehicle flipped over, and the driver, Lorenzo Pryor, was ejected. The driver died, but the passengers survived. After causing the wreck, the vehicle in which Warren was riding left the scene. In a Facebook message about the incident, obtained by law enforcement and presented in court by McAndrews on Thursday, Warren wrote in part: I showed him what road rage was. Warren admitted to deliberate road rage, according to McAndrews, and accepted responsibility for the resulting death, saying it was she who jerked the steering wheel, causing the vehicle she was in to strike the other vehicle. Warren pleaded guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter, plus the charge of reckless driving and endangerment of life, limb and property. The third charge, of failure to report an accident, was dropped. Her sentencing is scheduled for March 14 in Campbell County Circuit Court. PEARISBURG The 13-year-old daughter of slain regional jail officer Arthur Woodrow Palmer III testified Wednesday about awaking last year to find her stepmother in bloody clothes, holding a pistol and standing over her father, shouting he had ruined her life. Giles County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Stephanie Murray Shortt waited only moments after the girls testimony finished to say that charges of second-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a felony would go to a grand jury, which will decide in April if Mary Huskey Palmer, 51, should be tried in the countys circuit court. Commonwealths Attorney Bobby Lilly said after the hearing that while final decisions have not been made, the grand jury likely will be asked to bring additional charges in the case. Arthur Palmer, known as Woody, was 38 when he was slain last year during the July 4 weekend. According to Wednesdays testimony from his daughter and from Officer Jimmy McCroskey of the Narrows Police Department, Arthur Palmer is thought to have been killed in his apartment on the morning of July 3 and his body was found on July 5. He and the former Mary Huskey had married in late 2018 but were living separately and seeking a divorce when he died from a bullet wound to the chest. McCroskey testified that on July 5 he went to Arthur Palmers residence in Narrows, because a wellness check was requested by someone named Shirley Huskey. On the way there, the officer got another call that the Palmer family had said that Arthur Palmer might have been shot. After no one responded to his knocking, a property manager let him into the apartment, McCroskey said. The officer said he found Arthur Palmers body lying on the floor of his bedroom between the bed and a wall. The hearings second witness was Arthur Palmers daughter, who said that her stepmother had come to the apartment on July 2 for a fancy dinner, after which they had changed into more casual clothes with Mary Palmer borrowing shorts and a T-shirt from her and watched a movie. The daughter testified that sometime late that night she went upstairs in the two-story apartment to her bedroom, which was located adjacent to her fathers room, and fell asleep watching more movies on Netflix. She said she was awakened the next morning by a sound that she thought was her fathers Airsoft gun going off. The girl explained that her father liked to go to Airsoft gun events, where participants used the guns to shoot plastic projectiles at each other, and had planned to go to an event that day. The daughter said that she got out of bed and went to her fathers room, and found Mary Palmer, who she had not expected to stay over after the dinner and the movie. Mary Palmer was still wearing the clothes she had borrowed and they were covered in blood, the girl said. Mary Palmer held a pistol and she was yelling at my dad, the girl testified. The girl said that her father was on the floor on the other side of his bed from her, but she could see his head at Mary Palmers feet. The pistol was definitely not her fathers Airsoft gun, the girl said. Mary Palmer took the girls arm and had her sit on the floor in front of a dresser, then took the girls phone and her fathers phone, the daughter said. Mary Palmer began going through her fathers phone, and was asking about a girl that he had been talking to, the daughter testified. Asked if her father spoke during the incident, the girl said that he made a sound that could not be understood as words. It sort of sounded like a gurgle like he was trying to talk but he couldnt, the daughter testified. Eventually, Mary Palmer led the girl out of the house and to her fathers truck, taking the cellphones and handgun. Cross-examined by defense attorney Fred Kellerman of Christiansburg, the girl said she thought that Palmer drove with her to West Virginia, to this trailer place where they met an older woman who Palmer talked to about money and cigarettes. Then they went to Palmers home in Pearisburg, she said. Someone named Shirley met them there and they left in Shirleys car for what the girl said was Roanoke. There, they stopped at what the girl thought was a mental hospital, and Palmer went inside. The girl said that she had not seen Palmer again until Wednesdays hearing. Left unsaid at the hearing was how the 13-year-old was eventually reunited with other relatives. Mary Palmers mental health has already been an issue in the case, and she underwent treatment last year to restore her mental competency to stand trial. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. RICHMOND U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine met Wednesday with some Richmond-area employees of the coffee store giant Starbucks who are seeking to unionize, expressing support for that movement. Kaine did not explicitly endorse the unionization efforts at Starbucks which have sprouted at the chains stores around the country since late last year though he said he generally supports collective bargaining efforts by workers. I have a real heart for all of our front-line workers during the pandemic, whether they are in grocery stores, working in restaurants or Starbucks, Kaine said. I definitely support collective bargaining, Kaine added. I grew up in a household where my dad was in management and they had a union workforce they worked as a team. I dont work here [at Starbucks]. I am not an employee. I dont tell people how to vote, but I think collective bargaining and unions are a positive force in our country. The National Labor Relations Board is hearing petitions this week from workers at two Richmond-area stores that were among the first in the state to file documents last month seeking union representation. The hearings will determine which employees qualify to vote for union representation. Employees at five more Richmond stores have petitioned the NLRB to hold unionization votes, along with employees at three other Virginia stores in Roanoke, Farmville and Springfield. Workers at the local Starbucks stores as well as representatives of labor organizations said Wednesday that several other stores in the state are expected to join the ranks seeking unionization soon. These people represent a whole generation now that sees unions as the pathway to economic opportunity and participation, said Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia Labor Federation, which is working with Workers United, a Philadelphia-based union that represents workers in various service and warehouse industries. Diamond attended the meetings with Kaine. Kaine met with about a dozen workers from various Starbucks stores in the Richmond area. The employees were all young people, most of whom have been working at Starbucks between a few months and several years. Speaking with Kaine, they mostly discussed safety and health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic that they believe the company has not properly addressed as well as staff shortages at some locations and concerns about employee pay and benefits. We feel anything we say or request or suggest is really getting set aside, said Hayden Stilley, an employee at the Forest Hill Avenue location. Stilley, a Richmond resident who has worked for Starbucks since 2015, said he thinks pay rates should be higher. For the amount of work that we do and the amount of positions we need to cover the amount of people we have on the floor at any given time is not enough I believe we should get a higher rate, Stilley said. Dillon Dix, a Starbucks employees for four years in Chesterfield, said Starbucks employees in the region are organizing a music festival for April to support the union movement. Personally, for me, unionizing at Starbucks is something that has been a goal for me for a long time, he said. The pandemic became a flash point for organizing. I care a lot about the rights of disabled people and immunocompromised people. I want a Starbucks that has this policy of being an open and safe place for everyone to go, Dix said. Beyond that, I think baristas and everyone deserves to make a livable wage, seniority pay, with better access to health care and mental health care ... and giving us a voice to speak on those things as they develop. Kaine said he buys coffee at Starbucks at least once every two weeks. I would encourage anybody who is a Starbucks fan and Starbucks has a lot of fans, and they should you should just ask any of the baristas or other workers when you are getting coffee how they are doing. The last two years have been tough, Kaine said. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. FLORENCE Michael Callahan, president of Duke Energy, South Carolina says the company is committed to cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030, and its goal is to have net zero carbon by 2050. He spoke to a sold-out gathering of 200 chamber members at the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerces 2022 Winter Community Breakfast at the Florence Center on Friday. We have an obligation to protect our natural resources while continuing to provide reliable and affordable energy for our customers," he said. "That is why Duke Energy is taking a long-term comprehensive approach to environmental responsibility. Mike Miller, president of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce, welcomed guests to the annual event. He said the Legislative Community Breakfasts programs have varied formats, but have always been focused on community needs, legislative issues or a local government update theme. He said it is fitting that Friday's topic is energy. Callahan discussed Duke Energys long history in the Palmetto State and the companys efforts to build 21st- century energy infrastructure that will help grow and modernize the economy of the region. Callahan said Duke Energy serves customers from the Upstate to the Pee Dee. Everything we do is local, he said. He said all the things the company does happen in someones back yard. He said Duke Energy is in 42 of the 46 counties in South Carolina. South Carolina continues to develop at a rapid pace, and Duke Energy helps to power thousands of businesses in the state, he said. He said the company works with businesses and helps them attain their own sustainability goals. He said Duke Energy expects that recruiting the next big employer to come to South Carolina will hinge on corporate sustainability. He said nearly every S.C. economic development prospect that the company has spoken to in the last year has wanted to know whether the company can provide carbon-free resources. We are optimistic that we can develop an energy plan that will work... he said. Callahan talked about the weather and the challenges that occur in adverse weather. He said Duke Energy is working on a multi-year initiative that will make the power grid more resilient and help it recover faster. He also spoke about Duke Energys commitment to the communities in its service area, the volunteerism of its employees and retirees. He said there are 150 employees and 280 retirees in Florence. Last year, he said, Duke Energy provided about $360,000 in charitable grants, matching contributions and other donations to organizations in this county. At the breakfast, Callahan announced a $5,000 grant to Pee Dee Visions Foundation for its Building Bridges program. In closing, Callahan said he hoped those attending would now have a better understanding of how Duke Energy is continuously working across South Carolina to build smarter energy and more reliable and affordable service to support the growth of new technology and cleaner energy that helps attract new businesses to the state and improve the lives of people in the communities the company serves. Duke Energy's utility operations in South Carolina serve approximately 760,000 electric retail customers and 148,000 natural gas customers. Callahan is responsible for the financial performance of Duke Energy's electric utilities in South Carolina and managing state and local regulatory and government relations and community affairs. He also has responsibility for advancing the company's legislative and regulatory initiatives related to its electric operations, said Mindy Taylor, district manager, government and community relations for Duke Energy. Callahan joined Duke Energy in 2002 as a senior consultant in the audit services group. He has held positions of increasing responsibility in a number of areas, including treasury, investor relations, and financial planning and analysis. About Callahan A native of Fulton, N.Y., Callahan earned a bachelor of science degree in accounting and a master of business administration degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is also a certified public accountant in both North Carolina and New York. Callahan serves on the board of directors for the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. He previously served as a member of the Audit and Risk Committee of SERC Reliability Corporation, a nonprofit regulatory authority that promotes effective and efficient administration of bulk power system reliability in all or parts of 16 central and southeastern states. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. FLORENCE, S.C. Congressman Tom Rice said the Russian attack against Ukraine was a catastrophic failure for the world. Rice discussed Russia-Ukraine violence Thursday after receiving a tour of the Veterans Village nursing home. Russias attack on Ukraine began Wednesday evening early Thursday morning in Ukraine with what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a special military operation. It is not known exactly what the Russian intentions are; however, several U.S. governmental officials have reported the invasion is a full-scale attack aimed at taking control the Ukrainian capital city and the country. Rice said the Biden administration has been a failure on almost all fronts and the Russian attack was a catastrophic failure for the world. He hoped the attack would not lead to widespread war. The threat of Russia cutting off fuel to Europe is affecting everyday Americans very quickly, Rice said. They see it at the fuel pump. Rice said he speaks with constituents daily who live on a fixed income and are feeling the pressure of higher fuel prices. After World War II, Europe was essentially split between two alliances: NATO, which included western Europe and the Warsaw Pact, which included most of eastern Europe. As a result, most of eastern Europe receives its natural gas for heating homes and businesses from Russia and Kazakhstan. Rice called the Russian invasion a disaster. Theyre attacking Ukraines sovereignty, Rice said. Im not going to mince words like the president this morning. President Joe Biden issued two statements on the attack, one Wednesday evening. In both he condemned the invasion and said he would be working to impose severe sanctions on Russia. All that does is encourage a bully and a criminal like Mr. Putin, Rice said. He said to face down a bully, a person has to be strong and Biden was not strong. I think hes very weak and I think he exhibits that over and over again to Mr. Putin and to Mr. Xi [Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping], Rice said. He added he absolutely felt the response to the Russian attack would embolden China regarding Taiwan. Rice voted to impeach Donald Trump in January 2021 but said Thursday that he felt if Trump was still in change, Putin would not have attacked because he would fear what Trumps response would be. Rice said he felt Putin had watched what happened during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and was encouraged by the chaotic, feckless mess that resulted. Two weeks ago, the president [Biden] comes out and says if they invade Ukraine, were going to impose crippling sanctions, Rice continued. Well, they invade and he doesnt impose crippling sanctions; that makes him look even less truthful and more weak. Rice said the sanctions enacted so far were small and weak and would not affect Russia. He said Congress and federal lawmakers could work with allies to impose every possible sanction. He also called for arming the Ukrainian people. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott also address the Russian attack in statements on Twitter. Graham said his prayers were with Ukraine and it was imperative to provide Ukraine with weapons and good intelligence. The world needs to condemn Putins destruction of a neighboring democracy as a war crime, Graham tweeted. Putin and his cronies should be pursued by international law enforcement agencies for the purpose of seizing their lavish apartments, fine art, yachts, and other material goods purchased through stealing the Russian people blind. Its time to make this personal to Putin. He later added a task force should be created to aggressively pursue Putin and his inner circle regarding the extravagant lifestyle they have become accustomed to after stealing Russia blind. If we do not treat Putin and his cronies as the war criminals they are, we will be making a huge mistake and sending the wrong message to other bad actors around the world, Graham tweeted. Scott tweeted his heart and prayers were with the people of Ukraine during the devastating and unprovoked attack. America continues to stand with you, Scott added. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BEIRUT, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday launched a World Bank-funded project for the rehabilitation of heritage buildings damaged in the Beirut port blasts, a statement by the Council of Ministers said. Mikati said that the project aims to support the rehabilitation of damaged heritage buildings, and help the most vulnerable groups including the elderly and people with special needs. The prime minister explained that the project falls within the Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF) created by the World Bank Group, the United Nations, and the European Union in cooperation with civil society, Lebanon's government, and the international community. World Bank Regional Director Saroj Kumar Jha said that this project responds to urgent needs on the ground by rebuilding residential buildings of heritage value and laying the foundations for resilient civil development. He emphasized the importance of the project in restoring cultural life and providing workers in the field with incentives to continue cultural production which would restore the city's vitality and role as a cultural center in the Mediterranean. This project comes three months after the World Bank allocated 25 million U.S. dollars to support the recovery of targeted micro and small enterprises damaged in the explosions. The Beirut port was hit by two big explosions on Aug. 4, 2020, which killed over 200 people and destroyed a big part of the city, leaving around 300,000 people homeless, which prompted the international community to support reconstruction efforts. "Social Trust in Criminal Justice: A Metric" | Main | Huzzah: Prez Biden reportedly to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court February 24, 2022 Latest Bureau of Justice Statistics' publication on "Criminal Victimization, 2020" suggests violent crime hit historic lows in 2020 One cannot do a google search on any criminal justice issue without seeing lots of pieces about a huge "violent crime spike" in 2020 and beyond. Indeed, I have blogged more than a few times about various stories and data runs about significant increases in murders and gun assaults in 2020, and many stories talk up the "historic" nature of these crime increases. We have also seen considerable policy fall out from the perceived significant uptick in violent crime, often in the form of criticisms of past criminal justice reform efforts or of the people seeking to continue to push reforms. Against this backdrop, I was a bit gob-smacked to see the latest new Bureau of Justice Statistics' publication, titled on "Criminal Victimization, 2020 Supplemental Statistical Tables " Here is how it gets started (with some emphasis added): The prevalence of violent crime in the United States declined from 1.10% (3.1 million) of persons age 12 or older in 2019 to 0.93% (2.6 million) in 2020. Violent crime includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. The percentage of persons who were victims of violent crime excluding simple assault also declined during this period, from 0.44% (1.2 million) to 0.37% (1.0 million). In other words, according to this BJS data report, which is based on the National Crime Victimization Survey, it seems violent crime actually dropped about 20% in 2020 relative to 2019. In addition, the chart that starts this report suggest that the 2020 violent crime rate in the United States was the absolute lowest that it have been in the last three decades. In addition, there is. according to this document, good 2020 news on property crime as well (with emphasis added): In 2020, 6.19% of households experienced one or more property victimizations (burglary or trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and other types of household theft), which was a statistically significant decline from the 7.37% of households in 2016. The prevalence of burglary or trespassing declined 20% from 2019 (1.22%) to 2020 (0.97%). There was a statistically significant decline in other types of household theft from 5.53% in 2019 to 5.17% in 2020. The prevalence rate of motor vehicle theft did not differ significantly from 2019 (0.33%) to 2020 (0.32%). Of course, as blogged here, back in September 2021, the FBI reported its different metrics of national crimes which indicated that "In 2020, violent crime was up 5.6 percent from the 2019 number. Property crimes dropped 7.8 percent." (Helpfully, BJS has also recently published this new document titled "The Nations Two Crime Measures, 20112020," which helps explain a bit crime rate variation from different national metrics.) Critically, the BJS report on victimization notes that the overall 2020 violent crime decline "was primarily driven by a decline in the prevalence of assault during this period." Because so many more violent crimes are assaults and so relatively few are murders, we could experience a significant spike in murders in 2020 and beyond and yet still experience a significant overall decline in total violent crime thanks to declines in assaults. Indeed, the data we have on 2020 murders being way up seems pretty sound, and murder is rightly the type of violent crime that we give disproportionate attention to in thinking through crime and punishment policies and practices. Still, it is always nice to find some important silver data linings in dark crime data clould. February 24, 2022 at 06:32 PM | Permalink Comments I am glad to see these broad declines. But I think homicide rates are far more important than the rates of crime. Posted by: William C Jockusch | Feb 25, 2022 4:51:12 PM That should have said " . . . far more important than the rates of other types of crime." Posted by: William C Jockusch | Feb 25, 2022 4:51:57 PM It's always good to see declining crime numbers. It dispels the myth right wingers have pushed over the past 2 years that we will experience another crime wave. Homicides spiked in 2020, still the rate didn't match the murder rate in the early 90s. Hopefully legislators will take notice and push for greater criminal justice reforms as fewer arrests and closing prisons does not lead to a crime spike. Posted by: Anon | Feb 25, 2022 6:08:28 PM "Homicides spiked in 2020, still the rate didn't match the murder rate in the early 90s." Well that's so cool!!! Because the surging murder rate, taking mostly blacks as victims, is not yet as high as the nauseating record numbers we had thirty years ago, we can all be chipper! Nothing to see here, move along. Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 25, 2022 6:30:58 PM I knew Bill would show up. I'm pointing out that homicides spiked, but not near the levels of 30 years ago. I never said it was good. However, it's important that we not see this as a long term trend and a reason to resort to the "hard on crime" policies from 30 years ago. Posted by: Anon | Feb 25, 2022 8:30:08 PM Anon -- When hard on crime policies kicked in about 30 years ago, what happened to crime over the next generation? And what was happening with crime in the generation before that, before we implemented hard on crime policies? I'll give you some data to help you out: https://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 25, 2022 9:47:49 PM Of course, what this doesnt do is talk about the crime rate in cities where BLM/Defund the Police nuts are in control. Most of the country still has a degree of sanity and has not fallen for the myth, to use Anons word, that the police are out there slaughtering unarmed black kids. A nationwide look does not capture the entire picture. Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 26, 2022 11:40:20 AM Tell it to the people of NYC. https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/news/p00036/nypd-citywide-crime-statistics-january-2022 Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 26, 2022 11:43:07 AM Post a comment Sea Ltd. loses title of biggest Southeast Asia firm to Indonesia bank. (PHOTO" REUTERS/Edgar Su) By Yoolim Lee (Bloomberg) Sea Ltd. lost its title as Southeast Asias biggest publicly traded company after its shares plunged to an 18-month low. The Singapore-based internet company was overtaken by Indonesian lender PT Bank Central Asia after its American depositary receipts slumped to US$120.52 on Wednesday in New York. Its market value of US$66.9 billion is down from a peak of US$202.6 billion in October. Bank Central Asias market value is US$68.5 billion, and Singapores DBS Group Holdings Ltd. is close behind at US$66.1 billion. Sea went public in 2017 and quickly became the most valuable company in Southeast Asia, stoking a debate on Wall Street over whether the gaming, e-commerce and financial services company is the next great internet colossus or just Exhibit A in a global tech bubble thats destined to burst. The company lost more than US$16 billion of its value in its biggest daily drop last week after India abruptly banned its most popular mobile gaming title. Investors are growing concerned the ban may just be the start of Seas troubles. Franklin Dynatech Fund and Blackrock Capital Appreciation Fund Inc. were among asset managers that cut their holdings in Sea in January, according to data analysed by Bloomberg. 2022 Bloomberg L.P. The airlines still facing risk of bankruptcy as travel returns. (PHOTO: Getty Creative) By Anurag Kotoky (Bloomberg) Stirrings of a recovery in global travel are bringing airlines back from the brink, but the rebound may come too late for several carriers still facing a heightened risk of bankruptcy, a Bloomberg News analysis shows. Covid-19 paralysed international aviation as nations locked their borders and imposed other restrictions that are only now being dismantled in some parts of the world. Asia is lagging, with China and Hong Kong almost completely walled off, and the financial positions of some airlines in the region have deteriorated since Bloomberg did the same analysis in March and November 2020. And while governments in Europe and the U.S. injected billions of dollars in aid into carriers, state help wasnt as forthcoming elsewhere, leaving cash-strapped airlines to work out restructures in court or directly with creditors. These airlines were already in a bad financial state before Covid-19, said Mark Martin, founder of Dubai-based Martin Consulting LLC. Most of those still stuck in the quagmire are there because the markets they usually cater to came to a standstill due to the pandemic, and they had no other way of attracting flyers, he said. Using the Z-score method developed in the 1960s by American finance professor Edward Altman to predict bankruptcies, Bloomberg studied publicly-listed major commercial airlines to identify those most under threat. Scores of 1.8 or below indicate bankruptcy risk, while above 3 suggests sound footing. This doesnt take into account sources of potential additional funding. The Z-score uses five variables: liquidity, solvency, profitability, leverage and recent performance. The model initially had accuracy rates of more than 95% in predicting bankruptcies, but that has come down to between 80% and 90% for forecasts made within a year of insolvency, Altman said in a 2018 interview. Bloombergs analysis didnt cover non-operational and chartered airlines, and removed carriers with the smallest fleets. Of the lowest scorers, six are in Asia, where inter-regional air passenger traffic is still 61% below pre-pandemic levels, versus about 25% for Europe and only 0.5% in the U.S., according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Beijings Covid-Zero strategy has severely limited international travel by Chinese tourists, clouding the outlook. Story continues One silver lining is cargo operations, which have cushioned the massive losses in passenger revenue thanks to robust demand for everything from laptops to vaccines during lockdowns. Airfreight helped Indian budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd. which featured on the list of possible bankruptcies in 2020 but has since improved its position to a profit in the three months ended Dec. 31. Hardest Hit Since early 2020, when the pandemic essentially halted global air travel, at least 68 airlines have either entered or exited bankruptcy, or were liquidated, consultancy firm Ascend by Cirium, which maintains a database on aviation, said in September. Z-score analysis is based on historical data, usually the most recent financial results, so some airlines on the list may now be in a healthier position after receiving financial support or emerging from insolvency. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA said its cash and cash equivalents rose to 7.7 billion Norwegian kroner (US$866 million) at the end of 2021, after it restructured debt in court-supervised insolvency proceedings. We now have a strong financial position with low interest-bearing debt and a right-sized and flexible aircraft fleet and organization, Norwegian Air spokesman Esben Tuman said in an email. Meanwhile, Thai Airways International Pcl needs about US$750 million in funding to keep flying and hopes to get a loan within six weeks as it restructures at least 170 billion baht (US$5.3 billion) of debt. Pakistan International Airlines Corp.s position isnt as perilous as its -8.3 Z-score suggests because the carriers debt is backed by sovereign guarantees, said Abdullah Hafeez Khan, a spokesman for the airline. A plan is in the works to shift about US$3 billion in debt from its balance sheet, he said. The world is opening and travel restrictions are going away gradually, but it is not yet over, Khan said. AirAsia X Bhd., the long-haul unit of Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandess recently rebranded Capital A Bhd., has the lowest Z-score in the latest analysis. Once touted as a potentially revolutionary model for budget international travel, AirAsia Xs commercial passenger operations have been grounded since March 2020 and it is restructuring debt after offering to pay creditors just 0.5% of more than US8 billion owed and terminate existing contracts. The airlines business model, which is dependent on low-cost international travel, came to a halt when lockdowns were imposed and long-haul flying suddenly became a thing of the past. AirAsia X this week said it plans a smaller fundraising than previously approved and that it expects to have seven aircraft operational by the end of the quarter. The companys chief financial officer also said the airline would be alright for the next couple of years even if borders dont reopen. An AirAsia X spokesperson declined to comment on Bloombergs analysis. Thai Airways, Nok Airlines Pcl and Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA didnt respond to requests for comment. Philippine Airlines Inc. said its prospects are brighter following a restructuring. The carrier, whose parent PAL Holdings Inc. has a Z-score of -1.68, won court approval in December for a reorganisation to exit bankruptcy, which included cutting US$2 billion in debt. Philippine Airlines emerged last Dec. 31 from a successful restructuring process through which we acquired fresh capital, lowered our debt and streamlined our fleet, thus shoring up our financial position, Chief Financial Officer Nilo Thaddeus Rodriguez said in an emailed statement. Azul spokesman Danilo Alves said while the company was familiar with the Z-score indicator, most investors tend to focus on future performance rather than backward-looking analysis. Colombias Avianca Holdings SA emerged from a very successful restructuring process on Dec. 1 with much lower debt and over US$1 billion in liquidity, spokeswoman Lina Guevara wrote in an email. Demand has been strong and we have been operating very high load factors on our flights for the last several months. In Indonesia, creditors of PT Garuda Indonesia submitted about 198 trillion rupiah (US$13.9 billion) in claims as part of a debt restructuring. Garuda has a score of -2.05. Garuda is technically bankrupt from financial point of view, Kartika Wirjoatmodjo, a deputy at Indonesias Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, wrote in a text message on Feb. 17. Thats why we have to go through the court-supervised restructuring process to get debt reduction. Green Shoots Passenger revenue for global airlines dropped US$372 billion in 2020 from the previous year, according to the United Nationss International Civil Aviation Organization. Last year wasnt much better, with revenue US$324 billion lower than in 2019. The figure is forecast, however, to be some US$227 billion below pre-pandemic levels this year. While new virus variants and restrictions could still crop up, underlying demand remains strong and international travel will recover as curbs are lifted, International Air Transport Association Director General Willie Walsh said last month. The rebound also has to be smart, said consultant Martin. Everybody starts the race from point zero its now about how fast you can run to capture the market, maintain your network and sustain your operations. 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Photograph: Farooq Naeem/AFP/Getty Images Zahir Jaffer tortured and beheaded Noor Mukadam, in July last year, in case that sparked outrage over violence against women A court in Islamabad has sentenced to death the tycoons son who raped and murdered Noor Mukadam, a case that sparked outrage in Pakistan. Mukadam, 27, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, was held captive, tortured and beheaded in July last year by Zahir Jaffer, a member of a well-known industrialist family. Jaffer, 30, a Pakistani-American citizen, is thought to have attacked Mukadam after she refused his marriage proposal. Two household employees of Jaffer, a guard and a cook, were both sentenced to 10 years for abetting the murder. The court heard they had blocked the young womans attempts to leave the luxury mansion. Jaffers parents, who had faced charges in connection with covering up the killing, were acquitted by the court. After a lengthy trial that began in October, Judge Ata Rabbani on Thursday sentenced Jaffer to be hanged. Shaukat Ali Mukadam, Noors father, said the verdict was a victory for justice and thanked the media for keeping the matter alive. Today, an exemplary punishment has been given to the main accused. Today, my daughters soul will be content to some extent. We are happy as far as the principal accused is concerned, he told reporters outside the courtroom. Prosecution lawyer Shah Khawar said: Justice has been served, and todays verdict will empower Pakistani women at large. We will challenge the acquittal of his parents at the higher court. The murder, and the efforts to protect the wealthy killer, had caused outrage in Pakistan where, despite high rates of brutal violence against women, there are low conviction rates, with most perpetrators going uncharged. According to AGHS Legal Aid Cell, a rights group providing free legal representation for marginalised groups in Pakistan, the conviction rate for cases of violence against women is less than 3%. Rights groups hailed the verdict and called for the higher courts to maintain the decision in the face of any appeal. Story continues Related: Pakistan reckons with its gender terrorism epidemic after murder of Noor Mukadam Justice has been served today. We demand the higher courts will maintain the sentence and dismiss Jaffers appeal, said Farzana Bari, a womens rights activist. A recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) said: Violence against women and girls including rape, murder, acid attacks, domestic violence, and forced marriage is endemic throughout Pakistan. Human rights defenders estimate that roughly 1,000 women are killed in so-called honour killings every year. Jaffer, who can appeal against the verdict, was thrown out of the court several times during his trial for his behaviour, and his lawyers frequently carried him to proceedings in a wheelchair or stretcher to show he was not mentally sound. KYIV, Ukraine Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleaded for international help. The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear, but the blasts came amid signs that the capital and largest Ukrainian city was increasingly threatened following a day of fighting that left more than 100 Ukrainians dead. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government had information that "subversive groups" were encroaching on the city, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv "could well be under siege" in what U.S. officials believe is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call. The assault, anticipated for weeks by the U.S. and Western allies and undertaken by Putin in the face of international condemnation and cascading sanctions, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. As Russian missiles bombarded cities and military bases, government leaders pleaded for help and for powerful sanctions against Russia. Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee and patrons of a hotel were directed into a shelter as explosions sounded in Kyiv. Already, Ukraine officials said they lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster. "Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom," Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he pleaded Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days. Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 "heroes," including 10 military officers, were killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians. He concluded an emotional speech by saying that "the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders." He also said the country had heard from Moscow that "they want to talk about Ukraine's neutral status." U.S. President Joe Biden was to meet Friday morning with fellow leaders of NATO governments in what the White House described as an "extraordinary virtual summit" to disuss Ukraine. Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin "chose this war" and had exhibited a "sinister" view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly. "It was always about naked aggression, about Putin's desire for empire by any means necessary by bullying Russia's neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause," Biden said. Blinken said in television interviews that he was convinced that Russia was intent on overthrowing the Ukrainian government, telling CBS that Putin wants to "reconstitute the Soviet empire." Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv's subway stations. The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukrainian and U.S. officials said Russian forces attacked from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. Zelenskyy, who earlier cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law, appealed to global leaders, saying that "if you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door." Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-unused Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak said. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been "no casualties or destruction at the industrial site." The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the plant 80 miles north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell to prevent leaks. Alyona Shevtsova, adviser to the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, wrote on Facebook that staff members at the Chernobyl plant had been "taken hostage." The White House said it was "outraged" by reports of the detentions. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense issued an update saying that though the plant was "likely captured," the country's forces had halted Russia's advance toward Chernihiv and that it was unlikely that Russia had achieved its planned Day One military objectives. The chief of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said the "brutal act of war" shattered peace in Europe, joining a chorus of world leaders decrying an attack that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. The conflict shook global financial markets: Stocks plunged and oil prices soared amid concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket. Condemnation came not only from the U.S. and Europe, but from South Korea, Australia and beyond and many governments readied new sanctions. Even friendly leaders like Hungary's Viktor Orban sought to distance themselves from Putin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the U.K.'s financial markets as he announced sanctions, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies and the Kremlin from raising money on British markets. "Now we see him for what he is a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest," Johnson said of Putin. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ISLAMABAD, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said that the Chinese-funded companies operating in Pakistan are strongly committed to corporate social responsibility. Chinese-funded corporations, including those working on projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), are playing a very responsible role in bringing about sustainable social, environmental and economic benefits for the welfare of people of Pakistan, Habib said while attending the 14th Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Summit on Thursday. "The projects under CPEC are promoting the green development of the country ... The state-of-the-art infrastructure and energy projects give impetus to the economic growth of Pakistan," the state minister told Xinhua, adding that the early completion of the CPEC projects is the foremost priority of the Pakistani government. On the occasion, the National Forum for Environment and Health also gave awards related to corporate social responsibility to dozens of corporations including several Chinese-funded companies. Li Hui, chief representative of China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co., Ltd. to Pakistan, which is a subsidiary of the State Grid Corporation of China that invested and constructed the Matiari-Lahore high-voltage direct current transmission project under CPEC, told Xinhua that winning awards related to corporate social responsibility highlighted the recognition that the project has received. The transmission project has been devoted to corporate social responsibility and donated a large amount of rice and flour to the locals and helped the Pakistani people to fight COVID-19 through provision of masks and medicine, he said, adding that the project also planted over 50,000 trees in eastern Punjab province during the last year to protect the environment. "Our project will do more in terms of corporate social responsibility in the future to bring more tangible benefits to the locals and enhance the special friendship between China and Pakistan," he added. At first glance, it looked nice. From a distance, it was pretty, painted white with black shutters. Crisp and clean. A nice yard. A tree or two. Its hard to take everything in at only one glance, yet as I was approaching it, my mind made a snap judgment. This would be a nice place to live. But as I got closer, I sensed that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. First, I noticed a missing shutter. Next, I noticed a small area that looked as if it had been chewed out. Then, I realized that part of the roof is gone. And, of course, an area in the back of the house was simply not there. There were also black char marks. Finally, I realized there had been a fire at some time in the past. This was an abandoned house that once had been a home, but would most likely never be a home again. I was surprised that it had taken me so long to figure this out. Yet, everything I initially saw that was positive was still true. Its simply that I wasnt seeing the whole picture. That took longer. Its easy to judge by appearances without seeing what lies beneath. In 1 Samuel chapter 8, Samuel is getting old. Hes appointed his two older sons to be judge over Israel. Unfortunately, they are not like Samuel, honest and fair and led by God. Theyre greedy and use justice as a way to get rich. The people of Israel come to Samuel asking for a king. Give us a king to judge just like all the other nations have (verse 5b). Samuel is not pleased with their request. He asks God for guidance. The LORD says, Do everything they say to you For they are rejecting me, not you. They dont want me to be their King any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them (1 Samuel 8:7-9). Wow. They dont want God to be their king anymore. So Hes going to give them what they asked for. On the surface, its easy to see why they dont want corrupt judges. But they dont ask God for His help. They devise a plan themselves. To be like other countries. To depend on an earthly king as they reject the One true king. The One who brought them out of slavery in Egypt. The One who created them. The One who called them to be His people. Too often in life we think we have a better plan than God. So we choose our own path and simply think Gods okay with it. Or we dont even consider Gods will for us. We simply go our own way. Yet, ... now we see through glass, darkly; but then face-to-face: now I know in part, but then I should know even as I am known (1 Corinthians 13:12). Its only when we are in heaven seeing Jesus face-to-face that we will see everything clearly. We will know just as the Lord knows us now. But until then, theres no one better to depend on. Theres no one better to worship. Theres no one better to trust and to obey than the Lord God Almighty. Samuel did warn the people what an earthly king would take from them, but they didnt listen. God chose Saul for them. He was tall and handsome. On the outside he looked great. But inside, he was lacking, as they would discover. Eventually, God chose David to replace Saul. He wasnt the obvious choice. Samuel thought that Davids brother, Eliab, was Gods choice. Perhaps he was thinking he was handsome and tall like Saul. But the LORD said to Samuel, Dont judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesnt see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD judges by the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Some peoples lives are like the abandoned house. At first glance, they look perfect. Even enviable, like Sauls outward appearance. But if you get closer to them, you realize somethings missing. There are holes in their lives. Empty spaces they try to fill up with all sorts of worldly things. They put their faith in money, or prestige, or other things that are not God. Just like the Israelites placed their faith in an earthly king instead of the One true God, many people are the same today. God is loving and Hes also just. He judged Adam and Eves sins, but also provided a Savior, His own son Jesus, to make a way for our sins to be forgiven. He judged people in Noahs day. They turned away from Him. He sent a flood to cover the whole earth, but He saved Noah and his family. The Bible is filled with examples of Gods love and His judgment. God is both loving and just. There will come a day when He judges each one of us. Thats why we need to see the whole picture now. Other places may seem nice, but our true home is with the Lord. As Moses says in Psalm 90:1-2, Lord, through all generations you have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth in the world, from beginning to end, you are God. Kathy Yoder is a devotional writer. She may be reached at Kathyyoder4@gmail.com. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Readers continue to have questions about COVID-19 and related health issues. The World-Herald has been partnering with the University of Nebraska Medical Center to offer solid information and dispel myths. These responses were provided by Dr. Angela Hewlett, an associate professor in the UNMC Division of Infectious Diseases and medical director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit; and Dr. Kelly Cawcutt, assistant professor in the infectious diseases division and associate medical director for infection control and epidemiology at Nebraska Medicine. Can a person get different variations of COVID back-to-back? I tested positive and I had certain symptoms the first few weeks. But then, when I had a day or two feeling better, I got sick again and had the strain where I lost taste and smell (along with other symptoms). Is this possible? We are seeing re-infections with the omicron variant in people who had previous infections with other variants. This is due to the fact that omicron is able to dodge the typical immune system response, so a previous infection doesnt necessarily protect a person from infection with the omicron variant. It is also possible that your symptoms were due to the same infection but worsened over time, which has definitely been known to occur with COVID. At this time, we are not aware of people with omicron getting rapidly re-infected with omicron again, but if new variants arise, re-infections may again be possible. Should we wear masks during the flu season? This experience with COVID has taught us the importance of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), which are actions, other than getting vaccinated or taking medicine, that people and communities can take to slow the spread of illness. Influenza is a virus that is transmitted in much the same way as SARS-CoV2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), so masks, along with other NPIs such as avoiding crowded indoor spaces, can help stop the spread of influenza. In many other countries, it is common to wear masks during respiratory virus season for this very reason. At this point, it is unclear whether COVID-19 will be seasonal like influenza and some of the other respiratory viruses. In the future, people (especially those who have or live with someone who has a compromised immune system or other high-risk medical condition) may choose to wear masks to protect themselves during influenza season based on the lessons learned from COVID. However, the most important thing you can do to protect yourself and your family from influenza is to get your flu shot. When will there be a test to show the strength or amount of COVID antibodies in your system? Antibody (serology) tests can help indicate whether you have had COVID-19 (or received one of the COVID-19 vaccines) in the past. Currently, most antibody tests give you a negative or positive result but do not tell you how much antibody response (or what type of antibody) is present. There are antibody tests available at some specialized centers that give more detailed results on the types of antibodies present, but we are still learning how to interpret these results. It is important to note that antibody tests can have both false negative and false positive results. Antibody tests also should not be used to diagnose acute infection with COVID-19. Tests that look for new infection, like PCR or antigen tests, should be used if someone is experiencing symptoms or has been exposed to someone with COVID-19. Now that the government has sent out home COVID testing, won't the reported cases of COVID dramatically drop? This is true, because the vast majority of antigen test results are not reported because testing is typically performed at home. COVID cases reported to hospitals, clinics and public health authorities may seem to decline when people are performing their own testing at home, which could give a false sense of security because these cases are not being counted. We would recommend reporting a positive test to your primary care doctor or provider as well. What happened with the vaccination for under 5? Pfizer had applied to the FDA and then pulled its application. What happened? When do they anticipate a vaccination for under 5? Where is Moderna at in its trial for under 5? The Pfizer vaccine was given at a lower dose in kids younger than 5 years old compared with any other age group. The immune response to this lower dose was not as strong as anticipated in the clinical trial, but the data thus far suggests that three doses may result in a stronger immune response. Pfizer plans to await further data (likely out this spring) on the effectiveness and safety of the third dose prior to applying for authorization. The Moderna vaccine study in children ages 2-5 is awaiting further data analysis, which will likely be completed in March. If the results are promising, they intend to apply to the FDA for approval. My sister, who is highly allergic, will not be vaccinated because she says she cannot find the ingredients. She thinks there may be additives to the vaccine that are harmful, such as mercury. What ingredients are in the vaccine or where can we find that information? Vaccine ingredients vary by the type of vaccine and the manufacturer. Lists of the exact ingredients of the vaccines currently in use in the United States (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson/Janssen) are available on the CDC website. The CDC website contains very specific information on what is and is not in the vaccines, as well as discussions on common myths about vaccines. None of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines contain mercury. It is always appropriate to talk with your primary care doctor or provider about any concerns you may have regarding vaccination. Additionally, an allergy specialist can provide assessment for people with significant prior allergies to determine if a particular vaccine can be given. Many patients with prior allergy concerns have been safely vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines thus far. With billions of vaccines given worldwide and more than 76% of the U.S. population having received at least one vaccine dose, the overall safety of these vaccines is excellent, and adverse events, including allergic reactions, are very rare. Responses from UNMC medical and public health professionals are general and are not intended as individual medical advice. Individual medical questions, particularly in cases of current illness or symptoms, should be addressed by an individuals medical professional. All cybersecurity is local, regardless of the world situation. That means its personal, too in Americans homes, computers and online accounts. As violence spreads thousands of miles away from the U.S., my strong recommendation is that all Americans remain vigilant and check on their own cybersecurity. While organizations reinforce their cybersecurity posture during this period of geopolitical tension, I also suggest people regularly ensure their computer, mobile devices and software are updated, double-check that all passwords are secure and all key accounts are protected by two-factor authentication. Beware that phishing attacks may increase, seeking to trick people into clicking links that grant attackers access to computer systems. These are a few simple steps that can help increase ones cybersecurity preparedness both now and for the future. Recent Russian-linked cyberattacks, including against energy pipelines, federal government services, and attacks on local governments, first responders, hospitals and private corporations, show the potential for Russian cyber warriors to put U.S. civilians at risk. All these entities should be more vigilant over the coming days. In the days before Russia invaded Ukraine, a series of cyberattacks disrupted Ukrainian government and business websites despite Ukraines cyberdefense teams being prepared to defend against them. With many Americans working from home because of the pandemic, the U.S. is more vulnerable than it might have been otherwise: Home networks and computers are often less protected than those at an office which makes them enticing targets. Russian cyber capabilities, and threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin, mean that what might look like random technical glitches on personal computers, websites and home networks may not be accidental. They could be precursors to or actual parts of a larger cyberattack. Therefore, ongoing vigilance is more crucial than ever. [Like what youve read? Want more? Sign up for The Conversations daily newsletter.] Richard Forno has received research funding related to cybersecurity from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense (DOD) during his academic career, and sits on the advisory board of BlindHash, a cybersecurity startup focusing on remedying the password problem. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Storm Lake Police launched an investigation after it was notified on March 14 of a possible sexual assault of a minor. After investigating, police said that the 49-year-old had sexual contact with the girl from January 2019 until this March at four locations. SIOUX CITY -- This weekend will mark the first time that Bishop Heelan's show choir program really gets to show off at the high school's new gym. According to a press release from the Catholic educators, about 30 Siouxland show choirs will compete on Friday and Saturday in Bishop Heelan High Schools annual Crusader Classic show choir invitational event. It will be just the second time the entire show choir event is held in Heelans new high school and the OGorman Fieldhouse. The previous years event had to be downsized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Middle school competition will start at 5:45 p.m. on Friday and high school competition begins at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday. The finals portion of the competition gets going at 7:30 p.m. Sioux City East, which is hosting Sing All About It! on Saturday, March 5, will have a performance at 6:35 p.m. on Friday and shows on Saturday at 8:15 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 4:05 p.m. Sergeant Bluff-Luton will go on at 5:45 p.m. on Friday and perform at 8:40 a.m. on Saturday. Sioux Center is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. on Friday night and has Saturday times of: 10:55 a.m. and 2:40 p.m. Schools also set to perform on Friday, in order of appearance, include: Hinton, Harrisburg North, Westwood and Harlan. As for Saturday, there will be: Rock Valley, Hinton, Elkhorn South, Gretna, Westwood, Altoona, Blair, Harlan, Ralston, Le Mars and Spirit Lake. Bishop Heelan will have the closeout performances each night. Admission prices are $10 for the middle school night, $10 for daytime only on Saturday, $7 for the finals and $15 for the entire day. For more information contact Heelan vocal music faculty member Gage Fenton, at 226-0319 or gage.fenton@bishopheelan.org. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota elected officials strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and several called for sanctions and for democratic nations to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for the invasion. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds At 1:26 p.m., the @IAGovernor account for Reynolds tweeted out: "We stand with the people of Ukraine currently fighting for freedom and their countrys future. I join with leaders across America and the globe in condemning the brutal actions of the Russian military. I ask Iowans to join me in prayer for Ukraine and peace in the world." Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa Ernst made a more personal statement noting her experience living in Ukraine. "I first traveled to Ukraine in 1989 as a college student, celebrated when they voted for independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, & served alongside Ukrainians in the Global War on Terror. Ukraine wants freedom; the free world must stand with them. My prayers are with the Ukrainian people." This morning, Ernst's account tweeted again: "Vladimir Putin is a ruthless thug who seeks to stamp out freedom. He is a brutal autocrat intent on restoring Soviet-era rule if allowed to advance unchecked. The unnecessary bloodshed in Ukraine is on Putin's hands. America and all of our freedom-loving partners around the world, must not only strongly condemn, but swiftly and severely respond and hold Putin accountable for his unjust actions." Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa In a tweet, Grassley's account said: "Putin is inhumane to benefit his own ego He has no respect for agreements Russia signed to respect sovereignty of Ukraine Hes killing innocent people like Stalin did in 1930s. Im praying for the ppl of Ukraine" Iowa 2nd Congressional District Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa Miller-Meeks tweeted: "Praying for the people of #Ukraine. The U.S. and our allies must immediately impose the strongest possible sanctions on the economies and governments of both #Russia and #Belarus, who has been a willing accomplice to Russias invasion. Anything less is unacceptable" Iowa 4th Congressional District Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa On Twitter, Feenstra said: "Please join my family in prayer for the people of Ukraine. Putin has launched an unprovoked and unwarranted invasion of Ukraine that will cause untold suffering. His aggression must be met with crippling economic sanctions. Putin and his cronies must be held accountable." Democratic Senate candidate and retired admiral Mike Franken Franken, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa and retired three-star admiral, issued a statement on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I join President Biden in condemning Russian militarys assault against Ukraine, said Franken. I trust that actions from our nation, our NATO allies, and other like-minded nations will be swift, significant, and focused at Russian leadership. We must hold Russia accountable." Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. At 9:28 a.m., the two-term senator's account shared a message saying: "Putin treacherously used diplomacy as a distraction, played games as he increased his military capabilities, and sowed false narratives. A sovereign nation has been invaded and innocent Ukrainians are being killed because of a despot's imperial ambitions. The fundamental principles of security in Europe are in peril. President Biden must immediately lead a global response that cripples the Russian economy and isolates Russia diplomatically." Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. On Tuesday, NBC News noted: "After Biden announced a set of sanctions targeting Russias banks and sovereign debt, Sasse said the presidents actions were 'too little, too late,' arguing that sanctions should have been in place before Putin sent in troops and criticized his 'flagrant disregard for the rule of law.'" Nebraska 1st Congressional District Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb. Describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as "unhinged," Rep. Jeff Fortenberry said Russia has "raised a new Iron Curtain" with its invasion of Ukraine. "How easy it is to create death and destruction in our so-called enlightened time," the 1st District congressman said in a written statement. "Russia presides over the United Nations Security Council while launching a premeditated war in Europe, stripping away any semblance of civilized, sane and orderly process for resolving conflict," Fortenberry said. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem The most-recent tweet about the invasion from the Republican's official governor account on Twitter stated: "When it comes to both foreign policy and his liberal energy agenda, @joebiden has embarrassed our nation. I can sum up President Bidens incompetence in these areas with one simple story: a tale of two pipelines." Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D. On Feb. 18, Rounds appeared on South Dakota Public Broadcasting to say: "We will not be sending troops into Ukraine because we don't have a legal obligation to do so...I know that there are some people who say we should be in there and actively engaged. We can provide defensive resources. Most certainly we want Mr. Putin to think twice about trying to redraw the maps in Europe based on force." Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. At 1:19 p.m. on Thursday, @SenJohnThune tweeted: "Putin was given every chance to choose diplomacy and peace. Instead, he chose war. Putin will only respond to strength. The U.S. and other free nations must match the resolve of the Ukrainian people and respond with swift and severe consequences for Putin and his cronies." South Dakota At-large Congressional District Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D. "Putin has chosen war. America and our European allies must stand united in bringing the full force of economic sanctions against Putin and his oligarchs. Pray for the Ukrainian people," Johnson's account tweeted. Jared McNett is an online editor and reporter for the Sioux City Journal. You can reach him at 712-293-4234 and follow him on Twitter @TwoHeadedBoy98. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. An SUV driver died Wednesday in a rollover accident on U.S. Highway 20 in Sioux City. The Woodbury County Sheriff's Office said that at 8:24 a.m., the female driver lost control of her eastbound vehicle at mile marker 4, south of the U.S. 20/Gordon Drive interchange. The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter, meaning most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday will announce a change to the metrics it uses to determine whether to recommend face coverings, shifting from looking at COVID-19 case counts to a more holistic view of risk from the coronavirus to a community. Under current guidelines, masks are recommended for people residing in communities of substantial or high transmission roughly 95% of U.S. counties, according to the latest data. The new metrics will still consider caseloads, but also take into account hospitalizations and local hospital capacity, which have been markedly improved during the emergence of the omicron variant. That strain is highly transmissible, but indications are that it is less severe than earlier strains, particularly for people who are fully vaccinated and boosted. Under the new guidelines, the vast majority of Americans will no longer live in areas where indoor masking in public is recommended, based on current data. The coronavirus mutant widely known as stealth omicron" is now causing more than a third of new omicron cases around the world, but scientists still don't know how it could affect the future of the pandemic. Researchers are slowly revealing clues about the strain, a descendant of omicron known as BA.2, while warily watching it become ever more prevalent. Meanwhile, more than half the states are pursuing renewed legal challenges against a requirement from President Joe Biden's administration for millions of healthcare workers across the U.S. to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The vaccine requirement for Medicare and Medicaid providers was one of several mandates Bidens administration imposed upon private-sector employers to try to drive up vaccination rates and slow the spread of the coronavirus. TEHRAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami said that the Islamic republic is entitled to develop its "civilian" nuclear program, Press TV reported on Friday. Dismissing allegations by some countries that Iran is seeking "to make an atomic bomb," Eslami said Thursday that this is the right of his country to develop its civilian nuclear energy program, given that it is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The IAEA is duty-bound to encourage and assist the development and practical application of peaceful atomic energy throughout the world, he said, adding that however, "not only did they (IAEA) withhold help (to Iran), but they also created obstacles." With regard to Iran's current negotiations with the world powers in the Austrian capital of Vienna, the Iranian nuclear chief said that the purpose of negotiations is the removal of sanctions imposed by the United States. Iran's stance in this regard is clear, as "the talks are aimed at having the sanctions removed, establishing a verification regime on the removal of sanctions, and taking guarantees from the other side that they will not violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) again," he was quoted as saying. Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the JCPOA, with world powers in July 2015. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran. Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in Austria's capital Vienna between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, with the U.S. indirectly involved in the talks, to revive the landmark deal. DES MOINES -- Most Iowa workers would pay a 3.9 percent state income tax a large reduction for the states highest wage earners and a modest decrease for low-income workers under a new $1.9 billion tax cut proposal that is likely to become law soon. The new tax plan, introduced Thursday at the Iowa Capitol, is the result of negotiations between Republican leaders in the Iowa House and Senate and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. Legislative leaders plan to debate and pass the bill Thursday. That would give Reynolds time to sign it into law just before she is scheduled to appear on national television next week to deliver the Republican Partys response to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address. Under the plan: State income taxes would be gradually reduced over multiple years to a 3.9 percent rate on the vast majority of workers. Iowa now has nine income brackets, with rates from 8.53 percent on the highest wage-earners and 4.14 percent on lower-income workers. The median Iowa household pays 6.25 percent. State taxes on retirement income would be eliminated, including for retired farmers. The corporate tax rate would be reduced gradually. Each year the state collects $700 million in business tax revenue, the rate will be reduced until it reaches 5.5 percent. Some corporate tax breaks and incentives would be reduced gradually, including the most expensive: the research and activities credit. At full implementation in five years, the plan will result in tax savings and thus a reduction in state revenues of $1.9 billion, according to the states nonpartisan fiscal estimating agency. Iowas current budget is just over $8 billion. COMPETITIVE OR NOT FAIR This has been a Senate Republican priority for the six years weve been in the majority, to continue to reform taxes and make us competitive, Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, told Radio Iowa. When we pass this bill Iowa will be one of the most competitive states in the country now for taxes. Democrats argued the plan overwhelmingly benefits wealthier Iowans. They pointed to an analysis by the Department of Management, the state budget office, which shows the median Iowa household will see an average reduction of $593 on their state income taxes, while the wealthiest Iowans those earning $1 million or more will see a $67,000 reduction. Theyre more focused on the ultrarich that fund their campaigns, Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, said of Republicans proposal. Its not fair. Its out of touch. And its completely disconnected form the lives of everyday Iowans. Senate Democrats countered by proposing an expansion of the tax credit for low-income workers and the child care and early childhood tax credits, and lowering rates for all Iowans making less than $250,000 while maintaining current rates for those making more. BUDGET IMPACT Statehouse Republicans and Democrats disagree on the tax cuts impact on future state budgets. House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said their tax projections, which assumed annual revenue growth of roughly 3 percent, will be sufficient to cover the revenue reductions and should not require the state to trim its budget. The proposal would use the roughly $1 billion in the states taxpayer relief fund to cover any budget shortfalls that occur as a result of the income tax reductions. We were able to continue to do this in a way that our projections and our runs continued to work to make sure that we could continue to fund state government but also provide the significant tax relief, Grassley said. Rep. Dave Jacoby of Coralville, the top Democrat on the House tax policy committee, took a more cautious view. I hope the economy does (grow 3 to 4 percent annually). But COVID, (federal pandemic relief funding), Ukraine I dont know what I would predict, Jacoby said. If it were me, I would be doing this bill after the March (state revenue estimating panel meeting) because that may give us a better picture, a more accurate picture of where were going. NO OUTDOOR FUND The bill does not, as was proposed by Senate Republicans, shift sales taxes in order to begin funding the states long-starved outdoor and natural resources trust fund. It really wasnt on our radar, Grassley said. The (House Republican) caucus just was not in a position where they had the support to do that. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 HARARE, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwean government on Friday donated 50,000 doses of Chinese-manufactured Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines to Botswana. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa revealed this while opening the 3rd session of the Botswana-Zimbabwe Bi-National Commission that is underway in Zimbabwe's resort town of Victoria Falls. "In the spirit of Ubuntu and our strong fraternal relations the Government and people of Zimbabwe are pleased to donate 50,000 Sinopharm doses as well as medical oxygen to the Government and people of Botswana," Mnangagwa said. Zimbabwe has secured more than 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, mainly from China, which are enough to cover the country's eligible population. The more than 20 million doses include 12 million doses that have been donated by China to Zimbabwe since February 2021. In the spirit of regional cooperation and sisterly nationhood, the Zimbabwean government in August last year also donated 20,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Namibia. Zimbabwe is pushing for more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and as of Thursday, 3,381,046 people had received the complete set of two doses; 4,347,329 got their first doses and 113,462 received the booster doses. To date, the country has recorded 234,967 COVID-19 cases, with 225,447 recoveries and 5,390 deaths. In mid-June, 1982, Lee Rotatori made the roughly 617-mile trek from Nunica, Michigan, to Council Bluffs. The 32-year-old arrived in Council Bluffs for a job as food service director at Jennie Edmundson Hospital and checked into the Best Western Motel at 27th Avenue, where she would stay until her husband arrived with the couples mobile home. Rotatori started orientation for the position on Monday, June 21. That Thursday afternoon, she went boating on Lake Manawa with her newfound hospital friends. She later went to a local McDonalds to pick up some dinner on her way back to the motel. The next day, Friday, June 25, a motel employee found Rotatori dead in her room, the victim of a single stab wound. Its a case that remained cold for decades, before advancements in DNA technology, and the relentless work of Council Bluffs Police Department officials and a civilian from Pennsylvania helped crack the case. According to coverage from The Daily Nonpareil and Omaha World-Herald, along with material from the Iowa Cold Cases database, there was no sign of forced entry. The restaurant employees were the last to see Rotatori alive before her death, and the amount of food from the restaurant indicated it was for only one person. The Pottawattamie County medical examiner determined she mightve been dead for 12 hours before her body was found. A medical examiners report also determined Rotatori had been sexually assaulted. Because of the hotels proximity to Interstates 80 and 29, then-Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Larry Williams told the World-Herald the killer could be a local or already thousands of miles away. Council Bluffs authorities worked on the case with the Michigan State Police, which checked into Rotatoris background in the state. Together, the agencies chased down leads, examined murders with similar circumstances and talked to countless witnesses and sources. Her husband Jerry Nemke had a solid alibi and was ruled out as a suspect. Jennie Edmundson Hospital, Service-Master Inc. the Chicago-based food services company Rotatori worked for that had placed her at the hospital and Kinseth Hospitality, which owned the motel, teamed up to create a $3,000 reward fund for information leading to an arrest. But despite exhaustive efforts, law enforcement was unable to figure out who killed Rotatori. Rotatoris living siblings, Ann Chinn and Greg Gunsalus, described their sister as mostly happy and outgoing, an artistic woman with lots of friends. Growing up she loved drawing horses and in adulthood fulfilled the dream of owning one while in Michigan. In her teens she teamed with Greg on the Rochester junior rifle club. She participated in quite a few matches. And she usually did quite well, Gunsalus said, while also noting she was a fairly good student who went on to earn her bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Monomoy. The Gunsaluses lived in upstate New York before moving to Rochester, Minnesota in March of 1958. Rotatori graduated from Mayo High School in 1967. Her remains were buried in Rochester. Rotatori married her first husband while an undergraduate, Gunsalus said, And I can basically say, from that point on, I would maybe see her once a year. As technology improved, evidence collected in 1982 was submitted to the state crime lab for examination in 2001, which determined a male DNA profile, according to police. But there were no matches in state and federal databases. In 2011, Council Bluffs Police Det. Steve Andrews took on the cold case. He said new developments in DNA technology led the department to believe a solution to the case might be in reach. Andrews and Crime Lab Manager Katie Pattee pursued answers. Fast forward to 2018. Police Capt. Todd Weddum was watching a news program on the Golden State Killer case. Through the use of genetic genealogy, law enforcement were able to tie Joseph J. DeAngelo Jr. to a string of murders and other crimes that spanned from roughly 1973 to 1986 in California. I said, How do we go about doing this? with the Rotatori murder, Weddum told the Nonpareil. There wasnt much else we could do on the case. Pattee said she wasnt extensively familiar with the process and in April of 2019 sent the DNA sample to Reston, Virginia-based Parabon Nanolabs, which specializes in working with law enforcement on DNA forensics cases and on technologies for the medical industry. A few months later, Parabon sent back a profile of the suspect, albeit a fuzzy one a white man of northern European descent. So were looking at a pretty big pool, Andrews said. Parabon took the profile and compared it against DNA submitted to family tree companies think 23 and Me, Ancestry.com and their ilk in which the client allowed for use by law enforcement. A follow-up report by the company helped police start making contacts with family members. The initial match was a sixth to eighth cousin of the suspect. They said with that, the probability of finding your person is slim to none, Andrews said. After hours of research by Parabon, police werent much closer. They told us basically, Hey, kits are coming in every day. Its going to take one to break this thing open, Weddum said. At that point, its a waiting game. Were waiting for someone thats a close enough relative to our murder suspect that that would be the key. So they waited. In March 2020, Weddum pulled up his email to find a note from Eric Schubert, a college kid from Pennsylvania with an interest in genealogy. He said, Do you have any cold cases youd like help on?, Weddum said, noting Schubert included his resume the 20-year-old has assisted law enforcement agencies in multiple states work cold cases since he was 18. Schubert is a junior history major at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. He said after helping solve his first case, he reached out to departments, asking if theyd tried investigative genetic genealogy or if theyd like to try, offering his volunteer services. After vetting Schubert through other agencies hed assisted and having the citys legal department draw up a non-disclosure agreement, Andrews, Weddum and crew filled him in on the cold case. I knew pretty much nothing about the Rotatori case until CBPD told me about it, Schubert told the Nonpareil. He was very rapidly able to get to the great-grandparent of our subject, Andrews said. From that, the family tree branched in a multitude of branches, hundreds of names of people. Id locate those people, reach out to family members, request their assistance on the case. More often than not they were happy to submit a kit for us. Theyd submit a kit, then Eric would go to work. The kid is just the mad genius of genealogy. Schubert said he was happy to assist. Genealogy is such a great tool that often can be very meaningful, he said. It was a privilege to be helpful. I was so pleased to see Lees killer identified through the work of the Council Bluffs PD and their previous genetic genealogy findings that I assisted with interpreting for them. And I am so glad there is justice for Lee. As they worked their way through potential family members, the investigative team eventually determined their suspects biological father did not raise him. Identifying him was not as easy as it looked when I first started research. In the end, we had a good picture of where he was and what family he was in, however his exact identity within the family was unclear, Schubert said. A man police hadnt yet contacted to submit a DNA kit submitted one on his own that Parabon flagged, which helped unlock the mystery, narrowing the case down to a pair of brothers. Based on the mens ages and the date of the crime one wouldve been too young at the time it could only be one man. Thomas O. Freeman was a trucker from West Frankfort, Illinois, who was 35 at the time of the crime. Weddum and Andrews said Parabon and Schubert called about an hour apart reporting his name. To confirm, law enforcement tracked down Freemans daughter, whose DNA was a match with the suspect DNA found at the crime scene when run through the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation crime lab. Police believe Freeman killed Rotatori while passing through the area as a trucker. Four months after Rotatoris death, Freemans body was found near Cobden, a small town in southern Illinois, the victim of four gunshot wounds in the chest. The case remains unsolved. Shot four times and dumped in a wooded area not far from where he lived, Weddum said, who noted Freeman was found at the end of October and a death investigation determined hed been killed sometime around late August or early September. Two months later, he dies a violent death. Im not a real big believer in coincidences, Weddum said, so we reached out to the Illinois State Police and got a hold of the sergeant in charge of Freemans cold case investigation. The agencies shared reports and have been working together ever since. We know who killed Lee, Weddum said, now were working to figure out if Freemans death is somehow connected with him murdering Lee. Theres no known direct connection between Rotatori and Freeman. But, police believe its possible Freeman and her husband crossed paths. Nemke and Rotatori first married in 1978, divorcing a year later before remarrying in December 1981. Years earlier, Nemke, then 17, was arrested in the spring of 1960 in Chicago and later convicted of beating a local waitress to death. Nemke served his time at the Menard Correctional Facility in southern Illinois before his release in 1978. Andrews said after his release, Nemke went to college in Carbondale, Illinois, about 26 miles outside West Frankfurt and 15 miles from Cobden. Hes familiar with the area, has a history with the area, Weddum said. When Andrews picked up the cold case in 2011, the first DNA sample he tracked down was Nemkes. He voluntarily gave a sample, Andrews said, noting Rotatoris husband lived in Florida at the time. Nemke died in March 2019. Andrews said its safe to call him a person of interest in the Freeman case. With his known history of being in the area of where our suspect lived and where our suspect died, it raises suspicions of his involvement. That he possibly couldve been involved, Weddum said. Chinn and Gunsalus said theres a sense of closure now that the case has been solved, though they regret the fact their parents, Clifford and Gwen, went to their graves not knowing what happened. Gunsalus, 71, splits his time between St. Louis and Las Vegas, while Chinn, 64, lives in Rochester, Minnesota. Rotatori was the oldest, followed by Gunsalus, their brother Tom, who has since died, and Ann. About a year ago, Andrews reached out to Gunsalus, telling him they had a suspect. Gunsalus said hes been in touch with Rotatoris son from her first marriage, who was 11 when his mother died and didnt see her often after his parents divorced four years before her death. The son declined to participate in a Nonpareil interview with the family. Reflecting on June of 1982, Gunsalus noted his parents were living in Texas at the time. I was informed by my parents. They were contacted, and they made plans to go to Council Bluffs, Gunsalus said. They stopped by St. Louis and stayed overnight with me on the way there. I was at work and received a phone call, Chinn said. It was a shock. We slowly got additional details, that she was murdered in the hotel room, was stabbed, Gunsalus said. Its nice to know that they were able to resolve the case. I only wish that my parents were here to hear that. Mmm, hmm, Chinn agreed. I just wish it couldve been years ago, Gunsalus said. *** Its important to note, from reading the case file from Lees initial investigation, the investigators who worked that case were very thorough, Weddum said. They did everything they could do. It took this new technology to solve this case. Andrews said the case contained boxes and boxes of files. He noted Freemans name was not on the Best Western registry for the night of June 24, 1982, so he wouldnt have been on anyones radar. The work they did was extensive, Andrew said. They were looking at similar M.O.s, followed tips. We want to shout out those guys for what they did. The technology was just not there at the time. Andrews said hes been in contact with the lead investigator, Lyle Brown, who was a detective at the time before retiring as a lieutenant in the 1990s. Brown remembers the case well. He told me, This is one of those cases that stayed with me ever since I left, Andrew said. He said I think about this case all the time. Hes expressed how happy and proud he is that we brought this to a close. Brown declined to join Weddum, Andrews and Pattee for an interview with the Nonpareil. During that interview at the Council Bluffs Police Department headquarters, Andrews, Weddum and Pattee reflected on the case. When Weddum tried to defer his piece of the credit, Andrews credited the captain for helping secure funds to enlist Parabons help. If not for that, and Weddum turning on the TV that night in 2018, perhaps the case would remain cold. Weddum lauded Andrews and Pattee for their hours spent on the case, hours that came in spurts when they found time to work on the almost-40-year-old case. Its extremely satisfying, Andrews said of closing the case. There were high points and low points throughout the whole process, all the while youre hoping to get to this point, but never knowing if youll make it or not. But when you get the confirmation that everything you worked for has come to fruition its exciting, to say the least. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Efforts late last year to find the remains of students who died while attending the Genoa U.S. Indian Boarding School failed to locate gravesites, but an official leading the search said it will continue. The search for the graves is led by the Nebraska State Archaeology Office and Judi gaiashkibos, executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. It comes amid 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. Guided by a 1920 Nance County map that denotes the location of a cemetery, searchers used ground-penetrating radar at 12 areas that were once apart of the 640-acre campus. Researchers finished their analysis of the data earlier this month and found that searches conducted in September, November and December didnt indicate the presence of graves. Still, gaiashkibos remains hopeful. Everybody is heartbroken and sad that we didnt find them, but theyve been there for a long time, and we havent been looking very long, so I think we have to be patient and keep moving forward, said gaiashkibos, a citizen of the Ponca Tribe whose mother attended the school. The existence of the cemetery isnt doubted. 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 campus housed 599 students, who ranged in age from 4 to 22 years old and came from more than 40 tribes. Multiple references to children buried in a school cemetery have been found in newspapers and in the stories of former students, who, years after the school closed, recalled the burial of classmates on school grounds. But any headstones that may have marked the location of graves were removed decades ago. Official records detailing the location of the cemetery were destroyed or scattered across the country following the schools closure. With no known former students still living, first-hand accounts arent available. As the search continues, organizers will look to other areas on the schools former campus and may consider alternative search methods including the use of dogs specially trained in locating historic human remains, gaiashkibos said. I think we owe the children every bit of effort, gaiashkibos said. The update on the search came as Nebraska held its first annual day of remembrance on Sunday, recognizing the survivors and descendants of the boarding school. State lawmakers established the day of remembrance and officially acknowledged the physical and emotional abuse students were subjected to at the school through a resolution approved by the Legislature last month. The search for the graves is in collaboration with an effort by researchers with the Genoa U.S. Indian School Foundation and the Genoa Indian School Digital Reconciliation Project to uncover the names of children who died at the school. Though 86 deaths have been confirmed so far, researchers believe the true count of students who died at the school is likely higher. Researchers initially discovered 102 possible deaths but later narrowed that number to 86. Researchers intend to contact the tribes of the identified children. Every child deserves to have their story told, deserves to go home, gaiashkibos said. Im committed to the search, as long as it takes. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A Ukrainian soldier on a tiny island in the Black Sea didn't hold back when threatened with bombing by a Russian warship as Moscow continued its assault on Ukrainian territory. According to a purported audio exchange, as the Russians approached Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, the Russian officer says: "This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed." A Ukrainian soldier responds: "Russian warship, go f*** yourself." Those were the final known words heard from the island. All 13 Ukrainian defenders were killed in a Russian bombardment Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "All border guards died heroically but did not give up. They will be awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously," Zelensky said. Snake Island sits about 30 miles (48 kilometers) off the southern tip of the Ukrainian mainland in the northwestern Black Sea. It's about 185 miles (300 kilometers) west of Crimea, the Ukrainian territory that Russia annexed in 2014. Though it is only about 46 acres (18 hectares) in size, a report last year from the non-partisan Atlantic Council think tank called it "key to Ukraine's maritime territorial claims" in the Black Sea. Highlighting its strategic importance, Zelensky chose it last year as the spot for an interview with Ukrainian media in advance of a summit to try to reverse Russia's annexation of Crimea, the Atlantic Council report said. Zelensky words to interviewers that day proved prophetic. "This island, like the rest of our territory, is Ukrainian land, and we will defend it with all our might," he said. The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 As was speculated (and called for) last fall, South Dakota lawmakers are now giving serious consideration to legalizing recreational cannabis. Last Thursday, the Senates Commerce and Energy Committee passed Senate Bill 3, which calls for the use and regulated sale of (recreational) marijuana. It was approved by a 5-3 margin and figures to go before the full Senate this week. This effort was not unexpected, although if such a bill hadnt been introduced at all this session, it wouldnt have been a surprise, either. A constitutional amendment (Amendment A) calling for the legalization of recreational and medical cannabis was approved by South Dakota voters in 2020 by a 54%-46% margin. The outcome was then challenged on the grounds that it violated state law in addressing more than one issue on a ballot question. The state Supreme Court spent seven months in deliberating before nullifying the law last November. (Medical cannabis was also approved in a separate 2020 initiative and is gradually coming online in the state.) Despite the court ruling, it was clear that the recreational cannabis idea was not going away. A legislative summer interim study group addressed the matter and recommended that lawmakers take up the issue this session. Meanwhile, pro-marijuana groups, growing impatient with the slow pace of the Supreme Courts lengthy deliberation, announced a new petition drive to get the matter placed on the 2022 ballot. SB 3, which was heard last week just two days after the House Taxation Committee approved a tax policy on cannabis sales, calls for recreational marijuana legalization while also addressing some concerns about control. Notably, SB 3 would not allow home-grown plants for recreational purposes, making such a violation a felony. This contrasts with Amendment A, which allowed for the possession of home-grown plants. As Rapid City television station KOTA reported, such a measure would give South Dakota some of the strictest recreational marijuana laws in the nation, and it would represent a major compromise by pro-marijuana advocates. However, it might also make for easier negotiations down the line with marijuana foes, who have tried unsuccessfully to strike home-growing from the medical cannabis law. The concession by pro-marijuana forces would indeed be a major step. We are not absolutists; we are people who believe in finding compromise and making progress, stated Matthew Schweich, director for South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws. So yes, we are open to ending our signature drive and not putting our initiative on the ballot in November if a good law can be passed. If it holds up, SB 3 appears to be a practical compromise on this issue. Even so, it still has some hurdles to clear, not the least of which potentially facing a veto from Gov. Kristi Noem, if SB 3 gets that far. However, a veto by the governor or a rejection by the Legislature might be a gamble, for a new measure passed by voters would likely not carry the same restrictions. So, there is currently a path for recreational cannabis in South Dakota through the Legislature. It would carry the spirit of Amendment A forward, but with more restrictions and regulations to possibly satisfy law enforcement and other opponents. Whether this matter is wrapped up in Pierre or decided by voters in November remains to be seen. This week may tell us a lot about that. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 At little more than a dollar a throw, Swisher Sweets and White Owls are an odd thing for a grown man to steal. And yet. A Sioux City man was arrested early Feb. 10 on suspicion of waiting in a convenience store bathroom until the store closed and then and stealing 30 packs of cigarillos. Some days after the announcement of his death in Rwanda at age 62, it seems that everybody loved Paul Edward Farmer Jr., M.D., Ph.D., physician-anthropologist, and writer. I know that I did. And he loved me back. There is nothing special about either of those things, because he actively sought love and gave it as freely. I often felt like he projected his own condition onto others, a way of manifesting their more desirable personal qualities. Hed often tell me, a self-avowed misanthrope, that I was especially kind and big-hearted. Cardiomegaly, he called it, after the actual cardiac condition. Typical PaulSpeak. Advertisement I first met Paul when I was an undergraduate at Brown in the late 90s, and he guest-lectured in a small seminar run by two of his anthropologist friends. (We were assigned two of his books for that weeks class and I had read neither; he called me out on itsubtly.) We corresponded by email for years about human rights, liberation theology, and public health, occasionally meeting at conferences or on Harvards campus, as I completed my Ph.D. in the department of anthropology. After I moved on to become a professor, he invited me to spend my junior sabbatical in the department of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think it is easy to underestimate the intentionality with which Paul, a keen observer of the white liberal ( WL , in PaulSpeak), mobilized shame to enlist support. A woman who worked as a research assistant in the anthropology department reached out this week to express her condolences for my loss. She had seen us talking together in the office, or at department lectures, and noticed how close we seemed. I didnt know him, she wrote, but he always acknowledged me, even from afar. I think she did know Paul, because that was the kind of person he was. He recognized others humanity. Its what made him a good doctor, and its what made him a better anthropologist than he claimed to be. (His recent messages to me were filled with doubt about where he stood as an anthropologist.) An astute critic of social, political, and economic inequalities, and their impact on health and well-being, he understood a persons place in a hierarchy; he lingered a bit longer with the driver, the janitor, the waitstaff, the cleaner. He loved his patients too. My WhatsApp conversations with him from before the pandemic were frequently filled with pictures of him with former patients in Peru, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. He boasted about hosting a large dinner party for Freetown-based Ebola survivors at one of the most expensive hotels in the city, at a time when survivors were stigmatized, held at arms length. The day before he died, he sent me what he called a sweet video that medical students at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda had made for him: a photomontage, with Nina Simones To Be Young, Gifted and Black as the soundtrack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I first started working in HIV/AIDS prevention in the mid-1990s, which also happens to be when I first met Paul, highly effective AIDS therapies had just become availablebut only in the Global North, and to those who could afford them. Concerns about cost effectiveness and the cultural norms of the poor were offered as an explanation for not distributing such medications to them. My first book focused on HIV care and support in Sierra Leone, and writing it required extended engagement with Pauls pioneering research and his and Jim Yong Kims tireless advocacy to expand access to HIV treatments worldwide. I think it is easy to underestimate the intentionality with which Paul, a keen observer of the white liberal (WLs, in PaulSpeak), mobilized shame to enlist the support of powerful policymakers, organizational leaders, and others in efforts to ensure access to lifesaving therapies. He showed that programs and policies that failed to offer a preferential option for the poor were inequitable, and actually produced the problems theyd been trying to resolve: the spread of HIV/AIDS and AIDS deaths. Very few among the do-gooders wanted to be revealed to have undervalued the lives of others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Occasionally, when another academic discovered that I studied medical anthropology at Harvard, they would ask if I knew Paul Farmer. Thats how I learned that Paul had his fair share of haters too, among whom there were at least three camps: those who had never met him but were suspicious of his celebrity (Paul and I had a running joke called the Bono Plan, which was essentially that one day his friend Bono would call me on my birthday); those who had met him and were suspicious of his charisma; and academic readers who were skeptical of his claims and the cogent, confident prose with which he set about pursuing them. A call-to-arms essay like his scathing, vivid 2015 London Review of Books piece Who Lives and Who Dies? isnt something every academic can produce. Neither do other academics motivate undergrad readers like Paul did. Advertisement Advertisement Intellectual criticism of his work might come from his leftist, progressive interlocutors who questioned whether he had come untethered from his socialist roots. Scholars committed to the disciplinary silos of academia found his history too divorced from the archives, his anthropological analyses insufficiently attentive to culture, his public health analyses too ethnographic. In reviewing his earlier writing about Haiti, his main critics highlighted an ideological tic that is reflected in his later work as well: He tended to center his political-economic critiques on neocolonial or imperial formations, looking at relations between nations, rather than within them. For many scholars of Haiti, his 1994 book, The Uses of Haiti, while a thoroughly researched work on U.S.-Haiti relations, suffered from a serious omission: It had not sufficiently focused on the role of race, color, and class among Haitians, and the role of national elites in the immiseration of ordinary Haitians. The more I read of his work, the more I appreciate his commitment to being an undisciplined thinker, and the way he brought his political, moral, and intellectual commitments together in compelling (albeit not particularly concise!) prose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was deeply influenced by liberation theologians like Gustavo Gutierrez and Black radical thinkers like Frantz Fanon. His most recent book, Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History, about the West African Ebola outbreak, was modeled on the work of Guyanese historian Walter Rodney and offers a deep history of the region, calling attention to the role of enslavement, regional wars, and responses to other epidemics in shaping Ebolas emergence, and to the racialized character of the response. No one could accuse him of not having done the reading. He was always asking me for reading suggestions if I brought up a new concept or mentioned an idea I was writing about. He read widely and voraciously, sending me links to things hed read from the New Yorker or mentioning books hed just read: from Agatha Christie to the Mexican gothic novels his daughter had given him for Christmas, to Saidiya Hartmans first book. When our schedules finally lined up and we met up in Freetown, Sierra Leone, I discovered that he had dragged a suitcase full of books about Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea to read in the relatively little time he had to himself in his hotel room. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This walk-the-talk impression that so many of us had of Paul is why his signing a letter, early this month, supporting the Harvard anthropologist John Comaroff, an alleged serial abuser, disappointed so many people. We have become accustomed to learning that some of our intellectual heroes not only have failed to practice what they preach but that they also engaged in predatory behavior that was at odds with their published scholarship. A keen observer of human nature, and of the organizations humans inhabit, Paul understood that patron-client relations were crucial within elite academia. But it typically seemed important to him that he not use the power and goodwill that he had accrued through workplace promotions, prestigious awards, and celebrity status to harm others. The same week that he signed the letter, hed penned a co-written op-ed in the Boston Globe, decrying the racist treatment of his colleagues at the Brigham and Womens Hospital by white supremacist protesters. It made no sense. His signing the Comaroff letter, as small an act as he originally perceived it to be, would have a significant impact on whether students felt they could trust himor even trust the integrity of his lifes work. How could he not have known? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I saw his name on the letter, I was shocked. Paul tended to stay out of the affairs of the anthropology department, and if he did intervene, Id assumed hed be doing so on the behalf of students. I immediately contacted him to find out why hed signed. At the time, he seemed to think he was actually safeguarding LGBTQ students from abuse in the field (as Comaroff claimed to have been doing when speaking to one student in a way she found quite disturbing about the danger of her being raped during fieldwork), as well as supporting colleagues who had specifically asked for his help with the administration. I told him what I knew about the situationmostly detailed accounts Id heard from others about decades of harassment by Comaroff and his wife, star academics in the departmentand argued that signing such a letter did not align with the values I knew he held dear. He immediately apologized to me. I told him that I was not the person he needed to apologize to. We repeated this back-and-forth over the next couple of days. He was working 14-hour days, balancing clinical and teaching responsibilities in Rwanda with administrative responsibilities back in Boston. The weight of having been on the wrong side of such an important issue was eating away at him: I just dont feel like I have the thick skin required for an environment like that. Nor do I want thick skin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the evening before the retraction from the majority of the signatories was published, he sent me a message saying hed planned to retract his signature and apologize. He insisted on an apology and not simply a retraction. He didnt like the idea of backpedaling. But this was not the consensus view, it would seem, among the other signatories in the group; the letter was published as a retraction only. As we continued to talk over the course of these interceding weeks, I sensed he was weary of the politics of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, where the departments of anthropology and African and African American studies reside. He relished his clinical work, his clinical teaching, and felt a sense of purpose in his role as chair of the department of global health and social medicine. He had expressed some ambivalence in our conversations about where his priorities should be over the next few years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the last week of his life, Jan Brunson, a colleague at the University of Hawaii, whod attended a webinar in which he was presenting, publicly questioned him on the letter. Shed asked him how he reconciled his social justice work with having signed the letter: First of all, he said, I want to say that I dont think that I can reconcile that. I think it was an error. And so I agree with Dr. Brunson and I think saying that feels insufficient. I said that as well. I wouldnt want to sound like I was defending myself by saying that the topic at hand was about graduate-student advising, and a request for transparency in the process. I agree with the critique. I dont feel that those two things can reconcile. I think its better just to say that I made a mistake and Im very sorry about it. Advertisement A mutual friend who was in Rwanda with Paul at the time sent me the video, after I had reached out to him about the inadequacy of having simply retracted. I told Paul that I saw his response. He wrote, Ive only said one thing and that is Im sorry and was wrong. But I feel Ive dishonored myself by signing a letter before knowing shit about any legal case. In fact, it was about protecting LGBTQ grad students, I thought. What an idiot. He continued, You already told me I was an idiot, and did I contest that? Or defend myself? I did not. (For the record, I never called him an idiot.) I inquired about his health, because he looked a bit tired in the video. So youll rest? I pressed. He assured me he would find some relief once hed arrived in Sierra Leone. I was skeptical, because he would always qualify his promises to me about getting more rest. But dont forget how much I love the clinical part so thats kept me going Xoxox. Paul could be so infuriatingly committed to his work. Asking him to rest was asking far too much. He lived enough for three extraordinary lifetimes. He died doing what he loved. ORLANDO, FloridaGov. Ron DeSantis, addressing a crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in his home state Friday afternoon, observed that people are chafing under authoritarian rule around the world. It was the day after Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered an invasion of Ukraine. DeSantis example of authoritarianism on the march, however, was about Australia. I recently got a letter from Samuel from Australia, DeSantis said, referring by first name to a fan from Down Under. And he said, There isnt much hope right now here, and many of us are fearful of what our leaders have in store for us. I look to you, and your great state of Florida, for hope during this dark time. Thank you for standing up for us. Advertisement The evidence was clear: The entire West, under the jackboot of woke speech codes and mask and vaccine mandates, was looking to the free state of Florida for liberation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Canadians are writing in, Australia, Europe, you name it, DeSantis said. And I think they understand what the stakes are, and they look to us [for] what protecting freedom means. The speakers at CPAC, the annual megaconference of conservatives, have not gone full Tucker Carlson. Theyre not expressing sympathy for Putin or celebrating his lust for conquest. But the onset of the most aggressive test of the West since the end of the Cold Warsomething that, under previous incarnations of the conservative movement, would have been the issue around which CPAC was organizedhas been a back burner issue. Advertisement Advertisement The motivating concerns, instead, are with the perceived creeping tyranny afflicting the free world. Consider Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. He is not a Putin admirer, and has made sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline his signature policy issue in Congress over the last year. Hes issued statement after statement against Russian aggression, and was more than game to discuss the matter with reporters at the conference. But Cruz is well attuned to what a roomful of devoted right-wingers want to hear, and whats going to fall flat. (With occasional lapses.) And in his speech Thursday afternoon, Cruz didnt say a single word about the war. Advertisement Instead, he made jokes about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi flying on a broom and Joe Biden being senile, and called White House press secretary Jen Psaki Peppermint Patty. He received a standing ovation when he mocked nosy left-wingers badgering people to get vaccinated, screaming, Shut the hell up! Advertisement While Cruz chose to ignore the Russia-Ukraine crisis altogether, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk foregrounded why it was of little interest to him. The U.S. Southern border matters a lot more than the Ukrainian border, Kirk told the crowd Thursday morning. Im more worried about how the cartels are deliberately trying to infiltrate our country than a dispute 5,000 miles away, cities we cant pronounce, places that most Americans cant find on a map. Advertisement Advertisement He clarified that he wasnt defending the actions of dictators halfway across the world. But? What Im saying, though, is that when your own country is falling apart, he said, I dont want to hear lectures about why we need to send our troops halfway across the world when we are being invaded. Advertisement Advertisement To the extent it otherwise came up, amid a litany of more passionate gripes about wokeness, cancel culture, vaccine and mask mandates, and the cable news channel CNN, the Russia-Ukraine war was, first and foremost, an opportunity to call for lifting restrictions on all domestic energy production. Josh Hawley, for example, used his speech to announce that when the Senate returned to session on Monday, he would introduce legislation to open back up American energy production in this country 100 percent. Advertisement Advertisement The criticisms that Bidens weakness created an opening for Putin to make his move werent just grounded in descriptions of lackluster economic and military deterrence, though. That weakness, as some speakers explained, is itself a symptom of the American cultural softness. Advertisement Woke weakness leads to things like were seeing in the White House, former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said, and what youre seeing around the world. Walker was on a panel with North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who explained how China is using TikTok to make Americans look like a bunch of nincompoops. While Americans are encouraged to learn some silly dance or to do something thats completely mindless and meaningless to go viral, China is encouraging its young people to go viral by building something incredible through STEM, or through engineering, or being able to go out and speak incredibly fluently and well, or having great patriotic and masculine values, he said. The message, then, is that what Russia is doing to Ukraine is no big dealor that what China may do next to Taiwan is no big surprisegiven the cultural damage the left has done to America and other major Western countries. And the threat to Ukraines freedom is a secondary issue compared with the threat conservatives feel toward their own freedom. Advertisement Advertisement Every single person in this room, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said Friday morning, and the overwhelming majority of people that, you know, are one word awayand it doesnt matter if you were 13 years old when you said ityoure one word, youre one statement, youre one retweet, youre one like away, from destroying your life. As Thursdays agenda went on and into Friday morning, and the gravity and brutality of the Russian assault became clear, the tone became less dismissive. More and more speakers spoke to the horror of Russian aggression and to pray for Ukraine. This was reflected in the larger conservative mediasphere as well. Tucker Carlson began backpedaling from his defense of Putin on his Thursday night show. Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance, who previously said he didnt really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another, insisted that he did care, and furthermore, what was happening there was elites fault. There was an appreciation, specifically, for Ukraines courageous defense. No matter where you stand on this Ukraine-Russia situationwhat we should have done beforehand, what we should do now, Rubio said, cautiously, the one thing I think everyone can agree upon is that the people of Ukraine are inspiring to the world. He cited the clip of the Ukrainians defending Snake Island against a Russian warship who said, when threatened, Russian warship, go fuck yourself. All were killed. Those were the patriotic, masculine values CPAC could respect. A woman holding her baby leaves a temporary tent for evacuation after a revised 6.1 magnitude quake in Nagari Pinagar Village of Pasaman Barat district in West Sumatra, Indonesia, Feb. 25, 2022. Four people were killed and more than 20 others wounded as a revised 6.1 magnitude quake destroyed over 10,000 buildings and houses in Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, a local official said. (Photo by Andry Mardiansyah/Xinhua) JAKARTA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and more than 20 others wounded as a revised 6.1 magnitude quake destroyed over 10,000 buildings and houses in Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, a local official said. Earlier the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency issued a report saying the quake measured 6.2 on the Richter scale before revising it to 6.1, the agency's Head Dwikorita Karnawati said. The head of the operation unit of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency of West Sumatra Province, Jumaidi, told Xinhua by phone that the damages and casualties were reported in Pasaman and Pasaman Barat districts, where the weather agency reported that the intensities of the quake were recorded at VI and V MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) respectively. "The death toll rises to four people now. More than 20 people were injured," Jumaidi said. "I think more than 10,000 houses and buildings were damaged. Now our personnel are on the scene to assess precisely the risks. Some other personnel from the Red Cross, rescuers, the government officials and others are also on the scene to respond to the impact of the quake," he noted, adding that the natural disaster has forced thousands of people to take shelters. The quake jolted at 8:39 a.m. Jakarta time (0139 GMT), with the epicenter at 17 km northeast of Pasaman Barat district and the shallow of 10 km under the earth, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said. The tremors did not potentially trigger any tsunami, according to the agency. Photo taken with mobile phone shows a damaged house after a revised 6.1 magnitude quake at Pasaman Barat district in West Sumatra, Indonesia, Feb. 25, 2022. Four people were killed and more than 20 others wounded as a revised 6.1 magnitude quake destroyed over 10,000 buildings and houses in Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, a local official said. (Indonesia Red Cross/Handout via Xinhua) Photo taken on Feb. 25, 2022 shows a damaged house after a revised 6.1 magnitude quake in Nagari Pinagar Village of Pasaman Barat district in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Four people were killed and more than 20 others wounded as a revised 6.1 magnitude quake destroyed over 10,000 buildings and houses in Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, a local official said. (Photo by Andry Mardiansyah/Xinhua) An official evacuates a woman with her baby after a revised 6.1 magnitude quake in Nagari Pinagar Village of Pasaman Barat district in West Sumatra, Indonesia, Feb. 25, 2022. Four people were killed and more than 20 others wounded as a revised 6.1 magnitude quake destroyed over 10,000 buildings and houses in Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, a local official said. (Photo by Andry Mardiansyah/Xinhua) Photo taken with mobile phone shows members of search and rescue team searching for victims near a damaged mosque after a revised 6.1 magnitude quake at Pasaman Barat district in West Sumatra, Indonesia, Feb. 25, 2022. Four people were killed and more than 20 others wounded as a revised 6.1 magnitude quake destroyed over 10,000 buildings and houses in Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, a local official said. (Indonesia Red Cross/Handout via Xinhua) Photo taken on Feb. 25, 2022 shows a damaged house after a revised 6.1 magnitude quake in Nagari Pinagar Village of Pasaman Barat district in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Four people were killed and more than 20 others wounded as a revised 6.1 magnitude quake destroyed over 10,000 buildings and houses in Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, a local official said. (Photo by Andry Mardiansyah/Xinhua) Photo taken on Feb. 25, 2022 shows a damaged house after a revised 6.1 magnitude quake in Nagari Pinagar Village of Pasaman Barat district in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Four people were killed and more than 20 others wounded as a revised 6.1 magnitude quake destroyed over 10,000 buildings and houses in Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, a local official said. (Photo by Andry Mardiansyah/Xinhua) A family takes a rest in a temporary tent after a revised 6.1 magnitude quake in Nagari Pinagar Village of Pasaman Barat district in West Sumatra, Indonesia, Feb. 25, 2022. Four people were killed and more than 20 others wounded as a revised 6.1 magnitude quake destroyed over 10,000 buildings and houses in Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, a local official said. (Photo by Andry Mardiansyah/Xinhua) President Joe Biden acknowledged on Thursday that his new sanctions against Russia would take months or longer to affect Vladimir Putins behavior, if they affect it at all. So what are the U.S. and its allies doing nowwhat can they do nowto help Ukraine resist the invasion? The stark answer is not much. The hundreds of millions of dollars worth of anti-tank and anti-air missiles, which Biden and other NATO leaders have sent Ukraine in recent months, are probably stiffening its defenses, but even if we sent more now, they might arrive too late to matter. Advertisement Ukrainian soldiers are reportedly putting up fierce fights in the eastern city of Kharkiv and at the main airport outside Kyiv. According to one report of unknown reliability, a column of Russian tanks was devastated by a Ukrainian brigade firing U.S.-supplied Javelin anti-tank missiles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Still, it is doubtful they can keep the invaders from accomplishing their aims for very long. The Russians vastly outmatch them in firepower, missile arsenals, air superiority, and mobility. Some have predicted Kyiv falling in a matter of days, if not hours. This is probably exaggeration. Russians havent conducted such a large, complex military operation in more than a half-century. It isnt likely to go like clockwork. But lets say that Russia captures the capital, ousts the popularly elected president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and installs a puppet leader with the mandate to haul Ukraine back into Moscows orbitall reasonable expectations. Then what? Ukraine has been an independent country since 1991. As Tim Judah notes in a dispatch from Ukraine for the New York Review of Books, Most young Ukrainians, who have no memory of the Soviet era are now just like other Europeans. There is no appetite for resuming a supplicants status to an empire to the east. Even among the older generation, three decades of independence, combined with Putins new aggression, have intensified a sense of Ukrainian nationalism and a longing to join the West. Advertisement Advertisement As a result, after the main fight is over (whenever that happens), those 150,000 Russian troops in or around Ukraine will have to remain as an occupation force. They will face resistancenot just from Ukrainian soldiers, who will have access to weapons, but from civilian insurgents, who have training in arms as well and who will surely receive supplies (and perhaps more) from U.S. and other intelligence agencies. Without Russian occupiers, the new Quisling regime would be overthrown at once. Even with the occupiers, its edicts are unlikely to be obeyed. The notion that Putin could control Ukraine, in the way that his Kremlin predecessors did in Cold War times, seems improbable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reports are still slim on how the fighting is going, but some Russian soldiers must be dying; many more will likely die in the wars insurgency phase, if recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are precedent. Will the sight of body bags coming home turn Russias public opinion against Putins adventureand, if so, does that matter? Advertisement This is where the sanctions come in, theoretically. Biden and leaders of the EU are tightening sanctions on Russian banks, high-tech firms, and eliteswealthy friends of Putinas well as their families. For now, NATO allies have stopped short of kicking Russian firms out of the global SWIFT banking network, sometimes described as the financial nuclear option, though some analysts believe Russia would be able to route money through other channels. They have also refrained from targeting Russias all-important oil and gas exports, in order to avoid an even bigger spike in global energy prices than the world has already experienced. However, Germany has decided not to turn on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and Biden has now sanctioned the pipeline companys executives. Advertisement Advertisement But the steps the West has taken so farespecially banning foreign funding of Russian debt, barring large Russian banks from doing any transactions in dollars, euros, pounds, or yen, and limiting exports of high-tech equipmentare likely to make a major economic dent. Sanctioning the elites could also have a big impact over time, as well. These elites own property in London and New York, vacation on the Riviera, send their children to Western schools. If their assets are seized and they have no access to dollars, euros, pounds, or yen, their lives will be miserable. Will they take out their misery on Putin? Thats the hope, but its not clear how their discontent translates into political rebellion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier on Thursday, as the countrys stock market tanked for the second day in a row, Putin held a televised meeting with Russian big businessmen. Alexander Shokhin, the groups leader, told Putin, Everything should be done to demonstrate as much as possible that Russia remains part of the global economy and will not provoke global negative phenomena on world markets. He seemed nervous while making the statementa strong, if implicit, critique of Putins policiesbut the fact that he said this at all should raise eyebrows. In the long run, Putins adventure in Ukraine may prove a gigantic blunder. Even now, it has thrown an enormous wrench in Putins broad foreign policy strategy, which, for the past decade, has been to intensify fissures within the EU and to drive wedges between Washington and its NATO allies. Putins aggression against Ukraine has patched those fissures, elevated Americas leadership role, and unified the alliance more solidly than at any time since the end of the Cold War. Advertisement In the short to medium run, this unity may crumble if Ukraines defenses collapse, if a potent resistance force doesnt take hold right away, and if the alliesor the American peoplegrow frustrated with how long its taking for the sanctions to hurt Putin and how quickly the sanctions are hurting their own economies. A big factor will be China. In early February, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a declaration of an alliance with no limits. However, since then, Beijing has been ambivalent about Putins moves on Ukraine. The weekend before the invasion, Foreign Minister Wang Yi defended the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrityincluding for Ukraine. Since then, Chinese officials have mainly sided with Russia, blaming the U.S. for the escalation in violence. Still, Beijing seems to be in a wait-and-watch mode for how firmly to back Putin in this campaign. Putin may be counting on Beijing to rescue Russia from the sanctions, stepping in with trade and investments that Moscow can no longer conduct with the rest of the world. But if the war or its occupation go south, Xi might not want to saddle himself with the partnerships exorbitant costs. At his press conference Thursday, Biden was asked if hes talked with China about aligning against Russia on Ukraine. Biden replied that he didnt want to talk about that just yet. Advertisement Advertisement All in all, the war we see on televisionthe war that Ukrainians are experiencing with painful intimacyis only one part of the wider conflict that Putin has put in motion. This conflict is military, economic, and political. It encompasses not only the fate of Ukraine but the shape of Europe. It is a massive gamble on Putins parta wild dice throw to secure what he sees as his destiny to save and revive the great Russian empire. Biden and the European allies, with help from Japan and other countries, are putting everything they can muster (short of direct military force) to disrupt this ambition and restore international law. The main battle may be over soon; the wider one could take many months, even years, to play out. President Joe Biden has just named his first nominee to the United States Supreme Court: Ketanji Brown Jackson, who, if confirmed, will replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson has by every account lived an exemplary life, achieved astonishing professional heights, and done so while scrupulously attempting to adhere to the highest personal and professional ethical standards, as well as the judicial canons of neutrality and the appearance of nonpartisanship. Nevertheless, in the coming weeks, every single aspect of her life will be combed throughevery client shes represented, every speech shes given, every donation, every opinion, every board she has served upon. There will not be a single word or deed of Jacksons that isnt mined for hidden political meaning, covert expressions of secret ideology, and potential bias. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. In the coming weeks and throughout the confirmation process, the nominee will be required to present herself as a human whiteboard, serving up a lifetime devoid of political preferences, ideas, or preconceptions. Across the street, at the Supreme Court, the story is quite different. Two pieces of groundbreaking reportingfirst from Jane Mayer in the New Yorker in January, then another this week from Danny Hakim and Jo Becker in the New York Timesprovide spectacularly detailed investigations into the conflicts of interest presented by Clarence and Ginni Thomas partisan political activities and causes. These deep dives, which include a mountain of evidence about the ways in which the couple has worked together to mix his extreme law with her extreme politics, have largely been met with a collective public shrug. Maybe because everyone knew all this already, absent the names and dates and details, or maybe because theres simply no mechanism to do anything about it. Since the justice is bound by no enforceable ethics rules, the fact that his wife actively works on cases he decides, supports amicus briefs he reads, and coordinates causes he favors is the source of sighs and there they go again ennui among the nations court-watchers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet both investigations detail a five-car pileup of ethics violations from which no one should turn away. As the New York Times wrote of Ginni: In addition to her perch at the Council for National Policy, she founded a group called Groundswell with the support of Stephen K. Bannon, the hard-line nationalist and former Trump adviser. It holds a weekly meeting of influential conservatives, many of whom work directly on issues that have come before the court. Ginni, says the Times, played a peacemaking role between feuding factions of Jan. 6, 2021, rally organizers. She also co-signed a letter in December calling for House Republicans to expel Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger from their conference for joining the Jan. 6 committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That judicial ethics rules dont matter anymore so long as one takes direction from the law should be good news for Jackson, were there a single standard applied to all jurists. Of course, some of her work to keep Trump in office even after he lost the 2020 election would have inevitably landed on the steps of the Supreme Court, just as matters surrounding the congressional investigation into those events have already been decided there. The court ruled 81 this January to allow the release of Trumps records connected to the insurrection. By any measure, his conflict here is stunning. The Times describes a Federalist Society event celebrating Clarence Thomas, with a triumphal speech by Donald Trumps former White House counsel Don McGahn, the guy who refused to obey a congressional subpoena, and whose case also went before the federal courts and could have landed at the Supreme Court. (Indeed, that case, decided at the district court by one Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, will be one of the main sources of GOP opposition to her.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Thomases like to reassure us that they each stay in their lane; that Ginni has no influence over her husbands judicial decisions; that even if she did, it doesnt matter what their politics are because he is, after all, just coolly applying the law. Clarence Thomas, however, believes that human beings have free will to chart our own course, Helgi Walker, a former Thomas clerk, told the New York Times. And I have no doubt that applies, perhaps especially so, to his wife. That said, she added, he takes direction from no one but the law. That judicial ethics rules dont matter anymore so long as one takes direction from the law should be good news for Jackson, were there a single standard applied to all jurists. Advertisement But you heard it here first: The standard that will be applied to her will be that shes profoundly biased and unfit to judge, and that nothing she says or does can fix it. Advertisement Imagine, if you will, a confirmation hearing next month at which nominee Jackson cheerfully says: Dont worry about anything I say or do, its all good, Im just staying in my lane and taking direction from the law. Imagine a line of questions to Jackson from her old classmate Ted Cruz, attempting to ferret out her political views, that ends with Oh, never mind, I see that, like Justice Thomas, you are allowed to do and say whatever you want once confirmed anyhow. Advertisement Advertisement No such exchange will occur at Jacksons hearing, though, because Democrats judicial nominees do not play by the same rules as Republicans. Brett Kavanaugh cut his teeth as a GOP operative, pushing Ken Starr to humiliate Monica Lewinsky, then helping George W. Bush to win the 2000 election at SCOTUS. Amy Coney Barrett pitched in to the Bush v. Gore team too. And its almost impossible to count how many of Donald Trumps lower court nominees spent their careers doing overtly partisan legal work for the Republican Party before joining the bench. All of these partisans swore that the moment they donned a black robe, they would leave their political biases behind. Spoiler: They didnt. After embracing these political operatives for four years, Senate Republicans abruptly flipped their standards once Biden took office. They will now scour Jacksons record for the slightest whiff of partisanship and smear her with guilt by association. This process has already begun: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released a statement on Friday criticizing Jackson for being the favored choice of far-left dark-money groups that have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the Court itself. Advertisement In reality, McConnell himself is the only modern lawmaker who successfully altered the courts structure by shrinking its membership to eight justices for more than a year. And his party mastered the art of using dark money to promote SCOTUS nominees under Trump. But McConnells DARVO jiujitsu only confirms that Republicans have no real case against Jackson. They will simply say that Democrats like her, and that fact must be enough for Republicans to hate her. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who voted to confirm Jackson to her current appeals court last year, has already complained that with her nomination the radical Left has won. Wait, what? Oh, right, when Federalist Society candidates tell us theyre suddenly neutral after a lifetime of hackery, its to be believed. When a Democratic nominee has spent a lifetime eschewing radical political causes, shes a subversive liar and political hack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Imagine, just for fun, what Republicans would say about Jackson if her spouse were a literal D.C. lobbyist whose close associates appear before the Supreme Court, who regularly promoted paranoid and delusional conspiracy theories, who lobbied the White House to toss out patronage jobs to her friends and bragged about having access to federal judges. When Ginni Thomas does such things, Republicans shrug. But this singular Thomas standard does not apply to Democrats, and it certainly does not apply to Democratic women of color. It is acutely demoralizing to watch the GOP prepare an attack on Jacksons spotless record just as a flood of new reporting details the bottomless corruption of a sitting justice with lifetime tenure who will never be disciplined because he answers to nobody. Advertisement If Republican senators were consistent, they wouldnt bother even trying to evaluate Jacksons alleged secret political agenda in the coming weeks. Clarence Thomas career on the bench and his practice of flouting every ethical rule and canon suggest that this scrutiny matters not at all; once you are confirmed, you may do as you wish without consequences. That rule would terrify them if they applied it to their own judges. Until that day comes, theres no reason to pretend that Jacksons hearings are anything more than political theater. In the Senate, Republicans will question whether she is truly independent and ethical. Jackson will prove to be a fair-minded and apolitical justice. But as Thomas has now proved beyond all doubt, all she must do is play that role for the next few weeks, at which point she can then do whatever she wants, forever, with impunity. On Friday, President Joe Biden announced his nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. His pick is a home run. Jacksons personal story is compelling; her qualifications are sterling; her jurisprudence hits the sweet spot of progressive pragmatism; and her candidacy is, of course, historic. In spite of gripes from the right, she seems poised to glide onto the court with just a few inevitable bumps and a final vote thats closer than it should be. Democrats need a win right now, and the Supreme Court needs a fresh voice to invigorate the beleaguered liberal wing. Jacksons confirmation will provide both. Advertisement Start with the obvious: No Black woman has ever before sat on the Supreme Court. It is long past time to end that travesty and ensure that SCOTUS looks more like the country it serves. There is nothing remotely unseemly about Bidens decision to nominate a Black woman to this seat; to the contrary, there is a long tradition of presidents choosing justices on the basis of their race, ethnicity, gender, and religion. This consideration of identity brings huge benefits to the court: Diversity on the bench shores up public perceptions of its legitimacy and competence while bringing different viewpoints, backgrounds, and experiences to the bench. A less homogeneous court has fewer blind spots and a deeper understanding of injustices that it is duty-bound to address, including discrimination and voting rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Diversity alone, however, does not equip someone for Supreme Court service, and not every historically marginalized candidates journey to the bench amplifies their sensitivities to the plight of the less privileged. Here is where Jacksons career sets her apart from other women on the shortlist. Her parents worked as public school teachers, then ascended to higher positions within the public education system. Jackson attended Harvard (graduating magna cum laude) and Harvard Law School (graduating cum laude), then clerked at each level of the federal judiciaryculminating in a clerkship with Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she is set to replace. Jackson then spent a few years in Big Law, though she found the lifestyle isolating and unpleasant. She quit in 2005 to become a public defender in the District of Columbia, then joined the law firm Morrison & Foerster for a three-year stint in 2007. Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Jacksons work as a public defender is cause for celebration. No sitting justice has held this job, which may be one factor in the courts bias toward prosecutors and law enforcement. Jackson represented a range of criminal defendants, including Guantanamo Bay detainees, vindicating the constitutional rights of scorned, persecuted, and impoverished individuals. She took on these cases at great risk to her future ambitions; Republicans and conservative media have already criticized her representation of Guantanamo detainees as evidence that she is soft on terrorists. (Her brother served with the U.S. military in Iraq during this period.) Jackson remained active in public defense after rejoining Big Law, winning an award from the American Bar Association for supporting indigent Alaskans right to counsel. In 2010, she joined the U.S. Sentencing Commission and played a major role in shortening prison terms for many drug offenders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The media has made much of Jacksons most personal encounter with the criminal justice system: Her uncle received a life sentence for multiple drug offenses. (While life sentences for nonviolent crimes are always inhumane, her uncles was especially egregious; one state conviction that triggered his federal sentence involved mere possession of cannabis.) But Jackson has not spoken publicly about her connection to the carceral state or the treatment of her uncle, and other family members served as police officers. Whatever impact they may have had on Jackson, its clear that she believed passionately in constitutional protections for the accused. This devotion to the Fifth and Sixth amendmentsat a time when they are under attack at the Supreme Courtis more than encouraging. It indicates that, unlike her colleagues, Jacksons perspective has not been permanently skewed toward the powerful and privileged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her judicial record bears this out. During her seven years as a federal trial judge, Jackson was practical, thorough, and fair, treating defendants with respect while showing the Trump administration a healthy amount of skepticism. Her most notable opinion swatted down former White House Counsel Don McGahns effort to avoid testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. Presidents are not kings, Jackson wrote. This means that they do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control. After Biden appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2021, she joined a landmark opinion denying Donald Trumps attempt to conceal documents from the Jan. 6 committee. Her first authored opinion delivered a major victory to federal unions. A liberal but not an ideologue, a workhorse but not a showoffwhat more could Biden ask for? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the weeks ahead, the Republican Party and its legal arm will fling baseless accusations about Jacksons qualifications. Determining whether she is the most qualified of the shortlisters, though, is like picking out the smartest student in a class of valedictorians. Obviously, this two-time Harvard graduate has the intellectual firepower to serve. And unlike Trumps justices, she carved a path in life that was not padded by wealthy parents money, power, and connections. Republicans complaints about Jacksons credentials draw on a nasty double standard that subjects Black women to infinitely greater scrutiny than white men. Biden now has an opportunity to bust these racist presumptions by championing his nominee as the whole package: a legal superstar who went to a public high schoolnot Georgetown Prep. Jackson has worked her way through the ranks of the profession with compassion, verve, and intellectual firepower, securing a Supreme Court nomination because of who she is as a person and a jurist. She is the right nominee at the right time. The president should dare the GOP to accuse her of being a lesser Black woman. At this point, such insults only highlight the fact that the Republican case against Jackson does not exist. On Friday, President Joe Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. In a story published earlier this month, when Jackson was considered a front-runner for the Supreme Court seat but had not yet been chosen, Mark Joseph Stern examined her lucid, concise first opinion as an appeals court judge. That piece is reprinted below. Ketanji Brown Jackson may sit at the top of President Joe Bidens Supreme Court short list, but until she gets the nod, shell keep plugging away at her current gig: a judge on the nations second highest court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. This court has long served as a springboard to SCOTUS, which may be one reason Biden elevated Jackson to it in June. While Jackson authored myriad opinions during her eight years as a trial court judge, she had not written a single opinion for the D.C. Circuituntil Tuesday, when she made her debut in AFL-CIO v. Federal Labor Relations Authority. The case emerged from a sharp dispute between the Trump administration and organized labor over the rights of federal unions to negotiate their working conditions. And in her lucid, concise opinion, Jackson delivered an unqualified win to union rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The roots of Tuesdays decision lie in President Donald Trumps takeover of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, or FLRA, an agency that oversees labor-management relations for 2.1 million federal workers (and their unions). Trump established a 21 majority on the agencys board by installing two Republican union-busters, Colleen Duffy Kiko and James T. Abbott. Toward the end of Trumps presidency, Kiko and Abbott issued multiple general statements of policy overturning decades of case law protecting collective bargaining. These policies aggressively limited unions ability to negotiate matters that did not come up in formal bargaining, including new demands and restrictions from management. Jacksons first D.C. Circuit opinion involves one such statement from Kiko and Abbott about when, exactly, managers trigger their duty to bargain. Federal law compels agencies to bargain collectively over any condition of employment that affects working conditions. In 1985, however, the FLRA created an exception for de minimis changes, which are so trivial that they do not merit attention. So, for instance, an agency can reduce the number of reserved spots in a parking garage where space is always available without bargaining first. But if an agency wants to make it more difficult for its employees to get reimbursed for cellphone calls on work-related travel, itll need to go to the bargaining table. This de minimis rule encourages managers to err on the side of negotiating meaningful new work requirements instead of imposing them unilaterally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kiko and Abbott decided to replace this standard with a much more stringent rule: Managers, they declared, need only bargain over workplace changes that have a substantial impact on employment conditions. Its not entirely clear how this standard would cash out in the real world, but Kiko and Abbott implied that it would inherently favor government efficiency over workers rights. Its easy to envision managers attempting to pile on extra hours, limit telework, cut comp time, and slash benefitsanything not required by the latest union contract could be fair game. This standard encourages managers to find loopholes in the contract, ramming through new demands unilaterally by insisting that they arent truly substantial. Advertisement Advertisement A group of unions sued, and on Tuesday, Jackson agreed with them that the FLRAs move was arbitrary and capricious in violation of federal law. She framed the case around one simple question: Was the boards departure from precedent support by a reasoned analysis? It was not, she explained, for several reasons. First, the boards criticism of the de minimis standard failed basic logic: It simultaneously asserted that this test invariably triggered a duty to bargain and produced wildly unpredictable results. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is not at all clear, Jackson continued, how the standard could be unpredictable if it always leads to the same outcome. Yet that is how the FLRAs policy statement reads: the existing standard both purportedly subjects every minor decision to review and is unworkable because it is impossible to predict. The FLRA board put forth several examples of the old standards alleged inconsistency; for instance, one temporary change to a new office was deemed de minimis, while a permanent change to seating assignments was not. But, as Jackson explained, closer inspection reveals that these divergent results are readily explained by distinguishable contexts. In each case, there was a rational justification for differing outcomes, a key factor that rendered a managers decision more or less than trivial. Or, as Jackson put it: To describe these decisions is to distinguish them. Advertisement Advertisement Next, Jackson turned to the boards refusal to engage candidly with the FLRAs 35-year history applying the de minimis standard. Kiko and Abbott claimed that the agency never explained the basis for the test. But their characterization of this precedent is misleading. In reality, the agency adopted the test because Congress passed a new law that was more protective of collective bargaining, forcing the agency to expand employers duty to bargain. It is not, as the board declared, inconsistent with the purposes of laws protecting federal unions. Advertisement Third, Jackson rejected Kiko and Abbotts claim that a substantial impact test would somehow draw a brighter line. The board failed to provide a comparative analysis of the two standards, and there is no obvious reason to expect that labor unions and employers will disagree less frequently about what counts as a substantial impact. All the FLRA provided was a bald assertion that, in its view, the new test would work better. Jackson declined to defer to this determination, explaining: There is nothing technical about the predictability assessment that the FLRA makes here, and we are not bound by the FLRAs conclusory and counterintuitive assertions about the consistency with which its new standard is likely to be applied in subsequent adjudications, especially when the record contains no factual basis for making such a forecast. Advertisement And thats pretty much it. Nothing flashy, nothing heated, just a clear and straightforward application of the law in a manner that happens to produce a major victory for federal unions. Its not much different from her writing on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, though it lacks the biting maxims (presidents are not kings) that Jackson occasionally deployed on the lower court. In lieu of flashy prose, Jackson leaned on wry understatement and pith. On the district court, Jackson exhibited a deep understanding of labor law, as well as a refreshing lack of antipathy toward unions (all too common among her Trump-appointed colleagues). At this inflection point for labor, as millions of Americans demand better working conditions and fight the decline of unions, she brings important expertise to the bench. Biden vowed to be the most pro-union president ever, and placing Jackson on the Supreme Court would certainly help to cement that legacy. Russias war effort in Ukraine began years ago, but it has often raged out of view. Organized disinformation campaigns against Ukraine have been pervasive, with extensive hacking and practical operations similar to ones that targeted U.S. elections in 2016 in favor of Donald Trump. Now there is some evidence Russias manufactured narrative about the current war on the ground in Ukraine is reaching America, too. Jane Lytvynenko has made it her job to monitor, identify, and study such disinformation campaigns as a senior research fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard. She was born in Ukraine and still has close family there, and told me she hasnt slept in weeks. With full-scale war now underway, we talked about what the disinformation campaign against Ukraine looks like, its impact, and how to spot its influence in American outlets. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest Newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Aymann Ismail: How has Russias disinformation campaign worked in the war against Ukraine so far? Jane Lytvynenko: Putins entire invasion of Ukraine is justified by a disinformation campaign. His speech earlier this week completely distorted Ukrainian history and attempted to make Ukrainians look like we shouldnt exist. And we see similar lines from that speech being spread online through Kremlin propaganda, Telegram channels, media, and social media posts. There are also out-of-context photos and videos being circulated. This included videos all along Donetsk and Luhansk that blamed explosions and artillery fire on the Ukrainian army, which was false. There was also a staged exploded car with dead bodies inside that open-source evidence suggests were retrieved from a morgue. Bellingcat is keeping an ongoing list of dubious videos. Its going to be difficult to get clarity in this situation for anyone who isnt following reporters on the ground or official channels. Advertisement Advertisement Is this creating any confusion on the Ukrainian side? Ukrainians know why Putin is doing this. I think the confusion is mostly taking place in the West. Putin caused this war, and hes spreading disinformation to justify it. But there is intentional confusion, and there is also unintentional confusion. After an attack, it takes time to understand the extent of it. Theres going to be a lot of confusion and a lot of false or misleading or just rumor-based information going around. I think the main thing to understand about the information environment right now is how fluid it is. Things are going to be changing minute to minute, hour to hour. This is war. We need to get comfortable with this information environment, because this is not ending anytime soon. Advertisement Advertisement Some reporters in Ukraine are urging people to assume everything thats coming from the Kremlin to be disinformation. Others have accused U.S. outlets like Fox News of parrotingor becomingRussian propaganda. As a researcher, do you see this? Advertisement Advertisement I do. Its very obvious. It is the same false information that Putin and his supporters spread that is being spread in much of American media. We should not trust the word of the attacker to describe the attack. One big push that Ive seen on the channels that I monitor is to make the Russian army look successful, and the Ukrainian army look weak. In reality, the Ukrainian army is fighting valiantly. The intent is to create confusion over details like how many planes got shot down, or how many troops fell, or which strategic objectives were taken. There will be false information about every single attack on Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Do you have any theory of why some right-wing media in America and elsewhere would be receptive to this disinformation? Thats a really difficult question. Of course, it doesnt just happen out of nowhere. It has to do with the 2016 election and Russias interference. Russias interference played a central role in politicizing the country. But we saw a consistent narrative that Russia hadnt done anything wrong, or their various disinformation campaigns, hacking campaigns, cyberattacks were all fabricated. I would guess that a part of that is an extension of the politicization on this issue that has stemmed from 2016. Advertisement Advertisement But what the 2016 election proved is Russian disinformation knows no borders. Weve also seen Russia spread false information around various elections around the world, not just the U.S.s. And there was, in 2014, an international disinformation campaign after the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine in order for Russia to deny culpability. Russia was not above spreading false disinformation about that huge tragedy. Keeping that context in mind, theres no way that they wont continue spreading false information aggressively about Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Do the reported swarms of Russian bots who post to websites like Twitter and Reddit concern you on the same level? I would say that automated activity is part of our information environment, but the key thing with disinformation is that it needs people to spread. It doesnt rely on automated activity only. There is a clear tug of war in the information space. Disinformation works because real people keep the wheels spinning, and it is incredibly important for social media companies to be particularly stringent with any automated or inauthentic activity that they find. I have seen some activity with prominent takedowns some time ago. How can we tell whether the Russian disinformation is working? Advertisement Misinformation is there to undermine democracy and undermine a peoples freedom of expression. The disinformation muddles the waters and hinders international understanding of this war. If Western politicians dont have the support of their people in defending Ukraine, then theyll provide less support. I would speculate that thats a part of the calculus. Very early on in the escalation, there was a lot of division between world leaders on the best way to respond to this. Germany was a particular standout, who offered the weakest response among Western leaders. If the West appears divided, and the constituents for the politicians appear divided, then the response to the war will also be divided. Advertisement For people not very literate in whats happening, how can they spot and avoid these efforts? Follow reporters on the ground. Kyiv Independent is a great independent English-language news outlet within Ukraine. Looking for sources who are in Ukraine who can explain the situation is the best possible thing you can do. And get educated about Ukraines history. Research the 2014 revolution, because thats how Ukraine broke away from Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Is there any not-so-obvious consequence that Im not thinking about? Advertisement Advertisement Well, right now I am wondering where the bombs are falling, whether Russian troops have taken over Hostomel. That is important to me personally, because people I love are close and I dont know how much I can rely on what Im seeing and reading to know that theyre safe. Im sorry to get personal, but the fog of war, the obfuscation of this war, this escalation, has a very direct result both on how we think about it and on me personally. Theres a lot of questions about why this is happening, how this is happening, the confusion that weve talked about. And I think its really important to remember that, in 2014, Ukrainian people fought for their independence and died for their independence. As a result, Russia annexed Crimea, and began the war in Donbas. That is the war that is being escalated, right now. It is the war for Ukrainian independence that started in 2014. And in the simplest possible terms, to cut through all the misinformation, that is what were seeing here. One assertion that is frequently heard from pundits of a certain age and disposition is that the United States lacks the kind of purpose and values it had during World War II and the Cold War, when it promoted democracy, human rights, and prosperity across the world. This complaint can be a shallow one: the U.S. also has a history of destroying democracy, human rights, and prosperity abroad, and national unity in the post-war era was arguably made possible because so many people were excluded from participating in public life. Advertisement On Wednesday, conservative New York Times columnist Bret Stephens made a more historically accurate and novel version of the argument. Stephens asked what the U.S.s position on the Ukraine crisis should be, and whether it has the moral standing to object to Russias invasion given its own domestic record of slavery and discrimination and foreign record of supporting friendly dictators. He noted that Jesus Christ, who was the original pundit, said to cast out the beam in our own eye before we cast out the mote in the eye of another. (I gather that by beam he meant splintercarpentry talk. Incidentally this is the same order of operations that airplane passengers are instructed to follow in event that oxygen masks are deployedsecure yours first, then help others. Jesus was also the original flight attendant.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Stephens also points out that self-belief can be powerful, even if it is not entirely based in fact, and that U.S. history includes accomplishments that are not made any less useful for being built in part on a foundation of propaganda and self-delusion. Self-belief, he says, can be powerful in a catastrophic way, as with Russia justifying its invasion of Ukraine on fantastical historical grounds, or constructive, as in the cases of Yorktown and Appomattox; the 13th and 19th Amendments; the Berlin Airlift and the fall of the Berlin Wall; the Marshall Plan and PEPFAR. The point of the column is that the U.S. used to have self-belief, but no longer does, rendering it unable to do anything useful about the invasion. (It may be a weakness of his argument that he doesnt say what that would be. Not a situation in which a lot of great options are evident!) Advertisement Stephens is probably correct that negative partisanship and pessimism are more prevalent in U.S. civic culture now than they were on, say, VJ Day. But he is wrong to conclude that this also means its residents lack for animating visions of what the future could and should look like if they cooperate to build it. Advertisement Consider Donald Trump and the MAGA community. It is a hypercritical and angry group of folks, no doubt about that! But as one can see right there in slogan, its fury derives from a constructive underlying concept: That America used to be great and could soon be great again. The narrative is that the U.S. was once a place that valued hard work and toughness, and where everyone who played by the rules had a house, lawn, and pickup truck, before it was overrun with carnage because of its elite leaders enthusiasm for free trade, immigration, wokeness, and so forth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its voters like to think that by building a border wall, supporting law enforcement, and taking critical race theory out of the schools, they can recreate the imagined communities of the 1950s and earlier, as captured in the summary of American history in Trumps 2020 Republican National Convention speech. When opportunity beckoned they picked up their Bibles, packed up their belongings, climbed into their covered wagons and set out west for the next adventure. Ranchers and miners, cowboys and sheriffs, farmers and settlers, they pressed on past the Mississippi to stake a claim in the wild frontier. Legends were born. Wyatt Earp, Annie Oakley, Davy Crockett and Buffalo Bill. Americans built their beautiful homesteads on the open range. Soon they had churches and communities. Then towns. And with time, great centers of industry and commerce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joe Biden also has a big-picture vision of what the U.S. was and should be. Its the one Stephens describes, in which white small-town Americans also play a role, but are joined by immigrants and civil rights activists and others who asked the country to live up to the ideals expressed at its founding. In Bidens narrative all of these people collaborated to do big, inspiring things through public investment. This was all demonstrated in his not-technically-the-State-of-the-Union February 2021 address to Congress, which depicted a bygone, thriving middle class built on collective projects like the transcontinental railroad, the interstate highway system, the Moon missions, and universal K-12 public school. Biden wants to restore this state of affairs by launching new projects of similar scope. (Unfortunately for him, Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin have not gotten on board.) Advertisement Then there are democratic socialists and leftists. Its true that this group is the most critical of what the U.S. has traditionally been and it is alarmed about what it currently is. But it is not purely negative. It, too, finds heroes in the past, but where Biden would celebrate Abraham Lincoln and Trump would celebrate, uh, Buffalo Bill (?), it celebrates anti-slavery radical John Brown. It has its own inspiring vision, perhaps stated most memorably in the Oct. 2019 speech Bernie Sanders delivered in Queens after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed him: Advertisement Advertisement I want you all to take a look around you and find someone you dont know. Maybe someone who doesnt look, kind of, like you, maybe somebody who might be of a different religion than you, maybe they come from a different country. My question to you, now, is: Are you willing to fight for that person you dont know as much as youre willing to fight for yourself? Advertisement Contra Stephens, all three of these movements can motivate Americans to have positive feelings about (parts of) their country and participate in collective action. They even basically have the same goal (a big ol middle class). The problem is that they disagree vehemently on how that goal should be achieved and who should get to share it. But this isnt a historical anomaly either. Lets look again at Stephens list of national triumphs: Yorktown and Appomattox; the 13th and 19th Amendments; the Berlin Airlift and the fall of the Berlin Wall; the Marshall Plan and PEPFAR. Yorktown, Appomattox, and the 13th Amendment were the results of actual wars in which Americans fought on both sides. The 19th Amendment gave women the right to votein 1919, a cool 79 years after the Seneca Falls womens rights convention. PEPFAR is a global AIDS relief program, but for years before its launch AIDS research and mitigation was slowed by the bitter domestic conflict about whether it is morally wrong to be gay. And the Cold War accomplishmentsBerlin and the Marshall Plan followed a period of multiple decades in which there was an internal stalemate about whether the U.S. should risk the lives of its citizens to enforce international order. That question was only answered by the attack on Pearl Harbor. What each has in common is that they came after, or even during, intense periods of conflict over what America should be, or whether it should even exist, after which one side decisively won the argument, if only temporarily. Its not quite good news that brutal, years-long ideological combat, and sometimes outright war, has occasionally ended in triumphs of common national purpose. But in the current moment its probably the most good the news is going to get. Our family puppy was less than six months old and had received all of his vaccines when he came down with a disease inside of his stomach. In December, two days after taking him to the local dog park that we frequented, our vivacious eater and playful pup abruptly lost his appetite and became lethargic. Serious and consistent bouts of diarrhea and vomiting set in. The next morning, we rushed him to a local veterinarian where they chocked his symptoms up to a minor stomach virus. They sent us home with antibiotics. But his conditions only worsened. After another 48 hours, blood appeared in his stool and it was evident he was rapidly declining, becoming weaker and losing his cheerful personality. We rushed him to an emergency vet in the middle of the night where we waited for five hours to be seen, as he moaned in our arms. Due to a long line of other emergency patients, we finally gave up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The following day, at the recommendation of a neighbor, we rushed him to a nearby Veterinary Centers of America (VCA) who took him into the examining room immediately. They discovered a bug known as parvovirus eating his intestinal tract, and began treating him immediately, keeping him overnight in a quarantined section of the building. This was surprising, because hed been vaccinated against parvovirusan illness that has spiked in recent years, even with widespread availability of an inoculation against it. Canine Parvovirus emerged in the late 70s, having evolved from feline panleukopenia, a similar viral infectious disease that primarily affected kittens. Puppies between six and twenty weeks have remained the most vulnerable to the deadly disease, usually contracting it through fecal-oral transmission. The number of individual dogs who have been affected by parvovirus is unknown, but cases continue to be reported globallyparticularly in developing nations where stray dogs are rampant, like India, where veterinary practices are less common and the amount of homeless canines are estimated at over 60 million. Advertisement Advertisement During last years heavily rainy monsoon season, South Indian veterinarians saw an uptick in parvo cases, largely due to street dogs coming in contact with contaminated water. An endemic was declared and local animal hospitals, like Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary (BMAD) in Chennai, held vaccination drives for stray puppies who were most vulnerable to contracting the virus and passing it along to other dogs. Inoculating a puppy or a dog gives them a fighting chance against the infection, which is all based on body immunity, said Dr. R Sooraj Mohan, senior veterinarian at BMAD. Advertisement Parvovirus is a concern here in the States, too. Only months into the coronavirus outbreak, as dog ownership saw a significant rise, Blue Pearl Pet Hospitals announced they found a 70 percent increase in Parvovirus infections across their 90 hospitals. A theory they posed was the increase in outdoor activities, including dog park attendance, due to stay-at-home orders early on in the pandemic. As with COVID-19 and humans though, a factor in parvoviruss spread might simply be that some dogs arent getting vaccinated, because the shots can be difficult to access. As Blue Pearl explained in a press release: Other possible causes for the uptick include disruptions in the timing of or prevention of puppies receiving full vaccine series, resulting in incomplete immunity, and financial hardships, such as job loss, preventing or delaying owners from seeking routine vaccinations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its also the case that the parvovirus vaccination isnt a complete guarantee against infection. Immunisation failures represent one of the main reasons for [canine parvovirus] continuous circulation throughout the world, write the authors of a 2020 review paper exploring why the disease continues to be a leading cause of death from infectious disease amongst domestic dogs worldwide. In one study conducted in Australia, 3 percent of some 1,500 cases occurred in dogs that had received both shots against parvovirus. Advertisement Advertisement Catching parvovirus as early as possible can be critical for survival, though the first vet we saw didnt even test for it. For dogs who acquire the parvovirus, immediate treatment in the first 48 to 72 hours is crucial, with a 68-92 percent survival rate, and it may also cost thousands of dollars in proper care with no guarantee. If left untreated, the survival rate decreases to 9 percent. Advertisement Advertisement Our puppy remained at the vet in quarantine for about two weeks. We visited him once a day, wearing protective gowns, gloves and masks before entering. He struggled to stay alive; he had an IV in his arm, and was weak after losing two-thirds of weight. We told him how much we loved him, offering him our support and encouragement. The staff told us they believed the sound of our voices helped to keep his spirits and immune system up. Finally, on December 24, he was strong enough to come home. His road to recovery continued as small meals were given to increase his strength and weight, rebuilding his damaged stomach and intestines. Slowly but surely, hes recovering, playful and jubilant once again, as we celebrate him being seven months old. For the past six years, Russia has been waging an ongoing cyberwar campaign against Ukraine: hacks that have disabled power plants, frozen government agencies, and paralyzed hospitals. For weeks prior to the physical re-invasion of Ukraine, which began Thursday morning, a Russian military unit has been launching cyberattacks on government networks, banks, and the military. On Fridays episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with Andy Greenberg, a senior writer at Wired and the author of Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlins Most Dangerous Hackers, about the parallel digital war thats taking place alongside the physical one in Ukraineand the possibility for broader, more global targets. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Advertisement Lizzie OLeary: Can you describe the Russian hacking ecosystem? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andy Greenberg: There is a whole array of these hacker groups that all work for the Kremlin, but the simplest way to split them up is probably among the three major intelligence agencies in Russia: the FSB, a domestic law enforcement agency and a successor to the KGB. Another successor to the KGB is the SVR: the foreign intelligence agency, sort of their equivalent to the CIA. Then there is the agency that I am most focused on or obsessed with: the GRU, a military intelligence agency that can easily be said to be the most reckless and brazen and disruptive of the three in its hacking activities. The two most active hacking units I know of within the GRU are Unit 26165, also known as Fancy Bear or a APT28, who famously were the ones who led the breach of the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign in 2016 and leaked those documents. Then, there is Unit 74455 of the GRU, also known as Voodoo Bear or, most famously, Sandworm. They, you could say, are the most active cyberwarfare hacker group in the world. This is a group that specializes in just inflicting maximum chaos globally. Advertisement Advertisement How directly is the Sandworm group tied to the GRU and to the Kremlin? Whos giving them their marching orders? Advertisement I think its fair to say that Sandworm is a part of the GRU. These are hackers who wear military uniforms and sit in a government building, a tower in the neighborhood of Khimki on the outskirts of Moscow. They are soldiers, essentially. The first big Russian cyberattack in Ukraine happened just before Christmas in 2015. The previous few years had been tumultuous, with Russias annexation of Crimea and fighting throughout Eastern Ukraine, which also led to the downing of a Malaysian passenger plane. By this point, a series of ceasefire agreements had been signed, but the situation was still tense. Can you talk us through that atmosphere? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So just before Christmas in 2015, in the midst of Russias physical invasion of the country, we saw the first ever blackout attack. It hits a group of Ukrainian electric utilities. They used a piece of wiper malware to first wipe a bunch of computers in the facility to initially throw them into a state of chaos. They also bombarded the facility with fake phone calls just to add an extra layer of confusion. But then, they actually took over the IT helpdesk software to take over the actual mouse movements of the operators in the control room. These poor operators were forced to watch as their own mouse movements clicked through circuit breakers and turned off the lights to tens of thousands of Ukrainians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There probably were easier ways to turn off the lights to Ukrainian civilians, but I think that this was designed as a kind of terrorism to make Ukrainians feel like they are under attack, like theyre in a war zone, like their government is not keeping them safe, like they are not in control. And, to make the rest of the world feel that way about Ukraine as well. To keep the Wests hands off Ukraine, to prevent investment from coming into the country, to make it look like a failed state. This is, I think, cyberwar but its also cyberterrorism. Roughly a year-and-a-half later, Sandworm attacked on a new scale. If 2015 was scary and embarrassing, this was an all-encompassing whirlwind. The malware that Sandworm used this time was called NotPetya. How did this malware work? Advertisement In 2017 Sandworm essentially hijacked the software updates of this Ukrainian accounting software called MeDoc. MeDoc is basically used by everyone in Ukraine to file taxes. It is the TurboTax or Quicken of Ukraine. Sandworm corrupted those updates so that if you had a copy of MeDoc installed, you suddenly had a copy of NotPetya, this malicious software installed, too. It immediately took down, by some measures, hundreds of companies in Ukraine. But of course, MeDoc is used outside of Ukraine and a cyberattack like this, a self-spreading piece of code, doesnt respect national borders. So very quickly we began to see NotPetya infections around the world. I reported this out in most detail at Maersk. Advertisement Advertisement The big shipping company. Advertisement Yes. Inside of Maersk, I talked to one IT administrator who saw his screen go black and stood up and looked around the room if anybody else was having a problem. He saw a wave of black screens across the room as NotPetya infected and destroyed every computer at Maersks global headquarters. Within minutes people were running down hallways, yelling at each other to turn their computers off. They were going into conference rooms and unplugging machines in the middle of meetings. They were jumping over the turnstiles between different parts of the building because even those physical security systems had been paralyzed already by NotPetya. This also hit Merck. Shut down their pharmaceutical manufacturing. They had to borrow their own HPV vaccine from the CDC because they couldnt make enough of it. It hit the company that owns Cadbury and Nabisco. It shut down medical record systems in dozens of U.S. hospitals. I could go on and on. It still kind of boggles my mind to think that this happens, and I dont really ever think that Russia was fully held accountable for it. Advertisement Thats what I was going to ask you, because the attack was so big, it was so brazen, it went to so many different places, but the international communitys response did not feel particularly loud. People were indicted, but not until 2020. Advertisement Advertisement This is what drove me crazy as I reported on all of this. First, Russia caused blackouts in Ukraine. They actually attacked the power grid before we even get to NotPetya. That was supposed to be a red line, where you can do all sorts of state-sponsored hacking and get away with it, but if you touch the power grid, that was supposed to be an act of cyberwar, and it would be treated as such with real consequences. And yet nothing happened. No government around the world even said that was Russia that had done this except Ukraine, of course. Then, that kind of invited Russia to just keep going, to go further. When NotPetya hit, it still took eight months for anyone to say that this was Russia that had carried out the worst cyberattack in history, and then nine months for there to be any kind of sanctions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What is the political goal is here? Is it just to render the physical infrastructure useless? Or is it to inflict economic pain to make Ukraine look foolish? To disrupt everyday lives? The goal of these cyberattacks shifts over time based on what Russia needs to accomplish, what their tactical aims of the moment are. In 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, Russia had sort of sparked a war in the east of Ukraine, but that was a limited war, kind of a frozen conflict as people say, designed to weaken Ukraine but not to reach the capital. These cyberattacks were a way to send a message to the rest of Ukraine that you too are vulnerable. Even though youre hundreds of miles away from the fronts, we can reach you, too. Youre all subject to our sphere of influence. Advertisement Advertisement You talked to a Ukrainian cybersecurity consultant, and he said essentially that Sandworm was training, that they were using Ukraine as a training ground. A training ground for what? When they caused a blackout for the second time in the capital of the country, it did seem that they were trying out new techniques. They were trying to innovate. It seemed like they had understood that they can get away with whatever they wanted to in Ukraine, and they might as well try live fire exercises to develop capabilities they could use in Ukraine but also elsewhere in the world. What role do cyberattacks play in a physical war? With this most recent ongoing invasion of Ukraine, it seems like cyberattacks have been designed to prepare the battleground in the sense of creating confusion as Ukraine tries to figure out what is going on, to scare people. But then once the physical invasion starts, it is more tactical accompaniments of physical war. Were seeing attacks on organizations that support the military to maybe just actually confuse their command and control. Of course, these cyberattacks also kind of slip into the background. If you want to cause a blackout in Ukraine now, you hit a power station with a missile, which is absolutely happening, instead of trying to reach in with some IT helpdesk software. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the past week, the U.S. and other international allies have been much quicker to call out Russian cyberactivity than weve seen in the past. There were some attacks Feb. 15 and 16, and the White House turned around a few days later and said GRU infrastructure was doing this. Why do you think the U.S. has been more willing to make this public so quickly? Youre pointing to a huge sea change that is really significant. I think we are learning as a society, our governments are learning that they do have to respond immediatelyif not to come up with a fully fleshed-out package of sanctions, then just to call out the rogue hackers and the rogue agencies that do this. To send a message to them that we know what youve done, there will be consequences, you need to cut it out right away. President Biden alluded to the possibility for Russia to retaliate against international sanctions with cyberwarfare outside Ukraine on Thursday. Does that seem like a possible next step for Russia? When Western countries implement new, crushing sanctions against Russia, they will lash out. I would not be at all surprised to see cyberattacks that dont just spread from Ukraine semi-accidentally as NotPetya did, but are targeted at the West and that are designed to punish us for what we do to Russia in retaliation for its invasion. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. While the ruling coalition is united in its statements, some opposition politicians call the war an American-Russian affair. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled The condemnation of Russian aggression and support for Ukraine, coupled with harsh sanctions against Russia, has been the official stance of the Slovak state representatives since the outbreak of the crisis. But while most political parties of the ruling coalition and opposition denounced Russia's aggression towards Ukraine, some Slovak politicians continue to give narratives peddled by disinformation websites life and blame the US for the Russian invasion. The Slovak Spectator has summarised the reactions of Slovakia's political parties. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Coalition Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO) The party that leads the ruling coalition and nominates the prime minister in its official reaction echoed the statements of PM Eduard Heger, who strongly condemned the Russian invasion and wrote that the world would never be the same again. Finance Minister Igor Matovic, OLaNO chair, wrote that Russia did not bear its largeness. It did not resist a temptation to wickedly attack the weaker, he wrote. [Russia] made a shred of paper from the international commitments, with which it promised inviolability of Ukrainian territorial integrity. Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) Government adjusts laws and earmarks money in anticipation of the arrival of large numbers of refugees. Slovak writer returns state award to Russia. Take a look at the front pages of Slovak newspapers today. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Good afternoon. Here is a quick summary of the main news of the day in our Friday, February 25, 2022 edition of Today in Slovakia. How Slovakia is responding to the war in Ukraine Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement How safe is Slovakia? During the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, bombs and missiles hit cities just 160 km from the Slovak border. Naturally, this gives rise to many questions about Slovakia's own security and the development of the situation in the coming days. How safe are we? What should people living here prepare for? How long will the war in Ukraine last? Here are some of the answers you may be looking for. How to help. If you want to support Ukrainians, here are ways for you to do so. Slovak politicians react to Ukraine: Most have unambiguously condemned the Russian aggression, but some in the opposition blame the US. Slovak diplomats in Kyiv are trying to evacuate about 20 Slovak citizens from the Ukrainian capital, Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok (SaS nominee) said on Radio Expres at noon on Friday. They are using embassy vehicles or embassy staff to do this. The ambassador and some other staff are staying at the embassy. (Radio Expres) Heger on sanctions: The package of sanctions that the EU has adopted against the Russian Federation is unprecedented. It will have a big impact on the Russian economy and Moscow will face a strong response, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger (OlaNO) said after an extraordinary summit of EU leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine. Expelling diplomats is on the table: Heger confirmed the Slovak government is debating the option of expelling Russian diplomats from Slovakia. He said these debates are taking place at the EU level as well. (TASR) A writer's protest. In protest against Russia's attack on Ukraine, writer and translator Jan Strasser has publicly renounced his Pushkin Medal, awarded to him by the Russian Federation in 2004. He received the award for his translation of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin's Eugene Onegin.Unfortunately, Pushkins medal is also Putins medal: the certificate of its granting was signed by the President of the Russian Federation, he wrote in a statement quoted by the TASR newswire. Slovakia's health sector prepares to help. There are 31,000 beds in Slovak hospitals, of which 5,380 are reserved for the needs of the Slovak Armed Forces and NATO requirements, Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (an OLaNO nominee) said on Friday, February 25. The minister called on the public to donate blood, too. Laws adopted to aid the arrival of refugees. On Friday, the cabinet passed a bill allowing for the declaration of a state of emergency in the event of a large influx of foreigners into Slovakia. The laws should allow the cabinet to grant temporary protection. Parliament is currently sitting and is expected to approve the legislative proposals in a fast-tracked procedure. Its unscheduled session on Friday opened with the playing of the Ukrainian anthem (see video). The Ukrainian ambassador also addressed Slovak MPs. video //www.youtube.com/embed/L2JcnuYA2kg Money set aside for Ukraine and Ukrainians. The cabinet allocated 13 million for measures in the event of a large influx of refugees from Ukraine, with the money aimed at helping the Interior Ministry bolster the IT infrastructure on Slovakia's eastern border and complete asylum facilities. It also approved 1 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Slovakia's air defence relies on Russia. That's a problem. Slovakia currently has 11 Russian MiG-29 fighter jets to defend its airspace but, alone among NATO members, it relies on Russian technicians to keep them airborne. For more details about the situation in Slovakia in response to Russian invasion, follow our website Spectator.sk. Photo of the day Hundreds of people marched across Bratislava and in front of the Presidential Palace lit in Ukrainian colours to support Ukraine and protest against Russian aggression on Thursday, February 24. (Source: SME - Jozef Jakubco) For weekend tips and reads, check out our Spectacular Slovakia weekly roundup. This week, Anna Fay writes about a special art exhibition on Roma people, an unusual walking tour in Piestany and a timeless Slovak specialty. Anniversary of the week Historical tram from 1920 in Kosice. (Source: TASR) On February 28, 1914, i.e. 108 years ago, electricity replaced horses and steam as the driving force of trams in Kosice. If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription. Thank you. Don't miss in Spectator.sk today Related article Related article Fulla cracks: Gallery dedicated to one of Slovakias greatest artists crumbling Read more Related article Related article How Bratislava plans to use its kitchen waste Read more Related article Related article The man who contracted fever for Europe Read more If you have suggestions on how this news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. BANGKOK, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials from the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) member economies concluded a meeting Friday, after discussing work to reinvigorate regional economic integration, reconnect the region and reassure sustainability for future growth. During the first APEC Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) in 2022, participants from member economies deliberated on approaches for refreshing the discussions on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) in the post-pandemic context, the reopening of safe and seamless travel in the region as well as exploring the bio-circular-green economy model. "In past years, member economies have worked hard in moving forward our work on FTAAP. While differences in positions on this issue persist, I believe there are opportunities for cooperation, given the changing landscape and emerging challenges especially from the COVID-19 pandemic," said Thani Thongphakdi, permanent secretary for foreign affairs of Thailand and APEC 2022 SOM Chair. "Future-proofing the work on regional economic integration, next-generation issues such as health, environment, sustainability and digital economy need to be considered," Thani told a press conference Friday. The participants also reiterated the importance of trade as a path towards economic recovery, emphasizing their strong support for the role of the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core. The first SOM, running from Feb. 14 to Feb. 25, kicked off Thailand's APEC 2022 host year, with a theme of "Open. Connect. Balance." The second SOM is scheduled for May 9-19. Slovakia needs to change its asylum-related laws to be able to handle the numbers of refugees the war in Ukraine might drive across the border. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Slovak lawmakers are debating laws that will smooth the process of granting asylum, in anticipation of an influx of refugees from neighbouring, war-stricken Ukraine. On Friday, the cabinet passed a bill allowing for the declaration of a state of emergency in the event of a large influx of foreigners into Slovakia. The bill includes amendments to the Civil Protection Act, Asylum Act and Cybersecurity Act. The draft amendment to the Asylum Act will allow the cabinet to grant temporary protection without a preceding decision by the Council of the European Union. It also clarifies provisions governing the granting of temporary refuge. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Parliament, which is in session on Friday, is expected to approve the legislative proposals in a fast-tracked procedure. Without the legislative changes, Slovak authorities would not be able to process as many asylum requests as they are expected to get in the coming days, and refugees would be stuck in the asylum procedure for months or years, without the possibility to work and earn a living in Slovakia, Jan Orlovsky, head of the Migration Office, which is under the Interior Ministry, told the Sme daily. Related article Related article War in Ukraine. Is Slovakia safe? (Q&A) Read more Asylum requests expected to be rare for now The first tanker with liquefied gas for Slovakia will arrive in March. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Slovakia has enough oil and natural gas as supplies of these commodities from Russia continue without any interruptions, Economy Minister Richard Sulik said after the crisis staff meeting of his ministry on Friday evening. He refused to say what impact possible sanctions would have and what turning off the oil and gas pipelines would mean for Slovakia, a country that is one of the most dependent on Russian gas and oil out of the EU member countries. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement I am in favour of the EU acting as a whole, and before any decision is made, it is a good idea to discuss it inside of the EU, said Sulik. Slovakia has not registered any drop in the supplies of crude oil from Russia; the volumes and pressure in the pipeline are standard. Strategic stocks are high enough to cover the needs of Slovakia for more than 100 days while the Slovnaft and Transpetrol energy companies have their own stocks. In the event of a suspension of oil supplies from Russia, the refinery Slovnaft will secure oil supplies via the Adria pipeline, which goes to Slovakia from Hungary, noted Sulik. In terms of natural gas, the flow is uninterrupted. The volumes of supplied gas are currently even higher compared with the previous week, said Karol Galek, state secretary of the Economy Ministry. On top of that, after the gas crisis in 2009, Slovakia has diversified gas supply routes. Slovakia can also import gas via the reverse flow from Austria or the Czech Republic. Slovakia can get gas through the Slovak-Hungarian pipeline too. In response to the increasing tensions, Slovakia has also started importing liquefied gas by tankers, the first of which should arrive in March with enough gas to cover Slovakia's needs for one week. Of course, to bring gas from America with a tanker will be more expensive than getting it via a pipeline from Russia, said Sulik. But this is life and we have to learn to live with this. Sulik admitted that gas prices would increase as a consequence of the war in Ukraine in all probability, but he was not able to specify how much. Steelmaker U.S. Steel Kosice, which produces steel from iron ore and coal imported from Russia and Ukraine, has stocks of both commodities that could last for 90 days, so it does not expect any urgent problems. Sulik refused to provide information about nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants in Slovakia imported from Russia as this is classified information. The parliament called on Russia to stop aggression and expressed solidarity with the victims. It deems the Russian Federation responsible for the loss of life. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Slovakia's parliament stands with Ukraine's people and its democratically elected representatives. The steps of the Russian Federation dangerously undermine European and global security and stability, reads the resolution that the MPs approved on February 25. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Out of the 113 MPs in attendance, 112 voted for the resolution. The extremist MPs did not participate in the vote. Ukrainian Ambassador Yurii Mushka addressed the parliament at the start of the session after the Ukrainian and Slovak anthems were played in the house. video //www.youtube.com/embed/L2JcnuYA2kg Stop aggression In the statement, the parliament condemns the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The attack against an independent and sovereign state is harshly trampling on international law. The Slovak MPs demand Russia to immediately stop military operations and withdraw its military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine and "fully respect the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders." It calls on Russia to return to negotiations, seek peaceful solutions, and respect international humanitarian laws. Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea are Ukraine The parliament also states that it considers the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk as the sovereign territory of Ukraine, along with Crimea. Solidarising with the victims, the parliament deems the Russian Federation responsible for the tragic loss of lives and for the suffering instilled by the aggression. "Ukraine is fighting for the values of freedom, democracy, political independence, state sovereignty and territorial integrity, which are key to Slovakia too," the resolution reads. The Slovak parliament also declared its conviction that the ongoing aggression does not reflect the will of most of the Russian nation. "The Russian nation does not deserve to be led into international isolation and an economic crisis by its political leadership." Ambassador calls for support During his address, Ambassador Mushka called on the MPs to support Ukraine and its European ambitions, the TASR newswire reported. He spoke about the extraordinary need for material and military aid. At the same time, he thanked Slovakia for helping Ukrainians who are fleeing the military conflict. Mushka called on MPs not to hesitate with providing effective and necessary assistance to Ukraine "in the form of weapons, finance and humanitarian aid," TASR quoted him as saying. Mushka told MPs that Russia's attacks have hit the civilian population as well. According to the Ukrainian ambassador, the conflict's consequences will reach beyond the borders of Ukraine. He said that Ukrainian soldiers are fighting for peace, democracy and European values. "Under these circumstances, our partners' help and support for Ukraine is now very important, chiefly the imposition of severe sanctions against the Russian Federation," TASR quoted Mushka as saying. Mushka stated that he feels the support of Slovakia and its inhabitants. "Yesterday's peaceful [candle] march [in Bratislava] is an example of this," he said, adding that Ukrainians will never forget about this support. https://sputniknews.com/20220224/russian-ambassador-to-ottawa-on-visit-to-foreign-ministry-disagreements-run-deep-1093349309.html Russian Ambassador to Ottawa on Visit to Foreign Ministry: Disagreements Run Deep Russian Ambassador to Ottawa on Visit to Foreign Ministry: Disagreements Run Deep WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Russian Ambassador in Ottawa Oleg Stepanov told Sputnik after visiting Canadas Foreign Ministry that the disagreements between the two... 24.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-24T22:36+0000 2022-02-24T22:36+0000 2022-02-24T22:36+0000 sanctions canada justin trudeau ambassador ukraine russia military operation disagreements /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0b/0a/1090633956_0:217:3073:1945_1920x0_80_0_0_a5322ba760ea69129eeea1358fa24eb6.jpg Stepanov visited Global Affairs Canada earlier on Thursday on the invitation of Foreign Minister Melanie Joly after Russia began its special operation in Ukraine.I believe that our relations are in a serious crisis, and its not Russias fault, Stepanov said. However, the channels of interstate communication, primarily through the foreign ministries of the two countries, remain open.Stepanov stressed that the Russian side believes that diplomatic contacts should be maintained in all circumstances.Because in the absence of diplomacy it is impossible to resolve any issues - even those on which we have seemingly insurmountable differences, the envoy said. The embassy along with our consular institutions will continue to work professionally and rhythmically, ensuring diplomatic channels of communication with the official Ottawa, and continuing the normal consular service to our citizens.Canadas Sanctions Against Russia Useless, Moscow Reserves Right to RespondPrime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that Canada is imposing a second round of sanctions against Russia, targeting 58 individuals and entities.In the early hours on Thursday, Russia launched a special operation after the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested assistance to defend themselves from ongoing attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defense Ministry said the operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only, and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow says it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. https://sputniknews.com/20220224/biden-authorizes-new-sanctions-on-russia--1093345984.html canada ukraine russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 sanctions, canada, justin trudeau, ambassador, ukraine, russia, military operation, disagreements https://sputniknews.com/20220224/three-officers-involved-in-george-floyds-murder-found-guilty-of-civil-rights-violations--1093349992.html Three Officers Involved in George Floyds Murder Found Guilty of Civil Rights Violations Three Officers Involved in George Floyds Murder Found Guilty of Civil Rights Violations A Minnesota jury found three Minneapolis police officers guilty of violating the civil rights of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man whose murder at the... 24.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-24T23:24+0000 2022-02-24T23:24+0000 2022-02-24T23:26+0000 george floyd killing us derek chauvin police officers civil rights /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/18/1093349950_455:0:4096:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_d7580e31ad29745a0108d02caf827d72.jpg J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao, three former Minneapolis officers, were found guilty on Thursday of depriving Floyd of his civil rights by showing deliberate indifference to his medical needs. Thao and Kueng were also found guilty of failing to intervene to stop officer Derek Chauvin as he kneeled on Floyds neck during the May 25, 2020, encounter.Chauvin was found guilty last year of murdering Floyd in the incident and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.These defendants knew what was happening, and contrary to their training, contrary to common sense, contrary to basic human decency, they did nothing to stop Derek Chauvin, did nothing to help George Floyd. You know it because youve seen it, prosecutor Manda Sertich told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday.In the trial, the trio claimed they had deferred to Chauvin during the police stop, unsure if the force he was using was unreasonable. They also claimed the Minneapolis Police Department had not adequately trained them for the situation, leading to their confusion.Chauvin arrived a few minutes later with Thao, and after attempting to arrest Floyd and put him in the police cruiser, they held him face-down on the street, with Chauvins knees pressed onto Floyds neck and upper back. As Floyd cried out that he couldnt breathe, the other officers helped hold him down or control the crowd.Footage of Floyds death aroused fury across the United States, setting off a series of Black Lives Matter protests that police violently put down, sparking even greater protests. The movement swelled for several weeks into June and July, drawing millions of people into the streets and forcing state governments to mobilize tens of thousands of National Guard soldiers to control the demonstrations.More recently, Lauren Smith-Fields, a Black woman from Bridgeport, Connecticut, died under mysterious circumstances in December 2021, but police mishandling of her case aroused protests in the community that claimed police had not taken her death seriously because of her race. us Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg george floyd killing, us, derek chauvin, police officers, civil rights https://sputniknews.com/20220225/berlin-says-russias-disconnection-from-swift-will-have-strong-impact-on-german-economy-1093366914.html Berlin Says Russia's Disconnection From Swift Will Have Strong Impact on German Economy Berlin Says Russia's Disconnection From Swift Will Have Strong Impact on German Economy Disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT payment system will have a significant impact on the German economy, this step needs to be carefully prepared, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Friday. 2022-02-25T12:05+0000 2022-02-25T12:05+0000 2022-02-25T12:05+0000 russia germany swift swift payment system /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093364612_0:201:2927:1847_1920x0_80_0_0_1db9dbb530518da2cb4e7bdd8cef2ff9.jpg The UK Foreign Office has said that London is working with its allies on the possibility to disconnect Russia from the SWIFT international financial system over Moscow's military operation in Ukraine. germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 russia, germany, swift, swift payment system https://sputniknews.com/20220225/biden-orders-deployment-of-more-us-forces-to-augment-capabilities-in-europe-support-nato-1093378022.html Biden Orders Deployment of More US Forces to Augment Capabilities in Europe, Support NATO Biden Orders Deployment of More US Forces to Augment Capabilities in Europe, Support NATO WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - President Joe Biden said on Friday he directed the deployment of additional US forces to augment capabilities in Europe in support of... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T21:37+0000 2022-02-25T21:37+0000 2022-02-25T21:37+0000 russia-nato row on european security us russia us-russia relations ukraine crisis nato eu volodymyr zelensky joe biden vladimir putin /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093377990_0:146:3072:1874_1920x0_80_0_0_18cbbc8b0e40ada84465ae73dc25c4b3.jpg "Our commitment to Article 5 is ironclad. I have ordered the deployment of additional forces to augment our capabilities in Europe to support our NATO Allies." Biden said. "I strongly welcome the decision to activate NATOs defensive plans and elements of the NATO Response Force to strengthen our collective posture, as well as the commitments by our Allies to deploy additional land and air forces to the eastern flank and maritime forces from the High North to the Mediterranean."Biden also said he strongly welcomed the decision to activate NATO defensive plans and elements of the organization response force to strengthen the West's collective posture.NATO leaders today announced more weapons for Ukraine, including air defense systems. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the West, namely Pentagon and CIA advisers taught the Ukrainian military leadership how to place rocket-propelled artillery systems in residential areas to provoke return fire on local residents.Earlier, Biden announced the deployment of additional 7,000 troops to Germany to reinforce NATO's eastern flank in response to Russias operation in Ukraine.This Thursday, after the people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk requested aid to defend themselves from Kiev's attacks, Russia initiated a special military operation with the goal of denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the operation is targeting military infrastructure and not the civilian population. Moscow has also stated that it has no intention of occupying Ukraine and the servicemen are to leave Ukraine after the special operation. https://sputniknews.com/20220225/putin-says-nazis-in-ukraine-act-as-terrorists-deploying-mlrs-in-kiev-and-kharkov-1093372003.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 us, russia, us-russia relations, ukraine crisis, nato, eu, volodymyr zelensky, joe biden, vladimir putin https://sputniknews.com/20220225/china-fends-off-australias-criticism-of-beijings-decision-to-continue-normal-trade-with-russia-1093358506.html China Fends Off Australia's Criticism of Beijing's Decision to Continue 'Normal Trade' With Russia China Fends Off Australia's Criticism of Beijing's Decision to Continue 'Normal Trade' With Russia Earlier on Friday, Australia said that China's move to ease restrictions on Russia's wheat exports at a time when a Russian military operation in Ukraine is... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T07:59+0000 2022-02-25T07:59+0000 2022-02-25T08:51+0000 china russia australia cooperation military operation /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093359200_0:19:3077:1750_1920x0_80_0_0_a6f9f84ecb28eb8e3b2115a8c81b9b72.jpg The Chinese Foreign Ministry has responded to Australia's criticism of Beijing developing trade cooperation with Moscow.The statement comes shortly after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated that China easing restrictions on Russia's wheat exports amid the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine is unacceptable.The remarks followed Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping meeting in Beijing on 4 February, during the opening of the 2022 Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital. After the meeting, Moscow and Beijing adopted bilateral agreements expanding the list and volume of grain supplied from Russia to China. In particular, the accords allowed for wheat and barley to be sent to China from all over Russia.On Thursday, President Putin announced that Moscow had started a special operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine, following requests from the Donbass republics to help protect them from the Ukrainian Army, which has intensified the shelling of LPR and DPRs positions and infrastructure over the past week. Russia's move prompted backlash from the US and its Western allies, who have intensified sanctions against Russia. china australia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Oleg Burunov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg Oleg Burunov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Oleg Burunov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg china, russia, australia, cooperation, military operation https://sputniknews.com/20220225/chinese-researchers-explain-mysterious-glass-balls-on-moons-surface---photo-1093352012.html Chinese Researchers Explain Mysterious Glass Balls on Moon's Surface - Photo Chinese Researchers Explain Mysterious Glass Balls on Moon's Surface - Photo Since landing on the far side of the Moon in early 2019, the rover has traveled a complete kilometer. On January 11, it marked three years of exploration of... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T02:39+0000 2022-02-25T02:39+0000 2022-02-25T02:39+0000 tech china rover moon moon landing glass space /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093352552_0:32:2200:1270_1920x0_80_0_0_d23e78b606556fc8494a542d66202b56.jpg China's lunar rover has discovered a pair of enigmatic glass balls on the Moon's surface, the nation's researchers revealed in a study published this week.Yutu-2 rover's panoramic camera photographed the semi-transparent spheres, which measure up to four centimeters across. The strange objects, according to the research, are on the Moon's far side, which the rover has been studying since it landed there. The researchers noted, however, that the rover was unable to determine the chemical composition of the "spherules." They have been identified as potential research targets since they could shed light on the Moon's early history.Still, such tiny glass spheres, which are typically smaller than three millimeters in diameter, are a regular sight on the Moon. They are made when silicate material is heated to extremely high temperatures, which are both abundant on the Moon. According to the study, spherules are typically leftovers from the Moon's volcanic activity or are generated by meteorite strikes. And the balls discovered by Yutu-2 were most likely caused by the tremendous heat created by the latter.Dr. Zhiyong Xiao, an associate professor at the Planetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory at Sun Yat-sen University and lead author of the study, added in a statement that "the first discovery of macro-sized translucent glass globules on the Moon confirms that lunar anorthosites are excellent raw materials to manufacture glasses with good light-admitting quality."As the researchers underscore, the potential that these glass globules have of being terrestrial tektite equivalents is currently unknown because of a lack of compositional data. On Earth, tektites were created by craters larger than 10 km in diameter that originated in a water-rich target. The clear glass globules are a valuable sampling target for future lunar surface studies, as Apollo astronauts reported easy recognition when collecting centimeter-sized glassy globules on the Moon.Yutu-2 has produced a number of rather strange discoveries in the past. China's space agency released an image of a "mysterious house" acquired by the rover on the Moon's far side in December.As can be seen in the pictures, a cube-shaped object stands out from the lunar horizon. Scientists were unable to agree on what it was, so Yutu-2 had to close in on the object and take a better picture after a few weeks. Experts eventually deduced that it was a strangely formed rock. china moon space Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Kirill Kurevlev Kirill Kurevlev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Kirill Kurevlev tech, china, rover, moon, moon landing, glass, space OECD Terminates Process of Russia's Accession to Organisation "Firstly, Council has decided to formally terminate the accession process with Russia, which was postponed in 2014. The Council has also asked the Secretary-General to take the necessary steps to close the OECD Moscow office and to stop all invitations to Russia at Ministerial levels and in the bodies where listed as Invitee," the organization said in a statement. The OECDs External Relations Committee was asked to stop Russia's participation in other committees of the organization. The OECD Council also asked the organization's secretary general to take measures to stop all projects funded by voluntary donations from Russia. The statement of the organization notes that the issues of cooperation between the OECD and Russia and additional measures to support Ukraine will be considered over the next days and weeks. PHNOM PENH, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have signed a memorandum of understanding on trade promotion, aiming at further boosting bilateral trade volume, the Cambodian Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The deal was inked on Thursday via video link between the Commerce Ministry's general directorate of trade promotion and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region's Department of Commerce with the presence of Cambodian Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak and Lan Tianli, chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the statement said. At the event, Cambodian firm Hang Harvest Agriculture also signed a deal to supply 400,000 tons of tapioca chips to Guangxi Rural Investment Group Agricultural Products Business Service from March 2022 to March 2023, it added. Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Sorasak encouraged more Chinese enterprises to buy more rice, corns, mangoes, bananas and other potential agricultural produce from Cambodia. "The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement have all paved the way for the promotion of economic and trade cooperation between Cambodia and China," he said. According to the minister, the trade volume between Cambodia and China reached nearly 11.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, up 38 percent from 2020. Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Lan said China is ready to import more quality products from ASEAN countries, including buying up to 150 billion U.S. dollars' worth of agricultural products from ASEAN in the next five years. He said the memorandum of understanding and the tapioca chip export contract were a pragmatic cooperation and were a testament to China's commitment to increasing trade volume with Cambodia. According to Lan, the two-way trade between the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Cambodia reached 1.05 billion yuan (166 million U.S. dollars) last year, up 63.8 percent year-on-year. He added that currently there are 71 enterprises from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region investing in Cambodia in the non-financial sector. https://sputniknews.com/20220225/eu-sanctions-on-russia-will-amplify-gas-price-rally-making-energy-crisis-far-worse-analysts-say-1093366535.html EU Sanctions on Russia Will Amplify Gas Price Rally Making Energy Crisis Far Worse, Analysts Say EU Sanctions on Russia Will Amplify Gas Price Rally Making Energy Crisis Far Worse, Analysts Say European energy prices have jumped nearly 70% and oil exceeded $105 per barrel in the wake of the announcement of new tough anti-Russian sanctions over... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T12:22+0000 2022-02-25T12:22+0000 2022-02-25T12:22+0000 us europe russia ukraine natural gas gas prices opinion world sanctions nord stream 2 /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/106128/54/1061285449_0:160:3077:1890_1920x0_80_0_0_64bd6ccecbcad575933e68dc80c2465f.jpg "The escalation of the Ukraine crisis into an armed conflict has created an upheaval in crude oil and gas prices", says Dr Mamdouh G. Salameh, an international oil economist and visiting professor of energy economics at the ESCP Europe Business School in London. "However, if US and EU sanctions include sanctioning Russian gas and oil exports, this could cause gas and crude oil prices to rise much further".The European Council on 24 February stated it had agreed on a new batch of sanctions targeting key Russian economic sectors in response to Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine. According to the EU body, "these sanctions cover the financial sector, the energy and transport sectors, dual-use goods, as well as export control and export financing, visa policy, additional listings of Russian individuals, and new listing criteria".In particular, the export ban imposed on Moscow by the EU will hamper Russia's oil refining and sales, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. They will "hit the oil sector by making it impossible for Russia to upgrade its refineries", von der Leyen announced on Thursday.On 24 February, the price of March futures for gas in Europe skyrocketed to over $1,636 per 1,000 cubic metres, up 60% from Wednesday's indices. Brent crude spiked to over $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014.Earlier this week, Berlin froze the certification of Nord Stream 2, a gas pipeline running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, over recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics by Moscow on 21 February. According to Salameh, it was nothing but a cosmetic move "since the Russian pipeline has been sitting idle waiting for certification since its completion in September 2021". Moreover, Scholz's decision doesn't mean stopping Nord Stream 2 altogether, the energy expert stresses. On the one hand, by killing the pipe Scholz would sink European energy giants who invested a lot in the project, on the other hand, Germany is dependent on Russian oil and gas for 65% of its needs, according to Salameh.Nord Stream 2 is designed to deliver 55 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas per year to Europe, thus doubling the original Nord Stream capacity to a total of 110 bcm. The pipeline cost 9.5 billion ($10.6 billion) to build, with roughly half of this sum being financed by a European consortium of companies, including OMV (Austria), Wintershall Dea (Germany), Engie (France), Uniper (Germany), and Shell (UK).For its part, Washington on 23 February introduced sanctions against Nord Stream AG, the company in charge of building the pipeline. Starting with Barack Obama, successive US administrations have sought to axe the project and expel Russia from the European energy market. The US urged the EU to switch to American liquefied natural gas (LNG).Yet, the combined LNG exports of the United States, Qatar, and Australia cannot replace Russian piped gas supplies (200 billion cubic metres [bcm] and 15-16 million tonnes [mt]) stresses Salameh, adding that the EU doesn't have enough LNG import capacity infrastructure to replace Russia's gas market share - which makes up more than 40 percent of the European gas market.'Suicide by Cop'If Europe moves to abandon Russia's energy imports it would be nothing short of what Americans call "suicide by cop", notes Tom Luongo, a geopolitical analyst and publisher of the Gold Goats 'n Guns Newsletter: "That's where someone wants to die and picks a fight with a policeman in order to get the cop to shoot him".In mid-December, Russia handed over its draft security proposals to the US and NATO to ensure European security and stability. On 26 January 2022, Russia received written responses to its proposals from Washington and the alliance. Both the US and NATO disregarded Moscow's core demands about the alliance's non-expansion, Ukraine's non admission to the bloc, non-deployment of offensive weapons systems near Russia's borders, and the return of the bloc's European capabilities and infrastructure to 1997 levels.In addition, Moscow asked individual European nations for views on the continent's security. The EU foreign security chief, Josep Borrell, responded on behalf of the 27 EU member states. According to Bloomberg, Borrell's response was coordinated with NATO and repeated major points outlined by the North Atlantic Alliance's letter to Moscow.Russia's repeated pleas to the EU to persuade the Ukrainian leadership to adhere to the Minsk Protocol approved by the UN Security Council in 2015 had also borne no fruit, as Kiev refused to hold direct talks with the DPR and LPR, which was a crucial provision of the Minsk deal. Instead, NATO, the US, the UK, and some EU members provided considerable amounts of weapons and sent military advisers to Kiev amid the Ukrainian government's military buildup along the contact line with Donbass and intensification of shelling against the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics in further defiance of the Minsk agreements. ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Ekaterina Blinova Ekaterina Blinova News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ekaterina Blinova us, europe, russia, ukraine, natural gas, gas prices, opinion, world, sanctions, nord stream 2, nord stream ag, nato, nato expansion https://sputniknews.com/20220225/florida-house-passes-stop-woke-act-to-limit-crt-teaching-discussions-on-gender--discrimination-1093350714.html Florida House Passes Stop WOKE Act & Dont Say Gay Bill to Fight Back Against Indoctrination Florida House Passes Stop WOKE Act & Dont Say Gay Bill to Fight Back Against Indoctrination Florida House Passes Stop WOKE Act To Limit CRT Teaching, Discussions on Gender & Discrimination 2022-02-25T00:32+0000 2022-02-25T00:32+0000 2022-02-25T01:18+0000 us florida legislation gender issue racial discrimination critical race theory /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/0a/1c/1090291856_0:60:2048:1212_1920x0_80_0_0_c14479aa13bd3668209194155c83e3d9.jpg Floridas House of Representatives passed on Thursday the Stop WOKE Act, House Bill 7 / Senate Bill 148, which prohibits teaching critical race theory in K-12 schools and bans school districts, colleges and universities from hiring woke CRT consultants, according to The Hill.The act also would limit the discussion of systemic racism, gender, and race discrimination, suggesting teaching these concepts widen racial divisions.The legislation still requires approval in the Senate and must be signed by Governor Ron DeSantis to become law.DeSantis described the act as a tool to fight back against woke indoctrination in companies and public institutions.The law has been criticized by various human rights advocacy groups who insist that it infringes on protected speech and fuels the discriminatory agenda of certain legislators. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the implementation of Senate Bill 148 would change Florida's employment discrimination statutes and enable employees to sue company management that forces workers to participate in trainings or discussion about Black history, LGBTQ+ issues and other concepts of injustice and discrimination.This bill is a thinly veiled political attempt to attack marginalized communities. It doesnt address the critical needs of Floridians, but instead, fuels the discriminatory agenda of extremist legislators, said Cathryn M. Oakley, state legislative director and senior counsel at HRC, in a statement.Last month, Floridas Education Committee approved the Individual Freedom bill that prohibits discrimination against a person based on race, sex or national origin. It also forbids providing trainings that make people believe that an individual bears responsibility for, or should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, color, sex or national origin.Another proposal, known as the Parental Rights in Education bill or Dont Say Gay Bill, would ban teachers from discussing with children in primary school sexual orientation and gender identity, leaving it to the discretion of parents. Supporters of the legislation, which was introduced in the Florida Senate earlier this month, believe it protects the right of parents to decide what their children are taught. Activists argue that the bill would violate the rights of LGBT+ community members. https://sputniknews.com/20220118/ready-to-indoctrinate-dems-panned-for-saying-kids-are-taught-what-society-needs-them-to-know-1092335305.html florida Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Alexandra Kashirina Alexandra Kashirina News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Alexandra Kashirina us, florida, legislation, gender issue, racial discrimination, critical race theory https://sputniknews.com/20220225/kremlin-potential-problems-from-sanctions-on-russian-high-tech-sector-solvable-1093370099.html Kremlin: Potential Problems From Sanctions on Russian High-Tech Sector Solvable Kremlin: Potential Problems From Sanctions on Russian High-Tech Sector Solvable Western sanctions on Russian high-tech industries such as space or nuclear industry are most likely to cause problems, but none of them is beyond solution, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of Friday. 2022-02-25T13:44+0000 2022-02-25T13:44+0000 2022-02-25T13:44+0000 russia ukraine vladimir putin dmitry peskov /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107918/74/1079187450_0:105:3059:1826_1920x0_80_0_0_4f5c8bb3cbc58f5f2a0b4739a510319f.jpg On Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced a package of Ukraine-related sanctions purposely designed to maximise their long-term impact on Russias industry.On Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced a package of sanctions purposely designed to maximise their long-term impact on Russias industry, as a response to the special military operation in Ukraine.The op started after the republics of Donetsk and Lugansk requested assistance to defend themselves from attacks by the Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said the operation was targeting the military infrastructure of Ukraine, while the civilian population was not in danger. President Vladimir Putin noted that the step was taken to stop the bloodshed in Donbass, and said that the goal of the operation is the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine. ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 russia, ukraine, vladimir putin, dmitry peskov https://sputniknews.com/20220225/moscow-bans-uk-aircraft-from-using-russian-airspace-in-retaliation-for-aeroflot-sanctions--1093359885.html Moscow Bans UK Aircraft From Using Russian Airspace in Retaliation for Aeroflot Sanctions Moscow Bans UK Aircraft From Using Russian Airspace in Retaliation for Aeroflot Sanctions Britain slapped sanctions on Russia on Thursday over Moscow's special operation to protect the people of Donbass and clear Ukraine of neo-Nazis. The... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T08:39+0000 2022-02-25T08:39+0000 2022-02-25T12:14+0000 britain russia /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/06/12/1083181383_0:0:3433:1932_1920x0_80_0_0_3d946cbf1201eadedc07a460fa7b37b4.jpg Moscow has banned UK aircraft from using Russian airspace, including for transit purposes, the Federal Air Transport Agency announced on Friday. The restrictions also cover all aircraft associated with Britain. The agency noted that Moscow had sent a proposal to London to hold consultations regarding flights between the countries, noting that it was turned down. Britain's refusal to negotiate has prompted Russia to take tit-for-tat measures "in accordance with the provisions of the intergovernmental agreement on air traffic between Russia and the UK".Aeroflot (Russian Airlines), Russia's flagship carrier and largest airline, was targeted in the latest package of British sanctions. The UK banned Aeroflot flights in the country, among other sanctions that targeted the Russian bank VTB and state company Rostec.Announcing the restrictions, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson boasted they were designed to "squeeze Russia from the global economy" and cited Moscow's special operation in Ukraine. An operation was announced by President Putin on Thursday after the republics of Lugansk and Donetsk pleaded for assistance in the fight with the ever growing military pressure from the Ukrainian Army. The Russian president stressed the operation is pursuing the goal of the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, as well as preventing the genocide of Russian-speaking people in the country.The Russian Defence Ministry has said that the operation was targeting the military infrastructure of Ukraine, stressing the civilian population was not in danger. Russia has consistently underlined it has no plans to "occupy" its neighbour. britain Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 britain, russia https://sputniknews.com/20220225/president-putin-holds-meeting-with-russian-security-council-1093355074.html President Putin Holds Meeting With Russian Security Council President Putin Holds Meeting With Russian Security Council Earlier this week, Russia sent a special military operation into Ukraine to counter Kiev's attacks on Donbass. Moscow stated that the operation's goal is... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T14:41+0000 2022-02-25T14:41+0000 2022-02-25T14:41+0000 russia vladimir putin russian security council /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/16/1093278105_0:0:2768:1557_1920x0_80_0_0_0bde0bd55606bb911592f5fc5399cbb7.jpg Sputnik comes live from Moscow, as President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with members of the Security Council of Russia, dedicated to the situation in Ukraine. Tensions around Ukraine have been mounting for days, with Kiev's forces shelling Donbass, prompting mass evacuations of civilians to Russia. After an appeal from the Lugansk and Donetsk People's republics, Moscow recognised their independence and urged Kiev to stop the attacks. However, shelling continued and Russia has launched an operation in Ukraine, neutralising Ukrainian military infrastructure with precision weapons.Follow Sputnik's Live Feed to Find Out More! Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 President Putin Holds Meeting With Russian Security Council President Putin Holds Meeting With Russian Security Council 2022-02-25T14:41+0000 true PT15M39S 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 russia, vladimir putin, russian security council, https://sputniknews.com/20220225/protests-rock-west-bengal-after-mysterious-death-of-student-leader-1093356751.html Protests Rock West Bengal After Mysterious Death of Student Leader Protests Rock West Bengal After Mysterious Death of Student Leader Anish Khan, a prominent Indian student activist, was found dead on 18 February after apparently being thrown off the roof of his house in West Bengal's capital... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T12:13+0000 2022-02-25T12:13+0000 2022-02-25T12:13+0000 india india west bengal kolkata protest /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093365807_0:6:1434:813_1920x0_80_0_0_1992bff66ca5d030281686a4f8ab3ab6.jpg People in India's West Bengal state have been outraged by the death of a student activist in Howrah District. The 28-year-old was a prominent protestor in Kolkata city against the federal government's Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).On Thursday, hours after the Calcutta High Court ordered a second post-mortem for student activist Anish Khan, the deceased's family held a demonstration to demand an investigation into his death by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The family demonstrated in front of the Amta police station in Howrah District. It is alleged that home guard Kashinath Bera and civic volunteer Pritam Bhattacharya, both members of the auxiliary forces who assist the police, went to Khan's house on the day of the murder. The two were arrested on Tuesday.Khan's family, friends and neighbours chanted slogans such as "Justice for Anish" outside the police station. The protestors also threw stones and tried to cross the barricade to storm the police station, reported Indian media. Videos shared by social media users show the protestors also chanting slogans against the Mamata Banerjee-led government of West Bengal state, and burning an effigy. The state government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter. But the deceased activist's family insisted on the CBI conducting and investigation, saying they didn't have faith in the state's police.Khan's father alleged that some people wearing police uniforms had barged into their house and threw Khan from the three-storied building. However, the police have denied the allegations. india west bengal kolkata Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Deexa Khanduri https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0c/1e/1081607388_0:0:961:960_100x100_80_0_0_e9e931b8c1e18fb41f3074e2145d7a3a.jpg Deexa Khanduri https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0c/1e/1081607388_0:0:961:960_100x100_80_0_0_e9e931b8c1e18fb41f3074e2145d7a3a.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Deexa Khanduri https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0c/1e/1081607388_0:0:961:960_100x100_80_0_0_e9e931b8c1e18fb41f3074e2145d7a3a.jpg india, india, west bengal, kolkata, protest https://sputniknews.com/20220225/putin-says-nazis-in-ukraine-act-as-terrorists-deploying-mlrs-in-kiev-and-kharkov-1093372003.html Putin Suggests Ukrainian Military Seize Power From 'Gang of Junkies, Neo-Nazis in Kiev' Putin Suggests Ukrainian Military Seize Power From 'Gang of Junkies, Neo-Nazis in Kiev' The Russian president announced on 24 February the start of a special military operation in Ukraine to defend the Donetsk and Lugansk People's republics (DPR... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T14:44+0000 2022-02-25T14:44+0000 2022-02-25T18:39+0000 ukraine russia dpr lpr neo-nazis /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093372207_0:0:3002:1690_1920x0_80_0_0_d018b671d32ad6e21d1376c629f1b45a.jpg President Vladimir Putin has addressed the Russian Security Council to discuss the latest updates in the context of the Russian special operation in Ukraine.Read the full text of his speech:Good afternoon, dear colleagues!Today we will discuss the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine.The main clashes of the Russian Army, as expected, are not taking place with regular units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but with nationalist formations, which, as you know, are directly responsible for the genocide in Donbass and the bloodshed of civilians in the people's republics.In addition, the nationalist elements embedded in the regular Ukrainian units not only incite them to offer armed resistance, but, in fact, play the role of blocking units.Moreover, according to the available information, and this is confirmed by the results of objective control, we see that Bandera supporters and neo-Nazis are deploying heavy weapons, including multiple launch rocket systems, right in the central regions of large cities, including Kiev and Kharkov. They plan to provoke return fire from Russian strike systems on residential areas. In fact, they act in the same way as terrorists do around the world, hiding behind people in the hope of later blaming Russia for the civilian casualties.It is known that all this is happening on the recommendation of foreign instructors, primarily American advisers.Once again, I appeal to the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Do not allow neo-Nazis and Bandera supporters to use your children, your wives, and elderly people as human shields. Take power into your own hands. It seems that it will be easier for us to come to an agreement than with this gang of junkies and neo-Nazis, who settled in Kiev and took the entire Ukrainian people hostage.I also want to give the highest assessment to the actions of Russian soldiers and officers. They act courageously, professionally, heroically, fulfilling their military duty, successfully solving the most important task of ensuring the security of our people and our fatherland. ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg ukraine, russia, dpr, lpr, neo-nazis https://sputniknews.com/20220225/russian-military-sucessfully-conducts-landing-operation-at-gostomel-airfield-outside-kiev---mod-1093367608.html Russian Military Blocks Kiev From West as Paratroopers Conduct Landing Op Outside City MoD Russian Military Blocks Kiev From West as Paratroopers Conduct Landing Op Outside City MoD Russian forces launched a special operation on 24 February under orders from President Vladimir Putin. Its goals were described as protection of the Donetsk... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T12:29+0000 2022-02-25T12:29+0000 2022-02-25T18:41+0000 ukraine russia kiev landing /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093368598_0:166:1624:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_30c9583fdd8ace7a1f7c7a73fd53d6b8.jpg The Russian armed forces have successfully conducted a landing operation at the Gostomel airfield located on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kiev the Russian Defence Ministry has stated. The ministry noted that the success of the operation was assured by the Russian military's work on suppressing the area's air defences, isolation of the combat zone via the use of aviation, and conducting of electronic warfare. Konashenkov explained that by landing troops in Gostomel, located north-west of Ukraine's capital, Russian forces effectively blocked Kiev from the west.Russian Special Operation in UkraineThe deployment of Russian troops follows the order to launch a special operation by President Vladimir Putin on 24 February. Putin said that Russia can no longer stand aside as Ukrainian forces are killing the people of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), which he labelled "genocide".The president called on the Ukrainian armed forces to surrender without a fight and refuse to follow criminal orders from the Ukrainian leadership. Putin said that the main goals of the Russian operation is the defence of the DPR and LPR, and demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine.Western nations and their allies condemned the operation calling it an "invasion" and on 24 February slapped new economic sanctions on Russia. Moscow said it was prepared for this development because it expected it, and vowed to respond in kind. The West has since called on all sides to stop fighting and engage in negotiations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow was ready to sit down at the negotiating table once Ukraine lays down its arms.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sent a proposal to Putin to sit down for talks. The Kremlin responded that Moscow is ready to send ministerial- and administrative-level delegations to Minsk for talks. ukraine kiev Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg ukraine, russia, kiev, landing https://sputniknews.com/20220225/russian-mod-forces-destroyed-18-ukrainian-tanks-7-multiple-rocket-systems-and-41-motor-vehicles-1093359073.html Russian MoD: Forces Destroy 18 Ukrainian Tanks, 7 Multiple Rocket Systems, and 41 Motor Vehicles Russian MoD: Forces Destroy 18 Ukrainian Tanks, 7 Multiple Rocket Systems, and 41 Motor Vehicles On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a special operation in Ukraine, which he said is aimed at protecting the residents of the two breakaway regions Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. 2022-02-25T08:13+0000 2022-02-25T08:13+0000 2022-02-25T12:11+0000 ukraine russia russian defense ministry vladimir putin volodymyr zelenskiy lugansk peoples republic donetsk people's republic /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093361426_0:212:2048:1365_1920x0_80_0_0_136dd393a848ef93d04f7ab9e7f37fbe.jpg Forty-one Ukrainian military vehicles, 18 tanks and armoured fighting vehicles, 7 multiple rocket systems, and 5 combat boats have been destroyed by Russian forces, the country's Ministry of Defence said on FridayEarlier on Friday, a spokesman for the Russian military, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said Russian paratroopers had taken control of the area of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which is located around 100 kilometres from the Ukrainian capital Kiev.The Ministry of Defence also reported that the 36th brigade of Ukrainian forces has surrendered as well as 82 servicemen on Snake Island, in the Black Sea.The news comes amid a special operation conducted by Russia in Ukraine. It was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. The Russian head of state said he made the decision after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, two breakaway regions that announced their independence from Ukraine in 2014, asked Moscow for help. Earlier this month, the LPR and DPR said that Kiev had shelled their territories, prompting the republics to order the evacuation of the civilian population to Russia.On 21 February, President Putin recognised the independence of the LPR and DPR, and in a televised address to the Russian population on Thursday, he announced a special operation aimed at protecting the residents of the two republics from the genocide being waged on them by the Ukrainian authorities.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Russia's special operation as a "full-scale invasion" of Ukraine. In a televised address to the nation, he said 137 servicemen had been killed, while 316 were injured. Thirteen border guards were killed on Snake Island (also known as Serpent Island), the Ukrainian head of state said.He also stated that Russian forces had conducted strikes on civilian objects, including in residential areas of the capital Kiev. The Russian Defence Ministry stated that it is only conducting strikes on military infrastructure and that there is no threat to civilians. The ministry has not released any information on casualties or injured servicemen.Moscow's actions have been condemned by several countries, including Australia, Britain Canada, the Czech Republic, Japan, members of the European Union, and the United States. Western nations have since imposed harsh sanctions on Moscow targeting its banks, businesses, government officials, as well as individuals close to President Vladimir Putin. Reports say the European Union may introduce punitive measures against the president himself.United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called Russia's actions wrong and called on President Putin to stop the special operation. Protests against the military operation in Ukraine were held in 44 Russian cities, including the capital Moscow. ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 ukraine, russia, russian defense ministry, vladimir putin, volodymyr zelenskiy, lugansk peoples republic, donetsk people's republic https://sputniknews.com/20220225/russian-mod-kiev-uses-same-methods-as-terrorists-uses-civilians-as-human-shields-1093367914.html Russian MoD: Kiev Applies Same Methods as Terrorists, Uses Civilians as Human Shields Russian MoD: Kiev Applies Same Methods as Terrorists, Uses Civilians as Human Shields After Moscow launched a special operation in Ukraine on Thursday, Russia's Defence Ministry stressed that Russian forces did not launch any strikes on... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T12:41+0000 2022-02-25T12:41+0000 2022-02-25T18:44+0000 russia ukraine special operation forces military /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/18/1093324126_0:0:3073:1730_1920x0_80_0_0_504ff48c0c5a826b6902bf27110c68c8.jpg The Russian Defence Ministry has said that Kiev applies the same methods as terrorists, using civilians as human shields.The address came as Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters that the Ukrainian Security Service had placed groups of nationalists in regular military units of the country's armed forces."The Security Service of Ukraine infiltrated into regular military units of the Ukrainian armed forces groups of inveterate nationalists numbering 25-30 people who underwent special training", Konashenkov said.Amid the ongoing attacks perpetrated by Kiev's forces in Donbass, Russia launched a special military operation on Thursday to stop the bloodshed, targeting the Ukrainian military. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the operation aims at the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine. The Russian Defence Ministry, in turn, stated that precision weapons are neutralising Ukrainian military infrastructure objects, including air bases, and air defences. The ministry noted that Ukrainian cities are not being targeted, and only military facilities are being neutralised.On Monday, Russia recognised the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, DPR and LPR, respectively. The move came amid the Ukrainian Army's intensifying shelling of the DPR and LPR, which led to civilian casualties there. ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Oleg Burunov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg Oleg Burunov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Oleg Burunov https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg russia, ukraine, special operation, forces, military https://sputniknews.com/20220225/scientists-claim-to-have-cracked-the-mystery-of-king-tutankhamuns-dagger-from-space-1093359374.html Scientists Claim to Have Cracked the Mystery of King Tutankhamuns Dagger 'From Space' Scientists Claim to Have Cracked the Mystery of King Tutankhamuns Dagger 'From Space' Commonly referred to as King Tut, he was the last representative of the 18th Dynasty, which ruled Egypt from around 1550 BC to 1292 BC. King Tut is credited with restoring ancient Egyptian religion following its dissolution by his father Pharaoh Akhenaten. He is also famous for the purported curse that haunts people who enter his tomb. 2022-02-25T10:12+0000 2022-02-25T10:12+0000 2022-02-25T10:16+0000 science archaeology ancient egypt king tutankhamun dagger study scientists /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107616/66/1076166671_0:238:2799:1812_1920x0_80_0_0_2f7a37beb4f17290890b8bab5bbb52ca.jpg A team of Japanese scientists claim to have cracked the mystery of King Tutankhamuns "dagger from space".In 1922, archaeologists discovered the tomb of the pharaoh, which contained numerous lavish treasures, but one item stood aside from others it was made of iron. This detail puzzled scientists, as records show that Egyptians would not begin to work with this metal for another 500 years. In 2016, researchers conducted a study that left them even more perplexed.The iron used in the dagger came from a meteorite. Researchers at the Chiba Institute of Technology claim to have solved the puzzle. According to the findings of their study, published recently in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Sciences, the researchers conducted an X-ray analysis of the golden handle, which showed that it was created using an adhesive material known as lime plaster. However, like iron, it wasnt used by Egyptian craftsmen until much later.The analysis also revealed that the hilt was made using a low-temperature technique, which hints at "its foreign origin, possibly from Mitanni, Anatolia". Records show that Tutankhamuns grandfather Amenhotep III received gifts from the king of Mitanni. Researchers say that it is possible that King Tut inherited the dagger from his father, who had in turn received it from his father. The artefact, which, dates from the 14th century, was discovered in the tomb of King Tut.It was wrapped around the right thigh of the pharaohs body. The Egyptian ruler, who archaeologists and historians say suffered from numerous ailments, died at the age of 19. The cause of his death remains somewhat of a mystery. Some historians suggest that he died from sickle cell anaemia. Others argue that it was a combination of factors, such as a leg fracture and a severe malarial infection. Still others alleged that the pharaoh was killed, pointing to two bone fragments inside his skull. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Max Gorbachev Max Gorbachev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Max Gorbachev science, archaeology, ancient egypt, king tutankhamun, dagger, study, scientists https://sputniknews.com/20220225/trump-his-children-will-not-testify-after-defense-appeals-court-subpoenas---report-1093351874.html Trump, His Children Will Not Testify After Defense Appeals Court Subpoenas - Report Trump, His Children Will Not Testify After Defense Appeals Court Subpoenas - Report Trump & His Children Will Not Testify as They Are Appealing Court Subpoenas - Report 2022-02-25T02:14+0000 2022-02-25T02:14+0000 2022-02-25T02:14+0000 donald trump jr donald trump us trump organization subpoena testimony /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/07/01/1083283109_0:0:1889:1063_1920x0_80_0_0_427e1fe81aa14863bdd3f53ddd7969a1.jpg Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. will not testify for the next two weeks, as their legal team appealed the ruling of Judge Arthur Engoron, who last Thursday denied the motion by respondents Donald J. Trump, Ivanka and Donald Trump, Jr. to quash subpoenas issued by the petitioner in December last year.According to Business Insider, the testimony might even be delayed for several more months.He noted that the appeal would be filed with the state's appellate division early next week.The Trump Organization has been investigated jointly by the New York Attorney General Letitia James and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office since 2019, when the former president refused to disclose his tax returns. Prosecutors have suspected the company management of fraudulently overstating the value of his assets to secure bank loans and underestimating them in other cases to reduce taxes.Trump, who stepped down as CEO of the Trump Organization in 2017 after taking office, passed the business on to his sons Donald Jr. and Eric. The latter was questioned earlier in 2020.Ex-POTUS has repeatedly claimed that the probe into the companys financial activities is a politically motivated attack by the Democratic Party. In an attempt to strike back, Trump filed a lawsuit against James and accused her of political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent.Meanwhile, James earlier announced that her office had collected significant additional evidence indicating that the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions. https://sputniknews.com/20220202/trump-accuses-ny-ag-of-selective-prosecution-in-civil-fraud-probe-requests-dismissal-of-subpoenas-1092672310.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Alexandra Kashirina Alexandra Kashirina News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Alexandra Kashirina donald trump jr, donald trump, us, trump organization, subpoena, testimony https://sputniknews.com/20220225/uk-man-earns-64000-after-quitting-job-to-find-fragments-of-meteorite-1093371627.html UK Man Earns $64,000 After Quitting Job to Find Fragments of Meteorite UK Man Earns $64,000 After Quitting Job to Find Fragments of Meteorite The celestial body landed on Earth last February, sparking major hunt amongst amateur astronomers as well as people willing to earn money. The meteorite is unique as it is extremely rare. There are only 51 samples of it in collections across the globe. 2022-02-25T17:36+0000 2022-02-25T17:36+0000 2022-02-25T17:36+0000 tech science meteorite astronomy space christie's /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107638/97/1076389726_0:281:2049:1433_1920x0_80_0_0_1484f9bc8e33e34b35ad48f0daf29c26.jpg Those who never take a risk never drink champagne, as the Russian saying goes. It seems this is true for Chris Casey, who quit his job as a carpenter to search for fragments of meteorite. Speaking to British daily The Sun, the 34-year-old revealed that his daring action was rewarded generously, although he admits that the work was exhausting.Casey says he spent three weeks in sub-zero temperatures, walking 40,000 steps each in day in search of pieces of meteorite, which managed to survive a fiery trip through Earths atmosphere. Casey then discovered a piece a 12g piece, which he sold to a private collector on eBay for $22,000. He then found two more fragments, which were sold at Christies online auction for $42,000 earlier this week. The amateur astronomer says he has two more fragments of the meteorite, weighing 7.2 grams and 5 grams, but he decided to keep them.The celestial body, which landed in the small market town Winchcombe, England is extremely rare. It belongs to a carbonaceous chondrite type of meteorites. It has a chemical composition that is close to that of the solar nebula from where our Solar System appeared. There are about 65,000 meteorites in collections around the world and only 51 of them are of the carbonaceous chondrite type. Researchers say studies of the meteorite will give them insight into what our Solar System was like before planets were there. space Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Max Gorbachev Max Gorbachev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Max Gorbachev tech, science, meteorite, astronomy, space, christie's UN Readout of Zelenskyy-Guterres Call Has No Mention of Genocide, Russia's Voting Rights UN (Sputnik) - The official statement of the office of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres about his conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not mention the topics of depriving Russia of the right to vote in the UN Security Council or recognizing Moscow's actions in Ukraine as genocide, as Kiev claimed earlier. "This afternoon the Secretary-General spoke with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The Secretary-General conveyed to the President the determination of the United Nations to enhance humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. He informed the President that the United Nations would launch on Tuesday an appeal to fund our humanitarian operations in Ukraine," the readout says. Guterres himself also did not mention genocide or Russia's UNSC voting rights. https://sputniknews.com/20220225/un-opens-probe-into-sex-for-food-exploitation-of-women-in-mozambiques-war-torn-cabo-delgado-1093376545.html UN Opens Probe into Sex-for-Food Exploitation of Women in Mozambiques War-Torn Cabo Delgado UN Opens Probe into Sex-for-Food Exploitation of Women in Mozambiques War-Torn Cabo Delgado The United Nations has opened a new probe into fresh allegations that officials in northern Mozambique forced women to give them sexual favors in return for... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T20:20+0000 2022-02-25T20:20+0000 2022-02-25T20:21+0000 mozambique un world food program (wfp) sexual abuse africa human rights watch insurgency /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093376520_0:0:2784:1566_1920x0_80_0_0_83d7094a28baf88a1c4544f9f374c9ef.jpg According to Africa News, the head of the UN World Food Programs (WFP) operation in Mozambiques northern Cabo Delgado province, Mauricio Bortee, met with local officials on Thursday to discuss the allegations.An Islamist insurgency has plagued the impoverished Muslim-majority region for five years, displacing close to 1 million people and killing more than 3,600.Accusations of such sex-for-food coercions go back almost as far. After Cyclone Idai zigzagged its way across Mozambique and Malawi in March 2019, killing more than 1,500 people and devastating the region, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on sex-for-food allegations. The New York-based non-governmental organization (NGO) noted that a contributing problem was that only male heads of family were listed on aid reports, leaving women to haggle for foodstuffs for their families, which often led to sexual favors.The following year, Mozambican NGO The Center for Public Integrity reported on widespread sex-for-food aid incidents in Cabo Delgado.Nhamire said that the subject was treated as a great taboo by government authorities and the United Nations agencies that coordinate assistance to displaced people in Cabo Delgado, including the WFP, International Organization for Migration (IOM), and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).HRW investigated again in September 2021, with researcher Zenaida Machado telling AFP it was very widespread and a common practice.Defeating a Stubborn InsurgencyAfter Al-Shabab mounted a more serious attack in early 2021, raiding the port city of Palma, French gas giant Total declared force majeure on its massive gas project at Afungi, which when completed will be the largest such facility in Africa. In the aftermath, Mozambican President Felipe Nyusi appealed to the international community for help, and the South African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda dispatched thousands of troops to help Maputo fight the militant group.Earlier this month, Total announced it planned to restart Afungi in 2022, as the international force has made significant gains against Al-Shabab, pushing the group far inland and capturing or killing many of its top leaders.Brussels-based think tank International Crisis Group (ICG) noted in a February 10 report that the international deployment has had a profound effect on the conflict.However, experts have warned that there is likely not a purely military solution to the conflict, as insurgencies are often grounded in deeper social malaise.We need more than just weapons to end this conflict, something more than military operations, Mozambiques Defense Minister, Maj. Gen. Cristovao Chume, told ICG in an interview for the report.Mozambiques African partners should press Maputo to open dialogue involving political elites to set conditions that might persuade insurgents to surrender, the report said. While donors scale up aid in the province, the African Union should facilitate regional cooperation to dismantle the insurgencys transnational networks and seek more funds to sustain military operations. mozambique africa Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Morgan Artyukhina https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/04/17/1082703728_0:0:800:800_100x100_80_0_0_0b6ce8daa7411284d60c8a0b6d84186d.jpg mozambique, un world food program (wfp), sexual abuse, africa, human rights watch, insurgency https://sputniknews.com/20220225/us-transfers-militants-from-al-hasakah-to-at-tanf-increasing-threats-russian-military-says-1093377290.html US Transfers Militants From Al Hasakah to At-Tanf, Increasing Threats, Russian Military Says US Transfers Militants From Al Hasakah to At-Tanf, Increasing Threats, Russian Military Says MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US intelligence agencies are moving terrorists held in the Al Hasakah prison to the At-Tanf zone in southern Syria, this could lead to an... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T20:54+0000 2022-02-25T20:54+0000 2022-02-25T20:54+0000 syria war in syria russia us war on terror russian defense ministry's center for syrian reconciliation /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093377264_0:150:3189:1944_1920x0_80_0_0_ab2fbac4474c435620e52177a4821323.jpg "The Russian Center for Reconciliation receives information about the movement by the US intelligence services to the At-Tanf zone of Daesh* militants, who were previously held in places of detention in the cities of Al Hasakah and Jisr al-Shaddadi. This may lead to an increase in terrorist threats in the south of the Syrian Arab Republic," Zhuravlev said.Earlier, Zhuravlev stated that US-backed militias in northern and eastern Syria are forcibly recruiting into their ranks and threatening arrest.Damascus has requested that any foreign military forces not invited in by its internationally recognized government leave the country, accusing the US and Turkey of backing Daesh and other terrorist militias. The accusations have been dismissed by both countries.* A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 syria, war in syria, russia, us, war on terror, russian defense ministry's center for syrian reconciliation https://sputniknews.com/20220225/west-defends-ukrainian-regime-turning-blind-eye-to-its-war-crimes-lavrov-says-1093361118.html West Turned Blind Eye to War Crimes by the Kiev Regime, 'Genocide' in Ukraine, Lavrov Says West Turned Blind Eye to War Crimes by the Kiev Regime, 'Genocide' in Ukraine, Lavrov Says Moscow has repeatedly urged Western nations to pressure Kiev to stop the shelling of the Donbass republics, which they have been reporting for over a week now... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T09:17+0000 2022-02-25T09:17+0000 2022-02-25T18:41+0000 russia ukraine nato dpr lpr /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093362577_0:0:1836:1034_1920x0_80_0_0_bf77f48d7a930dc8036dad860d6516ea.jpg Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has condemned the West for their unwavering defence of the Ukrainian regime and turning a blind eye to its war crimes against civilians in the country's east. He stressed that nations in the West covered Kiev's back even as it decided to take the Donbass people's republics by force, declared a resolve to join NATO, and threatened to build nuclear weapons.The foreign minister went on to slam the West for "unanimously" denying the obvious fact that a "genocide" was taking place in Ukraine, where Kiev's forces have been waging a war against and killing the residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR).He also announced that Russia will be organising a special photo gallery at the UN for the participants of a new session of the UN Human Rights Council. This gallery will be devoted to the situation in the Donbass region and the suffering of its residents, Lavrov said.On Russian Operation's GoalsLavrov explained that Russia could not remain indifferent to the DPR and LPR's appeal for defence against the aggressor. He noted that the Russian special operation in Donbass is being carried out to allow Ukrainians to choose their own future once they are freed from the oppression of the current regime, and stressed that the Russian military is not attacking civilian infrastructure as part of this operation.Lavrov separately added that he does not believe Western politicians could seriously hope that Moscow would tolerate the oppression of Russians in Ukraine.The Russian foreign minister further underscored that "nobody" plans to occupy Ukraine in the course of the special operation and added that Russia is interested in the Ukrainian people maintaining their independence.The minister stressed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is lying when he claims that Kiev is ready to discuss Ukraine's "neutral status". He added that Zelensky also lied, when he said that Russia refused to engage in dialogue and that the Ukrainian president himself missed the opportunity to start negotiations on security guarantees.Upon completion of Russia's military operation, the situation in Ukraine will return to the stage of negotiations, the Russian foreign minister said.Lavrov also addressed the NATO alliance accusing it of ruthlessly going into Ukraine in order to "subject" the country's east. He also lambasted the bloc's claims of allegedly caring for the desires of the Ukrainian people, noting that NATO should have done that in 2008, when it first said that Ukraine would eventually be allowed to join the alliance.Russian Special Operation in DonbassPresident Vladimir Putin on 24 February ordered the Russian armed forces to conduct a special operation in the Donbass region aimed at the defence of the DPR and LPR, and demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine. He stressed that Russia was left with no option other than to intervene in the situation in Donbass after its republics began reporting shelling by Ukrainian forces for over a week.Western nations and their allies condemned Russia's decision and labelled it an "invasion". The EU, UK, Canada, Japan, and the US have all announced new sanctions on Moscow, which affect its access to financial markets, harms its banks, airlines, and limits imports of high-tech products into the country. ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Tim Korso https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/0d/1093831826_0:0:216:216_100x100_80_0_0_e3f43a960af0c6c99f7eb8ccbf5f812c.jpg russia, ukraine, nato, dpr, lpr https://sputniknews.com/20220225/wests-resolve-to-sanction-any-state-with-its-own-position-endangers-world-order---russian-envoy-1093355934.html West's Resolve to Sanction Any State With Its Own Position Endangers World Order - Russian Envoy West's Resolve to Sanction Any State With Its Own Position Endangers World Order - Russian Envoy On Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced a number of new sanctions that he said would "impose severe costs on the Russian economy, both immediately and... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T06:31+0000 2022-02-25T06:31+0000 2022-02-25T07:49+0000 russia envoy sanctions /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093357769_0:14:3114:1767_1920x0_80_0_0_3586691da92b22ded0a1baab86975dba.jpg Russian envoy to Japan Mikhail Galuzin has said that the resolve of the US and its Western allies, who are ready to sanction any country with its own position, poses a threat to the world order.Galuzin also noted that "such behaviour as attempts to punish with sanctions those who dare to pursue an independent policy that does not necessarily coincide with the West's interests are irresponsible and very dangerous for the world order based on the UN Charter".The Russian envoy spoke as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said earlier on Friday that Tokyo is imposing new sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine.He added that the sanctions include restrictions on exports to organisations related to the defence industry as well as the export of such goods as semiconductors and universal purpose items.The Japanese broadcaster TBS, in turn, cited Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki as saying that the sanctions would affect three Russian financial institutions - VEB.RF, Promsvyazbank, and Bank Rossiya. According to Suzuki, the assets of these financial institutions would be frozen.He announced that four more Russian banks that hold more than $1 trillion in assets would be sanctioned and their assets in the US frozen, adding that Russian "elites" and their families would be sanctioned as well.The US and the EU previously imposed a number of economic sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, with Russia's Foreign Ministry pledging to retaliate. "There should be no doubt - the sanctions will result in a strong response, not necessarily symmetric, but well-calculated and painful for the American side", the ministry said in a statement.In the early hours of Thursday, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics requested Moscow's assistance to defend themselves from ongoing attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said that the operation is only targeting the military infrastructure of Ukraine and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow underlines that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 russia, envoy, sanctions https://sputniknews.com/20220225/what-did-putin-mean-by-denazification-of-ukraine-and-why-is-it-so-important-1093375330.html What Did Putin Mean by 'Denazification' of Ukraine and Why is It so Important? What Did Putin Mean by 'Denazification' of Ukraine and Why is It so Important? For years, Russia has been calling on Western nations to investigate cases of human rights abuse, illegal killings, and war crimes committed by the Ukrainian... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T18:37+0000 2022-02-25T18:37+0000 2022-03-02T11:01+0000 russia ukraine kiev neo-nazi vladimir putin dpr lpr situation in ukraine /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093375831_0:66:1705:1025_1920x0_80_0_0_6b7acefc6afe707869b9c05eec8a1a29.jpg When Russian President Vladimir Putin was announcing the start of a special operation to protect the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) on 24 February, he described the goals as "demilitarising and denazifying" Ukraine. His spokesman later elaborated that "denazifying" means that Russia is planning to free Ukraine from neo-Nazis, their supporters, and their ideology.Moscow has repeatedly warned foreign nations about neo-Nazis taking control of Ukraine following the West-backed coup in 2014. However, Western nations chose to ignore the human rights violations committed by the Kiev regime.What were these crimes?Setting Trade Unions House on Fire.... With People in ItAs nationalists and neo-Nazis were illegally seizing power across the country, they faced opposition from the so-called "anti-Maidan" movement, which was against the coup. Clashes between neo-Nazis and anti-Maidan protesters took place across the country, but what happened in Odessa on 2 May 2014 would be remembered as one of the darkest pages in Ukraine's history.Following street fighting with neo-Nazis, the anti-Maidan protesters barricaded themselves in a local trade unions house. Their opponents, backed by the new Ukrainian authorities, encircled the building and set it on fire using petrol bombs.When the blaze erupted on the second and third floors of the building, several hundred people trapped inside desperately tried to escape. 10 of them fell to their death. 32 more died suffering from severe burns and suffocating from smoke. 250 others managed to escape the death trap with various injuries as firefighters arrived at the scene an hour after the blaze broke out.War Crimes of Nationalist Volunteer Battalions Exposed, Not ProsecutedApart from deploying regular troops to shell the cities of the DPR and LPR, the new Kiev leadership attracted several so-called "volunteer battalions" ragtag groups of people, often nationalists and ex-convicts, funded and equipped by Ukrainian oligarchs and businessmen with connections to the new government. Their members were often involved in various war crimes ranging from looting to killing civilians and rape. One such battalion, dubbed "Tornado", was disbanded in December 2014 by Kiev following numerous reports of its crimes, but its members were never prosecuted, with many of them moving to other battalions.The crimes of another notorious voluntary battalion, "Aidar", were investigated, documented, and exposed by the Amnesty International non-profit. Nonetheless, its horrific deeds would remain unpunished. One of the many crimes was uncovered by the DPR militia near the "Kommunar" mine, where they unearthed the bodies of four women and several men all of them civilians. They had been tied up, tortured, and either executed by gunshot to the head or beheaded. One of the women was believed to have been raped by the battalion's fighters.Illegal Persecution, Incarceration, and Killings of Opposition Members and JournalistsThe nationalists and neo-Nazis sitting in the government in Kiev also have a rich history of violating human rights and committing crimes many of them meticulously gathered in an 80-page-long White Book assembled by the Russian Foreign Ministry. By mid-June 2014 less than five months after seizing power the new Ukrainian authorities started infringing on people's rights to express their opinions and on press freedom, conducting searches and detentions of protesters, journalists, and blocking foreign media members from entering the country.The new Kiev authorities also did not shy away from threatening and kidnapping political opponents politicians and even lawmakers who opposed the war against the DPR and LPR, and those who objected to the coup. Some of the opposition politicians and independent journalists were also killed, allegedly by the same nationalists and neo-Nazis, with many cases remaining unsolved to this day.The murder of Oles Buzyna, a Ukrainian journalist known for his pro-Russian views, is among the most prominent cases. Buzyna was shot dead outside his home by unidentified individuals in Kiev just a day after the killing of ex-MP Oleg Kalashnikov in his home. The cases were never solved, but they are believed to have been related to the victims' involvement with the anti-Maidan movement.Discrimination Against Anything Russia-RelatedIn addition to allowing war crimes to go unpunished and hunting down their political opponents, the Ukrainian leadership often appeased and encouraged countrywide discrimination against anything related to Russia or the Russian language.This policy revealed itself in various forms: from relatively harmless calls to refrain from buying Russian goods to the firing of Russian academics teaching Russian literature, detention of Russian-speaking travellers without legal grounds, official bans on certain Russian products, drawing of swastikas on memorials to the Second Wold War and victims of the holocaust, and allowing neo-Nazi marches featuring calls to "kill Russians" living in Ukraine.The new authorities also banned large categories of Russians, many of whom have relatives in Ukraine, from entering the country, thereby infringing on their freedom of movement and separating families.This list goes on with many more crimes that were committed by Kiev's nationalist leaders over the past eight years but are not reflected in the White Book. ukraine kiev Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 russia, ukraine, kiev, neo-nazi, vladimir putin, dpr, lpr https://sputniknews.com/20220225/will-the-world-cut-russia-out-of-swift-and-what-would-happen-if-it-did-1093370422.html Will The World Cut Russia Out Of SWIFT, And What Would Happen If It Did? Will The World Cut Russia Out Of SWIFT, And What Would Happen If It Did? Russia has launched a special operation in Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin recognised the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk to protect... 25.02.2022, Sputnik International 2022-02-25T17:19+0000 2022-02-25T17:19+0000 2022-02-25T17:19+0000 russia ukraine putin swift iran /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/02/19/1093364656_0:200:2933:1850_1920x0_80_0_0_f8c8e2f8ff9729973f9788942ad380df.jpg The Times newspaper reports that barring Russia from the SWIFT international payments system would stop all trade with the West and reduce its GDP by 5 percent.What is SWIFT and how does it work?The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is a Belgium-based secure messaging system which is used to make international cross-border payments. In 2020, it was estimated 38 million transactions a day were made by SWIFT.Marc Ostwald, a financial commentator, said: The way the SWIFT system works is it basically connects about 11,000 financial institutions worldwide. It's used in 200 countries, so it is a major part of the global payment system.He said the impact of banning Russia would be quite dramatic and he said Iran lost about 30 percent of its trade when 18 Iranian banks were banned from SWIFT as a result of US sanctions.But he added that there was no consensus on ejecting Russia from SWIFT as certain countries, for example Hungary, depended on Russia for their energy supplies.He said there were divisions within the EU and between Germany and the UK/US.German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock promised to isolate Russia internationally but she pointed out that banning it from SWIFT would make it impossible for people to send money to relations in Russia.France's Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also said that the idea of booting Russia out of SWIFT "is the very last resort ... but this is one of the options that remains on the table."Austria's Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, said he supported the idea of excluding Russia from SWIFT but only if there were unity within the European Union.He said the former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has heavily criticised Germany for blocking a ban on Russian SWIFT payments.But US President Joe Biden has said excluding Russia from SWIFT is not an option at the moment because thats not the position the rest of Europe chooses to take.Russia set up an alternative to SWIFT SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages) in 2014 and China set one up, SIPS, the next year to ensure trade can take place between Russia and China.China and Russia may try to implement an alternative but it would only work with transactions between them not global ones unless international banks accepted the system. However, SWIFT may be bypassed according to some banks. There are rumours that Iran does it, Daniel Lacalle said. ukraine iran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2022 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 russia, ukraine, putin, swift, iran Russia conducts "special military operation" in Donbass Xinhua) 08:11, February 25, 2022 * A total of 11 airfields, three command posts, a Ukrainian naval base, and 18 radar stations of the S-300 and Buk-M1 air defense missile systems were among the facilities destroyed, the Russian Defense Ministry said. * NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday in a press briefing that "we have made it clear that we do not have any plans and intentional deploying NATO troops to Ukraine." * The White House said Wednesday that the United States would not be in a war with Russia or put troops on the ground in Ukraine. MOSCOW/KIEV, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized on Thursday "a special military operation" in Donbass, and Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack. A total of 11 airfields, three command posts, a Ukrainian naval base, and 18 radar stations of the S-300 and Buk-M1 air defense missile systems were among the facilities destroyed, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Signs of nervousness were growing as planes flew overhead, explosions were heard, and an alarm siren sounded in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, where citizens were standing in long lines hoping to draw money and stock up on supplies. In the center of Kiev, the local bus system, subway, banks, supermarkets, pharmacies and hotels were still operating normally. However, many private shops and bookstores have closed. The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have both denied the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. RESPONSE TO NATO'S "FUNDAMENTAL THREATS" In a televised speech to the nation earlier this day, Putin said, "Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force," noting that Russia's move is in response to "fundamental threats" by NATO, which has expanded to Eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. Putin called on all people living on the territory of Ukraine to "independently determine the future of their own and children." In Kiev, explosions were heard at Boryspil International Airport and other places across the city, according to local media reports. The country's airspace was closed for civilian aircraft, and local authorities were evacuating passengers and staff from the airport. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday declared martial law in the country following Russia's military operation. In a video address, Zelensky said his country is under attack. According to the Interior Ministry, military depots and airfields in the capital were hit by missiles. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday in a press briefing that "we have made it clear that we do not have any plans and intentional deploying NATO troops to Ukraine." Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg (C), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R) and European Council President Charles Michel attend a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) The White House said Wednesday that the United States would not be in a war with Russia or put troops on the ground in Ukraine. "What I will tell you is the president has been crystal clear and consistent: He is not sending U.S. troops to fight in Ukraine. That has not changed," said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki during a daily briefing. Putin on Monday signed two decrees recognizing "the Lugansk People's Republic" and "the Donetsk People's Republic" as independent and sovereign states and deployed "peacekeeping" forces in the two regions. Seeing it as "a matter of time" for NATO to expand eastward, Putin took military action against Ukraine after recent negotiations with the United States and NATO failed. Russia will not allow Ukraine to have nuclear weapons, he said Thursday, adding that Russia took action to protect itself from "those who take Ukraine hostage." In a late-night address Wednesday, Zelensky said he had unsuccessfully sought talks with Putin. "I initiated a telephone call with the president of the Russian Federation. Result: silence." MILITARY OPERATIONS UNDERWAY While mobilizing troops, Russia closed its airspace to civilian aircraft on its western borders with Ukraine and Belarus, the aviation authorities said Thursday. Additionally, the Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsiya announced that Russia has temporarily closed more than 10 airports in the south and Crimea. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian Armed Forces are destroying "military infrastructure, air defense facilities, military airfields, aviation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces" with high-precision weapons, not targeting Ukrainian cities. A 37-year-old citizen named Anna said that sales in her cosmetics stores in Kiev dropped by 40 percent in the past month due to heightened tensions. Having not planned to leave the city because her children are still in school, she expressed the hope that the war would not interrupt school for her children. Besides Kiev, several military targets in eastern and southern Ukraine were under attack early Thursday, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport and its fuel and lubricants depots in western Ukraine were also destroyed by Russia's missile systems, reported Ukrinform, citing the Ukrainian Interior Ministry. Photo taken on Feb. 24, 2022 shows vehicles queuing up to leave the city in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Sergey Starostenko/Xinhua) Ukraine's border guard service said Russia's ground forces crossed into Ukraine from several directions on Thursday. Russian tanks and other heavy equipment crossed the frontier in several northern regions and Crimea in the south. The border guard also said separately that Russian troops had crossed the Ukrainian border into the Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Lugansk regions. Following Russia's operation, Zelensky announced that Kiev had severed diplomatic relations with Moscow after Russia launched military operations in Donbass, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported. In a televised address, Zelensky said that more than 40 people were killed and dozens wounded in the conflict. In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the severance of bilateral diplomatic ties was "not our choice," Sputnik reported. INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE Shortly after Putin announced the military operation in Ukraine, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday night called on Russia to withdraw its troops. If the military action would lead to a generalized war, "it is difficult to forecast how dramatic it will be in the number of people who will die, in the number of people who will be displaced, in the number of people who will lose hope in relation to the future," Guterres told reporters following a Security Council emergency meeting on Ukraine. Photo taken on Feb. 23, 2022 shows the scene of the UN Security Council emergency meeting on Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told a meeting with top military brass that the purpose of Russia's military operation in Donbas is to prevent local destruction and civilian casualties in Donetsk and Luhansk, noting that even though the conflict has already begun, the sides must find ways to prevent bloodshed and full-scale war. To rally the support of his Western allies, Zelensky has reached out to U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron by phone. During the call, Biden briefed his Ukrainian counterpart on the steps Washington is taking "to rally international condemnation," adding that the United States "will continue to provide support and assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," according to a White House statement. Biden also said he would meet with leaders of the Group of Seven countries on Thursday. Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Feb. 22, 2022 shows a screen broadcasting U.S. President Joe Biden delivering remarks on Ukraine situation in a live stream provided by CNBC. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) The United States has announced what it called "the first tranche" of punitive measures on Russia -- sanctions on two major Russian banks and the country's sovereign debt, preventing Moscow from raising money from the West and trading new debt in the U.S. or European markets. It also sanctioned Russian elites and their family members. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said on Thursday that "everything must now be done to avoid further escalation and to protect lives." Emphasizing that "peace comes first," Van der Bellen said the way to the negotiating table must be open to all sides. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian tweeted on Thursday that "The #Ukraine crisis is rooted in NATO's provocations. We don't believe that resorting to war is a solution." It is "imperative to establish ceasefire &to find a political and democratic resolution," he added. Guterres on Wednesday night asked Putin to send his troops back to Russia and "give peace a chance" after the Security Council emergency meeting on Ukraine concluded. China maintains that the Cold War mentality should be completely abandoned and a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism should be finally established through dialogue and negotiation, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Its been a long journey, but the Culpeper battlefields state park is almost a done deal. The proposal gained the backing Wednesday of the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, on top of Gov. Glenn Youngkins earlier support for the preserve first proposed in mid-2015. Over the weekend, the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee approved budgets that authorize creation of the Culpeper Battlefields State Park. The spending plans also would provide $3 million to acquire more land for the park. On Wednesday, the House and Senate voted to approve their versions of the state budget. Those plans will go to a conference committee where legislators will iron out their differing sums and provisions. Then the budget goes to the governor for his changes and signature. The state park would include parts of two Civil War battlefields, at Brandy Station and Cedar Mountain, and a Union army encampment on Hansbroughs Ridge near Stevensburg. It would encompass 1,700 publicly accessible acres preserved by the American Battlefield Trust, enhanced with another 4,000 acres held in conservation easements on private land. The trust, a national nonprofit group that preserves battlefield sites of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War, will donate its land to Virginia, spokesman Jim Campi said. The state park will open on July 1, 2023, according to the House and Senate budgets, he said. The trust will continue to maintain its former lands for a few years while the state park hires staff and gets up and running, said Campi, the nonprofits chief policy and communications officer. Were obviously very pleased with the support the park has won from the House and Senate thus far, he said. We cannot take our eye off the ball. Its not done until its done. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Barry Knight R-Chesapeake, and state Sen. Creigh Deeds, chairman of the Finance Committees capital-outlay subcommittee, have been among the parks key supporters. Knight could not be reached Wednesday for comment. I have long advocated for state parks, Deeds, D-Charlottesville, told the Culpeper Star-Exponent on Wednesday. A park in Culpeper will not only give people an affordable outdoor recreational opportunity, it will attract history-focused tourists. This is a win-win for Virginia and the area. I am proud to have played a small advocacy role in the process, he added. Sen. Emmett Hanger, a likely budget conferee who serves on the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, played an important role in advancing the idea. I am pleased we have been able to negotiate the preservation of open space in Culpeper and offer citizens another gem in our nationally recognized state park system with the creation of the Culpeper Battlefields State Park as proposed in both the Senate and House budgets, Hanger, R-Augusta, said Wednesday afternoon. In previous years, Hanger had supported state studies of the Culpeper park proposal. We now have included about $9.8 million in the Senate budget over the biennium that is dedicated to the (Virginia) Battlefield Preservation Fund, he said Wednesday. A portion of this, about $3 million, coupled with the efforts of other battlefield and land preservation groups will allow for the acquisition and then possible donation of additional acreage at the park site. We will be working out differences with the House of Delegates over the next couple of weeks, but I am hopeful this proposal can become a reality, the senator said. Another leading proponent is state Sen. Chap Petersen, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committees subcommittee on agriculture, conservation and natural resources. This is very exciting, to gain this park on the east side of the Blue Ridge, Petersen said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. If you look at how our state parks are spread out, they are very heavy west of the Blue Ridge, running down to Southwest Virginia, and heavy on the Bay side, east of Richmond. But theres a gap in the corridor from Washington, D.C., down U.S. 29 to Charlottesville--a huge population corridor ... One of my goals has been to add a park east of the Blue Ridge thats complementary to Shenandoah National Park. When I learned that (the Brandy Station battlefield) is where the Hazel River flows into the Rapidan River, I thought This could be great, the Fairfax Democrat said. ... The bottom line is, this could be a very popular state park within a 45-minute drive of Northern Virginia. The Virginia Outdoors Plan calls for every Virginian to live within an hours drive of a state park. Park advocates have described Culpeper County and the Central Piedmont, which have no such park, as the hole in the donut. Going forward, supporters will have to figure out how active recreation at the park will be, given that the preserved lands primary focus is protecting battlefield resources. I dont know if there will be cabins, camping, or yurts one could rent, Petersen said. The park also has a personal aspect for the senator. Petersen said he had multiple ancestors who fought at Brandy Station, served in the cavalry and rode with Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, commander of Confederate forces during the battle. Del. Michael Webert, R-Fauquier, pushed hard for funding for the park, he said Wednesday. The multigenerational farmer has been a strong advocate for historic preservation in Virginia. Earlier this year, Webert noted that the park proposal had won long-standing community support. In 2016, the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors and the Culpeper Town Council both passed resolutions endorsing the concept. And a bipartisan coalition of state legislators, plus national and local preservation organizations, have worked to guide the proposal through the legislature in Richmond, he said. He called Culpeper, with its stunning landscapes and incredible history, an ideal site for a new state park. State Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, helped persuade Youngkin to propose spending $4.93 million to acquire the American Battlefield Trusts 1,700 acres for the preserve. In January, the new chief executive included that sum in his package of initiatives and amendments to the commonwealths budget. With the budget negotiators actions this week, that will no longer be necessary. The trust will give its land to the state, and Virginia has allocated $3 million toward adding other acreage to the park. Today, I am celebrating the General Assemblys approval of this state park with all of the people and organizations who worked with me to make it possible the volunteers, my fellow senators, the governor, the Brandy Station Foundation, and the American Battlefield Trust, Reeves said Wednesday. The legislative effort has been going on in front of and behind the scenes for over five years. It is simply magnificent that Virginia is going to honor the history of Culpeper in this way and provide so many wonderful recreational opportunities to our citizens. Jeff Say, president and CEO of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce, expressed delight at the days news. I am very pleased about this. The park is going to mean a lot to Culpeper for tourism, economic development and introducing more folks to our wonderful community, Say said. History is something were very proud of in our town and county. Culpeper was one of the most marched-over places in the entire Civil War. We look forward to showcasing Culpeper to more visitors and promoting the battlefields that will be encompassed in the state park, he said in an interview. Its a wonderful addition to Culpeper. We are extremely grateful to our legislators for approving it. Paige Read, Culpepers director of tourism and economic development, expressed gratitude to the House appropriations and Senate finance committees for authorizing the park. This is a game-changer for Culpeper, and a tremendous step forward in the continued preservation of American history, Read said late Wednesday. I am excited to continue to serve this project and all the partners who have made this possible. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Renovations will be underway soon at the former Western Public Service building, commonly known as the Powerhouse building at 1721 Broadway in Scottsbluff following a license agreement with the city. Dave Schaff, co-owner of Kersch, LLC went before the Scottsbluff city council Tuesday, Feb. 22 to discuss the terms of a license agreement between both parties as part of the 18th Street Plaza Improvement Project. The area in question is lots 17 and 18, block 2, where Schaff said they intend to transform those lots into a restaurant. Schaff and his wife Kerri, doing business as Kersch, LLC, received a unanimous positive recommendation from the Scottsbluff Community Redevelopment Authority (CRA) for $950,000 in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for the project in Aug. 2021. Schaff told the CRA they plan to turn the first level into a restaurant, the second level will become a commercial space and construct multiple studio king apartments on the third floor to be used for overflow temporary housing. TIF funding allows developers to fund a revitalization project for their business and their communities. TIF funding considers future increase valuation dollars of the business to finance some of the project The proposal proceeded through the citys planning commission for their recommendation to the city council. What you are seeing in front of you tonight hopefully is an agreement that will allow us to have an outdoor patio cafe space that will encroach a little bit onto the 18th Street Park, he said. Our intention truly is to help facilitate and enhance the park itself. Schaff is hopeful to make the renovation an outdoor space where people can hang out, similar to how Flyover Brewer has a patio in front of its building on Broadway. During conversations with Scottsbluff Chief of Police Kevin Spencer, they discussed how the restaurant will be serving alcohol. Schaff will follow Nebraska Liquor Control Commission guidelines for establishing a parameter around the patio. The illustration has the patio extending 18 feet from the building and 50 feet from the front of the building back. We were hoping to not go quite as far as 50 feet, but given the architectural space of the building itself, the location of the door that would come out on to the cafe would be from the third window from whats there now, Schaff said. Council member Angela Scanlan asked if they will have to install a fence with significant height as part of the project. Schaff said the aesthetic would be similar to Flyover Brewery and based on current NLCC guidelines. Within section 12.07 of the NLCCs Nebraska Rules and Regulations, it states, outdoor area shall mean an outdoor area included in licensed premises, which is used for the service and consumption of alcoholic liquors and which is contained by a permanent fence, wall or other barrier approved by the Commission and shall be in compliance with all building and fire, or other applicable local ordinances. Reviewing the Schaffs plans for the patio space, Spencer told the Star-Herald it is acceptable. The plan they submitted was a very similar fence like to the Flyover Brewery has around their outdoor area and that was acceptable, Spencer told the Star-Herald. We can control that at the local level through our processes. (The fence) is just meant to distinguish where the liquor license stops, he added. Scanlan also asked about the use of protective coverings or awnings in the space, which Schaff said they do not plan to use any at this time. Based upon the location of the patio to the building, they anticipate the building will offer adequate shade for patrons. Council member Nathan Green voiced a concern about youths interaction with the patio area. Being that its a park kids are playing Frisbee and it flies into your area, Green said. You know, obviously, they cant jump the fence to get it. Schaff said they would take access into the space into consideration as they go through the design phase to accommodate for such a scenario, if allowable by state guidelines. With no further questions, the council motioned to unanimously approve the license agreement with Kersch, LLC. The Schaffs still must go through the process of obtaining a liquor license and will come before the city council seeking their recommendation to the commission. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. As the state of Nebraska experiences record-low unemployment levels, one crucial industry is struggling to retain and attract workers. The healthcare field hospitals, nursing homes and health centers alike is looking for additional help. As the pandemic is going on, we are suffering, quite frankly, now more than any other point, Jalene Carpenter, president and CEO of the Nebraska Health Care Association (NHCA), told the Star-Herald. A combination of pandemic burnout, early retirement and competition from contract staffing agencies has caused the states healthcare facilities to lose their workforce. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare workers have had to deal with various precautions and an increased workload of patients. This has caused many people close to retirement to leave early, Carpenter said. Newer workers might choose a different career if theyre not used to dealing with outbreaks. Jeremy Nordquist, president of the Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA), said the turnover rate for first-year nurses before the pandemic was around 10%. Since then, its grown to around 30%. That, combined with early retirees ... has put us in a real pinch, he said. ... We know we have to refill this pipeline of nurses as quickly as possible. Another factor to the shortage is the impact of contract staffing agencies. These agencies hire traveling nurses to work in different locations for stints of a few months each. They often pay significantly more than existing facilities can. Sometimes, nurses leave their facilities to join the agencies. This can lead to hospitals looking for out-of-state or out-of-country workers to fill the gap. Theres such an enormous amount of vacancies across the country that now were competing with each other ... its turned into a pricing war thats not sustainable, said Lori Mazanec, CEO of the Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance. ... When theres external forces pushing on our operations, it forces our attention elsewhere instead of on the ones (patients) were serving. External complications arise from other sources, too. A federal vaccination mandate for healthcare workers began on Monday, Feb. 14. Workers at all locations accepting Medicare or Medicaid must receive two coronavirus vaccine doses by March 15. These government sources account for more than half the funding of all NHA and NHCA facilities. Carpenter and Nordquist said the mandate hasnt led to many staff quitting, but it has created additional problems. Vendors who come in on a regular basis, such as construction workers, also need to be vaccinated. It can be difficult to ensure all such vendors have received the required number of doses. Nordquist said many hospitals in eastern Nebraska had as many as 90% of their staff vaccinated before the mandates kicked in. Several have raised that amount even higher. In the western part of the state, some hospitals had vaccination rates of just 60%, but Nordquist said his staff was trying to boost those numbers. Mazanec said the mandate didnt have much of an effect at the Box Butte General Hospital. Around three-quarters of her staff were already vaccinated, and the hospital granted several religious or medical exemptions. When theres a shortage of workers, facilities sometimes shuffle the roles of existing employees, rural facilities with fewer workers may need to suspend certain services altogether. However, the Nebraska healthcare industry is providing incentives to entice people to join the field. Nordquist said additional resources are being allocated to middle schools and high schools to promote working in healthcare. Facilities can also offer retention bonuses and student loan forgiveness. Mazanec said her hospital is offering a benefits package to attract new workers. The hospital also promotes the stability that having a job there can provide as opposed to the constant movement of a traveling nurse. The best way the industry can receive help, Carpenter and Nordquist said, is through legislative action. State senator John Stinner of Gering introduced several bills to distribute American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to nursing facilities and developmental disability services. In January, the states Dept. of Health and Human Services also allocated $61 million to increase provider rates and boost wages for workers at assisted living and nursing homes. Stinner said the extra funding would help fill the industrys vacancies. Thats what were trying to do: fill the COVID gap in terms of census ... and raise the pay scale, Stinner said. ... Im pretty confident that will be included in our final ARPA package and budget. Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. COCONUT ISLAND, Hawaii (AP) On a moonless summer night in Hawaii, krill, fish and crabs swirl through a beam of light as two researchers peer into the water above a vibrant reef. Minutes later, like clockwork, they see eggs and sperm from spawning coral drifting past their boat. They scoop up the fishy-smelling blobs and put them in test tubes. In this Darwinian experiment, the scientists are trying to speed up coral's evolutionary clock to breed "super corals" that can better withstand the impacts of global warming. For the past five years, the researchers have been conducting experiments to prove their theories would work. Now, they're getting ready to plant laboratory-raised corals in the ocean to see how they survive in nature. "Assisted evolution started out as this kind of crazy idea that you could actually help something change and allow that to survive better because it is changing," said Kira Hughes, a University of Hawaii researcher and the project's manager. SPEEDING UP NATURE Researchers tested three methods of making corals more resilient: Selective breeding that carries on desirable traits from parents. Acclimation that conditions corals to tolerate heat by exposing them to increasing temperatures. And modifying the algae that give corals essential nutrients. Hughes said the methods all have proven successful in the lab. And while some other scientists worried this is meddling with nature, Hughes said the rapidly warming planet leaves no other options. "We have to intervene in order to make a change for coral reefs to survive into the future," she said. When ocean temperatures rise, coral releases its symbiotic algae that supply nutrients and impart its vibrant colors. The coral turns white a process called bleaching and can quickly become sick and die. For more than a decade, scientists have been observing corals that have survived bleaching, even when others have died on the same reef. So, researchers are focusing on those hardy survivors, hoping to enhance their heat tolerance. And they found selective breeding held the most promise for Hawaii's reefs. "Corals are threatened worldwide by a lot of stressors, but increasing temperatures are probably the most severe," said Crawford Drury, chief scientist at Hawaii's Coral Resilience Lab. "And so that's what our focus is on, working with parents that are really thermally tolerant." A NOVEL IDEA In 2015, Ruth Gates, who launched the resilience lab, and Madeleine van Oppen of the Australian Institute of Marine Science published a paper on assisted evolution during one of the world's worst bleaching events. The scientists proposed bringing corals into a lab to help them evolve into more heat-tolerant animals. And the idea attracted Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who funded the first phase of research and whose foundation still supports the program. "We've given (coral) experiences that we think are going to raise their ability to survive," Gates told The Associated Press in a 2015 interview. Gates, who died of brain cancer in 2018, also said she wanted people to know how "intimately reef health is intertwined with human health." Coral reefs, often called the rainforests of the sea, provide food for humans and marine animals, shoreline protection for coastal communities, jobs for tourist economies and even medicine to treat illnesses such as cancer, arthritis and Alzheimers disease. A recent report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other research organizations concluded bleaching events are the biggest threat to the world's coral reefs. Scientists found that between 2009 and 2018, the world lost about 14% of its coral. Assisted evolution was not widely accepted when first proposed. Van Oppen said there were concerns about losing genetic diversity and critics who said the scientists were "playing gods" by tampering with the reef. "Well, you know, (humans) have already intervened with the reef for very long periods of time," van Oppen said. "All we're trying to do is to repair the damage." Rather than editing genes or creating anything unnatural, researchers are just nudging what could already happen in the ocean, she said. "We are really focusing first on as local a scale as possible to try and maintain and enhance what is already there." MILLIONS OF YEARS IN THE MAKING Still, there are lingering questions. "We have discovered lots of reasons why corals don't bleach," said Steve Palumbi, a marine biologist and professor at Stanford University. "Just because you find a coral that isn't bleaching in the field or in the lab doesn't mean it's permanently heat tolerant." Corals have been on Earth for about 250 million years and their genetic code is not fully understood. "This is not the first time any coral on the entire planet has ever been exposed to heat," Palumbi said. "So the fact that all corals are not heat resistant tells you ... that there's some disadvantage to it. And if there weren't a disadvantage, they'd all be heat resistant." But Palumbi thinks the assisted evolution work has a valuable place in coral management plans because "reefs all over the world are in desperate, desperate, desperate trouble." The project has gained broad support and spurred research around the world. Scientists in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Germany and elsewhere are doing their own coral resilience work. The U.S. government also backs the effort. Assisted evolution "is really impressive and very consistent with a study that we conducted with the National Academies of Sciences," said Jennifer Koss, the director of NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program. "We asked them to gather all the most recent cutting-edge science that was really centered on innovative interventions in coral reef management," Koss said. "And certainly, this assisted gene flow fits right in." MAJOR HURDLES There are still serious challenges. Scalability is one. Getting lab-bred corals out into the ocean and having them survive will be hard, especially since reintroduction has to happen on a local level to avoid bringing detrimental biological material from one region to another. James Guest, a coral ecologist in the United Kingdom, leads a project to show selectively bred corals not only survive longer in warmer water, but can also be successfully reintroduced on a large scale. "It's great if we can do all this stuff in the lab, but we have to show that we can get very large numbers of them out onto the reef in a cost-effective way," Guest said. Scientists are testing delivery methods, such as using ships to pump young corals into the ocean and deploying small underwater robots to plant coral. No one is proposing assisted evolution alone will save the world's reefs. The idea is part of a suite of measures with proposals ranging from creating shades for coral to pumping cooler deep-ocean water onto reefs that get too warm. The advantage of planting stronger corals is that after a generation or two, they should spread their traits naturally, without much human intervention. Over the next several years, the Hawaii scientists will place selectively bred coral back into Kaneohe Bay and observe their behavior. Van Oppen and her colleagues have already put some corals with modified symbiotic algae back on the Great Barrier Reef. With the world's oceans continuing to warm, scientists say they are up against the clock to save reefs. "All the work we are going to do here," said Hawaii's Drury, "is not going to make a difference if we don't wind up addressing climate change on a global, systematic scale. "So really, what we're trying to do is buy time." *** PHOTO GALLERY Submit Your News We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! 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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 North Korea has been building its own versions of the Russian AK-47 assault rifle since 1958. Back then Russia tolerated unauthorized versions of their new (since 1949) AK-47 7.62/39mm automatic assault rifle. The AK-47 had a 30-round magazine and that was very popular with armies that wanted its infantry to put out a lot of firepower when needed. The North Koreans AK-47 appeared in 1958 as the Type 58 rifle. North Korea only built 50,000 of these because it was difficult to manufacture. Russia solved that problem in 1959 with the AKM, an improved AK-47 that was easier and cheaper to produce. In 1968 North Korea introduced its version of the AKM; the Type 68. North Korea quickly produced several hundred thousand of these and continues production. In 1988 North Korea developed a unique AK-47 variant, the Type 88. This model included new standard features, including folding stock and a rail for a scope as well as the ability to use an under-barrel grenade launcher. One unique Type 88 accessory is a long helical magazine that feeds into the standard 30-round magazine well but also extends under the rifle barrel where it uses another attachment to keep that very large and heavy magazine in place. This design is similar to an earlier Russian magazine for one of their 9mm police submachine guns. The Type-88 version is much larger and heavier and apparently holds 150 rounds. This doubles the weight of the Type 88 carrying the standard 30-round magazine. This helical magazine version has been seen in parades, carried by special operations troops. Only about 300,000 Type 88 rifles were built, enough to equip special operations troops and some elite police units. Apparently, the helical magazine is used for operations that are expected to last long enough to not require a magazine change. No other nation has adopted the helical magazine, perhaps because it reduces the rate of fire and is more prone to jams if not used carefully. The American M-4 can use high-capacity (up to 100 round) box and drum magazines that are designed with reliability in mind. These are heavy and only used in special situations. The earlier M-16 used non-standard high-capacity magazines. After 2009 the M-4 began using NATO standard high-capacity magazine designs, but not widely. Russia finally invaded Ukraine yesterday after recognizing the two Russian-created governments in the half of Donbas that Russia has been keeping Ukrainian forces out of since 2014. By declaring these two republics as legitimate, Russia justified sending in troops as peacekeepers and threatening to invade the rest of Ukraine if Ukrainian forces fired back against more attacks by the local and Russian forces in these two republics. Russia reinforced this threat by threatening to base over 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border. As expected, not a lot of the nearly 200,000 Russian troops now near the Ukraine borders actually entered Ukraine. All, or most appeared to be volunteers, rather than the one-year conscripts that comprise half the strength of the armed forces. Few of the conscripts and even fewer of their parents are eager for the conscripts to be fighting neighbors. Russian airborne forces managed to take an airport ten kilometers outside Kyiv. Efforts to use that airport to bring in additional troops were disrupted by the Ukrainian use of Stinger portable anti-aircraft missiles as well as rifle and machine-gun fire at low flying aircraft. The airport was quickly attacked by a Ukrainian army rapid reaction force organized and trained for retaking key locations seized by Russian airborne forces. While the area around the airport was soon surrounded by regular reservists and armed volunteers, the Rapid Reaction unit retook the airport before the Russians could use larger transport aircraft to bring in more troops. Russia appears to have underestimated the preparations Ukraine have made since 2014 to deal with this kind of invasion. In addition to 150 local defense units (of at least battalion size) arrangements were made to quickly arm, train and deploy volunteers, which includes all physically able males aged 16 to 60. The regular army obtained more portable anti-aircraft weapons and trained special units to deal with any Russians that seized key objectives. All those armed Ukrainians were more of an obstacle that the Russians expected. The invaders are using about a dozen main roads from the border to objectives inside Ukraine. Within hours all those roads were under fire from the armed locals. Even convoys with numerous armed escorts were fired on and the Russians did not have enough troops to clear the roads of armed hostiles. Some convoys were halted by roadblocks and at least one Russian reconnaissance platoon was captured. While the Russians control most Ukrainian airspace and coastal waters, land areas remain under Ukrainian control. An amphibious assault on the major Black Sea port of Odessa failed and most ground advances appear to have stalled as well. One Russian column that did not encounter any resistance was the one into the Chernobyl radioactive zone. A large region around the Chernobyl power plant is still highly radioactive because of the 1986 nuclear meltdown of one of the reactors. This nuclear disaster, which the Soviets tried to keep quiet, was quickly exposed as major disasters and one of the reasons Ukrainians were so eager to leave the Soviet Union five years later. Most of the victims of the radioactivity were Ukrainian. The invading Russians replaced the Ukrainian security guards keeping people out of the 2,600 square kilometers (thousand square miles) radioactive exclusion zone near the Belarus border. After 1986 about 250,000 people were moved from the zone and since then only tourists were allowed in, under escort, for short periods. About 5,000 people guard the security zone and monitor the enormous concrete and steel structure now surrounding the still highly radioactive power plant uranium core. Those monitors spend fifteen days at a time in the zone and then two weeks outside it, with their radioactivity levels carefully monitored. Those monitor personnel appear to still be there, but now under Russian control. While Ukrainians comprised most of those killed by the melt down, about 70 percent of the initial radiation fell on what is now Belarus. For that reason, it seems unlikely the Russians would not arrange for an accident at the entombed nuclear core. Most Belarussians oppose Russia and their own dictator, which is currently kept in power by Russian forces. The main reason for taking control of the exclusion zone was that it is a key element of one of the shortest routes to Kyiv. So far Russian forces have not advanced much from the exclusion zone to the beleaguered Russian airborne troops trying to hold the airport. The outcome of the invasion will be more obvious within a week. Much depends on the effectiveness of the local resistance to Russian forces and the roads they use. It is currently the mud season in Ukraine where most of the snow is gone and replaced by weeks of mud, which limits off-road travel by wheeled vehicles. Another Problem There was another major flaw in the Russian plan; it is expensive and depends on the world price of oil and natural gas as well as Russian access to European markets. Oil and gas prices are at record highs right now, in part because the United States recently reduced its ability to produce a lot of oil and natural gas. Russia thought their oil and gas exports were safe but the angry response of NATO members to the Russian invasion led to something Russia had not expected, nor can afford to deal with. Not only were the West Europe customers for Russian natural gas willing to halt purchases and shut down the two new natural gas pipelines that go from Russia, via the Baltic, to Germany but also halt most trade and economic activity with Russia. This includes sanctioning major Russian banks that handled most of this trade and seizing billions in Russian assets in Europe. Russia is now in damage-control mode because Western trading partners are more united and willing to impose more economic sanctions than expected. The Belarus and Ukraine pipelines will continue to supply natural gas to Europe as well as Belarus and Ukraine. If Russia does manage to occupy all of Ukraine that could see an end to all natural gas exports to Europe. Oil and natural gas account for 60 percent of Russian exports and nearly half the government budget. Europe has been a major customer, obtaining 40 percent of its heating fuel from Russia. Even before 2014, growing dependence on Russian natural gas was seen as risky. Germany insisted the Russian were dependable and rational. Germany began having second thoughts after 2014, now agrees with the Russia critics and is ending all trade with Russia because of the invasion. East European NATO members warned Germany that Russia had not changed and continued to be a major threat. NATO is now moving more forces to NATO members that border Russia and these reinforcements may become permanent. During the Cold War, the majority of active NATO forces were stationed in West Germany, because the largest and best equipped Russian forces in East Europe were stationed in East Germany. The economic sanctions include tech exports and maintenance of any Western tech used in Russia. There are also individual sanctions against wealthy Russians with assets in Europe and the United States. Over the last two decades Vladimir Putin conducted a purge of the newly wealthy Russian oligarchs and soon the only ones left were those who supported Putin. Improved relations with Russia are only possible by Russia making dramatic changes in how it treats Ukraine and East Europe in general. Russia has repeatedly broken promises and formal agreements, so now only Russian actions have any meaning and Russia refuses to behave. Days before the invasion Russian leader Putin told his French counterpart that there would be no invasion. Now Russia is threatening to close all their airspace to foreign commercial traffic. This would be a return to Cold War conditions, when the Soviets shot down foreign airliners that wandered into Russian airspace or, in some cases, just appeared to. There are also the non-oil/gas exports which consist of many rare ores and gasses that are harder to replace in the West. Before the Cold War ended many of these items were not exported. Since 1991 Russia has also become dependent on the income from these exports. Once more it comes down to who can tolerate the most economic pain. Going back to Cold War rules would cost Russia more than anyone else and increase the economic suffering of the average Russian. The Russian economic decline since 2014 because of Western sanctions has been very real for the average Russian as personal income declines and the percentage of the population living in poverty increases. Efforts to restore the Russian Empire have some popularity among Russians if the economic cost to them is not too great. The new sanctions will be felt most by the average Russian and that is how the Soviet Union lost so much popular support that it collapsed. When it comes to popular unrest the main reason is usually economic and, if you follow the money, you discover who did what to create the mess. Ukraine, the target of all this Russian aggression, was motivated to resist militarily. This has been a very active tradition during the last century. Towards the end of World War I (1914-18), Ukraine was briefly independent once more. Ukrainians fought back after World War I ended and a civil war broke out in Russia that led to a communist victory and particularly harsh treatment of separatist Ukrainians. Stalin starved Ukraine in the early 1930s and felt justified because of its continued resistance to communist rule. This Holodomor (Great Hunger) killed over three million Ukrainians as too much Ukrainian grain was exported for hard currency. During World War II Ukrainian partisan fighters fought the Germans but many continued to fight returning Russian control late in the war. The armed Ukrainian separatists remained active into the early 1950s. The brutality with which Russia put down this resistance kept the Ukrainian anger alive into the 1980s and that played a role in Ukraine leaving the Russian empire. In the Russian occupied areas of Donbas, Russia assumed that unless harsh measures were taken there would be armed resistance there. While most of the locals were ethnic Russians imported decades before the Soviet Union collapsed, most spoke Ukrainian and welcomed Ukrainian independence in 1991. Russia spent a lot of money and effort to prevent an armed uprising within their Donbas territory. This was the reason so many ethnic Russian Ukrainians fled to Ukraine rather than take a job with the Russian militias or local governments. Even so there was a lot of violence within and between the local militias and Russia had to bring in specialists to identify and remove (kill) the most troublesome the militia leaders they were paying to fight the Ukrainian troops. Unlike the past, this time Ukraine has active foreign support from NATO neighbors and NATO in general. Since Putin declared the Donbas republics legitimate, pledges of military aid to Ukraine have increased, along with economic aid. The Syrian Money Pit In southern Syria (Daraa province) anti-Russian violence continues, along with attacks against Iranian forces. These cause over fifty dead and wounded each month. This level of violence has remained fairly constant for three years. This is part of the undeclared war between Iranian and Syrian forces going on there since 2018. Anonymous assassins use pistols and hidden bombs to kill those who work, or worked for, government forces or Russian and Syrian backed local militias. Russian and Assad forces openly drive Iran-backed groups and individuals out of the area. There is no open violence because Iran, Syria and Russia are still officially allies. Near the Israel border Russian and Syrian pressure has prevented Iranian attacks on Israel. Russia and Syria have also been checking locals to see if they are Lebanese Shia using stolen uniforms rather than Lebanese Shia wearing authorized Syrian army or police uniforms. This border security operation is a big deal for Syria and Israel and a major embarrassment for Iran, which is why Iran has not cranked up its usual media outrage to complain. Israel will sometimes fire on Iranian forces operating in Daraa, especially near the Israeli border. Israel also shares intel with Russia and Syria about Syrian officers who are secretly working for Iran. The Iranians pay well, and in dollars. Israel will sometimes release evidence of this to the media, so that Iranians back home have another reason to oppose Irans foreign wars. Negotiations have been underway between Iran and Russia/Syria for over a year but are not making much progress. The covert Iranian violence is just another incentive for Syria to get the Iranian agents out of the area. In the northwest (Idlib province) Assad forces continue their campaign to liberate and take control of the rebel-held portions of the province. This is being done with a lot of material assistance from Russia in the form of airstrikes and resupply of artillery shells and rockets fired by the Syrians into Idlib. Taking Idlib has to be done with the cooperation of the Turks, who do not want the 30,000 or 40,000 armed rebels trapped in Idlib and parts of adjacent Aleppo province, along with over a million pro-rebel civilians, forcing their way into Turkey. Why risk death from Turkish border guards and defenses? Because if the Assads get control of Idlib and its current population, the justifiably feared Assad secret police will arrive and interrogate (torture) those with a record of rebel activity. In other pro-rebel areas where the Assads took control, the secret police did their work and a lot of local civilians disappeared. This is not an issue with the Arab League, Turkey, Russia or Iran because all use similar techniques. The Assads simply do it more often. February 24, 2022: Russia launched a limited invasion of Ukraine, advancing from about six directions, plus an airborne assault on an airport near Kyiv. Several ballistic missiles hit Kyiv at 4 AM local time. Within 24 hours Ukraine reported that about fifty people had been killed by the missile strikes, and about 150 wounded. Military casualties were about twice that during the first 24 hours of combat, where Russian airstrikes, mainly via ballistic missiles, were against military targets. Russia hoped to wipe out most of the Ukrainian air force but discovered that most of the aircraft had been dispersed to remote locations where they could land and take off on highways and operate safely at low altitudes. Commercial satellite photos were soon available to provide a more accurate picture of what was happening. February 22, 2022: Russia recognized the two areas in eastern Ukraine occupied by local mercenaries and Russian troops to be independent nations. Russia already controlled half of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. Russian plans to seize all of these provinces were thwarted by the surprisingly swift and effective Ukrainian military opposition to the Russian effort. By the end of 2014 it was clear that the Ukrainians were too strong to push out of those provinces and Russia held elections that approved the portions of those two provinces as independent states called the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. Over the next few years Russian integrated these two republics into the Russian economy and issued Russian passports to those who wanted them. Many residents of the new republics wanted no part of being part of Russia once more and left, or at least tried to. Russia did not officially recognize the two mini-states until today, and promptly announced that more Russian troops would be sent in as peacekeepers to protect the two states from Ukrainian aggression. The reaction in Ukraine and East Europe was outrage and the realization that some of them are next. The rest of the world was less clear about who to blame and how to react. Western nations, particularly the United States, cannot agree on what was responsible for Russian aggressiveness towards Ukraine and Ukrainian efforts to join NATO. One argument is that if the U.S. has blocked the expansion of NATO into eastern Europe, Russia would not be so intent on invading Ukraine. The history-minded point out that the original reason for NATO was to keep the Russians out, the Germans down and the Americans in (Europe). With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, after all the pro-Russia communist dictatorships in East Europe had recently collapsed and gone democratic, the situation was the same, just a bit different. By 1991 Germany had been reunited and proved much less aggressive than it had ever been. The Americans pulled most of their troops out of Europe and understood that East European nations wanted to join NATO because Russia was still a threat. Ukraine thought they were safe because they signed an agreement with Russia in 1994 in which Russia promised to never attempt to seize Ukraine or any part of Ukraine. In return Ukraine got rid of the nuclear warheads it had inherited from the former Soviet Union. The Americans brokered this deal and were unofficially supposed to enforce it if needed. Neither Russia nor the Americans respected the terms of this deal when Russia violated it in 2014 by seizing Crimea and attempting to seize two provinces in eastern Ukraine. The Americans imposed economic sanctions, which hurt but did not hinder Russian efforts to take all of Ukraine. After 2014 the majority of Ukrainians wanted to join NATO, which seemed to provide more security from Russian invasion than the 1994 treaty. The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 because no one was willing to die to prevent that. The last Soviet government did the math and realized that too much of the population, especially the majority that were not ethnic Russians, including fellow Slavs in Ukraine and Belarus, were willing to die for their independence from communist rule. Vladimir Putin, the elected Russian leader for the last two decades, was a junior KGB officer in 1991 and was willing to fight back to preserve the Soviet state. There were not enough like him and since the KGB recruited the best and the brightest as officers, most of them acknowledged that open resistance was suicidal and kept quiet. These KGB officers were patient, because they also realized that the new Russia was thoroughly corrupt and unprepared to make a democracy work. After spending about a decade reducing corruption and improving the economy, the new KGB government proceeded to try and rebuild the empire. That became very obvious in 2014 and not everyone in the West appreciated what was going on here. Nations formerly controlled by or part of the Soviet Union had no illusions about what the Russians were doing and wanted help from the West to maintain their independence. February 21, 2022: In the Donbas, Russian forces increased their artillery and machine-gun fire against Ukrainian forces. The Russians said they were defending themselves from Ukrainian efforts to advance. There was no proof of that and this sort of thing has been going on since 2014, despite several ceasefire agreements and the presence of foreign monitors to verify compliance. The monitors noted that the Russians were usually at fault because they fired first and the Ukrainians returned fire which the Russians claimed was an unprovoked attack. Eventually the foreign observers were expelled from Russian held areas. The Ukrainians are no longer firing back, because the Russians announced that would be considered an attack on Russia and the response would be massive. February 20, 2022: In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces increased its efforts to get Ukrainian forces to fire back at the increased artillery fire from Russian controlled areas. The discipline of the Ukrainian troops is frustrating for the Russians, who have less control over the mercenaries and Russians troops (in plain uniforms) they already have in their half 0f the Donbas. Civilians in Russian controlled areas are also fed up with the Russian tactics. Since 2014 Russian violence in Donbas has killed 14,000 and wounded about 30,000. Most of the casualties have been civilians in Ukrainian territory. The Russian forces have suffered casualties but few civilians in the Russian controlled areas have. About 1.5 million civilians have fled the Donbas, most of them from the Ukrainian side of the ceasefire line. More civilians on the Russian side want to flee now that they are officially living in what will eventually be declared part of Russia. Local members of the Russia-backed militias in Donbas are also leaving their militias and also want out of Russian controlled territory. Local militias have had growing problems with recruiting in the last few years, despite the high unemployment in Russian controlled Donbas. February 15, 2022: After two weeks of negotiations, Britain and Poland have agreed to join Ukraine in dealing with cyber security, energy security and Russian disinformation efforts. This is not a military alliance, but it does pledge Polish and British aid to deal with some of the weapons Russia is using against Ukraine. February 9, 2022: In western Syria (Latakia province) Russian forces turned on their wide area electronic jamming equipment briefly, and caused problems for commercial aircraft in Israel and Turkey. This has happened several times recently. Israel protested this and Russia said it was necessary because their military bases were threatened. Latakia province is an Assad stronghold but it borders Idlib province, where some Islamic terror groups continue trying to launch attacks on the Russian bases. In response Russia has brought in a wide array of electronic countermeasures, some of them it uses rarely because it disrupts Israeli GPS systems. Since late 2015 Russian electronic jamming equipment has been arriving in Syria, initially to jam ISIL and NATO communications. Some NATO radars and satellite signals were also jammed. NATO is already familiar with some of these jammers, particularly the truck mounted Krasukha-4, which was encountered in eastern Ukraine (Donbas). Russia has also brought in a lot more electronic data collection and analysis equipment to listen on ISIL and NATO communications when not jamming them. This involves jamming low orbit space satellites as well. In response NATO and Israel have deployed more EW gear and personnel and this has led to a generally unseen (and unreported) electronic war over Syria. Israel demonstrated that they could handle Russian jamming, with the side effect of disrupting Russian air defense systems. As a result of this Russia and Israel added electronic jammers to the list of things they wont use on each other in Syria. Exceptions are made when the Russian Latakia faces an unexpected threat. Russia supplies details to Israel. This information is rarely made public. February 8, 2022: Russia arrested a North Korean cryptography expert who was in Russia on official business but was detected trying to arrange asylum in the West via the UN refugee agency. Defections of important tech experts or government officials has been an increasing problem for North Korea and for that reason few potential defectors are allowed outside North Korea except to friendly (likely to arrest and extradite) nations like Russia and China. North Korea has sent additional secret police agents to Russia to work with the Russians to discover who the individuals are that are assisting North Koreans in Russian legally to escape to other parts of Russia and eventually reach any country that does not cooperate with North Korea in these matters. Russia considers these defection supporters to be spies. Most of these defection supporters appear to be Russians who are ethnic Koreans and speak Korean. February 4, 2022: Turkey and Ukraine have agreed to a free trade pact that both countries are touting as a very mutually beneficial deal. Of course, the free trade agreement announcement comes as Russia brings more troops to its Ukrainian border, threatening to invade and seize additional Ukrainian territory beyond what its Russian backed separatist forces control. The trade deal makes a key diplomatic statement as does the on-going Turkey-Ukraine bilateral diplomacy. Turkey has become a major Ukrainian ally. The Turkish government reported the value of its trade with Ukraine during 2021 was around $7.4 billion in 2021, up from $4.7 billion in 2020. Turkey, a member of NATO, has also supplied Ukraine with military equipment including the Bayraktar TB2 armed UAV. Ukrainian forces have used the TB2 to attack the Russian forces in the Donbas region. NATO is threatening Russia with sanctions should it invade. Presumably Turkey would invoke sanctions. But look at the diplomacy involved. President Erdogan is positioning himself to act as a mediator to end the Russian-manufactured crisis. Though Turkey and Russia have several serious foreign policy disagreements, Syria and Libya among them, Erdogan has managed to maintain a veneer of good relations with Russian president Putin. There is also the matter of Turkish wheat imports. Russia is Turkeys top wheat supplier. In 2021 Turkey imported around 5.6 million tons from Russia, but that was a major reduction from prior years. In 2021 Turkey imported a record amount of Ukrainian wheat, some 1.4 million tons. Ukraine is Turkeys Number 2 wheat supplier and Turkey is interested in buying more Ukrainian grain. Turkey has a keen culinary interest in avoiding war between its two primary grain suppliers. January 27, 2022: Russia believes that about 6,000 Islamic terrorists are based in northern Afghanistan and often used for attacks across the borders of nations that Russia is on good terms and sometimes (as with Tajikistan) provides troops to help with border security. January 24, 2022: Russian announced that Russian and Syrian warplanes, including early warning aircraft, would conduct joint patrols along Syrians southern borders to detect and prevent airstrikes from Israel. This was all largely symbolic because Israeli warplanes rarely enter Syrian air space to carry out attacks on targets in Syria. Instead, Israel uses air-to-surface missiles launched from Israeli fighters in Israeli, Lebanese or Jordanian air space. This is what happened a week later when Israel carried out several air strikes against Iranian weapons warehouses outside Damascus. These are operated and guarded by Lebanese Hezbollah gunmen. January 22, 2022: American officers at AFRICOM (Africa Command) confirmed that there were several hundred Russia Wagner Group military contractors in Mali, despite the coup government denying it. In 2021 The Mali military government announced that it planned to spend $10.8 million a month to hire a thousand Wagner Group military trainers. These trainers will also accompany some Mali troops into combat zones but will not operate as combat units unless paid for that and the combat surcharge is more than what Mali is paying for training. Wagner Group had been busy during the last decade and still has, or recently had contingents in Libya, Syria, Central African Republic and Mozambique. Against poorly armed and trained local irregulars the Wagner personnel are effective, but against professionals. like Turks in Libya and Americans in Syria, they take heavy losses and back off. They took casualties in Mozambique because the government refused to use its own troops and sought to suppress an Islamic terrorist uprising using a small number of Russian and South African military contractors. That worked for a while but at the cost of heavy casualties among the contractors. This sort of thing is bad for business and recruiting and the contractors pulled back from Mozambique, which has brought in Rwandan. Wagner Group is unique among military contractors in that it was created by Russian president Vladimir Putin and reports directly to him. Sort of Putins Private Army. Putin asked a veteran spetsnaz (special operations) officer to organize and run the operation whose name comes from the radio call sign its commander once used. Wagner does not work for free; every customer has to pay and several African governments are doing so. Wagner Group provides media and political support to local governments that brought it in. An example of this is Russia and the Mali coup leaders both accusing the French of sustaining colonial rule. This angle serves the coup leaders and Wagner because it makes it patriotic to expel some contingents of European troops. Wagner is also foreign, but they have been hired by the coup government and thus considered serving Mali, not practicing some form of colonialism. French and foreign donor efforts against corruption are portrayed by the corrupt coup leaders as another example of French colonialism. This may seem absurd to outsiders but the coup government controls most mass media, the security forces and can justify attacking any hostile demonstration and protecting supportive ones. January 21, 2022: In the Central African Republic (or CAR) the UN is investigating the alleged killing of at least 30 people near the town of Bria between January 16 and 17. CAR security forces and mercenaries working for the Russian Wagner Group were involved in the deaths. Late Thursday morning, several service agencies set up in the parking lot next door to the Alabama Street homeless camp and spent the afternoon handing out resource information, supplies and meals. Before the pandemic, Cowlitz County Health and Human Services held Project Homeless Connect with dozens of vendors to connect people to housing support and information, mental health services, medical and dental screenings, veterans benefits, a warm meal, free haircuts and other supplies. Disrupted by COVID-19 a second time, this year organizers changed to an outreach approach. Were thankful the city is allowing us to use their lot to bring the event to the people it serves, said Melisa Linden, Cowlitz County social services coordinator. The event is held in conjunction with the Point in Time Count, an annual census held one day of the year of unsheltered and sheltered homeless people. The count typically is held in mid-January but was pushed back because of high COVID-19 cases last month. Along with those surveyed at the camp, the state will count people registered in programs that use the Homeless Management Information System, such as Community House on Broadway and the Emergency Support Shelter. Cowlitz County Health and Human Services also partnered with the Woodland Action Center to count people they serve. Alongside the county, staff from organizations including CORE Health and the Cowlitz Family Health Center completed Point in Time surveys at the Alabama Street camp. The groups also distributed donated items including blankets, hats, scarves, gloves, socks, hygiene products and masks; and backpacks containing ponchos, reusable utensils, a water bottle and hand warmers. Medical Teams International provided COVID-19 vaccines to people who wanted them. The Longview Salvation Army served hot coffee and handed out the 130 hot meals brought for people living at the camp and staff conducting the surveys. Linden said the event got a lot of turnout as of 12:30 p.m. Staff from agencies that operate coordinated entry access points were able to assess people and give out resource guides, she said. The coordinated entry system assesses and refers homeless people or those at risk of losing housing to housing programs and other services. Organizers are thankful to the agencies and individuals that donated items to distribute Thursday, Linden said. The community does step up and wrap services around people when it comes to Project Homeless Connect, she said. Salvation Army Major Phil Smith said the organization offered to hold the donations and has been distributing them over the past month because in years past people ended up with too many items that went to waste. The Salvation Army has handed out the items during its weekly trips to the camp to serve meals and has offered them to its daily lunch attendees and food box clients, Smith said. State law requires each county to conduct an annual homeless count. Counties must complete the count to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the state Department of Commerce. Last year, the state didnt hold an unsheltered count but pulled the numbers of people living in shelters from the Homeless Management Information System, said Gena James, county health and human services deputy director. The state has not posted the results from the 2021 count. The 2020 Point in Time Count recorded 328 sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in the Cowlitz County, down by about 19% from 406 in 2019. James said previously the count doesnt capture everyone experiencing homelessness and the county uses it as a snapshot of the local situation. The state uses the count for grant applications, and the federal government uses the data to make funding decisions. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Bitcoins correlation to stocks continued to strengthen as the largest cryptocurrency rebounded along other risk assets as fast-moving developments related to Russias invasion of Ukraine whipsawed investors. Bitcoins correlation to stocks continued to strengthen as the largest cryptocurrency rebounded along other risk assets as fast-moving developments related to Russias invasion of Ukraine whipsawed investors. Bitcoin, which is the largest digital currency, fluctuated in a range of about 14% on Thursday. A 60-day correlation between the digital token and S&P 500 currently stands at 0.6, out of a highest possible score of 1, indicating similar behavior. Crypto is slowly becoming a more institutional market, Callie Cox, U.S. investment analyst at eToro, said by phone. Its gone from this speculative asset to an investment vehicle. Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here. Also read: Markets rebounded in U.S. afternoon trading when President Joe Biden announced stiff sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, Bitcoin price fell while gold was rising as investors sought traditional refuges, undercutting the often-touted argument from advocates that the cryptocurrency is now a digital version of the long-time haven asset. Crypto Got Dirtier After China Kicked Out Miners, Study Finds The planet-warming emissions created by crypto mining rose after China outlawed the industry last year and miners lost access to the countrys clean hydropower, a new study says. The share of renewable electricity used to power the Bitcoin network dropped from more than 40% in 2020 to about 25% in August 2021, according to estimates from a study published in energy research journal Joule. Miners that fled China were more likely to power operations with natural gas, doubling its share of the electricity mix to about 31%. And while Chinese miners also burned coal to power operations, the miners that moved to Kazakhstan began using a type of coal with an even higher carbon content, the study said. After the Bitcoin miners got kicked out of China, they were forced to migrate to countries like the U.S. and Kazakhstan and unfortunately that has led to a reduction in the use of renewable energy sources in the network, Alex de Vries, one of the authors of the peer-reviewed study, said in a phone interview Friday. Bottom line is the carbon intensity of the network has gone up. Bitcoin mining uses computers that run complex calculations to maintain the cryptocurrencys network, with successful miners rewarded in the virtual currency. Climate advocates have condemned the industry for sucking up as much electricity as entire countries, while miners say their operations often run on clean power and can encourage the development of less polluting energy sources. Credit: Lufthansa A collaboration between engineers at Lufthansa Technik and chemicals and coatings manufacturer BASF has resulted in the creation of AeroSHARKa thin film coating that can be applied to an aircraft's outer skin to reduce drag and thus fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Swiss International Airlines has posted a blog entry on their website describing the film and the benefits the company expects to get from it. Lufthansa Technik has also posted a blog entry detailing the development of AeroSHARK. The thin film was developed as part of an effort kicked off by engineers at Lufthansa looking for ways to reduce the cost of fuel for their planes. To that end, they looked to nature, and more specifically, sharkscreatures who have been streamlined over millions of years of evolution. The researchers found that shark skin is covered with millions of "riblets," which are protrusions that run the length of their bodies. The engineers then teamed up with a group at BASF to create a similar type of skin for aircraft. The result was the creation of AeroSHARK, a clear, thin skin with millions of riblets, each just 50 micrometers high. Testing showed that the material reduces drag. The researchers found that by applying the skin to the entire fuselage and engines of a Boeing 777, they could reduce fuel consumption by 1.1%. Swiss estimates that the skin will result in reductions in fuel consumption across its fleet by 4,800 metric tons a year, which, in turn, will result in reducing carbon emissions by 15,200 metric tons. They suggest that amount is equivalent to 87 long-haul flights from Zurich to Mumbai. Swiss plans to coat all 12 of its 777-300ER airplanes with AeroSHARK starting this summer. Meanwhile, Lufthansa has begun coating all of its large cargo aircraft with the new skin. Credit: Lufthansa Swiss also notes that they will be working with Lufthansa Technik and BASF to collect data on the benefits of using AeroSHARK to further improve the performance of the skin and to find out if it can be used on the wings as well. Explore further Lufthansa cancels China flights through to late March 2022 Science X Network Credit: CC0 Public Domain Fred Closter doesn't like Florida Power & Light. When the Boynton Beach retiree spent $24,000 to install solar panels on the roof of his Boynton Beach home a year ago, he decided not to rely on the utility to power his home when the panels weren't generating electricity at night and when it rains. So he dropped another $16,000 on two large lithium ion batteries made by Tesla that can power the home for up to a day and a half if his panels aren't producing. If a hurricane or other severe storm with the potential to create power outages approaches, the Closters' solar provider, SunPower, will remotely direct the system to charge their batteries so their power won't be interrupted. But as FPL pursues changes in state law that would let them hike fees on solar owners who use none of their electricity, Closter will likely never realize his dream of fully escaping FPL's grasp. His setup is undeniably impressive: Mounted atop the Closters' clay tile roof is an 18-panel photovoltaic solar system that captures sunlight and sends it through an inverter that converts the direct current generated by the panels into alternating current used to power the house. From the inverter, it flows both into the house and into the storage batteries, or back to the grid for distribution to other FPL customers. A wifi-enabled monitoring device connects to an app on Closter's phone that let's him see how much power is being generated, make necessary adjustments, and control the house's heating and air conditioning system whether or not the couple is home. The batteries put the couple on the cutting edge of a growing but expensive trend that only a fraction of solar adoptees can afford to follow. Why they did it Closter, who moved into the house seven years ago after retiring from a career selling residential and commercial pump systems on Long Island, New York, said he bought the system for three reasons: One, he wants to do his part to help wean the planet off of fossil fuels. "My daughter and grandchildren live in Alaska," he says. "That state is losing permafrost and glaciers like crazy." Two, he doesn't like FPL's involvement in state politics, its need to generate profits for its investor-owners, and the fact that it charges its customers extra fees for services like surge protectors. And three, "I have an ego. I like to be the first one on the block to have something to talk about at the pool." The batteries enable Closter and his wife to live almost independently of FPL's power grid because they buy virtually no power from the utility. They spend just $10 a month on average to stay connected. That's a drastic reduction from the $90 or $100 they paid each month before installing the system. A 26% federal tax credit for solar systems and storage batteries helped reduce the $40,000 upfront cost by $10,400. Closter, 80, says he doesn't expect to live for the 20 years he figures he would need to recoup his $29,600 net investment. Utility costs could rise, even with batteries But that sweet $10-a-month charge won't be lasting much longer. Beginning in June, all FPL customers will be billed a minimum of $25 a month if the retail cost of the kilowatt hours they consume does not exceed that price. The minimum bill will apply to solar users like the Closters who buy none or very little power in any given month, as well as to seasonal residents who shut down their homes for any amount of time during the year. But that's not the biggest cost driver facing the Closters and thousands of fellow rooftop solar owners. They all face increased fees if a net metering reform bill that FPL helped write is enacted by the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis this year. The bill would enable the state Public Service Commission to reduce the value of credits that solar system owners, with or without batteries, receive for excess energy sent back to the grid, and to increase fixed costs imposed on rooftop solar customers like the Closters, regardless of how much energy they get from FPL. The utility asserts that its 37,700 rooftop solar customers aren't paying their fair share of costs required to maintain FPL's overall electric grid. Because a 2008 law requires FPL to buy excess electricity generated by solar customers at its full retail rate, those customers avoid about $90 a month in costsor $30 million a yearthat its 4.5 million non-solar users are forced to cover, the utility says. As more households adopt rooftop solar, FPL projects that the cost shift will increase to $80 million by 2025 "and rapidly grow from there." Senate and House versions of the bill include compromises intended to ease existing solar customers' transitions to lower buyback rates and higher fixed charges. The Senate version would retain the current net metering rate design for anyone who installs a rooftop solar system until Jan. 1 of next year, as well as households with existing solar systems. Whether that grandfather clause would apply to fixed-rate charges is not spelled out in the bill. FPL spokesman Christopher McGrath said in an interview that if the reforms are enacted, pricing and billing changes must be approved by the Public Service Commission. With batteries, net metering is 'peanuts' Even if net metering rates are not grandfathered in for existing solar system owners, Closter's decision to purchase batteries to store his excess electricity shields him from effects of any reduction in buyback rates. That's because his buyback rates are already so low, they're barely noticeable to him. Since his batteries enable him to avoid buying any power from FPL most months, he gets little monetary value for the power he sends back to the grid. FPL only provides retail-rate credit for excess energy when it offsets power that solar users buy from the utility at retail rates. Any electricity that customers generate that exceeds what they buy from FPL each month is added to a reserve that accumulates through the end of each calendar year, then gets cashed out at about a quarter of the retail rate. In December, FPL sends the customer a checkor credits the customer's billfor the accumulated kilowatt hours at its wholesale, or "avoided cost" rate. So instead of getting paid the retail rate of about 10 cents for each of the 2,159 kWhs he sent back to the grid, which would have given him about $216, Closter got a bill credit last December for $55or 2.6 cents per kWh. That's the rate FPL could pay for any power it buys from solar customers if reforms are enacted. "Net metering is peanuts!" he scoffed. With his storage batteries, "the only way for the system to pay for itself isn't by selling power to FPL, it's by avoiding FPL selling power to you." Without batteries, net metering pays for solar system For customers without storage batteries, net metering can be the difference between affording or foregoing a solar system. Without batteries, rooftop solar owners must buy from a utility to maintain power at night and when it rains. And they can only send back the difference between what they generate but don't use while the sun is shining. So even after getting credited the full retail rate for what they send back, most rooftop solar owners still owe FPL at the end of each month. Because their homes tend to be larger than average, solar users' monthly bills average $80 a month, McGrath said. Yet the cost savings rooftop solar systems without batteries generate is what low- and middle-income homeowners use to finance their systems, solar industry members say. Without those savings, they say, solar becomes unaffordable for anyone who's not well off. While the residential solar energy industry is fiercely opposed to the proposed net metering reforms, the industry isn't exactly encouraging existing rooftop solar owners to adopt Fred Closter's solution and buy storage batteries. Should battery-stored power be shared? Solar installers that comprise SEIA's membership need generous net metering rates to remain in place to keep solar affordable for low- and middle-income purchasers, who are seen as the bread and butter of solar's future. If slashing net metering buy-back rates leaves storage batteries as the only way to recoup a rooftop solar investment, that knocks out those low- and middle-income homeowners who can't come up with $30,000 or $40,000, said Will Giese, southeast regional director of the trade group Solar Energy Industries Association. Also, it's too early in the development of storage battery technology to know if prices will come down, and by how much, in the coming years, he said. The association would like to see utilities provide incentives for battery owners to reserve, for example, 20% of their stored energy for potential use across the grid during peak periods. Hawaii Electric Co. unveiled a similar program in June and handed out bonuses for early adopters. "That would benefit all ratepayers on the grid," he said. "But I have not seen any utility in Florida propose this concept publicly." Closter says even if the net metering reforms force him to pay a fixed monthly bill as high as $50, he'd still be satisfied with his investment. "Obviously, I wouldn't be happy and it would make the system less affordable," he said. "But the money isn't what made me want to do it in the first place. I wanted to have a smaller carbon footprint, do our fair share, and become more efficient." Explore further Four ways to stop Australia's surge in rooftop solar from destabilising electricity prices 2022 South Florida Sun Sentinel. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Scenario where the Inter-Frame Hungarian Algorithm ensures that radar reflections across consecutive frames from the same object(s) are still labeled, even if YOLO fails intermittently. Credit: Sengupta, Yoshizawa & Cao. In recent years, roboticists and computer scientists have been developing a wide range of systems that can detect objects in their environment and navigate it accordingly. Most of these systems are based on machine learning and deep learning algorithms trained on large image datasets. While there are now numerous image datasets for training machine learning models, those containing data collected using radar sensors are still scarce, despite the significant advantages of radars over optical sensors. Moreover, many of the available open-source radar datasets are not easy to use for different user applications. Researchers at University of Arizona have recently developed a new approach to automatically generate datasets containing labeled radar data-camera images. This approach, presented in a paper published in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, uses a highly accurate object detection algorithm on the camera image-stream (called YOLO) and an association technique (known as the Hungarian algorithm) to label radar point-cloud. "Deep-learning applications using radar require a lot of labeled training data, and labeling radar data is non-trivial, an extremely time and labor-intensive process, mostly carried out by manually comparing it with a parallelly obtained image data-stream," Arindam Sengupta, a Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona and primary researcher for the study, told TechXplore. "Our idea here was that if the camera and radar are looking at the same object, then instead of looking at images manually, we can leverage an image-based object detection framework (YOLO in our case) to automatically label the radar data." The auto-labeling algorithm at work on real camera-radar data acquired at a traffic intersection in Tucson, Arizona. Credit: Sengupta, Yoshizawa & Cao. Three characterizing features of the approach introduced by Sengupta and his colleagues are its co-calibration, clustering and association capabilities. The approach co-calibrates a radar and its camera to determine how an object's location detected by the radar would translate in terms of a camera's digital pixels. "We used a density-based clustering scheme (DBSCAN) to a) detect and remove noise/stray radar returns; and b) segregate radar returns in clusters to distinguish between distinct objects," Sengupta said. "Finally, an intra-frame and an inter-frame Hungarian algorithm (HA) is used for association. The intra-frame HA associated the YOLO predictions to the co-calibrated radar clusters in a given frame, while the inter-frame HA associated the radar clusters pertaining to the same object over consecutive frames to account for labeling radar data in frames even when optical sensors fail intermittently." In the future, the new approach introduced by this team of researchers could help to automate the generation of radar-camera and radar-only datasets. In addition, in their paper the team explored both proof-of-concept classification schemes based on a radar-camera sensor-fusion approach and on data collected only by radars. "We also suggested the use of an effective 12-dimensional radar feature vector, constructed using a combination of spatial, Doppler and RCS statistics, rather than the traditional use of either just the point-cloud distribution or just the micro-doppler data," Sengupta said. Ultimately, the recent study carried out by Sengupta and his colleagues could open new possibilities for the rapid investigation and training of deep learning-based models for classifying or tracking objects using sensor-fusion. These models could help to enhance the performance of numerous robotic systems, ranging from autonomous vehicles to small robots. Steps leading up to the intra-frame YOLO-radar association, which then results in the radar clusters getting labeled. Credit: Sengupta, Yoshizawa & Cao. "Our lab at the University of Arizona conducts research on data-driven mmWave radar research targeting autonomous, healthcare, defense and transportation domains," Dr. Siyang Cao, an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona and Principal Investigator for the study, told TechXplore. "Some of our ongoing research include investigating robust sensor-fusion based tracking schemes and further improving stand-alone mmWave radar perception using classical signal processing and deep learning." Explore further A new look at quantum radar suggests it might boost accuracy more than thought More information: Automatic radar-camera dataset generation for sensor-fusion applications. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters(2022). Automatic radar-camera dataset generation for sensor-fusion applications.(2022). DOI: 10.1109/LRA.2022.3144524 2022 Science X Network remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced early Thursday in a televised address that he had decided to conduct a special military operation aimed at the demilitarization and denazification of the Ukraine. Moments later, Ukraine faced a barrage of missiles and air attacks while Russian troops marched toward the capital city of Kyiv. President Joe Biden condemned Putin for the invasion when he addressed the nation later in the day and announced a new round of sanctions that would punish Russia. Biden also stressed that the U.S. had no plans to send troops into Ukraine, but would defend its NATO allies in the event Russia progressed beyond Ukraines borders. The sanctions will block exports on technology in an attempt to limit Russias ability to advance its military and aerospace technology. These sanctions also will target Russian banks and elites by freezing Russian assets in the U.S. to put pressure on corrupt billionaires close to Putin. Larry Napper, professor of the practice at Texas A&M Universitys Bush School of Government, said it appears to be a full-scale invasion with high-tech weaponry that includes guided missiles, attack aircrafts, assault troops and a plethora of Russian power that had been arrayed around Ukraine for the past couple of weeks. This is an epic tragedy of epic proportion. This is serious stuff not only for Russia and for Ukraine, but also for Europe as a whole and for the United States, Napper said. Napper said while the sanctions will not stop the ongoing military action, the severe cost on the Russian economy and on the circle of elites around Putin will weaken the power structure that Putin depends on. I think Biden has it right to not put American combat troops on the ground in Ukraine, this would raise the possibility of some kind of unauthorized, inadvertent or mistaken clash that could occur between Russian and U.S. forces that could entail the possibility of an escalation that is in no ones interest, Napper said. Andrew Natsios, director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs and executive professor at the Bush School of Government, said the Scowcroft Institute published a set of essays on Russia in 2018 that warned some of the ongoing events would happen at an undetermined time. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Natsios said the United States and Europe helped modernize Russia with billions of dollars in aid, but Putin destroyed their progress by turning Russia back into a dictatorship and eliminating political opponents, scholars, an independent judiciary system and an independent news media outlet. What weve seen him do in Russia he wants to do in other countries, Natsios said. Ukraine was pulling itself away from that mindset and he did not like it. Its too much of a risk to have a country the size of Ukraine cleaning up their corruption which theyre gradually beginning to do. Natsios said the sanctions imposed by the U.S. has made it look weak, incompetent and unable to respond to Russian aggression. Natsios said Putin will only respond to military power, and the U.S. needs to keep its treaty obligations to support its allies. There is a threat now and we need to mobilize ourselves and our allies. The problem is we need a Winston Churchill to lead us. We dont have it in the White House, and we dont have it in either party I might add, Natsios said. While the U.S. has no plans to send troops to Ukraine, Natsios said America should help the Ukrainians by supplying them with weapons to repel the Russians. Natsios said he believes NATO members Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia could be at risk from a Russian invasion in the near future, and the U.S. should deploy more troops than what has been authorized to NATO allies. Theres Americans saying its not our business, but thats what they said in 1939. How many Americans died in World War II? Hitler declared war against us, we were attacked in Pearl Harbor, Natsios said. Are we sitting here being naive again? Our biggest trading partners and closest allies are in Europe and they are at risk right now. Program for Humanitarian Aid (PHA) is a local non-profit organization thats involved with humanitarian aid projects in Ukraine. PHA has an ongoing ministry in Ukraine that partners with government-run orphanages that help children transition to become successful Christian adults while staying in their own country and culture, said Chris Hill, PHAs co-executive director. Its been an unfortunate situation that a lot of outlets have been saying was coming for a while, but its unfortunate when we actually get here to see people who have nothing to do with the situation stuck in a really dangerous situation, Hill said. Christy Hill, PHA co-executive director, said as of Thursday morning those within Ukraines ministry were safe. Chris Hill said those running the ministry were staying in their communities and were committed to serving the youth who they have worked with for years. As an organization were just preparing to help our people on the ground there in any way possible, Christy Hill said. We have shifted some of our efforts to begin helping with the rising humanitarian aid crisis that is going on there, but were still committed to the current focus of our mission thats helping vulnerable Ukrainian youth. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In the final days before party primary elections March 1, many Texans are considering the records of top state officials seeking re-election. One is Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, seeking his third four-year term as the states top lawyer. In addition to a long-standing indictment for a securities violation, and suing four swing states to try to help Donald Trump get certified as winning an election he lost, and several top assistants writing federal investigators to report favors done by Paxton for a campaign contributor, a relatively recent move by Paxton may be coming back to bite him during his re-election battle. It is a filing with the State Bar of Texas by Michael Shirk, a retired lawyer after 30 years, including his final job as a prosecutor in the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Shirk is seeking to disbar Paxton as an attorney for asking people to put pressure on members of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, a nine-member elective body. Paxton wanted the judges to reconsider their 8-1 decision in December that the attorney general cannot unilaterally prosecute election law violations. He can, however, be involved if requested by a local district attorney. Paxton had angrily denounced on right-wing media the December decision by the states highest criminal court. All nine judges are Republicans. Call them out by name, Paxton had told viewers of Lindell TV, an online forum sponsored by MyPillow CEO and Donald Trump supporter Mike Lindell, on Jan. 17. Theres eight of them that voted the wrong way. Call them, send mail, send email. Paxton questioned if the judges were true Republicans. He said their decision was part of a conspiracy to help Democrats fraudulently win elections, because Democratic district attorneys wont prosecute such fraud. Shirk had read of Paxton complaints about the court, and solicitation of people to pressure the judges. He provided a copy to the Austin American-Statesman of his State Bar complaint. Texas rules about lawyer conduct place strict limits on the contact attorneys can have with judges outside of court, and specifically prohibit them from soliciting others to speak to judges on their behalf about a case. A State Bar official said the accusations are considered for up to 30 days to see if they indeed contain indications of professional misconduct. If they do, the accused lawyer is given 30 days to respond. Only after that would State Bar investigators interview witnesses, for up to 60 days, though adjudication could take longer to decide whether the lawyer should be disbarred, or deserves lesser punishment. In other words, this wont be completed before the March Primary, or probably before the May 24 runoff, if one is necessary. One other twist: in Texas, the attorney general is not required to be an attorney. Paxton is challenged in the GOP primary by Land Commissioner George P. Bush, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, and former state Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. Democratic Primary Candidates are Mike Fields, Rochelle Garza, Joe Jaworski, Lee Merritt, and S. T-Bone Raynor. A friend a few days ago, a reliable Democrat, said he had voted early but in the Republican primary, not the Democratic. The Republican primary? Whats up? Our conversation went something like this: Well, I figured the Democrats are almost dead certain to pick Beto ORourke for governor. Mike Collier will probably win for lieutenant governor, though it may take a runoff, because he was polling in the 40s. And for attorney general, several of the Democrats look good. So I didnt think there was much I needed to try to affect in the Democratic primary. But, If I voted in the Republican primary, it would give me at least two chances to vote against Ken Paxton for attorney general or maybe three by voting for one of his opponents. Explain that. Well, I voted against him in the March 1 primary, said the acquaintance, a lawyer. Paxton has been showing below 50 percent in the polls maybe missing a chance to win without a runoff. If there is a runoff, on May 24, Ill get to vote for the other candidate. So I will have voted against Paxton twice. And then, if he survived that runoff, and makes it to the general election Nov. 8, Ill get one more chance to vote against him. Well, what about the other races? Governor? Lieutenant governor? And so on? Oh, I just voted for someone besides Greg Abbott or Dan Patrick in those races, and for someone else in all the other races where there was a Republican incumbent. Think itll work? Probably not. But I figured I might as well give it a try. Election notes: Friday is the last day for in-person early voting. If you didnt vote in a primary election, you can vote in either partys runoff. But if you voted in a primary, youre limited to that partys runoff. You can register to vote up to 30 days before an election. Contact McNeely at davemcneely111@gmail.com. Contact McNeely at davemcneely111@gmail.com. For the last month, I have been taking an online class. One thing I have learned in the class is that going back to school at 44 is no cake walk. However, I have learned other things. We were given an assignment called Asset Mapping. I had to answer questions such as What are you good at? and What are some physical things that you value? At first, my answers were slim and vague. I figured I was not good at much other than preaching (and not everyone would say that is a strength of mine) and that I did not have tons of things that I value. The further I went through the assignment the more it dawned upon me that I actually have been blessed with some incredible assets in my life, and most of them came in the form of people. Outside of the usual people you expect to be blessed with, I had the worlds best grandparents. My grandfather set the standard for being a Godly man. I still look up to him. When I went to college, I had a few people who served as mentors to me, one of them being John Grisetti. My stepfather, Rev. Wayne McCauley, was literally my mentor through the ordination process. Those are just some of my assets! Unfortunately, the older I get, the more of those mentors I lose to their heavenly rest. However, I still have people like Rev. Larry Holland to look up to and emulate. Last month, I was sitting in Subway alone eating lunch. I thought about all those mentors and how much I missed them. Then, it hit me, Its becoming my turn to be a mentor. I think the goal for our Christian faith is that at some point we are mature enough that we can go from being guided to being the guide to others. We will always need support of our own, but our roles kind of shift. There is an interesting story that runs in the background of the New Testament about a guy named John Mark. Colossians 4 points to that this could be the same guy who was a cousin to Barnabas. In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas were doing ministry together and John Mark was in tow learning a lot, I am sure. However, and we do not know what happened, John Mark quit during Paul and Barnabas big mission trip. In short, that did not sit too well with Paul. When it came time for Paul and Barnabas to plan another trip, Paul did not want to bring John Mark, but Barnabas did. So, they split up and Barnabas took John Mark under his wing. It paid off and Mark blossomed as an evangelist. While this story shows Paul as a bit grumpy, which he could have been, I love that it shows off the power of being a role model to someone else. Thankfully, Barnabas saw the best in John Mark. It is no wonder that in Acts 4:36 he is called son of encouragement. I hope that we all will be sons and daughters of encouragement to those around us! The man stood on the Amtrak train platform in Roanoke, wheeled luggage at the ready, a smile on his face that placed his expression somewhere between resignation and exasperation. The reason for his attitude wasnt hard to discern. He had brought his bags up the ramp right around 6:20 a.m., just as the passenger train had begun to roll north toward Washington, D.C., and New York City. The trains languorous pace tantalized him with an opportunity to take a long look at the train he had just missed as it lumbered away into the dark. In Roanoke, once you miss that early morning train, you dont really have any other option for the day, unless you have the ability and the reckless impulse to lead foot a vehicle to Lynchburg and catch the same train there an impulse that might not leave you, um, wreckless. Depending on the destination, someone in that mans predicament could soon get a second chance to get where they want to go in the manner they wanted to get there, should events conspire to keep one from boarding the first train of the day. Plans are in the works for a second train to bring travelers to and from Roanoke. As outlined in previous coverage by Roanoke Times reporter Jeff Sturgeon, this second train would arrive about 1:45 p.m. and leave around 4:30 p.m. It would go as far as Washington, D.C., unlike the morning train, which goes all the way to Boston. This new rail option will come about as the result of a partnership between Amtrak, Norfolk Southern and the state of Virginia. The word has not yet been given as to exactly when this second train will start serving Roanoke, beyond an estimate of spring this year but whenever that service begins, that will be great news. Amtrak travel from Roanoke remains a different experience from the cram-packed train cars that run through the East Coasts urban sprawl. The train isnt crowded, and if you happen to be alert, youll be treated to lovely Virginia countryside as its slowly revealed by the sunrise. You wont be squashed, as happens with airplane travel if you have a waistline wider than five inches. (Yes, thats hyperbole, but not by much.) If you own a laptop or tablet, getting extra work done is easy as the ride is roomy and relatively smooth and the train offers Wi-Fi. Bringing your own supplies for assembling a sandwich can feel a little like risk taking as the train car occasionally wobbles along the tracks, but it can be done. This mode of travel has proved compatible with the Roanoke region. Its both old and new passenger rail was once routine in the Star City, but a 38-year hiatus passed before Amtrak service began in 2017. Usage has proven heavier than Amtrak anticipated. In the last fiscal year completed before the pandemic, 55,000 passengers disembarked in Roanoke. Theres even more good news looming. If you live a county or two east or west of the Star City, you are eventually going to have more train-hopping options, as potential places to board that are in range of the Roanoke Valley are going to triple. In May 2021, then-Gov. Ralph Northam announced a $257.2 million investment in the Western Rail Initiative, designed to expand Amtrak service to the New River Valley, with the funding earmarked for acquisition of right of way and track and infrastructure improvements. The goal is to have Amtrak trains clickety-clacketing to the Christiansburg area starting in 2025. Officials estimate that once that happens, 80,000 new riders will fill those comfortable train seats. On Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. and again on March 1 at noon, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation will present the results of a survey conducted to determine where to build a passenger rail station in the New River Valley (the meetings are virtual to register to attend, visit https://transformingrailva.com/events). Of the locations under study, three are in Christiansburg and one is in the Ellett Valley southeast of Blacksburg. Groundwork is also being laid to arrange a third train for the Roanoke platform that will shuttle to the New River Valley station and back, hopefully providing a welcome alternative to tractor-trailer heavy Interstate 81 for the many commuters between the two locales. After 2025, the state will start looking into what it will take to extend the service all the way to Bristol, something rail advocates there have long cried out for. On the very first ride when Amtrak service renewed in Roanoke, which took place in 2017 on Halloween morning, residents from Bristol drove up in the pre-dawn hours to board the train and raise awareness for their cause. Meanwhile, a push to place an Amtrak station in Bedford has also gathered steam. A study estimated that the planned rail stop at the 6,600-population town, including a platform and a station, will cost about $11 million to build, with a projected completion date of 2025. As far as were concerned, the more the merrier. Its better for traffic, better for the environment, better for the peace of mind of travelers. If you happened to guess, by chance, that this essay was drafted while its author was riding an Amtrak train, your guess was absolutely correct. Vicki Pflasterers horse is so small he doesnt need to ride in a trailer. She takes him around town in her Honda Ridgeline pickup. The horse, named Short Stack, rides in the back seat. As they ride, the horse pokes his head between the front seats, because he likes to see where were going, Pflasterer said. Short Stack, a miniature horse, stands 28 and a half inches tall. With Short Stack in the pickup, Pflasterer has gone through the drive-thru window at Sonic a few times. One day, they did drive-thru business at the bank. A woman at the bank, who is a friend of Pflasterers, called her a little later and said, Did you have a horse in your car? Pflasterer brings Short Stack to Fonner Park three or four times during the racing meet. One of those visits will be this Sunday. Pflasterer and the cute little horse will be at the track from 1-3 p.m., the same time period in which pop and hot dogs will be sold for $1 each. Talking about attendance potential this weekend, Fonner CEO Chris Kotulak said in light-hearted fashion, Were hoping that Short Stack will carry the mail for us on Sunday afternoon. Short Stack is a big hit with kids, who like to pet the animal and have their photo taken with him. Pflasterer said if kids have never really seen a horse before, its nice for them to be able to touch and pet one. Short Stack also gets plenty of attention from adults, too, at Fonner. Its kind of funny because they want to get their pictures taken with him, too, Pflasterer said. Pflasterer used to load the horse up in her five-horse trailer. It takes a lot of work to put the horse and carriage in the trailer. It occurred to her that loading the horse in the pickup would be less work. One day she asked her husband, Jim, Do you suppose we can get him to jump in the back seat? Jim said that probably would work. Normally I put a tarp down just in case he has an accident. So I put a tarp down and we just kind of worked with him and he finally jumped in, she said. The first time she drove Short Stack in her pickup, a group of women in Cairo laughed hysterically when a horse got out, she said. Short Stack, who weighs about 200 pounds, still rides in the horse trailer at times. They always laugh when he jumps out of that too because its so big, she said of the trailer. When she takes the animal around town, the pickup is her preferred method of travel. Pflasterer jokes that she and the horse collaborate in Carpool Karaoke while theyre driving around town. When Pflasterer sings, it seems like the horse moves his head to the music. Some might say thats horsefeathers. But sometimes it seems like it, she said. What kind of music does the horse prefer? You know, weve done a little bit of everything, Pflasterer said. But he probably is partial to country. We like a little Shania Twain, Pflasterer said. Driving the horse in a pickup, she noted, saves on gas mileage. Short Stack, who grew up in Fremont, is 12 years old. Pflasterer bought the animal four years ago. The horses real name is Shadow. Short Stack is just a nickname. Pflasterer, who also has three full-size horses, sometimes shows Short Stack. Pflasterer has registered the horse as a service and therapy animal. Shes taken Short Stack to nursing homes in Grand Island and St. Paul. Encounters with Short Stack prompt many seniors to share their childhood experiences with horses. In one emotional visit, a woman talked about how she rode a pony to school. Short Stack began making appearances at Fonner Park in 2019. The arrangement began because one of Pflasterers girlfriends knows Kotulak. At Fonner, the horse sometimes draws light-hearted remarks from jockeys and trainers. Jockeys ask, Can I ride him? The horse, by the way, has his own Facebook page. Its called Me and My Shadow Miniature Horse Therapy. In one photo on the Facebook page, Short Stack claims that hes not little. Hes fun-sized. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. KEARNEY -- Five Kearney men have been arrested on federal warrants for a series of arsons at Walmart stores in the South. Jeffrey Sikes, 40; Sean Bottorff, 37; Michael Bottorff, 21; Quinton Olson, 21; and Alexander Olson, 23, are each charged in U.S. District Court in Alabama with conspiracy to maliciously destroy by fire. Sikes and Alexander Olson face additional charges of malicious destruction by fire. According to the 13-page indictment, the men conspired to set fires to damage and destroy Walmart stores and the property within them. The fires were allegedly set to force Walmart to meet demands related to interstate and foreign commerce, which was set forth in the mens manifesto. The indictment details arsons at a Walmart in Mobile, Alabama, on May 27, 2021, a store in Tillmans Corner, Alabama, on May 28, and at stores in Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, on June 4. According to the indictment, participants used accelerants such as lighter fluid to set racks of clothing and other materials on fire. It also cites in-store security camera footage and cellphone data used to identify the participants movements. Some of the cellphone data included a burner phone used to take photos of a six-page manifesto titled Declaration of War and Demands for the People, which the indictment says was supposedly written by a group called The Veterans Order. Sikes has been wanted in Nebraska on a federal warrant since 2018 for failing to appear for a sentencing hearing for wire fraud. In the Alabama incidents, court records say, Sikes was using the alias of Kenneth Allen while living in Gulf Shores. Sean Bottorff, also known as Sean McFarland, is Sikes brother-in-law and disappeared at the same time as Sikes, along with his wife and an unrelated adult woman, neither of whom is named in the indictment. Michael Bottorff is Sean Bottorffs stepson, according to records. The indictment says that at the time of the fires, the five defendants and three adult females lived in a rental house in Lillian, an unincorporated community in Alabama. The Kearney men were advised of the charges against them at an arraignment hearing Thursday in Alabama federal court, and each man declared his intent to plead not guilty to all charges. Magistrate Judge Sonja F. Bivens set a detention hearing to determine the conditions under which any of them may be released pending trial. The men are being held at the Clarke County Jail in Grove Hill, Alabama. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The new College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics (ECTM), formed last July, houses six schools including three engineering alongside technology, computing and mathematics. Centered around lifelong success, the curriculum engages students into multi-pronged, interdisciplinary education paradigms, including hands-on design experience, along with applied background in mathematics/statistics, coupled with computing. ECTM faculty conduct research ranging from embedded systems to cyber systems, big data to machine learning, power plants to renewable energy, biomechanics to advanced manufacturing, water resources management to environmental engineering, and other exciting engineering and technological subjects. The faculty bring these insights to classrooms, training students to develop solutions for their senior design projects and participate in various registered student organizations (RSOs). Student clubs Student design clubs are among nineteen RSOs in the college, and their activities reflect the hands-on skills that students develop. For instance, the concrete canoe design team, whose students are from civil engineering program, build canoes out of a heavy material such as concrete, often winning competitions for their efforts. Students in a majority of student design clubs come from multiple programs in the college and work together on interdisciplinary projects. ECTM Saluki Formula Racing and Rover teams design and fabricate international competition-ready vehicles. The teams are typically composed of students majoring in mechanical/electrical/computer engineering, computer science and other fields. The members use lessons learned in the classroom, skills shared and taught by team members from other disciplines, and their collective passion to create designs that compete and win high honors among world-class international teams. Award-winning teams Recently, a team of SIU students including a majority from ECTM was named among the finalists for the US Department of Energys (US DOE) Solar District Cup, where students will design systems that integrate solar energy and its storage for a real-world application, developing skills essential for clean energy with full consideration of financial savings. The ECTM Robotics team won the NASA contest to design mining robots for the moon. The robot designed was capable of avoiding obstacles, mining through a layer of dust and extracting gravel and ice from beneath the moons surface. A team of SIU students from information technology, computer science, and other fields participated in another US DOE sponsored CyberForce Competition and ranked 13th among 120 teams across the nation. Our students embrace opportunities for team/group work that provides them with real-world applications of classroom knowledge, interdisciplinary learning, training in technical and non-technical communication, building lifelong friendships and creating career opportunities. This is an exciting time for the newly formed college and we are working towards building a reputable college with student success in engineering, computing, technology, and mathematics, says Dean Xiaoqing Frank Liu. The college of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics is certainly on a positive and upward trajectory and its enrollment is reflecting swift surges. Meera Komarraju is provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stephen Bloom, associate professor of political science at SIU, has taught and conducted research in Ukraine under the Fulbright Scholar Program. He spent last summer in the Ukraine. This is disastrous, Bloom said Thursday of Russia's executed full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He added that it has been pretty clear Russian President Vladimir Putin would go into Ukraine and take back some provinces, but Russia is attacking from all sides. We havent seen a military attack like this since World War II. The tricky thing is Putin talks about is brotherly people, but his speech is incredibly aggressive, Bloom said. The scary part is he is willing to spill their blood. This could get "really, really ugly, he said. Bloom spoke with a close friend in Ukraine Thursday morning. When Bloom asked what he would do, his friend said he was not leaving. He was trying to get access to the basement of the building he lives in to use as a bomb shelter. He is thinking of practical things, but one of those things is not leaving, Bloom said. Ukraine is a large country of 40 million people. Some of the countries on its border are much smaller. Latvia has two million people; Lithuania three million; and Estonia one million. We will have to protect these countries. They are pretty insecure, Bloom said. We have to defend NATO nations around Russia and the Ukraine. Americans will feel effects from the invasion of the Ukraine, which is a major agricultural exporter. Ukraine exports sunflower oil and some other products. They also are part of the global market for IT with a very strong IT center. Were all going to pay for this in some sense. This is very serious and Russia has to be held accountable, Bloom said. Richard Sitler, a former photographer for The Southern, visited Ukraine in April and May 2009 as part of his research for a book about Peace Corps volunteers. Sitler flew from Morrocco to Paris, then travelled across Europe by train. He first arrived in Kyiv (Kiev) to visit the Peace Corps office in the country to get names of volunteers he would visit. When I got there, I was impressed. It was a very modern city, except the old cathedrals, Sitler said. When Ukraine was part of the USSR, those churches were not used. Once Ukraine was independent, they began using the cathedrals for religious services. Next, he traveled to Vinnytsya, a city with a lot of war memorials. Sitler said the people are very proud of their memorials. He was there during several celebrations and ceremonies at those memorials. Ukraine has been trampled over throughout history. During World War II, troops from both sides marched through the country and they had a large Jewish population, Sitler said. Today, Ukraine is a democratic nation with a parliament. His next stop was Chernivtsi, where he attended a ceremony at the high school that focused on World War II. The volunteer teacher spoke and students read poetry and sang. They are very patriotic and recognize their history, Sitler said. His last stop in Ukraine was Lviv. One of Sitlers favorite experiences was an open air book market, like a farmers market selling books. It is hard for Sitler to believe that city is one that Russia has bombed. He said they are much more European than Russian. He added that all the cities he visited were very European. I liked Ukraine as a whole. People I met were gracious and polite, Sitler said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Miriam Huffman, a junior studying agribusiness economics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, did not even realize that it was National FFA Week until she saw some postings on social media. What a difference a year makes. Last year, Huffman was in focal point of National FFA Week, an annual celebration of high school agriculture education and FFA. As one of six national FFA officers, she participated in hundreds of virtual chats, countless media interviews and special activities during the week. It was all part of her role as one of the student leaders of the organization with more than 735,000 members nationwide. It was definitely different because last year, we visited over Zoom with members in 100 different FFA chapters in 20 or 30 states and we had workshops and keynote speeches and interviews. It was a busy week with some really cool moments. In that way, this year has definitely been different, the native of Earlville said. The 2022 observation of National FFA Week concludes Saturday. Huffman, who served as Illinois FFA state secretary in 2018-2019, is just the 18th national officer elected from Illinois in nearly a decade. She is the first national officer to attend SIU, first transferring for the fall 2020 semester after finishing her studies Illinois Valley Community College in LaSalle County. It was in November of her first semester at SIU that she was elected National FFA Eastern Region vice president, leading to a year away from campus. She said her year of service, which concluded with a retiring address in front of 60,000 FFA members and guests at the 2021 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, was one she will never forget. It was definitely the most meaningful year of my life so far. I learned so much about how people work and how organizations work, she said. She returned to SIU last month after a year which included tens of thousands of miles, appointments with governmental officials, industry and business leaders, hundreds of meetings and conventions, and, of course, interactions with FFA members nationwide through visits both in-person and virtually as well as state conventions, workshops, camps and more. Her return to life as a college student has been one of slowing down. Its kind of hard to describe, coming from a really, really intense schedule for an entire year, she said. And then, coming back to school in January, it was like I had nothing that I had to commit to. Its given me a chance to relax, reset and remember who I was outside of FFA. She said her return to the academic realm also has given her routine. Being a national officer can be stressful and its obviously a lot more chaotic with something different every day. School is more of a routine every Tuesday, for example, Im doing the same thing. Its definitely been an adjustment for me. Hoffman said despite involvement in a couple of student organizations as well as participating in the universitys honors program, she is relishing the opportunity to not be the center of attention. Some people know who I am, but most of them dont and Im absolutely OK with that. Its nice to be kind of under the radar and I dont ever want to feel entitled. I want to earn everything, she said. That doesnt mean, however, she will be a wallflower on campus. Im looking forward to getting a little more involved, she said. I am so grateful for such a wonderful year that I had and now it is a matter of translating all of those skills and experiences to the rest of what I do with my life. My goal is that every year be better than the last year. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BELLEVILLE A group of families living in Scott Air Force Base housing complained earlier this month to base leadership about racist incidents and policies they say are discriminatory against people of color and LGBTQ people. But Col. Christopher Robinson, commander of the 375th Air Mobility Wing at the base, says leaders responded swiftly and appropriately, while social media has fueled speculation and ill-will between base residents. A series of incidents in January, a report of bullying and a mounting feud over yard signs prompted families to send letters to 375th brass asking for a "formal investigation." Robinson said the base has no control over housing policies and that investigations showed the events were isolated. "The United States Air Force is clear. We believe in a culture of dignity and respect, and that goes wherever you are. You don't really ever take the uniform off," Robinson said. On Jan. 13, a rope tied in a loop resembling a noose was found hanging from a playground swingset in the Lincoln's Landing military housing neighborhood near the base. St. Clair County Sheriff's deputies later determined children had been using it as a foot-swing, Robinson said. The day after, a racist slur was found written in the frost on an elementary school bus stop in the same neighborhood. Around the same time, Hunt Military Community, the company that operates the base's housing, removed a display in an outdoor common area decorated to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 17. Residents had painted a cutout to resemble the minister and civil rights activist, and next to it was a sign with a partial quote: "Stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." The families also said Hunt, the military's largest privatized housing owner, has unfairly issued citations to families with LGBTQ pride and Black Lives Matter signs in front of their homes. "People were obviously upset with everything happening in such a short timeline," said resident Ceasarae Galvan, a 25-year-old mother of four biracial children. Robinson said he and base leadership were "very concerned" and "took immediate action" when they learned about the incidents, mainly through social media. They met with Hunt and housing residents, and Robinson held two calls with commanders. Then base leaders held a town hall on Jan. 21 with residents. The events were found to be unrelated, Robinson said. "Once you do an investigation, you look into it, they're not related, but you could see how a reasonable person would come to the conclusion that they were related," Robinson said. "We needed to address that." The families suspect a bigger problem is at hand, Galvan said. She is a disability rights advocate for Armed Forces Housing Advocates, a group pushing for an end to privatized military housing. "Claiming they were isolated incidents when multiple happened in a short span of time doesn't really add up," Galvan said. "It's not the first time there's been repeated talk on social media of people having issues." Investigating the incidents Base housing officials learned about the rope from a social media post, which described it as a noose. Housing personnel notified Hunt's maintenance director, and the rope was removed, Robinson said. Within a day, a Lincoln's Landing resident told base law enforcement that he hung the rope for his children to use as a foot-swing. The 375th Security Forces Squadron and St. Clair County Sheriff's Department confirmed what the parent said. The parent had pictures of his kids using the rope as a swing before social media posts called it a noose, Robinson said. The rope still posed a safety hazard, Robinson said, and the resident should have considered how it would appear to others. "How your neighbors see things is important," the commander said. There's no mistaking the writing in the frost on the bus stop as anything other than a racist incident, however. Base housing officials notified Hunt, and staff removed the slur and power washed the windows. No witnesses have come forward and there are no video cameras at the stop, Robinson said, but anyone with information may contact the Scott AFB Resident Advocate. Hannah Magee, 34, lives in Lincoln's Landing with her husband, who works for the Command Post, and three biracial sons. She said she no longer allows her boys to play outside after the rope and racist scrawl were found. "We have someone here who has a problem," said Magee, who has lived in the neighborhood for roughly a year and a half. "They could target my children." Magee and her family leave for another base soon, and the move couldn't come soon enough, she said. "I can't wait to go," Magee said. The incidents stirred memories of bullying from more than a year ago. A child had used a racist slur and chased another child home. Hunt officials and the parents dealt with the bullying at the time, Robinson said, but Scott AFB brass recently got statements from the parents of the children involved. "It appears all the members who were involved are satisfied with the outcome and the system worked as it should have," Robinson said. "Does that mean other bullying hasn't taken place? No. But I will say this, no one else has been willing to come forward and give us a witness statement or to tell us their child has been bullied." Combined with the suspected noose, the racist slur and past bullying, it's no surprise that when residents saw Hunt had removed the MLK Jr. Day display, they believed Lincoln's Landing had a real problem with racism. 'Sign war' Because of an "escalating sign war" between residents, Hunt had decided to remove all signs, including the MLK Jr. Day decoration, Robinson said. It was merely bad timing and not indicative of a racist policy, he said. Magee says Hunt should have left the decoration up despite the policy. "They could've left it and they chose not to," Magee said. "It wasn't offensive. It was really beautiful." People had been "putting up signs with some clear evidence that it was being done to intentionally irritate one's neighbor," Robinson told residents in the town hall, according to meeting minutes. Hunt has since removed all signs, including one advertising a Cub Scout troop and recruitment for the Air Force Reserve, Robinson said. One Lincoln's Landing resident, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, disputed that portrayal. She said she and her wife, who's in the military, joined other families in putting up signs "welcoming anybody who's coming in" after one resident complained to Hunt about a pride sign. "Neither Scott Air Force Base nor Hunt will say, 'Bigotry should not be allowed," said the mother of two. "They intended for this (no signs policy) to be impartial, but the impact is they've emboldened hatred. They've emboldened bigots." Her family has received three citations from Hunt for having a sign in her front window stating "Black Lives Matter" and "Science is real," among other sayings. "This is not a flag war," she said. "We were trying to stand together for inclusivity and for the incredible diversity that's here in Lincoln's Landing." Galvan's family previously received a citation from Hunt for a sign in their yard. The citations don't specify if there are consequences for violating the sign policy. Her family's sign in the front yard of their Lincoln's Landing home says "Hate Has No Home Here." She has yet to remove it, citing resident guidelines for base housing. The guidelines available online restrict flags and where signs are affixed, but it does not prohibit yard signs. Hunt did not return a request for comment. Hunt's operations director said at the town hall the company's policies prohibit signs that could "be considered harassing, discriminatory or potentially disturb the rights and comfort of your neighbor." "We want a community that's a comfort for everyone, and so we don't want to be picking and choosing what signs should be allowed," Brent Norvik said at the town hall, according to minutes. Lionel Wiley Jr., director of Equal Employment Opportunity at Scott AFB, told residents at the town hall they might have had a positive intent with their signs, but the impact became negative. "The intent is not to keep anyone from practicing their religion or beliefs, but to keep a healthy environment, there has to be a level of control imposed. I know that doesn't feel good," Wiley said. "Our office is always open and willing to listen to any allegations of racism." The Air Force manages housing contracts at the federal level, so Scott AFB leaders has no control over the contract with Hunt or their policies, Robinson said. But the mother of two urged Hunt and Scott AFB to clarify housing policies and the methods for changing them. According to resident guidance, Hunt will provide 30 days written notice on new or changing rules. The mother said she never received notice. "There's no transparency," she said. Official means for complaint The commander expressed frustration at the town hall that he had to find out about the incidents through social media, not "official means." "This is problematic because it slows our response time," he said. Residents may file a complaint with the base Equal Opportunity Office if they feel Hunt has discriminated against them, Robinson said. They may also contact the base chaplain, who can protect residents' anonymity, or the base's Inspector General. People don't always feel safe going through those channels, even with promises of anonymity, said the mother of two. Living in military housing is convenient and a privilege for servicemembers that comes with access to base services and good schools. She worries her family could lose that if she speaks up. "One of our biggest concerns is if we're too vocal, they're going to find a reason to kick us out," she said. "I want them to stand behind inclusivity and say that there is no room for hatred or bigotry here in this residential neighborhood or in the Armed Forces." In a letter to Galvan sent Tuesday, Robinson said Galvan and other residents have the right to report discrimination to the Equal Employment Office. "I know there is more work to do and I ask for your help fostering a culture of respect for all community members," the commander wrote. Robinson said Scott AFB leaders have put in "a lot of time an effort" to getting their response to the allegations right. "That person to your left or right, that's your neighbor when you go home to Lincoln's Landing at night, those are the people you're depending on if we ever go to combat," Robinson said. "We have to be able to trust one another. We have to be able to treat each other with dignity and respect. We have a lot of things we need to focus on in the military, and this right here to me seems like the basics. We have to get this right otherwise the big stuff can't happen." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD When Michael McCuskey walked into his new office at the Stratton Building that overlooks the Illinois State Capitol which he is charged with investigating, he had two complaints in his inbox, some empty desks and no staff. Ive got nothing. No staff. No investigator. No nothing, McCuskey said Wednesday in an interview with Capitol News Illinois. The new legislative inspector general is primarily tasked with investigating complaints, violations, abuse of authority or other forms of misconduct by members of the General Assembly and the employees who work for them. Hell have a budget of $920,000 to fill out a staff that currently has a head count of zero. Those working for former LIG Carol Pope vacated the office when she did earlier this year. McCuskey was appointed by lawmakers last week to serve the balance of Popes unfulfilled term. That ends on June 30, 2023 McCuskeys 74th birthday. Pope called the office a paper tiger. McCuskey said he needs the essentials, like someone to answer the phone, before he can surmise how to improve the technical workings of the office. I keep telling the press come back next year just before it becomes retention time or retirement time and ask me, McCuskey said. How would I know how the job is going to function when I dont even have staff? I dont have an investigator. I am starting from ground zero. Absolutely. Before she vacated the office, Pope blasted lawmakers, saying they demonstrated true ethics reform is not a priority. She resigned in July and said her last day would be Dec. 16, but she delayed her departure into early January to allow more time for her position to be filled. Basically, nobodys been here since end of December, McCuskey said. McCuskey doesnt blame Pope, he said. If lawmakers would have filled the vacancy more quickly, Popes staff might have chosen to stay on board, he added. McCuskey said hes spoken with Pope and former inspector general Tom Homer and sought their advice. When he faces lawmakers to make his budget request in the coming days, he said, hell state his intent to hire an investigator and seek to determine whether the office is up to date on its bills. McCuskey has his own hiring authority, so filling in staff should go faster than typical state employment hiring. One of the first positions on his list of new hires will be a secretary, he said. Because McCuskey doesnt type. If anyone asks about the status of the two complaints pending in McCuskeys office, he said, he may have to respond in a written longhand letter. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The two Rock Island County correctional officers charged with beating an inmate have been fired. Sheriff Gerry Bustos announced Thursday that an internal investigation at the jail has concluded and resulted in the termination of Cameron Gerischer, 21, and Jacob H. Ward, 29. Both men face a single charge of felony aggravated battery and are accused of allegedly repeatedly striking the inmate with their fists on Jan. 30. Asked for a motive in the beating, Bustos referred to it as "an excessive use of force." Inmate allegedly beaten by Rock Island County correctional officers was 'mentally disabled' Four days before an inmate at the Rock Island County jail reportedly was beaten by two correctional officers, a judge asked the state to place him in a secure setting because of his mental disability. The inmate had been deemed mentally disabled and incompetent to stand trial, court records show. The county had requested he be placed in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services, DHS, just days before the incident. The agency declined the transfer request and does not comment on incarcerated individuals. Bustos said the incident occurred on a Sunday, and he launched an internal investigation the next day. It was conducted by his department's Office of Professional Standards. He then ordered a criminal investigation, the sheriff said, which was conducted by the City of Rock Island Police Department. The results of the city's investigation were turned over to the state's attorney's office, which then filed charges. Aggravated battery is a Class 3 felony. Ward and Gerischer had been on administrative leave since the incident occurred. The case was the second of its kind at the Rock Island County Jail in a year. In a Jan. 29, 2021 incident, officers Alondra Valtierra-Martinez, 25, and Mackenzie Martin, 24, were accused of battering a female inmate. Both women have since pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor charge of battery. They initially were charged with Class 3 felonies, aggravated battery, which is the same charge leveled in the recent case. Valtierra-Martinez was sentenced to one year on conditional discharged during a hearing Feb. 3 in Rock Island County Circuit Court, according to circuit court electronic records. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 To the Editor: Last year in Illinois, the ultra-wealthy successfully defeated a proposal to implement a graduated income tax. Such a change would require a constitutional amendment. But special interests mounted a multi-million dollar ad campaign scaring voters into believing that if such a tax were implemented, it would eventually trickle down to the middle class, and it was defeated at the polls. With the chronic financial woes our state has struggled with for decades now, this tax would have had an immediate impact, but instead, our billionaires continue to pay the same percentage of their obscene wealth as you and me, even as that wealth has ballooned since the pandemic began. In the 1950s, under a Republican administration, the top tax rate for the nations wealthiest citizens was 92% (although there were myriad write-offs and exclusions even then.) Today the top rate is 37%, with the capital gains rate at 20%, according to forbes.com (this applies to much of that $2.1 billion increase.) With the political power wielded by the ultra-wealthy, their ability to fend off any efforts to raise taxes on their wealth has been illustrated right here at home. Here are a few simply staggering numbers: At the beginning of the pandemic, March 2020, the collective wealth of the nations 614 billionaires stood at just short of $3 trillion, according to Americans for Tax Fairness. By October 2021, their numbers had swelled to 745, and their combined worth stood at over $5 trillion. That $2.1 trillion growth, a 70% increase, is two-thirds more than the combined wealth of the lower 50% of U.S. households. Its also enough to fund 60% of President Bidens 10-year Build Back Better plan. Think about it. 745 Americans in a country of 330 million. $5,000,000,000,000. I wonder how many readers enjoyed a 70% increase in their net worth during that time? I dont have any answers as to how to right this top-heavy ship, but it would seem clear to any ordinary citizen that this condition cannot long endure. For starters, if we ever get a constitutional amendment on the ballot again to impose a graduated income tax, dont fall for the billionaires propaganda vote yes! Jim Renshaw Carbondale Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 A group of community collaborators including Save the Children, St. Andrews United Methodist Church, and the Prince of Orange DAR Chapter, opened a free library on Monday, Feb. 21, to encourage and promote literacy in Orangeburg. Mayor Michael Butler and Orangeburg Councilwoman Liz Zimmerman Keitt were on hand for the ceremony, along with the South Carolina State Director of Save the Children Sonia Gass; Lead Associate for Community Engagement Destiny Johnson; and reigning Miss Orangeburg Plus and the new communications and youth director for St. Andrew's UMC, Dayna Arnette. Save the Children works within communities to enhance educational opportunities and support children and families holistically. Save the Children replenishes books to "free libraries" along with creating book nooks in available laundromats and other businesses. Each community leader spoke about the significance of working together to make Orangeburg a stronger community and the importance of reading to and with young children as a necessity for future success. Former librarian Celia Richardson spoke about the impact of books on students that frequented the library, and Sheryl King shared that DAR is more than just an organization focused on history, but the organization values opportunities of service fostering education and literacy. This literary endeavor originated when Pastor Cindy Muncie of St. Andrews heard Destiny Johnson speak at a Rotary Club meeting. Muncie shared information with church members about Save the Children and its community goals. Eager to promote and work with community literacy, the Prince of Orange DAR members of St. Andrews began communicating and working with Save the Children to create the free library on the upper parking lot area of St. Andrews UMC. Tom Kerr, a member of St. Andrews and Habitat for Humanity, built the box. St. Andrews Youth Group painted the box and later read books to children and guided them in a crafts after the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Save the Children, along with DAR, will be replenishing the library with new books appealing to early readers and middle school children. Children living throughout the Orangeburg community are encouraged to visit and take a book from the library. These libraries do not want books returned but kept in homes where families can enjoy the stories again and again. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Veteran Orangeburg County Councilman Willie B. Owens Sr. announced Thursday that hell be leaving council for health reasons. The 7th District councilman's resignation will take effect June 30. I have appreciated working with County Council and all I have interacted with, Owens said in a letter addressed to Council Chairman Johnnie Wright. It has been an honor to serve my community and meet so many talented individuals who make such a big difference, he said. Owens is resigning because of ongoing health issues. His resignation means that he will not be running for re-election this November. The seat carries a four-year term. Wright said Owens served his district well. He was always very outspoken and you knew where he stood on the issues. That was the key thing I respected about him. He would voice his opinion and I can appreciate a person doing that, Wright said. He said Owens has been instrumental in a number of projects in Orangeburg County over the years, such as advocating for the construction of the 5,000-square-foot Whittaker Street community center. He has been instrumental in getting a lot of things in his community, Wright said. Owens has also been instrumental in economic development, including the development of industrial parks. The new Orangeburg County Library and Conference Center was also developed during Owens time on Council. He has been a voice and support to Orangeburg County, Wright said. I wish him well and his family." Owens was first elected in April 2007 to fill the unexpired term of former District 7 Councilman John Rickenbacker. Former Sen. John Matthews described Owens as a personal friend who shared a background in agriculture educational. He certainly made a difference for county council and this county, Matthews said. He has strong opinions and he stuck to what he believed. What he told you he would do, he did. I thank him for his lifelong service to Orangeburg County and to the state and for all he has done for the betterment and improvement of our community, Matthews said. Matthews called Owens an advocate for education and economic development, and especially the 1 percent capital project sales tax and infrastructure development. I am very appreciative of his service and his willingness to sacrifice himself to make life better for all in this county," Matthews said. Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young called Owens, a true public servant all of these years and an educator. He has definitely molded a lot of young minds not only in Orangeburg County but also in Bamberg County, he said. Young said Owens has been on the forefront of developing housing for low-income people. Owens also previously served on the Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees as chairman. He has done a lot since he has been on council for his district and the people of his community, Young said. His legacy is cemented by hard work. Young said he learned many lessons from Owens over the years. He has helped mentor me over the years being in public service, Young said. Owens was born in Branchville in 1938. He graduated from Wilkinson High in 1956. He earned his bachelors and masters degrees at South Carolina State and his educational specialist degree from The Citadel. He also did graduate work at Clemson and the University of South Carolina. Owens served as principal in Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School from 1977 to 1993. He served as assistant vice president for academic affairs at Voorhees College in Denmark and later became assistant vice president for professional and continuing studies at Claflin University. In 2001, he returned to Voorhees as the director of the S.C. Regional Community Development Corp. Owens is married to Arminta Owens. They have two sons. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. COLUMBIA South Carolina House budget writers want to send raises to teachers, state employees and law enforcement, build new schools and a state health lab and buy more body cameras and bulletproof vests for police officers. The House Ways and Means Committee approved the state's $14 billion spending plan Thursday, sending the plan to the House floor where it will be debated in mid-March. There is an unprecedented amount of money for the General Assembly to spend in the fiscal year starting July 1 between the booming economy boosted by federal stimulus money and cash lawmakers saved over the past few years in case the COVID-19 pandemic crashed revenues. More than $3 billion is one-time money the state does not expect to have to spend again. The centerpiece of the House's budget a $600 million income tax cut was passed Wednesday and included in the budget. It cuts the state's top tax bracket where nearly half the taxpayers file from 7% to 6.5% next year, eventually trimming the rate to 6% as long as the economy continues to grow. All other tax brackets would be collapsed to the lowest 3%. Budgets are about the future. They are about taking care of our citizens right now but also preparing for the future of the state, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Murrell Smith said. In education, the House budget sets aside $230 million to boost the minimum pay for teachers regardless of experience by $4,000. Starting teachers in every district would be paid at least $40,000 under the plan. Some wealthier school districts would need local leaders to put up their own money to get those raises for teachers as the House budget adopted Gov. Henry McMaster's proposal to change how the sate pays its share for public schools on student-teacher ratio and minimum teacher salaries instead of the confusing arrays of formulas currently used. Rep. Bill Whitmire, who was in charge of K-12 spending, said the state must take action to keep teachers and combat thousands of open positions. Hopefully we can stem that tide thats leaving, the Republican from Walhalla said. It isn't all raises for teachers. The House budget includes $150 million to help rural, poorer districts build new schools and $100 million to replace old textbooks and classroom materials. There is $2.6 million in the plan to increase the checks given for teachers to buy supplies from $275 to $300. The House budget also includes a 3% raise for all state employees and a $1,500 bonus, with Republican Rep. Bruce Bannister of Greenville saying they earned the extra money by being workhorses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter who makes it one of her goals to get better pay for state employees told Bannister his subcommittee did good. But you can do better. The Orangeburg Democrat said she would like to see bigger bonuses for the 75% of state workers who make less than $50,000 a year. They were considered essential workers. Now in the minds of some theyre back to being low-skilled workers, Cobb-Hunter said. Millions are also being set aside for law enforcement raises, although the details were not clear. The House budget sets aside $20 million to buy more body cameras for police officer and set up a grant program for smaller police agencies to get bulletproof vests. Everyone will have body armor this year," said Rep. Phillip Lowe, a Republican from Florence who handled law enforcement and criminal justice. The House plan spends about $1 billion on roads from accelerating the widening of clogged interstates including Interstate 26 between Columbia and Charleston, fixing or rebuilding old bridges and repaving and improving safety on rural roads projects delayed before the state increased the gas tax increase starting in 2017. Our roads tell the story, said Rep. Shannon Erickson, a Republican from Beaufort in charge of transportation. Other items in the House budget include: $87.5 million to create a bank account for the Office of Resilience to pay for help after flooding and other natural disasters. $68 million for the Department of Natural Resources to buy land to conserve and provide outdoor recreation. $19 million to promote tourism, with at least $4 million going toward areas that are not typically considered tourist destinations. $65 million for the Department of Mental Health to improve in-patient and outpatient care and provide more mental health services in schools. Nearly $5 million to promote South Carolina's plans to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War. $4 million to the State Election Commission to pay for additional election audits and improve security. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 This subscription will allow existing subscribers of The World to access all of our online content, including the E-Editions area. NOTE: To claim your access to the site, you will need to enter the Last Name and First Name that is tied to your subscription in this format: SMITH, JOHN If you need help with exactly how your specific name needs be entered, please email us at admin@countrymedia.net or call us at 1-541 266 6047. (TBTCO) - Thi truong ket thuc thang 4 voi muc giam 8,4%, tro thanh thang giam sau nhat trong vong 2 nam. Hang loat co phieu chiet khau gia cuc sau tuy gay thiet hai rat lon cho nhieu nha au tu, nhung cung se tao co hoi cho cac nha au tu khac. Today A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 83F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight Partly cloudy. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Tomorrow Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 86F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine pushed global oil prices steadily upward over the last month. In the hours after Russia opened fire, the price of crude oil climbed past $100 per barrel for the first time since 2014. Brent, an international benchmark, peaked at $105.79 early Thursday. U.S. benchmark West Texas International (WTI) reached $100.54 close to $40 higher than this time last year. Oil prices climbed steadily through much of last year as demand outstripped supply. Then Russias threats toward its neighbor injected a new level of risk into the worlds oil market. As tensions mounted, the probability of invasion, and subsequently of supply disruption, went up. Prices followed. On Wednesday night, the probability of invasion reached 100%. Thats really the big difference today, said Rob Godby, an economics professor at the University of Wyoming. Geopolitical risk is now reality. In Europe, natural gas prices rose, too. Experts anticipate the price of U.S. natural gas increasing more slowly, and to a lesser degree, than oil. While Europe gets roughly 40% of its natural gas from Russia, most natural gas produced in the U.S. is consumed domestically, insulating the market from international supply changes. If this was a long and persistent increase in prices months or years then you would see the export market react, and that could drive prices up in the United States, Godby said. But by then, he noted, producers would also have plenty of time to drill new wells, boosting output along with exports. Oil markets are a different story. Even though theyre likely to stabilize, the increased probability of disruption isnt going anywhere. Prices are going to be high as long as this conflict goes on, Godby said. President Joe Biden warned earlier this week that the U.S., Europe and other allies would impose increasingly harsh sanctions on Russian escalation. A new wave of sanctions announced Thursday cracked down on Russian banks and elites, and on several key economic sectors, but stopped short of curbing Russias ability to export oil and gas. This is going to impose severe costs on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time, Biden said on Thursday. We have purposely designed these sanctions to maximize the long-term impact on Russia and to minimize the impact on the United States and our allies. Sanctions targeting the Russian energy sector are still an option. Or Russia could choose to stop supplying oil and gas to Europe at any time, though experts arent sure how long the country would be able to sustain the stoppage. Could they weaponize their hydrocarbon exports? Absolutely, said Gabriel Collins, a fellow at Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy. Are they potentially cutting off their nose to spite their face? Yes. The worlds biggest oil producers and consumers are working together to secure global supply, including through collective release from strategic petroleum reserves in the U.S. and elsewhere, Biden said. He also reiterated his commitment to bringing down already-high gasoline prices, and urged the nations oil and gas producers, which have been slow to return to pre-pandemic output, to help ease the burden on consumers. Wyoming, with its high proportion of harder-to-permit federal leases, has had particular trouble bouncing back. If Russia is cut off from the global oil market, and production elsewhere doesnt increase, prices could skyrocket. American oil and gas companies, Biden said, should not exploit this moment to hike their prices to raise profits. According to Godby, U.S. oil markets typically mirror international trends, and gasoline often follows. The events unfolding on the international stage will probably be felt by Americans at the gas pump. As a rule of thumb, if prices of oil go up by 10%, its not a bad guess to say that gasoline prices will go up by a similar amount, Godby said. Regular gasoline cost about $3.42 in Wyoming on Thursday, almost a dollar higher than a year ago. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Senate voted Friday to lift the sunset date on Wyomings sage grouse farming program, a conservation experiment set to expire at the end of this year. Perhaps the sessions most hotly debated wildlife bill, Senate File 61 passed each vote by a wide margin, despite being challenged repeatedly by lawmakers. An amendment that wouldve limited the extension to 10 years, proposed ahead of the third reading by Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Albany County, failed. The bill passed the Senate with a final vote of 26-4. Conservation of the near-threatened greater sage grouse has been a significant concern for Wyoming, and particularly for the energy sector, since the bird was nearly added to the endangered species list in 2015. Backers of Senate File 61 hope the success of the farming program can ensure that sage grouse stays off the endangered species list. The bills sponsor, Sen. Drew Perkins, R-Natrona County, emphasized the economic risks of listing the species during discussion of Rothfusss amendment. He and other advocates of the bill also argued that the success of Wyomings only licensed sage grouse farm could strengthen the states existing conservation efforts, and that the oversight of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department will ensure that grouse farming is done responsibly. This is not the complete answer, Perkins said. If nothing else, were going to learn a ton about the greater sage grouse in this that can aid us as we move forward. But opponents of the bill say captive breeding is necessary only when a species is near extinction, and that sage grouse arent there yet. And they worry farming will introduce new risks to wild sage grouse populations, including disease and loss of genetic diversity, while diverting attention away from the only major threat to the species: habitat loss. Its about the habitat, Sen. Cale Case, R-Fremont County, told the Senate on Friday. So somehow to think that we can take and allow the habitat decline because weve got this tool in our back pocket, that we can repopulate thats missing the point. Some lawmakers questioned, too, whether the amendment was in fact an attempt to undermine the bill. Rothfuss quickly dismissed the idea. A 10-year sunset is not gutting a program, he said. A 10-year sunset is, Hey, lets let a future Legislature take a look at this and ensure that they have an opportunity to do so. If the amendment passed, Rothfuss added, he would vote for the bill. If it didnt, he wouldnt feel comfortable supporting it. Rothfuss and Case were joined in opposition to Senate File 61 by Sens. Mike Gierau, D-Teton County, and Tim Salazar, R-Fremont County. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Wyomings D.C. delegation has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called for sanctions against Russia after news broke late Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin had ordered attacks on the countrys neighbor. Sanctions Rep. Liz Cheney called the invasion an unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine in a statement on Thursday, and called for the U.S. and its allies to impose the full set of crippling sanctions on Russia. Putins decision to return to Soviet-style aggression against Russias neighbors cannot be tolerated by the free world, Cheneys statement read. If America fails to lead decisively, the vacuum will be filled by the kind of brutal tyranny we are seeing on display in Ukraine today. Former President Donald Trump called Putin a genius and very savvy for his moves towards Ukraine, speaking on a conservative talk radio show Tuesday. There is no excuse for praising or appeasing Putin, Cheney said in her statement. As of Wednesday, the U.S., European Union, Japan and other countries had imposed financial or political sanctions against Russian banks and lawmakers. On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced another round of sanctions on Russian banks and billionaires. He also indicated the U.S. was prepared to provide oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve while trying to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump. Sen. John Barrasso called Bidens Wednesday decision to sanction the owner of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which connects Russia and Germany, better late than never. Germany halted the pipelines certification the day before. At this point, President Bidens sanctions do not go nearly far enough, Sen. Cynthia Lummis said in an email to the Star-Tribune, and I hope he will escalate the use of sanctions to ensure Putin and his enablers bear the full cost for these hostilities. Energy implications Lummis called for the Biden administration to unleash Americas energy production to provide alternatives to Russian energy for European allies. American energy, she said, could help bridge the gap in Europe as Russias major oil and gas exports to the continent could be in jeopardy. According to E & E News, Russia provides around 35% of Europes gas, and is the worlds third-largest producer of oil behind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. Energy experts in Wyoming told the Star-Tribune that the invasion could cause oil and natural gas prices to spike domestically. West Texas Intermediate, a benchmark for U.S. crude oil prices, rose above $100 a barrel on Thursday after the news of initial attacks. We know Putin uses Russian energy as a geopolitical weapon. It also funds Putins military aggression, Barrasso said in an email. We can cut off his energy cash cow by helping our allies obtain American energy resources as quickly as possible. Wyoming has an abundance of energy that can meet our needs and counter Russias influence in Europe. Its time for the White House to let us use it. The senior senator first introduced the ESCAPE (Energy Security Cooperation with Allied Partners in Europe) Act in 2018, which would impose sanctions on Russian energy projects and would pave the way for American natural gas exports to NATO allies. The bill has been awaiting action from the senate foreign relations committee, of which Barrasso is a member, since March 2021. Military response In an email to the Star-Tribune, Lummis said she was first and foremost concerned about the safety of the people in Ukraine and the safety of those protesting this violent act in Russia. Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is wholly unacceptable, and Vladimir Putin and his cronies must pay for the loss of life and harm he is inflicting on the Ukrainian people, Lummis said in a statement Thursday. We stand with the people of Ukraine, and must work with our allies in NATO and Europe to support them in this time of war. Barrasso called Putin a predator in a Tuesday tweet, saying the Russian president wants to put together the old Soviet Union. If hes not stopped, it wont end with Ukraine, Barrasso tweeted. The world is watching especially China. If Putin gets away with this, it will embolden China to move against Taiwan. Barrasso said in an email that the U.S. should respond quickly to Putins illegal invasion. We can help immediately by sending additional lethal weapons to Ukraine to use to defend itself against Russias violent aggression, Barrasso said. Since 2014, the U.S. has sent more than $2.5 billion of military aid to Ukraine. Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A bill to put more taxpayer money toward Wyomings underfunded highways wont be going before lawmakers this session after all. Bills had to be introduced within the first five days of this years legislative session to be heard. But last week came and went without a vote to introduce House Bill 14. If passed, the bill would have raised Wyomings fuel tax from 24 to 39 cents per gallon giving the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) about $60 million more annually. Proponents of House Bill 14 said it would help prop up a department badly hurting for funds. WYDOT which is in charge of maintaining and patrolling the states highways, as well as issuing licenses and permits doesnt have enough money to pay for all of its operating expenses. Wyoming has known that for years, but things got worse in 2020. Under Gov. Mark Gordon, Wyoming took on additional budget restrictions as it stared down an economic downturn brought about the coronavirus pandemic and a struggling energy industry. WYDOT shortfall could be hundreds of millions of dollars larger than previously thought According to a report delivered Monday to a legislative committee, the current level of unmet need is actually upward of $350 million across the agencys entire budget. That year, the state hired outside consultants to put a number on WYDOTs budget shortage. The Seattle-based firm Dye Management Group concluded the department was underfunded by about $350 million a year. In a meeting to the Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee, Dye Management Group president Rob Zilay said WYDOTs budget problems could get worse and more costly the longer the state waits to do something about it. By raising the state fuel tax 15 cents, House Bill 14 aimed to address that deficit. The bill wasnt meant to solve all the departments problems money pulled from the tax would only go toward highway construction and care. The transportation department couldnt use the funds for anything else. The bills prospects were looking up in December, when the transportation committee voted to sponsor it 9-2. But even with committee backing, it wasnt introduced this legislative session after all. The tax hike was controversial, Rep. Donald Burkhart, R-Rawlins, said in an email, especially in light of the amount of money coming from the federal government to Wyoming for highways, airports and other portions of our infrastructure. An infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year is expected to funnel $1.8 billion toward Wyomings highways. On top of that, a recent public opinion survey by the University of Wyoming and SDR Consulting showed most Wyomingites were opposed to raising the fuel tax. Some lawmakers in support of the tax think it should go up by a lower margin. A bill considered during last years legislative session, for instance, would have raised the tax by 9 cents per gallon. That legislation died in the House. Burkhart originally pushed for a 2-cent increase for this years bill. In any case, legislators need more time to settle on a magic number, he said in the email. Since its a budget session, the bill would have faced other obstacles, too. During budget sessions, non-budget bills must pass a two-thirds introductory vote to be considered by lawmakers. The federal infrastructure funds is expected to give Wyomings highways a major boost in the coming years. But officials are concerned money from above wont dig WYDOT out of its hole, WyoFile reported last year. The department needs a sustainable funding solution, they said. Until that happens, WYDOT is taking a triage approach to maintaining the highways. The department doesnt have the money to build out its roads system, so the main priority is looking after whats already there, public affairs officer Doug McGee said. WYDOT calls this pavement preservation mode, he said.Employees around the state keep an eye on the stretches of highway in their territory, he said. They monitor things like road conditions, traffic and population growth to figure out what projects are most urgent. Were doing the best we can, McGee said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. GILLETTE The Campbell County School District Board chairwoman Anne Ochs called Senate File 62 a kick in the face Tuesday night, saying it would be an unnecessary burden for school teachers. The bill would require K-12 public school teachers to list and publicize the classroom materials they use throughout the school year in an attempt at increased transparency. Districts would publish the lists on their websites, sorted by school, grade level and subject. Senate File 62 is the one that really just irritates me. If somebody could push my button, thats the one, Ochs said at Tuesday nights school board meeting. I really thought our Legislature would step up and say what an excellent job our teachers have done the last two years keeping our schools open. Senate File 62 passed introduction to the Senate in the first week of the legislative budget and was referred to the Senate Education Committee, where it is being reviewed this week. Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, who sponsored Senate File 62, the Civic Transparency Act, along with several other legislators, has said that the bill is aimed at increasing transparency and not specifically related to critical race theory, which is not taught in Wyoming schools but has become a contentious social issue in some states. Some opposed to the legislation have seen it as more directly related to critical race theory, as well as an added burden on teachers and unnecessary imposition on their duties as educators. The thing about Senate File 62 is they are asking each teacher to write down everything they use in the classroom all year long, Ochs said. Every website, every film, every person who comes in and speaks, everything. It is going to be a list, I mean, its 180 days. Do you know how many resources an elementary teacher uses in a day? Its like a kick in the face, Ochs said. Those teachers do not have to prove to our state Legislature that what theyre doing is right. They should be supporting us. The list could be updated throughout the school year, so long as it is completed and posted in full by July 1 following the end of the school year, the senate file language reads. The list would then stay online for at least one year following the end of the school year it documented. I am sorry, but our teachers deserve better than this it really bothers me that they would do that to our staff and think that instead of spending time with kids and on instruction, that they are going to make a list, Ochs said. Each teachers list would be 100 pages long and this is a total waste of Wyoming peoples time and money, although they would make it an unfunded mandate Im sure. But I am really fired up about it. Ochs said she will begin contacting legislators and voicing concern if the bill continues to make its way through the Legislature. The only thing I asked from them this year was to tell our teachers how much they respected and support them for the jobs theyve done and this is a kick in the teeth, she said. I am really mad. School board member Linda Bricker also expressed concern about the proposed legislation, citing its potential to add to the hiring and retainment challenges of keeping a full roster of teachers in the district. It could very possibly cause teachers to say, Ive had it. Im going to go find a different career, she said. And we already have a huge shortage. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 After multiple defeats, the legislative effort to pass Medicaid expansion is hanging on by a thread. Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, told the Star-Tribune that he plans to bring another budget amendment Friday, after his latest attempt Wednesday to pass the program was killed before it could be voted on. The next amendment is still in the works, but it will likely be a change to the budget of either the Department of Health or governors office. It would authorize either entity to seek more federal funds to grow Medicaid. Whether or not the amendment uses the term Medicaid is up in the air. Expansion of the program would extend health coverage to 18,000 to 25,000 low-income Wyomingites. Majority Floor Leader Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, spoke out against Cases Wednesday amendment, stating it was unconstitutional to make policy decisions in the budget, or what lawmakers call legislating in the budget. Driskills move left lawmakers at a standstill and prompted them to convene a Rules Committee meeting. That meeting consisted of the Senates leaders: Sens. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, and Driskill. The committee ruled 3 to 2 along party lines that the amendment proposal violated the joint rules of the House and Senate. Although the group convened on the basis of constitutionality, they determined, both as the Rules Committee and as legislators, that they did not have the authority to determine if something is constitutional or not. Instead, the Republicans in the committee hung their hat on a definition in the rules of the House and Senate that states the terms budget bill, mirror budget bill or general appropriations bill refer to appropriations for the ordinary expenses of the three branches of state government. Medicaid expansion fell outside an ordinary expense of the Legislature, Hicks said. Casper Rep. Steve Harshman, one of the leaders of the expansion effort, said lawmakers are not likely going to bring an amendment in the House. Wednesday night was the second time this session that Medicaid expansion has been killed before it could be put to a vote. Theyre doing everything they can procedurally to cast doubt or stop the bill however they can, said Jan Cartwright, deputy director of the pro-expansion group Healthy Wyoming. Polling shows that the majority of Wyomingites, and even the majority of Republicans in the state, are in favor of the program. Cases failed amendment was by no means the first time lawmakers have attempted to legislate via the budget. Though lawmakers agree that its not best practice, it has been going on for years including during the 2022 budget session by the very lawmakers who blocked Cases amendment. Minutes before the expansion amendment came up, Hicks introduced an amendment related to how much of the states rainy day fund should be poured into the states public schools each fiscal year. That, Driskill later admitted to the Star-Tribune, was legislating via the budget. Whats more, Hicks budget amendment even went as far as to include the phrase amending existing law. No members objected to legislating in the budget in that instance, but the amendment ultimately failed. Its any members right to call it, Driskill said. Thats your prerogative. Starting the budget amendment in the Senate is a purposeful strategic move. If the amendment can make it through the Senate, it will likely make it through the House, which was said to have 32 to 36 votes last week in favor of expanding Medicaid. That number was not enough to get a bill introduced (which required 40 votes), but it would be enough to pass a budget amendment, which only needs a simple majority. Now that theres been a high-profile block of legislating in the budget, could that reign in lawmakers going forward? Possibly, Case said. It might change the tenor, and it might be a good thing. As it stands, Medicaid covers pregnant women and low-income children in the state. Expansion would open it up to adults who earn less than 138% of the federal poverty level, which for a family of four is roughly $28,000. Advocates for the program say it would help the working poor and the states hospitals, which provide care to those who cannot pay for it. Some of those costs are passed along to those with insurance, meaning employers and people with coverage also feel the effect. Opponents of expanding Medicaid question its cost and sustainability. They worry, among other things, that the federal government will not be able to live up to its promises on how much of the program it funds, leaving Wyoming on the hook for it. The Equality State is one of only 12 states that have not yet expanded the program, which dates to the passage of Obamacare. Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The first day of the Wyoming Legislature is a little like the first day of school. Lawmakers, lobbyists and staff arrive at the Capitol in Cheyenne wearing their best outfits as they prepare for a month of high-intensity legislating. Fashion may not be the priority, but people still want to look their best. You might think, What could be more boring than a parade of suits? And while there is a fair amount of black blazers and navy slacks, some in the Capitol took the opportunity to show off their style, especially now that a new dress code allows for more self-expression. For the first two days of the legislative session, the Star-Tribune set up a mobile photo studio in the bowels of the Capitol to capture the wide-ranging fashion of the Legislature. Bolo ties, cowboy hats, Native jewelry, vibrant patterns and fun boots shined through in an otherwise stately and dimly lit state building. The clothing and accessory choices reflected each persons background and personality. A group of ranchers in cowboy hats, scuffed boots, suit coats and worn jeans in the Senate immediately stood out. Two legislators wore bright red and Native jewelry to recognize the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Wyoming. The session began on Valentines Day, meaning there was plenty of pink hues and hearts dotting the hallways. And a visit from a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper in uniform gave the shoot an air of authority. Heres a look at the fashion of the Legislature, where western wear collides with modern sensibilities for a style thats uniquely Wyoming. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Osmond Baboolal will be 40 years old soon. Those who know, will always see him as a child. He could have been saved. He deserved being saved. But we all failed him. This is how. NEAR the junction leading to the mud volcano and narco mansion of Piparo is the turn-off to Pooran Street in the former sugarcane village of Williamsville. Here you will find the ruins of a burnt-out house hidden behind the bushes. And so it has come to pass. One week after the island-wide blackout of February 16, we told you in this space that, from among the best authority available, there would be, there could be no one to blame for what happened. We told you that the determination had already been made as to what happened, how and why, and that nobody could have been held responsible for that. It was a warning against the natural national tendency to go for blood. Loud had been the shouts of sabotage, the result of worker discontentment, and a clamour for heads to roll. A New Generation Could Revitalize Union Efforts in the U.S. Union membership has steadily declined in the U.S., from 20.1% of the workforce in 1983 to 10.3% in 2021. The number of major work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers has also fallen markedly, from more than 400 a year in the early 1950s to just 16 in 2021. At the same time, however, support for unions has recently grownespecially among younger workers. A Gallup poll released last fall found that support for unions is at its highest point in almost 65 years. According to the report, 68% of Americans now approve of organized labor. That means support has risen 20 percentage points since 2009, when approval was at its lowest point since polling began. The increase is largely being driven by the labor market entry of Gen Z and younger Millennials, 77% of whom approve of unions. Union membership has steadily declined in the U.S., from 20.1% of the workforce in 1983 to 10.3% in 2021. The number of major work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers has also fallen markedly, from more than 400 a year in the early 1950s to just 16 in 2021. Younger Workers Are Leading the Charge Fresh faces expect more from employers Baristas in their twenties led some of the first efforts to unionize Starbucks locations, for example. The effects were felt almost immediately when they went on strike in early 2022 to protest unsafe working conditions. Several early successes have encouraged further unionization efforts, which have now spread to almost 100 stores. The tech industry, which tends to attract younger workers, is another space where unionization efforts are taking hold. In 2021, Google employees and contractors formed the Alphabet Workers Union. With over 800 members, the union has helped lead the charge in protecting Google workers from wrongful termination and in promoting transparency around who will be using the products they buildsuch as governments or militaries. Essential Workers Flex Their Muscles Workers on the front lines during the pandemic are demanding better conditions Another major factor driving the shift to union support is the Covid-19 pandemic, which upended many industries, especially healthcare. In 2021, almost 1 in 5 healthcare workers left their jobs, while another 12% were laid off. This talent vacuum created acute staffing shortages in many hospitals, putting even more pressure on those who remained. A 10-month-long nurses strike in protest against conditions at St. Vincents hospital in Massachusetts was the longest work stoppage in state history. Amazon is a major corporation whose workers also provided an essential service to Americans during the pandemic. Organizers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama held a unionization vote last year. While the initial effort failed, there is currently another vote taking place. At the same time, Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island, New York are now moving towards their own vote in pursuit of longer breaks, better medical and other leave options, and higher wages. More to Come in 2022? A more union-friendly generation is coming of age Recently, labor organizers have emphasized the unionization not only of blue-collar workers, but also of white-collar workers in tech companies and universities. Graduate students at schools like Indiana University and tech workers at companies like Apple and Activision Blizzard have staged sit-ins, circulated petitions, and mounted new unionization efforts. The efforts seem at least partly influenced by tight labor market conditions and the newfound leverage workers have enjoyed in recent months. But a culture shift also seems to be playing a role. Whether those shifts will be enough to reverse the 30-year downward trend in union membership waits to be seen. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. PHOENIX Republican lawmakers are ready to use state funds to build what theyre calling a wall along portions of Arizonas border with Mexico. The question that remains is how much theyre willing to spend. The Senate voted 16-12 on Wednesday to allocate $700 million to administer and manage the construction of a physical border fence. However, the critical 16th vote for Senate Bill 1032 came from Sen. Tyler Pace, R-Mesa. And he made it clear that while he supports the concept, he wont vote for a final budget that includes an allocation that large. That would be a misuse of state funds, Pace said. On Thursday, the House voted 31-28 to approve an identical bill but with $150 million, not $700 million. I would like to spend $700 million, said Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, the sponsor of House Bill 2317. But he told Capitol Media Services that his experience in the Legislature he was first elected in 2006 convinces him its not politically possible. Anyway, Kavanagh said, the $150 million would be enough to build about 20 miles of wall. And he said if it works out, lawmakers can approve more in future years. Even that may be too much for Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, whose proposed state budget includes $50 million for physical barriers at the border. The debate about spending state money follows the decision by President Joe Biden, shortly after taking office last year, to suspend further construction of the wall being built by his predecessor. Under former President Donald Trump, about 450 miles of border barrier was erected, including 226 miles in Arizona, much of which replaced existing barricades and fencing. Of Trumps plan, which did not cover the entire 372-mile border with Mexico, about 18 miles remain uncompleted. Since then, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has determined it will do some additional work, including completing drainage projects to prevent flooding, disposing of materials not required to complete work, and closing small gaps that remain open from prior construction activities and remediating incomplete gates. Precise locations for the projects have not been identified, although the department said some will be in Arizona. That leaves the question of what Arizona might do on its own, and how much in tax dollars it is willing to spend. The governor, speaking to reporters Thursday, sidestepped a question of whether $700 million was too much. Were negotiating right now with the Legislature on the physical barriers where Arizona can build that, Ducey said. And Im confident well be able to get those resources. Kavanagh said any state dollars would have to be used on land already owned by the state. But he said they also could be used to build a wall on private property with the consent of the owners. However, there is no border wall on the vast Tohono Oodham Nation, and that area is beyond the reach of the state. Aside from the $50 million Ducey wants for barriers, his budget request also includes $25 million for the state Department of Emergency and Military Affairs. State law allows that department to use money for preventing human trafficking and illegal entry, including administering and managing construction of a physical border fence. I do think Arizona is going to do everything it can in its power, Ducey said about securing the border. I dont think any other state in the nation is doing more. He said it isnt just about physical barriers. Ducey said the state is giving money to communities to enhance law enforcement and prosecution of people who are in the country without legal status and violate other state laws. The state has deployed about 200 Guard soldiers to the border in support roles such as monitoring surveillance cameras, analyzing data and providing administrative support to local law enforcement. Photos of the U.S. Mexico border fence U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. U.S. Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. The Pima County Attorney's Office is stepping up its efforts to support LGBTQ+ survivors of sexual assault, with a newly designated, queer-identifying victim advocate and a partnership with a local anti-violence program. Together with the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation's Anti-Violence Project, the county attorney's office is hoping to get the word out to the LGBTQ+ community that there's a safe space in the local criminal justice system for survivors to talk about what they have experienced and to seek support services. In 2019, Pima County was awarded a $2 million grant to inventory and test cold case sexual assault kits, as part of the Bureau of Justice Affairs' national Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, also called SAKI. A portion of the funds was earmarked to address the disparity in response to people in underserved communities, including Spanish speakers, as well as people who identify as LGBTQ+. 'Mistrust in the system' While work has been going on for years to help engage Spanish-speaking survivors, it's been a little more difficult to get the LGBTQ+ engagement off the ground, said lead victim advocate Colleen Phelan. "Two years into the grant, we were struggling to find anyone to participate in the process, which is fair," Phelan said. Many LGBTQ+ individuals have historically faced a range of negative experiences with law enforcement, ranging from lack of understanding, to discrimination, hostility or violence, according to an International Association of Police Chiefs strategy and consideration guide for responding to sexual violence in LGBTQ+ communities. These interactions have influenced levels of trust within LGBTQ+ communities, which exacerbates the issue of underreporting of sexual assault, the guide said. On top of that, data shows underserved communities are among the most at risk, it noted. In 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its first study on the prevalence, by sexual orientation, of domestic violence, sexual violence and stalking. The study, which is also the most recent, found that lesbians, gay men and bisexual men reported experiencing sexual violence at higher rates that heterosexual people, and bisexual women reported a higher rate of sexual assault than both lesbian and heterosexual women. Transgender people experience much higher rates of sexual assault than most other populations, with nearly half 47% of respondents in a 2015 U.S. transgender survey reporting having been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives. In addition to that increased risk, members of the LGBTQ+ community face a number of other challenges to reporting sexual assault, including not seeing the law enforcement agency as being reflective of their community. Members of the LGBTQ+ community have difficulty accessing services following a sexual assault for a variety of reasons, including unpleasant experiences in the past, a system that is largely designed for heterosexual people, and the fear for some of outing themselves, she said. "Transgender or gender-nonconforming are at higher risk than any other portion of the population and less likely to seek support from traditional sources because they have been failed in the past," Phelan said. It helps to demonstrate that even if a government agency has not done it right in the past or all of the time, they are trying. Helping people feel safe That's where Blue Norush comes into play. Norush recently joined the county attorney's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative team as its queer-identifying advocate, working to bridge the gap between survivors and the system. Norush, who uses the pronoun they, started working as a volunteer victim advocate at the prosecuting office in 2014, then joined the staff for a few years. They took a break to go back to school, while still working as a victim advocate with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and recently returned to the county attorney's office. "Outreach to the LGBTQ community from a government agency is particularly difficult, given the warranted mistrust for the system," Norush said. "It's difficult to encourage people to seek help and feel heard when they don't feel like they're safe." Helping people feel safe means having queer-identifying people like Norush within the system to form those connections and pass along resources, they said. "We're starting with me as the queer person at the Pima County Attorney's Office for queer-identifying folks to come to with questions about the system, questions about ongoing cases and more," Norush said. Free resources available Around the same time Norush moved into their position in the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative team, Carrie Eutizi became program director at the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation's Anti-Violence project. It works to prevent, respond to, and end violence against and within the LGBTQ+ communities of Southern Arizona. The project advocates for survivors of all types of domestic and intimate partner violence, sexual assault, hate violence, and stalking, providing survivors with resources, safety and support. It also offers referrals and resources to friends, family members and other callers who may not qualify for services from the project but still need assistance or direction. Eutizi began reaching out to agencies to provide information and training and to build connections. When Eutizi suggested holding training for staffers at the county attorney's office, a partnership formed, said victims services director Virginia Rodriguez. "She really can let us know what she'd like to see and the needs of the population," Rodriguez said. Norush and Eutizi started brainstorming on work to do together. From there, it's been a matter of letting people know who they are and what they do. The Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation "created an LGBTQ+ outreach department to be one of the subject matter experts in Tucson on these issues and to provide resources for free," Eutizi said. Since it's a tight-knit community, word of mouth can travel fast, especially when that word is that there's a safe person or group to talk to and a place to access services. Community interest Norush has updated the county attorney's office's literature to make it more inclusive toward LGBTQ+ people and to add the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation's resources. "We want to get more education into the system, as well," they said. "Not only with law enforcement, but also with hospitals and their staff." They recently taught an "LGBTQ 101" course with the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault's newly graduated survivor advocate team, hoping to equip the call takers with tools they need to be more inclusive when dealing with survivors. Many local behavioral health providers, shelters and other community partners are expressing interest in ensuring they're being inclusive, Eutizi said. Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said that after a year of inviting local organizations to provide input on changes they'd like to see in the criminal justice system, she's pleased that groups are starting to feel comfortable to reach in, knowing they'll find a receptive audience. Here to get 'stuff done' With the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant expiring on Oct. 1, the county attorney's office's Phelan and Norush are working quickly to create resources. "There's a lot of frustrations with the movement toward the LGBTQ community outreach just on an institutional level that a lot of it is performative and not a lot of action," Norush said. "We're here to start getting stuff done." For April's Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the office will distribute education pieces about specific at-risk populations, some of which includes simple messaging about pronouns. "We're pushing some of the more formal institutions and explaining that it will be slow, but we're trying," Phelan said. On a Thursday in early February, evidence of planning for April's awareness month was on display at the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation's Thornhill Lopez Center on 4th, a place for LGBTQ+ and allied youths ages 13-24 to visit and access a variety of services. Earlier in the week, a group of University of Arizona students held a planning session to brainstorm slogans and campaign ideas to use during campus and citywide events throughout April. Advocates and others will be working to break myths about sexual violence through facts and community education. "We're inviting people in who do have voices that want to be heard," Phelan said. "Tucson has a pretty strong LGBTQ community, and people within that community tend to look out for each other, because they're not offered the same safety nets that cisgender and heterosexual people have been throughout time," Norush said. "We can't change the system as a whole, but we can try to make it more comfortable, inviting and a little easier at any chance we get." Caitlin Schmidt is the Star's solutions reporter. Solutions journalism is rigorous reporting on responses to social problems. It intends to rebalance the news and focus not just on problems, but on potential solutions to those problems. Contact Schmidt at 573-4191 or cschmidt@tucson.com. On Twitter: @caitlincschmidt Finding help Resources for LGBTQ+ survivors of sexual assault: To reach the Pima County Attorney Office's victim advocate for LGBTQ+ survivors, call Blue Norush at 724-4031. To reach the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation's (SAAF's) Anti-Violence Project, call 547-6190. SAAF's 24/7 crisis line can be reached by calling 1-800-553-9387. For more information about SAAF and the Anti-Violence Project, visit saaf.org/care-services/avp/ or email avp@saaf.org Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A man who was shot by an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper earlier this month had made suicidal statements and was seen pointing a gun at himself and officers during an hourslong standoff before he was killed. Authorities had been notified that Anthony Parker, 48, of Oregon made statements to this girlfriend that he would kill himself after making contact with his youngest son, police said. Parkers vehicle was found by local law enforcement on Feb. 7 going east on Interstate 8. He eventually merged onto I-10 toward Tucson. DPS attempted to pull Parker over and called him on the phone but were unable to reach him, Marana police said. They also requested for a psychologist and negotiator to be available to speak to Parker. Parker exited at Sunset Road and barricaded himself inside his vehicle at the 6000 block of North Travel Center Drive, near Orange Grove Road and I-10. Dispatchers were advised that Parkers girlfriend believed he would commit suicide by cop, police said. After attempts made to contact Parker over a loudspeaker, he exited his vehicle, dropped his keys to the ground and placed his firearm on the hood of the car, police said. Officers then gave several verbal commands for Parker to turn around and walk away from the truck. Parker did not listen to the officers commands and can be seen in police body cam footage released Friday reentering his truck, grabbing his firearm and closing the vehicles door, police said. He was the observed holding the firearm in his mouth and pointing it at himself and containment units. Parker was seen pointing the firearm out the window after being directed to place the firearm on the roof of the vehicle. DPS Sgt. Neil Brooks then fired two rounds, striking Parker. The Northwest Fire District provided treatment to Parker and he was taken to University Medical Center. Shortly after his arrival, Parker was pronounced dead. No law enforcement officers were injured during the standoff. Police said once the criminal investigation is complete, it will be presented to the Pima County Attorneys Office for review. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. PHOENIX The Arizona House voted 31-28 Thursday to require teachers to tell parents some of what their students disclose in confidence, or risk being disciplined. House Bill 2161, approved on a party-line vote in the GOP-led chamber, would spell out in state law that teachers and other school employees may not interfere with or usurp the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children. Parents would have access to everything from attendance and counseling records to teacher and counselor evaluations and any email accounts. It also would spell out that teachers cannot withhold or conceal information from parents about a students physical, emotional or mental health. It would be illegal to encourage or help a student to keep that information from a parent. That is all meant to ensure parents know everything going on with their children, said Rep. Steve Kaiser, R-Phoenix, the sponsor. Lawmakers decided to exempt situations where a student shows up at school with bruises and there are questions about possible abuse. Rep. Kelli Butler, D-Paradise Valley, said the absolute requirement for disclosure of everything else is not a good idea. We dont understand what every family situation is like in the state, Butler said. There may be things students dont feel they can share with their parents but want to discuss with a teacher, she said. This would prevent that teacher from being able to provide help for that students, she said. And I think thats really dangerous. Kaiser attempted to insert penalties against teachers who withhold information, up to the possibility of a finding of unprofessional conduct, a civil penalty of $1,000, and the possibility of suspension or dismissal. But he told Capitol Media Services Thursday he had to remove the penalties to get the necessary votes. The remaining provisions would allow teachers to be subject to discipline, but in exactly what form is not spelled out, Kaiser said. Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley, D-Tucson, called the measure vague, broad, duplicative and unnecessary. We should be fostering collaboration and not division in our schools, she said. But Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction, said the objections are based on a flawed premise about the role of schools and teachers. This bill just underscores that the parents have the ultimate responsibility for teaching a lot of what their children should be thinking about on a lot of moral, ideological or spiritual items, he said. He contended teachers have forgotten theyre there to teach. Teachers feel now that theyre psychologists, psychiatrists, Fillmore said. The children are not the property of the state, the children are not the property of the teachers. Kaiser had to do more than remove the penalties. To get the necessary support, he also took out language that would have required teachers to share with parents a students purported gender identity or requested transition if the child identifies in a way that is incongruous with the students biological sex. Opponents said that would harm the ability of students with questions about gender identity, who feel they cant speak with their parents about it, to get some answers or guidance from teachers. The measure now goes to the Senate. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. A man killed by a Border Patrol agent was about to hurl a rock when the agent, fearing for his life, shot him an unknown number of times, the Cochise County Sheriffs Office said in a news release late Thursday, citing the agents account. The man killed was Carmelo Cruz-Marcos, 32, of Puebla, Mexico, the office said. The sheriffs news release gave the following account of the incident: Cruz-Marcos was part of a group of undocumented migrants who made their way into Skeleton Canyon, about 30 miles northeast of Douglas, on Saturday, Feb. 19. The group set off sensors meant to show locations of multiple people, and two Border Patrol agents were dispatched on horseback. The pair dismounted in tough terrain and continued after the group. As the agents approached the group, the migrants scattered. One agent pursued a group of two migrants up a hill, while the other agent chased a single migrant downhill. Both agents apprehended and arrested their targets and regrouped. Thats when the agents noticed Cruz-Marcos, who was reportedly hiding under a tree. One agent chased after Cruz-Marcos, who had fled downhill, and both tumbled their way down the hill before the agent was able to apprehend Cruz-Marcos. During a follow-up interview, the agent said that Cruz-Marcos, at some point after being apprehended, threw a punch and struck him in the left shoulder with the fist glancing up into the agents cheek, according to the news release. The agent said he then tackled Cruz-Marcos, who went into a crouch position, with head down and hands under his body. The struggle continued, the agent said, and he said Cruz-Marcos threw his elbow backward into the agent while trying to get up from the ground. Cruz-Marcos broke free from the struggle, according to the agents account. The subject (Cruz-Marcos) then ran approximately 6 feet away before picking up a large rock and turning back toward the agent making a throwing motion with the hand that held the rock, the release said. The agent said he fired his gun an unknown number of times, in fear for his life and safety. The second agent arrived and noticed Cruz-Marcos was wounded and called for back-up help. The agents radioed for medical assistance and determined the man was dead before other units arrived. During the search of area after the incident, agents arrested two additional migrants believed to be part of the same group, and they were taken to Douglas. The Pima County Medical Examiners Office reported on Tuesday that the migrant who died, identified Thursday as Cruz-Marcos, sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The names of the agents involved have not been released. The Cochise County Sheriffs Office is leading the investigation into the incident and it is under review by the U.S. Border and Customs Protection Office of Professional Responsibility. The Mexican government condemns any act of unjustified violence against migrants, the Consulate of Mexico said in a statement. Personnel at the consulate interviewed the other migrants who were taken into custody and are monitoring development of the situation, the statement said. Edward Celaya is a breaking news and marijuana reporter. He has been on both beats since May 2021. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Right-wing political figure Steve Bannon has bought a home in Oro Valley, documents filed with the Pima County Recorder show. An affidavit of property value and other documents say Bannon bought the 4,865-square-foot home on Jan. 31 for $1.55 million. Bannon put down $350,000 on the Mediterranean style house, at the end of a street alongside one of the towns golf courses, the affidavit says. The house had gone on sale Jan. 7. Neither Bannon nor his spokeswoman returned messages seeking comment. Bannon has longstanding connections to Southern Arizona. He arrived at Biosphere 2 in 1994, working on behalf of chief financier Ed Bass, and became acting CEO of the project that year. Bannons brother, Chris, also became involved in the Biosphere project and settled here. He also owns a home in Oro Valley, county records show. Steve Bannon, long a leader among right-wing nationalists, became a household name when he took over Donald Trumps shaky campaign in 2016 and led it to victory. He was ousted from the Trump White House in August 2017, but he has continued to push Trumpism, first at Breitbart News, and more recently in a daily podcast called War Room. Bannon has made frequent appearances at political events in the Tucson area. In 2017, he received an award from the Brian Terry Foundation at the Marriott Starr Pass resort, drawing a crowd of protesters. In 2019, Bannon joined Brian Kolfage and others at Quail Creek in Sahuarita to launch a nationwide fundraising campaign for the We Build the Wall effort to build a privately funded border wall. Bannon, Kolfage and two others were indicted the next year on felony counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering for misusing the money raised. Trump pardoned Bannon the last day of his presidency. In October 2021, Bannon was the headliner for a Lincoln Day fundraiser for the Pima County GOP. It took place at the Hilton El Conquistador, not far from Bannons new home. The next month, Bannon was indicted on charges of contempt of Congress, for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He still faces those charges. In January, the Daily Beast reported that Bannon had sought a loan against a Connecticut property previously owned by a nonprofit he is linked to, the Rule of Law Society, although that group no longer owned the $1.4 million property. Bannon listed that same Connecticut address on the affidavit filed with the Pima County Recorders Office Jan. 31. - Tim Steller Chamber backs Tucsons Prop. 411 The Tucson Metro Chamber endorsed Proposition 411 this week, an upcoming ballot initiative thats expected to generate about $740 million to repair city streets and add roadway safety features like upgraded traffic signals. Voters will decide in May whether to authorize the initiatives half-cent sales tax to fund the work over the next 10 years. Its an extension of a soon-to-expire 2017 ballot measure called . The chamber an advocacy and community development organization that represents thousands of businesses in the region is asking Tucsonans to vote yes on the initiative, saying its an investment that needs to be made sooner rather than later. Proposition 411 will save taxpayer dollars in the long run, the chamber said in a statement. The longer we wait to fix our roads, the more expensive the repairs will cost. The chamber said increased road repair efforts are critical because 85% of Tucsons residential streets are in poor or in failing condition, according to ratings by independent road engineers. The statement went on to say that Tucsons deteriorating roads also have a significant impact on the local economy and business operations because of issues like shipment delays, which the advocacy group said can be mitigated through Proposition 411s investment in repavement. Improvements to our roads are in direct support of our regions economic vitality because traffic congestion delays appointments and deliveries, the organization wrote. According to a U.S. Chamber study, small, onsite service providers, such as plumbers, schedule fewer service calls, resulting in less revenue. Large businesses, such as UPS, have delivery drivers waiting extra time, resulting in an annual cost of $114 million. The chambers statement will be included in the city of Tucsons publicity pamphlet ahead of the May 17 special election. The pamphlet will also contain arguments for and against Prop. 411 submitted by numerous other local organizations.Sam Kmack Contact columnist Tim Steller at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter Contact columnist Tim Steller at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Tim Steller Columnist Tim Steller is the Stars metro columnist. A 20-plus year veteran of reporting and editing, he digs into issues and stories that matter in the Tucson area, reports the results and tells you his opinion on it all. PHOENIX State officials are moving to create an agency to search for and finance the water Arizona will need if it hopes to support its current population and grow. But Arizonans, particularly those who plan to move here in the future, should be prepared to pay more possibly a lot more to get that water. The new Arizona Water Authority announced Friday by Gov. Doug Ducey would have the unique right to obtain and even own water. The state is considering piping excess water from the Midwest and desalinating water from the Gulf of California. The agency would start with $1 billion in funding the governor hopes to set aside over the next three years. That would not go far, however, especially with expensive new technology required to make water from elsewhere suitable for household use. So the plan envisions having the state partner with private investors who would be willing to finance the projects investors who would want a rate of return on their cash. That is likely to mean the rates Arizonans pay for water, which often cover only the cost of treating and delivering it, will have to go up, said House Speaker Russell Bowers, R-Mesa, who was instrumental in crafting the plan, which still needs legislative approval. Were going to have to get over the idea that water is cheap, he said. The key may be finding ways to protect residents already here, while charging higher rates or connection fees to those who come to the state in the future, Bowers told Capitol Media Services. My mother-in-law, 100 years old, down on her little lot in Mesa, shouldnt have to pay the cost of a desalination plant in Mexico, he said. But the bottom line, Bowers said, is that without that new water, expensive though it may be, there just wont be enough to go around. If we dont do it quick, then people actually will be leaving this valley, he said. The Arizona Water Authority is the next step to the Drought Contingency Plan adopted in 2019 in the wake of a decline in Colorado River water. It was recognized to be only a stopgap measure, patching together things like obtaining water rights from tribes and some cutbacks in agricultural use. But now the U.S. West is facing its driest conditions in 1,200 years, a group of scientists reported earlier this month. If that continues for another 10 years, Lake Mead will be empty, Bowers said. In fact, he said that at the current rate of use versus replenishment, it will be a dead pool in four or five years. Thats leading to some radical proposals. Desalination is one of them, Ducey said. How far the states money would go even if it used the entire $1 billion is unclear. Even after the costs of constructing the desalination plant, current estimates are that treated water would cost $2,500 an acre-foot. Thats the amount of water that, depending on usage, is needed to serve from two to four single-family homes for a year. So, think possible $1,200 annual water bills per house for treated seawater. Bruce Babbitt, a former Arizona governor and U.S. interior secretary, told reporters this week that the state should not look to desalination to answer its water woes, at least not in the next generation. We need people to understand, it isnt going to help us out of our present crisis, he said. Bowers, for his part, acknowledged that the state, in considering desalination, may be looking for a magic bullet to solve its water woes. But that does not make it a bad idea, he said. I would proffer that there arent any other bullets, Bowers said. Technology aside, Bowers said theres something else that makes this a practical solution, even if it is expensive. In Arizona, a host of laws govern the ownership of groundwater and surface water, meaning much of it already belongs to someone. Even treated effluent, Bowers noted, is subject to certain regulations. The water authority will not have the right to use eminent domain to seize water that belongs to someone else. But new water from somewhere else? Thats not covered by state law. And that means it could be owned outright by the new water authority, which then would have the power to sell it where needed, without worrying that someone elses legal rights were being trampled. The high-dollar solutions like desalination and effluent treated to drinking-water quality more colorfully referred to a toilet-to-tap wont be the only ways the authority could spend its money. There are other options, Bowers said, such as paying farmers to convert to new crops or use different irrigation techniques. Incentives to urban landowners to cut back on lush lawns some Phoenix-area lawns are watered through flood irrigation might result in water credits that developers could buy up for new subdivisions. But Ducey is balking at any talk of forcing the issue, at least when it comes to farms, even though agriculture uses about 70% of the states water. Farming and agriculture is a huge part of our economy, he said. I think weve been able to do it successfully. Any change will have to come from within, Ducey said. Weve also had and seen the farmers and the companies that are involved in agriculture diversify their crops depending on what the needs and the costs are, he said. So I dont know that its for the governor to decide who grows what. And were the leafy green capital of the country, Ducey continued. I think weve been pretty good at it. The flip side of agriculture using 70% is that urban use is a minority. And while the governor said he thinks encouraging conservation should be part of the discussion and a responsible practice, he isnt sure it would make much of a difference. It doesnt do much to affect the water supply statewide, he said. Still, Ducey said he does his part: I turn off the water when I brush my teeth. The new authority would have a nine-member board, with six appointed by the governor and three state officials, including the head of the Arizona Department of Water Resources. Of those the governor would name, no more than three could be from the same political party. No more than one appointed member can be from the same county, with a limit of two of the six coming from Maricopa, Pinal or Pima counties. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. MOSCOW (AP) Shocked Russians turned out by the thousands Thursday to decry their country's invasion of Ukraine as emotional calls for protests grew on social media. Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow. Hundreds of posts came pouring in condemning Moscow's most aggressive actions since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Vladimir Putin called the attack a "special military operation" to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine from "genocide" a false claim the U.S. had predicted would be a pretext for invasion, and which many Russians roundly rejected. Tatyana Usmanova, an opposition activist in Moscow, wrote on Facebook that she thought she was dreaming when she awoke at 5:30 a.m. to the news, which she called "a disgrace that will be forever with us now." "I want to ask Ukrainians for forgiveness. We didn't vote for those who unleashed the war," she said. As sirens blasted in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, and large explosions were heard there and in other cities, Russians were signing open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault, which the Ukrainian health minister said had killed at least 57 Ukrainians and wounded dozens more. "Public opinion is in shock, people are in shock," political analyst Abbas Gallyamov told The Associated Press. One petition, started by a prominent human rights advocate, Lev Ponomavyov, garnered over 150,000 signatures within several hours and more than 330,000 by the end of the day. More than 250 journalists put their names on an open letter decrying the aggression. Another one was signed by some 250 scientists, while 194 municipal council members in Moscow and other cities signed a third. Photos: Hundreds arrested as Russians protest Ukraine attack "I'm worried about the people very much, I'm worried to tears," said Zoya Vorobey, a resident of Korolyov, a town outside Moscow, her voice cracking. "I've been watching television since this morning, every minute, to see if anything changes. Unfortunately, nothing." Several Russian celebrities and public figures, including some working for state TV, spoke out against the attack. Yelena Kovalskaya, director of a state-funded Moscow theater, announced on Facebook she was quitting her job, saying "it's impossible to work for a killer and get paid by him." "I know that right now many of you feel desperation, helplessness, shame over Vladimir Putin's attack on the friendly nation of Ukraine. But I urge you not to despair," human rights activist Marina Litvinovich said in a video statement on Facebook, calling for mass protests Thursday evening. "We, the Russian people, are against the war Putin has unleashed. We don't support this war, it is being waged not on our behalf," Litvinovich said. But the authorities were having none of that. In Moscow and other cities, they moved swiftly to crack down on critical voices. Litvinovich was detained outside of her residence shortly after posting the protest call. OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests, reported that 1,745 people in 54 cities had been detained by Thursday evening, at least 957 of them in Moscow. Russia's Investigative Committee issued a warning Thursday afternoon reminding Russians that unauthorized protests are against the law. Roskomnadzor, state communications and media watchdog, demanded that Russian media use "information and data they get only from official Russian sources." Some media reported that employees of certain state-funded companies were instructed not to comment publicly on the events in Ukraine. Human rights advocates warned of a new wave of repression on dissent. "There will be new (criminal) cases involving subverters, spies, treason, prosecution for antiwar protests, there will be detentions of journalists and bloggers, those who authored critical posts on social media, bans on investigations of the situation in the army and so on," prominent human rights advocate Pavel Chikov wrote on Facebook. "It is hard to say how big this new wave will be, given that everything has been suppressed already." Despite the pressure from the authorities, more than 1,000 people gathered in the center of Moscow Thursday evening, chanting "No to war!" as passing cars honked their horns. Hundreds also took to the streets in St. Petersburg and dozens in Yekaterinburg. "This is the most shameful and terrible day in my life. I even was not able to go to work. My country is an aggressor. I hate Putin. What else should be done to make people open their eyes?" Yekaterina Kuznetsova, 40-year-old engineer who joined the demonstration in St. Petersburg, told the AP. Russia's official line in the meantime remained intransigent. Speaker of the upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko charged that those who spoke out against the attack were only caring about their "momentary problems." State TV painted the attack in line with what Putin said in his televised address announcing it. Russia 1 TV host Olga Skabeyeva called it an effort "to protect people in Donbas from a Nazi regime" and said it was "without exaggeration, a crucial junction in history." ___ Photos: Scenes from Ukraine as Russia invades AP writer Kirill Zarubin contributed to this report from Korolyov, Russia. Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Join us for an afternoon of wine, hors doeuvres and art on Saturday, April 9, from 1 p.m. to 4 p. m. in the Ballroom in SaddleBrooke Ranch. The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke is hosting a fundraiser with renowned artist and philanthropist Diana Madaras. Finding Your Inspiration is the theme for this event and Diana is bringing the Gallery to SaddleBrooke Ranch. The celebration will include a Gallery Trunk Show featuring art by Diana Madaras and guest artists of the Gallery, as well as Southwest gifts, Southwest holiday cards, jewelry, and more. Each guest will receive a gift from the Gallery. Artist Diana Madaras says, "Painting fills me with joy." She is equally well known for her bold, colorful Southwest art as for her generous charitable giving. Madaras owns the gallery in Tucson, Arizona that features her work, and she is president of the non-profit Art for Animals Foundation, a charity she founded in 1999 to help abused, injured, and orphaned animals. Madaras is a colorist who celebrates the subtle, natural beauty of ordinary scenes in a way that is both intense and dramatic. She paints in both watercolor and acrylic and has a diverse portfoliofrom brilliant desert landscapes to expressionistic portraits. A signature member of the Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild, Madaras has been featured in a dozen one-woman shows, and her art has hung in the Tucson Museum of Art. She was named the featured artist of the Empire Ranch 100 Show in 2009. Much in demand for commissioned artwork, Madaras has completed paintings for Westin, Loews, and Miraval Resorts. She also has created eight paintings for the estate of the former President of Mexico. Her painting, The Blues at Old Main, was commissioned for the cover of the University of Arizona Alumni Magazine and her art has appeared on the covers of six other magazines, including Art Book of the West and Tucson Lifestyle. Register for more free articles. Log in Sign up Madaras is very active in community service, and her art has benefited more than 100 charities. " I believe that when you have a wonderful, fortunate life, it's important to give back and help others who need a hand up," she said. In 2008, her art show African Sojourn raised $80,000 for charity. The show followed a safari to South Africa and Botswana, a trip the artist describes as an unforgettable adventure. "If I can help animals and people through art, there's nothing better." Activities include, Diana speaking about Finding Your Inspiration, door prizes, a live auction at 3 p.m. for a Diana Madaras giclee with a value of $500. Diana Madaras has donated four $250 shopping sprees at the Madaras Gallery which will be raffled off. The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke wishes to thank our sponsors for the event: Morris Trust and All Seasons Senior Living. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at SaddleBrookeRotary.com or the from members of the Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke. For more information, please call Wendy Guyton at (520) 404-5712 or send an email to wguyton17@gmail.com. Greetings everyone and to all new members! We are excited to have you belong to a committed group of women who follow the objectives of the Republican Womens Club. This months meeting will be held on Friday, March 18, at 10 a.m. in the HOA-1 Clubhouse downstairs in the Coyote Room. We have an exciting speaker this month! His name is Abraham Hamadeh, who is known as Honest Abe, and he is running for Arizona State Attorney General. Mr. Hamadeh is currently an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and just returned from a 14-month long deployment to Saudi Arabia. On behalf of the United States Army, he negotiated military sales and managed the training for Saudi Arabias domestic security forces both in the kingdom and in the United States. He is also a former prosecutor of the Maricopa County Attorneys Office. He has appeared in court to prosecute criminals, uphold victims rights and seek Justice for the community. His campaign issues include election security, opposing what he views as censorship by tech companies, enforcing state border security laws, and supporting law enforcement officers. He earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Arizona State University and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona College of Law. Register for more free articles. Log in Sign up We expect Mr. Hamadeh to be an interesting and inspiring speaker, so we hope to see everyone at the meeting! For further information about membership to the Republican Womens Club, please contact Mandy Rowe at merowe@hotmail.com. On Friday, March 4, Dr. Mark McMahon will speak at the DesertView Theater at 1 pm. Please note this important change in venues! Have you wanted to save money on dental procedures, but didnt know where to turn? Have you heard about dentistry in Mexico, but didnt know how to start? Have you wondered about going over the border for dental work, but had a lot of unanswered questions? Have you worried about crossing the border during the pandemic? The next speaker for SaddleBrookes Wellness Integration Network may have the answers you are looking for. Dr. McMahon is a second-generation Tucson dentist, who will answer all of your questions about dentistry in Mexico. For over six-years Dr. Mahon has introduced not only Tucsonans, and Arizonans, but people from all over the US and Canada to quality dental care at affordable prices. So, if you are wanting to learn more about dentistry in Mexico, this will provide you will helpful information. SaddleBrookes Wellness Integration Network connects SaddleBrooke residents with knowledgeable resources to learn more about options for wellness. We meet on the first Friday of each month, usually in the Ballroom of the MountainView Clubhouse at 1 p.m. The speakers and programs are free to the community and reservations are not needed. In addition to our First Friday program each month at the Ballroom, WIN also offers small group classes on a variety of topics. Our upcoming small group classes are usually held in our homes and include: Meditation Complimentary and In Person Each Wednesday at the Agate Room of the MountainView Arts and Crafts Complex 3:30 p.m. - Instruction for new attendees 4:00 p.m. - Meditation New class members can register by emailing reikinaturalhealingus@gmail.com. I Didnt Know You Could Do That! Complimentary Wellness Tips and Tricks Wednesday, March 9 at 1 p.m. at the home of Barbara Barr Wednesday, March 9 at 3:30 p.m. on Zoom Register by emailing winsbaz@gmail.com. Know Your CBD Complimentary Register for more free articles. Log in Sign up Tuesday, March 15 at 1 p.m. at the home of Barbara Barr Tuesday, March 15 at 3:30 p.m. on Zoom Register by emailing winsbaz@gmail.com. Wellness Wisdom Complementary Q & A Your questions about wellness Friday, March 25 at 1 p.m. at the home of Barbara Barr Saturday, February 26 at 9 a.m. on Zoom. Register by emailing winsbaz@gmail.com. First Degree Reiki SAVE THE DATE FOR APRIL Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16 at the home of Patti Gould 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. To register, email reikinaturalhealingus@gmail.com. To learn more about our classes and get the latest updates by email, email winsbaz@gmail.com to get on our email distribution list. The Wellness Integrated Network is open to all SaddleBrooke residents. Come join our community of learners on our wellness journey. For more information, you can also contact Barbara Barr or Patti Gould at winsbaz@gmail.com or call (520) 339-7400. Nestled between a vintage clothing shop and a video rental store in midtown Tucson sits a small woman- and Asian-owned anime and K-pop shopping hub. The shops windows are plastered with posters of characters from popular anime series with colorful spiky hair and glistening doe eyes and photos of famous K-pop stars with porcelain skin thats smooth like butter. (OK, OK, no more K-pop puns, sorry, BTS stans.) As you walk into Kira Kira Collectibles, K-pop music plays subtly in the background and youre instantly greeted by the shops owner 23-year-old Mariam Pacheco, a self-described shy but passionate enthusiast of all things anime and K-pop, who opened the shop this past December. The shop features multiple shelves filled with squishable plushies, countertops with anime figures placed carefully in their boxes and a display case that houses the shops more exclusive items, like autographs from the U.S. voice actors of the popular anime series, Demon Slayer, or the more expensive figurines. Theres a local artist corner with numerous pieces of anime art framed on the walls and three tables covered in stickers and jewelry. On the opposite side of the shop, Pacheco has a dedicated corner with four large black bookshelves filled with popular and niche K-pop albums. You can also find various posters, figurines, pins, totes and even mystery bundles at Kira Kira Collectibles, all of which are Japanese or Korean imports. The two most popular sections, the artist and K-pop corners, are Pachecos favorite spots in the shop. Tucson is super supportive of the local community, so the artists corner does really well since they're from Tucson, she said, adding that customers get to see artworks in the shop that they never would have seen otherwise. After owning an online eBay shop for the past two years, Pacheco decided to take the plunge late last year and open up the Kira Kira Collectibles brick-and-mortar location at 2903 E. Speedway. The reason behind the move is simple: she had too many collectibles, but not enough space at her home. My whole house was like a maze, like, I had to make pathways because there were boxes everywhere else, she said. I was looking into warehousing to try to put stuff away, but then I was like, Nah, we're just gonna jump and open a store. And everyone's like, Are you sure? I'm like, Yeah, we're gonna do it. Register for more free articles. Log in Sign up When she received access to the space in October 2021, she and her friends began renovating the shop themselves. They placed shelving and furniture and even did the flooring after Pacheco was quoted $7,000 from a contractor to get the flooring done. Sometimes I worry maybe it doesn't look as cohesive or professional as, like, retail stores, but maybe it gives it like a homey feeling, she said of the stores design. Bringing a little kirakira to Tucson Regardless of what the store looks like, Kira Kira Collectibles shares a little bit of Pachecos home life with the Tucson community, as the store was named after her dog, Kira. In Japanese, kirakira has the same meaning as shining, glittering or sparkling in English, which is exactly what Pacheco is hoping to bring to Tucsons anime community a little bit of sparkle in the primarily male-dominated collectible scene. Diversity is always a good thing, you know, and being able to have different conversations with people because of where I'm from and because Im a woman compared to all the males that are surrounding me in the industry, it's kind of like a different feeling, said Pacheco, who is half Filipino and half Pakistani. I do feel like, sometimes, girls are a little more comfortable talking to me about stuff because some men can come off really strong. So being a woman helps kind of ease that tension. The Houston native moved to Tucson around four years ago with her husband, who was in the military then. Since her move and opening her stores physical location late last year, she said she has seen nothing but support and help from other local businesses such as Comet Collectibles in Park Place Mall. I was kind of overwhelmed, she said. I didnt expect it to be like this. So, what if you (or someone you know) wants to delve into the world of anime collectibles but you find yourself overwhelmed at the thought of where to start? Pacheco can help with that. She grew up watching anime, so she can make a few recommendations even if you're starting from scratch. Within the store's first month, numerous parents came through the store frantically seeking anime and K-pop Christmas presents for their kids but had no idea about the shows, artists or names of characters. Pacheco would then ask for clues about what their kids were into and show the parents different characters or artists until they found the perfect item. As Pacheco finds her footing in her latest business venture, she aims to grow and double her current stock to help fill some of the empty spaces in the shop and she hopes to be able to host pop-up events at the shop and throughout Arizona. I'm here, but it's kind of hard to put yourself out there and try to find ways to get, like, reach, she said. I'm still just barely touching into the anime community in Tucson. I feel like there's maybe like 90% of other people in Tucson that like anime that still haven't heard of the shop. But yeah, we're growing. I'm hoping to get a lot more variety, a lot more like niche items aside from the more popular ones you see everywhere. Walking to school under Spanish moss trees, surrounded by historic Southern homes, Christy Thames discovered her appreciation for architecture while growing up in Savannah, Georgia. It wasnt until moving to Tulsa, however, and meeting her husband, Dustin, that Thames realized her passion for the midcentury modern aesthetic. The Thameses own OwnTulsa, a real estate brokerage, and serve as patrons of the Tulsa Foundation for Architecture. In order to give back to Tulsa and honor the citys architectural history, the pair chose to renovate Lady Lorton, a midcentury modern home in the heart of the Lortondale neighborhood. The home at 5342 E. 26th Place is featured in TFAs Mod of the Moment Open House tour on Sunday. We wanted to see the home taken care of and done right, because we understand that a home like this adds value to our city, Christy Thames said. There was a lot of artistry that went into the design and material choice of this home, and we thought we would be the best stewards of it. Christy Thames said her husband already owned Lady Lorton in 2010 when they started dating. It was one of the rare homes in the Lortondale area that survived the renovation boom of the 80s and 90s in fact, the home still contained many of its original midcentury modern features, like parquet flooring and mahogany paneling. When I met my husband, I had never been to Lortondale or seen a home like that, so when I walked in for the first time, I was like, This is in Tulsa? Unbelievable!, Christy Thames said. He didnt have to design the space to be this cool, modern thing because it was trendy it just happened to be that way because it had all of the original features. It felt like you were walking into this Mad Men bachelor pad it was beautiful. The Lortondale neighborhood was constructed by Tulsa architect Donald Honn and developer Howard Grubb between 1954 and 1957, according to lortondale.com. Built across the Eugene Lorton estate, the homes were designed to incorporate modern design with comfort and privacy in mind. Many of the homes in the neighborhood were some of the first in the country to be built with heating and air as a standard. Large walls of windows stretched across the backs of the homes, allowing mothers to keep a watchful eye on children playing in fenced-in backyards. Upon moving into the home, Christy Thames said she felt called to learn more about the history of Lortondale and also to preserve the iconic home, rather than completely modernize it. When I moved in with my husband, being someone that was really proud of the architecture and design in Tulsa, he helped me learn and understand the neighborhood, Christy Thames said. I just became a huge proponent along with him of how we could live in the home and coexist with the original design, which meant, at time, owning a bit less, because theres less storage options in these homes. You dont have to be a true minimalist, but you do learn to utilize the space you have, because you dont want to blow through a wall and change the design. When the couple did decide to start renovations on Lady Lorton, Christy Thames said they took great care to keep all of the original features intact and make sure all new additions looked true to the midcentury time period. They felt it was essential to maintain all of the mahogany features and made it a personal mission to add original, midcentury parquet flooring to the carpeted areas of the home. It was important to us that we have the original parquet that was designed for Lortondale in that space, and we wanted it to run throughout the house, so we knew before we could start renovations, we had to collect over 250 pieces of original parquet, Christy Thames said. In addition to finding parquet online and receiving pieces from other Lortondale residents, the Thameses were able to salvage some pieces that were being discarded before starting the installation project. Upon acquiring all of the necessary pieces, the Thameses installed the parquet, square by square, themselves. There were times people would come into the neighborhood, not knowing that it adds value to the home to have these original features people would come in and flip the home or make trendy updates, and actually depreciate the home by pulling out the parquet, Christy Thames said. If we saw that, we would always try to go educate people, but anytime we couldnt catch that and would notice it out on the curb or in a dumpster, we would go pull parquet from the trash and start collecting the pieces we needed. Although the renovations made to Lady Lorton were certainly a labor of love, Christy Thames said the hospitable, pleasant feeling you get from spending time in the home has made it all worth it. My favorite thing is the balance of all the natural light that comes in from the floor-to-ceiling windows on the back of the home, and the warm tones of the mahogany wood and the flooring, Christy Thames said. A lot of times when you see modern (design), it can come off as cold. Whats thoughtful about the way these homes are designed is you get a warm, contemporary experience it feels like a hug. Years later, the Thameses would receive an offer they couldnt refuse an opportunity to purchase the original Lortondale home that belonged to Donald Honn. Though they still wanted to keep Lady Lorton, they wanted other Tulsans and visitors to enjoy it as well, which led them to the decision to convert the home into an Airbnb. We now live in the original Donald Honn home, which was the first home built in Lortondale, and we decided to keep Lady Lorton because it is such a treasure, and we wanted to share it, Christy Thames said. We want Lady Lorton to be a source of pride, not just for the Lortondale community, but for Tulsa as a whole. After moving, the couple outfitted Lady Lorton with authentic midcentury furniture and other decor items that adhered to midcentury modern style. As a special touch, the Thameses filled the home with rare midcentury pottery from Russel Wright and Frankoma Pottery, allowing guests to get a curated experience when staying at the home. The trick of moving into another home and having Lady Lorton is we didnt want to move everything out, and then go buy a bunch of brand new stuff from Target we wanted to do it right, Christy Thames said. We took another four or five months to curate the pieces that would be staying, and what we wanted to take with us. We took so much extra time to go through our furniture collection and make sure we had it set up correctly, so its a true midcentury experience for people. To rent the Airbnb, visit airbnb.com/h/ladylorton For tickets to the Tulsa Foundation for Architectures Mod of the Moment tour of Lady Lorton, visit tulsaarchitecture.org/programs/mod-of-the-moment-lady-lorton For more Mod of the Moment open houses and other architectural tours, visit tulsaarchitecture.org/programs What the Ale, Beer of the Week, Skydance Brewing Co. Fancy Dance Make your house a home For the holidays: Get inspiring home and gift ideas sign up now! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Putin discusses Ukraine issue with state leaders Xinhua) 08:12, February 25, 2022 Photo taken on Feb. 21, 2022 shows a screen displaying Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking during a televised address to the nation in Moscow, Russia. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi) Putin held telephone conversations with Raisi, Modi, and Macron. MOSCOW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephone conversations with leaders of several countries, the Kremlin said Thursday. Putin had a telephone conversation with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, explaining how the situation around Ukraine is evolving. Raisi expressed understanding with respect to Russia's security concerns caused by the destabilizing actions of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Issues relating to the diplomatic efforts to preserve and fully implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program were reviewed, the Kremlin said, adding that it was noted that reaching a final agreement on the JCPOA would contribute to regional stability and security. Putin also briefed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Moscow's stance on the Ukraine issue. "When discussing the situation, Putin outlined his fundamental assessments of Kiev's aggressive actions against the civilian population of Donbass, as well as about Kiev's many years of destructive policy aimed at breaking the Minsk agreements," the Kremlin said. Modi thanked Putin for the clarification and asked for assistance in ensuring the security of Indian citizens currently in Ukraine. Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron also discussed the situation in Ukraine during a phone conversation. According to the Kremlin, both sides had a "serious and frank" exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine. The Kremlin added that Putin gave "comprehensive explanations of the reasons and circumstances for the decision to conduct a special military operation." Putin on Thursday authorized "a special military operation" in the Donbass region, and Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Researchers have used genetics to create the largest human family tree ever made, allowing individuals to find out who their distant ancestors were and where they lived, as well as exactly how they are related to everyone alive today. The research, carried out by scientists from the University of Oxford's Big Data Institute, combines human genomes from a variety of sources both ancient and modern DNA to better understand human history and evolution. Just as a family tree shows how an individual is related to their parents or siblings, genetic genealogy reveals which genes are shared between two individuals, lead author Anthony Wilder Wohns, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, told CNN. As such, it can show which points in the human genome individuals share genes and where they differ, he added. "Simply put, what we did was we created the largest human family tree ever," Wohns said. "We have a single genealogy that traces the ancestry of all of humanity, and shows how we're all related to each other today." The resource means anyone who has access to their own genetic information can work out when their ancestors moved to a particular place, and why they have certain genes. "It's basically understanding the entire story of human history that's written in our genes," Wohns said. Human genetic research has developed rapidly in recent decades, generating huge amounts of new information. New techniques in ancient DNA analysis have provided tantalizing details about prehistory and in 2010 explosively revealed that humans interbred with Neanderthals. However, it has proven difficult to combine different databases, integrate ancient and modern genomes, and work out ways of handling such a large amount of data. The Oxford team developed algorithms to enable the combination of genomes into their tool. "That was one of our biggest innovations," Wohns said. This allowed them to build the structure of what they described as a "human gene genealogy" which has been talked about theoretically for around 30 years, he said. "We're basically trying to pierce the veil and see what that looks like," he added. As things stand, the genes of 3,609 people from 215 populations have been sequenced, with some dating from more than 100,000 years ago. The method allows for this number to be expanded to potentially millions of genomes in the future. The paper confirms existing conclusions about human history, including that most human evolution took place in Africa before a large movement out of the continent around 70,000 years ago, Wohns said. "It's confirmatory in many ways," he said, adding that the data shows there is most genetic diversity in Africa and the oldest human ancestors are located on the continent. "It's unequivocal that the majority of human evolution occurred in Africa." 'First draft' of gene genealogy However, the data also raises questions. "It's suggestive of potentially unknown migrations that happened in the past," Wohns said. For example, there is some evidence that human ancestors were in North America earlier than previously thought, although further research would be needed to reveal unknown migrations, he said. Wohns likens the research to a "first draft" of the human gene genealogy, and said further work will help to make it more accurate and comprehensive. Adding more genomes will help to do this, but in order to achieve total accuracy we would need to have the genome of every human that has ever lived, he said, which is not possible. Wohns said he hopes other researchers in the field will use the resource, which is available for download along with instructions for use, as a basis to answer more specific questions on migrations in certain geographical areas. "It's going to be a really rich resource for future investigation into human evolutionary history," he said. Wohns himself is working with artificial intelligence researchers to try to obtain more accurate estimates of when and where human ancestors lived. The method can also be used to develop a genealogy of any organism, including diseases such as SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, and Wohns is planning to study the relationship between genetics and disease. The paper was published Thursday in the journal Science. 'Great promise' for evolutionary studies Anders Bergstrom, postdoctoral fellow in evolutionary genomics at the Francis Crick Institute, London, told CNN that the study provides a new method for estimating how our DNA is related. "Inferring the tree-like genealogies that relate the DNA between different people is a holy grail in genomic science. It will never be fully solved, but this new computational method takes an important step forward on this problem," he said via email. "The genealogies that they infer provides an incredibly rich view of human genetic diversity and history. There's a lot of excitement in genomics right now about the many possibilities offered by these new computational methods." Pontus Skoglund, group leader of the Ancient Genomics laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute, told CNN that the study shows this kind of approach can be extended to large databases. "They thus have great promise to benefit medical genetics and evolutionary studies, and this paper is a big step forward towards that," said Skoglund via email. *** OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahoma Attorney General John OConnor on Thursday appeared to reverse course on his offices review of more than 50 books to see if some might violate the states obscenity law. Our office is not conducting an investigation in this matter at this time, OConnor said in a statement released Thursday. I understand that there is proposed legislation that has been introduced in this new session to address these parents concerns. He said he had received complaints from several parents about books they thought were obscene. OConnors office said Wednesday it was reviewing the books and provided a list of more than 50 books under review. Some books on the list are classics, such as Of Mice and Men and Lord of the Flies. The list also includes Gender Queer: A Memoir and The Every Body Book: The LGBTQ+ Inclusive Guide for Kids about Sex, Gender, Bodies, and Families. The online news outlet The Frontier first reported the story earlier this week. There is not a review of the books that is happening, just the standard processing of citizen complaints, said Madelyn Sheriff, an OConnor spokeswoman. OConnor said in Thursdays statement: I recommended that they present their objections to the school boards. I also recommended that they talk with the Legislature regarding how Oklahoma law defines obscenity. OConnor said his office would continue to monitor the situation and step in if it appears any laws have been broken. Sheriff was asked what changed between Wednesday and Thursday. It turned into something bigger than it is, she said. She said OConnors office reviews and evaluates all complaints submitted by citizens. There is just not an investigation, she said. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. OKLAHOMA CITY U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe made it official on Friday. Oklahomas high-ranking and longest-serving member of Congress announced that he will retire effective Jan. 3 and endorsed his former chief of staff, Luke Holland, in the special election that will determine his successor. Holland, a 35-year-old political unknown who resides in Tulsa, held a press conference Friday at the Oklahoma History Center to announce his candidacy. Inhofe, who has a mild case of COVID-19, was piped in via phone to announce his plans and endorsement. My wife and I have been doing this for a long period of time, and we have some other things we need to be doing at this point in our lives, and so we are going to do that, and to do that we have to get out of this position and join the ranks of all of the rest of you who are out there making a living, said Inhofe, R-Okla. His successor will be determined in a special election that will be held on the same schedule as other elections this year. Inhofe called Holland a very knowledgeable person who is on top of every issue. I am endorsing Luke Holland, and I believe he is the one without question who is the best qualified to carry this out, Inhofe said. Holland resigned Thursday night as Inhofes chief of staff so he could run for the Senate seat. He wasted no time attacking President Joe Biden and Democrats and praising former President Donald Trump, Christian values and God. I think that everyone can see what is happening right now with Joe Biden and his socialist left Democratic Party that they are tearing this nation apart, Holland said. He said school boards are trying to kick parents out of classrooms and that the nation is experiencing runaway inflation because of all the government spending. Right now, Joe Biden is the weakest leader we have ever seen on the international stage, and every social policy he is advancing is against the Christian values that we all hold true, Holland said. He wants to kick God out of everything. Holland said he agrees with Inhofes views on climate change. Man-made climate change and the way the environmental left wants to use that to advance their regulatory agenda, their socialistic agenda, is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people, Holland said. He called it an attack on the oil and gas industry. It is an assault by the left against everything we do here in Oklahoma, Holland said. He said Trump did more to accomplish the conservative agenda than any other president in history. When asked whether he thought Biden was duly elected, Holland said, Joe Biden was sworn in as president of the United States and is President Joe Biden. He supported Inhofes decision to certify the presidential election. Holland said a campaign for Inhofes Senate seat will probably cost between $4 million and $10 million. Inhofe, 87, is the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and its past chairman. He served previously as chairman and ranking Republican of the Environment and Public Works Committee, a position that gave him considerable power in matters related to highways, airports, and oil and gas regulation. Inhofe was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986 and moved to the Senate in 1994. His 35 years in Congress make him the longest-serving member from Oklahoma in state history. He was last elected in 2020. His current term doesnt expire until 2026. Inhofe previously served in the Oklahoma Legislature and was Tulsa mayor from 1978-84. Inhofes announcement created much speculation about who would run for his Senate seat, as well as praise for his longtime service to the state. Due to the questions from press, let me be clear about this upcoming election cycle, Gov. Kevin Stitt said. I am fully committed to serving the state of Oklahoma as governor and seeking the support of Oklahomans for another four years in this role. Senator Jim Inhofe has served the State of Oklahoma with unwavering devotion, the governor also said in his prepared statement. At every turn, Oklahoma has benefited from his profound vision for a strong national military, robust infrastructure system, and vibrant domestic energy production. I am grateful he has committed to serving the state and our nation through the end of 2022. Oklahomas junior senator, James Lankford, said Inhofes departure marks the loss of a warrior for the entire U.S. Senate. His legacy in the Senate will be remembered as a fighter for our military service members and our nations infrastructure. Oklahomans will remember his leadership when theyre driving on sound highways and bridges but he will also be known for his love for Jesus and his love for sharing Jesus with the world, Lankford said. Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Oklahoma, who is expected to run for Inhofes seat, praised Inhofe as a titan for our military funding and defense. I cant thank him enough for his service and the outstanding example hes provided for me and countless others across the nation, Hern said. Through it all, Jim keeps his family and faith at the forefront of everything he does. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, said Inhofe has been a strong and steady voice for Oklahomans every step of the way. His accomplishments for Oklahoma are too many to name and his commitment to our men and women in uniform is too great to be matched, Mullin said. I have no doubt we are better off today because of his tireless service and I am truly at a loss for words in describing my gratitude. Rep. Frank D. Lucas, R-Oklahoma, said he will not be running for Inhofes seat but joined other leaders in celebrating Inhofes five decades of service to his fellow Oklahomans, including his early stints in the state Legislature and as Tulsa mayor. For five decades, Jim has served the people of Oklahoma with the utmost integrity and purpose, Lucas said. Sen. Inhofes calling whether it be from the importance of family and serving those around you or from his moral compass and patriotism is a combination of duty and decency. Lucas called Inhofe a true statesman to all those who have watched him up close and worked alongside him in Congress. Jims work advocating for numerous policies and practices that he believed were worthy of his country has made our entire nation stronger, safer, and has made a loving impact on millions of families across the United States, Lucas said. But we all know Jim takes greatest pride in the many ways he helped his fellow Oklahomans back home. From being a larger-than-life advocate for Oklahomas military installations to improving infrastructure across the state, Jim Inhofe has made an impact on Oklahomans that will be felt for generations. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Andrea Eger Staff Writer I'm a projects reporter, examining key education topics and other local issues. Since joining the Tulsa World in 1999, I have been a three-time winner of Oklahomas top award for investigative reporting by an individual. Phone: 918-581-8470 Follow Andrea Eger 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 For all the rhetoric and efforts to overturn the Supreme Courts 2020 landmark McGirt decision, two fixes have remained untried an act of Congress and compacting. The McGirt ruling found that Congress never dissolved the Muscogee Nation reservation, keeping its 1860s-era boundaries intact. A state court later extended the decision to five other tribes in Oklahoma, mostly in the eastern part of the state. McGirt addressed criminal jurisdiction, finding that the state could not prosecute cases within reservation boundaries when the victim or suspect was a tribal member. It shifted prosecutions from state courts to federal and tribal courts. It was inevitable that a lawsuit challenging the taxation practices by the state within Indian Country would be filed. That happened last week when a Choctaw Nation couple asked a federal judge in the U.S. Eastern District of Oklahoma whether the reasoning behind McGirt would apply to civil tax matters, as well. More than 5,000 claims from tribal members seeking taxation exemptions have been filed with the Oklahoma Tax Commission since McGirt was decided. This is the first case to exhaust the administrative process and move into judicial review. Cited in the lawsuit is a unanimous 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that appears to bolster the plaintiffs claim. In McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission, the court determined that the state could not tax the income of tribal members residing on their reservation and whose income is wholly derived from reservation sources. It was cited in another unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision (1993s Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Sac and Fox Nation), which found that the state could not levy taxes on tribal members working and living in Indian Country, defining that as a territory of a formal or informal reservation, allotted lands, or dependent Indian communities. Other court rulings have further defined sovereignty regarding state taxation in Indian Country. In every decision, courts note that Congress has the power to make specific directions. Basically, if you dont like the ruling, then go to Congress. Judges are going to sort those issues out against the backdrop of McGirt. The state has been on the losing end of most McGirt challenges, including a recent request to overturn the decision. A loss here would result in hundreds of millions of dollars in lost state revenue. The estimated amount is found in another citation in the lawsuit filing a September 2020 Oklahoma Tax Commission on potential McGirt tax impacts. It projects a loss of $132.2 million a year if the decision were applied to state sales and use taxes across the Muscogee, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole reservations. For income tax, about $72.7 million annually would be lost, plus a possible $218.1 million in refund claims for 2017-2019, which is the statute of limitation for such claims. Those amounts do not include the Quapaw Nation, which was added in the McGirt expansion. The report includes suggestions on how the state could minimize these losses. the States jurisdiction could be expanded through an Act of Congress specifically subjecting citizens of the Indian nations located within the States borders to state taxes. Such legislation could take a variety of forms from a very broad possibility of eliminating all restrictions on state taxation, to a more narrow approach of authorizing only certain state taxes or taxation of certain types of transactions. In the absence of federal legislation which may mitigate the impact of McGirt, the State could enter one or more compacts with the tribes for collection and apportionment of various tax types. Historically, the State and the tribes have engaged in compacts for cigarette and tobacco taxes, motor fuel taxes, and license tags. Neither of these approaches has been seriously explored. Congressman Tom Cole introduced a bill allowing for criminal jurisdictional compacting, but its stalled. Another option could be Congress de-establishing the reservations, but thats unlikely to happen. That leaves compacting as the most feasible possibility. The benefit of tribal compacts should not be discounted. During the last two fiscal years, the State received over $73 million in cigarette and tobacco tax collections as a result of compact sales, the report states. However, Gov. Kevin Stitt a Cherokee Nation citizen challenged gaming compacts early in his term. That created a rift between the state and tribal nations that has only deepened. In December, the governor canceled hunting and fishing compacts, which had generated $38 million for the state from the Cherokee and Choctaw nations. Tribal leaders have rightly asked why Oklahoma lawmakers are so quick to tax their citizens while simultaneously cutting taxes for Oklahomans. Last year, the Legislature reduced corporate and individual income taxes, costing about $137 million annually in revenue. Lawmakers have proposed further income tax reductions and the eventual elimination of sales taxes on groceries, which would take $306 million from the states budget yearly. The tribal leaders have a point. And, state leaders are seeking a fair tax system, considering tribal citizens are also Oklahomans who use the same public infrastructure. Right now, no one is talking to each other. It leaves the opportunity for diplomatic leadership up to federal judges, instead. Subscribe to Daily Headlines Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Despite Fridays sunny skies, with conditions still near freezing, this weeks sleet and snow may not start to melt until Saturday. The heavier sleet pack will likely remain on the ground into Saturday, the National Weather Service in Tulsa said. Officially, Tulsa received a trace amount of snow on Thursday at the weather services official recording site at Tulsa International Airport. The weather service reported that the city received 1.2 inches of snow on Wednesday into Thursday morning, but whether sleet was included in that measurement wasnt clear. Sleet is measured in the same way snow is by the weather service. Forecasters expect a high of about 34 degrees Friday with wind chills between 1 and 11 degrees. Winds wont be strong enough for wind chill advisories, however, according to the forecast. Sleet and snow are likely to melt on Saturday, with a forecast high of 41 degrees. If not, Oklahomas weather roller coaster is expected to come back around with a warmup before the weekend is over. A high temperature of 54 degrees and a mostly sunny forecast should melt any remaining sleet pack Sunday, forecasters said. If you are tired of the cold weather, good news. Significant warm-up is still anticipated through the early to middle part of next week with high temperatures back into the mid to upper 60s and dry conditions, forecasters said. Highs reached the mid-20s Thursday but were expected to drop to near 10 degrees Friday morning. Tulsas high temperature Wednesday officially reached 20 degrees 52 degrees colder than Mondays high of 72, according to the weather service. But that high temperature Wednesday was at 12:30 a.m. The low temperature for the day was 13 degrees at 1:29 p.m. 3 degrees short of the record low of 10 degrees for the date, set in 1910, the weather service said. Even though the most frigid temperatures and precipitation are past, most area schools will remain in distance learning or closed Friday due to dangerous road conditions. Broken Arrow Public Schools, Union Public Schools, Sapulpa Public Schools, Owasso Public Schools, Skiatook Public Schools and Collinsville Public Schools will have a distance-learning day Friday. Sand Springs Public Schools and Bixby Public Schools announced traditional snow days. Jenks Public Schools already had a distance-learning day scheduled for Friday due to a district collaboration day, and Tulsa Public Schools had no classes all week for February Break. The European Union's health regulator on Thursday backed giving a booster shot of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 and over, as well as the expanded use of Moderna's shot in children ages six to 11. The recommendations by the European Medicine Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use will be followed by final decisions by the European Commission. The moves come after several EU countries already started to offer booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to teens. Germany's vaccine committee in January recommended all children between the ages of 12 and 17 receive a booster, following the initial two-shot course. Other nations in the region followed suit. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in a report this month that 10 countries in the European Economic Area, which comprises the 27 EU member states plus Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway, had already recommended a booster dose for those under 18 years of age. Member States' decision on whether and when to offer boosters in this age group will need to take into account factors such as the spread and likely severity of the disease in younger persons and the known risk of side effects like the rare heart complication myocarditis, the EMA said. The agency on Thursday also recommended approval of Moderna's COVID vaccine for use in children aged 6 to 11. Moderna's Spikevax COVID shot is already approved for use in adults and children aged 12 and over in Europe. In the United States, the Moderna vaccine is authorized as a primary two-dose regimen and booster dose for adults 18 years and older. The company has yet to win clearance for use in younger age groups. The dose of Spikevax in 6- to 11-year-olds will be 50 micrograms instead of the 100 micrograms used for people aged 12 and over, the EMA said. What you need to know today in Vietnam: Politics -- Vietnam's State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his entourage arrived in Singapore for a three-day official visit on Thursday. President Phuc was greeted by Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan at Changi International Airport. Society -- The Ministry of Public Security is pooling feedback on its proposal that allows the minister to suspend flights to and from airports for no more than 24 hours in case of emergency to ensure national security. -- The Ministry of Public Security organized a ceremony in northern Quang Ninh Province on Wednesday to announce the decision to establish a national center for counter-terrorism training. -- Up to 81 percent of the people asked in a poll are willing to have their children aged 5-11 years old vaccinated against COVID-19, the Vietnam News Agency quoted the Social Opinion Institute under the Party Central Committees Commission for Information and Education on Thursday. -- Rescuers on Thursday saved nine seafarers and discovered two bodies from an accident that involved the VANDON ACE vessel, which was en route from Papua New Guinea to Can Tho City in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region, according to the Vietnam News Agency. -- Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Serbia, and Vietnam will receive mRNA technology from a technology transfer hub co-founded by the World Health Organization, the UN body said in a press release on Wednesday. Business -- Gold prices soared to an all-time high of VND67 million (US$2,935) per tael (37.5 grams) in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday, hot in the heels of Russia's special military operations in Ukraine. World News -- "The European Union's health regulator on Thursday backed giving a booster shot of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 and over, as well as the expanded use of Moderna's shot in children ages six to 11," Reuters reported. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! #9 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh-area teachers earn an adjusted $72,000 per year with a cost of living 7 points below the national average. The school district provides extra earnings opportunities like teaching summer school or coaching a sport and allows teachers to reach maximum salary in 10 years, according to the Pittsburgh Public Schools website. On average nationwide, it takes 24 years to qualify for the maximum salary, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality. (HaizhanZheng/Getty Images) The Vietnamese Ministry of Health excluded more than 6,000 pediatric COVID-19 cases that were identified through rapid testing in Ho Chi Minh City from its official count, according to the municipal Center for Disease Control (CDC). Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Tang Chi Thuong held a meeting on Tuesday to explain that the city had identified more than 6,000 coronavirus infections among students at 201 schools from February 14 to 20, equal to about 1,000 cases per day. However, a daily report released by the health ministry showed that the southern metropolis documented less than 1,000 infections a day that week and 1,300-1,400 patients on Tuesday and Wednesday. CDC deputy director Nguyen Hong Tam explained at a press conference on Thursday that the 6,000 pediatric COVID-19 cases were identified using rapid antigen test kits but failed to meet other criteria for a confirmed case under the health ministrys current regulations. A confirmed COVID-19 case, according to a new definition, is one belonging to one of the following categories: A person who has tested positive for the coronavirus by detection of viral genetic material, or a real-time RT-PCR method. + A person who is a close contact of a positive case and has a positive antigen rapid test result + A person who has a positive antigen rapid test result and shows either clinical signs of suspected COVID-19 or is linked to outbreak sites + A person who has a positive antigen rapid test result twice in a row, with the second taken within eight hours of the first Meanwhile, a person who has solely a positive antigen rapid test result is merely considered a suspected case. Most of the infections detected at schools are suspected cases as per the definition of the Ministry of Health, so they are not counted in the ministrys official tally, Tam said. He added that the municipal Department of Health and the Department of Education and Training are handling the suspected cases the same way they do confirmed ones. Hospitals across the city are currently treating 2,171 COVID-19 patients, including 144 children under 16 years old, 44 critically-ill patients on ventilators, and ten needing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a type of outside-the-body life support, according to the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Ho Chi Minh City has detected over 526,000 infections since the fourth virus wave broke out in Vietnam on April 27, 2021. The metropolis of nine million people has gradually resumed socio-economic activities since early October last year after being placed under strict lockdown for nearly six months. The city welcomed students back to school on February 14. More than 7.8 million adults in the city have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while over 7.5 million of them have been jabbed twice, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Five more countries including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Serbia will receive mRNA vaccine technology transfer from a global hub established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in South Africa. These countries were vetted by a group of experts and proved that they had the capacity to absorb the technology and, with targeted training, move to the production stage relatively quickly, the WHO said in a press release on Wednesday. The mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub was launched in July 2021 in Afrigen, Cape Town, South Africa, with the objective to build capacity in low- and middle-income countries to produce mRNA vaccines. Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia were the first recipients of the hub. Vietnam has amassed a lot of experience in vaccine development over the past decades, and its National Regulatory Authority (NRA) has also been recognized by the WHO, Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long was quoted as saying in the press release. We believe that by participating in this initiative, Vietnam will be able to produce the mRNA vaccine [on a large scale], not only for domestic consumption but also for other countries in the region and the world, contributing to reducing inequalities in access to vaccines, Long continued. The WHO also announced the establishment of a new biomanufacturing training hub in South Korea. The hub will serve all low- and middle-income countries wishing to produce biologicals, such as vaccines, insulin, monoclonal antibodies, and cancer treatments. One of the key barriers to successful technology transfer in low- and middle-income countries is the lack of a skilled workforce and weak regulatory systems, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Building those skills will ensure that they can manufacture the health products they need at a good quality standard so that they no longer have to wait at the end of the queue. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security organized a ceremony in northern Quang Ninh Province on Wednesday to announce the decision to establish a national center for counter-terrorism training. The decision was handed by General To Lam, Minister of Public Security, to Lieutenant General Pham Quoc Cuong, Commander of the Mobile Police Command, at the event. Lieutenant General Cuong then granted the decision to appoint the centers director to Colonel Trieu Van Minh. General To Lam (right), Minister of Public Security, hands the decision to establish a national center for counter-terrorism training to Lieutenant General Pham Quoc Cuong, Commander of the Mobile Police Command, during a ceremony in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, February 23, 2022. Photo: Vietnam Government Portal The national center for counter-terrorism training is responsible for organizing training on counter-terrorism; making preparations to respond to possible situations of terrorism, sabotage, armed riots, or particularly dangerous criminal subjects; participating in rescues and dealing with emergency situations; and performing other tasks under programs and plans approved by competent authorities. Lieutenant General Pham Quoc Cuong (left), Commander of the Mobile Police Command, hands the appointment decision of the director position of the national center for counter-terrorism training to Colonel Trieu Van Minh during a ceremony in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, February 23, 2022. Photo: Vietnam Government Portal Speaking at the event, General To Lam said that he is looking forward to the stable operation and development of the center in terms of both personnel and facilities in the future. Colonel Minh promised that he and his staff will fulfill all of their missions. General To Lam, Minister of Public Security, speaks at the ceremony to announce the decision to establish a national center for counter-terrorism training in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, February 23, 2022. Photo: Vietnam Government Portal The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security organizes a ceremony to announce the decision to establish a national center for counter-terrorism training in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, February 23, 2022. Photo: Vietnam Government Portal Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Ho Chi Minh City have detained a local man who snatched a bag from a British woman and later threw back her personal papers, room keys, and bank cards, all contained in a purse placed in the bag, at the entrance of her hotel. Police of District 1 on Friday handed the suspect, Nguyen Cong Danh, 32, over to the municipal police for further investigation after arresting him on charges of robbery as prescribed in the Vietnamese Penal Code. The victim was a 61-year-old British woman, from whom Danh snatched a bag five days ago outside Ben Thanh Market in the central business district. On February 20, Danh reached an area outside the market and found a foreign woman walking with a bag on her shoulder after traveling on a motorbike through many streets to look for prey. The man approached the woman, snatched the bag from her, and sped up while the victim chased after him and shouted for help, an initial police report said. Danh later examined the bag and found two smartphones, a pair of spectacles, VND1.2 million (US$52) in cash, and a wallet containing personal papers, two hotel room key cards showing the hotel name, and two bank cards. After appropriating all the other assets inside the bag, Danh brought the purse containing such papers and cards to the victims hotel, located on Ly Tu Trong Street, and threw it at the entrance on the evening of the same day. A hotel guard picked up the purse and returned it to the foreign woman, who had reported the robbery to local police. Soon after launching an investigation into the case, the district police identified Danh as the suspect and arrested him the next morning. Police officers recovered from Danh the two smartphones and the pair of spectacles, which were then given back to the victim. Regarding the VND1.2 million cash, the suspect said he had spent it on personal needs. As the victim is a foreigner, the district police have transferred the case to the municipal police department for handling. Anyone who snatches another persons assets will face penalties ranging from one year in jail to life imprisonment and can be subject to fines from VND10,000,000 ($436) to VND100,000,000 ($4,360), depending of the severity of their crime, according to Article 171 of the Vietnamese Penal Code. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! SBS has announced it has suspended the broadcast of news bulletins NTV Moscow and Russia Today at this time, in response to community feedback from the Australian Russian-speaking community. RT channel, which is also broadcast on Foxtel / Flash, is based in Moscow and broadcasts news and documentaries in English. Yesterday the channel was referring to the invasion as special operations and demilitarisation of Ukraine blamed Ukrainians for the death of civilians after they reportedly shot down a Russian missile headed to a military base. Presenters cited conflicting reports as to whether troops were advancing on Ukrainian cities. SBS is continuing to provide news and information in Russian for Australian audiences through its SBS Russian service (SBS.com.au/Russian) across radio, online and social media, including expanded coverage of current events. Foxtel has also been contacted over its broadcast of the RT channel. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has condemned the invasion and announced sanctions against Russia, was this week a guest at a SKY News dinner in Sydney. Like the Olympics, the Eurovision Song Contest is meant to be a non-political event. Historically it was mounted in 1956 as a way of reuniting Europe following World War II. Bringing nations together through music was seen as forging ties across a continent. Songs, lyrics, costumes, props referring to politics are strictly forbidden by organisers. Of course as a non-political event, the voting is always anything but. The 2022 event set for Turin in May has likely taken a new turn following events this week in Europe. Ukraines state broadcaster UA:PBC had called for Russia to be suspended. We of course will continue to monitor the situation closely, organisers said. The Ukranian entry is Stefania by hip-hop trio Kalush Orchestra, which in the latest odds by bookies has leapt to second place. The EBU needs to rethink this, Swedens state broadcaster SVT CEO Hanna Stjarne also said in a statement. I sympathise with the basic idea of Eurovision as an apolitical event. But the situation in Europe is extremely serious with Russias invasion of Ukraine. It crosses all boundaries. We have called on the EBU to change course and will follow the development closely. Russias entry, yet to be decided, has plummeted to last place with the bookies. Its not clear what kind of reception the act will get from the audience when they turn up in Turin. Meanwhile Australias act is to be chosen tomorrow night on SBS. Tyler, TX (75702) Today Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden on Friday nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the first Black woman selected to serve on a court that once declared her race unworthy of citizenship and endorsed American segregation. Introducing Jackson at the White House, Biden declared, I believe its time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation. Advertisement With his nominee standing alongside, the president praised her as having a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people. He said, She strives to be fair, to get it right, to do justice. In Jackson, Biden delivered on a campaign promise to make the historic appointment and further diversify a court that was made up entirely of white men for almost two centuries. Advertisement He also chose an attorney who would be the high courts first former public defender, though she possesses the elite legal background of other justices as well. Jackson would be the current courts second Black member Clarence Thomas, a conservative, is the other and just the third in history. She would replace liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who is retiring at the end of the term this summer, so she wont change the courts 6-3 conservative majority. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks after President Joe Biden announced Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court in the Cross Hall of the White House, Feb. 25, 2022, in Washington. (Carolyn Kaster/AP) Jackson would join the court as it weighs cutbacks to abortion rights and will be considering ending affirmative action in college admissions and restricting voting rights efforts to increase minority representation. She would be only the sixth woman to serve on the court, but she would join three others already there, including the first Latina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In brief remarks, Jackson thanked Biden, saying she was humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination. She highlighted her familys first-hand experience with the entirety of the legal system, as judges and lawyers, an uncle who was Miamis police chief and another who was imprisoned on drug charges. She also spoke of the historic nature of her nomination, noting she shared a birthday with Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to be confirmed to the federal bench. If Im fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court United States, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans, she said. Jackson, 51, once worked as one of Breyers law clerks early in her legal career. She attended Harvard as an undergraduate and for law school, and served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the agency that develops federal sentencing policy, before becoming a federal judge in 2013. Advertisement Her nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority by a razor-thin 50-50 margin with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker. Party leaders have promised swift but deliberate consideration. Fridays ceremony was attended only by White House staff, Jacksons family and news media, in part because the Senate is out of session this week. Everyone wore masks because of the pandemic, Biden and Jackson removing theirs to speak. He bent to pull out a lectern step for her to stand on as she made her remarks. Her introduction came two years to the day after Biden, then struggling to capture the Democratic presidential nomination, pledged in a South Carolina debate to nominate a Black woman if presented with a vacancy. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said in a statement that the panel will begin immediately to move forward on consideration of an extraordinary nominee. Senators have set a tentative goal of confirmation by April 8, when they leave for a two-week spring recess. Hearings could start as soon as mid-March. That timeline could be complicated by a number of things, including Russias invasion of Ukraine and the extended absence of Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, who suffered a stroke last month and is out for several weeks. Democrats would need Lujans vote to confirm Bidens pick if no Republicans support her. Advertisement Once the nomination is sent to the Senate, it is up to the Senate Judiciary Committee to vet the nominee and hold confirmation hearings. After the committee approves a nomination, it goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. Biden and Senate Democrats are hoping for a bipartisan vote on the nomination, but its unclear if they will be able to win over any GOP senators after bitterly partisan confirmation battles under President Donald Trump. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of three Republicans who voted to confirm Jackson to the appeals court last year, had pushed Biden to nominate a different candidate from his home state, Judge J. Michelle Childs, who also was favored by home-state Rep. James Clyburn, a Biden ally. Graham said earlier this month his vote would be very problematic if it were anyone else, and he expressed disappointment in a tweet Friday. Previewing a likely Republican attack line, he and several others on the right said Biden was going with the choice of the radical left. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he looked forward to meeting with Jackson and studying her record, legal views and judicial philosophy. But he noted he had voted against her a year ago. Biden has said he was interested in selecting a nominee in the mold of Breyer who could be a persuasive force with fellow justices. Although Breyers votes tended to put him to the left of center on an increasingly conservative court, he frequently saw the gray in situations that colleagues were more likely to find black or white. Justice Breyer the members of the Senate will decide if I fill your seat, Jackson said Friday, praising the retiring justices civility, grace, pragmatism and generosity of spirit. Advertisement But please know that I could never fill your shoes, she said. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, With her exceptional qualifications and record of evenhandedness, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be a justice who will uphold the Constitution and protect the rights of all Americans, including the voiceless and vulnerable. As part of his search process, Biden, a longtime chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also interviewed Childs and California Supreme Court Judge Leondra Kruger, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, saying all three interviews took place on Feb. 14. As part of his process, Biden also consulted with a range of legal experts and lawmakers in both parties and delved deeply into the finalists legal writings. Biden called Jackson late Thursday to inform her that she was his choice, Psaki said, and he informed Democratic congressional leaders Friday morning. News @3 Daily Catch up on the days top headlines sent directly to your inbox weekdays at 3 p.m > Jackson serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a position that Biden elevated her to last year from her previous job as a federal trial court judge. Three current justices Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts, the chief justice previously served on the same appeals court. Jackson was confirmed to that post on a 53-44 Senate vote, winning the backing of three Republicans: Graham, Maines Susan Collins and Alaskas Lisa Murkowski. Advertisement In one of Jacksons most high-profile decisions, as a trial court judge she ordered former White House Counsel Don McGahn to appear before Congress. That was a setback to Trumps efforts to keep his top aides from testifying. The case was appealed, and a deal was ultimately reached for McGahns testimony. As an appeals court judge, she was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in December against Trumps effort to shield documents from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Miami. She has said that her parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, chose her name to express their pride in her familys African ancestry. They asked an aunt who was in the Peace Corps in Africa at the time to send a list of African girls names and they picked Ketanji Onyika, which they were told meant lovely one. Jackson traces her interest in the law to when she was in preschool and her father was in law school and they would sit together at the dining room table, she with coloring books and he with law books. Her father became an attorney for the county school board and her mother was a high school principal. A brother, nine years younger, served in the Army, including in Iraq, and is now a lawyer, too. Associated Press writers Mark Sherman, Jessica Gresko and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. Zelensky discusses Russian invasion with President of Finland, thanks for allocation of $50 mln of assistance President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, in a telephone conversation with President of Finland Sauli Niinisto, briefed him on actions to protect against the Russian invasion. "Discussed with Niinisto countering the aggressor. Informed about our defense, insidious shelling of Kyiv. Grateful to Finland for allocating $50 million aid. Its an effective contribution to the anti-war coalition. We keep working. We need to increase sanctions and Ukrainian defense support," he wrote in Twitter on Friday. Bulk carrier NAMURA QUEEN on fire due to missile strike in Pivdenny seaport In the seaport of Pivdenny (Odesa region) the vessel NAMURA QUEEN (carries out seafaring activities under the flag of Panama) is on fire after being hit by a rocket. "According to the dispatchers of the port of Pivdenny, at anchorage No. 358, a missile hit the stern of the NAMURA QUEEN vessel," the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine reported. According to the agency, the ship's rudder propeller group was damaged, and a fire started. A fire truck was called to the scene. BOGOTA, Colombia, Feb. 25, 2022 /CNW/ - CannabCo Pharmaceutical Corp. Colombia S.A.S. (CannabCo Colombia), a Colombia based cannabis cultivator and manufacturer of medical cannabis products, is pleased to announce the completion of an Economic Impact Assessment for its operations based in Colombia. CannabCo management team on Halo 1 farm, over 1 million sq. ft. built. (CNW Group/CannabCo Pharmaceutical Corp. Colombia S.A.S) Working with its partners in Colombia, CannabCo has compiled an economic assessment report related to their operations in Colombia. The report outlines CannabCo's 5 major projects in relation to their economic impact on each region of operation. Three of the operations are in the Cundinamarca region approximately one hour outside Bogota, the country's capital, while the remaining two projects are located in the Meta region in the area around Villavicensio. Colombia has made a significant commitment to the cannabis industry and industry experts are looking at the country as the hotspot for cannabis production moving forward. "The commitment by all levels of government will provide a much needed economic boost in light of global setbacks from the recent COVID-19 pandemic". Said Phillip Chen, the company's Chief Business Development Officer. "We are currently working closely with all key levels of Colombia's government to provide the much needed economic stimulation to the economy". Colombian agricultural efforts in past years have taken a hit from rising costs of agricultural inputs such as fuel and fertilizer, and further suffered from third world global competition in certain food and flower exports. Focusing on a relatively high value crop in a global emerging market would provide the much needed economic stimulus to the Colombian agricultural sector. The company is involved with many initiatives in areas involving economic, social, and environmental impact as part of its core mandates in Colombia. In the areas of job creation alone CannabCo estimates the creation of 1500 jobs over a 5 year period associated with its current 5 projects, and over double that number when accounting for ancillary work associated with the initiatives. "Estimates from maturing cannabis markets in North America provide a fairly accurate economical and employment model which can be superimposed on the emerging Colombia cannabis industry" says CannabCo's management. "Impacted areas such as pharmaceutical, distribution, logistical support, transport, agricultural supply chain, and packaging are just a few of the industries surrounding the growth of cannabis in Colombia". Story continues The company further participates in community outreach programs in each of its operating regions including educational and social programs designed to train workers in agricultural practices and cannabis-centric skilled employment positions. Recently the company announced the pending installation of one of South America's most advanced extraction lines as part of its processing operation outside Bogota. CannabCo is feels this will help Colombia's efforts in becoming a world leader in Cannabis supply and further stimulate the economy. About CannabCo Pharmaceutical Corp. Colombia S.A.S. CannabCo Colombia is a Colombia based full service cannabis company with cultivation projects in multiple regions across the country. The company's primary extraction plant is located 30 minutes outside the capital city of Bogota. The company will process both psychoactive and non-psychoactive cannabis and Hemp flower for the production of THC and CBD oil for the medical cannabis market. The Company's state of the art production facilities will have the capability of producing a wide range of end products to meet emerging market supply requirements for Colombia's evolving cannabis industry, as well as global export. The facility is pursuing EU GMP status allowing access to the underserviced global pharmaceutical market. The company currently has multiple social projects as part of its ethical standards and is committed to the highest quality production of medical grade cannabis products in the industry. The company is vertically integrated controlling all aspects of cultivation, extraction, product manufacturing, and distribution of its medical products allowing it full control over the high quality of its end products. The company intends to be the largest producer and manufacturer of THC/CBD based products on a global scale utilizing Colombia as its operating base. Forward Looking Statements This press release may contain certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements may be identified by statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "intends", "will", "should", "expects", "continue", "estimate", "forecasts" and other similar expressions. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. Although CannabCo Colombia believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Future events and results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements in this press release. SOURCE CannabCo Pharmaceutical Corp. Colombia S.A.S Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2022/25/c4901.html DUBLIN, February 25, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Consumer Electronics Repair and Maintenance Global Market Report 2022 by Type, Service Type, End User" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global consumer electronics repair and maintenance market is expected to grow from $7.98 billion in 2021 to $8.38 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.1%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $9.60 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 3.5%. The consumer electronics repair and maintenance market consists of sales of consumer electronics repair and maintenance services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that are engaged in repairing and maintaining consumer electronics such as televisions, stereos, speakers, video recorders, CD and DVD players, radios, and cameras, without retailing new consumer electronics. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included. The main types of consumer electronics repair and maintenance are loudspeakers and sound bars, microphones, amplifiers and mixers, music players and other devices, televisions, video players, video cameras. A microphone is a device that converts airborne sound waves into electrical signals or records them on a recording medium. The different service types include in-warranty, out of warranty and is used by various verticals such as industrial and commercial, residential. Western Europe was the largest region in the consumer electronics repair and maintenance market in 2021. Asia Pacific was the second largest region in the consumer electronics repair and maintenance market. The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. Story continues An increase in equipment failure rates and cost benefits of repairing old equipment rather than disposing of them are expected to drive the consumer electronics repair and maintenance market. The branded and non-branded low-cost products regularly flood the market and need repair in some time as they are made with poor quality material or due to regular maintenance. However, research suggests that companies are now taking a different approach, which is building products that could be easily repaired for use as fixing an issue in a gadget is always a cost-effective solution than buying a new one, thereby enhancing the trust of the customer. Customers tend to buy and refer the products of the company that offers repair manuals, spare parts and provide assistance and guidance on fixing the product. Apple has begun assembling the older iPhone in India. Companies like iFixit and Repair Cafe are bringing people together to work for repairing devices. The European Commission is all set to discuss eco-design regulation for smartphones from 2021, including access to spare parts and repair information. Therefore, an increase in equipment failure rates and cost benefits of repairing old equipment is promoting the consumer electronics repair and maintenance market. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the consumer electronics repair and maintenance industry as governments across the globe have imposed lockdowns and put restrictions on non-essential services to prevent the spread of the virus. Repair and maintenance services hugely depend on labor and the availability of labor during this pandemic is a big challenge. The repair industry across countries such as US, the UK, Germany, Italy, the Middle East and India have also witnessed an increase in labor cost due to labor shortages in the lockdown. The repairing industry, in general, fixes around 25 million electronic appliances in a month, but due to lockdown and social distancing norms, the products are expected to pile up for repair. Besides, the supply chain disruptions in various countries have made it difficult to find spare components for mobile and other electronic appliances making consumers wait longer for availing services. The countries covered in the consumer electronics repair and maintenance market are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK and USA. Companies Mentioned Encompass Supply Chain Solutions Inc. Electronix Services iCracked Inc. Mendtronix Inc. Moduslink Global Solutions MicroFirst Gaming Inc. Quest International, Inc. The Cableshoppe Inc. uBreakiFix B2X CARE SOLUTIONS GMBH Redington Services Repair World Direct For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6x4kvu View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220225005230/en/ Contacts ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 Australia and Japan imposed more sanctions on Friday against Russia, and Canberra said it was "unacceptable" that China was easing trade restrictions with Moscow at a time when it invaded Ukraine. "We will work along with our partners for a rolling wave of sanctions and continuing to ratchet up that pressure on Russia," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said during a media conference. Morrison said the fresh sanctions will be placed against "oligarchs whose economic weight is of strategic significance to Moscow" and over 300 members of the Russian parliament who voted to authorise sending Russian troops into Ukraine. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Australia is also working with the United States to align with their sanctions overnight on key Belarusian individuals and entities who helped Russia and Nato to provide non-lethal equipment and medical supplies for Ukraine, he said. Morrison voiced concerns over the "lack of strong response" from China and criticised Beijing about reports it had eased trade curbs with Moscow by allowing imports of wheat from Russia. "You don't go and throw a lifeline to Russia in the middle of a period when they are invading another country. That is simply unacceptable," he said. In early February, during a visit to Beijing by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's state agricultural watchdog said China had agreed to allow imports of wheat and barley from all regions of Russia. China officially confirmed the agreement on Thursday. Russia is one of the biggest wheat producers, but its exports would be vulnerable if its foreign markets blocked shipments in response to its attack on Ukraine. Story continues Thursday's announcement said Russia would "take all measures" to prevent contamination by wheat smut fungus and would suspend exports to China if it was found. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his government will strengthen sanctions against Moscow to include financial institutions and equipment exports. Kishida told a news conference that Tokyo would take aim at Russian financial institutions and individuals with the sanctions, which would be imposed immediately, as well as halt exports of military-use goods such as semiconductors. He also said that coordinated action with other members of the Group of Seven (G7) nations against Russia would stem any aggression in Asia and other regions. Japan will do the utmost to limit the economic impact to itself from the fallout from the Ukraine crisis, including by ensuring a stable supply of energy. "The economic sanctions against Russia will not directly obstruct energy supply," Kishida said. For resource-poor Japan, the most immediate impact of the conflict is likely to be seen in rising fuel prices. A resident looks at the body of a rocket stuck in a flat after recent shelling on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine. Photo: AFP alt=A resident looks at the body of a rocket stuck in a flat after recent shelling on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine. Photo: AFP> Kishida said Japan had about 240 days' worth of crude oil reserves and reserves of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to last two to three weeks, and that the government would step up measures to stem a rise in retail fuel prices. Australia's neighbour New Zealand also imposed targeted travel bans on Russia and prohibited goods trade to its military as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned that more measures may follow as the conflict escalates. "The world is speaking and sending a very clear message to Russia that what they have done is wrong and they will face the condemnation of the world," Ardern said. People take part in a vigil to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine in front of the White House in Washington. Photo: AP alt=People take part in a vigil to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine in front of the White House in Washington. Photo: AP> Also on Friday, the Philippines top diplomat said he will travel to Ukraine's border with Poland to ensure the safety of Filipinos fleeing from the eastern European country. Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr did not specify in his tweet where he is going. Nor did he say how many of the approximately 380 Filipinos in Ukraine are trying to leave amid the Russian invasion. Locsin expressed gratitude to Poland for agreeing to accept fleeing Filipinos without entry visas. In South Korea, President Moon Jae-in said his country will join international sanctions, but won't consider unilateral penalties. "The sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine must be guaranteed," Moon said in a statement issued by Seoul's presidential Blue House. South Korea will "support and participate in the efforts of the international community, including economic sanctions", he added. Vehicles line up at a fuel station in Kiev, Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=Vehicles line up at a fuel station in Kiev, Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE> Seoul also said it is preparing to take immediate action if the Ukraine conflict results in a disruption to energy shipments. The government is considering various measures, including tapping its strategic oil reserves and securing alternative cargoes, the finance ministry said in a statement. It will look to buy oil from the US, the North Sea and the Middle East, coal from Australia, South Africa and Colombia, and gas from Qatar, Australia and the US, the ministry said. About 17 per cent of South Korea's coal imports came from Russia last year, while it got 6 per cent of its oil and 5.3 per cent of its gas from the country, according to Korea Customs Service data. Meanwhile, the Federated States of Micronesia cut diplomatic ties with Russia on Friday and warned they would only be reopened if Moscow displayed a "love" of humanity. "Diplomatic relations between our two countries have been severed," President David Panuelo said. "Ukraine has been violently and unjustifiably invaded by the Russian Federation," he added. Reporting by Reuters, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2022 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2022. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. A family exits the border after crossing over to flee violence in Ukraine, in Medyka, Poland February 25, 2022. (Reuters) A Liberal Democrat MP has branded the government "disgraceful" for "shutting the door to Ukrainian refugees" amid the growing humanitarian crisis in the country. Missiles pounded Ukrainian cities on Friday and overnight as Vladimir Putin's troops continued their assault, with citizens forced to hide in bomb shelters and subway stations, and thousands driven from their homes. Armed forces minister James Heappey told MPs on Friday that 194 Ukrainians, including 57 civilians, are confirmed to have died. The UK has consistently said it will offer aid to Kyiv, such as providing military equipment and humanitarian support. The British government has been condemned for failing to set up refugee routes for Ukrainians fleeing war. (Getty Images) A baby sleeps in a car seat, after crossing the border to flee violence in Ukraine with her mother, at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, February 25, 2022. (Reuters) However, the Independent reported on Friday that the UK has stopped accepting visa applications from Ukrainians stuck in the country. It comes as the UN warns that the invasion could cause mass displacement, and force five million Ukrainians to flee abroad. Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP, condemned the government's response, urging ministers not to turn their backs on Ukraine. Read more: Putin started lying about Ukraine invasion two months ago, Russian President's ex-spokesman admits "Disgraceful that the government is shutting the door to Ukrainian refugees as this human tragedy unfolds," she tweeted. "The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution. "We must not turn our backs on the Ukrainian people." Reports suggest at least 100,000 people have fled their homes in Ukraine since Russia's invasion, with thousands crossing into neighbouring countries - including Moldova, Romania and Poland. Passengers, including evacuees from the cities of Sumy and Kyiv, walk along the platform of a railway station upon their arrival in Lviv, Ukraine February 25, 2022. (Reuters) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused The West of leaving Ukraine to fight Vladimir Putin "alone". (Getty Images) When asked whether the government were planning safe and legal routes for Ukrainians to travel to the UK, Number 10 spokesperson refused to outline any specific plans. "I'm not going to be able to comment on any action," he said on Friday morning. "But, as I say, we're working closely with Ukraine and its neighbours to support them and to support Ukrainians fleeing in the country." Story continues Boris Johnson has responded with a package of sanctions against Russia that he described as the largest and most severe ever imposed by the UK. The PM said the move would hobble the Russian economy. Read more: Russian troops seize Chernobyl nuclear plant amid warnings over spread of radioactive waste On Thursday, the Ukrainian government announced they had set up a crowdfunding website to pay for "logistical and medical support" amid calls from its president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for more assistance from the international community. Moldovian president Maia Sandu on Thursday said the country was preparing to welcome thousands of Ukrainian refugees, posting pictures of refugee camps. "First [Ukrainian] citizens arrive in [Moldova], with over 4000 crossings today," she tweeted. People queue upon arrival to the border of Ukraine-Slovakia, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Vysne Nemecke, Slovakia, February 25, 2022. (Reuters) Moldovian president Maia Sandu said her country were preparing to welcome Ukrainian refugees. (@sandumaiamd/Twitter) "The govt has deployed temporary placement centers near Palanca and Ocnita. "Our borders are open for [Ukrainian] citizens who need safe transit or stay." Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, said on Thursday the EU countries neighbouring Ukraine were working on plans to welcome and host Ukrainian civilians fleeing the war. On Friday, the Ukrainian president accused The West of "watching from afar" as Ukraine was attacked. "This morning we are defending our state alone," he said. Read more: Britain could expel all Russian citizens from the UK, senior Conservative MP says "Like yesterday, the world's most powerful forces are watching from afar. Did yesterday's sanctions convince Russia? We hear in our sky and see on our earth that this was not enough." Watch: Boris Johnson: Putin a blood-stained aggressor ever intent on invasion A pro-Russian rebel looks up while riding on a tank flying Russias flag (Vadim Ghirda/AP) (AP) Iceland and Estonia have joined the Netherlands in calling for Russia to be excluded from this years Eurovision Song Contest over its invasion of Ukraine. The competition has indicated it plans to allow Russia to compete in Turin in May, describing itself as a non-political cultural event. However, earlier this week Ukrainian state broadcaster UA:PBC urged the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which produces Eurovision, to suspend Russias membership and ban it from the contest. Other member broadcasters have since followed suit, with Estonia the latest to issue a statement. Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, co-organiser of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, is calling on the European Broadcast Union to suspend Russia as a member of the EBU with immediate effect. #ESC2022 #Eurovision2022 pic.twitter.com/nTFyy41qoa AVROTROS (@AVROTROS) February 25, 2022 Estonian Public Broadcasting board chairman Erik Roose said he had contacted the EBU to discuss Russias involvement. He said: Obviously, it is inconceivable that Estonia will participate in Eurovision in a situation where Russia participates but Ukraine does not. Apparently, our colleagues from other Baltic countries are of the same opinion. We will continue to communicate with the EBU as the organiser of the song contest. Icelandic broadcaster RUV said it had been in contact with its Nordic colleagues who share our concerns about the situation in Ukraine and they had agreed Russia should not compete. Ville Vilen, from the Finnish Broadcasting Company, described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as contrary to all the values that YLE and other European broadcasters represent and indicated it was ready to withdraw if the EBU did not change its decision. Story continues Dutch broadcaster Avrotros, which was involved in organising the 2021 event in Rotterdam, called for Europe to unite and show what we stand for. Its chief executive Eric van Stade said: I also ask other countries to speak out and call on the EBU to suspend Russia from EBU membership, so that they can no longer participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin. Denmark and Norway have also joined calls for Russia to be excluded, according to local media reports. Kalush Orchestra will represent Ukraine in Turin with 'Stefania'! https://t.co/8iiGBQ3lKQ Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) February 22, 2022 The 66th edition of Eurovision is due to take place in Turin after Italian rock band Maneskin won the 2021 contest. The statement from Eurovision issued on Thursday said: The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political cultural event which unites nations and celebrates diversity through music. The EBUs public broadcaster members in both Russia and Ukraine have committed to participating in this years event in Turin and we are currently planning to welcome artists from both countries to perform in May. We of course will continue to monitor the situation closely. Last week, the act chosen to represent Ukraine in Turin withdrew from representing her country after facing scrutiny over a reported 2015 visit to Russia-occupied Crimea. Alina Pash had been chosen in a televised national selection show and was due to perform her song Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors, but pulled out after details of the trip emerged. People who enter the territory via Russia are considered by Ukraine to have illegally crossed the border. There is no suggestion that Pash entered Crimea from Russia. She was replaced by rap act Kalush Orchestra with the song Stefania. Russia has not yet announced its act. The plans for the new Pleasant Valley Elementary School. (Courtesy of South Windsor schools) Amidst a wave of new residential development hitting central Connecticut, South Windsor is talking about putting on the brakes with a moratorium. Planners in the town so far are divided about whether a temporary halt to new housing would be good or bad, though, and wont be deciding the matter until next month at the soonest. Advertisement A half-year or full-year ban on new housing applications would give planners time to update South Windsors regulations on affordable housing, open space and other concerns that arent sufficiently addressed now, advocates said. Some also support the moratorium as a way to ease the strain on South Windsors schools, where enrollment is rising steadily. The goal is to head off any influx of additional children that would come with new houses and apartments, at least for the year while a larger Pleasant Valley School is under construction. Advertisement But several residents along with a few members of the Planning and Zoning Commission are concerned that the moratorium would risk long-term growth for the town. They also question whether a ban on new housing is the right way to address school crowding. South Windsor Town Hall (Jordan Otero) Some of the consequences I see it could discourage future development and possibly discourage families from moving to town, Commissioner Alan Cavagnaro told his colleagues at a recent meeting . I fear a moratorium will have an adverse impact. Well develop a reputation for being hostile to development, Commissioner Stephen Wagner replied. I plant to vote against this. But Commissioner Mike LeBlanc offered a different view: South Windsors zoning regulations are outdated, and planners need to devote time in the next year to bring them up to date so they can guide any future growth, he said. I hate to say it but some sections look weak to me these regulations we have really need to be brought to today. A lot of time has passed since this was written, LeBlanc said. In a written report to his colleagues, Chairman Bart Pacekonis said too many projects are being approved with cookie cutter open space cluster designs; minimum lot frontages, sizes and usability of lots; undesirable open space; loss of habitats and other shortcomings. Taking months or a year to update the rules would help the town in the long term, he said. Temporarily barring developers from proposing new projects would give the commission time to study recent development patterns and find better ways of carving out green space in large developments, according to supporters. It would also allow time to research new state legislation on affordable housing to position South Windsor to meet future requirements, they said. Opponents dismissed that idea, saying commissioners could simply hold special meetings or longer meetings to do that type of planning after dealing with routine applications. Advertisement Five Things You Need To Know Daily We're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. > Weve now wasted two public hearings arguing the moratorium instead of discussing rules on open space, interior lots and affordable housing, Wagner said. Councilman Andrew Paterna warned that a moratorium could discourage developers, leading to less new construction and smaller grand list growth. That would mean existing taxpayers would have to share more of future tax burdens, he said. Cavagnaro also said commissioners shouldnt be trying to resolve the school enrollment issue. Some commissioners have noted our schools are too crowded. Its not our purview to decide this moratorium based on class sizes, Cavagnaro said. While it is a concern, we cannot let that impact our decision. South Windsors school population has grown steadily in recent years. Enrollment currently stands at 4,778 students, about 220 more than last year and nearly 600 more than five years ago. This month, the Board of Education approved $800,000 in the next budget to hire more faculty and improve the high school annex to deal with growth. The town is spending more than $58 million to replace the Pleasant Valley Elementary School with a larger building. If construction is on schedule, it will open in August 2023. Advertisement The Planning and Zoning Commission will resume deliberations on the moratorium in March. Tom Moore, superintendent of West Hartford schools since 2014, is leaving to head a school district in suburban Chicago. (Peter Casolino / Special to the Courant) After eight years as superintendent of West Hartford schools, Tom Moore is leaving to take charge of two high schools serving several Chicago suburbs. Moore notified parents Friday morning that hes leaving at the end of the school year. Advertisement Now it is time for me to move on. I believe that most leadership has a shelf life, and eight years as superintendent of West Hartford schools is the right timeline for me, Moore wrote in an email to parents. I also believe that we have a very short life span to do as much as we can, to help as many people as we can, and to positively affect the lives of those that we come in contact with, he wrote. Advertisement Moore, 52, was named Connecticuts superintendent of the year for 2021, and last week was in Nashville for an awards ceremony hosted by the national association of school chiefs. West Hartfords school board did not immediately set a schedule for how it will seek a new superintendent. Moore started his career in 1996 as a student teacher at Hall High School, and soon afterward became a history teacher at Conard High School. He served as Conards principal from 2007 to 2010 and then was promoted to an assistant superintendents job. The school board appointed him in mid-2014 as superintendent to run its 16 schools. Moore said hes proud of what the district has done since then. We have made real progress in closing the achievement gap. Our graduation rates are the highest they have ever been. More West Hartford students graduate having earned college credit than in any other system in the state, he wrote. West Hartford has about 9,500 students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, a $175 million budget and roughly 1,500 full- and part-time employees ranging from teachers, principals, cafeteria workers and security guards to librarians, psychologists, secretaries and classroom aides. Five Things You Need To Know Daily We're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. > His new position will be quite different. As head of the Niles Township High School District 219, Moore will be in charge of two large high schools but no elementary or middle schools. District 219 serves a combined enrollment of 4,600 in the northern Chicago suburbs of Lincolnwood, Skokie, Morton Grove and Niles. Advertisement Being focused on high schools certainly was a draw. I started my career there, and I have always had a love of the high school environment, Moore said Friday when asked whether District 219s uncommon structure had attracted him to apply. Moore told the Courant he has no family ties in Illinois, but is excited to begin a new challenge. Part of the excitement is that now, as our children have gone off to college, my wife Tara and I can embark on a new chapter of our lives, together, in a new place, he said. There is excitement in the unknown, and I have far too much wanderlust to spend my entire life only living in New England. West Hartfords budget lists Moores salary at approximately $220,000. In the Niles position, he will be replacing Steven Isoye, who is being paid $260,000 this year. Isoye is retiring after six years as superintendent. In its recruitment notices, Niles said it sought a leader with extensive skill in serving a diverse population. More than half of its students come from homes where English is not the dominant language; when the district sought community input through a survey, it was published in English, Spanish, Urdu, Assyrian, Korean and Arabic. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (middle) and his spouse (second left) arrive in Singapore to begin his three-day state visit at the invitation of Singaporean President Halimah Yacob. VNA/VNS Photo SINGAPORE President Nguyen Xuan Phuc arrived in Singapore on Thursday to begin his three-day state visit at the invitation of Singaporean President Halimah Yacob. The trip is expected to deepen the Viet Nam-Singapore strategic partnership while fostering cooperation in areas such as tourism, post COVID-19 economic recovery, digital economy, cyber security and national defence-security. President Phuc was accompanied by his spouse Madam Tran Nguyet Thu, Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang, Chairman of the President's Office Le Khanh Hai, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung and Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien. President Phuc will receive a ceremonial welcome at the Istana on 25 February 2022, followed by a call on President Halimah Yacob, who will host a State Banquet in his honour that evening. The Vietnamese President will meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The two leaders will jointly witness the signing of bilateral agreements that will further strengthen the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. President Phuc will also meet Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin and Singapore parliamentarians at Parliament House. The Vietnamese leader will deliver the keynote address at the Singapore-Viet Nam Business Dialogue on Friday, meet Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, and visit the Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm on Saturday, before departing Singapore. President Phucs state visit reaffirms Singapores excellent ties with Viet Nam, as both countries prepare to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership in 2023. This is the first visit of the President abroad in 2022, and the first visit by a head of state to Singapore since the COVID-19 pandemic. The visit continues to affirm Viet Nams determination to develop the economy and create a favorable business environment for investors, ensuring Singaporean investors can continue doing business Viet Nam, even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. VNS LOS ANGELES (AP) Sally Kellerman, the Oscar and Emmy nominated actor who played Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in director Robert Altman's 1970 film "MASH," died Thursday. Kellerman died of heart failure at her home in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, her manager and publicist Alan Eichler said. She was 84. Kellerman had a career of more than 60 years in film and television. She played a college professor who was returning student Rodney Dangerfield's love interest in the 1986 comedy "Back to School." And she was a regular in Altman's films, appearing in 1970's "Brewster McCloud," 1992's "The Player" and 1994's "Ready to Wear." Keep scrolling for a look at the notable people who have died in 2022 But she would always be best known for playing Major Houlihan, a straitlaced, by-the-book Army nurse who is tormented by rowdy doctors during the Korean War in the army comedy "MASH." In the film's key scene, and its peak moment of misogyny, a tent where Houlihan is showering is pulled open and she is exposed to an audience of cheering men. "This isn't a hospital, this is an insane asylum!" she screams at her commanding officer. She carries on a torrid affair with the equally uptight Major Frank Burns, played by Robert Duvall, demanding that he kiss her "hot lips" in a moment secretly broadcast over the camp's public address speakers, earning her the nickname. Kellerman said Altman brought out the best in her. "It was a very freeing, positive experience," she told Dick Cavett in a 1970 TV interview. "For the first time in my life I took chances, I didn't suck in my cheeks, or worry about anything." The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, but her best supporting actress was its only acting nod despite a cast that included Duvall, Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould. The movie would be turned into a TV series that lasted 11 seasons, with Loretta Swit in Kellerman's role. Sally Clare Kellerman was born in 1937 in Long Beach, California, the daughter of a piano teacher and an oil executive, moving to Los Angeles as a child and attending Hollywood High School. Her initial interest was in jazz singing, and she was signed to a contract with Verve records at age 18. She opted to pursue acting and didn't put out any music until 1972, when she released the album "Roll With the Feeling." She would sing on the side, and sometimes in roles, throughout her career, releasing her last album, "Sally," in 2007. She took an acting class at Los Angeles City College and appeared in a stage production of "Look Back in Anger" with classmate Jack Nicholson and several other future stars. She worked mostly in television early in her career, with a lead role in 1962's "Cheyenne" and guest appearances on "The Twilight Zone, "The Outer Limits," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and "Bonanza." Her appearance in the original "Star Trek" pilot as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner won her cult status among fans. She would work primarily in film in the years following "MASH," including 1972's "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" and 1975's "Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins," both with Alan Arkin, 1973's "Slither" with James Caan, 1979's "A Little Romance" with Laurence Olivier and 1980's "Foxes" with Jodie Foster. She would work into her 80s, with several acclaimed television performances in her final years. She starred in the comedy series "Decker" with Tim Heidecker and played comedian Mark Maron's mother on his series "Maron." "Sally Kellerman was radiant and beautiful and fun and so great to work with," Maron said on Twitter Thursday. "My real mom was very flattered and a bit jealous. I'm sad she's gone." And in 2014 she was nominated for an Emmy for her recurring role on "The Young and the Restless." Kellerman was married to television producer Rick Edelstein from 1970 to 1972 and to movie producer Jonathan D. Krane from 1980 until his death in 2016. She is survived by her son Jack and daughter Claire. *** Vikings: Valhalla follows the exploits of the Norse warriors 100 years after the original series. Tyler Perry dons the Madea cloke again for a new Netflix movie. NBCs long-running The Blacklist moves back to Friday. Magnum P.I. spotlights helicopter pilot T.C. as he fosters an abandoned teen. The penultimate episode of Apples mystery-comedy The Afterparty focuses on Tiffany Haddish as the detective whos gone rogue to crack the case. Series Premiere You dont need to have seen Historys hit Vikings (though it wouldnt hurt) to enjoy this action-packed sequel, set a century later as it tracks the adventures of 11th-century explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his fearless pagan sister Freydis (Frida Gustavsson) and Harald (Leo Suter), the ferocious prince of Norway. In this era, the Vikings are torn between pagan and Christian beliefs as the story moves from Greenland to Norway, Denmark and England in a relentless battle for survival and conquest. Movie Premiere The blockbuster movie franchise finds a home on streaming as multi-hyphenate director-writer-producer-star Tyler Perry assumes his most famous comic persona as the indomitable Madea. She returns to attend her great-grandsons college graduation, an event that promises (or threatens) to expose all kinds of dramatic family secrets. Look for Irish actor Brendan OCarroll to give Madea a run for her money as Agnes Brow 8/7c Now back on Fridays, the long-running crime dramajust renewed for a 10th seasonputs Cooper (Harry Lennix) and his reconstituted FBI task force on the trail of an untraceable cellular network for criminals. Red (James Spader) is otherwise engaged in trying to get his loyal accountant Heddie (Aida Turturro) out of a jam. 9/8c An emotional subplot involves copter pilot T.C.s (Stephen Hill) efforts to become a foster parent to 16-year-old Cade (Martin Martinez), the abandoned kid he met earlier this season. But first, he and Detective Katsumoto (Tim Kang) make one last effort to find Cades long-missing mother before the arrangement can become official. Where are Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and Higgins (Perdita Weeks) through all of this? On the hunt for a woman who skipped out on a $250,000 bond, leaving a dead P.I. in her wake. With only one more episode to go, and most of the prime suspects having already been grilled by Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) in this wildly entertaining mystery-comedy, the unconventional cop turns the spotlight on herself to reveal why its so crucial to her career that she solve this case of the fallen pop star. In flashbacks, we see how Danner struggled to prove herself in a case involving a famous TV writer (Fred Savage), when her smug nemesis, Det. Aldrin Germain (Veeps Reid Scott), keeps trying to keep the ambitious beat cop in her place. Now Danner worries Germain will railroad the most obvious (yet unlikely) suspect, Aniq (Sam Richardson), if she doesnt get to the truth first. In two new episodes of the raucous period comedy, Susie (Alex Borstein) pays tribute to a fallen friendthe episode is dedicated to the late Brian Tarantina, who played her roomie and Gaslight emcee, Jackiewhile Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) struggles on at the strip club. (Tony winner Santino Fontana, of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fame, is the snarling backstage manager.) Emmy winner Luke Kirby makes a welcome reappearance as Lenny Bruce, while another Emmy champ, Tony Shalhoub as Midges father Abe, gets the worst and most farcical subplots, facing the heat after filing a negative review and then petulantly sparring with longtime friend Asher (Jason Alexander) during an FBI investigation. Inside Friday TV: On the Stream: The Austin-based Texas Mutual Insurance Co.s $75,000 grant awarded in late 2021 through the TSTC Foundation to Texas State Technical College will go toward ongoing efforts for veterans and the purchase of equipment for workforce training. The intent of the grant is to assist veterans regardless of where they are located or what programs they want to participate in, said Kenneth Buford, TSTCs director of veteran recruitment. One of the initiatives that funding could be used is for participants in the Manufacturing Institutes Heroes MAKE America program. A third cohort of military members transitioning to civilian life are currently taking workforce training classes in mechatronics at TSTCs Waco campus. Many of these soldiers come from a technical MOS (military occupational specialty) and just need some training to translate those skills into the private sector, said Michael Smith, the TSTC Foundations vice president of development. We wanted to have a safety net for them to ensure there is a smooth transition from their military careers into civilian life. The grant is part of the companys $5 million grant funding for nonprofit organizations in the state for generational learning, safety training and workforce development. Educating and training the next generation of Texas workers is critical to the states success, said Jeremiah Bentley, the companys vice president of marketing and community affairs. Gloria Gerena, the mother of Victor Gerena chants with other protester on Main Street in Hartford in 1999. She was part of a group gathered outside of the Federal Court House in Hartford to protest the bombings by the US Navy of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Digital photo - Richard Messina - The Hartford Courant (RICHARD MESSINA / HC) Gloria Gerena, a Hartford activist and mother of fugitive Victor Gerena, inside man for the Puerto Rican militants who stole $7 million from a West Hartford armored car depot nearly four decades ago, has died. She was 84. Advertisement Gerena worked to expand the political influence of the states Hispanic population and was an icon in the Puerto Rican independence movement in the years after her son joined the violent nationalist group Los Macheteros in what was then the largest cash robbery in U.S. the proceeds of which Los Macheteros said they stole to finance an armed revolution on the island. For 45 years, Gerena worked for Catholic Family Charities-Institute for Hispanic Families, where she helped create sign language programs for deaf children and their families, as well as developing forensic techniques to interview sexually abused children. Advertisement She was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and lived briefly in the Bronx before moving to Hartford where she raised five children. While in Hartford, she became a licensed social worker, obtaining undergraduate degrees from Manchester Community College and St. Josephs in West Hartford, and a masters degree from UConn. When Gerena moved to Hartford, she settled in what during the late 1960s and 70s was one of the largest and most important centers of Puerto Rican culture on the mainland and a hotbed of activism for Puerto Rican independence. It has long been the belief of federal investigators that it was his mothers influence that persuaded Victor to, at least symbolically, give his life for the independence movement. On Sept. 12, 1983, Wells Fargo employee Victor Gerena injected two co-workers with a substance intended to subdue them, and disappeared with.$7.1 million. The West Hartford heist, later tied to a Puerto Rican militant group called Los Macheteros seeking that country's independence, was the largest cash robbery in U.S. history at the time. The FBI case file on the robbery reads like a Caribbean thriller. Macheteros met secretly with senior Cuban intelligence officers who trained, financed and protected the robbers at safehouses in Panama, Mexico and Cuba. Money was smuggled via Cubas diplomatic pouch. The Macheteros blasted federal government buildings with Cuban-supplied rockets that the U.S. had left behind in Vietnam. The militants smuggled Victor Gerena into Mexico and handed him to the Cubans, who gave him a dye job and a phony beard and flew him to Havana, where he joined a group of radical U.S fugitives living under the protection of former Cuban President Fidel Castro. He is still at large. [ Chapter 1: The Untold Tale Of Victor Gerena ] Five Things You Need To Know Daily We're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. > Gloria Gerena spoke of the Wells Fargo robbery and her son three years ago to Puerto Rican filmmaker Freddy Marrero Alfonso, whose documentary Filiberto profiles Filiberto Ojeda Rios, the Puerto Rican nationalist who, with Cuban support, established the violent wing of the island independence movement in the 1960s. Filiberto Ojeda Rios displays a Puerto Rican flag as he left U.S. District Court in Hartford in this May 20, 1988 file photo after making bail. (BOB CHILD / AP / Associated Press) Ojeda helped plan the Wells Fargo robbery and approved the participation of Victor Gerena, who had been a star athlete and student at Hartfords Bulkeley High School. Victor Gerena got a job driving an armored vehicle for Wells Fargo and, on Sept. 12, 1983, pulled a gun on two fellow employees, stuffed all the cash he could fit into a rented Buick, and drove off into the night. FBI Special Agent Mike Wolf held a press conference on in 2004 in New Haven to announce the new $1 million reward for the capture of Victor Gerena, for his alleged participation in a $7 million theft from a West Hartford armored car terminal. Gerena is on the FBI 10 Most Wanted list. Kathy Hanley, The Hartford Courant (Kathy Hanley / The Hartford Courant) Ojeda and the the other robbery conspirators all but Victor Gerena were caught and tried in the federal courthouse on Main Street in Hartford, where Gloria Gerena frequently participated in protests. Ojeda escaped and lived quietly as a fugitive in the Puerto Rican mountains until he was killed in a gunfight with FBI agents on Sept. 23, 2005. In Filiberto, Gloria Gerena is interviewed on a rainy day in Frog Hollow, sitting in a sedan across the street from the brownstone where Ojeda and his lawyer lived during the trial. Gloria Gerena explains away the robbery as a legitimate act of war. And she tries to explain the absence from her life of her oldest son. Once it was understood that it was for a cause, many of us would say, and still say, Its an expropriation, Gloria Gerena said of the robbery. Because that is what it is called, when you take away from the rich. Because if you say robbery, youre criminalizing the struggle. Advertisement Of Victor, she said: I cant say that Ive paid more than anyone. But I do believe that with him being gone and his daughters growing up without him not getting to know his grandchildren, his nephew and not being able to see each other thats been tough. Gerena died on Feb. 16. Funeral services are Friday at 11 a.m. at the DEsopo-East Hartford Memorial Chapel, 30 Carter Street, East Hartford. Burial will follow in Silver Lane Cemetery, East Hartford. The worst, it seems, has now happened in Ukraine. In a predawn televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he had ordered an operation aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine. He blamed the U.S. for crossing red lines. Kyiv, he said, would be responsible for any bloodshed. Reports of explosions and gunfire in cities across the country began immediately. Its a dark moment for Russia, for Ukraine, for Europe the darkest in Putins two decades at the helm. It is also a point of no return for Russias leader, and one with lasting consequences for the world. Putin has fallen into the autocrats trap. Isolated, he is no longer able to weigh up reality as it is, but sees his fears instead. He is obsessed with what he perceives as the threat from Ukraines westward drift, and with turning back the clock to reset the post-Cold War order. His speech Thursday ranging from Russias weakness at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, to Iraq, Yugoslavia and a chilling warning against Western intervention was hardly the product of a cool, rational mind. It could not have contrasted more sharply with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys earlier moving appeals for peace, made directly to ordinary Russians. U.S. President Joe Biden called Russias actions a premeditated war. Hubris, paranoia, military adventurism a heady combination, and one that has been fatal for dictators and their regimes. And Putin is starting a war Russians do not want, for which they will pay the cost. Political scientist Daniel Treisman, in his study of autocrats last acts, found that most regimes come to an end through mistakes, whether because they ignored change or, like Argentinas Leopoldo Galtieri, embarked on an ill-advised war. He invaded the Falklands in 1982, assuming Britain would not fight and that his population would unite behind him. He was misguided, and the blunder was terminal. Russia is not Argentina, and there will be no such immediate repercussion for Putin, whatever happens. Increased repression at home is in fact the most likely consequence from this show of force abroad either because the Kremlin can, or because it must. But consequences can play out over time, and the Russian president appears to be unraveling. Even by the standards of a repressive authoritarian regime with a history of false-flag operations and fabricated pretexts for war and for an autocrat with a penchant for macho, reckless military pursuits and for rewriting the past the last few days have been hard to comprehend. A rambling, hourlong speech on Monday laced with wild accusations, portraying Ukraine as Vladimir Lenins invention. Then a staged Security Council meeting with senior officials being made to publicly support Putin and the recognition of the separatist republics. Now, a war that, stretching credulity to the limit, Putin says will denazify Ukraine a country that suffered brutally in the Second World War. He made his move, moreover, while the United Nations Security Council was meeting, in a last-ditch attempt to avoid conflict. What is remarkable here is not just the ambition of what Putin is apparently undertaking, a full-scale military operation with little regard for repercussions, an effort to destroy a neighbor and destabilize the region. Its also the scale of the delusion, when it comes to the threat posed by NATO and crucially his countrys long-term ability to bear the human and financial cost of isolation. Yes, Moscow has built up central bank reserves and a war chest, but this is a country whose economy is stagnating, and one thats already struggling to deal with a health crisis as COVID-19 races through an under-vaccinated population. To drive home the point, the West must now dramatically ramp up sanctions, reaching far beyond individuals into Russias state banks and more even if few options now come without a cost for Europe and the rest of the world. Vladimir Putin has already begun the war no one but Kremlin hawks wanted. Now only the toughest measures can hold him back. Clara Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering commodities and environmental, social and governance issues. Previously, she was an associate editor for Reuters Breakingviews, and editor and correspondent for Reuters in Singapore, India, the U.K., Italy and Russia. The Ukraine crisis makes me miss Ronald Reagan. More to the point, it makes me better appreciate his combination of moral clarity and realism: He understood that some governments are simply evil. Their leaders lust after power and seek to limit the freedom of their citizens. These governments are a threat to global security. For Reagan, the No. 1 offender was the Soviet Union, but he held this view about communist governments more generally. He saw communism as an ideology that elevated the power of the state, a non-democratic state at that, over the rights of the individual. Its impossible to know exactly what Reagan would have thought of Putins Russia, which is not a communist country. But everything Reagan said and wrote implies that he would have been highly suspicious of it. Putins Russia already has moved militarily in Georgia, Ukraine and Syria. It imprisons political opponents and clamps down on free speech. It is far from a legitimate democracy. So I dont think Reagan would have been surprised by the fact that Russia has amassed at least 150,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, with a good chance that the conflict will soon escalate further. He well understood the logic of what he called evil empires. Unfortunately, Reagan has gone out of style, including with the conservative base. For 20 years, dissident Republicans have been saying that they want to move away from the legacy of Reaganism. Some of this intellectual migration has been more against Reagans market-oriented economics. But isolationism and even pro-Russian sympathies have become common in the Republican Party. As I interpret the career of Reagan, he understood another point very well and that concerns the scarcity of moral capital. Reagan knew there were real bad guys, and that it was up to leaders and elites to identify them and stand up to them, both rhetorically and diplomatically. Most of all, it was important to encourage the American public to internalize these same moral judgments. This may all sound corny and dated, but the conflict in Ukraine shows it to be an enduring truth. The complementary Reagan vision was positive, optimistic and focused on what Americans can accomplish when working together. Americans are going to disagree on a lot of issues , he acknowledged, but they should maintain a relatively united front and save their real opprobrium for the truly destructive forces on the global scene. Fast forward 40 years, and it seems that America has almost completely ignored these strictures. Many on the right seem most upset about the worst aspects of the left, and vice versa. Even when bad forces emerge in the international arena, Americans seem far more preoccupied by their fights with each other. On Russia specifically, as recently as several months ago the current military escalation was hardly a topic of discussion among U.S. elites. When Mitt Romney tried to raise the danger of Russia in his 2012 presidential campaign, the point largely fell flat. Former President Barack Obama actually mocked him. Now there is a rush to catch up. Much of the panic about Russia over the last few years has been inward-looking, related to its connection with the campaign of former President Donald Trump. Finally, there is a realization that European peace cannot be taken for granted and a great deal is at stake. So far President Joe Biden has done a commendable job building up a relatively united NATO and European coalition to oppose Russian moves against Ukraine. Like Reagan with the Soviet Union, Biden understands that it is necessary to keep open lines of communication and negotiation with Russia. If an aggressive Russia were to remain central on the global stage, some people might find themselves reassessing more than just the Reagan presidency. War would require a reassessment of pretty much everything else, including the prospects for economic growth and international cooperation. There would also be the question of whether this cycle of combat and conquest has a meaningful stopping point. Reagan understood all that. He made his share of mistakes, including on foreign policy, but the main issue he got right looms ever larger in importance. Even those who reject other aspects of his legacy should be able to appreciate this one. Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of economics at George Mason University and writes for the blog Marginal Revolution. His books include Big Business: A Love Letter to an American Anti-Hero. SpaceX quakes My husband and I live near Clifton. Were becoming increasingly concerned over SpaceX rocket tests that rattle our nerves and our home. Are you able to provide us with any hope that SpaceX plans to limit or reduce their rumbling disturbances? Here is a letter we sent to SpaceX: We live a couple of miles east of Clifton. SpaceX tests are causing our home to vibrate and to rattle. Today I was watching the news when SpaceX began another test. My TV was rattling on the wall. My house was rattling. Our home is on a slab foundation. I walked down a hallway and filmed our rattling doors. I continued filming as I walked outside to see if my phone could record the sound. That I can share with you. We moved to the country about 13 years ago from the Dallas Metroplex. We built our home and have relished the peace and tranquility that living in the country provides. Your company is shattering that peace. I lived in southern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I experienced a couple of earthquakes. One while in Chula Vista, the other while in Northridge. Your rumbling is similar to my experience during an earthquake. Im quite certain you set up business in rural America because there are less people here to complain, but this isnt going to fly. Kathy Swanson, Clifton More power The cold streak this week is reminiscent of the freeze last February. Will we face new rolling blackouts? ERCOT officials say no, but we do know that high demands on the grid, either heating in the cold or cooling in the summer heat, are approaching limits that, in the future, may again cause demand to exceed generating capability. We have reason to fear the future for two reasons, each of which presents a scary scenario. First, climate change proponents have made it inconceivable that we will get new fossil fuel or nuclear generation capability. Last winter showed us that solar and wind cannot be counted on during cloudy winter weather. Given projected population growth in Texas, we can be sure new demands for energy will soon outpace our generating capability. The Texas power grid and generation capability is decades old and simply will not be able to ramp up for higher demands. Second, and more significantly, we are moving toward the replacement of gasoline-powered vehicles to all-electric vehicles. Have we considered how the new demands for charging stations will seriously challenge production? The addition of commercial and home electric charging stations will demand a lot from an already challenged grid. Within the next few years, I predict ERCOT will tell us during a cold streak: You can either heat your home and leave your charging station off during the overnight hours or charge your car and leave your heat off. There will just not be enough available electricity to do both. Which would you choose? Lets wake up to the fact we still must rely on fossil fuels, and the move toward green-friendly power is simply not occurring fast enough to avoid a very serious energy deficit in the foreseeable future. Lets learn from the suffering we went through last February. We need new power generation capability, and we need it now. Ed Brown, Waco For the past few years, we have been following the efforts at Classic Fighters of America to return Doug Matthews North American Sabre to the sky at their facility in Titusville, Florida. Well that momentous first post-restoration flight took place yesterday! In an exclusive interview with our very own Moreno Aguiari, Doug Matthews described his experiences yesterday in flying his newly-airworthy Sabre for the first time. DM: So, today was really a surprise. We were just taking it very slowly, methodically and going through every systems check and all these little items to tie up a complete restoration from boxes. So finally, things just clicked today. We didnt really have a schedule to fly, but the weather was perfect. So I thought Id do the first test flight. MA: Was there anything specific that made things click, or was it just brewing and you were ready to go? DM: No well we had done multiple engine runs, and last Friday I did several high-speed taxis right up to liftoff speed. And it gave me a lot of confidence that the thing was running pretty normally, pretty safely. So over the weekend, I thought, Theres nothing left to do except to fly around the circuit, and might as well give it a try. So, today the weather was perfect and I said, Well do a more extensive preflight and a more extensive after-start systems checks and everything. But if everything is perfect, I think the weather is perfect. I think I should just even fly it for 10 minutes. MA: How do you prepare for a test flight coming off a multi-restoration? Is there anything that you do differently from a normal flight? DM: Yeah, you really go through the maintenance manual systems checks, and not just the pilots manual systems checks, but maintenance checks, all these special systems checks. So you have to put on a maintenance hat and really go through each system in depth for functional checking, to make sure that if you pull back, the nose is going to go up, not down. And are all the monitoring and systems gauges reporting accurately and the modifications that we did, are they all safe and accurate? And its just a very methodical process that took us really, it took months. MA: Youve flown a lot of airplanes, and this is not the first time that you have piloted an F-86, but this airplane hasnt been flown in ten years so from a psychological point of view, what goes through your mind as a human being when you take on something like this? Are you nervous, or are you just completely cold? DM: You cant help but be a little bit nervous Youve got in the back of your mind that. Its different if youre going to go fly someone elses airplane, and they say, Hey, we just finished a restoration can you come do the test plan? Ive done that. But this is its different when your shop is doing it and then youre intimately involved in each of the systems construction Then you have a much higher level. MA: Okay. Got you You have a deeper level of confidence, because you saw the work has been done on the airplane? DM: Yeah. Ive got just the absolute best crew. And theyre so experienced, because weve done lots of jet restorations. Weve done eight Marchettis, the T-33, two A-4s a bunch. And, so they are so experienced, that Ive got the greatest confidence in them. And then, two or three days a week, I go to the shop and Im asking questions my undergraduate degree and my Masters degree are in Aeronautical Engineering. So I can ask some pretty specific questions. MA: Who are the main members of your restoration team? DM: Well, the shop chief is Don Pataky, the crew chief is Phillip Ricker and then we have another half a dozen guys, Al White and AJ and Don Swickert and Trey Powers. Just a whole host of several people that really work on it, and make a difference. MA: Got you. How did the aircraft fly? DM: It flew great For the first flight, and coming with the depth of restoration we had, including a completely new electrical system, new plumbing system and everything. I had two airframe gripes and four avionics gripes, and avionics revolves around the all-new glass cockpit, stuff like that. So, just extremely pleased almost no problems. Its incredible. MA: You just did a straight through flight, without aggressive maneuvers just shallow turns and things like that? DM: We have a series of test flights were going to do. And the first one was only done after three high speed taxi tests. So the first flight was simply to take off, leave the gear and the flaps down, turn down wind and make one traffic pattern and land full stop, taxi back in and shut down and start looking for problems. And then each successive test flight will go further and further and longer. So we have a series of eight test flights that well do before were comfortable with the airplane traveling anywhere. MA: Good to know. So now that the Sabre is close to being done, what is next for the airplane? Are you going to keep it or put it on the market? DM: Were going to do airshows this year and then probably at the end of the year itll go on the market. MA: Okay so whats next for Classic Fighters? DM: Well, were always looking for projects. Weve got a sideline going on a major repair of a Citation Jet for a customer, a structural repair job. But as far as Classic Fighters, were always looking for a P-51 project and we have a customer with an F-86 that may want a restoration Were just looking for the next project which we can find a multiyear project. MA: That sounds great! We wish you luck with completing the Sabre and getting her back on the air show circuit. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us too. Albeit a tiny dot on the screen, the video below at least captures the silky engine notes at the moment Doug Matthews takes to the skies in his newly-airworthy F-86F. For a recap on Doug Matthews Sabre, he acquired F-86F-30 52-5116 in 2013 and its restoration commenced soon after; it is clear that the workmanship is of a very high calibre. This aircraft served in the U.S. Air Force initially, before undergoing reconditioning for service in Argentina. It joined the Argentine Air Force as C-119 in November, 1960, and flew with that nation until withdrawn from use in 1986. Around 1989 Rick Sharpe re-imported her into the USA, and she has passed through a number of owners in the interim, including the Commemorative Air Force (her last owner). In seeking a suitable F-86 for this project, Matthews was keen to find an example similar to the one he already flies, F-86F 53-1201, which wears the livery of the famed Skyblazers aerial demonstration, forerunner to todays USAF Thunderbirds. As already noted, Doug Matthews Classic Fighters of America performed the restoration in Titusville, Florida. The work included a completely new electrical system, among other details. Matthews had the aircraft painted to resemble F-86F 51-2910 BEAUTEOUS BUTCH II, one of the Sabres which famed jet-ace Captain Joseph McConnell flew from Suwon Air Base during the Korean War with the 39th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing. McConnell is credited with shooting down sixteen MiG-15 jet fighters during the conflict, while damaging an additional five examples. Captain McConnell is Americas highest-scoring jet ace, but interestingly, he started out as a navigator on B-24 Liberator bombers during WWII, flying on sixty combat missions. He stayed in the military after following the Allied victory though, and pursued his dream of becoming a fighter pilot; earning his wings at Williams AFB, Arizona in February, 1948. He joined the Korean conflict, quite late, arriving for service in September, 1952. All of his victories came between January and May, 1953, with the first eight being scored in F-86E-10 51-2753. McConnell had each of his fighters painted with the name Beauteous Butchon the side in honor of his wife Pearl, whose nickname was Butch. His second Sabre was F-86F-15 51-12971 however, a Chinese MiG-15 pilot named Daoping Jiang got the better of him on April 12th, 1953, shooting him down over the Yellow Sea. Fortunately, McConnell managed to eject from his stricken fighter, and a rescue helicopter plucked him from the water and brought him safely home. He was back flying in combat the following day though, and shot down another MiG-15. The third Sabre which McConnell flew in combat successfully was F-86F-1 51-2910. He shot his final two MiGs and damaged a third on his final combat mission on May 18th, 1953. His Sabre was painted in his honor following this mission, renamed now as BEAUTIOUS BUTCH II. McConnell was sent home to the USA, where he took up a posting with the Sabre-equipped 445th FS at George AFB in Apple Valley, California. Soon after, he took up a prestigious posting as a test pilot under secondment at Edwards Air Force Base to evaluate the then-new F-86H variant. While conducting a test flight in the 5th production example, F-86H-1-NA 52-1981, on August 25th, 1954, the aircraft experienced a serious control-system failure and crashed. Sadly, McConnell lost his life in the accident. His legend lives on though, and will be rekindled anew for the aviation-minded public now that Doug Matthews new Sabre flies Many thanks to Doug Matthews, Classic Fighters of America for their help in creating this article. We also to offer our profuse thanks to Larry Titchenal for allowing us to use his marvelous images of the Sabres first flight! AMES Terry Basol of Nashua, Iowa State University Extension field agronomist for Region 4, and Matt Schnabel, superintendent for the ISUs Northern Iowa Research Farm at Kanawha, shared some of their insights into some practices corn producers can implement to increase production, and protect their corn crop this season. This last year, I saw more corn rootworm challenges than in prior years in my region, said Basol. Corn rootworms are becoming resistant to the Bt-trait in corn, particularly where its corn on corn. Basols Region 4 covers eight counties starting at the northern Iowa border and extending south to central Iowa. We are seeing some problems even where there is a corn-soybean rotation. Definitely keep an eye out for it, he advised. Some producers have attempted to spray adult beetles, but itcan be very hard to effectively control the females because of the sensitive timing needed in applying an insecticide. We caution the use of this practice. Farmers need to be scouting their fields, but there is little that can be done the year the corn rootworm is spotted, Basol said. Studying the drought monitor for his region, which includes Mitchell, Howard and Floyd counties, Basol said, About two thirds of my northern Iowa area is abnormally dry, a smaller area is even drier. We still need good moisture before we get into the fields to plant. One of the newest pathogens that Basol is concerned about is tar spot fungus. We have seen a fair amount of Tar Spot on the east side of the state. It has spread from Illinois through weather events, such as storms and high winds, he explained. The fungus attaches itself to corn leaves and deceases photosynthesis, which keeps corn kernels from developing as they normally would. It can also cause corn stalk integrity/lodging issues. Conditions favorable to the disease are temps of 60 to 70 degrees, over 75 percent humidity and moisture staying on corn leaves for more than seven hours. We have seen losses of up to 50 bushel to the acre or more for severe infestations. To curb the fungus Basol suggested applying fungicide from the V-2 to R-2 growth stages of the corn plant, the most widely used protection against the disease. If the disease shows up early, you might have to apply fungicide earlier. Applying fungicides at the right time is essential. These fungicides can be applied by air or by a ground rig. There is an app called Tar Spotter that helps to determine the timing of application. Crop rotations will help to decrease the inoculums in the field. Producers need to be scouting their corn fields weekly and maybe every three days if weather condition are favorable for the fungus. The way for a producer to detect the disease is to rub ones finger over black spots on the corn leaf. If the raised black spots wont rub off, it is a good sign tar spot fungus is on the plant. Farmers should then check with local agronomist to confirm if the disease is present. Matt Schnabel said he hasnt seen tar spot fungus at the Northern Research farm at Kanawha, although he recognizes the disease is slowly working its way from Eastern Iowa to Western Iowa, and the fungus has been spotted to some degree in all of Iowas 99 counties. Since 1952 the farm has been researching crop rotations using the various crops of corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and oats. We have been using various units of nitrogen (80, 160, 240 units of Nitrogen per acre). Typically we find that crop rotations produce the highest yields, while using the same units of nitrogen. Our decades of research have shown the more diverse the crop rotation, the lower input costs, said Schnabel. At our farm during the 2021 growing season, there was little corn disease, or insect problems. He said ongoing research using nitrogen and sulfur, shows that sulfur applied as gypsum had a positive effect on corn yields. Researchers on the farm have been turning their attention to the effect that cover crops can have on corn production. In 2021 we experimented with inter-seeding (drilling) cover crops between corn rows in June, when the corn plants were at the V-5 and V-8 stages. We did this so there would be more cover crop growth before winter, said Schnabel. It wasnt a heavy seeding, and we used more shade tolerant species of cover crops for the research. One of the important results we found was there was no evidence of yield differential between where there was no cover crop. The farm is also beginning to do trials on harvesting timing, which is a popular conversation among corn producers. The research centers around whether there is an advantage to combining corn earlier with higher moisture content, or to allow corn to dry down in the field. The research considered both ears dropped, and lodging of stalks when corn was left to dry in the field. We did trails harvesting corn at different moisture levels to find if harvesting earlier is better and more profitable. said Schnabel. The hard data for this and other trials will be released at the March Northern Iowa Research Association meeting. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO In the midst of pandemic-fueled supply chain issues and workforce shortages, Hawkeye Community College is eyeing demographic changes likely to have a longer-term impact on staffing in manufacturing industries. An aging population means the shrinking pool of workers will be a continuing reality for employers. College officials have responded by developing a smart automation center concept, unveiled to the board of trustees this week. The proposed center, with an estimated $5.12 million cost, would be located downtown at TechWorks Campus in 20,000 square feet of space available on the second floor. The project is currently in the design phase as Hawkeye administrators work to secure outside funding that would suppplement college dollars. Construction would take six months. Officials hope the center could be operational about a year from now and believe it could serve 250 people during the first year. Trustees unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday authorizing President Todd Holcomb to move forward with the effort. Smart automation is part of the technological changes that have been termed Industry 4.0 (or sometimes Manufacturing 4.0 in Iowa). It focuses on scaling up digital technologies to create interconnected systems in factories with the capability of increasing quality and productivity. These systems require new skills including the ability to interact with software, data, networks and smart devices. Automation will happen in every industry, Aaron Sauerbrei, Hawkeyes executive director of business and community education, told the board. But it will be a really important change in manufacturing and the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area. Manufacturing is our largest sector in the Cedar Valley. Almost a third of our regional product, to the tune of $2.65 billion, comes from manufacturing, said Sauerbrei. It really is the way manufacturing is going, not only in the United States but worldwide, said Holcomb. Our role is to train people to do this, added Sauerbrei, through the colleges non-credit business education division. The training would teach people how to operate and program automated systems as well as how to install them and integrate different systems in a manufacturing plant. Hawkeyes efforts would focus on small- and medium-sized companies that need help updating equipment and training workers. What youre seeing here is unique. To our knowledge, no other community college in Iowa is proposing this, said Holcomb. If the proposal envisioned is put into place, Hawkeye would work to make the center part of the Smart Automation Certification Alliance, or SACA. With that designation, it could draw participants not only from across Iowa but from neighboring states. Five Cedar Valley manufacturers took the first step toward creating the center a year ago when they helped Hawkeye and other partners start IGNITE: Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing. Those businesses include John Deere, Doerfer, Iowa Laser, Kryton and Viking Pump. So far, 58 adult and Waterloo Career Center students have gone through the eight-week course, located in another space at the TechWorks building. The course uses an online competency-based curriculum developed by the company Amatrol and advanced manufacturing modules that give students hands-on training in robotics, computer-aided design, computer numerical control machining, hydraulics, pneumatics, electrical processes and more. IGNITE and five other Amatrol courses would be offered in the proposed center. Those include introduction to systems, mechatronic systems, digital manufacturing systems, advanced materials and designs, and data analytics and networking. People enrolled in the various programs could earn up to 20 stackable credentials that indicate theyve mastered certain skills. Existing equipment at the IGNITE lab and Hawkeyes Cedar Falls Center would be used in the new space along with other pieces purchased for the expansion. The training courses could lead directly to employment or feed into industrial automation, a two-year for-credit technical program at Hawkeye. This is an opportunity to bring in underskilled individuals and up-skill them, said Holcomb. He also described it as a talent retention model to keep people in the Cedar Valley. Sauerbrei said Srdjan Golub, the colleges director of community education and workforce solutions, was key to developing the smart automation center proposal. In September, Holcomb and Sauerbrei made visits to Detroit and Louisville as they learned more about the concept. FANUC, a leading supplier and producer of robots, has its American headquarters in Detroit and Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville, Ky., has already invested in smart automation training. The $5.12 million budget estimate includes $2.6 million for construction, $2 million for equipment, and $523,000 for furniture and fixtures. We are going to be asking the private sector to contribute to this. We want to get that overall cost down as much as we can, said Sauerbrei. Holcomb said the funding would be a combination of private giving, grants and college funds. He noted the more donations that are received, the more Hawkeye funds can be put into equipment needs. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. After losing their case in federal court, opponents of Connecticuts elimination of a long-standing religious exemption from childhood immunization requirements have filed a new challenge in state court seeking to restore the exception. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Hartford Superior Court by the groups We The Patriots USA and CT Freedom Alliance, as well as three parents of schoolchildren. It names as defendants the state departments of Education and Public Health, local school boards in Bethel, Glastonbury and Stamford, and other state agencies and officials. Advertisement Among the lawsuits arguments is that the ending of the religious exemption for childhood immunization requirements for schools, colleges and day care centers last year violates religious freedom rights provided by the state constitution. The states list of required vaccines does not include COVID-19 vaccines. The parents religious objections include the use of cell lines from aborted fetuses in the research, development and production of vaccines, the suit says. Advertisement A federal judge last month dismissed a similar lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, saying the state has an interest in protecting the health of Connecticuts students. We The Patriots, CT Freedom Alliance and the parents have appealed the ruling to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. The elimination of the religious exemption, approved last year by the legislature and Gov. Ned Lamont, sparked protests at the state Capitol. It came after state health officials and some lawmakers raised concerns about a growing number of parents claiming exemptions from childhood vaccinations for measles, mumps, rubella and other diseases. We The Patriots USA said in a statement Tuesday, Our goal is to create far-reaching precedent that will absolutely require states and local school districts to honor a childs religious objection to any and all shots that are now, or ever will be, required for school attendance. CEDAR FALLS The University of Northern Iowa is replacing a Wellness Recreation Center roof damaged in a storm late last year. The Board of Regents, meeting in Urbandale on Wednesday, approved going forward with that project as well as replacement of the Roth Apartments roof and other exterior improvements. The Roth roof is at the end of its life cycle. We had a rather gusty sustained storm in December that damaged a couple roofs on the campus, Michael Hager, UNIs senior vice president for finance and operations, told the boards property and facilities committee. One of the roofs is under the threshold (cost) to bring to the board. The Dec. 15 storm had a more severe impact on the roof of the Wellness Recreation Center. The west half of the surface, which is nearest to the facilitys parking lot, is in need of replacement after sustaining $615,000 in wind damage, according to board documents. The project has an estimated budget of $2.62 million, with $2.24 million of that accounting for construction costs. Another $151,390 is budgeted for planning, design and management. There is also a contingency fund of $223,760 to help pay any unexpected costs. Hager said a claim filed with the state auditors office and executive council that were optimistic will be funded would recoup the $615,000 damage amount. Other sources to pay for the work include $500,000 in building repair funds and $1.5 million in institutional funds. The other half of the centers roof is in poor condition because it is at the end of its life cycle, but that work is being delayed. When additional funds are available, UNI would address that need and install lightning protection. Roths metal roof is reaching the end of its 30-year warranty. New rigid roof insulation will be installed. Additionally, new gutters, tuck-pointing the exterior masonry walls and caulking around windows is included in the project. The work has a budget of $2.38 million. That includes $2.02 million for construction as well as $151,425 for planning, design and management. The project also has a $201,075 contingency fund. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Its a small world. The most glaring evidence is the temporary economic hardship created in the United States by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It should make someone who doesnt study this or who doesnt pay attention to geopolitics all the time understand how interconnected the world is, said Evan Renfro, a University of Northern Iowa political science professor. When you have a destabilization of the global order which has been in place since World War II, you are going to feel it in the Cedar Valley, whether its at the gas pump or in your portfolio. The world for better or worse is no longer just a series of isolated states doing whatever they want. Everything affects everything else. The latest developments in Eastern Europe werent exactly surprising to Renfro. Theres never been a time dating back centuries that we havent had some concern with Russian behavior. Russian President Vladimir Putin is upending a global order thats been in place since the end of World War II, and that is leading to the instability, most evident in the volatility of the stock market and oil prices. That instability is a key problem from the perspective of the United States, and Renfro said the invasion should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Its not as if Northeast Iowans are at risk of being shot by Russians. We have to keep some perspective here. This is about global order more than it is about ones personal security, he said. Do Iowans like anyone else want the United States to maintain itself as a global superpower? Of course, thats a concern. If you keep violating the order then the order disintegrates, and you go back to a bipolar or a multipolar world where you have various states competing for their hegemonic roles. He thinks the invasion is a strategic dead end for Russia. There is nothing to gain. Ukraine is a poor country of 41 million people. If Russia wants to experience what occupying a poor country is like, the U.S. might let Russia have that experience, Renfro said. After all, we just occupied Afghanistan for 20 years and got nothing out of it with the exception of it costing us a trillion dollars. I think he (Putin) will find its no fun. The U.S. is under no obligation to come to Ukraines aid, but along with other NATO countries is ready to impose economic sanctions on Russia. But it will take at least a month for those sanctions to be felt big time by the Moscow oligarchy, said Renfro. Sanctions impact the flow of natural gas and oil. The uncertainty and volatility will jack up prices, said UNI economics professor David Surdam. I dont want to compare us with Europe of the 1930s, but it is a serious situation with potentially long-term effects, he said. Im assuming if we impose some sanctions on the Russians it might hurt their economy, but then again it might hurt our economy, he added. And of course, the Europeans are in the middle of it. I presume we would have to guarantee a flow of natural gas and oil to Western Europe, otherwise they might buckle because they are getting a lot of their fuels from Russia thanks to some of our policies. But its not like the people should expect doomsday when it comes to gas prices. I think we have to keep in mind the events of spring of 2020 when the prices plunged down to a dollar and a quarter a gallon in Cedar Falls. It got really low. That was an aberration, he said. Ive seen people posting on Facebook how gas is now $3.40 and theyre really upset, but for most of the last three or four years, its hovered around three dollars plus or minus a quarter. In some sense, were just going back to what it normally is. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. DES MOINES Most Iowa workers would pay a 3.9% state income tax a large reduction for the states highest wage earners and a modest decrease for low-income workers under a new $1.9 billion tax cut proposal that is likely to become law soon. The new tax plan, introduced Thursday at the Iowa Capitol, is the result of negotiations between Republican leaders in the Iowa House and Senate and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. The Senate passed the bill Thursday afternoon on a 32-16 vote, with Democratic Sens. Tony Bisignano of Des Moines and Kevin Kinney of Oxford joining Republicans in support. of the measure. The House was also expected to pass the bill Thursday. That would give Reynolds time to sign it into law just before she is scheduled to appear on national television next week to deliver the Republican Partys response to President Joe Bidens State of the Union address. Under the plan: State income taxes would be gradually reduced over multiple years to a 3.9% rate on the vast majority of workers. Iowa now has nine income brackets, with rates from 8.53% on the highest wage-earners and 4.14% on lower-income workers. The median Iowa household pays 6.25%. State taxes on retirement income would be eliminated, including for retired farmers. The corporate tax rate would be reduced gradually. Each year the state collects $700 million in business tax revenue, the rate will be reduced until it reaches 5.5%. Some corporate tax breaks and incentives would be reduced gradually, including the most expensive: the research and activities credit. At full implementation in five years, the plan will result in tax savings and thus a reduction in state revenues of $1.9 billion, according to the states nonpartisan fiscal estimating agency. Iowas current budget is just over $8 billion. A GOP priority Senate Republicans are happy to deliver on the promise that weve made to voters for the last year, that when we have surpluses in Iowa, we are going to deliver tax cuts for every single Iowan, said Jack Whitver, the Republican Senate Majority Leader from Ankeny. Were really excited and proud that (Thursday) we were able to reach agreement with the governor and the House to deliver on that promise. Democrats argued the plan overwhelmingly benefits wealthier Iowans. They pointed to an analysis by the Department of Management, the state budget office, which shows the median Iowa household will see an average reduction of $593 on state income taxes, while the wealthiest Iowans those earning $1 million or more will see a $67,000 reduction. Theyre more focused on the ultrarich that fund their campaigns, Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, said of Republicans proposal. Its not fair. Its out of touch. And its completely disconnected form the lives of everyday Iowans. Senate Democrats countered by proposing an expansion of the tax credit for low-income workers and the child care and early childhood tax credits, and lowering rates for all Iowans making less than $250,000 while maintaining current rates for those making more. Budget impact Statehouse Republicans and Democrats disagree on the tax cuts impact on future budgets. House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said GOP tax projections, which assumed annual revenue growth of roughly 3%, will be sufficient to cover the revenue reductions and should not require the state to trim its budget. The proposal would use the roughly $1 billion in the states taxpayer relief fund to cover any budget shortfalls that occur as a result of the income tax reductions. We were able to continue to do this in a way that our projections and our runs continued to work to make sure that we could continue to fund state government but also provide the significant tax relief, Grassley said. Rep. Dave Jacoby of Coralville, the top Democrat on the House tax policy committee, took a more cautious view. I hope the economy does (grow 3 to 4% annually). But COVID, (federal pandemic relief funding), Ukraine I dont know what I would predict, Jacoby said. If it were me, I would be doing this bill after the March (state revenue estimating panel meeting) because that may give us a better picture, a more accurate picture of where were going. No outdoor fund The bill does not, as was proposed by Senate Republicans, shift sales taxes in order to begin funding the states long-starved outdoor and natural resources trust fund. It really wasnt on our radar, Grassley said. The (House Republican) caucus just was not in a position where they had the support to do that. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 So Ukraine is understanding that no one is coming to help them. That everything was lies fed to them for eight years.the promises by the west as always are fruitless We are not afraid to talk to Russia. We are not afraid to talk about security guarantees for our state. We are not afraid to talk about neutral status. But what security guarantees will we have? But which countries will give them? Zelensky says in response to a prior Russian offer to begin to negotiation terms of surrender. We are left alone in defense of our state. Who is ready to fight with us? I dont see it. Who is ready to guarantee Ukraines accession to Nato? Everyone is afraid, added Zelensky. I asked the 27 leaders of Europe whether Ukraine should be in Nato. I asked directly. They are all afraid. And we are not afraid, he said. Reminds me of Sassy in Georgias escapade and no one helped him after he was pushed to attack South Ossetia Interesting When the US murders 400,000 women and children in Iraq it is called peacekeeping. When Russia kills 200 soldiers to protect itself from Nuclear weapons it is an unprovoked war of aggression You have to understand that when it was announced that Ukraine would start getting nukes, is when Russia said basically, It is over and that is the straw that broke the camels back! WtR Ukraine was thrown under the bus 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 Friday looking to have the strongest peak winds. Anticipate wind gusts of 35-45 mph Thursday, and 35-55 mph Friday, locally stronger in wind prone locations. 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. * 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. For nuclear disarmament gurus, Vladimir Putins chilling pronouncement that consequences never seen will befall any country standing in his way is a Cold War nightmare. President Biden was pressed on the threat of nuclear weapons being used by Russian forces invading Ukraine, but he deflected Thursday, instead stressing new sanctions. Advertisement But Putin even hinting at the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons is dystopian, said Howard Stoffer, a University of New Haven professor and nuclear arms control veteran. I was enraged when I read what Putin said, Stoffer told the Boston Herald Thursday. A quote like that saying hes willing to risk the whole planet for some kind of advantage is unthinkable. He has to be brought to justice in The Hague for making that threat. Advertisement A sign reads "Stop Putin" in the colors of the Ukrainian flag as Ukranian Oleksandra Yashan of Arlington, Va., foreground wears the colors of the Ukrainian flag on her cheeks as she chants during a vigil to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (Andrew Harnik/AP) Stoffer, a former State Department official who was on the now-defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, said Putins rhetoric has erased decades of progress. Nuclear weapons are unthinkable to use, except in response to in use against you, he said. To use them in an offensive way is a criminal act. Where does this man draw the line? ... We thought the world moved away from that, but were moving backward. Kirk Lippold, the former commander of the USS Cole who is an adjunct professor at the Naval Academy, said his sources told him Putin was in contact with Russian nuclear forces prior to the invasion of Ukraine. He has moved MiG 31s with KH-47 MS Kinzhal missiles within striking distance of Ukraine territory, Lippold said. They are nuclear-capable. He is sending a very strong signal he is willing to use nuclear weapons if Russian forces are confronted. Supporters of Ukrainian sovereignty protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, in New York. World leaders Thursday condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "barbaric" and moved to slap unprecedented economic sanctions on Moscow and those close to President Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (John Minchillo/AP) Lippold, whose guided-missile destroyer was attacked by terrorists while refueling in Yemen in 2000, added Putin is feeling emboldened and could test NATO next. Five Things You Need To Know Daily We're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. > Putin, he added, hasnt been challenged even as hes poisoned opponents with nerve agents and invaded Crimea in 2014. People are totally underestimating Putins ruthlessness and whats hes capable of doing up to and including the use of nuclear weapons, Lippold said. Putin was quoted as saying when announcing the invasion of Ukraine whoever tries to impede us, let alone create threats for our country and its people, must know that the Russian response will be immediate and lead to the consequences you have never seen in history. Advertisement He added, no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to the destruction and horrible consequences for any potential aggressor. In a related development, Russian forces swept into the region surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear plant with Russian shelling hitting a radioactive waste repository, the Associated Press reported Thursday. Ukrainian National Guard, Armed Forces, special operations units exercise as they simulate a crisis situation in an urban settlement, in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine, Friday, Feb.4, 2022. (AP Photo/Mykola Tymchenko) (Mykola Tymchenko/AP) The AP added that Russian officials did not publicly comment on the battle. Reach Joe Dwinell, Executive Editor of the Boston Herald at joed@bostonherald.com You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close 1H FY 2022 Interim Results Announcement Sydney, Feb 25, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Genex Power Limited ( ASX:GNX ) is pleased to provide the following update on the Company's financial performance for the first half of the 2022 financial year (1H FY2022 or the Period). In particular, the Company made significant progress during the Period on its first grid-scale battery storage project with the signing of two key agreements with Tesla Motors Australia Pty Ltd (Tesla) for the 50MW/100MWh Bouldercombe Battery Project (BBP), while construction at the flagship 250MW Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project (K2-Hydro) continued to progress strongly, helping to position the Company as a leader in the renewable generation and storage markets in Australia.1H FY2022 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTSFinancial and operational highlights for the period included:- Total generation of 114,508MWh, an 83% increase on the prior period (1H FY2021: 62,447MWh) with a full half of contribution from the 50MW Jemalong Solar Project (JSP);- Total revenue of $11.96M, a 51% increase on the prior period (1H FY2021: $7.90M), reflecting the increased generation volumes;- Underlying EBITDA of $5.03M, up 126% on the prior period (1H FY2021: $2.22M) principally driven by the strong revenue from the two solar farms operating at full capacity for the entire Period;- Net loss after tax of $4.41M, driven by the depreciation of the enlarged portfolio of completed construction assets (1H FY2021: loss of $3.37M);- Net cash flows from operating activities of ($1.20M) (1H FY2021: $2.67M);- Net cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2021 of $36.62M;- During the Period the Company spent $84.03M in capital expenditure focussed on the development the K2-Hydro project, with activities including turbine model tests, commencement of underground works and completion of site establishment activities;- Supply Agreement and Autobidder Offtake Agreement signed with Tesla for the BBP, progressing the project towards financial close; and- Subsequent to period-end, Genex secured a $35M debt facility, completed a $40M placement and launched a $10M share purchase plan to complete the financing for the BBP, and reached contractual close for the project.OUTLOOKGenex is in a strong position to deliver on its growth ambitions. Genex's projects are positioned to deliver dispatchable, clean power that will help Australia meets its renewable energy targets. The increasing impact of intermittent generators on energy prices highlights the need for investment in large scale storage options such as K2-Hydro and the BBP. Over the remainder of FY2022, the Company will continue to focus on:- Continued construction activities at the K2-Hydro project;- Satisfaction of final conditions precedent for the BBP project to reach financial close, with construction to commence imminently for energisation in mid-CY2023;- Progression of the Kidston Stage 3 Wind Project, with development approvals and proving up the wind resource key areas of focus for the project; and- Continued development of the Company's portfolio through enhancement of its project pipeline.Commenting on the 1H FY2022 performance, Genex CEO, James Harding said:"Over the past 6 months we have continued to pursue our growth strategy. Our flagship Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project is progressing strongly through the construction phase and remains on schedule and budget for commissioning and operations to commence in late CY2024.When in operation, K2-Hydro will be the first pumped hydro project in to be developed in Australia in 40 years, and the third largest electricity storage facility in the National Electricity Market.Our Bouldercombe Battery Project has made significant progress over the Period. We signed two key agreements with Tesla, first for the supply of the 50MW/100MWh Megapack 2.0 units, and secondly as the offtake partnerfrom the project. In addition, we executed a connection agreement with Powerlink Queensland to connect the project to the National Electricity Market. Furthermore, subsequent to period-end we secured a $35M debt facility and completed a $40M capital raising to complete the financing package for the project, and executed the balance of project and financing documentation to reach contractual close. We expect the project to reach financial close and commence construction in the coming week.Pleasingly, our operational assets performed strongly during the Period. We saw consistent operations at both the Kidston Solar Project and Jemalong Solar Project, helping the Company achieve record generation of renewable energy over the Period. Both assets have recently been among the top 5 best performing solar projects in the National Electricity Market and have proven to be a valuable source of cash generation for Genex.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Genex Power Ltd Genex Power Limited (ASX:GNX) is focused on developing a portfolio of renewable energy generation and storage projects across Australia. The Company's flagship Kidston Clean Energy Hub, located in north Queensland, will integrate large-scale solar generation with pumped storage hydro. The Kidston Clean Energy Hub is comprised of the operating 50MW stage 1 Solar Project (KS1) and the 250MW Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project (K2-Hydro) with potential for further multi-stage wind and solar projects. The 50MW Jemalong Solar Project (JSP) is located in NSW and provides geographical diversification to the Genex Power Limited portfolio. JSP was energised in early December 2020 and commissioning is now underway. Genex is further developing its energy storage portfolio via the early stage development of a 50MW/75MWh standalone battery energy storage system at Bouldercombe in Queensland. With over 400MW of renewable energy and storage projects in development, Genex is well placed as Australia's leading renewable energy and storage company. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal Detectives have arrested a young man they say fatally shot an acquaintance during a dispute over a handgun Wednesday evening inside a gas station in Northeast Albuquerque. Christopher Valencia, 18, is charged with an open count of murder in the death of 20-year-old Ryan Costello. Valencia has been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. It is unclear if he has an attorney. In the hours leading up to the shooting, according to police, Valencia used the same gun to threaten his girlfriend, her younger brother and shoot at her friend during a fight in Southeast Albuquerque. Valencia is charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and shooting at or from a motor vehicle in connection with that incident. During an interview with police, Valencias girlfriend said he told her he shot and killed a teenager outside an Albuquerque mall last year. Valencia has not been charged in that case. Detectives are looking into the statement. I cant confirm any suspects for that case, Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman, said in response to questions. Wednesdays homicide came at the tail end of a busy day for Valencia. Officers responded around 5:30 p.m. to a shooting inside the Premier Gas and Food Mart near Juan Tabo and Indian School NE, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Inside they found Costello with a gunshot wound to the neck, and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. The clerk told police Valencia, who came into the store weekly, pulled up in his girlfriends car and tried to withdraw $15 dollars using her bank card. Police said Valencia told the clerk he took his girlfriends car during a fight and was going to jail tonight. The clerk told police another man who appeared to know Valencia came into the store and the two argued, according to court records. The clerk said the man told Valencia let me see it and Valencia pulled out a gun and shot him twice. Police said Valencia was pulled over soon after in his girlfriends stolen car and was taken to the police station. Valencia allegedly told police he shot Costello because he kept asking to see the gun and he believed (Costello) was going to try and take his gun. When the shooting happened, police were in the middle of interviewing Valencias girlfriend about an incident at her home hours earlier. Police said the couple got into a fight around 12:30 p.m. after the girlfriend told an erratic and armed Valencia that he had to leave her house. The girlfriend told police that Valencia pointed a gun at her and her younger brother before he shot at a friend who tried to de-escalate the situation. Police said Valencia then took his girlfriends car and shot several rounds off as he drove away. After Costellos shooting, according to court records, Valencia told his mom and an acquaintance that he had shot someone. Police said Valencia told the acquaintance, over the phone, Im sorry I killed him. As an officer was completing his report outside the girlfriends home, she approached and said she wanted to be truthful. The girlfriend told the officer, according to court records, that Valencia said he killed a teen outside an Albuquerque mall, stating he would protect her and is not afraid to kill someone. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal New Mexico reported 628 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up slightly from Wednesday, but a far cry from late January when infections exceeded 6,000 a day. State Department of Health officials also reported 22 additional deaths Thursday, bringing the states COVID-19 death toll to 6,873. The 16 deaths that occurred within the past 30 days include a Bernalillo County man under the age of 20 who had been hospitalized. New Mexico also continued a downward trend in severe cases, with 339 COVID-19 patients in New Mexico hospitals Thursday, down from 350 on Wednesday. Hospital admissions for COVID-19 have declined significantly in recent weeks. A total of 172 COVID patients were admitted to New Mexico hospitals in the past week compared with 430 for the week ending Jan. 31. Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase said this week that the decline in hospitalizations has freed up ICU beds for non-COVID patients, and explains why the state lifted its mask mandate last week. The states positivity rate fell to 8.7%, down from 9.5% on Wednesday and 15.7% on Feb. 14. Bernalillo County continued to have the highest number of new infections, with 165, followed by 90 new cases in Dona Ana County, 62 in San Juan County and 54 in Sandoval County. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, right, speaks with the media as Commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Katie Dykes, left, looks on, in Redding, Conn., Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. (Jessica Hill/Special to the Courant) State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes Thursday sparred with legislators over a proposal to formalize Connecticuts goal of achieving statewide zero-carbon electric supply by 2040. Dykes and Gov. Ned Lamont argue that codifying the 2040 target which was first established by Lamont in 2019 and later included in DEEPs 2020 Integrated Resource Plan would help Connecticut fully transition its electric grid from relying on gas and oil. Advertisement We believe it would be a great thing for Connecticut to see this enacted into law because it sets a clear planning goal, Dykes said Thursday at a hearing. Some members of the General Assemblys Energy and Technology Committee, however, questioned how realistic the target would be, particularly given that Connecticut has not met other emissions targets. Advertisement The proposed legislation, S.B. No. 10, would codify that by Jan. 1, 2040, Connecticut must achieve a zero-carbon electric supply. The target would stand in addition to previous goals of a 10% reduction in the states 1990 level of emissions by 2020, a 45% reduction by 2030 and a 80% reduction by 2050. Weve already made great progress in decarbonizing our grid, but we need to make sure we get the rest of the way there, Lamont said in a statement Thursday, adding that the codification would provide critical direction to DEEP, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) and utilities across the state. Connecticut is not on track to meet its current emissions reduction targets, as DEEP acknowledged last fall. To achieve its goals, the state must decrease emissions in its transportation and building sectors by about 30% between now and 2030. Dykes noted last October that while Connecticut had seen reductions in its electric power sector, it has seen modest increases in those two sectors. [ Connecticut not on track to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets, says new report, as more driving leads to increase ] Charles Rothenberger, an attorney for Save the Sound, submitted testimony to the energy committee in favor of the 2040 target and said in an interview Thursday that the legislature could be doing more to help Connecticut meet its emissions reduction goals. A course-correction clearly needs to be made now that would [require] some more aggressive action than were seeing in the bills that have been introduced so far, he said. For Rothenberger, the goals laid out in the governors bill seem reasonable and attainable. The deadline is 2040, so that gives us 18 years to work toward that, he said. I think its incredibly realistic. During the hearing, some state lawmakers voiced concerns about the target. Advertisement State Rep. Harry Arora, a Greenwich Republican, said that while he supports emissions reductions, he called the bill an aspirational one with misplaced priorities. The legislation is a little bit too aggressive on the best friend we have, he said, referring to natural gas. If we start doing what we are saying, so loud, so clear, there will be no investment in hydrocarbons, he said. We still need some investment in hydrocarbons. Dykes argued that the legislation would help inform the states use of renewable technologies and development of energy efficiency. She added that accelerated decarbonization in the electric sector would compound the emissions benefits of shifting toward electric vehicles. State Rep. David Arconti, a Danbury Democrat, raised concerns about how utilities would meet the 2040 target and what would happen when the states emissions spiked during the wintertime. Thats my fear: We have this statute, for planning purposes, but practically and in reality, were going to see emissions rise because of market inefficiencies, he said. So I dont know how to reconcile that. Dykes responded that she shared Arcontis concerns, but argued that the target will help ensure that the state is investing in carbon-free dispatchable energy sources, which could kick in if needed. Advertisement Marissa Gillett, chairman of PURA, noted during the hearing that the agency looks to the executive and legislative branches for policy signals as it upgrades the states grid. Five Things You Need To Know Daily We're providing the latest coronavirus coverage in Connecticut each weekday morning. > If we know the state is looking to electrify both transportation and heating, then that tells me, at PURA, that I need to be even more concerned about the reliability of the infrastructure and make sure that that electricity that is going to power our cars and our houses is delivered in a reliable way, Gillett said. Its important to send long-term price signals to the market, especially if we are looking to bring in to the space additional competition, and theres also a cost of inaction. Still, she emphasized that state leaders need to ensure that rising electrical costs are kept in check for consumers. After drawing criticism last fall following the collapse of the Transportation and Climate Initiative, Lamont issued an executive order in December aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Connecticuts executive branch. That order established several new goals, including a commitment that all electricity purchased and generated by the states executive branch be zero-carbon by 2030. But the Lamont administration also emphasized the need for broad legislation to supplement executive action. To meet the overall targets that we need to be meeting to reduce emissions, we will need new authority that the legislature has, to date, not granted, Dykes said at the time. Advertisement During the hearing, lawmakers and speakers touched on a number of other proposed pieces of legislation, including S.B. No. 92, regarding the electrification of school buses in Connecticut and H.B. No. 5117, which would make electric vehicle charging stations accessible to residents of multi-unit homes. Eliza Fawcett can be reached at elfawcett@courant.com. Alex Putterman can be reached at aputterman@courant.com. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden on Friday nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the first Black woman selected to serve on a court that once declared her race unworthy of citizenship and endorsed American segregation. Introducing Jackson at the White House, Biden declared, I believe its time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation. With his nominee standing alongside, the president praised her as having a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people. He said, She strives to be fair, to get it right, to do justice. In Jackson, Biden delivered on a campaign promise to make the historic appointment and further diversify a court that was made up entirely of white men for almost two centuries. He also chose an attorney who would be the high courts first former public defender, though she possesses the elite legal background of other justices as well. Jackson would be the current courts second Black member Clarence Thomas, a conservative, is the other and just the third in history. She would replace liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who is retiring at the end of the term this summer, so she wont change the courts 6-3 conservative majority. Jackson would join the court as it weighs cutbacks to abortion rights and will be considering ending affirmative action in college admissions and restricting voting rights efforts to increase minority representation. She would be only the sixth woman to serve on the court, but she would join three others already there, including the first Latina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In brief remarks, Jackson thanked Biden, saying she was humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination. She highlighted her familys first-hand experience with the entirety of the legal system, as judges and lawyers, an uncle who was Miamis police chief and another who was imprisoned on drug charges. She also spoke of the historic nature of her nomination, noting she shared a birthday with Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to be confirmed to the federal bench. If Im fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court United States, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans, she said. Jackson, 51, once worked as one of Breyers law clerks early in her legal career. She attended Harvard as an undergraduate and for law school, and served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the agency that develops federal sentencing policy, before becoming a federal judge in 2013. Her nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority by a razor-thin 50-50 margin with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker. Party leaders have promised swift but deliberate consideration. Fridays ceremony was attended only by White House staff, Jacksons family and news media, in part because the Senate is out of session this week. Everyone wore masks because of the pandemic, Biden and Jackson removing theirs to speak. He bent to pull out a lectern step for her to stand on as she made her remarks. Her introduction came two years to the day after Biden, then struggling to capture the Democratic presidential nomination, pledged in a South Carolina debate to nominate a Black woman if presented with a vacancy. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said in a statement that the panel will begin immediately to move forward on consideration of an extraordinary nominee. Senators have set a tentative goal of confirmation by April 8, when they leave for a two-week spring recess. Hearings could start as soon as mid-March. That timeline could be complicated by a number of things, including Russias invasion of Ukraine and the extended absence of Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, who suffered a stroke last month and is out for several weeks. Democrats would need Lujans vote to confirm Bidens pick if no Republicans support her. Once the nomination is sent to the Senate, it is up to the Senate Judiciary Committee to vet the nominee and hold confirmation hearings. After the committee approves a nomination, it goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. Biden and Senate Democrats are hoping for a bipartisan vote on the nomination, but its unclear if they will be able to win over any GOP senators after bitterly partisan confirmation battles under President Donald Trump. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of three Republicans who voted to confirm Jackson to the appeals court last year, had pushed Biden to nominate a different candidate from his home state, Judge J. Michelle Childs, who also was favored by home-state Rep. James Clyburn, a Biden ally. Graham said earlier this month his vote would be very problematic if it were anyone else, and he expressed disappointment in a tweet Friday. Previewing a likely Republican attack line, he and several others on the right said Biden was going with the choice of the radical left. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he looked forward to meeting with Jackson and studying her record, legal views and judicial philosophy. But he noted he had voted against her a year ago. Biden has said he was interested in selecting a nominee in the mold of Breyer who could be a persuasive force with fellow justices. Although Breyers votes tended to put him to the left of center on an increasingly conservative court, he frequently saw the gray in situations that colleagues were more likely to find black or white. Justice Breyer the members of the Senate will decide if I fill your seat, Jackson said Friday, praising the retiring justices civility, grace, pragmatism and generosity of spirit. But please know that I could never fill your shoes, she said. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, With her exceptional qualifications and record of evenhandedness, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be a justice who will uphold the Constitution and protect the rights of all Americans, including the voiceless and vulnerable. As part of his search process, Biden, a longtime chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also interviewed Childs and California Supreme Court Judge Leondra Kruger, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, saying all three interviews took place on Feb. 14. As part of his process, Biden also consulted with a range of legal experts and lawmakers in both parties and delved deeply into the finalists legal writings. Biden called Jackson late Thursday to inform her that she was his choice, Psaki said, and he informed Democratic congressional leaders Friday morning. Jackson serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a position that Biden elevated her to last year from her previous job as a federal trial court judge. Three current justices Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts, the chief justice previously served on the same appeals court. Jackson was confirmed to that post on a 53-44 Senate vote, winning the backing of three Republicans: Graham, Maines Susan Collins and Alaskas Lisa Murkowski. In one of Jacksons most high-profile decisions, as a trial court judge she ordered former White House Counsel Don McGahn to appear before Congress. That was a setback to Trumps efforts to keep his top aides from testifying. The case was appealed, and a deal was ultimately reached for McGahns testimony. As an appeals court judge, she was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in December against Trumps effort to shield documents from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Miami. She has said that her parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, chose her name to express their pride in her familys African ancestry. They asked an aunt who was in the Peace Corps in Africa at the time to send a list of African girls names and they picked Ketanji Onyika, which they were told meant lovely one. Jackson traces her interest in the law to when she was in preschool and her father was in law school and they would sit together at the dining room table, she with coloring books and he with law books. Her father became an attorney for the county school board and her mother was a high school principal. A brother, nine years younger, served in the Army, including in Iraq, and is now a lawyer, too. ___ Associated Press writers Mark Sherman, Jessica Gresko and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. PHOENIX Families came one by one to the baptismal font in a Phoenix church where the Rev. Andres Arango, whose baptisms up until last summer are presumed to be invalid, poured holy water over the heads of a dozen people in a do-over of the Catholic ritual. The ceremony Thursday evening represented a new assignment for Arango, pastor of St. Gregory Parish for nearly five years until news broke that he had repeatedly flubbed the phrasing on the initiation rite. His task now: Healing and helping those he invalidly baptized. Thirteen-year-old Alysson Najera, who was baptized by Arango in 2009, was among the 11 children and one adult who underwent the rite again during the ceremony, this time with Arango using the church-prescribed language. Like others, she then again received Communion and was confirmed this time as valid sacraments in the eyes of the church, which require recipients first to be baptized. Alyssons mother, Eliana Najera, said she doesnt hold it against Arango that her daughters first baptism was invalidated. She praised him for his work over the years and questioned why the Diocese of Phoenix didnt gather input from the community before his resignation as pastor. To me, he didnt do it intentionally, Najera said. It was just a mistake. Arangos error was in saying, We baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, when he should have begun the sentence by saying, I baptize you. The difference is theologically crucial, the Vatican ruled in 2020, because its not the we of the congregation doing the baptizing but the I of Jesus Christ, working through the priest. Church officials estimate Arango performed thousands of baptisms that are now presumed invalid and said those affected need to valid baptisms now. Its unclear how many people have received the sacrament again. Technically in church theology, theres no again or rebaptism, since baptism, as well as Confirmation and first communion, are once-in-a-lifetime rituals that cant be repeated. Rebaptism doesnt exist because baptism creates an ontological change (a change in being) in a person, said Jay Conzemius, moderator of the Diocese of Pittsburghs tribunal and past president of the Canon Law Society of America. Arango told the families in the church Thursday that the do-over was a chance for the faithful to renew their commitment to God. He declined an interview request from an Associated Press reporter after the ceremony, though he thanked the journalist for attending. Arango remains beloved among parishioners, some of whom said the error was an honest mistake that unfairly overshadows an honorable record of service and he should have been allowed to remain as leader of St. Gregory Parish. Members of the congregation credited Arango with launching fundraisers to pay the churchs debt, reversing a drop in membership and counseling them when they lost loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic. At the end of his final Sunday Mass at St. Gregory, Arango received a standing ovation and was carried down the aisle by parishioners who thanked him for his contributions. After all of this and many more positive things that he has done, launched and created how does the diocese pay him for pronouncing an inclusive word? parishioner Maria Moran said. If he made a mistake in wording, believe me, it was not intentional, it was not lack of heart, faith or education, it was a simple human mistake that I believe Jesus himself would quickly forgive, parishioners Terri and Steve Flynn wrote via email. This is a travesty to be crucified for the use of WE instead of I, they added Another parishioner, 17-year-old Brisa Lomas, wrote a letter to Thomas Olmstead, the bishop of Phoenix, asking him to reinstate Arango at St. Gregory. She credited him for inspiring her to attend Mass and restoring her faith. If Jesus was in charge of The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, I know in my heart that he would forgive Father Andres for this honest mistake. she wrote. In a statement, the diocese acknowledged that Arangos reassignment had upset people. Fr. Arango is a priest in good standing and has led many people to a deeper relationship with Christ in his pastoral work at Saint Gregory Parish, but now he is committing himself to this vital and important pastoral outreach to the people of God helping and healing, the diocese said. The diocese declined to say whether Arango resigned as pastor, as the priest said in a note posted on the dioceses site. Some parishioners believe Arango was forced to quit the post. In a petition to the diocese, parishioners requested a town hall meeting at the church to hear their views and demand answers to the dioceses decision to invalidate thousands of sacraments. It also included a spreadsheet with hundreds of examples of how Arango positively impacted their lives. The diocese declined to say whether it planned on holding such a meeting. Church officials are trying to identify people baptized by Arango. It has set up an FAQ section on its website to confront issues related to the botched baptisms and created a form for people to fill out to start the process of getting valid ones. Before serving at St. Gregory, Arango was pastor at Saint Jerome Catholic Church in Phoenix and the St. Anne Roman Catholic Parish in nearby Gilbert. Earlier, he served in San Diego and Brazil. ____ Henao reported from Princeton, New Jersey. Associated Press writer Peter Smith in Pittsburgh contributed. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. MESA, Ariz. Employees at a Starbucks in suburban Phoenix voted Friday to form a union, becoming the first store outside New York to organize. Several workers from a Mesa Starbucks store cheered and hugged at a local union hall after the results came in. Workers were overwhelmingly in favor of unionizing, voting 25-3. Forty-three ballots in total were initially mailed out, organizers said. The way that we smoked them with how many we got yeses that really shows that this is really a movement for people and we just want what is kind of an inalienable right for people, said Liz Alanna, a shift supervisor at the store. It feels good what we were fighting for, everybody wanted. Starbucks will respect the process and will bargain in good faith, spokesman Reggie Borges said in an email. We hope that the union does the same, he added. Pro-union leaders say Starbucks workers deserve the right to collectively bargain on issues like benefits, seniority pay and pandemic safety protocols. Tyler Ralston, another shift supervisor, said he is excited that workers now may be able to make meaningful changes. We would like to be able to not feel understaffed. We would like to have better working conditions, having things fixed on time. A pension of course would be a great thing, Ralston said. Originally scheduled for last week, the election was postponed after Starbucks filed a request for a review with the Washington, D.C.-based National Labor Relations Board. The Seattle-based coffee giant argued that a single store should not be allowed to hold a vote. Instead, a vote should include all the locations in that stores assigned district. The labor board denied the request, saying it did not see any issues. The organizers in Mesa called the request a union busting tactic by the company, Alanna said. She also alleged Starbucks implemented other strategies like having upper-level managers shadow workers to make sure they werent organizing. Borges, the Starbucks spokesman, called accusations of union-busting categorically false. The Starbucks in Mesa is now the first to unionize outside of Buffalo, New York, where organizing efforts first took off. Over 65 stores in 20 states have filed petitions with the labor board to hold union elections since two in Buffalo unionized in the last few months, according to labor union Workers United. Starbucks officials have spoken against unionizing, asserting the company functions best when it can work directly with its employees. Some workers have disputed that claim. Efforts to form unions have led to tense conflict. Earlier this month, seven Starbucks workers were fired after spearheading a union campaign in Memphis, Tennessee. The company said they violated policy by reopening a store after closing time, inviting non-employees inside and doing TV interviews from there. Employees countered that Starbucks was retaliating and said they planned to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. After decades of decline, unions have become a popular strategy. Multiple polls show union approval is high and growing among younger workers. U.S. union membership levels are ticking upward for workers between 25 and 34, even as they decline among other age groups, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Copyright 2022 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE State Rep. Georgene Louis said Friday she will not seek reelection after being arrested during the final days of this years 30-day legislative session on charges of aggravated drunken driving. In a statement released by her attorney, the Albuquerque Democrat stopped short of saying she planned to resign from the House District 26 seat she has held since 2013, but indicated she would not run for a sixth term in November. It has been an honor to serve the constituents of House District 26 for the past ten years, Louis said. I have decided not to seek reelection in 2022. I send my sincerest thank you to everyone who has supported me over my tenure as state representative. After Louis announced she would not run for reelection, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the lawmaker was doing the right thing. By making the decision not to run for reelection, the representative has demonstrated to her constituents and colleagues in the Legislature that she takes full responsibility for her actions, said Lujan Grisham, who added public officials must be held to a higher standard of conduct. Louis was pulled over Feb. 13 by a Santa Fe police officer who clocked her driving her car 17 mph over the speed limit on St. Francis Drive, according to a criminal complaint filed in Santa Fe Municipal Court. Police videos showed Louis telling the arresting officer she had consumed twoish total drinks, including vodka and soda, at a Super Bowl party at a friends house. Eventually, she says she had three drinks. I havent had much sleep, Louis said in the video. Im a legislator, we havent had much sleep. After taking field sobriety tests in which she swayed and struggled to keep her balance, according to the officer, Louis was arrested and agreed to a Breathalyzer test. Two tests revealed a 0.17% blood alcohol content more than twice New Mexicos presumed level of intoxication, according to the complaint. Louis, who is also facing charges of speeding and failing to show proof of vehicle registration and proof of insurance, subsequently apologized for the incident. I am sorry and I deeply regret my lapse in judgment, Louis said. I know I let so many people down. I am accepting responsibility for my mistake. But she has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing March 16 in Santa Fe Municipal Court. Meanwhile, the drunken driving arrest marked the latest in a string of DWI cases involving New Mexico legislators. Two former lawmakers who were recently convicted of drunken driving ex-Rep. Monica Youngblood, an Albuquerque Republican, and ex-Sen. Richard Martinez, a Democrat from Rio Arriba County were defeated in their next reelection bids. While Louis does not plan to run again, her decision to finish up the two-year term she was elected to in 2020 could have implications. Thats because a legislative pension plan requires that ex-lawmakers under age 65 must have served at least 10 years in the Legislature in order to qualify for benefits. At least two Democratic candidates have already announced plans to run for Louiss seat: Ex-state Rep. Eleanor Chavez, a former social worker who served in the House from 2009-12, and Felipa Coon, a family liaison at Valle Vista Elementary School. Other candidates may emerge, too. The filing day for formal declarations of candidates is March 8. House District 26 is a heavily Democratic area on the West Side of Albuquerque, covering neighborhoods along West Central and Interstate 40. Journal Capitol Bureau reporter Dan McKay and staff writer Andy Stiny contributed to this report. WENN Movie The 'Licorice Pizza' actor has arrived in Ukraine and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he came to the country 'to tell the world the truth about Russia's invasion of our country.' Feb 25, 2022 AceShowbiz - Sean Penn is taking action amid the rage over Russian attack on Ukraine. The actor/filmmaker is currently in Ukraine to continue working on a documentary about the ongoing Russian assault. On Thursday, February 24, the "Milk" star landed in the capital to document the conflict. Following his arrival, he has visited the Office of the President to attend press briefings and spoken with deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk, as well as local journalists and members of the Ukrainian military. In a statement released on the Office of the President of Ukraine's Facebook page, Penn was praised for his "courage." The translated statement read, "American actor and film director, Oscar winner Sean Penn arrived in Ukraine. The director came to Kyiv specifically to record all the events taking place in Ukraine as a documentary filmmaker and to tell the world the truth about Russia's invasion of our country." "Today, Sean Penn is among those who support Ukraine in Ukraine," it continued. "Our country is grateful to him for such a display of courage and honesty. This morning, the director visited the Office of the President and attended a press briefing by Iryna Vereshchuk, Adviser to the Head of the Office of the Head of State and Vice Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine. He talked to journalists, to our military, saw how we defend our country." Penn also visited the country in late November to work on the project, which is produced by VICE Studios. At the time, he was pictured visiting the frontlines of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the Donetsk region. The double Oscar winner has been involved in numerous international humanitarian and anti-war efforts over the years and founded the non-profit disaster relief organization CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) in response to the 2010 earthquakes in Haiti. Instagram Celebrity The stars show their support to trans youth on social media following Texas Governor Greg Abbott's recent punitive measure which defines gender-affirming surgery among youth as child abuse. Feb 25, 2022 AceShowbiz - Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and Elliot Page (Ellen Page) are among famous names who speak out against Texas' "inhumane" trans youth order. The Hollywood stars took to social media to stand up for trans rights. Ariana made use of her Instagram Story on Thursday, February 24 to repost the American Civil Liberties Union account's post after Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a written opinion defining gender-affirming care among kids as "child abuse" under state laws, which Governor Greg Abbott supported. In the post, the ACLU claimed that the Governor's letter has "no legal effect, can't change Texas law, and can't override the constitutional rights of Texas families." In a following Story, Ariana reshared a Story of a trans woman who began her transition at 5 years old. In her message, the said woman urged Governor Greg not to "let people of Texas suffer for [his] own ignorance." Also weighing on the issue was Demi. The "Sorry Not Sorry" hitmaker showed their support by reposting author and activist Glennon Doyle's post that claimed "transgender and gender non-conforming children" in the state. "You are beloved. We see you. We stand with you," the quote continued. Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato showed some support to transgender youth. Elliot also condemned the actions. Speaking to Variety, the "Juno" star said, "I am horrified by the inhumane and downright dangerous declarations by the Texas Governor and Attorney General." The 35-year-old actor added, "Trans youth deserve gender-affirming care and to be able to live their true, authentic selves without fear and oppression. I stand with trans youth and their families." The protest came after Attorney General Ken declared that hormone therapy, puberty blockers and other types of gender-affirming health care for trans youth are forms of child abuse on February 21. "There is no doubt that these procedures are 'abuse' under Texas law, and thus must be halted. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has a responsibility to act accordingly," he said, "I'll do everything I can to protect against those who take advantage of and harm young Texans." WENN/FayesVision Celebrity In a note accompanying a photo of her smiling from ear to ear, the 'Maleficent' actress says that her 'soul is recovering' days after being sued by her ex-husband over a French winery they co-owned. Feb 25, 2022 AceShowbiz - Angelina Jolie seemingly needs a reset after her ex-husband Brad Pitt filed a lawsuit against her for "secretly" selling her share of a jointly owned winery. Days after being sued, the "Eternals" star said that she's "recovering." On Thursday, February 24, the "Maleficent" actress took to her Instagram page to share a series of photos that were taken in Cambodia. In the first slide, she could be seen smiling from ear to ear as she stared down and placed her palm over her chest. In the caption, she told her fans and followers that her "soul is recovering." "A few days in Cambodia among the warm local people, and I feel my soul is recovering," Angelina wrote in the note accompanying the photo that saw her 15-year-old daughter Shiloh sitting cross-legged on a chair. The 46-year-old actress continued, "This has always been a special country for me and our family." Her post also included a picture of herself during a meeting with men in both business and military attire. She explained the image in the caption, "Happy to be reunited with friends and colleagues at MJP Foundation in Samlot district. The entirely local team runs programs for health and education and conservation." She went on to give more details as saying, "I spent some time with forest rangers discussing land encroachment, poaching and mapping patrol routes." Her social media post came after her ex-husband Brad filed court documents against her as she allegedly sold her interest in Chateau Miraval, which they purchased together in 2008, without his consent. The "Ad Astra" actor also found out that she sold her interests to a Russian oligarch, Yuri Shefler. Brad, who claimed that he invested his time and money over the years in the winery, insisted the new co-owner wreaked havoc on his ability to run the winery. The 58-year-old actor further stated in the legal papers that though Angelina plunked down 40% of the $28.4 million purchase price, he alone made the winery successful because by 2013 she wasn't involved that much in the business. Currently, Brad is seeking an unspecified amount of damages. Not stopping there, the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" actor is also asking for the courts to declare that her sale of Nouvel, the company that owned her shares of Miraval, is null and void. Instagram Celebrity The 'Kill Bill' actor looks disheveled when he's led from his home in handcuffs by police after an unnamed property owner attempted to make a citizen's arrest on the 64-year-old actor. Feb 25, 2022 AceShowbiz - Michael Madsen has landed himself in trouble with the law. The actor has been arrested for trespassing on a private property in Malibu, only weeks after mourning the loss of his son Hudson Madsen. According to police, a local unnamed property owner attempted to make a citizen's arrest for trespassing and phoned authorities on Wednesday evening, February 23. Cops then responded to a "call for service" where they were told that the owner of the property wished to press charges against Michael. The "Reservoir Dogs" actor was arrested on Wednesday night shortly after 9 P.M. PT at his Malibu home, the Los Angeles County Sheriff says, per DailyMail.com. In pictures obtained by the site, he looked disheveled as he was led from his home in handcuffs by an officer. He was escorted to West Hills Hospital and was seen leaving the hospital hours later. He was then transferred to the police station where he was booked just after midnight. The photos show him with his hands restrained behind his back. He wore a Hawaiian shirt which was half buttoned, flashing his bare chest. He teamed it with a denim jacket, baggy jeans and brown shoes. He also sported a blue face mask which was pulled down to his chin. Michael was given a $500 citation for misdemeanor and released shortly before 7 A.M. on Thursday. Details of the incident are currently unknown. His arrest comes just several weeks after his son Hudson Madsen died of suspected suicide. The 26-year-old was found dead with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on the island of Oahu, Hawaii on January 23. Two days later, the 64-year-old broke his silence on the tragedy in a statement to HollywoodLife.com. "I want to thank everyone for their prayers and their kind messages. Our family appreciates that," he began. "We are all incredibly overwhelmed with grief and sadness and shock as my son, whom I just spoke with a few days ago said he was happy," Michael revealed his last interaction with his now-late son. He added, "My last text from him was 'I love you dad.' " During their last exchange, Michael said he "didn't see any signs of depression." Finding it "so tragic and sad" that his son's now gone, the "Kill Bill" star opened up, "I'm just trying to make sense of everything and understand what happened." https://www.beyonce.com/ Celebrity Justice John Higgitt of the Appellate Division, First Department rules that the 'Empire State of Mind' hitmaker and his company are entitled to royalties from past cologne sales. Feb 25, 2022 AceShowbiz - Jay-Z has come out as the winner in a breach of contract lawsuit against Parlux Fragrances. Following his major victory, the "Empire State of Mind" hitmaker was awarded $4.5 million. On Thursday, February 24, Justice John Higgitt of the Appellate Division, First Department ruled that Jay-Z and his company S. Carter Enterprises LLC "are entitled to summary judgment on their royalties counterclaim." Higgitt further stated, "The record is clear: Parlux sold licensed products after July 31, 2015, but failed to pay royalties on those sales." Parlux bosses filed the breach of contract lawsuit back in 2016. They claimed that they had lost millions in their collaboration with Jay-Z due to his refusal to promote "Gold Jay-Z" on "Good Morning America" and at an in-store appearance at department store Macy's. The 52-year-old husband of Beyonce Knowles later filed a countersuit against the company. He accused its bosses of failing to furnish him with accounting reports and promotional resources, among other things. Fast forward to October 2021, the hip-hop mogul attended a trial in Manhattan Supreme Court. During the hearing, he was grilled by Parlux's lawyer, who argued, "In the fragrance industry, it is virtually impossible to sustain the success of a celebrity fragrance brand [unless it's bolstered by] promotional support from the celebrity in the form of public appearances." The "No Church in the Wild" spitter then defended himself, insisting that he "did a lot for the Gold Jay-Z launch." The father of Blue Ivy went on explaining, "I had a year to complete these (obligations)." In the following month, Justice Andrew Borrok issued a ruling, stating that Jay-Z should not have to pay $67.6 million to Parlux Fragrances. The jury, however, also rejected the Roc-A-Fella co-founder's $6 million royalties demand. Luckily the appellate court has now overruled the jury's decision. Instagram Celebrity Chrisean, who has been in dispute with Blueface and Wack 100, was arrested in Oklahoma on Valentine's Day, February 14 after she stole the 'Respect My Cryppin' ' rapper's car. Feb 25, 2022 AceShowbiz - Chrisean Rock managed to keep a positive attitude amid her incarceration. In a recorded video call from prison, the former Blueface Records artist divulged that she has been focusing on healing during her jail stint. "Don't be sad!" she said in the clip as she smiled widely. "I was tweakin', for real, but I'm gonna be a buck. I used this time to really heal, I was healing from a lot of s**t I ain't told you. A lot of stuff I be telling y'all, but I don't be tellin' you everything, so, you know how that go." "But yeah, I'ma be out, and I'ma be better. I can't wait to drop my song for y'all. I can't wait to just be better Rock," Chrisean went on saying as she burst into laughter. "I'm a little shy talking to y'all because I ripped all my eyelashes out. Keep me in your prayers. Thank you for all the support. I'm on my home. That's all I can say." Chrisean was arrested in Oklahoma on February 14 after stealing Blueface's car. She has since been hit with charges of receiving, possessing, or concealing a stolen vehicle as well as distribution of a controlled substance and possession with intent. Following Chrisean's arrest, Blueface called her out on Instagram Story. "B***h stole my car an thought she was gone drive to Baltimore 25 hrs away dumba**," he said, before adding in a separate post, "A thief is the worst thing you can be as a female I'd have more respect for a prostitute...Talm about some 'come bail me out.' " Also slamming Chrisean was Blueface's manager, Wack 100. "This Bozo deserves all that she has coming to her ! Broke in the house again stole thousands stole the G Waggon as we found out not knowing it was her 1700 miles away got caught," he raged on his own page. "I have no remorse for this BOZO. Now I gotta go get the car out the impound and pay another 5,000 for a transport service to bring it back ! If it was you how would you see it !!!" Wack further fumed. "And it looks like she was moving work from the charges ! Smh." Two top advisers to Gov. Ned Lamont announced in November 2019 that they had agreed to exploit synergies to make the states school construction program more efficient and effective. Details on those synergies were absent from an agreement two top Lamont advisers signed. We are learning daily that the decision was an ill-conceived disaster for Lamont, state government, and the public. Department of Administrative Services then-Commissioner Josh Geballe and Office of Policy and Management Secretary Melissa McCaw moved the program that spends billions on building schools from the DAS to the states budget office. (The agreement they both signed stipulated that Kostantinos Diamantis, who had been overseeing school construction at DAS, would continue to be in charge as he moved to OPM to become the deputy budget director. Advertisement Those synergies, if they ever existed, were forgotten long ago. The school construction program appears to be the focus of a federal criminal investigation for alleged contract steering. Synergies curdled into scandal. What an ugly recipe that will turn out to be. No one would listen. Legislators raised objections to the November 2019 move, but they never did anything to reverse it. State Sen. Billie Miller, D-Stamford, asked Diamantis last March at a legislative hearing when the agreement on school construction transfer would end. It expires with me, the former Democratic state representative said in happier times. His unintended prophecy came true. Advertisement Diamantis left both jobs in late October, weeks after this column revealed Chief States Attorney Richard Colangelo had hired Diamantiss daughter as a $99,000 a year executive assistant. Diamantis, who denies any wrongdoing, claims he was fired for defending McCaw, ostensibly his boss, against the abuse heaped on her by some of Lamonts advisors. [ Connecticut state budget director, Melissa McCaw, expected to leave Lamont administration ] Lamont continues to scramble to limit the damage being done by growing revelations of an alleged contracting scandal at the heart of his administration. Lamont recently referred to Diamantis, not long ago one of the most powerful members of the administration, as some deputy at OPM. When Lamont was announcing an agreement advancing the long-delayed State Pier project in New London, he declared that he gave the speeches and its up to Kosta to deliver the goods. Some deputy at OPM indeed. Opinion Weekly Perspective on the week's biggest stories from the Courant's Opinion page > The school construction synergies were not referred to in the late 2021 agreement moving the program back to DAS, where the law said all along it was supposed to be. Lamont points to that as a quick reaction to scandal. The Greenwich Democrat continues to seem oddly incurious of the details of a scandal consuming his administration. The school construction program is now in the hands of a Noel Petra, a Guilford Democrat (like Geballe), who is a vocal opponent of common sense oversight of government spending. In March 2021, former Courant columnist Jon Lender reported that Petra blasted the State Properties Review Board for allegedly wasting time and money, as part of his legislative testimony for passage of a bill that would significantly curb the SPRBs power to approve and reject DAS initiatives. We spend hundreds and hundreds of hours every year ... explaining to them ... basic construction contract law, explaining to them basic 101 contract construction best practices. ... [T]hey dont have the expertise ... to understand the complexities, Petra testified at a public hearing, Lender reported. The SPRB has saved taxpayers millions since it was created in 1975. The SPRB, unlike DAS, has never been stained by scandal, a claim Petra cannot make of DAS. Two related patterns are emerging. The school construction program appears to have been manipulated and perverted for the benefit of a few. The Lamont administration has been consistently hostile to transparency and oversight. Today, in the teeth of a corrosive corruption scandal, the administration continues to appear to disdain the publics right to know how its government conducts the peoples business. To further undermine public confidence in his administration, Lamont has appointed veteran Democratic operative Michelle Gilman to serve as DAS commissioner. Gilman skedaddled out of then-Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewiczs office in 2010, shortly after Richard Blumenthal, then in his 20th year as attorney general, issued a report criticizing the maintenance of a politically-related database in Bysiewiczs office. Gilman, who was Bysiewiczs chief of staff at the time of the database controversy, testified to investigators she had no idea who had entered the suspect information into the system. Gilman and Petra at DAS together are no ones definition of reform. Advertisement Kevin Rennie of South Windsor is a lawyer and a former Republican state senator and representative. Instagram TV Many on Twitter call out 'The View' co-host after she says she has planned to go to Italy for four years but hasn't been able to make it due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the current crisis. Feb 25, 2022 AceShowbiz - Joy Behar found herself landing in hot water over her recent remark. After saying that the Russia-Ukraine war has ruined her vacation plans to Italy, "The View" co-host got dragged by many people on Twitter. Behar and her co-hosts discussed the crisis in the Thursday, February 24 episode of the ABC daytime talk show. "Well, I'm scared of what's going to happen in Western Europe too," she said. "You know, you just plan a trip. You want to go there." "I want to go to Italy for four years and I haven't been able to make it because of the pandemic. And now this," the 79-year-old said, referring to the Ukraine invasion. "It's like, 'What's gonna happen there?' " Behar went on to offer her two cents on Russian President Vladimir Putin. "This guy, he's a singular sensation in a certain way, you know what I mean?" she pointed out. "I don't know that he has that much support in his country and maybe that has to be addressed because we've seen this movie before." Behar's statement has enraged many on the blue-bird app. "Did Putin even stop to think how his invasion would affect Joy Behar's trip to Italy?" one person sarcastically asked. Another tweeted, "Take a moment today to remember the real victims of Russia attacking Ukraine... rich, elitist liberals like Joy Behar who might have their vacations to Italy interrupted." A third then opined, "Joy Behar said she's upset at Russia because now it's going to be harder to go on vacation to Europe. This is how out of touch our elites are." Someone else penned, "The true horror of the worldwide pandemic and Russia invading Ukraine? Joy Behar hasn't been able to take her trip to Italy. Thoughts and Prayers for Joy. We hope she makes it through this tragedy. PublicVibe, Indias leading hyperlocal video news platform, has launched its first TV + digital campaign to extensively cover the ongoing Uttar Pradesh elections. As a hyperlocal video news app, PublicVibe aims to provide latest election coverage from every galli and mohalla of the state. Leveraging its rich tech stack to extensively cover the Uttar Pradesh elections, PublicVibe is breaking down the election news based on constituency. Providing users with hyperlocal updates on important topics in their constituency, local issues that are impacting the elections, public opinions and exit polls. The campaign establishes how hyperlocal issues and topics impact the choices of leaders of the state. A 15 second TV spot conceptualised by WYP Worldwide kickstarted the campaign. Capturing the essence of democracy and the key role citizens play in electing leaders, the film uses the metaphor of a chair as the seat of power, as the narrator reflects on who the people of Uttar Pradesh will choose for this important seat. Samir Vora, Chief Marketing Officer, VerSe Innovation said, PublicVibe is powered by thousands of users who are passionate about the news and issues concerning their immediate areas. Leveraging the power of hyperlocal journalism, we are striving to capture and inform our users of the public sentiment that prevails in the Uttar Pradesh elections through live, in-depth updates directly from the ground. Amit Akali, Chief Content Officer & Cofounder, WYP Worldwide, a Wondrlab Company said, "It is not often when a product is so strong that a simple narrative brings to life the impact it has on people's lives. The story weaved around a local chair maker, who will in his way, impact the hot seat everyone is fighting for, demonstrates the power of PublicVibe. It is also a testament of the effort the platform has taken to become truly hyperlocal. While only time will tell the election results but with PublicVibe people are being updated straight from the districts and by lanes of UP." Spotify has today completed three years of launch in India. Since February 2019, the country has grown to become one of the most important markets for Spotify globally, with local success being defined by three main focus areas: Leading creator education to foster their growth on Spotify: Through several masterclasses over three years, more than 6000 local artists have been able to plan their releases more effectively, access insights related to their music, and reach Spotifys global playlists and listeners. Spotify also hosted workshops, mentoring programs and mass outreach enabling thousands of creators to make and distribute their podcasts. Since the day of launch, the number of Indian artists on Spotify have increased by 13 times, while podcasts created on Anchor grew 130 times from the start of 2020 till the end of last year. Through successful partnerships with the artist community, a growing catalogue, and marketing campaigns, Spotify ended last year as the one of the top audio streaming platforms where listeners were consuming music in the country. Enabling visibility and growth of local creators on the global stage: Spotify invested in four initiatives to make this happen. First, it brought its global music-centric programs to put the spotlight on women in audio through EQUAL, on independent artists through RADAR and Fresh Finds, and Spotify Singles, giving talent increased visibility across countries. Artists such as Abhilasha Sinha, F16s, When Chai Met Toast, and Sunflower Tape Machine are just a few of the many success stories. Owing to Spotify Singles, two artists, Dhee and Hanita Bhambri, found new fans across the world. Second, Spotify took local films such as Atrangi Re and RRR, as well as artists such as Ilaiyaraaja to Times Square in New York to reach the diaspora audiences. In fact, the platforms campaign to promote the maestros music in India and beyond led to a 3x increase in streams and double the listeners for him on Spotify. Third, Punjabi artists such as Sidhu Moosewala, AP Dhillon, Sunanda Sharma, Harnoor, Harrdy Sandhu, and Diljit Dosanjh, among others, who also have fans outside of India, featured in international Spotify campaigns. Finally, Spotifys Sound Up that aims to raise up the next generation of under-represented podcasters through workshops and support, honed the skills of local women podcasters, with two finalists, Arunima Tenzin Tara and Shreya Dasgupta among others now working towards launching their own podcasts. Providing a platform where culture happens: Right from launch, Spotify has delivered a localised experience for its listeners in the country. There are 7x more locally curated playlists on Spotify today, compared to three years ago. Through film partnerships such the recent ones being Shershaah, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui and Gehraiyaan, steady support to the independent music community, and investment across genres of regional podcasts, the platform reflects Indias pop culture, making a place for itself in the hearts of millions of listeners locally. Besides film and I-Pop music, the platform has taken independent artists to the global stage. Over 50 independent artists from India have also crossed over to global Spotify playlists multiple times, including .ORG and Borderless, among others. Through Fresh Finds, Spotify has curated more than 700 emerging artists in the first year of its launch in India. This growth is not only on the creators side, but also vis-a-vis listeners, wherein more than 150,000 playlists are being created by Spotify listeners in India every single day. This puts India in the top 20 markets for user created playlists on the platform. Additionally, millions of shares are happening every month via social media. Meanwhile, given the growing popularity of local content, Spotify now has 150+ Spotify Original and Exclusive podcasts spanning Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Telugu, Punjabi, English, Gujarati, Malayalam, and Marathi. On Anchor, content is now being created in over 13 Indian languages. Amarjit Batra, Managing Director - India, Spotify, said Spotify continues to be deeply invested in India. Weve seen remarkable growth and love from listeners since our launch, and especially over the last year. In parallel, we want creators to thrive on Spotify, and our platform and initiatives are designed with that purpose in mind. By collaborating closely with the creator community in India, weve been able to grow awareness and preference for audio streaming. Looking ahead, we hope that our listeners here continue to connect with self and others through the content and curation on Spotify and discover music, podcasts, and features that make their experience intuitive and personalised. Over three years, Spotify has worked with over 100 brands across sectors such as FMCG, OTT, e-commerce, etc. that chose the audio streaming platform to reach their audience. Besides growing the market for the overall audio streaming industry that largely relies on the free tier in India, Spotify is also investing in making Premium more accessible for listeners in India through a variety of plans, including Mini, and brand partnerships. In the last two years, the company also partnered with brands such as OnePlus, Visa, Samsung, Flipkart, and Vivo to reach a wider audience in the market. As a country with one of the youngest populations in the world, India is a thriving base for creative talent in the audio industry. Spotify will continue to educate creators on using the platform to their advantage and growing with it not just in India, but outside. For listeners, the focus will be on sustained product localisation, marketing campaigns, and relevant partnerships that deepen the audio streaming platforms reach in the country, across age cohorts, communities, and by bringing the best of global and local content to their ears. Latvia has banned three Russian TV channels in the Baltic country, as they were a "threat to national security," in the backdrop of Russias Ukraine invasion. Latvia's regulator National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEMMC) has informed that these channels represent a threat to Latvia's security and have been banned accordingly. It may be recalled that 41 other Russian channels were taken off the air during the past five years. NEMMC has informed that it has imposed a ban on Russian state broadcaster Rossiya RTR, Rossiya 24, and the TV Centre International(TVCI). NEPLP leader Ivars Abolins told the news agency AFP that the decision was taken based on Latvian law and the EU Audiovisual Directive. Latvia, previously ruled by the Soviet, has a considerable ethnic Russian community. The country, which joined NATO and the EU in 2004, has a population of 1.9 million people. NEMMC has requested all EU countries to use the proof gathered by the NEMMC and to follow Latvia's example by restricting the retransmission of these programmes". He said that the ban has taken effect and will be approved later by the European Commission. Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Bern, 25.02.2022 - The Swiss pavilion will focus on the topic of water during the final month of Expo 2020 Dubai. The 'Blue Peace' exhibition presents the Swiss initiative of the same name promoting cooperation on sustainable global water management. The exhibition will be launched on 26 February in the presence of SDC Director General Patricia Danzi. The launch in Dubai also marks the beginning of the 'Blue Peace Days', which will end at the World Water Forum in Dakar in late March. The world expo in Dubai, whose theme is 'Connecting Minds, Creating the Future', has been under way since 1 October 2021. More than 190 countries will be represented on this international stage until the end of March 2022. From the beginning, the Swiss pavilion has stood out thanks to its substantive contribution and active approach to global challenges such as healthcare, climate change, food security and water scarcity. It acts as a platform for dialogue with regional actors from business, science and politics. In the expo's final month, Switzerland will focus on promoting peace and stability as part of the 'Blue Peace' initiative. Launched in 2010 by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the initiative promotes the peaceful and sustainable management of water resources around the world. To mark the start of the 'Blue Peace Days' on 26 February, SDC Director General Patricia Danzi will meet former Slovenian president Danilo Turk, who is a diplomatic adviser to the Geneva Water Hub. They will be at the Swiss pavilion to discuss current challenges and developments in the field of water. "The Middle East has one of the world's lowest rainfall rates," Ms Danzi explains."This water scarcity harbours enormous potential for conflict and worsens existing tensions. Switzerland is using its long-standing experience in transboundary water management to support the search for viable solutions. The 'Blue Peace Days' in Dubai facilitate the discussion of new solutions allowing countries with a common border to share this scarce resource in a sustainable and peaceful manner." After the discussion, Ms Danzi will open the 'Blue Peace' exhibition at the pavilion. The interactive installation created for the event playfully offers visitors an insight into how water connects us all; it explains that while this connection causes conflict, it is also an opportunity to ensure peace and security around the world. The Swiss pavilion will be organising a series of events on this topic throughout March. This includes a conference of experts featuring leading thinkers in the field of water from the Gulf states and other middle-eastern countries. The 'Blue Peace Days' at the Swiss pavilion in Dubai thus act as a bridge to the next World Water Forum, which will take place from 21 to 25 March in Dakar. The world's largest event on the topic of water will bring together participants from politics, the scientific community, civil society and the private sector to develop solutions to global water issues. President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis will attend the opening of the forum. The Swiss pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai opened its doors on 1 October 2021 and will continue to present Switzerland as the world's leading innovation hotspot until the end of March. The pavilion regularly places highly in various rankings and is one of the most popular and frequently visited pavilions at the expo, having welcomed its millionth visitor last week. For further information: Ambassador Nicolas Bideau Head of Presence Switzerland nicolas.bideau@eda.admin.ch Tel.: +41 79 667 69 15 Address for enquiries FDFA Communication Federal Palace West Wing CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland Tel. Communication service: +41 58 462 31 53 Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55 E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch Twitter: @SwissMFA Publisher Federal Department of Foreign Affairs https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html The Los Angeles Police Department is among more than 1,000 police agencies in the U.S. that use drones for in a variety of situations. U.S. aviation regulator expands no-fly zone to include Ukraine, Belarus, parts of Russia Xinhua) 08:26, February 25, 2022 WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States said on Thursday that it is extending its no-fly zone in Eastern Europe as conflicts in Ukraine are unfolding. The FAA said in a statement that it issued Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs) expanding the area in Eastern Europe and Russia where U.S. airlines and U.S. pilots cannot operate. "The expanded NOTAMs now cover the entire country of Ukraine, the entire country of Belarus and a western portion of Russia," the statement read. NOTAM is a notice containing information essential to personnel concerned with flight operations but not known far enough in advance to be publicized by other means. The announcement came less than 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized "a special military operation" in the Donbass region of Ukraine. Kiev has confirmed military targets across the Eastern European nation were under attack and severed diplomatic relations with Moscow. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Gov. Ned Lamont speaks with his budget director, Melissa McCaw, at his side in 2019. They are standing on the outdoor deck, directly outside McCaw's office at the Office of Policy and Management on Capitol Avenue in Hartford. (Brad Horrigan / Hartford Courant) HARTFORD State budget director Melissa McCaw has resigned to take a job in East Hartford as the fallout from an ongoing scandal involving school construction intensified. Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday afternoon that McCaw, the states chief fiscal director since he took office in 2019, will be leaving her high-profile post as the leader of the Office of Policy and Management. The change is effective March 11 after she takes accumulated personal leave time, but the new acting budget director, Jeffrey Beckham, will be effectively running the sprawling agency immediately. Advertisement McCaw is leaving almost exactly four months after her deputy, Kosta Diamantis, was fired by the Lamont administration after questions were raised about the hiring of his daughter by chief states attorney Richard Colangelo for a $99,000-per-year job at the same time that Colangelo was negotiating with Diamantis about raises for his fellow prosecutors and himself. The FBI is investigating the states school construction program, which Diamantis oversaw, and he was fired eight days after the state received a subpoena in the criminal case. Lamont told reporters at the state Capitol that McCaw met with him Thursday at the governors mansion in Hartford and said she was leaving for a new job as finance director in East Hartford. Lamont said that neither he nor his administration asked for her resignation. Advertisement No,' Lamont responded when asked by the Courant, adding that the change was McCaws idea. I wasnt shocked,' Lamont said. There is a lot of back and forth going on right now. Its distracting. ... She probably figured a fresh start over in East Hartford made sense for her and made sense for OPM right now.' When asked if McCaw had properly supervised Diamantis through the years, Lamont responded, Ive got confidence in her as secretary of OPM. I think she did a very good job. Its a big agency a lot of things going on. ... She told me it was time for her to make a move.' He added, I think Melissa McCaw has been an extraordinary secretary of OPM. But I understood exactly what she was doing and why she was doing it.' McCaw has been among the most influential and highest-paid state employees at $213,198 per year. Diamantis had been earning $194,829 per year, according to public records. McCaw will be working closely with East Hartford Mayor Mike Walsh, a former East Hartford finance director who was recruited by McCaw in 2019 to work in the governors budget office. A Democrat, Walsh was elected as mayor in November 2021. The ongoing school construction scandal has become political and is expected to be an issue during the governors reelection campaign this summer and fall. The departure of Gov. Lamonts OPM secretary should not signal an end to the ongoing scandal and investigation, said Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski of Madison. We dont yet know the full extent of corruption within the Lamont administration, but as the people who pay their salaries, Connecticut residents have a right to know. Advertisement Stefanowski added that Lamont at least needs to take accountability for his role in this situation. Lamont, however, told reporters that he moved quickly upon hearing about problems in his administration. I think I would bear responsibility if I didnt react immediately,' Lamont said. I think I reacted immediately. As soon as we found out about the personnel issue between Kosta and Colangelo, we acted on that pretty darn fast. We then went and got Stan Twardy, a former U.S. attorney, and I said I want a complete debriefing on everything that happened here, and I want to make that public going forward. At that same time, we heard about the federal investigation, and I told my team : You participate 100 percent. Leave no stone unturned. Only two weeks ago, Lamont said he was convinced that McCaw would not be pulled into the ongoing scandal involving her former deputy. Lamont told reporters in Southington that McCaw a key player in crafting Lamonts proposed $24.2 billion budget was not involved in the controversy. Shes told me, in no uncertain terms, she didnt know what was there, Lamont said. She never approved any pay raises and some of the back and forth between Kosta and Colangelo. Shes got a lot of work to do, right now, to get us through this latest budget cycle. Lamont had said that Colangelo whom he does not oversee should be fired. Colangelo soon after announced his retirement effective March 31. Advertisement Lamont said he believed Diamantis was a one-man band in the situation and no one else was involved. I dont think so, Lamont said. We moved the state construction right back to DAS. We have a fresh set of eyes, looking at every single project out there. Were going to err on the side of absolute transparency. I have zero tolerance for this stuff. Legislators have been saying for weeks that they expected McCaw to depart at a time of increased scrutiny in state government. McCaws departure came one day after Republican legislators called for a bipartisan investigation into the ongoing school construction scandal with subpoena powers to force witnesses to testify. Although a federal grand jury is probing potential criminal aspects of school construction, House Republican leader Vincent Candelora said a separate inquiry needs to be conducted by the state legislature regarding more than $1 billion that has been allocated since 2018 for local public school renovations. Advertisement Democrats, who control both chambers of the legislature, dismissed the idea, saying that the already existing committees of cognizance should look into the various aspects of school construction. I fully support the call by Republican leaders in the legislature to fulfill their oversight obligation and investigate the Lamont administration for the serious allegations of corruption, said Stefanowski. The dismissal by the Democrat legislative leaders shows the problem with one-party Democrat control of Connecticut. Candelora said that Fridays announcement of a new, steady hand at the budget office with Beckham in charge and increased oversight on school construction by acting commissioner Michelle H. Gilman and deputy commissioner Noel G. Petra was not enough. The governor said his announcement today would make citizens feel confident about their government, but his just trust us, we fixed it approach will only frustrate fed-up residents who see the Democrat response to this crisis for what it is an election year charade focused on political expediency rather than accountability and good government,' Candelora said. For years, school construction was overseen by the nonpartisan Department of Administrative Services, where Diamantis previously worked. But when Diamantis was hired by McCaw as the top deputy at OPM, the school projects were switched to that office. The hiring of Diamantis generated attention at the start in 2019 because some officials said that the memo by McCaw that announced the arrival of Diamantis was far more detailed than those involving some other employees. In order to ensure the cost efficiencies in administering the school construction program and consistent with OPMs responsibility to administer various municipal grants and municipal aid programs, Kosta will continue to supervise the school construction program, whose staff will be relocated from DAS to OPM in the near future,' McCaw wrote at the time in the memo that was first disclosed by Hartford Courant columnist Kevin F. Rennie. Advertisement For this reason, Kostas functional title will be Deputy Secretary for the Office of Policy and Management and Director of School Construction Grants, Review and Audit. In addition, efforts will be made in the upcoming legislative session to transfer the statutory responsibility for the administration of school construction grants from DAS to OPM. The OSCGR unit and function will leverage synergies with OPMs extensive work supporting our municipalities. Courant staff writer Edmund H. Mahony contributed to this report. Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com June 24, 2020 At a Cabinet meeting in Tehran June 24, President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran is open to negotiations as soon as the White House and Congress return from the wrong path offer an apology and compensate [for] the loss they inflicted upon Iran. Rouhani was referring to the US withdrawal from the multilateral 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which US President Donald Trump walked away in May 2018. We have no problem [with negotiations]. [The Americans] are the ones who broke the table, Rouhani added, expressing readiness for talks even before the November US presidential elections if the Trump administration rejoins the JCPOA. The Iranian president appeared to be responding to the latest overture from his American counterpart, as he advised Iranians to sit down with him for a deal without pinning hopes on his possible defeat in the vote. As opposed to Rouhanis stance, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who maintains the ultimate authority over sensitive foreign policy decisions, has publicly dismissed talks with the Trump administration as poison. And last week, the newly inaugurated Iranian parliament dominated by Rouhani rivals made it clear that a compromise with the United States is absolutely forbidden. Nonetheless, the question of a Tehran-Washington dialogue is not the only challenge facing the fragile nuclear deal. Uncertainty is already hovering over the prospects of Irans cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). During his televised address, Rouhani warned that a firm response will be an easy task in reaction to the agencys resolution last week, which demanded that Tehran allow inspectors into two contentious nuclear facilities. The resolution triggered by France, Germany and the United Kingdom, three out of the six remaining signatories to the JCPOA has raised suspicions about possible undeclared nuclear material at the two locations. Despite stressing that Iran remains open to any legal inspection by the nuclear watchdog, Rouhani suggested that access to those two sites will continue to be denied. The issue, according to the Iranian president, is a 20-year-old file that the IAEA is now exhuming under pressure from Israel and the United States, two tricksters that he feared may taint the watchdogs independence. The ongoing deadlock over the JCPOA is also being further complicated by an unrelenting US push to extend an Iran arms embargo that under the accord will expire in a few months. The Rouhani government has been capitalizing significantly on embargo removal as one of the few concrete outcomes from the deal. As Washington presses members of the UN Security Council on extending the ban, Tehran is hoping that during a series of council meetings starting June 24, its allies China and Russia will exercise their veto powers to salvage the JCPOA and impose failure on the US plan. To that end, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was in Moscow last week for assurances that the Islamic Republic will enjoy the Kremlins backing in the face of the White House. Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Carter G. Woodson, George Washington Carver, WEB Dubois, Rev. Martin Luther King. All were prominent Americans of the 19th and 20th centuries. There's one prominent American who isn't included in this pantheon of historical greats. In fact, he's one of the most underappreciated historical figures in American history. Born into slavery, he was determined not to allow his past, nor his race, to determine his future. He pursued education and emphasized character development and self-determination. He also stressed the obligation and the virtue of work. His ability to transcend enormous hardships saw him help build a school literally from the ground up. Though he repeatedly refused the temptation to become a politician, his record of personal and professional excellence enabled him to advise presidents Roosevelt and Taft. Despite his extremely modest beginnings, he became an influential black intellectual and one of the foremost educators of his time. As a result of his influence on Negro education and economic development in addition to his desire for racial conciliation in the South he was once called the "foremost man of his race in America." Who is this great man? Booker T. Washington. Washington was born a slave on a Virginian plantation. Though uncertain of his father's identity, he suspected that it was a white man living on a nearby plantation. His mother Jane raised him, his brother John, and his sister Amanda in a dilapidated slave cabin. At nine years old, Washington was freed from slavery. He and his family moved to West Virginia to start life anew. Washington desperately longed to attend school, but his stepfather concluded that his son was more valuable to his family working in the local salt mines. Despite this disappointment, Washington taught himself how to read and write and attended school periodically. As a teenager working in the mines, he learned of a boarding school Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia that specialized in educating poor blacks. Eventually, Washington made his way back to Virginia to pursue his education. It wasn't easy. Washington had to overcome significant challenges. He walked most of the 500-mile journey back to Virginia. On the way, he slept under a boardwalk at night while he worked during the day. Upon reaching Virginia, Washington worked his way through school despite being in frequent need of resources like clothing, books, and tuition. Reflecting on his ability to face these and other challenges, Washington believed that "success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome." Shortly after graduation, Washington was called upon to begin his life's work: heading an industrial school for blacks in Alabama, the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. When Washington arrived in Tuskegee, Alabama, students were hungry for education. However, they despised work because work was associated with slavery. Washington rejected the connection and stressed the nobility of work. He showed his students that education isn't limited to the classroom. At Tuskegee, students not only learned how to read and write but also learned trades and other skills that would allow them to contribute to the economy and the improvement of society. Washington was convinced that education and industry subsidized racial uplift among blacks, but also racial respect for blacks. After graduation, it was Washington's desire for students of character to provide innovative services and skills to their neighbors rather than working for them. Despite his personal and professional record of achievement, Washington doesn't receive the approbation he deserves. Why is Booker T. Washington excluded from the giants of black and American history? It's because of a speech he gave at the Atlanta Exposition, in September 1895, which has derisively become known as "Atlanta Compromise." At the time of the speech, racial hostility toward blacks in the South was increasing. Darwinian ideas about black inferiority were spreading. Racial stereotypes disparaging black humanity in newspapers and minstrel shows were widely embraced. Klan violence including lynching grew pervasive. Black economic opportunities and legal protections had rapidly decreased. Racial segregation had become an unforgiving reality. Increasing racial tension led to suggestions by both blacks and whites that American blacks should resettle in Africa. It was in this cultural caldron that Washington gave his remarks a practical appeal to anxious Southern whites and vulnerable Southern blacks. Washington affirmed in his address that blacks would forgo the pursuit of political power. He hoped this would alleviate the racial anxiety toward and resentment of blacks among whites. In exchange, Washington recommended that whites not prevent blacks from seeking economic prosperity. Consequently, he exhorted the audience filled with a mixture of blacks and whites to "cast down your bucket where you are," encouraging a mutual socioeconomic interdependency among the races in the South. Booker was convinced that economic development and success would counter the myth of black inferiority and earn blacks the respect of their Southern neighbors. To this extent, he believed that "no race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is long in any degree ostracized." To further allay the suspicions of Southern whites, Washington added that blacks and whites could be "separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand" a social agreement that he felt was "essential to human progress" in the South. Was Washington's speech a compromise? Yes, but it was a calculated and essential one that Washington felt necessary to protect the physical safety and economic interests of blacks. But Washington's compromise has been intentionally mischaracterized as capitulation a form of accommodation to white supremacy because he rejected political protest and agitation as the primary tool for black advancement and civil rights. Washington's belief was that the transcendent values of personal responsibility good character, hard work, education, and self-determination are what first gain respect. Freedom and equality follow. Sadly, Washington misjudged the racial hatred of Southern whites. Subsequently, his vision of racial cooperation didn't happen as he anticipated. However, Washington's advice is certainly needed now. Though constructive political activism can be a useful tool for American blacks, it cannot be the only tool. American blacks can and should establish their ability to control what they're able to control, to achieve that which they're capable of achieving. This must be done on their own terms and with as little intercession or interference as possible. By controlling their fate, blacks will establish equality with their peers. In doing so, blacks must steadfastly reject the "special privileges" associated with the hard bigotry of no expectations. Fabricating "equity" on behalf of blacks reveals an absence of standards and expectations with respect to black intelligence and capability in socio-economic, academic, and moral capacities. In fact, "equity" is racism by another name. Washington had faith in both America and the ability of blacks to excel. It's time for blacks to demonstrate that same faith. Because of his sacrifices, accomplishments, and agenda for success, Booker T. Washington should be reinstated and celebrated as one of the prominent Americans in our nation's history. Derryck has completed graduate work at Fuller Seminary and Azusa Pacific University. He contributed the chapter "Black Churches and the National Covenant" in Race and Covenant: Recovering the Religious Roots for American Reconciliation. Image via Stockvault. Ukrainians are being urged to arm themselves to resist the unprovoked Russian invasion of their country. The immediate question is, "with what?" noting that Ukraine has exactly the kind of gun laws the Democratic Left wants to inflict on the United States. Handguns are illegal unless licensed, and licensing is "may-issue" the same way it is in New York. It is also necessary to have a license to purchase a long gun (as is the case in Illinois with its firearm owner ID card), and authorities can exercise discretion as to who can have a license. There are at most thirteen firearms for every hundred Ukrainians, versus more than one firearm per capita for Americans. Magazine sizes are restricted to 10 rounds, which would of course delight the governments of California and New York. Guess what, boys and girls -- the Russian Bear doesn't have magazine size limits, nor does he obey international norms and treaties that forbid invasion of other countries. Vladimir Putin is simply another Tsar, and I mean an expansionist land-grabber like Peter I, Elizabeth I Petrovna ("like father, like daughter"), Catherine II, and Nicholas I "the flogger." Peter and Catherine are not called "the Great" for nothing, but they were great for Russia and not for Russia's neighbors. It is also to be remembered that Ukraine inherited roughly five thousand nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union. "When the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine turned over thousands of atomic weapons in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the United States, and other countries." The British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, signed a similar scrap of paper with Adolf Hitler, and we know what that got him. Ukraine's former defense minister, Andriy Zahorodniuk, said of the more recent security assurances, Now, every time somebody offers us to sign a strip of paper, the response is, Thank you very much. We already had one of those some time ago. Israel, despite its legacy of immigration by Holocaust survivors who were disarmed by Nazi gun control laws, also has the kind of gun laws the Democrat Left supports. Perhaps Ukraine's recent experience will be a wake-up call for Israelis as well, noting especially the frequency of terrorist incursions whose purpose is to murder civilians in their own homes. The Chinese communists have meanwhile threatened similarly to invade a neighboring country while challenging Australia and the United States. North Korea is run by a nuclear-armed madman. This is a very strong argument for the region's civilized and peaceful nations such as Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, to tear up another "scrap of paper," the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and arm themselves with enough nukes to make it unequivocally clear to the Chinese communist dictators and Kim Jong-un that the consequences of a war of conquest would be too horrific for any rational person, regardless of how evil he might be, to even begin to contemplate. Hitler, Stalin, and Tojo were some of the most evil rulers to have ever lived but had Poland, Ukraine (as subjected to genocide by Stalin during the 1930s), Finland, China, and Korea possessed even a few atomic bombs with the means of delivering them to Berlin, Moscow, and Tokyo, the Second World War would have never happened. The United States needs to modernize its own arsenal to match Putin's because Putin has made very clear his willingness to use violence to get what he wants. The United States and Europe will impose economic sanctions on the Russian Federation, and rightly so. The League of Nations also attempted to use sanctions against aggressors, and even expelled the Soviet Union, but was clearly helpless to stop Nazi, Fascist, and Imperial Japanese aggression. Some members were unwilling to comply with economic sanctions that hurt their own economies, and the Russian Federation has natural gas that Europe needs. Rudyard Kipling's The Gods of the Copybook Headings is well worth reading, and it is absolute common sense. When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace. They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease. But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe, And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know." The Washington Naval Treaty limited the size and number of battleships and battlecruisers the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, and Italy could build. This was either circumvented through the conversion of battlecruisers into aircraft carriers (USS Saratoga and Lexington were laid down as battlecruisers intended to carry sixteen-inch guns, and IJN Kaga and Akagi, both of which attacked Pearl Harbor, also were converted battle cruisers) or violated outright Tsar Vladimir's invasion of Ukraine should teach the civilized world the following lessons. Don't give up your guns. If you have them, you should probably have more. Don't give up your nukes and, if you (Israel, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and maybe Australia) don't have them, you'd better build them. If you have them (United States, France, UK, India, and possibly Israel) you need to improve them and build more up to whatever treaty limits are in place. The Chinese communists have been making noises very similar to those made by the Russian Bear, and they also do not subscribe to the international norm that the use of violence to steal somebody else's country is unacceptable. Regardless of how evil their rulers might be, these rulers also are coldly rational and will refrain from violence if the likely consequences of backing anybody into a corner are clear to them. Treaties, including those signed and broken or circumvented prior to the Second World War, along with "assurances" to Ukraine, are scraps of paper unless backed up with the prospect of overwhelming and devastating force. It may be too late for Ukraine -- let's make sure it's not too late for us. Civis Americanus is the pen name of a contributor who remembers the lessons of history, and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way. He or she is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to "cancel culture" for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter. Image: National Park Service No one likes it when things dont go their way. Whether its a being passed over for a promotion at work or the dissolution of a long-term personal relationship or a financial reversal, a setback is never welcome. What defines a persons character is his reaction to adverse events. Mature adults will stop, take a breath, internalize the misfortune, evaluate their options and calmly pick a corrective course of action, with a minimum of hyperbolic arm-waving and verbal histrionics. Young children, of course, havent attained this level of personal composure and they react with gut-level emotion, stamping their feet, shouting out excuses and rationalizations, and just generally blaming everyone and everything for their predicament, pointedly and unjustifiably. Liberals have the emotional make-up of 8-year-old children. Almost to a person -- whether theyre elected politicians, pundits, journalists, or simply rabidly partisan voters -- liberals are absolutely incapable of rationally accepting an undesired outcome and dealing with its consequences in a mature and measured manner. There are countless examples. Here are two: liberals refusal to accept the 2016 election results and their dismissal of John Durhams recent findings that implicate Hillary. Stunned and horrified over Hillarys unexpected, shockingly humiliating loss in 2016 -- perhaps the biggest upset in American presidential political history -- liberals at every level, in every position, went on a four-year temper tantrum of irrational, hysterical rejection of reality. Democrat politicians refused to work with President Trump, rebuffing his numerous efforts to forge compromise and move his Pro-American agenda forward. For elected Democrats, trying to deny President Trump any political success whatsoever was far more important to them than actually delivering benefits to the general population. Liberal pundits and media reporters followed in lockstep. Negative report followed negative report. At one point, the Media Research Center said that over 90% of the TV network reporting on President Trump was negative. With liberal public opinion cast in stone, the rank-and-file hard-core leftist voter base never accepted President Trump either. But it was far more than just political disagreement. It was an emotionally based rejection of the man, because of his having defeated their presumed winner, his in-your-face communications style, and his perceived boasting about having beaten the Clinton Political Machine. However, it should be noted, most emphatically, that the liberals childlike emotional reaction to Trumps victory and his Presidency was not solely because of Donald Trumps aura and persona. If, for instance, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis -- as normal a personality as there is -- should become president in 2024, the liberal emotional response to him will be identical to what it was to President Trump. DeSantis shares none of Trumps caustic, abrasive manner, but liberal reactions are not based on that. Their reactions are based on their not winning and not getting their way. Just like eight-year-olds stubbornly pout when things dont go their way, so do liberals. Now that John Durham has released his report that casts Hillary and her 2016 campaign acolytes in what can be charitably termed a very precarious ethical position, the liberal media are dismissing and pooh-poohing the findings with predictable childlike obstinacy. Like any embarrassed, humiliated young person, the liberal media simply refuse to acknowledge reality, insisting that what is real doesnt actually exist. The proof, of course, is the cliche that once a liberal is confronted with undeniable facts and logic, they will resort to personal, vitriolic attacks. Having lost the argument on its merits, liberals default to their, Well, youre an idiot, so shut up position. That is essentially what they say when they are challenged. When Barack Obama was elected in 2008, there couldnt possibly have been a candidate more diametrically opposed to what conservatives stood for than him. But despite conservatives disdain for his political philosophy, they never ranted that the election was illegitimate, nor did they bring impeachment charges against him, despite the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal, despite the blatantly illegal Lois Lerner/IRS weaponization of the tax department, despite his outright lying about You can keep your doctor that cost millions of Americans their healthcare so that Obama could secure a cheap political win, and above all, despite his willful mishandling and lying that led to the death of four Americans in Benghazi at the hands of Muslim terrorists. No, instead of bogus, time-wasting impeachment proceedings, Republicans respected the outcome of the 2008 and 2012 elections and simply did their best to work within the bounds of our political system while Obama was President. In other words, conservatives acted like adults. Liberals are not emotional adults. That is established fact and obvious to any objective observer. The political takeaway is that conservatives need to shape their strategy and responses knowing that their elected political rivals, the liberal media, and the hard-core Democrat voting base will all respond like spoiled children, not like mature adults. Therefore, what conservatives need to concentrate on is this: Crystal-clear messaging that makes perfect sense to the general public and cant be easily distorted by the media. Party unanimity that cant be destructively divided by their political opposition. A RINO-free zone. Carrot and stick tactics to keep liberals in line and ensure that they (liberals) respond predictably. Publicly call out and embarrass liberals for every false, insincere, lying instance of intentional misrepresentation of the facts and their double standards. Make sure the voting public sees things as they really are. Clear. Consistent. Unyielding. This is the way a savvy teacher keeps a recalcitrant third-grader in line. Liberals need to be treated accordingly. Image: Piqsels I will be supporting Donald Trump in 2024. The Durham revelation that the Clinton campaign spied on candidate Trump before the election and President Trump after should be enough to see that virtually everything Trump claimed was happeningwas actually happening. So what does this have to do with 2024? Everything, including the election fraud of 2020. Every single American with a functioning brain knows that Donald Trump won the election in 2020 and that everyone from Mark Zuckerberg to the mainstream media to the Democrat party to Never Trumper conservatives conspired to steal it. And they did. Of course, the theft of the election comes after four years of continuous attacks. The genesis of most of those attacks was the activity John Durham laid out in his court filing: Hillary Clintons funding the fabricated data suggesting Trump was colluding with the Russians in order to steal the election. The Democrats produced, proffered, and peddled this pure propaganda, and the media parroted and promoted it. Millions of Americans bought it, hook, line, and sinker, leading to a Special Counsel to investigate ties between the Russians and the Trump campaign. That Special Counsel and the medias constant promotion of the Russian collusion hoax kneecapped Trumps administration. And heres why there is zero chance I will support anyone over Donald Trump. In 2016, Americans elected the single most revolutionary president in our history. Not only did he lack any political and government-employment experience, but he also had more than a half-century of business experience, i.e. building things, solving problems, meeting the demands of clients and stakeholders of all stripes. Trump had a lifetimes experience of getting things done. (Please spare the histrionics about his failure. The only people who never fail are those who never attempt anything.) And so, after more than half a century of creeping government intrusion into their lives, suffering the compounding effects of perpetual government failure and eight years of feckless incompetence from the Obama administration, Americans voted to put in charge of the government a man with decades of experience in getting things done and a candidate who promised to focus on issues important to them, i.e. immigration, energy, government overreach and jobs, all under the banner of America First. The revolutionary change Trump promised is almost unheard of in democratic societies. Typically, a change of that magnitude occurs through a coup or someone coming to power legitimately and then changing the rules once they get there (e.g., Hitler and Chavez). In the United States, Americans saw the problems clearly and decided they needed a revolution in policy they could achieve at the ballot box, which is exactly what they did. But a funny thing happened on the way to that revolution: Democrats and their comrades in high tech, the media, and intelligence derailed it at every point. Build a wall? A judge issues an injunction. Curtail travel from countries from which terrorism emerges? The Media hypes Muslim Ban. Build a pipeline for energy independence? Indigenous groups pledge mass mobilizations. When trying to get anything done Trump found himself faced with investigations, document requests, lawsuits, Democrat stonewalling, and sabotage by civil service apparatchiks and establishment Republicans within the administration. It never stopped. Despite all of this, Trump was able to accomplish much, making the nation energy independent for the first time since the 1950s, bringing Black and Hispanic unemployment to the lowest points ever, growing GDP faster than it had in 15 years before COVID hit and filling more court vacancies than any president in 40 years. On top of that, despite Democrat roadblocks, Trump was able to replace 365 miles of dilapidated wall and build another 40 miles of new wall on the southern border. Donald Trump walked into January of 2020 as a shoo-in for winning in November. Through everything that had been thrown at him, he was still standing and was beginning to pick up steam. Then Democrats got a gift from China: COVID. Democrats and every element of the cabal aligned against Trump seized upon a very, very bad flu outbreak to become the lever with which they ousted him from power. Image: Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0. When Trump closed travel from China, he was called a racist. When he discussed examining existing inexpensive treatments such as Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin he was mocked. When he discussed comments from DHS about different possible cures they accused him of recommending people drink bleach. When he wanted to balance keeping the economy healthy with keeping citizens healthy, they implemented draconian lockdowns. When he implemented Project Warp Speed to streamline regulations to develop a vaccine and promised one by the end of the year, they said it couldnt be done and regardless, they wouldnt trust it if one was. Whatever he did, from making ventilators available to building temporary hospitals to purchasing record amounts of PPE equipment, it was never enough and, for good measure, they accused him of killing tens of thousands of Americans. Beyond the personal attacks, the left used COVID as a cover for stealing the 2020 election. From near-universal mail-in balloting to unconstitutional voting rule changes to outside money using COVID as a cover to infiltrate voting bureaucracies, COVID was the fig leaf behind which Democrats could hide as they ran their coup detat. Then, in the midst of the COVID hysteria, violent riots broke out across the country in the summer of 2020. This too was an opportunity to help destroy Trump and the left took full advantage of it; indeed, in many cases, outright supporting it. The fact communist BLM and the fascist anti-fascists at Antifa drove the riots gave the left more opportunities to label Trump a racist and fascist as he sought to quell the violence. The media, Silicon Valley, and big business worked in concert to do everything they could to damage Trump. From the Russian Collusion, Fine people and Losers and suckers hoaxes to hiding stories critical of Joe Biden to Pfizer delaying the announcement of their vaccine until after the election, it seems as if the entirety of Americas elite were doing everything they could to defeat Donald Trump. And eventually, they did. Not honestly, of course, but on January 20, 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in nonetheless. All of this adds up to the American elites deciding that Donald Trump was too much of a threat to their power to ever allow him to succeed. In 1962 JFK said, Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. In 2016 Trump promised a revolution in governance and the American people voted him into office. For the next four years, the petrified elites threw everything they had at him, yet he persevered. In 2020 they stole his election victory and installed their puppet in the White House. Thats not how America works or, at least, its not how its supposed to. This is why Ill be voting for Donald Trump in 2024. If pleas to decertify the 2020 election fall on deaf ears, were left with the 2024 election as the last opportunity to set things straight. Donald Trump promised the country a peaceful revolution and deserves a real chance to bring it about. The elite have shown themselves to be fascist tyrants who are ready and willing to disregard the Constitution on a whim. If their extermination of his peaceful revolution is allowed to stand then our future looks as grim as the one Hitler brought to Germany or Chavez brought to Venezuela. That will not happen. There are too many Americans not willing to go quietly into that good night as their Republic is transformed into an elite-driven totalitarian state. Kennedy was right. In an ideal world, maybe we could ignore what's happening in Ukraine but we have to see the world as it is, not how we want it to be: Russia is calling and wants its Ukraine back. I generally appreciate Tucker Carlson, but every time he discusses Ukraine and Russia, I bristle especially when he contends that America has no interest in Ukraine. I know some of you might agree with Carlson, but you can be a solid conservative who is just as war-weary as the next guy and still see a security interest in Ukraine without being a neocon. Putin claims to be protecting Russians left in Ukraine after the USSR collapsed, and that Ukraine is rightfully Russian and always has been, even though, historically, there was a Kiev before there was a Moscow. (By the way, it isn't pronounced keev as in keen, but kuh-YEEV in Ukrainian and KEY-yev in Russian.) Vlad has been a serial breaker of international norms starting as early as 2008 when he invaded Georgia. He annexed Crimea in 2014 and made his first incursion into the Donbas region. Not only has he flagrantly violated Article 2(4) of the U.N. charter by his "use of force against the territorial integrity" of Ukraine, but he has repeatedly violated the promises Russia, the U.S., and the U.K. made in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum: security to Ukraine for giving up its nukes, with assurances that the U.S. would respond if Russia were to renege. All three nations agreed "to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine" and "to refrain from the threat or use of force" against Ukraine. As a former vassal state of the USSR, 1994 Ukraine had the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal, a shady political culture, and a rocky economy. Before ever being considered for E.U. or NATO membership, Ukraine had a long list of changes to make, including severing its umbilical cord with Russia and ousting Russian sympathizers and puppets who continued to pollute its political system. President Zelensky understood how critical it was for Ukraine's future to be linked to the West and has been relatively fearless in preparing Ukraine to make those changes. It's not hard to see why Putin no doubt empowered by Biden's boneheaded moves on energy and Afghanistan doesn't like Zelensky. So what exactly is our security interest in the second-largest country in Europe, second only to Russia? Just look at a map. Image: CIA, via Wikimedia Commons // public domain Ukraine is sandwiched between Russia and the rest of Europe and is bordered to the west and north by former eastern and central European satellite states of the USSR. With the exception of Belarus and Moldova, are all are current E.U. and NATO members! Ukraine is a formidable buffer against any incursions from Russia and its buddy, China. It's also the obvious thoroughfare for Russia's oil pipeline to western Europe. With some of the most fertile land on the planet, Ukraine is known as the "Breadbasket of Europe." Imagine the economic prosperity to Ukraine, the tax dollars to the E.U., and the benefits to all of Europe if Ukraine were able to exploit that capability to its fullest. Speaking of natural resources, the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Luhansk and Donetsk are located and the war is raging, is loaded with coal. Why would we want to turn any of this over to Putin? Then there's the highly educated and computer-literate population. Ukraine is home to some of the largest bot farms and hacker mafias engaged in sordid cyber-crimes that threaten the entire world. Would you rather their talents were used to benefit Putin and hurt the rest of us or that they were cleaned up by a Western-focused Ukraine and re-oriented for good? Conservatives give liberal Europe a hard time, but those Europeans are a huge part of our lives. We have shared histories and cultures. There has never been a longer, more peaceful, and prosperous time in Europe and that is all in jeopardy now because of Putin. How many lives will be shattered before we re-learn that an unstable Europe is bad for America? Tucker and some of his guests suggest that we should have listened more to Russia's fears of having a shared border with a potential NATO and E.U. member. After all, we wouldn't tolerate Mexico having a political, economic, and military relationship with Russia. O.K. They want Ukraine on their team, and if Ukraine wanted to be on their team, then those arguments might have some merit. But, except for the Putinistas living in Ukraine, the Ukrainian people don't want to go back to the good old days of the gulags, poverty, communal living, empty stores, and the complete suppression of individuality and freedom. They want to be on our team; they want a bite of the same apple that sister states like Poland and Hungary have been munching on. And we should want them on our team. Despite abuses in our political system, America is still the good guy. We aren't perfect, but we don't violate international norms and treaties as a rule the way Putin does. He hasn't even fulfilled Russia's obligation under Article 2(3) of the U.N. Charter to resolve conflicts peacefully like negotiating some kind of return of Russian natives living in Eastern Ukraine or establishing a tribunal to handle legal claims of human rights violations. Vlad is intent on leaving his mark as the despot, who, for no good reason, turned the world on its head by upending the safety and prosperity of nearly a billion people. He will be singlehandedly responsible for tremendous human suffering. For anyone who doubts how good we've had it, you're about to see how bad things can get. We are ill-prepared for war, tired after Iraq and Afghanistan, and a shadow of ourselves after two years of COVID Hell. Our military is in shambles, with thousands of experienced soldiers forced out because of wokism and vaccination requirements. Incompetents are in charge. Our manufacturing sector is in disarray, the supply chain compromised. We are facing evil forces trying to undermine our families and culture. The young are ill-equipped to handle the struggles that generations before us faced focused, instead, on their genitalia and the Sisyphean task of finding out where they fall on the gender spectrum. Teetering on a full-blown Constitutional crisis, we are polarized into two de facto countries, where we cannot even agree on our raison d'etre. Although Putin benefits from the hackers, the coal, and the soil, he doesn't really need any of it; Russia is a large, resourceful country. He wants control of the land, the hegemony that comes with it, and the potential to expand. A patient man, he's been at this since 2008. We could allow Putin his Ukraine and hope it stops there. Or we could support the Ukrainians because, if the dominoes continue to fall, the only moves left are against NATO members, and then the stakes are astronomical. Image: Trey Ratcliff via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. According to reports, a copycat trucker convoy intends to visit Washington, D.C. I suggest they rethink their plans. The participants will be incurring great risk for minimal, if any, potential benefit. First, the risk. The police, prosecutors, judges, and indeed the jury pool in the District of Columbia are so partisan that Republicans and constitutional conservatives can be arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and jailed without having committed any crime. Indeed, it appears from the example of the January 6 prisoners that they can be jailed indefinitely without the legal system even bothering about prosecution or conviction. On the other hand, Democrats and leftists will not likely be arrested, and if arrested, not likely prosecuted, and if prosecuted, not likely convicted, and if convicted, not likely to get meaningful punishment. Knowing this, they can act provocatively with little fear of being called to account for any crime they may commit during the provocation. This double-whammy of one-sidedness in the criminal "justice" system creates great legal risk for any Republican or constitutional conservative who may set foot or wheel within the geographic boundaries of the District of Columbia. As to potential benefit, a demonstration requires two things to be effective: some warm bodies to show up in public and lots of sympathetic publicity. Because of the nature of the corporate media, any freedom-supporting trucker convoy will never get the sympathetic publicity necessary for an effective demonstration. Instead, the "mainstream" media will demonize the demonstrators. Admittedly, this is gradually changing with the emergence of alternative media and the distribution of information via the internet, but this is not yet sufficient in scale to outweigh the mass effects of the corporate media. Too many apathetic Americans still rely on the alphabet media and the New York Times echo chamber. The net result will be that the demonstration is either ineffective or counterproductive. It could give Joe Biden's handlers a pretext to copy Justin Trudeau's tyranny. I am not privy to the plans of the purported organizers of this convoy. Undoubtedly, they know a lot of things that I do not. Maybe they have clearly articulated and achievable goals. Unless they do, I would counsel them to conserve their freedom and their assets for more effective uses. William Marbury is the pen-name of a lawyer who works in the arts. Image via Pixnio. As had been said in the aftermath of 9/11: ' The world has changed.' And much of the left's response? To just keep on living in the pre-02-22-22 world where they'd felt so comfortable in their cocoons. For a lot of them, Russia's 17th centurystyle conquest of the modern sovereign state of Ukraine goes way beyond their processing capacities. We see statements and stunts like the following from the left as news comes out about Russia's bloody and violent takeover attack. John Kerry was Exhibit A, having made headlines with his obsessive focus on global warming even as apartment blocs were being blown out in Kharkiv, improvised militiamen were kissing their wives and children goodbye at train stations, Ukrainians were running to the subways for protection against raining missiles and bombs, and long lines of cars streamed from huge cities, heading for any bordering country that would take them. For Kerry, though, global warming still comes first: John Kerry excoriated for hoping Putin will focus on climate change amid Ukraine invasion: 'Total clown show' https://t.co/aDPzjmhzWA Fox News (@FoxNews) February 24, 2022 AT deputy editor Andrea Widburg has a fine take here. What planet this guy lives on as he can make a statement like that remains an open question. He was far from alone. Other leftists with no grasp of what is happening made sure they, too, opened their mouths just to show us the empty contents of their entire heads. They could be found elsewhere in the Biden administration: Did he really just say that in the modern geopolitical warfare era it's about "who is more likeable", and on that front Putin cannot win? https://t.co/8qAP6m3ktT TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) February 24, 2022 They could easily be found in the chattering classes. Libs of TikTok curated six doozies: Game time! Comment which one you think is the worst take! This should be fun pic.twitter.com/slE0d7TFcL Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) February 24, 2022 Did Putin even stop to think how his invasion would affect Joy Behars trip to Italy? https://t.co/957HDmgaF0 Karol Markowicz (@karol) February 24, 2022 Even in their supposedly serious media's priorities: Why is CNNs correspondent masked outside? pic.twitter.com/3biY4bDsiC Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) February 24, 2022 Don't forget Hollywood: If somehow Putin is arrested and convicted of war crimes, let's put this on continuous loop in his prison cellhttps://t.co/hPhraWYjCS David Burge (@iowahawkblog) February 24, 2022 At least McCord means well, even if she has no idea how the world works. Plenty of the others do not. But all of these people have influence and instead of spreading knowledge, they're spreading stupidity. The reality of a nuclear-tipped power launching an unprovoked attack on another sovereign state doesn't process. Masks, global warming, pronouns, vaccination rates, white privilege, mothering history all are more important to the left than the hard reality of a violent map-changing sovereign invasion. There's just the dangly wretched bid to make sense of things by bringing up vaccination rates or white supremacy. They can't recognize anything else. It reminds me of the boobs in that 1996 movie Independence Day, who, when greeted by hostile ships from outer space in midtown New York City, started a Times Square-style party to "welcome" the aliens. The aliens zapped the revelers on the spot with one laser shot, killing them all. In many ways, it makes sense. Here are some retrospective activities, courtesy of the left, that must have helped convince Putin he had nothing to worry about from the States. This is the world they lived in, and still live in: FYI: This stuff does matter. Its not a small thing. The worlds wolves have TV and Twitter too. Theyre always watching us. Theyre making assessments about us at all times. So yes, parading an endless conga line of carnival freaks through the White House is a big deal. pic.twitter.com/m5Q793c7aD Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) February 24, 2022 I guess Putin saw our soldiers dancing on TikTok and fighting over what pronouns to use, and just said Im making my move NOW! Lavern Spicer (@lavern_spicer) February 24, 2022 These clowns had better hope they never run into Putin, who is operating on an entirely different track from the one they occupy. They'd get mowed down and run over. Putin has nothing but contempt for their decadent preoccupations and knows how to shock and awe them into gibbering idiocy. Image: Twitter screen shot. Marlon James Moon Witch, Spider King, the second novel in his Dark Star trilogy, is a medieval feast of dazzling fantasy. Its vulgar and vivacious, big and brutal, full of rivaling monarchies, Machiavellian ministers, feuding families, revengeful prostitutes, evil priests and a century-old witch, all vying for power in James extraordinarily imagined African kingdoms. Like the first book in the trilogy, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, time is a cobra, coiling in and around itself in fascinating and fantastic ways. In Moon Witch, James explores the same story of the missing boy (to say more would be a spoiler) as the first book, but from the perspective of a different character: Sogolon, the Moon Witch. Advertisement (Riverhead Books) The novel is divided into five meaty sections (two or three might have been enough). Each section moves us closer to the events in the first novel, spiraling around Sogolons stories reflecting on her Rabelaisian life (its a perfect word for this novel). This is the Moon Witchs creation story told from Sogolons point of view in her vernacular, a patois thats often hilarious and profound in its literal crudeness (metaphor does not come easily to her). One of my favorite sections of the novel is toward the end, when a character decides that maybe someone should write down Sogolons story before she forgets or, as happens early in her life, someone like the Aesi (the Spider King), and every Kings chancellor (hes eternal), erases not just her memories but also the memories of entire empires (theres a metaphor for colonialism here). Advertisement Sogolons voice is so engaging that it invites readers into this novel with more ease and generosity than Tracker in the first book. Sogolon punctuates the five sections in ways that remind us shes talking. Like this: See the girl. The girl who live in the old termite hill. Sogolons story takes her from a hole in the ground where shes held captive by her three older brothers, all wicked. She escapes to a brothel in a city where she learns that girlhood is a waste of time, and that the burden of a woman is having to act stupid to make a stupid man think he smart. See the girl as certain things come to pass. Sogolon ends up at the royal court of a prosperous kingdom, where the King Sister enjoys her company because she dont come with a use. Sogolons magic saves her life more than once, until eventually she becomes a legend in her own time, the Moon Witch. Shes a kind of patron saint of abused women because womens lives in this world are measured by their menses, their moonblood. This is what the women say. Unlike the first novel, several female characters are in the forefront of this one, and, indeed, Sogolon is a formidable one. But whether theyre princesses or prostitutes, almost all their fates are tied to their biology and breeding potential. Rape is a fact of their lives (let me warn here that the violence in this book is graphic; a lot involves children and women). Womens power in this fantastic world is intimately connected to their ability to use sex to their advantage. Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news > Sogolon rises beyond this fate because of her magic, but she's an exception. I couldn't help wondering why for all his phenomenal world-building, James couldn't imagine a different one for women (I know it's a fantasy medieval world, but still). When I read the first book in this trilogy, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, a National Book Award finalist, I knew I was reading a genre-altering trilogy, a series that Victor LaValle says in Bookforum tears down the traditional pillars of fantasy and rebuilds the temple. After reading Moon Witch, Spider King, I remain convinced that James is rebuilding the genre, but Im no longer sure hes demolishing the entire temple. Carole E. Barrowman is an author and a professor at Alverno College, Milwaukee. ___ Advertisement About the book MOON WITCH SPIDER KING Marlon James Riverhead. 656 pp. $30. I usually like to include an appropriate number of snarky zingers in most of my stories. This is not a time for them. Putin's invasion of Ukraine is on the verge of creating a radioactive fallout disaster such as the world has never seen. During my on-air reporter days, I had good contacts in Eastern Europe. It was during the time of the Soviet Union break-up, so a lot of good news stories came out of that area. One particular contact was a Swede who provided aid to the families of the firefighters and others who died in the aftermath of the Chernobyl explosion. The explosion in the early morning hours of April 26, 1986 was in reactor no. 4 at the Lenin power plant at Chernobyl. Ten years later, I was one of only two Western reporters inside the 30km zone of exclusion around the power plant. In fact, we were inside the control room for the then-still-operating reactor no. 3, interviewing the senior operator who had been on duty the night of the explosion ten years earlier. Sergey (not his real name for obvious reasons) confessed to us that the greatest ongoing potential danger of the Chernobyl disaster was considered a state secret in Ukraine. When reactor no. 4 exploded, the 100-ton top cover of the reactor, which Sergey referred to as the "lid," settled vertically alongside the remains of the reactor. It was, and still is, teetering on its edge. In the event that it is disturbed by an earthquake or other outside force such as a Russian missile or artillery strike, it could tip over. If it did, 43 tons of highly radioactive dust would instantly be released into the atmosphere. None of the so-called protective sarcophagi built over the remains of reactor no. 4 would have the slightest success stopping the distribution of the poisonous dust. If this radioactive fallout were released, it would re-contaminate the area out about 80 km from the plant. Even worse, winds high in the atmosphere would carry the radioactive dust thousands of miles. It was those types of winds that carried the fallout from the original explosion over Sweden, triggering the worldwide alarm when the Soviets tried to hide the news of the original explosion in '86. In case readers might think time has eradicated the problem, those submicroscopic dust particles will remain radioactive for 25,000 years. I was able to reach the now-retired Sergey via email this morning. He confirmed that the lid is still teetering on the edge, and Russian missiles or artillery (he can't tell which) are landing near the Chernobyl plant. God help us if one of them is just a little too accurate! Ed Sherdlu is a pseudonym. Image: Nuclear explosion at the Nevada Test Site, 1957. Public domain. The United Nations is a completely corrupt organization that gives cover to tyrants and pedophiles, and that has made destroying Israel its primary focus. On Wednesday, even as Russian troops were massed on Ukraine's border, the U.N. Security Council found time to hold a debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Just to show how farcical the United Nations is, despite Russia being poised to attack Ukraine, the U.N. Security Council nevertheless followed its usual leadership rotation, making Vladimir Putin the Security Council chairman. Thus, Russia helmed the meeting regarding the U.N.'s obsession: Israel. The meeting occurred just a few hours after Israel announced its support for Ukraine. Predictably, Dmitry Polyanskiy, the deputy ambassador to the U.N., announced that "Russia doesn't recognize Israel's sovereignty over Golan Heights that are part of #Syria." Of course, since 1967, when Russia determined that the Arabs were better Cold War allies than the tiny socialist nation it once supported, Russia has had Syria's back. Although Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, the Israel-hating nations around the world, including the Soviet Union and the Russians, have refused to recognize it. Image: Hillel Neuer statement about the UN. Twitter screen grab. In 1980, I spent a couple of days at a Moshav (a cooperative community of farmers, unlike a kibbutz, which is a true collective), in the shadow of the Golan Heights. Bombs fell before I arrived there and after I left. I was too young and stupid to realize that I was in danger. It was only later that I understood how vulnerable I was and, by extension, how vulnerable every Israeli was in the shadow of the Golan. Although the left, which despises Israel and has at its heart deeply anti-Semitic people, constantly castigated President Trump as anti-Semitic, it was Trump who took the huge step of recognizing Israel's necessary sovereignty over the Golan Heights for national security reasons. The Russians, by loudly disrespecting that American stand, are thumbing their noses at America and perhaps doing a little nudge-nudge, wink-wink about the fact that Biden manifestly dislikes Israel, as does the new majority in his party. As air raid sirens blast in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, reports state that Ukrainian Air Force Mig-29s are defending themselves against Russian Air Force Su-35 fighter jets. The war has begun. Russian tanks crossed the border from Belarus into Ukraine. Videos show that Ukrainian Air Force AN-26 planes were shot down, confirming that five Ukrainians on board were killed. Intense bombings were reported near Kharkiv at 4:00 A.M. yesterday, diminishing apartment buildings into fragments of concrete. Other explosions were heard in Kramatorsk. Unconfirmed reports indicate naval landings in Odesa from the Black Sea. Russian Military Defense released a statement: "As a result of Russian strikes, 74 ground objects of the military infrastructure of Ukraine were disabled, including 11 airfields of the Air Force, 3 command posts, a naval base and 18 radar stations of the S-300 and Buk-M1 air defense systems." Due to cyber-attacks on the Ukrainian government, banks, and parliamentary websites, the internet has been shut down entirely. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior, "Russian troops captured the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant zone." Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned of nuclear risks if there is damage to the plant. Zelensky stated, "This is a declaration of war on the whole of Europe." Yet European assistance is nonexistent. In Russia, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets. Their voices are being heard around the world. Video footage is broadcasting Russian soldiers raising the Russian flag over a hydroelectric plant in Nova Kakhovka, which is located 60 km into Ukraine. Both Nova Kakhovka and Kachovka have been easily captured. Zelensky has done everything he can to keep his country, including ordering full military mobilization. Just short of begging, he called up all operational reserves and "all those who can hold weapons" to attack Russian invasion forces (in 2018, the total was 178,000). "The future of the Ukrainian people depends on every Ukrainian," pleaded Zelensky. "Russia has attacked Ukraine in a cowardly and suicidal way, like Nazi Germany did during World War II." Nevertheless, Ukrainians are putting up a mighty fight for their homeland, reportedly shooting down five Russian helicopters, destroying dozens of tanks, and capturing at least 80 of Putin's troops, according to The News Room 23. The Ukrainian government closed checkpoints in Crimea and declared a state of emergency while continuing to urge citizens to shelter in place. The elderly and the young, the disabled and the laborers are huddled underground inside the Kharkiv metro that is doubling as a bomb shelter. Due to the heavy assault, over 100,000 Ukrainians have been displaced. As Putin continues his invasion, he announced that "this is a war to demilitarize and de-nazify Ukraine and to put to justice those that committed numerous bloody crimes against peaceful people, including Russian nationals," according to Russia's State News Agency. Flexing his muscles, Putin demanded that the West stop weapons delivery and recall from Ukraine all American advisers. Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid stated, "Russia's attack on Ukraine is a major attack on world order." U.S. representative Michael McCaul cautioned, "We're seeing an air, land and sea attack taking place right now. ... We haven't seen anything like this since ... Hitler invaded Poland in World War II. I just hope this is not the beginning of World War III." French president Emanuel Macron called Putin to implore him to remove the troops. The U.N. Security Council's secretary-general pleaded, "For the love of God, pull back your troops into Russia. The world does not want to see another war in Europe." As the attack advanced, Biden continued to discuss diplomacy, warning Russia that invading Ukraine will have "deep economic consequences." Biden has yet to address American military involvement, but he did announce an upcoming National Security Council meeting. The European Union promises sanctions. Switzerland already imposed sanctions against Russian banks. Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid offered humanitarian aid. The U.K.'s Boris Johnson called an emergency NATO summit. President Zelensky says Russia's invasion has severed Moscow from the rest of the international community. "What do we hear today? It's not just rocket explosions, combat, and the roar of aircraft. This is the sound of a new iron curtain lowering and closing Russia off from the civilized world," he said in a video address. President Zelensky reported, "The enemy's sabotage forces have entered the capital. Me and my family are remaining here." Let's pray that those will not be his last words. Valerie Greenfeld is an expert in security who has worked in the United States Senate and the White House in Washington, D.C. Bernie News Network (BNN) contributed significantly to this report. Image: U.S. Army Europe. The armchair generals, the MSM pundits, and the social media experts are debating passionately about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We should fight for Ukraine! We should not fight for Ukraine! Putin will go after all of Europe! Putin wants the entire world! And so on and so on. The fact is that most of these people don't know what we'd even be fighting for. Think about it. We didn't know what we were actually fighting for in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and you can see how all that turned out. We thought we did (you know truth, justice, and the American way). We had to keep communism from spreading. None of our allies in those countries was really interested in that. And if those values are what we consider worth fighting for, then there are lots of other countries we should be invading but haven't. Why is that? Because we cannot afford to fight every conflict on Earth. We must have more reasons to risk our time, treasure, and troops. Here's what the Russians are fighting for: in this case, it is more a function of resources than ideology. The Russians want unrestricted access to warmer southern ports, easy access to Western European markets, and a buffer between Russia and NATO, which has foolishly suggested that Ukraine might become a member. Most importantly, Ukraine is the "breadbasket" of the former Soviet Union and now the Russian Federation. In other words, Russia has strong strategic reasons to want to control Ukraine. This does not justify Putin's decision in any way. I consider what he's done evil. He could have come to a diplomatic solution if he wanted one. We could have all worked to simply keep Ukraine neutral. Western Europe understood this much better than President Biden, apparently, but we didn't hear enough from them. We have no reasons to defend Ukraine. Clearly, the shaky government is corrupt. The country is not a formal ally with the U.S. We have no need of the terrain itself for strategic defenses. Keeping Ukraine neutral would have been enough of a buffer for both NATO and Russia. The pipelines from Russia to Western Europe in Ukraine matter less now that there is NORDSTREAM 2. Bringing Ukraine into NATO would have only heightened Russia's fear of the West, and, as part of NATO, the country would have been a military liability, rather than much of an asset. Though we have no strategic reason to fight over Ukraine, this does not mean Putin should be ignored. Sanctions and other diplomatic means can be employed even though they are late to the table. I can hear it now. "You are appeasing Putin. What's happening is just like Hitler!" So far, yes, it is. The same people will suggest that Putin is ready to invade other countries. I don't think he will come after our allies anytime soon. Russia can't financially afford it and needs the West for economic reasons. Image: Chinese Troops in Mongolia. YouTube screengrab. But let's say he does invade other countries. Then our strategic situation significantly changes. Our military, combined with those of Western Europe, is quite adequate to stop him. If we see Russians posturing for a move on one of our allies, we can make the appropriate counter-moves. We could even threaten to take back Ukraine and deprive Putin of what he wants most by either liberating the country or destroying it. My point here is that we are not strategically weak despite the signals from President Biden and others. Putin and his generals know this, too. Furthermore, the Chinese know it, and that is very important. We have strategic allies who are being threatened. Taiwan is the most obvious. Half of the world's computer chips are manufactured by Taiwan. It is an $85-billion industry. Taiwan is also a formal ally with whom we have an active defense agreement (unlike Ukraine). Squandering any resources on Ukraine reduces what we have to stand against the Chinese. If the Chinese appear to be moving against Taiwan, the U.S. can put significant pressure on them. Interestingly, it was accidentally leaked by Chinese media how the CCP plans to respond to the Russia-Ukraine conflict by backing "Russia up with emotional and moral support while refraining from treading on the toes of the United States and European Union," according to Ming Jinwei, a senior editor at the Xinhua News Agency. He added, "In the future, China will also need Russia's understanding and support when wrestling with America to solve the Taiwan issue once and for all." While the U.S. is playing chess with Putin, the Chinese are playing the ancient and more strategic game of "go" a game most Americans have never heard of. The Biden administration and the West must look at these conflicts in terms of concrete strategic goals, not as contests of toughness or ego. Forget the Cold War mentality. Fighting the last war is sure to lead to defeat. We must make better strategic decisions in the 21st century. Sun Tzu, the Chinese general from antiquity, said it well: "To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself." Let's not provide China the opportunity to defeat us in Taiwan or anywhere else because we are squandering resources in conflicts of relatively little strategic value. Mitt Romney was wrong then, and he's wrong now. For the time being, given limited resources, Russia is a distraction and bears watching, but China is the real threat. Beverley McLachlin, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, recently wrote an opinion piece in which she said of those in the Canadian truckers' Freedom Convoy: "Freedom, misconstrued as a license to do and say whatever one wants, is dangerous." The erstwhile jurist stated, "Let's not allow the freedoms we cherish to become ugly freedoms." She added, "Freedom without limits slides imperceptibly into freedom to say and do what you want about people who don't look like you or talk like you." Huh? The protest she was referencing had absolutely nothing to do with "people who don't look like" the truckers. This wasn't on their minds or radar. In fact, the truckers were a diverse group of men and women of various ethnicities, backgrounds, and skin colors. The protest was about unconstitutional, illegal, authoritarian and immoral government overreach and its usurping of inherent rights and freedoms. Yet, incredibly and on cue, McLachlin spoke for those in the deep stategovernment-media complex, labeling freedom as "dangerous," "ugly," and potentially racist. She wrote: "Our governments must draw the difficult lines that mark the limits of freedom in a particular situation. When you must wear a mask. Whether you can cross a border without a vaccine certificate. How many people can attend a party and who gets to go to school." Governments "must" determine when we "must" wear a mask? Governments must determine who "gets" to go to school? Governments must determine how many people can attend a party?! If that's not a preposterous and chilling notion, nothing is. Image: Beverley McLachlin by Gervasio Baptista/ABr Agencia Brasil. CC BY 3.0 BR. Legitimate governments are instituted among men by, of, and for the people in large part to support and protect individuals' natural rights as granted by their Creator. But that tenet of classical liberalism is being inexorably replaced by leftist authoritarians' attempts to coerce citizens to allow themselves to be enslaved "for the common good." Tragically, these Orwellian attempts have been mostly successful. Progressives' notion about a doomsday clock and it being "three minutes to midnight" due to the threat of climate change/white supremacy/MAGA adherents is comically off base. Life on Earth is not going to end in 10 or 12 years. The Earth will still be here millennia from now, whether progressives like it or not. Our freedoms may not be, however. They could essentially and permanently be "repealed" by our governments, as recent events have clearly shown. Given governments' power and weaponry, and Big Tech's and Big Business's collusion with governments, the bulk of humanity could be sentenced to eternal bondage and hopelessness. And that is more than an "ugly" thought. It behooves all of us to realize that now is our last best chance to stop the descent into authoritarianism. Iran's religious dictatorship has stayed in power for 43 years due to its practice of unbridled domestic crackdowns. But "Resistance Units," which arise from Iran's countless long-suffering communities, are the sledgehammers that will break the mullahs' stranglehold on the people. The timetable for the end of the Islamic Republic of Iran is not set in stone, but the outcome is. The Iranian people will never agree to sentence their children and grandchildren to lives of poverty, servitude, deadly purges, religious oppression, and corrupt management by a small circle of elites. They will find a way to end this terrible chapter in their nation's history. The Mullahs' Evil Empire The religious dictatorship has, over decades, built up dozens of intelligence networks and military and security institutions. A main purpose of these entities is to keep fear alive throughout Iranian society. The mullahs seek to send the message that their regime is invincible and no internal or external force can defeat it. Using proxy groups and Iran's missile program, the mullahs are expanding unrest across the Middle East even as they strike fear abroad through their extraterritorial terrorism and nuclear program. This regime's terrorist attacks are sent as warning messages that Iran will smash any and all opposition without fear of consequences. Even the coronavirus pandemic, through which the regime sought to lock down and ground the entire Iranian nation, did not hinder their efforts to suppress, control, impoverish, arrest, murder, and otherwise dominate the Iranian people. Resistance Units Arise Daily The world's largest conventional armies have been helpless against insurgencies. Each day in parts of Iran, under the noses of thousands of overt and covert government agents and a widespread network of surveillance cameras, groups of brave youths are mobilizing. These Resistance Units are the driving force behind Iran's nationwide uprisings. Their bold efforts, large and small, are bringing the nation to the verge of a crisis that can bring an end to the regime's suffocating rule. Through the Resistance Units' measures, they're sending a message to Iranian society and the international community that this regime is loathed by the Iranian people. They are saying this malevolent state, with all its technology and advanced weaponry, may imprison, torture, and execute us, but it can no longer strike fear in our hearts. The Resistance Units are saying: "This regime has to go, and it will go!" The Resistance Unit network is now five years in the making. Thousands of young Iranians are active in many cities, towns, and villages across the country. They are planting ideas for change and resisting the regime's forces in markets, schools, and at their workplaces. Wherever there is potential for dissent, these activists are there to encourage the people to rise against the regime. They use social media platforms to inform the broader public. Today, they even carry out their measures in broad daylight, encouraging people to rise up against the mullahs' rule. Each measure by a Resistance Unit plants the seeds of courage into the hearts of hundreds of people. Each measure is a severe blow to this regime's lifespan. The courage of the Resistance Unit members is unfathomable as many pay the ultimate price for their efforts to free Iran from its government tormentors. So far, the ruling regime has arrested a large number of Resistance Unit members and put many of them to torture. The regime has issued death sentences for some, some were killed during the November 2019 uprising, and some were murdered last year when the regime's security forces opened fire on unarmed protesters. However, the number of youths who join the Resistance Units is far greater than the setbacks inflicted upon them by the regime. Their numbers still increase by the day. Change Will Be Brought by Iran's People Due to the widespread cruelty of the past few decades, Iran's regime has left the Iranian people no choice but to push back hard. Resistance Unit members have nothing to lose. The alternative for Iran's younger generation is to live, work, and die in abject poverty and oppression. Change is, therefore, a duty that rests on the shoulders of the Iranian people and their organized resistance. People may ask about foreign intervention. Tragically, what the Iranian people have seen so far has been an appeasement policy. Various countries have unbelievably provided concessions to this murderous regime, thus playing a very important role in the survival of the mullahs' rule. Moreover, if one looks for the world's response to all the regime's human rights atrocities, executions, forced disappearances of political prisoners, placing prisoners under extreme torture (such as the recent example of poet/filmmaker Baktash Abtin), what has been the international community's response? Their verbal condemnations have been so soft and weak that they're actually emboldening the regime. If the European Union, at least in general, abided by its own human rights principles, it should have suspended any and all relations with the Tehran regime and banned the regime's officials from traveling to Europe This is also true regarding the regime's blatant terrorism. A regime diplomat transferred a bomb in his luggage on a passenger plane to Austria and handed it over to the regime's agents himself, and a court sentenced him to 20 years behind bars. Yet in the sphere of politics, the regime has not faced any consequences. The people of Iran hope that the global community will one day stand firm against this evil regime and help bring it to an end. But the Iranian people are not going to sit and wait for help. The Shah's dictatorship, despite enjoying full support from the West and regional countries and having a strong army and secret police, could not prevent the Iranian people's revolution in 1979. It matters not how large the regime's oppressive forces are. What is important is the fact that weapons and technology cannot overcome an organized force that relies on its people and has a legitimate objective. Such an entity is able to expand, and nothing can stand in its path. Therefore, the freedom-loving people of Iran have every right to be hopeful and not have any fear. The Resistance Units' message to the world is, don't fear this regime, and stand firm against it. Borrowing this line from the brave protesters inside Iran, we say to all outside Iran: Have no fear! The Iranian people are united against this regime! Graphic credit: johnhain, Pixabay license. Twenty five years ago, one of the most brutal massacres in war history occurred in Iraq, along Highway 80, about 32 km west of Kuwait city. On the night of February 2627, 1991, thousands of Iraqi soldiers and civilians were retreating to Baghdad, after a ceasefire was announced, when President George Bush ordered his forces to slaughter the retreating Iraqi army. Fighter planes of the coalition forces swooped down upon the unarmed convoy and disabled the vehicles in the front, and at the rear, so that they couldnt escape. Then wave after wave of aircraft pounded the trapped vehicles for hours on end. After the carnage was over, some 2,000 mangled Iraqi vehicles, and charred and dismembered bodies of tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers lay for miles along what came to be known as the Highway of Death. Several hundred more littered along another road, Highway 8, that leads to Basra. The scenes of devastation on these two roads became some of the most recognizable images of the Gulf War. Photo credit: www.informationclearinghouse.info The day before, Baghdad had radio announced that Iraq's Foreign Minister had accepted the Soviet ceasefire proposal and had ordered all Iraqi troops to withdraw from Kuwait in compliance with UN Resolution 660. President Bush, however, had refused to believe it and had responded that "there was no evidence to suggest the Iraqi army is withdrawing. In fact, Iraqi units are continuing to fight. . . We continue to prosecute the war." The next day, the Iraqi President had himself announced over the radio that the withdraw had indeed begun on two highways and would be completed that day, to which Bush had reacted calling Hussein's announcement "an outrage" and "a cruel hoax." Rather than accept the offer of Iraq to surrender and leave the field of battle, thereby risking a settlement that might not be favorable to the United States, Bush and the U.S. military strategists decided simply to kill as many Iraqis as they possibly could. The bombing started near midnight. At first US and Canadian jets bombed the front and rear ends of the convoy to prevent it from moving forward or back, then attacked the trapped convoy by repeated bombing. The Commander-in-Chief of the United States Central Command had received instruction from Bush administration to "not to let anybody or anything out of Kuwait City." Consequently, any vehicle that diverted off of the highway was tracked, hunted and destroyed individually. Even disarmed Iraqi soldiers who surrendered were mowed down by gunfire. Not one Iraqi survived. Demolished vehicles line Highway 80, on 18 April, 1991. Photo credit: TECH. SGT. JOE COLEMAN/Wikimedia The cabs of trucks were bombed so much that they were pushed into the ground, and it's impossible to see if they contain drivers or not. Windshields were melted away, and huge tanks were reduced to shrapnel, wrote Lebanese-American journalist Joyce Chediac. The massacre of withdrawing Iraqi soldiers violates the Geneva Conventions of 1949, Common Article III, which outlaws the killing of soldiers who are out of combat, wrote Joyce Chediac. The Iraqi troops were not being driven out of Kuwait by U.S. troops as the Bush administration maintains. They were not retreating in order to regroup and fight again. In fact, they were withdrawing, they were going home. To attack the soldiers returning home under these circumstances is a war crime, Chediac added. "Even in Vietnam I didn't see anything like this. It's pathetic," said Major Bob Nugent, an Army intelligence officer. The most disturbing aspect of the incident was the secrecy involved, wrote Malcom Lagauche. When Newsday broke the story, many were taken by surprise. According to members of the U.S. House and Senate Armed Forces Committees, the Pentagon had withheld details of the assault from the committees. The media was also given a different story. U.S. field commanders tried to portray that Iraqi forces were not voluntarily withdrawing but were being pushed from the battlefield. Four years later, General Norman Schwarzkopf tried to justify what had happened on the Highway of Death: The first reason why we bombed the highway coming north out of Kuwait is because there was a great deal of military equipment on that highway, and I had given orders to all my commanders that I wanted every piece of Iraqi equipment that we possibly could destroy. Secondly, this was not a bunch of innocent people just trying to make their way back across the border to Iraq. This was a bunch of rapists, murderers and thugs who had raped and pillaged downtown Kuwait City and now were trying to get out of the country before they were caught. Photo credit: Staff Sgt. Dean Wagner/Wikimedia Photo credit: o.canada.com Photo credit: o.canada.com Photo credit: o.canada.com The charred remains of an Iraqi soldier as he attempted to pull himself up over the dashboard of his truck. Photo credit: Kenneth Jarecke The burned-out truck, surrounded by corpses, on the Highway of Death. Photo credit: Kenneth Jarecke The sole of a shoe left behind while fleeing Kuwait along the Highway of Death, taken on February 28, 2003. Photo credit: Christiaan Briggs/Wikimedia Photo credit: PHC HOLMES, US Navy/Wikimedia Photo credit: PHC HOLMES, US Navy/Wikimedia LOS ANGELES Sally Kellerman, the Oscar and Emmy nominated actor who played Margaret Hot Lips Houlihan in director Robert Altmans 1970 film MASH, died Thursday. Kellerman died of heart failure at her home in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, her manager and publicist Alan Eichler said. She was 84. Advertisement Kellerman had a career of more than 60 years in film and television. She played a college professor who was returning student Rodney Dangerfields love interest in the 1986 comedy Back to School. And she was a regular in Altmans films, appearing in 1970s Brewster McCloud, 1992s The Player and 1994s Ready to Wear. But she would always be best known for playing Major Houlihan, a straitlaced, by-the-book Army nurse who is tormented by rowdy doctors during the Korean War in the army comedy MASH. Advertisement In the films key scene, and its peak moment of misogyny, a tent where Houlihan is showering is pulled open and she is exposed to an audience of cheering men. This isnt a hospital, this is an insane asylum! she screams at her commanding officer. Sally Kellerman arrives at the premiere of "The Danish Girl" at Regency Village Theatre on Nov. 21, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) She carries on a torrid affair with the equally uptight Major Frank Burns, played by Robert Duvall, demanding that he kiss her hot lips in a moment secretly broadcast over the camps public address speakers, earning her the nickname. Kellerman said Altman brought out the best in her. It was a very freeing, positive experience, she told Dick Cavett in a 1970 TV interview. For the first time in my life I took chances, I didnt suck in my cheeks, or worry about anything. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, but her best supporting actress was its only acting nod despite a cast that included Duvall, Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould. The movie would be turned into a TV series that lasted 11 seasons, with Loretta Swit in Kellermans role. Sally Clare Kellerman was born in 1937 in Long Beach, California, the daughter of a piano teacher and an oil executive, moving to Los Angeles as a child and attending Hollywood High School. Advertisement Her initial interest was in jazz singing, and she was signed to a contract with Verve records at age 18. She opted to pursue acting and didnt put out any music until 1972, when she released the album Roll With the Feeling. She would sing on the side, and sometimes in roles, throughout her career, releasing her last album, Sally, in 2007. She took an acting class at Los Angeles City College and appeared in a stage production of Look Back in Anger with classmate Jack Nicholson and several other future stars. She worked mostly in television early in her career, with a lead role in 1962s Cheyenne and guest appearances on The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Bonanza. Her appearance in the original Star Trek pilot as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner won her cult status among fans. Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news > She would work primarily in film in the years following MASH, including 1972s Last of the Red Hot Lovers and 1975s Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins, both with Alan Arkin, 1973s Slither with James Caan, 1979s A Little Romance with Laurence Olivier and 1980s Foxes with Jodie Foster. She would work into her 80s, with several acclaimed television performances in her final years. Advertisement She starred in the comedy series Decker with Tim Heidecker and played comedian Mark Marons mother on his series Maron. Sally Kellerman was radiant and beautiful and fun and so great to work with, Maron said on Twitter Thursday. My real mom was very flattered and a bit jealous. Im sad shes gone. And in 2014 she was nominated for an Emmy for her recurring role on The Young and the Restless. Kellerman was married to television producer Rick Edelstein from 1970 to 1972 and to movie producer Jonathan D. Krane from 1980 until his death in 2016. She is survived by her son Jack and daughter Claire. MEA Team to head to Ukraine to evacuate Indian Students:- After Russia announced war on Ukraine, the evacuation process of the Indian students and working professionals back to the country turned tough. The airports are shut and the flights are canceled. Indian government wrote to the President of Ukraine informing that more than 15,000 Indian students are stranded across the country. The Indian government wanted the government of Ukraine to assure their safety and security. Apart from this, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will send teams to the borders in Poland, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Romania to evacuate the Indian nationals who are stuck in Ukraine. The western border of Ukraine is shared with the above countries and Russia staged an attack on the eastern side of Ukraine. S Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs posted a tweet informing that he spoke with the counterparts of Poland, Hungary, the Slovak Republic and Romania. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla revealed that Indian Air Force aircraft are ready to reach these countries and evacuate the Indians. 4000 people managed to leave Ukraine in the last two weeks. The teams are sent to the borders of these countries and the evacuation process is expected to start very soon. The Indian government is closely monitoring the situation and is focused on the safety and security of Indians. A control room is setup on a 24*7 basis by the Ministry of External Affairs. The Control Room received 980 calls and 850 emails. (Image source from: Timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Investors lose Rs 10 lakh crore in a day:- With the war between Russia and Ukraine, the entire globe is shattered. Russia announced war and started the military operations today. This is having a huge impact on the global markets. The markets in India plunged down by 3 percent and the investors lost close to Rs 10 lakh crores in a day. BSE came down by 1918 points or 3.35 percent to 55,314 and Nifty came down by 584 points or 3.4 percent to 16,479. There is a huge downfall in the sectors of bank, auto, FMCG, financial services, IT, Pharma and real estate. The midcap 100 and small-cap 100 of Nifty have seen a slump by more than 4 percent and the Nifty index came down by 3 percent. The total loss in the country is more than Rs 10.3 lakh crores. BSE market fell to Rs 245.3 lakh crore from Rs 255.6 lakh crores. The investors lost more than Rs 29 lakh crores in a period of four months. After the full-blown war between Russia and Ukraine, all the markets plunged down badly. The fear of the supply chain disruption is the major cause behind the oil price rise. Russia happens to be the second-largest natural gas producer and third-largest oil producer. Countries like USA and Europe started imposing several sanctions on Russia. In the US, when it comes to carriers, theres Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and the ghost formerly known as Sprint. As it stands, there are only three main carriers to choose from, but Dish is looking to become the fourth. The company has been working on developing its 5G network, and, according to The Verge, it seems that things are going pretty well. Dish wants to be a major carrier in the US Right now, when you buy a phone, you can either pick the blue company, the magenta company, or the red company. There are three major carriers that dominate the States, and establishing a fourth one will be quite the hurdle. A company as well-known as Dish seems like one that can do it. The company has been working behind the scenes to build up its 5G network and eventually trade blows with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. If you think this worries the other carriers, think again. This was actually agreed upon when T-Mobile bought out Sprint. One stipulation for the deal was that Dish establishes itself as a major mobile carrier and covers at least 20% of the population by June 2022. Thats only three months away, and we havent seen anything solid from the company just yet. Advertisement So, how is it going? Well, according to the company, its going quite alright. The chairman for Dish, Charlie Ergen, spoke about the companys venture and gave us some good news. Dish recently tested its 5G network in Las Vegas, and Ergen stated that when [the 5G network] works, it works pretty well. Thats reassuring news kinda. In any case, he went on to say that the main obstacles have been overcome. So, whats next? Right now, the company is still testing things out which puts them YEARS behind the competition. Regardless, the company is planning on expanding its coverage for the Las Vegas network in the coming weeks. This is good to hear because three months is not a long time at all. If the company manages to get its Vegas network up and running, the next goal will be a big leap. Dish will then target 25 major metropolitan areas en route to becoming a major carrier. We can expect cities like New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, and others to be. Advertisement After that, the company hopes to cover at least 70% of the country by 2023. Thats a lot of work in such a short amount of time. 2023 10 months away, and 10 months is like 10 minutes in the tech world. Hopefully, well see another major carrier before next year. 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Please note *Your Subscription will Automatically Renew unless you contact Customer Service To Cancel* (ANSA) - ROME, FEB 25 - Premier Mario Draghi said Friday that the knock-on effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine were set to have a major impact on the Italian economy and, with the energy sector a particular concern, it may be necessary to reopen coal-fired power plans to meet the nation's energy demands. Reopening coal plants would be a huge setback to Italy's efforts to cut its greenhouse-gas emissions and do its bit to address the climate crisis. "Over the last few days the European Union has shown its determination and unity (regarding sanctions on Russia)," he said as he reported to the Lower House on the Ukraine crisis. "We are ready for even tougher measures if they should not turn out to be sufficient. "The sanctions that we have approved and those that we may approve in the future, oblige us to consider the impact on our economy with great attention. "The greatest concern regards the energy section, which has already been hit by price increases in recent months. "About 45% of the gas that we import comes from Russia, up from 27% 10 years ago. "It could be necessary to reopen coal plans to cover eventual shortfalls in the immediate term". He added that his executive was ready to adopt more measures to soften the impact of soaring energy prices on households and businesses. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, FEB 25 - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said Friday that the impact extreme weather is having on Madagascar is an example of the "runaway humanitarian needs" the world will face unless it takes action to tackle the climate crisis. Tropical Cyclone Emnati that made landfall in Madagascar on Wednesday, the fourth tropical storm in as many weeks to hit one of Africa's most storm-prone countries, crashing into vulnerable communities already at breaking point, the UN agency said Cyclone Emnati is bound to deepen hunger including in southern Madagascar, which has been reeling from years of severe drought, according to the WFP. The four storms - Emnati, Dumako, Batsirai and Ana - have wrecked the island nation, causing widespread damage to agricultural land including the rice crop that was just weeks away from harvest. An estimated 90% of crops could be destroyed in some areas of the affected regions. The back-to-back storms have impacted market supplies with the potential to send food prices soaring and food insecurity spiralling in the coming months. "What we are seeing in Madagascar is extreme climate impacts - a series of storms and prolonged drought affecting hundreds of thousands of people," said Brian Lander, WFP's Deputy Director of Emergencies. "While WFP is providing essential food in the aftermath of the storms, we need to be equally fast in thinking about how these communities are going to adapt to this new reality." In 2020, extreme weather contributed to most of the world's food crises and was the primary cause of acute food insecurity in 15 countries, the WFP said. (ANSA). Ukraine: Govt preparing energy-crisis plans says Draghi We're seeking alternative sources of power says premier (ANSAmed) - Italian Premier Mario Draghi said Friday that his government was getting ready for an eventual energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "The government is at work to prepare all the necessary measures to manage a possible energy crisis in the best of ways," Draghi said as he reported to parliament on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "We hope these plans are not necessary but we cannot be unprepared. "The emergency measures include greater flexibility in gas consumption, suspensions in the industrial sector, gas-consumption rules in the thermoelectric sector. "The government is also working to increase alternative supplies. "We intend to increase liquefied natural gas imported from other routes, such as the USA".(ANSAmed). (ANSA). ROME - Italian Premier Mario Draghi said Friday that his government was getting ready for an eventual energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "The government is at work to prepare all the necessary measures to manage a possible energy crisis in the best of ways," Draghi said as he reported to parliament on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "We hope these plans are not necessary but we cannot be unprepared. "The emergency measures include greater flexibility in gas consumption, suspensions in the industrial sector, gas-consumption rules in the thermoelectric sector. "The government is also working to increase alternative supplies. "We intend to increase liquefied natural gas imported from other routes, such as the USA". ZAGREB - Croatian president Zoran Milanovic on Friday urged Russia to halt its military attacks on Ukraine and urged the reopening of "diplomatic actions to find a peaceful solution". In days prior to the attack on Ukraine, Milanovic had criticized rhetoric used in the West, which he accused of "spreading baseless panic on an imminent invasion". The Croatian president on Friday firmly condemned the Russian aggression, adding that "Croatia as NATO member will behave in this crisis in line with the commitments made" with the joining of the alliance. Milanovic in any case reiterated that "Ukraine should not be admitted into NATO". He also expressed doubts over the effectiveness of sanctions, saying that "they cannot stop the Russian army". Del. Barry Knight, R-Va. Beach, right, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, presents the House version of the budget to members of the House of Delegates at the State Capitol in Richmond, Va. Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (Bob Brown/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP) (BOB BROWN/AP) Richmond A House of Delegates subcommittee on Thursday gutted a state Senate bill that would have prohibited the use of long-term stays in solitary confinement, disappointing human rights advocates hoping for reform. Instead of banning extended stays in solitary, the legislation now directs the states Department of Corrections to study the use of solitary housing within state and juvenile correctional facilities. To do so, according to the bill, the department would convene a work group, including at least one licensed clinical psychologist, to examine the length of time and the reasons why inmates are kept in solitary. Advertisement This means there is going to continue to be torture in Virginia prisons for the next year, Kim Bobo, executive director of Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP), told The Virginian-Pilot. At Thursdays subcommittee meeting, Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, said legislators need to address the states overuse of solitary confinement. He acknowledged the practice took a mental toll on prisoners but said more information was needed. Advertisement We need to make sure that we get this right, Davis said. Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William, accused those who supported gutting the bill of cowardice. We create studies when we dont have the courage and the bravery to do the right thing, to really address the underlying issue, when we dont have the political and personal courage to say This is wrong, she said. Some advocates of the original bill told the subcommittee the study was unnecessary because such reviews about the effects of solitary confinement already exist. We know what the effects of solitary confinement are; they are devastating mental health effects and they leave prisoners unprepared to reenter society when they are released, said Vicki Fishman, director of Virginia government and community relations with the Jewish Community Relations Council. Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news > Bobo told The Pilot her organization also has concerns about whether the study will be impartial, given that it would be conducted by the Department of Corrections. However, Bobo said she appreciated that legislators on both sides of the aisle recognized that long-term stays in solitary can have damaging effects on prisoners. We plan to use this time period to really continue working with legislators and the new head of public security to try to move forward with a new humane policy, she said. Advertisement The original bill, introduced by Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, would have prohibited the use of isolated confinement in state and juvenile correctional facilities for longer than 15 days per each 60-day cycle. It defined isolated confinement as putting an inmate in a cell alone for 20 hours or more per day. The bill would have allowed for a variety of exceptions, including situations where the prisoner volunteered to stay in solitary, or where they were deemed a threat to themselves or others. If the revised bill becomes law, the DOC would be required to submit their studys findings to a House committee by Oct. 1. Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com ROME - Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday thanked his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad for his support for "protecting Donbas". The Kremlin made the announcement, quoting Russian news agencies. "The Syrian president," an official statement said, "has expressed his strong support for the Russian military operation aiming to protect the civilians in the Donbas Republic, condemning the politics of destabilization implemented by the US and NATO, which have previously seriously aggravated the situation in the Middle East as well." ISTANBUL - Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday that Turkey could close off access to the Black Sea for Russian warships but that even in this case Moscow would have the right of passage to bring ships back to their bases. In an interview with the daily Hurriyet, Cavusoglu confirmed that Ukraine had asked Turkey to close the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus to Russian warships, citing the Montreux Convention, which since 1936 has given Turkey control over these straits. "Turkey can limit the passage to the straits of warships, however, the Montreux Convention also states that the ships of countries involved in conflict have the right to return to their bases and must be allowed to do so," the Turkish minister said, confirming that Ankara is abiding by the treaty. A seven-year-old boy living with his father in England must go back to his mother in Russia, a judge has ruled. Mr Justice Peels decision was announced on Friday after he considered evidence at a private hearing in the Family Division of the High Court earlier this month. The boys parents were living in Russia when he was born in 2015, Mr Justice Peel was told. They split a year later, with the father leaving for a new life in England. Last summer, the father brought the boy over to England, telling the court the mother agreed to let him stay for three years. She said she only agreed to a two-month visit, however. The judge, who was urged by the father to let the boy stay and by the mother to send him back to Russia, sided with her. He said Russian judges should resolve any further rows about the youngsters care. He also said the family cannot be identified. The boss of cosmetics retailer Lush has revealed all his staff in Ukraine are safe but that 15 stores across the country have been closed as Russian troops advance on major cities. Mark Constantine said he had received messages from staff saying they remain shocked but secure, although Lushs manager in Ukraine reported he could hear explosions not far from his home. The boss told the PA news agency: Colleagues are letting us know exactly what it sounds like from their apartments. Its very scary. Mark Constantine, boss and co-founder of Lush (Steve Parsons/PA) Theyve told us attacks have started all over Ukraine. Theyve had explosions one kilometre from their homes. Theyre safe but staying home and Ive asked how we can help our staff. Lush is one of the few British companies to have stores in the country, including six in the capital Kyiv. A further two are in Lviv, three in Odesa, two in Kharkiv and one in Zaporizhzhia. All sites will remain shut as the country is thrown into turmoil and Mr Constantine said support is being offered, including distributing products to people affected by the invasion. He said: Weve asked if theres some way we can get the stock in our shops to some place where people can get access to it to help them through the difficulties. Lush also has stores in Russia and the boss said staff there have been equally shocked by the situation in neighbouring Ukraine. He said: Weve been discussing what to do with Russia. The guy who runs our Russian business is from Ukraine and none of them expected this. They thought it was political posturing and that they would get away without this happening, so theyve been very surprised. Simon Nicholls, Lushs business development manager, who oversees the companys operations in Ukraine and Russia, added: Were in touch with our leadership team there and so far they are in touch with all of the staff. Weve got 15 shops in Ukraine and have been there since 2009. We have contact directly or indirectly and everyone is safe so far but as you can imagine the shops are shut, locked and lights are out. He added: Our country director was only a couple of kilometres from the first strikes in Kyiv, so it really brings it home. The manager said it seemed unlikely that new sanctions would impact the Russian business, which continues to trade as normal. He added: The team in Russia is equally as horrified as we are in whats happening. What people have tended to forget is that a lot of Russians have family in Ukraine, including our colleagues. Climate activists have disrupted a black-tie event for the oil and gas sector being held in Edinburgh. Campaigners from groups including Stop Cambo and Extinction Rebellion Scotland targeted the Scottish Energy Forum (SEF) dinner, being held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, at about 7.30pm on Friday. Protesters were seen sitting cross-legged outside the building holding signs saying no dinner for killers and business as usual is killing. They are claiming the SEF is lobbying to expand oil and gas production in the North Sea. Breaking: Activists are currently protesting the Scottish Energy Forum annual dinner at EICCMembers such as Equinor, Shell, BP & Total are celebrating huge profits at the expense of people and planet.If youre free in Edinburgh, come and join in at the EICC!! pic.twitter.com/ABERGvwM9H Extinction Rebellion Scotland (@ScotlandXr) February 25, 2022 Queues of smartly-dressed people seen outside the EICC, believed to be guests at the dinner, were blocked from accessing the building. Activists protesting outside the Edinburgh International Conference Centre where the annual Scottish Energy Forums dinner is being held (Extinction Rebellion Scotland/PA) Police officers were also at the scene standing among the demonstrators. Activists disrupting the Scottish Energy Forums black-tie events at the EICC on Friday night (Extinction Rebellion Scotland/PA) Speaking about the event, Alex Cochrane, an activist from Extinction Rebellion Scotland, said: Fossil fuel executives are openly celebrating their record-breaking profits rather than urgently acting to change their catastrophic business model. They are failing to act and it is people who are suffering, especially in the global south. According to the SEF invite, guest speakers at the event included co-founder of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC Martin Gilbert and Mock The Week star and stand-up comedian Dara O Brien, who spoke at the event on Friday. The annual dinner has been described by SEF, which was formally known as Scottish Oil Club, as a highlight of the Energy calendar. A new mini-series based on the 1988 Lockerbie bombing disaster has been announced by Sky and US network Peacock. The series, based on the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and the search for justice by the family of one of the victims, will arrive in 2023. The five-part series, titled Lockerbie, will be written by Academy Award nominees Jim Sheridan and his daughter Kirsten Sheridan. It is based on the book The Lockerbie Bombing: A Fathers Search For Justice by Dr Jim Swire and Peter Biddulph, along with multiple other sources. The five-part series, titled Lockerbie, will be written by Academy Award nominees Jim Sheridan and his daughter Kirsten Sheridan (Brian Lawless/PA All 259 passengers and crew were killed when a bomb exploded in the Boeing 747 as it flew over the Scottish town of Lockerbie 38 minutes after take-off in December 1988. A further 11 residents died when the plane came down. Libyan national Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of the crime 13 years later in 2001 but was later released on compassionate grounds in 2009. Al-Megrahi died in May 2012. After the tragedy families of the victims began a campaign for truth and justice, including Dr Swire and his wife Jane who lost their daughter Flora in the attack. The series, titled Lockerbie, is based on the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and the search for justice by the family of one of the victims (PA Archive) Lockerbie will explore events from 1988 to the present day through the intimate account of a man who pushes his marriage, health, and his sanity to the edge. Jim and Kirsten Sheridan, said: The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 was one of the worlds deadliest terror attacks that continues to have widespread implications for the meaning of justice in the US, Scotland and Libya. Over 30 years on, this series takes an intimate and very personal look at the aftermath of the disaster, and we are grateful to all of those, particularly Jim and Jane, who have entrusted us to tell their story, and the story of their loved ones, on screen. Libyan national Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of the crime 13 years later in 2001 but was later released on compassionate grounds in 2009 (Crown Office/ PA) The series is a co-production between UCP and Sky Studios, produced with Universal International Studios Carnival Films for Sky and Peacock, and is due to begin production later this year. It is expected to air in 2023 on Sky in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Italy and will stream on Peacock in the US. In a statement this week regarding the House and Senate budget proposals, Gov. Glenn Youngkin did not mention his previous request for lawmakers to include a statement in their budget proposals prohibiting the promotion of inherently divisive concepts in public schools (Steve Helber / AP) Gov. Glenn Youngkins controversial push to ban the teaching of so-called divisive concepts in schools experienced a setback this week in the General Assembly. The governors legislative agenda calls on lawmakers to include a statement in their budget proposals prohibiting the promotion of inherently divisive concepts in public schools but legislators appear to have declined to do so. Advertisement Youngkin previously defined divisive concepts as those that urge students to view life through the lens of race and presumes that some students are consciously or unconsciously oppressive, whereas others are victims. A spokesperson for Youngkin did not immediately respond to a request Thursday for comment. Advertisement In a statement this week regarding House and Senate budget proposals, Youngkin did not mention his previous request. The governor said he was looking forward to working on the budget with leadership of both chambers. The extraordinary financial position we are in means we can provide this much needed relief to families and businesses while still delivering a record investment in our students, teachers, and schools, standing up for law enforcement, making urgent investments in behavioral health, and doing more to strengthen our workforce and economy, he said. When asked for comment, a spokesperson for House Speaker Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, did not address the omission of Youngkins request and instead noted that a bill addressing the same issue was still alive in the Senate. The bill, introduced by Del. Dave LaRock, R-Loudoun, would require the Department of Education to establish policies to prevent the teaching of divisive concepts. It passed the House of Delegates earlier this month and is awaiting action in a Senate subcommittee. Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news > Youngkins legislative agenda also backed bills from two Hampton Roads legislators targeting the teaching of divisive concepts in schools. Sen. Jennifer Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, and Del. A.C. Cordoza, R-Hampton, both introduced legislation that would have required school principals to ensure their schools curriculum did not include such topics. Kiggans bill was passed by indefinitely by the Senate Education and Health Committee, while Cordozas bill was left in the House Committee on Education. On the campaign trail, Youngkin frequently voiced his opposition to teaching divisive concepts in public education. He issued an executive order on his first day in office specifically banning critical race theory from being taught in schools. Advertisement During a radio talk show appearance last month, the governor urged parents to use a new email tip line created by his administration to report educators who violate the order. In a news release last month, James J. Fedderman, president of the Virginia Education Association, said it appeared the governor was attempting to pit parents and educators against one another for his own political gain. The VEA is a union of more than 40,000 teachers and school support professionals. Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com Demonstrators have gathered outside the Russian consulate in Edinburgh for a second day as Scotlands Ukrainian community voices outrage at the ongoing war. Hundreds chanted slava Ukraini (glory to Ukraine) outside the consulate on Friday afternoon, with many bringing Ukrainian flags and anti-Putin signs. A bagpiper played Ukraines national anthem and some Ukrainians addressed the crowd through a megaphone, calling for more Western help to resist the invasion. One of those who spoke was Daryna Tryndiuk, 21, who is from Kyiv and now lives in Durham. She travelled to Edinburgh for the protest. Demonstrators gathered for a second day (Jane Barlow/PA) She told the PA news agency: Its horrible at the moment. Today I got the news that Kyiv came under a phase of defence. My friends and family, theyve spent the whole night in bomb shelters and the Metro. Many of her friends are volunteering to fight the Russian invasion, she said. She said: My friends are absolutely united and ready to fight for Ukraine and their city. People are ready, they will not surrender. Iryna Zamuruieva, 29, is from central Ukraine and now lives in Edinburgh. Many of those at the protest showed support for Russians who are against the invasion (Lesley Martin/PA) She said the West should provide more weapons to Ukraine, shut out Russia from the Swift financial payments system and impose a no-fly zone. She told the PA news agency: I have a lot of anxiety for the future. I dont know when Im going to be able to see my parents again. Kyiv the capital is being attacked. I have a lot of admiration for people who are staying there and fighting back. Linda Allison is chair of the Edinburgh branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain. She said: Most of us were crying yesterday. But whats happening now is were angry, were angry at the inaction of the West. Those taking part sang the Ukrainian national anthem (Lesley Martin/PA) The Swift banking system could still be taken away from Russia, were angry that theyre not giving enough support to Ukraine. People in Ukraine are feeling abandoned, she said, calling for visa-free travel for Ukrainian refugees. She said: Ukrainians are very proud people, they want their independence, its been proven through all the things theyve been doing. Through Maidan (revolution), peaceful demonstrations, the Orange Revolution before that. One of those who attended the demonstration was a young woman from Russia who held a sign saying Russian people dont want war. She did not want her name to be published. She said many of her friends in Russia are protesting against the war and want to show their support for Ukraine. The Wests chosen sanctions against Russia are misaligned with the urgency of the situation in Ukraine, as Moscow will only feel their bite in a matter of weeks and months, an expert has warned. Professor Kataryna Wolczuk, an associate fellow of the Chatham House think tanks Russia and Eurasia programme, warned that the action from the West is asymmetric with Russian aggression, as Ukraine is counting its time in terms of hours, not even days. But she said the UK had been exemplary in its rhetoric on the crisis, and its leadership is much needed in Europe, with France and Germany only just waking up. Meanwhile, Orysia Lutsevych, a research fellow and manager of the Ukraine Forum in the think tanks Russia and Eurasia programme, suggested the UK should consider sending a peacekeeping deployment to the part of Ukraine that is still peaceful to deter further Russian aggression. Protesters outside the Russian embassy in west London, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Victoria Jones/PA) The pair made the comments in a virtual discussion on the Russian invasion of Ukraine hosted by Chatham House. Prof Wolczuk argued that the Wests response to the crisis represents a spectacular failure, with sanctions that are not sufficient and misaligned with the urgency of the situation in Ukraine. Lets move to the West, because one of the questions is to what extent it represents a failure. And insofar, especially as Germany is concerned, I mean, it represents a spectacular failure, she said. The Ukrainians are surprised, but its not just the Ukrainians. We are talking about Moldovans, Georgians, Armenians, Azeris people in the post-Soviet countries looking at the West and basically wondering whats the point with developing linkages and integration with the West if this is what you are left with. And so this is the issue of sanctions being very, very important. But they were factored in, and they are not sufficient. It is asymmetric because our sanctions will bite in weeks and months. Ukraine is counting its time in terms of hours, not even days. So we have a real asymmetry in terms of the onslaught versus defensive assistance. Asked if there are any potential moves ahead in terms of diplomacy, she suggested that, while Nato cannot put boots on the ground, there is nothing stopping Nato individual member states forming an informal coalition, which would conduct its own missions. This is extremely important because this is symbolic for member states of various multilateral organisations coming together and providing this assistance, she said. Its not only about containing Russia, but its also saving the reputation of the West. And this is as fundamental as that. Ms Lutsevych suggested the UK could consider sending a peacekeeping deployment to the part of Ukraine that is still peaceful to deter Russian aggression. On the subject of what Britain could do to help, Ms Lutsevych said she understands Ukraine is in deficit of armaments to combat airborne paratroopers, and needs Stingers, Javelins and sniper rifles. The country also needs logistics, communication equipment, hospitals, evacuation, medical materials, she said. She added: I think seriously, we should contemplate (a) peacekeeping deployment to the part of Ukraine that is still peaceful in order to place that further deterrence on Russian aggression. I know its a controversial issue, but I think if Ukraine falls well all have consequences that will cost us more than risk-taking today. Prof Wolczuk also praised the UK for being a role model to many countries in central Europe, as well as Ukraine. There was a sort of dip on Monday this week about the weak sanctions, and there is still more that can be done, she said. Protesters outside the Russian embassy in London (Victoria Jones/PA) But in terms of the rhetoric, and in terms of actually understanding whats happening, this has been unparalleled, especially when we compare with Germany and France where really only yesterday we could hear the words which realistically described what was going on. So the UK has been exemplary from that point of view. She added: There is so much that can be done because the UK has this enormous experience of, actually, diplomacy. So from that point of view, the leadership role from the UK is very much needed in Europe. And with Germany and France, they are sort of in the waking up phase, it takes time. Good one, Greys Anatomy. The ABC dramas midseason finale left us to wonder whether Owen, Farouk and David would survive. But in the winter premiere of the ABC drama, it turned out that it was someone else entirely that we shouldve been worried about losing. Who? Read on WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS, HUH? | As No Time to Die began, we rewound a bit from Station 19 (recapped here) to see Cormac catch a ride back to Grey Sloan in the same car that Teddy had flagged down. Theyd made it to the hospital in time for the donor heart to be viable for Farouk, but dammit, it was bruised. Maggie, for fear that the boy would go into cardiac arrest, advised that Winston not perform the transplant. But reluctant to waste the opportunity at hand, he decided, Im gonna take the miracle and trust my gut. Thankfully, his gut was very trustworthy, and Farouk pulled through. His heart is beating, Winston was able to tell Megan after completing the surgery with his wifes help, and its beating well. Whew! Meanwhile, as Teddy tried to process the overwhelming feelings with which she was left by the sound of Owens car going over the cliff, her spouse, having been rescued by the first-responders of Stations 19 and 23, was being treated by Amelia and Link, who was barely able to contain his hurt over seeing his babymama kissing Kai. Of course Scouts parents had more pressing matters at hand, like the fact that theyd both be operating on different parts of Owen at the same time, and one wrong move could leave him paralyzed. (Focus, people!) Before being wheeled into the O.R., Owen beseeched Cormac to forget what hed told him about dispensing life-ending drugs to dying veterans. Hunt even played the I fell off a cliff so you didnt have to card. However, Hayes remained unsure whether he could remain silent and make himself complicit. Greys anatomy recap season 18 episode 9 THE SURGEON WHO HASNT LOST A PATIENT HASNT DONE ENOUGH SURGERIES | During Owens surgery, Link noticed Kai come into the gallery and ordered it cleared. Light-bulb moment for Amelia, who realized that he must have seen her kissing Dr. Bartley. Following the operation(s), the exes finally had it out, with Link marveling that Amelia had just moved on like the last year and a half didnt matter. In turn, she argued that she hadnt just moved on, shed had to work at it. And now you want to gaslight me into thinking that I played you? Mm-mm. No. That wasnt gonna fly. It was a good, intense fight, the kind that after the dust settles, should allow them to happily co-parent Scout. Elsewhere in the hospital, in the wake of Levi breaking Webber Method protocol and killing a patient, Bailey suspended the program at which point Richard pulled rank on her. All the while, Levi was understandably freaking the freak out. In fact, he spent most of the rest of the episode washing his hands to the point that they began to bleed. Eventually, Jo recruited Taryn and Jordan to intervene, and when the hospitals newest resident physically moved Schmitt away from the sink, he completely lost it and, a shattered shell of his former self, had to be carried out of the room. Greys anatomy recap season 18 episode 9 THIS WILL BE MY LAST SHIFT | Following Davids surgery, Meredith read him the riot act for keeping his condition a secret, thereby risking all the work that she and Kai had done over the last year. When Grey stormed out, Kai remarked, Yeah, Im walking out, too but only cause I need more coffee. (Dr. Bartley really sneaks up on ya; theyre quickly becoming a favorite.) Later, Cormac approached Bailey, it seemed like, to rat out Owen. But Mirandas speech about what a good man Hunt is stopped Hayes in his tracks. Whether he really had been going to disclose what Owen had been doing, he didnt. Instead, he said that his boys werent thriving in Seattle, and he was moving back to Ireland. Immediately. As the episode rounded the bend toward its conclusion, Nick arrived in Seattle to take Mer to dinner or straight to the nearby hotel hed also booked to order room service. Amelia revealed to Kai just how messy her life was. Their perfect response? They offered Shepherd some more French fries. In front of a roaring fireplace, Jo encouraged Link not to feel bad about Amelia all over again. There are other women who would love to love you, she noted. And seconds later, though they wondered if they were making a mistake, she became one of them. Finally, Owen awakened following surgery and was informed by Teddy that yes, he would walk again. But, aware that Cormac had suddenly quit, she wanted to know WTH had happened between them in that car. So, what did you think of Greys winter premiere? Cormacs decision? Link and Jos hookup? Grade the episode below, then hit the comments. Launch Gallery: 2021 in Review: The 40 Most Heartbreaking TV Character Deaths Earlier this week, the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the annual Eurovision Song Contest, announced that Russia would still be welcome at Eurovision this coming May, explaining that the Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political cultural event which unites nations and celebrates diversity through music. However, the EBU also stated, We of course will continue to monitor the situation closely and on Friday, it was announced that Russia has now been barred from competing at EVSC 2022, following the countrys invasion of Ukraine. In a new statement, the EBU said: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has announced that no Russian act will participate in this years Eurovision Song Contest. The Executive Board of the EBU made the decision following a recommendation earlier today by the Eurovision Song Contests governing body, the Reference Group, based on the rules of the event and the values of the EBU. The Reference Group recommendation was also supported by the EBUs Television Committee. The decision reflects concern that, in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this years Contest would bring the competition into disrepute. Before making this decision the EBU took time to consult widely among its membership. The EBU is an apolitical member organization of broadcasters committed to upholding the values of public service. We remain dedicated to protecting the values of a cultural competition which promotes international exchange and understanding, brings audiences together, celebrates diversity through music and unites Europe on one stage. Statement from @EBU_HQ regarding Russia's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.https://t.co/HmKJdqVE4Jpic.twitter.com/tVH6yFxzbq Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) February 25, 2022 The decision reversal follows Thursdays publication of an open letter by Mykola Chernotytsky, the chair of UA:PBC (the national public broadcaster in Ukraine), addressed to EBU president Delphine Ernotte Cunci. The letter read in part: Since the beginning of Russias aggression against Ukraine, EBU broadcasters from the Russian Federation, including Channel One and the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, have been the Kremlins mouthpiece and key instrument of Russian-funded political propaganda. Instead of following the values of the EBU, these broadcasters constantly and systematically spread misinformation, violate journalistic standards, spread hostility, and are a leading element of the Russian governments information war against Ukraine and the rest of the civilized world. In addition, we would like to emphasize that the Eurovision Song Contest was created after the Second World War to unite Europe. In view of this, Russias participation as an aggressor and violator of international law in this years Eurovision undermines the very idea of the competition. Please note that Russias participation in this years competition is provided by the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, which is an instrument of the Kremlins power in the information war against Ukraine and constantly violates journalistic standards underlying public broadcasting. Russias exclusion from this large-scale song event will be a powerful response by the international community of public broadcasters to the unacceptable aggressive and illegal actions of the Russian Federation and support for the countrys state broadcasters hostile policy of aggression. Currently, the activities of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, as well as the Russian broadcaster Channel One, contradict the very idea of public broadcasting and provide informational support to the Kremlins illegal activities that threaten peace in Europe and the world. The common values and principles of public broadcasters of EBU members are not just slogans, so we expect the unanimity and support of all fellow broadcasters in this matter. Russia has faced widespread condemnation for its bombardment of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24. Before the EBU officially reversed its decision, Finlands public broadcaster Yle had released a statement announcing that Finland would not participate in the contest if Russia was invited, and officials in Latvia also asked the EBU to reconsider its original decision. It still remains to be seen if Russia will be barred from the EBU entirely, or just for EVSC 2022. Ukraine's Jamala reacts to winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016. (Photo: Reuters) This is not the first time in Eurovision history that Ukrainian/Russian relations have been the focus of controversy. In 2016, the artist representing Ukraine, Jamala, caught flak for her entry 1944 a self-penned power ballad about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in the 40s by Joseph Stalin, inspired by the harrowing real-life tale of her great-grandmother. Because Eurovision rules prohibit songs with lyrics that could be interpreted as having political content, some Russian politicians, as well as authorities in Crimea, accused the Ukrainian authorities of "capitalizing on the tragedy of the Tatars to impose on European viewers a false picture of alleged harassment of the Tatars in the Russian Crimea. However, Jamala was allowed to remain in the competition, and in an upset she actually won that year with 534 points, which set a record at the time. Since each Eurovision contest is staged in the country of the reigning champion, when Eurovision 2017 took place in Ukraine, Ukraine barred Russias contestant from entering the country. More recently, last week, Ukraine's previously chosen Eurovision act, Alina Pash, was suspended amid claims that she travelled to the Russian-controlled Crimea in 2015. (Russia seized control of the peninsula in 2014, with travel to the area only allowed through official checkpoints in Ukraine.) The controversy came just days after Pash won Ukraines national selection with her song Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, which, like Jamalas, was about her country's history. On Feb. 16, it was announced that Ukraines second-place qualifier, rap group Kalush Orchestra, would compete at Eurovision 2022 instead. Maneskin after winning the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, (Photo: Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw) The Eurovision Song Contest has been one of the most-watched broadcasts on the planet since it launched in 1956, with an average annual audience of 200 million. However, Eurovision awareness is at an all-time high right now, especially in the United States, due to several factors. In 2020, Will Ferrells satire Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga was a Netflix smash and nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Song; last years Eurovision winner, Italys Maneskin, became a hard-rock sensation, scoring a top 15 hit in the U.S. and performing on Saturday Night Live; and now a Stateside version of the competition, American Song Contest, hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg, is set to premiere March 21 on NBC. The 66th annual Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Turin, Italy, on May 14, 2022. Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Follow Lyndsey on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon The expulsion of Russias ambassador in Ireland has not been ruled out, Leo Varadkar has said. The countrys deputy premier said the Government is not currently planning to expel Yuri Filatov but it remains an option. Mr Varadkar suggested that the Government may move imminently to cut the number of Russian staff at the embassy in Dublin from 20 to around three. The Government is facing growing calls from opposition parties to expel Mr Filatov. On Friday, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald called for his expulsion. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar (Niall Carson/PA) Asked if the Government will expel Mr Filtov, Mr Varadkar told RTE: Its not something that we plan to do at the moment; its not something that were ruling out either. As is often the case, these things are done on an EU-coordinated level. On the number of Russian diplomats in Dublin, Mr Varadkar added: I think it would be appropriate for us to reduce the diplomatic presence by Russians in Ireland but I think the detail of that has to be left to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Simon Coveney) and has to be worked out on an EU-wide basis. Mr Filatov was asked on Friday about the potential of him being expelled. You might ask your Government, its up to them. I can leave any time, he told RTE. Earlier, Ms McDonald said the Mr Filatovs expulsion should be included in a range of tougher sanctions on Russia. It is clear that significantly strengthened sanctions on Russia are needed, she said. The situation has now reached a point where this must include the expulsion of the Russian ambassador to Ireland. Ms McDonald added: The sanctions announced to date against the Russian Federation and the oligarch elites close to President Putin are having no effect in deterring the invasion of Ukraine. They are simply insufficient to persuade Putin to reverse course. It is clear that significantly strenthened sanctions on Russia are needed. The situation has now reached a point where this must include the expulsion of the Russian Amabassador to Ireland. #russianinvasion Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) February 25, 2022 Our solidarity with Ukraine must take the form of significantly strengthened sanctions against the regime of President Putin. We need sanctions which can end Russian aggression against Ukraine and force a complete withdrawal of Russian military forces. Ms McDonald raised concerns about the movement of Russian money through the financial centre of Dublin to Russia, a concern that has been flagged several times in the Irish parliament in recent days. The IFSC in Dublin is a significant European centre for financial services. The Irish Government therefore needs to take a lead in arguing for rapid and decisive sanctions which freeze the assets of Putins financial backers, and which shut off the Russian banking system from the European banking system, she said. The Sinn Fein leader said the EU must not take a wait-and-see approach to the Russian invasion. The EU must act today with sanctions of such scale where there can be no doubt that Putin and his oligarch supporters will pay a huge price for choosing the course of military conflict over dialogue and diplomacy, she said. Earlier this week, Mr Varadkar accused Sinn Fein of being soft on Russia. The deputy premier accused the party of being highly critical of a Government decision to expel a Russian diplomat over the nerve agent attack in Salisbury in 2018. Boris Johnson is considering sanctioning Vladimir Putins inner circle after Ukraine demanded tougher measures and support fending off the Russian invasion, as Kyiv was hit by air strikes and fighting closed in on the capital. The Prime Minister is also using an emergency Nato summit on Friday to increase pressure on allies to freeze Russia out of the Swift international payment system amid opposition to the move in the European Union. Mr Johnson is facing calls, including from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to strengthen his package of measures hitting oligarchs supporting the Putin regime and freezing Russian bank assets. With the EU considering an asset freeze against the Russian president and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Mr Johnson and allies from the Joint Expeditionary Force alliance including Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands agreed the need to go further. The leaders agreed that more sanctions were needed, including focusing on President Putins inner circle, building on the measures that had already been agreed, Downing Street said, adding that Mr Johnson agrees more support needs to be given to Ukraine as a matter of urgency. (PA Graphics) In the early hours, the Prime Minister shared a call with Mr Zelensky as invading forces closed in on Kyiv after a barrage of air strikes on cities and military bases. After updating Mr Johnson on the terrible developments in Kyiv, the president said Ukraine needs the support of partners more than ever as he demanded effective counteraction and for sanctions to be strengthened. Downing Street said the Prime Minister pledged further support in the coming days. A spokesman for Mr Johnson could not provide details of what support will be dispatched, but said nothing is off the table. The Prime Minister assured Mr Zelensky that the world is united in its horror at what Putin is doing and praised the bravery and heroism of the Ukrainian people, No 10 said. A Ukrainian army soldier inspects fragments of a downed aircraft in Kyiv, Ukraine (Vadim Zamirovsky/AP) Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said more than 450 Russian troops had been killed, as a fierce resistance meant Moscow failed on the main objective on the first day of fighting. In other developments: Uefa stripped St Petersburg of Mays Champions League final and handed it to Paris, while Formula One bosses cancelled the Russian Grand Prix. Russia retaliated over the ban on Aeroflot flights landing in the UK by banning British flights to and over Russia. In baseless claims, Mr Putin urged Ukraines army to revolt against the druggies and neo-Nazis in Kyiv, who he claimed are holding the Ukrainian people hostage. Maxim Yermalovich, the ambassador to the UK from Russia ally Belarus, was summoned to the Foreign Office for a dressing down by minister James Cleverly, who urged Minsk to stop supporting Moscows illegal and unprovoked actions. The assault on Kyiv added to pressure on Mr Johnson to strengthen sanctions the day after unveiling what he called the largest and most severe package of measures Russia has faced. Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said just before 4am on Friday that horrific rocket strikes had hit Kyiv in an attack he compared to the citys 1941 shelling by Nazi Germany. Mr Zelensky said subversive groups were encroaching on Kyiv, as US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Kyiv could well be under siege. US officials believe the action is an attempt by Russian president Mr Putin to dismantle Ukraines government and replace it with his own puppet regime. The Kremlins long-feared assault began in the early hours of Thursday, but the British Ministry of Defence said a fierce resistance was holding up the Russian advance. Mr Wallace told Sky News: Our assessment as of this morning is that Russia has not taken any of its major objectives, in fact it is behind its hoped-for timetable. (PA Graphics) Theyve lost over 450 personnel. One of the significant airports they were trying to capture with their elite Spetsnaz has failed to be taken. In fact, the Ukrainians have taken it back. So, I think contrary to great Russian claims and indeed President Putins sort of vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause hes got that completely wrong. The Russian army has failed to deliver on day one its main objective. Mr Wallace ruled out Britain helping enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine because the RAF fighting Russian jets would trigger a war across Europe. He is trying to invade Ukraine. He wont stop after Ukraine. He will use everything in the Baltic states. He doesnt believe the Baltic states are really countries, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. And we will have to stand up to it. Now, I cannot trigger a European war and I wont trigger a European war but what I will do is help Ukraine fight every street with every piece of equipment we can get to them, and we will support them, and that is the reality. Ukrainian soldiers take positions in Kyiv (Emilio Morenatti/AP) Britain, the US and the EU have hit Moscow with a concerted package of economic sanctions, but are facing calls to go further to exclude Russia from Swift, a move strongly backed by Mr Johnson but facing resistance from allies including Germany and the Netherlands. The spokesman for the Prime Minister said we will continue to work with allies to try and cut Russia off from Swift to deliver a severe blow to the Russian economy and said Mr Johnson would raise the issue at the virtual Nato summit. Mr Wallace said Britain will work all day to secure Russias exclusion from the international payment system, telling Today: We want it switched off. Other countries do not. We only have so many options. We are going to work all day to try and get it. Among the new UK sanctions introduced were measures to hit five further oligarchs, including the Russian presidents former son-in-law, and to target more than 100 businesses and individuals. Held talks with PM @BorisJohnson. Reported on the course of s defense and insidious attacks on Kyiv by the aggressor. Today needs the support of partners more than ever. We demand effective counteraction to the Russian Federation. Sanctions must be further strengthened. (@ZelenskyyUa) February 25, 2022 Mr Zelensky said in an address early on Friday that sanctions alone were not doing enough to deter Russia. This morning we are defending our state alone. Like yesterday, the worlds most powerful forces are watching from afar, he said. Was Russia convinced by yesterdays sanctions? We hear in our sky and see on our earth that this was not enough. People line up for a COVID screening at a site in Los Angeles. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) Students are back in class amid the coronavirus pandemic, and to keep you posted on whats unfolding throughout U.S. schools K-12 as well as colleges Yahoo Life is running a weekly wrap-up featuring news bites, interviews and updates about the ongoing situation. New California bill would require all schools to have COVID-19 testing plans This week, California State Sen. Richard Pan introduced a bill that would require school districts to develop COVID-19 testing plans with state health officials. SB 1479 would require that every school have a testing plan in place created in conjunction with the California Department of Public Health. The bill would also add funding to support the programs and even include funds for pre-K, after-school programs and child care centers to develop testing plans if they wished. "COVID testing plans are essential to parents and schools and child care sites being confident in staying open and keeping children safe from COVID," Pan, who is also a pediatrician, said in a statement. "Funded school testing plans provide vital information to protect students and teachers through COVID variants and surges." The move raises a lot of questions about what the future role of testing will be in schools. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life that there's likely to be a mix when it comes to testing in schools in the future. "Some school districts will test for at least a period of time, but many will not," he says. "Many schools are just eager to get back to the way things were." But infectious disease expert Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells Yahoo Life that it's "important for schools to have plans for respiratory viruses as such, not just COVID." He adds, "I dont necessarily think it has to be something stipulated by law but should be based on each school's needs and policies." Dr. Richard Watkins, an infectious disease physician and professor of medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University, agrees that this is an important step for schools to at least consider. "It is wise to have contingency plans in place," he says. Coalition of experts creates sharable plan for making schools safer during pandemic A group called Urgency of Equity has created a "toolkit" to try to make schools safer during the pandemic and they're sharing it online. The group promises to continue to update the advice "as new science and information are available." The toolkit stresses that multiple layers of protection are important, including high vaccination rates for teachers, staff and students, improved ventilation and air filtration systems, high-quality masking and at least weekly testing for students, staff and teachers. There is a moral urgency to protect all students & staff, including those who are most vulnerable. We put together a toolkit to help communities sort out fact from fiction & advocate for a safe, healthy learning environment for everyone: https://t.co/YBDVlqUgKm#UrgencyOfEquitypic.twitter.com/ue8XtL20YM Urgency of Equity (@UrgencyofEquity) February 22, 2022 The toolkit was developed by a volunteer coalition of public health experts, advocates and grassroots organizations "to help parents, teachers, students, workers, and community members advocate for safer, more equitable schools and debunk misinformation about COVID-19 protections," Urgency of Equity member Maria Pyra, an epidemiologist and research assistant professor at the University of Chicago, tells Yahoo Life. "We currently have experts on ventilation, mental health, mask policies, education and neuroscience, epidemiologists and physicians, as well as advocates living with long COVID," she says. Pyra says the group is "concerned" about "calls for relaxing COVID-19 protections in schools while there are still high levels of COVID transmission in most communities around the country," noting that there is a "practical and moral urgency" to protect students and staff. "The toolkit emphasizes ways we can prioritize health and well-being in our schools, recognizing that layers of protection are the best way to protect the school community from an airborne virus," Pyra says. "We're hoping that people working toward safer schools will find it a useful resource to make equity-centered decisions based on good data." Pyra says that the group is now working to get the information out to communities that are the most affected by the pandemic, along with parents and school boards. New Hampshire schools will no longer be allowed to shift to remote learning with increased COVID-19 infections A new rule in New Hampshire will prevent public schools from shifting to mandatory remote learning for students due to COVID-19 infections. The rule, which passed the state's joint legislative committee and state board of education, says that schools can only do remote learning in the event of poor weather that makes it unsafe for students to travel to and from school. Parents will also be able to request remote learning for their students on an individual basis. Public schools will still be able to close if there are high numbers of COVID-19 cases among students and staff, but schools would need to have instructional days at the end of the year instead of going remote. Some educators pushed back against the ruling earlier this winter, arguing that it takes away a vital tool for schools. Brian Hawkins, a representative of the National Education Association New Hampshire, argued during a state board of education meeting that many people want school districts to at least have the ability to conduct remote learning if necessary. But infectious disease experts say it's time to keep kids in schools. "I'm in favor of doing away with remote learning," Dr. Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York, tells Yahoo Life. "Our children need to be in schools for their educational, social and mental health. With good mitigation plans which could include all these children being vaccinated, our schools can be a good place to be." Adalja agrees. "In-person schooling should be the norm," he says. "I think it is reasonable that there be a compelling reason for a student to need remote learning at this stage of the pandemic." Majority of New Yorkers want to wait for more data before lifting school mask mandates A new survey conducted by the Siena College Research Institute found that 58 percent of New Yorkers want to wait for early March COVID-19 data before deciding whether the state's school mask mandate should be lifted. Thirty percent of those surveyed said the mask mandate should have already ended, while 10 percent said they want to see it end in late February. "Waiting to see data from early March before deciding to lift the school mask mandate as opposed to lifting that mandate as schools reconvene next week or wishing it had been lifted previously is how the majority of New Yorkers would like to proceed," Steven Greenberg, a Siena College pollster, said in a press release. Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she wants to wait to review COVID-19 data for early March before deciding whether she will lift the state's school mask mandate. However, Hochul allowed the state's indoor mask mandate to expire earlier this month. "New Yorkers sound a little more like conservative public health doctors," Schaffner says. "They would also like to see these COVID-19 trends that we've been seeing continue. The overall thought is let's take it easy and slow this down a little because we're afraid we could have bursts of infection again." Russo says he's in favor of waiting a little longer to lift mask mandates in schools. "Vaccination rates have been less-than-excellent in our schools," he says. "While masks are imperfect, I like waiting until we get to low or moderate COVID case counts to lift these mandates. When you have a lot of disease circulating in a community, it's almost certain that children will be infected if mitigation efforts aren't in place." But Adalja says it's unlikely that things will change much between now and early March. "I suspect that cases and hospitalizations will likely continue to fall through March," he says. "Waiting to end mask mandates until that time will likely not have a material difference." North Carolina's largest school districts voted to remove mask requirements North Carolina's two largest school districts the Wake County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg school boards voted separately this week to remove their COVID-19 mask requirements. The mask mandates will lift in both districts, which representabout 300,000 students, as of March 7. The Wake County Public School System now says on its website that masks "will be recommended but not required in schools for all staff, students and visitors" starting March 7. However, masks will continue to be required on buses for students and staff. "Current trends point to a shift in COVID-19 conditions and indicate the need for a revised response plan that encompasses prevention, surveillance and equitable distribution of resources," Dr. Raynard Washington, director of Mecklenburg County Public Health, said in a statement after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools voted down its mask mandate. "Our duty is to make these difficult decisions based upon the best advice available to ensure the well-being of our students and employees," school board chair Elyse Dashew said in a statement. However, the school board plans to review its masking policy at least once a month. Watkins says he expects this trend to continue across the country. "It is likely that mask mandates will come to an end in the near future," he says. Schaffner agrees. "l would assume that, by the fall, if everything is OK and we don't have a new variant, all school systems will be maskless," he says. "The issue is how quickly do you take the masks off now?" Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Lifes newsletter. At a tour of NASA Langley, Sen Mark Warner, right, said Congress is united in opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and in launching economic sanctions. (Dave Ress) The world faces two waves of danger from cyber warriors that could erupt in just the next few days with Russias invasion of Ukraine, according to Sen. Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate intelligence committee. We have never seen in cyber, first-tier nations like the United States or Russia really launch a major cyber attack, Warner said Thursday during a tour of NASAs Langley Research Center in Hampton. Advertisement He said a single piece of Russian malware a modified version of the Petya ransomware aimed in 2017 at Ukrainian government, banks, electric utility and newspaper computer systems spread rapidly around the world. Among other places, the malware hitting the Maersk shipping companys port facilities in Hampton Roads and much of Britains National Health System. If one piece of malware could do that, he said, a Russian cyber attack on Ukraine, which Warner said could come in the next 24-36 hours, could have an even wider impact. The other wave of dangerous attacks could come in the next 72 hours, he said. Advertisement Thats when additional sanctions from the U.S., European Union and other nations would kick in and Putin has said hed attack any nations that intervene to try to stop his invasion. What does that mean? It means cyber attacks, Warner said. Thats not one piece of malware, Russian literally has not tens or hundreds but thousands of cyber weapons. Warner said Congress is united in opposition to the invasion and in launching what he described as an unprecedented level of economic sanctions. Representatives Bobby Scott, D-Newport News; Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland; and Elaine Luria, D-Virginia Beach, echoed Warner as they toured Langley with him. Luria added that Hampton Roads sailors and aviators already are playing a key role, with the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group and several Norfolk-based destroyers operating nearby in the Mediterranean. Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news > But while theres unity on Capitol Hill, Warner added, it is stunning to me that a former president has been praising Vladimir Putin, referring to recent remarks by Donald Trump. In addition to Washingtons work to unite nations around the world in opposition to the invasion, Warner said U.S. intelligence agencies have played a critical role in recent months. Advertisement Our intelligence community which we all know normally does not like to share its intelligence has been as forward leaning as Ive ever seen to point out that the Russians were trying to create an excuse, he said. That publicity has undercut Russian propaganda efforts, as when intelligence sources reported that Russian video of alleged atrocities were staged with the corpses of people who died days before the supposed atrocities occurred. Peace in Europe for 80 years that peace, that history was broken in the last 24 hours by Vladimir Putin launching an unprovoked attack against Ukraine, Warner said. We cannot allow this taking of an independent democratic country like Ukraine. Dave Ress, 757-247-4535, dress@dailypress.com Welcome to Dear Travel Diary, Yahoo Life's video series in which travelers take us along on their most memorable adventures. For Vincent Tucker, a trip to Africa was also a powerful exploration of his ancestry. Tucker and his family are the descendants of two of the first people who were enslaved in what would become the United States. They arrived off slave ships from Africa at Point Comfort in 1619, which, today, is the city of Hampton, Va. Tucker, who grew up in Hampton, learned of this history from his grandfather and has made it his mission to share it with the world. "Going back to 1619, people were taking the Africans, the Angolans, and enslaving them," Tucker explains. "The Spanish ship had loaded about 350 Angolans on this ship. The Dutch ship, the White Lion, intercepted that ship and headed for Hampton, Virginia. We are descended of William Tucker, named after the plantation owner, and that was the first enslaved child documented as born and baptized in the Virginia colony. This was part of our family history that was passed down." In honor of his ancestor, Tucker co-founded the William Tucker 1624 Society, in order to educate the public about the first Africans to arrive in Virginia. With many legislators seeking to ban educational lessons centered on the history of people who were enslaved in the United States, the William Tucker 1624 Society is working to ensure that this legacy won't be lost. The Tucker family visits the Kwanza River. (Photo: Vincent Tucker) While exploring the history of the first people who were enslaved on American soil is vital, Tucker also wanted to explore his family's roots beyond America. That opportunity came after a Sept. 2021 meeting with Angola's President Joao Lourenco at the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture. Tucker and members of his family shared that while they had never visited Angola, they hoped to. President Lourenco said he would send for them which he did. Just 60 days later after their first meeting, Tucker and his family were in Angola, learning about their family's African roots. "Our job, or goal, was to dig in, to help us understand what took place 400 years ago," Tucker says of the trip. "They would capture those Africans and come through the Kwanza River. We wanted to travel those pathways the place where our ancestors walked through, to be forced into slavery. We put our feet in the water. That was a touching moment, it was really emotional." The Tucker family collects soil from the Kwanza River to bring home to Virginia. (Photo: Vincent Tucker) Tucker shared that his visit to Africa was a vital history lesson something he couldn't have picked up in an encyclopedia. "We talk about Africa as if we know Africa, but many of us don't," he explains. "To try and go back and relearn some of the stuff that we've been told that may not have been true, it was really emotional. The Angolans were full of love, the children were full of smiles, it was just so great to be there." The trip was also a full-circle moment. In addition to Tucker and his family visiting Angola, members of the Angolan government traveled to Virginia in February to see where the first Angolans lived in the United States. During the visit, they sprinkled soil from the Kwanza River across the cemetery where the first Angolans in America were buried. The Tuckers with the president of Angola, Joao Lourenco. (Photo: Vincent Tucker) "It was very symbolic, it was very spiritual," says Tucker. "It was bringing a connection, and showing the Angolans that we are one. We are family. We are together. It was powerful." Now, Tucker hopes that his experience can inspire others. "African Americans, for the most part, have limited information about our culture, our place of origin. I recommend people visit Black history museums, all museums, really, because we have a place in America in every aspect of America," he says. "If you can book a trip to go to the motherland of Africa, please do. If you can get to the Caribbean islands, which also had enslavement there, go so we can all learn. For me, I will continue to do international travel because I have a thirst to learn our place in the world, this country, this continent. I would recommend that to everyone share the stories." Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Lifes newsletter. Demonstrators attend a pro-Ukraine rally in Vienna on Friday. (Lisa Leutner / Associated Press) When Annalena Baerbock, Germanys foreign minister, appeared in the morning hours Thursday to make a statement, she looked pale and shocked. Dressed in a black robe, she voiced what probably most Germans were feeling at that moment: We woke up in a different world today. A world of war. A war in Europe only a 10-hour drive from where she had read her statement in Berlin. Baerbock, 41, belongs to a generation that grew up not only in a Europe without war, but in a Europe without borders. When journeying through much of the Continent, from one country to the next, travelers dont need to show their passports. Borders have lost their meaning. That world, it seems, is gone, and the optimism behind it in tatters. Instead, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is talking about securing its borders, reinforcing its military presence in the east and protecting its alliance territory. The United States said Thursday that it was sending 7,000 additional troops to Germany, on top of the extra deployment of 2,000 troops to Europe that President Biden ordered earlier this month. The biggest worry is this: How to prevent the war in Ukraine from spilling over, from becoming a war between Russia and NATO? Vladimir Putins language, when the Russian leader announced a special military operation in Ukraine early Thursday, made the alliance fear the worst: Whoever tries to hinder us, or threaten our country or our people, should know that Russias response will be immediate and will lead you to consequences that you have never faced in your history. We are ready for any turn of events. Its clear now that Europe was not. Im so angry at ourselves for our historical failure, former German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a tweet that instantly went viral. After Georgia, Crimea, and Donbas, we have not prepared anything that would have really deterred Putin a reference to other victims of Russian or Russia-backed incursions. A few hours later, the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung used this rare moment of critical self-reflection by a high-ranking politician to question the wisdom of a whole generation. In an editorial headlined, The moral debacle of an entire generation, the newspaper asked why past decades were not used to equip Ukraine with enough weapons to sufficiently deter its adversary to the east. There was all the time in the world for that, except in the world in which Kramp-Karrenbauer Germanys former defense minister, after all grew up, the editorial said. In that world, it was good manners to instead be angry at anyone who dared to disturb the tranquility of the peace dividend. At the same time, the inspector of the German army, Lt. Gen. Alfons Mais, criticized Germanys defense policy. On social media, he described the German military as being only partially ready for action. The Bundeswehr, the army that I have the privilege of leading, is more or less bare, he wrote. We all saw it coming and were not able to get through with our arguments, draw the conclusions from the Crimea annexation and implement them. The question Why did we fail? is echoing through many political circles and think tanks. Germany especially among European nations has always had a soft spot for Russia. The legacy of World War II, when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, still looms large. No peace without Russia has become a mantra in many political quarters. Add a romantic but vague spiritual affinity, plus Russias geographic proximity, and Moscow has been able to get away with a lot. Even after the attempted killing of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who was flown to Germany to recover from what the West says was a Kremlin-ordered poisoning, there was still sympathy here for Putins narrative of Russia being encircled and deceived by NATO after the fall of the Iron Curtain 30 years ago. A few weeks ago, Berlin even blocked the delivery of some dated Howitzers from fellow NATO member Estonia to Ukraine. The weapons were German-made dating back, ironically, to the days when East Germany was a member of the Warsaw Pact and exporting them outside NATO required the approval of the manufacturer. Germany said no, and, in a widely mocked decision, said it would send 5,000 army helmets to Ukraine instead. They never arrived. You must not provoke the Russian bear, a common German saying goes. Other Europeans, in particular the Baltic states and Poland, had much less sympathy for Moscows struggle with its wounded pride after the Soviet empires collapse. They warned that the Russian regime could not be trusted. When it came to security, they looked farther west, beyond Europe, toward the United States. Unwillingness to acknowledge the Russian threat was not confined to Germany. Italy and France also tiptoed around Putin and tried to follow in Berlins footsteps. A consortium of European companies scrambled for access to Russian gas, including Frances Engie, the Netherlands Shell, Austrias OMV and Germanys Uniper and Wintershall Dea. They are all involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project that was supposed to double the delivery capacity of Nord Stream 1. Now that Russia has moved into Ukraine, Nord Stream 2 is history. No one can imagine that the pipeline will ever go into operation. In the end, those pursuing a softer line toward Russia all miscalculated. When a few weeks ago French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Moscow hoping he could end the crisis, he completely misjudged the outcome of his talks with Putin. The diplomatic success he thought he achieved turned out to be null and void. Assuming he wielded any influence over Putin was clearly naive. When Baerbock, Germanys foreign minister, appeared on a TV news show Thursday night, after Russia began unleashing its military might on Ukraine, she looked agitated. Referring to the meetings that Chancellor Olaf Scholz held with Putin and she with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Baerbock admitted: We have to say in all honesty: We were lied to stone-cold. She added: The chancellor was lied to, I was lied to by the Russian foreign minister, the entire international community was lied to. Trying to end on a more uplifting note, Baerbock said it was important to stand united. We dont accept this as a world community, she said. But her words did not sound convincing. She probably knew, as did countless people across Europe, that the world as she knew it had just crumbled. Ziener is a freelance reporter based in Berlin. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. President Biden on Friday formally introduced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his pick to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court fulfilling his promise of appointing a Black woman to the nations highest court. If confirmed, Jackson would be the Supreme Courts 116th justice and first Black woman ever to sit on its bench. For too long, our government, our courts havent looked like America, Biden said at the White House. I believe its time we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation, with a nominee with extraordinary qualifications. And we inspire all young people to believe that they one day can serve our country at the highest level. Today Im pleased to introduce to the American people a candidate who continues in this great tradition, the president said. Biden praised Jacksons background as a public defender and federal judge, noting that she was confirmed by the Senate three times. He also praised her for another role. Like so many women in this country, Judge Jackson is a working mom, Biden said. Youre always a mom thats never going to change no matter what youre doing. Whether youre on the Supreme Court or not. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks at the White House on Friday after President Biden introduced her as his nominee for the Supreme Court. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) Jackson told Biden she was truly humbled by her nomination, and called it an extraordinary honor. She began her remarks by thanking God. Among my many blessings, and indeed the very first, is the fact that I was born in this great country, Jackson said. The United States of America is the greatest beacon of hope and democracy the world has ever known. Jackson also thanked her parents, graduates of historically Black colleges and universities who worked as public school teachers. She spoke of other family members who work or worked in law enforcement, including her brother, a former Baltimore detective, and two uncles who were police officers. She acknowledged that another uncle got caught up in the drug trade and received a life sentence. I am standing here today by the grace of God as testament to the love and support I have received from my family, she said. And she thanked Breyer, for whom she worked as a law clerk during the Supreme Court's 1999-2000 term. Breyer not only gave me the greatest job that any young lawyer could hope to have, Jackson said, but he also exemplified every day in every way that a Supreme Court justice can perform at the highest level of skill and integrity while also being guided by civility, grace, pragmatism and generosity. President Biden speaks as Jackson, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris look on at the White House on Friday. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) Biden nominated Jackson, 51, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last summer. She had served as a district judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since 2013, previously working as a public defender and serving as the vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Jackson was confirmed to her current post by the Senate in a 53-44 vote, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina voting in her favor. But in a tweet early Friday, Graham said the nomination of Jackson means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again. According to a Yahoo News poll earlier this month, 69 percent of Americans said Jackson was qualified to sit on the court, including 57 percent of Republicans. Im pleased to nominate Judge Jackson, who will bring extraordinary qualifications, deep experience and intellect, and a rigorous judicial record to the court, Biden said Friday. Judge Jackson deserves to be confirmed as the next justice of the Supreme Court. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden is expected to announce Friday that he will nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, according to a source familiar with the matter. If confirmed, Jackson would become the first Black woman to serve on the court. At 51, she would also be the second-youngest justice on the current court (Justice Amy Coney Barrett turned 50 in January) and the first justice since Thurgood Marshall with significant experience as a defense lawyer. As the successor to Breyer, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, Jackson would not change the courts current 6-to-3 conservative supermajority. Jackson was nominated to District Court just eight months ago and was confirmed by a 53-44 vote with the support of three Senate Republicans. Only David Souter, appointed by George W. Bush, came to the Supreme Court with less time on the federal appeals court under five months in his case. But Jackson also served eight years as a federal trial judge in Washington. At her confirmation hearing for that position, she received an endorsement from former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who is related by marriage. (Her husbands twin brother is the married to the sister of Ryans wife.) Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanjis intellect, for her character, for her integrity, is unequivocal. She is an amazing person, Ryan said. Born in Washington, Jackson grew up in Miami, where her mother was a school administrator and her father was a lawyer for the Miami-Dade school board. When people ask me why I decided to go into the legal profession, she said in a 2017 speech, I often tell the story of how, when I was in preschool, I would sit at the dining room table doing my homework with my father. He had all his law books stacked up, and I had all my coloring books stacked up. One of her uncles was a Miami police chief. Another was a police detective. A third was sentenced to life in prison for possessing a large amount of cocaine. President Barack Obama commuted his sentence in 2016. Jackson was a national oratory champion and student body president in high school and then graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Law School. She was a Supreme Court law clerk for Breyer, who once described her as great, brilliant, decent, with a mix of common sense and thoughtfulness. She met her husband, Patrick, at Harvard where he was a pre-med student. Hes now a surgeon at a Washington hospital. They have two daughters. Jackson spent seven years in private practice and was also an assistant public defender in Washington, representing defendants who could not afford to hire a lawyer. One notable case involved a terrorism detainee at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, who she said should not be held without charges or trial. Asked during her appeals court confirmation about her work on that case, she said that her brother was serving in the Army in Iraq at the time and that the briefs she submitted did not necessarily represent my personal views with regard to the war on terror. Jackson served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which sets guidelines for federal judges to follow in imposing punishment in criminal cases. She helped reduce the recommended penalties for nonviolent drug offenders. As a judge, Jackson has no record of rulings, writings or speeches on the hot-button issues of abortion, gun rights or freedom of religion. She was on the three-judge appeals court panel that rejected former President Donald Trumps effort to block the National Archives from giving the House Jan. 6 committee hundreds of documents from his time in the White House. In her most notable ruling as a trial judge, Jackson said former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn was required to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. The primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that presidents are not kings, she said in a widely quoted line from her decision. Her ruling was overturned, however, by the appeals court on procedural grounds. During her appeals court confirmation hearing, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, asked her what role race would play in her rulings as a judge. I dont think that race plays a role in the kind of judge that I have been and that I would be in the way that you asked that question, Jackson said. She added that race would be the kind of thing that would be inappropriate to inject in my evaluation of a case. Jackson also said the diversity of her background would be an advantage. Its sort of like the Oliver Wendell Holmes quote, that the life of the law is not logic, its experience, she said. No date has been set for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Senate Democrats have said they want to act quickly on the nomination. Breyer said he intends to step down after the court finishes handing down decisions from this term, in late June or early July. This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com. President Biden has selected Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court, according to a Friday morning White House announcement. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman to serve on the nations highest court. Biden nominated Jackson, 51, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last summer. Jackson had served as a district judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since 2013, previously working as a public defender, the vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission and a clerk under retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson attended Harvard for both undergrad and law school and if confirmed would be the first federal public defender to serve on the court. Jackson was confirmed to her current post by the Senate in a 53-44 vote, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina voting in her favor. According to a Yahoo News poll earlier this month, 69 percent of Americans said Jackson was qualified to sit on the court, including 57 percent of Republicans. Judge Jackson is an exceptionally qualified nominee as well as an historic nominee, and the Senate should move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation," the White House said in a statement. Biden and Jackson will both deliver remarks Friday afternoon. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Tom Williams/Pool via Reuters) During her confirmation hearing for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, asked Jackson what role race played in her time as a judge. I dont think that race plays a role in the kind of judge that I have been and would be. Im doing a certain thing when I get my cases, Jackson replied. Im looking at the arguments, the facts and the law. Im methodically and intentionally setting aside personal views, any other inappropriate considerations, and I would think that race would be the kind of thing that would be inappropriate to inject into my evaluation of a case. One of Jacksons most prominent rulings was a 2019 decision in which she ordered former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn to testify in the impeachment inquiry against then-President Donald Trump. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in her office in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 18. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo) Breyer, 83, announced in late January that he would step down from his position, opening the door for Biden to fulfill a key campaign promise that he would nominate a Black woman if given the opportunity of an open seat. Breyer, a liberal, was a Clinton appointee, and Bidens replacement will not alter the current 6-3 conservative majority on the court. With the Senate split 50-50, Democrats either need to be fully united on confirming the pick or gain Republican votes. While centrist Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have impeded Bidens legislative agenda, they have so far voted for every one of his nominees to the federal judiciary. Manchin voted to confirm two of Trumps picks for the high court, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, but voted against confirming Justice Amy Coney Barrett, saying that the process was too rushed in the weeks before the 2020 election. Sinema, who was not in office for the first two confirmations, also voted no on Barrett. In a statement shortly after Breyer announced he was stepping down, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber would move with deliberate speed in working to get Bidens nominee confirmed. The most recent Supreme Court confirmation occurred in a little over a month: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Sept. 18, 2020, and Barrett was confirmed to replace her on Oct. 26. Amid pressure at home and abroad, the White House announced Friday that the U.S. will personally sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, following in the footsteps of a European Union move to freeze their assets, as the West puts on a united front in the face of Russian aggression. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at an afternoon press briefing that President Joe Biden would join European allies, including the United Kingdom, in ordering direct sanctions on "President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov and members of the national security team" and said to expect more details later in the day. Earlier Friday, Biden called a desperate but defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russian forces closed in on Ukraine's capital Kyiv and after he publicly pleaded with U.S. and European nations to do more to help, including imposing more sanctions. BREAKING: U.S. will sanction Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, and members of the Russian national security team, White House press sec. Jen Psaki says. LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/jAHxHy8kA4pic.twitter.com/YsKajxKXX7 ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 25, 2022 Zelenskyy also called on Putin to negotiate, but Putin showed no interest in a diplomatic solution. He appeared, instead, to call for a coup in Ukraine in a statement Friday, calling on Ukraine's military to turn on Zelenskyy, who was elected democratically, and terming his government a "gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis that has settled in Kyiv and taken hostage the entire Ukrainian people." MORE: Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russian forces have allegedly blocked Kyiv from the west In an address to his people Friday morning, Zelenskyy called on Putin "to sit at the table for negotiations to stop people dying," but did not order Ukrainian troops to stop fighting, telling them to "stand tough. You're everything we have, you're everything that is defending us." PHOTO: Firefighters hose down burning debris in front of a damaged building following a rocket attack on the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (Ukrainian Police Department Press Service via AP) Lavrov said Friday that Russia will begin negotiations again once the "democratic order is restored" in Ukraine, suggesting that only once it has forced Ukraine's government to surrender and conceded to demands, will it negotiate, with the Kremlin claiming Zelenskyy wants to discuss Ukraine's "neutrality." Russia had demanded Ukraine agree to never join NATO before Putin invaded, which Zelenskyy would not agree to, though Zelenskyy wasn't seemingly close called to NATO membership, at one point calling it a "dream" for Ukraine. MORE: Biden announces new sanctions on Russian banks, elites but not yet on Putin himself On Russia's demand that Ukraine be barred from joining NATO, White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said repeatedly that "that is a decision for NATO to make." State Department spokesman Ned Price on Friday dismissed Russian talk of negotiations. "Now, we see Moscow suggesting that diplomacy take place at the barrel of a gun, or as Moscow's rockets, mortars, artillery, target the Ukrainian people. This is not real diplomacy. Those are not the conditions for real diplomacy," he said. "If President Putin is serious about diplomacy, he knows what he can do. He should immediately stop the bombing campaign against civilians, order the withdrawal of his forces from Ukraine, and indicate very clearly -- unambiguously to the world, that Moscow is prepared to de-escalate. We have not seen that yet." As Russian troops got ever closer to the capital, the Ukrainian president reportedly told European leaders in a call Thursday night, "This may be the last time you see me alive." "We have information the enemy as defined me as number one target and my family as a number two target," he said in a video address to the nation Friday. "They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state." "I will stay in the capital," Zelenskyy added. "My family is also in Ukraine." Even as Zelenskyy pleaded with Western allies to do more to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia's attack, now in its second day, Biden has emphasized that sanctions on Russia will take time to have an impact, but he faced continuing questions as to why not sanction the Russian leader now. MORE: How NATO factors into the Ukraine-Russia conflict Thousands of Ukrainians forced to flee their homes appear to be running out of time as Russian forces advance on the capital city Kyiv, and U.S. officials express concerns that Kyiv could fall to Russia within days. Zelenskyy had urged allies including the U.S. to enact sanctions before Russia invaded, lamenting last week that the "system is slow and failing us time and again, because of arrogance and irresponsibility of countries on a global level" -- but that, largely, did not happen. The Biden administration, at first, said that its sanctions were meant to deter war, and once triggered, the deterrent effect would be lost -- but under questioning from ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega Thursday, who noted that "sanctions clearly have not been enough to deter Vladimir Putin to this point," Biden replied, "No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening." PHOTO: President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 24, 2022. (Leah Millis/Reuters) However, Vice President Kamala Harris said on CBS Sunday that "the purpose of the sanctions has always been and continues to be deterrence," echoing language from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and several other administration officials over several weeks -- in sharp contrast to Biden's claim. The White House official in charge of crafting the sanctions against Russia, Daleep Singh, playing a kind of clean-up Thursday evening, said that the sanctions were never meant to deter war and laid out multiple reasons why the administration didn't move preemptively. "Had we unleashed our entire package of financial sanctions preemptively," he said, "President Putin might have said, 'Look, these people are not serious about diplomacy, they're not engaging in a good faith effort to promote peace. Instead, they're escalating.' And that could provide a justification for him to escalate and invade." MORE: Biden to attend NATO summit from Situation Room as Putin invades Ukraine "Secondly, he could look at it as a sum cost. In other words, President Putin could think I've already paid the price, why don't I take what I paid for, which is Ukraine's freedom. So that's what we wanted to avoid," Singh added. But even Democratic lawmakers are calling on Biden to do more to sanction Russia. PHOTO: A Ukrainian firefighter walks between fragments of a downed aircraft seen in in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (Oleksandr Ratushniak/AP) MORE: Why Americans should care about the Ukraine-Russia conflict "There is more that we can and should do," said Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Congress and the Biden administration must not shy away from any optionsincluding sanctioning the Russian Central Bank, removing Russian banks from the SWIFT [international banking] system, crippling Russia's key industries, sanctioning Putin personally, and taking all steps to deprive Putin and his inner circle of their assets." Even with Biden set to sanction Putin on Friday, there are still major questions about what more the U.S. and Europe can do to not only punish Russia and Putin, but whether any of the sanctions can change his calculus -- or make him retreat from the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. ABC News' Luis Martinez, Patrick Reevell, Molly Nagle and Shannon Crawford contributed to this report. Biden to order personal sanctions on Putin as Russian forces close in on Kyiv originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Then-President Trump in October 2019. (Associated Press) The House Oversight and Reform Committee is scaling up its investigation into what its chairwoman says could be "the largest-scale violations of the Presidential Records Act since its enactment," according to a letter being sent to the National Archives on Friday. "I am deeply concerned that former President Trump may have violated the law through his intentional efforts to remove and destroy records that belong to the American people," committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) wrote in the letter to Archivist David Ferriero. The Times obtained the letter before it was sent to Ferriero. The committee is examining what happened to presidential records that were supposed to be turned over to the National Archives at the end of the Trump administration and are presumed to be missing or destroyed. It is also looking at 15 boxes of materials recovered last month by the National Archives from Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., including some documents marked classified and some that were torn up. The Archives has asked the Justice Department to determine whether a crime was committed in connection with the documents' handling. Trump has called the documents' return routine" and no big deal. Records produced for or by a president through his normal course of official duties must be preserved for the public under the Presidential Records Act, which covers documents, recordings, photos, memos and notes. The records are housed at the National Archives and made available to researchers and the public to help understand what influenced a president's decision-making. The committee has investigated reports that records weren't preserved in the past, but it now plans to examine new areas including: the records reclaimed from Mar-a-Lago; social media accounts and postings that were not properly preserved; official business conducted by White House staff on non-official messaging accounts that weren't preserved; and records that were ripped or otherwise destroyed during the administration, some of which were taped back together before being turned over to the National Archives. Ferriero notified Congress on Feb. 18 that the Archives did not receive a complete set of social media records from Trump and several other administration officials, and that despite working with social media companies some of the records may never be recovered. That same day it confirmed media reports that the Mar-a-Lago records contained classified or destroyed documents, and that the communication through non-official sources wasn't always preserved. "The information in your response suggests that former President Trump and his senior aides may have repeatedly violated the Presidential Records Act and other federal laws, which could severely impact the preservation of records from the Trump Administration," Maloney wrote in the letter. Maloney requested by March 10 a detailed accounting of the contents of the reclaimed boxes, including the level of classification for each classified record, any reviews of the contents by other federal agencies, all records that were destroyed and any response from the administration to the Archives' warnings about how to properly preserve records in order to comply with federal law. She set a March 17 deadline for records showing discussions between high-ranking Trump officials and White House lawyers about the use of personal messaging accounts for official business, destroying records, missing records, what records to hand over to the National Archives and proper preservation of social media records. She also asked for records by that date about what Trump was told regarding White House recordkeeping policies and whether employees ever found shredded records in White House toilets, a reference to an anecdote Trump denies that will appear in an upcoming book by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Police say a Newport News police officer's 2-year-old son shot and killed himself with the officer's service weapon in September. (Getty Images / Getty Images) Newport News A Newport News police officer was criminally charged this month after his toddler accidentally shot and killed himself with the officers service handgun nearly four months ago. Stefhone Christian McCombs Sr., 25, was charged Feb. 8 with allowing access to firearms by a minor a misdemeanor in the Oct. 29 incident at the familys home that took the 2-year-old boys life. Advertisement A criminal complaint filed in Newport News Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court this week said McCombs told detectives he came home from work that Friday afternoon, removed his gun from his holster and put it on the living room couch next to him. When his two children got home at about 9 p.m. roughly five hours later McCombs said he forgot the firearm was still left unsecured on the living room couch, the complaint said. The Glock semi-automatic 9mm was fully loaded, with a round in the chamber. Advertisement When Mr. McCombs stepped into the kitchen, he heard a loud gunshot, the complaint said. He ran to the living room to find his son, Stefhone C. McCombs Jr., crying and bleeding, with the gun covered in blood. The officer picked up the toddler and drove him to Mary Immaculate Hospital, where he died. During the ensuing investigation, McCombs told detectives its not his normal practice to leave his guns unattended and within his childrens reach. When officers searched the residence, in northern Newport News south of Lee Hall, they found another gun unsecured on a kitchen counter, though it was out of the kids reach. City records show McCombs began as a Newport News Police Department recruit in September 2020, meaning he was on the job for just over a year at the time of the shooting. Hes been out on paid administrative leave since the incident. Allowing access to firearms by children is a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. A Newport News magistrate signed off on the charge Feb. 8, with officers not physically arresting McCombs but handing him a summons to appear in court this week. After his initial appearance Tuesday, he has a status hearing scheduled for March 16. The charge is a lighter one than what some other local parents have faced when their children gained access to their guns and accidentally shot themselves. Some parents have been charged with felony child neglect punishable by up to 10 years in prison even at times in cases in which the children were not mortally wounded. Court records show that police consulted with the Newport News Commonwealths Attorneys Office on what charges to bring against McCombs. Advertisement Asked about the charging decision, Newport News Commonwealths Attorney Howard Gwynn said that although his prosecutors consulted with police on the charges, he has now recused his office and asked the Norfolk Commonwealths Attorneys Office to handle it as a special prosecutor. Gwynn said thats in part because some prosecutors in his office had worked closely with McCombs. We looked at the relationships in our office with this officer, Gwynn said. We decided to turn it over to a special prosecutor to fully look at it and make decisions independent of our decision. We didnt protect him, Gwynn said of charging McCombs with a misdemeanor rather than a felony, adding that its certainly possible that Norfolk prosecutors could file additional charges once they review the case on their own. This may not be the end, Gwynn said. In years past, the Newport News Police Department had a standard practice of publicly releasing information about both police officer arrests and accidental shooting deaths. Advertisement But in the McCombs case, the department did not release any information about the toddlers death or the officers arrest with the matter coming to light only now that the case has reached the court system four months on. Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew, who has led the department since 2018, said he hasnt typically put out news releases about accidental shooting deaths in the city. In this case, he said, McCombs must pay the steep price of losing his son. When I look at the totality and the balance and the humanity side of things, there is no penalty, no fee, no fine, no sentence, no anything that can replace the loss of your child, Drew said. This was an error in judgment. Its a tragic, tragic event, and my heart breaks for that family ... I didnt want to sensationalize that. He also contends that the misdemeanor charge fits the crime. There was no malice, no intent, no danger to the community, Drew said. After researching it and talking it over, we felt that like this was the only charge that really fit the situation we had. The fact that McCombs is a police officer, the chief said, didnt make a difference in how the case was handled. Advertisement If this happened to a citizen who wasnt sworn, I dont know that I would be sending out a press release, Drew said. The people who put this uniform on, we are not any different than anybody else. We are held to a higher standard as we should be. But we make mistakes. Peter Dujardin, 757-247-4749, pdujardin@dailypress.com Tucker Carlson, host of "Tucker Carlson Tonight." (Richard Drew / Associated Press) The conflict in Ukraine and backpedaling were the main themes of Tucker Carlsons show Thursday after the Fox News host was slammed for defending Russian President Vladimir Putin, and dragging U.S. President Joe Biden, in the lead-up to Russia's invasion of the Eastern European nation. I dont think anybody approves of what Putin did yesterday," he said. "I certainly dont. That wasn't the note he sounded 24 hours earlier, just before tanks rolled over the border between Ukraine and Belarus, bombs detonated over the capital, Kyiv, and families sought shelter in underground subway stations. As on-scene reporters stressed the gravity of the situation, and American media outlets reacted with equal solemnity, one notable exception emerged: Fox News. As Putin started a war, the conservative news outlet's top talent sympathized with the former KGB agent-turned-despot over the U.S. and its allies a stunning move even for the network that provided a megaphone for Trump's Big Lie about a "rigged" election. But on Wednesday, any expectation that Carlson and Fox News colleague Laura Ingraham would tone down the pro-Putin disinformation they'd been feeding their viewers quickly evaporated. Instead, Carlson used Wednesday's show to wave the flag not for the U.S. or its suffering ally Ukraine, but for Putin. Questioning why we should hate the autocratic and isolated Russian ruler, the "Tucker Carlson Tonight" host discounted Ukraine as a pure client state of the United States State Department. That same evening, Ingraham blamed the conflict on the weakness and the incompetence of the Biden administration, a position echoed by a number of Republican elected officials, and called Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky's desperate appeal for Putin to stop the attack a pathetic display." You read that correctly. She was mocking a last-ditch effort to save lives and country. Laura Ingraham speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press) Characterizing the Russian advance as a "border dispute," Carlson preferred to lay blame on the opposition: Democrats had conditioned folks "to hate Putin," he said, going so far as to urge his viewers to rethink their feelings about good ol' Vlad: "Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him? Has he shipped every middle-class job in my town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked my business and kept me indoors for two years? Is he teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Is he trying to snuff out Christianity?" The answer, to Carlson's mind, is no. (Nothing, not even jailing antiwar protesters, is worse than submitting cable news hosts to criticism.) Which makes Putin the good guy and Biden the bad. And since Joe likes Ukraine, Fox News logic demands irrationally turning on your own country and supporting the enemy to ... own the libs? Never mind the unprovoked attack was soon condemned by multiple heads of state, or that it prompted sanctions and sparked protests from Sydney to St. Petersburg. Carlson had all the footing he needed: Former President Donald Trump had already referred to Putin as a genius for his aggression in the region, just as he had spoken highly for years of the man whose meddling helped him into the White House. By primetime Thursday, Carlson had changed his tune: Vladimir Putin started this war," he said. "He is to blame tonight for what were seeing tonight in the Ukraine. Then he quickly pivoted. The question is ... how should the United States respond to what he has done? Within minutes of the outbreak of the war last night the usual liars on television began leveraging this tragedy for partisan political gain ... its contemptible. But we're going to ignore that tonight and talk about what matters. As much as Carlson wanted folks to ignore his previous week (OK, five years) of blowing kisses at Russia's strongman, his love letters were scattered about social media. Russian state media reportedly aired his flattering commentary with subtitles to show Putin's subjects how Americans really feel, as well as an article titled, "Tucker Carlson wonders why U.S. elites hate Putin." The pro-Russia stance of the network's "opinion" hosts created quite the cognitive dissonance with Fox's news operations. Whiplash kicked in Wednesday when the network moved from mortar blasts to partisan chatter. Trey Yingst in Kyiv reported from under a helmet against the backdrop of sirens, then host Shannon Bream threw to White House correspondent Kevin Corke, who immediately situated the reactions of American politicians within the realm of Democrat/Republican squabbling. "Barack Obama, you may recall, said to Mitt Romneys suggestion back in 2012 that the Kremlin was Americas number one enemy that 'the 1980s called, they want their foreign policy back,'" Corke said. "Joe Biden at the time said we were mired in a Cold War mind-set if you listened to Romney. Hillary Clinton said his thinking was dated and backward..." As for reaction from inside the Kremlin? You'll have to ask Carlson. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Russian forces have faced stiffer-than-expected resistance in their attack on Ukraine, according to a Pentagon official briefing reporters on Friday. The advance toward Kyiv, ordered by President Vladimir Putin, is going slower than the Russians would have had anticipated it going, a Pentagon official told the New York Times. Tempering that assessment, however, there were also reports from Ukraine on Friday evening that Russian troops have reached the outskirts of Kyiv, where large explosions could be seen and heard in the night sky. The attack itself had been predicted by U.S. intelligence analysts, but the sight of tanks rolling across the borders of one European country into another has left world leaders scrambling for a response. Already, leaders in the U.K and the United States have imposed strict sanctions against the Russian government, its economy and members of Putin's inner circle. And on Thursday, President Biden promised that the United States would continue to support Ukraine militarily, saying, "We're united in our support of Ukraine. We are united in our opposition to Russian aggression. And we are united in our resolve to defend our NATO alliance. And we're united in our understanding of the urgency and seriousness of the threat Russia is making to global peace and stability. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared confident on Thursday when he introduced martial law across the country, reassuring civilians that the army is working. But many wonder if the sanctions are too little, too late to thwart Putin's massive attack. The question now is whether Ukrainian forces have anything like the military equipment or prowess necessary to turn back the Russian attackers or even hold them at bay. Since 2014, when Putin seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine without firing a shot, the Ukrainian military has clawed its way back, fighting separatists and putting a stop to hostilities in eastern regions. From 2014 to 2020, Ukraine went from allocating 1.5 percent of gross domestic product on military expenditure to 4.1 percent of GDP, according to World Bank figures. Military experts estimate that the number of Russian troops that amassed on the Ukrainian border before the invasion was 190,000. That is just a small percentage of the 900,000 soldiers Russia has in its combined armed forces, compared with the 361,000 active soldiers in Ukraine. But this has massively grown since last June, when it was reported by the U.S. Congressional Research Service that Ukraine had increased its combat-ready soldiers from 6,000 to 150,000. Most male adults in Ukraine have at least basic military training. As for reserves, Russia's resources are more than double those of Ukraine, with 2 million to Ukraines 900,000. In relation to weaponry, Putin has 2,840 battle tanks, which outnumber those of its neighbor by more than 3 to 1, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. As for military aircraft, Ukraine has 200 attack aircraft, including helicopters, and two warships while Russia has at least 1,300 aircraft, 34 warships and 50 submarines. Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraine's Luhansk region on Thursday. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images) Russia has the fourth-largest military in the world and has the largest stockpile of nonstrategic nuclear weapons. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, it has an estimated 6,257 nuclear warheads. The country inherited approximately 35,000 nuclear weapons after the fall of the Soviet Union. As for military affairs, even after the dissolution of the USSR and losing a considerable part of its capabilities, todays Russia remains one of the most powerful nuclear states, Putin warned ahead of Thursdays invasion. Moreover, it has a certain advantage in several cutting-edge weapons. In this context, there should be no doubt for anyone that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country. Another 977 strategic warheads and 1,912 nonstrategic warheads are in Russias reserve, the NTI reported. Ukraine inherited a large number of nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but denuclearized under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Also under Russias belt is a biological warfare program that was launched in 1928. With regard to chemical weapons, Russia announced the complete destruction of its stockpile in 2017, after possessing the worlds largest chemical weapons during the Cold War. However, in recent years it was accused of developing a new class of nerve agents, called Novichok, and using them in the U.K. in the 2018 attempted assassination of a former Russian military intelligence officer, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia. On whether Ukraine could have a fighting chance against the Russian army, Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute told the BBC: "I think the Ukrainians are in a very difficult position." But in recent years, Ukraine has made progress in modernizing its army. "There has been enormous progress in terms of training and preparation for combat," Gustav Gressel, a specialist in Russian military issues at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told France 24. Gressel went on to say that one of the main weaknesses of the Ukrainian armed forces is that its military doctrines were developed during the Soviet era, and so Moscow knew perfectly well what to expect and could prepare itself accordingly. Ukraine still reportedly relies heavily on Soviet-era tanks, planes and armored cars. Another asset for the Ukrainian army is that it is a young force. "Most of them enlisted in 2014-15, Glen Grant, a senior analyst at the Baltic Security Foundation who has worked in Ukraine on the country's military reform, told France 24. So it's a voluntary act to defend the homeland, which means they are highly motivated and have high morale. A convoy of Russian military vehicles moves toward the border in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on Wednesday. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Ukraine is not facing Russia alone. Western countries have increased arms deliveries to Ukraine, although Kyiv has said it is in need of more. In November, the U.S. delivered 88 tons of ammunition as part of a military aid package that was worth $60 million. The U.K. supplied Ukraine with 2,000 short-range antitank missiles in January and sent specialists to deliver the training. Germany ruled out arms deliveries but said it would co-finance a $6 million field hospital. The Czech Republic said it has plans to donate ammunition. Estonia said it was sending Javelin anti-armor missiles, and Latvia and Lithuania said they were providing Stinger missiles. It remains to be seen whether this is enough to protect Ukraine and its people from Russia. Where are Russian forces surrounding Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out. Following a series of unsolved bomb threats directed at historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, the FBI revealed this week that at least 57 institutions, including houses of worship, received such threats between Jan. 4 and Feb. 14. In response, the agency announced Wednesday, investigators at 31 of its field offices around the country have been deployed to aggressively investigate the matter just three weeks after they launched their initial probe. (The FBI didn't immediately respond to an inquiry as to how that data breaks down on HBCUs versus other targets or whether the attacks on houses of worship also appeared to be motivated by racism.) We recognize the fear and disruption this has caused across the country, and we will continue our work to make sure people feel safe in their communities, schools and places of worship, the statement read in part. The FBI is investigating these cases as racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate crimes." And while the investigation ticks up, so too do the threats, particularly at HBCUs. Howard University, in Washington, D.C., is one of many historically Black institutions that have recently received bomb threats. (Mandel Ngan/AFP) Early Friday morning, Dillard University in New Orleans, Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va., and Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, N.C., became the latest HBCUs to receive bomb threats, forcing students to shelter in place and closing down at least one of the college campuses for the day. On Wednesday, Hampton University in Hampton, Va., received a bomb threat that was found to be unsubstantiated a few hours later, the school said in a statement. Howard University, which is located in the nations capital, received its fourth bomb threat in as many weeks last Monday. The FBI reported that the threats have been made by phone, email, instant messages or anonymous online posts. By Feb. 2, the FBIs joint terrorism task forces had identified at least six tech savvy juveniles as persons of interest, but no arrests have been made. There hasnt been a week in February without a bomb threat reported at an HBCU. In all, more than two dozen nationwide have reported bomb threats since early January, leading many critics to believe the aim is to cripple students with fear. Violence is a tool of intimidation used to silence these institutions and their students, Robert Greene, assistant professor of history at Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C., told Yahoo News. Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla. A bomb threat was called in to the campus on Feb. 1. (Getty Images) The mounting threats have roiled HBCUs nationwide, disrupting normal campus life and straining school leadership to take on additional expenses to ensure student safety. Many of these schools have limited resources, with some public HBCUs having been underfunded by state governments for decades compared with their majority-white counterparts. HBCUs have over two centuries played a significant role in Black history and the history of American higher education. Before Black people were allowed to attend majority-white colleges and universities, they created their own. Today HBCUs generate $14.8 billion in economic impact, according to the United Negro College Fund. Whatever the motives are of the individuals who are making these threats we, as a country, need to recognize that these institutions need our protection and they need our investment because of their importance to our entire nations educational success, said Yasmin Cader, a 1989 graduate of Howard University and current director of the ACLU Trone Center for Justice and Equality. These threats highlight not only [potential violence] but also highlight how HBCUs are systematically underfunded. Acts of domestic terrorism have further stained the fabric that has attempted to hold this country together, Carmen J. Walters, the president of Tougaloo College, said. (Tougaloo is an HBCU located in Jackson, Miss., that received a bomb threat earlier this month.) When bombings occurred on our campus during the early 60s, crosses were burned at the campus entrance in response to our work to dismantle Jim Crow, and freedom workers were pulled over for driving cars with Tougaloo College bumper stickers, we did not falter in our mission, nor were we paralyzed by fear and nor are we faltering today. Civil right activist James Meredith, in pith helmet, walks with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. before reaching Tougaloo College, June 25, 1966. (via Getty Images) Their mission was to deter our mission for Black excellence and Black unity in the United States of America, Zachary Wilson, the student government vice president at Rust College in Holly Springs, Miss., told Mississippi Today. Rust College received a bomb threat on the first day of Black History Month. We are undeterred, and they failed, Wilson added. They simply failed. The threat of violence, historically carried out by white supremacist groups, has long been associated with HBCUs since many were founded in the 1800s. Wilberforce University, one of the nations oldest private HBCUs, in Greene County, Ohio, faced an arson attempt shortly after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April 1865. The fire destroyed several university buildings, resulting in $50,000 in damage, according to the New York Times. Howard University came under attack in 1919, when a race riot broke out across Washington, D.C., wreaking havoc across the city for four days. By the 1920s, Black students at HBCUs began to regularly demonstrate through rallies and sit-ins for a more equitable education system, including improved class resources. In response, they were often met with violence from police officers and white supremacist groups. Two students at Jackson State in Jackson, Miss., were killed and 12 others injured in May 1970 when police opened fire on a group of students. These crimes are part of a long history of attacks on institutions that serve the Black community," the American Historical Association said in a statement Tuesday. [These acts] spawned not only a hateful legacy, but also a current, ongoing threat to the physical safety and emotional well-being of all Black Americans. Hundreds of National Guardsmen patrol a riot-torn street near Jackson State College in Jackson, Miss., May 12, 1967. (Getty Images) The most recent threats come on the heels of historic achievements by HBCU graduates, including Kamala Harris, the first woman, first Black person and first Asian American to become vice president of the United States. Harris graduated from Howard University in 1986. There are some people in society who actually are threatened by the power of HBCUs and the transformative education that they provide and how they provide access to spaces that were once shut off or once limited to minoritized communities, Robert Palmer, an associate professor of policy studies at Howard University, told NBC News. There definitely seems to be a correlation between the recent attention HBCUs have gotten, particularly with Kamala Harris, and the fact that HBCUs are equipping students to get access to key places and important places of power in society. For some, the HBCU experience, for better or worse, is historically intertwined with conflict. One of the greatest parts of being at an HBCU is that we are always at the center of our political history, Cader of the ACLU said. During her time in college, Cader recalls classmates rallying for U.S. divestment from South Africa during apartheid and protesting against the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court, adding that those experiences shaped my education. Howard University students outside an administration building during a sit-in, March 20, 1968. (Frank Hoy/Washington Post via Getty Images) Students today feel the weight of the threats as much as they did years ago. It makes me realize how there are still these terrorists that are trying to stop minorities from advancing or just getting a simple education from a predominantly Black institution, Saigan Boyd, a student at Spelman College, told CNN this month. Im just tired of being terrorized like how my grandparents were. While there is limited nationwide data available on bomb threats, in 2018 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported that 529 bomb threats were made to schools, a 33 percent increase from two years prior. HBCUs represent an increasingly large cross section of the world, and the demographics at such institutions continue to evolve. According to data compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics, non-Black students in 2020 made up some 24 percent of HBCUs student populations, compared with just 15 percent in 1976. According to Walters of Tougaloo College, the HBCU community remains committed to their cause. Though many of our institutions were born out of the soil of former slave plantations, we continue to be true to our history and those we serve, she said. _____ Cover thumbnail photo illustration: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images, Andre Chung for the Washington Post via Getty Images Corrections & Clarifications: This story has been updated to reflect the correct age and spelling of Sofia Demianchuk. Thursday morning at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood, parishioners prayed as daylight filtered through stained glass modeled after the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv. The Very Rev. Serhiy Kovalchuk urged a crowd of dozens to send prayers for peace and safety to Ukraine. "God loves us," he said. "And God listens." Ukraine "is a peaceful nation," Kovalchuk added after the prayer service. "We just would like to have our own country. We would like to have our own choice." With prayers, calls for peace and protests outside Russian diplomatic facilities in Washington, D.C. and New York City, Ukrainian Americans across the U.S. spent the day after the start of a new war urging Russia to end the invasion that threatens their families, friends and ancestral homeland. They said news reports showing the damage and casualties were "hard to watch." RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: Biden details new Russian sanctions, says 'aggression cannot go unanswered.' Photos and videos from Ukraine showed injured residents, smoke pouring from buildings and rockets stuck in homes. Civil defense sirens wailed as long lines of cars slowly streamed out of the capital city of Kyiv. The attack crushed hopes for a diplomatic resolution, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally cut diplomatic ties with Russia. At the St. Nicholas Cathedral School, assistant principal Lisa Swytnyk said teachers held students who cried with worry about their families in Ukraine. The school allowed students to attend mass together as a way to support them. Swytnyk is worried, too, for her own family in western Ukraine. They are avoiding the country's large cities in an effort to keep safe, she said. "You feel so helpless," she said. "The helplessness is overwhelming." Paul Skomoroch, an eighth grader at St. Nicholas and the son of a Ukraine-born mother, said he's scared for his cousins who remain in the country. WILL US HELP UKRAINE IN WAR VS. RUSSIA? American troops bolster NATO in Europe "They don't feel safe," said Paul, who added many have told him they are packing up and ready to move if they must. Taras Slobodian, who braved freezing temperatures as he waved a Ukrainian flag in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood, said he may go in the other direction to rejoin siblings and grandparents in Ukraine. "I'll go back and help if I have to," he said. "I can't just stand by." In Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Ukrainian immigrant Olena Danylyuk said she was disturbed, saddened, and angered by the violence. Danylyuk, vice-chair of the Ukrainian American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan, said one of her sisters and her children have fled Kyiv and are hiding in a small town. Others are in the city of Lviv. She said they had not expected war today. "They woke up in total shock," Danylyuk said. IN MICHIGAN: Ukrainian Americans 'watch in horror' as Russia attacks Mykola Murskyj, chair of the Ukrainian American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan, urged all Americans to pray for the resolution of the "senseless violence" and for the safety of the Ukrainian people. In Los Angeles, Rev. Ihor Koshyk opened the doors of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church Thursday evening for a special service. About two dozen gathered in the small church, which is adorned with fragrant candles and colorful paintings of saints. We called our people for an evening vigil prayer so we could say a special prayer for Ukraine and for God's help, Koshyk said. Both he and his wife, Olga, who immigrated to the U.S. 20 years ago, said they were in a state of shock watching the invasion in real-time television. Friends and family of the couple who still live in the country went into hiding, they said, including some who were taking shelter in subway stations. Its an unreal feeling, Olga said, breaking into tears. You really dont understand how much your country and your home means to you until you see it being torn apart and you see your people being gunned down for no reason at all. Oksana Ivasiv, 71, stood outside St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York City, where she attached U.S. and Ukrainian flags to the metal grating outside the church doors. Im speechless, she said. I want to pray everything is going to be OK. Ivasiv, whose family is from eastern Ukraine, came to the United States in 1995. She has relatives in the country but had not heard from them as of Thursday morning. I knew (Putin) was going to come, she said, but I have no idea how far hes going to go. Although it has been more than two decades since she moved to the U.S., Ivasiv said, my heart is still with my country. 'UNJUSTIFIED ATTACK': Who are Russia's allies in the Ukraine conflict and what is their stance? God is watching, she added. And one day he will say enough. At the nearby New York branch of the Selfreliance Association of Ukrainian Americans, a credit union, Daria Rekucha, 78, said she regularly sends money and care packages to to her family in Ukraine. She hopes to continue sending during the invasion. "A lot of people are dying," she said. "This is very bad news." Brooklyn resident Sofia Demianchuk, 20, said she and her family also have tried sending money to relatives in Ukraine. They have also supported online fundraisers to aid Ukraine's defense, she said. Tom Birchard, an owner of Veselka, a popular East Village Ukrainian restaurant, said he has reached out to Ukrainian community leaders for guidance on where supporters can send donations for their war-torn nation. "People want to know they're giving to the places where it will do the most good," said Birchard. In the Midwest, Vlad Sazhen is a sophomore year exchange student from Ukraine studying aerospace engineering at the University of Missouri. His hometown, Kharkiv, where his girlfriend, parents and 8-year-old sister live, is roughly 25 miles from a border with Russia. Speaking before Russian military forces launched the attack, Sazhen said he's kept in touch with his family and girlfriend through video calls "all the time while they're not asleep. "They're nervous, but they're confident as well that the Ukrainian army will protect them," he said. Artem Agvanian, an 18-year-old college freshman in Rhode Island, said he and his family opted to speak Russian last summer during a visit to the part of eastern Ukraine where he grew up. Another, Viktor Meleta, a 41-year-old who works with robot technology, spoke Ukrainian when he lived in the country's western section. Languages aside, they are in agreement on Ukraine. Both said they want to do whatever they can to keep the crisis from being ignored a possibility Agvanian called "a threat of oblivion." In Springfield, Illinois, where Vlad Brodsky came after leaving Kyiv in 1994, the 69-year-old resident said he speaks with friends in Ukraine daily to keep up with news. "They have very good nervous systems," Brodsky said about his friends' reaction to the buildup of Russian troops before Wednesday's late-night invasion. "They have no panic. Some of them buy guns and if (the Russians) come, they will struggle with them. "They don't need my (analysis) about the situation. They're ready to struggle for their state, for their families, against the Russians," added Brodsky. There are more than 1 million Ukrainian Americans in the U.S., according to 2019 U.S. Census Bureau data. New York City, with an estimated 160,000, and Philadelphia, with roughly 60,000, are the metropolitan areas with the largest groups, the data show. Ukrainian Americans are finding support in their adopted homeland. Suzanne P. Clark, president and chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a statement called the Russian attack an "affront to our steadfast belief in a world where democratic countries, following the rule of law and the free enterprise system, can be free and prosper." Contributing: John Bacon and Christal Hayes, USA TODAY; Roger McKinney, Columbia Daily Tribune; Steven Spearie, The State Journal-Register; Mark Reynolds, The Providence Journal This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukrainian Americans express anger, sadness as Russia invades President Biden has chosen Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his pick to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court fulfilling his campaign promise of appointing a Black woman to the nations highest court. Biden will formally announce Jackson, 51, as his nominee at the White House on Friday afternoon. Judge Jackson is an exceptionally qualified nominee as well as an historic nominee, the White House said in a statement. And the Senate should move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation. Here are 5 things to know about Jackson. She clerked for Breyer A graduate of Harvard Law School, Jackson served as a law clerk to three federal judges, including Breyer on the Supreme Court. As Breyers clerk during the courts 1999-2000 term, Jackson learned up close how important it is for a Supreme Court Justice to build consensus and speak to a mainstream understanding of the Constitution, the White House said in its announcement. According to the Boston Globe, the 83-year-old Breyer considers Jackson a member of his extended family. She was confirmed to her current post with some bipartisan support Biden nominated Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last summer, and she was confirmed by the Senate in a 53-44 vote, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina voting in her favor. But in a tweet early Friday, Graham said that the nomination of Jackson means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again. Graham had heaped praise on U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was speculated to be one of Bidens leading contenders for the Supreme Court. She would be somebody, I think, that could bring the Senate together and probably get more than 60 votes, Graham said on ABCs This Week With George Stephanopoulos earlier this month. Anyone else would be problematic. Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominated to be a U.S. Circuit judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, is sworn in to testify before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on pending judicial nominations on Capitol Hill in April. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool/Reuters) She said race doesnt play a role in her work but life experience does Born in Washington, D.C., in 1970, Jackson moved to Florida as a young child with her parents, graduates of historically Black colleges and universities who worked as public school teachers. During her confirmation hearing for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, asked Jackson how race would affect her job. I dont think that race plays a role in the kind of judge that I have been and would be. Im doing a certain thing when I get my cases, Jackson replied. Im looking at the arguments, the facts and the law. Im methodically and intentionally setting aside personal views [and] any other inappropriate considerations, and I would think that race would be the kind of thing that would be inappropriate to inject into my evaluation of a case. Jackson also made it clear that she believed her perspective was still crucial to the court. Ive experienced life in perhaps a different way than some of my colleagues because of who I am, and that might be valuable I hope it would be valuable if I was confirmed to the court, she said. She was a public defender If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Supreme Court justice since Thurgood Marshall to have represented indigent criminal defendants. During her April confirmation hearing, Jackson discussed how her experience as a public defender would benefit her approach to cases on the bench. One of the things that I do now is I take extra care to communicate with the defendants who come before me in the courtroom, Jackson said. I speak to them directly, and not just to their lawyers. I use their names. In addition to her public-defender work, Jackson served as vice chairman of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, working to reduce the penalties for crack cocaine offenders. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Photo by Bill O'Leary/Washington Post via Getty Images) She ordered Trumps former counsel to testify in his impeachment inquiry In her work as a federal judge, one of Jacksons most prominent rulings was a 2019 decision in which she ordered former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn to testify in the impeachment inquiry against then-President Donald Trump. McGahn, a key witness in Robert Muellers investigation, was called to testify by the House Judiciary Committee to determine if there were grounds for Trumps impeachment. Trump ordered McGahn not to testify on the grounds that his role as the presidents close adviser had granted him immunity. In her 118-page decision, Jackson declared that immunity simply does not exist, even for the commander in chief. Presidents are not kings, she wrote. This means that they do not have subjects bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control. She's related by marriage to Paul Ryan Jackson met her husband, Patrick Jackson, when the two were at Harvard College. He is a surgeon and they have two daughters. His twin brother is the brother-in-law of Janna Ryan, wife of former House Speaker Paul Ryan. "Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family," Ryan tweeted on Friday. "Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal." Until his surprise election in 2019, Volodymyr Zelenskyy played a president on TV. Today, the 44-year-old is leading Ukraine as it faces an invasion from Russia, facing a threat to his rule and perhaps his life, from President Vladimir Putin. MORE: What to know about Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the comedian-turned president of Ukraine Addressing Ukrainians on television Thursday, at the end of the first day of the invasion, Zelenskyy said he had information Russia "has identified me as target No. 1 and my family as No. 2." "They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state," the president said in the televised speech. PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures while speaking during a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda following their talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 23, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP) Zelenskyy's life and career have been anything but typical compared to other international leaders, and he has faced a seemingly unending series of crises since taking office. Zelenskyy, who is married and has two children, graduated from the Kyiv National Economic University in 2000 with a law degree, but he decided to pursue a different career. PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena paid tribute to the victims of the 1932-1933 Holodomor (Great Famine in Ukraine of 1932-33) at a monument to the victims in Kyiv, Ukraine, Nov. 23, 2019. (NurPhoto via Getty Images, FILE) He formed the comedy troupe Kvartal 95 with other actors in 1997 and in 2003, the group began producing television programs. In 2015, Zelenskyy began starring in the role that would set him on the path to the presidency. In the show "Servant of the People," he played Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko, a school teacher who wakes up to find that a rant he made against corrupt politicians went viral and catapulted him to the presidency. Holoborodko was often portrayed as being in over his head, but willing to fight corruption. The show was so popular that it led to Kvartal 95 creating a political party in its name. PHOTO: Volodymyr Zelenskyy performs on stage in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod on Feb. 9, 2019. (Sergiy Gudak/AFP via Getty Images, FILE) In 2018, Zelenskyy abruptly moved into real politics and announced his candidacy for president under the Servant of the People party. During his campaign, he continued touring with his troupe and mocked his opponents in stand-up routines. Zelenskyy also took to social media to promote his campaign and platform. His attitude was similar to his TV character as he vowed to crack down on corruption and promote a more centrist administration. MORE: Russia-Ukraine updates: Chernobyl taken by Russian forces, Ukraine says He went on to win the election in a landslide, taking over 73% of the vote, after running on a platform to end the war with Russia and its separatist proxies in eastern Ukraine. He was inaugurated in May 2019. PHOTO: Ukrainian comedian and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky reacts after the announcement of the first exit poll results in the second round of Ukraine's presidential election at his campaign headquarters in Kiev on April 21, 2019. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images, FILE) Two months later, Zelenskyy would become entangled in a major U.S. scandal involving then-President Donald Trump. News emerged that Trump had called Zelenskyy and pressured him to work with Rudy Giuliani and then-Attorney General William Barr to investigate Joe Biden, who was then running against Trump in the presidential election, and his son Hunter. Trump withheld $400 million in congressional aid to Ukraine when Ukrainian officials didn't comply. Trump denied any wrongdoing, repeatedly saying it was a "perfect call," but a congressional investigation led to Trump's impeachment later that year. He was acquitted in the Senate in February 2020. MORE: Read the transcript of Trump's call with the Ukraine president Zelenskyy has had a more amicable relationship with Biden since he took over the presidency and visited the White House last year. Zelenskyy led his country as COVID-19 ravaged the world. He would test positive for the virus in November and was hospitalized for three days. He came to office promising to find a way to resolve the eight-year conflict in eastern Ukraine with the Russian-controlled separatists there. He initially tried to engage with Putin diplomatically, but was treated coldly by the Russian leader. In the past year, under pressure politically during the COVID-19 crisis, Zelenskyy had taken a harder line against pro-Russian political factions in Ukraine, including Viktor Medvedchuk, known as Putin's man in Ukraine. Russia's military buildup against Ukraine began around the same time Zelenskyy moved to sanction Medvedchuk and TV stations linked to him. MORE: Why Americans should care about the Ukraine-Russia conflict He has denied all allegations by Putin and Russian-controlled separatists that he is provoking war and made an impassioned plea in Russian on Feb. 23 for that country's people to reject the aggression. "We don't need war. Not a cold one, nor a hot one, nor a hybrid one," Zelenskyy said during his speech. Putin has claimed his military operation in Ukraine is aimed in part at "de-Nazification" of the country, playing on a false narrative that Western-leaning politicians are sympathetic to fascism. Zelenskyy is Jewish and three of his great uncles were killed in the Holocaust. Zelenskyy for now has said he will remain in Kyiv and has continued to post video addresses during the invasion. During his speech on Wednesday, Zelenskyy switched from Ukrainian into Russian, appealing directly to Russians for peace, saying their leadership was leading them into a senseless war. "I know that Russian TV won't show my speech. But citizens of Russia need to see it. They need to see the truth. The truth is you need to stop before it's too late," he said. A few hours later, missile strikes began hitting Kyiv. ABC News' Conor Finnegan contributed to this report. What to know about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Eight months after voting to confirm her appointment to the federal bench, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court a victory for the radical Left. The White House announced Friday morning that President Biden was selecting Jackson, 51, to fill the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring from the court. If confirmed, Jackson would become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., at the Capitol in December. (Sarah Silbiger/Reuters) Graham voted to confirm Jackson to her current position on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit just last summer. Graham was one of three Republicans to support her, along with Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. If media reports are accurate, and Judge Jackson has been chosen as the Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Breyer, it means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again, Graham posted on Twitter on Friday morning. The attacks by the Left on Judge Childs from South Carolina apparently worked. Graham and Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., had been urging Biden to select J. Michelle Childs, who is also Black, a federal judge in his home state of South Carolina. In the past few weeks, Graham has made the case that Childs would get the most bipartisan support. However, many progressives and labor leaders had argued against her selection, on the grounds that she had worked at a corporate law firm representing management in cases involving discrimination and labor law violations. Graham told ABC News earlier this month that he felt Childs would get the most Republican votes, after strongly endorsing her in an interview with CBS News last month in which he said he couldnt think of a better person for the role. In a statement Friday morning, the White House said, Judge Jackson is an exceptionally qualified nominee as well as an historic nominee, and the Senate should move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation." Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in her office in Washington on Feb. 18. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo) Childss supporters noted that she was educated at public universities, a contrast with the preponderance of Ivy League alumni on the Supreme Court. Jackson attended Harvard for both her undergraduate and law degrees, but she would become the first former federal public defender to sit on the high court. I expect a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Graham said Friday morning. The Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated. Graham was himself a prominent supporter of two justices appointed by then-President Donald Trump, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who hold degrees from Harvard, Yale and Columbia. While the White House would welcome bipartisan support for the pick, Democrats are expected to have the 50 votes needed for Jackson's confirmation. While Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have impeded parts of Bidens legislative agenda, theyve supported every one of his nominees to the federal bench. Breyer was appointed by President Bill Clinton, and Jacksons confirmation would not shift the court's current composition of conservatives to liberals on the court of 6-3. Of the two other Republicans who voted to confirm Jackson last year, Collins also voted to confirm both of President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominees. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on an elevator to the Senate chamber in September. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Ketanji Brown Jackson is an experienced federal judge with impressive academic and legal credentials, Collins said in a statement Friday morning. I will conduct a thorough vetting of Judge Jackson's nomination and look forward to her public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and to meeting with her in my office." Murkowski, meanwhile, is a moderate who is up for reelection this year, but a new election system in Alaska featuring ranked-choice voting could make it more politically palatable for her to vote for Bidens Supreme Court nominee, even though she faces a primary challenge from the right. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson delivers remarks on her nomination to the Supreme Court. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Over the course of 29 days since Justice Stephen G. Breyer announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson assumed the front-runners position to replace him. On Friday morning President Biden named her his nominee, and if confirmed she will become the first Black woman on the court. Jackson, 51, is not the head-and-shoulders most credentialed of the three leading candidates that were under consideration Leondra Kruger, a California Supreme Court justice, has an equally impressive resume, and at age 45, she would have the longest potential term on the court. Nor does Jackson have the political muscle of the other stellar candidate, U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs, 55, who had support from Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). But she has the strongest claim to confirmability on terms the Biden administration can claim as bipartisan. She was confirmed in June to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the second-most important court in the country, with the support of three Republican senators. It would be a feat of almost impossible political gymnastics for those three Graham, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) to turn against her so soon. On Friday, the former Republican House Speaker, Paul Ryan tweeted, "Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal." The monthlong nomination process, rapid by recent practice, can fairly be summarized as a search for some reason in the records or personalities of the other candidates to justify a marginally greater chance at bipartisan confirmability than Jackson presents, and a failure to find one. That is not to say that the case for Jackson consists of confirmability alone. She checks a lot of boxes for Biden and the court. Jackson's nomination fulfills the pledge Biden made, with his back against the wall at a South Carolina debate, to nominate a Black woman to the court. Publicly limiting his choices on the basis of race and gender has drawn criticism from Republicans, but no less an avatar of Republicanism than Ronald Reagan campaigned on a similar pledge, vowing to nominate the first woman on the court and later appointing Sandra Day OConnor. Moreover, on the merits of the criterion, there is broad acceptance of the idea that the court ideally should resemble the country, and in any case, voters chose Biden knowing he had made the pledge, a sufficient endorsement in itself. Jackson is an unequivocally well-qualified nominee. She has the same sort of platinum-plated resume as the other justices: Harvard College and Harvard Law School, hot shot law firms and three prestigious clerkships, culminating with service for Breyer, who has described her as "great, brilliant, decent." Jackson also brings valuable professional diversity to the court. She served for two years as an assistant federal public defender. The last justice with remotely comparable experience was Thurgood Marshall, for whom I clerked. He brought a certain authority to the courts criminal docket from having represented the accused. Jackson would do the same. Jackson also served, with unanimous Senate consent, on the United States Sentencing Commission, the independent agency that drafts and analyzes federal sentencing guidelines. Federal sentencing law is a big part of the Supreme Courts docket, and with the departure of Breyer, who helped write the current guidelines, her expertise will enhance the courts decision-making. Finally, for eight years Jackson was a judge at the federal trial court level, so she understands how cases begin and can sniff out the facts of a case from the cold appellate record. On the current court, only Justice Sonia Sotomayor served on the trial bench. Her extensive qualifications notwithstanding, we should not expect her confirmation process to be all sweetness and light. Forty-four Republicans voted against her for the D.C. Circuit, and many of them will use their advice and consent power, and their turn under the lights (and a valuable fundraising opportunity), to inveigh against the president and accuse the nominee of wild-eyed activism and legislating from the bench. They wont have a lot to work with, but Jacksons record as a district court judge does include some noteworthy reversals, including a ruling against the Trump administration and in favor of federal employee unions. Probably her highest profile ruling required former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. It included the much quoted sentence: Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that presidents are not kings. (McGahn eventually testified by agreement with the committee.) One other major fact defines this nomination: It is the least consequential in the last 50 years. The courts conservative hammerlock will not change. For that reason, we can expect a bit of hot rhetoric from GOP senators during the confirmation hearings, but the Republicans have no reason to wage a bloody battle against Jackson that they would be virtually certain to lose. Having blasted through norms and the Constitutions rules to achieve a lopsided conservative court majority, Mitch McConnell and Co. can choose to hang back and pretend to be statesmen. Whatever bruising attacks may come her way, Jackson who, in addition to her excellent paper credentials, has by all accounts a winning personality should prevail. All she needs is the equanimity she has already proved she possesses and to stay on her game, which should be very well-practiced by the time she takes the chair before the Judiciary Committee and is formally introduced to the American people. Only a self-inflicted wound can threaten her barrier-breaking ascent to the court. @HarryLitman This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences you have never seen." (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis: BUDAPEST, Hungary Hungary has extended temporary legal protection to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, as countries in eastern Europe prepare for the arrival of refugees at their borders. Hungary, which borders Ukraine to the west, has in the past taken a firm stance against all forms of immigration. It has controversially refused to accept refugees and asylum seekers from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. But in a decree published late Thursday, Hungarys government announced that all Ukrainian citizens arriving from Ukraine, and all third-country nationals legally residing there, would be entitled to protection. The section applying to third-country nationals makes it possible for non-Ukrainians for example, Belarussian refugees living in Ukraine to receive protection in the European Union. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Hungary will play no part in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but that it would accept refugees arriving at its borders. ___ LONDON British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed his solidarity with Ukraine in telephone call with the countrys leader. Johnsons Downing Street office said Friday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered an update on Russian military advances, including missile and artillery strikes. The prime minister assured President Zelenskyy that the world is united in its horror at what Putin his doing, Johnsons office said in a statement. He paid tribute to the bravery and heroism of the Ukrainian people in standing up to Russias campaign of violence and expressed his deep condolences for those who have been killed. ___ BERLIN The German government says it has suspended the granting of export credit and investment guarantees for business with Russia. The Economy Ministry said Friday that the granting of new export credit guarantees and investment guarantees for Russia was suspended on Thursday. The so-called Hermes credit export guarantees protect German companies from losses when exports arent paid for. Investment guarantees are granted by the German government to protect direct investments by German companies from political risk in the countries where they are made. The Economy Ministry said that new export credit guarantees to the tune of 1.49 billion euros ($1.67 billion) were granted last year for business with Russia. New investment guarantees came in at a fraction of that amount, at 3.75 million euros ($4.2 million). ___ WARSAW, Poland Polands Border Guard says that some 29,000 people were cleared to enter through the countrys land border with neighboring Ukraine on Thursday, the day Russias invasion of Ukraine began. Before that, there were some 12,000 average daily entries from Ukraine into European Union and NATO member Poland, through land, sea and airport checkpoints, according to Border Guard statistics. Poland has lifted the requirement of COVID-19 quarantine or vaccination certificates for refugees from Ukraine. A number of reception centers with camp beds, soup kitchens and medical care have been organized in locations close to the border with Ukraine. ___ BEIJING China is holding back from labeling Russias attack on Ukraine an invasion. At the same time, it is upholding the sanctity of territorial sovereignty, in a nod to its own insistence that Taiwan is part of China. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and maintained, Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Friday. At the same time, we also see that the issue of Ukraine has its own complex and special historical merits, and we understand Russias legitimate concerns on security issues, he added. Wang did not answer questions about whether China would recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics, in Ukrainian territory claimed by Russia, as independent states. ___ MOSCOW Russias civil aviation authority has banned U.K. flights to and over Russia in retaliation against the British governments ban on Aeroflot flights. Rosaviatsiya said that all flights by the U.K. carriers to Russia as well as transit flights are banned starting Friday. It said the measure was taken in response to the unfriendly decisions by the British authorities who banned flights to the U.K. by the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot as part of sanctions over Russias invasion of Ukraine. ___ MOSCOW The Russian military claims it has destroyed 118 Ukrainian military assets since the beginning of its assault on its neighbor and as it pushes into the outskirts of Kyiv. The claim could not be independently verified and was not confirmed by Ukraine amid a flurry of claims and counterclaims by each side. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Friday that among the targets were 11 Ukrainian air bases, 13 command facilities, 36 air defense radars, 14 air defense missile systems, 5 warplanes, 18 tanks and warships. However, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace rejected Russian claims of success on the first day of its invasion of Ukraine, saying it had failed to deliver on its day one objectives. Wallace told Sky News that the Western assessment is that Russia had failed to take its major objectives and is behind on its timetable for advance. Theyve lost over 450 personnel, he said. ___ BERLIN Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned Russias attack on Ukraine, calling it a deep cut in European history after the end of the Cold War. Germanys dpa news agency quoted Merkel saying Friday that there was no justification for this blatant attack of international law. I condemn it in the sharpest possible manner. Merkel, who grew up in East Germany and speaks Russian, was heavily engaged in negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin throughout her 16 years in office, which ended in December. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines nuclear energy regulatory agency says that higher than usual gamma radiation levels have been detected in the area near the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant, after it was seized by the Russian military. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate said Friday that higher gamma radiation levels have been detected in the Chernobyl zone, but didnt provide details of the increase. It attributed the rise to a disturbance of the topsoil due to the movement of a large amount of heavy military equipment through the exclusion zone and the release of contaminated radioactive dust into the air. Ukrainian authorities said that Russia took the plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle Thursday. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Russian airborne troops were protecting the plant to prevent any possible provocations. He insisted that radiation levels in the area have remained normal. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been no casualties or destruction at the industrial site. The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the plant 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell to prevent leaks. ___ THE HAGUE, Netherlands The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he is closely following recent developments in and around Ukraine with increasing concern. Karim Khan warned all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine that Ukraine has accepted the courts jurisdiction. That means my office may exercise its jurisdiction over and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within the territory of Ukraine since 20 February 2014 onwards, Khan said in a statement Friday. Khan adds that because neither Russia nor Ukraine are member states of the court, his office does not have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression in the conflict. The International Criminal Court is the worlds permanent war crimes court. It was set up in 2002 to prosecute atrocities in countries where local authorities are unable or unwilling to conduct trials. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko said at least three people were injured when a rocket hit a multi-story apartment building in Ukraine's capital on Friday, starting a fire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russian military's claim it is not targeting civilian areas is a lie. He said that military and civilian areas in Ukraine are both being hit by Russian attacks. Russias invasion of Ukraine began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukrainian and U.S. officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. ___ PARIS French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that France and its European allies have decided to inflict very severe blows on Moscow, further sanctioning individuals and targeting finance, energy and other sectors. The legal texts for the sanctions will be finalized and submitted for approval to EU foreign ministers later Friday. Macron also said the EU has decided on economic aid for Ukraine in the amount of 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion). The French president also called the Belorussian government an accomplice in Russias military invasion of Ukraine, and said it will also be targeted. ___ KYIV, Ukraine As Russian troops continued pressing their offensive Friday, intense fighting also raged in the countrys east. Russian troops entered the city of Sumy near the border with Russia that sits on a highway leading to Kyiv from the east. The regional governor, Dmytro Zhivitsky, said Ukrainian forces fought Russian troops in the city overnight, but other Russian convoys kept rolling west toward the Ukrainian capital. Military vehicles from Sumy are moving toward Kyiv, Zhivitsky said. Much equipment has passed through and is heading directly to the west. Zhivitsky added that another northeastern city, Konotop, was also sieged. He urged residents of the region to fight the Russian forces. ___ THE HAGUE, Netherlands The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he is closely following recent developments in and around Ukraine with increasing concern. Karim Khan issued a statement Friday on Twitter while on a visit to Bangladesh, where he is investigating crimes against Myanmars Rohingya minority. Khan said he alerted all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine that Ukraine has accepted the courts jurisdiction. That means my office may exercise its jurisdiction over and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within the territory of Ukraine since 20 February 2014 onwards," Khan added. He said that any person who commits such crimes, including by ordering, inciting or contributing in another manner to the commission of these crimes may be liable to prosecution before the Court. Khan added that because neither Russia nor Ukraine are member states of the court, his office does not have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression in the conflict. The International Criminal Court is the worlds permanent war crimes court. It was set up in 2002 to prosecute atrocities in countries where local authorities are unable or unwilling to conduct trials. ___ KYIV, Ukraine The Ukrainian military is reporting significant fighting northwest of the nations capital as Russian forces apparently try to advance on Kyiv from the north. The military said Friday morning a bridge across a river had been destroyed in the area of Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Kyiv. The hardest day will be today. The enemys plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv. Russian tanks burn perfectly when hit by our ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles), Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. ___ TOKYO The Ukrainian ambassador to Japan is urging China to join international efforts to stop the Russian massacre in his country amid Beijings lack of criticism of Moscows actions. We would very much welcome that China exercises its connection with Russia and talks to Putin and explains to him that it is inappropriate in the 21st century to do this massacre in Europe, Ukrainian diplomat Sergiy Korsunsky told a news conference in Tokyo. China has not criticized Russia over its actions against Ukraine, and has joined in verbal attacks on Washington and its allies. I do believe China can play a much more active role to work with Putin in a manner we expect for civilized countries to do, he said. Korsunsky also asked support from the United States and its allies to provide anti-missile defense equipment to fight Russian cruise missile attacks. He said Ukraine wants to join NATO and called for its support in resolving the conflict. ___ KYIV, Ukraine Explosions are being heard before dawn in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraines president pleads for international help. The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear, but the blasts came amid signs that the capital and largest Ukrainian city was increasingly threatened following a day of fighting that left more than 100 Ukrainians dead. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government had information that subversive groups were encroaching on the city, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv could well be under siege in what U.S. officials believe is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call __ BRUSSELS European Union leaders are putting on a united front after a six-hour meeting during which they agreed on a second package of economic and financial sanctions on Russia. The EU Council president accuses Russia of using fake pretexts and bad excuses for justifying its invasion of Ukraine and says sanctions will hurt the government, The legal texts for the sanctions agreed on are expected to be finalized overnight and be submitted for approval to EU foreign affairs ministers Friday. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says the package includes targeting 70% of the Russian banking market and key state-owned companies. She says Russias energy sector also will be targeted by making it impossible for Russia to upgrade its refineries. And there will be a ban on sales of software, semiconductors and airliners to Russia. ___ UNITED NATIONS The U.N. Security Council will vote Friday on a resolution that would condemn Russias military aggression against Ukraine in the strongest terms. It also would demand an immediate halt to Russias invasion and the withdrawal of all Russian troops. A senior U.S. official says the Biden administration knows the measure will be vetoed by Russia, but believes it is very important to put the resolution to a vote to underscore Russias international isolation. The official says the council vote will be followed by a resolution voted on quickly in the 193-member U.N. General Assembly where there are no vetoes. The final draft resolution, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, would reaffirm the councils commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. The council is scheduled to vote at 3 p.m. EST Friday. ___ Follow APs coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Natali Sevriukova reacts next to her house following a rocket attack in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday, Feb. 25. (Emilio Morenatti / AP) Lauren Walshs Conversations on Conflict Photographywas published in October 2019. A series of interviews with photojournalists, the book focused primarily on questions about photographing overseas conflict of the kind that is dominating the news with Vladimir Putins revanchist invasion of Ukraine. Walshs latest book deals with the more unconventional convulsions of the last two years. In 2020, it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic and that summers massive protests surrounding the death of George Floyd had produced a whole new set of dilemmas for photojournalists. Walshs follow-up, Through the Lens: The Pandemic and Black Lives Matter,continues her project of probing the processes behind the images that appear on our front pages. For a field still dominated by white men, Through the Lensbrings a refreshing diversity of voices to a set of questions around privacy and consent, the role of captions, graphic imagery and censorship. Walsh, who teaches the ethics and history of photojournalism at the New School and at New York University, has more recently been spending anxious days in contact with photographers stationed in Ukraine. She spoke to The Times about how photojournalism has changed and its role in what promises to be another long and brutal conflict. Your previous book dealt with conflict photography, so I have to start by asking what youre hearing from colleagues in Ukraine. What should we keep in mind with regard to the images coming out of that conflict? And what dangers are photographers facing there? The lead-up to the invasion revealed various ways Putin was willing to employ disinformation, including faked visuals, to justify incursion. This is a scary reminder of how powerful visuals can be. So at a minimum, viewers should be careful to receive their news imagery from credible sources. Im seeing lots of images on Twitter, sometimes from sources I know and trust. Other times, theyre retweets that can temporarily satiate that need to know now feeling, but if theyre uncredited, I dont know if theyre real or accurate or part of a political agenda. Disinformation is ever more frequently a tool of warfare; understanding that is crucial. As for the photojournalists on the ground in Ukraine, it goes without saying that any time one is in a conflict zone, there will be safety hazards. Missiles, shrapnel, explosions the dangers are real. And Russia is incredibly advanced in cyber capabilities and could be monitoring journalists. The phones we use give off our locations. Journalists should be savvy about all this. Im also hearing that panicked Ukrainians are, in cases, harassing or assaulting photojournalists. Its an anti-West sentiment, a you let this happen take on things. And while I have not, one day into the invasion, heard that Russian military is targeting media, watchdog organizations are concerned for all media and especially for local press and fixers. The worry is that there could be retribution if they're picked up by Russian forces. Transportation is another serious concern. Buses are shutting down, airports are being taken over, trains are moving targets, and I know of very few journalists who are getting around in armored cars. A day into the invasion, I havent heard of any major injuries sustained by photographers, but if that happens, they need treatment and ideally evacuation immediately. These are all concerns that photographers, as well as their editors, are grappling with. One photo editor told me in the hours before the invasion began, Twitter is freaking me out. This feels like the end of the world. It speaks to the acute stress and anxiety. But journalists take on all of this because a world without documentation or independent reporting, a world where state-promoted narratives dominate, is a whole other level of danger. Your new book stands in contrast to such combat situations, but even in covering protests and a pandemic, photographers faced many dangers. 2020 witnessed a massive spike in attacks against American journalists. One of the major issues was the vitriolic rhetoric toward the media throughout the Trump presidency, which contributed to it being such a dangerous year for journalists particularly journalists of color. In the book, Danese Kenon, director of video and photography for the Philadelphia Inquirer, talks about one single day, during coverage of George Floyd protests, when there were three separate incidents where her photographers were attacked or robbed. There was also a great deal of censorship globally. The pandemic provided an easy excuse to censor journalists. How did that play out in different countries? In countries like Peru and China, there were various forms of controlling the media. One of the people I interviewed, Aly Song, who is a staff photographer for Reuters and covered Wuhan, had his SD card reformatted by police his images were lost. Was this different in America? Photographers did complain of not being able to access hospitals, though some of that was due to privacy laws. But during the pandemic, the government relaxed certain privacy regulations while still holding fast to the media constraints. And in the long run, people did ask if it made a difference that we werent often seeing the more graphic images in hospitals. Would the severity of the virus have been taken more seriously by a broader public if there were more of those images early on? Its a difficult tightrope to walk, I imagine, because there are a lot of thorny questions about consent. And not just the victims of COVID-19 and their families many of the people at protests did not want to be photographed, which feels like a newer problem. The United States has an incredible and proud tradition of public protest, much of which comes to later generations through the photojournalism of the time. In 2020, we had the largest protests in U.S. history, but for the first time, photographers covering demonstrations routinely faced questions like: Should you show the faces of the people at these protests? People whove purposefully gone out in public with the intent to use their own bodies to make a statement? How do you be a witness to history while also not being dismissive of the wishes of the people on the ground? This change seems to be driven by the increased use of surveillance technologies, such as facial recognition software, that allow authorities to identify protestors. Right, these concerns grow from the perceived threat of surveillance. What this means for photojournalists is twofold. First, although you have the legal right to photograph in public, do you alter the way you work to prioritize the privacy of individuals? And second, photographs that show faces and eyes can be extremely emotionally compelling, so what does it mean for your documentation of something historically significant if you dont capture faces? There are photographers who are increasingly open to other ways of framing the picture. One photographer in the book, Nina Berman, made a photograph of a protest where you see a large crowd, but only from behind. Berman talks about this in the book: Most protests are choreographed performances, anyway. To think that all of these moments exist unscripted is not really to accept the reality of how these events operate. The job as it is broadly understood is to be a witness to events as they occur. To be the proverbial fly on the wall. What Berman is referencing is that protests are there as spectacle. They exist, in part, for the cameras. To recognize this, she suggests, means that photojournalists work isnt diminished even if there is a loss of some spontaneity because the photographer reacts to protestors requests by finding alternative ways to document. Systemic racism is hard to visually represent. It can be much harder to show, say, housing discrimination in a single photograph than it is an overturned police car on fire. Did you see these photojournalists working to address this tension? This is a major concern of a field called peace journalism. Photographer Patience Zalanga highlights this, asking us to not just look at spectacle but also the quiet moments surrounding things like Black Lives Matter. She has a beautiful image of a father reading with his son on a public bench. The two are reading a book they picked out together from a free library at George Floyd Square. As Zalanga explained to me, It might be a moment you would otherwise pass by, but this is an image that challenges the usual perceptions of Black men, particularly in this space that memorializes the violent death of a Black man. This is a tender, quiet interaction, and I hope it deepens the context. Dickey is the author, most recently, of The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Randy Farrow said police confirmed to him that his sister reached the airport in Las Vegas, but she hasnt been seen since. (Pavliha / Getty Images) GREENSBORO, N.C. A North Carolina woman whose family said she hadnt been heard from in nearly two weeks after flying to Las Vegas for a pageant has been located, police said Thursday. According to a news release from Greensboro police, Lejourney Farrow, 21, of Greensboro was confirmed to be in Las Vegas. The news release provided no additional details. Advertisement Farrow was supposed to be in Las Vegas on Feb. 10, and then travel to New York for Fashion Week on Feb. 15, said her brother, Randy Farrow, in a post on his Facebook page. He said his sister was to return to her home on Feb. 17. Randy Farrow said police confirmed to him that his sister reached the airport in Las Vegas, but she hasnt been seen since. He said his sister never told him the specific pageant she was to be involved in. Advertisement Investigators in Greensboro and Las Vegas were assigned to Farrows case. A previous news release from Greensboro police said Farrows name was entered into a national database as a missing person. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched an all-out military assault on Ukraine after weeks of denying "hysteria" from the West about the possibility of a Russian invasion. Despite calling the attack a "special military operation" in the eastern Donbas region, bombing campaigns began across almost the entirety of Ukraine, including near the capital of Kyiv, and Russian forces crossed borders from three sides of Ukraine, including Russian-occupied Crimea to the south and Ukraine's neighbor Belarus to the north. Putin claimed Russia's plans did not include occupying Ukraine, while warning other countries not to interfere or "face consequences greater than any you have faced in history." MORE: Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukrainian president says Russia targeting him, his family This is not the first time in recent years that Russia has invaded Ukraine, a former Soviet republic. In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. Here's what we know and don't: PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with representatives of the business community at the Kremlin in Moscow, Feb. 24, 2022. (Aleksey Nikolskyi/Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters) Why is Putin invading Ukraine? In December, the Kremlin published two draft treaties laying out its demands as it massed troops and weaponry around Ukraine. Chief among them were "security guarantees" that NATO bar Ukraine from membership and that the western military alliance (which started as a collective security pact against the Soviet Union) pull back its forces from Eastern European member states. But in a ranting speech Monday night, Putin went further, laying out his false pretext for an invasion by questioning Ukraine's legitimacy as a country and even claiming it needed to be liberated from Nazis and pro-Nazi people. Putin also signaled he sees the current democratically elected government in Ukraine as criminal. In addition, Putin used his speech Monday night to lament the end of the Soviet Union and claim that the countries created from Soviet republics weren't really independent. That led President Joe Biden and other world leaders to accuse Putin of trying to reestablish a Soviet empire -- something Putin denied the next day. While it's impossible to see inside Putin's mind, those stated concerns have proven false. On Tuesday, he warned Russia was ready to provide "military assistance" to the two Russian-created separatist republics in eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. But his assault on Ukraine hit targets far beyond those tiny separatist areas, where Russian forces have been covertly stationed since 2014. "This was never about genuine security concerns on their part. It was always about naked aggression, about Putin's desire for empire by any means necessary," Biden said Thursday. Who is involved? Russia had been holding huge joint military exercises within Belarus, which shares a border with Ukraine, in the weeks leading up to the invasion -- while scoffing at concerns they would be used for an invasion. On Thursday, Russian and Belarusian forces attacked Ukraine from the north. Other states, including the U.S. and European Union countries, had been attempting to resolve the conflict diplomatically. For weeks, the U.S., NATO, France, Germany, and others engaged in talks with Russia, while threatening heavy sanctions for any invasion and arming Ukraine with defensive lethal weapons. But Biden and other Western leaders have made clear they will not deploy troops to Ukraine to support its military. Still, a U.S. official told ABC News that surrounding nations are worried they will be overwhelmed with refugees fleeing Ukraine. Those surrounding nations include Poland, a NATO ally. MORE: Biden announces new sanctions on Russian banks, elites but not yet on Putin himself The Baltic States -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- also border Russia to the west and are members of NATO. Should Russia invade any of them, as some fear, the United States has said it will uphold NATO's Article 5, which says an attack on any NATO country is an attack on them all and necessitates a military response. "The United States, together with our allies, will defend every inch of NATO territory," Biden said Tuesday. Biden has deployed thousands of U.S. troops to Europe, including the Baltics, to reassure allies of that promise. What do we know about the separatists? Putin recognized two Moscow-backed rebel regions within eastern Ukraine as independent states. The two self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk want to control the whole of eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, while they only held one-third of it before the Russian invasion. The Russian-controlled separatists claimed they were under attack by Ukraine and were in need of military assistance from Russia "in repulsing Ukrainian aggression." Many of these so-called aggressions have been exposed as false flag attacks, and called out as such by the U.S. government and allies. Before pulling out its personnel, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's war monitor reported an exponential increase in shelling and other attacks, but made clear it was largely from the separatists' territory. How are the U.S. and its allies responding? Biden announced sanctions against Russian elites and their families and four financial institutions on Thursday, as well as export controls that block key materials like semiconductors for Russia's defense and high-tech industries. Two days earlier, Biden unveiled sanctions on two smaller Russian banks and a first group of oligarchs, warning Putin not to attack or face these harsher punishments -- a threat that was ignored. The U.K. on Thursday announced severe sanctions against more than 100 Russian individuals and entities, including freezing the assets of all major Russian banks and moving to exclude them from the U.K.'s financial system. The European Union also hit Russia with sanctions, including freezing assets. The G-7 countries released a joint statement on Thursday condemning Russia's military aggressions and announcing it will adopt "severe" coordinated sanctions. Several members, like Japan and Canada, announced their own, while other nations like South Korea, Australia, and Taiwan have joined, too. The U.S. also sanctioned 24 Belarusian officials, businesspeople, defense agencies and firms, state-owned companies and banks and financial institutions in response to "Belarus's support for, and facilitation of" Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Treasury Department said in a statement. PHOTO: A Ukrainian serviceman walks in a trench at his position at the line of separation between Ukraine-held territory and rebel-held territory near Svitlodarsk, eastern Ukraine, Feb. 23, 2022. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP) What's at stake? At least 137 people have been killed so far and several hundred have been injured, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As the conflict continues to unfold, many Ukrainians will likely be forced to leave their country en masse, becoming refugees. There also may be large numbers of casualties. Russian troops reportedly took full control of the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power station, including the plant itself, on Thursday, according to Ukraine's prime minister. The zone is about 60 miles north of Kyiv. The destroyed Chernobyl reactor itself is sealed under a giant containment shield, a stadium-sized metal structure that was built over it and completed a few years ago. But the biggest stakes are the rules-based order and general respect for sovereignty in Europe that has helped prevent all-out war for decades, potentially providing a playbook for further land grabs from Putin or other strongmen around the world. Questions about the Ukraine-Russia conflict, answered originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze after a shell struck a building in the town of Chuguiv in eastern Ukraine on Thursday. (Aris Messinis / AFP/Getty Images) Russian troops closed in on this besieged capital on Friday as sirens wailed, missiles streaked through the night and civilians took up arms to save a city on the brink of defeat in the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. "Make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier! the Ukrainian Border Guard implored as tens of thousands of men and women around the country loaded rifles, assembled homemade bombs and joined ragtag militias in an effort to beat back one of the world's most powerful armies. The battle for Kyiv unfolded into a second night gunfire crackled throughout the city into Saturday morning as the United States and the European Union imposed some of their harshest sanctions yet against Russia and as NATO, the transatlantic military alliance, deployed more troops to its member states in Eastern Europe. Despite an assessment from top Pentagon officials that Russia's invasion was not advancing as quickly as expected thanks in part to a spirited defense by Ukraine's air force, military and civilian deaths were mounting and tens of thousands of people were fleeing. As Russian tanks surrounded the capital, an uneasy realization settled in: Despite widespread global outrage over Russia's invasion of a democratic nation, no foreign armies were coming to help. "We are defending our country alone," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a solemn video address in which he ordered men of fighting age to stay in the country and arm a resistance. He said he would remain in Kyiv and warned that multiple cities were under attack: "This night they will storm." In the less than 72 hours since the onslaught began, Ukraine has been jolted from a peaceful, modern nation of domed churches and lively bars into one filled with scenes that recall the wars of Europe's past. As newly minted fighters dug trenches and practiced loading weapons, people clutching battered suitcases and passports swarmed buses and trains to take them to safety in Romania and Poland. Families cowered in subway shelters. Fragments of downed aircraft smoked amid brick homes and across open fields. Soldiers lay dead in fresh snow. On a call with President Biden on Friday that lasted nearly 40 minutes, Zelensky pleaded for more help. Shortly after, the U.S. announced new economic sanctions, this time directly targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as a $10-billion Kremlin-run investment fund. It was the latest in a series of punishing sanctions imposed by Western powers in recent days, part of what British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called "a remorseless mission to squeeze Russia from the global economy piece by piece." But it was not enough for a nation on the edge of being conquered. Zelensky said he was grateful for the support, but he has repeatedly slammed sanctions levied against Russia as insufficient, warning that unless world leaders do more to stop the invasion, Putin would broaden his war. If you dont help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door, said Zelensky, a former comedic actor who has transformed, overnight, into a wartime leader of mercurial energy and partisan eloquence. He called on citizens from other nations with combat experience to come to Ukraine "and protect Europe with us." "The fate of Ukraine is being decided right now," he said. On the second day of its large-scale assault on Ukraine part of Putin's dream of stitching back together remnants of the former Soviet Union the Kremlin sent mixed messages about whether it was open to dialogue with Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was ready for talks once the Ukrainian army laid down arms, insisting that Russia does not intend "to oppress" the Ukrainian people and saying they should have "a chance to decide their future." But Putin was much less diplomatic at a meeting with members of his security council, where he said he did not expect to reach agreements with "a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis that have settled in Kyiv and taken the entire Ukrainian people hostage." Zelensky, who has repeatedly said that he would not accept a Ukraine under Russia's thumb, has offered to negotiate on one of the Kremlin's key demands: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining NATO. The goal of membership in the military alliance is enshrined in Ukraine's constitution. Russia's offer of dialogue led some to question whether it was struggling militarily or whether it was an attempt at psychological warfare in step with Putin's tauntingly slow buildup of tens of thousands of troops along Ukraine's borders in recent months. U.S. military officials said there was evidence that Russia's attack on Ukraine, a nation the size of Texas with a population of 44 million, had not gone entirely according to plan. Pentagon officials said they believed the Russians had lost momentum, noting that Ukraine's air force was still fighting and its communications and media systems remained intact. Its not apparent to us that the Russians over the last 24 hours have been able to execute their plans as they deemed that they would," said Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby, although he added that it was a "dynamic, fluid situation. Pentagon officials said about one-third of the roughly 190,000 troops that Russia assembled before the invasion are now in Ukraine, and said Russia was conducting an amphibious assault west of Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, involving potentially thousands of troops. The Russian military said it laid claim Friday to the southern Ukraine city of Melitopol, about three hours to the east. In the meantime, Russian troops continued their assault in other parts of Ukraine, hitting electrical grids and strategic military sites but also civilian targets, such as a hospital and a school. In a Kyiv apartment building, residents woke Friday to plumes of smoke and screaming the result, according to the city's mayor, of Russian shelling. What are you doing? What is this? asked a dazed survivor, Yurii Zhyhanov, according to the Associated Press. As tens of thousands of his compatriots have already done, he quickly gathered his belongings to try to flee the city with his mother. "The enemy wants to bring the capital and us to our knees, said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. A former heavyweight boxing champion who was known as Dr. Ironfist in his fighting days, Klitschko said he was prepared to defend Kyiv as a soldier. I believe in Ukraine, I believe in my country and I believe in my people, he said. Authorities said that about 18,000 guns had been distributed to reserve fighters in Kyiv, a city of nearly 3 million people that was the site of pro-democracy protests in 2014 that led to the ouster of a Kremlin-friendly president and helped spark the current conflict. At the time, Putin responded to those protests by annexing the Crimean peninsula in southern Ukraine and fomenting a separatist rebellion in Ukraines east, which seized control of part of the Donbas region. He has described his invasion of Ukraine as retribution for what he falsely describes as an anti-Russian genocide in Donbas. The same revolutionary spirit that ignited protests in Kyiv nearly a decade ago has been prevalent in recent days as citizens laborers, teachers and shopkeepers lined up to join what are known here as "territorial defense" battalions. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigala said tens of thousands of people had already registered with the militias, and pleaded for more people to join them and "stand up against terror." "Help the military, help the volunteers, help the doctors," he urged. As night fell Friday, all eyes were on Kyiv, a city that dates back more than 1,500 years and where just days ago restaurants were packed with locals unwilling to let the prospect of a Russian blitz blunt their moment of good cheer. As air raid sirens echoed through the empty streets, their wail floating above the irregular thump-thump of explosions in the distance, no one knew what dawn would bring. Russia's military said it had seized a strategic airport near Kyiv and said it had already cut off the city from the west the direction in which many of those escaping the invasion were heading. United Nations officials reported at least 25 civilian deaths, and said that about 100,000 people had fled their homes. The U.N. has warned that as many as 4 million Ukrainians could abandon the country if the fighting escalates, a refugee crisis not seen in Europe since 2015, when millions arrived after escaping the Syrian civil war. Zelensky said in an address late Thursday that 137 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the first day of fighting, along with 316 others wounded. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said Friday that the Russian army had lost up to 80 tanks, hundreds of armored combat vehicles, 10 warplanes and seven helicopters. The figures could not be independently verified, and Moscow did not issue a tally of losses. The pyrotechnics over Kyiv were largely absent in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-most populous city. Friday morning, residents had cautiously emerged from the underground subway stations where they had taken shelter, making their way along mostly empty streets amid a snowstorm. Even the buses were still running. It wasnt until slightly before noon that the sounds of explosions reverberated through the city center, sending pedestrians scurrying for shelter while motorists attempted to escape from a threat they could hear but could not see. One of the last remaining staff members at a hotel in Kharkiv said he intended to stay. Alexander, a 24-year-old waiter who declined to give his last name, seemed resigned to the Russian invasion to come. "Why would I go?" he said. "This is my country. America isn't here. The European Union isn't here. So we're fighting on our own." Bulos reported from Kharkiv and Linthicum from Mexico City. Times staff writers Eli Stokols, Sarah D. Wire and Anumita Kaur in Washington contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Shortly after President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new sanctions on Russian banks and elites -- but not on Russian President Vladimir Putin himself -- a top Senate Democrat pointedly called on him to go further. "As we seek to impose maximum costs on Putin, there is more that we can and should do. Congress and the Biden administration must not shy away from any optionsincluding sanctioning the Russian Central Bank, removing Russian banks from the SWIFT [international banking] system, crippling Russia's key industries, sanctioning Putin personally, and taking all steps to deprive Putin and his inner circle of their assets," Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the administration in a statement. The Democratic chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Adam Schiff, told reporters Thursday that he, too, would support removing Russia from the SWIFT banking system as many Republicans have called for as tensions worsened. "We must provide Ukraine with support to defend itself. We also are going to need to, I think, dramatically escalate the sanctions that we place on Russia for this act of naked aggression by the Kremlin dictator. We need to move, I think, to sanction the largest banks in Russia, we have to cut off Russia from the International financing system and its ability to access Western capital. We need to attack its ability to gather sophisticated technology for its weapons systems," Schiff told reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. Asked why SWIFT was not included in his announcement, Biden argued the actions the U.S. had taken Thursday were more significant, but said it was an option that remained on the table, although allies hadn't agreed on making the move. "It's always an option but right now that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take," Biden told reporters Thursday during remarks in the East Room of the White House. PHOTO: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks about the situation in Ukraine, calling for the United States to 'ratchet up' the sanctions on Russia, on Feb. 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal via USA TODAY Network) Biden briefed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the evolving situation in Ukraine during a phone call Thursday afternoon. McConnell described it as "a briefing from the president for the four of us on the events of today and the way forward" but declined to share further details. He noted that he urged the president, both publicly and privately, to "ratchet up the sanctions." A spokesman for Pelosi confirmed to ABC News that the call was "classified" in nature. Across the board, Republicans and Democrats in both chambers of Congress say the administration must act boldly and with more urgency to punish Putin and Russian oligarchs as the deadly attack in Ukraine unfolds. And while many Republicans have been critical of Biden's steps up to this point, the actual invasion attack has seen many joining with Democrats in calls to sideline partisan squabbling in the name of NATO unity. While agreeing to do so, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, couldn't resist seizing an "I told you so" moment. In a statement released just moments after news of Russia's advancement into Ukraine broke Wednesday evening. Romney harkened back to his 2012 presidential debate with President Barack Obama, who mocked Romney for citing Russia as the United States' "number one geopolitical foe." At the time, Obama quipped on stage that "the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back." Ten years later, Romney argued that Putin's prior aggression laid the groundwork for the current conflict he's waging in Ukraine. "The '80s called' and we didn't answer," he said. PHOTO: Sen. Mitt Romney speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2022. (Michael A. McCoy/The New York Times via Redux) Still, the statement ended on a unifying note, calling on America and its allies to "protect freedom" by working in tandem to impose harsh sanctions on Russia. Many GOP lawmakers are modeling Romney's tone, calling for unity despite disagreement with the administration. In a statement Thursday, following Biden's remarks, McConnell acknowledged Romney's consistent warnings about Ukraine, but like Romney, looked ahead. "Moving forward, how America leads the response from all freedom-loving nations will be measured carefully by our friends, by our adversaries, and by history itself," McConnell said. "We cannot afford to fail this test." Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee also released a statement early Thursday going after Putin. Earlier in the week, they had been more critical of Biden. "The last few hours have laid bare for the world to witness the true evil that is Vladimir Putin. Today, we stand resolute with the Ukrainian people and resolve to provide them with the tools they need to withstand and repel this unprovoked attack. Every drop of Ukrainian and Russian blood spilled in this conflict is on Putin's hands, and his alone," the Republican members said. GOP divided on attacking Biden But some Republicans are choosing a more divisive rhetoric, largely unseen in previous international conflicts. Among a newer breed of Republicans, many of whom have found themselves closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, criticism is extending beyond Putin and to Biden himself. The third-ranking House Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik, slammed Biden in a statement Thursday. "After just one year of a weak, feckless, and unfit President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief, the world is less safe. Rather than peace through strength, we are witnessing Joe Biden's foreign policy of war through weakness. For the past year, our adversaries around the world have been assessing and measuring Joe Biden's leadership on the world stage, and he has abysmally failed on every metric," Stefanik said. It was only later in her statement, Stefanik turned her ire to Putin, saying "Vladimir Putin is a war criminal and deranged thug." "Joe Biden has shown nothing but weakness and indecision," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in a tweet Wednesday night. "Now is the time to show strong purpose." GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene blamed the Russian invasion of Ukraine entirely on Biden himself, while giving kudos to his predecessor. PHOTO: House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 8, 2022. (Tom Brenner/Reuters) "Everything happening to the poor people of Ukraine is a direct result of a WEAK America under the WEAK leadership of Joe Biden. Under President Trump, America was STRONG and the world was at PEACE," Greene tweeted Thursday. Top Senate Democrat Schumer said that this sort of political rhetoric from Republicans attacking Biden at this moment in time, "weakens the attempts we are making to be unified against Putin." "That is not the time for this rhetoric," Schumer said. "Americans should be united as we were united at 9/11, as we have been united in the past." House Republican Leader McCarthy released a statement Thursday going after Putin -- this time not choosing to level his attacks at the sitting U.S. president, which he often does. "Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is reckless and evil. The United States stands with the people of Ukraine and prays for their safety and resolve. Putin's actions must be met with serious consequence. This act of war is intended to rewrite history and more concerning, upend the balance of power in Europe. Putin must be held accountable for his actions," McCarthy said in a statement. While Republicans have condemned Putin, one major player in the Republican Party has refused to do so -- the former president of the United States. He called Putin's actions "genius" during a radio interview Tuesday. "I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful. So Putin is now saying it's independent, a large section of Ukraine. I said, 'How smart is that?' And he's going to go in and be a peacekeeper," Trump said on the "The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show." At a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser Wednesday, he continued his praise of Putin, calling him "pretty smart" in "taking over a country for $2 worth of sanctions." How will Congress respond to Russia? Whether and how to further punish Russia and supply aid for Ukraine will be some of the first challenges Congress will have to attend to when it returns from its week-long recess on Monday. They say they are united in their resolve. "Our Congress is united that we will reply to this with both standing firm by NATO continuing to provide armaments to the Ukrainians to defend itself," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said Thursday. "We will launch the most unprecedented level of economic sanctions targeting oligarchs, people close to Putin, the banking system, the ability to get technology into the Russian defense industry." But differences in policy will be laid bare when members return next week and it's not yet clear if Congress will act separately from the administration to impose additional sanctions. Negotiations on a bipartisan sanctions bill stalled last week, and Republicans, led by the Foreign Relations Committee top Republican Jim Risch, proposed a separate partisan bill they still hope will go forward. "Diplomacy has failed. Those of us who called for more definitive action from the Biden Administration and our allies have unfortunately been proven right," Risch said Thursday. "We cannot afford to wait any longer, we must take more decisive action." Top Democrats and Republicans want stiffer sanctions, but GOP divided on Biden originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A federal hate crime trial for a Louisiana man accused of trying to kill and dismember a man he met on the popular gay dating app Grindr has been delayed. Chase Seneca, of Lafayette, La., was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2021 in a plot to kidnap and murder gay men whom he met online over two days in June 2020. He was scheduled to stand trial on March 14, but on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays granted a defense request for a delay. His lawyers are said to be pursuing a plea agreement. Chance Seneca Chance Seneca Authorities say that Seneca attempted to murder at least one of his victims because he was gay. He also intended to dismember and keep parts of the victims body as trophies, mementos and food. Hes accused of attacking Holden White, a 19-year-old student at Louisiana State University in Eunice, on June 20, 2020. The victim spent nearly a month in the hospital after he was tortured by Seneca, according to police. Seneca, who was 19 at the time of his indictment, was charged on six counts, including hate crime, kidnapping, firearm and obstruction charges. He has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges. With News Wire Services U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield addresses the United Nations Security Council on Friday. "Russia, you can veto this resolution, but you cannot veto our voices," she said, looking directly at the Russian representative. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press) Russia stood alone Friday to veto a U.N. resolution condemning its "brutal" invasion of Ukraine, killing the measure for now. But all other members in the solemn session of the U.N. Security Council either voted in favor or abstained, testament to rounds of intensive diplomatic pleas by the Biden administration. The U.S.-drafted measure, which demands the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Russian troops battering Ukraine, was approved by 11 members. Most notably, China, thought to be in Moscow's corner, abstained. So did two U.S. allies, India and the United Arab Emirates, in a disappointment for the U.S. But American diplomats marked as a major victory that what they called Russia's "isolation" was so starkly drawn. And they vowed they will carry a similar resolution to the full 193-member General Assembly, where there are no vetoes and only a simple majority is needed to pass. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that she was not surprised by the Russian veto but that it would not deter efforts to rebuke and stop Moscow's aggression. "Russia, you can veto this resolution, but you cannot veto our voices," she said, looking directly at the Russian representative, Vasily Nebenzya, who, in one of the peculiarities of U.N. politics, was chairing the session as rotating president of the council. "You cannot veto the truth," Thomas-Greenfield continued. "You cannot veto our principles. You cannot veto the Ukrainian people. You cannot veto the U.N. Charter. And you will not veto accountability." Nebenzya, after the vote but with the council still in session, took Thomas-Greenfield and several other Western representatives to task for what they had condemned as egregious abuses and attacks on civilians by Russian forces. "Who are you to moralize?" he said. Thomas-Greenfield looked back at him, stone-faced. He and the Ukrainian ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, also had testy exchanges. Nebenzya called his Ukrainian counterpart "boorish," while Kyslytsya said Nebenzya and his comments accusing Ukraine of repression earned him a special "seat in hell." Friday's vote followed senior U.S. diplomats' intense lobbying of their counterparts from dozens of countries to back the resolution at the Security Council or at apossible later meeting of the full United Nations, where a similar condemnation could be brought. Russia "will be shown to be isolated on the world stage," State Department spokesman Ned Price said a couple of hours ahead of the vote. Although the Americans were disappointed that India and the UAE did not join in the "yes" column, it was China's decision to abstain that gave them particular relief. Before Friday's meeting, U.S. diplomats expressed the likelihood that Beijing would side with Moscow. They saw glimmers of hope, however: President Xi Jinping has been publicly measured in support for the invasion. Although he values a growing relationship with Moscow, he may also be reluctant to pick too bitter a fight with the U.S. and NATO. The Chinese representative to the Security Council, Zhang Jun, explained his country's vote saying that although China did not support violating the sovereignty of another country, as Russia has done, the resolution might add "fuel to the fire" rather than contributing to a diplomatic path to peace. He also said Russia's "legitimate security aspirations" had to be addressed. Ukraine should become a bridge between East and West, not an outpost for confrontation among major powers," Zhang said. Similarly, the UAE and India said that although they abhorred Russia's actions, they feared the resolution would shut the door to diplomacy and dialogue. Both countries, especially India, also have strong ties to Russia. The Security Council vote came after increased economic sanctions the Biden administration imposed on Russia on Thursday and on Putin himself on Friday which had been augmented by a series of measures by the European Union. Rallying broader support for a condemnation of Russia, however, had been a surprisingly difficult task for American diplomats. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and his deputy, Wendy R. Sherman, as well as other officials, had been on the phone to counterparts from a host of nations, including Portugal, Turkey, Moldova, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Those efforts followed months of in-person and virtual consultations and warnings among allies of Russia's designs on Ukraine. India had been an especially prickly case. In addition to historic ties with Moscow, New Delhi in recent years has built a significant defense and diplomatic partnership with Washington. But India was tepid in its initial response to Russias aggression. During a Security Council session that unfolded in New York on Wednesday night as President Vladimir Putin unleashed Russian troops on Ukraine, Indias representative called for de-escalation but did not condemn Moscow. So, while not a "yes," India's abstention Friday could have been worse, diplomats said. A Biden administration official who briefed reporters on the U.S. strategy for the Security Council rejected any suggestion that the difficulty in putting together a united front reflected the impotence of consensus-based global organizations like the United Nations and especially the Security Council, where Russia and China are permanent members, along with the United States, France and Germany. Russia currently holds the rotating president's seat in the council. "Its important that we send a message to Ukraine, to Russia and to the world that the Security Council will not look away," said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss behind-the-scenes deliberations. "The council was established to respond to precisely this scenario: a stronger country waging war against a weaker neighbor in violation of the U.N. Charter and the principles of the U.N. Charter." But U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who spoke to reporters after the Security Council meeting, was clearly disappointed. The United Nations "was born out of war, to end war," he said. "Today that objective was not achieved." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Smoke rises from a military airport in Chuhuiv, a Ukrainian town near Kharkiv, on Thursday. (Aris Messinis / AFP/Getty Images) Several hours after Odessa awoke to explosions Thursday morning, Avraham Wolff, the city's chief rabbi, got a call from a nearly 90-year-old Holocaust survivor. The man was so distressed he could barely speak. He cried and cried, and I just listened to him, Wolff said. I told him that everything is OK, the Russians are not coming to kill us, these are not Nazis. For weeks, the rabbi had prepared for the possibility that Russia could invade Ukraine. He bought several tons of sugar, macaroni, rice, flour and water, hired 20 security guards and reserved buses to evacuate thousands of Jews to neighboring Moldova. But the bus drivers, like so many others, have fled the city, with some lines to cross the border stretching more than a mile. Wolffs job now is to calm and feed congregants, many of whom are elderly and too scared to leave their home. The invasion has thrown all of Ukraine into crisis, and the panic is acute in the Jewish community, where Holocaust survivors and their descendants carry a long history of trauma. Synagogues have turned into shelters, while some Jews try to flee to Israel. And when people dont know what to do, they call their rabbi. I got hundreds of phone calls from people with fear, said Wolff. "People are worried and they call us all day, from morning until night. Ukraine was once home to the largest population of Jews in Europe after Poland. The vibrant community, which included Jewish schools and theaters, started to wane after waves of anti-Jewish riots under Russian czars in the late 1800s and the following decades spurred massive migration to the United States. During the Holocaust, an estimated 1.2 million to 1.4 million Jews in Ukraine were killed, according to Wendy Lower, a historian at Claremont McKenna College. Hundreds of thousands died in gas chambers or in mass shootings. Others died from malnourishment in ghettos. No longer welcome in rural towns where Nazi sympathizers had lived, many survivors of the war moved to big cities. In the decades that followed, antisemitism sent Jews fleeing, often to Israel. Today, Ukraine, home to tens of thousands of Jews, has a Jewish president, and Kyiv, its capital, has several Jewish schools. In a statement criticized by academics and others as a false pretext for going to war, Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that his military operation aimed to denazify Ukraine. Elka Inna Markovitch, the wife of the chief rabbi of Kyiv, said she is nervous because Jews have a long history of being used as scapegoats. Very often when things go wrong, the Jews are to blame," she said. "...This is also very scary. Israel has called for all of its citizens in Ukraine to leave immediately. The Jewish Agency for Israel, an organization that helps Jews settle there, said that it had opened an emergency hotline to help Ukrainians move to Israel. But several community leaders say that they have decided to stay for now to help their communities. Markovitch said that she needs to care for the elderly. She recalled visiting a 104-year-old Holocaust survivor a few days ago who had held her hand, and asked for her support. Theyre terrified, theres no other way to describe it, she said. They say, We started our life with the war and well end our life with war. Her 27-year-old daughter-in-law, Cherry Markovitch, who helps run the Chabad house in Kyiv, one of many outposts around the world under the Hasidic Orthodox Jewish movement, spent weeks stocking a community center with bags of dry food and about a hundred mattresses. Families had called to ask if they could shelter there if things got bad. When sirens woke Markovitch on Thursday, she grabbed her three kids, packed several suitcases and took her family to the center. Other families trickled in throughout the day, and the community held prayer services and a Bible study class. They even danced to ease their anxiety. Markovitch said her family has tickets to travel to Israel in the coming days, but she assumed the flights would be canceled. Everyone is asking, whats your plan for Shabbat, whats your plan for tomorrow? she said. Were literally going hour by hour. Meanwhile, rabbis in countries bordering Ukraine are preparing to take in refugees. Fleeing Ukrainians have begun trickling into a Chabad house in Chisinau, the Moldovan capital, which has about 100 beds for refugees. Zushe Abelsky, a rabbi who runs the Chabad house but is currently in the U.S., has helped organize the relief operations. Hes worried about a shortage of kosher food, pointing to how itll be difficult to cross the border to get the items the Chabad normally receives from Odessa. He predicted the Chabad will receive at least 150 people this Shabbat, about triple the usual amount. With more people you have to be ready with food, he said. Our rabbis over there are also in distress. The anxiety has spread to the Ukrainian and Russian diaspora including in Los Angeles. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has announced a fundraiser to help supply Ukrainian families with food, dispatch mobile medical units and transport people out of conflict zones. L.A. resident Anastasia Shostak, 27, has family in the northeastern city of Sumy, where Ukraine is fighting Russian forces. She said they have been hiding in a neighbors basement. She was up all night on Wednesday filling out paperwork to try to help evacuate her grandparents, who live in Russia, to Israel. Shes concerned about how the conflict may affect them but has been unable to schedule a visa appointment for them at the Israeli Embassy in Moscow. Its been a challenge because theyre overwhelmed, theyre not picking up the phones, theyre not responsive which I can totally understand given the circumstances, but it worries me, she said. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. KYIV (Reuters) - Missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital on Friday as Russian forces pressed their advance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded with the international community to do more, saying sanctions announced so far were not enough. Air raid sirens wailed over the city of 3 million people, where some were sheltering in underground metro stations, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion that has shocked the world. A Ukrainian official said a Russian plane had been shot down and crashed into a building. A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces would enter areas just outside the capital, Kyiv, later on Friday and that Ukrainian troops were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered. An estimated 100,000 people fled as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities. Dozens have been reported killed. Russian troops seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advanced on the city from Belarus. U.S. and Ukrainian officials say Russia aims to capture Kyiv and topple the government, which Putin regards as a puppet of the United States. Zelenskiy said he understood Russian troops were coming for him but vowed to stay in Kyiv. "(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target," Zelenskiy said in a video message. "My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state." "I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine." Residential areas damaged after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Kyiv Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by Putin, in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Putin says Russia is carrying out "a special military operation" to stop the Ukrainian government from committing "genocide" - an accusation the West calls a baseless fabrication. He says Ukraine is an illegitimate state whose lands historically belong to Russia, a view which Ukrainians see as an attempt to erase their more than thousand year history. Putin's full aims remain obscure. He has said he does not plan a military occupation, only to disarm Ukraine and remove its leaders. But having told Ukrainians their state is illegitimate, it is hard to see how he could simply impose a new leader and withdraw. Russia has floated no name of a figure it would regard as acceptable and none has come forward. Britain said Moscow's aim was to conquer all of Ukraine, and its military had failed to meet its main objectives on the first day because it failed to anticipate Ukrainians would resist. "It's definitely our view that the Russians intend to invade the whole of Ukraine," Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky. "Contrary to great Russian claims - and indeed President Putin's sort of vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause - he's got that completely wrong, and the Russian army has failed to deliver, on day one, its main objective." Service members of the Ukrainian armed forces stand next to a tripod-mounted missile system outside Kharkiv Ukrainians were circulating an unverified recording on Friday of a Russian warship ordering Ukrainian troops at a Black Sea outpost to surrender. The Ukrainians reply: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself." Zelenskiy said the 13 men were killed by a Russian strike and would receive posthumous honours. Ukrainian forces downed an enemy aircraft over Kyiv early on Friday, which then crashed into a residential building and set it ablaze, said Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister. It was unclear whether the aircraft was manned or whether it could be a missile. Kyiv municipal authorities said at least eight people were injured when the object crashed into an apartment block. "Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter. "Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany." Authorities said intense fighting was under way in the city of Sumy in the northeast. A border post in the southeast had been hit by missiles, causing deaths and injuries among border guards, and air raid sirens sounded over the city of Lviv in the west of the country. Asked if he was worried about Zelenskiy's safety, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS: "To the best of my knowledge, President Zelenskiy remains in Ukraine at his post, and of course we're concerned for the safety of all of our friends in Ukraine - government officials and others." A democratic nation of 44 million people, Ukraine voted for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and has recently stepped up efforts to join the NATO military alliance and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow. Ukrainian servicemen are seen next to a destroyed armoured vehicle, which they said belongs to the Russian army, outside Kharkiv Western countries unveiled financial sanctions on Moscow billed as far stronger than earlier measures, including blacklisting its banks and banning technology imports. However, they stopped short of forcing Russia out of the SWIFT system for international bank payments, drawing strong words from Kyiv which says the most serious steps should be taken now. The U.N. Security Council will vote on Friday on a draft resolution that would condemn the invasion and require Moscow's immediate withdrawal, though Moscow is certain to veto it. China, which signed a friendship treaty with Russia three weeks ago, has refused to describe Moscow's actions as an invasion. Russia is one of the world's biggest energy producers, and both it and Ukraine are among the top exporters of grain. War and sanctions will disrupt economies around the world. Oil and grain prices have soared. Share markets around the world, many of which plunged on Thursday at news of the outbreak of war, were mainly rebounding on Friday. Norfolk State University received a bomb threat Friday morning the second for the university this year and the latest in a series of threats against historically Black colleges and universities nationwide. Elizabeth City State University, a historically Black university in North Carolina, also received a bomb threat Friday. Advertisement Norfolk State asked everyone on campus to shelter in place and had issued an all-clear by 12:30 p.m. ECSU advised students and staff to leave campus immediately. Around 3 p.m., ECSU advised students that dorms and surrounding buildings had been inspected and they could return to residence halls. Students who returned to campus were asked to shelter in place as law enforcement agencies remained on campus Friday. The threat follows dozens around the country. Hampton University was threatened Wednesday, and Norfolk State was among several HBCUs threatened on Jan. 4. Another round of threats against at least six HBCUs came Jan. 31. Advertisement [ Related coverage: Hampton University the latest HBCU to receive bomb threat ] Between Jan. 4 and Feb. 16, 57 institutions have been targeted including HBCUs, houses of worship and other-faith based and academic institutions, according to the FBI. The bomb threats have been made in phone calls, emails, instant messages and anonymous online posts, the bureau said. Ali Sullivan, 757-677-1974, ali.sullivan@virginiamedia.com In 1986, Harriet Press Freeman bequeathed to USC's School of Architecture the home that she and her husband, Samuel Freeman, had commissioned for themselves back in the 20s. This was no ordinary house. The 2,800-square-foot structure in the Hollywood Hills had been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and over the course of its life served as one of L.A.'s more storied bohemian centers: The site of salons that attracted figures such as photographer Edward Weston, bandleader Xavier Cugat and choreographer Martha Graham, it was also a sanctuary to left-leaning artists during the political excesses of the McCarthy era. There was also the nature of the structure itself. As one of four textile-block homes designed by Wright in the Los Angeles area in the 20s, its individual blocks were crafted from a mix of sand and Portland cement and embossed with a pre-Columbian-style motif. The Freeman House doesn't stand on the land so much as it emerges from the hillside like an earthen temple. But, like many Wright structures especially those built out of textile blocks its maintenance has been a never-ending series of challenges. The roof leaked. Rain soaked the fragile blocks, which began to flake and crumble. Rust chewed away at the steel armature around which the blocks had been assembled. In 1994, the Northridge earthquake shifted the home's foundation, cracking walls and knocking out a chimney. A FEMA grant of $901,000, along with $1.5 million in funds raised by USC, paid for structural repairs. But plans for a full restoration of the deteriorated facades and other damaged elements stalled. For a time, it seemed as if the Freeman House was destined to sit in a permanent state of dilapidated half-repair. That could be about to change. Unorthodox construction methods, its difficult location and the Northridge earthquake have all made conservation of Frank Lloyd Wright's Freeman House an ongoing challenge. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) On Thursday, USC announced that it had finalized the sale of the home to Richard E. Weintraub, president and CEO of the Weintraub Real Estate Group, a Los Angeles developer who has worked with historic properties in the past. (He and fellow developer Tom Gilmore helped bring the old St. Vibiana Cathedral in downtown L.A. back to life as a restaurant and events center.) The university had put the house on the market back in July for $4.25 million, then knocked the price down to $3.25 million. But Weintraub says he was able to acquire it for $1.8 million due to the extensive repairs that are still needed. It's a deal that comes with plenty of conditions: in the form of a conservation easement held by the Los Angeles Conservancy that prohibits Weintraub or any future buyer from demolishing the building or making unsympathetic additions. Moreover, as part of the deal, the public in the form of educational groups or architectural tours will have access to the home four times a year. (A similar easement governs the Ennis House in Los Feliz, another of Wright's textile-block homes.) Frank Lloyd Wright's Freeman House was built in 1924. It is seen here in 2019. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) For Weintraub, the acquisition is part of a long-running interest in early 20th century design. "I'm passionate about architecture," he says. "That was what I wanted to be." And he has long found himself intrigued by the images celebrated architectural photographer Julius Shulman took of the Freeman House in the early 1950s (images that now reside in the collections of the Getty Research Institute). "I've had it indelibly set in my head that Julius Shulman image of the window looking out over Highland," Weintraub says. "It's a house that hangs over the apex of Hollywood, right off the Hollywood Bowl and the cacophony of the old speakeasies." For USC's School of Architecture, the sale of the Freeman House marks a continued shift away from the stewardship of private homes. In 2019, the university relinquished control of the landmark Gamble House in Pasadena, ceding oversight to the independent Gamble House Conservancy. That same year, plans for the university to receive Arroyo del Rey, a 1979 Pasadena home designed by Case Study architects Conrad Buff and Donald Hensman, as a bequest abruptly fell through. "The School of Architecture is reaffirming its mission and priorities, which is academic teaching and research," says the school's dean, Milton S.F. Curry. USC was able to make structural repairs to Frank Lloyd Wright's Freeman House (seen here in 2019) in the wake of the Northridge quake. But funds for a full restoration eluded the project. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) The sale of the Freeman House ultimately removes a preservation job that ended up being bigger than USC could handle. In a 1998 report, Nicolai Ouroussoff, then The Times' architecture critic, described the stasis that had enveloped conservation efforts in the wake of the Northridge quake. "Wright's creation looks ominously fragile," he wrote at the time. "Along the facade, concrete blocks are cracked or have crumbled away. Wood supports brace the fragile exterior side walls. A heavy canvas tarp is propped, tent-like, over the roof a necessary prophylactic because the structure leaks. It is a depressing sight." USC ultimately was able to gather the necessary funds from FEMA and private donors to repair the home's structural issues a significant achievement. But not without Robert Timme, who then served as dean of the School of Architecture, admitting publicly that the school would consider selling the house to anyone who could fix it. (A provision in the bequest allowed for the sale of the home.) In 2019, the Freeman House made headlines once again when The Times reported that thieves had made off with two lamps and a chair from the home's cache of furniture, which was being stored in an unmarked warehouse in South Los Angeles. The theft, which had occurred half a dozen years prior before Curry took over as dean had gone unreported. "While USC did do the structural work and used it in a creative way with its architecture school," says L.A. Conservancy president and CEO Linda Dishman, "they did not have the resources to do what the house needed. "The textile-block houses, in particular, have very specific conservation needs," she adds. "There are four in Los Angeles. Each of them have their own issues. These blocks were usually made with ground stone on the site. The amount of cement in the mix of the blocks varies from site to site. It was a very innovative way of building houses, but with innovation, there are issues the architect did not envision." Wright, to be unromantic about it, was about form, not function the kind of architect who often perceived structural engineers as the enemy. The Freeman House, for example, was built without protective flashing on the roof, an aesthetic choice that ultimately contributed to continuous leaks. Dishman is pleased with what the sale represents for the home. "USC was very conscious of the fact that they had an architectural treasure. And making their decision of wanting to sell it was in the best interest of the house." Jeffrey Chusid, who served on the USC architecture faculty in the 1980s and 90s and not only was director of the Freeman House but for a time lived in it, agrees that a sale was a good move: "It is an opportunity for new energy and resources to restore this important monument of modern architecture." Chusid, who is now on the architecture faculty at Cornell University and is the author of the 2011 book "Saving Wright: The Freeman House and the Preservation of Meaning, Materials, and Modernity," says the level of work required at the house was beyond what the university could have provided. "At the time USC accepted the gift of the house, the extent of the long-term deterioration as well its seismic vulnerability was not clear," he explains via email from Italy, where he is currently based. "Much of this only became evident as we studied the house, especially following the Whittier earthquake. Then the Northridge earthquake caused extensive damage. From the beginning, the extent of the work required and the cost of fixing the house seemed to grow faster than we could raise the funds." Wright's Ennis House stands as a positive case study for the future the Freeman House may now face. One of the grander textile-block homes, situated on a hill in Los Feliz, the Ennis House also suffered damage in the Northridge quake and was briefly red-tagged as uninhabitable by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety in the 2000s after heavy rains destabilized the hillside around the home's motor court. In 2005, the building was listed among America's Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In the wake of that designation, preservationists stepped up. The Ennis House Foundation formed and, with a combination of privately raised funds and a FEMA grant, was able to make necessary structural repairs. But funds required for a full restoration eluded the abilities of the small nonprofit. In 2011, the home was sold to billionaire Ron Burkle, who provided the necessary resources to bring the home back to its majestic 1920s state with a conservation easement in place that allowed some form of public access 12 times per year. In 2019, Burkle sold the house for $18 million. The rules of the easement continue to govern the property. USC's School of Architecture, says Currey, remains committed to the study of conservation and preservation the school, for example, offers a master's degree in heritage conservation. But, in keeping with contemporary debates about what histories are preserved and how, the school is aiming to reframe what comprises heritage conservation. "Not just wealthy landscapes, " says Curry, "but cultural communities who are facing gentrification and environmental racism that reflects the discourse of today." Rather than individual houses, the school now is more focused on archives and research. In 2020, the School of Architecture, in partnership with the Getty Research Institute, acquired the archives of Paul R. Williams, a pioneering Black architect whose imprint on Los Angeles was vast even as his designs and his legacy remain wildly understudied. Publications and exhibitions will be forthcoming. In addition, the school launched "Save As," a podcast led by Trudi Sandmeier, director of graduate programs in heritage conservation at USC, which has explored issues of conservation and preservation in dialogue with social justice, environment and the preservation of intangible cultural assets. Says Curry: "We remain committed to the ethos of conservation and preservation writ large." L.A.'s architectural legacy so much of which lies in the residential sphere is certainly a difficult one to preserve, often subject to the vagaries of individual homeowners. Houses are houses, not public buildings, and can therefore be difficult to access or adapt to new uses. They also can be difficult to maintain financially. Historian Andrea Burns published a report on the website of the National Council of Public History in 2015 that synthesized research on the abundant number of house museums in the U.S., noting that their long-term sustainability was "in grave doubt." The Freeman House lies at the end of a tight, winding road in the Hollywood Hills not exactly an ideal location for a truly public site. Which makes its acquisition, by a private buyer who is fascinated by its history and its design possibly the best of all outcomes. Weintraub who, incidentally, is a graduate of USC hopes to find a balance between the private and the public. For now, he does not intend to inhabit the house, but once it is restored, he hopes that it might function as a site for architects- or artists-in-residence, including musicians, composers and dancers. These are traditions in keeping with the home's history Harriet Freeman had, at one point, been a dancer. It's also in keeping with the Weintraub family interests: Weintraub's wife, Liane Weintraub, a philanthropist and former dancer, helped launch Center Dance Arts at the Music Center and served as its founding chair. The house, says Weintraub, "has to live the way it lived it was a salon for intellectual passions. The arts in Los Angeles grew up around it." For the sake of L.A. architectural legacy, here's hoping the Freeman House has finally found its ideal patron. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. City Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan was excoriated on social media Friday after blaming the United States for Russias invasion of Ukraine in several fact-challenged tweets about the lead-up to the war. In a thread thats overwhelmingly sympathetic to Russias head of state Vladimir Putin, the Harlem Council member wrote that NATO broke its promise by continuously expanding eastward and threatening Russia by encircling it militarily. Had Washington and Brussels taken Russias security concerns seriously, this war wouldnt be happening, she wrote. The U.S. and E.U. knew the consequences of provoking Russia with NATO expansion and proceeded anyway because they do not suffer, the Ukrainian and Russian people do. New York City Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan (D-Harlem) New York City Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan (D-Harlem) (Erik McGregor/) Richardson Jordan appeared to be referring to diplomatic talks between American and Soviet officials around the time of the reunification of Germany in 1990. Over the years, Russian officials have cited a purported statement from U.S. Secretary of State James Baker to then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to the effect that NATO did not intend to expand its membership eastward. But at the time, the Soviet Union and the Soviet-aligned Warsaw Pact still existed, leading Western officials and scholars to counter that NATO expansion outside of East Germany wasnt even a topic of diplomatic conversation. Years later, even Gorbachev acknowledged that the subject did not come up. The topic of NATO expansion was never discussed; it was not raised in those years, he was quoted as saying in the Russian newspaper, Kommersant, in 2014. I am saying this with a full sense of responsibility. Not a single Eastern European country brought up the issue, not even after the Warsaw Pact had ceased to exist in 1991. Mikhail Gorbachev flashes the decree relinquishing control of nuclear weapons to Russian President Boris Yeltsin after its signature at the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 25, 1991, drawing a line under more than 74 years of Soviet history. Mikhail Gorbachev flashes the decree relinquishing control of nuclear weapons to Russian President Boris Yeltsin after its signature at the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 25, 1991, drawing a line under more than 74 years of Soviet history. (Liu Heung Shing/) Richardsons pro-Kremlin tweet storm almost immediately drew denunciations online. So very strange that some progressives twist into knots to defend an authoritarian mafia state that just invaded a neighboring country, tweeted Garrett Watson, a policy analyst at the Tax Foundation. Author Will Saletan tweeted that Richardson Jordan was rationalizing war crimes and suggested that the progressives who backed her run for Council should take note. To progressives: This is a good time to take stock of whos for peace and who, in the guise of peace, is willing to rationalize war crimes, as long as theyre committed by an enemy of the United States, he tweeted. David Szakonyi, a political science professor at George Washington University, described the thread as irresponsible and pointed out how closely her statements tracked with those from Putin himself. Id encourage her to get in touch with more Ukrainian and Russian views of the conflict, he said. They would push back on what she said. Putins rationalization for his invasion which is the same kind of rhetoric Richardson Jordan used in her tweets continued to draw condemnations Friday. David Harris, the head of the American Jewish Committee, compared NATOs past actions to Russias current unprovoked invasion to highlight such criticism. When was the last offensive military action by any NATO member state against Russian territory? he said. The steps that President Putin has taken to justify his behavior comes directly out of the playbook of none other than Hitler in 1938-39. Richardson Jordan also parroted Putin by falsely stating in her social media spree that in 2014 the U.S. helped overthrow Ukraines democratically elected leader in an illegal coup, helped install a fascist government and empowered a far-right military all with the goal of destabilizing Russia. Szakonyi said this is perhaps the most ridiculous statement in her screed. That is completely factually incorrect, he said. Ukraines leader at the time, President Viktor Yanukovych, was in fact ousted after the nations parliament voted him out of office amid allegations that he had ordered the killings of protesters in Kyiv and embezzled billions of dollars. Former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych Former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych (Pavel Golovkin/) But Richardson Jordan didnt stop there with her misinformation. This is the tip of the iceberg, she wrote. The U.S. and NATO have a violent history destabilizing the region, such as when it facilitated the breakup of Yugoslavia after bombing Serbia for 78 days. Serbia at the time was led by the dictator Slobodan Milosevic, who died in 2006 after being indicted on war crimes charges and genocide. Even Richardson Jordans colleagues in the City Council pushed back on her statements. With due respect, I have visited the mass graves at Srebrenica and the beautiful city of Sarajevo, Councilman Keith Powers wrote in response to her tip of the iceberg tweet. Our intervention was meant to help prevent one of the largest genocides in modern history. Ukraine-born New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov,(R-Brooklyn) Ukraine-born New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov,(R-Brooklyn) Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, a southern Brooklyn Republican who was born in Ukraine, called her colleagues tweets infuriating. Shes being a propaganda mouthpiece for Putin, Vernikov said. Its complete lies. Russia doesnt have any legitimate security concerns to invade Ukraine. I have no idea what my colleague is reading, but what shes tweeting is propaganda and false. Vernikov said she spoke Friday with friends in western Ukraine who are in the middle of helping refugees from other war-torn regions of the country resettle. There are innocent people who are dying, men, women, and children who are crying, who are being bombed, who are being terrorized. Its absolutely infuriating that one of my colleagues would say something like this, she said. U.S. government agencies and American companies are bracing for potential Russian cyberattacks in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of U.S. sanctions. Russia has struck before notably with its hack of the Colonial Pipeline, which cut off 45% of the fuel supply to the East Coast last May. Cybersecurity experts are warning of hits to infrastructure providers that could disrupt power supplies or other necessary services. One expert, a former executive at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security, told Yahoo Finance Live that new waves of attacks will invariably affect business, but could look different than past incursions like the pipeline hack. Itll be something different, said Brian Murphy, now vice president of strategic operations at Logically.AI. But the same type of model will be used: It's going to be a serious pain point in a sector of the U.S. economy. Murphy has experience facing off against Russian cyber threats, both overt and more subtle. He was a whistleblower while at DHS under the Trump administration, alleging that he was told by superiors to stop discussing Russian interference with U.S. elections. Like other experts, he pointed to the possibility that Russian hackers could target electrical grids and industrial controls for water purification plants a playbook theyve used in the past. Image showing the Colonial Pipeline Houston Station facility in Pasadena, Texas (East of Houston) taken on May 10, 2021. - US President Joe Biden said that a Russia-based group was behind the ransomware attack that forced the shutdown of the largest oil pipeline in the eastern United States. The FBI identified the group behind the hack of Colonial Pipeline as DarkSide, a shadowy operation that surfaced last year and attempts to lock up corporate computer systems and force companies to pay to unfreeze them. (Photo by Francois PICARD / AFP) (Photo by FRANCOIS PICARD/AFP via Getty Images) And some businesses may not be prepared. It depends on the business, Murphy said. I think weve gotten a lot better as a country. Unfortunately, theres a long way to go. Its a cost center for the big companies, but usually the pain they feel on the backside if they have not prepared themselves effectively is far worse. The assumption that corporations will be scared into ramping up cyber defense spending is one of the reasons providers of those services have been rallying. A few examples include shares of Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike, each of which surged by 13% on Thursday. Julie Hyman is the co-anchor of Yahoo Finance Live, weekdays 9am-11am ET. Follow her on Twitter @juleshyman, and read her other stories. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn Britain will work all day to try to get the Swift international payment system turned off for Russia, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said. Ukraine has called for Moscow to be kicked out of the system, which allows financial transactions to be made around the world. However, there has been opposition in Europe over fears the fallout could hit other countries too. Mr Wallace suggested Boris Johnson would push for other world leaders to back the measure, which would be one of the most serious sanctions available, when he meets virtually with Nato allies on Friday. A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: Youll be aware that the PM raised this in his call with G7 leaders yesterday, I expect he will raise it at the Nato leaders meeting again today. US President Joe Biden said on Thursday it was always an option but right now thats not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take. Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, Mr Wallace said: Britain wants the Swift system to be turned off for Russia. But unfortunately the Swift system is not in our control its not a unilateral decision. Mr Wallace said the system is used to move money around, explaining: When you pay Russia for its gas, it probably goes through the Swift system, for example. It is based in Belgium. It has a number of partners that control it, or nation states. He added: We want it switched off. Other countries do not. We only have so many options. We are going to work all day to try and get it (switched off for Russia). He told LBC there was still time for that decision to change and he highlighted that the Prime Minister was meeting with Nato allies later on Friday. Ukrainians gathered outside the Irish Parliament in Dublin to protest against the Russian invasion (Dominic McGrath/PA) Asked if Swift was a key sanction, Mr Wallace said it is and were trying, and he added: We have to keep working to get that. We will work all the magic, do everything we can in diplomacy, the Prime Minister is going to address the Nato leaders summit today, he told BBC Breakfast. He said: Like so many things, these are international organisations, and if not every country wants them to be thrown out of the Swift system, it becomes difficult. Were going to work on that today and tomorrow. Irish Government minister Thomas Byrne said his Government would have supported removing Russia from the Swift network, but stressed it was important that EU countries had unity over the sanctions imposed. Our priority as an Irish Government was to have unity around the table. That was very, very important, he told RTE radio. Having said that, we pushed and will continue to push for the broadest possible sanctions. So, yes, the Irish Government has no difficulty whatsoever with the Swift system being sanctioned and thats something that we would support. Taoiseach Michael Martin said: People have different perspectives on the efficacy or value of Swift in itself, so I dont think we should singularly focus on Swift because the sanctions will hit hard at the industrial base, in terms of areas that will hurt the Russian economy. He said it may be something the EU will return to in the future, as the war in Ukraine continues to rage. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said banning Russia from the system was a now decision which should be made as soon as possible. That is a now decision and the Labour Party would support it in full. We think it should happen now, he told BBC Breakfast. Ukraine has called for sanctions against Russia to go further and the countrys foreign minister said allies would have blood on their hands if they did not remove Russia from Swift. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Matt Dunham/PA) But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was reported to have said that certain measures should be for a situation where it is necessary to do other things as well when asked about Swift, while Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it was a sensitive issue because it would also have an enormous impact on ourselves. Swift is a secure messaging system used by financial institutions to move money around the world. Cutting Russia out of the system would cause delays and extra costs for the Russian economy, but reports suggested there were fears it would prevent mainland Europe from buying Russian gas, on which it relies. Another concern is that Russia could then turn to an alternative system, potentially one developed by China, which could erode the power of the US dollar. The measure has been used before, when Iran was blocked from the system due to its nuclear programme. Feature Your News Online $25.00 / for 30 days Highlight your business' news for just $25! We'll feature your content on our News From Local Business section & our Marketplace front page to give it maximum exposure for the next 30 days. Jamestown Gunpowder carries hints of maple and smoky vanilla, a simultaneous nod to local battlefields and pancake houses. Williamsburg Port is named for a wine available in colonial times, offering the tangy flavor of a Merlot with no alcohol. Yorktown Patty is a comforting combination of dark chocolate and peppermint notes. Advertisement The Historic Triangle Trio teas are among more than 100 loose leaf blends sold by Discover Teas, a Williamsburg-based business that ships to customers across the United States. Loose leaf teas are all natural and not prepackaged into tea bags. I grew up on tea bags theyre very convenient, says owner Mai-Anh Tran. But theres an extra depth of freshness and flavor in loose leaf that I recommend everyone experiences, even people who think they dont like tea. Advertisement Tran runs Discover Teas as a one-woman show, continuing a business launched in 2011 by Chris Farishon and herbalist Ken Roberts. Once a loyal customer and later an employee, Tran took over in 2017 with Emily Kamp, who left last summer. Mai-Anh Tran is the owner of Discover Teas. (Discover Teas) Discover Teas has moved to an online-only model after closing its shops in Newport News and James City County. Its website also carries teatime supplies such as pots, cups and filters and provides tips on storing and steeping hot or iced teas. (For loose leaf tea rookies: Steeping involves pouring hot water over ingredients, ideally placed in an infuser or filter, and letting them rest. Flavor and caffeine content can be affected by water temperature and steeping time). A Newport News resident, Tran blends and packs teas for shipping in an office at Work Nimbly on Penniman Road, with storage space at a facility off Merrimac Trail. She imports handpicked loose teas from around the globe, all without artificial flavors, sweeteners or preservatives, and aims to buy products that are ethically sourced and grown with environmentally friendly practices. The companys blends include black, green, white and dark teas; oolong, a traditional Chinese tea; rooibos, an herbal tea from plants native to South Africa; caffeine-free varieties; and custom-made packages based on a customers taste. Theres an extra strong, malty variety called Newport News Shipbuilders Brew. For avowed coffee lovers, theres Mocha Rocha Rooibos, a caffeine-free blend with hints of cafe mocha and caramel. Teas sell in sizes from 2 to 16 ounces, with costs ranging from less than $20 to more than $100 depending on the amount. Shipping is free for orders over $65. Jamestown Gunpowder and Williamsburg Port also are sold by the cup at Column 15 Coffee on Merrimac Trail. Celebrating the companys homebase with such regional blends is important to Tran, 36, who was born into an Air Force family in Northern Virginia and graduated from the University of Richmond with an English degree. Advertisement Take the description of Jamestown Gunpowder, a green tea: As the smoke and mist clear from the battlefield, your craving for a hearty breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup and bacon takes over. The Historic Triangle is rich with history as well as waffle houses. Jamestown Gunpowder is a go-to breakfast drink for one regular customer, Star LaBranche of Suffolk. Williamsburg Port is LaBranches red wine without a hangover, meanwhile, and she has found Yorktown Pattys sweetness depends on if she brews it hot or cold. More mint if its hot, more chocolate if its cold, she relates. Either way, its delicious and smells amazing. Tran has enjoyed tea since she was a teenager, when she often brewed green tea bags for breakfast to rev up her appetite. She discovered loose leaf blends as a college student, thanks to a favorite tea shop near campus. After graduation, Tran was working as a long-term substitute teacher in York County when she first went to Discover Teas old brick-and-mortar location in Newport News. She soon grew close to employees who taught her more about tea; in 2014, she became an employee herself. Our motto has always been, Blended with love. Steeped in gratitude, she notes. Ive tried to continue that mission and just keep giving back to the community. Advertisement These days, Tran not only drinks plenty of tea but uses it as a secret ingredient in cooking and baking. She writes educational articles for customers and posts segments for an Online Tea Academy on YouTube, such as a recent video about adding flowers to tea. Tran also experiments with a Weekly Test Kitchen Blend, posting her latest creation to the companys website and Facebook page every Tuesday. Valentines Day, for example, brought a romantic blend of black tea, rose, vanilla, strawberry, cocoa and hibiscus. So far, customers have stuck with Discover Teas in its online form, including one former regular at the Newport News shop who since has moved to Alaska. My husband has asked me to slow down on ordering a little bit, LaBranche says with a laugh, but its just so fun trying new things out. To learn more, visit discoverteas.com or call 757-847-5190. Alison Johnson, ajohnsondp@yahoo.com YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. The EU has agreed on the toughest package in the history of sanctions against Russia, ARMENPRESS reports, citing "RIA Novosti", the Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammer said, adding that the sanctions against Russia will be painful for the European Union. The sanctions will also affect Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. At the same time, the entry of the Russian President and Foreign Minister into the European Union will not be banned. Ukraine's ambassador to India, Igor Polikha, on Thursday 'pleaded' for direct Indian mediation to solve the Ukraine crisis New Delhi: Expressing deep dissatisfaction with the stand taken by India so far amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the countrys ambassador to India, Igor Polikha, on Thursday pleaded for direct Indian mediation to solve the Ukraine crisis and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the Russian military offensive against Ukraine. Hailing Mr Modi as one of the most powerful and respected world leaders, a visibly emotional ambassador said he hoped that if Mr Modi speaks out in a strong voice, President Putin would listen and think it over, adding that New Delhi had very close strategic ties with Moscow and the world must stop Putin. He said his country expected a much more favourable attitude from India. Pointing out that India had so far said it was closely monitoring the situation, a disappointed Mr Polikha said that he had conveyed his dissatisfaction and plea for mediation and support to New Delhi and had got the response that his requests were under consideration. He also said that ensuring the safety and well-being of the 20,000 Indian students in Ukraine was the task not just of Ukraine but also of India. The envoy hoped India can provide support and assistance through either a verbal condemnation of Russias actions, economic sanctions, humanitarian or military assistance to Ukraine and the cancellation of bilateral engagements with Russia. Ukraines envoy also said the armed forces of his country had shot down five Russian military aircraft, two helicopters and destroyed two Russian battle tanks, but said that Ukraine had suffered both military and civilian casualties. At a hurriedly-convened media briefing at the Ukraine embassy in New Delhi, Mr Polikha said: I am speaking to you in tragic circumstances. (Russian President) Putin had launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukranian cities are under strikes. Ukraine will defend itself. The world must stop Putin. It is a case of blatant aggression. The ambassador said: India is an influential global player. I am asking and pleading for Indian support (PM) Modi ji is one of the most powerful and respected leaders of the world. India has a privileged partnership with Russia I am hopeful that in case of the strong voice of Modi ji, (President) Putin should at least think over. I hope for a much more favourable attitude of the Indian government. He added: I plead for the strong voice of India. Your Prime Minister can address Mr Putin and our (Ukranian) President. India has played a peacekeeping role (in the past). I am asking for the strong voice f India to stop the war. Pointing out that India had so far said it was monitoring the situation, the Ukraine ambassador said: I am deeply dissatisfied with this position I am not satisfied by a protocol statement. The conversation took place just hours after New Delhi activated its contingency plans and began efforts for evacuation of Indian nationals New Delhi: In the wake of the Russian military offensive against Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi late Thursday night spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and appealed for an immediate cessation of violence while also reiterating his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and (the US-led Western security alliance) Nato can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue. Mr Modi also called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue. An official statement said Mr Modi also sensitised the Russian President about Indias concerns regarding the safety of Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students, and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India, as President Putin briefed PM Modi on the recent developments regarding Ukraine. The conversation took place just hours after New Delhi activated its contingency plans and began efforts for evacuation of about 16,000 Indian nationals, including students, who are now stuck in Ukraine, through land borders with four neighbouring nations -- Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania. Interestingly, in a briefing late Thursday evening, foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India would be willing to facilitate engagement between parties to the dispute. The foreign secretary also said Mr Modi chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) late on Thursday evening and had directed that the topmost priority should be the safety and security of Indian nationals in Ukraine and their evacuation from there. The MEA said its teams were being sent to these land borders to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine These measures were undertaken after Ukrainian airspace was shut, with an Air India flight from New Delhi turning back and returning mid-air in the morning. At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, a shaken India had earlier in the day advised all sides -- in a tightrope walk without taking any names -- to exercise restraint and de-escalate, while regretting that calls by the world to give time for peace initiatives were not adhered to. The foreign secretary said India had a stake in the Ukraine issue due to its close ties with both Russia and Ukraine, economic engagement in the region and so many Indian nationals being in Ukraine. External affairs minister S. Jaishankar is also expected to speak to the Ukrainian foreign minister and his counterparts from Ukraines neighbouring nations. Asked about a resolution expected to be brought by the United States at the UNSC, Mr Shringla said New Delhi had seen a draft resolution but that changes were expected to that as well which New Delhi would have to examine first before deciding on which way to vote. He also said India would have to study the impact of Western economic sanctions against Russia, while conceding that any sanctions will have an impact. The CCS meet chaired by Mr Modi on Thursday evening is expected to have to examined various aspects of the Ukraine crisis, including the economic impact of rising global oil prices and efforts for evacuation of Indian nationals. The CCS meet was attended by Mr Jaishankar, defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and NSA Ajit Doval. The Indian Air Force has already been sounded out on evacuation efforts. Asked about the criticism in some quarters whether the evacuation move could have begun earlier, Mr Shringla said while this was one view, many students were not willing to leave earlier as their classes were not online. He said the Indian embassy had now managed to persuade all Ukrainian universities to hold classes online too so that the Indian students would not miss out. Describing the situation as evolving and complicated, Mr Shringla said while till recently there were about 20,000 Indian citizens in Ukraine, about 4,000 had left, adding that the Indian embassy there had been issuing advisories in the past few weeks as well. New Delhi said the MEA team in Hungary is on its way to Zahony border post opposite Uzhhorod in Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine, while the one in Poland is on its way to Krakowiec land border with Ukraine. The team in Slovak Republic is on its way to Vysne Nemecke land border with Ukraine while that in Romania is on its way to the Suceava land border. The Indian Ambassador in Kyiv, Mr Partha Satpathy, said that India is working out modalities to see how we can evacuate our citizens through the neighbouring countries along the western border of Ukraine. Two facilitation points will also be set up, one each in Poland and Romania. Sources said on Thursday: Today morning, a large number of Indian students in Ukraine turned up outside the Indian embassy in Kyiv. Naturally, not all could be accommodated inside the embassy premises. Accordingly, the embassy organised safe premises nearby and the students were moved there. This process took some time, given the ground situation in Kyiv. No Indian national is currently stranded outside the embassy. As fresh students arrive, they are being moved to the safe premises. The embassy is continuing to assist Indian nationals, including students, in Ukraine. Speaking at the UNSC emergency meeting Thursday, Indias permanent representative T.S. Tirumurti called for immediate de-escalation and warned that the situation was spiralling into a major crisis. Mr Tirumurti advised that the legitimate security interests of all sides be respected even as he regretted that the calls of the international community to give time to recent initiatives to defuse tension were not heeded. A fresh advisory issued by the Indian embassy in Kyiv on Thursday stated: As you are aware, Ukraine is under martial law which has made movement difficult. For those students who are stranded without a place of stay in Kyiv, the mission is in touch with establishments to put them up. We are aware that certain places are hearing air sirens/bomb warnings. In case you are faced with such a situation, Google Maps has a list of nearby bomb shelters, many of which are located in underground metros While the mission is identifying a possible solution to the situation, please be aware of your surroundings, be safe, do not leave your homes unless necessary, and carry your documents with you at all times. Sources said high-level meetings were held in the MEA through the day to put into operation contingency plans and additional Russian-speaking officials have been sent to the Indian embassy in Ukraine and are being deployed in countries neighbouring Ukraine. The MEA control room was also expanded and made operational on a 24x7 basis. Sources said the first batch of Indian students have already left for the Ukraine/Romania border New Delhi: Even as India is dispatching two Air India evacuation flights wholly at the governments expense to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday night one each from Delhi and Mumbai- for evacuating Indian nationals stuck in Ukraine, all eyes are on whether India will once again abstain during voting on a crucial resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) being moved by the United States condemning the Russian military offensive against Ukraine in the early hours of Saturday morning. There were, meanwhile, reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may chair another meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Saturday after the earlier meeting on Thursday evening to take stock of the developments on the Ukraine issue, including the ongoing evacuation efforts. Sources said the first batch of Indian students have already left for the Ukraine/Romania border and that more than 470 students would soon exit Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret border. India has already set up camps in western Ukraine to facilitate the evacuation. There are about 16,000 Indian nationals in Ukraine awaiting evacuation. The Indian embassy in Ukrainian capital Kyiv tweeted, Today afternoon more than 470 students will exit the Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret border. We are moving Indians located at the border to neighbouring countries for onward evacuation. Efforts are underway to relocate Indians coming from the hinterland. India, meanwhile, has so far not condemned the Russian military action but has only stated that the issue can be resolved only through diplomacy and dialogue. New Delhi had abstained during voting last month on a resolution on the Ukraine issue at the UNSC of which it is currently a non-permanent member. India is in a tricky position as it has close strategic ties with the United States which is moving the resolution now and also has time-tested close strategic ties spanning decades with Russia that is facing considerable global criticism over its actions. External affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, meanwhile, told his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the way out even as he also discussed the predicament of Indian nationals, including students, who are stuck there amid the fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops. The EAM tweeted, "Received call from Ukrainian Foreign Minister @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasised that India supports diplomacy & dialogue as the way out. Discussed predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return. In a fresh advisory issued on Friday by the Indian embassy in Kyiv, Indian nationals were advised to take print-outs of the Indian national flag and paste it prominently on the buses and other vehicles they are travelling in as they head to the western borders of Ukraine with both Romania and Hungary. The Government of India is organising evacuation flights for Indians in Ukraine. The cost will be completely borne by the Government of India for this evacuation. MEA camp offices are now operational in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine. Additional Russian speaking officials are being sent to these Camp offices. Officials there are assisting Indian citizens who reach these cities and will facilitate their departure from Ukraine through adjoining border crossings. First batch of Indian students have now left Chernivtsi for the Ukraine/Romania border, sources said on Friday. According to the fresh advisory issued by the Indian embassy in Kyiv, MEA teams are getting in place at checkpoints Chop-Zahony at the Ukraine-Hungary border near Uzhborod and Porubne-Sibet at the Ukraine-Romania border near Chernivtsi. The global order, democracy and world peace are under threat and the West is determined to prevent this from happening Washington claims that a new spectre is haunting the world: Russias Vladimir Putin, who early Thursday ordered his military columns into hapless Ukraine. Explosions have been heard in its capital Kyiv and several Ukrainian cities. The global order, democracy and world peace are under threat and the West is determined to prevent this from happening. Or so goes the narrative. What exactly is up in Ukraine? On the face of it, its about two enclaves within that country Lugansk and Donetsk oblasts, or provinces, which are collectively known as the Donbas where ethnic Russians are in a majority and wish to separate from Ukraine. These areas have seen fighting in the past eight years in which thousands have been killed. Russian President Vladimir Putin has put his foot in it by declaring the two regions to be independent entities: the Lugansk Peoples Republic and the Donetsk Peoples Republic. He has signed friendship treaties with them and pledged to help them. Worse, on Thursday, he ordered his military into the Donbas ostensibly in response to a call for help. I have decided to conduct a special military operation, President Putin said early Thursday, in response to increased Ukrainian aggression in the Donbas. Russian troops, amassed at Ukraines border as a deterrent against possible Ukrainian military action in these enclaves, have been ordered to go in to protect these areas. The Ukrainian government reacted by imposing a state of emergency, authorising its citizens to carry arms and appealing to the United Nations to stop Russian aggression. Its President, Volodymyr Zelensky, had till recently ruled out military conflict: We believe that there will be no large-scale war against Ukraine, and there wont be a wide escalation from the side of the Russian Federation. There is more to the whole fracas than just a bunch of unhappy ethnic Russians stuck in a country where they dont want to be. The Ukraine crisis involves three sets of issues, the first related to principles: Is it acceptable to change national boundaries by force as Russia has for all practical purposes effected? For status quo-ist powers like India, forcible alteration of national boundaries is abhorrent, especially as its two key adversaries China and Pakistan have for decades been attempting to do just that. Sadly, ethical standards rarely deter the powerful or determine the course of history. Russia, however, is hardly an exception as the Western powers are trying to make it appear. The West has been altering national boundaries, invading sovereign states and breaking up nations for over a century now. Much of Africa and large parts of Asia are the result of some pretty nasty cut and paste jobs. India too has suffered the imperialist scalpel. In recent times, the former Yugoslavia was the target of major national re-engineering by the West whose support ensured the balkanisation of that country while a helpless and enraged Russia watched on. Yugoslavia was systematically cut up and when the Serbs resisted, Nato moved in to complete the process of dismemberment. In other words, while Moscows argument that large parts of Russia were wrongly incorporated into Ukraine may sound much like Chinas claim that it has been short-changed in Taiwan, Arunachal, Ladakh and other parts, its not unique or entirely without historical precedent. The question ultimately is whether a nation can actually pull it off and escape the consequences of its actions which brings us to the second question: why exactly is the West and Washington in particular so agitated by the plight of the powers in Kyiv? After all, they were not similarly concerned when Syrias President Bashar al-Assad sought help at a time his country was being overrun by Islamists hordes committing abominable excesses against his people. Nor did Washington even rap its ally Turkey on the knuckles for repeatedly attacking Kurdish areas to kill as many Kurds as possible. The list goes on and on. So why this immense outpouring of Western solidarity with Kyiv? The answer lies in history: the Cold War never really ended entirely in the sense that the USSRs demise didnt mean the end of hostilities with Russia. There are many in America who point to Russias massive nuclear arsenal, its powerful military and its pugnacious President Vladimir Putin as enduring challenges. Russia in recent times has thwarted the US in several areas. Regime change as in Iraq and Libya was averted in Assads Syria only because the Russians stepped in with their military to protect the regime. Moscow also successfully blocked Washingtons inroads into the Central Asian republics and in recent times sided with China in its skirmishes with the Western powers. Washington is also deeply concerned about Europes growing reliance on Russian energy supplies. The Nord Stream-2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline, that would double the flow of Russian gas to Germany, has been particularly contentious. This $11 billion project was completed last year but has not been put to use yet due to US objections and European hesitation. Now, Germany has said Russias actions in Ukraine have forced it to reject the project. But that could be temporary. The bigger picture is that the Cold War mentality hasnt fully gone away. President Putin is hardly a paragon of democracy but no one would fault him for putting his countrys interests first. The fact that Washington has not succeeded in completely grinding Russia into the ground is in part due to Mr Putin, who is demonised in the West as a fascist, Russian jingoist and a dangerous geopolitical upstart. What Mr Putin has been trying to do in his part of the world is what the Western powers continue to do in theirs: define and dominate their spheres of influence. As one writer noted, Russia did not grudge the US for turning both the Atlantic and Pacific into American lakes, or protecting its interests in the Americas and Europe. Nato, on the other hand, has been consistently moving eastwards. In Ukraine, Mr Putin has thrown down the gauntlet and warned against any further Western advance into its area of core influence. Significantly, he also warned Ukraine against joining Nato. Now, whether he is right or wrong in doing so is a philosophical question. Nobel laureate Joseph Rotblat, one of the brains behind the atom bomb, had once said: The Cold War is over but Cold War thinking survives. We were told a world war was prevented by the existence of nuclear weapons. Now were told nuclear weapons prevent all kinds of wars. The world hasnt changed much since he made those remarks 27 years ago. The imperatives of a bygone era still rule our world. Hong Kong: 2 arrested for security law breach Police's National Security Department have arrested two women aged 21 and 24 in Mong Kok and Tsuen Wan on suspicion of committing an act or acts with seditious intention, contravening the Crimes Ordinance. Both women are being detained for further enquiries. Officers also conducted searches at the women's residences and a shop in Mong Kok with a court warrant. Posters inciting hatred and inciting others to violate anti-epidemic regulations as well as some electronic communication devices which were used to publish seditious messages were seized. As shown by Police's investigation, the two arrestees were in charge of the shop. They had published seditious posts on the shop's social media platform multiple times since October 2020, including posts which incited hatred and incited others to violate anti-epidemic regulations. Police urge the public to discern fact from fallacy and not to be misled by unfounded and biased information. This story has been published on: 2022-02-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China denounces Australia's false remarks regarding South China Sea Xinhua) 08:48, February 25, 2022 BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense spokesperson on Thursday denounced recent false remarks by the Australian side regarding China's infrastructure construction and national defense deployment on the South China Sea islands. Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a press conference. The South China Sea islands are inalienable parts of the Chinese territory. Therefore, China's building of infrastructure and deployment of necessary national defense forces in the region are entirely legitimate. No party -- and Australia is no exception -- has the right to pass groundless judgement on the matter, Tan said. Reiterating China's opposition to and grave concerns regarding the nuclear submarine cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia, Tan urged the three-party clique to do away with its Cold-War mentality and zero-sum game mindset, and take the responsibility to address international concerns on the issue. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) The Texas Tech Study Abroad office brought in Rango the camel to advertise studying abroad with Tech's programs on Sept. 15, 2021. Every system the office has an event explaining the destinations students can go to. Ukraine pleads for help as Russian missiles pound Kyiv Ukrainian soldiers take positions in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. (AP Photo) Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent. Popes usually receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican. For Francis to travel a short distance to the Russian embassy outside the Vatican walls was a sign of his strength of feeling about Moscows invasion of Ukraine. Vatican officials said they knew of no such previous papal initiative. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the pontiff wanted clearly to express his concern about the war. Pope Francis was there for just over a half-hour, Bruni said. Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict and has urged the faithful to set next Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine. Ukraine pleads for help as Russian missiles pound Kyiv Missiles pounded Ukraine's capital on Friday as Russian forces pressed their advance and authorities in Kyiv said they were preparing for an assault aimed at overthrowing the government. Air raid sirens wailed over Kyiv, a European city of three million people, and some residents sheltered in underground metro stations, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion that has shocked the world. Ukrainian officials said a Russian aircraft had been shot down and crashed into a building in Kyiv overnight, setting it ablaze and injuring eight people. A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces would enter areas just outside the capital later on Friday and that Ukrainian troops were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered. Kyiv city council warned residents of the Obolon district, near an air base seized on Thursday by Russian paratroopers, to stay indoors because of "the approach of active hostilities". Windows were blasted out of a 10-storey apartment block near Kyiv's main airport, where a two-metre crater filled with rubble showed where a shell had struck before dawn. A policeman said people were injured there but not killed. "How we can live through it in our time? What should we think. Putin should be burnt in hell along with his whole family," said Oxana Gulenko, sweeping broken glass from her room. A neighbour, Soviet army veteran Anatoliy Marchenko, 57, could not find his cat that had run away during the shelling. "I know people there, they are my friends," he said of Russia. "What do they need from me? A war has come to my house." Witnesses said loud explosions could be heard in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, close to Russia's border, and air raid sirens sounded over Lviv in the west. Authorities reported heavy fighting in the eastern city of Sumy. 'NUMBER ONE TARGET' Tens of thousands of people have fled the major cities. Dozens have been reported killed. Russian troops seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advanced on the city from Belarus. Ukraine said radiation levels were elevated there. U.S. officials believe Russia's initial aim is to topple President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and "decapitate" his government. Zelenskiy said the troops were coming for him, but he would stay in Kyiv. "(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target," Zelenskiy said in a video message. "My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state." Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by Putin, in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Putin says Ukraine is an illegitimate state carved out of Russia, a view Ukrainians see as aimed at erasing their more than thousand-year history. Putin's full aims remain obscure. He says he does not plan a military occupation, only to disarm Ukraine and remove its leaders. But it is not clear how a pro-Russian leader could be installed without holding much of the country. Russia has floated no name of such a figure and none has come forward. After Moscow denied for months it was planning an invasion, news that Putin had ordered one came as a shock to Russians accustomed to viewing their ruler of 22 years as a cautious strategist. Many Russians have friends and family in Ukraine. Russia has cracked down on dissent and state media have relentlessly characterised Ukraine as a threat, but thousands of Russians took to the streets to protest against the war. Hundreds were swiftly arrested. One pop star posted a video on Instagram opposing the war, and the head of a Moscow state-run theatre quit, saying she would not take her salary from a murderer. 'RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO FUCK YOURSELF' Britain said Moscow's aim was to conquer all of Ukraine, and its military had failed to meet its main objectives on the first day because it failed to anticipate Ukrainians would resist. "Contrary to great Russian claims - and indeed President Putin's sort of vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause - he's got that completely wrong, and the Russian army has failed to deliver, on day one, its main objective," defence minister Ben Wallace said. Ukrainians were circulating an unverified recording on Friday of a Russian warship ordering a Ukrainian Black Sea outpost to surrender. The Ukrainians reply: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself." Zelenskiy said the 13 guards were killed by a Russian strike and would receive posthumous honours. Ukrainians were fleeing into neighbouring Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, mostly women and children after Kyiv restricted passage for men between 18 and 60 years old. Poland's deputy interior minister Pawe Szefernaker said Ukrainian bus drivers were unable to drive across the border as conscription-age men were being held back in Ukraine. A democratic nation of 44 million people, Ukraine voted for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and has recently stepped up efforts to join NATO and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow. Western countries announced sanctions on Moscow billed as far stronger than earlier measures, including blacklisting its banks and banning technology imports. They stopped short of forcing Russia out of the SWIFT system for international bank payments, drawing criticism from Kyiv which says the most serious steps should be taken now. The U.N. Security Council will vote on Friday on a draft resolution condemning the invasion, though Moscow is certain to veto it. China, which recently signed a friendship treaty with Russia, has refused to call Moscow's actions an invasion. Russia is one of the world's biggest energy producers, and both it and Ukraine are among the top exporters of grain. War and sanctions will disrupt economies around the world. Oil and grain prices have soared. Share markets around the world, many of which plunged on Thursday at the news of the outbreak of war, were mainly rebounding on Friday. Jordanian and French researchers have uncovered a sanctuary dating back some nine thousand years. Inside is a series of traps used for hunting gazelles. The site provides new information on the hunting strategies, defined as "sophisticated". For Amman's Minister of Tourism it is a "spectacular addition" to the country's "archaeological gems". JORDAN Amman (AsiaNews) - An even more ancient "Stonehenge" has emerged in the middle of the Jordanian desert: this is the sensational discovery made in recent days by a group of Jordanian and French archaeologists, who have found a sanctuary dating back some 9,000 years in a remote Neolithic site in the country's eastern desert. Amman's Tourism Minister Nayef Al Fayez told Reuters the discovery was a "spectacular addition" to Jordan's "archaeological gems" which already include such historic sites as rock-cut Petra, the Roman city of Jerash and medieval castles. The ritual complex was found in a Neolithic encampment, near large structures known as 'desert kites' or mass traps, which are believed to have been used to corral wild gazelles for slaughter. These traps consist of two or more long stone walls converging on an enclosure and are found scattered across the deserts of the Middle East. This is a unique site, where large quantities of gazelles were hunted in complex rituals. It has no rival in the world from the Stone Age," said Wael Abu Azizeh, the Co-Director of the French archaeological team. According to initial investigations, it should be about "9,000 years old and is almost intact". It is, he adds, 'unrivalled in the world' for sites dating 'back to the Stone Age'. In the sanctuary there were two standing stones carved with anthropomorphic figures, one accompanied by a representation of the desert kite as well as an altar, a hearth, sea shells and a miniature model of a gazelle trap. The South Eastern Badia Archaeological Project (Sebap), which has been active at the site since 2013, points out that the discovery provides new information "about mass hunting strategies" using techniques that would be described today as "sophisticated" and "unexpected at such an early stage" of human history. Researchers say the sanctuary - within which 250 artefacts also emerged - could provide "completely new light on the symbolism, artistic expression and spiritual culture" of Neolithic populations and "hitherto unknown". The proximity of the site to the traps suggests that the inhabitants specialised in hunting and that the traps were 'the centre of their cultural, economic and even symbolic life in this marginal area'. On the anniversary of the peaceful revolution that led to the fall of Marcos in 1986, Bishop David, president of the Bishops' Conference, released a pastoral letter ahead of the 9 May elections, in which the former dictator's son is running for president. The letter stresses that "There can be no justice without truth. Manila (AsiaNews) The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a pastoral letter titled The Truth Will Set You Free (Jn 8:32), signed by CBCP President Bishop Pablo Virgilio S David of Kalookan. In it, the bishops warn that troll farms which sow the virus of lies dominate the current presidential election, stressing that There can be no justice without truth. The letters release today, 25 February, is no accident. On this day in 1986, the non-violent EDSA[*] People Power Revolution took place that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The former dictators son, Ferdinando Marcos Jr., and his running mate, Sara Duterte, the daughter of the outgoing president, are leading in the polls ahead of the 9 May presidential election thanks to a massive advertising blitz downplaying the scars caused when the Philippines were under the iron fist of martial law. While they are aware of the complexity of things, the bishops insist on the need to help a deeply divided country rediscover the common good. We have no ambition of appropriating for ourselves your distinct role as laity in the just ordering of society, nor do we intend to usurp the role of the government. We are here to provide moral and spiritual guidance, in accord with our mission of proclaiming the truth from our faith. But we are appalled by the blatant and subtle distortion, manipulation, cover-up, repression and abuse of the truth, like: historical revisionism the distortion of history or its denial; the proliferation of fake news and false stories; disinformation the seeding of false information and narratives in order to influence the opinion of the people, to hide the truth, to malign and blackmail people. Citing the virus of lies that paralyses Filipinos capacity to recognize God [and] respect truth and goodness, the bishops note that the radical distortions in the history of Martial Law and the EDSA People Power Revolution are at the heart of the problem. We issued a Post-Election Statement, dated February 13, 1986, regarding the systematic disenfranchisement of voters, widespread and massive vote-buying, deliberate tampering of election returns, intimidation, harassment, terrorism and murder. In the same Statement we said: a government that assumes or retains power through fraudulent means has no moral basis. Thus, we asked you to see, to judge and to act, clearly not with violence, but through peaceful means. And that was what happened. The peaceful revolution was not an invention of one person, one party, or one color. It was a triumph of the entire Filipino People. Many of us, Bishops, were witnesses of the injustice and cruelty of Martial Law. And up until now, the human rights abuses, the victims, the corruption, the grave debt and economic downturn of the country due to dictatorship are all well-documented. Forgetting this is dangerous, for it poisons our collective consciousness and destroys the moral foundations of our institutions. Indeed, Can we afford to make lies become the basis of our laws and their implementation? What happens to a family or a society that is not founded on truth? Ultimately, There can be no justice without truth. Even charity, without truth, is only sentimentalism. An election or any process that is not based on truth is but a deception and cannot be trusted. For this reason, the bishops urge Filipinos, especially the Youth, to examine carefully what is happening in our quest for a true and just society. Engage in dialogue and discernment. Listen to your conscience. Be the ones to decide. Lastly, We trust in your capacity to discern what is true and good. We all seek the common good. And, in the light of the Gospel of Jesus, let us follow the path of truth, goodness, justice and peace not the path of violence, vengeance or evil. [*] Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, a major highway in Metro Manila. by Nikos Tzoitis Bartholomew yesterday spoke with Epiphanius, metropolitan of the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine recognised by Constantinople. He called on the God of love and peace to enlighten Russian leaders to realise the tragic consequences of their decisions and actions, which might even trigger a world war. Istanbul (AsiaNews) - Yesterday morning, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople had a long talk with His Beatitude Epiphanius, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, primate of Orthodox Church of Ukraine, whose autocephaly was granted by Constantinople on 6 January 2018 in accordance with Orthodox rules but strongly opposed by the Moscow patriarchate. During the conversation, the patriarch said he was shocked by the invasion of Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. In a statement released by Ecumenical Patriarchate last night, Bartholomew expressed his deep sorrow for this act of blatant violation of international legitimacy, as well as his support for the Ukrainian people, who are fighting for the integrity of their homeland. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the statement goes on to say, condemns this groundless act of attack by Russia against Ukraine, an independent and sovereign state in Europe, as well as the violation of human rights and brutal violence against humanity, especially against civilians. The patriarch urges the faithful to pray so that our God, the God of love and peace, enlighten the leaders of the Russian Federation to realise the tragic consequences of their decisions and actions, which might even trigger a world war. In an appeal to the leaders of other countries, as well as European institutions and international organisations, Bartholomew calls for a peaceful solution to this critical situation, through honest dialogue. In his view, this is the only way to solve any problem or dispute. Lastly, the ecumenical patriarch addressed a fraternal appeal to the local Orthodox Churches, as well as all Christians and every person of good will, to join in a continuous prayer on behalf of the Ukrainian people and for the re-establishment of the primacy of peace and justice in Ukraine. Arriving by car, the pontiff met for a half-hour with the ambassador. Yesterday, Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin called for a negotiation to spare the world from the folly and horrors of war. Due to knee pain, the pope will not be in Florence on Sunday for the meeting of bishops and mayors of the Mediterranean. Vatican City (AsiaNews) Following Wednesday's appeal at the general audience and in view of the evolution of Russias invasion of Ukraine, Pope Francis met with Alexander Avdeev, the ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Vatican. The pontiff travelled by car to the embassy, in via della Conciliazione 10, which is close to St Peter's Square, where he spent about half an hour, as reported by Vatican Press Office director Matteo Bruni. By taking a personal initiative, breaking traditional protocol, Francis wanted to impress upon the ambassador his "concern for the war. According to some sources, he also offered the Vatican's services to mediate, of which the Russian ambassador took note. Meanwhile, the tragic scenarios that everyone feared are becoming a reality, said Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin in a statement yesterday. Yet there is still time for goodwill, there is still room for negotiation, there is still a place for the exercise of a wisdom that can prevent the predominance of partisan interest, safeguard the legitimate aspirations of everyone, and spare the world from the folly and horrors of war. As believers, we do not lose hope for a glimmer of conscience on the part of those who hold in their hands the fortunes of the world. And we continue to pray and fast as we shall do this coming Ash Wednesday for peace in Ukraine and in the entire world. For its part, the Vatican Press Office announced that Due to acute gonalgia (knee pain), for which his doctor has prescribed a period of more rest for his leg, Pope Francis will not be able to travel to Florence next Sunday, nor lead the celebrations of Ash on Wednesday, 2 March. The Vatican Press Office did release the schedule for the popes apostolic visit on 2-3 April to Malta. by Alessandra De Poli Educated but unemployed, or workers treated like cannon fodder. This is the picture that emerges from recent surveys on the Indian labour market. In the automotive sector, thousands of workers are seriously injured and have no protection. But the car industry is expected to be worth 300 billion dollars in 2026. New Delhi (AsiaNews) - In India there are no jobs for young people who have studied, because the market offers dangerous, degrading and poorly paid jobs, tasks for which graduates are overqualified. This is the picture that emerges from an analysis of some recent surveys on the situation of Indian workers, and it is also the context in which the protests that broke out in Bihar last month after 12.5 million people applied for 35,000 jobs in the state railways should be seen. The Indian economy is growing, with forecasts giving it an 8.5% growth rate for the financial year 2022-23, despite uncertainties and risks related to the exit from the pandemic. But it is not just academics who are benefiting from job creation, aspiring to jobs in government offices, or in the administration of a large company. A Periodic Labour Force Survey reports the unemployment rate was already over 6 per cent in 2017-18, the highest figure in 45 years. In the 15-29 age group, the figure was 17.8%, a figure that has remained above 15% in subsequent years. A breakdown of the data shows that the unemployment rate rises as the level of education increases. A dramatic situation and a problem that dates back to before the pandemic, but now so frustrating, after all the sacrifices made to study, some students say, that it is leading some young people to commit suicide. The demand for labour is there, but in the industries, where workers are treated - sometimes literally - like cannon fodder. Thousands of workers in the automotive sector, for example, have lost their fingers, a hand or suffered serious neck and head injuries after handling machinery without safety protections. This is reported in the Crushed 2021 report, the third document on the subject produced by the Safe in India Foundation (Sii), which has been collecting nationwide data on the conditions of migrants and workers working in this sector since 2017. Of the 3,268 workers assisted by Sii, 2,584 (80%) work(go) in the factories of suppliers to the biggest brands in the sector, such as Suzuki, Motorcop and Honda. Seventy per cent have lost a hand or fingers, a figure that has remained constant over the last five years, while just over 20 per cent have suffered various types of bone fractures. 71% reported earning less than 10,000 rupees per month (less than 120 euros) for 12-hour shifts. Overtime is not paid. The vast majority of the injured (92%) are migrant workers, mainly from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. They are very poorly educated and 62% of them are young people under 30. More than 50 per cent of the accidents happen with electric presses because they are not equipped with safety sensors or because the workers are not trained in their operation. Safety checks have been declining for years and the government's figures also differ greatly from those collected by Sii. The Directorate General Factory Advice Service & Labour Institute, the technical arm of India's Ministry of Labour, for example, has recorded about 50 non-fatal accidents in the northern state of Haryana (about 2% of the total nationwide) compared to about 500 reported to Sii alone every year since 2016. Sii's research also shows that the lower a worker's salary and education, the worse the injury (the more fingers lost, literally); this pushes workers even further to the margins of society due to the physical and psychological trauma reported, which prevents them from finding new employment. The payment of insurance contributions often turns out to be a scam: 70% of injured workers reported that they received their insurance card from the Employees' State Insurance Corporation - which provides access to health benefits in the event of illness, accidents and death - only after the accident, not when they were hired, and thus were not entitled to any compensation, despite having already paid their contributions. The automotive sector contributes about 7.1% to India's gross domestic product, and the latest Automotive Mission Plan for the decade 2016-26 projects this figure to increase to 12%. It means that the automotive industry, which is now worth 8 billion, will be worth 0 billion by 2026, making it the third largest automotive market in the world by volume. In FY2021, India produced 22.7 million vehicles, mostly two-wheelers, of which 4.1 million were for export. It currently employs 8 million workers directly and 37 million indirectly. This figure is expected to rise to 100 million by 2026. The main automobile production centres are located in Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. "It is probably no mere coincidence that these four are also among the richest states in India," Sii concludes in its report. by Mathias Hariyadi The missionaries will carry out their pastoral work in Manulete, an inaccessible mountainous area. Amused, they told the local bishop that they were not ready to go to such a remote area, but that Local hospitality and generosity have strongly motivated us to serve them. Jakarta (AsiaNews) Two Indonesian nuns have been sent on mission to a remote mountainous part of the Archdiocese of Dili, Timor Leste (East Timor). This pastoral initiative is the work of the Sisters of Charity of St Charles Borromeo (CB), who have always been committed to developing new outreach opportunities for the Church. Our Indonesian CB sisters are called to pay more attention to serve others in the most neglected areas; not only in Indonesia but also overseas, said Sister Yustiana Wiwiek Iswanti, head of the Indonesian province of the Sisters of Charity of St Charles Borromeo, speaking to AsiaNews. Today, the CB congregation officially sent two Indonesian nuns to serve others in Manulete station, a remote mountainous area in Hatolia parish, Archdiocese of Dili. Sisters Seli Eno and Edelberte, the two new missionaries in Timor Leste, are respectively from Nusa Tenggara and Java, Indonesia. Both are expected to start their pastoral work in this area where at least 7,500 Timorese live and earn a living from agriculture," Sister Yustiana added. The area is really difficult to reach and powerful 4x4 WD SUVs are needed to travel the distance. In any case we are very pleased and feel honoured to receive a warm welcome from local Timorese. They are so generous towards us, Sister Yustiana explained after driving to East Timor from the Indonesian side of the island of Timor. "As stipulated by the 2017 chapter, the main reason for this new mission is the need for our congregation to meet the new challenges of today's society. For Sister Iswanti, This means that we are now called to pay more attention to remote areas across Indonesia and our neighbour, Timor Leste. Archbishop Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili welcomed the initiative. He asked the Sisters if they are happy with the mission in such an inaccessible area like Manulete. No way! said Sisters Seli Eno and Edelberte, amused. But we are spiritually ready to carry out our new mission in that remote area, they explained. Local hospitality and generosity have strongly motivated us to serve them. Timor Leste is just one of the places served by the Sisters of Charity, who are also present in remote areas of Indonesia. Our congregation faces many challenges today, said Sister Iswati. We are called to pursue pastoral outreach in a digital world for the whole of creation and for the development of communities. Lubbock, TX (79409) Today Overcast. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Evening clouds will give way to clearing overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 51F. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Masks to be optional in all county school districts but Athens starting next week Athens, TX (75751) Today A few isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 87F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low near 70F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. This race-ready 1956 Bel Air goes by the name "Panama Red." It started life as a regular production model in Ohio and spent its first five years in the Los Angeles area as a family car. Taken off the streets by local drag racers known as the Childers Brothers, the Bel Air was stripped off of its turquoise and white paint job and finished in the red hue that it's still wearing today.Originally raced at Lions Drag Strip and Orange County until the late 1970s, it was sold to California-based racer Bob Knudsen. The Bel Air became a regular at Famoso Raceway until 1981. The gasser changed owners several times since then and spent its recent years in Panora, Iowa. While it was retired from racing, "Panama Red" attended random car shows.Come 2022, and the drag-read Bel Air is for sale. It comes with rust-free and original body panels, clean chrome trim and glass, and a period-correct interior with bucket seats and a roll cage."Panama Red" draws juice from a 355-cubic-inch (5.8-liter) Chevy small-block V8 with a 10:1 compression ratio and race-spec components of the Edelbrock, Holley, and Mallory variety. The mill mates to a Borg-Warner T-10 gearbox and McLeod Racing flywheel and clutch.The rear end is an early Pontiac unit with a 5:86 ratio and still packs the original leaf springs and ladder bars. Up front, it has a straight axle and disc brakes, both of which were added sometime in the 1980s. The seller says the car "starts, drives, stops and idles just fine" and that "she'll put you back in the seat and turn you sideways" when you hit the gas.The gasser also comes with a ton of documentation, including a title from 1961, time slips from Famoso Raceway, photos from the late 1970s, and a single driver seat claimed to be the original unit it was raced with."Panama Red" is being auctioned off as we speak by eBay seller "jersteph07." Bidding has reached $20,100 with more than four days to go, but the listing still has a "reserve not met" status. How much do you think this historic gasser is worth? Let me know in the comments. Pre-season testing has begun in Barcelona. Weve already seen the first red flag of 2022 , but it wasnt about an accident or an unwarranted crash. After the teams have let their drivers enjoy the new F1 cars, weve discovered McLaren is on the hunt, while Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz are still shy with their testing. Haas is on a different level: it has once again problems with its sponsors.Politics and geopolitics aside, theres something going on with the new cars. They bounce on the track. This effect is known as "porpoising." While not a real term, this word coined by Mario Andretti best describes whats going on at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.Formula 1 teams now have the chance to perfect their designs. This means working on aerodynamics too. And here we meet this "porpoising" effect weve been talking about something engineers thought to be unlikely to appear.Essentially, the 2022 F1 cars must deal with plenty of downforce when going for the top speed. The pressure is applied to the body and it literally pushes the car down to the ground. The ride height decreases and this can cause the airflow that sticks the car to the tarmac to separate and reduce downforce. The ground effect plays an important role here as it stops temporarily working as intended.But speed is a key factor in F1 cars' design, so their aerodynamics keeps them planted to the ground even after the small, brutal lift. The downforce increases again with the acceleration, which means that the ground clearance is reduced when the speed rises. This means that it is almost impossible to always keep the vehicle on one ride height. And that's how "porpoising" appears.It's a cycle of rocking back and forth, or up and down, if you will, to put it in the simplest terms.It looks funny on the slo-mo camera, but it isn't. This can make the car unstable and damage the chassis. Also, this intense vibration affects drivers' ability to see.Finally, " porpoising " is not something new. Its been known since 1982 when Lotus tried to mount their aero kit on a separate frame just to stabilize the car. Well see what solutions they find now, especially that drivers complain of feeling physically sick. Some say the 2023 Acura Integra is just a souped-up version of Hondas Civic Si, packing a bit more premium on the inside and additional style on the outside. The luxury Japanese automaker, meanwhile, hopes the new liftback will blend affordability (around $30k) and heritage into a compelling package.But fans have wanted more ever since Acura unveiled the Integra Prototype, and voices raised concerns this is yet another bland JDM-style treatment like Subarus WRX. So, pixel masters have taken it upon themselves to rectify stuff. Like the fact, this Integra is not getting a Honda version.Or that it is just a five-door liftback version of the eleventh-generation Honda Civic, not a feisty three-door. And, last but not least, everyone likes to see Type R letters alongside Integra branding if we are not getting SH-AWD as per the recently debunked dealer error/rumor. So, case in point.A few days ago, Sugar Chow, the virtual artist better known as sugardesign_1 on social media, took a quick break from his usual Touring the world! periplus to address the Acura/Honda/Integra conundrum. Interestingly, he did so in a manner that is highly reminiscent of OEM teasers. Alas, it was merely a case of blurry wishful thinking Luckily, the CGI expert now followed up his digital Honda Integra Type R project with a new set of virtually enhanced photos. And now the 2023 Acura/Honda Integra Type R is being shown off in all its unofficial glory as if we are dealing with a true unveiling.Complete with all the goodies that Integra enthusiasts might want. A close connection to the past via the white attire and classic, matching-white sporty wheels. The fabled Type R additions would make it hotter than a recently awakened volcano. As well as the use of just a pair of doors on the sides. And a hatch around the back... Another month, another car for Kevin Hart, or so it seems. The comedian has a lot of impressive rides in his garage (or garages, because he has quite a few cars to fit in just one space). But considering their diversity, its pretty difficult to put a label on his preferences.One day, he debuts a custom classic muscle car, like his 1969 Plymouth Road Runner , which is an ode to his favorite horror film, Halloween. It's a car which, a few weeks after Hart purchased it, was already winning him some awards. Then, he shows the first Ferrari SF90 Stradale Spyder in the U.S., an exotic piece that combines performance and status with a hybrid core.Now, hes coming back to modern vehicles, and he poses with a black Mercedes-Maybach S-Class . In the US, the only option is a mild-hybrid S 580, powered by a 4.0-liter V8 engine, which delivers 496 horsepower (503 ps) at 5,500 rpm, and a maximum torque of 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) at 2,000-4,500 rpm. The gearbox-mounted electric motor brings another 20 horsepower and 147.5 lb-ft (200 Nm) to the mix. Resources go to both axles via a nine-speed automatic transmission and make the luxury sedan capable of sprinting from zero to 62 mph (0-100 kph) in 4.8 seconds. The luxury sedan has a top speed of 155 mph (249 kph).A top favorite among celebrities, it wouldve been a shame to see it's missing from Kevin Harts collection, and it doesnt. Oh, of course, we shouldnt fail to mention the white Rolls-Royce Dawn parked parallel to his brand-new Maybach. Originally scheduled to land in the hands of buyers on February 25, the device shipped early, therefore giving Samsung fans the chance of figuring out how the Galaxy S22 Ultra behaves in different scenarios.As it turns out, using a Galaxy S22 Ultra behind the wheel isnt necessarily the most straightforward experience youd expect, simply because Android Auto appears to be broken on the device.Posts on Googles forums reveal Android Auto is just malfunctioning every time the mobile device is connected to the head unit. In some cases, the app doesnt start, while for others, it appears to launch but ends up stuck with a blank screen.A number of users claim they occasionally manage to get the sound to work, but as far as the UI is concerned, the only thing they see is the aforementioned blank screen.Google has already confirmed the reports have been forwarded to the Android Auto team, but this isnt necessarily good news.Fixing an Android Auto bug doesnt happen overnight and is typically a lengthy process, so if you too are experiencing problems with the app on a brand-new Galaxy S22 Ultra, theres not much you can do right now.Seeing Android Auto broken down on the best Android phone right now isnt exactly surprising, as the app has been struggling with all kinds of issues on Samsungs mobile devices for quite some time. Unfortunately, this once again proves that spending a small fortune on an Android flagship is no guarantee everything would work properly on Android Auto, so it remains to be seen how fast Google manages to come up with a fix.In the meantime, if you encounter the same problem, make sure you send your feedback to Google. Its not a considerable blunder at first glance, but then again, dont forget that many people arent technically inclined. These motorists may inflate the tires too little or too much due to the automakers error, a condition that may lead to premature tire wear or God forbid a high-speed blowout.Audi highlights that the B-pillar label is correct in this matter. Be that as it may, the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations requires the automaker to state the correct tire pressure (title 49, chapter V, part 575.6).The Ingolstadt-based manufacturer isnt aware of complaints, warranty records, crashes, or injuries related to this mistake. A grand total of 920 vehicles produced from March 18th, 2021 through October 18th, 2021 are called back to have their owners manual rectified with the corrected table for tire pressure values. Audi further notes that vehicles produced after December 6th have received the owners manual insert from the factory.Model year 2023 vehicles will receive a corrected owners manual. Dealers and customers alike will be notified on April 15th as per the automaker.Currently the most expensive all-electric vehicle sold by the four-ringed automaker in the United States, the Porsche Taycan-based sedan is available in two flavors: the $102,400 e-tron GT and the $142,400 RS e-tron GT.The lesser variant is available in Premium Plus and Prestige flavors. The Audi Sport variant comes in a single configuration. Despite its exceedingly high price tag, the RS e-tron GT doesn't come with a full leather interior. That package adds $5,350 to the tally. Adding insult to injury, rear-wheel steering is only available as part of the $8,450 carbon performance pack. The Flying Finn holds a ten-second lead over home favorite Oliver Solberg, son of 2003 World Rally Champion, Petter Solberg. For the Swedish driver it was the best morning of his young WRC career, despite a slow start in Kamsjon and Savar.This morning was already quite tricky, but the last stage was the best of all. The only issue is when you are first car, there are a lot of snow blocks on the inside and outside of the corners. I thought the roads would be cleaner, but the afternoon could be even more difficult, said Oliver Solberg.A lot of drivers were taken by surprise because of an overnight freeze. Craig Breen had an awful day after crashing out of stage 2. The Irish driver had already span after clipping a snowbank earlier in the stage, when he brought out red flags after hitting another snowbank, ending his day too fast.Ex-leader Esapekka Lappi stalled his Toyota GR Yaris after posting the fastest time in Kamjson, and as a result he dropped from the lead to sixth overall. Hyundais cars were the best on the high-speed icy roads. The i20 N of Ott Tanak led after the opening stage even with a damaged front bumper, but in Savar the bumper fell off, so the Estonian dropped to fifth.After struggling and feeling very annoyed with his performance this morning, Toyota driver Elfyn Evans finished on the last podium place. The driver from Wales said that I dont have great confidence with the car to be honest. Im struggling with the front end so its hard to commit and be smooth.This afternoon Rally Sweden continues with a second pass of the 14,9 kilometers (9,25 miles) road full of snow and ice. EV BEV The @Ford team is unstoppable when we set our mind to something. Watch how we are going to scale up our BEV capacity to 600,000 by the end of 2023 - and that's just the beginning. pic.twitter.com/dfHUJFhTiW Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) February 23, 2022 Ford is far from being the number one carmaker in the world by volume, and it will most probably never get there. But when it comes to electric vehicles, the success with the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning made Fords CEO Jim Farley euphoric. In November last year, he expressed confidence Ford will produce 600,000 electric vehicles per year by the end of 2023, twice as many as originally planned.It is a very bold statement, especially as Jim Farley vowed Ford would become the 2nd biggest EV producer within the next couple years. The funny thing is, Ford aiming for number two in themarket means beating Volkswagen, a company that is key to Ford reaching its goals. Thats because building an EV in Europe based on Volkswagens MEB platform is an important part of the plan to get to 600,000 EV capacity.Jim Farley shared an interesting video on Twitter, explaining how Ford is going to scale up itscapacity to 600,000 by the end of 2023. A big part of this plan is ramping up production at existing facilities in Dearborn (where the F-150 Lightning is assembled) and Kansas City (the place where the E-Transit is made). The former is expected to reach 150,000 units per year by the end of 2023, on top of the 200,000 volume for the Mustang Mach-E built in Mexico and China.As weve said, a new crossover based on Volkswagens MEB electric platform will start production in Europe next year. This will not be a reengineered Volkswagen ID.4, but a proper Ford developed on top of MEB. Farley promises this is just the beginning and the investments Ford made in three battery gigafactories in Tennessee and Kentucky prove he means business.Even so, 600,000 electric vehicles a year will not get Ford very close to its goal to become number two in the EV field, let alone surpass Tesla. Its safe to say Tesla will have a capacity of two-million cars by next year in China alone, and Volkswagen is not standing still either. And remember GM? They are eager to put behind the Bolt blunder and they have the means to leave Ford in the dust . It would be interesting to see which traditional carmaker will challenge Tesla in the end. This is what the General Motors CEO said recently, explaining that the high new car prices are likely to continue in the long term, especially as the demand is as strong as ever. Speaking during a recent video call with analyst Rod Lache, Mary Barra explained that achieving the inventory levels that carmakers had in the past is pretty much impossible. In other words, not only that dealerships are expected to continue to sell pretty much everything they have, but the waiting times will continue to be painful, to say the least.Barra explained the prices for new cars will remain high even as we step into 2023, and its all as a response to the strong demand. After all, its a no-brainer: if cars sell like hotcakes even with a higher price tag, itd be ridiculous for carmakers to make them cheaper in the first place.The GM CEO doesnt expect the chip shortage to be over completely anytime soon, explaining that some signs of recovery should indeed show up later this year.But on the other hand, the end of the chip shortage is an unpredictable event thats strongly related to the global health problem. In fact, this is what caused the chip crisis in the first place, not only by generating the skyrocketing demand for electronics but also due to the restrictions and shutdowns that affected chip manufacturers across the world.General Motors has been one of the carmakers impacted the hardest, with the company temporarily halting the production at several of its American factories. In some cases, GM decided to produce cars without certain systems, as it tried to reduce the number of chips used on each model. Netflixs subscription business model was an ingenious discovery. Today, all forms of art including music and books have subscription services. Tesla jumped in on it, and it seems every other auto manufacturer is hungry for a subscription paycheck.In 2021, Toyota tried to include subscription services into their business model, placing a charge on remote starting but failed after a backlash from consumers. BMW also tried including a yearly subscription for Andriod Auto, Apple Car services, and basic car features.According to a top GM executive, the company is looking to accelerate its non-vehicle revenue and introduce dozens of new fee-based digital features, Reuters reported.In an investor conference, Steve Carlisle, GM North America president, said that the automaker had added some 50 value-added products and services available over the next 36 to 48 months.According to Carlisle, the manufacturers OnStar unit that features Insurance and concierge services to drivers costs $32/month per client. The company expects their Super Cruiser driver assist feature to maximize on that.During an investor meeting in January, Ford CEO Jim Farley also mentioned that subscription services can add $20 billion to their revenue by 2030. While he pointed out they wont charge a fee for heated seats, it was clear they are planning to include subscription services for useful data.Carlisle added that GM is considering flexible pricing for their data-oriented software products, from monthly to lifetime subscriptions.General Motors introduction of data-driven software is part of a plan announced in 2021 to boost their revenue to $280 billion by 2030. With time, automotive consumers will have to cave into auto subscription services as the shift to EVs intensifies. kW It is all in the details, as the steel plates, 3D-printed protection elements, all sorts of ceramic and metallic composites, and thick windows give it ballistic protection. Thats right, despite looking like your run-of-the-mill $100k+ G-Class, it can actually take a bullet for its occupants.Officially named the Invicto Pure VR6 Plus ERV, it was turned into an armored beast by Brabus . The tuner has upgraded the suspension in order for the ride to cope with the added weight, and the brakes too. It sits on 20-inch heavy-duty wheels, with run-flats, which ensure quick getaway from most dangerous situations.Invicto badges decorate the exterior of this modified 4x4 , which also features dedicated entry sills and new floor mats. Other than that, it retains the original firepower, namely the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine that produces 416 hp (422 ps / 310) and 450 lb-ft (610 Nm) of torque. In standard configuration, the G 500, otherwise known as the G 550 in North America, can hit 60 mph (97 kph) in 5.6 seconds from a standstill, yet, since this one weighs as much as a small shed, it is way slower.Originally registered towards the end of 2018, and with 11,680 miles (18,800 km) on the clock, it is advertised by Brabus on its official website for 488,495, which equals to $547,481 at the current exchange rates. The pictures accompanying the ad speak for the overall condition, which is almost showroom-fresh. So, there you have it, a non-bling G-Class that can keep its occupants safe in return for a small fortune. But you cannot really put a price on safety, can you? CVT The year was 1998 and I was astonished to hear that the upcoming Lamborghini Murcielago would make use of an automatic. Ferrari also jumped in with their F1 transmissions, and both were essentially computer-controlled manuals. Adding a few hundred pounds of hydraulics between the shift paddles and the differential looked fine on paper, but counting your clutch life in single digits was a recipe for anxiety.Aside from short trips to write reviews, my first true long-distance experience was in Mr. DuPont's 2011 Audi R8 V10 Spyder. This was before the dual-clutch S-Tronic was introduced, so it was the final evolution of the R-Tronic automated manual. With the windows and the convertible top down, I had to drive from duPont Registry in Clearwater down to Prestige Imports in Miami Beach.Loading and unloading the car from the warehouse made use of a 17-degree ramp, and that was where I first smelled burning clutch. In low speed cruising, the computer commands the clutch either on or off. In fact, simply cruising around our parade route at slow speeds would generally incur a clutch overheat under 15 mph. Once on the highway, the system works flawlessly. It just wasnt designed for Floridas failing infrastructure.Next up was the gorgeous Aston Martin One-77 . It arrived new from England with several electrical faults, from the power seats to the air Conditioning. Nevertheless, I attempted to load it into a private trailer before delivering it to my customer. Its transmission would not slip the clutch on any incline or decline, leaving the car locked up on our 17-degree ramp.In the meantime, I have seen hundreds of examples of how engineers can become too isolated from the real world. The most recent involves a bargain-priced V10 BMW M5, purchased new by my brother-in-Law. On cold mornings it simply wont work, and when it does, the shifts are so violent that it has broken interior plastics.Once production ended on the Porsche Carrera GT, engineers gave up. Aside from Cadillac, Aston Martin, and a few others, everyone is throwing out excuses why manual shifters and pedals arent worth the effort for such a niche market. Their failures in the single-clutch experiments have allowed the ZF 8HP automatic to become the worlds most popular gearbox, for those who enjoy boring automobiles. An honorable mention has to be given to the 10-speed automatic co-developed by GM and Ford, as it has increased the fuel economy across the board.My friends at European Auto Group have developed manual transmission conversions for most late-model exotics. To give me a taste of their abilities, they brought the only six-speed manual F430 Scuderia to Florida for a test drive. It is a perfect car, because they have used the latest in CNC work to make forged pedals and linkages that Ferrari now sources from their headquarters in San Antonio. Since then, they have developed kits for the Ferrari 599, 575, and the late-model Supra.Electric cars have no need for single or dual clutch transmissions, so the violent and temperamental nature of old transmissions will soon be relegated to YouTube and car shows. Is the single clutch the worst transmission in recent history? That honor must go to Nissans, followed by the Chevrolet 4L60E. So we want to hear from you! Tell us your worst transmission nightmares, and stay with us for more exclusive content! SUV Rivian was on everybodys mind last year as the American startup started to deliver its first vehicles. Beyond beating Tesla with the first electric pickup truck to market, Rivian had promising prospects and a lot of orders for their vehicles. But that part was also Achiles heel for Rivian, as people saw it impossible for the startup to deliver 100,000 electric vans to Amazon, its most important backer, and also fulfill thousands of orders for the R1T truck and R1SInvestors freaked out and the shares price tanked as Rivian entered a shadow, but the companys CEO RJ Scaringe is confident that 2022 will be a very good year for them. During a Wolfe Research conference, he spoke with great confidence about the push to increase vehicle production.We're absolutely making progress, Rivians CEO RJ Scaringe said, according to Reuters. The plant is starting to ramp nicely. Responding to a question about the companys plans for 2030, Scaringe laid out the ambitious goal to build out a portfolio ... to allow us to really work toward building a position of 10% market share within the EV space.Rivian has a long way to go to reach that target. The work at its Normal plant was stopped in January to make changes to the production lines that would allow it to boost output. Soon after that, Bloomberg revealed Rivian increased production to 200 vehicles per week, up from only 50. The Normal plant also has a dedicated line to manufacture the electric vans for Amazon.Rivians hopes to reach meaningful production levels are tied to the second factory it builds in Georgia. Just like was the case with Tesla, the construction progress in Morgan County is hindered by protests from the local community . Rivian is investing $5 billion in an assembly plant that will employ 7,500 people to produce around 400,000 vehicles a year starting in 2024.Rivian is also looking to manufacture its batteries in-house and is rumored to build a pilot line in South Korea . This comes after the current battery supplier, Samsung SDI, refused to build a production facility specifically for Rivian. This happened after the startup denied committing to a volume and also submitted unacceptable conditions. As news of the war spread, the price of refined sunflower oil in the retail market shot up to Rs 162 per litre compared to Rs 145 per litre a day ago, according to the Price Monitoring Cell of the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs. (Representative AFP Photo) Visakhapatnam: Edible oil prices are set to go up in AP due to the Russian-Ukraine war that started on Thursday. There could be a temporary suspension of the import of sunflower oil from Ukraine and disruptions in shipment. The prices have already started an upward trend, the sources said. According to the sources including those at the ports, nearly 10 lakh metric tonnes of sunflower oil is annually imported from Ukraine to Andhra Pradesh. The imported oil reaches the oil refineries at various places including Kakinada and Vijayawada. A functionary at the Kakinada SeaPorts Ltd said, "Nearly 4.4 lakh tonnes of sunflower oil was imported from Ukraine as on date this fiscal." The functionary at Krishnapatnam Port said there was no immediate adverse effect on the shipment, but there could be chances of a disruption in oil imports to the port in the coming days. As news of the war spread, the price of refined sunflower oil in the retail market shot up to Rs 162 per litre compared to Rs 145 per litre a day ago, according to the Price Monitoring Cell of the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs. Time to stretch those legs! We just successfully retracted and extended our full landing gear for the first time. #LetsRoc pic.twitter.com/UUVhC1xmy0 Stratolaunch (@Stratolaunch) February 24, 2022 With a wingspan of 385 feet (117 meters), Roc is the world's largest airplane. Powered by six Boeing 747 engines, the carrier aircraft took to the skies on February 24th, at 3:23 p.m. EST from the Mojave Air and Space Port, California.Roc flew for almost two hours and climbed up to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). Compared to its last test flight (which took place in January), the airplane spent less time in the air, and it reached a lower altitude.That's because the team did not focus on endurance, speed, or cruising altitude this time. Instead, pilots tested the landing gear. This was the first time the aircraft actually managed to successfully retract and extend its full landing gear. Roc's performance and handling characteristics were also evaluated during the flight."Today's successful flight demonstrates and validates improvements to the carrier aircraft's systems and overall flight performance," said Dr. Zachary Krevor, Stratolaunch President and Chief Operating Officer.The company has been improving the capabilities of its carrier aircraft in order to better prepare it for the upcoming launch of the rocket-powered Talon-A hypersonic vehicles."The full landing gear retraction and extension brings the carrier aircraft closer to operational status, a milestone that is necessary to ready the aircraft for Talon-A separation and hypersonic flight tests later this year," explained Krevor in a statement.Talon-A vehicles, which will be launched from Roc, are reusable testbeds designed for hypersonic research, experiments, and operational missions . They're capable of flying at speeds higher than Mach 5, and they can also carry various payloads.Stratolaunch is continuing to work on system integration for two Talon-A test vehicles, the TA-0, and TA-1. A third vehicle, the TA-2, is currently under development. Once completed, this will be the first fully reusable hypersonic test vehicle.The company plans to start hypersonic flight testing later this year. Stratolaunch estimates that it will start delivering services to both the government and commercial customers next year. This new surface technology was developed jointly by Lufthansa Technik and chemicals and coatings manufacturer BASF. AeroSHARK is made up of millions of riblets, which are tiny protrusions measuring 50 micrometers (0.05 mm/0.001 in) in height that replicate the shark skin's hydrodynamic properties.Applied to an aircraft , this film reduces aerodynamic drag. All twelve Boeing 777-300ER will have their fuselage and engine nacelles covered by the AeroSHARK technology. A total of 950 square meters (10,226 square feet) of this innovative film will be used.Once the modification is completed, drag on the aircraft is expected to be significantly reduced. And since will aerodynamic drag reduction plays an important role in minimizing fuel consumption, the fleet will be able to save more than one percent jet fuel. This, in turn, will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions.SWISS estimates that this will translate as more than 4,800 tons of fuel saved and around 15,200 tons of carbon dioxide avoided every year. To put it into perspective, these numbers would be achieved on approximately 87 long-haul flights from Zurich, Switzerland, to Mumbai, India.Starting from mid-2022, the airline will equip its Boeing 777-300ER fleet successively with AeroSHARK. The work will be done during layovers.However, Lufthansa Technik and BASF do not want to stop here. The companies are planning to develop new technology that can be applied in the future to different types of aircraft and cover even larger surfaces. This will help provide airlines and manufacturers all over the world with a product that could help them achieve their emission targets.According to Lufthansa Technik, the sharkskin technology in its maximum expansion stage might be capable of reducing CO2 emissions by up to three percent. First, the inverters have their circuit boards designed in a way that allows future modifications, as well as backward and forwards compatibility. The two ingenious parts of this design have made Sandy Munro excited, as he underlined the advantages of opting for this instead of getting a custom solution each time.Second, it appears that Tesla has implemented further fail-safes within its electric motors, which now have a pyrotechnic cap that will disconnect the motor from power by cutting the connection on their newly designed busbars. The ingenious solution allows for greater protection of the circuit board and motor if something goes wrong with their electrical supply.Third, as you can observe with each teardown of the Tesla Model S Plaid , there are many parts of the vehicle that were improved when compared to their first versions. While some elements are more advanced in the Model Y and Model 3, such as the layout of the doors, the motors and inverters on all Tesla vehicles seem to be improved at a steady pace across the board.There are always things that can be improved, and no automaker has perfect designs, but that is where companies like Sandy's come in, and they provide support for the improvement of various key areas. Legacy automakers are better than Tesla Motors in some aspects, by the American make does have a few advantages to its name.At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is providing a quality product that will make its owner or user happy, and that sounds easier to do than it is, as it has been proven time after time. Located somewhere in North Carolina, this property sees about a dozen cars spend their retirement among bushes and trees. And many of them are of the muscle car variety. It's the first-generation Ford Mustangs that dominate the landscape, but the backyard is also home to a couple of Dodges and even a Meyers Manx dune buggy.Once pretty and powerful pony cars, these Mustangs will need more than just a refresh to become road-worthy again. Sadly, at least three of the five Fords are either buried under leaves and branches or simply stuck between trees.And some of them are not run-of-the-mill Mustangs either. The 1969 Fastback that's buried under vegetation is a Mach 1 with a desirable four-speed gearbox. It still has a 351-cubic-inch (5.8-liter) Cleveland V8 under the hood, but it's safe to say that it might not be worth restoring at this point. The white 'Stang blocked by the trees is also a Mach 1, but it looks like a 1970 version.As for the Mopars, the yard includes a 1969 Dodge Charger SE and a 1970 Coronet Super Bee. While the latter looks like it might be worth something as a parts car, the Charger is wrecked almost beyond recognition. Have you ever seen a roof panel bloat like that?On the other hand, the Meyers Manx looks like it could be put back together. A cool find if you're into dune buggies, it appears to be one of the first examples built by B. F. Meyers & Co in the 1960s. With only around 6,000 examples sold from 1965 to 1971, the Manx isn't very common nowadays.Documented by "Poor Boys Garage," everything you see in this backyard is for sale, as the owner is looking to clean the property. But you'll find out more about that toward the end of the video below. Would you save anything? I don't have time and room for a car project right now, but I'd definitely give the Super Bee a second chance. The all-new 2018 Honda Accord is displayed at the 2017 LA Auto Show in Los Angeles, California on November 30, 2017. (Photo : FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation on the highly popular Honda CR-V SUVs and Honda Accord sedans for a possible glitch in the vehicles' braking system. The investigation focuses on the issue of these Honda vehicles randomly slamming on the brakes without the driver even touching the brake pedal. The Honda units in question are equipped with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) systems that are supposed to apply the brakes automatically on a vehicle if the driver fails to do it themselves in certain situations, like a pedestrian being in the car's path or a vehicle suddenly stopping in front of them. The Japanese automaker developed the system as part of its goal to have Honda Sensing driver-assist safety technology as a standard on each one of its vehicles. A million Honda vehicles were already equipped in 2018 with this AEB system, which is primarily designed to prevent or reduce the severity of rear-end collisions. 278 complaints filed by Honda drivers with the NHTSA The safety of that system itself has been put into question after the NHTSA received 278 complaints of sudden braking for no reason from Honda drivers in their respective Accords and CR-Vs. At least 171 of those complaints involved the 2017-2019 Honda CR-V crossover, while the remaining 107 involved 2018 or 2019 Honda Accord sedans. According to the NHTSA, six cases involved minor injuries and collisions. That is concerning for Honda as the auto giant calls its AEB system the collision mitigation braking system. Several people who submitted braking complaints to NHTSA said the issue occurred in their Honda vehicles multiple times. Also Read: Renault, Volkswagen and Stellantis Fear Sanctions for Auto Plants in Russia After War Erupts in Ukraine 1.7 million Honda vehicles being investigated That left the NHTSA no other choice but to investigate the specific Honda models mentioned in the numerous complaints. As per CNET, mong the vehicles being investigated by the NHTSA are 2018 and 2019 model year Honda Accords and 2017 through 2019 Honda CR-Vs. Based on NHTSA's data, around 1.7 million such vehicles are currently used in the United States. Honda issued an emailed statement regarding the inquiry, saying that it will "cooperate with the NHTSA through the investigation process" and that the company will continue its "own internal review of the available information." This is not the first time that the NHTSA has put a braking system under the microscope. Tesla has also come under investigation by the safety agency earlier this month over complaints of "phantom braking" in the company's 2021 and 2022 Model Y and Model 3 electric vehicles. The problem affecting those vehicles also involves an automated emergency braking system. Honda was one of 20 carmakers that agreed to a plan to make AEB systems standard on at least 95 percent of the company's vehicles by 2022. Honda said it intended to meet that target two years ahead of schedule. Related Articles: EPA Orders Tesla to Pay $275,000 Penalty for Clean Air Act Violations in Fremont Facility Elon Musk Accuses SEC Again: Tesla CEO Alleges SEC Leaking Information From Federal Investigation Tesla plans to begin work next month on a new auto plant in Shanghai, China. Two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that this is part of Tesla's plan to more than double its production capacity in China to meet the growing demand for its electric vehicles in the country and export markets. Once Tesla's new factory is fully operational, the world's largest electric car maker will have the capacity to produce up to 2 million electric vehicles per year at its expanded facility in Shanghai, which has become the company's main export hub. Tesla's new plant in China will be located near its existing production base in Lingang in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai. Once given the green light, the Chinese expansion would provide Tesla with an EV-dedicated production capacity on par with more established car brands in the world's largest auto market. Tesla looks to increase production with China expansion In comparison, Toyota produced 1.6 million vehicles in China last year. General Motors managed to produce 1.4 million vehicles with its major Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp in 2021. Volkswagen plans to have a production capacity to make 1 million electric vehicles in China by 2023. Expansion plans for Tesla's existing plant in Shanghai aim to put the company on track to produce around 1 million units in China this year. However, this target figure depends on the availability of parts, which is a problematic issue right now due to ongoing supply chain issues. The cost of Tesla's planned expansion in Shanghai and the automaker's timetable for its completion were not immediately known. Tesla started production at Gigafactory Shanghai less than a year after breaking ground in China. The plant plays an integral role in Tesla's vehicle production, with the Shanghai factory making the company's popular Model Y crossover and the Model 3 sedan. Also Read: Ford Issues Recall for 330,784 Mustangs Due to Faulty Backup Camera, 2015-2017 Models Affected Tesla aims to produce 1.1 million EVs per year in Shanghai According to one of the sources, Tesla has projected to take its weekly production at the Shanghai plant in the coming months to around 22,000 EVs. Based on that target production rate, Tesla would be producing about 1.1 million electric vehicles over a year, which is more than double the factory's original projected capacity. City government officials of Shanghai did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Tesla's new plant in the area. Shanghai has long been a supporter of Tesla's plans to establish a wholly-owned factory in China. The Shanghai facility would be the first foreign auto plant in China that is not required to create a joint venture with a Chinese partner. In a regulatory filing with Shanghai earlier this week, Tesla announced that it planned to expand parts production at its factory in the Chinese city. Tesla will hire additional workers and run its factory for longer in a day to help the company meet growing export demand for its vehicles. Related Articles: Ford Mustang Mach-E Dethrones Tesla Model 3; Named Consumer Reports' Top EV for 2022 Panasonic to Mass Produce Tesla 4680 Battery Cells By 2023; Will Reportedly Invest $700 Million Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. In February 2020 weeks before COVID-19 became a pandemic and months before Donald Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Justice Stephen Breyer agreed to sit for an interview with Margaret Talev for "Axios on HBO." Why it matters: Amid the instant analysis on Wednesday about the political effects of his retirement, Talev's mind returned to their conversation and a speculative question she'd asked about the next presidential election. Flashback: Margaret recounts here what she asked: If the Supreme Court ever had to step in again to resolve a presidential election, was he confident the American people would peacefully accept the results as had been the case in Bush v. Gore? "You never know," he said, two times in a row. After the 2000 decision, "There were no riots in the streets. There were no paving stones thrown. There were no guns." The justice said some who disagreed with the ruling might argue the merits of some rioting, but he disagreed: "Before you conclude that that's right, turn on your television set and see what happens in countries who decide their controversies that way. And I think an understanding of that pervades the public." "There is a lot of work that's gone into" preserving and repairing American democracy, he told me then. "There was a civil war. There were 80 years of segregation. There have been lots of ups and downs in this country. And, OK, we've got over them ... and I think the rule of law has gotten stronger." Parts of our conversation made it to air, with the pandemic overtaking the news; other parts did not. The big picture: Breyer quickly shut down any retirement talk that day and wouldn't touch topics like abortion or other matters likely to come before the court. But he spoke passionately about the importance of the rule of law, the danger of efforts to politicize the Supreme Court and the arc of American democracy. He worried about the risks of Americans' declining understanding of civics. He expressed optimism about America's evolution from periods like the Civil War and the civil rights movement. He's written about these topics extensively in books including, "Making Our Democracy Work" and "The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics." What we're watching: How will he engage on these issues once a nominee is confirmed and he leaves the high court? Reproduced from Freedom House; Map: Axios Visuals Freedom around the world declined in 2021 for the 16th consecutive year, according to an annual report from Freedom House, which warns that countries including China and Russia are exporting authoritarianism. Why it matters: "The leaders of China, Russia, and other dictatorships have succeeded in shifting global incentives, jeopardizing the consensus that democracy is the only viable path to prosperity and security, while encouraging more authoritarian approaches to governance," the report says. Undemocratic regimes are growing still more undemocratic as they bend institutions to their will and spread that model abroad, the authors write. So are established democracies like the U.S., where "internal forces have exploited the shortcomings in their systems, distorting national politics to promote hatred, violence, and unbridled power." According to the index: 38% of the global population resides in countries that are "not free," the highest percentage since 1997, versus 20% living in "free" countries and 42% in "partly free" countries. There was better news from Ecuador, which moved into the "free" column after a smooth presidential transition; Chile, where democracy has held firm and arguably deepened amid social upheaval; and the Ivory Coast, which held relatively free parliamentary elections last spring. Finland, Norway and Sweden are the freest countries. Eritrea, North Korea, South Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan the least free. Key trends: Leaders in some authoritarian-leaning systems no longer feel the need for a "veneer" of democracy, the authors write, noting the "farcical" elections last year in Nicaragua and Russia. no longer feel the need for a "veneer" of democracy, the authors write, noting the "farcical" elections last year in Nicaragua and Russia. There was a surge of coups in 2021 including in Myanmar, Sudan and several West African states. in 2021 including in Myanmar, Sudan and several West African states. Some leaders in democracies, such as former President Donald Trump in the U.S. and President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, "have taken to sowing distrust in elections" when in danger of losing power, the report notes. such as former President Donald Trump in the U.S. and President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, "have taken to sowing distrust in elections" when in danger of losing power, the report notes. "Those countries that have struggled in the space between democracy and authoritarianism are increasingly tilting toward the latter," the authors write. The "partly free" ranks include India, which saw its ratings fall for a fourth consecutive year. The bottom line: "Authoritarian leaders are no longer isolated holdouts in a democratizing world. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced Friday that the alliance has activated elements of the 40,000-troop NATO Response Force (NRF) for the first time, warning at a press conference: "The Kremlin's objectives are not limited to Ukraine." Why it matters: Stoltenberg has called Russia's invasion of Ukraine "the most serious security crisis we have faced in Europe for decades." The NRF will deploy "on land, at sea, and in the air" in eastern Europe for the purposes of collective defense. Details: The secretary-general said that the size of the NRF has tripled since 2014, but that not all forces would be deployed. He also said that NATO countries would be providing additional weapons and air-defense systems to Ukraine at the request of its government. What he's saying: "We are deploying [the NRF] to ... prevent any miscalculations, any misunderstandings that we are not ready to protect and defend all our allies," Stoltenberg said. "This is something that all allies have agreed to do." He added that eastern-flank allies "are extremely concerned. They are close to the fighting in Ukraine, and they also border Russia, and they've seen not only the military buildup and the ongoing war in Ukraine, but also seen the very threatening rhetoric because this goes far beyond Ukraine." "Russia's attack on Ukraine is more than an attack on Ukraine. It's a devastating horrendous attack on innocent people in Ukraine, but it's also an attack on the whole European security order. And that's the reason why we take it so extremely seriously," Stoltenberg said. Driving the news: NATO heads of state and government met for an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss security in Ukraine. They were joined by officials from non-members Sweden and Finland. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is set to participate in the city parade of Milan-22 at RK beach in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. (Photo: Twitter) Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is set to participate in the city parade of Milan-22 at RK beach in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. He will reach the city on Sunday afternoon. Upon his arrival, the Chief Minister will move to the Naval Dockyard where he will participate in the unveiling of a dedication plaque ceremony of Indian Navys largest destroyer, the INS Visakhapatnam. INS Visakhapatnam, a P15B stealth guided-missile destroyer, was commissioned on November 21, 2021, by defence minister Rajnath Singh at Mumbai Naval Dockyard. The Chief Minister will later visit INS Vela, the fourth submarine from the first batch of six Kalvari class submarines made for the Indian Navy. The submarine was commissioned on November 25, 2021, by former chief of naval staff Admiral Karambir Singh. Later in the evening, he will participate in the parade and address the public in the presence of 500 foreign delegates, local ministers and other officials. As Ukraine mobilizes to fight off Russian forces, Ukrainians are struggling to seek safety and, if able and allowed, rushing to evacuate under martial law. The big picture: The Russian military's large-scale invasion has already killed dozens of civilians in Ukraine and at least 137 Ukrainian soldiers. About 100,000 Ukrainians have fled their homes as of this evening, according to the United Nations. Firefighters work at a damaged residential building in Kyiv on Feb. 25 following a blast. Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images People in a Kyiv bomb shelter on Feb. 25. Photo: Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP via Getty Images Ukrainian military vehicles move past Independence Square in central Kyiv on Feb. 24. Air raid sirens rang out in downtown Kyiv as cities across Ukraine were hit with what Ukrainian officials said were Russian missile strikes and artillery. Photo: Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images People shelter with their dog in a subway station before curfew comes into effect on Feb. 24 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo: Chris McGrath via Getty Images A local resident walks in a street as smoke rises near the town of Hostomel and the Antonov Airport in northwest Kyiv on Feb. 24. Russian and Ukrainian forces are battling for control of an airbase on the northern outskirts of Kyiv, a senior Ukrainian officer said. Photo: Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images People board a bus as they attempt to evacuate Kyiv on Feb. 24. Photo: Pierre Crom via Getty Images A cordoned-off area around the remains of a shell in a street in Kyiv on Feb. 24. Photo: Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images Reservist Anton Lytvyn, 28, packs his military equipment at his house after he is called up to active duty on Feb. 23 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo: Chris McGrath via Getty Images Go deeper: Editor's note: This article has been updated with photos of Kyiv on Feb. 25. Russian forces stepped up their invasion of Ukraine by pressing the outskirts of Kyiv and attacking other key Ukrainian cities on Friday. The big picture: Russia's assault on Ukraine that's killed dozens of civilians and Ukrainian soldiers and forced tens of thousands to flee the country is coming from the north, east and south, according to multiple reports. Russian troops moved in from the north toward Kyiv and from Crimea in the south, while affected regions in the east were Kharkiv and the two breakaway areas that Russian President Vladimir Putin declared "republics," Donetsk and Luhansk, per the BBC. State of play: Heavy fighting was reported into Friday at the Gostomel airfield, just north of Kyiv, as Ukrainian officials raised concerns that the Russian army could use this as a launchpad to try and take Ukraine's capital. Russian tanks were reported to have entered Kharkhiv after shelling portions of Ukraine's second-largest city, huge explosions were heard in Donetsk and Russia-backed separatists claimed they'd begun attacking the Ukrainian-controlled town of Shchastia in Luhansk. Ukrainian officials reported on Thursday that Russian forces had seized control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, 13 Ukrainian border guards were killed after refusing to surrender Snake Island in the Black Sea to a Russian warship on Thursday. By the numbers: A U.S. defense official told reporters Russia's military has fired over 160 missiles targeting Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities since Thursday, per the Washington Post. Go deeper: Ukraine-Russia crisis dashboard Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of the number of missiles launched by Russia and of fighting at the airfield. The Pentagon believes Russia's invasion is designed to "decapitate" the Ukrainian government and install a new leadership, a senior defense official told reporters on Thursday. State of play: Russia's invasion by air, land and sea is proceeding along three primary axes, with one of those aimed squarely at the capital, Kyiv, the official said. Ukraine's ambassador to Washington told reporters that fighting is ongoing near Kyiv but the city is currently "secure." Russian and Ukrainian troops battled for control of an airport near Kyiv on Friday, with Russian forces telling CNN they now control it. Russia is also invading from the north along the Belarusian border, which at its closest point is less than 100 miles from Kyiv. The defense official said the heaviest fighting so far had been in Kharkiv, a city of 1.4 million nearly the border with Russia in the east. Russian forces are also attacking from the south. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the "most problematic situation" was Russia's push north from occupied Crimea. Data: The New York Times; Mapbox/OSCE; Map: Will Chase and Jared Whalen/Axios Go deeper: A Ukraine official claimed the country has regained control of an international airport, roughly 25 miles outside of Kyiv, after it was seized by Russian forces Thursday. Why it matters: Russia would have a key air bridge to deliver more troops and military equipment for a potential assault on Ukraine's capital with control of Antonov International Airport. What they're saying: CNN reporter Matthew Chance and a camera crew witnessed Russian troops delivered by helicopter defending the parameter of the airport after capturing it from Ukrainian forces. Chance said the Ukrainian military was staging a counter-offensive to reclaim the airport. "I am standing on the outside of the parameter of this Antonov airbase, and it has not been taken back by the Ukrainian military. It is the Russian military," he said. The big picture: Russia launched an unprovoked invasion against Ukraine by bombarding multiple cities with missiles and artillery followed by a ground offensive into Ukraine from the north, south and east. Russia's war goals are not yet known, but the U.S. and others warned in the leadup to the invasion that Russia may seek to install a pro-Russian government in Ukraine by starving our then conquering Kyiv. Go deeper: Ukraine-Russia crisis latest developments Ukrainian troops were holding off a massive assault from Russia's military in Kyiv on Sunday, as streetfighting erupted in Kharkiv after President Vladimir Putin's forces entered Ukraines second-largest city on the fourth day of the unprovoked invasion. The latest: Putin said Sunday that "aggressive statements" made by Western countries have led him to put the nuclear deterrent forces in a special regime of combat duty," marking the second time he has alluded to Russia's nuclear arsenal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday rejected the Kremlin's offer of negotiations in Belarus due to the neighboring country not being neutral territory. He said he's willing to hold talks "in a country from whose territory rockets are not being fired." Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a statement praising Ukrainian resistance Sunday, "Where are all those who promised to capture Kiev in 2 hours? Where are they at? I can't see them. ... The darkness will retreat. The dawn is near." Meanwhile, Ukraine confirmed that Russian forces blew up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv. The city on the Russian border in northeast Ukraine has endured some of the most intense fighting of the war. Warning that Russia would continue to cause "man-made disasters" by assaulting chemical plants and critical infrastructure, authorities posted instructions for civilians to close their windows and take other safety precautions. What else is happening: Russia's defense ministry said all units were ordered to resume their offensive from all directions after a "pause" on Friday for possible negotiations with Ukraine, per state media. A senior U.S. defense official told reporters Putin has "more than 50% of his total assembled power now committed inside Ukraine," and "tens of thousands" of troops have entered in the country in the last 24 hours. The official added there were indications Russia didn't anticipate this level of resistance and had to commit more logistics and supplies, such as fuel, than initially planned. Russia has restricted Twitter and Facebook within the country, as state media feeds viewers falsehoods about the invasion. What they're saying: "Today we've seen a shift in Russian targeting towards critical civilian infrastructure, greater use of MLRS, and artillery in suburban areas. Unfortunately, my concern that this was going to get a lot more ugly and affect civilians is starting to materialize," tweeted CNA's Michael Kofman, one of the preeminent experts on Russia's military. "The simple takeaway might be that the Russian military is getting frustrated, etc. but I also don't think we've quite judged the initial days of fighting very accurately ... My fear, looking at this 72 hours in, is all the worst is yet to come." Screenshot via CNN Zoom out: The European Union, U.S. and other Western allies reached an agreement on Saturday to disconnect select Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system and impose restrictions on Russia's Central Bank. Germany announced it would send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to Ukraine a major reversal of its strict arms export policies that came after weeks of public pressure. The White House has asked Congress to authorize $6.4 billion in emergency assistance for Ukraine, which would be divided between humanitarian and military aid. Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Latvia said Saturday they would ban Russian airlines from their airspace. The move followed similar announcements from Poland, the United Kingdom, Moldova and the Czech Republic. "We will paralyse the assets of Russias central bank," said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday. "This will freeze its transactions. And it will make it impossible for the Central Bank to liquidate its assets." Photo: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images What to watch: The United Nations Security Council will vote Sunday on whether to convene a special session of the UN General Assembly to debate Russia's invasion. The procedural vote, which requires a nine-member majority to pass, is expected to advance since Russia can't exercise its veto power. On Sunday, Zelensky called for Russia to be stripped of it's security council seat, saying "Russia has taken the path of evil, and the world should come to depriving it of its U.N. Security Council seat." Zelensky also announced that Ukraine had submitted a request to the International Court of Justice to investigate Russia. "Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression." By the numbers: The UN has confirmed at least 240 civilian casualties since the invasion began, but believes the "real figures are considerably higher." More than 350,000 refugees have fled Ukraine into neighboring countries since Russia launched its invasion. At least 100,000 refugees are displaced internally in Ukraine and "the numbers are most likely much higher," the UN said on Saturday. Between the lines: Zelensky has emerged as a resolute and unifying wartime leader for his country during the first days of the Russian invasion, calmly delivering patriotic speeches from his phone on the darkened streets of Kyiv. Go deeper: The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis Editor's note: This article has been updated throughout. The sanctions aimed at punishing Russia's invasion of Ukraine will likely face a self-inflicted obstacle, experts tell Axios: opaque financial vehicles allowing illicit foreign assets to flow through Western economies. Why it matters: Financial transparency advocates have warned for years that lax disclosure of such transfers allows malicious foreign actors to hide their immense wealth. Now, it could imperil U.S. efforts to inflict pain on individual Kremlin officials behind the country's attack on its western neighbor. Lawmakers and regulators are still grappling with the explosion of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, many of which are difficult or impossible to trace. U.S. law enforcement also believes hundreds of millions in Russian assets are tied up in private U.S. investment funds. And officials on both sides of the Atlantic are eyeing ways to address the massive amounts of Russian money tied up in Western real estate. The big picture: Lawmakers have been ratcheting up sanctions to exact a larger financial toll on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle. On Tuesday, President Biden announced an initial "tranche" of sanctions against two Russian banks and three individuals, including the sons of two senior Kremlin officials. On Thursday, less than 24 hours after the Russians began their invasion of Ukraine, the president announced a second and more far-reaching wave. The sanctions will "impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time," Biden said. A senior administration official told Axios: "We are extending the reach of U.S. sanctions to prevent the elites close to Putin from using their kids to hide assets, evade costs and squander the resources of the Russian people. This is a new approach. Other Russian elites and their family members are on notice." Biden did not answer questions on Thursday about any plans to personally sanction Putin, whose wealth is estimated to be in the billions. That's a route being pushed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who's calling for an interagency task force targeting the Russian president. I want this task force to go after Putins assets personally, he said on Tuesday. Across the Atlantic, British authorities plan to restrict Russian access to financial markets and crack down on the oligarch's extensive high-end real estate purchases, in addition to sanctions on individuals and financial institutions. London is a Mecca for wealthy Russians, both for its palatial homes and its high-end restaurants and shopping. We are making sure that we open up the Russian doll of property ownership, of company ownership, in London and see whos behind everything," Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the BBC on Sunday. Transparency advocates nonetheless say the country does not yet have adequate measures to go after what has been dubbed "Moscow-on-Thames." Identifying and isolating Russian assets may prove difficult due to gaps in financial transparency measures. The FBI warned last year that opacity in the private equity and hedge fund markets was enabling money laundering at a huge scale. One New York-based private equity firm received more than $100 million from a company tied to Russian organized crime, the bureau said. U.S. states with minimal corporate disclosure requirements also provide easy means of concealing corporate ownership. Cryptocurrencies and digital assets such as NFTs have added new, easily accessible and difficult-to-trace financial vehicles. Moscow is suspected to house numerous crypto money laundering ventures. What they're saying: "Im confident we can hit Putin and his oligarchs hard," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told Axios. "But shining the light of transparency on the dark channels through which kleptocrats move their money will make applying that pressure much easier." On Tuesday, Whitehouse urged the Biden administration to step up scrutiny of cash-only purchases of U.S. real estate, citing the potential for money laundering and sanctions evasion. Anti-money laundering measures targeting real estate sales were among the components of a broader anti-corruption package the White House released late last year. "We also need to address the American professionals who, wittingly or not, aid and abet our enemies by hiding their ill-gotten gains," Whitehouse said, specifically citing fund managers who "manage trillions of dollars without any anti-money-laundering safeguards." But, but, but: Any U.S. effort to go after individual Russians' assets will need to be broad and comprehensive to be effective, according to Casey Michel, a Hudson Institute fellow and the author of "American Kleptocracy." More than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled their country in less than 48 hours and "many more are moving towards" Ukraine's borders, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday. Driving the news: A majority of those displaced fled to Poland and Moldova, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tweeted Friday. "Heartfelt thanks to the governments and people of countries keeping their borders open and welcoming refugees," he said. "The situation is incredibly fluid. We're already hearing reports of people being forced to flee their homes," head of global communications for the UN refugee agency Joung-ah Ghedini-Williams said. State of play: United Nations aid agencies warned Friday that fuel, cash and medical supplies were dwindling in Ukraine, which could lead up to 5 million people to flee the country, Reuters reports. "As we speak, there have been major attacks in Kyiv that have created great fear and panic among the population, with families really scared, moving alongside their children into subways and shelters," Afshan Khan, UNICEF regional director for Europe and Central Asia, said at a press briefing. "This is clearly a terrifying moment for children across the country," she added. The UN refugee agency estimated on Thursday that more than 100,000 people had been displaced. The big picture: Ukrainian rules prevent men ages 18 to 60, who could be enlisted, from crossing the border, so the majority of Ukrainians escaping to bordering countries are women and children. What they're saying: "We left my husband there, so he is still there supporting our government," said Iryna, 36, who left Kyiv on Thursday with her mother and two girls, aged 2 and 4, for Slovakia. "We pray for Ukraine and I hope everything will be fine," Iryna told Reuters. Go deeper: The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout. Ukraine is among the top recipients of direct military assistance from the Defense Department but the Pentagon has spent far more helping other countries. Why it matters: Ukraine is in the fight of its life after Russia's invasion. To the surprise of many, it's held its own, attributable both to its people's spirit as well as advanced weapons supplied by the West. The big picture: The Pentagon provided close to $12 billion in direct military assistance to partners and allies across the globe in 2020, according to ForeignAssistance.gov, the U.S. governments clearinghouse for foreign aid. Most of the money is used to purchase U.S. weapons and equipment. By the numbers: Israel tops the list, receiving $3.3 billion. Other big recipients, like Afghanistan and Iraq, have been the site of active conflicts. Spending on Ukraine climbed to $303.6 million during President Trumps last year in office. In 2013, before Russia annexed Crimea, Ukraine received $41 million, followed by $58 million in 2014, the year of Russia's invasion there. Go deeper: Full figures for 2021 arent yet available. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told House lawmakers Thursday the Biden administration is considering ways to train Ukrainian forces remotely if the Russians seize control of Ukraine, officials on the call told Axios. Why it matters: With the capital of Kyiv in danger of falling after Russia's invasion, the Pentagon is contemplating the next phase of the conflict. Austin told members of the House that military officials are looking at ways to provide more defense equipment including ammunition to Ukrainian forces, but it's more difficult now with Russian troops swarming the country. Russian mechanized forces, which came in from Belarus, were 20 miles outside of Kyiv, he said. Austin also emphasized the Biden administration would support President Volodymyr Zelenskys government as long as it remained viable, raising questions about continued U.S. assistance if the president flees the country, is captured or is killed in combat. A Defense Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the contents of the private call. The big picture: Western officials fear Kyiv could soon fall into Russian hands despite Ukraine's resilient fight. That would pave the way for Zelensky's government to be toppled and replaced with a pro-Kremlin puppet regime in a matter of days. Driving the news: With the harsh sanctions imposed Thursday unlikely to stop Russia's advances, the next phase of the Western strategy will center on turning Ukraine into a "porcupine" of resistance. I had to fight an insurgency in Iraq, so I know how effective an insurgency can be, said Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). With the right spirit, right intel and right weaponry, the Ukrainians can make the Russians rethink if they want to occupy Ukraine. We have absolutely discussed [supporting an insurgency and sending arms to Ukrainians], but its not something that I can discuss, said Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.). I think that Putin and the Russian people are going to be in a long, hard war. And Putin may be winning today, but in the long run, he will run lose. Both are Marine veterans. Between the lines: Some lawmakers are calling on President Biden to share targeting intelligence with the Ukrainian military, but others are skeptical. Gallego said: We are certainly going to aid Ukraine by giving them lethal aid and giving them the intelligence that they need to make that aid effective. I dont consider that an escalation; I consider it a part of helping a country. Congress failed in its efforts to pass new aid and sanctions to fend off the invasion. It's now mobilizing to assemble a package of emergency support. Votes could come as soon as next week. The big picture: The "porcupine strategy" is most commonly used to refer to the policy of bolstering Taiwan's asymmetric defenses to make an invasion by China as painful as possible. Now, that's what the West wants to promote to punish Russia for its unprovoked assault half a world away: make Ukraine painful to digest. Ukrainian forces so far have been buoyed by foreign military aid and drastic modernization since 2014. The Biden administration has committed more than $650 million in security assistance since 2021, including a December tranche of $200 million in equipment that hasn't been fully delivered. More help may soon be on the way, though the logistical hurdles could be substantial with Russia in control of Ukraine's airspace. What we're watching: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she wants to provide Ukraine with $600 million in "lethal defense weapons." House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told CNN the odds of passing a bill "in a rapid enough fashion to repel the invasion are remote." But he added that "it's quite possible that what we're looking at here is a more long-term insurgency," and "we need to be prepared to support the Ukrainian people in that effort." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he wants votes on emergency assistance to start by next week. What they're saying: Biden warned Russia during his address on Thursday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told EU leaders "this might be the last time you see me alive" during a video conference on Thursday night, two European sources briefed on the call tell Axios. State of play: The Pentagon has warned that Russia's primary aim appears to be to encircle Kyiv and "decapitate" its government. Meanwhile Zelensky said Thursday that Russian "sabotage forces" were in Kyiv and hunting for him and his family. Zelensky has been using his public and private remarks to pressure, and in some cases shame, countries to do more to help Ukraine and isolate Russia. Context: The video call took place before the leaders of EU countries decided on a new series of sanctions against Russia. Zelensky lobbied them to take steps they haven't been willing to so far, a European diplomat told me. Shortly before the call, Zelensky gave a televised address saying he was Russia's "number one" target for capture or assassination, and his family members were the "number two" target. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who participated in the video conference, call told the TT news agency that when the EU leaders said goodbye to Zelensky they knew they might not see him again. The Financial Times reported earlier on Friday that Zelensky had told the EU leaders he didnt know whether he would be able to speak with them again. The latest: Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the Ukrainian military to perform a coup against Zelensky and then negotiate with Russia. The Ukrainian embassy in Israel declined to comment for this story. Ukrainian soldiers take positions in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. (AP Photo) Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent. Popes usually receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican. For Francis to travel a short distance to the Russian embassy outside the Vatican walls was a sign of his strength of feeling about Moscows invasion of Ukraine. Vatican officials said they knew of no such previous papal initiative. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the pontiff wanted clearly to express his concern about the war. Pope Francis was there for just over a half-hour, Bruni said. Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict and has urged the faithful to set next Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine. Ukraine pleads for help as Russian missiles pound Kyiv Missiles pounded Ukraine's capital on Friday as Russian forces pressed their advance and authorities in Kyiv said they were preparing for an assault aimed at overthrowing the government. Air raid sirens wailed over Kyiv, a European city of three million people, and some residents sheltered in underground metro stations, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion that has shocked the world. Ukrainian officials said a Russian aircraft had been shot down and crashed into a building in Kyiv overnight, setting it ablaze and injuring eight people. A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces would enter areas just outside the capital later on Friday and that Ukrainian troops were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered. Kyiv city council warned residents of the Obolon district, near an air base seized on Thursday by Russian paratroopers, to stay indoors because of "the approach of active hostilities". Windows were blasted out of a 10-storey apartment block near Kyiv's main airport, where a two-metre crater filled with rubble showed where a shell had struck before dawn. A policeman said people were injured there but not killed. "How we can live through it in our time? What should we think. Putin should be burnt in hell along with his whole family," said Oxana Gulenko, sweeping broken glass from her room. A neighbour, Soviet army veteran Anatoliy Marchenko, 57, could not find his cat that had run away during the shelling. "I know people there, they are my friends," he said of Russia. "What do they need from me? A war has come to my house." Witnesses said loud explosions could be heard in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, close to Russia's border, and air raid sirens sounded over Lviv in the west. Authorities reported heavy fighting in the eastern city of Sumy. 'NUMBER ONE TARGET' Tens of thousands of people have fled the major cities. Dozens have been reported killed. Russian troops seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advanced on the city from Belarus. Ukraine said radiation levels were elevated there. U.S. officials believe Russia's initial aim is to topple President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and "decapitate" his government. Zelenskiy said the troops were coming for him, but he would stay in Kyiv. "(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target," Zelenskiy said in a video message. "My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state." Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by Putin, in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Putin says Ukraine is an illegitimate state carved out of Russia, a view Ukrainians see as aimed at erasing their more than thousand-year history. Putin's full aims remain obscure. He says he does not plan a military occupation, only to disarm Ukraine and remove its leaders. But it is not clear how a pro-Russian leader could be installed without holding much of the country. Russia has floated no name of such a figure and none has come forward. After Moscow denied for months it was planning an invasion, news that Putin had ordered one came as a shock to Russians accustomed to viewing their ruler of 22 years as a cautious strategist. Many Russians have friends and family in Ukraine. Russia has cracked down on dissent and state media have relentlessly characterised Ukraine as a threat, but thousands of Russians took to the streets to protest against the war. Hundreds were swiftly arrested. One pop star posted a video on Instagram opposing the war, and the head of a Moscow state-run theatre quit, saying she would not take her salary from a murderer. 'RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO FUCK YOURSELF' Britain said Moscow's aim was to conquer all of Ukraine, and its military had failed to meet its main objectives on the first day because it failed to anticipate Ukrainians would resist. "Contrary to great Russian claims - and indeed President Putin's sort of vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause - he's got that completely wrong, and the Russian army has failed to deliver, on day one, its main objective," defence minister Ben Wallace said. Ukrainians were circulating an unverified recording on Friday of a Russian warship ordering a Ukrainian Black Sea outpost to surrender. The Ukrainians reply: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself." Zelenskiy said the 13 guards were killed by a Russian strike and would receive posthumous honours. Ukrainians were fleeing into neighbouring Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, mostly women and children after Kyiv restricted passage for men between 18 and 60 years old. Poland's deputy interior minister Pawe Szefernaker said Ukrainian bus drivers were unable to drive across the border as conscription-age men were being held back in Ukraine. A democratic nation of 44 million people, Ukraine voted for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and has recently stepped up efforts to join NATO and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow. Western countries announced sanctions on Moscow billed as far stronger than earlier measures, including blacklisting its banks and banning technology imports. They stopped short of forcing Russia out of the SWIFT system for international bank payments, drawing criticism from Kyiv which says the most serious steps should be taken now. The U.N. Security Council will vote on Friday on a draft resolution condemning the invasion, though Moscow is certain to veto it. China, which recently signed a friendship treaty with Russia, has refused to call Moscow's actions an invasion. Russia is one of the world's biggest energy producers, and both it and Ukraine are among the top exporters of grain. War and sanctions will disrupt economies around the world. Oil and grain prices have soared. Share markets around the world, many of which plunged on Thursday at the news of the outbreak of war, were mainly rebounding on Friday. In a clear reference to fallout from Russias unprecedented military action, Pashinian spoke of a sharp escalation of the geopolitical situation as he visited Kazakhstan to attend a meeting of the prime ministers of five ex-Soviet states making up the Russian-led trade bloc. Of course, it is obvious that sanctions actions will have a direct impact on the economic climate in the Eurasian space, he said at their joint meeting with Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev. In this regard, we must discuss what operational decisions need to be made to ensure that these negative effects are minimal or, if possible, circumvent them through appropriate decisions. Toqaev and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin discussed the matter during their separate talks held in Kazakhstans capital Nur-Sultan. The Kazakh presidential press service said they spoke about joint efforts to prevent a decrease of trade volume between the two nations amid the escalation of the situation in Ukraine and the international sanctions being imposed on Russia. The talks between Toqaev and Mishustin were held as EU leaders agree to impose additional sanctions on Russia which that they say will have massive and severe consequences. A day earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden announced another round of harsh U.S. sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Armenia has still not officially reacted to the large-scale Russian military attack launched on Thursday and strongly condemned by the West. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Yerevan regards both Russia and Ukraine as friendly countries and hopes that they will resolve their conflict through diplomatic dialogue. Russia is not only Armenias closest ally but also number one trading partner. According to official statistics, Russian-Armenian trade rose by almost 21 percent, to $2.6 billion, last year. Armenian exports to Russia were up by about 25 percent at $847 million, contributing to renewed economic growth in the South Caucasus country. They could be hit hard by an ongoing weakening of the Russian ruble. Russia is also the main source of multimillion-dollar remittances sent home by Armenians working abroad. A weaker ruble could slash the monetary value of these cash inflows. I can assure you that I will do my best to further develop Russian-Armenian defense cooperation, the Russian Defense Ministry quoted him as telling Shoigu at the start of their talks. Papikian, who was appointed as defense minister in November, began his first visit to Russia in his current capacity on Thursday just hours after the Russian military launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine condemned by the West. Official press releases on his meeting with Shoigu made no explicit mention of the Russian invasion. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Papikian said Moscow and Yerevan have to constantly deal with new challenges and threats. Its obvious that all these challenges and threats facing our states can only be overcome by acting jointly, he said. A statement released by the Armenian Defense Minister said the two ministers discussed Russian-Armenian military cooperation as well as international and regional security issues. It said they praised Russian efforts to help stabilize the military-political situation in the South Caucasus. The discussions also touched upon the ongoing reforms and modernization of the Armenian Armed Forces, added the statement. Armenia moved to deepen its already close military ties with Russia shortly after the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire. Moscow has since deployed troops in Armenias Syunik province sandwiched between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave. Meeting with Papikians predecessor Arshak Karapetian in Moscow last August, Shoigu said Moscow will continue to help Yerevan reform, rearm and modernize the Armenian army. Papikian met with Shoigu two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev signed in the Kremlin a joint declaration on allied cooperation between their nations. The declaration says, among other things, that Russia and Azerbaijan will avoid any actions directed against each other and could consider providing each other with military assistance. Privacy Policy Introduction East Oregonian Publishing Company, dba EO Media Group (EO Media, Company, or We) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through our compliance with this policy. 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From third parties, for example, our business partners and outside vendors. Information You Provide to Us The information we collect on or through our Website may include: Information that you provide by filling in forms on our Website. This includes information provided when you register to use our Website, submit editorial content, or place classified ads. We may also ask you for information when you enter a contest or promotion sponsored by us, and when you report a problem with our Website. Records and copies of your correspondence (including e-mail addresses), if you contact us. Your responses to surveys that we might ask you to complete for research purposes. Details of transactions you carry out through our Website and of the fulfillment of your orders. You may be required to provide financial information before placing an order through our Website. Your search queries on the Website. You also may provide information to be published or displayed (hereinafter, posted) on public areas of the Website, or transmitted to other users of the Website or third parties (collectively, User Contributions). Your User Contributions are posted on and transmitted to others at your own risk. Please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other users of the Website with whom you may choose to share your User Contributions. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that your User Contributions will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. Information We Collect Through Automatic Data Collection Technologies As you navigate through and interact with our Website, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns, including: Details of your visits to our Website, including traffic data, logs, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Website. Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system and browser type. We also may use these technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or other online services (behavioral tracking). The information we collect automatically is statistical data and does not include personal information, but we may maintain it or associate it with personal information we collect in other ways or receive from third parties. It helps us to improve our Website and to deliver a better and more personalized service, including by enabling us to: Estimate our audience size and usage patterns. Store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize our Website according to your individual interests. Speed up your searches. Recognize you when you return to our Website. The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include: Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our Website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Website. Flash Cookies. Certain features of our Website may use local stored objects (or Flash cookies) to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from and on our Website. Flash cookies are not managed by the same browser settings as are used for browser cookies. For information about managing your privacy and security settings for Flash cookies, see Choices about How We Use and Disclose Your Information. Web Beacons. Pages of our the Website and our e-mails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an e-mail and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity). Do Not Track. This Website does not respond to Do Not Track requests from your browser. Third-party Use of Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies Some content or applications, including advertisements, on the Website are served by third-parties, including advertisers, ad networks and servers, content providers and application providers. These third parties may use cookies, alone or in conjunction with web beacons or other tracking technologies, to collect information about you when you use our website. The information they collect may be associated with your personal information or they may collect information, including personal information, about your online activities over time and across different websites, devices, and other online services. They may use this information to provide you with interest-based (behavioral) advertising or other targeted content. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, please follow the following links: http://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1#!/, http://optout.aboutads.info/?c=2&lang=EN#!%2F We do not control these third parties tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly. For information about how you can opt out of receiving targeted advertising from many providers, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information. User Contributions This Website may contain public areas, forums, or features that allow you to provide your User Contributions to be published or displayed or transmitted to other users of this Website. Your User Contributions are posted on this Website and transmitted to others at your own risk. For this reason, we recommend that you do not include any sensitive or personally identifiable information about yourself or others in your User Contributions for these areas of this Website. Please see our Website Terms of Servicefor more information concerning User Contributions. How We Use Your Information We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information: To present our Website and its contents to you. To provide you with information, products or services that you request from us. To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it. To provide you with notices about your account or subscription, including expiration and renewal notices. To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection. To notify you about changes to our Website or any products or services we offer or provide though it. To allow you to participate in interactive features on our Website. In any other way we may describe when you provide the information. For any other purpose with your consent. We may also use your information to contact you about our own and third-parties goods and services that may be of interest to you. For more information, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information. We may use the information we have collected from you to enable us to display advertisements to our advertisers target audiences. Even though we do not disclose your personal information for these purposes without your consent, if you click on or otherwise interact with an advertisement, the advertiser may assume that you meet its target criteria. Communications with You. From time to time, we may use your personal information to send email messages to you regarding your account, to respond to any emails or other communications you send to us, and/or to advise you of any problems with this website. In addition, if you are a registered user of this website, we may use a bulk email service to send messages with information about services and events that we believe you may be interested in. You may opt-out of receiving future newsletters and marketing communications from this website by contacting us directly at unsubscribe@eomediagroup.com or by following the unsubscribe process at the bottom of the promotional email. If you are not a registered user of this website, we will not send bulk emails to you. Except for email messages that you send to us, we will not monitor or edit the contents of your email, and we will not disclose your emails except as described above. The content of our emails to you may be tailored to your specific interests based on your registration profile information or website visitor data. Disclosure of Your Information We may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction. We may disclose personal information that we collect or you provide as described in this privacy policy: To our subsidiaries and affiliates. To contractors, service providers and other third parties we use to support our business. To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution or other sale or transfer of some or all of EO Medias assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by EO Media about our Website users is among the assets transferred. To third parties to market their products or services to you. For more information, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information. To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it. For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information. With your consent. We may also disclose your personal information: To comply with any court order, law or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request. If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of EO Media, our customers or others. Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information We strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information: Tracking Technologies and Advertising . Our systems currently do not recognize do not track signals from your browser. The help function of your browser should contain instructions on how to set your browser to not accept new cookies, to notify you when a cookie is issued, or how to disable cookies altogether.To learn how you can manage your Flash cookie settings, visit the Flash player settings page on Adobes website. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this site may then be inaccessible or not function properly. . Our systems currently do not recognize do not track signals from your browser. The help function of your browser should contain instructions on how to set your browser to not accept new cookies, to notify you when a cookie is issued, or how to disable cookies altogether.To learn how you can manage your Flash cookie settings, visit the Flash player settings page on Adobes website. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this site may then be inaccessible or not function properly. Promotional Offers from the Company . If you do not wish to have your contact information used by the Company to promote our own or third parties products or services, you can opt-out by sending us an e-mail stating your request to unsubscribe@eomediagroup.com. If we have sent you a promotional e-mail, you may send us a return e-mail asking to be omitted from future e-mail distributions, or simply click the unsubscribe link in at the end of the email. This opt out does not apply to information provided to the Company as a result of a product purchase, warranty registration, product service experience or other transactions. . If you do not wish to have your contact information used by the Company to promote our own or third parties products or services, you can opt-out by sending us an e-mail stating your request to unsubscribe@eomediagroup.com. If we have sent you a promotional e-mail, you may send us a return e-mail asking to be omitted from future e-mail distributions, or simply click the unsubscribe link in at the end of the email. This opt out does not apply to information provided to the Company as a result of a product purchase, warranty registration, product service experience or other transactions. Targeted Advertising. We do not control third parties collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However, these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. You can opt out of receiving targeted ads from members of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) on the NAIs website (http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/) and from members of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) on the DAAs website (http://www.aboutads.info/choices/). Accessing and Correcting Your Information You may send us an e-mail at unsubscribe@eomediagroup.com to request access to, correct or delete any personal information that you have provided to us. We cannot delete your personal information except by also deleting your user account. We may not accommodate a request to change information if we believe the change would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect. If you delete your User Contributions from the Website, copies of your User Contributions may remain viewable in cached and archived pages, or might have been copied or stored by other Website users. Proper access and use of information provided on the Website, including User Contributions, is governed by our Terms of Service. Children Under the Age of 13 Our Website is not intended for children under 13 years of age. No one under age 13 may provide any personal information to or on the Website. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not provide any information on this Website or on or through any of its features, register on the Website, make any purchases through the Website, use any of the interactive or public comment features of this Website or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address or any screen name or user name you may use. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at EO Media Group, RE: Privacy Policy, PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308; online@eomediagroup.com. Your California Privacy Rights California law permits residents of California to opt-out of EO Medias disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. You may choose to opt-out of the sharing of your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes at any time by submitting a request in writing to unsubscribe@eomediagroup.com. Please note that this opt-out does not prohibit disclosure made for non-marketing purposes. California law also permits residents of California to request and obtain from us once per year, free of charge, a list of the third parties (if any) to whom we have disclosed personal information for their direct marketing purposes in the prior calendar year, as well as the type of personal information disclosed to those parties. If you are a California resident and would like to request this information, please submit your request in an e-mail to: unsubscribe@eomediagroup.com or by writing EO Media Group, RE: Privacy Policy, PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308. Requests via telephone or facsimile will not be accepted. The e-mail subject line or mailing envelope and the content of your request must include the phrase Your California Privacy Rights, and include your name, e-mail address (if you wish to receive a response via e-mail) or street address, city, state, zip code (if you wish to receive a response via postal mail). Please allow 30 days to receive a response to your inquiry. Data Security We use commercially reasonable measures to secure your personal information against accidental loss and unauthorized access, use, alteration and disclosure. Information you provide to us is stored on secure servers behind firewalls, and payment transactions are encrypted using SSL technology. The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone. We urge you to be careful about giving out information in public areas of the Website like message boards. The information you share in public areas may be viewed by any user of the Website. Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website. Agreement to this Policy; Changes to Our Privacy Policy By accessing, visiting and/or using this website, you, the visitor, acknowledge that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by this Policy. If you do not agree to be bound by this Policy, do not use this website. EO Media reserves the right to change this Policy at any time by posting an updated copy of this Policy on this website. Your continued use of the Website constitutes agreement to these changes, so please check back frequently. The date this Policy was last modified is identified at the end of this Policy. Contact Information EO Media Group PO Box 2048 Salem, Oregon 97308 (503) 364-4431 online@eomediagroup.com Last Revision Date 8/12/2019 004351/00008/6418861v3 You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @idesai98 on Twitter. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Question No. 1: What are your top three policy priorities? Question No. 2: The area you represent has seen an increasing number of storms each year, bringing with it devastation to ecosystems and human habitation. What will you do to address the root causes and remedy damage that has already been done? Question No. 3: If you win, you will take office one year before the next presidential election in a country that is still very polarized. What do you plan to do to get the concerns of District 14 residents across to a divided House, and how do you plan to pass meaningful legislation in this climate? Question No. 4: What makes you better than the other candidates? Randy Weber (I)* Age: 68 Occupation: Congressman City of Residence: Friendswood Highest Level of Education: B.S. in criminal justice with a minor in business Volunteer Work or other Elected Office (up to 3): Ronald Reagan campaign volunteer; Republican party election clerk; and Mens Ministry chairman for First Baptist Church in Pearland. Answer No. 1: Reflecting family, our professional Texas, Southeast Texas family values is my number one priority. That covers a whole host of things, but that is my priority. Number two, is keeping the same energy policy. We want to make sure that we dont kill the jobs in Southeast Texas and Texas remains the number one exporting state in the country. For us, it means jobs, jobs, jobs, it means energy independence, that means energy dominance. A sane energy policy is a priority for me. A third category, when you talk about protecting family values, were extremely pro life the sanctity of life. You can also say that we want to protect our Second Amendment gun rights. Answer No. 2: Its not a matter of if we get more hurricanes. Its when. In Texas, Ive been a fan of the Ike Dike. Ive been in the stakeholder meetings and public hearings, and we advocate for the state legislature appropriating money. When I talk about sane energy policy, we talk about fishing regulations and decommissioned oil rigs. Answer No. 3: Were gonna take back the House. The Green New Deal would be devastating to District 14 because of all the energy we produce. Fossil fuel is not the enemy. Its the emissions that come during the production process. We are getting better at cleaning up those emissions. And this president wants us to be part of the Paris Climate Accord, so that they can rein us in. No, they need to be focused on Russia, China, India, and Mexico. Joe Biden is destroying the Democrats brand. The Democrats are destroying their own brand. So, what Ive been telling my Republican colleagues, were gonna take it back because Americans are realizing how bad the Democrats brand has become. Lets keep telling that story. Answer No. 4: Number one, were from here. Number two, we have the background. I have been involved in Republican Party and politics. I have worked at the grassroots level. I have worked at multiple levels as the precinct chair. Ive been involved at the city for six years. We have four years of the Texas state legislative experience, municipal experience, state experience and now Ive got federal experience. If you want someone who is one of us, has your back, has your values and who has experience and a proven track record? I think its Randy Weber. courtesy of Ruben Landon Dante Ruben Landon Dante Age: 30 Occupation: Self-employed in financial analytics City of Residence: Texas City Highest Level of Education: Studied real estate and economics at Glendale Community College Volunteer Work or other Elected Office (up to 3): Screen Actors Guild committee work; Preserving local jobs with All Things Hollywood; and Feeding the homeless. Answer No. 1: Number one is recalling the administrative state. So, the Federal Reserve, the CDC, the FBI and the Department Of Justice need to have complete congressional oversight. I also think we need to put together an election back testing system. Essentially, people could index and back test any election for any candidate. So, lets say I put in my zip code and 50 votes come up. If my zip code only has five addresses, I know theres a problem. In God, we have faith, but trusting humans is psychobabble. So, transparency in government is essential. My third priority is banning war profiteering and multinational corporations buying up anything American. Answer No. 2: The solution would be improving water conveyance and start finding new uses in this place not letting water bottleneck and better managing its flow. I think we have to consult, with discernment, the experts in the fields for the most permanent solutions. Answer No. 3: We need to reverse engineer solutions that all people want to see within the constitutional framework. Another solution, for example, would be to get government and insurance companies out of the negotiation process and have a master list of allied nations we can personally order drugs from. In that example, we could address drug prices that so many people want by restricting the government powers, and in reducing government, we give people more power to expand. Answer No. 4: I read the bills. Im running on the biggest problems in America that no one is talking about. So, I will talk about the deeper issues that no one has the courage to talk about in Congress. Im also able to write my own bills. My Facebook is a ton of bills, my whole account is bills that Ive written and why Ive written them. A lot of these bills sound really cute, but when you read them, youre like, What? Inside of those bills is something completely ridiculous, shoved in there. Keith Casey Occupation: Accountant Keith Casey could not be reached for comment. Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. *(I) incumbent Compiled by Rachel Kersey The Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce on Thursday hosted Texas Rep. and House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont at a legislative luncheon to discuss a number of legislative priorities. The event was held at the conference center at the Holiday Inn on Walden Road and drew a full crowd in one of the hotels ballrooms. Sen. Brandon Creighton, Sen. Robert Nichols and Rep. Joe Deshotel were all invited to attend but were unable for various reasons. Sprinkling his speech with occasional jokes that made the audience chuckle, Phelan spoke at length on a variety of legislative priorities. After a quick recap of the previous two years, from the outbreak of the pandemic to Winter Storm Yuri and education funding issues, Phelan said that it had been a difficult season but still, legislators had much to be proud of. I think about what's going on globally, what's going on in Europe right now in Ukraine, and our issues pale in comparison to that, Phelan said. Were able to go in and work in a bipartisan manner, for the most part in a respectful manner, and get things done, and come back home and live underneath those laws and go back to our daily business as best we can. And it's a testament to this country and how great it is. Its a wonderful time to be in the state of Texas. Related: Russia-Ukraine: What to know as Russia attacks Ukraine Though optimistic about the country and this individual state, Phelan raised many concerns that he has been and will continue to work on, such as eliminating STAAR testing, which he says is expensive and anxiety-inducing for children. He also highlighted his two main concerns as Speaker - healthcare and criminal justice reform. He said that he includes mental healthcare in this expansive view of healthcare and lamented that Republicans are loathe to speak on these issues besides saying negative things about Obamacare. Affordable healthcare is very, very confusing and some folks dont want to wade into that pool, he said. Well, we have to because it's something that, especially (for) the younger generations, is eating up their discretionary income every single year. It's unbelievable what you have to pay for health insurance, and it gets more expensive every single day. Related: Four trends in the way Millenials approach healthcare He said he is especially excited about House Bill 18 a prescription drug program that makes the Texas Senate the buyer of record for medications for uninsured and underinsured residents. The bill targets some of the most widely used drugs, like insulin and medications for heart disease and high blood pressure. These drugs, Phelan said, are highly-expensive and cause greater future medical problems if an individual fails to take them. Texas is the only state doing this program, he said. Being a pro-life Republican, weve got to put our money where our mouth is when it comes to children. And we have to respect life after the child is born, too, said Phelan. In Texas, mothers on Medicaid who have children are cut off after two months, and the problems of pregnancy and postpartum are not always evident after two months. So the House had a proposal for 12 months, which is what very few states actually did. The Senate, he said, was not enthusiastic about the idea, but a compromise of six months was eventually reached, which Phelan views as a good thing. Were still trickling coverage for these women who are choosing to have a child, he said. We need to be there and help her and help that child because if youre going to be pro-life, you need to be pro-life from cradle to the grave. Related: In Texas, as evangelical women mobilize for a future without abortion, a maternity ranch is born Part of ensuring that low-income children have the care they need is making sure paperwork is not a barrier to access. Phelan said that they streamlined the process, which means that no children covered by Medicaid ever find themselves uninsured because they failed to show up for the multiple wellness checks per year and fell out of the enrollment system. It's gonna be about 60,000 children who will not fall off in this program every single year, Phelan said. These were big wins in Texas. Criminal justice, he said, is an issue that is near and dear to his heart, especially in Southeast Texas. He spoke about the Second Chance program with the Jefferson County Bar Association, which allows those with minor issues on their criminal record to have the record sealed or expunged. At the time, the 500 slots that were opened were filled in less than an hour. People are hungry for a career. They're sick of having a job. Now they want a career, Phelan explained. And theyre in their thirties. They did something stupid when they were 18 or 19, and it's on their record and they can't get a TWIC card. And if you cant get a TWIC card, you can't get inside one of our gates to do all the wonderful things we're doing in the expansion world here in Jefferson, Orange and other areas. As industry expands in the area, employers are looking to hire locally. But there is a huge segment of the population who would be able to work if it werent for their records, which, Phelan said, indicate the same sort of activity that many other people did who didnt get caught. So, he is hoping to nudge legislators more in this direction, while still retaining respect for victims of crimes and police departments. I think we nibbled around the edges on criminal justice reform, he said. Theres a lot more to do on that. And I am not gonna take my foot off the gas. This led into a discussion of legal versus illegal immigration, and the healthcare and housing challenges Phelan has seen bound up in the immigration debate down in the Rio Grande Valley. Related: Deshotel will not seek 12th term in legislature I'm all for immigration. I'm all for allowing folks to come here to pursue the American Dream, he said. My ancestors did it. But it has to be done in a legal way. By video, Nichols spoke about some of the most important work he has done lately, like setting up the Broadband Development Office to make broadband access more equal across urban and rural areas in the state. We're going to actually map each individual address, both business addresses and residential addresses, to determine whether you have a high speed connection or not or if it would be able to hook up within one billing cycle, he said. If it does, then you're covered, and if you're not, you're going to be covered. The legislature put half a billion dollars into the account at the comptroller's office for that very purpose. Deshotel, also virtual, spoke of how proud he was of House Bill 5, which opened up five different pathways for students in eighth grade to be able to plan their future and take courses necessary for that, whether they want to go to college, trade school, or take another path. This, he said, has a deterring effect on dropout rates. He also thanked the region for their support over the last two decades. There's an old saying that all good things must come to an end. At least with me, I thought it was good, he said. It was a great honor to have served Southeast Texas and the Texas legislature for the past 22 years. It is an honor I should never forget. rachel.kersey@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/ontheREKord In the wee hours of Thursday morning Russian military forces launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. As explosions thundered before dawn in the capital Kyiv and other major cities, Ukranian civilians hid underground to seek refuge from missile attacks and air strikes. In a televised declaration before the assault, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to consequences you have never seen in history. As news of the conflict hit the U.S., Texas leaders began weighing in, many echoing President Joe Biden's statements calling the invasion "unprovoked and unjustified." Former President George W. Bush in a message issued Thursday called the attack "the gravest security crisis on the European continent since World War II." "The American government and people must stand in solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people as they seek freedom and the right to choose their own future," Bush stated. "We cannot tolerate the authoritarian bullying and danger that Putin poses. Ukraine is our friend and democratic ally and deserves our full support during this difficult time." Following the attack, Gov. Greg Abbott said the state stands in solidarity with Ukraine in their fight for sovereignty. "May God bless them and keep them safe," Abbott tweeted Thursday morning. "The United States must do all we can to repel Putin's invasion." Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz also took to Twitter to express his "enormous concern and anger" following news of the invasion. "The U.S. will stand with our Ukranian allies, continue to provide them with arms to defend themselves, and work to counter Putin and hold accountable those responsible for this aggression," Cruz tweeted. Following news of Putin's further invasion of Ukraine with enormous concern and anger. The US will stand with our Ukrainian allies, continue to provide them with arms to defend themselves, and work to counter Putin and hold accountable those responsible for this aggression. Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 24, 2022 Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn also issued a statement, saying that although the U.S. did not play a role in creating the crisis, it still bears the responsibility of supporting Ukraine in defending their own sovereignty. "America stands with Ukraine, and we will do everything we can to help them defend themselves against the Russian Federation," Cornyn said, warning that the security of other European countries is also in jeopardy. "This is about America's credibility and that our friends and allies around the world and our willingness to stand up for our values and defend freedoms. If the U.S. fails to support Ukraine, other authoritarian movements like those in China and Iran will take note." Others critiqued Biden's decision to deploy forces in response to Putin, suggesting his priorities were misplaced. Land Commissioner George P. Bush, a candidate in Texas' 2022 attorney general election, tweeted "Sleepy Joe is more interested in securing Ukraine's border than our own southern border. He sits idle by as yet another caravan of illegal immigrants makes its way here. We will not tolerate this again - wake up, Joe." Following the Russian onslaught overnight, the AG candidate tweeted "Praying for peace in Ukraine. Unprovoked aggression must not stand." Bedford, PA (15522) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 70F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low around 50F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Ethnic Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will not return to their home in neighboring Myanmars Rakhine state unless they are granted equal rights and freedom of movement, they said Thursday, days after the junta announced that it is preparing for their immediate repatriation. The juntas Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Feb. 20 that it is readying the return of displaced persons from Rakhine state. The announcement notably avoided both the use of the term Rohingya, a mostly Muslim ethnicity that the military says does not exist in Myanmar, and the term Bengali, which the junta favors and implies the group is originally from Bangladesh. The junta statement also called for a meeting with the secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), saying that after agreeing to the blocs initial recommendations on the re-admission of displaced persons in Rakhine state, assistance is needed to implement them. Rohingya refugees and activists in Bangladesh told the Myanmar Service of Radio Free Asia (RFA) on Thursday that they have no confidence the junta will act on the recommendations and said they need assurances their rights will be protected before they return. BenarNews is a unit of RFA. Ali Jenner, a Rohingya refugee from the Baluhali refugee camp in Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar district, said he and others in the camp have no trust in the junta at all. If the Rohingya people can get equal citizenship, security rights, equal rights and all our original rights as other citizens there, then we can agree to go back, he said. The West African nation of Gambia filed a case at the ICJ in November 2019 accusing Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention during the alleged expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya amid a brutal crackdown in 2017. The ICJ, which is the judicial arm of the United Nations, began hearings on Feb. 21, the day after the junta statement on returning refugees, to determine whether it has jurisdiction to examine claims that atrocities committed by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya constituted a genocide. The hearings are scheduled to last until Feb. 28 and will include arguments presented by representatives of Myanmar and Gambia The juntas defense lawyers Christopher Staker and Stefan Talmon have argued that Gambia submitted its case on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and that the ICJ has no jurisdiction because the OIC is not a country. They also argue that Gambia is not an aggrieved country and has no right to sue Myanmar. Gambia defended its right to sue Myanmar in an appeal issued on Feb. 23. Gambian Attorney General Dawda Jallow says the case was not only brought to the ICJ to protect the rights of the Rohingya, but to uphold Gambias rights as a signatory to the U.N. Convention on Genocide. The International Court of Justice during the trial in a case filed by Gambia against Myanmar alleging genocide against the minority Muslim Rohingya population, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, Jan. 23, 2020. [Reuters] Response to pressure Rohingya living in refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh have said they are hopeful that the ICJ can bring justice for the Myanmar militarys rights violations against the ethnic minority group. But others are wary of how the case may influence the junta in the near term. Khin Maung, the founder of the activist group Rohingya Youth Union, who lives in Thinkhali Refugee Camp No. 13 in Bangladesh, said he cannot trust a junta statement he believes was issued as a response to international pressure. We welcome the fact that they want to call us home. But did they create necessary conditions for us to return to Rakhine state? Thats what we should be thinking about, he said. [Junta chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing] is trying to use us for his advantage. He is doing this because of international pressure and not because of goodwill. We are ready to go back, no matter who makes the decision to call us back, but it is impossible to return unless our requirements are met. Khin Maung said it is impossible for Rohingyas to return home without guarantees of citizenship or security and freedom of movement in the areas where they had previously lived. Discussions about a repatriation should first be held with the Rohingyas themselves, he said. Crimes on a nationwide scale However, junta Deputy Information Minister Zaw Min Tun told RFA that the plan to repatriate the Rohingya was created long prior to the ICJ hearings and was not part of a bid to placate the international community. He said the Rohingya had previously said they would accept the offer to return to Rakhine state, but that Bangladesh had refused to let them leave. We have been saying all along that we will accept and let them live as before. Accommodations were prepared, he said. Its just that they didnt come back even after we made three or four offers. The other side did not release them They are working on it with a political agenda. Rohingya activist Nay San Lwin told RFA that members of her ethnic group cannot expect that their rights will be respected by the junta when the military is currently committing crimes against humanity on a nationwide scale. In the year since Myanmars military seized power from the countrys democratically elected government in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup, security forces have killed nearly 1,580 people across the country. Even if the Rohingya return, it will probably be just a handful, Nay San Lwin said. Most of them have said that they will return only if they can live in peace with the full basic rights they deserve. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Smoke rises from the military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022. [AFP] A building burns following shelling in the town of Starobilsk in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2022. [Ukrainian State Emergency Service handout via Reuters] The body of a soldier lies next to a destroyed Russian rocket launch vehicle on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2022. [Associated Press] Members of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine examine a rocket case stuck in a driveway following shelling in Kharkiv, Feb. 25, 2022. [Reuters] Ukrainian soldiers take up positions on a bridge inside the city of Kyiv, Feb. 25, 2022. [Associated Press] Ukrainian women and children are seen at the Slovak-Ukrainian border crossing at Vysne Nemecke, Feb. 25, 2022. [AFP] A Ukrainian soldier surveys the scene of a downed aircraft in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25, 2022. [Associated Press] Eyes are on China after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine to see if Beijing would make an opportunistic move in the Indo-Pacific, with analysts saying Beijing is watching developments in Ukraine intently before making any decision. Chinese officials, while refusing to call Putins action an invasion, say theyre closely monitoring the latest developments. We call on all sides to exercise restraint and prevent the situation from getting out of control, said Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying. China has maintained this position since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis. Vietnam, which has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea, has said little about the conflict. Its Foreign Ministry spokeswoman when asked said the same words: We call on all sides to exercise restraint. Hanoi holds a long-standing suspicion of Beijings intentions in the South China Sea and is no doubt watching Chinas movements closely. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying speaks to reporters in Beijing, Feb. 24, 2022. [Reuters] The waiting game Beijing, meanwhile, is also watching. Putins ally, Chinas President Xi Jinping, is watching intently for the precedent set by Putins actions, said John Blaxland, professor at the Strategic and Defense Studies Center, Australian National University. If he gets away with this, it may give him confidence, to be more assertive in the South China Sea or to further undermine the stability and independence of the self-governing regional economic powerhouse and vibrant liberal democracy of Taiwan, Blaxland said. China is watching closely and taking notes, agreed Grant Newsham, a retired U.S. Marine colonel turned political analyst. Indeed, if the U.S. and Western response to the Ukraine invasion is seen as weak or ineffective, and ultimately accepts the Russian seizure of Ukraine as a fait accompli, China will feel emboldened to move. This will take some months. But China will keep the heat on Taiwan in the meantime and also tighten up control over the South China Sea and keep pressuring Japan in the East China Sea, Newsham said, adding that in his opinion, this is the most dangerous international situation since World War II. Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington, said Beijing does not like comparisons drawn between Ukraine a sovereign state, represented at the United Nations and Taiwan, which it regards as part of China. But she said the U.S. response to the invasion of Ukraine could be a point of reference for China. China is watching how (the) U.S. is reacting in the Ukraine crisis, to test U.S. resolve and willingness to get militarily involved in a military crisis thats far away from the U.S. homeland, she said. If Vietnamese leaders and those in the countries bordering the South China Sea are worried about Chinas possible actions, they certainly dont show it. Vietnamese state media have not spoken about any looming threat but stress the need to be independent and self-reliant. Dismissed concerns The Philippines top diplomat, Teodoro Locsin Jr., has tweeted about the conflict in Ukraine, but he made no comment about Russias invasion. Nor has he expressed any concern about the South China Sea. Instead, the Philippine foreign secretary talked about going to Poland to meet my people Filipinos who have fled Ukraine. The Philippines, together with Vietnam, are the two countries most actively pursuing maritime claims against China in the South China Sea. Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan are also claimants. The government in Manila doesnt have a position about the unfolding situation in Ukraine and is staying out of it, according to Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the University of the Philippines. But of course, there are worries and private discussions in the academic and security circles, he said. Some other analysts dismissed concerns about Beijings immediate actions in the South China Sea. Theres not been any big incident between Vietnam and China in the South China Sea since 2019. Both sides want to maintain it and China wont do anything against Vietnam for the time being, said Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia and a veteran Vietnam watcher. With the Philippines, Beijing showed an increased assertiveness last year as [President Rodrigo] Duterte was seen veering away from his pro-China stance, Thayer said. But with the presidential election looming and Duterte leaving his post for good, theres no need to keep the pressure on, he said. Confetti falls on Filipino activists gathered at the People Power Monument along the EDSA highway in Manila, Feb. 25, 2022. [Basilio Sepe/BenarNews] An activist flashes a thumb and index finger L which means laban, the Filipino word for fight, during the rally at the People Power Monument in Manila, Feb. 25, 2022. [Basilio Sepe/BenarNews] A Philippine activists sign calls for voters to reject the presidential and vice-presidential campaign of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio in the May 9 election, Feb. 25, 2022. [Jojo Rinoza/BenarNews] Actors portraying Imelda Marcos and her late husband Ferdinand Marcos (in wheelchair) perform during the 36th anniversary people power rally in Manila, Feb. 25, 2022. [Jojo Rinoza/BenarNews] An activist holds a sign that says you are not the one I want to return during a rally at the People Power Monument along the EDSA highway in Manila to mark the 36th anniversary of a peoples uprising that drove dictator Ferdinand Marcos from power, Feb. 25, 2022. [Jojo Rinoza/BenarNews] More than 1,000 Filipinos converged on a historic highway in the Philippine capital on Friday to mark the anniversary of the people power revolution that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. Now, 36 years on, his son and namesake is leading in early surveys as a candidate for the May 9 presidential election. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., widely known as Bongbong, is vying to replace President Rodrigo Duterte, whose constitutionally limited single term ends this year, in the countrys top office. Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of the president, is Bongbongs running mate. Their potential election could protect the elder Duterte, who will lose presidential immunity once he leaves office, from international prosecution over his administrations war on drugs in which thousands of Filipinos have died in extrajudicial killings. Our hard-won rights and freedoms are now under even greater threat amid the efforts for a Marcos restoration and a Duterte extension in the upcoming elections, Cristina Palabay, secretary general of human rights group Karapatan, said at a rally commemorating the anniversary. Today, we are called to continue the struggle for justice and democracy, and to resist the despotic Marcos-Duterte tandem. Students, priests and nuns joined Palabay and ordinary Filipinos along the EDSA highway in Manila as they chanted slogans and vowed to never again give power to the Marcos family, whose members were allowed to return after the dictator died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. Thousands had gathered along the same highway in 1986 to drive the elder Marcos from office, 14 years after he imposed martial law. The Marcos family is believed to have plundered as much as U.S. $10 billion (513 billion pesos), but the government has recovered only a fraction of that amount in more than three decades. Bennington, VT (05201) Today Rain. High 56F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 46F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. China urges Japan to properly handle historical issues Xinhua) 08:56, February 25, 2022 BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the Japanese side to properly handle issues left over from history so as not to lose further credibility in the eyes of its Asian neighbors and the international community. It has been reported that Republic of Korea (ROK) Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong expressed his concerns over Japan's bid to register the war-linked gold mines on Sado Island as a UNESCO World Heritage Site when holding talks with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in Paris on Tuesday. When asked to comment on Chung's remarks, spokesperson Hua Chunying told a daily press briefing that China's position on the issue of forced labor in Japan during World War II is constant and clear, noting that China understands and supports the attitude of the ROK. The forced recruitment and enslavement of laborers were grave crimes committed by the Japanese military during its overseas acts of aggression and colonial rule, Hua said. In a similar previous bid, Japan admitted that there was forced labor at some of these sites involving workers from China, the Korean Peninsula and other Asian countries, and promised to set up an information center to honor the victims, but never fulfilled that promise. "Now, ignoring the painful memories of its neighbors, Japan is trying to make a similar new bid, which will only trigger stronger indignation and opposition," Hua said. Japan should face up to its history, adopt an honest and responsible attitude, and take concrete actions to properly handle issues left over from history so as not to lose further credibility in the eyes of its Asian neighbors and the international community, she said. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau allegedly refused to talk to the Canadian Truckers but instead ordered a clampdown on them with emergency powers. A Canadian sociologist tore down the PM as a dictator responsible for invoking extra power forcibly breaking up the anti-vaccine mandate protestors. This development is seen as an inability for him to effectively deal with the protesters through dialogue. Canadian Government Rips Democracy Ashley Frawley, a sociologist and a Swansea University lecturer talked to GB News about how the actions were taken by the PM to forcibly stop the protest after three weeks. Protestors were clearly against the vaccine mandates and other means to impinge on the freedom and liberty of Canadians. The unthinkable spectacle of authoritarianism and forcing the truckers to stop a lawful assembly had no violence like the BLM uprisings in the US. This is one of the largest operations by police forces that led to the arrest of 191 people, impounding 76 of their rigs, reported the Express UK. The Canadian government ripped democracy from the country, promising changes to come on this day.Frawley stated that Trudeau is the epitome of someone who can get away with a fascist bent. She added that giving leaders a free pass to do anything at their whims and use the right buzzwords for some illegal. Add up the excuse it is done for the right things, but in reality, twists the facts to suit their goals, noted the Daily Advent. Called it nothing more than another way to exert control at all costs, just because it can be done. Trudeau is backed up by a willing cadre too. Read also: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau Uses Emergency Powers Against Canadian Truckers Protesting Over Vaccine Mandates Trudeau Labeled as Dictator Frawley mentioned that the action was taken by Trudeau not resolving it peacefully, but using brute force is not new. He just did what dictators who amplified a minor threat that did not deem harsh action. The truckers were never a threat. It was the Canadian PM waiting for a chance to show who was in control. Now it's the new and order. The PM went on the warpath and called the protestors everything, even white supremacists. He used the language of the leftist Democrats in the US. Moreover, it was unfair to smear these truckers then prop them up as the worst threat to Canadians. Next, use it to invoke powers to slam them undemocratically; later ignore their rights. She describes Trudeau in critical analysis, saying that he is photogenic and kindly powerful. He did next to look good while taking away democratic rights with civil rights and getting away with it. The sociologist said that people fall for what has been done; without protest. All the because the leader says nice-sounding words. This affable PM ordered last Friday a brutal breakup to end the protest that he could not stop, and the truckers were treated like criminals. A combo of anti-riot police and mounted regiments did the dispersal in Ottowa. Both Ontario and Ottawa, where the protest was at, had states of emergency declared to set up the use of the Emergencies Act to muscle. This would allow rights trampled and shield the PM from criticism from the actions that followed. Trudeau, according to Frawley, got away with a lot that broke democracies back because the PM could not deal with it. Delving into a dictatorship that will be reviled; can only happen in other places, but it did in Canada. Related Article: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau Orders Police To Take Away Trucker's Pet in Woke Anger Over the Freedom Convoy's Defiance @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The investigation in "Dead Mountain" centers on Major Oleg Kostin (Pyotr Fyodorov), a World War II veteran, whose efforts to find the cause of death puts him right back into his own past as he attempts to traverse the strange culture of the Urals. The US Trucker Convoy Organizers have seen what the Trudeau government did in crushing the Freedom Convoy's rights to protest; leaders of the protest are laying the groundwork for an uninterrupted journey to Washington DC. The Canadian rollout inspired members of the People's Convoy to protest vaccine mandates in their trucks. But they are wary that the Biden administration might try to stop as their protest would blemish an already tattered presidency. American Truckers Will Carry Freedom Convoy's Spirit One of the top organizers of 'The People's Convoy' spoke to the media about their plans. Maureen Steele said they looked over all the loopholes and problems that the Democrat administration could exploit, reported the Epoch Times. Speaking in an interview with NTD's Capitol Report about the details of the trucker protest on Feb.22, she outlines all the steps taken to ensure that everything is legal; by the time they hit the road. Arrangements with the local municipalities and police on their route, speaking to them to be sure. The rollout will include lawyers to assist the participants in doing everything by the book, to avoid breaking local laws. Everything kicks off from Southern California at the Adelanto Stadium on Feb.23, moving east to Interstate 40. The journey is expected to hit the Washington D.C. area on March 5, where other convoys will converge on too, per NTD. A Pennsylvania trucker group will be entering the US capital as those from California on the same day. Steele expects the worst, like what happened in Canada, and she does not know how the Democrat president will react. But it will be no surprise if tyrannical means are used as well, but the US Trucker Convoy organizers are hoping for the best. Read Also: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau Uses Emergency Powers Against Canadian Truckers Protesting Over Vaccine Mandates Also, the Ottowa government has attacked bank accounts of the truckers which should not be the case. Trudeau allows rights to be trampled. Last Feb.10, a report said that one Biden official in the White House to the Canadian PM to activate federal powers. Next came a crackdown on truckers who block the US-Canada border as well, cited AP News. Canadian Democracy Trampled Due to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his inability to deal with the Freedom convoy, the Emergencies Act and its powers were utilized to stop the COVID-19 mandates and restrictions protest harshly. All the bank accounts of those involved were frozen, that was something a dictator does, even trample on rights. Last Feb.15, the White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a press briefing that the effects of the Freedom convoy are getting assessed by a relevant agency after a question was asked about Canada truckers. On Feb.21, a state in PDF was released by the organizer intended to go Washington but not D.C proper to clarify. Pennsylvania convoy organizer Bob Bolus remarked that staying close to DC because of what happened on Jan.6, 2021, during the steal stop. Steele informed that professionals manage their money with a third party getting the funds. All the deposits are placed in private banks quickly to avoid what happened in Canada. She added that the People's Convoy has a right to be violated, despite the current suppression. It's why the protest is happening, saying that all Americans can join, not just truckers. Hopefully, all these preparations taken by the US Trucker Convoy Organizers would translate to the Biden administration letting them protest. Related Article: PM Justin Trudeau Freezes Truckers' Bank Accounts Illegally For Refusal of the Freedom Convoy To Back Down @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Checkup: Rolling average of new cases falls to lowest level since October A van from the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force is parked outside a house on Middle Road in Clarksburg on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Berkshire District Attorney's Office said a Clarksburg resident, William Gingerich, 36, will be charged with single counts of kidnapping and murder in the death of Dennis Bernardi, 71, of Clarksburg. Cops and Courts Reporter Amanda Burke is Cops and Courts Reporter for The Berkshire Eagle. An Ithaca, New York native, she previously worked at The Herald News of Fall River and the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise. President Joe Biden was joined by world leaders in condemning Russia's war on Ukraine and vowing to hold Moscow responsible. Many European politicians followed suit, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who tweeted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "chosen the road of murder." Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany condemned the invasion as "a dangerous act," while French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that Russia should stop its military activities immediately. World Leaders Decry Vladimir Putin's Ukraine Invasion The European Union will "offer a package of enormous targeted measures" on Thursday, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Russia's actions were also swiftly condemned by Eastern European governments. President Klaus Iohannis of Romania, which borders Ukraine to the south and potentially sees a refugee flow, branded the invasion "another egregious transgression of international law." To Ukraine's west, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Russia had broken international law, while Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Putin's actions could not go unpunished. At a press conference, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his country united with the world community "to condemn these terrible crimes in the strongest possible terms." Russia's activities "strike at the very core foundation of our international system," according to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, while South Korea indicated it would join the globally coordinated avalanche of penalties against Russia, NBC News reported. According to a Downing Street official, Johnson will convene a Cobra committee meeting at 7.30 am to consider the reaction to the "horrific atrocities" in Ukraine. Read Also: US Official Sees Russia 'Beginning' Its Invasion, But Ukraine's Economy Already Suffers Due to 'Hybrid War' Joe Biden to Use G7 Meeting to Make Further Sanctions For Russia The US President, Joe Biden, condemned Russia's conduct as an "unprovoked and unjustifiable strike," vowing that the rest of the world will hold Russia accountable. Biden stated that he would utilize a G7 meeting on Thursday morning to draw up further sanctions on Russia. Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable. President Biden (@POTUS) February 24, 2022 Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stated her sympathies were with the Ukrainian people "in these sad hours" and that Russia will be held accountable for its actions. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a direct, impassioned plea to Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to stop the Russian military assault on Ukraine "in the name of humanity." Russian forces invaded Ukraine, a free and sovereign country. We condemn this barbaric attack, and the cynical arguments used to justify it. Later today we will present a package of massive, targeted sanctions. https://t.co/AHtTVEvHgV Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 24, 2022 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the Russian attack "in the strongest possible terms" and called for an immediate halt to "all hostile and provocative actions against Ukraine," Telegraph. Canada condemns in the strongest possible terms Russias egregious attack on Ukraine. These unprovoked actions are a clear further violation of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, and of Russias obligations under international law and the Charter of the UN. Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 24, 2022 Boris Johnson today pledged to cripple Russia's economy with a slew of sanctions, insisting that the West 'would not turn a blind eye' to the invasion of Ukraine. The Prime Minister stated in a speech from Downing Street that Vladimir Putin must be allowed to suffocate Ukraine's independence with an act of indiscriminate and reckless assault. I am appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine and I have spoken to President Zelenskyy to discuss next steps. President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine. The UK and our allies will respond decisively. Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 24, 2022 Putin, he argued, has declared war on Africa, and the West must respond to assure the offensive's eventual 'defeat' 'diplomatically, politically, economically, and, finally, militarily.' Mr. Johnson also urged nations to wean themselves off Moscow's gas and oil supplies in a stern message to Germany and Italy, among others. As he faced trial from prison after President Vladimir Putin began an attack on Ukraine, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny claimed he was against Moscow's war. Wearing a prison uniform, Navalny said the war would lead to a huge number of victims, destroy futures, and continue this line of the impoverishment of the citizens of Russia. He is being tried in a maximum-security jail outside of Moscow on new accusations that may lengthen his sentence by a decade. His supporters claim that the trial, which began last week, was planned to coincide with the Ukraine conflict. After surviving a poison assault that he and the West blame on the Kremlin, Navalny has been in prison for a year on old fraud allegations, according to Daily Mail. Related Article: US Warning to Ukraine: Russia at "Peak Readiness" for Full-Scale Invasion @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him (Matthew 2:1-2). Jesus is referred to as King of the Jews several times throughout Scripture. At the beginning of his earthy life the term is used by Magi from the East, and at the end of his earthly life, it is used again by Pontius Pilate. Of these non-Jews, the former used the term with honor, and the latter with disdain. He came as the promised Jewish Messiah, and as a true king to lead his people. This title of king holds significance to both Jews and Gentiles, and gives us insight into who Jesus is and why he came to earth to dwell among us. His reign as king was not temporary, but eternal, and his kingdom is not of this earth, but everlasting. Where in the Bible Is Jesus Called King of the Jews? Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). Jesus is referred to as King in both the New Testament letters and in Old Testament prophecy. Zechariah 9:9 is a foretelling of what we refer to as Palm Sunday, where Jesus rides into Jerusalem in just this way, riding on a donkey, as crowds around him shout Hosanna! This symbolic entrance made it clear that he was taking on the role of Israels King, even when there were many who would not accept it. Why Is King of the Jews Put on Jesus' Cross? Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS (John 19:19). When Jesus was delivered up to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, every indication is that the Jewish leaders were using the charge of sedition as a means to have him executed. They argued that Jesus had set himself up as a king, and therefore was aligning himself against Caesar. The interesting thing is that we never read of Jesus calling himself a king. So why is this even an issue that would lead to a dramatic crucifixion? Every Jew who knew the Scriptures understood that the actions of Jesus were in themselves fulfillment of prophecy, and by extension he fit the role of the foretold Messiah. To Pilate, it must have seemed absurd that such a man would be considered a king. Jesus was not regal in appearance, did not seek any political position, and lived as an itinerant rabbi. When Pilate questions Jesus, this accusation, and Pilates disbelief, are obvious, as he summoned Jesus and asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? Is that your own idea, Jesus asked, or did others talk to you about me? (John 18:33-34). It is clear that this was the accusation brought to him by the leaders (called the Sanhedrin) and this was the grounds for execution. This accusation is further confirmed in John 19:12 - From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar. Jesus never called himself king, but his actions spoke loudly. As a result of Pilates annoyance with sentencing to death a man who clearly was no political threat, and as an insult to the Sanhedrin, Pilate had this notice nailed to the cross above Jesus head. The tragic irony is that what he meant as a jab, an insult, was all too accurate. Jesus was the king that had come to his people to give them life, although many could not see the beauty of who he was. This is foretold in Isaiah 53:3 - He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Yet we know that there were those in the Sanhedrin who did believe in Jesus as the Kingly Messiah. These include Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus as seen in John 19:38-39; Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilates permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Although the Jewish people as a whole have not accepted Jesus as Messiah and King, there is no doubt that a remnant of the people did, and continue to, recognize Jesus as both. Is Jesus the King of the Jews? Jesus is indeed the King of the Jews. He lived his life as a Jewish man, honoring the Ten Commandments and teaching that he did not come to abolish Jewish law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Jesus dearly loves the Jewish people and gave his life so that they might be saved. Throughout history, God chose to work in and through the Jewish people, and this special covenant relationship has been a blessing to every other people group on the earth. As Paul states in Romans 3:2, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. Among the most compelling support for Jesus as king comes from King David in Psalm 110. Here David writes, The LORD says to my lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, Rule in the midst of your enemies! This passage establishes that David foresees a future king who is greater than he is, one whom David recognizes as his lord. The Psalm continues in verses 4-5, You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. This future ruler is not only a king, but also a chief priest. This combination of king and priest over Israel was not something that had ever been established, or ever would be outside of Jesus. In Jesus, the Jewish people find a perfect fulfillment of a perfect king and a perfect priest. Unlike earthly rulers, his reign is just, and has no end. Unlike earthly priests, he has no sin. Fortunately for those of us who are not Jewish, the rule and reign of King Jesus is extended to the whole earth. He is King of Israel, and King of all the Earth. Related articles Why Did Jesus Have to Die Alone? Was Jesus a Jew and Why Does it Matter? 6 Beautiful Truths about the Crucifixion Photo credit: Getty Images/Romolo Tavani Jason Soroski is a homeschool dad and member of the worship team at matthias lot church in St. Charles, MO. He spends his free time hanging out with his family, exploring new places, and writing about the experiences. Connect on Facebook or at JasonSoroski.net. BOISE After hearing testimony about a recent increase in cases of assault and battery against public utility workers in Idaho, the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee advanced a bill that would add public utility workers to a section of Idaho Code that has extra penalties for assault against certain personnel. Senate Bill 1321 is sponsored by Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, and the penalties are doubled from Idahos usual punishments for assault when committed against certain public servants, including judges, police officers, prison employees and others. Jason Hudson, a lobbyist for the Idaho AFL-CIO, told the committee the problem is occurring statewide. We have sheriffs office reports from Grangeville to Grandview to Rigby. This is occurring across the state, across different utilities, and it does seem to be increasing in frequency, Hudson said. I have talked to several people who have been in the industry for many, many years across the state and almost universally what I hear is, theres always been problems out there, but in the last five years its gotten a whole lot worse. Public utility workers include electrical and water services, and incidents often happen when a worker is conducting maintenance on an electrical line, working on a public water resource such as a canal or reading an energy meter. Hudson said 15 other states have already passed enhanced penalty laws specifically for protecting public utility workers. If the law does pass, Hudson said he hopes to partner with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission on an education campaign about the new penalties in hopes it will deter potentially violent actors. The committee also heard testimony from Eric York, an Idaho public utility worker who said he had a shotgun held to his head until he gave up the keys to his company vehicle. (The person) hit me hard enough with the barrel of the shotgun to where I had the barrel mark, and I bled down my face, York said. I was not going to give him the keys to that rig, but he held it there until I did. Will Hart, lobbyist for the Idaho Consumer Owned Utilities Association, said his association supports the bill, along with Idaho Power. Hart said he has been working with the association for 13 years and had never heard of the issue until recently. In the last three or four years, it seems like every month in our boardroom, one of my managers tells me about an incident where someone was working on a line or doing a meter read and some incident of some kind happened, Hart said. It is not often you see one of us electrical lobbyists come in and ask to do something for our folks on the ground. We heard their cry, and were here trying to get some protection for them. Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, said Idahos assault statutes are too weak overall, and Sen. Christy Zito, R-Hammett, said she agreed. Im thinking about ditch riders and other people who dont necessarily serve public utilities, but Ive seen some pretty heated stuff happen if the ditch breaks or the canal breaks and a farmer cant get his water and hes going to be late, Zito said. Maybe in general (our battery laws) need to be strengthened. The bill now heads to the Senate floor for a full vote. BOISE The Idaho Senate on Thursday voted 23-10 in favor of legislation to allow 17-year-olds to serve and sell alcohol, a change sought by Idahos retail, restaurant and grocery industries amid a labor crunch. Currently, only those 19 and older may serve or sell alcoholic beverages. Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, the bills Senate sponsor, said, Often teenagers are the best, most conscientious and hard-working employees anyway. Im a huge advocate for putting kids to work at an early age. If the work ethic isnt taught early, sometimes its not learned at all. Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, debated in favor of the bill, and also disclosed a potential conflict of interest, noting that her husband works for her brother, who runs a couple of convenience stores and is considering hiring her son, who will soon turn 17. Currently, he couldnt employ the young man behind the counter at a convenience store, she said. It just allows those individual entities to make those business decisions, Den Hartog said, and it is their license on the line, so I dont think they will be putting at risk their license. Sen. Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise, who voted against the bill, said, I understand the arguments, but if this is about the pandemic, I really think we should have a sunset clause, which would make the new law expire at a specific time. If its not about the pandemic, then I really think we need to think about what were doing with our enforcement of our alcohol laws, he said. We make a lot of efforts to control minors access to alcohol. Having people of age 17 handling alcohol I dont think is a good idea. He added, If its a question of economic expediency, we could have 14-year-olds driving 18-wheelers, but there are just some places we dont go. Guthrie said the penalties for non-compliance with alcohol laws are substantial, and said, A business owner would not risk that. To become law, the bill, SB 1308, still would need to clear a House committee, pass the full House, and receive the governors signature. Unfortunately, it is the press which largely defines the campaigns for president. And as we all know, the American media leans sharply left, so we the people are often barraged with propaganda rather than reality. The populist newspaper USA Today is a good example. It is on a jihad against Donald Trump, posting negative page one headlines day after day. Sometimes Mr. Trump deserves them but there is little balance. Now it is certainly true that most voters do not rely on the media to make decisions. But some uninformed Americans are swayed by what they believe is popular opinion. So tonight I want to give everyday folks a voice commenting on the Trump campaign, which has taken some hits over the Khan controversy. Marcus Smith who lives in Hagatna, Guam writes: "Mr. O, Kirsten Powers is correct stating that you were overgenerous to Trump regarding his Muslim comments. This proves you are endorsing him." False, Marcus. We endorse no one. I clearly told Kirsten that context is important when launching critical arguments. And the press rarely provides context. For example, when speaking about Muslim women Trump raised the inequality argument which is certainly valid when discussing Islam. While that cannot be applied to Mrs. Khan because we don't know her circumstance and we must be sensitive to her great loss, the general point was mentioned by me to provide context. James Love writes from Norman, Oklahoma: "So we're down to a choice between someone who does stupid things and lies about them, as opposed to someone who says stupid things and tries to justify them." That's kind of dark, James. Both candidates are human beings with all the downside that goes with that. The question is who will better run the country. Patrick Newman checks in from Manchester, New Hampshire: "O'Reilly, you dropped the ball when Trump said he was viciously attacked by Mr. Khan. Hillary Clinton was also attacked by dozens of people at the RNC and didn't respond." First, I clearly pointed out how Mrs. Clinton handled the Pat Smith broadside. Second, there is a style difference between Clinton and Trump. He confronts - she is far more measured. Will be interesting to see how the corresponding styles play out in the debates. Carol Rollo, Pensacola, Florida: "O'Reilly, after last night's interview with Trump, I finally realize what is wrong with him - he lacks wisdom." Not fair, Carol. The man is new to the political game and is under intense scrutiny. Obviously, anyone in that position will make mistakes. It is how fast he learns from the mistakes that will make or break his campaign. Gina Mendoza writes from Miramar, Florida: "The Democrats are baiting Trump, hoping he will explode. Why can't anyone in his campaign tell him that?" I'm sure they have and Trump knows that as well - he's a shrewd man. But it is discipline that defines how any candidate reacts. Discipline will be the key to this election - and Hillary Clinton is a very disciplined candidate. Summing up, the American voter is paying attention and I believe trying to vote responsibly. But emotion rules the race - not a good thing. And that's the memo. The 1975 Expropriation Act authorises the Minister of Public Works to expropriate property for public purposes, and provides for the payment of compensation to the dispossessed owner, not exceeding the property's market price, determined either by agreement between government and the owner, or by a court. "If the Minister is considering expropriating property, she may authorise an inspector to enter a particular property to ascertain if it is suitable." "The clause states that it may be just and equitable for nil compensation to be paid where land is expropriated in the public interest." "It is not in the compass of the legislature to encroach on the domain of the courts by prescribing circumstances when nil compensation would be just and equitable." The Constitution says property may be expropriated in terms of law of general application for a public purpose, or in the public interest (including for land reform), and subject to compensation in an amount either agreed by those affected or decided by a court.The amount of compensation, says the Constitution, must be just and equitable, reflecting an equitable balance between the public interest and the interests of those affected, having regard to all relevant circumstances, including certain listed ones.In 2020, the Minister tabled an Expropriation Bill intended to replace the 1975 Act with one which replicates the 1975 statute by and large, but which includes clauses that take into account provisions of the Constitution.The 2020 Bill repeats in broadly similar terms the 1975 Acts provisions which say that, if the Minister is considering expropriating property, she may authorise an inspector to enter a particular property to ascertain if it is suitable and to determine its value.But while the 1975 Act says, if the occupier doesnt consent to the inspectors entering any building on the land, the inspector can nevertheless do so on 24 hours notice, the Bill in contrast says (in deference to the fundamental rights to dignity and privacy), if the occupier doesnt consent to the entry and inspection, the government must get a court order authorising access.Like the 1975 Act, the Bill (with minor adjustments) says that, in determining the amount of compensation to be paid, account must not be taken of the fact that the property has been taken without consent, or of any enhancement or depreciation in its value which is attributable to the purpose for which it was expropriated.The Bill then repeats the Constitutions property clause wording, that the amount of compensation must be just and equitable, reflecting an equitable balance between the public interest and the interests of those affected, having regard to all relevant circumstances.But the 2020 Bill then takes a step too far and ceases to be law of general application envisaged in the Constitution. The Bill contains a clause which seeks to stipulate when it may be just and equitable for nil compensation to be paid. The word nil is the contracted form of the Latin word nihil, which means nothing.The clause states that it may be just and equitable for nil compensation to be paid, where land is expropriated in the public interest.The Bills clause then lists precise circumstances which it deems to be relevant, and to which it requires that regard be had in determining when it may be just and equitable for nil compensation to be paid where land is expropriated in the public interest.These listed circumstances are ():* where the land is not being used and the owners main purpose is not to develop it or use it to generate income, but to benefit from appreciation of its market value;* where an organ of state holds land that it acquired for no consideration and is not using for its core functions and is not reasonably likely to require for those functions;* where the owner has abandoned the land by failing to exercise control over it;* where the lands market value is equalled or exceeded by the present value of direct state investment or subsidy in the acquisition and capital improvement of the land; and* when the nature or condition of the property poses a health, safety or physical risk to persons or other property.But it is not for this clause of the 2020 Expropriation Bill or for any Act of Parliament to specify circumstances when it may be just and equitable for nil compensation to be paid.It is not for the legislature to lay down how the courts should interpret the Constitutions property clause in particular cases, and the Constitution does not envisage that the legislature may do so.This clause in the Expropriation Bill infringes the separation of powers which is implicit in the Constitution.The separation of powers does not imply rigidly demarcated functional roles between the judicial and legislative branches. But, says the Constitutional Court, there is need for caution on the part of each such branch of government against intruding into the constitutionally-assigned operational space of the other one.The Constitution envisages that the superior courts decide constitutional matters. Whether an amount of compensation offered for an expropriation is a just and equitable amount is just such a constitutional matter.It is not in the compass of the legislature to encroach on the domain of the courts by prescribing circumstances when nil compensation would be just and equitable, unless an amendment of the Constitution is adopted which alters the property clause in the Constitution to allow for such legislation.Indeed, there was a very recent attempt to bring about just such an amendment to the property clause in the Constitution, but the attempt failed. A Constitution Amendment Bill of 2021 sought to amend the property clause so as to provide that where land and its improvements are expropriated for land-reform purposes the amount of compensation may be nil, and that legislation must set out circumstances where the amount of compensation is nil. That Constitution Amendment Bill failed to achieve the required affirmative vote of two thirds of the members of the National Assembly and has accordingly lapsed.In the circumstances, the 2020 Expropriation Bills clause that seeks to stipulate when it may be just and equitable for nil compensation to be paid is unconstitutional and invalid, and the National Assemblys Portfolio Committee on Public Works should accordingly remove the clause from the Bill. Cannes Lions has announced that it will honour Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) as this year's Creative Marketer of the Year. The honorary accolade is presented to a marketer that has amassed a body of Lion-winning work over a sustained period of time, and has established a reputation for producing brave creative and innovative marketing solutions. Vice president for Marketing in Africa at AB InBev, Bruno Carreira Cosentino said that the accolade was testimony to the brewers consistent deliberate efforts to not only create innovative work but to also showcase the strength, diversity and brands across the brewers portfolio.These views were echoed by Vaughan Croeser, marketing director at SAB, whose belief is entrenched in the power of creativity to make a positive impact on society. Our brands are rich in heritage and we pride ourselves on the quality of our products and also the quality of our marketing teams. I am immensely proud of the role that our talented agency partners play in bringing us the creativity that propels our organization forward. Africa has a strong track record of delivering world-class creativity and we will continue to pursue excellence so that we can delight our consumers for a Future with more cheers, he said.Last years Cannes Lions awards, which were given for work from 2020/2021, saw AB InBev amass an outstanding haul of 40 Lions; two Grands Prix, two Titanium, nine Gold, 10 Silver and 17 Bronze Lions in total. Over the past few years, some of the standout work has included Budweisers TagWords in Brazil, Corona's 'The Match of Ages in Mexico, Bavarias Tienda Cerca in Colombia and Michelob Ultra's Contract for Change in the US, which won the PR Grand Prix and a further eight Lions including a Titanium.Speaking at Cannes Lions Live, 2022 Titanium Lions Jury President Susan Credle, cited the strength of the agency-client relationship as a big theme across the Titanium Lions winners.Calling out the multiple Lion-winning Contract for Change, Credle said it showed a great relationship and trust that you could go for the big idea. She added that in presenting the piece, the client and creative showed a joy of accomplishment in their big idea that probably most of us would say its crazy we shouldnt do it.Simon Cook, CEO, Lion, said, What we see time and again at Cannes Lions is that when brands unlock their creative capability and the potential they drive real business growth. AB InBev has shown how creativity can be used as a lever to drive incredible success. Its belief in the power of creative culture and capability has resulted in a body of Lion-winning work and it's a shining example of a brand that is leading the way in creative marketing. We are delighted to be recognising their sustained efforts by honouring them as our Creative Marketer of the Year.Speaking about receiving the award Michel Doukeris, AB InBevs CEO, said, This remarkable recognition reflects our commitment to harnessing the power of our creative teams and partners from around the world. It has been great to see the creativity of our brands translating into the category and business growth. Im very proud of our colleagues who always dream big and use creativity to create a future with more cheers.The Creative Marketer of the Year award was introduced in 1992, with past recipients including Apple Inc. (2019), Google (2018), Burger King (2017) and Samsung Electronics (2016).Most recently, in 2021, Microsoft demonstrated that outstanding creativity drives business performance and won multiple Lions at the Festival as a result.AB InBev will be honoured at the final Awards Show of the Festival on 24 June 2022. Cannes Lions takes place between 20-24 June and will provide an annual forum for the global industry to address the most pressing issues that they and the world are facing today. That moment when you achieve what you set out to do is significant. However, over the past 18 months, achieving goals has become increasingly difficult for many people. Source: News24 News24 Lindy-Lou Alexander and her daughter Bonnie enjoy a cup of tea in their current home, but it was the purchase of their first home that was Alexanders Signature Moment. Sharing your stories of success Lindy-Lou wanted to provide the home she never had for her daughter. A lesson her father taught her in childhood meant she could achieve this Signature Moment. What is your Signature Moment? Tell us and you could win R5000 #HowAboutNow #ItCanBe https://t.co/921Lw0mlEW pic.twitter.com/2KU30zdDsg City Press (@City_Press) January 30, 2022 Most heart-warming stories Abegails Signature Moment was getting her budding fitness company moving, now she hopes to teach more and more people the long-term value of movement too. #HowAboutNow #ItCanBe. What is your Signature Moment? Tell us and you could win R5000 https://t.co/YkbzFZ07gl. pic.twitter.com/kYx3kAzils City Press (@City_Press) February 14, 2022 An overwhelming response The pandemic as well as other factors such as the unrest and loadshedding has taken its toll. For many of our clients as well as staff the challenges have been difficult to navigate through resulting in so much negativity, says Schalk Kotze, head of Affluent Banking at Standard Bank South Africa.We believe it is now more than ever critical to share our successes to drive positivity in the country, he explains. It is so important for us to have hope and optimism and focus on the positive, and to see that despite the challenges that life throws at you, it is through these hardships that we learn to be resilient and to endure, he adds.And it is this that led the Bank to launch its Signature Moments campaign.Dedicated to showcasing peoples triumphant moments and celebrating that moment in life where they achieve their goal, the hope is that these stories will inspire or stimulate others to take action to achieve their dream.The campaign emphasises that theres no better time than the present moment to take inspired action to support your goals and create a better tomorrow, today, says Kotze.We asked our clients, and all consumers, and staff to tell us their own stories of success, and they responded with the most inspiring stories from purchasing a house or car, graduating from university, or buying furniture for their grandmother, says Kotze.Asked what the most heart-warming story is they have received to date, Kotze says it is impossible to pick one. We have had multiple stories from people of diverse backgrounds and each story is unique in its own right.Most of the stories he says centre around being human, such as having a baby. Another common one is achieving their goal to get their degree.We have not done any formal analysis to date, but antidotally those are the most common stories, he adds.People sent their stories toand, who partnered with Standard Bank on the campaign. Bothandencouraged consumers to share their Signature Moments by running a competition with a monetary prize up for grabs.The key messaging was on the back of encouraging consumers to make their dreams happen now.Stories were amplified on both andandwith the aim to garner organic Signature Moments stories. Social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter were also used.The Signature Moments campaign dovetails with the overarching brand positioning of Standard Bank (It can Be) to reinforce this brand proposition. It also amplifies the How About Now retail brand proposition, which was created in 2021.While the campaign only started last year, and is still very young, the responses have been overwhelming.It has gained good traction so far, but more than that we feel it has given good value to our clients, says Kotze.He says the campaign has been very rewarding for the bank, as it is not like any other campaign they have ever done, adding that the campaign shows the human side of banking and that the bank is a human-first organisation.We are on a journey of personalisation and this campaign is helping us to get to know our clients and their families.Standard Bank, he says is the conduit or platform for this to take place. We also offer the support, tools, and offerings our customers need to turn their dreams into actionable realities. Tendani Tsedu, group manager of strategic communication at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), was recently recognised as an Accredited Public Relations practitioner (APR) by the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (Prisa) which is the highest accreditation in the PR industry in South Africa. Tendani Tsedu, group manager of strategic communication at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Accredited Public Relations practitioner (APR) You've recently been recognised as an Accredited Public Relations practitioner (APR) by Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (Prisa). Can you tell us what this means? I am passionate about sharing knowledge and information, therefore I intend learning more so that I can provide guidance to those entering the industry. What sets you apart from your peers and positions you as a leader in the industry? PR is about sharing of information through different means of communication. You're currently the group manager of strategic communication at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). What does your role entail? When it comes to marketing and communications, CSIR has had no support from any external agencies. Why is this? In your opinion, what is Marcom and why is it so important? Integrated marketing and communication is about bringing together the disciplines of marketing and communication in order to enhance the engagement between the company and its stakeholders or customers. How has marcom evolved over the years? Creativity forms a big part of the work that we do as it has to be catchy, exciting and deliver an accurate message at the same time. Is Marcom used differently when it comes to the private and public sectors? What impact does leadership of organisations have when it comes to marcom? What are some of the trends that you see in marcom? What are organisations not doing in terms of marcoms? What advice do you have for young professional entering this space? Tsedu has been with the CSIR for 12 years and six years in the current role where he manages 33 communications professionals across different divisions.We chat to Tendani Tsedu on his latest accolade as well as the importance of Marketing communication (Marcom).It means that my public relations experience, skills and knowledge are being recognised by a respected body in the industry. I am happy that my hard work and contribution to the industry is being recognised by my peers.Also, this provides assurance to anyone who works with me that I am not a fake, I am guided by the Prisas Code of Conduct and if I acted unethically or someone has a problem with my conduct, they can approach Prisa for a recourse.What is also exciting for me is the learning opportunities through the development and leadership courses that will be available for me at Prisa for me to continue growing my knowledge of the industry.It is the love of the people. The love of sharing information and empowering someone with knowledge. I love simplifying info.I have worked as a journalist and in corporate communications, and therefore I understand the needs of both sides. I believe I am a leader in the industry because of the work I have done, which is leading different campaigns, mentoring and providing creative solutions to some of the problems that we face during day-to-day work life.It entails managing the strategic communication function to ensure visibility of the organisation and what the organisation stands for. To champion communication activities in a manner that adds value to the core business of the organisation. I lead the organisation in marketing and communicating its capabilities, its strategy on using science and technology to contribute to the industry development of this country.This role entails that our stakeholders, customers and the public understand our work and how they can work with the CSIR. The role also includes promoting science, especially to the learners so that they consider a career in science. Lastly, there is internal communication to ensure that our employees are well informed about the developments within the organisation and the value that they bring to the CSIR.The CSIR has a communication team that consists of editors, graphic designers, writers, media relations specialists, events specialists to name a few. As such, we are able to do most of the work internally. We do work with external agencies from time to time but on an ad-hoc basis. The challenge is that there arent many agencies that specialise in science communication, which is what the CSIR and other companies under the National System of Innovation are all about.So, as the CSIR, we built these skills internally. However, as I said, we do get support from external agencies from time to time. For example, we recently brought on board an agency that specialises in crisis communication.While marketing is more about selling and communication is about informing, bringing these together creates an opportunity to cut down on costs while increasing your reach due to the different communication channels that one can use.I believe that Marcom has evolved over the years and this can be attributed to advances in technology, which have made the efforts to communicate or market easier. There are also several creative software which makes it quick and fun to work with creativity and content development.Communication channels have also evolved over the years, therefore we can reach more people through different platforms that were not there before for example social media, blogs etc.Yes, it is and usually, that is because of the size of the budget. Usually the private sector has a bigger budget therefore they can bring relevant skills (specialists) and equipment on board. They can afford to run a campaign in different communication platforms longer than the public sector. Also the content or messaging that public sector drives is different so they will approach Marcom differently.They have a huge impact because Marcom provides them with a platform to engage. The organisations leadership needs to be supportive and available for Marcom activities and it is important that we make them understand the importance of marcom by clearly demonstrating the value that marcom adds to their business. This also means that we also have to invest time in understanding the business we are representing.The use of influencers specifically in social media. Also, hosting of webinars to discuss a product or service has taken a center stage due to the impact of Covid-19. There has been some great progress in terms of creativity such as the ability to host a full conference online including exhibitions.Brands need to continue to invest in their digital footprint to create more awareness and visibility online as there are few personal interactions and networking due to the Covid-19 regulations. Most of these engagements have shifted/moved to virtual.Communications professionals are to continue investing in algorithms in order to create brand awareness, making sure that brand messages reach the right audience at the right time and on the right channel, which will then result in good reach and getting the right audience to engage with the brand.They are not using or relying a lot on their own media platforms including using their employees as their main brand ambassadors or marketers.The sky is the limit for you. This industry is similar to the food industry in the sense that no matter what, people will always need foodit is the same with public relations/communication because no matter what happens, people will always need information that they can trust and rely on.There are huge opportunities in this industry and I would encourage you to aim in being the best, to stay humble, respect people and never compromise your integrity. New Media has unveiled Visi Style, a standalone special-edition print magazine from the makers of Visi. Readers have come tofor the best of South African design, decor and architecture since 1998. The print magazine is celebrated for its top-quality images, writing by some of the countrys best journalists and industry insiders, and creative layout all of which have made every issue collectable. In recent years,has expanded on this offering, with an e-commerce store and special editions ofandThe latest special edition,, is a natural extension of the brands celebration of local design. Whereasfocuses on design, decor and architecture,spotlights high-end luxury lifestyle featuring couture, fragrances, jewellery, watches, automotive and tech, art and design, furniture, food and drink, and luxury travel.is a reflection of the interests and tastes of our discerning audience, sayseditor-in-chief, Steve Smith. As the saying goes: Fashion you can buy, but style you possess. Style is effortless, innate, and entirely personal an expression of how you are in the world. Ive always thoughtto have its own sense of style, one that has changed and evolved over the years always a tastemaker. With, were inviting our audience to add a few more facets to their own personal style.Produced by the coreeditorial team at New Media including international award-winning creative director Mark Serra the first edition of the annualfeatures new haute couture fashion collabs, local and international designer hotels, the latest decor trends from Design Miami, and the cool new electric cars coming to SA in 2022.In addition, six SA style makers the original design, art and fashion influencers share their most treasured items. They are cultural entrepreneur and museum consultant Elana Brundyn; Neimil designers Keneilwe Mothoa and Lubabalo Mxalisa; director architect Christiaan van Aswegen; photographer, filmmaker and art director Fhatuwani Mukheli; and filmmaker and artist Justice Mukheli.Smith explains: What works or not in print is all about the subject matter. For example,s features of beautiful architecture include big full-bleed images on high-quality paper. Theprint magazine is the best medium for this content. In addition, I follow a lineage ofeditors with uncompromising editorial values who have laid down a consistent and unwavering approach of curating only the best. That has been instrumental in building the brands reputation and a loyal audience. On Thursday, partisan wrangling in the US Congress continued unabated, with some Republicans blasting Democratic President Joe Biden's handling of the issue and urging him to "alter course" in his reaction. Some Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives accused Biden of failing to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from deploying troops into Ukraine and urged him to take a firmer stance on the continent's worst battle since World War II. Republicans Criticize Biden The Russian invasion of Ukraine came after months of Russian military buildup around the country's borders, prompting frenzied diplomacy and sanctions from the US and NATO, which failed to stop the assault. At 12:30 pm EST, Biden will deliver a national speech. The objections weakened the maxim that party politics should end at the water's edge, which Republicans advocated for at the start of the Cold War in the late 1940s. As lawmakers prepare for the Nov. 8 midterm elections, which will determine the balance of power in Congress ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the Republican response largely mirrored the sentiments of Republican voters, who blamed Biden, called for stronger sanctions, and warned against any use of US troops in Ukraine, Reuters via MSN reported. Read Also: Rep. Michael Waltz Says Joe Biden Is Not Projecting Strength but Chooses Appeasement Despite Threat Serious Sanctions to Russia GOPs Worry about Americans Stuck in War-Torn Ukraine Republicans are pressing President Biden for answers on what he plans to do to assist the estimated 23,000 Americans still trapped in Ukraine's war-torn country. If conflict breaks out, Biden said, the State Department would not rescue any US citizens or green-card holders who are still in the country. Many Americans are informed they must travel to the borders of neighboring nations Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova, and Hungary on their own; but many are unable to do so. Thousands of people are attempting to exit Ukraine in buses, trains, and automobiles. There are long lineups for fuel at every gas station, and banks are restricting how much cash individuals can withdraw. Former military members are assisting individuals in escaping on buses off the books, but there is still an unknown number of people on the ground in need of assistance. Senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn, both Republicans, issued a letter to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and State Secretary Blinken on Thursday requesting answers. They referenced the bungled US departure from Afghanistan, which resulted in the deaths of 13 US troops, and demanded to know what the administration had planned to avoid a repeat of that calamity in Ukraine. When Biden spoke on Thursday, he made no promises or offers of assistance to Americans stuck in Ukraine. To hit Putin where it hurts, Obama vowed the US will impose tough penalties on Russia, targeting its billionaires residing abroad and its banks. During the briefing, Biden confessed that he did not believe the penalties, which he and other Western countries had been threatening for months, would have any effect on Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Daily Mail. President Biden condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "unjustified" as he announced new sanctions and export restrictions against Moscow on Thursday - but he declined to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin personally, admitting that America's allies were opposed to Russia being kicked out of a key global banking system. As a recent report revealed US authorities worry Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, may not hold out beyond this weekend, an enraged Biden dubbed Putin "the aggressor" in Europe's deadliest crisis since World War II and said that "he wants to re-establish the former Soviet Union." After an hour-long call with other G7 leaders, Biden announced penalties on four major Russian banks, including the country's two largest, Sberbank and VTB Bank, as well as many billionaires and some high-tech US exports to Russia. However, Biden subsequently admitted to reporters that European leaders, whom he did not name, had balked at limiting Russian access to SWIFT, the worldwide payment system that facilitates global financial transactions, as per New York Post. Related Article: China Accuses US of Disrespecting Countries' Sovereignty, Creating Panic Over Ukraine Crisis; Beijing Supports Russia For New World Order @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Experts and environmentalists have raised concerns about whether the impact of numerous prospecting, mining and marine surveying operations on South Africa's coastal waters is being given adequate weight when authorised individually. Western Cape environment department not satisfied Department of Mineral Resources reasons Urgent interdict In December, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) gave environmental authorisation for local company Belton Park Trading 127 to prospect for diamonds, gemstones, heavy minerals, industrial minerals, precious metals, and ferrous and base metals in three marine blocks just off the coast about 200km north of Cape Town.Professor Merle Sowman of the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at UCT has lodged an appeal, submitted jointly with research assistant Michael Lambrecht.Sowman told GroundUp that ad hoc prospecting and mining applications as well as other development activities were being granted without a proper assessment of the cumulative impacts of these many operations on the coastal and marine environment.In a 2014 strategy document, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) itself refers to assessing cumulative impacts to ensure that the full range of consequences of actions is considered in order to avoid the tyranny of small decisions.Also appealing against the Belton authorisation is the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, which raised the issue of the cumulative impact as well.The DMRE has approved multiple and sometimes overlapping survey, prospecting and mining activities on the offshore area along the West Coast without any attempt to assess the cumulative impacts, the appeal states.The reports submitted by Belton Park as well as the Environmental Authorisation do not provide any indication that prospecting was considered in terms of cumulative impacts and if mining activities would be a desired outcome for the area.According to the provinces appeal, it is imperative that a strategic view be adopted, including the identification of sensitive areas where no prospecting or mining activities will be considered in line with a 2018 National Biodiversity Assessment.The provincial department also raised concerns about whether local fishing communities had been properly involved in the approval process.One of the questions in DFFEs Appeal Questionnaire to appellants is: Would you agree to the activity proceeding if your concerns can be addressed by rectifying the process or mitigating or eliminating the impacts of the activity?The province replied: No. The proposed activities are incompatible with the conservation and ecotourism proposed uses of the areas and in conflict with local communities dependence on local ecosystem services.While not fundamentally opposed to any development activity on the site, the province believed that prospecting and mining activities were inappropriate for the area.Sowman told GroundUp that her research group has been monitoring and recording the various prospecting, mining, oil and gas applications and their status over the past 18 months.I wonder whether DMRE and DFFE have this overview how can they be making informed decisions when they dont have full information?In its authorisation, DMRE stated its Belton decision was based on information contained in an Environmental Impact Report and on proposed mitigation measures outlined in an Environmental Management Programme, both compiled for the company by SLR Consulting in association with three specialist consultants.The department was satisfied that if mitigation measures were applied, the impact would be low to very low.DMRE did not refer directly to the issue of cumulative impact in its authorisation. However, it stated it was satisfied that the Belton project would not be in conflict with the general objectives of Integrated Environmental Management.On Thursday, the Cape High Court will hear an urgent interim interdict application to halt a seismic survey off the West Coast by Australian geodata supply company Searcher. The interdict application is part of a legal challenge to the May 2021 granting of a reconnaissance permit to Searcher by Petroleum Agency SA to conduct the survey.The applicants include West Coast fishing communities and civic organisations.A similar Shell seismic survey off the Transkei coast has also been temporarily blocked by the courts amid concern over the lack of scientific certainty about the impacts of prospecting and mining in the sea, and the inadequacy of legally required public participation processes. An engagement of a Russian and Ukrainian Air Force jetfighters zooming at high speed in the low-altitude dogfight over the city of Kyiv as Russia goes into a full swing blitzkrieg. The aerial encounter occurred several hours after Vladimir Putin announced an extraordinary military operation. He stated that the move to recognize Donbas and Lumansk to secede from Ukraine has been under attack from Kyiv's forces since 2014. Command To Wade in the Two Loyalist Regions Triggers Offensive At exactly 3 a.m. at UK time, President Putin commanded the start of a special operation in Ukraine on Thursday, reported the Express UK. Next came a few minutes from the announcements, followed by a report that more than twelve were deadly volley of artillery and missile attacks. This is the moment when two planes were in deathly air combat. An observer close to Kyiv saw a Ukraine MiG-29 challenging the Russian Su-35 in the capital city. According to Defense analyst Guy Plipsky, it looks like two UAF MiG-29s chasing each other, seen by the camera at tree height in the Kyiv area. He added that the smoke is not caused by damage, but its RD-33 power plant is smokey most of the time. Military historian Cedric Mas chimes in that it's an impressive and uncommon sight to see a very low aerial battle in Kyiv between Russian-made jets, except one is the more modern Su-35. Both opposing forces were fighting it out and spread through the whole border. MTV noted tense combat in progress at Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, and a Kyiv military airport, and the presidential office noted this. Seeing the Russian and Ukrainian Air Force jetfighter engaged in a low-altitude dogfight would be more frequent as the hostilities rage on. Read Also: Vladimir Putin Has Hypersonic Missiles Storage To Use If the Provocative Western Alliance Does Not Thwart Full Blown Conflict Warning to Biden and Other World Leaders People woke up to the sound of explosions before dawn and into the morning in Kyiv, where three million lived. Normality slipped into disorder as sounds of shots fired, siren screaming; terrified residents were choking the way out of the city while fleeing in panic. Putin's lightning assault was the tragic end to furious rounds of diplomatic overtures over several months by leaders of the West. Even the White House was surprised when the Russian leader saw them blink and bluff taken. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine was shaken and called the assault by Moscow treachery in the morning. Compared the stoic Russian leader to Nazi Germany in the Second World war. Putin, in his address, told the US and NATO to keep out. Interfering with his forces will lead to dire consequences. It sent shivers to the West with the EU especially. Taking Ukraine is not his goal, and the bloodshed is due to the Ukrainian regime. The assault would have encounters and blasts in other cities like Odesa and Kharkiv targeted by Putin's forces' offensive. The Ministry of Defense, at 12:30 p.m. reported that 80 strikes at chosen military targets were hit with precision. Furthermore, Russian ground forces were pouring in three entry points, with annexed Crimea too, cited CNBC. The UK and EU held emergency meetings, and the White House shell shocked by the speed of Putin's forces. They are getting shaken by the Kremlin's land, air, and sea assault. A fight between a Russian and Ukrainian Air Force jetfighter daring a furious low-altitude dogfight; shows how committed Moscow is to get the upper hand from the start, while the UAF suffers from older equipment like the MiG-29. Related Article: Ukraine Provinces Experience Power, Internet Blackouts After Germany Announces Sanctions on Russia @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Taiwan was forced to scramble its air force after reporting on Thursday that nine Chinese aircraft have entered the island nation's air defense zone, said the Taiwan Ministry of Defense. Authorities said that a small fleet of eight J-16 fighters and a Yun-8 technical reconnaissance aircraft breached Taiwan's air space. The island nation's aircraft broadcast a warning to the Chinese planes and continued to monitor their activities. Chinese Incursion in Taiwan In an interview, a United States Defense Official said that the move was not an unusual thing for China. He noted that Beijing has already done similar acts in the past couple of months where they entered Taiwan's air defense zone. Furthermore, a Defense Department spokesman said that the Pentagon was aware of what was happening between China and Taiwan. They added that the United States was concerned by "provocative military action near Taiwan." The spokesman added that the U.S. federal government will continue to support a peaceful resolution to the issue between the two regions. They argued that China's actions were "destabilizing" and were a threat to regional peace and stability, as per Fox News. The situation comes only a day after China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that Taiwan was "not Ukraine" and argued that it has always been a part of the mainland. The remarks came after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called for increased vigilance of military activities in response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Read Also: Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, World Leaders Slam Vladimir Putin, Russia for Taking 'Bloodshed' Path in Ukraine Invasion In a statement, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying dismissed concerns of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The latter said there was a possibility of worldwide consequences if Western nationals were not able to support Ukraine's independence. According to The Hill, President Ing-wen ordered her working group on the Russia-Ukraine crisis to raise the surveillance and early warning of military developments around the Taiwan Strait. A U.S. defense official said in December that there was an urgent need to bolster Taiwan's defenses as China threatens to annex the island nation. Global Tensions On Thursday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei was asked about the new U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy while in Beijing. He reiterated that Taiwan was a "core issue" of China and that the Asian powerhouse would not tolerate interference from foreign parties. The official said that China was urging the United States to recognize the high sensitivity of the issue between Beijing and Taiwan. He added that authorities were requesting the American government to stop interfering in China's internal affairs and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan controversy. The Biden administration vowed to commit more diplomatic and security resources to the Indo-Pacific region as detailed in the 12-page strategy overview issued earlier this month. Washington announced that it plans to cooperate with partners inside and outside Taiwan to maintain peace and stability in the strait dividing the island from China, Inquirer reported. The recent incursion of Chinese aircraft comes after several others that involved much larger fleets. Despite having fewer planes, the breach of Taiwan's air defense zone was seen as an aggressive act of China. Related Article: China Accuses US of Disrespecting Countries' Sovereignty, Creating Panic Over Ukraine Crisis; Beijing Supports Russia For New World Order @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A loose alliance of American trucker organizations has announced plans to protest COVID-19 vaccination regulations in the nation's capital next week. The large rig owners and their supporters said they aim to end up near Washington, DC, to voice their opposition to the mandates, emulating the enormous rallies that have erupted throughout Canada in recent weeks. 700 National Guard Troops Available to Washington Law Enforcement The largest group, known as the "People's Convoy," has allegedly gathered over 100 cars and was set to pass through Arizona on Thursday. According to a press statement from the organization, the convoy's 11-day journey would end on March 5 in the DC area. According to their website, another phalanx, the "American Truckers Freedom Convoy," will travel from numerous beginning sites around the country and reach the DC region by March 6. However, some organizers have had difficulty attracting participation. According to accounts, a convoy organized by billionaire Bob Bolus still has only a few trucks. To prevent any potential trouble, DC put police on high alert ahead of the convoys' arrival. Some truckers are hoping to make it to President Biden's State of the Union speech on March 1 in time. Before the convoys arrive, the Pentagon authorized a request to send approximately 700 unarmed National Guard men, according to the New York post. If a predicted protest convoy of trucks jams the already clogged Beltway in the coming days, the Pentagon is making up to 700 National Guard troops available to Washington law enforcement to keep traffic running. People opposed to vaccination requirements have been posting often on social media about the so-called People's Convoy, which was inspired by previous rallies in Canada. However, no formal group is financing it, and the sustainability of an 11-day cross-country convoy is unknown, with several ideas. The most likely date for its arrival near the nation's capital is March 5. The event will not enter the District of Columbia itself, according to the event's website. Instead, the final leg of the convoy will conclude on the Beltway, obstructing traffic in and out of Washington. Guard personnel will not be armed or permitted to conduct arrests, according to Defense Department spokesman John Kirby. The aid had been requested by the United States. When Congress reconvenes next week and President Joe Biden gives his State of the Union speech on March 1, Capitol Police is ready for any interruption, as per Bloomberg via MSN. Read Also: Canada's Justin Trudeau Defends Use of Emergencies Act, Citing New Trucker Protest US Trucker Convoys Heading to Washington DC To Make Several Demands One of many proposed US trucker convoys, inspired by Canada's "Freedom Convoy," is expected to go to Washington, DC, to make several demands, including "justice" for Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was murdered while attempting to assault the Capitol. Bob Bulos, who runs a towing company near Scranton, Pennsylvania, is organizing the caravan. Bulos stated that they seek "justice for Ashli," as well as a long list of other grievances with the government, including Critical Race Theory, foreign energy imports, and pandemic restrictions. It's unknown how many people would attend Mr. Bolus' demonstration, but he claims there has been "tremendous interest." The convoy's initial leg allegedly featured only eight automobiles. The convoy began with a hiccup when Mr. Bulos' vehicle experienced two flat tires on its journey from Scranton to Harrisburg before traveling to Washington, DC. The fact that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election is at the basis of most of Mr. Bulos' complaints about the administration. He also stated that the truckers want the Capitol police officer who shot Ms. Babbitt on January 6th as she was attacking the Capitol to be prosecuted, Independent reported. Related Article: Authorities Reinstall Capitol Fence Ahead of President Joe Biden's State of the Union as Truckers Convoy Plan DC Protests @YouTube @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Russian troops have entered northern Kyiv, Ukraine's defense ministry said Friday morning. The ministry made the announcement in a tweet shortly before 10 a.m. local time. The Russian troops are in Obolon, amid a firestorm of arial attacks throughout the early morning. The Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine began Thursday. In the tweet, citizens are being encouraged to report Russian movements in Obolon and counter-attack. "Make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier!" reads the tweet, as translated by Google. All civilians are encouraged to join the Ukrainian military, regardless of age. Those who are not fighting are being told to remain at home. Twitter announced that it was monitoring emerging narratives about the Ukraine war that will be censored if they represent a violation of the companys policies. The announcement was made in response to Twitter deleting tweets and suspending accounts that had posted videos of Russian tank divisions and helicopters heading to Ukraine. After users complained, Twitter acknowledged that it had targeted the accounts in error and they were later restored. However, a statement by a Twitter spokesperson is likely to cause alarm amongst free speech advocates. We took enforcement action on a number of accounts in error, the statement said, adding, Weve been proactively monitoring for emerging narratives that are violative of our policies. The use of the term emerging narratives suggests that Twitter will begin censoring certain perspectives on the conflict in the context of their policy on misinformation. Twitter accounts sharing video from Ukraine are being suspended when theyre needed most https://t.co/88VI7qCtSt pic.twitter.com/yEo6aVfUS4 The Verge (@verge) February 23, 2022 These problematic narratives are almost certainly likely to be ones that question narratives being put out by the Biden White House and NATO sources. Similar rules were applied to skepticism expressed towards COVID vaccines as well as the lab leak theory, which was once deemed to be harmful misinformation but is now widely accepted as the most likely explanation for the pandemic. The potential for the Russian attack on Ukraine to be exploited to push for further censorship and blacklisting of free speech in the west is a clear danger. For weeks, leftists have been trying to smear Tucker Carlson as being guilty of treason over him accusing the Biden administration of exploiting tensions between Russia and Ukraine to distract from the presidents dreadful handling of domestic issues. The word traitor also trended on Twitter yesterday in response to Nigel Farage suggesting that NATO should share some blame for Putins actions. In a related story, the official Twitter Ukrainian government also lobbied Twitter to ban the official Russian government Twitter account. hey people, lets demand @Twitter to remove @Russia from here no place for an aggressor like Russia on Western social media platforms they should not be allowed to use these platforms to promote their image while brutally killing the Ukrainian people @TwitterSupport Ukraine / (@Ukraine) February 24, 2022 Because thats sure to stop Putins war machine. In fact, the T-90 tanks are already heading back to Moscow as we speak. Follow on Twitter: Follow @PrisonPlanet Brand new merch now available! Get it at https://www.pjwshop.com/ ALERT! In the age of mass Silicon Valley censorship It is crucial that we stay in touch. I need you to sign up for my free newsletter here. Support my sponsor Turbo Force a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown. Get early access, exclusive content and behinds the scenes stuff by following me on Locals. It was exactly 8 years ago Feb 22, 2014 that the US staged a coup and kicked out Ukraines democratically elected president, Yanukovych. PLEASE DISABLE AD BLOCKER TO VIEW DISQUS COMMENTS Ad Blocking software disables some of the functionality of our website, including our comments section for some browsers. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. The next battleground for gun rights will likely be fought at the local level, and its going to be a tough fight. Since the Gun Control lobby cant seem to pass any gun control through Congress, theyve taken two different but distinct pathways. The first is the Biden administration ruling by executive fiat and using the DOJ & ATF to push "regulations" that affect gun owners using existing laws on the books. The second is something we have mentioned before, but now we are starting to see a pattern from anti-gun groups. Theres a heightened push for gun control at the local level, specifically about State Preemption. Giffords, one of the largest anti-gun organizations, has been making a serious push for states to overturn their preemption statutes concerning gun laws. In 2021 they scored a significant victory when the Colorado General Assembly repealed the majority of its firearms preemption statute, making them the first state in the country to do so. According to Allison Alderman, senior counsel at Giffords, other states are looking to follow in Colorados footsteps. Lets back up a second and get everyone caught up. If youre unaware of what State Preemption is, its a law that says that no law at the local level can supersede state law. Forty-two states have preemption laws that specifically relate to firearms. Look no further than Montgomery County, Maryland, for an example of why state preemption laws are essential. Montgomery County is constantly trying to make their own gun laws, with at one point making it illegal to have ammunition shipped to anywhere in the county. Because Maryland has State Preemption, Maryland Courts overturned this law. Even still, to this day, Montgomery County continues to attempt to pass its own gun control laws, with its most recent being a de facto ban on firearms throughout the entire county, which is currently being litigated. Steph from TMGN Breaks Down State Preemption Laws and How They Affect You: With Kyivs refusal to implement the Minsk agreement, coupled with threats of restarting a nuclear program from a production facility in the city of Dnipro, Russia lost patience with protracted negotiations that did not lead to a resolution on Ukraines NATO membership or resolve the situation in Donbass after eight years. Moscow then took the drastic step of pre-emptively striking Ukraines military capabilities to ensure the security of Russia and Donbass. Such an action could open the way for Turkey to reconcile with Washington after estrangement following Joe Bidens ascendency to the White House. Russian strikes reportedly destroyed Ukraines fleet of Bayraktar drones, something that will surely anger the Turkish military industrial complex and war hawks in Ankara. As recently as February 3, Ankara and Kyiv agreed to coproduce the Turkish-made drone at a production site in Ukraine. Ukrainian Defense Minister Olesii Reznikov told reporters in Kyiv at the time that the coproduction compound would also include a training center where Ukrainian pilots would be trained. This agreement comes as in September last year, the Ukrainian government announced that it was planning to buy 24 more Turkish drones. Reznikov said that the coproduced drones would be dubbed the Turkish-Ukrainian Bayraktar. However, it appears that hopes for the Turkish-Ukrainian Bayraktar were dashed even before they could be mass produced as Russian forces allegedly destroyed the production facility in Ukraine. It is recalled that the distribution of Bayraktar drones to Russias borders were welcomed by the US and it was naively expected that it would be a gamechanger or tip the balance of power. In one instance, Senior Hudson Institution fellow Michael Doran audaciously tweeted in May 2021 that: Turkish drones are slowly beginning to surround Russia. Ukraine and Poland to the west, Turkey and Azerbaijan to the south and possibly Kazakhstan to the east. Thats how you contain Russia. The prevailing idea was that because of the success of Bayraktar drones against impoverished militias from Ethiopia or a country like Armenia, whose population is four times smaller then Moscow's alone, it would be replicated against the Russian military, which is ranked second out of the 140 countries considered in the annual Global Fire Power review. Russia achieved a perfect score of 0.0000 according to their 2022 index. According to Dr Spyros Plakoudas, a professor on security studies at Rabdan Academy, Turkish-Ukrainian drones were destroyed on the ground most likely. The Russian military forces targeted not only the bases of the Bayraktar but also the factory of Motor Sich (supplier of the engines for Bayraktar and Akinji UAVs). Effectively the Russian military destroyed in a single night the Turkish-Ukrainian coproduction that was many years in the making. For now, it is likely that Ankara will remain silent on the destruction of its coproduction with Ukraine, including the drones, as the Bayraktar failure to defend Ukraine damages the reputation of Turkeys military industrial complex. It is reminded that this author received a seize and desist order or face a Turkish court for just merely publishing images of destroyed Turkish drones in Libya. None-the-less, Ukraine is still pinning its hopes on Turkey to reverse Russias operation. Ukraines Ambassador to Ankara Vasyl Bodnar personally relayed to the Turkish Foreign Ministry the request to close the Dardanelles and Bosporus for Russian ships. According to the 1936 Montreux Convention, Turkey has control of the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits leading from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. The Montreux Convention allows Black Sea states unlimited access to the Black Sea but imposes strict limitations on naval vessels from other states. Restricting Russian warships will inevitably lead to a major crisis as Moscow will certainly not tolerate being locked in the Black Sea and its Mediterranean fleet being isolated. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hypocritically described Russias operation contrary to international law and a heavy blow to the peace, tranquillity and stability of the region. Ankara justifies its occupation of northern Cyprus and Syria for lesser pretexts, and it could be assumed that if Greece or Syria were to state its goal of acquiring nuclear weapons, Turkeys response would be just as proportionate as Moscows. Given Turkeys isolation from the West, Ankara could use the war in Ukraine as an opportunity to reconcile with the US. The Turkish economy is under huge strain, something that has plummeted Erdogans popularity, and although Turkey is unlikely to close the Straits to Russian ships, using this as a threat could be the first step in reconciliation with Washington. It is not forgotten that Ankara continues to make fake allegations of Russias persecution of Crimean Tartars, and over the course of the war, we could see Turkey advocating for Turkic Tartars in Ukraine as another way to pressure Moscow. Although Turkey has fostered areas of close cooperation with Russia, such as building nuclear plants and the S-400 deal, Moscow and Ankara are not strategic allies. However, Ukraine and Turkey certainly are strategic allies, and if Ankara is given an opportunity to reconcile with the West by strongly supporting Kyiv against Moscow, then it may certainly take it. (Support Free Thought) - There is no doubt that the many on the American Left are staunchly anti-gun. The cognitive dissonance it takes to simultaneously hate cops while demanding that cops be the only ones who have guns is astonishing. Unfortunately, however, it is the norm. As many readers of the Free Thought Project understand, gun control does nothing to stop criminals from getting their hands on guns and carrying out horrible acts of violence. What gun control actually does is take the right of self-defense away from law-abiding citizens while only allowing criminals and the government to be armed. This is a lose/lose situation. When only the state and criminals have the means of defending themselves, the citizens become sitting ducks, ready to be overtaken. This became evident this week in Ukraine as Putin began the invasion. In Ukraine, the largely corrupt bureaucracy is able to limit who gets a gun because there are no statutes governing gun laws like America has a Second Amendment. In the case of Ukraine, it is often only the politically connected folks who get to carry guns. Thanks to the lack of legal protections regarding firearm ownership, authorities have ridiculous discretion when deciding who can have a gun. The president and ministers often give guns to members of the elite, while making it hard for ordinary people to obtain them. It is estimated that more than 50,000 guns have been issued as presents from authorities to elite figures. Because it is difficult for the average citizen to obtain a gun, the black market for guns in Ukraine has flourished. The gun control measures in the country have essentially ensured that only state actors and their friends, and the folks willing to break the law are the only ones with guns. We opened the weapons arsenal, and our enemies did the same, National Police Chief Serhiy Knyazev said in a 2017 interview, describing this very scenario. Now, as Russian troops cross their borders, most Ukrainians are forced to leave their homes and run as many of them are unarmed and defenseless. Seeing this problem albeit too late Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought to fix it by arming the citizens after the fact. We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country. Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities, he tweeted as the conflict escalated. We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country. Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities. (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2022 All those who are ready to take up arms, join the ranks of the area defense forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We simplified procedures. Only your ID is needed. We give weapons to all patriots! Ukraines Armed Forces said in a tweet, following up Zelensky. , . , , . . . ! :https://t.co/gzaYUoGv8i pic.twitter.com/TARoF1OQQM (@ArmedForcesUkr) February 24, 2022 The problem, like what happened in Ukraine, of government and criminals monopolizing the ability to defend themselves, is nothing new. It was for this very reason that the founding fathers constructed the Second Amendment. Though the American left largely claims this Amendment exists for hunting, as the Ukrainian crisis illustrates, that couldnt be further from the truth. The highly hypocritical and often embarrassingly wrong Occupy Democrats briefly came to this realization this week when they praised the Ukrainian authorities for arming its citizens. Seriously. To be clear, this group thinks no one should have a gun and thinks that gun manufacturers should be sued for acts committed with their products. By this logic, fork makers should be held liable any time someone hurts someone else with a fork. Its asinine. Because they are so logically inconsistent, the following tweet from the folks at OD supporting the arming of Ukrainians, was not utterly shocking. Still, however, it was definitely something to relish in. The tweets below are a far cry from their previous stance of no one needs an automatic rifle. But harsh realities can often cause moments of clarity even if just for a moment. If youre an American who stands with the brave citizens of Ukraine who have been issued 10,000 automatic rifles as they prepare to repel Putin's bloodthirsty invaders please RT and follow our account for the latest breaking Ukraine news. Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) February 24, 2022 How long ago was it that we heard from folks just like Occupy Democrats that you will never fight off a modern Army with an AR-15? Yet here we are, witnessing these same people tripping over themselves to praise the arming of citizens. Obviously, the hypocrites at Occupy Democrats dont represent all the people on the Left. But their concession offers some great insight. They arent so much praising guns in the hands of citizens as they are virtue signaling their support for the people of Ukraine. Their solidarity with the oppressed rings embarrassingly hollow, however, as these same people praised Biden when he invaded a foreign country against their will in Syria, and executed people inside of it, including women and children. Make no mistake, this selective outrage is entirely engineered and if anyone of these people had a semblance of principle, they would stand against all occupations, not just the ones that are politically convenient and that garner them more likes on Twitter. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the Ukrainian army to overthrow the countrys leadership whom he described as terrorists and a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis. Addressing the Ukrainian military in a televised address, he urged them to take power in your own hands. It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis, he said, referring to leadership in Kyiv led by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish. When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced they would use the Emergency Act declaration to target the financial support systems, banks and accounts of the people who were protesting against COVID mandates, they not only undermined the integrity of the Canadian banking system but they also inadvertently stuck a wrench into the plans of the World Economic Forum and the collaborative use of the Canadian Bankers Association to create a digital id. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. A promotional video from the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) helps to neatly connect all the dots about why the Canadian government made such a quick reversal in their bank asset seizures in the last 24 hours { Go Deep }. And yes, as we suspected, it was almost certainly contact from the World Economic Forum to Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland that triggered the change in position. So, it appears that Trudeau was a little too anxious to flex his dictatorial powers and stepped on the toes of his fellow Technocrats. TN Editor Second, the ability to selectively switch people off was revealed too early, putting the disingenuous plan to create a digital ID at risk. The global plan for a digital id can only succeed if people can be conned into voluntarily accepting it. First, Trudeaus actions to freeze accounts of protestors and those who gave money to the cause, caused a massive withdrawal of cash from the banking system by everyone else. If continued, this could have flared into a massive bank run capable of taking the whole system down. If the Canadian government can arbitrarily block citizen access to their banking institution without any due process, what does that say about the system the Canadian Banking Association (CBA) was putting into place as part of their Digital ID network? If the CBA digital identity were in place, the same people targeted by Trudeaus use of the Emergency Act would have their entire identity blocked by the same government measures. The realization of the issue, reflected by a severe undermining of faith in the banking system, is a dramatic problem for those working to create and promote the Digital ID. It is not coincidental the financial targeting mechanism deployed by Trudeau/Freeland, the Canadian banking system, is the same system being used to create the digital identity. As a result of the government targeting bank accounts, Finance Minister Freeland just created a reference point for those who would argue against allowing the creation of a comprehensive digital identity. The motive for the World Economic Forum and Canadian Bankers Association to immediately reach out to Trudeau and Freeland and tell them to back off their plan is crystal clear. THAT is almost certainly why Freeland appeared so admonished, shocked and incapable of getting her footing yesterday {Go Deep}, and why the Canadian government simultaneously informed Parliament they were unfreezing the bank accounts. Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland essentially broke the financial code of Omerta, by highlighting how easy it is for government to seize your bank accounts, credit cards, retirement accounts, insurance, mortgages, loan access and cut you off from money (without due process). The unintended consequence was an immediate and clear reference point if government did the same action with a digital ID in place. However, this undermined confidence and faith in the banking system cannot be restored quickly. The toothpaste cannot be put back into the tube. The horse has left the barn. Quickly this becomes a moment for immediate damage control by the Canadian government. This explains why Justin Trudeau dropped the declaration of the Emergency Act. It all makes sense now. All of it. Indeed, the government leaders who take their instructions from the multinational corporations in charge of the World Economic Forum, which is to say almost all of them, are so entrenched in their need to use COVID-19 as the pry bar for the Build Back Better agenda, they simply cannot let it go. Without COVID-19, they cant keep the vaccination push. Without the vaccination push, they cant keep the vaccine passport process in place. Without the vaccination passport registration process to track and monitor human behavior, the governing authorities cannot fulfill the mission of a comprehensive digital identity and social credit tracking system. Indeed, everything they seek is contingent upon keeping the premise of COVID-19 alive. It is not accidental the World Economic Forum is at the epicenter of this As we previously noted, the architects of the Build Back Better society (WEF) are guiding various governments on ways to create efficient registration and compliance systems, i.e. ways that permit citizens to prove their vaccinated and compliant status. As these discussions are taking place, it is prudent to pause and think very carefully, wisely. We all know, as we are reading this, under the guise of enhancing our safety, the U.S. Federal Government is in discussions with the medical community, multinational corporations and employers of citizens to create a more efficient process for you to register your vaccine compliance. We know their conversation under the terminology of a COVID Passport. The current goal is to make a system for us to show and prove our authorized work status, which, as you know, is based on your obedience to a mandated vaccine. Beta tests are being conducted in various nations, each with different perspectives and constitutional limitations, based on pesky archaic rules and laws that govern freedom. For the western, or for lack of a better word democratic outlook, Australia, New Zealand, France and Europe are leading the way with their technological system of vaccination check points and registered state/national vaccination status tied to your registration identification. New York City joined the vaccine checkpoint process, as their city now requires the vaccine to enter all private businesses. Los Angeles soon followed. The Australian electronic checkpoints are essentially gateways where QR codes are being scanned from the cell phones of the compliant vaccinated citizen. Yes comrades, theres an app for that. Currently, the vaccine status scans are registered by happy compliance workers, greeters at the entry to the business or venue. Indeed, the Walmart greeter has a new gadget to scan your phone prior to allowing you custody of a shopping cart. In restaurants, the host or hostess has a similar compliance scanner to check you in prior to seating or a reservation confirmation. Its simple and fun. You pull up your QR code on your cell phone (aka portable transponder and registration device), using the registration app, and your phone is scanned delivering a green check response to confirm your correct vaccination status and authorized entry. The Australian government, at both a federal and state level, is working closely with Big Tech companies (thirsting for the national contract) to evaluate the best universal process that can be deployed nationwide. As noted by all six Premiers in the states down under, hardware (scanners) and software (registration) systems are all being tested to find the most comprehensive/convenient portable units to settle upon. Meanwhile in the U.S., cities like Los Angeles and New York await the beta test conclusion before deploying their own version of the same process. In Europe, they are also testing their vaccine checkpoint and registration processes known as the EU Green Pass. The Green Pass is a similar technological system that gives a vaccinated and registered citizen access to all the venues and locations previously locked down while the COVID-19 virus was being mitigated. What would have been called a vast right-wing conspiracy theory 24 months ago, is now a COVID passport process well underway. As with all things in our rapid technological era, you do not have to squint to see the horizon and accept that eventually this process will automate, and there will be a gadget or scanning gateway automatically granting you access without a person needing to stand there and scan each cell phone QR code individually. The automated process just makes sense. You are well aware your cell phone already transmits an electronic beacon enabling your Uber or Lyft driver access to your location at the push of a touchscreen button, another convenient app on your phone. So, why wouldnt the gateways just accept this same recognizable transmission as registration of your vaccine compliant arrival at the coffee shop? The automated version is far easier and way cooler than having to reach into your pocket or purse and pulling up that pesky QR code on the screen. Smiles everyone, the partnership between Big Tech and Big Government is always there to make your transit more streamline and seamless. Heck, you wont even notice the electronic receiver mounted at the entry. Give it a few weeks and you wont remember the reason you were laughing at Alex Jones any more than you remember why you are taking off your shoes at the airport. However, as this process is created, it is worth considering that you are being quietly changed from an individual person to a product. Some are starting to worry in the beta test: [] you must become an object with attributes sitting in a database. Instead of roaming around anonymously making all sorts of transactions without the governments knowledge, Australians find themselves passing through gates. All product-based systems have these gates to control the flow of stock and weed out errors. It is how computers see things. The more gates, the more clarity. You are updating the government like a parcel pings Australia Post on its way to a customer. If a fault is found, automatic alerts are issued, and you are stopped from proceeding. In New South Wales, this comes in the form of a big red X on the myGov vaccine passport app (if you managed to link your Medicare account without smashing the phone to bits). Gate-keeping systems have been adapted from retail and transformed into human-based crowd solutions to micromanage millions of lives with the same ruthless efficiency as barcodes tracking stock. There is no nuance or humanity in this soulless digital age. Barcodes are binary. Good bad. Citizen or dissident. Even if you have all the required government attributes to pass through the gates two vaccines, six boosters, and a lifelong subscription to Microsoft something could go wrong. If your data fails the scan, youll slip into digital purgatory and become an error message. (read more) It could be problematic if your status fails to register correctly, or if the system identifies some form of alternate lifestyle non-compliance that will block you from entry. Then again, thats what beta tests are for, working out all these techno bugs and stuff. Not to worry. move along. Then again For those in the privileged class allowed to shop, take note of Covid signs which encourage cashless transactions under the guise of health. Messaging around cards being safer will increase until the Treasury tries to remove cash entirely, almost certainly with public approval. Wait, now we are squinting at that familiar image on the horizon because we know those who control things have been talking about a cashless society for quite a while. We also know that data is considered a major commodity all by itself. Why do you think every system you encounter in the modern era requires your phone number even when you are not registering for anything. It, meaning you, us, are all getting linked into this modern registration system that is defining our status. We also know that system operators buy and sell our registered status amid various retail and technology systems. Yeah, that opaque shadow is getting a little clearer now. Perhaps you attempt to purchase dog food and get denied entry into Pet Smart because you didnt renew the car registration. Or perhaps you are blocked from entry because you forgot to change the oil on the leased vehicle you drive, and Toyota has this weird agreement with some retail consortium. You head to the oil change place that conveniently pops up in the citizen compliance App its only two blocks away they clear the alert after they do the oil change, and you are gateway compliant again. Missed your booster shot? Were sorry citizen, your bank account is frozen until your compliance is restored please proceed to the nearest vaccination office as displayed conveniently on your cell phone screen to open access to all further gates (checkpoints). tap to continue! Vote for the wrong candidate? Attend, or donate to, a trucker protest? Yes, it seemed transparently obvious where this was heading, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just awakened the masses. Men are only clever at shifting blame from their own shoulders to those of others. -Titus Livius (59 BC17 AD) Children instinctively resort to blame-shifting tactics to offset culpability for bad behavior onto an external entity: I had to pelt rocks at traffic! Everyone was doing it! I had no choice! The other kids wouldve made fun of me if I didnt!: There are many reasons that children (like adults) try to offload responsibility for things gone wrong: avoiding disapproval and other painful consequences, preserving a self-image as a good or competent person, and sometimes getting revenge. If you dont tolerate the wrongful self-absolving of personal responsibility from your kindergartener, you absolutely shouldnt accept it from adult children public health experts who cower behind The Science. The everybody-was-doing-it schoolyard defense didnt work for Nazi-era concentration camps guards at Nuremberg, and it wont work at the very necessary forthcoming (fingers crossed) Nuremberg II trials for the public health experts with bloody hands. In the context of powerful government actors responsible for setting policy that impacts the entire global population, unchecked institutional blame-shifting will inevitably lead to disastrous outcomes: When people blame others for their mistakes, they learn less and perform worse. This problem is magnified when blame becomes embedded in the shared culture of groups and organizations . Passing the buck is a contagious disease for bureaucracies. In a free society, personal responsibility for crimes is non-negotiable if we expect justice, much less functionality. - Now as their COVID narrative crumbles before their eyes, the near-term PR goal of Fauci and the whole lockdown crew is to convince you, Joe Public, that their murderous COVID lockdowns and vaxx mandates all just sort of happened so fast in the fog of war. Golly gee, did my barbaric Banana Republic-style authoritarian lockdown policies explode drug overdoses among hopeless doomer youth and plunge 150 million people (at least) into extreme poverty worldwide in exchange for no measurable public health benefit? Shucks! Heavens to Betsy! Dont blame me Im just a gold-hearted public servant doing my very best! The narrative they hope to inject into the public consciousness is that they, do-gooder public servants acting in unified good faith (and using their manufactured consensus for future alibis in the process), scrambled the best way they knew how to protect their flocks from the dreaded coronavirus. (Incidentally, a coronavirus that they likely directly funded the creation of illegally in a Chinese lab and then lied about for two straight years.) Fauci to this day continues the ludicrous, evidence-free natural origin man-has-sexual-congress-with-gay-penguin-or-something lie.* Dr. Fauci on COVID lab leak theory: We still dont know what the origin is We all felt, and still do, that it is more likely to be a natural jumping of species from an animal reservoir to a human. However, since we dont know that for sure, youve got to keep an open mind. pic.twitter.com/7j3hR8vjSd The Recount (@therecount) June 3, 2021 Notice how he hedges his lab leak denial with non-definitive phrases like likely and we dont know for sure so that when the overwhelming evidence for the lab leak theory inevitably emerges, he will later enjoy the facade of plausible deniability. Also, he uses the phrase we all felt to hide behind the false consensus he himself engineered a weaselly adult bureaucrat play of the childish everybody was doing it defense. Fauci and Co.s lies, to emphasize again, have had real-world, devastating consequences. We now know, in the admission of Johns Hopkins researchers the literal heart of the COVID darkness and the very epicenter of US lockdown policy in the first place that the lockdowns didnt work. We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on Covid-19 mortality. That means all the lockdown-induced human suffering all the drug addictions, all the suicides, all the destroyed small businesses never to be resurrected, the tens of millions worldwide plunged into destitution was for literally nothing. No sane cost-benefits analysis could ever balance the scales. But if the social engineers who created the lockdowns were just honestly doing the best they could, with no ill intent, based on the perceived consensus, how could the public hold them accountable for the untold harm that their policies wrought? White House Press Secretary/Slay Queen/undiagnosed sociopath Jen Psaki opened up her Feb 8th press conference thusly: As you all know, the pandemic-induced global supply chain backlog has strained our transportation industry and created a critical shortage of truck drivers. Isnt that amazing? Psaki wants listening Americans to understand the official Biden administration position: the bio-engineered, US government-funded SAS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus not only infects human tissue, but it also destroys supply lines! As Psaki relayed, it wasnt authoritarian government policy that destroyed the international supply lines and, by extension, the global economy it was COVID! That pandemic made them do it! There wasnt anything the authorities could have done differently they were forced at gunpoint to shut down the economy for two+ years. The virus itself: Isnt that something for irony! A virus that kills more people with lockdown-induced starvation than it kills by infecting its hosts! If the virus did it, and not the hubris-filled government bureaucrats drunk on power they never should have rightly had, there are no lessons to be learned! And the government simply washes its hands of the whole mess, absolves itself of culpability, and moves on to help with the next crisis this time, with even more funding than before. (For example, when the Capitol Police failed to prevent the riot that marked that solemn Jan. 6th attack on American democracy or whatever, instead of being punished for their mediocrity, they were rewarded with $2 billion in funding and brand-new offices nationwide in an apparent endorsement of their good work.) But, the forgiving mind might wonder, do they really act in good faith? Did Pol Pot really just love the Cambodian people and want them to be free? Did Joseph Stalin make a few honest boo-boos, as even the best-intentioned humans do? Was Vlad the Impaler a misunderstood humanitarian at heart, who roasted children over fires and shoved spears up peoples anuses to bleed out internally? The naivete of the Branch Covidians, who literally worship like Stockholm Syndrome victims at the altar of their abusers, is embarrassing. Imagine the shame of a resurrected American Revolutionary to see what became of the nation he fought to free from the yoke of an abusive monarchy. The undeserved benefit of the doubt afforded to obviously duplicitous government snakes. How has such a broad section of the American public sunk so far from the nations anti-authoritarian roots, which was literally founded on skepticism of centralized power? Ben Bartee is a Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs. Follow his stuff via his blog, Armageddon Prose, Substack, Patreon, Gab, and Twitter. Bitcoin public address: 14gU3aHBXkNq8bDqmibfnubV7kSJqfx5LX Donald Trump said that Joe Biden does not exude strength; Putin invaded the two regions because he can. The 45th president expressed dismay over the attack on Kyiv, adding that Vladimir Putin knows him. Trump took potshots at Joe Biden and called him incapable of leading the country if he keeps on losing territory loyal to America. Putin Would Never Invade Under Trump's Admin One of the reasons why Putin never dares anything like it is due to respect for Trump. According to Newsmax, the Russian leader would not dare anything, like invade Ukraine, if he were in the Oval Office. On Wednesday, Trump said in an interview while the invasion was on. The Russian forces were unloading land, air, and sea after Putin gave the command for the all-out blitzkrieg. Trump stated that the invasion would never have happened under his administration. During his term in office, there was no such time America was shamed in four years, with no wars or conflicts unlike now. Trump expressed that it is sad for the world, especially for Ukraine, which is getting a body count that will rise because of Joe Biden. He added two factors that made Russian President Vladimir Putin pursue this course of action. One of them is ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel developing dependence on Russian energy and the shameful Afghanistan withdrawal caused by President Joe Biden's lack of foresight, per Aljazeera. All these have pushed the Kremlin to commit in its current course on devastating attacks in Ukrainian positions are happening. Former President Donald Trump told the outlet that the Russian leader was not planning to do this. He wanted to get a concession without fighting, but they did not want to listen to him, and it got progressively worse. Read Also: Vladimir Putin Has Hypersonic Missiles Storage To Use If the Provocative Western Alliance Does Not Thwart Full Blown Conflict Putin would never have attacked if not for Biden's miscalculation in Afghanistan, as some observers think he only wanted the 9/11 photo op. His generals and everyone handling it did such an under-par job that started Putin to consider invasion like what is happening now. Russian Hoax Damaged US-Russia Relations According to Trump, the Russian hoax based on the false Steele dossier harmed his relationship with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, per NPR. Trump stressed that he tried to keep the two leaders apart, and here are the consequences. The authors of the hoax are responsible for things happening now. Intentionally ruining the excellent relationship he had with the two leaders was disastrous. It was terrible other than tariff and tax problems, but detractors did not care. Biden is the most catastrophic president, and the Russian invasion is because of him. Trump said Russia and China should be kept apart or bear the consequences. When Barack Obama, a Democrat president, took office, he brought the two leaders together when the other needed the energy and the other needed the money. Obama helped bring China and Russia together, while Trump tried hard to keep them apart, and here comes Joe Biden, who let Iran join the love fest. Trump added that he's aghast, and the whole world has to suffer because the Democrats wanted to win. They brought suffering from the US border crisis to Ukraine. Donald Trump made it clear the direction of Joe Biden is messed up and added the Steele dossier, which made things worse. He stressed that the Ukraine invasion was the worst crisis the US could have prevented. Related Article: Joe Biden Outclassed by Vladimir Putin Who is Running Rings Effortlessly in the Ukraine Stand-Off @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Update - This may be part of a propaganda push. This viral video is making the rounds and into memes; but there is now a conflicting report that these soldiers may be alive and captured by the Russian military. The report is from RT, so take it for what it is. It will be interesting to see if Russia produces these soldiers alive. From RT: The Russian military has taken prisoner 82 Ukrainian troops who were deployed on Snake Island in the Black Sea, the Russian defense ministry claimed on Friday. They laid down arms and will be set free after pledging not to take part in military action against Russia, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. The claim contradicted statements by Ukrainian officials. Border guards on Thursday confirmed that Russia was attacking the island and reported losing contact with troops deployed there overnight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for negotiations to stop the dying as Russian forces strike the countrys capital city of Kyiv. Let us sit down at the negotiating table in order to stop the dying, he said in a video address on Friday, according to a translation from the New York Times. Zelensky added: I want to turn again to the president of the Russian Federation Fighting is taking place across the entire territory of Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Putin is ready to send officials to the Belarusian capital of Minsk for discussions, according to Russian news agencies translated by the Wall Street Journal. In response to Zelenskys offer, Vladimir Putin is ready to send to Minsk a Russian delegation, Peskov told reporters, according to the Wall Street Journal. Peskov officials from the defense and foreign ministries and the presidents office would be part of the delegation, the Wall Street Journal reported. Meanwhile, Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called overnight strikes on Kyiv horrific, and compared the situation to attacks from Nazi Germany in 1941. The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls on Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit down to negotiate. Here is the request from Zelensky. Terminator tanks 'BMPT-72' from Russia are rolling in from the border as Vladimir Putin's forces may soon find themselves thinking of the fight in Ukraine city centers while NATO makes defensive preparations. NATO units will have the F-35 Lightning II and attack helicopters as their primary offense to engage the Russian forces. The escalation led to the attack on several Ukrainian cities in a special operation after a televised address by Vladimir Putin. Russia Deploys BMPT-72 Terminator Tanks Recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk separatist provinces by Moscow last February 21 led to the launching of forces for peacekeeping in south-eastern Ukraine, reported The EurAsian Times. It is an official acknowledgment that the Minsk Agreement is null and void. The door to diplomacy is shut, and the west needs to deal with it militarily, marking Russia as a pariah, cited Atlantic Council. Soon, the west will quickly follow the sanctions to be imposed against Donbas and Luhansk, which are Russian-friendly provinces. This includes the encirclement of Ukraine on three sides and the placement of extra troops and armors that went into Ukraine on February 24, with reports of the Kremlin sending the BMPT-72 Terminator to the Ukraine borders. BMPT-72 Terminator tanks armored combat vehicle seen last year in December will be integrated into the forces that have just breached the Ukraine border at the Kremlin's command. As many as 150,000 to 200,000 troops could participate in the present invasion, according to The Drive. Read Also: Vladimir Putin Says Russia Will Do Anything to Protect Itself Against NATO, Ukraine Aggression A mainstay of the Russian armored units is the T-72, which has no western equivalent. They would be involved in an offensive against Ukraine Units. Moscow is anticipating the tank will be in the think of urban combat but a high-intensity environment in city centers. Pentagon Reinforces NATO's East Territories Since the start of hostilities the other day, there has been no definite report on how the Ukrainians and western sympathizers are prepared. Kyiv has informed all citizens beforehand to leave Russia and become reservists, but the western alliance though not involved in preparing its forces. The Pentagon has been informed of the sending of F-35A stealth fighters with the AH-64 heavy attack helicopter and ground forces on the borders of the east side of NATO territories. It will be the main vanguard to stop an advance by Russian units, per Reuters. Russian Terminator Units Deployed Months Earlier These new armored units were spied at Yelets in Russian traveling on the rail due west, going to the Ukrainian border several months earlier. Social media video was posted online, with the train's location determined to be about 180 miles away via open-source intelligence sources. Several of the Terminator tanks transported on the train would have improvised winter camouflage; added were white panels to make it less visible in the snow. Called a heavy infantry combat vehicle needed by the Russian army suited for urban fighting and also used to fight guerillas on their turf. It will be used to correct the errors done when Chechen rebels gave the Russians problem in urban combat during the middle 90s to 2000s. The Terminator IFV used the chassis of T-72s as its base with the new equipment placed on any Russian tank hull. So simple that Algeria and Kazakhstan bought units. Its nearest equivalent is the Israeli Nammer. BMPT-72 Terminator Tanks is the solution of Russia to deal with Urban and guerilla operations in the cities, and these infantry combat vehicles will be working in concert with the T-72 during the ground offensive. Related Article: Vladimir Putin Has Hypersonic Missiles Storage To Use If the Provocative Western Alliance Does Not Thwart Full Blown Conflict @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Unlimited website access 24/7 Unlimited e-Edition access 24/7 The best local, regional and national news in sports, politics, business and more! With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. Prairie Mountain Health will host COVID-19 and flu clinics for ages five and up next week for first, second and third doses depending on eligibility. Advertisement Advertise With Us Prairie Mountain Health will host COVID-19 and flu clinics for ages five and up next week for first, second and third doses depending on eligibility. Due to a shortage of the Pfizer vaccine, however, PMH COVID vaccine clinics are recommending the Moderna vaccine for people aged 30 years and up for their first, second or third dose. Ages 12 to 29 will receive the Pfizer vaccine. Clinics will be a combination of walk-in and booked appointments or strictly walk-in as indicated. Individuals can book for other people but require the clients Manitoba Health card number. There has also been a change to the third dose criteria for ages 12 to 17. If they fall under the high-risk criteria and it has been six months since the second dose, they would be eligible for a third dose. Brandon: Keystone Centre supersite on March 5 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. To access the site, enter off of 13th Street. Dauphin: Ukrainian Orthodox Hall (304 Whitmore Ave. East) on March 2 from 3:30 to 6:30 pm. After March 2, this vaccine site will be permanently closed. Minitonas: Minitonas Hall (302 Main St.) on Feb. 28 from 2 to 6 p.m. Souris: walk-in only at Souris School (55 Landsdowne St. North) on March 3 from 4 to 6 p.m. For up-to-date information on booked clinics and walk-ins, continue to check the Prairie Mountain Health website at pmh-mb.ca/vaccine-schedule. The Brandon Sun Ghislaine Maxwell's request for a new trial was denied by a federal judge who on Thursday ordered a hearing into whether or not a juror who served in the suspect's case lied during the selection process that may have clouded his guilty verdict. Judge Alison J. Nathan said that she would question the juror, an individual who was identified as to be Juror 50, under oath at the hearing on Mar. 8. A jury convicted 60-year-old Maxwell on Dec. 29, 2021, of sex trafficking and four other counts in the Federal District Court in Manhattan. Ghislaine Maxwell's Request The jury listened to three weeks of testimony where witnesses said Maxwell helped the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein entice, groom, and sexually abuse underage teenage girls. Juror 50, a Manhattan man in his 30s, revealed to news media outlets after the trial ended that he told his fellow jurors during deliberations that he had been sexually abused as a child. However, it was later revealed that in a confidential questionnaire that was administered to people who were prospective jurors, they were asked whether they have experienced being the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault. Juror 50 was seen to have checked the box that answered "no," as per the New York Times. Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and the judge heavily relied on the questionnaire as a screening tool for jurors. There have been many prospective jurors who have been dismissed outright with no further questioning based on their form answers alone. Read Also: George Floyd Verdict: 3 Ex-Officers Guilty of Civil Rights Violation [Full Details] In her order, Judge Nathan wrote that Juror 50 made "several direct, unambiguous statements to multiple media outlets about his own experience that do not pertain to jury deliberations and that cast doubt on the accuracy of his responses during jury selection." According to the Washington Post, on top of the controversy with the juror, the judge denied Maxwell's request for a new trial over the issue. However, many believe that the defendant's team will renew that motion after the proceeding scheduled for next month. Lying on Juror Questionnaire During a recent interview, the juror, who identified himself only as Scott David, said that during deliberations, some jurors had issues with the memories of two accusers who took the stand. He then said that he shared his own experiences of sexual abuse as a child, arguing that it helped sway the other jurors' views. David said that after he shared his own experience, the other jurors seemed to have come around on the memory aspect of a sexual abuse victim. On the other hand, Maxwell's attorneys argued that the fact the juror lied in the questionnaire form gave their client the right to a new trial. Judge Nathan's rejection of Maxwell's request was based on the current record that "relies extensively" on statements from the juror involving deliberations that the court was not legally able to consider. In her Thursday ruling, the judge emphasized that the "potential impropriety" is whether or not the juror lied on his juror questionnaire and not his history of surviving sexual abuse, CNN reported. Related Article: Jan. 6 Panel Could Get Voluntary Interview With Ivanka Trump Amid Capitol Riot Probe @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Olga Boika woke up Thursday morning fearing for the safety of her parents and brother who live in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine. Advertisement Advertise With Us TIM SMITH/THE BRANDON SUN St. Marys Ukrainian Catholic Church Rev. Father Yaroslav Strukhlyak has relatives in Ukraine. Olga Boika woke up Thursday morning fearing for the safety of her parents and brother who live in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine. The last 24 hours have generated immense concern for Boika, a teacher at Ecole New Era in Brandon, as well as for many other Westman families with Ukrainian ties. SUBMITTED Olga Boika welcomed her family to Brandon a few years ago, prior to the increased conflict between Russia and Ukraine. She is hopeful to have her family reunited in the future, should the situation worsen in her home country. "I went to work [Thursday] morning thinking I could do it and not think about what was going on back in Ukraine, but I couldnt," Boika said. "I went to school and everyone started to ask how are you and how are things going, and tears were just going down myself." Boika has been on the phone with her parents who live near the Ukraine-Belarus border, an entry point for the Russian military. Her parents said they heard the Ukrainian military destroying nearby bridges to slow Russian aggressors coming from Belarus. People near the capital Kyiv have been instructed to take shelter in subways. "They said, Olga, we heard that Russian troops are 50 kilometers from us," Boika said. "That keeps you so nervous, its hard to explain because we dont know [Russias] plans, what they will do to keep people who live in the area." Boika, who has lived in Brandon since 2010, stayed home to spend the day with her husband and children. She told the Sun her parents have open visas and could travel to Canada with her assistance but are not ready to leave behind the life they built over decades back home. TIM SMITH/THE BRANDON SUN Approximately 15 Brandonites, mostly Ukrainians with family and friends still in Ukraine, took part in a special prayer service on Thursday evening at St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church on Assiniboine Avenue, held in response to Russia invading Ukraine. "How can you imagine wed leave all this stuff behind for who, what will the Russian people do with our stuff?" Boika said. Boika learned her younger brother, who does not have a visa, could hear the sounds of gunfire in Chernihiv after she called him during the day. "Living right now in 2022, its hard to imagine that we have that situation in Ukraine," Boika said. "Probably when I was a child and I heard stories from the Second World War, I thought how horrible it was and how those people survived. We, of course, dont want that to happen anymore, but it seems like a reality which makes us feel unsafe." Boika instructed her parents to prepare their cellar with blankets, extension cords and a phone charger to be able to communicate with them. Her parents operate a small farm and greenhouse in the region and are able to have pigs and rabbits as livestock which they take to market. She explained how her family has been growing tulips to sell ahead of March 8, which is normally a big celebration of International Womens Day in Ukraine. "Thats all they have," Boika said. "They think they will defend it somehow." Much like Boika, Vasyl Marchuk, a Ukrainian Westman resident of 14 years, has been unable to rest. After contacting his parents who live in Ostroh, in northwestern Ukraine, Marchuk said the fear generated from the initial attacks will only favour the Russian military. "This is painful for everybody who has family in Ukraine," said Marchuk "Panic will play into the Russians hands. This is terrible news." His two brothers, parents and in-law relatives still live in Ukraine. Marchuk, the president of the Ukrainian Canadian Association in Brandon, said it is now time for other countries to help defend his place of birth and show resilience in the face of conflict. It is the reason why his parents are currently staying put. "They would like to stay in Ukraine because they believe other countries will help stand against Russian aggression. We will be hopeful for help from Europe and North America." At St. Marys Ukrainian Catholic Church, Rev. Father Yaroslav Strukhlyak prepares for a Thursday evening prayer service and asks for protection of Ukrainians from the Blessed Virgin Mary. He too has spoken with his parents who live in Ternopil, a city in western Ukraine, close to the Polish border. Strukhlyak said his family is remaining at home and are terrified to leave. "People didnt know what to do," Strukhlyak said. "The Russians are using missiles, they are trying to disconnect the airports, the government and military." Strukhlyak moved to Brandon in August 2021, after serving as a parish priest in Gilbert Plains, Grandview and Roblin. In the church, the reverend said all he can offer is a continued prayer as a sign of support, both spiritually, morally and if needed, materially. "Thats what we feel, we will pray for the protection of the people of Ukraine," Strukhlyak said. Strukhlyak welcomed several families and individuals who attended the evening service. The church, normally full of life, was a solemn place Thursday evening as the reverend offered prayers in both Ukrainian and English. Many Westman residents joined in song and showed their sympathies and support for loved ones in danger through prayer. Marchuk said he is worried Ukraine may not be the last stop for Putins attack and is urging the public to be wary of the conflict expanding west. "If only Ukraine stays and fights, it would better if we were all against this one regime," Marchuk said. "Today we have Ukraine, after it could be Poland or Germany. I can say Putin is crazy, he is not thinking." Dave Federowich helps run the Yednist School of Ukrainian Dance in Brandon. Federowich has taken part in organizing the Ukrainian Independence Day festivities in the city in 2019 and stays heavily involved in the cultural community. He said it is despicable to see an attack on his home country and believes Russia has been long motivated to reunite the two countries since the fall of the Soviet Union. "Theres always been that err of talk that Russia would one day want to do that after Ukraine declared independence in 1991." For Boika, she is hopeful the Canadian government will step up and recognize people like her younger brother, and other Ukrainian refugees in need. "I would love to see Canada open for some people who need to escape from that horrible situation," Boika said. Marchuk said he was able to tune in to Russian media where a message of "throwing in the white flag," is being sent to Ukrainians nearby. He is encouraging Canadians to send financial support to Ukraine where possible and stay hopeful. "Dont panic, be strong and believe all will be alright," Marchuk said. "We [Ukrainians] are going to stay to the end, I wish I could go to my country and stay with them." jbernacki@brandonsun.com Twitter: @JosephBernacki Westmans MPs expressed support for the revocation of the Emergencies Act on Thursday, though they believe it didnt need to be invoked in the first place. Advertisement Advertise With Us FILES Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa Conservative MP Dan Mazier (left) and Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire (right) were unhappy with the use of the Emergencies Act. Westmans MPs expressed support for the revocation of the Emergencies Act on Thursday, though they believe it didnt need to be invoked in the first place. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the revocation of the Emergencies Act, nine days after it was activated to deal with the anti-mandate and anti-government protesters who occupied Ottawa and blockaded border crossings in multiple provinces, including Manitoba. It was the first time the act, which replaced the War Measures Act in 1988, had ever been invoked. Trudeau and his government have claimed that the powers given to police in the act allowed for the situation to be defused, but some critics have argued it didnt need to be implemented at all. Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire said he believes police possessed the ability to stop the situation before it escalated. "Not even 48 hours later, to save face again, he [Trudeau] pulled it off the table and said it wasnt needed anymore," Maguire said. "When I left Ottawa on Tuesday, there were quite a few signs that things were back to normal. All the fences and stuff that had been put up were taken down. There was no traffic yet, but things seemed normal as far as the streets went." His colleague, Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa Conservative MP Dan Mazier, said by email that "Justin Trudeau clearly realized that his unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act was not justified." The only thing that changed between Monday, when Trudeau wouldnt commit to when the use of the act would be ended, and revoking it on Wednesday was the backlash from Canadians over its use, Mazier said. "Nothing was presented to Parliament to indicate the situation could not have been resolved through existing laws, nor was there any information showing that our nations territorial integrity was at risk. "The government will need to be accountable to this reality. We also need to ensure that these extreme government powers are not normalized in the future. No government should be able to use them as carelessly as Justin Trudeau did." While local federal representatives oppose the use of the Emergencies Act, Brandon University political science Prof. Kelly Saunders told the Sun on Thursday that she believes its usage was justified. Since the Liberals need for the NDPs support to pass the acts usage through the House of Commons, and that the NDP wanted it to be limited in duration and scope, Trudeaus decision makes sense, she said. "It is serious legislation, and you dont want it hanging around and being used in ways deemed inappropriate or deemed an overreach of government," Saunders said. "Thanks to the Emergencies Act, we have seen the effective dismantling of occupations of downtown Ottawa, for example, even Winnipeg. The police have been able to work more effectively." However, she does hold a similar opinion to Maguire and Mazier: if actions had been taken sooner by police and local governments, it might not have needed to be enacted at all. Saunders is also glad that there was extensive conversation surrounding the usage of the act because it means the country is carefully considering actions like this. The planned inquiry into the usage of the act will be an important part of that process and will direct how those powers will be used going forward. cslark@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ColinSlark The Trans-Canada Highway was closed between Brandon and Virden after a 25-vehicle collision and multiple people were hurt Thursday afternoon. Advertisement Advertise With Us TIM SMITH/THE BRANDON SUN Semi-trailers rest in the median between the westbound and eastbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway east of Griswold, as other backed-up vehicles wait to pass the scene of a major collision involving approximately two dozens vehicles on the highway on Thursday. The Trans-Canada Highway was closed between Brandon and Virden after a 25-vehicle collision and multiple people were hurt Thursday afternoon. The Manitoba RCMP posted on Facebook about the collision at approximately 1:45 p.m. Thursday, which was 10 kilometres east of Highway 21. It involved 20 semis and five passenger vehicles. Three people were transported to hospital with injuries, police say. The highway is "expected to be closed for an extended period of time" and detours are in place. "Police have once again had to close [the Trans-Canada] Highway at Virden so more semis and vehicles are stopped before getting to the scene of this ongoing incident. This is for the safety of all the responders attending who are going to try and clean this mess up as soon as possible," said Virden RCMP Sgt. Scott Fefchak. TIM SMITH/THE BRANDON SUN A collision involving approximately two dozen vehicles took place on the Trans-Canada Highway east of Griswold Thursday. Westman RCMP responded to another 24-vehicle collision on the highway from Wednesday to Thursday. On Wednesday morning, police say the Manitoba Department of Highways sanded the area between the Saskatchewan border and Highway 21 before reopening it. Brandon and Virden RCMP members drove in front at 60 km/h to act as a pilot to get vehicles going before leaving. Within 25 minutes, police say there were five semis jack-knifed, an SUV rollover and one vehicle that drove into a closed barricade, so the highway was closed again. The collisions follow multiple days of the highway alternating between being closed and open after icy conditions swept through Westman and eastern Saskatchewan over the long weekend. While crews have salted and sanded the highway, Fefchak said it is too cold for the salt to work. Once temperatures warm up, the salt will start melting the ice covering the roads. "This is the third or fourth time weve had to shut the highways down. Its insane," he said. "Stay off the roads. If you do travel be prepared to make alternate arrangements or spend the night in your car if theres no place for you to stay. The roads arent good give it a day or two and theyre probably going to be fine once it warms up." Tow trucks were coming from around the region, including Winnipeg, to help clear the vehicles, said Manitoba RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Julie Courchaine. An emergency shelter was also opened at Virdens Tundra Oil & Gas place Wednesday night for stranded motorists, said Virden municipal emergency co-ordinator Marc Savy. Most truck drivers can sleep in their vehicles, but six motorists spent the night. When reached Thursday afternoon, he said the decision had not been made yet on opening the shelter for another night, but it could be if needed. "People need to be prepared when they leave their house," Savy said. "You have to be prepared, you have to know your routes. I would strongly recommend folks be prepared." The highway remained closed due to icy driving conditions Thursday afternoon. dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ With Russias posturing in recent history, the countrys invasion of Ukraine is horrible but unsurprising, according to a pair of Brandon University political science professors. Advertisement Advertise With Us With Russias posturing in recent history, the countrys invasion of Ukraine is horrible but unsurprising, according to a pair of Brandon University political science professors. "I dont want to say it was inevitable, but certainly [Russian President Vladimir] Putin had been sending signals," said Richard Baker, an associate professor at Brandon University who specializes in international relations. "These signals were obvious enough that actors like the United States and Canada have been responding with anticipation for this. I think most people knew this was coming." In the lead-up to Russias invasion of Ukraine, Putin claimed that Ukraine was an invention of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin during the revolution that led to that countrys creation. Putin has also claimed that Ukraine is not a distinct entity, but part of a shared Russian history. In Bakers opinion, thats nonsense, especially because Ukrainians fought against being integrated into the Soviet Union. "From the perspective of Russian history, theres always been the perspective that Ukraine is part of a broader Russian project," he said. "During the era of the Soviet Union, there was an intensified project that we call Russification. "They had ethnic Russian spread to all the components of the U.S.S.R., including Ukraine. But there is a very fierce perspective on what it means to be Ukrainian and the idea that Ukraine or Ukrainians arent distinct people is pretty absurd." What Russia is doing, Baker said, is using all of the tools it possesses to prove that Ukraines existence and independence is an aberration. Other excuses Putin and Russia have offered as justification for the invasion is that they couldnt allow Ukraine to join NATO, that Ukraine needs to have Nazi elements removed and to restore order in breakaway regions fighting to secede from the country. Of all of these possibilities, Baker thinks the core goal is for Putin to put as much power as possible in Moscows hands. NATOs open-door policy, that it will consider any interest in membership as long as certain conditions are met, is a challenge to that. "A great power is saying to another great power listen, we cant risk that the idea that this country, right on our border, will become part of a military alliance that isnt ours," Baker said. "That might sound plausible, but Putin knows the United States cant deliver that promise." If Russia annexes or controls Ukraine after the invasion is over, it would then border more NATO members than before: Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Former Soviet Union members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which joined NATO soon after gaining independence, already bordered Russia to the countrys northwest as well as through the western exclave of Russia containing the city of Kaliningrad. Through Operation REASSURANCE, the Canadian Forces currently have personnel and material located in allied countries in Central and Eastern Europe. This, Baker said, is called a tripwire defence and is aimed at deterring hostile countries from engaging in countries where they might come into conflict with soldiers from nations they want to avoid outright hostilities with. Adding to that article five of the NATO charter, which states that an attack on any NATO member in Europe or North America will be considered an attack on all of them effectively starting a war between the aggressor and every country in NATO. "I would suspect thats very unlikely," Baker said about the possibility of Russia going after a NATO member. "The collective defence aspects of the NATO Charter would kick in, and Putin cant afford to risk that." In a similar strategy, Putin has stated that any country interfering in Russias Ukraine operations will face "consequences you have never seen." On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined other Western countries like the United States in announcing economic sanctions on Russia. According to Kelly Saunders, another political science professor at Brandon University, sanctions are the most countries like Canada can do without engaging Russia in direct conflict. The professor is a second-generation Canadian whose grandparents emigrated from Ukraine and has extended family in the country. "You always have to be very, very careful and tread carefully," she said. "On the one hand, there is that understandable desire to want to rush in and stop the aggression from happening and to try to save lives and protect the territorial territory and sovereignty of the country being invaded," Saunders said. "Any time you engage in military actions or military conflict with another country, that has to be a last resort because the loss of life is a major factor and you never know how these conflicts will map themselves out." Saunders listed the Vietnam War and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as evidence of situations getting out of hand. Once diplomacy, sanctions and other smaller impact options are exhausted, the threat of force may finally rear its head. Both Westman MPs condemned Russias actions on Thursday. Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa Conservative MP Dan Mazier, whose riding hosts Canadas National Ukrainian Festival, called for Canada to fully condemn Russias actions and work with its allies to assist Ukraine. "The Ukrainian people are a significant part of the social and cultural fabric of our nation and particularly in my constituency," he wrote in an email. "We are a family and must stand together in supporting Ukraine both at home and abroad as they continue to fight for their freedoms." His colleague, Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire, said his thoughts and prayers go out to Ukrainian people in his riding, in Canada and around the world. He approved of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus implementation of sanctions. "The whole world needs to put sanctions on the Putin regime," Maguire said. "This isnt the Russian people, its the Putin regime, its his dictatorship thats wanting this. We need to provide as much humanitarian assistance as we can from around the world." On Thursday, Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson condemned Russias actions. "Manitoba is home to thousands of citizens of Ukrainian descent who have watched Russias buildup of military forces in the region and repeated threats to the sovereignty of Ukraine," Stefanson said in a statement. "It is unacceptable behaviour and I thoroughly condemn those actions." She also endorsed Trudeaus implementation of sanctions and his governments provision of aid to the Ukrainian government. Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew had a similar take on the situation. "Manitobans today are deeply troubled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine," Kinew said in a statement. "The Manitoba NDP stands with the people of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian community in Manitoba and Canada, and we condemn Russias violent imperialism. We will continue to work with the Manitoba Ukrainian community to identify ways to help those who are in danger." cslark@brandonsun.com Twitter: @ColinSlark Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Alderwoman Ruth Denham was the subject of an email from the head of Branson's Planning and Zoning calling for her removal from the P&Z board. Theres a scene in the new film about legendary investor Carl Icahn when he tries to explain why he continues his push to shake up corporate America despite getting on in years and accumulating tens of billions of dollars in personal wealth. The pugilistic billionaire, a history buff to boot, compares himself to Alexander the Great. Carl Icahn remains a divisive figure on Wall Street. Credit:Bloomberg To everybody in the world, he was the best and the greatest, the investor says in the new documentary, Icahn: The Restless Billionaire which premiered February 15 on HBO and HBO Max. But much like the king of Macedonia, Icahn says its not so much about the victories as it is the fight. The army all worshipped him, but a lot of them deserted him because they thought he was crazy. He just kept going and going until they killed him, and I think about that. Im a little bit like that. Icahn, who will turn 86 on Wednesday, remains one of the most feared activist investors on Wall Street (even though hes relocated his offices to Florida, near his residence). Few investors have Icahns grit, and even fewer can move markets as quickly as he does with a single tweet. Rio Tintos global boss Jacob Stausholm has lauded the benefit of WAs pandemic borders and is bullish about navigating heightened political tensions in the years ahead. WAs relatively strict approach to stopping COVID-19 at its borders was both good and bad for the states miners: operations were unaffected by outbreaks but increasing labour shortages and difficulties flying in specialist personnel were crimping their activities. Rio chief executive Jakob Stausholm: TBA When asked if Premier Mark McGowans border policies had been a net positive or negative for the industry overall, Mr Stausholm lauded the exemplary cooperation between the state government and the mining industry. We are very grateful for the support we have received and over the last two years weve been able to keep producing, he said. China to host int'l military medicine forum in March Xinhua) 09:07, February 25, 2022 BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese military will host the Seventh Great Wall International Military Medicine Forum in Beijing from March 24 to 27, a military spokesperson announced on Thursday. Military medical experts from more than 10 countries, including Russia, Serbia and Pakistan, as well as from the International Committee of the Red Cross, have been invited to attend the forum, to be held both online and offline, said Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense. The forum will include five sub-forums focusing on topics such as frontier treatment on the battlefield, new infectious diseases prevention and control, and international emergency disaster relief, according to Tan. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) The parents of the 15-year-old Michigan school shooter have been ordered by a judge to go on trial for involuntary manslaughter after their son was charged with killing four students. Following Thursday's preliminary examination for the parents of the teenage shooter, Jennifer and James Crumbley, Rochester Hills District court judge Julie Nicholson said that she found sufficient evidence to send their case to circuit court. Trial for Involuntary Manslaughter Authorities are accusing the parents of the teenage suspect of making the gun used in the school shooting available to their son. They were allegedly unable to intervene when the shooter, Ethan Crumbley, showed signs of mental distress at home and at school. The 15-year-old is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism, and gun charges for the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford high school. The establishment is located roughly 30 miles north of Detroit. On top of the four fatalities, six other students as well as a teacher were wounded during the horrific incident. Prosecutors said that the gun Crumbley used was given to him by his parents as an early Christmas gift, as per The Guardian. The parents of the shooter were arrested days after the horrific incident in a Detroit warehouse following a manhunt that was ordered due to their failure to come to court for their initial arraignment. Jennifer and James have pleaded not guilty to the charges of involuntary manslaughter. Read Also: George Floyd Verdict: 3 Ex-Officers Guilty of Civil Rights Violation [Full Details] Similarly, the 15-year-old Crumbley had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and his attorneys have said that they planned to use an insanity defense at trial. It was noted that hours before the shooting, a guidance counselor called Jennifer and James telling them he was worried that Crumbley had suicidal ideations. According to CNN, authorities discovered phone messages that revealed the 15-year-old in contact with a friend. Crumbley told the individual that he asked his parents to take him to a doctor after he had hallucinations and heard voices. However, he noted that Jennifer and James scoffed at his request. Michigan School Shooter A prosecutor also urged a judge not to let Crumbley get transferred to a juvenile facility from a county jail, arguing that the Michigan school shooter killed his classmates because he "wants to be remembered." Prosecutor Kelly Collins said that the Oakland County juvenile center was a dangerously similar setting to Oxford High School. On the other hand, the suspect's attorneys contended that with their client being housed at Oakland County Children's Village, he would have better access to education and better serve his frayed mental health. Oakland County Judge Kwame L. Rowe said that he would make his decision on a ruling by next week on where authorities should keep Crumbley. The suspect's parents are currently being held at the same jail as their son. Prosecutors painted an image of Crumbley as cruel, unrepentant, and talented at hiding his plans to harm others during Tuesday's hearing. His conversations with an unidentified friend included his plans to stalk, rape, torture, and kill a classmate, the Washington Post reported. Related Article: Judge Denies Ghislaine Maxwell's Request for New Trial, Orders Questioning of Juror @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Business has many tired ideas for reforming the economy and improving productivity, most of which boil down to: cut my tax and give me more power to keep my wage bill low. But a veteran econocrat has proposed a new and frightening reform: make our businesses compete harder for our custom, thus making it harder for them to raise their prices. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a five-yearly review of our (dismal) productivity performance. And this week Rod Sims, whos departing after 11 years heading the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, offered a few helpful hints in a speech to the National Press Club. Companies should have to work harder to earn our hard-earned dollars. Credit:Chris Hopkins Sims says the Australian economy suffers from high levels of market concentration [markets dominated by a few big firms] to the detriment of consumers, small business and productivity. He argues that the pandemic-related supply shortages and logistics problems were facing are worsened by market concentration in so many areas and by our infrastructure bottlenecks. Nor does the temporary German suspension of Nord Stream 2 change anything. The pipeline was never going to supply extra gas this decade. The Kremlins purpose was to reroute the same Siberian gas, switching it from the Ukrainian corridor to the Baltic, depriving Kyiv of self-defence leverage. Once Putin controls Ukraine, Nord Stream 2 instantly becomes irrelevant. The decline in the ruble does not have as drastic effect on the Russian economy as it appears. Credit:Bloomberg The cardinal error was made in June 2015 when Germany went ahead with the bilateral pipeline just a year after the annexation of Crimea, signalling that the first anschluss of 21st century Europe would go unpunished, or worse, that it would be rewarded with a strategic prize. If you want to date the death of a sovereign democratic Ukraine, it was that merkantilist decision. Royal Dutch Shell was an abettor. Putin got our measure. The 36 per cent fall in the Moex index in Moscow means that Western investors with a Russian portfolio through pension funds or ETFs have lost money. It does not mean that Russia is being forced to its knees, as some would have it. Nor does the modest decline in the rouble imply unmanageable economic stress. Russias exchange rate mechanism is designed to let the currency take the strain, cushioning the internal budget against shocks. Russia is sitting on $US635 billion ($887 billion) of foreign exchange reserves. It has a national debt of 18 per cent of GDP, one of the lowest in the world. It has a fiscal surplus and does not rely heavily on foreign investors to finance the state. This renders US sanctions against new issuance of sovereign bonds a mere nuisance. The Kremlin is enjoying a windfall gain from commodities. Benchmark gas futures contracts (TTF) for March have hit extreme levels of 120 MWh. Russia is earning $US700 million a day from sales of oil to Europe and to the US, which needs heavy Urals crude to replace sulphurous Venezuelan barrels for its refineries. Loading The harsh truth is that Europe would spiral into crisis within weeks if flows of Russian gas were cut off - by either side. The short-term loss of revenue for the Kremlin would be a small fraction of Russian gold, euro, and dollar reserves. There is no symmetry in this. Whatever the rhetoric, energy business as usual will proceed. The US and Europe can and will enforce a technology blockade, restricting Russias access to advanced semiconductor chips, acting in tandem with Taiwans TSMC and Koreas Samsung. This will hurt but it will take time. Russia has stockpiles. It has its own producers able to make mid-level chips down to 28 nanometres. China may be irritated by how far Putin has gone in Ukraine but it will not join Western sanctions. Nor will it stop Chinese companies supplying chips to Russia through deniable middlemen and plugging some gaps in technology. Putin can reasonably calculate that Western zeal for sustaining this hi-tech embargo will wane before it does irreversible damage to Russia. Now we face a reconstituted Russian empire in tooth claw, as far West as the Carpathians, with a stranglehold on the raw materials of our existence. None of this was inevitable. It is the result of systematic policy failure. Europe has vetoed expulsion of Russia from the Swift nexus of global payments for fear of the systemic blowback into its own banks, and because it would have made it hard to pay for Putins oil, gas, metals and grains - leaving aside the risk that Russia might go all the way up the retaliation ladder. The US itself is ambivalent over shutting down Swift because it would accelerate the de-dollarisation of global finance. If the US plays its trump card, it risks losing the card. China and Russia already have their own payment systems that could be linked for bilateral trade. So one watches the Western pantomime over sanctions with a jaundiced eye, knowing that almost everything being discussed is largely beside the point, and that only military strength matters when push comes to a 200,000-man military shove. The errors that led to this lie in years of European disarmament, the result of both wishful thinking by a complacent elite and because of fiscal austerity imposed by EU commissars during the eurozone crisis, with no regard for the larger strategic picture. It is the fruit of periodic resets in relations with the Putin regime, invariably forgiving his sins, and dressing up commercial self-interest as if it were an attempt to lure him away from a Chinese axis of autocracies. The final trigger was Joe Bidens decision last July to override congressional sanctions against Nord Stream 2, selling out Ukraine in a deal with Angela Merkel. China may be irritated by how far Putin has gone in Ukraine but it will not join Western sanctions. Credit:Pool Sputnik Loading President Biden thought he could park Russia on one side and focus on China. He appointed a known Russophile as a key adviser on Russia. He neglected to appoint a US ambassador in Kyiv, long leaving matters in the hands of a junior with a taste for the quiet life, to the point of toning down cables to the White House that might have raised alarm. Putin drew the conclusion that this was his moment to strike. We can only pray for brave Ukrainians fighting without air cover against crushing military might. More Stinger and Javelin missiles would have helped enormously a few months ago but it is almost certainly too late now to change the outcome by shipping out weapons. The West must fall back to the next line of defence, the Nato line from Estonia to Romania, and face the long arduous task of military rearmament. Loading It would have been easier and wiser to stiffen a democratic Ukraine while we could. Now we face a reconstituted Russian empire in tooth claw, as far West as the Carpathians, with a stranglehold on the raw materials of our existence. None of this was inevitable. It is the result of systematic policy failure. Telegraph, London Writer and podcaster Debbie Millman, 60, and fellow American author Roxane Gay, 47, met in 2018 thanks to Debbies persistence. They married in 2020, though the wedding wasnt quite as theyd hoped it to be. Debbie Millman, left, and Roxane Gay: Roxane wanted a big wedding Gloria Steinem was going to officiate. Credit:Getty Images Roxane: In 2017, Debbie emailed me to ask me to appear on her podcast, Design Matters. I didnt know who she was, so I told her to contact my publicist. Then Debbie sent me a lovely email talking about the impact [my 2017 memoir] Hunger had had on her. Several emails later, she asked me out on a date. The way she phrased it was adorable, and she was persistent, so I agreed to have dinner with her the next time I was in New York. I was in New York for a book event in October 2018 and we arranged to have dinner after that. I didnt know what she looked like, so at the book-signing afterwards, I wondered if each woman was her. She ended up being the last person in line, and I was like, Wow, shes hot! We had a beautiful dinner and, when we got out onto the street, she asked if she could kiss me, which was sweet and sexy and romantic. Debbies unlike anyone Ive ever met. Shes the smartest person Ive ever known and a lifelong New Yorker who takes no shit from anyone. I actually thought she was a little scary. A month after our dinner, I suggested we spend a weekend together in Boston. She asked me if she should book her own hotel room. Because I was nervous, I said, Yes, just in case you want to have some personal time. After dinner, I invited her to my room. Weve been together ever since. Manage your exposure Take regular breaks from the news and social media, Saunders says. If youre finding the content youre viewing distressing, its healthy to take a break and put down your phone. He recommends putting your phone in another room and doing something that makes you happy, like going outside, watching TV or video-calling a friend. We cant control whats happening in Ukraine, so Beyond Blues lead clinical adviser Dr Grant Blashki urges people to not get obsessed with every detail. Limit your consumption by switching off smartphone notifications and closing news and social media apps. Make time windows to look at news, not first thing when you wake up, and dont follow it blow-by-blow, Blashki says. And stick to credible news sources. We live in a world where theres a lot of hype and misinformation, Blashki says. While you shouldnt stick your head in the sand, Cavenett says, try not to ruminate on the worst-case scenario. Avoid catastrophising. A lot of focus in the news right now is on what could happen. We have to take things one day at a time. Stick to a routine Routine is really useful in making life feel a bit more predictable, especially during uncertain times, Saunders says. Our brains like things to be consistent and patterned so the more we can help our brain feel comfortable, the better placed we are to handle difficult situations. Consider simple behaviours like getting up at the same time every day, making your bed and going for a walk, he says. Routine can also mean allocating certain times to worry and talk through it while keeping the rest of the day focused on other tasks that are in your control, Cavenett says. Plus, youll often find that when you return to thinking about it, your worry is lessened because youre coming from a calmer perspective and can work through it easier. Look after your body Its well established that physical activity is extremely valuable for managing mental wellbeing. So move your body, Saunders says, and reap the benefits of the endorphins. Eating well, drinking plenty of water and prioritising sleep all help too, he says. He adds that its important to have coping strategies for tough times. Exercise, yoga, meditation and other hobbies can be part of your toolkit. Avoid the temptation to self-medicate with alcohol and other drugs. They make things feel good in the short-term but mask the problem and make you feel a lot worse over time, Saunders says. Dont be afraid to cry Just like its completely normal to feel anxious right now, its perfectly reasonable to cry. We are human. Emotions are here for a reason. Its definitely a good idea to cry if youre feeling it, Saunders says. Cavenett adds that crying has a real healing effect too.We experience a beautiful endorphin release after crying and its actually very cathartic, she says. Its also really good for our body to be told by us that it can experience emotion and be sad and that its OK. Connect with others Loading Share whats on your mind with friends and family. As Saunders says, a problem shared is a problem halved. It makes us feel supported, can boost our confidence and makes us feel energised, he says. Journaling can have a similar effect, as the idea is to help you untangle your thoughts. If talking to loved ones isnt cutting it, theres no shame in reaching out to a counsellor or mental health service such as Headspace or Beyond Blue. Dr Grant Blashki recommends seeking professional help if your distress is interfering with your day-to-day life, affecting your sleep or dominating your thoughts and conversations. Saunders says that young people who may never have seen such images of war might have a lot of questions. Its OK to say I dont know. You dont have to have all the answers. Cavenett says that if a child or teenager is worried, ask them what theyre thinking about and have an open conversation. Target their particular concern and give them realistic but age-appropriate answers. Its also OK to tell them you share their worry, Saunders says. Think about how you can contribute Look for ways to feel engaged and act part of a community because a sense of belonging can be really important right now, Saunders says. It promotes a sense of hope. You might want to contact your local Ukrainian community to ask how you can support them. There are also organisations accepting donations to directly help people affected by the crisis. The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations has launched a Ukraine Crisis Appeal. Caritas Australia is also fundraising. Other charities providing aid include Voices of Children, Save The Children, Sunflower of Peace, Ukrainian Red Cross, the UNs Ukraine Humanitarian Fund and UNICEF. This has made news around the world she tells this masthead. Its absolutely extraordinary to see this playing out in a defamation trial. Those of us in this field in academia are just watching it with our mouths agape because we just cant believe that so much is being said so openly in this kind of [civil] case. There are, of course, other dimensions to the Roberts-Smith trial that have nothing to do with the fate of Afghan detainees. There are the accusations of bullying and intimidation against some other SAS soldiers, and Roberts-Smiths alleged striking of his former lover, all of which he has forcefully denied. Another facet of the case was drawn into the light on Wednesday, as the court heard evidence from private investigator, John McLeod, once a trusted gofer for Roberts-Smith, about envelopes he says the Victoria Cross recipient asked him to post. Unbeknown to McLeod (he says), the envelopes contained threatening letters to at least one other SAS member. Roberts-Smith has denied any knowledge of the missives. But its the alleged events in Afghanistan that have generated the most headlines. Thus far, the court has heard from half-a-dozen soldiers, called as witnesses by the media outlets. There are a dozen more to come. Soldiers giving evidence for Roberts-Smith will start to be heard from mid-March. There have been vivid descriptions of battles, SAS operating procedures, tactics and feats of endurance, and the laying bare of rivalries and grievances between soldiers. The federal agencies keeping closest watch are the Defence Department, the Australian Federal Police, the Attorney-General and the new body, the Office of the Special Investigator. The Office of the Special Investigator had its roots in the report of Justice Paul Brereton, released after a four-and-a-half year inquiry in November 2020 conducted under the auspices of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force. Justice Paul Breretons war crimes report was issued in November 2020 after a four-and-a-half year inquiry. The Brereton report rocked the country with its conclusion that there was credible information of serious war crimes having been committed by up to 25 current or former ADF personnel, though none of the suspects were named. But because Breretons findings were the result of an inquiry conducted as part of the military justice system, not a criminal investigation, there was a limit on how they could be used. Specifically, some information had been compelled from soldiers who were given protection from self-incrimination, meaning portions of it were never going to be admissible in criminal proceedings. The Office of the Special Investigator was set up in January last year in part to try to resolve this problem, or, as its Director-General Chris Moraitis put it, to triage the work of the Brereton inquiry. It has since spent 14 months quietly building up some of the most formidable investigation teams in the country, drawing on 54 specialist investigators and analysts 16 seconded from the AFP and 36 from state police forces led by two commanders. If ever there are to be criminal prosecutions of Australian soldiers for misdeeds in Afghanistan, it will be because of the work of the Office of the Special Investigator. Its leadership team is highly experienced, comprising Moraitis, who is a former head of the Attorney-Generals Department, and Special Investigator Mark Weinberg, QC, a former judge and onetime Commonwealth director of public prosecutions. Rounding out the leadership team is Ross Barnett, a former deputy commissioner of the Queensland Police Service. Together with 25 support staff, the agency now has a total of 84 people working for it, with a budget of just over $40 million. OBrien says the creation of the Office of the Special Investigator makes Australia unique among its allies, and that no other nations which served alongside in Afghanistan have launched similar inquiries. We really are a pack leader in terms of probing whether our own soldiers have committed such crimes, she says. Office of the Special Investigator Director-General Chris Moraitis says his organisation is operating in a complex legal landscape. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Its a highly effective way of doing it, taking it outside the military to ensure that it is independent. The reason the government has created a separate office is because of the complexity of war crimes investigations, the complexity of the situations in which they occur, and also the sheer amount of evidence that is required to prove these kinds of crimes. The authorities have known this trial was coming for 3 years and could have asked the Federal Court to delay the defamation case while their investigations are under way. But no application was ever made, leaving the newspapers to call more than 20 soldiers as witnesses to defend their stories about the Brereton inquiry. Moraitis says his organisation is operating in a complex legal landscape. He has also damped down expectations that its processes will be quick, warning we must take the time to get this right. That means, he warns, a measured, methodical and precautionary approach, delivering potential suspects all the protections provided by the Australian criminal justice system while ensuring the integrity and robustness of our investigations and any future prosecutions. In other words, it could be years before the work of the Office of the Special Investigator lands any soldiers in court, says OBrien. These would be serious charges. You dont want to go to trial with insufficient evidence and find that, if someone has committed a war crime, they get away with it because the case was not put together well enough, OBrien says. As for the relevance, if any, of the Roberts-Smith defamation case, the Office of the Special Investigator is remaining silent. The defamation action brought by Mr Ben Roberts-Smith in the Federal Court of Australia is a civil matter between the parties and it would not be appropriate to comment further, a spokesperson told this masthead. In Senate committee hearings a week ago, Moraitis told MPs that the case is a private matter [and] to date, we dont think that it has impacted adversely on our work. But OBrien says: I have no doubt they will be keeping a very close eye on the Roberts-Smith defamation trial. Having accepted that the coal plants would go due to market forces and should go due to their terrible impact on emissions, the federal government would collaborate with the plants owners to see them out faster. A levy would be placed on power sales to create a pool which would be distributed to the plant owners for payments to close their plants at set dates. Given that crucial data about the plants operations were held by the private sector, the government would create a competitive bidding process to determine which plant would close and at what payment level. After plants made bids, the energy regulator would choose a winner. With a schedule for the networks closure drawn up years in advance, federal and state governments working with unions and civil society groups would then be free to draft plans to ensure that the energy supply remained predictable and work forces hit by the closures had time to prepare. The paper was well-received in energy policy circles, mentioned in Labor policy documents for the 2016 election, only to then fade from public view. The economic and environmental forces acting against coal didnt change, though, and in 2018 Jotzo published a second paper on the theme, Coal Transitions in Australia. By then coal provided about 60 per cent of Australias power, down from 80 per cent at the turn of century, and 10 coal-fired power plants had closed in the previous decade. The surviving 18 plants had an average age of 30 years, and the average age of the plants in the fleet at their point of closure was 40. Given increasing costs of running ageing plants, falling costs of renewables and intensifying international pressure to reduce emissions, Jotzo and his co-authors saw it as clear that there was no private sector urge to spend the billion or so dollars it would cost to extend the life of the plants, let alone the billions to build a new one, especially as the cost of renewables continued to plummet. They laid out two scenarios for the death of the fleet. Under the more rapid scenario the fleet would be reduced to less than one-third of its then capacity before 2030, and by 2035 only one plant would remain. At the time, Jotzo says today, that prediction was dismissed out of hand by many in the industry. As it turns out, Jotzo was right about the trend, or at least he has been so far. And in a survey by the Australian Energy Market Operator, the industrys regulator, it is also now the scenario that stakeholders believe to be most likely. Given that Jotzos predictions of a rapid coal retreat have been proven correct, does it matter that the government did not intervene with a plan to manage it? Well, yes, says Jotzo. He believes that if the exit was planned there would have been more investment in wind and solar and firming technology to replace coal sooner, and more certainty for the market and the affected communities. Both the Victorian and the federal government rushing in with local economic stimulus programs, and retraining programs and so forth, says Jotzo. All of it was done in terrible haste. They were reasonably successful considering just how quickly it was all put together, but this can obviously be done a lot better and a lot more cost-effectively as well. The planned retreat model is not unprecedented. Germany managed to shut down its vast network of black coal mines in the Ruhr Valley without retrenching work forces and with retraining and new job opportunities in place. Working under a slogan that can be loosely translated to No Miner Left Underground, the government adopted a similar convening role as the one Jotzo proposes. It worked with industry and unions to schedule closures, transferring workers who wanted to remain in the industry from one to the next while offering healthy severance packages to older employees who sought early retirement and retraining packages to younger miners. One of the men who has led this transition was Michael Mersmann, director of global affairs with German mining union IG BCE. Loading Asked if Australia might manage a similar feat, Mersmann told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that he thought not, so fractured is the relationship between the unions and generators and the federal government. In your country you are rather heading towards a conflict, not a consensus. What we are trying to do here is have softer negotiations and find a solution at an earlier point. It is also clear, though, that the feral politics of climate change have poisoned the well in this country in a way that has not happened in Europe. Warrick Jordan, a coordinator of the Hunter Jobs Alliance, which is seeking to help prepare for a transition from coal in NSW, says he has noticed a significant difference in attitudes among the community to this weeks announcement of the closure of Eraring and the announcement in 2015 that the neighbouring Liddell plant would close by 2022. Loading There is a clear sense, he says, that the Eraring closure is being driven by changed economic circumstances. When the Liddell closure was announced, many believed that AGL had somehow internalised green propaganda. The end result might be the same, he says, but changes caused by economic rather than environmental decisions seem to be more easily accepted. But he agrees with Jotzo that the certainties delivered by a transition plan would help. Communities faced with the loss of coal power and associated mines and heavy industry fare best when they are replaced with a complex mix of high-end industry and technology, which takes time and funding, he says. Theres a reason we are punching-on with Uzbekistan and Burkina Faso to come in at number 87 in the economic complexity index, Jordan remarks drily. What he is referring to is an international measure of how complex the economies of different regions and countries are. More complex economies demand greater knowledge and education standards and suggest a higher level of economic development. Japan is ranked as number one followed by Switzerland and South Korea. As Jordan correctly recalls, Australia is ranked 87, beneath Uganda but ahead of Burkina Faso. Uzbekistan has pulled ahead to number 80. The index shows that Australia is a nation with first-world living standards but a third-world economic mix. Jordan believes that Australia will fare far better in future if the void left by coal is filled with a mesh of high-end manufacturing and tech industries, something better achieved with a national plan. Loading Each year for over a decade the International Energy Agency has failed to predict the speed at which solar would fall in cost and enter the global energy mix, often by a factor of 50 per cent or more. Over time the IEA annual predictions became a running joke in energy analysis circles, says Jotzo, at least until last year, when the organisation finally conceded that solar was now the cheapest energy source in history. NSW has recorded 7583 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths, as restrictions ease on face masks in shops and offices ahead of rules being relaxed in schools next week. There are 1144 COVID-19 patients in the states hospitals. There are 64 people in intensive care including 28 on ventilators. This is compared to 1211 patients on Thursday, and 59 in ICU. Face mask rules eased in NSW on Friday but remain mandatory in some settings. Credit:Kate Geraghty Of the new cases, 4774 were from positive rapid antigen tests and 2809 from PCR tests. The deaths were of five men and one woman. Five people were from south-western Sydney and one person was from the states Northern Rivers region. One person was aged in their 50s, one in their 70s and four in their 80s. Police have shot a 32-year-old Kedron man, who later died, after he allegedly threatened staff at a Logan fast food restaurant with a knife before confronting officers. Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said officers were called to a disturbance on Chambers Flat Road at Marsden Shopping Centre just before 5pm on Friday. Ms Carroll confirmed the man had threatened staff at a McDonalds restaurant and was holding one employee at knifepoint when officers arrived. This person was threatening a female employee, and police called on this person numerous times to put down the knife, but [he] refused, the Commissioner said. Archaeological remnants of convict-era Brisbane were allowed to be excavated this week for a $1.3 billion busway project to proceed. Brisbane Times on Monday revealed that Brisbane Metro workers had unearthed the convict hospital and foundations of the original Lands Office from the Moreton Bay penal colony underneath Adelaide Street. A worker inspects a 30-metre drystone wall discovered under Adelaide Street. Credit:Brisbane City Council Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner described the discovery as the most significant recent archaeological finds regarding European history in Brisbane. By Thursday afternoon, however, they were removed by a small bulldozer, which pried out every piece of stone to be carted away. A federal watchdog has ended an investigation of a major union that counts senior Labor figure Bill Shorten among its former heads after finding there wasnt enough evidence to prosecute its officials. Australian Federal Police raided the Sydney and Melbourne offices of the Australian Workers Union in October 2017 over media reports the union had breached its own rules concerning donations to leftwing campaigner GetUp! and Mr Shortens 2007 election campaign. Former Labor leader Bill Shorten accused the government of using the cover of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to quietly just drop everything because of the absence of sufficient evidence. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen However, the Registered Organisations Commission (ROC), which pursued the investigation, said while it found there had been several record-keeping infractions, there was insufficient documentary evidence of any specific conduct of the AWUs officeholders to recommend action be taken against them. Mr Shorten accused the government of using the cover of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to quietly just drop everything because of the absence of sufficient evidence. After Russia started its invasion of Ukraine with missiles and bombs, which was condemned by many nations, China was reluctant to rebuke Russia's aggression openly, instead, it pointed fingers at the United States and its allies for escalating the conflict. A government official of Beijing avoided directly answering questions from the members of the press whether China considers Russia's military actions as an act of "invasion." Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying repeatedly said that the crisis was "not what we hope to see" and blamed the United States, implying that the administration of United States President Joe Biden was the one worsening the situation due to its warnings in recent weeks of Russia's "imminent invasion" of Ukraine. Hua said China took a "responsible attitude and persuaded all parties" to de-escalate tensions or incite war. "Those who follow the US' lead in fanning up flames and then shifting the blame onto others are truly irresponsible," she told reporters per CNN. Hua made similar remarks the day before the invasion, attributing the turmoil on "NATO expansion eastward all the way to Russia's doorstep." China Does Not Want To Call Russian Strike on Ukraine an "Invasion" However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry official refused to call Russia's attack on Thursday an "invasion." Hours after the violent strike, leaders from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other countries condemned Moscow's military actions. Hua told one media reporter that the US has been "fueling the flame" and then asked how Washington is going to "put out" the fire. She also underscored that China is "closely" monitoring the situation's progress in Ukraine and hopes that all sides can resume "dialogue and negotiation," according to CNBC. The Russian invasion happened after a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, in which the two leaders demonstrated their close ties with a highly publicized summit ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Read Also: Russia Attacks Ukraine in Sad Tragedy: Social Media Videos Show Horrifying Outcome, Fatalities Ukraine Seeks South Korea's Help in Bolstering Cybersecurity Capabilities Meanwhile, Ukraine's top official in South Korea sought the help of Seoul in bolstering Kyiv's cybersecurity defense against online attacks initiated by Russia. Ukraine's Ambassador-Designate to South Korea, Dmytro Ponomarenko, said the Russians have been attacking websites of the Ukrainian government's agencies. Reuters reported that a worldwide cybersecurity firm recently found type of devastating software has been detected spreading in Ukraine and has infected several computers. Experts considered it part of what has been described as an increased surge of cyberattacks against the country. Ponomarenko commended South Korean President Moon Jae-in's remarks that Ukraine's sovereignty must be respected, and Seoul supports a peaceful resolution of the crisis but expressed hopes for additional assistance. The Ukrainian diplomat said in a statement that his country would be "grateful" if South Korea assists in amplifying Kyiv's cybersecurity capabilities, being a "highly developed hi-tech country." Reuters reported that South Korea's foreign ministry official has announced that the country will increase its support for Ukraine but refuses to elaborate on future cyber partnerships. Last year, South Korea identified Ukraine as a major beneficiary of official development assistance, and it is actively supporting the country's education, health, and public administration sectors. Related Article: Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, World Leaders Slam Vladimir Putin, Russia for Taking 'Bloodshed' Path in Ukraine Invasion @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Services Australia awarded a multimillion-dollar property contract to a close friend and associate of Morrison government cabinet member Stuart Robert at a time he was the minister responsible for the agency. The $3.59 million tender was awarded to Australian Property Reserve Pty Ltd for the continued lease of its Central Coast Smart Centre at Tuggerah, NSW, in July 2020. Services Australia awarded a $3.59 million contract to a friend of Stuart Robert, when he was the minister responsible. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Australian Property Reserve was registered as a company in August 2015 and lists John Margerison, a former LNP fundraiser who Mr Robert has described as a very good friend, as its sole director. According to ASIC documents, all shares are owned by United Marketing Pty Ltd. United Marketing, in turn, is owned by Mr Margerison, ASIC records show. As Russias invasion forces moved closer to key targets across Ukraine on Friday and rockets rained down on the countrys main cities, ordinary Ukrainians took refuge underground or tried to go about their day as normal. Moscow claimed it was attacking only military targets but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said civilian sites had also been hit. Hundreds of people take shelter inside a downtown Kharkiv metro station as explosions are heard outside on February 24. Credit:Washington Post/Salwan Georges Theyre killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets, he said. In Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city and a mere 40 kilometres from the Russian border, hundreds of residents huddled together in underground metro stations, The Washington Post reported. Russian artillery sporadically thundered above. Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Evgeny Yenin said a Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet had been shot down over Kyiv, crashing into homes. A photo from the Ukrainian Emergency Services appeared to show the rubble of a two-storey home under remnants of a jet. The remains of a Ukrainian jet shot down by the Russians, seen in the ruins of a two-story house in Kyiv. Credit:Ukrainian Emergency Services Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged citizens to volunteer to help against the offensive, saying he and his family were prime targets because the Russians were seeking to remove the elected government. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of the state, he said in a video address released after midnight on Friday, Kyiv time. We are left to our own devices in defence of our state. Mr Zelensky called for an anti-war coalition in a call with Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda to seek military help from Eastern European members of NATO, while Ukrainians urged a no-fly zone over their country to put an end to missile and aircraft attacks. While British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the Ukrainian leader the world was united in its horror at the conflict, air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv while witnesses reported gun battles with Russian soldiers on the citys streets. Russian civilians, meanwhile, protested against the war in demonstrations that led to 940 people being detained in Moscow and hundreds receiving the same sanctions in other cities. Mr Zelensky addressed the protestors in Russian in his video address, saying: We see you. It means you have heard us. Fight for us. Fight against war. In a claimed counter-attack, the Ukrainian military said it had made a successful strike on a Russian air field in Millerovo, near Rostov, while Russias RIA news agency said the governor of Russias southern Belgorod province alleged seven residential buildings in the region had been damaged by shelling from Ukraine. The United States and its European allies deployed thousands of troops to NATO members including Poland and the Baltic states but declared again they would not send troops into Ukraine, choosing instead to escalate trade and financial sanctions in the hope it would halt the invasion. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a Russian attack beyond Ukraine was a possibility, but reiterated the US commitment towards defending its NATO allies, warning that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members of NATO. High-rise towers burned in the night in Kyiv after the city was hit with heavy shelling. Credit:Ukraines State Emergency Services US President Joe Biden condemned the naked aggression Mr Putin had unleashed and said the Russian President was driven by a desire for empire that meant bullying his neighbours through coercion and corruption. Putins actions betray his sinister vision for the future of our world one where nations take what they want by force, he said. Loading Putin will be a pariah on the international stage. Mr Biden insisted the sanctions would have a greater impact than another option being debated, removing Russia from the SWIFT network that underpins global banking, with Germany and Italy opposed that move out of fear of an extreme disruption to financial markets. Asked by a journalist whether the sanctions were strong enough, Mr Biden said: Lets have a conversation in another month or so to see if theyre working. Prime Minister Scott Morrison backed the case to exclude Russian banks from SWIFT and promised medical supplies and non-lethal military equipment to help Ukraine. Labor leader Anthony Albanese also urged punitive action against Russia to stop the conflict. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told US network ABC he was convinced the Russian objective was to overthrow the Ukrainian government with an assault on Kyiv, saying an attack beyond Ukraine was a possibility but would be resisted by NATO. Ukraines Ministry of Interior estimated Russia has conducted 393 bombardments since the invasion began at dawn on Thursday, Kyiv time. The government said the attacks had killed at least 137 Ukrainians, including military personnel and civilians, and wounded another 316. The Russian army crossed the border from Belarus and took control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power station in northern Ukraine on a strategic route to Kyiv. The White House said Russian troops had taken staff at the station hostage. Russian forces also moved across the contested Donbas region of Luhansk and Donetsk, two areas Mr Putin has recognised as separate republics in a move dismissed by other countries as a violation of international law. The Russian and Ukrainian navies fought in the Black Sea as part of an attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa. Within hours of Russias invasion of Ukraine, we were confronting the human tragedy: the loss of life and the destruction or seizure of infrastructure. The following economic devastation will also have a great human toll. Yet the economic damage will not be confined to Ukraine and Russia. What is the likely impact on the global economy and how will it affect Australia? First, the Russian economy matters mainly because, like Australia, it is a big global supplier of commodities in terms of oil and gas, but also nickel, palladium, coal, copper and wheat. Demonstrators holding a banner with the Ukraine national colours in Rome. Credit: AP Europe is particularly vulnerable to a supply shock as it is especially reliant on Russian oil and gas. More than 20 per cent of Germanys gas emanates from Russia, hence why German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a pretty gutsy call to call a halt production of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Previous chancellors Gerhard Schroder and Angela Merkel had been cosying up to Russia, motivated by its gas resources, for years. (Schroder has been nominated to be on the board of Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom). Washington: As Joe Biden wrapped up his first press conference since Vladimir Putin launched his bloody invasion into Ukraine, a key question remained: what are you waiting for, Mr President? After spending weeks promising swift and severe sanctions if his Russian counterpart invaded, the US response has instead been incremental and measured - much to the frustration of many Ukrainians whose lives are now being upended by the greatest conflict Europe has faced since World War II. To be fair, the sanctions announced early Friday morning (AEDT) were a significant escalation on the modest package Biden launched on Tuesday, when it was still not clear how rapidly Putin would carry out his assault on the former Soviet nation. Under the latest tranche, Russias biggest banks will be excluded from global financial systems, including the countrys top two lenders: Sberbank and VTB Bank. Samara Capital, an India-focused private equity firm and a local partner of Amazon.com Inc., is planning to raise as much as $500 million for a new fund targeting in Asias third-biggest economy. The Mumbai-based company is looking to invest in businesses ranging from retail and health care to technology and finance, and plans to close the fund in the second half of 2022, Sumeet Narang, Samaras founder and managing director, said in an interview. We have started the roadshows and many of our existing investors across the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific have already signed up, Narang said. Samara is seeking to step up investments in a consumer market of a billion-plus people. Almost 120 companies, including online grocers to food delivery and beauty startups, raised about $18 billion in initial public offerings last year, a record for the country. Founded in 2007, the firm has invested more than $1 billion since inception, according to its website. The new fund will consider investing $50 million to as high as $400 million in mid-market for a controlling stake, Narang said. Samara and Amazon are partners in Witzig Advisory Services Pvt., an investment vehicle that acquired More Retail Pvt. in 2019 from billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birlas conglomerate Aditya Birla Group. More Retail is weighing an IPO that could raise as much as $500 million at a valuation of $5 billion, Bloomberg reported in December. Deals involving private equity firms have been rising in India as highly indebted conglomerates look to sell businesses to help pay debt, while succession planning prompts some tycoons to dispose of assets and set up family offices. Easy loans are also helping PEs to finance buyouts. Carlyle Group Inc.s Asia chairman X.D. Yang said in November that the U.S.-based PEs investment amount and pace in India are getting pretty close to that in China. Last year, Samara listed quick service restaurant operator Sapphire Foods India Ltd. -- a local franchisee for Pizza Hut and KFC. We will have 10 active portfolio companies, Narang said. Every year we invest in two to three and exit the same number. (With assistance from David Morris.) owner IAG SA said it should turn profitable from the second quarter, joining other European carriers in predicting a travel rebound in coming months. While IAG, which also owns Spains Iberia and Aer Lingus of Ireland, sees a significant loss this quarter, bookings are now running at 85% of pre-pandemic levels as concerns about the omicron variant of Covid-19 fades, it said in a statement Friday. Demand slowed down for very near-term trips following the emergence of omicron in late November, Chief Executive Officer Luis Gallego said. However, bookings have remained strong for Easter and summer 2022 having picked up in the New Year. The group predicted a profit for 2022 as a whole assuming no setbacks from the pandemic or material impact from the conflict in Ukraine, after posting a smaller than expected adjusted operating loss for 2021 of 2.97 billion euros ($3.3 billion). IAGs markets are beginning to revive after its global reach led it to be hit harder by the pandemic than short-haul rivals like Ryanair Holdings Plc. has seen a boost from the reopening of North Atlantic routes, though long-haul demand remains subdued elsewhere with some Asian countries still effectively closed to travel. Shares of IAG traded 2.5% higher as of 8:35 a.m. in London, taking gains this year to 5.8%. Capacity Boost IAG plans to operate almost two-thirds of 2019 capacity in the first quarter, increasing to 85% for the full year after what Gallego said should be a robust summer. Seating should return to pre-pandemic levels by the second quarter in Europe and the third on North Atlantic markets, he said on a conference call. Among IAGs full-service rivals, Air France-KLM said Feb. 17 it would offer up to 78% of pre-pandemic capacity in the first three months, without disclosing the full-year plan. Deutsche Lufthansa AG reports results next week. The CEO said that IAG is still talking with Air Europa on ways to collaborate after it dropped a takeover of the Spanish long-haul leisure carrier. He said that while owner Globalia is considering options with other European carriers IAGs strength in Spain makes it the best suitor. Optimism about European markets has meanwhile prompted the IAG to revive plans to purchase short-haul planes, Gallego said, with a tender issued to Boeing Co. and Airbus SE and a decision likely to be made as soon as the end of this quarter. Fleet Expansion IAG previously placed a tentative order for 200 Boeing 737 Max jets before the deal lapsed. The group is now in advanced talks on a mixed order for dozens of 737s and Airbus A320s, Reuters reported this week. IAG is working with advisers on a review that could lead to stake sales, partnerships and joint ventures, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the situation. Potential assets that might be used to raise funds include planes, IAGs frequent-flier program and its cargo unit. Gallego said its avoiding Russian airspace following the attack on Ukraine and a U.K. decision to ban Aeroflot flights. Thats seen it cancel a service to Moscow on Friday, with operations to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia taking diversionary routes. The impact for us is not huge because right now we are only flying to a small number of destinations in Asia, he said. The Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) has commissioned India's first Smart Managed EV Charging Station' at Mayur Vihar in east Delhi, an official statement said on Friday. The EV charging station, which can charge five e-vehicles simultaneously, is located at BYPL's 11 kV sub-station building in Mayur Vihar Extension Phase-I, it stated. The carefully selected site is a gateway to Noida and can be easily accessed by EV users and EV fleet operators. Depending on the response, more such smart EV charging stations will be rolled-out in south, west, east and central Delhi, it said. Launched as a pilot project, the station has been partially funded by Nordic Innovation, an organisation promoted by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the statement said. It has been executed by Fortum Charge and Drive, a Gurgaon-based private firm, and will be the first BYPL operated and managed smart EV charging station, it said. The station was inaugurated by the Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairperson Justice Shabihul Hasnain Shastri' and DERC member Dr AK Ambasht, the statement said. Unlike conventional EV charging stations, this station can be integrated with BYPL's SCADA system - the state-of-the-art nerve system of the discom - and managed remotely, the statement said. The smart charging station being set-up is truly smart and equipped with an analytic platform', which will help electric vehicle (EV) owners get a seamless digital experience, it said. The EV chargers at the outlet are being integrated with a mobile application that enables consumers to locate, pre-book an appointment, and even pay at the EV charging station. It will be available on both Android and iOS platforms, the statement said. is gearing up to play a major role in the emerging EV sector, said a spokesperson. This partnership with Nordic Innovation and Fortum Charge is a testimonial to these efforts. Through this association, we at BYPL aim to reiterate our commitment to energy efficiency and sustainable growth. We plan to install more such smart public EV charging stations in the future, read the statement. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) State-owned on Friday said Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has approved development of 400 MW solar park by the company at Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. According to a company statement, an in-principle approval has been accorded by the ministry for development of this project under Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Parks of its solar park scheme. Company's Chairman and MD Nand Lal Sharma said is the Solar Power Park Developer (SPPD) for all renewable energy projects in Himachal Pradesh. "Government of Himachal Pradesh had recommended to commission this solar park by SPPD of the state. Being the Nodal Agency for National Level Renewable Development for Himachal, has been entrusted with this responsibility by MNRE," he said. SJVN is gearing up for preparation and submission of Detailed Project Report (DPR) at the earliest in accordance with the timelines of the solar park scheme. Sharma further said SJVN is already preparing DPR for 880 MW Kaza Solar Park in Himachal Pradesh. Besides being eco-friendly, development of these solar parks will usher in host of economic activities, community and infrastructural development and multiple direct & indirect employment opportunities to the locals. Presently, SJVN has a portfolio of more than 16,400 MW and with this latest addition, the renewable energy portfolio is now 3054.5 MW. (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.) Russian forces seized Chernobyl nuclear power plant after a fight against Ukrainian troops when Moscow began its strike on the eastern European country. Ukraine's Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak announced the incident and considered it among "the most serious threats in Europe." But what does Russia gain in taking over the infamous power plant? After a failed safety test at the atomic plant's fourth reactor, the Chernobyl disaster in then-Soviet Ukraine spread clouds of radioactive material throughout much of Europe in the mid-1980s. Per Forbes, it became a tourist attraction decades later. But a week before, Russia attacked Ukraine, and the Chernobyl zone was closed to travelers. On April 26, 1986. the nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Ukraine, exploded, resulting in the world's worst nuclear accident. Estimated 9,000 individuals died due to radiation exposure based on the records from the United Nations, the World Health Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency. The radiation from the explosion spread as far as the United Kingdom, which is almost 1,500 miles away from Ukraine. According to reports, more than 2 million people, including roughly 450,000 children, are still receiving medical services due to the explosion, according to data obtained from the Ukrainian Health Ministry. The first video from the captured Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Ukraine's PM Shmyhal has confirmed that the exclusion zone and all the NPP facilities have come under the control of the Russian forces. pic.twitter.com/D1da62UiRV Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) February 24, 2022 Russia Wants To Make a Statement Reuters reported that one Russian security source noted that the reason why Russia captured the Chernobyl area was to make a statement for NATO not to make military interference. The nuclear power plant has historical significance for Russia. Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union's president during the Chernobyl disaster, has stated that the accident "was perhaps the real cause" of the Soviet Union's collapse, even more than his policy to reorganize the economy and political framework. Julie Bishop, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, believes that the seizing of the Chernobyl plant "makes no sense" unless Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to issue a warning to nations of the world that "Russia is a nuclear power," per ABC. For Alexy Muraviev, national security and strategic expert at Curtin University, Moscow forces took over the power plant to protect it because they consider it a strategic asset near the border. He said that Russia wants to ensure "nuclear safeguards are in place. " Read Also: China: Joe Biden, USA to Blame for 'Fanning Up Flames' Leading to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine For Strategic Advantage Security fellow Samantha Turner of the Truman National Security Project says that though the area is already abandoned and the nuclear power plant is not operational anymore, combat in the area could lead to spillage of radioactive waste. She also said that it gives Russian troops access to the Dnipro River that extends from Kyiv to the nation of Belarus, an ally of Russia. Though the area does not hold "battle-determining" importance, it gives Moscow troops "opening up different corridors for troop movement and controlling key terrain." she told BBC. But for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian forces' seizing of the Chernoby area signifies something that should be taken seriously. Moments after the zone was captured, he tweeted that Ukraine's "defenders are giving their lives" to prevent the "tragedy of 1986" from happening again. "This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe," Zelensky said. Related Article: Donald Trump Says Putin Invaded Ukraine Now Considering Joe Biden's Weakness @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The pharmaceutical sector in the country can grow to USD 130 billion by 2030, industry captains said on Friday. He, along with other industry leaders, participated in a 'CEOs Conclave' as part of 'BioAsia 2022', the Telangana government's flagship annual life sciences convention that concluded on Friday. "I think USD 130 billion by 2030 is what the consensus estimate was. I think I agree with it, entirely possible. We can screw it up. But, I think it is within reach," G V Prasad, Co-Chairman and MD of Dr Reddy's Laboratories said. Recalling the USD 130 billion estimate made earlier, Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said: "I think if all the players, I see their level of excitement and the sense about future, I think we should be on the way to achieve that kind of a number." They were asked about their expectation in terms of the size of the industry. Asked how they saw 2022 panning out for the industry, Shanghvi expressed optimism about the growth potential. "I share your optimism that hopefully, next year will be going back to the physical kind of world that we are familiar with. If we go back to that kind of a situation, I see a potential for the business to continue to go up," he said. Improvement in patient and doctor visits to the clinics should help the industry and the patients, he said. "As India becomes an increasingly more important component for the global supply chain, that should benefit the industry going forward. Various measures taken by the government should also further strengthen our ability to compete. I am quite optimistic," Shanghvi said. Prasad shared the optimism expressed by the MD. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) on Friday said it will start six flights between India and Bangkok from March 10 onwards. "The airline will introduce daily direct flights connecting Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata with the Thai capital," the airline's press release said. The airline will be deploying B737 aircraft to operate all India-Bangkok flights, it stated, adding the Kolkata-Bangkok flight and the return flight will begin from March 10. The Delhi-Bangkok flight and the return flight will begin from March 10, it noted. will start Mumbai-Bangkok flight and the return flight from March 17, it said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian troops advance on Kyiv as Ukrainian leader pleads for help Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleaded for international help to fend off an attack that could topple his democratically elected government, cause massive casualties and ripple out damage to the global economy. Read more to buy Vodafone's 4.7% stake in Indus Towers Telecom operator Ltd said on Friday it agreed to buy UK's Vodafone Group Plc's 4.7% stake in India's largest cell tower firm Indus Towers Ltd. Britain's Vodafone said earlier this week it was looking to sell its entire 28.1% stake in Indus Towers. Read more World shares up, US futures sink as Russia moves toward Ukraine capital World shares advanced Friday but US futures were lower as Russian troops pressed toward the capital of Ukraine. Market benchmarks rose in London, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai but fell in Hong Kong. Russian shares gained 15%, rebounding after a nosedive on Thursday as the invasion of Ukraine began. Read more NSE co-location case: arrests former NSE GOO Anand Subramanian The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) late on Thursday night arrested Anand Subramanian, former Group Operating Officer (GOO) of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Chennai after days of questioning, according to sources. The arrest was made in the case related to the co-location scam, FIR for which was registered in May, 2008, amid fresh revelations about irregularities at the countrys largest stock exchange. Read more To tide over the challenges to meet business-related expenses by MSMEs, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have jointly launched a credit card for the borrowers, offering interest-free credit for up to 50 days. The 'Union MSME RuPay Credit Card' is a new digital payment tool available to the MSME customers of for meeting their business-related operational expenses with interest-free credit for up to 50 days, according to a joint statement released on Friday. The credit card will provide a simplified payment mechanism to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) to meet their business-related operational expenses, it said. Among others, the card also offers the EMI facility to the customers on their business-related purchases. MSMEs will also get specially curated efficient business services on this card, which will help them in taking their business on most of the digital platforms. Additionally, they will also be benefitted in the form of accidental insurance coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh, domestic airport lounge access of two times per quarter, and other rewards using this card. "This credit card will reduce the demand for cash withdrawal by MSME for business expenses besides simplifying their payment mechanism. "With the newly launched credit card facility coupled with the regular working capital limits, MSMEs can reap the benefits of best in class products being made available to them by the bank," Nidhu Saxena, executive director of Union Bank of India, said. It will improve the digital delivery channel in servicing the MSME clientele in a fast-growing tech-savvy economy, Saxena said. Praveena Rai, chief operating officer of NPCI, said, "We believe this initiative will digitally empower MSMEs and help them streamline their regular business expenditure and finances. MSMEs are considered to be the backbone of the economy and we are confident that this card will support MSME with convenient, credit card digital payments." RuPay MSME cards will also support the businesses in their journey of contemporary digitisation, she said. Rai said that there has been portfolio expansion of RuPay from retail users to business users. (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 workers of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Party (NCP) and would stage a protest against Prime Minister during his visit here on March 6, local leaders said on Friday. The three parties are part of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition in Maharashtra. The protest will be against the prime minister's statement in Parliament blaming the Maharashtra government for the spread of coronavirus, the leaders said. City chief Prashant Jagtap and his counterpart Ramesh Bagwe made the announcement here. "To win votes in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, prime minister made remarks in the Lok Sabha suggesting that Maharashtra spread COVID-19 in other states. This was an insult to the state. Therefore, as Modi is likely to come to on March 6, the three parties will stage 'Go Back Modi' agitation," the leader said. The prime minister is expected to visit on March 6 for the inauguration of Metro rail service, but there has been no official intimation about his program yet. The agitation will be held at all key crossroads in the city and protesters will wear black clothes, Jagtap said. The three MVA parties on Friday held a joint protest here against the arrest of state minister and leader Nawab Malik by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case. (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.) For the first time in two years, schools in the national capital will open completely in offline mode from April 1 with the city's disaster management authority on Friday giving its nod to end the hybrid mode of operation. Schools in the national capital were closed in March 2020 ahead of a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel . While schools reopened in phases whenever the COVID-19 situation permitted, they have been operating in the hybrid mode and students were allowed to attend offline classes only with their parents' consent. The National Progressive Schools Conference (NPSC), which has over 120 private schools as its members, termed the decision too little, too late. Why April 1? It should have been allowed from March 1. Children from nursery to class VIII have huge learning gap as we are observing them. In March, we could have focussed our efforts to bridge that gap so that children would have been ready for the next grade in April, NPSC Chairperson Sudha Acharya said. Teachers are overburdened with online & offline teaching and assessment. They are no less than frontline workers and warriors. Teacher's mental health and wellbeing is of utmost important for us to deliver quality education, creating a happy and joyful environment in the school, she added. Anshu Mittal, Principal, MRG School, Rohini welcomed the decision. We welcome this move to reopen the schools for students as now we foresee a major population of students in this age group would have received their first shot and also towards completing their second. We haven't bent down in front of this pandemic and we still won't. Children who are in school seek complete focus of their mentor and are bubbling with energy which was curtailed for almost two years, whereas children whose parents have still opted for online mode may feel that spark of personal interaction is missing," she told PTI. As educators, we have to ensure that a balance is maintained so that no one feels left out. The pandemic took a toll on the emotional as well as physical wellbeing of learners. Yet, we were able to bridge the learning gaps to a large extent by focusing on experiential learning and social skill development activities which result in a smooth transition to offline mode," she added. Her thoughts were echoed by Shubhi Soni, Head of the school, The Shri Ram Wonder Years, Rohini. We are excited and geared up for starting a new session in brick and mortar scenario which means physical classes from April. It is a sigh of relief for all the parents and the educators as for preschoolers it is important to grow, play and enjoy with their peers in a congenial environment provided at school. Setting up their daily routine is a task for the parents and educators too. Need of the hour is to provide them an environment where they are given a platform to interact with peers, express themselves freely, engage in physical activities, pretend play, group activities with peers. We have designed many attractive activities for the new session and this we know would motivate the students to attend school regularly. We are focusing more on physical activity as many students have become physically unfit due to the sedentary life style they had been leading for nearly two years, she said. The Parents Association (DPA) also welcomed the decision but expressed hope that the transportation issue which has deterred parents from sending children to schools during the hybrid mode of operations will be resolved. We welcome the decision to open the schools completely from new session 1st April. Most parents in had demanded for the same that school should only open from new session 2022-23. Hopefully with the opening of schools, the guidelines regarding school transportation will also come out soon, said DPA President Aparajita Gautam. The disappointing part is that the old order, in which classes were supposed to be held in the hybrid mode with parent's consent, is being disregarded by most of the schools. Children are being forced to go offline for the final exams by saying that if they do not come to the school they will not be promoted and won't get the facility of online exams, she added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) minister Nawab Malik, arrested by the two days ago, was admitted to the state-run J J Hospital here on Friday after he complained of stomach pain, an official said. A court has remanded the senior NCP leader in the ED custody till March 3 following his arrest in an alleged money laundering case. On Friday morning, Malik complained of stomach ache and was taken to the hospital around 11.30 am, an official from the J J Hospital told PTI. He was experiencing difficulty while passing urine and admitted to the Urology department, the official added. Malik's office earlier tweeted about his hospitalization. Malik, who is minority development minister and also chief spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party, was arrested by the ED on February 23 in connection with a probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. (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.) Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday refused a request by the state chief secretary for a change in the time of summoning of the assembly from the odd hour of 2 am to 2 pm on March 7. Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi wrote to the governor on Thursday, stating that the state Cabinet's recommendation letter mentioning 2 am as the time for summoning the assembly was an "inadvertent typographical error" and requested that the time of summoning of the House be changed to 2 pm on the same day. "From constitutional perspective, no cognizance of the request of the Chief Secretary can be taken seeking variation in the decision of the Cabinet and as such, for want of jurisdictional competence the same is being returned herewith," the governor tweeted. Saying that a history of sorts was in the making, the governor on Thursday summoned the state assembly at the unusual time of 2 am on March 7. He said the decision to summon the House at such a odd hour was as per the recommendation of the state Cabinet. "Invoking article 174 (1) of Constitution, accepting Cabinet Decision, Assembly has been summoned to meet on March 07, 2022 at 2.00 A.M," the governor had tweeted on Thursday. "Assembly meeting after midnight at 2.00 A.M. is unusual and history of sorts in making, but that is Cabinet Decision," Dhankhar wrote. Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee, commenting on the timing, had said that it may have been a "typographical error". (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.) Punjab CM on Friday wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, requesting the Centre to make immediate arrangements for the safe evacuation of Indians, including Punjabis, stuck in following a Russian military offensive. The state government also set up a dedicated round-the-clock control room to help people stuck in . In his letter to Jaishankar, Channi said, "I would like to bring to your notice that a number of students and other Punjabis are stranded in . Their parents and family members are worried about their safety because of the situation which has developed there. They are facing a number of problems like place to stay, cash crunch, etc." He requested the Centre to make immediate necessary arrangements for their safe evacuation. Meanwhile, the state government in an official statement said, "In a bid to provide all possible assistance to the distressed families in this hour of crisis, the Punjab government has set-up a dedicated 24x7 control room to help people from Punjab stuck in war-hit Ukraine." The affected persons or their relatives can call on Helpline 1100 and others from outside India on +91-172-4111905 for relevant information, it said. The queries on these helpline numbers will be immediately forwarded to the Union Ministry of External Affairs for safe and secure evacuation of persons stranded in Ukraine, it said SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, AAP's Bhagwant Mann and Punjab Lok Congress president Amarinder Singh also appealed to the Centre to ensure their safe return. Bhagwant Mann, AAP's state unit chief, on Friday released a WhatsApp number 9877847778 for Punjabis stranded in Ukraine and their relatives so that people could contact him for help. The Sangrur MP has assured them all possible help, according to a party statement. Former Union minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Friday urged Jaishankar to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of Punjabi students. Until Friday evening, Badal shared a list of 56 students from Punjab who are studying in various colleges in Ukraine. She said there was a likelihood of more Punjabis being stranded in Ukraine, besides people from other states, according to a statement. Badal also reached out separately to Reenat Sandhu, Secretary (West) in the External Affairs Ministry, and requested that all help be extended to Indian students through the embassy in Ukraine. Punjab Lok Congress president and former chief minister Amarinder Singh has also urged the Centre "to put all mechanisms in place for the safe and early return of all our nationals stuck there". Meanwhile, Ludhiana and Jalandhar district administrations issued helpline numbers to collect information of students and other persons stuck in Ukraine. A Helpline 80540-02351 has been set up by the Ludhiana district administration to collect information about students and other persons so that information could be forwarded to the authorities concerned, Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma said. The deputy commissioner urged family members of people stuck in Ukraine to immediately provide information such as the name of the person, father's name, address, mobile number, passport number, university/college name, their address and phone number in Ukraine. Punjab Education Minister Pargat Singh, who is an MLA from Jalandhar, said a Helpline 0181-2224417 has been set up by the district administration for people stuck in Ukraine. "People can visit the DC (Deputy Commissioner's) office, in Room No. 22, during office hrs, to provide info on their family members," he tweeted. As the situation continues to remain grim in Ukraine, the parents whose children have gone there for study are worried for their safety. A Faridkot man whose daughter has gone to Ukraine to study said she was to return on Friday morning but her flights were cancelled. Another student, Sagar from Amritsar, had gone to Ukraine two years ago and his parents are hoping the Indian government will put its best efforts to bring back all countrymen stuck in Ukraine. Another parent from Chandigarh, whose daughter is stuck in Ukraine, said, "We are very worried and our government should evacuate all students and other countrymen who are stranded there". Suchet Singh from Ambala was to return on February 27 and made a video call to his parents, informing them that he, along with some students, has reached close to the Poland border and hoping to be evacuated by the Indian government. Khushi, a student hailing from Sirsa, said she returned earlier this week and her parents heaved a sigh of relief though they were now praying for the safe return of all other students, who are stuck there. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Friday said it has set up a help desk to support and resolve issues of traders on account of the conflict between Russia and . Export-import communities can submit details of their issues on the DGFT website, on which support is required. In view of the current international situation, the Department of Commerce and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) have undertaken to monitor the status and related difficulties being faced by stakeholders on Russia/ trade-related issues. "Department of Commerce/DGFT has operationalised a helpdesk to support and seek suitable resolutions to issues related to India's international trade in this regard with immediate effect," the DGFT said in a trade notice. The status of the matter can be tracked using the status tracker under the DGFT helpdesk services. On Thursday, Russia launched a major military offensive in Ukraine, targeting various cities and military installations that had left the world stunned. Bilateral trade between India and Russia stood at USD 9.4 billion so far this fiscal, against USD 8.1 billion in 2020-21. India's main imports from Russia include fuels, mineral oils, pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical machinery and equipment and fertilisers. While major export items from India to Russia include pharmaceutical products, electrical machinery and equipment, organic chemicals and vehicles. India's bilateral trade with stood at USD 2.3 billion so far this fiscal, as against USD 2.5 billion in the last fiscal. Main items of Indian import from Ukraine are agriculture products, metallurgical products, plastics and polymers, etc., while pharmaceuticals, machinery, chemicals and food products, etc., are the major Indian exports to 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.) Anonymous, an international hacking organization that has carried out cyberattacks on businesses and governments, appeared to declare war on Putin and Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The Twitter account "YourAnonNews", which is followed by 6.5 million users, declared on Thursday that the group of hackers has launched "operations against the Russian Federation." The collective said it wants "only peace in the world" and a "future for all humanity." Anonymous also want Russians "to understand" that it is aware of the struggles of Russians in expressing sentiments "against their dictator for fear of reprisals." That is why they have embarked on cyber war "entirely directed" at the actions of the Kremlin amid the Russia Ukraine crisis. Russian Websites Go Down RT.com, a Russian government-funded news organization, reported it had been attacked in a massive denial-of-service (DDoS) attack., a concerted effort to take down a website by overloading it with traffic. The attack, according to ABC, slowed down certain websites while taking others offline for long periods. The majority of RT.com's coverage of the Ukraine crisis has been pro-Russian, with fireworks and joyous celebrations in the recently captured territory. #Anonymous is currently involved in operations against the Russian Federation. Our operations are targeting the Russian government. There is an inevitability that the private sector will most likely be affected too. While this account cannot claim to speak for the whole (con) Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) February 24, 2022 On Thursday, the Kremlin and the State Duma lower house of parliament's websites were both periodically offline, possibly due to DDoS attacks. Anonymous is a decentralized organization of activists and hacktivists worldwide known to attack many issues. In the past, it has launched online attacks on the Church of Scientology, CIA, and Islamic State. As Russian forces move closer to Ukraine, several websites of the Ukrainian government suffered from DDoS attacks Fox recently reported that the United States government is preparing for possible cyberattacks on a financial institution. Read Also: Russia Seizes Chernobyl: Why is the Controversial Nuclear Plant Crucial to Moscow's Invasion of Ukraine Ukraine Calls on Volunteer Hackers For Help The Ukrainian government is seeking the help of volunteers from the hacker underground in the country in protecting important infrastructure. It also encourages hackers to conduct cyber spying on Russian troops according to a report by Reuters. "Ukrainian cybercommunity! It's time to get involved in the cyber defense of our country," the post read. It was asking hackers and cybersecurity specialists to apply via Google docs and specifying their specialties, such as malware development, and professional references. A co-founder of a cybersecurity company in Ukraine involved with Ukraine's government measures on defending significant infrastructure said that the post was requested by a senior Defense Ministry official. Yegor Aushev of Cyber Unit Technologies said the defense official contacted him to write the post. However, Ukraine Defense Ministry representatives has not provided any comments on the matter yet. Aushev said that hundreds have already submitted their application and will begin the screening process soon to make sure that Russian agents will not infiltrate the digital endeavor. According to specialists at the cybersecurity corporation ESET, a newly discovered piece of damaging software was circulating in Ukraine, damaging hundreds of computers. Suspicion fell on Russia, which has been accused of hacking Ukraine and other countries on several occasions. In modern warfare, per Business Insider, cyberattacks are among the strategies being used by some countries and organizations, capable of breaking down an industrial infrastructure of a nation. Related Article: Vladimir Putin Issues Chilling Warning That the EU, US Is Next After Kyiv Was Left Defenseless, Begging for Assistance @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Even as the number of Covid cases are declining in several parts of the world, US drug maker Moderna has said that the pandemic will end in 2022, yet annual vaccinations are needed, the media reported. Although Covid is entering an endemic phase, Moderna Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said the virus will continue to circulate but at a more static and predictable rate, CNBC reported. "We do believe that we are transitioning into an endemic phase marked by a period of stability in case counts, hospitalisations and deaths at least in the Northern Hemisphere," he was quoted as saying to analysts after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings. North America, Europe, most of Asia and much of Africa are in the Northern Hemisphere. However, Burton said Moderna is closely monitoring the trajectory of the virus in the Southern Hemisphere, which includes large nations such as Brazil and South Africa, as winter approaches there. Burton said Covid will likely follow seasonal patterns like other respiratory viruses, such as the flu. However, he warned people will still get sick and die from Covid even when the virus becomes endemic. He noted that other endemic coronaviruses cause 340,000 hospitalisations and 20,000 deaths annually for people older than 65 years old, citing data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. According to Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, there is still a need for another booster shot in the fall, particularly for individuals over 50 and those who are at high risk due to underlying conditions. "I got a flu shot every year, not that I was worried of dying or getting hospitalised - I just don't want to get sick," Bancel was quoted as saying. On Thursday's earnings call, Bancel said he expects Covid shots will have a similar role in the future as the virus becomes seasonal, the report said. Moderna has also announced that it is developing a booster vaccine that targets Omicron and other Covid variants such as Delta. Burton said the current booster protects against hospitalisation from Delta and to a lesser extent from Omicron. However, he said the effectiveness of the vaccine declines over time, the report said. Burton said the disease burden and deaths have declined from their highest levels during the first wave of infection, when no one had immunity to the virus. "With each subsequent wave in mid-2021 with delta and late 2021 and early 2022 with omicron, the morbidity observed from these waves tended to be less severe, certainly relative to the first wave, as our immune systems became more experienced at fighting the SARS-CoV-2-virus," Burton said. --IANS rvt/vd (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) on Friday ended all restrictions related to implemented in the national capital as cases continue to decline, Chief Minister announced. The night curfew in the capital will be lifted from Monday, news agency ANI reported quoting sources. The government also announced that the fine for not wearing masks will be reduced to Rs 500 from Rs 1000. Kejriwal said that schools will resume physical classes at full capacity from April 1. The decision to withdraw all restrictions by the Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) comes as the situation continues to improve while people continue to face hardships due to the loss of jobs. The decisions were taken during a DDMA meeting, chaired by by Lt Governor Anil Baijal, where emphasis was also laid on following the precautions as well as vaccination. "All should continue following Covid appropriate behaviour. Government will keep strict watch," said Kejriwal on Twitter. on Thursday logged 556 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 1.10 per cent while 6 died due to the Covid-19 disease. The national capital's Covid-19 tally currently stands at 1,858,154 and the death toll is at 26,115. The city on Wednesday reported 583 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 1.05 per cent and three deaths. On Tuesday, the national capital had reported 498 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 0.96 per cent and one death. A day before, it reported 360 cases with the positivity rate falling below the one per cent mark for the first time since December 28. The decline in Covid-19 cases in the national capital comes after the city on January 14 had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent, the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemic. Deputy Chief Minister on Friday said the roads in the national capital will be made pothole-free within a month and if any defects are found, action would be initiated against the engineers concerned. Sisodia, who was allocated the Public Works Department (PWD) portfolio on Wednesday, also said the department will soon launch a mobile application where people will be able to register their complaints about poor road infrastructure, according to an official statement. The deputy chief minister held a meeting with officials on Friday to review the progress of development projects after taking charge of the PWD. He said the Arvind Kejriwal government will develop world-class road infrastructure in . "The residents of would now get pothole-free roads within a month. If there is a defect in the construction of any road, the engineer concerned will be held responsible for it. The PWD will soon launch an app, which would enable the residents to register their complaints against the poor infrastructure of roads," the (AAP) leader was quoted as saying in the statement. At the meeting, Sisodia told the officials that the entire stretch of roads, totalling 1,300 kilometres, that falls under the PWD should be inspected. "Patches, which require any repairs, should be mended within a month. He directed the officials to ensure that the roads are repaired in an efficient manner, with no delays or nuisance," the statement 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.) Amid the ongoing controversy in Karnataka, the Education Committee of the South Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has issued an order asking its education department officials to ensure that no student comes to its in "religious attire". In a phone conversation with ANI, SDMC's Education Committee Chairperson Nitika Sharma said, "An incident had come to the fore from an East school where a girl had gone to the school wearing a . Keeping that in mind, we have issued the order of following the dress code in school. All primary come under MCD. We cannot allow children to dress on the basis of religion." " are being divided on the basis of religion. According to me, students should look similar in their dressing style otherwise a sense of inequality will rise among them. We have primary schools which is the foundation period of a student. We respect all religions and all the students are equal to us," she added. Sharma has written the letter to the Director, Education (SDMC). The SDMC runs primary schools up to Class 5. In the letter to the Director, Sharma wrote, "It has been observed that some parents are sending their children to school in religious attire which is not right. This may develop the mentality of inequality among students, which is not good at all for their future. Keeping in view all these factors, all zonal officials should be directed to ensure that students can wear dress other than their uniforms only during school competitions and festivals." Meanwhile, speaking on the incident of a school refusing entry to a girl in hijab, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "Girls of every religion and every caste study in Delhi schools. There is no restriction and every tradition is respected, so far no one has any problem. We value each and every child." The protests in Karnataka began in January this year when some students of Government Girls PU college in the Udupi district of the state alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students claimed they were denied entry into the college for wearing hijab. Following this incident, students of different colleges arrived at Shanteshwar Education Trust in Vijayapura wearing saffron stoles. The situation was the same in several colleges in the Udupi district. The Karnataka pre-University education board had released a circular stating that students can wear only the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious practices will be allowed in colleges. Meanwhile, the Delhi government has announced that all schools will function completely in offline mode from April 1. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court here on Friday rejected leader Bikram Singh Majithia's regular bail plea, a day after he was remanded in judicial custody following his surrender before a court in connection with a drug case. Majithia was remanded in judicial custody for two weeks by the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Sandeep Kumar Singla. The Akali leader, who was on Thursday evening taken to a Patiala jail, had moved the bail plea, which was taken up by the Mohali court on Friday. "The court on Friday rejected the regular bail plea," said Arshdeep Singh Kaler, one of Majithia's counsels. "We will appeal before the High Court now," he said. The (SAD) had earlier called the registration of the FIR against Majithia as political vendetta and said three DGPs and three Directors of Bureau of Investigation were changed and police officers were allegedly coerced to falsely implicate the leader. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case had questioned Majithia for over an hour in the court complex in Mohali on Thursday. The apex court had recently directed the Police not to arrest the former minister till February 23 so that he could undertake electioneering in the state. A Bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli had, however, directed Majithia to surrender before a trial court after the Assembly polls on February 20. It had also directed the trial court to hear and expeditiously decide Majithia's regular bail plea after his surrender in the case. The pre-arrest bail plea of Majithia, who was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on December 20 last year, was dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 24. Majithia, who is the SAD MLA and brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and brother of former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, contested the February 20 polls from the Amritsar East against Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu. The results of the Assembly elections will be announced on March 10. Majithia, 46, was booked under the NDPS Act on the basis of a 2018 probe report into a drug racket in the state. The 49-page FIR was registered by the state Crime Branch at its Mohali police station last year. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Demanding the safe return of their kin, the family members of Indians stranded in staged a protest near the Embassy of the Russian Federation in central Delhi here on Friday, police said. According to police, around 15 to 20 people came near the Shanti Path around 5.15 pm, but they were not allowed to move ahead. They submitted an MoU at the Ministry of External Affairs and later dispersed from the area peacefully after an hour, a senior police officer said. The protesters were carrying placards mentioning -- 'We need peace for as Indians are also there', 'Save students stuck in Ukraine' etc. About 16,000 Indians, mostly students, are stranded in as Russia's invasion of the East European country entered its second day on Friday. Of the students, many studying medicine in Kharkiv and Kyiv, about 2,500 are from Gujarat and 2,320 from Kerala. (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.) External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Friday discussed the prevailing situation in the east European country which is under attack from Russia, along with the measures to evacuate stranded Indian nationals from there. "Received call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasised that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the way out," Jaishankar tweeted. The minister also stated that they discussed the predicament of Indian nationals, including students. "Appreciate his support for their safe return," Jaishankar said. Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke to Jaishankar and called for collective response over the ongoing crisis. Blinken tweeted, "Spoke with @DrSJaishankar today about the crisis in Ukraine and the importance of a strong collective response to Russian aggression. Russia's attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is a clear violation of the rules-based international order." The spokesperson for the US Secretary of State, Ned Price, said, "Antony Blinken spoke with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar today to discuss Russia's premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine." Price also stated that Blinken stressed the importance of a strong, collective response to condemn Russia's invasion and call for immediate force withdrawal and ceasefire. On Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had stated that Jaishankar has spoken to concerned officials in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia for setting up camps on the border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. India is working out evacuation plans through Romania, Hungary and Poland, after Ukraine shut its airspace soon after the Russian military operation began on Thursday. --IANS sk/arm (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) and will conduct the annual joint military exercise "Dharma Guardian 2022" in Belgaum, Karnataka, from February 27 to March 10, the Defence Ministry said on Friday. "In the series of military training exercises undertaken by with various countries, this exercise with is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both nations in the backdrop of current global situation," the ministry's statement said. The Japanese forces arrived at Belgaum on Friday to take part in this exercise, it noted. India, Japan, the US and Australia are part of the Quad group that has been formed to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free from any malignant influence of China. The scope of Dharma Guardian exercise covers platoon-level joint training on operations in jungle and semi urban and urban terrain, the statement said. Combat experienced troops of the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment of the Indian Army and 30th Infantry Regiment of Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces are participating in the exercise this year, it noted. The 12-day-long exercise schedule includes house interventions drills, raid on terrorist hideouts in semi urban terrain, combat first aid, unarmed combat and close quarter combat firing where both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well-developed tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats, it mentioned. The joint field training exercises, joint combat discussions and joint demonstrations will culminate with a two day validation exercise scheduled on March 8 and March 9, it said. "Special emphasis is being laid on enhancing tactical skills to fight global terrorism and on enhancing inter-operability between the forces and to promote Army to Army relations," the statement read. The annual exercise has been taking place since 2018, it added. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) recorded 530 new cases of that raised the tally of infections to 10,37,696, while the toll reached 10,726 after two patients died of the infection in the last 24 hours, an official from the state health department said on Friday. The positivity rate in the state has dipped to 0.7 per cent from 0.9 per cent recorded on Thursday, he said. At least 889 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 10,22,161, the official said, adding that the state is now left with 4,809 active cases. Bhopal and Indore, the two worst coronavirus-hit cities of Madhya Pradesh, registered 104 and 36 cases, respectively, in the last 24 hours, he said. With 67,367 samples examined during the day, the number of tests conducted in the state went up to 2,77,01,693, the official said. As per a government release, 11,35,82,144 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far in the state, including 63,273 on Friday. figures in MP are as follows: Total cases 10,37,696, new cases 530, death toll 10,726, recoveries 10,22,161, active cases 4,809, number of tests so far 2,77,01,693. (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.) Maharashtra Chief Minister on Friday approved a proposal to give three promotion opportunities to police constables, which will help them attain officer rank before retirement, state Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said. In a series of tweets, Walse Patil hoped the move will strengthen the force and help prevent crime and improve detection. A decision has been made today to fulfill dreams of thousands of head constables in the state of becoming police sub-inspector. Due to this decision, a police constable category staffer will get three promotion opportunities during his service period paving way for his/her retirement as an officer," he said. The minister said a steering committee will be formed at the level of director general of police to implement the government decision. In the wake of the decision, the police force will have 1,08,058 constables, 51,210 head constables and 17,071 assistant police sub-inspectors, he said The minister hoped the number of investigation officers will go up substantially due to this move, which will in turn reduce stress on the existing pool of officers. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over the last 50 years, investing in real estate has grown in popularity. Most people make real estate investments as means of diversifying their investments. Therefore, when you invest smartly in real estate, you can enjoy an excellent rate of return. However, you might ask yourself a few questions if you are new to it. How will I become a real estate investor? How can I make money in real estate? How do I start a real estate business? Below are a few of the main things you ought to know before you invest in real estate. Annual Expenses Investing in real estate entails a few expenses. You have to calculate these inevitable costs to ensure you avoid ending up with a negative cash flow. Check the fixed or routine costs such as maintenance and repairs, insurance, and property taxes so you'll know whether the investment is worth the money. Second, you should assess your variable expenses. Some major variable expenses include replacing the roof, flooring, water heater, or air conditioner. You should also set aside some extra cash for contingencies that might arise. Location When you're looking for the best real estate investment options, you should research the property markets. The location will likely have an impact on your return on investment. Your aim is to find a property that will meet all your personal preferences. If you don't know how to find a suitable location in Houston, it's advisable to seek the help of a Houston property management company. They can help you learn about the local school systems, nearby amenities, future developments, insurance costs, property taxes, and every other factor that contributes to a great location. Investment Purpose A lack of clarity when investing in real estate can lead to unexpected financial distress. Before investing in real estate, therefore, you ought to establish whether you intend to purchase for self-use, lease, or resale. When buying for self-use, you'll want to find a property that will offer the benefits of self-utilization while continuing to appreciate in value. Buying to lease should certainly provide long-term value appreciation as well as ongoing income. If you plan to resell the property, do you expect to do that after a few months or a number of years? Short-term selling will obviously be quick, so it offers only small or at best medium profits. In most cases, the property might be under construction and sold for profit after completion. For long-term selling, you'll focus on intrinsic value appreciation. This strategy tends to provide alternatives for your long-term goals such as retirement. Establish a Budget Always make sure you are clear about how much you are willing to pay. Sticking to a budget makes the investment process easier because you'll only look at properties that meet your fiscal terms. When you study the various properties, try to pick out the details that may eventually necessitate renovations or repairs. Property Valuation Property valuation is an essential step during a home purchase. You have to assess the list price, taxation, and insurance, and conduct an investment analysis. Different valuation methods will include the cost approach. In that case, you check the cost of construction and land minus the depreciation. This is suitable for new construction. On the other hand, you can use the income approach to invest, depending on the expected cash flow. This approach can be beneficial if you plan to rent out your properties. The Bottom Line Investing in real estate can diversify your portfolio. It has a low correlation with other asset classes; in other words, the real estate market often goes up when stocks are down. Investing in real estate can provide a steady cash flow, competitive risk-adjusted returns, tax advantages, and substantial appreciation. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The will create a panel with representatives from all three services to monitor its budget spending so that it is fully utilised in time, Defence Minister said on Friday. The government's commitment to reducing imports and modernising armed forces with indigenous technology has been given further impetus in this budget, he said in his speech during a post-budget webinar. Singh said he is sure that the has noted all the valuable suggestions received and deliberated during the webinar and has also drawn an action plan for time-bound implementation of the budget announcements for atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in defence. "For promoting industry-led research and development (R&D) efforts, I would sanction at least five projects under Make-I during the financial year 2022-23," he mentioned. Projects under 'Make-I' category involve government funding of 90 per cent, released in a phased manner and based on the progress of the scheme, as per terms agreed between the Ministry of Defence and the vendor. Singh said, "We would create a monitoring mechanism under Director General-Acquisition, with representatives from all the three services to monitor the budget earmarked, specifically for private industry and startups, so that it is fully utilised." He said the will reform the QA process, so that it is non-intrusive, prevention-based and free from the Inspector-Raj. "We would come up with the IDEX-Prime to support projects, requiring support beyond Rs 1.5 crore up to Rs 10 crore. This would help our ever-growing startups in the defence sector," Singh mentioned. "We have been progressively increasing the capital procurement budget for the domestic industry, with 68 per cent of the capital procurement budget earmarked for 2022-23," he noted. "I am sure that the domestic industry is fully capable to absorb this enhanced budget. I assure them that the government will continue its pro industry policy initiatives for promoting Make in India with greater zeal," he stated. (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.) Japanese chief Admiral Hiroshi Yamamura and chief Admiral R Hari Kumar met here on Friday and discussed avenues to enhance cooperation between the two forces. Yamamura, who is on a four-day visit to India, was accorded a 50-men guard at the majestic South Block lawns, according to a statement issued by the . During their meeting, Admiral Yamamura and Admiral Kumar highlighted the excellent ongoing interaction between the two professional navies and discussed avenues to strengthen cooperation through capability enhancement and collaborative efforts, the statement said. Earlier in the day, Yamamura paid homage to the fallen heroes at the War Memorial here. Yamamura is a distinguished speaker at the International Maritime Seminar (IMS) being conducted by the at Visakhapatnam on February 27 as part of the navy's multilateral exercise MILAN 2022, the statement 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.) Indian Defence Ministry will come up with a third list of defence items banned for import very soon, Prime Minister said on Friday stressing upon self reliant in the sector. "A total 70 per cent has been allocated for domestic defence industry this budget," said Prime Minister while addressing a post budget webinar titled 'Aatmnirbharta in Defence - Call to Action' on the announcements made in the budget. The webinar was organised by the Ministry of Defence. Prime Minister Modi recalled that India's defence manufacturing was quite strong even during the period of slavery and in the immediate aftermath of independence. Indian made weapons played a major role during the Second World War. "Though, in the later years, this prowess of ours declined, still it shows that there has been no dearth of capabilities, neither then nor now", he said. Underscoring the importance of customisation and uniqueness of the defence system for a surprise element over the adversaries, PM Modi said: "Uniqueness and surprise elements can only happen when the equipment is developed in your own country." This year's budget, the Prime Minister mentioned, has a blueprint for developing a vibrant ecosystem from research, design and development to manufacturing within the country. About 70 per cent of the defence budget has been kept for domestic industry only, he added. The defence Ministry has, so far, released Positive Indigenisation Lists of more than 200 defence Platforms and Equipment. After this announcement, the Prime Minister informed that contract worth Rs 54,000 crore have been signed for domestic procurement. Apart from this, the procurement process of more than Rs 4.5 lakh crore worth of equipment is at various stages. Third list is expected soon, he said. The Prime Minister lamented the long-drawn process of weapon procurement which often results in a scenario where weapons outdated by the time they are commissioned. "Solution for this lies is in Aatmnirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives", he emphasised. The Prime Minister lauded the armed forces for taking decisions while keeping the importance of Aatmnirbharta in mind. The Prime Minister stressed the need to keep the pride and feelings of the jawans in the matters of weapons and equipment. "This is possible only when we are Aatmnirbhar in these areas," he said. He noted that cyber security is no longer confined to the digital world but has become a subject of security. "The more we deploy our formidable IT power in the defence sector, the more confident we will be regarding our security", he said. Noting the competition among the defence manufacturers for contracts, the Prime Minister said it often led to money-focus and corruption. A lot of confusion was created with regard to quality and desirability of weapons. Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan tackles this problem also, he said. He lauded the ordnance factories for being a shining example of progress with determination. The Prime Minister expressed happiness that seven new defence undertaking that were incorporated last year are rapidly expanding their business and reaching new markets. "We have increased defence exports six times in the last 5-6 years. Today, we are providing Made in India Defence equipment and services to more than 75 countries", the Prime Minister added. As a result of the government's encouragement to 'Make in India', the Prime Minister said that more than 350 new industrial licenses have been issued for defence manufacturing in the last seven years. Whereas in the fourteen years from 2001 to 2014, only 200 licenses were issued. The Prime Minister also said that the private sector should also come on a par with DRDO and defence PSUs, hence 25 per cent of defence R&D budget has been kept for Industry, start-ups and academia. Special Purpose Vehicle model has also been arranged in the budget. "This will establish the role of the private industry as a partner beyond just a vendor or supplier", he said. Transparent, time-bound, pragmatic and fair systems of trial, testing and certification are essential to the growth of a vibrant defence industry, Modi noted. For this, an independent system can prove useful in solving problems, he added. --IANS sk/shb/ (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.) is planning to operate two flights to Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate Indians stranded in due to a Russian military offensive, senior government officials said. Indian nationals who have reached the Ukraine-Romania border by road will be taken to Bucharest by officials of the Indian government so that they can be evacuated in the two flights, they added. The Ukrainian airspace was closed for civil aircraft operations by the country's authorities on Thursday morning and therefore, the evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest. The two flights will depart from Bucharest on Saturday, the officials said. Air India did not respond to PTI's request for comments on the development. The Indian embassy in on Friday said it is working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary. "At present, teams are getting in place at the following check points: Chop-Zahony Hungarian border near Uzhhorod, Porubne-Siret Romanian border near Chernivtsi," it said. Indian nationals, especially students, living closest to these border checkpoints are advised to depart in an organised manner in coordination with teams from the Ministry of External Affairs to actualise this option, the embassy said. Once the above-mentioned routes are operational, the Indian nationals travelling on their own would be advised to proceed to the border check points, it noted. The embassy advised the Indians to carry their passports, cash (preferably in US dollars), other essential items and COVID-19 vaccination certificates to the border check points. "Print out Indian flag and paste prominently on vehicles and buses while travelling," it said. Around 20,000 Indians, mainly students, are currently stranded in Ukraine, the officials said. The distance between Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the Romanian border check point is approximately 600 kilometres and it takes anywhere between eight-and-a-half to 11 hours to cover it by road. Bucharest is located approximately 500 kilometres from the Romanian border check point and it takes anywhere between seven to nine hours to cover the distance by road. The distance between Kyiv and the Hungarian border check point is around 820 kilometres and it takes 12-13 hours to cover it by road. Govt to bear cost of evacuation The government is making efforts to evacuate Indian nationals from through its land border crossings with its neighbouring countries and they would then be brought back home, official sources said on Friday. They said evacuation flights for the Indians are being arranged and the transportation cost will be completely borne by the government. The government of India is organising evacuation flights for Indians in Ukraine. The cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation," said a source privy to the development. Power, water may stop anytime "We were asked by the authorities to move to the bunkers in the university hostel at the earliest taking essential belongings. We have only limited storage of food and water with us. Network coverage may be lost anytime," a visibly anxious Arundhathi told a local television channel from Ukraine capital Kyiv. In her video call, the ordeal they were going through was very much visible as over 60 students could be seen sitting jam-packed on the floor holding their backpacks and essential articles in the congested bunker, where there was only very dim light. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor The session of the Assembly will commence from March 23 and will continue till March 29, official sources said on Friday. Cabinet has approved the session from March 23 to March 29 today. Earlier on Thursday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal convened a special meeting with the Council of Ministers at the Secretariat to discuss the for the upcoming financial year. Previously, the fourth part of the second session of the seventh Legislative Assembly of National Capital Territory of Delhi commenced on January 3, 2022. "The fourth part of the second session of the seventh Legislative Assembly of National Capital Territory of Delhi will commence on Monday, January 3, 2022 at 11 am in the Assembly Hall, Delhi Vidhan Sabha, Old Secretariat," the Assembly bulletin had read. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Union Cabinet is likely to consider on Saturday a proposal seeking changes in the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to facilitate disinvestment of the country's largest insurer LIC, sources said. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has mooted the proposal after taking views from the finance ministry. "The Cabinet will take up the matter tomorrow," a source said. According to the current FDI policy, 74 per cent foreign investment is permitted under the automatic route in the insurance sector. However, these rules do not apply to the of India (LIC), which is administered through a separate Act. As per Sebi rules, both FPI and FDI are permitted under public offer. However, since the Act has no provision for foreign investments, there is a need to align the proposed IPO with Sebi norms regarding foreign investor participation. The Cabinet had in July last year approved the initial public offering (IPO) of LIC and the stake sale is being planned for the current March quarter. Setting the stage for the country's biggest-ever public offering, on February 13 filed draft papers with capital market regulator Sebi for the sale of 5 per cent stake by the government for an estimated Rs 63,000 crore. The initial public offering of over 31.6 crore shares or 5 per cent government stake is likely to hit D-street in March. Employees and policyholders of the insurance behemoth would get a discount over the floor price. According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), LIC's embedded value, which is a measure of the consolidated shareholders value in an insurance company, has been pegged at about Rs 5.4 lakh crore as of September 30, 2021, by international actuarial firm Milliman Advisors. Although the DRHP does not disclose the market valuation of LIC, as per industry standards it would be about three times the embedded value or around Rs 16 lakh crore. The LIC public issue would be the biggest IPO in the history of the Indian stock market. Once listed, LIC's market valuation would be comparable to top companies like RIL and TCS. So far, the amount mobilised from IPO of Paytm in 2021 was the largest ever at Rs 18,300 crore, followed by Coal India (2010) at nearly Rs 15,500 crore and Reliance Power (2008) at Rs 11,700 crore. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Union Finance Minister on Friday said that never has the globe peace faced challenges of this significance since World War-II, and India's development is "challenged" by the recent events. She said human welfare needs a conducive environment without any disruptions or disturbances to make the post-pandemic economic recovery sustainable. "India's development is going to be challenged by the newer challenges emanating in the world. Peace is being threatened and after the Second World War, (a) war of this significance, this impact, on the globe probably is not felt," Sitharaman said. She was speaking at the annual Asia Economic Dialogue organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and think-tank Pune International Centre. "Hopefully, some kind of restoration of peace at the earliest will happen, based on which, recoveries can be sustainable," she added. Fearing that the economic recovery not just in but across the world will be "severely hampered", Sitharaman said the welfare of humanity requires the recovery to be sustainable without facing any disruptions. The comments come a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military offensive against its neighbour Ukraine by attacking the eastern European country from multiple sides. (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.) Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday complimented the bulk for making efforts towards making the country self-reliant in the sector and also urged them to invest more in research for making the industry competitive globally. The minister, in a virtual event, emphasised that the pharmaceutical sector in India, besides being a business venture, is also a sector of social and strategic importance, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said in a statement. The chemicals and fertilizers minister, who also holds the health portfolio, praised the industry players for playing a pivotal role during COVID times, not only domestically but also globally. During the meeting, he urged the industry to invest in the area of research and innovation for sustainable global competitiveness by allocating adequate resources. The government had announced a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for bulk drugs in March 2020 to attain self-reliance in identified critical drugs. Till date, 49 projects have been approved for 33 critical APIs with a committed investment of Rs 3,685 crore. Out of the 49 projects, 8 projects with investment of Rs 335 crore and with an annual production capacity of 16,021 MT have been commissioned as on date, the ministry said. Further, 12 projects with committed investment of Rs 504 crore and having annual production capacity of 18,614 MT are in advanced stage of completion for commercial production. They are expected to be completed by March 31, 2022, it added. Representatives from Centrient Pharmaceuticals India, Meghmani LLP, Emmennar Pharma, Andhra Organics, Hetero Group, Sadhana Nitro Chem and Sreepathi Pharmaceuticals attended the event. (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.) In what could be said as one of the most interesting space stories recently, a NASA Hubble image showed three galaxies merging into one. The celestial event portrays what might happen when galaxies collide and merge. NASA Hubble Image Shows 3 Galaxies Merging Into 1 The NASA Hubble Twitter account shared an image of a triple galaxy merger known as IC 2431. It is located 681-million light-years away from Earth in the constellation cancer. The said Twitter post has already accumulated more than 2,700 likes and above 400 retweets at the time of writing. A tumultuous trifecta A triple galaxy merger known as IC 2431 resides 681 million light-years away in the constellation Cancer. This #HubbleFriday image also shows star formation and tidal distortions caused by gravitational interactions in this trio: https://t.co/8a77GIRmBb pic.twitter.com/TFmFBmtsrO Hubble (@NASAHubble) February 18, 2022 The image from the NASA Hubble Space Telescope clearly shows what might happen when galaxies collide and merge. Aside from this, NASA explained in their blog post that this occurrence also shows the "tumultuous mixture of star formation and tidal distortions caused by the gravitational interactions of this galactic trio." The space agency explained that a thick cloud of dust conceals the center of the image, but the light from a galaxy behind is piercing its outer extremities. For those curious to know how it was discovered, Digital Trends explained that the NASA Hubble image was investigated through the Galaxy Zoo project, which is one of the earliest and biggest citizen science projects in astronomy. Read Also: NASA Perseverance Celebrates One Year Anniversary on Mars, Will Continue To Collect Samples in Coming Weeks The Galaxy Zoo Project The Galaxy Zoo project was established in 2007. Since then, it has brought together members of the public to assist in locating and categorizing galaxies, mergers and supernovas. NASA added that the original Galaxy Zoo project was the world's biggest galaxy census, relying on more than 100,000 volunteers to categorize 900,000 unstudied galaxies, per Digital Trends. The latest initiative completed what would have taken professional astronomer years to complete in only 175 days, and it has sparked a continuous stream of similar astronomical citizen research projects. Other Galaxy Zoo efforts included the most comprehensive studies of galaxy mergers and tidal dwarf galaxies yet undertaken, as well as the finding of wholly new forms of compact star-forming galaxies. According to the Galaxy Zoo project website, "one of the unique aspects of Galaxy Zoo over automated morphological measurements is the possibility of serendipitous discoveries (often aided by volunteer led discussion on the Galaxy Zoo Forum)." They also shared some of their discoveries throughout the years, including the so called "green peas" which are a class of "extremely star-forming galaxies." They also discovered the popular "Hanny's Voorwerp" and studied similar AGN-ionised gas clouds. The existence of a large sample of galaxies with both color and morphological data has led to the significant realization that color, not morphology, is the most strongly connected with the environment. This provided result in fascinating subclasses of galaxies such as red spiral galaxies and blue ellipticals. With regards to their technique, they stated that their process is based on the surprising fact that a galaxy's form may reveal a lot about it. For instance, they explained people must locate spiral arms, and from there, they will be able to know that they are gazing at a revolving disk of stars, dust, and gas with plenty of fuel for future star formation. Despite this, they explained that this isn't always the case. Related Article: Russian Progress 80 Spacecraft Arrives at International Space Station for Supply Delivery The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is likely to meet again on Saturday amid the Russian offensive against Ukraine, sources in the government said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired a meeting of the CCS on Thursday night after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine. He also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and called for an immediate cessation of violence while stressing that attaches the highest priority to the safe exit and return of its citizens from Ukraine. The proposed meet of the key cabinet panel comes amid New Delhi's efforts to evacuate Indian citizens from the battle zone. Besides the prime minister, the defence minister, the home minister, the external affairs minister and the finance minister are part of the CCS. Top officials of the security apparatus are also called to attend CCS meet. (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 Police have registered as many as 1,137 cases of violation of model code of conduct in the first four phases of elections. Senior police officers at the DGP headquarters said that not a single incident of violence or clash has been reported during the elections so far. This has been possible due to advance preparedness of police and heavy deployment of central paramilitary forces. Meerut tops the list among the districts with 51 cases of poll code violation followed by 45 in Jhansi. Among commissionerates, Lucknow topped with 26 cases followed by 20 in Kanpur. Additional Director General (ADG), law and order, Prashant Kumar said that all 1,137 cases will be probed properly as per the evidence. He also attributed the peaceful conduct in the fourth phase to a month-long advance planning of mapping all communally sensitive and expenditure sensitive constituencies, for maintaining vigilance beforehand. "Several rounds of briefings were given to all district police chiefs before the start of elections," he said. "We had also ensured that all the troublemakers, those named in cases of crime, having previous history of electoral offences sign a personal bond or are issued notice and are put behind the bars if the threat persists," the ADG said. Special arrangements were made for each phase and central armed paramilitary forces were deployed accordingly. "We also used drones as per the guidelines of the Election Commission," he said. The Police had also started a 'digital monitoring cell' since campaigning had gone digital. The cell remains functional round-the-clock. The cell has around 31 policemen headed by an Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) rank officer and its strength was boosted recently with 15 trained personnel being added before the elections, taking the total staff count to 46. --IANS amita/dpb (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Claiming that her party's victory is sure on over 300 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, MP asked people on Friday not to get misled by the SP, the BSP and the Congress. Addressing a rally here, she also said in the ongoing dispute involving Ukraine and Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the hope of the world, which believes that he will mediate and end the war. "Prime Minister Modi has devoted himself for the development of the country. He is doing more work than all the previous prime ministers. Because of Modi, the respect for India has gone up on the world stage," the MP from Mathura said. "In the Russia-Ukraine war, Modi has become the centre of hope all over the world. People are sure that Modi will mediate and end this war. India is on its way to become a world guru," she added. Describing the ongoing polls as important for the development of the state, the Bollywood actress said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is busy making Uttar Pradesh "Uttam Pradesh". "Support the for the prosperity of the future generations and do not fall prey to the SP, the BSP and the Congress. The Akhilesh (Yadav) government had tarnished the image of Uttar Pradesh internationally through its goonda raj. People living abroad were hesitant to come to Uttar Pradesh," she said, adding that industrialists were also not willing to invest in the state. "There was a state of fear and hunger during the Akhilesh government. The Yogi government has worked to change that situation. Industrialists are now ready to come to Uttar Pradesh," said. The Adityanath government symbolises security, prosperity and good governance, she said, adding that it has put an end to corruption, malpractices and atrocities. Ballia will go to polls in the sixth round of the seven-phase election on March 3. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Congress chief will hold public meetings in from March 1 ahead of state Assembly elections, sources said on Friday. Earlier on February 21, Gandhi addressed a public meeting at the Hapta Kangjeibung area in Imphal. On February 5, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who is the observer of polls for the party, announced an alliance of six political parties and named it " Progressive Secular Alliance (MPSA)". Ramesh had on February 5 announced the six political parties in the alliance. "Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance (MPSA) of Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Forward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Janata Dal (Secular) was launched today with 18-point Common Agenda," he had said. Manipur will go to the Assembly polls on February 28 and on March 5. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress leader on Friday alleged that Prime Minister and his friends have "broken the backbone" of India's employment. Addressing an election rally in Amethi, the Wayanad MP said, "The backbone of India's employment sector has been broken by Prime Minister and his friends. You'll see in the coming times, the youth of this country won't get employment, teach them however much you want. No one listened to me during COVID, but you saw bodies in Ganga." As the first four phases of the seven-phased have been completed and campaigning for the fifth phase is on, finally hit the ground for electioneering in Amethi during the fifth phase of elections in the electorally crucial state. The fifth phase of voting in will take place on February 27 when 60 assembly constituencies will go to the polls. Questioning the government's policies over not providing employment opportunities to the people, he said, "Why doesn't he (PM) talk about employment in his (election) speeches. When he comes to Uttar Pradesh, then why doesn't he tell the youth of the state that he will give them employment opportunities? Why doesn't he say that in 2014 he promised to give employment opportunity and how many people he gave employment to and in the coming times, he will give more employment to people." In the backdrop of employment promises in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress MP further accused the Prime Minister of lying. "When they (BJP) say nothing happened in our 70 years, they actually meant nothing happened for Ambani, Adani in these 70 years... remember, India's biggest billionaires do not give employment, small shopkeepers, traders, and farmers do," said while slamming the government for not doing enough for the common man. He also said that the Prime Minister promised to double farmers' income. "And then he implemented three black laws," he added. The aim of these three (now repealed) agricultural laws, the Congress MP said is to "snatch away what the farmers are getting and give it to India's top billionaires." With the first three phases of seven-phased over and campaigning having ended for the fourth phase also, Rahul Gandhi finally hit the ground for electioneering in Amethi during the fifth phase of elections in the electorally crucial state. The campaigning for the fifth phase of the election will end today. The fifth phase of the elections, which is scheduled to be held on February 27. In this phase, 60 Uttar Pradesh assembly seats across 11 districts including Amethi, Ayodhya, Bahraich, Barabanki, Chitrakoot, Gonda, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Shrawasti and Sultanpur are scheduled to go to polls. (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.) Taking a dig at the Chief Minister on Friday, chief said that the CM is distributing laptops while he himself doesn't know to operate one. Yadav, while addressing an election rally in Ayodhya, said, "The had built a Bhajan Sthal here. I have seen the bow of Lord Krishna. What will a government do which can't even make Lord Krishna's bow and arrows properly? 'Baba' Chief Minister was distributing laptops but he is unable to operate one himself." He said that Yogi has only cheated the public in the state and added that he would wipe out the BJP save the mixed culture of . The SP chief promised 300 units of free electricity to the people in the state and a waiver of house tax. While promising to increase the circle rate in Ayodhya, Yadav said, "If land in Ayodhya is taken by the government for development purposes, the circle rate would be increased and six times compensation will be given to the people." Circle rate is the minimum value at which the sale or transfer of a plot, built-up house, apartment or commercial property can occur. Polling for four phases has concluded and voting for the remaining three phases will take place on February 27, March 3 and 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. In the 2017 in Uttar Pradesh, the bagged 312 seats out of the 403-seat Assembly while (SP) bagged 47 seats, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) won 19 and Congress could manage to win only seven seats. The rest of the seats were bagged by other candidates. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India is exploring ways to set up a rupee payment mechanism for trade with to soften the blow on New Delhi of Western sanctions imposed on after its invasion of Ukraine, government and banking sources said. Indian officials are concerned that vital supplies of fertilizer from could be disrupted as sanctions intensify, threatening India's vast farm sector. India has called for an end to violence in Ukraine but refrained from outright condemnation of Russia, with which it has long-standing political and security ties. Russia invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Russian forces pressed their advance on Friday and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded with the international community to do more, saying sanctions announced so far were not enough. Officials said the plan was to get Russian banks and companies to open accounts with a few state-run banks in India for trade settlement, a banking source involved in the discussions said. "This is a proactive move assuming that the conflict escalates and there could be a slew of sanctions in place," the source said. "In this case we would not be able to settle the transaction in dollars and so an arrangement has been proposed to set up a rupee account, which is being considered." Funds in such accounts act as a guarantee of payment for trade exchanged between two countries, while the parties barter commodities from each other to offset the sum, the source said. A similar arrangement, in which part of the settlement with Russia is in foreign currency and rest is through local rupee accounts, was also being explored, said the banking and the government source. Such mechanisms are often used by countries to shield themselves from the blow of sanctions and India also used it with Iran after it came under Western sanctions for its nuclear weapons programme, the source said. The programme was introduced in 2012 and worked well for several years. The discussions on Russia were still at an early stage and formal talks had not yet begun between the two sides, an Indian government official said. EU leaders agreed on Thursday to impose new economic sanctions on Russia, joining the United States and Britain in trying to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies for the attack. The sanctions impede Russia's ability to do business in major currencies and target individual banks and state-owned enterprises. The ministry did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. None of the sources wanted to be identified as the discussions are private. Russia's exports to India stood at $6.9 billion in 2021, mainly mineral oils, fertilisers and rough diamonds, while India exported $3.33 billion worth of goods to Russia in 2021, mainly pharmaceutical products, tea and coffee. Russia and Belarus usually account for nearly a third of India's total potash imports. It would not be feasible to replace them amid a rally in fertilizer prices to a record high, a senior industry official told Reuters. New Delhi is also holding a meeting with fertilizer industry officials on Friday to explore ways to secure supplies from Russia and Belarus, said a senior fertilizer industry official, who declined to be identified. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav, Nupur Anand in Mumbai and Aftab Ahmed in New Delhi; Editing by Nick Macfie) (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 war in is threatening further disruption to already stretched supply chains. and may only account for a small proportion of the imports of major manufacturing nations like and the US, but they are essential suppliers of raw materials and energy for many crucial supply chains. Though the economic consequences of a war that threatens the lives and livelihoods of many Ukrainians will always be secondary to the looming humanitarian crisis, here are five areas likely to see trouble ahead: 1. Energy Many European countries are heavily dependent on Russian energy, particularly gas through several vital pipelines, and this may have coloured their approach to the crisis. Russian gas reliance has been suggested as the reason Europe has been reluctant to remove from the payments system SWIFT, for example, though it's worth pointing out that the Germans have indefinitely suspended new Baltic gas pipeline Nord Stream.2. While a complete suspension of Russian gas flows is unlikely at the moment, even small disruptions will have a significant impact. Global gas reserves are low due to the pandemic and energy prices are already rising sharply, impacting consumers and industry. With gas an essential input to many supply chains, disruptions to such a fundamental supply will have widespread economic consequences. When gas prices first surged in autumn of 2021, for instance, fertiliser plants in the UK shut down as high energy cost made production untenable. This led to shortages of carbon dioxide, which is essential for everything from medical procedures to keeping food fresh. Such consequences are likely to magnify with rising oil and gas prices.3. Food Global food prices already rose sharply during 2021 due to everything from higher energy prices to climate change. Food producers are likely to come under further pressure as prices of key inputs rise now. and together account for more than a quarter of global wheat exports, while Ukraine alone makes up almost half of exports of sunflower oil. Both are key commodities used in many food products. If harvesting and processing is hindered in a war-torn Ukraine, or exports are blocked, importers will struggle to replace supplies. Some countries are particularly dependent on grain from Russia and Ukraine. For example, Turkey and Egypt rely on them for almost 70% of their wheat imports. Ukraine is also the top supplier of corn to China. Stepping up production in other parts of the world could help to reduce the impact of interruptions to food supplies.However, Russia is also a main supplier of key ingredients for fertilisers, so trade sanctions could affect production elsewhere. Meanwhile, we can also expect diversions to trade flows: China has already said it will begin importing Russian wheat, for instance.4. Transport With global transport already severely disrupted in the aftermath of the pandemic, a war could create further problems. The transport modes likely to be affected are ocean shipping and rail freight. Since 2011, regular rail freight links between China and Europe have been established. Recently, the 50,000th train made the journey. While rail carries only a small proportion of the total freight between Asia and Europe, it has played a vital role during recent transport disruptions and is growing steadily. Trains are now being rerouted away from Ukraine, and rail freight experts are currently optimistic that disruptions will be kept to a minimum.However, countries like Lithuania are expecting to see their rail traffic severely affected by sanctions against Russia. Even prior to the invasion, ship owners started to avoid Black Sea shipping routes, and insurance providers demanded notification of any such voyages. Although container shipping in the Black Sea is a relatively niche market on the global scale, one of the largest container terminals is Odessa. If this is cut off by Russian forces, the effects on Ukrainian imports and exports could be considerable, with potentially drastic humanitarian consequences. Rising oil prices due to the war are a worry to shipping more generally. Freight rates are already extremely high and could rise even further.There is also a worry that cyber attacks could target global supply chains. As trade is highly dependent on online information exchange, this could have far-reaching consequences if key shipping lines or infrastructure are targeted. The ripple effects from a cyber attack can be enormous.5. Metals Russia and Ukraine lead the global production of metals such as nickel, copper and iron. They are also largely involved in the export and manufacture of other essential raw materials like neon, palladium and platinum. Fears of sanctions on Russia have increased the price of these metals. With palladium, for example, the current trading price of almost US$2,700 per ounce, up over 80% since mid-December. Palladium is used for everything from automotive exhaust systems and mobile phones to dental fillings. The prices of nickel and copper, which are used in manufacturing and building respectively, have also also been soaring. The aerospace industries of the US, Europe and Britain also depend on supplies of titanium from Russia. Boeing and Airbus have already approached alternative suppliers.However, the market share and product base of leading Russian supplier VSMPO-AVISMA make it impossible to fully diversify away from it, with some of the aerospace manufacturers having signed long-term supply contracts up to 2028. For all these materials, we can expect disruptions and potential shortages, threatening to lead to increased prices for many products and services.6. Microchips Shortages of microchips were a major problem throughout 2021. Some analysts had been predicting that this problem would ease in 2022, but recent developments might dampen such optimism. As part of the sanctions towards Russia, the US has been threatening to cut off Russia's supply of microchips. But this rings hollow when Russia and Ukraine are such key exporters of neon, palladium and platinum, all of which are critical for microchip production. About 90% of neon, which is used for chip lithography, originates from Russia, and 60% of this is purified by one company in Odessa.Alternative sources will require long term investments prior to being able to supply the global market. Chip manufacturers currently hold an excess of two to four weeks' additional inventory, but any prolonged supply disruption caused by military action in Ukraine will severely impact the production of semiconductors and products dependent on them, including cars. (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 Ukrainian Defence Ministry has said its armed forces have inflicted some 800 casualties on Russian forces since the military operations began on Thursday. The ministry said more than 30 Russian tanks had been destroyed, along with seven Russian aircraft and six helicopters. This comes hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree ordering general mobilization, in the wake of Russian military operations. "Deputy Minister of Defense of Hanna Malyar informs: Estimated losses of the enemy as of 03:00 25.02.2022 Aircraft 7 units Helicopters 6 units Tanks - more than 30 units. BBM - 130 units. The loss of enemy personnel is approximately (to be specified) 800 people," Ukraine's Defense Ministry tweeted in Ukrainian. Russian President on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Since then, several nations including the UK, the US and Canada have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. The European Union has decided to impose additional sanctions on over the latter's military operation in . Earlier today, explosions were heard in the capital city of Kiev as the Russian special military operation entered the second day. Ukraine's Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin said explosions were caused by Ukrainian "anti-missile system shooting" a missile out of the sky, CNN reported, noting that the inputs were not independently verified. On Thursday, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said over 70 ground infrastructure facilities belonging to were incapacitated by strikes carried out by Russia's Armed Forces. "As a result of the strikes conducted by Russia's Armed Forces, 74 ground facilities of Ukraine's military infrastructure were knocked out of action. Among them are 11 airfields belonging to the Air Force, three command points, a Ukrainian Navy base and 18 radar stations of S-300 and Buk-M1 missile systems," Konashenkov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency. The spokesperson further said that the Russian strikes are not targeting Ukrainian cities as well as social facilities in military garrisons. (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 fallout to the global aviation industry from Russia's invasion of Ukraine is spreading beyond the airspace closings over the conflict zone as airlines, lessors and manufacturers face up to growing risks of doing business with Russia. Alaska's Anchorage Airport, a popular refuelling hub for long-haul flights when Western airlines were unable to access Russian airspace during the Cold War, said carriers had started making inquiries about capacity in case routes over Russia are affected by the Ukraine crisis. Japan Airlines cancelled its Thursday evening flight to Moscow, citing potential safety risks, while Britain closed its airspace to Russian airlines, including Aeroflot . Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Friday to stay in Kyiv as his troops battled Russian invaders advancing toward the capital in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Airspace in Ukraine, Moldova, parts of Belarus and in southern Russia near the Ukraine border was closed when the invasion began on Thursday, giving airlines a narrower range of routing options. Emirates said it had made minor routing changes to Stockholm, Moscow, St. Petersburg and some U.S. flights that were hit by the airspace closings, leading to slightly longer flight times. OPSGROUP, an aviation industry cooperative that shares information on flight risks, said any aircraft travelling through Russian airspace should have contingency plans in place for closed airspace due to risks or sanctions. "Russia are unlikely to initiate their own sanctions and airspace bans as they would not wish to see Aeroflot receive reciprocal bans," OPSGROUP said. "However, they may react in response to sanctions from other states." Russia's aviation authority said it reserved the right to respond to Britain's flight ban with similar measures, the TASS news agency reported on Friday. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flights from India and Pakistan to London that normally flew over Russia were now following a southern route that avoided Russian airspace. The governing council of the Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a U.N. body, will discuss the Ukraine conflict at a meeting on Friday, a spokesperson said. As airlines assessed the airspace risks, they have also been hit by a spike in oil prices to more than $105 per barrel for the first time since 2014 as a result of the conflict. That raises operating costs at a time when travel demand remains low because of the pandemic. Jefferies analysts said European airlines were also likely to take a longer-term hit to demand in light of the conflict, pointing to a 27% fall in travel from the European Union to Ukraine and Russia over the span of two years after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Aviation bosses are also worried about the impact on dealings with Russian companies. Sanctions could disrupt payments to leasing firms and affect the supply of aircraft parts. Russian companies have 980 passenger jets in service, of which 777 are leased, according to analytics firm Cirium. Of these, two thirds, or 515 jets, with an estimated market value of about $10 billion, are rented from foreign firms. Russia's domestic market has been among the best performers globally during the pandemic, with capacity down only 7.5% this week compared to the same week in 2020, according to travel data firm OAG. The Biden administration announced major export restrictions against Russia on Thursday, hammering its access to goods, including aircraft parts. The measures, however, include carveouts for technology necessary for flight safety, raising the prospect the impact to aerospace could be limited rather than sweeping. Eric Fanning, chief executive of the U.S.-based Aerospace Industries Association, said the industry was reviewing the restrictions. Notably, we believe that sanctions and export control activities should not hinder the need to maintain flight safety of commercial aircraft," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Facebook and Twitter have once again made the one-tap lock feature available on their respective platforms due to the security threats as a result of the Russian-Ukraine conflict. Users in Ukraine who are concerned about their privacy and security as a result of the ongoing conflict with Russia can now use Facebook's profile lock feature. One's profile will remain locked until the user chooses to manually unlock it once more. According to Twitter's corporate account as well as Facebook's director of threat intelligence, the recommendations varied from what to do if your account has been compromised to preemptively closing an account due to safety concerns. In August 2021, this profile lock feature was enabled for Facebook users located in Afghanistan who have proven threats to their security and safety. The feature is designed for users to be able to protect and limit their activities, preventing them from exposing themselves to further threat. Locking Facebook Profile In a thread of tweets by Facebook Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher, the new safety feature was announced by the social media giant. As reported by Slash Gear, Gleicher also addressed that this is the same locking feature that the company implemented during the unrest in Afghanistan last year. He explained that Facebook has now established a Special Operations Center that will be able to respond in real time to the ongoing situation in the European country. In order to closely monitor the situation and respond as quickly as possible, the team is staffed with experts and includes native speakers. This branch of Meta was created as a direct response of the company to the escalating military conflict in Ukraine. Gleicher started the thread by stating that the company took steps to assist people in the region so that they are able to protect themselves online. 3/ Weve previously deployed this tool elsewhere around the world to help protect people in situations that are unsafe, including Afghanistan. https://t.co/LbWcPyeiAn Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher) February 24, 2022 How to Lock a Facebook Profile The one-click security feature that Facebook is rolling out will allow users in Ukraine to lock down their accounts by quickly applying existing privacy settings and adding new features to their accounts. Other people cannot view or download their profile photo or see any of the posts on their timeline when their profile is locked. This also includes people who are not friends of the users on the platform for security purposes. According to the tweet, here is how simple it is to lock a user's profile: A user must go to their Facebook profile. On mobile, select the three dots below the profile picture. In the toggled section, click Lock Profile. Then tap the Lock Profile again to confirm 6/ To turn on Locked Profile: * Tap More under your name * Tap Lock Profile * Tap Lock Your Profile again to confirm pic.twitter.com/mpwqVG10fW Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher) February 24, 2022 Read Also: How to Create Your Metaverse Avatar on Facebook How to Unlock Facebook Profile? Facebook also provides users with the option of unlocking their profile at any time. Here are the recommended steps to unlock Facebook profile: Go to the Facebook application on your mobile device or facebook.com on your desktop browser to start the process Go to your Profile section and select the three-dot menu from the drop-down menu. You will find the Unlock Profile option in this menu. You will see a pop-up message if you click on it again. Select Unlock Profile from the drop-down menu. Twitter Safety in War In addition to Facebook, Twitter also encouraged its users to secure themselves on their platform to prevent possible security threats. The platform has urged users to be cautious about how they use the internet because they are at greater risk with the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. In order to avoid manipulation, people in Ukraine are being encouraged to protect their accounts and various methods of doing so have already been listed. It provided tips and guides on "how to control your account and digital information," with the first recommendation being to simply deactivate their accounts if users feel it is no longer safe to use them. When using Twitter in conflict zones or other high-risk areas, its important to be aware of how to control your account and digital information. Every situation is different, so here are some things to consider: Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) February 24, 2022 Related Article: Meta, Facebook's Parent Company, Loses $230 Billion in Biggest One-Day Market Drop for a US Company on Friday followed the example of its Western partners - Canada, the United States, the European Union - by further expanding sanctions against in the wake of its military operation in Ukraine, Australian Prime Minister said. "Today, will be imposing further sanctions on oligarchs whose economic weight is of strategic significance to Moscow. And over 300 members of the Russian Duma, their parliament, who voted to authorise the use of Russian troops in Ukraine to illegally invade Ukraine," Morrison told a press conference. is also working with the United States to coordinate sanctions against Belarusian individuals and entities that allegedly had role in the operation, the prime minister added. He recalled previous sanctions imposed by Australia against earlier this week, which target Russian defense officials, army commanders, members of the Russian Security Council, banks, entities involved in military production, among other subjects. "I also want to confirm that we have been working with NATO to ensure that we can provide non-lethal military equipment and medical supplies to support the people of Ukraine," Morrison noted. Western nations have increased sanctions pressure on after it launched a military operation in Ukraine following help requests from the breakaway Donbas republics that have accused Kiev of intensified shootings in recent weeks. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President said he will meet with his counterparts of other Group of Seven (G7) countries to discuss next moves they will take on in response to Moscow's military operation in the Donbas region. The US President met the countries on Thursday morning. Biden on Wednesday evening said the US will also "coordinate with our NATO allies to ensure a strong, united response that deters any aggression against the alliance." Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday authorised "a special military operation" in the Donbas region. Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack, Xinhua news agency reported. "Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force," Putin said in a televised speech to the nation, noting that Russia's move is in response to "fundamental threats" of NATO which has expanded to eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. --IANS int/khz/ (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.) As Russia invaded Ukraine, people started donating the Ukrainian army in cryptocurrencies to support them and in the past 24 hours, more than $400,000 worth Bitcoins have been donated to just one group. Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian NGO that raises crypto funds for the Ukrainian army, received more than $400,000 worth of digital tokens in the past day, according to data from blockchain and crypto analytics firm Elliptic. The average amount donated is around $1,000 to $2,000, and the group has received at least 317 individual donations in the past two days, reports Fortune. Pro- groups and pro-crypto communities on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have also contributed. The surge of donations in cryptocurrencies signifies that digital assets have "emerged as an important alternative funding method, allowing donors to bypass financial institutions that are blocking payments to these groups," according to Elliptic. Their analysis shows that hundreds of crypto-asset donations totalling several hundred thousand dollars have been made to these groups -- increasing by over 900 per cent in 2021. Elliptic has identified several wallets used by these volunteer groups and NGOs, which have collectively received funds totalling just over $570,000 - much of it over the past year. The Ukrainian Cyber Alliance has received close to $100,000 in donations over the past year. Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has also set up a designated bank account to accept donations for its troops in legal currencies. prices have plummeted in the past two weeks over fears of a Russian invasion of and the market has lost $150 billion in value since Putin ordered a specific military strike against . --IANS na/svn/ (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 increased adoption of cryptocurrencies is helping Russian President evade the first wave of financial sanctions from the West and the country may legalise cryptocurrencies in order to sustain and virtually avoid all the sanctions as it invades Ukraine, the media reported. US President Joe Biden has announced new sanctions and limitations on what can be exported to . The US will block five of the biggest Russian banks and freeze all assets they hold in America, worth over $1 trillion. Earlier, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled Britain's largest-ever package of sanctions against Russia, targeting banks and wealthy Russians. However, those measures are becoming increasingly easy to evade, thanks in part to a surge of adoption in Russia, reports CNN. "If the Russians decide -- and they're already doing this, I'm sure --to avoid using any currency other than cryptocurrency, they can effectively avoid virtually all of the sanctions," Ross S. Delston, an expert on anti-money laundering compliance, was quoted as saying in the report. surged to $39,000 in a quick rally following Biden's sanctions after dipping below $35,000 on Thursday when Putin declared war on Ukraine. According to The New York Times, is legalising to circumvent US sanctions. Otherwise, the country will not survive the growing sanctions pressure from Western countries. Alex Kuptsikevich, the FxPro senior market analyst, said that after reaching the lows for the month, the first received support from buyers, as was the case at the end of January. "Of course, the growth dynamics were relatively modest, which indicates the caution of buyers. It is likely that these are long-term holders rather than short-term speculators, as markets generally remain wary," he said in a statement. Interestingly, buying during the decline has become a key outline of the American session. After more than a 3 per cent fall, US stock indices not only bounced back but also managed to show growth at the end of the day. "This stimulated to strengthen. A short-term surge of bullish sentiment could end quickly if risky assets resume their decline again. If the situation in Ukraine escalates even more, may fall below $30,000 as investors leave for defensive assets," Kuptsikevich noted. The total capitalisation of the crypto market, according to CoinMarketCap, has increased by 9.6 per cent per day to $1.72 trillion. The Bitcoin dominance index rose 0.3 points to 42.6 per cent. --IANS na/svn/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Secretary of State held a telephonic conversation with India's External Affairs Minister and stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an official spokesperson said. Blinken spoke with Jaishankar to discuss Russia's premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a readout of the call on Thursday. "Blinken stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia's invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire," Price said. The call between the two leaders happened soon after a White House news conference by President Joe Biden during which he said his administration is going to have consultations with India on the Ukrainian crisis. In a tweet, Jaishankar said, "Appreciate the call from @SecBlinke. Discussed the ongoing developments in Ukraine and its implications." It is understood that India and the United States are not on the same page on the Ukrainian crisis. India has a historic and time-tested friendship with Russia. At the same time, its strategic partnership with the United States has grown at an unprecedented pace over the last decade and a half. It is believed that the Biden administration has reached out to India at various levels, ranging from the White House, the State Department and its National Security Council, seeking full support from it on the Ukrainian crisis. (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 worlds first plant-derived Covid-19 vaccine was cleared for use in Canada, creating a novel immunization to combat the virus from a unit of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. and Philip Morris . The vaccine named Covifenz was jointly developed by Medicago Inc., a biopharma company owned by Mitsubishi Chemical and Philip Morris and based in Quebec City, and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. It will be available for adults aged 18 to 64, Medicago and Glaxo said in a statement Thursday. The approval gives people who are hesitant to take currently available vaccines made by Pfizer Inc., AstraZeneca Plc and Moderna Inc. another option. Many countries are struggling to raise vaccination rates and are requiring citizens to be immunized to get into restaurants, shopping malls trains and planes. The company hopes Covifenz will generate about $1 billion a year eventually, Mitsubishi Chemicals Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marc Gilson said in an interview last week. The vaccine is easier to transport and store than rival mRNA shots, such as those from Pfizer and Moderna, since it doesnt need to be kept at ultra-low temperatures, he said. Covifenz is made from proteins, grown in plants, that look like the virus that causes Covid-19 to the human immune system, according to Medicagos website. The vaccine also uses Glaxos pandemic adjuvant, a substance that boosts the immune systems response. Medicago has a contract with the Canadian government to supply up to 76 million doses of the vaccine and is in talks with other countries about potential agreements, Chief Executive Officer Takashi Nagao has said. The immunization was granted fast-track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February 2021. The vaccine demonstrated 71% efficacy against multiple variants of the virus in December, Medicago said. It was 75% effective against the highly-infectious delta variant and nearly 89% effective against the gamma variant first identified in Brazil. The omicron variant wasnt circulating when the trial was conducted, and the company is planning future tests against that strain. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday announced "severe" sanctions on Russian entities over Russia's military operation in . Trudeau said will target 62 individuals and entities, including members of the Russian elite and their family members, the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group and major Russian banks, reported CBC News. Furthermore, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said hundreds of permits covering goods worth more than USD 700 million will be immediately canceled. "These sanctions are wide-reaching. They will impose severe costs on complicit Russian elites, and they will limit President Putin's ability to continue funding this unjustified invasion," Trudeau said. Trudeau said the conflict is the "greatest threat to European stability since the Second World War." "These are deeply disturbing times for the community and for people everywhere who care about freedom and democracy," Trudeau said. " is unequivocal in our condemnation of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on the sovereign, the democratic state of . (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.) Brewer Carlsberg, Japan Tobacco and a Coca-Cola bottler were among firms shutting factories in on Thursday following Russia's invasion, while UPS and FedEx Corp suspended services in and out of the country. closed its airspace as Russian forces attacked in the early hours, leaving budget airline Wizz Air trying to evacuate its Ukrainian-based crew, their families and four planes stuck in Kyiv and Lviv. Many companies with exposure to are waiting for more clarity on Western sanctions and assessing the impact of those already announced. Washington on Thursday announced a wave of measures that impede Russia's ability to do business in major currencies along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises. It earlier imposed sanctions on the company behind the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline while European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels would block Russian access to key technologies and markets. Denmark's Carlsberg, which has a 31% share of Ukraine's beer market, suspended production at all three of its breweries in the country, while Coca-Cola HBC said it had triggered contingency plans which included shutting its bottling plant. Japan Tobacco shut a cigarette plant in Kremenchuck, central . Global shipping giant Maersk halted port calls in Ukraine until the end of February and closed its main office in Odessa on the Black Sea coast while Danish freight forwarder DSV said it had shut its operations in the country. Europe's aviation regulator expanded a safety warning triggered by the attack, advising airlines to "exercise caution" when flying through parts of Russian airspace controlled by regional centres in Moscow and Rostov. TITANIUM AND NEON Shares in German utility Uniper, which has significant interests in and a $1 billion exposure to the recently suspended Nord Stream 2 project, plunged on Thursday and its controlling shareholder, Finland's Fortum, also took a knock. Fortum said the two companies together owned 12 power plants in and employed 7,000 people there but because energy production had not been sanctioned, their operations had not been directly hit. Another of Nord Stream 2's financial backers, Wintershall Dea, said the fact that project's suspension was on political grounds meant its operator could seek compensation. Shares in German chemical company BASF, which co-owns Wintershall with Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's LetterOne investor group, and other Nord Stream 2 backers OMV and Engie were also hit. Britain's biggest domestic bank, Lloyds, warned it was on heightened alert for cyberattacks from Russia while some companies said supplies of key raw materials could suffer. Jet engine makers Rolls-Royce and Safran said on Thursday they had been ramping up supplies of titanium. The use of titanium, much of it supplied by Russia, has soared in recent years as planemakers try to make jets lighter. "We have been watching this situation for several weeks and have decided since the start of the year to increase our stocks of titanium especially through distributors in Germany," Safran Chief Executive Olivier Andries told reporters. The French company is also looking to diversify its sources of the metal, as is Britain's Rolls-Royce, which said 20% of its titanium came from Russia. Large chip companies said they expect limited supply chain disruption from the conflict for now thanks to stockpiling and diversified procurement, but some industry sources said there could be an impact longer term. Ukraine supplies more than 90% of U.S. semiconductor-grade neon, critical for lasers used in chipmaking. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) External Affairs Minister on Thursday night held separate telephonic conversations with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, insisting that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward to defuse the crisis. As Russia's full-scale attack on triggered widespread condemnation and fears of a wider conflict, India has been in touch with all parties concerned as part of overall global efforts to bring down the tensions. In his talks with Lavrov, Jaishankar conveyed to the Russian foreign minister that "dialogue and diplomacy" are the best way forward to defuse the crisis. "Just spoke to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of on the developments. Underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward," the External Affairs Minister tweeted. Jaishankar is also understood to have apprised Lavrov of the importance India attached to the safe evacuation of around 16,000 Indians from Ukraine. In another tweet, Jaishankar said the discussion with Blinken was on the ongoing developments in Ukraine and its implications. "Appreciate the call from @SecBlinken. Discussed the ongoing developments in Ukraine and its implications," he said. The US State Department said Blinken spoke with Jaishankar to discuss Russia's "premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified" attack on Ukraine. "Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia's invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire," it said. Jaishankar also spoke to EU High Representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on the evolving situation in Ukraine. "A telephonic discussion with UK Foreign Secretary @trussliz. Exchanged perspectives on the Ukrainian situation," he tweeted. Following the Russian attack on Ukraine, India underlined the need for dialogue among the key parties and said it will be more than happy to facilitate that engagement. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said at a media briefing on Thursday evening that India has been in "close touch" with all concerned including the US, and the European Union as it has a "stake" in the region. "We have maintained that the parties need to talk to each other, parties need to be engaged and if there is anything that we can do to facilitate that engagement, we are more than happy to do. As we go along we will try and be as helpful as possible," Shringla said. On Western sanctions on Russia, the foreign secretary said certain unilateral sanctions were already existing and that some additional sanctions have now been imposed. "But this is an evolving situation as I said and we have to see what sort of impact these sanctions will have on our own interests. Clearly, we need to study this carefully because any sanction will have an impact on our existing relationship. I think it would only be correct to acknowledge that factor," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened an investigation into and his brother for allegedly violating insider trading regulations with recent share sales. The Wall Street Journal reported that the regulator is investigating whether recent stock sales by the Tesla CEO and his brother "violated insider-trading rules". The SEC probe began last year after Kimbal sold 88,500 Tesla shares worth $108 million, "one day before the Tesla chief polled Twitter users asking whether he should unload 10 per cent of his stake in the electric-car maker and pledging to abide by the vote's results", the report said late on Thursday. Kimbal, who also sits on Tesla's board of directors, has frequently traded Tesla stock at regular intervals under a plan. The regulators will now look into whether Musk told his brother about the poll or potential sale before Kimbal sold his shares on November 5, "or if Kimbal otherwise learned of the poll and then traded", according to the report. Musk sold more than $16 billion worth shares since early November when he polled Twitter users about offloading 10 per cent of his stake in the electric-car maker. "Much is made lately of unrealised gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10 per cent of my Tesla stock," he had posted. In a tweet late on Thursday, Musk said that he was "building a case" against the SEC and declared, "I didn't start the fight, but I will finish it." The conflict between Musk and the SEC began in September 2018 when the SEC charged Musk with making "false and misleading" statements to investors after he wrote on Twitter in August that he had secured enough funding for a massive private buyout of Tesla at $420 a share. The stock seesawed all month and the deal Musk alluded to never materialised. Musk and Tesla had to pay $20 million in fines each, and Musk was forced to step down as Chairman for at least three years as part of a revised settlement agreement the agency reached with the automaker and CEO in 2019. Earlier this week, Musk (via his attorney) accused the of leaking information about a federal investigation in retaliation for his public criticism of federal financial regulators. The letter came after Musk alleged that the SEC was engaged in harassment by continually investigating him, "trying to chill his right to free speech". --IANS na/svn/ (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.) National Tax Service (NTS) Commissioner Kim Dae-ji, right, poses with Levan Kakav, the head of the Revenue Service of Georgia, after their meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, Feb. 21. Courtesy of NTS By Yoon Ja-young Korea's tax agency has shared its know-how in the digitalization of taxation with the tax agencies of India and Georgia, which can decrease the chances of tax evasion and thus enhance taxpayers' trust in the tax system. According to the National Tax Service (NTS), its commissioner, Kim Dae-ji, had a meeting with Levan Kakav, the head of the Revenue Service of Georgia, in the country's capital of Tbilisi, Feb. 21. It was the first official meeting between the tax agency chiefs of the two countries. Kim also had the sixth Korea-India tax commissioners' meeting with his counterpart, Tarun Bajaj, in New Delhi, India, Feb. 24. The meetings come as the NTS has been engaged in "diplomatic efforts" to seek sustainable growth jointly with tax agencies in other countries. India is a core partner of Korea in its New Southern Policy, a diplomatic initiative focused on Southeast Asia and India. As the two countries' diplomacy was upgraded to a "special strategic partnership" in 2015, bilateral trade increased to a record high in 2021, as Korean companies have been massively investing in the country. However, the increase in economic exchange also led to conflicts and uncertainties over taxation for Korean businesses operating in India. National Tax Service (NTS) Commissioner Kim Dae-ji, left, poses with his Indian counterpart, Tarun Bajaj, after their meeting in New Delhi, India, Feb. 24. Courtesy of NTS The chiefs of the tax agencies of Korea and India made a significant achievement, resolving the problem of the dual taxation of Korean businesses operating in India. Kim stressed that taxation problems should not hinder businesses, so as to promote bilateral trade and investment. He especially emphasized preventing the dual taxation of businesses by using Mutual Agreement Procedures or Advance Pricing Arrangements, which aim at resolving taxation issues in international transaction through consultation between tax agencies. They agreed that the two parties should cooperate further to help businesses with tax problems effectively so that they can make stable investments and concentrate on management, and Kim also thanked his Indian counterpart for operating a taxation consulting desk for Korean businesses. The Korean and Indian tax chiefs also agreed to close coordination to tackle offshore tax evasion. The topic has been a main item on the Indian tax agency's agenda since October 2021, and Korea shared its know-how and suggested operating a communication channel for the timely exchange of information. Korea and Georgia have also been strengthening their economic cooperation under President Moon Jae-in administration's New Northern Policy, especially in the areas of resource development and infrastructure investment. Since joining the OECD Forum on Tax Administration in 2018, Georgia's tax agency has been particularly interested in Korea's digitalization of taxation. Kim presented to both his Indian and Georgian counterparts Korea's digitalization of taxation. He suggested ideas such as using blockchain technology and big data to cope with tax evasion, as well as a virtual tax agency using the metaverse and a tax secretary service based on AI. The taxation chiefs agreed that digitalization should be the keyword moving forward to offer better service to taxpayers while decreasing the possibility of tax evasion and gaining more trust from taxpayers. Luxembourg's foreign minister said Friday that the 27-nation was very close to agreement to freezing the assets of Russian President and Foreign Minister . Jean Asselborn said before a meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss Russian sanctions that I think we are very close to an agreement, that we will find an agreement here, for sanctions on the two. There will be a discussion but I think we agree that Putin and Lavrov, as far as the freezing of assets is concerned, that we will find a consensus here, he said. Asselborn said Russia would be hurt by the banks measures. We can't talk everything on this, talk everything down because we don't have SWIFT on the list at this moment. Once again: the debate about SWIFT is not off the table, it will continue." EU leaders largely agreed it was too soon to impose a travel ban on Putin and Lavrov because negotiating channels needed to be kept open. (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 Ukrainian president says Kiev has been left to fend for itself as NATO is "afraid" to give it any guarantees, RT reported. "I asked them -- are you with us?" Volodymyr Zelensky said. "They answered that they are with us, but they don't want to take us into the alliance." "I've asked 27 leaders of Europe, if will be in NATO, I've asked them directly -- all are afraid and did not respond." "We were left by ourselves. Who is ready to go to war for us? Honestly, I don't see anybody. Who is ready to give guarantees of NATO membership? Honestly, everybody is afraid," the president added, RT reported. Accusing the West of leaving to face Moscow alone, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he was not afraid to negotiate an end to the Russian "invasion", but would need security guarantees to do so. Speaking in the early hours of the morning from Kiev, Zelensky said he had reached out to "partners" in the West to tell them that Ukraine's fate was at stake. In an address on Friday, Zelensky said he is open to talking about the possibility of a neutral status for Ukraine, but insisted that his country needs third-party guarantees, the report said. "We are not not afraid of Russia, we are not afraid to talk with Russia, talk about everything: security guarantees for our country and a neutral status. But we are not in NATO now -- what security guarantees will we have? Which countries will give them?" he said, before adding that there should be talks to bring an end to the Russian military offensive. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that "neutral status and rejection of hosting (offensive) weapons systems" are Putin's "red lines" for Ukraine and that the ball was now in Kiev's court. --IANS san/dpb (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday justified Prime Minister Imran Khan's maiden visit to amidst Moscow's military operation in eastern Ukraine, saying it was a bilateral visit planned well ahead of the start of the conflict. Khan, who arrived in on Wednesday on a two-day visit - the first by a Pakistani premier in over two decades. This was the first face-to-face talks of Russian President with a foreign leader since he ordered a special military operation against Ukraine on Thursday. We held consultations before the visit and looked at its pros and cons, and decided to go ahead as it was a bilateral visit. We had clarity about it, Qureshi, who was also part of the delegation accompanying Prime Minister Khan to Moscow, said here. He rejected the impression that the visit was not well-timed given the situation in Ukraine and stressed that it was the right decision, which has increased the diplomatic space of . Qureshi said that the latest situation didn't come up in a day but was a result of an evolving crisis over a period of time, and the visit was not related to the Ukraine conflict. It (visit) should be seen in the context of the trajectory of ties with Russia, which have been improving and the focus is bilateral, he said. Qureshi also revealed that a high level contact was made by the US with before the key visit to Moscow. They made an innocent question' and we gave a civilised answer' (about the visit), he said in a lighter tone. He elaborated that Pakistan conveyed its point of view to the US side about the purpose of the visit. Qureshi said that the Pakistani embassy in Ukraine had been shifted from Kyiv due to the prevailing security situation and at the moment was operational from Ternopil. He said about 600 students were still in Ukraine and efforts were being made to protect them and help them to leave. To questions about the impact of sanctions on Russia's planned investment in Pakistan, including the Pakistan-Stream Gas Pipeline that Moscow was interested to build, Qureshi said that sanctions were being imposed and Pakistan was aware of their impact. We will assess the sanctions and decide about the gas pipeline and other projects, he said. He said talks were held on the gas pipeline and almost all issues have been resolved. Soon, another meeting would be held on it and hopefully we will clinch it. Qureshi said that is also very keen to set up an LNG terminal in Gwadar and we will welcome it. He said that the Russian investors have expressed interest to attend the investment conference to be held next month in Islamabad. He said Pakistan's shift to geo-economics and regional connectivity will get impetus through enhanced relations with Russia. He said Pakistan desires to import gas from Russia. We are an energy deficient country and want a long term government to government arrangement with Russia on this matter, he said. He said the extension of the Russian pipeline in Kazakhstan to Pakistan via Afghanistan will help meet our future energy requirements. He said that Prime Minister Khan, in meeting with Putin, presented Pakistan's view point on the evolving situation in Ukraine, while Putin put forward his views. Qureshi said the regional situation also came under discussion during the talks with the Russian leadership. He said both the countries want peace and stability in Afghanistan. Qureshi said at least 600 army personnel have visited Russia in the recent year for the purpose of training and attended seminars. To a question, he said that Pakistan discussed the FATF grey list issue with the Russians leader. Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June retained Pakistan on its 'grey list' for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and asked Islamabad to investigate and prosecute senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups, including Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. I discussed it with Sergey Lavorv. I updated him about steps taken by Pakistan, which are unprecedented, he said, adding that Lavrov appreciated and said FATF was a technical forum and should not be used for political purposes. Russia will not be part of any such effort (to use this forum for political reasons), Qureshi quoted Lavrov as saying in the meeting. Qureshi said that Pakistan was following an independent foreign policy as politics of being part of a group did a lot of damage to it. He said Pakistan desired relationships with all the countries and was not and would not become part of any bloc politics. We are not part of any camp politics. We paid a heavy price. Now we will cultivate ties with every country independent of others, he said. Pakistan's ties with Russia have moved past the bitter Cold War hostilities in recent years and the chill in the relations between Pakistan and the US has further pushed the country towards Russia and China. (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.) is imposing new sanctions on over its military operation in Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday. "In addition to the sanctions announced on February 23, our country is intensifying them in the following way: freezing capitals, ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens and entities, freezing assets of financial organizations, ban on the goods that may be used for military purposes," Kishida said at a press conference. (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.) are soaring as crude buyers struggle to find shippers willing to send their vessels into Russian ports because of the shelling in and around Ukraine. The rate to book an Aframax vessel to load at one of Russias Baltic Sea ports to western Europe almost tripled on Thursday from the previous day, according to traders and shipbrokers. The bulk of Russias flagship Urals crude that loads in the northern European ports is usually sold to western buyers, although they sometimes go into China and India. While US restrictions on currency clearing include carve-outs for energy payments, some European lenders are scaling back exposure to Ukraine and Russia in a threat to the credit lines essential to trade. Meanwhile, some Chinese traders have already paused dealing in Russian barrels as the shadow of American sanctions lingers. By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices slipped on Friday, after sharp rises in the session, on concern over potential global supply disruptions from sanctions on major crude exporter Russia. The April futures contract was down 33 cents, or 0.3%, to $98.75 a barrel at 1045 GMT, after climbing to as high as $101.99. The more active May contract shed 40 cents, or 0.4%, to $98.75. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude were down 30 cents, or 0.3%, to $92.51 a barrel, after hitting a session high of $95.64. Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday caused prices to surge above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014, with Brent touching $105, before paring gains by the close of trade. The assault was the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. In response to the invasion, U.S. President Joe Biden hit Russia with a wave of sanctions on Thursday, measures that impede Russia's ability to do business in major currencies along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises. Britain, Japan, Canada, Australia and the European Union also unveiled sanctions, including a move by Germany to halt certification of an $11 billion Russian gas pipeline. However, Russia will not have its oil and gas flows specifically targeted by sanctions, a U.S. official said. The country is the world's second-largest crude producer and a major natural gas provider to Europe. Biden also said the United States is working with other countries on a combined release of additional oil from their strategic crude reserves. "European and U.S. politicians so far seems to refrain from hitting Russia with sanctions connected to energy because it would hurt Europe just as much if not even more than Russia," SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop said. Top buyers of Russian oil, however, are struggling to secure guarantees at Western banks or find ships, sources told Reuters. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers, including Russia, meet on Wednesday to decide whether to stick with plans to increase their April output target by 400,000 barrels per day. (Additional reporting by Emily Chow in Beijing; editing by Jason Neely) (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.) Amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the decision by Pakistani Prime Minister to visit Moscow has been termed 'ill-timed' and 'foolhardy'. Terming it 'bad diplomacy', Federico Giuliani, writing for 'Inside Over' said that getting cozy with Putin is especially bad when Khan is facing a no-confidence motion and is in dire need of the Monetary Fund (IMF) loans. Calling the visit 'badly timed' for taking place during the Ukraine crisis, the article highlights that no major deal has been promised, nor there is a chance of being able to secure a loan from the Russians. The domestic audience in has been told that the visit is a 'successful' attempt to wean away from India. However, any notion of India and falling apart is 'foolish', when India is a major buyer of defense equipment and can offer more business to than can, the article further argued. met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday amid the ongoing crisis at the Ukraine-Russia border. Khan's ill-timed two-day visit, the first such trip by a Pakistani PM in 23 years, also aims to push for the construction of a long-delayed, multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline to be built in collaboration with Russian companies. Pakistani security experts doubt if Khan has gone to Moscow with any strategy in mind. He has been urged to "be careful" while dealing with Putin as the Russian retains 'high regard for India and Modi as a leader. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia's invasion of has shocked the former Soviet satellite states of Central and Eastern Europe, drawing strong condemnation even from the region's most pro- politicians. For some of the countries that fled the Soviet bloc following a series of anti-communist revolutions more than 30 years ago, footage of tanks and troops rolling in to punish a nation trying to pursue its own independent course looks painfully familiar. Two until now major pro-Russian voices in the European Union, Czech President Milos Zeman and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, didn't mince their words in criticising Moscow's most aggressive action since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Their countries experienced comparable brutality the Czech Republic, as part of Czechoslovakia, in 1968 and Hungary in 1956. Zeman called Thursday's invasion "an unprovoked act of aggression." " has committed a crime against peace," he said in an address to the nation. Zeman had previously made news by calling Russia's 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula "a fait accompli." Many in the Czech Republic reviled Zeman as a "servant of Kremlin" after he sided with and cast doubt on the findings of his own security and intelligence services on the alleged participation of Russian spies in a huge 2014 ammunition explosion. Until just days ago, Zeman was insisting that the Russians wouldn't attack because "they aren't lunatics to launch an operation that would be more damaging for them than beneficial." "I admit I was wrong," he said Thursday. Zeman has called for harsh sanctions against Russia, including cutting it out of the SWIFT financial system which shuffles money from bank to bank around the globe. "It's necessary to isolate a lunatic and not just to defend ourselves by words but also by deeds," he said. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala also voiced full support for the strongest possible sanctions for what he called "an absolutely unjustified act of aggression against a sovereign state." Prague ordered the closure of two Russian consulates in the Czech Republic and stopped accepting visa requests from Russian citizens. Pavel Rychetsky, the chief judge at the Constitutional court, the country's highest legal authority, suggested that a European arrest warrant should be issued against Russian President . He said Putin should be tried at the Criminal Court for "an unprecedented unleashing of war on the European continent for the first time since World War II." In Hungary, high-ranking officials had for weeks avoided condemning Russia's actions directly. Under Orban, the country has pursued close ties with Putin, a point of concern for many of Hungary's western partners. Hungary has historically deeply distrusted Moscow, which ordered the brutal repression of an anti-Soviet uprising in 1956. But Orban in recent years has pursued a diplomatic and economic strategy he calls "Eastern Opening," which favours closer ties with countries to the east, and in his frequent battles with the EU has called the 27-nation bloc an oppressive imperial power similar to Hungary's former Soviet occupiers. But on Thursday, Orban was clear in his condemnation of the . " attacked this morning with military force," Orban said in a video on Facebook. "Together with our European Union and NATO allies, we condemn Russia's military action." "Hungary's position is clear: we stand by Ukraine, we stand by Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," his Foreign Minister Peter Szijijarto said. Bulgaria, Moscow's closest ally during the Cold War, followed suit. "Having strategic bombers and missiles flying in Europe in the 21st century, assaults by air and sea against a sovereign state, is absolutely inadmissible," President Rumen Radev said. Romania also stood staunchly with its western partners. "Through today's cynical invasion, the Russian Federation is the architect of the worst security crisis since World War II," the ruling coalition leaders said. Neighbouring Moldova, a former Soviet republic and one of the few former communist Eastern European countries not to have joined NATO so far, echoed these views. Moldovan President Maia Sandu stressed that Russia's attacks were launched "in violation of norms," adding that the community "unanimously condemns these military actions. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) has long insisted is part of the country he rules. This was painted more starkly than ever as he announced that Russian troops were undertaking a special military operation in its western neighbour. But to the rest of the world, what is undertaking is simply an invasion. Putin has been softening up the world for its latest foreign policy adventure for some years now. Kiev is the mother of Russian cities, he wrote in March 2014. Ancient Rus is our common source and we cannot live without each other. A few days later completed the annexation of Crimea. Eight years later, during which time more than 14,000 people have died in a Russian-instigated war of insurgency in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, he has returned to this theme backed by the might of Russias armed forces. The Russian president made this intention crystal clear in an hour-long and fairly wide-ranging speech on February 21. is not just a neighbouring country for us, he told the Russian people in a national broadcast. It is an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space. He repeatedly denied Ukraines right to independent existence and, at times, that the country exists at all as an independent entity. Instead he appeared to accept the unity of the two countries as historical fact. In doing so, he revealed the structures of an imperial ideology with a chronology and ambition that goes far beyond post-Soviet nostalgia to the mediaeval era. But to what extent is that ideology shared by Russians? One of the striking elements of Putins latest speech about Ukraine, which accompanied the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, was his insistence that exists as a by-product of Russian history, insisting that Since time immemorial, the people living in the south-west of what has historically been Russian land have called themselves Russians and Orthodox Christians. But he later undercut his insistence of these shared origins, stating that Modern Ukraine was entirely created by or, to be more precise, by Bolshevik, Communist Russia. To him, the making of modern Ukraine only started after the 1917 revolution, and Ukrainians have Lenin and his associates to thank for their state. This was a reference to Lenins creation of a federation of Soviet states, the USSR, out of the ethnic diversity of the former Russian empire. In reality, Ukrainian aspirations for statehood predated revolution by at least two centuries. From the Ukrainian Hetmanates 1710 Bendery Constitution to the 1917 establishment of the West and Ukrainian Peoples Republics and appeals at the Paris Peace Conference for status, Ukrainians have continuously asserted themselves as a distinct people. The formation of the USSR was, in part, conditioned by the previous creation of these two independent Ukrainian Republics in the aftermath of the revolution and the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These republics stemmed directly from the 19th century Ukrainian romantic national movement that reassessed the impact of the Cossack past, fuelling the development of an identity centring on a distinct language, culture, and history. When the Bolsheviks, Lenin at their head, took control over the Ukrainian territories, the idea of Ukraine as an independent nation could not be ignored, and led to the independent status on paper of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in 1922. What Putins address reveals is the desire to plot Russian and Ukrainian history through the lens of imperialism. He is attempting to establish a direct line from shared ancient origins to a first and second Russian empire: one under the Romanov Tsars (1721-1917) and the second as part of the USSR. Across those two imperial epochs, Ukraine is reduced to a tributary state and mentions of national aspirations are smothered. This is precisely the message that the Kremlin continues to disseminate in the 21st century. A lack of popular appetite But what does the Russian public believe? Three decades ago, when the USSR collapsed, only rare and often ultra-nationalist politicians resorted to imperial history in imagining Russias post-soviet future. As early as the 1990s, ultra-nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky advocated ceasing coal supplies to Ukraine as a tactic to bring back Russias lost territories, but he remained a fringe figure in Russian . Still, in 2011 and 2012 Global Attitudes surveys conducted by Pew Research Centre, support for imperial ideology was not insignificant. When asked whether its natural for Russia to have an empire, only 31% of Russian respondents disagreed. Whether nostalgia for empire translates to appetite for war to regain territory remains unclear. It is impossible to paint all Russian perceptions of Ukrainians with the same brush. Russian feelings toward their neighbour have historically ranged from genuine feelings of brotherhood and warmth to virulent expressions of xenophobia manifesting in episodes of ethnic cleansing, such as the 1932 orchestrated famine known as the Holodomor. But when it comes to the question of how Russia should position itself with regards to claiming eastern Ukrainian provinces as long-lost parts of the Russian empire, opinion is more clearly divided. Only 26% of Russians wanted the Donbas to become part of Russia, while 54% are in favour of varying forms of independence (within Ukraine or separate). War remains an unpopular choice, with only 18% of Russians unreservedly supporting armed conflict in defence of the two breakaway republics in a poll from April 2021. Post-Soviet neo-imperialism Ultimately, the use of empire as an ideology reveals Russias yearning for or sense of entitlement to a third imperial regime. The rhetorical and physical erasure of Ukrainian history and identity makes it much easier to assert claims of shared Russian heritage. This will be important to bear in mind as we watch the development of this renewed conflict over Ukraine. Parallels with other formerly colonised peoples abound. But, as Kenyas envoy to the UN put it, no matter what conditions presided over the drawing of modern borders, we must complete our recovery from the embers of dead empires in a way that does not plunge us back into new forms of domination and oppression. Olivia Durand, Postdoctoral associate in history, University of Oxford This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Russian President told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a call on Friday that is willing to hold high level talks with Ukraine, China's foreign ministry said. China has refused to call Russia's action in an "invasion" or criticise Moscow despite intensifying assaults from Russia's military. Putin told Xi that the United States and NATO had long ignored Russia's legitimate security concerns, repeatedly reneged on their commitments, and continued to expand military deployment eastward, challenging Russia's strategic bottom line, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website. is willing to conduct high-level negotiations with Ukraine, Putin was cited as saying. China has repeatedly called for the crisis to be resolved through dialogue. China supports and in resolving the issue through negotiation, Xi told Putin, according to the ministry. Xi also called for all sides to abandon a Cold War mentality, respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiation, according to the statement. Xi said China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, according to the statement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korea has been rated as one of the worst countries in terms of freedom, a recent report by a U.S.-funded freedom watchdog showed Friday. In an annual Freedom House report titled, "Freedom in the World 2022," the North received a combined freedom score of 3 out of 100 zero points for political rights and 3 points for civil liberties. It ranked only above Turkmenistan at 2 points, and South Sudan and Syria with just 1 point each among 195 countries assessed by the organization. The report came amid concerns about human rights conditions in the North that has been struggling with economic woes aggravated by global sanctions and pandemic-driven border closures. (Yonhap) Russian President said on Friday that he was ready to hold "high-level negotiations" with as he spoke with his Chinese counterpart who stressed that both Moscow and Kyiv should resolve the raging crisis through talks. Xi and Putin, regarded as allies and friends as China and enlarged their strategic ties amid the strident US and EU push against them on a host of issues, held their talks on the phone around the same time as the Russian troops closed in on Kyiv, home to over three million people, with heavy bombardment raising fears of bloodshed. The Russian side is ready to hold high-level negotiations with the Ukrainian side, the official Chinese media here quoted Putin as telling Xi. Around the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday reiterated his call for Russian President Putin to hold talks and stop the conflict. "Fighting is going on all over . Let's sit down at the negotiating table," Zelensky said, the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing a report from Interfax- news agency. Xi, whose government stonewalled criticism in the last few days for not condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, sought to play the role of a peacemaker by saying that China supports and Ukraine to solve the issue through negotiation, the state-run CGTN reported. Noting that the recent situation in eastern Ukraine has changed dramatically, causing great concern in the community, Xi told Putin that China's position on the Ukraine issue was based on the merits of the matter concerned. In an apparent criticism directed against the United States and the European Union, Xi urged all parties to completely abandon the Cold War mindset, respect and attach importance to each other's legitimate security concerns and strive for a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through dialogue and negotiation. Xi reiterated that China's position of safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states and abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter has been consistent. China is ready to work with all parties in the community to promote common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and firmly uphold the UN-cantered system and the international order underpinned by international law, he said. Putin, for his part, introduced the historical context on the Ukraine issue as well as Russia's position on launching the special military operation in eastern Ukraine. The Russian president stressed that the United States and NATO have long ignored Moscow's legitimate security concerns, repeatedly reneged on their commitments and kept pushing military deployments eastward, which challenged Russia's strategic bottom line. He also told Xi that the Russian side was ready to conduct high-level negotiations with the Ukrainian side. During their phone conversation, Xi once again expressed his gratitude to Putin for coming to China to attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which was boycotted by the leaders and diplomats of the US, the EU and their allies to highlight the allegations of human rights violations against Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang. As Xi-Putin held talks, a Xinhua report said the Russian Defence Ministry announced that its airborne forces successfully conducted a landing operation at the Gostomel airfield outside Kiev, blocking the Ukrainian capital city from the west. Ever since Putin announced the military operations in Ukraine on Thursday, China has walked a fine line, declining to condemn the military action while remaining silent over Moscow's move to accord two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk as independent entities. In his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said there was a complex and special historical context of the Ukraine issue and the Chinese side understands Russia's legitimate security concerns. Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here on Friday that Beijing will make its own effort to push for political settlement of the Ukrainian issue. He said there was a sharp contrast between China's approach and some other countries' moves of creating and shifting the crisis, and trying to benefit from it, while responding to questions on White House spokesperson Jan Psaki's assertion that it's time for China to pick a side. Wang Wenbin said China believed that the Ukraine issue has a complicated history and that the legitimate security concerns of all parties should be respected and the Cold War mentality should be completely abandoned. Psaki said at a news briefing on Thursday that "this is really a moment for China, for any country, about what side of history they want to stand on here." The comprehensive settlement of the issue should be sought through dialogue and negotiations so as to form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism, Wang said, noting that China's approach formed a sharp contrast with what some countries have been doing in trying to benefit from the crisis. Wang said that the door to a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine issue has not been completely closed. China hopes that relevant parties remain calm and rational and commit to peacefully resolving relevant issues through negotiations in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter, he said, noting that Beijing will continue to promote peace talks in its own way and welcomes and encourages all efforts for a diplomatic settlement. He also played down the impact of the US and EU sanctions against . Europe has imposed financial sanctions against Russia for its military operation against Ukraine. On the question of whether China is worried that not condemning Russia might undermine its relations with the EU, Wang said that he believed everyone was familiar with the results of the sanctions. Unilateral sanctions are never the fundamental and effective approach in solving problems and that they only result in severe difficulties to local economies and livelihoods, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia's civil aviation authority has banned U.K. flights to and over in retaliation to the British ban on Aeroflot flights. Rosaviatsiya said that all flights by the U.K. carriers to as well as transit flights are banned starting Friday. It said the measure was taken in response to the unfriendly decisions by the British authorities who banned flights to the U.K. by the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot as part of sanctions over Russia's invasion of 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.) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said that Moscow is ready for talks at "any moment" with Ukraine once the Ukrainian military respond positively to President Vladimir Putin's call, end their resistance and lay down their arms. Lavrov made the remarks following talks with Deputy Foreign Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Sergey Peresada and Foreign Minister of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) Vladislav Deinego, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Russian President signed treaties with leaders of DPR and LPR on February 21, recognising the two regions of Ukraine as independent. We are ready to hold talks at any moment, once the Ukrainian Armed Forces respond to our president's call, end their resistance and lay down their arms. No one plans to attack and oppress them, let them return to their families, and let us give the Ukrainian people a chance to decide their future, Lavrov was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency. President Putin on Thursday launched a multi-pronged all-out attack on Ukraine, casting aside condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to "consequences they had never seen". President Putin announced in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the head of the Donbas republic, he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation to protect people who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years. Putin said the Russian military operation aims to ensure a demilitarisation of Ukraine. Putin also urged Ukrainian servicemen to immediately put down arms and go home. The US and its allies have decided to block assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs close to Putin after he ordered a "special military operation" against Ukraine on Thursday. Stressing that had always called for negotiations, Lavrov said, "there is no shortage of talks but when talks are replaced with blatant sabotage, while is accused of allegedly failing to implement the Minsk accords, it's effrontery, which is what some of our Western colleagues are famous for, but this time, it just went beyond all limits because it was accompanied by a continuous deterioration of the Russian-speaking population's situation in 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.) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Friday to stay in Kyiv even as he said intel suggested that he was marked by the Russians as enemy number 1. At least 137 Ukranians were dead, with 316 injured, Zelensky said. An estimated 100,000 people fled as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities. Ukraines on Friday said more than 1,000 Russian servicemen have been killed so far in the conflict. has not suffered so many casualties during the fighting in any of its armed conflicts since its inception, the ministry said, Reuters reported. But Zelensky warned in a video message, (The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target. My family is the number two target. I will stay in the capital. My family is also in . Asked if he was worried about Zelenskys safety, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS: To the best of my knowledge, President Zelensky remains in at his post, and of course were concerned for the safety of all of our friends in government officials and . A residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine after pounded the city during a massive military operation Photo: Reuters The Ukranian president also made his views on Wests actions clear. This morning, we are defending our country alone. Just like yesterday, the most powerful country in the world looked on from a distance, he said in a Facebook video, as quoted by CNN. Sanctions, military advances The United States, Britain, Japan, Canada, Australia and the European Union on Thursday unveiled more sanctions on on top of those imposed earlier this week, aiming to freeze the country's banks, government and elite out of the global financial system. Russias wealthiest individuals were already feeling the squeeze from escalating tensions between the nation and Ukraine. It got much worse for their net worth after Russian President Vladimir Putins decision to invade Ukraine. In less than 24 hours, they lost $39 billion more than they had up to that point this year. Social media giants stepped in highlighting security measure for users in Ukraine. Facebook owner Meta Platforms has set up a special operations centre to monitor the conflict in Ukraine, and it launched a feature so users in the country can lock their social media profiles for security, a company official said in Twitter posts on Thursday. Twitter on Wednesday posted tips on how users can secure their accounts against hacking, make sure their tweets are private and deactivate their accounts. The company tweeted the safety tips in English, Russian and Ukrainian.A democratic nation of 44 million people, Ukraine is Europes biggest country by area after Russia itself. It voted for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and has recently stepped up efforts to join the NATO military alliance and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow. People fleeing the conflict from Ukraine arrive at Przemysl train station in Przemysl, Poland, on Friday Photo: AP/PTI Invading Russian forces closed in on the Ukrainian capital Friday, in what appears to be an encircling movement after a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country. As they awakened on the second day of Russia's invasion, horrified civilians found themselves at risk as artillery shells rained down on some residential buildings on Kyiv's outskirts. A spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency, Shabia Mantoo, said more than 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes in Ukraine and that up to 4 million people may flee to other countries if the situation escalates. Reviving Cold War fears of a nuclear showdown, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned in a speech that he has the weapons available if anyone dares to use military means to try to stop his takeover of Ukraine. Whether an empty threat or not, Putin's words re-animated the spectre of nuclear war through accident or miscalculation. The airline industry meanwhile shifted its focus to Russia after the closure of the airspace over Ukraine, in a sign of the conflicts growing fallout for the global aviation industry. has done it. Ignoring near-universal condemnation, the Russian president has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, confirming the Wests worst fears. Its an abominable act of unprovoked aggression that threatens global security and stability. The worlds response must be swift and exacting. Putins actions reflect a willful disregard for law and the lives of innocent people. They violate the basic principles underpinning the system: that sovereign nations have the right to chart their own destiny and that borders cannot be changed by force. While being mindful of the risks of military escalation with a nuclear superpower, the U.S. and its allies should now take immediate, coordinated steps to isolate Putin and exert pressure on Russias economy. Russias onslaught has been anticipated for months. Putin began to prepare the groundwork for escalation earlier this week with the recognition of two separatist self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine, and a televised meeting that ensured high-ranking officials shared responsibility. On Thursday, he finally slammed the door on a peaceful resolution. Russia, he told citizens in a pre-dawn speech, could not feel safe with the constant threat from and a hardening of NATOs position. With its forces bearing down on Kyiv, the Kremlin says its objective is nothing less than the liberation of . After months of grappling with Putins strategic ambiguity and fretting over what would happen in the event of a minor incursion, the West now has the benefit of clarity. What, then, can the U.S. and its allies do to restrict Russias adventurism and protect civilians? The Wests military options are limited. Russian forces possess overwhelming superiority over their Ukrainian counterparts. At this point, increasing lethal aid to Ukraines military is unlikely to prevent Putins annexation of parts of the country. The U.S. and European governments should instead exploit their greatest strategic advantage over Putin their economic power and cut off from the global financial system, with the aim of constraining Russias economy. In this regard, the actions already taken by the U.S., U.K. and E.U., while critical, will need to go much further. The U.S. sanctioned the company behind the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from to Germany, and Berlin, long hesitant, halted the landmark project. Additional sanctions have been put on sovereign debt, as well as oligarchs, parliamentarians and government officials, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. On Thursday, the British government announced an asset freeze on all major Russian banks, blocked Russian companies from raising capital in U.K. markets, and imposed sanctions on some 100 members of the Russian elite. For his part, U.S. president Joe Biden sanctioned five major Russian banks holding $1 trillion in assets and moved to deprive of the ability to import Western technology. If Putins offensive continues, the West should consider additional measures, including targeting Putins personal wealth. Russias vast currency reserves, along with high energy prices and the support of China, will allow Putin to withstand the first wave of penalties. Europes dependence on Russian energy, made more intense by Germanys shortsighted decision to close its nuclear plants, will likely threaten Western resolve. But the Russian economy is too small to sustain a war footing indefinitely. Though sanctions alone wont dislodge Russian forces from Ukraine, patient and unstinting application of economic pressure remains the Wests most potent weapon for deterring further Russian aggression. The West should be clear-eyed about the challenge it faces. Putin has exploited years of U.S. disengagement to sow chaos, divide NATO, and attempt to undo Europes post-Cold War order. Now hes attacked a democratic European nation, a country with which his own people have deep ties and little desire to fight. A faltering response by the U.S. and its allies will only embolden others, notably China, to also attempt to advance their interests by force. This is no moment for weakness. European Union leaders are putting on a united front after a six-hour meeting during which they agreed on a second package of economic and financial sanctions on . The EU Council president accused of using "fake pretexts and bad excuses" for justifying its invasion of and said sanctions will hurt the government. The legal texts for the sanctions agreed on are expected to be finalised overnight and be submitted for approval to EU foreign affairs ministers on Friday. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the package includes targeting 70 per cent of the Russian banking market and key state-owned companies. She said Russia's energy sector also will be targeted "by making it impossible for to upgrade its refineries." And there will be a ban on sales of software, semiconductors and airliners to Russia. (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.) leaders have pledged to impose tough economic and financial sanctions on Russia, but there is a lack of consensus within the West over cutting the country off the SWIFT financial payment system. The Belgium-based cooperative is used by more than 11,000 institutions globally. It shuffles money from bank to bank, and removing from it would likely also have an impact on European economies. Ukraine has requested the move. While the head of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, said on Thursday that EU sanctions need to include the exclusion of from the scheme, many EU leaders remain unconvinced. Dutch Prime minister Mark Rutte, for instance, said such a decision would also hurt European economies. Rutte said it should be a last-resort measure that could be decided at a later stage. "A number of countries are hesitant since it has serious consequences for themselves," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia will gain no security from its needless war in Ukraine as democracies across the world stand shoulder to shoulder in the face of despotic militarism, Indian American Congressman said on Thursday. He said Russian President has chosen to begin his unjustified, unprovoked, and premeditated invasion" of Ukraine. Krishnamoorthi, who is the first-ever and the only Indian-American on the powerful House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in the face of Russia's senseless and avoidable war, the United States must continue to stand with the people of Ukraine as they defend their homeland, their freedom, and their right of self-government from Putin's iron yoke. We must join with democracies across the world to dramatically expand sanctions on Russia to hold its leaders accountable for the needless destruction and suffering they will cause, while also coordinating with our NATO allies to stand firm in the face of any attack on our alliance, said the Democratic lawmaker. While none of us can say for certain what will come next, Russia will gain no security from this needless war as democracies across the world once again stand shoulder to shoulder in the face of despotic militarism, he said. I join countless millions across the world in keeping the people of Ukraine in my prayers as has chosen to begin his unjustified, unprovoked, and premeditated invasion of Ukraine, he said. Despite the efforts of Ukraine, the United States, and our European allies to prevent bloodshed through diplomacy, millions of lives now lie in the balance because of Russian military aggression, Krishnamoorthi said. In a televised address on Thursday, Russian President Putin said his move to launch a military operation in Ukraine came in response to threats emanating from the neighbouring country. He also warned other countries that if they attempted to interfere with the Russian military operation they would see "consequences they have never seen". Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna in a tweet said that the United States stands with Ukraine. We will hold Putin accountable for his unconscionable, unjustified, and illegal attack on the innocent people of Ukraine. He is committing a crime against humanity and flagrantly violating law, he said. Khanna has just returned from the Munich Security Conference as part of a Congressional delegation. Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is an assault on global peace and security, law, and the values we cherish as Americans, tweeted Indian American Congressman Dr. Ami Bera. The US and our allies stand united with the Ukrainian people. We must act decisively to ensure Putin faces severe consequences, he said in a tweet. There was no immediate reaction from Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. The current Congress has four Indian American lawmakers: Bera, Krishnamoorthi, Khanna and Jayapal. President Putin announced in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the head of the Donbas republic, he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years. Putin has said that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories. Russia's Defence Ministry reported that Russian troops were destroying Ukrainian military infrastructure using precision weapons. The US has already announced a series of sanctions on Russia to prevent it from accessing Western financial markets. (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.) pressed its invasion of to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleaded for help to fend off an attack that could topple his democratically elected government, cause massive casualties and ripple out damage to the global economy. The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear, but the blasts came amid signs that the capital and largest Ukrainian city was increasingly threatened following a day of fighting that left more than 100 Ukrainians dead. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government had information that subversive groups were encroaching on the city, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv could well be under siege" in what US officials believe is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to install his own regime. The assault, anticipated for weeks by the US and Western allies, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. After weeks of denying plans to invade, the autocratic Putin launched his attack on the country, which has increasingly tilted toward the democratic West and away from Moscow's sway. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, Zelenskyy appealed to global leaders for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and for defense assistance. If you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door, said the leader, who cut diplomatic ties with Moscow, declared martial law and ordered a full military mobilisation that would last 90 days. As air raids sirens sounded in Kyiv early Friday, guests of a hotel in the city center were directed to a makeshift basement shelter, lined with piles of mattresses and bottles of water. Workers, all local university students, served tea and cookies to the guests. Some people ducked out to a courtyard to smoke or get fresh air. We're all scared and worried. We don't know what to do then, what's going to happen in a few days, said one of the workers, Lucy Vashaka, 20. The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes on cities and military bases, and then quickly followed with a multi-pronged ground assault that rolled troops in from several areas in the east; from the southern region of Crimea, which annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. Ukrainian officials said they lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster, and civilians in many parts of the country piled into trains and cars to flee. Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 heroes, including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. He concluded an emotional speech by saying that the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders. He also said the country had heard from Moscow that "they want to talk about Ukraine's neutral status" - a reference to its demand that the country drop its bid to join to western NATO alliance. Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv's subway stations. At times it felt almost cheerful. Families ate dinner. Children played. Adults chatted. People brought sleeping bags or dogs or crossword puzzles - anything to alleviate the waiting and the long night ahead. Nobody believed that this war would start and that they would take Kyiv directly, said Anton Mironov, waiting out the night in one of the old Soviet metro stations. I feel mostly fatigue. None of it feels real. Many who spent the night in makeshift bunkers, emerged in the early hours of Friday to a relatively quiet city. Some traffic and cars moved along highways, along with columns of military. The lines at fuel stations the day before had evaporated. said it was not targeting cities, but journalists saw destruction in many civilian areas, and Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said at least three people were injured when a rocket hit a multistory apartment building in the city on Friday, starting a fire. The Ukrainian military on Friday reported significant fighting near Ivankiv, about 60 km (40 miles) northwest of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. Russian troops also entered the city of Sumy, near the border with Russia that sits on a highway leading to Kyiv from the east. The hardest day will be today. The enemy's plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-decommissioned Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press. The Vienna-based Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by of the takeover, adding that there had been no casualties or destruction at the industrial site. The conflict shook global financial markets: Stocks plunged and oil prices soared amid concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket. Condemnation came not only from the US and Europe, but from South Korea, Australia and beyond - and many governments readied new sanctions. Even friendly leaders like Hungary's Viktor Orban sought to distance themselves from Putin. US President Joe Biden announced new sanctions that will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, saying Putin chose this war and had exhibited a sinister view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. He added that the measures were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe. Biden was to meet Friday morning with fellow leaders of NATO governments in what the White House described as an extraordinary virtual summit to discuss . British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the UK's financial markets as he announced sanctions, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies and the Kremlin from raising money on British markets. Now we see him for what he is - a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest, Johnson said of Putin. Zelenskyy urged the US and West to go further and cut the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House has been reluctant to do that, worried it could cause enormous economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West. While some nervous Europeans speculated about a possible new world war, the US and its NATO partners have shown no indication they would send troops into Ukraine, fearing a larger conflict. NATO reinforced its members in Eastern Europe as a precaution, and Biden said the US was deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO. Ukrainians were urged to shelter in place and not to panic. Until the very last moment, I didn't believe it would happen. I just pushed away these thoughts, said a terrified Anna Dovnya in Kyiv, watching soldiers and police remove shrapnel from an exploded shell. We have lost all faith. (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.) Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong / AP-Yonhap The government is preparing to evacuate 36 out of 64 nationals remaining in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Friday. "For the 36 of them who wish to leave the country, we are making full preparations to evacuate them this week," Chung said during a meeting of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee. Chung added that evacuation efforts have been complicated by airport closures and congestion on roads, but that South Korean Embassy personnel plan to resume the operation as soon as possible. He also said the government will join the international community's economic sanctions campaign against Russia, including export controls on strategic materials. Moscow launched a full-scale invasion into even as the West announced a fresh set of harsher sanctions to punish . Closer home, Indian companies face a dip in profit margins as the crisis in eastern Europe sent above $100/barrel for the first time since 2014. US to have consultations with India on crisis, says Joe Biden President on Thursday said that the United States will have consultations with India on the crisis in following a military operation from . He was responding to a question if India was fully on board with the United States on the Russian aggression. It is understood that India and the United States are not on the same page on the Ukrainian crisis. India has a historic and time-tested friendship with . At the same time, its strategic partnership with the United States has grown at an unprecedented pace over the last decade and half. Read more President unveiled harsh new sanctions against Russia on Thursday after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine, imposing measures to impede Russia's ability to do business in the world's major currencies along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises. Read more LIC IPO delay? Govt in wait-and-watch mode amid Russia-Ukraine crisis The Centre will wait and watch the developments impacting stock markets on the back of a Russia-Ukraine offensive before taking a call on deferring the of (LIC) of India. Until now, there is no discussion on delaying LIC's listing. The government is continuing with its roadshows for the public offering, informed a government official. Read more Ukraine crisis: faces dip in margins as spike The recent spike in will lead to a sharp fall in India Incs margins and profitability in the forthcoming quarter. Historically there is negative correlation between crude oil prices and the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation, or the operating margins of listed companies. The biggest impact is expected to be felt by manufacturing companies and those that rely on petroleum-based raw materials. Read more investors turn down Grover offer to sell stake for Rs 4k crore Key investors at have turned down an offer made by co-founder Ashneer Grover to sell his 9.5 per cent stake in the fintech start-up for over Rs 4,000 crore if they want him to quit the company, say sources in the know. Grover seems to have valued the payments company at around $6 billion far higher than its valuation of $2.8 billion after a fundraise last August. However, the company was looking at a fresh raise in January this year at a valuation of around $4 billion. Read more The government is introducing a bill that will require tech giants like Facebook, Google and other tech platforms to verify the identities of users. According to Engadget, the measure is part of the government's Online Safety Bill announced last year and is ostensibly designed to help users block anonymous trolls online. "Tech firms have a responsibility to stop anonymous trolls polluting their platforms," Digital Minister Nadine Dorries was quoted as saying in a statement. "People will now have more control over who can contact them and be able to stop the tidal wave of hate served up to them by rogue algorithms," Dorries added. Tech firms would need to decide how to carry out the checks when users create accounts. Some options proposed by the government include facial recognition via profile pictures, two-factor authentication and government-issued ID, the report said. The UK's media regulator Ofcom would be in charge of laying out the rules, it added. The government has also proposed measures that would force companies to filter out "legal but harmful" material. That would allow parents, for instance, to apply settings stopping their kids from receiving search results about certain topics, or putting "sensitivity screens" over them. Tech firms in violation could face fines of up to 10 per cent of their global annual revenues, which could be in the billions with companies like Google and Facebook. The government could also block services from being accessed in the under the proposed rules, which would need to be approved by parliament to become law. --IANS vc/vd (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 137 civilians and military personnel have been killed so far in the Russian invasion of his country. He called them "heroes" in a video address released early Friday in which he also said hundreds more have been wounded. Zelenskyy says that despite Russia's claim it is attacking only military targets, civilian sites also have been struck. In his words: "They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven." The president said all border guards on Zmiinyi island in the Odesa region were killed on Thursday. Ukraine's border guard service earlier in the day reported that the island was taken by the Russians. (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.) For months, the White House made highly unusual releases of intelligence findings about Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans to attack . Hoping to preempt an invasion, it released details of Russian troop buildups and warned repeatedly that a major assault was imminent. In the end, Putin attacked anyway. Critics of U.S. intelligence including Russian officials who dismissed invasion allegations as fantasy had been pointing to past failures like the false identification of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But Russia's invasion so far has played out largely as the Biden administration said it would back in December, with nearly 2,00,000 troops striking from several sides of . Lawmakers from both political parties on Thursday said the accurate predictions were a credit to the often-criticised U.S. intelligence community. But whether the White House's unprecedented public campaign delayed or limited Putin's plans could be debated for years. And some say both Washington and Kyiv could have done more with the information the two governments had beforehand. Ukrainians are fighting a vastly more powerful Russian army all over their country, with deaths reported on both sides and explosions in several cities. There are fears may try to depose Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, even as Putin claims in the face of the U.S. intelligence that is only trying to protect residents of two separatist territories in eastern . Announcing new sanctions on Thursday, President Joe Biden cited his administration's moves to warn of what it knew of Putin's intentions. "We shared declassified evidence about Russia's plans and false pretext so that there could be no confusion or cover-up about what Putin's doing," he said. "Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences." Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, noted several results of the public campaign: weakening any potential move by Putin to create a "false-flag" operation to justify war, undercutting any potential coup in Kyiv that might have appeared to be led by Ukrainians, and unifying allies who quickly denounced Putin's aggression this week and backed tough sanctions. "The intelligence community usually doesn't like to share information; they want to hold it close," Warner said in an interview. "What they've done is push the Russian timeline back. They've also, I think, allowed us to build this coalition that is virtually unprecedented." Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said the Biden administration's declassifying of information was "incredibly important." "This has both impacted the community's view of Putin and has slowed his actions," Turner said. "The goal in releasing intelligence is to permit Ukraine to plan, and any delay in Putin's actions helped Ukraine in the planning to defend itself." But Turner said the White House should have provided more lethal weapons and air defense capability to Ukraine in advance. He also said that the White House was initially reluctant to provide some of its intelligence findings to Kyiv. One U.S. official familiar with the intelligence gathering, who was not authorised to comment publicly by name, said the White House shared intelligence with Ukraine about even before the troop buildup began last year and accelerated its sharing throughout the crisis. The official added that the administration reduced constraints to allow findings to be shared with the Ukrainians and more broadly with allies. Still, Washington and Kyiv were often publicly and privately at odds about the nature of the Russian threat and what needed to be done. Zelenskyy for months tried to publicly downplay American warnings of an imminent major outbreak, noting that Ukraine remained locked in an eight-year war over the eastern Donbas region fighting Russian-backed separatists. Zelenskyy did not call up military reservists until Wednesday, when he also announced a 30-day state of emergency. "The one area that I wish we could have been more effective is convincing the Ukrainians themselves to further mobilise their troops, their reserves," Warner said Thursday. "I am not saying that would have stopped the Russian invasion. The Russian forces are so overwhelming. But it might have allowed a bit of a better fight." A Ukrainian government official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence said Kyiv was convinced about two weeks ago that Russia would invade. But the government publicly tamped down concerns about an invasion to limit damage to Ukraine's economy and panic in the country, the official said. Any mass mobilisation of Ukrainian forces could have given additional pretext to Putin, who repeatedly and falsely claimed Ukraine was planning to attack separatist-held parts of the Donbas. The official also noted that only on Wednesday did the U.S. sanction the company that built the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Zelenskyy and lawmakers from both parties had long pushed for the sanctions on the pipeline, which would carry natural gas from Russia to Germany and bypass Ukraine. "We wish it were a deterrence victory, not an intelligence victory," the official said. "Unfortunately there was zero deterrence and now we have a humanitarian catastrophe. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister on Friday told the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) that the UK will imminently impose direct sanctions on Russian President and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Russia's invasion of . Addressing a virtual meeting of NATO leaders, Johnson said his government will personally sanction the Russian leaders over their "revanchist mission" to overturn the post-Cold War order. He also called for "immediate action" to ban from the SWIFT payment platform to "inflict maximum pain" on the Russian regime. The Prime Minister urged leaders to take immediate action against SWIFT to inflict maximum pain on President Putin and his regime. The UK would introduce sanctions against President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov imminently, on top of the sanctions package the UK announced yesterday, he said, a Downing Street spokesperson said, with reference to the NATO meeting. The Prime Minister added that the world must make certain President Putin would fail in this act of aggression. was showing strong resistance. He added that there could no normalisation of relations with after this act, the spokesperson said. Johnson warned NATO that the Russian President's ambitions might not stop at and that this was a Euro-Atlantic crisis with global consequences. The European Union (EU) has already sanctioned President Putin and his foreign minister. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called on both the UK and EU to strengthen their package of measures hitting oligarchs supporting the Putin regime and freezing Russian bank assets. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) does not plan to "occupy" and is ready to hold negotiations soon after the Ukrainian forces "lay down their arms" in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's call, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. The Russian top diplomat made the remarks following talks with Deputy Foreign Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Sergey Peresada and Foreign Minister of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) Vladislav Deinego, the state-run TASS news agency reported. "No one is going to occupy . The aim of the operation has been openly declared: demilitarising and denazifying, he said, a day after Russian troops launched a massive military operation against . President Putin signed treaties with leaders of DPR and LPR on February 21, recognising the two regions of Ukraine as independent. We are ready to hold talks at any moment, once the Ukrainian Armed Forces respond to our president's call, end their resistance and lay down their arms. No one plans to attack and oppress them, let them return to their families, and let us give the Ukrainian people a chance to decide their future, Lavrov said. No one will abuse the Ukrainian soldiers, who can return to their families after ending hostilities, he told reporters. Meanwhile, the Kremlin on Friday said that President Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk, Belarus for talks with Ukrainian officials. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov's comments came soon after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he is willing to discuss a non-aligned status for Ukraine. Zelenskyy's statement indicated that he would be willing to negotiate dropping his country's bid to join US-led NATO, a key demand of Putin. Before the Russian military action, the US-led West had firmly rejected Moscow's demand. Putin on Thursday had claimed the refusal to discuss keeping Ukraine out of NATO forced him to order the special military operation against Ukraine to "demilitarise" it. President Putin on Thursday launched a multi-pronged all-out attack on Ukraine, and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to "consequences they had never seen". The US and its allies have decided to block assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs close to Putin after he ordered a "special military operation" against 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.) Russian forces moved to the outskirts of Ukraine's capital on Friday as U.S. officials warned that President Vladimir Putin may be intent on installing a new, more friendly government. The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations. They were quickly followed by a ground assault from the north, east and south in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. U.S. President Joe Biden was to meet Friday morning with fellow leaders of NATO governments in what the White House described as an extraordinary virtual summit to discuss . Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed that his military will keep fighting back and he ordered a full mobilization. He said 137 people, both servicemen and civilians, have been killed and hundreds more wounded since the invasion began. Here are the things to know about the conflict over and the security crisis in Eastern Europe: AN UNEASY NIGHT IN KYIV Fearing a Russian attack, many of the capital's residents took shelter deep underground in metro stations. People brought sleeping bags and blankets, dogs and crossword puzzles as they sought safety in the makeshift bomb shelters. In the early hours of the morning, several explosions were heard in different parts of the city. Air raid sirens also went off. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko had called on the city's 3 million people to stay indoors unless they worked in critical sectors and said everyone should prepare go-bags with necessities such as medicine and documents. Friday morning, Klitschko said at least three people were injured when a rocket hit a multi-story apartment building, starting a fire. Just as yesterday, the military and civilians are equally under Russian attack, Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian military on Friday morning reported significant fighting in the area of Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. It said one bridge across a small river had been destroyed. Zelenskyy said he has information that he's the No. 1 target for the invading Russians but said he planned to remain in Kyiv. CHERNOBYL IN RUSSIAN HANDS said it lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site after Ukrainian forces waged a fierce battle with Russian troops. A nuclear reactor at the plant 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv exploded in April 1986, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell. Alyona Shevtsova, an adviser to the commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces, wrote on Facebook that the staff had been taken hostage when Russian troops seized the facility. The White House press secretary expressed alarm, concerned that it could hamper efforts to maintain the nuclear facility. HOW HAS PUTIN JUSTIFIED THE INVASION? In a televised address as the attack began, Putin said it was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting for almost eight years. The U.S. had predicted Putin would falsely claim that the rebel-held regions were under attack to justify an invasion. He accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia's demands to prevent Ukraine from ever joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees. Putin said does not intend to occupy Ukraine but plans to demilitarize it, a euphemism for destroying its armed forces. WHAT SANCTIONS ARE WESTERN POWERS IMPOSING? In announcing a new round of sanctions on Thursday, Biden said the U.S. and its allies will block the assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs. The penalties fall in line with the White House's insistence that it would look to hit Russia's financial system and Putin's inner circle, while also imposing export controls that would aim to starve Russia's industries and military of U.S. semiconductors and other high-tech products. New U.S. sanctions also targeted the military and financial institutions of Belarus, which is using as a staging ground for its troops moving into Ukraine from the north. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would aim to cut off from the U.K.'s financial market. The sanctions include freezing the assets of all major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, its second-biggest. Britain also plans to bar Russian companies and the Russian government from raising money on U.K. markets, ban the export of a wide range of high-tech products, including semiconductors, to Russia and bar its flagship airline, Aeroflot, from landing at U.K. airports. The European Union and other Western allies, including Australia, Japan and South Koreas, announced similar sanctions. OTHER REPERCUSSIONS FOR RUSSIANS UEFA will no longer host the Champions League final in St. Petersburg in May, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks. An extraordinary meeting of the UEFA executive committee will be held Friday. Valery Gergiev, a conductor who is close to Putin, will not lead the Vienna Philharmonic in a five-concert U.S. tour that starts at Carnegie Hall on Friday. Milan's Teatro alla Scala sent a letter to Gergiev asking him to make a clear statement in favor of a peaceful resolution in Ukraine or he would not be permitted to return for his next scheduled performance on March 5. PROTESTS IN RUSSIA Russians shocked by the invasion turned out by the thousands for street protests in Moscow and other cities. They signed open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault. One petition garnered 330,000 signatures by the end of the day. The crackdown was swift. Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow. State television was all in for the invasion, with one host calling it an effort to protect people in eastern Ukraine from a Nazi regime. CHINA'S SUPPORT FOR RUSSIA China's customs agency on Thursday approved imports of wheat from all regions of Russia, a move that could help to reduce the impact of possible Western sanctions. China's market is a growth area for other suppliers, but Beijing had barred imports until now from Russia's main wheat-growing areas due to concern about possible fungus and other contamination. Russia is one of the biggest wheat producers, but its exports would be vulnerable if its foreign markets blocked shipments in response to its attack on Ukraine. Thursday's announcement said Russia would take all measures to prevent contamination by wheat smut fungus and would suspend exports to China if it was found. (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 deployed additional troops to defend its allies, particularly in eastern Europe, President Joe Biden said amidst Russian military forces entering Ukrainian territories. He said US forces are not going to to fight in Ukraine but to defend and reassure allies in the East. The US had provided over USD 650 million in defensive assistance to Ukraine last year. "We are taking steps to defend our allies, particularly in the East. Tomorrow, NATO will convene a summit. We'll be there to bring together the leaders of 30 allied nations and close partners to affirm our solidarity and to map out the next steps we will take to further strengthen all aspects of our NATO alliance," Biden told reporters at the White House on Thursday. "Our forces are not going to to fight in Ukraine but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the East," he said. "The will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of American power. The good news is NATO was more united and more determined than ever. There is no doubt, no doubt that the and every NATO ally will meet our Article 5 commitments which says an attack on one is an attack on all," he added. Over the past few weeks, Biden said, the US has ordered thousands of additional forces to Germany and Poland as part of its commitment to NATO. "On Tuesday, in response to Russia's aggressive action, including its troop presence in Belarus and the Black Sea, I have authorised the deployment of ground and air forces already stationed in to NATO's eastern flank allies, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania," said the president. American allies have also been stepping up their capabilities to ensure a collective defence, he said. "And today, within hours of Russia unleashing its assault, NATO came together and authorised an activation of response plans," he said. "Now, I am authorising additional US force capabilities to deploy to Germany as part of NATO's response, including some of the US-based forces that the Department of Defense placed on standby weeks ago. "I've also spoken with Defense Secretary Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Milley about preparations for additional moves should they become necessary to protect our NATO allies and support the greatest military alliance in the history of the world, NATO. As we respond, my administration is using the tools, every tool at its disposal, to protect American families and businesses from rising prices at the gas pump," Biden said. He alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin's action in Ukraine betrays a sinister vision for the future of the world when more nations take what they want by force. "But it is a vision of the United States and freedom-loving nations everywhere will oppose every tool of our considerable power," he said. Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine on Wednesday night. Russia has launched multiple attacks on several areas in central and eastern Ukraine. The US and its allies and partners will emerge from this stronger, more united, more determined, and more purposeful, Biden asserted. "Putin's aggression against Ukraine will end up costing Russia dearly economically and strategically. We will make sure of that. Putin will be a pariah on the stage," he said. Biden further said, "Any nation that countenances Russia's naked aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association. When the history of this area is written, Putin's choice to make a totally unjustifiable war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger." "Liberty, democracy, human dignity these are the forces far more powerful than fear and oppression. They cannot be extinguished by tyrants like Putin and his armies. They cannot be erased by people -- from people's hearts and hopes by any amount of violence and intimidation. They endure in the contest between democracy and autocracy, between sovereignty and subjugation. Make no mistake: Freedom will prevail," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Biden said on Thursday that the United States and Europe were united in their efforts to confront Russian aggression toward Ukraine with aggressive sanctions. However, there was one area where he suggested disagreement: SWIFT. The Belgian messaging service, formally known as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, connects more than 11,000 financial institutions around the world. It is viewed as a potential nuclear option in the world of sanctions because, if Russia was kicked off SWIFT, the nation would essentially be severed from much of the global financial system. But doing so would not be simple and could come with its own set of costly complications for countries outside Russia, many of which are dependent on the country for energy, wheat and other commodities. That has made some nations skittish about pulling the trigger. SWIFT is a global cooperative of financial institutions that began in 1973 when 239 banks from 15 countries got together to figure out how to best handle cross-border payments. It does not hold or transfer funds, but it allows banks and other financial companies to alert one another of transactions that are about to take place. Blocking Russia from SWIFT would curb its ability to conduct financial transactions by forcing importers, exporters and banks to find new ways to transmit payment instructions. Because of Europes heavy reliance on Russian energy exports, analysts said, there is a reluctance among some euro area leaders to take that step and risk those purchases by making doing business with Russia more costly and complicated. The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was pushing hard for Russia to be removed from SWIFT, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany said such a move should not be included in a European Union sanctions package. Biden made the case on Thursday that the sanctions the United States imposed on Russian financial institutions would be as consequential as excising Russia from SWIFT. He said kicking Russia off the platform remains an option but that most of Europe opposes such a move for now. It is always an option, Biden said. But right now, thats not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take. The United States and Europe disagreed on whether to oust a country from SWIFT before, most recently in 2018, when the Trump administration wanted to cut Irans access. Ultimately, SWIFT cut ties to Iranian banks out of fear of being in violation of sanctions against that country. Still, sanctions experts said that SWIFT was often overhyped as a tool and that cutting access could actually backfire by forcing Russia to find alternate ways to participate in the global economy, including forging stronger ties with China or developing a digital currency. Emily Kilcrease, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, argued that such an action could accelerate Russias efforts to expand the use of its own financial messaging service and drive it closer to China. Theres also this longer term question about whether de-SWIFTing in and of itself is just creating a lot of bad incentives for Russia, Kilcrease said. Michael Parker, counsel at the law firm Ferrari & Associates, suggested that blocking Russia from SWIFT would probably open the door to other workarounds, including finding alternative communications systems. A more effective first step, he said, would be to impose the type of bank sanctions Biden announced. 2022 The New York Times News Service Amid Russia's ongoing military operation in Ukraine, a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on a resolution has been listed on a UN schedule for Friday. However, the proposal could be vetoed by Moscow, CNN reported. The meeting is scheduled for 3 pm eastern time under the Russian presidency. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Thursday said India will wait to see the final shape of the Security Council resolution on the situation before taking a position. "There is a possibility of resolution that would be tabled on the evolving situation. We have seen a draft resolution. I am told that would undergo considerable changes. We will wait to see the shape that this resolution takes before we can pronounce ourselves in the position that we will take on this issue," Shringla said in a media briefing in response to a media query. Shringla said it is an evolving situation both on the ground and in the United Nations. Earlier, reports had emerged that the US is preparing a resolution against Moscow at the UN following the Russian military action in . Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China remains biggest market of Germany's automotive industry Xinhua) 09:10, February 25, 2022 BERLIN, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China remained the most important customer of Germany's automotive industry in 2021, the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Thursday. Germany's exports of passenger cars to China increased by 14 percent year-on-year to 16.7 billion euros (18.7 billion U.S. dollars) last year, according to Destatis. German car exports to the United States recovered to 15.9 billion euros in 2021 while exports to Britain, the industry's third-largest export country, fell by 17 percent to 9.4 billion euros. After being affected by "severe COVID-19-restrictions" in 2020, German car exports increased slightly to 117.6 billion euros last year but were still 8.2 percent below pre-crisis levels in 2019, according to Destatis. Besides the global pandemic, "the lack of chips and other delivery bottlenecks affected the German automotive industry in 2021," Destatis said. While exports of cars with traditional internal combustion engines declined, Germany witnessed strong increases in exports of all-electric vehicles and hybrid passenger cars. Germany exported around 300,000 pure electric vehicles worth 12.6 billion euros in 2021, according to Destatis. The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) expects the global passenger car market to grow by 4 percent in 2022. The United States and China would grow by 2 percent, while the European market was forecasted to grow by 5 percent due to catch-up effects. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars) (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Chris Del Corso, left, Charge d'Affiares at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, talks with Dmytro Ponomarenko, the newly appointed Ukrainian Ambassador-designate to Korea in this undated photo. Screenshot from Del Corso's Twitter By Lee Hae-rin Foreign diplomats in Korea have expressed their support for Ukraine by sending a message of solidarity following Russia's attack on the country. Chris Del Corso, Charge d'Affaires at U.S. Embassy in Seoul, posted a picture featuring him sitting with the new Ukrainian Ambassador-designate to Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko for a conversation, along with a photo of the main gate to the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul on his Twitter, Friday. Using the hashtag #StandwithUkraine, Del Corso wrote that he welcomed the Ukrainian Ambassador-designate to the country and shared Ponomarenko's social media account in Korean. British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling it "terrible acts" and welcomed Seoul's decision to join sanctions against Russia. President said the US will intervene if moves into countries, stressing that if his Russian counterpart is not stopped now, he will be emboldened. Biden said he has no plans to talk to Putin but he spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and assured him that the US will provide humanitarian relief to ease the suffering of the people of Ukraine. "Well, if he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) did move to countries, we will be involved. The only thing that I am convinced of is if we don't stop (him) now, he'll be emboldened. If we don't move against him now with these significant sanctions, he will be emboldened," Biden told reporters on Thursday at a White House news conference, where he also announced a series of tough sanctions against . Responding to questions, the president said it is already a large conflict. "The way we're going assure it is not going to spiral into a larger conflict is by providing all the forces needed in the eastern European nations that are members of . NATO is more united than it has ever been, and I have no plans to talk with Putin," he said. Amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US has deployed additional troops to defend its NATO allies, particularly in eastern Europe. Biden claimed Putin has much larger ambitions in Ukraine. "He wants to, in fact, re-establish the former Soviet Union. That's what this is about. And I think that his ambitions are completely contrary to the place where the rest of the world has arrived," he said. Biden said he spoke to Zelenskiy late last night and assured him that the US, together with its allies and partners in Europe, will support the Ukrainian people as they defend their country. "We will provide humanitarian relief to ease their suffering. In the early days of this conflict, propaganda outlets will keep trying to hide the truth and claim success for its military operation against a made-up threat," he said. "We stand up for freedom. This is who we are," he added. The US has said it will not send troops to Ukraine to fight against Russian forces. Biden warned against launching cyberattacks on US firms and infrastructure. "Let me also repeat the warning I made last week -- if Russia pursues cyberattacks against our companies, our critical infrastructure, we are prepared to respond. For months, we've been working closely with the private sector to harden our cyber defences, sharpen our ability to respond to Russia's cyberattacks as well," he said. To a query on banning Russia from the SWIFT financial system, Biden said the sanctions proposed by the US on all Russian banks are of equal or maybe more consequence than that. "It is always an option, but right now, that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take," he said. There is no doubt that when a major nuclear power attacks and invades another country that the world is going to respond, and markets can respond all over the world, he noted. Biden announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions target Russian banks, oligarchs, and high-tech sectors. (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.) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is on a two-day visit to Moscow, met Russian President on Thursday with a focus on energy and economic cooperation, according to state media, Dawn reported. The Kremlin said that the two leaders discussed the main aspects of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on current regional topics, including developments in South Asia. In a handout, the Pakistan Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that the two leaders held wide-ranging consultations on bilateral relations as well as regional and issues of mutual interest. "Recalling the telephone conversations during the recent months between the two leaders, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the positive trajectory of bilateral relations will continue to move forward in the future," the handout issued late on Thursday said. Imran Khan expressed the hope that the trust and cordiality marking the relationship would translate into further deepening and broadening of mutual cooperation in diverse fields. He also reaffirmed the importance of the Pakistan Stream gas pipeline as a flagship economic project between the two countries and also discussed cooperation on prospective energy related projects. "The Prime Minister underscored Pakistan's commitment to [forging] a long-term, multi-dimensional relationship with Russia," the Pakistan PMO said. --IANS san/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The on Thursday restricted exports to Russia of a broad set of U.S.-made products as well as foreign-produced goods built with U.S. technology, following the invasion of Ukraine. Here is how the rules are expected to affect U.S. tech companies, according to six experts on U.S. trade law. What technology is newly restricted from export to Russia? U.S. companies must now obtain licenses to sell computers, sensors, lasers, navigation tools, and telecommunications, aerospace and marine equipment. The will deny almost all requests. "We expected something sweeping, and this was certainly sweeping," said Ama Adams, partner at law firm Ropes & Gray. The new rules also force companies making tech products overseas with U.S. tools to seek a U.S. license before shipping to Russia. A similar restriction was first applied in recent years to companies shipping to Chinese technology giant Huawei, to great effect. Which U.S. companies will be most impacted? Many companies may opt to suspend all sales to Russia out of caution, legal experts said. Dan Goren, partner at law firm Wiggin and Dana, said a client that makes electronic equipment had already held shipments to a Russian distributor on Thursday. U.S. exports to Russia were limited to about $6.4 billion last year, U.S. census data show, with machinery and vehicles among big categories in past years. The most severe tech hits to Russia could come from curbs on foreign goods. For example, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), which represents U.S. chipmakers, noted that "Russia is not a significant direct consumer of semiconductors" and that Russia's communications and tech spending "totaled only about $25 billion out of the multi-trillion global market" in 2019. But many products made in Asia and destined for Russia include chips made with U.S. tooling. Over two dozen members of the European Union, as well as the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, are imposing similar export restrictions to limit Russia's options. How will Russia be affected? Emily Kilcrease, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and former deputy assistant U.S. Trade Representative, said the restrictions will freeze Russia's technology where it is today. "You wont be able to get new tech into the country," she said. William Reinsch, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and Studies and a former Commerce Department export official, expects a slow escalation of impact. "Eventually they will be hurting, but maybe not for months," he said. "Its not an immediate body blow." The curbs and sanctions are not as comprehensive as U.S. trade actions on Iran and North Korea, but they could have bigger consequences globally because Russia is more intertwined with the world economy, attorneys said. What technology is not covered by new restrictions? The measures include carve-outs for consumer items such as household electronics, humanitarian goods, and technology necessary for flight safety. Cell phones are permitted as long as they are not sent to Russian government employees or certain affiliates. Also not restricted are consumer encryption technologies, which one attorney described as a sign that the and its allies do not want to disrupt protesters and media. Nothing precludes the U.S. from later extending sanctions to more items. South Korea was not listed among countries partnering on the rules, and its assistance would be important for blocking Russia's access to chips from there, Kilcrease said. A senior U.S. administration official said Thursday that more countries were expected to join. The South Korean Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. South Korea said on Thursday it would join in unspecified multilateral economic sanctions on Russia in response to its military operations in Ukraine, but is not considering adopting unilateral measures. Which companies could benefit from the new rules? Kilcrease and legal experts expect that Chinese technology companies may want to fill some voids created by restrictions on Western tech companies, though Kilcrease said the U.S. rules would discourage them. But the senior U.S. administration official said that China cannot supply Russian crucial military needs, especially for the most advanced chips. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The (CBI) late on Thursday night arrested Anand Subramanian, former group operating officer of the (NSE), in Chennai within days of questioning him, say sources. Quoting official sources, Press Trust of India has reported Subramanian has been brought to Delhi and produced before a special court, which has sent him to custody till March 6. Officials told PTI Subramanian was found to be evasive in his responses to the sleuths, and this prompted the to take him into custody. The arrest was made in the case related to the co-location scam, the FIR for which was registered in May 2018, amid fresh revelations about irregularities at the countrys largest stock exchange. The has also questioned Chitra Ramkrishna, former managing director (MD) and former chief executive officer (CEO) of the exchange, and Ravi Narain, also former CEO of the NSE. A report of the Securities and Exchange Board of India earlier this month showed that Ramkrishna took key decisions at the NSE from 2013 to 2016 on the advice of a Himalayan yogi, whom she had never met and who instructed her to appoint Subramanian group operating officer. Subramanian was offered a salary of Rs 1.68 crore a year to join the NSE as chief strategic advisor on April 1, 2013, when he was vice-president at Leasing & Repair Services of Transafe Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Balmer Lawrie & Co. His salary was less than Rs 15 lakh per annum. ALSO READ: NSE co-location case: Who is Anand Subramanian and why is he arrested? Sebi, in its report earlier this month, said the best practices were not followed in Subramanians appointment. In less than three years, Subramanians salary jumped to Rs 4.2 crore a year for working as consultant for four days in a week. Subramanian was later re-designated group operating officer and advisor to the MD with effect from April 1, 2015, but was never declared key management personnel by the exchange. Sebi had penalised the NSE, Ramkrishna, and Narain for governance lapses in hiring Subramanian. Ramkrishna was told to pay Rs 3 crore, and Narain, Subramanian, and the NSE Rs 2 crore each. Ramkrishna and Subramanian were restrained from associating themselves with any market infrastructure institution or Sebi-registered intermediary in any capacity for three years. For Narain the bar was two years. The four-year-old FIR of the CBI was primarily against Sanjay Gupta, MD of OPG Securities. It also named his brother-in-law Aman Kokrady and Ajay Shah, a data specialist and researcher employed by the NSE, along with unknown officials of the NSE and Sebi for their role in the controversy. IN THE DOCK Subramanian arrested in connection with the co-location scam after days of questioning He was evasive during interrogation, according to officials A 2018 letter by ex-NSE chairman Ashok Chawla had suggested that Subramanian was the yogi who allegedly advised former CEO Chitra Ramkrishna A Sebi report rejected the claim that Subramanian was the alleged yogi Between June 2010 and March 2014, the NSE had deployed the so-called tick-by-tick (TBT) architecture at its colo facility. TBT disseminated data feed sequentially, giving preference to trading members (TM) that had connected first to the colo server. Taking advantage of the system, OPG Securities frequently obtained first access to the exchange system in connivance with certain NSE staffers. The issue was brought to light by a whistleblower, Ken Fong, who sent three complaint letters to Sebi in January, August, and October 2015, following which the regulator initiated multiple investigations and forensic audits into the matter. In April 2019, Sebi directed the exchange to disgorge Rs 625 crore, along with an interest of 12 per cent annum since 2014, for lapses at its colo facility, which allowed unfair access to certain brokers. Sebi also told Narain and Ramkrishna, who were at the helm when the exchange servers were exploited, to disgorge a fourth of their salary for a specific period. The market regulator directed OPG Securities, Gupta, and three others to disgorge Rs 15.6 crore, with an interest of 12 per cent per annum since April 2014. All of them have moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal against the order, where the matter is currently being heard. regulator has proposed allowing foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to participate in the exchange-traded commodity derivatives market. In its consultation paper, the regulator has suggested that FPIs should be allowed to trade in all non-agricultural commodity derivatives and a few selected broad agricultural commodity derivatives, to begin with. The move is aimed at further increasing depth and liquidity in commodity derivative . "Enhanced liquidity can gradually enable the Indian commodity derivative market to serve as a global benchmark for various commodities thereby shifting India from the role of price taker to a price setter," said. In addition, their participation may help bring down the transaction costs in the commodity futures segment, owing to economies of scale. Currently, foreign entities having actual exposure to Indian commodity markets, known as eligible foreign entities (EFEs), are allowed to participate in the Indian commodity derivatives market. FPIs being financial investors with huge purchasing power have not yet been allowed to participate in exchange-traded commodity derivatives (ETCD). The consultation paper comes after Sebi's Commodity Derivatives Advisory Committee (CDAC), in its meeting held in November 2021, deliberated on the lack of participation by EFEs and also recommended on participation by FPIs in ETCDs. "Considering that the norms for EFEs have not been effective to gain traction and no EFE has so far evinced interest to participate in ETCDs in India, in line with the recommendations of CDAC to enhance institutional participation in Indian ETCDs, there is now, a felt necessity, to permit FPIs registered with to participate in ETCDs in India," the regulator noted. Over the past few years, the regulator has allowed institutional players like Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), mutual funds and portfolio managers to participate in commodities . The markets watchdog, in its consultation paper issued on Thursday, proposed that EFE norms should be discontinued and foreign investors may participate in Indian ETCDs through the route. Further, the condition of mandatory actual exposure to Indian physical participation as in the case of EFEs should be dispensed with to enhance participation. "The conditions of net-worth requirements, position limits and other additional conditions like the prohibition on rebooking of the contracts after cancelling the same, documentation for demonstrating exposure to Indian physical commodities, etc. for EFEs have acted as a deterrent for the EFEs to participate in the Indian ETCDs and the extent of participation of such entities has been nil," Sebi noted. FPIs being more of financial investors rather than hedgers, Sebi felt that these pre-conditions like demonstrating exposure to Indian physical commodities among others be dispensed with so that any foreign investor can participate in Indian ETCDs through the route only. Any new foreign investor/entity desirous of participating in ETCDs be allowed to do so by obtaining registration as under FPI rules. FPIs should be allowed to participate in Indian ETCDs with a graded approach. Sebi has recommended appropriate measures including investment limits, margining norms and risk management measures may be adopted while allowing FPIs to participate in ETCDs. To begin with, the position limits for FPIs may be considered to be at par with those presently applicable for mutual funds since both FPI and mutual funds are institutional investors. FPIs may also be governed by the margining norms and risk management measures which are applicable to other institutional investors like MFs, AIFs and PMS. While allowing FPIs, there should be no discrimination with regard to agri and non-agri commodities. However, initially, broad commodities with minimal sensitivity and a considerable volume of trading and production should be allowed, Sebi suggested. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has sought comments till March 24 on the proposals. Considering that around 10,000 FPIs are presently registered in India, even if a tenth of these participates in the Indian commodity derivatives market, the same may bring considerable liquidity in Indian ETCD, Sebi noted. EFEs and FPIs both relate to the participation of foreign entities, albeit with different nomenclature and status assigned to foreign investors. While EFE concept was devised by Sebi to allow only those foreign investors/entities who have actual exposure to Indian physical commodity markets to participate in ETCDs primarily as hedgers. (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.) Bharat Electronics (BEL) surged 5.46% to Rs 198 after the Ministry of Defence has signed a contract worth Rs 1,075 crore with the company. The company will supply 957 commander thermal imager cum day sights for T-90 tanks of the Indian Army. Commander sight of Battle Tank T-90, India's premier battle tank, is presently fitted with image converter (IC) tube-based sight for night viewing. Based on the requirement projected by the Indian Army, DRDO and BEL have jointly designed and developed an advanced mid wave thermal image (MWIR) based sight as a replacement for the existing IC-based sight. BEL is a state-owned aerospace and defense company with about nine factories, and several regional offices in India. It primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for the Indian Armed Forces. The Government of India held 51.14% stake in BEL as on 31 December 2021. BEL's consolidated net profit soared 116.5% to Rs 584.87 crore on a 61.3% surge in net sales to Rs 3,660.84 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Domestic equity benchmarks trimmed gains in early afternoon trade. The undertone of the market was bullish amid value buying after the key domestic barometers slumped over 6.2% in the past seven consecutive sessions. All the sectoral indices on the NSE rallied. At 12:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 1,393.48 points or 2.56% to 55,923.39. The Nifty 50 index jumped 436.35 points or 2.69% to 16,684.30. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index spurted 3.62% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index surged 3.53%. Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 2552 shares rose and 699 shares fell. A total of 111 shares were unchanged. Domestic equity shares slumped on Thursday after Russia announced military actions in Ukraine. Following the action, the Western Countries imposed sanctions on the Russian economy. The market, however, bounced on Friday as the economic sanctions announced by the US and others so far have not included any exile of the Russian economy from the global Swift payment system. Swift, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, was launched in 1973 to serve as a neutral platform for banks to chat about financial transfers, transactions, and trades. Banning the entire country from Swift would halt Russia's ability to conduct international trade, receive foreign currency, or continue global business dealings. It would almost surely have severe spillover effects. Further, the ongoing geopolitical tensions have led investors to believe that US Federal Reserve will tone down its plan to aggressively hike rates this year. Derivatives: The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 16.59% to 26.68. The Nifty 31 March 2022 futures were trading at 16,689.95, at a premium of 8.90 points as compared with the spot at 16,681.05. The Nifty option chain for 31 March 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 17.3 lakh contracts at the 17,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 50.4 lakh contracts was seen at 16,500 strike price. Buzzing Segment: The Nifty Metal index surged 5.66% to 5,614.40. The index slumped 5.26% in the previous session. Jindal Steel and Power (up 8.53%), NALCO (up 7.18%), Hindustan Copper (up 7.15%), SAIL (up 7.06%), Tata Steel (up 6.01%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 5.48%), Hindalco Industries (up 4.98%), JSW Steel (up 4.87%), Coal India (up 4.7%), NMDC (up 4.61%), Adani Enterprises (up 4.21%), Welspun Corp (up 4.19%), Hindustan Zinc (up 3.25%) and Ratnamani Metals & Tubes (up 1.52%) surged. Vedanta surged 7.22% after CRISIL Ratings upgraded its rating on the long-term bank facilities and debt instruments of the company to 'CRISIL AA' from 'CRISIL AA-'. The credit rating agency has revised the outlook on the long-term debt to 'Stable' from 'Positive'. Further, the ongoing geopolitical tensions have led investors to believe that US Federal Reserve will tone down its plan to aggresively hike rates this year. Stocks in Spotlight: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) rose 1.34%. DRL informed that it has completed the acquisition of Nimbus Health GmbH. Nimbus Health GmbH is now a wholly owned step-down subsidiary of the company with effect from 24 February 2022, DRL said. UPL added 2.71% after the company said that its board is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 2 March 2022, to consider a proposal for buyback of fully paid-up equity shares of the company. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) informed that the company has completed the acquisition of Nimbus Health GmbH. Shares of DRL rose 1.6% to currently trade at Rs 4,159.95 on the BSE. The scrip has traded in the range of Rs 4,159.95 and Rs 4,081.50 so far during the day. Nimbus Health GmbH is now a wholly owned step-down subsidiary of the company with effect from 24 February 2022, DRL said. DRL on 3rd February 2022 announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Nimbus Health GmbH. Nimbus Health is a privately owned, licensed pharmaceutical wholesaler from Germany focusing on medical cannabis in Germany. The company will be operating under the brand Nimbus Health and as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dr. Reddy's. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories is an integrated pharmaceutical company. Through its businesses, Dr. Reddy's offers a portfolio of products and services including APIs, custom pharmaceutical services, generics, biosimilars and differentiated formulations. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The key equity barometers further pared gains in afternoon trade. The undertone of the market remained bullish amid value buying after the key domestic barometers slumped over 6.2% in the past seven consecutive sessions. Shares across sectors advanced, with metals, banks, autos, and IT stocks gaining the most. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 1300.7 points or 2.39% to 55,830.61. The Nifty 50 index jumped 402.85 points or 2.48% to 16,650.80. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index spurted 3.71% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index surged 3.66%. Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 2548 shares rose and 740 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged. Domestic equity shares slumped on Thursday after Russia announced military actions in Ukraine. Following the action, the Western Countries imposed sanctions on the Russian economy. The market, however, bounced on Friday as the economic sanctions announced by the US and others so far have not included any exile of the Russian economy from the global Swift payment system. Swift, or the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, was launched in 1973 to serve as a neutral platform for banks to chat about financial transfers, transactions, and trades. Banning the entire country from Swift would halt Russia's ability to conduct international trade, receive foreign currency, or continue global business dealings. It would almost surely have severe spillover effects. Further, the ongoing geopolitical tensions have led investors to believe that US Federal Reserve will tone down its plan to aggressively hike rates this year. Gainers & Losers: Tata Motors (up 8.07%), Tata Steel (up 6.71%), Adani Ports (up 6.54%), Coal India (up 6.10%) and JSW Steel (up 5.94%) were the top index gainers. Britannia Industries (down 0.91%), Nestle Industries (down 0.20%) and Hindustan Unilever (down 0.03%) were the only index stocks currently trading in the red. Stocks in Spotlight: KSB added 3.06% to Rs 992 after the company reported 23.1% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 39.40 crore on a 20.2% increase in net sales to Rs 444.60 crore in Q4 December 2021 over Q4 December 2020. Kirloskar Ferrous Industries zoomed 6.16% to Rs 198.25 after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the company's proposed acquisition of a majority stake in ISMT. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Infosys: The IT major has launched Infosys metaverse foundry to ease and fasttrack enterprises' exploration of the metaverse, including virtual and augmented environments, for their customers, workplace, products and operations. Wipro: The IT major announced that it will be hiring more than 500 new professionals over the next fiscal year to support its growth in delivering cloud solutions to clients. NHPC: NHPC has signed a Facility Agreement with HDFC Bank to Securitize the RoE of Chamera-I Power Station for a tenor of 10 years. The amount of Securitization facility is Rs 1,016.39 crore at 5.24% p.a. discounting rate linked with 3 months T-Bills. Seacoast Shipping Services: The board of directors has taken note of acceptance mail received from the Government of Gujarat for the proposal of the company to work with the Government of Gujarat in Joint Venture. Arihant Capital Markets: The company's board will on 3 March 2022 consider an interim dividend for the financial year 2021-22 and sub-division of face value of equity shares of the company from Rs 5 per share to Re 1 per share. Hazoor Multi Projects: The company has received letter of intent from Gayatri Projects for completion of balance work of Chainage in district Ahmednagar, Maharashtra on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ukraine's new ambassador to Korea, Dmytro Ponomarenko, speaks during a meeting with Korean media at the country's embassy in Yongsan District, Seoul, Friday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Kwon Mee-yoo New Ukrainian Ambassador to Korea, Dmytro Ponomarenko, welcomed Seoul's participation in international sanctions against Russia and urged the global community to show solidarity with Ukraine. Ponomarenko arrived in Korea last week, filling the country's ambassadorial post that had been vacant for over a year. He submitted a copy of his credentials to Korea's foreign minister Thursday, officially beginning his post and spoke with local media, Friday, explaining his country's situation. "When I departed from Ukraine, the situation was on the brink. Our international partners already alarmed that the situation could be worse. But we are a peaceful nation, maybe kind of naive, and we didn't really think that Russians, our neighbors, will strike us with missiles, with tanks and with the power, the military," Ponomarenko told The Korea Times. The ambassador described the atmosphere in Ukraine regarding the armed conflict with Russia, which has been changing rapidly. "The population of Ukraine was shocked. Frankly, we never expected our neighbor (to inflict) military attack on Ukrainian territory. But now the population understands what is going on and we are ready to defend our country," he said. According to the Korean government, there are about 60 Koreans still in Ukraine and the Korean embassy in Kyiv has notified Korean nationals there to be prepared for emergency evacuation. Ponomarenko said the Ukrainian government is making efforts to protect civilians, locals and foreigners alike, which is specified in the Constitution of Ukraine. "The armed forces of Ukraine and the other competent authorities of Ukraine as well as the local authorities are using everything that is possible to protect Ukrainians and foreigners. At the same time, we made repeated calls to the aggressor to organize green corridors for the evacuation of women, children and people with disabilities, but this discourse remained unanswered. Russia continues to violate the international humanitarian law," he said. PNC Infratech advanced 1.19% to Rs 263.95 after the company bagged a new hybrid annuity highway project of value Rs 885 crore from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The company has been declared the L-1 (lowest) bidder for a NHAI Project of length 32.98 kms, requiring four laning of Mathura Bypass to Gaju Village section of NH-530B in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The project is to be executed on hybrid annuity mode for a bid project cost of Rs 885 crore. The price bids were opened on Friday, 25 February 2022, with PNC's bid being the lowest (L1). The project is to be constructed in 24 months and operated for 15 years post construction. PNC Infratech is engaged in infrastructure development through the construction of highways including BOT (built, operate and transfer projects), airport runways, bridges, flyovers and power transmission projects among others. The company's consolidated net profit declined 52.89% to Rs 82.98 crore despite an 8.84% rise in sales to Rs 1721.82 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SGX Nifty: Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could jump 283 points at the opening bell. Meanwhile, the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on February 24 issued an updated circular wherein it has extended the deadline to implement the new systems of compliance pertaining to segregation and monitoring of collateral at client level. The new date for implementation has now been fixed as 2 May 2022. Global markets: Overseas, Asian stocks rose on Friday as investors assessed the Russia-Ukraine conflict following a massive comeback on Wall Street overnight. U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday reportedly said Washington will seek to isolate Russia from the global economy by introducing new sanctions following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The White House has also authorized additional troops to be stationed in Germany as NATO allies look to bolster defenses in Europe, Biden said. The European Union also agreed to more sanctions on Russia, calling on the country to stop all military action and withdraw its forces. US stocks ended sharply higher on Thursday in a dramatic market reversal as US President Joe Biden unveiled harsh new sanctions against Russia after Moscow began an all-out invasion of Ukraine. Domestic markets: Back home, the domestic stock market was hammered on Thursday, after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 2,702.15 points or 4.72% at 54,529.91. The Nifty 50 index slumped 815.30 points or 4.78% at 16,247.95. Both the indices have fallen over 6.2% in seven consecutive sessions. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 6,448.24 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 7,667.75 crore in the Indian equity market on 24 February, provisional data showed. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To improve employability skills of students in Kashmir Tata Consultancy Services in partnership with the University of Kashmir, has launched a program to improve employability skills of students in Kashmir, under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. Over the next three years, TCS will carry out its Youth Employment Program (YEP), BridgeIT, goIT, Ignite My Future (IMF) and Adult Literacy Program (ALP) that have already seen success in other parts of the country. Under the YEP, school and college students will be trained in 21st century skills that are required to be successful in the digital economy. The training program covers English communication, corporate etiquette, analytical thinking, and problem-solving, basic computer and technical skills, and self-confidence. The University of Kashmir will play the role of a facilitator to create linkages for TCS to drive its goIT and IMF initiatives. goIT is a program for school students that increases interest in technology through design thinking, mobile app development, and mentorship from TCS employees. TCS Ignite My Future Program is a pioneering, transdisciplinary educator training and resource program which aims to transform the way students learn. The ALP will augment the Government of India's efforts to address the challenge of educating adults. The ALP will be implemented through the university's Directorate of Lifelong Learning. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wipro advanced 3.57% to Rs 556 after the company announced that it will be hiring more than 500 new professionals over the next fiscal year to support its growth in delivering cloud solutions to clients. The company will be hiring throughout Brazil, especially in the Northeast region for a range of roles from IT and engineering to consulting, business development, and operations. The company's hiring goals are reflective of its strong growth in the Brazilian market, the IT firm said. As the concept of full-time office gets replaced with one that is more flexible and more accommodating to the lifestyle choices made by today's digital workforce, Wipro said it is increasing investments in its cloud capabilities to help customers achieve their business goals in this new world of hybrid work. The IT company last year announced that it is planning to invest $1B in cloud technologies over the next three years. Wipro is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. On a consolidated basis, Wipro reported 1.3% rise in net profit to Rs 2,970 crore on 3.3% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 20,313.6 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q2 FY22. On a year-on-year basis, Wipro's net profit fell 0.85% while revenue increased 29.63% in Q3 FY22. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Friday accused the Modi government of being incapable of safely evacuating Indians from Ukraine following a Russian military onslaught, and alleged that India's global influence and strength have diminished under the . The opposition party urged the government to send special flights and evacuate free of cost all Indians, mostly students studying in different parts of Ukraine. Congress senior spokesperson Ajay Maken said one has seen how air fares have been increased four to five times and still planes to Ukraine returned midway. The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since Thursday morning. "This proves that India's influence and strength at the international level have diminished under the BJP, considering that it is unable and not capable to safely evacuate its citizens," he told reporters. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged that "this government's strategic mistakes will prove to be very costly." He cited media reports quoting him that the Modi government's strategic mistakes brought China and Pakistan together and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar saying India's relations with China was going through "very difficult times". He also shared media reports on new equations emerging between Pakistan and Russia in a changing world and if China helped Pakistan build bridges to Russia. Maken said that in the event of a war in the past, Indians were safely evacuated free of cost after the then governments led by the Congress or other parties sent planes to get them back. "But in the current situation, there is an attempt at profiteering from airfares and the war-situation. This should not happen as exorbitant air fares are being charged from hapless students eager to return from Ukraine. The government should ensure that all Indian students return home safely," the Congress leader said. Targeting the prime minister, Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said he had deserted small enterprises during the demonetisation exercise and the poor during the coronavirus lockdown. "Sahib now leaving students Ram Bharose in Ukraine as sitting targets because he can't request Putin for a simple airlift?" he tweeted. The government is making efforts to evacuate Indian nationals from Ukraine through its land border crossings with its neighbouring countries and they would then be brought back home, official sources said on Friday. They said evacuation flights for the Indians are being arranged and the transportation cost will be completely borne by the government. "The government of India is organising evacuation flights for Indians in Ukraine. The cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation," said a source privy to the development. India is focusing on evacuating the Indians through Ukraine's land borders with Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania as the Ukrainian government closed the country's airspace following the Russian military offensive. Government officials said Air India is planning to operate two flights to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate some of the Indians. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday that there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and of them, nearly 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days. In a related development, the Indian embassy in Ukraine said efforts are on to evacuate the Indians through Romanian and Hungarian border crossings. (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.) Just like the world, India too caught its breath and figured out the next course of action as Russian troops stormed into Ukrainian cities early Thursday. The Indian government is now scrambling all the resources to evacuate its 20,000 citizens from the eastern European country, whose air space has been shut since the offensive. Apart from this, the war will also have its economic consequences too. Back home, the Indias largest bourse, National Stock Exchange, is at the centre of a controversy. And at the heart of that controversy is a mysterious yogi everyone is talking about now. Chitra Ramkrishna, a founding member of NSE who was at the helm between 2013 and 2016, has told investigators probing alleged irregularities during her tenure, that she was being guided by the mystic who lived in Himalayas. But did that mystic really lived in the Himalayas? Or was he moving around in the plush exchange office of Mumbai? Meanwhile, the Russian invasion led to a bloodbath on Dalal Street. Global financial markets were rattled too. While most equity markets across the globe corrected sharply, Brent Crude oil hit the psychological level of 100 dollars a barrel. These developments along with other headwinds have kept the markets choppy in the February F&O series, which turned out to be one of the most volatile series since April 2021 F&O expiry. Will the March series be equally volatile? What should your strategy be in this backdrop? Markets are eagerly awaiting the IPO of government-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India or LIC. But even before it hits the primary market, LIC filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. This episode of the podcast tells more about this document and why it is filed. All the information about companies which are listed on stock exchanges is in public domain for everyone to see. But what about the companies which are not listed. So before any company goes for an IPO to raise money and hits the primary market, it comes out with a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). This document is filed with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India and is also known as offer document or preliminary registration document. Draft red herring prospectus or DRHP in short serves as a crucial communication link between the company and its investors and stakeholders. Through the DRHP, the issuer firm allows potential investors to make an informed decision and analyse its financials, issuance objectives, business operations, promoter holding, market valuation, and other important information. This draft tells the reasons for the IPO. It informs about the risks involved and how the company will spend the money raised from the primary market. Some of the important DRHP details include balance sheet, earning statement, net proceeds, legal opinion of the listings and underwriting documents copy. However, it does not include the amount of issue and details of the price or number of shares being offered. The DRHP of a company is available on the official websites of the issuing company, Sebi, merchant bankers and stock exchanges. Firm planning to go public delegates a merchant banker to prepare the DRHP. The Sebi analyses the DRHP and recommends changes, if required, and then gives a go-ahead when the suggested amendments are made according to its guidelines. After the approval from Sebi, Registrar of Companies (ROC) and the stock exchanges -- Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) -- the DRHP converts into a Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) which is also known as final prospectus. An RHP document comprises additional details of the issue, the number of shares offered and the face value. Watch video The U.S. Army Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul / Korea Times file The United States returned multiple parcels of its military's Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul and two other bases north of the capital to South Korea, Friday, the defense ministry here said, a move bound to accelerate regional development projects. The decision, including the return of 165,000 square meters of land inside the garrison, came as Seoul has been pushing to clear hurdles for a mega project to build a national park in Yongsan and other regional refurbishment plans. Lim Sang-woo, director-general for North American affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, and Lt. Gen. Scott L. Pleus, the deputy chief of the U.S. Forces Korea, approved the decision in a telephone conference. They are representatives of the joint committee of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) governing the legal status of 28,500 American troops here. The returned swaths of land in Yongsan are part of the nearly 500,000 square meters of land in the garrison that the U.S. agreed last year to work toward handing over to the South by early this year. At the joint committee session, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to pursue the return of a "considerable" portion of the Yongsan Garrison by early this year, its joint statement read. Friday's decision also included the return of Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu, 20 kilometers north of Seoul, and a water detention basin of Camp Stanley in the same city. The handover of the Red Cloud site spanning 830,000 square meters is where the Uijeongbu municipality seeks to construct an e-commerce logistics complex. The return of the 1,000-square-meter basin is expected to help the city's river refurbishment efforts, officials said. Aside from the return, the two countries reached a consensus on ways to improve information-sharing, an environmental accident response system and access to U.S. military installations as part of efforts to strengthen the "cleaner, safer" management of American bases currently in use, according to Seoul officials. The return of the base is part of a broad relocation scheme to consolidate U.S. bases across the Korean Peninsula into a garrison in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, and another in Daegu, 302 km southeast of the capital, with an aim to enhance defense readiness and operational efficiency in the face of North Korean military threats. (Yonhap) A fully certified flammability test aviation laboratory and data centre is to be established in Singapore, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Singapore Polytechnic (SP) and Jamco Aero Design & Engineering (JADE). The parties said the centre would be the first of its kind in Asia Pacific. JADE is a joint venture between Jamco and SIA Engineering Company. The five-year partnership will see SP and JADE co-build the flammability test laboratory within the grounds of the polytechnic in Singapore. It is expected to be ready in 2025. ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> The facility will enable the testing and certification of materials used in aircraft cabin components such as wall, light and ceiling panels, door linings, seat belts, seat cushions and signage prior to being fitted in an aircraft. The partners said MRO companies and airlines would benefit from logistical savings, shorter turnaround times and greater progress visibility. They added that the move would make the testing process easier to understand for stakeholders, and support innovators to better manage their designs for passenger safety and comfort based on the testing results. They posited that these benefits would catalyse the expansion of niches of excellence in manufacturing, cabin interior design and modification, as well as aircraft conversion, in Singapore. SP and JADE will start up the laboratory in SPs Aero Hub. Both partners will provide testing and training capabilities aligned to industry benchmarks in areas such as certified training and accreditation, as well as front commercial agreements with external industries and parties for certified test services. JADE will work with SP to offer relevant industry training, accreditation, final-year project collaborations and internships to SP students to build up talent pipelines, foster talent development, and upskill the workforce in relevant technical skills through co-development and co-teaching of continuing education and training (CET) courses leading to flammability certification. We are glad to be partnering Singapore Polytechnic to value add to the regional aviation industry and make this niche flammability testing knowledge more accessible to the students, said Dr Desmond Ong, general manager of JADE. We hope that building the flammability laboratory as a state-of-the-art training and test centre will provide the students with a deeper insight into the aviation world. Establishing it as a database centre to support R&D developments will further strengthen the position of Singapore as a global aviation hub. Our goal for this exciting partnership is to establish Singapore as a leading regional aerospace training and test centre, as well as a key industrial solution partner with local and regional aviation companies., said Soh Wai Wah, principal and CEO of SP. Through this collaboration, we will strengthen our students skillsets and update our curriculum so that we can continue to provide the country with a robust pipeline of talented workforce for the regional aviation sector, and promote the growth of new niches of excellence in aviation-related business services. Image: SIA Engineering It was announced yesterday that Vincent Harrison, Managing Director of Dublin Airport, has been appointed the 133rd President of Dublin Chamber. Harrison received his chain of office as the Chamber held its first in-person AGM in two years. He joined Dublin Chambers elected Policy Council in 2015 and has been a board member since 2017. Harrison has also served on the policy committee of ACI Europe, the representative body for European airports, and on the Council of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation. Having previously held the position of Director Strategy, Regulation and B2B, Vincent Harrison has been Managing Director of Dublin Airport since 2014. Prior to joining Dublin Airport, Vincent held senior financial and management positions with Esat/B.T. in Ireland and with Rubbermaid Inc. in the USA and in Europe. He holds an MBA degree from the University of Pittsburgh, USA, and a B.Comm. degree from University College Cork and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. Vincent Harrison will lay out his vision for the year ahead at Dublin Chambers annual AGM Dinner on 31st March 2022. Taoiseach Micheal Martin will also address members on the night. Commenting upon his appointment, Managing Director of Dublin Airport, Vincent Harrison said, "Im honoured to become the President of Dublin Chamber and I welcome the opportunity to play a key role in reconnecting our members as we interact again in-person post-COVID to promote our mutual business interests. Dublin Chamber is the largest and most influential B2B networking and lobbying chamber in the country and I look forward to helping businesses prosper in the year ahead. Dublin Chamber enables members to build our business networks to forge meaningful opportunities to showcase what a capital city like Dublin has to offer." Source: www.businessworld.ie Evacuations for people trapped in Ukraines besieged Mariupol resumed after weeks of fighting. Refugees have fled to elsewhere in Ukraine during the past few days, including Russia-controlled regions. According to a U.N. report, more than 100 people trapped in the Azovstal steel plant have been evacuated to Zaporizhzhia. Some 200 civilians remain trapped inside the plant, a local police chief said on Monday May 03, 2022 08:26 PM Kim Jin-suk speaks during a ceremony for her honorary reinstatement and retirement at HJ Shipbuilding & Construction Co. in the southeastern port city of Busan, Friday. Yonhap Kim Jin-suk, a labor activist well known for her 309-day sit-in protest atop a giant shipyard crane 10 years ago, was symbolically reinstated to her company Friday, 37 years after she was fired due to union activities. Kim attended the ceremony for her honorary reinstatement and retirement at HJ Shipbuilding & Construction Co., formerly Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co., in the southeastern port city of Busan. "The door, which would not open however much I knocked, even until I bled, was flung open today," Kim said during the ceremony. The former welder, who entered the company in 1981, was dismissed due to her union activities in 1986 under the authoritarian Chun Doo-hwan government which harshly suppressed a burgeoning labor movement in the nation. She was detained three times and tortured for 2 1/2 months by anti-communist police investigators. "Thirty-seven years have passed since I was dragged away covered with black cloth. Thirty-seven years have passed since the dreadful days when I was abused and dragged around the factory road by tens of, hundreds of, managers and pro-company union officials," she said. She has waged a legal battle for the past 37 years to return to her job. In 2011, she staged a sit-in atop a 35-meter-high tower crane at the shipyard for 309 days in protest of the company's mass layoffs. Her struggle led to a deal to rehire fired workers, one of the biggest victories in the history of South Korea's labor movement. The company and labor union recently agreed to grant Kim an honorary reinstatement. She passed the retirement age of 60 in 2020. Kim, now a senior official of the Busan branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, arrived at the company earlier in the day and looked around places where she used to work. "I've come all the way here with your support," she said. "I'm ending my 37-year fight today. Thank you for helping me not give up along the way, not collapse over the long time." Hong Moon-ki, CEO of HJ Shipbuilding & Construction Co., wished her good health and fortune in his address and pledged efforts to forge a cooperative relationship with the labor union. (Yonhap) Huh Kyung-young speaks during an interview with a YouTube media outlet at the National Revolutionary Party's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Feb. 23. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Ko Dong-hwan Huh Kyung-young, candidate No. 6 in the March 9 presidential election in Korea, is determined to shake up the current presidential cabinet and the National Assembly whether or not it will actually work out. Displeased with the top four presidential candidates from the major parties, Huh, founder and president of the National Revolutionary Party, criticized all of them for different reasons during his interview with The Korea Times. However, it was unclear whether he was unhappy with them because he believes they all fall short of his expectations, or because he is jealous and dissatisfied with his ratings in public opinion surveys that have sagged behind theirs. "Yoon Suk-yeol investigated and imprisoned innocent allies of former President Park Geun-hye," said Huh, referring to the People Power Party (PPP) candidate who had, in 2017 as chief prosecutor, pursued corruption charges against Park and her longtime confidant Choi Soon-sil. He believes Park is innocent and shouldn't have been impeached. "When the person who was in charge of Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and put Park behind bars suddenly pops up to become the country's president, I think that person must be challenged legally somehow. It's a chronic problem with public officials in this country not just prosecutors but also judges that they announce their presidential bids out of the blue. People cannot help but have doubts about them." Huh made a particularly hair-raising claim against Yoon during a Feb. 22 TV debate for eight of the minor presidential candidates, excluding the four leading candidates. He said that if Yoon is elected, he will become a brain-dead president in four months and will be impeached by the PPP's rival, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). "Isn't that obvious? I will then have to run for president again. But instead of waiting until then, I would rather get elected this time." He also had doubts about DPK candidate Lee Jae-myung over Lee's alleged involvement in a controversial urban development project in Seongnam's Daejang-dong a case that has persisted for months without prosecutors proving the allegations. "We haven't even found whether he is a criminal or not, and still he was given the chance to run for president. This election is full of doubts and people are very uncomfortable watching their campaigns." As for Sim Sang-jung of the minor progressive Justice Party, Huh did not hesitate to complain about TV broadcasters and the National Election Commission excluding him from TV debates reserved for the leading presidential candidates, yet making room for Sim instead, even though her public support rating in some polls had been behind his in the past. His rating stayed between five percent and six percent for weeks in December and January, while Sim's was below three percent during the same period. The situation, however, didn't last, as Sim has since outpaced Huh. Huh Kyung-young sits behind his desk at the National Revolutionary Party's headquarters during an interview with The Korea Times. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk "I don't see why I need to even bother talking about her," Huh said, still ruminating about the moments in which he was ahead of her in public support rating polls. "Journalism in this country is so unfair, rigging me out of the competition when I was ahead of her." The public has already given up on Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party, Huh said. "His chances (of becoming president) are irreparably slim now. People got tired of him as well as Sim. Look at their public ratings. They are almost static." The fantastical, buffoonish figure is running for his third presidential bid this year and said that if he gets elected, he will appoint the big-four candidates as honorary vice presidents in his administration, based on what he called a "multi-government system." But what will happen in the event that they refuse to participate in his fantasy world, as let alone the 300 lawmakers of the National Assembly? He has a plan involving money. "I will issue an economic martial law to declare that the country's political institutions are shut down, and then I will send all the lawmakers to a mental correctional facility," Huh said. "During the political vacuum, I will keep the economy running and citizens happy by distributing to each of them an emergency subsidy of 100 million won ($83,000) plus an additional 1.5 million won per month. No doubt people will support my reining in of the lawmakers. Then the country will have a general election to elect 100 new lawmakers who will serve the public for free and support my policies." Huh's policies hinge on securing hundreds of trillions of won of national budget funds via an extreme restructuring of government finances saving 70 percent of state spending, putting all local taxes under state taxes, strictly banning high-income earners from tax evasion and setting the amount of penalty fines in relation to one's level of wealth (the same crime will weigh heavier on those who are richer with greater fines). He wants to return all of the saved money to the people in various one-time or monthly subsidies, like a 1.5 million won ($1,247) monthly subsidy for all citizens aged 18 or older, 300 million won for newly married couples, 1 million won every month for childcare until age 10, and 50 million won for families with newborns. "Korea will be a listed company and citizens its shareholders, so we must distribute their share of the money," Huh said. "Us doling out money to people won't raise any moral issues, as some worry. Instead, we are giving them freedom from financial concerns so that they can work happily and live without worrying about living in poverty." Huh waves goodbye from the elevator after finishing an interview at his party's headquarters. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul To Huh, not only are the lawmakers of the country's two biggest parties the PPP and DPK a sham, but so is the Moon Jae-in administration. The 74-year-old presidential hopeful discredits everything done by the current government. "I never liked the Moon administration's real estate policies," Huh said, referring to one of the country's most pressing issues dogging not just the incumbent but also the leading candidates. "I will get rid of the property tax, the capital gains tax and all the other real estate taxes. I will allow real estate prices to fluctuate strictly within a range of market price increases. That will change the country's currently unstable real estate market." Huh viewed that nuclear power plants are a source of clean energy and said the country must follow in the footsteps of Europe, which has categorized nuclear power as a green energy source in its EU Taxonomy. The Moon administration's nuclear phase-out policy was wrongheaded, he added. "If we expand nuclear power generation in Korea to replace coal-firing power plants, air pollution will be reduced by about 7 percent from now," he assured. He also emphasized that the country must embrace China, Japan and the United States with a multilaterally friendly diplomatic stance. He argued that Moon had failed with such efforts, especially with China, after it slammed Korea in 2016 for installing the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province. "Look at the major street markets in Dongdaemun, Namdaemun and Myeong-dong now. They are all dead because there are not as many Chinese tourists as there used to be following the THAAD issue." (He neglected to mention that the slowdown in these market areas is partly a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social distancing measures.) As to the Moon administration's quarantine measures and economic compensation policies for small-to-medium business operators amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Huh said that the current government's efforts to save the small business sector aren't enough. "I will compensate them 100 percent. All delinquent borrowers will be cleared of their debt." Huh ended by saying that quarantining will be "meaningless" under his administration because it is ineffective, as proven by the soaring number of daily infection cases in the country, which skyrocketed to above 170,000 last week and continued to hover above the figure this week. "Social distancing measures must be abolished. The cash-strapped business operators must live on." Candidates running for the March 9 presidential election pose before their fourth TV debate at broadcaster SBS' studio in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Friday. From left are Justice Party presidential candidate Sim Sang-jung, People's Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung. Joint Press corps By Nam Hyun-woo Rival presidential candidates of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) clashed over their differing views of the lessons of Russia's attack on Ukraine during their TV debate, Friday. The DPK's Lee Jae-myung stressed a leader's diplomatic capability, while the PPP's Yoon Suk-yeol highlighted military deterrence to facilitate peace on the Korean Peninsula. "A novice politician who only has six months of political experience became the country's leader and caused a major clash by inciting Russia with a hasty promise of Ukraine's NATO admission," Lee said of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was an actor and comedian before he was elected as the country's leader in April 2019. "This is an example of a diplomatic failure. Yoon is too aggressive and rough in his diplomatic remarks, such as his pledge to establish South Korea's capability to launch preemptive strikes (against North Korea)." Lee's comment came after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Sunday. Along with international condemnation of Russia's moves, criticism is also mounting over Zelenskyy's diplomatic miscalculation, which is being blamed for steering his country towards a clash with Russia. On the other hand, PPP candidate Yoon criticized Ukraine's reliance on diplomatic agreements to maintain peace and emphasized the importance of military power and strong alliances to guarantee national security. "You can only prevent war when you have the capability for preemptive strikes and have the intent to do so I believe the case of Ukraine shows that you cannot protect national security and peace with paper and ink," Yoon said, referring to the Minsk agreements or a series of pacts that sought to end fighting with Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas region of Ukraine. "Candidate Lee and the current DPK administration stress the importance of an end-of-war declaration with North Korea, which will be done only on paper with ink. With North Korea refusing to give up its nuclear program, pushing forward the end-of-war declaration is the same as the case of Ukraine." The end-of-war declaration is President Moon Jae-in's proposal to have the two Koreas, the U.S. and China declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War. Lee supports that idea, claiming it can lead to the resumption of stalled inter-Korean talks, while Yoon is against it, citing Pyongyang's escalating threats. Lee and Yoon displayed stark differences in their diplomatic philosophies. Lee stresses pragmatism in solving most pending diplomatic issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula, while Yoon has a clearer stance of enhancing Seoul's military deterrence and diplomatic presence through stronger ties with the U.S. During the debate, People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo said South Korea should engage sincerely in talks with North Korea, but stressed that Seoul needs to be staunch in its opposition to Pyongyang's nuclear program and other provocations. He floated the idea of a nuclear sharing treaty between South Korea and the U.S. as a deterrent against the North. Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung expressed doubts over Yoon's pledge to establish a preemptive strike capability, saying that proper deterrence is getting North Korea to acknowledge that using nuclear weapons will bring devastation. Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, left, bumps fists with People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol before their fourth TV debate at broadcaster SBS' studio in Sangam-dong, Seoul, Friday. Joint Press Corps The Samsung flag hangs in front of a building in the Samsung Town office park in Seocho District, Seoul, in this 2020 file photo. Korea Times file By Park Jae-hyuk Samsung Electronics is now more likely to avoid the first-ever strike in its 53-year history, as the company's management told its union on Friday that one of its co-CEOs will meet workers in early March to resume wage negotiations. "We received an official reply from the management to our request for a dialogue with the company's chief executives," the conglomerate's four unions said in a statement. "We are delighted that the management has changed its stance." Earlier this week, the unionized workers asked the management to reply by Friday to their request for a dialogue with the company's top executives, such as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. The workers made the demand after they won the legal right to go on a strike in the wake of a disagreement with management over their wages for 2021. Although the management has reiterated that it will continue to hold talks with workers, it has remained reluctant to accept their request for a 10-million-won ($8,400) increase in each employee's annual salary and the payment of performance-based bonuses equivalent to 25 percent of the conglomerate's operating profit. According to a representative from one of the four unions, management told them that it has yet to decide which co-CEO will meet with the unionized workers. A Samsung Electronics spokesman also said that it remains unclear who will participate in the negotiations. The union representative added that management had replied verbally on Friday afternoon, promising to send an official letter by 5 p.m. that day. "The management said over the telephone on Wednesday that it will send a letter by Friday to express its intention to resume the wage talks," he said. Industry officials expect Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee or President Kyung Kye-hyun to meet with the workers. Kyung will be officially appointed as a co-CEO during the forthcoming general meeting of shareholders on March 16. The management reportedly suggested resuming talks next month, considering that the Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union, the largest among the four unions, plans to elect new leaders through an online vote between Feb. 28 and March 3. Han will also depart for Barcelona on Sunday to attend the Mobile World Congress exhibition that will take place from Feb. 28 to March 3, according to industry officials. FILE - Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., Chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Sept. 16, 2020, in Washington. Federal prison employees say they're being bullied and threatened for raising concerns about serious misconduct and claim it's indicative of widespread problems in the Bureau of Prisons. It comes as the bureau faces increased scrutiny over its latest scandal: An Associated Press investigation uncovered a toxic culture that enabled sexual abuse at a federal womens prison in California. Four employees, including a former warden, have been charged with federal crimes. Speier, who visited Dublin last week after reading AP's investigation, says shes taking a larger congressional contingent to inspect the prison after the acting warden, Hinkle, prevented her from speaking one-on-one with inmates and staff. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) FILE - This undated combination of photos provided by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office shows James Crumbley, left, and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, a teenager accused of killing four students in a shooting at Oxford High School, in Michigan. The couple face a key hearing to determine if they will face trial. Attorneys for the Crumbleys have asked a judge to consider a postponement so they can further prepare. But there was no decision from the judge ahead of the hearing Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (Oakland County Sheriff's Office via AP, File) RV Hodge stands beside the workboat he built and will donate to a New York-based charity that works to help people in Haiti. (Contributed photo) Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said he is on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation and the federal investigation while U.S. Attorney Michael Easley looks on. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley, center, laughs with husband Curtis Owens, right, while son Matthew Owens, watches, before she speaks with reporters at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Beasley filed her candidacy papers with the board at the fairgrounds after filing resumed statewide following a 2 1/2-month delay while redistricting litigation was heard (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson). Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and consider subscribing for only $7 per month to get access to more articles and news as it happens. Photo: Canfor/Facebook Canfor Corp. said Thursday it plans to sell its forestry and mill assets in Mackenzie for $70 million. In a news release, the company said it has entered into a letter of intent with McLeod Lake Indian Band and Tsay Keh Dene Nation to sell its forest tenure. Canfor said it has also entered into a separate agreement with Peak Renewables to sell its Mackenzie site, plant and equipment for a combined price of $70 million. We are very pleased that the sale of the Mackenzie tenure will provide an opportunity for the McLeod Lake Indian Band and Tsay Keh Dene Nation to grow their leadership in the forest economy and advance Nation stewardship values for the benefit of their communities, said Canfor CEO Don Kayne said in a statement. Canfor said it will work with both McLeod Lake and Tsay Keh Dene on a definitive agreement to transfer the tenure and to seek approval from the province. The company said the tenure will provide both with greater oversight and control over resource development within their traditional territories. First Nations in B.C. have been relegated to marginal roles in the forest sector for far too long. The Letter of Intent signed with Canfor has the potential to dramatically change this imbalance within the Mackenzie Timber Supply Area," said Tsay Keh Dene Chief Johnny Pierre in a statement. "With further work and agreements the Letter of Intent provides a clear path for the eventual transfer to and subdivision of the forest tenure between McLeod Lake Indian Band and Tsay Keh Dene. McLeod Lake Chief Harley Chingee said his community was pleased to be acquiring the tenure from Canfor. "This purchase represents an important opportunity for us to continue our work towards economic stability and prosperity for our members, communities and business partners," said Chingee in a statement, "all while ensuring careful and responsible stewardship of our sacred environment in accordance with our Tsekhene laws, customs and traditional knowledge. Trade minister Yeo Han-koo, second from left, is being briefed about the impact of Russia-Ukraine crisis on Korean firms at the Russia Desk of the Korea Strategic Trade Institute in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap By Lee Kyung-min Korean exporters are expected to see a significant drop in profitability, crippled by spiking oil and raw material prices amid the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, market watchers said Friday. The sales increase by manufacturing, which accounts for over half of the country's exports, will hardly be good news, since higher production costs led by soaring commodity prices will mean sharper losses. This means that the more they sell, the steeper their profitability will fall. Korea's key manufacturers encompassing the steel, petrochemical, chemical, automobile and transport industries rely heavily on coal-powered fuels, notably crude oil, a reason why sustained volatility in global oil prices will crimp exports and hamper the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday (local time) that the country will impose export controls on Russia to curtail high-tech imports to Russia and sanction major Russian banks, in a move aimed at penalizing Russia for its military attack against Ukraine. An immediate drop in local firms' corporate profits brought on by reduced exports to Russia will be limited, given that Russia is Korea's 12th-largest trading partner, accounting for just 1.6 percent, $9.98 billion (12 trillion won), of Korea's export total of $644.5 billion. Ukraine accounts for only 0.08 percent of Korea's exports. Photo: BIV One of the tiny semiconductors (right) being produced by Vancouver?s Epic Semiconductors Inc. Concern over Russias invasion of Ukraine is blanketing parts of B.C.s tech community as questions linger over access to semiconductors chips. Most of the worlds semiconductors are manufactured in Taiwan, but Ukraine and Russia are both major sources of the neon and palladium gases used in the manufacturing of these chips. Russias invasion of its neighbour this week could further disrupt manufacturing of semiconductors amid ongoing supply chain disruptions that have made everything from new cars to PlayStation 5 consoles harder to come by. Supply chain disruptions and general business uncertainty which always leads to hesitation to invest are the main dangers, at least right now, Jill Tipping, CEO of the B.C. Tech Association, told BIV. Semiconductor supply chains are already a mess and I agree this will make it worse. Wolf Richter, chief technology officer of Vancouver statup Epic Semiconductors Inc., said his company is concerned over the invasion and hes hoping innovation will be able to overcome such a crisis. Silicon chip production is in the hands of only a few, he said. Epics technology battery-free, microscopic AI chips known as smart dust consume exponentially less energy and are exponentially smaller than standard semiconductors. Its chips function in much the same way as nerve cells and brain cells process electrochemical data, and they are less than a millimetre in size. In the case of this B.C. company, manufacturing doesnt rely on any third-party components, and the chips are produced using a variation of a laser printer tapping specialized ink. Richter said the advent of such chips means printing these flexible electronics at home. Its a prospect that would make businesses and markets less reliant on a small number of manufacturers and geopolitical uncertainty. While most semiconductor manufacturing is done overseas, B.C. is also home to Redlen Technologies Inc., which specializes in manufacturing semiconductors used in medical imaging systems and baggage scanners. The B.C.-founded firm was acquired last year by Japanese multinational Canon Inc. (TYO:7751) in a deal valuing the Vancouver Island tech company at just north of $400 million. CEO Glenn Bindley said last year the acquisition would help his company source components more efficiently as Canon funds a $40-million plan to double its 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility outside of downtown Victoria. BIV has reached out to Redlen about the potential impacts the invasion may have on its manufacturing. Photo: The Canadian Press Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner poses for a photo with the other members of the Supreme Court following a welcoming ceremony for Judge Mahmud Jamal at the Supreme Court of Canada, Thursday, October 28, 2021 in Ottawa. Back row left to right: Judge Nicholas Kasirer, Judge Malcolm Rowe, Sheila Martin, Judge Mahmud Jamal. Front row left to right: Judge Suzanne Cote, Judge Michael Moldaver, Wagner, Judge Andromache Karakatsanis, Judge Russell Brown. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Justice Michael Moldaver plans to step down from the Supreme Court of Canada on Sept. 1, a few months before he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75. Chief Justice Richard Wagner says Moldaver has made exceptional contributions to Canadian jurisprudence, particularly concerning criminal law. He left his stamp on many notable cases that came before the high court on matters ranging from search warrants to jury selection. Moldaver, who hails from Peterborough, Ont., started practising criminal law in 1973 and began his judicial career as an Ontario judge in 1990. He was elevated to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1995, becoming a member of the Supreme Court in October 2011. Moldaver's departure could give Prime Minister Justin Trudeau another opportunity to name a judge to the top court, which now includes four of his appointees. A Supreme Court judge may continue to participate in judgments, concerning cases they heard, for up to six months after their date of retirement. "It has been an honour for me to be a member of this country's highest court for the better part of 11 years," Moldaver said in a statement. He praised the two chief justices under whom he served Wagner and Beverley McLachlin as people of honour, integrity, courage and vision. Moldaver said they share a passion for justice and a fervent commitment to maintaining the rule of law, protecting an independent judiciary, and preserving an unparalleled justice system for all Canadians. "For this, and so much more, they are owed a great debt of gratitude." Canadians have benefited from Moldaver's humanity and deep commitment to fair and just results, Wagner said. "His colleagues and I have profited from his wisdom, warm collegiality and wit. We wish him a very happy retirement." European and world leaders ignored, or did not take Russia and (president Vladimir) Putin seriously for several years, slacking off with NATO and ignoring previous Russian aggression and invasions. Russian invasions from1939 include Finland, Poland, Budapest, Prague, Crimea and eastern Ukraine. We all know Russian (leaders) are blunt liars, always were and always will be. The sanctions on Russia will do it no harm. It will turn to China for economic and financial assistance and the Chinese will be happy to support it. The last several years, the weakest country (in Europe) has been Germany, not increasing its armed forces and a lack of funds contributing to NATO (Trump was right on that). I pray and hope Ukraine will survive and will be a NATO member this year. Who's next Putin? Robert van Bruinessen, Lake Country Photo: The Canadian Press The Peace Tower is seen behind police at a gate along Queen Street as they restrict access to the streets around Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. A group involved in the recent protest in Ottawa against COVID-19 measures pressed ahead today in asking a court to halt federal use of the Emergencies Act, even though the government has already moved to revoke the powers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang A group involved in the recent protest in Ottawa against COVID-19 measures pressed ahead today in asking a court to halt federal use of the Emergencies Act, even though the government has already moved to revoke the powers. Late last week, Canadian Frontline Nurses and member Kristen Nagle asked the Federal Court for an injunction staying the Liberal government's use of the emergencies law and associated measures while their full case plays out in court. The group and Nagle say they are opposed to "unreasonable'' COVID-19-related mandates and restrictions that have been implemented by various levels of Canadian governments. They ultimately want the court to rule that the federal government strayed beyond its jurisdiction in declaring a public order emergency last week, saying the move was unconstitutional. The emergencies law allowed for temporary measures including regulation and prohibition of public assemblies, the designation of secure places, direction to banks to freeze assets and a ban on support for participants. David Cowling, a lawyer for the group, told the court today that even through the government has withdrawn the emergency measures, the call for an injunction was not moot, as it was unclear whether the orders could still lead to future prosecutions. Photo: The Canadian Press NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference after convening an online NATO leaders summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts agreed Friday to send thousands of troops backed by air and naval support to protect allies near Russia and Ukraine in response to President Vladimir Putins decision to invade, the organizations top civilian official said. Speaking after chairing a NATO summit, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the 30-nation organization will send parts of the NATO Response Force and elements of a quickly deployable spearhead unit to the alliances eastern flank. Its the first time the force has been used to defend NATO allies. Stoltenberg did not say how many troops would be sent or where they might go, but he did confirm that the move would involve land, sea and air power. In response to Europes biggest security crisis in decades, Stoltenberg said, We are now deploying the NATO Response Force for the first time in a collective defense context. We speak about thousands of troops. We speak about air and maritime capabilities. There must be no space for miscalculation or misunderstanding. We will do what it takes to protect and defend every ally, and every inch of NATO territory, he said. The NRF can number up to 40,000 troops, but Stoltenberg said that NATO would not be deploying the entire force. Parts of a spearhead unit known in NATO jargon as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, which is currently led by France, will also be sent. The announcement came after NATO members, ranging from Russias neighbor Estonia in the north down around the west of conflict-hit Ukraine to Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast, triggered urgent consultations Thursday about their security amid concerns from the invasion. We will continue to take all measures and decisions required to ensure the security and defense of all allies," the leaders said in a statement. We will make all deployments necessary to ensure strong and credible deterrence and defense across the alliance, now and in the future. The worlds biggest security organization previously had around 5,000 troops stationed in the Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Poland, but has significantly beefed up its defenses over the past three months. Some of NATOs 30 member countries are supplying arms, ammunition and other equipment to Ukraine, but NATO as an organization isnt. It wont launch any military action in support of Ukraine, which is a close partner but has no prospect of joining. The Baltic members, however, have said the West should urgently provide Ukrainian people with weapons, ammunition and any other kind of military support to defend itself as well as economic, financial and political assistance and support, humanitarian aid. NATO began beefing up its defenses in northeastern Europe after Russia annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Recently, some members have also sent troops, aircraft and warships to the Black Sea region, near allies Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Short-term, NATO has also activated an emergency planning system to allow commanders to move forces more quickly. The Pentagon said Thursday that it is sending 7,000 troops to Europe in addition to 5,000 recently deployed personnel. NATO surveillance aircraft have begun patrols inside allied territory. The planes would be able to watch Russian fighter jet and transport movements inside Ukraine, much as they monitored aircraft in Syria from Turkeys airspace. Lithuania declared a state of emergency Thursday. It borders Russias Kaliningrad exclave to the southwest, Belarus to the east, Latvia to the north and Poland to the south. The Baltic country's move allows for a more flexible use of state reserve funds and increased border protection, giving border guards greater authorities to stop and search individuals and vehicles in border areas. There must be no space for miscalculation or misunderstanding. We will do what it takes to protect and defend every Ally, and every inch of NATO territory, Stoltenberg said. As the leaders prepared for their virtual summit, pro-Ukraine demonstrators rallied outside NATOs headquarters in Brussels. Dozens of Ukrainians living in the Belgian capital chanted Putin, Terrorist, Close the Sky Down and Stop Putin, Stop War. We are fighting for the whole democratic world here. If we dont stop them in Ukraine, they will go next to the European Union. They will be at your door, said Artemii Sattarov, draped in a Ukrainian flag. That is why we are asking here to close the (airspace), to provide military help to Ukraine. Vancouver police are urging anyone who may know the identities of people caught on camera taking part in what is described as a "violent swarming" incident that took place recently in a city park. The Vancouver Police Department released footage Friday (Feb. 25) that was shot by a bystander that shows the assault, which took place at about 11:30 p.m. the night of Feb. 20 in Emery Barnes Park in Yaletown. The incident involves two men punching and kicking a male victim, as several people look on. This graphic bystander video shows a large group watching and filming as two men punched and kicked a defenseless man in Emery Barnes Park, says Constable Tania Visintin. However, by the time police arrived on scene, the suspects and victims had fled. Police were able to locate and arrest one suspect, a 19-year-old Richmond man, who was found nearby on Granville St. Later, the VPD located the victim, a 44-year-old Vancouver man, at his home, after someone called 911 on his behalf. The victim sustained significant facial injuries that required hospitalization, say police. The second suspect, however, remains unknown and at large, prompting the VPD to release the disturbing footage in hopes he can be identified and located. While this video is troubling to watch, we have had considerable success in identifying suspects in stranger attacks, and we hope that by releasing this video someone will come forward with information that can help us identify the people responsible," adds Visintin. Emery Barnes Park "is surrounded by high-rise towers and its part of a heavily populated area, nostes Visintin. There must be people who either saw this swarming, were there when it happened, or recognize the people in the video. Were asking those people to do the right thing and come forward. The unidentified suspect is described by police as a man in his twenties, about five feet nine inches tall, and 160 pounds. He was wearing a red hoodie, black pants, black running shoes, and was carrying a black satchel. If anyone recognizes the suspect, or has any information, they are asked to call Vancouver police at 604-717-2541. It's been a hectic two years for British Columbia's notaries as more people rushed to get their wills done during the pandemic and there's no sign it's slowing down. According to Victoria-based notary Beverly Carter, the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated to people their own mortality and made them more comfortable talking about death. "In the earlier stages, there was a lot more fear, so that was one factor in them coming to get their will, says Carter. "People didnt have all those excess activities so that to-do' list that they had for years now is raising up to the top of the list to get done. Business for Carter has doubled since the pandemic started. "It's been great, she says with a smile. "Its been a very interesting time to work in the legal industry. But business isn't just booming in Victoria. "I can confirm that BC Notaries have seen an increase in inquires from the public related to the preparation of personal planning documents such as Wills, Healthcare Directives and Powers of Attorney throughout British Columbia during the pandemic," says Chad Rintoul, the chief executive officer of the BC Notaries Association. Interestingly, it's not the usual suspects first-time homeowners, new parents and those ailing who have brought notaries business. "A person could be relatively healthy," says Carter of her customers, adding that at the beginning of the pandemic "none of us knew if were going to be affected by (the virus)." Similarly, she's noted a trend of British Columbians opting to have professional, neutral executors included in their wills to deal with their estates often because family members may have been living in a different province. How do you begin the process of getting a will in B.C.? Knowing how to begin the process of starting a will is one of the top concerns Carter says she hears from clients. That's why she created a will questionnaire and workbook to help people organize their information as a starting point. It allows someone to step into their life, and capture their information in an easy way and store it so that theyre ready, she says. The process is also helpful for people to realize that they may have more assets than they realize. "You probably have a bank account and you might have a car and thats enough, says Carter. Another suggestion from Carter is if youre in a blended family, you should take the time to get a will and know the laws around that dynamic. "You want to have your backup in place so if you need it someone is there to help you out, she says. "Get the documents done, let them collect dust and if you need it, you really need it. And if you dont, youve had a good life. The increased interest in getting a will in B.C. has caused some backups, notes Carter. In some cases, it may take a few weeks before you hear back. The price of a will varies across B.C., but at the lowest, simplest end you could expect to pay $400 and upwards. In 1994, Russia, the U.S. and the U.K. signed "The Budapest Memorandum, which saw Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan agree to give up their nuclear weapons in exchange for Russia's promise to always honour the international borders that existed at the time. They all said that the agreement would lead to a more peaceful world with fewer nuclear warheads in existence. At the time, Ukraine had the third biggest arsenal of nuclear arms in the world. For their part, the U.S. and the U.K. agreed to come to the defence of those three countries if Russia didn't live up to their end of the bargain. Ukraine naively believed that Russia would never invade, and even more naively believed the promises from the U.S. and the U.K. I bet the Ukrainians wish they had those bombs right about now. Well, here we are. Russia has invaded Ukraine now for the third time in the past 10 years, this time threatening all the way to the capital of Kiev. And yet the U.S. and the U.K. do very little - other than threaten economic sanctions. A lot of tough talk to make it look like they're actually doing something. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin obviously doesn't care about such sanctions (or the threat) or else he wouldn't have invaded in the first place. For his part, (Canadian Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau has struck a resounding blow for freedom by promising to match Red Cross donations dollar-for-dollar. I'm sure Putin is trembling in his boots. And you can bet China and Taiwan (and Australia, Israel and Singapore) are watching closely to see how the U.S. keeps its promises to their friends. Russia's "success" will likely embolden China and Iran even further. If we in Canada, the U.S. and Europe want to believe we live in a free society, then we need to stand up to bullies and tyrants. If we are too timid to do so, then we will live under the boot heel of such tyrants for a very long time. If we had stood up in 1912, 1935, and 1945, the history of the 20th Century would have incurred far less bloodshed and misery. It's far easier and much less costly in terms of money and casualties if you win the war upfront rather than later on. Bullies always back down when they're confronted earlywe all learn that on the school playground. What's the point of having the largest military capability in the world if you're too scared to use it? I certainly don't want a nuclear waror any kind of war for that matter. But betraying your friends and abandoning your promises shows weakness that your enemies will always exploit. How little we have learned over the centuries. Lloyd Vinish, Kelowna Description of Cases On February 10, 2022, CDC was notified of the Food and Drug Administrations (FDAs) investigation of consumer complaints of infant illness related to products from Abbott Nutrition in Sturgis, Michigan. The most recent investigation details are summarized below: From September 16, 2021, to January 5, 2022, CDC received reports of three Cronobacter cases in infants that were later found to be included in FDAs ongoing investigation. On February 16, 2022, CDC asked clinicians and state and local health departments to provide information on other Cronobacter infections associated with infant formula from November 2020 through the present. Since then, CDC has identified one additional case of Cronobacter infection in an infant who consumed formula produced at this facility. Four infants with Cronobacter infections in Minnesota (1), Ohio (2), and Texas (1) consumed formula produced at the Sturgis, Michigan, facility before they got sick. Formula types included Similac Sensitive, Similac Pro-total Comfort, Similac Advance, and Similac PM 60/40. Cronobacter infections may have contributed to the deaths of two infants in Ohio. CDC performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) on Cronobacter bacteria isolated from two available patient samples to compare them with environmental samples taken at the facility to determine if there is any relation. At this time, CDC has completed laboratory testing for the two available patient samples. The analysis performed by WGS did not find these samples from patients to be closely genetically related to the multiple strains of Cronobacter found in the environmental samples obtained from Abbott Nutritions Sturgis, MI facility. Furthermore, WGS showed that bacteria from available patient samples were not closely related to one another. During the course of this investigation, FDA collected additional product samples from the facility and FDA analysis is ongoing. FDA received one complaint of an infant with a Salmonella infection who consumed infant formula from the Sturgis facility. However, there is not enough information available to definitively link this illness to the recalled infant formula. CDC confirmed that this single Salmonella illness is not linked to an outbreak. CDC is working with state and local partners to monitor for Salmonella illnesses linked to infant formula. By Park Jae-hyuk POSCO has finally accepted the request of Pohang residents and promised to relocate its holding company to the southeastern port city from Seoul, the steelmaker said Friday. "We will convince our board members and shareholders to relocate our holding company to Pohang by March 2023," the company said. "Our research facility will also be headquartered in Pohang." The decision was announced a few hours after POSCO President Chon Jung-son visited main opposition People Power Party lawmaker Rep. Kim Jung-jae's office in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. The lawmaker said that the POSCO president vowed to convince the board members and shareholders to revise the company's articles of association for the holding firm's relocation. POSCO also decided to set up its research facility in the port city as well as the capital region, considering concerns among Pohang residents about a possible outflow of talented researchers from the city, according to the lawmaker. "POSCO's hometown is Pohang," Chon was quoted as saying. "We will make more efforts to harmonize with Pohang." Since POSCO unveiled its plan to establish a holding company in Seoul last December, Pohang residents have protested the plan, expressing concerns about an outflow of the workforce and a reduction in tax revenue, despite the company's continuous denial. The four leading presidential candidates had also urged the company to reconsider its plan. USG spot freight market sees pressure on rates ICR Newsroom By 25 February 2022 The USG Supramax/Ultramax spot freight market had a negative month. Tonnage supply was bigger than the cargo list and ballasting vessels from the European continent only put additional pressure on rates. With Chinese holidays around the corner, fronthaul cargoes were on hold. Spot vessels were competing in a charterers market and rates continued to soften. There was an influx of fresh cargoes for second-half February laycans, but spot rates remained under pressure. Freight rates for transportation of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from Houston to ARA ports with spot laycans are at US$21/t (a US$5/t decline MoM) on average. Deals for delivery of 50,000t of petcoke from Houston to Iskenderun with spot laycans are discussed at around US$24-25/t on average, down US$6/t MoM. The freight rates on fronthaul directions (trips to southeast Asia and China) showed quite a big drop in rates amid slowed import of grains due to the upcoming holidays in China. Shipping costs for the delivery of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from USG to EC India are at US$50/t on average, representing a US$10/t decrease when compared with the previous month. The first quarter of the year is traditionally the slowest period for the dry bulk freight market. Most probably the market will stay in negative territory amid limited demand from main importers. Some short-lived spike in rates is expected after China is back from holidays. Moreover, the situation in the freight forward agreements (FFA) market continues to improve, indicating that players are optimistic about the recovery of the dry bulk freight market closer to the end of the first quarter. Published under Vietnam sees fall in January domestic sales while exports advance ICR Newsroom By 25 February 2022 Vietnam saw a 24 per cent drop in cement sales to 4,133,512t in January 2022 when compared with January 2021, according to the Vietnam National Cement Association (VNCA). Of this total, VICEM sold 1,382,175t, down 20 per cent YoY, while other associated companies saw their sales shrink 27 per cent YoY to 911,337t in January 2022. Sales of other Vietnamese producers contracted by 24 per cent YoY to 1,840,000t. However, exports increased 22 per cent YoY to 3,834,871t in January 2022. Clinker exports reached 2,315,211t, up 32 per cent when compared with overseas clinker shipments in January 2021. Cement exports advanced 10 per cent YoY to 1,519,660t in January 2022. Published under Buena Vista, CO (81211) Today Some sun this morning with increasing clouds this afternoon. High near 50F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 30F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions A woman at Sleep Inn at 2351 Shallowford Village Dr. told police a man was riding around her motel and screaming at her. The man kept calling the front desk saying that they need to kick the woman out. The woman said the man had a relationship with her grandson in the past and he has been a problem ever since. The woman just wanted to have a police report. * * * A woman on East 4th Street told police someone entered her unlocked 2013 Nissan Pathfinder and stole her house key, about $10 in loose change and a Chromebook that belongs to the schools. * * * Police were notified by TDOT Help Truck personnel that a heavy load vehicle had struck the bridge at I-75 and Ringgold Road. The TDOT driver was following the semi northbound on I-75. Police were able to get with the heavy load semi and TDOT at 9.5 mile marker where his rear brakes were smoking. TDOT bridge inspectors checked the bridge underside and then responded to the semi. THP responded and completed a primary report. * * * The founder of Reading Changes Lives, Inc. on East 10th Street called police and said someone stole a sign that says "Coming Soon Reading Changes Lives". He said it was on a lot where they plan to start the business. * * * The resident of an apartment on Shallowford Road asked police to remove a woman from the apartment. Police learned the woman is homeless and the resident had invited her over. The woman gathered her belongings and left the apartment. At her request, the officer gave her a ride to the CARTA bus stop at 6951 Lee Hwy. * * * Police located a blue pickup truck on Big Ridge Road that came back as stolen. The officer was able to confirm the vehicle as stolen out of Virginia. NCIC was contacted through dispatch and told to remove the vehicle. The officer was not able to locate the suspect who had a verified non-extraditable warrant out of Virginia. The vehicle was towed away. * * * Police responded to Ranco Circle to back up medical staff. An officer spoke with the complainant who would not state what the issue was initially, and began saying he just needed a ride away from here. Eventually it was found that the man was an alcoholic and was going through possible withdrawals. The man denied there was an emergency and refused any medical treatment. Police left the area after the man went back inside the residence. * * * Police were requested to pick up a stolen pistol on Cherryton Drive by Sequatchie County. The officer was told the gun was sold to a man at America Cash and Pawn. The man purchased the gun legally and he had no knowledge of it being stolen. The officer arrived, met with the man and explained the situation and the man surrendered the gun. He requested a complaint card so he could show it to America Cash and Pawn in an attempt to retrieve what he spent. The officer provided him with a card. The gun was logged into the property room. The Sequatchie County Sheriffs Office will clear the gun from NCIC and notify the owner. * * * An officer was called to Wilkesview Drove to assist a man in retrieving his property. He said his ex-girlfriend was in possession of a vehicle that belonged to him. He was requesting an officer to talk to her to retrieve the keys. When the officer ran the registration, both the man and ex-girlfriend were equal owners of the vehicle. The officer told the man police could not make her give him the keys because she was an equal owner. The man left the scene. * * * An officer observed a person that matched the description of a shoplifter hanging out in front of the Read House, 107 ML King Blvd. The man had been described to the officer in a shoplifting from the day before. The man saw the officer and started to walk into the Read House. The officer found the man in the bathroom shaving and doing other things. Once he exited the bathroom, the officer asked him for his information because the hotel did not want him in their bathroom grooming himself. The officer looked to see if the store that reported the shoplifting made a police report, which they hadn't. Samsung Electronics' headquarters in southern Seoul seen in this Jan. 27, file photo. Yonhap Korean chipmakers will be affected by export controls that Washington imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, but the impact is not likely to be significant, experts said Friday. The U.S. Commerce Department announced new sanctions Thursday that it said will "severely restrict Russia's access to technologies and other items that it needs to sustain its aggressive military capabilities." Items subject to the export control measures include semiconductors, computers and telecommunication and information security equipment, among others, the department said, calling them "sensitive items Moscow relies on for its self defense, aerospace and maritime industries." The measures restrict exports to Russia of any product that uses American technology or equipment, even if it is not produced in the United States. As with most global chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix rely on American technology, to some extent, to make semiconductors. They are the world's two largest memory chip makers. SK hynix's plant in Icheon / Courtesy of SK hynix The Alzheimer's Association estimates there are over 334,000 caregivers in Georgia providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. More than half report they have no experience or training in providing medical or nursing tasks. The hospitalization of family patients creates real challenges after discharge, often leading to readmissions, which are costly and add stress to the family and caregiver. Currently, there is no requirement in Georgia for hospitals and acute care to provide aftercare instructions to family caregivers at discharge of the patient. The Georgia Caregiver Act (HB 1304) would require the Hospital and acute care facilities to provide instructions to the designated family caregiver in the aftercare of the patients. Join me in asking your Georgia Representatives to support this common sense, no cost Bill as I am asking Representative Dewayne Hill and Senator Jeff Mullis to support the Georgia Caregivers Act HB 1304 on behalf of the constituents in our Districts. Jim Williams Alzheimers Association Legislative Advocate State Champion 2020 Advocate of the Year Ringgold, Ga. Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III announced on Friday the final approval of the $26 billion opioid agreement with the nations three major pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen and Johnson & Johnson. Following successful state sign-on and subdivision sign-on periods, the defendants will start releasing funds to a national administrator on April 2, 2022. Money will start flowing to state and local governments in the second quarter of 2022. Help is on the way, said General Slatery. Our objective and the reason we have aggressively held these companies accountable from the start- is to abate the crisis in Tennessee by providing direct assistance to those hit the hardest. We are grateful to our AG colleagues and our state and local leaders for their help and cooperation. The agreement marks the culmination of three years of negotiations to resolve more than 4,000 claims of state and local governments across the country. It is the second largest multi-state agreement in U.S. history, second only to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. State negotiations were led by Attorneys General Josh Stein (NC) and Herbert H. Slatery III (TN) and the attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. 52 states and territories have signed on to the agreement as well as thousands of local governments across the country. In Tennessee, more than 150 local governments have joined the settlements, including every county and all cities with populations of 25,000 or more. As a result, Tennessee will receive its full share of over $600 million over 18 years. For more detailed information on what the settlement means for Tennessee, click here: Opioid Settlements (tn.gov) In addition to the funds, Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen will: Establish a centralized independent clearinghouse to provide all three distributors and state regulators with aggregated data and analytics about where drugs are going and how often, eliminating blind spots in the current systems used by distributors. Use data-driven systems to detect suspicious opioid orders from customer pharmacies. Terminate customer pharmacies ability to receive shipments, and report those companies to state regulators, when they show certain signs of diversion. Prohibit shipping of and report suspicious opioid orders. Prohibit sales staff from influencing decisions related to identifying suspicious opioid orders. Require senior corporate officials to engage in regular oversight of anti-diversion efforts. Johnson & Johnson is required to: I am so concerned about the things going on in the world now that as an American even on this small platform, I feel I have to be heard. The Ukranian crisis that is happening now affects the whole world, different countries and different ideals. But, the main fact is a large country is now invading a smaller, independent country that has a democracy instead of "Do what I say or die" or else I will force you to. One of the things I have noticed in the early stages of this invasion is how many free countries are on the side of right and willing to go to any means with sanctions or whatever is available to punish Russia, a world united. But, as I listen to the world's governing powers on the media, I am embarrassed by our two Tennessee senators, Haggerty and Blackburn. I am doing my best to not use expletive words in describing this. But, Russia and Putin are responsible for this horrible travesty of killing and wounding and destroying a free peaceful country. Our senators as mentioned are really against it, but blame Joe Biden for all this. Look it up, they can say, oh, this is horrible but it is Biden's fault, you evil disgusting, horrible, useless people. The world need to unite and confront this as Putin's need to make himself a god in the history books. Never before has congress regretted intrusions like this and then blamed our leaders for this. Pearl Harbor happened and nobody in congress, either side, said this was Franklin Roosevelt's fault, and nobody blamed John F. Kennedy for Vietnam, they all backed him. I don't like saying this but the truth is our senators would rather have a president like Donald Trump who claims Putin is a genius and if he had been president this wouldn't have happened because he knows him very, very well. Maybe too well if he thinks Putin has something on him. I know I am going to be chastised by what I am saying, but the truth is our country is not two separate entities, we are a democratic free country where everyone has a say. When a monster invades a smaller free country who is no threat to anyone but his ego then our senators need to shut their biased mouth and blame him, not the president of the country we love. You disagree with me then shame on you. Don't dare preach politics to me. If you want a Republican president next time then pick one who is intelligent, who loves our country and not the money, someone younger than the last two, and not someone who thinks he is a god and needs your worship. Biblically speaking the antichrist will win so many people over because of his so called brilliance before he turns on them. Clifton Duggan * * * One thing many were in agreement regarding Donald Trump was his mean tweets. What those tweets exposed, however, was the totalitarian grip big tech has on free speech. Free speech was that thing before progressivism infected our culture canceling anything the woke crowd considered inappropriate or hateful. Using Twitter, Trump bypassed the news services control over his direct contact with the people. Before Twitter the news media controlled what was reported and they used that control to demonize their enemies. So they couldnt allow Trump that much freedom and he was shut down. Since then many Republicans and very few Democrats, if any, have been suspended or banned. Presidents are judged on many things but history often clarified their actions in the perspective of standing the test of time. Foreign and domestic policy along with trade policies which link the two are the best tests of a presidents ability to lead the nation to prosperity and security, not the content of his tweets. Trump did make the mistake of calling his policies America First. The media jumped on that and now blame the many failures of the Biden administration on Trumps America First policies. So lets put the policies of Trump in the context of the test of time. With Trump, what was the price of gasoline? What was the rate of inflation? Were American troops rushed to Eastern Europe as it stood at the brink of war? Was China eating us alive in trade and threatening Taiwan? Before COVID, were shelves empty and workers hard to find? Was violent crime at an all time high? Was global warming and the wonderful wonders of wokeness the primary focus of all American domestic and foreign policy? True to form, Democrats wont stop blaming Trump for all the bad stuff as they did Bush, Reagan, Nixon and Hoover. As for me, Ill take the mean tweets over the mess Biden has brought us in just a little over a year. How about you? Ralph Miller * * * Clifton and I probably have a lot we would disagree about but his comments on our senators are spot on. I'm not a Biden fan either, but our senators need to give it a rest and help not hinder. America first, not politics, palease. Sam Lewallen Jr * * * Ralph Miller has it all wrong. In his letter, Mr. Miller states: "With Trump, what was the price of gasoline? What was the rate of inflation? Were American troops rushed to Eastern Europe as it stood at the brink of war? Was China eating us alive in trade and threatening Taiwan? Before COVID, were shelves empty and workers hard to find? Was violent crime at an all time high? Was global warming and the wonderful wonders of wokeness the primary focus of all American domestic and foreign policy?" Mr. Miller is intent on blaming today's troubles on Joe Biden, implying they would be non-existent under Trump. Miller is apparently ignorant of the law of supply and demand. A President has no authority to arbitrarily raise prices. He ignores that trade deficits have existed for years as has China's lust for Taiwan. He ignores that rampant COVID and bare shelves existed in 2020 well before Biden's election. He ignores our legal commitment to NATO countries in Eastern Europe. He ignores that violent crime and global warning have existed for years. He closes by alleging that "wokeness" was the primary focus of all American domestic and foreign policy, also ignorance. How many of your readers will unequivocally believe Mr. Miller's "facts" to be just that. Joe Warren Ringgold, Ga. Following an unannounced inspection by the Tennessee Corrections Institute, the Bradley County Jail has received positive results with zero deficiencies found, including an official certification from the TCI Board of Control. This is the third consecutive year that the Bradley County Jail has made this accomplishment. The Tennessee Corrections Institutes jail inspection was based on the following categories: sanitation, hygiene, medical services, food services, inmate programs and activities, mail and visitation, supervision of inmates, security, maintenance, admission, records and release, physical plant, administration and management, personnel, discipline and classification. The states inspection was conducted on Feb. 15, with no deficiencies found. The Tennessee Corrections Institute recently inspected the [Bradley County Jail], said William Wall, TCI Executive Director, in a letter to Sheriff Steve Lawson. The inspection revealed this facility meets all applicable minimum standardsyou are to be congratulated for attaining this degree of professionalism in your organization. Once again, I am very pleased to see our jail receive positive results, with zero deficiencies, and am especially proud of receiving the certification from TCI for the third year in a row, said Sheriff Lawson. This news is a huge complement to our employees, whose energy and dedication continues to greatly contribute to the success of our jails operations. I want to recognize and sincerely thank my corrections staff for their efforts in reaching this exceptional achievement. During my first term, I have dedicated a great amount of my time towards improving the condition and functionality of our jail, ensuring it is the best it can be. I believe this certification highlights that and the success of our jails teamwork and leadership. The Bradley County Jails certification will be received from the TCI Board of Control, following their review and approval. Following an arrest executed by the Tenth Judicial Drug and Violent Crime Task Force on Thursday, inmate Christopher Pugh was transported to the Bradley County Jail to be booked on a previous federal narcotics related warrant and additional local drug charges. When Pugh arrived to the jail, he was routinely questioned and denied possessing any prohibited items. Upon completion of a body scan and thorough image analyzation by BCSO Corrections Officer Bryan Kelley, a mandatory secondary search was conducted. During the search, approximately 200 suspected fentanyl pills and 9 total grams of suspected methamphetamine were found hidden on his person. The seized narcotics were sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation lab for further chemical analysis. The body scanner was first introduced in September of 2021 and allows for every person booked into the Bradley County Jail to be checked for any contraband, drugs, or weapons that may not be easily identified during an initial search, greatly contributing to the overall safety of inmates and jail staff. Christopher Pugh was additionally charged with possession of Schedule II Methamphetamine, possession of Schedule II Fentanyl for resale, introduction of contraband into a penal facility, and possession of Schedule VI Marijuana, with previous federal charges also included. He is currently being held at the Bradley County Jail with no bond. Sheriff Lawson said, These findings highly support the intentions of integrating the body scanner and show its technological capabilities are a vital asset to our department. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge the excellent observation and training skills executed by BCSO Corrections Officer Bryan Kelley. Due to his outstanding work, the chance of potential overdoses in the jail over the weekend significantly decreased. "The Bradley County Sheriffs Office will continue our proactive efforts and collaboration with the Tenth Judicial Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, with intentions of making our community safer by seeking out those individuals who manufacture, sale, and use drugs and bring them to justice." 1883 episode 10 is on its way, and that means fans are nearing the end of the road for the Dutton family. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill play James and Margaret Dutton, the husband-and-wife duo trying to bring their two kids, Elsa and John Dutton, to settle on northern land. James seems unflappable as a fearless husband and father, but McGraw said he told show creator Taylor Sheridan that James certainly has doubts about the journey. [Spoiler alert: 1883 episode 9 spoilers ahead.] Why did the Duttons leave Tennessee in 1883? Tim McGraw as James, Faith Hill as Margaret, and Isabel May as Elsa | Emerson Miller/Paramount+ By the time 1883 episode 10 airs, the Duttons are close to approaching Oregon, their final destination. Throughout the first season of the series, viewers watched as James and Margaret Dutton led their family from Tennessee to Texas and then further up north. Shea (Sam Elliott) and Thomas (LaMonica Garrett) assisted them in their journey, and a number of other hopeful immigrants joined, too. So, why did the Duttons leave Tennesse in 1883? What was waiting for them in the north? The Duttons hoped to find land to call their own by traveling away from where they were from. The immigrants who traveled with them were also traveling to find a more hopeful future wherever the Duttons led them. Unfortunately, the road hasnt been easy. Crossing difficult terrain in wagons proved deadly, and bandits, as well as Native American tribes who viewed the pioneers as a threat, werent welcoming. Tim McGraw told Taylor Sheridan that his character, James Dutton, had doubts about the journey Tim McGraw as James Dutton, Sam Elliott as Shea, and LaMonica Garrett as Thomas | Emerson Miller/Paramount+ James Dutton appears to confidently lead his family through the Oregon Trail. But by 1883 episode 10, tragedy strikes. Elsa Dutton gets shot with an arrow by a Native American tribe, and the seemingly-unflappable James is rattled by the filthy arrow. He warns Margaret Dutton that Elsa will very likely die from infection. 1883 episode 9 shows James starting to crack under the weight of what he knows. Tim McGraw talked to TVLine about his character, too. He said he told Taylor Sheridan that his character actually doubted the journey the entire time, as he feared for what could go wrong. I think James doubted it every single day and every single moment, McGraw noted. I [told Taylor Sheridan], You know, I cant imagine a scenario where James ever sleeps in this entire show. With all the decisions he had to make, all the worry that he had, all the doubt. I dont think it was in the Dutton genetics to turn around and stop, McGraw continued. Certainly there was doubt every day about what he had gotten his family into, and you read it in his eyes a lot of the time when things were going badly . Hes a tough guy, but he cared a lot about everybody that was on that trip. He may not have shown it, but you could see by his actions, he put his life on the line for everybody, constantly. Do the Duttons make it to Oregon in 1883 episode 10? Do the Duttons make it all the way to Oregon in 1883 episode 10? Viewers will have to wait and see where they decide to settle. James tells Margaret Dutton in 1883 episode 9 that where they bury Elsa will be where they stay. And Yellowstone fans know the Dutton family ranch resides in Montana. Putting all the clues together, it seems James and Margaret dont make it to Oregon and instead stay in Montana. With that in mind, Sam Elliott told Esquire that production shot scenes in Oregon. Thats where our last days of production are, he explained. Were going to be on the Oregon coast to shoot just a small portion. This could mean Shea and Thomas continue on their travels while the Duttons stay behind. 1883 episode 10 airs Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022, on Paramount+. Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook! RELATED: 1883: Tim McGraw Hit the Gym at 3 a.m. During Filming and It Wasnt Just to Work Out Christina Aguilera recorded an album of Spanish music in the early 2000s. In 2022, she released an EP of Spanish songs. During an interview, Aguilera said she never stopped singing in Spanish despite the time gap between these releases. The public reacted to her Spanish album and her Spanish EP differently. Christina Aguilera | Steve Jennings/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize Christina Aguileras history of making Spanish-language songs Aguilera made her debut with the 1999 album Christina Aguilera. That album gave the world the classic hits Genie in a Bottle, I Turn to You, What a Girl Wants, and Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You). The following year, Aguilera released Mi Reflejo, an album that featured Spanish-language versions of several of her earlier songs, as well as some original material. Aguilera spent the next two decades recording songs in English. In 2022, she released a Spanish-language EP called La Fuerza. While Mi Reflejo includes Spanish versions of Aguileras hits, all of the songs on La Fuerza are new. RELATED: Christina Aguileras Biggest Hit Barely Features Her Voice Christina Aguilera discussed her relationship to the Spanish language Yahoo! Life reports Aguilera discussed La Fuerza with Billboards Twitter Spaces in 2022. Ive always had it in me, she said. I never stopped singing in Spanish. Aguilera discussed her relationship with the Spanish language. Whenever the opportunities came about where I was really passionate about a project, Id go for it, she said. I always say when you grow up with something, if its part of your household, my mom was fluent in Spanish, thats how she met and connected with my dad, whos from Ecuador. I heard the language so much. I always say, when its in you, it never leaves you. Subsequently, Aguilera revealed she will release more Spanish material. Fans have waited for so long so I wanted to give them surprises throughout the year, she noted. The first chapter is La Fuerza and each body of work represents a different tone and different mood and a different release of the journey that Im on as a woman. You start with the strength, and were going to be more tender and open up to be a bit more vulnerable with the material in the next chapter and then well close on this healing note. RELATED: Christina Aguileras What a Girl Wants Changed Titles to Sound Sexier and Less Needy The way listeners in the United States reacted to Mi Reflejo and La Fuerza None of the songs from Mi Reflejo charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite this, the album was a success. Mi Reflejo hit No. 27 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 18 weeks. None of the songs from La Fuerza charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The EP did not reach the Billboard 200 either. La Fuerza wasnt one of Aguileras biggest hits, but shes clearly passionate about singing in Spanish. RELATED: From Britney Spears to Ryan Gosling to Justin Timberlake and More: Which Former Mouseketeer Has the Highest Net Worth Today? Greys Anatomy has continued to change the cast over the years. But the newest episode is upsetting fans who say theyre over the revolving door of characters. [Spoiler: Spoilers ahead for Greys Anatomy episode No Time to Die.] Greys Anatomy returns and teases a surprising exit Don't let the #GreysxStation19 Winter Crossover Event get spoiled for you! Stream on Hulu NOW! pic.twitter.com/X8sZah4x5M Grey's Anatomy (@GreysABC) February 25, 2022 RELATED: Greys Anatomy: Even If Meredith and Hayes Dont Work Out, Fans Want Him to Stick Around No Time to Die picks up where the last episode left off. Cormac Hayes (Richard Flood) and Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) make it back to the hospital with a few scrapes from the car accident. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) is taken to the hospital after Dr. Ben Warren (Jason George) rescues him from the totaled car. He needs surgery, but it looks like hell be OK. Cormac and Owen then talk about Owens admission to giving dying veterans life-ending drugs as mercy. Cormac is worried about being an accessory to a crime having this knowledge. But Owen doesnt want to go to prison, so he doesnt want to come forward. Cormac later tells Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) that hes going back to Ireland. He gives the excuse that his sons arent happy in Seattle, but its most likely to escape the position Owen has put him in. Greys Anatomy fans are tired of new characters leaving RELATED: Greys Anatomy EP Offers Hope for Meredith and Hayes in Season 18 They Need to Have an Official Drink, if You Will The newest episode upset some fans. They took to Reddit to vent about Cormac leaving to go back to Ireland. I was fine with them not getting together. But just cutting him out of the show completely? No. They cant be doing that. I bet/hope its a mislead. Idk, one fan wrote. This is Krista Vernoffs problem, she adds cast members with absolutely zero planning, and when she gets overwhelmed, she writes some other characters out of the show via some really absurd storylines, another person replied. What an incompetent showrunner. Her idea of writing for a show is making every character sleep with each other. Thats all she knows and shes not even good at it. The revolving door of characters is just annoying at this point. He just floated in and out of the story and made zero impact on the actual progression of things. What poor poor writing, a third fan commented. I feel like Im mentally still at the end of season 16 waiting for Mer and Hayes to get a drink. And now hes leaving, another fan added. Is Meredith Grey the reason Cormac Hayes is leaving? Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey on Greys Anatomy | ABC/Raymond Liu RELATED: Greys Anatomy: Cristina Sending Hayes to Meredith Makes No Sense Cormac joined Greys Anatomy in season 16. It looked like he could be a love interest for Meredith. Thats because he also experienced the death of his spouse and is raising multiple children on his own. After Cormac asked her out on a date, she contracted COVID-19. This season Meredith reunited with Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman), and theyre fully in a relationship. Its very likely that Cormacs purpose as a character is a reason why hes being written out of the show. Deadline reports Flood is leaving the show, so its unlikely its a misdirect. When Johnny Carson debuted as host of The Tonight Show in 1962, his playfully suggestive jokes became part of his iconic fame. And though not everyone could have gotten away with it, co-host, Ed McMahon, believed Carson did because he had a special lewdness license as a seemingly wholesome midwestern man. (l-r) Dolly Parton and Johnny Carson | Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank Ed McMahon: Johnny Carson was a lovable bad boy from the prairie On Oct. 23, 1925, Carson was born in Corning, Iowa. As a child, his family moved to Nebraska and there he eventually developed a passion for performing. His charming talents emerged after he ordered a magic kit through the mail. During World War II, Carson joined the Navy and narrowly missed combat. But in his time in the service, during which he decoded messages, he would entertain his peers and higher ups with magic tricks and comedy. It seemingly solidified his love for performing. After that, he enrolled at the University of Nebraska. He graduated in 1949 with a bachelor of arts degree in radio and speech with a minor in physics. Then, he eventually moved to New York City. In 1957, he started hosting the television game show, Who Do You Trust? along with McMahon. Five years later, they debuted as host and co-host of The Tonight Show. According to McMahon, Carson got away with some things he didnt think other figures could have because of his backstory, as noted in his memoir, Heres Johnny. He dubbed the icon a lovable bad boy from the prairie who always knew precisely how bold his jokes should be. Johnny Carsons special lewdness license made it okay to push the envelope, according to Ed McMahon As many fans of Carson will agree, he had a love and talent for creating absurd comedy. And sometimes the lines between silly and suggestive were a little blurry in his jokes, especially with female guests. For instance, he asked Lucille Ball about her virginity so she would make her classic shocked face from I Love Lucy. I just wanted to see one of those takes again, he laughed to her after she did. For the record, she might have been in on the joke based on their exchange. Then, there was the time he remarked he would give a years pay for a peek under Dolly Partons clothes. Also a fan of suggestive humor, she told him years later she would give a year of her own pay to get in a shower with him after catching an unintended glimpse backstage. Despite receiving some complaints from viewers, McMahon felt Carson generally got away with such interactions because of his midwestern charm. After noting in his memoir how the host loved sexual jokes, McMahon said he had a special lewdness license which he used for pulling off such on-air antics. Ed McMahon: Mere innuendo was enough for the laugh with Johnny Carson According to McMahon, Carson didnt always need to be explicit with his sexual humor. Sometimes mere innuendo was enough for the laugh, which seemed to be a desired outcome of somewhat titillating interviews with his female guests. In Heres Johnny, McMahon recalled how Carson joked with any opening at all, hed jump right in while Raquel Welch sat next to him. The punchline was Welch was wearing what McMahon described as a revealing blouse. In case there was any doubt, he noted Carsons puckish grin gave away the implication of his statement. But in all fairness, Carson wasnt just suggestive with female guests. He asked an offended Kermit the Frog about his love life and kind of flirted with Miss Piggy during separate interviews, of course. And despite sometimes receiving letters of complaint over such jokes, Carson reigned as the king of late for 30 years before his 1992 retirement, which was followed by his death in 2005. RELATED: Johnny Carson Confessed He Hoped Rat Packs Joey Bishop Would Fall on His Face Lioness was recently announced as one of the five new shows coming soon from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. It will be the first series in the Sheridan-verse led by a female actor. And there are two major stars attached to the project. Heres what we know so far about Lioness. Taylor Sheridan | Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Lioness will star Zoe Saldana as the first female lead in the Taylor Sheridan-Verse According to Sheridan, he is always trying to peek as authentically into a world as he possibly can. And, thats exactly what hes doing with Lioness. The series gets its name from a real-life military program that began with the purpose of attaching female Marines to combat units. But it has evolved into espionage. Lioness is an actual program between the CIA and special forces that truly no one knows about, Sheridan explained. We have cast Zoe Saldana, and this is a deep dive in the way with which espionage and the military have blurred. The Guardians of the Galaxy star will play Joe, the station chief of the CIAs Lioness Program who handles the undercover female agents who are tasked with assassinating terrorists around the globe. Nicole Kidman joined the project early on according to Taylor Sheridan Sheridan also revealed that Oscar winner Nicole Kidman came to this project very early on after he wrote the Lioness pilot script. The writer/director says that Kidman was so moved by it that she wanted to be involved as a producer. According to the series description, the plot of Lioness is centered around a young Marine who is recruited to befriend a terrorists daughter to bring the organization down from the inside. The real program began during the Iraq War According to the official website of the United States Marine Corps, the Lioness program began in the 2000s during the Iraq war. It was created to respect the local customs of Middle Eastern countries by having female Marines search local women. Since Muslim tradition does not allow a man to touch a woman who is not related to them and knowing American military personnel would not search them unless a female service member was present, insurgents began to use women to smuggle contraband and act as suicide bombers, the Marine Corps site explained in a 2009 article. Taylor Sheridans Lioness will begin filming this summer Lioness will be part of the original programming lineup on Paramount+, and its set to begin filming this summer. A release date has not yet been announced. But the expectation is that it will premiere next year. Tom Brady who previously worked on NOS4A2 and Colony is writing the series and serving as showrunner. He says hes a huge fan of Sheridans work, and he is honored to help him tell his next story. Taylor (Sheridan) has created an epic, gripping, global spy thriller centered on a group of complex, strong women, and I cant imagine anyone better to help bring these characters to life than fellow executive producers Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldana, Brady said, per Collider. A Hallmark star has also joined the Lioness cast According to The List, there is another actor set to appear in Lioness Hallmark star Jill Wagner. The Teen Wolf alum and daughter of a real-life Marine is also an executive producer on the series. Its something that Im training for right now, Wagner revealed in December 2021, just three months after having her second baby. In fact, I get up every morning, and I train for about an hour and a half. Its not easy. You women out there that had a baby I think you can understand where Im coming from. Lioness starring Zoe Saldana will premiere on Paramount+ in 2023. RELATED: 1883: Isabel May Admits That a Failed Audition For Taylor Sheridan Is What Got Her Cast as Elsa Dutton NATO to step up presence in eastern part of alliance, not inside Ukraine Xinhua) 09:14, February 25, 2022 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R) speaks during a press conference with Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg (C) and European Council President Charles Michel at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) BRUSSELS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed to further beef up its forces on its eastern flank near Ukraine but it has no intention of sending troops into Ukraine, NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday. NATO did not have combat troops inside Ukraine and it "had no intention of deploying NATO troops to Ukraine," Stoltenberg told the press after an extraordinary meeting of the North Atlantic Council. NATO's response came as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday authorized "a special military operation" in the Donbass region, and Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack. "We call on Russia to immediately cease its military action, withdraw its forces from Ukraine, and choose diplomacy," said Stoltenberg. Putin said in a televised speech to the nation earlier Thursday that Russia's plans "do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories." "We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force," Putin said, noting that Russia's move is in response to "fundamental threats" of NATO which has expanded to eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. Earlier, NATO's ambassadors said in a statement they had decided "in line with our defensive planning to protect all allies, to take additional steps to further strengthen deterrence and defense across the Alliance." "We are deploying additional defensive land and air forces to the eastern part of the alliance, as well as additional maritime assets," they added. "We have increased the readiness of our forces to respond to all contingencies." Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg (L) , European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (C) and European Council President Charles Michel prepare to attend a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg (C), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R) and European Council President Charles Michel attend a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines produced at Hankook Korus Pharm's factory in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, are seen in this July 2021 file photo. Joint Press Corps By Park Jae-hyuk Korea's contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) are facing concerns about a potential setback in their production of the Sputnik V and one-shot Sputnik Light vaccines against COVID-19, after the U.S. and the European Union began imposing tougher financial sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The companies are keeping a close eye on how the crisis will unfold, as Ukraine calls on the international community to freeze Russia's foreign assets and sanction the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country's sovereign wealth fund that markets the coronavirus vaccines. "Of course the situation has caused concerns, although it has yet to pose any risk to our production," said a spokesman from GL Rapha, the parent company of Hankook Korus Pharm, which signed a contract with RDIF in 2020 to export Sputnik V vaccines being produced at its factory in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. Many royals are public servants who take on work to support their country. They usually act as patrons for charity organizations and representatives for their country abroad. As with any job, being a working royal involves a learning curve. When Princess Diana was still getting used to the job, Prince Charles showed support for her first solo trip abroad. Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1985 | David Levenson/Getty Images Princess Diana joined the royal family in 1981 Diana joined the royal family in 1981 when she married Charles. She was only 20 years old at the time, and he was 33. Before becoming a royal, Diana had some work experience in very normal jobs. For example, she was a part-time nanny for an American woman named Mary Robertson. Diana was paid $5 an hour to take care of Marys toddler son. Additionally, Diana was also a kindergarten teacher at the Young England School in Londons Pimlico district. After marrying Charles, Diana became one of the most famous women in the world. In 1983, Diana confessed (via The Christian Science Monitor) that royal life was rather challenging: I am finding it very difficult to cope with the pressures of being Princess of Wales but I am learning to cope with it. I have learned a lot in the last few months, particularly the last three or four. Nonetheless, she took on her royal duties faithfully. In particular, she supported schools and hospitals as well as charities that help the less fortunate. How Prince Charles reportedly supported Princess Diana during her solo trip to Norway Princess Diana in Norway in 1984 | Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images RELATED: Was Princess Diana Poor Before Marrying Into the Royal Family? In early 1984, Diana took her first solo trip abroad to Norway to represent the royal family. Before then, she had always been accompanied by Charles when going abroad for work. According to royal author Ingrid Seward, Charles sent Diana a gesture of support during her trip to Norway. Dianas first solo trip abroad was to Norway in early 1984. She has just discovered she was pregnant for the second time but no announcement had been made, Seward said (via Express). When Diana arrived in Norway, she found a note inside her suitcase written by her husband which read, We were so proud of you and was signed Willie wombat and I. Willie Wombat is the nickname Charles and Diana gave to Prince William when he was a child. Princess Diana later became a world-renowned humanitarian As Diana settled into her royal role, her confidence grew. By the early 1990s, Diana was taking many trips abroad by herself, especially when her marriage was breaking down. She became a world-renowned humanitarian for her work with charities in various countries. For example, she worked with The Leprosy Mission and visited leprosy patients in places such as India, Nepal, and Zimbabwe. She also visited South Africa in 1997 and met with President Nelson Mandela to help AIDS patients in the country. Additionally, that same year, she was photographed visiting a minefield in Angola, which helped to raise awareness for the issue of landmines. Dianas work was cut short when she died in 1997. Today, her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, continue to keep her legacy alive and finding their own ways to make a difference in the world. RELATED: Princess Diana Said 1 Tragic Event in Her Childhood Taught Her How to Relate to Other People The Monkees hit Last Train to Clarksville was almost named after an actual town in Arizona. Subsequently, one of the writers of the song decided to give it a different title. The title of Last Train to Clarksville had a significance of its own. The Monkees Peter Tork, Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, and Micky Dolenz | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images How The Monkees songwriters thought of the name of the song Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, also known as Boyce and Hart, were songwriters who worked for The Monkees from the bands inception. They wrote several songs for The Monkees self-titled debut album. In his 2015 autobiography Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles, Hart discussed coming up with the title of Last Train to Clarksville. That night we tossed around destinations to complete the title, Hart wrote. We discarded the usual suspects, Detroit, Seattle, and Philadelphia, deciding that our story could be more easily told if we placed it in a rural setting. Finally, Tommy asked, What are the names of some of the little towns in Northern Arizona where you used to go every summer?' Hart named a few towns. I thought of Sedona, Jerome, Cottonwood, Clarkdale,' he remembered. He cut me off at Clarkdale. Clarkdale, he repeated. Or better still, how bout Clarksville?' The name Clarksville had a significance of its own. During a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Micky Dolenz said Clarksville is a town in Tennessee that hosts an army base. In actuality, the town borders an army base. This worked because Last Train to Clarksville is a song about a soldier going off to war. RELATED: Why The Monkees Songwriters Felt Their Songs Couldnt Sound Too Much Like The Beatles What the success of The Monkees Last Train to Clarksville meant to Bobby Hart In Psychedelic Bubble Gum, Hart discussed the reception of Last Train to Clarksville. Last Train to Clarksville had already been zooming up the Billboard charts for weeks before the first episode of The Monkees hit the airwaves on September 12th, 1966, he said. A short time later, it reached the number one position, and our pictures were on the covers of the music trade magazines. Hart saw Last Train to Clarksville as emblematic of Boyce and Harts career at the time. For me, Last Train to Clarksville had become a metaphor for the high-speed freight train that had become our careers, and that was the week it would begin barreling down the tracks, he wrote. The duo went on to write other Monkees hits like Valleri and Words. Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart | GAB Archive/Redferns RELATED: The Beatles Day Tripper Influenced 1 of The Monkees No. 1 Songs The impact of Last Train to Clarksville on pop culture Last Train to Clarksville had an impact on pop culture. The song repeatedly appeared in The Monkees sitcom. Ed Bruce, The Four Tops, Jerry Reed, and others recorded covers of the song. The track even inspired a joke in The Simpsons. In the episode The Bart of War, Chief Wiggum mistakenly believes Last Train to Clarksville is a Beatles song. Last Train to Clarksville became a hit even if doesnt reference that town in Arizona. RELATED: Why The Monkees Micky Dolenz and The Carpenters Lost the Chance to Record Three Dog Nights An Old Fashioned Love Song 1st Paul Wesley is known for portraying Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries. He formed close friendships with other cast members, including the actor who played his on-screen brother. Besides acting in the teen drama, Wesley worked behind the scenes as a director. He earned credits for multiple episodes during the later seasons and has continued this career path post-TVD. Paul Wesley was in other shows before The Vampire Diaries Paul Wesley of the series The Vampire Diaries attends The CW Networks 2016 New York Upfront at The London Hotel on May 19, 2016 in New York City. | Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage Wesley began his acting career in daytime TV. He landed a role in Guiding Light in high school. Wesley later joined the main cast of Wolf Lake in 2001. Other series he appeared on include Everwood, 8 Simple Rules, and American Dreams. The show Wesley became famous for is The Vampire Diaries. His character, Stefan, is a vampire who begins a romance with a human, Elena. Wesley remained part of the cast for the whole series. Wesley almost did not get the part due to his appearance. But the creators changed their minds when they saw him with co-star Nina Dobrev. In the spinoff series The Originals, he made a guest appearance. Wesley directed several episodes of The Vampire Diaries In addition to acting, Wesley got the chance to direct multiple times on The Vampire Diaries. The actors IMDb page credits him as director for five episodes. His first was the eighth episode of season 5, titled Resident Evil. The plot centers around Elena and Stefan having dreams about different versions of their lives. Wesley also directed Woke Up with a Monster during the shows sixth season. The episode features Kai holding Elena captive while he learns to control his abilities. Meanwhile, Stefan and Caroline try to find a cure for Sheriff Forbes. During season 7, Wesley directed the episodes Things We Lost in the Fire and Requiem for a Dream. In the former, the Salvatore brothers deal with hallucinations. Meanwhile, Caroline throws a baby shower for the twins. In the latter, everyone tries to help Bonnie while Caroline faces a new threat. Finally, Wesley directed the sixth episode of season 8 called Detoured on Some Random Backwoods Path to Hell. The plot centers around Caroline doing whatever it takes to keep her family safe. Other shows Wesley directed on Wesley directed a few other shows for The CW. He helmed an episode of Batwoman in 2020. Another project he was a part of was a show set in the same universe as The Vampire Diaries. After the original series ended, he showed up as a director for Legacies. The fantasy drama is the second spinoff in the franchise. Wesley directed the episode The Boy Who Still Has a Lot of Good to Do. The plotline focuses on Landon and Raf going to MGs hometown. Memories came flooding back to the star when he stepped foot on the set. Wesley has a directing credit for Roswell, New Mexico as well. He joined the production of the show in 2019. Additionally, he got involved with the series Shadowhunters in season 2. Wesley was the director for a single episode. RELATED: Ian Somerhalder Tossed The Vampire Diaries Script Calling It Twilight for TV WE SERVED: Claremore woman wraps up two decades in U.S. Air Force A recent editorial created a firestorm over the question of removing ones shoes in someone elses home. But going barefoot is about much more than tracking in dirt. The Italian American comedian, Sebastian Maniscalco, once tweeted, Shoes dont come off. My shoes come off once a night, thats it. Do not do this to grown people. He made the same comment in his Netflix special, Why would you do that?, artfully infusing humor into the experience of being asked for the first time to remove your shoes at someone elses doorstep. To be asked to stand barefoot (or in socks) while dressed to the nine can be both awkward and confusing. For some, its just not culturally done. For others, however, being asked to remove their shoes when entering someone elses home feels like an insult. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, entitled Heres Why Ill Be Keeping My Shoes On in Your Shoeless Home, Kris Frieswick wrote that she would outright refuse to take her shoes off if asked. The issue of shoe removal was something she was ready to go to battle over. Frieswick glosses over the fact that this is a deeply ingrained cultural practice, preferring to focus instead on the threats of ripped nylons and stepping on Legos. But for many people of Asian and Middle Eastern descent, it would be an insult to refuse to take off your shoes when entering their home. For followers of Jesus who truly want to connect with people of other cultures, there is a real opportunity within situations of shoe removal to show cultural humility by honoring a hosts house norms. Taking off our shoes in Asian and Middle Eastern homes is a way that we can receive the gift of hospitality like Jesus. There are three well-known stories in the Gospels that interweave shoe removal, bare feet, and hospitality (John 12:1-11; Luke 7:36-50; John 13:1-17). In Luke 7:36-50, a woman with an alabaster jar of oil comes to Jesus while hes dining in the home of the Pharisee, Simon, and washes his feet with her tears. In this scene, Jesus is already barefoot because it was common in the first century to remove ones sandals before entering a persons home. The religious leaders, however, are offended that this woman would dare to touch Jesus feet, let alone wash them with her tears and kisses. They see the woman as defiled and fear that if she touches Jesus feet, shell defile him too. The debate in this scene echoes our modern concerns about dirty floors and defiled feet. The Pharisees attempt to create rules for engagement to prevent Jesus comfortabilities from being upset. However, in a surprising twist, Jesus sides with the woman and declares that he wants to receive the gift of her hospitality. His bare feet serve as a testament to his desire to be the recipient of her care and attention. Hospitality flows in two directions. Barefoot Jesus challenges our twenty-first century sensibilities of hospitality. Hospitality flows in two directions - not only are we called to regularly welcome guests into our home, but we must position ourselves as guests in other peoples homes as well. Within the practice of hospitality there are inherent power dynamics. When we go to someone elses home and place ourselves in the position of receiving hospitality, we signal that the host is in the seat of power. This is not an easy practice for many of us as US Americans. To be at the mercy of a host is to put ourselves in a vulnerable position. It means acquiescing to their house rules and norms, which could include everything from taking off our shoes at the front door (if requested) to eating foods we are unfamiliar with and more. Removing our shoes at a hosts doorstep is a small gesture of power reversal. In Philippians 2:6, however, Jesus declares that equality is not a thing to be grasped and, when we receive hospitality, we declare like Jesus, I am willing to give up my rights and comforts, including for some our preferences to wear shoes indoors. Instead of being in the drivers seat, directing the rules of engagement, we place ourselves in a position to learn, grow, and adapt ourselves like Jesus did for the sake of the gospel. It is in this humble position that God begins to open our eyes to the beauty of other cultures and develops our appreciation for other cultural practices and traditions. If we are serious about true and lasting relationships with people of other cultures, we must intentionally seek to reverse the power dynamics, so that we are in a position to receive. Removing our shoes at a hosts doorstep is a small gesture of power reversal. Our willingness to be a recipient of hospitality shouldnt be seen as burdensome. In fact, in John 12:1-11, when Mary of Bethany anoints Jesus head and bare feet with an expensive perfume, Jesus declares that he has received a high honor! There is a spiritual blessing to be found in receiving hospitality. Jesus drives home the beauty of barefoot hospitality when he washes his own disciples feet in John 13:1-17. Professor of Bible and Mission, Dr. Jae Suk-Lee, argues in Mission as Integrated Witness: A Missional Reading of the Foot Washing Narrative that the disciples exposed feet was an essential step in their journey toward integrated witness of evangelism and learning to build missional communities. Lee describes the act of footwashing as a mutual loving service that generates unity in the community and the world. This footwashing act is the model and cause of the disciples mission (35). On the one hand, the symbolic gesture in all three biblical stories of bare feet and foot washing serve as foreshadows to Christs death and the partaking of the Eucharist. But on the other hand, it is a rite of passage; a litmus test to assess the disciples readiness to be unleashed into the world. Likewise, part of the litmus test for our readiness as believers today to be sent out on mission is determined in our ability to remove our shoes in another persons home and receive their hospitality. Being willing to remove our shoes in an Asian or Middle Eastern home also extends beyond power dynamics. Certainly, there is a cleanliness factor. Shoes bring in the dirt and grime of the outside and leaving them at the door is a courteous way to not track these items into someones home. However, there is a greater cultural gesture taking place in the practice of shoe removal. To invite someone into your home and take off their shoes is a symbol of care. Its the hosts way of saying, Come relax. Take a break from the worries of your day. Im going to take care of you. This is why it is so heartwarming for me, as a second generation Indian American, to watch scenes in Asian films such as Raya and the Last Dragon or Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in which the protagonists remove their shoes at a doorstep. It signals that the place they are entering is safe, warm, and perhaps even sacred. They are entering into a place where they can be themselves and relax, where theyll be taken care of, and most likely served delicious food and drink. When you remove your shoes at an Asian or Middle Eastern doorstep, you enter in as a guest, and you leave as family. Such is the power and message of shoe removal in Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. The Better Samaritan blog is produced by the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, which offers a M.A. in Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership and a Trauma Certificate. To learn more and apply, visit our website We need to recapture a robust theology of countercultural hospitality. We need to recapture a robust theology of countercultural hospitality; a hospitality in which we allow ourselves to be served and not just serve. Instead of only focusing on welcoming the stranger (Matt 25), we need to put ourselves in a position for the stranger to welcome us. In the US, we live in a multicultural globalized society. Our neighbors, coworkers, and fellow church congregants have roots from around the world. What if we regularly asked if we could come over to their home like Jesus did? And what if, for our hosts who are Asian or Middle Eastern, we dont even ask if we should take our shoes off when we arrive; we just do it automatically, allowing our bare feet to testify our vulnerable willingness to receive whatever kindness the host is about to offer us? Dr. Michelle Ami Reyes is the Vice President of the Asian American Christian Collaborative. She is also the Scholar in Residence at Hope Community Church and author of Becoming All Things: How Small Changes Lead to Lasting Connections Across Cultures. Dr. Reyes lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and two amazing kids. Some people say you shouldnt talk politics and religion in polite conversation, but author Kaitlyn Schiess would (politely) beg to differ. In fact, shes written a book about the connections between faith and politics. Kaitlyn is a writer and a popular Christian voice on Twitter. A ThD student at Duke Divinity School (where shes studying political theology, ethics, and biblical interpretation), she previously earned a ThM in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Kaitlyns book, The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor, was released by InterVarsity Press during the last presidential election year. In this episode, Heather and Kaitlyn discuss what it means to deconstruct false gospels, the difference between politics and partisanship, and the importance of using discernment in selecting the news sources we consume. Social media can be a really great place to build relationships with others, and Kaitlyn has done this so well, even while discussing difficult topics like theology and politics. She is a great resource for all of us on how we can do this better. Reach out to Heather at heatherthompsonday.com, on Twitter @HeatherTDay, and on Instagram @heatherthompsonday. Viral Jesus is a production of Christianity Today Host and creator: Heather Thompson Day Producer: Loren Joseph Executive Producer: Ed Gilbreath Director of CT Podcasts: Mike Cosper RZIM says it 'does not agree' with entire explosive Guidepost report, but vows to 'learn' from mistakes The board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries reacted to a report detailing how leaders turned a blind eye to Zacharias misdeeds for years and spent nearly $1 million to defend the late apologist against allegations of sexual misconduct, saying that while it does not agree with everything in it, it hopes to nevertheless repent and learn from our mistakes. On Wednesday, the board of RZIM released a statement in tandem with a report from Guidepost Solutions highlighting Zacharias moral failures as well as oversights by the organization's board and ministry leadership. Although we are releasing this report, we do not agree with everything in it, the board of directors said. We believe there are inaccurate accounts or pieces of information that were either overlooked or omitted by Guidepost and we disagree with some characterizations therein. Regardless, we believe this report provides an important assessment of our organization's actions to investigate Zacharias and the steps we sadly failed to take. The board said it has endeavored to honor the biblical exhortation to be quick to hear, slow to speak even when some narratives about RZIM differ from our experience. Our focus has been instead to repent and learn from our mistakes, it added. We remain committed to supporting ministries that present the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those with deep questions in challenging settings around the world. RZIM had engaged Guidepost in February 2021 to independently evaluate RZIMs structures, culture, policies, processes, finances, and practices, including the handling of any former abuse allegations against Zacharias, who died in 2020 after battling cancer. The report, released seven months after the board of RZIM received it, found that the organization used nearly $1 million of ministry funds to pay for Zacharias legal bills after he was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017, thus ensuring that Zacharias himself did not pay a single penny, even though RZIM was not a party to the legal action. The board had previously publicly stated that no ministry funds were used in connection with his legal action. Guidepost also found that leaders at RZIM had been aware of allegations of inappropriate behavior by Zacharias since at least 2008 when he was seen in Singapore holding the hand of a young woman who was not his wife. When confronted about the incident, Zacharias claimed he required assistance to walk across the street due to ongoing back pain. The report also detailed how, in 2011, an RZIM board member traveled to Singapore at Zacharias request, as the apologist was concerned because he had been seen leaving a massage therapist office and there was an inference that he had done something inappropriate. Zacharias told the board member that he had visited the massage studio because it was essential for his back issues, and then separately added that he had never viewed pornography (which seemed odd to the board member), the report states. Though Zacharias family raised concerns about the ministry leader traveling with a female massage therapist, Zacharias daughter and former CEO Sarah Davis told Guidepost they did not suspect that there was anything untoward about the relationship between Zacharias and the massage therapist; rather, they were concerned about the appearance of the relationship and its potential impact on the ministry. In the fall of 2020, months after Zacharias death, numerous allegations surfaced against the apologist accusing him of sexual misconduct at spas that he had co-owned in the United States. A February 2021 report from Miller & Martin found the ministry leader had engaged in sexting, unwanted touching, spiritual abuse, and rape during his life. He also was accused of having an illicit online relationship with Canadian Lori Thompson, allegedly soliciting sexually explicit photos from her and engaging in sex over the phone. Zacharias later sued Thompson and her husband before paying a $250,000 settlement, authorized by the RZIM executive committee, according to the Guidepost report. The committee then gave the apologist a $400,000 bonus for the specific purpose of paying back the $250,000 loan made by RZIM to Zacharias for settling the litigation he started against the Thompsons. Overwhelmingly, Guidepost found that RZIM leaders and board members showed Zacharias near-complete loyalty even in the face of his inconsistent and incomplete explanations, evidence undercutting those explanations, and an ever-evolving storyline that played out in the Christian and mainstream media. Since the release of the Miller & Martin report, Guidepost said many current and former RZIM employees had come forward to speak with them and claimed to have had suspicions and unanswered questions dating back to 2017. However, each of these individuals also told us that somehow, in spite of their concerns and questions at the time, they were satisfied enough with the explanations provided by Zacharias to stay at the ministry, the report said. We are unaware of anyone who left RZIM in 2017 or 2018 because they did not get answers to questions or did not believe the statements by Zacharias regarding his relationship with the Thompsons. As one RZIM employee told us, We were all duped. Still, the report stressed that many RZIM leaders, employees, and the board of directors chose not to press for further investigation of Zacharias interactions with Thompson, despite clear indications that Zacharias had not provided a truthful account of those interactions. Ultimately, we believe that RZIMs leadership and cultural weaknesses stem from the devotion and loyalty to Zacharias shown by the ministrys leaders, directors, employees, and followers, it said. Guidepost offered a series of recommendations in light of its findings, including advising the organization to periodically communicate and train staff about sexual harassment, abuse, and misconduct, to demonstrate the ministrys commitment to prevent this improper and illegal behavior. It also recommended changes to RZIM leadership, expressing concern about RZIMs ability to move forward under its current leadership and board. Many of the current leaders and directors of RZIM are the same individuals who mishandled the ministrys response to allegations about Zacharias in the past, it said. It will be difficult for the current RZIM leaders and the board to rebuild trust with the ministrys employees and members and to reestablish their credibility as leaders, because of their previous failings. In its statement, the board of RZIM said the past 18 months have brought to light painful and sinful realities which have impacted so many lives. We at RZIM sincerely apologize for the enormous pain caused by Ravi Zacharias' sin and our failure to uncover it sooner. Regretfully, we trusted and defended a man of whose integrity we were firmly convinced, it said. In the fallout from the scandal, the global apologetics ministry downsized and restructured into a grant-making organization. Davis, who has since left RZIM and been replaced by Garth Morrison, announced in March 2021 that RZIM intended to change its name and remove all content featuring her father from the organizations website. In May, Davis apologized for her initial reaction to her fathers sexual misconduct allegations. She said she erred by ignoring allegations against her father and defending his innocence. I earnestly wanted the truth, but I recognize that the steps I took didnt always show this, she shared. I should have immediately called for an independent investigation in 2017, but I trusted my father fully, and I carried his narrative, both in 2017 and then initially in 2020, when we were first made aware of those allegations. In both of these, I know that I caused pain. I did not serve well, and I did not love well. And for this, Im deeply sorry. Actress developed blood disorder 'out of nowhere' while filming supernatural horror The Conjuring Actress Joey King has opened up about her time on the set of the horror film The Conjuring, revealing the physical condition she developed out of nowhere. King played little girl tormented by demons in the 2013 film when she was 12. But in a recent interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, she admitted that the things she experienced made her shudder. The actress said she suddenly developed an unexpected blood disorder while playing the character Christine Perron. It was pretty intense. Some weird stuff happened on the set, along with the movie being scary, she revealed. Its true, I developed this bizarre, rare, out-of-nowhere blood disorder, and basically, my body, like all the red platelets from my body were like drained. They were just gone. The condition was so grave King went to the hospital before each taping to ensure she didnt need a blood transfusion. King had a high risk of internal bleeding. The actress said that every day before work and after work, she had to go to the hospital, get my blood taken. Barrymore became spooked by Kings story when the 22-year-old revealed that the condition suddenly stopped as soon as she was finished filming The Conjuring. Then, all of a sudden, I got home, and Ive never had a problem with my blood since, she commented. Every time I think about it, I just shudder a little bit. In another interview in 2020, King told crass radio host Howard Stern that the bizarre condition was discovered when bruises randomly began appearing on her body during filming. In the [movie], when the mom gets possessed, she gets all these bruises on her, King disclosed, saying that it was during those scenes that she noticed a lot of bruises show up on my body. King, who comes from a mixed Jewish and Christian background, said she realized her experience was nothing but normal. The Bible speaks of demon possession often and warns believers not to partake in darkness. The Conjuring franchise was written by Christian screenwriters Chad and Carey Hills. Although many Christians think scary movies are evil and should be avoided, the writers maintain that their films are to show how faith overcomes evil. For us, its very simple; we love doing true stories of where good conquers evil. Conjuring 2 is a story told through the eyes of believers, whose strongest weapon is their faith in God. Our film allows believers and non-believers to travel their journey with them, and in some ways, maybe affect someone who is on the edge of faith, and somehow give them the strength they need, the couple told The Christian Post in a past interview. They added: For us, other than ones own faith in Jesus, the symbol of the cross radiates that faith for those who hold it, hang it and even tattoo it! Some may have a Bible in their home and think theyre protected. But without studying it and believing, its like just any other book. Same with the cross. One must believe in what it represents. Biden to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court President Joe Biden has nominated a federal judge to fill an impending vacancy on the United States Supreme Court who, if confirmed, would become the first black woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. The White House announced the presidents intention to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, to the Supreme Court on Friday. If confirmed, she will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who plans to retire at the end of this term. A former clerk for Justice Breyer, Judge Jackson has broad experience across the legal profession as a federal appellate judge, a federal district court judge, a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, an attorney in private practice, and as a federal public defender, the White House noted in a statement. Judge Jackson has been confirmed by the Senate with votes from Republicans as well as Democrats three times. The White House praised Jackson as an exceptionally qualified nominee as well as a historic nominee, and the Senate should move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation. A native of Washington, D.C., and the daughter of parents who attended segregated schools, Jackson graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School. She lives in Washington with her husband and two children. When formally announced, Jacksons nomination will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where members will decide whether to advance her nomination to the full Senate. Jackson only needs the support of a simple majority of senators to secure confirmation. Currently, the Senate has a 50-50 split between the two parties, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote in favor of the Democrats. As the White House statement noted, Jackson has received support from Republican senators in the past. Last year, when Biden nominated her to serve on the influential D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, three Republicans voted with all Democrats in favor of her confirmation: Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. As a presidential candidate, Biden announced his intention to nominate an African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court should he win the 2020 presidential election and a vacancy on the Supreme Court were to pop up. Collins, one of the three senators who supported Jacksons nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, expressed concern that imposing such a litmus test on Supreme Court nominees adds to the further perception that the court is a political institution like Congress when it is not supposed to be. What President Biden did was, as a candidate, make this pledge, and that helped politicize the entire nomination process, Collins said. Graham, on the other hand, explained that he was in the camp of making sure the court and other institutions look like America, signaling that he did not view Bidens litmus test as a problem. Whether you like it or not, Joe Biden said, Im going to pick an African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court. I believe there are plenty of qualified African American women, conservative and liberal, that could go onto the court, Graham added. Interest groups on both sides of the aisle quickly reacted to Jacksons nomination. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life advocacy group Susan B. Anthony List, released a statement citing Jacksons nomination as evidence that Joe Biden is fulfilling his promise to only appoint justices who support the Roe v. Wade regime of abortion on demand up to birth a policy so extreme only a handful of countries in the world hold it, including North Korea and China. Ketanji Brown Jackson is backed by many of Americas most radical pro-abortion groups, she said. She is on record opposing free speech rights of pro-life advocates pleading to save lives outside abortion centers and supporting the false claim that abortion is health care. We have no doubt she will work with the most pro-abortion administration in history to enshrine abortion on demand nationwide in the law. Susan B. Anthony List pointed to a 2001 amicus brief Jackson authored in support of a Massachusetts law creating a buffer zone around abortion clinics to prevent pro-life sidewalk counselors from approaching to speak with women seeking abortions as a cause for concern for the pro-life movement. Carrie Severino of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network sent out a Twitter thread asserting that With the intended nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson, Joe Biden has made it clear that his top priority is paying back the left-wing dark money network that spent over one billion dollars to help elect him and Senate Democrats. She specifically mentioned that the Arabella Advisors Network has been increasingly vocal about the fact that Jackson was their preferred nominee the one they are sure will rubber stamp their left-wing political agendas from the bench. Today, Joe Biden is delivering exactly who they demanded, she lamented. Expect to hear from Biden and his supporters that Judge Jackson is in the mainstream. Thats liberal-speak for a judge who will deviate from the text of the constitution and statutes without hesitation to ensure the Lefts preferred policy outcomes. Recently, the Arabella Advisors network has been increasingly vocal about the fact that Jackson was their preferred nomineethe one they are sure will rubber stamp their left-wing political agendas from the bench. Today, Joe Biden is delivering exactly who they demanded. /2 Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) February 25, 2022 NARAL Pro-Choice America, a pro-abortion group, expressed gratitude for Jacksons nomination to the Supreme Court, tweeting, We need a justice on the bench who will uphold reproductive freedom. Planned Parenthood Action, another pro-abortion advocacy group, sent out a tweet proclaiming: This nomination arrives as our rights are in crisis, and we believe Judge Jackson will bring a commitment to the court to protect our individual liberties, including reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights. BREAKING: Ketanji Brown Jackson is President Bidens nominee to the Supreme Court. We need a justice on the bench who will uphold reproductive freedom. This historic nomination is a chance to shape the Court for decades to come. pic.twitter.com/pniSAR5fQv NARAL (@NARAL) February 25, 2022 Some GOOD news!! Judge Jackson is making history. This nomination arrives as our rights are in crisis, and we believe Judge Jackson will bring a commitment to the Court to protect our individual liberties, including reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights. #JusticeForAllhttps://t.co/QxpDDVXY0k Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) February 25, 2022 Jacksons nomination to the court will not dramatically change the ideological balance of the court, which currently consists of six justices appointed to the bench by Republicans and three appointed by Democrats. Jackson would become Bidens first Supreme Court appointment, joining two justices appointed by Democratic former President Barack Obama, three justices appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump, two justices appointed by Republican former President George W. Bush and one justice appointed by Republican former President George H.W. Bush. In addition to becoming the first African American woman on the Supreme Court, Jackson will become the fourth female Supreme Court justice and the third African American Supreme Court justice if confirmed. A damaged Ukrainian military facility in the aftermath of Russian shelling outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb. 24. Russia launched a barrage of air and missile strikes on Ukraine early Thursday and Ukrainian officials said that Russian troops have rolled into the country from the north, east and south. AP-Yonhap Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Thursday, unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Ukraine's government pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. Military forces battling Russians on multiple fronts suffered dozens of casualties. Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored global condemnation and cascading new sanctions as he unleashed the largest ground war in Europe since World War II, and chillingly referred to his country's nuclear arsenal. He threatened any country trying to interfere with ''consequences you have never seen,'' as a once-hoped for diplomatic resolution now appeared impossible. Ukrainian forces sought to fend off a Russian barrage of land- and sea-based missiles, an attack that one senior U.S. defense official described as the first salvo in a likely multi-phase invasion aimed at seizing key population centers and ultimately ''decapitating'' Ukraine's government and installing a new one. Already, Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster. ''Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom,'' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he pleaded Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days. U.S. President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin ''chose this war'' and that his country would bear the consequences of his action. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly. Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Feb. 24. AP-Yonhap Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv's subway stations. At times it felt almost cheerful. Families ate dinner. Children played. Adults chatted. People brought sleeping bags or dogs or crossword puzzles anything to alleviate the waiting and the long night ahead. But the exhaustion was clear on many faces. And the worries. ''Nobody believed that this war would start, and that they would take Kyiv directly'' said Anton Mironov, waiting out the night in one of the old Soviet metro stations. ''I feel mostly fatigue. None of it feels real.'' The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukrainian and U.S. officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. Zelenskyy, who had earlier cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law, appealed to global leaders, saying that ''if you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door.'' Both sides claimed to have destroyed some of the other's aircraft and military hardware, though little of that could be confirmed. Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-unused Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been ''no casualties or destruction at the industrial site.'' The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the plant 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell to prevent leaks. The chief of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said the ''brutal act of war'' shattered peace in Europe, joining a chorus of world leaders decrying an attack that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. The conflict shook global financial markets: Stocks plunged and oil prices soared amid concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket. Ukraine's president vows to stay put as Russian invaders approach 'The worst sunrise in my life': Ukrainians wake to attack Wall Street rallies as West hits Russia with new sanctions World leaders slap sanctions on the Kremlin over invasion Condemnation came not only from the U.S. and Europe, but from South Korea, Australia and beyond and many governments readied new sanctions. Even friendly leaders like Hungary's Viktor Orban sought to distance themselves from Putin. A woman carries a baby as she arrives to board a Kyiv bound train, on a platform in Kramatorsk, the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Feb. 24. AP-Yonhap British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the U.K.'s financial markets as he announced sanctions, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies and the Kremlin from raising money on British markets. ''Now we see him for what he is a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest,'' Johnson said of Putin. The U.S. sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, Biden said, but they were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe. Zelenskyy urged the U.S. and West to go further and cut the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House has been reluctant to immediately cut Russia from SWIFT, worried it could cause enormous economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West. While some nervous Europeans speculated about a possible new world war, the U.S. and its NATO partners have shown no indication they would send troops into Ukraine, fearing a larger conflict. They instead mobilized troops and equipment around the alliance's flanks as Ukraine pleaded for defense assistance and help protecting its airspace. NATO reinforced its members in Eastern Europe as a precaution, and Biden said the U.S. was deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO. European authorities declared the country's airspace an active conflict zone. Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with Russian businessmen at the Kremlin in Moscow, Feb. 24. EPA-Yonhap After weeks of denying plans to invade, Putin launched the operation on a country the size of Texas that has increasingly tilted toward the democratic West and away from Moscow's sway. The autocratic leader made clear earlier this week that he sees no reason for Ukraine to exist, raising fears of possible broader conflict in the vast space that the Soviet Union once ruled. Putin denied plans to occupy Ukraine, but his ultimate goals remain hazy. Ukrainians were urged to shelter in place and not to panic. ''Until the very last moment, I didn't believe it would happen. I just pushed away these thoughts,'' said a terrified Anna Dovnya in Kyiv, watching soldiers and police remove shrapnel from an exploded shell. ''We have lost all faith.'' With social media amplifying a torrent of military claims and counter-claims, it was difficult to determine exactly what was happening on the ground. Russia and Ukraine made competing claims about damage they had inflicted. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had destroyed scores of Ukrainian air bases, military facilities and drones. It confirmed the loss of one of its Su-25 attack jets, blaming ''pilot error,'' and said an An-26 transport plane had crashed because of technical failure, killing the entire crew. It did not say how many were aboard. Russia said it was not targeting cities, but journalists saw destruction in many civilian areas. Ukraine's health minister said 57 Ukrainians were killed in the invasion and 169 more were wounded. It was not clear how many were civilians, although earlier in the day it had said 40 soldiers had died. Poland's military increased its readiness level, and Lithuania and Moldova moved toward doing the same. Putin justified his actions in an overnight televised address, asserting the attack was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine a false claim the U.S. predicted he would make as a pretext for invasion. He accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia's demands to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and for security guarantees, saying the military action was a ''forced measure.'' Anticipating international condemnation and countermeasures, Putin issued a stark warning to other countries not to meddle. In a reminder of Russia's nuclear power, he warned that ''no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to the destruction and horrible consequences for any potential aggressor.'' Credibility of pastors waning as influence of Christianity loses cultural dominance: study Fewer than half of American adults, including non-Christians, see pastors as very reliable when it comes to handling spiritual matters, and the share of pastors who believe the general public sees them that way is even lower, according to newly published data from Barna Research. The research, which asks about pastors' general trustworthiness and credibility, was included in The Resilient Pastor, a book by the Rev. Glenn Packiam released on Feb. 15. It offers pastors and Christians a way to remain resilient in their calling as they contend with the challenges of a world where Christianity no longer holds a dominant place in culture. "Pastors are no longer perceived as a credible voice or a trustworthy source of wisdom on much," Packiam explains in an excerpt of the book. "Churches dont have much of a role in a community unless they can provide tangible help or practical care. And people arent likely to turn to a church for help when facing difficulties or crises. In fact, Christianity is just one way of making meaning of this world, and it isnt really even a respected way. For many, it is archaic and outmoded, prude and rude. Packiam, who's a senior fellow at Barna Group, is also an associate senior pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the lead pastor of New Life Downtown. The data show that when asked if pastors are a trustworthy source of wisdom, some 57% of Americans, in general, said pastors are at least somewhat wise. When that data is further broken down, however, only 23% of all adult Americans agree that pastors are "definitely" a "trustworthy source of wisdom." Among Christians, the figure increases to 31% but drops to 4% among non-Christians. Larger shares agree that pastors were somewhat a trustworthy source of wisdom, with 40% of Christians agreeing to this assessment. Non-Christians have the strongest reaction against pastors, with 29 percent saying a pastor is definitely not a trustworthy source of wisdom. That may be unsurprising in our present culture, but it is still telling and discouraging, Packiam notes. While a significant majority of pastors, 67%, were very confident that their own congregations considered them to be a trustworthy source of wisdom, only 21% expressed a similar level of confidence in how the general community where their church is located sees them. Another 62% felt that the general community was only somewhat confident in their role as a trustworthy source of wisdom. Pastors were also not very confident in how the general population sees them as a reliable source of information on spiritual matters. While 36% of all adults see pastors as very reliable when it comes to giving advice on spiritual matters, only 25% of pastors see themselves that way. A majority, 59%, said they were somewhat reliable. Fewer than half, 44%, of Christians described their pastors as very reliable in this area, while another 39% said they were somewhat reliable. Packiam, in his book, suggests that pastors need to examine themselves to see whether the credibility issues the profession is now facing have to do with the way they have stewarded power. If the mishandling of power has led to the loss of credibility, returning to the source and shape of a pastors authority is the way back home, he contends. I dont mean that we can find a way to return to a central place in our communities. But we can once again become trustworthy people when we rediscover the source and the shape of pastoral authority. 'Lincoln's Dilemma' reveals how president's faith influenced politics, says historian President Abraham Lincolns faith and his commitment to seeing humanity as created in the image of God guided him through tumultuous times, solidifying the former president as a historic figure that todays leaders would do well to emulate, says historian David S. Reynolds. Reynolds bestselling book, Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times, inspired the new Apple TV+ series "Lincoln's Dilemma. The four-part docu-series features insights from historians, journalists and scholars, as well as rare archival material to give viewers an in-depth look at the life of the Great Emancipator. In an interview with The Christian Post, Reynolds, who also serves as a professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, shared that Lincoln, who was assassinated in 1865, was "much more religious than most people think" and was guided by biblical principles. He loved to read the Bible. He felt that God was always in control. He put 'Under God' on American coins for the first time. He referenced God in the Emancipation Proclamation. Even though he never really joined a church, he would pray. And in the second inaugural address, he said that God is against slavery. What defined his presidency, Reynolds said, was Lincolns compassion for others, stemming from his belief in Luke 6:31, also known as the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. He never demonized the enemy, the historian explained. He never said bad things about the South, about Southerners. He said, They pray as well to the Bible and to God, and we pray. We feel that we're on the side of justice; we feel that the Bible is against slavery. But he reached out emotionally to his so-called enemy, never called them the enemy whatsoever. But he also believed in the firmness of principle, and also the Union, the idea of one common country. For example, when Jefferson Davis, who served as the president of the Confederate States, asked Lincoln to make peace between the two countries, the latter replied, I will happily make peace as one common country, but one common country without slavery. He didn't turn off Davis. He just said, As one common country, Reynolds said, later adding: [Lincoln] lived in a very, very divided time. It was divided over issues that we deal with today, issues of race, issues of religion, Evangelical religion, and so forth, and issues of the Right versus the Left, and all of that. It was all kind of there. Lincolns Dilemma, which premiered Feb. 18, is described as a 21st century examination of a complicated man and the people and events that shaped his evolving stance on slavery. The docuseries is narrated by Jeffrey Wright and features the voices of Bill Camp as Lincoln and Leslie Odom Jr. as Frederick Douglass. The series delves into the little-known side of the former president, including his folksy persona that earned him the Honest Abe moniker, his love for poetry and his engagement with humanity. Reynolds, who has extensively studied the life of Lincoln, said he was always fascinated by how the noted abolitionist was able to run for office, become president and manage a country during the most divided time in history. I realized that there were qualities in him that I really wanted to probe. And what I really probe is how he responded so sympathetically to his entire culture, he said. He could quote Shakespeare by the page, even though he had less than one year of school he was so curious about the world around him and also so receptive to people around him, which I think Lincoln's Dilemma shows. The series also examines the struggles of enslaved people, highlighting the horrors many of them experienced. Reynolds explained that Lincoln, like many abolitionists, believed that enslaved people were not things or property, but human beings that loved and experienced grief and joy. The importance of a film like this is to show not just Lincoln, but also the experience of being enslaved, and the experience of fighting for your freedom as an African American soldier in the war, Reynolds said. It gets down to ground level and real human emotion on the part of people who, back then, were considered just things or inferior beings. And it's very, very important for a film to get into that emotional experience. Still, Reynolds pointed out that there is sometimes too much hyperbole surrounding Lincoln. For example, the historian contended, its easy to make him a hero and put him on a pedestal and portray him as a white savior a label Lincoln himself would have disliked. He would be the first to say, No, no, no, this was a group effort here, how much respect I have for African Americans who helped me, people like Frederick Douglass, the 180,000, African American soldiers, he would be the very, very first to say that. He would not like being put up on a pedestal," Reynolds said. Other times, people neglect Lincolns compassion and closeness to African Americans, accusing him of being too soft on difficult issues, the historian posited. My answer to that is he had to get elected to office; he had to win the votes, all kinds of voters. He compared himself to a tightrope walker, Charles Blondin, who went back and forth across Niagara Falls, no net, forward, backward, pushing a wheelbarrow. And he said, You know, I'm Charles Blondin, and sometimes have to lean to the right, sometimes I lean to the left. If I don't, the country could collapse, we could lose the border states. His sense of political tact, I think, comes through very well. Through his book and Lincolns Dilemma, Reynolds said he hopes audiences come out with a sense of a leader being capable of openness to the voices of various ethnicities, various religious points of view, and a leader who is truly human. And as he said, Malice toward none charity to all, even refusing to demonize your enemy. He never demonized the Confederacy and yet, [was] a leader who sticks to the principle of justice and equal rights for everybody. "Lincoln's Dilemma is now streaming on Apple TV+. 6 Evangelical reactions to Russias Ukraine invasion: Potentially major prophetic fulfillment Global Evangelical figures and organizations are calling for peace and prayer as top U.S. leaders fear Russias full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine is just the beginning of an attempt to reestablish the former Soviet Union. Russia began its attacks early Thursday, targeting Ukrainian military assets in several key cities nationwide. Reports indicate that Russian forces have also descended on the capital, Kyiv, with shelling impacting civilian locations such as bridges, schools and an apartment building. The death toll continues to rise. On Friday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that at least 137 Ukrainians had died so far, including 10 military officers. Additionally, he reported that at least 316 people had been wounded. Zelensky has accused Moscow of targeting civilians. Many fear the invasion will trigger another refugee crisis. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Thursday that more than 100,000 people have moved within Ukraine to flee violence. Russias invasion of Ukraine has drawn strong condemnation from the international community. U.S. President Joe Biden vowed Thursday that in 30 days his administration will re-impose sanctions he previously lifted. He said the U.S. would also work with allies to enact additional sanctions, including possibly cutting Russia off from Western financing (Swift payments system) and tech imports to thwart President Vladimir Putins plans for expansion. Biden, however, added that the U.S. will continue paying Russia for its oil imports, saying, "You know, in our sanctions package, we specifically designed to allow energy payments to continue." The president also addressed Putin's longterm strategy during Thursday's press conference, adding: He has much larger ambitions in Ukraine. He wants to, in fact, reestablish the former Soviet Union. Thats what this is about." In an interview with CBS News, Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed. "You don't need intelligence to tell you that that's exactly what President Putin wants," Blinken said. "He's made clear that he'd like to reconstitute the Soviet empire. Short of that, he'd like to reassert a sphere of influence around neighboring countries that were once part of the Soviet bloc. And short of that, he'd like to make sure that all of these countries are somehow neutral." Among the many voices speaking out, Evangelical leaders across the globe have called on supporters to pray for Ukraine. Additionally, some Evangelical organizations have campaigns active to help those in need. The following pages highlight the reactions of five Evangelical leaders and organizations to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Biden vows to hurt Putin's long-term ambitions with new sanctions: 'Freedom will prevail' US 'forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict with Russia and Ukraine' President Joe Biden addressed the nation Thursday as Russias invasion of Ukraine intensifies, vowing to enact additional sanctions to hurt the Russian economy and President Vladimir Putins long-term strategic ambitions. Biden assured that freedom will prevail. Biden spoke at a press conference in the East Room, calling the Russian militarys attacks that began Thursday targeting Ukrainian military assets across several cities a brutal assault on the people of Ukraine without provocation, without justification, without necessity. Lamenting the pre-meditated attack, Biden asserted that Vladimir Putin has been planning this for months. This is a dangerous moment for all of Europe, for the freedom around the world, he contended. While the 79-year-old president spent much of his speech discussing the peril of the situation, he remained optimistic about the future. In the contest between democracy and autocracy, between sovereignty and subjugation, make no mistake. Freedom will prevail, he said. Biden insisted that all available diplomatic options have been exhausted before indicating that he had authorized additional strong sanctions and new limitations on what can be exported to Russia. He maintained that the additional sanctions would impose severe costs on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time. We have purposefully designed these sanctions to maximize the long-term impact on Russia and to minimize the impact on the United States and our allies, he said. Biden touted a coalition of partners, including 27 members of the European Union, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and others. Biden had spoken with leaders of the G7, a coalition of the worlds largest democracies, earlier in the day. He reported that they were in full and total agreement in determining that we will limit Russias ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen to be part of the global economy. Were going to stop the ability of them to finance and grow the Russian military, he said. Were going to impair their ability to compete in [a] high-tech 21st-century economy. He cited the efforts of existing sanctions on the Russian economy and the strength of Russian currency as evidence that the approach would work. The new sanctions will expand to four additional banks in Russia, meaning every asset they have in America will be frozen. They will also apply to members of Russian elites who have personally gained from the Kremlins policies. Between our actions and those of our allies and partners, we estimate that well cut off more than half of Russias high-tech imports, Biden predicted. It will be a major hit to Putins long-term strategic ambitions. Biden stated that NATO, a group of nations formed during the Cold War to counter the Soviet Union, will convene a summit Friday. The summit will bring together the leaders of 30 allied nations and close partners to affirm our solidarity and to map out the next steps we will take to further strengthen all aspects of our NATO alliance. The president vowed that U.S. forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict with Russia and Ukraine" and acknowledged the presence of U.S. troops in Europe to defend our NATO allies and to reassure those allies in the east. Addressing the potential impact of heightened tensions with Russia on the price of gasoline in the U.S., Biden said that his administration was using every tool at its disposal to protect American families and businesses from rising prices at the gas pump. Shortly after Biden spoke, reports surfaced that Russian forces seized the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Northern Ukraine. Biden insisted that this aggression cannot go unanswered because America stands up to bullies, we stand up for freedom. This is who we are, he said. Biden detailed a conversation he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The president assured support for the Ukrainian people and vowed to provide humanitarian relief to the Eastern European country. In response to a question from a reporter, Biden declared that he has no plans to talk to Putin. He told another reporter that [t]he notion that this is going to last for a long time is highly unlikely as long as we continue to stay resolved in imposing the sanctions were going to impose on Russia. Biden pushed back on the idea that sanctions would not change Putins mind about taking further action in Ukraine because sanctions have failed to deter him thus far. He concluded that imposing the sanctions as opposed to simply threatening sanctions will weaken Russia so that Putin will have to make a very, very difficult choice as to whether to continue to move toward being a second-rate power or, in fact, respond. In addition to reaction from global political leaders, religious groups have also condemned Russias aggression against Ukraine. The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations released a statement Thursday expressing disappointment that the efforts to prevent the outbreak of war by many people around the world, including our Council, have not been successful. The truth and the international community are on the Ukrainian side, the statement reads. We believe that good will prevail with Gods help. We support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and all our defenders, we bless them in their defense of Ukraine from the aggressor, and offer our prayers for them. A poll from the Associated Press, released Wednesday, reveals that Americans do not want the United States to play a major role in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Just 26% of respondents want the U.S. to play a major role in the situation between Russia and Ukraine. Most Americans (52%) want the U.S. to play a minor role, while the remaining 22% think the U.S. should have no role in mediating the conflict. Pastors Robert Morris offers money-back guarantee if congregants tithe for a year and nothing happens Willow Creek Community Church Senior Pastor David Dummitt has offered his congregants a money-back guarantee if they tithe 10% of their income for a year and nothing happens. He made the offer Sunday after guest preacher Pastor Robert Morris revealed he's been offering the same guarantee to his nearly 40,000-member Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, for 22 years without a claim. Morris, who preached at Willow Creek on Sunday on The Principle of First as part of the suburban Chicago churchs sermon series More Than Money, was seeking to help boost falling revenues that the church has been experiencing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Roys Report. I dont want to exaggerate, but Im sure thousands and thousands of people, and Im sure its multiplied, that have told me some way over the years through email, letters, whatever, this changed my life, Morris noted in a YouTube Clip from his message on tithing the first 10% of one's income. When I started giving the first 10% to God it changed everything. And heres what Id like to do. Id like to just challenge you. Ive done this with our church. Ive told our church on multiple occasions, Ive said to them, if youll try it for one year, if you are not fully satisfied, at the end of that year, Ill give you your money back. With 22 years in the church, no ones ever asked for their money back, he said before suggesting to Dummitt that he should also offer the money-back guarantee. You know what? Im so confident, Ill say it here. You tithe for one year, if youre not fully satisfied, Dave will give you your money back, he said with a chuckle. In the YouTube clip posted by The Roys Report, Dummitt is then shown accepting the challenge. Ill just go ahead and say yes. Just like the Lord said, test me in this. I think Ill go ahead and be bold and say if you do this for the year and you are not fully satisfied, well give the money back. I like that challenge, he said. The Christian Post reached out to Willow Creek about the challenge on Thursday and while Dummitt was not immediately available for an interview, Liz Schauer, Willow Creeks marketing and communications director, noted in an email on Friday morning that: Our team is still exploring the potential program. The portion of Morris sermon about the money-back guarantee also appears to have been edited from the full sermon posted by Willow Creek Church. A majority of Evangelicals say tithing is a biblical commandment, but a recent study shows that only an estimated 13% engage in the practice, and half give less than 1% of their income annually. The study, "The Generosity Factor: Evangelicals and Giving," from Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts, a brand communication agency, shows that the average Evangelical gave $1,923 to the church and $622 to charity over the past 12 months, for a total of $2,545 in giving. At the median mark, however, Evangelicals only gave $340 to the church and $50 to charity, for a total of $390. The study found that people who were more engaged with their church and faith tended to give more to their church, and vice versa. The higher the household income of the Evangelical, the more they were also found to give. Among Evangelicals with a household income below $30,000 annually, the median total giving was found to be $300. This doubled to $600 when people earned $30,000 to $60,000. It more than doubled to $1,400 when the income was $60,000 to $100,000. At six figures, median giving registered at $2,200. Texas attorney general calls trans surgeries, puberty blockers 'child abuse' in formal opinion Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has released a formal opinion concluding that performing certain gender reassignment procedures on children constitutes child abuse under state law. In Opinion No. KP-0401, released last Friday, Paxton said that certain sex-change procedures and treatments can legally constitute child abuse under several provisions of chapter 261 of the Texas Family Code. Such procedures and treatments include castration, the removal of healthy body parts as well as the prescription of puberty-blocking drugs among others. Beyond the obvious harm of permanently sterilizing a child, these procedures and treatments can cause side effects and harms beyond permanent infertility, the opinion states. The medical evidence does not demonstrate that children and adolescents benefit from engaging in these irreversible sterilization procedures. Paxton argued that such invasive gender reassignment procedures, like removing private parts, would deprive the child of the fundamental right to procreate, which supports a finding of child abuse under the Family Code. Because children are legally incompetent to consent to sterilization, procedures and treatments that result in a childs sterilization are unauthorized and infringe on the childs fundamental right to procreate, the opinion continued. The lack of authority of a minor to consent to an irreversible sterilization procedure is consistent with other law. The federal Medicaid program does not allow for parental consent, has established a minimum age of 21 for consent to sterilization procedures, and imposes detailed requirements for obtaining that consent. In a statement Monday, Paxton said that there was no doubt that these procedures are abuse under Texas law, and thus must be halted. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has a responsibility to act accordingly. Ill do everything I can to protect against those who take advantage of and harm young Texans, he added. Last August, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Jamie Masters published a letter asserting that genital mutilation of a child through reassignment surgery is child abuse, subject to all rules and procedures pertaining to child abuse. Masters' letter came after Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott requested that the agency issue a determination of whether genital mutilation of a child for purposes of gender transitioning through reassignment surgery constitutes child abuse. Last December, Paxtons office announced an investigation into Endo Pharmaceuticals and AbbVie Inc. under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act due to the promotion of medications as puberty blockers. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of puberty-blocking drugs for the sake of gender transition but has approved such medication for children who start puberty at a very young age. Some medical organizations, however, contend that puberty blockers and other gender transition procedures for minors can be beneficial to children suffering from gender dysphoria. The American Medical Association, for example, released an open letter last April arguing that state governments should not prohibit gender reassignment procedures for youth. Such decisions must be sensitive to the childs clinical situation, nurture the childs short and long-term development, and balance the need to preserve the childs opportunity to make important life choices autonomously in the future, stated the AMA in a letter. We believe it is inappropriate and harmful for any state to legislatively dictate that certain transition-related services are never appropriate and limit the range of options physicians and families may consider when making decisions for pediatric patients. According to the Mayo Clinic, the benefits of puberty-blocking medicines for gender dysphoria might include reducing depression among youths and preventing the need for future surgery. Nevertheless, the clinic warns that taking puberty blockers remains a big step that can have a long-term impact on bodily growth, bone density and fertility. In addition, delaying puberty beyond ones peers can be stressful, the Mayo Clinic explained. Your child might experience lower self-esteem. The conservative American College of Pediatricians, an association of physicians and healthcare professionals "dedicated to the health and well-being of children," has long voiced its opposition to using puberty-blocking drugs on children with gender dysphoria. "There is not a single long-term study to demonstrate the safety or efficacy of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries for transgender-believing youth," the association says in an online statement. "This means that youth transition is experimental, and therefore, parents cannot provide informed consent, nor can minors provide assent for these interventions. Moreover, the best long-term evidence we have among adults shows that medical intervention fails to reduce suicide." Are we on the edge of World War III? What are the implications of Russias invasion of Ukraine? Could it be that we are on the edge of a massively costly, truly disastrous, global war? And what does this feel like for the people of Ukraine? The brother of my personal assistant is married to a Ukrainian woman (they both live here in the US), and as of Thursday morning, my assistant received this report from his brother: Her parents, who live now in Nova Kakhovka [in Ukraine] have Russian flags planted in their city. Roads and bridges and some airports have been blown up. Theres no access to fuel and the grocery stores have no food. And that was within hours of the invasion. What is coming next? Because of my lack of expertise in European-Russian geo-political affairs, I have not offered my own commentary on the current crisis, relying more on the opinion of those more versed in these important subjects. Yet some of what these experts have to say is quite alarming. On my Thursday broadcast of the Line of Fire, I interviewed Fred Markert, who came to faith in 1973 while living in Berlin and immediately got involved with smuggling Bibles into Communist Eastern Europe. Since then, he has ministered in 150 countries and served as a leader in a worldwide missions organization. But he is not only keenly aware of what is happening spiritually around the world. He has a real grasp of world history and understands some of the key geo-political developments taking place today. He explained that, unlike America, Russia has no natural barriers on its borders, whereas we are protected by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific to the west (Markert called them the two largest moats in the world), with friendly countries neighboring us to the north and south. In contrast, Russia is surrounded by plains and has been invaded 6 times in the last few hundred years, and thus there is a certain paranoia about being invaded again. Accordingly, Russia feels more secure when it has buffer countries around it. CNN correspondent Eliza Mackintosh explained: "Ukraine was a cornerstone of the Soviet Union until it voted overwhelmingly for independence in a democratic referendum in 1991, a milestone that turned out to be a death knell for the failing superpower. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO pushed eastward, bringing into the fold most of the Eastern European nations that had been in the Communist orbit. In 2004, NATO added the former Soviet Baltic republics Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Four years later, it declared its intention to offer membership to Ukraine some day in the distant future crossing a red line for Russia. Putin sees NATO's expansion as an existential threat, and the prospect of Ukraine joining the Western military alliance a hostile act a view he invoked in a televised speech on Thursday, saying that Ukraine's aspiration to join the military alliance was a dire threat to Russia." Heightening the tension was the NATO declaration in 2008 that it would bring both Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. This was perceived as a further provocation by Putin, similar to China or North Korea or Iran moving some of their armies into Canada or Mexico. How would we feel? (Think back to the Cuban Missile Crisis.) In Russias eyes (or, in Putins eyes), the expansion of NATO, coupled with the growth of Western democracies, is perceived as a very real threat. And this, coupled with Putins apparent megalomaniacal vision to reconstitute the Soviet Union, is a recipe for disaster. Also, given the fact that Stalin resettled Russians in different neighboring countries during the time of Soviet expansion, Putin can say today that he is fighting for his own citizens in countries like Ukraine. It is about our own peoples freedom and independence, he can argue. I asked Markert what the worst-case scenario was. He pointed out that our failed withdrawal from Afghanistan reminded the world that we are not the only superpower today, as we had been since 1992. Rather, there are three: America, Russia, and China, meaning that there is real potential that Russias invasion of Ukraine could provoke World War III. He said that this is a not minor thing, describing it as a hinge of history and a pivotal moment. He also opined that how the West responds will determine the future of the next 100 years. Yet, Markert stated, We are between a rock and a hard place in terms of how we respond. If the West engages militarily, it could easily escalate into World War III. If we dont engage militarily, it will embolden countries like China, North Korea, and Iran to take similar action. (Just look at Chinas recent sword-rattling when it comes to Taiwan.) Thus, in many ways, it is a lose-lose situation right now. Certainly, we need to be praying! As for international Christian perception of Trump and Biden, Markert said that the Christian leaders he knew around the globe did not like Trump in terms of his personality. But they did like his policies, and because he was considered unpredictable, that kept these aggressive, foreign nations at bay. (Think back to Trumps threat to North Koreas Rocket Man that my [nuclear] button is bigger than yours!) In contrast, these leaders see the current administration as weak, which is why we are seeing these aggressive acts by Russia (today) and perhaps others in the future. (At this point, this observation would appear to be self-evident.) Interestingly, according to Markert, the biggest world issue today is the ongoing decline of America. And, he stated, the reason for our decline is our immorality, both internally (it is destroying us) and externally (we are exporting it around the world through our movies and music and porn). Yet, he believes, if America can regain its moral footing, God will bless us and reestablish us as the worlds superpower, resulting in many, positive, international results. This is why Markert is devoting so much of his time and attention to working towards a Great Awakening in America. So, the situation really is quite critical, and we should cry out to God for mercy, wisdom, and intervention. Many lives hang in the balance. But God can turn this crisis into something positive if we respond to Him rightly. (Theres much more to this fascinating interview, which you can watch here.) Biden enacts sanctions on Russia, vows to 'go further' if Putin continues 'invasion' of Ukraine President Joe Biden has announced that sanctions to cut Russia off from Western financing will go into effect, promising to go further with measures if Russia continues what he called an invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he recognized the independence of two pro-Russian regions located in Eastern Ukraine, prompting outrage from Western powers. Reports indicate that Putin had ordered Russian troops to enter the two breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk. During a speech Tuesday afternoon in response to Putin, Biden told the press that he considered Putins words a rationale to justify taking more territory by force, noting that the Russian president claimed additional territory in Ukraine. This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, said Biden. Im going to begin to impose sanctions in response far beyond the steps we and our allies and partners implemented in 2014. If Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions. Who in the Lords name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belong to his neighbors? Biden called Putins actions a flagrant violation of international law that requires a firm response from the international community, especially through sanctions. Im announcing the first tranche of sanctions to impose costs on Russia in response to their actions yesterday, said Biden. These have been closely coordinated with our allies and partners, and well continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates. Were implementing full blocking sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions, VEB and their military bank. Were implementing comprehensive sanctions on Russian sovereign debt. That means weve cut off Russias government from Western finances. It can no longer raise money from the West. Starting last November, Russia began placing troops on its border with Ukraine and in nearby allied nation Belarus. Experts estimate that as many as 150,000 soldiers are present. For much of its history, Russia has controlled Ukraine either in part or in whole, with the eastern portion of the country having a sizable pro-Russian population. This historic control has been brutal at times, such as during the 1930s when Soviet Union dictator Joseph Stalins collectivist policies caused millions of Ukrainian deaths. In 2014, Russia moved against Ukraine by annexing their strategic peninsula, Crimea, prompting sanctions and outrage from Western powers, including the United States. Last week, evangelical leader Franklin Graham, who has met with Putin in the past, called on his supporters to pray that the Russian president will avoid war. This may sound like a strange request, and I might get some angry comments, but we need to pray that God would work in his heart so that war and the loss of thousands of lives could be avoided at all cost, posted Graham to Facebook. May God give wisdom to the leaders involved in these talks and negotiations, as well as those advising them. Our prayers might make the difference between life and death. Italian court blocks referendum on assisted suicide Catholic bishops in Italy have welcomed an intervention by the country's constitutional court that prevents a referendum being held on physician-assisted suicide. Holding a referendum was backed by 1.2 million Italians who signed a petition submitted to the court last October requesting a vote on the issue. It would have asked Italians whether they supported decriminalizing the practice in Italy. On Tuesday, the constitutional court said that changing the law would mean that "the constitutionally necessary minimum protection of human life, in general, and with particular reference to weak and vulnerable persons, would not be preserved." The decision was welcomed by the Catholic bishops' conference who said that the court's pronouncement recognizes the need to "never marginalize the commitment of society, as a whole, to offer the support necessary to overcome or alleviate the situation of suffering or distress." Earlier this month, Pope Francis condemned the "unacceptable drifts towards killing" and said that euthanasia and assisted suicide were "neither human nor Christian." The pope argued that society should instead be committed to providing palliative care that enables "every person who is preparing to live the last stretch of their life [to] do so in the most human way possible." "We must accompany people toward death, but not promote death or facilitate any form of suicide," he said in a general audience on Feb. 9. Originally published at Christian Today Art Dubai: The energy in the city is palpable Dubais cultural life is booming: the diversity of its population is reflected in the mix of whats on show from paintings to installations to NFTs and the citys annual art fair offers works by artists from almost every country under the sun Dubai is having a moment. The energy in the city is palpable, says Michael Jeha, chairman of Christies Middle East. Theres been a very noticeable shift in mood over the past 12 months: everyone is going out again, real estate is booming, and were seeing new and younger collectors, as well as the emergence of a strong crypto community. The influx of people is in part due to recent government initiatives, such as the Golden visa, and in part to Dubais relatively lenient pandemic policy. (By September 2021, around 80 per cent of the adult population in the UAE had been fully vaccinated.) Dubai opened up a lot earlier than everyone else, says Jeha. A lot of people flew to Dubai to escape restrictions from wherever they were, and many of them have stayed, which has created a revitalised and vibrant community. If we want to attract the international community, we cannot be a serial copy of a Western fair Pablo del Val, artistic director of Art Dubai The diversity of Dubais population, of which around 85 per cent is expatriate, is reflected in the rich mix of arts and culture showcased across the city. In addition to a strong offering of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, youll see works by artists from nearly every land under the sun. The opening in 2018 of the Jameel Arts Centre, which shows both Middle Eastern and international contemporary art, did much to bolster the citys reputation as a thriving cultural hub. As did the development of Alserkal Avenue, now home to a wide range of local and international art galleries, performing arts organisations, design studios, creative enterprises and community spaces. Open a larger version of this image Concrete, a multi-displinary space in Alserkal Avenue designed by OMA. Artwork: While We Wait, 2017, by architects Elias & Yousef Anastas. Photo: Musthafa Aboobacker. Courtesy of Alserkal Avenue Its also where you'll find the Alserkal Arts Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation founded by the Alserkal family to support public art commissions, residencies, research and educational programmes. These initiatives have really consolidated Dubais position as a global centre of the arts, says Jeha. The local population is now in the habit of going to exhibitions and engaging with art on both a commercial and community level. The Dubai Collection, founded in 2020 by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority in partnership with Art Dubai Group, has also played a significant role in enriching the emirates creative economy. The initiative has been developed in collaboration with local patrons, who loan works to the Dubai Collection so that they can go on public display, bringing the community closer to art and artists. Open a larger version of this image Installation view of When Images Speak at the Etihad Museum. Photo: courtesy of the Dubai Collection In November last year, the Dubai Collection opened its first physical exhibition, When Images Speak, at the Etihad Museum (until 6 May). It presents around 70 modern and contemporary artworks from the region, loaned from the collections of 11 patrons, including His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. Alongside the physical exhibition, the Dubai Collection launched the Digital Museum, a virtual educational resource accessible to the public, featuring the artworks and artists represented in the collection alongside editorial content. Then theres Al Khayat Avenue, a new development poised to house around 50 arts and creative businesses in Dubais expanding Al Quoz arts district. Among the new arrivals is the African art specialist Efie Gallery, which opens on 8 March with a solo exhibition of new work by the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui. Open a larger version of this image El Anatsui (b. 1944), Detsi, 2022. Aluminium and copper. 300 x 800 cm. Image courtesy of Efie Gallery The government is investing a huge amount of money, resources and expertise in Al Khayat Avenue, says Valentina Mintah, one of the gallerys three co-founders. As one of the first movers, we hope to capitalise on this investment and create a platform for collaboration and exchange between the two regions. Mintah cites the growing interest in West African art among collectors within the Middle East, especially Dubai, as another reason for opening there. This appetite has been cultivated by institutions such as the Sharjah Art Foundation, The Africa Institute and the AKKA Project, she says. With our focus on art from West Africa, were in a strong position to satiate this demand. Art Dubai reflects the breadth of communities in the city. You can see works by an Iranian, a Saudi, an Indian, a Pakistani, a Nigerian and a Latin American side by side Pablo del Val For Pablo del Val, artistic director of Art Dubai, the rich mix is what sets Dubais leading art fair apart from its competitors. If we want to attract the international community, we cannot be a serial copy of a Western fair, he says, explaining that more than 50 per cent of the fair programme is drawn from the Global South. Art Dubai reflects the breadth of communities living in the city, he continues. You can see booths with works by an Iranian, a Saudi, an Indian, a Pakistani, a Nigerian and a Latin American side by side. In the West, youd probably see one of those nationalities followed by five Westerners. The norm here is what is an exception elsewhere. Open a larger version of this image Meem Gallery at Art Dubai, 2021. Photo: Courtesy of Art Dubai and chrissified The largest edition to date of Art Dubai (11-13 March) will bring together more than 100 galleries from over 40 countries. Among the 33 newcomers are well-known international names such as Paris-based Galerie Julien Cadet, Keumsan Gallery from Seoul and Volte Art Projects, which opened an 8,000-square-foot space in Alserkal Avenue in September last year. After 14 years in Mumbai, our programme had become very international, and it made sense for us to relocate to a much larger market and audience like Dubai, says Voltes founder Tushar Jiwarajka. Unlike in India, where most collectors tend to collect only Indian art, the market here is more open to international work. Dubais geography was another draw, he adds: Voltes presentations tend to be big, bold and iconic, which is made possible by the scale of the space weve come to call home at Alserkal Avenue. Open a larger version of this image Raghava KK, Guernica IV, 2020. Acrylic on Canvas. 256 x 536cm. Photo: courtesy of Volte Art Projects For their Art Dubai debut, Volte will bring work by Wim Delvoye, Anish Kapoor and Studio Drift, among others. The presentation, Jiwarajka explains, will be split across two booths: one will be in the Contemporary section and will show a new work by Nalini Malani alongside her monumental Despoiled Shore; the other, in the Digital section, will feature a new digital iteration of Raghava KKs The Guernica Project. Art Dubai Digital and the appetite for NFTs Londons Institut, Dubai-based Morrow Collective and Anna Laudel, which has outposts in Dusseldorf and Istanbul, are among the other exhibitors taking part in Art Dubai Digital, a new section that will provide a comprehensive introduction to this fast-developing area through curated displays and an extensive talks programme Participating in the Digital section will allow us to better understand the new dynamics in the field, explains gallery director Anna Laudel. It will also give us a chance to introduce our artists producing new-media works to a wide range of audiences. The gallery will be presenting new NFT works by Flora Borsi and Sarp Kerem Yavuz, both of which will be exhibited for the first time. Open a larger version of this image Osinachi (b. 1991), Man in the Window, part of Block Party, a selling exhibition of NFTs held by Christies Dubai Open a larger version of this image Sarp Kerem Yavuz, Eller Hands, 2016. Print on Hahnemuhle Luster Paper. 70 x 50 cm. Photo: courtesy of Anna Laudel Gallery For Del Val, the section serves as an important bridge between the global crypto-sphere and the international art market. With Dubai emerging as the capital of blockchain, the appetite for NFTs is only going to increase, says Del Val. Its crucial that all our collectors, digital and traditional, understand the blockchain, the vocabulary around NFTs, and the technology being used to create them. As one of the leading art fairs in the region, we are well positioned to offer this educational programme. Christies is also taking steps to engage the citys burgeoning crypto community. Between 7 and 29 March, Christies Dubai will present Block Party, the first exhibition of NFTs in the region. Curated by Daria Borisova, it will explore the meteoric rise of NFTs over the past year, while examining the historical context from which they have emerged, alongside cryptocurrency, video art and virtual reality. Open a larger version of this image Nicole Ruggiero (b.1991), How long will you love me? (2021) Installed in the Dubai International Financial Centre, it will feature works by a selection of the worlds leading NFT artists, including Olive Allen, Justin Aversano and Rewind Collective. Among the highlights will be Nicole Ruggieros How long will you love me? (2021), above, and Man in the Window by 30-year-old Osinachi, Africas foremost crypto artist. Jewellery and watches Christies is also presenting Rock Party (7-13 March), a selling exhibition of fine jewellery in collaboration with A2Z gallery. Alongside a curated selection of pieces from leading contemporary designers such as JAR, Sabba and Nikos Koulis will be jewels from historic houses including Cartier, Bulgari and Harry Winston. Open a larger version of this image Fancy vivid yellow diamond, emerald and pearl sautoir by JAR. Offered in Rock Party A Selling Exhibition of Jewellery Wonders (7-13 March) at Christies in Dubai. Price on request Treasures on show include a fancy vivid yellow diamond, emerald and pearl sautoir by JAR (above) and a striking pair of emerald, diamond and black enamel earrings by Nikos Koulis (below). Theres a very strong demand for jewellery in Dubai right now, explains Jeha of the curatorial thinking behind Rock Party. Other luxury categories, including design, handbags and watches, are also enjoying an uptick in market interest. Open a larger version of this image Emerald, diamond and black enamel earrings, Oui collection by Nikos Koulis. Offered in Rock Party A Selling Exhibition of Jewellery Wonders (7-13 March) at Christies in Dubai. Price on request The strong performance of Christies Watches department in Dubai last year achieving a record annual total of $24.5 million is proof of this development. Watches Online: The Dubai Edit achieved $14.1 million, the highest total for any online watch sale at Christies. Among the notable results was a Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref. 5002P-001, which sold for $1,590,000 to become the most expensive watch in the Middle East. Dubai is an increasingly important hub for the watch-collecting community, notes Remy Julia, head of Watches at Christies in Dubai, which gives sellers the assurance of achieving strong prices for exceptional pieces. Open a larger version of this image The Rolex Daytona Rainbow and Richard Mille RM 70-01 Tourbillon Alain Prost, both offered in Watches Online: The Dubai Edit, 15-29 March 2022 Highlights of the upcoming online sale (15-29 March) include a Richard Mille RM70-01 Tourbillon Alain Prost, one of just 30 pieces created in partnership with the four-time Formula One champion; and a highly sought-after Rolex Daytona Rainbow, set with 36 baguette-cut sapphires in a gradation of colours around the bezel. While digital solutions have proved a robust alternative to live events during the pandemic, Jeha thinks there will always be a place for physical experiences in the art business. They are integral to building relationships, networking and experimentation, he says. You just cant replicate that one-to-one human connection. Sign up today Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe U.S. President Joe Biden delivers an address on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, from the East Room of the White House, Feb. 24, in Washington. AFP-Yonhap World leaders condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as ''barbaric'' Thursday and quickly slapped heavy sanctions on the Russian economy, President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and many of the country's oligarchs. ''Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences,'' U.S. President Joe Biden declared. In near-unison, the United States, the 27-nation European Union and other Western allies announced a round of punitive measures against Russian banks and leading companies and imposed export controls aimed at starving the country's industries and military of semiconductors and other high-tech products. From the U.S. to Western Europe and Japan, South Korea and Australia, nations lined up to denounce the Kremlin as the outbreak of fighting raised fears about the shape of Europe to come. The invasion initially sent stocks slumping and oil prices surging on fears of higher costs for food and fuel. The West and its allies showed no inclination to send troops into Ukraine a non-member of NATO and risk a wider war on the continent. But NATO reinforced its member states in Eastern Europe as a precaution against an attack on them, too. ''Make no mistake: We will defend every ally against any attack on every inch of NATO territory,'' said NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. In the meantime, countries began taking steps to isolate Moscow in hopes of forcing it to pay so high a price that it changes course. Biden, for now, held off imposing some of the most severe sanctions, including cutting Russia out of the SWIFT payment system, which allows for the transfers of money from bank to bank around the globe. Ukraine's president called for Russia to be cast out of SWIFT, but the U.S. has expressed concern about the potential damage to European economies. From the U.S. Congress, there was widespread support for slapping devastating sanctions on Russia, even as lawmakers from both parties urged the White House to impose even further financial restrictions to halt Putin's attack on Ukraine. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he encouraged Biden to ''ratchet up'' sanctions to inflict as much economic pain as possible on the Russian regime. ''It's pretty clear that members of the U.S. Congress, regardless of party, want us to present a totally united front,'' McConnell said. EU leaders held an emergency summit and agreed on sanctions that cover, among other things, the financial, energy and transport sectors and various Russian individuals. In a statement, the leaders said the measures will have ''massive and severe consequences'' for Russia. The details will not become available until Friday at the earliest. I didnt need to use words, but colours and lines: The painterly poetry of Etel Adnan The California-based poet, philosopher and novelist discovered painting as a means of expression after struggling to come to terms with war in Algeria and her native Lebanon. Illustrated with works from a private collection offered in March at Christies in London Towards the end of her life, Etel Adnan (1925-2021) was asked what advice she could offer the aspiring writer or artist. Not to be afraid, she said with characteristic fervour. Be audacious, take risks! The advice came from lived experience. The influential feminist artist and writer had witnessed first-hand the tumultuous changes that took place in the Middle East during the 20th century, including the Lebanese Civil War, and it instilled in her a drive to challenge conventions throughout her life. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1925, Etel Adnan was the only child of a mixed marriage. Her father, a Muslim Syrian, was a high-ranking official in the Ottoman Army and a former classmate of Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of the Turkish Republic. Her mother, Lily, was Greek Orthodox. This anomalous position was heightened by her education at a French convent school. From the age of five, Adnan spoke only French, and this was to have a decisive impact on her creativity in later life. Open a larger version of this image Etel Adnan (1925-2021), Untitled, circa 1960. Oil on metal. Diameter: 7 in (17.8 cm) At 20 she was writing verse. For years I was convinced that the whole human race was created in order to sit on sidewalks and read poetry, she said. She won a scholarship to study philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris, and subsequently finished her education in the United States, at Berkeley and Harvard. On the outbreak of the Algerian War of Independence in 1954, Adnan suffered an existential crisis, realising she could only speak the language of those she considered the oppressors. I couldnt write freely in a language that faced me with deep conflict, she said. This marked her creatively as an engaged, anti-imperialist writer. It also led her to try painting, discovering in abstract art a language without language problems. It was, she said, the equivalent of poetic expression. I didnt need to use words, but colours and lines. On 2 March, Christies is offering two early oils on canvas by Adnan in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale, in addition to several works on paper and a tondo in First Open: Post-War and Contemporary Art Online. Most of the works were created while the artist was living and teaching in California in the early 1960s. Adnan drew inspiration from the Californian landscape. In later years she recalled how Mount Tamalpais, one of the highest peaks in the San Francisco Bay Area, had come to obsess her, likening it to the way Mont Sainte-Victoire had haunted Cezanne. It became a poem around which I orientated myself, she wrote. In 1986, she published a meditation on the mountain, Journey to Mount Tamalpais. In many respects, Adnans paintings are as succinct as her poems; they interpret themes and feelings through rhythm and colour. Charles Baudelaire once wrote that colourists are epic poets, and Adnans vibrant abstracts certainly embody this idea. Open a larger version of this image Etel Adnan (1925-2021), Untitled, circa 1960. Oil on canvas. 24 x 18 in (61 x 45.7 cm). Sold for 201,600 on 2 March 2022 at Christies in London Untitled, circa 1960 (above), is a work of contrasts of yellow light, vermilion red and dense green. The colours seem to jump around with terrific energy. Adnan was a swift painter, laying her canvas flat on a table like a sheet of paper and using a palette knife to make rapid marks as if she were writing a letter. She chose her tool with similar expediency it was so much quicker to wipe paint off a palette knife than to wash a brush. The application of paint in Lumiere 2, circa 1960 (below), is equally lively. The colours seem to echo the Californian landscape in all its myriad forms the diffused morning sky, the dense, wet sand, the pale pink of apricots, the green hills. Open a larger version of this image Etel Adnan (1925-2021), Lumiere 2, circa 1960. Oil on canvas laid on board. 17 x 13 in (44.5 x 34.9 cm). Sold for 113,400 on 2 March 2022 at Christies in London In 1972 Adnan returned to Lebanon to work as a cultural editor for the daily newspaper Al Safa. As tensions grew and sectarian violence increased, she became more and more outspoken. It was also in Beirut that Adnan met the artist Simone Fattal, who became her long-term partner and artistic collaborator. Two years into the Lebanese Civil War, Adnan published Sitt Marie Rose, a novel based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of a young woman. It is a beautiful and disturbing book, unrelenting in its critical presentation of the masculine, parochial and racist ideologies of Lebanons Christian militias. On its publication in 1977, the artist received death threats and lost her job at the newspaper LOrient-Le Jour. Who asked you to write what you think? demanded her editor. It went on to win the Amitie Franco-Arab Prize for literature, and is today considered the greatest novel of the Lebanese Civil War, a conflict that would endure until 1990. Fearful for their safety, Adnan and Fattal left Lebanon for Paris, eventually moving to the United States and settling in Sausalito, a few miles north of San Francisco, in 1979. Throughout this time she continued to paint When I paint I am happy, she said but it was not until 2012, when Adnan was in her late eighties, that she received recognition as an artist. She exhibited at Documenta that year, and later at the Serpentine Gallery in London and the Guggenheim in New York. Sign up today Christies Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe (Bloomberg) -- State legislatures across the U.S. are drafting bills to prohibit business with finance firms that restrict ties to the oil and gas industry, following in the footsteps of Texas. Last year, the Lone Star state prohibited government contracts with or pension investments in companies that have shunned fossil-fuel producers. The group behind the measure, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, has transmitted model legislation to states through the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate-funded lobby that disseminates bills popular among Republicans. Louisiana, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kansas and South Carolina are among states considering similar measures. With President Joe Biden and other world leaders promising to pursue a net-zero emissions future, many of the largest U.S. banks are restructuring their lending portfolios. Citigroup Inc. last year said that it wont provide services to certain oil and drilling projects or coal mines. Bank of America Corp. has pledged to zero out greenhouse-gas emissions from its financing activities, operations and supply chain by 2050. And Blackstone is telling its clients its private-equity arm will no longer invest in exploration and production. Texas is the nations No. 1 oil and gas producer, but its economy is increasingly diverse, thanks to knowledge industries in Austin and the high-profile relocation of electric car-maker Tesla Inc. Brent Bennett, a policy director at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, said the state has to protect its traditional mainstay. We dont want Texas supporting those policies, Bennett said. We dont think its good financially for Texas. Attacking ESG The group started working on the idea when oil prices began falling and there was a wide push for sustainable investing, he said. With the rising popularity of ESG investing in 2020, that drove a lot of people in the industry to look at it and say something needs to be done, Bennett said. The Texas Public Policy Foundation has received funding from Koch Industries, the massive conglomerate thats involved in everything from oil refining to producing fertilizer and paper. The group brought up a model bill at a December meeting hosted by ALEC, which convenes corporate lobbyists and conservative state politicians and also has Koch backing. The measure was inspired by a 2017 law that prohibited economic activity with companies that boycott Israel, which ALEC spread to many states. The councils board still must give its imprimatur to the energy measure, Bennett said. Texass oil industry would benefit from such legislation. Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, blamed investment cuts for a global energy shortage, which has led to spiking gasoline prices in the U.S. Texans value the indispensable role that the oil and natural gas industry plays in our states economy, Staples said in a statement. Due to adverse policies and restricted investment in oil and natural gas, we are seeing unnecessary supply constraints. Big State But Texas is no longer just an oil and gas state, said Luke Metzger, executive director for the nonprofit group Environment Texas. The industry has been making up a smaller share of jobs over the years as the state diversifies into other areas like professional services, health care and real estate. Texass economy is the second-largest in the U.S. and has benefited from an influx of people and businesses -- many from California, the biggest state economy, which is home to a tolerant political culture and cutting-edge tech companies. Clearly, the state is interested in promoting clean energy and attracting companies that are committed to sustainability to Texas, Metzger said. But then you have a law like this that completely sends the opposite message and works to put the thumb on the scale on behalf of dirty energy. Banks are divesting from fossil fuels just as shale explorers are supercharging returns to investors. Oil drillers have the most free cash flow in seven years, when crude last traded for more than $100 a barrel. But a paramount concern for management teams assembled in Houston for the World Petroleum Conference in December was whether the industry is investing enough in new drilling to meet demand and stabilize prices. Investment is the greatest challenge the oil industry faces today, said John Hess, chief executive officer of the U.S. shale giant Hess Corp. Oil and gas are going to be needed for the next 10 to 20 years, and a lot of it is going to be needed. Making a List The Texas measure -- which the industry likes to call the energy discrimination law -- went into effect Sept. 1 and the state treasurers office said it has already begun working on the divestment list, which it has a year to complete. Its unclear what practical impact the law will have, because it permits exceptions when divesting would hurt a funds performance. Still, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick asked the treasurer to put BlackRock Inc., the worlds largest asset manager, at the top of its blacklist last month, accusing the firm of being hostile to oil and gas. The firm has disputed Patricks assertions and said it will continue to invest in Texas fossil-fuel companies. BlackRock has also faced blowback from other energy-producing states, with West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore saying doing business with the firm is against the interests of the state economy. A Republican lawmaker introduced legislation requiring the treasurer to publish a list of finance firms engaged in boycotts of energy companies, in line with the Texas bill. It remains in committee. 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Everlong Bar & Hideaway, one of chef Chris Shepherd's forthcoming concepts inspired by the Foo Fighters, will not open after all. Underbelly Hospitality representative Lindsey Brown said on Friday that the group no longer plans to go forward with the bar, which was slated to replace the recently closed UB Preserv restaurant at 1609 Westheimer in Montrose. "Underbelly Hospitality has decided not to move forward on Everlong," Brown said. "Theyve decided to focus their bar efforts on the upstairs lounge of Georgia James (Georgias Parlor is the working name right now)." According to Brown, Underbelly Hospitality partner Todd Mason is looking to hand over the lease of the former UB Preserv to a willing leasee who can begin immediate operations with the location's existing amenities. "The lease on 1609 Westheimer is up in November, and Todd is currently looking for someone who wants a turn-key restaurant (tables, chairs, equipment, etc.) to take over the lease," Brown said. Georgia James is delayed by a month, now scheduled to open in May. Pastore should open in June or July. Previous descriptions of Everlong positioned the concept as the spiritual successor to Underbelly Hospitality's popular Hay Merchant beer bar, which was adjacent to the group's Georgia James flagship location at 1100 Westheimer. Both of them closed in December. An ode to Shepherd's love of the American alt-rock band, the bar's name was based on the famous Foo Fighters song "Everlong," and, perhaps ironically, drew on the idea of permanencea rare commodity on the Houston food scene in the age of COVID-19. As it stands now, much of the Underbelly Hospitality portfolio is in a state of flux. Georgia James is currently operating out of the group's One Fifth space at it awaits the completion of its permanent digs in Regent Square just off Allen Parkway in May. Pastore, Underbelly's new Italian concept, will also open in Regent Square later this summer. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Doctors often tell Jim McDermott his healthy habits have made his body five years younger than his chronological age of 74. The Air Force veteran credits many years of martial arts and more recently yoga with helping him stay in top form and avoiding injury in his senior years. As a cancer survivor and having had some lung and hearing issues, he said the health benefits of yoga have been phenomenal for him. Now as a trained yoga instructor, he is bringing the benefits of yoga to others in the community. At 11 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday, McDermott hosts free yoga sessions for veterans and seniors at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4709 in Conroe. The sessions just started with the new year, but he sees the program growing as the year continues on. On YourConroeNews.com: First female commander leads Conroe's VFW Post In February 2021, he started doing yoga programs at the HEARTS Veterans Museum of Texas in Huntsville. However, that program quickly outgrew the museum and now meets in a larger space at the Huntsville First United Methodist Church. He said they started with about six students in Huntsville and the group has now grown to about 50 to 60 people that meet at 2 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday. On Feb. 1, they had more than 80 people celebrate the first anniversary of the Huntsville group. As the class grows, theres no better compliment as a teacher to see 55 people coming to do this every week twice a week, he said. What wonderful feedback and this really gives me purpose. McDermott, who lives in The Woodlands, served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966 through 1970 being stationed in Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam. His is now a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4709 in Conroe and serves as a member of the Posts Honor Guard group. When he was in his 30s, he took up martial arts. But when he got to 65, he noticed his body could not recover from breaking boards as quickly as when he was younger. Then he turned to yoga to keep his mind and body alert. He then developed a mission to help fellow veterans and seniors through their health challenges. Its his goal to help seniors be able to continue their daily functions as he addresses breathing, increasing muscle memory and strength, balance, cardio strength and keeping their brains sharp. We really try to focus on balance because one of the biggest fears of seniors is falling. They may get through the initial fall, but there are other issues that can come about from a fall, he said. When we get in a situation where were out of our center of gravity, then our brain and our muscles really start working and figuring out Oh, what do I need to do here? And theres no time to stop and think when youre in a fall and heading toward the ground. On YourConroeNews.com: Vietnam veterans celebrated at Conroe VFW Post Having better muscle strength, muscle memory and balance can help should a fall take place. Improving cardio will also raise the heart rate which strengthens the heart and breathing exercises can keep the brain sharp, he said. His method uses chair-based yoga where many of the movements are done while sitting. Some moves however are done while standing and holding onto the chair. As he has worked with the Huntsville students, some students have mastered the yoga squat pose to the point that they no longer need the chair. I get reports from many of the Huntsville students that its really, really improving their health, he said. Beverly BJ Johnson, a member of the Conroe VFW auxiliary, regularly practiced yoga at the Conroe Family YMCA until the facility closed at the beginning of the pandemic. She couldnt wait to get back to yoga when the Conroe Posts junior vice commander Marcey Phillips told her about the Conroe VFW program. Right afterward I feel energized and cleansed. You feel so good after youve stretch from head to toe, she said. She also finds the yoga helps her stay on track in her other health goals. For her, the yoga program as another way to introduce people in the community to the VFW. Were reaching out in a different way to get people to come in, she said. A lot of people dont know about the VFW and everything it has to offer. If they know that we do this, then maybe theyll realize all the other things we do and how we can help them. Additionally, getting together is a special social time for Johnson and the other members of the class. Phillips service dog, Beignet, joins their class, greets the participants and often sits next to McDermott on stage as he calls out poses like angry cat and happy cow. There are good people and good friends who come here. We really care about each other, Johnson said. Upcoming activities include a commemoration of Desert Storm-Liberation of Kuwait at 6:30 p.m. this Wednesday, a chili cook-off starting at 9 a.m. March 12 and the 2nd Annual Vietnam Veteran Welcome Home celebration at 6 p.m. March 30. The Conroe VFW Post is located at 1303 W. Semands in Conroe. For more information on the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4709 in Conroe, visit https://www.vfw4709.org/ or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/vfwpost4709. shernandez@hcnonline.com Smoke rises from Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Kyiv, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine, Feb. 24. Reuters-Yonhap The missile fragment pierced the ceiling of Mikhail Shcherbakov's apartment in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. A Russian attack, after weeks of rhetoric and warning signs, had hit home. ''I heard noise and woke up. I realized it sounded like artillery,'' Shcherbakov said. He jumped from the couch and ran to wake his mother, and something exploded behind him. The missile left a nearby computer and teacup shrouded with dust, instant artifacts of Europe's latest crisis. At dawn Thursday, Ukrainians' uneasy efforts at normality were shattered. Smoke rose from cities, even ones well away from a long-running separatist conflict in the country's east. By the end of the day, many of the capital's residents had taken shelter deep underground, in Kyiv's metro system. ''Today I had the worst sunrise in my life,'' said another Kharkiv resident, who gave her name only as Sasha. She rushed to her balcony and realized the sounds that had woken her weren't fireworks. Farther from the border, a morning commute transformed into chaos, with lines of cars waiting at fuel stations or fleeing from the gray and drizzly capital, Kyiv. People carrying luggage took shelter in the subway, unsure of where to go. Traffic jams are seen as people leave the city of Kyiv, Feb. 24. AP-Yonhap Some panicked. Others clung to routine, with irritation. ''I'm not afraid. I'm going to work. The only unusual thing is that you can't find a taxi in Kyiv,'' one resident complained, as air raid sirens wailed. Many seemed unsure how to react. Kyiv's main street, Khreshchatyk, rippled with anxiety as people checked their phones. Some walked their dogs or waved at friends. ''I'm not scared at the moment. Maybe I'll be scared later,'' resident Maxim Prudskoi said. But elsewhere in the capital, Anna Dovnya watched soldiers and police remove shrapnel from an exploded shell and was terrified. ''We have lost all faith,'' she said. ''Until the very last moment, I didn't believe it would happen. I just pushed away these thoughts.'' In Mariupol, the Azov Sea port city that many feared would be the first major target because of its strategic importance, AP journalists saw similar scenes of mixed routine and fear. Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv, Feb. 24. AFP-Yonhap The Russian military has gained complete air superiority in Ukraine and is closing in on the capital Kyiv, intending to remove the country's leadership, Western officials said Thursday. After opening its invasion with more than 160 missile strikes and sorties by dozens of attack aircraft, Russian troops were moving southward from Belarus seeking to capture an airfield just north of the capital. They have virtually eliminated the Ukraine air force's ability to fight back, leaving Kyiv increasingly vulnerable, the officials said. "A lot will depend on the resistance that the Ukrainians can put up, but I'm confident that the Russians will in the coming hours seek to apply an overwhelming force on the capital," a Western intelligence official in Europe said. "In just the intervening hours (since Thursday morning) they have gotten closer to Kyiv," a U.S. defense official in Washington concurred. "They have every intention of basically decapitating the government and installing their own means of governance," the U.S. official said, insisting on anonymity. Military helicopters, apparently Russian, fly over the outskirts of Kyiv in this screen grab from a video released by the Ukrainian Police Department Press Service, Feb. 24. AP-Yonhap The push from Belarus towards Kyiv was one of three fronts that Russia forces opened since launching the invasion early Thursday, the U.S. official said. An invasion force had also moved up from Crimea in the south towards the city of Kherson. And a third axis of attack was in the northeast, marked by a push from Russia near Belgorod and aimed at capturing the city of Kharkiv. "We haven't seen a conventional move like this, nation state to nation state, since World War II, certainly nothing on this size and scope and scale," the U.S. official said. "The heaviest fighting we've seen so far is in Kharkiv," the U.S. official said. The attack opened just before dawn early Thursday with a raft of missile launches, including short and medium-range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, according to the U.S. official. Those were launched from both land and ships on the Black Sea, and targeted military infrastructure, including airports, barracks and munitions depots. Inside Hook Its that wonderful time of year again when Girl Scouts set up shop outside grocery stores and in office buildings around the country, peddling delicious cookies that will almost definitely be gobbled up in one sitting. Unfortunately, this also means its once again time for the girls selling those cookies (some as young as five) to be harassed by grown ass adults for absolutely no reason. According to a recent report from Insider, harassment of Girl Scouts just trying to sell some cookies is nothing new, but it has gotten worse in recent years. One L.A.-based scout parent suggested the harassment has worsened in the past 10 years or so, and even more significantly since the pandemic. But what kind of problems could someone possibly have with an innocent girl whos just trying to sell them some beloved cookies? According to Insider, Girl Scouts selling cookies are subject to all kinds of bullying, aggression and mean-spirited comments from adults who take issue with everything from the inflated price of the cookies and their caloric content to the Girl Scouts rumored ties to Planned Parenthood and use of environmentally unfriendly palm oil. Meanwhile, the girls are also routinely subjected to plenty of fat-shaming and plain old sexual harassment. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW FAIRFIELD After four years as the towns superintendent of schools, Pat Cosentino is retiring June 30. She announced her plans for retirement Thursday night, saying its time to move on to a new phase of her life and let someone else lead New Fairfields school district. Cosentino has been New Fairfields superintendent since 2018, but her career in education started 38 years ago as a fifth and sixth grade teacher at a Catholic school in the Glendale neighborhood of Queens, N.Y. From there, she went on to work at P.S. 206 in Queens Rego Park neighborhood first as a teacher, then as assistant principal. Cosentino said she then left New York for a year to work as associate principal at Bridgeports Columbus School before returning to P.S. 206 and serving as principal for five years. After that, she came back to work in Connecticut five years as principal of the Frank A. Berry Elementary School in Bethel, followed by six years as Bethel High Schools principal. Cosentino left Bethels school district in 2012 and served as superintendent of Bridgewater, Roxbury and Washingtons Region 12 for six years. Thats where I really focused my energies on getting the agriscience program, she said. Thats still up and running in Region 12, and Im very proud of that. Being New Fairfields superintendent for the last four years has been a rewarding experience, Cosentino said, and shes proud of the work thats been done during her tenure. We continued to educate our students through the pandemic, increased learning and enrichment opportunities for all students, developed a plan to build two new schools and we began construction, she said. Most importantly, we always put our children first. From as early as she can remember, Cosentino said shes always wanted to be an educator. I just have always loved children, she said. I love seeing them smile and laugh and learn, and go through that productive struggle and then seeing that light bulb go off when they get it. In addition to the students, Cosentino said shes going to miss her colleagues. I think teachers are the most important people in the world. Theyre kind, hardworking and do whats best for others before themselves, she said. During my career, Ive worked with outstanding educators, and Im really going to miss interacting with them every day. Cosentino said concluding her nearly four-decade-long career in education is bittersweet. This is a time in my life to move forward and try new things, so its exciting, she said. In her retirement, Cosentino said she plans to spend time traveling, reading, hanging out with friends and sleeping. I may also take up some painting; possibly volunteer, she said. Im a person who likes change, and Im very aware that life is short. This is a time in my life to move forward and try new things. Cosentinos retirement will also mean change for New Fairfield Public Schools. In addition to continuing to fulfill her duties as the districts superintendent over the next four months, Cosentino said she looks forward to working with the Board of Education in its search for her successor. The board is going to have to decide whether they want to find someone outside of New Fairfield, or possibly look internally, she said. That will be up to them. Whatever they decide, Cosentino said she will work diligently to ensure that the transition is a smooth one. SABINE PASS, Texas (AP) A fire aboard a decommissioned offshore oil rig platform briefly trapped nine shipyard workers Thursday until they were rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter. The fire broke out shortly before 1 p.m. at a shipyard in Sabine Pass, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Dickinson told The Associated Press. Sabine Pass is where the Texas-Louisiana border meets the Gulf of Mexico. Video from KBMT-TV in nearby Beaumont showed the Coast Guard helicopter shuttling between the burning platform to another platform nearby, plucking the trapped workers from danger. No workers were injured and the cause of the fire was being investigated, Dickinson said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a news briefing in Kyiv, Feb. 24. Reuters-Yonhap Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed Friday to stay in Kyiv as his troops battled Russian invaders advancing toward the capital in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Russia launched its invasion by land, sea and air Thursday following a declaration of war by President Vladimir Putin. An estimated 100,000 people fled as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities. Dozens have been reported killed. U.S. and Ukrainian officials say Russia aims to capture Kyiv and topple the government, which Putin regards as a puppet of the United States. Russian troops seized the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advanced along the shortest route to Kyiv from Belarus to the north. "(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target," Zelenskiy warned in a video message. "My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state." "I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine." Putin says Russia is carrying out "a special military operation" to stop the Ukrainian government from committing genocide against its own people an accusation the West calls baseless. He also says Ukraine is an illegitimate state whose lands historically belong to Russia. Asked if he was worried about Zelenskiy's safety, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS: "To the best of my knowledge, President Zelenskiy remains in Ukraine at his post, and of course we're concerned for the safety of all of our friends in Ukraine government officials and others." A metallurgical plant is seen on the outskirts of the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb. 24. Russia launched a barrage of air and missile strikes on Ukraine early Thursday and Ukrainian officials said that Russian troops then rolled into the country from the north, east and south. AP-Yonhap Sanctions build A democratic nation of 44 million people, Ukraine is Europe's biggest country by area after Russia itself. It voted for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and has recently stepped up efforts to join the NATO military alliance and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow. Putin denied for months that he was planning an invasion, even as the United States warned an attack was looming and shared satellite images of Russian forces massing on Ukraine's borders. The United States, Britain, Japan, Canada, Australia and the European Union unveiled more sanctions on Moscow on top of penalties earlier this week, including a move by Germany to halt an $11 billion gas pipeline from Russia. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described the bloc's measures as "the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented". / A woman was arrested for trespassing into the Texas A&M International University campus, authorities said. Grecia Atenea Limon, 25, was arrested on Feb. 20 and charged with criminal trespass. A university spokesperson confirmed that Limon is not a student. Energy markets responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Thursday with soaring energy prices the global benchmark for oil exceeded $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014 which will bring higher profits for Texas oil and gas industry, at least temporarily. Energy analysts say the conflict could slow the flow of oil and gas from Russia one of the worlds largest producers to Europe in the weeks ahead. The price of oil dipped back down to $99 late Thursday after President Joe Biden did not target Russian oil and gas when he announced sanctions against Russia. Higher oil and gas prices mean more money for Texas producers and could lead to industry growth in the near term, according to Karr Ingham, an economist with the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. While Texas oil and gas producers could see more demand for their products, energy consumers in Texas and worldwide will foot the bill for increased global energy costs, analysts said. This is bad for people who, say, have an electricity bill, a gas bill or drive a car, economist Eric Lewis, an assistant professor at the Bush School of Government and Service at Texas A&M University who focuses on oil and gas, said in an interview. In the meantime, Texas oil and gas producers can fill some of the void if Russia curtails or halts natural gas exports to Europe. This may present a set of circumstances where Texas producers can jump in and fill the gap there, Ingham said in an interview. Natural gas is usually shipped overseas in liquid form, and Texas accounts for a vast majority of U.S. liquified natural gas export capacity between Freeport LNG and Cheniere Energy in Corpus Christi, the two primary LNG export terminals in Texas. Already this winter, households across Europe have experienced high energy costs due in part to low energy reserves and lower-than-normal Russian gas supplies. At the same time, a cold winter has boosted demand for energy. For now, European utility companies will continue buying gas from Russia via Ukrainian pipelines because of contracts already in place, Bloomberg reported. It is unclear if that will continue as Russian military forces sweep into Ukraine. Biden said Thursday that this is a dangerous moment for all of Europe and imposed a series of sanctions against Russia that would cut off the countrys largest banks and companies from Western financial markets, restrict exports of technology to Russia and freeze trillions of dollars in Russian assets. For the Biden administration, if you really wanted to go for the jugular, you go after Russian oil, said Gabriel Collins, a fellow in energy and environmental regulatory affairs at Rice Universitys Baker Institute. But Collins said the high price of oil makes targeting Russian oil through financial restrictions or in joint moves with allied countries a tricky proposition because that would also hurt energy consumers around the world. Youd be going after their economic center of gravity, Collins said, but also potentially simultaneously going after your own consumers wallets center of gravity. Disclosure: Rice University, the Baker Institute for Public Policy, Texas A&M University and the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers 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 member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks from Moscow about authorizing a special military operation in the Donbass region of Ukraine in this handout photo made available by the Russian Presidential Press Service, Feb. 24. EPA-Yonhap It has been a long time since the threat of using nuclear weapons has been brandished so openly by a world leader, but Vladimir Putin has just done it, warning in a speech that he has the weapons available if anyone dares to use military means to try to stop Russia's takeover of Ukraine. The threat may have been empty, a mere baring of fangs by the Russian president, but it was noticed. It kindled visions of a nightmarish outcome in which Putin's ambitions in Ukraine could lead to a nuclear war through accident or miscalculation. ''As for military affairs, even after the dissolution of the USSR and losing a considerable part of its capabilities, today's Russia remains one of the most powerful nuclear states,'' Putin said, in a pre-invasion address early Thursday. ''Moreover, it has a certain advantage in several cutting-edge weapons. In this context, there should be no doubt for anyone that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country.'' A Ukrainian State Border Guard Service site is seen damaged by shelling near Kyiv in this handout picture released Feb. 24. Reuters-Yonhap By merely suggesting a nuclear response, Putin put into play the disturbing possibility that the current fighting in Ukraine might eventually veer into an atomic confrontation between Russia and the United States. That apocalyptic scenario is familiar to those who grew up during the Cold War, an era when American school children were told to duck and cover under their desks in case of nuclear sirens, But that danger gradually receded from the public imagination after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, when the two powers seemed to be on a glide path to disarmament, democracy and prosperity. Before that, even young people understood the terrifying idea behind the strategy of mutual assured destruction MAD for short a balance in nuclear capabilities that was meant to keep hands on each side off of the atomic trigger, knowing that any use of the doomsday weapons could end in the annihilation of both sides in a conflict. And amazingly, no country has used nuclear weapons since 1945, when President Harry Truman dropped bombs on Japan in the belief that it was the surest way to end World War II quickly. It did, but at a loss of about 200,000 mostly civilian lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Around the world, even today, many regard that as a crime against humanity and question if it was worth it. For a brief time after the war, the United States had a nuclear monopoly. But a few years after, the Soviet Union announced its own nuclear bomb and the two sides of the Cold War engaged in an arms race to build and develop increasingly more powerful weapons over the next few decades. Express-News /File photo An ex-San Antonio police officer was indicted nearly two years after he allegedly shot at two juveniles in 2020. Oscar Cruz Jr., 27, was indicted for deadly conduct - firearm for an incident on March 9, 2020. Cruz allegedly fired his gun in the direction of Elijah Jordan and Cruz Benavidez who were fleeing from him at the time, according to a news release from Bexar County District Attorney's Office. Cruz was an officer with the San Antonio Police Department at the time and received an indefinite suspension, KSAT reports. Yevhen Borysov/Getty Images All eyes are on Ukraine as Russian ground forces move into the country minute by minute. It can be easy to lose sight of the country itself, especially when many people are still on a learning curve about Ukraine (as are we). Ukraine is bordered by several countries in eastern Europe. Ukraine is Europe's second-largest country by land area and seventh-largest by population, measuring about 233,060 square miles and around 45 million in population, according to the New York Times. For comparison, Texas is slightly bigger at 268,597 square miles. While news of the first casualties from the Russian invasion of Ukraine broke Thursday afternoon, a handful of Houstonians gathered outside the city's Russian consulate and urged the United States to intervene in defense of the east European country. About a half dozen people stood on the sidewalk outside the office building at 1333 West Loop 610 where the consulate is housed and demanded more from President Joe Biden, who had just announced increased sanctions on Russia in a televised speech hours earlier. Rather than economic retaliation, however, the demonstrators believe Biden should send U.S. forces into Ukraine to defend its sovereignty and further attacks. Sophia Grinblat, executive director of Houston-based Russian-language newspaper Our Texas and founding president of the Russian Cultural Center, was one of the few demonstrating Thursday. She moved to Houston from Ukraine in 1990 and still has family and friends in Kyiv, the capital city where one of the first waves of attacks took place. "It's awful. I spoke to [my family] yesterday in the daytime (about the possibility of an invasion). No one believed that it would happen," Grinbalt said. "At night, at 4 a.m. in Kyiv, they heard bombing. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat I was very, very scared. I have two worst days in my life. The first one is Sept. 11, when I was speechless. The second was yesterday night." Grinbalt urged supporters to contact Texas' two senators and congressional representatives to urge Biden to act with force. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn have both called for the defense of Ukraine but stopped short of calling for American boots on the ground. "This is not just about Ukraine," Cornyn said in a statement. "This is not just about Europe. This is about Americas credibility and that of our friends and allies around the world and our willingness to stand up for our values and defend our freedoms. If the U.S. fails to support Ukraine, other authoritarian movements like those in China and Iran will take note." Cruz also said the U.S. ought to "counter Putin" as he continues to order the invasion. "Don't wait with all these sanctions," Grinbalt said. "You could have done this months ago, two weeks ago. ... I was ashamed. We need to act today. It cannot wait." While announcing the additional sanctions, Biden iterated that U.S. ties to Russia are threatened, citing a "rupture" in relations as the onslaught continues. Another Houston protester, Alex Martinez, called for the Russian consulate in Houston to be shuttered. It's one of only three embassy locations in the United States, the others being in New York and Washington, D.C. "We need to shut this consulate down," Martinez said. "We need to shut all diplomatic connections with Russia right now. Make them hurt. Destroy their economy. We need to defend Ukraine. We need to put troops in Ukraine, because it's not going to stop there. This is a Germany invading Poland moment in history, and the world is watching how we respond." Vadim Ghirda/AP Some say Russia's invasion of Ukraine underscores the threats for other sovereign countries in similar situations, such as Taiwan. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaking last week before Russia's invasion, opined that China could invade the island nation and forcefully incorporate it into the Chinese government if Ukraine's allies fail to step up. Martinez said that's a threat that should worry those in Houston and beyond. "This isn't going to stop at Ukraine," Martinez said. "This is going to start with the Baltics, and it's going to involve us so quickly ...We cannot sit this one out. If we do, we lose our position in the world. The lifestyle we live as a king on top of the hill is in jeopardy right now. It starts with Ukraine and ends with Taiwan." Another demonstration outside the consulate in Houston is planned for Saturday. The Permian Strategic Partnership is on a roll. Last week, the PSP donated $10.6 million to the University of Texas Permian Basin to help with the shortage of health care professionals in the region. This week, it announced support of Skillpoint Permian Basin, which will offer rapid training programs in electrical, HVAC and plumbing, among other trades, to Permian Basin communities in West Texas and Southeast New Mexico. Health care and creating a workforce that is right for the region are two top-tier concerns, and the Permian Strategic Partnership is meeting them head-on. It is what we have come to expect from the coalition of 16 member companies that according to its website is committed to safe and environmentally responsible operations and stand ready to participate in the discussions and decisions that will improve the quality of life in the region for generations to come. The PSP member companies include Apache, BPX Energy, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Coterra Energy, Devon, Diamondback, Endeavor, EOG Resources, Halliburton, Occidental, Ovintiv, Pioneer, Plains All American, Schlumberger and XTO Energy. The PSP has dedicated tens of millions of dollars to help those essential needs since it was created in late 2018. Previous action includes contributing $16.5 million to help bring IDEA Public Schools to Midland-Odessa and $5.9 million to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center for the expansion of a rural residency program. The PSP also worked with state leaders and local organizations to bring $600 million in road funding to the entire region. It doesnt matter if the price of oil has been up or down. The PSP continues to work with an eye toward the long-term future and giving the region a benefactor that likely makes other regions envious. We have long said Midland benefits because of the work of foundations and long-term giving from an industry that realizes it has a responsibility to make Midland and the region better places for decades to come. The PSP proves this point over and over. Transportation, health care, housing, workforce and education are among the focus areas the PSP has impacted in Midland, Odessa and across the Permian Basin in both Texas and New Mexico. The Permian Strategic Partnership is on a roll, and the region is better because of it. Book bans are not a new phenomenon in the United States, but recent efforts to remove books in schools in Texas and across the country have made an aggressive comeback over the past year. The American Library Association reported it received an unprecedented 330 reports of book challenges in fall, an uptick from the same periods in recent years. The current movement has been largely driven by conservative parents, activists and politicians campaigning against critical race theory, an academic concept used to explore the role of race in society. To date, more than half of book challenges are initiated by parents compared to 1 percent of students, the ALA reports. In Texas last week, two parents in the McKinney Independent School District challenged more books in a single day than the record number of books previously challenged over the course of an entire year. The parents requested the district remove 282 books with alleged obscene sexual content from its libraries after claiming they underwent the unpleasant task of reading each of the books. All 282 works are also on a list of 850 titles compiled by Republican state legislator Matt Krause as part of an inquiry launched in October into books he believed might make students feel uncomfortable. Krause's list, which targets many texts with LGTBQ themes, has successfully prompted several large-scale book removals in Texas schools. Books on the list oftentimes coincide with titles being challenged in other states. This is largely due to concerted efforts from right-wing organizations like Moms for Liberty, No Left Turn in Education and Texans Wake Up to circulate book lists online of titles that they have deemed inappropriate. From these lists, parents and activists find the most explicit passages and recite them at school board meetings out of context, asking schools if the books are available to their children. Among frequently listed titles is the 2015 young adult novel Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez. The book, described as a fictional reimagining of the 1937 New London explosion that killed more 295 people as a backdrop for a riveting novel about segregation, love, family, and the forces that destroy people, has been challenged in at least eight districts in Texas, and at least eight different states. The conservative website Texans Wake Up, which dubbed Perezs book pervasively vulgar, contains passages of the book, a list of profane words that can be found in it (including a word count of each) and Texas school districts that have the book stocked in their libraries. The guide is downloadable for use at school board meetings. A parent from the Austin-based Lake Travis Independent School District went viral after reciting the same passages featured on the website during a school board meeting as she requested removal of the book from middle school shelves. The next day, the book was pulled from libraries for review. No Left Turn in Education, another group leading the charge, has circulated a list of more than 75 books it says spread radical and racist ideologies to students. Nearly all of the featured books are about Black or LGBTQ stories, including the title All Boys Arent Blue by George M. Johnson which has been targeted for removal in at least 14 states. The list also features classics like Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale. Parents Defending Education, which promotes No Left Turn in Education, likewise has its own list of books, many of which have been frequently targeted in Texas such as "Lawn Boy" by Jonathan Evison and "Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe. Gov. Greg Abbott referenced the latter novel when introducing his Parental Bill of Rights that would ban alleged "pornographic" material in school libraries. In January, The Guardian reported that most of these groups are also linked to right-wing politicians and wealthy Republican donors. Parents Defending Education president Nicole Neilly was previously the executive director of the conservative organization Independent Womens Forum. Neilly also worked at the Cato Institute, a right-wing think tank co-founded by Republican mega-donor Charles Koch, according to The Guardian. "Weve noted that there are a number of groups like Moms for Liberty, Parents Defending Education, No Left Turn in Education that have particular views on what is appropriate for young people, and theyre trying to implement their agenda particularly in schools, but also taking their concerns to public libraries as well," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Associations Office for Intellectual Freedom, to The Guardian. However, such widespread book banning efforts have not gone unchallenged. This week, students in Katy ISD, which made national headlines for several book challenges this school year, distributed hundreds of copies of banned books that discuss race and the LGBTQ experiences to their peers after the district removed some library books and blocked certain websites from being accessed on campus, according to the Houston Chronicle. Texas librarians launched the organization #FReadom Fighters shortly after Krause's book list went public. The group has since provided resources for librarians, teachers or authors facing book challenges. A February CBS News poll shows that 80 percent of Americans don't think books should be banned from schools for discussing race and criticizing U.S. history, for depicting slavery in the past or more broadly for political ideas with which they disagree. Masks will no longer be required in city buildings as Houston sees a decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the change Thursday, just days before the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is set to take place. City employees will also no longer be required to conduct temperature screenings upon entering city buildings. This excludes clinical personnel such as paramedics, nurses and doctors, who are also still required to wear a face covering when interacting with patients. In a Wednesday letter to city employees, Turner said with vaccines, boosters and testing becoming more widely available as well as a declining positivity rate in Houston and more manageable hospitalizations, the "country is beginning to move into a new phase of the pandemic." "Over the past few months, City employees have worked diligently to create a safe and healthy environment in our municipal buildings," Turner said in a Thursday press release. "Because of their selfless actions, fewer employees are getting sick and are showing up to work and providing city services to the public. However, I strongly encourage people who are not fully vaccinated or are immunocompromised to wear a face-covering while entering or upon City premises, but doing so is not required." The action coincides with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxing its indoor mask-wearing guidelines Friday, as COVID-19 case counts drop across the country. Some states have already lifted or announced plans to lift indoor mask mandates. The new guidance is supported by the city's Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Persse, who in a Feb. 24 letter told city employees it is safe to drop the mask requirement due to increased vaccination rates in the area and lower overall risk for the virus. "After two years of learning a great deal about [COVID-19], a variety of non-pharmaceutical interventions, vaccines, and our individual opinions about each of these, we are fortunate that the amount of viral activity in Houston is slowing down at a rapid rate," Persse wrote. "So, it is timely to consider the lifting of the remaining restrictions." Turner and Persse also encouraged residents to get a COVID-19 vaccination and booster shot when eligible. On Thursday, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo also lowered the the COVID-19 threat status from the highest level red to orange for the first time since Jan. 10, as cases and ICU populations are decreasing. Orange is the second-highest threat level among the county's four levels of emergency indicators. At this level, residents are still encouraged to wear masks, social distance and avoid large indoor gatherings. "The omicron wave hit Harris County very, very hard, Hidalgo said in a Thursday news release. While were moving in the right direction, there are no guarantees we wont see another wave in the future." Hidalgo likewise encouraged residents to get vaccinated to avoid future spikes in cases. "Doing so will allow us to deal with COVID-19 as a manageable risk rather than an emergency that unnecessarily threatens lives and the capacity of our entire healthcare system, Hidalgo said. It's not clear whether the county currently has plans to drop its mask mandate soon, which has been in place since June. In January, a Texas appeals court ruled that Harris County can continue imposing mask mandates against Governor Greg Abbotts ban on such policies. When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine early Thursday morning, those of us who arent foreign policy experts were left wondering how and why this conflict is happening now. Rice University professor Richard Stoll took a break from teaching to explain the situation unfolding between Ukraine and Russia in simple terms. A scholar of international conflict, Stoll broke down Putins motive, what it means for the US, and how the world will respond. Why is Russia invading Ukraine? I think the root cause is that Vladmir Putin sees controlling Ukraine as a way to get the world to recognize that Russia is a very important power. Im delving into the psychological here, but he wants that to be his legacy as the leader of Russia. Ukraine used to be a part of first Russia and then the Soviet Union. While Putin thinks it would be great if Russia reoccupied all of Ukraine, if I had to guess he would be satisfied by controlling those areas of eastern Ukraine which have been engaged in a revolt against the government of Ukraine with the aid of Russia and Russian troops. Why is it happening now? I think theres no sort of specific external thing thats driving it now. I dont personally know why its now instead of two months ago or two months from now. Is Putin even giving a reason? He said it has to do with denazification and things like that. What does this mean for the rest of the world? What were going to see if Russia doesnt stop (and I dont think they will at least for a while) are additional sanctions being put on Russia. In general, economic sanctions do work. I think the sanctions are doing the things they should do which is say, look theres no point in trying to hurt the ordinary Russian citizen because they have nothing to do with this. What we are doing is targeting the oligarchy as much as possible with sanctions. What we have traditionally called the oligarchy is a subset of Russians that are individually powerful people. Their opinions count and matter. Putin needs, if not their support, they cant be opposed to him. What kind of sanctions could we apply that only affect the oligarchy? Im not saying it only affects the oligarchy. For example, you might want to target Microsoft. And if a whole bunch of companies said, Microsoft software can no longer be used on any computer in our country, that would, duh, hurt Microsoft. But it would hurt other people in the US that indirectly benefit from Microsoft. You cant avoid some of it spilling over but thats different than saying well stop all trade with Russia. So, yes, ordinary Russians will bear the cost of some of these sanctions, but the people who will suffer the most are the people who are most closely connected to Putin. Whether that means hell back down or theyll force him to back downwell just have to wait and see. What about Ukraine? What will this cost them, how will it affect the people there? When you have organized fightingpeople die, people suffer, they lose things. The military forces of Ukraine are much smaller than Russia. If it were to become a straightforward combat situation and you were a betting person, youd bet on Russia. I dont see the government of Ukraine surrendering and all resistance to what Russia wants to do in Ukraine goes away. In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the people of Ukraine voted overwhelmingly to be independent from Russia. Over 99 percent of the people voted for independence. Even if the Russians are successful in a traditional military sense fairly quickly, I think they face the prospect of opposition that could go on for quite a time. What would it mean for Ukrainians to be under Russian control? Ukraine might technically have a democracy, but they wouldnt have the freedom they currently have. In the Soviet Union they had elections, its just that the same people kept winning all the time. Ukraine would have the appearance of being a free country but they would be dominated by Russia and only supporters of Russia would have power within Ukraine. What do you think it would take for other foreign countries to get involved? I dont see NATO invading a Russian-occupied Ukraine. But I think youre going to see an armed Ukrainian resistance and I think theres going to be aid from a number of countries, including the United States. Everything from bullets to food. Even if Russia is militarily successful in the short run, they face the prospect of a long term military struggle of some sort in Ukraine. Even if the sanctions dont do it, they may decide this is just too costly to try to control a whole bunch of people who dont want to be a part of Russia. This could be the start of a long struggle. Human rights activist Loretta Rosales sits behind a photo, a grainy military mugshot of her taken after she got arrested in 1976, at her house in Manila, Feb. 23. AP-Yonhap Memories of the ''People Power'' revolt by millions of Filipinos who helped overthrow Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos 36 years ago are bittersweet for Loretta Rosales, who opposed him as an activist and was arrested and tortured by his forces before his downfall. Her battle has gone full circle. The euphoria over that triumph of democracy in Asia has faded through the years and now looks upended with the late dictator's son and namesake a leading candidate in the May 9 presidential election. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s rise loomed large as the Southeast Asian nation marked the anniversary Friday of the army-backed uprising that toppled Marcos and became a harbinger of change in authoritarian regimes worldwide. ''It puzzles and dismays me,'' said Rosales, who remains a pro-democracy activist at age 82 and is now raising alarms over Marcos Jr. She expressed fears he will take after his father and seek to cover up his crimes and failures. Rosales was among human rights victims who asked the Commission on Elections to disqualify Marcos Jr. from the presidential race because of a past tax conviction they say showed ''moral turpitude'' that should bar him from holding public office. The commission dismissed her petition and five others. All are now on appeal, and an additional one remains pending but will likely also be rejected. ''This is history repeating itself,'' Rosales said in an interview. ''This is round two.'' Former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. speaks to supporters during a rally promoting his presidential bid in the 2022 national elections, at the Philippine Arena, Bulacan Province, north of Manila, Feb. 8. AP-Yonhap Marcos Jr., 64, who has served as a governor, congressman and senator, leads popularity surveys in the presidential race by a large margin despite his family's history. He has called the allegations against his father ''lies'' and his campaign steadfastly focuses on a call for unity while staying away from past controversies. The four-day revolt that forced the elder Marcos from power in 1986 unfolded when then-defense chief Juan Ponce Enrile and his forces withdrew their support from him after their coup plot against the ailing leader was uncovered. Later joined by a top general, Fidel Ramos, they barricaded themselves in two military camps along the main EDSA highway in the capital, where a Roman Catholic leader summoned Filipinos to bring food and support the mutinous troops. A mammoth crowd turned up and served as a human shield for the defectors. Rosary-clutching nuns, priests and civilians kneeled in front of them and stopped tanks deployed to crush the largely peaceful uprising. The elder Marcos died in 1989 while in exile in Hawaii without admitting any wrongdoing, including accusations that he, his family and cronies amassed an estimated $5 billion to $10 billion while he was in power. A Hawaii court later found him liable for human rights violations and awarded $2 billion from his estate to compensate more than 9,000 Filipinos led by Rosales who filed a lawsuit against him for torture, extrajudicial killings, incarceration and disappearances. After the Marcos family returned from exile in the early 1990s, Marcos Jr. decided to run for Congress to protect his family from being hounded politically, he told broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez-Roxas in a recent interview. In Rosales's suburban Manila home, a wall is filled with mementos of a life of activism, including as a member of the House of Representatives for nine years and later as head of the Commission on Human Rights until 2015. The only reminder of the worst moments is a grainy military mugshot showing her with a tense smile and carrying a nameplate with the scribbled date 4 Aug 76. That was when she and five other anti-Marcos activists were arrested by military agents while meeting in a restaurant four years after Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972. ''I was smiling, that was before the torture,'' Rosales said. For about two days in a military hideout, her captors blindfolded her and clipped wires on her fingers and toes and ran streams of electricity that caused her body to convulse wildly, she said. Her mouth was gagged so she could not scream. At other times, she said she was subjected to Russian roulette, in which a captor pointed a revolver to her head and pulled the trigger several times to force her to inform on other activists. ''There was sexual molestation,'' said Rosales, who was eventually freed. Ferdinand Marcos, with his wife Imelda at his side and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., far right, gestures strongly from the balcony of Malacanang Palace in Manila, Feb. 25, 1986, just after taking the oath of office as president of the Philippines. AP-Yonhap Nearly four decades after democracy was restored, the Philippines remains mired in poverty, corruption, inequality, long-running communist and Muslim insurgencies and political divisions. Pre-pandemic economic growth mostly benefited the wealthiest families and failed to lift millions from desperation. At the height of the pandemic, unemployment and hunger worsened to record levels. ''Ordinary Filipinos look at these realities and they question whether this is really what they want,'' Manila-based academic and analyst Richard Heydarian said, adding that disenchantment over the failures of liberal reformist politics in the post-dictatorship era steadily grew. ''This is where Marcos came in and said we are the ultimate alternative.'' Many Filipinos remember relative peace and quiet under martial law in the 1970s and well as lavish infrastructure projects, and Marcos Jr. has promised increased prosperity and peace. His current strong following did not emerge overnight. As a vice presidential candidate in 2016, he won more than 14 million votes, losing to Leni Robredo by only 263,000 votes. Robredo, the leading liberal opposition candidate in the presidential race, ranks second in most popularity polls but is far behind Marcos Jr. three months before the vote. In a measure of how history has shifted, Enrile, now 98, has endorsed Marcos Jr.'s candidacy. Ex-army Col. Gregorio Honasan, a key leader of the coup plot against the elder Marcos, has been adopted by Marcos Jr. in his senatorial slate. Honasan, 73, said he has not decided whom to support among the presidential aspirants but that the choice of the people should be respected. ''If the Filipino people decide to have a collective national amnesia and say, 'let's give another Marcos a chance,' who are we to question that?'' Honasan said in an interview. Rosales, who backs Robredo, remains hopeful and pointed to large numbers of volunteers who are campaigning for the current vice president on social media and across the country due to exasperation over corrupt and inept politicians. ''This volunteerism is a new kind of resistance,'' Rosales said. ''It is people power.'' (AP) Florida, US (34429) Today Mostly sunny skies this morning will give way to occasional showers during the afternoon. Thunder possible. High around 90F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Some passing clouds. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. For the second time in two days, Express Entry candidates did not have a CRS cap in the new Ontario PNP draw. Ontario PNP removes CRS cap again in Skilled Trades draw For the second time in two days, Express Entry candidates did not have a CRS cap in the new Ontario PNP draw. Ontario PNP removes CRS cap again in Skilled Trades draw For the second time in two days, Express Entry candidates did not have a CRS cap in the new Ontario PNP draw. Ontario PNP removes CRS cap again in Skilled Trades draw For the second time in two days, Express Entry candidates did not have a CRS cap in the new Ontario PNP draw. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Ontario invited 818 Express Entry candidates to apply for a provincial nomination on February 24. The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) invited candidates who may be eligible for the Ontario Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream. These candidates needed to have a profile in the Express Entry system with a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 359. Ontario invited candidates who had created an Express Entry profile between the dates of February 24, 2021, and February 24, 2022. For the second time in a row, Ontario removed its CRS cap. The maximum points an Express Entry candidate can get without a provincial nomination is 600. Prior to the February 22 draw, candidates whose CRS score was above the maximum range would not be eligible to apply for the nomination. Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration Ontario opening up PR pathway for more Express Entry candidates Canada has not held an Express Entry draw for anyone but PNP candidates since September 2021. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has not said when draws for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) candidates will resume, but recently said it would be in the near future. In all of 2021, Express Entry candidates in Ontario with scores of more than 467 were not invited to apply for a nomination. As a result, some candidates were trying to reduce their scores in the pool in order to get a nomination from Ontario. According to the new 2022-2024 Immigration Levels Plan Canada is expecting to bring in 83,500 immigrants through both Express Entry-aligned and base PNP categories this year. The new targets are greater than what the government projected in the last levels plan, which was 81,500 PNP immigrants for 2022, and 83,000 for 2023. Ontarios biggest draw of the year so far was on January 27, when the province invited 1,032 Skilled Trades Stream candidates. On February 23, Ontario held its biggest HCP draw of the year at 773 candidates. Ontarios Express Entry Skilled Trades Stream opens pathways for CEC candidates Ontarios Express Entry-linked Skilled Trades Stream offers a pathway to permanent residency for Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class candidates. The OINP invites eligible candidates to apply for a provincial nomination. To be eligible, candidates need to be living in Ontario with a valid work permit. They also need to have a minimum of one year of full-time work experience, or the equivalent in part-time work. They must have completed this work experience in the province in a skilled trade listed in Minor Group 633 or Major Group 72, 73, or 82 under Canadas National Occupational Classification (NOC). No job offer is needed to apply under the Skilled Trades Stream, but candidates must meet all the mandatory federal and provincial requirements. The first step to being considered for a provincial nomination is to submit a profile to the Express Entry system. About Express Entry Express Entry is an application management system that allows people to apply for permanent residence directly to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). It is not an immigration program itself, but it manages the applications for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Worker Program. If you are eligible for one or more of these programs, you can then create an Express Entry profile. Once you upload all your documents, you will get a score based on your work experience, education, age, and language ability in English or French, among other criteria. The highest scoring candidates are issued ITAs, which allow them to apply for permanent residence. Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access This is the first of a two-part series; for part two, click here. IN MEASURING THE COLLAPSE OF LOCAL NEWS, there is arguably no more important metric than the number of local reporters. Though precise numbers are hard to come by, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an astounding 57 percent decline in newspaper newsroom employeesfrom 71,640 to 30,820since 2004. Depressingly, academic studies show that the local news collapse has likely led to lower voter turnout and bond ratings, and more corruption, waste, air pollution, and corporate crime. It is a truly bleak picture. And yet focusing exclusively on that employment statistic understates the problem, as becomes clear when we look at the decline in the context of four other factors: spending by state and local governments, population growth, the trajectory of other professions, and the rise of misinformation engines. Newsroom staff declines versus population As reporting staffs have shrunk, the American population has grown. Since 2004, the number of newspaper newsroom staff per 100,000 peoplea measure we might call coverage densityhas dropped by a staggering 62 percent. This shows statistically what we knew anecdotally: reporters are spread far thinner than they used to be. It also helps explain the rise in ghost newspapers, more than 1,000 publications that have lost more than half of their staff in recent years. versus other professions Maybe this per-population decline is not unique to journalism; maybe, instead, this is just a pervasive phenomenon across the economy as the population grows. Alas, no. As the number of newspaper journalists per 100,000 people plummeted, the number of teachers-per-100,000 rose slightly, as did the number of nurses. Perhaps most relevant, the number of librarians per 100,000 has barely changed since 2000. According to the Institute for Museum and Library Services, there were 50,900 librarians and 143,888 library staff in 2019, the most recent year for which data was available. The same year, there were about 34,000 newspaper newsroom staffers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Librarians and local reporters have two things in common: theyre in the information-providing business, and pundits predicted that the internet would make them obsolete. But, as with journalists, we need librarians, in part, to help people separate fact from fiction on the internet! Notably, the two fields differ in one important way: librarians have a sturdier business model (i.e., taxpayers). versus local government spending Remember how less local news leads to more government waste? Consider this: from 2004 to 2020, as the number of reporters declined, the amount spent by state and local governments increased by 76 percent (or 29 percent, in constant dollars), fueled in part by growth of Medicaid and spending on police and corrections. In 2004, using real dollars, there were almost three reporters for every $100 million spent by state and local governments; in 2020, there was just one reporter per $100 million, a 67 percent decline. State and local government spending comes through political units of all shapes and sizesincluding municipal governments, townships, public-school systems, and special districts. In 2000, each local reporter on average covered 3.8 different units of government. In 2020, each reporter covered 10 units of government. versus misinformation engines The collapse of local news has created information vacuums. These have not remained empty; rather, theyve been filled by national news (cable, talk radio, national newspapers), global social media platforms, and, increasingly, local social media platforms. As a result, the decline of local news leads to more polarizationwhich, in turn, increases the spread of misinformation. Meanwhile, as CJR has documented, pink slime sitessome 1,400 and risinghave entered the void. They offer partisan content or pay-for-play advertorial content, neither of which is consistently labeled as such. At the same time, Nextdoor and Facebook Local groups have grown. Nextdoor is now in 233,000 communities, reaching 53 million Americans (double the number it reached in 2018). In addition to connecting neighbors for all sorts of truly positive purposes, the service has become a major spreader of covid-19 misinformation, QAnon conspiracy theories, and other types of falsehood. Researchers have found similar problems with local Facebook groups. Some 75 percent of Americans said they encountered misinformation on Facebook, while only 16 percent said they did in their local newspaper, according to a Gallup/Knight Foundation survey. Both Nextdoor and Facebook recently announced steps they believe will minimize the odds of misinformation spreading among groups, but theyre going to need a lot of help from actual reporters. Local reporting plays a critical role in combating misinformation; local reporters are more trusted, in part, because theyre on the ground and can interact with residents directly. Despite some early signs that fact-check websites backfired, the academic research now seems clear that fact-checking actually helps quite a lot, especially when reporters follow up and confront public officials. We need roughly a zillion more pieces with the tone and thoroughness of this locally informed covid-19 faq by Annie Berman, a Report for America corps member in Alaska. We need to regain the number of reporters lost over the past two decades, and add an additional corps of local reporters who can help counter misinformation. But how many is enough? And how do we get there? This is the first of a two-part series; the second part is available here. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Steve Waldman is President and Co-Founder of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. He is also chair of the Rebuild Local News Coalition, which advocates for public policies to create a stronger, more inclusive local news. For years, I kept a copy of the September 11, 2001, print edition of the New York Times in a box at home. Splashed atop the front page, across four columns, was a color photograph of people waiting for the start of New York Fashion Week. Beneath that, there was a feature on the rise of morning shows on network TV. The lead story on the right was about bickering in Washington over a tax cut. By the time most New Yorkers got around to reading that newspaper, their lives had been transformed. What seemed important the day before now seemed absurd. Ive thought a lot about that pre-9/11 newspaper as Ive watched and read coverage of Russias attack on Ukraine these past few days. It has been a difficult, and occasionally awful, few years for the news business, and for cable news in particular. Obnoxious personalities have been given control of the microphone, which theyve used to amplify petty fights. Social media, especially Twitter, became an assignment editor, its polarizing takes dictating much of the news cycle. Anchors mistook themselves for op-ed commentators rather than reporters. Every day was a four-column photo of fashion week. But this week, some of the worlds biggest news outlets were able to shed the baggage of the past decade and take up sober, brave, important reporting. Amid the early attack on Kyiv, CNN correspondent Matthew Chance interrupted his live shot, on a balcony in the capital, so he could put on a helmet and flak jacket. Chance was clearly scared and flustered, an uncharacteristic look for cable news; Don Lemon had to remind him not to cover his microphone with his bulletproof vest. But he was also completely human, and committed to doing his job. The next day, Chance and his camera crew watched from close by as Russian troops claimed to take over an airport as part of efforts to take Kyiv. A day later, in the subways of Ukraine, Clarissa Ward, Chances CNN colleague, interviewed young people and parents of children who told her, through tears, that they had no idea their lives would take this turn. It was moving without being sappy, and an important part of the story about the effects of the war on civilians. Meanwhile, in Moscow, CNNs Nic Roberson filmed as police rounded up protesters by the dozen for voicing opposition to the war. It was not a comfortable place for a television correspondent to be, at this moment in history, but it was an important part of the story of Russias war against Ukraine. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Excellence has surfaced elsewhere across our biggest outlets in recent days, from the Times comprehensive daily scroll and the astonishing photography of Tyler Hicks, who seems to be everywhere, to the video fact-checking teams of the Washington Post. The measured, thoughtful coverage of the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal has underscored their strength at covering stories of global consequence, and veteran foreign correspondents such as Richard Engel at NBC and the team at the BBC have driven home how important it is for news organizations to invest in people with long experience covering global conflict. The journalism that hasnt made the switchto reporting over opinion, to facts over speculationstood out as an outlier. On Friday, Morning Joe viewers on MSNBC were subjected to endless sermonizing from Joe Scarborough, from his anchor chair in the studiothe last thing we needed at a time when residents of Kyiv were making Molotov cocktails in a desperate effort to defend their homes. For Fox News, Ukraine has been a humiliation. Not only is that network completely outmatched by the on-the-ground expertise of CNN and MSNBC, but its insistence, especially in prime time, on framing this story as a matter of domestic politics is jarringly wrong. There have been plenty more discordant notes in the broader Ukraine coverage, almost always struck in the moments after cameras are pulled away from the reporters on the ground and given to the talking heads in the studio. We are facing days, if not weeks and months, of horrific stories and images out of Europe. The crisis in Ukraine will test the worlds newsrooms to steer clear of grandstanding, avoid nationalism, prize reporting on the ground, and limit what we say to what we know. That could well prove to be too much to ask; in some cases, it already has. But at this point, early into this awful war, some of our biggest newsrooms are passing the test. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Kyle Pope is the editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review. DALLAS (AP) Freezing rain and drizzle is disrupting travel from Central Texas to the Great Lakes, with ice-glazed roads leading to hundreds of traffic accidents. Hundreds of flights were canceled Wednesday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as freezing rain iced parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas braced for an ice storm. More than half an inch of ice could accumulate in parts of the Ozarks through Friday morning, while a quarter- to a half-inch was expected in North Texas through Thursday, the National Weather Service said. Airlines had canceled more than 2,000 Thursday flights by Wednesday night, according to the FlightAware.com tracking site. About half of them were at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, where temperatures were expected to top out above freezing only briefly late Thursday afternoon. DFW Airport is the biggest in the American Airlines network, and American had canceled 21% of its Thursday flights by Wednesday night, according to FlightAware. Meanwhile, heavy snow was expected in upstate New York and New England later this week, with more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) possible through Saturday morning. Winter took a fleeting break in the Northeast on Wednesday, with temperatures soaring into the 60s before they were expected to plunge within hours. The warm spell sent people streaming outdoors, but it was bad news for ski areas and other winter sports. Its not exactly what you want to see in the middle of the busiest week of the year, said Ethan Austin, spokesperson for the Sugarloaf ski area in Maine, which was busy because of school vacation week. But he was happy to hear snow was on the way. The weather whiplash marked the second time in less than a week that there was to be a temperature swing of more than 40 degrees in 24 hours. About the photo: Aerial crews deice an American Airlines jet before it can take off as another lands at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, in Dallas. Light precipitation was falling as temperatures were in the mid 20s. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP) Insurers for an engineering firm overseeing major repairs at the collapsed Surfside condominium and for a law firm that advised the condo association have agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by survivors and families of the tragedy that killed 98 people last summer. The Becker law firm, widely known for its work to help condo associations oppose condo law reform efforts, and Morabito Consulting, an engineering firm that performed a structural analysis on the Champlain Towers South, will pay an undisclosed amount, the Miami Herald reported. We developed a five step plan to move your insurance learning adventure forward. All without spending days in the classroom, or reading page after page. Attorneys for the families credited a mediator and lawyers for the insurance companies with working out the settlement. Families and survivors of the June 24 collapse had charged that Morabito, while citing major repairs needed in a 2018 report, failed to warn residents about imminent danger. The repairs, postponed by the condo association, were estimated to cost $15 million, and had just begun when part of the high-rise building crumbled, according to news reports. Morabito officials denied that the Maryland-based firm was responsible for the collapse of the 12-story, building, saying its work was consistent with the highest industry standards. But we also firmly believe that the families who have suffered from this tragedy deserve compensation so that they may focus on healing, the firm said, according to the Herald. We therefore applaud the settlement reached by our insurers to resolve these difficult issues fairly and expeditiously. Morabitos insurance companies, National Fire Insurance Co. of Hartford and Continental Casualty Co., initially refused to pay on the engineering firms policies, arguing that the losses were caused by the engineers negligence. Morabito sued the carriers. An insurer for the Becker law firms $10 million professional liability policy, Allied World Surplus Lines, also balked at paying out. Allied earlier this month asked a federal court to clear it of any coverage responsibility. The insurer argued that a policy exclusion bars coverage for law firm actions that result in bodily injury or destruction of property. By this week, though, the differences appeared to have been resolved. We are pleased that this matter is coming to a close and that our insurance carriers decided to resolve the case in a manner that we hope will help bring closure to the victims and their families of this terrible tragedy, the Becker firm said in a statement. We are in the process of finalizing the settlement details, which is expected to take several weeks. The Fort Lauderdale law firm, formerly known as Becker & Poliakoff, helped write parts of Floridas statutes that have empowered associations and, critics charge, have allowed building owners to avoid making badly needed repairs through the years. While Becker had represented the Champlain Towers association, it also had a responsibility and duty to warn about the imminent nature of the damage and the extreme risk to the residents and occupants of CTS (the towers) posed by the structural damage, according to the lawsuit, the Herald reported. Gail Marsha Malitz, age 83, of Beachwood, was born June 11, 1938, in Cleveland, and passed away on May 2, 2022. Arrangements under the direction of Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel. Agreement in Vienna requires West's "courageous" political decision: Iran's FM Xinhua) 09:21, February 25, 2022 TEHRAN, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian foreign minister said Thursday that an agreement in the ongoing talks in Vienna on the restoration of a 2015 nuclear deal needs the Western sides to take a "courageous and realistic" political decision to guarantee Tehran's interests. Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone conversation with his British counterpart Liz Truss, noting that for a swift and sustainable agreement, the United States and E3 group of France, Britain and Germany have to remove the sanctions on Tehran, according to the Foreign Ministry's website. In regard to his meetings with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on the sidelines of the 58th Munich Security Conference (MSC), he said the talks have made good process and the negotiating teams in Vienna are making hard efforts to reach a good agreement. Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the world powers in July 2015. However, former President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed Washington's unilateral sanctions on Tehran. Since April 2021, several rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, to revive the deal. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) Students socialize and dance during the SAB Underground Formal on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022, at Gatton Student Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Michael Clubb | Staff Alice Stuedemann, 89 of Camanche, formerly of Clinton, passed away April 30th at Mercy One Hospital. Visitation and services are being planned for Monday, May 9th at St. John Lutheran Church. Pape Funeral Home is assisting the family. Alex Droth, a freshman at the University of Kentucky, studies on her laptop on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 at 12:53 a.m., at William T. Young Library in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Kaitlyn Skaggs | Staff Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) Senator and former top cop Ronald Bato dela Rosa sees the potential involvement of rogue policemen and former uniformed personnel in the disappearances of more than 30 cockfight players and enthusiasts over the past year. Sa nakita natin very bold and daring yung ginagawa nilang operation at yung kanilang kilos ay tactically masasabing may training na pinagdaanan itong mga taong ito, Dela Rosa said in an online media interview on Friday. [Translation: From what weve seen the operations were very bold and daring and the movements of those behind went through training.] Binigyan ko lang ng diin yan sa harap ng liderato ng ating PNP (Philippine National Police) para to check on their people na siguruhin ninyong walang maiinvolve dito na mga rogue cops, or mga dismissed or retired na police o sundalo o military, he added. [Translation: I just emphasized that in front of the PNP leadership to check on their people to ensure that rogue cops, or dismissed or retired policemen and military men will not get involved here.] During the nine-hour hearing of Dela Rosas committee on public order and dangerous drugs on Thursday, police presented six cases where a total of 31 individuals were allegedly abducted from three cockpits. The most recent case, dated January 13, involved the disappearance of six people from the Manila Arena while four others were last seen at the United Association of Cockpit Owners and Operators of the Philippines in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. In three separate incidents last year, 15 others disappeared from the same arena in Laguna. The sixth case happened at the Royal Octadome in Lipa City Batangas on January 6, where six people went missing. "Reality hurts but the reality is that most likely patay na itong mga taong ito kung ganoon kahaba (they are dead if they've been missing for that long)," Dela Rosa said. "We are hoping for the best, expecting for the worst." Police identified game fixing as a possible motive for the abductions. Subpoena for Ang All three cockpits where people went missing had no security cameras, the hearing revealed. The arenas are operated by online sabong firm Lucky 8 Star Quest, Inc. which is owned by gaming tycoon Charlie Atong Ang. Dela Rosa said Ang was invited to attend the hearing, but he begged off due to health reasons. He will again be subpoenaed for the resumption of the probe on March 3. Tumawag siya doon sa committee secretary ko sabi daw ni Atong Ang na hopefully kung okay na yung health niya kung meron pang succeeding hearings makakarating daw siya so we expect na makarating siya, Dela Rosa said. [Translation: He called my committee secretary, who said Atong Ang committed to attend the succeeding hearings if his health improves so we expect him to come.] During the first hearing on Thursday, the sister of missing e-sabong agent Ricardo Jonjon Lasco, Jr. showed a video of Ang allegedly threatening e-sabong agents who illegally solicit bets through websites that clone his company's legitimate site. Family members said armed men took Lasco from their house in San Pablo, Laguna on August 30, 2021. Lawyer Angelo Nino Santos, president of Angs Lucky 8 Star Quest Inc., said it was not a threat but a reminder, and that they only use legal means to deal with erring agents. CNN Philippines has also reached out to Ang. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation agreed with senators that all e-sabong operations must be suspended while the investigations are ongoing, but the regulator said it needs the approval of Malacanang. The Senate committee on public order will issue a resolution calling for the suspension. It will be sent to President Rodrigo Duterte once signed by committee members and the Senate leadership, Dela Rosa said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) Even if refusing to participate may not significantly affect their performance, debate-skipping candidates are taking away from the voters a chance to get to know them better as potential leaders, a political analyst said on Friday. "I think the optics of absence really communicates not only that the candidate does not think the debates matter, but thinks that this is a part of a larger strategy which I think robs voters of the total picture of the candidacy or the presidential bid of a candidate," political science professor Aries Arugay told CNN Philippines' The Source. He said refusing to attend debates also suggests that a candidate may not really have what it takes to face off with fellow contenders vying for the same post. "And we know that debates will be important in policy making," Arugay said. "When one of these becomes president, they will engage in a lot of debates." "We are not electing a king, we are electing a president who will have to compromise, who will have to negotiate," he added. Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao noted that refusing to participate is a strategy to maintain a candidate's lead and to lower the chances of making mistakes in front of voters. He stressed, however, that showing up is crucial, especially in choosing the leaders who will occupy the two highest posts in the land. "If you are the president or the vice president, you will almost always be in the public spotlight, practically in the waking hours of the day," Arao explained. "You need to prove that you are there for the long haul insofar as the presidency or the vice presidency would be concerned," he added. Frequent debate skipper Bongbong Marcos and his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte will not attend CNN Philippines' presidential and vice presidential debates this weekend. Vice presidential bet Lito Atienza also cannot make it for medical reasons. Nine of the 10 presidential bets - labor leader Leody de Guzman, ex-presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, Jose Montemayor Jr., former defense chief Norberto Gonzales, Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Faisal Mangondato, Sen. Ping Lacson, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and Vice President Leni Robredo - are attending the Feb. 27 presidential debate. Meanwhile, ex-congressman Walden Bello, Manny SD Lopez, Rizalito David, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, Carlos Serapio, Senate President Tito Sotto, and Willie Ong have committed to attending the vice presidential debate on Feb. 26. RELATED: 9 presidential candidates, 7 VP bets confirm attendance to CNN Philippines debates Moderated by CNN Philippines anchors, both debates will be held at the University of Santo Tomas from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with the candidates attending live in front of a virtual audience. The debates will air live on CNN Philippines Free TV Channel 9, cnnphilippines.com website, and CNN Philippines' official Facebook account. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) President Rodrigo Duterte admitted he gave up on pushing for a shift to a federal form of government, which is one of his main campaign when he ran for the country's top post in 2016. "Filipino people are not ready. It is not accepted," said Duterte during an interview with Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar on Friday. "So I gave it up, it was a futile endeavor," he added. The President was responding to criticisms he failed to push for federalism in the country. "Hindi kami nagkulang. Pero as president and as honestly as I can be, hindi talaga tanggapin ng tao karamihan. Kaya hindi nag-take off," Duterte said. [Translation: We did our best. But as President and as honestly as I can be, most people did not accept it. That's why it didn't take off.] In a speech in June 2019, Duterte first expressed his intention to give up on federalism, and instead backed proposed changes to the 1987 Constitution. Duterte, in his 2016 presidential campaign, said federalism will help address insurgency and promote peace in the country, especially in Mindanao. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) Vice presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte has no plans to attend the debate sponsored by the Commission on Elections, her camp said on Friday. Her spokesperson, Mayor Christina Frasco, did not offer any explanation. She also clarified that Duterte did receive any formal invitation to attend the debate slated on March 20 despite an earlier announcement from the poll body. "Be that as it may, whether or not there is an invitation, Sara Duterte will not be attending the debate," Frasco said. The camp of presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. also said it is unsure if he will attend Comelec's presidential debate on March 19, stressing it will depend on the aspirant's schedule for that day. Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez on Thursday announced that all presidential and vice presidential candidates, except for VP bet Lito Atienza who will undergo knee replacement surgery, have "committed" to participate in the event. The tandem of Marcos and Duterte has skirted events with other candidates, including the upcoming debates hosted by CNN Philippines on Feb. 26 and 27. The only group event attended by Marcos was the debate conducted by SMNI, the network owned by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who endorsed his candidacy. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) Thirty-eight more Filipinos are fleeing crisis-hit Ukraine to cross Poland and eventually take a safer flight back to the Philippines, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) announced on Friday. "The information we have at this stage is the in-country relocation of workers from Kyiv to a safer ground between Ukraine and Poland is being undertaken," OWWA chief Hans Cacdac told CNN Philippines' The Source. Kyiv is the capital and the most populous city of Ukraine, which is facing military attacks from Russia. "Currently there's a group of around 38 Filipinos on their way to the western border towards Poland," Cacdac said. At this point, the primary assistance being given to the Filipinos in Ukraine is "bringing them to safer ground," he added. He also said they are providing information on the exit and pick-up points for the OFWs' safe travel across the border. OWWA and the Departments of Labor and Foreign Affairs are closely coordinating on assisting affected Filipino nationals. DFA Undersecretary. Sarah Arriola on Thursday said four more Filipinos are expected to arrive home from Ukraine soon. The first batch of repatriates arrived in the Philippines last week. READ: Four more Filipinos from Ukraine expected to come home; relocation pushed amid crisis Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) President Rodrigo Duterte's economic team has assured that it is keeping track of the local prices of fuel with oil surging above $100 per barrel amid Russia's air strikes in Ukraine. "The Development Budget Coordination Committee is closely monitoring the factors affecting the oil prices in the country," the inter-agency body confirmed Thursday. Global benchmark Brent crude surged above $100 per barrel for the first time since 2014, CNN Business reported. The latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas assessment as of Feb. 17 says Dubai crude oil price is expected to reach $83.3 per barrel. This was noted by the DBCC which is composed of the Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, and National Economic and Development Authority. "Nonetheless, this is expected to decelerate to USD 79.0 by the end of this year based on the latest oil futures," added the committee. Economists have warned that the Ukraine-Russia conflict could drive commodity prices in the Philippines up, with the crisis making oil and wheat costs more expensive. "'Yung trigo, ginagamit 'yan for flour, tumaas na rin 'yan kasi Ukraine supplies 25% of the world's wheat supply. So ang epekto niyan dito sa Pilipinas, 'yung presyo ng pandesal, 'yung skim milk, 'yung sugar, 'yung vegetable oil halos lahat ng mga commodities ay tumaas na mula last year," Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said in Friday's Laging Handa briefing. [Translation: Prices of wheat, which is used for flour, already went up as Ukraine supplies 25% of the world's wheat supply. The effect of this on the Philippines is that the prices of pandesal, skim milk, sugar, vegetable oil, almost all commodities have already gone up compared to last year.] Economic managers likewise stressed they are readying the release of 2.5 billion for the Department of Transportation's fuel subsidy program, which shall cover over 377,000 qualifed public transport drivers. The Department of Agriculture, meanwhile, also has a 500-miilion budget for the fuel discounts of farmers and fisherfolks operating machinery individually or as part of a cooperative. "This will help mitigate the impact of elevated fuel prices on production and transport costs of farm and fishery products," said the economic team. The DBCC likewise assured its commitment to "taking decisive action" in making sure the supply of goods and services remains unhampered despite oil prices going up amid COVID-19. "These will support our full recovery and sustained growth in 2022 and beyond," it added. The economic team expects growth to dwell within 7-9% this year. Economic output expanded by 5.6% in 2021, a bit above the DBCC's adjusted 5-5.6% target band. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) More foreign portfolio investments entered the country at the onset of 2022, latest data from the Bangko Sentaral ng Pilipinas showed. These investments commonly known as hot money because of how quickly they enter and exit the economy netted $14.6 million in inflows in January. The figure comes after the $4.38 million left the Philippines in December, bringing 2021s full-year figure to $574.46 million in net outflows. The $731 million registered investments this January fell by 23.1% annually, said the BSP. Of this number, 68% went to securities listed in the local bourse. The central bank said they were invested primarily in holding firms, property, banks, food, beverage and tobacco, and telecommunications. The remaining 32% headed to peso government securities, it added. United Kingdom, United States, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Malaysia were the top investor countries for January, said the BSP. The U.S. also emerged as the top recipient of gross outflows, garnering 75.1% of the $717 million total. (CNN) Props from the Netflix royal drama "The Crown" have been stolen. South Yorkshire police told CNN that props used in film and television production were reported stolen from three vehicles on Feb. 16. "The items stolen are not necessarily in the best condition and therefore of limited value for resale. However, they are valuable as pieces to the UK film industry," Alison Harvey, series set decorator for "The Crown" Season 5 told Antiques Trade Gazette. Candelabras, a clock, a silver dressing table set and glassware were among the missing items, according to the publication. "We can confirm the antiques have been stolen and we hope that they are found and returned safely," a spokesperson for Netflix told Variety. "Replacements will be sourced, there is no expectation that filming will be held up." CNN has reached out to Netflix for comment. The South Yorkshire police are still seeking information on the crime. The fifth season of the hit series, which follows the royal family, will premiere in November. The show won best drama at the Emmy Awards in 2021. Netflix has previously announced that the sixth season will be the last for the series. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Props from the 'The Crown' stolen in the UK." (CNN) Ukraine's airspace is currently closed in the wake of the Russian invasion. The US government on Thursday expanded the area near Ukraine where American pilots cannot fly. The Federal Aviation Administration said it is publishing an expanded notice to pilots that will "now cover the entire country of Ukraine, the entire country of Belarus and a western portion of Russia." Some commercial airlines, including Lufthansa and Air France, had already suspended flights to Ukraine earlier this week as tensions escalated. Countries including the United States and the United Kingdom have advised their citizens to leave Ukraine. The US government issued a travel advisory on February 12 warning against travel to Ukraine "due to the increased threats of Russian military action" as well as ongoing concerns about Covid-19. The UK government also advises against all travel to Ukraine, explaining that "it is likely that commercial routes out of Ukraine will be severely disrupted and roads across Ukraine could be closed." The European Union Aviation Safety Agency, known as EASA, has warned of a "high risk" to civilian aircraft flying near the Ukrainian border. Here's what we know about how travel in Eastern Europe and Russia might be impacted in the wake of the conflict. Can I still fly to Eastern Europe? Air traffic is still moving outside of severely affected areas. As well as bordering Russia, Ukraine also neighbors Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova, as the map above illustrates. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said "operators should exercise extreme caution" and avoid using the airspace within 100 nautical miles of the Russia-Ukraine border. Moldova has closed its airspace, while Belarus has banned flights over part of the country. There are no UK or US government warnings against traveling to Ukraine border countries -- or other Eastern European destinations -- because of the conflict. All countries bordering Ukraine were already on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Level 4 list of highest-risk Covid-19 destinations for travel. Florida-based travel adviser Gwen Kozlowski, a specialist in travel to central Europe and president of travel agency Exeter International, told CNN Travel on February 24 that her agency has had questions from travelers with upcoming trips to Poland, but no cancellations so far. "We have guests traveling at the end of March and into April in Poland, but that's over a month out. It's impossible to say now how this will evolve. We're basically in wait-and-see mode," Kozlowski said via email. My flight is supposed to be flying over Ukrainian airspace. Will it be rerouted? If you are flying on a route that would usually cross currently blocked-off airspace, the airline will reroute the flight. Recent imagery from aircraft tracker ADS-B Exchange shows empty airspace over Ukraine and its Russian border. "For aviation, safety is always the top priority," said Willie Walsh, the director general of the International Air Transport Association airline industry body, in a statement provided to CNN Travel on February 24. "IATA is helping to facilitate the relevant and timely sharing of information with airlines from government and non-government sources to support airlines as they plan their operations around airspace closures in Ukraine and parts of Russia." Can I still travel to Russia? Russian airspace on the border with Ukraine is closed to civilian flights. There are also some restrictions on domestic flights within Russia. The US State Department issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for Russia in January citing "ongoing tension along the border with Ukraine, the potential for harassment against US citizens, the embassy's limited ability to assist US citizens in Russia," as well as Covid-19 and other factors. The United Kingdom's advice to its citizens as of February 24 was more specific, advising against all but essential travel to certain Russian regions on the Ukraine border. The UK government also details information on increased restrictions and disruptions to domestic Russian flights, as well as warnings of escalated police presence and ID checks. The UK has also banned civilian Russian aircraft from its airspace and above its territorial sea from February 24 until May 23. Russian airline Aeroflot currently operates direct flights between Moscow and London-Heathrow and Gatwick, according to its website. Canadian citizens are advised to avoid travel to regions of Russia on the border with Ukraine. "The bulk of our Russia travelers seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach right now, but, of course, this might change based on how events unfold," travel agent Kozlowski told CNN Travel via email. How long will travel be affected? The situation in Ukraine is fast-moving. It is unclear how long airspace over Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus or Russia will be impacted. According to the UK government's travel advisory, restrictions on domestic flights in Russia are currently set to be in place through March 2. This story was first published on CNN.com, "How travel is being impacted by the Ukraine invasion." In Defence of Marxism is committed to safeguarding your privacy. At all times we aim to respect any personal data you share with us, or that we receive from other organisations, and keep it safe. This Privacy Policy (Policy) sets out our data collection and processing practices and your options regarding the ways in which your personal information is used. This Policy contains important information about your personal rights to privacy. Please read it carefully to understand how we use your personal data. We may update this Policy from time to time without notice to you, so please check it regularly. The provision of your personal data to us is voluntary. 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Please let us know if you have any queries or concerns whatsoever about the way in which your data is being processed by emailing the Data Protection Manager at webmaster@marxist.com Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has expressed alarm over what it describes as attempts to distort the truth about martial law and the EDSA People Power Revolution that led to the ouster of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos 36 years ago. The CBCP on Friday said it is the right time to release its pastoral letter as the country commemorates the historic revolution, and just a few months before the May 9 elections, in which the son of the late strongman is running for president. It said that aside from the tens of thousands of Filipinos who experienced the cruelty of the 20-year reign of Marcos, many bishops also witnessed the injustice and cruelty of the martial rule. The CBCP warned the public against "radical distortions" about martial law, which, it said, is done subtly and blatantly especially on social media. "We are alarmed by this distortion of the truth of history and the attempt to delete or destroy our collective memory through the seeding of lies and false narratives," the pastoral letter said. "This is dangerous, for it poisons our collective consciousness and destroys the moral foundations of our institutions," it also said. Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the CBCP, said the stories being spread across social media that the Philippines experienced economic "golden age" under the Marcos regime are simply lies. "That devastated the economy of our country. People have no business saying that was the golden age, that is a lie," he said in a media briefing. "Ang pinaninindigan lang natin dito ay katotohanan [We stand up for the truth]." David and Bishop Rex Andrew Alarcon, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Youth, also responded about the possibility of Bongbong Marcos' supporters taking offense on the pastoral letter. "Kung sila ay tinamaan, baka ito ay totoo," the CBCP president said. "Labanan natin ang nagsasabi ng hindi totoo. Kung malinaw sa inyo sino 'di nagsasabi ng totoo, huwag iboto iyon." [Translation: If they are offended, maybe because it's true. Let us deal with the liars. If you know who is lying, then do not vote for that person.] Alarcon added: "Nonpartisan ang letter, but never neutral on the truth. Kumikiling sa tama, to be partial to the truth. Kung may tamaan, ganoon ang workings ng ating conscience." [Translation: The letter is nonpartisan, but it is never neutral on the truth. It adheres to the truth. If someone is hurt, then that is the work of your conscience.] The CBCP said it will not endorse specific candidates, but it said it is proud of Catholic groups who have picked candidates to collectively support, all of which so far supported Marcos' opponent, Leni Robredo. It also urged the church to be more involved in empowering voters to choose the right candidates with upright morals and principles. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) Six of the seven candidates vying to be the country's next vice president expressed their readiness for the CNN Philippines Vice Presidential Debate on Saturday, 5 p.m., at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. Nationalist People's Coalition vice presidential contender and Senate President Tito Sotto said the debate will give him the chance to lay out his plans for the country and the voters to assess the best and worst candidates in the field. "People can have a better appreciation of a candidate's perspective once they watch the debates," said Sotto, who is paired with Partido Reporma presidential contender Sen. Ping Lacson. Carlos Serapio, the vice presidential bet of Katipunan ng Kamalayang Kayumanggi, emphasized the power of media in influencing the country's political system especially during election period. "Specifically, in our elections, media serves as a most influential platform for the discernment of leadership choices by our voters," said Serapio, who is in tandem with presidentiable Faisal Mangondato. Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) vice presidentiable Walden Bello stressed that the debate will be a good opportunity for him to explain the benefits of an economy adhering to democratic socialism and why he and presidentiable labor leader Leody De Guzman stand out from the other pairings. "I intend to demonstrate the sharp contrast between the Leody-Walden tandem and the rest of the field, who have mostly been inclined toward traditional politics," insisted Bello. The former Akbayan party-list representative also blasted Lakas-CMD vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte for skipping the debate. The presidential daughter and incumbent Davao City Mayor did not provide any particular reason for her absence. "She should stop being a coward and subject herself to scrutiny as any good candidate should," he said. Liberal Party vice presidential contender Francis Pangilinan also emphasized the importance of attending debates as they are wooing voters to secure their nods. "Kailangan magpakita at ipakita kung ano ang pakay mo doon sa nililigawan mo. Sino ang sasagot sa isang manliligaw na hindi humaharap?" said Pangilinan, who is running with presidential bet and incumbent Vice President Leni Robredo. [Translation: We need to show our intention to those we are courting. Who will answer to a suitor who is not facing the one he is wooing?] Meanwhile, Aksyon Demokratiko vice presidential candidate Dr. Willie Ong looks forward to personally meet and learn from his rivals, as he sees the debate not as a venue for them to compete with each other. "I want to learn from them, marami rin akong mako-contribute, bahala na yung tao. Sa akin, hindi siya competition. Parang nag-uusap lang. Kung sino pipiliin ng tao, yun lang. Hindi ko siya nakikita as away," said Ong, who runs with presidential bet and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. [Translation: I want to learn from them, I can contribute a lot, but it is still up to the people. For me, it (the debate) is not a competition. It's just like we're having a conversation. I will accept who the people will choose from the debate. I don't see this as a quarrel.] Vice presidential candidate Rizalito David of the Democratic Party of the Philippines said that he has been prepared for the debate. "It is a mission I was born to do. I have been prepared and very much ready to engage the general public on the message of greatness that we all so deserved. The Filipino people are destined to be great," said David, who forms a partnership with party standard bearer and physician-lawyer Joey Montemayor. Manny SD Lopez of the Labor Party Philippines rounds up the vice presidential candidates who will appear in the debate sanctioned by the Commission on Elections. Progressive Movement for the Devolution of Initiatives vice presidentiable Lito Atienza will not be on board as he is recovering from a knee replacement surgery. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) - The Commission on Elections is holding its own presidential and vice presidential debates next month. But how will its debate format affect the participating candidates? Speaking to CNN Philippines' The Source on Friday, political science professor Aries Arugay and Kontra Daya convenor Danilo Arao aired their sentiments and recommendations on the poll body's debates happening on March 19. They noted that since debates serve as a platform to communicate what candidates want to convey to voters, they should be strategic in effectively articulating their answers within the short time limit. "If Miss Universe beauty pageant contestants can do that in just 30 seconds, why can't they (candidates) articulate their stand in 3 minutes, or maybe provide rebuttals in under 1 minute?" Arao said. "If we have high standards for beauty pageant contestants, why can't we have a higher standard or maybe the same standard for our presidential and vice presidential candidates?" Both Arao and Arugay back the initial ground rules set by Comelec on having a single moderator, and not giving advance questions to the candidates. But they said candidates must be able to rebut, make counter-arguments on each other's opinions, or do other forms of banter, instead of solely allowing the moderators to ask questions. The debate must also not focus on the moderators or the panelists, they added. "A debate is supposed to be a dynamic interaction between the interlocutors, and the moderator actually moderates or somehow just makes sure that the rules are followed," Arugay said. "This is an election, with contesting visions of candidates. If you are not allowing them to clash or contend with one another then what is the point?" he added. Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez on Thursday said candidates will only be given a general idea of the topics that will be covered, but they cannot bring cheat sheets or notes on the podium. "There will be other guidelines including how the debaters will address each other or how they will interact with each other so to say, but we will release that once we've finalized these rules," Jimenez said. READ: No Marcos confirmation in Comelec-sponsored debate in March Jimenez noted that all 10 presidential candidates have initially expressed participation in the event, but the spokesperson of former senator Bongbong Marcos has issued a clarification that his attendance is not yet certain. RELATED: Absence from debates robs voters of the bigger picture in bets' candidacies, says analyst The survey frontrunner previously skipped GMA News' "The Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews" and the KBP forum. He also begged off from the upcoming CNN Philippines presidential debate this Sunday, Feb. 27. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) The Philippine Army has reported that five people were killed after some "encounters" with members of a communist terrorist group (CTG) in Davao de Oro, as the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) denied there was an actual clash. "The AFP's 'encounter' claim is an outright lie," contested CPP Chief Information Officer Marco Valbuena on Twitter, Friday. The Army's 10th infantry Division earlier said its troops were involved in a "series of armed encounters" at Barangay Andap, New Bataan town, early Thursday morning, which claimed the lives of five people. It noted that the firefight lasted 15 minutes, after which the alleged communist terrorists withdrew, leaving behind weapons and personal belongings. "We have warned them multiple times to peacefully surrender to the government. However, they chose to resist to continue the bloodshed that resulted to their demise," 10th Infantry "Agila" Division Commander MGen Nolasco Mempin was quoted as saying. "Together with their former comrades, we again urge the remaining members of the CTG to return to the folds of the law," he added. On the other hand, the CPP official urged families and friends of the victims to "uncover the facts surrounding their deaths and demand justice for their murders." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) President Rodrigo Duterte is still not endorsing any candidate for the country's top post, saying he prefers to "stay neutral" for now. In an interview with Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar aired Friday, Duterte said he's "not in a hurry" to name his preferred successor, stressing that the interest of the Filipino people is at stake. "I may or I may not, but preferably, I'd like to stay neutral," Duterte told Cabinet Report. "Ibig sabihin, wala akong susuportahan na kandidato (Meaning, I won't support any candidate)." "Unless, again, there'll be a compelling reason for me to go out and tell the people what it is," he added. "I would like to bide my time. I'm not in a hurry." Prior to the start of the campaign period, Duterte said he won't be supporting any candidate yet even if some of them have already "communicated" with him. His party PDP-Laban is left with no standard bearer after Sen. Bong Go dropped out of the presidential race. Pressed further about the matter, Duterte admitted that the ruling party could not find anyone for the post. "Simply because wala rin kaming makita (we couldn't find anyone)," he said. The chief executive also vowed his administration will mount a "clean and honest" election in May. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 25) The legacy of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution lives on as Filipinos continue to embody unity and love of country amid the COVID-19 pandemic, President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo both expressed Friday. "It has been 36 years, but the events of the People Power Revolution remain vivid in our memory, when millions of Filipinos gathered at EDSA to reclaim our nation's democracy," President Duterte's message read. "This celebration serves as a strong reminder that with unity, cooperation and faith, there is nothing that we cannot collectively achieve for the greater good of our country," he further said. Meanwhile, Vice President Robredo stressed that the revolution's essence goes beyond the surnames of those involved in it. "Ang kuwento ng EDSA, kuwento ng pagtindig at paglaban para sa pangarap ng paglaya. Kuwento ito ng pagkakaisa ng kabataan at matatanda, ng buong bansa, ng mga madreng lumuluhod sa harap ng baril at sa mga sundalong di mapigilang maluha nang sabitan ng rosary ang mga baril na ito. Kuwento ito ng pagmamahal," said Robredo. [Translation: The story of EDSA is one of standing up for the country's dream of freedom. It is a story of unity of the young and the old, the entire country, the nuns who knelt in front of guns, and the soldiers who couldn't help but cry when rosaries were hung on these guns. It is a story of love.] Both leaders reminded that the spirit of the first People Power in the Philippines remains alive as reflected through the honest and helping acts of some people whether in the government, in the medical field, and calamity-ravaged places. "Let us emulate their heroism, selflessness and compassion as we strive to recover from our present challenges and march forward to a better Philippines for all," Duterte expressed. The EDSA People Power Revolution restored the nation's democracy after Filipinos from all walks of life stormed the streets and forced the ouster of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who fleed with his family to Hawaii in exile. (CNN) President Joe Biden has warned Americans they will have to pay a price for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Gas prices are likely to rise. The post-World War II world order that has maintained relative peace in Europe is threatened. But Biden has also been very clear on another point: US troops will not be sent to Ukraine to take part in the conflict. As he announced new sanctions on Russia on Thursday, Biden said, "Our forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict." He added, "Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the east." When he announced the first tranche of sanctions against Russia for beginning its invasion on Tuesday, Biden similarly took great care to make clear the US was not being aggressive toward Russia. "Let me be clear: These are totally defensive moves on our part. We have no intention of fighting Russia," Biden said. Earlier in February, Biden told NBC News he would not consider any scenario that included sending US troops to evacuate Americans in Ukraine. "There's not. That's a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another," he said. While Biden's clarification that US troops would not become offensively involved can help avoid a conflict between the US and Russia, critics pointed out it also made clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his forces would face fewer obstacles in their invasion. "Biden diluted our most important source of leverage in this crisis," Ian Brzezinski, former Pentagon official under President George W. Bush told the New York Times earlier this month. US troops are in countries that border Ukraine A major element of Putin's invasion is his fear that Ukraine could become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, which was formed after World War II to contain the Soviet Union and has expanded in recent decades to include former Soviet bloc countries. Ukraine borders the NATO member countries of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. If Russia threatened one of these countries, the US would be required by the agreement to defend them. "We want to send an unmistakable message, though, that the United States, together with our Allies, will defend every inch of NATO territory and abide by the commitments we made to NATO," Biden said Tuesday. He said something similar last week, in remarks from the White House, but he added clearly, "We also will not send troops in to fight in Ukraine, but we will continue to support the Ukrainian people." Moving troops within NATO countries While Biden has pledged not to send US troops to Ukraine, the US has sent additional troops and fighter jets to eastern European countries including Poland and Romania in recent weeks and on Thursday announced the deployment of 7,000 additional troops to Germany. After Russia's invasion and attack on Ukraine, CNN is reporting that the Biden administration is considering moving more US forces already in Europe to countries farther east due to the massive Russian firepower so close to allies, according to a US official familiar with the matter. "Today we activated NATO's defense stance that gives our military commanders more authority to move forces and to deploy forces when needed, and of course this can also be elements of the NATO response force," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday. "We are ready, we are adjusting our posture but what we do is defensive, measured, and we don't seek confrontation. We want to prevent the conflict." Opposition to major US involvement Americans are wary of US intervention in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to polls taken in the runup to Russia's invasion. In an AP-NORC poll, conducted last Friday through this Monday, just 26% of Americans believed the US should play a major role in the situation between Russia and Ukraine. About half, 52%, said it should play a minor role and another 20% that it should play no role at all. One-third of Democrats (32%) and 22% of Republicans wanted the US to play a major role. Independents were most likely to say the US should play no role; 32% felt that way, compared with 22% among Republicans and 14% among Democrats. In light of the polling, Biden and American officials would have to be very careful to engage the public before changing the administration's position on the commitment of US troops. This story has been updated with additional developments. This story was first published on CNN.com 'Here's what Biden has said about sending US troops to Ukraine' (CNN) -- A Pakistan man has been found guilty of murdering the daughter of a distinguished diplomat in a brutal beheading case that sparked renewed calls for better protection of domestic violence victims. An Islamabad judge sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death Thursday for killing Noor Mukadam, 27, last July at Jaffer's family home in an affluent neighborhood in the country's capital. Jaffer, the 30-year-old son of an influential family and a dual Pakistan-US national, was arrested at the scene of the attack and later charged with premeditated murder, rape, abduction and confinement. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. Mukadam's father, Shaukat Mukadam, welcomed the verdict. "This case is for all the daughters of Pakistan," he told reporters. "The society and media came to our side, the entire nation and the world was on our side." Violence against women Pakistan has a poor record when it comes to protecting women and girls, but Noor Mukadam's death sent shockwaves through the country because of Jaffer's family background and the brutal nature of the crime. Pakistan does not have a nationwide law criminalizing domestic violence, leaving many women and girls vulnerable to assault. Often, violence occurs within marriage and goes unreported, because it is considered a cultural norm in Pakistan's patriarchal society, according to a World Health Organization review of literature on domestic violence in Pakistan from 2008 to 2018. Around 28% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, Pakistan's Ministry of Human Rights said, citing the country's Demographic and Health Survey from 2017-2018. Activists used Mukadam's death to renew calls for the country's Parliament to pass legislation that would fine or imprison offenders for abusing women, children or vulnerable people. The Pakistan Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill was proposed in 2020. If passed, it would only apply to the Islamabad Capital Territory, but activists believe it would encourage other provinces to pass similar legislation as the capital is controlled by the country's ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The bill was passed in the lower house of the country's Parliament in April last year, but was subsequently held up by the Senate, Parliament's upper house, after opposition members succeeded by one vote to refer the bill to the Senate Committee on Human Rights for further review. It was ultimately passed by the Senate last June and progressed to the next step, presidential assent, for final approval. However, in early July, the adviser to the prime minister on parliamentary affairs, Babar Awan, wrote a letter to the speaker of Parliament, seeking a review of the bill by the all-male member Council of Islamic Ideology -- the constitutional body that advises the legislature on whether or not a certain law is repugnant to Islam. But the council has been criticized for holding archaic views rooted in patriarchy. In 2016, it proposed its own bill to allow men to "lightly beat" their wives. Activists fear the conservative council will use its influence on the legislation to kill the bill, sending a message that violence against women in their own homes is allowed, or even condoned. The Islamic Council told CNN on Tuesday that they still waiting on the government to work with them and move the process forward. This story was first published on CNN.com "Pakistan-American man sentenced to death for beheading a diplomat's daughter". (CNN) Eight years after a pro-European protest movement toppled a Kremlin-backed president in Kyiv and Russia fomented a grinding war in the country's east, people in Ukraine have been on tenterhooks wondering what Russian President Vladimir Putin might do next. Their worst nightmare began to unfold as dawn broke on Thursday, after Putin declared the start of a "special military operation" in Ukraine. As he spoke, people in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and other parts of the country woke to the sound of large explosions and air raid sirens. In disbelief, they turned on their TVs and radios to hear news that an invasion had begun, with Russian troops breaching borders to the north and south. A large boom at 6 a.m. shook Yana and Sergii Lysenko from sleep in their Kyiv home. At first, Yana thought her husband was mistaken, it couldn't be an attack, and told him to go back to sleep. Then they heard another blast. "We started to listen to the news and we understood that the war had started, the Russian invasion is ongoing," Sergii told CNN. After hearing from friends that traffic had clogged roads out of the capital, the couple decided at first to remain at home with their 3-year-old daughter, packing their bags just in case. "We are a bit in shock and trying to stay calm, not to show anything to our child," Sergii added. By the afternoon, Yana and Sergii had decided to leave their Kyiv home. They jumped into the car and started heading west to Ternopil, a town 300 miles west of Kyiv, about 120 miles from the Polish border. "We think it will be more safe in Ternopil. The last thing was when we heard the bomb, that's why we decided to get out from the city because we are living in the center," Yana told CNN from the car, as they were driving away. Despite Western warnings that an attack was imminent, Ukrainians have largely remained divided about the possibility of a Russian invasion, hoping that the military buildup was just the latest in Moscow's mind games. After months of ratcheting tensions, the wide-scale military assault still came as a shock -- especially in Kyiv, where residents had, until Wednesday, continued to go about their daily lives as foreign governments withdrew their diplomatic staff from the capital. The mood was entirely different on Thursday morning, as people queued to purchase fuel for cars and drive west, away from the focus of the Russian assault. Exit ramps out of Kyiv were snarled with traffic for hours after explosions rang out near the city's main airport. Grocery stores, pharmacies and shops were crammed with people trying to stock up on supplies. In one 24/7 supermarket, 20-year-old Oleksandr, who declined to give their surname, told CNN shelves had been emptied of pasta and bread. Long lines formed with people trying to withdraw cash from ATMs, many of which had run empty -- a scene that was playing out in other parts of the country. In the center of Mariupol, in the country's southeast, one woman told CNN she had been driving around the city all morning, trying 10 different ATMs while her children waited in the idling car for her outside. People in the port city on the Sea of Azov were frantic and confused, as rumors ran rampant that roads and checkpoints were closed, preventing them from leaving. Across the country, Ukraine's subway stations are doubling as bomb shelters, as the assault continues and fears of strikes grow. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, people were pouring underground while distant booms sounded intermittently. Families with their children and pets in tow descended on one subway station after reports that Russian forces had rolled across the border and were heading toward the city in Ukraine's northeast. People gathered there said they have vehicles but don't want to risk leaving the city. One woman there captured the uncertainty and insecurity being felt by people across the country, who are now wondering how their lives could have changed so dramatically from day to night. "You wake up at 5 a.m. to a totally new reality, and you find out the world is no longer the safe place you imagined," she told CNN. "It's hard to believe it's actually our neighbor doing this, because we never really believed that our neighbor can just come and just grab our land and tell us what to do. We (are an) independent country of Ukraine, and ... we don't want to be a part of Russia or any other country," she said, breaking down in tears. "I can't believe it's happening, really." Back in Kyiv, the capital's subway system was up and running. Some residents were camped out, sheltering in stations, but most were trying to find some way out of the city, with small suitcases and bags in tow. A student rushing out of the station at Kyiv's Independence Square, the epicenter of the 2014 Maidan revolution and living monument to the so-called "Heavenly Hundred" protesters who died there, said that her parents, who live some 190 miles west, were coming to pick her up after she had failed to find any other transport options. "I woke up at 5 a.m. and packed. I've been to the railway station and it's closed. There are no buses," Diana, 20, told CNN, adding: "I'm going home because I'm scared." But some people say they are carrying on as though it's "business as usual." Alex Klymenok, a 27-year-old lawyer, woke up to the sound of explosions and then resolutely put on his suit, traveling into his office to pick up a laptop and return home to work remotely. "Well, it's scary, of course, but we don't need to panic. All they want us to do at this moment is to panic," Klymenok told CNN, adding that he still did not believe Putin would launch a full-scale invasion, moving forces beyond the separatist-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Moscow recognized as independent on Monday. "For now, it's business as usual. But if they're here in Kyiv, I'm ready to, I am prepared to fight," he said. Any sense of an impending showdown had hardly been felt in Lviv, a historic cultural hub in the country's west, until Thursday morning, when air raid sirens sounded for the first time, outside of regular drills, since World War II. Like clockwork, the picturesque city transformed from a tourist hotspot to a place preparing for war. Even as TV screens flashed warnings of an imminent attack on the country in recent days, tour groups continued to flock the city's cobblestoned streets, where dazzling baroque-style architecture stretches for miles. Diplomatic missions and international groups had also fled to the relative safety of Lviv from the capital Kyiv. But that bubble burst on Thursday. Most shops in the city were shuttered. Long lines extended outside the few open stores -- pharmacies, supermarkets and even pet stores. The wait was more than two hours long at most petrol pumps, where fuel was being rationed in an attempt to prevent shortages. Svetlana Locotova let out a hearty laugh from a long line outside a cash machine. She was on the phone with her relatives in the heavily shelled city of Kharkiv. Next to her was Margarita, her 12-year-old daughter. Speaking to CNN, but also -- it would seem -- to her daughter, who nervously forced a smile, Locotova said cheerily: "It's totally normal that this would happen. I expected this queue. This is just how people react." She and Margarita had just returned from a shooting range -- a common pastime here lately. "We're confident, but we're preparing for the worst," she said. People here were going about the day with an air of defiance, even as the city seemed transformed. "Ukraine is no stranger to war" is the common refrain. Many people still exchanged smiles and jokes, even as they spoke about preparing their homes to receive relatives from the significantly harder-hit east of the country. As the threat of invasion has loomed larger, residents across the country have prepared for the worst -- packing emergency evacuation kits and spending their weekends training as reservists. As that threat was realized, Ukraine's defense minister urged anyone thinking of taking up arms to enlist. In Kharkiv, 25 miles from the Russian border, hundreds of reservists joined up with Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces to learn battle skills and survival techniques. The volunteers, who only weeks earlier learned how to use a rifle and bandage a wounded comrade with a tourniquet, are now facing the prospect of being deployed to the front lines. There were reports on Thursday morning of long lines outside one of Kharkiv's hospitals, where people were desperate to help by donating blood. And in a quiet moment in one of the city's main squares, as many on the border wondered what might come next, a small group huddled together in the freezing cold and knelt down on the pavement to pray. This story was first published on CNN.com 'The grim reality of war hits stunned Ukrainians' (CNN) At the railway station in Lviv, in Ukraine's westernmost corner, near the Polish border, hundreds of people are pouring off of trains, disembarking as sirens blare. The terminal, one of the most historic Art Nouveau structures in Europe, is now a waypoint for those displaced by war, attempting to put hundreds of miles between themselves and an invading Russia, while edging closer to NATO's front line. That the historic cultural hub could become a target for Moscow was unthinkable for many including the diplomats and international organizations that fled from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to Lviv in recent weeks. But when the sirens went off, it was a chilling reminder that nowhere in Ukraine is safe from Moscow's full-fledged assault on the country. There was a faraway look in people's faces. Most moved listlessly in the courtyard outside the station, even as the sirens sounded. A family piled blankets over their baby in a stroller. Two women dressed a shivering French bulldog in a knitted pink sweater. Several other families sat together barricaded by large suitcases and plastic bags. They said they hadn't slept for days because of the bombardment that has wracked the regions they left. They had traveled to Lviv from cities and towns across the country, quickly packing backpacks and gathering a few belongings before fleeing their homes. Still reeling from the violence, many say they don't know where to go next. It's a question that's been complicated by a new Ukrainian martial law that's been rolled out. Among other restrictions, it prohibits men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country. Families considering crossing Ukraine's border must contend not only with the trauma of becoming refugees, but also with the prospect of separating from their sons, brothers, husbands and partners. Artem Zonenko just arrived in Lviv from Kyiv along with his mother-in-law and his infant daughter. They spent last night sleeping on the floor of a subway station, taking cover from the bombardment and shelling of the Ukrainian capital. His wife had been in Lviv for a few days. The family plans to spend a day together before they decide on whether grandmother, mother and child continue to Poland, leaving Zonenko behind. Asked how he felt about it, he smiled despairingly. "I'm not sure what to tell you. It is what it is," he said, corralling his family into a taxi. The UNHCR said that at least 100,000 people left their homes in the first 24 hours of the military assault on Thursday. State-owned media and an eyewitness said over 7,000 cars queued up at crossings on the Polish border, with one line stretching for over 30 kilometers. Andrei, 45, looked into the distance as he took a long drag from his cigarette. He just arrived from his native Odessa, in the southeast, and was concocting a plan to meet his Belarusian wife in Poland. "She's pregnant. I need to go to her," he said, refusing to disclose his full name for security reasons. "This law makes no sense." The government announced the general mobilization order which included the male travel ban while he was on the train. It is a curve ball that could upend his family's future, he said. "And then [we] got off the train and the sirens went off," he said. "I was shocked, because we weren't even told where to take cover. I was shocked because this place is supposed to be safe." "And now we're being told that we can't even leave the country, while the migrants can," he gestured to a group of foreigners nearby. "I ask you, is this fair?" For migrants arriving in Lviv, their destination is certain Poland, or any neighboring state that will take them in. "I don't know where to take cover because nowhere is safe," says Mehmet, a Turkish resident in Ukraine, dragging two large suitcases across the pavement as the sirens sounded. "We're just going to get out of the country." A group of Algerian university students who came from Odessa were frantically discussing their plans. "We'll just go to Poland," said Takieddine, who asked not to be named in full for security reasons. "There's no way we're staying in Ukraine." "We never thought this would happen in Europe. Never ever. Not in a million years." Ihor Nakonechyi, 52, is in the border town of Mostyska making preparations to shuttle his ex-wife and daughter to Poland. He plans to drop them off at the nearby crossing and then turn back, not just because the law prohibits him from leaving the country, he says, but because he "can't wait to pick up a gun" and join the fight against Russian forces. "It's difficult ... but I'm not bothered by the law. In fact I think this is the right thing to do." This story was first published on CNN.com, "Fleeing Russia's advancing troops means some Ukrainians are leaving husbands, sons and brothers behind." (CNN) The US will impose sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House announced Friday. The Russian leader will become the highest-profile target in the effort to impose costs on the Russian economy and Putin's inner circle in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Additional Russian officials are likely to be included, one source familiar with the matter said. The European Union and United Kingdom also announced they would introduce sanctions targeting Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the US move to sanction Putin and Lavrov, which was first reported by CNN, was made in the last 24 hours in coordination with European allies. "It's been on the table for some time, but through coordination and discussion with our European partners over the last day or so," Psaki said when asked for details on the timing of the decision. The decision to target Putin directly across Western allies marks the most personal escalation of a sweeping effort to respond to Russia's actions through economic penalties. While it's unclear the extent of the direct effect -- officials have long said Putin's finances are opaque and difficult to track -- the symbolism of targeting the Russian leader is clear. Psaki also said she "believes" a travel ban of some kind will be included in the US sanctions against the Russian President, but she did not have specific details yet. "There are very limited examples of of this being done, as you all know, but that is a standard part," she said. President Joe Biden had said sanctioning Putin had been an option under consideration, telling CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Thursday it was "on the table." The Biden administration on Thursday announced sweeping sanctions targeting Russia, enacting penalties across industries, including asset freezes for the largest banks, debt and equity restrictions on critical mining, transportation and logistics firms and a large-scale effort to shut down access to critical technology for key Russian military and industrial sectors. As part of its first two rounds of sanctions, the US targeted key members of Putin's inner circle, both in government and in business. But in what would mark a new strategy, they also expanded sanctions to the adult children of several of the officials. It was a calculated effort to cut off what officials say has been a pathway utilized by Russian officials to shield their wealth by transferring it to family members. The EU and UK have also targeted a series of Russian officials. Earlier this week, the US also allowed sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany to go forward, after Germany said it would not certify the pipeline following the Russian invasion. Those sanctions were issued in coordination with European countries to punish Moscow for its attack on Ukraine. But the White House and European Union faced calls from Ukrainian leaders -- as well as lawmakers in Congress -- to take additional steps, including shutting Russia out from the SWIFT financial messaging system used for international transactions, as well as targeting Putin directly. European counties, which rely on SWIFT to buy Russian gas and energy, were not yet ready to take that step, however, which Biden alluded to at his Thursday news conference. "We've never taken that off the table, of course, and I'm certainly not taking it off the table today," Psaki said of SWIFT. "So certainly there'll be ongoing discussions about that." The plans from the US, UK and European Union to collectively sanction Putin personally came after a call with NATO leaders on Friday. NATO leaders also announced the alliance was activating the NATO Response Force for the first time as a defensive measure in response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The EU announced Friday it was adding Putin and Lavrov in its sanctions list. And UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday he will introduce new sanctions against Putin and Lavrov "imminently" on top of sanctions the British government announced on Thursday. A readout of Johnson's call with NATO leaders published on the UK government's website said that Johnson also urged NATO countries "to take immediate action against SWIFT to inflict maximum pain on President Putin and his regime." This story was first published on CNN.com, "US to impose sanctions on Putin following Ukraine invasion." Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, is a person who is not short of media attention. I think its impossible to look through any social media app and not see his name mentioned. Between the recent listening party for his album Donda 2, his attempts to reunite with his separated wife Kim Kardashian or his beef with her boyfriend and comedian Pete Davidson, its hard to ignore his huge presence in pop culture today. All of that aside, his influence on modern hip-hop cant be overstated. His 10 studio albums (Donda 2 was just released exclusively on his Stem Player device) have impacted not only hip-hop but the music industry in general. But Ye wasnt always in the spotlight and thats shown in the first episode of jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, a new documentary series on Netflix detailing the rise of the hip-hop star. Composed of footage from filmmaker and frequent Ye collaborator Clarence Simmons Jr. known in the documentary as Coodie the first episode shows Yes beginnings in the emerging hip-hop scene in his hometown of Chicago. The documentary then shows Ye leaving Chicago for New York City where he produced beats for Jay-Zs label Roc-A-Fella Records. While he was producing for other artists, he aspired to be a signed rapper. The documentary shows Ye crafting famous songs from his eventual debut album The College Dropout, including All Falls Down, Two Words and Family Business. However, when he shows these songs to representatives from Roc-A-Fella, most of them reject him. Ye fears his rejection is because the label wants him to remain a producer and not venture into becoming a recording artist. Despite facing constant rejection, he eventually gets approval to appear on You Hear It First, an MTV series that featured emerging artists. The episode ends with him finally achieving his goal of signing a record deal. MORE LIFESTYLE CONTENT This first episode was really great. I think my favorite part of it was the intimate perspective of the documentary. Coodie first met Ye in Chicago while he was documenting the hip-hop scene there for his own public access channel. In the documentary, Coodie said he felt Ye could become one of the best artists of all time and decided to document what he thought would be Yes path to success. He didnt start recording Ye just after his initial mainstream success Coodie was with him from the beginning and provides a very intimate perspective on his rise to fame. We arent observing through the lens of an outside observer of Ye we are with him all along the way right next to him. I think two specific scenes illustrate this point the best. In the first scene, Ye is driving with Coodie and his other friends. He starts ranting to the camera about how he feels like he is being used and exploited by other artists for his production while not being appreciated for his own songs. The closeness and framing of the moment makes you feel as though Ye is ranting to you. You are in the car with him, and you are experiencing this firsthand. The second scene is probably the best in the entire episode. It shows Ye going back to his childhood home in Chicago with his mother, Donda West. The scene isnt too complex it just shows Ye and his mom reminiscing on their time in the house. Donda was Yes biggest inspiration for making music, and when she died in 2007, it had a clear impact on him and his music. The intimate, fly-on-the-wall perspective makes this scene very special. This was a great first episode. It provided a close look at one of the most popular and influential artists of all time before he made it big, and I cant wait to see the next episode. MORE LIFESTYLE CONTENT On Thursday, the State College-based Osaze Osagie College Scholarship Endowment Committee announced it reached and surpassed its $100,000 fundraising campaign goal. The scholarship is named for Osagie a 29-year-old Black man who was killed by a State College police officer on March 20, 2019, when three officers arrived at his apartment to serve a mental health warrant. Osagie, who had autism and a history of schizophrenia, allegedly ran at the officers with a knife. After an unsuccessful attempt to deploy a Taser on him, he was allegedly shot by Officer M. Jordan Pieniazek. The three officers involved in the shooting have not been charged. Sylvester Osagie, Osaze's father, filed a lawsuit in November 2020 against the borough of State College, and Judge Matthew W. Brann of the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania set a long-term trial date in 2022. In the release, the committee said it raised a total of $107,284 to date meaning it will be able to award its first $5,000 scholarship to a "racially underrepresented high school student in State College," who has a commitment to community service. The scholarship is meant to perpetuate [Osaze's] spirit of volunteerism and giving," according to the committee. Initially announced in August 2021, the campaign has received donations from the Palmer Foundation and other individuals especially on Giving Tuesday on Nov. 30, 2021, according to the release. The group plans to award its first scholarship this May and said the $5,000 reward may increase as the fund grows. Sylvester said his family is touched beyond words by the communitys support for the scholarship. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received and look forward to supporting young students commitment to volunteerism in our sons name, for years to come, Sylvester said in the release. In the release, the Osaze Osagie College Scholarship Endowment Committee said individuals can give to the fund through Centre Foundation. MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE When Penn State student Sophia Datsko awoke Thursday morning, she learned many of her family members were deciding to either defend or flee their home country Ukraine. Early Thursday morning, Russia invaded Ukraine in a "wide-ranging attack," according to the Associated Press. Though Datsko said her immediate family lives in the United States, her extended family was forced to make the aforementioned life-altering decision. Some are fleeing the country somewhere, traveling across the border, Datsko (senior-global and international studies and political science) said. Others are gearing up to sort of tackle the situation at hand to deal with this atrocity to deal with the invasion. Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said a full-scale war in Europe has begun," according to the AP. Russia is not only attacking Ukraine but the rules of normal life in the modern world," Podolyak said to the AP. To show its support for Ukraine, Penn States Ukrainian Society held a Pray for Ukraine rally at the Allen Street Gates in State College on Thursday. As vice president of the Ukrainian Society, Datsko said she hoped at the event, people found a sense of unity while spreading awareness. We might be in the middle of Pennsylvania, Datsko said. We might be across the ocean, but we still stand in unity with Ukraine. The announcement of the Pray for Ukraine rally was publicized Thursday morning, and more than 50 individuals stood for the cause. I know todays meeting was impromptu, Ukrainian Society President Maria Smereka said, but we werent expecting the events that did occur to occur. Smereka (junior-biology) said in her introductory speech that the Ukrainian Society plans on hosting another rally in the near future. Hopefully we can get more people, more sides, more colors out, Smereka said. Keep the energy high, be happy and be optimistic. Cathy Wanner, Penn State professor of history and religious studies, shared the information regarding the Ukrainian Societys event, and many of her students voluntarily joined her at the Allen Street Gates. Wanner said shes co-teaching a course with a scholar who is currently in Ukraine and unable to acquire a visa to come to the United States. After today, I am not so confident that shes going to be able to come to Penn State, although we have been planning this class for over a year, Wanner said. The scholars husband joined the Ukrainian volunteer forces amid the invasion as she left with her three-year-old son, Wanner said. Can you imagine the children who were yanked out of bed at five in the morning? Wanner said. Another of Wanners friends is in a bomb shelter while others are dealing with the morality of leaving their cats, dogs, horses and other animals behind, Wanner said. For Wanners students, she said she hopes they begin to understand the roots of conflicts and to identify them for what they are. Above all, [I want people] to not be afraid of differences of opinion and to be able to engage with other people within their differences of opinion so that one can speak about having different perspectives and different understandings of things, Wanner said. Veteran and current Penn State student Haze Orner walked past the Pray for Ukraine event and was drawn in by the atmosphere and the cause. Ten months ago, Orner (sophomore-agricultural science) said he was stationed in Ukraine after being on active duty for five years. After waking up this morning, Orner said he saw people on social media joking about the events that occurred in Ukraine overnight. I woke up this morning and opened up Instagram, Orner said. The first post I saw was a meme about World War III. A lot of people are OK with this because its not a direct problem right now. Regardless of where someone lives, Orner said he believes more people should be concerned with the war. Life matters no matter where its at, Orner said. Even if its thousands of miles away, life matters. While serving in Ukraine, Orner said the people there treated him like family. Theres a lot of people there that are good people better people than I am and its sad, Orner said. I dont want to see those people not get the recognition they deserve. James Sayers also stood in unity with the Ukrainian Society because he believes whats happening in Ukraine is a blatant violation of international norms and standards. Sayers (junior-Russian and international politics) said the reason he chose his majors were because of the events of 2014. According to the AP, in April 2014, "Russia-backed rebels seized government buildings in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, proclaimed the creation of 'peoples republics' and battled Ukrainian troops and volunteer battalions." Sometimes you have to realize the enemy has a say in this, too, Sayers said. I think its important we take a stand where tyranny is because if we give it an inch, itll take a mile. As he waved his sign that read "Stop the war," Sayers said he hoped the event encouraged support from community members for those in the Western Hemisphere. This shows that actions speak louder than words, Sayers said. We still have to keep upholding this mantle of responsibility. Ukrainian student Igor Latsanych said his father was in Kyiv when the air raids began. [My fathers] currently on his way between Kyiv and leaving to go meet my grandparents and take them further west into Slovakia or Poland and then to get away further, Latsanych (freshman-international relations and affairs) said. Though Latsanych said his father left as soon as he could, the conflicts continued amid traffic jams lasting more than 10 hours. Latsanych said Ukrainians are used to this panic, in a way. Ukraine is continuing things as usual, Latsanych said. For reference, my father called me earlier today. When he came to a gas station, the only thing that was different was the gas prices. Latsanych said since the country has been in a state of emergency for so long, they have become numb to the panic. Ukraine has been in this for the last eight years, and its very unfortunate that the news has only noticed it in the last six months, Latsanych said. Ukraine has been under a state of emergency for a very long time, and people have gotten used to it business will go on, and people will keep going. Latsanych said he doesnt want students to let the foreign disputes distract them, though. It is imperative that students continue to work toward their future because if students dont work towards the future, we will not have a future, Latsanych said. Ultimately, Datsko said she hopes all who attended the rally and those who plan on attending future events understand the strength of Ukrainians. We are Ukrainians. We dont back down its in our national anthem, Datsko said. Well put our soul, our bodies first, to defend our beloved Ukraine. MORE NEWS COVERAGE For Penn State doctoral student Starlette Sharp, being awarded the Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in Washington, D.C., allowed her to continue down her path of becoming a professor. Sharp, who studies in the College of Educations department of curriculum and instructions science education program, was working on the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences when one of her peers told her about the fellowship. Though Sharp said she didnt specifically know what she wanted to do in the future, she applied for the fellowship anyway. Sharp said she lives by her philosophy of exploring all of your options to figure out what opportunities are available. She applied for the fellowship to get involved and learn more about how she can improve science education a subject Sharps been passionate about since as long as [shes] been in school. Once awarded the Mirzayan Fellowship, Sharp said she worked on the Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education. We discussed different policies and changes that could be made, as well as worked together to grapple with the issues within the current STEM education, Sharp said. When the time came for the fellowship to end, Sharp said she took on the role of a program director as a way to extend her time in D.C. and now, she continues to collaborate as a fellow. As a program director, Sharp said she continued her work on the roundtable while mentoring other students in her cohort with their work. However, some of her students said Sharp was more than just a mentor. Star was like our guardian angel, Taylor Soucy said. Soucy graduated from Penn State in 2017 with a degree in chemistry and said Sharp served as the program director of Soucys group during her fellowship. In addition to guiding younger students in their academic undertakings, Sharp said shes devoted to creating a better learning environment and strong bonds with her students. Soucy said these principles shined through the interactions she had with her mentees during the fellowship. I got really sick my freshman year and had to defer some of my classes. Star organized all of the people in my cohort and had them each write me a letter, and she sent me a care package too, Soucy said. It was just the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Looking toward the future, Sharp said she aspires to be a professor. Though shes not sure what she wants to teach, she does know the kind of professor she will aim to be. Some of the curriculums are so crowded with mandatory classes that students never get to see what they actually like, Sharp said. I want to steer them where they want to go. If you dont know all of the options that are available, how can you be doing the best for your students? Another one of Sharps mentees, Luke Gockowski, agreed with Soucy about Sharps leadership qualities. Goskowski graduated from Penn State in 2017 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Star was our program director. She was always 100% there to support you and help you succeed in your academic endeavors but also very much a regimented leader, Gochowski said. You just knew she wanted the best for you. Wanting whats best for her students is one of Sharp's core values as a future educator, she said. When I started the fellowship, I did not know exactly what I wanted to do yet, but I just thought I would try, Sharp said. This was not the first time I applied for my fellowship, this was the first time I got it. Sharp said she also wants to encourage her students to try everything and never stop searching for opportunities. It doesnt matter how many times you fail, it only matters how many times you succeed. RELATED Penn State canceled in-person class, on-campus work and activities at University Park from 10 p.m. Thursday night until 5 p.m. Friday amid forecasted ice and snow, according to a university release. Instructors of in-person and hybrid classes can offer content asynchronously, but they are unable to offer their classes remote synchronously. However, if hybrid classes were already scheduled remote synchronously, the instructor may use their own discretion with class plans, the university said, and the same goes for remote synchronous classes. Web classes will continue to be offered as planned. Additionally, while all in-person activities between the aforementioned time period are canceled, any activities beginning at or after 5 p.m. Friday will still be held. Employees identified as performing duties essential to maintaining campus operations are still required to report to work, the release said, and will be eligible for Campus Closure Compensatory Time for all hours worked. Any employee currently on campus with a shift lasting later than 10 p.m. Thursday is eligible for Campus Closure Pay for any hours afterward, and the same applies to any employees scheduled to work during the closure who subsequently will not be coming in, according to the release. However, any employee whose shift begins prior to 5 p.m. and ends after 5 p.m. should report for a "partial day" at 5 p.m., the release said, and any employee whose shift begins after 5 p.m. Friday should report per usual. Employees able to complete their work remotely are encouraged to do so but will not be eligible for Campus Closure Compensatory Time. Amid the announcement, Penn State encouraged students, faculty and staff to "take responsibility for their own safety." MORE NEWS COVERAGE This letter was written by Carol Eicher who is the chair of the Community Diversity Group, and Andrea Murrell, Betsy Whitman, Joleen Hindman, Shih-In Ma and Trish Hummer who are members of the CDG. Last Halloween, while many were getting their children ready for trick or treat, a man working at the bus station probably stole money from his employer. He then called the police and lied, saying that he had been robbed and beaten by a Black man. Penn State issued a campus-wide alert telling people to seek shelter, secure doors and be silent. The State College community was urgently informed, and a manhunt for a (phantom) robber ensued. People on campus and in the community felt fearful during that time, believing that an armed gunman was on the loose. Our Black neighbors were even more distressed for fear that their loved ones might be wrongly suspected. Some hesitated to take their children trick-or-treating as a result. The accusers racially-biased lie and resulting publicity could have had disastrous, even deadly, implications for Black people in our community. Its no secret that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) in this country face disproportionately higher rates of interactions with law enforcement, and that those interactions also disproportionately involve escalation, excessive force, injury or death. Black, brown and other BIPOC people have valid fears and concerns for their civil rights, and sometimes their lives, when they meet police or vigilante-leaning members of their communities. Central Pennsylvania is no different. An important part of restoring justice when a crime has been committed is acknowledging the harm that was done. So Community Diversity Group is also dismayed that when the lie was discovered, it was not publicized by many organizations to the community on the same scale as the original story. CDG strongly condemns any act of direct or indirect violence or aggression against anyone in our community. We feel compelled to speak out against this reckless fabrication that endangered our Black neighbors. As a voice for our regions progress toward justice, CDG denounces this crime, the underlying racial bias of its perpetrator, and the failure of many organizations to aggressively publicize the truth in an effort to mitigate harm from the original story. If you are passionate to help educate and foster a community of inclusiveness, please consider joining or supporting the Community Diversity Group. Visit www.CommunityDiversityGroup.com to learn more. Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert got a new Democratic challenger this week, and the roster of attention-grabbing political ads from Colorado candidates got a new entry. Political newcomer and business owner Alex Walker, who was raised in the Denver suburbs and in the Vail Valley by Republican parents and holds a mechanical engineering degree from Stanford University, formally announced his candidacy in the crowded 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary on Feb. 23 with a 2-minute video that quickly went viral. The slickly produced video, described by one online publication as "perhaps the most nauseating campaign ad ever," depicts a literal turd storm that sends the inhabitants of an idyllic small town fleeing. There's also a picnic table spoiled by projectile vomiting and an actress portraying Boebert who sprays what appears to be raw sewage all over a congressional office. It could be the first political ad in Colorado that should come with a parental advisory label for explicit content. Into this scatological setting strolls a serious-looking Walker, who proceeds to hand out towels to soiled actors and condemns the political nonsense metaphorically depicted in his commercial with explicit language that would prevent the ad from being shown on broadcast television. "We are real Coloradans. We deserve a living wage, small government that actually works and freedom of choice," he says, adding, "Instead, we have BS," though he doesn't abbreviate the word. "Don't you ever wonder where it's all coming from? Colorado needs a bull, not a" again, Walker uses a word the owners of this publication would frown upon seeing in print, and then he drops another expletive when he states how very emphatically he approves this message. Whether Walker's introductory video will be remembered as primarily buzzworthy or cringeworthy remains to be seen. As does whether Walker will be greeted by voters as the pulls-no-punches antidote to Boebert or merely the latest wanna-be, big-league candidate who stepped in it. The comments from YouTube users not generally known as a prim or prudish bunch mostly panned the campaign ad. "When you consider all the people required to make an ad like this (the screenwriter, director, producer, cameraman, lighting, sound engineer, makeup and wardrobe, cast, etc.). And yet not one thought to say, 'This is an absolutely brutal premise for an ad. This will likely sink your campaign.' Not one," wrote one user. "Walker needs to stop surrounding himself with nodding lapdogs and allow people to be honest with him. They're not. If they were, this ad would not exist." A YouTube user who produces animated videos replied: "Unbelievable that a large group of adults came together and agreed that this video would convince people of the competence and intelligence of the person behind it. Simply stunning." Another user responded bluntly: "This just reinforces my perception that 3/4 of Colorado is high." The ad certainly got attention, racking up more than 250,000 views within 36 hours of its debut strong numbers for a political video and landing coverage in publications as far flung as San Jose, Calif., New York City and London. Some of the articles included warnings against playing the video in polite company or watching it while eating. Political writers found themselves reaching for euphemisms for the common four-letter word Walker freely spouts in the video, as well as for a derivative synonymous with hogwash, though it implicates a different barnyard animal. One reporter refers repeatedly to cow pies, though astute online critics point out that the flying feces depicted in the ad look nothing like what you'll find in a pasture. Walker, who describes himself as a "gay moderate who believes in small government, personal freedom and human rights," said in his announcement release that he supports policies that are "built on reason, not party nonsense." "Some lean left. Some lean right," he added. "None of them involve sex cults or pizza." The latter are references to fringe conspiracy theories that have gone mainstream in recent years, including the Q-Anon movement, which was embraced by Boebert early in her first campaign before she later denounced it. Noting that his family lost his brother to suicide a decade ago, Walker said that part of the reason he's running "is to honor my brother and everyone left behind by elected officials who don't do their jobs. I'm 100% committed to stopping Boebert from continuing her endless cycle of attacking people because of who they are or what they look like. She doesn't represent who we are, and I'm ready to work with both Republicans and Democrats to ensure 3rd District residents see an improvement in their day-to-day lives." Some shocking political ads can do more than simply shock, two veteran political strategists told Colorado Politics, though they added that Walker's dung-fest might not be one of them. "Its all sizzle and no steak," GOP consultant Tyler Sandberg said. "I dont think he creates any value for an actual candidacy. This is, unfortunately, why people dont like politics." He said campaigns sometimes mistakenly believe in the value of getting attention for attention's sake, but that isn't how it works. "You cant just be shocking for the sake of being shocking it ultimately has to drive the brand narrative," he said. "All you remember with this is crap everywhere, and you arent left with a memorable message of any kind." Sandberg compared the ad unfavorably with a famous campaign ad run by Republican Joni Ernst in her 2014 run for an open U.S. Senate seat in Iowa. I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, Ernst says. So when I get to Washington, Ill know how to cut pork. Over images of squirming hogs, Ernst delivers the punchline: I approved this message, because Washington's full of big spenders. Lets make em squeal. The ad, aired for just $9,000, propelled the underdog to a primary win and the Senate, where she's serving her second term. Ernst's ad described by some as "ballsy" drew coverage at least as widespread as Walker's, but Sandberg said it left people with a clear message about the candidate. "Joni makes them squeal and says she'll be cutting government, and it drives home her authentic rural background," Sandberg said. "Walker never transitions to something that matters. Anti-Boebert also has to be pro-Alex Walker, but theres nothing in there that would make you want to vote for him." Sandberg noted that ads with shock-value can help distinguish a candidate in a wide field of unknowns, which is what the Democrats who make the primary in Boebert's district could be facing. "But so far," he added, "his brand will be the guy who took the poop joke too far." At last count, 13 Democrats, two Republicans and one independent candidate had launched campaigns against Boebert, though several of the Democrats later withdrew, leaving the number in the race as precinct caucuses approach at nine. "Its impossible to say it wasnt an interesting ad, which it was," Democratic consultant Ian Silverii said. "But it grossed me out. I have a 2-year-old, so I deal with plenty of poop all the time, and it still grossed me out." He added that he's curious to find out if Walker's campaign is real or if it's "some kind of performance art." "Is it a circus act, is it a novelty? Where do you then go from there? Do you then do the serious ad about water policy? Now hes the poop guy. He could be pigeon-holed as the poop guy." It's a different breed of ad than the memorable, attention-getting ads that helped shape Coloradans' perceptions of John Hickenlooper, the quirky barkeep who didn't own a fancy suit but would go to great lengths from jumping out of an airplane to taking a shower with his clothes on to drive a point home. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper Takes a Dive for Ref C (2005) Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will go to great lengths (and heights) to promote fiscal responsibility in this 2005 ad. Fueled in part by generally positive reaction to his ads, Hickenlooper won election twice as Denver's mayor, twice as Colorado's governor and last year unseated an incumbent U.S. senator. The consultants struggled to recall Colorado political ads to compare with Walker's, though both mentioned a jaw-dropping video released in 2018 by Democratic congressional candidate Levi Tillemann, who doused himself in the face with pepper spray on camera in an attempt to demonstrate a school safety proposal. Like Sandberg, Silverii stressed that over-the-top political videos only succeed beyond attracting attention if they convert that attention into something tangible that benefits the campaign positive news coverage, volunteer sign-ups, donations that total more than the cost of producing and airing the ad. The proof, as they say, will be in the pudding or, in Walker's case, in the pudding-like substance that has so far defined his candidacy. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Members of the Colorado Senate on Friday came together in support of Ukraine, unanimously passing a joint resolution to stand alongside Ukraine and condemn Russia. On Thursday, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, hitting cities and military bases with airstrikes in what Ukraine's government has called a full-scale war. At least 137 people were killed and 316 were injured in the attack, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said Thursday night. We, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, proudly stand alongside Ukraine, its people and its leaders during this horrific and unnecessary war, and vow to support Ukraine and hold Russia fully accountable for its catastrophic decision to invade, read Fridays resolution. The Senate unanimously passed the resolution after emotional testimony from senators. The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the resolution on Monday. The bipartisan resolution was sponsored in the Senate by Colorado Springs Republican Sen. Bob Gardner and Denver Democrat Sen. Chris Hansen. Gardner said he previously visited Ukraine to work as an international election observer, watching the residents of northern neighborhoods of Kyiv vote. Those neighborhoods had missiles fall on them in the past 24 hours. I thought about those people who I didnt know but whose faces I saw. They werent any different than the people that I saw as a party poll watcher in Colorado, Gardner said. We must support Ukraine in every way we can." Sen. Joann Ginal, D-Fort Collins, said she felt a deep connection to the conflict as her maternal grandmother is from Kyiv, Ukraine and her maternal grandfather is from Moscow, Russia. She said they both immigrated to the United States in search of a better life. I dont know how to express my concern, Ginal said. I never thought that I would see this happen to us and I hope that we can come to some sort of agreement to stop this where we are right now. These are wonderful people who dont deserve to be in this situation. In addition to supporting Ukraine, the resolution urges Russia to end its attack and declares the Colorado legislatures endorsement of economic sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia by President Joe Biden. On Thursday, Biden said the U.S. will block Russian bank assets, impose technology-focused export controls and sanction the nations business oligarchs. Biden and European officials have not yet kicked Russia out of SWIFT, the dominant system for global financial transactions, but Hansen said the resolution supports excluding Russian banks from the SWIFT system, calling for the use of the strongest possible sanctions. We are in the middle of a full-scale war, Hansen said. President Putin has made a gamble. Hes made a gable that the Wests reliance on Russian oil and gas will put him in a strong position and that this will be a win for his idea of a greater Russia. We have a responsibility in this country and in this state to call his bluff, to make sure that that gamble was a terrible miscalculation. Some senators also called for further military action from the U.S. during Fridays resolution vote. As Biden announced the sanctions on Russia, he said U.S. armed forces will not engage in the conflict. Some 7,000 additional U.S. troops will be sent to Germany to bolster NATO, but will not fight in Ukraine, he said. I think, Mr. Putin, that you are hoping no one will stand up to you. I pray we do, said Sen. Chris Holbert, R-Douglas County. If you think parents in this nation are war hawks and are desperate to send our sons and daughters to confront you, certainly not. But if you think we are soft and that our sons and daughters wont come to fight for freedom again, you are wrong. We know freedom here. If passed by the House, copies of the resolution will be sent to the leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, as well as to all of Colorados congressional members. Are you a current print subscriber to Columbia Gorge News? If so, you qualify for free access to all content on columbiagorgenews.com. Simply verify with your subscriber id to receive free access. Your subscriber id may be found on your bill or mailing label. As the Cubs were beating the Braves 6-3 Wednesday night Steve left to see the game with his mom and dad, Reva and Harold, brother Ron and baby niece Elizabeth Henney. He left behind to run the store his wife Kathleen (Knight), Amelia (27), Nathan (24) and his beloved cat Lewis Black. His sis Le ministre du Developpement Industriel a fait le bilan des compagnies exportatrices mauriciennes lors dune conference de presse ne fin de matinee du 24 fevrier 2022 au siege de son ministere a Air Mauritius Building a Port-Louis. Sunil Bholah a indique lors de sa presentaion sur lannee 2021 que : Over the period January to December 2021, EOE exports stood at around Rs 42.66 billion as compared to some Rs 37.29 billion during the corresponding period in 2020, representing an increase of 14.4%. Il a ajoute que : During the period January to December 2021, exports of Textile and Clothing increased from around Rs 18.6 billion to some Rs 20.2 billion representing an increase of 8.5%. During the period January to December 2021, exports of Fish and Fish preparations increased from Rs 9.33 billion to Rs 9.95 billion representing an increase of 6.6%. During the period January to December 2021, exports of Jewellery/Pearls, Precious and Semi-precious Stones increased from Rs 2.6 billion to Rs 3.79 billion representing a significant increase of 45.6%. During the period January to December 2021, exports of Medical Devices increased from Rs 1.2 billion to Rs 1.63 billion representing an increase of 35.3%. Selon le ministre de Developpement Industriel, la strtegie africain est payanet car: Our regional strategy is paying dividends as evidenced by the outstanding export performance of South Africa. This market has emerged to become our number one export destination for our EOE sector Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 319-352-3334 or email legals@waverlynewspapers.com. Russia telegraphed its intentions to invade Ukraine well ahead of this weeks attack by massing nearly 200,000 soldiers along Ukraines borders, and by Vladimir Putins increasingly belligerent threats. Behind the scenes, Russia was doing more than that, including dangerous cyberattacks launched against Ukraine. And as is typically the case in such attacks, Windows was the attack vector. Weve observed destructive malware in systems belonging to several Ukrainian government agencies and organizations that work closely with the Ukrainian government, Tom Burt, Microsoft corporate vice president for customer security and trust, wrote in a blog post in mid-January. The malware is disguised as ransomware but, if activated by the attacker, would render the infected computer system inoperable. In a related technical post detailing how the malware works, Microsoft added: These systems [under cyberattack] span multiple government, non-profit, and information technology organizations, all based in Ukraine. Notably, money was not the object of the attacks. Instead, the attackers wanted to destroy systems and data. And they succeeded. The malware attacked Windows-based systems, overwriting Master Boot Records (MBR) with a ransom note. Microsoft explains, The MBR is the part of a hard drive that tells the computer how to load its operating system. After the infection, the malware executes when the associated device is powered down, Microsoft said. Overwriting the MBR is atypical for cybercriminal ransomware. In reality, the ransomware note is a ruse and the malware destructs MBR and the contents of the files it targets. (The malware attacks files in other ways as well.) The attacks, in essence, were the first act of war against Ukraine; they likely presage more to come now that full-on war has begun. In the hours just before Russias invasion, ESET and Symantec found that data-wiping malware called HermeticWiper had been launched against financial, defense, aviation, and IT services organizations in the Ukraine. ESET notes: The attack came just hours after a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) onslaughts knocked several important websites in the country offline. Theres reason to believe more is coming. U.S. authorities have warned for months about the potential collateral damage of a Russian military incursion into Ukraine, CIODive reported. The new cyber activity could ricochet through multinational businesses, supply chains and key infrastructure facilities, like transportation, energy and healthcare. In a similar vein, CybersecurityDive explained how cyberattacks can quickly spread and compound each other. As international pressure grows over Russia's conflict with Ukraine, major U.S. enterprises particularly those operating critical infrastructure are in the crosshairs of a nation-state military standoff that could easily spill onto the cyber terrain. Russia, largely isolated by the United States and key NATO allies, has demonstrated the will and ability to leverage a sophisticated arsenal of cyber capabilities from its military intelligence arm and a range of proxies from the country's criminal underground. US government officials believe the US will be also targeted. Earlier this month, ABC News cited a US Department of Homeland Security note that warned: "We assess that Russia would consider initiating a cyberattack against the Homeland if it perceived a US or NATO response to a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine threatened its long-term national security. Given Putins apparent paranoia, theres little doubt he believes US and NATO responses to the invasion including sanctions and other forms of economic pain will threaten Russias long-term national security. So, we can expect attacks to begin at any point. What does this mean for business? Plenty. With Russian cyberattacks against the United States, even if your company doesnt operate critical infrastructure or have anything to do with finances or security, it will be in the crosshairs. When wide-ranging attacks are launched, they take on a life of their own and target any business they can. If companies havent already undertaken stepped-up security precautions, theyre already late. Its time to harden your outer defenses. Patch every system that can be patched. Check Microsofts security bulletins. Teach your staff how recognize email-borne and mobile-borne attacks. And recognize that this is just the beginning. This war is just the first in which cyberattacks will accompany real-world damage. Given humankinds penchant for warfare, more wars will follow. And Windows, because of its widespread use, will remain a key target. In the 1950s, 60s, and for part of the 70s, a great deal of work was done to understand the impact of compensation and productivity on the workplace. (Given the unionization and labor problems Apple, Google, and Amazon now face, it seems clear that those lessons might not have been part of executive training.) I spent a great deal of time on this subject in undergraduate and graduate school, and when running a compensation program at IBM. I also learned it is inadvisable to call the head of your division an idiot even if he was fired a few months later when our revenues went from $750 million to $250 million while holding costs constant. Ive learned to be more circumspect when talking to bosses. What follows are the rules Ive learned about how compensation and productivity affect each other. Money doesnt always motivate Regardless of which expert you study, one constant is that money is a poor motivator. Overpayment, as often happens with CEOs, doesnt result in more work, but taking money away from an employee can almost shut them down. So dont muck with compensation unless people feel they are being underpaid. Notice I said feel because one way to really hit productivity is to let an employee believe they are being unfairly underpaid. This played out in a recent effort by Google to reduce salaries for employees who moved to lower cost regions. Workers feel they have a contract with the company to pay them for what they do. Their location doesnt change the work they do, so why should their pay change? From the corporate perspective, theres a false argument that any such cut is tied to lower need. Employers like Google often alter salaries by region, but they dont explain their calculations when hiring. As a result, an employee believes their salary is connected to what they do, not where they do it. This becomes a problem because at no time after hiring does a company look at living costs (they should) and adjust salaries dynamically for changes in employees financial situations. Once common, cost-of-living raises are increasingly rare. And changes in marital status and the birth of children, which can add significant costs to a household, dont generally result in salary adjustments. So, a company that cuts pay when an employee reduces living costs but doesnt increase pay as costs rise appears to be acting unfairly, because it is. Status can motivate, but be careful At one place I worked we had a Presidents Club. Top producers (and their spouses) would be rewarded with an all-expenses-paid trip at the end of the year, and the most status-driven would work incredible hours for that reward. One year after getting into the Presidents Club, I worked hard to win again only to find I was ineligible because Id won the prior year. I was so upset I went from being a loyal employee to an ex-employee within weeks. I once saw a PR firm announce an award program that gave no guarantee any employee would win something if the company wasnt doing well pretty much eliminating any value the program might have offered. Awards can drive higher performance, but they create an informal contract between a company and its workers; any change to reduce the program later can undercut its positive effect. Its better to do layoffs than pay cuts One thing Ive seen CEOs do over the years is trade off layoffs with salary cuts. The problem is that a lot of employees match their expenses to their income, so if you reduce income, they can rapidly fall into financial distress. Cuts spread the adverse impact across all employees, making it harder to reverse sliding revenue trends. Layoffs, on the other hand, affect only a set number of employees. Both, however, can damage trust between an employee and the company especially if it seems that senior managers, and particularly the CEO, get a bonus, financial incentives or a reward for their actions. Layoffs cause other problems that can be exacerbated by awards to CEOs. At Gateway, one person who had been laid off became the buyer for Best Buy and cut Gateway as a supplier to the retail chain. HPs Carly Fiorina was famous for being well compensated for executing layoffs. When she ran for the US Senate in California, she lost and the number of votes by which she lost almost exactly matched our estimate of the number of employees and families of voting age that had been laid off. The bottom line: the people you lay off can become a buyer, an analyst, a reporter, or a politician with an agenda to strike back. So, while layoffs might have fewer immediate effects on productivity than salary cuts, they come with other risks that are harder to measure and could lead to bigger problems later. The role of unions When employees feel abused or mistreated, one way to seek recourse is unions. Im not a fan of unions. I was trained in union busting, and one lesson that stuck with me over the years was from the great Borax strike in 1974. That strike showcased how far out of hand things can get when management and a union go to war. Both sides carried things too far, but this can happen when workers feel theyre being abused at scale. Having worked with unions in the past, Im aware they can lead to secondary problems. Ive seen union reps require side payments and gifts in exchange for not filing unnecessary and necessary actions. (When I was in a union, my rep sold us out.) I do recognize that when management abuses employees, unions are the only way for them to restore balance though in some cases they have destroyed companies and industries. If they are too successful, a company can fail. At the moment, both Apple and Amazon are facing unionization pushes due to seemingly abusive behavior and a focus on the compensation of top executives. (This week while I was writing this, a story broke that Amazon had a union organizer arrested for bringing food to employees; I expect that wont end well for Amazon.) Apple employees are reported to be using Android phones to keep their unionization efforts secret, which will likely create concerns about the security of iPhones while highlighting extreme distrust for Apple management. The greatest resource? Companies often say, Employees are our greatest resource. But too often companies fail to fully understand that statement and treat employees like easily replaced pieces of equipment. They arent. Theyre people, and what motivates and demotivates them to work hard has a great deal to do with how they perceive their compensation and how their companies maintain trust. If employees really are the greatest asset, then learning about the impact of compensation on their productivity, maintaining their trust, and not treating them as if theyre equipment will mean they have your back. This is something that leaders at Apple, Google, and especially Amazon, need to learn. Oh, and a reminder for Facebook: happy employees are far less likely to become whistleblowers. 02/25/2022 Photo (c) Sebastian Condrea - Getty Images COVID-19 tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.) Total U.S. confirmed cases: 78,800,469 (78,732,363) Total U.S. deaths: 944,849 (941,962) Total global cases: 431,877,721 (430,270,835) Total global deaths: 5,931,056 (5,920,665) CDC tweaking mask guidelines The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is revising its guidelines for the use of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The agency in recent weeks has found itself behind many states, including those controlled by Democrats, that have unilaterally ended mask mandates for indoor public spaces. The Wall Street Journal reports that the updated guidelines from the CDC will include new ways to measure the threat from the virus to help communities set their policies. The metrics will include how many people are in hospitals and the number of hospital beds in a community, one official told the Journal. According to current guidelines, based on transmission levels, the CDC recommends masks be worn in just about every part of the country. But most states have dropped those mandates or plan to do so on Monday. After two years, the virus has taken a toll on children Children may not suffer the worst health effects of COVID-19, but new research shows just how much they have been affected in other ways. Researchers at the CDC estimate that 5.2 million children worldwide have lost a relative or caregiver to the coronavirus. More than 3 million lost a parent. Three out of four parents lost in the pandemic were fathers, according to the analysis of international data. Children between the ages of 10 and 17 were the most likely to have lost a parent. In the U.S., there have been instances where both parents died from COVID-19, leaving children behind. CDC researchers, who led the study, said the estimate of the number of children affected by the pandemic is probably low since many counties included in the analysis lack a strong system for counting deaths. Scientists look more closely at COVID-19 and dementia Millions of Americans have been infected with COVID-19 and recovered quickly, suffering few if any lingering effects. Others have experienced prolonged symptoms, known as long COVID. Scientists are also looking more closely at another aftereffect of the virus that some patients appear to be experiencing a decline in brain function. Symptoms have been described as "brain fog," a reduced ability to think clearly, anxiety, and difficulties with memory and concentration. According to Medical News Today, research is underway to see if these conditions are a precursor to dementia. Early research has pointed to the infection of cells within the central nervous system. Around the nation Jppkk.gov.my scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 28 Mar 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the jppkk homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if jppkk has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the jppkk homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the jppkk homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the jppkk homepage on Twitter + the total number of jppkk followers (if jppkk has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the jppkk homepage on Delicious. Basic Information PAGE TITLE Selamat Datang ke Laman Web Rasmi JPP DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS laman web rasmi, laman web, web rasmi, laman, rasmi, selamat datang ke laman web, datang ke laman web rasmi The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE CHARSET AND LANGUAGE DETECTED LANGUAGE Italian Italian SERVER Microsoft-IIS/6.0 (ASP.NET) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) The language of jppkk.gov.my as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Type of server and offered services. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for jppkk.gov.my by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Congratulations, mookfood.com got a very good Social Media Impact Score! Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Mookfood.com scored 66 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 3.5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 5 Jan 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. mookfood.com is very popular in Facebook and Google Plus. It is liked by 94 people on Facebook and it has 12 google+ shares. The total number of people who shared the mookfood homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the mookfood homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the mookfood homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if mookfood has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the mookfood homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the mookfood homepage on Twitter + the total number of mookfood followers (if mookfood has a Twitter account). Basic Information PAGE TITLE Thaifood DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE WINDOWS-874 DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Microsoft-IIS/6.0 (ASP.NET) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 Type of server and offered services. The language of mookfood.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for mookfood.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The total number of people who like website Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The URL of the found Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The type of Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Stepentry.com scored 49 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2.5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 23 Jun 2015, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the stepentry homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the stepentry homepage on Twitter + the total number of stepentry followers (if stepentry has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the stepentry homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if stepentry has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the stepentry homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the stepentry homepage on StumbleUpon. Basic Information PAGE TITLE Stepentry.com DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS trading, stepentry, results, forex, investment, performance, forex trading The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE English English DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Microsoft-IIS/7.0 (ASP.NET) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2008 Type of server and offered services. Operative System running on the server. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) The language of stepentry.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for stepentry.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK FOUND TWITTER PAGE twitter.com/#!/stepentry DESCRIPTION http://t.co/lxeJiN14xQ is a Forex Trading (Signal) Managed Service ACCOUNT CREATED ON 19 Dec 2009 LOCATION TWEETS 53 FOLLOWERS 4 LISTED 0 Youtubedaili.org scored 45 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 28 Nov 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the youtubedaili homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the youtubedaili homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if youtubedaili has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the youtubedaili homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the youtubedaili homepage on Twitter + the total number of youtubedaili followers (if youtubedaili has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the youtubedaili homepage on Delicious. Basic Information PAGE TITLE youtube_youtube_youtube_youtube DESCRIPTION youtubeyoutube,youtube,youtube,youtube. KEYWORDS youtube, youtube, youtube, youtube, youtube OTHER KEYWORDS CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE SERVER OPERATIVE SYSTEM The language of youtubedaili.org as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Type of server and offered services. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for youtubedaili.org by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The URL of the found Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The first patient to undergo surgical treatment on Africa Mercy since its return to Africa has been welcomed aboard. Docked in the autonomous port of Dakar since February 1s this floating hospital has resumed its original mission to provide free surgeries and medical training on the continent after a 22-month pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first admission of patients has taken place just two weeks after the ships return to the continent. Surgeries will be ongoing through November this year. A young mother named Sokhna is the first patient to undergo a maxillofacial surgery for a cleft lip. From southern Senegal, she had received an appointment card during a previous field visit and was one of many who have been waiting eagerly for the ships return. Sokhna said she was not feeling nervous about coming on the ship today for surgery: I feel just peace and joy, she stated. Sokhna and her husband have a one-year-old baby. They work as farmers, and Sokhna spends most of her time tending her home. She said she is looking forward most to the moment her husband sees her cleft lip repaired. During the last months of 2021, the Mercy Ships patient selection team travelled across Senegal in collaboration with the Chief Medical Officers of the fourteen regions to revisit formerly scheduled patients and see new patients to arrange their next appointments on the ship. For the next ten months, a thousand surgeries are scheduled to take place abroad Africa Mercy in Dakar and nearly 750 healthcare providers are expected to receive medical training in various specialties. Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to deliver free healthcare services, capacity building, and sustainable development to those with limited access in the developing world. For more than 30 years, Mercy Ships has concentrated its efforts in Africa. In particular, Mercy Ships has focused efforts within West and sub-Saharan Africa where 93% of the population are deprived of access to safe surgical care. Mercy Ships surgeons perform operations such as cleft lip and palate repair, cataract removal, orthopedic, facial reconstruction, burn contracture release, pediatric, general, and obstetric fistula repair which are deemed life-changing procedures. Mercy Ships also works together with countries in West and Central Africa to strengthen healthcare systems through enhancing skills, providing equipment, training and improving healthcare infrastructure. In Senegal, Mercy Ships is partnering with the Ministry of Health to provide healthcare training to medical personnel in the country. Although Senegal has a solid healthcare system in place, there is still a need for capacity building and surgeries especially in the rural areas where approximately half of Senegals population (around 8.8 million people) lives and access to healthcare is still challenging for many patients, highlighted Dr. Miriam John. In 2022, Mercy Ships celebrates thirty years of partnership in Africa, a milestone that will be commemorated on the annual May 25 Africa Celebration Day. During this event, which will bring together African partner nations and heads of state, Mercy Ships will focus on establishing a clear roadmap towards safer surgery in Africa. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. Sue B. Donnelly, 87, of Crossville, passed away at her home on April 26, 2022. She was born on May 18, 1934, in Crossville, Tennessee, daughter of the late James T. Brandon and Clara (Hamby) Brandon. Sue was the owner of Boats and Harbors and of the Baptist Faith. She is survived by her chil Le gouvernement a pris la decision le 25 fevrier 2022 damender les Fisheries and Marine Resources (Toxic Fish) Regulations afin de permettre limportation et la consommation du poisson Bourgeois des Seychelles sous certaines conditions. Cabinet has agreed to the Fisheries and Marine Resources (Toxic Fish) Regulations being amended to provide for the importation of Bourgeois fish (Lutjanus Sebae) from the Seychelles for sale to both members of the public and hotels. Bourgeois fish is a highly valued fish and has great demand on the domestic market. The Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping would impose additional conditions for the importation of the fish. That Ministry would carry out strict monitoring to ensure that the imported Bourgeois fish complies with the requirements of the Regulations and the special conditions to import Bourgeois fish from Seychelles. It would also monitor the landing of local fishing boats/vessel to ensure that no Bourgeois fish are being landed from the Mauritian banks or tampered with. div style=background-color: #f4edde; color: #000; padding: 20px;> Lutjanus sebae was first formally described in 1816 as Diacope sebae by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier. Lutjanus sebae, the emperor red snapper, emperor snapper, government bream, king snapper, queenfish or red kelp, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Lutjanus sebae is a predatory fish which feeds on fishes, benthic crustaceans and cephalopods. It aggregates into schools with similar sized individuals or they will be solitary. This is a slow growing species, off the Seychelles, the mean age of first sexual maturity for both males and females was estimated at 9 year old. The size at which 50% of fishes are sexually mature was between fork lengths of 61 and 63 cm . Once they are sexually mature the females growth rate decreases compared to the males, and adult males grow larger than females. Source: Internet I've already been to some live sporting events. Yes, I plan on attending several events. I may go to one or two. I like sports but I doubt it. I'm not into sports. Vote View Results The infamous cybercriminal group behind the Conti ransomware has publicly announced its full support for the Russian government while the country's army is invading Ukraine and threatened to strike the critical infrastructure of anyone launching cyberattacks or war actions against Russia. The move comes after Twitter accounts claiming association with the Anonymous hacktivist collective declared "cyberwar" against the Russian government and took credit for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against the websites of Russia Today, the Kremlin and the Russian Ministry of Defense. The involvement of hacktivists and cybercrime groups in the conflict, supporting one side or another, could spiral into a wave of escalating attacks and provide cover for destructive cyber actions directed by government agencies. Who is Conti? The Conti ransomware is the successor of the infamous Ryuk ransomware that has hit hundreds of companies and government organizations since 2018. Ryuk and Conti are believed to be the creation of a cybercrime group tracked by the security industry as Wizard Spider. The same group is believed to be behind the TrickBot botnet, which has often been used to distribute Ryuk. According to an alert from CISA and the FBI in September, Conti was used in over 400 attacks against US and international organizations. Like Ryuk, Conti is a manually deployed ransomware program where hackers first break into organizations and use stealthy manual hacking techniques to move laterally and obtain administrative rights in the environments. This means the group has the skills necessary to launch sophisticated attacks. "The Conti Team is officially announcing a full support of Russian government," the Conti gang announced Friday on the website it uses to post information about victims and threaten them with data leaks. "If anybody will decide to organize a cyberattack or any war activities against Russia, we are going to use our all possible resources to strike back at the critical infrastructures of an enemy." Whether Conti's announcement is guided by patriotic sentiments or is done at the direction of Russian state agents is hard to say, but Russian intelligence agencies are known to have relied on cybercriminal elements in their operations for cover in the past. "The Russian government has relied on this strategy for nearly a decade," Michael DeBolt, chief intelligence officer at Intel 471, tells CSO. "We know Evgeniy Bogachev and Gameover ZeuS was leveraged by the Russian government last decade for intel purposes. Another infamous Russian-linked threat actor, Maksim Yakubets, was observed to be directly co-opted by Russias Federal Security Service. Additionally, carding shops like Jokers Stash and incidents like the SolarWinds hack have also been linked to financially motivated cybercriminals while also serving intelligence purposes for Russia. We dont have any intelligence that suggests Conti is doing this as of right now, but its entirely possible." Conti could be used to deflect blame from the Russian government In January, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested two hackers associated with the REvil ransomware, one of whom is suspected of being directly responsible for the 2021 attack on Colonial Pipeline. The arrests came after President Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin in a conversation last year that the United States is ready to take action if ransomware groups operating from Russia are not stopped. The arrests were welcomed by the security industry but were largely seen just as a move to ease diplomatic tensions and not as a long-term commitment by Russian authorities to prosecute hackers. DeBolt thinks it wouldn't be surprising if Conti would take responsibility for attacks on operators of critical infrastructure in the future and be used as cover for state-directed actions. "We know that Russia's Sandworm group, which is tied to the Russian government, has shown proficiency in attacks on critical infrastructure, having been tied to the 2015 attack that resulted in wide-scale power outages in Ukraine," he says. "Yet, it's possible that Conti (and potentially other Russian-based threat groups) are being directed and tasked by the Russian government as cover to deploy attacks against U.S. and Western critical infrastructure. Since President Biden very specifically warned that any cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure will be met with severe cyberattacks in response, using Conti in this manner would allow the Russian government to achieve its objectives with plausible deniability." There is some precedence for this. The Russo-Georgian War of 2008 was accompanied by cyberattacks against internet infrastructure and official websites in Georgia. Some industry reports at the time blamed the attacks on a cybercrime collective called the Russian Business Networks, but some analysts pointed out the tools used to launch the attacks were customized and prepared in advance and that some of the attacks were launched from servers belonging to Russian telecommunication companies. A Russian government spokesperson cited by the New York Times said at the time that individuals in Russia or elsewhere might have taken it upon themselves to start the attacks. A DHS memo distributed to critical infrastructure operators and state and local governments in January warned that depending on NATO and U.S. response to a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia could consider launching destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure, CNN reported at the time. Meanwhile, Reuters reported Thursday that a recruitment call for volunteers to join offensive and defensive cyber operations was posted on an Ukrainian hacker forum by the co-founder of a Kyiv-based cybersecurity company who claimed the request came from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. Anonymous itself is a collective of volunteer hacktivists without centralized leadership who organize themselves in subgroups that operate in many regions of the world. These groups have launched attacks in response to a wide range of issues from political to economic with either localized or global impact. ANSONIA Vitalina Golod awoke Thursday to a swarm of text messages from her family in Ukraine. As the Russian invasion began, she called her parents, who told her not to worry. When I was talking to my parents today, theyre joking about it like, Dont worry about us. We have milk. We have eggs, we have candles. Thats fine. Click, said Golod, 20, a business student at Sacred Heart. And (Im) like bawling. My eyes are crying. Great, thanks. Now I can go to (tennis) practice. Golod said her parents on the outskirts of Kyiv are OK, but they are now living in their basement. They werent the only ones sheltering underground. Thousands of residents of Kyiv have taken to the citys subways for shelter. The countrys leaders earlier Thursday said 137 combatants had died and 316 were wounded in fighting around the Odesa region, which had been taken by the Russians. Both sides claimed to have destroyed numerous military aircraft and other hardware, though little of that had been confirmed. Associated Press The conflict in Ukraine has been greeted with sanctions by Western countries and Americans have been following developments in the news and on social media. But for several Connecticut residents, the fighting is personal, as they worry about the safety of their friends and family. The Rev. Edward Young, parish priest for the St. Peter and St. Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church had lunch with Ukrainian priests Thursday, less than a day after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Its been a very hard day, Young said. Young first heard about the invasion while looking at his phone late Wednesday. Despite weeks of warning and a military buildup along Ukraines borders, Young said he was still shocked Russian President Vladimir Putin would invade. Its absolute shock and then absolute fear. I couldnt believe that he actually would do this, Young said. Young has personal ties to the country. In 1994, he studied at a seminary near Lviv, Ukraine. There he studied alongside Ukrainians, who he said he worried over now as if they were his children. Now its an absolute fear for those students. My students, they were young men 25 years ago, 26, 27 years ago. I look at them theyre gonna almost be 50 years old now, he said. Now Im going to be 71; 40 years a priest. For a celibate priest those are like your children. They are my inheritance to the world. He said he spoke to someone who is currently in Ukraine, and worried about the Russian treatment of civilians. Golod said she had never received so many text messages from friends before today. They offered her well wishes she said. But she said she felt guilt her family was hunkering in their basement while she is in Fairfield. She may be a student in Connecticut, but Ukraine is her home, she said. Its my home country. I live there. I still live there, she said. A lot of people tell me that Im now an American. And Ive lately been taking offense to it a little bit. And I get now why because I never really lived here. I study here. My home is Ukraine, and it will always be Ukraine. She called the weight of the conflict a nagging feeling in my chest that had lasted the whole day. Alex Kuzma, the chief development officer for the Ukrainian Catholic University Foundation, said he was also taken by surprise when he saw reports that fighting had broken out. But he said the country and his family, are well acquainted with struggle. He remembered, he said, hearing about the trauma one of his aunts endured on a horse-drawn cart, fleeing advancing Soviet soldiers as Ukraine was retaken by the Soviet Army in World War II. Russia and Ukraine have a long and complicated history. So when Kuzma heard about the invasion, he said he knew what was happening. Its part of our DNA; we know what this war is about, he said. Weve been studying our history. We know our history. Kuzma said the foundation has been in touch with federal officials including members of Congress, and he said he is proud of their long pro-Ukraine positions. But while he is staying in touch with politicians, his community is mostly praying. Mostly were just praying because we need the good Lord above to watch out over our ancestral homeland and to ask for his intercession and for his deliverance, he said. But while he is praying, Kuzma said the people he is in contact with in Ukraine are frightened. Locally, some have expressed guilt that they can only do so much. Petr David Josek/AP I have one friend, shes a very brave and stalwart person, but she was in tears today. So, shes worried about her family, and a lot of people feel kind of guilty, because their families are there, and were here, and theres just so much that we can do from this end, he said. But were trying to try to push all the levers that we can, to help in any way we can. Fundraising he said, is still in the planning stages. It is in the embryonic stage, we want to be sure that we do it right. And we dont want to just send money over there willy nilly and have it go down rabbit holes, he said. The Rev. Ivan Mazuryk, of the Holy Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Bridgeport, called his brother in Ukraine. They prayed over the phone, he said. His brother he said, was the more content of the two. He sounded more content than I. He says well, what else? What else could we do? We have to trust in God, Mazuryk said. Golod said Ukrainians were ready to fight and she knows several either willing or in a friends case, already taking up arms to defend their country. Her friend attended a military school she said and he texted her randomly earlier today, asking her if she was OK. She said they attended middle school together. He texted her he was now fighting the Russians. He was very specific about which regions they were able to protect, she said. He was like were able to hold in this particular region. We just killed one of the Russian tanks. This story includes reporting from the Associated Press. Editors note This story has been updated to reflect the proper spelling for Sacred Heart student Vitalina Golod. Les membres du gouvernement ont pris note des degats causes par les passages des cyclones Batsirai et Emnati dans les champs et a decide de donner un support de Rs 6000.00 par arpent sous culture ou 500m2 de plantation sous serres. Cabinet has taken note that following the passage of cyclone Batsirai in Mauritius, a loss assessment exercise was carried out to determine the extent of damage/loss caused to plantations. The Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security would be compensating planters to help them resume their agricultural activities. The Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (FAREI) conducted a preliminary assessment to determine the extent of loss incurred in different regions and it was observed that significant loss was caused to plantations. A loss assessment exercise was also carried out by the Small Farmers Welfare Fund (SFWF) and the Extension Services of FAREI. In order to allow planters to restart their cultivation rapidly, arrangements have been made to distribute 300 kg of mixed vegetables seeds from the Horticulture Division of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security and 625 kg beans seeds from the Agricultural Marketing Board to planters since 09 February 2022, on a first come first serve basis. Some 3,304 planters have, so far, benefitted from this facility. Cabinet has also taken note that following the passage of cyclone Emnati on 19 and 20 February 2022, a loss assessment exercise was underway. Planters would be compensated only once for the loss incurred this year. Cabinet has further taken note that the modalities to be applied to support the planters financially would be as follows: (i) Rs6,000 per arpent for open field and Rs6,000 per 500 m2 for sheltered farms; (ii) a maximum of Rs6,000 per arpent to be paid for a maximum threshold of five arpents for open field plantations and 2,500 m2 for sheltered farming; and (iii) assistance would be provided To the editor, Twenty-seven percent. Nearly one-third. Thats how many high schoolers in Connecticut use e-cigarettes. As a junior at Sacred Heart Greenwich, I wish I found this number surprising. Every day, I see another classmate pick up an e-cigarette which research shows leads to the use of traditional cigarettes and their deadly consequences. Did you know nearly all of cancer deaths in Connecticut are attributable to tobacco use? Its estimated that 56,000 kids like me kids under 18 in Connecticut today will die prematurely from smoking. If we can combat tobacco use, including the use of e-cigarettes, we can help reduce this staggering toll on public health. On behalf of my classmates and myself, I am profoundly disappointed in Gov. Ned Lamonts budget for failing to allocate any funding for tobacco control programs aimed at helping people quit smoking and protecting kids from ever picking up this deadly addiction in the first place. It could also serve to educate high schoolers on the dangers of e-cigarettes and help bring down the startling usage rate. I hope Connecticut lawmakers will think about high schoolers and middle schoolers, and kids overall and invest $12 million to fight tobacco use in Connecticut. Our futures are worth more than a zero dollar investment. Isobel Costello, a Stamford resident, is a volunteer with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. 99 cent introductory offer Includes everything we offer online for 24-7 news. This option allows you to read unlimited stories at ctnewsonline.com, and access our e-Edition (digital replicate of the daily newspaper). $7.99 per month after the introductory offer. This service comes with a complimentary CT Select Card allowing for local discounts. Rates are subject to change. BRIDGEPORT A Superior Court jury of four men and two women deliberated about 10 minutes before finding a Monroe landscaper, accused of secretly video recording himself having sex with a married woman, not guilty of violating a protective order when he allegedly later threatened to expose the woman to international media. Redemption, the 53-year-old Robert Somley proclaimed as he left the Golden Hill Street courtroom. It was a long-fought battle but weve always maintained his innocence and we are happy with the result, added his lawyer, Thomas Cocco. If convicted of the charge, Somley, who had previously turned down a suspended sentence, could have faced five years in prison. He is still facing a voyeurism charge. The case received international notoriety in 2018 when the woman went to Monroe police and complained Somley had secretly recorded their tryst while the two were covered in maple syrup and blueberry jam, and was refusing to delete it. During the week-long trial before Judge Peter McShane, the woman, whose name is being withheld, testified that some time after his arrest for voyeurism Somley told her in a telephone call that he was going to tell media outlets her name unless she agreed to drop the charges. He said that I better drop the charges or else. He said he was going to bash my name, humiliate me, the woman testified. Police said they found contact information for a New York Post reporter on a phone Somley used. At the time Somley had been issued a protective order by a judge ordering him not to assault, harass or threaten the woman, although he could continue to have contact with her. The woman testified that after news of the voyeurism case went international, Somley began acting strangely. She said he started picking up roadkill and putting it in his refrigerator. Under cross examination by Cocco, the woman admitted that even though her identity had not been made public she believed the whole Monroe community was against her. Cocco contended that the woman was being vindictive by claiming Somley violated the protective order. Everything she went through has nothing to do with my client. This was news nationally, this was news internationally, including in Australia, but my client had nothing to do with that, he told the jury. Bridgeport Police / Contributed BRIDGEPORT A city man was arrested Thursday night after officers patrolling the area found him in possession of a gun, police said. Members of the Narcotics and Vice Division were in the area of Jane and Brooks streets around 8:45 p.m. for what police described as a proactive investigation. MILFORD A Trumbull man accused of raping a Milford woman and later apologizing for the assault in text messages has pleaded not guilty. Daniel Marazita, 25, was charged with first-degree sexual assault and third-degree assault after police obtained a warrant for his arrest last month. Marazitas lawyer, Timothy Aspinwall, declined to comment on the case Friday. According to an arrest warrant, a woman went to the Milford police station June 22, where she told detectives she spoke to Marazita June 5 and she agreed to have him stop by her home. Marazita stopped by the home about 10 p.m., she said, and was very intoxicated to the point where he was stumbling while walking. The woman told police she had also been drinking throughout the day, and that after hanging out for about an hour, she and Marazita went to her bedroom and began to have consensual sex. However, the woman said Marazita became more forceful and sexually assaulted her even though she said no. The woman told police she confronted Marazita via text message more than a week later, and that he apologized for the alleged assault. Marazita allegedly told cops he wanted to speak to an attorney before speaking with them. Soon after, his lawyer called police and told them his client would not speak with detectives. The warrant says the womans phone contained text messages which showed Marazita apologizing for the assault despite saying he did not remember what happened. You are saying I sexually assaulted you, which means that is what happened, he allegedly wrote. I sexually assaulted you and I will not lie to anyone about it. It doesnt matter that I was drunk... In another message quoted in the warrant, police say Marazita told the woman that he wants to get treatment so that I do not hurt someone in the way Ive hurt you ever again. I have to live with this remorse for the rest of my life, but that does not compare to the fact that you will have to live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of yours, he allegedly wrote. I am not the victim here, I wont act like I am, and I dont want you to read this and think that I am trying to garner sympathy. I am fully, 100% aware of the fact that my actions have consequences, and these are the consequences that I will face. Marazita was released after posting a $175,000 bond following his arrest. He pleaded not guilty in the case at a Feb. 14 court appearance. He is scheduled to return to court March 24. Isasuma, which opened Feb. 3 on the second floor of 228 Northampton St. in downtown Easton, offers handbags, shoes and other items that are woven, crocheted and stitched by hand by indigenous communities in Latin America. (RYAN KNELLER / The Morning Call) Individuals looking to score one-of-a-kind fashion accessories while supporting humanitarian causes have a new shop to frequent in downtown Easton. Isasuma, which opened Feb. 3 on the second floor of 228 Northampton St. (above Easton Outdoor Company), offers handbags, shoes and other items that are woven, crocheted and stitched by hand by indigenous communities in Latin America. Advertisement Isasuma, which opened Feb. 3 on the second floor of 228 Northampton St. in downtown Easton, offers handbags, shoes and other items that are woven, crocheted and stitched by hand by indigenous communities in Latin America. (RYAN KNELLER / The Morning Call) Most items are ethically sourced from artisans in Colombia, with a portion of sales benefiting the supply of clean drinking water to the countrys Wayuu community, according to Andrea Rincon, the business creative director and sales manager. Thanks to fundraisers held throughout the year and a portion of store proceeds benefiting the cause, Isasuma delivers 15,000 liters of drinking water about 10 times a year to the region, Rincon said. The donation helps to fill the tanks of about 10 families. Advertisement Every purchase helps us fulfill our mission, Rincon said. Isasuma was founded by Rincons friend, Manuel Fresneda, about 10 years ago. It started out with sales at local festivals before expanding to an online store offering shipping worldwide. The Easton shop is the business first brick-and-mortar location. Isasuma, which opened Feb. 3 on the second floor of 228 Northampton St. in downtown Easton, offers handbags, shoes and other items that are woven, crocheted and stitched by hand by indigenous communities in Latin America. (RYAN KNELLER / The Morning Call) Its really exciting, especially because a lot of people have been asking us, when we were at events like Easton Winter Village, Bacon Fest and Garlic Fest, Do you have a store? Rincon said. Fresneda, who also operates Terra Cafe and Colombian restaurant Tierra de Fuego on Northampton Street in Easton, enlisted the assistance of another friend, Curt Weihz, about four years ago to help run Isasuma. Business Buzz Daily The daily update for the Lehigh Valley business person. > Curt has traveled with Manuel a few times to Colombia, Rincon said. I am the manager. So, I stay around here and run the day-to-day operations the website, photography, sales and so forth. Isasuma, whose name was derived from the first two letters of Fresnedas family members, sells a wide variety of bags, including clutches, backpacks, hip bags and messenger bags. Isasuma, which opened Feb. 3 on the second floor of 228 Northampton St. in downtown Easton, offers handbags, shoes and other items that are woven, crocheted and stitched by hand by indigenous communities in Latin America. (RYAN KNELLER / The Morning Call) Mochila bags, among the top-selling items, are handmade by members of the Wayuu tribe and recreate with intricate patterns the life and beliefs of this culture. Each bag is crocheted with precision and durability, and customers can choose from bright and bold designs in various sizes. Advertisement Other handmade accessories include face masks, hats, jewelry, scarves, sneakers, Mary Jane shoes, coin purses, wallets, hammocks, placemats, multi-purpose straps and yoga mat carriers. A majority of the merchandise comes from Colombia, but there are also select items from other countries, including Peruvian pillowcases. Isasumas new downtown Easton store is open 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. A grand opening celebration, to be held 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, will feature complimentary refreshments, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and free woven bracelet giveaway with the purchase of $20 or more. Info: 610-463-0011; isasuma.com. CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle and World Council of Credit Unions President/CEO Elissa McCarter LaBorde today issued statements in support of Ukraines credit unions. Americas credit unions stand united with the Ukrainian American Credit Union Association (UACUA) in expressing our deep desires for peace within Ukraine. The threat of escalating violence would further destabilize the country and displace millions more. We are praying for a swift end to hostilities in the region, Nussle said. UACUA represents 12 credit unions in the United States that serve over 100,000 members with close ties to family and friends in Ukraine. When the time comes, we anticipate Ukraines credit unions and UACUA will play a critical role in shoring up financial security for the people of Ukraine, and we will be ready to lend our support, he added. World Council of Credit Unions is extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of our member credit union associations in Ukraine and the individual credit unions and members they serve. We stand ready to support the Ukrainian National Association of Savings and Credit Unions (UNASCU) and the All-Ukrainian Association of Credit Unions and are in regular communication with them during this crisis, said LaBorde. It is no secret that the U.S. has been victim to an increasing number of cyber attacks in the last year, but many organizations are left wondering how to respond. Credit unions, in particular, are facing a growing demand, and an unavoidable need, to mitigate risk especially when it comes to protecting member data. The challenge is exasperated by the remote work environment that is seemingly here to stay beyond the pandemic. It was hard enough to keep employees updated and aware of potential cyber threats when everyone was in person. Now organizations have to consider home environments and behaviors in addition to those within the physical office space. Our team shares a few tips for how to train employees to help your organization mitigate risk. Education and Awareness The number one way a company can minimize its risk for a cyber attack is to reduce the attack surface. However, if people arent aware of the steps they should be taking or what they should be looking out for, organizations arent able to leverage their first line of defense their employees. For an employee to be able to identify a potential cyber attack, they have to know what they are looking for. Attacks have morphed and evolved in recent years and hackers are getting more and more sophisticated. The first step to training employees is to inform them about the types of attacks occurring and what to look for, and avoid. Since we have an increasingly distributed workforce with employees working anywhere, the attack surface is growing as hackers use social engineering to phish and acquire user data in targeted attacks. Security Habits In the past when we all worked together in the office, it was easy for employees to pop their head over a cubicle or knock on the office door down the hall, and ask a colleague if they thought an email or text message they received was odd. Today, in our isolated environments, its harder to get a quick response often, if an employee asks a colleague, its through an email or Microsoft Teams message that might never receive a response. In reality, the colleague next door isnt the right person to ask anyway. The next step in training employees is to empower them to know who to contact about a suspicious event. Encourage your staff to always ask questions and always be curious. Employees should be able to detect when something seems out of place or unusual, and know the people to notify. Simulation exercises are a great way for employees to recognize situations that should be avoided or flagged, and to understand the process for notifying the right people in the event of a potential or perceived threat. Mobile Device Management With employees working remotely using a number of different devices, the burden rests on organizational leadership to ensure that the right controls are in place. Organizations should limit who can access data and apps on certain devices, and who has access to data in general. One way to address this is by implementing a Zero Trust policy. According to Microsoft, Instead of assuming everything behind the corporate firewall is safe, the Zero Trust model assumes breach and verifies each request as though it originates from an open network. Regardless of where the request originates or what resource it accesses, Zero Trust teaches us to never trust, always verify. Every access request is fully authenticated, authorized, and encrypted before granting access. Two-factor authentication proves a users identity by requiring two ways to verify a user. This uses a combination of something you know (a password), something you have (cryptographic identification device; token), and something you are (biometrics). Using a Zero Trust policy coupled with two-factor authentication provides one of the best ways to protect systems from attack by proving the identity of the user. A cyber breach is unavoidable but with the right partners, and ongoing training, organizations can mitigate risk and better prepare for an attack to minimize damage and downtime. Russian forces have unleashed an attack of Ukraine on the orders of Vladimir Putin, an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. And while the scope of the Russian attack appears to be massive, with news clips featuring Russian airstrikes and shelling, less visible are Russias formidable cyber forces. Ukrainian government websites and networks were hit with a series of data-wiping attacks and were also accompanied by a series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Details about the attack are still being collected, the attack is still going on, and western critical infrastructure could also be targeted. The Russian government understands that disabling or destroying critical infrastructure augments pressure on a countrys government, military and population. Chinese Embassy in Kiev prepares to bring back Chinese nationals amid escalating Ukraine-Russia crisis (Global Times) 09:38, February 25, 2022 After Russian President Vladmir Putin authorized a "special operation" in Donbass region in the early hours on Thursday local time, the situation in Ukraine has been escalating quickly. A number of Chinese living in different cities in Ukraine shared with the Global Times what they saw and heard, with their stories featuring wake-up explosion sounds, fleeing crowds jamming the roads and snapped up supermarket shelves. The Chinese Embassy in Kiev issued a notice on Thursday in preparation of bringing back Chinese nationals from Ukraine. Given the rapidly deteriorating situation in the country, Chinese nationals and companies are facing high security risks. For this reason, the embassy is preparing charter flights and asked all Chinese nationals to voluntarily register. The charter flights will be dispatched according to the safety situation and will be notified in advance, the embassy said. Chinese living in Ukraine's capital city Kiev told the Global Times that several explosions were heard in the early hours of the day in the city and the air-raid sirens over the city were loud. The roads leading to outside of the city had been crowded with Ukrainians fleeing westward, supermarkets were overwhelmed and banks crowded as people scramble to withdraw money. A Kiev-based Chinese businessman surnamed Li told the Global Times that he heard four loud bombing sounds in the early hours, and then it basically calmed down, but he could still see some traces of smoke in the air. Sun Guang, a vlogger from Beijing who has lived in Kiev for two decades, said that he was awaken by a huge bomb going off at about 5:20 am on Thursday. "I never thought the war could come so soon," he told the Global Times, adding that the explosion was about 30 kilometers from his home. "At that moment I realized the war was really here. I was scared but I have children to take care of and I have to keep calm," Sun said. A Chinese businesswoman who has lived in Kiev for a decade also told the Global Times that she was awakened by the noise outside at 4 am and later learned that it was Russia starting the operation. She said she saw many Ukrainians in the neighborhood fleeing Kiev with their families and heading toward the west. By 6 am, the parking spaces downstairs in her building were completely empty, and by 7 am, the road heading out of the city was jammed in the sound of loud air defense sirens. "There are also many residents who cannot run away, including the local Chinese who do not have an EU visa," she said. She told the Global Times that as of Thursday noon, electricity, water supply and internet were still available. The supermarkets should still be able to provide supplies, she said. "I received message from the Chinese Embassy which told us to put the Chinese flag on our cars," Sun said. "Now, we have calmed down and I wish the Chinese community could band together to overcome the difficulties." Li said there were some local people in Kiev who are very calm. "After that wave of bombing in the morning, people were already jogging and walking their dogs in our neighborhood." In port city Odessa, police, field units and armored vehicles were everywhere in the city. There were tanks patrolling the streets, a Chinese national working in the city surnamed Wang told the Global Times. The airport and port had not been attacked, but they were closed. Wang said that many Chinese students were calling the embassy to inquire about possible plans to evacuate, as their families and relatives in China are on edge. The embassy has issued safety alert to Chinese nationals in Ukraine and ask Chinese businesses and students unions to instruct Chinese nationals and offer help to those in need. It advised Chinese nationals to remain indoors and hang Chinese national flags on their cars when going outside. Currently, there are about 6,000 Chinese in Ukraine, mainly in Kiev, Lvov, Kharkov, Odessa and Sumy. Their life, study and work were affected, anxiety has increased, but no wave of panic has occurred so far, according to the Chinese Embassy. "Although the telecommunication network is currently working, it is not possible to recharge fees for cell phones at the vendor sites," Wang told the Global Times. A large number of vehicles were pouring out of the city, and there were significantly fewer pedestrians on the streets. Most stores were closed, only a few remained open, and the shelves were nearly empty, according to Wang. Chen, who lives on the outskirts of Odessa, said he woke up to the sound of an explosion at about 4 to 5 am. He thought it was a wheel blowing up, but later he was told it was an artillery shell explosion. "There were a lot of cars lining up at gas stations in the morning. But some gas stations turned off their gas price signs, probably having been out of supply," Chen said. A Chinese living in central Ukraine's Poltava Oblast surnamed Dai said he went out shopping in the early morning, but didn't get anything. "Gas stations, shopping malls, supermarkets, banks were all crowded with people. I couldn't get anything, so I went home and hid," Dai told the Global Times on Wednesday. Chinese living in Ukraine expressed their expectations for order and peace to be restored. "Just yesterday, Kievans were still going to work and school, I didn't expect it to be so sudden," the Kiev-based businesswoman said. "But Ukraine also does not have the strength to resist Russia, so maybe the war will end soon." "In fact, there is no deep hatred between Ukrainian and Russian peoples. Those who are entangled with Russia are mainly Ukrainian political elites and vested interests groups, but many ran away many days ago," Li said, in the hope that the turmoil will end soon. (Web editor: Liang Jun, Bianji) The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has chosen a new map to be used for the constitutionally-mandated redrawing of Congressional districts that follows the Census every 10 years. The court made the decision after the Republican-controlled state legislature and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf failed to reach an agreement on a map. Advertisement The 2020 reapportionment resulted in Pennsylvania losing a seat in the House of Representatives, going from 18 to 17 districts. Other states that lost seats are California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. Texas gained two seats, while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon each added one. Advertisement While the selection of the new map is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, political pundits generally feel it will survive scrutiny. The map, known as the Carter Plan, utilizes a least change methodology, meaning that as few people as possible would be reassigned to a different district. [ SEE IT: How the Lehigh Valleys congressional district changes under new Pa. map ] The least change for the Lehigh Valleys 7th District keeps all of Lehigh and Northampton counties in the new district. But most of the Monroe County portion with the exception of Eldred and Polk townships and about half of Ross is being moved into the 8th District. In place of the jettisoned Monroe voters, all of Carbon County is being absorbed into the new 7th District, meeting another of the guiding principles of redistricting: compactness, where district boundaries coincide with existing political subdivisions. So, how will these new boundaries change the look of the 7th District, represented by Democrat Susan Wild since 2019? Party registration One of the biggest differences is the dilution of the Democrats registration advantage, which slips almost 35%. When Wild first won election in 2018, the Democrats had a 13% registration advantage. That now drops to 8.5%. The total number of voters in the district increases from 478,602 to 514,489 , but the increase in Democrats is 4,248 compared with 22,848 additional Republicans. That equates to a 1.9% increase in the number of Democrats compared with a 13.8% increase in the number of registered Republicans. [ Q&A: What the new Pa. congressional map means for you and the 2022 election ] Voter turnout Last Call Daily Get top headlines from The Morning Call delivered weekday afternoons. > Party registration indicates the sentiment of potential voters. But voter turnout tells the story of how enthusiastic and engaged voters are in any particular election. The last time voters in both Monroe and Carbon counties had the same candidates at the top of the ballot was the 2020 presidential election. The numbers show that Rep. Wild or any Democrat might have more work to do to get registered voters to the polls in the newly configured 7th District. Monroe County voters in the former 7th District turned out in higher numbers than those in Carbon, regardless of party registration. The starkest difference was in registered Carbon County Democrats, less than 70% of whom cast a ballot in Nov. 2020 compared with 75% of their Monroe compatriots. Advertisement Republican turnout was within a percentage point between Carbon and Monroe voters. Demographics The Census Bureau also provides information to states on the demographics of the voting age population down to the individual block level. For Pennsylvania, thats about 337,000 blocks, not all of which are populated. The portion of Monroe County that was in the district is 87.2% non-Hispanic white, 6.7% Hispanic (of any race), 2.5% Black, 0.6% Asian and 2.5% multiracial. Carbon County is 90.9% non-Hispanic white, 4.3% Hispanic, 1.5% Black, 0.5% Asian and 2.3% multiracial. When folded into the rest of the district, there are 15,456 additional voting age residents, but there are 24,834 more white people. All other minority groups are lower in both percentages and absolute numbers with the exception of people identifying as multiracial. They have increased by 10 to a total of 14,411 7th District residents. On Feb. 8, the Florida Senate Education Committee passed the Parental Rights in Education bill. Since the bill was made public, opponents have dubbed it the Dont Say Gay bill. The controversial bill seeks to eliminate two very important topics from being discussed in Floridas grade school classrooms: sexual orientation and gender identity. According to the bills text, discussions of the topics may not take place in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students. What the bills proposer, Republican State Senator Dennis Baxley, considers age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate goes undefined. More concerning, however, are the implications the bill has to out young queer students to their families. The bill states that school personnel must inform parents of changes in a students mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being unless its believed that such disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect. With this included in the bill, the Florida State Senate would require school staff to inform parents if they expect that a student isnt cisgender or heterosexual, abandoning any previous confidentiality in the counselors office. According to Lesley University, 50% of queer teens receive a negative reaction from their family when they come out, and 25% of out LGBTQ+ youth are forced to leave their homes. How will school personnel know if a student is queer, and how could they know if outing the student would result in abandonment by their parents? This bill sets queer children up for abandonment and neglect despite claiming otherwise. The bill still needs to pass two more Florida Senate Committees before the full Senate can vote on it, and those committees may make changes to the bills text before the final vote. Nonetheless, the fact that Baxley felt comfortable proposing the legislation and that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to approve it sets an unsettling precedent for the American education system. Though not directly stated in the bills text, the subtext is clear: LGBTQ+ students will be prohibited from safely expressing themselves at school. Oregon may be on the opposite diagonal from Florida, but decisions such as this one will affect LGBTQ+ people throughout the country. Second-year graduate student Laura King came out as bisexual and omnisexual when she was 21 years old. Due to limited access to LGBTQ+ education in her Texas high school, she did not come to understand her identity until shed already graduated. King explained why the Floridian bill perplexed her. I think what cisgender and heterosexual people don't understand is that sexuality and gender frame almost everything we encounter in our daily lives and that our classrooms are not neutral spaces, King said. Discussion in classrooms gives kids tools to understand the world around them and to navigate their own identities wherever they land. Classrooms are spaces where we are supposed to learn about diverse histories, cultures and identities, and learning about these things is integral to understanding ourselves and others at a young age. To deprive students of a safe space to learn about themselves and others is inhumane, and Im appalled that this bill is being passed under the guise of concerned parents. Axel, who chose to be identified only by his first name because he believed it would be unsafe for him to be identified as a trans man to his family, attended multiple Oregon public schools prior to enrolling at UO. Despite Oregon not having a law like Floridas newest bill, Axel detailed his experience, or lack thereof, discussing gender diversity in the classroom. Gender identity was not discussed in any capacity, and I really didnt know anything about gender identity until I was well into adulthood, Axel said. I had to come upon the information on my own. Even without legislation preventing gender identity from being discussed in the classroom, Oregon students received minimal education on the subject. Overall, Florida Senators are making a blatantly homophobic attempt to fix a non-problem rather than acknowledging the true issue: These subjects arent discussed enough. I am an example of a person who was sheltered from learning about LGBTQ+; it did not stop me from being queer, it only led to decades of frustration at not understanding myself and not understanding why I felt different, Axel said. Lack of information on LGBTQ+ people will not prevent your children from being queer, it will only prevent them from feeling accepted. If senators really dont want us to discuss gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom, then they would need to cut terms like boy, girl and any discussion of heterosexuality from the curriculum. If they dont want children to pick their gender as Gov. DeSantis put it then schools should refer to all students with they/them pronouns until the students come out as cisgender. Do you understand how absurd that sounds? If it seems absurd in a cishet context, why would it be any more acceptable to do this to LGBTQ+ students? Why should queer students be unequal in the eyes of the law? We shouldnt enforce heteronormativity in the American education system in an attempt to erase queer youth. Discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation help students understand themselves and their classmates. What the Florida State Senate proposes will harm all students by diminishing their understanding and appreciation of the world. Get off your homophobic high horse and let us say gay. Cedar Crest Boulevard is closed Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, near Route 22 after wires covered in ice fell on the roadway. A winter storm coated the Lehigh Valley in an icy glaze early Friday, with plenty of slick spots on roads, sidewalks and parking lots. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call ) A winter storm coated the Lehigh Valley in an icy glaze early Friday, with plenty of slick spots on roads, sidewalks and parking lots. Around 5:12 a.m., PennDOT reported a multi-vehicle crash that closed Route 309 southbound between Chestnut Drive and Valley Road in Center Valley for more than two hours. Advertisement Just after 7 a.m., a crash was also reported on Interstate 78 westbound at Exit 60B/145 North that closed the left lane. There were minor incidents reported in other areas, but just before 9:30 a.m., county radio reported a full closure of Cedar Crest Boulevard in the area of Route 22 in South Whitehall after live wires fell across the roadway and landed on at least one vehicle. Advertisement Cedar Crest Blvd is closed between N. 29th St and Rt. 22 for downed power lines. This will be an extended closure. Please avoid the area. @wfmztraffic @LehighAlerts @mcall @lehighvalley pic.twitter.com/h6vnwuTjrx Sergeant Grozier (Sgt of Community Affairs SWTPD) (@SergeantGrozier) February 25, 2022 Im requesting Cedar Crest Boulevard be shut down for an extended period, a first responder said as he arrived on scene. The closure stretched from N. 29th Street to Route 22, Sgt. Jason Grozier of the South Whitehall Township Police Department said on Twitter. Cars, tree branches, and other elevated surfaces had a buildup of ice as light precipitation continued to fall. Please use extra care this morning in areas from the Interstate 95 Corridor northwestward. Untreated roads and walkways may be slippery due to ice. #pawx #njwx #dewx #mdwx pic.twitter.com/LSfsYPTwXI NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) February 25, 2022 Speed restrictions were in effect on major thoroughfares through the area, including I-78 and Route 22, and PennDOT also temporarily restricted certain vehicles from using the highways, but those restrictions were lifted before 10 a.m. Restrictions were lifted on the mainline of the turnpike around 6 a.m., but speed restrictions continued between Lehigh Valley and Clarks Summit. As of 6 a.m., Friday, 2/25/22, all driving restrictions have been lifted on the mainline of #PATurnpike. 45 mph speed restrictions will remain in effect on I-476 (NE Ext.) between Lehigh Valley (Exit 56) & Clarks Summit (Exit 131). Check https://t.co/c40zR6Zh2Y for more info. Pennsylvania Turnpike (@PA_Turnpike) February 25, 2022 Last Call Daily Get top headlines from The Morning Call delivered weekday afternoons. > A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 1 p.m. Friday, with additional ice accumulations of one tenth to two tenths of an inch possible. Portions of northern and northwest New Jersey and east central and southeast Pennsylvania fall under the advisory, including the Lehigh Valley. Commuters should plan on slippery road conditions through the morning, the National Weather Service said. Advertisement Precipitation should come to an end all together by the early afternoon hours, with gusting winds to follow. Late this afternoon, a cold front will sweep southeast, the weather service said in its latest forecast discussion, noting gusts around 35 mph were possible in some areas. High temperatures Saturday should be in the low 30s, but will rebound nicely on Sunday, reaching the the mid 40s. A fairly progressive pattern is expected next week, with temperatures holding in the 40s with mostly sunny skies. Today Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 77F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow Scattered thunderstorms developing during the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High around 85F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania has committed to comply fully with federal law concerning the use of addiction medication by court-supervised individuals and said there is no basis for injunctive relief by the U.S. Department of Justice. Its hard to say whether the state Supreme Court made the right call with the congressional district map it chose Wednesday. The map has some good points but isnt perfect. Its crystal clear, though, that the process stunk. Advertisement It reeked of politics and conflicts of interest. This is more evidence than ever for why Pennsylvania should take redistricting out of the hands of partisan politicians and judges. Maps should be drawn by an independent commission of citizens who have nothing to gain but good government. Advertisement New districts wont have to be drawn again for another decade, after the next U.S. census. That leaves plenty of time to change the system, something which polls indicate the public wants. Thats the only way to prevent gerrymandering, where politicians manipulate the data to protect their incumbents and make it easier for their party to get elected. Both parties have been guilty of that in Pennsylvania. [ How did gerrymandering get its name? Yes, a salamander was involved. ] In 2018, the state Supreme Court ruled Republicans gerrymandered the congressional districts after the 2010 census. The court drew a new map after Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled Legislature could not agree on a replacement. Wolf and the Legislature couldnt agree on a map this year based on 2020 census data, either. So, the decision again fell to the Supreme Court, though its authority to do so is facing a legal challenge. Wednesday, the Democratic majority court chose a map that had been proposed by a group of Democratic-aligned voters. Thats not a good look. Appellate court judges have to campaign in Pennsylvania, which makes them politicians, too. They shouldnt be involved in drawing maps, either. Democrats predictably patted the court on the back for Wednesdays decision. Republicans kicked the court in the backside. Advertisement Wolf called it a fair map. The left-leaning Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center said the court did an admirable job. Republican state Rep. Seth Grove, whose committee passed a map that Wolf vetoed and the court rejected, said the justices bowed to the wants and wishes of their Democratic National Committee handlers. If Republican lawmakers despise the process, why wont they change it? Proposals to create a citizens commission have been floating around Harrisburg for years. Theyve attracted bipartisan support, but as I wrote a few years ago, that seems to be just lip service. To appease their voters, politicians say they like the concept, knowing that legislative leaders never will allow a vote. In 2018, lawmakers went further than ever, with the state Senate approving legislation. It was undermined, though, when it was amended to also require state appellate court judges to be elected regionally instead of statewide. Democrats refused to support that, and so ended the momentum. In 2019, Wolf formed the Pennsylvania Redistricting Reform Commission to travel the state and gather public input on ways to improve the process. The commission had members from both parties, with Republicans including former Congressman Charlie Dent and former Lehigh County Commissioner Amanda Holt. Advertisement The panel recommended creating a citizens commission to draw maps of congressional districts and state legislative districts. The state districts always are another battlefront. GOP lawmakers werent impressed. They didnt even participate in the commissions meetings. Changing to a citizens commission, with members appointed by both parties and prohibited from having political ties, would be a time-consuming process. Lawmakers must pass legislation in consecutive sessions to trigger a referendum asking voters whether they want to amend the state Constitution. Thats necessary because the Constitution dictates the redistricting process. Republican lawmakers recently proposed or approved countless referendums, on amendments ranging from gubernatorial powers to liquor sales. They say they are just giving the people the chance to voice their opinion. Why not let them have their say about this, too? Advertisement Polling by the Pennsylvania Redistricting Reform Commission in 2019 found people trusted an independent commission more than they trusted elected officials or the state Supreme Court. Also in 2019, 67% of people polled by Franklin & Marshall College said an independent commission was the best way to draw state legislative districts. Ten other states, including New Jersey, have redistricting commissions. Members are chosen in a variety of ways designed to ensure a political balance. District maps never will be perfect and appease everyone. There always will be critics. That wouldnt change if an independent, nonpolitical commission drew them. But we could be confident that the map wasnt gerrymandered and was done with the publics interests in mind not the interest of overpaid politicians trying to hang onto their jobs and protect their party. Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com [ Pa. Supreme Court picks congressional map proposed by group of Democratic-aligned voters; has 3 swing districts, including Lehigh Valley seat held by Susan Wild ] Amid the sunlight-filled Commons chamber yesterday, there was a dark sense of foreboding. An eerie, hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck feeling generated by events thousands of miles away that had changed the world irrevocably. The Prime Minister's kitchen mop hair stood at right angles as usual as he rose to speak at the despatch box at 5pm. But there was nothing at all clownish about his delivery. He was coldly serious and the House was utterly still. Usually by teatime on Thursdays, MPs have either decamped to Westminster's watering holes to imbibe and indulge in a little light treachery or, more commonly, headed back to their constituencies for a long weekend. Boris Johnson (pictured) had prepared an excellent speech for Commons on Thursday, warm toward the people of Ukraine and scathing about Vladimir Putin Yesterday it was a full house. For 11 minutes the PM spoke without pause and was heard almost entirely in ecclesiastical silence. And he was good. Very good. So often Boris's attitude to the Commons is to turn up and wing it. But he had prepared an excellent speech, warm toward the people of Ukraine and scathing about Vladimir Putin. And it was turbo-boosted with the requisite verbal oomph! Regarding his appearance, it had clearly been a night of much tossing and turning. During his earlier address to the nation from Downing Street at 12pm, his hooded eyes were circled by dark spirographs. Someone really should have dashed to Carrie's boudoir to fetch the powder puff. Now he was back in action with his Cabinet either side. And what a long line of grimaces they presented. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries sucked furiously on something. An indigestion tablet? As far as relations with Putin were concerned, Boris made it clear there was no turning back. No more pussyfooting about. Russia was now a pariah state. His language toward its president was unbridled. He was a 'dictator', a 'bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest' and a leader who was embarking on a 'hideous and barbaric venture'. Regarding Boris's appearance, it had clearly been a night of much tossing and turning. During his earlier address to the nation at 12pm, his hooded eyes were circled by dark spirographs We heard the names of a string of new Russian companies joining the London roll-call of shame. Among those now blacklisted was airline Aeroflot. That word pinged out Boris's mouth with a sizzle of disgust, like a flake of garlic hitting a hot pan. 'Slava Ukraini!' he cried. 'Glory to Ukraine!' But as the PM resumed his seat the House did not cheer. The mood was too bleak for that, but there were roars of agreement on both sides. Sir Keir Starmer made a decent speech but he lacks Boris's way with words. Cliche tends to follow cliche. He talked of how 'in this dark hour we can step towards the light', which sounded as though it might have been lifted from a happy-clappy New Age Bible. A sure sign of the mood yesterday subdued and respectful was that when Ian Blackford was called to speak, no one groaned. Usually, the SNP leader's speeches are preceeded with a lengthy heaving of breath that can be heard all the way down Whitehall. Mr Blackford was supportive, too. Boris thanked him for his 'wisdom and statesmanship'. Another one for the record books. It was then that Defence Secretary Ben Wallace slid behind the PM to show Liz Truss something on his mobile phone. From where I sat it appeared to be a photograph. The Foreign Secretary pulled a worried grimace as she viewed it. The debate had certainly attracted interest. Up in the brimming public gallery necks craned eagerly. Paying a visit from the Lords was Labour peer Lord Foulkes, who looked on lugubriously. It takes a lot to put him off his 6pm snifter I can tell you. As far as relations with Putin were concerned, the Prime Minister (pictured) made it clear there was no turning back. No more pussyfooting about. Russia was now a pariah state Someone who knows a lot about Putin's vile nature is Theresa May, who was in charge during the Salisbury Novichok poisonings in 2018. The former PM demanded that Russia feel the 'cold wind of isolation'. That word 'isolation' was pronounced with a slight hiss. Mrs May certainly knows how to turn the air frosty. The session was not without its useful idiots. Clive Lewis (Lab, Norwich S) demanded Nato now seek a negotiated settlement with Russia. As Putin's missiles rained down from the sky! Down in the front, Sir Keir shuffled his feet awkwardly as though one of his dogs had just let out an embarrassing burp in a restaurant. Mr Lewis, you may be unsurprised to learn, is supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, who was present but didn't speak. He sat there fiddling urgently with his mobile phone. Possibly deleting his Kremlin contacts. Also calling for negotiations was Alba Party MP Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy). He announced his boss Alex Salmond had suspended his talk show with Russian propaganda channel RT until fighting ceased. The Conservative benches jeered. But for the most part, tussles were minimal. The real fighting now takes place in Ukraine. As Russias Blitzkrieg pummels Ukraine on four separate fronts, a comforting narrative has taken hold among political elites and the media commentariat of Western capitals. Yes, we are powerless to intervene militarily to save a European democracy from unprovoked attack and occupation by a harsh, militaristic dictatorship. But a combination of unprecedented sanctions and a gritty guerrilla campaign against the occupiers by doughty Ukrainian rebel forces will exact a higher price on President Putin than he ever envisaged. Invading Ukraine is his biggest mistake. It might even be the beginning of the end for him. All sensible folk would love this to be true. Sadly, it is stuff and nonsense, at best wishful thinking, at worst downright delusional. As you read this, Russian forces could already have taken Kyiv, Ukraines capital. If not, its fall will only be days if not hours away. As Russias Blitzkrieg pummels Ukraine on four separate fronts, a comforting narrative has taken hold among political elites and the media commentariat of Western capitals The sad but blunt reality is that Ukraine is lost, both to its people and to the West, for the foreseeable future. True, resistance forces are likely to emerge. Ukrainians are proud, brave, used to hardship. Their military has already proved a tougher nut to crack than the Russians anticipated. They will do the invaders some damage. But Ukraine is not Afghanistan and Ukrainians are not the mujahideen. Much of the topography especially the vast steppes to the east does not lend itself to guerrilla war. Even the Afghans, with secure mountain havens and centuries of military tradition successfully seeing off unwelcome outsiders, took over nine miserable, bloody years to get rid of the Russian bear in the 1980s. To contemplate such a fate for Ukraine is to accept that the Russian invasion has succeeded. Then there are the sanctions. London, Washington and Brussels assure us they are strong and severe. But for Putin they will be no more than an irritant. For all the talk of solidarity and standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, it is clear that is conditional on Europe not suffering too much itself. Were going to leave that for the Ukrainian people He has spent the last eight years creating a Fortress Russia designed to withstand whatever sanctions the West throws at it. He has accumulated $635 billion in foreign exchange and gold reserves, mainly thanks to Europe gobbling up Russian oil and gas at huge expense. Russias national debt is only 18 per cent of GDP, one of the lowest in the world. By comparison, French sovereign debt is 116 per cent of its GDP, Spain 119 per cent, Italy 156 per cent and Greece an incredible 206 per cent. Even Germanys debt to GDP ratio is 70 per cent. Ours is 95 per cent. The Kremlin runs an annual budget surplus, so its rainy-day multi-billion dollar kitty to weather sanctions continues to grow. The United States and every major European economy run huge budget deficits. Both President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have made much of how theyve cut Russia out of Western debt markets. But the Putin regime doesnt borrow much and doesnt rely on foreign lenders to finance its national debt. As part of the Fortress Russia project, Russian business has also cut its reliance on foreign lenders by one third. Ordinary Russians have been forced to endure a drop in their living standards which, only a few hundred miles east of Moscow, are often close to Third-World levels. Consumption of imports has been slashed by 25 per cent in under a decade. While Putin was making these painful preparations to withstand sanctions, what was Europe doing? Why, increasing its exposure to Russian energy, of course. The sad but blunt reality is that Ukraine is lost, both to its people and to the West, for the foreseeable future In 2013 the European Union bought 135 billion cubic metres of Russian natural gas. Six years later, despite indisputable evidence that a revanchist Russia was on the march, annexing Crimea a 21st-century Anschluss and occupying parts of Georgia and eastern Ukraine, the EU had managed to increase its purchase of Russian gas to 166 billion cubic metres. Despite pouring billions of euros into wind and solar energy, the EU has also managed to import a lot more coal from Russia. And, of course, it just cant get enough Russian gas, hence the German enthusiasm for a new gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, from Siberia through the Baltic Sea to Germany (currently suspended but not abandoned in the wake of the invasion). In a very real sense, the EU has paid for Putins Fortress Russia defences. With oil prices spiking at over $100 a barrel, $700 million a day in oil revenues is pouring into Kremlin coffers. Germanys dependence on Russian energy is close to complete: 50 per cent of its coal imports, 55 per cent of its gas, 35 per cent of its oil all from Russia. All of which explains why the EU has not gone for Russia where it would really hurt its energy exports. Sanctions are a two-way street: they are designed to hit those on the receiving end but they can also mean hardship for those imposing them. Energy is by far the most important source of revenue for the Kremlin. It is what pays for its foreign adventures, such as Syria, and for the modernising of its military. An EU boycott of Russian oil and gas would quickly result in revenues essential for Putins survival drying up. But it would also see already high European energy prices soar even higher as the EU scrambled to secure alternative supplies. Energy shortages leading to rolling blackouts would be likely. For all the talk of solidarity and standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, it is clear that is conditional on Europe not suffering too much itself. Were going to leave that for the Ukrainian people. Indeed, on Thursday even as the Russian tanks rolled in, the amount of gas flowing to Europe from Russia through Ukraine is reported to have jumped by 38 per cent on the day before. And weve already seen how capricious European leaders can be in their resistance to banning Russia from the SWIFT global payments system, a key tool of international trade. Britain and America were keen to add Swift to the sanctions as it would really hurt Russia. But Europe vetoed the idea. European banks have substantial exposure to Russian trade. If Russia was barred from SWIFT, they couldnt get the Russian money owed to them. Moreover, Europe pays for Russian oil and gas through SWIFT and if Russia stops getting paid, the flow of its oil and gas would stop. Clearly European solidarity with Ukraine has its limits. And theres the rub. In a contest over who could endure the most pain over sanctions, who would you back? The hard-nosed, inured-to-adversity Russians or the soft-touch, prone-to-appeasement European elites? I know who my money would be on. The Ukrainian tragedy unfolding in front of us shows how wrong we were. The past two decades have seen the rise of a new age of authoritarianism, in which the borders of free and independent territories can be changed once again by conquest and dictatorial whim Once Putin has installed a puppet government in Kyiv, started mopping up what resistance remains to complete Ukraines subjugation and proposed peace on his terms, what chance Europe decides a return to normality and guaranteed supplies of Russian energy is more important than standing up for Ukraine? Quite high, I would have thought, especially if the sanctions are making little difference to Russian behaviour. Boris Johnson has tried to camouflage the intrinsic weakness of the financial and economic sanctions he announced last week by bigging up his new controls on Russian oligarchs. The idea Putin cares about the fate of a few of his cronies when he is on the brink of grasping the great geopolitical prize that is Ukraine has been one of the more pathetic features of Britains response to Russian aggression. Yet even there, weve done nothing like enough. A handful more oligarchs have been singled out for treatment. But serious sanctions for the kleptocrats whove grown rich on Putins watch would bar all of them from entering Britain, America or the EU, along with all their relatives and mistresses; seize all their assets in the UK; and refuse visas for their offspring to study and party here. How would we identify them? Easy. Those working with the brave Russian dissident, Alexei Navalny, currently banged up indefinitely by Putin after his thugs tried to poison him, have compiled a list of 35 oligarchs in media, business, politics and security who have aided and abetted Putin and been rewarded with power and treasure as a result. Hitting the Navalny 35 wouldnt force Putin to change his mind about Ukraine. But it would be just and pleasing nevertheless. And the longer Boris Johnson takes to do something meaningful, the more they have the chance to move or bury their ill-gotten gains. But being tougher with Russian oligarchs and banks is something of a sideshow. A proper Western response first requires us to realise the enormity of what is happening and why. Only two decades ago, as the 21st century got under way, there were high hopes that this would be the century that saw the near-universal triumph of liberal democracy. The late 20th century had seen free speech and fair elections come to a number of countries, from Latin America to Eastern Europe, that had previously known only the dictators jackboot. A new century would complete the global march to democracy. The Ukrainian tragedy unfolding in front of us shows how wrong we were. The past two decades have seen the rise of a new age of authoritarianism, in which the borders of free and independent territories can be changed once again by conquest and dictatorial whim. Russia has been in the vanguard of this new dark age. But only because of the failure of deterrence of Western democracies. When Putin grabbed a part of Georgia in 2008, the West barely responded. Thus emboldened, he grabbed Crimea in 2014, to suffer no more than a slap on the wrist. He then put Kremlin proxy forces in charge of the eastern bit of Ukraine and, with still no pushback from the West, began planning for annexation of the whole country. With energy prices high, Europe leaderless and increasingly held hostage by Russian energy supplies, America riven by deep domestic divisions (its attention increasingly drawn to China the pivot to the Pacific rather than Europe) plus poor leadership from both major parties and much of the democratic world enmeshed in fruitless culture wars which Putin sees as evidence of Western decline and decay now was the time to act. So, he did. Because he could. One of the more annoying pieces of grandstanding this week came from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission in Brussels, who was adamant about the need to stand with beleaguered Ukraine. Yet she is a key part of the European elite responsible for the failure of democracies to deter the authoritarians. As German defence minister under Angela Merkel, she continued the hollowing out of the military begun under her predecessors. At the height of the Cold War the German military with its extensive heavy armour and large land army was in the vanguard of the defence of Europe from the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. Today its a shadow of its former self, with submarines that cant take to the sea, fighter jets that cant fly, tanks that dont move, soldiers equipped with broom handles for guns in Arctic exercises and even a lack of basic clothing. As Russian men and armour cross the Ukraine border, the head of the German Army, Alfons Mais, made the most remarkable confession: The Bundeswehr, the army Im privileged to lead, is more or less empty-handed. The options we can offer in support of the alliance [Nato] are extremely limited. Claiming hed warned German politicians about the sad state of the countrys military time and again, he added for good measure: Im p****d off! It was the starkest admission yet of how Europe has disarmed in this century to such an extent that it is no longer regarded as any kind of deterrent by the continents most dangerous authoritarian. Defence spending has been cut again and again then again during the eurozone crisis, when saving the single currency was more important than defending democracy. America was always expected to pick up the slack and the only good news about the timing of the Ukraine crisis is that it happened when America was still relatively engaged in Europe. If it happened towards the end of the decade Europe might have found that America was too busy dealing with China to get involved. There are signs Europe is recognising the folly of its ways. Defence spending is rising again, though not by nearly enough. Putins adventurism has re-energised Nato and given it new purpose even neutral Sweden and Finland are debating about joining. America has realised it cannot quite turn its back on Europe. The U.S. and Europe have drawn closer again. It is distressing to accept that Ukraine is lost from the community of democratic nations at least for now. But if it results in a new realpolitik among the democracies and a realisation that they cant just look the other way when dictatorships stalk the European continent once more, then something good will have come out of it. In the immediate future, Nato needs to bolster its defences along the East European border from Estonia to Romania with a surge of troops and equipment. The forces are there to do this. Those Nato members most vulnerable need to be reassured that Nato has their backs and Putin needs to realise that what hes doing to Ukraine can never be attempted against a Nato member. Then Europe needs to begin the long slog to build a military capability that will deter the bad guys from doing whatever they want. It will be hard and the jury is out on whether Europe has the will to do it. As for Britain, with one of the only two militaries (along with France) that matter in Europe, we will have a crucial role to play in all of this, nudging Europe towards greater deterrence and contributing to it. It will be one of the ironies of Brexits first decade that were likely to be more involved in Europe than ever. The downfall of a glamorous restaurateur who was a darling of New York society and dubbed the 'Queen of vegan cuisine' is to be told in a new Netflix series detailing how she ended up in prison after disappearing with $2 million. The trailer for Bad Vegan: Fame, Fraud, Fugitives, a four-part series telling the story of the 49-year-old restaurateur who ran New York celebrity hotspot Pure Food & Wine, promises to rival Netflix's other documentaries including Tinder Swindler and Tiger King with intrigue and crazy plot twists. From the executive producer of Tiger King, Dan Lagana, and director of Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened Chris Smith, the documentary's trailer lays the scene for the story stranger than fiction. Once dubbed 'the Vegan Queen,' Melngailis' upscale restaurant was a favourite of A-listers including Chelsea Clinton, Tom Brady, Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson up until 2015, where she and her now estranged husband Anthony Strangis disappeared with $2million, leaving staff unpaid and investors out of pocket. Melngailis claims Strangis conned and controlled her into funnelling her restaurant's funds to him by promising to expand her food empire and - incredibly - to make her beloved dog immortal. Netflix has just released a trailer for Bad Vegan: Fame, Fraud, Fugitives, a four-part series telling the story of restaurateur Sarma Melngailis, 49, from New York's Pure Food & Wine, pictured Strangis (right) met Melngailis (left) on Twitter, where he went by 'Shane Fox.' Melngailis claims he conned her into funnelling her restaurant's funds to him by promising to expand her food empire and - incredibly - to make her beloved dog immortal. From January 2014 to January 2015, Melngailis transferred more than $1.6 million from the business accounts to her personal bank account. In 2015, she disappeared, but was caught by police in 2016 after ordering a Domino's Pizza. Melngailis - who also wrote several raw food cookbooks - and Strangis took money from investors, didn't pay $400,000 in taxes, and left employees out of pocket. All the while, she spent $2 million at Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun Casinos, luxury jewellery, trips to Europe and Uber rides. Melngailis's camp she acted while under the coercive control of her husband. She claims Strangis would warn her that if she did not pass certain tests to prove her loyalty, such as giving him money or performing oral sex while blindfolded, forces controlled by his brother would 'gut' him and come for her. According to Vanity Fair, Melngailis claimed that Strangis, who had gain weight since they met, told her that dealing with his obesity was another test. He also told her that her beloved pitbull Leon had been his dog in a previous life and the three of them had all been living together for a thousand years. Melngailis believed that if she did what her husband told her, 'Leon would also be immortal and safe to be by my side for eternity,' Vanity Fair reported. Strangis denies this account. Melngailis is very attached to her dog Leon, pictured, who she rescued before meeting Strangis Melngailis's restaurant was beloved by celebs, including Woody Harrelson, left and Jason Lewis, right Melngailis opens up about her shocking story in the upcoming Netflix do-series, which will drop on March 16 on the streaming platform Sarma Melngailis pictured in Brooklyn court before she was sentenced to three months at Rikers Island From January 2014 to January 2015, Melngailis transferred more than $1.6 million from the business accounts to her personal bank account. In 2015, she disappeared. But was caught by police in 2016 after ordering a Domino's Pizza. She is pictured in court In the early 2010s', Melngailis was seen as a successful restaurateur, a Vegan food pioneer and a published author Melngailis with Leon. The foodie disappeared with $2million taken from her own restaurant in Mai 2015 The glamourous restaurateur was a darling of food critics. Her Instagram bio reads she is still 'mourning' over Pure Food and Wine Trouble began at the restaurant in January 2015 when 60 staff members said they weren't being paid and subsequently staged multiple walk outs and protests. Melngailis told her staff the delay in payment was due to changing banks, but told a magazine that same month it was because the restaurant had debts, and due to the high cost of premium ingredients. In May 2015, she and Strangis disappeared with the money and the restaurant closed permanently in July of that year. The new trailer starts with a recorded phone conversation between Melngailis and Strangis. Sarma was the vegan darling of foodie New York in the 2010s and had published two vegan cookbooks by the time trouble began The chef, who put vegan cuisine on the map in New York, is seldom ever seen without her dog Leon The restaurateur will give her side of the story in Netflix's upcoming documentary on Pure Food and Wine The restaurateur also welcomed Kyle MacLachlan, right, before her establishment closed permanently in 2015 The New York restaurant was a night life hotspot that was beloved for its raw food vegan recipes In 2015, the restaurant's staff walked out twice, asking Melngailis to pay them after she failed to do so repeatedly 'So I'm just supposed to do whatever you say and listen to your instructions,' the restaurateur is heard saying. 'You signed onto this. You told me you wanted happily ever after. If I tell you to take all your money out of the bank and light it on fire, do it,' Strangis replies. Former employees and sources close to the case are seen talking face to camera about the restaurateur's establishment and how it was a 'great place to work. They also talk about the 'mysterious' circumstances surrounding Melngailis and Strangis' marriage, suggesting there might have been some blackmail involved. Sarma with fellow restaurateur Tobyn Britt in 2009 The actress Daryl Hannah, right, was also among Sarma's fans at the height of her restaurateur career Melngailis served three months in jail for her crimes after he trial came to a close in January 2017 The programme explored how the successful restaurateur, who was once dubbed the Vegan Queen, fell into crime How Sarma Melngailis went from 'plant food Queen' to 'Vegan Bernie Madoff' 2004: Sarma Melngailis opens Pure Food & Wine in New York 2005: She opens One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway next to the restaurant. 2011: Sarma meets Anthony Strangis on Twitter December 2012: Strangis and Melngailis get married in New York. 2013: She brings Strangis in as a manager at her restauration business. January 2015: Pure Food and Wine and One Lucky Duck staff walked out en-masse due to Melngailis' failure to pay employees for a month. Melngailis tells her staff the delay in payments is due to changing banks. February 2015: Melngailis claims in an interview the delay in wages were actually caused by the restaurant's debts and the cost of ingredients. May 2015: Newspapers report the restaurateur has vanished with $2million. July 2015: Staff walk out of the restaurant again and it is permanently closed. May 2016: Melngailis and Strangis are arrested in Sevierville, Tennessee. November 2016: Melgngailis claims she was under the control of Strangis. May 2017: Melngailis pleads guilty to stealing more than $200,000 from an investor, and scheming to defraud, as well as criminal tax fraud charges. June 2017: Former restaurateur is jailed for three months. May 2018: She filed for divorce from Strangis. Advertisement Melngailis met Strangis in 2011 and brought him on board as a manager at the restaurant in 2013. The relationship surprised many, with even Strangis' own step-mother wondering what the successful, attractive businesswoman saw in her son, who was overweight and an alleged gambling addict. In 2016, a source close to the former restaurateur claimed that Strangis resorted to cult-like techniques such as gaslighting, sleep deprivation and sexual humiliation to control her while speaking to Vanity Fair. The same source added Strangis convinced Melngailis that her computer had been hacked in order to get her passwords for all her devices, including e-mails, phone, and bank accounts. Strangis refuted the claims through his lawyer at the time. The novelist Porochista Khakpour, who was a close friend of Sarma at the time, told the magazine: 'Sarma lost her mind. She really believed that her dog would live forever. Speaking after the news of the arrest, Ron Levine, who said he was an investor wrote on Facebook: 'She stole about $1 million from investors, including me, and disappeared last year. 'The FBI was looking for her and she's got a pile of lawsuits waiting for her in NY.' He added: 'I visited her restaurant every year and was happy to help her business, which I loved. 'It was a sad and shocking betrayal. She hurt a lot of people.' Another investor said at the time that Melngailis' actions were 'unbecoming of a vegan.' She pleaded guilty in May 2017 to stealing more than $200,000 from an investor, and scheming to defraud, as well as criminal tax fraud charges. She received a nearly four-month jail sentence. She was sentenced to three months in New York's notorious Rikers prison. As part of her punishment, she was also ordered to repay $1.5million in restitution payments. Strangis pleaded guilty to four counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree. He was sentenced to one year in jail and five years probation and had to repay $840,000 to investors He walked free having already spent a year behind bars at Rikers. Since coming out of prison in autumn 2017, Melngailis has been keeping a low profile, sharing glimpses of her life on Instagram and on her blog. In 2019, she said she wanted to get her brand back, but had no plans as to how to make this a reality. She has not posted on the blog since, but remains active on Instagram, sharing pictures of her dog and of her daily life. She's worked with Netflix on Bad vegan, which will be released in March to tell her story. In the Netflix docu-series, a woman is seen asking what a 'meat suit' is, teasing the question will be answered in the programme The blonde beauty claims she was charmed by Strangis and coerced into committing the crimes Strangis promised Melngailis he could make her beloved dog Leon, left, immortal, and would help expand her food empire In January 2015, 60 staff members said they weren't being paid and subsequently staged multiple walk outs and protests, asking Melngailis to pay their wage. The successful author, right, was nowhere to be seen Governor of Edinburgh Castle and royal commentator, Alastair Bruce, 61, (pictured) shared significant items in his rooms in the fortress 1. HELP FOR HEROES Here's my painting of the battle at Mount Tumbledown in the Falklands, where I was serving as an intelligence officer for the Scots Guards (that's my cap on the sofa). I did drawings of the places where soldiers I had trained had fallen so I could show their families, and turned them into paintings after the war in 1982. I found it cathartic. I'm a trustee of the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh Castle where the names of those who died are kept, and I'm terribly proud to have served with them. 2. POMP STAR I'm a major-general in the Army and was appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle in 2019 it's a great honour and there's a statue of my ancestor Robert the Bruce at the entrance. I pop on this uniform and the hat on the table with swan's feathers for gun salutes and when the Queen arrives to stay at Holyrood Palace. My role is to be the personification of Scottish martial tradition. 3. THE ABBEY HABIT Having known Julian Fellowes's wife Emma since childhood, I've been brought in as an adviser on a lot of his projects, including Downton Abbey this is a plastic replica of Downton that I found on a visit to New York. A lot of actors find it hard to express love and gratitude without touching and hugging, but I had to tell them people weren't physical back then partly because of the risk of diseases in an era before antibiotics. Of course, that was perfect for filming the Downton film sequel during Covid. 4. OFFICER MATERIAL Alastair treasures this prayer book (pictured) his brother gave him on his seventh birthday when he went to boarding school in Dorset My mother's father was a vice-admiral in the Navy and when he came to our house in uniform once I wanted to be him. I had had a postman's uniform for dressing up in, and then we added lots of gold braid to a naval uniform so I could look like an admiral at the age of 11. I often used to dress up as a bishop as well so my parents had a lot to worry about! 5. BEAR NECESSITY My husband Stephen Knott and I got married last year after being together for two decades. Barnaby, the teddy bear, is the bearer of messages between the two of us when either of us is not present. Whenever I come home I always go and see what he's holding. A note might say, 'Gone to the shops', but it's not always practical it might say something nice. 6. ARTICLE OF FAITH I have a quiet, gentle Anglican faith that I've found very helpful. My brother, Peveril, gave me this prayer book on my seventh birthday when I went to boarding school in Dorset. The Scottish Episcopal Church let me marry Stephen it's still not possible in the Anglican Church. I thanked the Bishop of Edinburgh for marrying same-sex people and he said, 'We don't. We marry people.' I thought that was lovely. As told to Andrew Preston. As royal commentator for Sky News, Alastair will cover this year's Platinum Jubilee events. Visit Edinburgh Castle, edinburghcastle.scot The Ipcress File starts as all good spy thrillers should in a glamorous but dangerous city teeming with intrigue, a beautiful naked woman in a bath, and our hero lying in bed with a rather self-satisfied grin on his face. But something is amiss; everything looks blurry. And then he puts his glasses on. Fans of the original film, starring Michael Caine, will immediately recognise this camera trick as a nod to the classic screen version of the Len Deighton novel. It says a lot: not only is this The Ipcress File mark two but also that while the spy in question, Harry Palmer, may have shades of James Bond, he's not a superhero he has very human flaws. The film came out in 1965, three years after the book was published, and won immediate iconic status as well as three BAFTAs. Joe Cole, 33, stars as working-class spy Harry Palmer in new series The Ipcress File. Pictured: Michael Caine playing Harry Palmer in the 1965 film Although it was made by many of the same people who had started the Bond film franchise, audiences lapped up its 'anti-Bond' kitchen-sink realism. Caine went on to play working-class spy Harry Palmer in four more films. There will be many now who will ask, why remake this classic? But after they've seen this new six-part adaptation for ITV, they are just as likely to ask why it took so long. Harry Palmer is reborn for a new age; a fabulous mix of spy intrigue with delicious 1960s glamorous nostalgia. 'I knew we had to do something with these stories before anyone else did,' says producer and director James Watkins, who co-created the McMafia series and who has been working on the Ipcress project for eight years. 'Harry Palmer is one of the greatest spy characters that has ever been created and he takes us into the world of the 1960s, a time when everything was on the cusp of change. 'It is, hopefully, a twisty, sassy, gripping spy story, but baked within it are collisions in a world of social mobility, with a working-class central character who lives by his wits.' Stepping into the substantial spectacled figure of Harry is Joe Cole, who found fame as a young Shelby thug in Peaky Blinders and has continued to have success as a crime boss in Sky's Gangs Of London. He has the cockney swagger, the cheeky grin and just the right undercurrent of undeclared anger to convincingly portray the unlikely hero. 'It was only through talking to family members that I realised how iconic this character is,' admits Joe, 33. Joe said he read the book but watched only one of the films to avoid impersonating Michael Caine 'I read the book and watched one of the films but then stopped because I started worrying that I'd try to do a Michael Caine impersonation without realising it. He has such a presence that I had to try to erase what I'd seen from my memory, because I needed to put my own stamp on it. 'I've got big shoes to fill but this character isn't too far from home for me. He's quite a modern man who cooks and likes books. I can understand him. I like that Harry uses humour almost like a weapon. Harry uses humour almost like a weapon 'He is quite facetious and playful, with a real swagger to him. He reminds me a bit of my grandad in that way. He is a working-class guy operating in a world where most people are upper class. He is also hyper-intelligent, and that's fun. 'One of the interesting things has been to try to not make him a d*ck. We have to tread a careful line; we need him to be likeable even as he's pushing people's buttons. 'We also live in a very different world now compared to then, particularly when it comes to things like how women are treated so it certainly made playing some of that material a challenge.' William Dalby (Tom Hollander) leads the spy team that Harry helps The story begins in West Berlin in 1963. Harry is an Army corporal working in the British sector of the city who is bored with his duties, which include sorting out quarantine arrangements for the general's dog. He's separated from his wife, after the tragic loss of their baby, and is spending his spare time romancing the ladies and selling contraband on the black market until he's caught and sent to a military jail in England. Bursting with vintage flair The key to Harry Palmer's personality is his glasses. The iconic Curry & Paxton pair Michael Caine sported didn't suit Joe Cole, according to series costume designer Keith Madden. Instead, they chose Cutler and Gross frames, based on a 60s design. 'As soon as I put them on, I said, 'These are the ones,' recalls Joe. Grace Kelly was among the inspirations for dressing Lucy Boynton as Jean (pictured) Harry's clothes needed to be stylish but also something a working-class man would wear. The design team used vintage suits, but this created a few problems. 'The stitching can go with vintage,' says Keith. 'At one point I was called to set because Joe's trousers had split from waist to crotch and we had to sew it all up.' The inspirations for dressing Lucy Boynton as Jean were Grace Kelly, Jean Shrimpton and Audrey Hepburn. Keith found a brown checked Balenciaga suit from 1962 which he replicated in other colours. He also found vintage Vogue patterns to create dresses to give her a classic early 60s look, before hems reached above the knee. Advertisement This is the height of the Cold War and Britain and America are allied against the Soviets to develop the best nuclear weapons. Then a government scientist working on new plans for a neutron bomb goes missing, but the British secret service doesn't want its allies to know. A secret team of spies, who go under the name War Office Operation Communication (WOOC) headed by William Dalby, played by Tom Hollander are tasked with getting the scientist back. Their only lead is a man nicknamed Housemartin, who trades in goods and humans. And he's someone that Harry knows from his Berlin days. The first scene of Harry and Dalby together, in which these two clever and cynical men attempt to make a deal for Harry's assistance in the mission, is a masterclass by award-winning writer John Hodge, whose film credits include Trainspotting and The Beach. 'I wanted to do this series because of the wit,' says Tom Hollander, 54. 'Dalby is fun to play because he's sort of the headmaster but he's also conflicted and slightly jaded, so there was lots to hold on to. 'When they meet, Harry is trapped because he's in jail but, in a way, Dalby is trapped too. They attack each other as class enemies but as time goes on, they are actually dancing on the same little pinhead.' Dalby's team is made up of middle-class ex-public schoolboys such as Chico (Joshua James), and also some surprises. Lucy Boynton plays Jean Courtney; in the book and original film she was a secretary as well as a spy. In this series she's given a much bigger role. 'I was just excited to be in Jean's shoes, I've never felt cooler,' says Lucy, 28. 'She's an incredibly intriguing character in the book but you don't learn much about her. Having six episodes to play around with here, Jean gets to have her own presence and personality. 'She is very bright she studied languages at Oxford and really good at her job. There is a lot to unpack as she is a young woman balancing all sorts of societal expectations versus this double life as an agent. 'We meet her as she's having to make a decision about her wedding. In her work she finds so much freedom and intellectual stimulation, and she doesn't want to give that up.' Jean is given a bigger role in the series than she had as a secretary and spy in the original film and book. Pictured: Lucy Boynton as spy Jean Courtney (Humble) birth of a bestseller Len Deighton, now 93, has never claimed to have been a spy, but there are elements of the Harry Palmer character that reflect his own life. For example, during his two years of National Service, Len was a photographer for the RAF. A constant theme in his books is that of the working-class man battling against duplicitous or incompetent upper-middle-class superiors. Len's father was a chauffeur and his mother a cook, which sparked a love of cooking in him, and became one of Harry Palmer's trademarks. Len had his first taste of the world of espionage aged 11 when a neighbour, Russian Anna Wolkoff, was arrested for spying for the Nazis. After National Service he went to art school and became a graphic designer. He wrote The Ipcress File, his first novel, for amusement on holiday but it was an instant bestseller. 'When I poke fun at authority it's not a matter of class,' he has said. 'It is because authority is too often given to lazy and incompetent cronies.' Advertisement To help in their efforts to get the scientist back, Jean contacts a new source in the CIA, Paul Maddox, portrayed by British actor Ashley Thomas, who's appeared in legal drama The Good Fight. Maddox is an African-American agent who, like Jean and Harry, is having to be twice as good to prove himself in the hierarchical world of the spy service. 'Right from the off Maddox and Jean have a connection because of how society deals with them both; they have an immediate understanding of each other,' says Ashley. But is he as helpful as he seems? Knowing who can be trusted is something that will keep audiences on their toes throughout the series. In an effort to find out who's behind the kidnapping, the team travel far and wide across the globe. But for budgetary reasons, the series was mostly filmed in Liverpool and Croatia. 'London is now too clean so Liverpool filled in for most of our British scenes,' says James Watkins. 'The team's offices were filmed in a former school. We also created an American diner off the A55 in Wales, complete with period Cadillacs. 'Croatia doubled for many of our locations. Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie was filmed in Zagreb, and other parts of our Berlin were shot in Rijeka. Split doubled for Beirut. 'We used the countryside in the winter to film a car in deep snow in Finland, while the mountains there doubled for America. We even created a South Pacific atoll at a helicopter base near Split.' A huge amount of thought also went into making the show feel authentically 1960s. 'We spent a lot of time looking at Pathe footage and took inspiration from there,' says James. 'We're shooting on digital film but we wanted to make it look a bit dirtier. So we have lots of peeling and distressed walls our wall would never be brilliant white but ivory with some dirt on it. The way the film chemicals were processed in those days would deepen colours, so we've made buses and phone boxes a deep red.' While spies and subterfuge will always be with us, events in and around Ukraine over the last few weeks have given the series a relevance never imagined by the show's creators when they started making it. But the series is also pure escapism, and the plan is that if it's popular enough, there will soon be more of Harry Palmer. 'I'm sure it wasn't all as glamorous as it looks but we had a blast exploring their lives vicariously,' says James. 'And you can't beat a British spy story, can you?' The Ipcress File begins on Sunday 6 March at 9pm on ITV. This was a rare disappointment in the successful career of Harry Potter creator JK Rowling. She was determined to prove she could conjure up a creature purely from her own imagination, and the result was the lethifold, which she included in Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, the 2001 guidebook that would later inspire the hugely successful Fantastic Beasts films. 'I created my worst nightmare, a floating cloak that would scare the bejesus out of me if it existed,' she tells Stephen Fry in a new documentary, BBC1's Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History. 'Then I stood back from my invention and realised that the lethifold I'd 'created' was a version of the manta ray only one that didn't need water! 'It made me realise how hard it is to invent something new because nature's often got there first and done it much better. Stephen Fry explores the real-life inspiration behind mythical creatures such as the kraken and mermaid in a new documentary. Pictured: Stephen Fry with creatures real and imaginary 'And where would I be without creatures inspired by nature, such as the dragons in Harry Potter or the niffler from Fantastic Beasts, a mixture of a mole, a magpie and a duck-billed platypus? Half my books would fold without them!' A cute little CGI niffler scurries around the Natural History Museum in London, as Stephen Fry films the documentary that explores the real-life inspiration behind mythical creatures like the kraken and mermaid. He discovers it's often been primal fear that has propelled ordinary creatures into the realms of folklore and terror. 'One recent theory suggests dragons are a combination of the three animals our early ancestors would have been most afraid of, the eagle, the lion and the snake,' he says. 'In cultures across the world, dragons have the talons of an eagle, the sharp teeth and strong limbs of a lion, plus the scales and tongue of a snake.' Stephen says conjuring up scary creatures can be a positive response to fear and danger. The kraken was a huge, tentacled creature that, according to legend, would rise from the deep and grab passengers from the decks of ships. It's possibly a version of the colossal squid, beefed up for dramatic purposes by sailors who encountered it off Norway and Iceland. He is shown the remains of a colossal squid, and its smaller cousin the giant squid, at the Natural History Museum. Stephen (pictured left) heard from author JK Rowling (pictured right) about how she discovered the lethifold she created was a version of the manta ray Mermaids are among folklore's most enduring creations, and even Christopher Columbus claimed to have spotted three in the Caribbean Sea in 1493. Manatees, with their bulky bodies and walrus-like faces, may seem an unlikely inspiration for them, but Stephen goes into a river in Florida to see a likeness. 'Climbing into a wetsuit was like trying to push a marshmallow into a thimble. Bits of me were leaking out in all kinds of places, but eventually I got in there.' The experience that followed, he says, was magical. 'I had to do the slowest doggy paddle imaginable, moving at the same speed at which these benevolent creatures slowly ate the grass that grows on the river bed. I was going so carefully, you'll swear, when you see the film, that it's all happening in slow motion!' The sequence was of personal significance to Stephen. 'In 2008, I was filming manatees in the Amazon, but I slipped and smashed my arm,' he says. 'An aeroplane had to come and take me to hospital as a boat would have taken two days to get me there. I never got to finish my film with the manatees so I felt happy, all these years later, to finally be reunited with them.' Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History, tomorrow, 7pm, BBC1. Many people recoiled in horror at the return of the low rise jeans, skirts and trousers as one of the many naughty noughties trends that have returned in 2022. And while most low-rise looks have raised eyebrows with the fashion set, one look has taken trend-seekers by storm, appearing in the wardrobes of dozens A-listers and on glossy magazine covers. The pleated micro mini low rise skirt by Miu Miu - which costs between 650 and 1650 depending on the material used - was worn by Nicole Kidman on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair. It's also been featured in Dazed Korea, Elle Korea, Interview Magazine, Vogue Czechoslovkia and i-D mag among others. And it's not just fashion editors who are desperate to style the teeny tiny skirt - which just about covers the wearer's modesty. It's been spotted on A-listers out and about including Emma Corrin and Saweetie, while it's been modelled by Zendaya and Hayley Bieber, and spotted on the red carpets and the Brits. The pleated micro mini low rise skirt by Miu Miu - which costs between 650 and 1650 depending on the material used - was worn by Nicole Kidman on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair. YouTuber Olivia Neill wore the skirt to the BRIT Awards earlier this year, above Outside of the cover of glossy magazines, the skirt has been seen on Emma Corrin (right), who rocked a leather version for a night out with a friend Anyone can wear it! Male model Vin Ho also looked sensational as he showed of his abs posing in the set The look has also been spotted by rapper Saweetie (left) and activist Maxim Magnus (right) The pleated micro mini low rise skirt by Miu Miu was famously worn by Nicole Kidman on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair It's also become a social media sensation with the like of drag superstar Bimini Bon Boulash posing up on a storm in the skirt on their Instagram story. The set has become so viral it has it's own Instagram page - @miumiuset. Designed by billionaire head of Miu Miu, Miuccia Prada, the skirt was recently described by Vogue as a 'naughty schoolgirlish design that's less of a skirt and more of belt'. Since debuting in their SS20 show in October in Paris, the skirt has it's spurned dozens of memes - with one fashion follower joking on Instagram: 'I see what Miu Miu skirt more than my own family'. Data from global search platform Lyst says the the demand for mini skirts is at a three-year high, with 900 searches for the itsy-bitsy Miu Miu skirt this week alone. It's also been featured in Dazed Korea, Elle Korea (pictured), styled with a crop top American plus-sized model Paloma Elsesser posed in the skirt and crop top for the most recent cover of i-D, where she commented: 'I am sexy, and I am not just going to wear a stretchy dress. Im wearing the Miu Miu' Despite being widely despised for their supremely unflattering cut, hip-hugging skirts made a surprise appearance in Miu Miu's spring 2022 showcase in Paris, almost 20 years since they were last seen on Noughties stars like Paris Hilton and Christina Aguilera. The 'little sister' label of powerhouse Prada sent models down the runway in skirts so tiny they could be mistaken for a belt, with tummy-baring waistbands slung right beneath the hip bones. Micro hemlines were also seen and Versace and D&G SS22 runways. While all the Miu Miu models in the runway show had typical svelte figures, people of all body types have posed in the skirt, with fashion curator the Velvet Lavender Club commenting: 'Miu Miu SS22 was designed for a specific beauty standard, but the fashion world said no'. 'Instead of conforming with the rules, the fashion world is showing what you get when no one cares and complies with the beauty standards; boobs or no boobs, young or not, male or femalethis is what you get'. Bloggers and fashion commentators said they would 'not be participating' in the return of the dreaded Y2K look - Miu Miu catwalk at PFW in October A model walks the runway at Miu Miu's spring 2022 showcase in Paris on October 5, 2021, in this year's most dreaded trend rebirth: the low-rise mini-skirt Widely despised for their supremely unflattering cut, 'hipster' skirts made a surprise appearance on the Miu Miu catwalk (left) almost 20 years since they were last seen on Noughties stars like Christina Aguilera (right) In particular, she pointed out American plus-sized model Paloma Elsesser posed in the skirt and crop top for the most recent cover of i-D, where she commented: 'I am sexy, and I am not just going to wear a stretchy dress. Im wearing the Miu Miu'. Meanwhile, Dazed Korea produced a shoot featuring male model Yugo Takano in the skirt - with fashion commentator Henry Ng - who goes by Street Style Poser on TikTok - commenting he wasn't 'thrilled' when he saw it on the runway, but loves the look on men. Elsewhere, Dutch model Lara Stone posed in the top as part of a cover shoot for Vogue Czechoslovakia, pairing the skirt with a crop top exposing serious underboob. Those who dare to bare their skin don't have to worry about splashing cash out a grand on the designer skirt - with Fashion Nova selling a lookalike set for 27 Meanwhile, RuPual Drag Race UK star Bimini sported the number to a London Fashion Week party at the London Edition this week. zendaya in miu miu for interview magazine pic.twitter.com/2NAttqAeX5 (@VERSACERISING) December 7, 2021 Outside of the cover of glossy magazines, the skirt has been seen on Emma Corrin, who rocked a leather version for a night out with a friend. Meanwhile, RuPual Drag Race UK star Bimini sported the number to a London Fashion Week party at the London Edition this week. Those who dare to bare their skin don't have to worry about splashing cash out a grand on the designer skirt - with Fashion Nova selling a knock off set for 27. Realising the skirt was going viral, Miu Miu capitalised on their success and released their own campaign starring Hailey Bieber in the clothes in January. The 25-year-old supermodel posed in various different looks styled by Lotta Volkova. Hailey Bieber showcased the micro skirt in Miu Miu's newest campaign in January Justin Bieber's wife laid in front of pink backdrop in a cropped blue collard shirt and the standout skirt The 25-year-old supermodel posed in various different looks styled by Lotta Volkova. Hailey's looks included a two-piece denim set According to Depop searches for Micro Mini Skirts on their platform are up 23.2 per cent from last year. And the viral set hasn't gone missed by the fashion set - with one taking to Twitter to write: 'There's not a day without seeing the miu miu ss22 set' Another said: 'Taking a shot every time i see that miu miu set im about to give myself liver failure.' Former Dance Moms star Chloe Lukasiak recalled the heartbreaking moment she learned that her model girlfriend had been attacked by a pit bull - and insisted that she 'never saw her any differently' after her top lip was completely ripped off by the dog. Brooklinn Khoury, 22, from Mission Viejo, California, had her face dramatically altered in a terrifying dog attack two years ago. The harrowing incident happened on November 2, 2020, while she was visiting family in Arizona. She said the animal 'was shaking her head like a toy,' and it ultimately removed her entire upper lip and parts of her nose. Now, she and Chloe sat down to answer their fans' burning questions about the horrific incident in a new YouTube video, and they opened up about how it impacted their relationship. Former Dance Moms star Chloe Lukasiak recalled the heartbreaking moment she learned that her model girlfriend had been attacked by a pit bull She also insisted that she 'never saw her any differently' after her top lip was completely ripped off by the dog. The couple is pictured together in 2021 Brooklinn Khoury (pictured in November) had her face dramatically altered in a dog attack two years ago. She said the animal 'was shaking her head like a toy,' and it removed her upper lip According to Brooklinn, since the attack, her girlfriend has been nothing but supportive - and said Chloe always makes sure to 'reassure' her about how 'beautiful' she is. And when someone asked Chloe if she ever considered leaving Brooklinn because of the way she looked, she responded, 'No. Never,' adding that Brooklinn is an 'incredible human being.' 'What makes me mad about this society is that some people have expressed surprise and praised me for not leaving her because of that and it just makes me angry,' she said. 'I understand that's what we're taught to think and feel, but it just makes me upset because if you spend five minutes with Brooklinn you'd understand how incredible of a human being she is. 'Just because she doesn't look like traditionally how everyone looks anymore, I think it's so cool. She looks different. Now everyone's gonna be trying to look like her.' Chloe explained that the attack happened five days after they began talking, so they weren't dating just yet - but it ultimately brought them together. Now, she and Chloe sat down to answer their fans' burning questions about the horrific incident in a new YouTube video, and they opened up about how it impacted their relationship According to Brooklinn, since the attack, her girlfriend has been nothing but supportive - and said Chloe always makes sure to 'reassure' her about how 'beautiful' she is When someone asked Chloe if she ever considered leaving Brooklinn because of the way she looked, she responded, 'No. Never.' The couple is pictured together in November 'Just because she doesn't look like traditionally how everyone looks anymore, I think it's so cool,' gushed Chloe. The couple is pictured together in October 'I was a little bit overwhelmed at first and then I resolved to not putting any pressure on her,' recalled the actress. Chloe (pictured with Brooklinn in January) explained that the attack happened five days after they began talking, so they weren't dating just yet - but it ultimately brought them together 'I didn't want to be like, "Are we still going to date? Are we still seeing each other?" So I decided to take a step back, be there for her however she needed, be there more as a friend. I never looked at her any different.' Brooklinn texted Chloe to tell her what happened, and then Chloe tried to FaceTime her, but she didn't pick up due to her gruesome injuries. Brooklinn explained to Chloe: 'I definitely didn't want to show you that. I looked at the screen and I saw myself and I was like, "I'm definitely not going to answer the phone like this." I had blood everywhere. 'I know you don't like blood, I knew that literally since I met you and I was not about to answer the phone like that.' Chloe said she kept telling Brooklinn it was going to be OK since she didn't know what else to say to her, admitting that the initial weeks after the attack were 'hard' for both of them but it helped her learn a lot. She said she was 'overwhelmed' at first, but then, she 'took a step back' and decided to 'be there for her however she needed, as a friend.' The couple is pictured together in February Brooklinn tried to FaceTime Chloe after the incident, but she didn't pick up due to her gruesome injuries. 'I had blood everywhere,' Brooklinn (pictured with Chloe on Halloween) said Chloe admitted that the initial weeks after the attack were 'hard' for both of them but it helped her learn a lot. The couple is pictured together in December 'Looking back, it might not have been helpful but I've never been in a situation like this before so I didn't have the tools and I didn't have the depth of understanding of what she might need,' she shared. 'I was playing catch up just as much as I think you were the whole situation. When you're in that situation, as a partner to the person going through it - I'm not going to say it's on the level of what you're going through but it's hard because it's the person that you love going through something. And you're like, I don't even know how to help you.' Brooklinn completed the first round of life-changing surgeries that she will have to get to restore her smile back in December - with Chloe by her side throughout the entire process. She underwent a 20-hour surgery, where doctors removed skin and an artery from her arm and attached it to her mouth to act as a new lip - something called a skin graft. Chloe said the attack completely changed her perspective on the world, making her want to be more 'caring, empathetic, and compassionate.' The couple is pictured together in October Brooklinn and Chloe first confirmed that they were dating back in October, when Brooklinn shared a pic of them holding hands to Instagram, which she captioned, 'My favorite human' They celebrated their one-year anniversary together in November 2021, with both of them sharing sweet tributes for the occasion. The couple is pictured together in December They then made an incision in her neck and went in and connected the artery so that blood could flow to the new lip. The surgery was successful, but she still has a long road ahead of her - with at least five more procedures to go. In the YouTube video, Chloe said the attack completely changed her perspective on the world. 'I always thought of myself as an empathetic and caring person and I just realized, because society doesn't acknowledge people who have gone through things that you have - people who are like you - we simply pretend that it doesn't exist,' she said to Brooklinn. 'I was just unaware of a lot of it. It's made me so much more aware and conscious of the fact that like, there are so many people who have gone through things - who look different and feel different, who have different lives because of things that have happened to them. 'You should always be caring and understanding, you should always be empathetic, you should always be compassionate.' Brooklinn agreed: 'You truly don't know what anyone is going through. And just because they don't have a physical difference doesn't mean they're not going through something mentally.' Brooklinn and Chloe first confirmed that they were dating back in October, when Brooklinn shared a pic of them holding hands to Instagram, which she captioned, 'My favorite human.' And in December 2021 she posted a tribute for their one year anniversary. Brooklinn completed the first round of life-changing surgeries that she will have to get to restore her smile back in December. She is pictured after the surgery She underwent 20-hour surgery, where doctors removed skin and an artery from her arm and attached it to her mouth through her neck, so that it could act as a new lip Chloe was by her side throughout the entire process. Days after the surgery, she shared a photo that showed her girlfriend laying in bed next to her at the hospital The surgery was successful, but she still has a long road ahead of her - with at least five more procedures to go. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) the surgery 'This year, because of you, has been, by far, the greatest year of my life,' she gushed. '@chloelukasiak I will always love the way you get excited about the smell of Barnes and noble, or the way you scream when you get excited about a movie, or how you always have fresh cookies on the stove, and you not being able to resist Cold Stone. 'You have taught me patience, you have shown me so, so, so much love, kindness, and compassion, and so much more. I will forever treasure the love we have for each other. I love you.' Chloe also celebrated their anniversary with a touching Instagram post. She wrote: 'Every single day with you is a beautiful adventure and I am so, so grateful for that one random afternoon in October. 'You are a walking, vibrant ray of sunshine and you light up the whole world. I will never get enough of watching you skate, hearing your laugh, and listening to your stories of all the interactions you had that day and how happy they made you. You make me the happiest. I love you.' The 22-year-old admitted in the YouTube video that since the attack, she is treated very differently by society. The 22-year-old admitted in the YouTube video that since the attack, she is treated very differently by society. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) the attack Brooklinn (pictured before the attack) admitted: 'It's very draining emotionally and also physically because I know people are staring at me' 'When I'm out walking, they'll either stare or just come up to me like, "What's wrong with your face?" and ask my straight up,' Brooklinn shared. 'It's like a constant thing, I'm always having to explain myself everyday like, "I got attacked by a dog. I got attacked by a dog." 'It's very draining emotionally and also physically because I know people are staring at me.' But Chloe does her best to protect her from nasty onlookers - and from passing dogs. The couple is pictured together in February But Chloe does her best to protect her from nasty onlookers - and from passing dogs. 'We'll be in public and we'll see a dog and she'll be scared but park herself in front of me - protecting me,' said Brooklinn. 'But she's literally about to try. That's one thing that I love but I'm like, "You don't have to do that."' Chloe admitted that the incident has made her much more fearful of bigger canines. She continued, 'Any pet is an animal first and a pet second, regardless of what it is. I think it's important to stay a little bit cautious around any animal. 'I'm not fearful of all dogs, like if I see a tiny chihuahua I'm not like, "Oh my God." But I'm way more cautious now. 'For Brooklinn, it's more a of therapeutic thing to see a dog and go pet it and remind herself that not every dog is gonna attack her. 'For me, I think because it didn't happen to me and I didn't have that first hand experience, I'm more fearful than you now.' A three-foot-tall woman with a rare form of dwarfism - which has forced her to get more than 30 surgeries over her lifetime - is now working as a fashion model and on the hunt for a boyfriend. Carly Ruhnke, 25, from New Jersey, has a condition known as Morquio syndrome. For years, she struggled in a world 'not built for people with dwarfism or any other disability,' and was often left feeling like she wasn't 'equal' to her peers. But Carly didn't let it bring her down. Besides breaking the mold by becoming a catwalk model, she also launched her own non-profit last year called Little Carly Foundation, and has raised thousands of dollars through it. However, while she has propelled in her professional life, Carly still struggles with one thing dating. She is currently on the hunt for 'Mr. Right,' but between the men who have made nasty comments about her size and the ones who have 'dwarfism fetishes,' she has had little success in the love department so far. A three-foot-tall woman with a rare form of dwarfism - which forced her to get more than 30 surgeries over her lifetime - is now working as a fashion model and on the hunt for a boyfriend Carly Ruhnke, 25, from New Jersey, has a condition known as Morquio syndrome For years, Carly (pictured as a child) struggled in a world 'not built for people with dwarfism or any other disability,' and was often left feeling like she wasn't 'equal' to her peers But Carly didn't let it bring her down. She has now broken the mold by becoming a catwalk model. She is pictured on the runway 'Ive had somewhat of a dating life but nothing has gotten serious,' she explained to Jam Press. She also launched her own non-profit last year called Little Carly Foundation, and has raised thousands of dollars through it 'Its difficult because of my dwarfism, as I would usually go for a person of average height but they tend to have rather mind-blowing fetishes. 'People have said to me, "Ive been looking for someone as short as you my whole life," or [asked] disturbing questions about my body. 'I think because of these comments, Im holding out for Mr. Right and for someone who won't talk down to me. I might be three-feet-tall, but Im still a grown woman with feelings.' Despite being picked on for most of her life, Carly is very confident in herself, adding that there's 'nothing holding her back.' '[The bullies] made me feel like Im not their equal,' she recalled. 'So many people are bullied, disabled or not. 'But I didnt let it bother me then or now. Some people just have nothing better to do than to pick on someone else. 'People realize now that theres nothing holding me back, Im doing things that they could only dream of.' However, while she has propelled in her professional life, Carly still struggles with one thing dating. She is pictured on the runway She is currently on the hunt for 'Mr. Right,' but between the men who have made nasty comments about her size and the ones who have 'dwarfism fetishes,' it's been hard for her Carly said she sometimes gets 'disturbing questions about her body' - but she's still 'holding out for Mr. Right and for someone who won't talk down to her' 'I might be three-feet-tall, but Im still a grown woman with feelings,' Carly (pictured with her family when she was eight years old) said Despite being picked on for most of her life, Carly (pictured with her nephew) is very confident in herself, adding that there's 'nothing holding her back' 'I didnt let it bother me then or now. Some people just have nothing better to do than to pick on someone else,' she said of her haters. She is pictured preparing for a photoshoot Carly said she 'loves getting glammed up' and 'strutting her stuff' on the runway, and she has now modeled for the foundation Little People of America. She is pictured on the catwalk Carly said she 'loves getting glammed up' and 'strutting her stuff' on the runway, and she has now modeled for the foundation Little People of America. What is Morquio syndrome? Morquio syndrome is a rare genetic condition that affects a child's bones and spine, organs, and physical abilities Children with this condition are missing or don't produce enough of the enzymes that break down sugar chains naturally produced in the body Symptoms usually appear between ages one and three and include: scoliosis or kyphosis, knock knees, heart and vision problems, an enlarged liver, and short height Source: ChildrensHospital.org Advertisement Carly also works part-time as a hostess at a restaurant a job that she was determined to get, having applied for more than 50 positions with little success. But her dreams go beyond modeling and restaurant work. She wants to make a difference in the dwarfism community through her foundation. 'Last year, I started the Little Carly Foundation with my brother, Eddie and we help to raise money for members of the Little People of America,' she said. 'Each year, theres a national conference held which helps to share awareness and its a great way to get involved in social gatherings its like our own little world for a week.' So far, Carly has raised $3,000 through sponsored walks - which she used to help other people attend the conferences. Morquio syndrome is a rare genetic condition that affects a child's bones and spine, organs, and physical abilities. Children with this condition are missing or don't produce enough of the enzymes that break down sugar chains naturally produced in the body. Most people with Carlys condition reach at most four-feet-tall, but since she had to have surgery at a young age, she stands at just three-feet. The budding model was first operated on at two-years-old, when doctors infused 11 discs in her neck and back as part of a spinal infusion. Carly also works part-time as a hostess at a restaurant a job that she was determined to get, having applied for more than 50 positions with little success But her dreams go beyond modeling and restaurant work. She wants to make a difference in the dwarfism community through her foundation. She is pictured at a photoshoot She started it with her brother Eddie (pictured) and so far, Carly has raised $3,000 through sponsored walks Most people with Carlys condition reach at most four-feet-tall, but since she had to have surgery at a young age, she stands at just three-feet The budding model was first operated on at two-years-old, when doctors infused 11 discs in her neck and back as part of a spinal infusion. She is pictured as a child In total, this surgery took 16 and a half hours to complete, and since then, Carly has had more than 30 surgeries to date. She is pictured during one of her many surgeries One consisted of a surgical 'potato peeler' being used to remove bone from her head, which was then transplanted into her neck. She is pictured throughout her childhood 'I also had brackets placed on my hips, staples in my knees and ankles, as well as a trachea reconstruction,' Carly (pictured as a child) recalled In total, this surgery took 16 and a half hours to complete, and since then, Carly has had more than 30 surgeries to date. Carly (pictured with her cousin) said her organs grow at an average pace for her age, sometimes making them too large for her body - which poses many problems One consisted of a surgical 'potato peeler' being used to remove bone from her head, which was then transplanted into her neck. Another included a 'shelf' built into her hip to keep the socket in place. She shared: 'As my hip kept disjointing and moving out of the socket, my surgeon told me that they would just put it back into place. 'I was only eight at the time and they made things extremely simple so I could understand. 'I also had brackets placed on my hips, staples in my knees and ankles, as well as a trachea reconstruction. 'At 20, I was only the fourth person with my disorder to have this surgery where they took a few inches of my trachea out. Carly gets weekly infusions with enzymes to replace the ones lacking in her body that help with overall waste disposal Carly is currently single, but she hopes to get married one day in the future, and perhaps adopt a child with dwarfism but for now, shes taking life slow 'Im happy being an aunt and being a dog mom to my boy, Ruffus, whos nearly 12,' she said 'As my organs grow at an average pace for my age, my trachea had grown too long and I would constantly have to put my head back in order to breathe. 'I also have weekly infusions with enzymes to replace the ones lacking in my body that help with overall waste disposal. 'Otherwise, the waste in my body would keep building up and I would suffer severe complications from this. 'My nurse travels two hours to my house every week to give me my infusion and has been my nurse for six years so we have developed a very strong bond.' Carly is currently single, but she hopes to get married one day in the future, and perhaps adopt a child with dwarfism but for now, shes taking life slow. 'Although Ive never thought about it, I wouldnt like to be pregnant and my doctors have advised against this,' she concluded. 'Im happy being an aunt and being a dog mom to my boy, Ruffus, whos nearly 12.' We all go on holiday with the intention of relaxing, however these beach photos prove unexpected scenarios can instantly change plans. From lounging on the sand alongside cows to having ice-cream stolen by a seagull, Parent Influence has rounded up a selection of the most bizarre photos social media users from around the world have shared from their visits to the beach. One snap shows a dog unimpressed with having been buried up to its neck with sand, while another image shows a man attempting to go diving with the wrong kind of gas tank. Elsewhere, is an amusing sign threatening to post video proof of anyone urinating on the beach on YouTube. Here, FEMAIL shares a selection of the funniest viral holiday snaps... Not going swingingly! Parent Influence has rounded up a selection of amusing photos taken at the beach - including two tourists falling backwards off a swing Snooze you lose! The owner of a cafe in the UK posted a note in their window warning customers that their food is at risk of being stolen by seagulls Walk on the wild side! Tourists at a beach in Australia were spotted ignoring a sign that warned a shark may be in the sea MOOve over! Tourists, believed to have been in Italy, had their relaxation on the beach interrupted by two cows Smile for the camera! A photo of a sign at an unnamed beach shows anyone caught urinating on the beach is at risk of being filmed for YouTube Another snap shows a dog looking very unimpressed with having been buried up to its neck with sand Breath of fresh air! A man who made his own diving apparatus chose a very unconventional gas tank Can't you see the sea? A family visiting the beach, believed to be in the US, chose to social distance away from other visitors by bringing a paddle pool Total meltdown! A visitor of a UK seaside was left speechless when a seagull attempted to snatch their ice-cream A woman appears to have a third arm in a perfectly timed snap of her hair swinging upwards as she jumps into the ocean No sightseeing! Another woman who wanted to practice yoga at the beach was left tasting the sand after sinking into a hole A man who visited the beach with his daughter in search of shark teeth was left in hysterics when she brought him someone's dentures Burley, ID (83318) Today Partly cloudy. High around 65F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low around 40F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. An American woman living in the UK has revealed the things that have baffled her most about British life - including not having plugs in bathrooms, exit buttons in public buildings and having to turn on radiators to use them. Miriam Giraffe, from Vancouver, Washington, moved to London last year for work after previously studying abroad in the UK. Now, in a series of TikTok videos she revealed the things that have shocked her the most about British life, questioning why British people use two taps and sharing her amazement at how easy it is to transfer money between banks compared to the US. An American woman living in the UK has revealed the things that have baffled her most about British life - including not having plugs in bathrooms, exit buttons in public buildings and having to turn on radiators to use them (right) In her first video, titled 'Things that threw me when I moved to the UK,' she reveals how she first moved here she was baffled by the greeting 'you alright' meaning 'hello' or 'how are you' because it made her think she 'didn't look alright'. She went on that she didn't know you had to hail the bus because it stops at every stop in the US, and that she was shocked that museums are free in the UK. The video quickly racked up more than 20,000 likes with her followers asking for more observations. Miriam explained that she was baffled when a friend told her she could just transfer money through an app rather than a wire transfer to pay her back for tickets. She also explained how she was confused that Brits don't use top sheets - a piece of linen that is placed between the duvet and the person. They act as a protective barrier between the person and duvet and are more popular in North America where duvet covers are less common. Miriam Giraffe, from Vancouver, Washington, moved to London last year for work after previously studying abroad in the UK. She said that she was baffled by how easy it is to transfer money Miriam also shared how she didn't know museums are free in the UK (left) and that she's surprised that Brits don't wear wellies in the rain The self-confessed West End nerd added that she was shocked that you have to pay for programmes at the theatre. In a third video, Miriam revealed that when she first moved to London she thought her room was 'always cold' despite turning the heating on, before adding she was then told that she needed to turn her radiator on. She went on to explain that she was equally baffled by the lack of power outlets in bathrooms - something that is commonplace in the US. 'I bought my electric toothbrush but there's no place to plug it in in the bathroom - am I missing something?' she questioned before discovering that she had to charge it away from power outlets. Miriam also said that she was surprised that people need to hail the bus in the UK (left) and that always standing on the right is unusual The Washington native also explained that she was confused by how Brits don't wear wellies in rainy weather after being told that she shouldn't wear bright pink rain boots while out and about. In a final video, she also explained how she got 'stuck' inside her own building because she believed she was locked in, when she actually just didn't know she had to press the 'exit' button by the door. And like many people who visit the UK, she also explained how she was confused by British queuing - adding that she 'feels like the American vibe is just to shove and get there first '. Finally she said that she was baffled by Brits having two taps as it 'isn't super common in the US'. In another video, she revealed things she loves about the UK but can't get in the US include, Prawn Cocktail Crisps, Pimms in a Tin, Percy Pigs, and the NHS. Former Miss Universe Australia Olivia Molly Rogers has shared how anxiety and silly fights with her husband led her to quit alcohol for good - and she didn't even indulge in a glass of champagne on her wedding day. From the time she started drinking in her teens, the 29-year-old model said she would often black out for half the night and wake up riddled with 'debilitating' anxiety and a sense of dread that sometimes lingered for three days. 'They say that drinking alcohol is like pouring fuel onto an open flame if you have anxiety and that's definitely what I was experiencing,' the Melbourne-born bride revealed on TikTok. Scroll down for video Former Miss Universe Australia Olivia Molly Rogers has revealed how anxiety and silly fights with her now-husband Justin Mckeon lead her to quit alcohol for good The former beauty queen hasn't had alcohol for over ten months, after initially quitting for one week The speech pathologist, who was crowned Miss Universe Australia in 2017, said drinking also led to 'silly' fights with her partner Justin Mckeone. The part-time model shared snaps of her wedding on Instagram recently, noting it was 'the perfect day' which began with both of her parents walking her down the aisle. 'I've never seen Justin smile like he did when I was coming down the aisle (with tears in his eyes), it's a moment I will never forget.' The couple's relationship has grown stronger since Ms Rogers decided to quit alcohol on May 1, 2021. She even made the decision not to drink on her wedding day and says the celebration was 'perfect' - she is pictured here being walked down the aisle by her parents The former pageant queen pictured here in her second wedding dress of the evening initially meant her alcohol ban to be short but found she was better off without the drink 'It was just the straw that broke the camel's back,' she told news.com.au. 'This was happening way too often and when I reflected on it that day when I was hungover - the common denominator here is alcohol.' While Olivia initially planned to take just a few weeks off drinking, she quickly noticed the many benefits of living a sober lifestyle. The blonde beauty said she no longer suffers from headaches, sleeps better and almost instantly noticed an improvement in her mental health. Her physical strength also improved, with Olivia feeling 'stronger and more efficient' in her workouts after just two weeks on the dry. Since going dry in May, the blonde beauty (pictured) said she no longer suffers from headaches, sleeps better and almost instantly noticed an improvement in her mental health While Olivia initially planned to take just a few weeks off drinking, she quickly noticed the many benefits of living a sober lifestyle What to expect when you stop drinking Within 12-24 hours: Detoxification begins and blood sugar normalises. During this period you may experience withdrawal symptoms including sweating, anxiety, depression and insomnia. Within one week: Quality of sleep should improve and you should start to feel more energised and hydrated. Within two weeks: Weight loss may begin thanks to cutting out the hidden calories in alcohol. Within three to four weeks: Blood pressure stabilises. Source: Dry July Advertisement She has since embraced sobriety as a long-term lifestyle choice and encourages others to reconsider their relationship with alcohol, just like she did. Olivia believes education around alcoholism is too black and white. '[It's like] you either drink and you're OK drinking or you're an alcoholic and you shouldn't drink and there's no in between, but that's not true,' she said. 'I think there's so much grey area that is not spoken about, particularly in Australia.' Olivia is not alone. The Adelaide model (pictured) has embraced sobriety as a long-term lifestyle choice and encourages others to reconsider their relationship with alcohol, just like she did Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal more than a quarter of Australians - 28.9 percent - are mostly abstaining from alcohol, while a further 9.5 percent are drinking less than they were this time last year. Over the past four years, the number of ex-drinkers in Australia rose from 1.5million to 1.9million. The growing sober scene is largely fuelled by hordes of Instagram influencers who tout the benefits of their alcohol-free lifestyles online, and the hospitality industry is taking note. Australia's first-ever non-alcoholic bar opened its doors in Melbourne on May 1 last year pouring a menu of more than 100 alcohol-free beers, wines and cocktails to teetotal punters. Australia's first-ever non-alcoholic bar and bottle shop (pictured) opened its doors in Melbourne on May 1 Brunswick Aces bar is designed for anyone who is living or entertaining the thought of a sober lifestyle Brunswick Aces in Brunswick East, six kilometres north of the CBD, was designed for anyone who is living or entertaining the thought of a sober lifestyle. Brand director Stuart Henshall said the 'inconsistent' stocking of non-alcoholic products in traditional bars led to a stand off between venues and consumers. 'People don't know where stocks what - venues say we don't stock alcohol-free options because nobody asks for them, but sober consumers say they don't go out because of the lack of these options,' Mr Henshall previously told Daily Mail Australia. 'We wanted to create somewhere for people to come and also to prove to traditional venues that there is demand for non-alcoholic products.' CEO and co-founder Stephen Lawrence said he has been 'inundated with messages' from sober drinkers from Perth to Sydney, as well as overseas. For support for alcohol-related problems and addiction you can contact Turning Point Services, or one of the many other services available, speak to your GP, local health service or call a helpline. There are trained telephone counsellors available in all Australian states and territories. An Australian woman who posted a heart-warming video of her Bambi-obsessed mother getting a visit from a real-life deer fawn before she died, has shared the beautiful coffin she was laid to rest in. In an updated post to popular Facebook group The Kindness Pandemic Lisa McDonald, from Melbourne, shared a photo of the coffin decorated with an image of her mother's favourite character, Bambi, who she had loved her whole life. Lisa also thanked the group members for their kind words and love after her mother's story touched thousands of hearts. An Australian woman, who's video of her Bambi-obsessed mother meeting a real-life deer fawn while in palliative care went viral, shares an image of the special coffin (pictured) her mum was laid to rest in. Previously, Lisa had posted a video of the moment she surprised her mother with a visit from an adorable fawn while she was in palliative care, which quickly went viral. Lisa and her sister had been caring for their sick mother hcame up with the idea for a real-life Bambi to pay a visit to her on February 13. She said she found a couple, Simone and Chris, who owned a mobile petting farm and they travelled two and a half hours with their fawn, coincidentally called Bambi, to surprise the woman. Scroll down for video Previously, Lisa shared a video of the touching moment she surprised her ill mother with a visit from a real-life Bambi In a post to popular Facebook group, The Kindness Pandemic, Lisa said she and her sister had been caring for their sick mother who had loved deer her whole life and came up with the idea for a deer fawn to pay visit her Lisa shared a tear-jerking video of the moment her mother met Bambi and instantly became besotted. 'She has Bambi statues everywhere, she is wearing a Bambi T-shirt in her bed and will be cremated in one too,' Lisa wrote. 'My sister and I and the rest of the family that are supporting us are also wearing Bambi T-shirts... we are calling them our nursing uniforms.' She sent Simone and Chris a message on Facebook after finding their business and arranged to bring Bambi the following day. 'However unfortunately mum deteriorated quickly today and Simone and Chris didn't hesitate... they drove two and a half hours to bring Bambi to meet mum,' Lisa said. 'Out of pure love and kindness. I cannot thank them enough for what they have done for my mum and my family.' In the video Chris explained Bambi's mother couldn't look after the fawn so the couple hand raised her. Lisa shared a tear-jerking video of the moment her mother met the fawn, who was coincidentally named Bambi, and instantly became besotted Lisa lost her mother just two days after the video of the pair meeting a real-life Bambi for the first time went viral. In an updated post Lisa said she 'wanted to say thank you' for the beautiful wishes she had received since posting the adorable video, and that it meant so much to her family. 'Mum passed away peacefully and surrounded by love on Tuesday February 15 at 2:45 am,' she wrote. Tripadvisor has announced the 10 best South Pacific beaches to visit this year in the annual Travellers' Choice Awards - and seven are in Australia. The global travel platform completed a list for Aussies to plan their trips this year as a survey revealed 33 percent of residents will take a jaunt to the beach. Western Australia won first place with Exmouth's stunning Turquoise Bay, a tranquil paradise like no other, full of fish, wildlife and glorious water. Tripadvisor has announced the top 10 best beaches in the South Pacific to visit this year and in first place is Exmouth's stunning, yet tranquil Turquoise Bay [pictured] The award-winning beach, located in Cape Range National Park, is a 30 minute drive from the small town of Exmouth, making it the perfect spot to relax and unwind. But it's a whopping 14 hours if you're travelling there from Perth, the closest capital city. The beach is a popular destination for snorkelling fans and ocean photographers who wish to see or capture the incredible underwater life. Beach visitors are advised to always follow signs when swimming and should only stay inside the marked areas for safety reasons. The award-winning beach, located in Cape Range National Park, is a 30 minute drive from the town of Exmouth, making it the perfect spot to relax and unwind Turquoise Bay has popular resorts and campgrounds nearby to suit all travellers when visiting the top voted beach. Western Australia also took out second place with Broome's Cable Beach, known for its incredible sunsets, ocean swims and one-of-a-kind camel rides. 'My family still talks about our camel ride along the beach. Such a special memory still with the best sunset I've ever seen,' a traveller wrote on social media. Western Australia also took out second place with Broome's Cable Beach, known for its incredible sunsets, ocean swims and one-of-a-kind camel rides The 10 best beaches in the South Pacific to visit in 2022: Turquoise Bay - Exmouth, Western Australia Cable Beach - Broome, Western Australia Kaiteriteri Beach - Kaiteriteri, New Zealand Greens Pool - Denmark, Western Australia Matira Beach - Bora Bora, French Polynesia Emily Bay - Norfolk Island, Australia Mooloolaba Beach - Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia Cape Le Grand National Park - Esperance, Western Australia Whitehaven Beach - Whitsunday Island, Australia Tahunanui Beach - New Zealand Advertisement In third place was New Zealand's Kaiteriteri Beach that offers stunning blue waters, sunbathing spots and shallow rock pools for children to explore In third place was New Zealand's Kaiteriteri Beach that offers stunning blue waters, sunbathing spots and shallow rock pools for children to explore. Other South Pacific beaches featured on the award winning list are Greens Pool in Denmark, WA, Matira Beach in Bora Bora and Emily Bay in Norfolk Island. Queensland's Mooloolaba Beach came in a sixth place, followed by Cape Le Grand National Park in Esperance, Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays and Tahunanui Beach in New Zealand. An Australian mother has warned parents to keep an eye out for red marks on their child's body that could be a sign of something more sinister. In a post to popular Facebook page Tiny Hearts Education the mum shared images of 'red tracking lines' that appeared on her young daughter's arm caused by a mosquito bite. The lines are a sign of lymphangitis which can spread quickly and, if left untreated, can lead to serious complications including skin infections, bacteria in the blood, sepsis, and abscesses. An Australian mum has shared images of 'red tracking lines' that appeared on her young daughter's arm caused by a mosquito bite that if left untreated could land her in hospital 'See this red tracking line? This indicates that an infection is spreading and making its way to the lymphatic system,' the post read. 'If it's treated quickly, it will go away with the help of antibiotics. If left untreated, complications can occur, and the condition can become very serious. 'This was caused by a mozzie bite and thankfully this little one's mama knew exactly what she needed and within two hours she was on antibiotics.' The red tracking lines start from the site of a bite, cut, scratch or infection and trace from the area to the nearest lymph gland. They may be faint or very visible, are tender to touch and in some cases can blister. 'So remember, if you notice a red tracking line aka lymphangitis, off to a doctor for urgent review and antis,' the warning said. The lines are a sign of lymphangitis which can spread quickly and, if left untreated, can lead to serious complications including skin infections, bacteria in the blood, sepsis, and abscesses The post attracted hundreds of comments from parents thankful for the information as well as those sharing similar experiences. 'We experienced exactly the same thing just a couple of days ago. An overnight stay in hospital and we are recovering well thankfully,' one mum wrote. 'Ahhhhhh mozzies, don't get me started. We always end up in the ED with boils or cellulitis,' another shared. 'My little one had this from the tiniest little scratch on her finger, it tracked nearly half way up her arm in just a few hours,' a third commented. 'Oh my. Had no idea. Thank you to everyone who shares their stories. Learning oh so much. So glad your precious is better now. Fab job mumma!' said a fourth. You only turn 50 once. And British Vogue's Edward Enninful is certainly making the most of celebrating the milestone. The fashion supremo was treated to a birthday cake at an intimate New York dinner last night, two days after he first marked the occasion with a joint birthday and wedding extravaganza in the English countryside. A-list pals including Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham gathered at Longleat House, in Wiltshire - home to Enninful's close friend Emma Thynn, the Marchioness of Bath - to watch Edward and video producer Alec tie the knot in an intimate ceremony in the Orangery before partying the night away. The wedding is estimated to have cost at least 600,000, according to event experts, but Edward could have received favours from friends, including use of the historic wedding venue, which is believed to have been a wedding gift from Emma and her husband, the 8th Marquess of Bath. The fun continued last night in New York, where the style set have flocked for the next stop on the Fashion Week circuit. Birthday boy! Edward Enninful continued the fun with a dinner in New York on Thursday Newlyweds! Edward and Alec smile for a photo on a day out with friends on Wednesday Nearest and dearest: The New York video was shared by close friend Derek Blasberg, head of beauty and fashion at YouTube (pictured with Diane von Furstenberg before the wedding) Close friend Derek Blasberg, who is head of beauty and fashion at YouTube, shared a video of Edward being presented with a cake in a dimly-lit restaurant in the city. The faces of the other guests are difficult to make out but everyone joined in a tuneful rendition of happy birthday to the fashion powerhouse. Edward's birthday week started on Monday when he joined a handful of his nearest and dearest for a dinner at Laylow in west London. A snap showed him at the table with a posse of models including Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Stella Maxwell, Irina Shayk as well as Burberry Vice President Rebecca Martinez and Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci and stylist Zoe Bedeaux. Let the birthday week begin! Edward's birthday week started on Monday when he joined a handful of his nearest and dearest for a dinner at Laylow in west London (pictured) Glamorous guests: Anders Christian Madsen, a fashion critic at British Vogue, shared a picture with editor Christine Centenera and Victoria Beckham ahead of the wedding on Tuesday A-list pals including Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham gathered at Longleat House - home to Enninful's close friend Emma Thynn, the Marchioness of Bath - to watch Edward and video producer Alec tie the knot in an intimate ceremony in the Orangery (above) Showtime! Maya Jama on her way to the party. Right, celebrity hairdresser Ben Skirven with his glamorous dates Getting ready to party! Writer Pippa Vosper shared this photo from her nearby hotel room. She wore a stunning black and white Chanel gown Celebrity hairstylist Ben Skervin shared his journey from dressed down to glam for the celebrity bash on Tuesday Fashion editor Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou, centre, shared this photo from the evening celebrations on Instagram Little touches: Guests shared photos of the menu, printed with a cartoon of Edward and Alec's dog Ru (left) and the mini bottles of Champagne they were given to enjoy the morning after House party! Longleat House was lit up by Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath, for her friend Edward Enninful's party On Tuesday the festivities ramped up a notch when Alec and Edward were joined by guests for a birthday bash and wedding. They chose the Orangery, in the grounds of Longleat, for the service itself. The glass-sided structure, which was built by Jeffry Wyatville for the 2nd Marquess of Bath in the early 1800s, was decorated in a simple and elegant fashion. But such pared back luxury doesn't come cheap, warned Jess Martin, party decorating expert at Ginger Ray. 'The venue was adorned with beautiful creamy blooms and an abundance of dark green foliage from none other than Simon Lycett, the high profile florist for the likes of Buckingham Palace and Mary Berry,' she said. Golden girl: Naomi Campbell was among the 300 guests who gathered for Edward Enninful and Alec Maxwell's wedding Model RJ King opted for a sharp black Dior ensemble for the wedding on Tuesday. Right, cars queuing up Black tie glamour: Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner arrived at Longleat for the birthday and wedding celebration 'The rest of the venue consisted of clean lines and white decorations, achieving a summery "LA" look right in the middle of Baths stately home. You can just imagine fashionable gowns and tuxedos standing out against the all-white backdrop making it the perfect place for a Vogue wedding to unfold. 'All in all, the simple but showstopping display alone could have cost anything over 250,000 as it certainly didnt compromise in style and quality.' Holly Moore, CEO & founder of Make Events, agreed that there will have been no expense spared when it came to planning the big day, saying: 'When it comes to a wedding, especially a high profile celebrity wedding youre guaranteed to go over budget. Still on cloud nine: Guests including Ben Skervin (left) and Diane von Furstenberg (right) shared photos on Wednesday morning Taking in the sights: Guests drove through the Longleat Safari Park on Wednesday as the celebrations continued Pub lunch: Model RJ King (left with Alec Maxwell) was among the group of around 80 people, including the newlyweds, made their way to The Bath Arms on the Longleat estate for lunch on Wednesday (right) Holly agreed that there will have been no expense spared when it came to planning the big day, saying: 'When it comes to a wedding, especially a high profile celebrity wedding youre guaranteed to go over budget. 'All the little details add up, from wanting a specific product that needs to be imported (incurring additional shipping charges due to Brexit) staffing costs, venue costs (although this may have been gifted in Edward Enninfuls case) catering costs, it all adds up. 'This particular wedding sounds beautiful and looks like it has been planned to perfection, including all the magic touches you would expect from a celebrity wedding. They would have also had a wedding planner which I imagine would have taken 15-20 per cent of the budget. 'I would estimate this would be in the region of 1million to 1.5million, because when it comes to dream weddings, they also have the dream price tag.' Meet my new husband! British Vogue's Edward Enninful looks the picture of newly-wedded bliss in the first photo of him and new husband Alec Maxwell since their lavish English countryside wedding Chris Ayre, managing director at AYRE Events told FEMAIL, he thought the cost would be more in the region of 600,000, saying: 'I would say a wedding like this would certainly cost around 600,000, if not more.' Sarah Balfour, director of luxury London-based wedding planners Orchid Events, added: 'This is a knockout wedding I have no doubt every supplier pulled out all of the bells and whistles.' A-listers including partied the night away, swigging bottles of Champagne and dining on food by high-end London caterers Cellar Society, whose clients typically have a budget in the region of 20,000 to 100,000. Flowers were provided by sought-after royal florist Simon Lycett. Guests were also treated to Clase Azul tequila on each table, a source told FEMAIL. The celebrations continued with a lunch at The Bath Arms, a nearby 17-bedroom pub, which was entirely booked out to allow some 80 guests met for lunch. Guests also enjoyed a tour of the famous Longleat Safari Park. With the eyes of the world on Vladimir Putin, questions are being asked about the Russian leader's state of mind after he announced the invasion of Ukraine in 'rambling, terrifying, apocalyptic' fashion. Rumours surrounding the Russian leader's health have been swirling for years, with repeated reports suggesting that he is suffering from cancer and Parkinson's disease. On top of that, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on both the President's physical and mental health can't be underestimated, and it's been suggested that brain fog as a result of Long Covid could be impairing his cognitive function. Although it's not clear if he's had the virus, the Sputnik vaccine is not known to be reliable and after isolating in September after members of his inner circle tested positive he disappeared from view for a long period in October. The US thinktank The Council For Foreign relations has speculated that, after behaviour and statements that are 'off' and 'not right,' he is suffering brain fog induced by Long Covid. What's more, the isolation caused by the pandemic itself could have left the 69-year-old even further detached from reality, with one neuropsychologist claiming the 'progressive isolation' could have led to hubris syndrome, which 'diminished his ability to weigh up risk'. Speaking to FEMAIL, Clinical Director at Medicine Direct. Hussain Abdeh explained how a person's mental state could be uprooted by the virus. He explained: 'Research early on into the pandemic also found that a small number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 experienced sudden behavioural changes including delirium, confusion, and agitation.' Speculation is mounting that Vladimir Putin could be suffering from the effects of long-Covid, which experts suggesting his ability to 'weigh up risk' may have been impacted during the pandemic Pundits were amused earlier this month when photographs emerged of Emmanuel Macron kept at a distance during his crunch meeting with Putin over Ukraine It is commonly associated with a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities. It is characterised by a pattern of exuberant self-confidence, recklessness and contempt for others, and is most particularly recognised in subjects holding positions of significant power. Surrounded by Russian cronies who are terrified to tell him no, Putin is hardly a world leader who could be associated with being the most grounded or level headed. But in televised addresses leading up to the invasion of Ukraine, he's been by turns rambling, terrifying and apocalyptic while yesterday he gave a chilling warning to its allies in the West, promising there would be dire consequences for any foreign state that 'interferes'. In March 2020, Putin went to extraordinary lengths to avoid catching the virus during a hospital visit, donning a full hazmat suit at Russia's main coronavirus clinic Meanwhile Professor Ian Robertson, a neuropsychologist at Trinity College Dublin, has suggested Putin could be suffering from hubris syndrome. Speaking to The I, Robertson said Putin's political trajectory 'is as much personal as political, because once the hubris syndrome takes hold in the brain, the personal and the national are identical because the leader is the nation and its destiny'. Meanwhile he also said changes in the frontal lobe of the brain caused by the condition could diminish the person's ability to weigh up risk. Here FEMAIL analyses the health woes which have plagued Putin over the last decade - and how they could have impacted his mental state... HOW LONG-COVID COULD BE IMPACTING PUTIN'S MENTAL STATE At the start of the pandemic, Putin went to extraordinary lengths to avoid catching the virus during a hospital visit, donning a full hazmat suit at Russia's main coronavirus clinic. But on the whole, the President has stayed decidedly out of the public eye during the Covid-19 crisis, with officials and journalists having to self-isolate before meeting the president. Last year, Russian Olympic medalists invited to meet with president were told they would need to spend a week in quarantine before the meeting went ahead. Power really DOES go to the head: The syndrome which leaders develop which leaves them with a 'loss of contact with reality' Hubris, say the researchers, is commonly associated with a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities. It is characterised by a pattern of exuberant self-confidence, recklessness and contempt for others, and is most particularly recognised in subjects holding positions of significant power. Fourteen clinical symptoms of Hubris syndrome have been described. People who show at least three of these could be diagnosed with the disorder. In a 2013 study, researchers at St George's, University of London, searched for evidence of some of these clinical features in the language used by three British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and John Major by examining transcribed samples of spoken language taken from Prime Minister's Questions. They thought that frequent use of certain words or phrases, such as 'sure', 'certain' and 'confident', the first person pronouns 'I' or 'me', references to God or history, might show up during 'hubristic' periods. They found that 'I' and 'me' and the word 'sure' were among the strongest positive correlations over time in Tony Blair's speech. The authors also found that language became more complex and less predictable during hubristic periods. Dr Peter Garrard, the lead researcher, from St George's, University of London, said: 'Hubris syndrome represents a radical change in a person's outlook, style and attitude after they acquire positions of power or great influence. 'They become obsessed with their self-image, excessively confident in their own judgement and dismissive of others, often leading to rash, ill thought-out decisions. 'In other words, the acquisition of power can bring about a change in personality: it is as if power, almost literally 'goes to their head'. 'This work shows us that language can reflect this highly characteristic personality change.' Advertisement And in September, it emerged Putin had entered self-isolation after a member of his entourage contracted Covid-19 despite extensive precautions. The Russian president abandoned a scheduled trip to Tajikistan, and did not campaign in person for parliamentary elections. He has been fully vaccinated with the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V - receiving his second jab in April. Dr Paul Ettlinger, GP at The London General Practice added to FEMAIL: 'Long Covid can certainly affect your mental health. It affects people's ability to resume normal life and their capacity to do work. 'It can comprise of a number of debilitating symptoms, with fatigue and muscle weakness being a frequently reported symptom, which can last for weeks or months. 'It is a disfunction of the autonomic nervous system similar to chronic fatigue syndrome and can cause you to have an inability to make accurate decisions and to experience a clouded mind resulting in feelings of confusion. 'You need to look at the individual as a whole when viewing how a person's mental health may have been affected. 'For example if someone spent some time in intensive care with Covid they may well be experiencing post traumatic stress. Also if their symptoms resulted in a period of time off work then they may also have feelings of isolation which can impact their mental health. 'Cognitive impairment, known as mental fog, can continue for much longer even if the patient feels physically back to normal. I believe many Covid sufferers have unrecognised post-infection cognitive impairment, manifesting in subtle memory impairment. 'A balanced diet and graduated exercise are important in managing all manifestations of long Covid. Brain exercises will improve "brain fog" and cognition so whatever familiar exercises you like doing, for example crosswords, bridge, wordle or simply reading a book which engages you. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin was 'absolutely healthy', but would self-isolate after coming in contact with someone who contracted the virus. He did not clarify for how long Putin would remain in self-isolation, but assured that the president will continue working as usual. Asked if Putin tested negative for the virus, Peskov said: 'Of course, yes.' Peskov did not say who among Putin's contacts were infected, saying only that there were several cases.. According to Laurie Garrett, former senior fellow at Council on Foreign Relations, Putin disappeared from view in October. She tweeted: 'It's been suggested that #Putin isn't thinking properly, perhaps due to long #COVID19 'No proof, of course. In Sept. he went into quarantine after COVID cases emerged in his inner circle.' He disappeared from view for two weeks before holding an in-person meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Then he continued to have most of his public meetings by video conference/ Garett continued: 'By October Putin had disappeared. There was widespread speculation that he was sick with #COVID19. 'But it's also possible that he was trying to stay safe. The Sputnik #vaccine isn't very effective against variants -- zip anti-#Omicron.' She added: 'During the fall, when #Putin was absent from public view polls show Russian people were increasingly mistrusting their President, and the government overall. 'Rumors spread that Putin was 'paranoid''. Footage filmed in November appeared to indicate the leader had been unwell, with Putin suffering a coughing fit during a TV appearance. Putin was holding a meeting with officials to discuss the 'acute financial problems' caused by coronavirus when he suffered the bout of coughing. The video was later edited so that Putin's coughing fit seemed less severe. State news agency TASS asked the Kremlin about Putin's health and was told he was 'absolutely normal'. Vladimir Putin entered self-isolation after a member of his entourage contracted Covid-19 a day after meeting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in September last year 'The president apologised and continued the meeting almost without pausing,' the agency said. It was claimed earlier this month that Emmanuel Macron was kept at a distance during their crunch meeting over Ukraine after the French President had refused to take a Covid test over fears the Russians would obtain his DNA. Pundits were struck by photos of Mr Macron and the Russian President sitting at opposite ends of a 13ft long table to discuss the crisis in eastern Europe. But two sources with knowledge of the French leader's health protocol said Mr Macron had been asked to take a Covid test by the Kremlin before meeting Mr Putin. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, the sources claimed that Mr Macron was told either to accept a PCR test conducted by the Russians and be allowed near the dictator, or refuse and abide by more stringent social distancing. According to Laurie Garrett, former senior fellow at Council on Foreign Relations, Putin disappeared from view in October after he came into contact with Covid cases in September 'We knew very well that meant no handshake and that long table. But we could not accept that they get their hands on the president's DNA,' one source said, referring to security concerns if the French leader was tested by Russian doctors. 'The Russians told us Putin needed to be kept in a strict health bubble,' the second source said. And days ago, he declared war on Ukraine in a rambling and occasionally non-sensical speech, giving a chilling warning to its allies in the West. Garrett later tweeted: 'In recent @CFR_org meeting #Putin experts said his behavior and statements are 'off' and 'not right,' suggesting he's suffering the brain fog induced by #COVID19 . 'No way to confirm. But much of his army is surely infected, even sick.' Speaking to FEMAIL, Mr Abdeh said: 'If you have severe acute COVID-19, it may result in cognitive impairment, such as concentration issues, confusion, and difficulty remembering things. This is commonly referred to as brain fog. 'COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, and studies have already shown that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with increased cognitive impairment. 'Brain fog is more likely to occur in people who are already run down or fatigued.' COVID-19 infection doubles the risk of psychiatric diagnoses including depression and anxiety and triples the risk of sleep problems, study finds COVID-19 infection leads to increased risk of fatigue, sleep problems and psychiatric issues long after patients are diagnosed with their initial illness, a study found last month. Researchers at the University of Manchester used a UK database of anonymous health records from about 12 million patients, following those who caught Covid for up to 10 months after their diagnosis. Patients who contracted Covid were twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety or another serious condition after their encounter with the disease, compared to non-Covid patients. They were also twice as likely to be prescribed psychiatric medication, and three times as likely to report sleep problems. The study additionally found patients with negative Covid tests were more likely to be diagnosed with the conditions as well, suggesting that additional factors beyond the coronavirus's biology may play a role in this pattern. Still, the research provides new evidence towards the long-term impacts of Covid on patients' sleep and mental health. Fatigue, sleep issues and brain fog are all common symptoms of Long Covid, a condition in which patients continue to experience Covid symptoms for weeks or months after their initial infection. Brain fog - a catch-all term for issues with concentration and memory - is particularly common. One international survey of Long Covid patients found that about nine in ten patients reported neurological or psychiatric symptoms, months after their Covid diagnoses. Some studies have also suggested that Covid infection could be linked to anxiety, depression, or mental health issues, through connections between the immune system and brain inflammation. Advertisement HOW RUMOURS THE RUSSIAN LEADER IS SUFFERING FROM CANCER HAVE BEEN CIRCULATING FOR ALMOST A DECADE In 2014, t he Kremlin denied reports from an American newspaper that Putin maybe suffering from pancreatic cancer. The Russian president's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency saying: 'Dream on - and curse their tongues. Everything is normal.' Peskov had been asked to comment on the reports from The New York Post, which spread to other media. The US paper's report headlined 'Putin's Health Woes' claimed there were rumours in Poland and Belarus that the 62 year old strongman had 'cancer of the spinal cord'. But the Post's Richard Johnson wrote: 'My sources say it's pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal forms of the disease.' Vladimir Putin had cancer surgery on his abdomen, a prominent critic claimed in November 2020 The report went on: 'Putin was allegedly being treated by a doctor from the old East Germany. 'The doc had been trying various treatments, including steroid shots, which would explain Putin's puffy appearance. 'But I'm told the physician quit recently, confiding that he was mistreated by Putin's security detail.' Later that year in November, a prominent critic of Putin claimed that the Russian president was suffering from cancer and underwent surgery. Valery Solovei, who claims to have sources 'at the epicentre of decision making', suggested 68-year-old Putin had the operation in February. Another unnamed source suggested the operation was on Putin's abdomen. The Kremlin firmly denied that there is anything wrong with Putin's health at the time. It was unclear exactly when Solovei believes the alleged cancer operation took place, but sources claimed Putin's first appearance afterwards was a flower-laying ceremony on February 19. Solovei also claimed that Putin's gymnast lover Alina Kabaeva, have been urging him to step down from power. A VOCAL CRITIC OF PUTIN CLAIMED HE HAD PARKINSON'S LAST YEAR It's not the first time that reports have emerged of Putin's ongoing health battles. Experts previously noted his 'gunslinger's gait' a clearly reduced right arm swing compared to his left, giving him a lilting swagger. An asymmetrically reduced arm swing is a classic feature of Parkinson's and can manifest in 'clinically intact subjects with a predisposition to later develop' the disease, according to the British Medical Journal. Footage circulated in Russia of Putin's legs moving around as he gripped onto the armrest of a chair, suggesting his ill health. Eyes are also drawn to a twitching pen in the former KGB operative's fingers and a cup which analysts suggested were filled with painkillers. Critics have previously noted his 'gunslinger's gait' a clearly reduced right arm swing compared to his left, giving him a lilting swagger. An asymmetrically reduced arm swing is a classic feature of Parkinson's As well as stating Putin has cancer, Solovei also suggested that he has Parkinson's. Solovei, former head of PR at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, believed at the time that Putin planned on stepping down in January due to his health problems and was planning to name daughter Katerina Tikhonova as his successor. Speaking about Putin's alleged ill-health, he said: ''One is of psycho-neurological nature, the other is a cancer problem. 'If anyone is interested in the exact diagnosis, I'm not a doctor, and I have no ethical right to reveal these problems. 'The second diagnosis is a lot, lot more dangerous than the first named diagnosis as Parkinson's does not threaten physical state, but just limits public appearances. 'Based on this information people will be able to make a conclusion about his life horizon, which wouldn't even require specialist medical education.' Mr Abdeh told FEMAIL: 'An early sign of Parkinsons that many people are completely unaware of is that it can change your walk in very subtle ways. 'They are so subtle that even the sufferer may not be aware of them. People who are suffering from Parkinsons may lose the natural swing in their arms while they are walking; this can occur in one or both arms. 'As Parkinsons disease progresses, a person may take longer to take steps as they walk. 'They may start to take smaller steps and also develop a shuffling gait. The way they walk may change from natural strides to taking small but rapid steps that thrust them forward. 'In advanced cases of Parkinsons disease, sufferers may experience temporary freezing moments, where they want to walk but feel frozen to the spot. 'This may mean that their upper body moves forward but their legs stay where they are.' He's not yet two-years-old, but Prince Charles of Luxembourg already knows how to work a crowd. The young royal, who is 21-months-old. stole the show as he accompanied his parents, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, 40, and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie, 38, at an event organised by Scouting in Luxembourg. The engagement, which celebrated Grand Duke Guillaume's involvement with the Luxembourg's Scouting association, took place on Tuesday at the Drai Eechelen park to mark World Scout Day. Dressed in a cute red puffer jacket and a scouting neckerchief, Charles was spotted meeting fans, enjoying a snack in his mother's arms and walking about the park in adorable snaps shared on the Grand Ducale Court's Instagram account. Meanwhile, Guillaume and Stephanie did most of the legwork, signing the park's guest book, chatting with royal fans and looking on as Scouting in Luxembourg planted a commemorative lime tree. Prince Charles of Luxembourg, who is 21-months-old. stole the show as he accompanied his parents, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, 40, and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie, 38, at an event organised in his and his father's honour by Scouting in Luxembourg Guillaume's grandfather, Grand Duke Jean, who passed away in April 2019, was particularity involved with scouting, having been a Scout Chef for 80 years. He was very fond of lime trees, which is why this specific variety was picked for the event. While he is too young to understand the symbolism behind the tree, Prince Charles seems to be having a great time during the event. The tiny royal beamed as royal fans showed him pictures on their phone and smiled at him. The young royal looked on as his father and his mother signed the park's guest-book during the event The young royal was treated to a snack, which he enjoyed in the arms of his doting mother, who was wearing an elegant navy coat He seemed less interested by the book signing, however, he was well-behaved and was rewarded with a snack, which he enjoyed from the comfort of his doting mother's arms. Stephanie looked elegant in a navy coat, with a lovely wavy hairdo and natural makeup. Meanwhile, Grand Duke Guillaume donned a blue shirt and his very own neckerchief. While Charles seemed to be enjoying an afternoon of leisure, his father, who is also a member of Scouting in Luxembourg, addressed the attendees. Charles was wearing an adorable red puffer jacket with blue trousers and his very own neckerchief The toddler beamed as a royal fan showed him a picture on their phone during the engagement 'He said: 'It is a strong and hopeful sign because the tree is the symbol of a life that needs to be protected and strengthened.' A plaque was also unveilled that reads: 'In honour of HRH Prince Charles of Luxembourg, born on the 10th of May 2020'. In spite of the rain in Luxembourg, the event was attended by many Luxembourger, including the mayor of Luxembourg Mydie Polfer, as well as representative for two Luxembourger associations the National Federation of Scouts in Luxembourg and the Letzebuerger Guiden a Scouten. The Hereditary Grand Duke has experienced a rocky start of the year after testing positive for the coronavirus. While the father-of-one was symptom-free, he still isolated with his wife at son at the time. Prince Charles was very well behaved and listened carefully during the ceremony, in which a tree was unveilled in his honour Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, who was wearing his neckerchief, said the tree was a great symbol, which it needs to be protected and strengthened Charles was born at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and has become a fixture of the Grand Ducal Court's Instagram account. At the time of his birth, the young Prince could not meet his grandparents Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa because of social distancing measure put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Discussing the birth of his son back in May, Prince Guillaume said it was 'probably the most incredible day that we will have in our life'. He explained: 'To be able to greet the child that comes into one's life is the most magical thing, parenting, a couple can have.' Photographs were then shared as the newborn met his grandparents the Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa over a video call. In a statement, the Luxembourg royals said they were 'delighted to announce the birth' of their son. A teenager revealed how she was sexually assaulted by a Tinder date who filmed her during the attack, then used the footage to blackmail her into meeting up with him for a second time. The British victim, who was identified using the fake name Sasha, spoke on BBC Three's Dating's Dangerous Secrets about how she was attacked by the same man on two separate occasions when she was just 17. She met her attacker on Tinder in September 2020. She said it was 'easy' to join Tinder despite not meeting the app's minimum age requirement of 18 and simply 'put her age as one year older'. The victim, who was identified using the fake name Sasha, spoke on BBC Three's Dating's Dangerous Secrets about how she was attacked by the same man on two separate occasions when she was just 17. Above, journalist Linda Adey speaking to the teenager She added: 'I didn't know anyone who didn't have a Tinder account. I think everybody my age had an account or had had one previously.' Tinder told the BBC that the company 'works diligently to ban and block underage users'. After speaking online for a few days, Sasha and the man agreed to meet. They went for a drive before going back to his place, where they began 'hooking up'. She continued: 'He was respectful of what I liked until the point when I needed it to stop. I needed it to stop and I needed a break. I asked him to stop and he said 'no'. 'It was quite a scary experience. He growled 'no' at me. I was pinned down for a bit, I couldn't get myself out of the situation physically. I was screaming for quite a long time.' At that point, he took out his phone and began filming Sasha. It is illegal to film anyone under the age of 18 involved in a sex act. 'I realised he was filming me,' Sasha continued. 'I didn't consent to the filming either. I did eventually get him off me. He wanted to carry on. Journalist Linda Adey, pictured, spoke to women who had been assaulted by men they met on online dating apps 'At this point I was in this situation where I was scared about what would happen if I said 'no' because I'd already said it once and it didn't work. 'Then he became more demanding and he was instructing me to look at the camera and things like that.' She said the fact that he had filmed the assault made it more difficult because she feared that, were she to report it, the camera 'would perceive' that she was 'into' what was happening. I was worried about what would happen if I said 'no' to meeting with him again The Tinder date later sent Sasha the video and asked her to meet up again. She felt she was being blackmailed and had no choice but to see him again. 'I was worried about what would happen if I said 'no' to meeting with him again,' she added. Sasha was raped for a second time. The man then blocked Sasha, which automatically caused their online conversation to be deleted. Sasha explained: 'He blocked me which meant that if I wanted to report him or even block him from adding me back again in future, I actually couldn't access his profile to do so. It completely disappears. There's no backlog of people you previously matched with.' Tinder told the BBC unmatching is an important feature that helps protect the safety and privacy of its users. Sasha did not report the user to Tinder or to the police, partly because there was no way to access those conversations. She added: 'I think it's one of my biggest regrets that this could have potentially led to the same thing happening to someone else.' A poll commissioned by the BBC found nearly two thirds of users have felt uncomfortable while on a date with someone they met on an app, with almost 4 in 10 respondents experiencing stalking, either online or offline, afterwards Four months after the incident Tinder updated the app so it is now possible to report a user even after they have unmatched you. In a press release from December 2020, Tinder said: 'We have heard that some of our members believe they cannot report someone who has unmatched them. We are now making it easier to report someone in-app who has used the unmatched feature.' However as an individual you still cannot access your conversations once you've been unmatched. This means if Sasha wanted to report the assault to the police, the police would then have to request a copy of the conversation history. Match Group, which owns Tinder, says it uses 'every tool possible to keep bad actors of its services and continues to invest in technology to keep users safe'. A poll commissioned by the BBC found nearly two thirds of users have felt uncomfortable while on a date with someone they met on an app, with almost 4 in 10 respondents experiencing stalking, either online or offline, afterwards. The poll commissioned for the BBC surveyed 2,070 men and women, aged 18 to 35 years old, on their dating habits and use of dating apps. BBC Three's, Dating's Dangerous Secrets, investigated the safety of the most popular dating apps in Britain. The documentary is available to watch on iPlayer. A 22-year-old mother has revealed that she thought she was only in her first trimester when she suddenly felt the urge to poop and gave birth to a full-term baby boy on the toilet. Teagan Brill from Michigan is now the proud mother of a one-year-old baby boy, Owen but last February, his arrival was a serious shock. Brill had only first suspected that she was pregnant a week earlier and took a positive pregnancy test, but assumed she was either at one month or three months gestation. Thinking she still had time to process the pregnancy, she was baffled when she went to use the toilet and noticed that her 'hole was huge' and quickly pulled out a newborn, wrapping him in a towel as she awaited the arrival of an ambulance. Teagan Brill, 22, from Michigan, is now the proud mother of a one-year-old baby boy, Owen -but last February, his arrival was a serious shock She wasn't feeling well and went to the bathroom to poop - and suddenly, she pulled a baby out Brill shared her story in a series of TikTok videos, explaining why she didn't suspect she was pregnant for so long. She insisted that she didn't look pregnant, and at six months along, she even took a beach vacation where she wore a swimsuit the whole time and no one noticed she looked any different. 'Nobody could tell, nobody knew. It's not like I was huge with a baby bump,' she said. 'I looked my normal self.' In fact, at about six-and-a-half months, she said she remembers thinking her legs had never looked so skinny, and she looked 'damn good.' What she did notice was that her hair and skin looked 'amazing' which she knows now was caused by the pregnancy, but at the time it gave her no reason for concern. Brill insisted there were no signs she was pregnant, and she still looked quite slim at six months along (pictured), when she went on a beach trip with friends Brill (pictured at six months) said she continued to bleed throughout and assumed it was her period She was even happy with how thin her legs looked at six-and-a-half months (pictured), but a week before she gave birth, she told her boyfriend she though she was getting fat or pregnant Finally, she said, she found out she was pregnant about a week before her son was born. 'I texted my boyfriend and said, "Babe, either I'm very fat, like I'm getting fat, or I am pregnant. It's gotta be one of them," and he was like, "Well, take a test and you'll know,"' she recalled. Though she had gained some weight, Brill said that she had continued to bleed for nine months and believed she was menstruating, so she didn't suspect that she might be expecting. 'I did have my period, so no reason to believe I was pregnant,' she said. But in light of her weight gain, she decided to take a test and found out she was pregnant. Still, she didn't imagine that she could be quite so far along. 'I thought maybe, because we were doing long-distance, he lived in Colorado, I lived in Michigan, so I was like, I can pinpoint when things happen, and so I was like, "Oh, we're either a month or three months'," she said. After staying home from class on a Monday, on Tuesday morning she used the toilet and had terrible cramps - and then Owen was born (pictured right after his birth) She called 911 on the toilet because she couldn't stand up. The ambulance arrived right after she delivered her son Owen was healthy, weighing nine pounds, six ounces 'I was like, not bad. We got time,' she said. 'I did not know I was nine months.' Then, one Monday night in February 2021, she was feeling unwell and knew something was 'off.' 'I was just, like, "Wow, I do not feel good guys," she said. A senior at Hope College in Holland, Michigan at the time, she stayed home from class that day, attending via Zoom with her camera off. Early the next morning, she told Today, she had intense stomach cramps and thought she needed to poop but when she went to use the toilet, she couldn't stand up. At first, she thought she was miscarrying but then she looked closer. 'I literally looked down. My hole was this big,' she said on TikTok. 'It did not feel like a normal s***. I looked down and my hole was huge. I literally felt it and it was rock hard, and I just was like, "Um, this is a child." Brill went to the hospital, where she called her mom to break the news that she was a grandma Brill told Today she remembers thinking of her son, 'Youre my miracle. Theres no way you should be healthy, let alone this healthy and this cute, like you are a miracle' After moving back in with her parents, she finished school while taking care of her baby 'And I pulled him out. He didn't splash in the toilet, he didn't hit the toilet. I pulled him out and the entire time I was on the phone with the ambulance, like EMTs, 911, because I went to the bathroom and I couldn't stand up. 'So I called all my roommates, I could hear all their phones go off... but nobody answered their phones because it was like seven in the morning. 'So I called the ambulance, 911, after, and I was just like, "I don't know what's wrong with me but someone has to come help me 'cause this is not normal. 'They came literally five minutes after I had my child in the toilet. I looked down, I saw him coming out, pulled him, wrapped him in a towel and then the ambulance came.' Owen was healthy, weighing nine pounds, six ounces. Brill went to the hospital, where she called her mom to break the news that she was a grandma. Though the delivery was certainly a shock, Brill told Today she remembers thinking of her son, 'Youre my miracle. Theres no way you should be healthy, let alone this healthy and this cute, like you are a miracle.' An Instagram model has revealed how a botched boob job caused her nipples to lose blood flow and 'die' - turning so black that they looked 'burned' - after she got five surgeries on one day. Alejandra Mercedes, 25, from Miami, Florida, went under the knife in October 2021 - getting a combined breast lift and implant change to reduce the size of her 34DDD cups, as well as liposuction on her back, and a J-Plasma Skin Tightening procedure. However, the five-in-one-day operation, which cost her $20,000, left the influencer with necrosis on both of her areolas - which occurs when cells or tissue on your body dies. Alejandra was horrified when she removed her bandages three days after the surgery and discovered that her nipples had both turned black due to lack of blood flow. An Instagram model has revealed how a botched boob job caused her nipples to lose blood flow and 'die' - turning so black they looked 'burned' - after she got five surgeries on one day Alejandra Mercedes, 25, from Miami, Florida, went under the knife in October 2021 - getting a five different surgeries in one day, including a breast lift and implant change, as well as liposuction and a J-Plasma Skin Tightening procedure However, the five-in-one-day operation, which cost her $20,000, left the influencer with necrosis on both of her areolas - which occurs when cells or tissue on your body dies Alejandra was horrified when she removed her bandages three days after the surgery and discovered that her nipples had both turned black due to lack of blood flow She was then re-admitted to the hospital where doctors had to use scissors to cut away some of the dead cells She was then re-admitted to the hospital where doctors had to use scissors to cut away some of the dead cells. She was also forced to undergo another surgery, after her breast muscle 'burst through her stitches.' She has fully healed since then, but was only left with two centimeters of her areola. Now, she is sharing her harrowing story in an attempt to warn others of possible surgical complications. Alejandra got her first surgery as a teenager, when she received a liposuction procedure. Over the past decade, the influencer, who has gained more than one million followers on Instagram under the username @alejandramercedesxc), has since undergone seven more surgeries - including further liposuction, a BBL, a nose job, and several breast enhancements. However, it hasn't exactly been a smooth ride with Alejandra's latest surgery going terribly wrong. 'My takeaway from this experience is that it is much better to only have one surgery at a time,' she told Jam Press. She was also forced to undergo another surgery, after her breast muscle 'burst through her stitches' Now, she is sharing her harrowing story in an attempt to warn others of possible surgical complications Alejandra got her first surgery as a teenager, when she received a liposuction procedure. Over the past decade, the influencer has since undergone seven more surgeries. She is pictured after the botched procedure However, it hasn't exactly been a smooth ride with Alejandra's latest surgery going terribly wrong. She is pictured after she first removed the bandages and discovered the necrosis 'I think the necrosis and issues with my recovery and pain were all because my body couldn't cope with so many surgical sites to heal.' Alejandra explained that her nipples were 'so black, they looked burned,' adding that they were 'completely dead' by the time she discovered something was wrong. 'I was panicking and worried I would look like I'd had cancer with no nipples at all,' she admitted. According to BreastCancer.org, 'Sometimes the breast skin doesnt heal properly because the network of blood vessels that supply blood to the tissue were damaged. 'The skin may have been thinned too much when tissue was removed during the mastectomy. When there isnt enough blood flow to the skin, portions of the skin on one or both breasts can wither and scab.' Alejandra immediately went back to the surgeon's office, where she was treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and given creams to promote the regeneration of healthy tissue on her breast. She explained: 'They gave me a cream to put on the parts where I had necrosis that would allow the dead skin to soften up and fall off. 'Most of it did but on some parts they had to cut it off with scissors. Then some of my breast muscle burst through my stitches and I needed a second surgery to put everything back together neatly. Thankfully I healed well after that.' She said she thinks the reason it went wrong was because she tried to get so many procedures done on the same day. Alejandra is pictured before the surgery Alejandra explained that her nipples were 'so black, they looked burned,' adding that they were 'completely dead' by the time she discovered something was wrong Alejandra immediately went back to the surgeon's office, where she was treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and given creams to promote the regeneration of healthy tissue on her breast She said: 'Some parts they had to cut it off with scissors. Then some of my breast muscle burst through my stitches and I needed a second surgery to put everything back together neatly. Thankfully I healed well after that' Now fully recovered, Alejandra has written an e-book about her experience, entitled Results after the Cut. Now fully recovered, Alejandra has written an e-book about her experience, entitled Results after the Cut She wants to share her experience as a warning to other women considering surgery, and encourage them to do their research on preventative measures and possible side effects. Alejandra, who has also starred as a dancer in rapper 6ix9ine's music video for his single YAYA, added: 'I have met so many women who suffered necrosis and infections like what happened to me. 'Before I suffered I had no idea how common these issues were after plastic surgery. 'We don't know why it happened to me but I especially want women to think carefully about having more than one surgery at a time as it puts a lot of strain on the body to try and recover. 'After this experience, I don't think I will have another procedure except maybe a cosmetic tattoo to improve the scars around my nipples. 'At the moment I only have a tiny bit of areola left, only about two centimeters. But I am so grateful for how well I healed. I feel beautiful now.' Within her book, Alejandra shares tips including not smoking for two months before surgery to aid blood flow, not drinking alcohol, taking vitamins, and staying on top of prescribed antibiotics. Hazim Sadideen, consultant plastic and reconstructive surgeon at the Cadogan Clinic in London, shared additional advice to Jam Press. 'Smoking can hugely increase the risk of post-surgical complications,' he told them. 'The nicotine and carbon monoxide from cigarettes restricts the air flow to the lungs, which need to be working towards 100 per cent capacity during general anaesthetic. 'Smoking affects the circulation which reduces the blood flow to the skin, causing a delay in wound healing. 'Cigarette smoke also increases the risk of infection and heart-related complications and negatively impacts the immune system. She wants to share her experience as a warning to other women considering surgery, and encourage them to do their research on preventative measures and possible side effects. She is pictured before the surgery She added: 'I have met so many women who suffered necrosis and infections like what happened to me. Before I suffered I had no idea how common these issues were after plastic surgery' Alejandra, who was left with only about two centimeters left of her areola, said she doesn't think she will undergo anymore procedures. She is pictured after the surgery Within her book, Alejandra shares tips including not smoking for two months before surgery to aid blood flow, not drinking alcohol, taking vitamins, and staying on top of prescribed antibiotics 'It is advisable to quit smoking at least six weeks before any major procedure.' Meanwhile, certain vitamins can 'interfere' with the anaesthesia, and aren't recommended before plastic surgery. The doctor added: 'Certain vitamins should be avoided pre-surgery which may interfere with anaesthetic, bleeding and healing, however some are extremely useful for optimising health and healing. 'Vitamins such as vitamin C, D & E and zinc can help support immunity and healing however some supplements and extracts such as garlic and turmeric can increase the risk of bruising and bleeding.' Above all, he said it's important to make sure to find a surgeon and clinic with experience in the procedure you're interested in having. A few more tips include reading online reviews and the doctor's patient testimonials, checking their qualifications, and looking at before and after photos of similar operations they have performed. An Iranian man was left unable to urinate and in need of skin graft surgery after getting an AA battery lodged in his penis. The 49-year-old patient, who has not been named, went to hospital in Tehran in April 2021, where he told doctors the object had been stuck for 24 hours. Medics were able to prise the battery out without surgery and discharge the man on the same day but he was forced to return months later in pain. During his second hospital stint in September, he revealed he had been suffering a burning sensation when urinating and was unable to achieve a full stream of urine. Scans revealed 'severe and progressive' scarring to his urethra, partially blocking the tube that carries urine and semen through the penis. Doctors were unsure what exactly had caused the damage but it may have been due to toxic materials in the battery. They also did not reveal how the device came to be inside his penis, but they suggested a number of possible reasons including sexual pleasure, contraception or a drunken accident. The man had no history of mental illness, they added. The tale was revealed in the medical journal Urology Case Reports by doctors from the Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. Pictured above is a scan revealing the battery stuck in the urethra the tube that carries urine out of the body (left) and the battery that became stuck for 24 hours (right) When the patient presented at hospital the second time, scans revealed the urethra had become constricted due to a build up of scar tissue, limiting the amount of urine that could flow through it. Doctors cut open his perineum the area between his penis and anus to reach the urethra without damaging his genitals. They used a skin graft from the inside of his cheeks and lips to repair the damaged urethra. He was kept in hospital for a further three weeks for observation. A check-up six months after being discharged showed his penis was fully healed and functioning properly. Doctors who treated him warned that if the battery had remained in the penis for a long time it could have led to problems getting an erection. Writing in the report, they said: 'Visiting a doctor is usually unpleasant and the patient may be ashamed of it, but eventually, they visit the doctor due to urinary symptoms. 'Delay in visiting the doctor can lead to a complicated infection and Fournier gangrene (gangrene in the penis).' Speculating about why the battery was in his penis, they added: 'There are several reasons for inserting a foreign body (battery) into the penis, including psychiatric illness, autoeroticism, intoxication and perceived contraception. 'Several examples of these cases have been observed in both men and women, which is more common in men and also present in all ages. 'The foreign body can be various objects such as materials, wires, toothbrushes, batteries and so on.' A lesbian NHS executive has been told not to 'waste time' applying for a senior role at a controversial NHS trust which offers gender-reassignment treatment to children because of her views on sex. Kate Grimes, who previously ran Kingston Hospital in London, enquired about a top position at the Tavistock and Portman NHS mental health trust. Ms Grimes is openly lesbian and was rated one of the NHS' top 25 LGBT role models in 2014. But she was told not to bother applying for the role after she told them she believed there are only two sexes and 'sex is immutable'. She has also previously criticised trans-rights groups publicly and supports the LGB Alliance a charity formed in opposition of LGBT rights charity Stonewall's policies on transgender issues. Tavistock which is recruiting for a new chairman and two non-executive directors has become notorious for its clinic, which can refer children to get puberty blockers. Its Gender Identity Development Service was rated 'inadequate' last year by inspectors. It faced legal action last year from ex-patient Keira Bell, 24, who is de-transitioning after regretting taking the hormone drugs as a 16-year-old. And it was also slammed by former employee Dr David Bell, a consultant psychiatrist, for believing all girls who do not like 'pink ribbons and dollies' must be transgender. Kate Grimes, who ran Kingston Hospital in London, was told by an external recruiter not to 'waste time' applying for a senior role at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust because of her gender critical views The Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in London has become notorious for being the only trust to offer puberty blockers to teenagers What are puberty blockers and how can children transition gender? If a child is under 18 and may have gender dysphoria, they'll usually be referred to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. GIDS has 2 main clinics in London and Leeds. The team will carry out an assessment, usually over 3 to 6 appointments over a period of several months. Young people with lasting signs of gender dysphoria may be referred to a hormone specialist (consultant endocrinologist) to see if they can take hormone blockers as they reach puberty. These hormone, or 'puberty' blockers (gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues) pause the physical changes of puberty, such as breast development or facial hair. Little is known about the long-term side effects of hormone or puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria. Although the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) advises this is a physically reversible treatment if stopped, it is not known what the psychological effects may be. It's also not known whether hormone blockers affect the development of the teenage brain or children's bones. Side effects may also include hot flushes, fatigue and mood alterations. From the age of 16, teenagers who've been on hormone blockers for at least 12 months may be given cross-sex hormones, also known as gender-affirming hormones. These hormones cause some irreversible changes, such as breast development and breaking or deepening of the voice. Long-term cross-sex hormone treatment may cause temporary or even permanent infertility. Source: NHS Advertisement After deciding not to continue her application, Ms Grimes wrote a letter to the Health Secretary Sajid Javid calling on him to intervene and launch a review of the processes. Emails show Dr Melanie West, a recruiter at Gatenby Sanderson, told Ms Grimes she would almost certainly not be considered for the role because of her views. Dr West said: 'I have to say that your view on sex being immutable is not a view point that the Trust would wish any of their non-executives to hold and as such I would not recommend that you waste time making an application for this. 'It will be one of the questions I will be asking candidates at first stage interview.' Ms Grimes said that she was 'absolutely astonished' by the response. Peter Daly, an employment lawyer at Doyle Clayton, said excluding people for gender critical views amounts to the same level of discrimination as doing so for race, gender or sexuality in the eyes of the law. In a letter to the Health Secretary, Ms Grimes said the trust was 'exacerbating its governance failures and breaking the law by refusing to interview anyone who believes biological sex cannot be changed'. She told The Daily Telegraph: 'It is perfectly possible to support and care for children with gender dysphoria without believing it is literally possible to change biological sex. 'Indeed, it is a fundamental principle of good healthcare that one's personal beliefs do not interfere with the care provided.' Ms Grimes has previously spoken out against pro-trans groups including Stonewall, the LGBT rights charity. She accused the NHS of putting patients at risk by signing up to the charity's controversial Diversity Champions scheme, which has since been abandoned by the Cabinet Office, House of Lords and BBC. More than 90 healthcare organisations are understood to be members of the charity's controversial programme, including the Department of Health, NHS England and numerous hospital trusts. Ms Grimes accused Stonewall of 'undermining' the NHS's ability to keep patients safe, 'stifling' free speech and creating a 'culture of fear' among some NHS staff. And she warned some advice risked 'opening up NHS organisations to litigation and reputational damage'. Ms Grimes recalled how she received offensive messages when she came out as a lesbian in the late 1980s, her pride at running one of the country's leading HIV/AIDS services and appreciation for Stonewall's campaign for greater equality. But she said the charity's recent lobbying over trans issues had culminated in the 'incorrect notion' that a man who identifies as a woman is allowed by law to access female-only spaces. As a result, she added, female patients no longer have access to single-sex accommodation in wards and bathrooms. A Tavistock and Portman spokesperson said: 'We comply with equality laws and NHS best practice during recruitment. 'We welcome applications from any suitably qualified candidate, including whether they meet the NHS-wide criterion of promoting and respecting equality, diversity and inclusion. 'If an applicant meets the essential criteria for a role, and also discloses to us that they have a disability, they would automatically be offered an interview.' It comes after the Mail on Sunday revealed in 2017 that more than 800 children in England some as young as ten had been given controversial drugs to help them change gender. Advertisement Masks could soon become a thing of the past all around America. There are reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning to drop its indoor mask guidance for many parts of America. A scientist involved with the decision told CNN a move is to be announced Friday afternoon. Currently, the CDC recommends indoor masking in any area deemed to be of 'high' or substantial' Covid transmission. As of Friday morning, 95 percent of U.S. counties fall into either of those categories. The CDC is planning to update the metrics that determine whether a U.S. county is suffering 'high', 'substantial', 'moderate' or 'low' levels of transmission. While counties that are of 'high' and 'substantial' transmission will still be recommended to mask indoors, the number or counties that fall into these figures will fall substantially. This is because the Omicron variant has changed the nature of COVID-19 in America. Previously, large infection figures spelled a lot of danger for the nation. The now-dominant strain is highly infectious yet mild, though, meaning that case figures alone no longer properly indicate danger. These categories were based off of data from the original strain of the virus as well, which was not as infectious as Omicron. When changes go into effect, hospitalizations related to the virus and hospital capacity will be included in the metrics as well. As of Friday morning, the CDC considers 95% of American counties as being of 'high' or 'substantial' transmission. The CDC recommends indoor mask mandates for each of those counties. The agency will change the calculation of these metrics to bring that figure down starting Friday, reports state. Case, death and hospitalization figures have cratered in recent weeks, and the revised CDC categorizations will likely reflect that. Currently in the U.S., 75,549 people are recording an infection every day. This is a 35 percent fall over the past week, and a 92 percent drop since the Omicron surge peaked at 800,000 cases per day in mid-January. Deaths are finally starting to plummet as well. On average, 1,742 Americans are dying from Covid daily, a 20 percent drop over the last seven days and a 30 percent drop for the peak of the Omicrons surge when around 2,500 Americans were succumbing to the virus daily. Hospitalizations are generally an unreliable metric. Studies have found that anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of recording COVID-19 hospitalizations are actually people who were receiving treatment for another condition but tested positive while present. That figure is dropping as well, though, another sign of Covid transmission dropping overall. On average, 57,544 hospitalizations with Covid are recording every day, a 44 percent drop over the last 14 days. To what levels the CDC will adjust these categories, and how it will effect the number of Americans still recommended to be subjected to mask mandates is unclear, though reports hint that it will a significant shift. Decisions on where the mandates actually apply will come down to local leaders for the most part, though. While the CDC can make decisions on a federal level - like requiring people to wear masks when travelling via airplane or long distance rail - indoor mask mandates for venues like stadiums, restaurants and retail stores are set on a state-by-state, sometimes county-by-county, basis. Preceding this move by the CDC, nearly every state in America has taken matters into its own hands and decided to lift mask mandates no matter what the federal government says. 49 of 50 U.S. states have either have dropped public indoor mask mandates, relaxed them, or have announced plans to do so in the future. Hawaii is set to be the only state left to require masks in indoor public places, no matter a person's vaccination status. The state has had some of the strictest pandemic-related restrictions in America for much of the past two years. Many red states have dropped Covid entirely, lifting all restrictions and in many cases even banning county and city level leaders from requiring masks or vaccine checks. Blue states have been more cautious, but there are signs that they are putting the pandemic behind them as well. Last week, California Gov Gavin Newsom announced that his state - the most populous in America- will soon transition into treating COVID-19 as an endemic, moving on from the pandemic as the state marks two years since the first cases of the virus were detected in the U.S. Cases in California have dropped 80 percent over the past two weeks and only 24 of every 100,000 residents are testing positive for the virus daily. 'We are moving past the crisis phase into a phase where we will work to live with this virus,' Newsom said at a news conference announcing the 'Smarter' plan on Thursday. 'People are looking forward to turning the page,' he added. 'They also need to know we have their back, we're going to keep them safe, and we're going to stay on top of this.' Dr Rochelle Walensky (pictured), director of the CDC, acknowledged Americans wanting to lift mask mandates last week. Her agency is reportedly set to change Covid metrics Friday in an effort to lift them California is now the first U.S. state to declare the virus 'endemic', and the nations most populous state now joins a growing list that have begun to rollback mandates as cases continue to decline. Newsome rolled back his states indoor mask mandate for vaccinated residents in mid-February, though he left options open for county and city level officials in the state to reapply mandates at their own discretion. While nearly all blue states, like California, have lifted these mandates for a majority of indoor public spaces, masks are still required in many schools. School mask mandates are one of the most controversial policies in America at the moment, and some states like New York, Delaware and Maryland still requiring children to mask at school, with no end date set. Federal leaders have been hesitant to lift mandates, though. Last week, CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky said that she understood that Americans want to ditch masks, but did not commit to following along with states that made choices to remove them. 'We want to give people a break from things like mask-wearing when these metrics are better, and then have the ability to reach for them again should things worsen,' Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, explained at last week's briefing. 'If and when we update our guidance, we will communicate that clearly. And it will be based on the data and the science. Children at New York City public schools will finally be able to take off masks outdoors next week, but the face coverings will still be required when inside. School Chancellor David Banks announced the move Friday amid cratering Covid cases and increasing pressure from parents and the community to do away with the controversial school mask policies. Once a Covid hotspot, daily Covid cases in New York City have cratered, with the Big Apple only recording around 1,000 new cases per day - far below the peak of around 40,000 per day during the early-January peak of the Omicron surge. Children also face little risk from the virus when they are infected, and outdoor transmission of Covid is rare - whether masked or not. Children at New York City schools will no longer have to wear masks outdoors when they arrive back to class from break on Monday 'I am so pleased that we are able to make this exciting announcement and safely allow students and staff to remove their masks when outdoors at NYC public schools,' Banks said in a statement. The move comes as there are discussions about rolling back Covid restrictions across the city. Earlier this week, new Mayor Eric Adams said he 'can't wait' for the city's health officials to give him the greenlight to lift vaccine and mask mandates in the city. New York Gov Kathy Hochul instituted a strict mask mandate late last year to combat with the Omicron surge, but lifted an indoor mask mandate for everywhere except schools earlier this month. Masks are still required indoors in schools across the state under the governors orders, and New York City is still required to follow state orders. Covid cases in New York are trending downwards, though, strengthening calls for remaining restrictions to be lifted. Over the past two weeks, cases have halved, from 2,000 per day to 1,000 per day. Statewide, cases are down 56 percent over the past two weeks. Forcing children to wear masks outdoors is a policy beyond typical recommendations from health leaders, and is a bizarre policy based on available information about the virus. Transmission of Covid outside is very rare. Because air is constantly circulating aerosol droplets ejected by an infected person are quickly whisked away and do not have much of an opportunity to find their way into someone else. Even for adults, risk of catching or transmitting the virus is very low. Children also do not spread virus particles at the same rate as adults, a German study published earlier this week found, making the already minuscule risk of outdoor transmission even lower. Young people are also among the least likely demographics to contract or fall fatally ill from the disease, leading to questions why vaccine or mask mandates would be implemented on children in schools. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that children make up less than 0.1 percent of deaths from the virus since the pandemic began in early 2020. A study performed last autumn by the researchers at the University of Utah - before the more mild Omicron variant arrived - found that half of pediatric Covid cases were asymptomatic. New York City students are currently on a February break, and will return to the classroom this week. Some are hopeful the Governor will lift the mask mandate in the wake of their return, though it is unknown whether city officials will follow. More than 1,400 jobs have been saved at Studio Retail after it was acquired by Mike Ashleys Frasers Group, with an upfront investment believed to be more than 100 million. The company is one of the biggest online retailers in the UK selling clothing, footwear, homeware, and Christmas ranges. But administrators were appointed on Wednesday to handle an imminent collapse of the parent company. Mike Ashley's Frasers Group have acquired Studio Retail and made investment of 100M Amid customer concerns about orders and refunds, Frasers intervention means consumers will now receive their goods and any money that they are owed. The East Lancashire company, which counted the Frasers Group as one of its largest shareholders, has suffered an alarming fall from grace after reporting more than half a billion in sales and 41.7million pre-tax profits, last year. Despite initial success during the coronavirus pandemic fuelled by sales moving online, Studio Retail was hit by rising costs of shipping and late deliveries, as supply lines were disrupted around the world. The business issued its second profit warning in two months at the start of February and a request for a short-term 25million working capital loan was turned down by its bank, HSBC. The company formerly known as Findel stunned the City last week after suspending its shares But today, there was relief for staff at the firm, which is based in Accrington, where it is one of the areas largest employers. The Conservative MP for Hyndburn, Sara Britcliffe, spoke last week of the concern and nervousness in Lancashire over the possible demise of the firm. She said she had personally spoken to the former Newcastle United owner, Mike Ashley, and stressed the need to protect jobs and keep the company in the area. The acquisition by Frasers Group was announced in the City this morning. Studio Retail initially benefited from the pandemic with increased sales, but then struggled Mike Ashleys company formerly held a 28.9 per cent stake in Studio Retail Group PLC, which has gone into administration, but it has now acquired control of the subsidiary company, Studio Retail Limited. The deal will see Frasers Group take on responsibility for the money owed to banks, the pension scheme and other liabilities, including paying suppliers. The upfront investment required to keep the company running is believed to amount to more than 100M. As well as rising costs, supply chain problems have meant the company has been stuck with a large amount of seasonal stock, which it cannot sell until next year. Meanwhile, it is thought more than 10 million is owed to HMRC and at least 50M to suppliers. Ashley's intervention has saved 1,500 jobs in Accrington and allayed fears of shoppers Studio Retail began life as a catalogue retailer selling gifts, but it expanded online and now sells a wide range of products on flexible payment terms. It has around 2.5 million customers and made 578.6m in sales during the last financial year. The company is seen as a good fit for Frasers Group, which could seek to develop the payment options offer on their digital platforms . London-listed Russian steelmaker Evraz has warned investors about the potential impact of economic uncertainty and risk of imposition of international sanctions following the countrys invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. The group, Russias second largest steel company, saw its share price fall by more than 25 per cent yesterday to levels not seen since the pandemic-induced crash in March 2020. The stock has bounced back today, rising 20 per cent to 204.7p in late trading, after the company unveiled a massive jump in profits thanks to a boom in metals prices. Bumper profit: Evraz has benefited from rising metal prices, but the war in Ukraine and promised international sanctions on Russia could impact the company Chief executive Aleksey Ivanov hailed 'outstanding' financial results as pre-tax profit more than tripled to $4.2billion in 2021, from $1.3billion in 2020. Total revenues rose 45 per cent to $14.2billion, from $9.7billion. 'In 2021, the steel industry was mostly driven by demand-side uctuations,' Ivanov said. 'Steelmakers increased output in anticipation of more robust demand from the construction and manufacturing sectors. Unable to keep up with the accelerated pace of recovery, steel prices rose to their highest in years. 'Amid the upswing on global markets, Evraz delivered outstanding financial results in the year'. However, the conflict in Ukraine poses a risk for the company, as the West could impose sanctions targeting Russia's commodity exports, including steel. That would impact Evraz, which makes the vast majority of its money from steel and it supplies railways in the US and Russia. The FTSE 100 company said that, while 'there have not been direct impacts to date', the board continues to monitor the situation and the response of international governments. Who is behind Evraz? Evraz is Russias second largest steel company and was set up by former Soviet space scientist Alexander Abramov. Founded as a small metal-trading business in 1992, its reach extends beyond Russia to the US, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Canada and South Africa. It makes the vast majority of its money from steel and is supplies railways in the US and Russia. Abramov, 63, owns 19 per cent of Evraz and also has a stake in the worlds biggest nickel producer Norilsk Nickel. The self-made billionaire has a roughly 5billion fortune and in 2013 bought a 34million yacht from regular business partner and ally Roman Abramovich, who is Evrazs largest investor with a 28.6 per cent slice. Fellow oligarch Alexander Frolov owns 10 per cent. Read our article on some of the main FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and AIM stocks with links to Russia. 'The major part of the Group is based in the Russian Federation and is consequently exposed to the economic and political effects of the policies adopted by the Russian government,' it said in its annual results. 'Worsening situation related to Ukraine has further increased the economic uncertainty and the risk of the imposition of sanctions. 'These conditions and future policy changes could affect the operations of the Group and the realisation and settlement of its assets and liabilities.' Yesterday, London-listed stocks with operations in Russia and Ukraine like Evraz, Polymetal International, Ferrexpo and Petropavlovsk were the biggest losers. Today, they are topping the risers list as they recover from the slump. Despite the rebound, shares in Evraz, which is valued at around 2.9billion, remain down by around 70 per cent since the start of the year and well below their pandemic peak of almost 700p in May last year. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: 'Results from Russian steel producer Evraz provided an indication of the tricky spot firms with links to Russia are in with the company just barely acknowledging the conflict, or "geo-political situation" as it euphemistically dubs it, in a statement so thinly worded as to be meaningless. 'However, after some extremely heavy selling in recent days its shares and those of other firms in the firing line like gold miner Polymetal bounced back.' Morses Club sent out an S.O.S. - save our shares this week after the doorstep lender issued a massive profit warning. Controversially, however, Paul Smith, whose departure as chief executive was announced at the same time as the profit warning, sold 464,119 shares in the company at 42.65p just four days before the bad news hit the market. Morses said it received no prior notification of Smith's intention to sell the shares. The shares now trade at around 13.475p, after plummeting 68 per cent this week. Synairgen shares tanked 83% after it said its treatment for Covid failed to meet both its goals Sadly, Morses was not even the worst performer of the week; that unwanted accolade went to Synairgen, which tanked 83 per cent to 29.24p after it said its treatment for Covid failed to meet both its primary and secondary goals in a phase III clinical trial. All is not necessarily lost, however, as Richard Marsden, Synairgen's chief executive pointed out that the disappointing trial outcome may be the result of significant changes in the way patients are routinely treated in the period between the phase II and phase III evaluations. 'This improvement in patient care may have compromised the potential of SNG001 to show a clinical benefit in respect of the endpoints for this study, which were not met,' he explained. 'Despite this, we have observed an encouraging trend in the prevention of progression to severe disease and death, which we strongly believe merits further investigation in a platform trial. We are now analysing the full dataset to better understand all the findings.' Also in the doghouse this week were Petroneft Resources, down 44 per cent, and Eurasia Mining, down 41 per cent, as the market punished companies with Russian connections. Eurasia reiterated on Friday that it expects no impact on its operations from western sanctions imposed on Russia. The miner, which has operations in Russia producing palladium, platinum, rhodium, iridium and gold, said no individual or entity identified in the sanctions is associated with the company in any way. Furthermore, it has no bank accounts with Russian state-owned banks or any relationship with any Russian state-owned banks. Not all Russia-related stocks were hit hard this week. Ovoca Bio surged 29 per cent to 14.5p after it said it had received marketing approval for Orenetide for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder in pre-menopausal women in the Russian Federation. The nasal spray will be marketed in the Russian Federation under the trader name of Desirix. Eve Sleep has clinched a retail partnership with DFS (Pictured: Eve Sleep chief executive, Cheryl Calverley) Meanwhile, shareholders in Eve Sleep can sleep a bit easier after the mattress seller clinched a retail partnership with DFS, the furniture retailer. Initially, the partnership will cover the dfs.co.uk website, which receives an average 2.71m unique visitors per month, Eve Sleep said. There are also plans to extend the partnership to the DFS showroom estate later in the year, the company said. Reabold Resources, the AIM investing company that focuses on investments in upstream oil and gas projects, said the longstop date of the equity exchange agreement with Daybreak Oil and Gas Inc, a US oil and gas operator with assets in California, has been extended by mutual consent to 29 April 2022. It may not sound that exciting but the shares rose by 49 per cent this week. Settlement of a legal case is often a cause for celebration and so it proved for Arc Minerals, which rose 31 per cent after announcing last Friday after the market had closed that the parties to the ongoing legal cases in Zambia and in the UK have come to an agreement to settle various disputed matters and for all legal proceedings to be permanently dropped. 'The settlement is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders and allows us to focus on operations and also accelerate our discussions with interested major mining companies,' said Arc's executive chairman, Nick von Schirnding. Lastly, Invinity Energy Systems climbed 26 per cent to 97p after it was awarded 708,371 of funding from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) under Phase 1 of the Longer Duration Energy Storage (LODES) Demonstration competition. This award will fund a comprehensive planning and feasibility study on what could become one of the UK's largest co-located solar and energy storage projects. If Phase 1 is deemed successful, the company then expects the project to progress through financial close and to the construction of a 40 MWh (megawatt hours) Invinity Vanadium Flow Battery funded in part by BEIS via Phase 2 of the LODES programme. More than 5million children worldwide have lost a parent or caregiver due to Covid, researchers have found. The toll was laid bare in modelling by a team at Imperial College London, who looked at coronavirus data in 21 countries with the highest pandemic death tolls. They found 5.2m children under 18 worldwide suffered the death of a parent or grandparent to the virus by October 2021 double the figure six months prior. Fathers accounted for three-quarters of the deaths and two-thirds of bereaved children were aged between 10 and 17. One in seven children were under the age of four. The researchers said children who lose a caregiver at a young age are more likely to experience poverty, exploitation and mental health problems. Some youngsters may also be more at risk of falling into gangs and violent extremism, the team warned. At least 10,000 youngsters in England and Wales lost a parent or primary caregiver during the pandemic and 140,000 in the US, according to estimates in late 2021. In total, there have been 5.9m coronavirus deaths worldwide, but this is thought to be a significant underestimate due to a lack of testing in many countries. The graph shows the number of children who have lost their parent or primary care giver since the start of the pandemic. By April 2021, 2.7m children had been affected, rising to 5.2m by October 2021 The research, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, is an update to the team's previous findings that 2.7m children had lost a parent or caregiver to Covid by April 2021. They estimated how many children had been orphaned which they defined as the death of one or both parents or had lost a primary caregiver, which included the death of at least one custodial grandparents. Rates were based on death and fertility data from 21 countries that counted the highest number of Covid deaths, including England, Wales and the US. The team counted excess deaths - the number of deaths above what would normally be expected before the pandemic - to account for Covid fatalities not picked up by testing. HOW MANY CHILDREN WERE ORPHANED DUE TO COVID? Argentina: 30,300 Brazil: 169,900 Colombia: 55,300 England and Wales: 10,400 France: 5,300 Germany: 2,400 India: 1,917, 100 Iran: 71,200 Italy: 3,800 Kenya: 8,400 Malawi: 3,500 Mexico: 192,500 Nigeria: 5,500 Peru: 80,200 Philippines: 16,300 Poland: 6,500 South Africa: 134,500 Spain: 2,800 US: 149,300 Zimbabwe: 8,000 Total for study countries: 2,873,300 Global extrapolation: 3,374,900 Advertisement The number of young people who suffered caregiver deaths was based on United Nations household composition data. Imperial researchers used mathematical modelling to extrapolate their findings for global estimates. In the first 20 months of the pandemic, the team estimated 3.3m children were orphaned. A further 1.8m lost a grandparent or adult caregiver who lived in their home. Before the coronavirus pandemic, there were around 140m orphans worldwide. The vast majority of affected children lost a father (76.5 per cent), while the remaining quarter lost their mother. The researchers also calculated the ages of the children affected by parent and caregiver loss based on annual birth data. They found that two-thirds of children who lost a parent were aged between 10 and 17, while 22 per cent were five to nine and 15 per cent were aged four or under. The number of children affected by parent and caregiver loss varied from 2,400 in Germany to more than 1.9m in India. The rate of children who lost a parent was highest in Peru, where eight children per 1,000 were affected, followed by South Africa, where seven per 1,000 children were affected. The authors noted that their findings are based on modelling, so do not measure the actual number of children who lost a parent or caregiver due to Covid. Future pandemic responses should include monitoring systems to determine how many children have lost a parent to track their needs and provide support. And countries should incorporate supporting children who lose parents to Covid into their national response plan. Dr Juliette Unwin, lead author and a researcher at Imperial College London, said the team's modelling is likely an underestimate. For example, the World Health Organization believes Covid deaths in Africa are 10 times higher than the reported levels, which means the study's estimates for orphanhood and caregiver loss is 'also drastically underestimated', she said. Dr Unwin added: 'Real-time updated data suggests the true totals reached 6.7m children as of January 2022. The graph shows the number of people (per million) who died with Covid from the start of the pandemic until the end of October 2021 (red line) and the number of children who lost a parent or caregiver over the same time period (blue line) 'While our current study looked at estimates through October 2021, the pandemic is still raging worldwide, which means Covid-related orphanhood will also continue to surge.' Dr Susan Hillis, lead author and adviser to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the findings nearly equate to every reported Covid death leaving one child orphaned or with one less caregiver. She said: 'That is the equivalent of one child every six seconds facing a heightened risk of lifelong adversity unless given appropriate support in time. 'Thus, support for orphaned children must be immediately integrated into every national Covid response plan.' Professor Lorraine Sherr, a clinical psychologist at University College London said: 'It took 10 years for 5m children to be orphaned by HIV/AIDS, whereas the same number of children have been orphaned by Covid in just two years. 'These figures do not account for the latest wave of the Omicron Covid variant, which may push the true toll even higher. 'We need to act swiftly to identify the children behind these numbers, so they can be given the support they need to thrive.' The NSW Transport Minister spent the lead up to Sydney's city-wide train shutdown having a beer at a pub with Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the Northern Territory. Millions of commuters were left frustrated last Monday when David Elliott's department shut down the city's trains without any notice. Daily Mail Australia can reveal Mr Elliott spent the days before the crisis 3,900km from home in Darwin - even as negotiations between his Government and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) hit a major snag. Mr Elliott, who is also the state's Veterans Minister, had travelled to the Territory to take part in last Friday's Veterans Ministers' Council. He finished the night by hitting the pub with the PM. The next day, Mr Elliott attended the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Darwin during World War II, before attending an orchestra performance at Christchurch Cathedral. But while Mr Elliott was in the air flying back to Sydney on Sunday evening, his transport department was at panic stations. NSW Minister for Transport David Elliott (right) posted a picture of himself having a beer with Prime Minister Scott Morrison (left) in the Northern Territory on Friday evening Mr Elliott's trip to Darwin included commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Darwin during World War II, which he posted to his Facebook account Sydney residents were given no notice the entire city train system was being shut down on Monday, in an unprecedented move. They were forced onto buses, above The government realised it had agreed to a deal on Saturday night with the RTBU which included a problematic clause. The deal included a provision which meant staff would only do shifts they were set, without any changes. Sydney Trains management believed such a provision meant that the network would be unable to operate safely - and the union resisted re-negotiating the deal. Mr Elliott jetted home to Sydney at 6.30pm on Sunday night. At 11.10pm Mr Elliott took to social media to vent his anger - not at the transport chaos that was about to hit Sydney, but at police officers whom he thought were mocking the Catholic Church by appearing in a picture with someone dressed as a nun. Then Mr Elliott went to bed. He made no apologies for not staying up or even being contactable, as others made the decision to shut Sydney's entire rail network down. 'Im OK that they didn't call me at 12.30 in the morning because I wouldn't have answered the phone,' he said. David Elliott also spent his weekend complaining on on social media (pictured) about police officers posing for a picture with someone dressed as a nun NSW's Shadow Minister for Transport, Jo Haylen, told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Elliott had 'one job, and that's to keep our transport system running. 'The Minister said he knew there would be "widespread disruption" before he went to bed and turned his phone off,' Ms Haylen said. 'Why did he clock off when he should have been making sure our trains are running?' Sources close to the minister insisted he remained updated on the Fair Work Commission hearing between Transport for NSW and the union during the course of the trip to Darwin. Mr Elliott insists he was not told about a complete shutdown was imminent and only that 'significant delays' on the trains network were possible. Commuters in Sydney were left stranded on Monday as the entire train network shut down. Above, lucky commuters after services resumed 'My office remained of the view until approximately 1.30[am] that there would be a significant disruption to services but not a total network shutdown,' he told NSW Parliament. 'What is clear is that the communication between the department and my office was not sufficiently precise.' He found out the network has shut down at 4am on Monday when he woke up. Premier Dominic Perrottet found out even later, at about 5.30am. He had gone to bed having been told trains would be running in some form on Monday morning. Mr Perrottet was not impressed. 'My expectation is that ministers are available around the clock. I certainly am, and I expect the same of my ministers,' he said. There was chaos in Sydney on Monday, February 21 as the entire rail network shut down. Pictured is an empty Sydney train station Mr Elliott has ridden out a number of controversies during his time in office. In 2019, when he was the Emergency Services Minister, he flew to London for a family holiday at the beginning of the Black Summer bushfires. He turned around and headed back to Sydney after landing at Heathrow, but was criticised for leaving in the first place, a mere week after the furore surrounding Scott Morrison's trip to Hawaii as the fires raged. In 2020, a two-year-old photo of the Mr Elliott posing for photos firing two prohibited weapons emerged, though he was later cleared of any wrongdoing after Corrective Services NSW - who operated the range - apologised for an 'administrative error' over its licensing arrangements. Mr Perrottet said Mr Elliott still has his confidence after the latest incident, but some of the pair's ministerial colleagues were furious. One minister, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Sydney Morning Herald 'it was pretty obvious that Elliott had completely messed the whole thing up'. Another said his position as transport minister was 'surely untenable'. Mr Elliott's office declined to comment to written questions from Daily Mail Australia. : GBMend (), : Faculty : Re: ScienceEDITORIAL : BBS (Sat Feb 26 09:43:00 2022, ) https://www.justice.gov/archives/nsd/information-about-department-justice-s- china-initiative-and-compilation-china-related INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE'S CHINA INITIATIVE AND A COMPILATION OF CHINA-RELATED PROSECUTIONS SINCE 2018 Last Updated November 19, 2021 BACKGROUND About 80 percent of all economic espionage prosecutions brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) allege conduct that would benefit the Chinese state, and there is at least some nexus to China in around 60 percent of all trade secret theft cases. The Department of Justices China Initiative reflects the strategic priority of countering Chinese national security threats and reinforces the Presidents overall national security strategy. The Initiative was launched against the background of previous findings by the Administration concerning Chinas practices. In March 2018, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced the results of an investigation of Chinas trade practices under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. It concluded, among other things, that a combination of Chinas practices are unreasonable, including its outbound investment policies and sponsorship of unauthorized computer intrusions, and that [a] range of tools may be appropriate to address these serious matters. In June 2018, the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy issued a report on How Chinas Economic Aggression Threatens the Technologies and Intellectual Property of the United States and the World, documenting the two major strategies and various acts, policies, and practices Chinese industrial policy uses in seeking to acquire the intellectual property and technologies of the world and to capture the emerging high- technology industries that will drive future economic growth. In addition to identifying and prosecuting those engaged in trade secret theft, hacking, and economic espionage, the Initiative focuses on protecting our critical infrastructure against external threats through foreign direct investment and supply chain compromises, as well as combatting covert efforts to influence the American public and policymakers without proper transparency. The China Initiative is led by the Departments National Security Division (NSD), which is responsible for countering nation-state threats to the United States. CHINA INITIATIVE LEADERSHIP AND STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS The National Security Division U.S. Attorney, Northern District of California Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division Executive Assistant Director, National Security Branch, FBI U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Texas U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney, District of Massachusetts U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Alabama COMPONENTS OF INITIATIVE The Attorney General set the following goals for the Initiative: Identify priority trade secret theft cases, ensure that investigations are adequately resourced, and work to bring them to fruition in a timely manner and according to the facts and applicable law; Develop an enforcement strategy concerning non-traditional collectors (e.g., researchers in labs, universities and the defense industrial base) that are being coopted into transferring technology contrary to U.S. interests; Educate colleges and universities about potential threats to academic freedom and open discourse from influence efforts on campus; Apply the Foreign Agents Registration Act to unregistered agents seeking to advance Chinas political agenda, bringing enforcement actions when appropriate; Equip the nations U.S. Attorneys with intelligence and materials they can use to raise awareness of these threats within their Districts and support their outreach efforts; Implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) for DOJ (including by working with Treasury to develop regulations under the statute and prepare for increased workflow); Identify opportunities to better address supply chain threats, especially those impacting the telecommunications sector, prior to the transition to 5G networks; Identify Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases involving Chinese companies that compete with American businesses; Increase efforts to improve Chinese responses to requests under the Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement (MLAA) with the United States; and Evaluate whether additional legislative and administrative authorities are required to protect our national assets from foreign economic aggression. CHINA-RELATED CASES EXAMPLES November 5, 2021 Jury Convicts Chinese Intelligence Officer of Espionage Crimes, Attempting to Steal Trade Secrets A federal jury today convicted Yanjun Xu, a Chinese national and Deputy Division Director of the Sixth Bureau of the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security, of conspiring to and attempting to commit economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. The defendant is the first Chinese intelligence officer to be extradited to the United States to stand trial. September 24, 2021 Huawei CFO Wanzhou Meng Admits to Misleading Global Financial Institution The Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Wanzhou Meng, 49, of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), appeared in federal district court in Brooklyn, to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and was arraigned on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and wire fraud. July 19, 2021 Four Chinese Nationals Working with the Ministry of State Security Charged with Global Computer Intrusion Campaign Targeting Intellectual Property and Confidential Business Information, Including Infectious Disease Research The Department unsealed an indictment which charged four PRC nationals, three of whom were officers in the PRCs Ministry of State Security (MSS), with participating in a wide-ranging global computer intrusion campaign targeting infectious disease research, among other things. The unsealing was followed by a global condemnation of malicious PRC cyber activities by the European Union and other countries. May 14, 2021 University Researcher Sentenced to Prison for Lying on Grant Applications to Develop Scientific Expertise for China Following his November 2020 guilty plea, an Ohio man and rheumatology professor and researcher with strong ties to China was sentenced to 37 months in prison for making false statements to federal authorities as part of an immunology research fraud scheme. As part of his sentence, Zheng was also ordered to pay more than $3.4 million in restitution to the National Institute of Health (NIH) and approximately $413,000 to The Ohio State University. April 28, 2021 Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Exports to Northwestern Polytechnical University A Chinese national pleaded guilty to charges in connection with causing the illegal export of $100,000 worth of U.S. origin goods to Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU), a Chinese military university that is heavily involved in military research. He was sentenced on Sept. 9 to two years in prison. April 22, 2021 Ph.D. Chemist Convicted of Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets, Economic Espionage, Theft of Trade Secrets and Wire Fraud Following her February 2019 indictment and a twelve-day trial, Dr. Xiaorong You, aka Shannon You, 59, of Lansing, Michigan, was convicted of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage, and wire fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced in April 2022. April 21, 2021 Mathematics Professor and University Researcher Indicted for Grant Fraud A federal grand jury in Carbondale, Ill. returned an indictment charging a mathematics professor and researcher at Southern Illinois University C Carbondale (SIUC) with two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement. A status report is due to the court by March 29, 2022. April 20, 2021 Hospital Researcher Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Steal Trade Secrets and Sell to China Following his December 2020 guilty plea, an Ohio man was sentenced to 33 months in prison for conspiring to steal exosome-related trade secrets concerning the research, identification and treatment of a range of pediatric medical conditions. April 13, 2021 Justice Department Announces Court-Authorized Effort to Disrupt Exploitation of Microsoft Exchange Server Vulnerabilities The Department announced it had conducted a court-authorized operation to remove malicious web shells from hundreds of vulnerable computers in the United States running on-premises versions of MS Exchange software. These web shells had been placed on victim servers by cyber actors employed by or associated with the PRC government, which could have used the web shells to maintain and escalate persistent, unauthorized access to U.S. networks. March 5, 2021 California Man Sentenced for Illegally Exporting Cesium Atomic Clocks to Hong Kong A California man was sentenced in federal court for illegally exporting cesium atomic clocks to Hong Kong. A U.S. District Court Judge sentenced the individual to time served and three years of supervised release. February 26, 2021 Chinese Businessman Charged With Conspiring To Steal Trade Secrets A Chinese businessman was indicted for conspiring to steal General Electric s (GE) trade secrets involving the companys silicon carbide MOSFET technology worth millions of dollars. February 3, 2021 Former University of Florida Researcher Indicted for Scheme to Defraud National Institutes of Health and University of Florida A former University of Florida (UF) professor, researcher and resident of China has been indicted for fraudulently obtaining $1.75 million in federal grant money from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The former UF professor is accused of concealing support he received from the Chinese government and a company that he founded in China to profit from that research. Yang traveled to China in August of 2019 and has yet to return to the United States. February 1, 2021 Hospital Researcher Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Steal Trade Secrets, Sell Them in China A former hospital researcher, Li Chen, was sentenced to 30 months in prison following her July 2020 guilty plea, for conspiring to steal American research concerning the identification and treatment of a range of pediatric medical conditions. The convicted received benefits from the Chinese government in exchange for trade secrets, and will forfeit approximately $1. 25 million in punitive fees, 500,000 shares of stock, and $2.6 million in restitution as part of her sentence. Co-defendant and husband Yu Zhou pleaded guilty in December 2020 and was sentenced in April 2021 to 33 months ' imprisonment, $10,000 fine, and restitution in the amount of $2,616,087.00 to be paid jointly with co-defendant, Li Chen. January 29, 2021 Chinese National Charged with Criminal Conspiracy to Export U.S. Power Amplifiers to China An indictment was unsealed against a 45-year-old national of the Peoples Republic of China, charging the man with participating in a criminal conspiracy to violate U.S. export laws by shipping U.S. power amplifiers to China. January 20, 2021 MIT Professor Indicted on Charges Relating to Grant Fraud A professor and researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with failing to disclose contracts, appointments and awards from various entities in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to the U.S. Department of Energy. December 18, 2020 China-Based Executive At U.S. Telecommunications Company Charged With Disrupting Video Meetings Commemorating Tiananmen Square Massacre A telecommunications employee allegedly participated in a scheme to disrupt a series of meetings in May and June 2020 held to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre in the Peoples Republic of China. A federal court in Brooklyn charged with conspiracy to commit interstate harassment and unlawful conspiracy to transfer a means of identification. October 29, 2020 Chinese Energy Company, U.S. Oil & Gas Affiliate and Chinese National Indicted for Theft of Trade Secrets A federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging corporate entities conspired to steal technology from a Houston-area oil & gas manufacturer. The defendant remains wanted by the FBI for purported theft of trade secrets. October 28, 2020 Taiwan Company Pleads Guilty to Trade Secret Theft in Criminal Case Involving PRC State-Owned Company Pursuant to a 2018 indictment. United Microelectronics Corporation, Inc. ( UMC), a Taiwan semiconductor foundry, pleaded guilty to criminal trade secret theft and was sentenced to pay a $60 million fine, in exchange for its agreement to cooperate with the government in the investigation and prosecution of its co-defendant, a Chinese state-owned-enterprise. October 28, 2020 Eight Individuals Charged With Conspiring to Act as Illegal Agents of the Peoples Republic of China A complaint and arrest warrants were unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charging eight defendants with conspiring to act in the United States as illegal agents of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The defendants, allegedly acting at the direction and under the control of PRC government officials, conducted surveillance of and engaged in a campaign to harass, stalk, and coerce certain residents of the United States to return to the PRC as part of a global,l repatriation effort known as Operation Fox Hunt. A superseding indictment filed in July 2021 added charges and another defendant. October 9, 2020 Singaporean National Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Acting in the United States As an Illegal Agent of Chinese Intelligence Jun Wei Yeo, aka Dickson Yeo, was sentenced in federal court to 14 months in prison. Yeo pleaded guilty on July 24, 2020 to acting within the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign power without first notifying the Attorney General. September 21, 2020 New York City Police Department Officer Charged with Acting As an Illegal Agent of the Peoples Republic of China A criminal complaint charged Baimadajie Angwang, 33, a New York City Police Department officer and U.S. Army reservist, with acting as an illegal agent of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) as well as committing wire fraud, making false statements and obstructing an official proceeding. September 16, 2020 Seven International Cyber Defendants, Including Apt41 Actors, Charged In Connection With Computer Intrusion Campaigns Against More Than 100 Victims Globally In August 2019 and August 2020, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., returned two separate indictments charging five computer hackers, all of whom were residents and nationals of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), with computer intrusions affecting over 100 victim companies in the United States and abroad, including software development companies, computer hardware manufacturers, telecommunications providers, social media companies , video game companies, non-profit organizations, universities, think tanks, and foreign governments, as well as pro-democracy politicians and activists in Hong Kong. September 16, 2020 Jacksonville Woman Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Illegally Exporting Maritime Raiding Craft and Engines to China Yang Yang, 34, of Jacksonville, one of four defendants indicted in November 2019, pleaded guilty to conspiring to submit false export information; to fraudulently export to China maritime raiding craft and engines; and to attempting to fraudulently export that equipment. On Sept. 15, 2020, Yang Yang was sentenced to time-served, or the equivalent of 14 months imprisonment. Co-defendant Ge Songtao was sentenced to three years and six months in prison in July 2021. In November 2021, co-defendant Fan Yang was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy and lying during security clearance background investigations. Fan Yang is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16, 2022. September 15, 2020 Former Employee At Los Alamos National Laboratory Sentenced To Probation For Making False Statements About Being Employed By China Turab Lookman, 68, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was sentenced on Sept. 11 to five years of probation and a $75,000 fine for providing a false statement to the Department of Energy. Lookman is not allowed to leave New Mexico for the term of his probation. August 24, 2020 NASA Researcher Arrested for False Statements and Wire Fraud in Relation to Chinas Talents Program A criminal complaint has been unsealed today, charging Zhengdong Cheng, 53, of College Station, Texas, for conspiracy, making false statements and wire fraud. He was subsequently charged by indictment on Sept. 17, 2020 and is scheduled to go to trial on April 4, 2022. August 17, 2020 Former CIA Officer Arrested and Charged with Espionage Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 67, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, was arrested on Aug. 14, 2020, on a charge that he conspired with a relative of his who also was a former CIA officer to communicate classified information up to the Top-Secret level to intelligence officials of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The Criminal complaint containing the charge was unsealed this morning. August 6, 2020 Company President and Employee Arrested in Alleged Scheme to Violate the Export Control Reform Act Chong Sik Yu, aka Chris Yu, and Yunseo Lee were arrested and charged with conspiring to unlawfully export dual-use electronics components, in violation of the Export Control Reform Act, and to commit wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. July 21, 2020 Two Chinese Hackers Working with the Ministry of State Security Charged with Global Computer Intrusion Campaign Targeting Intellectual Property and Confidential Business Information, Including COVID-19 Research A federal grand jury in Spokane, Washington, returned an indictment charging two hackers, both nationals and residents of the Peoples Republic of China, with hacking into the computer systems of hundreds of victim companies, governments, non-governmental organizations, and individual dissidents, clergy, and democratic and human rights activists in the United States and abroad.The defendants in some instances acted for their own personal financial gain, and in others for the benefit of the MSS or other Chinese government agencies. The defendants remain wanted by the FBI. June 26, 2020 Chinese Citizen Convicted of Economic Espionage, Theft of Trade Secrets, and Conspiracy Hao Zhang, 41, of China, was found guilty of economic espionage, theft of trade secrets, and conspiring to commit both offenses today, announced the Department of Justice. The ruling was handed down by the Honorable Edward J . Davila, U.S. District Judge, following a four-day bench trial. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison in September 2020. June 17, 2020 Team Telecom Recommends that the FCC Deny Pacific Light Cable Network System s Hong Kong Undersea Cable Connection to the United States Team Telecom recommended to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), based on national security concerns, that the FCC partially deny the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN) subsea cable system application, to the extent it seeks a direct connection between the United States and Hong Kong. June 9, 2020 Harvard University Professor Indicted on False Statement Charges The former Chair of Harvard Universitys Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department was indicted on charges of making false statements to federal authorities regarding his participation in Chinas Thousand Talents Program . Dr. Charles Lieber, 61, was arrested on Jan. 28, 2020 and charged by criminal complaint. A superseding indictment, returned in July 2020, further charged Lieber with tax offenses for allegedly failing to report income he received from Wuhan University of Technology (WUT). May 11, 2020 University of Arkansas Professor Arrested for Wire Fraud Simon Saw-Teong Ang, 63, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was arrested on Friday, May 8, 2020, on charges related to wire fraud. The complaint charges that Ang had close ties with the Chinese government and Chinese companies and failed to disclose those ties when required to do so in order to receive grant money from NASA. In July 2020, he was additionally charged via indictment with multiple counts of wire fraud and passport fraud. May 11, 2020 Former Emory University Professor and Chinese Thousand Talents Participant Convicted and Sentenced for Filing a False Tax Return On May 8, 2020, Dr. Xiao-Jiang Li, 63, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with filing a false tax return. Dr. Li, a former Emory University professor and Chinese Thousand Talents Program participant, worked overseas at Chinese universities and did not report any of his foreign income on his federal tax returns. April 9, 2020 Executive Branch Agencies Recommend the FCC Revoke and Terminate China Telecoms Authorizations to Provide International Telecommunications Services in the United States Executive Branch agencies unanimously recommended the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revoke and terminate China Telecom (Americas) Corp.s authorizations to provide international telecommunications services to and from the United States. China Telecom is the U.S. subsidiary of a Peoples Republic of China (PRC) state-owned telecommunications company. March 17, 2020 Hayward Resident Sentenced to Four Years for Acting as an Agent of the Peoples Republic of China Charged in September 2019, Xuehua (Edward) Peng, aka Edward Peng, was sentenced yesterday to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine for acting as an agent of the Peoples Republic of Chinas Ministry of State Security (MSS) in connection with a scheme to conduct pickups known as dead drops and transport Secure Digital (SD) cards from a source in the United States to the MSS operatives in China. March 10, 2020 Former West Virginia University Professor Pleads Guilty to Fraud That Enabled Him to Participate in the Peoples Republic of Chinas Thousand Talents Plan Dr. James Patrick Lewis, of Fairview, West Virginia, admitted to a fraud charge involving West Virginia University. Lewis, 54, pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with Federal Program Fraud. In July 2017, Lewis entered a contract of employment with the Peoples Republic of China through its Global Experts 1000 Talents Plan. These talent programs seek to lure overseas talent and foreign experts to bring their knowledge and experience to China and reward individuals for stealing proprietary information. February 27, 2020 Chinese National Sentenced for Stealing Trade Secrets Worth $1 Billion A former associate scientist was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison in federal court for stealing proprietary information worth more than $1 billion from his employer, a U.S. petroleum company. February 13, 2020 Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei and Subsidiaries Charged in Racketeering Conspiracy and Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets A superseding indictment was returned in Brooklyn, New York, charging Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., the worlds largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, and two U.S. subsidiaries with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The original indictment against Huawei for financial fraud was filed in January 2019. February 11, 2020 American Businessman Who Ran Houston-Based Subsidiary of Chinese Company Sentenced To Prison for Theft of Trade Secrets The head of a Houston-based company that was the subsidiary of a Chinese company that developed stolen trade secrets was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $330,000 in the District of Columbia. February 10, 2020 Chinese Military Personnel Charged with Computer Fraud, Economic Espionage and Wire Fraud for Hacking into Credit Reporting Agency Equifax A federal grand jury in Atlanta returned an indictment charging four members of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) with hacking into the computer systems of the credit reporting agency Equifax and stealing Americans personal data and Equifaxs valuable trade secrets. January 28, 2020 Harvard University Professor and Two Chinese Nationals Charged in Three Separate China Related Cases The Department announced charges against three individuals in connection with aiding the Peoples Republic of China. For more information on these individuals, see entries on Dr. Charles Lieber, Yanqing Ye and Zaosong Zheng. January 28, 2020 Cancer Researcher from China Charged with Smuggling and False Statements After Being Caught at the Airport with Twenty-one Vials of Stolen Biological Research Material Zaosong Zheng, 30, a Chinese national, was arrested at Bostons Logan International Airport, and charged by criminal complaint with attempting to smuggle twenty-one vials of biological research to China. Zheng was later indicted on one count of smuggling goods from the United States and one count of making false, fictitious or fraudulent statements. He pleaded guilty to making false statements in December 2020 and was sentenced to time served in January 2021. December 19, 2019 Department of Justice Reaches $5.5 Million Settlement with Van Andel Research Institute to Resolve Allegations of Undisclosed Chinese Grants to Two Researchers The Department of Justice announced today that Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) has agreed to pay $5,500,000.00 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting federal grant applications and progress reports to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in which VARI failed to disclose Chinese government grants that funded two VARI researchers. The settlement further resolves allegations that, in a December 2018 letter, VARI made certain factual representations to NIH with deliberate ignorance or reckless disregard for the truth regarding the Chinese grants. November 22, 2019 Former CIA Officer Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Espionage A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) case officer was sentenced to 19 years in prison for conspiring to communicate, deliver and transmit national defense information to the Peoples Republic of China. November 21, 2019 Chinese National Who Worked at Monsanto Indicted on Economic Espionage Charges Haitao Xiang, 42, formerly of Chesterfield, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit economic espionage, three counts of economic espionage, one count of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, and three counts of theft of trade secrets. According to the indictment, Xiang was selected to be a member of a Chinese government Talent Plan, and, within a year, quit his job, and sought to take proprietary farming software to China. November 14, 2019 Two Former Executives of the China Subsidiary of a Multi-Level Marketing Company Charged for Scheme to Pay Foreign Bribes and Circumvent Internal Accounting Controls The former head of the Chinese subsidiary of a publicly traded international multi-level marketing company and the former head of the external affairs department of the Chinese subsidiary of the same company were charged for their roles in a scheme to violate the anti-bribery and the internal control provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). October 18, 2019 Chinese National Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Illegally Export Military- and Space-Grade Technology from the United States to China Tao Li, a 39-year-old Chinese national, was sentenced to 40 months in prison , followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiring to export military and space-grade technology to the Peoples Republic of China without a license, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which makes certain unauthorized exports illegal. September 24, 2019 Former Intelligence Officer Convicted of Attempted Espionage Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison Ron Rockwell Hansen, 60, of Utah, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer, who pleaded guilty to attempting to communicate, deliver, or transmit information involving the national defense of the United States to the Peoples Republic of China, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. August 21, 2019 University of Kansas Researcher Indicted for Fraud for Failing to Disclose Conflict of Interest with Chinese University Feng Franklin Tao, an associate professor at Kansas University, was indicted on federal charges for concealing the fact he was a full-time employee for Fuzhou University, in China, while doing research at KU that was funded by the U.S. government. Jury trial continued from December 2021, with a new date to be determined. July 11, 2019 Newly Unsealed Federal Indictment Charges Software Engineer with Taking Stolen Trade Secrets to China Xudong Yao, aka William Yao, a software engineer at a suburban Chicago locomotive manufacturer, was charged with nine counts of theft of trade secrets for allegedly stealing proprietary information from the company and taking it to China. July 9, 2019 Former State Department Employee Sentenced for Conspiring with Chinese Agents Candace Marie Clairborne, a former employee of the U.S. Department of State, was sentenced to 40 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $40,000. Clairborne was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States by lying to law enforcement and background investigators, and hiding her extensive contacts with, and gifts from, agents of the People s Republic of China, which were provided in exchange for internal documents from the U.S. State Department. July 2, 2019 Electrical Engineer Convicted of Conspiring to Illegally Export to China Semiconductor Chips with Missile Guidance Applications Yi-Chi Shih, an electrical engineer, was found guilty of multiple criminal charges, including a scheme to illegally obtain integrated circuits with military applications that were later exported to China without the required export license. After a six-week trial, Shih was found guilty of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a federal law that makes certain unauthorized exports illegal. He was sentenced to over five years in prison in July 2021. May 17, 2019 Former CIA Officer Sentenced to Prison for Espionage Former U.S. Intelligence officer Kevin Patrick Mallory was convicted under the Espionage Act for conspiracy to transmit national defense information to an agent of the Peoples Republic of China. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. May 9, 2019 Member of Sophisticated China-Based Hacking Group Indicted for Series of Computer Intrusions, Including 2015 Data Breach of Health Insurer Anthem Inc . Affecting Over 78 Million People A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging a Chinese national as part of an extremely sophisticated hacking group operating in China and targeting large businesses in the United States, including a computer intrusion and data breach of Indianapolis-based health insurer Anthem Inc. April 23, 2019 Former GE Engineer and Chinese Businessman Charged with Economic Espionage and Theft of GEs Trade Secrets An indictment charged Xiaoqing Zheng and Zhaoxi Zhang with economic espionage and conspiring to steal General Electrics (GE) trade secrets relating to its turbine technology, knowing and intending that the stolen trade secrets would be used to benefit the Peoples Republic of China. The 14-count indictment alleged Zheng, while employed at GE Power & Water, exploited his access by stealing multiple electronic files and transferring them to Zhang, his business partner in China. Jury trial is set to begin in March 2022. April 17, 2019 Former Manager for International Airline Pleads Guilty to Acting as an Agent of the Chinese Government Ying Lin, a former manager with an international air carrier headquartered in the Peoples Republic of China, pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of the PRC, without prior notification to the Attorney General. Lin transported packages from John F. Kennedy International Airport to the PRC at the orders of the Chinese military officers, in violation of Transportation Security Administration regulations. Lin was subsequently sentenced to probation in December 2019. January 28, 2019 Chinese Telecommunications Device Manufacturer and its U.S. Affiliate Indicted for Theft of Trade Secrets, Wire Fraud, and Obstruction of Justice A 10-count indictment, unsealed in the Western District of Washington, charged Huawei Device Co., Ltd. and Huawei Device Co. USA with theft of trade secrets conspiracy, attempted theft of trade secrets, seven counts of wire fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice. The indictment details Huaweis alleged efforts to steal trade secrets from T-Mobile USA and then obstruct justice when T-Mobile threatened to sue Huawei in U.S. District Court. December 20, 2018 Two Chinese Hackers Associated with the Ministry of State Security Charged with Global Computer Intrusion Campaigns Targeting Intellectual Property and Confidential Business Information The Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment charging Chinese nationals Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. As alleged, the defendants, through their involvement in a hacking group associated with the Chinese Ministry of State Security, from 2006 to in or about 2018, conducted global campaigns of computer intrusions targeting, among other data, intellectual property and confidential business and technological information at managed service providers, which are companies that remotely manage the information technology infrastructure of businesses and governments around the world, including in the United States. -- :WWW mitbbs.com [FROM: 108.] Advertisement Ukrainian Americans in New York City are desperate to get in touch with their loved ones overseas as Vladimir Putin's Russian army invades their home country. New York City is home to more than 150,000 Ukrainians, the largest concentration in the country, with the majority now railing against the deadly occupation. The biggest clusters of Ukrainians are in Manhattan's East Village, an area known as Ukrainian Village or Little Ukraine, and in Brighton Beach, where so many ex-Soviets emigrated that it earned the nickname Little Odessa, after a Ukrainian city on the Black Sea. The neighborhoods saw an influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe after World War II, then experienced another wave in the mid-1970's when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union. On Thursday, DailyMail.com visited Brighton Beach, a waterfront community in the southernmost reaches of Brooklyn, where anxieties were running high along the boardwalk and in shops as residents fixated on disturbing images out of Ukraine. They told DailyMail.com along the bustling commercial strip that they worried about the impact of the Russian invasion, the potential for WWIII and their family and friends who are stuck in Ukraine. The biggest clusters of Ukrainians in the U.S. are in Manhattan's East Village, an area known as Ukrainian Village or Little Ukraine, and in Brighton Beach, where so many ex-Soviet immigrants emigrated that it earned the nickname Little Odessa, after a Ukrainian city on the Black Sea St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on the lower east side of Manhattan has a sign on the front door of church that reads, 'Pray for Ukraine' On Thursday, DailyMail.com visited Brighton Beach, a waterfront community in the southernmost reaches of Brooklyn, where anxieties were running high along the boardwalk and in shops as residents fixated on disturbing images out of Ukraine A Russian man on the street reads about Ukrainians and Russians in their war in the newspaper in Brighton Beach in Brooklyn Manhattan's Ukrainian Village saw an influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe after World War II, then experienced another wave in the mid-1970's when Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church sits on the lower east side of Manhattan in a neighborhood known as the Ukrainian Village or Little Ukraine Robert Bederoff As Russia wages war on his homeland, Robert Bederoff, a truck driver, planted his Ukrainian flag on the back of his Jeep Gladiator pickup truck in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, with plans to lead a caravan into Manhattan. Bederoff told DailyMail.com Thursday that he felt a need to express his pride and concern for relatives who are facing a military onslaught nearly 5,000 miles away. 'I have my flag out in support of all the innocent people of Ukraine,' said Bederoff. 'I'm watching YouTube right now, as many videos as I can, and I'm seeing missiles blowing up everywhere. People are scared for their lives, hiding in train stations and bunkers, with only the clothes on their backs. It's very sad knowing we can't do anything to help. What else can we do other than wait, pray and hope.' 'I don't know what 's going to happen, but we're trying to do our best here to get as many people, friends and family, safely away from all the madness there,' said Bederoff, waving the flag on the back of his truck. 'They don't want to come here. They want to stay in the motherland. But since all this started, maybe that will change their minds. We can help them with living arrangements and clothing. But at the end of the day, how can we get them from there to here?' Robert Bederoff has a USA flag and a Ukrainian flag on his truck as he is interviewed DailyMail.com about the Ukrainians and Russians at war as he speaks in Brighton Beach in Brooklyn Bederoff told DailyMail.com Thursday that he felt a need to express his pride and concern for relatives who are facing a military onslaught nearly 5,000 miles away Allen Kachur Allen Kachur, 58, was working in a gift shop Thursday, but focused on his two brothers and sister living in Chernivtski in Western Ukraine. 'I've been talking to all of them today because I'm worried,' Kachur said. 'My relatives in Ukraine say this is war. And I read today that a lot of people, young people there, are joining the military. 'They want to defend their land. They will fight, not surrender. But the Russians have the second strongest army in the world. Ukraine cannot defend itself. It needs support from other countries. Putin will not stop. He will continue with this invasion and go further, as far as he can.' He said President Biden needs to not just impose sanctions, but also send more weapons to Ukraine. In the meantime, he's praying for peace negotiations. 'Civilians will die, military will die from both sides,' he said. 'But this is not 100 years ago. It's the 21st century and we have a table for negotiations. We need negotiations.' Allen Kachur, 58, was working in a gift shop Thursday, but focused on his two brothers and sister living in Chernivtski in Western Ukraine. He was interviewed by DailyMail.com about the Ukrainians and Russians at war as he speaks in Brooklyn Flora Minyala Flora Minyala, 49, has a 47-year-old brother living in Lviv. 'I'm just thinking about my brother,' she said. 'I'm destroyed. It's just horrible. I can't reach him and I have to download an app to try and speak with him today. I'm worried this is all heading to World War III.' 'I thought that Putin would sit down and talk,' she added. 'I don't understand why Putin is doing this. What does he really want, money? I'm just hoping President Biden is able to do something to stop what's going on, without making it any worse than it is now.' Flora Minyala, 49, has a 47-year-old brother living in Lviv. 'I'm just thinking about my brother,' she said. 'I'm destroyed. It's just horrible. I can't reach him and I have to download an app to try and speak with him today. I'm worried this is all heading to World War III' Anthony Zlotchevsky Anthony Zlotchevsky, 60, was born in the port city of Odessa and came to the United States in 1977, when Ukraine was part of Russia and the Soviet Union. He now shares a community teaming with both Russians and Ukrainians. 'The people are scared here because we used to be one nation and we all have lots of relatives and family living in each country,' he said. 'We all worry about what's going to happen. I just pray it's going to end soon because there is no winner situation. It's terrible for everyone.' 'I'm not sure what's behind Putin's plans,' he added. 'I hope it's not too late to stop the war.' Anthony Zlotchevsky, 60, was born in the port city of Odessa and came to the United States in 1977, when Ukraine was part of Russia and the Soviet Union. He now shares a community teaming with both Russians and Ukranians Roman Levkov Roman Levkov, 55, was living the Republic of Crimea until December, when he moved to the States. 'I was there when it changed to Russia in 2014,' Levkov said. He said he considered himself Russian. 'People in Crimea live in Ukraine, but actually they are Russians, pro Russians,' he said. 'They don't want to be Europe. Russia has money, and in Russia they don't steal so much like in Ukraine.' Roman Levkov, 55, was living the Republic of Crimea until December, when he moved to the states. 'I was there when it changed to Russia in 2014,' Levkov said Mark Treyger, a Ukrainian American former New York City councilman who represented Coney Island, likened what's happening in Ukraine to a blitzkrieg from WWII. 'Many in the Ukrainian community here strongly condemn Russia's aggression and any attempt by the Russian president to recreate the Soviet Union,' he told DailyMail.com. 'There's a reason why NATO was born and there's a reason why America and allies that believed in democracy banded together to try to be a counterforce to Soviet aggression, communism and tyranny. 'We need to go back to the original principles of NATO's formation and to really band together the free world and stand up for Ukraine, because this is not the end for Putin,' he said. 'We have seen this playbook before, where a tyrant will try to conquer neighboring lands in the name of reunification, just like Hitler annexed and did take over parts of Czechoslovakia,' he said. 'It does not end well when the world practices appeasement. The U.S. needs to rally Europe, NATO and its allies and put adequate pressure on Russia to suspend this operation and protect the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine.' An Australian war correspondent in Ukraine has been trolled online and called an 'embarrassment' for mislabelling a missile that flew overhead while he was live-streaming the invasion by Russia. Melbourne photojournalist Bryce Wilson was reporting from Kramatorsk as Russian tanks and troops crossed over the Ukrainian border on Thursday. Wilson had just begun to film the invasion when a missile flew overhead and forced the spooked war correspondent to seek cover. He later took to Twitter to reassure followers he was safe and that Kramatorsk was being bombarded by 'hypersonic missiles'. Online trolls quickly corrected the error and said it was a 'cruise missile' before ridiculing the reporter for the faux pas and calling him an 'embarrassment'. Melbourne photojournalist Bryce Wilson was reporting from Kramatorsk as Russian tanks and troops crossed over the Ukrainian border on Thursday Wilson had just begun to film the invasion when a missile flew overhead and forced the spooked war correspondent to seek cover Online trolls were quick to correct the error and said it was a 'cruise missile' before ridiculing the reporter for the faux pas and calling him an 'embarrassment' 'That bird looks to be sub-sonic, not hyper,' one person wrote. Another added: 'Why would Russia use EXPENSIVE, BARELY TESTED *hypersonic* missiles, when Ukraine is near, the missile batteries are right at the border, within reach of standard stuff, and they have fairly unopposed air?' The blowback prompted Mr Wilson to take to Twitter and apologise for his mistake. 'Sorry that I didn't correctly name the missile that flew over my head while I live-streamed the beginning of Russia's invasion,' he wrote. His apology appears to have divided his followers with some online trolls only adding to the backlash. 'Just best not to speculate and be specific if you don't know,' one person wrote. 'As an Aussie, I want you to be as safe as you can but learn your missiles and don't embarrass us again,' another person wrote. Other social media users jumped to Wilson's defence and urged him to stay safe. 'Hahaha which gronk has bagged you for not naming the right missle. Good luck mate!' one Twitter user commented. Another one wrote: 'Why would you apologize? Just stay alive. Remembering missile names is the last thing we want for you. Be safe!!' In the live-stream Wilson is seen walking down the streets of Kramatorsk before a missile flies overhead and startles him. 'Oh f***, that's a missile! That's a missile!' he yells. 'That's a f***ing missile! Holy s***!. 'Ok. We've got to f***ing get inside. I can't f***ing believe that.' The blowback prompted Mr Wilson to take to Twitter and apologise for his mistake Other social media users jumped to Wilson's defence, saying correctly naming the missile was unimportant compared to remaining safe The projectiles can be seen flying overhead and soaring towards buildings in the distance. Footage of the documentary filmmaker's raw reaction to the unfolding war in Ukraine has gone viral online as people from around the world wished the Melbourne man and his crew safekeeping. 'Must be a terrifying experience. Prayers that he and his crew stay safe,' one woman tweeted. Sharing the footage, ABC journalist Siobhan Heanue said Wilson, who has been based in Ukraine since 2015, was giving some 'uniquely Australian commentary' - in reference to his prolific use of profanities. Wilson later updated his followers that he had made it out of harms way. 'Hypersonic missiles are being used to attack Kramatorsk. I'm safe,' he tweeted. 'There is still shelling going on around here. I'm taking care of my colleagues and myself. Situation is dynamic and dangerous. People are still going to work and acting like this isn't a war. I can't believe what is happening here. F***.' Mr Putin on Thursday ordered an invasion of Ukraine, describing it as a 'special military operation' and saying he wants to 'demilitarize', not occupy, the country. Within hours, Ukraine's interior ministry said there had been hundreds of casualties, CNN reported - despite Russia insisting early Thursday morning that they were only attacking military installations, and were avoiding populated areas. Sharing the footage, ABC journalist Siobhan Heanue said Wilson, who has been based in Ukraine since 2015, was giving some 'uniquely Australian commentary' - in reference to his prolific use of profanities Ukraine's military said their air defences shot down five Russian planes and a helicopter in the early hours of Thursday in the east of the country, near Kharkiv. Ukraine's border force said that their posts in the north have come under attack from both Russian and Belorussian forces - a hugely significant development, meaning Russia is not acting alone, and is attacking from all sides. The livestream video of the invasion from Belarus was taken at the Senkivka, Ukraine crossing with Veselovka, Belarus. The column was seen entering Ukraine around 6:48am local time, CNN reported. A Ukrainian government spokesman confirmed that Russia had invaded over the Belarus border as well, only 120 miles from Kiev. He said: 'The state border of Ukraine was attacked by troops from Russia and Belarus. 'At about 5am, the state border of Ukraine, in the area with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, was attacked by Russian troops supported by Belarus. 'Attacks on border units, border patrols and checkpoints are carried out with the use of artillery, heavy equipment and small arms. 'This is happening within Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Zhytomyr regions.' The government spokesman also said that Ukraine was attacked from Crimea. An explosion is seen in the early hours of Thursday in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv Australian journalist @brycewilson, who has been reporting from Ukraine for several years, giving some uniquely Australian commentary as he observes a missile over Donetsk. https://t.co/BFMygmxDqg Siobhan Heanue (@siobhanheanue) February 24, 2022 'The work of enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups is also recorded,' the spokesman continued. 'Depending on the situation on the border, border guards together with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard of Ukraine are firing at the enemy. 'Information on injuries among border guards is being clarified.' Hundreds of Ukrainians were killed in the onslaught, the interior ministry said, and videos on social media showed the scale of the invasion. Five Russian jets and one helicopter were shot down over the east of the country, near Kharkiv, Ukraine's military said. The Russian president early on Thursday told Ukrainian service members to 'lay down their arms and go home' as he declared war on Ukraine in an early morning address to the nation. Putin said Russia could not exist with a 'constant threat emanating from the territory of Ukraine' and clashes between Russian and Ukrainian solders was 'inevitable'. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, declared martial law in the early hours of Thursday, in a video message to the people urging people to remain at home and stay strong. He said he had just spoken to Joe Biden. Kharkiv, with a population of 1.4 million, appeared to be under attack in the early hours of Thursday 'We are working. The army is working,' he said. 'Don't panic. We are strong. We are ready for everything. We will defeat everyone. Because we are Ukraine.' Unconfirmed reports said that Russian forces had destroyed or rendered unusable the Ukrainian navy, and taken control of Boryspil Airport in Kiev. Access to the Black Sea and Azov Sea was cut off. More unconfirmed reports on Twitter appeared to show a huge seaborne landing by Russian forces in the Black Sea port of Odessa, involving large landing craft and helicopters shortly before 6am local time. President Joe Biden will address the nation at noon on Thursday, and on Wednesday night he condemned Russia's 'unprovoked and unjustified attack.' He was speaking to Ukraine's president. Biden said in a statement: 'President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. 'Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. The world will hold Russia accountable.' Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, posted a video message early on Thursday and urged Ukrainians to stay at home, and remain calm, telling them to have faith in their country Tanks can be seen, to the right of the image, rolling past a border post between Ukraine and Belarus in the early hours of Thursday Biden said he will be monitoring the situation from Washington, DC, and will continue to get regular updates from his national security team. Biden announced he will join G7 counterparts on Thursday morning, and will address the country later on Thursday to 'announce the further consequences the United States and its Allies and partners will impose on Russia.' 'We will also coordinate with our NATO Allies to ensure a strong, united response that deters any aggression against the Alliance. Tonight, Jill and I are praying for the brave and proud people of Ukraine,' the statement added. Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, tweeted early on Thursday: 'I am appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine and I have spoken to President Zelenskyy to discuss next steps. President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine. 'The UK and our allies will respond decisively.' Putin in his speech on Thursday told other countries not to get involved. 'To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside - if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history,' he said in the television broadcast around 6am Moscow time. Vladimir Putin is pictured in the early hours of Thursday morning declaring war on Ukraine, in what he termed a 'special military operation' Metadata of Putin's declaration of war video shows it was recorded on Monday evening, but only broadcast early Thursday. At the time, some Russian officials were denying any intention to invade. The Russian armed forces are not inflicting any missile, air or artillery strikes on the cities of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow told RIA Novosti. Military infrastructure, air defense facilities, military airfields and aviation of the Ukrainian army were being disabled by high-precision weapons, they said. Nothing threatens the civilian population of Ukraine, they claimed. All flights cancelled at Russian airports in Krasnodar, Sochi, and Anapa, close to the Black Sea. Rostov also reported cancelled flights. Within minutes of Putin's public address, explosions could be heard in the capital city of Kiev as well as the city of Kramatorsk in central Ukraine, and Odessa in the south. Across Ukraine, cruise and ballistic missiles were destroying military infrastructure and strategically important facilities, according to unofficial Russian sources. Mariupol, on the Black Sea 50 miles from the Russian border, appeared to be under fierce attack. Taking this strategic location would give the Donbas republics access to the sea. President Joe Biden, pictured on Wednesday, condemned Putin's invasion of Ukraine The moment Ukraine and the rest of Europe had dreaded for months finally came shortly after 4.35am local time when huge explosions were heard in Kiev and other cities across the country. Terrified citizens rushed to bomb shelters, though no air raid warnings sounded in the capital only the frequent muffled crump of missile or air strikes breaking through the pre-dawn stillness. In Kiev, people were sheltering in basements as the sounds of distant explosions became a constant backdrop. Within an hour Russians special force and airborne troops were reported to be on the ground at Kiev's Boryspil Airport, amid fierce fighting. A woman in the Ukrainian capital said: 'I was woken by a friend. 'I am in the centre of Kiev. 'I hear the sound of distant explosions and ambulance sirens.' At 7.05am the first air raid sirens were heard in central Kiev. It comes after explosions were also heard near the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, as fears mounted that shelling is underway. Residents in the city, which is located in south eastern Ukraine, have been woken up at 3.30am by blasts 30 miles from the Russian border. Video footage appeared to show clouds of smoke rising up into the night sky near Mariupol, but it was unconfirmed whether it was as a result of shelling. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Australians have condemned Russia's invasion of its southwestern neighbour. The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations says Russia's decision to recognise the control of 'terrorist organisations' in Luhansk and Donetsk is provocative and dangerous. 'Such a step is another act of aggression against Ukraine, its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,' AFUO co-chair Stefan Romaniw said. 'It demonstrates Russia's decision to choose a path of global isolation and aggression against the international rules-based order.' Mr Romaniw said resistance in Ukraine has grown since the 2014 annexation of Crimea and civil society remained strong. 'I have spoken today to Ukrainians in Odessa, and they have told me that on the street, at every intersection, in every building and every house, Putin will find resistance,' he said. 'We are ready to fight.' Mr Romaniw also called for punitive and personal sanctions against the Russian president himself, just hours after Prime Minister Scott Morrison formalised sanctions that targeted eight members of Russia's security council. Mr Morrison was asked directly about sanctions targeting Mr Putin when he announced the sanctions on Wednesday, responding 'we will continue to ratchet this up over time'. Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy said Australian Ukrainians such as himself were 'watching with horror at the invasion of a European democracy by the Putin dictatorship'. 'Sending love to my family in Kharkiv,' he tweeted. Pictured: A tank of Russian armed forces fires during military exercises in the Leningrad Region earlier this month Meanwhile, counselling is being offered to almost 200 students from the Ukraine and Russia studying at Australian universities. Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson said universities had acted quickly to identify and contact individual students as well as relevant student clubs and societies, to offer support and check on their well-being. 'As tensions in the region build, our universities are mindful of the increasing pressure this will place on our Ukrainian and Russian students both here in Australia and studying offshore,' Ms Thomson said. Save the Children has warned that children will bear the brunt of any conflict with 40,000 children making up a large part of the 100,000 people who've been displaced in eastern Europe in recent days. The organisation says any mass movement will put children in danger of hunger, cold and illness as well as losing limbs and their lives from explosive devices, with eastern Ukraine being 'one of the most mine-contaminated regions in the world'. 'Children are terrified - they wonder if their homes will be shelled, their friends hurt, their security and sense of normalcy lost,' Save the Children's eastern European director Irina Saghoyan said. 'This is an appalling situation. But more fighting isn't inevitable. Leaders must step up, in the interests of the region's most vulnerable, its children.' An Australian woman and her partner who recently returned to Ukraine's capital despite the threat of war has spoken of her heartbreak as they fled the country in the wake of the Russian invasion. Sydneysider Pixie Shmigel, whose grandparents fled Ukraine after World War II, returned to live in the capital Kyiv six months ago with her partner, Blake, because she missed life in the eastern European country. Ms Shmigel had only just returned to Ukraine after three weeks in Montenegro when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his assault on the country on Thursday. She and Blake have now fled the the Russian invasion, escaping to Poland via Medyka on the border with Ukraine, where she was interviewed by Reuters. 'Just shattered. Shattered not for myself, I don't care about my own safety, I just ... I care about Ukraine and Ukrainians,' Ms Shmigel told a reporter as she fought back tears. 'I'm of Ukrainian heritage, and seeing this happening to the country is just devastating. I just can't believe someone could be so evil. 'But the Ukrainians stay strong. They need to. But they're stronger than me. The world gets behind them.' Sydneysider Pixie Shmigel (right) fought back tears as she told a reporter she was 'shattered not for myself, I don't care about my own safety, I just ... I care about Ukraine and Ukrainians' Ms Shmigel (left) and her partner Blake (right) are seen leaving Ukraine by crossing into Poland at Medyka as the Russians advance on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv Ms Shmigel (right), whose grandparents fled Ukraine after World War II, returned to live in the capital Kyiv six months ago with Blake because she missed life in the eastern European country Traffic jams are seen as people leave the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv on Thursday Blake said the two had not slept for the past two nights as reports filtered in about the encroachment of the Russians. 'I just called it when I saw it. I think there were reports of ... Kharkiv and Mariupol getting approached on so then I just knew we had to get out,' he said. 'And this was always our plan, to come here.' Ms Shmigel thanked the United States for its assistance in helping her and Blake leave the country via the border crossing. '[We'll] get to the U.S. assistance centre down the line and then ask them where to go and what to do, what they think is best, see if there is a train to, I don't know, Krakow, maybe, but I didn't think that far...' she said. Ms Shmigel had recently written an opinion piece on her decision to return to the land of her forebears. 'I can choose to be afraid of a bully in the Kremlin, or I can continue to stand strong like all the Ukrainians who are currently doing the same,' she wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald. 'One of our Ukrainian friends showed me a meme which sticks in my mind. It depicts Putin as a very small man and Ukrainians as giants. Thats how Ukrainians think of themselves, as staunch and steadfast protectors of their country.' 'I'm of Ukrainian heritage, and seeing this happening to the country is just devastating. I just can't believe someone could be so evil,' Ms Shmigel said as she fled the country to Poland in the wake of the Russian invasion Above, Ms Shmigel - a businesswoman - is seen in Sydney before she and partner Blake decided to relocate to Kyiv, Ukraine She wrote that the 'panicked headlines' around the world had not squared with her experience of life in Kyiv. Despite the drums of war, people kept going about their business; planning birthday parties and raves, enjoying their morning coffees, 'continuing life', she wrote. Citizens in the Ukrainian capital have been ordered into bomb shelters and declared a curfew amid concerns the Russian are poised to strike the capital. Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 35km away from Kyiv. Russian forces had attacked it with around two dozen attack helicopters earlier in the day, four of which are thought to have been shot down. The Ukrainian army is currently fighting in almost every region of the country, battling the Russians for control of military bases, airports, cities and ports from Kharkiv to Kyiv, and Donetsk to Odessa. Central Ukraine's Vinnytsia military base is seen under attack by Russian forces In the area of Glukhova, overnight the Ukrainian military engaged a armoured column of 15 Russian T-72 tanks with American Javelin missiles It came after Vladimir Putin personally gave the order to attack early on Thursday morning, unleashing a salvo of rocket fire that American intelligence said involved more than 100 short and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles, and 75 bombers that targeted military sites including barracks, warehouses and airfields in order to knock out the country's military command structure. US authorities believe Putin plans to encircle forces in Kyiv and force them to either surrender or be destroyed by Sunday, and the leadership of Ukraine to fall in a week. A source close to the Ukrainian government said they agreed that Kyiv will be surrounded within 96 hours but believed the government will stay strong and not collapse. Less than ten days after Sydney's first fatal shark attack in 60 years, a long-time fisherman says he has never seen so many of the predators in the city's waters. Al McGlashan, a fisherman and ocean photographer, says shark numbers around Sydney Harbour have soared to their highest levels in 30 years. Diving instructor Simon Nellist was killed by a 4.5-metre great white on February 16 at Buchan Point near Little Bay, a famous beach for swimming and fishing. Simon Nellist and Jessie Ho (pictured together) were supposed to get married in 2020 but he died in a horrific shark attack on February 16 Randwick City beaches - including Little Bay - were closed after the fatal shark attack (pictured: Bondi beach). They have since reopened by now a fisherman has reported a 'frenzy' of sharks Less than 10 days after Sydney's first fatal shark attack in 60 years, a long-time fisherman says he has never seen so many of the predators in the city's waters It was the first fatal attack in Sydney for 60 years and coincides with reports of a boom in shark numbers and activity around Australia's biggest city. 'I've caught more sharks this year than all the years combined,' Mr McGlashan, who has fished in Sydney for 30 years, told The Daily Telegraph. 'It's ridiculous you just catch them one after the other.' Mr McGlashan claimed warmer ocean temperatures could be drawing some shark species to swim closer to people than ever. He has seen an increase in bronze whaler and hammerhead shark numbers, especially around Long Reef. It is also believed bull shark numbers are high too, driven by large amounts of fish in the harbour. The first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963 occurred at Buchan Point in Sydney's east British diving instructor Simon Nellist, 35, died just 500ft from horrified beachgoers near Sydney He claimed that bronze whalers ended up on a hook 'on every trip', whereas in previous years, they were rare. Bronze whalers grow up to three metres and, while not usually aggressive, they are potentially dangerous to humans, according to Museums Victoria. Meanwhile, bull sharks are usually regarded as being the main threat to swimmers '[A bull shark is ] a large, robust shark that is responsible for many fatal attacks on humans,' Museums Victoria said. While great white sharks close to shore are much rarer, their power and size - up to 6.4 metres - mean they will often kill humans with an exploratory bite. Research has also shown great white numbers are also up, having recovered after earlier being a threatened species. The NSW government declared them a threatened species in 1996 and then considered vulnerable to extinction in 1999. Although great whites are known to prefer cooler waters than their smaller cousins, they do happily exist in water up to 24 degrees celsius. Sydney's water temperature on Friday was 25 degrees. There are claims of a big increase of sharks in waters around Sydney, being seen by rock fishermen and on fishing boats Mr Nellist was training for a charity swim at the time and had voiced opposition to extra shark protection being introduced for swimmers because of the potential for harm to sharks Rock fishing on Sydney's coastline (pictured) is a popular recreational activity including at Buchan Point close to where Mr Nellist died Police were seen scouring the water's edge after the attack in hopes of finding evidence Mr Nellist was training for a charity swim at the time and had voiced opposition to extra shark protection being introduced for swimmers. 'Shark net and drum lines protect no one and kill all kinds of marine life each year' he wrote on Facebook last August. There have been several theories about why the huge white shark took Mr Nellist. These included that it mistook him for a seal as he was in a wetsuit and that nearby fishermen could have drawn the shark in by throwing burley into the water to attract fish. Search teams took to the water in the frantic search for the swimmer after the great white attack (pictured) Swimmers took to the water at Little Bay soon after the attack despite fears the shark may still be in the area Sharks are said to be in large numbers in Sydney waters in 2022 (pictured, a stock image of shark culling in WA) One local said 'fishing and swimming should not be done in the same area where these shark swim'. But the a professional fisherman Joe Smythe told Daily Mail Australia Buchan Point is an ideal spot for sharks already and calls to ban recreational fishing were 'hysteria'. 'That location screams shark attacks, there's a fish holding structure with the rocks and reef dropping off into deep water - and sharks patrol that territory.' This week Mr Nell's shattered fiancee shared a touching photo of the day he proposed. The 'love of his life' Jessie Ho, uploaded a photo on Sunday showing them together by the water in 2019. Alongside the image, Ms Ho posted the date Mr Nellist asked her to be his wife - leading several friends to come forward to make comments about their love story. The pair were supposed to marry in 2020, but had to postpone until the middle of this year due to the pandemic. Daily Mail Australia understands their wedding was scheduled to take place in a matter of weeks. Family members had been expecting to fly in for the nuptials - but are now tragically booking flights to attend his memorial service instead. Tony Abbott has recalled a meeting he had with Vladimir Putin in 2014 where the Russian President grabbed him with both hands and said: 'You are not a native Australian but I am a native Russian'. Mr Abbott said the comment helped explain why President Putin invaded Ukraine on Thursday by revealing his 'passion for blood and soil'. The former Prime Minister chatted to Mr Putin on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Beijing in 2014. The talk came after flight MH17 was shot down by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people including 38 Aussies. Tony Abbott has recalled a meeting he had with Vladimir Putin in 2014 (pictured together at the G20 summit in Brisbane in 2014) where the Russian President grabbed him with both hands The talk came after flight MH17 (pictured) was shot down by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people including 38 Aussies Speaking at a conservative think tank in Hungary on Monday, Mr Abbott - who was born in London - described a moment where President Putin said he was not a native Australian. 'With rare intensity, he insisted that Ukraine was really Russian and that their government was fascist or worse and that provocateurs had brought down the plane,' Mr Abbott said. 'And then he grabbed me with both hands and said something both strange and revealing: ''You are not a native Australian'', he said, ''but I am a native Russian''. 'It's this passion for blood and soil and sacred mission that drives my fear that he's ready to take big risks to restore the Russia of his dreams, especially if he senses weakness and vulnerability.' The attack has come to Ukraine on all fronts with bombs and missiles dropped on targets across the country in the early hours, followed by troop attacks from Crimea, the Donbass, Belgorod and Belarus as well as helicopter landings in Kiev and at power plants on the Dnieper River. Chernobyl nuclear power plant has also fallen to Russian forces Police block Red Square ahead of a planned unsanctioned protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in central Moscow President Putin gave the order to attack Ukraine - which used to be part of the Soviet Union - on Thursday morning. By the afternoon Russian forces seized control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant after a 'fierce' battle, with the condition of nuclear storage facilities 'unknown', sparking fears of a radiation leak that could cause fallout in Europe. Video revealed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles standing in front of the destroyed reactor, which sits just 60 miles north of the capital Kiev. An official said Russian shelling hit a radioactive waste repository and an increase in radiation levels was reported, although this has not yet been corroborated. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is following the situation in Ukraine 'with grave concern' and appealed for maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put Ukraine's nuclear facilities at risk. Ukrainian presidential advisor Myhailo Podolyak said: 'After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe.' Attack helicopters are pictured flying over the Kiev region of Ukraine after dozens of Russian aircraft attacked the city Meanwhile Turkey reported that one of its ships had been hit by a 'bomb' off the coast of Odessa, where fighting is also going on. Turkey is a member of NATO, underlining fears that the war in Ukraine could quickly suck in other states and spark an all-out conflict in Europe. Speaking after the latest developments, Joe Biden announced more sanctions against Russia but admitted that he had not expected previous threats of financial penalties to deter Vladimir Putin. He also resisted calls to send in US troops to Ukraine, saying he has no plans to speak to the Russian leader who he accuses of trying to rebuild a Soviet empire. The sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, but Russian oil and natural gas were exempt in a bid to avoid disruption to global markets. 'Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,' Biden said in remarks at the White House. Elsewhere, Kiev ordered civilians into bomb shelters and declared a curfew amid concerns Russia is about to strike the capital as Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 15 miles away. Russian forces had attacked it with around two dozen attack helicopters earlier in the day, four of which are thought to have been shot down. 'They are going to bomb Kyiv now. Authorities told us to hide in shelters,' a source in the city told MailOnline as authorities said a hospital had been hit, killing four people. The Ukrainian army was this afternoon fighting in almost every region of the country, battling the Russians for control of military bases, airports, cities and ports from Kharkiv to Kiev, and Donetsk to Odessa. It came after Vladimir Putin personally gave the order to attack around 5am, unleashing a salvo of rocket fire that American intelligence said involved more than 100 short and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles, and 75 bombers that targeted military sites including barracks, warehouses and airfields in order to knock out the country's military command structure. Russia said the strikes destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities, 11 airfields, three command posts and 18 radar stations controlling Kiev's anti-aircraft batteries. A man who died after having his leg amputated with a circular power saw may have been suffering from a very rare 'mutilation' condition. Detectives are actively investigating if Kalman Tal, 66, who died after his lower left leg was cut off in a park in Far North Queenland town of Innisfail's riverbank last Saturday, was believed to have been suffering from 'Major Self Mutilation' disorder. Vanuatuan fruit picker John Yalu, 36, was charged with murder after allegedly using a battery-powered saw to carry out the amputation. The extremely uncommon condition, known as MSM, is a catastrophic complication of severe mental illness in which the sufferer removes an eye, genitals or amputates a portion of a limb. Scientific analysis of cases studies being examined by the task force investigating Mr Tal's alleged murder found it has resulted in mostly superficial mutilation, finger amputation, mutilation of the tongue, breasts, or nose, with just four histories of fatal amputation. Kalman Tal (above) may have suffered from rare Major Self Mutilation (MSM) disorder which causes a person to want to remove an eye or amputate genitals or a limb The 66-year-old, who had been living in this southeastern Innisfail house (above) for two years with his daughter and her family, had asked a doctor, fishermen and, reportedly, Vanuatan worker John Yalu more than once to sever his lower left leg Migrant fruit picker John Yalu (above) was reportedly asked by Mr Tal to sever the leg at least once before he allegedly did so last Saturday with a battery operated power saw out of the retiree's Holden Two brothers out walking found Kalman Tal in a pool of blood in a gutter near Innisfail's fish and chip shop early last Saturday morning, but the 66-year-old could not be revived Queensland Police have established that Mr Tal had asked other people prior to his death if they would be willing to sever his leg, before Daily Mail Australia spoke with several people in Innisfail who said Mr Tal had asked two fisherman and a doctor if they would carry out the task, and had requested the same from Mr Yalu on at least one occasion prior to last week. It is believed that Mr Tal met with Mr Yalu last Friday night, and then teamed up with him again after the 36-year-old banana picker has been out drinking at Innisfail's Nite Rumours bar around 2.30am last Saturday. Detectives are yet to determine if a reported $5,000 was paid by Mr Tal to carry out the alleged amputation. Mr Yalu allegedly travelled with Mr Tal in the retiree's blue late model Holden down to Fitzgerald Park on the town's riverfront esplanade, possibly with a battery operated circular saw in the vehicle. The men are believed to have laid out a blue tarpaulin on a grassy area where Mr Tal injected himself with a sedative. Fitzgerald Park (above) which is on the banks of Innisfail's crocodile-infested Johnstone River is where police allege migrant worker John Yalu amputated the leg of retiree Kalman Tal with a power saw Vanuatan banana plantation worker John Yalu was out drinking at Nite Rumours (above, left) when allegedly approached by Kalman Tal (above, right) early last Saturday and the men then went to Innisfail's riverside Fitzgerald Park Acting Inspector Gary Hunter is the Cairns detective heading the task force investigating Kalman Tal's death which is examining scientific evidence of whether the retiree was suffering from rare Major Self Mutilation disorder Police are investigating if Kalman Tal, 66 (above) was one of the rare sufferers of Major Self Mutilation disorder which can result in exsanguination if the patient carries out removal of an eye, genitals or a limb causing the body to bleed out Police allege Mr Yalu then amputated Mr Tal's leg with the saw, then helped him back to the blue Holden before leaving the area. About 3.48am, two brothers out walking found Mr Tal bleeding to death near the Innisfail Seafood shop which is between Fitzgerald Esplanade and a fishing jetty on the banks of the crocodile-infested Johnston River. Police arrived very quickly on the scene on Fitzgerald Esplanade followed by paramedics who could not revive Mr Tal. An autopsy has been conducted, and his cause of death is believed to be cardiac arrest due to major blood loss. Major Self Mutilation disorder resulting in fatal amputation has been recorded in just four of several hundred cases in a study by four Australian and one US clinician, which is being examined by Operation Uniform Cremini. The task force headed by Cairns detective, Acting Inspector Gary Hunter, and comprising police from four North Queensland towns and Brisbane's Homicide Squad, is consulting mental health professionals about Mr Tal's possible condition. After charging Mr Yalu, the task force has interviewed witnesses and Mr Tal's family who bought a house with him two years ago in southeastern Innsifail. John Yalu, 36, is in custody a murder charge after police allege he amputated retiree Kalman Tal's lower left leg with a battery operated power saw the 66-year-old reportedly carried around in his car It is just a short walk up a back lane (above, right) from the riverfront park where Kalman Tal's body was found to the migrant hostel (above, left) John Yalu was living in Innisfail while employed on a banana plantation Daily Mail Australia understands a fisherman approached by Mr Tal last year with a request for amputation is planning to contact detectives. According to the clinical study being examined by Queensland detectives, 'Major Self-mutilation in the First Episode of Psychosis', all MSM cases require 'urgent medical attention'. This was because the 'genital and limb MSM may cause exsanguination', or the draining out of a person's blood. MSM could also result in other potentially fatal complications of self-enucleation, which is the removal of an eye. John Yalu has been remanded in custody and was taken from the Innisfail police cells during the week to a Queensland correctional centre where he will remain on remand until his next appearance in Innisfail Magistrates Court on June 6. The father of three had been working in one of the banana plantations which ring Innisfail, and which employ hundreds of Vanuatans, since mid-2020 and sending home money to his young family via an Innisfail newsagency. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz called White House press secretary Jen Psaki 'Peppermint Patty,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rides a 'broom' and got the Conservative Political Action Conference crowd to boo Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and chant 'Let's Go Brandon.' The Texas Republican deployed a number of zingers as he got 'philosophical' at the conference, telling those attending the annual affair that the battle the nation is currently fighting it between 'power and liberty.' 'The two are in fundamental conflict. We are seeing it everyday: Vaccine mandates versus doctors and nurses, mask mandates versus kids in school, Spotify versus Joe Rogan, GoFundMe versus Canadian truckers,' he said. 'Justin Trudeau,' he said, as the crowd chimed in with loud boos. 'Let's pause for a second and observe that is the first time in recorded history that any Canadian has illicited that much of a response from any crowd on planet earth,' said Cruz, who was born in Canada to an American mother. Psaki was holding her Thursday press briefing during Cruz's speech and answered DailyMail.com's question in real time about the Peanuts' character comparison. 'Don't tell him I like Peppermint Patty - so I'm not going to take it too offensively. Sen. Cruz, I like Peppermint Patty. I'm a little tougher than that, so there you go,' she said. Cruz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, didn't address Russia's deadly assault on Ukraine. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz deployed a number of zingers at this Conservative Political Action Conference speech Thursday - including calling White House press secretary Jen Psaki 'Peppermint Patty,' but didn't mention Russia's deadly assault on Ukraine The Peppermint Patty (left) dig wasn't an insult, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at Thursday's briefing. 'Don't tell him I like Peppermint Patty - so I'm not going to take it too offensively,' she said Cruz got the CPAC crowd to boo Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his fight with truckers, commenting: 'Let's pause for a second and observe that is the first time in recorded history that any Canadian has illicited that much of a response from any crowd on planet earth' Cruz also relished at the thought of Republicans winning control of Congress and replacing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 'And Nancy is going to get on her broom - OK, no, no that's not fair, that's not fair - she's going to get on her private jet, called the U.S.S. Broom,' he said Instead he marveled when seeing the crowd. 'Thousands of patriots, and not a damn mask in sight,' Cruz said. And jumped into a speech warning of the dangers of 'big government.' 'Across the board, big government sucks. The business sucks. Big Hollywood, big universities - any accumulation of power that is centralized is fundamentally dangerous for individual liberty,' Cruz said. He said liberty was under assault because those entities 'work together hand in hand.' 'You look at what happened with Joe Rogan - Joe Rogan, Jen Psaki,' he said. He waited for the crowd to respond. 'Oh come on, Jen Psaki doesn't get the Justin Trudeau treatment?' he asked - and received those boos. 'Peppermint Patty deserves some love!' Psaki applauded Spotify - the music and podcasting streaming service - for slapping disclaimers on Rogan's show after the host said he was unvaccinated and touted unproven COVID-19 cures like ivermectin. Cruz said the answer was to: 'Break it up - break big tech up into a million little pieces.' Before he concluded his 18-minute remarks, he turned to the 2022 midterm races. A number of GOP hopefuls were speaking at CPAC, which kicked off Thursday and will continue through the weekend, with former President Donald Trump speaking in a primetime slot Saturday. 'Let me say one final thing - In January of 2023 I am looking forward to walking down the hallway of the United States Capitol. And bumping into a little man wearing overalls. He's carrying a screwdriver and coming to change the sign on Nancy Pelosi's door,' Cruz said. 'And Nancy is going to get on her broom - OK, no, no that's not fair, that's not fair - she's going to get on her private jet, called the U.S.S. Broom and fly back to California and we're going to send Chuck Schumer back to New York City,' the Texas senator continued. 'And we're going to tell Joe Biden it's 2025 and he'll just wander back to Delaware,' he added. Cruz predicted 'change is coming.' 'It is powerful. You wanna know how powerful? Find me one person on planet earth who doesn't know what "Let's Go Brandon" is,' he said. Cruz then walked off to a chant of 'Let's Go Brandon.' Advertisement Terrified Ukrainian citizens have filled bomb shelters with the streets being left deserted amid fears of rocket attacks overnight from Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces. The streets on the capital of the Ukraine, Kyiv, were left deserted on Thursday evening as people slept in subway stations and bomb shelters amid fears of further attacks following Russia's early morning invasion on Thursday. Kyiv ordered civilians into bomb shelters and declared a curfew amid concerns Russia is about to strike the capital as Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 15 miles away. Russian forces had attacked it with around two dozen attack helicopters earlier in the day, four of which are thought to have been shot down. Putin announced a 'special military operation' in eastern Ukraine in a televised address, claiming it is intended to protect civilians. He claimed Russia wanted to 'de-Nazify, not occupy' Ukraine. Following the end of his speech, explosions were already reported in Kyiv, Odessa, Ukraine's third-largest city, as well as the city of Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region. Putin personally gave the order to attack around 5am, unleashing a salvo of rocket fire that American intelligence said involved more than 100 short and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles, and 75 bombers that targeted military sites including barracks, warehouses and airfields in order to knock out the country's military command structure. Amid fears of further early morning attacks on Friday, photographs showed Ukrainian citizens crowded into subway stations in Kyiv on Thursday night, as air raid sirens rang out across the downtown area of the city. Amid fears of further early morning attacks on Friday, photographs showed Ukrainian citizens crowded into subway stations in Kyiv on Thursday night People take shelter in a metro station in Kyiv on February 24 after air raid sirens rang out in downtown Kyiv on Thursday People have been sheltering in metro stations amid concerns that Russia is about to strike the capital as Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 15 miles away People were seen waiting and sleeping in subway stations in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday after a curfew was imposed The streets on the capital of the Ukraine, Kyiv, were left deserted on Thursday evening as people took shelter in subway stations and bomb shelters Kyiv (pictured before curfew) declared a curfew amid concerns Russia is about to strike the capital as Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 15 miles away The attack has come to Ukraine on all fronts with bombs and missiles dropped on targets across the country in the early hours, followed by troop attacks from Crimea, the Donbass, Belgorod and Belarus as well as helicopter landings in Kyiv and at power plants on the Dnieper River. Chernobyl nuclear power plant has also fallen to Russian forces Terrified Ukrainians, including families with young children and pets, filled Kharkiv's subway station on Thursday. Above, a father carried his anxious-looking baby in a stroller down the steps into the station Those seeking refuge were seen sheltering and sleeping inside subway cars in the underground station that transformed into a bomb shelter overnight. People were seen checking their phones intently for updates, folding their arms and waiting tensely underground Trains have all stopped within the metro station, which was built after World War II and designed to be used as a bomb shelter. Above, Caman Denysenko appeared contemplative as he embraced his pet cat as he joined hundreds of others underground Groups of people crowded inside train cars on Thursday, as seen above A woman is seen in somber meditation as she awaits a train leaving Kyiv The subway stations transformed into a bomb shelter overnight as Ukrainians sought refuge In Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, trains stopped within the subway station, which was built after World War II and designed to be used as a bomb shelter, as those seeking refuge were seen sheltering and sleeping inside subway cars. The scenes evoked haunting echoes of London during The Blitz in 1940 and 1941, when Germany led a series of bombings against the United Kingdom and many residents sought shelter in underground stations and air raid shelters. Among those seeking shelter was a father seen carrying his anxious-looking baby in a stroller down the steps into the Kharkiv station. Another was a man named Caman Denysenko who appeared contemplative as he embraced his pet cat and joined hundreds of others underground. One woman grabbed necessities from her home and fled to the subway, she told CNN's chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward from inside the station. 'Just documents and some money, and mostly we can't take cash because I'm not sure that I can pay by card now. And I'm not sure I can get anywhere from Kharkiv for now,' she said, adding that she has a car, but is not sure it would 'be safe in Ukraine in any city.' Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov told locals to fill the subway for safety. 'Russian tanks are standing near the ring road. The subway is the safest place,' he said at a press conference. Ukrainians take shelter in a metro station for the coming night in Kyiv on Thursday evening A metro station in Kyiv was housing Ukrainian citizens on Thursday evening after Russian troops launched a major military operation on Ukraine Families have sought shelter in bomb shelters and metro stations in Kyiv, while 100,000 people are believed to have already fled A man was seen lying on what appeared to be a camping mat as metro stations turned into shelters for citizens on Thursday Ukrainian citizens take shelter in a metro station in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 24 The UN Refugee Agency said 100,000 people have so far been forced to flee their homes with thousands leaving the country. Pictured: People shelter in metro station in Kyiv Families were seen camping out in the Kyiv subway on Thursday evening, as it is used as a bomb shelter after Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv on Thursday amid fears that the capital could be attacked 'All utilities are working. There are no civilian casualties in Kharkiv. Terekhov asks everyone to stay in shelters.' Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko also said last month that his city would use its subway system as a bomb shelter in a Russian invasion. A grisly photo detailing the violence on the ground shows an injured woman covered in dried blood with a large head bandage as she shows a tried grin. British journalist Darren Grimes tweeted the photo with the caption: 'A woman wounded in an air strike on an apartment block outside Kharkiv. God help the people of Ukraine.' Dan Rivers, an ITV News correspondent, tweeted a photo of a jam-packed hallway loaded with families huddled together and sleeping. 'Kharkiv Subway tonight. Like something from the Blitz in London during WW2. Shocking. Where on earth will this all end?' he captioned the tweet. Salwan Georges, a photojournalist with the Washington Post, tweeted a video walking through a crowded station as groups of people, some with very young children, settled down while explosions could be heard in the distance. 'Hundreds of people, including many women and children are currently taking shelter inside a subway station in Kharkiv, #Ukraine as explosions are heard in the city,' he tweeted. Meanwhile, in Kyiv, Ukrainians rushed the train station to flee the country. Associated Press Photographer tweeted a photo of a woman and a young girl waiting for a train, captioned: 'A woman with her daughter waits for a train as they try to leave Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.' 'Big explosions happened in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of an Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties,' he added. The UN Refugee Agency said 100,000 people have so far been forced to flee their homes with thousands leaving the country. UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said: 'We believe that some 100,000 people must have already left their homes and may be displaced inside the country, and several thousand have crossed international borders.' The Ukrainian army was on Thursday afternoon fighting in almost every region of the country, battling the Russians for control of military bases, airports, cities and ports from Kharkiv to Kyiv, and Donetsk to Odessa. Huddled together on numbered benches, fear and apprehension in their eyes, these are the children of the Donetsk region being led through drills as war exploded across Ukraine In images which brought back memories of the Blitz, the primary school pupils were led down in single file into an underground bomb shelter as they prepared for an assault from Vladimir Putin's forces Meanwhile, children of the Donetsk region being led through drills as war exploded across Ukraine. In images also reminiscent of the Blitz, the primary school pupils were led down in single file into an underground bomb shelter as they prepared for an assault from Vladimir Putin's forces. Too small to climb on to the shelter's ledges themselves, many of the children from the Number One school in the city of Druzhkivka had to be hoisted up by adults. There they hunkered down, their arms curled around their knees, awaiting their fate. They are scenes likely to become only more common following yesterday's full-scale invasion. Air raid drills at the school normally take place twice a year, according to the BBC which captured the footage. But there was an extra, emergency exercise on Wednesday. The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is expected to fall to Russian forces within days and the country's resistance effectively crippled, US security officials fear. Troops are already closing in on the seat of Ukrainian power after taking control of the strategic Chernobyl nuclear power plant today, and will seize it within 96 hours, bringing a 'new Iron Curtain' down on Europe, Volodymyr Zelensky warned. Officials said Vladimir Putin plans to encircle Ukrainian forces in Kyiv and force them to either surrender or be destroyed, and the leadership of Ukraine will then fall in a week. A former senior US intelligence officer told Newsweek: 'After the air and artillery end and the ground war really starts, I think Kyiv falls in just a few days. 'The military may last slightly longer but this isn't going to last long.' President Biden addressed the nation on Thursday afternoon. He promised to impose strict sanctions on Russia but said nothing of any kind of evacuation plans. Earlier this month, he said Americans in Ukraine had to get themselves out of the country Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty on Thursday asked the Secretaries of Defense and State to tell them what the strategy was - if there is one - for getting Americans out of Ukraine A source close to the Ukrainian government said they agreed that Kyiv will be surrounded within 96 hours but believed the government will stay strong and not collapse. Meanwhile, Republicans are demanding answers from President Biden on what he will do to help an estimated 23,000 Americans still stuck in Ukraine. Biden warned that if war broke out, the State Department would not rescue any US citizen or green-card holder who is still in the country. Americans are being told to make their own way to the borders of neighboring countries Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova and Hungary but many can't. There are tens of thousands of people trying to flee Ukraine on buses, trains and in cars. At every gas station, there are snaking lines for gasoline and banks are limiting how much cash people can withdraw. Some off-the-books former military personnel are helping people escape on buses, but there remain an unknown number of people on the ground in need of help. Republican Senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn on Thursday sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense and State Secretary Blinken demanding answers. They cited the shambolic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, during which 13 US troops died, and asked what the government had planned to avoid similar disasters in Ukraine. An explosion lights up the night sky over Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, as Russia launched an all-out attack on Ukraine from north, south and east with bombs, cruise missiles and rockets raining from the skies The attack has come to Ukraine on all fronts, with bombs and missiles striking targets across the country, ground forces rolling in from Belarus, Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, and paratroopers dropping on Kharkiv 'We write to express our grave concern regarding the safety and evacuation of Americans in Ukraine. 'Given the disorderly and chaotic evacuation of US citizens, legal permanent residents and Afghan allies amid the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021 - an evacuation mission that remains incomplete - Congress is willing and ready to conduct proper oversight responsibilities on behalf of the American people,' the letter reads. The Senators said the State Department estimates that as many as 23,000 Americans remain in Ukraine. 'What is the US government's plan to protect US citizens and facilitate the evacuation of American citizens?' they asked. Biden did not offer any form of promise or offer of help to Americans stranded in Ukraine when he spoke on Thursday. He said the US will impose strict sanctions on Russia, hitting its oligarchs living abroad and its banks, in an effort to hit Putin where it hurts. Biden admitted during the briefing that he did not think the sanctions - which he and other Western countries have been threatening for months - would have any effect on the Russian leader. Earlier, DailyMail.com spoke with a group of 23 American citizens as they were being transported from Kyiv to Romania in two vehicles - a minibus and a car - arranged by Bryan Stern, a 23-year Army and Navy veteran who saved 2,000 people from Kabul last year with his volunteer group Project Dynamo. Stern collected the American evacuees shortly after 5am from Kyiv, while 'missiles fell from the sky' around them. They are now driving the 300 miles to Romania, taking quieter, smaller roads in the hopes of evading Russian troops, fighter jets and the thousands of other evacuees in cars. The State Department has not been able to provide an exact number for how many American citizens remain in Ukraine but estimates range from between 10,000 to 30,000. They are now telling anyone still in Ukraine to travel by land to Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia or Moldova. American evacuees being rescued from Ukraine today on buses arranged by Project Dynamo, a volunteer group set up by ex Army Lieutenant Bryan Stern. Among the group were three kids who smiled from the backseat of the bus as Russian fighter jets flew overhead 'There are thousands of Americans and NATO ally-citizens that are left in Ukraine right now and it's about to be Soviet-occupied Russia,' Stern, a former Navy Lt. Commander told DailyMail.com on Thursday over speakerphone while driving one of the two vehicles in his rescue operation. 'We're in the middle of what is probably the first rescue of Americans in the opening hours of World War III. 'We have 23 people in two vehicles. Everyone's got a different story. What we have learned is that in these situations, people don't leave when they should for all kinds of reasons. We don't really judge and often we don't ask. 'We have one American woman whose father passed away yesterday. She flew to Kyiv for his funeral and woke up to missile fire and now we're evacuating her. She lives in New Mexico. 'In this circumstance, some people didn't believe it. Some wanted to wait it out. Some hedged their bets and thought 'Putin isn't that crazy.' What we've all been doing for the last two weeks is saying, 'well, there is no way he would do this. Only a mad man would. So why am I going to leave and have my house get looted and robbed.' Unfortunately, all those hopes and dreams were all wrong. 'The missiles landed at 5am. The sun came up, and we were rolling an hour after that with a bus full of evacuees,' Stern told DailyMail.com over the phone this morning while driving with a car full of evacuees. Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe plans to announce that he will retire from Congress before his six-year term is up, triggering a special election this year in deep red state to pick his replacement, according to a person with direct knowledge of the senator's plans. Inhofe, 87, is expected to serve until the current session of Congress ends in January, the source said. He was elected to a fifth Senate term in 2020. The timing of the announcement is related to a quirk in Oklahoma law that requires the governor to call a special election if a lawmaker announces they intend to retire before March 1. 'This is going to be the most substantial shakeup in Oklahoma politics since at least 1994,' said Pat McFerron, a Republican pollster and consultant in Oklahoma City, of the year Inhofe won the US Senate seat in a special election and Republicans captured three US House seats. Ranking member Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, conducts a news conference with Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Afghanistan in the US Capitol Inhofe plans to announce he is retiring from Congress before his term is up, triggering a special election this year in Oklahoma to pick his replacement in the Senate The special election would be held concurrently with the statewide primary, runoff and general election. Inhofe's chief of staff is expected to run for the Senate seat and Inhofe is expected to support his candidacy, the person said. Republicans will be heavily favored to retain the seat, as Oklahoma hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1990. Inhofe's announcement is likely to trigger a series of announcements from Republicans planning to run for the seat. Among those expected to consider the race are Republican US Reps. Kevin Hern and Markwayne Mullin, former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives TW Shannon, who ran for US Senate in 2014, and Tulsa attorney Gentner Drummond, who is currently running for attorney general. Oklahoma's three-day filing period begins April 13. TW Shannon (left), the former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and Rep. Markwayne Mullin are among the candidates expected to seek Inhofe's seat Tulsa attorney Gentner Drummond, who is currently running for attorney general, may also jump into Senate race A longtime fixture in Oklahoma politics, Inhofe is the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He first won the Senate seat in a special election in 1994 after then-Democratic Sen. David Boren stepped down to become president of the University of Oklahoma. Before that, Inhofe served in the Oklahoma House, Oklahoma Senate and three terms as Tulsa's mayor before winning a seat in the US House. 'There's been nobody who's done more to protect and promote Oklahoma's infrastructure, particularly military infrastructure, than Jim Inhofe,' McFerron said. 'He's been a vital part of Oklahoma's federal delegation for my entire adult life and a seminal figure in Oklahoma politics.' Inhofe, a staunch conservative, has long dismissed global warming as a hoax and famously tossed a snowball on the Senate floor during a Washington snowstorm to prove his point. Inhofe, left, was a strong backer of former President Donald Trump, right, who praised him for his 'incredible support of #MAGA agenda' while endorsing the senator's 2020 reelection bid Even so, as longtime chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, he worked closely with liberal Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, to enact a number of environmental laws, including a sweeping 2016 law to impose new regulations on tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in products such as household cleaners, clothing and furniture. Inhofe was a strong backer of former President Donald Trump, who praised him for his 'incredible support of our #MAGA agenda' while endorsing the senator's 2020 reelection bid. Inhofe won re-election that year with nearly 63 percent of the vote in a five-candidate race. In 2021, Inhofe defied some in his party by voting to certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election, saying that to do otherwise would be a violation of his oath of office to support and defend the Constitution. He voted against convicting Trump at both of his impeachment trials. The senator's office did not immediately return a request for comment. Los Angeles' woke District Attorney George Gascon is seeking to commute the death penalty sentence of a career criminal who kidnapped, robbed and shot 'execution-style' a father-of-three in 1992. Scott Forrest Collins, now 51, kidnapped 41-year-old Fred Rose and held him at gunpoint as he left his work office in Palmdale for a lunch break three decades ago. Collins used Rose's debit card to withdraw $200, shot him in the head and dumped his body in North Hollywood, where he was later found by a jogger. Rose died a day later at a hospital, and Collins went on to use Rose's car to participate in a gang-related shooting before crashing and being arrested and charged with murder. Now Gascon, a fierce opponent of the death penalty, who is also facing a second recall attempt from opponents who have criticized his soft-on-crime approach, is seeking to reduce Collins' sentence from the death penalty to life without the possibility of parole. Rose's family claims they were blind-sided by Gascon's push and accused the embattled prosecutor of 'fighting for the murderer.' Heather Scott, the victim's daughter, said her family had only been notified about the push to re-sentence Collins as a formality, and they had been kept out of the loop about plans to commute his death penalty sentence. Shelan Joseph, Gascon's deputy DA, reportedly reached out with the family the rationale behind the push to re-sentence Collins. 'She went over lists and lists of good behavior that he had had in prison, which is wonderful, anyone wants redemption for someone like him,' Rose's daughter, Heather Scott, told Fox. 'But it was an inappropriate place to communicate that information to our family, and she had already filed her decision when she was trying to convince me of this. It was finished. We're just political pawns,' Scott, who was 12 when she was left fatherless by Collins, added. Scott argued that the process would further exacerbate the sorrow and pain her family has experienced since Rose's tragic and violent death. Before Rose's killing, Collins had a lengthy criminal history, despite only being 21 at the time. He reportedly started a fire, stabbed a man in the back, carjacked a woman, and threatened a black teenager with a knife while yelling slurs before being jailed for Rose's murder, Fox reported. Fred Rose, 41, was robbed and killed in 1992. Now his killer might have his death penalty sentence commuted. Above, Rose with his wife and children, Julian. Amy and Heather Scott Collins, 21, kidnapped and killed Rose in 1992. Collins (pictured in 2007) used Rose's debit card to withdraw $200, shot him in the head and dumped his body in North Hollywood, where he was later found by a jogger LA District Attorney George Gascon was slammed by the family of 41-year-old father-of-three Fred Rose, who was shot 'execution-style' in 1992 as he is seeking to have his death penalty sentence commuted 'My feeling was that the detectives and the police department, they sought justice, they wanted to know the truth,' Scott said. 'They wanted to make sure they had the right person, and they didn't stop until they felt confident that they had him behind bars.' Gascon's office argues that Collins' good behavior, lack of 'serious rule violations in more than 20 years', and the fact that his crime only had 'one victim,' should grant him the opportunity to avoid the death penalty. 'There were so many victims,' Scott, whose mother never remarried, told Fox. 'My whole family, we're a family of victims.' Scott also said Collins was on parole at the time he killed her father and that the convicted killer attempted to intimidate her family ahead of the trial in 1993. Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox that Gascon's push would traumatize Rose's family and have little practical effect, as Governor Gavin Newsom declared a moratorium on executions in California in 2019. Gascon, a 67-year-old former assistant chief of Los Angeles Police Department, took over as district attorney in the heavily-Democrat city in December 2020 and immediately embarked on a progressive justice reform agenda - eliminating the use of sentencing enhancements for gang membership, certain uses of guns, and for prior convictions. An undated picture of Fred Rose and his family before he was killed 'execution-style' in 1992 by Collins The family's attorneys, Former LA County DA and open Gascon critic Steve Cooley (pictured) and Kathy Cady, filed a notice of on behalf of their client's rights The family's attorneys, Former LA County DA and open Gascon critic Steve Cooley and Kathy Cady, filed a notice on behalf of their client's rights. 'The criminal justice system is designed to be an adversary system requiring a prosecutor and a defense attorney,' the notice wrote. 'The system does not work if there are two defense attorneys and no prosecutor.' But Gascon's office has contended that they are not seeking to release Collins, just to avoid his death penalty sentence goes through. 'We're not asking for his release, we're asking that his sentence be commuted to life without the possibility of parole,' Special Adviser to Gascon Alex Bastian told Fox in a statement. 'That is something that is I think important to note. We are not asking that he be resentenced to something that would put him in front of a parole board.' 'If that was the intention there would have been something different than the commutation to life without the possibility of parole,' Bastian added. 'The reason the petition here is for life without the possibility of parole is because we believe that would be the appropriate outcome.' He added that the Rose's family deserved the 'utmost respect and compassion,' and that Gascon's office would continue to support victims. Rose's body was found by a jogger in an early morning in 1992. He was taken to the hospital but did not survive the head injuries caused by Collins. Collins was later arrested after crashing Rose's car in Bakersfield along with other three passengers, who told police he admitted to killing Rose. Collins was convicted September 30, 1992, and sentenced to the death penalty. He has appealed twice and has been denied a re-sentencing. As LA battles rising crime, critics are blaming Gascon's 'soft' policies, and an effort to recall him is underway - which on Friday saw a former LAPD chief who previously endorsed him rescind his support. Amid growing frustration with the progressive prosecutor, more than 600 deputy district attorneys throughout LA county endorsed his recall Tuesday during an Association of Deputy District Attorneys meeting. Gascon was sworn in as LA County's 43rd district attorney in December 2020, and critics have blamed him for a spike in violent crime in the region. Los Angeles has seen a 54 percent increase in murders since 2019, a rise in the number of street shootings since 2020, and an increase in the number of armed holdups. The city has also been shocked by the broad daylight murder of Brianna Kupfer on January 13 by a mentally ill man who stabbed her at random while she worked in an upscale furniture store. About 98 percent of prosecutors participating in the vote supported Gascon's ousting after he declined an invitation to meet with them and defend his controversial policies. There was a record-high 83 percent turnout in the more than 800-member union who voted. 'This vote is by those who are intimately familiar with how Mr. Gascons policies actually play out on a day-to-day basis,' said ADDA president Michele Hanisee. 'We believe the vote of our members will resonate with the voters of Los Angeles as they decide whether to recall Gascon from office and restore public safety as the priority of the District Attorneys office.' Since being sworn into office, Gascon has refused to meet with prosecutors to explain the logic behind his policies, the union said. Union Vice President Eric Siddall likened the DA to a failed experiment. 'Over a year ago, Gascon began a massive social experiment by redirecting prosecutorial resources away from enforcing the law while simultaneously ignoring large portions of the penal code,' Siddall said. 'The result is an emboldened criminal element that knows the DA will not hold criminals accountable. This experiment needs to end.' ANKARA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced Thursday that he tested positive for the COVID-19 again, only five days after his coronavirus test came out negative following his infection last week. Cavusoglu made the statement during his official visit to Kazakhstan. "After the test that I had in Kazakhstan came out positive, we held the strategic planning group meeting with my brother (Kazakh foreign minister) Mukhtar Tileuberdi via video conference as a precaution," he tweeted. On Feb. 16, Cavusoglu announced that he tested positive for the coronavirus. His symptoms were mild and he planned to continue to work from home, the minister stated. Four days later, the foreign minister tweeted on Feb. 19 that his COVID-19 tests had turned negative. Turkey's daily COVID-19 cases have been hovering around 80,000, according to the Turkish Health Ministry. Ukraine's government claimed on Thursday to have retaken an airport on the outskirts of Kyiv that Russian airborne troops had earlier seized, as President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered compulsory enlistment and banned all men aged 18-60 from leaving the country. Ukraine's Armed Forces in an update at 8pm local time (1pm ET) said they believe more than 60 Russian battalion tactical groups the equivalent of between 30,000 to 60,000 troops - have been deployed on Ukrainian territory. It said the 'enemy has an extremely low morale'. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, sent in his forces early on Thursday in what he termed a 'special military operation'. Prior to the invasion, analysts and intelligence experts believed Putin had up to 190,000 troops on Ukraine's borders at various locations. A column of army trucks passes a police post in the town of Armyansk, northern Crimea, early on Thursday morning on its way into Ukraine A Russian tank is seen in Ukraine on Thursday, apparently captured by Ukrainian forces Before dawn broke, Russian forces were attacking from the south, through Crimea; from the east, with the city of Kharkiv coming under intense pressure; and from the north, with troops from both Russia and Belarus rolling across the Belorussian border in tanks. Loud explosions were heard in the vicinity of the capital, Kyiv, in the early hours of Thursday, and U.S. officials said they expect the city to fall by the end of the weekend. General George Joulwan, who commanded NATO during the Balkan war, said on Thursday night he expects Kiev to fall within 24-36 hours. As night fell on Thursday, residents were seeking shelter in the city's deep subway system, knowing that an overnight barrage was likely. Smoke was seen billowing above the city in afternoon, and one strike believed to have hit near a railway bridge in central Kyiv. A local man stands before a house damaged by shellfire in Gorlovka, in Donetsk, on Thursday Russian airborne troops are seen at Antonov Airport in Hostomel, 20 miles from Kyiv The Russian troops were fighting on Thursday to maintain control of the airport, which they captured earlier in the day CNN's Matthew Chance reports from an airbase outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, where Russian airborne troops are engaged in a fire fight with the Ukrainian military https://t.co/TaPomIUP26 pic.twitter.com/rSye7nzmbi CNN (@CNN) February 24, 2022 The battle for control of the airport was captured in astonishing footage obtained by CNN, when their reporter, Matthew Chance, drove to the town of Hostomel - 20 miles from the center of Kyiv. Hostomel, home to the Antonov Airport, is seen as a vital staging point for Russian invaders due to its proximity to the capital. Chance spoke to some of the soldiers there, assuming they were Ukrainian, and was shocked when they told him they were Russian airborne troops. The airborne units are considered elite forces, specially selected for their skill and ability to parachute in during the initial attack. Yet by Thursday evening, Ukraine's government said that they had retaken control of the airport. Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko made the announcement, The Kyiv Independent reported. Ukraine's National Guard tweeted a photo of three young soldiers holding up a bullet-ridden Ukrainian flag. They captioned the photo: 'Guardsmen with their flag, torn to pieces after today's battle. 'Congratulations to all of you and say that we will win!' Ukraine's National Guard shared a photo of soldiers they said had repelled the Russian airborne troops at the airport , . , ! https://t.co/0wLlv8pGNw pic.twitter.com/lDEYdCFTf2 (@ArmedForcesUkr) February 24, 2022 A spokesman for the Ukrainian government said on Thursday night that the Russians had been forced from the airport If true this would be a stunning development. Ukraine Minister of Defense claims to have re-secured the airport, seized by Russian Air Assault ForcesRussias elite military units--on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv. He added the fight continues. pic.twitter.com/6SpT7lhIn6 Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) February 24, 2022 Zelensky was on Thursday night in a bunker in a secret location, and said in a video posted to social media that he had been informed that he was 'target number one' for Russian assassins. He said at least 137 Ukrainians are dead, 10 of them military officers, and 300 injured. In a bid to thwart the imminent capture of the city, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Vladimir Putin on Thursday night, who gave the French leader an 'exhaustive' explanation of his justification for war. The Kremlin said the call took place at Macron's initiative, and he and Putin agreed to stay in contact. They spoke after Russian forces seized control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant following a 'fierce' battle, with the condition of nuclear storage facilities 'unknown'. The seizure of the site, sparking fears of a radiation leak that could cause fallout in Europe. The Chernobyl disaster in then-Soviet Ukraine sent clouds of nuclear material across much of Europe in 1986, and the site has remained closed since - although it has been open in recent years to tourists. Some Russian military massed in the Chernobyl 'exclusion zone' before crossing into Ukraine early on Thursday, a Russian security source told Reuters. Russia wants to control the Chernobyl nuclear reactor to signal NATO not to interfere militarily, the source said. 'Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated,' Zelensky tweeted shortly before the power plant was captured. 'This is a declaration of war against the whole of Europe.' Disgraced South Carolina legal scion Alex Murdaugh and his deceased wife Maggie 'knew about their son Paul's underage drinking before a fatal boat crash and did nothing about it,' the victim's mother claimed in an amended lawsuit. The lawsuit filed Wednesday by the parents of Mallory Beach, who was killed aboard a boat helmed by Paul Murdaugh in 2019, depicts his parents as willful contributors to their son's underage drinking. 'Paul Murdaugh's consumption of alcohol was condoned, encouraged and facilitated by Richard Alexander Murdaugh and Margaret Kennedy Branstetter Murdaugh,' the lawsuit said. Paul, 22, and his mother, 52, were found gunned down on their hunting estate in Islandton last June in a murder that remains unsolved. Alex Murdaugh has been rotting in jail since being accused of hiring a hitman to kill him in an insurance fraud scheme and for embezzling money from his law firm. The Murdaugh family on the same boat used by Paul, pictured in green shirt and blue shorts, in the fatal accident that left Mallory Beach dead in a 2019 crash Pictured: Paul Murdaugh's mugshot, taken after a drunken 2019 boat crash that left Mallory Beach, right, dead The lawsuit, filed by the parents of Mallory Beach on Wednesday, depicts his parents, Alex and Maggie Murdaugh, pictured with Paul, as willful contributors to their son's underage drinking The lawsuit by Beach's family was filed one day before the three-year anniversary of the wreck, which added the estates of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh as defendants. The suit claims that a drunk Paul Murdaugh, who was only 19 years old at the time of the fatal crash, had spoken with his mother on the phone around two hours prior to the crash, and that she 'failed to stop' him from driving the boat despite being him being clearly intoxicated. The amended complaint, filed by Allendale attorney Mark Tinsley, accuses the mother and son of negligence. The boat smashed into Archer's Creek Bridge in Beaufort County in February 2019, killing Beach and injuring five others aboard. Beach, 19, died when she was thrown from the vessel. Her body was found on in the water by a fisherman a week later. Paul Murdaugh was charged with three felony counts, including causing Beach's death. He was awaiting trial when he and his mother were killed. Paul was 'highly intoxicated,' 'drunk', and 'belligerent,' after spending an evening drinking before he and his friends got on the boat, according to legal documents seen by DailyMail.com. Alex Murdaugh at his bond hearing at the Hampton County Jail in Varnville, South Carolina Alex and Maggie Murdaugh, pictured, on the boat used by son Paul during th e2019 fatal boat crash that left Beach dead In police dashcam footage on the night of the 2019 accident, posted on YouTube by the Murdaugh Murders Podcast, one of his friends can be heard yelling: 'Paul, you smiling like it's f*****g funny! My f*****g girlfriend is gone. The video does not show who's talking - but it picks up a male voice - possibly that of Anthony Cook, who was Beach's boyfriend - cursing at Murdaugh and telling him to 'rot in f*****g hell.' Meanwhile, Paul's disgraced South Carolina lawyer father, Alex Murdaugh, faces 74 criminal charges after being hit with four new indictments last month accusing him of stealing another $2.6 million, bringing the total amount he's accused of swindling to nearly $8.8 million. Murdaugh, 53, has been slapped with 23 new charges issued by the state grand jury from four new victims who were reportedly swindled by the wealthy scion in similar schemes, including the family of a deaf quadriplegic. The new indictments extend Murdaugh's crimes back more than a decade to 2011, about four years before he was accused of opening two fraudulent accounts with Bank of America in 2015. As part of his plan, Murdaugh would negotiate settlement money for his clients without telling them what they earned and then deposit the checks meant to pay for their pain and suffering, or the anguish of the death of a loved one, into his own personal accounts to pay off loans or debts in ways prosecutors have not yet fully detailed. Prosecutors say Murdaugh used money orders given to an unnamed family member to get his hands on the cash. Murdaugh, 53, allegedly hired Smith and provided him with a gun to shoot him in the head so that Murdaugh's son, Buster, could inherit a $10million life insurance policy. The incident took place on September 4th Murdaugh has been in jail since October for the ever-growing list of breach of trust, forgery, money laundering and computer crime charges. He was indicted by a grand jury after hiring alleged hitman Curtis Smith in a failed suicide scheme in September. Murdaugh, 53, allegedly provided Smith with a gun to shoot him in the head over Labor Day weekend so that Murdaugh's son, Buster, could inherit a $10million life insurance policy. Both men were charged with presenting a false claim for payment, while Murdaugh faced further indictments for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, along with filing a false police report. Smith, 61, was additionally charged with assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. A judge set his bail at $7 million and refused to reduce it, even as Murdaugh's lawyer argued his bank accounts were seized in civil lawsuits and he could barely afford to buy underwear at the Richland County jail. Last month's indictments included charges for Murdaugh's handling of the aftermath of a wreck that caused a deaf man to end up quadriplegic. Australia has ruled out sending military support to the Ukraine after Russia launched its invasion of the European nation. Dozens have been killed and wounded less than 24 hours after Russian president Vladimir Putin launched a large scale invasion, describing it as a 'special military operation' to - in his words - 'denazify' Ukraine. Defence Minister Peter Dutton confirmed the government's decision to not send Australian troops to the Ukraine still stands, adding the time to train people up on equipment has passed. Any support Australia provides will be in the form of sanctions and accepting displaced persons and refugees when the appropriate time draws closer. The minister said the current focus is to ensuring the world stands united together as one to condemn President Putin's actions. The federal government has ruled out sending military troops (pictured) to help Ukraine 'We've been very clear, we're not sending troops to Ukraine. That's been very clear. The European Nations and NATO itself have incredible capacity,' Mr Dutton told Radio National on Friday. 'There will be some assistance that can be provided and that will be something we talk about at the appropriate time. 'Obviously, we've been in discussion with our allies and partners about what assistance could be provided pre and post any conflicts so we'll work through all of that. 'We have already made announcements about accommodating visa holders more quickly and putting those cases to the top of the pile and more that's already been actioned by the Australian Border Force.' 'So I think there'll be various ways in which Australia could consider providing support and at the moment though we're determined to make sure that the world stands as one to condemn the actions and see President Putin withdraw as quickly as possible. Dozens have been killed and wounded less than 24 hours after Russia invaded Ukraine Mr Dutton described Putin's actions in the last 24 hours as a wake up call to the rest of the world. 'It's clear that President Putin has had this invasion in mind for some time and it should be an alarm bell it should be a wake up call to not only Europe, but to the rest of the world, including Australia that we shouldn't take the peace we've had since the Cold War for granted,' Mr Dutton said. He urged Australians still stuck in the Ukraine to flee if they can, where more than 100,000 people have already been displaced. 'Now there are some Australian citizens, who are in some cases dual citizens or have these sort of arrangements in the Ukraine, they're deeply embedded there are numerous reasons, legitimate reasons, as to why they haven't wanted to move but if people can make their way safely to a border, our advice would be to do that,' Mr Dutton said. 'For some people depending on where they are, it may be safe for them to stay in a bunker or stay where they are in situ because it's obviously a very volatile environment.' Defence minister Peter Dutton (pictured) said Australian will consider providing support to Ukraine in the form of sanctions and accepting displaced persons and refugees Earlier on Friday, the minister called out Chinese President Xi Jinping as the one man who could reign in 'madman' Putin. The minister hammered the Chinese leader for failing to exert pressure on Putin in a series of radio and television interviews. There's one leader in the world, frankly, who can exert pressure on President Putin and that is President Xi,' Mr Dutton told the Today show. 'China and Russia have entered into this, frankly, unholy alliance and President Xi has a lot of power that he can exert over President Putin. He's chosen not to do that, and the world should observe that very closely because the human cost will sit squarely on Mr Putin's shoulders.' Advertisement Prince Harry and Meghan Markle raised eyebrows today after intervening in the Ukraine crisis with a statement condemning Vladimir Putin's invasion, amid jokes that the Russian president would be 'shaking in his boots'. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex wrote on the website of their Archewell charity: 'Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and all of us at Archewell stand with the people of Ukraine against this breach of international and humanitarian law and encourage the global community and its leaders to do the same.' But the couple, who live in an 11million mansion in Montecito, California, some 6,000 miles away from Kyiv, were criticised for a 'breathtakingly arrogant' statement and accused of 'once again making this about them'. Their statement issued at 10pm UK time last night came after Russia launched a full-scale invasion early yesterday morning, thought to be Moscow's most aggressive action since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. By the end of the day, the Ukrainian government said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed. Several explosions were heard in the capital of Kyiv early this morning as Russian forces pressed on with their assault. Today, Twitter was abuzz with reaction after Harry and Meghan issued their statement - which was headed 'We Stand With The People Of Ukraine' - as some social media users posted memes poking fun at the couple. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the 2021 Global Citizen Live festival at Central Park in New York on September 25, 2021 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex condemned the Russian invasion, in a statement published on their Archewell website Royal biographer Angela Levin, author of 2018 book Harry: Conversations with the Prince, said that the statement was 'breathtakingly arrogant', also tweeting: 'Only a few days ago Harry was calling himself 'just a regular guy'.' GB News host Colin Brazier added: 'Nothing throws an invasion into reverse like a lightning strike from the Sussexes.' And broadcaster Piers Morgan tweeted: 'This will really rattle Putin.' Arnold Schwarzenegger: I hope sanity will prevail in Ukraine conflict Arnold Schwarzenegger said he hopes 'sanity will eventually prevail' as he expressed admiration for the Ukrainian people and their bravery 'in the face of this nightmare.' The former bodybuilder and action movie star said that having grown up in the aftermath of war he knew that 'everyone suffers' during and after conflict. Schwarzenegger, who has previously served as Governor of California, was born in Austria in 1947. In a statement shared on Instagram, he wrote: 'My thoughts are with the Ukrainian people. I have been asked to do several interviews, but I believe the news should continue to focus on what is happening on the ground - on the tragedy that has broken our hearts and the bravery of the Ukrainian people that has inspired us.' 'I am not a foreign policy expert, so I will leave the analysis to smarter people than me. I do know what it is like to grow up after a war, in an occupied country, and I know that in war and its aftermath, no one wins. Everyone suffers. War has a way of breaking the winners as well as the losers.' He continued: 'I have Ukrainian friends and fans and I have Russian friends and fans. As far as I can tell, none of them want this. I hope sanity will eventually prevail and end this unnecessary war before too many lives are broken. 'In the meantime I stand with the people of Ukraine. I share your grief and your hope for peace. You inspire me with your bravery and your humanity in the face of this nightmare. God bless you.' Advertisement A further Twitter user said: 'Phew, that's that sorted then. Putin will immediately recall the military and send them back to their garrisons. Thanks for that Harry and Meg, you saved us all. We owe you one!' Another wrote: 'What a joke. Are they speaking for the UK or American? Or just jumping on for attention. Harry and Meghan have spoken. Putin Russian president is now scared LOL.' And one social media user said: 'Don't tell me they actually care about someone else beside themselves, once again making this about them again, you got to laugh.' The Sussexes have regularly spoken out over major issues and global conflict since stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family in early 2020 and leaving Britain to start a new life in California, where former actress Meghan is originally from. After moving to the US, they were accused of wading into the American presidential election when they urged voters to 'reject hate speech' in a message widely interpreted as an attack on Donald Trump and tacit support for Joe Biden's campaign. And last August the 'heartbroken' Sussexes said the Taliban's advance in Afghanistan left them 'speechless' in a long statement but they were slammed for 'another attempt to form an alternate woke royal family'. Also, social media users at the time branded their statement 'vague publicity seeking word salad' and said it was 'irrelevant' because it did not mention how they personally would be helping in the Afghan crisis. And last December, Harry warned of 'corporate greed and political failure' prolonging the pandemic - calling for global vaccine equity and comparing it to the HIV crisis in 1980s and 1990s. Harry spent 10 years in the British Army and performed two frontline tours of Afghanistan as a air controller with the Blues and Royals on the frontline in Helmand province, and as an Apache attack helicopter pilot during the two-decade Western intervention. The Sussexes' statement last night came after it was announced that Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, are to be honoured by one of America's best-known civil rights groups this weekend. The couple will receive the president's award tomorrow at the NAACP Image Awards, which recognise achievements by people of colour. Past recipients of the President's Award include Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, LeBron James, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Bill Clinton and Venus and Serena Williams. Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said: 'We're thrilled to present this award to Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who together have heeded the call to social justice and have joined the struggle for equity both in the US and around the world.' The NAACP was founded in the US in 1909 as the 'National Association for the Advancement of Colored People'. The ceremony is their first major Hollywood event since leaving the royal family, and will see them rub shoulders with host Anthony Anderson and dozens of A-listers. 'It's a true honour to be recognized by President Derrick Johnson and the NAACP, whose efforts to propel racial justice and civil rights are as vital today as they were nearly 115 years ago,' the couple said in a statement. 'We're proud to support the NAACP's work and to also partner with the organisation on the newly created annual NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, which will be bestowed to Dr. Safiya Noble as part of the 53rd NAACP Image Awards.' This morning, fresh strikes hit Kyiv amid warnings Russian forces are closing in on the capital as Nato allies prepare to determine the West's next steps against the Kremlin. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said in a tweet just before 4am this morning that 'horrific rocket strikes' hit Kyiv in an attack he compared to the city's 1941 shelling by Nazi Germany. Firefighters work at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, this morning A building damaged following a rocket attack on the city of Kyiv today after the Russians invaded Ukraine this week People gather in an air raid shelter in Kyiv last night as the conflict causes widespread global outrage 'Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany,' he said. 'Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Sever all ties. Kick Russia out of (everywhere).' Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the government had information that 'subversive groups' were encroaching on the city, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv 'could well be under siege'. US officials believe the action is an attempt by Mr Putin to dismantle Ukraine's government and replace it with his own regime. Leaders of the 30 Nato allied nations will meet today, US President Joe Biden confirmed, as they come under pressure to go even further than sanctions already announced to hit the Kremlin after what Boris Johnson described as a 'dark day in the history of our continent'. By the end of yesterday, the Ukrainian government said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed. However, the UK's Ministry of Defence said it is 'unlikely' Russia achieved its planned objectives for the first day of its military action in Ukraine, crediting 'fierce resistance' from the Ukrainian forces. Sen. Josh Hawley said that it is no wonder Vladimir Putin feels emboldened to attack Ukraine because President Biden 'shut down' America's energy production and green-lit Russia's. 'He [Biden] shuts down American energy production and green lights Russian energy production,' the Missouri Republican said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando on Thursday. 'Is it any wonder, is it any wonder that Vladimir Putin feels emboldened to do whatever the heck it is he wants to do?' The senator called on Biden to resign. Upon taking office, Biden shut down U.S. energy production projects like the Keystone pipeline while he lifted sanctions on the Nord Stream II pipeline that carries gas from Russia to Germany. At the time, Biden lifted the sanctions as a diplomatic favor to Germany, arguing that the pipeline was already 98% complete anyways. This week he reinstated the sanctions as the Russian president launched a full-throttle invasion of Ukraine. 'Is it any wonder that China feels emboldened to do whatever it is they have to pay want to do when we have a president who doesn't believe in American strength? Who doesn't believe in American energy, who doesn't believe in American jobs and has no sense of the priorities and challenges that are threatening this country?' While Biden set his attacks on Putin, Republicans at CPAC spent much time lambasting the U.S. president. 'We are the number one energy producing nation in the world we should be Joe Biden gave that away, it's time to take it back,' Hawley said. Sen. Josh Hawley called on Biden to resign in his CPAC speech 'If you want to send a message to Vladimir Putin, here's a message to send him: We are going to be the ones who supply the oil and gas to the world which shut down your energy sector.' And while Hawley does not think Biden has been tough enough on Putin's energy sector, he represents one side of a divide in the GOP that does not believe the U.S. should be intervening in the region. Hawley called Biden's foreign policy approach 'haphazard' and 'feckless,' but emphasized: 'We do not need American soldiers fighting in Europe,' in an interview with the Daily Signal. The senator, 42, said that he won't 'wait around to see what Joe Biden does' and plans to introduce legislation to open up American energy production. 'We're going to open it up like you've never seen,' he told the cheering crowd. 'It's time to allow the good, strong American worker to go out there and start drilling for oil, to start exploring for natural gas. To start driving again, to let them do what we do best -to show America, to show the world the strength of this nation, put America back to work, open up American energy,' Hawley said. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem seemed to agree. 'A strong American President that put their citizens first would take these six actions right now:' she wrote on Twitter, followed by a series of demands that included restarting the Keystone Pipeline, reopening federal lands to drilling and natural gas exploration and putting heavy sanctions on Russia's energy sector. Donald Trump's policy of energy independence kept Vladimir Putin in check, according to the former president's Deputy National Security Adviser K.T. McFarland, who said on Thursday that President Joe Biden should have sanctioned Russia's oil and gas industry in the wake of his invasion of Ukraine. McFarland said she had deliberately chosen to wear yellow - one of the colors of the Ukrainian flag - when she appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida. After scores of Republicans accused Biden of weakness in failing to prevent Putin's attack, McFarland said Trump's energy policies had helped rein in Russian aggression. 'If oil is at $40 a barrel, which it was when President Trump left office, the Russians are broke,' she said. 'They can't afford to go to war. War is expensive.' K.T. McFarland, deputy national security adviser at the Trump White House for four months, said the former president's energy independence policy had kept Putin check McFarland said that oil was at $40 a barrel when Trump left office. But since then it had risen steeply, filling Vladimir Putin's coffers and funding his war machine In this handout photo taken from video released by Ukrainian Police Department Press Service, Military helicopters apparently Russian, fly over the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine In the area of Glukhova, the Ukrainian military engaged a armoured column of 15 T-72 tanks with American Javelin missiles Moscow - the world's biggest supplier of natural gas and one of biggest oil producers - could only 'play big' on the world stage if energy prices were high, she said. Biden, she claimed, immediately reversed Trump policies. 'So he immediately shut down the American energy industry oil and natural gas, the energy that we were exporting to other countries that stopped as well what happened the price of oil went sky high,' she said. 'Vladimir Putin is rich he gets to choose when to invade.' McFarland was deputy national security adviser for the first four months of the Trump administration. She initially served under Mike Flynn, and was asked to step down after he was fired for failing to disclose conversations with the Russian ambassador to Washington. She said Biden's sanctions would not hit Putin where it hurt - the oil and gas industry. Her words added flesh to Republican cries that Biden was to blame - but Democrats countered saying that Trump's cozy relationship with Putin meant he would not have reined him in. She spoke as Ukrainian forces battled Russian invaders on three sides after Moscow launched an assault by land, sea and air, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Republicans lined up to accuse Biden of weakness. 'As we pray for the Ukrainian people, make no mistake: THIS is what happens when Americas enemies see a weak and incompetent @POTUS,' tweeted U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, adding the hashtag Bidenisafailure. House Republicans said: 'President Bidens weakness on the world stage has emboldened our enemies. China, Iran, and North Korea are watching.' Matt Schlapp, who heads the organization behind CPAC and a leading conservative voice, said the issue of Russia and Ukraine would be a key theme of the next four days. The attack has come to Ukraine on all fronts with bombs and missiles dropped on targets across the country in the early hours, followed by troop attacks from Crimea, the Donbass, Belgorod and Belarus as well as helicopter landings in Kiev and at power plants on the Dnieper River. Chernobyl nuclear power plant has also fallen to Russian forces A Russian Ka-52 helicopter gunship is seen in the field after a forced landing Kyiv, Ukraine He said there were differences between the party coalition has spread. 'You know, the Liz Cheney wing of the Republican Party. is becoming increasingly marginalized and discredited,' he told DailyMail.com. 'So that makes people go to different voices to try to say, okay, you know, if you're not a military expert, do you think we should use America's might, its treasure to intervene? 'And I would say I think most of the people here would actually listen to the case to protect Ukraine, but the president has to make it. 'He somehow has to transform from this guy reading cue cards in the middle of the day, to a president that's giving major primetime addresses, including press conferences, about what he thinks we should do.' Recent polling suggests there is little support for a US role in the conflict. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found only 22% of Republicans think the U.S. should play a major role in the conflict, compared with 32% of Democrats. Britain's Covid vaccination drive was good value for money, No10's public spending watchdog has claimed. The National Audit Office heaped further praise on the 5.6bn jabs rollout adding that far fewer doses were wasted than predicted. It claimed securing a supply of vaccines early on in the pandemic was 'crucial' to its success and this helped to 'save lives and reduce serious illness and hospitalisation'. The independent watchdog warned there were still risks ahead for the programme, however, including staff burnout. In a report released today, covering a period up to the end of October 2021, the NAO said wastage of about 4.7 million doses 4 per cent of the total had been 'much lower than the programme initially assumed'. Today the public spending watchdog has heaped further praise on the 5.6billion jabs rollout adding that far fewer doses were wasted than predicted (stock photo used) Face-to-face GP fund waste The NHS was last night accused of squandering a 250million fund aimed at increasing the number of face-to-face GP meetings. The fund was launched in October in a move by the NHS and Department of Health to improve access for patients. But figures reveal the proportion of in-person appointments has actually fallen. Family doctors carried out 25.6 million routine consultations in January but just 60 per cent were face to face the lowest rate since last August and down from 80 per cent pre-pandemic. NHS England was unable to say how much of the fund had been spent, or how. Advertisement The NAO, which only looked at first and second doses, said the operation had been 'an effective use of public money'. The report said the programme had cost 5.6billion, out of 8.3billion available over the two years to March this year. This included 2.9billion purchasing the jabs from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and other pharmaceutical giants. Doses cost 15.02 each on average, the NAO said, while the average cost of administering each jab was 25.70. However, it warned that staff burnout could affect delivery of jabs to the remaining unvaccinated adults, of which there are 3.7million. And the NAO called on ministers to 'redouble' efforts to ensure jabs were available to those who had not yet been vaccinated. The report also said that vaccine uptake among some ethnic minority groups, younger people and pregnant women 'remained substantially below the national average'. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: 'The vaccine programme has been successful in getting early access to what were brand new Covid-19 vaccines, securing supply of them, and administering them to a large proportion of the population at unprecedented speed. 'The programme must now redouble its efforts to reach those who are not yet vaccinated while also considering what a more sustainable model will involve as it moves out of its emergency phase.' Dame Meg Hillier, Labour chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, said the speed and uptake of the rollout had been a 'real success'. She said: 'Great credit is due to all those involved, including the scientists creating the vaccines, the national bodies involved in securing the doses we needed, and all those administering the jabs.' But she added: 'Government needs to do more to understand how it can better reach those groups and communities where uptake was low.' Britain started offering booster vaccines to older age groups who are more vulnerable to the virus this winter amid concern over waning immunity. But in December the drive was thrown open to all over-18s amid concern over the more infectious Omicron variant, with officials aiming to deliver a million jabs a day. Government dashboard data shows 38million people or more than 66 per cent of over-18s have received their third dose to date. Fourth jabs for over-75s, care home residents and the most were approved this week, with the roll-out set to start in the spring. Vaccination chiefs say they are also looking at offering extra Covid jabs this autumn, and are considering an annual vaccination drive similar to the yearly flu jabs. Advertisement These before-and-after satellite images showing smouldering fighter jets and airfields reveal the scale of devastation in Ukraine on the day Russia launched an attack on its neighbour. An Earth observation company called Planet, which says it 'processes and distributes a global, near-daily stream of satellite data', shared one photo on Twitter capturing the damage to an airfield in Chuhuiv. The American company said the first image shows the site in eastern Ukraine on Monday, while a second image showing charred ground was taken on Thursday. Planet tweeted: 'Latest from Chuhuiv Airbase in Ukraine. Imagery captured on February 21 and today, February 24, 2022.' Satellite images also show burning fuel storage at the site, while another captures smoke rising from the Mikolaiv air base in southern Ukraine. Russian troops swept into Ukraine in early morning raids on Thursday as President Vladimir Putin gave the green light for his forces to launch a 'special military operation'. He warned other countries any attempt to interfere would lead to 'consequences you have never seen' but was met with international condemnation, sanctions and was compared to Adolf Hitler by some. Slide me An Earth observation company called Planet, which says it 'processes and distributes a global, near-daily stream of satellite data', said the first image (left) shows the site in eastern Ukraine on Monday, while a second image (right) showing charred ground was taken on Thursday Slide me Before-and-after satellite images also capture smoke rising from the Mikolaiv air base in southern Ukraine (right and before, left). Russian troops swept into Ukraine in early morning raids on Thursday as President Vladimir Putin gave the green light for his forces to launch a 'special military operation' Planet said the images of an airfield in Chuhuiv were captured by their fleet of SkySat high-resolution satellites. It added: 'Sad to see the tragic and deteriorating events in Ukraine. 'We have and will continue to provide imagery from the region to our partners, aid, relief and human rights organizations, and the media to expose the situation as events unfold. 'Our thoughts are with the people of (Ukraine).' Terrified Ukrainians were left scrambling for fuel, queuing for hours outside cash machines and piling into trains and cars in an attempt to flee on Thursday. Petrol stations started rationing the amount each driver could buy while huge lines formed outside ATMs across the country despite bombs dropping. Meanwhile Uber's service was down across the nine cities it operated in but Bolt and Uklon services remained live to taxi people away from the war. Citizens started panic buying earlier on Thursday as banks, shops and gas stations started to empty when locals learned of the overnight invasion. Traffic was gridlocked on the main roads out of the capital despite calls for people to stay at home - with some bursting into tears as they made it to safety over the border with Poland. A damaged hangar building and a crater on the tarmac of the Chuhuyiv airfield, seen in a satellite image taken on February 23. Mr Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to 'consequences you have never seen' A damaged airfield navigation infrastructure at the Chuhuyiv airfield. A satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows part of a long military convoy heading west, near Sergievka, Russia, approximately 6 miles east of the Ukraine border on Thursday But the city centres were ghost towns as martial law was imposed, apart from some cars whizzing past on their way out and tanks, military figures and some citizens who have taken up arms. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson condemned Putin for launching 'a cynical and brutal invasion for his own vainglorious ends', as he approached the end of what he called a 'dark day in the history of our continent'. The Prime Minister addressed his Cabinet on Thursday evening, having earlier announced the 'largest and most severe' package of sanctions Russia has ever faced to punish 'blood-stained aggressor' Mr Putin for invading Ukraine in the early hours. Mr Johnson said the UK could be proud of its role in the fightback, including for providing lethal defensive weaponry to the Ukrainian government. He told ministers that 'Putin must fail'. Earlier, Mr Johnson set out his second barrage of sanctions to 'hobble the Russian economy'. Mr Johnson said he was sanctioning 'all the major manufacturers that support Putin's war machine', will ban Aeroflot from touching down planes in the UK and will freeze the assets of all major Russian banks, including immediately against VTB. But he resisted calls from some MPs and Ukraine's ambassador to London to support Nato introducing a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Vlad, a 28-year-old father hands his son Danya, two, to his mother Tatiana, 26, as they say goodbye before she leaves Kiev, at a bus station, Ukraine, on Thursday A couple kiss goodbye before the woman boards a bus out of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The images come as terrified Ukrainians are left scrambling for fuel, queuing for hours outside cash machines and piling into trains and cars to flee A woman holds her baby inside a bus as they leave Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday amid the chaos caused by Russia's invasion Mr Johnson is understood to have pushed G7 leaders to cut Russia out of the Swift system, a type of international bank sort code. In a White House briefing, US President Joe Biden said the move was 'always an option but right now that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take'. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was reported to have said that certain measures should be 'for a situation where it is necessary to do other things as well' when asked about Swift, while Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it was a 'sensitive' issue 'because it would also have an enormous impact on ourselves'. But Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted those who opposed Russia being blocked from the Swift payment system would have 'the blood of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children... on their hands'. Among the new UK sanctions introduced were measures to hit five further oligarchs, including the Russian president's former son-in-law, and to target more than 100 businesses and individuals. Mr Johnson said the measures are 'the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen', but vowed to go further. 'We will continue on a remorseless mission to squeeze Russia from the global economy piece by piece, day by day and week by week,' he told MPs. The five new oligarchs being hit include Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire who was formerly married to Mr Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova. Locals queue at an ATM in Lviv, Ukraine, as they desperately empty their accounts as the Rusisan invasion kicked off this morning Desperate Ukrainians stand outside a local shop as they try to buy groceries as the crisis bites the country. Pictured: Kiev In the US, Mr Biden also announced extra sanctions to target Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors, with more troops deployed to Germany to bolster Nato. 'Putin is the aggressor,' Mr Biden said. 'Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences.' In a sombre address to the nation at midday, Mr Johnson said the world cannot stand by and allow the freedom of Ukraine to be 'snuffed out' amid the Kremlin's attack on 'democracy and freedom in eastern Europe and around the world'. He said a 'vast invasion' has been launched by land, sea and air and 'innumerable missiles and bombs have been raining down on an entirely innocent population'. Mr Johnson was woken with news of the invasion in the night and spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shortly after 4am. By just before 9pm, Ukraine's health minister said 57 people had been killed as a result of the invasion, with 169 more wounded. Ukrainian cities and air bases have been hit with airstrikes and shelling, and the country lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site. But Mr Johnson told ministers 'the Ukrainian military was fighting back in defiance of Putin's attempts to subjugate Ukraine'. In Russia, there were reportedly protests in the streets against the action, and Mr Johnson said these 'demonstrated that Putin's actions would also face resistance from within his own country'. Tom Keatinge, director of the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) defence and security think tank, said the latest sanctions did 'begin to deliver on the threatened massive consequences'. But he added: 'Of course, no one should ever expect sanctions to achieve their objectives alone, they need to be part of a package of responses and must be deployed with intent and clear objectives. 'The questions therefore are what other responses does the West have to offer; how much further are the allies willing to go; and at what cost to their own economies as Russia inevitably hits back?' Shocking footage has emerged showing a man dragging his friend in a shopping trolley after accidently shooting him during a drug heist. Norden Wilio, 26, had planned to steal marijuana from a man named Deniz Hasan in March 2019. He and his friend Ali Ali, 28, went to a field in Meadow Heights, northern Melbourne armed with a sawn-off shotgun. The pair planned to steal a car boots' worth of cannabis from the 40-year-old. But when they arrive their plan quickly unravelled. A fight broke out, resulting in Wilio shooting Mr Hasan in the head before accidently shooting Ali in the torso. Following the shooting, Willo helped Ali from the scene - at some point finding a shopping trolley to push him in. He was trying to take his friend to a nearby home where he knew the occupants but before they got there, the trolley tipped over. As Ali lay on the ground screaming for help, Wilio fled, leaving his friend to die. Wilio then went to a nearby household to make a phone call before fleeing to his home when he saw a police helicopter overhead. Weeks later Wilio was arrested and charged over both deaths. During a jury trial in December 2021, Wilio's lawyers argued it was Ali who shot Mr Hasan before accidently shooting himself, however, the jury rejected this theory, news.com.au reported. He was found guilty of two counts of murder and attempted armed robbery. On Thursday he was sentenced to 35 years jail with a non-parole period of 26 years in Victorias Supreme Court. Justice Andrew Tinney said at the sentencing 'This was an unsophisticated plan because it was a simple plan, motivated by greed.' Willo, 26, left his wounded friend to die as he fled police after tipping the shopping cart he was pushing him in 'There was a high degree of risk and danger involved in your planned armed robbery of Hasan; to Hasan, to members of the public, and, as the tragic events of that night illustrate, to Ali as well.' 'Your attempted armed robbery of Hasan, carried out in a quiet suburban street in close proximity to many members of the public whose lives could have been imperiled, was a serious crime,' Justice Tinney said. The court found Willo's ADHD had 'no bearing' on his offence and he was assessed to be above the threshold of intellectual disability. Advertisement All Ukrainian border guards protecting a tiny island in the Black Sea from Russian invaders were killed yesterday after refusing to surrender to warmonger Vladimir Putin's forces and defiantly telling a Kremlin warship: 'Go f**k yourselves!'. The small contingent of soldiers, reportedly 13 in number, were posted on Snake Island in the Odessa region near NATO ally Romania and were defending the territory after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine early Thursday morning. In a radio message, the soldiers were told by a sailor on board the vessel: 'This is Russian military warship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed.' However, the Ukrainian troops defiantly refused to give up the territory, and instead replied: 'Go f**k yourselves!'. The Russian soldiers on radio are heard muttering the curse back at the Ukrainians, before all the border guards were killed in an aerial bombardment. Their deaths were later acknowledged by Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A video circulating on Twitter also appeared to show the moment that the island was shelled. It showed a Ukrainian soldier staring at a camera before a shell landed nearby. On Thursday afternoon, Ukraine's interior ministry had said Snake Island, which is also called Zmiinyi, had been attacked by Russian forces. The island is ruled by Ukraine but sits just miles from the coast of Romania. Snake Island is strategically important because it will allow Russia to claim territorial waters stretching 12 nautical miles out to sea. They cover important shipping channels to the port cities of Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kherson. After taking the island, Russia would have been able to cut off the shipping channels, isolating Ukraine from international markets and depriving its economy of vital trade revenues as it seeks to defend itself. Russia is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital today after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleaded for international help. The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear, but the blasts came amid signs that the capital and largest Ukrainian city was increasingly threatened following a day of fighting that left more than 100 Ukrainians dead. Zelenskyy said the government had information that 'subversive groups' were encroaching on the city, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv 'could well be under siege' in what US officials believe is a brazen attempt by Putin to install a puppet regime. In other developments: Global markets tanked with Russia's ruble sliding to its lowest value ever; The price of oil shot up to over $100 per barrel; The EU will freeze Russian assets, halt access to financial market and target 'Kremlin interests'; G7 called Putin a 'threat to global order' vowing 'severe and coordinated economic and financial sanctions'; Joe Biden announced new sanctions targeting Russian banks, exports and military; Russia's largest bank Sberbank will be severed from the US financial system, and full sanctions are imposed on four other financial institutions; Boris Johnson called the invasion a 'catastrophe for our continent' and branded Putin a 'dictator'; China repeated calls for talks but refusing to criticise Russia's attack; Moldova declared a state of emergency; Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said invasion is 'heavy blow' to regional peace; NATO ambassadors scheduled an emergency meeting on Thursday; UN Security Council will discuss a resolution condemning the invasion; Ukraine demanded the world banish Russia from SWIFT banking system. All Ukrainian border guards manning a tiny island in the Black Sea near Romania were killed on Thursday after telling a Russian warship to 'go f*** yourselves' when they were told to surrender The small contingent of soldiers, allegedly 13 in number, were posted on Snake Island in the Odesa region and were defending the territory after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The island is ruled by Ukraine but sits just miles from the coast of NATO member Romania All Ukrainian border guards manning the tiny Snake Island in the Black Sea near Romania were killed on Thursday after telling a Russian warship to 'go f*** yourselves' when they were ordered to surrender Firefighters work at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell allegedly hit, on February 25, 2022 Fire fighters are seen responding to a blaze at a residential building in Kyiv in the early hours of Friday The Kyiv apartment block is seen ablaze on Friday morning. It is unclear what caused the fire Kyiv was ablaze in the early hours of Friday as the city came under attack from Russia. Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared footage on social media of a blaze in what he said was the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, in the southeast of the city on the left bank of the Dnipro river Russian ships blockade the Kerch Strait: Putin has ordered the Russian navy to conduct a 'special anti-terror operation' in the Azov Sea, shutting off a vital maritime trade route into Ukraine Russian tanks will hit Kyiv TODAY as the war enters 'its hardest day', official warns, with troops already fighting on outskirts. US intel warns of plan to fly in 10,000 paratroopers and 'decapitate' government Russian troops will arrive in Kyiv today and are now fighting just 20 miles from the outskirts, an official has said, as US intelligence warned of a plan to seize an airport, fly in troops, and 'decapitate' the government. Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the country's interior minister, said Friday will be the war's 'hardest day' as Russia armour pushes down from Chernihiv - to the north-east of the capital - and Ivankiv - to the north-west - in an attempt to encircle the city, where President Volodymyr Zelensky is still holed up. Once the city is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport - likely Sikorsky or Boryspil - which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital. The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime - effectively ending the war without Putin's ground forces going to the difficult and bloody trouble of seizing and occupying the whole country. It appears the Russians almost pulled off the plan on Day 1 of the invasion when 20 attack helicopters landed a crack team of troops at Antonov Airport, 15 miles to the north of Kyiv, where they spent the day fighting. But Ukrainian national guard units managed to retake the landing strip overnight, scattering the surviving Russian attackers into the surrounding countryside. The Russian attack on the capital would likely be coordinated with a push by troops on southern and eastern fronts - Crimea and Donbass - aimed at pinning down Ukrainian armed forces so they cannot retreat and reinforce the city, officials told author Michael Weiss. It may also be accompanied by bombing raids and sabotage attacks on power grids and infrastructure to sow panic and force people to flee, snarling up roads and making it difficult for forces already in Kyiv to move around. Advertisement US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call. The assault, anticipated for weeks by the US and Western allies and undertaken by Putin in the face of international condemnation and cascading sanctions, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. Russian missiles bombarded cities and military bases in the first day of the attack, and Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. Ukraine's capital was under bombardment in the early hours of Friday, with the skies ablaze as Putin's tanks moved to within 20 miles of Kyiv. Ukraine's deputy defense ministry said that one missile was shot out of the sky by their anti-missile defense systems. Another missile struck a residential building in the city, the government said. Ukraine has 125 combat-capable aircraft, including 4th-generation fighter workhorses Sukhoi Su27 and Mikoyan MiG29, according to Military Balance 2021. Russia has more than 1,500 fighter jets. Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared footage on social media of a blaze in what he said was the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, in the southeast of the city on the left bank of the Dnipro river. It was unclear whether the Darnitsky fire was caused by the downed Ukrainian jet, or the Russian missiles. Hours earlier, Zelenskyy raged at Western 'cowards' who failed to come to his aid, saying his country is being 'left alone' to face Russian troops. Officials warn that Kyiv will be seized this weekend. In a video address to his nation after midnight, the president called his fallen compatriots 'heroes' after 137 were killed on the first day of fighting, and insisted he will stay until the bitter end. He said: 'They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven. We have been left alone to defend our state. Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone. 'Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.' He added that the enemy has already entered Kyiv and urged residents to be vigilant and observe curfew rules, acknowledging he was 'target number one'. As explosions sounded in Kyiv early Friday, guests of a hotel were directed to a makeshift basement shelter. Air raid sirens also went off. 'Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom,' Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he called Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days. Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 'heroes', including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians. He concluded an emotional speech by saying that 'the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders'. He also said the country had heard from Moscow that 'they want to talk about Ukraine's neutral status'. Biden was to meet Friday morning with fellow leaders of NATO governments in what the White House described as an 'extraordinary virtual summit' to discuss Ukraine. Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin 'chose this war' and had exhibited a 'sinister' view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly. 'It was always about naked aggression, about Putin's desire for empire by any means necessary by bullying Russia's neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause,' Biden said. Blinken said in television interviews that he was convinced that Russia was intent on overthrowing the Ukrainian government, telling CBS that Putin wants to 'reconstitute the Soviet empire' and that Kyiv was already 'under threat, and it could well be under siege'. EU blocks our bid to punish Russia: Anger as union refuses to kick Moscow out of global bank payment system while West imposes sanctions over Ukraine war The European Union faced an angry backlash last night after frustrating British efforts to kick Russia out of the world's biggest financial payments system. In a call with G7 leaders yesterday, Boris Johnson pressed the case for suspending Russia from Swift, which is used to conduct about half of its international trade. But the move was kicked into the long grass because of opposition from a number of EU countries. Ukraine yesterday urged the West to trigger the move, with foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba warning that those who refused would have 'blood on their hands'. Downing Street yesterday declined to comment on which countries had opposed the move. But Joe Biden last night indicated the opposition had come from EU states. Asked whether Russia should be cut off from Swift, the US President said: 'It is always an option but right now that's not a position that the rest of Europe wishes to take.' The Belgian-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) is a mechanism for making secure payments overseas and is widely used in international trade. Advertisement Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv's subway stations. At times it felt almost cheerful. Families ate dinner. Children played. Adults chatted. People brought sleeping bags or dogs or crossword puzzles anything to alleviate the waiting and the long night ahead. But the exhaustion was clear on many faces. And the worries. 'Nobody believed that this war would start and that they would take Kyiv directly,' said Anton Mironov, waiting out the night in one of the old Soviet metro stations. 'I feel mostly fatigue. None of it feels real.' The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukrainian and US officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. The Ukrainian military on Friday reported significant fighting in the area of Ivankiv, about 40 miles northwest of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. It said one bridge across a small river had been destroyed. 'The hardest day will be today. The enemy's plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv. Russian tanks burn perfectly when hit by our ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles),' Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. Zelenskyy, who had earlier cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law, appealed to global leaders, saying that 'if you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door'. Though Biden said he had no plans to speak with Putin, the Russian leader did have what the Kremlin described as a 'serious and frank exchange' with French President Emmanuel Macron. Both sides claimed to have destroyed some of the other's aircraft and military hardware, though little of that could be confirmed. Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-unused Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been 'no casualties or destruction at the industrial site'. The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the plant 80 miles north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell to prevent leaks. Alyona Shevtsova, adviser to the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, wrote on Facebook that staff members at the Chernobyl plant had been 'taken hostage'. The White House said it was 'outraged' by reports of the detentions. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense issued an update saying that though the plant was 'likely captured', the country's forces had halted Russia's advance toward Chernihiv and that it was unlikely that Russia had achieved its planned Day One military objectives. The chief of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said the 'brutal act of war' shattered peace in Europe, joining a chorus of world leaders decrying an attack that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. Smoldering wreckage of a Russian jet is seen in Kyiv on Friday morning The jet landed in Kyiv, shot down by a Ukrainian missile People gathering in an air raid shelter in capital city Kyiv, Ukraine, February 24, 2022 A Russian T-72 tank is pictured sitting in front of the main reactor at Chernobyl after Putin's forces seized it in a 'fierce' battle with the condition of nuclear storage facilities 'unknown' Russian Mi-8 attack helicopters stage an assault on Gostomel air base, just on the outskirts of Kyiv, after Vladimir Putin launched an all-out attack on the country A huge explosion is seen at Vinnytsia military base, in central Ukraine, as the country comes under all-out attack by Russia Biden warns Putin that the US will be 'involved' if he moves into NATO countries as Ukraine hands out 10,000 assault rifles to citizens: President still insists he won't send American forces into Kyiv - but deploys 7,000 to Germany President Joe Biden on Thursday warned Vladimir Putin that U.S. forces will defend NATO territory if he broadens his assault beyond Ukraine, and said he was ordering more troops to Europe. Soon after he spoke the Pentagon said 7000 extra personnel and hardware were being deployed to Germany. In a White House speech, Biden slapped a new round of sanctions on Russia and promised that Putin's country would bear the consequences of his aggression against Ukraine. He said American forces would not engage with Russian troops in Ukraine. 'Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the east,' he said. 'As I made crystal clear, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of American power.' In a question-and-answer session with reporters, he was asked if that meant American soldiers would fight if Russia attacked NATO territory. 'If he did move into NATO countries we will be involved,' he said. 'We will be involved.' Advertisement The conflict shook global financial markets: Stocks plunged and oil prices soared amid concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket. Condemnation came not only from the US and Europe, but from South Korea, Australia and beyond and many governments readied new sanctions. Even friendly leaders like Hungary's Viktor Orban sought to distance themselves from Putin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the UK's financial markets as he announced sanctions, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies and the Kremlin from raising money on British markets. 'Now we see him for what he is a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest,' Johnson said of Putin. The US sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, Biden said, but they were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe. Zelenskyy urged the US and West to go further and cut the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House has been reluctant to immediately cut Russia from SWIFT, worried it could cause enormous economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West. While some nervous Europeans speculated about a possible new world war, the U.S. and its NATO partners have shown no indication they would send troops into Ukraine, fearing a larger conflict. NATO reinforced its members in Eastern Europe as a precaution, and Biden said the US was deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO. European authorities declared the country's airspace an active conflict zone. After weeks of denying plans to invade, Putin launched the operation on a country the size of Texas that has increasingly tilted toward the democratic West and away from Moscow's sway. The autocratic leader made clear earlier this week that he sees no reason for Ukraine to exist, raising fears of possible broader conflict in the vast space that the Soviet Union once ruled. Putin denied plans to occupy Ukraine, but his ultimate goals remain hazy. Ukrainians were urged to shelter in place and not to panic. 'Until the very last moment, I didn't believe it would happen. I just pushed away these thoughts,' said a terrified Anna Dovnya in Kyiv, watching soldiers and police remove shrapnel from an exploded shell. 'We have lost all faith.' With social media amplifying a torrent of military claims and counter-claims, it was difficult to determine exactly what was happening on the ground. Russia and Ukraine made competing claims about damage they had inflicted. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had destroyed scores of Ukrainian air bases, military facilities and drones. It confirmed the loss of one of its Su-25 attack jets, blaming 'pilot error', and said an An-26 transport plane had crashed because of technical failure, killing the entire crew. It did not say how many were aboard. Russia said it was not targeting cities, but journalists saw destruction in many civilian areas. Meanwhile Turkey reported that one of its ships had been hit by a 'bomb' off the coast of Odessa, where fighting is also going on. Turkey is a member of NATO, underlining fears that the war in Ukraine could quickly suck in other states and spark an all-out conflict in Europe. Speaking after the latest developments, Biden announced more sanctions against Russia but admitted that he had not expected previous threats of financial penalties to deter Putin. Blinken says Putin has set his sights BEYOND Ukraine as Russian artillery is seen massing on Polish border with Belarus: Claims he's 'convinced' Kremlin wants regime change Kyiv Vladimir Putin may not stop once he has taken Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has warned, as satellite images show Russia assembling troops, armor and artillery along Belarus's border with Poland. The massive buildup was spotted in the Belarus city of Brest, just 10 miles east of the the Polish border. 'Russia has assembled troops, armor, artillery, and more than 50 heavy equipment transporters at a training area in Brest, the Polish border. Russia has also added more equipment at a nearby railyard in Belarus,' said reporter Jack Detsch, a Pentagon and national security correspondent at Foreign Policy magazine. Blinken was asked by ABC News on Thursday night whether he felt the Russian president would recall his forces once Ukraine was conquered. 'Is it a possibility that Putin goes beyond Ukraine? Sure, it's a possibility,' Blinken told host David Muir. But he stressed that progressing beyond Ukraine into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary or Romania would mean invading a NATO member country, and would automatically draw in the US, UK, France, Canada and the other nations that form the 30-country alliance. 'There is something very powerful standing in the way of that, and it's something we call Article Five,' said Blinken. Advertisement He also resisted calls to send in US troops to Ukraine, saying he has no plans to speak to the Russian leader who he accuses of trying to rebuild a Soviet empire. The sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, but Russian oil and natural gas were exempt in a bid to avoid disruption to global markets. 'Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,' Biden said in remarks at the White House. Elsewhere, Kyiv ordered civilians into bomb shelters and declared a curfew amid concerns Russia is about to strike the capital as Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 15 miles away. Russian forces had attacked it with around two dozen attack helicopters earlier in the day, four of which are thought to have been shot down. The Ukrainian army was yesterday fighting in almost every region of the country, battling the Russians for control of military bases, airports, cities and ports from Kharkiv to Kyiv, and Donetsk to Odessa. Putin personally gave the order to attack around 5am on Thursday, unleashing a salvo of rocket fire that American intelligence said involved more than 100 short and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles, and 75 bombers that targeted military sites including barracks, warehouses and airfields in order to knock out the country's military command structure. Russia said the strikes destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities, 11 airfields, three command posts and 18 radar stations controlling Kyiv's anti-aircraft batteries. That was followed by attacks from Crimea in the south towards the city of Kherson, a northern advance from Belarus to Kyiv, and an eastern advance from Belgorod towards Kharkiv where the heaviest fighting is going on. American officials said this was merely an 'initial phase' of the attack, and that the majority of Russia's 190,000 troops at the front remain in reserve. The goal of the attack is to 'take key population centres' and 'decapitate the Ukrainian government', the officials added. Ukraine's health ministry said so far 137 people have been killed on the first day of conflict, while 300 have been wounded. The port cities of Mariupol and Odessa, where Ukraine's main naval bases are located, were also attacked though Odessa appeared to remain under Ukrainian control as of Thursday afternoon. Russian tankers blockaded the Kerch Strait, leading from the Back Sea to the Sea of Azov, cutting off Mariupol. Ukraine has hit back, shooting down five Russian helicopters, destroying dozens of tanks and capturing Russian troops. A Russian AN-26 military transport aircraft also crashed in the southern Voronezh region, killing its crew on board. The accident could have been caused by a technical failure and has not inflicted any damage on the ground, Interfax said, citing a press office of Russia's western military district. In the address to his nation, Zelensky also described Russia as 'evil' and said Putin had attacked 'like a suicidal scoundrel... just as Fascist Germany did in World War II'. He had earlier called on all Ukrainian citizens willing to defend their homeland to step forward, saying guns will be issued to everyone who wants one. He also asked for civilians to give blood to help wounded troops. And he asked world leaders to impose the 'harshest sanctions possible' on Putin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, addressing the nation at midday, said western allies are preparing a 'massive' package of sanctions against Russia and told the people of Ukraine: 'We cannot and will not just look away.' Johnson referred to Putin as a 'dictator' who would never 'subdue the national feeling of the Ukrainians'. As the West prepared to cut off Russia financially, Putin summoned his oligarchs to demand loyalty over his attack on Ukraine perhaps fearing a rebellion from within after prominent Russian TV figures and celebrities spoke out to oppose the conflict. Speaking in the Kremlin, he said that Russia had been 'forced' to take action over Ukraine and had 'no other choice' but to attack, saying the country remains 'part of the global economy' and that he 'will not hurt the system we belong to'. 'I want you to show solidarity with the government,' he told them. A CNN reporter covering the war in Ukraine was caught in the middle of a firefight on live television between Russian special forces and Ukrainian defenders at an essential airfield just outside of Kyiv. Russian and Ukrainian soldiers exchanged gunfire in a battle for control of Hostomel (Gostomel) airfield, a cargo airport near Kyiv, minutes after CNN's Matthew Chance began speaking to Russian soldiers he first believed were Ukrainians. Russian special forces had descended on the air base in order to establish a bridgehead to bring in more troops and take over the airport. Chance, shocked to learn he was speaking to Russian airborne troops, found himself in the middle of a counterattack from Ukrainian solders. Footage shows Chance and a colleague, both wearing bulletproof vests with the 'press,' crouching against a wall as a car pulled up and several others from his team swooped in so the group could evade the firefight. A CNN reporter filmed an intense firefight between Russian special forces and Ukrainian defenders outside Antonov Airport on Thursday afternoon The two forces were fighting for control of Hostomel (Gostomel) airfield, a cargo airport near Kyiv that is vital to the defense of the capital CNN's Matthew Chance was seen in a bulletproof 'press' vest trying to evade the firefight Footage captured several others from CNN's team swoop in so the group could evade the gunfire exchange The airborne units are considered elite forces, specially selected for their skill and ability to parachute in during the initial attack. They attacked and seized the Hostomel (Gostomel) airfield early Thursday and Ukraine's leadership vowed to take it back, according to Agence France-Presse. 'The enemy paratroopers in Hostomel have been blocked, and troops have received an order to destroy them,' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address. Hostomel is in the northwestern suburbs of Kyiv, making it vital to defend the Ukrainian capital from a Russian takeover. Witnesses told AFP that they saw helicopter flying low above the airfield and fighter jets shoot missiles at Ukrainian troops. 'Then there was shooting. It lasted three hours. Then three more jets flew in and they started shooting again,' one unidentified local told AFP. Ukraine leadership claimed that it had regained control on Thursday around 8pm local time. An advisor to the Ukrainian president said on Facebook on Thursday evening: 'Hostomel Airport is ours,' and, 'Russian paratroopers have been destroyed.' Russian forces attacked and seized the airfield early Thursday and Ukraine's leadership vowed to take it back Ukraine leadership said it had regained control after intense fighting, though the current status of the airfield is not clear Witnesses told AFP that they saw helicopter flying low above the airfield and fighter jets shoot missiles at Ukrainian troops 'The base is smoking over there, it was bombed, our houses are nearby. We don't know where to run, my parents are here, my sister,' Lyudmila Klimova, a 58-year-old who lives nearby, told AFP. 'Russian troops are there, a friend of mine lives there, and the Russians have already approached his mother with a machine gun,' she added. Alexander Kovtonenko, 30, who lives near the airfield, said that he saw two fighter jets firing missiles at Ukrainian ground units earlier Thursday. 'Then there was shooting, it lasted three hours. Then three more jets flew in and they started shooting again,' he told AFP. Ukraine's Armed Forces in an update at 8pm local time (1pm ET) said they believe more than 60 Russian battalion tactical groups the equivalent of between 30,000 to 60,000 troops - have been deployed on Ukrainian territory. It said the 'enemy has an extremely low morale'. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent in his forces early on Thursday in what he termed a 'special military operation'. Prior to the invasion, analysts and intelligence experts believed Putin had up to 190,000 troops on Ukraine's borders at various locations. Before dawn broke, Russian forces were attacking from the south, through Crimea; from the east, with the city of Kharkiv coming under intense pressure; and from the north, with troops from both Russia and Belarus rolling across the Belorussian border in tanks. Ukraine's National Guard shared a photo of soldiers they said had repelled the Russian airborne troops at the airport Loud explosions were heard in the vicinity of the capital, Kyiv, in the early hours of Thursday, and U.S. officials said they expect the city to fall by the end of the weekend. General George Joulwan, who commanded NATO during the Balkan war, said on Thursday night he expects Kiev to fall within 24-36 hours. As night fell on Thursday, residents were seeking shelter in the city's deep subway system, knowing that an overnight barrage was likely. Smoke was seen billowing above the city in afternoon, and one strike believed to have hit near a railway bridge in central Kyiv. Ukraine's National Guard tweeted a photo of three young soldiers holding up a bullet-ridden Ukrainian flag. They captioned the photo: 'Guardsmen with their flag, torn to pieces after today's battle. 'Congratulations to all of you and say that we will win!' by Peter Mertz DENVER, the United States, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Last summer, drought conditions and water shortages dominated headlines in America's West, and 2022 has seen some half-dozen states ramping up to fight over water they want and need coming from America's biggest mountain chain, the spectacular Rocky Mountains. The Rocky Mountains run some 3,000 miles (about 4828 km) from the state of New Mexico deep into Canada, and literally divide North America -- rivers on the west side of the Rockies flow to the Pacific Ocean, and east-bound rivers eventually find the Atlantic. Surface water accounts for 55 percent of America's water use, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which says water from the Rockies make more than half of Wyoming's water yield and 70 percent of the public surface water supply in Colorado. No place in the United States is water more vital for survival than the parched southwest, where a historic, 1,200-year drought has dried streams, rivers, reservoirs and lakes, and left politicians scrambling for solutions. In January, the governor of Nebraska announced a 500-million-U.S.-dollar plan to build a canal to divert water from Colorado, which was opposed by the Centennial State. "Colorado will continue to aggressively defend our water rights for the Eastern Plains, our farmers and ranchers, and all of Colorado," and will "oppose attempts to divert Colorado's precious rightful water resources," Colorado's Governor Jared Polis said in a statement recently. "This canal to nowhere would clearly be a huge waste of Nebraska taxpayer money and is unlikely to ever be built. There remains time for thoughtful Nebraskans to avoid this boondoggle and focus on meaningful water policy working with partners like Colorado," Polis added. Even water experts who teach at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have pointed out that it is uncertain how much water Nebraska could actually get out of such a canal, local media outlets have reported. Meanwhile, divergence was quite apparent in states west of the Rocky Mountains. The Colorado River, runs 1,397 miles (about 2,248 km) from Grand County, Colorado, to the Gulf of California, provides water for over 40 million people, irrigates 2 million acres (around 8,094 square km) of land, and creates 4,000 megawatts of hydroelectric capacity, according to data from propublica.org. More than 75 percent of the river's water comes from melted snowpack in the high Rockies. In December, the states of California, Arizona and Nevada, announced a voluntary agreement to scale back their use of the Colorado River, according to Deseret News. The cooperation, however, did not deter Utah's governor from finger pointing. California, Arizona and Nevada have "drawn too much water over the years. The lower basin has been overusing their portion of the Colorado River for years," said Utah Governor Spencer Cox in December, "everyone knows that." However, a report released from the Utah Rivers Council alleging that Utah is actually using more water than it was allowed under the century-old Colorado River Compact. The 1922 agreement, signed by Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, is a loosely-defined agreement limiting excessive river water use by states, and defined the "lower (Colorado River) basin" states as Arizona, California, and Nevada. "The upper basin states have absolutely been underutilizing their amounts compared to the lower basin states, and California being the most egregious example of that," Cox has said. The Colorado River is severely threatened by human overuse, environmental issues, and poor river management technique. As an extremely over-apportioned water resource, the water quality of the river is jeopardized by agricultural overdraw, which increases the salinity of the river, the Utah Rivers report noted. In 2021, the federal government made the emergency decision to send water from reservoirs in Colorado and other states to Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border, which had dropped to its lowest level on record, Colorado Public Radio reported. Last week, Lake Powell was sitting at only 3,529 feet (about 1076 meters), only four feet (around 1.22 meters) above the minimum threshold. The latest projections from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation show there is a chance that Powell could dip below this critical level by the fall of 2022 if conditions remain historically dry, said the report. Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the West has made a series of fatal assumptions. That liberal democracy had triumphed over totalitarianism. That the world had adopted our values of peace and individual freedom. That the bloody swords of yesteryear would be turned into ploughshares in a new globalised world of guaranteed growth and prosperity. Russian President Vladimir Putin pictured speaking at a press conference earlier this week And, above all, that the threat of a European war involving nuclear powers had been banished for good. Today, in the most shattering manner, we learn just how complacent and delusional those assumptions have been. While we have been busy congratulating ourselves and wasting energy in absurd cultural and commercial squabbles, tyranny has been relentlessly on the march. And while our commitment to maintaining a strong military capability has been half-hearted at best, our enemies are in deadly earnest. Vladimir Putin demonstrated just how deadly yesterday, as he launched Blitzkrieg on Ukraine by land, sea and air. Even though the drumbeat to war had in recent days become deafening, who among us was not shocked to wake up to terrifying headlines announcing the full-scale invasion? And if that wasn't sufficiently chilling, the president's astonishing, rambling, warmongering rant certainly was. Any country tempted to stand in Russia's way, he warned, faced retaliation that would 'lead you to consequences you have never encountered in your history'. Not since World War II has our continent seen a darker day. Boris Johnson speaking to MPs following Russia's Ukraine invasion in the early hours of Thursday morning In this paper last Saturday, MI5 chief Ken McCallum warned we were in a historic struggle to defend our very way of life. How prescient he has proved to be. In this terrible act of aggression the echoes of history are unfolding before our eyes. Until now, the West's response to this crisis has been utterly abject. Diplomacy has failed miserably. The pantomime of Western presidents and chancellors rushing obligingly to Moscow in recent weeks to be humiliated by Putin one by one was deeply unedifying. Like a malevolent puppeteer, he blithely made them dance on their strings. With a straight face, he brazenly lied, strenuously denying he had plans to invade. How foolish he has made them all look none more so than preening French leader Emmanuel Macron, who hubristically declared he had brokered a deal between Moscow and Washington, only to see it disintegrate within hours. By launching his attack, however, Putin has excommunicated himself from the international community of civilised nations, and Russia is now a pariah state. The question on the world's lips now is: How far will this ruthless and vain megalomaniac go? Today, it's Ukraine that is paying the price of Western weakness. But Putin has grandiose territorial ambitions. His stated dream is to reconstitute the Soviet Union. So where will he turn his guns tomorrow? The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania? Georgia? Moldova? And if or, more likely, when he does, what will be our response? Does free Europe and the U.S. have the resolve to stop him in his tracks? Putin is gambling that the answer is 'no'. And after Western forces not so much left Afghanistan as scarpered ignominiously for the exit, who can blame him? The truth is, it is little wonder the Kremlin shows such contempt for the West's threats. In the past, there has been such pathetically little substance to back them up. In the past decade alone, Putin has annexed Crimea, shot down a civilian airliner, supported Syrian despot Assad and poisoned the Skripals in Salisbury. And what was his punishment for that litany of outrages? Embarrassingly feeble sanctions and a diplomatic slap on the wrist which had no discernible deterrent effect whatsoever. 10 Downing Street with Ukraine's national colours, blue and yellow, projected onto it in a show of solidarity But perhaps, finally, a hard rain is going to fall. Boris Johnson captured the sombre, yet defiant, mood (and, dare we say, how far from the trivialities of Partygate which sections of the nation lost its mind over this now seems). In Churchillian terms, he condemned Putin's 'hideous and barbaric venture', adding: 'He will never be able to cleanse the blood of Ukraine from his hands.' Significantly, he warned that Britain would act 'diplomatically, politically, economically and eventually militarily' to tame the dictator. After all, there is no point arguing as some inevitably will that Ukraine is a long way away and events there are none of our business. For that is to ignore history. Eighty-four years ago, with his hollow proclamation of 'peace for our time', Chamberlain emboldened Hitler by confirming that the Allies would never stand up to him. Decisions taken now, in response to Russia's invasion, will determine whether 2022 goes down in history as a comparable year of shame. It is time to match strident rhetoric with tough actions and hit the bloodstained bandit and his cronies in the most sensitive part of their anatomy their wallets. On that score, this paper welcomes the Prime Minister's pledge to impose far tougher sanctions. More than 100 firms and oligarchs will be barred from Britain. Mega-rich individuals will have bank deposits capped. Putin's kleptocratic pals have a penchant for buying houses, shopping and sending their children to England's private schools. But if Russia is determined to be Europe's enemy, we should treat them as such. We didn't allow the Nazi elite to educate their offspring or own property here during World War II. French President Emmanuel Macron pictured in a meeting with Mr Putin in Moscow earlier this month Meanwhile, all major Russian banks will be kneecapped with an asset freeze and excluded from the UK financial system. And flights from Aeroflot Russia's flag carrier will be banned from landing on British soil. This is a very useful start. It will tighten the squeeze on Russia's basket-case economy and make it more difficult for Putin to fund a prolonged military campaign. But what if the tyrant refuses to hold back from further violations of the international order? Mr Johnson wants to suspend Russia from the Swift international financial payment system, which would bring its economy to a shuddering halt. The U.S., which has taken a firm stand and unveiled harsher punishments, agrees. Yet, indefensibly, the move was blocked after an abject surrender by Germany and Italy, who selfishly fret it will damage their own banks. To successfully recreate a Tsarist empire, Putin must drive wedges between Western nations weakening our collective unity. By cravenly putting the avoidance of short-term financial pain before standing up for democratic values, Berlin and Rome have done just that. It is truly contemptible. This crisis has starkly exposed Europe's perilous dependence on Russian energy. It must end. This addiction is Putin's biggest financial and political trump card. Without it, his power would crumble and his country would be beggared. Of course, the war will deal a blow to Britain's economy. Higher petrol, energy and food prices will hit people's pockets worsening the cost of living crisis. But for freedom's sake, we must be prepared to bear the pain and do so for the long haul. Activists holding up placards and Ukrainian flags as they gather in Washington DC's Lafayette Square to protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine With luck, Mr Johnson gave Putin pause for thought and stiffened the sinews of our partners by vowing to use military force if a Nato nation is attacked. But we ask: how can Britain expect to be taken seriously when our Armed Forces have been cut, cut and cut again? Nevertheless, while the war in Ukraine is a catastrophe, for the West the situation could be indescribably worse. Had Sir Keir Starmer got his way at the 2019 election, Kremlin-sympathising, Nato-hating Jeremy Corbyn might now be in Downing Street. In his fight against democracy, sovereignty and the right of people to choose their own destiny, Putin would have had an ally of unprecedented value. Mercifully, thanks to the common sense and decency of the British electorate, he hasn't. Now it is imperative he fails in his warmongering. We must strain every fibre to ensure he does. A final thought: conflict in Europe is frightening enough for Britons thousands of miles away. For the people of Ukraine, it is more than a hypothetical discussion: it is a terrifying reality, with shells falling, blood spilled, families torn apart, and lives ruined. As frightened masses flee their homes seeking safety, the continent must brace itself for a huge refugee crisis. The Ukrainian people are victims of a monstrous act of war. Britain has a solemn duty to offer them all the steel and succour we can. Joy Behar stirred outrage Thursday as The View host complained that the war in Ukraine will disrupt her Italian getaway in the latest controversy to hit the tone-deaf talk show. The long-running gabfest was discussing Russia launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine when Behar began to whine about her summer trip getting ruined. Behar's foot-in-mouth moment comes on the heels of the global fury stirred by co-host Whoopi Goldberg after she said that Holocaust was 'not about race.' On Thursday, co-host Sunny Hostin, 53, laid out some of the facts regarding the warfare in eastern Europe, which saw mass evacuations of Kyiv after Vladimir Putin launched his all-out invasion on Ukraine. 'Estimates are 50,000 Ukranians will be dead or wounded and this is going to start a refugee crisis in Europe. We're talking about 5million people that are going to be displaced. It's heartbreaking to hear what is going to happen.' Behar, 79, tried to bring the discussion toward western Europe, specifically, her apparent plans to travel to Italy, located about 1,500 miles from where Russian forces were bombing its neighbor. 'I'm scared of what's going to happen in western Europe, too. You plan a trip, you want to go there, I've wanted to go to Italy for four years and I haven't been able to make it because of the pandemic and now this. It's like, what's gonna happen there?' Joy Behar complains during a discussion on the The View that the war breaking out between Ukraine and Russia that it will affect her trip to Italy Behar was speaking in response to View co-host Sunny Hostin stating the facts that face the people of Ukraine Footage shows large air assault operation with Mi-8 helicopters on Antonov International Airport in Hostomel 15 minutes west of the capital ring road Social media quickly pounced on Behar's apparent disregard for anyone else's circumstances. Broadcaster Liz Wheeler posted the video, writing: 'I literally cant believe Joy Behar said this.' Ida Tavakoli added in: 'You almost have to respect Joy Behars unwavering commitment toward ensuring that boomers are the most hated generation alive.' NY Post and Fox News columnist Karol Markowicz asked: 'Did Putin even stop to think how his invasion would affect Joy Behars trip to Italy?' Sports commentator @KFCBarstool piled on: 'The true horror of the worldwide pandemic and Russia invading Ukraine? Joy Behar hasnt been able to take her trip to Italy. Thoughts and Prayers for Joy. We hope she makes it through this tragedy.' This is just the most recent controversy for the decades-long ABC talk show. Whoopi Goldberg made a surprise early return to The View on Monday, two days before her entire two-week suspension was set to end following global backlash over comments she made about the Holocaust last month. The 66-year-old host missed just eight episodes after ABC announced it was benching the comedian for two weeks - presumably ten episodes - following her last broadcast on February 1, where she apologized for saying the Holocaust was 'not about race' on the previous day's show. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Whoopi Goldberg addresses viewers after making surprise appearance on ABC's The View on Monday, two days before her two-week suspension was supposed to expire Goldberg was in her usual seat The View with her co-hosts on Monday, her first episode since being suspended for two weeks following the February 1 show Goldberg was placed on a two-week, unpaid suspension after the infamous January 31 episode by ABC boss Kim Godwin, who said she wanted to put an end to a 'culture' where The View host and her colleague Joy Behar could 'say and do whatever they wanted', insiders told DailyMail.com. Goldberg had faced a revolt from staffers who felt she had crossed the line with her tone-deaf apology over her Holocaust comments. She didn't shy from the controversy upon her return. 'It's not always pretty, as I said, and its not always as other people would like to hear, but it is an honor to sit at this table and be able to have these conversations because they're important,' Goldberg said. The controversy began when Whoopi claimed on-air that the Holocaust was 'not about race.' She posted a Twitter apology, then apologized on-air the next day on February 1 but was suspended after the show. The outspoken host was due to lose $192,000 for the two-week suspension, sources told DailyMail.com. Reactions on social media to her return were mixed, with many feeling the suspension was not enough of a punishment, and some going so far as to call for Goldberg's firing. Hacking group Anonymous has declared 'cyber war' against Vladimir Putin's government after he mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The elusive computer experts issued the stark announcement on their Twitter account on Thursday evening. They said shortly before 10pm: 'The Anonymous collective is officially in cyber war against the Russian government.' Around 30 minutes later, they announced that they had taken down the website of the Kremlin-backed TV channel RT, which broadcasts in Britain and has been heavily criticised for its coverage. When MailOnline attempted to access the site this morning, it was still inaccessible and only displayed an error message that said 'this site can't be reached'. Hacking group Anonymous (file photo) has declared 'cyber war' against Vladimir Putin's government after he mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine The elusive computer experts issued the stark announcement on their Twitter account on Thursday evening The cyber war declaration raises the prospect that Russia could be subjected to systematic hacking attempts in the coming days. Prior to the invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, the country's government and banks were targeted by a massive cyber attack that was believed to have been carried out by Russia. People on social media responded positively to Anonymous's cyber war declaration against Putin. The cyber war declaration raises the prospect that Russia could be subjected to systematic hacking attempts in the coming days. Above: Vladimir Putin One person wrote: 'THANK YOU! Now, work on draining their finances.' Another said: 'You are awesome, thanks.' A third wrote: 'THANK YOU! I love you! The most beautiful thing EVER...' Anonymous said in their tweet about RT: 'The #Anonymous collective has taken down the website of the #Russian propaganda station RT News.' The group also announced that they had taken down the website of the Kremlin-backed TV channel RT, which broadcasts in Britain and has been heavily criticised for its coverage Anonymous have previously targeted groups including the Ku Klux Klan and Islamic extremists. Members are known as 'Anons' and are distinguished by their Guy Fawkes masks. In July last year, the collective warned Tesla founder Elon Musk that they planned to target him after saying he wields too much power over the cryptocurrency markets. When MailOnline attempted to access the RT site this morning, it was still inaccessible and only displayed an error message that said 'this site can't be reached' There are fears Russia's invasion of Ukraine is providing a blueprint for a Chinese takeover of Taiwan, a conflict of far more relevance for Australians. Just as Russian President Vladimir Putin claims Ukraine has no claim to be a sovereign nation and was 'created by Russia', China believes there is only 'one China' and that the island of Taiwan is a part of it. The US has backed Taiwan with billions in weapons sales and indicated it will intervene in any potential China-Taiwan conflict, meaning Australia will almost certainly be involved in a military defence of the island. Many international security analysts believe that Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be the world leader most interested in how Putin's attempt to re-absorb Ukraine within Russia plays out. 'President Xi will be watching this very, very closely. This has enormous implications globally,' Professor John Blaxland from the Australian National University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre told A Current Affair on Thursday. 'The implications for Taiwan if the position that Vladimir Putin has taken about denying the right of Ukraine to exist applies and goes unchecked... 'This has enormous implications for the freedom Xi has [to act] more precipitously, more quickly over Taiwan.' Chinese leader Xi Jinping (right) will watch Vladimir Putin's (left) actions in Ukraine 'very, very closely', said Australian security expert Professor John Blaxland Vision of a destroyed Russian taken in the Ukraine during Russia's advance on the smaller country An explosion lights up the night sky over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in the early hours of Thursday China's recent aggression towards Taiwan, including flying 150 aircraft near the territory over a number of days in October 2021, was widely considered a strong indication of President Xi's future plans for the territory. 'My sense is that hes not in a screaming hurry, hes got time up his sleeve,' Professor Blaxland said. If war breaks out between America and China... (Scott Morrison) would face the gravest decisions that any Australian leader has had to make since 1939 Foreign policy expert Hugh White 'Hes been waiting until his military capability is that much stronger to get to the point where he can win categorically. I dont think hes there yet but the opportunity might arise if the wests resolve is seen to crumble.' China expert Natasha Kassam, Director of the Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program at the Lowy Institute, agrees there are lessons China will take from Putin's attack but that the two situations also differ. 'China has certainly learned from Russias tactics in Ukraine, including the use of disinformation, psychological warfare, cyber attacks and influence operations,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'But China wants to annex Taiwan without having to fire a single shot.' Ms Kassam said Russia's invasion of Ukraine did not necessarily make it easier for China to annex Taiwan. 'It is true that Putins efforts to shift facts on the ground may carry some lessons for dealing with Taiwan, and for Taiwans preparation of its own defences,' she said. Chinese soldiers ride in tanks as they pass in front of Tiananmen Square during a military parade in Beijing 'China wants to annex Taiwan without having to fire a single shot,' Natasha Kassam from the Lowy Institute said of Xi Jinping's intentions Taiwanese soldiers march during a training drill in the country after multiple Chinese aircraft flew close to the territory last year China might be encouraged to move on Taiwan by a lack of US resolve to oppose them, Australian academic Professor Peter Dean said Ms Kassam said the failure so far of the US to meet Russian aggression with a military response was also no guide as to what it might do in a China-Taiwan flare-up. 'It would be dangerous to make assumptions or draw conclusions about US resolve or credibility based on their responses to Ukraine,' she said. 'Much of Washington does not see Russia as a threat and competitor in the same terms as they see China.' China has maintained the offshore island of Taiwan is a part of the mainland ever since Chiang Kai-shek and his troops fled Mao Zedong's Communist armies to set up a new nation in 1949. While in diplomatic relations western nations such as the US and Australia acknowledge a 'One China' policy, recognising Beijing as the official government, the US has sold billions in arms to Taiwan and repeatedly said it would help defend the island from military threat. US special operations forces have been quietly training Taiwanese troops for months in reaction to heightened Chinese aggression. 'You certainly can't rule out the potential for the use of force,' Professor Peter Dean, Chair of Defence Studies and Director of UWA's Defence and Security Institute, told Daily Mail Australia last year. 'If the Chinese get to the point where they think they can take Taiwan by force, win and be successful, and they think either that US resolve is lacking or won't be enough, they could be encouraged to risk something really stupid,' he said. Taiwan displays US-made Patriot surface to air missile batteries during national day celebrations in the capital, Taipei Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison would face 'the gravest decisions that any Australian leader has had to make since 1939' if war between China and Taiwan broke out, one international affairs expert claimed As a close ally, Australia is widely expected to be drawn in to any military conflict between China and Taiwan. It was reported in April 2021 that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) was considering a range of scenarios for Australian involvement, from committing submarines and maritime surveillance aircraft to an allied response, through to sending fighter jets to US bases in Guam, the Philippines, and Japan. '[The] question becomes what sort of contribution could we make that is meaningful,' Professor Dean said. 'We have a very high-tech, very capable ADF but it's very small. In a kinetic war with missiles flying around, we don't have a lot [of military equipment] to lose. 'We also have joint intelligence facilities [such as Pine Gap]. They are constantly involved, from what we know publicly, in intelligence gathering but also in operational elements of the US military machine so we would at least be involved in that sense, too.' Hugh White, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University, wrote last year that Australian involvement in a potential east Asian conflict would pose the biggest challenge to the country since World War II 'Scott Morrison should be thinking deeply about all this, because if war breaks out between America and China, which is a real possibility, he would face the gravest decisions that any Australian leader has had to make since 1939,' he wrote. It's not a pot of gold, but this is the stunning moment a sailboat was captured bathed in a multicoloured light at the end of a rainbow. The beautiful photo was taken near Yarmouth, off the coast of the Isle of Wight by Chad Powell, 30. The sight lasted for just a second as the boat crossed through in the rainbow's ethereal glow. A stunning rainbow captured bathing a sailing boat in Yarmouth, off the coast of the Isle of Wight, in its light Mr Powell, a photographer, said: 'I saw the single boat out on its own to the right of the rainbow, and I quickly got out and grabbed my camera just as the boat sailed exactly in line with the rainbow. 'It is a hopeful picture, I love how the rainbow lights up the sails of the boat. 'There wasn't a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but it was certainly a golden moment.' Rainbows occur when sunlight is refracted through rain droplets to create an arc-shaped spectrum of colours in the sky. When Mr Powell shared the picture on Facebook last week, people were wowed by the rare site as it got more than 650 likes. At the height of the storm, dramatic scenes saw the roof of The O2 in Greenwich, London torn apart He captioned it: 'Sometimes life is about being at the right place at the right time.' Jan Ward wrote: 'Absolutely right place and time* you will have to fight off those who shout "photoshop" but your record shows you just know where to be.' 'Divine timing brother beautiful,' Ben Mullen added. The weather phenomenon occurred earlier in the week following storms Eunice and Franklin, which wrought havoc on the UK, destroying homes and landmarks. Four people were killed during last Friday's Storm Eunice, which saw record-breaking gales of 122mph wreak havoc across the country. At the height of the storm, dramatic scenes saw the roof of The O2 in Greenwich, London torn apart, while trees were ripped up, debris was sent flying, shoppers were blown over, and the spire of St Thomas Church in Wells, Somerset came crashing to earth. An elderly woman trying to parallel park her Bentley hit the gas pedal instead of the brake as she was in reverse and accelerated into outdoors diners at a busy restaurant in Miami Beach, killing one person and sending six others the hospital. The accident happened on Washington Avenue in trendy South Beach just after 6pm outside Italian restaurant Call Me Gaby, leaving tables overturned and napkins strewn about the sidewalk. As the elderly female driver was backing into a space, she sped up without warning and hit several tables, cops said. Police did not identify the driver and have not said whether she will be charged. A car, which appears to be a Bentley can be seen at an angle compared to other vehicles Police could be seen standing by the vehicle in the aftermath of the crash An elderly woman who was parking up outside a Miami Beach restaurant lost control of the car she was driving and slammed into diners eating outside. Pictured, Washington Street in Miami Beach Images from outside the restaurant show how close dining tables are to the road Police tape was quickly set up along Washington Avenue and the road was closed Miami Beach Police tweeted details of the incident on Wednesday evening A witness, Clement Lottier, shared a video that showed smoke and people running away from the restaurant. Seven people were taken to hospital, including a three-year-old child, with many of them on stretchers. One of them later died from their injuries. Police have not identified the dead victim or any of those injured. 'I am never eating outside of a restaurant on a busy street ever again i just watched a car back into people eating outside on Miami Beach,' wrote Ryan on Twitter. The street ended up having to be closed off while police and other first responders conducted an investigation stated Local 10. One Twitter user tweeted about their shock over witnessing the drama unfold Washington Street in Miami Beach was closed after the incident The car be seen having crashed into diners early on Thursday evening as they ate outdoors Miami Beach Police then tweeted for the public to avoid the area, which was closed due to the investigation reports NBC Miami. Three hours after the crash, overturned tables, cloth napkins and evidence markers lined the sidewalk outside the restaurant. 'There was a small boy and a few people trapped underneath the vehicle,' Robert Deburro told WPLG. 'A bunch of people lifted the car and pulled a young boy out.' Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber called it a 'devastating tragedy.' 'Our entire city grieves for all the victims and their families,' he said in a statement. Vladimir Putin may not stop once he has taken Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has warned, as satellite images show Russia assembling troops, armor and artillery along Belarus's border with Poland. The massive buildup was spotted in the Belarus city of Brest, just 10 miles east of the the Polish border. 'Russia has assembled troops, armor, artillery, and more than 50 heavy equipment transporters at a training area in Brest, the Polish border. Russia has also added more equipment at a nearby railyard in Belarus,' said reporter Jack Detsch, a Pentagon and national security correspondent at Foreign Policy magazine. Blinken was asked by ABC News on Thursday night whether he felt the Russian president would recall his forces once Ukraine was conquered. 'Is it a possibility that Putin goes beyond Ukraine? Sure, it's a possibility,' Blinken told host David Muir. But he stressed that progressing beyond Ukraine into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary or Romania would mean invading a NATO member country, and would automatically draw in the US, UK, France, Canada and the other nations that form the 30-country alliance. 'There is something very powerful standing in the way of that, and it's something we call Article Five,' said Blinken. ONE-ON-ONE WITH SECY. BLINKEN: @DavidMuir goes one-on-one with U.S. Secy. of State Antony Blinken who said its a possibility that Putin will go beyond Ukraine, adding that everything is on the table in regards to Putin being sanctioned. https://t.co/N6PX4MAjBa pic.twitter.com/iNWusruaxy World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) February 25, 2022 NEW: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to @DavidMuir: "Is it a possibility that Putin goes beyond Ukraine? Sure, it's a possibility." More tonight on @ABCWorldNews. https://t.co/N6PX4MAjBa pic.twitter.com/AD0zONIFlp World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) February 24, 2022 United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke to David Muir on ABC Thursday about Putin's invasion of Ukraine Blinken was asked by ABC News on Thursday night whether he felt the Russian president would recall his forces once Ukraine was conquered. 'Is it a possibility that Putin goes beyond Ukraine? Sure, it's a possibility,' Blinken told host David Muir Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holding a briefing at the Office of the Head of State in Kiev Troops were seen in Brest, on the border of Poland and Belarus 'That means an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members of NATO,' Blinken added. 'The president has been very clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory.' Blinken said he believed this would be the 'most powerful deterrent' against Putin taking his artillery beyond Ukraine. However, Blinken remains certain Putin will try to bring about regime change in Ukraine. 'You're convinced Putin's gonna overthrow this government?' Muir asked. 'I'm convinced he's going to try to do that.' Blinken added that he felt that whatever happened, 'democracy and the independence of Ukraine will prevail' regardless of what happens in the fighting. NEW: Russia has assembled troops, armor, artillery, and more than 50 heavy equipment transporters a training area in Brest, near the Polish border. Russia has also added more equipment at a nearby railyard in Belarus. :@Maxar pic.twitter.com/H2SDzWQDPP Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) February 24, 2022 A satellite image shows military forces near Brest in the western Belarus Russia's President Vladimir Putin is seen during a meeting with members of Russian business community in the Moscow Kremlin Russia launched an all-out war on Ukraine Wednesday night into Thursday morning, with simultaneous attacks coming from south, east and north, by land and by air. Missiles and bombs rained from the sky, tanks rolled across the border, helicopters buzzed in and explosions were seen across the country after Putin gave the order to attack. The attack continued into Thursday as a massive Russian helicopter assault launched on Hostomel, Ukraine and its vital Air Base just 9 miles northwest of Kyiv. The president met with the leaders of the G7 from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan on Thursday morning after he gathered his National Security Council in the Situation Room at the White House. Also in the G7 meeting was the president of the European Commission, President of the European Council and the NATO Secretary General. Biden will deliver remarks on 'Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine' at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon in his first public appearance since the invasion. Biden announced Tuesday the 'first tranche' of sanctions, a modest action that has left Democrats and Republicans alike critical that the administration isn't being tough enough on Russia and Putin in the midst of waging war. It also certainly did not deter Putin from making moves into Ukraine overnight. Even after following up with additional measures, including sanctioning the company behind the Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline, there are still internal and congressional pushes for Biden to issue more 'crippling sanctions'. Representative Adam Schiff, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, emerged from a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) on Capitol Hill to call for more sanctions. 'Russia has begun an unprovoked, unjustified campaign against Ukraine with a full-on invasion. Civilians are being killed, Ukraine is mobilizing its opposition to the Russian invasion,' the Democratic California congressman told reporters. 'We must provide Ukraine with support to defend itself.' 'We also are going to need to, I think, dramatically escalate the sanctions that we place on Russia for this act of naked aggression by the Kremlin dictator,' Schiff added. Aides to the president continue to flaunt upcoming heavier punishment, but Bloomberg notes that behind the scenes there's skepticism over the White House strategy thus far. By ruling out military involvement, Biden now must rise to the task of proving that sanctions will suffice in deterring a major adversary, which it has not proven to be effective thus far. There are some 90,000 U.S. troops in Europe already, many of whom have been repositioned or deployed to Eastern NATO ally countries to defend against growing aggression from the Kremlin. Russia continues it's full-on attack of Ukraine on Thursday as a report emerged indicating President Joe Biden's aides knew and warned sanctions would not deter President Vladimir Putin from moving forward with invasion. A photo made available by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry shows burned Russian military vehicles near Hlukhiv of Sumy area, Ukraine on Thursday President Biden met with his National Security Council in the White House Situation Room on Thursday morning after Russia waged war n Ukraine overnight. The president will speak at 1:30 p.m. to update the nation after the full-scale invasion There are now approximately 90,000 U.S. service members spread throughout Europe, with many relocating or deploying to the Eastern part of the continent to aid those counties that face risk with Russia invasion of Ukraine but no U.S. troops were deployed directly to Ukraine Despite U.S. officials spending hundreds of hours over five months debating and crafting sanctions, at least a dozen current and former U.S. officials said they knew this would do little to deter Putin, but hands were tied after Biden ruled out military action from the U.S. in Ukraine. A man sits outside his destroyed building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv on Thursday The company behind embattled construction giant Probuild has blamed Australia's 'hardline' Covid border and lockdown policies for its collapse even though foreigners are allowed in again. The building giant's South African parent company WBHO - also known as Wilson Bayly Holmes - Ovcon - this week told the Johannesburg Stock Exchange it could no longer profitably build apartment complexes. The bombshell decision is jeopardising 18 building and civil engineering projects around Australia and the livelihoods of at least 750 workers. Probuild's problems highlight how construction companies are more likely to be placed into administration, than any other kind of business in Australia, despite a surge in demand for new homes. Scroll down for video The company behind embattled construction giant Probuild has blamed Australia's hardline Covid border policies for its collapse even though foreigners are allowed in again (pictured are construction workers at Darling Harbour in Sydney) This is occurring as skyrocketing costs for timber and steel jeopardise the future of the building industry. The Australian government's move in March 2020 to ban foreigners from entering was blamed for WBHO's decision to put Probuild into administration, with Deloitte tasked with finding a buyer. 'Population levels in the two major cities of Melbourne and Sydney have shown negative growth as a result,' WBHO said. 'The impact of lockdown restrictions on the retail, hotel and leisure and commercial office sectors of building markets have created high levels of business uncertainty in Australia and have significantly reduced demand and delayed the award of new projects in these key sectors of the construction industry.' WBHO was particularly scathing too of lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne, which state governments imposed for much of 2021 to deal with a Delta outbreak as the commonwealth continued to ban tourists and international students. 'The Australian government's hardline approach of managing Covid-19 through a combination of border restrictions, snap lockdowns and mandatory work-from-home regulations for many sectors, has had a considerable impact on property markets,' it said. Australia reopened to fully vaccinated international students in December and to overseas tourists on February 21. But with more people able to work from home, professionals are increasingly relocating to regional areas where houses near the beach still cost less than an apartment in a big city. This made large-scale apartment developments and commercial city office blocks much less profitable in the absence of overseas migrants and fewer professionals commuting to the central business district. 'The Australian construction environment has also become increasingly competitive and contractual, in our view, the potential risk on large mega-building projects outweighs the current margins available,' WBHO said. Its South African parent company WBHO - also known as Wilson Bayly Holmes - Ovcon - this week told the Johannesburg Stock Exchange it could no longer profitably build apartment complexes. The bombshell decision is jeopardising 18 projects around Australia and the livelihoods of at least 750 workers (pictured is a Probuild construction site in Sydney) WBHO Australia Group firms in administration WBHO Australia WBHO Construction Australia WBHO Infrastructure Probuild Constructions Probuild Civil PCA (QLD - formerly Probuild Constructions (QLD) Probuild Constructions (NSW) Probuild Constructions (VIC) Probuild Constructions (WA) Probuild Constructions (QLD) Carr Civil Contracting Northcoast Holdings Contexx Holdings Contexx Prodev Murphy Prodev Investments ACP Venture Investments Monaco Hickey Advertisement 'With this in mind, the company has adopted a more conservative bidding strategy focused on securing lower-risk and less complicated projects.' Despite a surge in demand for new homes, construction companies are more likely to be going into administration than any other kind of company. In the December quarter of last year, 328 construction firms went into administration, compared with 178 in the food and accommodation services sector, Australian Securities and Investments Commission data showed. Housing Industry Association senior economist Nick Ward said Australia's apartment building sector had bounced back from the Covid restrictions. 'Confidence in the market did weaken after the border closures but there early signs that's come back,' he told Daily Mail Australia. Nonetheless, Australia's construction sector is facing challenges with higher building material costs for steel and timber as a result of Covid supply constraints. 'In general, the supply of raw materials is a very significant constraint for builders at the moment,' Mr Ward said. 'That's showing up in two ways: costs of materials have increased significantly.' In 2021, building costs rose by 6.5 per cent, the fastest annual growth in 13 years, Australian Bureau of Statistics data released this week showed. Building companies are financially struggling despite strong demand for new homes in Australia. 'The question is how builders meet that demand and over time that will happen but there's some difficulties at the moment,' Mr Ward said. Probuild's problems highlight how construction companies are more likely to be placed into administration, than any other kind of business in Australia, despite a surge in demand for new homes (pictured is a flagship apartment development on Brisbane's Queen Street) 'The supply constraints, materials constraints are creating significant headaches for builders.' Deloitte turnaround and restructuring leader Sal Algeri, who is in charge of WBHO Australia's voluntary administration, said the pandemic had affected the business. 'The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenging trading conditions for many businesses, and for WBHOA, which has also been impacted by certain loss-making projects,' he said. Two other businesses under WBHO Australia Group - Monaco Hickey and WBHO Infrastructure - have also been placed into administration. Deloitte is planning a sale and recapitalisation process to entice a new buyer. Probuild's riverfront project on Queen St in Brisbane, featuring 264 high-quality residential apartments has haemorrhaged as much as $120million. It is far from the only struggling building company with the Hotondo Homes franchise in Tasmania in January being placed into administration. Tasmanian Constructions appointed Revive Financial as the liquidator. Western Australia has recorded more than 1,000 Covid cases for the first time since the pandemic began. The state's chief health officer Andy Robertson told ABC local radio 1,043 cases were detected in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday. Robertson said it's safe to assume that 1,039 of those new cases were locally acquired. Western Australia's total active case tally now sits at 3,038. The rise in case numbers means that level one restrictions will expand across the state on Monday next week and will be in place in the Kimberly at 6am on Saturday. Level one public health measures are currently in effect in Perth, Peel and the south-west, the Great Southern, Wheatbelt and Pilbara regions. Level one restrictions will expand across the state on Monday next week and will be in place in the Kimberly at 6am on Saturday Level one restrictions include 30 person limits inside homes, and 200 person limits at private outdoor gatherings providing there are two-square-metres per person available. The two-square-metre density limit is in place for all hospitality, cultural, fitness, beauty and entertainment venues. 'Baseline' measures for the rest of the state are mask wearing and proof of vaccination requirements. The state has just 12 people in hospital with the virus, and none in the intensive care unit. There is, however, a lag in the recording of hospitalisations according to the chief health officer. 'The hospitalisations tend to be a couple of weeks behind.' Dr Robertson said. 'So with these case numbers now, we'll see the increasing numbers in hospital over the coming weeks.' Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan is preparing to open up the state's border to the rest of the country on March 5 Western Australians face new restrictions as new case numbers have escalated past the 1,000 mark. Dr. Robertson also believes the virus has spread further than case numbers suggest. 'Not everybody's getting tested. There is quite a lot of asymptomatic disease out there,' he said. Public health experts are concerned that Western Australian testing rates are too low. Department of Health data shows that Tasmania is the only state with a lower testing rate per 100,000 people. Dr Robertson said when the state may drop vaccine mandates when booster rates hit 95 per cent, but added that the virus 'doesn't play by the rules.' Robertson said the state's focus would also shift to hospitalisation numbers rather than case numbers in the next few weeks. Premier Mark McGowan has announced the state will open its border to the rest of Australia on March 3. Triple-vaccinated interstate travelers will be able to enter the state from Thursday and will not have to quarantine, if they can show proof of a Covid-19 booster vaccine. Western Australia is aiming for a third dose vaccination rate of 70% by March 3 before the state opens its hard border Arrivals from overseas will be able to enter WA provided they meet the federal government's travel requirements and do a rapid antigen test within the first 12 hours of arrival. Travelers will have to have a WA 'G2G pass', while police will be enforcing the border rules. McGowan revealed at a press conference that third dose rates for those aged 16 and above is now over 60 per cent. They were a little over 40 per cent when he was set to open the border on February 5. He says the state is aiming for a third dose rate of 70 per cent by the time the border opens on March 3. 'The extra month has given us the capacity to get hundreds and hundreds of thousands of West Australians their third dose...and avoid the peak in the eastern states.' McGowan said. The lockdown remains in place for Bidyadanga, Western Australia's largest remote first-nations community. The near 1,000 person community has suffered a Covid-19 outbreak with 19 people testing positive for the virus there so far. Authorities expect there will be more to come in the next few days. The community has a strong second dose vaccination rate of around 90 per cent. Dr Anderson said: 'The community has a very high vaccine rate, which is almost certainly the reason why we're not seeing any sick people.' The inquest in the disappearance of Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez in Byron Bay almost three years ago has heard from its last witness - the man believed to be the last person the teen ever spoke to. The 18-year-old was last seen at about 11pm on May 31, 2019, when he was ejected from the Cheeky Monkeys bar in town. Police were alerted six days later, when he failed to return to his hostel and could not be found or contacted. Police this week also announced a $500,000 reward is on offer for information in his case (pictured, Theo and his girlfriend at the time) The mysterious route Theo took to Cosy Corner, near Byron Bay Lighthouse, after he left Cheeky Monkey's nightclub on May 31, 2019 A large-scale search was launched, with only a hat believed to belong to Theo located, and investigators have since been trying to track down the person who last spoke with the teen. At an inquest into his disappearance on Thursday night, counsel assisting the coroner James Herrington said a team had finally done that. Fellow traveller Loic Spiess gave evidence via audio visual link that he and Theo had been communicating via WhatsApp - an encrypted messaging app - in the days before he vanished in 2019. Theo's last message to Loic was sent at 12.56am on June 1, just six minutes before his phone activity mysteriously ceased. Loic had asked if Byron Bay was a 'surfer's paradise'. He told the inquest Theo responded in French, confirming it was. 'Ouais grave!' he wrote. Mr Herrington said it was the last message, that investigators are aware of, ever sent by Theo. Loic had attempted to reply, asking if Theo surfed but that message was sent but not delivered. Sen Const Papworth and the search teams were instead forced to rely on paper maps and pens for the first two days of the search for missing backpacker Theo Hayez (pictured) Also on Wednesday at the inquest, it emerged the NSW police officer who led the initial search for Mr Hayez (pictured) in Byron Bay was inexperienced and would have conducted the operation differently if given the chance 'We've heard our last witness in the inquest ... there's some poignancy about that because it may also have been Theo's last contact,' counsel assisting the coroner Kirsten Edwards said after Loic's evidence. The inquest will not resume sitting until June 7, when counsel assisting the coroner will make their final submissions. It will also hear submissions from a lawyer representing the Hayez family, and a lawyer for NSW Police. State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan will then hand down her findings on October 21. Over 13 days of hearings between November and February, the inquest has heard evidence that places the teen on a steep headland below the town's famous lighthouse around midnight the day he disappeared. CCTV of Theo Hayez shows him at a Byron Bay bottle shop on May 31, 2019 - the night he went missing Senior Constable Louis Papworth admitted he had only conducted two minor searches before the Belgian teen went missing in late May of 2019 (pictured, teams search the north flank of Byron Bay lighthouse for Theo Hayez) Theo was tracked - using data gleaned from Google location services and his mobile phone connections - to a local sporting field after being ejected from the bar. He then charted a route through the Arakwal National Park to the beach below the headland, before the data shows his phone climbing the steep ascent towards the lighthouse, before it stops transmitting. Police have theorised Theo clambered up the beachside cliffs, dropped his phone, then fell and was swept out to sea, something his family says goes against the teen's sensible, risk-averse nature. His friends similarly told the inquest Theo was kind and responsible, and didn't take drugs or drink excessively. Other theories include that he was disorientated due to intoxication, tracking towards the famous Cape Byron Lighthouse, or trying to find a beach party in Cosy's Corner with an unidentified person. Police this week announced a $500,000 reward for anyone with significant information about Theo's case. WUHAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hubei Province reported two new locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the provincial health commission said Friday. Both the cases were detected in the provincial capital Wuhan, and they have been transferred to designated hospitals for treatment. The province also reported one imported confirmed case from Pakistan and four imported asymptomatic cases -- three from Pakistan and one from the Republic of Korea -- according to the health commission. By the end of Thursday, Hubei had 21 locally confirmed COVID-19 cases undergoing treatment and seven local asymptomatic cases under medical observation. Aldi said safety of workers and shoppers was at the forefront of its decisions It has been used by anti-mandate protestors to oppose vaccine mandates He said that Aldi had not recognised the Nuremberg Code of medical ethics Aldi worker took to TikTok after he lost his job over vaccine mandate An Aldi worker who lost his job after refusing to receive a Covid vaccine blamed his sacking on the company's failure to recognise a 75-year-old medical ethics code. In a video posted to TikTok the employee in a blue Aldi polo and wearing a name tag identifying him as 'Rick', is seen leaving one of the German grocery giant's stores. 'Aldi Australia just told me that the Nuremberg Code doesn't apply to them,' he says to camera. '[Because] that was the only thing holding them back from firing me. 'They said that their lawyers decided that the Nuremberg code doesn't apply to them at all.' An Aldi employee said he had been sacked because 'Aldi Australia just told me that the Nuremberg Code doesn't apply to them'. The Nuremberg Code is a set of medical ethics drafted after World War II The Nuremberg Code is a set of medical ethics drafted after World War II to provide guidance on medical research and human clinical trials. It has been seized on by anti-vaccination and anti-mandate activists around the world as justification for resisting compulsory requirements to receive a Covid vaccine. The code was considered necessary after the discovery doctors working for the Nazi regime in Germany had performed barbaric experiments in concentration camps during the war. A key requirement of the 10-point code was the need for medical practitioners to seek 'legally valid voluntary consent' to the conduct of human 'experiments'. The code was superseded by the World Medical Associations Declaration of Helsinki in 1964 as well as other subsequent ethical codes. Its use by anti-vaccination advocates depends on characterising Covid-19 vaccines as 'experimental'. 'The can go ahead and continue firing me, which I'm not too upset about, but the fact that Aldi Australia does not recognise the Nuremberg Code - that should scare everyone,' Rick said in the social media post. An Aldi Australia spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that a safe environment for employees and shoppers was at the forefront of its decision-making as an essential service. Aldi said it had required all employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19 because it was an essential service 'Our view is that requiring all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is the best measure to ensure the health and safety of our teams and our customers,' the spokesperson said. In replies to comments on the post, the employee said he had given Aldi Australia a list of legal questions contradicting their stance. 'They refused to answer all of them,' he wrote. He also confirmed he had been let go for not observing the company's vaccine mandate for employees, which it started to roll out last October. 'I'm getting fired solely for not complying with the mandate,' he wrote. 'It wasn't in my contract that I had to get injected to keep my job.' President Joe Biden has decided on his Supreme Court nominee and could make the official announcement as soon as Friday morning, according to sources close to the matter. Biden pledged to reveal his nominee by the end of February, but two sources close to the process told CBS News that he made his decision on Thursday night and could make the announcement as early as Friday. The search has been whittled down to three candidates to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, with the finalists including Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, Michelle Childs, 55, and Leondra Kruger, 45. Jackson is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; Leondra Kruger sits on the California Supreme Court, and J. Michelle Childs is a federal district court judge from Columbia, South Carolina. President Joe Biden has decided on his Supreme Court nominee, according to sources close to the matter. Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Biden pledged to reveal his nominee by the end of February, but two sources close to the process told CBS News that he made his decision on Thursday night. Another candidate is Leondra Kruger, 45, who sits on the California Supreme Court Also a candidate is Michelle Childs, 55, a federal district court judge from Columbia, South Carolina Biden's expected announcement on Friday would mark two years to the date since he first made the promise to choose the first African American female justice during the 2020 primary debate in South Carolina. Legal exerts believe Jackson could be Biden's choice after the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit broke from its usual procedure by issuing an opinion on a Thursday as opposed to its typical schedule of releasing opinions on Tuesday and Friday. Jackson was reportedly in the majority in a 2-1 ruling case and would most likely have recused herself if the case came down after her nomination, which would divide the panel. Legal experts told CNN that the theory stems from a similar scenario that played out when now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh was nominated. 'Part of why this sets off alarm bells is because we saw a similar scene play out in July 2018 with then-D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh,' Steve Vladeck, CNN's Supreme Court analyst and a professor at the University of Texas School of Law, told the news outlet. If Biden made the announcement on Friday, it would mark two years since the 2020 primary debate in South Carolina when he first made the promise to choose the first African American female justice Minyon Moore, an advocate of Critical Race Theory who sits on the board of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, will advise President Joe Biden on his SCOTUS pick 'The D.C. Circuit handed down a 2-1 ruling on a Monday a day on which it does not usually hand down decisions in a case in which Kavanaugh was in the majority. Had the case come down after his nomination was announced a few hours later, he presumably would have recused, and the panel would have divided 1-1.' 'It's not hard to imagine that the same calculus explains why this 2-1 decision with Judge Jackson in the majority came out today another day on which the court does not usually issue non-emergency rulings,' he concluded. Thursday's case was an unargued ruling in an emergency matter, a DC Circuit court official told CNN, adding that the court always has the option to release opinions at any time and has done so multiple times over the years in emergency matters. The case involved a dispute between a Connecticut power plant and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, CNN reported. Earlier this month, the DC Circuit intervened to halt an order from the FERC that would block the plant from selling power to consumers. Thursday's ruling was the court's opinion explaining why they issued that emergency order and was written by Jackson and Circuit Judge Neomi Rao. Another candidate, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, was reportedly seen on Thursday morning in her native California. And a car accompanied by state police was seen leaving the South Carolina home of fellow finalist District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs. The windows were covered with plastic bags, so it's not clear whether Childs was in the car, CNN reported. Vice President Kamala Harris also spurred speculation that an announcement was on the horizon when she postponed a trip to Louisiana scheduled for Friday. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday that Biden would not hold off on revealing his nominee past February, despite the crisis in Ukraine, meaning that the announcement would come no later than Monday. Jackson was moved to the DC Circuit last year by Biden and previously served nearly a decade on DC's federal district court. She also once clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer and has long been seen as the favored contender for his replacement. 'Democrats today believe in racial discrimination,' Ted Cruz told Fox News Sunday as he slammed President Joe Biden's promise to select a black woman for the Supreme Court Earlier this week, Biden touted his appointment of Clinton confidant and Kamal Harris-bestie Minyon Moore to help him choose the first black female Supreme Court justice. However, he never mentioned that she's a Black Lives Matter board member, CRT promoter and supports the Defund the Police movement. Moore's deep blue political credentials go all the way back to Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns. But when the president announced that he would be setting up a board of advisors to help him with his SCOTUS pick and confirmation strategy he soft-peddled Moore's history. Biden also drew the ire of Senator Ted Cruz, who stepped up his attacks of the president's strategy for picking a Supreme court nominee on Sunday, saying it would be illegal for anyone else to specify the race and gender of job applicants. 'Democrats today believe in racial discrimination,' Cruz told Fox News Sunday. 'They're committed to it as a political proposition. I think it is wrong to stand up and say, 'We're going to discriminate.' Cruz said that made 94 percent of the population ineligible, including Merrick Garland, nominated by Barack Obama for a Supreme Court seat. 'If he happened to nominate a justice who was an African-American woman, great,' he continued. 'But you know what, if Fox News put a posting, we're looking for a new host for Fox News Sunday and we will only hire an African American woman or a Hispanic man or a Native American woman, that would be illegal.' Leading conservatives - including former Vice President Mike Pence - have expressed concern about Biden's promise, warning that he could be overlooking the best person for the job. But supporters say it will help make the court a better representation of America. And the White House has previously called out Cruz for hypocrisy over President Donald Trump's choice of Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died in September 2020. 'Just over a year ago, the previous president also promised to select a woman for the Supreme Court,' said Press Secretary Jen Psaki earlier this month. 'Not only were there no complaints about choosing a nominee from a specific demographic, from the same corners, but there was widespread praise of now Justice Barrett on those grounds with Republican lawmakers widely highlighting that they thought this was positive for women in America. 'So take Senator Cruz himself, he had no objection to Donald Trump promising he'd nominated a woman in 2020. Repeat: No objection at all.' Coney Barrett was confirmed in October 2020, hurried through by Republicans with one eye on the looming presidential election. Advertisement Hundreds of Ukrainians have gathered in Sydney's centre to demonstrate against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with expats telling harrowing stories of family members sheltering from rockets in underground bunkers. A crowd of about 300, including Ukrainians standing alongside Russians, called for the world's powers to react in more certain terms, saying their country was being 'openly bombed' and Russian President Vladimir Putin had no regard for international law. Ukrainian construction worker Bogdan Koldunenko said he felt 'every rule that was in the world, all of a sudden had been broken'. Protesters of Ukranian and Russian backgrounds gather in Sydney where they hold placards and shout slogans against the Russia's President Vladimir Putin during a protest against the war A protester is seen crying during a rally against the war in Ukraine at Martin Place in Sydney on Friday afternoon Eastern Orthodox religious leaders say a prayer during a rally against the war in Ukraine at Martin Place in Sydney Protesters shed tears for families back home in Ukraine during a demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Sydney US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Vladimir Putin plans to encircle Ukrainian forces in Kyiv. Pictured: Protesters in Sydney President Biden said Putin wants to force Ukraine to either surrender or be destroyed, and the leadership of Ukraine could then fall in a week (Pictured: Protesters in Sydney) One placard at the protest read: 'Today Ukraine is fighting for the entire free world'. Protesters did not let the rain put them off Emmanuel Macron spoke to Vladimir Putin on Thursday night, who gave the French leader an 'exhaustive' explanation of his justification for war (Pictured: Protesters in Sydney) One protester carrying an umbrella had an extremely rude message for Vladimir Putin and displayed it on a placard Mr Koldunenko, whose father lives in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, said his dad last night heard explosions at nearby Boryspil airport. 'I don't know what will happen to my father,' he said, adding his dad's concerns were in the 'immediate five minutes' and he was planning for the event of a bombing. 'There is always the threat of a missile firing somewhere,' Mr Koldunenko said. 'Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons for the betterment of the world. And what does the world have to say in return? 'We're being openly invaded, we are being bombed. We have learned over the last few days, there are no rules to Putin. 'He does not acknowledge rationality.' Ukraine's capital was under bombardment in the early hours of Friday, with the skies ablaze as Vladimir Putin's tanks moved to within 20 miles of Kyiv (Pictured: Protesters in Sydney) A Ukrainian jet, a SU-27, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in a separate incident, the Ukrainian government said (Pictured: Protesters in Sydney) Ukraine has 125 combat-capable aircraft, including 4th-generation fighter workhorses Sukhoi Su27 and Mikoyan MiG29, according to Military Balance 2021. Russia has more than 1,500 fighter jets (Pictured: Protesters in Sydney) The Ukrainian capital is expected to be surrounded by Russian forces this weekend and the country's resistance effectively crippled, US security officials fear (Pictured: Protesters in Sydney) One woman held a placard saying: 'I'm Russia and I stand with Ukraine' as she attended the protest in Martin Place Several protesters held signs comparing President Putin to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler at the protest on Friday Sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, but Russian oil and natural gas were exempt in a bid to avoid disruption to global markets (Pictured: Protesters in Sydney) President Biden resisted calls to send in US troops to Ukraine, saying he has no plans to speak to the Russian leader who he accuses of trying to rebuild a Soviet empire (Pictured: Protesters in Sydney) Russian man Nikita Abamov, who was at the demonstration with Mr Koldunenko and another Ukrainian man, Artem Nosovtsev, said he felt the sanctions would only hit regular Russians and would not affect the country's military attacks in Ukraine. 'I think usual people, they're going to have a really hard time,' he said. 'Most of the people (in Russia) are not supporting Putin. They're trying to (go) quiet. We're trying to find a way to protest, but it's a little bit cautious.' Mr Abamov said Russia had cracked down on dissent. 'Russian forces already learn how to separate all the opposition, because every time people go into meetings, they're going to be suspended, or they're going to be fired from work,' he said. 'Or they're going to be put into cells and beaten up.' Anton Muratov was at the demonstration with Maryna Shaposhnikova, and said all their friends and relatives are in Ukraine. The pair from Kharkiv, which has been hit by air strikes in recent days, said they have been contending with worrying updates as their families shelter in a basement. 'We are waiting, because they say Russia will attack at four, which is in one hour and 15 minutes,' Ms Shaposhnikova said. She said her news feed has been filled with a 'lot of fake news'. 'It's hard to understand what is real', she said, adding friends and family have been 'scared and telling people to hide' every few minutes. 'You are so far away and feel alienated here, but we're trying to support them as much as we can.' The attack has come to Ukraine on all fronts with bombs and missiles dropped on targets across the country in the early hours, followed by troop attacks from Crimea, the Donbass, Belgorod and Belarus as well as helicopter landings in Kiev and at power plants on the Dnieper River. Chernobyl nuclear power plant has also fallen to Russian forces Ukraine's capital was under bombardment in the early hours of Friday, with the skies ablaze as Vladimir Putin's tanks moved to within 20 miles of Kyiv. Ukraine's deputy defense ministry said that one missile was shot out of the sky by their anti-missile defense systems. Another missile struck a residential building in the city. A Ukrainian jet, a SU-27, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in a separate incident, the Ukrainian government said. The country has 125 combat-capable aircraft, including 4th-generation fighter workhorses Sukhoi Su27 and Mikoyan MiG29, according to Military Balance 2021. Russia has more than 1,500 fighter jets. Hours earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky raged at Western cowards who failed to come to his aid, saying his country is being 'left alone' to face Russian troops. Officials warn that Kyiv will be seized this weekend. In a video address to his nation after midnight, the president called his fallen compatriots 'heroes' after 137 were killed on the first day of fighting, and insisted he will stay until the bitter end. He said: 'They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven. 'We have been left alone to defend our state. Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone. 'Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.' Fire fighters are seen responding to a blaze at a residential building in Kyiv in the early hours of Friday The Kyiv apartment block is seen ablaze on Friday morning. It is unclear what caused the fire He added that the enemy has already entered Kyiv and urged residents to be vigilant and observe curfew rules, acknowledging he was 'target number one'. The Ukrainian capital is expected to be surrounded by Russian forces this weekend and the country's resistance effectively crippled, US security officials fear. Troops are already closing in on the seat of Ukrainian power after taking control of the strategic Chernobyl nuclear power plant today, and will seize it within 96 hours, bringing a 'new Iron Curtain' down on Europe, Zelensky warned. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Vladimir Putin plans to encircle Ukrainian forces in Kyiv and force them to either surrender or be destroyed, and the leadership of Ukraine could then fall in a week. A former senior US intelligence officer told Newsweek: 'After the air and artillery end and the ground war really starts, I think Kyiv falls in just a few days. 'The military may last slightly longer but this isn't going to last long.' Kyiv was ablaze in the early hours of Friday as the city came under attack from Russia Projectiles are seen falling from the sky over Kyiv in the early hours of Friday In a bid to thwart the imminent capture of the city, Emmanuel Macron spoke to Vladimir Putin on Thursday night, who gave the French leader an 'exhaustive' explanation of his justification for war. The Kremlin said the call took place at Macron's initiative, and he and Putin agreed to stay in contact. Zelensky has also signed a decree on the general mobilisation of the population within 90 days, but men aged 18-60 are banned from leaving the country. It comes after Russian forces seized control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant after a 'fierce' battle, with the condition of nuclear storage facilities 'unknown', sparking fears of a radiation leak that could cause fallout in Europe. Video revealed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles standing in front of the destroyed reactor, which sits just 60 miles north of the capital Kyiv. An official said Russian shelling hit a radioactive waste repository and an increase in radiation levels was reported, although this has not yet been corroborated. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is following the situation in Ukraine 'with grave concern' and appealed for maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put Ukraine's nuclear facilities at risk. Ukrainian presidential advisor Myhailo Podolyak said: 'After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe.' Meanwhile Turkey reported that one of its ships had been hit by a 'bomb' off the coast of Odessa, where fighting is also going on. Turkey is a member of NATO, underlining fears that the war in Ukraine could quickly suck in other states and spark an all-out conflict in Europe. Speaking after the latest developments, Joe Biden announced more sanctions against Russia but admitted that he had not expected previous threats of financial penalties to deter Vladimir Putin. He also resisted calls to send in US troops to Ukraine, saying he has no plans to speak to the Russian leader who he accuses of trying to rebuild a Soviet empire. The sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, but Russian oil and natural gas were exempt in a bid to avoid disruption to global markets. Explosions are seen in Kyiv in the early hours of Friday, with a bombardment that began around 4am Missiles rain down on Kyiv in the early hours of Friday 'Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,' Biden said in remarks at the White House. Elsewhere, Kyiv ordered civilians into bomb shelters and declared a curfew amid concerns Russia is about to strike the capital as Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 15 miles away. Russian forces had attacked it with around two dozen attack helicopters earlier in the day, four of which are thought to have been shot down. 'They are going to bomb Kyiv now. Authorities told us to hide in shelters,' a source in the city told MailOnline as authorities said a hospital had been hit, killing four people. The Ukrainian army was fighting in almost every region of the country, battling the Russians for control of military bases, airports, cities and ports from Kharkiv to Kyiv, and Donetsk to Odessa. It came after Vladimir Putin personally gave the order to attack around 5am on Thursday, unleashing a salvo of rocket fire that American intelligence said involved more than 100 short and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles, and 75 bombers that targeted military sites including barracks, warehouses and airfields in order to knock out the country's military command structure. Dear citizens of Russia! Dear friends! Today, I again consider it necessary to return to the tragic events taking place in the Donbass and the key issues of ensuring the security of Russia itself. Let me start with what I said in my address of February 21 this year. We are talking about what causes us particular concern and anxiety, about those fundamental threats that year after year, step by step, are rudely and unceremoniously created by irresponsible politicians in the West in relation to our country. I mean the expansion of the NATO bloc to the east, bringing its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. It is well known that for 30 years we have persistently and patiently tried to reach an agreement with the leading NATO countries on the principles of equal and indivisible security in Europe. In response to our proposals, we constantly faced either cynical deception and lies, or attempts to pressure and blackmail, while the North Atlantic Alliance, in the meantime, despite all our protests and concerns, is steadily expanding. The military machine is moving and, I repeat, is coming close to our borders. Why is all this happening? Where does this impudent manner of speaking from the position of one's own exclusivity, infallibility and permissiveness come from? Where does the disdainful, disdainful attitude towards our interests and absolutely legitimate demands come from? The answer is clear, everything is clear and obvious. The Soviet Union in the late 80s of the last century weakened, and then completely collapsed. The whole course of events that took place then is a good lesson for us today as well; it convincingly showed that the paralysis of power and will is the first step towards complete degradation and oblivion. As soon as we lost confidence in ourselves for some time, and that's it, the balance of power in the world turned out to be disturbed. This has led to the fact that the previous treaties and agreements are no longer in effect. Persuasion and requests do not help. Everything that does not suit the hegemon, those in power, is declared archaic, obsolete, unnecessary. And vice versa: everything that seems beneficial to them is presented as the ultimate truth, pushed through at any cost, boorishly, by all means. Dissenters are broken through the knee. What I am talking about now concerns not only Russia and not only us. This applies to the entire system of international relations, and sometimes even to the US allies themselves. After the collapse of the USSR, the redivision of the world actually began, and the norms of international law that had developed by that time - and the key, basic ones were adopted at the end of the Second World War and largely consolidated its results - began to interfere with those who declared themselves the winner in the Cold War . Of course, in practical life, in international relations, in the rules for their regulation, it was necessary to take into account changes in the situation in the world and the balance of power itself. However, this should have been done professionally, smoothly, patiently, taking into account and respecting the interests of all countries and understanding our responsibility. But no - a state of euphoria from absolute superiority, a kind of modern form of absolutism, and even against the background of a low level of general culture and arrogance of those who prepared, adopted and pushed through decisions that were beneficial only for themselves. The situation began to develop according to a different scenario. You don't have to look far for examples. First, without any sanction from the UN Security Council, they carried out a bloody military operation against Belgrade, using aircraft and missiles right in the very center of Europe. Several weeks of continuous bombing of civilian cities, on life-supporting infrastructure. We have to remind these facts, otherwise some Western colleagues do not like to remember those events, and when we talk about it, they prefer to point not to the norms of international law, but to the circumstances that they interpret as they see fit. Then came the turn of Iraq, Libya, Syria. The illegitimate use of military force against Libya, the perversion of all decisions of the UN Security Council on the Libyan issue led to the complete destruction of the state, to the emergence of a huge hotbed of international terrorism, to the fact that the country plunged into a humanitarian catastrophe that has not stopped for many years. civil war. The tragedy, which doomed hundreds of thousands, millions of people not only in Libya, but throughout this region, gave rise to a massive migration exodus from North Africa and the Middle East to Europe. A similar fate was prepared for Syria. The fighting of the Western coalition on the territory of this country without the consent of the Syrian government and the sanction of the UN Security Council is nothing but aggression, intervention. However, a special place in this series is occupied, of course, by the invasion of Iraq, also without any legal grounds. As a pretext, they chose reliable information allegedly available to the United States about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. As proof of this, publicly, in front of the eyes of the whole world, the US Secretary of State shook some kind of test tube with white powder, assuring everyone that this is the chemical weapon being developed in Iraq. And then it turned out that all this was a hoax, a bluff: there are no chemical weapons in Iraq. Unbelievable, surprising, but the fact remains. There were lies at the highest state level and from the high rostrum of the UN. And as a result - huge casualties, destruction, an incredible surge of terrorism. In general, one gets the impression that practically everywhere, in many regions of the world, where the West comes to establish its own order, the result is bloody, unhealed wounds, ulcers of international terrorism and extremism. All that I have said is the most egregious, but by no means the only examples of disregard for international law. In this series, and promises to our country not to expand NATO by one inch to the east. I repeat - they deceived me, but in popular terms, they simply threw it away. Yes, you can often hear that politics is a dirty business. Perhaps, but not to the same extent, not to the same extent. After all, such cheating behavior contradicts not only the principles of international relations, but above all the generally recognized norms of morality and morality. Where is justice and truth here? Just a bunch of lies and hypocrisy. By the way, American politicians, political scientists and journalists themselves write and talk about the fact that a real 'empire of lies' has been created inside the United States in recent years. It's hard to disagree with that - it's true. But do not be modest: the United States is still a great country, a system-forming power. All her satellites not only resignedly and dutifully assent, sing along to her for any reason, but also copy her behavior, enthusiastically accept the rules he proposes. Therefore, with good reason, we can confidently say that the entire so-called Western bloc, formed by the United States in its own image and likeness, all of it is the very 'empire of lies'. As for our country, after the collapse of the USSR, with all the unprecedented openness of the new modern Russia, the readiness to work honestly with the United States and other Western partners, and in the conditions of virtually unilateral disarmament, they immediately tried to squeeze us, finish off and destroy us completely. This is exactly what happened in the 90s, in the early 2000s, when the so-called collective West most actively supported separatism and mercenary gangs in southern Russia. What sacrifices, what losses did all this cost us then, what trials did we have to go through before we finally broke the back of international terrorism in the Caucasus. We remember this and will never forget. Yes, in fact, until recently, attempts have not stopped to use us in their own interests, destroy our traditional values and impose on us their pseudo-values that would corrode us, our people from the inside, those attitudes that they are already aggressively planting in their countries and which directly lead to degradation and degeneration, because they contradict the very nature of man. It won't happen, no one has ever done it. It won't work now either. Despite everything, in December 2021, we nevertheless once again made an attempt to agree with the United States and its allies on the principles of ensuring security in Europe and on the non-expansion of NATO. Everything is in vain. The US position does not change. They do not consider it necessary to negotiate with Russia on this key issue for us, pursuing their own goals, they neglect our interests. And of course, in this situation, we have a question: what to do next, what to expect? We know well from history how in the 1940s and early 1941s the Soviet Union tried in every possible way to prevent or at least delay the outbreak of war. To this end, among other things, he tried literally to the last not to provoke a potential aggressor, did not carry out or postponed the most necessary, obvious actions to prepare for repelling an inevitable attack. And those steps that were nevertheless taken in the end were catastrophically belated. As a result, the country was not ready to fully meet the invasion of Nazi Germany, which attacked our Motherland on June 22, 1941 without declaring war. The enemy was stopped and then crushed, but at a colossal cost. An attempt to appease the aggressor on the eve of the Great Patriotic War turned out to be a mistake that cost our people dearly. In the very first months of hostilities, we lost huge, strategically important territories and millions of people. The second time we will not allow such a mistake, we have no right. Those who claim world domination, publicly, with impunity and, I emphasize, without any reason, declare us, Russia, their enemy. Indeed, today they have great financial, scientific, technological and military capabilities. We are aware of this and objectively assess the threats constantly being addressed to us in the economic sphere, as well as our ability to resist this impudent and permanent blackmail. I repeat, we evaluate them without illusions, extremely realistically. As for the military sphere, modern Russia, even after the collapse of the USSR and the loss of a significant part of its potential, is today one of the most powerful nuclear powers in the world and, moreover, has certain advantages in a number of the latest types of weapons. In this regard, no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to defeat and dire consequences for any potential aggressor. At the same time, technologies, including defense technologies, are changing rapidly. Leadership in this area is passing and will continue to change hands, but the military development of the territories adjacent to our borders, if we allow it, will remain for decades to come, and maybe forever, and will create an ever-growing, absolutely unacceptable threat for Russia. . Even now, as NATO expands to the east, the situation for our country is getting worse and more dangerous every year. Moreover, in recent days, the leadership of NATO has been openly talking about the need to accelerate, speed up the advancement of the Alliance's infrastructure to the borders of Russia. In other words, they are hardening their position. We can no longer just continue to observe what is happening. It would be absolutely irresponsible on our part. Further expansion of the infrastructure of the North Atlantic Alliance, the military development of the territories of Ukraine that has begun is unacceptable for us. The point, of course, is not the NATO organization itself - it is only an instrument of US foreign policy. The problem is that in the territories adjacent to us, I will note, in our own historical territories, an 'anti-Russia' hostile to us is being created, which has been placed under complete external control, is intensively settled by the armed forces of NATO countries and is pumped up with the most modern weapons. For the United States and its allies, this is the so-called policy of containment of Russia, obvious geopolitical dividends. And for our country, this is ultimately a matter of life and death, a matter of our historical future as a people. And this is not an exaggeration - it is true. This is a real threat not just to our interests, but to the very existence of our state, its sovereignty. This is the very red line that has been talked about many times. They passed her. In this regard, and about the situation in the Donbass. We see that the forces that carried out a coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014, seized power and are holding it with the help of, in fact, decorative electoral procedures, have finally abandoned the peaceful settlement of the conflict. For eight years, endlessly long eight years, we have done everything possible to resolve the situation by peaceful, political means. All in vain. As I said in my previous address, one cannot look at what is happening there without compassion. It was simply impossible to endure all this. It was necessary to immediately stop this nightmare - the genocide against the millions of people living there, who rely only on Russia, hope only on us. It was these aspirations, feelings, pain of people that were for us the main motive for making a decision to recognize the people's republics of Donbass. What I think is important to emphasize further. The leading NATO countries, in order to achieve their own goals, support extreme nationalists and neo-Nazis in Ukraine in everything, who, in turn, will never forgive the Crimeans and Sevastopol residents for their free choice - reunification with Russia. They, of course, will climb into the Crimea, and just like in the Donbass, with a war, in order to kill, as punishers from the gangs of Ukrainian nationalists, Hitler's accomplices, killed defenseless people during the Great Patriotic War. They openly declare that they lay claim to a number of other Russian territories. The entire course of events and analysis of incoming information shows that Russia's clash with these forces is inevitable. It is only a matter of time: they are getting ready, they are waiting for the right time. Now they also claim to possess nuclear weapons. We will not allow this to be done. As I said earlier, after the collapse of the USSR, Russia accepted new geopolitical realities. We respect and will continue to treat all the newly formed countries in the post-Soviet space with respect. We respect and will continue to respect their sovereignty, and an example of this is the assistance we provided to Kazakhstan, which faced tragic events, with a challenge to its statehood and integrity. But Russia cannot feel safe, develop, exist with a constant threat emanating from the territory of modern Ukraine. Let me remind you that in 2000-2005 we gave a military rebuff to terrorists in the Caucasus, defended the integrity of our state, saved Russia. In 2014, they supported the Crimeans and Sevastopol residents. In 2015, the Armed Forces used to put a reliable barrier to the penetration of terrorists from Syria into Russia. We had no other way to protect ourselves. The same thing is happening now. You and I simply have not been left with any other opportunity to protect Russia, our people, except for the one that we will be forced to use today. Circumstances require us to take decisive and immediate action. The people's republics of Donbass turned to Russia with a request for help. In this regard, in accordance with Article 51 of Part 7 of the UN Charter, with the sanction of the Federation Council of Russia and in pursuance of the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance ratified by the Federal Assembly on February 22 this year with the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, I decided to conduct a special military operation . Its goal is to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyev regime for eight years. And for this we will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as well as bringing to justice those who committed numerous, bloody crimes against civilians, including citizens of the Russian Federation. At the same time, our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force. At the same time, we hear that recently in the West there are more and more words that the documents signed by the Soviet totalitarian regime, which consolidate the results of the Second World War, should no longer be carried out. Well, what is the answer to this? The results of the Second World War, as well as the sacrifices made by our people on the altar of victory over Nazism, are sacred. But this does not contradict the high values of human rights and freedoms, based on the realities that have developed today over all the post-war decades. It also does not cancel the right of nations to self-determination, enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter. Let me remind you that neither during the creation of the USSR, nor after the Second World War, people living in certain territories that are part of modern Ukraine, no one ever asked how they themselves want to arrange their lives. Our policy is based on freedom, the freedom of choice for everyone to independently determine their own future and the future of their children. And we consider it important that this right - the right to choose - could be used by all the peoples living on the territory of today's Ukraine, by everyone who wants it. In this regard, I appeal to the citizens of Ukraine. In 2014, Russia was obliged to protect the inhabitants of Crimea and Sevastopol from those whom you yourself call 'Nazis'. Crimeans and Sevastopol residents made their choice to be with their historical homeland, with Russia, and we supported this. I repeat, they simply could not do otherwise. Today's events are not connected with the desire to infringe on the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. They are connected with the protection of Russia itself from those who took Ukraine hostage and are trying to use it against our country and its people. I repeat, our actions are self-defense against the threats posed to us and from an even greater disaster than what is happening today. No matter how difficult it may be, I ask you to understand this and call for cooperation in order to turn this tragic page as soon as possible and move forward together, not to allow anyone to interfere in our affairs, in our relations, but to build them on our own, so that it creates the necessary conditions for overcoming all problems and, despite the presence of state borders, would strengthen us from the inside as a whole. I believe in this - in this is our future. I should also appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine. Dear comrades! Your fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers did not fight the Nazis, defending our common Motherland, so that today's neo-Nazis seized power in Ukraine. You took an oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people, and not to the anti-people junta that plunders Ukraine and mocks these same people. Don't follow her criminal orders. I urge you to lay down your weapons immediately and go home. Let me explain: all servicemen of the Ukrainian army who fulfill this requirement will be able to freely leave the combat zone and return to their families. Once again, I insistently emphasize: all responsibility for possible bloodshed will be entirely on the conscience of the regime ruling on the territory of Ukraine. Now a few important, very important words for those who may be tempted to intervene in ongoing events. Whoever tries to hinder us, and even more so to create threats for our country, for our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences that you have never experienced in your history. We are ready for any development of events. All necessary decisions in this regard have been made. I hope that I will be heard. Dear citizens of Russia! Well-being, the very existence of entire states and peoples, their success and viability always originate in the powerful root system of their culture and values, experience and traditions of their ancestors and, of course, directly depend on the ability to quickly adapt to a constantly changing life, on the cohesion of society, its readiness to consolidate, to gather together all the forces in order to move forward. Forces are needed always - always, but strength can be of different quality. The policy of the 'empire of lies', which I spoke about at the beginning of my speech, is based primarily on brute, straightforward force. In such cases, we say: 'There is power, mind is not needed.' And you and I know that real strength lies in justice and truth, which is on our side. And if this is so, then it is difficult to disagree with the fact that it is the strength and readiness to fight that underlie independence and sovereignty, are the necessary foundation on which you can only reliably build your future, build your home, your family, your homeland. . Dear compatriots! I am confident that the soldiers and officers of the Russian Armed Forces devoted to their country will professionally and courageously fulfill their duty. I have no doubt that all levels of government, specialists responsible for the stability of our economy, financial system, social sphere, heads of our companies and all Russian business will act in a coordinated and efficient manner. I count on a consolidated, patriotic position of all parliamentary parties and public forces. Ultimately, as it has always been in history, the fate of Russia is in the reliable hands of our multinational people. And this means that the decisions made will be implemented, the goals set will be achieved, the security of our Motherland will be reliably guaranteed. I believe in your support, in that invincible strength that our love for the Fatherland gives us. Advertisement Thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing war with Russia and started arriving into neighboring countries, mainly Moldova and Romania, while an estimated 100,000 have fled their homes and are uprooted in the country after the invasion, the UN refugee agency said Thursday. The countries on the European Union's eastern flank, once part of the Moscow-led Warsaw Pact and now members of NATO, are bracing for many more Ukrainians, setting up reception points and sending troops towards the borders to provide assistance. Among them, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania all share land borders with Ukraine. 'If Russia continues down this path, it could, according to our estimates, create a new refugee crisis - one of the largest facing the world today - with as many as five million more people displaced by Russia's war of choice and putting pressure on Ukraine's neighbors,' US Ambassador to the United Nation Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned Wednesday. Russia has launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two, fueling fears of a massive flood of refugees fleeing Ukraine, a nation of 44 million people. At least 68 people were killed and 169 were wounded on Thursday, Ukraine's health minister said, while the interior ministry said 13 border guards died when a Russian vessel shelled Ukraine's Zmiinyi Island, south of the Black Sea port of Odessa. Groups of people fled into Hungary via the Beregsurany and Tiszabecs crossings, some coming from as far as Kyiv, an eyewitness said. Some arrived by car but many pedestrians were also hauling suitcases across. 'No one wants to get conscripted, no one wants to die,' said Tamas Bodnar at the border with Hungary. 'It's clear that those who can, they flee.' The highway heading west out of Kyiv, home to 3 million people, was choked with traffic across five lanes as residents sought to escape, fearful of bombs while stuck in their cars. At the usually quiet border crossing at Medyka in southern Poland, dozens arrived from Ukraine on foot on Thursday morning, carrying luggage. A line of cars waiting for passage grew longer during the course of the day. A Polish woman, Olena Bogucka, 39, said she had been waiting for four hours while her Ukrainian husband and child were stuck on the other side. 'You can't get through,' she said. 'I can't reach them on the phone...I don't how to get my child out... I don't know what to do.' Ukrainian refugees are greeted at the Romanian border on Thursday. The Romanians provided food and water to their neighbors from the East The first train with Ukrainian refugees arrives in Przemysl on Thursday . Hungary also said its embassy in Kyiv remained open. The Czech Republic closed its Kyiv embassy but its consulate in the western city of Lviv remained open. A mother carries her child after arriving on first train with Ukrainian refugees to Przemysl, Poland on Thursday A man waits for the arrival of the train in in eastern Ukraine city of Lisichansk on Thursday as resident fled their homes and headed to West following Russia's invasion Ukrainian refugees rest at a train station hall that was turned into an accommodation center in Przemysl, Poland, on Thursday Tents are set up at a makeshift refugee camp in Moldova as Ukrainians began flooding over the border Thurday Religious Jews visiting Ukraine escape on bus to cross border with Moldova on Thursday To facilitate border crossings, Poland lifted quarantine rules on Thursday for people arriving from outside the EU without a lab-certified negative COVID-19 test. Poland is home to the region's largest Ukrainian community, numbering around 1 million, and is the easiest EU country to reach from Kyiv. The country's government called for the 'fiercest possible sanctions' against Russia. Elsewhere in the region, Czech President Milos Zeman, long sympathetic to Moscow, called Russian President Vladimir Putin a 'madman.' Prague stopped issuing visas to Russians and ordered the closure of two Russian consulates. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has also forged good ties with Putin, condemned Moscow's actions, too. He said Hungary would prepare humanitarian aid for Ukraine and was ready to receive refugees. Several hundred people also left Ukraine from a sliver of its territory sandwiched between Moldova and the Black Sea, crossing into Romania by ferry over the Danube river, local authorities said. Slovak customs officials said passenger cars were having to wait up to 12 hours at the busiest of Slovakia's three road crossings with Ukraine. People waiting for a Kyiv-bound train walk to a platform in Kramatorsk, the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine The highway heading west out of Kyiv, home to 3 million people, was choked with traffic across five lanes as residents sought to escape, fearful of bombs while stuck in their cars People wait in a traffic jam as they leave the city of Kharkiv, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine Tens of thousands of Ukrainians work in Slovakia and Hungary, which has a large ethnic minority of around 140,000 living just inside Ukraine's border. Poland was preparing a medical train to transport wounded Ukrainians and drew up a list of 1,230 hospitals that could admit the injured, the health ministry said. The Polish army raised the level of preparedness of some units. 'We will do everything to ensure that every person who enters the territory of Poland has access to healthcare, including hospitalisation,' the ministry said. Poland set up reception points for refugees near border crossings. Slovakia also said it was ready to help refugees. 'Please let's have compassion and understanding for them,' Prime Minister Eduard Heger said. Slovakia will send up to 1,500 troops to its border with Ukraine and additional crossings will be set up, said Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad. Hungary has also said it will send troops to its border to help process refugees. The governor of Slovakia's eastern Kosice region, Rostislav Trnka, said around 2,000 beds and some 60 gyms had been prepared to help house refugees. The Czech Republic, which does not border Ukraine but is home to 260,000 Ukrainians, also said it was ready to help refugees. Czech Railways offered rail cars with 6,000 seats and beds to help evacuate people if necessary. Romania is ready to grant humanitarian aid if needed, President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday, while Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said his country was preparing to evacuate by land more than 4,000 ethnic Bulgarians from Ukraine and was ready to host other Ukrainian refugees. Thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing war with Russia and started arriving into neighboring countries, mainly Moldova and Romania. Above, families line up to board a Kyiv bound train at a station in Severodonetsk, the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday Russian forces have bombarded cities all over Ukraine as Vladimir Putin's troops move on the capital of Kyiv A Polish government spokesman said Polish diplomatic missions in Ukraine would remain open 'as long as possible' but the foreign ministry urged all Polish citizens to leave Ukraine. Hungary also said its embassy in Kyiv remained open. The Czech Republic closed its Kyiv embassy but its consulate in the western city of Lviv remained open. Germany offered humanitarian help to countries bordering Ukraine. German media have cited estimates that between 200,000 and one million people may flee to the EU from Ukraine. Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said the figures were compiled from reports from national authorities and its staff and partner agencies. 'It's a ballpark figure,' she told Reuters. Ukrainian forces battled Russian invaders on three sides on Thursday after Moscow unleashed the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two, prompting tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. After Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war in a pre-dawn televised address, explosions and gunfire were heard through the day in Ukraine's capital and elsewhere in the country, with at least 70 people reported killed. The assault brought a calamitous end to weeks of fruitless diplomatic efforts by Western leaders to avert war over Russian demands for a redrawing of post-Cold War security arrangements in Europe. 'This is a premeditated attack,' US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House as he unveiled harsh new sanctions, coordinated with allies, against Russian banks, oligarchs and state companies. 'Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,' he said. In his address, Putin said he had ordered 'a special military operation' to protect people, including Russian citizens, subjected to 'genocide' in Ukraine - an accusation the West calls baseless propaganda. 'And for this we will strive for the de-militarization and denazification of Ukraine,' Putin said. After nightfall, a picture was emerging of fierce fighting across multiple fronts. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy late on Thursday ordered a general mobilization, to be carried out within 90 days, 'to ensure the defense of the state'. An adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office said Russian forces had captured the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant, just 60 miles north of Kyiv. The plant is along the shortest route from the Ukrainian capital to Belarus, where Moscow has staged troops. There was also fighting at Hostomel airport, just outside Kyiv, where Russian paratroopers landed. A Ukrainian official later said the airfield had been recaptured, while a senior US defense official said Russian forces were advancing closer to Kyiv. Heavy exchanges of fire were also reported in the regions of Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson in the south. A traffic jam in Kyiv, Ukraine on Thursday as residents flee the capital Thursday began with missiles raining down on targets across Ukraine and reports of troops and armor pouring across the borders from Russia and Belarus to the north and east. Zelenskiy called on Ukrainians to defend their country and said arms would be given to anyone prepared to fight. 'What we have heard today are not just missile blasts, fighting and the rumble of aircraft. This is the sound of a new Iron Curtain, which has come down and is closing Russia off from the civilized world,' Zelenskiy said. Putin, after referring earlier in his speech to Russia's powerful nuclear arsenal, warned: 'Whoever tries to hinder us... should know that Russia's response will be immediate. And it will lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history.' Asked whether that threat was tantamount to threatening Russian use of nuclear weapons, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said it was indeed understood as such, adding that Putin should also understand that NATO was a nuclear alliance. Biden has ruled out sending US troops to defend Ukraine, but Washington has reinforced its NATO allies in the region with extra troops and planes. After consulting with the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, Biden announced measures to impede Russia's ability to do business in the world's major currencies, along with sanctions against banks and state-owned enterprises. Britain also targeted banks, as well as members of Putin's inner circle. European Union leaders said measures would include freezing Russian assets in the 27-nation bloc. China remained out of step, however, rejecting the description of Russia's actions as an 'invasion'. Russia is one of the world's biggest energy producers, and both it and Ukraine are among the top exporters of grain. War and sanctions will disrupt economies around the world already facing a crisis as they emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. European stocks dived to nine-month lows, but U.S. stocks ended higher after Biden's sanctions announcement. Brent oil earlier surged past $100/barrel for the first time since 2014. Ukrainians board Kyiv-bound train near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine as Russian forces stormed across the border Putin said he did not plan a military occupation, only to disarm Ukraine and purge it of nationalists, and his endgame remains unclear. The senior US defense official said Washington believed the invasion was intended to 'decapitate' Zelenskiy's government. But it is hard to see Ukrainians accepting leadership installed by Moscow. 'I think we must fight all those who invade our country so strongly,' said one man stuck in traffic trying to leave Kyiv. 'I would hang every single one of them from bridges.' A democratic nation of 44 million people, Ukraine is Europe's biggest country by area after Russia itself. It voted for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and has recently stepped up efforts to join NATO and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow. Putin, who denied for months that he was planning an invasion, has called Ukraine an artificial construct carved from Russia by its enemies - a characterization Ukrainians see as an attempt to erase their more than 1,000-year-old history. While many Ukrainians, particularly in the east, speak Russian as a native language, virtually all identify themselves as Ukrainian. There was also some dissent in Russia. Police detained more than 1,600 taking part in anti-war rallies in 53 cities and authorities threatened to block media reports carrying 'false information'. In the southeastern port of Mariupol, near a frontline held by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, local authorities said 26 people were wounded in shelling. Civilians packed bags. 'We are going into hiding,' a woman said. Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, said its forces had downed two Russian helicopters and seven other Russian aircraft and destroyed several Russian trucks, and a platoon from Russia's 74th Motor Rifles Brigade had surrendered. Russia's defense ministry said it had destroyed 83 land-based Ukrainian targets and had achieved all its goals, according to Interfax news agency. Protests against Russia's invasion were held in Europe and the United States. At a demonstration in New York's Time Square, Ivana Lotoshynski, who was born in Ukraine, urged solidarity with Ukrainians. 'People are losing their lives right now. Ukrainians are fighting against this regime from Russia and it's really devastating,' she said. 'Today I think everybody is Ukrainian.' Newborn babies in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro were caught on camera being hustled away into a makeshift bomb shelter at the hospital as Russian forces invaded the country. About a dozen infants that were being looked after in the neonatal unit were hastily moved into what appeared to be a storage room in the basement of the hospital, in the eastern part of the country. Nurses could be seen caring for the babies with several of them holding them in their arms, cradling them, some even managing a smile. Others could be seen using inflatable bags to deliver air to the little ones who were having difficulty breathing. Newborns from a neonatal intensive care unit at a the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Children's Clinical Hospital, pictured, in Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine, were moved to a makeshift bomb shelter The corridors of Dnipropetrovsk City Children's Clinical Hospital are pictured (file photo) The babies, who looked to be ranging from hours old to only a few days, were wrapped in different colored blankets and laid out on makeshift beds. All seemed to be on their best behavior with none crying as the camera panned around the room. 'This is the NICU. In a bomb shelter. Can you imagine?' said Dr. Denis Surkov, chief of the neonatal unit, at Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Children's Clinical Hospital to the New York Times in a text message. 'This is our reality.' The babies were taken to the makeshift bomb shelter after the Ukrainian city was struck by missiles as Russia invaded the country early Thursday morning. 'We were nervous, very confused,' Dr. Surkov, 51, said. Dnipro was among more than a dozen cities and towns shelled by Russia on Thursday. Missiles hit targets in Dnipro, Kharkiv and a number of other places. Russian forces are said to have destroyed more than 70 military targets in Ukraine, 11 airfields among them, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed in a statement on Thursday. A former prisoner has shared some strange tips he picked up from his time behind bars - including how to start a fire with a condom. Andre Smith has used TikTok to pass the time as he waits to see if he and some of his fellow Kiwis will be deported back to New Zealand from the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre in Western Australia. Under the username Detentioncentrejourney501 - 501 being the section of the Australian Migration Act that allows their visas to be cancelled - the detainees regularly provide an insight into their lives. In the latest clip Smith revealed that on a hot day a fire can be started with just a piece of paper and a condom filled with water. 'Starting a fire with a condom or cling wrap or magnifying glass. At the detention centre we only have access to a condom - don't ask me why,' Smith, who runs the TikTok account is heard saying in the video. He then fills the condom with water and ties a knot before taking it outside, noting it was a scorching hot 40C day. Kiwi Andre Smith has revealed how to start a fire with a condom filled with water. He is currently being detained at a Western Australian detention centre He then holds the condom of water over the piece of paper to angle the light from the sunshine onto the sheet. 'You want to make sure the dot (of light) on the paper is as small as possible,' Smith said. 'It takes about three to five minutes depending on the hot sun. Just keep as still as possible and in the same spot and before you know it you have fire.' Smith said the tip could be useful for those camping or out in the wilderness who didn't have a lighter, noting he picked it up during his time in the army. By hanging the condom over the page to reflect the sunshine, the paper can be lit on fire, Smith explained He's shared several other videos to his 48,000 followers, showing what they use to stick up photos, how they give each other haircuts and even how to make homemade honey. Smith was sentenced to three years in an Australian prison and is now waiting to be sent back to New Zealand, despite having spent most of his life across the ditch. Non-Australian citizens who spent 12 months behind bars are subjected to deportation, despite having already served their prison sentence. Even Kiwis who have spent most of their life in Australia are often forced to leave. DNA evidence has found that the 500lb black bear nicknamed Hank the Tank is in fact at least three hefty bears who have damaged more than 30 properties around Lake Tahoe in recent months. The inquisitive sleuth of chunky bears faces being trapped by the Department of Fish and Wildlife on Thursday to collect evidence for genetic analysis. The trio will then be released in a 'suitable habitat' and the agency said no trapped animals will be euthanized as part of the project. The bears are responsible for more than 150 incident reports in the region straddling Northern California and Nevada, including a break-in at a residence in the Tahoe Keys neighborhood last week. Hank the Tank, a 500lb bear, is terrorizing a community in Lake Tahoe, California One of the Hanks smashed a window Friday and squeezed into the house on Catalina Drive while the residents were at home, CBS Sacramento reported. Police responded and banged on the outside of the house until Hank exited out the back door and disappeared into the woods. Also known as Jake or Yogi or simply Big Guy, the then-solo bear was what one wildlife official described as a 'severely food habituated bear' that has 'lost all fear of people' and thinks of them as a food source. 'What's problematic about this bear is how large it is,' Peter Tira, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told SF Gate on Sunday. 'It's learned to use that size and strength to break into a number of occupied residences, bursting through the garage door or front door.' Once the trapping efforts begin, the three Hanks - at least - may well form a brigade. There was outrage from residents over the bear hunt and even attempts to scare the bear away from the area by playing noisy music or even spray painting the phrase 'Bear Killer' on the trap, even though Hank can't read. Hank was caught on home security footage in Lake Tahoe wandering around looking for his next meal Although Hank didn't enter the home, he has done so in the past. The bear has been spotted more than 100 times in the neighborhood since July and has prompted more than 150 calls to law enforcement A home in California that has faced Hank's wrath A pro-bear activist group, The BEAR League, has been working with wildlife officials to try and get Hank to a safe new home. This trap has been vandalized in an apparent attempt to deter Hank - even though he can't read When residents believed the sleuth of bears was just one, Hank, they reported that he was gentle and didn't cause any damage. However, not everyone is too fond of having a 500lb teddy bear roaming the streets. A spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Peter Tira told The New York Times: 'This is a bear that has lost all fear of people. Its a potentially dangerous situation.' And after a while the wildlife authorities in the area started facing numerous complaints. 'This one individual bear has been linked to property damage at 38 different properties at least,' Tira told KCRA 3 in Sacramento on February 17. Authorities add that the curvy cub has caused 'extensive property damage and forcefully entered several homes - including occupied homes.' Fox News Host Tucker Carlson made clear his condemnation for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday night after seemingly defending the despot before he invaded Ukraine. Carlson urged the United States not to get involved in the war in Ukraine, instead saying the West should use this as an opportunity to become less dependent on Russian gas. 'Vladimir Putin started this war so whatever the context of the decision that he made, he did it. He fired the first shots. He is to blame for what we're seeing tonight in Ukraine,' Carlson said on his show Tucker Carlson Tonight. His comments came just two days after he raised eyebrows by asking what exactly Putin had done to the United States and denounced the Biden administration for painting Russian president as a 'bogeyman.' Carlson said Thursday night that it was 'obvious' that Putin was responsible for the violence in Ukraine, before asking how the U.S. should respond. Fox News Host Tucker Carlson made clear his condemnation for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday night Now that shooting has started in Ukraine, its entirely possible, no matter what they tell you, that Americans could wind up getting hurt. Preventing that will require wisdom, farsightedness and emotional control all of which are in short supply in Washington, especially now. pic.twitter.com/VcfWVvQR6M Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 25, 2022 The Fox News host listed three goals he said the U.S. should pursue moving forward: avoid engaging in 'a full-scale war with an armed nuclear adversary,' keep cheap energy flowing despite Russia's control of a majority of Europe's gas and 'protect the U.S. dollar.' 'Now that shooting has started in Ukraine. It is entirely possible no matter what they assure you that Americans could end up getting hurt. Preventing that will require wisdom, farsightedness and emotional control all of which are in short supply in Washington, especially now.,' he said. Carlson outlined a fear many experts have discussed, which is that Russia could trigger what's called an Article 5 for NATO. Under an Article 5, 'Every NATO country, including ours, the United States, would be obligated to declare war on Russia,' Carlson said. Carlson slammed Rep. Adam Kinzinger for saying that Russia's seizure of Chernobyl could trigger an Article 5. Other reasons for an Article 5 would be if Russia unleashes a cyberattack on Ukraine that affects the infrastructure of the rest of Europe. Carlson urged the United States not to get involved in the war in Ukraine, two days after he was criticized for downplaying Putin's actions against Ukraine when he asked what the Russian despot has done to the U.S. Carlson said that the West should use this as an opportunity to become less dependent on Russian gas. Above, fire fighters are seen responding to a blaze at a residential building in Kyiv in the early hours of Friday Kyiv was ablaze in the early hours of Friday. Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared footage on social media of a blaze in what he said was the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, in the southeast of the city on the left bank of the Dnipro river Carlson said that world leaders should 'pause very deeply' to think about whether a Russian action is 'something worth risking a nuclear conflict over?' 'That's the first goal, not making a terrible thing much, much worse,' he said. 'Here's the second goal, keep the energy flowing.' 'Cheap energy, we take it for granted, but it's the basis of all we have. No energy, no civilization. Unfortunately, a huge percentage of Europe's energy now comes from Russia and the Ukraine.' Carlson noted that the European Union relies on Russia for 40% of its natural gas and Germany, which is one of the biggest economies of the world, relies on it for about half of it's natural gas. 'The fact is that Vladimir Putin has the power to send Europe, and for that matter potentially the United States, into an economic depression. Putin has the power to turn off the light,' Carlson said. Rather than rely on Russia for energy, Carlson said that the West should be embracing nuclear power. 'But our leaders, not just ours but globally across the west, have done the opposite,' he said. 'Because of a series of very specific decisions made overtime, the west is now dangerously dependent on Vladimir Putin for energy. Our leaders might act like this is not a big deal. It is definitely a big deal and we ought to make decisions based on that fact,' he concluded. Projectiles are seen falling from the sky over Kyiv in the early hours of Friday A Russian plane crashed near Voronezh on Thursday in what is believed to have been a technical failure. All those on board perished - it is unclear how many Lastly, Carlson said that a final priority for the U.S. is to protect its currency and said 'control of the U.S. dollar is the key to our wealth.' 'Our entire financialized, debt-based economy rests on the unique privilege of issuing the world's reserved currency. If the U.S. dollar is ever replaced, we are in legitimate trouble. Our debt will come due, our government will go bankrupt and millions of Americans will become poor immediately.' Carlson said that sanctions imposed by the Biden administration should be used warily because they may not always work and 'at the same time, sanctions give Russia and many other countries across the world the strong incentive to dump the U.S. dollar.' Carlson's comments condemning Putin come two days after he went after the Biden administration and the mainstream media for its attacks on Putin. Carlson denounced the attempts to make Putin a 'bogeyman,' wondering out loud what exactly he'd done to the United States, despite having referred to both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as 'tyrants' just a day earlier. 'Since the day that Donald Trump became president, Democrats in Washington told you, you have a patriotic duty to hate Vladimir Putin,' Carlson said on his top-rated cable show 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' Tuesday. 'It's not a suggestion, it's a mandate. Anything less than hatred for Putin is treason.' Carlson showed disdain over the possibility that the United States could be drawn into war over this anti-Putin sentiment. 'Before that happens, it might be worth asking ourselves - since it is getting pretty serious - what is this really about?' The host then put out a long list of potential American problems and grievances that Putin is not responsible for. 'Why do I hate Putin so much? Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him? Has he shipped every middle class job in my town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked my business and kept me indoors for two years? Is he teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Is he trying to snuff out Christianity? Does he eat dogs? These are fair questions, and the answer to all of them is no. Vladimir Putin didn't do any of that.' Joe Biden announced more sanctions against Russia but warned the conflict could last for many months and resisted calls to send in US troops to Ukraine, saying he has no plans to speak to Vladimir Putin Meanwhile, Ukraine's capital was under bombardment in the early hours of Friday, with the skies ablaze as Vladimir Putin's tanks moved to within 20 miles of Kyiv. Ukraine's deputy defense ministry said that one missile was shot out of the sky by their anti-missile defense systems. Another missile struck a residential building in the city, the government said. A Ukrainian jet, a SU-27, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in a separate incident, the Ukrainian government said. The country has 125 combat-capable aircraft, including 4th-generation fighter workhorses Sukhoi Su27 and Mikoyan MiG29, according to Military Balance 2021. Russia has more than 1,500 fighter jets. Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared footage on social media of a blaze in what he said was the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, in the southeast of the city on the left bank of the Dnipro river. It was unclear whether the Darnitsky fire was caused by the downed Ukrainian jet, or the Russian missiles. Hours earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky raged at Western cowards who failed to come to his aid, saying his country is being 'left alone' to face Russian troops. The world's press scrambled to cover Russia late-night invasion of Ukraine in the largest incursion on European soil since World War II. Print media across the globe reacted to Russian President Vladimir Putin attack on Ukraine early Thursday morning, documenting the Ukrainian's struggle to seek refuge and flee the embattled country, and the growing condemnation by world leaders of Putin's 'war of choice.' France's Le Figaro reported Ukraine was bracing for the Russian invasion, issuing an emergency mobilization of its military and deploying its troops to Kyiv. The renowned publication called the invasion 'the war in Europe,' and featured an editorial about the 'the return of tragedy,' on the front page. The British newspaper The Guardian was direct. 'Putin invades,' its front page read, accompanied by a picture of a bandaged and bloodied woman who is quickly becoming the face of the war after an airstrike damaged an apartment complex in Chuhuiv. The independent also featured the woman, with a close-up shot of her bloodied face, her head bandaged. 'The bloodshed begins' read the cover. Spain's El Pais wrote 'Putin launches a massive attack against Ukraine,' and displayed the haunting picture of a man on his knees, staring vacantly at the cadaver in front of him after a bombardment in Kharkiv. 'Russians close in on Ukrainian capital,' The Wall Street Journal reported. The American newspaper went for a picture of the Brovary military base in the outskirts of Kyiv, burning after being hit by airstrikes. The New York Times wrote on its front page: 'Russia's push into outskirts of capital as deaths rise and thousands flee West.' It dedicated the entirety of its cover to the increasingly alarming conflict. 'Fighting Rages in Ukraine as Russia invades,' The Jerusalem Post reported Friday, featuring a shot of airstrikes in Kyiv at dawn. The Toronto Star chose the wording 'Russia moves into strike,' adding a picture of an Ukrainian soldiers bracing for the battle. The world's press scrambled to cover Russian's invasion of Ukraine, which has been unanimously reported as the greatest attack in Europe since World War II France's Le Figaro reported on Thursday that Ukraine was bracing for the Russian invasion, issuing an emergency mobilization of its military The British newspaper The Guardian was more laconic. 'Putin invades,' its front page read read, accompanied by a picture of a woman who has become the face of the war The independent also featured the woman, with a close-up shot of her bloodied face, her head bandaged. 'The bloodshed begins' read the cover El pais wrote 'Putin launches a massive attack against Ukraine,' and displayed the haunting picture of a man on his knees, staring vacantly at the cadaver in front of him after a bombardment in Kharkiv The Toronto Star chose the wording 'Russia moves into strike,' adding a picture of an Ukrainian soldiers bracing for the battle The New York Times wrote on its front page: 'Russia's push into outskirts of capital as deaths rise and thousands flee West' Ukraine's capital was under bombardment in the early hours of Friday, with the skies ablaze as Vladimir Putin's tanks moved to within 20 miles of Kyiv. Bridges leading to Kyiv and to Kharkiv, in the east, were destroyed by Ukrainian forces to try and slow the Russian advance. Ukraine's deputy defense ministry said that one missile was shot out of the sky by their anti-missile defense systems. Another missile struck a residential building in the city, the government said. A Russian jet was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in a separate incident, the Ukrainian government said. Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared footage on social media of a blaze in what he said was the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, in the southeast of the city on the left bank of the Dnipro river. It was unclear whether the Darnitsky fire was caused by the downed Ukrainian jet, or the Russian missiles. Air raid sirens were heard on Friday morning in Kyiv and in the city of Lviv to the far west - where the city was left without power. Hours earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky raged at Western cowards who failed to come to his aid, saying his country is being 'left alone' to face Russian troops. Officials warn that Kyiv will be seized this weekend. In a video address to his nation after midnight, the president called his fallen compatriots 'heroes' after 137 were killed on the first day of fighting, and insisted he will stay until the bitter end. He said: 'They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven. 'We have been left alone to defend our state. Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone. 'Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.' He added that the enemy has already entered Kyiv and urged residents to be vigilant and observe curfew rules, acknowledging he was 'target number one'. Smoldering wreckage of a Russian jet is seen in Kyiv on Friday morning The jet landed in Kyiv, shot down by a Ukrainian missile On social media, images of bridges blown up by Ukrainian troops were shared. This image was captioned: 'Departure to the capital via the Novoirpen route is not available The Armed Forces blew up a bridge in Romanivka to prevent the occupiers' tanks from entering Kyiv' A Russian tank is seen heading towards Okhtyrka, near Sumy in the east of Ukraine The Ukrainian capital is expected to be surrounded by Russian forces this weekend and the country's resistance effectively crippled, US security officials fear. Troops are already closing in on the seat of Ukrainian power after taking control of the strategic Chernobyl nuclear power plant today, and will seize it within 96 hours, bringing a 'new Iron Curtain' down on Europe, Zelensky warned. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Vladimir Putin plans to encircle Ukrainian forces in Kyiv and force them to either surrender or be destroyed, and the leadership of Ukraine could then fall in a week. A former senior US intelligence officer told Newsweek: 'After the air and artillery end and the ground war really starts, I think Kyiv falls in just a few days. 'The military may last slightly longer but this isn't going to last long.' A source close to the Ukrainian government said they agreed that Kyiv will be surrounded within 96 hours but believed the government will stay strong and not collapse. In a bid to thwart the imminent capture of the city, Emmanuel Macron spoke to Vladimir Putin on Thursday night, who gave the French leader an 'exhaustive' explanation of his justification for war. The Kremlin said the call took place at Macron's initiative, and he and Putin agreed to stay in contact. Zelensky has also signed a decree on the general mobilisation of the population within 90 days, but men aged 18-60 are banned from leaving the country. It comes after Russian forces seized control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant after a 'fierce' battle, with the condition of nuclear storage facilities 'unknown', sparking fears of a radiation leak that could cause fallout in Europe. Video revealed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles standing in front of the destroyed reactor, which sits just 60 miles north of the capital Kyiv. An official said Russian shelling hit a radioactive waste repository and an increase in radiation levels was reported, although this has not yet been corroborated. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is following the situation in Ukraine 'with grave concern' and appealed for maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put Ukraine's nuclear facilities at risk. Ukrainian presidential advisor Myhailo Podolyak said: 'After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe.' Meanwhile Turkey reported that one of its ships had been hit by a 'bomb' off the coast of Odessa, where fighting is also going on. Turkey is a member of NATO, underlining fears that the war in Ukraine could quickly suck in other states and spark an all-out conflict in Europe. Fire fighters are seen responding to a blaze at a residential building in Kyiv in the early hours of Friday The Kyiv apartment block is seen ablaze on Friday morning. It is unclear what caused the fire Kyiv was ablaze in the early hours of Friday as the city came under attack from Russia. Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared footage on social media of a blaze in what he said was the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, in the southeast of the city on the left bank of the Dnipro river Projectiles are seen falling from the sky over Kyiv in the early hours of Friday Explosions are seen in Kyiv in the early hours of Friday, with a bombardment that began around 4am TEHRAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian cleric said Friday that the Vienna talks are aimed at lifting "all sanctions" against the Islamic republic, Tasnim news agency reported. "The bottom line (of negotiations) is lifting all sanctions, especially banking and trade sanctions," said Ahmad Khatami, the Friday prayers leader of the Iranian capital Tehran. If these sanctions are not lifted, "it is as if no negotiations had taken place," he added. Senior Iranian officials have urged the western countries' to decide on the removal of anti-Iran sanctions and promise to fulfill their commitments under a possible agreement. Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the world powers in July 2015. However, former President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed Washington's unilateral sanctions on Tehran. Since April 2021, several rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, to revive the deal. Advertisement A British news crew covering the Russian war in Ukraine were forced to run for their lives during shelling in the south-east of the country. Dramatic video shows Sky News correspondent Alex Rossi scrambling for cover from mortar fire in Berdyansk on the coast of the Sea of Azov around 50 miles from the strategically important port city of Mariupol. Sheltering in a nearby building, he says: It just shows how quickly things can change here. We were outside filming. [It was] really calm. There had been shells that had come in this morning. But again, it had gone quiet, everything felt very, very normal. Weve just had to come in here to take cover because theres been incoming mortar fire. Mariupol appears to have come under fire attack by Kremlin forces as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin attempts to strangle a vital shipping route used by Ukraine to wreck the countrys economy as it fights a war of national survival. The most important Ukrainian port in the Azov Sea, Mariupol mainly handles relatively small ships of between 3,000 to 10,000 tonnes deadweight. The Azov Sea ports mainly export wheat, barley and corn to Mediterranean importers like Turkey, Italy, Cyprus, Egypt and Lebanon. Russia and Ukraine are both major exporters of wheat and grain, and industry experts fear the war will cause a surge in global food prices. Russia is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital today after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraines president pleaded for international help. The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear, but the blasts came amid signs that the capital and largest Ukrainian city was increasingly threatened following a day of fighting that left more than 100 Ukrainians dead. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government had information that subversive groups were encroaching on the city, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv could well be under siege in what US officials believe is a brazen attempt by Putin to install a puppet regime. In other developments: Russia said it is not willing to negotiate with Ukraine's government until military operation is over; Came after Zelensky called for talks to end fighting; Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours; Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight; Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces; Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said; Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal; Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting; PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days; Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning. Sky News correspondent Alex Rossi reporting the war in Ukraine from Berdyansk on the coast of the Sea of Azov Dramatic footage shows him running for cover during shelling in the south-east of the country under Russian attack Sheltering in a nearby building, he says: It just shows how quickly things can change here Russian armour is now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet Russian ships blockade the Kerch Strait: Putin has ordered the Russian navy to conduct a 'special anti-terror operation' in the Azov Sea, shutting off a vital maritime trade route into Ukraine Firefighters work at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell allegedly hit, on February 25, 2022 People gathering in an air raid shelter in capital city Kyiv, Ukraine, February 24, 2022 A Russian tank is seen heading towards Okhtyrka, near Sumy in the east of Ukraine Biden warns Putin that the US will be 'involved' if he moves into NATO countries as Ukraine hands out 10,000 assault rifles to citizens: President still insists he won't send American forces into Kyiv - but deploys 7,000 to Germany President Joe Biden on Thursday warned Vladimir Putin that U.S. forces will defend NATO territory if he broadens his assault beyond Ukraine, and said he was ordering more troops to Europe. Soon after he spoke the Pentagon said 7000 extra personnel and hardware were being deployed to Germany. In a White House speech, Biden slapped a new round of sanctions on Russia and promised that Putin's country would bear the consequences of his aggression against Ukraine. He said American forces would not engage with Russian troops in Ukraine. 'Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the east,' he said. 'As I made crystal clear, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of American power.' In a question-and-answer session with reporters, he was asked if that meant American soldiers would fight if Russia attacked NATO territory. 'If he did move into NATO countries we will be involved,' he said. 'We will be involved.' Advertisement US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call. The assault, anticipated for weeks by the US and Western allies and undertaken by Putin in the face of international condemnation and cascading sanctions, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. Russian missiles bombarded cities and military bases in the first day of the attack, and Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. As explosions sounded in Kyiv early Friday, guests of a hotel were directed to a makeshift basement shelter. Air raid sirens also went off. Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom, Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he called Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days. Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 heroes, including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians. He concluded an emotional speech by saying that the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders. He also said the country had heard from Moscow that they want to talk about Ukraines neutral status. Biden was to meet Friday morning with fellow leaders of NATO governments in what the White House described as an extraordinary virtual summit to discuss Ukraine. Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin chose this war and had exhibited a sinister view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly. It was always about naked aggression, about Putins desire for empire by any means necessary by bullying Russias neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause, Biden said. Blinken said in television interviews that he was convinced that Russia was intent on overthrowing the Ukrainian government, telling CBS that Putin wants to reconstitute the Soviet empire and that Kyiv was already under threat, and it could well be under siege. Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyivs subway stations. At times it felt almost cheerful. Families ate dinner. Children played. Adults chatted. People brought sleeping bags or dogs or crossword puzzles anything to alleviate the waiting and the long night ahead. But the exhaustion was clear on many faces. And the worries. Nobody believed that this war would start and that they would take Kyiv directly, said Anton Mironov, waiting out the night in one of the old Soviet metro stations. I feel mostly fatigue. None of it feels real. Smoldering wreckage of a Russian jet is seen in Kyiv on Friday morning The jet landed in Kyiv, shot down by a Ukrainian missile Kyiv was ablaze in the early hours of Friday as the city came under attack from Russia. Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared footage on social media of a blaze in what he said was the Darnitsky district of Kyiv The Kyiv apartment block is seen ablaze on Friday morning. It is unclear what caused the fire A Russian T-72 tank is pictured sitting in front of the main reactor at Chernobyl after Putin's forces seized it in a 'fierce' battle with the condition of nuclear storage facilities 'unknown' Russian Mi-8 attack helicopters stage an assault on Gostomel air base, just on the outskirts of Kyiv, after Vladimir Putin launched an all-out attack on the country EU blocks our bid to punish Russia: Anger as union refuses to kick Moscow out of global bank payment system while West imposes sanctions over Ukraine war The European Union faced an angry backlash last night after frustrating British efforts to kick Russia out of the world's biggest financial payments system. In a call with G7 leaders yesterday, Boris Johnson pressed the case for suspending Russia from Swift, which is used to conduct about half of its international trade. But the move was kicked into the long grass because of opposition from a number of EU countries. Ukraine yesterday urged the West to trigger the move, with foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba warning that those who refused would have 'blood on their hands'. Downing Street yesterday declined to comment on which countries had opposed the move. But Joe Biden last night indicated the opposition had come from EU states. Asked whether Russia should be cut off from Swift, the US President said: 'It is always an option but right now that's not a position that the rest of Europe wishes to take.' The Belgian-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) is a mechanism for making secure payments overseas and is widely used in international trade. Advertisement The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukrainian and US officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. The Ukrainian military on Friday reported significant fighting in the area of Ivankiv, about 40 miles northwest of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. It said one bridge across a small river had been destroyed. The hardest day will be today. The enemys plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv. Russian tanks burn perfectly when hit by our ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles), Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. Zelenskyy, who had earlier cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law, appealed to global leaders, saying that if you dont help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door. Though Biden said he had no plans to speak with Putin, the Russian leader did have what the Kremlin described as a serious and frank exchange with French President Emmanuel Macron. Both sides claimed to have destroyed some of the others aircraft and military hardware, though little of that could be confirmed. Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-unused Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been no casualties or destruction at the industrial site. The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the plant 80 miles north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell to prevent leaks. Alyona Shevtsova, adviser to the commander of Ukraines ground forces, wrote on Facebook that staff members at the Chernobyl plant had been taken hostage. The White House said it was outraged by reports of the detentions. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense issued an update saying that though the plant was likely captured, the countrys forces had halted Russias advance toward Chernihiv and that it was unlikely that Russia had achieved its planned Day One military objectives. The chief of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said the brutal act of war shattered peace in Europe, joining a chorus of world leaders decrying an attack that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraines democratically elected government. The conflict shook global financial markets: Stocks plunged and oil prices soared amid concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket. Fire fighters are seen responding to a blaze at a residential building in Kyiv in the early hours of Friday Blinken says Putin has set his sights BEYOND Ukraine as Russian artillery is seen massing on Polish border with Belarus: Claims he's 'convinced' Kremlin wants regime change Kyiv Vladimir Putin may not stop once he has taken Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has warned, as satellite images show Russia assembling troops, armor and artillery along Belarus's border with Poland. The massive buildup was spotted in the Belarus city of Brest, just 10 miles east of the the Polish border. 'Russia has assembled troops, armor, artillery, and more than 50 heavy equipment transporters at a training area in Brest, the Polish border. Russia has also added more equipment at a nearby railyard in Belarus,' said reporter Jack Detsch, a Pentagon and national security correspondent at Foreign Policy magazine. Blinken was asked by ABC News on Thursday night whether he felt the Russian president would recall his forces once Ukraine was conquered. 'Is it a possibility that Putin goes beyond Ukraine? Sure, it's a possibility,' Blinken told host David Muir. But he stressed that progressing beyond Ukraine into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary or Romania would mean invading a NATO member country, and would automatically draw in the US, UK, France, Canada and the other nations that form the 30-country alliance. 'There is something very powerful standing in the way of that, and it's something we call Article Five,' said Blinken. Advertisement Condemnation came not only from the US and Europe, but from South Korea, Australia and beyond and many governments readied new sanctions. Even friendly leaders like Hungarys Viktor Orban sought to distance themselves from Putin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the UKs financial markets as he announced sanctions, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies and the Kremlin from raising money on British markets. Now we see him for what he is a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest, Johnson said of Putin. The US sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, Biden said, but they were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe. Zelenskyy urged the US and West to go further and cut the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House has been reluctant to immediately cut Russia from SWIFT, worried it could cause enormous economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West. While some nervous Europeans speculated about a possible new world war, the U.S. and its NATO partners have shown no indication they would send troops into Ukraine, fearing a larger conflict. NATO reinforced its members in Eastern Europe as a precaution, and Biden said the US was deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO. European authorities declared the countrys airspace an active conflict zone. After weeks of denying plans to invade, Putin launched the operation on a country the size of Texas that has increasingly tilted toward the democratic West and away from Moscows sway. The autocratic leader made clear earlier this week that he sees no reason for Ukraine to exist, raising fears of possible broader conflict in the vast space that the Soviet Union once ruled. Putin denied plans to occupy Ukraine, but his ultimate goals remain hazy. Ukrainians were urged to shelter in place and not to panic. Until the very last moment, I didn't believe it would happen. I just pushed away these thoughts, said a terrified Anna Dovnya in Kyiv, watching soldiers and police remove shrapnel from an exploded shell. We have lost all faith. With social media amplifying a torrent of military claims and counter-claims, it was difficult to determine exactly what was happening on the ground. Russia and Ukraine made competing claims about damage they had inflicted. Russias Defense Ministry said it had destroyed scores of Ukrainian air bases, military facilities and drones. It confirmed the loss of one of its Su-25 attack jets, blaming pilot error, and said an An-26 transport plane had crashed because of technical failure, killing the entire crew. It did not say how many were aboard. Russia said it was not targeting cities, but journalists saw destruction in many civilian areas. A Russian Buk missile system - the same type that was used to shoot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 - has been spotted in Ukraine. The sighting, which came through the night as the Russian-Ukrainian war entered a second day, is a chilling reminder of the disaster that claimed 298 lives, including 80 children in July 2014. The radar-guided surface-to-air missile system was filmed driving through Kherson in southern Ukraine, 93 miles (150km) from the Crimean peninsula. It comes hours after the Ukrainian government said a Russian jet had been shot down by a surface-to-air missile and as the capital came under fierce bombardment in the early hours of Friday as Vladimir Putin's tanks moved to within 20 miles of Kyiv. American intelligence reports late on Thursday said the days attacks were only the 'initial phase' of an invasion and that the majority of Russia's 190,000 troops at the front remained in reserve, sparking fears the Buk missile system could be involved in a second assault. Putin personally gave the order to attack around 5am on Thursday, unleashing a salvo of rocket fire that US intelligence said involved more than 100 short and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles, and 75 bombers that targeted military sites including barracks, warehouses and airfields in order to knock out the country's military command structure. A Russian Buk missile system - the same type that was used to shoot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 - has been spotted in Ukraine Flight MH17 (pictured, the wreckage in a village near Donetsk) was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 by a BUK missile while on its way to Kuala Lumpar from Amsterdam The footage emerged hours after Ukrainian officials said a Russian jet had been shot down over the capital, Kyiv. Pictures of a shouldering wreckage of what appeared to be the plane were seen in the capital while video showed flaming debris falling from the sky after the jet was hit by a missile. Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared footage on social media of a blaze in what he said was the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, in the southeast of the city on the left bank of the Dnipro river. It was unclear whether the Darnitsky fire was caused by the downed Ukrainian jet, or the Russian missiles. Smoldering wreckage of a Russian jet is seen in Kyiv on Friday morning. Ukrainian officials claimed their armed forces had shot down the plane with a surface-to-air missile Pictures of a shouldering wreckage of what appeared to be the plane were seen in the capital while video showed flaming debris falling from the sky after the jet was hit by a missile Flight MH17, a Boeing 777, was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 by a BUK missile while on its way to Kuala Lumpar from Amsterdam. To date, 296 of the dead have been identified with remains not found for only two passengers. MH17 left Schiphol Airport at 12:31pm local time before flying east over Germany and Poland. It altered its course to fly over Ukraine to avoid possible thunderstorms. It had only been three hours into a 12-hour flight when it was shot down over Ukraine which was in the middle of a war that left more than 13,000 people dead. The last words heard from the crew was a response to a Ukrainian flight controller as they repeated the coordinates 'ROMEO NOVEMBER DELTA, Malaysian one seven'. In the two days before flight MH17 was downed, two Ukrainian military planes were also shot down in the area. Ukraine had closed its airspace to civilian travel below 32,000ft and the Dutch Safety Board confirmed that 160 airliners had crossed above this threshold that day. Flight MH17, a Boeing 777, was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 by a BUK missile while on its way to Kuala Lumpar from Amsterdam (pictured, the wreckage in Hrabove, east of Donetsk) MH17 (pictured, the wreckage) left Schiphol Airport at 12:31pm local time before flying east over Germany and Poland. It altered its course to fly over Ukraine to avoid possible thunderstorms Advertisement Brave critics of Vladimir Putin living in Russia today spoke out to accuse him of wrecking their country and 'starting World War Three' as protesters took to the streets of more than 50 cities despite the threat of being charged with treason. Thousands marched amid claims Putin may have 'overplayed his hand' with an invasion of Ukraine his critics hope will sink him - and some were interviewed by the foreign press including the BBC despite knowing the Kremlin would be watching. One woman broke down and said she 'can't stop crying' while another protester said: 'Most Russians don't support this. It's horrible'. While the protest numbers in a country of 180million were in the low thousands, their bravery has been hailed around the world because of Putin's policy of smashing protests and jailing his enemies. They also spoke out despite facing near-certain arrest and imprisonment because the Kremlin says 'negative comments' about Putin's invasion of the Ukraine would be treated as 'treason'. And despite this Facebook was awash with Russians angry about the war. Dmitry Muratov, the editor of Russia's only anti-Putin newspaper who won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, says they will publish the next version of Novaya Gazeta in two languages - Ukrainian and Russian - declaring: 'We do not recognize Ukraine as an enemy' Branded 'Russia's bravest man' because of his vocal opposition to Putin, told the BBC that the day of the invasion brought 'shame' and would go down as the day 'Russia's future was taken away from it', adding: 'Our peace-loving Russian people will now feel the hatred of the world because we are starting a third world war in the centre of Europe.' He added: 'Only the anti-war movement of the Russians can save life on this planet'. More than 1,000 people had their banners torn up and were dragged into custody as they marched the streets of Moscow close to the Kremlin chanting 'No to war!' as passing cars honked their horns. One man told the BBC: 'There is a sense of horror and a sense of shame about what our authorities are doing. In my circle of friends this is a very common feeling. I never voted for those who are in power now and I did what I could, what a person in Russia is currently able to do to affect political life - went to protests. But I don't think there will be any now. Everyone is much too scared.' In Putin's home city of St Petersburg there was a major protest of hundreds of mainly young Russians chanting against the war and the President despite Russia's Investigative Committee issued a warning reminding them that unauthorized protests are against the law. 'This is the most shameful and terrible day in my life. I even was not able to go to work. My country is an aggressor. I hate Putin. What else should be done to make people open their eyes?' Yekaterina Kuznetsova, 40-year-old engineer who joined the demonstration said. There are hopes that an unpopular war with Ukraine could sink Putin. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said yesterday that the Russian President is trying to 'secure his legacy', predicting that it would not be the legacy 'that he wishes' in a hint that he believes he could be thrown from office. Despite knowing the authorities would be watching, Russians spoke out to say they 'hate' Putin and his war with Ukraine despite being told it would be treason Dmitry Muratov, the editor of Russia's only anti-Putin newspaper who won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, says they will publish the next version of Novaya Gazeta in two languages - Ukrainian and Russian as anger in the country grows People attend an anti-war protest in President Putin's home town of St Petersburg as critics predict the invasion could lead to his downfall MOSCOW: A woman gestures as she is marched off by Russian police officers in Russia's capital on Tuesday night Moscovites with placards reading 'No war. Putin, go away' and comparing him to Hitler walked the streets A man holds a placard reading "No" during an anti-war protest in Lenin Square, Novosbirsk in central Russia BBC reporter Clive Myrie appears to shed a tear as he presents News at 10 live from Kyiv after dramatic first day of bloodshed and violence in Ukraine As Clive Myrie introduced BBC News international correspondent Orla Gueri, a tear visibly streaked down his face BBC journalist Clive Myrie appeared to shed a tear while reporting on Russia's invasion of Ukraine last night. Myrie was reporting live in Kyiv for BBC News at 10 in front of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery as sirens blared around him. He told viewers that 'fierce fighting' was taking place and said Russia had attacked Ukraine 'by land, sea and air' on a brutal day of violence and bloodshed as the invasion got underway yesterday. Then, as he introduced BBC News international correspondent Orla Gueri, a tear visibly streaked down his face. Dozens took to social media to share their shock at the scene. One person wrote: 'Extraordinary! Clive Myrie presenting the @BBCNews at 10 from Kyiv with a tear rolling down his cheek.' Another said: 'Wow, a tear ran down the face of Clive Myrie just now while presenting the BBC News at 10.' While a third said: 'Extraordinary - Clive Myrie delivering the news from Kyiv with great dignity, and a tear on his cheek.' Advertisement The BBC is reporting that there were similar scenes in dozens of cities across the country of 180million people. Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow. One young man told the BBC: 'I have been crying all day. People in Ukraine are dying. Children are dying. Men who fight are dying. And then what? We, young Russian men, 19-20 years old will be packed off to fight too?' Asked if he and his friends were too frightened to come to the rally, he said: 'No. This is not frightening. What is happening in Ukraine and its borders is frightening. What we have here now is nothing.' Hundreds of posts came pouring in condemning Moscow's most aggressive actions since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and growing concerns it could tip into a global conflict as Putins tries to piece together the USSR and the Iron Curtain. Vladimir Putin called the attack a 'special military operation' to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine from 'genocide' - a false claim the U.S. had predicted would be a pretext for invasion, and which many Russians roundly rejected. Many people who took to the streets also took to social media. Tatyana Usmanova, an opposition activist in Moscow, wrote on Facebook that she thought she was dreaming when she awoke at 5:30 a.m. to the news, which she called 'a disgrace that will be forever with us now.' 'I want to ask Ukrainians for forgiveness. We didn't vote for those who unleashed the war,' she said. As sirens blasted in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, and large explosions were heard there and in other cities, Russians were signing open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault, which the Ukrainian health minister said had killed at least 57 Ukrainians and wounded dozens more. 'Public opinion is in shock, people are in shock,' political analyst Abbas Gallyamov told The Associated Press. One petition, started by a prominent human rights advocate, Lev Ponomavyov, garnered over 150,000 signatures within several hours and more than 330,000 by the end of the day. More than 250 journalists put their names on an open letter decrying the aggression. Another one was signed by some 250 scientists, while 194 municipal council members in Moscow and other cities signed a third. 'I'm worried about the people very much, I'm worried to tears,' said Zoya Vorobey, a resident of Korolyov, a town outside Moscow, her voice cracking. 'I've been watching television since this morning, every minute, to see if anything changes. Unfortunately, nothing.' Several Russian celebrities and public figures, including some working for state TV, spoke out against the attack. Yelena Kovalskaya, director of a state-funded Moscow theater, announced on Facebook she was quitting her job, saying 'it's impossible to work for a killer and get paid by him.' 'I know that right now many of you feel desperation, helplessness, shame over Vladimir Putin's attack on the friendly nation of Ukraine. But I urge you not to despair,' human rights activist Marina Litvinovich said in a video statement on Facebook, calling for mass protests Thursday evening. 'We, the Russian people, are against the war Putin has unleashed. We don't support this war, it is being waged not on our behalf,' Litvinovich said. But the authorities were having none of that. In Moscow and other cities, they moved swiftly to crack down on critical voices. Litvinovich was detained outside of her residence shortly after posting the protest call. OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests, reported that 1,745 people in 54 cities had been detained by Thursday evening, at least 957 of them in Moscow. MOSCOW: Police officers detain a woman during a protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine MOSCOW: Police officers drag a protester towards a police van in Moscow on Thursday night amid anti-war demonstrations MOSCOW: Police officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine ST PETERSBURG: Demonstrators are seen during an unsanctioned anti-war protest after Putin announced his decision to launch a special military operation ST PETERSBURG: Police officers detain a demonstrator during an anti-war protest, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in Ukraine SAINT PETERSBURG: Police officers detain a woman during a protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in central Saint Petersburg on February 24, 2022 SAINT PETERSBURG: Riot police are seen during an unsanctioned anti-war protest SAINT PETERSBURG: Armoured police gather in a square near demonstrators during an anti-war protest on Thursday night Roskomnadzor, state communications and media watchdog, demanded that Russian media use 'information and data they get only from official Russian sources.' Some media reported that employees of certain state-funded companies were instructed not to comment publicly on the events in Ukraine. Human rights advocates warned of a new wave of repression on dissent. 'There will be new (criminal) cases involving subverters, spies, treason, prosecution for antiwar protests, there will be detentions of journalists and bloggers, those who authored critical posts on social media, bans on investigations of the situation in the army and so on,' prominent human rights advocate Pavel Chikov wrote on Facebook. 'It is hard to say how big this new wave will be, given that everything has been suppressed already.' Russia's official line in the meantime remained intransigent. Speaker of the upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko charged that those who spoke out against the attack were only caring about their 'momentary problems.' State TV painted the attack in line with what Putin said in his televised address announcing it. Russia 1 TV host Olga Skabeyeva called it an effort 'to protect people in Donbas from a Nazi regime' and said it was 'without exaggeration, a crucial junction in history.' BBC journalist Clive Myrie appeared to shed a tear while reporting on Russia's invasion of Ukraine last night. Myrie was reporting live in Kyiv for BBC News at 10 in front of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery as sirens blared around him. He told viewers that 'fierce fighting' was taking place and said Russia had attacked Ukraine 'by land, sea and air' on a brutal day of violence and bloodshed as the invasion got underway yesterday. Then, as he introduced BBC News international correspondent Orla Gueri, a tear visibly streaked down his face. Dozens took to social media to share their shock at the scene. One person wrote: 'Extraordinary! Clive Myrie presenting the @BBCNews at 10 from Kyiv with a tear rolling down his cheek.' As Clive Myrie introduced BBC News international correspondent Orla Gueri, a tear visibly streaked down his face Another said: 'Wow, a tear ran down the face of Clive Myrie just now while presenting the BBC News at 10.' While a third said: 'Extraordinary - Clive Myrie delivering the news from Kyiv with great dignity, and a tear on his cheek.' The assault, anticipated for weeks by the U.S. and Western allies and undertaken by Putin in the face of international condemnation and cascading sanctions, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Ukrainian and U.S. officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. Meanwhile, a British news crew covering the Russian advance were forced to run for their lives during shelling in the south-east of Ukraine. Dramatic video shows Sky News correspondent Alex Rossi scrambling for cover from mortar fire in Berdyansk on the coast of the Sea of Azov around 50 miles from the strategically important port city of Mariupol. Sheltering in a nearby building, he says: 'It just shows how quickly things can change here. We were outside filming. [It was] really calm. There had been shells that had come in this morning. But again, it had gone quiet, everything felt very, very normal. We've just had to come in here to take cover because there's been incoming mortar fire.' Mariupol appears to have come under fire attack by Kremlin forces as Russian dictator Putin attempts to strangle a vital shipping route used by Ukraine to wreck the country's economy as it fights a war of national survival. Russian troops are also expected to arrive in Kyiv today and are now fighting just 20 miles from the outskirts, an official has said, as US intelligence warned of a plan to seize an airport, fly in troops, and 'decapitate' the government. Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the country's interior minister, said Friday will be the war's 'hardest day' as Russia armour pushes down from Chernihiv - to the north-east of the capital - and Ivankiv - to the north-west - in an attempt to encircle the city, where President Volodymyr Zelensky is still holed up. Once the city is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport - likely Sikorsky or Boryspil - which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital. The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime - effectively ending the war without Putin's ground forces going to the difficult and bloody trouble of seizing and occupying the whole country. Natali Sevriukova, a resident of Kyiv, is pictured weeping on the streets of Kyiv after a Russian rocket strike destroyed the apartment block where she lives overnight Firemen pick their way through the rubble of a destroyed apartment in Kyiv, as President Zelensky said the Russian military is now targeting civilian areas Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian jet over the outskirts of Kyiv overnight, with wreckage falling on a house and leaving several people injured It appears the Russians almost pulled off the plan on Day 1 of the invasion when 20 attack helicopters landed a crack team of troops at Antonov Airport, 15 miles to the north of Kyiv, where they spent the day fighting. But Ukrainian national guard units managed to retake the landing strip overnight, scattering the surviving Russian attackers into the surrounding countryside. The Russian attack on the capital would likely be coordinated with a push by troops on southern and eastern fronts - Crimea and Donbass - aimed at pinning down Ukrainian armed forces so they cannot retreat and reinforce the city, officials told author Michael Weiss. It may also be accompanied by bombing raids and sabotage attacks on power grids and infrastructure to sow panic and force people to flee, snarling up roads and making it difficult for forces already in Kyiv to move around. The plan appeared to be underway in the early hours, as explosions sounded before dawn with the city under bombardment from what the defense minister called 'horrific rocket strikes' not seen since 1941. Ukraine's armed forces claimed to have shot down a Russian jet over the outskirts of the city, with flaming wreckage seen falling from the sky, as Zelensky gave a national address, saying Russia has identified him as 'target number 1' of the invasion but he and his family were remaining in the city. He said invading Russian forces are targeting civilian areas, praising his countrymen for their 'heroism' and assuring them that the armed forces are doing 'everything possible' to protect them. A US national has been sentenced to death for raping and beheading a diplomat's daughter after she rejected his marriage proposal. Zahir Jaffer, the son of one of the richest families in Pakistan, brutally murdered Noor Muqaddam, 27, at his home in Islamabad on July 20, 2021. Security camera footage showed Mukadam, the daughter of a former ambassador, had made repeated attempts to escape the sprawling mansion but was blocked by two members Jaffer's staff. That footage has been released to the public, and shows Muqaddam trying to flee the compound through a large gate, but being stopped by the staff. CCTV footage then shows her being dragged by her arm along the floor by a man, through a door and back into the property. Scroll down for video Zahir Jaffer (pictured Thursday leaving court), the son of one of the richest families in Pakistan, brutally murdered Noor Muqaddam, 27, at his home in Islamabad on July 20, 2021 Security camera footage showed Noor Mukadam (pictured), made repeated attempts to escape the sprawling mansion but was blocked by staff The court heard that the 30-year-old Pakistani-American tortured her with a knuckleduster, raped her, and used a 'sharp-edged weapon' to behead her. 'The main accused has been awarded the death sentence,' said judge Atta Rabbani at the Islamabad district court. Jaffer's parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, were found not guilty of attempting to cover up the crime. The two staff members were sentenced to 10 years in prison for abetting murder. 'I am happy that justice has been served,' said Shuakat Mukadam, Noor's father, while pledging to challenge the acquittal of Jaffer's parents. The case prompted an explosive reaction from women's rights campaigners reckoning with the pervasion of violence against women. The shocking nature of the murder, involving a couple from the privileged elite of Pakistani society, led to pressure for the trial to conclude swiftly in a country where the justice system is notoriously sluggish and cases typically drag on for years. According to the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell, a group providing legal assistance to vulnerable women, the conviction rate for cases of violence against them is lower than three percent. Targets of sexual and domestic abuse are often too afraid to speak out, and criminal complaints frequently not investigated seriously. The case prompted an explosive reaction from women's rights campaigners reckoning with the pervasion of violence against women. Pictured: Women rights activists hold placards and candles during a protest rally against the brutal killing of Noor Mukadam, February 22 'Convictions have been dismally low for victims... making today's guilty verdict all the more significant,' said Amnesty International South Asia campaigner Rimmel Mohydin. The court verdict dictates Jaffer be 'hanged by his neck till he is dead', however he was also given a concurrent sentence of 25 years in prison for abduction and rape. He will also be able to challenge Thursday's verdict. According to local reports, Jaffer belongs to a high-society family in Pakistan who founded a trading company in 1849 - Ahmed Jaffer and Company. His father, Zakir, serves as a director of the company, according to his profile on LinkedIn. Jaffer's mother Asmat is reportedly a housewife. Executions have rarely been carried out in Pakistan in recent years - and usually only involving terrorism cases - in part due to pressure from the European Union. The last was in December 2019, according to the Justice Project Pakistan, making it likely Jaffer will only serve jail time, with remissions for religious holidays and good behaviour. Jaffer was thrown out of court several times during the trial for unruly behaviour. He was frequently carried into proceedings by stretcher or wheelchair, and his lawyers argued he should be found not 'mentally sound' - a manoeuvre prosecutors said was designed to have the trial suspended. At one hearing he claimed someone else had killed Mukadam during a 'drug party' at his house. Shuakat Mukadam, a former ambassador and father of the murdered Pakistani girl Noor Mukadam, speaks to the members of the media as he leaves a court after the case verdict in Islamabad, Pakistan, 24 February 2022 When questioning Mukadam's father - a former ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan - Jaffer's lawyer implied she was killed by her own family for conducting a relationship outside of marriage. Prosecutions for violence and sexual assault frequently see the female victim's personal history picked over according to Pakistan's patriarchal mores - another reason why justice is rare for women. According to a recent report by Human Rights Watch on Pakistan, 'Violence against women and girls including rape, murder, acid attacks, domestic violence, and forced marriage is endemic throughout Pakistan. Human rights defenders estimate that roughly 1,000 women are killed in so-called 'honour' killings every year.' UKRAINE WAR: LATEST Russia said it is not willing to negotiate with Ukraine's government until military operation is over Came after Zelensky called for a sit-down with Putin to end the fighting Putin said he would be willing to send a team of negotiators to meet Zelensky - in Belarus, which is helping with the invasion Russian president then called on Ukrainian military to overthrow the 'regime' in Kyiv China's President Xi spoke to Putin by phone, called for diplomatic solution to the fighting Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces Zelensky has allowed anyone of any age to join the armed forces, and called on Europeans from other countries to come and join the fight Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning Advertisement Ben Wallace today said the UK believes Vladimir Putin intends to seize control of all of Ukraine as the Defence Secretary jibed that Russia's attack has not gone to plan. Mr Wallace said it is 'definitely our view that the Russians intend to invade the whole of Ukraine' but he claimed Moscow is 'behind its hopeful timetable' after encountering fierce resistance. The Cabinet minister said Russia has already 'lost over 450 personnel' and it has 'not taken any of its major objectives', leaving Mr Putin behind schedule. His comments came after Boris Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this morning, as the Prime Minister committed to 'provide further UK support to Ukraine in the coming days'. Downing Street said Mr Johnson had told President Zelensky that 'the world is united in its horror at what Putin his doing'. President Zelensky said after the call that the West must increase its support for Ukraine and further strengthen sanctions against Moscow as he demanded 'effective counteraction to the Russian Federation'. Mr Johnson later held a call with the leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force which includes Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Latvia. Downing Street said the 'leaders agreed that more sanctions were needed, including focusing on President Putins inner circle, building on the measures that had already been agreed'. Mr Johnson told his counterparts that 'more support must be given to Ukraine, as a matter of the greatest urgency'. The PM last night held an emergency Cabinet meeting to update ministers on the crisis, telling his senior team that the invasion represented a 'dark day in the history of our continent'. The premier said the Russian President's 'cynical and brutal' attack on Ukraine 'must fail'. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is today embarking on a diplomatic blitz as she holds a series of crunch calls with her foreign counterparts, including the Chinese foreign minister. Fresh strikes hit Kiev overnight amid warnings Russian forces are closing in on the capital. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said in a tweet just before 4am that 'horrific rocket strikes' hit Kiev in an attack he compared to the city's 1941 shelling by Nazi Germany. 'Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany,' he said. 'Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Sever all ties. Kick Russia out of (everywhere).' The leaders of the 30 NATO nations are due to hold a conference call today to determine the West's next steps against the Kremlin. They are facing growing pressure to go even further than the sanctions announced yesterday. Ben Wallace today said the UK believes Vladimir Putin intends to invade the whole of Ukraine as the Defence Secretary jibed that Russia's attack has not gone to plan Mr Wallace said it is 'definitely our view that the Russians intend to invade the whole of Ukraine' but he claimed Moscow is 'behind its hopeful timetable' after encountering fierce resistance The Cabinet minister said Russia has already 'lost over 450 personnel' and it has 'not taken any of its major objectives', leaving Mr Putin behind schedule. Firefighters are pictured working at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, where a military shell allegedly hit Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, in a move which represented Moscow's most aggressive action since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. By the end of the day, the Ukrainian government said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed. Mr Wallace was asked this morning if he believes Russia is intent on taking Kiev and ousting President Zelensky's government. He replied: 'It is definitely our view that the Russians intend to invade the whole of Ukraine. 'The nonsense they were spouting about the Donbas, as ever with a whole series of dishonest claims, are not the case and that is why you have seen a number of columns of Russian army entering from the south, from the north, from Belarus even and indeed from the separatist region. 'But our assessment as of this morning is that Russia has not taken any of its major objectives, in fact it is behind its hopeful timetable, they have lost over 450 personnel and indeed as you have said on your report, one of the significant airports they were trying to capture with their elite Spetsnaz has failed to be taken and in fact the Ukrainians have taken it back. 'So I think contrary to great Russian claims and indeed President Putin's vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause, he has got that completely wrong and the Russian army has failed to deliver on day one its main objective.' Mr Wallace told the BBC he believes Mr Putin's legacy 'will be isolation' and that 'diplomacy is absolutely off the table' at the moment. There have been calls for NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine but Mr Wallace today ruled it out. He said such a move would require putting 'British fighter jets directly against Russian fighter jets' and 'NATO would have to effectively declare war on Russia'. Mr Wallace also said the UK will 'work all day' to shut Russia out of the Swift payment system which is one of the foundations of the global banking system. Britain is pushing to exclude Russia from the system as part of the wave of sanctions imposed on Moscow but some G7 nations are opposed to the move. The Defence Secretary said: 'We want it switched off. Other countries do not. We only have so many options. We are going to work all day to try and get it (switched off for Russia).' The Ministry of Defence issued a statement in the early hours of this morning which said 'it is unlikely that Russia has achieved its planned Day 1 military objectives'. However, the MOD said it is 'highly likely' Russian forces have captured the Chernobyl nuclear power plant - 80 miles north of Kiev and along one of the clearest routes to the capital. The MOD added: 'The Ukrainian Armed Forces have reportedly halted Russia's advance towards Chernihiv. Fighting probably continues on the outskirts of the city. 'It is unlikely that Russia has achieved its planned Day 1 military objectives. Ukrainian forces have presented fierce resistance across all axes of Russia's advance.' Mr Johnson spoke to President Zelensky this morning 'to express his solidarity with Ukraine'. Downing Street said: 'President Zelensky updated the Prime Minister on the most recent Russian military advances, including missile and artillery strikes on Ukrainian cities and the terrible developments in Kyiv in the early hours of this morning. 'The Prime Minister assured President Zelensky that the world is united in its horror at what Putin his doing. He paid tribute to the bravery and heroism of the Ukrainian people in standing up to Russia's campaign of violence, and expressed his deep condolences for those who have been killed. 'The Prime Minister committed to provide further UK support to Ukraine in the coming days as the people of Ukraine and the world continue to demonstrate that Putin cannot act with impunity.' The Ministry of Defence issued a statement in the early hours of this morning which said that 'it is unlikely that Russia has achieved its planned Day 1 military objectives' Boris Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this morning, as the Prime Minister committed to 'provide further UK support to Ukraine in the coming days' President Zelensky tweeted after the call with Mr Johnson that Ukraine needs 'effective counteraction' from its allies. He said: 'Held talks with PM @BorisJohnson. Reported on the course of (Ukraine's) defence and insidious attacks on Kyiv by the aggressor. Today (Ukraine) needs the support of partners more than ever. 'We demand effective counteraction to the Russian Federation. Sanctions must be further strengthened.' Mr Johnson convened a late night meeting of his Cabinet yesterday as he told ministers the invasion represented a 'dark day in the history of our continent with Putin launching a cynical and brutal invasion for his own vainglorious ends'. The PM said the UK 'could be proud of the actions it has taken so far, playing a leading role in NATO' and said the Ukrainian military was 'fighting back in defiance of Putin's attempts to subjugate Ukraine'. Mr Johnson also highlighted protests in Russia against the invasion 'which demonstrated that Putin's actions would also face resistance from within his own country'. Number 10 said: 'The Prime Minister concluded by saying Putin must fail, and that the UK would work with its allies to achieve the restitution of the sovereignty of Ukraine.' Mr Johnson yesterday unveiled 'unprecedented' sanctions against Russian banks, firms and oligarchs as he vowed to cripple 'bloodstained aggressor' Mr Putin. The PM announced 10 separate strands of measures to inflict 'significant' impact on Moscow's economy - with officials saying they should knock several percentage points off its GDP. Mr Johnson told MPs Mr Putin was flouting 'every principle of civilised behaviour' and will 'never be able to cleanse the blood of Ukraine from his hands' - even though Ukrainians are 'offering a fierce defence'. He insisted the world now saw the Russian president for what he is: 'A bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest.' The assets of all major Russian banks - including VTB - will be frozen, while new legislation will block the state and all the country's major firms from being able to raise money on London markets. Mr Johnson pointed out that half Russia's trade is currently in dollars and sterling. The Government says over 100 people, entities and subsidiaries will be subject to sanctions, including defence giant Rostec. There will be travel bans and asset restrictions on five more named individuals - including Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter. Sources swiped that they would no longer be able to shop in Harrods or send children to public schools, and had become 'essentially persona non grata in every major Western capital'. Ministers intend to put a fixed limit on how much Russian nationals can have in accounts in the UK. Aeroflot planes will be immediately prevented from landing anywhere in Britain, while crucial defence exports of semi-conductors and aircraft spare parts will end. Firemen pick their way through the rubble of a destroyed apartment in Kyiv, as President Zelensky said the Russian military is now targeting civilian areas A man dressed in camouflage takes a picture of a crater where a Russian rocket landed, destroying part of an apartment block in Kyiv which is now under heavy attack The PM is also committing to shut Russia out of the SWIFT international financial messaging system, although that still has to be thrashed out with other Western powers. And the Government is aiming to extend all the measures to Belarus, which has joined Russia in the invasion. Mr Johnson said it was 'the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen'. Officials said the UK was taking a 'maximalist' approach to sanctions and would look to go further where possible. Some of the measures come in immediately, but others could take weeks and will need legislation. The illegal petrol bombs believed to have had their name coined by the Finnish: What are Molotov cocktails? Molotov cocktail is a generic name given to petrol bombs. Also known as a poor man's grenade, because of their relative ease to make, they are improvised incendiary weapons involving flammable liquid put into glass bottles. The name was coined by the Finnish during their war with Soviet Russia in 1939 - also known as the Winter War. It is believed they were called Molotov as a pejorative reference to Vyacheslav Molotov due to the MolotovRibbentrop Pact - a deal between Russia and Nazi Germany that saw Poland divided between the two countries and Finland into the Soviet 'sphere of influence'. However they were used before the Winter War, most notably in the Spanish Civil war three years earlier. General Franco is said to have ordered his Nationalist troops to use them against Soviet tanks. Many were made by people in Britain in the 1940s as the threat of an invasion by Nazi Germany loomed. They are often used in riots and uprisings and, as of such, have become a symbol of revolution. But they are illegal to make in the UK under the Explosive Substances Act. Advertisement Ukrainian civilians are being encouraged to make Molotov cocktails in order to take out invading Russian troops. With Vladimir Putin's army closing in on the capital of Kiev, the country's Ministry of Defence today took to social media to urge its citizens to build the homemade petrol bombs. They also asked residents in Obolon, a northern district of the capital, to share information with Ukrainian military about the movement of Russian vehicles and troops. In a post from the verified Twitter page of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, it said: 'In Obolon... We ask citizens to inform about the movement of equipment! 'Make Molotov cocktails, neutralise the occupier! Peaceful residents - be careful! Do not leave the house!' It comes as US intelligence suggests Russian troops will arrive in Kyiv today and are now fighting in the outskirts of the city. They have also warned of a plan to seize an airport near to the city, fly in troops, and 'decapitate' the government. Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the country's interior minister, said Friday will be the war's 'hardest day' as Russia armour pushes down from Chernihiv - to the north-east of the capital - and Ivankiv - to the north-west - in an attempt to encircle the city, where President Volodymyr Zelensky is still holed up. The US warned tanks were fighting Ukrainian forces 20 miles from the city early Friday, before clashes were reported in a northern district of the capital just a few hours later. Once the city is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport - likely Sikorsky or Boryspil - which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital. The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime - effectively ending the war without Putin's ground forces going to the difficult and bloody trouble of seizing and occupying the whole country. In a post from the verified Twitter page of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, it said: 'In Obolon... We ask citizens to inform about the movement of equipment! 'Make Molotov cocktails, neutralise the occupier! Peaceful residents - be careful! Do not leave the house!' With Vladimir Putin's invading army closing in on the capital of Kiev, the country's Ministry of Defence today took to social media to urge its citizens to build the homemade petrol bombs. A military instructor teaches civilians to use Molotov cocktails during a training session earlier this month prior to the start of the conflict It comes as US intelligence suggests Russian troops will arrive in Kyiv today and are now fighting in the outskirts of the city. Pictured: A building damaged following a rocket attack the city of Kyiv, Ukraine It appears the Russians almost pulled off the plan on Day 1 of the invasion when 20 attack helicopters landed a crack team of troops at Antonov Airport, 15 miles to the north of Kyiv, where they spent the day fighting. Russia 'intends to take the whole of Ukraine' but FAILED its key objectives on Day 1 of war, UK defence secretary says Russia intends to take the whole of Ukraine but failed to deliver it main objectives on the first day of President Vladimir Putin's invasion, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said. 'It's definitely our view that the Russians intend to invade the whole of Ukraine,' Wallace told Sky. 'I certainly think he has gone full tonto,' he added, suggesting the Russian leader may have lost his mind. 'No-one else in their right mind would do what we are seeing on our telly screens today.' Wallace said the Russian army had failed to deliver any of its key objectives, directly contradicting the Russian defence ministry which said it had achieved all of its main aims on the first day of the military operation. 'Contrary to great Russian claims, and indeed President Putin's sort of vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause, he's got that completely wrong, and the Russian army has failed to deliver, on day one, its main objective,' Wallace said. Russia, Wallace said, had lost more than 450 personnel so far. Ukraine put the figure closer to 800. Neither number has been independently verified. After Britain unveiled its toughest sanctions yet on Russia, Wallace said London was pushing reluctant allies to cut off Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system. 'We would like to go further, we'd like to do the SWIFT system,' he said. 'If not every country wants them to be thrown out of the SWIFT system, it becomes difficult.' British Airways owner IAG is now avoiding Russian airspace for overflights and cancelled its flight to Moscow on Friday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson banned Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot from Britain, CEO Luis Gallego said. Britain has prohibited all scheduled Russian airlines from entering British airspace. Advertisement But Ukrainian national guard units managed to retake the landing strip overnight, scattering the surviving Russian attackers into the surrounding countryside. The Russian attack on the capital would likely be coordinated with a push by troops on southern and eastern fronts - Crimea and Donbass - aimed at pinning down Ukrainian armed forces so they cannot retreat and reinforce the city, officials told author Michael Weiss. It may also be accompanied by bombing raids and sabotage attacks on power grids and infrastructure to sow panic and force people to flee, snarling up roads and making it difficult for forces already in Kyiv to move around. The plan appeared to be underway in the early hours, as explosions sounded before dawn with the city under bombardment from what the defense minister called 'horrific rocket strikes' not seen since 1941. Ukraine's armed forces claimed to have shot down a Russian jet over the outskirts of the city, with flaming wreckage seen falling from the sky, as Zelensky gave a national address, saying Russia has identified him as 'target number 1' of the invasion but he and his family were remaining in the city. He said invading Russian forces are targeting civilian areas, praising his countrymen for their 'heroism' and assuring them that the armed forces are doing 'everything possible' to protect them. 'They say that civilian objects are not a target for them. But this is another lie of theirs. In reality, they do not distinguish between areas in which they operate,' Zelensky said in a video. 'Ukrainian air defence systems are defending our skies,' he said. 'Ukrainians are demonstrating heroism'. 'All our forces are doing everything possible' to protect people, he added. The Ukrainian leader called on people to show 'solidarity' and help the elderly find shelter and 'access to real information.' Zelensky also said that Russia will have to eventually talk to Kyiv to end their war. 'Russia will have to talk to us sooner or later. Talk about how to end the fighting and stop this invasion. The sooner the conversation begins, the less losses there will be for Russia itself,' he said. Switching into Russian in his address, Zelensky acknowledged Russian street protests against Vladimir Putin's attack on Ukraine that ended with mass arrests Thursday. 'To the citizens of the Russian Federation that are coming out to protest, we see you. And this means that you have heard us. This means that you believe us. Fight for us. Fight against war.' Russian police detained more than 1,700 people at anti-war protests across dozens of cities Thursday night. Zelensky said the government had information that 'subversive groups' were encroaching on the city, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv 'could well be under siege' in what U.S. officials believe is a brazen attempt by Putin to dismantle the government and install his own regime. Ukrainians are seen hiding in a Kyiv bomb shelter equipped with AK-47 rifles as Russian troops move into the outskirts Flaming wreckage is seen falling from the skies over Kyiv, as Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian fighter jet Ben Wallace warns Putin intends to invade the WHOLE of Ukraine but claims Russia has FAILED to meet its initial military objectives Ben Wallace today said the UK believes Vladimir Putin intends to seize control of all of Ukraine as the Defence Secretary jibed that Russia's attack has not gone to plan. Mr Wallace said it is 'definitely our view that the Russians intend to invade the whole of Ukraine' but he claimed Moscow is 'behind its hopeful timetable' after encountering fierce resistance. The Cabinet minister said Russia has already 'lost over 450 personnel' and it has 'not taken any of its major objectives', leaving Mr Putin behind schedule. His comments came after Boris Johnson spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this morning, as the Prime Minister committed to 'provide further UK support to Ukraine in the coming days'. Downing Street said Mr Johnson had told President Zelensky that 'the world is united in its horror at what Putin his doing'. Mr Johnson last night held an emergency Cabinet meeting to update ministers on the crisis, telling his senior team that the invasion represented a 'dark day in the history of our continent'. The premier said the Russian President's 'cynical and brutal' attack on Ukraine 'must fail'. Fresh strikes hit Kiev overnight amid warnings Russian forces are closing in on the capital. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said in a tweet just before 4am that 'horrific rocket strikes' hit Kiev in an attack he compared to the city's 1941 shelling by Nazi Germany. 'Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany,' he said. 'Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Sever all ties. Kick Russia out of (everywhere).' The leaders of the 30 NATO allies nations are due to meet today to determine the West's next steps against the Kremlin. Advertisement U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call. The assault, anticipated for weeks by the U.S. and Western allies and undertaken by Putin in the face of international condemnation and cascading sanctions, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. Russian missiles bombarded cities and military bases in the first day of the attack, and Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. As explosions sounded in Kyiv early Friday, guests of a hotel were directed to a makeshift basement shelter. Air raid sirens also went off. 'Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom,' Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he called Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days. Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 'heroes,' including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians. He concluded an emotional speech by saying that 'the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders.' He also said the country had heard from Moscow that 'they want to talk about Ukraine's neutral status.' Biden was to meet Friday morning with fellow leaders of NATO governments in what the White House described as an 'extraordinary virtual summit' to discuss Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin 'chose this war' and had exhibited a 'sinister' view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly. 'It was always about naked aggression, about Putin's desire for empire by any means necessary - by bullying Russia's neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause,' Biden said. Blinken said in television interviews that he was convinced that Russia was intent on overthrowing the Ukrainian government, telling CBS that Putin wants to 'reconstitute the Soviet empire' and that Kyiv was already 'under threat, and it could well be under siege.' Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv's subway stations. At times it felt almost cheerful. Families ate dinner. Children played. Adults chatted. People brought sleeping bags or dogs or crossword puzzles - anything to alleviate the waiting and the long night ahead. But the exhaustion was clear on many faces. And the worries. 'Nobody believed that this war would start and that they would take Kyiv directly,' said Anton Mironov, waiting out the night in one of the old Soviet metro stations. 'I feel mostly fatigue. None of it feels real.' The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukrainian and U.S. officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. The Ukrainian military on Friday reported significant fighting in the area of Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. It said one bridge across a small river had been destroyed. 'The hardest day will be today. The enemy's plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv. Russian tanks burn perfectly when hit by our ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles),' Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. Zelenskyy, who had earlier cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law, appealed to global leaders, saying that 'if you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door.' Though Biden said he had no plans to speak with Putin, the Russian leader did have what the Kremlin described as a 'serious and frank exchange' with French President Emmanuel Macron. A human hand and three placentas are believed to have been sent from Brazil to Singapore so a fashion designer could reportedly turn them into clothes and accessories. The organs were sent to Indonesian designer Arnold Putra, whose controversial designs have included a handbag made from a child's spine. Police last week raided the Manaus home of Amazonas State University (UEA) anatomy professor Helder Binda Pimenta, who is suspected of trafficking the organs. Brazilian police raided the house of an anatomy professor last week after a tip-off about potential human trafficking Fashion designer Arnold Putra (pictured) denied he had taken part in human trafficking The Brazilian Federal Police said: 'According to the investigations, the accused sent plastinated human organs to Singapore. 'Plastination is a modern technical process for preserving biological material, which basically consists of removing bodily fluids (water and fixing solutions) and fats, through chemical methods, substituting them for plastic resins like silicon, polyester and epoxy, resulting in dry, odourless and durable tissues.' The organs have already left Brazil and were on their way to Singapore, although it is unclear whether police have intercepted the package. Amazonas State University (UEA) anatomy professor Helder Binda Pimenta (pictured) is suspected of supplying the organs If he is found guilty the professor could face up to eight years in a Brazilian jail Brazilian police carried out their raids in Manaus, in the north west of the country Arnold Pultra's handbag made from a child's spine. The designer claims his eerie product is 'ethically sourced' from medical surplus in Canada The Los Angeles-manufactured 'one-off bag', was marketed as an 'ideal statement piece' Fashion designer Mr Putra denied he had taken part in human trafficking. He also defended his spine bag as a 'piece of artwork' and said previous reports that he had obtained indigenous people's bones and organs for his clothes and accessories were false. Meanwhile, UEA said: 'The rectory of the University of Amazonas complied with the court order and determined the opening of the investigation to investigate the facts and responsibilities.' If found guilty prof Binda will spend up to eight years in jail. Florida has passed a law which bans the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in primary school classrooms. The bill, dubbed 'Don't Say Gay' by its critics, stops school districts from encouraging any discussion of the topics in a way that is not age-appropriate for students. It comes after several clashes over the issue, with one California mother taking legal action against a school district, claiming two teachers secretly manipulated her 11-year-old daughter into believing she was a transgender boy. In Minnesota, some parents in September accused a school district of telling children as young as four years old to refer to a female as a 'person with a vulva' as part of the sex education curriculum. The bill has attracted widespread criticism in Florida and beyond, but some Republican lawmakers have insisted the bill would give parents more of a say in what their young children are being told about sexuality in school. Speaking to legislators on the House floor, Rep. Joe Harding said the measure is about 'empowering parents' and improving the quality of life for the state's children. 'Creating boundaries at an early age of what is appropriate in our schools, when we are funding our schools, is not hate,' Harding said. 'Its actually providing boundaries, and its fair to our teachers and our school districts to know what we expect.' The bill, dubbed 'Don't Say Gay' by its critics, stops school districts from encouraging any discussion of the topics in a way that is not age-appropriate for students Opponents to the law, which passed Thursday in the House of Representative in a 69-47 vote, warn that it will mean LGBTQ identity, history and culture will be erased. It comes after fierce debate surrounding the issue, with mother Jessica Konen filing a legal claim against Spreckels Union School District last month. She alleged Buena Vista Middle School teachers Lori Caldeira and Kelly Baraki 'planted a seed' in her daughter's head that she was bisexual, then went on to convince the youngster that she was actually a transgender boy. Konen also claims that Caldeira and Baraki - who ran the school's 'You Be You' equality club - provided information for her daughter on how to bind her breasts to stop them developing. She says the school kept her in the dark about what was going on until a December 2019 meeting. A legal claim states Spreckels Union School District was responsible for 'extreme and outrageous conduct' that led the student on a path toward transitioning as a boy and drove a wedge between mother and child. Konen is being assisted in her claim by free speech group The Center for American Liberty. One of Konen's chief complaints was that she was kept in the dark by the school about her daughter's participation in the club, literature teachers provided, and a 'gender support plan' created by administrators. Elsewhere in Minnesota, parents accused a school district of asking teenagers to role play as transgender and homosexual characters as part of the sex education curriculum. In September, the Richfield Public Schools' board members heard the parent's complaints about a sex-ed curriculum by Advocates for Youth - a Planned Parenthood-sponsored program - dubbed the 3R's (Rights, respect, responsibility). The claims, however, were denied by the district, which includes seven schools in the Minneapolis school district. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said schools should avoid 'entirely inappropriate' topics and instead be teaching science and history Jennifer Valley, Director of Communications for the district, told DailyMail.com the district is not teaching kindergarteners to participate in exercises with sexually explicit content, nor are secondary level students asked to perform in the scenarios. Valley said only a portion of the 3R's is used in kindergarten, and it does not include role-play exercises. At the secondary level, role-play scenarios might be used, but not the ones included in the 3R's, she said. But parents fumed at any 3R programs being taught in the schools. Republican lawmakers across the country have pushed measures seeking to limit children's education on LGBTQ issues and restrict transgender kids from accessing gender-affirming medical treatment and bathrooms that match their identity. But democrats have sought to increase children's freedom to access these services and facilities in accordance with their gender identity. The White House has lambasted the law, which is expected to come into effect from July 1, and said it was 'designed to attack' LGBT youth. One shocking amendment which was pulled from the bill would have required schools to disclose whether a child is LGBT+ to their parents within six weeks of learning if they are not straight. It comes as a new Gallup poll last week revealed that more than double the number of Americans in the US say they identify as LGBTQ than they did a decade ago. A record 7.1 percent of Americans identify as straight or heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, a percentage which is up from 3.5 percent of Americans in 2012. It has been steadily increasing since the poll began. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said schools should avoid 'entirely inappropriate' topics and instead be teaching science and history, according to the BBC. It comes as a new Gallup poll last week revealed that more than double the number of Americans in the US say they identify as LGBTQ than they did a decade ago The executive director of the Equality Florida non-profit, Nadine Smith, told the publication: 'What we are seeing is the systematic erasure, or elimination of resources for young people and a gag order imposed on educators.' The bill passed after a proposed amendment that would have required schools to 'out' students to their parents if they identified as LGBTQ within six weeks was pulled on Tuesday. The amendment, proposed by Republican Rep. Joe Harding on Friday, was withdrawn from the controversial bill that has been criticized by LGBTQ groups and President Joe Biden as 'dangerous,' 'deeply bigoted' and 'hateful.' And the bill even allows parents to sue school districts that do promote talking about such issues. DeSantis said: 'Parents must have a seat at the table when it comes to what's going on in their schools.' A staff attorney for Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Shayna Medley, told the NY Daily News: 'Floridas ''Dont Say Gay'' bill reflects yet another attempt to censor discussions in schools about people and issues that conservative legislatures disfavor, under the guise of parental rights.' The Florida bill passed just one month after English teacher Loris Caldeira at Buena Vista Middle School in Spreckels, California, was suspended after she an fellow educator Kelly Baraki, 39, were recorded discussing how they 'stalked' students online to find recruits for the You Be You club. The pair also encouraged students to keep discussions hidden from their parents. Lori Caldeira was suspended from her post at Buena Vista Middle School in Spreckels, California after she and fellow educator Kelly Baraki were recorded discussing how they stalked students online Teacher Kelly Baraki, 39, slammed the door of her home in Salinas, California, when DailyMail.com approached her and asked her to give her version of events Last December, mother Jessica Konen accused the pair of encouraging her daughter to think she was a trans boy when she was at the school in 2019 only for the child to return to her female persona while learning remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic. The You Be You club has since been shut down by the 360-student school while both Caldeira and Baraki have been suspended pending an investigation. 'The staff involved have been placed on administrative leave,' the school district said in a statement. Konen has now launched a legal claim against the school and the two seventh-grade teachers claiming they kept her daughters phony trans identity secret from her and hid that she had been having suicidal thoughts. The girl is now attending high school in another district. In her court papers, Koren says her daughter, identified by her initials, A.G., found distance learning difficult 'but there was a silver lining because A.G. was at home throughout the school day, she was no longer in the clutches of Ms Caldiera (sic) and Ms Baraki. Freed from their influence A.G. began to return to her old self.' American schools have become battlegrounds for lawmakers, parents and school governors - all fighting over what and the way children are taught. The move by Florida Republicans to restrict teaching on sexuality and gender identity follows a case in Minnesota where parents accused a woke school district of asking teenagers to role play as transgender and homosexual characters. Seven schools in the Richfield Public Schools district were said to be telling children as young as four years old to refer to a female as a 'person with a vulva' as part of the sex education curriculum. The Richfield Public Schools district was accused by parents of asking teenagers to role play as transgender and homosexual characters and telling children 4-6 to refer to a female as 'person with a vulva' 'When is it appropriate to coach sixth graders in asking consent for sex and telling them they know best when they are ready for sex?' said Catherine Elkeberry The Schools' board members heard the parent's complaints about a sex-ed curriculum by Advocates for Youth - a Planned Parenthood-sponsored program - dubbed the 3R's (Rights, respect, responsibility). The curriculum includes situations where teenagers are 'turned on,' 'hooking up' and 'doing awesome things' to each other, Aphanews reported. One of the mothers said the lessons conflict with basic family values. 'When is it okay to tell kindergarteners "clitoris is a very sensitive little area?"' Catherine Elkeberry said at the board meeting. 'When is it appropriate to coach sixth graders in asking consent for sex and telling them they know best when they are ready for sex?'. The claims were denied by the district, with Director of Communications Jennifer Valley telling DailyMail.com that the district is not teaching kindergarteners to participate in exercises with sexually explicit content, nor are secondary level students asked to perform in the scenarios. Valley said only a portion of the 3R's is used in kindergarten, and it does not include role-play exercises. A daughter faced paying 28,000 to get her mother back from Spain after she fell ill with pneumonia and septic shock. Jennifer Wardle, 70, fell ill days for unknown reasons after arriving in Gran Canaria on November 8. Within three days of arriving, Jennifer was placed on life-support and her daughter Mandy was faced with an eye-watering 28,000 bill to charter a medical plane to get her mother home to Britain safely. The family eventually borrowed enough money to fund a cheaper 6,000 flight which was not covered on their insurance. Jennifer Wardle, 70, fell ill days for unknown reasons after arriving in Gran Canaria on November 8 Jennifer's family had attempted to crowdfund the money to raise the money but only managed to raise around 900. Mandy said that trolls also took to the GoFundMe comments to leave nasty comments about their plight. Mandy confirmed: 'She's still isn't fully better, but she's much better than she was over there. 'She got home on December 18, and stayed in hospital in Gran Canaria until then. 'When she arrived home she stayed overnight in James Cook and about a week or two later, she was taken back in again. 'But now she's back home and we are really happy.' Mandy added that doctors are no closer to figuring out what caused her mother's illness. She said: 'Nobody seems to have a clue - she was tested for covid, but was negative. 'But it was scary not knowing what was going on, especially with the language barrier. 'But we were so relieved when she came back. 'The best moment was when we pulled up to James Cook in the ambulance, and my dad was stood outside the ambulance to see her, as he hadn't seen her for about six weeks.' U.S. jury finds three ex-cops involved in George Floyd's death guilty Xinhua) 10:07, February 25, 2022 WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Three former police officers of Minneapolis, the U.S. state of Minnesota, accused of violating the civil rights of George Floyd, were found guilty by a federal jury on Thursday. The jury found that Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao all deprived Floyd of his right to medical care and that two of them failed to intervene as their colleague Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest, leading to the African American man's death. A sentencing date for the three has not yet been set. All of them could face up to life in prison. Chauvin's state trial took place last year, and he was convicted of murdering Floyd. He is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence. Floyd's death in May 2020 sparked protests across the United States against police brutality and systemic racism. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- An undeclared round of UN-brokered talks between Yemen's warring factions failed to reach an agreement to end the years-long military conflict in the Arab country, a Yemeni official said on Thursday. "During the past months, the Houthi rebel militia and Yemen's government engaged in a series of undeclared negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations in Oman in an attempt to end the bloody fighting," the local government source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. "U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking and UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg largely participated in organizing the talks," he said. He clarified that the talks continued for several months but failed to reach a political plan to end the conflict. Last month, the Houthi negotiating team based in Oman held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on the developments of Yemen's war as well as the humanitarian and political situation, the Houthis-affiliated Masirah television network reported. Currently, the international community largely relies on Oman as the mediator to end the Yemen conflict, as it has solid relations with the various parties involved. For more than seven years, Yemen has been engulfed in a conflict between the pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-backed Houthis, whose troops have occupied key northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, since September 2014. Until the end of 2021, the war in Yemen had killed 377,000 people directly and indirectly, according to the United Nations. The war has cost the war-torn country's economy 126 billion U.S. dollars, making it one of the world's biggest humanitarian and economic crises, according to UN estimates issued in November 2021. Advertisement Ukrainian forces claimed today to have inflicted one of Russia's heaviest ever day of losses with more than 1,000 casualties. It comes as new totals by Kyiv's defence ministry put President Vladimir Putin's losses at 2,800 troops, 80 tanks, 516 armoured vehicles, 10 airplanes and seven helicopters. Russian officials have made similar claims - that Moscow has captured more than 160 troops; destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities; downed five fighter jets and one helicopter; and destroyed 18 tanks and other armoured vehicles. Meanwhile Ukrainian forces earlier today claimed to have hit an airfield in Millerovo in Rostov, southern Russia, destroying at least one of Moscow's Su-30SM fighter jets. Footage posted online purported to show the tail end of a missile strike on the Russian military's airbase around 10am local time (8am GMT) with several buildings on the site engulfed in flames. At least 37 Ukrainians, among them several civilians, have been killed and hundreds more injured in fighting in the past 24 hours. Russian troops were by this afternoon bearing down on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv after advancing from Chernobyl, less than 60 miles north of the city, this morning. Ukrainian troops tasked with the city's defence began setting up defensive positions across highways, on bridges and on street corners in preparation for what seemed set become a bloody street-to-street fight over the weekend. Kyiv's military, which was left to face Moscow alone after NATO and the US confirmed they would not put boots in the ground, is far inferior to its Russian counterpart with an air defense system and air force dating back to the Soviet era. Few expect Ukraine to emerge victorious from what is almost certain to be a prolonged, bloody, and vicious war - but so far, Kyiv's forces have managed to inflict heavy losses on Putin's troops. Footage posted online purports to show the tail end of a missile strike on the Russian military's airbase around 10am local time (8am GMT) with several buildings on the site engulfed in flames Ukrainian forces claimed on Friday to have destroyed part of an airfield in Millerovo in southern Russia, destroying several of Moscow's fighter jets Flaming wreckage is seen falling from the skies over Kyiv, as Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian fighter jet Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian jet over the outskirts of Kyiv overnight, with wreckage falling on a house and leaving several people injured Helicopters, jets and planes Ukrainian forces downed a Russian fighter jet over Kyiv early on Friday and later hit an airfield in Millerovo in Rostov, southern Russia, destroying at least one Su-30SM around 10am local time (8am GMT). Meanwhile by late Thursday forces had claimed to have shot down at least six helicopters, including four Russian KA-52 Alligator attack helicopters during a battle for Gostomel air base on Thursday. A fifth helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing at the field under heavy fire. Just after midday on Thursday, the skies over Kyiv swarmed with a squadron of 20 Russian helicopters which pounded the air base's runway. But Ukrainian ground forces launched a fight-back, moving in to retake the air field as jets streaking over the city, shooting down the Russian helicopters. The attack underlined just how close the invaders were to the capital. Soon after, the distant roar of fighter jets high above the city stoked another wave of panic. The Ukrainians also reported their MiG jets shot down at least one Mi-8 helicopter. Ukrainian forces also claimed to have shot down six Russian jets sky over the eastern Donbass region while another plane appeared to fall from the skies near the capital. Shortly after 7pm GMT on Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry said a Russian Antonov An-26 transport plane carrying military equipment crashed in its southern Voronezh region near Ukraine, killing all crew members on board. 'During a planned flight to transport military equipment, an An-26 aircraft of the Russian aerospace forces crashed,' the defence ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies. 'The crew died,' the statement said, without providing any details. The defence ministry blamed equipment failure for the crash, which it said had not caused any destruction on the ground. A defence ministry spokesman, speaking to AFP, confirmed the crash but declined to say how many crew members had been killed. An-26 planes carry up to six crew members and up to 38 military personnel. Overall, the Ukrainian armed forces claimed to have shot down five aircraft and six helicopters. Ukrainian forces downed a Russian fighter jet over Kyiv early on Friday (pictured, the wreckage) and later hit an airfield in Millerovo in Rostov, southern Russia, destroying at least one Su-30SM around 10am local time (8am GMT) Firefighters attempt to extinguish the flaming wreckage of an aircraft which was shot down over Kyiv on Friday morning By Friday morning, the battle for Kyiv had begun after fighting broke out in 20 miles from the city in the early hours before clashes were reported in a northern district just a few hours later A Russian helicopter is shot down somewhere over Kyiv (left), while the wreckage of what appears to be a jet falls from the skies near the capital (right) An image captured near Kyiv shows what appears to be the wreckage of a downed Russian attack helicopter with a soldier parachuting out of it (to the left of the frame) Five helicopters were downed or destroyed in the Gostomel region, including this one which was forced to make an emergency landing under heavy fire as Ukrainian forces retook the air field Tanks Ukrainian forces destroyed dozens of Russian tanks along the eastern and northern borders by the end of the day on Thursday, adding two more and a fighting vehicle in Trohizbenko to the tally early on Friday. According to the country's defence ministry, the figure was higher than 30 by the end of Thursday. They also claimed to have destroyed 'up to' 130 armoured combat vehicles. Ukrainian forces put up a stiff resistance around Kharkiv where multiple Russian tanks and armoured vehicles were pictured destroyed - with bodies lying in the streets. Later, another BMP fighting vehicle was captured, along with the crew of four Russian soldiers, in the same region in eastern Ukraine. And around 2pm local time (12pm GMT) the Ukrainian military said troops had destroyed five armoured transport vehicles and a car during fighting at the Vistupovich-Rudnya border point between Ukraine and Belarus. A further 15 T-72 tanks were destroyed or damaged by the Ukrainian forces using the Javelin PTRK, an American anti-tank missile, nearly Glukhov in the country's east late this afternoon. In other incidents, tank-busting rocket launchers donated by Britain were said to have destroyed Russian tanks, while Javelin missiles gifted by Sweden destroyed a column of enemy vehicles. At least 15 T-72 tanks were destroyed or damaged by the Ukrainian forces using the Javelin PTRK, an American anti-tank missile, nearly Glukhov in the country's east late this afternoon A BMP fighting vehicle was captured, along with four Russian soldiers, during fighting near Kharkiv, in the east of Ukraine, on Thursday morning Troops Dozens of Russian troops have been captured by Ukrainian forces, Kyiv's ministry of defence has claimed. Britain's Ministry of Defence put Moscow's losses around 450, though it was not clear if that included captured or dead soldiers. Videos posted by the Ukrainian MoD early on Friday purported to show at least nine captured Russian soldiers. Several Russian troops videoed by their captors have claimed they believed they were conducting training exercises in the border regions and did not know they were being sent to invade Ukraine. The claim was echoed by the brigade commander of the 74th brigade of motorcycle rifles, believed to be a reconnaissance platoon made up of 20 to 50 soldiers, who allegedly surrendered to Ukrainian forces during fighting on Thursday. Commander Konstantin Buynichev is said to have claimed he only learned of the invasion on Wednesday and believed they were returning home. He allegedly said: 'Nobody thought that we were going to kill. We were not going to fight we were collecting information.' The announcement of Buynichev and his troops' capture was posted by the Ukrainian MoD with a picture of a the commander with a bandaged arm and wearing a bloodied uniform which appeared to say 'Russian Army'. Videos posted by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence early on Friday purported to show at least nine captured Russian soldiers Several Russian troops videoed by their captors have claimed they believed they were conducting training exercises in the border regions and did not know they were being sent to invade Ukraine A Russian vehicle with what appear to be corpses of Russian troops laying nearby is seen on the streets of Kyiv on Friday after fighting broke out in the suburbs Ukrainian forces detain servicemen of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic who were captured during the Thursday morning attack on the town of Schast'ye Servicemen from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic were captured by the Ukrainian military on Thursday morning, hours after Russia launched an invasion of the country Ukrainian forces detain troops from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic on Thursday morning The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces later said his soldiers had captured the entire 74th brigade of motorcycle rifles. The announcement was posted with a picture of a man with a bandaged arm and bloody uniform which appeared to say 'Russian Army' The body of a soldier, without insignia, who the Ukrainian military claim is a Russian army serviceman killed in fighting, lies on a road outside the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine Early Thursday, Ukrainian forces said they had captured two Russian soldiers, identified as Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19 and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, from Kizilyurt, along with a cache of weapons and knives during fighting outside Kharkiv, in the east of Ukraine. A further four Russian soldiers, the crew of a BMP fighting vehicle, were captured by Ukrainian forces near Luhansk on Thursday morning. They were pictured lying face-down with their jackets pulled over their heads after being captured by Kyiv's troops. Ukrainian service members were also pictured on Thursday detaining troops from the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic after they were captured during an attack on the town of Schast'ye in the morning. Estimates of dead and injured were almost non-existent as of early afternoon but one Ukrainian official put the Russian death toll at around 50. Two Russian troops - believed to be Rafik Rakhmankulov, 19 (left) and Mgomd Mgomdov, 26, from Kizilyurt (right) - have been captured by Ukrainian forces in the country's east Weapons and knives seized from two Russian soldiers captured by Ukrainian units fighting around Kharkiv The crew of a Russian BMP fighting vehicle are seen face-down with jackets pulled over their heads (left) after being captured by Ukrainian forces (their vehicle is pictured, right) Russian claims Russia claimed on Friday that more than 160 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered to Moscow's troops. The Russian Ministry of Defence said the troops were of 'different security structures', but it was not clear what this meant and the statement did not provide details. At least 11 of the troops reportedly laid down their weapons during fighting in a city in the country's south known to Ukrainians as Mykolaiv, and to Russians as Nikolaev. Among the troops were at least 10 soldiers in Volnovakha in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic who were captured by pro-Russian rebels in the area. Moscow claimed the soldiers would be 'returned to their families' after the situation was 'stabilised'. Russia has also claimed strikes launched by its military yesterday had destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities, 11 airfields, three command posts and 18 radar stations controlling Kyiv's anti-aircraft batteries. Later reports claimed Moscow had downed one of Ukraine's helicopters, five fighter jets and five drone aircraft and destroyed 18 tanks and other armored vehicles, seven flashlight jet systems, 41 units of special military vehicle equipment and five warships. Among the troops were at least 10 soldiers (pictured) in Volnovakha in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic who were captured by pro-Russian rebels in the area A destroyed Ukrainian military convoy is seen on the streets of Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, after apparently being ambushed by Russian special forces operating in the city The Metropolitan Police is asking women to pinpoint areas of the capital where they feel unsafe as part of its plan to rebuild public trust following a spate of recent scandals - and after one of their own abducted and killed a young woman as she walked home almost one year ago. The 'walk and talk' initiative, being rolled out across London on International Women's Day on March 8, will see members of the public go out on patrol and single out areas where they feel vulnerable. It was first started by a police officer in Lambeth in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard, 33, who was abducted and killed by officer Wayne Couzens as she walked home near Clapham Common on March 3 last year. Multiple Met officers were investigated or charged with rape in 2021 - with one alone facing at least 20 charges against women - in what was one of the most damaging years for Scotland Yard's image in recent memory. There was fury over the treatment of mourners at a vigil held for Ms Everard during coronavirus restrictions last March - which saw four attendees arrested - as well as the sharing by officers of photographs of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27. In June, a 20million report into the Daniel Morgan murder branded the Met 'institutionally corrupt' and accused the now-outgoing chief Dame Cressida Dick of trying to block the inquiry - although she rejected the findings. The 'walk and talk' initiative is being rolled out across London on International Women's Day on March 8 and will see members of the public go out on patrol and single out areas where they feel vulnerable. (Pictured: Commissioner Cressida Dick, right, speaks with Sergeant Becky Perkins, left, who came up with the idea for Walk and Talk, at Peckham Police Station, south London on February 24, 2022) Commander Rachel Williams (left) and Councillor Evelyn Akoto during a Walk and Talk in Peckham on February 24, 2022 It has been almost exactly one year since Met officer Wayne Couzens (pictured) abducted and killed Sarah Everard as she walked home near Clapham Common, south London, on March 3 last year There was fury over the treatment of mourners at a vigil held for Ms Everard (pictured) during coronavirus restrictions last March - which saw four attendees arrested And just this month, a watchdog report revealed how officers at Charing Cross Police station exchanged vile messages which made references to rape, violence against women and racist and homophobic abuse. Commander Rachel Williams, who has a leading role in the Met's trust and confidence-building efforts, said the force was 'really saddened' by the erosion of public trust and is 'determined' to rebuild it She said: 'The last year has seen the Metropolitan Police come under intense scrutiny and we absolutely hear loud and clear from our communities that trust has been eroded and we must do more. 'I'm absolutely determined that we can do more, we'll do it with people, and that's why initiatives such as walk and talk today are really important to us.' Ms Williams, who went on a 'walk and talk' in Peckham on Thursday evening, said of the new initiative: 'It's about a genuine understanding, a real conversation, a proper dialogue around what worries people, talking about some of those concerns and what we can do, for example, for younger people. 'It's about us working jointly to try and gain that understanding and then use that information in a way that's really positive and proactive.' Ms Williams also pointed to key questions the force needs to answer in a bid to rebuild trust. She said: 'The first one is, how do we raise our standards internally as the Metropolitan Police Service? 'How do we improve our culture and demonstrate that to others? But also it's about doing our jobs well.' Ms Williams said the walk and talk project is part of the Met's crackdown on violence against women and girls, which has also seen the setting up of specialist predatory offenders' teams and the deployment of 650 new officers in city centres. Commander Rachel Williams (left) and Councillor Evelyn Akoto during a Walk and Talk in Peckham, south London, which is being introduced on International Women's Day on March 8 Met Police officers shared photographs of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman (pictured) last year, sparking outrage 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 Ms Williams said the walk and talk project is part of the Met's crackdown on violence against women and girls, which has also seen the setting up of specialist predatory offenders' teams and the deployment of 650 new officers in city centres. Joining her on Thursday's walk and talk was Councillor Evelyn Akoto, cabinet member for health and wellbeing for Southwark Council. She said: 'Everyone can attest to the fact that confidence in the police has kind of taken a dent but I think as the police are doing right now, with engaging with the community, making sure that they're visible and talking to them, and making sure that they realise that they're on the side, will help that confidence to be built up again.' The duo spoke to a number of people during the patrol, which started at Peckham Police Station, with two women in a nearby park telling them they do not feel confident walking alone in the area at night. The initial idea for the scheme came from Inspector Becky Perkins from the Central South neighbourhoods team. She said: 'We know there are many women out there who don't feel completely safe walking London's streets and we want those women to know we are here for you, we are listening and we are doing all we can to make the streets safer.' Ms Perkins told outgoing Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick about the idea at Peckham Police Station on Thursday ahead of the scheme's full launch. Dame Cressida announced her resignation on February 10 after London Mayor Sadiq Khan made it clear he had no confidence in her plans to reform the service. It came just days after Priti Patel slammed the culture at the Met after a shattering watchdog report exposed 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'. The Home Secretary said 'problems with the culture of the Met' had been 'clear for some time', as its crisis-prone commissioner was branded 'delusional' and incapable of clearing out the 'cesspit' of 'institutional misogyny and racism' that had developed under her watch. 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***''.' Nine of the 14 officers investigated are still serving in the force - with just two sacked - prompting critics to accuse the Met's leadership of failing to root out an insidious culture described by investigators as 'widespread' rather than the result of 'just a few bad apples'. At least some of the wrongdoers served in a specialist vice squad. Commenting on the watchdog's findings, Priti Patel said earlier this month: 'It has been clear for some time that there are problems with the culture of the Metropolitan Police, which is why last year I tasked the Angiolini Inquiry and the police inspectorate with investigating these deeply concerning issues. 'I expect the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor of London to implement the recommendations of this report as soon as practically possible. 'The public rightly expects the behaviour of the police to be beyond reproach - standards must be raised.' 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. 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. IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: 'The behaviour we uncovered was disgraceful and fell well below the standards expected of the officers involved. While these officers predominantly worked in teams in Westminster, which have since been disbanded, we know from other recent cases that these issues are not isolated or historic. 'The learning report we are publishing today is shocking and contains language which is offensive - and some may find it upsetting. However, we felt it was important to provide the context for the public, the Met and other forces, for why such hard-hitting recommendations are necessary.' While the IOPC acknowledged the work that the Met has done since to improve, Mr Naseem said more needs to be done. 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. 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. Two men will each serve at least two decades behind bars for the brazen daylight execution of a Sydney solicitor as he sat with friends outside a shopping centre cafe. Gunman Arthur Keleklio was jailed for at least 20 years and three months, while Abraham Sinai was jailed for at least 22 years and six months for his role in the murder of Ho Ledinh. In sentencing the men in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, Justice Robert Allan Hulme said the way in which the murder was carried out was brazen in the extreme. 'In the mid-afternoon of Tuesday 23 January 2018 Mr Ledinh was sitting with others at a table outside the Happy Cup cafe in Bankstown City Plaza,' Justice Hulme said. 'Mr Keleklio walked up behind him and fired three shots from a .45 calibre handgun. 'Mr Ledinh fell to the ground and died soon after.' Western Sydney lawyer Ho Ledinh (pictured with wife Ngo Thu Huong and two of their three children) was gunned down at a Bankstown cafe in January 2018 On Friday in the NSW Supreme Court, gunman Arthur Keleklio (pictured) was jailed for at least 20 years and three months for the cold blooded execution of Ho Ledinh Vivian Vo, a family friend of Mr Ledinh, collapsed to the ground at the scene where the solicitor was gunned down in 2018 He set a maximum term of 30 years for Sinai and 27 years for Keleklio. 'Gun violence carried out in public with lethal intention and effect is abhorrent in our community, and courts must send a clear and consistent message of deterrence in their sentencing responses.' Mr Ledinh's clients included persons in the drug trade and, the judge said, events in the months leading up to his death may well have had something to do with the shooting. The 65-year-old, who had owned the Happy Cup with Tri Van Nguyen, told his wife Tri was 'a big drug dealer' and that the cafe was used to launder money for Tri's syndicate. She testified that her husband acted as a debt collector for Tri, was in financial difficulties and when he sold the cafe when Tri was in jail, he retained the proceeds. The judge said the evidence was incapable of establishing definitively a motive for the murder. 'It seems, however, to have been common ground that the murder had something to do with Mr Ledinh's association with persons involved in quite serious criminality.' He rejected Keleklio's evidence that the original plan was to collect a debt from Mr Ledinh and that this changed at the last moment to a plan to shoot him in the foot or the leg. CCTV cameras filmed the attack itself while numerous cameras filmed the getaway. 'As shambolic as some aspects were, this was a shooting to kill,' the judge said. 'A crime that is amateurishly planned or clumsily executed is not necessarily a crime of lesser seriousness.' Keleklio pleaded guilty to the murder, while Sinai was found guilty on the basis of being part of a joint criminal enterprise with his role including planning and helping the gunman. Mr Ledinh, a father-of-five, was a well-known lawyer in Sydneys western suburbs The murder unfolded in front of shocked customers at the Happy Cup cafe in Bankstown Plaza in January 2018 (pictured, police at the scene) Mr Ledinh pictured with his family. A judge said the evidence was incapable of establishing definitively a motive for the murder The judge found the men, both of Samoan heritage but born in New Zealand, had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation. He referred to the 'very sad' victim impact statement of Mr Ledinh's widow who spoke of the extreme grief, stress and anxiety caused by her the horrific murder. Statements from two daughters from an earlier relationship provide 'remarkable accounts of relationships with a wonderful father that are as balanced and realistic as they are moving. 'He was not an angel, or perfect, but he was much loved.' John Lewis has ditched its Never Knowingly Undersold promise to consumers before its centenary after the shop said that it doesnt fit with how customers shop today. The British high street retailer said that the nearly 100-year-old promise which one expert dismissed as a psychological sop is from a different era and will be retired this summer. The promise was that John Lewis would match the price of branded products in other shops if a customer pointed out they could find it cheaper elsewhere. However, it said that the rise of online retailers such as Amazon had pulled the rug from underneath the pledge. The policy did not apply to online-only rivals and MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis said it was hardly used anyway. Undated handout photo issued by John Lewis of their famous slogan 'Never Knowingly Undersold' being used for the first time in a paper, 1928 John Lewis said it would invest 500million to keep prices down John Lewis: From a small shop on Oxford Street to one of Britain's biggest retailers John Lewis has become one of the most recognisable brands on Britain's high streets with the company also owning supermarket giant Waitrose. But its history can be traced back to 1964, when founder John Lewis opened a small shop on London's Oxford Street. Over time it expanded, and the Lewis family purchased Peter Jones, a business in Sloane Square, before control of the company was handed to the founder's son, John Spedan Lewis. Spedan Lewis wanted to 'create a way of doing business that was both commercial, allowing it to move quickly and stay ahead in a highly-competitive industry, and democratic, giving every Partner a voice in the business they co-own', according to the brand's website. As a result, all members of staff are referred to as 'partners' and the company is run by a trust on their behalf. John Lewis opened as a small shop in Oxford Street in 1864 The Oxford Street store with a festive display in 1936 Among its eye-catching schemes is a six-month leave for employees who have worked at the company for 25 years, an idea that was started in 1979. In 1920 the firm offered its first ever bonus to all of its staff, and nine years later set up a medical service providing free healthcare for all partners - 19 years before the NHS was founded. By 1940 the company had expanded further, purchasing Waitrose and 15 branches of the collapsing Selfridge Provincial Stores Group, by 1960 it was able to reopen a much larger shop on Oxford Street. In 1963, Spedan Lewis died. Seven years later the company issued its annual bonuses to staff in cash, rather than in stocks and cash. Stanley Carter, the ex-managing director of the department store on London's Oxford Street, pictured in August 1965 At the turn of the century, John Lewis was preparing to move online, launching its website in 2001, while using Waitrose to supply online supermarket Ocado. In recent years it has become known for its iconic Christmas adverts, the first one being launched in 2007. Changing demands from shoppers and the decline of the high has had a negative impact on John Lewis' stores. Last year it announced eight shops were to close, including a flagship site in Birmingham. Today, a further 1,500 jobs have been put at risk, as it plans to close another eight stores in Kent, York, Hampshire, Northamptonshire, Cheshire and Aberdeen. It plans to rely on smaller Waitrose stores that stock some John Lewis items, while also profiting online by expanding its click and collect service. Advertisement The Never Knowingly Undersold promise has always been a bit of a psychological sop to consumers, giving an arguably false impression that John Lewis is cheap, he said. In reality, it allows the store to charge what it likes and know that, for a few price-sensitive shoppers less than 1 per cent last year who are bothered to check prices elsewhere after making a purchase, John Lewis will reduce its price but only to that of its high street competitors. John Lewis said that it would still monitor prices at its rivals, but that now it will invest 500million in keeping prices down without customers having to shop around. The investment is 25 per cent more than was spent on keeping prices down last year, John Lewis said. John Lewis executive director, Pippa Wicks, said: Customers are tightening their belts and were responding so John Lewis is more affordable for every customer, every day whether shopping in-store or online. Never Knowingly Undersold has been a cherished sign of trust for John Lewis for a century but it doesnt fit with how customers shop today as more purchases are made online. Our new 500million investment means all our customers can trust theyre getting the quality, style and service they expect from John Lewis at great value prices. The promise was introduced in 1925 when John Lewis only had two branches. Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said a decision to ditch the price match promise was long overdue. John Lewis has to get control back of its gross margin after throwing so much away on unnecessary price-matching of Debenhams and House of Fraser sale promotions, he told the Guardian. It follows reports that its sister business Waitrose has announced it is ending its free newspaper offer to loyalty card holders after revealing just five per cent of members are making use of it. The move has prompted a backlash on social media, similar to the outrage Waitrose faced when it ended free coffee in 2017. The upmarket supermarket chain, owned by the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), sent an email to myWaitrose card holders, informing them they will no longer receive a free newspaper when they spend 10 or more from February 22. The email stated: Nobody shops quite like you so were updating myWaitrose to make it even more personal. As part of these changes, the myWaitrose newspaper offer will be ending on 22 February 2022. But we're replacing it with something new look our for updates in the coming weeks. Waitrose is promising personalised offers, special members-only prices, and discounts on cooking classes. In 2017 the supermarket faced a backlash when it introduced new rules forcing myWaitrose customers to buy items first before claiming their free tea or coffee. Stores later closed the machines for the time being. Waitrose added: Look out for updates in the coming weeks and in the meantime, keep using your myWaitrose card, because the more you use it, the more personalised we'll be able to make your offers. It comes as John Lewis and Waitrose are planning to cut around 1,000 jobs in stores. The JLP is in the midst of a major shift in strategy to adapt to changing shopping habits, with the latest move part of a desire to simplify store management. JLP said it will support employees who wish to stay in the business in finding new roles. The firm also aims to minimise compulsory redundancies through voluntary redundancy and severance options. In March last year, John Lewis announced it was shutting eight stores across the country putting 1,465 jobs at risk. The eight shops shut comprised of four department stores in Aberdeen, Peterborough, Sheffield and York, and four At Home stores in Ashford, Basingstoke, Chester and Tunbridge Wells. In January 2021, the group recorded a 517million pre-tax loss for the year to January the first ever loss in its 157-year history. Last July it announced the closure of eight stores, including its flagship site in Grand Central, Birmingham. This was followed by a further 1,500 jobs axed from head office in November. For the first time in nearly 70 years, partners were not offered bonuses as the Covid-19 lockdown put added pressure on the high street retailer. It decided not to reopen eight stores after the first lockdown, at a loss of around 1,300 jobs. Prior to the pandemic Sir Charlie Mayfield, the former chairman, found that 20 of its department stores were no longer viable. The company predicts 70 per cent of its sales will be made online by 2025, the Mirror reports. John Lewis said that it would still monitor prices at its rivals, but that now it will invest 500million in keeping prices down without customers having to shop around The John Lewis Partnership is trying to save 300million per year in the wake of the virus to secure its long-term future. The job cuts announced in November represented almost a third of its 5,000 head office staff and will help the firm save 50million a year. It has already closed one of its two central London offices, and plans to convert excess space on the upper floors of its flagship Oxford Street store into offices. In 2019 it made 75 of its 225 senior managers redundant. It hopes the plans will help to stall years of falling profits, and allow it to make 400million a year by 2025. Department stores have been hit hardest as shoppers turn to online competitors, especially to buy clothes and electrical items. Retailers are also battling a storm of rising staff costs, rents and business rates. Coronavirus lockdown rules hammered the UK High Street with stalwarts such as Debenhams, WH Smith and Clarks all failing to escape the bloodbath. A one-year-old infant and their parents who were reported missing from Wales more than a week ago have been found safe and well in Scotland. Leanca Rostas, 34, and Marcel Rostas, 35, had last been seen with their one-year-old child, Matie, at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff on Wednesday, February 16. The family disappeared at around midnight that day and since then police had been trying to find out where they were after they were reported missing. Officers said yesterday that they believed the family had travelled more than 300 miles to Scotland. Leanca Rostas (pictured left), and Marcel Rostas (pictured right) had last been seen at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff on Wednesday, February 16 The parents and their one-year-old child, Matie (pictured), have now been found safe and well more than 300 miles away in Scotland after police investigated their whereabouts They said they were focusing their enquiries on the Glenrothes area of Fife, which is north of Edinburgh. Police Scotland had said it was assisting its colleagues at South Wales Police in its attempts to find the family, with concerns about their safety and welfare rising. Now the force has said it has found the family safe and well, with officers confirming this earlier this morning. Details of exactly where the family were found have not been released, with officers saying only they were found north of the border in Scotland. Russia's civil aviation authority today banned UK flights to and over Russia in retaliation for a British ban on Aeroflot. The move has implications for flights between the UK and Asia, although many airlines - such as British Airways - had already begun avoiding the country's airspace. The Kremlin's decision came after the Department of Transport announced it had barred Russian commercial and civilian aircraft from the UK skies from midnight last night. Russian owned aircraft were banned from UK airspace from midnight until May 23, the Civil Aviation Authority has announced The Russian aviation authority announced its ban on UK planes today. This graphic shows how planes are avoiding Ukrainian airspace due to the conflict there Russia's aviation authority said today: 'A restriction was introduced on the use of Russian airspace for flights of aircrafts owned, leased or operated by an organisation linked to or registered in the UK.' The ban took effect from 11:00 am Moscow time (8:00 GMT), it said, and included flights transiting through Russian airspace. Explaining the significance of the move, aviation analyst Alex Macheras tweeted: 'UK airlines rely on Russian airspace for flights to the Far East, including South Korea, Japan, and China. '[There will be] costly rerouting & extra flight times ahead for airlines as aircraft will now track south, across the Middle East. 'Russian airspace is one of the most expensive in the world (for overflight) and airlines pay Russian govt a lot for its use, so Russia loses here too.' Meanwhile, the UK Department of Transport issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) announcing its ban would affect all aircraft 'owned, chartered or operated by a person connected with Russia'. This encompasses commercial aircraft, such as those operated by Russian flag carrier Aeroflot - but also private planes used by oligarchs. The ban includes airspace over the UK's territorial seas - although it will not prevent jets flying outside the 12-mile territorial limit. It will start at midnight and will continue until 11.59pm on May 23. The Department of Transport has banned all Russian aircraft from UK airspace from midnight until 11.59pm on May 23 The Civil Aviation Authority told MailOnline yesterday: 'Following the announcement by the Prime Minister in Parliament today, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has suspended the foreign carrier permit held by Aeroflot Russia Airlines (Aeroflot) until further notice. 'This means that Aeroflot will not be permitted to operate flights to or from the United Kingdom until further notice.' MailOnline has approached the Department of Transport for a comment. Radiation levels at Chernobyl nuclear power plant have increased after Russian troops seized the area yesterday, Ukraine's nuclear agency warned on Friday. Russian forces took control of the defunct plant in a 'fierce' battle on Thursday, with the condition of its nuclear storage facilities said to be 'unknown' at the time. Their capture of the plant sparked fears of a radiation leak that could cause a nuclear fallout in Europe, last seen when the reactor exploded in 1986. Russian officials denied higher radiation levels had been recorded. Radiation levels at Chernobyl nuclear power plant have increased after Russian troops seized the area yesterday (pictured), Ukraine's nuclear agency warned on Friday Pictured: Russian armoured vehicles park on roads near the Chernobyl plant, amid fears that damage to the facility could cause a radiation leak that would blanket Europe with fallout Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate said Friday that higher gamma radiation levels have been detected in the Chernobyl zone, but didn't provide details of the increase. It attributed the rise to a 'disturbance of the topsoil due to the movement of a large amount of heavy military equipment through the exclusion zone and the release of contaminated radioactive dust into the air.' Ukrainian authorities said that Russia took the plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle Thursday. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Russian airborne troops were protecting the plant to prevent any possible 'provocations.' He insisted that radiation levels in the area have remained normal. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been 'no casualties or destruction at the industrial site.' Radiation levels at Chernobyl nuclear power plant (pictured, file photo) have increased after Russian troops seized the area yesterday, Ukraine's nuclear agency warned on Friday Pictured: A map showing where Russian forces have struck in their invasion. Chernobyl lies in the north of the country, close to the border with both Belarus and Russia The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the plant 80 miles north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The disaster occurred while Ukraine was part of the USSR, with Soviet officials initially playing down the disaster, slowing the response. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell to prevent leaks. The construction of the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement was completed in 2018. Video on Thursday revealed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles standing in front of the destroyed reactor. An official said Thursday Russian shelling hit a radioactive waste repository and an increase in radiation levels was initially reported. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is following the situation in Ukraine 'with grave concern' and appealed for maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put Ukraine's nuclear facilities at risk. Ukrainian presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak said: 'After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe.' Presidential advisers meanwhile said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was still in the capital Kyiv. In this file photo taken on February 4, 2022 Servicemen take part in a joint tactical and special exercises of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ukrainian National Guard and Ministry Emergency in a ghost city of Pripyat, near Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant 'The base scenario of Russia's special operation is clear. The sole goal - to take Kyiv and kill Ukraine's authorities, President Zelenskiy personally,' said an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak. Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases. Troops and tanks are moving in from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv and gunfire was later heard near the government quarter as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting. Ukraine's president pleaded for international help to fend off an attack that could topple his democratically elected government, cause massive casualties and ripple out damage to the global economy. Among the signs that the Ukrainian capital was increasingly threatened, the military said Friday that a group of Russian spies and saboteurs was seen in a district of Kyiv about 3 miles north of the city centre. Earlier, the military said that Russian forces had seized two Ukrainian military vehicles and some uniforms and were heading toward the city to try to infiltrate under the guise of being locals. Advertisement UKRAINE WAR: LATEST Russia said it is not willing to negotiate with Ukraine's government until military operation is over Came after Zelensky called for a sit-down with Putin to end the fighting Putin said he would be willing to send a team of negotiators to meet Zelensky - in Belarus, which is helping with the invasion Russian president then called on Ukrainian military to overthrow the 'regime' in Kyiv China's President Xi spoke to Putin by phone, called for diplomatic solution to the fighting Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces Zelensky has allowed anyone of any age to join the armed forces, and called on Europeans from other countries to come and join the fight Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning Advertisement Defence Secretary Ben Wallace today ruled out NATO enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine as he warned such a move would likely plunge the entire European continent into war. There have been calls from Ukraine, and from some Tory MPs, for the UK to provide air support to Kiev as it tries to beat back the Russian invasion. But Mr Wallace said the reality of a no-fly zone would mean pitting 'British fighter jets directly against Russian fighter jets' for control of the skies. He said this would amount to NATO effectively declaring war on Russia as he vowed: ' I won't trigger a European war'. The Cabinet minister made the comments as the Government announced it will be sending further armed forces to Estonia 'earlier than planned' as the UK looks to bolster the defences of its NATO ally to the north of Ukraine. A no-fly zone is an area within a country in the midst of a war in which certain aircraft are banned. To make them effective, the enforcers must be prepared to confront hostile aircraft and shoot them down if they violate the ban. Mr Wallace told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'To do a no-fly zone, I would have to put British fighter jets directly against Russian fighter jets. NATO would have to effectively declare war on Russia, because that is what you would do. 'Despite Britain's sponsorship and support of Ukraine, going back to 2004 I think it was, or 2008, trying to help Ukraine into NATO, other nations didn't want them to come in at the same pace, so the reality is Ukraine isn't in NATO.' He continued: 'What I'm saying is we're not going to put British service personnel in direct fighting if we were to directly attack Russian aircraft, we would have a war across Europe because we are a NATO ally, Russia would attack us, NATO would be triggered under Article Five and we would have a war across Europe. 'What we can do I can receive the request for aid, both lethal and non-lethal, and do everything in our power to deliver that to Ukraine.' Mr Wallace said the 'ripples' from the invasion 'will be felt across Europe', adding: 'When I made the case for lethal aid, a lot of the other countries in Europe would say 'well he's not going to do this, it's irrational, he's just going to bully people'. 'Well, I have said continually for a long time, as has Britain, and the Prime Minister has supported this position Putin is not rational. He is trying to invade Ukraine, he will not stop with Ukraine. He doesn't think the Baltic states are really countries, and we will have to stand up to it. 'Now, I cannot trigger a European war and I won't trigger a European war. But what I will do is help Ukraine fight every street with every piece of equipment we can get to them, and we will support them, and that is the reality.' The Government today said that it will be deploying more military resources to Estonia 'earlier than planned'. Defence minister James Heappey told the Commons: 'In addition to the Royal Tank Regiment battle group that has been in place in Estonia for the last six months, the Royal Welsh battlegroup will be arriving in Estonia earlier than planned to double up our force levels and those doubled-up force levels remain indefinitely. 'They will be augmented by the headquarters of 12 Mechanised Brigade, meaning that the United Kingdom will have an armoured brigade in Estonia reassuring one of our closest Nato allies.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded tougher sanctions and additional support from the West after Kiev was hit by air strikes amid reports that Russian tanks are fighting on the outskirts of the capital. In other developments: Russia said it is not willing to negotiate with Ukraine's government until military operation is over; Came after Zelensky called for talks to end fighting; Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours; Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight; Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces; Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said; Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal; Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting; PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days; Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning. Britain cannot enforce a no-fly zone without triggering a pan-European war with Russia, the Defence Secretary has warned. Ben Wallace today ruled out taking any action that would spark an all-out continental war against Vladimir Putin Firemen extinguish a fire inside a residential building that was hit by a missile on February 25, 2022 in Kyiv A Ukrainian serviceman is seen at positions on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine, February 24, 2022 Natali Sevriukova, a resident of Kyiv, is pictured weeping on the streets of Kyiv after a Russian rocket strike destroyed the apartment block where she lives overnight Russian armour is now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet What is a no-fly zone? And how do they work? A no-fly zone is an area within a country in the midst of a war in which certain aircraft are banned. They are controversial because they require an international organisation to enter a sovereign nation, overrule the authority of the legally recognised government, and take sides in a conflict. To make a no-fly zone effective, the enforcers must be willing and prepared to confront hostile aircraft if they violate the ban, and to either engage them in aerial combat or shoot them down with anti-aircraft missiles. That entails the risk that planes may be shot down, and their crews captured or killed. Since the 1990s, NATO and the United Nations have used no-fly zones to prevent aerial bombardment by a hostile force. In recent times, they have been declared in the Balkans and Iraq. Were a no-fly zone to be implemented in Ukraine, the West would effectively be declaring war on Russia by shooting down its banned aircraft. Advertisement The Kremlin's long-feared assault began in the early hours of Thursday, but the British Ministry of Defence said a 'fierce resistance' was holding up the Russian advance. Wallace told Sky News: 'Our assessment as of this morning is that Russia has not taken any of its major objectives, in fact it is behind its hoped-for timetable. 'They've lost over 450 personnel. One of the significant airports they were trying to capture with their elite Spetsnaz has failed to be taken. In fact, the Ukrainians have taken it back. 'So, I think contrary to great Russian claims and indeed President Putin's sort of vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause he's got that completely wrong. The Russian army has failed to deliver on day one its main objective.' Leaders of NATO, of which Ukraine is not a member, will hold an extraordinary virtual summit on Friday afternoon to discuss the crisis. Boris Johnson last night branded Putin a 'bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest' who has flouted 'every principle of civilised behaviour' by launching an all-out war on neighbouring Ukraine. The PM announced 10 separate strands of measures to inflict 'significant' impact on Moscow's economy on Thursday with officials saying they should knock several percentage points off its GDP. The assets of all major Russian banks including VTB will be frozen, while new legislation will block the state and all the country's major firms from being able to raise money on London markets. Johnson pointed out that half Russia's trade is currently in dollars and sterling. The Government says over 100 people, entities and subsidiaries will be subject to sanctions, including defence giant Rostec. There will be travel bans and asset restrictions on five more named individuals including Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter. Ministers intend to put a fixed limit on how much Russian nationals can have in accounts in the UK. Aeroflot planes will be immediately prevented from landing anywhere in Britain, while crucial defence exports of semi-conductors and aircraft spare parts will end. The PM is also committing to shut Russia out of the SWIFT international financial messaging system, though that still has to be thrashed out with other Western powers. And the Government is aiming to extend all the measures to Belarus, which has joined Russia in the invasion. Johnson said it was 'the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen'. Officials said the UK was taking a 'maximalist' approach to sanctions and would look to go further where possible. Some of the measures come in immediately, but others could take weeks and will need legislation. Boris Johnson's ten point plan to hammer Putin One: An asset freeze will be imposed against all major Russian banks, including VTB, the second largest bank in Russia. Two: New laws will be published on Tuesday to ban all major Russian companies from being able to raise finance on UK markets. Three: A second wave of sanctions targeting more than 100 individuals and entities. Includes five more oligarchs and defence companies and their subsidiaries. They will be hit with asset freezes and travel bans for oligarchs. UK citizens will be banned from transacting with the targeted firms. Four: UK Government is looking to ban the ability of Aeroflot aircraft to land in the UK. Five: The UK will suspend all dual-use export licences to Russia. This relates to items which could be used for civilian purposes but also for military purposes. Such items could be electrical components which could be used in military computers or parts for military vehicles. Six: Legislation to prohibit a range of high tech exports to Russia, in alignment with similar measures being rolled out by the US. Will target items like semi-conductors and aircraft spare parts. Seven: Legislation will be brought forward to limit the amount of deposits that all Russian Nationals can hold in UK bank accounts. The UK is yet to define a limit but it will be designed to target wealthy individuals. Eight: UK will work with allies to shut Russia out of the Swift payment system which is one of the foundations of the global banking system. However, discussions remain ongoing with G7 allies on doing this amid reports of some opposition. Nine: The UK will extend the measures applied to Russia to also apply to Belarus. Ten: The Government will accelerate the timetable for bringing forward its Economic Crime Bill. This will contain new tougher measures to target kleptocrats who launder cash in London. The draft laws will be brought forward before the Easter recess. Advertisement In the US, President Joe Biden was targeting Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors, while deploying more troops to Germany to bolster NATO. Zelenskyy said in an address early on Friday sanctions alone were not doing enough to deter Russia. 'This morning we are defending our state alone. Like yesterday, the world's most powerful forces are watching from afar,' he said. 'Was Russia convinced by yesterday's sanctions? We hear in our sky and see on our earth that this was not enough.' Meanwhile, UK charities have urged the Government to open its borders to the thousands of refugees fleeing Ukraine in the wake of Russia's incursion. In an open letter to The Times, charities including Amnesty International and the Refugee Council called on the Government to echo the humanitarian effort seen following the fall of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. They wrote: 'A generation ago, the UK saved the lives of thousands of families from the Balkans through an evacuation and resettlement programme. 'The government should now respond with a well-resourced initiative, working with councils across the country, to welcome Ukrainians who need sanctuary.' Russia is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital today after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleaded for international help. The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear, but the blasts came amid signs that the capital and largest Ukrainian city was increasingly threatened following a day of fighting that left more than 100 Ukrainians dead. Zelenskyy said the government had information that 'subversive groups' were encroaching on the city, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv 'could well be under siege' in what US officials believe is a brazen attempt by Putin to install a puppet regime. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call. The assault, anticipated for weeks by the US and Western allies and undertaken by Putin in the face of international condemnation and cascading sanctions, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. Russian missiles bombarded cities and military bases in the first day of the attack, and Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. Ukraine's capital was under bombardment in the early hours of Friday, with the skies ablaze as Putin's tanks moved to within 20 miles of Kyiv. Ukraine's deputy defense ministry said that one missile was shot out of the sky by their anti-missile defense systems. Another missile struck a residential building in the city, the government said. Ukraine has 125 combat-capable aircraft, including 4th-generation fighter workhorses Sukhoi Su27 and Mikoyan MiG29, according to Military Balance 2021. Russia has more than 1,500 fighter jets. Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashenko shared footage on social media of a blaze in what he said was the Darnitsky district of Kyiv, in the southeast of the city on the left bank of the Dnipro river. It was unclear whether the Darnitsky fire was caused by the downed Ukrainian jet, or the Russian missiles. A Russian vehicle with what appear to be corpses of Russian troops laying nearby is seen on the streets of Kyiv on Friday after fighting broke out in the suburbs A woman with a backpack walks in front of a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv where a military shell struck A man dressed in camouflage takes a picture of a crater where a Russian rocket landed, destroying part of an apartment block in Kyiv which is now under heavy attack Who are the latest Russian oligarchs targeted by sanctions? Kirill Shamalov Russia's youngest billionaire, 39, who was married to Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova (pictured together below) for five years from 2013 to 2018, making him the former son-in-law of one of the world's worst dictators. Hi father Nickolai co-owns the Rossiya bank, which was sanctioned by the UK earlier this week. His fortunes began to skyrocket soon after his wedding to the president's daughter, a competitive acrobatic dancer who helped oversee a $1.7 billion expansion of Moscow State University. Within 18 months, Kirill acquired a large chunk of shares in a major Russian oil and petrochemical processor called Sibur - a stake worth an estimated $2.85 billion in 2015. But he is believed to have lost half his wealth when they divorced in 2018. Petr Fradkov London-educated 43-year-old chairman and CEO of Promsvyazbank (PSB) bank. He is the son of Mikhail Fradkov, a former prime minister of Russia and former director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) He was made subject to US sanctions earlier this week by the US Treasury. 'Since 2018, Petr Fradkov has worked to transform PSB into a bank that services the defense industry and supports state defense contracts,' a spokesman said. 'In his role as chairman and CEO of PSB, Petr Fradkov has held working meetings with Putin and participated in roundtable discussions in international forums in which he forecasts the PSB's long-term strategic plans for supporting the Russian defense industry.' Fradkov is also the general director of the Russian Export Center. Denis Bortnikov Deputy president of Russian-state owned financial institution VTB Bank since 2017. His father Aleksandr Bortnikov, 70, has since 2008 been the director of Russia's intelligence service, the FSB - the successor to the KGB. Putin and Bortnikov senior both joined the then-KGB in St Petersburg in 1975, with Putin leaving as a lieutenant colonel in 1991 to enter politics, while Bortnikov remained inside and rose up the ranks. The elder Bortnikov is one of the infamous 'siloviki' - former and current state-security officers with personal ties to the Soviet-era KGB and its successor agencies, who serve as Putin's trusted henchmen. Yuri Slyusar President of Russia's United Aircraft Corp and a former deputy trade minister. The UAC is a major Russian defence contractor which manufactures Mig and Sukhoi fighter jets among other products including passenger jets. Its majority shareholder is the Russian government. Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva Chief executive of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate. Advertisement Hours earlier, Zelenskyy raged at Western 'cowards' who failed to come to his aid, saying his country is being 'left alone' to face Russian troops. Officials warn that Kyiv will be seized this weekend. In a video address to his nation after midnight, the president called his fallen compatriots 'heroes' after 137 were killed on the first day of fighting, and insisted he will stay until the bitter end. He said: 'They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven. We have been left alone to defend our state. Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone. 'Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.' He added that the enemy has already entered Kyiv and urged residents to be vigilant and observe curfew rules, acknowledging he was 'target number one'. As explosions sounded in Kyiv early Friday, guests of a hotel were directed to a makeshift basement shelter. Air raid sirens also went off. 'Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom,' Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he called Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days. Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 'heroes', including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians. He concluded an emotional speech by saying that 'the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders'. He also said the country had heard from Moscow that 'they want to talk about Ukraine's neutral status'. Biden was to meet Friday morning with fellow leaders of NATO governments in what the White House described as an 'extraordinary virtual summit' to discuss Ukraine. Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin 'chose this war' and had exhibited a 'sinister' view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly. 'It was always about naked aggression, about Putin's desire for empire by any means necessary by bullying Russia's neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause,' he said. Blinken said in television interviews that he was convinced that Russia was intent on overthrowing the Ukrainian government, telling CBS that Putin wants to 'reconstitute the Soviet empire' and that Kyiv was already 'under threat, and it could well be under siege'. Ukrainian and US officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. The Ukrainian military on Friday reported significant fighting in the area of Ivankiv, about 40 miles northwest of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. It said one bridge across a small river had been destroyed. 'The hardest day will be today. The enemy's plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv. Russian tanks burn perfectly when hit by our ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles),' Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. Zelenskyy, who had earlier cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law, appealed to global leaders, saying that 'if you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door'. Both sides claimed to have destroyed some of the other's aircraft and military hardware, though little of that could be confirmed. Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-unused Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been 'no casualties or destruction at the industrial site'. The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the plant 80 miles north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell to prevent leaks. Alyona Shevtsova, adviser to the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, wrote on Facebook that staff members at the Chernobyl plant had been 'taken hostage'. The White House said it was 'outraged' by reports of the detentions. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense issued an update saying that though the plant was 'likely captured', the country's forces had halted Russia's advance toward Chernihiv and that it was unlikely that Russia had achieved its planned Day One military objectives. The chief of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said the 'brutal act of war' shattered peace in Europe, joining a chorus of world leaders decrying an attack that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. The conflict shook global financial markets: Stocks plunged and oil prices soared amid concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket. Condemnation came not only from the US and Europe, but from South Korea, Australia and beyond and many governments readied new sanctions. Even friendly leaders like Hungary's Viktor Orban sought to distance themselves from Putin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the UK's financial markets as he announced sanctions, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies and the Kremlin from raising money on British markets. 'Now we see him for what he is a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest,' Johnson said of Putin. The US sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, Biden said, but they were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe. Zelenskyy urged the US and West to go further and cut the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House has been reluctant to immediately cut Russia from SWIFT, worried it could cause enormous economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West. While some nervous Europeans speculated about a possible new world war, the U.S. and its NATO partners have shown no indication they would send troops into Ukraine, fearing a larger conflict. NATO reinforced its members in Eastern Europe as a precaution, and Biden said the US was deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO. European authorities declared the country's airspace an active conflict zone. After weeks of denying plans to invade, Putin launched the operation on a country the size of Texas that has increasingly tilted toward the democratic West and away from Moscow's sway. The autocratic leader made clear earlier this week that he sees no reason for Ukraine to exist, raising fears of possible broader conflict in the vast space that the Soviet Union once ruled. Putin denied plans to occupy Ukraine, but his ultimate goals remain hazy. Ukrainians were urged to shelter in place and not to panic. 'Until the very last moment, I didn't believe it would happen. I just pushed away these thoughts,' said a terrified Anna Dovnya in Kyiv, watching soldiers and police remove shrapnel from an exploded shell. 'We have lost all faith.' With social media amplifying a torrent of military claims and counter-claims, it was difficult to determine exactly what was happening on the ground. Russia and Ukraine made competing claims about damage they had inflicted. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had destroyed scores of Ukrainian air bases, military facilities and drones. It confirmed the loss of one of its Su-25 attack jets, blaming 'pilot error', and said an An-26 transport plane had crashed because of technical failure, killing the entire crew. It did not say how many were aboard. Russia said it was not targeting cities, but journalists saw destruction in many civilian areas. Taiwan today took the symbolic step of sanctioning Russia amid growing concerns China could invade after seeing the West's lack of military response to Putin's brutality in Ukraine. The Taipei government has said will join 'democratic countries' in imposing economic punishments with the world's largest contract chipmaker TSMC saying it would comply with all export control rules. The crisis is being watched closely in Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory and which has faced increased military pressure from Beijing over the last two years. It came a day after Taiwan's air force scrambled its fighter planes to warn away nine Chinese aircraft in its air defence zone. 'We very harshly condemn such an act of invasion and will join democratic countries to jointly impose sanctions,' Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters in Taipei without giving details. The foreign ministry echoed that message while Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said the island would 'harshly scrutinise' exports to Russia and 'coordinate' with unspecified allies on further actions. She also did not elaborate. The decision is largely symbolic because Russia is not a major market for Taiwan and trade with Ukraine and Russia each accounted for less than 1 per cent of its total. Asked about the sanctions, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) , a major Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier and Asia's most valuable listed company, said it had a robust export control system and would follow the rules. 'TSMC complies with all applicable laws and regulations and is fully committed to complying with the new export control rules announced,' it said in a statement. Professor of European studies at Oxford University Timothy Garton Ash said Xi Jinping taking over the island militarily would be a 'worst case scenario'. The political writer claimed the communist leader will be thinking: 'If comrade Vladimir can get away with it in Ukraine, maybe I'll have a go.' He also warned Putin's 'minimal aim' is to bring a new iron curtain down over eastern Europe because he wants to create a new empire. At the same time Putin's forces continued to sweep across Ukraine and had reached the outskirts of Kyiv by Friday morning. Professor of European Studies at Oxford University Timothy Garton Ash said the Russian despot wants to create a new empire The political writer claimed the communist leader will be thinking: 'If comrade Vladimir can get away with it in Ukraine, maybe I'll have a go' Russian armour is now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet Pictured: A Soviet-era map of Europe showing where the Iron Curtain was once drawn across the Continent UKRAINE WAR: LATEST Russia said it is not willing to negotiate with Ukraine's government until military operation is over Came after Zelensky called for a sit-down with Putin to end the fighting Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces Zelensky has allowed anyone of any age to join the armed forces, and called on Europeans from other countries to come and join the fight Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning Advertisement Professor Garton Ash said the devastating conflict - which has already seen hundreds slaughtered - was just the beginning of Russia's plans. He told BBC Question Time last night: 'He has effectively already invaded Belarus, which is just next to Ukraine. 'Because he put all his forces in there and they're there for as long as he wants them to be there. 'So I think the minimal aim of Vladimir Putin is to create a new iron curtain down the Eastern frontier of NATO so that countries like Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia will be stuck in the Russian empire whether they like it or not. 'The other point to make... and it was a point made to me by a very senior NATO general, is NATO and the EU have had a very close relationship with Ukraine for many years. 'Someone once said Ukraine is not in NATO but NATO is in Ukraine, Ukraine is not in the EU but the EU is in Ukraine. 'And what this general said to me was we have all sorts of non-alliance partners all over the world. Where is our credibility going to be with them. 'And one of them is Taiwan. And of course if someone asks a worst case scenario is Xi Jinping thinks ''well if comrade Vladimir can get away with it in Ukraine, maybe I'll have a go in Taiwan''.' Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained of regular similar missions by the Chinese air force over the last two years, though the aircraft do not get close to Taiwan itself. The number involved was well off the last large-scale incursion - 39 Chinese aircraft on January 23 - and such fly-bys have been sporadic with far fewer aircraft. The ministry said the latest mission involved eight Chinese J-16 fighters and one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft, which flew over an area to the northeast of Pratas Islands. The political writer and commentator said the dictator had already 'effectively invaded Belarus' by stationing troops there He also warned China was watching and may see it as a perfect chance to launch its long-feared seizure of Taiwan Pictured: Flight paths of Chinese aircraft entering Taiwan airspace on Thursday afternoon China, the US and Russia are engaged in a global arms race that now includes the development of hypersonic missile technology. Here, the MailOnline has compared (from left) each country's main nuclear weapon, the latest hypersonic technology they have tested, their most up-to-date aircraft carriers, main battle tanks, and cutting-edge jets Polling shows the vast majority of the Taiwanese people have no desire to be ruled by Beijing. Most favour maintaining the status quo although there is a growing Taiwanese nationalist sentiment, especially among younger people. China's crackdown in Hong Kong, which would be a model for how it would rule Taiwan, did little to endear the island to assurances. Taiwan and China split in 1949 amid civil war, with the then-ruling Nationalist Party fleeing to the island as Mao Zedong's Communists swept to power on the mainland. The Nationalists had led the country since ending China's last monarchy in the 1911 Revolution, establishing the Republic of China. For three decades, the US recognised the Taiwan government as legitimate rulers of the whole of China until Jimmy Carter made formal relations with the Communists in 1979. It was followed by a bill from Congress that granted Taiwan near-nation status and committed the US to selling the island weapons to defend itself. America has a long-standing policy of 'strategic ambiguity' towards Taiwan, refusing to say what it would do if the island is attacked. Joe Biden recently suggested that he would be willing to go to war in the event of an invasion, though aides insisted he had misspoke. Meanwhile explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv and gunfire was reported in the city centre as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting today. Ukraine's president pleaded for international help to fend off an attack that could topple his democratically elected government. Among the signs the Ukrainian capital was increasingly threatened, the military said Friday a group of Russian spies and saboteurs was seen in a district of Kyiv. Police told people not to exit a subway station in the city centre because there was gunfire in the area. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv 'could well be under siege' in what officials believe is a brazen attempt by Putin to install his own regime. The assault, anticipated for weeks by the West, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since the Second World War. A huge explosion is seen at Vinnytsia military base, in central Ukraine, as the country comes under all-out attack by Russia Natali Sevriukova, a resident of Kyiv, is pictured weeping on the streets of Kyiv after a Russian rocket strike destroyed the apartment block where she lives overnight After repeatedly denying plans to invade, Russia launched a swift attack on the country from Thursday morning. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to global leaders for even more severe sanctions than the ones already imposed. He said: 'If you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door.' He also cut diplomatic ties with Moscow, declared martial law and ordered a full military mobilisation that would last 90 days. The Iron Curtain was the name given to the military and political barrier that was drawn across Europe after the Second World War. The Soviet Union shut off eastern countries such as Ukraine, Latvia and Lithuania from the West as Joseph Stalin cracked down on the states. It was lifted with the fall of the empire in 1991 but there are fears Putin is trying to revive it with his invasion yesterday. A BBC Question Time audience member received rapturous applause when she asked: 'Is Boris really the man to lead Britain?' in the country's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The audience member made the jibe at the Prime Minister during last night's live show from Harrow, London, as Vladimir Putin's troops continued to march on Kyiv. Do you know the audience member? Contact me via email: james.robinson@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement Russia's invasion, which sparked Mr Johnson to brand President Putin as a 'bloodstained aggressor', dominated discussion on last night's show. But appearing to allude to the ongoing Partygate investigation, which had dominated political debate prior to the Ukraine invasion, the woman said: 'I just feel very embarrassed of our political leaders. 'Is Boris really the man to lead us through this, when he's proven himself to be stupid or a liar, I'm not sure which.' Her comments received loud applause from fellow audience and a disapproving stare from Conservative minister James Cleverly - who sat on last night's panel. But her question was rebuffed by Economist executive editor Ann McElvoy, who questioned whether it was the right time to discuss the matter in light of Putin's actions. She said: 'I've been critical of Boris Johnson on and off ever since I met him 30 years ago. But I wonder if he has really been so bad in this crisis? A BBC Question Time audience member received rapturous applause when she asked: 'Is Boris really the man to lead Britain?' in the country's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine The audience member made the jibe at the Prime Minister (pictured) during last night's live show from Harrow, London, as Vladimir Putin's troops continued to march on Kyiv Russia's invasion, which sparked Mr Johnson to brand President Putin as a 'bloodstained aggressor', dominated discussion on last night's show. Pictured: Ukrainian servicemen walk at fragments of a downed aircraft seen in Kyiv 'He gave a good speech to the Munich security conference. I thought he was good today (yesterday). I would have wanted him to go a bit further, a bit faster, on the sanctions, but it would not have prevented what was going to happen overnight. UKRAINE WAR: LATEST Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning Advertisement 'The Conservative party can sort its own troubles out with Boris Johnson and its Partygate allegation. 'But this is the sort of time when I look at that type of criticism and say... this is what a Parliamentary democracy is. It is that you can feel so strongly that you can sit here and say this. 'You could not say this on Russian television in any way. The Russia I knew there were areas of freedom of expression, but they are being stamped out. 'So that's why I say at the moment let's be critical of our leaders and our opposition when they deserved it. But let's cut ourselves our slack and get on with it.' Former Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski then chimed, also backing Mr Johnson, who he said he 'wished was on the European Council'. He added: 'I think credit is where credit is due. I think his decision to send anti-tank weapons to Ukraine was timely, British troops to Poland was also good.' His response also brought claps from the audience. But there were no such claps moments later when another audience member asked: 'Could this be Boris Johnson's finest hour?' It comes as Mr Johnson unveiled 'unprecedented' sanctions against Russian banks, firms and oligarchs yesterday as he vowed to cripple 'bloodstained aggressor' Putin after the Ukraine invasion. The PM announced 10 separate strands of measures to inflict 'significant' impact on Moscow's economy on Thursday - with officials saying they should knock several percentage points off its GDP. The PM announced 10 separate strands of measures to inflict 'significant' impact on Moscow's economy - with officials saying they should knock several percentage points off its GDP Boris Johnson declared that Putin has 'chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction' in Ukraine after launching a 'horrific attacks' on its neighbour Russian armour is now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet Boris Johnson's ten point plan to hammer Putin One: An asset freeze will be imposed against all major Russian banks, including VTB, the second largest bank in Russia. Two: New laws will be published on Tuesday to ban all major Russian companies from being able to raise finance on UK markets. Three: A second wave of sanctions targeting more than 100 individuals and entities. Includes five more oligarchs and defence companies and their subsidiaries. They will be hit with asset freezes and travel bans for oligarchs. UK citizens will be banned from transacting with the targeted firms. Four: UK Government is looking to ban the ability of Aeroflot aircraft to land in the UK. Five: The UK will suspend all dual-use export licences to Russia. This relates to items which could be used for civilian purposes but also for military purposes. Such items could be electrical components which could be used in military computers or parts for military vehicles. Six: Legislation to prohibit a range of high tech exports to Russia, in alignment with similar measures being rolled out by the US. Will target items like semi-conductors and aircraft spare parts. Seven: Legislation will be brought forward to limit the amount of deposits that all Russian Nationals can hold in UK bank accounts. The UK is yet to define a limit but it will be designed to target wealthy individuals. Eight: UK will work with allies to shut Russia out of the Swift payment system which is one of the foundations of the global banking system. However, discussions remain ongoing with G7 allies on doing this amid reports of some opposition. Nine: The UK will extend the measures applied to Russia to also apply to Belarus. Ten: The Government will accelerate the timetable for bringing forward its Economic Crime Bill. This will contain new tougher measures to target kleptocrats who launder cash in London. The draft laws will be brought forward before the Easter recess. Advertisement Mr Johnson told MPs Mr Putin was flouting 'every principle of civilised behaviour' and will 'never be able to cleanse the blood of Ukraine from his hands' - even though Ukrainians are 'offering a fierce defence'. He insisted the world now saw the Russian president for what he is: 'A bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest.' The assets of all major Russian banks - including VTB - will be frozen, while new legislation will block the state and all the country's major firms from being able to raise money on London markets. Mr Johnson pointed out that half Russia's trade is currently in dollars and sterling. The government says over 100 people, entities and subsidiaries will be subject to sanctions, including defence giant Rostec. There will be travel bans and asset restrictions on five more named individuals - including Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter. Sources swiped that they would no longer be able to shop in Harrods or send children to public schools, and had become 'essentially persona non grata in every major Western capital'. Ministers intend to put a fixed limit on how much Russian nationals can have in accounts in the UK. Aeroflot planes will be immediately prevented from landing anywhere in Britain, while crucial defence exports of semi-conductors and aircraft spare parts will end. The PM also committed to shut Russia out of the SWIFT international financial messaging system. However the move, which was supported by the US, was blocked by a number of European countries yesterday. The government is aiming to extend all the measures to Belarus, which was used as a base to launch Russia's northern attack. Mr Johnson said it was 'the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen'. Officials said the UK was taking a 'maximalist' approach to sanctions and would look to go further where possible. Some of the measures come in immediately, but others could take weeks and will need legislation. A UK diplomatic source said in relation to the five oligarchs sanctioned: 'These are people who have international lifestyles. 'They come to Harrods to shop, they stay in our best hotels when they like, they send their children to our best public schools, and that is what's being stopped. 'So that these people are essentially persona non grata in every major Western European capital in the world. That really bites.' The sanctions package was generally welcomed by Keir Starmer, while Theresa May said Russia needs to feel the 'cold wind of isolation'. Natali Sevriukova, a resident of Kyiv, is pictured weeping on the streets of Kyiv after a Russian rocket strike destroyed the apartment block where she lives overnight Firemen pick their way through the rubble of a destroyed apartment in Kyiv, as President Zelensky said the Russian military is now targeting civilian areas However, Russia shrugged off the action - with one Moscow ambassador swiping previously that Mr Putin could not 'give a 'sh**' about the punishments. The statement to the Commons came after flurry of calls with fellow leaders, in which Mr Johnson said Europe faces a 'dark time' and told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that 'inaction or underreaction' by the West would have 'unthinkable consequences'. He held virtual talks with Joe Biden and G7 leaders, after which they condemned the 'unprovoked and completely unjustified attack' on Ukraine as a 'serious violation' of international law. Photo taken with mobile phone shows a damaged house after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake at Pasaman Barat district in West Sumatra, Indonesia, Feb. 25, 2022. At least two persons were killed and dozens of others wounded as a 6.2-magnitude quake hit Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, an official said. (Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency/Handout via Xinhua) JAKARTA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least two persons were killed and dozens of others wounded as a 6.2-magnitude quake hit Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, an official said. Head of the Operation Unit of Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency of West Sumatra Province Jumaidi told Xinhua by phone that the quake also destroyed buildings and houses. "So far we have the figure that two people died and many others got injuries. We are still assessing the risks of the quake," said Jumaidi. Photo taken with mobile phone shows a damaged house after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake at Pasaman Barat district in West Sumatra, Indonesia, Feb. 25, 2022. At least two persons were killed and dozens of others wounded as a 6.2-magnitude quake hit Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, an official said. (Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency/Handout via Xinhua) Labour leader Keir Starmer launched another attack on Jeremy Corbyn today over his hard Left predecessor's opposition to Nato, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sir Keir said that Mr Corbyn was 'wrong' to oppose expansion of the defensive organisation to take in former Soviet states in Eastern Europe. Mr Corbyn, who has sat as an independent since October 2020 after having the Labour whip removed, joined 11 party MPs last week to attack Nato and UK 'aggression' ahead of Vladimir Putin's brutal assault. The Labour MPs, all supporters of the former leader, were forced to disown the Stop the War Coalition campaign last night after Mr Starmer threatened to also boot them out of the parliamentary party. Asked on Sky News about the former Labour leader's stance on stopping the expansion of Nato, Sir Keir said: 'Jeremy Corbyn was wrong about that but the Labour Party's policy never shifted under his leadership and I've been very clear.' His comments suggest that a return to Labour for Mr Corbyn is now almost impossible and he is most likely to run at the next election as an independent against his former party. Sir Keir said that Mr Corbyn was 'wrong' to oppose expansion of the defensive organisation to take in former Soviet states in Eastern Europe. Mr Corbyn, who has sat as an independent since October 2020 after having the Labour whip removed, joined 11 party MPs last week to attack Nato and UK 'aggression' ahead of Vladimir Putin's brutal assault. In the area of Glukhova, the Ukrainian military engaged a armoured column of 15 T-72 tanks with American Javelin missiles. Russian troops will arrive in Kyiv today and are now fighting in the outskirts of the city, an official has said, as US intelligence warned of a plan to seize an airport, fly in troops, and 'decapitate' the government Labour grounds youth wing's Twitter account over attack on Starmer Labour today stripped its youth wing of control of its Twitter account after it attacked party leader Keir Starmer for supporting Nato. Young Labour last week criticised Sir Keir for his vocal support as more than 130,000 Russian troops massed on the border with Ukraine ahead of the invasion. The youth wing, chaired by left-wing activist Jess Barnard, said: 'While we accept difference in policy positions to the current leadership of our party, we are especially concerned in this instance to see Keir Starmer pushing not only for further engagement with NATO, but celebrating it while attacking Stop The War and other pro-peace activists.' But today a message on its Twitter account said: 'We regret to inform you that access to the Young Labour Twitter account has been restricted until further notice. 'As an official channel for the Youth Wing of the Labour Party, we expect certain standards of behaviour from those with responsibility for this page's output. 'In particular, it has become apparent that the account has recently become actively detrimental to the Party's core objectives: to promote Labour candidates and policies, and to win elections.' Advertisement He has been told to apologise for comments he made about anti-Semitism under his leadership before the whip is returned, something he is refusing to do. last night almost a dozen leftwing Labour MPs withdrew their backing for the campaign criticising the UK and Nato over the invasion of Ukraine after being threatened with expulsion. Eleven Corbynite backbenchers - plus the ostracized former leader - signed a letter from the Stop The War Coalition accusing the UK of 'inflaming tensions' by arming Ukrainian troops and blaming Nato for provoking the autocratic Russian leader. The letter saw them branded a ''a disgrace to the nation' today - as they belatedly and shamelessly turned on the Russian leader for pouring thousands of troops into Ukraine. Last night the party leadership, which has backed Nato action and called for stronger action against Putin, told the group to withdraw their support or they would lose the Labour whip. They all capitulated quickly, with a source saying: 'An hour after being told to, all these grandstanders have withdrawn their signatures. Let there be no doubt whose party this is now.' The letter was signed by Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, Ian Lavery, Beth Winter, Zarah Sultana, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Apsana Begum, Mick Whitley, Tahir Ali, and Ian Mearns. Mr Corbyn also signed the letter, as did MP Claudia Webbe, both of whom now sit as independents. It demanded Nato 'call a halt to its eastward expansion' and urged 'the entire anti-war movement to unite on the basis of challenging the British government's aggressive posturing and direct its campaigning to that end above all'. Many of the signatories were quick out of the blocks to attack the bloodshed after thousands of Russian troops, tanks and aircraft mounted a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour yesterday. Sir Keir added this morning that the 'collective failure of the West' in the past response to Vladimir Putin may have emboldened the Russian president but described the party's support for Nato as 'unshakeable'. Former shadow minister Richard Burgon, secretary of the hard Left Socialist Campaign Group, tweeted: Russia's invasion of Ukraine is utterly horrific. Russia must end this attack and withdraw its troops' Coventry South MP Zara Sultana said: 'Russia's invasion of Ukraine is deplorable. Putin must immediately withdraw Russian forces and cease his bombardment.' Their U-turn came after they were criticised by current Labour leader Keir Starmer. Demanding tough action against Russia he said: 'Those who have for too long turned a blind eye to Russia's actions must reckon with their own consciences.' But many of them were quick out of the blocks this morning after thousands of Russian troops, tanks and aircraft mounted a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour. He said: 'I do think that the failure, the collective failure, of you know, the West... in relation to action he's taken in the past, so many examples - Georgia, Crimea, Donbas - have given him the sense that as I say the benefits of aggression outweigh the costs. 'We have to be clear that that isn't the case here in relation to Ukraine and that that response package from the rest of the world will be so strong that it will not only isolate Russia but also cripple its ability to function.' The Labour leader said if Boris Johnson brought forward tougher sanctions on Russia, they would be voted through Parliament 'very, very quickly' with the Labour Party's support. He also strengthened his appeal for Russia to be banned from international financial system Swift, describing the move as a 'now decision' which should be made as soon as possible. 'That is a now decision and the Labour Party would support it in full. We think it should happen now,' he told BBC Breakfast. Sir Keir called for shell companies in the UK supporting Vladimir Putin's regime to be targeted, saying there was 'frustration' in Parliament that the Government hasn't 'got on with this'. 'What I've said to the Prime Minister is whatever criticism I've got for you, not having done it now, do it now. If you bring forward legislation, I said to the Prime Minister on Monday, we the Labour Party will vote for it. 'We could bring this through Parliament very, very quickly because those shell companies are hiding assets that are supporting Putin and we have to get our house in order and there's such a will in Parliament at the moment.' The Taliban has called on Russia and Ukraine to 'resolve the crisis through peaceful means' months after massacring innocent people as they took over Afghanistan. In a statement posted to the Taliban's official Twitter account, which now goes by the name of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the militant group said it was concerned 'about real possibility of civilian casualties.' Under the seal of the Emirate's Ministry of Foreign Affairs - that closely resembles the seals used by US government departments - the Taliban called for dialogue to be held between Russia and Ukraine and to safeguard Afghans in Ukraine. In a statement (pictured) posted to the Taliban's official Twitter account, the militant group said it was concerned 'about real possibility of civilian casualties' in Ukraine The Taliban, as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, has yet to be recognised by any country as Afghanistan's new government since its brutal takeover in August. Its foreign ministry posted its 'Statement concerning crisis in Ukraine' on Friday morning, and was shared on Twitter by key Taliban figures. 'The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and expresses concern about real possibility of civilian casualties,' the statement said. 'The Islamic Emirate calls for restraint by both parties. All sides need to desist from taking positions that could intensify violence.' According to estimates, over 1,000 civilians were killed and over 2,000 injured when the Taliban launched their offensive to capture Afghanistan last year. A further 1,500 Afghanistan forces were killed, while the now-defunct Afghan government claimed to have killed almost 10,000 Taliban militants. UN figures also suggest as many as 244,000 civilians were displaced. The statement continued: 'The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in line with its foreign policy of neutrality, calls on both sides of the conflict to resolve the crisis through dialogue and peaceful means. 'The Islamic Emirate also calls on parties to the conflict to pay attention to safeguarding the lives of Afghan students and migrants in Ukraine.' According to CNN, 370 Afghans fled their home country last year to Ukraine. According to estimates, over 1,000 civilians were killed and over 2,000 injured when the Taliban launched their offensive to capture Afghanistan last year. Pictured: People struggle to cross the boundary wall of Hamid Karzai International Airport to flee the country after rumors that foreign countries are evacuating people even without visas, after the Taliban took control of Kabul, Afghanistan, 16 August 2021 Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint on a street in Kabul on December 17, 2021 They now find themselves at risk of being caught up in yet another conflict, just months after escaping the deadly advance of the Taliban. Since the Taliban's takeover, there have also been reports of a militant-led crackdown on civilians who worked with the western-back Afghanistan government, as well as on human rights - and particularly on women's rights. As the Taliban released the statement on Friday, the United Nations condemned the killing of eight polio workers by unknown gunmen in Afghanistan, which it said had set back the campaign to eradicate the disease in the country. The Taliban, who took control of the country in August, said there were separate attacks on Thursday in northeastern Kunduz and Takhar provinces. The killings were the first since UNICEF and the World Health Organisation launched a nationwide polio vaccine campaign in November aimed at reaching over 3 million children, with the backing of the Taliban. The Ministry of Public Health said the victims included four women. A man sits outside his destroyed building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv on February 24, 2022, as Russian armed forces attacked Ukraine Belarusian-Ukrainian checkpoint 'Senkovka-Veselovka'. These are: the TOS-1A 'Solntsepyok', at least 4 T-72B tanks, at least 8 MT-LB tractors, and Ural truckAll the equipment is marked with 'O'.Tanks heading to Kiev The United Nations said the killings had led to the suspension of the vaccination campaign in the two provinces. 'We are appalled by the brutality of these killings, across four separate locations,' the U.N. said in a statement. 'This senseless violence must stop immediately, and those responsible must be investigated and brought to justice.' The public health ministry statement said authorities were investigating. Polio has been virtually eliminated globally through a decades-long inoculation drive. But insecurity, inaccessible terrain, mass displacement and suspicion of outside interference have hampered mass vaccination in Afghanistan and some areas of Pakistan. Meanwhile, Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of Kyiv on Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases. Troops and tanks are moving in from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv and gunfire was later heard near the government quarter as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting. Ukraine's president pleaded for international help to fend off an attack that could topple his democratically elected government, cause massive casualties and ripple out damage to the global economy. Among the signs that the Ukrainian capital was increasingly threatened, the military said Friday that a group of Russian spies and saboteurs was seen in a district of Kyiv about 3 miles north of the city centre. Earlier, the military said that Russian forces had seized two Ukrainian military vehicles and some uniforms and were heading toward the city to try to infiltrate under the guise of being locals. Britain's toughest mother who vowed to cut anyone's head off 'with a shovel' if they 'hurt her children' has been remembered in a hilarious obituary penned by her loving son. 'Tenacious' grandmother-of-ten Joan Parkin, 83, who measured just 5ft2in, was notoriously protective of her five children, who she raised single-handedly on Newcastle's tough Daisy Hill estate. The great-grandmother-of-nine, who worked as a cleaner and at the gas board to provide for her family, died on January 30 following a years-long battle with illness. In a published obituary, her son Ed, 62, recalled how she once 'chopped lumps out of a neighbour's front door' after he had threatened his younger brother, before she 'took a shot at him'. 'Tenacious' grandmother-of-ten Joan Parkin (pictured), 83, who measured just 5ft2in, was notoriously protective of her five children. She has been remembered in a hilarious obituary In an obituary, her son Ed, 62, recalled how she once 'chopped lumps out of a neighbour's front door' after he had threatened his younger brother Although he concedes that his brother may have shot the neighbour's daughter with an air rifle. The comedic obituary reads: 'She was a very strong woman, someone of substance and yet so kind and loving to all, especially towards her children who came before anyone else. 'Mum's favourite threat was if you hurt my children, I will cut off your head with a shovel! 'She did chop lumps out of a neighbour's front door one time, as this man threatened my younger brother. 'To give him his due my brother did shoot his daughter in the neck with my air rifle, nothing serious really, just a scratch.' The grieving son, who now lives in Australia, wrote the obituary with his mother's full consent. He told the Sun: 'She was able to read it and she loved it. The grieving son, who now lives in Australia, wrote the obituary with his mother's full consent. Pictured: Joan with her five children Joan's family and friends gathered to celebrate 'her life not her passing' with a funeral in Tynemouth, North Tyneside, and a wake in a nearby social club in Wallsend 'It made her cry and laugh at the same time. At least she knew how much we loved her. 'Mum was not big in stature. However, she was tenacious with a personality to match and everyone knew she was formidable. 'She protected and cared for her children and sometimes protected us when she shouldn't have, not that it mattered to Mum.' The eulogy took up nearly a full page in the local paper. Joan's family and friends gathered to celebrate 'her life not her passing' with a funeral in Tynemouth, North Tyneside, and a wake in a nearby social club in Wallsend. The war in Ukraine has dominated newspaper front pages across the world, with many offering a scathing assessment of Vladimir Putin's act of aggression. The tone of the reaction was one of shock and despair, as powerful images ranging from the visible destruction of the bombs and missiles launched, to the faces of the locals affected. Eastern countries were the first to go to press, with the Bangkok Post comparing Russia's actions to Nazi Germany, and the New Zealand Herald declaring Kremlin strikes as 'Europe's darkest moment since WWII', accompanied with a striking image of a mushroom cloud rising over the Ukrainian skies. Eastern countries were the first to go to press, with the Bangkok Post comparing Russia's actions to Nazi Germany (left), and the New Zealand Herald declaring Kremlin strikes as 'Europe's darkest moment since WWII', accompanied with a striking image of a mushroom cloud rising over the Ukrainian skies (right) Australia and its Daily Telegraph described the attack as being 'from Russia with hate', and accused the President of spewing 'TV lies' (left) and the Sydney Morning Herald also featured a city bombing (right) French paper, Liberation, simply used the term 'L'Impensable' - translated as 'the unthinkable' (left), while in Spain, El Pais focused on the image of a Ukrainian man in grief following an attack in Kharkiv (right) The New York Post pictured one of the many explosions, using the simple headline: 'War in Europe' (left) while many papers, including Germany's Nd Der Tag used a photo of Olena Kurilo, whose blood-covered face has become an iconic image of the invasion (right) Nearby Australia and its Daily Telegraph described the attack as being 'from Russia with hate', and accused the President of spewing 'TV lies' and the Sydney Morning Herald also featured a city bombing. French paper, Liberation, simply used the term 'L'Impensable' - translated as 'the unthinkable'. In Spain, El Pais focused on the image of a Ukrainian man in grief following an attack in Kharkiv, while the New York Post pictured one of the many explosions, using the simple headline: 'War in Europe'. Many papers, including The Sydney Morning Herald and Germany's Nd Der Tag - and indeed today's Daily Mail - used a photo of Olena Kurilo, whose blood-covered face has become an iconic image of the invasion. She yesterday vowed to 'do everything for my motherland' after surviving a Russian missile attack. It comes amid fears that Russian troops will arrive in Kyiv today and are now fighting in the outskirts of the city, as US intelligence warned of a plan to seize an airport, fly in troops, and 'decapitate' the government. Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the country's interior minister, said Friday will be the war's 'hardest day' as Russia armour pushes down from Chernihiv - to the north-east of the capital - and Ivankiv - to the north-west - in an attempt to encircle the city, where President Volodymyr Zelensky is still holed up. Ukrainian forces blew up several bridges leading to the capital in the early hours to try and slow down the assault. The US warned tanks were fighting Ukrainian forces 20 miles from the city early Friday, before clashes were reported in a northern district just a few hours later. The fighting appeared to be taking place in Obolon, with the ministry of defence urging residents to make Molotov cocktails to hurl at Russian tanks. Russian forces were also reported in nearby Vorzel, Bucha, Irpen districts. Witnesses then reported seeing Ukrainian forces carrying machine-guns and rocket launchers setting up defensive positions on street corners, even in the centre of the capital. Advertisement Harrowing images from inside Kyiv have emerged showing terrified citizens gathering in underground shelters after residential buildings were bombed out in shelling as Russian forces pressed their advance and authorities said they were girding for an assault aimed at overthrowing the government. Ukrainian forces were pictured taking up defensive positions across key streets in Kyiv as they prepared to to battle Russian troops for control of the capital of three million people even as air raid sirens wailed over the city. A senior official troops were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered after residents scrambled to take cover in basements, metro stations and bomb shelters across the capital following a televised warning of air strikes. Meanwhile residents were pictured surveying the damage to their home, near Kyiv's main airport, after the 10-storey apartment block's windows were blasted out and a two-metre crater filled with rubble formed, showing where the shell had struck before dawn. Corpses of two Russian servicemen who had dressed in military fatigues in an apparent bid to sneak into the Ukrainian capital were pictured strewn next to an unmarked armoured vehicle after they were killed in a skirmish with Kyiv's forces early this morning. Ukrainian officials said a Russian aircraft had been shot down and crashed into a building in Kyiv overnight, setting it ablaze and injuring eight people. The Kyiv city council warned residents of the city's Obolon district, near Gostomel, to stay indoors because of 'the approach of active hostilities' after gunfire was heard in the suburb, as well as the districts of Vorzel, Bucha and Irpen, this morning as Putin's men advanced from Chernobyl, less than 60 miles outside the capital. Ukraine's ministry of defence today took to social media to urge residents in Kyiv to make Molotov cocktails to 'repel the occupiers' and for citizens in Obolon to share information with Ukrainian military about the movement of Russian vehicles and troops. A Russian vehicle with what appear to be corpses of Russian troops laying nearby is seen on the streets of Kyiv on Friday after fighting broke out in the suburbs Widespread damage is seen to apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine, with a Russian assault on the capital expected to take place today Ukrainian servicemen pick up the body of a Ukrainian man who was shot when a Russian armoured vehicle drove past him en route into Kyiv Terrified residents of Kyiv gathered in underground shelters as Russian forces entered the capital early on Friday morning and the battle for the capital commenced Residents collect belongings in an apartment in Kyiv after it was damaged by a Russian missile strike early on Friday morning A man crosses a deserted street in central Kyiv as Russian troops approached the capital on Friday morning. The Russian troops are thought to have arrived from the north-west, having pushed down from Chernobyl which was captured late yesterday Rifles were also handed out to civilians and volunteers as President Zelensky urged any European willing to defend the country to travel to Ukraine and join in the defence Central Kyiv was empty by Friday afternoon as residents fled as Russian troops advanced on the capital from Chernobyl. More Russian troops and armour are advancing on the capital from Konotop, in the east, having bypassed the city of Chernihiv where they ran into heavy Ukrainian resistance Harrowing images from inside Kyiv have emerged showing citizens, including a child enjoying a moment on a swing, outside their homes in a 10-storey building after the apartment block's windows were blasted out and a two-metre crater filled with rubble formed after a missile strike on Friday morning Natali Sevriukova breaks down in tears as she stands in front of the ruins of her Kyiv apartment following a rocket attack on the city in the early hours of Friday Hundreds of residents from an apartment block in Kyiv that was damaged by a missile strike early on Friday morning gather in a bomb shelter in the basement of a school An Ukrainian military medic approaches the bodies of Russian servicemen wearing a Ukrainian army uniforms lying beside and inside a vehicle after they were shot during a skirmish in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv People wait to board a evacuation train from Kyiv to Lviv from the capital's central train station in a bid to escape the city before Russian troops advancing into the area arrive Terrified citizens wait at Kyiv Central Train Station for a train out of the capital to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv as Russian forces advance Ukrainian soldiers take up positions in downtown Kyiv as the prepare to defend the capital from Russian attackers A Ukrainian soldier sits injured after crossing fire inside the capital on Friday morning as troops prepare to battle Russian men advancing from Chernobyl, less than 60 miles north of the city, from control of Kyiv Ukrainian soldiers are pictured forming up across a highway in Kyiv as they prepare to defend the city from Russian attackers, with gunfire and explosions heard in the centre of the capital A man wearing a full-length black coat and carrying a Kalashnikov AK-47 rifle walks through central Kyiv as Russian troops arrived in the city, though their exact location is unknown Russian armour is now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet A child sits on a swing in front of a damaged residential building in the Ukrainian capital hours after it was hit in a Russian missile strike early on Friday as Putin's men advanced on Kyiv from the north A resident checks on a damaged room of her apartment in a residential block after the building was hit by a Russian missile strike early morning on Friday, a day after Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine in a statement tantamount to a declaration of war Hundreds of residents from an apartment block in Kyiv that was damaged by a missile strike early on Friday morning gather in a bomb shelter in the basement of a school Ukrainian soldiers take position next to a highway a bridge during an exchange of gunfire inside the city of Kyiv Soldiers in the capital established defensive positions at bridges, and armoured vehicles rolled down the streets, while many residents stood uneasily in doorways of their apartment buildings. Hundreds of people were crowded into a cramped bomb shelter beneath a building in central Kyiv early Friday afternoon after a televised warning of air strikes. 'We don't know how long we have to stay here. Good we have chairs at least,' said Viktoria, 35, while her kids of 5 and 7 slept without taking off their winter coats. 'We're shocked... How can you wage a war against peaceful people?' Alla, 40 said: 'The kids were scared, they were crying and asking 'Mom, will we all die?'' People rest in the Kyiv subway, using the underground space as a makeshift bomb shelter as Russian troops approach the capital Central Kyiv was empty by Friday afternoon as residents fled as Russian troops advanced on the capital from Chernobyl. More Russian troops and armour are advancing on the capital from Konotop, in the east, having bypassed the city of Chernihiv where they ran into heavy Ukrainian resistance Firemen extinguish a fire inside a residential building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv after it was hit by a missile strike early on Friday morning Ukrainian police officers outside a residential building that was damaged in a Russian missile strike early on Friday morning Ukrainian troops took up defence positions in the capital on Friday morning as the country's ministry of defence urged residents in Kyiv to make Molotov cocktails to 'repel the occupiers' and asked citizens in Obolon to share information with Ukrainian military about the movement of Russian vehicles and troops Ukrainian servicemen stand on patrol at a security checkpoint in the capital, Kyiv, as Russian troops advance on the city on Friday Ukrainian service personnel have set up roadblocks in Kyiv and were stopping cars on their way out of the city on Friday morning as it was reported Russian troops were inside the capital Ukrainian soldiers take position on a bridge inside the city of Kyiv, as Russian forces advance into the capital Soldiers tasked with defending Kyiv from advancing Russian troops take up positions underneath a highway into the cit Aftermath of an overnight shelling at a residential area in Kyiv, Ukraine, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to launch an invasion of the country Firemen pick their way through the rubble of a destroyed apartment in Kyiv, as President Zelensky said the Russian military is now targeting civilian areas A man dressed in camouflage takes a picture of a crater where a Russian rocket landed, destroying part of an apartment block in Kyiv which is now under heavy attack A woman with a backpack walks in front of a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv where a military shell struck Once Kyiv is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport - likely Sikorsky or Boryspil - which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital. The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime - effectively ending the war without Putin's ground forces needing to complete the difficult and bloody task of seizing and occupying the whole country. It appears the Russians almost pulled off the plan on the first day of the invasion when 20 attack helicopters landed a crack team of troops at Antonov Airport, 15 miles to the north of Kyiv. But Ukrainian national guard units managed to retake the landing strip overnight after heavy fighting, scattering the surviving Russian attackers into the surrounding countryside. A Russian attack on the capital would likely be coordinated with a push by troops on southern and eastern fronts - Crimea and Donbass - aimed at pinning down Ukrainian armed forces so they cannot retreat and reinforce the city, officials told author Michael Weiss. It may also be accompanied by bombing raids and sabotage attacks on power grids and infrastructure to sow panic and force people to flee, snarling up roads and making it difficult for forces already in Kyiv to move around. The plan appeared to be underway in the early hours, as explosions sounded before dawn with the city under bombardment from what the defense minister called 'horrific rocket strikes' not seen since 1941. The wreckage of an unidentified aircraft is seen on the outskirts of Kyiv, having been shot down and crashed into a house A woman walks around the wreckage of an unidentified aircraft that crashed into a house in a residential area Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian jet over the outskirts of Kyiv overnight, with wreckage falling on a house and leaving several people injured Natali Sevriukova breaks down in tears as she stands in front of the ruins of her Kyiv apartment in the early hours of Friday UKRAINE WAR: LATEST Russia said it is not willing to negotiate with Ukraine's government until military operation is over Came after Zelensky called for a sit-down with Putin to end the fighting Putin said he would be willing to send a team of negotiators to meet Zelensky - in Belarus, which is helping with the invasion Russian president then called on Ukrainian military to overthrow the 'regime' in Kyiv China's President Xi spoke to Putin by phone, called for diplomatic solution to the fighting Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces Zelensky has allowed anyone of any age to join the armed forces, and called on Europeans from other countries to come and join the fight Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning Advertisement Fury was mounting today over the EU's weak and divided attempts to sanction Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, as it was revealed the Italian PM demanded and got an exemption for his country's luxury goods industry . Mario Draghi was accused of prioritising posh shoes over punishing Putin as EU nations 'disgraced themselves' with a failure to take a hardline approach to sanctions against Russia. They were accused of frustrating British and American efforts to kick Russia out of the world's biggest financial payments system. In a call with G7 leaders yesterday, Boris Johnson pressed the case for suspending Russia from Swift, which is used to conduct about half of its international trade. But the move was kicked into the long grass because of opposition from a number of EU countries, US president Joe Biden suggested. Sources told the Telegraph today that Draghi won the exemption for Italian luxury goods like shoes and designer clothes, saying: 'Apparently selling Gucci loafers to oligarchs is more of a priority than hitting back at Putin.' Tonight the Italian PM denied it had happened, insisting on Twitter: 'Italy has made no requests for carve-outs on sanctions. Italys position is fully aligned with the rest of the EU.' Polish politician Donald Tusk, who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, lashed out at Germany, Hungary and Italy for blocking Brussels from taking a hardline approach to Putin. Mr Tusk, a former president of the European Council, tweeted: 'In this war everything is real: Putin's madness and cruelty, Ukrainian victims, bombs falling on Kyiv. 'Only your sanctions are pretended. Those EU government's, which blocked tough decisions (i.e. Germany, Hungary, Italy) have disgraced themselves.' Additionally, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said today that the option of cutting off Russia from Swift remained open, but that he viewed this only as a last resort. Ukraine yesterday urged the West to trigger the move, with foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba warning that those who refused would have 'blood on their hands'. Today President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded greater 'pressure' be placed on Russia as the capital Kyiv came under attack. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told MPs today: 'I hope we can win the argument because it feels like a sanction Russia would sit up and take notice of.' Mario Draghi was accused of prioritising posh shoes over punishing Putin as EU nations 'disgraced themselves' with a failure to take a hardline approach to sanctions against Russia. Sources told the Telegraph today that Draghi won the exemption for Italian luxury goods like shoes and designer clothes, saying: 'Apparently selling Gucci loafers to oligarchs is more of a priority than hitting back at Putin.' Above: Customers trying on Gucci shoes in Moscow Pedestrians pass a display of Gucci luxury products, a unit of Kering SA, in the windows of the GUM department store on Red Square in Moscow, Russia Polish politician Donald Tusk, who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, lashed out at Germany, Hungary and Italy for blocking Brussels from taking a hardline approach to Vladimir Putin In a call with G7 leaders yesterday, Boris Johnson pressed the case for suspending Russia from Swift, which is used to conduct about half of its international trade Armed Forces Minister James Heappey told MPs today: 'I hope we can win the argument because it feels like a sanction Russia would sit up and take notice of.' What is Swift? Swift, or the 'Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication', is a secure messaging system that facilitates rapid cross-border payments, making international trade flow smoothly. Banks which connect to the system and establish relationships with other banks can use Swift messages to make payments. The messages are secure so that payment instructions are typically honoured without question. This allows banks to process high volumes of transactions at speed. It has become the principal mechanism for financing international trade. In 2020, around 38 million Swift messages were sent each day over the platform, according to its 2020 Annual Review. Each year, trillions of dollars are transferred using the system. Swift, founded in the 1970s, is a co-operative of thousands of member institutions which use the service. Based in Belgium, it makes a modest profit $36 million in 2020. It is run principally as a service to its members. If Swift were to exclude Russian banks, it would restrict the country's access to financial markets across the world. Russian companies and individuals would find it harder to pay for imports and receive cash for exports, borrow or invest overseas. Russian banks could use other channels for payments such as phones, messaging apps or email. The would allow Russian banks to make payments via banks in countries which have not imposed sanctions but since alternatives are likely to be less efficient and secure, transaction volumes could fall and costs rise. If Russian banks were cut off from Swift, exporters would find selling goods to Russia riskier and more expensive. Russia is a big buyer of manufactured goods. The Netherlands and Germany are its second and third biggest trading partners, based on World Bank data, although Russia is not a top 10 export market for either country. Foreign buyers of Russian goods would also find it more difficult, potentially prompting them to seek alternative suppliers. But when it comes to Russian oil and gas, foreign buyers could find it harder to find replacement suppliers. Advertisement Boris Johnson is expected to raise the prospect of banning Russia from the Swift payment system with allies again today, Downing Street said. A spokesman for the Prime Minister was asked whether the UK would be pushing for the sanction and he said: 'You'll have heard the Prime Minister's comments in the House on this yesterday, we will continue to work with allies to try and cut Russia off from Swift. 'You'll be aware that the PM raised this in his call with G7 leaders yesterday, I expect he will raise it at the Nato leaders meeting again today.' The spokesman would not be drawn on which countries were holding out on the proposal but he said: 'We've set out why we want to ensure that we can do this, as the Prime Minister said yesterday to ensure that we send a clear message to Vladimir Putin that his efforts will not succeed and to ensure that we can deal a severe blow to the Russian economy.' But Joe Biden last night indicated the opposition had come from EU states. Asked whether Russia should be cut off from Swift, the US President said: 'It is always an option but right now that's not a position that the rest of Europe wishes to take.' French Finance minister Bruno Le Maire said today that France and its European allies are determined to inflict great damage on Russian economy and punish Russia for the 'foolish decisions of Vladimir Putin' with 'massive and immediate sanctions.' 'We want to isolate Russia financially,' Le Maire said. 'We want to cut all ties between Russia and the global financial system. We will dry up the financing of the Russian economy.' But hosting a meeting of EU counterparts in Paris on Friday to discuss the economic consequences, he said removing Moscow from Swift remained an option, but only as a last resort. The Belgian-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) is a mechanism for making secure payments overseas and is widely used in international trade. Mr Johnson is said to see Russia's suspension from Swift as an essential step in ensuring the Putin regime feels maximum economic pain for its invasion of Ukraine. 'The PM is very keen on this he's pushing it very hard,' said one source. The PM's official spokesman later confirmed that Mr Johnson had formally put the issue on the table at the G7 meeting, but said there had been only 'agreement that we ought to talk more about it'. Diplomatic sources said Germany and Italy were the main opponents. Officials said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that neither he nor the wider EU would support the move at this stage. Diplomatic sources said opposition from Germany and Italy meant that a Swift ban would not be included in EU sanctions to be published today, despite some eastern European member states such as Lithuania pushing hard for it. During a call with Mr Scholz this week, the PM warned him that 'Western inaction or underreaction would have unthinkable consequences'. But Joe Biden last night indicated the opposition had come from EU states. Asked whether Russia should be cut off from Swift, the US President said: 'It is always an option but right now that's not a position that the rest of Europe wishes to take' European concerns are said to centre on potential damage to their own economies if they are unable to buy Russian gas using the system. But ex-Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick said the crisis was now so serious that countries had to accept sacrifices to punish Russia. Mr Jenrick told the Daily Mail: 'Suspending Russia from Swift is the single most effective, immediate act available to inflict serious harm on their financial system. Whilst Russia has developed alternatives, they are not the same, and there would be major dislocation. 'The UK appears to be arguing the case with our allies, which is hugely welcome, but sadly some nations are putting their short-term financial interests first. Russia is relying on such weakness, we need to go hard now or the cost will only increase.' US-British financier Bill Browder, who once described himself as 'Vladimir Putin's number one enemy', yesterday said the suspension would knock Russia 'back to the dark ages'. Mr Kuleba was even more outspoken, tweeting: 'Everyone who now doubts whether Russia should be banned from Swift has to understand that the blood of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children will be on their hands too.' But some nations are said to be worried that the ban could lead to an even worse outcome, such as driving Russia into the arms of Chinese payment systems. Dear citizens of Russia! Dear friends! Today, I again consider it necessary to return to the tragic events taking place in the Donbass and the key issues of ensuring the security of Russia itself. Let me start with what I said in my address of February 21 this year. We are talking about what causes us particular concern and anxiety, about those fundamental threats that year after year, step by step, are rudely and unceremoniously created by irresponsible politicians in the West in relation to our country. I mean the expansion of the NATO bloc to the east, bringing its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. It is well known that for 30 years we have persistently and patiently tried to reach an agreement with the leading NATO countries on the principles of equal and indivisible security in Europe. In response to our proposals, we constantly faced either cynical deception and lies, or attempts to pressure and blackmail, while the North Atlantic Alliance, in the meantime, despite all our protests and concerns, is steadily expanding. The military machine is moving and, I repeat, is coming close to our borders. Why is all this happening? Where does this impudent manner of speaking from the position of one's own exclusivity, infallibility and permissiveness come from? Where does the disdainful, disdainful attitude towards our interests and absolutely legitimate demands come from? The answer is clear, everything is clear and obvious. The Soviet Union in the late 80s of the last century weakened, and then completely collapsed. The whole course of events that took place then is a good lesson for us today as well; it convincingly showed that the paralysis of power and will is the first step towards complete degradation and oblivion. As soon as we lost confidence in ourselves for some time, and that's it, the balance of power in the world turned out to be disturbed. This has led to the fact that the previous treaties and agreements are no longer in effect. Persuasion and requests do not help. Everything that does not suit the hegemon, those in power, is declared archaic, obsolete, unnecessary. And vice versa: everything that seems beneficial to them is presented as the ultimate truth, pushed through at any cost, boorishly, by all means. Dissenters are broken through the knee. What I am talking about now concerns not only Russia and not only us. This applies to the entire system of international relations, and sometimes even to the US allies themselves. After the collapse of the USSR, the redivision of the world actually began, and the norms of international law that had developed by that time - and the key, basic ones were adopted at the end of the Second World War and largely consolidated its results - began to interfere with those who declared themselves the winner in the Cold War . Of course, in practical life, in international relations, in the rules for their regulation, it was necessary to take into account changes in the situation in the world and the balance of power itself. However, this should have been done professionally, smoothly, patiently, taking into account and respecting the interests of all countries and understanding our responsibility. But no - a state of euphoria from absolute superiority, a kind of modern form of absolutism, and even against the background of a low level of general culture and arrogance of those who prepared, adopted and pushed through decisions that were beneficial only for themselves. The situation began to develop according to a different scenario. You don't have to look far for examples. First, without any sanction from the UN Security Council, they carried out a bloody military operation against Belgrade, using aircraft and missiles right in the very center of Europe. Several weeks of continuous bombing of civilian cities, on life-supporting infrastructure. We have to remind these facts, otherwise some Western colleagues do not like to remember those events, and when we talk about it, they prefer to point not to the norms of international law, but to the circumstances that they interpret as they see fit. Then came the turn of Iraq, Libya, Syria. The illegitimate use of military force against Libya, the perversion of all decisions of the UN Security Council on the Libyan issue led to the complete destruction of the state, to the emergence of a huge hotbed of international terrorism, to the fact that the country plunged into a humanitarian catastrophe that has not stopped for many years. civil war. The tragedy, which doomed hundreds of thousands, millions of people not only in Libya, but throughout this region, gave rise to a massive migration exodus from North Africa and the Middle East to Europe. A similar fate was prepared for Syria. The fighting of the Western coalition on the territory of this country without the consent of the Syrian government and the sanction of the UN Security Council is nothing but aggression, intervention. However, a special place in this series is occupied, of course, by the invasion of Iraq, also without any legal grounds. As a pretext, they chose reliable information allegedly available to the United States about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. As proof of this, publicly, in front of the eyes of the whole world, the US Secretary of State shook some kind of test tube with white powder, assuring everyone that this is the chemical weapon being developed in Iraq. And then it turned out that all this was a hoax, a bluff: there are no chemical weapons in Iraq. Unbelievable, surprising, but the fact remains. There were lies at the highest state level and from the high rostrum of the UN. And as a result - huge casualties, destruction, an incredible surge of terrorism. In general, one gets the impression that practically everywhere, in many regions of the world, where the West comes to establish its own order, the result is bloody, unhealed wounds, ulcers of international terrorism and extremism. All that I have said is the most egregious, but by no means the only examples of disregard for international law. In this series, and promises to our country not to expand NATO by one inch to the east. I repeat - they deceived me, but in popular terms, they simply threw it away. Yes, you can often hear that politics is a dirty business. Perhaps, but not to the same extent, not to the same extent. After all, such cheating behavior contradicts not only the principles of international relations, but above all the generally recognized norms of morality and morality. Where is justice and truth here? Just a bunch of lies and hypocrisy. By the way, American politicians, political scientists and journalists themselves write and talk about the fact that a real 'empire of lies' has been created inside the United States in recent years. It's hard to disagree with that - it's true. But do not be modest: the United States is still a great country, a system-forming power. All her satellites not only resignedly and dutifully assent, sing along to her for any reason, but also copy her behavior, enthusiastically accept the rules he proposes. Therefore, with good reason, we can confidently say that the entire so-called Western bloc, formed by the United States in its own image and likeness, all of it is the very 'empire of lies'. As for our country, after the collapse of the USSR, with all the unprecedented openness of the new modern Russia, the readiness to work honestly with the United States and other Western partners, and in the conditions of virtually unilateral disarmament, they immediately tried to squeeze us, finish off and destroy us completely. This is exactly what happened in the 90s, in the early 2000s, when the so-called collective West most actively supported separatism and mercenary gangs in southern Russia. What sacrifices, what losses did all this cost us then, what trials did we have to go through before we finally broke the back of international terrorism in the Caucasus. We remember this and will never forget. Yes, in fact, until recently, attempts have not stopped to use us in their own interests, destroy our traditional values and impose on us their pseudo-values that would corrode us, our people from the inside, those attitudes that they are already aggressively planting in their countries and which directly lead to degradation and degeneration, because they contradict the very nature of man. It won't happen, no one has ever done it. It won't work now either. Despite everything, in December 2021, we nevertheless once again made an attempt to agree with the United States and its allies on the principles of ensuring security in Europe and on the non-expansion of NATO. Everything is in vain. The US position does not change. They do not consider it necessary to negotiate with Russia on this key issue for us, pursuing their own goals, they neglect our interests. And of course, in this situation, we have a question: what to do next, what to expect? We know well from history how in the 1940s and early 1941s the Soviet Union tried in every possible way to prevent or at least delay the outbreak of war. To this end, among other things, he tried literally to the last not to provoke a potential aggressor, did not carry out or postponed the most necessary, obvious actions to prepare for repelling an inevitable attack. And those steps that were nevertheless taken in the end were catastrophically belated. As a result, the country was not ready to fully meet the invasion of Nazi Germany, which attacked our Motherland on June 22, 1941 without declaring war. The enemy was stopped and then crushed, but at a colossal cost. An attempt to appease the aggressor on the eve of the Great Patriotic War turned out to be a mistake that cost our people dearly. In the very first months of hostilities, we lost huge, strategically important territories and millions of people. The second time we will not allow such a mistake, we have no right. Those who claim world domination, publicly, with impunity and, I emphasize, without any reason, declare us, Russia, their enemy. Indeed, today they have great financial, scientific, technological and military capabilities. We are aware of this and objectively assess the threats constantly being addressed to us in the economic sphere, as well as our ability to resist this impudent and permanent blackmail. I repeat, we evaluate them without illusions, extremely realistically. As for the military sphere, modern Russia, even after the collapse of the USSR and the loss of a significant part of its potential, is today one of the most powerful nuclear powers in the world and, moreover, has certain advantages in a number of the latest types of weapons. In this regard, no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to defeat and dire consequences for any potential aggressor. At the same time, technologies, including defense technologies, are changing rapidly. Leadership in this area is passing and will continue to change hands, but the military development of the territories adjacent to our borders, if we allow it, will remain for decades to come, and maybe forever, and will create an ever-growing, absolutely unacceptable threat for Russia. . Even now, as NATO expands to the east, the situation for our country is getting worse and more dangerous every year. Moreover, in recent days, the leadership of NATO has been openly talking about the need to accelerate, speed up the advancement of the Alliance's infrastructure to the borders of Russia. In other words, they are hardening their position. We can no longer just continue to observe what is happening. It would be absolutely irresponsible on our part. Further expansion of the infrastructure of the North Atlantic Alliance, the military development of the territories of Ukraine that has begun is unacceptable for us. The point, of course, is not the NATO organization itself - it is only an instrument of US foreign policy. The problem is that in the territories adjacent to us, I will note, in our own historical territories, an 'anti-Russia' hostile to us is being created, which has been placed under complete external control, is intensively settled by the armed forces of NATO countries and is pumped up with the most modern weapons. For the United States and its allies, this is the so-called policy of containment of Russia, obvious geopolitical dividends. And for our country, this is ultimately a matter of life and death, a matter of our historical future as a people. And this is not an exaggeration - it is true. This is a real threat not just to our interests, but to the very existence of our state, its sovereignty. This is the very red line that has been talked about many times. They passed her. In this regard, and about the situation in the Donbass. We see that the forces that carried out a coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014, seized power and are holding it with the help of, in fact, decorative electoral procedures, have finally abandoned the peaceful settlement of the conflict. For eight years, endlessly long eight years, we have done everything possible to resolve the situation by peaceful, political means. All in vain. As I said in my previous address, one cannot look at what is happening there without compassion. It was simply impossible to endure all this. It was necessary to immediately stop this nightmare - the genocide against the millions of people living there, who rely only on Russia, hope only on us. It was these aspirations, feelings, pain of people that were for us the main motive for making a decision to recognize the people's republics of Donbass. What I think is important to emphasize further. The leading NATO countries, in order to achieve their own goals, support extreme nationalists and neo-Nazis in Ukraine in everything, who, in turn, will never forgive the Crimeans and Sevastopol residents for their free choice - reunification with Russia. They, of course, will climb into the Crimea, and just like in the Donbass, with a war, in order to kill, as punishers from the gangs of Ukrainian nationalists, Hitler's accomplices, killed defenseless people during the Great Patriotic War. They openly declare that they lay claim to a number of other Russian territories. The entire course of events and analysis of incoming information shows that Russia's clash with these forces is inevitable. It is only a matter of time: they are getting ready, they are waiting for the right time. Now they also claim to possess nuclear weapons. We will not allow this to be done. As I said earlier, after the collapse of the USSR, Russia accepted new geopolitical realities. We respect and will continue to treat all the newly formed countries in the post-Soviet space with respect. We respect and will continue to respect their sovereignty, and an example of this is the assistance we provided to Kazakhstan, which faced tragic events, with a challenge to its statehood and integrity. But Russia cannot feel safe, develop, exist with a constant threat emanating from the territory of modern Ukraine. Let me remind you that in 2000-2005 we gave a military rebuff to terrorists in the Caucasus, defended the integrity of our state, saved Russia. In 2014, they supported the Crimeans and Sevastopol residents. In 2015, the Armed Forces used to put a reliable barrier to the penetration of terrorists from Syria into Russia. We had no other way to protect ourselves. The same thing is happening now. You and I simply have not been left with any other opportunity to protect Russia, our people, except for the one that we will be forced to use today. Circumstances require us to take decisive and immediate action. The people's republics of Donbass turned to Russia with a request for help. In this regard, in accordance with Article 51 of Part 7 of the UN Charter, with the sanction of the Federation Council of Russia and in pursuance of the treaties of friendship and mutual assistance ratified by the Federal Assembly on February 22 this year with the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, I decided to conduct a special military operation . Its goal is to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years. And for this we will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as well as bringing to justice those who committed numerous, bloody crimes against civilians, including citizens of the Russian Federation. At the same time, our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force. At the same time, we hear that recently in the West there are more and more words that the documents signed by the Soviet totalitarian regime, which consolidate the results of the Second World War, should no longer be carried out. Well, what is the answer to this? The results of the Second World War, as well as the sacrifices made by our people on the altar of victory over Nazism, are sacred. But this does not contradict the high values of human rights and freedoms, based on the realities that have developed today over all the post-war decades. It also does not cancel the right of nations to self-determination, enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter. Let me remind you that neither during the creation of the USSR, nor after the Second World War, people living in certain territories that are part of modern Ukraine, no one ever asked how they themselves want to arrange their lives. Our policy is based on freedom, the freedom of choice for everyone to independently determine their own future and the future of their children. And we consider it important that this right - the right to choose - could be used by all the peoples living on the territory of today's Ukraine, by everyone who wants it. In this regard, I appeal to the citizens of Ukraine. In 2014, Russia was obliged to protect the inhabitants of Crimea and Sevastopol from those whom you yourself call 'Nazis'. Crimeans and Sevastopol residents made their choice to be with their historical homeland, with Russia, and we supported this. I repeat, they simply could not do otherwise. Today's events are not connected with the desire to infringe on the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. They are connected with the protection of Russia itself from those who took Ukraine hostage and are trying to use it against our country and its people. I repeat, our actions are self-defense against the threats posed to us and from an even greater disaster than what is happening today. No matter how difficult it may be, I ask you to understand this and call for cooperation in order to turn this tragic page as soon as possible and move forward together, not to allow anyone to interfere in our affairs, in our relations, but to build them on our own, so that it creates the necessary conditions for overcoming all problems and, despite the presence of state borders, would strengthen us from the inside as a whole. I believe in this - in this is our future. I should also appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine. Dear comrades! Your fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers did not fight the Nazis, defending our common Motherland, so that today's neo-Nazis seized power in Ukraine. You took an oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people, and not to the anti-people junta that plunders Ukraine and mocks these same people. Don't follow her criminal orders. I urge you to lay down your weapons immediately and go home. Let me explain: all servicemen of the Ukrainian army who fulfill this requirement will be able to freely leave the combat zone and return to their families. Once again, I insistently emphasize: all responsibility for possible bloodshed will be entirely on the conscience of the regime ruling on the territory of Ukraine. Now a few important, very important words for those who may be tempted to intervene in ongoing events. Whoever tries to hinder us, and even more so to create threats for our country, for our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences that you have never experienced in your history. We are ready for any development of events. All necessary decisions in this regard have been made. I hope that I will be heard. Dear citizens of Russia! Well-being, the very existence of entire states and peoples, their success and viability always originate in the powerful root system of their culture and values, experience and traditions of their ancestors and, of course, directly depend on the ability to quickly adapt to a constantly changing life, on the cohesion of society, its readiness to consolidate, to gather together all the forces in order to move forward. Forces are needed always - always, but strength can be of different quality. The policy of the 'empire of lies', which I spoke about at the beginning of my speech, is based primarily on brute, straightforward force. In such cases, we say: 'There is power, mind is not needed.' And you and I know that real strength lies in justice and truth, which is on our side. And if this is so, then it is difficult to disagree with the fact that it is the strength and readiness to fight that underlie independence and sovereignty, are the necessary foundation on which you can only reliably build your future, build your home, your family, your homeland. . Dear compatriots! I am confident that the soldiers and officers of the Russian Armed Forces devoted to their country will professionally and courageously fulfill their duty. I have no doubt that all levels of government, specialists responsible for the stability of our economy, financial system, social sphere, heads of our companies and all Russian business will act in a coordinated and efficient manner. I count on a consolidated, patriotic position of all parliamentary parties and public forces. Ultimately, as it has always been in history, the fate of Russia is in the reliable hands of our multinational people. And this means that the decisions made will be implemented, the goals set will be achieved, the security of our Motherland will be reliably guaranteed. I believe in your support, in that invincible strength that our love for the Fatherland gives us. Mexicos army stopped using 9mm Uzis over difficulties with the safety lock and it's 'tendency to go off accidentally' It is unclear how the automatic weapon came to be in the house A 15-year-old Mexican girl has died after accidentally shooting herself while posing with an Uzi submachine gun for a TikTok video. Yazmin Esmeralda was visiting her grandmother's home in the town of Guasave, Sinaloa's with her family when the incident happened, it was reported. The state prosecutor's office said the girl found the weapon in the bottom of her grandmother's bedroom wardrobe. It is believed she then asked her brother to film her posing with the gun for a video she could upload to TikTok. Yazmin Esmeralda, 15, had asked her brother to film her posing with the Uzi at her grandmother's Sinaloa, Mexico home for a video she could upload to TikTok when it accidentally fired, killing her (stock photo) But the gun went off by accident and instantly killed Yazmin. Her mother was woken up by the sound of a gunshot. It remains unclear how the automatic weapon came to be in the house, Sara Bruna Quinonez Estrada, Sinaloas state prosecutor, told VICE News. 'The fact that there were weapons in the house, that werent controlled, is the responsibility of the adults who knew there were children in the house,' she said in a statement. Quinonez Estrada added that Mexico's army had stopped using 9mm Uzis because of difficulties with the weapon's safety lock and an apparent tendency 'to go off accidentally'. While it is extremely hard and expensive to obtain a permit for a weapon in Mexico, the country is awash with illegal weapons thousands of them bought in US gun stores and then trafficked illegally over the border. Sinaloa, where her mothers house is located, was also home to the cartel once headed by Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman (pictured), the notorious drug laws who is now imprisoned in the US The death of the 15-year-old girl has sparked concerns about the attraction of young people towards cartels. 'That she chose to record a clip [in that way] shows that our youth is immersed in that culture,' said Quinonez Estrada. 'Its what they hear about at all hours.' Sinaloa, where her grandmother's house is located, was also home to the cartel once headed by Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, the notorious drug laws who is now imprisoned in the US. The 64-year-old was found guilty on 10 counts in February 2019, including trafficking billions of dollars of drugs and conspiring to murder enemies as the co-founder of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. El Chapo has been serving a life sentence at ADX Florence, the most secure federal prison, in Colorado, and was also ordered to forfeit $12.7 billion. El Chapo is confined to a 7-by-12-foot concrete cell with double doors in a section dubbed 'Range 13' for 23 hours a day and is only allowed to leave his quarters for one hour. This is the moment a defiant Ukrainian woman held back tears as she sang the national anthem whilst cleaning rubble out of her bomb-stricken home. Oksana Gulenko's home was among the 33 civilian sites bombed by Russia in its assault on Ukraine over the last 24 hours, despite Moscow saying it would only strike military targets. Filmed from inside her devastated apartment, a video shows Oksana calmly clearing her home of rubble while singing her country's national anthem, titled (in English) 'Glory and Freedom of Ukraine Has not yet Perished'. This is the moment a defiant Ukrainian woman - Oksana Gulenko - held back tears as she sang the national anthem whilst cleaning rubble out of her bomb-stricken home Most of the residents of the apartment block she lives in are families of former Soviet army servicemen and border guards. Like his neighbours, Oksana's father - who served in Afghanistan in the 1980s - was given the apartment by the military authorities in recognition of his service. 'I was sleeping, there was a sharp explosion and I was thrown 3 meters from the bedroom into the corridor,' she said. 'I was scared, I started crawling on the floor,' Oksana - a medic in a military hospital in Kyiv - added. Today was to be an important day in the fledgling business Oksana's daughter Katya started a few years ago. The patisserie Katya owns and Oksana helps to run was to host a big birthday party today. The supplies the mother and daughter had planned to use to decorate the birthday case have been sprinkled with shards of glass by the blast. Instead a devastated but defiant Katya sang Ukraine's national anthem as she brushed the shards of the broken glass from the window sill. Oksana Gulenko's home was among the 33 civilian sites bombed by Russia in its assault on Ukraine over the last 24 hours, despite Moscow saying it would only strike military targets Filmed from inside her bomb-stricken apartment, a video shows Oksana calmly clearing her home of rubble while singing her country's national anthem Pictured: Baking supplies left on Oksana's kitchen table are shown covered in glass The footage also shows the outside of Oksana's apartment bloc. On the street below, rubble and debris covers the ground. Above, the building's facade has been destroyed and most of the windows have been blown out. There is significant structural damage to the building, with most of the doorways and balconies having collapsed. A fire truck is parked in front of the building, and firemen are seen carrying a hose inside to dampen flames breaking out in the rubble. Aptly in the face of a Russian invasion, Ukraine's national anthem is centred around the country fighting for freedom from oppression. Translated from Ukrainian, the lyrics open with 'Ukraines glory hasnt perished, nor freedom, nor will,' and strikes a tone of hope and defiance. The anthem talks of fighting fiercely for freedom, and warns any potential invaders that 'Our enemies will vanish, like dew in the morning sun.' The anthem was officially adopted by Ukraine's parliament on January 15, 1992 and the official lyrics used today were adopted in 2003. The anthem's lyrics use a slightly modified original first stanza of a poem written in 1862 by Pavlo Chubynsky, from Kyiv. Through the years and under Russian occupation, Ukraine previously tried and failed to adopt the national anthem, before finally doing so with the fall of the USSR. Ukraine's blue and yellow flag was also officially restored in 1992. The blue represents the sky, while the yellow symbolises Ukraine's vast wheat fields. Pictured: A resident of the apartment block tips debris out of the window while clearing their home after it was devastated by a bomb blast Pictured: A fire truck is parked in front of the devastated building, and firemen are seen carrying a hose inside to dampen flames breaking out in the rubble Ukraine's national anthem: 'Glory and Freedom of Ukraine Has not yet Perished' Ukraines glory hasnt perished, nor freedom, nor will. Upon us, fellow kin, fate shall smile once more. Our enemies will vanish, like dew in the morning sun, And we too shall rule, brothers, in a free land of our own. [Refrain] Well lay down our souls and bodies to attain our freedom, And well show that we, brothers, are of the Kozak line. Well lay down our souls and bodies to attain our freedom, And well show that we, brothers, are of the Kozak nation. [Additional pre-2003 draft lyrics] We'll stand, brothers, in bloody battle, from the Sian to the Don, We will not allow others to rule in our motherland. The Black Sea will smile and grandfather Dnipro will rejoice, For in our own Ukraine fortune shall shine again. [Refrain] Our persistence and our sincere toils will be rewarded, And freedom's song will throughout all of Ukraine resound. Echoing off the Carpathians, and across the steppes rumbling, Ukraine's fame and glory will be known among all nations. [Refrain] Advertisement Missiles continued to pound Ukraine's capital on Friday as Russian forces pressed their advance and authorities in Kyiv said they were preparing for an assault aimed at overthrowing the government. Air raid sirens wailed over Kyiv, a European city of three million people, and some residents sheltered in underground metro stations, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion that has shocked the world. Ukrainian officials said a Russian aircraft had been shot down and crashed into a building in Kyiv overnight, setting it ablaze and injuring eight people. A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces would enter areas just outside the capital later on Friday and that Ukrainian troops were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered. Kyiv city council warned residents of the Obolon district, near an air base seized on Thursday by Russian paratroopers, to stay indoors because of 'the approach of active hostilities'. Windows were blasted out of a 10-storey apartment block near Kyiv's main airport, where a two-metre crater filled with rubble showed where a shell had struck before dawn. A policeman said people were injured there but not killed. 'How we can live through it in our time? What should we think. Putin should be burnt in hell along with his whole family,' said Oxana Gulenko, sweeping broken glass from her room. A neighbour, Soviet army veteran Anatoliy Marchenko, 57, could not find his cat that had run away during the shelling. 'I know people there, they are my friends,' he said of Russia. 'What do they need from me? A war has come to my house.' Witnesses said loud explosions could be heard in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, close to Russia's border, and air raid sirens sounded over Lviv in the west. Authorities reported heavy fighting in the eastern city of Sumy. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people have fled the major cities. Dozens have been reported killed. Russian troops seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advanced on the city from Belarus. Ukraine said radiation levels were elevated there. Natali Sevriukova breaks down in tears as she stands in front of the ruins of her Kyiv apartment in the early hours of Friday Widespread damage is seen to apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine, with a Russian assault on the capital expected to take place today A man dressed in camouflage takes a picture of a crater where a Russian rocket landed, destroying part of an apartment block in Kyiv which is now under heavy attack Russian armour is now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet U.S. officials believe Russia's initial aim is to topple President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and 'decapitate' his government. Zelenskiy said the troops were coming for him, but he would stay in Kyiv. '(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target,' Zelenskiy said in a video message. 'My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state.' Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by Putin, in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Putin says Ukraine is an illegitimate state carved out of Russia, a view Ukrainians see as aimed at erasing their more than thousand-year history. Putin's full aims remain obscure. He says he does not plan a military occupation, only to disarm Ukraine and remove its leaders. But it is not clear how a pro-Russian leader could be installed without holding much of the country. Russia has floated no name of such a figure and none has come forward. After Moscow denied for months it was planning an invasion, news that Putin had ordered one came as a shock to Russians accustomed to viewing their ruler of 22 years as a cautious strategist. Many Russians have friends and family in Ukraine. Russia has cracked down on dissent and state media have relentlessly characterised Ukraine as a threat, but thousands of Russians took to the streets to protest against the war. Hundreds were swiftly arrested. One pop star posted a video on Instagram opposing the war, and the head of a Moscow state-run theatre quit, saying she would not take her salary from a murderer. A 'predatory' garage worker who beat primary school teacher Sabina Nessa to death in a 'sadistic and sexually motivated' attack faces the prospect of life behind bars after admitting to her murder. Albanian national Koci Selamaj, 36, used 'extreme violence' to kill Ms Nessa, 28, whose body was uncovered underneath a pile of leaves in Cator Park, south east London. The married Domino's delivery driver travelled to London and lurked around the Kidbrooke area before grabbing the school teacher as she passed through on her way to meet a friend in the Depot Bar on September 17 last year. CCTV footage captured the moment Selamaj chased and swiftly overwhelmed Ms Nessa by raining down more than 30 blows on her with a metal traffic triangle, before carrying her away unconscious. Selamaj then strangled her in undergrowth and removed her tights and underwear in what was suspected to be a sexually-motivated attack, prosecutors said. The body of Ms Nessa, who taught a year one class at Rushey Green Primary School in Catford, was found nearly 24 hours later covered with grass near a community centre in the park. Prosecutors made clear that Nessa was not known to the murderer beforehand and he was targeting any 'vulnerable lone women' for his depraved attack in a similar fashion to Wayne Couzen's killing of Sarah Everard six months prior. The court also heard how the defendant had no previous convictions, but had tried to strangle his former partner. Ms Nessa's family, including her sister Jebina Yasmin Islam, watched on in the Old Bailey in London today as the Albanian national admitted killing the school teacher. Albanian national Koci Selamaj, 36, used 'extreme violence' to kill teacher Sabina Nessa, 28, (pictured) whose body was uncovered underneath a pile of leaves in Cator Park, London 'Predatory' garage worker Koci Selamaj, 36, admitted killing primary school teacher Sabina Nessa, 28, who was found dead in Cator Park, south east London, in September The Old Bailey heard Selamaj had a history of violence, having previously put his hands around the throat of his former partner in a strangling motion. Two hours before he attacked Ms Nessa, Selamaj had sough to contract his former partner to pressure her to engage in sexual activity. Alison Morgan QC said: 'The prosecution will submit this was a premeditated attack. 'Premeditated not in the sense that it targeted Sabina Nessa, but it targeted any lone female who would have been vulnerable to the attack on the location.' Ms Morgan added the attack was carried out with 'extreme violence'. Semalaj is said to have beaten Ms Nessa so violently that the road sign he used for a weapon broke up into pieces in his hands, the Old Bailey heard. He was later caught on CCTV using wet wipes to try and clean his DNA from a nearby park bench, before heading back to his hotel. Officers later found Selamaj had purchased a rolling pin which was not used in the attack. In a police interview, the defendant previously made no comment except to deny murder when asked directly if he was responsible for killing Ms Nessa. Police have never been able to establish a motive for the murder and some detectives believe Selamaj may have killed someone just for the thrill of it. Selamaj was caught on CCTV near Pegler Square (pictured above) and later spoke with staff in the lobby of The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne wearing the same clothes he was earlier seen in Koci Selamaj (above), from Eastbourne, East Sussex, has accepted responsibility for killing Ms Nessa who was found dead in Cator Park, Kidbrooke, in September last year The body of Ms Nessa, who taught a year one class at Rushey Green Primary School in Catford, was found nearly 24 hours after the attack and covered with leaves near a community centre in the park Selamaj, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, was arrested in the seaside town and charged with her murder eight days after the attack. Ms Nessa had made plans to meet a friend at The Depot bar in Kidbrooke Village on the evening of September 17. From her home, her route took her through Cator Park where Selamaj was waiting. Ms Morgan said: 'Some of her movements through the park and the attack on her were captured on CCTV footage. 'The male shown on that CCTV footage is alleged to be this defendant.' Selamaj strangled Ms Nessa (pictured) in undergrowth and removed her tights and underwear in what was suspected to be a sexually-motivated attack, prosecutors said The Old Bailey heard Selamaj (above) had a history of violence, having previously put his hands around the throat of his former partner in a strangling motion. Two hours before he attacked Ms Nessa, Selamaj had sough to contract his former partner to pressure her to engage in sexual activity The prosecutor said an examination of Ms Nessa's body showed no positive signs of sexual assault but that it couldn't be excluded. 'The defendant removed Ms Nessa's tights and underwear and lifted her clothes so that the mid and upper parts of her body were exposed. 'The circumstances in which Ms Nessa's body was found demonstrate the sexual motivation that must have existed,' she added. Three days before, the defendant put his plan into action by booking a room at the five-star Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, the town where he already had accommodation. His reservation was for the night of September 17 and he arrived earlier in the day to check in. Selamaj spoke to hotel staff and was captured walking through the lobby wearing the same clothes as the suspect later caught on CCTV in Kidbrooke. Speaking outside the Old Bailey on Friday, Ms Nessa's sister Jebina Islam (above) broke down in tears as told how the guilty plea was 'difficult to digest' DCI Neil John from the Metropolitan Police speaks outside the Old Bailey, London after Koci Selamaj pleaded guilty to the murder of primary school teacher Sabina Nessa on Friday Pictured above: A forensics tent in Cator Park in Kidbrooke, south east London, where the teacher was found dead Koci Selamaj: Garage worker who came from a 'respectable family' and the impoverished streets of Albania By Andrew Young in Elbasan, Albania for MailOnline The former pizza delivery driver charged with the murder of primary school teacher Sabina Nessa comes from a poverty-stricken neighbourhood in Albania. Koci Selamaj, 36, grew up in a first floor flat in a drab communist-era housing block in a northern suburb of the city of Elbasan. It is believed that he left as a teenager around 20-years-ago to start a new life in western Europe. Local residents believe he first went to Greece for several years, possibly with his older brother, before eventually finding his way to the UK. Selamaj's parents Bashkim, 73, and Tefta, 70, are understood to still own the flat at the top of a crumbling flight of steps in the five storey block. The couple are said to live most of the time in the Albanian capital Tirana. There was no reply at the flat today, although one neighbour in the concrete-rendered block said that Bashkim had been seen returning to the address briefly on Monday night. The area where Selamaj spent his childhood is one of the poorest parts of Elbesan which is Albania's fourth largest city. Unemployment is high and many impoverished locals struggle to eke out a living selling homegrown vegetables and second hand clothes on the street. Selamaj's father is believed to have worked as a builder while his mother's family is said to come from a family of cattle farmers living in countryside in a remote part of Albania. One near neighbour said: 'I remember Koci, but I have not seen him for 20 years. I think he left because he wanted a better life and I don't think he has been back. 'You cannot blame him for wanting to leave. There are not a lot of opportunities around here for a young man. 'His family are respectable people. They must be heartbroken that he has been charged with this awful crime.' Another near neighbour said that she remembered him having a brother and sister. The neighbour said: 'He was a nice boy and used to play with the other children when he was growing up.' A local resident added: 'Albania is a poor country. Life is hard here and people have to earn a living as best they can. 'A lot of people buy second hand clothes on the street because they cannot afford new ones in the shops.' MailOnline today saw hard-up locals sitting near Selamaj's old home selling bunches of grapes, tomatoes, peppers and misshapen aubergines. Others were trying to find buyers for old clothes, shoes, household ornaments, battered second hand mobile phones and watches which they had piled up and in boxes on the roadside. Stray dogs were seen roaming around the street while a man walked down the road clutching two live ducks, apparently destined for the dinner table. Advertisement The defendant's Nissan Micra was tracked by ANPR cameras and cell site evidence was gathered to identify his movements from Eastbourne to south London later that day. The evidence showed the defendant also used his bank card at Sainsbury's in Kidbrooke. He was captured in footage wearing 'distinctive' trainers with a thick white sole which were later seized from his house and found to have blood traces on them. The defendant entered Cator Park shortly after 8pm and lay in wait for half an hour before Ms Nessa arrived. Ms Morgan said: 'The defendant is seen in effect loitering in locations around the park before spotting the deceased, checking to see if anyone else was nearby before turning and running after her. 'He is then seen to move towards the deceased and striking her repeatedly using a weapon which was approximately 2ft in length. 'In fact it was a weapon which appeared to break up during the course of the many strikes on the deceased. 'The CCTV footage shows the defendant then carrying the deceased, who appeared to be unconscious by that point, up a bank and effectively out of sight.' Selamaj's actions afterwards were out of camera shot, but Ms Nessa was not seen alive again. Mr Justice Sweeney adjourned sentence until April 7. Speaking outside the Old Bailey on Friday, Ms Nessa's sister Jebina Islam broke down in tears as told how the guilty plea was 'difficult to digest'. She said it was a 'step in the right direction' but did not bring her sister back. She said: 'We as a family are broken and there is not a day that goes by that we do not think of her. 'There are no words to describe the pain we are going through and the pain which he has caused. 'The fact we will never know the motive for why he killed our sister is not only frustrating but heartbreaking. 'No family should go through what we are going through, and each day is not getting any easier.' Helen Ellwood, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: 'Sabina Nessa was 28 years old when her life was cut short as a result of truly evil violence inflicted on her as she walked through a park. 'Koci Selamaj has shown little remorse for his premeditated and predatory attack on a lone woman who was a stranger to him. 'His cowardly actions have devastated a family and caused immeasurable pain to all those who knew and loved Sabina. 'The prosecution was able to build the strongest possible case resulting in Selamaj admitting his guilt as a result of meticulous investigation led by the Metropolitan Police, which included an extensive review of CCTV footage and detailed forensic work.' She said the CPS was committed to prosecuting violence against women and girls, and she hoped the conviction would bring some sense of justice to Ms Nessa's family and friends. It comes as a former colleague, who asked not to be named, said Selamaj was ambitious and moved to the UK to better himself and had taken a job as a pizza delivery driver at Dominos 'to get ahead.' He said: 'He was only been married for a while and he was living in a flat with his wife. He wanted to get ahead. He wanted to move from their flat. He wanted to make some money and get another job. 'His wife, also, was working and they were saving for a better flat. He seemed ordinary, normal, a regular guy. I was shocked when I found out he had been arrested.' Pictured: a map showing where Sabina's home was and where she was found on September 17 Pictured: a map showing the police movements in Eastbourne after Selamaj's arrest Jebina Yasmin Islam, Sabina's sister, was seen arriving at the Old Bailey in London today for the trial of Koci Selamaj A former neighbour, Piotr Graz, said: 'Everyone was shocked when he was arrested. He was married with a very nice wife and they seemed very close. They wanted to get a bigger flat. 'I know Koci used to go to London to see people he knew from his [Albanian] community. He used to go when he wasn't working. He seemed like a regular guy and I would never think he was guilty of the crimes he has been accused of. He was so mild and calm.' He said: 'I'm not sure his wife is even in the country anymore. I haven't seen her for a long time.' Speaking outside court on Friday, Detective Chief Inspector Neil John told reporters: 'She was a much loved popular young woman who had her whole life ahead of her.' Throughout the criminal process, Ms Nessa's family had 'astounded with their dignity' and shown the 'utmost bravery' in coming to court and facing the man who killed her, he said. 'Her future was cruelly taken away when she was murdered by Koci Selamaj a total stranger who to this day has never explained why he carried out this senseless attack. 'I do not want to waste words on this cowardly evil man apart from saying we are relieved he will now spend the vast majority of his life in prison.' The Depot bar in Pegler Square, where Ms Nessa was due to meet with a friend before she was ambushed and killed Pictured: Police investigating the death of Sabina Nessa pictured at a flat in Eastbourne Last October, around 200 people gathered in Eastbourne, East Sussex, to pay tribute to the school teacher and protest the 'crisis of violence against women' Last October, around 200 people gathered in Eastbourne, East Sussex, to pay tribute to the school teacher and protest the 'crisis of violence against women'. The peaceful demonstration was marked by cheers and applause as those addressing the crowd spoke out against victim blaming. Later, the darkening sky was lit with the lights from dozens of mobile phones, as a minute's silence was held for Ms Nessa. Sabina's sister Jebina Yasmin Islam broke down as she addressed crowds. She said: 'Words cannot describe how we are feeling, this feels like we are stuck in a bad dream and can't get out of it - our world is shattered, we are simply lost for words. 'No family should go through what we are going through.' The vigil came after public outrage and debate over women's safety and policing in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard, who was killed by a serving Met Police officer. THE wife of a leading saxophonist has reportedly been arrested in Ethiopia on suspicion of drug trafficking. Pamela Glenda Sithole, who is married to Stephen Stavo Sax Nyoni, is reported to have been caught with bags containing cocaine at the airport in the Ethiopian capital. Stavo Sax is a member of the 3G band led by Jah Prayzah. Sources said Sithole was set to appear in court yesterday. My wife has not been in Zimbabwe for two weeks. She is in South Africa and I am communicating with her daily, said Nyoni. Information points to Sithole having been betrayed by her friend, who was arrested in South Africa, over cocaine smuggling. We noticed her disappearance from all social media platforms for close to two weeks then decided to ask Stephen but he said there was poor network coverage in Ethiopia, said the source. She had posted about her Ethiopian journey on her status but all of a sudden she was offline and everything was gone. She is a person who likes posting updates about her day-to-day activities. Nyoni yesterday said lawyers were being arranged for her court appearance. H Metro This is the heart-wrenching moment a Ukrainian BBC journalist is left almost speechless live on air as she views images of her mother's bombed-out Kyiv flat. In a clip viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media, journalist Olga Malchevska is seen discussing the situation in Ukraine with BBC World News anchor Karin Giannone. The pair talk about how the fighting is nearing Kyiv when Ms Malchevska says she has received a message from her mother who lives in the Ukrainian capital. She also reveals that a block of bombed-out flats, pictured in various UK media outlets today, is the same one her mother had been forced to flee just hours earlier. Ms Malchevska says: 'I've just got a message from my other finally. I couldn't reach her. 'She has taken shelter. She's hiding in the basement. Luckily she was not in our building that was bombed at night.' Ms Giannone replies: 'And that's literally the building that we've been talking about that has been destroyed?' Ms Malchevska replies: 'Yes. When we were told about coming into the studio yesterday I could not imagine that actually, at 3am London time, I would find out that actually my home was bombed. In a clip already viewed hundreds of thousands of times, Olga Malchevska (pictured) is seen discussing the situation in Ukraine with BBC World News anchor Karin Giannone She also reveals that a block of bombed-out flats (pictured), widely pictures in UK media outlets today, is the same one her mother had been forced to flee just hours earlier Ms Malchevska, who posted about the incident on Instagram, said: 'I've just got a message from my other finally. I couldn't reach her. She has taken shelter. She's hiding in the basement. Luckily she was not in our building that was bombed at night.' Ms Malchevska (pictured with her mother here) can then be heard letting out a sigh before saying: 'I just can't think in my head that what I'm seeing is somewhere where I used to live' Ms Malchevska (pictured left and right) then says: 'Those pictures, that footage that everybody saw is literally my home. People there were evacuated into the school. But thank God my family is safe. Footage is then shown of the bombed-out flats, at which point Ms Malchevska says: 'This actual building is my home. I'm trying to see where my actual flat is because I was living on the sixth floor.' Ms Malchevska (pictured here with her mother) told the BBC that the her mother's block of flats had been targeted by Russian explosives 'Those pictures, that footage that everybody saw is literally my home. People there were evacuated into the school. But thank God my family is safe.' Footage is then shown of the bombed-out flats, at which point Ms Malchevska says: 'This actual building is my home. I'm trying to see where my actual flat is because I was living on the sixth floor. Ms Malchevska can then be heard letting out a sigh before saying: 'I just can't think in my head that what I'm seeing is somewhere where I used to live.' It comes as Ukrainian forces took to the streets of Kyiv today with national guard troops pictured lining up defensive positions along a highway shortly before the sounds of gunfire and explosions rang out as they battled Russian forces for control of the capital. Putin's men are now thought to be inside the city, though their exact location and number is unclear. Fighting was reported in Obolon, on the city's outskirts, in the early hours as the ministry of defence told residents to make Molotov cocktails to 'repel the occupiers'. Rifles were also handed out to civilians as President Zelensky urged any European willing to defend the country to travel to Ukraine and join in the defence. The Russian troops are thought to have arrived from the north-west, having pushed down from Chernobyl which was captured late yesterday. More Russian troops and armour are advancing on the capital from Konotop, in the east, having bypassed the city of Chernihiv where they ran into heavy Ukrainian resistance. UKRAINE WAR: LATEST Russia said it is not willing to negotiate with Ukraine's government until military operation is over Came after Zelensky called for a sit-down with Putin to end the fighting Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces Zelensky has allowed anyone of any age to join the armed forces, and called on Europeans from other countries to come and join the fight Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning Advertisement Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said today will be the war's 'hardest day'. Once Kyiv is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport - likely Sikorsky or Boryspil - which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital. The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime - effectively ending the war without Putin's ground forces needing to complete the difficult and bloody task of seizing and occupying the whole country. It appears the Russians almost pulled off the plan on the first day of the invasion when 20 attack helicopters landed a crack team of troops at Antonov Airport, 15 miles to the north of Kyiv. But Ukrainian national guard units managed to retake the landing strip overnight after heavy fighting, scattering the surviving Russian attackers into the surrounding countryside. A Russian attack on the capital would likely be coordinated with a push by troops on southern and eastern fronts - Crimea and Donbass - aimed at pinning down Ukrainian armed forces so they cannot retreat and reinforce the city, officials told author Michael Weiss. It may also be accompanied by bombing raids and sabotage attacks on power grids and infrastructure to sow panic and force people to flee, snarling up roads and making it difficult for forces already in Kyiv to move around. The plan appeared to be underway in the early hours, as explosions sounded before dawn with the city under bombardment from what the defense minister called 'horrific rocket strikes' not seen since 1941. Ukraine's armed forces claimed to have shot down a Russian jet over the outskirts of the city, with flaming wreckage seen falling from the sky, as Zelensky gave a national address, saying Russia has identified him as 'target number 1' of the invasion but he and his family were remaining in the city. He said invading Russian forces are targeting civilian areas, praising his countrymen for their 'heroism' and assuring them that the armed forces are doing 'everything possible' to protect them. Ukrainian soldiers are pictured forming up across a highway in Kyiv as they prepare to defend the city from Russian attackers, with gunfire and explosions heard in the centre of the capital Ukrainian soldiers take position on a bridge inside the city of Kyiv, as Russian forces advance into the capital 'They say that civilian objects are not a target for them. But this is another lie of theirs. In reality, they do not distinguish between areas in which they operate,' Zelensky said in a video. 'Ukrainian air defence systems are defending our skies,' he said. 'Ukrainians are demonstrating heroism'. 'All our forces are doing everything possible' to protect people, he added. The Ukrainian leader called on people to show 'solidarity' and help the elderly find shelter and 'access to real information.' Zelensky also said that Russia will have to eventually talk to Kyiv to end their war. 'Russia will have to talk to us sooner or later. Talk about how to end the fighting and stop this invasion. The sooner the conversation begins, the less losses there will be for Russia itself,' he said. Switching into Russian in his address, Zelensky acknowledged Russian street protests against Vladimir Putin's attack on Ukraine that ended with mass arrests Thursday. 'To the citizens of the Russian Federation that are coming out to protest, we see you. And this means that you have heard us. This means that you believe us. Fight for us. Fight against war.' Russian police detained more than 1,700 people at anti-war protests across dozens of cities Thursday night. Zelensky said the government had information that 'subversive groups' were encroaching on the city, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv 'could well be under siege' in what U.S. officials believe is a brazen attempt by Putin to dismantle the government and install his own regime. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call. The assault, anticipated for weeks by the U.S. and Western allies and undertaken by Putin in the face of international condemnation and cascading sanctions, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. Russian missiles bombarded cities and military bases in the first day of the attack, and Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. As explosions sounded in Kyiv early Friday, guests of a hotel were directed to a makeshift basement shelter. Air raid sirens also went off. 'Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom,' Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he called Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days. Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 'heroes,' including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians. He concluded an emotional speech by saying that 'the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders.' He also said the country had heard from Moscow that 'they want to talk about Ukraine's neutral status.' Biden was to meet Friday morning with fellow leaders of NATO governments in what the White House described as an 'extraordinary virtual summit' to discuss Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin 'chose this war' and had exhibited a 'sinister' view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly. 'It was always about naked aggression, about Putin's desire for empire by any means necessary - by bullying Russia's neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause,' Biden said. Blinken said in television interviews that he was convinced that Russia was intent on overthrowing the Ukrainian government, telling CBS that Putin wants to 'reconstitute the Soviet empire' and that Kyiv was already 'under threat, and it could well be under siege.' Advertisement An 18-month-old baby died in a car crash on a snow-swept Kentucky bridge as winter storm Oaklee continues to barrel across the country, canceling more than 1,300 flights on Friday and bringing power outage warnings to the Northeast. The infant died after seven car wrecks involving a total of 12 tractor-trailers and six cars occurred within an hour of each other Wednesday night into Thursday morning on the Tennessee River Bridge along Interstate 24. The storm has brought up to eight inches of snow in the Northeast since yesterday as areas in upstate New York and Massachusetts saw half-a-foot of snow, while Baltimore reported 0.15 inches of freezing rain. The National Weather Service predicted the storm would dump a total of 12 inches of snow across New England by Saturday. Freezing rain and sleet is also set to hit the southern parts of an area including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Hudson Valley and the coastline of New England overnight. Power outage warnings have been issued across Pennsylvania, western Maryland and northern West Virginia where significant ice events are possible through Friday. So far, some 1,326 flights have been canceled today in the U.S., according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Residents and snow crews in Somerville, Massachusetts, cleared what was expected to be up to a foot of snow across Massachusetts and New England as winter storm Oaklee batters the Northeast Nick Lajoie (above) of Somerville, rides a snowboard on the sidewalk as he makes his way around town Grover Taylor, of Somerville, digs his truck out of the snow as authorities warn residents to stay indoors Blue areas on the map show what areas of the country should expect heavy snow showers A weather forecast shows the outlook across the country over the weekend A Somerville man pictured running across the snowy streets wearing a hoodie and shorts A utility truck is seen traveling around Somerville as power outage warnings were issued throughout Massachusetts Inches of snow were seen covering cars on the streets of Somerville in Massachusetts on Friday morning A line of cars in Somerville is seen covered in thick snow Friday morning Matthew ''Mateo'' White enjoys a cold morning walk with his 1 year-old Border Collie-Terrier in Albuquerque, New Mexico Dog walking, runners, bikers and walkers withstood freezing rain, sleet and snow in New York City's Central Park A light shower of snow was seen covering the grass in Central Park on Friday A dog walker is seen crunching through snow in Central Park Friday morning A man walks while holding an umbrella as he sticks to the cleared pathways in Central Park Snow covers the street in in Rochester, New York. Residents across the Northeast awoke to a steady snow that could bring a foot or more of accumulation to many areas, and a sloppy mix of sleet and ice to other spots Snow covers Interstate 490 in Rochester on Friday February 25 Along with some snow, New York City is seeing freezing rain. Pictured, a woman walking in Times Square during the storm Since Wednesday morning, the storm has produced numerous reports of sleet and freezing rain, from as far south as central Texas to central and eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, southern Missouri and parts of the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic. More than 118 million people as far as Texas and New England are under a winter storm warning and seven million people along the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys are under a flood watch because of heavy rain they can expect. James Connolly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New York told the New York Times: 'The snow will be a concern initially, and then it'll change over into a wintry mix, and then it'll change over to rain.' He added that coastal areas will see the least amount of snow while three inches may be seen in New York City, Connecticut and the Lower Hudson valley. And the disruptive weather warnings have led to governors of states including Connecticut and Massachusetts to encourage residents to stay off the roads and the I-70 and I-80 are expected to be especially slick. Snow had already made its way into Chicago and Iowa by Thursday evening. A Sommerville, Massachusetts, resident was clearing up the sidewalk as the town expects a foot of snow by Saturday Plow trucks in Somerville worked to clear out the street in the middle of the storm Steven Tole, an officer with the Fayetteville Police Department, offers advice to a motorist on College Avenue near the Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville, Arkansas States and cities further south, like New York City, are experiencing freezing rain rather than snow John Lotti shovels snow from his frozen drive way in Tulsa Oklahoma Heavy snow fell across Flagstaff, Arizona, on Wednesday. The storm forced closures on major roadways in Arizona A runner braves cold temperatures to head out into Hyder Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico Pink areas in the map show the sleet and ice that is expected from New York to Pittsburgh for the rest of the day until tomorrow Purple areas on the map show where the most snow will be seen and the number of inches each area can expect to see from now until tomorrow Weather warnings have been issued across large areas of the north east of the country including ice storm warnings and winter storm warnings The Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker tweeted: 'Given the hazardous travel conditions that will be created by the upcoming winter storm, we are urging people to stay off the roads tomorrow especially during the morning commute. 'Non-emergency state employees should telework tomorrow when possible.' Record low temperatures may even be reached in California, western Oregon and western Arizona. The US has been hit by a string of winter storms this year and in early January one weather system stranded hundreds of drivers on I-95 in Virginia for more than 24 hours. Later in the month another storm hit the south and killed at least two people and left thousands without power. On Thursday more than 110 million Americans were under weather alerts for a winter storm that is set to bring dangerous ice to the South and Midwest on Thursday before dumping a combination of heavy snow, wintry mix and rain in the Northeast. Through Thursday evening, ice and sleet continued for the southern Plains and the Mississippi Valley as snow is forecasted to increase in coverage and intensity across the Midwest and the southern Great Lakes, while heavy rain with some isolated strong storms will roll across the Southeast, NBC News reported. New Yorkers in Central Park had to contend with freezing rain in the afternoon following snow in the morning One New Yorker was pictured riding his bike in the middle of the freezing rain storm Bikers in Somerville, Massachusetts, however, had to ride through at least six inches of snow if they could New York City saw about two to three inches of snow on Friday morning as winter storm Oaklee swept through. A man is pictured walking through Columbus Circle, where much of the snow has been cleared Conditions on the road remain hazardous and officials across the Northeast are advising people to not drive Following the snowfall, freezing rain began pouring down on New York City A fresh layer of now is seen in Mother Neff State Park in Moody, Texas on Thursday as a winter storm moves through the South and Midwest The Historic San Felipe de Neri in Old Town in New Mexico is seen with a fresh coat of overnight snow on Thursday morning as a winter storm makes its way across the US Ice accumulations of over 0.25 inches are likely from the Red River Valley of Texas through the Ozarks and southeast Missouri, according to the Weather Prediction Center. To prepare for the storm the Electric Reliability Council of Texas warned of tight grid conditions and some Texas school districts in Texas canceled classes due to hazardous driving conditions, CNN reported. Thousands of flights, mostly out of Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport, have also been cancelled and delayed. As the storm shifts east overnight it is forecast to bring up to 12-18 inches of snow in parts of New England, along with a mix of snow, ice and rain for points to the south along the I-95 corridor, Accuweather reported. A map of projected snowfall as a winter storm makes its way to the Northeast on Thursday The storm is forecast to bring up to 12-18 inches of snow in parts of New England, along with a mix of snow, ice and rain for points to the south along the I-95 A man in Somerville, Massachusetts, was pictured trying to clear his driveway A woman was pictured walking her dog in the middle of the storm as she took shelter under an umbrella while the canine walked about Central Park, ignoring the sleet and rain Somerville and the rest of Massachusetts are expected to see a full foot of snow by Saturday Plows have been making their way through the town all day to keep the roads clear A woman was pictured walking in town as cars and busses made their way through the storm 'Heavy snow is expected across Upstate New York and New England on Friday when snow rates will likely eclipse 1'/hr at times. Dangerous travel is likely,' the weather service tweeted. New York City is forecasted to see about 2.5 inches of snow that is expected to being around midnight on Thursday, as well as sleet and freezing rain will spread over the New York metro area by Friday afternoon. 'A gradual transition to rain will then take place into Friday morning. However, roads and sidewalks are likely to still be slippery especially over the northern and western suburbs and in parts of central Long Island, where the wintry mix is likely to linger for a time,' AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Sadvary said. The bad weather even forced The People's Convoy, heading to Washington DC to protest COVID mask and vaccine mandates, to reroute Insia Dahod, of Boston Massachusetts, posted a pic of the storm outside her home (left). Colin Brigs took a photo of the snowy roads outside his car in Longmeadow Massachusetts (right) A Twitter user in New York took a photo of the snow building up outside his home Twitter user Josephine Knecht took a photo of the roads on the way to her college campus (left). Another Twitter user with the handle name Phoebe took a picture of the icy roads in Massachusetts on Thursday night (right) Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker issued a warning for residents to stay off the roads on Friday and Saturday Putin said to be considering offer to Ukraine's president Zelensky as his forces marched on capital Kyiv Experts fear Western sanctions will be rendered ineffectively by China after Xi today gave Putin a lifeline by lifting wheat import restrictions China has refused to call Russian military action an 'invasion' or criticise Moscow China's President Xi Jinping told Vladmir Putin that he supports Russia's efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine 'through dialogue', Chinese state television reported. The leaders spoke by phone this morning, with the Russian President saying he was willing to hold high level talks with Ukraine. Putin's words don't appear to match up to his actions however as Russian troops are reported to have reached the streets of Kyiv and are fighting for control with Ukraine. At least 137 Ukrainian civilians and military have been killed so far. China has so far refused to call Russia's action in Ukraine an 'invasion' or criticise Moscow despite intensifying assaults from Russia's military. It also appears that China is prepared to help Putin weather the storm of sanctions after the country today lifted wheat import restrictions in an economic boost to Moscow. China's President Xi Jinping told Vladmir Putin that he supports Russia's efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine 'through dialogue', Chinese state television reported. Pictured: Xi and Putin met in Beijing on February 2 Russian armour is now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet Putin told Xi that the United States and NATO had long ignored Russia's legitimate security concerns, repeatedly reneged on their commitments, and continued to expand military deployment eastward, challenging Russia's strategic bottom line, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website. Russia is willing to conduct high-level negotiations with Ukraine, Putin was cited as saying. China has repeatedly called for the crisis to be resolved through dialogue. China supports Russia and Ukraine in resolving the issue through negotiation, Xi told Putin, according to the ministry. Xi also called for all sides to abandon a Cold War mentality, respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiation, according to the statement. Experts believe China is likely to help Russia 'behind the scenes', with the level of support from Beijing potentially becoming an 'influential factor in shaping an evolving crisis'. As the US, UK and other NATO allies roll more punitive measures against Russia, there are fears the effect could be rendered ineffective by Beijing lending Moscow cash to weather the storm. It has been reported that President Xi has backed keeping China fully open to wheat imports from Russia in spite of sweeping sanctions Moscow last year sent 9.8 per cent of its total agricultural exports, including cereals, fishery products, meat and dairy to China. President Xi will however need to 'walk a fine line' as he tries to avoid damaging his country's links to the West, with protecting trade likely to be a key priority. A man dressed in camouflage takes a picture of a crater where a Russian rocket landed, destroying part of an apartment block in Kyiv which is now under heavy attack Ukrainian defenders have blown up several bridges leading into the capital in an attempt to slow the Russian advance Xi also said that China's position on 'respecting every countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity' remained 'consistent', the statement said. The obscure statement however stands in contrast with Chinese actions over Taiwan, a country which was just yesterday threatened by Chinese aggression as nine aircraft entered its air defence zone. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained of regular similar missions by the Chinese air force over the last two years, though the aircraft do not get close to Taiwan itself. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, and routinely condemns U.S. arms sales or other displays of support for the island nation from Washington. It comes as the Russian military claimed it has taken control of an airport just outside Kyiv, as Kremlin forces bear down on the Ukrainian capital. Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko, the brother of boxer Wladimir Klitschko, said the Ukrainian capital 'has entered into a defensive phase' and that both siblings would take up arms in defense of Kyiv. 'The city has gone into a defensive phase. Shots and explosions are ringing out in some neighbourhoods saboteurs have already entered Kyiv. The enemy wants to put the capital on its knees and destroy us,' he told a news briefing. Russian possession of the airport in Hostomel, which has a long runway allowing the landing of heavy-lift transport planes, would mean Putin's forces could airlift troops directly to Kyiv's outskirts. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that airborne forces used 200 helicopters to land in Hostomel and killed over 200 troops belonging to Ukraine's special forces. Konashenkov claimed that Russian troops suffered no casualties. That contradicts Ukrainian claims that Russian troops sustained heavy casualties in the fighting there. Advertisement President Joe Biden will meet virtually with fellow NATO members on Friday morning to reassure eastern allies they will be protected as Russian troops prepare to enter Kyiv. U.S. intelligence officials are worried the Ukrainian capitol could fall within days, CNN reported, as Russian forces are within 20 miles of its location and residents are being urged to make Molotov cocktails to help defend the city. Amid reports the Kremlin is gunning for him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone. 'Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone,' he said. 'Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.' 'We're defending our country alone. The most powerful forces in the world are watching this from a distance,' Zelensky said. President Joe Biden will meet virtually with fellow NATO members on Friday morning to reassure eastern allies they will be protected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone Ukrainian national guard were forming up on Kyiv's streets Friday as they prepared to defend the city from a Russian assault, shortly before heavy gunfire and explosions were heard A brave Ukrainian citizen has been filmed apparently trying to stop a convoy of Russian Tigr-M fighting vehicles - similar to American Humvees - moving along a highway close to Crimea in scenes reminiscent of Tiananmen Square's 'tank man' Russian battle plans to take Kyiv and force an early end to the war in Ukraine have been revealed by US intelligence, who say troops and armour would be used to capture airfields, before a force of 10,000 paratroopers would be flown in to capture the city, round up the government, and force them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia President Joe Biden (upper left) participates in the NATO meeting NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg convenes leaders for a virtual summit A general view of a meeting room during a virtual summit called in by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium Meanwhile, the Kremlin offered to send a delegation to Belarus to negotiate with Ukraine but only under harsh conditions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was ready to send a delegation to Minsk. But Peskovmade it clear that Russia expected Ukraine's 'denazification and demilitarization' of Ukraine, meaning Kyiv's capitulation. As fighting continues across the Ukraine, Biden will start his Friday in a virtual meeting with the 30 members of NATO, who are concerned about Russian aggression on their eastern flank. Some of NATO's 30 member countries are supplying arms and support to Ukraine, but NATO as an organization isn't. 'Make no mistake, we will defend every ally against any attack on every inch of NATO territory,' NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who will chair the summit, told reporters Thursday. 'An attack on one ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance.' During the meeting, the leaders are likely to consider whether to activate the NATO Response Force, which can number up to 40,000 troops. A quickly deployable land brigade that is part of the NRF - made up of 5,000 troops and run by France alongside Germany, Poland, Portugal and Spain - is already on heightened alert. Some NATO nations are already taking defensive measures as Russian aggression grows. Lithuania declared a state of emergency Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine. Lithuania borders Russias Kaliningrad region to the southwest. NATO members Belarus is to the east, Latvia is to the north and Poland is to the south. 'We cannot take the luxury to be (a) discussion club,' Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said overnight at an emergency summit of European Union leaders held to impose a 'heavy price' on Russia through sanctions. 'We need to take action.' The Baltic members have said the West should 'urgently provide Ukrainian people with weapons, ammunition and any other kind of military support to defend itself as well as economic, financial and political assistance and support, humanitarian aid.' NATO began beefing up its defenses in northeastern Europe after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Recently, some members have also sent troops, aircraft and warships to the Black Sea region, near allies Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Short-term, NATO has activated an emergency planning system to allow commanders to move forces more quickly. The Pentagon said Thursday that it is sending 7,000 troops to Europe in addition to 5,000 recently deployed personnel. Independence Square in central Kyiv, Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers take positions in downtown Kyiv Servicemen of the Ukrainian National Guard take positions in central Kyiv Additionally, pressure is building on Biden to personally sanction Putin. The U.S. has already sanctioned several members of Putin's inner circle and many Russian oligarchs who made their money off his regime. Biden said Thursday that sanctioning the Russian leader remained 'on the table' but refused to answer a question on why Putin has not yet been personally targeted. The European Union will freeze Putin's assets and those of the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, but will not impose a travel ban on them, the New York Times reported. A disgraced former North Carolina police chief who faces nearly 90 felony charges stemming from theft of guns, drugs and cash from an evidence room has been found hiding in a creek after authorities say he tried to fake his own death while free on bond. William Spivey, 36, who formerly headed the Chadbourn Police Department, was apprehended on Thursday near Loris, South Carolina - just four days after he failed to return from a fishing trip on the Lumber river in North Carolina and was reported missing. Spivey, who is accused of embezzlement of state property, destroying evidence, obstruction of justice, and trafficking in opium, among a number of other things, was scheduled to appear in court this week but never made it. This is the moment police apprehended fugitive ex-police chief William Spivey, 36, after he was found hiding underwater in a creek in rural South Carolina early Thursday Spivey was arrested after allegedly faking his own death to avoid facing nearly 90 felony charges related to money, gun and drug thefts On the day Spivey was due to appear in court, police found his boat abandoned on the Lumber River in South Carolina (pictured). Inside, a suicide note was found Authorities found Spivey's boat abandoned on the river and retrieved a suicide note that he had purportedly wrote. A .22 caliber rifle with a discharged round was located inside the vessel. 'Investigators quickly concluded that the evidence collected did not support a suicide scenario,' according to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Three days later, the Horry County Police Department received a tip, indicating that Spivey was laying low at his aunt's apartment outside of Loris. When officers closed in on the fugitive, police say the former chief fled into nearby woods, where he was ultimately found hiding in a creek. Dive crews search the river for the missing ex-Chadbourn police chief but could not find him Brenda Rowele, Spivey's aunt, said he had been stay with her because he was suicidal Spivey tried to flee but was caught and arrested after a physical struggle just before 1 a.m. on Thursday. Spiveys aunt, Brenda Rowele, told WECT that she did not know her nephew had skipped a court appearance and was on the lam. She claimed that Spivey called her last Sunday, saying he was having marital problems and was suicidal. Spivey faces 88 felony counts, including embezzlement of state property, destroying evidence, obstruction of justice, and trafficking in opium Rowele said she urged her nephew not to kill himself and invited him to stay in her home for a couple of nights. The woman defended the disgraced ex-cop, suggesting that he was being set up by Columbus County law enforcement. 'I was told different stories, but I do know and I will state to the fact that he is not no drug addict like they say he is. Columbus County cops is doing him wrong,' Rowele told the station. Spivey was named permanent chief of The Chadbourn Police Department in July 2018, reported The News Reporter. In April 2021, Spivey was relieved of duty following a misconduct investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations. He was ultimately indicted on 88 felony charges, accusing him of stealing thousands of dollars in cash, various drugs and five firearms from the Chadbourn Police Departments evidence room, which he then allegedly sold to friends and family. In June, Spivey was accused of embezzling $8,000 meant for a family who lost a son to leukemia. Spivey was relieved of duty in the spring of 2021 following a misconduct investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations During his time as Chadbourn's top cop, Spivey allegedly stole money, drugs and five firearms from the evidence room, and embezzled $8,000 from the family of a leukemia patient After spending two months in jail, Spivey was released after posting $500,000 bond. Last month, Spivey was re-arrested for allegedly stealing catalytic converters from an auto repair shop in Tabor City, where he was employed as a mechanic. The District Attorney's Office sought to keep Spivey jailed pending trial, arguing that he poses a threat to the community, but, yet again, he was released. Spivey was due back in court earlier this month but failed to appear, claiming that he had COVID. The hearing was rescheduled for Monday, but Spivey again was a no-show. His attorney told a judge that his client was missing and may have committed suicide. After Spivey's boat was found on the Lumber River, dive crews scoured the waters but did not find his body. K-9 dogs and sonar equipment were used to try and locate the fugitive. Spivey is pictured in a booking photo following his arrest in April 2021. He was released on $500,000 bond Spivey was arrested again in January 2022 (pictured in a mugshot) after allegedly stealing catalytic converters from an auto repair shop where he worked 'As investigators collected video from surveillance systems and conducted interviews, it became even more apparent that the scene on the river was staged,' officials stated. Following his dramatic arrest near Loris on Thursday, Spivey, who has 40 outstanding warrants for failure to appear with a total bond amount of $1million, was sent to the Horry County Jail to await extradition back to North Carolina. President Joe Biden will nominate federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first black woman selected to serve on the bench, the White House announced on Friday. She also would be the high court's first former public defender, although the Harvard graduate possesses the elite legal background of other justices. Friday marks two years to the day that Biden pledged to make history by nominating the first black woman to the high court. He made the vow during the 2020 primary debate in South Carolina. Liberals praised the pick, citing Jackson's background as a public defender. Republicans offered a more caution reaction with most GOP senators saying they would keep an open mind when meeting with her during the confirmation process. The White House took to Twitter to tout a range of support from a wide range of figures from Barack Obama to former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is related to Jackson via marriage. 'I want to congratulate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on her nomination to the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson has already inspired young Black women like my daughters to set their sights higher, and her confirmation will help them believe they can be anything they want to be,' Obama said. 'Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family. Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal,' Ryan said. Biden had whittled down his search to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer to a final three: Jackson, 51, Michelle Childs, 55, and Leondra Kruger, 45. 'President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,' the White House said in a statement on Friday. 'He also sought a nominee - much like Justice Breyer - who is wise, pragmatic, and has a deep understanding of the Constitution as an enduring charter of liberty. And the President sought an individual who is committed to equal justice under the law and who understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court's decisions have on the lives of the American people.' Jackson's nomination is part of Biden's push to diversify the judicial branch. His pick is not expected to change the tilt of the consevative-leaning court but his focus on younger nominees will ensure his pick will have a long influence on its decisions. The first step in the process was for Biden to make the formal offer to Jackson, which he did on Thursday night. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised a rapid confirmation for the liftime pick to the court. A simple majority is needed to confirm her to the bench. The Democrats hold 50 Senate seats with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as the tie breaker. Democrats have set early April the goal for final confirmation, with plans to begin Judiciary Committee hearings toward the end of March. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, the chair of the Judiciary Committee, has been more specific, saying he wants to see Biden's nominee confirmed by April 9. President Joe Biden will nominate federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the Senate to the federal bench last year How Harvard-educated Ketanji Brown rose from a public defender to the nation's highest court and helped prisoners seek early release for crack cocaine crimes Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is President Biden's nominee for Supreme Court Ketanji Brown Jackson, the federal appeals court judge who President Joe Biden is poised to nominate to become the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, brings a diverse set of experiences to the bench, including a stint representing low-income criminal defendants. Jackson, 51, who Biden last year appointed to an influential Washington-based appellate court, served early in her career as a Supreme Court clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer, whose retirement announced in January opens up a vacancy on the nation's top judicial body. As a member of the federal judiciary, Jackson has earned respect from liberals and conservatives alike and is well-connected in the close-knit Washington legal community. Progressives favored her nomination over the other leading candidates: South Carolina-based U.S. District Court judge J. Michelle Childs and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger. The Senate voted 53-44 in June last year to confirm Jackson as a member of the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In her short time on the appeals court, she has authored two majority opinions, including one in favor of public sector unions challenging a regulation issued during Republican former President Donald Trump's administration that restricted their bargaining power. She was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in December against Trump's bid to prevent White House records from being handed over to the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters. The Supreme Court on Jan. 20 declined to block that decision. Jackson also was part of a three-judge panel that refused last August to block the Biden administration's COVID-19 pandemic-related residential eviction moratorium, a decision that was later overturned by the Supreme Court. 'PRESIDENTS ARE NOT KINGS' Jackson previously won Senate confirmation in 2013 after Democratic former President Barack Obama nominated her as a Washington-based federal district judge. In her eight years in that role, she handled a number of high-profile cases including one in which she ruled that Trump's one-time chief White House lawyer, Donald McGahn, had to comply with a congressional subpoena for testimony about potential Trump obstruction of a special counsel investigation. 'The primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings,' Jackson wrote. The ruling was appealed and, after Biden took office, a settlement was reached. McGahn testified behind closed doors. he Honorable Sri Srinivasan, left, the Honorable Judge David Tatel who sit on U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, center, and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who sits on U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia walk into a ceremonial courtroom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit In other decisions, Jackson in 2019 blocked Trump's plan to expedite removal of certain immigrants and in 2018 ruled against his administration's proposal to make it easier to fire federal employees - decisions later reversed by the appellate court on which she now serves. Biden had pledged during the 2020 presidential election campaign to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court. It has had only two Black justices, both men: Clarence Thomas, appointed in 1991 and still serving, and Thurgood Marshall, who retired in 1991 and died in 1993. During her April 2021 confirmation hearing for her current job, Jackson said her background, both personal and professional, would 'bring value' to the bench, though she rejected suggestions by Republican senators that race could affect her rulings. 'I've experienced life in perhaps a different way than some of my colleagues because of who I am,' Jackson said. Three Republican senators joined Biden's fellow Democrats in voting to confirm Jackson. Jackson would become the sixth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court, joining current members Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, the retired Sandra Day O'Connor and the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 'PROFESSIONAL VAGABOND' Biden has sought to bring more women and minorities and a broader range of backgrounds to a federal judiciary dominated by jurists who had been corporate lawyers or prosecutors. Jackson was raised in Miami and attended Harvard University, where she once shared a scene in a drama class with future Hollywood star Matt Damon, before graduating from Harvard Law School in 1996. Jackson in 2017 described herself as a 'professional vagabond' earlier in her legal career, moving from job to job as she sought a work-life balance while raising a family. She and husband Patrick Jackson, a surgeon, have two daughters. She worked from 2005 to 2007 as a court-appointed lawyer paid by the government to represent criminal defendants who could not afford counsel. Among her clients was Khi Ali Gul, an Afghan detainee at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The United States sent him back to Afghanistan in 2014 when she was no longer involved in the case. Jackson worked from 2002 to 2004 for Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer known for overseeing compensation programs including one for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. She also had two separate stints at the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which issues guidance to judges on criminal sentencing, including a four year stint starting in 2010 as the Senate-confirmed vice chair. Jackson in 2020 paid tribute to Breyer during a virtual conference in which they both participated, saying he 'opened doors of opportunities' not just through his judicial decisions but also by hiring a diverse group of law clerks. 'As a descendant of slaves,' Jackson added, 'let me just say that, Justice (Breyer), your thoughtfulness in that regard has made a world of difference.' Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is married to a Washington D.C. surgeon and has two kids FAMILY MATTERS Jackson has personal experience with the federal system. Her distant uncle, Thomas Brown Jr., was serving a life sentence in Florida for a nonviolent drug crime. He wrote to her asking for help with his case. He was sentenced to life under a 'three strikes' law. After a referral from Jackson, the powerhouse law firm Wilmer Hale took his case pro bono, and President Barack Obama years later commuted his sentence. When Obama appointed her to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, she helped rewrite guidelines to reduce recommended penalties for drug-related offenses. Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., to two public school teachers, who moved her family to the Miami area when she was a child. Her parents, she said, named her 'Ketanji Onyika' to express pride in their African ancestry. Her father would later become an attorney with the Miami-Dade County School Board and her mother a principal at a public magnet school. She and her husband, Patrick Jackson, a surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, have two daughters. She is related by marriage to former House Speaker Paul Ryan. Jackson's husband is the twin brother of Ryan's brother-in-law. 'Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family,' Ryan tweeted on Friday. 'Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal.' - Reuters and Associated Press Advertisement Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, would not change the ideological balance of the Supreme Court if confirmed by the Senate. Jackson would be the current court's second Black justice - conservative Justice Clarence Thomas is the other - and just the third in history. She was part of the Biden administration's first slate of judicial nominations last year. The Senate confirmed her to the D.C. Circuit in June on a vote of 53-44, with support from all 50 members of the Democratic caucus and Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Graham, however, took a negative tone about Jackson's nomination. He was an advocate for Michelle Childs, a federal judge in his home state of South Carolina. The Republican senator, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Jackson's nomination 'means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again. The attacks by the Left on Judge Childs from South Carolina apparently worked.' 'I expect a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated,' he wrote on Twitter. Advocates for Childs pointed to her state university background and more diversified experience. But Republican Senator John Cornyn, who also sits on the judiciary panel, said Jackson would get fair treatment. 'No matter what, Judge Jackson will be given the dignity and respect she deserves. The American people will see a starkly different process from the treatment of Justice Kavanaugh and other judicial nominees during the previous Administration,' he said in a statement. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he looks forward to meeting with Jackson and 'studying her record, legal views, and judicial philosophy.' But he also appeared to express skepticism, noting he voted against her a year ago. In its announcement of Jackson's nomination, the White House noted she's had bipartisan support in the past: 'Judge Jackson has been confirmed by the Senate with votes from Republicans as well as Democrats three times.' Jackson replaced Merrick Garland on the D.C. bench after he left the judiciary to become attorney general. She also worked as one of Breyer's law clerks early in her legal career. She attended Harvard as an undergraduate and for law school. Jackson previously served as an assistant federal public defender and as the vice chairwoman of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, an independent agency which provides sentencing guidelines for the federal courts. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, center, talks with D.C. high school students who have come to observe a reenactment of a landmark Supreme court case at U.S. Court of Appeals in December In a 1996 photo (from left), Antoinette Coakley, Nina Coleman, Lisa Fairfax and Ketanji Brown Jackson Friday marks the two-year anniversary of Joe Biden's promise to name a black woman to the Supreme Court Biden also considered Leondra Kruger, 45, who sits on the California Supreme Court, (left) and Michelle Childs, 55, a federal district court judge from Columbia, South Carolina (right) Jackson has personal experience with the federal system. Her distant uncle, Thomas Brown Jr., was serving a life sentence in Florida for a nonviolent drug crime. He wrote to her asking for help with his case. He was sentenced to life under a 'three strikes' law. After a referral from Jackson, the powerhouse law firm Wilmer Hale took his case pro bono, and President Barack Obama years later commuted his sentence. When Obama appointed her to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, she helped rewrite guidelines to reduce recommended penalties for drug-related offenses. Additionally, Jackson's brother, Ketajh Brown, served with the Baltimore Police Department from October 2001 through May 2008 in undercover drug stings. One of her uncles was Miamis police chief, and another was a sex crimes detective. As a trial court judge, Jackson ordered former White House Counsel Don McGahn to appear before Congress, declaring 'presidents are not kings.' Presidents, she wrote, 'do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control.' That was a setback to former President Donald Trumps efforts to keep his top aides from testifying before lawmakers. The case was appealed, and a deal was ultimately reached for McGahns testimony. Another highly visible case that Jackson oversaw involved the online conspiracy theory 'pizzagate,' which revolved around false internet rumors about prominent Democrats harboring child sex slaves at a Washington pizza restaurant. A North Carolina man showed up at the restaurant with an assault rifle and a revolver. Jackson called it 'sheer luck' no one was injured and sentenced him to four years in prison. Jackson also issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that blocked the Trump administration from expanding its power to deport migrants who illegally entered the United States by using a fast-track process. GOP Sen. Ben Sasse urged President Biden to get tougher with sanctions on the 'mobster cronies' who 'enable Putin's madness' as lawmakers have urged the president to sanction the Russian leader's riches personally. 'We need to have targeted sanctions on the 16 oligarchs, the mobster cronies who enable Putin's madness,' Sasse, R-Neb., said on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Friday. 'These guys, we need a made-for-TV 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous A**holes,'' he suggested. On Thursday Biden announced his sanction tranche of sanctions as Russian troops descended on Ukraine and missiles and bombs hailed down from the sky and Ukrainians were forced to take cover for the night in bomb shelters and underground subway stations. The sanctions targeted the families of those close to Vladimir Putin as well as senior executives at Kremlin-linked banks. They will now be subject to 'full blocking sanctions' meaning they are cut off from the U.S. financial system, any assets they hold in the United States are frozen, and they are barred from entering the U.S. Sasse said that while many Americans 'could not find Ukraine on a map,' he believes 'ultimately Americans are going to make a wise and smart choice about understanding why our rooting interest here should be against the evil Vladimir Putin because the guy's got big-a** weapons, and he's evil.' Former Sec. Hillary Clinton agreed that Biden must more aggressively attack the wealth of Putin's cronies. 'We've got to go after those oligarchs who are supporting Putin financially. They need to pay a price, whether their yachts are seized or their homes are seized...This is a critical moment, and we've got to bring maximum pressure on Putin as quickly as possible,' she said on Morning Joe. Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., joined the sea of voices calling on President Biden to sanction Putin personally. 'We need to have targeted sanctions on the 16 oligarchs, the mobster cronies who enable Putin's madness,' Sen. Ben Sasse said Sasse said Americans are going to understand why the U.S. needs to support Ukraine because Putin is 'evil' and has 'big-a** weapons' 'The strength & resolve we have seen from the Ukrainian people is incredible, but the U.S. must do more. We must issue devastating personal sanctions on Putin & his cronies & focus on crippling the Russian economy & the oligarchy,' he wrote on Twitter. 'Why not personally sanction Vladimir Putin?' Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, added on Twitter. Biden curiously left out sanctions on the mega-wealthy leader of Russia. He said that sanctioning Putin's personal assets was 'on the table' but did not answer a question as to why he hadn't done so yet. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., went after Putin's 'greed' after news that the Russian president's $81 million yacht was hightailing out of Germany. 'Putin, a multi-billionaire, is the poster boy for greed and oligarchy. Maybe, before starting a war that could kill thousands and displace millions, he might worry more about the people of Ukraine and Russia and less about his precious super-yacht,' Sanders wrote. Putin is rumored to have a personal fortune of hundreds of billions, possibly making him the richest man in the world, but it has never been confirmed. Forbes recently called it 'the most elusive riddle in wealth hunting.' Vladimir Putin's superyacht 'The Graceful' in the Kiel Canal. The ship is leaving its German port before possible sanctions The Nebraska Republican also went after those who are arguing for non-interventionism, some of whom are within his own party. 'Those advocating for indifference [toward Russia's invasion of Ukraine] are wrong,' and not all are taking that stand 'in good faith.' Many are 'trying to score cheap political points,' he said. Most notably Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance represented a small-but-vocal wing of the GOP that believes the U.S. should stay out of the conflict. He said this week the invasion 'has nothing to do with our national security' and it is 'distracting our idiot 'leaders' from focusing on the things that actually do matter to our national security, like securing the border & stopping the flow of Fentanyl that's killing American kids.' As he made his argument for tougher sanctions, Sasse detailed discord between U.S. agencies. 'There is not nearly the urgency at the Treasury Department and the State Department that there is at the Intel community and at the Pentagon,' he said. Sasse also called out the United Kingdom, saying that London needs to do more to crack down on Russian wealth 'bouncing all over London.' 'We need the Brits, who have been great allies in general, to step up and acknowledge there's a ton of Russian billionaire money bouncing all over London and we ought to perp walk them out of the country,' he said. A man clears debris at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell allegedly hit, on February 25 A soldier walks past the debris of a military plane that was shot down overnight in Kiev, Ukraine, 25 Aftermath of an overnight shelling at a residential area in Kiev, Ukraine, 25 February 'Their kids should be kicked out of the country and they should go back and live in Moscow's hell holes with Putin because they are the ones enabling him. They don't want to live with him but they love to make money off him. There need to be more consequences for them and we need to act faster.' Members of Boris Johnson's own Tory Party accused the Prime Minister of 'encouraging' Putin's invasion with his 'pathetic sanctions' on Monday. After the criticism, Johnson got tougher Friday as he announced 10 separate strands of measures to inflict 'significant' impact on Moscow's economy on Thursday - with officials saying they should knock several percentage points off its GDP. The assets of all major Russian banks - including VTB - will be frozen, while new legislation will block the state and all the country's major firms from being able to raise money on London markets. Johnson pointed out that half Russia's trade is currently in dollars and sterling. The government says over 100 people, entities and subsidiaries will be subject to sanctions, including defense giant Rostec. There will be travel bans and asset restrictions on five more named individuals - including Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter. A fuming boyfriend tried to walk 40 miles to his home in Cardiff on the London-Swansea railway line after a row with his girlfriend and held up trains for more than three hours. Callum Edwards, 25, left his partners house in Briton Ferry near Swansea after a spat in July last year and jumped onto the railway tracks as he attempted to trek home to Fairwater. A court heard that all trains between Port Talbot and Bridgend were stopped, and police mounted a search operation to find him. After more than three hours, Edwards was found by officers hiding in track-side bushes by Baglan railway station near Port Talbot. The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to obstructing an engine using a railway at Swansea Crown Court. He was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and abide by a three-month nightly curfew. Callum Edwards, 25, left his partners house in Briton Ferry near Swansea after a spat in July last year and jumped onto the railway tracks as he attempted to trek home to Fairwater. A court heard that all trains between Port Talbot and Bridgend were stopped, and police mounted a search operation to find him. After more than three hours, Edwards was found by officers hiding in track-side bushes by Baglan railway station near Port Talbot Judge Paul Thomas QC told Edwards that what he had done on the day in question was wholly irresponsible and had caused huge inconvenience and disruption for many people. Edwards has six previous convictions for seven offences, and at the time of the incident was subject to a community order imposed by magistrates in Cardiff in October 2020 for sending a series of abusive messages to a former partner. Judge Thomas warned the defendant he had avoided immediate custody by the skin of your teeth, adding that if he committed any offence in the next two years he would be brought back to court and sent straight to prison. Prosecutor Hannah George told the court Edwards told police he had been at his girlfriends house but had argued with her, and wanted to go home to Cardiff. A Google Map view of Baglan railway station near Port Talbot She said: He said he hadnt known the way to Cardiff but knew the railway tracks went that way so decided to walk home. Edwards estimated at least five trains had passed him while he was walking. Hywel Davies, for Edwards, said the defendants actions were the result of sheer stupidity and flawed logic. He added that Edwards was currently living a stable but fragile life, and had shared custody of his two young daughters. The mayor of one of California's most crime-ridden cities said Thursday that efforts to defund her city's police department went 'too far' after it saw violent crime surge to levels not seen in 15 years following the movement's introduction in the summer of 2020. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf asserted to Politico in a sit-down interview that her city urgently needs to address the 'root causes' of rising crime, mere months after the Democrat pulled an abrupt about-face on the anti-cop campaign at the end of last year after seeing murders and violent crimes surge to concerning levels. 'I think it was a correction to the "defund" conversation, which I personally think went too far and got convoluted,' Schaaf, a Democrat who previously championed the movement, told Politico. 'I think everyone agrees we need to invest far more into prevention, into the root causes of crime, and particularly into our mental health system, which is completely failing us, both when you look at crime as well as homelessness,' Schaaf said. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said her city needs to address the 'root causes' of rising crime and homeless numbers, mere months after the Democrat pulled an about-face on the anti-cop campaign at the end of last year, after seeing murders and violent crimes surge in 2021 The city, located a stone's throw from San Francisco - which is struggling with its own surge in violent crime - recorded 134 murders in 2021, nearly double the 78 that came two years before in 2019. Oakland also recorded nearly 7000 violent crimes last year, with many coming in a bloody crime wave around Thanksgiving. Among the dead were retired police officer and father of two Kevin Nishita, as well as a 1-year-old boy hit by a stray bullet as he sat in the back of his mother's car. Both killings occurred in broad daylight. The concerning increase alarmed Schaaf, she said, spurring the city to implement a proposal in December to add two new police academies, unfreeze positions within the department and employ 60 new officers. The move was an abrupt reversal to a decision by the city council last June that would have slashed $18.5 million from the Oakland Police Department's budget, a move criticized by Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, who said at the time that 'crime is out of control' in the city. The city, located a stone's throw from similarly crime-ridden San Francisco, recorded 134 murders in 2021 - nearly double the 78 that came two years before in 2019, before the movement began 'There is a clear problem in this city,' Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said late last year, addressing the wave of violent crime and rising murder rates. 'It's been particularly heart-wrenching in Oakland because we had just made national headlines for cutting gun violence in half and sustaining those lower rates for five years,' Schaaf, who was elected in 2015, said. She was referring to the city's high homicide rate, which reached levels not seen since 2006, when the city recorded a then-abnormal 148 killings. The levels then fluctuated in the double digits for the next decade-and-a-half, before abruptly spiking from the 78 seen in 2019 to 109 in 2020 - the same years calls for defunding the police, spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement, were introduced in earnest. 'When we saw this surge come up during the pandemic - and, let's also be honest, after George Floyd, after this country just saw its faith in government justice compromised - we were just heartbroken,' Schaaf added. The city saw nearly 7000 violent crimes, the second-most in the entire state Oaklands police force of sworn officers now stands at 676, dipping below a 2014 voter-approved measure that required the police department to have at least 678 sworn officers. The city, which boasts a population of more than 400,000, began this year with 723. 'When we listen to the communities that have been most impacted,' Schaaf said Thursday, 'And when you look at gun violence, the communities that are paying the highest price are the communities that are paying the highest price in all areas, whether it's income inequality, food insecurity, [or] housing insecurity.' After initially supporting the Defund Police movement, Schaaf backtracked on her stance in December and proposed a plan to hire 60 more police officers, which was promptly passed She added: 'So we are hearing loud and clear that justice is something that they want.' Oakland, notorious for rampant gang and gun violence in the 80s and 90s that stretched into the early 2000s, had cleaned itself up over the past decade after Oakland District Attorney Nancy O'Malley, who has a reputation as being tough on crime and has employed prosecutors from across the country to address the violence, was appointed in 2009. The Alameda County representative has opposed criminal justice reforms and managed to win the support of police unions in 2018. So far in 2022, the average number of violent crimes seen in the city has surpassed the amount seen in the same span last year, when crime reached heights not seen since the mid 2000s The Oakland City Council has been considered a longtime ally of the Black Lives Matter movement but has turned back to supporting police as violent crime spikes (Pictured: A protester holds a sign calling for the defunding of police at a protest on July 25, 2020, in Oakland) Barry Donelan, president of the Oakland Police Officers' Association, said late last year that officers are 'leaving in droves' for other cities where they would not be chided by 'Defund the Police' supporters. He also urged council members to thank police rather than malign them. Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong also said in a news conference at the time: 'I'm asking council members to step up and start having a conversation about the loss of life in this city.' 'Shootings are a real indication of the increase in violence in our community,' Armstrong added. 'To see shootings up 50 percent is really concerning.' The city of Oakland had previously voted to cut the police department's budget but have backtracked in December with plans to increase cop numbers (Pictured: Oakland police investigate a fatal shooting where one person was killed and a former Oakland police Capt. was shot multiple times in a robbery attempt on October 21) The Fresno County District Attorney has criticized Governor Newsom and branded him 'either ignorant... or a liar' over comments he made praising the work state laws have done to reduce crime, despite an uptick in crime rates. Governor Gavin Newsom previously claimed that a number of measures, including Proposition 47, Proposition 57 and Assembly Bill 109 had all helped to reduce crime in California, Fox News reported. He also appeared to suggest that more work needs to be carried out by law enforcement officers and state attorneys if the state is going to see reduced crime rates. Governor Gavin Newsom (pictured on November 10, 2021) has been largely blamed for the state's spike in crime after his support for Proposition 47 California's Proposition 47 - lighter sentences for thieves Proposition 47 was passed by California voters on November 5, 2014. It made some 'non-violent' property crimes, where the value of the stolen goods does not exceed $950, into misdemeanors. It also made some 'simple' drug possession offenses into misdemeanors, and allows past convictions for these charges to be reduced to a misdemeanor by a court. Under California law, though, if two or more person's conspire to 'cheat and defraud any person or any property, by any means which are in themselves criminal' they can face no more than one year in county prison, a fine of $10,000 or a combination of the two. Advertisement Gov. Newsom, who survived a recall election in September last year, has been repeatedly called 'woke' by conservatives because of his criminal justice stances. Newsom's support for Proposition 47, for example, is well documented. The three state laws were introduced under former Governor Jerry Brown, under whom Newsom had worked for eight years. Proposition 47 downgraded some felonies to misdemeanors, Proposition 57 reduced prison sentences and Assembly Bill 109 moved detainees from state prisons to local jails. However, contrary to Newsom's comments, the number of high-profile murders taking place in California has been on the rise. Homicides in LA have grown nearly 40 percent since 2019 after the county reported nearly 400 murders at the end of 2021. In 2019, LA reported a total of 252 homicides, the lowest since 2014. Then in 2020, murders shot up to 343 and continued to rise in 2021 as LA reported 397 deaths by the end of the year. Turning attention from the three laws he had praised, Newsom also seemed to suggest more work needed to be done by law enforcement officers and district attorneys. He said: 'We need arrests and we need prosecution. We need people held to account. No one condones that behavior quite the contrary.' He added that he believes Proposition 47 has been used as an excuse not to make arrests or hold people accountable for their crimes. Shoppers today called on UK supermarkets to stand with Ukraine by renaming chicken kievs 'chicken kyivs' to show solidarity with the country as it battles Russian invaders. 'Kiev' was the standardised spelling for the city under Soviet rule, but recent Russian aggression has seen more Western institutions heed calls to abandon it in favour of the Ukrainian alternative. Today Twitter users took the campaign to the aisles, with one calling on the major supermarkets to 'immediately rename chicken KIEV chicken KYIV in respect of [sic] Ukraine (Kiev is the Russian spelling)'. Scott Clarke agreed, asking Marks & Spencers if they could make the change 'as a small gesture of solidarity to our Ukrainian friends'. MailOnline has contacted the main supermarkets for comment. 'Kiev' was the standardised spelling for the city under Soviet rule, but recent Russian aggression has seen more Western institutions heed calls to abandon it in favour of the Ukrainian alternative Today Twitter users took the campaign to the aisles, with one calling on the major supermarkets to 'immediately rename chicken KIEV chicken KYIV in respect of [sic] Ukraine (Kiev is the Russian spelling)' The Daily Mail today announced it would start to use 'Kyiv' in its articles, calling it a 'show of support for an independent people being crushed by an authoritarian monster'. The UK Government has been referring to its embassy as being based in 'Kyiv' for years, with an Internet archive showing this had been the case until records began in 2014. Ministers are also increasingly using the new pronunciation. Ukraine's capital is known as in Ukrainian and in Russian. Both terms do not have a direct translation into the Roman alphabet, with Kiev, Kyiv, Kyyiv or Kiyev all being possibilities. But the spelling 'Kiev' is intrinsically linked with the old USSR due to its widespread use by the British and Americans while the city was under Soviet rule. Young Ukrainians see 'Kiev' as a relic of the Soviet past, and this view is now shared by the government, which launched a 'KyivNotKiev' campaign in 2018. Pic: The country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy This continued after independence in 1991, until 'Kyiv' was legally approved by the Ukrainian government. It was not until the Maidan uprising of 2014 the issue hit the public consciousness, with the ousting of pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych and the creation of a new administration seeking closer ties to the West. Young Ukrainians see 'Kiev' as a relic of the Soviet past, and this view is now shared by the government, which launched a 'KyivNotKiev' campaign in 2018. For James Caan, The Godfather remains the don of all movies five decades after its premiere. The actor, who provided some of the most memorable movie moments in history through his portrayal of quick-tempered Sonny Corleone, never considered how big The Godfather would become while he was shooting the Oscar-winning mobster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Advertisement But as The Godfather celebrates its 50th anniversary, Caans still glad Coppola made him an offer he couldnt refuse: to join a mob of movie masters making one of the greatest films of all time. Francis genius was not just in directing that film. It was gathering a group of experts who became the experts, Caan told the Daily News, praising the movies cinematographer, sound editor and all-star cast. Advertisement James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Cazale (left to right) in "The Godfather." (Paramount Pictures) The story, there were a lot of angles in it that had to touch one of us in the audience, Caan said. Some could have said, Wow, that was a really strong (story) about the family. Somebody else couldve said, See how that works as a gangster? ... Whatever it was, there was enough out there to interest somebody, no matter what they did for a living. Originally released on March 24, 1972, The Godfather is back in Dolby cinemas at AMC Theatres for a limited run beginning Friday to commemorate the upcoming anniversary. On March 22, restored versions of the three Godfather films become available on 4K Ultra HD for the first time. Caan, 81, says sharing laughs with the cast and crew was a highlight as they made the movie about New York crime boss Don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, and the transformation of his youngest son, Al Pacinos Michael, from war veteran to ruthless mafioso. The actor also recalls the intense moments on set, including filming the brutal death of Sonny, who was gunned down by rival gangsters at a highway toll plaza. What I remember most was, Wow, I didnt know I could be that frightened. They had bullets all over the place, Caan said of the scene. I had 147 squibs on my body and in my jacket. ... Pretty loud squibs, too. James Caan (right) with Al Pacino in "The Godfather." (Paramount Pictures) It went all over the place, parts of my suit, Caan said. It was pretty hairy, and I was very happy to be done with it. Despite his characters early death, Caan believes Sonny emerged as a fan favorite because he wore his heart on his sleeve and served as his familys keeper of peace by being violent. [ As Goodfellas turns 30, star Ray Liotta reflects on making the classic mobster movie ] Caan, who was born in the Bronx and grew up in Queens, says hes grateful Coppola trusted him to bring his own interpretation to Sonny, the dons eldest son, including in the iconic scene where the character beats up his sisters abusive husband, Carlo, using his fists and a trash can. Advertisement He let me go, because I came from the neighborhood that he was writing about. ... He left bada bing and all of that, the way I spoke, and throwing the money on the street, Caan said. If you broke anything, it was OK, as long as you paid for it. All of that stuff is what I grew up with. Not everyone was Sonny Corleone, but I mean, thats the way people were. James Caan at the 50th anniversary celebration of The Godfather in Los Angeles on Tuesday. (ABImages/Paramount Pictures) Based on Mario Puzos 1969 The Godfather novel, the film won Oscars for best picture, best adapted screenplay and best actor for Brando, while Caan earned a nomination for best supporting actor. Caan now laughs about being surprised to learn at the movies premiere that Coppola cut a 10-page scene involving his character. This is a good opportunity to admit to the world, to everybody, what a ridiculous person I am. ... When [Michael is] going to kill the cop, before that, there was a big scene that Francis cut, and I was just infuriated, so when we went down to the party after the screening, at the hotel, I didnt even want to talk to Francis, Caan recalled with a big chuckle. I just say Im a selfish son of a gun. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 20 The cat held by Marlon Brando in the opening scene was a stray found on the lot at Paramount and was not originally called for in the script. (Af Archive / Alamy Stock Photo) Caan applauds Coppola for knowing so much, and in detail, about lighting and sound and acting, and believes The Godfather had the perfect combination of cast members and filmmakers for people to consider it the best movie of all time. I want to know who doesnt, Caan joked. I want to go after them. A Ukrainian woman who emerged bloodied but alive and was photographed in a now-iconic image after a Russian missile strike has shown off her love of nature in a set of charming pictures from before Putin invaded. Schoolteacher Olena Kurilo, 53, has seen her blood-covered face become the archetypal image associated with the invasion of Ukraine. Speaking with a heavily bandaged face outside her destroyed home in Chuguev, Kharkiv, in the northeast of Ukraine, on Thursday, she said she was 'very lucky' and admitted 'I must have a guardian angel' to have survived the attack. The teacher said she 'never thought that this would truly happen in my lifetime' as, her voice catching in her throat, she described the damage to her 'completely destroyed' house. Schoolteacher Olena Kurilo, 53, has shown off her love of nature in photos from before Russia's war with Ukraine She was able to enjoy the natural world before Putin invaded Ukraine. Olena Kurilo in a blue dress with white flowers (left) and in a pink dress standing in a tree with pink flowers (right) Olena Kurilo, whose blood-covered face has become an iconic image of the invasion of Ukraine, has vowed to 'do everything for my motherland' after she survived a Russian missile attack on Thursday morning Ms Kurilo managed to survive the missile strike on her home near Kharkiv, which is close to the Russian border Russia on Thursday morning launched simultaneous attacks from the south, east and north, by land and by air, minutes after Putin gave an extraordinary address to the nation in which he declared a 'special military operation' to 'de-militarise' and 'de-Nazify' Ukraine in what amounted to an outright declaration of war. Since then Russia's war with Ukraine has intensified as Putin's forces launched a brutal pincer movement around the capital of Kyiv. Russian forces continued their brutal offensive into Ukraine today as they circled the capital city Kyiv. The schoolteacher has a keen passion for all things natural (pictured here holding a grapevine) Russian forces continued their brutal offensive into Ukraine today as they circled the capital city Kyiv The Ukrainian military - joined by civilians who answered the call to arms - positioned themselves ready for the onslaught. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Vladimir Putin plans to encircle Ukrainian forces in Kyiv and force them to either surrender or be destroyed, and the leadership of Ukraine could then fall in a week. A former senior US intelligence officer told Newsweek: 'After the air and artillery end and the ground war really starts, I think Kyiv falls in just a few days. After a missile strike hit her home she said she 'never thought that this would truly happen in my lifetime' as, her voice catching in her throat, she described the damage to her 'completely destroyed' house Speaking with a heavily bandaged face outside her destroyed home in Chuguev, Kharkiv, in the northeast of Ukraine, on Thursday, she said she was 'very lucky' On Thursday she said she 'must have a guardian angel' to have survived the attack in northeastern Ukraine Firemen extinguish a fire inside a residential building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv after it was hit by a missile strike early on Friday morning Rifles were also handed out to civilians and volunteers as President Zelensky urged any European willing to defend the country to travel to Ukraine and join in the defence Ukrainian soldiers are pictured forming up across a highway in Kyiv as they prepare to defend the city from Russian attackers, with gunfire and explosions heard in the centre of the capital 'The military may last slightly longer but this isn't going to last long.' A source close to the Ukrainian government said they agreed that Kyiv will be surrounded within 96 hours but believed the government will stay strong and not collapse. In a bid to thwart the imminent capture of the city, Emmanuel Macron spoke to Vladimir Putin on Thursday night, who gave the French leader an 'exhaustive' explanation of his justification for war. The Kremlin said the call took place at Macron's initiative, and he and Putin agreed to stay in contact. Volodymyr Zelensky, 44, the president of Ukraine, has also signed a decree on the general mobilisation of the population within 90 days, but men aged 18-60 are banned from leaving the country. Labour's youth wing has been blocked from its own Twitter account after clashes with party leadership over the current crisis in Ukraine. The Young Labour Twitter account was used by party leadership to say that the wing's access to the account had been suspended for being 'actively detrimental to the party's core objectives'. Young Labour had come under fire in recent weeks for its heavy criticism of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's vocal support for Government actions over the Ukraine crisis. The Twitter account was used on February 17 to accuse NATO of 'aggression' and criticise Sir Keir for his full-throated support for the organisation during the run-up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The group also accused Boris Johnson of 'warmongering' in the wake of the invasion yesterday - saying he had done 'nothing to end the crisis in a peaceful way'. Young Labour chair Jessica Barnard responded to the suspension saying that 'it is important young members are not bullied into silence'. The youth wing is chaired by left-wing activist Jess Barnard and the group have voted in favour of a UK withdrawal from NATO in the past - directly conflicting with the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer The Young Labour account was used by party leadership to announce that the youth wing's committee had had their access to their verified Twitter revoked The suspension comes as Labour leadership are reportedly slashing funds to the youth wing and cancelling the series of Young Labour events at the party's Annual Conference in September. The statement read: 'We regret to inform you that access to the [Young Labour] Twitter account has been restricted until further notice. 'As an official channel for the Youth Wing of the Labour Party, we expect certain standards of behaviour from those with responsibility for this page's output. 'In particular, it has become apparent that the account has recently become actively detrimental to the Party's core objectives: to promote Labour candidates and policies, and to win elections. 'We will be liaising with the Young Labour committee and representatives to ensure there is transparency and accountability for future posts from this account.' The group posted a thread after the invasion of Ukraine in which it claimed that the Prime Minister had been 'warmongering' and had done nothing to bring the conflict to a peaceful resolution Jess Barnard took to her Twitter to respond to the revocation and said: 'We are deeply disappointed by the decision of the Labour Party to block our social media access without any prior warning or discussion with the committee. 'The Young Labour committee was democratically elected by young members on a platform of socialism and autonomy and has fought to uphold those values throughout. 'We have tried to work with the Party at every stage and our efforts repeatedly rebuked. 'We hope to resolve this issue immediately and are seeking dialogue with the party. 'It is important that young members are not bullied into silence and we will continue to push for a democratic and autonomous Young Labour. 'We fear this move will have the effect of encouraging young members to leave the Party ahead of the Young Labour and Labour Students elections this summer. 'We strongly encourage young members to remain in the Party and use their voice in these elections. 'In solidarity.' The group has been singled out heavy criticism by centrist sections of the party and accused them of parroting Russian narratives intending to justify the war in Ukraine. After the criticism for their NATO criticism, the youth wing said: 'While we accept difference in policy positions to the current leadership of our party, we are especially concerned in this instance to see Keir Starmer pushing not only for further engagement with NATO, but celebrating it while attacking Stop The War and other pro-peace activists. 'NATOs acts of aggression both historical and present are a threat to all of our safety. Young Labour's delegates from across our membership and affiliates voted that we should withdraw from NATO and pursue an international policy based on peace, adopting this as official policy. Jess Barnard used her personal Twitter to respond to the revocation on behalf of the youth wing's committee 'Stoking up tension, macho posturing & trying to 'out do' the Tories on hawkish foreign policy will only lead to further devastation, loss of life and displacement of people across the world. 'We offer solidarity with those organising against this, including members of Stop the War. Some pointed out that it was Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee who led the UK into Nato in 1949 as one of the organisation's founding members and that this rejection of the alliance was against his legacy. Former special adviser to Boris Johnson Gabriel Milland tweeted that the members responsible should: 'Maybe join a party with a different set of values and history then?' National Secretary of Jewish Labour Adam Langleben wrote sarcastically: I'm certain Putin is up for this. No doubt in my mind. Man of peace.' Twitter users took issue with the claims that NATO were aggressors in the Ukraine crisis, slamming them for their lack of concern for potential Ukrainian victims of a Russian invasion. One wrote: 'Young Labour have more solidarity with The Stop Some Wars Coalition than they do with Ukrainian victims of Russian imperialism.' A person who claimed to be a Labour member said: 'Young Labour are a total embarrassment to the Party.' Sir Keir used media appearances before the invasion to try and paint Labour as the 'party of NATO' and has heavily criticised former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for 'siding with Britain's enemies'. Sir Keir also used a visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels to blast organisations including the Stop The War Coalition - a group launched in 2001 to oppose US military action following the 9/11 terrorist attacks - of which Mr Corbyn is deputy leader. 'Labour has too often been on the wrong side of international issues. Young Labour calls on the leadership to stop backing NATO aggression, call wholeheartedly for peace, commit to constructive engagement with activists and deliver international policy around peace and cooperation.' Sir Keir added: 'Nobody wants war. At first glance, some on the left may be sympathetic to those siren voices who condemn NATO. The left-wing youth section of Labour posted the anti-NATO thread in response to Sir Keir's vocal support of the alliance 'But to condemn NATO is to condemn the guarantee of democracy and security it brings, and which our allies in eastern and central Europe are relying on, as the sabre-rattling from Moscow grows ever louder. 'That's why the likes of the Stop the War coalition are not benign voices for peace. At best they are naive; at worst they actively give succour to authoritarian leaders who directly threaten democracies. A California woman has sued police in the Bay Area for allegedly using excessive force after part of her scalp was ripped off by a K-9 that mauled her 'for several minutes' until an officer had to physically remove its jaw from her head, following a robbery at an Ulta beauty shop. Talmika Bates, 26, claims she was traumatized by a German Shepherd named Marco after it went after her and chewed on her scalp during a shoplifting arrest on February 10, 2020, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday. Bates, who was 24 at the time of the incident, was on the lam after she robbed about $10,000 worth of cosmetic products from an Ulta Beauty Supply store, along with two other women. The suspects fled the scene by car and ran out of the vehicle after police had chased and attempted to stop them. Brentwood Police Officer Ryan Rezentes had to pull the police dog away from Bates' head after it didn't obey commands at least twice, according to reports. The moment was recorded by officers' body-worn cameras and released by Bates' attorneys. In the footage, Bates can be seen hiding in a field among some bushes before police respond to her screaming after they unleashed a K-9 to find her. After finding her and biting her head, Marco finally lets go and Bates was assisted by officers to get out of the bushes. Her skull was partially red as parts of it no longer had any scalp on it and her hair was also torn off. 'My whole brain is bleeding,' a shocked Bates says in the graphic video. The lawsuit cites Rezentes and other officers from the incident as responsible for not warning Bates of the K-9 being unleashed to find her in the bushes. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING GRAPHIC: Marco, the K-9 that tore Talmika Batess scalp (pictured), had maul her 'for several minutes' after being unleashed by Brentwood police WARNING GRAPHIC: Body-cam footage from the incident shows a police dog ripping off Talmika Batess scalp (left and right) after she was hiding in a bush in an attempt to not be found by police, who wanted to arrest her for shoplifting WARNING GRAPHIC: Bates said she needed reattachment surgery following the K9 incident Brentwood Police Department officer Ryan Rezentes is pictured with Marco, the German Sheppard who reportedly refused to listen to commands at least twice before he was taken off the victim by Rezentes Patrick Buelna, one of Bates' two lawyers along with Adante Pointiner, told the New York Post that the police officers' only response to her client's cries for help and medical assistance was that she 'should not have run.' 'Talmika says she still has nightmares of the dog grinding and chewing on her head,' Buelna said. 'She says that she felt like she was going to die that day and really did not believe she'd live to tell her story, but is alive and thankful. She had to have her scalp surgically reattached to her head. She suffers severe depression and remains traumatized from the mauling.' 'Officers Rezentes and Lou yelled at Ms. Bates to stand up, an impossible task, as leaves and twigs scraped against her open head wounds,' according to a court document. 'Eventually, Officer Lou helped Ms. Bates to her feet and placed her in handcuffs. The Officers berated Ms. Bates for running from police as if getting her head bit and mauled by a vicious canine was a lawful and appropriate punishment for her crimes.' Bates' defense also accused Rezentes of covering up details of the incident after he wrote in a police report that no reinforcements came through, which Rezentes said made him ponder whether or not to physically remove the dog off of Bates. The attorneys said footage showed another officer reassuring Rezentes that he would not shoot the dog while it was chewing on Bates' scalp. 'Officer Rezentes failed to mention that Marco was out of control,' the lawsuit reads. Bates said she was traumatized by the incident, and that she frequently suffers from headaches, anxiety and often recollects the moment the dog was grinding her scalp in her sleep Bates, along with civil rights attorney Adante Pointiner, said that police officers' only response to her client's cries for help and medical assistance was that she 'should not have run' After her arrest, Bates was taken to a local hospital, where surgeons stitched her scalp back. Since the incident two years ago, Bates says she frequently suffers from headaches, anxiety and often recollects the moment the dog was grinding her scalp in her sleep. 'My whole brain almost fell out,' Bates told KTVU. 'I'm supposed to be dead right now, not alive, and I'm just thankful. 'I feel ugly,' she added. 'I get miserable I get depressed. I'm not happy with myself. I don't even feel cute.' Bates pleaded guilty to felony grand theft last year and spent 120 days in jail, court records show. She is on probation for a year. Her restitution amount has not yet been reset, according to The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office. Meanwhile, Marco, the German Shephard, still featured on Brentwood Police's K-9 Unit page, is described as intelligent, very social and 'would for you to say hi should you see him out and about with Officer Rezentes.' The Brentwood Police Department has yet to respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment. Prior to her arrest, Bates had stolen cosmetic products worth an estimated $10,000 from an Ulta beauty shop (pictured) Stolen cosmetic merchandise was found inside of the victim's vehicle, following her arrest An even more infectious version of Omicron is now dominant in England, health chiefs revealed today. BA.2 was behind 52 per cent of all Covid infections in the seven days to February 20, up from 19 per cent a fortnight ago, the UK Health Security Agency found. The sub-variant has completed its rapid rise to dominance just a month after it was first spotted in the UK. But the scientific community has said there is no reason to panic, with the variant already almost every case in Denmark but leading to no effect on hospitalisations or deaths. The Government there deemed the strain such a non-threat that it has ended virtually all Covid restrictions like England did this week. There is so far no evidence BA.2 is more severe or better at evading vaccine-induced immunity than the original Omicron. And Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline it was unlikely to even cause cases which have been falling for weeks to pick back up. Writing in today's report, the UKHSA also revealed 32 cases of 'Deltacron' had now been spotted in England. The hybrid of Omicron and Delta emerged January 7, in a person who had both variants at the same time. It has triggered just two infections in the past week. Britain's Covid cases have fallen consistently for the last three weeks, while deaths and hospitalisations are already trending downwards. The above graph shows that BA.2 - a sub-variant of Omicron - is now behind 52.3 per cent of all Covid cases in England. It is now dominant over old Omicron The weekly report showed BA.2 was behind the highest proportion of cases in London (62.9 per cent of Covid cases). It was also dominant in the South East (57.1 per cent), East of England (52.6 per cent), North West (51.1 per cent) and West Midlands (50 per cent) Government scientists also said they had detected 32 cases of 'Deltacron'. But the hybrid appears to have fizzled out rather than taking off in a promising sign BA.2 carries many of the same mutations as Omicron alongside many new ones that make it more transmissible. But, unlike its parent, it carries an S-gene meaning it can be easily distinguished from the original Omicron without the need for genomic sequencing. UK's 5.6bn Covid jabs rollout was 'good value' for money Britain's Covid vaccination drive was good value for money, No10's public spending watchdog has claimed. The National Audit Office heaped further praise on the 5.6bn jabs rollout adding that far fewer doses were wasted than predicted. It claimed securing a supply of vaccines early on in the pandemic was 'crucial' to its success and this helped to 'save lives and reduce serious illness and hospitalisation'. The independent watchdog warned there were still risks ahead for the programme, however, including staff burnout. In a report released today, covering a period up to the end of October 2021, the NAO said wastage of about 4.7 million doses 4 per cent of the total had been 'much lower than the programme initially assumed'. Advertisement UKHSA scientists used this to estimate BA.2's prevalence. Delta also has an S-gene, but the variant has been completely eradicated in the UK by the two much more virulent strains. London had the highest share of BA.2 (63 per cent of Covid cases), followed by the South East (57 per cent), East of England (53 per cent), North West (51 per cent) and West Midlands (50 per cent). The regions where it was not dominant were the East Midlands (49 per cent), Yorkshire and the Humber (43 per cent), North East (33 per cent) and South West (33 per cent). Professor Hunter said: 'Ultimately, we could have done without BA.2, but it will not make too much of an impact.' He added: 'I don't think BA.2 is going to undermine the current drop in cases. 'The consensus opinion of epidemiologists that I've listened to is that it is probably not going to be something that will undermine our position.' A fortnight ago the UKHSA revealed it had spotted the UK's first case of the so-called Deltacron in England. The agency said they were keeping tabs on the hybrid, but that it was not concerning because there was no noticeable uptick in cases. Scientists also called for calm, saying it 'shouldn't pose too much of a threat' because the UK has such high levels of immunity against both Omicron and Delta strains. Despite the rise in BA.2, Government dashboard data shows that Britain's cases, hospitalisations and deaths are all trending downwards even as the more infectious version of Omicron became dominant. It has given Boris Johnson the confidence to lift the final Covid restrictions, with self-isolation coming to an end yesterday for the first time in almost two years. Free Covid tests are also set to end from the start of April, ministers have announced, in a drive to save 2billion a month. Mr Johnson said he could lift the final Covid restrictions because of widespread immunity and the mildness of Omicron. But he warned this was not victory over the virus, adding that it was not yet 'going away'. SAGE scientists have warned the mildness of Omicron may be a 'chance event', and say it is a 'common misconception' that viruses become weaker overtime. But other scientists argue that high levels of immunity in the country mean it will not experience a Covid wave like in March 2020 again. Plans to ban child marriage took a step closer today after a new law was passed by the House of Commons. Currently, teenagers aged 16 and 17 can marry in England and Wales providing they have parental consent. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, they only need two witnesses and assurances from the couple themselves that they are both free to marry. As a result, there have historically been thousands of young couples taking part in 'runaway' weddings - often in the Scottish village of Gretna Green, which is popular due to its convenience, sitting just two miles over the English-Scottish border. The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill would raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 in England and Wales, while also including measures to prevent 16 and 17-year-olds from being married in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Bill - which will now be considered by the Lords - therefore removes what one MP called the 'Gretna Green exemption'. If it passes and becomes law, it would still be legal for Scottish and Northern Irish 16 and 17-year-olds to wed in those parts of the UK, though Stormont is planning a consultation on raising the legal age of marriage to 18. The Old Blacksmiths Shop Marriage Room in Gretna Green, Scotland has been a popular destination for young couples wanting a 'runaway' wedding The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill would raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 in England and Wales, while also including measures to prevent 16 and 17-year-olds from being married in Scotland and Northern Ireland, as has historically been seen in Gretna Green Gretna Green has been a popular wedding destination for young couples due to its convenience, sitting just two miles over the English-Scottish border Two brides and grooms kiss after getting married at Gretna Green in Scotland, a destination popular with many couples Michael Lewis and Rebecca Anderson pose outside the Gretna Green Famous Blacksmiths Shop on the day of their wedding How Gretna Green became a hotspot for 'runaway' weddings During the 18th century, Lords in England approved new laws to tighten marriage arrangements, meaning couples had to be 21 before they could wed without their parents' consent. Scottish law, however, was different, allowing teenager to tie the knot on the spot in a simple 'marriage by declaration', or 'handfasting' ceremony. This only required two witnesses and assurances from the couple that they were both free to marry. With such a relaxed arrangement within reach of England, it soon led to an inevitable influx of thousands of young couples running away from home to legally marry over the border. Gretna Green was the first village in Scotland and conveniently situated on the main route from London into Scotland. With Gretna Green perfectly placed to take advantage of the differences in the two countries' marriage laws and with an angry father-of-the-bride usually, in hot pursuit, the runaway couple could not waste time. Therefore as soon as they reached Scottish soil in Gretna Green, they would find a place of security where they could marry at haste. Advertisement Sponsoring the Bill, Conservative MP Pauline Latham said: 'It is undeniable the change in this law, making it unequivocally clear that it will be illegal to arrange any child marriage, whether it's a boy or a girl, in England and Wales irrespective of alleged consent, coercion or persuasion, is a huge step in the right direction. 'Because many children are brought up to believe it is the norm and it is not the norm in this country to be married as a child, and this will send a huge message out. This is the purpose of this Bill.' The MP for Mid Derbyshire noted 'the existing law has been in place for over 70 years and reflects social values from a different time'. The Bill, given an unopposed third reading in the Commons, would also make it an offence, punishable with up to seven years' imprisonment, to carry out 'any conduct for the purpose of causing a child to enter into a marriage'. Ms Latham added: 'This will remove that Gretna Green exemption. However, the offence would then take in all UK nationals marrying overseas, which could include those living in or domiciled in Scotland or Northern Ireland where child marriage is unfortunately still legal.' The Bill received cross-party support, with Labour shadow justice minister Anna McMorrin saying: 'The fact that a young person must remain in education until they are 18 but can marry at 16 is bewildering and has no place in the 21st century. 'This Bill is a crucial and substantial step forward in correcting this and on behalf of the Opposition I wish it well in its remaining stages.' Justice minister Tom Pursglove said: 'A marriage or civil partnership should only be formed if both parties freely consent and are properly able to make that choice. 'A family not formed on that basis is unlikely to create benefits for its members or to society and may be more likely to lead to issues such as domestic abuse and emotional distress.' He also assured Ms Latham that there would be 'no needless or unnecessary delay' in making sure the Bill becomes law as soon as possible, and said it was the Government's 'wholehearted hope that Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow our lead' in raising the age of marriage to 18. Labour MP Virendra Sharma (Ealing Southall) suggested the Bill becomes known as the Pauline Latham Act once it passes into law. The Private Member's Bill was originally meant to be proposed by Health Secretary Sajid Javid, but Conservative MP Ms Latham took the Bill over after Mr Javid was reappointed to the Cabinet in June. Sen. Marco Rubio on Friday praised Ukrainians for standing up to the Russian invasion, saying they were a reminder of the importance of fighting for freedom. It comes as video emerged of citizens being handed rifles ready to fight invading troops and individual moments of bravery - such as a lone protester standing in front of a military convoy - go viral. Rubio appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, where he railed against cancel culture and the imposition of masks. But he used the argument to feed red meat to his Trumpy audience before linking struggles at home with struggles overseas. 'No matter where you stand on this Ukraine-Russia situation - what we should have done beforehand, what we should do now - the one thing I think everyone can agree upon, is that the people of Ukraine are inspiring to the world,' he said. 'You have 70-something-year-old men, elderly women, younger children taking up arms prepared to sacrifice everything.' Ukrainian officials say they have given out 10,000 rifles to citizens ready to defend their country. And reports have surfaced that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is asking residents to start making Molotov cocktails. Sen. Marco Rubio said the people of Ukraine were an inspiration in the way they were standing up to Russia and fighting back against invading forces Ukrainian servicemen ride on tanks towards the front line with Russian forces in the Lugansk region of Ukraine on February 25, 2022. - Ukrainian forces fought off Russian troops in the capital Kyiv on the second day of a conflict that has claimed dozens of lives A brave Ukrainian citizen has been filmed apparently trying to stop a convoy of Russian Tigr-M fighting vehicles - similar to American Humvees - moving along a highway close to Crimea in scenes reminiscent of Tiananmen Square's 'tank man' Rubio also told the story of the 13 border guards defending Snake Island against the Russian navy. They were killed after using choice language to tell a Russian vessel they would not be surrendering. Other stories of defiance went viral, such as the moment a Ukrainian woman sang the national anthem while clearing rubble from her bomb-stricken home. Oksana Gulenko's home was among the 33 civilian sites bombed by Russia in its assault on Ukraine during the past 24 hours. And video emerged of a man standing up to Putin's troops by trying to block a Russian military convoy - in scenes reminiscent of Tiananmen Square's 'tank man' blocking Chinese forces in 1989. The footage, thought to have been filmed in the south of the country close to Crimea, emerged as Russia's military bared down on Kyiv today in an apparent bid to seize the capital and 'decapitate' the government in the hopes of bringing a swift victory. 'These are people that are basically saying we refuse to be Putin's slaves,' he said. 'We refuse to live under tyranny, we're prepared to give our life and die. 'It reminds us of two things: How precious freedom and liberty are, how quickly it can be lost. 'And the second thing it should remind us is that the reason why we've had freedom and we've had liberty is because people at one point were willing to do that for our country here.' By tying the Russian invasion to America's history of freedom he managed to sidestep the divisions facing the Republican party. Pictured: A resident of the apartment block tips debris out of the window while clearing their home after it was devastated by a bomb blast Ukrainians are seen hiding in a Kyiv bomb shelter equipped with AK-47 rifles as Russian troops move into the outskirts Russian armor is now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet Speakers at CPAC have been outspoken in their attacks on President Joe Biden, claiming Putin invaded because he sees a weak administration that left Afghanistan in a chaotic withdrawal. But other figures, such as House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy or members of its foreign policy establishment, have focused on Putin as the villain. Rubio instead tied Putin's actions to what he saw as creeping tyranny in the U.S. 'There are people that may not agree with us on what the tax rate should be. There are people that may not agree with us on how much regulation there should be in government,' he said. 'There are people that may not agree with us on a variety of issues. There are people that perhaps have never voted the same way any of you have in a presidential race. 'They're really angry, and they're getting rid of school board members because they're coming for their kids and they're getting rid of local government officials because they're coming for their business. 'And they'll get rid of federal leaders that are coming for their freedom.' China has thrown Russia's Vladimir Putin another sanction-busting lifeline by lifting wheat import restrictions in an economic boost to Moscow. President Xi Jinping has backed keeping China fully open to wheat imports from Russia in spite of sweeping sanctions imposed by the West in a bid to stop Putin's war in Ukraine. Imports had been restricted in recent months over concern over Russia's measures to prevent plant diseases, particularly in agricultural crops. The move to keep the market open was reportedly part of a deal between Moscow and Beijing concluded earlier this month and is the latest sign of growing ties between the two states. Russia, the world's largest exporter of wheat, exported more than 30 million tonnes of the product from January through November last year. The same year, Moscow sent 9.8 per cent of its total agricultural exports, including cereals, fishery products, meat and dairy to China. It comes after experts predicted yesterday that China could buy more Russian energy and lend Moscow cash to help Putin weather sanctions imposed over his invasion of Ukraine. Mr Putin's decision to launch military action against Ukraine will result in the US, UK and other NATO allies rolling out more punitive measures against Russia. China has thrown Russia's Vladimir Putin another sanction-busting lifeline by lifting wheat import restrictions in an economic boost to Moscow President Xi Jinping has backed keeping China fully open to wheat imports from Russia in spite of sweeping sanctions imposed by the West in a bid to stop Putin's war in Ukraine A statement from Chinas General Administration of Customs said Russia had also agreed to take new measures to tackle the phytosanitary problems. China initially started important wheat on a large scale, with the first order around 667 metric tonnes, in October. Experts yesterday said they believed China was likely to help Russia 'behind the scenes', with the level of support from Beijing potentially becoming an 'influential factor in shaping an evolving crisis'. However, China will need to 'walk a fine line' as it tries to avoid damaging its links to the West, with protecting trade likely to be a key priority. China and Russia have moved closer in recent years as both have faced rising tensions with the West. Mr Putin visited Beijing at the beginning of February for the start of the Winter Olympics. He and President Xi Jinping issued a statement at the time which declared the 'friendship between the two States has no limits'. China backed Russia in opposing NATO expansion as the two nations accused the US, UK and others of adopting 'ideologized Cold War approaches' to international relations. The statement committed the pair to strengthening foreign policy coordination and to defend common interests. However, China has not publicly backed Russia over the Ukraine crisis, instead urging 'all parties' to 'exercise restraint'. Beijing has said the situation in Ukraine is the 'result of many complex factors' and 'China always makes its own position, according to the merits of the matter itself'. Following the invasion of Ukraine, China is unlikely to publicly support Mr Putin's actions but it is also unlikely to criticise the Russian President. Experts believe China will help Russia as sanctions imposed by the West begin to bite. That could mean Chinese banks lending money to Moscow and Beijing buying more Russian oil and gas. Tom Rafferty, a Beijing-based analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit, told the Financial Times: 'The level of Chinese support for Russian actions could be an influential factor in shaping an evolving crisis.' The move to keep the wheat market open was reportedly part of a deal between Moscow and Beijing concluded earlier this month and is the latest sign of growing ties between the two states Jakub Jakobowski, a senior fellow with the China programme at the Eastern Studies Centre in Warsaw, told the newspaper: 'Unless the West puts a really tangible cost on China, China will still help Russia behind the scenes.' However, many believe China will want to avoid damaging its economic interests which are linked to the West and that is likely to temper its support for Moscow. Noah Barkin, an expert on Europe-China relations at US research firm Rhodium Group, told Bloomberg that Beijing 'will have to walk a fine line in this crisis'. He said: 'It will want to avoid openly criticising Russia's actions in Ukraine, while affirming its support for the principles of territorial integrity and non-interference. The hotter the conflict in Ukraine gets, the more difficult it will be for Beijing to walk this line.' Meanwhile, Professor Steve Tsang, director at the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas) China Institute, told the i newspaper that China is 'not keen to see a war over Ukraine, as it has strong economic and other ties with Ukraine'. Rising tensions with the West are expected to quicken Russia's ongoing pivot to the East when it comes to selling its oil and gas. Russian energy firms agreed new long-term supply deals with China at the start of February. Gazprom signed its second long-term gas deal with China which will see the company deliver 10 billion cubic metres per year over a 25 year period via a new pipeline. Russian gas supplies to China are reportedly set to hit 48 billion cubic metres a year but talks are ongoing over the development of a third route which would add another 50 billion cubic metres. The oil company Rosneft agreed a deal to supply 100 million tonnes of crude oil to China within a decade, replacing an existing deal which is set to expire. The expectation is that China's demand for Russian energy will now surge in the coming years while European demand is likely to fall. The EU has said Russian President Vladimir Putin was looking to destroy Ukraine and that his actions were comparable to those of the Nazis in World War II. 'He is talking about de-Nazifying Ukraine, but he behaves like Nazis. So this is all in his head,' EU spokesman Peter Stano told reporters in Brussels on Friday. The spokesman was asked about Putin's purported war aims that include his repeated claim that Russia's invasion was to prevent a 'genocide' against Russian speakers in Ukraine. 'He's always saying something about preventing genocide, which is total nonsense because he is committing one or he is about to commit one,' Stano said. The EU has said Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured yesterday at a meeting with members of the Russian business community in the Moscow Kremlin) was looking to destroy Ukraine and that his actions were comparable to those of the Nazis in World War II Explosions were seen in Kyiv in the early hours of Friday morning as fighting continued across the country Ukrainian soldiers are pictured forming up across a highway in Kyiv as they prepare to defend the city from Russian attackers, with gunfire and explosions heard in the centre of the capital 'Basically, he wants to destroy Ukraine. 'He wants to take the independence from Ukraine. 'He wants to inflict damage and suffering on the Ukrainian people. 'This is absolutely inhuman.' Military vehicles are seen along a street in Kyiv as the city prepares to defend itself from advancing Russian forces Ukrainian defenders have blown up several bridges leading into the capital in an attempt to slow the Russian advance The wreckage of an unidentified aircraft is seen on the outskirts of Kyiv, having been shot down and crashed into a house In the weeks leading up to the Russian invasion, Putin repeated his unsubstantiated claims that Ukraine wanted to exterminate Russian speakers in the east of the country. Putin questioned Ukraine's right to exist on Monday and accused its government of being a 'neo-Nazi' regime supported by the West. He said the West was 'closing its eyes... to the genocide that four million people are suffering' - a reference to the mostly Russian-speaking population of eastern Ukraine. The conflict in eastern Ukraine has claimed more than 14,000 lives since it broke out in 2014 with casualties on both sides. UKRAINE WAR: LATEST Russia said it is not willing to negotiate with Ukraine's government until military operation is over Came after Zelensky called for a sit-down with Putin to end the fighting Putin said he would be willing to send a team of negotiators to meet Zelensky - in Belarus, which is helping with the invasion Russian president then called on Ukrainian military to overthrow the 'regime' in Kyiv China's President Xi spoke to Putin by phone, called for diplomatic solution to the fighting Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces Zelensky has allowed anyone of any age to join the armed forces, and called on Europeans from other countries to come and join the fight Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning Advertisement Boris Johnson today vowed to hit Vladimir Putin's 'inner circle' with sanctions as he urged European nations to give more support to Ukraine 'as a matter of the greatest urgency'. The Prime Minister this morning spoke to the leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force which is made up of Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Latvia. Mr Johnson told his counterparts that the 'western world must keep the flame of freedom burning in Ukraine as Russian forces inflict horror on an innocent country and its people'. Downing Street said the leaders 'agreed that more sanctions were needed, including focusing on President Putin's inner circle, building on the measures that had already been agreed'. The UK and US have set out punishing sanctions against Russia but they are now facing growing pressure to go even further. Mr Johnson had earlier held a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as the Prime Minister committed to 'provide further UK support to Ukraine in the coming days'. President Zelensky said after the call that the West must increase its support and further strengthen sanctions against Moscow as he demanded 'effective counteraction to the Russian Federation'. Mr Johnson had told a late night meeting of his Cabinet last night that the invasion represented a 'dark day in the history of our continent' and Mr Putin's 'cynical and brutal' attack on Ukraine 'must fail'. Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK believes Mr Putin intends to seize control of all of Ukraine as he jibed that Russia's attack has not gone to plan. Mr Wallace said it is 'definitely our view that the Russians intend to invade the whole of Ukraine' but he claimed Moscow is 'behind its hopeful timetable' after encountering fierce resistance. The Cabinet minister said Russia has already 'lost over 450 personnel' and it has 'not taken any of its major objectives', leaving Mr Putin behind schedule. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is today embarking on a diplomatic blitz as she holds a series of crunch calls with her foreign counterparts, including the Chinese foreign minister. Fresh strikes hit Kiev overnight amid warnings Russian forces are closing in on the capital. The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said in a tweet just before 4am that 'horrific rocket strikes' hit Kiev in an attack he compared to the city's 1941 shelling by Nazi Germany. 'Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany,' he said. 'Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Sever all ties. Kick Russia out of (everywhere).' The leaders of the 30 NATO nations are due to hold a conference call this afternoon to determine the West's next steps against the Kremlin. Boris Johnson today vowed to hit Vladimir Putin's 'inner circle' with sanctions as he urged European nations to give more support to Ukraine 'as a matter of the greatest urgency' The Prime Minister this morning spoke to the leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force which is made up of Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Latvia Downing Street said the leaders 'agreed that more sanctions were needed, including focusing on President Putin's inner circle, building on the measures that had already been agreed' Ben Wallace today said the UK believes Mr Putin intends to invade the whole of Ukraine as the Defence Secretary jibed that Russia's attack has not gone to plan The Cabinet minister said Russia has already 'lost over 450 personnel' and it has 'not taken any of its major objectives', leaving Mr Putin behind schedule. Firefighters are pictured working at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, where a military shell allegedly hit Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, in a move which represented Moscow's most aggressive action since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. By the end of the day, the Ukrainian government said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed. Mr Johnson this morning held a call with the leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a UK-led task group, to discuss the 'unfolding catastrophe in Ukraine'. A Downing Street spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister told representatives from Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Latvia that the western world must keep the flame of freedom burning in Ukraine as Russian forces inflict horror on an innocent country and its people. 'He reiterated that this was a defining moment in European history, with global implications. The Prime Minister said he believed the Ukrainian people would continue to fight and had done so gallantly in the recent hours and days. 'The leaders agreed that more sanctions were needed, including focusing on President Putin's inner circle, building on the measures that had already been agreed. 'More support must be given to Ukraine, as a matter of the greatest urgency, the Prime Minister urged. President Putin's damaging actions could never be normalised, or his aggression against Ukraine ever accepted as a fait accompli, he added.' Mr Wallace was asked this morning if he believes Russia is intent on taking Kiev and ousting President Zelensky's government. He replied: 'It is definitely our view that the Russians intend to invade the whole of Ukraine. 'The nonsense they were spouting about the Donbas, as ever with a whole series of dishonest claims, are not the case and that is why you have seen a number of columns of Russian army entering from the south, from the north, from Belarus even and indeed from the separatist region. 'But our assessment as of this morning is that Russia has not taken any of its major objectives, in fact it is behind its hopeful timetable, they have lost over 450 personnel and indeed as you have said on your report, one of the significant airports they were trying to capture with their elite Spetsnaz has failed to be taken and in fact the Ukrainians have taken it back. 'So I think contrary to great Russian claims and indeed President Putin's vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause, he has got that completely wrong and the Russian army has failed to deliver on day one its main objective.' Mr Wallace told the BBC he believes Mr Putin's legacy 'will be isolation' and that 'diplomacy is absolutely off the table' at the moment. There have been calls for NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine but Mr Wallace today ruled it out. He said such a move would require putting 'British fighter jets directly against Russian fighter jets' and 'NATO would have to effectively declare war on Russia'. Mr Wallace also said the UK will 'work all day' to shut Russia out of the Swift payment system which is one of the foundations of the global banking system. Britain is pushing to exclude Russia from the system as part of the wave of sanctions imposed on Moscow but some G7 nations are opposed to the move. The Defence Secretary said: 'We want it switched off. Other countries do not. We only have so many options. We are going to work all day to try and get it (switched off for Russia).' The Ministry of Defence issued a statement in the early hours of this morning which said 'it is unlikely that Russia has achieved its planned Day 1 military objectives'. However, the MOD said it is 'highly likely' Russian forces have captured the Chernobyl nuclear power plant - 80 miles north of Kiev and along one of the clearest routes to the capital. The MOD added: 'The Ukrainian Armed Forces have reportedly halted Russia's advance towards Chernihiv. Fighting probably continues on the outskirts of the city. 'It is unlikely that Russia has achieved its planned Day 1 military objectives. Ukrainian forces have presented fierce resistance across all axes of Russia's advance.' Mr Johnson spoke to President Zelensky this morning 'to express his solidarity with Ukraine'. Downing Street said: 'President Zelensky updated the Prime Minister on the most recent Russian military advances, including missile and artillery strikes on Ukrainian cities and the terrible developments in Kyiv in the early hours of this morning. 'The Prime Minister assured President Zelensky that the world is united in its horror at what Putin his doing. He paid tribute to the bravery and heroism of the Ukrainian people in standing up to Russia's campaign of violence, and expressed his deep condolences for those who have been killed. 'The Prime Minister committed to provide further UK support to Ukraine in the coming days as the people of Ukraine and the world continue to demonstrate that Putin cannot act with impunity.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the West to do more to support Ukraine The Ministry of Defence issued a statement in the early hours of this morning which said that 'it is unlikely that Russia has achieved its planned Day 1 military objectives' President Zelensky tweeted after the call with Mr Johnson that Ukraine needs 'effective counteraction' from its allies. He said: 'Held talks with PM @BorisJohnson. Reported on the course of (Ukraine's) defence and insidious attacks on Kyiv by the aggressor. Today (Ukraine) needs the support of partners more than ever. 'We demand effective counteraction to the Russian Federation. Sanctions must be further strengthened.' Mr Johnson convened a late night meeting of his Cabinet yesterday as he told ministers the invasion represented a 'dark day in the history of our continent with Putin launching a cynical and brutal invasion for his own vainglorious ends'. The PM said the UK 'could be proud of the actions it has taken so far, playing a leading role in NATO' and said the Ukrainian military was 'fighting back in defiance of Putin's attempts to subjugate Ukraine'. Mr Johnson also highlighted protests in Russia against the invasion 'which demonstrated that Putin's actions would also face resistance from within his own country'. Number 10 said: 'The Prime Minister concluded by saying Putin must fail, and that the UK would work with its allies to achieve the restitution of the sovereignty of Ukraine.' Mr Johnson yesterday unveiled 'unprecedented' sanctions against Russian banks, firms and oligarchs as he vowed to cripple 'bloodstained aggressor' Mr Putin. The PM announced 10 separate strands of measures to inflict 'significant' impact on Moscow's economy - with officials saying they should knock several percentage points off its GDP. Mr Johnson told MPs Mr Putin was flouting 'every principle of civilised behaviour' and will 'never be able to cleanse the blood of Ukraine from his hands' - even though Ukrainians are 'offering a fierce defence'. He insisted the world now saw the Russian president for what he is: 'A bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest.' The assets of all major Russian banks - including VTB - will be frozen, while new legislation will block the state and all the country's major firms from being able to raise money on London markets. Mr Johnson pointed out that half Russia's trade is currently in dollars and sterling. The Government says over 100 people, entities and subsidiaries will be subject to sanctions, including defence giant Rostec. There will be travel bans and asset restrictions on five more named individuals - including Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter. Sources swiped that they would no longer be able to shop in Harrods or send children to public schools, and had become 'essentially persona non grata in every major Western capital'. Ministers intend to put a fixed limit on how much Russian nationals can have in accounts in the UK. Aeroflot planes will be immediately prevented from landing anywhere in Britain, while crucial defence exports of semi-conductors and aircraft spare parts will end. Firemen pick their way through the rubble of a destroyed apartment in Kyiv, as President Zelensky said the Russian military is now targeting civilian areas A man dressed in camouflage takes a picture of a crater where a Russian rocket landed, destroying part of an apartment block in Kyiv which is now under heavy attack The PM is also committing to shut Russia out of the SWIFT international financial messaging system, although that still has to be thrashed out with other Western powers. And the Government is aiming to extend all the measures to Belarus, which has joined Russia in the invasion. Mr Johnson said it was 'the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen'. Officials said the UK was taking a 'maximalist' approach to sanctions and would look to go further where possible. Some of the measures come in immediately, but others could take weeks and will need legislation. Protests against Putin's invasion of Ukraine broke out across the world and even reached Russia as people mocked up pictures of the Russian president looking like Adolf Hitler. Demonstrators called on Putin to stop his war against Ukraine that started in the early hours of Thursday morning. In Russia, people scrawled 'Adolf Putin' on a wall in the Russian president's hometown of St Petersburg. One of the earliest known protests was outside Russia's embassy in Washington DC around 1am on Thursday, shortly after news broke that Russian forces had launched a massive attack against its neighbour. Graffiti in an underpass in central Saint Petersburg that read 'Adolf Putin' in protest of Russia's invasion of Ukraine A member of South Africa's Ukrainian Association holds a poster depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin as Adolf Hitler during a protest in support of Ukraine in front of the Russian Embassy in Pretoria, on February 25 In Israel graffiti describing Putin as a war criminal was painted in red outside Tel Aviv's Russian embassy Protesters created a mock up of Putin's Time Person of the Year 2007 magazine, depicting him as Hitler A person walks past graffiti as people take part in an anti-war protest in Saint Petersburg, Russia, February 24 Moscovites with placards reading 'No war. Putin, go away' and comparing him to Hitler walked the streets A man holds a placard reading "No" during an anti-war protest in Lenin Square, Novosibirsk in central Russia People attend an anti-war protest in President Putin's home town of St Petersburg as critics predict the invasion could lead to his downfall Video from the protest showed dozens of protesters in the US capital waving Ukrainian flags and chanting 'stop Russian aggression.' Footage from protests in Times Square in New York City later that day shows hundreds of demonstrators holding a larger version of the Ukrainian flag and waving it in unison. Others chanted, 'Putin out of Ukraine'. Even in Russia people who were against the war made their feelings known by likening Putin to Adolf Hitler. In the UK people daubed 'mass murder' in red graffiti on the side of a Russian visa application centre in Edinburgh. There were multiple comparisons between Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler in protests across the globe. Pictured: A photo of Russia's President Putin is displayed beside one of Adolf Hitler on railings outside the Russian Consulate in Edinburgh on February 25 Israeli police stand guard as vandalistic graffiti paint is seen on the Russian embassy during a protest against recent escalation between Russia and Ukraine, outside of the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 24 A woman in Los Angeles holds a sign that seems to compare Putin's actions to those of the Nazis. Putin has stated that one of his goals is the 'denazification' of Ukraine, though the country's democratically elected president is Jewish Outside of the Russian embassy in Warsaw, Poland, protesters held up a banner reading, 'Together with Ukraine' and waved Ukrainian flags A group of protesters stood outside the Russian Consulate in Manhattan on Thursday in support of Ukraine It came as the EU said today that Putin's actions were comparable to those of the Nazis in World War II. 'He is talking about de-Nazifying Ukraine, but he behaves like Nazis. So this is all in his head,' EU spokesman Peter Stano told reporters in Brussels on Friday. The spokesman was asked about Putin's purported war aims that include his repeated claim that Russia's invasion was to prevent a 'genocide' against Russian speakers in Ukraine. 'He's always saying something about preventing genocide, which is total nonsense because he is committing one or he is about to commit one,' Stano said. The EU said today that Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured yesterday at a meeting with members of the Russian business community in the Moscow Kremlin) was looking to destroy Ukraine and that his actions were comparable to those of the Nazis in World War II Pro-Ukraine demonstrators carry signs and an effigy of Vladimir Putin near Russia's UN Mission Thursday in New York A large group of protesters, most of them Ukrainians, chanted and held signs in front of the Russian Consulate, in Manhattan Members of the Christian Ukrainian Community of Rome protest against the Russian attack on Ukraine on Thursday in Rome, Italy Missiles pounded Ukraine's capital on Friday as Russian forces pressed their advance and authorities in Kyiv said they were preparing for an assault aimed at overthrowing the government. Air raid sirens wailed over Kyiv, a European city of three million people, and some residents sheltered in underground metro stations, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion that has shocked the world. Ukrainian officials said a Russian aircraft had been shot down and crashed into a building in Kyiv overnight, setting it ablaze and injuring eight people. A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces would enter areas just outside the capital later on Friday and that Ukrainian troops were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered. New York City will no longer require public school students and staff to wear masks outdoors while on school grounds and the elimination of the indoor mask mandate could soon follow. Education Department officials announced Friday that the outdoor school mask mandate will end Monday. Students, staff and visitors are still required to wear face coverings inside the citys public schools. Advertisement I am, you know, just really excited and happy that these young babies are going to be able to go out and play without masks, Mayor Adams said Friday. The mayor has been increasingly vocal in recent days about his desire to peel back COVID-19 safety measures like indoor mask and vaccination mandates, including in schools, saying Friday he believes the end of that mandate is around the corner. Advertisement Within the next few weeks youre going to see many of these mandates dissipate, Adams said. Parents and children outside Public School 179 elementary school in Kensington, Brooklyn on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (Mark Lennihan/AP) A statewide mask mandate still requires all school districts in New York to enforce face coverings inside school buildings, and the city has its own indoor mask rule for schools that predates that. Both city and state officials are reconsidering those regulations in light of falling coronavirus cases and have signaled that they could soon be loosened. Gov. Hochul committed to review the statewide school mask mandate after this weeks mid-winter break, and said health officials will examine metrics like cases, hospitalization and vaccination rates to make their decision. If the state lifts its school mask mandate, the decision about whether to continue requiring face coverings in schools would likely fall to individual districts. Mayor Adams has made his preference clear. You know, I am so tired of wearing these masks, Adams said. I walk past friends every day, I almost forgot what they look like. So yes, I want to get back to a maskless city. But we dont want to do it and be reckless. Students leave the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+m) school on the Lower East Side Manhattan, Dec. 21, 2021. (Brittainy Newman/AP) City parents remain deeply divided over the prospect of lifting mask rules inside school buildings, with some arguing the end of the rule is long past-due given that case rates have fallen dramatically since the peak of the omicron variant wave and vaccines are available to kids age 5 and up. Some parents have also argued that masks can be harmful to kids social and academic development. Advertisement The federal Centers for Disease Control released new guidance Friday advising that communities with low rates of COVID-19 and hospitalizations, including New York City, can lift indoor mask mandates, including in schools. But other parents say its too soon to begin loosening COVID-19 safety measures with nearly 2,000 Americans still dying every day from the virus. The elimination of the outdoor school mask rule may prove less contentious than the indoor one. Studies have consistently shown that the virus spreads at far lower rates outside, and city kids spend only a small amount of their school day outside, especially during the colder months. Advertisement Still, the move is a relief to kids like 6-year-old Kimora Pratt, who was in the audience at Adamss Friday press conference at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, and got word of the rule change directly from the mayor. I hate masks, Kimora said. Now we can on Monday see our friends faces. Im happy. Elizabeth Soto-Cardona, the parent of a 7-year-old in East Harlem, said shes eagerly anticipating the day when masks will no longer be required inside schools, but is celebrating the outdoor change in the meantime. Thats a big deal to be able to run around freely with her friends and not think about that, she said. Advertisement Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > Alleged child killer James Watson tried to flee to Thailand following his arrest on suspicion of murdering a six-year-old boy, a court heard today. The 40-year-old is on trial at the Old Bailey in central London, accused of strangling little Rikki Neaves in a Peterborough wood in November 1994 - when he was aged 13 - before stripping and posing his body in a 'star shape'. The court heard how, following his arrest in April 2016, Watson absconded with a friend to Europe who had promised to take him to Thailand. But his plans to reach the Far East soon collapsed, emails to his probation officer show, in which he declared: 'I'm in a world of s**t', as he begged to be flown home after ending up homeless and wandering the streets of Portugal. Jurors were also told about Watson's string of previous convictions on Friday, including sexual assault of a man, theft of a police uniform and unmarked cop car and the smashing up of a children's home. Watson became the prime suspect in Rikki's murder after sophisticated technology found a 'definitive match' between his DNA profile and samples taken from the boy's clothing as part of a new investigation into the case. James Watson, who would have been 13 at the time, is now 40 and standing trial at the Old Bailey in London charged with six-year-old Rikki Neave's murder, which he denies Junior prosecutor Nathan Rasiah told jurors on Friday: 'The police issued a press release that a man had been arrested in connection with the investigation, but in accordance with the usual protocol did not identify the man that they had arrested.' After a final interview on April 20, Watson was released from police custody on bail, with the condition that he had to reside at an address in Northampton with an 11pm curfew, jurors heard. 'On June 27, 2016, in breach of his licence and bail conditions, Mr Watson failed to return to the approved premises in Northampton by 11pm,' Mr Rasiah said. 'As a result of that breach, on June 28, 2016 his licence was revoked and he was recalled to prison, entitling a police officer to arrest him on sight and then to return him to prison. 'At 18.21 on July 14, 2016, Mr Watson contacted his probation officer by email. 'It said: "For now the only way is through my email, my phone is out the window but I can log on and pick up my mail. I want to return to the UK."' Rikki Neave, six, was strangled and posed naked in a star shape in woods near his home in Peterborough back in 1994 The next day, July 15, Watson's probation officer replied: 'Whereabouts are you? 'How can we support you getting back to the UK?' Watson wrote back: 'Katy I am in a world of s**t, I left with that Collin (corr) under the assumption that he was going to Thailand and I could see a bit of Europe for a few days. 'It never turned out like that. Now I am homeless and living on the streets in Europe. 'I stayed in a room with some people I met but that was not long term now I don't know what my next plan should be? 'I want to make it back for this bail, and I know I will be in trouble for my..... licence but it's done now, just picking up the pieces the best I can. 'I don't know how you can help me or if you can, I just need to keep in touch with you, this will all be relevant in the future.' The probation officer referred the matter to the police, the court heard. This led officer DS Gan Thayanithy to send an email to Watson at 5.16pm that day. He said: 'James, I hope you understand why Katy has contacted me - realistically it is the only way we can get you home. 'I am sorry that you are in a bad situation, but I am sure that with a bit of work we can sort it out. 'The immediate problem we have is that it is a Friday, and nothing can happen now until Monday. 'It is very important that you keep yourself safe until then. Northants Police have contacted the British authorities in Portugal on your behalf. 'I believe this is where you are, but please advise me if I am wrong. 'Because you don't have a passport, you will need to go to the British Consulate so they can help you.' On July 29 a European Arrest Warrant was issued requesting Watson's extradition for breaching the terms of his licence. On August 2, Watson was arrested in Lisbon at the Consulate building and he was flown home on August 12, the court was told. Jurors later heard a lengthy list of Watson's previous convictions. On April 19, 2018 he was convicted of sexually assaulting a man. Watson (right), in the dock at the Old Bailey, charged with the murder of Rikki who was found strangled in woodland 25 years ago, when the defendant was 13 'While [the complainant] slept, Mr Watson briefly touched his penis over clothing which caused [the complainant] to wake up,' Mr Rasiah said. Almost a decade earlier, on January 15, 2009, Watson was convicted of arson. He had forced entry into an unmanned British Transport Police police station, the court heard. 'He located the keys to its safe and stole a laptop, PDA, cash, jewellery, drugs, cuffs, batons, clothing and incapacitant spray,' Mr Rasiah said. 'He then attempted to steal a police car, before returned to the property store, pouring out the contents of a generator and igniting a fire before making off on a pedal cycle.' In 2007, Watson was convicted for carrying a firearm in a public place. 'It was a loaded air rifle,' Mr Rasiah added. Watson also had a litany of theft and burglary convictions. Of his 17 convictions for theft, Mr Rasiah outlined two incidents in particular. 'On the January 31, 2003, whilst working in a nightclub, Mr Watson stole money from two of its tills and keys from the handbag of a person attending nightclub. He then stole a car. 'On the June 13, 2008, James Watson stole money from his father's house whilst his father was in hospital, after being given access to it to clean.' Of his nine convictions for burglary of a non dwelling, Mr Rasiah went into detail about one incident in late August 2005. 'James Watson gained entry to a police station, stole items of uniform, police equipment, car keys and left in an unmarked car,' he said. A map showing the distance between Rikki's home and the wood where his body was found 'He was convicted after a trial.' Watson has two convictions of burglary of a dwelling and four convictions for damaging property, the court heard. Mr Rasiah said: 'On the February 24, 1995, James Watson smashed a glass to a fire alarm at Woodgate's Children's Home. 'On the May 1, 1995, using a spade, James Watson caused damage to the Woodgate's Children's Home to an external fire door, windowpanes, picnic tables and an internal office door. 'On the September 6, 2003, James Watson stole a car. He used it and then set fire to it.' Watson has also been convicted of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, using threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour likely to cause distress, two offences of handling stolen property, obtaining property by deception and making off without payment and possession of cannabis. He has been further convicted with five offences of taking a motor vehicle without consent of the owner, two offences of interfering with a motor vehicle, taking a conveyance vehicle without authority and two offences of obstructing an engine or carriage on the railway. The prosecution have now closed its case and Watson is due to give evidence on Monday. Watson, of no fixed address, denies murdering Rikki between November 28 and 29, 1994. The trial continues. Hillary Clinton said that President Trump's comments about Vladimir Putin's 'genius' need to be called out by Republicans as she claimed that some in the GOP are sympathetic to Putin because of his 'anti-gay' and 'anti-democracy' stance. 'I want to make sure within our own country that we are calling out those people who are giving aid and comfort to Vladimir Putin about what a genius he is what a smart move it is, who are unfortunately, being broadcast by Russian media, not only inside Russia but in Europe to demonstrate the division within our own country,' the 2016 Democratic nominee said on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Friday. 'Maybe this terrible aggression by Putin will stiffen the spines of a lot of Republicans in office who understand you cannot continue to give Trump and his enablers a blank check because they will lead us to a very bad place,' she continued. Clinton then suggested that 'too many Republicans' are 'naive in such a dangerous way.' 'They somehow believe that because Putin presents himself as a strong leader on behalf of certain values that are you know, anti gay, that are anti, you know, freedom and democracy that so messy, that somehow you know, that quote corresponds with the views of certain members and elements of the Republican Party.' 'They could not be more mistaken,' she continued. 'I mean, he poisons people in prisons.' Hillary Clinton suggested that 'too many Republicans' are 'naive in such a dangerous way' Clinton suggested that Trump Republicans view Putin favorably because he is 'anti-gay' and 'anti-democracy' Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., scoffed at the idea Republicans have a favorable view of Putin in an interview with DailyMail.com at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando. 'The reality is that nobody's a fan of Putin,' he said. 'But the fact of the matter is that Joe Biden has exhibited weak leadership, he was late to the game.' 'I don't want to say he's leading from behind because he has not led. he's playing catchup on world events when the world has passed him by. All this could have been avoided,' Donalds continued. 'We can be critical of the president and his lack of leadership while at the same time denouncing Vladimir Putin and everything that he stands for.' 'The people on the campaign said if you elect Donald Trump we're going to have have World War III. Well, it's been about 400 days and looks like World War III is on our doorstep thanks to Joe Biden. The proof is in the pudding ... nobody needs politics to understand this.' Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, had a go at Clinton on Fox and Friends for her attack on Trump. 'That is an appalling statement, to place blame on the last administration,' Crenshaw said. 'Talk about Trump, what about how he dealt with NATO and Russian aggression. He was telling allies to increase defense spending and telling allies, Germany, stop relying on Russian oil and gas, this is removing leverage, don't ask us to protect you when you rely on them for energy,' the Texas Republican rattled off. 'Germany cancelled import terminal and France cancels contracts with Texas lng companies there is long history of failure here, it is not the trump administration and shame on her, she knows that, shame on her for being so partisan, we need to be united with allies against Russia right now.' Crenshaw then claimed that Biden 'destroyed our oil and gas sector.' Clinton also called on the Biden administration to step up its game with Ukraine's defense. She said that she supports sending more U.S. troops overseas to bolster Ukraine's defense and talked about the importance of defending NATO allies. Ukraine is not a member of NATO but has pushed to be included in the alliance. Aftermath of an overnight shelling at a residential area in Kiev, Ukraine, 25 Feb. A woman with a backpack walks in front of a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell allegedly hit, on February 25 A woman walks around the wreckage of an unidentified aircraft that crashed into a house in a residential area, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 25 'I strongly believe in supporting with military weapons if necessary, and they are both Ukrainian army and any kind of resistance but I also support putting in more troops,' she said. 'I would hope that the administration and our European allies and others would move even more quickly to impose sanctions not only on the economy of Russia, but also on individual actors within that economy all the way up to Putin,' Clinton said. 'I think that the only pressure that Putin would respond to or that could have any kind of impact on his thinking would be those who he relies on to launder his money to keep the funding going into his secret accounts.' 'We've got to go after those oligarchs who are supporting Putin financially. They need to pay a price whether their yachts are seized or their homes are seized,' she said. Trump on Tuesday called Putin's invasion plan 'genius,' but said it never would have happened under his administration. Speaking with conservative podcaster Buck Sexton, the former president said: 'I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, "This is genius,"' Trump recalled. 'Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine of Ukraine -- Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful.' 'I said, "How smart is that?'" the former U.S. president continued. 'And hes gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. Thats the strongest peace force We could use that on our southern border. Thats the strongest peace force Ive ever seen. There were more army tanks than Ive ever seen. Theyre gonna keep peace all right.' 'No, but think of it. Heres a guy whos very savvy,' Trump went on. 'I know him very well. Very, very, very well. Had I been in office, not even thinkable, this never would have happened.' Trump added: 'But heres a guy that says, you know, 'Im gonna declare a big portion of Ukraine independent,' he used the word 'independent' and 'were gonna go out and were gonna go in and were gonna help keep peace.' You gotta say thats pretty savvy. And you know what the response was from Biden? There was no response. They didnt have one for that. No, its very sad. Very sad.' Trump also called President Biden 'a man who has no concept of what he's doing.' Earlier Tuesday Trump claimed that Vladimir Putin never would have invaded Ukraine if he were still president, and said that Russia has become 'very very rich' under President Biden. 'If properly handled, there was absolutely no reason that the situation currently happening in Ukraine should have happened at all,' Trump said in a statement Tuesday. 'I know Vladimir Putin very well, and he would have never done during the Trump Administration what he is doing now, no way!' Trump on Thursday again said Putin's plan was 'smart' as he mocked Biden's sanctions. 'He's taken over a country for $2 worth of sanctions, I'd say that's pretty smart. He's taking over a country - a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people - just walking right in. This never would have happened and I know him very well. Democrats jumped on the former president's remarks. White House press secretary Jen Psaki hit back at Trump at Tuesday's press briefing. 'As a matter of policy, we try not to take advice from anyone who praises President Putin and his military strategy, which I believe is what happened there,' Psaki said. Advertisement A woman was photographed crying with relief as she crossed out of Ukraine and into Romania after fleeing the country in search of safety as Russia pounded Kyiv and other cities with airstrikes for a second day. The unidentified woman crossed in her car at the Sighetu Marmatiei border point in northern Romania early this afternoon and appeared to furrow her brow in a mixture of fear and relief as she left Ukraine behind. Thousands of Ukrainians have fled the country in the past 24 hours after Russia launched an all out invasion of the country on Vladimir Putin's personal orders in the early hours of Thursday. Cars had today been backed up for several miles in cities and border crossings as Ukrainians rushed to leave the country with many cars being abandoned after running out of petrol on route. Authorities in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova mobilized to receive them, offering them shelter, food and legal help - and eased their usual border procedures, including Covid-19 testing requirements. It came as Russian troops were bearing down on Kyiv after advancing from Chernobyl, less than 60 miles north of the city, this afternoon. Ukrainian troops tasked with the city's defence began setting up defensive positions across highways, on bridges and on street corners in preparation for what seemed set become a bloody street-to-street fight. A woman was photographed crying with relief as she crossed out of Ukraine and into Romania at Sighetu Marmatiei after fleeing the country in search of safety as Russia pounded Kyiv and other cities with airstrikes for a second day A woman with two children and carrying bags walk on a street to leave Ukraine for Slovakia after Russia invaded the country People queue upon arrival to the border checkpoint between Slovakia and Ukraine after fleeing the country as Russian troops advanced towards Kyiv Terrified citizens wait at Kyiv Central Train Station for a train out of the capital to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv as Russian forces advance A woman and her children arrive from Ukraine in Romania as Russian troops were bearing down on Kyiv after advancing from Chernobyl, less than 60 miles north of the city, this afternoon People from Ukraine rest at a refugee shelter in a culture house in Zahony, Ukraine, on Friday after fleeing invading Russian soldiers At a major border crossing, in Medyka, Poland, Ukrainians arrived on foot and by car and train and were greeted by Polish authorities and volunteers offering them food and hot drinks. Slovak police said that most of the people arriving at its border were women with children after Ukraine banned men ages 18 to 60 from leaving the country, and this appeared to be the case everywhere. Some sought to join relatives who have already settled in Poland and other EU nations, whose strong economies have for many years attracted Ukrainian workers. Marika Sipos fled Koson, a village in western Ukraine close to the Hungarian border, arriving early Friday in Lonya, Hungary. 'We had to leave behind everything, our whole life's work,' Sipon said, describing it as a 'terrible feeling' to leave her property. Erika Barta, arriving from Backi Breg, Ukraine, said she would seek shelter with relatives in Hungary and planned to return when the danger passes. 'It's not safe at home anymore,' she said. For many the first stop was a train station in Przemysl, a city near Medyka in southeastern Poland that is a transit point for many. Ukrainians slept on cots and in chairs as they awaited their next moves, relieved to escape the shelling of Kyiv and other place. At a major border crossing, in Medyka, Poland, Ukrainians arrived on foot and by car and train and were greeted by Polish authorities and volunteers offering them food and hot drinks Ukrainian women and children are seen after crossing the Slovak-Ukrainian border after Russian forces invaded People wait to board a evacuation train from Kyiv to Lviv from the capital's central train station in a bid to escape the city before Russian troops advancing into the area arrive A woman rides a bicycle as she leaves Ukraine for Romania, after Russia launched an invasion of the country on Thursday A woman holds a child after fleeing Ukraine for Romania at the Siret border crossing on Friday Authorities in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova mobilized to receive them, offering them shelter, food and legal help - and eased their usual border procedures, including Covid-19 testing requirements Refugees from Ukraine sleep in a tent part of a humanitarian center at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border Italian Premier Mario Draghi spoke in Parliament on Friday of the 'long lines of cars leaving Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, heading mostly toward EU borders,' and said 'it is possible to imagine a huge influx of refugees toward neighboring European countries.' 'The images we are seeing - of unarmed civilians forced to hide in bunkers and subways - are terrible and bring us back to the darkest days of European history,' he said. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, estimated that more than 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes in Ukraine and that up to four million people may flee to other countries if the situation escalates. Hungary, which mobilized its military to help, announced in a decree this week that all Ukrainian citizens arriving from Ukraine, and all third-country nationals legally residing there, would be entitled to protection. A husband and wife are reunited after travelling separately through the border from Ukraine to Poland Ukrainian citizens arrive in Romania by crossing the Siret border after Russia launched military operation targeting Kyiv on Friday The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, estimated that more than 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes in Ukraine and that up to four million people may flee to other countries if the situation escalates Two women and two children walk across the Ukrainian-Romania border at Siret on Friday after fleeing invading Russian troops The welcome that Poland and Hungary are showing Ukrainians now is very different from the unwelcoming stance they have had to refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa in recent years. Hungary built a wall to keep them out when a million people, many Syrians fleeing war, arrived in Europe in 2015. Poland is now building its own wall with Belarus after thousands of mostly Middle Eastern migrants sought to enter from Belarus in past months. The EU accused Russia-backed Belarus of encouraging that migration to destabilize the EU. Some of those people denied entry into Poland died in forests. But Ukrainians are a different matter altogether - Europeans who are mostly Christian, and to the Poles, fellow Slavs with similar linguistic and cultural roots. Transcarpathia, Ukraine's westernmost region which borders Hungary, is also home to about 150,000 ethnic Hungarians, many of whom are Hungarian citizens. While Russia's invasion has not yet extended to that area, which is separated from the rest of Ukraine by the Carpathian Mountains, many have decided not to wait for the situation to get worse. A firefighter who was called out in the middle of the night to help a disabled man trapped in his toilet, then moaned to colleagues in a WhatsApp group that it was 'no emergency whatsoever' has lost his fight to get his job back. Christopher Ketterer was sacked in June 2020 after a 'degrading' message he sent to six workers from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service became widely shared and ultimately seen by bosses. A Scottish employment tribunal heard that in the early hours of February 14, 2020 Ketterer was on duty when just before 3am he attended an emergency call out as part of a four person crew. An individual with impaired mobility was trapped in the toilet of his home. Their fire engine was then re-routed to a second address - the caller's cousin - so that a set of keys for the original address could be collected and the crew commander was told to turn off their blue emergency lights. The crew picked up the keys, went to the caller's home and helped him into his wheelchair and discovered he had not been trapped but was unable to get up. The tribunal heard the claimant and fellow firefighters were frustrated at being called out over the incident as they did not believe it was a genuine emergency and the caller was known to have made similar calls in the past. Christopher Ketterer worked at the Pollok fire station in Glasgow before being sacked Ketterer perceived the demeanour of the caller and his cousin to indicate that they were trivialising the status of his role and knowing they were wasting the firefighters' time. The incident happened at a time when firefighters were looking at pay and conditions and whether this type of incident should be part of their remit and whether there would be more call outs of this type of role was expanded. They were also unhappy it had been a partly blue light incident when it was not an emergency. Ketterer finished his shift and posted the message describing the incident and mentioning 'for yous that are still in-between a yes and a no vote'. He wrote: 'Just to recap we got turned out under blue lights to an address then for control to come over and tell us to head to another address to pick a set of keys up to let us into the first address never heard anything like this before it's an absolute disgrace (angry face emoji) no emergency what so ever (sic)'. The claimant said this was typical language he would privately use to colleagues on a daily basis and they would not be offended. But within an hour his WhatsApp message was shared more widely and copied to other firefighters at his station in Pollok, Glasgow, and in other stations in West Scotland including senior employees. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said their social media policy says posting offensive material or harassing staff or the public via social media will be treated as seriously as if it had happened in the workplace. It says any inappropriate posts can lead to disciplinary action and in extreme cases civil and criminal law. Employment Judge Brian Campbell said his appeal against his sacking for gross misconduct failed. He said: 'He showed genuine remorse for his isolated act of misconduct, and may not have appreciated fully the seriousness of that act at the time. 'On the evidence there were no issues generally with his performance, commitment to the role or popularity among his colleagues.' Advertisement Defiant Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are preparing to fight Russia's army to the death, vowing on Friday to 'give Putin hell from every house' when his men make their advance through the major city of Kyiv in a stunning show of resilience. Among them was a marine who blew himself up along with a bridge in the Kherson region near Crimea in a heroic act that slowed down Russian troops. The marine was named by the General Staff of the Armed Forces as Vitaly Shakun. He was manning the Henichesk bridge in the Kherson region when Russians advanced and mined it. According to a post on the General Staff's Facebook page, the battalion decided the only way to stop them was to blow up the bridge. Shakun had no time to escape. He told his comrades he was going to detonate, and second later they heard an explosion. His efforts and that of the Ukrainian armed forces are significantly slowing down the Russians - one senior defense official cited by CNN said Russian troops are meeting 'more resistance' than they anticipated. 'I cant give you an exact geographic location of where they are, but they are not moving on Kyiv as fast as they anticipated they would be able to. [They are] meeting more resistance than they expected,' they added. On the streets of Kyiv, former leader Petro Poroshenko was among the many civilians forming territorial defense squadrons, ready to take on Putin's men when they present themselves. In an emotional interview on CNN, Poroshenko held up his Kalashnikov and vowed never to give in to the Russian leader or his army. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky uploaded a video on Thursday night showing that he was still in Kyiv, at Government offices. 'We are all here. Our soldiers are here. The citizens are here and we are here. We defend our independence. That's how it'll go. Glory to our defenders, both male and female, glory to Ukraine!' he said. Scroll down for video Vitaly Shakun was manning the Henichesk bridge in the Kherson region when Russians advanced. According to a post on the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Facebook page, the battalion decided the only way to stop them was to blow up the bridge The Henichesk bridge in the Kherson region at the Crimean crossing which the Ukrainian forces said was a key area of defense. This image was shared by Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform on Thursday A post on the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Facebook page detailed his heroic efforts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday night posted this video online showing he and members of his cabinet were still in Kyiv at the Government offices. 'We are all here and that's how it'll be,' he said 'Good evening to everyone. The leader of the faction David Arakhamia is here, the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak is here, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal is here, MykhayloPodolyak (advisor to Presidential Office) is here, the President is here. 'We are all here. (Shmygal showing time on phone screen) Our soldiers are here. UKRAINE WAR: LATEST Russia said it is not willing to negotiate with Ukraine's government until military operation is over Came after Zelensky called for a sit-down with Putin to end the fighting Putin said he would be willing to send a team of negotiators to meet Zelensky - in Belarus, which is helping with the invasion Russian president then called on Ukrainian military to overthrow the 'regime' in Kyiv China's President Xi spoke to Putin by phone, called for diplomatic solution to the fighting Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces Zelensky has allowed anyone of any age to join the armed forces, and called on Europeans from other countries to come and join the fight Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning Advertisement 'The citizens are here and we are here. We defend our independence. That's how it'll go. 'Glory to our defenders, both male and female, glory to Ukraine!' he said. The marine will now be given posthumous awards. 'On this difficult day for our country, when the Ukrainian people are repelling the Russian occupiers in all directions, one of the most difficult places on the map of Ukraine was the Crimean Isthmus, where a separate battalion of marines met one of the first enemies. 'To stop the advance of the tank column, it was decided to blow up the Genichesky road bridge. Shakun, engineer of a separate battalion, volunteered to perform this task. The bridge was mined, but he did not have time to leave. According to the brothers, Vitaliy got in touch and said that he was blowing up the bridge. An explosion was heard immediately. Our brother died. 'His heroic deed significantly slowed the advance of the enemy, which allowed the unit to redeploy and organize the defense,' a translation of the post reads. Poroshenko, in his interview on CNN, said: 'We don't have an artillery's, tanks, this is the long line of the people who enlisted but we don't have enough arms. 'These are ordinary people have never been in the army. They're staying in line now to join us. 'This is extremely touching.' 'Putin never will catch Ukraine. No matter how many soldiers he has, missiles he has, nuclear weapons. 'We Ukrainians are free people with a great European future,' he said. He however admitted that there aren't enough guns yet to go around the droves of civilians who are taking up arms. 'We have maybe two machine guns,' he said. In an Instagram post later, he wrote: 'Getting ready to meet the enemy! 'Let's arrange hell for him in every house, on every street, in every city!' President Zelensky yesterday told the country that he would give a firearm to anyone who wanted one and was willing to stay and fight. Citizens are being told to use Molotov cocktails to fight the enemy. Dozens of them were pictured signing up to join defense teams all over the country last night in photos shared by Ukrainian MP Andrii Osandchuk. President Zelensky this morning shamed President Biden for 'looking on from a distance' while Putin stormed his country. Biden and the West have imposed severe economic sanctions but they have not joined in any physical conflict. Russian armour is now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet Day 2: Russian forces are continuing to push out from positions they opened up during the first day of fighting, making gains in Kherson to the south and pushing into Kyiv in the north - but suffering heavy losses and defeats including in Chernihiv in the north, and Sumy and Kharkiv in the east Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko holds up a Kalashnikov while being interviewed on Friday. He has joined the civilian territorial defense on the streets of Ukraine and says there are lines of people seeking to help but that they don't have enough arms Poroshenko shared photos on Instagram with other civilians who have signed up to join the territorial defense teams Ukrainian soldiers take position on a bridge inside the city of Kyiv, as Russian forces advance into the capital Russian soldiers on the amphibious infantry fighting vehicle BMP-2 move towards mainland Ukraine on the road near Armiansk, Crimea Territorial defense fighters test weapons and ammunition in Kiev, Ukraine, 25 February 2022. Russian troops entered Ukraine on 24 February prompting the country's president to declare martial law and triggering a series of announcements by Western countries to impose severe economic sanctions on Russia Territorial defense fighters receive weapons and ammunition in Kiev, Ukraine, 25 February 2022. They are civilian volunteers Members of the Territorial Defence Forces of Ukraine load ammunition after receiving weapons to defend the city of Kyiv, Ukraine February 25, 2022 A volunteer brings hot tea and food for the members of the territorial defense battalion on February 25, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Yesterday, Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine, with Russian troops invading the country from the north, east and south, accompanied by air strikes and shelling A young couple joining the territorial defense fighters smile after receiving weapons and ammunition in Kiev, Ukraine, 25 February 2022 A volunteer, holding a rifle, protects a main road leading into Kyiv on February 25, 2022 Volunteers, one holding an AK-47 rifle, protect a main road leading into Kyiv on February 25, 2022. - Ukrainian forces fought off Russian invaders in the streets of the capital Kyiv on February 25, 2022 Soldiers tasked with defending Kyiv from advancing Russian troops take up positions underneath a highway into the city Ukrainian soldiers take position next to a highway a bridge during an exchange of gunfire inside the city of Kyiv Ukrainian soldiers take up positions in downtown Kyiv as the prepare to defend the capital from Russian attackers Underground, civilians who are staying are sheltering in their droves. Above, some in a bomb shelter last night Passengers, including evacuees from the cities of Sumy and Kyiv, walk along the platform of a railway station upon their arrival in Lviv, Ukraine February 25, 2022. The country is split into people fleeing, staying to fight and staying to shelter But Zelensky said he feels abandoned by his NATO allies who sound as though are 'afraid' to state their allegiance to him and his country. In total, some 50,000 refugees have fled Ukraine since the conflict began earlier this week but that number is expected to balloon as the fighting worsens. Some who are staying are sheltering in subway stations and basements. Russia troops are closing in on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital where people were living life largely as normal on Wednesday night. 'What are they going to do to me? If I show them my US passport, am I dead?' Video on Friday showed a brave civilian attempting to throw themselves in front of Russian tanks as they made their advance. The footage appears to have been taken in the south, nearer Crimea. Russian forces were sustaining heavy casualties across the country with Ukraine claiming to have killed 2,800 men - as Putin himself made an appeal to Ukrainian forces to turn on their 'drug-addicted neo-Nazi' leaders or else lay down their arms and go home. President Zelensky told his men 'you are all we have' as he gave a rousing address to defend the country, called on citizens to travel from elsewhere in Europe to join the battle, and hit out at the West for leaving him to face down the might of Russia 'alone'. Chechen special ops groups are believed to be on their way to Kyiv to target Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials, carrying decks of cards with photographs of their targets faces on them. In a bleak address earlier, Zelensky said he was target number 'one', while his wife and kids were target number two. He is in Kyiv in a bunker. Independence Square in Kyiv at dawn on Friday morning as Russian troops moved through the city. Ukrainian troops are ready to defend the city which defense experts say could fall by the end of the weekend A soldier sits on an army tank on the outskirts of Kiev on Friday while thousands flee the city before Russians advance further An Ukrainian military medic approaches the bodies of Russian servicemen wearing a Ukrainian army uniforms lying beside and inside a vehicle after they were shot during a skirmish in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv President Joe Biden condemned Vladimir Putin for his invasion of the Ukraine and announced a series of new sanctions on Russian financial insitutitions that he said will have a 'severe' effect on that nation's economy There remain some 20,000 Americans in Ukraine who now have to make their own way out by fleeing in cars and buses to surrounding countries Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary or Moldova. Twenty-three fled the city yesterday with Project Dynamo, a donor-funded organization led by ex US military commander Bryan Stern. He went back into Kyiv this morning to retrieve another group. One woman in the first group made it to the Romanian border but told FOX News on Friday that she and others were now stuck there, unable to get through unless they bribe police $100 each. All Americans in Ukraine were warned to leave at the start of February but many ignored the advice from the State Department, convinced Putin's threats were empty. Among them is Craig Arend, a former New York Times fashion photographer turned entrepreneur who moved to Kyiv in December last year. He spoke to DailyMail.com last night from the Maidan metro station in Independence Square, where dozens huddled to escape missiles overnight, then again on Friday morning after running for his life to retrieve his belongings from his nearby apartment and wait to be collected by a friend and driven to the Polish border. The subway doors were locked overnight by Ukrainian police, and opened at dawn after the airstrikes had stopped. 'It was literally, "run for your life" from when we got out of the subway to the apartment,' Arend said on Friday morning. 'We saw trucks I dont know if it was Russian - it was far away. 'Thats the big thing on the ground - when are we going to see Russian military on the streets? Thats everyones worst fear. 'What are they going to do to me? If I show them my US passport, am I dead?' There was only one person walking through the ordinarily-buzzing square this morning, as Russian troops moved in on the city and Ukrainian soldiers lay their lives down on roads, ready to fire at first sign of the enemy. Last night, Arend explained why he and so many others didn't heed the warnings to leave when the State Department issued them. 'We thought it was all being hyped up by the American media. Everyone was a little Chicken Little about it,' he said. Arend was out in restaurants and bars on Wednesday night, hours before the first airstrikes. He returned home at around 2am. The first air raid sirens rang a few hours later. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested President Joe Biden was to blame for Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine during his Friday morning appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference. 'We've seen a Russian dictator now terrorize the Ukrainian people because America didn't demonstrate the resolve that we did for the four years prior,' said Pompeo, who was former President Donald Trump's CIA Director before heading State. He bragged that the previous administration was more adept than the current one. 'I remember too, I remember we were the barbarians, we were the rubes, we didn't know what we doing,' he told the crowd. 'Pretty competent now.' 'I say that not in joy, but in sorrow, because America demands good leadership and the world is depending upon it,' he continued. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested President Joe Biden was to blame for Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine during his Friday morning appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference Pompeo has been criticized for lauding Putin in the run-up to the Russian president's deadly assault on his sovereign neighbor. In a February 18 interview with the National Interest Pompeo described Putin as 'very savvy' and 'very shrewd.' 'I consider him an elegantly sophisticated counterpart and one who is not reckless but has always done the math,' he said. Five days later, while traveling to Iowa, Pompeo continued to compliment Putin but said he needed to be 'crushed.' 'Vladimir Putin is smart and cunning and capable. He's also evil and should be crushed,' Pompeo told The Des Moines Register. 'I was taught you need to know your adversary, you need to know your enemy. You shouldn't pretend your enemy is weak,' Pompeo added. On Friday before his CPAC experience, Pompeo wouldn't say if he regretted his language when an NBC News reporter pointed out that he had called Putin 'shrewd' and 'capable,' and said he had 'enormous respect' for the Russian dictator. 'I've been fighting communism since I was a teenager. I'm going to keep fighting communism,' Pompeo answered. His left foot was in a boot, so he was wheeling through the Orlando conference on a scooter. NBC's Vaughn Hillyard tried again, asking Pompeo if he regretted his language. 'I have worked my entire life to make sure the United States was free of communistic dictatorships, I understand my enemy, I always call my enemy for what he is,' Pompeo said. Pompeo stayed quiet when asked why he spoke words that sounded like 'soft praise' of Putin. Trump has been more overt about his position on Putin throughout the week, describing him as 'genius' and 'smart' in the lead-up to the invasion. The ex-president also pushed that the attack wouldn't have happened if he remained in the White House. State Department spokesman Ned Price was asked about both Trump and Pompeo's comments at his briefing on Wednesday. 'I have no response. In fact I have no words,' Price said. Pompeo is among the Republicans who are being eyed as presidential material for 2024, though he'd likely not run if Trump entered the race. One clue that he might have higher ambitions is his 90-pound weight loss in a six-month period. As he walked on the CPAC stage - sans scooter - an audience member commended his new look. 'It's hard work and praying that I could keep it off with y'all. I would appreciate that,' he said. When asked by DailyMail.com how he injured his foot, he wouldn't say. 'I'm good, the Lord's taking care of it,' Pompeo said as he wheeled himself away. The man suspected of shooting dead the sleeping daughter of an ex-Kentucky lawmaker is a 'loner' and military dropout whose Marine Corps training could help him evade police, a former mentor tells DailyMail.com. Shannon Vince Gilday, 23, is suspected of killing former state representative C. Wesley Morgan's daughter, 32-year-old Jordan Morgan, in an early morning home invasion Tuesday at the family's $6.5 million Richmond home. Her shocking murder hit her loved ones hard, with her mother Lisa Foster saying Wednesday that she, too, wished her own life would end. 'Im asking my Christian friends to please pray that God takes me home today,' Foster wrote on Facebook. 'I want to die.' A statewide mandate is underway to find the alleged killer, who police say is considered armed and dangerous. Jayo Alforque, who mentored Gilday after he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) in 2017 at the University of Hawaii, described the murder suspect as an outlier who had trouble making friends. 'Like all freshmen, they're weird at first,' Alforque told DailyMail.com on Friday, adding: 'Hes funny and willing to learn, he was always a loner that is why I took him under my wings and showed him how to be social.' Shannon Vince Gilday, 23, remains on the loose after he allegedly shot and killed a lawyer in a home invasion early Tuesday Jordan Morgan's mother Lisa Foster said that news of her daughter's death has been so painful that she, too, wished to die Gilday joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 2017, but quit when he fled Hawaii to avoid a drug dealer he owed money to, a former mentor said Gilday is the subject of a statewide manhunt He said it's possible the skills Gilday learned in training could help him remain on the lam. 'We were taught to be infantry' Alforque said. 'Camouflage, stealth and tactical.' Gilday could be short tempered at times, Alforque said, and was 'easily triggered when he couldn't finish a work or task I gave him while I was a senior Cadet.' On one occasion, Gilday became so aggressive during a house party that Alforque said he had to 'choke him out to sleep' to bring him under control. He left Hawaii a few years ago (Alforque believes it was around 2019) over unpaid drug debts, his friend said. He dropped out of the program and flew back to Kentucky out of 'depression and fear.' A spokesman confirmed that a person of the same name was a student at the University of Hawaii's Manoa campus from spring 2014 through summer 2018, but did not earn a degree. A year after leaving Hawaii, Gilday reached out to his old pal to say he was settled into his home state of Kentucky. 'He said hes going to do better there and he going to be a better man,' Alforque said. 'That's the last time I talked to him.' Jordan Morgan, described by friends as a popular and passionate young lawyer, was shot and killed in a home invasion early Tuesday morning She's pictured at right with her father, former state representative C. Wesley Morgan, who was wounded Kentucky State Police said Gilday shot and killed Morgan's daughter, Jordan Morgan, 32, while she was asleep. The Madison County Coroner's Office later confirmed that Jordan Morgan had been shot 'more than once'. Gilday then allegedly 'confronted' Wesley Morgan, and the two exchanged gunfire before he fled in a white Toyota Corolla. Wesley Morgan and his wife, Jordan's stepmother, sustained injuries in the shooting and were taken to a local hospital, where they are recovering. Police have now issued a warrant for Gilday's arrest as he remains on the run. He is charged with murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief, and two counts of attempted murder. While police hunt him down, Morgan's friends are left to mourn the 'passionate' and popular victim. Following the shootings, Gilday allegedly fled the scene in a white Toyota Corolla Morgan (right) was in the process of becoming a licensed realtor so she could work with her mom Lisa Foster (left) 'Her mother Lisa is not doing well at all,' a friend said. '... as anyone can imagine' 'Jordan was very passionate about her family, animals and politics,' her friend Amanda Marcum told DailyMail.com. 'Not only was so gorgeous on the outside but she was just as sweet and generous on the inside.' A successful attorney, Morgan was working on obtaining her real estate license so that she could work with her realtor mom Lisa Foster and stepdad, Don Foster, her friend said. 'This senseless crime will shake our small town for many years,' Marcum said, adding: 'Her mother Lisa is not doing well at all as anyone can imagine.' Foster said her daughter had 'no enemies' as police identified the man suspected of killing her. 'She was absolutely a wonderful person and the smartest person I ever knew,' Foster told the Lexington Herald-Leader. 'She was always doing for other people, so selfless, funny and like a breath of fresh air to be around.' 'She was a mommas girl and always told me every night and every morning she loved me. She had no enemies.' Authorities said on Thursday they had some clues about a possible motive behind the shooting, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports, but they cannot confirm anything until they capture the suspect. They did, however, say that they do not believe Jordan was the intended target, according to Lex 18, as a preliminary investigation found no links between her and Gilday. Jordan was shot multiple times in the home invasion early Tuesday morning and died on the scene The incident unfolded at Morgan's $6.5million mansion in Richmond, Kentucky, pictured Kentucky State Police have previously announced they received a call at 4:30am Tuesday about a shooting at Morgan's mansion. At first, they were unsure how many suspects were involved in the home invasion and shooting, but after receiving an 'incredible tip' from outside the wealthy area, authorities now say Gilday, of Taylor Mill, Kentucky, forced his way into the mansion and opened fire. He was seen on surveillance footage entering the home wearing either camouflage or 'tactical style' pants and a jacket, a dark-colored hoodie, gloves and a light-colored facemask, authorities announced at a news briefing Thursday. They said he may have been injured in the gunfight with Wesley, authorities announced on Thursday, and is believed to be driving a white Toyota Corolla with minor damage to the front grill. Gilday is described as being about six feet and about 167 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. He is considered 'armed and dangerous,' Kentucky State Police warned, and urged anyone on his whereabouts to call the Kentucky State Police Post 7 at (859) 623 - 2404. Wesley said he is now recovering from his wounds but will never recover from the loss of his first-born daughter On Wednesday, Wesley, 71, broke down in tears as he spoke about losing his daughter. He told FOX 56 he is recovering well from the gunshot wounds, but will never recover emotionally from the loss of Jordan. 'I'm heartbroken,' he said as he audibly started crying. 'I can't understand why, and would give anything on this Earth if it would have been me rather than her. 'I'd much rather it'd been me.' Wesley Morgan said he was with his daughter, watching an episode of 1883, a Western-style television drama series on Paramount+, just hours before the shooting. 'She got up, put her arm around me and said "I love you, Daddy," and I said "I love you, too,"' he recalled to the news station. 'And then she went to bed and that son of a b**** killed her.' He added that his 'life will never be the same,' saying: 'Until the day I die, I will think of her, yes I will.' Jordan, left, was described by friends and family as kind, loving and intelligent. She is pictured at the Kentucky Derby Jordan's mother, meanwhile, said she had no enemies. 'She was absolutely a wonderful person and the smartest person I ever knew,' Lisa Foster told the Herald-Leader on Thursday. 'She was always doing for other people, so selfless, funny and like a breath of fresh air to be around. 'She was a momma's girl, and always told me every night and every morning she loved me,' Foster added. 'She had no enemies.' Foster said Jordan would text her every night, saying 'I love you night, night,' and in the morning she would send her mother a message saying 'Good morning Muffin Mouse, I love you,' referencing one of her favorite childhood stories. 'And I would say 'Good morning sunshine, I love you have a blessed day.' Jordan Morgan previously made headlines in 2017, when she publicly accused State Rep. Michael Meredith of sending her inappropriate text messages as part of a sexual harassment settlement involving four House Republicans. She said at the time that she started receiving a number of messages from Meredith after she worked on Republican Matt Bevin's successful 2015 campaign for Kentucky governor and worked with him for a year-and-a-half afterwards as a member of his communications team. Jordan accused State Rep. Michael Meredith (pictured) of sending her inappropriate text messages in 2017 Morgan met Meredith, she told the Courier-Journal, when she and the rest of Bevin's campaign staff were celebrating his victory. She said Meredith's behavior was a 'little too friendly,' so she left the event. But afterwards, he sent her a message on Facebook saying: 'Where'd you go, beauty?' Over the ensuing year and a half, she claimed, she received a number of messages from Meredith, including one that read: 'You are like six foot tall with jet black hair and high heels and can probably find some way to persuade anyone about anything if force is needed lol.' None of the text messages was 'too extreme,' she said; they were 'just kind of flirty,' but they struck her as 'inappropriate,' particularly because Meredith was married and in elected office. 'He wasn't my boss, but he was in a position of authority,' she said. 'You don't want to make an enemy of a state representative, so you just laugh it off.' Morgan said she only came forward with the inappropriate texts after it was revealed that four House Republicans were involved in a secret sexual harassment settlement with another female staffer. The scandal cost former House Speaker Jeff Hoover and Meredith their leadership positions, but Meredith was reinstated as chairman of the House Local Government Committee one year later. Jordan previously made headlines in 2017 when she publicly accused State Rep. Michael Meredith of sending her inappropriate text messages. She is seen here with her dad at her law school graduation Jordan recently joined the Reminger law office in Lexington Jordan, meanwhile, left the world of politics to become an assistant commonwealth's attorney prosecuting felonies, based in Boone County. She had recently joined the Reminger law office in Lexington. 'Reminger wishes to express its sincere condolences to the Morgan family,' the firm said in a statement. 'She was a pleasant colleague and a promising attorney. We are shocked and saddened at the circumstances surrounding her unfortunate death.' Her Facebook profile was filled with memes, photos of her with friends and family, and photos of her small dog - Gucci. Friends and family describe her as kind, loving and intelligent, with her niece, Hayleigh Burrows, who was only 11 years younger than Jordan, saying: 'She was just so great. Generous, selfless, funny, so funny, [and] loving. 'She's the queen of networking,' Burrows told Lex 18. 'If I ever needed to know anyone, she knew someone who could get me connected.' Burrows said she decided to follow in Jordan's footsteps, pursuing a pre-law degree at the University of Kentucky, and is planning to take the LSAT this summer. 'She was always pushing me to do my best,' Burrows said of her aunt, whom she described as 'more of a best friend.' She said she is upset that her aunt will not be around to meet any of her future boyfriends or attend her wedding, but, 'I firmly believe she's in a better place and happy. So that kind of helps me get through this.' Wesley is well-known for his eccentricities after he listed his mansion for sale with an in-ground bunker Wesley served one term as a state representative for Richmond and Berea in Madison County Wesley, who served one term as a state representative for Richmond and Berea in Madison County, is also known for his quirks. While in office, Wesley, who owns several Kentucky liquor stores, was charged with illegally transporting alcohol across county lines. To do so was illegal at the time without a transporter's license. A judge ultimately dropped the charges, after state law was changed. He went on to unsuccessfully challenge Senator Mitch McConnell in the state's Republican primary in 2020. The home was said to be 'the most secure home on the market' and built to withstand an earthquake The 2,000-square foot, steel-enforced bunker itself is said to be worth $3 million When the home was listed for sale it was advertised complete with a nuclear bunker and able to withstand nuclear attack and the strongest of earthquakes. Pictured, the food reserves The bunker also includes an 'escape tunnel' to an undisclosed location Last year, Wesley listed his 14,300-square-foot, six bedroom, seven bathroom mansion for sale. It comes complete with a saltwater pool, steam sauna and heated floors set on 200 acres of lakefront property. However, perhaps its most unusual feature is a 2,000-square-foot, fully stocked underground bunker set behind a huge steel and concrete door. The $6.5million listing advertised the home as being able to withstand nuclear attack and the strongest of earthquakes with the bunker alone valued at $3 million. Wesley started building the bunker more than a decade ago, following the election of President Barack Obama. He said at the time that he 'could see the handwriting on the wall that Obama was trying to change our country into a socialist country,' and with hundreds of tons of chemical agents stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot, south of Richmond, he decided it would be wise to build a bunker. 'I saw the bad stuff that was going on in the world,' he told Kentucky.com last year. 'And I think there's a lot of bad stuff going on in the world right now. 'If we don't get our act together, we're gonna end up in a civil war.' He said he and his wife, Lindsey, lived in the bunker - which can hold up to 30 people with separate bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room - for several years as construction on the house above was completed. Zillow described the home as being 'the most secure home on the market in this country,' and it comes with an 'escape tunnel' to an undisclosed location. 'I just wanted someplace safe,' Wesley said when the home was on the market. A Florida stay-at-home father-of-five who appeared in a now-iconic photograph carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern during the January 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection was sentenced on Friday to 75 days in prison. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton also imposed a $5,000 and 200 hours of community service on Adam Johnson, saying that a 'message has to be sent.' Johnson will report to prison at a date to be determined. Johnson, 37, who lives in Tampa and is married to a doctor, apologized for his actions and asked for leniency before the judge announced his sentence, which is one of the harshest yet for a misdemeanor related to the riots. 'I am ashamed to have been a part of it,' Johnson told the judge during Friday's hearing. Stay-at-home dad Adam Johnson, 37, who stole Nancy Pelosi's podium during the Capitol riot, on Friday was sentenced to 75 days in prison, a $5,000 fine and 200 hours of community service (Pictured: The now-viral photograph of Johnson carrying Pelosi's lectern) Prosecutors said Johnson was 'not a mere tourist' but rather 'part of a mob.' Above, Johnson in front of a Capitol sign He also claimed that had he come across Speaker Pelosi on the day of the insurrection, he would have asked her for a photograph. 'If I did find her, I would ask for a selfie with her, if anything,' Johnson said. 'I bear no ill will toward her or her office at all.' Johnson was picked up by the authorities in Florida within days of the January 6 insurrection (pictured in his January 8, 2021, mugshot) Johnson, who has five sons between the ages of 6 and 14, pleaded guilty in November 2021 to entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. The rioter gleefully placed Pelosi's $1,000 podium in the center of the Capitol Rotunda, posed for pictures and pretended to make a speech, prosecutors said. He later bragged that he 'broke the internet' and was 'finally famous.' On Friday, Johnson insisted that he has been cooperative with the federal investigation and did nothing to conceal evidence. Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Johnson to 90 days in prison. 'He wasn't a mere tourist,' Assistant US Attorney Jessica Arco told the court. 'He was part of a mob that, in his own words, was trying to overthrow the government.' Arco played a video recording from the Capitol, showing Johnson trying to open a door of what he thought was Pelosi's office. Johnson's attorneys asked the judge to sentence him to one year of probation with credit for the weekend that he spent in jail after his arrest. The defense lawyers said Johnson didn't know that the podium belonged to Pelosi when he moved it from a cloak room. 'Arguably, if he latched onto some other piece of government furniture for his photo opportunity jail time would not even be a consideration,' they wrote in a court filing. Johnson and his wife have received death threats, his lawyers said. 'His wifes medical practice suffered financially and some of Adams oldest friends will no longer speak to him or his family,' they wrote. Walton said America is on a dangerous path when many citizens believe that they 'have a right to do whatever in order to have the person who they want in power sitting in the White House.' 'That's what we see in banana republics,' the judge said. 'That's what we see in countries like we're experiencing now over in Ukraine. That's where we're headed if we don't do something to stop it. And I don't know what we do to stop it.' Johnson (circled in red during the riot) apologized for his actions, saying he felt 'ashamed,' and asked for leniency in light of his cooperation Johnson entered the Senate Wing with other protesters (left) and was seen in a smoke-filled hallway (right) after the rioters attempted to breach the House Chamber In a sentencing memo filed ahead of Friday's hearing, prosecutors argued that Johnson showed a 'sense of entitlement and privilege.' In arguing for a 'substantial fine,' they noted that Johnson and his wife, who is a doctor, are in a 'financial situation so favorable that [he] has not had to work for the past 11 years.' Johnson will receive credit for time served, which will reduce his sentence to about 60 days. The FBI has made more than 740 arrests in connection to the attempted January 6 insurrection, during which hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump attempted to block congressional certification of President Joe Biden's November 2020 election victory by storming the U.S. Capitol building. Five people died the day of the riot, including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. There are still more than 350 people wanted by the FBI in connection to the attack. Federal investigators estimate the total number of people who could be charged is more than 2,500. The Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) said there are nearly 350 homeless people living in almost 90 subway stations - as New York City Mayor Eric Adams promises to tackle the ongoing crisis as part of his new subway safety plan. Hundreds of homeless people were found camping out in New York City's subway tunnels and stations earlier this month, MTA officials said on Thursday. Transit workers and outreach employees found almost 30 'homeless encampments' in the tunnels and another 89 camps in stations. Encampment can be defined as 'lying down in a sleeping bag or stretch out,' officials said. All the encampments were removed among discovery. 'We never leave an encampment in place. As soon as we identify an encampment, those people are immediately removed,' MTA spokesperson Tim Minton told the New York Post. The MTA's Track Trespass Task Force - which was formed in December - surveyed 472 stations across more than 650 miles for 12 hours between February 2 and 3, finding 350 people living there - not an uncommon sight for New Yorkers as the weather gets colder. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, 61, said on Friday: 'Were dismantling and will be dismantling every encampment in our system. [It's] not acceptable. 'Previous administrations may have looked at this and walked past them. Were not doing that. I am sending the right message that our subway system must be safe and reliable for our riders.' A shirtless, homeless man changes as he sits on the E train at the World Trade Center stop - the end of the line - while an MTA worker cleans the car. The Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) said there are nearly 350 homeless people living in almost 90 subway stations and in 29 tunnels New Yorkers sit in the middle of an unknown subway train car as a homeless person spreads out their belongings on the train. 'We never leave an encampment in place. As soon as we identify an encampment, those people are immediately removed,' MTA spokesperson Tim Minton told the New York Post New York City Mayor Eric Adams, 61, implemented a new Subway Safety Plan earlier this month which includes having outreach workers (pictured in orange) offering resources to the homeless and removing them from the subway system Adams also said New Yorkers are still 'balancing terrorism' in the subways too. He said: 'As a former transit cop, I understand number one how dangerous these tunnels are, but also we should be clear that were balancing also terrorism in our city. 'Were still a target, and when you have those utilizing tunnel systems without any form of interaction of law enforcement, you could have a person thats not only there to deal with the dangers of being homeless on the tracks, but you also have the potential person thats trying to do something harmful.' Outreach workers reported the encampments to the NYPD, which promptly removed them from the subway system, MTA Chief Safety Officer Pat Warren told the New York Daily News. The MTA task force will also be conducting 'regularly scheduled' surveys for homeless encampments and will be sharing their discoveries with the police. The removal and search for the homeless in the city's subway system is a part of Adams' new Subway Safety Plan, which includes attacking fare evasion, getting the homeless off the subway systems at night and upping public safety in the stations and trains. Adams, a onetime transit police officer who took office last month and recently deemed the subway unsafe, said last week that allowing people to live on subways is 'cruel and inhumane' to them and unfair to other riders and transit workers. A homeless woman sets up her car of belongings and prepares a place to lay down on the Bedford Avenue platform in Brooklyn. The MTA's Track Trespass Task Force - which was formed in December - surveyed 472 stations across more than 650 miles for 12 hours between February 2 and 3, finding 350 people living there and remove them Part of Adams' plan is to remove the homeless living on the trains and offer them resources, but the city was unable to provide details on how many of the 350 people they pulled out where met with outreach workers A woman calmly sits beside her belongings in the Times Square-42nd Street subway station in Manhattan as other riders mill around the station 'No more just doing whatever you want,' Adams said at a news conference at a Lower Manhattan subway station. 'Those days are over. Swipe your MetroCard, ride the system, get off at your destination. That's what this administration is saying.' 'People tell me about their fear of using the system,' Adams said last week. 'And we're going to ensure that fear is not New York's reality.' MTA's Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee member Lisa Daglian told the New York Post: 'It's scary to know that people are living in the tunnels, but it's not anything new. We've been lucky that people who were in camping in the tunnels are not there to do harm to the system, but one day our luck is going to run out.' 'People tell me about their fear of using the system,' Adams said last week. Earlier this year, the Mayor himself deemed the subway unsafe. 'No more just doing whatever you want,' Adams said at a news conference at a Lower Manhattan subway station. 'Those days are over. Swipe your MetroCard, ride the system, get off at your destination. That's what this administration is saying' 'Nobody should be living in the subway system, whether it's in a subway car, whether it's in a subway station, whether it's in a subway tunnel. That is not a home. There needs to be sufficient housing for people to live.' Adams' plan, which he deemed essential to New York City's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, also includes changes that are supposed to connect more homeless people, many of whom have mental illness, substance abuse problems or both, to mental health services and permanent housing. In tandem with the Big Apple's enormous crime in rise - overall crime is up almost 50 percent - transit crime has risen 60 per cent as many New Yorkers have begun fearing the subway system. Representatives from Adam's office and the city's Department of Social Services were unable to determine how many people extracted from the tunnels and stations were met by outreach workers and offered resources, the New York Daily News reported. On February 22 - the second day of Adams program - homeless people were still seen on the subway in Flatbush Junction (pictured) and other stations A man sleep soundless as he sprawled across the middle of he train, using his backpack as a pillow on the 1 train The MTA described 'encampments' as 'lying down in a sleeping bag or stretch out,' as the person can be seen doing in Fulton Street station in Manhattan earlier this week Many of the homeless find sanctuary in the subway stations and trains as the winter gets colder New York City has seen overall crime rise almost 50 percent and transit crimes rise to almost 61 per cent The Track Trespass leader Jamie Torres-Springer said the encampment in the tunnels 'directly lead to track trespassing incidents.' The agency started tracking these incidents in January. Around 160 track intrusion incidents were recorded in January and around 50 were attributed to the mentally ill, Torres-Springer told the New York Post. The other incident included slip-and-falls, shoving, intoxication, and suicide. 'Last year, there were 1,267 incidents of a person on the tracks, which is a 20 percent increase since 2019,' Torres-Springer told the New York Post. 'Out of those incidents, 200 resulted in someone getting hit by a train and there were 68 fatalities.' Around a quarter of track collisions were done by individuals attempting suicide, he said. The MTA recently announced that three subway stations will now become equipped with platform barriers and laser technology that detections motion to help avoid people being thrown or jumping onto the tracks. The project, however, will take years to implement and will cost billions, the agency has said. 'It's going to take a while,' MTA Chair Janno Lieber said on Wednesday. 'Our goal is to try out these technologies, at different places in the system, including three stations, trying out platform doors.' The MTA will also collaborate with NYU Medical Center 'to figure out how to deter people from, God forbid, committing suicide by jumping on the tracks.' Platform doors have been considered for years and a 2017 report estimated that it would cost the city almost $7billion to implement platform doors in NYC's almost 500 stations. 'While we're glad platform doors are being tested, we don't believe this is the answer system-wide, as it would mean platform reconstruction, likely temporary closing of stations, and other issues including rolling stock alignment,' MTA's Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee member Kara Gurl said on Wednesday. An audacious gang of five men who masterminded a 1.2million conspiracy to burgle homes and blow up cash machines were today starting more than 50 years in jail. During a crime spree across Hampshire, Dorset and Surrey, the gang - comprising ringleader David Hughes and his friends Cameron Chivers, Colin Golding, Adam Jones and Jesse Matthews - stole high-powered cars, money, jewellery, motorbikes, bicycles and even a one-year-old French Bulldog. Winchester Crown Court heard that the criminals had also put people's lives at risk by attempting to blow up 14 cash machines. Although they were only successful in obtaining money from three machines, they caused a total of 255,938 in damages and losses during the raids. During a crime spree across Hampshire, Dorset and Surrey, the gang - comprising ringleader David Hughes (above) and his friends Cameron Chivers, Colin Golding, Adam Jones and Jesse Matthews - stole high-powered cars, money, jewellery, motorbikes, bicycles and even a one-year-old French Bulldog Adam Jones (left), 31, of Fareham, Hampshire, admitted to conspiracy to cause an explosion, two counts of conspiracy to steal, and conspiracy to burgle. He was jailed for 13 and a half years. Jesse Matthews (right), 21, of Bordon, Hampshire, admitted to conspiracy to cause an explosion and conspiracy to steal. He was jailed for six years and eight months Colin Golding (left), 26, of Farnborough, Hampshire, admitted to conspiracy to cause an explosion, conspiracy to steal, and conspiracy to burgle. He was jailed for nine years. Cameron Chivers (right), 24, of Southampton, admitted to conspiracy to cause an explosion, two counts of conspiracy to steal, and conspiracy to burgle. He was jailed for eight years and four months Prosecutors said that during one attack, at a Tesco Express (above) in Bishopstoke, Hampshire, when the cash machine failed to explode, the gang used a stolen Land Rover Defender to try to ram the ATM, which caused structural damage to the building A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary, who led the investigation, said: 'During one of the ATM explosions, a family was asleep in the flat above where the fire was started, while another led to the evacuation of a student halls of residence in Southampton. 'Winchester Crown Court heard the gang would meticulously plan the attacks on cash machines, stealing cars in the lead-up to a job to use as getaway vehicles with any potential spoils. 'When carrying out the attacks on the ATMs, they would break open the machine, before pumping gas in using a hose and then igniting it in the hope of causing a violent explosion to gain access to the money held inside. 'In the majority of instances, the men fled the scene empty-handed, with no explosion having occurred. However, the fires caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.' One of the gang's targets was a Stop 'n' Shop (above) in Sholing, Southampton, on August 14, 2019 Prosecutors said that during one attack, at a Tesco Express in Bishopstoke, Hampshire, when the cash machine failed to explode, the gang used a stolen Land Rover Defender to try to ram the ATM, which caused structural damage to the building. The court heard that the men were finally caught after a series of dawn raids involving 150 police officers. The offences took place between June 2019 and January 2020. Winchester Crown Court heard that the criminals had also put people's lives at risk by attempting to blow up 14 cash machines, including the Santander branch pictured The 14 ATMs targeted by the gang Budgens in Mortimer, Berkshire in June, 2019 Stop 'n' Shop, Sholing, Southampton on August 14, 2019 Cashzone, Headley, East Hants on August 22, 2019 Santander, Petersfield, East Hants, on August 25, 2019 Costcutter Store, Farnham, Surrey, on August 25, 2019 HSBC, Park Gate, Fareham on August 27, 2019 Co-op, Godalming, Surrey on August 31, 2019 Premier Convenience Store, Brockenhurst, on September 3, 2019 Post Office, West End, Eastleigh, on September 3, 2019 Co-op Store, Stubbington, Fareham, on September 9, 2019 Tesco Express, Bishopstoke, Eastleigh, on September 11, 2019 Co-op, Spring Road, Sholing, Southampton on January 20, 2020 Santander, Burgess Road, Southampton, on January 20, 2020 McColls in High Howe in Bournemouth on January 27, 2020 Source: Hampshire Police Advertisement Hughes, 31, of Hook, Hampshire, admitted to counts of conspiring to steal, conspiring to burgle and conspiring to cause an explosion. He was jailed for 17 years. Chivers, 24, of Southampton, admitted to conspiracy to cause an explosion, two counts of conspiracy to steal, and conspiracy to burgle. He was jailed for eight years and four months. Golding, 26, of Farnborough, Hampshire, admitted to conspiracy to cause an explosion, conspiracy to steal, and conspiracy to burgle. He was jailed for nine years. Jones, 31, of Fareham, Hampshire, admitted to conspiracy to cause an explosion, two counts of conspiracy to steal, and conspiracy to burgle. Jones also admitted to failing to disclose a key contrary to Section 49 of Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 - namely, failing to provide a PIN for a mobile phone. He was jailed for 13 and a half years. Matthews, 21, of Bordon, Hampshire, admitted to conspiracy to cause an explosion and conspiracy to steal. He was jailed for six years and eight months. Judge Angela Morris ruled that Hughes, Jones, Chivers and Golding must serve at least two-thirds of their sentence in prison, while Matthews will only have to serve half of his. Earlier, the court heard that the conspiracy to steal charges related to three burglaries where high-powered vehicles were stolen to be used as getaway cars after the cash machine attacks. Prosecutors said that the conspiracy to burgle charges related to 31 burglaries during which the total value of goods stolen and the damage caused was 375,000. During these incidents, the gang targeted homes, commercial premises and outbuildings, like garages and sheds. Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Steve Court said: 'These five men gave no thought for the residents of the homes they were burgling or the danger they were putting people in when exploding ATMs' (including the one above) Sentencing the men today, Judge Morris said: 'None of you gave a moment's thought to the danger you put those residents in or for the trauma they would suffer. 'This kind of offending involves the worst kind of criminality, motivated by unadulterated greed. This was only stopped by the intervention of the police.' Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Steve Court said: 'These five men gave no thought for the residents of the homes they were burgling or the danger they were putting people in when exploding ATMs. 'Their only thought was to feed their own greed, no matter the cost, both monetary and emotionally, to the hard-working business owners whose properties they damaged, to the residents of the addresses they burgled, and to the family who thought they had lost their beloved pet. 'As an investigation team, we have dedicated many hours to tracking down the gang and ensuring we can prove their involvement. 'They thought they were above the law, that they could steal with impunity, but let this serve as a warning. We will catch you.' A Brooklyn man whose pandemic stimulus check was sent to the wrong address threatened to shoot up an Internal Revenue Service office after learning of the mix up, prosecutors said Friday. Jamel Jackson, 31, made the threat during a visit to the Taxpayer Assistance Center at MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn on Jan. 10 after being told he would have to wait up to six weeks for his government-issued check to be mailed to his correct address, according to federal prosecutors. Advertisement I will literally do life in jail for my money! Do you understand that? he shouted at an IRS agent, according to a criminal complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court. In six weeks ... when I come back, Im trying to find out where is my money. After that, Im coming off my hip! You understand?! When Jackson said hed be coming off my hip, he appeared to mean that he would be reaching for a firearm at his hip when he returns, wrote United States Treasury Special Agent Robert Suarez in a criminal complaint. Advertisement Its unclear how much stimulus money Jackson is owed. Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > Jackson was already known to IRS workers at the building. On Sept. 2 Jackson threatened to murder another IRS agent who was helping with his taxes, telling the government employee that he was awaiting trial for killing other people, prosecutors allege. He showed up for help with a tax issue, but when he was asked to produce certain documents and was informed he couldnt be on his phone, he flew into a rage, according to the feds. I will snap your neck! I kill people! Im on trial for killing people, Jackson fumed at the employee who was helping him in a cubicle in the office. Jackson then violently attempted to remove a glass partition between himself and the worker, according to the complaint. The IRS agent called security, and Jackson was removed. He was arrested by the feds Friday for threatening a federal official over the two incidents, prosecutors said. Jackson is not on trial for any homicides, though he has an open 2020 case on charges of assaulting a senior citizen in Manhattan, records show. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to a robbery in Brooklyn. Advertisement A contingent of American F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters has arrived on NATO's eastern flank to fortify allied airspace following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday, a total of six F-35s forward deployed east from Germany to bases in Estonia, Lithuania and Romania, as part of a broader shuffling of troops and equipment announced this week by President Joe Biden. Biden has said that the movement is defensive in nature and that the U.S. has 'no intention of fighting Russia', but vowed to defend 'every inch of NATO territory with a full force of American power.' Ukraine is not a member of NATO. 'We are facing a dynamic environment, and the deployment of F-35s to NATO's eastern flank enhances our defensive posture and amplifies the Alliance's interoperability,' said General Jeffrey L. Harrigian, U.S. Air Force in EuropeAir Forces Africa commander, in a statement. The fighter jets from the 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve 419th Fighter Wing had been operating out of Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. Photos show two of the advanced F-35 fighter jets landing on Thursday at Romania's 86th Air Base, less than 100 miles from where the Danube River forms the border with Ukraine. As well, an undisclosed number of F-35 fighters landed Thursday afternoon at NATO's air base in Amari, near Estonia's capital Tallinn, Estonian media reported. F-35 fighters were reported to have arrived also at NATO's air base in Lithuania. A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II assigned to 34th Fighter Squadron takes off at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany to reinforce NATO airspace on the eastern flank Two U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters arrive at the 86th Air Base, Romania on Thursday. Aircraft and crews will work closely with Allies in the Black Sea region to reinforce regional security during the current crisis in Ukraine Two of the advanced F-35 fighter jets, which had been operating from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, land at Romania's 86th Air Base, less than 100 miles from where the Danube River forms the border with Ukraine An F-35 is seen touching down in Romania. On Thursday, a total of six F-35s deployed east from Germany to bases in Estonia, Lithuania and Romania, as part of a broader shuffling of troops and equipment US troops and equipment are moving to reinforce NATO allies close to the war in Ukraine and near Russia's border 'The F-35 provides unprecedented communication capabilities, command and control, and lethality for the combined and joint force,' said U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa in a written statement. 'These capabilities afford NATO leaders the flexibility to project power and assert air dominance in highly contested environments.' Biden on Thursday directed that an additional 7,000 U.S. service members be deployed to Germany to enhance deterrence of Russia. Most of the additional troops will come from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division in Fort Stewart, Georgia, said a senior defense official speaking on background. It means some 12,000 U.S. troops, total, have deployed or been ordered to deploy to Europe from the United States, and another 2,000 troops already in Europe who have moved closer to NATO's eastern flank. It brings the total US troop level in Europe to well over 90,000. Biden announced the movement of U.S. troops and equipment eastward in Europe on Tuesday, saying the forces will assist with border reinforcement on NATO's eastern flank and refugee processing, but will not intervene militarily in Ukraine, where Russia launched an all-out invasion early Thursday. On Wednesday evening, the first 40 troops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, known as the Sky Soldiers, arrived in Latvia from their home base in Italy. The deployment is part of a movement of 800 American troops and equipment into the Baltics - the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which are all now part of the NATO alliance. US soldiers are seen arriving in Europe after Biden ordered an additional 7,000 U.S. service members be deployed to Germany to enhance deterrence of Russia AH-64 Apache attack helicopters with the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade prepare to depart Germany for Lithuania and Latvia to conduct training with NATO allies A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II assigned to 34th Fighter Squadron taxis at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany on Thursday before taking off for Eastern Europe On Thursday, a total of six F-35s deployed east from Germany to bases in Estonia, Lithuania and Romania The small size of the Baltics deployment is tactically insignificant on a military level, but appears designed to reassure the NATO allies and serve as a 'tripwire' that assures an immediate U.S. military response to any aggression against the Baltic states. Nevertheless, the deployment of U.S. troops to the Baltic states, which all share borders with Russia, is sure to infuriate Putin, who has long demanded that NATO withdraw allied forces from Eastern Europe. 'I have authorized additional movements of U.S. forces and equipment already stationed in Europe to strengthen our Baltic Allies Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania,' said Biden. 'Let me be clear: These are totally defensive moves on our part. We have no intention of fighting Russia,' he added. 'We want to send an unmistakable message, though, that the United States, together with our Allies, will defend every inch of NATO territory and abide by the commitments we made to NATO,' said Biden. The Pentagon says the Baltics deployment is part of a broader shuffling of troops and equipment that will reinforce NATO allies close to the war in Ukraine and near Russia's border. Twenty AH-64 Apache attack helicopters will also deploy from Germany to the Baltic region, and 12 Apache helicopters will move from Greece to Poland. Above, an Apache prepares for flight in Germany Apaches with the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade as they departed Germany for Lithuania and Latvia to reinforce allies U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved the movement of up to eight F-35 Lightning II aircraft from Germany to operating locations on NATO's eastern flank. Twenty AH-64 Apache attack helicopters will also deploy from Germany to the Baltic region, and 12 Apache helicopters will move from Greece to Poland. 'These additional personnel are being repositioned to reassure our NATO allies, deter any potential aggression against NATO member states, and train with host-nation forces,' DOD officials said in a written statement. Biden has repeatedly said that Ukraine is nowhere near being able to join NATO and is also firm that US troops will not go there to help push back Russia. Addressing Americans in a White House speech Thursday, Biden was firm about the US commitment to defending NATO allies. 'As I made crystal clear, the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with a full force of American power,' Biden said. The president added, however: 'Our forces will not be engaged in a conflict with Russia in Ukraine.' Early Thursday, a small force of 40 troops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, known as the Sky Soldiers, arrived in Latvia from their home base in Italy, the US Embassy in Riga confirmed Biden has said that the troop movement is defensive in nature and that the US has 'no intention of fighting Russia' Meanwhile, Russia is facing more resistance than Moscow anticipated in its invasion of Ukraine, including in its advance on the capital, Kyiv, officials said on Friday. Officials from the U.S. and U.K. said Russian forces have not made the kinds of gains they expected in Ukraine, with one official saying Russia was 'behind on Day 1 targets.' 'The Russians have lost a little bit of their momentum,' a U.S. defense official said. 'No population centers have been taken. Russia has yet to achieve air superiority.' The official noted that Ukraine's air and missile defense capability is still working, though degraded. 'In general we assess the Russian forces are encountering greater resistance than they expected,' the official added. 'Ukrainian command and control is intact.' A British intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense noted that Lviv, in the far west of Ukraine, has sounded air raid sirens but officials have seen no evidence of strikes in the city. Advertisement Britain's Covid wave is continuing to fizzle out with daily cases, hospital admissions and deaths all still trending downwards, official data shows. There were another 31,933 infections recorded over the last 24 hours, down a third on last Friday. Daily cases have consistently fallen for more than three weeks now, with about 35,000 infections being recorded every day similar to levels seen in early November before Omicron struck. There were also another 120 Covid deaths, a drop of 24 per cent on the same time last week. And hospitalisations fell nine per cent after 1,169 admissions were recorded on February 21, the latest date UK-wide figures are available for. It came as health chiefs revealed today a more infectious version of Omicron scientifically named BA.2 was now dominant in England. But scientists said this was not a cause for concern because cases are still trending downwards, and there is no evidence that it is more dangerous or better at dodging vaccines than Omicron. Weeks of falling Covid statistics gave Boris Johnson the confidence to lift the last Covid restrictions, with the legal requirement to self-isolate ending yesterday after almost two years. Free Covid tests are also set to end from April 1 amid a drive to save 2billion a month from the Treasury, and the contact tracing system is to be wound down. The above graph shows that BA.2 - a sub-variant of Omicron - is now behind 52.3 per cent of all Covid cases in England. It is now dominant over old Omicron UK Health Security Agency statistics showed Covid cases dropped across all four UK nations today, compared to the same time last week. The positivity rate the proportion of tests that pick up the virus also fell slightly, further illustrating how the current Covid wave is receding. UK's 5.6bn Covid jabs rollout was 'good value' for money Britain's Covid vaccination drive was good value for money, No10's public spending watchdog has claimed. The National Audit Office heaped further praise on the 5.6bn jabs rollout adding that far fewer doses were wasted than predicted. It claimed securing a supply of vaccines early on in the pandemic was 'crucial' to its success and this helped to 'save lives and reduce serious illness and hospitalisation'. The independent watchdog warned there were still risks ahead for the programme, however, including staff burnout. In a report released today, covering a period up to the end of October 2021, the NAO said wastage of about 4.7 million doses 4 per cent of the total had been 'much lower than the programme initially assumed'. Advertisement Meanwhile, the UKHSA today revealed in its bi-weekly report that a more infectious version of Omicron is now dominant in England. It said BA.2 was behind 52 per cent of all Covid cases in the week to February 20. But the agency added there was no evidence that the strain was more severe or better able to dodge vaccine-induced immunity than Omicron. Scientists said today it was not likely to 'undermine' the current drop in cases seen in the country. They pointed to Denmark where the wave has peaked after BA.2 became dominant, which lifted its Covid restrictions at the start of this month. The weekly report showed BA.2 was behind the highest proportion of cases in London (62.9 per cent of Covid cases). It was also dominant in the South East (57.1 per cent), East of England (52.6 per cent), North West (51.1 per cent) and West Midlands (50 per cent). The regions where it was not dominant were the East Midlands (49.4 per cent), Yorkshire and the Humber (42.9 per cent), North East (33.1 per cent) and South West (32.7 per cent). The UKHSA also revealed that Deltacron a hybrid of Omicron and Delta was now spreading in England, although in low numbers. It claimed that 32 cases had been spotted since it first emerged on January 7, but only two of these were in the latest week data is available. A fortnight ago the UKHSA announced it would be keeping tabs on the hybrid. SAGE scientists have warned the mildness of Omicron may be a 'chance event', and say it is a 'common misconception' that viruses become weaker overtime. But other scientists argue that high levels of immunity in the population mean no variant will emerge that can set the UK back to where it was in March 2020. The weekly report showed BA.2 was behind the highest proportion of cases in London (62.9 per cent of Covid cases). It was also dominant in the South East (57.1 per cent), East of England (52.6 per cent), North West (51.1 per cent) and West Midlands (50 per cent) Government scientists also said they had detected 32 cases of 'Deltacron'. But the hybrid appears to have fizzled out rather than taking off in a promising sign It comes after No10's public spending watchdog claimed Britain's Covid vaccination drive was good value for money. The National Audit Office heaped further praise on the 5.6bn jabs rollout adding that far fewer doses were wasted than predicted. It claimed securing a supply of vaccines early on in the pandemic was 'crucial' to its success and this helped to 'save lives and reduce serious illness and hospitalisation'. The independent watchdog warned there were still risks ahead for the programme, however, including staff burnout. In a report released today, covering a period up to the end of October 2021, the NAO said wastage of about 4.7 million doses 4 per cent of the total had been 'much lower than the programme initially assumed'. The NAO, which only looked at first and second doses, said the operation had been 'an effective use of public money'. The report said the programme had cost 5.6billion, out of 8.3billion available over the two years to March this year. This included 2.9billion purchasing the jabs from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and other pharmaceutical giants. Doses cost 15.02 each on average, the NAO said, while the average cost of administering each jab was 25.70. However, it warned that staff burnout could affect delivery of jabs to the remaining unvaccinated adults, of which there are 3.7million. And the NAO called on ministers to 'redouble' efforts to ensure jabs were available to those who had not yet been vaccinated. Alec Baldwin shared a cryptic tweet about Buddhism on the same day Halyna Hutchins' widower blasted the actor for 'sounding like he was the victim' of the fatal Rust set shooting. On Thursday, Matt Hutchins took aim at Alec Baldwin, 63, during an interview with TODAY, claiming that the actor shifted blame for the tragic October on-set shooting that killed his wife Halyna, making himself sound like a victim, despite having been the one to pull the trigger. 'He said essentially he felt grief but no guilt. Almost sounds like he was the victim,' Hutchins said. 'And hearing him blame Halyna in the interview and shift responsibility to others and seeing him cry about it, I just feel like - are we really supposed to feel bad about you, Mr. Baldwin?' Hours after the interview aired, Baldwin tweeted out a quote regarding being truthful in the Buddhist religion. 'In Buddhism being truthful goes beyond simply not telling lies,' he wrote. 'It means speaking truthfully and honestly, yes. But it also means using speech to benefit others, not to use it to benefit only ourselves.' Hours after the interview aired, Baldwin seemingly responded to Hutchins, tweeting out a quote regarding being truthful in the Buddhist religion Alec Baldwin is seen returning to his New York apartment on Thursday, Feb. 24, after Hutchins' interview had aired on the TODAY Show Halyna Hutchins' widower, Matt Hutchins, a Harvard-educated lawyer, told TODAY he felt that the majority of the blame for his wife's death lay with Baldwin On October 21, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, (pictured) was shot and killed on the set of the western Rust On October 21, 42-year-old Hutchins died when a prop gun used in the film Rust was fired, shooting Hutchins in the chest. Baldwin was told the gun he brandished was 'cold' - not loaded - and on December 3, he told ABC News that he did not feel guilty for her death, because he didn't believe he was responsible. 'Watching him, I just felt so angry,' Matt Hutchins, Halyna's husband of 16 years, said on Thursday. 'I was just so angry to see him talk about her death so publicly in such a detailed way and then to not accept any responsibility after having just described killing her.' Matt Hutchins, a Harvard-educated lawyer, told TODAY he felt that the majority of the blame lay with Baldwin. Baldwin, in the December interview, said: 'Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can't say who that is, but it's not me.' Matt Hutchins said Thursday: 'The idea that the person holding the gun and causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me. 'But gun safety was not the only problem on that set. There were a number of industry standards that were not practiced and there's multiple responsible parties,' he added. Matthew and Halyna Hutchins are pictured with their son Andros, aged nine Alec Baldwin is spotted in New York Thursday morning after an interview with Matthew Hutchins aired on the Today Show Halyna Hutchins is shown on set with Alec Baldwin, Josh Hopkins (left), Travis Fimmel (second from right) and Jensen Ackles (right) Baldwin speaks on the phone in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on October 21 after he was questioned about the shooting The widower, who has a nine-year-old son named Andros with his late wife, filed a wrongful death suit against Baldwin on February 15. The suit, which alleges at least 15 safety practices were disregarded on the set, argues that a wider cost-cutting culture ultimately led to Halyna's death. 'The lawsuit [is] seeking to hold accountable the people who are responsible for Halyna's death, which was totally preventable,' Matt Hutchins said. 'In the end, you know, justice won't bring Halyna back, but maybe the memory of her can help keep people safe and prevent something like this from ever happening again.' Hutchins' October 19, 2021 Instagram post showed cast members and staffers, including Baldwin alongside Hutchins herself and armorer Gutierrez-Reed (circled left to right) on the set of Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico Hutchins and Halyna (pictured together) had a whirlwind romance that he described as 'magical' and love at first sight. They were married for 16 years Baldwin's attorney has said any claims the actor was reckless are 'entirely false.' Hutchins met Baldwin in New Mexico shortly after the fatal shooting. 'Her husband comes to town, her husband Matthew,' Baldwin said in the December interview with ABC. 'And I met with him and their son. He was as kind as you could be. ' When asked what he said, Baldwin replied: 'I didn't know what to say. He hugged me and he goes, ''I suppose you and I are going to go through this together.'' And I thought, ''Well, not as much as you are.''' Brian Panish, representing Matt Hutchins, said the Oscar-nominated actor and others named defendants are 'responsible for the safety on the set and whose reckless behavior in cost-cutting led to the senseless and tragic death of Halyna Hutchins.' The suit also names the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, who has said that she loaded the antique Colt .45 revolver with what she believed were dummy rounds. Gutierrez-Reed named crew member Seth Kenney, who supplied ammunition to the set, in her own suit, filed in January. Gutierrez-Reed gave the gun to Dave Halls, an assistant director on the movie, who is also named in the Hutchins family's lawsuit. Halls told Baldwin the gun was 'cold.' Gutierrez-Reed, in her suit, described the set of Rust as a 'rushed and chaotic atmosphere, (that) created a perfect storm for a safety incident.' NBC News reported that 'multiple previous misfires' by the same prop gun that killed Hutchins caused multiple crew members to walk off the movie's set hours before the incident. The set of Rust, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside of Santa Fe Alec Baldwin is seen on Wednesday in New York City with two of his children Matthew and Halyna Hutchins are pictured with their son Andros, aged nine Lane Luper, who served as the film's A-camera first assistant, said he quit one day before the fatal shooting because employees were being overworked, COVID-safety was not being enforced properly, and gun safety was poor. 'I think with Rust, it was the perfect storm of the armorer, the assistant director, the culture that was on set, the rushing. It was everything,' he told Good Morning America about the events that led up to the fatal shooting. 'It wasn't just one individual. Everything had to fall into place for this one-in-a-trillion thing to happen.' In his letter of resignation, Luper said there had been two accidental weapon discharges on set and one accidental sound-effects explosion that went off around the crew. 'There have been NO explanations as to what to expect for these shots. When anyone from production is asked we are usually met with the same answers about not having enough time to complete the day if we rehearse or that 'this is a 21 day shoot,''' Luper wrote in the letter. He added that the crew grew exhausted of the long commutes from the set to their lodging, which for some more than two hours away. 'In my 10 years as a camera assistant, I've never worked on a show that cares so little for the safety of its crew,' Luper said. She was shot just moments after the crew entered a church set to rehearse a scene (above) The gun prepared by the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed (right), discharged in Baldwin's hands as it was aimed at Hutchins (left) Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is pictured filming with a camera in this undated photo In a statement to Sky News, a spokesperson for the producers hit back at his claims, saying: 'Mr Luper's allegations around budget and safety are patently false, which is not surprising considering his job was to be a camera operator, and he had absolutely nothing to do with it or knowledge of safety protocols or budgets. 'As we continue to cooperate with all investigations, we are limited in what we can say,' the spokesperson continued. 'However, safety is always the number one priority.' Baldwin insisted that he was unaware of any problems on set. He was rehearsing a scene in which he pulls out his gun and, in an interview with ABC on December 2, said that he never pulled the trigger, but the gun went off anyway. Additionally, Matt Hutchins said the family is 'pursuing justice every way we can,' which includes the civil lawsuit seeking responsibility for Halyna's 'totally preventable' death. Kansas top public school administrator was suspended on Friday after attempting to resign over an offensive remark about Native Americans at a recent public conference. The 10-member State Board of Education unanimously rejected Education Commissioner Randy Watsons resignation and suspended him for 30 days without pay during a special meeting to address the controversy. 'We looked at the entire history of the commissioner,' Board Chair Jim Porter said Friday. 'This particular incident was serious and needed to be addressed but we didn't feel like it was career ending.' Porter added, 'We believe in restorative justice. We believe that is is absolutely critical that we use this as a learning and teaching opportunity. And we felt strong that we are better able to do that under his leadership.' Watson made the objectionable comment during a Zoom presentation to a two-day conference on virtual education last week. The department released the video of his presentation Thursday. Watson made an extended metaphor that compared responding to the coronavirus pandemic to dealing with both a tornado and a hurricane. He joked about how cousins from California used to visit him in Kansas during the summer and were 'petrified' of tornadoes. Scroll down for video: Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson offered to resign over an offensive comment he made about Native Americans, but the state's Board of Education decided to suspended him for 30 days without pay instead. Watson is pictured making the remark during a Zoom conference The 10-member Board of Education held a special meeting on Friday to address the scandal surrounding Watson's comment 'Theyre like, "Are we going to get killed by a tornado?"' Watson said. 'And Id say, "Dont worry about that, but you got to worry about the Indians raiding the town at any time." And they really thought that, you know. Growing up in California, I guess you don't know much of the history of Kansas.' The boards decision allowing Watson to keep his job came a day after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, three indigenous state legislators and the chair of one of the states four Native American nations called on Watson to step down. Kelly, Watson and the indigenous nations leaders met Wednesday, the same day the board scheduled its special meeting. Board members said Watson also informed them of the situation. Porter said Watson had made multiple apologies, but 'these apologies have not been accepted by many who were affected.' He chided Kelly and the legislators for getting involved publicly, noting that the board has 'sole responsibility' for the Department of Educations leadership. He also noted that several state lawmakers have faced legal problems of their own over the past year yet 'remain in their position with no or limited consequences.' Watson did not attend the public portion of the meeting on Friday. His empty chair pictured above Board Chair Jim Porter, a Republican, said Watson's remark was 'serious' but 'not career-ending' 'It seems ironic to me that Commissioner Watson, who owned and did take responsibility for his statement, which was not illegal, feels obligated or feels forced to resign,' said Porter, a Republican from southeastern Kansas. Watson was not at the boards meeting when it began, before the board went into a closed session to discuss its response to him stepping down. No letter of resignation was immediately released. Northeast Kansas is home to four Native American nations: the Iowa, the Kickapoo, the Prairie Band Potawatomi and the Sac and Fox. Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, earlier called on Watson to step down Watson became education commissioner in November 2014 after serving as superintendent of McPhersons public schools. As commissioner, Watson pushed for a redesign of the states public schools to place more emphasis on personalized learning and better preparing students for adult work. Before the meeting, state Senate Education Committee Chair Molly Baumgardner, a conservative Kansas City-area Republican, said Kelly should have left dealing with Watsons remark to the board. She also said lawmakers have 'always had open, honest communication' with Watson. 'I think his compassion for learning and for kids is without question,' she said Thursday evening. But the Legislatures three Native American lawmakers, all Democrats in the state House, had strongly criticized Watsons remark as perpetuating harmful stereotypes and reopening traumas that Native American students face regularly. One of them, Democratic state Rep. Ponka-We Victors-Cozad, of Wichita, called the remark 'racist.' And Prairie Band Potawatomi Chair Joseph 'Zeke' Rupnick said Watson showed that he 'is not suited for a leadership role.' A pair of assistant principals at a California high school have been charged with felony child abuse for failing to report repeated sexual assaults committed by a student against three of his underage classmates last year, police say. David Shenhan Yang, 38, and Natasha Harris, 37, were arrested Wednesday at Carter High School in Rialto, roughly 50 miles east of Los Angeles, following a week-long investigation by local police into the allegations made by the three female high schoolers. The victims, two aged 15 and one 16, according to police, say they told Yang and Harris they were assaulted by the unidentified male student, aged 17, several times on school grounds, a criminal complaint filed Wednesday revealed. David Shenhan Yang, 38, and Natasha Harris, 37, were arrested Wednesday at Carter High School in Rialto, roughly 50 miles east of Los Angeles, following a week-long investigation by local police into the allegations made by the three female high schoolers One of the victims approached the staffers in September - five months before police were notified of the allegations - cops say, while another came forward in November. According to cops, both staffers then neglected to report the alleged instances to school brass or law enforcement. Per the complaint, 'no notification was made to the Rialto Police Department until February 16th' - at which point the department began investigating the claims immediately. The pair was apprehended Wednesday during school hours, with both handcuffed, escorted out of the building and taken to a nearby detention facility. Both staffers are now facing charges of felony child abuse for failing to report the incidents, as well two counts of failure to report child abuse or neglect. Scroll down for video: The pair was apprehended Wednesday during school hours, with both handcuffed escorted out of the building and taken to a nearby detention facility They are currently being held on $150,000 bail and are scheduled to make their first court appearance Thursday afternoon, police records show. A separate investigation is being conducted on the unnamed 17-year-old suspect, police say, who is reportedly facing sexual battery charges. 'In this case, the Assistant Principals failure to report sexual assault on their campus erodes the trust that students and parents alike should have regarding the safety and protection of all the children in their care,' District Attorney Jason Anderson said of the case, which was first publicized by the Rialto Police Department on Tuesday. 'Their failure as mandated reporters to notify law enforcement lead to further victimization of two students, and the sexual assault of a third victim, which was preventable.' One of the victims approached the staffers in September - five months before police were notified of the allegations, cops say, while another came forward in November According to a news release from the Rialto Police Department Tuesday, authorities were informed earlier this month that the 17-year-old male student sexually assaulted one of the alleged victims - one of the 15-year-old students - several times on campus over the course of three months last year. As the investigation progressed, however, detectives said they learned the same suspect had also been accused of sexually assaulting two other alleged victims, ages 15 and 16, throughout last year. The initial victim reported the sexual assault to Harris and Yang three months ago, in November, prosecutors say. Another victim reported her assault to both staffers in September, while the third had not previously reported her case to school officials, the San Bernardino County District Attorneys Office said. Outraged parents demanded action from the school district over the alleged neglect of the staffers Tuesday, calling a board meeting demanding the staffers face consequences. The assistant principals were arrested the next day According to police, the teenage male suspect, who has not been expelled by the school, is also under investigation, and was recently cited and released into the custody of his parents pending criminal charges being filed. The department further revealed Tuesday that 'the reason for the delay in reporting from school officials to the police department is also under investigation.' Prosecutors, meanwhile, say that Harris and Yang, as school administrators, were required by state law to immediately report allegations of child abuse or neglect to law enforcement, hence the charges leveled against them. The Rialto Unified School District responded to the scandal in a statement Wednesday, asserting that school officials will continue their own internal investigation into the allegations and why they were not reported sooner. Outraged parents have demanded action from the school district over the alleged neglect of the staffers, storming a board meeting Tuesday night to demand they face consequences. The meeting came just hours before the pair were apprehended Wednesday during school hours and escorted out of the building in handcuffs. They were ultimately taken to the San Bernardino County Sheriff Central Detention Center. The parents also staged protests outside the school, demanding that staffers and officials take action. Authorities have yet to release additional details about the alleged assaults or the investigation surrounding the suspect. Yang and Harris face up to six years in prison for their alleged crimes. A Scottish electrician got a surprise when he turned up to a customer's home and found a room covered in Nazi memorabilia. George Taylor went into the bedroom at the home in Dennistoun, Glasgow so he could change over plug sockets but was shocked by what he stumbled upon. The tradesman from Greenock, Inverclyde took images showing the single bedroom covered wall to wall with historical artefacts. Large red flags bearing the swastika have been stuck up on the wall surrounded by various helmets and Nazi armbands. Several pairs of boots are lined up at the back of the room alongside another Nazi flag while a swastika rug is shown on the floor. An Adolf Hitler poster has also been stuck up underneath a shelf in the room. A Scottish electrician got a surprise when he turned up to a customer's home and found a room covered in Nazi memorabilia. George Taylor went into the bedroom at the home in Dennistoun, Glasgow so he could change over plug sockets but was shocked by what he stumbled upon The centre of the room is taken up with a rug bearing the Union Jack flag in a direct contrast to the rest of the interior. To the left of the room there are several Nazi officer jackets hanging up. George posted images of his bizarre discovery on social media on Thursday, writing: 'Working in a house in Glasgow the day, went into the bedroom to change over the sockets and...' His post received over 3,000 likes and 738 retweets from social media users. Hundreds of people left comments after being equally as surprised by the shrine. Dean Ramsay said: 'F*** mate, I've been in a right few howlers recently but that tops it.' An Adolf Hitler poster has also been stuck up underneath a shelf in the room To the left of the room there are several Nazi officer jackets hanging up Steven Duffie said: 'Aye haha fitting windows and the guy had a copy of Mein Kampf on his coffee table and some mental flags round about his house.' Jake Bryan said: 'You'd turn straight back around wouldn't you haha.' Aldo Masiavelli said: 'Did he pay you in reichsmarks' Boban Redondo said: 'F****** hell. I take it you were left the keys or something? Unreal in 2022.' Petrolhead Biker said: 'Worrying that these people live amongst us.' Adolf Hitler killed himself in his bunker in Berlin in April 1945 as the Second World War was coming to an end. Vladimir Putin today ordered a 'partial' block on Facebook, with Russian officials claiming it was a response to the tech giant's 'censorship' of its state media. Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor announced the move this afternoon, but it is unclear how restrictive the measures will be. Facebook did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. The move came after Facebook limited the accounts of several Kremlin-backed media over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor announced the move this afternoon, but it is unclear how restrictive the measures will be (stock image) Russian state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said Friday it demanded that Facebook lift the restrictions it placed Thursday on state news agency RIA Novosti, state TV channel Zvezda, and pro-Kremlin news sites Lenta.Ru and Gazeta.Ru. The agency claimed that Facebook didn't reinstate the media outlets. The restrictions on the accounts, according to Roskomnadzor, included marking content as unreliable and imposing technical restrictions on the search results to reduce the publications' audiences on Facebook. Roskomnadzor said its 'partial restriction' on Facebook takes effect on Friday, without clarifying what exactly the move means. In its official statement, Roskomnadzor cast its action as 'measures to protect Russian media.' It said Russia's Foreign Ministry and the Prosecutor General's office found Facebook 'complicit in violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian nationals'. It comes after Russians are understood to have been warned by authorities that any 'negative comments' about Putin's invasion of the Ukraine would be treated as 'treason'. In its official statement, Roskomnadzor cast its action as 'measures to protect Russian media'. Pictured: Russian president Vladimir Putin Makar Zadorozhny, a Moscow actor, published a letter from his theatre's administration, which warned employees against voicing negative opinions on the conflict, according to The Telegraph. The letter, which said it had been informed by the culture department, read: 'Negative comments will be treated as treason.' It comes after human rights advocates warned of a new wave of repression on dissent in Russia as protests got underway. 'There will be new (criminal) cases involving subverters, spies, treason, prosecution for antiwar protests, there will be detentions of journalists and bloggers, those who authored critical posts on social media, bans on investigations of the situation in the army and so on,' prominent human rights advocate Pavel Chikov wrote on Facebook. 'It is hard to say how big this new wave will be, given that everything has been suppressed already.' Elsewhere, Boris Johnson announced the 'largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen' as he seeks to pile pressure on Vladimir Putin and cripple Moscow's economy. They will block Aeroflot from landing flights in the UK, and hit more than 100 business and individuals as Britain seeks to cripple Russian banks' access to London's financial institutions and curtail oligarchs luxury lifestyles in the capital. Russia retaliated to the ban on Aeroflot flights landing in the UK by banning British flights to and over Russia. Britain does not count Russia as one of its major markets when compared to other foreign countries, but the sanctions could affect UK companies which work with firms in the country such as BP. And a crackdown on Russian companies and billionaires in the UK would remove business from British banks and asset managers, and therefore have a noticeable impact on the UK economy. In Europe, Ursula von der Leyen said Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine marks the 'beginning of a new era' as the European Commission president outlined a package of further EU sanctions against Russia. Following a late-night European Council meeting on the situation in Ukraine, Ms von der Leyen said the package included financial, energy and technological sanctions aimed to deter Mr Putin from redrawing 'the map of Europe by force'. UKRAINE WAR: LATEST Russia said it is not willing to negotiate with Ukraine's government until military operation is over Came after Zelensky called for a sit-down with Putin to end the fighting Ukraine says Russia has bombed 33 civilian sites in Kyiv in the last 24 hours Two children have been reported killed in Kyiv bombing overnight Ukraine has banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country to conscript them into armed forces Zelensky has allowed anyone of any age to join the armed forces, and called on Europeans from other countries to come and join the fight Russia is deploying paratroopers to Chernobyl after capturing it yesterday, Moscow said Ukraine reported 'anomalous' radiation levels at the plant amid fears nuclear storage was breached in fighting, but Moscow said readings are normal Russia claims to have destroyed 118 Ukrainian military sites in 30 hours of fighting PM Boris Johnson pledged more support is coming to Ukraine in the coming days Johnson shared a phone call with Zelensky on Friday morning Advertisement She said the European Union agreed to impose sanctions that 'will have maximum impact on the Russian economy and the political elite'. Meanwhile, US president Joe Biden yesterday ordered broad new sanctions targeting Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, declaring that leader Vladimir Putin 'chose this war' and his country will bear the consequences. The sanctions target Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors, Mr Biden said. The United States and its allies will block assets of four large Russian banks - including the country's two largest, Sberbank and VTB Bank - impose export controls and sanction oligarchs. Mr Biden also said the US will be deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster Nato after the invasion of Ukraine, which is not a member of the defence organisation. Around 7,000 additional US troops will be sent. Energy giant Gazprom and 12 other major companies will be barred from raising capital in Western financial markets. Washington also applied sanctions on Russian banks, and whom it described as 'corrupt billionaires' and their families who are close to the Kremlin. Russia have launched all-out war on Ukraine with missiles and bombs, tanks rolling across the border from Belarus, troops parachuted down on eastern regions and explosions seen across the country after Putin personally gave the order for his forces to attack. Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said today will be the war's 'hardest day'. Russian forces were sustaining heavy casualties across the country with Ukraine claiming to have killed 2,800 men - as Putin himself made an appeal to Ukrainian forces to turn on their 'drug-addicted neo-Nazi' leaders or else lay down their arms and go home. Ukrainian troops were using armoured vehicles and snowploughs to defend Kyiv and limit movement, and said Russian spies were seeking to infiltrate the city. A truck was pictured riddled with bullets and bodies scattered around it, with Ukraine saying the men were Russian 'saboteurs' dressed in Ukrainian uniforms that it had killed. Meanwhile Russia's military said it had seized a strategic airport outside Kyiv in what would be a hammer blow to the defence. It is thought the plan is to use one of the city's airports to fly in tens of thousands of reinforcements. Ukrainian forces did not mention an airport being captured, but Zelensky said fighting had restarted around Gostomel - a key airport where battles raged throughout the day on Thursday. Ukrainian soldiers are pictured forming up across a highway in Kyiv as they prepare to defend the city from Russian attackers, with gunfire and explosions heard in the centre of the capital Russian soldiers on the amphibious infantry fighting vehicle BMP-2 move towards mainland Ukraine on the road near Armiansk, Crimea Ukraine claimed to have shot down a Russian jet over the outskirts of Kyiv overnight, with wreckage falling on a house and leaving several people injured Russia claimed to have already cut the city off from the west - the direction most of those escaping the invasion are heading in - with lines of cars snaking towards the Polish border. Intense fire broke out on a bridge across the Dnieper River dividing the eastern and western sides of Kyiv, with about 200 Ukrainian forces establishing defensive positions and taking shelter behind their armoured vehicles and later under the bridge. The Russian troops are thought to have arrived from the north-west, having pushed down from Chernobyl which was captured late yesterday. More Russian troops and armour are advancing on the capital from Konotop, in the east, having bypassed the city of Chernihiv where they ran into heavy Ukrainian resistance. Once Kyiv is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport - likely Sikorsky or Boryspil - which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital. The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime - effectively ending the war without Putin's ground forces needing to complete the difficult and bloody task of seizing and occupying the whole country. It appears the Russians almost pulled off the plan on the first day of the invasion when 20 attack helicopters landed a crack team of troops at Antonov Airport, 15 miles to the north of Kyiv. Russian armour is now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet A man dressed in camouflage takes a picture of a crater where a Russian rocket landed, destroying part of an apartment block in Kyiv which is now under heavy attack Russian troops move towards Ukraine on the road near Armiansk, Crimea, in what appears to be the convoy that a citizen later tried to stop as it drove down a highway But Ukrainian national guard units managed to retake the landing strip overnight after heavy fighting, scattering the surviving Russian attackers into the surrounding countryside. A Russian attack on the capital would likely be coordinated with a push by troops on southern and eastern fronts - Crimea and Donbass - aimed at pinning down Ukrainian armed forces so they cannot retreat and reinforce the city, officials told author Michael Weiss. It may also be accompanied by bombing raids and sabotage attacks on power grids and infrastructure to sow panic and force people to flee, snarling up roads and making it difficult for forces already in Kyiv to move around. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with Moscow to hold talks, and with western powers to act faster to cut off Russia's economy and provide military help. 'When bombs fall on Kyiv, it happens in Europe, not just in Ukraine,' he said. 'When missiles kill our people, they kill all Europeans.' His whereabouts were kept secret. He also offered to negotiate on one of Mr Putin's key demands: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining Nato. The Russian president's spokesman said the Kremlin could consider the idea, but foreign minister Sergey Lavrov suggested it may be too late, saying Mr Zelensky had 'missed the opportunity' to discuss a non-aligned status for Ukraine when Mr Putin previously proposed it. But after a week-long trial, he was cleared of causing death by careless driving It was claimed PC Bowen may have been speaking to colleagues at time of crash Mr Dawe, 83, was rushed to hospital where he died days later on August 3, 2020 PC Daniel Bowen, 29, was driving police van when it hit Peter Dawe in July 2020 A Metropolitan Police officer who drove a van of recruits into a pensioner has been clearer of causing death by careless driving. PC Daniel Bowen, 29, of Hornchurch, east London, was driving a marked Mercedes Sprinter police van when it collided with Peter Dawe on a crossing in East Ham, east London, on July 15, 2020. Mr Dawe, 83, was rushed to hospital where he died days later, on August 3, 2020. It was claimed that PC Bowen might have been turning to speak to the team of recruited police officers or doing something with his radio at the time of the crash. But following a week-long trial at Aldersgate House Nightingale Court in the Barbican, London, he was cleared of causing death by careless driving. PC Daniel Bowen, 29, who worked at at Stratford police station (pictured) was driving a police van when it collided with Peter Dawe on a crossing in East Ham, east London, on July 15, 2020 Prosecutor Philip McGhee had previously told the court that PC Bowen had begun his shift at 10am on July 15, 2020, at Stratford police station. In his role as street duties instructor, he was driving with two other instructors and six new police officers in a Mercedes minibus carrier. At around 10.50am, he had accepted a request to deliver a court warning to an individual in Canning Town, the court heard. Mr McGhee said it was not an emergency so there was no need for PC Bowen to turn on his siren and blue lights, which he claimed the officer was 'considering'. The court heard that PC Bowen stopped at a red light at the junction between High Street North and Ron Leighton Way, where there was a pedestrian crossing. Mr Dawe started to walk across the road as the lights were about to turn green, jurors heard. He paused part way along, looking at the traffic that was coming from Ron Leighton Way to his left, jurors were told. After the lights changed, PC Bowen moved doff and turned the corner into Ron Leighton Way, where he hit Mr Dawe. Mr McGhee said: 'Mr Dawe was struck by part of the front of the carrier and fell to the ground. 'The defendant immediately stopped and got out to help Mr Dawe.' Following a week-long trial at Aldersgate House Nightingale Court in the Barbican, he was cleared of causing death by careless driving. Pictured: Stock image of a police van Data from an onboard computer showed the van had stopped at the traffic lights for 26 seconds before turning around the corner, moving 35 metres in about 11 seconds. PC Bowen gave a prepared statement saying he did not see Mr Dawe in time because his vision was blocked by the pillar. He said the team were discussing whether to accept a call to a park in Newham to help arrest a wanted man when he got to the traffic lights. Mr McGhee said: 'He was considering activating the blue lights and sirens. 'He conducted a three-way mirror check and shoulder check, turning right to see if anyone was going to overtake him. 'He didn't recall any pedestrians ahead of him at the turn. As he turned the steering wheel, he heard a loud bang and he braked. 'He had not seen the car making contact, he didn't know which direction Mr Dawe had been walking.' The victim was given first aid before he was taken to hospital. He suffered rib and shoulder fractures as well as lung and head injuries. The court heard that PC Bowen did not deny hitting Mr Dawe, but disputed that he was driving carelessly. A jury deliberated for more than two days before finding PC Bowen not guilty on Friday. A Ukrainian people smuggler told a court he was 'desperate' to return to his homeland following the Russian invasion, minutes before being jailed for two years. The judge acknowledged his situation but said he could not be swayed in his sentencing by events in Ukraine. Andrii Kuzmych, 28, said he was 'desperate' to return to his pregnant wife in Kyiv and was living in fear for his brother who was working in a hospital that had been bombed yesterday morning. The lorry driver tried to smuggle an Albanian woman into Kent for 500 which he accepted to pay for a family member's medical treatment, the court heard. Border Force discovered the woman stowed inside Kuzmych's cabin at Dover's inbound freight lanes in September. A Ukrainian people smuggler told Canterbury Crown Court he was 'desperate' to return to his homeland following the Russian invasion, minutes before being jailed for two years Kuzmych was stopped in a Belgian car park where he took up a people smuggler's offer, Canterbury Crown Court heard yesterday. Sian Priory, prosecuting, said: '[People smuggling] threatens not only the security of our borders but the security of others, of those citizens who are legally residents here and those who are visitors. 'A Lithuanian heavy goods vehicle was intercepted at the inbound freight lanes at Dover. 'The vehicle had travelled from Calais and when stopped the driver had identified himself as Mr Kuzmych and declared himself to be the only person in the vehicle. Andrii Kuzmych, 28, fears deeply for his wife and brother in Kyiv (pictured today) 'A female was detected in the top bunker of the cab where a mattress had been used to attempt to conceal her.' Kuzmych admitted to assisting unlawful immigration at an early opportunity. Ben Irwin, mitigating, said: 'It seems unlikely he knew just how serious that was.' He added: 'His family are all in the Ukraine, he spoke to some of them this morning, and knows full well his country has been invaded. 'His family live in Ukraine, in Kyiv, his brother is a doctor in a hospital that was bombed this morning, so as he sits in HMP Elmley he fears very deeply for his family and his country. 'He is anxious if not desperate to return to join his country and family.' Kuzmych, of previous good character, was jailed for two years. Recorder Matthew McDonagh, said the sentence 'cannot be affected by the developing situation in the Ukraine.' But he added: 'I acknowledge the threat to your family and friends in Western Ukraine particularly your wife who, I'm told, is pregnant.' Two young children and a man were found unresponsive after drowning in a backyard pool at a South Florida home, police say. Hollywood Police Department officers were called to the home on South Highland Drive shortly around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, spokeswoman Deanna Bettineschi told DailyMail.com They performed CPR on the victims, who were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital where they were pronounced dead. The children were aged five and two. There was no information released about the adult found with them. The relationship between the man and the children could not be confirmed by local authorities. Police told DailyMail.com that they are still investigating the tragedy. No more details were immediately available but there is no foul play suspected, police said. An unidentified man and two children, ages five and two, were found unresponsive in the pool when police responded around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday The tragedy took place at 733 South Highland Drive in Hollywood, Florida, after the children's mother found the three victims drowned in the water Footage showed multiple officers at the home examining the backyard pool area. The house's current residents are a family with five children, one of whom had just left for college, according to a neighbor who spoke to WSVN. 'It's horrible, and I'm shaken right now. We're cordial, and here and there we say hi to them,' the neighbor told the outlet. 'We really keep to ourselves in this neighborhood until something like this happens, unfortunately.' Another neighbor exclusively told DailyMail.com that the family-of-five were 'good neighbors' who were 'lovely' and 'cordial.' Hollywood is south of Fort Lauderdale and just 21 miles north of Miami in Broward County. The victims were taken to Memoria Regional Hospital (pictured) where medics performed CPR on them, but they were later pronounced dead New state data from the Florida Department of Children and Families shows that child drownings hit a record high in Florida last year with 98 children, aged 18 and under, dying in 2021. In 2019, there were 65 child drowning deaths in Florida, and 69 drowning deaths occurred in 2020. A woman believed to be homeless was found dead aboard a subway train in Brooklyn Thursday morning, the latest in a surge of destitute New Yorkers found deceased aboard subway trains and in stations. Police said the woman appeared to be in her 30s and was found on a southbound No. 2 train at Atlantic Ave.-Barclays Center around 7:15 a.m. Photos from the scene show her dressed in pajama bottoms surrounded by trash. Advertisement No criminality was suspected in her death, and her body was taken away by the city Medical Examiner for further investigation, according to police. A woman was pronounced dead on scene after she was found unconscious and unresponsive Thursday aboard a southbound No. 2 train at the Atlantic Ave. subway station in Brooklyn. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News) Another rider was also found unresponsive on the same train car, but was resuscitated and taken to Methodist Hospital, according to an FDNY spokesperson. Advertisement Some local trains that stop at the busy Atlantic Ave.-Barclays Center station were moved to express tracks while the womans body was removed and the train was taken out of service. The woman found dead Thursday was at least the eighth person believed to be homeless to pass away on a subway train or platform this year, a major spike from the same period of 2021, when MTA data shows just two similar incidents. At least six people believed to be homeless dropped dead in the subways this year, the Daily News reported. The only one of those identified by police was Audrey Lumer, who was found dead in the 21st St.-Van Alst station on the G line Feb. 9, about four years after she was evicted from her home. Lumers relatives said she struggled with mental illness. Homelessness exacerbates the struggles of mentally ill people, their advocates say. Police said a man in his 50s without any ID who was also believed to be homeless was found dead at the northern terminus of the No. 2 line at 241st St. last Friday around 10:40 p.m. The NYPD has not yet made contact with his family or released his name, a department spokesperson said. A 49-year-old man has been charged in connection with the murder of Emma Caldwell who was found strangled almost 17 years ago. Ms Caldwell was last seen between 12.30am and 1.30am on April 5, 2005, on London Road in Glasgow, and was reported missing by her family five days later. The body of the 27-year-old, who had been working as a prostitute, was discovered in woods at Roberton near Biggar, South Lanarkshire, on May 8, 2005. Police said a 49-year-old man arrested in the Glasgow area on Thursday has now been charged in connection with Ms Caldwell's death. He remains in custody and is due to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday. Emma Caldwell (pictured above), 27, was last seen between 12.30am and 1.30am on April 5, 2005, on London Road in Glasgow, and was reported missing by her family five days later Her body was discovered in woods at Roberton near Biggar, South Lanarkshire, on May 8, 2005. Pictured: a CCTV still showing Ms Caldwell at a women's hostel in Govanhill The unsolved case was reopened in 2015 following consideration by senior lawyers in the Crown Office and campaigning by Ms Caldwell's mother Margaret. Following the arrest on Thursday, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Graeme Mackie said: 'Police Scotland officers have undertaken a significant amount of work re-investigating all the circumstances surrounding Emmas death following instruction from the Lord Advocate in 2015. 'This is a complex and challenging investigation and I would like to thank everyone involved for their efforts in getting us to this point of a man being arrested earlier today. 'Emmas family, in particular her mother Margaret, have shown incredible resilience and determination since her death in 2005 and I would like to pay tribute to that today. 'We have remained in close contact with them during this investigation and officers have updated Margaret on this significant development. 'The investigation into Emmas death continues and I would urge anyone with information, no matter how small or insignificant they might think it is, to please come forward and speak to us. The unsolved case was reopened in 2015 following consideration by senior lawyers in the Crown Office and campaigning by Ms Caldwell's mother Margaret. Pictured: Police searching woodland near Roberton in South Lanarkshire in May 2005 'As legal proceedings are now live we are unable to comment further.' Aamer Anwar, solicitor for the Caldwell family, said he and Margaret Caldwell met with prosecutors and Det Supt Mackie on Thursday. He said Mrs Caldwell and her family are 'truly grateful' to the detectives at Police Scotland and Lord Advocate Dorothy Bains team who have worked 'tirelessly' to reinvestigate the case. Mr Anwar added: 'I also wish to pay tribute to Margaret Caldwell, a mother who through the love of a child has never given up in her struggle for justice.' An alleged Nazi sympathiser started building a homemade submachine gun in his garage in order to fulfil his 'mission' of fighting in a religious war against Jews and other targets of right-wing terrorists, a court heard. Birmingham Crown Court heard Ben Styles posted in an online group called '#Kill All the Jews' and described the holocaust to friends as the 'holohoax', adding: 'I hope the holocaust is real next time.' Prosecutors allege the 24-year-old, who has a B-tec in Engineering from Warwickshire College, told his friend he was 'just getting as strong as possible for the war' and sent a picture of his phone lock screen which had images of swastikas on it. Ben Styles is accused of posted messages in an online group called 'Kill All Jews', Birmingham Crown Court has heard Referring to the lock screen, the defendant allegedly told his friend: 'Waking up and seeing this lock screen to start my day is far more important than some non-person NHS clapper shouting at me about primary school history.' The court heard messages were also recovered from Styles in 2019 following the terror attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, which said: 'I just got back from New Zealand - it made me super racist. Then that happened and I had a good day.' Opening the case against Styles on Friday, prosecutor Matthew Brook said: 'When you all walked into court, and looked at the defendant, you may well have thought to yourself 'I wonder what he is on trial for?' 'You were then told that this is a terrorism trial. 'I don't know, but I suspect that may have surprised you because most of us unconsciously think in stereotypes, and I suspect that the defendant, Ben Styles, does not look like how you expected a terrorist to look. 'In all trials, the jury is asked to put stereotypes to one side, and to decide the case on the evidence they hear. This case is absolutely no different.' Mr Brook said a police search of the defendant's garage in Leamington Spa recovered the lower part and top part of a homemade submachine gun, as well as shop-bought blanks alongside manuals which 'showed the reader how to convert blank bullets into functioning live ammunition'. The prosecutor said officers also uncovered a Nazi fitness manual and a book titled: 'The SS family yearly - celebrations of the SS family.' Mr Brook continued: 'In this case, the evidence will prove that the defendant, Ben Styles, fully believed in extreme right-wing ideology. 'That is the twisted ideology of Nazis and white supremacy. 'The evidence will show that the defendant had collected on an encrypted USB drive instruction manuals about how to build guns and how to make live ammunition. 'When the police searched his home on February 15 last year, they found that he had closely and carefully followed the instructions in one of those manuals and was well on his way to making a homemade submachine gun. 'He had also started to make ammunition. 'He had also written a manifesto which talked about, in his words 'working to fulfil my mission', and set out his views about being in a religious war against the Jews and other targets of extreme right-wing terrorists. 'The evidence will show, it will prove, that the defendant was preparing to commit a terrorist act.' Styles, of Plymouth Place, Leamington Spa, denies preparing an act of terrorism. The trial continues. A man involved in the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings made a 'full confession' to the murders in an interview with the journalist and former Labour MP Chris Mullin, the Old Bailey has heard. Mr Mullin, 74, who investigated the atrocity, is fighting a police bid to force him to reveal his sources. Mr Mullin, also a former Labour MP and minister, is challenging an application by West Midlands Police to require him to disclose source material dating back to his investigation in 1985 and 1986. In his book Error Of Judgement, and a series of documentaries, Mr Mullin helped expose one of the worst miscarriages of justice, leading to the release of the Birmingham Six after their convictions were quashed in 1991. A man involved in the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings made a 'full confession' to the murders in an interview with the journalist and former Labour MP Chris Mullin, the Old Bailey has heard West Midlands Police are now using the Terrorism Act to bring the production order application. James Lewis QC, representing West Midlands Police, told the Old Bailey on Friday that Mr Mullin refuses to identify the bomb planter - referred to in court as AB. Mr Lewis said: 'Mr Mullin refuses to identify him because he says he promised AB he would not reveal his identity.' The barrister said redactions and omissions in material handed to police were to protect the identity of AB. 'It's quite clear that the whole purpose of the redactions was to prevent the identity of AB,' he said. Mr Lewis told the court that Mr Mullin conducted a four-hour interview with AB and made contemporaneous notes. Despite being one of the deadliest acts of the Troubles, currently, no-one has been convicted of the murders of the 21 victims The barrister described the confession from AB as voluntary, accurate and reliable, adding: 'In short it is a full confession to the murders.' He pointed out that this was not a third party disclosing information in the public interest. 'This is the murderer himself confessing,' he said. Talking about redactions, Mr Lewis said: 'It's not simply redactions, but pages have been omitted to protect AB's identity.' Mr Lewis said the confession is a 'paradigm example of something that is likely to be of substantial value to the investigation'. He said the benefit of the confession is 'enormous' and said it would outweigh that AB had extracted 'a promise of anonymity'. Mr Mullin, who is being supported by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), will argue that disclosure would be a fundamental breach of the principle that journalists are entitled to protect their sources. The Birmingham pub bombing victims: (top row, left to right) Michael Beasley, 30, Stan Bodman, 47, James Craig, 34, Paul Davies, 17, Trevor Thrupp, 33, Desmond Reilly, 20 and James Caddick, 40, (second row, left to right) Maxine Hambleton, 18, Jane Davis, 17, Maureen Roberts, 20, Lynn Bennett, 18, Anne Hayes, 18, Marilyn Nash, 22 and Pamela Palmer, 19, (bottom row, left to right) Thomas Chaytor, 28, Eugene Reilly, 23, Stephen Whalley, 21, John Rowlands, 46, John 'Cliff' Jones, 51, Charles Gray, 44, and Neil Marsh, 16 (no picture available He said: 'If West Midlands Police had carried out a proper investigation after the bombings, instead of framing the first half-dozen people unlucky enough to fall into their hands, they might have caught the real perpetrators in the first place. 'It is beyond irony. They appear to have gone for the guy who blew the whistle.' Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: 'The principle of protecting your source and keeping your word when confidentiality is pledged is a vital one for all journalists and lies at the heart of the NUJ's Code of Conduct. 'The case brought by West Midlands Police risks compromising that core principle and undermining press freedom which is why the NUJ stands four-square behind Chris and is backing this case.' Twenty-one people were killed in the bomb attack on two pubs in Birmingham on November 21 1974. The Recorder of London Judge Mark Lucraft will consider the application after hearing submissions. The hearing continues. Advertisement Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the Biden administration to use all its influence to ban Russia from the SWIFT banking network Ukraine's foreign minister used a call with his American counterpart on Friday to ask the Biden administration for urgent help in persuading European nations to back a ban on Russia using the SWIFT banking network. Details of the call emerged amid signs of growing frustration in Kyiv that President Joe Biden is not doing more to help Ukraine fighting Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the West of abandoning his country. And then his foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba took to Twitter to say he had asked for help excluding Russian from international banking systems. 'Another call with my American friend and counterpart @SecBlinken on the need to use all US influence on some hesitant European countries in order to ban Russia from SWIFT,' he said. 'We also discussed further supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine.' A day earlier the European Union decided not to block Russia from SWIFT's system of money transfers. Some European nations - particularly Germany - are skeptical that banning Russia would be a smart move. They warn it would make it impossible to support civil rights groups in Russia from abroad, or for Russian students abroad to send money to help their grandmothers. U.S. intelligence officials are worried that the Ukrainian capital could fall within days as forces prepare to defend Kyiv : Members of the territorial defense battalion set up a machine gun and organise a military redoubt in Kyiv, Ukraine Protesters demand that Russia be banned from the SWIFT system during a rally for Ukraine at the White House on Thursday Earlier President Joe Biden met virtually with fellow NATO leaders to agree to send thousands more troops, backed by air and naval support, to protect allies in eastern Europe. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the 30-nation organization will send parts of the NATO response force to the alliance's eastern flank - the first time it has ever been used. And lawmakers in the US are proposing a $600 million package of 'lethal defense weapons' for Ukraine. 'What were doing with Ukraine is making sure that we have humanitarian assistance to help the people; that we have lethal defense weapons going into Ukraine to the tune of $600 million for them to fight their own fight,' she told reporters in San Francisco. It comes as Russian forces continue to make headway. U.S. intelligence officials are worried the Ukrainian capital could fall within days, CNN reported, as Russian forces are within 20 miles of its location and residents are being urged to make Molotov cocktails to help defend the city. Amid reports the Kremlin is gunning for him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone. 'Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone,' he said. 'Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.' 'We're defending our country alone. The most powerful forces in the world are watching this from a distance,' Zelensky said. Meanwhile, the Kremlin offered to send a delegation to Belarus to negotiate with Ukraine but only under harsh conditions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was ready to send a delegation to Minsk. But Peskov made it clear that Russia expected Ukraine's 'denazification and demilitarization' of Ukraine, meaning Kyiv's capitulation. President Joe Biden will meet virtually with fellow NATO members on Friday morning to reassure eastern allies they will be protected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone Ukrainian national guard were forming up on Kyiv's streets Friday as they prepared to defend the city from a Russian assault, shortly before heavy gunfire and explosions were heard A brave Ukrainian citizen has been filmed apparently trying to stop a convoy of Russian Tigr-M fighting vehicles - similar to American Humvees - moving along a highway close to Crimea in scenes reminiscent of Tiananmen Square's 'tank man' Russian battle plans to take Kyiv and force an early end to the war in Ukraine have been revealed by US intelligence, who say troops and armour would be used to capture airfields, before a force of 10,000 paratroopers would be flown in to capture the city, round up the government, and force them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia President Joe Biden (upper left) participates in the NATO meeting NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg convenes leaders for a virtual summit A general view of a meeting room during a virtual summit called in by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium As fighting continues across the Ukraine, Biden will start his Friday in a virtual meeting with the 30 members of NATO, who are concerned about Russian aggression on their eastern flank. Some of NATO's 30 member countries are supplying arms and support to Ukraine, but NATO as an organization isn't. 'Make no mistake, we will defend every ally against any attack on every inch of NATO territory,' NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who will chair the summit, told reporters Thursday. 'An attack on one ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance.' During the meeting, the leaders are likely to consider whether to activate the NATO Response Force, which can number up to 40,000 troops. A quickly deployable land brigade that is part of the NRF - made up of 5,000 troops and run by France alongside Germany, Poland, Portugal and Spain - is already on heightened alert. Some NATO nations are already taking defensive measures as Russian aggression grows. Lithuania declared a state of emergency Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine. Lithuania borders Russias Kaliningrad region to the southwest. NATO members Belarus is to the east, Latvia is to the north and Poland is to the south. 'We cannot take the luxury to be (a) discussion club,' Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said overnight at an emergency summit of European Union leaders held to impose a 'heavy price' on Russia through sanctions. 'We need to take action.' The Baltic members have said the West should 'urgently provide Ukrainian people with weapons, ammunition and any other kind of military support to defend itself as well as economic, financial and political assistance and support, humanitarian aid.' NATO began beefing up its defenses in northeastern Europe after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Recently, some members have also sent troops, aircraft and warships to the Black Sea region, near allies Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Short-term, NATO has activated an emergency planning system to allow commanders to move forces more quickly. The Pentagon said Thursday that it is sending 7,000 troops to Europe in addition to 5,000 recently deployed personnel. Independence Square in central Kyiv, Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers take positions in downtown Kyiv Servicemen of the Ukrainian National Guard take positions in central Kyiv Additionally, pressure is building on Biden to personally sanction Putin. The U.S. has already sanctioned several members of Putin's inner circle and many Russian oligarchs who made their money off his regime. Biden said Thursday that sanctioning the Russian leader remained 'on the table' but refused to answer a question on why Putin has not yet been personally targeted. The European Union will freeze Putin's assets and those of the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, but will not impose a travel ban on them, the New York Times reported. British expats in Ukraine say they are 'trapped' as they await the imminent arrival of Russian forces, while others have described their daring escapes after the invasion was launched this week. Graham Jones from Willerby, Yorkshire, has worked in Odessa for 12 years as a teacher with his wife Margaryta and their six-year-old daughter Mia. On Wednesday evening, he told Look North he had no plans to leave his home and said he felt 'calm' and 'safe'. But hours later, Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion and Graham decided to flee to the UK. Speaking on Thursday just hours after the invasion began, he said: 'We're on the way to Moldova in a minivan. Bombing started on the outskirts this morning so we thought it best to get out while we could.' Graham Jones from Willerby, Yorkshire, has worked in Odessa for 12 years as a teacher with his wife Margaryta and their six-year-old daughter Mia (pictured) On Wednesday evening, he told Look North he had no plans to leave his home and said he felt 'calm' and 'safe' Describing life in the port city shortly before leaving, Graham said: 'There is shock but weirdly life seemed normal. Central Odessa was fairly normal with people walking dogs and drinking coffee from coffee stands.' While he was relaxed on Wednesday when speaking to Look North, Graham admits his mood has changed. 'I'm feeling nervous and will be until we get over the border,' he said, 'but everyone's in good spirits. 'I think the plan is to head back to the UK. But while my daughter has a UK passport, my wife will need a visa so we need to sort that out first. 'It has been difficult suddenly leaving our home but at least we've got somewhere to go which is not the case for many people here.' Meanwhile Andrew Joseph, 32, says he has no choice but to stay in Kyiv, which Russian troops are already surrounding. While he was relaxed on Wednesday when speaking to Look North, Graham admits his mood has changed The English teacher, originally from Cumbria, told The i: 'There's no way out of Kyiv at the moment. We are trapped. 'The streets are gridlocked. I'm looking out of my window on the outskirts of Kyiv from the 24th floor with an almost panoramic view of the city and people are standing outside of their cars because the traffic has not moved for so long. 'The city is gridlocked, everybody is leaving the city and nobody is coming in. The trains are all sold out and the flights have all been cancelled.' 'I don't think I'm going to be leaving for the time being, there's no way out.' Another British expat, Wes Gleeson, from Oxford, said he has not decided whether to stay in Kyiv or make a bid for freedom. The 43-year-old told BBC Radio Oxford: 'I was woken up by my mother-in-law saying in Russian, saying 'Putin attacked'. 'I thought the heating was off - I was obviously in shock and feeling cold and shivery. 'After a family chat we decided to see how much cash I could get out - I was queuing for three hours. There is fear the banking system might go down, we don't really know. Jez Myers (right) and his Ukrainian girlfriend Maria have joined the huge queue of refugees at the border 'People are just in shock. I saw an old guy parading a big Ukrainian flag down the street, but there's just a general sense of disbelief.' Jez Myers, 44, and his girlfriend Maria Romanenko, 29, spent ten hours driving in a friend's Vauxhall Astra from the under-fire capital Kiev to Lviv in the west then to Shehyni at the border with Poland. Jez, a business consultant from Reddish, has described growing tensions as the queue to cross into Poland increased to 'tens of thousands', with some chanting 'open the door' in a desperate bid to exit Ukraine. 'We're tired but we're safe - that's main thing,' Jez told the M.E.N. on Friday afternoon. 'There are tens of thousands in this queue. The lack of facilities here makes things very tricky. We're trying not to eat or drink because you cannot escape anywhere,' he went on. 'Spirits here range from quite happy and positive to being angry and frustrated. There's no crowd control what-so-ever here. Occasionally you'll hear 'let the children through - open the gates'.' Father-of-two Ken Stewart, who lives 40 miles west of Kiev, told of his heartache after missing a visa application to leave with his family Father-of-two Ken Stewart, who lives 40 miles west of Kiev, told of his heartache after missing a visa application to leave with his family. Ken lives with wife Tania, and children Yaryna, aged three, and Douglas, who was born two weeks ago. They are unable to return to Scotland due to a visa delay for Tania, who was recently discharged from hospital following a caesarean section, and a visa appointment had been booked at the British Embassy for today. An air base just a few miles away from his house was attacked yesterday and military planes were flying overhead. He said on Thursday: 'I can hear military jets in the distance and you can hear gunfire as well, like large calibre - tanks, helicopters, it's pretty heavy. 'We just heard that our local airfield here, the Antonov airfield, which is the home to the biggest aircraft in the world, has been attacked, just in the last hour. Ken lives with wife Tania, and children Yaryna, aged three, and Douglas, who was born two weeks ago 'That's pretty near us, about a 20-minute drive from here. 'So it's getting closer.' He is making plans to flee and booking accommodation in the west of Ukraine where the family could shelter temporarily. But the visa appointment was missed. Mr Stewart, originally from Edinburgh, said: 'That's not going to happen now and it's extremely stressful. 'We're only concerned for the children's safety and I'm concerned for my wife's safety. 'That's the thing that's worrying me - what do we do? Do we stay here? Or do we get out and get the children to safety? 'The fact is, I'd like to get my children away from this. 'I'd like them to be safe. 'It's a difficult situation. I'm torn because I don't want to leave this country. I've lived here for 15 years. 'It's my wife's country. My kids have dual nationality, it's their birthplace. 'We don't want to go, but we don't want them to be in any danger.' Mr Stewart's brother in Scotland has written to the family's MP, Richard Thomson, again to push for an emergency visa to be granted. If able to travel, Mr Stewart is considering taking his young family on a six-hour drive to Poland, where they could fly home to Scotland. Mr Stewart says: 'We just don't know what's going to happen in the next hour or even two hours, three hours, the next day. 'We don't know if it's going to be full scale, like World War Two style, or how they are going to behave towards civilians. 'This kind of thing we just don't know. 'At the moment, they're supposedly keeping it to military targets, but they don't seem to care about the perception of the world. 'So that's quite dangerous.' Kimberly Guilfoyle met investigators from the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Friday, but the meeting went awry as she and her lawyers clashed with members over its ground rules. Guilfoyle, 52, is engaged to former President Donald Trump's eldest son, Don Jr. And she was among the speakers who addressed a rally on the morning of Jan 6 before a crowd of Trump supporters marched on the U.S. Capitol. But sources told CBS News that she and her lawyer abruptly ended the meeting after details leaked to the media. Guilfoyle confirmed the interview with a statement in which her lawyer attacked the 'baseless investigation.' 'Guilfoyle, under threat of subpoena, agreed to meet exclusively with counsel for the Select Committee in a good faith effort to provide true and relevant evidence,' the statement said. Kimberly Guilfoyle appeared before conservatives at the CPAC conference in Florida on Thursday. On Friday she met with the committee investigating the Jan 6 violence in 2021 Guilfoyle appeared with Donald Trump Jr at the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the violence 'We will not allow the liberals and the Democrats to steal our dream or steal our elections,' during her appearance at the rally just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol Guilfoyle issued a statement accusing committee members of trying to hijack the meeting to 'publicize an obviously baseless investigation' 'However, upon Guilfoyle's attendance, the committee revealed its untrustworthiness, as members notorious for leaking information appeared. 'Then, while counsel briefly halted the meeting to address the matter, our concerns about the presence of the committee's members were validated, as the committee within less than two minutes leaked news of the break to the media, as Chairman [Bennie] Thompson did only a month earlier when revealing to the press that our client's phone records had been confidentially subpoenaed.' The statement, in the name of lawyer Joseph Tacopina, said the hearing had been 'hijacked.' 'It is now abundantly clear to us that their only real interest was to sandbag our client and use today's interview as a political weapon against President Trump and those who support him,' the statement said. Sources told CBS News that problems began when Guilfoyle realized that lawmakers on the committee such as Representatives Adam Schiff of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland, both Democrats, were on the call. Guilfoyle said she had expected only lawyers and committee staff to be included. 'Kim balked and said this isn't my understanding,' said one. After working its way through aides and advisers, the investigation is moving closer to Trump's family. The committee has already obtained Guilfoyle's phone records with a subpoena. In her Jan. 6 speech she said: 'We will not allow the liberals and the Democrats to steal our dream or steal our elections.' This week it emerged that Ivanka Trump is in talks to appear before the committee. In its January letter to Ivanka, the House committee said they were seeking a voluntary interview about what she saw on January 6th, including Donald Trump's actions that day and his state of mind as his supporters stormed the Capitol. The panel also has requested to hear from Eric Trump, the former president's son who ran the business empire, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, an adviser to Trump's presidential campaign and the finance of his oldest son Don Jr. President Joe Biden is planning to impose sanctions directly on Vladimir Putin, the White House announced on Friday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov wil also be targeted. The European Union and United Kingdom announced they would introduce sanctions targeting Putin and Lavrov on Friday. 'In alignment with the decision by our European allies, the United States will join them in sanctioning President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov and members of the Russian national security team,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at her press briefing. She said travel ban 'would be a part of the US component' in sanctions on Putin and Lavrov. Putin will become the highest target to be hit after the White House imposed measures on multiple Russian banks and oligarchs. Biden had been under pressure to target Putin personally for his attack of the Ukraine. The move will be largely symbolic as it remains unclear where Putin's money is and how much there is of it. Bloomberg notes Putin's latest financial disclosure reveals that his annual income is about 10 million rubles ($120,050), and he owns three cars and an apartment. But there are also reports Putin owns a superyatch worth $100 million. And that his estimated worth is $200 billion. Earlier Friday, Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for about 40 minutes. Zelensky said the two men discussed stronger sanctions on Russia and more support from the United States. 'Strengthening sanctions, concrete defense assistance and an anti-war coalition have just been discussed with @POTUS. Grateful to [United States] for the strong support to [Ukraine]!,' he wrote on Twitter. Zelensky had pushed for Putin to be directly sanctioned. President Joe Biden is planning to impose sanctions directly on Vladimir Putin (center) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) The Ukrainian president took to the streets of Kyiv to say 'we are still here' while Ukrainian forces slowed down Russian advances and civilians took up arms to fight for the capital Kyiv. Zelensky had been critical of a lack of support from the United States and its allies. He was also battling a Russian-disinformation campaign that he had fled Kyiv. 'We are here. We are in Kyiv. We are defending Ukraine,' Zelensky said in a video posted to Facebook. He spoke in the streets of Kyiv, the night sky visible behind him. It's unclear what kind of support Biden offered to Zelensky, who said he is 'target number one' for Russian assassins and his wife and children are 'number two.' There are fears he may be assassinated and replaced by a Putin puppet. Before the phone call, Biden met virtually with fellow NATO members on Friday morning to reassure eastern allies they will be protected as Russian troops prepared to enter Kyiv. U.S. intelligence officials are worried the Ukrainian capitol could fall within days, CNN reported, as Russian forces are within 20 miles of its location and residents are being urged to make Molotov cocktails to help defend the city. Amid reports the Kremlin is gunning for him, Zelensky had slammed the United States and its allies for leaving his country to fight alone. 'Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone,' he said on Thursday night. 'Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid.' 'We're defending our country alone. The most powerful forces in the world are watching this from a distance,' Zelensky said. After the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the 30-nation organization will send parts of the NATO Response Force and elements of a quickly deployable spearhead unit to the alliances eastern flank. Its the first time the force has been used to defend NATO allies. 'We are now deploying the NATO Response Force for the first time in a collective defense context. We speak about thousands of troops. We speak about air and maritime capabilities,' Stoltenberg said. President Joe Biden will meet virtually with fellow NATO members on Friday morning to reassure eastern allies they will be protected Ukrainian national guard were forming up on Kyiv's streets Friday as they prepared to defend the city from a Russian assault, shortly before heavy gunfire and explosions were heard A brave Ukrainian citizen has been filmed apparently trying to stop a convoy of Russian Tigr-M fighting vehicles - similar to American Humvees - moving along a highway close to Crimea in scenes reminiscent of Tiananmen Square's 'tank man' Russian battle plans to take Kyiv and force an early end to the war in Ukraine have been revealed by US intelligence, who say troops and armour would be used to capture airfields, before a force of 10,000 paratroopers would be flown in to capture the city, round up the government, and force them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia President Joe Biden (upper left) participates in the NATO meeting NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg convenes leaders for a virtual summit A general view of a meeting room during a virtual summit called in by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium Meanwhile, the Kremlin offered to send a delegation to Belarus to negotiate with Ukraine but only under harsh conditions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was ready to send a delegation to Minsk. But Peskovmade it clear that Russia expected Ukraine's 'denazification and demilitarization' of Ukraine, meaning Kyiv's capitulation. Some NATO nations are already taking defensive measures as Russian aggression grows. Lithuania declared a state of emergency Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine. Lithuania borders Russias Kaliningrad region to the southwest. NATO members Belarus is to the east, Latvia is to the north and Poland is to the south. 'We cannot take the luxury to be (a) discussion club,' Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said overnight at an emergency summit of European Union leaders held to impose a 'heavy price' on Russia through sanctions. 'We need to take action.' The Baltic members have said the West should 'urgently provide Ukrainian people with weapons, ammunition and any other kind of military support to defend itself as well as economic, financial and political assistance and support, humanitarian aid.' NATO began beefing up its defenses in northeastern Europe after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Recently, some members have also sent troops, aircraft and warships to the Black Sea region, near allies Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Short-term, NATO has activated an emergency planning system to allow commanders to move forces more quickly. The Pentagon said Thursday that it is sending 7,000 troops to Europe in addition to 5,000 recently deployed personnel. Independence Square in central Kyiv, Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers take positions in downtown Kyiv Servicemen of the Ukrainian National Guard take positions in central Kyiv Additionally, pressure is building on Biden to personally sanction Putin. The U.S. has already sanctioned several members of Putin's inner circle and many Russian oligarchs who made their money off his regime. Biden said Thursday that sanctioning the Russian leader remained 'on the table' but refused to answer a question on why Putin has not yet been personally targeted. The European Union will freeze Putin's assets and those of the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, but will not impose a travel ban on them, the New York Times reported. A school worker who lost an employment tribunal after claiming she was sacked because of her Christian beliefs is appealing against the ruling. Kristie Higgs, 45, a pastoral assistant at Farmor's School in Fairford, Gloucestershire, was dismissed for gross misconduct in 2019 after sharing Facebook posts criticising plans to teach LGBTQ+ relationships at her son's primary school. The mother-of-two, supported by the Christian Legal Centre, took the school to an employment tribunal and argued that she had been unlawfully discriminated against because of her Christian beliefs. The school denied dismissing Mrs Higgs, from Fairford, because of her religious beliefs and instead said she was sacked because of the language used in the posts. In its ruling in 2020, the tribunal said she was fairly dismissed because her views could be perceived as transphobic, adding that her religion was a 'protected characteristic' as defined by the Equality Act. Mrs Higgs' appeal will be heard at the Employment Appeal Tribunal, London, for two days from March 1. Kristie Higgs (pictured), a pastoral assistant at Farmor's School in Fairford, was dismissed for gross misconduct in 2019 after sharing posts criticising plans to teach LGBTQ+ relationships Speaking after the initial ruling, employment judge Derek Reed said: 'We concluded that not only the dismissal but the entire proceedings taken against Mrs Higgs were motivated by a concern on the part of the school that, by reason of her posts, she would be perceived as holding unacceptable views in relation to gay and trans people - views which in fact she vehemently denied that she did hold.' Ahead of the appeal, Mrs Higgs claimed she was 'punished' for sharing her concerns about sex education in primary schools, insisting that she has never 'discriminated against anyone'. She said: 'I was punished for sharing concerns about relationships and sex education. 'I hold these views because of my Christian beliefs, beliefs and views which are shared by hundreds of thousands of parents across the UK. 'My number one concern has always been the effect that learning about sex and gender in school will have on children at such a young age. I have not discriminated against anyone, and never would. 'I was raising concerns about my son being educated in matters that are not aligned with my religious beliefs and people could choose to agree or disagree. I would never tell others what to think.' Mrs Higgs had shared and commented on posts which raised concerns about relationship education at her son's Church of England primary school. The mother-of-two (pictured) took the school to an employment tribunal and argued that she had been unlawfully discriminated against because of her Christian beliefs Farmor's School (pictured) denied dismissing Mrs Higgs, from Fairford, because of her religious beliefs and instead said she was sacked because of the language used in the posts Students were to learn about the No Outsiders in Our School programme, which is a series of books teaching the Equality Act in primary schools. Mrs Higgs, who posted on Facebook under her maiden name, shared two posts in October 2018 to around 100 friends, one of which referred to 'brainwashing our children'. One post read: 'Children will be taught that all relationships are equally valid and 'normal', so that same sex marriage is exactly the same as traditional marriage, and gender is a matter of choice, not biology, so that it's up to them what sex they are. 'We say again this is a vicious form of totalitarianism aimed at suppressing Christianity and removing it from the public arena.' An anonymous complaint was made to the school and Mrs Higgs was suspended and later dismissed for gross misconduct following a disciplinary hearing. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: 'The previous judgment in this case should concern all of us who care about the freedom to be a Christian believer in the UK. 'Even though her post was private to her family and friends she is being held responsible for what others might do with it. 'It is clear no actual harm has come to the school's reputation as a result of her posts, but that she has been sacked as if it had. Mrs Higgs, who posted on Facebook under her maiden name, shared two posts in October 2018 to around 100 friends, one of which referred to 'brainwashing our children' 'The posts were not even in relation to the secondary school but about the books being read in her son's primary school.' Speaking to The Mail On Sunday in 2020, Mrs Higgs said of the initial tribunal ruling: 'I am not homophobic or transphobic. My beliefs don't mean I can't love or be friends with gay or transgender people. 'It just means I disagree with that lifestyle. I worked in that school for seven years. 'I would never discriminate against anyone, particularly not children. I would never treat any of the pupils any differently from another.' At the time, Mrs Higgs insisted her only motive for sharing the concerns on social media was her view that her nine-year-old son was too young to understand what it means to change sex. 'This has always been about my Christian beliefs,' she said. 'It's crazy that parents like me are being vilified for raising worries about what their child is being taught.' A PE teacher who was accused of having sex in a Premier Inn with an 18-year-old pupil has been pictured while out and about in Dubai where she now works as a yoga instructor. Melissa Tweedie, 27, has built a new life for herself among ex-pats in the wealthy desert state since losing her job at Gleniffer High School in Paisley, Renfrewshire. She strongly denied having sex with the 18-year-old but was found to have acted in an inappropriate manner. Dressed in tangerine coloured leggings and a loose-fitting patterned blouse, she was spotted as she emerged into the sunshine on Dubais city streets after teaching a class. Melissa Tweedie, dressed in tangerine coloured leggings and a loose-fitting patterned blouse, she was spotted as she emerged into the sunshine on Dubais city streets after teaching a class. The former teacher was spotted using a public bicycle after finishing a yoga class in Dubai Ms Tweedie rode off on the bicycle following her yoga class in Dubai earlier this week Most of her yoga students are believed to be unaware of the scandal that emerged last week when she was struck off the teaching register in Scotland. Miss Tweedie studied for more than 200 hours in Dubai to become a qualified instructor in Vinyasa Flow and Hatha flow yoga. She was alleged to have slept with the boy in the Glasgow hotel on the night of a schools prom in June 2017 when she was aged 22. A General Teaching Council of Scotland panel ruled that the pupils claim that he had sex with her was not proven by the evidence presented. But the panel accepted that she had kissed the boy, known only as Pupil A, and had been alone on a bed with him. She was issued with a removal order after the panel found her conduct fell significantly short of the standard expected of a registered teacher. The hearing was told that Miss Tweedie was seen downing shots with students and dancing inappropriately with Pupil A during the leavers night at the SWG3 event venue in Glasgow. She was then said to have joined a number of pupils at the Premier Inn where they had booked rooms to stay the night. Melissa Tweedie, 27, has built a new life for herself among ex-pats in Dubai since losing her job at Gleniffer High School in Paisley, Renfrewshire. Most of her yoga students are believed to be unaware of the scandal that emerged last week when she was struck off the teaching register in Scotland She was alleged to have slept with the boy in the Glasgow hotel on the night of a schools prom in June 2017 when she was aged 22 The hearing was told that her headteacher David Nicholls was called at 1.45am by an alarmed teenager who claimed to have spotted her with Pupil A at the hotel Mr Nicholls, who has since retired, drove to the Premier Inn, but was only allowed into the foyer where he called Miss Tweedie. He said he finally managed to reach her on her mobile phone, but she told him that she was at home. Mr Nicholls said Pupil A admitted the following day that he had slept with Miss Tweedie after he had drunk wine, gin, shots and beer. She later admitted to investigators that she woke up in bed with the pupil but denied having sex with him and suggested her drink may have been spiked. Miss Tweedie also made claims that she only went to the hotel because she was concerned about pupils taking drugs after seeing a bag of cocaine. A yoga devotee who has had classes with her in Dubai said: She is a fantastic teacher and is brilliant at motivating everyone, no matter what level they are at. I didnt know anything about her being banned from teaching children in Scotland. She is taking classes for adult women out here, so it is totally irrelevant. It seems like she is being punished now by having this dragged up after making a stupid mistake many years ago when she was very young herself. Miss Tweedie now takes regular yoga classes at the Karma studio in Dubai where she learned how to be an instructor. Her classes are conducted on the 33rd floor of the Marina Plaza office block where she and her fellow devotees can stretch and relax while enjoying panoramic views of the city skyline from floor to ceiling windows. The Karma website describes its academy and studio as a sacred haven for everyone who wants to embark on a life changing journey and an art gallery with statues, temples, crystals and artistic carvings. It also carries a testimonial from Miss Tweedie praising the training she received, saying: I cant sing its praises enough. It is much more than a training course, the space makes it feel like a retreat, that you enjoy going to each day.' She was seen leaving the venue this week after conducting an hour-long class for a mixed group of women who had paid 105 AED each (21) for a single class or a discounted rate for buying multiple classes. Carrying her yoga mat in a black and white patterned bag, she appeared to be deep in conversation on her mobile phone as she stepped out on to the busy city streets. She walked briskly to pick up a rented Careem electric bike from a nearby charging station and continued her journey on two wheels. She also gives yoga classes as one of the instructors for Collective Movement which boasts that it offers Dubai's first and only high-intensity, mindful movement experience. The classes operate from a second floor studio in the two-year-old Indigo Downtown Hotel in Dubais Business Bay district. The website for Collective Movement features a section where Miss Tweedie explains her philosophy and devotion to yoga since her role as a school teacher ended in the UK. She says on the website: Whether I'm practicing yoga, dancing, jumping up and down- I feel good simply when I move my body. She was seen leaving the venue this week after conducting an hour-long class for a mixed group of women who had paid 105 AED each (21) for a single class or a discounted rate for buying multiple classes There is a release of those feel good emotions that set me up to continue my day with a spring in my step. It also feels like a form of escapism, as someone who has an overactive mind it gives me a time to only focus on the movement and every breath.' The GTCS hearing was told that Pupil A had insisted he had sex with Miss Tweedie, saying: We kissed, no one initiated it. We went downstairs and had sex in my room. She stayed the night and we both left at eight. I feel really sorry for Miss Tweedie, I had already handed in my leavers form. In my eyes it wasnt a student event. Police Scotland were alerted to the incident at the time and found that no criminality had taken place. A Navy SEAL dropout accused of starting the fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard will face a court-martial for arson, according to charges filed Friday. Seaman Apprentice Ryan Sawyer Mays, 20, will stand trial in military court for allegedly setting aflame the 40,000-ton USS Bonhomme Richard in July 2020, injuring more than 60 people. The 20-year-old faces charges of aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel. Navy prosecutors said at a December hearing that Mays set the fire because he was disgruntled after dropping out of Navy SEAL training. The ship was docked in San Diego last summer when someone set fire to it. The blaze lasted five days, with the $1.2 billion vessel later scrapped because it would have been too expensive to repair. It was unclear when the court-martial will be. Seaman Apprentice Ryan Sawyer Mays, 20, (pictured) will stand trial in military court for allegedly setting aflame the 40,000-ton USS Bonhomme Richard in July 2020 Above is the disastrous blaze, which began July 12, 2020, and damaged all of the ship's 14 decks Navy prosecutors said at a December hearing that Mays set the fire because he was disgruntled after dropping out of Navy SEAL training His defense lawyers said there was no physical evidence connecting him to the blaze. The ship fire reached 1,000-degrees and damaged all 14 decks, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday told reporters last summer. The ship was docked in San Diego during the blaze, which continued for four days until it was eventually snuffed out by about 400 sailors from 16 vessels, a number of helicopters dumping water from above, the Naval Base San Diego Fire Department and multiple volunteer fire departments from surrounding cities. At least 63 people were injured, including 18 firefighters who filed workers' compensation for suffering concussions, orthopedic issues, dehydration and smoke inhalation. Investigators were led to Mays after a sailor claimed to either see Mays around the scene of the fire before it was set Photos show the charred insides of the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard, which burned for more than four days Sailor Seaman Kenji Velasco explained over the course of several interviews that he saw Mays enter Lower V, the lower vehicle storage area where the fire took place, minutes before the blaze started. He said that he saw a 'light-skin male' wearing clean coveralls and a facemask who was carrying a silver or metal bucket and, when he passed Velasco, the person said, 'I love deck,' a sarcastic phrase Mays had said before. Velasco stated that he didn't recognize the person at first, but later said he was 'fairly sure' and '90percent sure' that it was Mays. He added that Mays hates the U.S. Navy and the Fleet. Command Master Chief Jose Hernandez also told investigators that Mays 'showed disdain toward authority and the U.S. Navy,' and days before the fire had lashed out at a contractor who confronted him for sleeping during his duty day, the affidavit reads. Days after the blaze, Velasco said he questioned Mays on whether he went to Lower V before the fire started and Mays said he had. May's friend, Matthew Gonzalez, said he was there during the interaction and that Mays look uncomfortable when asked the question. The Bonhomme Richard, which was awaiting a $250 million upgrade before the fire, was scrapped in November after repairs were estimated at $3.2billion The fire on the USS Bonhomme was so seriously damaged in the blaze that it has since been decommissioned Two Master-at-Arms sailors told investigators that they 'heard Mays say (unasked) that he was guilty, seemingly talking to himself,' according to the search warrant. Following their reveal, Mays was arrested and began the booking process to be turned over to the Marine Corps. Air Station. Investigators told Mays that soldiers saw him enter the lower deck before the fire and he responded by saying he was being 'set up,' the affidavit reads. When Mays was asked, along with his soldiers, about his first thoughts on learning about the fire, he allegedly said he felt a 'small amount of adrenaline and anxiety.' On June 14, 2020 two days after the fire Mays posted a photo of himself on Instagram with the caption, 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning.' Pressed by investigators about it, Mays said it was a reference to Apocalypse Now, the Francis Ford Coppola film about the Vietnam War. Mays also was asked about the alleged self-incriminating comments the sailors said they heard him make, but he denied ever making them and agreed to take a polygraph. According to the affidavit, 'deception was indicated' during the test in response to a number of relevant questions pertaining to the events of the fire. When he was told about the polygraph results, Mays 'became extremely upset and denied any involvement in starting the fire,' the affidavit says. Investigators also noted a number of red flags raised from Mays' personal life, including a lie that he broke up with a female sailor after learning she was pregnant with another man. Investigators 'later learned this was mostly contradicted by the female sailor' in question, the warrant said. That sailor, U.S. Sailor Petty Officer Third Class Armelle Ane, said that Mays told everyone that she was pregnant and he was the father, but she said she never was pregnant and even got a test to prove it to people. She also told investigators that Mays is 'volatile and bipolar,' according to the search warrant. The affidavit states, however, that Mays gave authorities contradicting statements about where he kept his computer, 'possibly for the purpose of frustrating the investigation,' before investigators found it. They also seized his iPhone, searched his car and apartment, and swabbed his cheek for a DNA sample. However, his DNA has not been a match for DNA found at the scene as of now. Meanwhile, the Bonhomme Richard, which was awaiting a $250 million upgrade before the fire, was scrapped in November after repairs were estimated at $3.2billion. The ship originally cost $750 million when it was built in 1998, which is roughly $1.2 billion today. Loose expense reimbursement rules at the Sergeants Benevolent Association detailed in the indictment of its longtime president, Ed Mullins have many of its 12,600 members asking whether other union officials improperly spent union money. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday Mullins didnt submit receipts for hundreds of expenses he claimed between 2017 and 2021 that totaled roughly $1 million. Some of the money was spent on restaurant meals, clothing, jewelry, home appliances, and even a relatives tuition, the feds say. Advertisement I dont see how what they charged Mullins with wasnt also being done by other board members, one veteran sergeant said. That place was like their own private club. When you went in there, it was like they owned the place, and you were an outsider. Ed Mullins, former president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, leaves Manhattan Federal Court after his arraignment on a wire fraud charge on Thursday. (Getty Images) The SBA treasurer, a longtime Mullins ally named Paul Capotosto, simply approved Mullins undocumented reimbursement requests, the feds said. Advertisement A second sergeant believes Capotosto will ultimately retire as a result of the case. Ed was about Ed, this sergeant said. He projected himself as a good leader but actually didnt give a s--t about anyone or anything except himself and his ego. Some members wonder whether the unions management could be taken over by outsiders picked by the federal government. Said a third sergeant: The biggest fear I have is more guys go down and the feds come in and take over the union. It could happen to us. Capotostos unelected tenure as treasurer ended in 2021, but he is still on the unions powerful board now listed as citywide secretary. He did not respond to an email. A clerk asked to put Capotosto on the phone said: Paul is not available. Thank you, before hanging up. Edwin Stier, a former federal prosecutor tapped in 2013 to reform a Teamsters local, said a receiver could come in if the feds find systemic issues with the SBAs spending and proof of a corrupt conspiracy. But receivership is considered a last resort. When it reaches a level where its systemic, the government will step in under those circumstances and use civil provisions the RICO [Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act] and ask for the imposition of some form of trusteeship, Stier said. Its only when the members are not capable of dealing with corruption remedying corruption problems that you would step in and impose trusteeship. Advertisement Questions have been raised before about the SBAs administrative expenses. A report in January by city Comptroller Brad Lander on spending by city unions found that from 2018 to 2019, some SBA administrative spending on funds meant to provide benefits to its members nearly doubled. In accord with the SBAs contract, the city provided the union with about $20 million in 2019 for its various health, welfare and pension funds, the comptroller report says. The report says that some of the funds had notably higher administrative costs than similar funds operated by other unions. For example, the comptroller reported, the SBAs annuity fund, which pays for some retirement benefits, spends about 8% of the citys contribution on administrative costs. The average for similar funds operated by other unions is 3%, the comptroller said. Advertisement Current SBA President Vincent J. Vallelong. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News) The money Mullins is accused of misspending came from the unions contingent fund, composed entirely of membership dues for the benefit of the SBA or its members. A contingent or contingency fund in common usage is often for unforeseen or emergency expenses, but SBA officials used it to defray miscellaneous expenses incurred in the performance of duties including travel, meals and lodging. Under the SBA constitution, only the president, vice president and or treasurer could approve expenses with signatures required of two of the three. A loophole allowed the president to sign off on his own expenses. A written expense policy, the indictment said, first came into being in 2013 around the time Mullins received a strong challenge for the presidents seat from Robert Johnson, now retired, and questions were raised about union spending that led to an earlier federal probe that ended without charges being filed. The policy said the SBA will reimburse actual and reasonable meal expenses required to conduct SBAs business or fulfill [the] SBAs mission. To get reimbursed for expenses above $50, officials were supposed to include a list of attendees along with the receipt. The vice president at the time, Robert Ganley, took charge of reviewing expenses and he rejected expenses he thought were too high or submitted without receipts, the indictment said. Advertisement But Ganley retired in 2017. He later worked for the NYPD as a deputy commissioner for administration before stepping down recently. He could not be reached for comment. The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. > After Capotosto took over in 2017, the unions own expense policy was allegedly violated on a routine basis, the feds said. The treasurer did not scrutinize the expense reports in the same manner the prior vice president had and did not regularly require receipts for Mullins reimbursements, the federal indictment says. The treasurer approved hundreds of expense reports for Mullins Mullins rarely included receipts. Vincent Vallelong, the current SBA president, did not respond to an email. He said in a statement Wednesday the board was appalled by the charges against Mullins and knew nothing more. SBA Controller Dennis Ostermann did not respond to a call and a text message. Mullins lawyer Marc Mukasey declined to comment on the case. Vallelong was treasurer when Ganley was there and then became vice president when Ganley retired before rising to president when Mullins was ousted facts which have put him under the microscope as well. Advertisement The whole case doesnt surprise me they are all drinking buddies, said the first sergeant. Mullins appointed all of his friends to that board, and they would never question him. Anyone who did question him, they kicked out of the union. They didnt want anyone who would raise questions. And they would go to any lengths to keep control of that union. A West End theatre photographer to the stars is facing jail for sexually assaulting an aspiring actress at a 400 photoshoot funded by her mother. Pascal Molliere, 55, stroked and kissed the woman intimately at his Fulham studion after suggesting he took fashion or sexy shots in July 2010. The victim, 22 at the time, had recently moved to London to break into the acting industry. Tyrone Silcott, prosecuting, said she was encouraged to remove clothing as the shoot went on, and pose for more and more revealing shots. Pascal Molliere, 55, stroked and kissed the woman intimately at his Fulham studion after suggesting he took fashion or sexy shots in July 2010 The photographer stroked and kissed the woman in intimate areas and kissed her forcefully on the mouth as she left the studio. Molliere said the aspiring actress had asked him to take nude shots for her and her boyfriend. He said he did not ask her to undress and denied sexually assaulting the woman in his studio that day. Molliere denied but was convicted of three counts of sexual assault but was cleared of one charge of assault by penetration after a two-long trial at Southwark Crown Court. Molliere denied but was convicted of three counts of sexual assault but was cleared of one charge of assault by penetration after a two-long trial at Southwark Crown Court The jury had deliberated for more than four hours before reaching its majority verdicts. Smartly dressed Molliere, sporting a black leather jacket, showed no emotion as the verdicts were announced. The grey-haired photographer, who has taken portraits of screen legends including Dame Judi Dench, Star Trek star Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen, will return for sentence on April 12. His conviction comes nearly two and a half years after a jury at the same court cleared him of groping two aspiring actress. During separate photoshoots, Molliere was said to have kissed the women and groped the bare breast of one of them after asking them to remove their clothing. He denied the claims and was cleared of two charges of sexual assault following a retrial in September 2018. The latest complainant reported the assaults nine years after they took place between 1 July and 31 July 2010. She first got in touch with Molliere via a website called StarNow looking to get some headshots done by the professional photographer - who was aged 44 or 45 at the time. She borrowed money from her mother because it was a dream of [the victims] to get into acting, said Mr Silcott. The young woman accepted Mollieres offer to take some fashion shots as she was interested in getting work as a model. She brought along some lingerie as she thought it might be nice to have some photographs taken for her and her then partner, said Mr Silcott. He continued that when she arrived at the studio, Molliere seemed polite and professional. When they entered the room where the photography would take place, the defendant locked the door, saying that this was privacy, he said. The studio itself seemed dark and did not feel like a studio but appeared to be fitted out with professional equipment. The headshots took about 10 or 15 minutes, then, after Molliere established trust with his victim, his behaviour became inappropriate, said Mr Silcott. He then took some photographs of her in lingerie and began to get a bit close and more touchy, according to the victim. He asked her to undress further and directed her to remove her bra straps and pose with her arms covering her breasts. Mr Silcott said: When directing her how to stand the defendant cupped [her] vagina with his hands and touched the inside of her thighs. After touching her vagina, the defendant took photographs of [her] with her legs open, from underneath her. He repeatedly told her that she had a beautiful vagina. He then stroked and kissed her vagina. She described the kiss as a deep kiss...not internal but it was the kind of kiss you would only have from a loving partner, not from a guy youve met 40, 45 minutes ago. [The victim] was thinking just get this over with and youll be out of here. She would never have said yes, you can do that. After the shoot, Molliere asked her if she could come to his house to take another photoshoot with other women. She said he kissed her with a full on kiss on the mouth...not how you would kiss a girl goodbye that youve met for half an hour, whos half your age. The kiss made her feel sick and when she left she burst into tears, the prosecutor said. When she told her boyfriend at the time what happened, he got in touch with Molliere and asked him to delete all the images and refund the money - or the incident would be reported to the police. The money was refunded and the sexual assaults were not reported until 17 January 2019. In late 2021, images from the photoshoot were found on the hard drive of a Toshiba laptop found at Mollieres address, suggesting that he did not destroy them, as promised. There are photographs of the victim in various stages of undress, images of her completely naked and close up shots of her private parts. Jurors were told, over the years, she shared what happened with some close friends and close partners, explaining that she had left feeling dirty terrified. She did not report it because she didnt think that the police would believe her or that they could do anything about it, said Mr Silcott. He said: It was not until after the MeToo movement when [she] noted that it was more regular for women to speak out about sexual abuse that they suffered as a result of trying to make it in the industry and being exploited and taken advantage of, that she came forward. Molliere was interviewed on 8 May 2019 and gave a prepared statement. He said: I totally deny these allegations. I remember receiving a call from a male regarding his fiance about a photoshoot I had done, he was very aggressive and threatening. He demanded a refund which I provided. I do not recall all the details of that particular photoshoot, however, I know that any photos and poses that took place were entirely with her consent and I behaved professionally at all times. The allegations disclosed to me is that I persuaded [her] to remove her clothes and took intimate photos of her vagina, touched and kissed her clitoris. I totally deny these allegations. The studio I worked in had CCTV in the studio and throughout the building and the studio was not locked, there were screened areas and toilets where clients would change with privacy. The studio I used at the time was Cooper House near Fulham Broadway. In his closing speech to the jury the prosecutor said: He has previous convictions for theft. Im going to suggest to you that hes not an honest person. In 2014 he was convicted of two counts of theft. Mr Silcott said he also had a conviction for breaching a non-molestation order. The defendant approached his ex-partners address while having a non-molestation order not to come near it. That conviction shows a lack of respect for the court process. You heard his evidence, hes a smart guy. He would have understood what that order meant and he decided to breach it. Molliere, of Havant, Hampshire, denied three counts of sexual assault and one count of assault by penetration. President Joe Biden on Friday nominated federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first black woman selected to serve on the bench. 'For too long our government, our courts haven't looked like America,' Biden said of his historic pick. 'I am truly humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination,' Jackson said. 'I must begin these very brief remarks by thanking god for delivering me to this point in my professional journey. My life has been blessed beyond measure, and I do know that one can only come this far by faith,' she said. In his push for her nomination, Biden pointed to Jackson's unique qualifications - she would be the high court's first former public defender - and that she has been previously confirmed by the Senate for the federal bench, garnering Republican votes in the Senate for that position. 'She served both in public service as a federal public defender, a federal public defender and in private law practice as an accomplished lawyer with a prestigious law firm,' the president said in remarks at the White House with Jackson by his side. Vice President Kamala Harris was also there. 'She comes from a family of law enforcement with her brother and uncles having served as police officers,' Biden said, although he did not mention Jackson's uncle, who served jail time for coke possession under the 'three strikes' rule. But Jackson did mention her uncle. 'You may have read that I have one uncle who got caught up in the drug trade and received a life sentence. That is true. But law enforcement also runs in my family. In addition to my brother I had two uncles who served decades as police officers, one of whom became the police chief in my home town of Miami, Florida,' she said. She also sought to push back against those who have touted her as an elitist, praising the support she's received from her family, noting her father was a lawyer who inspired her to go to law school, and her mother, a teacher. 'I am standing here today by the grace of god as testament to the love and support that I've received from my family,' she said. Jackson's husband Patrick, a surgeon, and younger daughter Leila were at the announcement, sitting between first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Their oldest daughter was at college. Biden described his nominee as a 'proven consensus builder' who has 'a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people.' Friday marks two years to the day that Biden pledged to make history by nominating the first black woman to the high court. He made the vow during the 2020 primary debate in South Carolina. Liberals praised the pick, citing Jackson's background as a public defender. Republicans offered a more caution reaction with most GOP senators saying they would keep an open mind when meeting with her during the confirmation process. President Joe Biden on Friday nominated federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first black woman selected to serve on the bench Ketanji Brown Jackson said she was 'truly humbled' by the nomination Biden shakes hands with Jackson after announcing her nomination to the Supreme Court Jackson's family - her husband Patrick and daughter Leila - were at the announcement seated between first lady Jull Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff The White House took to Twitter to tout a range of support from a wide range of figures from Barack Obama to former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is related to Jackson via marriage. 'I want to congratulate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on her nomination to the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson has already inspired young Black women like my daughters to set their sights higher, and her confirmation will help them believe they can be anything they want to be,' Obama said. 'Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family. Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal,' Ryan said. Biden had whittled down his search to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer to a final three: Jackson, 51, Michelle Childs, 55, and Leondra Kruger, 45. 'President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,' the White House said in a statement on Friday. 'He also sought a nominee - much like Justice Breyer - who is wise, pragmatic, and has a deep understanding of the Constitution as an enduring charter of liberty. And the President sought an individual who is committed to equal justice under the law and who understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court's decisions have on the lives of the American people.' Jackson's nomination is part of Biden's push to diversify the judicial branch. His pick is not expected to change the tilt of the consevative-leaning court but his focus on younger nominees will ensure his pick will have a long influence on its decisions. The first step in the process was for Biden to make the formal offer to Jackson, which he did on Thursday night. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised a rapid confirmation for the liftime pick to the court. A simple majority is needed to confirm her to the bench. The Democrats hold 50 Senate seats with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as the tie breaker. Democrats have set early April the goal for final confirmation, with plans to begin Judiciary Committee hearings toward the end of March. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, the chair of the Judiciary Committee, has been more specific, saying he wants to see Biden's nominee confirmed by April 9. Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the Senate to the federal bench last year How Harvard-educated Ketanji Brown rose from a public defender to the nation's highest court and helped prisoners seek early release for crack cocaine crimes Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is President Biden's nominee for Supreme Court Ketanji Brown Jackson, the federal appeals court judge who President Joe Biden is poised to nominate to become the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, brings a diverse set of experiences to the bench, including a stint representing low-income criminal defendants. Jackson, 51, who Biden last year appointed to an influential Washington-based appellate court, served early in her career as a Supreme Court clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer, whose retirement announced in January opens up a vacancy on the nation's top judicial body. As a member of the federal judiciary, Jackson has earned respect from liberals and conservatives alike and is well-connected in the close-knit Washington legal community. Progressives favored her nomination over the other leading candidates: South Carolina-based U.S. District Court judge J. Michelle Childs and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger. The Senate voted 53-44 in June last year to confirm Jackson as a member of the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In her short time on the appeals court, she has authored two majority opinions, including one in favor of public sector unions challenging a regulation issued during Republican former President Donald Trump's administration that restricted their bargaining power. She was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in December against Trump's bid to prevent White House records from being handed over to the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters. The Supreme Court on Jan. 20 declined to block that decision. Jackson also was part of a three-judge panel that refused last August to block the Biden administration's COVID-19 pandemic-related residential eviction moratorium, a decision that was later overturned by the Supreme Court. 'PRESIDENTS ARE NOT KINGS' Jackson previously won Senate confirmation in 2013 after Democratic former President Barack Obama nominated her as a Washington-based federal district judge. In her eight years in that role, she handled a number of high-profile cases including one in which she ruled that Trump's one-time chief White House lawyer, Donald McGahn, had to comply with a congressional subpoena for testimony about potential Trump obstruction of a special counsel investigation. 'The primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings,' Jackson wrote. The ruling was appealed and, after Biden took office, a settlement was reached. McGahn testified behind closed doors. he Honorable Sri Srinivasan, left, the Honorable Judge David Tatel who sit on U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, center, and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who sits on U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia walk into a ceremonial courtroom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit In other decisions, Jackson in 2019 blocked Trump's plan to expedite removal of certain immigrants and in 2018 ruled against his administration's proposal to make it easier to fire federal employees - decisions later reversed by the appellate court on which she now serves. Biden had pledged during the 2020 presidential election campaign to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court. It has had only two Black justices, both men: Clarence Thomas, appointed in 1991 and still serving, and Thurgood Marshall, who retired in 1991 and died in 1993. During her April 2021 confirmation hearing for her current job, Jackson said her background, both personal and professional, would 'bring value' to the bench, though she rejected suggestions by Republican senators that race could affect her rulings. 'I've experienced life in perhaps a different way than some of my colleagues because of who I am,' Jackson said. Three Republican senators joined Biden's fellow Democrats in voting to confirm Jackson. Jackson would become the sixth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court, joining current members Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, the retired Sandra Day O'Connor and the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 'PROFESSIONAL VAGABOND' Biden has sought to bring more women and minorities and a broader range of backgrounds to a federal judiciary dominated by jurists who had been corporate lawyers or prosecutors. Jackson was raised in Miami and attended Harvard University, where she once shared a scene in a drama class with future Hollywood star Matt Damon, before graduating from Harvard Law School in 1996. Jackson in 2017 described herself as a 'professional vagabond' earlier in her legal career, moving from job to job as she sought a work-life balance while raising a family. She and husband Patrick Jackson, a surgeon, have two daughters. She worked from 2005 to 2007 as a court-appointed lawyer paid by the government to represent criminal defendants who could not afford counsel. Among her clients was Khi Ali Gul, an Afghan detainee at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The United States sent him back to Afghanistan in 2014 when she was no longer involved in the case. Jackson worked from 2002 to 2004 for Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer known for overseeing compensation programs including one for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. She also had two separate stints at the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which issues guidance to judges on criminal sentencing, including a four year stint starting in 2010 as the Senate-confirmed vice chair. Jackson in 2020 paid tribute to Breyer during a virtual conference in which they both participated, saying he 'opened doors of opportunities' not just through his judicial decisions but also by hiring a diverse group of law clerks. 'As a descendant of slaves,' Jackson added, 'let me just say that, Justice (Breyer), your thoughtfulness in that regard has made a world of difference.' Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is married to a Washington D.C. surgeon and has two kids FAMILY MATTERS Jackson has personal experience with the federal system. Her distant uncle, Thomas Brown Jr., was serving a life sentence in Florida for a nonviolent drug crime. He wrote to her asking for help with his case. He was sentenced to life under a 'three strikes' law. After a referral from Jackson, the powerhouse law firm Wilmer Hale took his case pro bono, and President Barack Obama years later commuted his sentence. When Obama appointed her to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, she helped rewrite guidelines to reduce recommended penalties for drug-related offenses. Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., to two public school teachers, who moved her family to the Miami area when she was a child. Her parents, she said, named her 'Ketanji Onyika' to express pride in their African ancestry. Her father would later become an attorney with the Miami-Dade County School Board and her mother a principal at a public magnet school. She and her husband, Patrick Jackson, a surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, have two daughters. She is related by marriage to former House Speaker Paul Ryan. Jackson's husband is the twin brother of Ryan's brother-in-law. 'Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family,' Ryan tweeted on Friday. 'Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal.' - Reuters and Associated Press Advertisement Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, would not change the ideological balance of the Supreme Court if confirmed by the Senate. Jackson would be the current court's second Black justice - conservative Justice Clarence Thomas is the other - and just the third in history. She was part of the Biden administration's first slate of judicial nominations last year. The Senate confirmed her to the D.C. Circuit in June on a vote of 53-44, with support from all 50 members of the Democratic caucus and Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Graham, however, took a negative tone about Jackson's nomination. He was an advocate for Michelle Childs, a federal judge in his home state of South Carolina. The Republican senator, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Jackson's nomination 'means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again. The attacks by the Left on Judge Childs from South Carolina apparently worked.' 'I expect a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated,' he wrote on Twitter. Advocates for Childs pointed to her state university background and more diversified experience. But Republican Senator John Cornyn, who also sits on the judiciary panel, said Jackson would get fair treatment. 'No matter what, Judge Jackson will be given the dignity and respect she deserves. The American people will see a starkly different process from the treatment of Justice Kavanaugh and other judicial nominees during the previous Administration,' he said in a statement. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he looks forward to meeting with Jackson and 'studying her record, legal views, and judicial philosophy.' But he also appeared to express skepticism, noting he voted against her a year ago. In its announcement of Jackson's nomination, the White House noted she's had bipartisan support in the past: 'Judge Jackson has been confirmed by the Senate with votes from Republicans as well as Democrats three times.' Jackson replaced Merrick Garland on the D.C. bench after he left the judiciary to become attorney general. She also worked as one of Breyer's law clerks early in her legal career. She attended Harvard as an undergraduate and for law school. Jackson previously served as an assistant federal public defender and as the vice chairwoman of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, an independent agency which provides sentencing guidelines for the federal courts. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, center, talks with D.C. high school students who have come to observe a reenactment of a landmark Supreme court case at U.S. Court of Appeals in December In a 1996 photo (from left), Antoinette Coakley, Nina Coleman, Lisa Fairfax and Ketanji Brown Jackson Friday marks the two-year anniversary of Joe Biden's promise to name a black woman to the Supreme Court Biden also considered Leondra Kruger, 45, who sits on the California Supreme Court, (left) and Michelle Childs, 55, a federal district court judge from Columbia, South Carolina (right) Jackson has personal experience with the federal system. Her distant uncle, Thomas Brown Jr., was serving a life sentence in Florida for a nonviolent drug crime. He wrote to her asking for help with his case. He was sentenced to life under a 'three strikes' law. After a referral from Jackson, the powerhouse law firm Wilmer Hale took his case pro bono, and President Barack Obama years later commuted his sentence. When Obama appointed her to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, she helped rewrite guidelines to reduce recommended penalties for drug-related offenses. Additionally, Jackson's brother, Ketajh Brown, served with the Baltimore Police Department from October 2001 through May 2008 in undercover drug stings. One of her uncles was Miami's police chief, and another was a sex crimes detective. As a trial court judge, Jackson ordered former White House Counsel Don McGahn to appear before Congress, declaring 'presidents are not kings.' Presidents, she wrote, 'do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control.' That was a setback to former President Donald Trumps efforts to keep his top aides from testifying before lawmakers. The case was appealed, and a deal was ultimately reached for McGahns testimony. Another highly visible case that Jackson oversaw involved the online conspiracy theory 'pizzagate,' which revolved around false internet rumors about prominent Democrats harboring child sex slaves at a Washington pizza restaurant. A North Carolina man showed up at the restaurant with an assault rifle and a revolver. Jackson called it 'sheer luck' no one was injured and sentenced him to four years in prison. Jackson also issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that blocked the Trump administration from expanding its power to deport migrants who illegally entered the United States by using a fast-track process. Advertisement Anti-war demonstrators and Ukrainians living in the UK gathered this afternoon outside Downing Street to protest against Russia's military operation in Ukraine. Hundreds of people - many waving the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine - were at the 'Stop Putin! Stop the War' rally this evening, in the area surrounding the gates near the Prime Minister's residence in Whitehall. Among the messages displayed on placards were 'Putin. Hands off Ukraine', 'Peace for Ukraine' and 'No to war'. Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-Ukrainians also protested today in Belfast. Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian nationals were among the crowd that gathered outside City Hall for the demonstration and vigil on Friday evening. Placards denouncing the war were held aloft and 'we want peace' was chanted. Similar protests were held around the world on Friday, including in Italy, Poland, Georgia, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Brazil and the US. It comes as Boris Johnson today announced that the UK will 'imminently' level personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Anti-war demonstrators and Ukrainians living in the UK gathered this afternoon outside Downing Street to protest against Russia's military operation in Ukraine Hundreds of people - many waving the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine - remain at the rally this evening, in the area surrounding the gates near the Prime Minister's residence in Whitehall Among the messages displayed on placards were 'Putin. Hands off Ukraine', 'Peace for Ukraine' and 'No to war' The rally comes as Boris Johnson today announced that the UK will 'imminently' level personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov Hundreds of Ukrainians attended the protest in London, which began at 5pm today. The Prime Minister told Nato leaders in a virtual meeting on Friday that the UK would echo measures announced by the EU to target the Russian leader Police officers continue to monitor the protest in Whitehall this evening. Referring to Mr Putin's wish to recover territory which previously fell under the USSR, Mr Johnson said Russia was 'engaging in a revanchist mission to overturn the post-Cold War order' Above, demonstrators near No.10 tonight. Mr Johnson told allies 'the UK would introduce sanctions against President Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov imminently, on top of the sanctions package the UK announced yesterday', according to a No 10 spokesman The Prime Minister told Nato leaders in a virtual meeting on Friday that the UK would echo measures announced by the EU to target the Russian leader. Referring to Mr Putin's wish to recover territory which previously fell under the USSR, he said Russia was 'engaging in a revanchist mission to overturn the post-Cold War order'. Mr Johnson told allies 'the UK would introduce sanctions against President Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov imminently, on top of the sanctions package the UK announced yesterday', according to a No 10 spokesman. 'He warned the group that the Russian president's ambitions might not stop there and that this was a Euro-Atlantic crisis with global consequences,' he said. Protesters show their solidarity with Ukraine at the London rally. The Prime Minister used his meeting to urge 'immediate action' over the banning of Russia from the Swift payment system to 'inflict maximum pain' on the Kremlin Some anti-war demonstrators bore the colours of the Ukraine flag on their cheeks. The British Government has faced criticism that it has still not gone far enough despite measures to hit more oligarchs, and targeting more than 100 businesses and individuals The scene in Whitehall on Friday evening. With Russian forces continuing to advance towards Kyiv, beleaguered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said sanctions had so far done nothing to deter the Russian onslaught A woman holds a 'Pray for Ukraine' sign at the rally. It comes a day after countries around the world lit up their buildings in Ukraine's flag colours to show their solidarity as Russian forces seized control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant after a 'fierce' battle A Ukrainian expat makes his feelings known at the rally. Despite beginning the attack on Thursday, the Russian forces have yet to take any of the main population centres and officials believe they failed to achieve most of their day one objectives for the invasion Some protesters implored Nato to 'block the sky over Ukraine'. One official noted that the Russians were known to have thermobaric weapons in their armoury and that they had used them in previous conflicts Some demonstrators were draped in the Ukraine flag as they gathered in the centre of London today The Prime Minister also used the meeting to urge 'immediate action' over the banning of Russia from the Swift payment system to 'inflict maximum pain' on the Kremlin. The move to sanction President Putin and Mr Lavrov comes after the European Union announced it was considering a similar move against the two men as it set out its latest round of measures in concert with the US and the UK. The Government has faced criticism that it has still not gone far enough despite measures to hit five further oligarchs, and targeting more than 100 businesses and individuals. Hundreds of people today protested in Belfast (above) at the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian nationals were among the crowd that gathered outside City Hall for the demonstration and vigil on Friday evening Placards denouncing the war were held aloft in Belfast and 'we want peace' was chanted. Several Ukrainians who live in Northern Ireland addressed the event The protest in Northern Ireland (above) also heard calls from Amnesty International for the Stormont authorities to 'step up' plans to welcome refugees fleeing the conflict People stage a protest against Russia's military operation in Ukraine, on Friday, in Tbilisi, Georgia Protesters gathered for a candlelit procession in Bologna, Italy, on Friday night following the Russian attack of Ukraine People pray for Ukraine at the Independence Square in Zakopane, southern Poland, on Friday evening Demonstrators hold placards reading 'People die, Scholz watches' (second right), 'No SWIFT for Russia' and 'Turn off SWIFT' during a protest in front of the Chancellery in Berlin on Friday People rally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in front of the Nato headquarters in Brussels, Belgium today Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in front of the Russian embassy in Athens, Greece on Friday Pro-Ukrainian demonstrators gather outside the White House to protest the Russian invasion, on February 25, in Washington, DC Demonstrators hold signs during a protest against Russia's military operation against Ukraine, in Sao Paulo, Brazil With Russian forces continuing to advance towards Kyiv, beleaguered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said sanctions had so far done nothing to deter the Russian onslaught. Meanwhile, Western officials have warned that the Russians could resort to thermobaric weapons - used to generate powerful, high-temperature explosions - if the Ukrainian military resistance continues to hold up their assault. Despite beginning the attack on Thursday, the Russian forces have yet to take any of the main population centres and officials believe they failed to achieve most of their day one objectives for the invasion. One official noted that the Russians were known to have thermobaric weapons in their armoury and that they had used them in previous conflicts. The London Eye was lit up in yellow and blue in an expression of solidarity with Ukraine following Russia's invasion 'My fear would be that if they don't meet their timescale and objectives, they would be indiscriminate in their use of violence,' the official said. On Thursday, countries around the world lit up their buildings in Ukraine's flag colours to show their solidarity as Russian forces seized control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant after a 'fierce' battle. Berlin's Brandenburg Gate was illuminated with stripes of yellow and blue, as was the front of 10 Downing Street and Flinders Train Station in Melbourne, Australia as other nations have similar plans in place to show their support. The Colosseum in Rome, Italy was also lit up after Italy's Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities of Italy Dario Franceschini tweeted about it. The Pope has intervened over the invasion of Ukraine, describing war-waging as a 'shameful capitulation', just hours after an unprecedented visit to the Russian embassy. In a Russian language tweet on Friday Pope Francis denounced the ills of conflict on the second day of the large-scale Russian invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. He wrote in separate English and Russian tweets: 'Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. 'War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.' Earlier on Friday Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy to the Holy See to relay his concern over Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Moscow's ambassador, in an unprecedented departure from diplomatic protocol. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope spent more than half an hour at the embassy. Pope Francis has met Putin before at a private audience in a private audience back in 2015 irefighters try to extinguish a blaze at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, earlier today A residential building damaged by a missile on February 25, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine earlier today 'He went to express his concern over the war,' Bruni said, declining to give details about the visit or the conversation. Bruni would not comment on an Argentinian media report that the pope, 85, had offered the Vatican's mediation. The ambassador, Aleksandr Avdeyev, denied this, according to the Rome correspondent of Russian TASS new agency. Avdeyev told the RIA Novosti news agency that the meeting lasted about 40 minutes and that the pope expressed 'great concern' about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. The ambassador was quoted as saying that the pope 'called for the protection of children, the protection of the sick and suffering, and the protection of people.' When contacted for comment by Reuters, the Russian embassy said the ambassador was not available. The visit by a pope to an embassy to talk to an ambassador in a time of conflict is unprecedented in living memory. The moment a Russian missile struck a fuel store near the village of Kulinichi close to Kharkiv city in eastern Ukraine The enormous explosion lit up the night sky and was captured by one Ukranian family sheltering in their home nearby Foreign envoys are usually summoned by the Vatican's Secretary of State or meet with the pope in the Apostolic Palace. In an interview with Reuters of Feb. 14, before the invasion, Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican, Andriy Yurash, said Kyiv would be open to a Vatican mediation of the conflict. In a statement on Thursday, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Holy See hoped that those who hold the destiny of the world in their hands would have a 'glimmer of conscience'. World leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of a flagrant violation of international law by launching the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Francis made many appeals for peace in Ukraine before the invasion on Thursday, but has not spoken publicly since. He has proclaimed next Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, as a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine. The Vatican announced separately on Friday that Francis would not be able to preside at the Ash Wednesday services because of an acute flare up of pain in his knee. He also will have to skip a trip to Florence this Sunday A woman who helped convict Scott Peterson - and whose participation on his jury is at the center of a retrial request - says she never lied on the jury questionnaire about being the victim of domestic abuse. Richelle Nice, dubbed 'Strawberry Shortcake' because of her dyed red hair, was once granted a restraining order against a boyfriend convicted of assaulting her. She failed to disclose that information during the 2004 juror selection process for Peterson's high-profile trial, and it's now among the reasons his defense team is seeking a retrial. While grilled on the stand Friday by Peterson's lawyer Pat Harris, Nice claimed that although her boyfriend was convicted of assaulting her, he never actually did. She said her then-boyfriend Eddie Whiteside called the cops on her in November 2001 after she assaulted him in their bedroom during a fight. When police arrived, she said they noticed a cut on her lip that was caused by her braces and they arrested him for assault. 'Eddie never hit me,' she told court on Friday. 'Now, or any time. Eddie never hit me, so I was not a victim of domestic violence.' However, Nice did admit during testimony that she failed to disclose being victimized by her ex-boyfriend's girlfriend, who slashed his tires, broke into their home and threatened her. Nice's testimony, which was ongoing Friday, kicked off a weeklong hearing centered on whether she lied about her history with domestic violence to get on a jury so she could vote to convict Peterson. Peterson, 49, was convicted in 2004 of killing his pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son, who the couple planned to name Conner. He has long maintained his innocence. Nice, who was testifying with impunity, claimed she never intentionally lied when responding to a jury selection question about whether she or her associates had ever witnessed or been victimized by a crime. Richelle Nice, a juror who helped convict Scott Peterson in the 2002 murder of his wife and unborn son, is at the center of a request for a retrial. She's pictured outside the Old San Mateo County Courthouse in Redwood City, California on December 13, 2004 Nice was accused of lying during the juror selection process by failing to disclose that she was a domestic abuse survivor. She's pictured outside the courthouse after Peterson was sentenced to death on March 16, 2005 Peterson is pictured at the San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City, California on February 25 for the start of a hearing that will determine whether he gets a new trial She responded that she hadn't been victimized, despite filing a restraining order while pregnant in 2000 against a woman she then accused of terrorizing her. But she claimed on the stand Friday that she was 'being spiteful' by seeking a court injunction for herself and unborn son. When asked if she was ever in fear that the woman would harm her unborn child, she said: 'Nope.' Her latest claim that she wasn't worried about her baby's safety contradicted the statements she made while requesting the court order. She at that time said she was worried the woman might hurt harm the fetus. She now said she was only worried about what might have happened if the two engaged in a fist fight. 'She wasnt going to deliberately hurt my child, but if we fought and rolled around like some dummies on the ground, then yes I would be fearful losing my child doing something stupid like that,' she said. Nice claimed Friday that her boyfriend was falsely convicted of abusing her and that she was the one who attacked him. She's pictured arriving for a court hearing for Peterson in Redwood City, California on February 25, 2005 'This hearing is critical,' Peterson's lawyer Harris said previously. 'This is his chance to show that she did commit misconduct and to have the whole thing thrown out.' Justin Falconer, a fellow juror before he was discharged, could testify that Nice talked a lot about Conner, referring to him as 'little man.' If he were alive today, Conner would be a 20-year-old man. Peterson's attorneys said he would also testify that Nice said she was having financial problems and that they joked about a post-trial book and movie deals. To have his conviction thrown out, Peterson's attorneys must show Massullo that Nice committed misconduct and did so 'based on a bias toward convicting Scott,' Harris said. Nice answered 'no' on a juror questionnaire when she was asked if she had ever been a crime victim or involved in a lawsuit. She said in a sworn declaration last year that she didn't 'feel `victimized the way the law might define that term,' and didnt think the restraining order was a lawsuit. Peterson's pregnant wife Laci (pictured) vanished on Christmas Eve 2002 and was discovered months later floating in the San Francisco Bay. The mutilated corpse of their unborn son was also recovered The jury heard how Peterson was having an affair with masseuse Amber Frey (pictured), who initially wasn't aware that he was married. She took the stand to testify against him during the trial, which garnered international interest If Peterson gets a new trial, Harris said they can present new evidence that burglars were nearby on the day Laci Peterson disappeared, that witnesses saw her alive that day, and that her fetus was 'alive for at least another five to six days' based on an examination of the fetal remains. However, prosecutors said Petersons attorneys have presented no evidence to support their assertions that he deserves a new trial because Nice had a 'darker motive' to be on the jury 'and was in essence a stealth juror.' Depending on Nices testimony Friday, Petersons attorneys plan to put on witnesses including fellow jurors and co-authors of their book, 'We, the Jury.' They also want People magazine reporter Johnny Dodd to testify about the 'extraordinary' 17 letters Nice wrote to Peterson after his conviction and the eight letters Peterson wrote to Nice. Two filmmakers who worked on the post-trial television documentary 'The Murder of Laci Peterson' are to testify that they noticed on Nices wall a photograph of a child wearing pajamas that said 'Little-man.' If Peterson gets a new trial, his lawyers said they can present new evidence that burglars were nearby on the day Laci Peterson disappeared They said they could also prove that witnesses saw her alive that day, and that her fetus was 'alive for at least another five to six days' based on an examination of the fetal remains Laci Peterson, 27, was killed when she was eight months pregnant with a son, whom the Petersons planned to name Conner. Investigators said that on Christmas Eve 2002, Scott Peterson dumped his wife's body from his fishing boat into San Francisco Bay. Peterson was eventually arrested after Amber Frey, a massage therapist living in Fresno, told police they had begun dating a month before Laci Peterson's death. She said he had told her his wife was dead. Peterson has maintained his innocence throughout. Although the state Supreme Court threw out Petersons death sentence in December and ordered Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo to decide if Nice tainted his trial, it also said 'there was considerable other circumstantial evidence incriminating Peterson.' Peterson was sentenced to death in 2005 for the 2002 murder of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Connor. Last December, he was re-sentenced to life without parole. Her new attorney had told both prosecutors and defense attorneys that she will cite her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination until she is granted immunity from any prosecution for perjury. Nice is pictured hugging attorney Gloria Allred after speaking at a news conference after the formal sentencing of Scott Peterson in Redwood City, California, on March 16, 2005 The attorney, Geoffrey Carr, said he insisted on immunity to protect his client from things stated with certainty in last year's sworn statement but where she might hedge on the witness stand. 'Most of the substance of it is correct, but not all, and some of it is a matter of how you interpret stuff,' he told The Associated Press. Sometimes 'the language is more assertive' in the sworn declaration than it was in reality. 'Im not anticipating bombshells' or 'any surprises about what she's going to say,' Carr said. He said he's telling Nice that 'her only obligation at this point is to tell the stone bloody truth.' Stanislaus County prosecutors are sparring with Peterson's attorneys over the significance of Nice's refusal to testify without immunity. 'A jurors refusal to cooperate in an investigation of her own misconduct may well evidence her bias,' Peterson's attorneys said in a court filing, adding that 'a witness has lied under oath is certainly relevant to credibility.' But prosecutors said that 'should Juror No. 7 exercise her privilege against self-incrimination ... no inference be drawn as to the witnesss credibility.' As Putin's military bears down on Kyiv, a Ukrainian actress living in New York City spent Friday morning on the phone with her cousin Irina, who was in Ukraine's capital packing up her two daughters and embarking on an eight-hour drive to Poland. Irina's 55-year-old husband plans to drop them off at the eastern border, then return to Kyiv to fight to protect their homeland from Russia. 'No, I can't go without you,' Irina cried to her husband. 'I'm not leaving, I'm going to fight for my country,' he replied. The cousin in New York, Elena Sobina, 45, recalled the story in an interview with DailyMail.com Friday and said she feels helpless as family and friends suddenly find themselves in the battle zones of the Russian war on Ukraine. New Yorker Elena Sobina, 45, told DailyMail.com she feels helpless as family and friends are in the battle zones of the Russian war on Ukraine Sobina spent Friday on the phone with her cousin Irina, who was in Ukraine packing up her two daughters and embarking on an eight-hour drive to Poland 'The sanctions don't stop that evil,' said Sobina, who lives in Upper Manhattan. 'They need real help, military help.' Ukraine today is battling to keep control of its capital as U.S. intelligence warns that Russia is hoping a lightning assault on the city is the quickest way to win the war and hand control of the country back to Moscow. Part of that plan is to surround Kyiv, besiege it, and capture one of two intact airfields. Sobina is in Panama this week on a family vacation but spending her trip on the phone with panicked relatives in Ukraine, including the cousin she considers a sister. 'She tried to be strong yesterday,' Sobina said. 'She's not strong anymore. She said she can't stop shaking.' She said Irina began her day scrambling to get cash for her evacuation, but banks were closed. They wanted to fly out of Ukraine, but that was impossible. 'They were trying to get to the airport, but she said they have tanks and missiles standing in the town, with threats to shoot down planes,' she said. 'The whole airport is disabled.' The road trip was their only option. They went to a friend's home to fix their tire, before setting off for the border. 'It's really difficult to drive because all the roads are full of cars, and it's hard to get gas,' Sobina explained. The Ukrainian president ordered a military mobilization and has banned men ages 18 to 60 from leaving, but Sobina said her husband, who is former military, planned to return regardless. She's proud of him. 'Good men, they're not leaving,' Sobina said. 'They're ready to fight.' People wait in a traffic jam as they leave the city of Kharkiv, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in eastern Ukraine Firemen extinguish a fire inside a residential building damaged by a missile on Friday in Kyiv, Ukraine A traffic jam in Kyiv, Ukraine on Thursday as residents flee the capital Sobina also spoke with her 80-year-old aunt, who lives in Chernihiv at the northern border, which is also under attack. 'She says she can hear the shooting and that her building and windows are shaking,' recalled Sobina. 'Everyone's told to go to the basement, but she can't really move well.' It was just last month that Sobina visited Chernihiv, where she celebrated the New Year with her aunt and other relatives. She'd planned to return earlier this month to an apartment she owns outside Kyiv, but cancelled because of the looming threat she never thought would materialize. She also postponed a trip in May to Chernobyl, where she grew up. Russian forces have seized control of the city's nuclear power plant. 'When I heard about Chernobyl, that hurt me the most,' said Sobina, tearfully. 'I was staying strong, but when I heard that they took my land.' She paused to compose herself. 'If hate ever comes into my heart, I try to take it away because to hate people is the worst,' she told DailyMail.com. 'But right now, I feel so much madness toward Russia.' She said she refuses to even speak with acquaintances who support Russia and its actions, and she criticized a friend who dismissed the war as 'just Ukraine and Russia.' 'Putin's not a human who has a brain,' Sobina said. She criticized President Biden's leadership on the crisis, likening it to his evacuation last year of U.S. military from Afghanistan 'I said it's not just Ukraine and Russia, how can you not understand that?' Sobina argued. 'The whole world is involved in this. We're talking about a crazy person. We don't know what he's going to do. You know how much uranium is in Chernobyl, buried? It's enough to destroy the whole planet. 'I want people to understand the danger and hopefully to fight over this person,' she continued. She said sanctions won't stop the aggression. 'Putin's not a human who has a brain,' Sobina said. 'He doesn't care about all of those sanctions. All he wants is to take. He thinks of himself like Napoleon. He needs to be stopped.' She criticized President Biden's leadership on the crisis, likening it to his evacuation last year of U.S. military from Afghanistan. 'My opinion, and I'm not afraid to say it anymore, is that Biden is a very weak person,' she said. 'It seems like he's afraid to fight. I feel like Trump was more aggressive on all kinds of evil, and Biden is weak. Putin's taking advantage of a president who will not fight over this.' Among the heartbreaking images of death and destruction coming out of Ukraine on Friday was an awe-inspiring photo, shared by former First Lady Kateryna Yushchenko, of an 80-year-old man enlisting in the army to fight for his grandchildren. Yushchenko - who grew up in America and is married to Viktor Yushchenko - posted the photo on Twitter on Thursday night. 'Someone posted a photo of this 80-year-old who showed up to join the army, carrying with him a small case with 2 t-shirts, a pair of extra pants, a toothbrush and a few sandwiches for lunch. He said he was doing it for his grandkids,' she said. It's unclear where the photograph was taken but it went viral around the world on Friday as Russia advanced its assault on Ukraine. Civilians all over the country are taking up arms against Putin's troops. Former First Lady Kateryna Yushchenko, of an 80-year-old man enlisting in the army to fight for his grandchildren President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday released a video which showed him in the center of Kyiv, with members of his cabinet. They are determined to stay and fight, he said, along with the country's men and women. 'We are all here, and that's how it will be,' he said. Yushchenko grew up in Chicago and is the daughter of Ukrainian diplomats. She served in the US State Department and in the Reagan White house. On Thursday, she and Kerry Kennedy penned an op-ed for The Chicago Tribune appealing to American-Ukrainians, asking them to 'disseminate' the truth of what was happening in the region. It's unclear where Yuschenko now lives. In her op-ed with Kennedy, the pair referred to her husband being poisoned during his 2004 campaign. 'Russia has made targeted attacks across Ukraine, a horrific action that we condemn. Kateryna Yushchenko is the wife of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, shown above in 2004 while running for office. He was poisoned during his campaign and has long believed it was the Kremlin in an effort to kill him and back his pro-Russia opponent Ukrainian soldiers take position on a bridge inside the city of Kyiv, as Russian forces advance into the capital Soldiers tasked with defending Kyiv from advancing Russian troops take up positions underneath a highway into the city Volunteers, one holding an AK-47 rifle, protect a main road leading into Kyiv on February 25, 2022. - Ukrainian forces fought off Russian invaders in the streets of the capital Kyiv on February 25, 2022 A volunteer, holding a rifle, protects a main road leading into Kyiv on February 25, 2022 A young couple joining the territorial defense fighters smile after receiving weapons and ammunition in Kiev, Ukraine, 25 February 2022 Members of the Territorial Defence Forces of Ukraine load ammunition after receiving weapons to defend the city of Kyiv, Ukraine February 25, 2022 'It is past time for the rest of the world to wake up. It must commit to doing more. More than it did when Putin invaded Georgia in 2008. 'More than in response to his 2014 illegal occupation of Crimea and of eastern Ukraine. 'This time, the west must be prepared with a multifaceted plan to offer Ukrainians support, to assure the survival and success of liberty,"' the pair said in their op-ed. The photograph of the elderly man was among many inspiring images of Ukrainian residents staying behind, determined to fight for their country. A marine is being hailed as a hero for blowing up a key bridge that Russians wanted to cross over near Crimea, killing himself with it, to stop them. The marine was named by the General Staff of the Armed Forces as Vitaly Shakun. He was manning the Henichesk bridge in the Kherson region when Russians advanced and mined it. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko holds up a Kalashnikov while being interviewed on Friday. He has joined the civilian territorial defense on the streets of Ukraine and says there are lines of people seeking to help but that they don't have enough arms Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday night posted this video online showing he and members of his cabinet were still in Kyiv at the Government offices. 'We are all here and that's how it'll be,' he said Vitaly Shakun was manning the Henichesk bridge in the Kherson region when Russians advanced. According to a post on the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Facebook page, the battalion decided the only way to stop them was to blow up the bridge Former Ukrainian First Lady Maryna Poroshenko hands out sandwiches to territorial defense soldiers in Kyiv His efforts and that of the Ukrainian armed forces are significantly slowing down the Russians - one senior defense official cited by CNN said Russian troops are meeting 'more resistance' than they anticipated. 'I cant give you an exact geographic location of where they are, but they are not moving on Kyiv as fast as they anticipated they would be able to. '[They are] meeting more resistance than they expected,' they added. On the streets of Kyiv, former leader Petro Poroshenko was among the many civilians forming territorial defense squadrons, ready to take on Putin's men when they present themselves. In an emotional interview on CNN, Poroshenko held up his Kalashnikov and vowed never to give in to the Russian leader or his army. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky uploaded a video on Thursday night showing that he was still in Kyiv, at Government offices. 'We are all here. Our soldiers are here. The citizens are here and we are here. We defend our independence. That's how it'll go. 'Glory to our defenders, both male and female, glory to Ukraine!' he said. Night has now fallen in Ukraine and those on the ground say it is eerily quiet aside from the distant thud of explosions and smattering of shelling. A ransomware group linked to Russia has claimed a cyberattack on McDonald's Corporation, as federal officials warn of potential widespread targeting of US businesses after Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The hacker gang Snatch on Friday claimed to have stolen 500 gigabytes of data from the fast-food giant headquartered in Chicago, posting their demand for an undisclosed ransom on the dark web. A McDonald's spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com. The iconic company, which signifies America's economy and culture around the world with more than 38,000 locations in 100 countries, has a market capitalization of $186 billion. The purported McDonald's breach comes as the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issues a 'shields up' alert to all American businesses and organizations, urging them to take measures to protect themselves from potential Russian cyberattack. The hacker gang Snatch on Friday posted files to the dark web, claiming to have stolen 500 gigabytes of data from McDonald's McDonald's is an iconic American company headquartered in Chicago. It has more than 38,000 locations in 100 countries and a market capitalization of $186 billion The group behind the Snatch ransomware refer to themselves as the 'Snatch Team' and all appear to be Russian-speaking, according to a 2019 report from security firm Sophos. The report said that the group behind the ransomware appeared to have been active since the summer of 2018, though they have maintained a fairly low profile, executing few headline-making breaches. The malware used by the hacker gang is highly sophisticated, and operates by rebooting victim computers in Safe Mode, in which most security measures are deactivated. Russia maintains a sophisticated cyber offensive capability, both through state-controlled cyberwarfare teams and criminal gangs that seem to operate with state approval, as long as they only target Western victims. In the immediate lead-up to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, there were massive and widespread cyberattacks on Ukrainian government websites and infrastructure. Now, US official warn that Russia could pursue similar tactics against the US and European allies in retaliation for the punishing sanctions they have imposed. 'Russias unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which has been accompanied by cyber-attacks on Ukrainian government and critical infrastructure organizations, may have consequences for our own nations critical infrastructure, a potential weve been warning about for months,' CISA said in its 'shields up' alert. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a 'shields up' alert to all American businesses and organizations this week 'Every organizationlarge and smallmust be prepared to respond to disruptive cyber activity,' CISA said in the alert. 'While there are no specific or credible cyber threats to the U.S. homeland at this time, we are mindful of the potential for Russias destabilizing actions to impact organizations both within and beyond the region, particularly in the wake of sanctions imposed by the United States and our Allies,' the agency said. Experts warned that criminal hacker gangs in Russia, which frequently appear to operate with tacit government approval, now seem to be backing Putin in his confrontation with the West. 'Russia-linked cybercriminals appear, unsurprisingly, to be supporting Russia,' Brett Callow, a threat analyst with cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, told DailyMail.com. 'While some of their threats may be idle - they likely dont have the ability to pick off critical infrastructure at will - this is nonetheless a good time for all organizations to ensure their shields are fully up,' he added. 'Its a volatile and unpredictable situation.' US organizations are urged to report any cyber incidents or anomalous activity to CISA at central@cisa.dhs.gov or 888-282-0870. Businesses, from major retailers like Amazon to small Etsy shop owners, are showing their support for Ukraine with a flood of new merchandise - with some even using the profits to help the war-torn country. For the low price of $8.18, plus shipping, for example, customers of the Etsy shop Winding Road Canada can purchase an array of blue and yellow polymer clay earrings in the shapes of hearts, circles, and more - with proceeds supporting the besieged citizens of Ukraine via the country's Red Cross branch. 'Here are a variety of Ukrainian themed earrings,' the shop owner Sarah wrote. 'Wear them and support freedom and peace for Ukraine. All of the money from sales, short of shipping fees, will go directly to the Red Cross' Ukraine Crisis campaign.' Sarah also said they would 'cover the cost of materials for as long as that is sustainable' and would provide customers with proof of donation, if requested. Other small Etsy shops are offering products that directly support various groups in Ukraine, such as the National Bank of Ukraine and the Armed Forces. Many Etsy shop owners are showing their support for your Ukraine as they sell products and donate the profits to various Ukrainian organizations, including the Red Cross and Armed Forces. Canadian shop Winding Road Canada offered a display of earrings for only a little over $8 in many shapes, including hearts, to show support for the Ukrainian people Winding Road Canada's owner Sarah was hard at work creating beautiful polymer clay earrings to donate to the Red Cross in Ukraine Retail giant Amazon has also seen a large influx of Ukrainian inspired merchandise, especially t-shirt mixing the American and Ukrainian flags. Many t-shirts have the words 'I stand with Ukraine' printed across them, while a popular item featured a play on words - 'Puck Futin' - a defiant statement against the Russian president. One description of the shirt read: 'I Stand With Ukraine Puck Futin design, a perfect idea to express the support of Ukraine and its people.' Another read: 'I Stand With Ukraine tee to show support and love to Ukraine and all Ukrainian people.' Most shirts ranged from $15 to $20. Retail giant Amazon saw an influx of new t-shirts showing support for war-torn Ukraine this week as Russia violently invaded the Eastern European country. Many shirts featured the country's flag colors - blue and yellow - and also displayed American flags. A popular shirt also had a play on words to denounced the Russian president with the words 'Puck Futin' written in large letters Another Etsy shop called Shop USSR Goods, owned by a woman named Maxim - who usually only sells watches and jewelry - is selling a digital print of a Ukrainian girl holding the state's flag in a field to help her family. 'My family lives in Ukraine,' she wrote. 'My USSR Goods Store has to go on vacation for an unknown period. As you know, my country, Ukraine, was attacked by Russia. 'We are limited in the ability to earn and send parcels. If you want to support us, please buy this listing. Thank you for your kind heart!' The digital download is going for a small price of $5. An Washington DC Etsy store called Liberty1765 is also hopping on the trend, selling a shirt with the Ukrainian flag, the snake from US Gadsden flag - famous for its 'Don't Tread on Me' phrase - with the Ukraine spelling of 'Go f**k yourself' in honor of the brave soldier on Snake Island in Ukraine to told an enemy warship: 'Russian ship: Go f**k yourself.' The reported 13 soldiers on the island, located in the Black Sea, were bombarded by Russian air support and ultimately died. 'We honor their sacrifice and their defiant spirit with this rework of the Gadsden Flag,' the shop owner Tim wrote. '[One hundred] per cent of the profit from sales of this shirt will go to the fund created by the National Bank of Ukraine to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.' The shirt is retailing for $22.50, plus shipping. A Ukrainian shop owner Maxim, who's business had to be put on hold due to the inability to get product in and out of the country, offered a cheap digital painting of a Ukrainian girl holding the state's flag to help her family in the country A small Etsy shop took a play on the Gadsden flag - famous for its 'Don't Tread on Me' phrase - by adding the Ukrainian flag and the country language on it. The phrase quoting the soldiers on Snake Island on Friday who told a Russian warship to 'go f**k yourself' Americans weren't the only contingent to harness the power of merchandise to fundraise for the people of Ukraine, as the UK also showed its support on Amazon. Some items include hoodies and a classic British item: A beer pint that retailed for around $20. Other ways to donate to Ukraine include through UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, Voice of Children, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UN Refugee Agency, and more. The UK Amazon site also showed sweatshirts and t-shirt to show support Britain showed their support as well on Amazon as beer pints with the words 'I stand with Ukraine' printed on it retailed for around $20 As the war carries on, Western officials warn Russia could use savage superweapons that vaporize bodies and crush internal organs if their assault of Ukraine becomes bogged down tonight. They fear Vladimir Putin could resort to high-power thermobaric weapons - dubbed the 'father of all bombs' - as brave Ukrainians resist his attempts to take control of Kyiv. There are also concerns that units that are running behind schedule as they encounter stiff opposition could resort to indiscriminate shelling as a terror weapon. Thermobaric weapons - also known as vacuum bombs - are high-powered explosive that use the atmosphere itself as part of the explosion. They are among the most powerful non-nuclear weapons ever developed. A thermobaric bomb dropped by the US on Taliban in Afghanistan in 2017 weighed 21,600 pounds and left a crater more than 1,000 feet wide after it exploded six feet above the ground. Thermobaric weapons were developed by both the US and the Soviet Union in the 1960s. In September 2007, Russia detonated the largest thermobaric weapon ever made, which created an explosion equivalent to 39.9 tons. The US version of the weapon reportedly costs over $16million each. 'My fear would be that if they don't meet their timescale and objectives they would be indiscriminate in their use of violence,' the official said. 'They dont adhere to the same principles of necessity and proportionality and rule of law that Western forces do.' The small contingent of soldiers, allegedly 13 in number, were posted on Snake Island in the Odesa region and were defending the territory after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine The bomb works by using oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, making it far deadlier than a conventional weapon. While Russian special forces have reached the suburbs of Kyiv, the bulk of Russia's heavy armor is believed to be still more than 30 miles away from the capital. Western officials have suggested Russia will kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his ministers if they seize Kyiv. Russia is launching a massive amphibious assault to bring thousands of navy personnel ashore in Ukraine on Friday, as Kyiv puts up a more aggressive defense than Moscow ever expected. In addition, the US has counted 200 Russian missile attacks so far. While most have been launched toward Ukrainian military installations, some have hit civilian areas. The senior U.S. defense official said Friday that Russia appears to have lost some of its momentum due to the Ukrainian's fiery resistance. A woman in Florida was arrested in the death of a nine-week-old baby that she was babysitting in June 2021 after allegedly taking fentanyl pills, then falling asleep on and suffocating the child. Mary Elizabeth Evans, 40, of Panama City, Florida, has been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, according to the Bay County Sherriff's Office. Emergency responders rushed to a home in Fountain - roughly 30 miles away from Panama City - on June 6, 2021 to find Evans lying unconscious, sitting on the side of a bed, with her upper body crushing the infant she was babysitting, according to a press release from the Bay County Sheriff's Office. The unidentified child was pronounced dead after being taken to a local hospital. Medical staff were able to revive Evans. It was unclear whether the accused has an attorney who can speak on her behalf. Mary Elizabeth Evans, a 40-year-old woman from Panama City, Florida, was charged with aggravated manslaughter. In June 2021, she was found unconscious sitting next to her bed with half of her body on top of the newborn. She is incarcerated in Bay County, awaiting a hearing and sentencing An investigation determined that Evans had bought narcotics earlier in the day and had taken them by crushing and snorting the pills before her babysitting shift with the newborn, according to authorities. A blue pill that investigators found on the floor of the bedroom where Evans had gone unconscious was later confirmed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to be fentanyl. Police said that Evans took fentanyl before passing out on the victim, suffocating the baby to death. 'Investigators determined that Evans had purchased narcotics earlier that day and had ingested them by crushing and snorting the pills before taking care of the child,' police allege. 'Evans was discovered unconscious, sitting on the side of her bed, with her upper body completely covering the child.' Evans was booked into Bay County Jail as she awaits her first court appearance. A blue pill found by police on the floor of the bedroom where Evans had gone unconscious was later confirmed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to be fentanyl (pictured) The Bay County Sheriff's Office found Evans lying unconscious, sitting on the side of a bed, with her upper body crushing the infant she was babysitting in June of last year Information about her bail has not yet been made public. It is not yet clear whether she would have pleaded guilty on Thursday, says PEOPLE. A man wanted for spewing an anti-Asian slur at a woman on a Manhattan subway car last year has been busted, police said Friday. Arnaldo Girlaldi, 54, was nabbed in the Bronx on Thursday, cops said. Advertisement Hes accused of storming up to a 34-year-old woman on a Brooklyn-bound Q train, at 96th St., sticking his finger in her face and screaming, C---k! Girlaldis face was obscured by a red bandana, blue face mask and glasses. Advertisement Police release imagery of a man who authorities said hurled anti-Asian slurs as a woman on a subway. (NYPD) The victim managed to snap a cellphone photo of Girlaldi, who left the train car when another straphanger began to intervene. Cops used that picture and surveillance footage to identify Girlaldi. Police release imagery of a man who authorities said hurled anti-Asian slurs as a woman on a subway. (NYPD) In April 2021, a female was aboard a train in Manhattan when an unknown individual began making racial slurs before fleeing the train car, the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force tweeted Friday. Yesterday, your dedicated investigators were able to arrest the individual responsible with the assistance of the NYPDs Warrant Squad. He was arrested by the NYPD Warrant Squad and charged with aggravated harassment. In April 2021, a female was aboard a train in Manhattan when an unknown individual began making racial slurs before fleeing the train car. Yesterday, your dedicated investigators were able to arrest the individual responsible with the assistance of the NYPD's Warrant Squad. pic.twitter.com/4D7RPffN5g NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) February 25, 2022 A Manhattan Criminal Court judge ordered Girlaldi released without bail during a brief arraignment Friday. Police say 131 hate crimes were committed against Asians in the city last year four times more than the 28 that were reported in 2020. The former executive director of the Miss Florida Scholarship Program is facing federal charges for allegedly stealing $100,000 in donations to pay personal expenses and go on shopping sprees. Mary Wickersham, 76, who also goes by the names Mary Sullivan and Mary Harvey, turned herself in on Tuesday and was charged with seven counts of defrauding corporate and individual donors, the U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Florida announced on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors allege that between December 2011 and June 2018, Wickersham spent at least $100,000 that belonged to the Miss Florida Scholarship Program, a nonprofit that raises money to provide scholarships to young women through pageants, and other charities for her own personal expenses. That money helped fund her glamourous lifestyle, paying for shopping sprees, utilities home goods, maid services, dinners, online dating fees and other costs, prosecutors said. A judge set Wickersham's bond at $100,000. If found guilty of all charges, the 76-year-old could face up to 20 years in prison. Former director of the Miss Florida Scholarship Program Mary Wickersham, 76, (pictured) was charged with seven-counts of defrauding corporate and individual donors Federal prosecutors allege that between December 2011 and June 2018, Wickersham (center) spent at least $100,000 that belonged to the Miss Florida Scholarship Program Wickersham, 76, who also goes by the names Mary Sullivan and Mary Harvey, turned herself in on Tuesday and was charged with seven-counts of defrauding corporate and individual donors Wickersham allegedly formed a scam Florida corporation named Miss Florida LLC and used the fake corporation to open a bank account that only she could access, according to prosecutors. Wickersham would then allegedly solicit donations on behalf of the Miss Florida organization, but instead of depositing the funds into the organization's bank account, she would deposit money into her 'Miss Florida' account at Bank of America. Following her 2018 resignation, the scholarship program found 'financial irregularities' in their accounts and contacted authorities, the organization said in a statement. 'The current board of directors is acting in concert with the appropriate legal authorities and with the national Miss America program with regard to this matter,' the Miss Florida Scholarship Program said. 'We are in a strong fiscal position and are experiencing growing success in raising scholarship funds.' Wickersham also allegedly scammed the Everglades Foundation, one of Florida's biggest environmental organizations, a small local shop called Anne Marie's Boutique and a former Miss Florida pageant winner only identified as L.R. in court documents, the Miami Herald reported. Wickersham even allegedly stole from the Children's Miracle Network, which raises money for hospitals, by adding the words 'Miss Florida Pageant' on donation checks and depositing the funds into her scam account, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) said. Wickersham allegedly formed a scam Florida corporation named Miss Florida LLC and used the fake corporation to open a bank account only she could access Wickersham even allegedly stole from the Children's Miracle Network by adding the words 'Miss Florida Pageant' on donation checks and depositing the funds into the scam account 'Ms. Wickersham not only stole charitable donations from the Scholarship Program, but also from two local charitable organizations and a local business affiliated with Miss Florida,' Miami Special Agent in Charge Troy Walker said. 'Agents believe the scam occurred over several years,' he added. She is scheduled to appear again in court on Monday at 10 a.m. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are 'progressing rapidly' with their plans for a new life in the Home Counties. The couple are understood to be finalising arrangements to move Prince George to a new prep school in Berkshire this September, with co-educational Lambrook, near Ascot, thought to be the front runner. But Princess Charlotte, six, is more likely to remain at Thomas's Battersea for the time being where she is 'super happy and settled' and is expected to be joined by her brother, Prince Louis, who turns four this spring. The couple are also still eyeing up properties in the Windsor area having looked at several potential family homes on the Queen's Berkshire estate with a view to living in the Royal Borough at weekends and holidays. Handily, Windsor is only a short drive from Kate's family home in Bucklebury. Her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, are doting and very hands-on grandparents. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are said to be finalising arrangements to move Prince George (pictured on his first day of school) to a new prep school in Berkshire this September However Kensington Palace, where they live in Apartment 1A, and have their offices and their charitable Royal Foundation, will remain their weekday base. It means that in the near future Anmer Hall, their Norfolk home, may revert back to the Queen to pass on to another family member or rented out privately. The changes have come as William and Kate are starting to map out where they see their family settling down. It could, of course, be another 20 years before the couple accede to the throne and they are keen to afford their offspring as normal childhoods as possible before then. Sources say they adore Norfolk and, if their circumstances had been different, would have loved to bring their children up on the Queen's Sandringham estate. But they took the house on when William was based in Cambridge working for East Anglian Air Ambulance and their lives are very different now. Co-educational Lambrook, near Ascot, is thought to be the front runner for George (pictured) but Ludgrove, where Prince William and Prince Harry went, is also being considered Anmer is a long commute from London, often requiring them to travel by helicopter, and simply isn't a practical option. They have a comfortable home-office arrangement at Kensington Palace and are acutely conscious of the 4.5million cost to taxpayers of renovating their 20-room family apartment, in addition to creating new working space. And their roles require them to be in London more often than not. As a result they have decided to continue living there, even when they become Prince and Princess of Wales, in term-time at least. But both William and Kate are country people at heart, a love that has been inherited by their children. Although George, who will turn nine in July, is also extremely happy at Thomas's in London, his parents believe it is time for him to transfer to an out-of-town school, where all the facilities are on one campus, the Daily Mail understands from multiple, well-placed sources. Weekly or 'flexi' boarding is on the cards. Both William and Kate were boarders from a young age. Ludgrove, the all-boys Berkshire boarding-only school where Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry, went from the ages of eight to 13, is being considered. And the couple have been spotted at both St Andrew's in Pangbourne, where Kate was a pupil and some insiders think is a good contender as well as Papplewick, another boys' school in Ascot. Apparently on a visit to Papplewick one pupil told Kate that 'she looked just like the Duchess of Cambridge'. Sources do tell the Mail, however, that the couple have been seen visiting Lambrook 'multiple times' where William is even said to have chatted with a pupil about Latin lessons. As a co-educational establishment, it would allow the Cambridges to send all three children to the same school when Charlotte and Louis, who currently attends Wilcocks Nursery, are older. Lambrook's leavers go on to a host of prestigious public schools, including Eton. Pictured: Prince William at Eton at age 18 The school charges between 6,448 and 6,999 per term plus a further 1,481 per term for boarding and has been described as 'bucolic', with one reviewer saying they spotted 'children cartwheeling on the croquet lawn sporting proper rosy cheeks and a healthy outdoorsy glow.' Its leavers go on to a host of prestigious public schools, including Eton. It means that George is very likely to follow in his father's and uncle's footsteps at 13. Earlier this month the Mail revealed that Windsor Castle was being earmarked for the Cambridges one day, instead of Prince Charles who prefers Highgrove. While at school William often walked from Eton to have lunch with his granny at her Berkshire residence. A source said: 'It's an open secret the Cambridges are looking to settle in Berkshire and George is set to leave Thomas's this summer, unless circumstances suddenly change. 'It's the talk of the county and they will, of course, be made extremely welcome. 'They always put their children front and centre of everything they do, so finding the right school has been a priority. It's about what works for them as a family.' Another source, while aware the family were looking at options in Berkshire, stressed no 'firm decisions' had yet been made. Kensington Palace declined to comment. Boris Johnson said today Vladimir Putin was on a 'revanchist mission to overturn the post-Cold War order'. The Prime Minister said the Russian president was trying to wind back the clock to the Soviet Union. He made the comments as he pledged to level personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to echo those announced by the EU. The Prime Minister told Nato leaders in a virtual meeting on Friday that the UK would also impose restrictions announced by the EU to target the Russian leader. Referring to Mr Putin's wish to recover territory which previously fell under the USSR, he said Russia was 'engaging in a revanchist mission to overturn the post-Cold War order'. Mr Johnson told allies 'the UK would introduce sanctions against President Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov imminently, on top of the sanctions package the UK announced yesterday', according to a No 10 spokesman. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Putin was trying to recreate the Soviet Union in invasion The Prime Minister said the Russian president was trying to wind back the clock to the USSR Ukrainians demonstrate in Whitehall outside of Downing Street this evening over invasion 'He warned the group that the Russian president's ambitions might not stop there and that this was a Euro-Atlantic crisis with global consequences,' he said. The Prime Minister also used the meeting to urge 'immediate action' over the banning of Russia from the Swift payment system to 'inflict maximum pain' on the Kremlin. The move to sanction President Putin and Mr Lavrov comes after the European Union announced it was considering a similar move against the two men as it set out its latest round of measures in concert with the US and the UK. The Government has faced criticism that it has still not gone far enough despite measures to hit five further oligarchs, and targeting more than 100 businesses and individuals. With Russian forces continuing to advance towards Kyiv, beleaguered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said sanctions had so far done nothing to deter the Russian onslaught. Meanwhile Western officials have warned that the Russians could resort to thermobaric weapons - used to generate powerful, high-temperature explosions - if the Ukrainian military resistance continues to hold up their assault. The enormous explosion lit up the night sky and was captured by one Ukranian family sheltering in their home nearby The moment a Russian missile struck a fuel store near the village of Kulinichi close to Kharkiv city in eastern Ukraine Putin called Soviet Union's end 'Greatest geopolitical catastrope of the 20th century' The Russian leader has said many times that he suffered the same misery as his compatriots when the Soviet empire crumbled, recently claiming he was forced to drive a taxi to make ends meet when he returned to his homeland. 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. He has called Nato's expansion 'menacing' and claimed that the prospect of Ukraine joining the body is an existential threat to his country. Since 1997, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Bulgaria have all joined Nato. To Putin and his supporters, this is proof of the West inching closer to Russia. Advertisement Despite beginning the attack on Thursday, the Russian forces have yet to take any of the main population centres and officials believe they failed to achieve most of their day one objectives for the invasion. One official noted that the Russians were known to have thermobaric weapons in their armoury and that they had used them in previous conflicts. 'My fear would be that if they don't meet their timescale and objectives, they would be indiscriminate in their use of violence,' the official said. Earlier Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has said 'the world will hold Russia and Belarus accountable for their actions'. Addressing a press briefing following a virtual meeting of Nato leaders, Mr Stoltenberg said: 'We call on Russia to stop this senseless war immediately.' He warned that 'the Kremlin's objectives are not limited to Ukraine' and that 'we are facing a new normal in European security where Russia openly contests the European security order and uses force to pursue its objectives'. He said: 'President Putin's decision to pursue his aggression against Ukraine is a terrible strategic mistake.' Mr Stoltenberg added that although significant sanctions had already been announced 'we must stand ready to do more, even if it means we have to pay a price, because we are in this for the long haul'. The secretary-general said Nato had deployed thousands more troops to the eastern part of the alliance, and will 'do what it takes to protect and defend every ally and every inch of Nato territory'. Britain's Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lieutenant General Sir Jim Hockenhull, said Russian forces were continuing to move towards Kyiv on two lines of advance. 'Their objective is to encircle the capital, to secure control of the population and change the regime,' he said. 'Ukrainian armed forces continue to offer strong resistance.' While there have been reports of sporadic fighting in the northern suburbs, most of the main Russian units were still thought to be more than 50km away. President Putin stepped up his inflammatory rhetoric, urging Ukrainian troops to lay down their arms saying he would find it easier to negotiate with them, than 'that gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have holed up in Kyiv and have taken the entire Ukrainian people hostage'. Following the Nato meeting, alliance secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said it was clear the Kremlin's objectives were 'not limited to Ukraine'. 'We are facing a new normal in European security where Russia openly contests the European security order and uses force to pursue its objectives,' he said. He said the alliance was deploying thousands more troops to the eastern member states - who fear they could be the next target of Russian aggression - would 'do what it takes to protect and defend every ally and every inch of Nato territory'. Earlier Defence Secretary Ben Wallace ruled out calls for Britain to help mount a no-fly zone over Ukraine because the RAF fighting Russian jets would trigger a 'war across Europe'. 'He is trying to invade Ukraine. He won't stop after Ukraine. He will use everything in the Baltic states. He doesn't believe the Baltic states are really countries,' Mr Wallace told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'And we will have to stand up to it. Now, I cannot trigger a European war and I won't trigger a European war but what I will do is help Ukraine fight every street with every piece of equipment we can get to them, and we will support them, and that is the reality.' One could describe it as 'the flight of the women'. Certainly, the refugees came from all backgrounds and walks of life. Rich and poor alike were escaping the catastrophe that was enfolding their nation, carried in all kinds of transport, from brand new Porches to battered hatchbacks. But one detail was striking and uniform: There was not a man of fighting age to be seen among them. This was the exodus of Ukraine's mothers and children at the bleak Korczowa border crossing with Poland yesterday afternoon. Poland fears there may be an influx of over a million civilians from neighbouring Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. Pictured: People at the Ukrainian side of the Polish border near Mosciska They were in the vanguard of what Poland fears may be an influx of more than a million civilians from neighbouring Ukraine, driven from their homes by the Russian invasion. The two countries share a border of more than 300 miles and reception stations are being established at key crossing points to register the incomers and provide them with food and water. Thousands of families have been heading west to seek safety from Putin's planes and tanks. Many we met there had endured more than 24 hours of waiting on the Ukrainian side only to suffer the new heartbreak of having their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers prevented from crossing into Poland with them. The Ukrainian authorities have decreed that no males between the ages of 18 and 60 can leave. They are expected to stay and fight as part of a general military mobilisation. And so families were being broken up with safety in sight. Irya, 31, had driven to the Polish border with her husband Oleg and their 11-year-old daughter from the town of Ternopil. Ukrainian women and children are seen at the Slovak-Ukrainian border crossing at Vysne Nemeck following Russia's invasion of the Ukraine 'Then after 25 hours waiting to cross I had to say goodbye to Oleg,' she said. 'The situation is terrible. I do not know what to do now. I am alone.' Two families from Kiev had also seen their menfolk taken away from them on the border after waiting 20 hours to cross. They had not met before their ordeal and planned to travel on to Italy and the Czech Republic respectively, where they had relations. But they had thrown in their lot together once their men were forced to leave them, and travelled in the same car to cross the frontier solidarity among strangers born of mutual suffering. Among them was eight-year-old schoolgirl Malchyk who was carrying her pet white mouse Pschuk in a plastic travelling box. The mouse was allowed through, her father was not. Some of the female drivers had particular reason to feel desolate. Thousands of families have been heading west to seek safety from Putin's planes. Pictured: Civilians arrive in the Medyka region of Poland, on the border with Ukraine, on February 25 Gena, 22, was born in the Russian town of Rostov and married a Ukrainian. He too was barred from crossing. She made it to the Polish side at the wheel of her Toyota, with her two children and plans, she said, to drive to the capital Warsaw, although she knows no one there. She was pale and drawn, anxious for what and whom she had left behind. 'I have many friends and relations in Russia,' she told the Daily Mail. 'Now I have to escape because of that country Russia that I had always thought of as a friend.' In the evening, we made it into Ukraine at the pedestrian crossing near Mosciska. It was an extraordinary scene. Thousands of women and children were waiting on foot in the cold as darkness fell, to escape the Russians and cross into Poland. Diplomats in the Foreign Office are being told they only have to be at their desks for as little as two days a week, the Daily Mail can reveal today. The department responsible for leading Britain's response to the crisis in Ukraine is currently recruiting 100 new staff. Ministers boast of a back to work drive, but applicants are told they will only have to show up on two to three days. Job adverts say 'our current policy is that staff should expect to spend 40 to 60 per cent of their time in the office'. In August the working from home culture was blamed when hundreds of Britons were left behind in the airlift of Kabul before western troops withdrew from Afghanistan. Vital time was lost in Britain because sensitive documents can only be read in Government offices for security reasons but as many as four out of five officials were working from home. 'People were left to the Taliban who could have been saved,' a minister said. Diplomats in the Foreign Office are being told they only have to be at their desks for as little as two days a week, the Daily Mail can reveal today. The department responsible for leading Britain's response to the crisis in Ukraine (Kyiv, above) is currently recruiting 100 new staff In August the working from home culture was blamed when hundreds of Britons were left behind in the airlift of Kabul before western troops withdrew from Afghanistan. (The scene at Kabul international airport at the time) Raphael Marshall, a former civil servant, told the foreign affairs select committee that even though lives were at stake, he was at times the only person in the department dealing with thousands of emails from those desperate to flee the Taliban. He said that officials were able to refuse to work nights and overtime as part of a 'deliberate drive' to prioritise 'work-life balance'. Sir Philip Barton, who earns 185,000 as the head of the Diplomatic Service, has admitted that he was on holiday for almost the entire two-week evacuation. Last month the Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay (right) said civil servants needed to 'move away from a reliance on video meetings and get back to the benefits of face-to-face, collaborative working' He only returned to his desk 11 days after the Taliban seized Kabul, but told MPs 'there isn't a clocking-off culture at all' in the Foreign Office. Last month the Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay said civil servants needed to 'move away from a reliance on video meetings and get back to the benefits of face-to-face, collaborative working'. Mr Barclay, who is now Boris Johnson's chief-of-staff, has told officials it is 'important that we now see the maximum use of our office space being made as we build a strong recovery after the disruption of the pandemic'. The Prime Minister has also said that 'across Whitehall, we need to show a lead and make sure that we get back to work, everybody gets back to work'. However, the Government has not set firm targets and has so far refused to publish the number of civil servants who are back at work. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is trying to fill 100 posts in London, East Kilbride and Milton Keynes. Adverts say higher executive officer posts, which pay up to 38,595, can involve 'supporting crisis responses'. Last night, the Foreign Office said its 'employees are working 24/7 in the UK and across our international network to respond to the Ukraine crisis, including to support British nationals overseas.' Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn said Friday it was 'extremely inappropriate' for President Biden to announce his Supreme Court pick during the height of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Biden on Friday nominated federal judge Kentaji Brown Jackson, fulfilling his promise to pick a black woman to serve on the Supreme Court to replace liberal Justice Stephen Breyer. 'President Biden's announcement just days after an unprovoked full scale invasion by Russia is extremely inappropriate,' Blackburn said on Twitter on Friday. 'It is an attempt to hide that for over three months Biden refused to levy sanctions against Russia or send military assistance to Ukraine.' 'Once again, Biden is putting the demands of the radical progressive left ahead of what is best for our nation.' The U.S. has provided $650 million in military assistance to Ukraine over the past year. But Biden held up a Ukrainian aid package in December, worried the move would be seen as aggressive by the Russians when talks were still ongoing. Biden's administration also took a more hesitant approach to sanctions, arguing they should be held over Putin's head as a deterrent against invading. But on Thursday, Biden admitted that he knew the sanctions were never going to stop Putin from invading. 'No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening,' he said, in direct contradiction to the claims of other administration officials. 'President Biden's announcement just days after an unprovoked full scale invasion by Russia is extremely inappropriate,' Blackburn said on Friday 'For too long our government, our courts haven't looked like America,' Biden said as he introduced Jackson, the first black woman nominated to the Supreme Court Blackburn said she would not hold Biden's 'failure' against Jackson and planned to meet with the nominee to see if she 'is a person of high character.' Friday's news cycle was packed to the brim with Russia launching all-out war with Ukraine, and the White House both announced its Supreme Court nominee and the Centers for Disease Control rolled back its mask recommendation. 'For too long our government, our courts haven't looked like America,' Biden said as he introduced Jackson, the first black woman nominated to the Supreme Court. 'I am truly humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination,' Jackson said. 'I must begin these very brief remarks by thanking god for delivering me to this point in my professional journey. My life has been blessed beyond measure, and I do know that one can only come this far by faith,' she said. In his push for her nomination, Biden pointed to Jackson's unique qualifications - she would be the high court's first former public defender - and that she has been previously confirmed by the Senate for the federal bench, garnering Republican votes in the Senate for that position. 'She served both in public service as a federal public defender, a federal public defender and in private law practice as an accomplished lawyer with a prestigious law firm,' the president said in remarks at the White House with Jackson by his side. Vice President Kamala Harris was also there. Liberals praised the pick, citing Jackson's background as a public defender. Republicans offered a more cautious reaction with most GOP senators saying they would keep an open mind when meeting with her during the confirmation process. Ketanji Brown Jackson said she was 'truly humbled' by the nomination Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that Jackson's pick meant that 'the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again.' Graham had wanted Biden to pick a judge from his home state: South Carolina-based U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs. 'The attacks by the Left on Judge Childs from South Carolina apparently worked,' he added. Childs' past work as a management-side labor attorney complicated her standing with progressives. 'The Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated,' said Graham. 'I expect a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee.' Graham voted for Jackson to serve as a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit eight months ago, as did Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Sen. Mitch McConnell seemed to call Jackson inexperienced, noting that she published 'a total of two opinions' during her time on DC's federal appellate court. She did write hundreds during her eight years on district court. 'I voted against confirming Judge Jackson to her current position less than a year ago,' the Kentucky Republican said. 'I also understand Judge Jackson was the favored choice of far-left dark-money groups that have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the Court itself.' 'With that said, I look forward to carefully reviewing Judge Jackson's nomination during the vigorous and thorough Senate process that the American people deserve.' EU member states were branded a 'disgrace' by the bloc's former president yesterday after they rejected Boris Johnson's call to eject Russia from the world's biggest financial payments system. Donald Tusk rounded on Germany, Italy, Hungary and others after they vetoed moves to kick Russia out of the Swift network that forms the bedrock of international trade. Mr Tusk tweeted: 'In this war everything is real: Putin's madness and cruelty, Ukrainian victims, bombs falling on Kyiv. 'Only your sanctions are pretended. Those EU governments which blocked tough decisions (ie Germany, Hungary, Italy) have disgraced themselves.' While EU leaders left a Swift ban out of a 'tough' package of sanctions despite a plea from Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky Italy got an exemption for its luxury goods industry. Donald Tusk (pictured) rounded on Germany, Italy, Hungary and others after they vetoed moves to kick Russia out of the Swift network that forms the bedrock of international trade Senior sources said the likes of Gucci loafers and designer handbags were not included in the export ban measures agreed late on Thursday, which focused largely on the high-tech, aviation and energy sectors. One EU diplomat said Italy's argument was that banning sales to Russian oligarchs 'would have been largely symbolic'. But senior Italian government sources reacted furiously, with one saying the country's prime minister Mario Draghi 'did not seek a carve-out on Italian luxury goods that is categorically untrue'. Mr Draghi also sparked a row with Mr Zelensky after he told Italian MPs the Ukrainian president had missed a planned phone call yesterday because he was 'hiding somewhere'. Mr Zelensky tweeted details of heavy fighting in his country, including deaths, before adding sarcastically: 'Next time I'll try to move the war schedule to talk to Mario Draghi at a specific time. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to fight for its people.' Mr Zelensky had urged European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to back a Swift ban on Russia, saying: 'Not all possibilities for sanctions have been exhausted yet. The pressure on Russia must increase.' Latvia's deputy prime minister Artis Pabriks condemned nations that blocked the move, saying: 'Some people in Europe are afraid of losing money while other people in Kyiv have to die.' Boris Johnson (pictured) has been urging allies to back a Swift ban, saying only the harshest economic sanctions will have any effect on Vladimir Putin Mr Johnson has been urging allies to back a Swift ban, saying only the harshest economic sanctions will have any effect on Vladimir Putin. The Prime Minister raised the issue at a G7 summit on Thursday and again at a crisis summit of Nato leaders yesterday. He has also raised it in one-to-one talks with fellow leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, warning him: 'Western inaction or under-reaction would have unthinkable consequences.' A Government source said Mr Johnson 'is going to keep pushing very strongly for this'. And Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said yesterday Britain would 'work all day' to get the Swift system 'turned off for Russia'. EU leaders have said little publicly about their opposition to kicking Russia out of Swift. But diplomatic sources said several countries were concerned about disruption to gas supplies from Russia. Diplomatic sources said US President Joe Biden sat on the fence on the issue at the G7 summit on Thursday. He cited EU concerns as the reason for not going ahead with a ban. British Airways was tonight forced to deny it had been hit by a Russian cyber attack after a massive IT systems failure. The prestige airline suffered a major outage with passengers complaining of cancellations and delays while digital systems were down. The airline's website and app were inaccessible for hours on Friday evening, leaving customers unable to book flights. At Heathrow passengers claimed staff had suggested 'it was probably down to Putin and cyber attacks'. But BA said it was just a 'technical issue' and that it is still operating flights and checking passengers in. A source familiar with the situation told MailOnline: 'It's absolutely not the case a cyber attack has been carried out. 'This is a technical issue and all flights are still operating and customers are being checked in.' British Airways said it had not been attacked and insisted that it was just a 'technical issue' Passengers onboard BA flights claimed staff had blamed problems on 'probable cyber attack' Ed Hall, 54, a television executive from Woodstock, Oxfordshire, was stuck on a plane for over an hour after landing at Heathrow Terminal 5 because the crew could not access any IT systems to get a stand where passengers could disembark. He said there were issues even before his BA 399 flight took off from Brussels. Mr Hall told PA: 'We couldn't take off as the pilot's system that calculates weight, loads and distribution went offline and we had to go back to the gate from the runway to get a (manual) copy sent from London. 'BA is running on paper tonight'. Once he finally disembarked, baggage was piling up from passengers stuck on other flights, he said. Mr Hall added that a friend waiting for a long-haul flight in Terminal 5 was having to board manually. Departure screens were completely blank at Heathrow after the computer system failure He said later on Twitter: 'Pilot on BA 399: "There might be more reasons for the IT problems we've had in the last few days, Eastern Europe perhaps" Plane on taxiway at LHR as 'frequencies' not working at Terminal 5 and no idea when we will get a stand. Are we under cyber attack?' Another passenger added: Im at Terminal 5 your staff are telling me no flights going because the entire computer system is down here. Not just BA. They saying its probably down to Putin and cyber attacks.' Photographs of departure boards in Terminal 5 showed few flights boarding. Sophia Prout, 33, from London, waited in Terminal 5 for her BA flight to Lisbon, scheduled for 7.05pm, until it was cancelled just after 9pm. She said it was 'frustrating' that technical issues were ongoing as she had been waiting for a total of four hours after checking in at around 5pm when only a few of the desks were working. Ms Prout said she had arrived early because she could not check in online. She said: 'We're lucky that we can turn around and go home if the flight gets cancelled, but would be nice to get an idea of when/if we will take off'. It is BA's second outage in 10 days. The airline said: 'We're investigating and working hard to resolve a technical issue and apologise for the inconvenience. 'We will provide further updates as quickly as possible'. Heathrow Airport said: 'Heathrow's systems and air traffic control are operating as normal. 'We are aware of a technical issue that @British-Airways are investigating and we will be working with them to provide updates to passengers as soon as they are available'. Advertisement Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky fired a warning shot to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday as the Kremlin's forces closed in around Kyiv, but struggled to make significant advances against fierce resistance. In a video address, a confident Zelensky said Ukraine had fought off 'enemy attacks'. 'We are defending our country, our land,' he said, demonstrating Kyiv was still under Ukraine's control. 'The occupiers wanted to capture our capital and install their puppets like Donetsk. We broke their idea.' He added: 'I want everyone in Russia to hear me. Everybody. Hundreds of captured soldiers who are here in Ukraine don't know why they were sent here to kill people or be killed. People need to tell the government why the war has to be stopped, more people from your country will stay alive.' UKRAINE WAR: LATEST Vladimir Putin urges Ukrainian military to overthrow the country's leadership and negotiate peace Ukraine and Russia discuss a place and time for talks Russia vetoes draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would have deplored Moscow's invasion of Ukraine - China abstained President Joe Biden instructs the U.S. State Department to release $350 million in military aid to Ukraine Canada, the US, Britain and the European Union said they could act to exclude Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system SWIFT exclusion appeared to gain support from Cyrpus and Italy on Saturday as well Ukraine said more than 1,000 Russian soldiers had been killed - Russia did not release casualty figures NATO allies will provide more weapons to Ukraine and deploy more forces to the eastern part of the alliance NATO alliance is deploying its rapid response force for the first time ever to bolster its eastern flank The conflict could drive up to five million people abroad An estimated 120,000 people have fled across borders so far Poland PM calls for harsher sanctions on Russia, including exclusion from SWIFT and shutting down Nord Steam 1; Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has given trustees of the London club's charitable foundation stewardship, the Russian said on Saturday as sanctions loom. Advertisement His message came after a high-rise apartment block in Kyiv was hit by a devastating missile this morning as fighting continued to rage in the capital, with Ukraine's civilian death toll now standing at 198. Shocking footage recorded nearby shows the weapon flying into the building, located near Zhuliany airport, while CCTV recorded from inside also shows the extent of the damage after the site was hit. Images show the tower block with a hole covering at least five floors blasted into the side and rubble strewn across the street below. There have been no fatalities recorded from the attack, according to an adviser to the interior minister, although one rescue worker reported six civilians were injured. Anton Herashchenko also said Russia was lying about not shelling civilian infrastructure, claiming at least 40 such sites had been hit. Some 198 civilians, including three children, have been killed so far by Russian forces attacking the pro-Western country, Ukraine's health minister said today. 'Unfortunately, according to operative data, at the hands of the invaders we have 198 dead, including 3 children, 1,115 wounded, including 33 children,' Health Minister Viktor Lyashko wrote on Facebook. It comes as a barrage of cruise missiles have also been launched by Russian forces against Ukrainian military facilities. Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said the military struck a range of installations with long-range Kalibr cruise missiles. He said that since the start of Russia's attack on Thursday, the military has hit 821 Ukrainian military facilities, including 14 air bases and 19 command facilities, and destroyed 24 air defence missile systems, 48 radars, seven warplanes, seven helicopters, nine drones, 87 tanks and eight military vessels. Claims that Russia has taken full control of the southern city of Melitopol, however, were dismissed this morning by the UK's armed forces minister James Heappey. Meanwhile, the mayor of a city south of the capital said the country's military has fended off a Russian attempt to take control of a military air base. Natalia Balansynovych, mayor of Vasylkiv, about 25 miles south of Kyiv, said Russian airborne forces landed near the city overnight and tried to seize the base. She added that fierce fighting also raged in Vasylkiv's central street. She said Ukrainian forces repelled the Russian attacks, and the situation is now calm. Ms Balansynovych said there were heavy casualties, but did not give any numbers. Central Kyiv appeared quiet around midday on Saturday, and skirmishes reported on the edge of the city suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces. But an adviser to Ukraine's presidential office said it was categorically untrue that Russia suspended movement of its troops in Ukraine. Ukrainians are putting up a fierce resistance against Putin's invading army as dramatic video showed a destroyed Russian convoy near Kherson in the south of the country on the third day of the Kremlin's illegal war. Kyiv's defence ministry put Russia's losses at 2,800 troops, 80 tanks, 516 armoured vehicles, 10 airplanes and seven helicopters. Britain's defence ministry said Saturday that the bulk of Russian forces were 19 miles (30 kilometers) from the middle of the city. The MoD said Russia's invasion of Ukraine had so far made limited progress on Friday and that Ukraine retains control of key cities. The information was published in an MoD intelligence update on Twitter. Russia on Saturday announced it had closed its airspace to flights from Bulgaria, Poland and Czech Republic after the countries placed the same sanction on Russian flights. It also followed Prague announcing it would donate machine guns, automatic and sniper rifles, pistols and ammunition valued at around 6.4 million to Ukraine. The Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania have also agreed in principle to close their airspace to Russian aircraft, Lithuanian Transport Minister Marius Skuodis said on Saturday. 'Since this morning we've been preparing documents for our governments to vote on. Our plan is to take the step simultaneously,' Skuodis wrote on Facebook. It comes after Ukraine's president emerged earlier today defiant and determined after an onslaught on his capital city, declaring that Kyiv would resist the Russian advance and vowing to fight Vladimir Putin's forces. Zelensky posted a video on Twitter captioned 'Don't believe the fakes'. He condemned the false claims that he had surrendered and told his compatriots to lay down arms, and insisted his country would not give in to Russian aggression. 'Recently, fake info was spread about me ordering our army to lay down arms and evacuate,' Zelensky said. 'It's untrue. I'm here, we are not laying down, we will protect our state. This is our land, our country, our kids, and we will defend them.' A view shows an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday morning People take cover as an air-raid siren sounds, near an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in Kyiv Ukrainian soldiers take positions outside a military facility as two cars burn, in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday. Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine's capital Saturday, and street fighting broke out as city officials urged residents to take shelter Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, posted a video on social media on Saturday morning insisting that his country would fight on Emergency services said the number of victims was 'being specified' and that an evacuation was underway The body of a Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile lies near a local oil terminal after shelling in Kirovsky District, Donetsk A view shows an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday morning Firefighters extinguish fire in a high-rise apartment block which was hit by recent shelling in Kyiv on Saturday CCTV images show the inside of the Kyiv apartment block moments before and after it was attacked by a Russian missile Ukrainian troops inspect a blown-out truck site following a Russian airstrike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, February 26, 2022 Firefighters work to put out fires at a residential building hit by a missile strike in the morning in Kyiv, as Russia's military invasion in Ukraine continues on February 26, 2022 A view shows an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday morning. Russia's attack on Ukraine, which China refuses to condemn or even call an invasion, has sent Beijing into a diplomatic scramble Ukrainian service members are seen at the site of a fighting with Russian raiding group in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the morning of February 26, 2022 Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers inspect damage on a road caused by Russian shells on Saturday Ukrainian servicemen inspect the area near a charred vehicle after night fighting in Kiev, Ukraine, 26 February 2022 A militant of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic inspects the remains of a missile that landed on a street in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine February 26, 2022 Ukrainian soldiers take positions outside a military facility as two cars burn, in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday Pictured: A map showing the locations of key flash points across Ukraine as Russian forces invade and advance on Kyiv Russian troops are now advancing on Kyiv from the north and east, with US intelligence saying the plan is to besiege the city, capture an airport, and fly in paratroopers who would then attack the capital. The aim would be to capture the government and force them to sign a peace treaty handing control of the country back to Russia or a Russian puppet William and Kate tweet support for Kyiv in a rare political comment William and Kate today tweeted their support for Ukraine in a rare political comment. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge insisted they 'stand' with the people of the war-torn nation, as they 'bravely fight' for their future. The royal couple also recalled the 'privilege' of meeting President Zelensky and his wife, when they jetted into London in 2020. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have said they 'stand' with the people of Ukraine as they 'bravely fight' for their future In a personal tweet signed by the couple, they wrote: 'In October 2020 we had the privilege to meet President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to learn of their hope and optimism for Ukraine's future. 'Today we stand with the President and all of Ukraine's people as they bravely fight for that future.' William and Kate welcomed the Ukrainians to Buckingham Palace in October 2020 - their first audience since the start of the first Covid lockdown. The Duke and Duchess entertained President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena in the opulent Throne Room. The couples did not wear masks but observed social distancing and appeared in good spirits during the meeting, the first royal event to take place at Buckingham Palace in nearly six months. William and Kate held the audience on behalf of the Queen, who stayed at Windsor Castle to carry out a limited number of engagements. Advertisement The 44-year-old Zelensky, who has been widely praised for his courage in the face of Russia's aggression, said on Thursday that he knew he was 'target number one' for Putin's assassins. 'There's a lot of fake information online that I call on our army to lay down arms, and that there's been an evacuation ordered,' he said. 'I'm here. We won't lay down our arms. We will defend our state.' It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: 'Yesterday I urged NATO and Nordic partners to do all they can to support Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 'I am pleased even more allies have come forward with defensive and humanitarian aid. We must stand with the Ukrainian people as they defend their country and democracies everywhere.' Yet even as Zelensky spoke, the Ukrainian interior ministry was warning Kyiv's residents to shelter in place and not venture out onto the streets. Ukraine's armed forces on Saturday morning claimed 3,500 Russians had been killed overnight, and 200 taken prisoner. They said 14 Russian aircraft, eight helicopters, and 102 tanks had been seized. Internet connectivity has been badly affected by the Russian invasion, particularly in the southern and eastern parts of the country where fighting has been heaviest, internet blockage observatory NetBlocks said on Saturday. Fears are growing that communications in and out of Ukraine, and between people in the country, will be cut off. Meanwhile, dozens of people were wounded in overnight fighting in Kyiv, city mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Saturday morning. As of 6am local time, 35 people, including two children, had been wounded, he said. It is unclear whether he was referring only to civilians. Klitschko added there was currently no major Russian military presence in Kyiv, although he said saboteur groups were active. Armed forces were engaged in a fierce battle for control of the city, with footage on social media showing explosions close to a metro station in the western centre of the capital by the zoo; a battle ongoing for control of a thermal power plant to the north; and multiple reports suggesting fierce fighting 20 miles south, near a vital airbase. In Kyiv, footage shared on social media showed a bombardment close to Beresteiska metro station, in the west of the city, which is near the zoo. More than 50 explosions and heavy machine gun fire were reported in the district of Shulyavka, near Beresteiska metro and the zoo, according to The Kyiv Independent. A bridge near the metro was blown up, according to reports. It was unclear whether the explosion was caused by artillery or by Ukrainian forces intent on stopping the Russian advance. The district is under the control of the 101st Independent Security Brigade of the General Staff. China's support for Putin wavers as state banks limit finance for Russian oil and gas China has found itself walking a diplomatic tightrope after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine took many in Beijing by surprise. It was reported today that several Chinese public banks are limiting financing to purchase raw materials from Russia for fear of Western sanctions should they be seen to be supporting the Kremlin. About 30 percent of oil and gas produced in Russia now sold to China. Putin is relying on his ties to China's Xi Jinping to bail him out of the increasingly tough sanctions being put on Moscow by Western nations as the invasion escalates. Last night, China, India and the UAE abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution condemning Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. The vote was seen as another sign of the widening of the diplomatic split between the West and the East over Putin's aggression. However, China's decision not to fully veto the motion - as Russia did - will come as a blow to the Russian dictator, who is growing increasingly isolated. Late on Friday in New York, China abstained from voting on a draft UN Security Council resolution that would have deplored Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The abstention, seen as a win by Western countries, was secured after a two-hour delay for last minute negotiations by the United States and others to secure China's abstention, diplomats said. Only last month, President Xi marked 30 years of ties with Ukraine, hailing the 'deepening political mutual trust' between them. Ukraine is a hub in the Belt and Road Initiative, a sprawling infrastructure and diplomatic undertaking that binds China closer with Europe. Advertisement Terrified residents posted videos filmed from their apartments, with flashes of light and the sound of gunfire. One video shared on social media showed an apartment building glowing with red lights, which some speculated was to guide bombers or snipers. Others said the lights were to warn the military not to bomb them. The northern suburb of Troieshchyna was also coming under sustained attack for another night, as Russia tried to wrest control of the thermal power plant on the banks of the Dnieper river. Unconfirmed reports suggested dozens of Russians had been arrested. Meanwhile, satellite images show a huge queue of trucks and cars waiting in a traffic jam leaving Ukraine, near the Romanian border in Siret. In a worrying sign, video from Russia's Western border with Ukraine showed TOS-1 heavy flamethrower tanks moving towards its neighbour. The tanks are capable of firing high-power thermobaric weapons - dubbed the 'father of all bombs'. In Sydney, several hundred people marched in heavy rain on Saturday chanting 'Ukraine will prevail' and demanding more action against Moscow, while protesters in Tokyo called for Russia to be expelled from the United Nations Security Council. The fresh protests came as Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed in fighting for Ukraine's capital and after Russia vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would have deplored the Kremlin invasion of Ukraine. From Tokyo through Warsaw and London to New York, thousands have protested in recent days against the invasion, Europe's biggest security crisis in decades. Draped in Ukraine's blue and yellow flag and waving the country's national banner, Sydney protesters also carried also signs condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin's attempts to topple the Ukrainian government. Some speakers demanded that the government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison expands sanctions against Moscow and bans Russian citizens from visiting Australia, while others called for the NATO to step into the conflict. 'I want more economic sanctions on Russia, I want military help for Ukraine,' said Katarina, a protester who gave only her first name. 'I want more action, more concrete action and less words. It's too late for diplomacy right now.' Another protester, Mogdan, called on the Australian government to lead other countries in attempts to stop Putin. 'It's World War Three, it's a war not only on Ukraine, it's a war on everyone,' the protester said. A smaller protest took place in front of the Russian embassy in Canberra, Australia's capital, with people carrying signs 'Putin off Ukraine' and 'Stop War'. Several hundred Russian, Ukrainian and Japanese protesters gathered in the busy Shibuya shopping district in central Tokyo, many with their children and holding Ukrainian flags, chanting 'stop the war' and 'stop Putin' in Japanese and English. 'I just want to say, 'Putin stop this, regain your sanity',' said Hiroshi Sawada, a 58-year-old musician who attended the rally in Tokyo. A 28-year-old Russian worker who asked not to be named said none of the people she knew from her home country supported the war. 'We hate what is just happening now in our country,' she said. Australia and Japan joined the United States, the European Union, and many other countries in imposing a series of rounds of sanctions against Russian politicians, businesses, and elite citizens over the invasion. Nearly 120,000 people have so far fled Ukraine into Poland and other neighbouring countries amid the Russian invasion, the UN refugee agency said on Saturday. The number is going up fast as Ukrainians grab their belongings and rush to escape from a deadly Russian onslaught on their nation, including an attempt to take the capital Kyiv. Poland has declared its border open to fleeing Ukrainians, even for those without official documents. The country's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said all sanctions against Russia should be on the table, including shutting the open Nord Stream pipelines and halting Russia's access to SWIFT, ahead of a meeting on Saturday with German Chancellor Olaf Sholz. 'I came to Berlin to shake the conscience of Germany so that they would finally decide on truly harsh sanctions that will influence the Kremlin's decisions,' Morawiecki said as fighting took place on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. 'We need to shut down Nord Stream 1 and 2, we need to cut reliance on raw materials, cut off Russian financial institutions from capital markets, confiscate assets of oligarchs, close off SWIFT for Russia... All sanctions against Russia should be on the table.' Images show the tower block with a hole covering at least five floors blasted into the side and rubble strewn across the street below Firefighters look on after an apartment building in Kyiv was devastated by a missile attack on Saturday morning Firefighters extinguish fire in an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in the Ukrainian capital this morning Civilians are seen after an attack on a residential building during Russia's military intervention in Kyiv, Ukraine Medical specialists transport a wounded woman to an ambulance after recent shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday A firefighter works inside an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in Kyiv earlier this morning Firefighters extinguish fire in an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in the Ukrainian capital this morning Ukrainian servicemen take cover as an air-raid siren sounds, near an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in Kyiv Anna Semyuk, 33, hugs her children, after a stranger took them across the border and kept them safe while fleeing from Ukraine and arriving in Hungary Helga Tarasova hugs her daughter Kira Shapovalova as they wait in a underground shelter during bombing alert in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv Pictured: Refugees are seen gathering at the Ukraine's border with Poland People stand in line to buy drinking water in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine February 26, 2022 Smoke and flame from a burning military truck in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 Fire crews arrive at a local oil terminal after shelling in Kirovsky District. Tensions started heating up in Donbass A Ukrainian soldier walks past debris of a burning military truck, on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 A civil defense man stands guard at a checkpoint in Kyiv, Ukraine after Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine's capital A Ukrainian soldier is seen behind tires in Zhuliany neighborhood of Kyiv during Russia's military intervention in Ukraine Firefighters work by a damaged apartment building in Kyiv which was hit by a recent shelling during Russia's invasion People leave the Zhuliany neighborhood in Kyiv where apartment blocks hit during Russia's invasion Ukrainian servicemen look at a damaged residential building, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine People leave the Zhuliany neighborhood in Kyiv where apartment blocks hit during Russia's military intervention in Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier stands guard behind tires in Kyiv during Russia's military intervention in Ukraine, on February 26, 2022 A Ukrainian soldier investigates debris of a burnt military truck in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 A soldier's helmet with a bullet hole near debris of burning military trucks, in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine Locals stop a car at a checkpoint after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Kyiv A Ukrainian soldier check vehicles in Zhuliany neighborhood of Kyiv during Russia's military intervention in Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier walks past debris of a burning military truck, on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 A Ukrainian soldier assembles grenades near burning military trucks, in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 An armored vehicle drives along in Zhuliany neighborhood of Kyiv during Russia's military intervention in Ukraine Ukrainian servicemen walk by a damaged vehicle, at the site of fighting with Russian troops Ukrainian first responders stand by a damaged vehicle, at the site of fighting with Russian troops A group of Ukrainian soldiers stand next to burning military trucks in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 Ukrainian soldiers walk around debris of burning military trucks in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 A man inspects a broken window, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in Kyiv Debris of a burning military truck on a street, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday after Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine's capital A Ukrainian serviceman walks by a damaged vehicle, at the site of a fighting with Russian troops after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine A soldier walks along Ukrainian armored vehicles blocking a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 A Ukrainian servicemen walk by a damaged vehicle, at the site of a fighting with Russian troops, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine A Ukrainian soldier drinks water near grenades and debris of burning military trucks in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine Smoke is seen rising from buildings on February 26, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Explosions and gunfire were reported around Kyiv A Ukrainian soldier walks past a burnt military truck in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 A local resident applies sticky tape to their window, at the site of night fighting with Russian troops, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers stand next to a burnt military truck, in a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 Ukrainian soldiers investigate debris of a burning military truck on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday A Ukrainian fireman kneels by a damaged vehicle, at the site of a fighting with Russian troops after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine Ukrainian servicemen inspect near a damaged vehicle, at the site of a fighting with Russian troops A man stands on the road near a high-rise apartment block which was hit by shelling in Kyiv on Saturday Debris of a burning military truck is seen on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday morning as Russian troops stormed towards the capital Ukrainian service members look for and collect unexploded shells after a fighting with Russian raiding group in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv A Ukrainian service member holds a cup of tea as he patrol the empty road on west side of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv Ukrainian soldiers walk near debris of a burning military truck on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine on Saturday morning Ukrainian soldiers walk past debris of a burning military truck on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday morning A satellite image shows queues of trucks and cars waiting in a traffic jam leaving Ukraine, near the Romanian border in Siret A still image taken from a handout video made available by the Russian Defence Ministry's press service shows Ukrainian servicemen standing after yielding themselves as prisoners, in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), eastern Ukraine, 26 February 2022 Servicemen of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic escorting Ukrainian prisoners of war (centre) after yielding themselves as prisoners, in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), eastern Ukraine, 26 February 2022 Pictured: A RAF Typhoons taking of from Royal Air Force Coningsby as UK forces are deployed in eastern Europe to bolster NATO's eastern front. Issued by the Ministry of Defence on Saturday, February 26, 2022 Putin reveals plan to dominate Europe beyond Ukraine, with Sweden and Finland warned Russia has threatened its close Arctic neighbours Sweden and Finland with 'military consequences' if they join NATO. It came as Russia's invasion of Ukraine intensified today after a night of fighting in the capital of Kyiv especially. Sweden and Finland are the two closest countries to Russia in the Arctic Circle. 'Finland and Sweden should not base their security on damaging the security of other countries and their accession to NATO can have detrimental consequences and face some military and political consequences,' foreign affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a news briefing. The foreign ministry later reiterated the threat on Twitter. 'We regard the Finnish government's commitment to a military non-alignment policy as an important factor in ensuring security and stability in northern Europe,' the department wrote. 'Finland's accession to NATO would have serious military and political repercussions.' Vladimir Putin is widely believed to have attacked Ukraine after western nations mooted the idea of the country joining NATO, over fears it could end up with a US military presence on its doorstep. A similar move by Sweden or Finland could potentially provoke similar ire. Advertisement Elsewhere, RT head Margarita Simonyan - seen as a leading Putin cheerleader - accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine of deploying Grads missile launchers in residential areas. 'Only terrorists do this. This is a war crime. They are asking Putin: bomb our people,' she said. Wagner - a private mercenary army seen as having Kremlin links - indicated they would join the war in Ukraine. 'We will do exactly the same to you, Ukraine, as what you've done to Donbas,' said the group in a website post. We are against those who kill children, women and elderly.' An appeal has been signed by more Russian doctors to Putin to stop the war. So far 350 have backed the call - but the number is rising fast. 'The war will take so many lives, cripple so many destinies that we won't be able to help however hard we try,' they said. 'And everyone will be screaming in pain, calling for their mother, in one and the same language.' By 5:30am in Kyiv (10:30pm Eastern), Ukraine's armed forces were claiming that the advance from the west had been repelled. But a CNN crew in Kyiv reported the sounds of heavy gunfire and what appeared to be anti-aircraft fire. Ukraine's government said earlier on Friday night that they had shot down two Russian military transport planes carrying paratroopers on the outskirts of Kyiv. The first IL-76 came down near Vasylkiv, 20 miles south of Kyiv, the Ukrainian military said. The second IL-76 was shot down near Bila Tserkva, 50 miles south of the capital, Nexta reported. The fate of those onboard was unclear. The aircrafts - medium-range military transport aircraft, which first went into service in 1974 - can hold 150-225 fully-equipped soldiers, and is used to drop paratroopers into combat and resupply arms. The town of Vasylkiv appeared, at 3am local time (8pm Eastern), to be a focus of heavy fighting to the south. The SIMPSONS release specially commissioned cartoon to show solidarity with Ukraine The producers of US television programme The Simpsons have released a specially commissioned cartoon of the famous family holding Ukrainian flags as a 'show of solidarity' with the country. The show's executive producer Al Jean said the rapid creation of such a politically relevant image did not happen 'very often' but it was important to be 'vigilant about defending freedom'. The cartoon, drawn by long-time animator and director David Silverman, shows the famous Simpsons family holding five Ukrainian flags. It comes as violence in Ukraine continues following the commencement of military operations by Russian president Vladimir Putin. Mr Jean said the show's producer Jim Brooks had called on him, Matt Groening and David Silverman to commission the image as 'a show of solidarity'. Producers of The Simpson commissioned a cartoon of the famous family holding Ukrainian flags as a 'show of solidarity' 'It's meant to show we care about what's going on and have enormous sympathy for the people of Ukraine and want this to stop', he said. 'We don't do this very often, only very rarely when there's something... extremely important for a cause that could not be bigger. 'The future of democracy in the world is at stake.' Advertisement Nexta, a local media network, reported that Russians 'dressed in uniform of the Ukrainian national police' attacked a checkpoint near Vasylkiv, shooting at Ukrainian soldiers. 'Immediately after that a group of Russian military in a truck came in. There is a heavy fight going on,' the site reported. New satellite images showed the build up of troops to the north, in Belarus. The photos showed approximately 150 transport helicopters and ground troops 20 miles from the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, in southern Belarus. Not long after the first troop carrier was shot down, Ukraine's State Agency for Special Communications said that Ukraine's air defense had downed a Russian close-support aircraft and a helicopter in Donbas. A S-300 surface-to-air missile system destroyed a Russian Sukhoi Su-25 jet and an unspecified helicopter at midnight, they said. The Russian Air Force currently operates around 250 Su-25s of all variants, and they are considered a staple of Russian ground-attack regiments. Opposition was growing in Russia to the carnage in Ukraine. Communist MP Mikhail Matveev said: 'I think that the war should be stopped immediately. 'When I voted for the recognition of the DPR / LPR, I voted for peace, not for war. 'For Russia to become a shield, so that the Donbas was not bombed, but not for Kyiv to be bombed.' The onslaught came shortly after Ukraine's president warned that the Russians intend to take Kyiv overnight, urging his countrymen to resist the expected onslaught as Western officials say the city appears surrounded. Zelensky, addressing the nation from a secret location in the capital, had a dire warning for his embattled and defiant people on Friday night. 'Russia will try to break our resistance with all its might,' he said, in a video posted to social media. 'Tonight the enemy will begin storming us. We need to withstand them!' The United States has offered to evacuate Zelensky and his family, but the president is refusing to leave. On Thursday evening he told the country he was aware that he was 'target number one' for Russian assassins, but he and his family would not leave. Smoke and flames are seen billowing over Kyiv's Peremohy Avenue in the west of the city, near the zoo, in the early hours of Saturday morning The Ukrainian armed forces tweeted in the early hours of Saturday that the attack from the west, near the city's zoo, had been repressed, stating: 'Russian war criminals attacked one of the military units in Kyiv on Victory Avenue. The attack was repulsed' Kyiv was in flames in the early hours of Saturday Significant explosions were seen from Beresteiska metro station in the west of Kyiv As the #Ukrainian authorities predicted, the night is really hard There is an attack of the occupants on #Kyiv pic.twitter.com/cMat47j0dD NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 26, 2022 WATCH: Fighting underway in Kyiv, with battles also being reported south of the city pic.twitter.com/u0ZSmGjJvB BNO News (@BNONews) February 26, 2022 Poland announce they will REFUSE to play Russia in next month's World Cup play-offs Poland have announced they do not intend to play their World Cup play-off match next month against Russia following the latter's invasion of Ukraine. UEFA took one match away from Russia following the invasion but stopped short of kicking them out of qualifying for the World Cup. That means Russia are still included alongside Sweden, Czech Republic and Poland in Path B of the European play-offs, with the latter scheduled to take on the former on 24 March in Moscow. Should Russia beat Poland, they would meet the winner of Sweden v Czech Republic in a one-off final five days later to reach the Qatar showpiece, but Polish FA president Cezary Kulesza has tweeted his side no longer plan on taking part in the first place. 'No more words, time to act!' Kulesza said. 'Due to the escalation of the aggression of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine, the Polish national team does not intend to play the play-off match against Russia. 'This is the only right decision. We are in talks with the Swedish and Czech Republic federations to present a common position to FIFA.' Responding to Kulesza's statement, the Polish striker at Germany's most famous club in Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowski - who also captains his country - said: 'It is the right decision! 'I can't imagine playing a match with the Russian National Team in a situation when armed aggression in Ukraine continues. Advertisement Zelensky said that Chernihiv, Symy, Kharkiv, Donbas, and the south could also come under attack. 'This night will be difficult, very difficult. But the morning will come,' he said, according to The Kyiv Independent. The 44-year-old referenced the Russian shelling of a kindergarten in Ukraine that killed at least one child and injured more, saying: 'What kind of war is that? Were these children neo-Nazi? Or were they NATO soldiers?' Vitali Klitschko, the former world champion heavyweight boxer who is now the mayor of Kyiv, said his city faces a 'difficult night'. The British Ministry of Defence said they believe Kyiv, home to 1.4 million people, is close to being encircled as the Russians advance from all sides. Kyiv's streets were empty on Friday night as people sought shelter in the city's subway system. Many had fled, with buses and trains out of the city packed with people desperate to escape, and long lines of traffic choking the roads. In Cherkasy, home to 270,000 people 120 miles south of Kyiv, video on social media showed people in a basement on Friday night, resolutely singing the national anthem as they awaited the onslaught. In New York, on Friday night, a United Nations resolution that called on Moscow to halt its attack on Ukraine and withdraw its troops was vetoed by Russia - a permanent member of the Security Council. China, India and the UAE abstained. Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, urged Ukraine's troops on Friday to overthrow their own government and begin to negotiate with the Kremlin. 'It looks like it will be easier for us to come to terms with you than with this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis,' he said. There was little sign that Ukrainian generals were tempted, and Russia appears to have been somewhat taken aback at the scale of Ukrainian resistance and their ability to defend their country. There was no doubt, however, that Russia's overwhelming military superiority would soon come into effect. With 900,000 troops, Russia has the fourth largest military in the world, and more than a decade of reforms and procurement has made it a dangerous opponent. Ukraine has just 361,000 troops, although Zelensky on Thursday ordered a full mobilization of troops and banned men aged 18-60 from leaving the country, in readiness for a whole-nation effort. Residents of Kyiv take cover in a bomb shelter in the early hours of Saturday Kyiv locals endured a terrifying and sleepless night on Friday, as the bombardment began at around 3am Saturday Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, is seen addressing the nation on Friday night Grateful to all members of the UN Security Council who voted to stop treacherous attack on & Charter. The veto of is a bloodstain on its plaque in the Security Council, the map of Europe & . Anti-war coalition must act immediately! (@ZelenskyyUa) February 25, 2022 Photos posted to social media showed what they said were explosions in Kyiv on Friday night Ukrainians sing their national anthem in a basement in Cherkasy, 120 miles south of Kyiv Ukrainian soldiers are pictured forming up across a highway in Kyiv as they prepare to defend the city from Russian attackers, with gunfire and explosions heard in the centre of the capital Soldiers tasked with defending Kyiv from advancing Russian troops take up positions underneath a highway into the city Ukraine's highly-motivated infantry have modern weapons and protective gear, including N-LAW and Javelin anti-tank missiles provided by Britain and the US. With the Russian advance slower than expected, there were fears on Friday night that Putin could resort to high-power thermobaric weapons - dubbed the 'father of all bombs' - as brave Ukrainians resist his attempts to take control of Kyiv. There are also concerns that units that are running behind schedule as they encounter stiff opposition could resort to indiscriminate shelling as a terror weapon. Thermobaric weapons - also known as vacuum bombs - are high-powered explosive that use the atmosphere itself as part of the explosion. They are among the most powerful non-nuclear weapons ever developed. A thermobaric bomb dropped by the U.S. on Taliban in Afghanistan in 2017 weighed 21,600 pounds and left a crater more than 1,000 feet wide after it exploded six feet above the ground. Thermobaric weapons were developed by both the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1960s. In September 2007, Russia detonated the largest thermobaric weapon ever made, which created an explosion equivalent to 39.9 tons. The U.S. version of the weapon reportedly costs over $16 million each. 'My fear would be that if they don't meet their timescale and objectives they would be indiscriminate in their use of violence,' a Western official said. 'They don't adhere to the same principles of necessity and proportionality and rule of law that Western forces do.' The bomb works by using oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, making it far deadlier than a conventional weapon. While Russian special forces have reached the suburbs of Kyiv, the bulk of Russia's heavy armor is believed to be still more than 30 miles away from the capital. Kyiv's streets were eerily empty on Friday evening as the city's residents braced themselves for the expected onslaught Kyiv's empty streets are pictured on Friday night Kyiv's inhabitants take refuge in the subway on Friday night A Ukrainian passenger train from Kyiv arrives at the Przemysl station in southeastern Poland on Friday. About 29,000 people crossed Poland's border with Ukraine over the past 24 hours A senior U.S. defense official said Friday that Russia appears to have lost some of its momentum due to the Ukrainian's fiery resistance. 'We do assess that there is greater resistance by the Ukrainians than the Russians expected,' the official said, adding Ukraine's command and control of its military 'remains intact.' 'They are not moving on Kyiv as fast as what we believe they anticipated they would be able to do. That said, they continue to try to move on Kyiv.' Putin has only mobilized about one-third of the 190,000 troops he has stationed at the Ukraine border, the official said. Zelensky and his aides, including the defense minister, Oleksiy Reznikov - behind Zelensky, with glasses - posted a video from Kyiv early on Friday morning, reassuring the people that he remained with them and had not fled, despite his life being in danger Ukrainian soldiers look at their burnt-out army military vehicle in Kyiv on Friday Firemen extinguish a fire inside a residential building damaged by a missile on Friday in Kyiv Astonishing footage from Kyiv yesterday showed a deadly machine-gun skirmish that broke out on the streets of a suburb between Ukrainian forces and alleged Russian saboteurs. The clash saw at least two people gunned down in a stolen Ukrainian army truck in a car park in front of a large apartment block in Obolon, found north of Kyiv. As the sound of gunshots echoed off the nearby buildings, a tank - said to have been stolen by Russians - also crashed and crushed a civilian car on the road running past the car park. Miraculously the driver - an elderly person - survived the shocking smash, and rescuers were later able to free the from the wreckage. The two incidents were initially reported separately, but a video clip later posted to social media revealed they were in fact linked, and part of the same skirmish. Incredibly, the elderly driver was still alive and pulled free from the wreckage Video shows the shocking moment a Russian tank runs over the car of a civilian The Russian tank can be seen deliberately crossing several lanes to reach the car A group of men used tools including an axe and a crowbar to free the man from the wreckage The man whose car was rammed and crushed by alleged Russian strela has been rescued, Kyiv oblast#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/qqikd1Efel Aleph #IStandWithUkraine (@no_itsmyturn) February 25, 2022 Barbaric Russians run over a car of a civilian in Kyiv pic.twitter.com/C3j5CsLnrN Mykhailo Golub (@golub) February 25, 2022 Volodymyr Zelensky is discussing a possible ceasefire with the Kremlin despite warning that Russian troops will try to capture Kyiv by the end of the night. The Ukrainian president is talking with the Russian government in the first signs of a potential negotiations between the warring countries, his spokesman Sergii Nykyforov said on social media. The governments are discussing a time and place for the talks. Volodymyr Zelensky is discussing a possible ceasefire with the Kremlin despite warning that Russian troops will try to capture Kyiv by the end of the night The Kremlin said earlier on Friday it had offered to meet with Ukrainian officials in the Belarusian capital Minsk The Kremlin said earlier on Friday it had offered to meet with Ukrainian officials in the Belarusian capital Minsk, but that Ukraine had instead proposed Warsaw as a venue, resulting in a 'pause' in contacts. Nykyforov said: 'I must refute the allegations that we have refused to negotiate. Ukraine has been and remains ready to talk about a ceasefire and peace. This is our constant position. 'We agreed to a proposal of the president of the Russian Federation. During these hours, consultations are underway between the parties on the venue and time of the negotiation process. 'The sooner negotiations begin, the more chances there are to return to normal life.' But U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Russia's offer of talks was an attempt to conduct diplomacy 'at the barrel of a gun', and that President Vladimir Putin's military must stop bombing Ukraine if it was serious about negotiations. The overtures stood in stark contrast to events unfolding on the ground and Putin's harsh rhetoric against Ukrainian leaders, including a call for a coup by the country's military. Zelensky said on Saturday before dawn that Russian troops would attempt to take the capital city Kyiv during the night. Zelensky said on Saturday before dawn that Russian troops would attempt to take the capital city Kyiv during the night People look at the exterior of a damaged residential block hit by an early morning missile strike in the capital Ukrainian military vehicles move past Independence square in central Kyiv 'Special attention on Kyiv - we cannot lose the capital,' Zelensky said in a video address released by the presidency. 'Tonight they will attempt a storm' of the capital, he added in an apparent reference to Kyiv. Residents were told by the defence ministry to make petrol bombs to repel the invaders, and on Friday evening witnesses reported hearing artillery rounds and intense gunfire from the western part of the city. Zelensky filmed himself with aides on the streets of the capital, vowing to defend Ukraine's independence. While Russian special forces have reached the suburbs of Kyiv, the bulk of Russia's heavy armour is believed to be still more than 50km away from the capital. Western officials have suggested Russia will kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his ministers if they seize Kyiv. Soldiers tasked with defending Kyiv from advancing Russian troops take up positions underneath a highway into the city Ukrainian soldiers are pictured forming up across a highway in Kyiv as they prepare to defend the city from Russian attackers, with gunfire and explosions heard in the centre of the capital Some families cowered in shelters after Kyiv was pounded on Thursday night by Russian missiles. Others tried desperately to get on packed trains headed west, some of the hundreds of thousands who have left their homes to find safety, according to the United Nations' aid chief. After weeks of warnings from Western leaders, Putin unleashed a three-pronged invasion of Ukraine from the north, east and south on Thursday, in an attack that threatened to upend Europe's post-Cold War order. 'I once again appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine: do not allow neo-Nazis and (Ukrainian radical nationalists) to use your children, wives and elders as human shields,' Putin said at a televised meeting with Russia's Security Council on Friday. 'Take power into your own hands, it will be easier for us to reach agreement.' Putin has cited the need to 'denazify' Ukraine's leadership as one of his main reasons for invasion, accusing it of genocide against Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies dismiss the accusations as baseless propaganda. The White House said the United States would impose sanctions on both Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - moves coordinated with the European Union and Britain. However, the steady ramping-up of restrictions has not deterred Russia. A veteran city Department of Health worker dedicated to helping others was critically hurt when someone bashed her with a hammer in a caught-on-camera mugging Queens subway mugging, police said Friday. City research scientist Nina Rothschild was walking down the stairs at the Queens Plaza station on Queens Blvd. when the cane-wielding attacker began following her at 11:20 p.m. Thursday. Advertisement Moments later, the suspect he was kicking Rothschild in the back. Surveillance video released by police showed an criminal attacking research scientist Nina Rothschild with a hammer on subway stairs in Queens. (NYPD) Rothschild, a 57-year-old Queens resident who was leaving work as a research scientist for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, grabbed a handrail and held on. Advertisement Thats when the crook pulled out a hammer and repeatedly struck her in the back of the head as he tried to take her bag, cops said. The mugger viciously whacked Rothschild with the hammer 13 times before she finally fell and released her bag, the video shows. Police released this image of the suspect in the vicious subway attack. (NYPD) The suspect grabbed the tote and ran out of the station as Rothschild collapsed at the foot of the stairs. EMS rushed her to New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she was in critical but stable condition Friday. The vicious attack fractured Rothschilds skull, caused bleeding in her brain and cuts in her face, said NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig. This is an unprovoked, brutal, and appalling crime on a woman who is just trying to get home after a days work, Essig said. A woman who dedicated her life to helping others. Rothschild is one of 27 Columbia University alumni slated to get awards at this years commencement ceremony. She has a doctorate degree, and went to the Ivy League schools Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Mailman School of Public Health. She works in emergency preparedness in the city Health Departments Division of Disease Control, and is a past president of Public Health Association of NYC, according to her bio on the Columbia website. Subway attack victim Dr. Nina Rothschild (columbia.edu) Through Sunday, major crime in the nations largest subway system was up 61% so far this year, mostly driven by big surges in robberies and grand larcenies. Advertisement The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. > Last nights vile, unprovoked attack on healthcare hero Nina Rothschild is chilling and sadistic beyond words, said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. No one should feel unsafe in their community or feel like a target in their local subway station. The station where Rothschild was attacked had already been more targeted for NYPD patrols but the attack occurred out of view from the subway platform where cops had been stationed, said Transit Bureau Chief Jason Wilcox. Wilcox said that police have issued more tickets and arrested more people in 2022 compared to this time last year and stepped up patrols of subway stations. He said police have conducted 120,000 patrols in the subways so far this year. The crackdown has yielded 1,000 total arrests, a 54% increase over last year, Wilcox said. In that same time, police have issued more than 9,000 fare evasion summonses and nearly 12,000 rules and conduct violations. Cops released a surveillance video of the attack on Rothschild in the hope that someone recognizes the suspect, who wore a black-hooded coat, a black mask, blue jeans and black shoes. Advertisement Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. Advertisement China, India and the UAE abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution condemning Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine, in another sign of the widening of the diplomatic split between the West and the East over Vladimir Putins aggression. Moscow, which has a permanent seat on the Security Council, vetoed the resolution demanding that the Kremlin stop its attack on Kyiv and withdraw all its troops. Fridays vote was 11-1, with China, India and the UAE abstaining. The US and her allies knew the resolution wouldnt pass but argued it would highlight Russias international isolation. Instead, Beijings abstention is likely to be viewed among Western powers as another sign of the closeness of the relationship between Putin and Chinas tyrant Xi Jinping. China has so far refused to call Russias action in Ukraine an invasion or criticise the Kremlin despite intensifying assaults from Putins military. Beijing has also thrown Moscow another sanction-busting lifeline by lifting wheat import restrictions in an economic boost to Moscow despite sweeping sanctions imposed by the West in a bid to stop the war. Imports had been restricted in recent months over concern over Russias measures to prevent plant diseases, particularly in agricultural crops. The move to keep the market open was reportedly part of a deal between Moscow and Beijing concluded earlier this month and is the latest sign of growing ties between the two states. Fears are also growing in the West that Putins aggression could set an example to China, which has long sought a takeover of Taiwan. Beijing has maintained the offshore island is a part of the mainland ever since Chiang Kai-shek and his troops fled Mao Zedongs Communist armies to set up a new nation in 1949. While Western nations acknowledge a One China policy, recognising Beijing as the official government, the US has sold billions in arms to Taiwan and repeatedly said it would help defend the island from military threat. The UN resolutions failure paves the way for backers to call for a swift vote on a similar measure in the UN General Assembly. There are no vetoes in the 193-member assembly. Theres no timetable as yet for a potential Assembly vote. The US, Britain, the European Union and Canada yesterday doled out further sanctions on Russia on Friday, including against Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called it the harshest package ever drawn up by the bloc. London ordered all assets of both men frozen while the United States and Canada will also impose sanctions on the pair, with Washington including a travel ban. Russia said the sanctions against the pair were a demonstration of the complete impotence of the foreign policy of the West. Putin has now issued a chilling warning to its neighbours Sweden and Finland, saying both nations will face military consequences if they join NATO. In other developments: The mayor of Kyiv extended a curfew in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday; Britains defence ministry said on Saturday the bulk of Russian forces involved in the advance on Kyiv were now 19 miles from the city centre. Russian troops captured the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol, Russias defence ministry claimed; UK armed forces minister James Heappey said Britain did not believe Russian forces had captured Melitopol; Refugees fleeing Ukraine continued to pour across its western borders on Saturday, with around 100,000 reaching Poland in two days; A decision to cut Russia off from the global SWIFT payment system will be taken in a matter of days, the governor of a central bank within the euro zone said; At least 198 Ukrainians, including three children, have been killed as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the head of the Ukrainian Health Ministry was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying; France has decided to send defensive military equipment to Ukraine to support the country against Russias invasion; French sea police seized a ship on Saturday that authorities suspect belongs to a Russian company targeted by European Union sanctions over the war in Ukraine, a government official claimed; Putin urged the Ukrainian military to overthrow the countrys leadership and negotiate peace; Russia vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that would have deplored Moscows invasion of Ukraine, while China abstained from the vote. Russia's UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya casts the lone dissenting vote in the United Nations Security Council, Friday, February 25, 2022 United Nations Security Council convenes a meeting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, speaks to Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, prior to the United Nations Security Council meeting in New York City on February 25, 2022 Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk to each other during their meeting in Beijing, February 4, 2022 Ukrainian service members look for unexploded shells after a fighting with Russian raiding group in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the morning of February 26, 2022, according to Ukrainian service personnel at the scene Smoke rises after recent shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 26, 2022 President Xi Jinping has spoken to Putin this morning calling for dialogue to resolve Ukraine war but China refuses to call it an invasion and blames US for being the 'culprit' of current tension China's President Xi Jinping told Vladmir Putin that he supports Russia's efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine 'through dialogue', Chinese state television reported. The leaders spoke by phone this morning, with the Russian President saying he was willing to hold high level talks with Ukraine. Putin's words don't appear to match up to his actions however as Russian troops are reported to have reached the streets of Kyiv and are fighting for control with Ukraine. At least 137 Ukrainian civilians and military have been killed so far. China has so far refused to call Russia's action in Ukraine an 'invasion' or criticise Moscow despite intensifying assaults from Russia's military. It also appears that China is prepared to help Putin weather the storm of sanctions after the country today lifted wheat import restrictions in an economic boost to Moscow. Putin told Xi that the United States and NATO had long ignored Russia's legitimate security concerns, repeatedly reneged on their commitments, and continued to expand military deployment eastward, challenging Russia's strategic bottom line, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website. Advertisement In the past, India depended on Soviet support and its veto power in the Security Council in its dispute over Kashmir with its longtime rival Pakistan. The Himalayan territory is divided between India and Pakistan, but both claim it its entirety. India accuses Pakistan of supporting armed rebels in Kashmir in a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and pushed the nuclear-armed rivals to fight two wars. India warily watched as Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan landed in Moscow as Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Putin met with Khan for nearly three hours in the middle of the crisis. The war in Ukraine not only added to challenges faced by New Delhi in Kashmir but also along its restive mountain frontier with China. Both Pakistan and China are seen to be on the Russian side, and India believes Moscow has leverage to change Beijings hard stance on the border issue. A confrontation in June 2020 along the disputed China-India border dramatically altered their already fraught relationship as the rival troops fought with rocks, clubs and fists. At least 20 Indian troops and four Chinese soldiers were killed. Tensions have since persisted despite talks. As the fighting continued in Ukraine, several organizations held protests in the Indian capital for a second day Saturday, demanding an end to the Russian aggression and pressing the Indian government to evacuate thousands of Indians, mostly students, stranded there. It comes as Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that were Finland and Sweden to attempt to join NATO in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine, such a move would have serious military-political repercussions. Finland and Sweden should not base their security on damaging the security of other countries and their accession to NATO can have detrimental consequences and face some military and political consequences, Zakharova said during a news briefing. The foreign ministry later reiterated the threat on Twitter. We regard the Finnish governments commitment to a military non-alignment policy as an important factor in ensuring security and stability in northern Europe, the department wrote. Finlands accession to @NATO would have serious military and political repercussions. Sweden and Finland both border Russia in the Arctic Circle. Putin is widely believed to have attacked the Ukraine after western nations mooted the idea of the country joining NATO, over fears it could end up with a US military presence on its doorstep. A similar move by Sweden or Finland could potentially provoke similar ire. US intelligence officials are worried the Ukrainian capitol of Kyiv could fall by Saturday afternoon CNN reported, with Russian troops entering the city in the early hours of Saturday morning local time. Putin had earlier described the Ukrainian government as terrorists and a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis, urging the countrys military to topple its president, Volodmyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader responded by vowing to stay and defend the capital. Were all here. Our military is here. Citizens in society are here. Were all here defending our independence, our country, and it will stay this way, he said in the self-shot video from Kyiv. A Kremlin spokesman said Putin was ready to send a delegation to Belarusian capital Minsk for talks with a Ukrainian delegation. But the US swiftly dismissed the offer. After invading Ukraine, now we see Moscow suggesting diplomacy take place at the barrel of a gun. This is not real diplomacy, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. The UN said that more than 50,000 Ukrainians had fled the country in the past two days, calling for safe unimpeded access for aid operations. A firefighter works inside an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 26, 2022 Smoke and flames are seen billowing over Kyiv's Peremohy Avenue in the west of the city, near the zoo, in the early hours of Saturday morning Kyiv was in flames in the early hours of Saturday Significant explosions were seen from Beresteiska metro station in the west of Kyiv A woman clears debris at a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell allegedly hit, on February 25, 2022 Putin reveals plan to dominate Europe beyond Ukraine: Neighbours Finland and Sweden are warned they will face 'military and political consequences' if they join NATO Russia has issued a chilling warning to its neighbors Sweden and Finland, saying both nations will face 'military consequences' if they join NATO. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that such a move in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine would have 'serious military-political repercussions.' 'Finland and Sweden should not base their security on damaging the security of other countries and their accession to NATO can have detrimental consequences and face some military and political consequences,' Zakharova said during a news briefing. The foreign ministry later reiterated the threat on Twitter. 'We regard the Finnish government's commitment to a military non-alignment policy as an important factor in ensuring security and stability in northern Europe,' the department wrote. 'Finland's accession to @NATO would have serious military and political repercussions.' Sweden and Finland both border Russia in the Arctic Circle. Vladimir Putin is widely believed to have attacked the Ukraine after western nations mooted the idea of the country joining NATO, over fears it could end up with a US military presence on its doorstep. A similar move by Sweden or Finland could potentially provoke similar ire. Advertisement Streams of people in cars and on foot were seen crossing into Hungary, Poland and Romania while hundreds camped out in a train station in the Polish border city of Przemysl. About 100,000 people are believed to be internally displaced. The US-led military alliance NATO said it was deploying its rapid response forces for the first time to bolster defences on the alliances eastern flank. Despite Zelensky calling on Western allies to expel Moscow from the SWIFT banking transfer system, numerous EU countries, including Germany, Hungary and Italy, have been reluctant over fears Russia could cut off gas supplies. Facebook also unveiled new restrictions, demonetising Russian state media across its platform. Ukraines president emerged on Saturday morning defiant and determined after an onslaught on his capital city, declaring that Kyiv would resist the Russian advance. Zelensky captioned the video, posted on Twitter, Dont believe the fakes. He condemned the false claims that he had surrendered and told his compatriots to lay down arms, and insisted his country would not give in to Russian aggression. Recently, fake info was spread about me ordering our army to lay down arms and evacuate, Zelensky said. Its untrue. Im here, we are not laying down, we will protect our state. This is our land, our country, our kids, and we will defend them. The 44-year-old, who has been widely praised for his courage in the face of Russias aggression, said on Thursday that he knew he was target number one for Putin's assassins. Theres a lot of fake information online that I call on our army to lay down arms, and that theres been an evacuation ordered, he said. Im here. We won't lay down our arms. We will defend our state. Yet even as Zelensky spoke, the Ukrainian interior ministry was warning Kyivs residents to shelter in place and not venture out onto the streets. Ukraines armed forces on Saturday morning claimed 3,500 Russians had been killed overnight, and 200 taken prisoner. They said 14 Russian aircraft, eight helicopters, and 102 tanks had been seized. The scale of Ukrainian losses was not clear. As dawn broke in Kyiv, a high-rise apartment block in the Zhuliany district near Sikorsky international airport was hit by a cruise missile. There was no word on casualties, but the side of the building was ripped off in the attack. Armed forces were engaged in a fierce battle for control of the city, with footage on social media showing explosions close to a metro station in the western centre of the capital by the zoo; a battle ongoing for control of a thermal power plant to the north; and multiple reports suggesting fierce fighting 20 miles south, near a vital airbase. In Kyiv, footage shared on social media showed a bombardment close to Beresteiska metro station, in the west of the city, which is near the zoo. More than 50 explosions and heavy machine gun fire were reported in the district of Shulyavka, near Beresteiska metro and the zoo, according to The Kyiv Independent. A bridge near the metro was blown up, according to reports. It was unclear whether the explosion was caused by artillery or by Ukrainian forces intent on stopping the Russian advance. The district is under the control of the 101st Independent Security Brigade of the General Staff. Terrified residents posted videos filmed from their apartments, with flashes of light and the sound of gunfire. One video shared on social media showed an apartment building glowing with red lights, which some speculated was to guide bombers or snipers. Others said the lights were to warn the military not to bomb them. The northern suburb of Troieshchyna was also coming under sustained attack for another night, as Russia tried to wrest control of the thermal power plant on the banks of the Dnieper river. Unconfirmed reports suggested dozens of Russians had been arrested. An Australian man has pleaded guilty to hurling a wine bottle from his Singapore apartment at a group of Muslims having a dinner party that struck and killed a local man. Andrew Gosling (pictured) Andrew Gosling is being tried in a Singapore court on a charge of committing a rash act that caused the death of 73-year-old delivery driver Nasiari Sunee in August 2019. He also pleaded guilty to another charge of injuring Nasiari's wife. Prosecutors said the acts demonstrated religious hostility, but the defence said Gosling's judgment was impaired by alcohol. Gosling, who had been in Singapore for a month, faces seven years in jail and a possible caning. They said Gosling committed the offences after seeing a dinner gathering of ethnic Malay Muslims from his apartment balcony. He told police that he initially thought of using a weapon such as a gun to shoot at the group, but decided against it because he felt it would be a 'heinous act.' When he went to the rubbish chute on the seventh floor where he lived, he found an empty wine bottle and hurled it at the group two floors down, hitting Nasiari on the head as he was about to eat at a relative's house-warming party. The bottle ricocheted off Nasiari's head and struck his wife, injuring her shoulder. Nasiari received severe head injuries and died the next morning. Andrew Gosling (centre), 47, allegedly tossed a bottle of Italian red from the seventh floor of a Singapore apartment complex about 8.40pm on August 18, hitting and killing a man who was standing two floors below The bottle hit Nasiari Sunee (right), 73, who was at a housewarming party two storeys below. He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries. Gosling fled after his act but surrendered to police 10 days later. He told police that he threw the bottle to 'startle' the group because he was angry over Islamic militant attacks in the Indonesian island of Bali in 2002 and in Melbourne in 2018 that had killed Australians. 'This was no random rash act ... he had hostile thoughts toward Muslims and acted on his hostility by aiming the bottle at the area near Nasiari's table,' deputy public prosecutor G. Kannan said. Gosling is facing 7 years jail and a possible caning, similar to those carried out in Sharia Law nations like Indonesia (pictured), if convicted The 47-year-old Australian IT worker allegedly threw the wine bottle from the seventh floor of a 35-storey building - fatally striking grandfather Nasiari Sunee, 73, in the head 'He fled the scene to evade detection, shouting crude, religiously charged vulgarities about Muslims. . The rash act cannot be viewed in isolation. It must be seen together with the religious aggravation,' Kannan said, calling the action 'outrageous, senseless and appalling.' Prosecutors asked the court to sentence Gosling to seven years' imprisonment because the incident 'has the wider impact of causing unease in Singapore, especially amongst the broader Muslim population, and threatens to engender public disquiet.' About 15 per cent of Singapore's nearly 6 million people are Muslim. Defence lawyer N. Sreenivasan cited a report by medical experts that found alcohol may have impaired Gosling's judgment. Gosling had consumed several beers earlier in the day. The anti-Muslim thoughts 'were obsessive negative thoughts which he was prone to when he was intoxicated and did not represent the accused's true feelings or intentions,' Sreenivasan cited the report as saying. 'What this meant was even if he had committed the offence, it was unlikely to be religiously motivated.' The report said, however, that the amount of alcohol Gosling consumed was within his usual limit and didn't cause an unsound mind. The court said sentencing would be held on April 8. Australia is seeking advice about sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as the Kremlin pushes forward with its invasion of Ukraine. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced the move following the United States, United Kingdom and European allies taking similar steps. Sanctions on eight Russian oligarchs close to Mr Putin and 339 members of the Russian parliament were signed off overnight. Key figures of the Belarusian government who have abetted Russia and the invasion will also be targeted. Marise Payne says 'it's an exceptional step to sanction leaders, but it's an exceptional situation' Australia is receiving advice on using sanctions to directly target Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavro Ukraine says more than 100 of its civilians and more than 1000 Russian troops had been killed on the invasion's second day Senator Payne says there is strong determination to ensure that Russia faces a high cost for its unprovoked attack. 'It is an exceptional step to sanction leaders but this is an exceptional situation,"'she told reporters in Sydney on Saturday. 'The next immediate priority is to continue sanctions on Vladimir Putin's inner circle and on Russia's defence industry.' The foreign minister says the blame lay squarely at the feet of the Russian president. 'We need to be absolutely clear - Vladimir Putin has unparalleled personal power over his country and he has chosen to go to war against a neighbour that posed no threat to Russia,' she said. 'It is clear that the only way to exact a cost for those actions is to ensure that he, himself, shares some of that cost and some of the pain that he is inflicting on everyone else around him in Ukraine.' Australia will provide non-lethal military and medical aid to Ukraine through NATO and support will be guided by requests from Kyiv. It will also continue to provide cyber security assistance. The United Nation's emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths briefed members on the humanitarian situation overnight. Senator Payne says the full scale of tragedy and death toll remains unclear due to the difficult security situation. 'We will be ready to provide humanitarian assistance as the situation in Ukraine and in surrounding countries becomes clearer,' she said. The expelling of Russian diplomats from Australia remains an option but Senator Payne says it is not something currently being considered by the government. 'It enables us to have a direct line of communication with the Russian government," the foreign minister said. There remain no direct or specific cyber threats against Australian businesses. Ukraine says more than 100 of its civilians and more than 1000 Russian troops had been killed on the invasion's second day. An estimated 100,000 Ukrainians have fled their homes, with many trying to cross into neighbouring countries, mainly Moldova and Romania. Tucked away somewhere in my backpack is a card emblazoned with the words 'Raquel Rosario Sanchez, PhD student, University of Bristol'. It was one of a collection I was given after my arrival at the university from my native Dominican Republic and I can still remember the excitement I felt whenever I handed one out. My elation at being a new part of what I considered a venerable institution was matched only by my gratitude at being awarded a scholarship to study for my doctorate there. Four years on, my joy is replaced by bewilderment and horror at the ordeal I have been subjected to by an establishment that should be a cradle of democracy and debate, but which is enslaved by dangerous illiberalism. During the time I've spent in Bristol I've been threatened, bullied and encouraged to abandon my studies. This started just two months after I arrived in the UK. My 'crime'? To make my own complaint of bullying after being subjected to a barrage of abuse for daring to chair an event about women's rights. For that I was labelled 'bigoted scum' among other more disgusting terms, not repeatable here while leaflets were distributed encouraging people to 'punish' me for my prejudice. Tucked away somewhere in my backpack is a card emblazoned with the words 'Raquel Rosario Sanchez, PhD student, University of Bristol', writes RAQUEL ROSARIO SANCHEZ Protesters turned up to the women's rights events I attended, threatening violence in a systematic catalogue of abuse, some of it perpetrated or certainly supported by the university staff. So you might imagine the verdict on my complaint would be clear cut. Instead, it took 18 months for senior academics at Bristol to decide there was no case to answer and 'no evidence' of any wrongdoing. Perhaps we should not be surprised by this Kafkaesque ruling from a university deemed Britain's 'wokest' which recently published a guide to correct pronouns including for those who identify as a cat. It would be laughable were it not for the fact that an institution that prides itself on protecting 'minority' rights seems to have no problem with my routine intimidation and vilification for exercising my right to free speech and assembly. To paraphrase George Orwell, it seems some minorities are more equal than others. Either way, I have no doubt the university leaders hoped I would shut up and go away, something they encouraged me to do they even offered to pay me to leave. But I am not easily bought. As the Mail has reported recently, I took my case to court, determined to throw light on what Bristol has sought to keep in the shade. I wanted to show that I could not be silenced and expose the alarming shutdown of free speech across the academic landscape. My legal case against the University of Bristol, filed in June 2020, is the first among a number of academics who have decided to take on their own institutions, among them philosopher Kathleen Stock and criminologist Jo Phoenix, who have risked vilification and their professional livelihoods by challenging the creeping dogma stifling free debate. I believe I am perhaps the first female student who wasn't born in this country to be subjected to this and it's not a battle I thought I would be fighting. Certainly not in the UK, which I always considered a beacon of freedom and tolerance. My open-minded civil servant parents always encouraged debate and from a young age I was fascinated by women's rights. When my mum found a scholarship to an international studies course at Utah State University in America, with an additional option in women's studies, it was perfect. In that conservative, largely Mormon town there was never any attempt to silence anyone who questioned traditional views. How lightly I prized that freedom. My elation at being a new part of what I considered a venerable institution was matched only by my gratitude at being awarded a scholarship to study for my doctorate there. Pictured: The University of Bristol Because even then, cancel culture was nibbling at the edge of academia. After an internship back in the Dominican Republic I returned to the U.S. to do a master's degree in women's, gender and sexuality studies at Oregon State University. I was baffled when my peers launched a vicious campaign to oust my supervisor, a decades-long women's rights champion who was critical although respectfully so of the sex trade. Thankfully, her colleagues rallied around I can't help wondering if they would do the same today. Back then, I was just a spectator to the witch hunt, little knowing that three years later I would find myself at the epicentre of one. It's certainly no small irony that when I received a scholarship to study a PhD at Bristol I was impressed by the university's apparently forward-thinking outlook. It had a whole centre focused on research into violence against women, my own area of expertise. It was an environment in which I believed I could thrive. It didn't last. In December 2017, just weeks after I arrived in the UK, a friend from a women's rights campaigning group called Woman's Place UK asked if I would consider chairing an event after reading my published work on feminist issues. The group has been targeted by trans activists for questioning the concept of 'gender self-identification' where people would be able to freely choose their legal gender without any medical consultation and for believing in women's rights based on biological sex. The title of the event was 'A Woman's Place Is Speaking Out', which I never envisaged for a moment might be problematic this was Bristol in 2018, not North Korea. Yet within hours of the invitation going out, I returned from a walk to a message from a friend saying that the meeting was being accused of discrimination against trans women. Worse, I was a specific target, personally accused of bigotry and 'causing harm' to trans people. Horrifyingly, there were also reams of messages on social media inviting people to physically attack me by way of punishment for my 'views'. I couldn't believe my eyes. While I wasn't naive about the extent to which cancel culture had started to exert its grip here, I couldn't believe it was happening to me, and at a university that apparently prided itself on being open-minded and welcoming. I was also scared. I was newly arrived in this country and I didn't know anyone that well yet and now I was staring at messages, many from my peers, suggesting people rip my throat out for being an outspoken woman who had to be silenced through any means necessary. It was only later that I learned that not only students but senior staff members at the university were involved, suggesting the meeting was an assault on human rights and therefore 'unlawful'. Some university employees even contacted me directly, asking where the meeting would be in order to pass the information on to trans activists who they knew would target it. Whether or not it occurred to any of them to reflect on the irony of 'protecting' one set of rights by attacking a female immigrant from the Caribbean I can only ponder, although I wonder if indeed it's precisely because of that they thought their right to silence me trumped my right to speak. During the time I've spent in Bristol I've been threatened, bullied and encouraged to abandon my studies. This started just two months after I arrived in the UK Certainly, it was only me a foreign woman of colour who was singled out for abuse among the white British female academics who had signed up to the event. After days of this, and many sleepless nights, my heart racing with anxiety, I decided to ask for help, and at the start of February 2018 I filed a complaint with the university authorities saying I was experiencing unacceptable intimidation. Naively, I thought that would be that: the authorities would take care of it and I could get back to my studies. Instead, they did nothing, and only after I repeatedly pressured them did they decide to open what they called a 'complaints process'. The first part of that unfolded in June 2018 five months after I had registered my complaint when I was asked to give 'evidence' at a disciplinary hearing. I arrived at a meeting at one of the university buildings an hour early to avoid the trans activist students who were gathering outside distributing pamphlets encouraging people to yell at me that I was 'Scum' and 'Sh**', while once inside I was greeted by a group comprised largely of lawyers. Among the gathering was one of the most vicious bullies, accompanied by a couple of their lawyers and their partner. I was then asked to give evidence about my 'feminist views', aggressively cross-examined by my bully's barrister in front of them with no preparation. Later, I learned that I was the only person to be subjected to this process not the trans student who had instigated these campaigns of vilification and intimidation against me. The only person who had to be accountable for their actions was me. Meanwhile, the bullying went on. Everywhere I went to speak at feminist events, I was subjected to catcalling and banners accusing me of being a bigot and calling for me to be physically assaulted and punished. I had to keep reminding myself I had not done anything wrong, but there was no doubt the situation was taking its toll. I was in crisis mode: at night I would lie in bed, my heart racing, bewildered by this process and unable to understand how this could be happening, while my days were spent in what felt like endless survival mode. My friends and boyfriend did their best, but I don't have any family here and I was in a foreign country, where the language is not my own. Meanwhile, the university I had trusted to help me did not check once on the safety of this newly arrived student from distant shores. By May 2019, with no progress made in my case, the ongoing stress had left me seriously unwell, and I decided to fly home to stay with my family, who were stunned by the transformation in the confident, multilingual woman they had waved off to the UK years before and who had returned a ghost of her former self. As I lay on the sofa under a blanket, I contemplated abandoning my studies altogether. But that would be giving in to the bullies, and so in August I returned, determined to stand my ground. By then, university officials had already suggested I suspend my studies something they knew could cause issues with my immigration status and therefore my visa claiming my work was not progressing quickly enough. They also offered me 5,000 to step away altogether and drop out of my PhD programme. When I refused to give in, they stepped up the pressure, this time giving me three choices: I could suspend my studies, leave altogether, or leave and reapply. There were no other options. This from a 'liberal' and self-described 'laid-back' institution that was now doing everything to silence me. I felt I had little choice but to suspend my studies, making it clear that I was doing so under protest because my complaint had not been resolved. Then, four months later, in December 2019, I received a message with the university's findings. There was apparently no case to answer as there was 'no evidence' of my claims, despite the mountains of social media posts, the hatred-spewing pamphlets and footage of activists physically assaulting women at feminist events I attended. No sanction, no apology and no caution given. In effect, Bristol declared that it would offer no protection to anyone whose views did not match its own skewed ideology. It felt like being punched in the gut. I had been ignored and discounted but also underestimated, which is why, two months later, in June 2020 I launched legal action against Bristol University, determined it must account for its monstrous behaviour. Last night, a University of Bristol spokesperson said: 'Ms Rosario Sanchez has chosen to take legal action against the university. 'All concerns about harassment or bullying are taken seriously and action taken in accordance with our university policies.' For me, it has been a long and arduous process, but I've been heartened by countless messages of support from all over the world. When I gave my evidence last week, every word felt like a hammer blow to those who would seek to silence those of differing views. I now await the judgment. I hope to win, but whatever happens, I know I stood up for what is right. Arriving home one evening, Peter Dean was greeted by the words, 'You've got a daughter'. Somewhat puzzled by his partner Sarah's proclamation, given it was hardly a secret he'd had a child from his previous marriage, he replied: 'I know I have a daughter: Leah.' 'No,' she replied, handing him a piece of paper. 'You've got another one.' It's a scene worthy of the familiar drum beat that accompanies cliffhangers on EastEnders, the show where Peter made his name playing market trader Pete Beale in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet this revelation came with a modern twist. Because the printout that suddenly changed his life was from Ancestry.com, a DNA-tracing website that allows users to submit a saliva swab to be compared with all other samples submitted to the site. Though a recent development, sites such as Ancestry have already created a new frontier when it comes to family dynamics; thanks to the irrefutable genetic information they provide, affairs have been revealed, killers apprehended and unknown children discovered. In his hallway, Peter, 82, had to sit down as he tried to absorb the shock that there was a woman out there, in her 50s, who shared half his genetic make-up. A woman who, until that moment, he had no idea existed. Peter Dean found out he had a daughter, Demi Marrese (both pictured), 59, he never knew about after sending a sample to DNA-tracing website Ancestry.com 'I couldn't take in what Sarah was telling me at first,' he recalls. 'My mind was whirling, remembering women I'd had relationships with and wondering who on earth might have kept this information from me for all these decades. I knew it had to be real, there's no disputing DNA. 'Then Sarah asked what I was going to do. There was a phone number for the woman on the website. I said: 'I'm going to call her.' ' So, he dialled the number for one Demi Marrese and said: 'Hello, I'm Peter Dean and I think we've got something to talk about.' After hearing what he had to say Demi, who had not checked her Ancestry account in months, asked for a few minutes to look. 'She called me back 15 minutes later and said 'Yes, I think we do', which was a bit sharp,' recalls Peter, laughing teasingly in Demi's direction as father and daughter who share an uncanny physical resemblance sit side by side, telling me their remarkable story. 'Getting that call and then seeing the results online was both terrifying and exhilarating,' says Demi. 'I'd spent so long wondering who my dad was and, to be honest, given up hope of ever finding out. 'I was also scared of being rejected; when it happens more than once you develop a protective skin, so I called him back with trepidation.' For Demi, 59, her connection with Peter is something she'd been desperately searching for over decades. Following her birth in April 1962, Demi was fostered, aged six weeks, and then adopted by a childless Greek-Cypriot couple, a tailor and a dressmaker, who raised her in North London where Peter spent much of his adult life without ever telling her she was not biologically theirs. She enjoyed a happy, loving childhood. But when she was 18 and visiting family in Cyprus, a relative who felt she deserved to know revealed the devastating truth. 'I was so shocked. I had to rethink my childhood and everything I'd been told, or assumed, about my family and how I fit into it, which was shattering,' she recalls. 'I just remember asking: 'Do you know who my mum is?' over and over. But all anyone knew was that my biological mother was from a Greek-Cypriot family and my father was recorded on my adoption paperwork as 'English lad.' ' Peter Dean, who played Pete Beale (pictured) on EastEnders in the 1980s and 1990s, said when he was told, had to sit down as he tried to absorb the shock Demi waited until she returned to the family semi in Enfield before confronting her parents. 'I asked them lots of questions and all my mum said was: 'We adopted you when you were a baby, we love you, you're our daughter. That's how we've always thought of you, so there was no need for you to know,' ' she says. 'My dad joined in, telling me: 'You're my daughter, that's all that matters.' ' With the subject clearly causing her parents distress, Demi felt unable to bring it up again, and decided she couldn't put them through the pain of trying to find her biological parents. However, four years later, while married to her first husband, Demi gave birth to a son, Alex, now 37, who has WAGR syndrome (Wilms tumor, Aniridia, Genitourinary problems). A very rare genetic condition, it causes developmental delays, urinary issues and means he has no irises. As she struggled to cope with the demands of a severely disabled child, Demi's need to understand her own genetic history became overwhelming. So in a desperate hope, she hired a private detective, who helped trace her birth mother to another area of North London. 'My friend and I called all the people with her surname in the phone book until we found her,' Demi recalls. 'We chatted on the phone and she seemed pleased to hear from me, so I arranged to meet her.' However, her mother turned up late, setting the tone for the handful of future meetings they had over the next two decades in which, Demi says, it was made clear she wasn't interested in a close relationship. She discovered her mother, who went on to raise two more children, had been 17 when she was born. After being sent to a mother-and-baby unit, her unmarried status saw her pressured to put Demi up for adoption. 'I'd had this idea that I would meet my biological mother and it would be wonderful because we'd have so much in common but it wasn't to be,' says Demi. 'She didn't want to know, nor did my half-siblings, which was hard to deal with. 'I asked her about my biological dad many times but she would never talk about him, always promising to tell me 'another time'.' But that didn't stop her being curious, with the need to discover him growing stronger after her adoptive father died of cancer in her 20s. With so little to go on it seemed impossible. Yet three years ago, when online sites offering testing and family trees became commonplace, Demi ordered a kit, sent off her swab and waited. At first, there was nothing. But in early 2020, just ten miles away in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, Peter was encouraged by a friend to send his own sample to discover more about his ancestors. 'My intention was to find out about my heritage my mother was Italian and my father English never in a million years did I think I might have a child out there,' says Peter, who lives with Sarah, 48, his partner of 20 years. After learning about Demi, Peter racked his brains before alighting on a 58-year-old memory, from when he was in his early 20s. Walking home along London's Caledonian Road, a girl standing at the top of steps in front of a five-storey house had called out 'Evening!' to him. 'We got chatting and I asked her to come down the stairs to talk to me but she said she couldn't, I assumed because her parents had said she had to stay on the steps, before asking me to join her.' For Demi (pictured when she was aged around two or three), 59, her connection with Peter is something she'd been desperately searching for over decades To spare his daughter's blushes, Peter describes how a kiss and a cuddle must have led to 'Demi's conception'. Though he admits worrying that without contraception he and the girl had played 'Vatican roulette', he never saw, or heard, from her again, going on to marry in 1966, with his younger daughter Leah born in 1967. 'I'm sad about all the years with Demi I've missed out on. However, discovering, aged 80, that I had a second daughter felt like winning the Lottery,' he says, dipping his head to hide the tears welling up. 'We get on well, we talk a lot on the phone and text one another between times. 'Unlike me, Demi has a lot of responsibilities, for her son, her mother and her granddaughter, so I just say: 'When you're free, let me know.' I don't want to add any pressure but I realise, at 82, I'm running out of time.' 'Ah, don't say that,' says a visibly moved Demi, placing a comforting hand on her father's arm. While, two years since that bombshell phone call, they seem relaxed in one another's company, both admit to being 'very nervous' before their first meeting at The Plough pub in Enfield a few weeks after Peter's call. Demi confesses she was bracing herself for further rejection. Meanwhile Peter feared she may be furious with him for her inauspicious start in life. 'For all I knew she might have wanted to meet so she could slap me across the face,' says Peter. 'I arrived early but she was even earlier and, as I crossed the road, her mate Maria I told her to bring a friend so she wasn't meeting a strange person alone pointed and said: 'There he is!' 'It was a relief because it saved me having to wander around looking at women and thinking: 'Is that my daughter?' ' Peter, an outgoing, tactile man, didn't hesitate in hugging Demi, who admits to leaving most of the talking to Maria while she stared, in stunned silence, at her father. Although Demi is olive-complexioned, there are definite similarities in the shape of their noses, eyes and mannerisms. That Demi had unknowingly watched her father on EastEnders for years provided a further twist. After they first spoke, she had Googled Peter's name, but when his acting profile came up she merely assumed it was a common name. When he confirmed, during their next call, he was the actor, it stirred up complicated emotions. 'Watching EastEnders was the last thing Alex and I would do before his bedtime during those years that Peter was in it,' she explains. 'It's so strange looking back and thinking that the actor playing Pete Beale was actually my dad. 'Now when I look at photos of him when he was younger I can see a definite resemblance my cousin is always sending me pictures of him she finds online and saying: 'He looks so much like you here, that's your stare!'' While Demi might be within her rights to criticise the youthful Peter's cavalier attitude towards contraception, she feels no resentment towards him. 'He didn't know about me, so I can't possibly hold it against him that I spent decades wondering who my biological father was,' she says. 'I'm just happy to have finally found him.' The pandemic has prevented them meeting regularly, but there have been several lunches at The Plough since and walks in nearby Trent Park and Waltham Abbey. Peter has also met Demi's painter and decorator husband, daughter Tia, 32, son Salvatore, 16, and granddaughter Lexie, nine, who has made Peter a great-grandfather for the first time. Actor Peter (pictured aged two or three) is now trying to make up for lost time with his new-found family. Demi said Peter's partner Sarah has 'welcomed me with open arms' Although Demi says Sarah has 'welcomed me with open arms', she is yet to meet Peter's daughter Leah, 54. 'I didn't find it hard telling Leah about Demi, I've always been the type to say whatever I need to say,' he says. 'They've not met but I hope they will.' Demi's adopted mum has dementia, so she has decided it would be too confusing for her to learn about her discovery. Meanwhile Peter is trying to make up for lost time with his new-found family. 'The first time I met Tia she ran up to me as I was getting out of the car and gave me a kiss,' he recalls. 'I didn't know at first who she was, I thought it might have been an enthusiastic fan, but it was lovely to discover she was actually my granddaughter. 'I speak to her and her daughter Lexie, who calls me grandad, on the phone and buy them and Demi little trinkets, necklaces and bracelets, nothing fancy. 'Demi will say: 'You shouldn't have' but I tell her 'I'd have spent a lot more on you over the years if I'd had the chance to bring you up.' ' Peter feels certain that, had he known about Demi, his parents would have happily raised her. However, though he feels cheated of those years, he realises there's little point in thinking 'what if?' On Father's Day last year, Demi presented Peter with a card, in which, to his delight, she called him 'Dad' and a mug bearing a photograph of the two of them. And on Demi's 59th birthday, Peter bought her a 'belated birthday card' that read 'Happy 1st birthday'. He has also, belatedly, kept up the family tradition started by his father of giving all newborn babies in the family a tube of Smarties. 'Generations of Dean kids still have these Smarties, but Demi's son ate hers,' he laughs. Peter is convinced his late father played a part in bringing him and Demi together. 'I've had a few heart problems and there was a time, about three years ago, when I felt very unwell and was convinced I was dying,' he says. 'I was lying in bed one night when suddenly I felt like I was floating up and saw my dad lying across the ceiling. 'He pushed me back down and said: 'No, you've got more to find.' I had no idea what he was talking about but then, a year later, I found out about Demi. 'It hasn't been easy for her, she's had a hard life and experienced rejection, which, as her father, I'd like to have been able to protect her from. 'But now I know about her, I'd never dream of walking away.' Advertisement More than a quarter of the northern sky above the Earth has been mapped, revealing details of 4.4 million objects ranging from galaxies to black holes. An international team of astronomers have been using the low Frequency Array (LOFAR), a pan-European radio telescope, to capture details of the universe. The map, which looks like streams of light, presents a picture of a dynamic universe, with the vast majority of objects billions of light years from the Earth. Astronomers behind the project say the data gives fresh insight into a wide range of signals from planets and galaxies to black holes. A composition radio (LoTSS; purple), UV (GALEX; yellow) and X-ray (ROSAT; blue) image of the Cygnus loop supernova remnant A composite radio (LoTSS; red) and infrared (WISE; white) image of the Coma cluster which is over 300 million light years from Earth and consists of over 1,000 individual galaxies Each dot in this picture shows the location of a hugely energetic object in our Universe. This includes black holes, galaxies with bursts of star formation, and explosive merging events between some of the Universe's largest groups of galaxies It is a collection of radio frequency signals, captured by a number of telescopes spread across Europe, with each signal appearing as a bright yellow dot. So far, 27 per cent of the sky has been mapped, revealing 4.4 million objects, which are being revealed to the public for the first time. The vast majority of these objects are billions of light years away and are either galaxies that harbour massive black holes or are rapidly growing new stars. Rarer objects that have been discovered include colliding groups of distant galaxies and flaring stars within the Milky Way. Radio, X-ray and optical composite image of the Whale Galaxy NGC 4631. In this galaxy star-formation produces hot gas that is visible in X-ray (blue) as well as highly energetic particles that spiral in the galaxys magnetic field that are visible in the LoTSS radio image (orange) A composition radio (LoTSS-DR2) and optical (Hubble space telescope) image of the jellyfish galaxy NGC 4858 which is flying through a dense medium that is stripping material from the galaxy Each panel in this high resolution montage shows radio wavelength radiation produced when two giant clusters of 100s to 1000s of galaxies collide WHAT IS THE LOFAR TELESCOPE NETWORK? The Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope is used to pick up traces, or 'jets,' of ancient radiation produced when galaxies merge. These jets, previously undetected, can extend over millions of light years. The hope is that LOFAR telescopes can help them to reveal how the universe evolved. Scientists first launched the LOFAR telescopes in 2010 in Hampshire, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden and Poland. The antennae installed across Europe work at the lowest FM frequencies accessible from Earth and are connected using sophisticated computing and high-speed internet. Advertisement To produce the map, scientists deployed state-of-the-art data processing algorithms on high performance computers all over Europe. These were set to work processing 3,500 hours of observations that occupy 8 petabytes of disk space - the equivalent to roughly 20,000 laptops. This is the largest data release from the LOFAR sky survey, representing about a million objects never seen before with a telescope, and four million new discoveries at radio wavelengths, the team said. Astronomer Timothy Shimwell of ASTRON and Leiden University, described the LOFAR Sky Survey as an 'exciting one to work on.' 'Each time we create a map our screens are filled with new discoveries and objects that have never before been seen by human eyes,' he said. 'Exploring the unfamiliar phenomena that glow in the energetic radio universe is such an incredible experience and our team is thrilled to be able to release these maps publicly.' He said it is likely the findings will result in many scientific breakthroughs in the future, after other scientists examine each of the individual discoveries. 'This will include examining how the largest structures in the universe grow, how black holes form and evolve, the physics governing the formation of stars in distant galaxies and even detailing the most spectacular phases in the life of stars.' Durham University scientist, Dr Leah Morabito, also involved in the LOFAR project, said the work 'opens the door to new discoveries.' 'Future work will follow up these new discoveries in even more detail with techniques, which we work on here at Durham as part of the LOFAR-UK collaboration, to post-process the data with 20 times better resolution.' The Chelyabinsk meteor that exploded over Russia in 2013 may also have been involved in the massive impact that formed the moon, a new study suggests. Researchers led by the University of Cambridge think it may have been been part of an ancient collision that broke off a chunk of baby Earth to form the moon 4.5 billion years ago. A Mars-sized body is thought to have smashed into our planet during the formation of the solar system, ejecting a bunch of material into space which then coalesced to form the moon. Nine years ago the 60ft (19 metres) wide Chelyabinsk hit the Earth's atmosphere with energy estimated to be equivalent to 500,000 tonnes of TNT, sending a shockwave twice around the globe. It caused widespread damage and injured more than 1,600 people. The Chelyabinsk meteorite (pictured) that exploded over Russia in 2013 may also have been involved in the massive impact that formed the moon, a new study suggests Using uranium-lead dating scientists previously found that the Chelyabinsk meteorite had undergone two impact events, one around 4.5 billion years ago, and the other about 50 million years ago WHAT WAS THE CHELYABINSK METEOR? A meteor that blazed across southern Urals in February 2013 was the largest recorded meteor strike in more than a century. More than 1,600 people were injured by the shock wave from the explosion, estimated to be as strong as 20 Hiroshima atomic bombs, as it landed near the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia. The fireball measuring 60ft (19 metres) across, screamed into Earth's atmosphere at 41,600 mph. Much of the meteor landed in a local lake called Chebarkul. Other than the latest find, scientists have already uncovered more than 12 pieces from Lake Chebarkul since the February 15 incident. However, only five of them turned out being real meteorites. Advertisement The discovery has come to light thanks to a new way of dating collisions between rocks in space, based on microscopic analysis of minerals within meteorites. Further research is still needed but scientists hope the technique could help them to learn more about the early history of the solar system and how it evolved into its current shape. 'Meteorite impact ages are often controversial,' said geoscientist Craig Walton, of the University of Cambridge. 'Our work shows that we need to draw on multiple lines of evidence to be more certain about impact histories almost like investigating an ancient crime scene.' When the solar system was forming from dust and gas, planets were created through repeated collisions of smaller rocks. However, it is difficult to trace the history of Earth and other bodies like it back to the beginning because geological and weather processes have overwritten it. That is not the case with asteroids and meteorites. They have remained largely unchanged while floating through space, meaning they act as an excellent time capsule to peer back to the origins of the solar system. One of the ways of doing this is to study ancient collisions in the minerals found in meteorites that have crashed down to Earth, using uranium-lead dating in zircon crystals. The scientists studied the microscopic details of how the phosphate minerals had shattered and found that the earlier impact had blasted them into small pieces and subjected them to high temperatures The later impact, they found, seemed lesser with lower pressures and temperatures, so likely took place less than 50 million years ago. They also believe this was the impact that broke the meteorite off its larger parent body and sent it on a collision course with Earth When it is forming, zircon incorporates uranium, but rejects lead. This means that any lead that is found in zircon has to be the product of the radioactive decay of uranium, so because experts know how long uranium takes to decay they can work out the age of the zircon from the lead component. Not only that but an impact can also partially or entirely 'reset' the radioisotope mineral ages. Using this analysis scientists previously found that the Chelyabinsk meteorite had undergone two impact events, one around 4.5 billion years ago, and the other about 50 million years ago. Walton and his fellow researchers wanted to confirm these dates by studying the way phosphate minerals in the meteorite had shattered over successive impacts. 'The phosphates in most primitive meteorites are fantastic targets for dating the shock events experienced by the meteorites on their parent bodies,' said geophysicist Sen Hu, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China. The researchers now want to revisit the timing of the moon's formation in an attempt to shed more light on their theory The scientists studied the microscopic details of how the phosphate minerals had shattered and found that the earlier impact had blasted them into small pieces and subjected them to high temperatures. The later impact, they found, seemed lesser with lower pressures and temperatures, so likely took place less than 50 million years ago. They also believe this was the impact that broke the meteorite off its larger parent body and sent it on a collision course with Earth. 'The fact that all of these asteroids record intense melting at this time might indicate solar system reorganisation, either resulting from the Earth-Moon formation or perhaps the orbital movements of giant planets,' Walton said. The researchers now want to revisit the timing of the moon's formation in an attempt to shed more light on their theory. The study has been published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. Advertisement British rockets, anti-tank missiles from the US and Estonia, and Turkish drones are just some of the weapons being used by Ukrainian forces in a fierce defence of their homeland. Troops are desperately trying to repel Putin's military onslaught, with the national guard taking up defensive positions across Kyiv and residents urged to make Molotov cocktails in a battle for control of the capital. Yesterday Ukrainian soldiers used shoulder launched guided missiles to take out Russian tanks and helicopters, after being sent thousands of 'self-defence' weapons by a number of countries in the West. The UK has shipped 2,000 Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapons (NLAW) to Ukraine, while the US last month sent a plane loaded with 300 Javelin missiles worth some $50million to Kyiv. Other countries, including Turkey, the Czech Republic and Estonia have also followed suit, but nations including Hungary, Germany and Belgium ruled out supplying weapons to counter Putin. Despite the support, Ukrainian defense minister Alexey Reznikov has pleaded for more, saying: 'We need as much Stinger [anti-aircraft] and anti-tank weapons as possible. 'In order to provide for reliable procurement of equipment, you may deliver it to Poland. From there we will transport them across the land and quickly saturate our defense.' From cutting edge drones to artillery that was first designed in the 1950s, MailOnline looks at what military aid has been sent to help Ukraine, and which Western nation it has come from. From cutting edge drones to artillery that was first designed in the 1950s, MailOnline looks at what military aid has been sent to help Ukraine, and which Western nation it has come from Javelin anti-tank guided missiles A Ukrainian soldier aims a Javelin launcher from the top of an armoured vehicle during a military parade in Kiev in 2018. The weapons can also be carried into battle by troops and fired over-the-shoulder Countries that sent them: UK, Estonia and the US How many has Ukraine received? 300 from the US, unknown from the others Cost: 130,000 ($175,000) each just for the missile How they work: Javelins work by using infrared systems to lock on to their targets, meaning troops do not need to keep aiming after pulling the trigger. Once the missile is fired, it ejects from the tube using a small charge - so it can be fired in a confined space - before the main rockets ignite. The missile then flies up to 490ft into the air before slamming down on its target from above - known as a 'curveball' shot. This them especially deadly against tanks because their armour is thinnest on top, although Javelins can also be used to blow up buildings. Javelin missiles use a 'curveball' shot - approaching their target from above - which makes them especially deadly against tanks which have less armour on the top. They also have two warheads which are designed to overcome 'reactive' armour that Russia uses Fact-file: The FGM-148 Javelin is a US-made missile that is primarily designed to destroy tanks, using a combination of 'curveball' attack - meaning it comes down on its targets from above - and dual high explosive warheads to take them out. Javelins were developed in the 1990s and have been in service since 1996 - coming up against Russian-designed T-72 tanks during the Second Iraq War, where they proved particularly effective. Russia still uses T-72 tanks - with dozens of T-72Bs now deployed near Ukraine - and while they have undergone several rounds of improvements since Saddam's day, they are still thought to be vulnerable to the missile. Where have they been used in Ukraine? In Glukhov, in the east of the country, to destroy 15 Russian T-72 tanks Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon Lightweight: The UK has shipped 2,000 Next Generation Light Anti-tank weapons to Ukraine (pictured during drills in Lviv) Country that sent them: UK How many has Ukraine received? At least 2,000 Cost: 35,000 ($48,000) per single-shot unit How they work: Launched on the shoulder and can be fired from confined spaces. A 'cold launch' system ejects the missile with pressurised gas before it ignites its rocket motor, accelerating the weapon to 440 miles per hour (200 meters per second). The missile then uses an inertial navigation system to fly to a target vehicle. Fact file: The Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (NLAW) began as a joint British-Swedish project in 2002 to replace Cold War-era weapons designed to give infantry squads a portable, close-range defense against tanks. The Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (pictured) began as a joint British-Swedish project in 2002 to replace Cold War-era weapons designed to give infantry squads a portable, close-range defense against tanks The 3.2 feet (1 metre) long weapon, which has a shelf life of 20 years, was built from components manufactured by BAE, Saab, Thales and the US company Raytheon. It weighs just 27.5 pounds and can launch a single 150-millimetre diameter missile out to an effective range between 65 and 2000 feet (20 and 600 metres), or up to 1,300 feet (400 metres) for moving targets. The weapon is much lighter than the American-made Javelin missiles. Last month British military trainers, drawn from the newly formed Ranger Regiment, were sent to Ukraine to instruct its troops on how to use the anti-tank weapons. Where have they been used in Ukraine? Kharkiv, to the north-east of the country, to destroy four Russian tanks and three attack helicopters Stinger missiles The Stinger made history in the 1980s in Afghanistan when a man used the weapon to shoot down a Soviet Hind attack helicopter. A Ukrainian solider is pictured helping to transfer 92 Stinger missiles in Kyiv earlier this month Countries that sent them: Latvia and Lithuania How many has Ukraine received? Unknown Cost: 97,000 ($130,000) per unit How they work: To operate the weapon, the soldier inserts a Battery Coolant Unit into the handguard, which releases a stream of argon gas into the machine. It also shoots a chemical energy charge, which powers the indicators and missile. Fact-file: The Stinger made history in the 1980s in Afghanistan when a man used the weapon to shoot down a Soviet Hind attack helicopter. The move changed the course of the war and led to the breakup of the USSR. It is a Man-Portable-Air-Defense System (MANPADS) that uses infrared homing technology to search and strike flying targets. The Stinger, which sits on the operators shoulder, was first developed in the US in 1981 and is currently used by more than 18 nations. The missile is 5.0 ft (1.52 m) long and 2.8 in (70 mm) in diameter with 10 cm fins. And the missile weighs about 22 lb (10.1 kg), while the missile with launcher weighs approximately 34 lb (15.2 kg). Where have they been used in Ukraine? To bring down a number of Russian aircraft, though unclear exactly where. Ukraines military said five Russian planes and one helicopter had been shot down in Luhansk in the east yesterday. Bayraktar TB2 drones Turkey first developed a prototype for the TB2 (pictured) in 2007 before the drones reached the final production stage in 2012 Country that sent them: Turkey How many has Ukraine received? Several batches, but official figure unknown Cost: Around 3.7 million ($5 million) each How they work: Capable of 24-hour flights at an altitude of 24,000 feet (7,300 metres) and carrying a payload of 330 lbs (150kg), the TB2 is well-armed and is a source of Turkish national pride. It is capable of carrying out aerial strikes against tanks and bunkers, with a maximum altitude of five miles to avoid enemy machine guns. The drone can also navigate even if it loses GPS signal. Fact-file: Turkey first developed a prototype for the TB2 in 2007 before the drones reached the final production stage in 2012. They have previously been used by Azerbaijan against Armenian separatists; Turkish security forces, including their allies in Libya and Syria; and also sold to Ukraine and Qatar. The drones are 21ft long, have a top speed of 80mph and a range of 93 miles. Where have they been used in Ukraine? Unclear 152mm artillery ammunition Artillery guns in 152 mm or 155 mm calibres can be found in the majority of current and recent conflicts. They are designed to provide fire support for armour and infantry forces by firing munitions at greater distances than small arms and light weapons Country that sent them: Czech Republic How much has Ukraine received? Unknown Cost: Around 746 ($1,000) per round How they work: Artillery guns are designed to provide fire support for armour and infantry forces by firing munitions at greater distances than small arms and light weapons. Fact-file: Artillery guns in 152 mm or 155 mm calibres can be found in the majority of current and recent conflicts. The two calibres are broadly similar in capabilities; both are able to deliver a projectile of approximately 88 lbs (40 kg) to ranges of 10-24 miles (17-40 km). 152 mm and 155 mm calibre guns are often considered to be 'heavy artillery'. One of the most common towed 152 mm artillery pieces is the Soviet-designed M1955 (D-20) gun-howitzer, first observed during the 1950s. Where have they been used in Ukraine? Unclear The head of the Russian space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, warned the US against introducing sanctions against its space program, threatening to stop maintenance that could see the 500 ton facility fall out of orbit and potentially land on the US. So far the four US astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station have been 'largely isolated' from tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to experts familiar with the station's operation. Roscosmos Director General, Dmitry Rogozin, posted a long thread on Twitter, complaining about President Joe Biden's threat of sanctions against the country, including ones that would degrade Russia's aerospace and space industry. 'If you block cooperation with us, who will save the International Space Station (ISS) from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or...Europe?,' he wrote. He all but accused President Biden of having Alzheimer's disease in his statement, urging his advisors to double check the details, to 'prevent the sanctions from falling on your head.' Russian cargo spaceships manage propulsion on the station, and keep it in orbit 253 miles above the Earth - without regular adjustments, it would fall back to Earth, and without control, could land anywhere on the planet, including over populated areas. NASA confirmed it would continue to work with all partners, including Roscosmos, on the safe operation of the station, prompting Rogozin to say Russia would carefully review the sanctions before making a detailed response. Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin posted a long thread on Twitter, complaining about President Joe Biden's threat of sanctions that would degrade Russia's aerospace industry, including the space program The International Space Station has been 'largely isolated' from tensions on Earth involving a potential Russian invasion of the Ukraine The International Space Station launched in 1998, and has been continuously occupied since 2000, when NASA Astronaut Bill Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev become its first crew. Four NASA astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts and one European astronaut are currently on the space station, and they regularly interact. However, down on the ground, tensions are rising after Russian President, Vladimir Putin, unleashed the force of the 150,000 troops Ukraine late Wednesday night. There have been concerns raised in Congress about the impact that conflict over Ukraine could have on the International Space Station. Lawmakers have specifically exempted space cooperation from previous sanctions, although this time President Biden suggest it may be included. That would be a mistake, according to Rogozin, and other experts in the facility. 'They can't operate without us, we can't operate without them so it's truly an international partnership,' said Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. This is a full crew image, taken in April 2021 of the 11 people on the ISS at the time, from Russia, US, Japan and Europe. While it is split into a Russian and US section, the astronauts regularly interact ISS: AN INTERNATIONAL PROJECT The first crew - American Bill Shepherd and Russians Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko - blasted off from Kazakhstan on Oct. 31, 2000. Two days later, they swung open the space station doors, and clasped their hands in unity. The three astronauts got along fine but tension sometimes bubbled up with the two mission controls, in Houston and outside Moscow. Shepherd, during a NASA panel discussion with his crewmates, said he got so frustrated with the 'conflicting marching orders' that he insisted they come up with a single plan. Russia kept station crews coming and going after NASAs Columbia disaster in 2003 and after the space shuttles retired in 2011. NASA purchased seats on the Roscosmos Soyuz capsules, to ensure it could keep its side of the station occupied despite having no launch capability of its own. In 2020, SpaceX ended a nine-year launch drought for NASA and became the first private company to launch Americans to the space station. 'It is a way of undertaking common endeavors but that power is not infinite and terrestrial conflicts on Earth can still get in the way,' said Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. 'Space is ever more critical to our daily life and it's something everybody should be aware of.' The shift to using commercial providers was a tension point with Russia, as it left Roscosmos without a regularly revenue stream for launches. Both nations are looking to the future, after the ISS is de-orbited in 2031, with NASA focusing on purchasing space from commercial providers, and Russia considering its own station. Advertisement The ISS is a collaboration between the US and Russia, as founding partners, along with Canada, the European Space Agency and Japan. It is split into two main sections, the Russian and US orbital segments, and they depend on each other for operational survival. 'The Russian segment can't function without the electricity on the American side, and the American side can't function without the propulsion systems that are on the Russian side,' former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman told CNN. 'So you can't do an amicable divorce. You can't do a conscious uncoupling.' NASA said in a statement that there were no changes planned to the cooperation between Russia and the US on the ISS, clarifying remarks by President Biden. 'No changes are planned to the agency's support for ongoing in orbit and ground station operations,' a spokesperson said, adding 'The new export control measures will continue to allow US-Russia civil space cooperation.' Rogozin said on Twitter, after the statement, which wasn't directed at him: 'NASA confirmed its willingness to continue to cooperate with Roscosmos. In the meantime, we continue to analyze the new US sanctions to detail our response.' Before that, he tweeted a series of posts outlining ways the US was already taking actions against the Russian space program, and the impact of future action. The Director General defiantly declared that Russia would continue ahead without the US if necessary, but warned that the ISS relies on Russia. 'Maybe President Biden is off topic,' refering to the threat of sanctions to the Russian space program, asking advisors to 'explain to him that the correction of the station's orbit, its avoidance of dangerous rendezvous with space garbage, with which your talented businessmen have polluted the near-Earth orbit, is produced exclusively by the engines of the Russian Progress MS cargo ships.' 'If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or... Europe?,' warned Rogozin. 'There is also the option of dropping a 500-ton structure to India and China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, so all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?' 'Gentlemen, when planning sanctions, check those who generate them for illness Alzheimer's,' likely referring to President Biden. 'Just in case,' he added. 'To prevent your sanctions from falling on your head. And not only in a figurative sense. Therefore, for the time being, as a partner, I suggest that you do not behave like an irresponsible gamer, disavow the statement about 'Alzheimer's sanctions'.' Russian President, Vladimir Putin (right), unleashed the force of the 150,000 troops Ukraine late Wednesday night. This prompted President Joe Biden (left) and other world leaders to impose sanctions Four NASA astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts and one European astronaut are currently on the space station Russia is building its own space station Russia announced in 2020 that it could withdraw from the International Space Station as early as 2025 and launch its own facility. Dmitry Rogozin, chief of the Russian space agency said work has already begun on the first module of a new station, although that could be attached to the ISS if the international facility is still in operation when it is completed in 2025. A top Kremlin official warned that 'disaster' was looming for the ISS, putting the lives of crew members at risk due to its age - by 2025 is will be 27 years old and was originally designed to last between 15 and 30 years, according to NASA. Russia has shared images and video of the first module that will make up a core part of its new hi-tech orbital base, which is expected to include a tourist hotel. NASA has since confirmed plans to de-orbit the ISS in 2031, switching to using commercial stations instead. Russia hasn't revealed its future plans, which could change dramatically after it invaded Ukraine on Wednesday. Advertisement NASA and the European Space Agency have committed to continue cooperating with Roscosmos over the ISS, and other projects. ESA Director General, Josef Aschbacher, tweeted: 'Notwithstanding the current conflict, civil space cooperation remains a bridge. 'ESA continues to work on all of its programmes, including on ISS & ExoMars launch campaign, in order to honour commitments with Member States & partners. We continue to monitor the evolving situation.' Europe is locked in a tight partnership with Russia over the ExoMars mission, which is scheduled to launch in September - including Russia launching the spacecraft, and providing the lander for when it reaches Mars in 2023. The rover, named the Rosalind Franklin, was partially assembled in the UK and originally scheduled for launch in 2020 alongside the NASA Preserving Rover, is currently in Italy and due to be shipped to Baikonur at the beginning of April. Sources told DailyMail.com the launch is still expected to go ahead in September, as scheduled, and work is continuing to make that happen, despite the conflict in Ukraine, although high level talks are happening within ESA. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson explicitly questioned the future of the International Space Station, and cooperation with Russia in space, while speaking on the floor of the House of Commons on Thursday. 'I've been broadly in favor of continuing artistic and scientific collaboration,' he said. 'But in the current circumstances, it's hard to see how even those can continue as normal.' A spokesperson for the UK Space Agency told DailyMail.com: 'It is right for questions to be raised about future space cooperation with Russia following the illegal invasion of Ukraine. We are engaging regularly with our partners in the European Space Agency and monitoring the situation closely.' Pace warned that there is a mutal dependence between Russia, the US and Europe on a number of space-based projects, and there is still a good working relationship at the technical level, and between astronauts and cosmonauts. 'I don't see anything happening to the station in the near term, despite events on Earth,' he said, although he added 'It is possible to imagine a break with Russia that would endanger the space station, but that would be at the level of dropping diplomatic relations.' 'That would be something that would be an utterly last resort so I don't really see that happening unless there is a wider military confrontation.' Cleaning products have become more ubiquitous than ever in the last two years, but a new study suggests their use may come with a health risk. Researchers in the US have performed real-time observations in 'realistic indoor conditions' that mimic the work of indoor professional cleaners. Commercial cleaners for sanitising indoor surfaces may deposit small pollutant particles into human respiratory tracts at rates equal to or higher than aerosols from vehicles, they found. The new findings may have implications for people who have worked heavily with disinfectant sprays during the Covid pandemic. Some staff have been spending entire working days frequently dousing touch-point surfaces in offices to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The new findings, published in Science Advances may have implications for people who have worked with disinfectant sprays during the Covid pandemic (stock image) HOUSEHOLD AEROSOLS RELEASE MORE HARMFUL SMOG CHEMICALS THAN UK CARS Household aerosols now release more harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than all vehicles in the UK, a 2021 study found. In 2017, the UK population emitted around 60,000 tonnes of VOCs from aerosols but only around 30,000 tonnes from UK cars running gasoline. But even accounting for all forms of road transport in the country not just cars, but motorbikes, vans, lorries and buses aerosols still emit more VOCs, the authors said. Read more: Household aerosols release more harmful smog chemicals than UK cars Advertisement The study has been led by Colleen Rosales, an environmental scientist at University of California, Davis and published today in Science Advances. 'One perturbation that humans introduce to the indoor environment is the use of household cleaning and disinfection products, some of which have natural scents, such as citrus or pine,' Rosales and colleagues say in the paper. 'Workplace and residential exposures resulting in adverse health effects are likely to be influenced by increased chemical disinfection of indoor surfaces during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.' Scientists have known that cleaning indoor surfaces with disinfectants can generate secondary indoor pollutants as gases and aerosols. But there have been few studies capturing secondary organic aerosol formation in realistic indoor conditions. A secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is a molecule produced via oxidation over several generations of a parent organic molecule. 'SOA accounts for a major fraction of the global atmospheric aerosol burden,' said Professor Annele Virtanen, an atmospheric scientist at University of Eastern Finland, who was not involved in the study. 'Understanding the mechanism of formation and the properties of SOA is therefore important to estimate its effects on climate, air quality, and human health.' Road transport is an source of both greenhouse gases and air pollutants, being responsible for significant contributions to emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and tiny particulate matter WHAT ARE VOCs? Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are up to ten times higher indoors than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Sources of VOCs in the home include aerosol sprays, cleansers and disinfectants, moth repellents, air fresheners and automotive products. Other sources include building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, permanent markers, correction fluids, carbonless copy paper and craft materials including glues and adhesives. Advertisement To learn more about SOA formation indoors, the US team focused on monoterpenes, a class of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Monoterpenes are released from a very wide range of sources including cooking, foodstuffs, plants and multiple kinds of fragranced products. In an indoor setting, monoterpenes can mix with ozone to form particles that may bury inside the lungs. The team used a commercial monoterpene-based household cleaner to mop surfaces inside an enclosed, mechanically ventilated test room within a research building in a forested area for 12 to 14 minutes. As the floor was mopped, the researchers measured gas-phase precursors, oxidants, radicals, secondary oxidation products, and aerosols in real time. They calculated that a person using a monoterpene-based cleaning product would first inhale about 30 to 40 micrograms of primary volatile organic compound per minute as they begin mopping. As secondary organic aerosols form when the product interacts with the air in the room, the person would then inhale about 0.1 to 0.7 micrograms of these particles per minute. The authors suggest that maintaining indoor background ozone levels below 1 part per billion before mopping could minimise the buildup of pollutant particles. As the floor was mopped, the researchers measured gas-phase precursors, oxidants, radicals, secondary oxidation products, and aerosols in real time. In these graphs, gray shading corresponds to active periods of mopping and wiping during the cleaning events VOCs that are currently being used in aerosols are less damaging than the ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) they replaced in the 1980s. CFCs, which are classified as halocarbons, damage Earth's protective ozone layer that shields us from harmful ultraviolet rays generated from the Sun. Recognising the danger of CFCs, the Montreal Protocol was agreed in 1987, which led to their phase-out and, recently, the first signs of recovery of the Antarctic ozone layer. Denmark ready to take in refugees from Ukraine: PM Xinhua) 11:26, February 25, 2022 COPENHAGEN, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Denmark will accept refugees fleeing from Ukraine, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told journalists on Thursday. Frederiksen also pledged humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and its neighbors. "There will be internally displaced refugees. There will, of course, also be a lot of pressure on a country like Poland, but also on Moldova and other countries. And then the refugee flows can enter Europe, which Denmark will facilitate," Frederiksen explained. However, she added that "it is far too early to put figures on how many refugees Denmark will take in." According to the Danish news agency Ritzau, immigration authorities have started preparations to take in Ukrainian refugees. Meanwhile, as a NATO member state, Denmark will bolster its own national preparedness and the NATO defense alliance's readiness, Frederiksen said. "Denmark is not threatened directly ... But (the crisis in Ukraine) will have an impact on our economy and our energy supply. We expect a lasting international crisis, potentially with large costs for the Danish society. We are living in uncertain times," she said. According to Chief of Defense Flemming Lentfer, Denmark will be used as a "springboard" for Allied forces in the future. "This may mean that additional Danish forces must be deployed outside the border," Lentfer said. Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a "special military operation," and Ukraine confirmed that military installations across the country were under attack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law in the country following that. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) A federal hate crime trial for a Louisiana man accused of trying to kill and dismember a man he met on the popular gay dating app Grindr has been delayed. Chase Seneca, of Lafayette, La., was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2021 in a plot to kidnap and murder gay men whom he met online over two days in June 2020. Advertisement He was scheduled to stand trial on March 14, but on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays granted a defense request for a delay. His lawyers are said to be pursuing a plea agreement. Advertisement Chance Seneca (Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office) Authorities say that Seneca attempted to murder at least one of his victims because he was gay. He also intended to dismember and keep parts of the victims body as trophies, mementos and food. Hes accused of attacking Holden White, a 19-year-old student at Louisiana State University in Eunice, on June 20, 2020. The victim spent nearly a month in the hospital after he was tortured by Seneca, according to police. Seneca, who was 19 at the time of his indictment, was charged on six counts, including hate crime, kidnapping, firearm and obstruction charges. He has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges. With News Wire Services Artemis 1, the first in NASA's new generation of moon missions, won't launch until at least the end of May, and could slip into June, according to the space agency. It is set to lift off atop the massive Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but has been hit by a number of delays. NASA said during a press call on Thursday, that it couldn't launch until the agency had data from a full wet dress rehearsal, where the Orion capsule, that will one day take astronauts to lunar orbit, is stacked on the SLS at Pad 39B. The team then follow all the procedures and protocols involved in launching the rocket, but without actually lifting off the ground - to ensure things will run smoothly. This is expected to happen on March 17, which means an April launch is no longer viable for the Artemis 1 mission, which will see an uncrewed Orion spend 26 days travelling to the moon, go into orbit, and then return to Earth. NASA is now planning to launch towards the end of May, but admitted it could slip into June or even July, depending on the dress rehearsal data, and the weather. During the press conference, NASA also confirmed there were no Russian components in the SLS and Orion system. Artemis 1, the first in NASA's new generation of moon missions, won't launch until at least the end of May, and could slip into June, according to the space agency Artemis 1 was originally scheduled to launch at the end of 2021, but had to be postponed, originally until no earlier than April, and now no earlier than May. Some of this was to deal with issues found in the flight controllers of SLS, and others due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. If it is postponed until June or July, as NASA officials hinted, this would match the findings of an earlier government audit, which indicated that Artemis I would likely take place 'in the summer of 2022.' 'We continue to evaluate the May window, but we're also recognizing that there's a lot of work in front of us,' said Tom Whitmeyer, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator, with responsibility for exploration systems development. That work includes analyzing the data from the wet dress rehearsal, which will see the full stack of Orion and SLS rolled out to launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center from the Vehicle Assembly Building at 18:00 ET on March 17. 'During the test at the launch pad, engineers will be on duty in the Launch Control Center and in other stations where they will work during the Artemis I launch,' NASA explained in a blog post about the wet dress rehearsal. It is set to lift off atop the massive Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but has been hit by a number of delays 'They will capture as much data as possible on the performance of all the systems that are part of SLS and the Orion spacecraft as well as the Kennedy ground systems.' NASA'S SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM ROCKET IS THE LARGEST EVER MADE AND WILL LET HUMANS EXPLORE THE SOLAR SYSTEM Space Launch System, or SLS, is a launch vehicle that NASA hopes will take its astronauts back to the moon and beyond. The rocket will have an initial lift configuration, set to launch in the early-2020's, followed by an upgraded 'evolved lift capability' that can carry heavier payloads. Space Launch System Initial Lift Capability - Maiden flight: Mid-2020's - Height: 311 feet (98 metres) - Lift: 70 metric tons - Weight: 2.5 million kilograms (5.5 million lbs) Space Launch System Evolved Lift Capability - Maiden flight: Unknown - Height: 384 feet (117 metres) - Lift: 130 metric tons - Weight: 2.9 million kilograms (6.5 million lbs) Advertisement 'The crawler-transporter will transport an over 17-million-pound stack to launch complex 39B,' said Mike Bolger, from NASA, adding 'the top of the umbilical tower will be over 400 feet off the ground when it's riding on top of the crawler-transporter, so it's really going to be a sight.' After the wet dress rehearsal the combination of Orion and SLS will stay on Pad 39B for about a month, before rolling back into the hanger for more analysis. To launch in May it has to be ready between May 7 and Mayor 21, and if it isn't ready to go by then, with all analysis complete, it will have to wait until June. The June window runs from June 6 until June 16, and then again from June 29 on until July 12, NASA officials confirmed. While it is the first mission for the massive Space Launch System rocket engine, it will be the second for the Orion capsule, which was involved in a test flight in December 2014, going to space on a ULA Delta IV Heavy. When Artemis 1 finally launches, it will kick start a new era of lunar exploration, that will eventually see the first woman, and first person of color land on the moon. The Artemis I mission will see the Orion spacecraft, the SLS and the ground systems at Kennedy combine to launch the Orion 280,000 miles past Earth around the moon over the course of a three-week mission. This spacecraft, primarily built by Lockheed Martin, will stay in space 'longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before,' NASA has said previously. If Artemis I is a success, then in 2024 NASA will send Artemis II on a trip around the moon, this time with a human crew on board. The Artemis II mission plans to send four astronauts in the first crewed Orion capsule into a lunar flyby for a maximum of 21 days. Both missions are tests flights to demonstrate the technology and abilities of Orion, SLS and the Artemis mission before NASA puts human boots back on the moon. The Artemis mission will be the first to land humans on the moon since NASA's Apollo 17 in 1972. With the first woman and first person of color expected to step foot on the surface at some point in 2025. At an estimated $1 billion per launch, the space agency wants to ensure any issues or errors are picked up before the single-use rocket leaves the Earth. This is expected to happen on March 17, which means an April launch is no longer viable for the Artemis 1 mission, which will see an uncrewed Orion spend 26 days travelling to the moon, go into orbit, and then return to Earth It is housed in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and with the Orion module on top, it stands a whopping 322ft. When it launches the rocket will produce 8.8 million lbs of thrust, which is more than the Saturn V rocket that took the Apollo astronauts to the Moon in the 60s and 70s. The Artemis missions have faced their own issues, including with the development of spacesuits and the human lander systems that will take crew to the surface. However, many of the delays have been as a result of issues with the SLS itself and legal issues, caused by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin unsuccessfully suing NASA over a decision to award the Human lander system contract solely to Blue Origin. In November, NASA extended its target date for sending astronauts back to the moon from 2024 to 2025 at the earliest. Thomas Frank has confirmed Christian Eriksen will make his eagerly-awaited Brentford debut against Newcastle on Saturday. It caps a remarkable return for the midfielder, who eight months ago suffered a cardiac arrest, collapsing on the pitch during Denmark's defeat by Finland at Euro 2020. Brentford boss Frank said Eriksen will be in Saturday's squad and that the 30-year-old 'will get on the pitch' at the Brentford Community Stadium. Christian Eriksen (left) will make his Brentford debut on Saturday, said Thomas Frank (right) 'It will be amazing. It's a big day for all of us - but especially Chris and his family,' Frank said. Following his collapse, Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), which prevented him from playing in Serie A. He left Inter Milan back in December before signing a six-month deal with Brentford during the January transfer window. Eriksen, who has already appeared for Brentford's B Team, said recently that he sees no reason why he can't rediscover his best form. Eriksen (left) pictured playing for Brentford's B Team in a friendly against Rangers in Glasgow He returns on Saturday with Brentford battling to secure Premier League safety. Frank's side sit 14th - four points above the relegation zone - following a run of six defeats and one draw in their past seven league matches. Saturday's visit of 17th-placed Newcastle could prove pivotal in both sides' seasons. 'I expect a close, tight game. It will be the smallest of margins that could decide (it). They're in a good place,' Frank said. 'I'm not stupid. I know that teams are winning, but I only look forward and look up the league.' A full-scale military attack on Ukraine by Russia, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, began on Thursday morning. Here, the Daily Mail travel team answers readers questions about what this means for those travelling in Europe Q. Is it safe to take trips to countries neighbouring Ukraine, such as Hungary, Slovakia and Romania? Those taking trips to countries neighbouring Ukraine should keep an eye on their airlines website for updates A. Flights are operating as usual, but keep an eye on your airlines website for updates as well as on the latest travel information for each country at gov.uk. Be aware that there may be refugees arriving from Ukraine. Wizz Air offers return Luton to Budapest flights from 23 (wizzair.com), while Ryanair has Stansted to Bucharest returns from 37 and Stansted to Bratislava from 23 (ryanair.com). Q. What about travel to Poland? Krakow, for example, is very close to Ukraines border. A. It is 160 miles from Krakow to Ukraine but flights are running as usual. Ryanair is offering return Stansted to Krakow flights from as low as 10 next month (ryanair.com). Q. Can I get a refund for a package tour covering countries close to Ukraine? A. Not as things stand. Refunds will only be available if the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to the country you were planning to visit under the Package Travel Regulations (2018). See What if there is political unrest that could impact my holiday before I am due to travel? in the FAQs at abta.com/tips-and-advice/is-my-holiday-protected/new-package-travel-regulations. Q. We have been planning a trip to Moscow and had been aiming to go in June... A. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently only advises against travel to certain regions, including Chechnya, North Ossetia and areas close to Ukraines border. But this could change. Youll also need a Russian visa; see entry requirements for Russia at gov.uk. Direct scheduled flights to Russia from the UK now appear impossible, the Daily Mail travel team says Q. What about flights to Russia? Are they still running? A. Direct scheduled flights from the UK now appear impossible as Russia has banned British airlines from its airspace in retaliation to Britain banning Aeroflot. Google Flights and Skyscanner.net do not show any alternatives. However, Austrian Airlines has a round-trip to Moscow via Vienna from 205 next month (austrian.com) and there are other possibilities on KLM. Q. Are refunds being offered if you had a direct flight booked to Russia? A. Yes. British Airways was the only British carrier with direct flights and it is offering refunds. Q. Will the ban on British flights across Russian airspace cause delays to other destinations beyond Russia? A. Expect longer flight times to the likes of Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing and Bangkok if you are travelling with a British carrier. British Airways will not confirm precisely how much longer travel will take, but it could be 18 hours instead of 12. Flights to India and Pakistan will also be delayed owing to avoiding Ukrainian/ Russian airspace, with around an hour expected to be added to journeys. The Mail travel team helps one reader with a query about getting a refund for a direct flight to Russia Q. Is there any way round longer flights to the Far East and South-East Asia? A. Yes, fly with a non-British airline that has been given permission to cross into Russian airspace. Q. What will happen if you have a cruise booked that includes a call at St Petersburg? A. Cruise companies are looking for alternative ports. Atlas Ocean Voyages has already announced that it is substituting two Finnish ports, Kotka and Mariehamn, as well as Saaremaa in Estonia for St Petersburg. She's the fiery Married at First Sight bride whose outrageous antics have made headlines in recent weeks. And Domenica Calarco looked stressed out as she spoke to somebody on the phone during a stroll in Byron Bay, NSW, on February 8. The Sydney makeup artist, 28, worked up a sweat on the walk in a beige crop top and high-waisted black bike shorts. Is everything okay? Married At First Sight's Domenica Calarco looked stressed out as she spoke to somebody on the phone during a stroll in Byron Bay, NSW, on February 8 Domenica teamed her stylish activewear with a pair of white sneakers, and wore her short blonde hair loosely. She appeared to be wearing light makeup and sported a deep golden tan. The outspoken divorcee also showed off her various tattoos, including a jar of Vegemite on her arm. Workout chic: The Sydney makeup artist, 28, wore a beige crop top and black bike shorts Tense: At one point, Domenica looked a little tense as she took a phone call on her mobile Body art: She showed off her various tattoos, including a jar of Vegemite on her arm Domenica, who was joined by a female friend, at one point looked a little tense as she took a phone call on her mobile. She clashed with her MAFS rival Jess Seracino live on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Thursday. Radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson were lost for words as Jess furiously accused Domenica of being 'dismissive' and judgmental. Making headlines: Domenica clashed with her MAFS rival Jess Seracino live on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Thursday War of words: Radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson were lost for words as Jess furiously accused Domenica of being 'dismissive' and judgmental Rivalry: The row came after Domenica called Jess (pictured) a 'petulant child' who believed she was 'too good' for her husband Daniel Holmes on MAFS this week The row came after Domenica called Jess a 'petulant child' who believed she was 'too good' for her husband Daniel Holmes on MAFS this week. 'Every time I had an interaction with Dom... she would be dismissive of me,' Jess said. The argument ramped up when Jess accused Domenica of unfairly targeting her. 'You wanted to come for me! You know you wanted to come for me!' Jess raged. Awkward: The women failed to resolve their differences by the end of the segment, prompting Kyle to simply hang up on them Rainy day: Domenica got caught in the rain on her walk, but didn't seem too bothered Brawl: Meanwhile, a violent Married at First Sight fight is about to erupt between Domenica and Olivia Frazer at an upcoming dinner party 'I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from,' Domenica replied, prompting Jess to explode: 'You're not sorry! And I know exactly what you were doing and I'm not going to buy this. And I know who I am, and I'm great!' The women failed to resolve their differences by the end of the segment, prompting Kyle to simply hang up on them. Meanwhile, a violent Married at First Sight fight is about to erupt between Domenica and Olivia Frazer at an upcoming dinner party. Clash: A source close to production told Daily Mail Australia things get so intense between the two that at one stage Domenica attempts to 'glass' Olivia (pictured) in the face Animosity: 'They hated each other so much. It was very intense,' the insider revealed Wild girls: 'Domenica was bats**t crazy and now they hate each other so much more. It made everything awkward for everyone and divided the cast,' they added A source close to production told Daily Mail Australia things get so intense between the two that at one stage Domenica attempts to 'glass' Olivia, 27, in the face. 'They hated each other so much. It was very intense,' the insider revealed. 'Domenica was bats**t crazy and now they hate each other so much more. It made everything awkward for everyone and divided the cast.' The dinner party showdown will make the wine-throwing incident from 2019 involving Martha Kalifatidis and Cyrell Paule 'look like a Disney Channel movie', the source added. 'There is a major physical fight and glass is smashed,' they said. Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine and 9Now Samantha Armytage has no regrets about walking away from Channel Seven's Sunrise last year. Speaking to Now to Love, the 45-year-old said that swapping Sydney for a quiet life in Bowral with husband Richard Lavender was 'the best thing I've ever done'. 'I met a divine and decent man, sweeter than the sweetest rose,' she gushed. 'I met a divine and decent man': Sam Armytage has no regrets about leaving Sunrise to focus on married life with husband Richard Lavender (pictured together) 'I found the love of my life at 42. How lucky am I? And I realised you do not find the happy life, you make it.' Sam described her career at Sunrise as a 'highly-scrutinised, high-adrenaline, high-pressure job'. 'The universe moved me towards a more honest, joyful and calm place,' she said, adding that she's been extremely satisfied with the 'really great' opportunities that have come her way since leaving Sunrise. The broadcast journalist currently works as a columnist for Stellar magazine, and also has her own podcast with the publication. Tough: Sam described her career at Sunrise as a 'highly-scrutinised, high-adrenaline, high-pressure job' It comes after Sam revealed that she once hoped to have children, but admits she's now 'a bit past that' at the age of 45. The star spoke about her family plans during a rare personal interview on The Kyle and Jackie O Show last week. Armytage was on the program to promote her podcast Something to Talk About when she congratulated radio host Kyle Sandilands and his fiancee Tegan Kynaston on their recent pregnancy announcement. Sandilands, 50, then asked if starting a family was something Sam had ever considered, and she told him she was 'a bit past that' at her age. Happy ending: 'I found the love of my life at 42. How lucky am I? And I realised you do not find the happy life, you make it,' she said. (Sam pictured with Richard) The Channel Seven personality said it 'was on my radar' at one stage in her life 'but it just hasn't happened'. She added: 'You have to just redirect your path.' She also spoke of her idyllic country life in the NSW Southern Highlands, where she lives on a farm with her husband, Richard Lavender. Sandilands joked that if he and Kynaston didn't bond with their child, which is due in August, they could always adopt them out to Armytage. Missed out: It comes after Sam revealed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show (pictured) that she once hoped to have children, but admits she's now 'a bit past that' at the age of 45 Armytage has been enjoying a quieter life in the countryside since quitting Sunrise in March last year. She sold her North Bondi home for $2.8million in July 2020, in a telling sign she planned to move to the Southern Highlands full-time. While she has been replaced on Sunrise by newsreader Natalie Barr, Armytage is still signed to Seven and will make a guest appearance on Farmer Wants a Wife this year. She tied the knot with Lavender, a successful equestrian businessman, at his home in Bowral on New Year's Eve in 2020. Lavender has two adult daughters, Sasha and Grace, with whom Armytage is close. He's received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor his role in the western drama film. And Benedict Cumberbatch, put on a stylish display as he stepped out to a special screening of The Power Of The Dog at The Ham Yard Hotel in London on Thursday. The actor, 45, posed for photos alongside his co-star Kodi Smit-McPhee, 25, before they took to the stage for a question and answer session. Cool: Benedict Cumberbatch, 45, put on a stylish display alongside his quirky co-star Kodi Smit-McPhee, 25, at a special screening of The Power Of The Dog on Thursday Benedict looked effortlessly cool as he donned a neutral cashmere shirt by Brunello Cucinelli with contrasting buttons layered over a charcoal T-shirt. He added a pair of dark straight leg jeans and brown suede shoes to complete his casual look. Kodi put on a quirky display in a cream leather two piece consisting of a jacket with a zip closure and an oversized collar and baggy trousers. Fashion forward: Kodi put on a quirky display in a cream leather two piece consisting of a jacket with a zip closure and an oversized collar and baggy trousers Stars: Also in attendance was the films producers Tanya Seghatchian and Iain Canning as well as Cinematographer Ari Wegner He layered a lilac knitted turtleneck jumper underneath and wore a chunky pair of black boots before he added a silver chain necklace to complete his look. Also in attendance was Cinematographer Ari Wegner, the films producers Tanya Seghatchian and Iain Canning. Benedict took to the stage as he chatted to the audience in a question and answer session alongside Kodi, before the screening. Stylish: Benedict looked effortlessly cool as he donned a textured cream shirt with contrasting buttons layered over a charcoal T-shirt Award: Benedict plays a secretive and cruel rancher who's brother brings home his new wife and her son to the families 1920s Montana ranch for which he has been nominated for an Oscar In the psychological drama Benedict plays a secretive and cruel rancher who's brother brings home his new wife and her son to the families 1920s Montana ranch. Kodi takes on the role as Peter Gordon who is tormented by Benedict's conflicted cowboy character, Phil. The Power Of The Dog landed nominations for Best Actress, Achievement in Sound, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Cinematography, Production Design, Best Actor, Director and Best Picture. Star Power: The nomination for his role in the film will be Benedict's second Oscar nomination after he was nominated in 2014 for his role in The Imitation Game The nomination for his role in the film will be Benedict's second Oscar nomination after he was nominated in 2014 for his role in The Imitation Game, only to lose to Eddie Redmayne for as Stephen Hawkins in The Theory Of Everything. South Australian actor Kodi, landed a spot in the best supporting actor category for his career-making turn. Whilst the movie's director Jane Campion, is the first woman to ever be nominated twice for Best Director, following her nod for 1993's The Piano. Motsi Mabuse has revealed her husband's parents are stranded in Ukraine and are unable to reach the Polish border, after Russia invaded the country in the early hours of Thursday morning. The Strictly Come Dancing judge, 40, took to Twitter to say she was 'heartbroken' after she had spoken to her 'crying' mother-in-law who has 'no possibility' of fleeing to Poland. A fearful Motsi, who is married to fellow dancer and Ukrainian Evgenij Voznyuk, wrote: 'Its heartbreaking hearing my mother in law crying this morning, afraid and there absolutely nothing we can do! Just Sad honestly.' Heartbroken: Moti Mabuse has revealed her husband's parents are stranded in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion (Pictured with Ukrainian husband Evgenij Voznyuk in 2018) Social media post: The Strictly Come Dancing star, 40, took to Twitter to say that she was 'heartbroken' after she had spoken to her 'crying' mother-in-law this morning Motsi added: Our parents have been told to go outside and to switch off water &gas ! They have no possibility to get to the polish border. She had previously tweeted: This cannot be happening!!!!!!!!!!! and asked for prayers for Ukraine and the world. Motsi and Evgenij married in 2017 and share a daughter whose name has never been publicly revealed. Stranded: The TV judge, who is married to Ukrainian Evgenij, added they were unable to get to the Polish border (Picture: Traffic jams are seen as people leave the city of Kyiv, Ukraine) Motsi married her first love Timo Kulczak, 42, when she was just 22. But over a decade later the couple called it quits when Motsi realised she wanted to be with her dance partner Evgenij as she told The Sun: 'Three years later whoosh! And then I was married'. It comes after Vladimir Putin personally gave the order to attack Ukraine at around 5am on Thursday, unleashing a salvo of rocket fire in order to knock out the country's military command structure. On Friday morning Motsi posted an update, writing in German: 'Dear friends, please be sensitive when we address this topic with people from Ukraine. It hurts a lot right now and also what you share' First love: Motsi married her first love Timo Kulczak, 42, when she was just 22 (pictured dancing together in 2001) Russia said the strikes destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities, 11 airfields, three command posts and 18 radar stations controlling Kyiv's anti-aircraft batteries. That was followed by attacks from Crimea in the south towards the city of Kherson, a northern advance from Belarus to Kyiv, and an eastern advance from Belgorod towards Kharkiv where the heaviest fighting is going on. American officials said this was merely an 'initial phase' of the attack, and that the majority of Russia's 190,000 troops at the front remain in reserve. The goal of the attack is to 'take key population centres' and 'decapitate the Ukrainian government', the officials added. Invasion: Attack helicopters are pictured flying over the Kyiv region of Ukraine after dozens of Russian aircraft attacked the city Ukraine's health ministry said so far 137 people have been killed on the first day of conflict, while 300 have been wounded. The port cities of Mariupol and Odessa, where Ukraine's main naval bases are located, were also attacked - though Odessa appeared to remain under Ukrainian control as of Thursday afternoon. Russian tankers blockaded the Kerch Strait, leading from the Back Sea to the Sea of Azov, cutting off Mariupol. Ukraine has hit back, shooting down five Russian helicopters, destroying dozens of tanks and capturing Russian troops. War: The attack has come to Ukraine on all fronts with bombs and missiles dropped on targets across the country in the early hours, followed by troop attacks from Crimea, the Donbass, Belgorod and Belarus as well as helicopter landings in Kyiv and at power plants on the Dnieper River. Chernobyl nuclear power plant has also fallen to Russian forces A Russian AN-26 military transport aircraft also crashed in the southern Voronezh region, killing its crew on board. The accident could have been caused by a technical failure and has not inflicted any damage on the ground, Interfax said, citing a press office of Russia's western military district. In the address to his nation, Zelensky also described Russia as 'evil' and said Putin had attacked 'like a suicidal scoundrel... just as Fascist Germany did in World War II'. 'Ukraine will not surrender its freedom, whatever Moscow thinks,' he added. 'For Ukrainians independence and the right to live free on our land is the highest value.' She's the Australian fashion designer who knows a thing or two about turning heads at the beach. And Bianca Elouise commanded attention on Tuesday as she showcased her jaw-dropping figure in a daring swimsuit in sunny Miami, Florida. Rocking a perilously high-cut one-piece from her own label, Myra Swim, the 30-year-old left little to the imagination while strolling down the shoreline. Scroll down for video Miami heat! Australian fashion designer Bianca Elouise commanded attention on Tuesday as she showcased her jaw-dropping figure in a daring swimsuit in sunny Miami, Florida The longsleeve swimsuit highlighted her perky derriere thanks to its cheeky design. Bianca, who donned a pair of designer sunglasses, chatted to a friend on the beach before going for a refreshing dip in the ocean. The Gold Coast native later emerged from the water dripping wet. Bootylicious: The swimsuit highlighted Bianca's perky derriere thanks to its cheeky design Bianca famously made the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 list, after founding bikini brand Myra Swim in 2014. She spoke to Forbes about how she built such a successful company. 'I think my consistency has for sure played a huge role in my success,' she explained. 'Honestly, I have my moments where I doubt myself but most times I take control and keep pushing through. Consistency is key.' The former professional surfer said she founded her label because she couldn't find items to suit her body correctly. 'I lived in the garments and was sponsored by brands, but I couldn't find anything that I was 100 per cent happy with or fitted me the way I wanted, so I created what I couldn't find in the market,' she said. Her designs have been seen on the likes of Kim Kardashian, Chrissy Teigen and Jennifer Lopez. Maksim Chmerkovskiy's wife Peta Murgatroyd is asking for prayers as the Ukrainian-born dancer remains in Kyiv following a Russian invasion into the country over night. 'Please pray for my husband Maks. I don't usually ask these things from my social media network, however today is extremely hard and the next few days will be even harder,' Murgatroyd, 35, posted to Instagram on Thursday. She informed her followers that Chmerkovskiy, 42, is currently 'safe' and asked that they pray for his 'swift, safe exit' from the Ukraine so that he can return 'home' to the United States. Prayers needed: Maksim Chmerkovskiy's wife Peta Murgatroyd is asking for prayers as the Ukrainian-born dancer remains in Kyiv following a Russian invasion into the country over night; Peta and Maksim pictured on February 13 'I don't have the answers, but yes, he is safe right now. Please pray that he comes home soon. Please pray that he has a swift, safe exit. I have FAITH. I have HOPE and I have PRAYED so hard,' she wrote. 'My pain is overwhelming and I'm struggling, but you sending your positive light and love to him would mean the world to me. Truly, I wish for nothing more. 'Please pray for Ukraine and the innocent civilians [whose] lives are being greatly uprooted. I grew to love this country the couple of times I visited and they're in an unfathomable situation. Murgatroyd and Chmerkovskiy wed in 2017 after years of performing together on ABC's competition show Dancing With The Stars. They share five-year-old son Shai Aleksander. Speaking out: 'Please pray for my husband Maks. I don't usually ask these things from my social media network, however today is extremely hard and the next few days will be even harder,' Murgatroyd, 35, posted to Instagram on Thursday 'S**t's going down': Ukrainian-born Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy is fearing for his life and the lives of his friends in Kyiv following a Russian invasion into the country over night The family is based in Malibu, California. Earlier on Thursday, Chmerkovskiy shared emotional videos from the capital city after the Russian attack and told his followers that he was seeking refuge in 'a bomb shelter' and wanted 'to go back home'. Russian forces fired on the city of nearly 3 million residents with around two dozen attack helicopters, four of which are thought to have been shot down. Filming from a balcony near the heart of Kyiv, Maks told his followers that 'everybody was hoping that the finality of this situation would be averted, that there wasn't going to be these kind of aggressive measures.' Overwhelmed: 'My pain is overwhelming and I'm struggling, but you sending your positive light and love to him would mean the world to me. Truly, I wish for nothing more; Maksim and Peta pictured in January Tight knit: Murgatroyd and Chmerkovskiy wed in 2017 after years of performing together on Dancing With The Stars. They share five-year-old son Shai Aleksander; the family pictured on February 13 As he shot the selfie style video, military sirens could be heard drawing nearer. Chmerkovskiy says of the Russian invasion that recently began to unfold. 'Honestly, I'm getting really emotional. It's been a little difficult. You know me, I stay strong. And I don't show it, but I want to go back home,' he said. The reality star added that he was grateful that his wife and child were far away and not in danger. After the attack: Filming from a balcony near the heart of Kyiv, Maks told his followers that 'everybody was hoping that the finality of this situation would be averted, that there wasn't going to be these kind of aggressive measures' 'Honestly, I'm getting really emotional. It's been a little difficult. You know me, I stay strong. And I don't show it, but I want to go back home,' he said. 'What I'm realizing is that my friends whose kids are here, whose moms, dads are here, and elderly people are here, they can't just escape,' Maks continued. 'I am not at this point someone who is pleading for someone else's safety from a far distance, from a safe distance. I'm somebody who's about to go into a bomb shelter because s**t's going down,' he said. On Thursday, Kyiv ordered civilians to bomb shelters and declared a curfew amid fears Russia will strike the city after Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 15 miles away. 'I know who this country is, what it represents, what it stands for,' he said in a plea for peace. 'And it's completely not what is being portrayed to the Russian people in order to justify this invasion.' 'I am not at this point someone who is pleading for someone else's safety from a far distance, from a safe distance. I'm somebody who's about to go into a bomb shelter because s**t's going down,' he said. Shelter: On Thursday, Kyiv ordered civilians to bomb shelters and declared a curfew amid fears Russia will strike the city after Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 15 miles away He also directly slammed Russian president Vladimir Putin: 'I think that in 2022 [in a] civilized world, this is not the way we do things.' 'This is all one man's ambition', he continued. 'However it sounds, however convenient it sounds in Moscow, however comfortable you are where you are in Russia, I just don't think that this is the right thing and this is the right steps and these are the correct actions.' The star promised to try to keep followers abreast of the situation unfolding abroad and asked for people to respect his wife's privacy at this time. 'There's ALWAYS another way! WAR is NEVER an answer! #standwithukraine,' he penned in the caption of the video. 'There's ALWAYS another way! WAR is NEVER an answer! #standwithukraine,' he penned in the caption of the video. 'I will never be the same. This is stressful and I'm getting old feelings back, like I've done this before. This does feel like the way it was when and why we left in the 90s. Like my old PTSD I've finally fixed is coming back.' Adding: 'I will never be the same. This is stressful and I'm getting old feelings back, like I've done this before. This does feel like the way it was when and why we left in the 90s. Like my old PTSD I've finally fixed is coming back. 'I literally only just forgot about those 'always on the edge' feelings and actually started worrying about things like bbq grills. I'm crying as I'm typing this because all man deserves to worry about 'bbq grills' and not f***ing war. Hug your loved ones.' The Ukrainian army was this afternoon fighting in almost every region of the country, battling the Russians for control of military bases, airports, cities and ports from Kharkiv to Kiev, and Donetsk to Odessa. Battle ground: The Ukrainian army was this afternoon fighting in almost every region of the country, battling the Russians for control of military bases, airports, cities and ports from Kharkiv to Kiev, and Donetsk to Odessa It came after Vladimir Putin personally gave the order to attack around 5am, unleashing a salvo of rocket fire that American intelligence said involved more than 100 short and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles, and 75 bombers that targeted military sites including barracks, warehouses and airfields in order to knock out the country's military command structure. Russia said the strikes destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities, 11 airfields, three command posts and 18 radar stations controlling Kiev's anti-aircraft batteries. That was followed by attacks from Crimea in the south towards the city of Kherson, a northern advance from Belarus to Kiev, and an eastern advance from Belgorod towards Kharkiv where the heaviest fighting is going on. American officials said this was merely an 'initial phase' of the attack, and that the majority of Russia's 190,000 troops at the front remain in reserve. The goal of the attack is to 'take key population centres' and 'decapitate the Ukrainian government', the officials added. Rozalia Russian has spoken about her own experience fleeing the Cold War, after Russia commenced its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. In a post on Instagram Stories on Friday, the 33-year-old Melbourne socialite detailed her family's plight as war refugees. 'It was the middle of winter in 1991 and my family escaped with one suitcase and the clothes on our back and fled the Cold War,' the Uzbekistan-born influencer said. Devastating: Rozalia Russian has spoken about her own experience fleeing the Cold War, after Russia commenced its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine 'Luckily for us we had a happy ending. Thirty-one years later my heart goes out to those currently in the same situation,' she added. It's not the first time Rozalia has spoken about what her family endured during the Cold War. 'My mum, Jelena, tells the stories of being pregnant with me and queueing all day for meagre rations with my brother Stanislav, who was 12,' she said in May 2018. Reflecting on the past: In a post on Instagram Stories on Friday, the 33-year-old socialite detailed her family's plight as war refugees She said the final straw came after school children 'were rounded up and had their ears cut off' by insurgents fighting the government. Rozalia explained her family decided to immigrate to Australia as the government was seeking skilled workers and her father was an electrical engineer. She said her mother was forced to sell her collection of precious heirloom jewellery to fund the trip, using the money to pay for their plane tickets. 'It was the middle of winter in 1991 and my family escaped with one suitcase and the clothes on our back and fled the Cold War,' the Uzbekistan-born beauty recounted They finally left their apartment in Uzbekistan in 1991, telling their remaining family and friends to take what they wanted. Rozalia said they initially flew to Moscow, where they secured temporary visas from the Australian embassy, before travelling to Melbourne. 'We got a little flat in Elsternwick. Neither of my parents spoke English. My mum started work as a cleaner and dad delivered newspapers,' she added. Migration: 'Luckily for us we had a happy ending. Thirty-one years later my heart goes out to those currently in the same situation,' she wrote On Thursday, nearly 200,000 Russian troops gathered at the border of Ukraine and commenced a broad military offensive after weeks of growing tensions. Global leaders have warned the attacks could lead to the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II as Russian forces advance on the capital of Kyiv. Russian president Vladimir Putin has claimed he is simply trying to demilitarise Ukraine, which he believes is a threat to Russia's dominance. A preliminary hearing for the man accused of fatally shooting a Pennsylvania mother, who was working as an Uber driver at the time, has been delayed. Calvin Crew was scheduled to appear in municipal court on Friday in Allegheny County, but officials announced Thursday that his hearing would be rescheduled. He was arrested last week for shooting Christi Spicuzza and was charged with criminal homicide, robbery and tampering with evidence. Advertisement Authorities discovered Spicuzza dead from a single gunshot wound on Feb. 11 in a wooded area in Monroeville, according to the Allegheny County Police Department. The day before, she picked up 22-year-old Crew in Penn Hills around 9:15 p.m. Authorities said he used his girlfriends phone to order a ride the night of Feb. 10. Christi Spicuzza and Calvin Crew About 10 minutes into the trip, Crew pulled out a firearm and pointed it at the rideshare driver, according to dashcam video taken inside from inside the vehicle. He ordered Spicuzza to keep driving while she begged for her life and spoke of her four children. Advertisement Do what I say, and everything will be all right, Crew told her just before the dash cam shuts off. Authorities said there is no evidence to suggest Spicuzza fought back and that they are still working to uncover a motive behind the murder. Jay-Z prevailed in an ongoing court case with the perfume company Parlux on Thursday, as an appellate court ruled Parlux owed the entertainer $4.5 million in royalties from their previous business relationship. The rapper, 52, was initially sued for $68 million in 2016 by Parlux, who alleged that he didn't fulfill his contractual obligations set forth in 2012 to promote the fragrance, which was called Gold Jay Z, Page Six reported Thursday. The case went to trial in New York City last fall for three weeks and Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, testified for two days, according to the outlet. The latest: Jay-Z, 52, prevailed in an ongoing court case with the perfume company Parlux on Thursday, as an appellate court ruled Parlux owed the entertainer $4.5 million in royalties from their previous business relationship. He was snapped in Manhattan court last November In the trial, the jury said that Jay-Z, who was represented by attorney Alex Spiro, was not responsible for the $68 million, and Parlux did not owe the $4.5 million in outstanding royalties the Big Pimpin artist asked for in a counterclaim. Justice John Higgitt of the Appellate Division, First Department said that results of an appeal determined that Jay-Z and his organization S. Carter Enterprises LLC were 'entitled to summary judgment on their royalties counterclaim' in the suit, according to the outlet. 'The record is clear: Parlux sold licensed products after July 31, 2015, but failed to pay royalties on those sales,' Higgitt said. In the trial, Parlux attorney Anthony Viola said the 99 Problems performer violated the 2012 contract by not appearing at a Macys event launching the debut of the fragrance in 2014, and didn't promote the product on Good Morning America and in Womens Wear Daily as agreed upon, Page Six reported. Parlux said the rapper didn't fulfill his contractual obligations set forth in 2012 to promote the fragrance, which was called Gold Jay Z The rapper was snapped outside the court last fall in an earlier phase of the case 'Parlux invested $29 million into that venture - it upheld its end of the bargain - the defendants didnt uphold their end of the bargain,' Viola said in his closing arguments. 'If the defendants had fulfilled the contract, if they have upheld their end of the bargain, Parlux would have had a runaway success. We would have netter $67.6 million in net profits.' Spiro said that Jay-Z wasn't looking for the product to fail, had a year's time to make the appearances agreed upon in the contract, and wasn't mandated to show up to the launch event. 'Why on Earth would Jay-Z put his name on one product and only one product in his entire career if he wanted that product to fail?' Spiro said. 'Why? And thats a question they will never be able to answer because there is no answer.' Advertisement Alexandra Daddario looked the picture of glamour in a classy black gown while attending the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards Media Preview Day on Thursday night. The White Lotus star, 35, stood out at the event - which was held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California - with the ankle-length creation which she paired with chic black heels. The actress is an ambassador for the SAG Awards, along with actor Ross Butler, 31 , who joined her at the event in a vivid red suit. Glamorous: Alexandra Daddario looked the picture of glamour in a classy black gown while attending the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards Media Preview Day on Thursday night The star - who recently suffered a stalker scare after police apprehended a man with a gun outside of her Los Angeles home - added some edge to her demure look with a chunky black and silver bracelet on her wrist. As for jewelry, she kept the bling to a minimal, only sporting a massive engagement ring from her producer fiance Andrew Form, 53, on her finger. Daddario wore her shoulder-length dark tresses parted on the side and styled in a straight fashion. Chic: The White Lotus star, 35, stood out at the event with the ankle-length creation which she paired with chic black heels Edgy: The actress added a bit of edge to her demure look with a chunky black and silver bracelet on her wrist SAG Ambassadors: Daddario is an ambassador for the SAG Awards, along with actor Ross Butler, 31 Vivid: The 13 Reasons Why star made a bright impression sporting a vivid red jacket and matching pants Meanwhile Butler made a bright impression sporting a vivid red jacket and matching pants. The 13 Reasons Why star paired the look with a creamy silk shirt underneath, as well as a white undershirt. The fashion-forward actor sported black leather boots, and his dark haired was gelled up and to the side. At one point he happily held up the SAG statuette presented to the honorees, also known at 'The Actor.' Handsome: Butler wore his dark haired gelled up and styled to the side Smiling: The happy actor held up the SAG statuette presented to the honorees, also known at 'The Actor' Trendy: The fashion-forward star paired his look with cool black leather boots With the producers: Daddario and Ross were also spotted mingling with SAG executive producers Jon Brockett and Kathy Connell, who has produced the SAG Awards since its inception in 1995 According to the guild, ambassadors 'are actors who exemplify the utmost values of the profession and are positive role models for the next generation of performers. 'These individuals actively use their platform to advocate for humanitarian and public service endeavors.' Daddario and Ross were also spotted mingling with SAG executive producers Jon Brockett and Kathy Connell, who has produced the Screen Actors Guild Awards since its inception in 1995. Another fashionable appearance was made by actress Elizabeth McLaughlin, 28, who donned a stylish low-cut tan three-piece suit for the special occasion. Chic: Another fashionable appearance was made by actress Elizabeth McLaughlin, 28, who donned a stylish low-cut tan three-piece suit for the special occasion The Clique star wore her stunning red tresses parted slightly to the side and cascading down her shoulder and back in loose waves. She accessorized her innovative look with a striking blue stone pendant necklace. The beauty sported natural looking makeup aside from her bright pout, which featured a lovely red lipstick. The actress has been a member of SAG-AFTRA's Los Angeles Local Board of Directors since 2013. Special menu: Executive Chef Curtis Stone, 46, was in charge of creating the menu for the special event Perfectionist: The Australian TV personality was pictured looking busy as he put the finishing touches on his dishes for the evening Work look: Stone ditched evening attire for a dark green apron, blue jeans, and a white t-shirt Executive Chef Curtis Stone, 46, was in charge of creating the menu for the special event. The Australian TV personality was pictured looking busy as he put the finishing touches on his dishes for the evening. Stone ditched evening attire for a dark green apron, blue jeans, and a white t-shirt. Also present at the event was actress Amber Friendly, who donned a gorgeous bright pink dress and silver heels. American television actor Daryl Anderson, 70, made an appearance as well, sporting a black leather jacket, dark jeans and a pair of sneakers. The 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 27, at 5:00PM PST. The Duke (12A, 95 mins) Rating: Verdict: Funny, moving and true Cyrano (12A, 123 mins) Rating: Verdict: Shame about the songs For a pair of such national treasures or, in her case, international treasure, even though she declared herself unworthy of the Lifetime Achievement Award conferred on her by the Screen Actors Guild in Los Angeles this week it's remarkable that Jim Broadbent and Dame Helen Mirren had never worked together before The Duke. Still, the late Roger Michell's lovely film (he died suddenly five months ago, aged 65) makes up for lost time. Jaunty but at times deeply moving, The Duke tells the compelling true story of how and, more significantly, why a working-class Geordie called Kempton Bunton (Broadbent) ended up with Francisco Goya's 1812 portrait of the Duke of Wellington hidden at the back of his wardrobe. In 1961, following lavish media coverage of the 140,000 purchase of the Goya 'for the nation', the painting was stolen from the National Gallery. Police suggested that the audacious theft had been carried out to order by a professional gang. In fact, Kempton was a myopic, pipe-smoking 60-year-old from Tyneside; a street-corner orator fired, above all, by his fierce belief that war widows and pensioners should not be forced to pay the BBC licence fee. It's remarkable that Jim Broadbent and Dame Helen Mirren had never worked together before The Duke. Still, the late Roger Michell's lovely film (he died suddenly five months ago, aged 65) makes up for lost time He sent a series of anonymous notes offering to return the Goya in return for a 140,000 ransom, noting that the interest alone would pay for 3,500 TV licences. I don't think it counts as a spoiler to add that the ransom was never paid and that Kempton, having confessed to the crime, eventually went on trial at the Old Bailey, to the horror of his long-suffering wife, Dorothy (Mirren). It's a quirky but stirring tale, beautifully scripted (with the odd dollop of dramatic licence) by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman, with Michell bringing the same sureness of comedic touch he applied to his 1999 film Notting Hill. And let's not accuse him of nepotism over the casting of his wife, Anna Maxwell Martin, in one of the film's small but key supporting roles. Terrific as ever, she plays the affluent wife of a local councillor who employs Dorothy as what in 1961 was known as a charlady. Matthew Goode adds further class as the urbane defence barrister Jeremy Hutchinson (whose other 1960s clients included Christine Keeler, the spy George Blake and Penguin Books in the Lady Chatterley case, and who was married to the actress Peggy Ashcroft). But it is Broadbent and Mirren who are the beating heart of this delightful film. To the end of his extremely long life, Hutchinson (who was 102 when he died in November 2017) recalled Kempton with great affection and Broadbent shows us why, beguilingly breathing life into a kind of British archetype. Kempton is an idealist, a dreamer, big-hearted and self-taught. He is also a long-winded know-all, but devoted to Dorothy and their two sons, Jackie (Fionn Whitehead) and Kenny (Jack Bandeira), and energised by a powerful social conscience. Sometimes, in truth, the film ladles on the working-class nobility a bit thick. Kempton loses a job as a taxi driver for waiving a disabled war veteran's fare, and another at a bakery for standing up for a Pakistani colleague picked on by a racist supervisor. But Broadbent keeps it real at every turn and manages a passable Geordie accent to boot, while Mirren, whose skill as an actress enables her to play frumpy and downtrodden every bit as well as she does elegant hauteur, is a superb foil. Cleverly, Michell crafted The Duke in the style of a 1960s film. The split-screen techniques evoke a more glamorous story of art theft, 1968's The Thomas Crown Affair, and there's an appealingly retro score, with more than a few nods to those cloth-cap, kitchen-sink dramas of 60 years ago. Indeed, I first saw it at the 2020 Venice Film Festival (the pandemic has pushed its release back 18 months) and still cherish seeing the Italian subtitles grapple with Kempton's line, as he presents Dorothy with a tray of placatory tea and biscuits: 'Good dunkers, them ginger nuts.' The bribe doesn't entirely work. The down-to-earth Dorothy is exasperated by her placard-waving husband, who also has pretensions as a playwright. Yet we never doubt that their relationship is rooted in mutual love as well as grief, although they cope in contrasting ways with the tragedy, years earlier, of losing a daughter in a road accident. A very different love story, without ginger nuts, unfolds in the overlong Cyrano. Shot on Sicily and set around the turn of the 18th century, Cyrano is properly gorgeous to look at In Joe Wright's lavish musical adaptation of Edmond Rostand's famous 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac, Peter Dinklage excels in the title role, and Haley Bennett is terrific as Roxanne, his friend since childhood and object of his secret ardour. Kelvin Harrison Jr plays Christian, the handsome soldier she thinks she loves for his way with words, though, of course, his lines are being fed by the lovelorn Cyrano. Wright describes his film as 'a love letter to love', and has made a truly beautiful, if decidedly earnest, job of it; shot on Sicily and set around the turn of the 18th century, Cyrano is properly gorgeous to look at and charmingly written by Erica Schmidt (Dinklage's wife). But the songs, alas, are forgettable. From where I was sitting, they're a humdrum distraction, a layer of artifice the picture simply doesn't need. A review of The Duke first ran in September 2020. ALSO SHOWING See The Godfather in all its glory There have been reams written recently, not least by me, about The Godfather (). Francis Ford Coppola's Mob masterpiece is 50 years old next month and all three films in his mighty trilogy about the Corleone family are being re-released, starting with the unsurpassable 1972 original. If you've never savoured it the way it was meant to be seen, on a big screen, now's your chance. Everything about it that has always looked great on TV works even better in the cinema, starting with the superlative acting by Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and everyone else. I despair that so many films these days last at least half an hour longer than they need to (Ridley Scott's House Of Gucci is but one recent example). Yet in my view The Godfather justifies every minute of its extravagant running time. The opening wedding scene, and Nino Rota's glorious score, sets up a treat of just under three hours that simply never flags. If you've never savoured The Godfather on a big screen, now's your chance Studio 666 Rating: The much shorter Studio 666, by stark contrast, starts flagging early and never stops. It's a slasher-horror comedy, conceived by Dave Grohl of the rock band Foo Fighters and starring him and his bandmates (and, fleetingly, Lionel Richie) as, loosely, themselves. The premise has them setting up in a creepy Los Angeles mansion to record their tenth album, unaware of a grisly 1993 massacre of another band that recorded there. Soon, Grohl himself becomes possessed by the malign spirits that haunt the house and it all gets rather silly and exceedingly gory, although among fans, who won't mind the lumpen acting, it might just have the makings of a cult classic. The three actresses who will play Cher during different points of her life in the musical The Cher Show have been revealed, as the production gears up to tour the UK. Debbie Kurup, Danielle Steers and Millie OConnell will portray the Goddess of Pop, 75, in three different ways throughout her iconic career, with Debbie as Star, Danielle as Lady and Millie as Babe. The musical is packed with 35 of Cher's biggest hits, including If I Could Turn Back Time, I Got You Babe, Strong Enough, The Shoop Shoop Song and Believe. Trio: (L-R) Millie OConnell, Debbie Kurup and Danielle Steers will portray Cher in three different ways throughout her iconic career Written by Tony Award-winning Rick Elice, The Cher Show made its debut on Broadway in 2018 in a production that earned two Tony Awards. The Cher Show tells the incredible story of Chers meteoric rise to fame, from a young child with big dreams and the shy daughter of an Armenian American truck driver, to the dizzying heights of global stardom. It introduces them to the influential people in her life including her mother, Sonny Bono and fashion designer Bob Mackie. Icon: The musical is packed with 35 of Cher's biggest hits, including If I Could Turn Back Time, I Got You Babe, Strong Enough, The Shoop Shoop Song and Believe (Cher pictured at the Broadway show in 2018) Pose: The Cher Show tells the incredible story of Chers meteoric rise to fame, from a young child with big dreams and the shy daughter of an Armenian American truck driver, to the dizzying heights of global stardom Cher, who has sold 100 million records, started her on-screen career in 1971 and went on to star in Moonstruck for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress. Her Farewell Tour became the highest grossing music tour in history and she is the only artist in history to have a number one hit in the Billboard chart for six consecutive decades. In the Nineties, she established The Cher Charitable Foundation to support causes around the world. She has been a long-time donor and supporter of Habitat for Humanity, The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and Keep A Child Alive, an organisation that helps to combat the AIDs epidemic. Musical: The musical is packed with 35 of her biggest hits, including If I Could Turn Back Time, I Got You Babe, Strong Enough, The Shoop Shoop Song and Believe Success: Written by Tony Award-winning Rick Elice, The Cher Show made its debut on Broadway in 2018 in a production that earned two Tony Awards Most recently, she co-founded Free the Wild to help rescue Kaavan the Asian elephant from Islamabad zoo. The musical is directed by Arlene Phillips and choreography is by Strictly Come Dancing's Oti Mabuse. The UK and Ireland tour will open at Leicesters Curve on April 15 and continue through to April 1, 2023. Billy Connolly Does... Rating: The Big Freeze: Winter 63 Rating: Heres a fun game if you ever find yourself checking in to a hotel with Led Zep, Ringo Starr and Elton John. Just shout Changies! You all have five minutes to dash into your rooms, tear off your clothes, dress in anything you can find and get down to the bar wearing pillowcases and lampshades, or with loo roll wrapped around your bits like an Egyptian mummy in a bikini. Billy Connolly explained the rules as he fondly recounted his years of bad behaviour in the first of a series of anecdotes, plus clips from his live shows, Billy Connolly Does... (Gold). I dont regret a second of it, he declared, though how he survived it all is another question. Alcoholic excess was a mainstay of his early career. He catalogues his stage shows according to what he was drinking the Gin Tour, the Cider Tour and so on. Billy Connolly explained the rules as he fondly recounted his years of bad behaviour in the first of a series of anecdotes, plus clips from his live shows, Billy Connolly Does... (Gold). I dont regret a second of it, he declared, though how he survived it all is another question He met his wife Pamela Stephenson, who was then starring in BBC2s Not The Nine OClock News, during his Brandy Tour. The way he tells it, she lured him away from the bar by phoning down from his hotel room to say she was waiting in his bed. That was the first unsteady step towards sobriety. Snatches of classic stand-up routines included one he did until he retired from the stage four years ago, the drunk walks. It isnt until you see him staggering sideways across the stage, like a dressage pony on a steep slope, that you realise what a marvellous physical comedian he was. Parkinsons disease has robbed him of much of his dancers grace but none of his presence or his vocabulary. Everything is a tall story to Billy. He doesnt just live in a Florida mansion its the former lair of a drugs baron, with a secret escape route down to the Everglades. Sitting at a kitchen table and chatting to director Mike Reilly, an old friend, he explains what to do when drunken fights break out. Violence is seldom appropriate, but if you must punch a man, my only advice is to hit him when hes still talking. Dont wait for the end of the sentence. Theres sound logic to this, he insists. Not only do you have the element of surprise, but an angry drunk never says anything worth hearing anyway. Billy is a shocking name-dropper. If he remembers a night carousing with Keith Moon, the actor John Hurt has to be there, too. But the excerpts from his 1985 TV special, An Audience With Billy Connolly, proved he really did know absolutely everybody. All the faces in the ranks wiping tears of laughter from their eyes were instantly recognisable. Among them were Gloria Hunniford and Joanna Lumley, two of the stars also reminiscing about the endless winter of 1963, in The Big Freeze (C5). Gloria was a young mum, who made lifelong friends with her neighbours in Northern Ireland as they helped each other with the shopping, during months of deep snow. Joanna was an A-level student at a convent school, where the girls slept shivering in their clothes and woke to flannels frozen into icicles in the washroom. The hardships were bleak, but record producer Pete Waterman, weatherman John Kettley and newsman John Craven were among the others who couldnt hide their nostalgia for the times. Lord knows how wed cope now. Just think of the elfnsafety implications. The mere existence of archive footage is apparently dangerous today. One newsreel required a nannyish caption, warning us: Skating on frozen ponds, lakes and rivers is highly dangerous and should not normally be undertaken under any circumstances. At the age of six, Amara Okereke became obsessed with My Fair Lady and spent her childhood idly thinking wouldn't it be loverly to one day play Cockney 'guttersnipe' Eliza Doolittle one of the Crown Jewels of musical roles. And, by Jove, she's got it! Okereke, 25, has been chosen by Broadway director Bartlett Sher to play Eliza at the London Coliseum in May. Downton Abbey star Harry Hadden-Paton will take on Professor Henry Higgins, the phonetics expert who bets that he can pass Eliza off as a duchess at an embassy ball by the time he's finished giving her lessons in elocution and deportment. Hadden-Paton played Higgins in Sher's acclaimed production at Lincoln Center three years ago. Vanessa Redgrave has agreed to play Mrs Higgins, his mother. Amara Okereke, 25, has been chosen by Broadway director Bartlett Sher to play Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady at the London Coliseum in May I was lucky enough to see My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center a couple of times with Diana Rigg and Rosemary Harris playing the matriarch. It shouldn't be a big deal that a black actress is playing Eliza for the first time in a first-class production but it's a signal moment, a point that Okereke acknowledges. 'I know the feeling of seeing someone like you do the things that you actually want to do. I know how inspiring and validating that is. Now I'm doing the very things that I thought were very unlikely,' she told me, noting that The Phantom Of The Opera now has a 'black Christine'. She thought of her 13-year-old self having a trip to London with her mother to see a show at a time when no actress of colour would have played the lead in a revival of any golden age musical. 'If I'd been told that was something I could expect to see, I'd have said, 'You must be lying,' because that's not the world I knew. Yet here we are being a part of that world. It's really exciting.' Sher told me that it was a 'high priority' of his to find a person of colour 'who can sing those notes'. And Amara can. Okereke became obsessed with My Fair Lady at the age of six and now she will be playing Eliza. Pictured: Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady in 1964 She has an expansive vocal range, plus she knows the score well, having watched the film starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison more than 200 times, and listened to recordings of Julie Andrews, the original My Fair Lady. 'Wouldn't It Be Loverly was basically the song in our house,' she said. So much so that she chose to perform it for a song-and-dance competition. She had planned to follow her parents into medicine but got the musical theatre bug. Nonetheless, she continued with her academic endeavours before deciding to study at ArtsEd drama school in West London. It was drilled into her that after graduation, she would end up unemployed for about three years. Not so. Cameron Mackintosh and his team cast her as Cosette in Les Miserables. 'I was very aware that there had never been a black Cosette before,' she said. 'You can't help but think about that.' She landed other top parts in The Boyfriend and, more recently, in Spring Awakening at the Almeida. Director Sher said during one of our conversations that it 'could be very interesting in our era now to see this show completely differently following the kind of changes we've all been through, especially in a place like England where you had Meghan Markle come into the Royal Family and go through it,' he said. 'That's a very similar parallel,' he observed of Eliza and Meghan, where an outsider 'goes into that world'. Amara said that having Meghan in mind 'would add to what this production means and why it's happening now'. George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion was adapted into My Fair Lady by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe for stage and screen in the 1950s and early 1960s, and subsequent major revivals have resonated with audiences in different ways. Harry Hadden-Paton (left) and Vanessa Redgrave (right) will star alongside Okereke in My Fair Lady 'We're more and more questioning barriers and social constructs,' Amara said, adding that the story of class will always be relevant. Though she now lives in London, Amara is a Yorkshire lass through and through. 'We drink Yorkshire tea exclusively in this house,' she said proudly. I've watched Amara in several shows and she is just as comfortable in racy fare such as Spring Awakening as playing the wide-eyed innocent in The Boyfriend at the Menier Chocolate Factory. It's worth tracking down a YouTube video of her singing Make Someone Happy which she performed at The Stage Awards in 2019. My Fair Lady is going to look magnificent at the Coliseum, home to the English National Opera. And Amara will be very much at home with Hadden-Paton and Dame Vanessa. Maureen Beattie has been cast to play housekeeper Mrs Pearce, with Sharif Afifi as love-struck Freddy Eynsford-Hill. My Fair Lady will run at the Coliseum for a summer season from May 7. Stage hit morphs into a movie The art world has been drawing in on the Young Vic Theatre thanks to the scorching word of mouth for Anthony McCarten's play The Collaboration, about the friendship and rivalry between Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Then there's the cast: Paul Bettany, away from the boards for 25 years, is Warhol; and Jeremy Pope, a rising star from Broadway and Hollywood, is Basquiat. Both are breathtaking in a drama that explores their relationship and attitudes to race, money and sex. But McCarten is going to tear up his play script and rewrite it as a screenplay. Anthony McCarten's play The Collaboration is about the friendship and rivalry between Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat McCarten who also wrote the films The Theory Of Everything, Darkest Hour, The Two Popes and Bohemian Rhapsody says the film version of The Collaboration will feature the same two actors because 'their chemistry is unbeatable'. He added that usually on a film, there is little time to develop a rapport. So it has been advantageous for the actors, along with director Kwame Kwei-Armah, to have spent so much time rehearsing and performing first. The hope is that the movie can shoot in New York later in the year, then the stage version will play in that city. 'Maybe it could come back to the West End after that?' McCarten wondered. Dawn French will help lead the traditional pantomime back onto the London Palladium stage, promising 'much merriment and happiness, downright cheek and cheeks'. She will play Dame Trott, Jack's mum in Jack And The Beanstalk, in a 2 million show that will run at London's most famous variety house for five weeks, joining its core Christmas gang: Julian Clary, Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers and Gary Wilmot. 'We've waited two years,' she said in a statement about bringing the classic panto into the Palladium. Yesterday Jack And The Beanstalk director and producer Michael Harrison explained that after French played the evil queen in Snow White at the venue in 2018, she had signed on for Jack. Dawn French will play Dame Trott, Jack's mum in Jack And The Beanstalk, in a 2 million show that will run at London's most famous variety house for five weeks Dawn French will be joining its core Christmas gang: Julian Clary (pictured), Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers and Gary Wilmot 'Then the pandemic hit,' he explained, which meant he wasn't able to mount a full-blown show with bells and whistles. Instead, he presented Pantoland a slimmed-down version of the time-honoured classic panto, two years running. But this one's big. 'The giant will be a huge animatronic one,' and sets and costumes will be 'spectacular', Harrison assured me. 'Dawn stuck with us until we were able to come back with a traditional panto title.' Usually the panto Dame is played by a man, but not always . 'We wanted to shake it up a bit,' said the showman, noting that the likes of Dora Bryan, Mollie Sugden and Yootha Joyce all played Dame-like characters at the Palladium. Jack And The Beanstalk director and producer Michael Harrison explained that after French played the evil queen in Snow White (pictured) at the venue in 2018, she had signed on for Jack He added that Dawn's Dame will not be the usual panto baddie. 'This time she'll be the force for good.' Harrison and Clary will work on their drafts of the script. Then Harrison will visit Dawn at her Cornish home so she can add comic touches. The special effects giant will have a flesh-and-blood wife, Mrs Blunderball. 'She's the villain,' Harrison said, but she hasn't been cast yet. Jack And The Beanstalk will boast an ensemble of 16 and a 12-piece orchestra. Rehearsals begin in November. Meanwhile, Dawn's taking her Dawn French Is A Huge T**t show, directed by Michael Grandage, on tour; and you can currently see her in Kenneth Branagh's film of Agatha Christie's Death On The Nile. With her and Julian Clary involved, this full-throttle Palladium panto is bound to be a laugh-a-thon. The show opens on December 10. Priority tickets on sale on Monday; general public seats on Tuesday. A good bit of Kit for Henry! I did a double-take watching director Max Webster's scathing interpretation of Henry V (starring a stirring Kit Harington) at the Donmar. The night I was in, Thomas Dennis was understudying the sulky French Dauphin. He was a dead ringer for Putin's (long) table guest, French president Emmanuel Macron. Webster leaves you in no doubt of the barbarity of war; it's refreshing that this Henry V is not a jingoistic flag-waving exercise. The battle choreography is good, too, as is Adam Maxey's baritone. Telephone drama rings alarm bell The telephone is Danielle de Niese's co-star in a new film version of Jean Cocteau's play La Voix Humaine, set to a score by Francis Poulenc. The Royal Opera House and BBC co-production has an air of danger, and poignancy, as de Niese's Elle (right), alone in her boudoir, makes a desperate phone call to a lover about to cast her aside. The phone is the only tool that links the lovers in director James Kent's sultry, atmospheric film. Danielle de Niese stars in a new film version of Jean Cocteau's play La Voix Humaine, set to a score by Francis Poulenc There's a nice pre-performance scene in which de Niese discusses this with conductor Antonio Pappano. I'd like to see producer David Parfitt bring this team together again. La Voix Humaine will be shown on BBC2 in the spring. Caitriona Balfe sported a glamorous Carolina Herrera black dress at the premiere of Outlander's sixth season, which took place in London, but she still managed to get dressed up for a special remote event at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills on Thursday. The 42-year-old actress looked worlds away from her character Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser as she rocked an eye-catching outfit to pose for solo photos before explaining her reasoning for staying behind in LA. She took to Twitter to explain that she couldn't be at the in-person event due to her status as a new mother, and asked her fans for a little grace as she navigates 'adapting' to a new world. Showing up: Caitriona Balfe sported a glamorous Carolina Herrera dress at the premiere of Outlander's sixth season, which took place in London, but she still managed to get dressed up for a special remote event at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills on Thursday Doing her best: She told fans on Wednesday that she wouldn't be able to attend the event across the pond, but she would still attempt to dial in remotely Balfe donned a puffy black blouse that featured popped-out sleeves during the evening. The Belfast actress also wore a slim-fitting maxi skirt and high-heeled shoes, both of which matched the color of her top. The performer added a bit of shine to her outfit with a set of sparkling earrings and carried a small rose gold clutch with her at the event. Her typically free-flowing brunette locks were tied up into a tight bun for the length of the premiere. Fashionable: Balfe donned a puffy black blouse that featured popped-out sleeves during the evening Keeping it consistent: The Belfast actress also wore a slim-fitting maxi skirt and high-heeled shoes, both of which matched the color of her top Balfe has led the cast of Highlander ever since its premiere, which took place in 2014. The performer portrays Claire Beauchamp Fraser, a World War II nurse who finds herself transported back in time to the 18th century. She stars alongside Sam Fraser, who plays Jamie Fraser, a Scottish warrior and her romantic interest. The program is based on Diana Gabaldon's book series of the same name, with its first installment being published in 1991. Star of the show: Balfe has led the cast of Highlander ever since its premiere, which took place in 2014 She was later forced to quell social media chatter after being criticized for not showing up at the physical premiere. She was later forced to quell social media chatter after being criticized for not showing up at the physical premiere. 'To all those saying it's shameful I'm not there in person, I understand you're disappointed but I also ask for some understanding as a new mom,' she wrote. 'I'm trying to do the best I can and not being able to fly across the world like I used to is a change but we are adapting.' Outlander has received much critical acclaim ever since its initial release, and the performances of its cast have been singled out for praise. Balfe has been the recipient of several awards for her work on the program, and she has been nominated for a Golden Globe on several occasions. She noted that Fraser was particularly driven by the idea of creating her own future during an interview with Elle. Offering insight: The performer spoke about her character during an interview with Elle, where she expressed that Fraser was particularly driven by the idea of creating her own future 'Claire thrives on the unknown, and is forging her way through that by going forward,' she said. Balfe said that fans of the program had much to look forward to in the forthcoming season, when the character would experience various changes of heart. 'It's really lovely to actually finally unpick her in a way, and find her core vulnerabilities,' she said. Building hype: Balfe then expressed that fans of the program had much to look forward to in the forthcoming season, when the character would experience various changes of heart 'There's really great stuff for Claire this season. We've got some great directors back, and I think we're playing around again with the style of the show, so that's really exciting,' she said. She said that being pregnant while working on the new set of episodes was not particularly easy to manage, although she was proud of her work. Balfe welcomed her son in August. 'There was COVID, it was winter, shooting every single day for 14-hour daysit wasn't the easiest six months, but it was good,' she recalled. The sixth season of Outlander is currently set to premiere on Starz on March 6th. Advertisement Radio king Kyle Sandilands and his pregnant fiancee Tegan Kynaston pulled out all the stops for their baby's gender-reveal party on Sydney Harbour on Friday. The expectant couple hired a superyacht for the occasion and arranged for planes flying overhead to release blue smoke indicating they're having a baby boy. They invited the whole KIIS FM production crew to celebrate, and other guests included Kyle's longtime co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson, and his good friend John Ibrahim, who was joined by his model partner Sarah Budge. The king and queen have arrived! Kyle Sandilands (left) and his pregnant fiancee Tegan Kynaston (right) pulled out all the stops for their baby's gender-reveal party in Sydney on Friday afternoon Congratulations! Planes flying overhead released blue smoke indicating they're having a boy 'Boy!' Kyle and Tegan kissed on the deck after discovering they're going to be parents to a son Extravagant display: The planes soared across the sky pouring out plumes of blue smoke The KIIS FM presenter, 50, and communications executive, 36, arrived at the event in a chauffeur-driven white Rolls-Royce. The couple, who got engaged in Port Douglas over the Christmas holidays, held hands as they boarded the yacht, and were in good spirits despite the rainy weather. Kyle kept a watchful eye on his bride-to-be as she made her way down a set of stone steps in a pair of stiletto heels before boarding the luxury vessel. Tegan offered a glimpse of her baby bump in a leggy white mini dress. No expense spared! The expectant couple hired a superyacht for the occasion, and invited the whole Kyle and Jackie O Show production crew to celebrate Waiting game: Kyle, Tegan and their guests waited patiently for the planes to fly overhead Baby on board! Tegan offered a glimpse of her baby bump in a leggy white mini dress as she arrived at the gender-reveal party She wouldn't miss it! Other guests included Kyle's longtime co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured) Guests: Kyle's friend John Ibrahim (centre) was joined by his model partner Sarah Budge (left) Tegan accessorised with dark sunglasses and styled her blonde hair loosely. Kyle, meanwhile, kept things simple in his signature black T-shirt and shorts. The guests dressed in colours reflecting the gender they expected the child to be, with John and Sarah wearing powder-blue outfits upon their arrival. The boat was decorated with pink and blue balloons, plus a floral display. Guessing game: The guests dressed in colours reflecting the gender they expected the child to be, with John and Sarah wearing powder-blue outfits upon their arrival Pals: Kyle and John have been close friends for years, and there are rumours the Kings Cross nightclub identity could be the baby's godfather Arriving in style! Kyle and Tegan were driven to the party in a white Rolls-Royce by Prestige Hire An elaborate cake embellished with the words 'Baby Sandilands' was also prepared. The four-tiered cake featured baby animals, including an elephant, monkey and giraffe, with a lion wearing a crown on top. While Kyle has said he didn't know the child's gender ahead of time, he hinted Tegan was having a boy during an interview with the 3pm Pick-Up earlier this month. Gang's all here! Kyle and Tegan's family, friends and colleagues all gathered on deck for the air show Emcee: KIIS FM producer 'Snappy Tom' Whittaker (far left) was broadcasting live from the superyacht On the list: The guests mingled around the top and bottom decks in the lead-up to the gender reveal Attention-grabbing: City workers were stunned by the over-the-top display taking place in the harbour Secret: The two pilots were among the few people allowed to know the child's gender ahead of the announcement Lavish: An elaborate cake embellished with the words 'Baby Sandilands' was also prepared Incredible: Guests were treated to a candy buffet, which included chocolate-coated strawberries and cupcakes, which were all pink and blue themed Suspicions: While Kyle has said he didn't know the child's gender ahead of time, he hinted Tegan was having a boy during an interview with the 3pm Pick-Up earlier this month He made the remark while speaking about some of the pregnancy keepsakes he and Tegan planned to preserve in a photo album. Kyle said that in addition to the baby's umbilical cord and Tegan's positive pregnancy test, he'd be keeping the child's foreskin once it gets circumcised. 'We've kept the [test] stick, I've got it in a photo album, and the next thing to go in the album is the cord and the foreskin,' he said. 'I'm keeping it in the photo album!' Did he let it slip? Kyle hinted they were having a boy while speaking about some of the pregnancy keepsakes he and Tegan planned to preserve in a photo album Details: He said that in addition to the baby's umbilical cord and Tegan's positive pregnancy test, he'll be keeping the child's foreskin once it gets circumcised He also detailed the first time Tegan revealed to him she was pregnant. 'I was overjoyed, picked her up, swung her around,' Kyle recalled. 'I was very happy.' Kyle's manager Bruno Bouchet told Daily Mail Australia at the time: 'Both Kyle and Tegan don't know the baby's gender.' Don't jump the gun! Kyle's manager Bruno Bouchet told Daily Mail Australia at the time: 'Both Kyle and Tegan don't know the baby's gender' Hopes: Kyle had previously said on air he wanted to have a girl or a 'little gay son' Kyle had previously said on air he wanted to have a girl or a 'little gay son'. He also praised his partner's 'beautiful, big, meaty t***ies' since becoming pregnant. The couple, who have been dating since late 2019, learned Tegan was expecting at the start of the month. Baby joy: The couple, who have been dating since late 2019, learned Tegan was expecting at the start of the month Looking fresh: Jackie O, who recently recovered from Covid, looked chic in a flowing orange skirt and a black top, which she teamed with a white blazer and black heels 'We're having a baby!' Kyle declared on air on February 14, as the entire KIIS FM studio cheered. He also joked he 'plans to hire a dozen Fijian nannies' once the baby is born. Tegan, who is three months pregnant, also revealed at the time her fiance had been busy preparing for their child's arrival, even helping pick out cribs. The pair began trying for a baby last year. Sony Pictures is getting creative to promote their star-studded action-thriller Bullet Train, enlisting star Brad Pitt to narrate a promo for the fake train line in the film, Nippon Speed Line. The 58-year-old actor narrates a 30-second promo for Nippon Speed Line, and is seen briefly in the first footage from the film. The promo also teases that fans can, 'get on board March 2,' with a Nippon Speed Line website that counts down to that date, when the first trailer will debut. Narrate: Sony Pictures is getting creative to promote their star-studded action-thriller Bullet Train, enlisting star Brad Pitt to narrate a promo for the fake train line in the film, Nippon Speed Line Trailer: The promo also teases that fans can, 'get on board March 2,' with a Nippon Speed Line website that counts down to that date, when the first trailer will debut The promo begins with a Japanese woman in a kimono, spinning a parasol before a shot of a bullet train is shown speeding across the track. 'A new way to travel, tranquil, comfortable, fast,' Pitt narrates, as we see shots of Mount Fuji and other picturesque shots of the Japanese countryside. 'Travel doesn't have to be hectic. Join us for a truly unforgettable experience. NSL, get on board March 2,' Pitt says as we see the NSL logo. Train: The promo begins with a Japanese woman in a kimono, spinning a parasol before a shot of a bullet train is shown speeding across the track Countryside: 'A new way to travel, tranquil, comfortable, fast,' Pitt narrates, as we see shots of Mount Fuji and other picturesque shots of the Japanese countryside 'You put peace out in the world, you get peace back,' Pitt says, as we see a brief shot of a bruised and battered Pitt sitting on the train. Unfortunately none of the other characters from this star-studded cast were seen in this teaser, but the full cast will certainly be on display in the first trailer on March 2. The movie is adapted from Kotaro Isaka's 2010 novel Maria Beetle, published in English as Bullet Train. Bruised Brad: 'You put peace out in the world, you get peace back,' Pitt says, as we see a brief shot of a bruised and battered Pitt sitting on the train The story follows five assassins who all end up on the same bullet train and realize their jobs are all interconnected. Pitt stars as a character known as Ladybug, with Sandra Bullock as Maria Beetle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Tangerine, Joey King as Prince, Andrew Koji as Kimura, Brian Tyree Henry as Lemon and Zazie Beetz as Hornet. The cast also includes Logan Lerman, Masi Oka, Hiroyuki Sanada, Karen Fukuhara and rapper Bad Bunny. Same train: The story follows five assassins who all end up on the same bullet train and realize their jobs are all interconnected David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) directs from a script by Zak Olkewicz (Fear Street: Part Two - 1978). Sony Pictures has set a July 15, 2022 release date for Bullet Train, putting it up against STX's Bed Rest and Focus Features' Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. Pitt will also have a small role in The Lost City with Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum and Daniel Radcliffe, in theaters March 25. Five years after his sudden passing, the family of actor Bill Paxton has reached a settlement with an anesthesiologist medical group named in a lawsuit filed in connection with his death. Attorneys for the General Anesthesia Specialists Partnership filed documents on Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking approval of the $1 million settlement. The agency was involved in Paxtons heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, just two weeks before his death on Feb. 25, 2017 at age 61. Advertisement The Twisters actor initially underwent a procedure to repair a damaged valve on on Feb. 14, 2017. The following day, he received another emergency surgery to repair a damaged coronary artery, but his health continued to decline. Paxtons death certificate says he died from a stroke. Advertisement While General Anesthesia denied liability in this matter, the agency said the settlement would reasonably compensate plaintiffs and avoid exposing defendant to an expensive and time consuming litigation, according to court documents obtained by Deadline. Bill Paxton (Christopher Polk) Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > The agency also emphasized that its personnel complied with the standard of care insofar as their involvement in the care and treatment of ... Paxton, and nothing their personnel did or didnt do caused or contributed to his death. The settlement would also see Dr. Moody Makar, an anesthesiologist named as a defendant, dismissed from the lawsuit without payment, according to NBC News. General Anesthesia attorney, Robert Reback, said the move was a business decision. Following Paxtons tragic death, the actors widow Louise Paxton and their children, James and Lydia Paxton, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2018. The defendants who did not settle Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Dr. Ali Khoynezhad, a cardiothoracic surgeon employed by the hospital are slated to go to trial on Sept. 19. Theyre accused of providing the on-screen star with negligent diagnosis, management, and treatment, ultimately leading to the complications that caused his sudden and untimely death. According to court documents, the operating surgeon used a high risk and unconventional surgical approach with which he lacked experience and which was, based upon information and belief, beyond the scope of his privileges. The defendants are also accused of downplaying the risks linked to the procedure. Paxton got his start in acting in the early 70s, appearing in smaller roles before going on to nab more notable parts in popular films like The Terminator, Weird Science and Aliens in the 80s. He also went on to appear in Tombstone and Titanic. On the small screen, the actor starred in the HBO series Big Love and received an Emmy nomination for his lead role on the History Channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys. Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim has been best friends with Kyle Sandilands for years. So it's no surprise that John and his partner Sarah Budge stepped out to attend Kyle and his pregnant fiancee Tegan Kynaston's gender-reveal party in Sydney on Friday. The happy couple wore matching blue to celebrate the exciting news that Kyle and Tegan are having a baby boy. Feeling blue? It was no surprise that John Ibrahim (center) and his partner Sarah Budge (left) stepped out to attend Kyle and his pregnant fiancee Tegan Kynaston's gender-reveal party in Sydney on Friday John looked dapper in a blue button-up shirt and cream coloured chinos that matched his lace-up shoes. Model Sarah was just as stylish in white pants, a matching top and an elegant blue blazer. Her short black hair was styled and tousled and she wore a pair of designer sunglasses to add another element to the look. Despite the wet weather, the pair appeared to be in good spirits as they laughed and smiled while making their way to the superyacht where the party was being held. Style: John looked dapper in a blue button-up shirt and cream coloured chinos that matched his lace-up shoes Radio king Kyle and his pregnant fiancee Tegan pulled out all the stops for their baby's gender-reveal party on Sydney Harbour. The expectant couple hired a superyacht for the occasion and arranged for planes flying overhead to release blue smoke indicating they're having a baby boy. They invited the whole KIIS FM production crew to celebrate, and other guests included Kyle's longtime co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson. All smiles: Despite the wet weather, the pair appeared to be in good spirits as they laughed and smiled while making their way to the superyacht where the party was being held The KIIS FM presenter, 50, and communications executive, 36, arrived at the event in a chauffeur-driven white Rolls-Royce. The couple, who got engaged in Port Douglas over the Christmas holidays, held hands as they boarded the yacht, and were in good spirits despite the rainy weather. While Kyle has said he didn't know the child's gender ahead of time, he hinted Tegan was having a boy during an interview with the 3pm Pick-Up earlier this month. Kate Hudson arrived at the Miami International Airport out in a fashionable ensemble on Thursday. The actress, 42, stepped out in a thin white tank top and matching sweats. Her red coat hung loosely off her shoulders and stopped around her knees. The Almost Famous star carried several of her bags together including a large brown rolling suitcase. Fashionable for travel: Kate Hudson arrived at the Miami International Airport out in a fashionable ensemble on Thursday She donned a red face covering, a pair of glasses with clear rims and a blue purse wrapped around her waist. Her golden locks fell past her shoulders with a prominent middle part. Hudson's arrival in Miami came the day after she had a fun interaction with the former No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani. Looking good: The actress, 42, stepped out in a thin white tank top and matching sweats. Her red coat hung loosely off her shoulders and stopped around her knees Traveling heavy: The Almost Famous star carried several of her bags together including a large brown rolling suitcase Mask on: Kate wore a red face mask amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic Fan favorite: Fans sought autographs from Kate as she arrived in Miami The actress shared a shot of her eldest son, Ryder Russell, 18, rocking a tee with the star emblazoned on the front of it. 'Better put a lock on that closet son cause I'm coming for that tee,' she jokingly captioned the snap, which unexpectedly earned recognition from Stefani. Stefani, 52, then reassured Hudson that there was 'no need to steal! I've got something better for you.' Hudson shares Ryder with ex husband Chris Robinson, 55, who she divorced in 2007 after seven years of marriage. Cracking a joke: Kate Hudson had a fun interaction with Gwen Stefani in the comment section of her latest Instagram post on Wednesday Huge family: Hudson has three children with the different past relationships She also has a 10-year-old son named Bingham with musician Matt Bellamy. The Fools Gold actress welcomed her third child, daughter Rani, in 2018. She shares the three-year-old with fiance Danny Fujikawa, 35. Stefani is also a mother of three. She welcomed sons Kingston, 15, Zuma, 13, and Apollo, seven, during her marriage to Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, 56. Natalie Portman has been spending plenty of time in Australia over the last couple of years for various projects and filming commitments. And on Thursday, the actress and her husband Benjamin Millepied, along with their two children Aleph and Amalia, stepped out for dinner in Sydney's Coogee. Natalie, 40, put on a casual display in a striped black and white T-shirt and a pair of oversized jeans. Out and about: On Thursday, Natalie Portman and her husband Benjamin Millepied, along with their two children Aleph and Amalia, stepped out for dinner in Sydney's Coogee (all pictured) She carried a grey sweater in one hand, accessorised with a black crossbody bag, and wore a pair of blue and grey Nike sneakers. Cinematographer Benjamin also kept things casual and discreet in an all black look with a dark navy blue jacket. Portman abruptly pulled out of her movie Days of Abandonment, which was set to be filmed in Sydney, for 'unforeseen personal reasons' last year. Style: Natalie, 40, put on a casual display in a striped black and white T-shirt and a pair of oversized jeans The family wasted no time returning to America, as they were seen bundling their belongings from their Vaucluse property into a limo. Days later, Natalie was spotted out and about in Los Angeles. The abrupt departure occurred towards the start of Sydney's prolonged lockdown due to the Delta variant of Covid-19. It was announced on August 2 that Natalie had quietly pulled out of the movie just a day before filming was set to commence. Hands full: She carried a grey sweater in one hand, accessorised with a black crossbody bag, and wore a pair of blue and grey Nike sneakers The move effectively put a stop to production on Days of Abandonment, as the project was left without a lead actress. 'Due to unforeseen personal reasons, Natalie Portman has stepped down from HBO's Days of Abandonment prior to the start of filming,' HBO said in a statement. 'Unfortunately, the production will not move forward. We are very sorry we won't be able to bring this beautiful story to the screen with our talented writer/director and cast. Chill: Cinematographer Benjamin also kept things casual and discreet in an all black look with a dark navy blue jacket 'We send our sincere thanks to our cast, producers, and crew for all their passion and hard work.' Natalie was also set to executive produce the film, based on the best-selling novel by Elena Ferrante. The movie had been in pre-production, and centred around a woman named Tess, who abandoned her own dreams in favour of maintaining a stable home life, only for her husband to walk out on her. Exit: Portman abruptly pulled out of her movie Days of Abandonment, which was set to be filmed in Sydney, for 'unforeseen personal reasons' last year The Federal Government had committed $3.4million to the project as part of its location incentive program, while Communication Minister Paul Fletcher had said he expected the production to generate more than $25million for the local economy. While it's not known what 'personal reasons' prevented her from going ahead with the film, Natalie has deleted the majority of posts from her Instagram account. Natalie, her husband and their two children had relocated Down Under in September 2020 ahead of her filming Thor: Love and Thunder in Sydney. She's the co-founder and designer of popular activewear brand P.E Nation. And on Thursday, Pip Edwards swapped her colourful tights for a chic all-black ensemble. Posting to her Instagram, the 41-year-old flaunted her fit physique in a top with cut-out detailing by Christopher Esber. So chic! On Thursday, Pip Edwards (pictured) swapped her colourful tights for a chic all-black ensemble, which showcased her taut abs in a racy cut-out top by designer Christopher Esber All eyes were on her taut mid section and ripped abs, which were on display in the racy number, valued at $695. The successful business owner matched the trendy top with a pair of $425 jeans from Re/Done. 'Back to black,' she appropriately captioned the post, adding a black heart emoji. Pricey: All eyes were on her taut mid section and ripped abs, which were on display in the racy number, valued at $695. The successful business owner matched the trendy top with a pair of $425 jeans from Re/Done To accessorise, Pip added a pricey Rolex watch to her wrist, gold hoop earrings and a layering of rings, Later in the night, the blonde beauty also gave fans a glimpse at her black heels, which she picked up from luxury item reseller Hock Your Frocks. Pip's glamorous look comes after she sported her own label on Instagram earlier this week. Nice shoes! Later in the night, the blonde beauty also gave fans a glimpse at her black heels, which she picked up from luxury item reseller Hock Your Frocks On Tuesday, she showed off her incredibly toned figure as she took part in a Pilates class. The popular designer stretched out on a yoga mat as she posed for a mirror selfie on Instagram. Pip is a regular at Fluidform Pilates, a movement method by Kirsten King that is popular in Sydney thanks to its celebrity clientele. Drakeo the Ruler's brother, Devante Caldwell, and members of the Stinc Team - an LA-based rap group that was led by the brothers - filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging that the negligence of concert promoters resulted in the rapper's murder. In the documents, obtained by TMZ, Devante alleges that concert promoters did not keep the rapper, 28 - born Darrell Caldwell - safe, and that negligence allowed for the tragic 'vicious mob attack' to take place. Caldwell refers to the security measures as 'lackadaisical to totally absent,' and is suing Live Nation, C3 Presents, Bobby Dee Presents and Snoop Doggs LLC, among others, for millions in damages. Lawsuit: Drakeo the Ruler's brother, Devante Caldwell, has filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging that concert promoters' negligence resulted in the rapper's murder; The rapper pictured in 2021 In the lawsuit, Drakeo's brother - who was with him at the time of his death - claims that the musician was attacked by a mob of 50 to 100 people, some of whom had knives. The attack - which lasted up to 15 minutes - left Drakeo's entourage fighting for their lives, without proper security. It also took emergency personnel up to 30 minutes to reach the rapper, who later died in the hospital. Caldwell claims that because the concert took place at L.A.'s Exposition Park, promoters should have been prepared for gang violence, seeing as Drakeo had previously been a target of gang threats. Tragic: In the documents, obtained by TMZ , he alleges that concert promoters did not keep the L.A. rapper, 28, safe and that negligence allowed for the tragic 'vicious mob attack' to take place Attorneys representing Drakeo's family announced plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against organizers of the disastrous Once Upon a Time in LA music festival last month. In a press conference with family their attorney said they would be suing the organizers including Live Nation, which organized Travis Scott's tragic Astroworld festival for 'at least' $20 million. Drakeo the Ruler was only 28 when was stabbed to death by a group of masked individuals backstage at the Banc of California Stadium on December 18, 2021. Legal action: Attorneys for the family announced plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the promoters of the Once Upon a Time in LA festival last month; pictured in January At the start of the conference, lawyers shared video from the night of the stabbing to claim that the rapper wasn't properly protected by security from the organizers. 'His life was taken way too soon, and it should never have happened,' one attorney said. He claimed the video showed Drakeo the Ruler being 'lynched' by 'over 40 to 60 people.' Unprotected? 'You didn't see one security officer there,' the attorney added, before noting that the video allegedly showed a fence being opened to let more attackers in He also said the video ran 'for a full minute' without showing the rapper with any security personnel to defend him. 'You didn't see one security officer there,' he added, before noting that the video allegedly showed a fence being opened to let more attackers in. The attorney also claimed that there were members of the 'Bloods and Crips' gangs present at the festival. 'Live Nation, C3 Presents, Bobby Dee Presents and a whole host of others failed Mr. Caldwell and his family,' they said. They also expressed confidence that the people responsible for Drakeo's killing would be 'held accountable' by the district attorney. 'This should have never happened if those promoters had the proper security protocol,' the attorney concluded, adding that the killing was a 'preventable death.' Lawsuit targets: 'Live Nation, C3 Presents, Bobby Dee Presents and a whole host of others failed Mr. Caldwell and his family,' they said; Drakeo seen December 12 in San Bernardino, California Drakeo's family later said that he had been stabbed in the neck during the attack by at least 40 people backstage. After the attack, which occurred around 8:30 p.m., he was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where he was declared dead later that night. Snoop Dogg and other headliners canceled their sets after learning of the attack, and police later shut down the festival prior to its scheduled 11 p.m. end time. In March of 2018, Drakeo was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, along with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, which left him facing a life sentence. The charges were in relation to a shooting in Carson, California in December 2016 in which one person was killed and two were injured, but he was acquitted of the charges in July 2019. Legal history: Drakeo was previously acquitted on charges including first-degree murder after a 2016 shooting, but the district attorney refiled minor charges afterward. He accepted a plea deal after three years in jail; Pictured with rapper T.I. in 2021 However, the district attorney refiled charges of criminal gang conspiracy and shooting from a motor vehicle a month after the jury was initially deadlocked on those counts. After being held in jail for three years, Drakeo accepted a plea deal allowing him to be released if he pleaded guilty to fire a gun from a vehicle, according to NPR. During his time in Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles, the rapper recorded his critically acclaimed album Thank You for Using GTL. Robert Pattinson has revealed his relief at being able to put The Batman behind him - following a gruelling three year shoot costing a whopping 100 million and a reported fallout with the blockbuster's perfectionist director, Matt Reeves. He also confessed that he was the type who would be 'looking for the exit strategy before you've even started' something, adding that the picture 'was one of the hardest things I've done in my life'. Not only did the actor, 35, break his wrist while performing a stunt early in the production process, he was allegedly forced to reshoot scenes over 50 times and refused to keep in shape while taking six months out due to lockdown restrictions. Phew! Robert Pattinson (pictured in-character) has admitted he was 'looking for an exit strategy' from The Batman - after breaking his wrist on-set, battling with loneliness and 'falling out with director Matt Reeves when he was forced to reshoot a scene over 50 times' He reportedly caused crew members to become paranoid when he tested positive for Covid upon his return, battled with loneliness while living in a tent around the country and had his take on Batman's voice overruled after two weeks of filming. At the superhero film's London screening at Waterloo's BFI IMAX on Wednesday, the former Twilight star let out to The Sun: 'It's a relief. For (director) Matt Reeves, this is five years. I've been kind of working on this for three years.' Originally set for release in 2018, R-Patz is thought to have been paid $3m (2.24m) to replace Ben Affleck, who had originally signed up to star in the titular role while directing and producing before suffering interferences in his personal life. Having transformed into the character for Batman v Superman and Justice League, Ben checked into rehab for alcohol addiction in 2018 amid his divorce from his then-wife Jennifer Garner, following a thirteen year marriage. Stressful: A source said: 'Matt (right) will insist on doing scenes over and over again and get bogged down in the tiny details. Sometimes it's like he doesn't know when to stop' (pictured with Robert) Matt then cast Zoe Kravitz to play Catwoman, but she was soon left praying he would call 'cut' before her co-star's sweat would fall in her mouth, during exhausting scenes which caused him to sweat profusely. A source had told the publication: 'Matt will insist on doing scenes over and over again and get bogged down in the tiny details. Sometimes it's like he doesn't know when to stop.' Lenny Kravitz's daughter stopped going out in fear of catching the virus and admitted she 'started to cry' after being fitted into her 'tight and restrictive' costume, although found solace in Robert, with Matt claiming the pair 'really connected'. In December 2020 and amid The Batman shoot, she filed for divorce from her husband Karl Glusman and it was said Robert had tenderly draped his coat over her shoulders during one shivering shoot. Talented: Matt then cast Zoe Kravitz (pictured left in-character) to play Catwoman, but she was soon left praying he would call 'cut' before her co-star's sweat would fall in her mouth, during exhausting scenes which caused him to sweat profusely. It was soon revealed thought that Zoe had begun dating Hollywood heartthrob Channing Tatum while Robert's relationship with model Suki Waterhouse went from strength to strength. The MTV Movie Award winner also confessed he was given a slap on the wrist just two weeks into filming after speaking with a whispery voice in his role as Bruce Wayne. He had been attempting to steer away from the 'gruff and gravelly' portrayal by his predecessors, Ben, Christian Bale, George Clooney and Michael Keaton. Robert went on to claim he felt 'alone' while living in a tent between Liverpool, London and Glasgow, which left him disconnected with the outside world. Oh dear: Originally set for release in 2018, R-Patz is thought to have been paid $3m (2.24m) to replace Ben Affleck (pictured in-character), who had originally signed up to star in the titular role while directing and producing before suffering interferences in his personal life He said: 'You're not really allowed out of the studio with the suit on, so I barely knew what was going on at all outside.' Moviegoers excited to see Robert's The Batman movie in cinemas from March 4 should brace themselves, as it's set to be the longest film in the franchise ever at nearly three hours long. The hotly-anticipated comic book film is said to have a running time of two hours and 55 minutes, including eight minutes of credits, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ben will reclaim his role in The Flash later this year alongside former Batman star Michael, who will also play the character but in another dimension. With studio bosses planning for a trilogy in Robert's installment, The Sun has claimed that a sequel may not be so certain. Matt Reeves' representatives have been contacted for comment by MailOnline. The forthcoming motion picture features an ensemble cast including Dano as Edward Nashton/The Riddler, Zoe as Catwoman/Selina Kyle and Colin Farrell as The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot. The movie is set to arrive in theaters March 4. They grew very close during the 2018 series of Strictly Come Dancing. And almost four years later Ashley Roberts and Janette Manrara headed out together for a night out in London on Thursday. The Pussycat Doll, 40, and the former Strictly dancer, 38, looked to be in high spirits during a night on the town. BFF's: Ashley Roberts and Strictly pro Janette Manrara looked typically chic as they wrapped up in stylish oversized coats for a night out on the town in London on Thursday The BFF's linked arms as they strolled through the English capital looking typically stylish. Ashley showed off her incredible style once again as she wrapped up in a cream oversized coat and ripped flared jeans. She sported a stylish oversized white shirt while flashing a glimpse of her toned midriff. Night owls: The Pussycat Doll, 40, and the Strictly dancer, 38, looked to be in high spirits after a night out on the town She donned a pair of pointed toe stilettos while carrying her essentials in a pretty white leather handbag. Her blonde locks fell loose leaving her sharp bangs framing her stunning visage. Meanwhile, It Takes Two host Janette opted for a trendy over-sized beige padded coat which she paired with suede tassel ankle boots. Bond: The BFF's linked arms as they strolled through the English capital looking typically stylish Her brunette bob was worn down in natural waves as she carried her essentials in a cream handbag which she draped over her shoulder. Showing off her flawless complexion, she opted for minimal makeup on the night, dabbing a hint of highlighter to her cheekbones. The outing comes as the friends continue to feature prominently on our TV screens and airwaves. Janette left Strictly last year to host it's spin off show in September. Meanwhile, Ashley, who hosts the Showbiz news on Heart FM, appears alongside Amanda Holden and Jamie Theakston. Trust: The friends grew very close during the 2018 series of Strictly Come Dancing On Monday the I'm A Celeb star spoke with Keith Lemon on air about their new show The Real Dirty Dancing. Keith and Ashley will co-host the show, which sees celebrities battle it out to recreate iconic moves from the Dirty Dancing. The Real Dirty Dancing includes the likes of Marnie Simpson, Anthea Turner and James 'Arg' Argent - with Ashley revealing on Heart that Keith even gets emotional during filming. The series aired on E4 and will feature ten episodes starting on February 21. Ashley is back at work after recently enjoying a half-term getaway to Oman, where she was soaked up the middle eastern sun. The star shared a number of holiday snaps to her 693k Instagram followers, showing off her toned figure. Erin Barnett has revealed that she is warring with doctors who refuse to give her a hysterectomy. The 26-year-old former Love Island Australia contestant has had 17 surgeries starting at age 14, due to suffering severe endometriosis and PCOS. She wants to have a hysterectomy to end her pain - but can't find a surgeon who will agree to perform the operation. At war: Erin Barnett (pictured) has revealed that she is warring with doctors who refuse to give her a hysterectomy. The 26-year-old former Love Island Australia contestant has had 17 surgeries starting at age 14, due to suffering severe endometriosis and PCOS 'It's not a cure but I would probably be 90 per cent pain-free and today I'm living with about 1000 per cent pain every day,' she told Nine Honey on Friday. 'Sure, I would go into menopause and there are increased risks of having a stroke or heart attack in my 60s. 'But that means I have to live in pain and have constant surgeries for another 30 years. I accept the risks and yet they still won't do it'. Help needed: She wants to have a hysterectomy to end her pain - but can't find a surgeon who will agree to perform the operation. 'It's not a cure but I would probably be 90 per cent pain-free and today I'm living with about 1000 per cent pain every day,' she said Erin went on to say that she was able to get breast implants, but won't be granted a hysterectomy despite suffering pain that she describes like being burned from the inside, and has previously had a three-kilo cyst. 'When I asked for large breast implants my surgeon advised against it, but it was what I wanted so I understood the risks and signed the form,' she said. Previously describing her symptoms on Instagram, Erin wrote: 'Don't know what's going on! But look at how swollen I am. I'm in agony! I feel like my insides are on fire'. Struggle: Erin went on to say that she was able to get breast implants, but won't be granted a hysterectomy despite suffering pain that she describes like being burned from the inside, and has previously had a three-kilo cyst A furious Erin continued: 'When you've had 17 surgeries since you were 14, left fallopian tube/ovary removed, two cyst ruptures and diagnosed with endometriosis, adenomyosis and PCOS, then come back and tell me how to live my life.' She added: 'You have no idea what this amount of pain, suffering and surgeries will do to you mentally, let alone physically.' Erin first discovered she had these debilitating disorders when she had a three-litre cyst removed from her ovary at the age of 15. She the joyful royal who recently celebrated her 50th Birthday. But on Thursday, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was helping others celebrate their achievements as she attended the 2022 EliteForsk Awards in Copenhagen. At the ceremony, she awarded prestigious winners, who were honoured by the Danish Council for their independent research. Day out: on Thursday, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (pictured) stepped out to help others celebrate their achievements as she attended the 2022 EliteForsk Awards in Copenhagen For the event, the Princess donned a black cigarette pant, teamed with a turtle-neck floral blouse in a retro-style pattern. To accessorise she donned a black belt at her waist, which accentuated her slim figure. Her brown locks were curled elegantly, while her make-up was soft to suit the formal occasion. Looking good! For the event, the Princess donned a black cigarette pant, teamed with a turtle-neck floral blouse Stunning: Her brown locks were curled elegantly, while her make-up was soft to suit the formal occasion Warm: Later in the ceremony, she seen popping a black coat on as she left the event Later in the ceremony, she seen popping a black coat on as she left the event. The Australian-born beauty was undertaking royal duties, by honouring winners and congratulating them as they received their awards. At one stage she posed for photos with recipients and then applauded their efforts alongside fellow eventgoers. What an honour! Mary pictured with award recipients at The 2022 EliteForsk Awards Royal duties: The Australian-born beauty was undertaking royal duties, by honouring winners and congratulating them as they received their awards Proud: At one stage she posed for photos with recipients and then applauded their efforts alongside fellow eventgoers Crown Princess Mary's sighting comes weeks after she celebrated her 50th Birthday. Earlier this month, she marked the occasion by releasing new portraits of her with her family. The glamorous royal could be seen posing with her husband of 17 years Crown Prince Frederik, 53. Good company: Crown Princess Mary (centre) pictured with recipients Fifty and fabulous: Crown Princess Mary's sighting comes weeks after she celebrated her 50th Birthday Also pictured were their four children, Prince Christian, 16, Princess Isabella, 14 and twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent, 11, in the photos. In the beautiful pictures - which saw the family all opt for white shirts - were shared with the public on Instagram to mark Mary's milestone, which she celebrated privately with her family at Amalienborg Palace. The Tasmanian native, who married into the Danish royal family in 2004, has become a hot favourite with royalists since. Advertisement She's never far from the beach, thanks to her jet-set lifestyle. And Alessandra Ambrosio enjoyed another idyllic day by the shore during her family trip to St Barts on Thursday. The 40-year-old swimsuit designer wowed in a skimpy orange bikini as she took to the sea for some snorkeling with her boyfriend Richard Lee. Beach babe: She's never far from the beach, thanks to her jet-set lifestyle. And Alessandra Ambrosio enjoyed another idyllic day by the shore during her family trip to St Barts onm Thursday The model flaunted her toned and tanned figure in her halter-neck two-piece, which was covered in an orange and yellow tie-dye design. With tie sides, the skimpy thong-style bottoms highlighted the Brazilian's pert derriere as she posed and strutted along the white sands. Alessandra accessorised with coordinating shades and left her long dark hair loose. The look of love: The 40-year-old swimsuit designer wowed in a skimpy orange bikini as she took to the sea for some snorkeling with her boyfriend Richard Lee During the sweltering day on shore, the beauty decided to take a dip in the ocean, donning snorkeling gear alongside her beau Richard. After emerging, she was seen pouring bottled water over her hair before settling down for some sunbathing. The former Victoria's Secret beauty seems to be forever on vacation, hitting the Caribbean island only weeks after her lengthy New Year's break in her native Brazil. Wow: The model flaunted her toned and tanned figure in her halter-neck two-piece, which was covered in an orange and yellow tie-dye design Dressed for the sunshine: Alessandra accessorised with coordinating shades and left her long dark hair loose Cheeky: With tie sides, the skimpy thong-style bottoms highlighted the Brazilian's pert derriere as she posed and strutted along the white sands Alessandra is holidaying with Richard and her two children Anja, 13, and Noah, nine, who she shares with her ex fiance Jamie Mazur. Alessandra and Jamie dated from 2005 to 2018. Alessandra is now with Lee. The pair have been romantically linked since February 2021 after they were captured going on numerous dates together in Los Angeles. The happy couple recently spent time in the model's native Brazil, with Richard referring to Alessandra as his official 'tour guide' on Instagram. Kicking back: Alessandra relaxed with her family in the blazing hot temperatures under a spot of shade Looking amazing: Alessandra showed off her tan as well as her model figure as she relaxed in the stunning surroundings With her man : The star was joined by her boyfriend of over a year Richard, who showed off his muscular frame in blue shorts Prior to Richard, the supermodel was romantically linked to designer Nicolo Oddi but the pair appear to have split up sometime before December 2020. As well as her family holidays, the Brazilian beauty is also keeping busy with business. She launched swimwear brand GAL Floripa in 2018. The cover girl said she created the company with her best friend Gisele and sister Aline because she believed in female bonds. 'Celebrating their motherland roots and sisterhood bonds, iconic beauty Alessandra Ambrosio, with her soul sisters Gisele Coria and Aline Ambrosio, join forces to conceive an authentic and personal project: a lifestyle brand with purpose to inspire women to embrace their femininity with a holistic approach,' it said on her website. Cooling off: During the sweltering day on shore, the beauty decided to take a dip in the ocean, donning snorkeling gear alongside her beau Richard Spot of action: Alessandra donned a blue and green snorkel as she stuck close to her boyfriend Time of her life: Alessandra couldn't hide the smile from her face as she splashed around in the blue waves Family trip: Alessandra is holidaying with Richard and her two children Anja, 13, and Noah, nine, who she shares with her ex fiance Jamie Mazur. Alessandra and Jamie dated from 2005 to 2018 Business woman: As well as her family holidays, the Brazilian beauty is also keeping busy with business. She launched swimwear brand GAL Floripa in 2018 The name GAL Floripa symbolized the synergy between Gisele + Alessandra + Aline and the location where it was created and inspired by, Floripa. 'Growing up in Brazil, Gisele, Aline and I spent most of our summers together by the beach, immersed in the natural beauty of Florianopolis, known as 'The Magic Island', and spending almost every moment of the day in our swimwear,' said Alessandra. 'It makes sense that swimwear became like a second skin. With that knowledge and experience, the partners' designs, by women for women, highlight their understanding of how swimwear effortlessly enhances a woman's feminine figure, it said on the website. 'The spirit of GAL Floripa is aligned with Mother Nature's essence; it's many rhythms and flows, mysteries and magnificence, as well as connection of its elements with women's lives,' it was also shared. Hot stuff: After emerging from her snorkeling, she was seen pouring bottled water over her hair before settling down for some sunbathing The gunman who busted into the home of a former Kentucky lawmaker and then fatally shot his daughter inside their multimillion-dollar mansion earlier this week has been identified, but remained on the run Friday morning. The violence unfolded on Tuesday around 4:30 a.m., at the Willis County home of former Rep. C Wesley Morgan, according to a press release from the Kentucky State Police. Once inside, the intruder fatally shot Morgans 32-year-old daughter, Jordan Morgan, prompting her father to pull out his own firearm. Advertisement Gunshots were then exchanged between the homeowner and intruder, according to the statement. As a result, the homeowner sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and was transported to the University of Kentucky Hospital, where he was treated and released. The armed suspect left the residence after the shooting, and no arrests have been made at this time. Advertisement Authorities on Thursday revealed they were able to identify the suspected gunman as 23-year-old Shannon Gilday thanks to info provided by the community through the departments tip line, the Lexington Herald reported. Without everyones participation and without credible tips called into our office, wed be unable to be standing here today with this information, Sgt. Robert Purdy said. A motive in the shooting remained unclear. Gilday is facing charges including murder, assault, attempted murder, burglary and criminal mischief. State troopers warned that he is considered to be armed and dangerous. Hes described as 6 feet tall and 167 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Gilday was last seen on surveillance footage wearing a camouflage jacket and pants, a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, gloves, and a light-colored facemask. Authorities said he is likely driving a white 2016 Toyota Corolla with minor damage to the front grill, with a license plate reading 379-VMJ. Do not approach the vehicle or attempt to contact the driver for safety reasons, state police said. Anyone with additional information about the investigation is urged to call (Kentucky State Police) Post 7 at 859.623.2404. Advertisement Kim Kardashian and Julia Fox risked an awkward run in as they were both spotted enjoying the day out in Milan on Friday during the city's Fashion Week. To make matters more tense, both ladies seem to have been inspired by their shared ex's style, with the pair donning bizarre face coverings that Kanye West has favoured wearing of late. Kim, 41, filed for divorce from Kanye in February last year, while Julia, 32, enjoyed a six-week whirlwind romance with the rapper, before splitting earlier this month. In disguise? Kim Kardashian and Julia Fox risked an awkward run in as they were both spotted enjoying the day out in Milan on Friday during the city's Fashion Week For her outing, Kim covered up in a black hooded jacket and a pair of sunglasses, which would have meant she could go incognito, if it weren't for a pair of leather leggings highlighting her instantly recognisable curves. Kanye - who Kim recently revealed has left her in 'emotional distress' due to his consistent social media outbursts - is a fan of wearing face coverings, with the rapper becoming known for his collection of quirky balaclavas. Meanwhile Julia concealed her face with an unusual red headscarf that she paired with a latex top, black mini skirt and scarlet knee high boots. Kanye guess who inspired her? Kanye is a fan of wearing face coverings, with the rapper becoming known for his collection of quirky balaclavas, and recently enjoyed a six-week whirlwind romance with Julia (pictured together Jan 24) Is that you, Kim? The reality star, 41, covered up in a black hooded jacket and a pair of sunglasses, which would have meant she could go incognito, if it weren't for a pair of leather leggings highlighting her instantly recognisable curves It's the second time Kim and Julia have sported similar looks in recent days. On Wednesday, Kim stepped out during the bi-annual fashion event wearing an orange PVC co-ord and a black Prada bralet with chic sunglasses . On the same day, actress Julia arrived at the Diesel fall presentation wearing a strangely similar ensemble, including a neon orange PVC two-piece. Julia was also wearing a black bralet like Kim, while the two women also opted to don a pair of gloves for their respective outings. Striking: Julia concealed her face with an unusual red headscarf that she paired with a latex top, black mini skirt and scarlet knee high boots Inspired: Despite only dating Kanye for six weeks, the actress seemed to have picked up on some of his style tips These boots were made for walking! Julia turned the pavement into the catwalk as she strutted her stuff down the street Meanwhile, Kim has certainly been making an impression during her time in the Italian city, and on Thursday donned three head-turning looks. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star put her hourglass curves on full display in a rubber gown as she headed out in the Italian city, shortly after also turning heads in an oversized suit and latex gloves. Showcasing her famous figure in all its glory, the mother-of-four wowed in a skintight black dress that clung to her ample assets and accentuated her tiny waist. Awks! Kim and Julia suffered an awkward fashion faux pas when they sported the same outfit to Milan Fashion Week The eye-catching garment incorporated a pair of rubber gloves in a look not to dissimilar to the one she had worn earlier in the day. Kim added to the glamour with a pair of black shades and slicked her raven locks into a chic chignon bun. Earlier in the day, Kim looked typically glam in an oversized black suit jacket with matching trousers and a pair of black heels. Kim accessorised with a pair of blue gloves and donned the same quirky shades she wore earlier in the day. The business mogul wore her brunette locks slicked back in a low bun and sported her signature nude make-up look which enhanced her natural beauty. It followed yet another stylish ensemble, in which Kim wowed in a green leather co-ord for the Prada Milan Fashion Week show. Fashionista: Kim has certainly been making an impression during her time in the Italian city, and on Thursday donned three head-turning looks as she made the most of the events during Milan Fashion Week Stunning: The reality star put her hourglass curves on full display in a rubber gown as she headed out in Milan on Thursday Sizzling: Showcasing her famous figure in all its glory, the mother-of-four wowed in a skintight black dress that clung to her ample assets and accentuated her tiny waist Sophisticated: Kim looked the epitome of chic in a black suit as she stepped out earlier in the day She was showing her support for her sister Kendall, 26, as she led the runway alongside other top models including Kaia Gerber, 20, during the Fall/Winter presentation. Kim was earlier joined by her brother Rob's ex-girlfriend, Rita Ora, at the event and it appears the two have remained friends from back in the day as they posed for snaps together inside the show. The two women oozed star quality as they arrived at the venue and stopped to take pictures and wave to waiting fans before heading in to watch the show from the front row. Stunning: It followed yet another stylish ensemble, in which Kim wowed in a green leather co-ord for the Prada Milan Fashion Week show Delightful duo: Kim was earlier joined by her brother Rob's ex-girlfriend, Rita Ora, at the event and it appears the two have remained friends from back in the day Proud sister! Kim sat front and centre on the FROW as she proudly watched Kendall It comes as Kim recently revealed she begged a judge to declare her single and revealed she had been suffering from 'emotional distress' as a result of Kanye's social media antics. In new documents obtained by TMZ, Kim stated, 'I very much desire to be divorced.' She told a judge she had requested Kanye keep their separation private 'but he has not done so'. Chic: Kim's younger sister Kendall Jenner rocked the runway at the Prada fashion show Still pals! Kim and Rita posed for snaps together alongside designer Raf Simons and former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris Carine Roitfeld inside the show 'Kanye has been putting a lot of misinformation regarding our private matters and co-parenting on social media which has created emotional distress,' she says in the new documents. Indeed, the drama between Kim and Kanye has been playing out publicly on social media in recent days, where the rapper has been posting screenshots of text messages sent to him from his ex and gone to war with her new boyfriend Pete Davidson. He previously said Kim was putting their daughter North West on TikTok 'against his will', accused her of 'kidnapping' their eight-year-old, and claimed she had accused him of 'putting a hit out on her'. Kanye has also asked to keep Kim from transferring assets out of any trust - a request Kim has fired back at due to their existing prenup, which already keeps their trusts and assets separate. In order to continue running her businesses, Kim needs to access her trust. Kanye's lawyers have also recognized the validity of the prenup in the documents. Kim also said Kanye's attorneys have admitted to struggling to get through to him. They attended Vogue editor Edward Enninful's wedding of the year on Tuesday. And close friends Naomi Campbell, 51, and Marc Jacobs, 58, continued with their own after party celebrations as they dined out together in London on Thursday. The fashion industry experts, indulged in some five star dining at lavish Knightsbridge restaurant Zuma. Dine time: Naomi Campbell, 51, and designer Marc Jacobs, 58, headed to Zuma restaurant in London on Thursday, two days after attending Vogue editor Edward Enninful's wedding The British supermodel cut a low-key figure as she stopped out donning one of her signature fedora hats. Wrapping up for the evening, she showed off her eye for style in an electric blue Prada coat while opting for comfort in a pair of lightweight nylon trousers with a gold zip. Known for experimenting with her style, Naomi stepped out in a quirky pair of black platform Chelsea boots with a purple sole. BFF's: Marc wore an oversized glossy green padded jacket while layering up with a striped t-shirt She accessorised with a pair of oversized sunglasses while carrying a vintage check black leather Burberry shoulder link bag. Also stepping out in style was her BFF Marc who wore a similar style of shoe, donning a pair of chunky platform ankle boots. Oozing confidence on the evening Marc looked chic in an oversized glossy green padded jacket while layering up with a striped t-shirt. The fashion icon rocked a denim midi-skirt over a pair of black leggings while carrying his essentials in a black leather tote bag. He kept his black hair slicked back while enjoying an e-cigarette as he linked arms with his confidante. On the town: British supermodel Naomi cut a low-key figure as she stopped out donning one of her signature fedora hats Eccentric: Wrapping up for the evening, Naomi showed off her eye for style in an electric blue Prada coat while opting for comfort in a pair of lightweight nylon trousers with a silver zip New shoes? Known for experimenting with her style, Naomi stepped out in a quirky pair of black platform Chelsea boots with a domineering purple sole Smoky: He kept his black hair slicked back while enjoying an e-cigarette Edgy: The fashion icon stepped out in wearing a denim midi-skirt over a pair of black leggings while carrying his essentials in a black tote bag It comes as British Vogue's Edward Enninful looked the picture of newly-wedded bliss on Wednesday in the first photo of him and new husband Alec Maxwell since their lavish English countryside wedding. The couple tied the knot on Enninful's 50th birthday on Tuesday at Longleat House, in Wiltshire, in front of starry pals including Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and the Marchioness of Bath, who lives at the 16th-century stately home. One expert estimates the day could have cost in the region of 600,000, even without the fee to hire the exclusive venue, which is understood to have been offered to the grooms as a wedding present by the Marchioness. Close friend Ronnie Cooke Newhouse, the owner of a luxury fashion advertising agency, shared a snap of the grooms with their arms around each other on Wednesday, as guests joined the couple for a tour of the 9,000-acre estate and famous safari park. Burberry-clad Edward and Alec, who have been together for almost two decades, smiled as they showed off matching platinum bands in the candid snap. The celebrations continued with a lunch at The Bath Arms, a nearby 17-bedroom pub, which was entirely booked out to allow some 80 guests met for lunch. It comes as guests shared details of the big day, including the personalised menus featuring the couple's beloved bulldog Ru and the miniature bottles of Champagne they were given to enjoy the morning after. Meet my new husband! British Vogue's Edward Enninful looks the picture of newly-wedded bliss in the first photo of him and new husband Alec Maxwell since their lavish English countryside wedding Newlyweds: Close friend Ronnie Cooke Newhouse, the owner of a luxury fashion advertising agency, shared a snap of the grooms with their arms around each other on Wednesday, as guests joined the couple for a tour of the 9,000-acre estate Others, including Derek Blasberg, Karen Elson and Diane von Furstenberg, shared photos of the chic ensembles they sported to the black tie soirree. The event kicked off on Tuesday evening with a handful of the couple's nearest and dearest invited to see them exchange vows in the Orangery. Ordinary couples must pay a minimum of 13,800 for venue hire of the Orangery for their ceremony and a marquee for the reception. Black tie brilliance: YouTube fashion and beauty chief Derek Blasberg offered a behind-the-scenes look at getting ready with Diane von Furstenberg (pictured) All dressed up! Karen Elson, left, and Tabitha Simmons, right, shared their outfits from yesterday's wedding Little touches: Guests shared photos of the menu, printed with a cartoon of Edward and Alec's dog Ru (left) and the mini bottles of Champagne they were given to enjoy the morning after Taking in the sights: Guests drove through the Longleat Safari Park on Wednesday as the celebrations continued Party continues: Model RJ King (left with Alec Maxwell) was among the group of around 80 people, including the newlyweds, made their way to The Bath Arms on the Longleat estate for lunch on Wednesday (right) Guests were ferried in a fleet of black BMWs to the Longleat Estate. Some on the invite list were flown in by helicopter, including Victoria Beckham. It was a short trip for friends like Poppy Delevingne, Marc Jacobs and Italian model Bianca Brandolini, who checked into nearby Babington House, part of the Soho House group, ahead of the event. Earlier that day, Edward posted a snap to Instagram writing: '50th birthday on 22.2.22. Lets go'. The post was quickly flooded with comments from A-listers who couldn't wait to celebrate with him, including Poppy Delevingne, Munroe Bergdorf, Madison Headrick and Bianca Brandolini. Clan: Last night he shared a snap to Instagram at the Laylow restaruant in west London, which he captioned 'pre-birthday dinner' (From L-R Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Stella Maxwell, Rebecca Martinez, Riccardo Tisci Irina Shayk and Zoe Bedeaux) Edward and Alec, who live in west London, are expected to bring their beloved black-and-white Boston terrier Ru to the event for a double celebration that will also mark the Vogue editor's milestone birthday. Meanwhile, Naomi recently has insisted her daughter was not adopted while revealing her face for the first time in a new interview with British Vogue . The businesswoman stunned fans by announcing the birth of her daughter in May, just weeks after appearing on the New York Fashion Week runway without a visible baby bump. But she says the nine-month old child - whose biological father has never been named - is hers amid growing speculation regarding its biological parentage. Milestone: Earlier today, Edward posted a snap to Instagram writing: '50th birthday on 22.2.22. Lets go' Speaking to the latest edition of British Vogue while posing with her daughter for an exclusive cover shoot, the model confirmed: 'She wasnt adopted shes my child.' Naomi played coy during the new interview, and despite confirming her daughter is not adopted, refused to elaborate further on her first born. However she admitted that very few of her wide circle of friends and family members knew she was planning on becoming a parent. She explained: 'I can count on one hand the number of people who knew that I was having her. But she is the biggest blessing I could ever imagine. Its the best thing Ive ever done.' Naomi also revealed that the biggest surprise she's had from motherhood is putting someone else first, admitting it was a shock to be so 'completely selfless.' While Naomi may have found motherhood has softened her, it seems her diva behaviour hasn't completely disappeared, with the publication noting that the model was 34 days for the interview - which was originally scheduled to take place last year. Yet this could be as the model's schedule hasn't slowed down, with Naomi spending time in the south of France, Qatar, London, Los Angeles and Paris in just the past two months. Thankfully, Naomi said her little one doesn't mind flying, noting: 'I'm lucky my little one loves to travel like me no whimpering taking off or landing. She's a good girl: she sleeps very well, she hardly ever cries and I'm told she's very alert for her age. 'She's just started waving, which is fun. She laughs a lot. She's almost talking. I think she might walk before she crawls. And she's got six teeth already.' She added that her daughter 'is the biggest blessing I could ever imagine. It's the best thing I've ever done.' She continued: 'I always knew that one day I would be a mother, but it's the biggest joy I could ever imagine. I'm lucky to have her and I know that.' Naomi - who praised her nanny as an 'amazing daughter', went on to admit that she feels like a child again seeing the world through her daughter's eyes. And while she keeps her daughter mainly out of the spotlight, she revealed her little one is one of the best dressed babies in the business owing to all the designer gear she has been sent from her fashion world friends. He usually likes to sport a clean shaven appearance. But Kevin Bacon, was spotted Thursday with a moustache filming season three of his Showtime crime series City On A Hill in Brooklyn New York. The 60-year-old actor was seen in character, wearing dark glasses filming scenes next to a Boston police car - New York stands in for the shows 1990s Boston location. Cop Kev: Kevin Bacon was spotted with a moustache on Thursday as he filmed season three of his Showtime series City On A Hill in Brooklyn New York In a long dark grey coat, wine coloured shirt and a blue printed tie, the characters look was completed with snakeskin shoes. His grey hair was slicked back, the actor filmed a scene where the character smoked looking anxious in the busy street. The former Footloose star plays veteran FBI agent Jackie Rohr in the series. And his attempts of reducing the number of Boston homicides. Cop Tash: The former Footloose star plays veteran FBI agent Jackie Rohr in the series Season three: The show tells the fictional account of the real-life anti-crime effort to reduce the number of Boston homicides Smoking hot: The 60-year-old actor was pictured smoking behind the wheel while in character Wrapping up: The star also wore a black padded coat over his costume to wrap up from the cold between scenes. The star also wore a black padded coat over his costume to wrap up from the cold between scenes. Again filming in the street, his character now seemed more relaxed with his hands in his pockets. Kevin stars in the drama alongside Aldis Hodge, 35, who plays a by-the-book Assistant District Attorney from Brooklyn, Decourcy Ward, who comes to Boston tasked with reforming the Boston Police Department. He forms an unlikely alliance with Kevin's character Rohr and together they take on a gang of robbers based in Charlestown and led by working class father Frankie Ryan, played by Jonathan Tucker. The series, which should be hitting screens later this year, is based on an original idea by Ben Affleck, 46, and Chuck MacLean who are both executive producers along with Matt Damon, 48. Famous friends: The series is based on an original idea by Ben Affleck, 46, and Chuck MacLean who are both executive producers along with Matt Damon, 48. This comes as Kevin recently wrote a a sweet reply to a fan who told a heartwarming story about him in his Instagram comments. She wrote that Kevin and his wife Kyra Sedgwick 'once body blocked my toddler who was running toward traffic by the Apple Bank on Broadway.' The admirer gushed: 'Weve never forgotten your kindness,' and added that the incident took place a 'Long time agoShes 29!' 'She's 29!': She wrote that Kevin and his wife Kyra Sedgwick 'once body blocked my toddler who was running toward traffic by the Apple Bank on Broadway' Kevin took notice of the fan's remark and touchingly replied: 'It takes a village,' adding a heart emoji for good measure. He and Kyra married in 1988 after meeting on a Television set and have starred in many films together since then. The couple have two children - Travis, 32, and Sosie, who at 29 is the same age as the little girl Kevin and Kyra once protected in traffic. City on a Hill is available to stream only on Stan in Australia. Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed that he helped to rescue a family from a herd of cows after learning how to wrangle cattle for his role in The Power Of The Dog. The actor, who has landed an Oscar nomination for his role in the Netflix western, told Graham Norton he managed to 'part the waves' of animals in the field after returning from shooting the film in August. Benedict, who played volatile ranch owner Phil Burbank in the film, also revealed that director Jane Campion encouraged him to stay in character during breaks from filming, and he spent two months living on a ranch to get into the role. Hilarious: Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed that he helped to rescue a family from a herd of cows after learning how to wrangle cattle for his role in The Power Of The Dog Benedict explained: 'Jane encouraged me to stay in character. She was very secure about all the things I was insecure about and said, ''Do whatever you have to do to feel ownership of this very different lived experience.'' 'So, I went off to Montana for two months to find out what it is like to live on a ranch and to experience all those things you see in the film. It was incredible and so far from anything I have ever done.' The Avengers star then revealed his newfound herding skills were put to use when he discovered a family trapped in a field thanks to an intimidating herd of cows. Committed: The actor, who has landed an Oscar nomination for his role in the Netflix western, told Graham Norton he managed to 'part the waves' of animals in the field He explained: 'I came back from shooting the film in August and we were off to the beach. To get there we had to cross a field and in the field was a petrified family who just couldn't move, they were frozen because of a herd of cows with calves. ' 'I thought, ''I can do this,'' and I just sort of parted the waves of cattle. The family was like, ''That was incredible. Hey, aren't you Sherlock?'' It was very un-Sherlock activity!' Benedict also briefly touched on his Oscar nomination for Best Actor, after The Power Of The Dog received a staggering 12 nods ahead of the ceremony next month. Star: He said: ''I thought, ''I can do this,'' and I just sort of parted the waves of cattle. The family was like, ''That was incredible. Hey, aren't you Sherlock?'' It was very un-Sherlock activity!' Acclaimed: Benedict also briefly touched on his Oscar nomination for Best Actor, after The Power Of The Dog received a staggering 12 nods ahead of the ceremony next month Star-studded: Also set to appear on Graham's show are Drag Race icon RuPaul (left) and Normal People star Daisy Edgar Jones He said: 'Whatever happens on the night the whole raft of those nominations are so richly deserved and obviously I am thrilled that the four of us as a cast are nominated. 'We are going to be awesome on that dancefloor its going to be great no matter what happens.' Benedict was a guest on the show alongside Years and Years frontman Olly Alexander, Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones, actor and director Diane Morgan, and Drag Race icon RuPaul. Chic: Director Diane Morgan will also appear alongside Graham to discuss the second series of her show Mandy In the psychological drama Benedict plays a secretive and cruel rancher whose brother brings home his new wife and her son to the families 1920s Montana ranch. Kodi Smit-McPhee takes on the role as Peter Gordon who is tormented by Benedict's conflicted cowboy character, Phil, while Kirsten Dunst plays Phil's sister-in-law Rose, who descends into alcoholism thanks to the rancher's torment. The Power Of The Dog landed nominations for Best Actress, Achievement in Sound, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Cinematography, Production Design, Best Actor, Director and Best Picture. Superstar: Olly Alexander from Years and Years joins Graham for a chat about his new single with Regard and his upcoming tour The nomination for his role in the film will be Benedict's second Oscar nomination after he was nominated in 2014 for his role in The Imitation Game, only to lose to Eddie Redmayne for as Stephen Hawkins in The Theory Of Everything. South Australian actor Kodi, landed a spot in the best supporting actor category for his career-making turn. Whilst the movie's director Jane Campion, is the first woman to ever be nominated twice for Best Director, following her nod for 1993's The Piano. The Graham Norton Show airs on Friday 25th February on BBC One at 10.35pm and will be available on BBC iPlayer. Normal People is available only on Stan in Australia. They certainly know how to make an exit. And Amanda Holden and Charlotte Hawkins definitely caught the eye as they left Global's studios followin their respective shows in London on Friday. Heart FM radio host Amanda, 51, sported an all black ensemble, featuring a satin maxi skirt, a polo neck jumper and a chic duster coat. So chic! Amanda Holden and Charlotte Hawkins definitely caught the eye as they left Global's studios followin their respective shows in London on Friday The presenter paired her outfit with two-tone black and white heeled boots from and similar cross-body bag with big black sunglasses. Meanwhile, Charlotte added a pop of colour with a canary yellow waist-tie dress, teamed with a pair of simple white stiletto heels. The pair both kept their blonde locks down, with loose curls and natural makeup. Classy: Radio host Amanda, 51, sported an all black ensemble, featuring a satin maxi skirt, a polo neck jumper and a chic duster coat Lady in yellow: The GMB presenter opted for champagne court heels, carrying a black shoulder bag The GMB presenter carried a black shoulder bag following her presenting gig. The beauty, who also presents Classic FM, appeared on Good Morning Britain this morning, alongside Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard. While Amanda departed Global Studios after presenting Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston - where they awarded one lucky listener with 8,000. Sun-kissed: Charlotte has just returned back to the UK, after taking a family getaway to Middle-Eastern Oman Charlotte has just returned back to the UK, after taking a family getaway to Middle-Eastern Oman. She posted a series of adorable snaps from the sun-soaked holiday, posing for her 238k followers with seven-year-old daughter Ella. Amanda also has a sun-kissed glow, after celebrating her 51st birthday on a luxury holiday in Dubai. Busy! Amanda is also gearing up for the new series of Britains Got Talent later this year Tom Hardy looked glum as he stepped out for the first time since addressing claims that Charlize Theron felt threatened by his behaviour on the set of 2015 movie, Mad Max: Fury Road. The actor, 44, opted for a low-key look as he donned black sweats on his morning coffee run before he head to a martial arts gym in London. The pair worked together on the 2015 movie but had such an explosive relationship on set that they were often involved in intense shouting matches, with Theron calling Hardy a 'f***ing c***' after he made her wait on set for hours. Low-key: Tom Hardy stepped out in London on Friday after addressing Charlize Theron's claims that she felt threatened by his behaviour on the set of 2015 movie, Mad Max: Fury Road Out and about: The actor donned black trainers and a Chicago Cubs cap as he made his way to a martial arts gym Theron, 46, also had a female producer to be with her at all times as 'protection' as she was 'scared s***less' by 'aggressive' Hardy, 44, according to New York Times columnist Kyle Buchanan's new book. Addressing the tension Hardy admitted to Buchanan: 'In hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways. The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. 'What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me. Thats something that cant be faked. Id like to think that now that Im older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.' Hardy starred as the title character, who was played by Mel Gibson in the first three films in the series, while Theron starred as newcomer Imperator Furiosa, a lieutenant to the villain Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) who turns against her leader to team-up with Max. I was in over my head': Tom Hardy admitted Charlize Theron needed a 'more experienced' co-star on Mad Max: Fury Road after it emerged the actress 'wanted protection' from him on set In an excerpt of Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild And True Story Of Mad Max: Fury Roa, published by Vanity Fair, Natascha Hopkins, a stunt double on Fury Road, recounted how Theron didn't want to waste time on set, as she was a new mother at the time and was balancing her role with parenting. But camera operator Mark Goellnicht recalled how Hardy was often late for the start of shooting. He recounted one day when Theron was on set at eight o'clock sharp and got her makeup and costume set up before getting into the film's War Rig. However, despite producers making a 'special request' for Hardy to show up on time, it would be hours more before he arrived. 'Gets to nine oclock, still no Tom,' Goellnicht recounted. 'Charlize, do you want to get out of the War Rig and walk around, or do you want to . . . No, Im going to stay here. She was really going to make a point. She didnt go to the bathroom, didnt do anything. She just sat in the War Rig.' Hardy finally arrived after 11 a.m., while Theron had remained in the vehicle the entire time. 'She jumps out of the War Rig, and she starts swearing her head off at him, saying, Fine the f**king c*** a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that hes held up this crew, and How disrespectful you are!' Goellnicht continued. 'She was right. Full rant. She screams it out. Its so loud, its so windy he mightve heard some of it, but he charged up to her up and went, What did you say to me?' The camera operator said Hardy seemed 'quite aggressive,' and that his costar 'really felt threatened.' Stymied: Theron requested veteran producer Denise Di Novi accompany her on set, but producer Doug Mitchell forced her to stay at the production office to avoid slowdowns and to keep her away from director George Miller (R) 'That was the turning point, because then she said, I want someone as protection. She then had a producer that was assigned to be with her all the time,' he explained. 'It got to a place where it was kind of out of hand, and there was a sense that maybe sending a woman producer down could maybe equalize some of it, because I didnt feel safe,' Theron explained. 'I kind of put my foot down. [Director] George [Miller] then said, Okay, well, if Denise comes . . . He was open to it and that kind of made me breathe a little bit, because it felt like I would have another woman understanding what I was up against,' she continued. However, she noted that 'when I was on set, I still felt pretty naked and alone,' as the producer Denise Di Novi was forced to stay in the production office and wasn't allowed on set on the orders of producer Doug Mitchell. Although Hardy at one time said he was attached to more Mad Max sequels, it's unclear if those films are still in the works. Advertisement Kendall Jenner has stripped naked in a jaw-dropping shoot with i-D magazine. The model, 26, is no stranger to showing off her figure in an array of scantily-clad looks, but has now bared all alongside a candid interview about her struggles with panic attacks. For the shoot, based around the issue's Out Of Body theme, Kendall also slipped into a barely-there black bikini before posing in a bold orange one-piece. Wow! Kendall Jenner has stripped naked in a jaw-dropping shoot with i-D magazine While Kendall sported an array of edgy looks for the shoot, it was her black and white nude image that set internet ablaze. Other images also showed the star posing in an extremely high-cut black bikini while seductively seated next to a swimming pool. Ditching her long raven tresses in favour of a funky blonde crop, Kendall also sported a black crop top and gravity-defying skirt, before posing in a rust one-piece and cowboy boots. Revealing: Ditching her long raven tresses in favour of a funky blonde crop, the model also sported a black crop top and gravity-defying skirt for an artistic image Revealing: Other images also showed Kendall posing in an extremely high-cut black bikini while seductively seated next to a swimming pool Alongside gracing the cover of i-D, the star also detailed her struggles with panic attacks in a candid interview, explaining she combats them with exercise, meditation and writing in her diary. The shoot was helmed by the lens of famed photographer Luis Alberto Rodriguez. Kendall - who oversees the brand 818 Tequila and is the Creative Director for FWRD - shared all the images on her Instagram page for her 220million followers. Revealing: Another image saw Kendall don a revealing rust-coloured monokini and leather shorts, teamed with cowboy boots Inside the magazine the star - who is currently in Milan for fashion week - admitted that she still suffers from depression, and she finds it helpful to write her thoughts in a diary. 'Yeah, its like an old-fashioned diary. It has a lock on it and I hide it, I lock it away: mine is so, so secretive. Im like, "No one can ever get this,"' she told the publication. 'Its important to have a space thats just for you where you can let out your happiness,' she said, On show: Kendall is pictured on the runway at the Prada fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2022/2023 on Thursday in Milan 'Your anger, frustrations, and stress, the things that are freaking you out, the things that are making you happy and even just ideas.' And she feels it all starts from inside: 'Our minds are extremely powerful,' but she can still struggle with panic attacks. 'I was having a panic attack two nights ago, and I was just like, "Oh, but you know what? Im just going to pick up this book and try to forget."' Wild: The Vogue model also shared that staying physically active helps combat her anxiety, whether that be riding her horse, walking her dog and going to Pilates with pal Hailey Bieber Daring: Alongside gracing the cover of i-d the star also detailed her struggles with panic attacks in a candid interview The Vogue model also shared that staying physically active helps combat her anxiety, whether that be riding her horse, walking her dog and going to Pilates with pal Hailey Bieber. 'I think I feel really good mentally when I feel really good physically,' said the daughter of momager Kris Jenner. The catwalk queen added that she finds peace as well by practicing meditation and doing sound baths. She also relayed that she is a 'control freak' who oversees her own career after being in the hands of others. 'At a young age, I had to give up that control and let someone else portray me in the way that they wanted to, for an editorial or a campaign or commercial whatever it was. That was my job.' 'Now, being on the other side is taking that control back in a way, building my own brand, and feeling empowered and it has been really amazing. As a woman and as someone who comes from a really female-driven family, it was really cool to put all my tools to work.' Angelina Jolie says it is vital that 'everything possible is done' to support those fleeing their homes in Ukraine. The Hollywood star and humanitarian - who was appointed the Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2012 - is 'praying' for Ukrainians after Russia's President Vladimir Putin launched an unprecedented attack on the country on Thursday. On Instagram, Angelina, 46, wrote: 'Like many of you, I'm praying for the people in Ukraine.' Help is needed: Angelina Jolie says it's vital that 'everything possible is done' to support those fleeing their homes in Ukraine. Seen on February 9 in Washington DC Hard to look at: The Hollywood star and humanitarian - who was appointed the Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2012 - is 'praying' for Ukrainians after Russia's President Vladimir Putin launched an unprecedented attack on the country on Thursday. A bombed building in Kyiv 'My focus along with my @refugees colleagues is that everything possible is done to ensure the protection and basic human rights of those displaced, and refugees in the region,' said the ex of Brad Pitt. 'We have already seen reports of casualties and people starting to flee their homes to seek safety. It is too soon to know what will happen, but the significance of this moment for the people of Ukraine, and for the international rule of law cannot be overstated.' The Salt star also shared a statement from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who are working with the United Nations, Ukraine and other countries in Europe to provide humanitarian support. Crushing: 'The humanitarian consequences on civilian populations will be devastating. There are no winners in war, but countless lives will be torn apart,' added the daughter of actor Jon Voight Time for action: On Instagram, Angelina, 46, wrote: 'Like many of you, I'm praying for the people in Ukraine.' Seen earlier this month Help them: 'My focus along with my @refugees colleagues is that everything possible is done to ensure the protection and basic human rights of those displaced, and refugees in the region,' she said The statement read: 'We are gravely concerned about the fast-deteriorating situation and ongoing military action in Ukraine. 'The humanitarian consequences on civilian populations will be devastating. There are no winners in war, but countless lives will be torn apart,' added the daughter of actor Jon Voight. 'We have already seen reports of casualties and people starting to flee their homes to seek safety. Civilian lives and civilian infrastructure must be protected and safeguarded at all times, in line with International Humanitarian Law. Her personal life: Jolie is best known for her Tom Raider films as well as the Maleficent franchise. She is co-parenting six children with her ex-husband Brad Pitt. Seen in 2008 Her little ones: Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Maddox Jolie-Pitt and Knox Jolie-Pitt attend the Eternals UK Premiere in October 'Accordingly, we have stepped up our operations and capacity in Ukraine and neighbouring countries,' it was added. 'We remain firmly committed to support all affected populations in Ukraine and countries in the region.' Jolie is best known for her Tomb Raider films as well as the Maleficent franchise. She is co-parenting six children - Maddox, Pax, Shiloh, Zahara, Vivienne and Knox - with her ex-husband Brad Pitt. On Wednesday she shared images from Cambodia with her teen daughter Shiloh. The siren noted she feels like she is 'healing' these days. Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter Kiera reunited with her brother Spencer after three years during a night out at Chiltern Firehous in London on Thursday night. The Irish model and actress flashed a beaming smile as she arrived at the venue with her sibling after being kept apart due to travel restrictions during the pandemic. Kiera, 39, and Spencer are in London launching their new YouTube channel as well as to promote the documentary The Real Charlie Chaplin. Legs eleven! Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter Kiera reunited with her brother Spencer after three years during a night out at Chiltern Firehous in London on Thursday night The siblings enjoyed a delicious Chaplin dinner at IT London before heading to Chiltern afterwards. Kiera caught the eye in a pair of skintight nude PVC leggings, which she wore with a black top and a tweed jacket and leopard print boots. She added a further pop of colour to the eccectic look with a striped rainbow scarf and a slick of red across her lips. Kiera carried her belongings in a blue Dior saddle bag. Reunited: The Irish model and actress flashed a beaming smile as she arrived at the venue with her sibling after being kept apart due to travel restrictions during the pandemic New projects: Kiera, 39, and Spencer are in London launching their new YouTube channel as well as to promote the documentary The Real Charlie Chaplin Kiera lives with her boyfriend in Switzerland while Spencer currently resides in London with his girlfriend. Kiera, who is also the great-granddaughter of American dramatist Eugene O'Neill, was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and grew up in Coriser-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. She moved to Paris at the age of 16 and signed with NEXT Model Management, beginning her career in the modelling industry. Kiera has previously spoken about her grandfather Charlie in interviews, saying there was a statue of him in the Swiss town where she was raised. Glam: She added a further pop of colour to the eccectic look with a striped rainbow scarf and a slick of red across her lips She told the San Francisco Gate in 2006: 'I grew up in the same town in Switzerland where my grandfather lived from the time he fled the US in the 1950's until the end of his life, so there was a Charlie Chaplin statue and a Charlie Chaplin park, and a bar named after him. 'I remember thinking, "OK, I know he was a famous actor, but is that our park because our names are on it? Is that our bar?" ' She revealed it was only after undertaking some research she discovered just how influential her relatives were. She said: 'I remember being a young girl in school and looking in the dictionary and seeing the names "Charlie Chaplin" and "Eugene O'Neill" and starting to realize little by little that, my God, they were both immensely important to the whole world, not just our family.' Laura Anderson has undergone a hair transformation, by chopping her long extensions into a chic bob after being inspired by Nicole Scherzinger. The former Love Island star, 32, took to Instagram to debut the new look, filming herself with her long blonde tresses before cutting to the glamorous shorter hairdo. Wearing a full face of glamorous makeup accentuating her pretty features, she donned a simple grey t-shirt for the first clip, with her hair styled poker straight. Wow! Laura Anderson has undergone a hair transformation, by chopping her long locks into a chic bob, (left) after being inspired by Nicole Scherzinger She then underwent both a hair makeover and an outfit change, slipping into a hot pink blazer, with her new hair styled in curls. Laura was inspired by Nicole who also underwent a chop earlier this week, and revealed her new hairdo the same way with the same audio. Captioning the video, Laura wrote: 'I did it. Inspired by the Scherzy'. Inspiration: Laura was inspired by Nicole who also underwent a chop earlier this week, and revealed her new hairdo the same way with the same audio The post comes after Laura explained why she forgave her boyfriend Dane Bowers and took him back three years after he cheated on her. The TV personality met Dane at a party in November 2017 where they had instant chemistry, despite their 10 year age gap and began dating. However, Laura was rocked when she discovered that Dane was seeing someone else six months in. She explained to The Sun: 'We weren't in a relationship at that point, and we never said we were exclusive, but I was disappointed, so I confronted him and ended it.' She then signed up to join Love Island, where she met Paul Knops but that relationship ended after she heard reports he had a secret girlfriend. After a string of failed relationships, Laura turned to Dane for comfort and her feelings for him soon turned romantic earlier this year. She added that she made him work for it, but didn't want shut herself off to him after their past together and soon they got back together. Laura said: 'I never thought I'd be able to trust Dane again, but I trust him more than anyone I've ever been with even people who haven't cheated.' Jurors in the trial of an ex-Kentucky cop accused of blindly discharging his weapon in the 2020 raid that killed Breonna Taylor on Friday visited the scene of her death an apartment riddled with bullets during the chaotic gunfire. Brett Hankison is accused of firing 10 shots from outside Taylors residence in Louisville, endangering a man, pregnant woman and child living in a neighboring unit. Advertisement After testimony from forensics experts on Friday morning, the jurors were taken to the St. Anthony Gardens apartments to see the exterior of the building, Taylors apartment and the adjacent apartment that was also hit by police gunfire, the Louisville Courier Journal reported. Judge Ann Bailey Smith and lawyers on both sides were present, but Hankinson did not make the trip. Smith said the visit was meant to help the jurors understand court exhibits. Advertisement Breonna Taylor (AP) Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. > Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping when Hankison, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove burst into their apartment on March 13, 2020. Walker, who believed the undercover officers to be intruders, used his own gun to fire off a warning shot. All three officers returned fire. Mattingly, the only officer who entered the residence, fired six shots while Cosgrove fired 16 shots. Hankison also unleashed 10 rounds from outside through a sliding-glass door and bedroom window, both of which were covered by blinds or curtains. Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was struck six times in the chaos. She fell to the ground in the hallway just outside her bedroom and was pronounced dead on the scene. No one was directly charged in connection with her death. Hankison is facing three counts of felony wanton endangerment and has pleaded not guilty. Advertisement Hankinson is not facing charges for 26-year-old Taylors death, which ignited protests nationwide, but for his decision to recklessly open fire amid the narcotics raid, prosecutors say. His trial started Wednesday. Mattingly and Cosgrove were not indicted. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron ruled that they were justified in shooting because Taylors boyfriend fired the first shot. Kim Kardashian and her ex-husband Kanye West's former flame Julia Fox suffered an awkward fashion faux pas when they sported the same outfit to Milan Fashion Week. The reality star, 41, stepped out during the bi-annual fashion event wearing an orange PVC co-ord and a black Prada bralet with chic sunglasses on Wednesday. On the same day, actress Julia, 32, arrived at the Diesel fall presentation wearing a strangely similar ensemble, including a neon orange PVC two-piece. Awks! Kim Kardashian and her ex-husband Kanye West's former flame Julia Fox suffered an awkward fashion faux pas when they sported the same outfit to Milan Fashion Week Julia was also wearing a black bralet like Kim, while the two women also opted to don a pair of gloves for their respective outings. Kim opted for minimal make-up and wore her raven tresses swept back into a sleek ponytail and finished the outfit with a pair of stilettos. Julia donned more typically dramatic make-up including a statement eye look and a slick of matte black lipstick. Stylish: The reality star, 41, stepped out during the bi-annual fashion event wearing an orange PVC co-ord and a black Prada bralet with chic sunglasses on Wednesday Kanye is known as an influencial presence in the fashion world and its clear to see that both women continue to be inspired by his style ideas. Last week Julia shut down claims she was copying Kim's style during her relationship with Kanye, shortly before walking for LaQuan Smith in a cleavage-baring black dress that was nearly identical to one Kim wore in 2019. The Uncut Gems actress opened the show in the racy gown just moments after opening up on her split from West, admitting it was 'difficult' and 'hectic' dating the rapper during their two month romance. Looking good: Kim opted for minimal make-up and wore her raven tresses swept back into a sleek ponytail and finished the outfit with a pair of stilettos Wow: Julia was also wearing a black bralet like Kim, while the two women also opted to don a pair of gloves for their respective outings Much like Kim's, Julia's black dress was cut in a triangular shape at the front which flashed plenty of underboob. It cinched into her curves along the waist, skimmed the floor, and hugged her toned arms. There was also no missing the similarities to Kim, who modelled a vintage Thierry Mugler from the designer's Spring/Summer '98 collection at the Hollywood Beauty Awards in 2019. Julia's runway presentation came after she confirmed that she had split from rapper Kanye, 44, following a six-week whirlwind romance. Twinning! Julia Fox raised eyebrows once again as she walked the LaQuan Smith fashion show in New York on Monday wearing a dress that was nearly identical to one Kim Kardashian (pictured right 2019) previously wore She confirmed her separation from Kanye on Monday in a post denying she was in tears after their break-up, and admitted she was never 'in love' with the rapper. Rather than be upset, rising star Julia referred to herself as a '#1 hustler' and hinted that she now plans to write a tell-all book about the short-lived romance. 'Y'all would love if I was soooo upset! The media would love to paint a picture of me a sad lonely woman crying on a plane by myself but it's NOT TRUE!!' Julia told fans in a note. 'Why not see me for what I am which is a #1 hustler. I came up yall lol and not only that but Kanye and I are on good terms! I have love for him but I wasn't in love w the man Jesus Christ what do u guys think I am 12 years old?!' Kanye and Julia met on New Year's Eve and then moved at warp speed into a full-blown relationship, with the actress even penning an essay about their romance. Doubling down on her denial of being upset, Julia added: 'and for the record the only time I cried in 2022 was on Feb 6th on my dead BFF bday.' Julia was referring to the tragic death of good friend and celebrity manager Chris Huvane. She finished her statement by writing: 'Anyway If u want the full tea ur gonna have to buy the book when it comes out :)' It's all over! The Uncut Gems actress, 32, opened the show in the racy gown just moments after opening up on her split from Kanye West, admitting it was 'difficult' and 'hectic' dating the rapper during their two month romance (pictured in January) 'FYI I wore this on Halloween 2021': Julia recently caught some flack after she appeared on Instagram in an oozing blue chest mold that looked nearly identical to one worn by Kim Recently Julia swatted down claims she was copying Kim after she caught flack for wearing an oozing blue chest mold that looked nearly identical to one previously donned by Kim. 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. '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. Kardashian first appeared in her own chest mold top in early January 2022 as part of the latest campaign for her KKW Fragrance line. Interestingly, Kardashian is actually a LaQuan Smith fan. Since the brand's formal debut in 2013, the label has garnered a cult following of high-profile celebs including Beyonce, Rihanna, Kim, Winnie Harlow, and more. She was recently living it up in luxury in the Maldives. However, Amber Davies got straight back to reality on Friday as she got stuck into rehearsals ahead of her debut in Cabaret All Stars. The former Love Island contestant, 25, looked incredible in some form-fitting dusty pink gym gear as she arrived at Proud Embankment in London. Stunner: Amber Davies looked incredible in some form-fitting dusty pink gym gear as she arrived at Proud Embankment in London on Friday The TV personality's hotly anticipated residency for the renowned show begins on March 2nd. Amber proudly flaunted her incredible dancer physique in the figure-hugging ensemble while showing off her taut abs. She paired the look with a pair of Adidas Yeezy sneakers while carrying her essentials in a black oversized bag. Toned: Amber proudly flaunted her incredible dancer physique in the figure-hugging number while showing off her taut abs Looking tanned and toned after her recent trip away, the actress showed off her natural glow as she wore her hair in a high pony-tail ahead of her hectic afternoon. The brunette beauty went make-up free showcasing her glowing sun kissed skin. It comes as the Welsh native took to Instagram on Saturday to share a slew of bikini snaps while holidaying in the Maldives. Wow: Looking tanned and toned after her recent trip away, the actress showed off her natural glow as she wore her hair in a high pony-tail ahead of her hectic afternoon Natural beauty: The brunette beauty went make-up free showcasing her glowing sun kissed skin The reality star relaxed by the swimming pool, as she soaked in the sun's rays and ate breakfast from a floating table in the water. She recently checked into the swanky five-star Ayada Maldives hotel, where rooms can set guests back by up to an eye-popping 1,500 per night. Amber showed off her incredible body and golden tan as she posed up a storm in the turquoise two-piece. Flawless: Amber recently checked into the swanky five-star Ayada Maldives hotel, where rooms can set guests back by up to an eye-popping 1,500 per night Living the high life: Captioning the stunning shots, she wrote: 'Brekky in the pool?? Oh.. go on then' Captioning the stunning shots, she wrote: 'Brekky in the pool?? Oh.. go on then' (sic). Amber's trip comes after she was left heartbroken when the touring production of Bring It On: The Musical was cancelled last month. The cheerleader-themed show became a casualty of the pandemic after many theatres temporarily shut in January due to rising Covid cases. Kate Garraway has revealed her husband Derek Draper is only able to sit in his wheelchair for 20 minutes at a time before he flags, as she gave an update on his condition. The Good Morning Britain presenter, 54, appeared on Thursday's This Morning to discuss her second documentary about Derek's recovery for Covid-19, with the star also detailing their trip to Mexico for Derek to receive specialist treatment. And Kate admitted that with Derek's struggle to sit for long periods of time, she told how she initially thought the idea of him making the 5,000 mile trip was 'bonkers'. Derek was struck down with coronavirus in March 2020 and put into an induced coma by doctors - with Kate revealing he would currently die if was left unaided for three days without expert care. Difficult: Kate Garraway has revealed her husband Derek Draper is only able to sit in his wheelchair for 20 minutes at a time before he flags, as she gave an update on his condition Sharing how Derek's needs for 24/7 care can no longer be sustainable in the long run, Kate opened up on Derek making the trip to Mexico after a doctor out there offered to help. She explained: 'There's a point where money runs out. If there isn't the structure there to help long term, what are we going to do?' 'We can't give up on him. This particular doctor who had dealt with people offered us the chance to be a kind of test case.' She added of her former lobbyist husband: 'He can sustain sitting in a wheelchair for about 20 minutes before he flagged so the thought of going 5,000 miles seemed bonkers. Update: The Good Morning Britain presenter, 54, appeared on Thursday's This Morning to discuss her second documentary about Derek's recovery for Covid-19, with the star also detailing their trip to Mexico for Derek to receive specialist treatment 'I think Ben Shephard was a little bit concerned about my sanity.' However, despite her pal's concerns, the broadcaster reckons the trip gave Derek 'hope' for his future. She said: 'But he [Ben] then got it. We sort of worked hard and funnily enough, I sort of thought that at the end of the journey, if nothing else comes from this, the fact that hes [Derek's] done this. 'I can already see has said something to himself about the possibility of hope.' Thoughts: And Kate admitted that with Derek's struggle to sit for long periods of time, she told how she initially thought the idea of him making the 5,000 mile trip was 'bonkers' Candid: Sharing how Derek's needs for 24/7 care can no longer be sustainable in the long run, Kate opened up on Derek making the trip to Mexico after a doctor out there offered to help Kate went on to discuss his progress since returning from the South American country - where he is due to return to for another 28 days treatment next month - adding: 'If this works, Ill spend the rest of my life campaigning for it to come here and be free. 'When he first came back, the fatigue was overwhelming which they said was a good thing. We're starting to see little by little improvements. He'll probably need operations and surgery. I really hope it can build.' Kate also spoke of the 'little moments' where she recognises the person she loves from before Covid. She said: 'You see the person you love in little moments and suddenly they're gone. You go through, he's there but he's not there all the time.' Struggles: She added of her former lobbyist husband: 'He can sustain sitting in a wheelchair for about 20 minutes before he flagged so the thought of going 5,000 miles seemed bonkers Looking forward: However, despite her pal's concerns, the broadcaster reckons the trip gave Derek 'hope' for his future 'If it's that bad for me, how much worse is it for him being inside that? We had a lovely moment I wheeled him to this room... 'I showed him in and he said disgraceful because it was so untidy so I know the real Derek Draper is in there ploughing to get out.' 'You learn to treasure the littlest moments. My heart goes out to people who are at home full time caring for someone. That must be the most extraordinary pressure on mental health. What else can I do? You can't abandon people. You just keep going.' It comes after Kate left viewers in tears on Tuesday night as she admitted she's 'terribly lonely' caring for her ailing husband Derek. The GMB star, who was also hailed for her 'patience and strength', provided an intimate look at caring for Derek, also 54, after his body was ravaged by Covid in her second documentary, Caring For Derek. Emotional: It comes after Kate left viewers in tears on Tuesday as she admitted she's 'terribly lonely' caring for ailing husband Derek and said a happy ending feels 'unsustainable' Ordeal: The GMB star, who was also hailed for her 'patience and strength', provided an intimate look at caring for Covid-stricken Derek, also 54, in her new documentary The broadcaster has spoken openly of her husband's recovery from the debilitating condition and gave viewers a candid glimpse into their life, and her innermost feelings, since Derek left hospital last year - 374 days after being admitted. A notably emotional Kate said at one point: 'People are really kind and say I'm an inspiration but I'm really struggling - and I think it's important for people to know that, cos I'm sure they're struggling in their life too in whatever way. 'I think one of the worst things is the terrible loneliness... from having him here but not here. It's really indescribable. It's just so hard. I can sort of see him, but he's absent - and you just feel very much on your own, all the time.' Kate also confessed: 'I still hope well have a happy ending, but ultimately it just feels unsustainable.' Kate said: 'I think one of the worst things is the terrible loneliness... from having him here but not here. It's really indescribable' Advertisement Kanye West has big plans for his newly purchased $57.3 million Malibu beach house, with the rapper completely gutting the interior of his beachfront residence. New pictures of the property show the concrete residence barely resembling what it once did when West, 44, purchased it in September 2021. The beachfront side of the home has been completely exposed, yet the front entry way remains intact with various warning signs placed upon the doors. Heavy renovations: Kanye West has big plans for his newly purchased $57.3 million Malibu beach house, with the rapper completely gutting the interior of his beachfront residence Before: The home contained massive windows facing the ocean and a concrete rooftop before the renovations began It's unclear what exactly Kanye plans on doing with his home. Before the renovations, the two-story residence contained massive windows facing the ocean and a concrete rooftop. Now, the Pacific-facing windows and concrete ceilings have been removed. A large, black sheet now hangs over the home, covering two floors of the residence. The home was previously owned by financier and ex of Ashley Olsen, Richard Sachs, who bought the home at a much lower price of $1.9million Transformation: The beachfront side of the home has been completely exposed, yet the front entry way remains intact with various warning signs placed upon the doors Under construction: No workers were seen on the property, but red caution tape and various orange cones were seen placed about the property No workers were seen on the property, but red caution tape and various orange cones were seen placed about the property. In addition, several 'Restricted Area' signs were tacked onto the entry ways. Kanye's new home was designed by Japanese Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando and was built by Marmol Radziner. Self-taught architect Ando, 80, is renowned in the industry as he is behind the He Art Museum in China and the Bourse de Commerce in Paris and Kanye became a fan of the Osaka, Japan native after visiting the 'art island' he designed in Naoshima. Exposed: The rooftop was removed, showing off the concrete interior Blocked: The entry way had a line of orange cones blocking the driveway and several Restricted Area signs Keep out! The signs indicated only 'authorized personnel' were allowed inside No doubt the part house, part sculpture home was a must-have for Kanye as it is one of only a handful of homes designed by Ando in the United States. The home was previously owned by financier and ex of Ashley Olsen, Richard Sachs, who bought the home at a much lower price of $1.9million. The 3,665-square-feet, four bedroom home sits on a 5,672-square-feet property right by a public beach. New home owner: West purchased the home last year for $57.3 million Mystery plans: It's unclear what West plans on doing with his new space The home is divided into three stories: a bottom floor with three guest bedrooms, a middle floor which is a shared space, and a top floor which contains the primary suite. The property does not include a yard or outdoor space but there is a lounge area surrounding a firepit on the second floor in addition to a rooftop terrace with direct access to the beach from a staircase. The residence was the first home property purchase for Kanye amid his impending divorce from Kim Kardashian. Kim recently begged a judge to declare her single and revealed she had been suffering from 'emotional distress' as a result of Kanye's social media antics. In new documents obtained by TMZ, Kim stated, 'I very much desire to be divorced.' She told a judge she had requested Kanye keep their separation private 'but he has not done so'. Big fan: Kanye's new home was designed by Japanese Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando and was built by Marmol Radziner Security: The signs were placed on many of the entry ways leading to the property Kanye has been putting a lot of misinformation regarding our private matters and co-parenting on social media which has created emotional distress,' she says in the new documents. Indeed, the drama between Kim and Kanye has been playing out publicly on social media in recent days, where the rapper has been posting screenshots of text messages sent to him from his ex and gone to war with her new boyfriend Pete Davidson. He previously said Kim was putting their daughter North West on TikTok 'against his will', accused her of 'kidnapping' their eight-year-old, and claimed she had accused him of 'putting a hit out on her'. Kanye has also asked to keep Kim from transferring assets out of any trust - a request Kim has fired back at due to their existing prenup, which already keeps their trusts and assets separate. In order to continue running her businesses, Kim needs to access her trust. Kanye's lawyers have also recognized the validity of the prenup in the documents. Kim also said Kanye's attorneys have admitted to struggling to get through to him. Christie Brinkley seems to have discovered the fountain of youth. The model posted a picture of herself looking decades younger while wearing a crisp white power suit after a day of helping out at a cancer fundraising event in Palm Beach, Florida. The 68-year-old New Yorker was the keynote speaker for the event. Youthful glow: Christie Brinkley looks fresh as a daisy after attending a cancer fundraising event in Palm Beach where the supermodel was the keynote speaker She wowed the crowd wearing a white pant suit, with a chunky gold chain around her neck as her white purse could be seen in the background. Her makeup was natural featuring sun-kissed cheeks and a light pink lip. Looking fresh as a daisy at the end of the day, Brinkley put this post on her Instagram feed. 'Before I jump on the plane, a quick thank you to the amazing souls who do everything in their power to help make the challenge of facing cancer a little easier. '...Easing economic pressures and fears with the all encompassing compassionate care they give. I am so impressed by their work. I will add more pertinent information here and in stories. It was my honor to share today with all of you!' Let's talk about it: Many of the actress' 769K followers shared their own stories of cancer and of caring for loved ones with the disease; seen last week, left, with a pal in LA The Cancer Alliance of Help & Hope assists local children, adults and families affected by cancer and the subsequent bills they acquire during the treatment and recovery process. The society event consists of a luncheon and a silent auction in which attendees can bid on items from high end brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Chanel. Many of the Chicago actress' 769 thousand followers shared their own stories of cancer and of caring for loved ones with the disease. Forever young: The mom of three credits her youthful glow to exercise, being a vegetarian, spending time out doors and good skincare The mom of three has revealed she had a breast cancer scare a few years ago. The quintessential cover girl credits her youthful glow to exercise, being a vegetarian, spending time out doors, proper skincare and, apparently, staying busy. In addition to her charitable work, Brinkley is a successful business owner, with her her own cosmetics line, Christie Brinkley Authentic Skincare and a vegan wine company called Bellissima Prosecco. Kim Kardashian took to the friendly skies in a luxury private jet with her A-list glam squad on Friday as the group headed back to Los Angeles. The billionaire's famed celebrity hair stylist, Chris Appleton, shared snaps while boarding 'Kim Air' in Italy following a headline-making trip abroad for Milan Fashion Week. Along with the hair guru, Kardashian's coveted Hollywood makeup artist, Mario Dedivanovic, joined the flight back to the United States. Lux living: Kim Kardashian was joined by her A-list glam squad, Chris Appleton and Mario Dedivanovic on a 'Kim Air' flight from Italy following a headline-making trip abroad for Milan Fashion Week Chris and Mario have been putting in a ton of work while in the picturesque Italian city, crafting head-turning looks for Kim each time she stepped out for Milan Fashion Week. After what was no doubt and exhausting few days, the star and her entourage wre able to kick back in style on a private jet for the long flight home. Appleton shared a video as he boarded a swanky private jet that featured a welcome mat fit for reality TV royalty. The words 'Kim Air' were woven in black on a sand colored rug. 'Wow feeling grateful to experience Kim Air back to LA,' the celebrity hair stylist penned on Instagram Glam: Chris and Mario have been putting in a ton of work while in the picturesque Italian city, crafting head-turning looks for Kim each time she stepped out for Milan Fashion Week 'Wow feeling grateful to experience Kim Air back to LA,' the celebrity hair stylist penned on Instagram. His word choice seemed to be a subtle nod to his holy grail line of hair care products, Color Wow. Chris, Kim and Mario enjoyed a little mid-flight reading, paging through the print edition of Kardashian's recent Vogue Magazine cover story. Appleton gushed: 'Leaving Milan this morning and finally saw the print issue of @voguemagazine 'Love these two feeling grateful for this experience,' he added. Cover girl: Chris, Kim and Mario enjoyed a little mid-flight reading, paging through the print edition of Kardashian's recent Vogue Magazine cover story A photo from inside the plane cabin saw a fresh faced Kim seated between the artists with her raven hair slicked back in a low bun and sporting an oversized leather bomber jacket. Mario and Chris flanked the SKIMS founder on either side while holding up an issue of Vogue featuring the cover girl. Kim's glam squad helped cement her as a global style and beauty 'it girl' and helped lead to the development of her own often sold-out beauty line, KKW Beauty, which is currently going through the rebrand. Appleton and Dedivanovic have also pivoted their expertise into entrepreneurial endeavors with high end product lines of their own. On the hair side, Chris founded Color Wow and on the makeup end, Mario created the cult-obsessed line Makeup by Mario. Iconic: The Makeup by Mario creator crafted stunning looks on Kim during fashion week in Milan that focused on dewy skin and flawless contour (seen in 2021) Very European: For her hair vibes, Appleton opted for sleek and slick styles during this most recent trip to Italy While it was a style forward trip with the Keeping Up with the Kardashian's star sitting front row at runway shows, she couldn't seem to escape her personal drama. Kim nearly had a run-in with actress Julia Fox, who recently enjoyed a six-week whirlwind romance with Kanye West. It comes as Kim recently revealed she begged a judge to declare her single and revealed she had been suffering from 'emotional distress' as a result of Kanye's social media antics. In documents obtained by TMZ, Kim stated, 'I very much desire to be divorced.' She told a judge she had requested Kanye keep their separation private 'but he has not done so'. Always some drama: Kim nearly had a run-in with actress Julia Fox, who recently enjoyed a six-week whirlwind romance with Kanye West 'Kanye has been putting a lot of misinformation regarding our private matters and co-parenting on social media which has created emotional distress,' she says in the new documents. Indeed, the drama between Kim and Kanye has been playing out publicly on social media in recent days, where the rapper has been posting screenshots of text messages sent to him from his ex and gone to war with her new boyfriend Pete Davidson. He previously said Kim was putting their daughter North West on TikTok 'against his will', accused her of 'kidnapping' their eight-year-old, and claimed she had accused him of 'putting a hit out on her'. Kanye has also asked to keep Kim from transferring assets out of any trust - a request Kim has fired back at due to their existing prenup, which already keeps their trusts and assets separate. In order to continue running her businesses, Kim needs to access her trust. Kanye's lawyers have also recognized the validity of the prenup in the documents.xKim also said Kanye's attorneys have admitted to struggling to get through to him. Amelia Hamlin is such an expert supermodel that she does not need a catwalk to make the most of a stunning dress. Instead, the daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin showed off a light pink PVC Versace mini dress beautifully while in the back of a car while in Milan, Italy. The looker proved she has one of the best bodies in the business as she pulled her shoulders back and put one bare leg over the other before reclining back. Pinky: Amelia Hamlin is such an expert supermodel that she does not need a catwalk to make the most of a stunning dress The brunette had her hair clipped back and wore heavy eye makeup as she pouted for the camera. Over her shoulder was a mini Versace purse in the same light pink color as her eye-popping dress making her look ready for spring in late March. She added a gold Versace necklace and a bracelet as she flashed her many micro tattoos. In her caption, the sister of Delilah Hamlin said she was modeling for Versace. And she said 'hi' while adding a heart. Italian style: Instead, the daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin made the most of a light pink PVC Versace mini dress while in the back of a car at night while in Milan, Italy Curvy girl: The looker proved she has one of the best bodies in the business as she pulled her shoulders back and put one bare leg over the other before reclining back She was also pictured outside a hotel in Milan where she flashed her toned legs as she wore black platform Versace heels with a gold Medusa head charm. Amelia seems to be doing much better this year after a difficult time last year. In December the LA native said she 'completely lost' her 'sense of self' in 2021. The 20-year-old star - who split from Scott Disick earlier this year - took to Instagram to share a slideshow of images from the past 12 months, and to reflect on how her life has changed in 2021. The brunette beauty - whose photo collections includes Amelia bleaching her eyebrows and another of her blowing a kiss in front of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris - described the last 12 months as 'the year that i completely lost my sense of self.. not knowing that i would reclaim it even more authentically'. On the town: Hamlin in a Versace look with black heels while outside a hotel in Milan this week A tower of power: The lean lady showed off some very toned legs. She then stopped and looked back over her shoulder at fans Her cool ride: The siren pulled in her legs as she flashed her platform Versace heels Amelia - who was born in Los Angeles - also reflected on her move to the Big Apple. She wrote: '[2021 is] the year that i went to new york and never left.' Amelia added in her post: 'thank you to everyone that made my dreams come true.. u know who u r!!! I LOVE U!!!!!' Meanwhile, an insider recently claimed that Amelia is 'open to dating' once again. However, there's seemingly no chance she'll rekindle her romance with her ex-boyfriend. A vision: In this dark image the star has on a sequined dress as she holds her hands up The source shared: 'It has to be the right person. She hasn't closed herself off at all to dating, it'll just never be with Scott again.' Amelia 'is not opposed to dating someone in the spotlight', despite her experience with Scott, 38. And the model isn't concerned about dating someone older than her either, even though it failed to work out with the TV star. The insider said: 'She can date someone younger or someone older. It's not a deal-breaker.' Amelia is focusing on herself for the time being, though, and despite her high-profile split from Scott, she's said to be 'in a really good place'. The source explained: 'She's just focusing on herself right now and is in a really good place because of it.' Kerry Katona became a viral meme on Thursday, with fans calling on her to give Russian president Vladimir Putin a warning after his troops invaded Ukraine. Due to her anti-war stance, the TV star, 41, appeared amused after a doctored image showed her on Loose Women with the tagline: 'Kerry Katona sends Vladimir Putin a warning'. Kerry shared the photo on Instagram and her followers soon took to the comment section, believing the straight-talking star could be 'our generation's Winston Churchill'. Serious: Kerry Katona became a viral meme on Thursday, with fans calling on her to give Russian president Vladimir Putin a warning after his troops invaded Ukraine However, the snap was actually a screenshot from a 2019 episode when Kerry had gone on the programme to talk about taking part in Celebs Go Dating, with the tagline doctored. Kerry uploaded the meme and followers said they had faith she was capable of 'sorting Vladimir Putin out'. She shared the post by the popular Love of Huns' which had the words 'no war' emblazoned above it, while another fan suggested she is 'our generation's Winston Churchill'. Invasion: Russian forces launched a military attack on the Eastern European country on Thursday with reports of explosions in major cities (Russian president Vladimir Putin pictured) Her take: Due to her anti-war stance, the TV star, 41, appeared amused after a doctored image showed her on Loose Women with the tagline: 'Kerry Katona sends Vladimir Putin a warning' Someone else wrote: 'At least she's speaking the truth & not just slating. @kerrykatona7 to replace @borisjohnsonuk.' The meme comes after fighting began to unfold in Ukraine began this week. Russian forces launched a military attack on the Eastern European country on Thursday with reports of explosions in major cities. Trickster: The original poster wrote 'finally' alongside the photo on Twitter, suggesting Kerry had appeared on Loose Women shortly before it was posted Truth: The snap was actually a screenshot from a 2019 episode when Kerry had gone on the programme to talk about taking part in Celebs Go Dating Strong: Kerry's followers said they had faith she was capable of 'sorting Vladimir Putin out' after the invasion Making history? Another fan suggested she is 'our generation's Winston Churchill' as they shared the meme Leader: The late Sir Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister who led Britain to victory in the Second World War (pictured 1945) President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed at least 137 people died and 316 were injured in the attacks. As Kerry's Loose Women meme went viral this week, some social media users were reminded of when her ex-husband Brian McFadden suggested a different way of dealing with ISIS terrorists five years ago. He tweeted at the time: 'Wouldn't it be great if isis had the balls to stand face to face with us and fight. No weapons. No bombs. No dead children. Man to man.' One Twitter user wrote: 'Think of what Kerry Katona and Brian McFadden could achieve, if they just got back together.' Another posted: 'Brian McFadden was gonna take on ISIS. Now Kerry Katona is sending messages to Putin. They really were the ultimate power couple.' Sofia Vergara has revealed that it takes two hours in the make-up chair to transform into her drug lord character Griselda. The 49-year-old actress shared with her nearly 25 million Instagram followers a selfie to her story and captioned it, 'Back on the chair for the 2 hour transformation but it's friday!! #griselda'. The Modern Family star was fresh-faced in the make-up chair as she had a pair of Apple AirPods in her ears and a warm, fuzzy brown robe on. Set life: Sofia Vergara reveals that it takes two hours in the make-up chair to transform into her drug lord character Griselda Sofia also uploaded a video of delicious donuts to her story and added a 'feliz viernes' sticker on top, finishing it off with #setlife. She is is set to star in the upcoming Netflix miniseries Griselda, which centers on famed Colombian cartel leader Griselda Blanco. The star-studded cast includes Alberto Guerra as Dario, Vanessa Ferlito as Isabel, Alberto Ammann as Alberto Bravo, and Christian Tappan as Arturo. Netflix has not released a trailer or a release date for the show yet. Aside for her career, the Emmy nominated actress has been uploading throwback pictures from her on-air days in Miami in the 90s. In character: She is is set to star in the upcoming Netflix miniseries Griselda, which centers on famed Colombian cartel leader Griselda Blanco Friday treats: Sofia also uploaded a video of delicious donuts to her story and added a 'feliz viernes' sticker on top, finishing it off with #setlife '#tbt u know where, in the 90s,' she captioned her pictures, adding a few laughing and palm tree emojis. The former telenovela star is wearing a shimmering sequined turquoise halter, faded skinny jeans and open-toed black and silver high heels. She appeared to be working with a producer who was holding copy, perhaps from her days as a co-host. Throwback: Aside for her career, the Emmy nominated actress has been uploading throwback pictures from her on-air days in Miami in the 90s In Miami: '#tbt u know where, in the 90s,' she captioned her pictures, adding a few laughing and palm tree emojis The brunette beauty wore her hair down with frosty pink makeup as she put her hands on her hips then talked to the camera. In her personal life, Sofia enjoys spending time with her husband of nearly seven years Joe Manganiello. Joe recently admitted he is still 'coming to grips' with the fact he is married to Sofia and she has so much love for him. Brunette bombshell: The brunette beauty wore her hair down with frosty pink makeup as she put her hands on her hips then talked to the camera He said: 'The biggest adjustment in marriage? Coming to grips with the idea that someone who is not related to you could possibly love you that much. 'She was it for me. People say things like, "Marriage and relationships are work". But it's not. Life is hard. Having somebody to help you deal with it is the greatest thing that ever happened.' The pair occasionally mix business with pleasure - they teamed up to voice roles in the recently released animated movie Koati. Bethenny Frankel has jumped into action to assist Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. On Thursday, the day the takeover began, Bethenny, 51, announced she was preparing to ship supplies to NATO countries bordering Ukraine through her organization, B Strong. Frankel's organization has committed to distributing $10 million worth of aid, but on Friday announced she had now upped her goal to $20 million. Doing her part: Bethenny Frankel has jumped into action to assist Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion The former Real Housewives Of New York star documented the relief efforts on her Instagram account, posting video of boxes being packed with supplies by members of her B Strong team and her warehouse full of countless boxes. Frankel gave fans real-time updates on the situation in various videos posted to her account. In her most recent update, Bethenny revealed her team was mostly working with women and children as young men were being asked to remain in Ukraine to defend their country. 'We're really dealing with women and children at the border in Poland. We just had an incident with a woman whose husband was pulled out of the car, he was taken because he's Ukrainian and the men can't leave, and so he's never held a gun before in his life and now he's a soldier. 'We're really dealing with women and children': Frankel gave fans real-time updates on the situation in various videos posted to her account 'So she's coming through with her family and we have to get her family to Spain where she has family, 'cause she doesn't have family in Poland. 'So now a lot of money is going to individual cases and families through cash cards and plane tickets. So, initially we're trying to raise money, initially just $100,000 for these families to try to get them where they need to get to. This happened during Hurricane Maria too, where people needed to get home for different situations. 'But we're dealing with mostly women and children, unless the men are young men.' She also revealed her $20M relief effort goal in another video posted Friday. 'Our team is in Poland, and will reach the border of Budomierz - Hruszow... in one and a half hours. 'This is a crisis': The former Real Housewives Of New York star documented the relief efforts on her Instagram account, posting video of boxes being packed with supplies by members of her B Strong team and her warehouse full of countless boxes 'One family every ten minutes is fleeing and coming to this particular border. We have committed to $10 million in aid. That's 40 containers containing $250,000 of aid each. Our goal is now $20M in aid which would be 80 containers. 'If it becomes a mass exodus, that would require 100 containers which we have done before, we did that in Hurricane Maria and Irma.' Speaking with People, Bethenny said her organization were in a position to act quickly as they already had a warehouse filled with $16M worth of aid. 'We can just be very quick': Speaking with People , Bethenny said her organization were in a position to act quickly as they already had a warehouse filled with $16M worth of aid. 'Here, we can just be very quick,' she told People. 'We're very immediate because we already have a warehouse that's filled with $16 million in aid.' Aid includes 100,000 crisis kits containing basic items, including blankets, sleeping bags, and water. Frankel told People her organization has begun sending the kits to Poland, where they will create refugee camps and distribute supplies by Monday. Lending a hand: Frankel posted video of her team organizing the aid Helping out: Frankel told People her organization has begun sending the kits to Poland, where they will create refugee camps and distribute supplies by Monday The containers being sent contain $250K worth of aid with donations from partners such as Goya, Delta and Away. 'It's the things that people would need immediately, if displaced. Just the basic, basic needs,' Bethenny said of the supplies being shipped. In the early hours of Thursday morning Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thought to be Moscow's most aggressive action since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. By the end of the day, the Ukrainian government said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed. Several explosions were heard in the capital of Kyiv early this morning as Russian forces pressed on with their assault. City Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan was excoriated on social media Friday after blaming the United States for Russias invasion of Ukraine in several fact-challenged tweets about the lead-up to the war. In a thread thats overwhelmingly sympathetic to Russias head of state Vladimir Putin, the Harlem Council member wrote that NATO broke its promise by continuously expanding eastward and threatening Russia by encircling it militarily. Advertisement Had Washington and Brussels taken Russias security concerns seriously, this war wouldnt be happening, she wrote. The U.S. and E.U. knew the consequences of provoking Russia with NATO expansion and proceeded anyway because they do not suffer, the Ukrainian and Russian people do. New York City Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan (D-Harlem) (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images) Richardson Jordan appeared to be referring to diplomatic talks between American and Soviet officials around the time of the reunification of Germany in 1990. Advertisement Over the years, Russian officials have cited a purported statement from U.S. Secretary of State James Baker to then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to the effect that NATO did not intend to expand its membership eastward. But at the time, the Soviet Union and the Soviet-aligned Warsaw Pact still existed, leading Western officials and scholars to counter that NATO expansion outside of East Germany wasnt even a topic of diplomatic conversation. Years later, even Gorbachev acknowledged that the subject did not come up. The topic of NATO expansion was never discussed; it was not raised in those years, he was quoted as saying in the Russian newspaper, Kommersant, in 2014. I am saying this with a full sense of responsibility. Not a single Eastern European country brought up the issue, not even after the Warsaw Pact had ceased to exist in 1991. Mikhail Gorbachev flashes the decree relinquishing control of nuclear weapons to Russian President Boris Yeltsin after its signature at the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 25, 1991, drawing a line under more than 74 years of Soviet history. (Liu Heung Shing/AP) Richardsons pro-Kremlin tweet storm almost immediately drew denunciations online. So very strange that some progressives twist into knots to defend an authoritarian mafia state that just invaded a neighboring country, tweeted Garrett Watson, a policy analyst at the Tax Foundation. Author Will Saletan tweeted that Richardson Jordan was rationalizing war crimes and suggested that the progressives who backed her run for Council should take note. To progressives: This is a good time to take stock of whos for peace and who, in the guise of peace, is willing to rationalize war crimes, as long as theyre committed by an enemy of the United States, he tweeted. David Szakonyi, a political science professor at George Washington University, described the thread as irresponsible and pointed out how closely her statements tracked with those from Putin himself. Advertisement Id encourage her to get in touch with more Ukrainian and Russian views of the conflict, he said. They would push back on what she said. Putins rationalization for his invasion which is the same kind of rhetoric Richardson Jordan used in her tweets continued to draw condemnations Friday. David Harris, the head of the American Jewish Committee, compared NATOs past actions to Russias current unprovoked invasion to highlight such criticism. When was the last offensive military action by any NATO member state against Russian territory? he said. The steps that President Putin has taken to justify his behavior comes directly out of the playbook of none other than Hitler in 1938-39. Richardson Jordan also parroted Putin by falsely stating in her social media spree that in 2014 the U.S. helped overthrow Ukraines democratically elected leader in an illegal coup, helped install a fascist government and empowered a far-right military all with the goal of destabilizing Russia. Szakonyi said this is perhaps the most ridiculous statement in her screed. That is completely factually incorrect, he said. Advertisement Ukraines leader at the time, President Viktor Yanukovych, was in fact ousted after the nations parliament voted him out of office amid allegations that he had ordered the killings of protesters in Kyiv and embezzled billions of dollars. Former Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych (Pavel Golovkin/AP) But Richardson Jordan didnt stop there with her misinformation. This is the tip of the iceberg, she wrote. The U.S. and NATO have a violent history destabilizing the region, such as when it facilitated the breakup of Yugoslavia after bombing Serbia for 78 days. Serbia at the time was led by the dictator Slobodan Milosevic, who died in 2006 after being indicted on war crimes charges and genocide. Even Richardson Jordans colleagues in the City Council pushed back on her statements. With due respect, I have visited the mass graves at Srebrenica and the beautiful city of Sarajevo, Councilman Keith Powers wrote in response to her tip of the iceberg tweet. Our intervention was meant to help prevent one of the largest genocides in modern history. Advertisement Ukraine-born New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov,(R-Brooklyn) Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, a southern Brooklyn Republican who was born in Ukraine, called her colleagues tweets infuriating. Shes being a propaganda mouthpiece for Putin, Vernikov said. Its complete lies. Russia doesnt have any legitimate security concerns to invade Ukraine. I have no idea what my colleague is reading, but what shes tweeting is propaganda and false. Vernikov said she spoke Friday with friends in western Ukraine who are in the middle of helping refugees from other war-torn regions of the country resettle. There are innocent people who are dying, men, women, and children who are crying, who are being bombed, who are being terrorized. Its absolutely infuriating that one of my colleagues would say something like this, she said. Cate Blanchett and Lea Seydoux led the glamour as they graced the red carpet of the 47th Cesar Film Awards Ceremony At L'Olympia in Paris, France on Friday. Blue Jasmine star Cate, 52, wowed in a glitzy black longline cardigan teamed with a black sequin blazer as she posed at the annual film event. Meanwhile, Bond Girl Lea, 36, looked breathtaking in a black strapless gown teamed with a white and black polka dot cape. Gorgeous: Cate Blanchett and Lea Seydoux led the glamour as they graced the red carpet of the 47th Cesar Film Awards Ceremony At L'Olympia in Paris, France on Friday Cate showed off her sense of style in the crocheted cardigan which featured a sequin trim, with the star flashing a glimpse of her midriff as she wore the top mostly unbuttoned. The Australian beauty teamed this with a smart pair of black trousers and pointed black heels. Cate finished off her red carpet look with her blonde locks styled into soft waves, while she highlighted her features with a dewy make-up palette. Style: Blue Jasmine star Cate, 52, wowed in a glitzy black longline cardigan teamed with a black sequin blazer as she posed at the annual film event Fashion: Cate showed off her sense of style in the crocheted cardigan which featured a sequin trim, with the star flashing a glimpse of her midriff as she wore the top mostly unbuttoned Lovely: Cate finished off her red carpet look with her blonde locks styled into soft waves, while she highlighted her features with a dewy make-up palette Looking good: The Australian beauty teamed her look with a smart pair of black trousers and pointed black heels (pictured with Thierry Fremaux) She later became emotional as she took to the stage to accept the 'Honorary Cesar' award. Lea also pulled out all the stops, with her dramatic floor-length cape turning heads as she glided along the red carpet. The Spectre star added a touch of bling to her look with embellished statement earrings, with the beauty finishing her amazing look off with a bold coral lip. Glowing: The star was radiant as she posed on the red carpet Taking her place: The film star struck a pose as she sat in the audience at the ceremony So chic: Cate was simply gorgeous on the red carpet Pose; She shared a snap with Maxime Saada and Veronique Cayla The French actress was full of confidence as she posed away for the cameras. The Cesar Awards is the French equivalent of the Oscars and several other names stepped out on Friday for the big event. Cate's appearance comes after it was recently announced she will receive the Chaplin Award in New York in April. Dazzling: Meanwhile, Bond Girl Lea, 36, looked breathtaking in a black strapless gown teamed with a white and black polka dot cape Star: Lea also pulled out all the stops, with her dramatic floor-length cape turning heads as she glided along the red carpet Beauty: The Spectre star added a touch of bling to her look with embellished statement earrings, with the beauty finishing her amazing look off with a bold coral lip Fabulous: The actresses really made an impression on the red carpet with her flowing cape All eyes on her: The French actress was full of confidence as she posed away for the cameras There he is: Adam Driver put on a dapper display as he also walked the red carpet Looking sharp: The actor looked very smart in a black suit and bowtie teamed with a crisp white shirt Comfortable: The House of Gucci star took his place in the audience Picture perfect: The Marriage Story star looked handsome in his smart suit A few good men: The film star happily posed for snaps with his fellow attendees Men in black: Adam joined the likes of Russell Mael and Ron Mael on the red carpet At 52, Cate is the second youngest recipient of the prize, which is the highest honour presented by the prestigious Film at Lincoln Center, one of the major arts organisations in the US. The award, which was founded in 1972 and is named after Charlie Chaplin, is given to recognise the career and contribution of artists who left their mark on the medium. The prize has been awarded 47 times. Previous winners include Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Robert de Niro and Tom Hanks, the youngest to accept it. Announcing the news in the Hollywood Reporter on February 18, a spokesperson from Film Lincoln Center said that it would be a privilege to dedicate an evening of celebration to Cate. Star: French actress Isabelle Huppert delivered a speech before giving the Honour Cesar award during the 47th edition of the Cesar Film Awards Beauty: She wore her red tresses in loose waves over her shoulders Speech: She looked confident up on the stage as she addressed the crowd Here you go: The beauty then presented Cate with her award Tears: Australian actress Cate cried as she received the 'Honorary Cesar' award during the 47th annual Cesar Awards Happy: She looked thrilled to have won and was seen wiping away tears at the podium Thrilled: Cate put on a confident display on stage while accepting her prize 'Ms. Blanchetts career includes extraordinary performances in films ranging from small independent efforts to major studio franchises.' Blanchett has worked tirelessly for the last 25 years racking up dozens of credits in theatre, film and TV. A regular on the global awards circuit, Cate has received major prizes from all over the world, including two Oscars, three BAFTAs, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, an Order of Australia, and in France a Chevalier, for her contribution to the arts. Proud: She then posed with her award All smiles: French actress and film director Valerie Lemercier (C-L) and Australian actress Cate posed together Big night: The stars were out in force for the event Crying: She couldn't hold back the emotion Speech: She said a few words up on stage Absolutely delighted: The actress was overjoyed as she clutched her award Ashton Kutcher lead celebrities tweeting their support for Ukraine on Friday following Russia's attack of the country at the order Vladimir Putin. 'I stand with Ukraine,' the actor simply wrote. Ashton, 44, is married to his Ukrainian-born wife Mila Kunis, who is not on social media. Kunis, 38, comes from a Jewish family and moved to Los Angeles from Ukraine when she was 7-years-old. She has previously cited antisemitism in the former Soviet Union as one of the reasons her family fled the country. 'I stand with Ukraine': Ashton Kutcher shows support for wife Mila Kunis' native country amid Russia attacks... as he leads stars speaking out against war Meanwhile Kylie Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, and actress Hayden Panettiere also spoke out on Friday, as reports have suggested Putin could resort to using a high-power thermobaric weapon, dubbed the 'father of all bombs.' 'God protect the people of Ukraine,' Kylie wrote on her Instagram Stories to her 314million followers, adding: 'My thoughts and prayers are with you.' Meanwhile, Heroes actress Hayden, 32, took to social media to help her ex Wladimir Klitschko raise awareness for Ukraine. 'God protect the people of Ukraine,' Kylie Jenner wrote on her Instagram Stories to her 314million followers Friday, adding: 'My thoughts and prayers are with you.' Speaking out: Khloe Kardashian also posted this message She re-posted a message from the Ukrainian former professional boxer. 'I am writing to you from Kyiv, the capital of a country at war, a country being attacked and invaded from all sides,' Wladimir, 45, wrote in a post from Feb. 24. 'It is not "the war of Ukraine," it is Putin's war. Meticulous preparations were hidden behind the fog of the last few weeks in order to set in motion a plan that had been drawn up for months. No more fog and false diplomatic declarations.' Fight: Heroes actress Hayden, 32, took to social media to help her ex Wladimir Klitschko raise awareness for Ukraine In her own post, Hayden wrote: 'I have personally witnessed the strength of the Ukrainian people who fought so hard for their independence and have continued to passionately defend their country over the years.' 'What Putin is doing is an absolute disgrace! This horrific moment in history sends a terrifying message: the message that in this day and age, in year 2022, its okay to violate the rights of free people and allow autocrats like Putin to take whatever they please.' She added: 'I'm praying for my family and friends there and everyone who's fighting. I wish you had more support and I wish I was there fighting with you! Milla Jovovich shared a lengthy statement to her Instagram account where she expressed that she was 'heartbroken and dumbstruck trying to process the events of this week in my birthplace of Ukraine.' The actress, 46, added: 'I am torn in two as I watch the horror unfolding, the country being destroyed, families being displaced, their whole life lying in charred fragments around them.' Sharing her thoughts: Milla Jovovich shared a lengthy statement to her Instagram account where she expressed that she was 'heartbroken and dumbstruck trying to process the events of this week in my birthplace of Ukraine' 'S**t's going down': Ukrainian-born Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy is fearing for his life and the lives of his friends in Kyiv following a Russian invasion into the country over night Ukrainian-born Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy has also been giving live updates from the country's capital city where he is currently staying. The professional dancer, 42, posted two videos on Friday telling fans he's 'safe' but gave warning of the increasingly 'aggressive' and 'dire' situation in the country. He also clarified in the second video that he is 'not currently trying to leave' Ukraine, explaining: 'I'm not moving towards the border... it's, I heard, not safe.' His comments come as it was reported Friday that men of 'fighting age' were told to remain in the country as Russian missiles pounded Kyiv, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Ukrainians - mainly women and children - are reported to have crossed into Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Hayden Panettiere, 32, confirmed that the daughter she shares with Ukrainian Hall of Fame boxer Wladimir Klitschko, 45, is 'safe' amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Nashville actress took to social media with an impassioned post in support of the Ukrainian people who are defending their nation against Vladimir Putin's army which attacked several cities this week. In a comment to a concerned fan, Hayden revealed that seven-year-old Kaya is not in the country with her father. Klitschko, however, is still in Kyiv where his brother Vitali, 50, serves as the mayor. Safe: Hayden Panettiere, 32, confirmed that the daughter she shares with Ukrainian Hall of Fame boxer Wladimir Klitschko, 45, is 'safe' amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine 'I have personally witnessed the strength of the Ukrainian people who fought so hard for their independence and have continued to passionately defend their country over the years,' Hayden penned. 'What Putin is doing is an absolute disgrace! This horrific moment in history sends a terrifying message: the message that in this day and age, in year 2022, its okay to violate the rights of free people and allow autocrats like Putin to take whatever they please.' 'Im praying for my family and friends there and everyone whos fighting. I wish you had more support and I wish I was there fighting with you! For now, I ask for those of us who cant be there to stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and show your support for #democracy,' she concluded. When one commenter asked about the safety of the daughter shared with her Ukranian ex, Hayden said she was 'safe and not in Ukraine.' She stands with Ukraine: The Nashville actress took to social media with an impassioned post in support of the Ukrainian people who are defending their nation against Vladimir Putin's army which attacked several cities this week (Wladimir and Hayden in 2013) Safe: In a comment to a concerned fan, Hayden revealed that seven-year-old Kaya is not in the country with her father Her ex-fiance, Wladimir, is remaining in Kyiv alongside his brother who has been the mayor since 2014. The pair have vowed to fight in the army against the Russian forces. During and appearance on Good Morning Britain, the mayor said; "It's already a bloody war," adding: 'I don't have another choice. I have to do that. I would fight." Wladimir, who enlisted in the Ukrainian military earlier this month, has been penning impassioned please for unity and democracy on social media. 'It is not "the war of Ukraine", it is Putin's war. Meticulous preparations were hidden behind the fog of the last few weeks in order to set in motion a plan that had been drawn up for months,' he wrote. Adding: 'Destruction and death come upon us. That's it, blood will mix with tears. 'It is not "the war of Ukraine", it is Putin's war. Meticulous preparations were hidden behind the fog of the last few weeks in order to set in motion a plan that had been drawn up for months,' wrote Wladimir in a social media post 'We must face reality and have the courage to draw the conclusions for our future and that of our children. This is a blatant violation of international law. And, if you listen carefully, this war is also talking about Europe,' he continued. Meanwhile, Ukrainian-born Dancing With the Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy has said the whole of Ukraine 'is being called to go to war'. The professional dancer, 42, posted two videos on Friday telling fans he's 'safe' but gave warning of the increasingly 'aggressive' and 'dire' situation in the country. He also clarified in the second video that he is 'not currently trying to leave' Ukraine, explaining: 'I'm not moving towards the border... it's, I heard, not safe.' His comments come as it was reported Friday that men of 'fighting age' were told to remain in the country as Russian missiles pounded Kyiv, according to Reuters. Fighting: Wladimir Klitschko, who enlisted in the Ukranian military this month, is still in Kyiv where his brother Vitali, 50, serves as the mayor; the pair have vowed to take up arms to defend their nation Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Ukrainians - mainly women and children - are reported to have crossed into Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Chmerkovskiy began his video saying: 'I'm out here, again, I'm safe. We haven't been told to move, and I'm just following instructions. That's all I can say.' 'But the reality is that I'm also talking to my friends that are here, the Ukrainians, and the situation is pretty dire.' Chmerkovski added that people in the country 'are being mobilized' saying: 'The whole country is being called to go to war. Men, women, boys are going forward and getting guns and getting deployed to defend the country.' The update comes as a senior US defense official said Friday that Russia has 'about a third of their combat power' in Ukraine, adding: 'That does not mean that they will not commit more.' The DWTS pro also warned that people in the Ukraine 'are very aggressively charged.' Update: Maksim Chmerkovskiy says he is 'safe' in Ukraine but warns 'the situation is pretty dire' as he remains in Kyiv following Russian invasion He said: 'If it's not resolved in a peaceful manner in some way or form in the next day or so, or two, I think it's gonna take a turn for very, very much more aggressive actions and a lot more casualties.' Talking about the horrors of the situation, he added: 'There are kids that are getting sick, people are sheltering and people that aren't able to just get up and run, right: small children, elderly people.' 'This is like it is in every conflict, I'm just drawing attention to the fact that this is what's happening.' On Thursday, Kyiv ordered civilians to bomb shelters and declared a curfew amid fears Russia will strike the city after Ukrainian troops lost control of a key airfield around 15 miles away. In a video posted yesterday, Maksim also directly slammed Russian president Vladimir Putin: 'I think that in 2022 [in a] civilized world, this is not the way we do things.' 'This is all one man's ambition', he continued. 'However it sounds, however convenient it sounds in Moscow, however comfortable you are where you are in Russia, I just don't think that this is the right thing and this is the right steps and these are the correct actions.' The star promised to try to keep followers abreast of the situation unfolding abroad and asked for people to respect his wife's privacy at this time. 'There's ALWAYS another way! WAR is NEVER an answer! #standwithukraine,' he penned in the caption of the video. Katherine Schwarzenegger enjoyed some quality family time as she awaited the arrival of her second child. The beauty, 32, was spotted taking a leisurely stroll with her husband Chris Pratt, 42, and their daughter Lyla, one, in Los Angeles on Friday. Katherine showcased her burgeoning bump in a black T-shirt as she cast an adoring smile at her young girl. Oh baby! Katherine Schwarzenegger enjoyed some quality family time as she awaited the arrival of her second child Doting dad Chris carried their youngster in his arms as Katherine fawned over her. Katherine, who is the daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, was looking good in leggings, a black sweatshirt, and white trainers. She propped a black hat atop her wavy brunette locks which cascaded atop her chest. Chris kept it casual with a grey sweatshirt, camo print shorts, and black trainers. Mommy and me! Schwarzenegger cast an adoring smile on her young daughter Stylish: Katherine, who is the daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, kept it casual with leggings, a black sweatshirt, and white trainers Young Lyla got in some walking practice once her dad set her down on the ground. The toddler made her way down the sidewalk under the watchful eye of her parents. Chris and Katherine's relationship might not have come to be if it wasn't for her mother Maria introducing the two at church in 2018, and the two began dating by June of that year. You got this! Lyla got in some walking practice with the help of her parents They tied the knot in Montecito, California, the following year, and they welcomed Lyla in August 2020. It was the second child for Chris, who already shares his nine-year-old son Jack with his ex-wife Anna Faris. They two met on the set of their 1980s-set rom-com Take Me Home Tonight in 2007 and got engaged the following year, before marrying in 2009 in a ceremony in Bali, Indonesia. Jack came along in 2012, but Chris and Anna announced their separation five years later in 2017. So far, neither Chris nor Katherine has revealed the sex of their upcoming child, and Katherine's father Arnold admitted earlier this month on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that he didn't even know. He wondered aloud if Chris and Katherine had even bothered to find out the child's sex, as his ex-wife Maria had never cared to know her children's sex before they were born. Republican state legislators around the country are proposing to require public schools to post all curriculum materials on the internet as an accountability measure, and the other day they got powerful if inadvertent support from Enfields school system. Enfields school administration acknowledged that an eighth-grade class had been given an assignment in which students were instructed to choose pizza toppings as a sort of code to signify the sex acts they preferred. The objective seems to have been to teach the 14-year-olds that sex, like pizza, should be consensual and negotiated. The Enfield incident, first publicized by a national parents group, was picked up by news outlets far and wide and put the town on the world map for stupidity. The school administration apologized and attributed the assignment to a mistake of absentmindedness. That is, a different assignment involving pizza choices but without the sexual allusions, also aiming to teach consent and negotiation, was meant to be used. But this account evaded the big questions. How did the pizza sex assignment get into the school system in the first place? Exactly where did it come from? Why is the school system receiving such material? Who authorized it? And why, in a state where most students graduate from high school without mastering basic math and English, is a school system using a Family Health and Human Sexuality class to teach students, even without sexual allusions, what they already know from their own experience with pizza and life generally that when ordering for more than oneself, the preferences of others must be considered? Its all beyond moronic, even if it is the work of people holding degrees in education and drawing at tax expense annual salaries of $100,000 or more. Responding to the proposals to require all curriculum materials to be posted on the internet, teachers and school administrators around the country insist that they are not hiding anything and that they make curriculum materials available to anyone who asks. But this is evasive. For having a misplaced faith in schools, few people do ask, and few people might think they need to ask to see any curriculum materials likening pizza toppings to sex acts or imputing to white students guilt for the mistreatment of racial minorities throughout history. Yet such materials are indeed in use in American schools, precisely because they are not routinely publicized and easily accessible. Enfields Board of Education may appoint a committee to look into the pizza sex assignment and how a recurrence might be prevented. This too is moronic, for the school superintendent already should be able to answer the big questions. It is distressing and revealing that they were not answered at the board meeting when the incident was discussed at length. The problem here isnt the sexual prudery of parents or other observers. The internet distributes pornography so widely that Enfields eighth-graders already may know more about sex than their parents do. No, the problem is the unaccountability of public schools. Yes, posting on the internet all curriculum material will facilitate many questions and complaints, and some will be mistaken, arise from prudery, or have bad intent. But thats democracy, which inevitably is less convenient for government than totalitarianism, a lesson schools should teach perhaps most of all to their own staff. But will any legislators in Connecticut propose a curriculum-posting law and thus risk the ire of the teacher and school administrator unions? (Yes, in Connecticut most school administrators, supposedly managers, are unionized too and so not really managers.) Any such legislation shouldnt stop with curriculums. It also should require the posting of school salaries and teacher evaluations, thereby repealing Connecticuts law exempting teacher performance evaluations from disclosure, the laws only exemption for evaluations of government employees. Of course, the teacher and administrator unions surely would dissuade the governor and General Assembly from enacting that much accountability in public education. But a discussion of accountability legislation at least might establish that the big problem with public education in Connecticut is that its not really public at all. Chris Powell is a columnist for the Journal Inquirer. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription and are still unable to access our content, please link your digital account to your print subscription If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Gov. Hochul Friday said Ukrainian refugees from the Russian invasion would be welcomed with open arms in New York state. Just as the Statue of Liberty stands tall in our harbor, New York stands ready to welcome Ukrainian refugees, Hochul said in a statement. We will be prepared to accept and support those who seek shelter in our state. Advertisement Noting that New York is already home to the largest community of Ukrainian-Americans, the governor said the Empire State stands firmly behind the people of Ukraine as Russian troops pour into the independent neighboring country. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (Seth Wenig/AP) Our prayers are with the Ukrainian people, including those in New York who are scared for their family and loved ones, Hochul said. Advertisement She said New Yorkers are watching the Russian invasion with fear and outrage. There is no immediate sign of large scale movements of Ukrainian refugees to flee the Russian invasion. But a full-fledged occupation of Ukraine could lead to thousands seeking safe haven in neighboring countries like Poland. Like most Republicans and almost all leading Democrats, Hochul expressed support for President Biden as he seeks to unify Americans behind the effort to resist the Russian invasion. We are grateful to President Biden for his leadership in this moment of global crisis, she said. Obituaries will be accepted only from funeral homes, or from an individual only when legal documentation is presented at our office, of that individual's executor status over the estate of the deceased. Obituaries must be received with prepayment before 4 p.m. for publication the following day. On holidays, obituaries must be received with prepayment before noon for publication the following day. If you have questions, please call (256)-340-2384. Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Friday said 91 people from the state are stranded in Ukraine and all of them are students pursuing MBBS there. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar regarding the safety and evacuation of students from the war-torn country. According to Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), as per the district wise information of stranded persons received by its control room till 6 AM today, all 91 reported are students (pursuing MBBS) in Ukraine. All this information collected at the 24/7 control room has been shared with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Embassy of India, Kyiv, Ukraine to make all possible arrangements for the safe evacuation of stranded students hailing from Karnataka, it said. Further, MEA officers in the countries bordering Ukraine are in strategic locations for safe evacuation from alternative routes, the KSDMA release said, adding that "we request to stay calm and face the situation with fortitude and be rest assured that the solution for safe evacuation is worked out on a mission mode." Among the students stranded 28 are from Bengaluru, 10 from Mysuru, five each from Ballari and Hassan, followed by others. KSDMA said as per the latest information from MEA, its teams have headed to land borders of Ukraine on February 24, and to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine, MEA Teams are being sent to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania. The state government on Thursday issued a notification appointing senior IFS officer Manoj Rajan, Commissioner, Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority, Revenue Department (Disaster Management), as the Nodal Officer to facilitate safe movement of stranded people/students from Karnataka in Ukraine to their respective destinations, and has set up 24/7 Helpline for this purpose. "Today morning I spoke to External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, he has gathered complete details. Several students who had gone to study medicine there from Karnataka are at a place called Kharkiv among others, they are all in touch, they are told to stay in a safe place," Chief Minister Bommai said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, Government of India is making all efforts to evacuate them, Russian speaking diplomats are being sent to Ukraine. "Efforts are being made to bring them back through land route, using diplomatic channels, as air space is closed there. There is also a thinking that people stranded at Western Ukraine can be moved, but looking at the right time and security, the Indian Embassy will give instructions in this regard, they are in touch with all students," he added. Further stating that he has requested the External Affairs Minister to make necessary arrangements like food for the stranded students, the Chief Minister said, the state government and the Government of India has created helplines. "Jaishankar has instructed that until the war situation eases to an extent, every one (stranded there) needs to be cautious. There has been no reports of harm or trouble to anyone so far, but there are reports of bombing at some places like near Kharkiv, among others," he added. KSDMA has also created a web portal 'http://ukraine.karnataka.tech', which can be operated on a mobile also, to collect relevant information of stranded people in Ukraine who hail from Karnataka. New Delhi: Chinas latest demonstration of physically moving its disabled satellite to another orbit poses a new threat in the race to wea-ponise the space domain, Indian Air Force Chief V.R. Chaudhari said on Thursday. Moreover, he said no single service air force, army or navy can win wars on its own and this holds good even for the future. In January, Chinas Shij-ian-21 satellite physically moved a disabled Chinese satellite, altering its geostationary orbit. This capability of physically altering the orbits of a satellite has earlier been demonstrated by the US only. Chinas latest demonstration of physically moving one of its disabled satellites into the graveyard orbit is bringing in newer threats in the race to weap-onise the space domain, a domain hitherto considered relatively safe, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said. The spectrum that we are looking at stretches from kinetic to non-kinetic, lethal to non-lethal and from small drones to hypersonic ballistic missiles. This vast and ever-changing continuum will pose significant challenges for the armed forces of the future, he added. He said the IAFs training philosophy needs to be modern, flexible and adaptive, with a heavy dose of jointness. Students hold placards against Russia's invasion of Ukraine at a school in Chennai. (Photo: AFP) Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced that the state government will bear all the expenses related to the return of students from the state stranded in Ukraine, which is facing a Russian onslaught since February 24. According to an official release on Friday, 916 students and emigrants from the state stranded in the eastern European country have so far contacted the officials appointed by the government at district and state levels besides in New Delhi, regarding evacuation. "Under these circumstances, chief minister M K Stalin has announced that the Tamil Nadu government will bear all the travel expenses related to the Tamil Nadu students' return to the country," the release said. The release further said Jacintha Lazarus, director of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non Resident Tamils, could be contacted for this purpose. The state government's announcement comes a day after Stalin urged the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to operate special Vande Bharat mission flights to evacuate Tamil Nadu students and emigrants, numbering around 5,000, from Ukraine which is facing a military offensive from Russia. Most students are studying professional courses in that country. Hyderabad: TRS president and Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao is all set to constitute a 'national political working committee' to assist him in national politics. Party sources said Rao is mulling to accommodate 24 members in this committee that would include senior party leaders, a few ministers, MLAs, MLCs and MPs besides retired IAS and IPS officers, intellectuals and political analysts. The task of these committee members is to assist the CM during talks with leaders of regional parties in his attempt to forge an anti-BJP front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The committee will identify the issues that need to be discussed during the CMs talks with regional leaders. This apart, it was decided to speed up the construction work of the TRS office in Delhi to ensure its completion by the year-end. The CM has also decided to appoint the party's official spokespersons in Delhi to coordinate with the party's affairs at the national level in Delhi and coordinate with the national media. The CM had laid foundation for the TRS office in Delhi in September last but the works are moving at a slow pace. Rao, who is waging a political battle against the BJP-led government at the Centre after Huzurabad assembly bypoll drubbing for the TRS party in November last decided to play a key role in national politics from February 1, after the presentation of Union Budget in the Parliament, party sources claimed. Lashing out at Prime Minister Modi and the Centre for presenting a Golmaal Budget, KCR said he will try to bring all parties together to root out the BJP from power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Since then, KCR is focused on national politics by talking to leaders of regional parties such as Mamata Banerjee, Deve Gowda, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar etc. The CM addressed three public meetings this month in which he declared that he is willing for any sacrifice till the last drop of his blood to put the country on the right track and save the nation from divisive and communal forces. KCR wants to continue with his tours in March after the Budget session of the state legislature and make efforts to hold a conclave of regional parties either in Hyderabad or Delhi to discuss the future course of action against the BJP. Vladimir Putin has waited for decades to take revenge against the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for what he sees as their humiliation of Russia in the 1990s. Unlike the Cold War, when the Soviet Union was a superpower, after the Soviet collapse, the U.S. could afford to ignore Moscows objections to its military interventions in Kosovo, Iraq and Libya. NATO welcomed new members like Poland that were Moscows former allies and (in the case of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) former Soviet territories. Putin believes that the U.S. and NATO took advantage of Russian weakness, and wants to go down in history as the man who restored Russias great power status. He reformed and rebuilt the Russian military using Russias formidable oil and natural gas export revenues, and then reveled in its successes as he invaded neighboring Georgia in 2008 and Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014, and intervened to support Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in 2015. Advertisement Challenging the Atlantic alliance. (ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/Getty Images North America/TNS) Now beyond the obvious goal of restoring Russian control over Ukraine, Putin would like to split the NATO alliance. There are two ways he might use his invasion of Ukraine to attempt this. First, Putin may shower Ukrainian cities with indiscriminate air and artillery strikes. Many military experts think he will be forced to do this in any case if the fighting continues for long, since Russia will eventually run out of the precision missiles it has used to hit military targets. In that case, a massive refugee crisis will unfold, as Ukrainians attempt to flee over the western border into Poland. Advertisement Despite its membership in the western democratic alliance, the Polish government under President Andrzej Duda has long been moving in a nationalist and authoritarian direction, stoking concerns about NATO unity. Last fall, its eastern neighbor Belarus capitalized on this by encouraging would-be migrants from the Middle East to fly into Minsk, promising them they could then enter Europe over the Polish border. Poland refused to let the migrants in from Belarus or to give them help. At the peak of the crisis, thousands were camped in the forest with inadequate food and medicine, and at least 19 died. Hundreds of migrants still remain, and Poland is building a wall along its Belarusian border to keep them out. Refugees entering Poland from Ukraine would not be treated this badly. U.S. troops are already deployed at Polands Ukrainian border, at least in part to ease refugee flows. Poles have furthermore traditionally seen themselves as close cousins of Ukrainians. The high degree of sympathy for Ukraine across Europe and North America will likely ease the process of refugee resettlement. The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. > But Putin may believe he can add fuel to the fire of Polish anti-immigrant sentiment through his actions in Ukraine, creating political instability that weakens NATO from within. The second place to watch is in Belarus, along Ukraines northern border. Russian forces entered Belarus a few weeks ago and are now using it as a launching point for their attacks. After numerous joint military exercises in recent years, Belarus own military has become increasingly integrated with Russian forces, and may even be taking commands from Russia. Putin could use the war in Ukraine to keep Russian military and intelligence forces in Belarus permanently, perhaps fulfilling a goal he has long had of creating a confederation with Minsk. This matters for NATO because of the so-called Suwalki Gap, the 65-mile wide border between Poland and Lithuania. To the east of this line is Belarus, and to the west is Kaliningrad, a heavily militarized Russian exclave. The Suwalki Gap is the only way for NATO to reach its Baltic member states by land. Meanwhile, Kaliningrads massive air defenses would complicate NATOs air and sea access. If Putin were to attack Estonia or Latvia, which border Russia and have significant ethnic Russian minority populations, Russian forces deployed permanently on both sides of the Suwalki Gap would make it difficult for NATO to defend them. NATO could power through, but likely only with high casualties. Putin might hope the idea of putting American troops in harms way for the sake of Baltic independence would destroy the alliance. All this means that the most important actions the U.S. can take right now are to send more troops and assistance to Poland and the Baltic states, to signal American resolve and further deter any Russian attack on NATO, while working diplomatically to keep NATO unified in the face of Russian attempts to undermine it. Americans should also prepare to welcome Ukrainian refugees. Advertisement It is increasingly clear that there is little the U.S. can do to deter any actions Putin wishes to take against Ukraine. But America can and should do everything it can to defend the NATO alliance as the Russian threat grows closer by the day. Marten is a professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University. Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel Ltd said on Friday it would buy a 4.7 per cent stake in cell tower firm Indus Towers Ltd from Vodafone Group Plc. The British telecoms group said earlier this week it was looking to sell its entire 28.1 per cent stake in Indus Towers, India's largest cell tower company. Airtel did not disclose the deal value but said it was "protected with a capped price, which is lower than the price for the block of Indus shares sold by Vodafone (Group)." The deal is on the condition that proceeds from the sale would be infused back into Vodafone Idea Ltd, Airtel said. India's telecoms market, one of the world's biggest, was upended by Reliance Industries' Jio Infocomm, which launched with free voice and cut-price data in late 2016. This forced several rivals out of the market while others such as the local unit of Vodafone and India's Idea Cellular merged. Debt-laden Vodafone Idea has paid the government Rs 7,854 crore in dues, but still owes roughly Rs 50,000 crore. Shares of Indus Towers closed 4.2 per cent higher at 214.60 rupees on Friday. The news was announced after markets closed. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Ukraine's central bank has banned payments to entities in Russia and Belarus as well as operations involving both nations' currencies, the regulator said on Friday, a day after Russia launched a full-scale invasion. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Wailing sirens, roaring fighter jets, local authorities warning about possible aerial attacks, panic-stricken people stocking up on groceries in building cellars... this was how daily life looked like in Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine, on Thursday. About 15 students from India, among them a Bengalurean, have been stranded in Lviv without any help. In a state of panic, the students have taken shelter in a government building located opposite the mayors office in downtown Lviv. Almost all bunkers are filled with elders, women and kids. Though the city is safe from bombings, for now, we dont know when we will come under attack, said Mohammed Ali Aamir, a student and resident of Basavanagudi. Also Read | Indians in Ukraine advised to find bomb shelters if air sirens are heard Aamir has been pursuing a second-year veterinary science degree at Lviv National Stepan Gzhytsky University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology. Though the group managed to contact the Indian embassy in Ukraine, it has yet to receive help. According to Aamir, embassy officials are unable to evacuate them because the Ukrainian airspace has been blocked and theres no word yet from the higher authorities. Cash is also in short supply as several banks have come under attack. Another student said: No credit card issued in India is being accepted here and our dollars are running out. There is an absolute rush everywhere. People are flocking to supermarkets and stocking up on groceries and water but the supplies are running low. Also read: Maintain calm, remain safe wherever you are: Indian embassy in Ukraine to Indians The students have pooled money to buy rice, dry fruits and bottled water enough to last a week. We dont know what will happen. We just want to get out of the city at the earliest, Aamir said. Though the Polish border is just 40 km from Lviv and its open to Indians, the students neither have the means to get there nor is the journey safe. We have been asking locals and our seniors to hire some cars and bikes to reach the border and cross into Poland. We can fly out of there, Aamir said. We have been really worried for the last two days as the situation has become worse, said Nadeem, Aamirs father. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold discussions with booth level workers of the party from eight Assembly segments at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University ground here on February 27. BJP's state co-in-charge Sunil Ojha said that the Prime Minister will interact with the booth level workers on February 27 and all the arrangements have been intensified. The seating arrangements are being made in a way so that Modi can easily interact with any of the participants, he added. As per the party's plan, six booth level workers, including booth unit president of each booth, will take part in the proposed event. He also said that apart from them the district, city and divisional unit office-bearers will also participate in it. Ojha, along with organising general secretary of Gujarat unit Ratnakar, has asked the participants to assign responsibilities of different arrangements for the proposed event due to its importance in view of the Assembly polls. Also Read | Modi, Shah back to Hindutva in Uttar Pradesh's Avadh He has asked each Assembly area in-charge to conduct meetings in each divisional and booth unit. The responsibility of seating arrangements, parking and others will also be on the party workers, he added. The Prime Minister had held similar meetings with booth level workers before the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in 2019 and 2017. He had given the mantra of 'My booth is strongest' to ensure victory of party candidates at each booth. The BJP believes that winning each booth is the key to victory in Assembly constituencies. Check out latest DH videos here US President Joe Biden said on Thursday Washington is in still-unresolved "consultations" with India, when asked if Washington and Delhi were fully in sync on a response to Russia's attack on Ukraine ahead of an expected UN Security Council vote. Biden did not elaborate, but his short response to a question at a briefing at which he announced tough new sanctions on Russia over Ukraine drew attention to an awkward division between his administration and India, a country central to its efforts to push back against China's growing power. India has developed close ties with Washington in recent years but has a long-standing close relationship with Moscow, which remains a major supplier of its defense equipment. Also Read | Macron called Putin to 'demand immediate halt' to Russia offensive The 15-member United Nations Security Council, of which India is a member, is likely to vote on Friday on a draft resolution that would condemn Russia for invading Ukraine and require Moscow to immediately and unconditionally withdraw, a senior US administration official said. Russia is expected to veto the step, but Washington sees the vote as a chance to try and isolate Moscow, seeking at least 13 votes in favour and an abstention by Russia's partner - China. India has so far avoided condemning Russian actions in Ukraine, although Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did urge an end to violence there in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden said Putin would be a pariah on the international stage as a result of his attack on Ukraine and "any nation that countenances Russia's naked aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association." Also Read | Beyond the battlefield: What might happen next in the Ukraine crisis Asked if India was fully in sync with the United States, he said: "We're in consultation with India today. We haven't resolved that completely." In a statement, the US State Department said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday and "stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia's invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire." In a tweet, Jaishankar said he discussed the implications of developments in Ukraine with Blinken, without disclosing further details about the call. Jaishankar also said he had spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and "underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward." Also Read | 'Russia is a powerful nuclear state, Putin warns against interference Delhi has upset Washington with its purchase of Russia's S-400 air defense system, putting it at risk of US sanctions under a 2017 US law aimed at deterring countries from buying Russian military hardware. In December, Russia and India signed more trade and arms deals during a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, including one that will see India produce more than 600,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles. While there have been calls in Congress to exempt India from sanctions, some analysts say Russia's actions in Ukraine could bring increased pressure for sanctions from Russia hawks in the administration. Any sanctions could jeopardize US cooperation with Delhi in the Quad forum with Japan and Australia aimed at pushing back against China's expanding influence. The White House did not immediately respond when asked to elaborate on Biden's comment and a State Department spokesperson said: "We are continuing to consult with our Indian counterparts on a collective response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine." Watch the latest DH Videos here: France has sent an elite police unit to Kyiv to bolster the safety of its embassy in the Ukrainian capital, a security source told AFP on Friday. The team of eight, deployed since Wednesday at the embassy, is part of the GIGN, the French gendarmerie's elite tactical police force, the source said. They join the embassy's five permanent GIGN staff whose brief is to protect the embassy and its personnel against any threat. According to the Ukrainian army, Russian forces have been closing in on Kyiv from the northeast and east, with explosions heard in the city centre early Friday. Also Read Putin waves nuclear sword in confrontation with the West The deployment comes as France has begun to express concern about the safety of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said Friday he would stay put despite being the "number one target" for the advancing Russians. "We are ready to help him if necessary," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Inter radio Friday. But he declined to say whether such help could extend to the exfiltration of the president from Ukraine. Watch the latest DH Videos here: By Matthew Sussex for The Conversation There is no shortage of speculation about what Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to do with the vast Russian military force now virtually encircling Ukraine, and why he has amassed it. Its sheer sizethe largest combat force assembled in Europe since the second world warsuggests a maximalist approach: Erasing the humiliation of the Soviet Unions breakup 30 years ago with a massive, bloody and swift invasion of Ukraine on multiple fronts. Indeed, a full-scale attack looks increasingly imminent with an estimated 80 per cent of Russian forces now in combat-ready position and separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine formally requesting help combating what they falsely claim is aggression from the Ukrainian military. Others see it differently, believing Putin will be content with his gains so far. Some also consider Russias recognition of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine as signalling a muscular warning to Western leaders who have repeatedly ignored Russian security concerns. Also Read Chinese firms expect limited impact from Ukraine crisis; some seek to benefit Another view suggests Putin will opt for a hybrid strategy similar to Russias playbook in its 2008 war with Georgia: threatening to use force, formally recognising breakaway provinces, and destroying its adversarys militarybut stopping short of actual conquest. Putins anger laid bare Who is right? Each scenario is feasible, but the question of how to interpret Russian motives became clearer after Putins bizarre February 22 meeting with his Security Council in Moscow. At the meeting, he humiliated Russian spy chief Sergei Naryshkin for forgetting the script and supporting the incorporation of Donetsk and Luhansk directly into Russia, instead of just recognising their independence. The meeting was a pre-recorded charade. Even the time shown on Putins own watch suggested the signing ceremony to recognise the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk had taken place before the meeting with his chiefs had even started. But it was Putins angry speech afterwards that made clear just how personal this conflict might be. He opined at length that Ukraine was a colony with a puppet regime and had no right to exist. It recalled Putins 2021 essay bemoaning the collapse of the USSR and claiming Russia and Ukraine were one people, hence denying Ukrainians sovereignty and identity. Also Read Five essential commodities that will be hit by war in Ukraine His speech this week also included the false claim that Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin created Ukraine, praise for strongman Joseph Stalin, and the fanciful charge that Ukraine would seek to develop nuclear weapons. In doing so, Putin resembled more a Russian ultranationalist with a shaky grasp of history than a pragmatic master strategist. A personal mission to rewrite history The charade could be dismissed as domestic posturing a president in absolute command appealing to the patriotic urges of a population wary of conflict. But Putin seems to regard it as his personal mission to rewrite the history of the end of the Cold War. This goes beyond concerns he may have about his legacy, or a desire to deliver on his promise to restore Russia to its former greatness. This mission seems to be the real driver behind his aggression right now, not the narrative about the continued threat of NATO on Russias borders. In fact, his massive troop build-up on Ukraines borders (about 60 per cent of Russias total combat power) undercuts his perceived concerns over NATO and a potential Western invasion of Russia. This has required him to shift whole garrisons, including from near the border with Estonia and Latvia, both of which are NATO members. He has also decreed that the 30,000 Russian military personnel in Belarus will stay there indefinitely, ensuring Minsk also remains tightly bound to Moscow. This effectively adds new territory where Putin can station military forces and even potential nuclear weapons. Putin has calculated the economic risks All of this indicates the conflict in Ukraine is more about expanding Russias territorial footprint than about the much-hyped NATO threat. In fact, it is deliberately pushing closer to NATO. And this has implications for how Putin is likely to calculate risk. First, Putin knows NATO will not fight for Ukraine. Second, he would have gamed out the potential costs of Western sanctions and attempts to distract him with off-ramps to avoid conflict. Putins tactic of reducing gas supplies over the last six months, encouraging EU members to deplete their reserves during winter, is evidence his plan has been in the works for some time. Also Read Any nation that countenances Russian aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association: Biden So, too, has been his approach to diplomacy. Putins seeming willingness to negotiate over Ukraine has clearly been a pretence, given his refusal to budge on key issues and his swift discarding of the Minsk agreements over the future status of the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Third, Russia previously adapted to sanctions the West imposed after its invasion of Crimea in 2014 by divesting from dollars into gold and building a large sovereign wealth fund. This will provide some insulation from new sanctions imposed by Western countries this week. Putin may well calculate he will be able to ride out even a tough US and EU package. That already includes total blocks on Russian banks, Germanys delayed certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and hints from the Biden administration that tough export controls will be next. How the West must respond If Putin is undeterred by economic pressure, what about political and military risks? It makes little sense for him to stop at securing Donetsk and Luhansk as they stand today, which is why he chose to recognise the far larger territory the separatists claim but dont yet control. It also provides numerous opportunities for false-flag provocations, since 70 per cent of the territory the separatists have claimed is currently held by the Ukrainian military. But it is doubtful whether Putin would even see this as a victory. Also Read EU says 'Putin must and will fail' as it agrees new sanctions For one thing, he could have recognised Donetsk and Luhansk months, if not years ago. For another, he did not need to surround Ukraine with virtually every offensive military asset he hasincluding mobile missile launchers, tanks, special forces and civilian control unitsjust to secure the two small breakaway regions. If Ukraine is as personal for Putin as he is signalling, and his appetite for risk as high as his actions indicate, the West must assume he has loftier ambitions than the five-day war with Georgia in 2008. That means taking decisive coercive steps in response to Russias aggression. At the very least, the West will need a blisteringly tough sanctions package aimed at crippling the Russian economy. It will also need to arm Ukraine and provide technical, on-the-ground expertise, and provide signals and other intelligence to the Ukrainian armed forces. Providing this type of support will inevitably allow Putin to claim the West pushed him into a broader war, and plenty will believe him. But all the signs indicate that is what he wanted anyway. It is therefore vital for the sake of Western credibilityand for the Ukrainians set to suffer once again from Putins expansionist urgesto ensure such behaviour does not come without significant costs. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday Moscow was ready for talks if Ukraine's military surrendered, as he insisted that invading forces were looking to free the country from "oppression." Russian President Vladimir Putin "took the decision to conduct a special military operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine so that, freed from oppression, Ukrainians themselves could freely determine their future," Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow. The comment suggested that Moscow intends to overthrow the Ukrainian authorities with its invasion. Lavrov said Moscow was ready for talks with Kyiv if the Ukrainian army surrenders. "We are ready for negotiations at any moment, as soon as the armed forces of Ukraine respond to our call and lay down their arms," Lavrov said. Also Read 'Russian warship, go f*** yourself': Kyiv to honour troops killed on Black Sea island He said the aim of Putin's operation was "openly declared: demilitarisation and de-Nazification". Lavrov said that "nobody intends to occupy Ukraine." He denied Ukrainian claims that Russian forces had hit civilian infrastructure, despite widespread evidence of residential areas being damaged. The Ukrainian army said Friday that Russian forces were approaching Kyiv from the north and northeast. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was launching a major military operation in Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday. Western countries have imposed a barrage of international sanctions against Russia since then. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Invading Russian forces pressed deep into Ukraine as deadly battles reached the outskirts of Kyiv and the West responded with punishing sanctions. Russian missiles and shelling rained down on Ukrainian cities Thursday after President Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale ground invasion and air assault, forcing civilians to shelter on metro systems, with 100,000 people displaced. Across Ukraine, at least 137 "heroes" were killed after the first day of fighting, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, calling up conscripts and reservists nationwide to fight in a general mobilisation. The United States moved to impose sanctions on Russian elites and banks, but stressed that US forces would not head to eastern Europe to fight in Ukraine, but would instead defend "every inch" of NATO territory. Follow live Russia-Ukraine crisis updates here Zelensky said there was now a "new iron curtain" between Russia and the rest of the world, like in the Cold War, adding in a later speech that his nation had been "left alone". "Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone." Ukraine said Russian forces had seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, an area still heavily contaminated with radioactive material after a devastating 1986 accident, prompting the IAEA nuclear watchdog to call for "restraint". Witnesses told AFP that Russian paratroopers wrested control of the strategic Gostomel airfield, on the northwestern outskirts of Kyiv, after swooping in with helicopters and jets from the direction of Belarus. Also Read | US will be involved if Putin moves into NATO countries: Biden "The helicopters came in and then the battles started. They were firing machine guns, grenade launchers," resident Sergiy Storozhuk said. Western intelligence has said that Russia is seeking to mass "overwhelming force" around the Ukrainian capital and that Moscow has established "complete air superiority" over Ukraine. Elsewhere, Russian ground forces moved into Ukraine from the north, south and east, forcing many Ukrainians to flee their homes as the sound of bombing reverberated. Moscow's defence ministry said its forces had "successfully completed" their objectives for the day, earlier claiming to have destroyed over 70 Ukrainian military targets, including 11 airfields. Also Read | Ukraine declares full military mobilisation after Russian invasion Olena Kurilo was among 20 people wounded by flying shards of glass following a blast in the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuguiv. "Never, under any conditions will I submit to Putin. It is better to die," the 52-year-old teacher said, her face covered in bandages. US President Joe Biden announced export controls against Russia to cut off more than half of the country's high-tech imports, alongside sanctions on Russian elites he called "corrupt billionaires", and banks. He earlier said the G7 group of wealthy nations had agreed to impose "devastating" economic sanctions. The EU moved to impose "massive" sanctions on Russia's energy and finance sectors, while French President Emmanuel Macron called Putin to "demand immediate halt" to the offensive. Biden once again said additional US forces were not heading to eastern Europe to fight in Ukraine, but would defend "every inch" of NATO territory. Weeks of diplomacy failed to deter Putin, who massed over 150,000 troops on Ukraine's borders in what the West said was Europe's biggest military build-up since World War II. Zelensky called the attack on Chernobyl "a declaration of war on all of Europe" while 18 people were killed at a military base near the Black Sea port of Odessa in the deadliest single strike reported by Kyiv. The Ukrainian capital declared an overnight curfew but said underground stations would remain open throughout to serve as bomb shelters. Ukraine also said a military plane with 14 people on board crashed south of Kyiv and that officials were determining how many people died, while a transport plane crashed in Russia killing the crew. Ukrainian forces said they had killed "around 50 Russian occupiers" while repulsing an attack on a town on the frontline with Moscow-backed rebels, which could not immediately be confirmed by AFP. In the Ukrainian village of Starognativka near the frontline where separatists have faced off against Kyiv's forces, official Vladimir Vesyelkin said missiles had rained down since the morning and power was out. "They are trying to wipe the village off the face of the earth," he said. The fighting spooked global financial markets, with stocks plunging and oil prices soaring past $100. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said the unrest carried "significant economic risk" for the world, but Putin insisted he did not seek to undermine the global economic system. In a televised address, Putin justified the assault as a defence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin earlier said the leaders of the two separatist territories had asked Moscow for military help against Kyiv after Putin recognised their independence on Monday. A conflict between the separatists and government forces has dragged on since 2014, killing more than 14,000 people on both sides. NATO said it had activated "defence plans" for allied countries but alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said there was no plan to send NATO forces into Ukraine. Russia has long demanded that Ukraine be forbidden from ever joining NATO and that US troops pull out from Eastern Europe. In the Baltics, Lithuania declared a national emergency and Latvia banned three Russian TV channels that were broadcasting in the country, saying they posed a "threat to national security". The two along with the Czech Republic, also stopped issuing visas to Russians. Demonstrators took to the streets of European capitals to condemn Russia but a small anti-war protest in Moscow was quickly shut down by police. Monitors said over 1,700 people were detained at protests across the country. The first Ukraine refugees have begun to trickle into Hungary and Romania while the UN said 100,000 had been displaced by the fighting. "Anyone who can is fleeing," said Krisztian Szavla, one of the first refugees who arrived in Hungary Thursday from Ukraine's western Transcarpathia region. Check out latest DH videos here The EU has agreed to freeze European assets linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over their decision to invade Ukraine, EU officials told AFP on Friday. The measures were added Friday after being raised in overnight discussions by EU leaders on a new sanctions package that EU foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc were to validate. Germany and Italy were hesitant to apply the measure, but most EU countries were in favour of it, two officials said on condition of anonymity. The asset freeze on Putin and Lavrov was first reported by the Financial Times based on three sources who said neither of the Russians would be subject to an EU travel ban in order to keep diplomatic channels open. French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday the new EU sanctions package targeted "the highest officials" in Russia. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said as he arrived for the EU meeting in Brussels with his counterparts that, given Russia's undeterred military action on Ukraine, further sanctions were likely. "This (latest packet of sanctions) isn't enough. We need to choke the (Russian) system and in particular further target the oligarchs," he said. Watch latest videos by DH here: Early Thursday morning, Germany invaded Ukraine. So did the Netherlands, Italy, France, Great Britain and every other country that has supported Russian dictator Vladimir Putins war machine for the past decade. The missiles that slammed into Kharkiv, the helicopters attacking an airport near the capital Kyiv, every bullet in every Russian paratroopers gun all were built or bought largely with money from the free world. That same free world now stands in shock that these weapons are being used to do what they were designed to do. Europe bought Russian gas and oil and welcomed Putins oligarch cronies looted billions in IPOs, real estate purchases, and political donations legal and illegal. Even after Putin invaded Ukraine in 2014 and annexed Crimea, Europe tried to keep business as usual separate from Russias assault on European security and the global world order. Advertisement On Thursday, Putin repaid them in full for their years of appeasement. After weeks of posturing and dramatic calls for summits and negotiations made headlines around the world, he sent his massed forces into Ukraine on the schedule he set months ago. The preening shuttle diplomacy by Frances Emanuel Macron and Germanys Olaf Scholz was revealed to have been a waste of time for everyone but Putin, who used it to ready his forces for the attack. That time could have been used to arm Ukraine with the weapons it badly needs to fend off Russias overwhelming military superiority. It could have been used to level sanctions to demonstrate that this time, for once, the West was serious about deterrence. Instead, Ukraine was treated like a beggar and sanctions were kept in reserve, as a threat Putin had little reason to expect was serious. After all, goes his thinking, if you have the power to stop me and choose not to use it, arent you giving me the green light? Advertisement Its not as if Putin tried to hide what he was doing. Spies and satellites werent necessary to tease out that Russia was investing record sums in its military capacity and security forces; it was right there in the national budget for years. Russia may be falling apart and falling behind, but there was always plenty of cash for security forces and propaganda, the budget of a dictator. Putin was so confident of his potential rivals obliviousness and cowardice that he brought nearly every mobile element of the Russian military to Ukraines border over the course of two months. There were barely any of the usual pretexts about exercises, even when Russia took the unusual step of moving a large force into Belarus, where they were poised just a couple hours from Kyiv as the tank drives. Of course, this is far from the first time that the world has ignored Putins warnings, let alone mine. Five years into his rule in Russia, Putin infamously stated that the demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century. Few took it seriously or understood it to mean that Putin would try to reverse that catastrophe should he have the chance. Much the way Hitlers Mein Kampf was considered little more than hateful ranting when it was published in 1925, a clear warning was ignored. Now a war of conquest has erupted in Europe, the greatest ever threat to the post-World War II order of borders and laws. Tanks are rolling, ballistic missiles are flying and jets are dogfighting above major cities. Putin has followed through on his promise to try to crush Ukraine, which he first invaded in 2014. My Daily News op-ed on Putin at the time was bluntly titled Stop This Man. Needless to say, Putin has not been stopped. Eight years later, Putin and his war machine are much stronger. Instead of being politically isolated and economically cut off, his regime has profited from record gas and oil exports. Most profits are siphoned off into the private accounts that make Putin and his cronies the richest people in the world. Much of the rest has gone into a literal war chest, expanding and improving Russias military and internal security forces and filling a reserve fund to help them weather sanctions. Time has made Putins grip on power in Russia stronger as well, with every significant critic dead, jailed or exiled. The last major protests, in 2020 on behalf of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, were met by an army of well-equipped riot police. Their shiny new helmets and batons were also paid for by the same European nations whose leaders meekly protested the brutality. Putin is not invulnerable, nor is his army. Ukraine is fighting hard, and if the initial onslaught is repulsed, and aid arrives in time, Putin could find himself in a difficult position. He will have to either retreat or choose total war against an urban population, which could shock even sleepy NATO into action. Russians came out to protest this war in the largest numbers since 2020, with more than 1,700 arrests across the country on the first day. Most Russians get their news from state-controlled television, unfortunately, where they are told this is a war of self-defense against the Nazis in Ukraine and their masters in America. (Really.) But the longer the war goes on, the more obvious it will be that Putins needless war on Ukraine is also part of Putins war on Russians. Advertisement The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. > Russia has the worlds largest nuclear arsenal and Putin invokes it regularly, but there is much that can be done to constrain him and save lives now. After years of my warnings and proposals being ignored, and now hearing You were right, Garry! all day, Ill repeat what I said in 2014: Stop telling me I was right and start listening now. My recommendations: Support Ukraine militarily, immediately. Everything but boots on the ground, meaning every advanced weapon, intelligence and cyber-capabilities. It has to be now. If Ukraine falls, Putin will bleed it dry to compensate for sanctions and dig in, as he has in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. Victory in Ukraine is also the only way to avoid doing this all again and again when Putin needs new targets to distract from the disastrous state of Russia. Bankrupt Putins war machine by freezing and seizing Russian assets and access to markets. Kick Russia out of SWIFT and other financial networks, and every international institution. Expose and seize the assets of Putins cronies and their companies and families in the free world. Take away their visas and send them back to live in the dictatorship they helped build. Recall all ambassadors from Russia. There is no point in diplomacy or communications with a rogue dictatorship making war. Send the message that isolation will be total until all aggression ceases and Ukraine is made whole. Turn off, shut down and send home every element of Putins global propaganda machine. Russia Today and other platforms beam lies and hate into millions of homes in the free world, while Putin maintains total control of the media in Russia. Call out Putins lackeys in the free world. The lobbyists, the law firms, the former politicians like German ex-chancellor Gerhard Schroder, who chairs two of Putins strategically important energy companies. This includes the fifth columnists of all political stripes who side with a dictator for ideology or Russian cash. Why do executives and advertisers tolerate the likes of Tucker Carlson braying Putin propaganda in prime time? Trump and his acolytes in Congress still cant find a discouraging word for Putin and repeat Russian propaganda blaming NATO and Biden even as Russian bombs fall on Ukraine. Ive bashed every U.S. president since Reagan over Russia policy, but praising a bloodthirsty dictator to score partisan points is disgusting and un-American. Replace Russian energy exports by increasing production and opening new sources, from fracking to nuclear to renewables. Giving authoritarians so much leverage for extortion is unacceptable. Theres no point in saving the planet if you dont save the people on it. Joe Bidens Cold War background has prepared him better than most of his European peers. His grave tone and announcement of serious sanctions were a welcome start. Most EU leaders, even the ones in the East who grasp the danger Putin represents, are a generation removed from confrontation and conflict. But now they must help Ukraine fight against the monster they helped create. Also, from our Editorial Board Bad bad Vlad: The West tries containing Putin, but it only has so many tools This is war, a hot war, no longer deterrence, and time is of the essence to get weapons to Ukraine so it can fight the war for freedom that the rest of the world has preferred to pretend isnt real. We must acknowledge that there will be sacrifices involved. The price of stopping Putin has gone up since 2008, when he invaded Georgia, and since 2014, when he first invaded Ukraine, but it will only get higher if he isnt stopped now. Failing to fight will only postpone the inevitable to another time and place. Defending Ukraine from Putin is the defense of the free world. Defending Ukrainian lives is the defense of Western values. America used to care about such things, I recall from my life in the Soviet Union that Putin misses so much. Its time to do what is needed and to do what is right. Its time to fight. Advertisement Kasparov is chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative. Protesters turned out on public squares and outside Russian embassies in cities from Tokyo to Tel Aviv and New York on Thursday to denounce the invasion of Ukraine -- while more than a thousand who tried to do the same in Russia were arrested. The earliest known protest occurred outside Russia's embassy in Washington around 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) on Thursday, only three hours after President Vladimir Putin said he had launched his military operation. Local news reports showed dozens of protesters in the US capital waving Ukrainian flags and chanting "Stop Russian aggression!" Also Read | Beyond the battlefield: What might happen next in the Ukraine crisis In London, hundreds of demonstrators, many of them Ukrainian and some weeping gathered outside Downing Street, home to the prime minister, urging Britain to do more. "We need help, we need someone to support us," said one. "Ukraine is too small and the pressure is too big." In Paris, one demonstrator told Reuters: "I feel that we are in a very dangerous moment for the whole world." In Madrid, Oscar-winning Spanish actor Javier Bardem, nominated for another Academy Award this year, joined about a hundred protesters outside the Russian embassy. Also Read | 'Russia is a powerful nuclear state, Putin warns against interference "It is an invasion. ... It violates Ukraine's fundamental right to territorial sovereignty, international law, and many other things," Bardem said. A giant flag was carried through Manhattan's Times Square by a crowd of several hundred protesters. In the Swiss capital Bern, hundreds gathered, holding Ukrainian flags and chanting "Peace for Ukraine!". Agapi Tamir, 28, one of a few dozen members of Greece's Ukrainian community who staged a protest in Athens, said: Read more: Indians in Ukraine advised to find bomb shelters if air sirens are heard "The only thing we believe is that a miracle will stop all this awful and frightening thing that is happening at this moment." A small demonstration in Geneva, organised by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) outside the U.N. European headquarters, condemned what the group said was Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons. Other demonstrations were held in Beirut, Tel Aviv, Dublin and Prague. Also in Dublin, a Russian double-eagle crest beside the gate of the Russian embassy was defaced with red paint. Also Read | Russia captured Chernobyl power plant, says Ukraine More protests were scheduled for later in the day in the U.S. cities of Houston and Denver, according to social media posts. In Russia itself, protesters defied an official warning that explicitly threatened criminal prosecution and even jail time for those calling for or taking part in protests. Hundreds rallied in cities including Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, chanting slogans such as "No to war!" and holding up makeshift signs. By 1939 GMT, police had detained no fewer than 1,667 people in 53 cities, the OVD-Info rights monitor said. Six hundred were arrested in Moscow alone, the Tass news agency reported. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent. Popes usually receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican. For Francis to travel a short distance to the Russian embassy outside the Vatican walls was a sign of his strength of feeling about Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Vatican officials said they knew of no such previous papal initiative. Also Read: Zelensky says West slow in helping Ukraine against Russian invasion Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the pontiff wanted clearly to express his concern about the war. Pope Francis was there for just over a half-hour, Bruni said. Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict and has urged the faithful to set next Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine. But he has refrained from publicly calling out Russia, presumably for fear of antagonizing the Russian Orthodox Church, with which he is trying to build stronger ties. ___ Geneva: The UN human rights office says it is receiving increasing reports of civilian casualties in Ukraine in the wake of Russia's military invasion. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says its staffers have so far verified at least 127 civilian casualties. They include 25 people killed and 102 injured, mostly from shelling and airstrikes. She cautioned Friday that the numbers are very likely to be an underestimate. Shamdasani also said the rights office was disturbed by the multiple arbitrary arrests of demonstrators in Russia who on Thursday protested against the conflict. We understand more than 1,800 protesters were arrested, she said, before adding that it was unclear how many might have been released already. Meanwhile, spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said its latest update had that more than 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes in Ukraine. She said the agency's planning figures anticipated that up to 4 million people may flee to other countries if the situation escalates. Also Read: 'I don't want to die': Ukrainians fear as invasion closes in ___ London: Latvia's defense minister is criticizing European nations for failing to cut Russia off from the global bank payments network and refusing to provide weapons to help Ukraine defend itself. Artis Pabriks' comments came after the US and European Union stopped short of blocking Russia's access to the SWIFT payments system when they announced a new round of sanctions late Thursday. Pabriks also chided fellow EU nations that have refused to provide lethal aid to Ukraine, saying only the U.K., Greece, Poland and the Baltic states had done so. In an interview with the BBC on Friday, Pabriks suggested that many European leaders don't want to take these steps because they would cause economic hardship for their own countries. If you are really not ready yourself to spill blood, at least spill money now,'' he said. Do it now, because if you lose Ukraine all European geopolitics will change. There will be much more pressure on Poland, much more pressure on the Baltics.'' The Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia fear they could be the Kremlin's next target. ___ Damascus: Syrian President Bashar Assad is praising Russia's military incursion into Ukraine and denouncing what he calls western hysteria surrounding it. Assad spoke by phone Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. What is happening today is a correction of history and a restoration of balance which was lost in the world after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Assad said, according to state-run news agency SANA. He said confronting NATO expansionism is Russia's right. Russia is a main backer of Assad's government and its military intervention in 2015 in the country's civil war helped tip the balance of power in his favor. ___ Moscow: The Kremlin says it will analyze the Ukrainian president's offer to discuss a non-aligned status for his country, as a Russian military invasion pushes closer to Kyiv. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to hold talks on the issue. Asked about Zelenskyy's offer, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday described it as a move in a positive direction. He said in a conference call with reporters that we paid attention to that, and now we need to analyze it. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Zelenskyy is simply lying when he offers to discuss non-aligned status for Ukraine. Lavrov said at a briefing that Zelenskyy missed the opportunity to discuss a neutral status for Ukraine when Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed it. Putin says the West left him no option but to invade when it rejected Moscow's demand to keep Ukraine out of NATO. ___ Brussels: A senior European Union official says the 27-nation bloc intends to slap further sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. EU Council president Charles Michel tweeted Friday: Second wave of sanctions with massive and severe consequences politically agreed last night. Further package under urgent preparation. Michel announced the move after a call with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Michel said Kyiv is under continued attack by Russian forces and called on Russia to immediately stop the violence. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Russia has spent the past seven years building up formidable financial defences, yet in the long run, its economy is unlikely to withstand the onslaught of coordinated sanctions from the West. Europe and the United States are raining down reprisals after President Vladimir Putin sent tanks into Ukraine, adding to sanctions already pledged in response to his decision to recognise the independence of two breakaway Ukrainian provinces. "The view Russia will be unaffected is wrong. The negative effects may not be felt up front but sanctions will hobble Russia's potential in the longer run," said Christopher Granville, managing director at consultancy TS Lombard and a veteran Russia watcher. Follow live updates on Ukraine-Russia Steps by the West include sanctions and asset freezes on more Russian banks and businessmen, a halt to fundraising abroad, the freezing of an $11 billion gas pipeline project to Germany and limiting access to high-tech items such as semiconductors. Russia has dismissed sanctions as counter to the interests of those who imposed them. And they won't immediately dent an economy with $643 billion in currency reserves and booming oil and gas revenues. Those metrics have earned Russia the "fortress" economy moniker, alongside a current account surplus of 5% of annual GDP and a 20% debt-to-GDP ratio, among the lowest in the world. Just half of Russian liabilities are in dollars, down from 80% two decades ago. Also Read | Five essential commodities that will be hit by war in Ukraine Those statistics result from years of saving since sanctions imposed after Putin's 2014 Crimea annexation. According to Granville, surging oil prices will offer Russia an extra 1.5 trillion rouble ($17.2 billion) windfall this year from taxes on energy companies' profits. But this kind of autarky has a price -- deepening isolation from the world economy, markets and investment, he noted. "Russia will essentially be treated as a hostile state cut off from global flows, investment and other normal economic interactions that build living standards, incomes, productivity and company profitability." Signs of economic vulnerability are already present. Russian household incomes are still below 2014 levels and in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, annual economic output was valued at $1.66 trillion, according to the World Bank, far below the $2.2 trillion in 2013. Sergei Guriev, economics professor at France's Sciences Po and former European Bank for Reconstruction and Development chief economist, pointed out that Russian nominal per capita GDP, double China's in 2013, was now behind. "In 2013 Russia was a high-income country and was actively negotiating OECD accession. Russia is now back to the middle-income status," he said. DIMINISHING CLOUT Foreign investors in Russia are a dwindling tribe too. A JPMorgan client survey showed foreign holdings of rouble bonds at the lowest in two decades; equity investment has never returned to pre-Crimea levels in absolute terms, Copley Fund Research estimated. Also Read | US sanctions will isolate Russia from global financial system, says White House The premium demanded by investors to hold Russian dollar debt surged on Thursday to over 13 percentage points above U.S. Treasuries, almost triple the emerging markets average . "Sanctions are going to force Russia to self-finance more and more activity, constraining investment in industry and the military," said Jeffrey Schott, a trade and sanctions expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Bigger assaults could include ending Russian access to international payments system SWIFT and outright banning investment in Russia. Losing access to SWIFT would complicate export and import payments, and could even prevent paying bond coupons, triggering technical default. JPMorgan projects sanctions will slice up to 3.5 percentage points from GDP growth in the second half of 2022. Limited access to foreign capital leaves oil companies reliant on prepayment deals and facing significantly higher cost of capital, the bank added. The slow erosion in living standards also risks fanning popular discontent, threatening an administration that has already faced sporadic protests. Spillover may be inevitable. "Autarky is no recipe for progress," analysts at investment bank Berenberg wrote. "Coping with a heavily armed Russia mired in relative economic decline will remain a key challenge for Europe and the United States for the foreseeable future." Check out DH's latest videos: Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early Friday as Russian forces pressed on with a full-scale invasion that resulted in the deaths of more than 100 Ukrainians in the first full day of fighting and could eventually rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. After using airstrikes on cities and military bases, Russian military units moved swiftly to take on Ukraine's seat of government and its largest city in what US officials suspect is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime. Ukrainian leaders pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee, and hotels in Kyiv were being evacuated amid early indications of an assault. Follow live Ukraine-Russia crisis updates here Ukrainian forces braced for more attacks after enduring for hours a Russian barrage of land- and sea-based missiles, an assault that one senior US defence official described as the first salvo in a likely multi-phase invasion aimed at seizing key population centers and decapitating Ukraine's government. Already, Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster. In unleashing the largest ground war in Europe since World War II, Putin ignored global condemnation and cascading new sanctions. With a chilling reference to his country's nuclear arsenal, he threatened any country trying to interfere with consequences you have never seen, as a once-hoped for diplomatic resolution now appeared impossible. Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won't give up its freedom, Zelenskyy tweeted. His grasp on power increasingly tenuous, he pleaded Thursday for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days. Also Read | Attacks across Ukraine as dozens die in Russian invasion Zelenskyy said in a video address that 137 heroes, including 10 military officers, had been killed and 316 people wounded. The dead included all border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians. He concluded an emotional speech by saying that the fate of the country depends fully on our army, security forces, all of our defenders. He also said the country had heard from Moscow that they want to talk about Ukraine's neutral status." US President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, saying Putin chose this war and had exhibited a sinister view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. Other nations also announced sanctions, or said they would shortly. It was always about naked aggression, about Putin's desire for empire by any means necessary by bullying Russia's neighbors through coercion and corruption, by changing borders by force, and, ultimately, by choosing a war without a cause, Biden said. Also Read | Russians now see a new side to Putin: Dragging them into war Blinken said in television interviews that he was convinced that Russia was intent on overthrowing the Ukrainian government, telling CBS that Putin wants to reconstitute the Soviet empire." Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv's subway stations. At times it felt almost cheerful. Families ate dinner. Children played. Adults chatted. People brought sleeping bags or dogs or crossword puzzles anything to alleviate the waiting and the long night ahead. But the exhaustion was clear on many faces. And the worries. Nobody believed that this war would start and that they would take Kyiv directly, said Anton Mironov, waiting out the night in one of the old Soviet metro stations. I feel mostly fatigue. None of it feels real. The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukrainian and US officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. Zelenskyy, who had earlier cut diplomatic ties with Moscow and declared martial law, appealed to global leaders, saying that if you don't help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door. Though Biden said he had no plans to speak with Putin, the Russian leader did have what the Kremlin described as a serious and frank exchange" with French President Emmanuel Macron. Both sides claimed to have destroyed some of the other's aircraft and military hardware, though little of that could be confirmed. Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-unused Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been no casualties or destruction at the industrial site. The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the plant 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell to prevent leaks. Alyona Shevtsova, adviser to the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, wrote on Facebook that staff members at the Chernobyl plant had been taken hostage." The White House said it was outraged by reports of the detentions. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense issued an update saying that though the plant was likely captured, the country's forces had halted Russia's advance toward Chernihiv and that it was unlikely that Russia had achieved its planned Day One military objectives. The chief of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said the brutal act of war" shattered peace in Europe, joining a chorus of world leaders decrying an attack that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. The conflict shook global financial markets: Stocks plunged and oil prices soared amid concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket. Condemnation came not only from the US and Europe, but from South Korea, Australia and beyond and many governments readied new sanctions. Even friendly leaders like Hungary's Viktor Orban sought to distance themselves from Putin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the U.K.'s financial markets as he announced sanctions, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies and the Kremlin from raising money on British markets. Now we see him for what he is a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest, Johnson said of Putin. The US sanctions will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, Biden said, but they were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe. Zelenskyy urged the US and West to go further and cut the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House has been reluctant to immediately cut Russia from SWIFT, worried it could cause enormous economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West. While some nervous Europeans speculated about a possible new world war, the US and its NATO partners have shown no indication they would send troops into Ukraine, fearing a larger conflict. NATO reinforced its members in Eastern Europe as a precaution, and Biden said the US was deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO. European authorities declared the country's airspace an active conflict zone. After weeks of denying plans to invade, Putin launched the operation on a country the size of Texas that has increasingly tilted toward the democratic West and away from Moscow's sway. The autocratic leader made clear earlier this week that he sees no reason for Ukraine to exist, raising fears of possible broader conflict in the vast space that the Soviet Union once ruled. Putin denied plans to occupy Ukraine, but his ultimate goals remain hazy. Ukrainians were urged to shelter in place and not to panic. Until the very last moment, I didn't believe it would happen. I just pushed away these thoughts, said a terrified Anna Dovnya in Kyiv, watching soldiers and police remove shrapnel from an exploded shell. We have lost all faith. With social media amplifying a torrent of military claims and counter-claims, it was difficult to determine exactly what was happening on the ground. Russia and Ukraine made competing claims about damage they had inflicted. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had destroyed scores of Ukrainian air bases, military facilities and drones. It confirmed the loss of one of its Su-25 attack jets, blaming pilot error, and said an An-26 transport plane had crashed because of technical failure, killing the entire crew. It did not say how many were aboard. Russia said it was not targeting cities, but journalists saw destruction in many civilian areas. Poland's military increased its readiness level, and Lithuania and Moldova moved toward doing the same. Putin justified his actions in an overnight televised address, asserting the attack was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine a false claim the US predicted he would make as a pretext for invasion. He accused the US and its allies of ignoring Russia's demands to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and for security guarantees, saying the military action was a forced measure. Anticipating international condemnation and countermeasures, Putin issued a stark warning to other countries not to meddle. In a reminder of Russia's nuclear power, he warned that no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to the destruction and horrible consequences for any potential aggressor. Check out latest DH videos here Ukraine's Defence Ministry said on Friday that more than 1,000 Russian servicemen had been killed so far in the Ukrainian conflict. "Russia has not suffered so many casualties during the fighting in any of its armed conflicts since its inception," the ministry said. Watch latest videos by DH here: A jury found three former Minneapolis police officers guilty on Thursday of violating the civil rights of George Floyd, the African-American man whose May 2020 murder sparked nationwide protests. Tou Thao, 36, J. Alexander Kueng, 28, and Thomas Lane, 38, were convicted after a month-long federal trial in Saint Paul, the sister city of Minneapolis, of showing "deliberate indifference" to Floyd's medical needs. Thao and Kueng were also found guilty of failing to intervene to stop the use of "unreasonable force" against Floyd by a fourth officer, Derek Chauvin. Chauvin, who is white and was the senior officer on the scene, kneeled on the neck of a handcuffed Floyd for nearly 10 minutes until he passed out and died. Also Read | Drugs, 'excited delirium' didn't kill George Floyd: Toxicologist He was convicted of murder last year and is serving 22 years in prison. Floyd's death, which was filmed by a bystander in a video that went viral, sparked months of protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the United States and around the world. Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Brandon Williams, Floyd's nephew, called it a "small victory." "Oftentimes, you know, officers kill Black and brown men and women and we get little to no consequences," Williams said. "A lot of times, we don't even get charges, let alone a conviction." The all-white jury of eight women and four men deliberated for 13 hours over two days before finding the three former officers guilty of all the charges against them. Also Read | Officer who murdered George Floyd pleads guilty to federal rights violation charges The maximum sentence is life in prison but the three are not expected to get such a lengthy punishment. Thao and Kueng did not react as the verdicts were read but Lane dropped something on the table in front of him and shook his head. Lane did not face the second charge of failing to intervene. Video of the arrest shows that on two occasions he suggested that Floyd be rolled over on his side. US Attorney General Merrick Garland welcomed the verdict in the high-profile case and said "George Floyd should be alive today." "Today's verdict recognizes that two police officers violated the Constitution by failing to intervene to stop another officer from killing George Floyd, and three officers violated the Constitution by failing to provide aid to Mr Floyd in time to prevent his death," Garland said in a statement. "The Justice Department will continue to seek accountability for law enforcement officers whose actions, or failure to act, violate their constitutional duty to protect the civil rights of our citizens." Philonise Floyd, Floyd's brother, described it as a "good day" for the family but said, "this is just accountability." "It could never be justice because I can never get George back," he said. Thao, Kueng, Lane and Chauvin were attempting to arrest the 46-year-old Floyd for allegedly using a fake $20 bill to buy a pack of cigarettes. After Floyd put up a struggle while being placed in a police car, the officers wrestled him to the ground and placed him face down on the pavement. While Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck, Kueng was on his back and Lane held his legs. Thao kept back bystanders who were pleading with Chauvin to get off the visibly distressed Floyd. In her closing arguments to the jury, prosecutor Manda Sertich said all three officers "knew that George Floyd couldn't breathe, didn't have a pulse and was dying." "Make no mistake, this is a crime," Sertich said. Lawyers for Kueng and Lane stressed that the two officers had been on the job for only a few days and deferred to Chauvin, a nearly 20-year veteran and the senior officer on the scene. The defense attorney for Lane also noted that he asked Kueng to check Floyd's pulse and administered CPR after an ambulance arrived. Thao, who is Hmong American, Kueng, who is Black, and Lane, who is white, still face Minnesota state charges in connection with Floyd's death in a trial that is scheduled to begin on June 13. But in a sign of the importance of the case, federal prosecutors also charged the officers with violating Floyd's constitutional rights. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the Ukrainian army to overthrow the government whose leaders he described as "terrorists" and "a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis". Putin also accused "Ukrainian nationalists" of deploying heavy weapons in residential areas of major cities to provoke the Russian military, a claim that could fuel fears Moscow is creating pretexts for justifying civilian casualties. Addressing the Ukrainian military in a televised address, he urged them to "take power in your own hands." Read | Alarm over radiation in Chernobyl after Russia attack "It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis," he said, referring to leadership in Kyiv led by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish. Putin, who on Thursday ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine, claimed that Ukrainian "nationalists" were preparing to deploy multiple rocket launchers to residential areas of Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Read | Ukraine says more than 1,000 Russian soldiers killed so far Ukraine's leadership are "acting like terrorists all over the world: they are hiding behind people in the hope of then blaming Russia for civilian casualties". "It is known for a fact that this is happening on the recommendation of foreign consultants, primarily American advisers," Putin said. Putin and top Russian officials have said Moscow's troops are only targeting ultra-nationalists in Ukraine. Putin also praised Russian troops saying they were acting in a "courageous and professional manner". "They are successfully solving the most important task of ensuring the security of our people and our Fatherland," Putin said. Watch latest videos by DH here: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow will "sooner or later" have to talk with Kyiv to end their war, as Russian forces pressed on their invasion and attacked the capital. Follow live updates on Russia-Ukraine crisis, here "Russia will have to talk to us sooner or later. Talk about how to end the fighting and stop this invasion. The sooner the conversation begins, the less losses there will be for Russia itself," Zelenskyy said in a video address. Check out DH's latest videos: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that invading Russian forces are targeting civilian areas, praising his countrymen for their "heroism" and assuring Kyiv is doing "everything possible" to protect them. He spoke as Moscow's forces reached the capital, with explosions heard in the city that the government described as "horrific rocket strikes." "They say that civilian objects are not a target for them. But this is another lie of theirs. In reality, they do not distinguish between areas in which they operate," Zelenskyy said in a video. "Ukrainian air defence systems are defending our skies," he said. "Ukrainians are demonstrating heroism". Follow live Ukraine-Russia crisis updates here "All our forces are doing everything possible" to protect people, he added. The Ukrainian leader called on people to show "solidarity" and help the elderly find shelter and "access to real information." Zelenskyy also said that Russia will have to eventually talk to Kyiv to end their war. "Russia will have to talk to us sooner or later. Talk about how to end the fighting and stop this invasion. The sooner the conversation begins, the fewer losses there will be for Russia itself," he said. Also Read | Stuck in govt building, dollars running out: Indian students' ordeal in Ukraine Switching into Russian in his address, Zelenskyy acknowledged Russian street protests against Vladimir Putin's attack on Ukraine that ended with mass arrests Thursday. "To the citizens of the Russian Federation that are coming out to protest, we see you. And this means that you have heard us. This means that you believe us. Fight for us. Fight against war." Russian police detained more than 1,700 people at anti-war protests across dozens of cities Thursday night. Moscow was asleep when Putin ordered an air and ground assault on Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday. Check out the latest videos from DH: Assam Police has alerted PSU major Oil India Limited (OIL) of possible attacks by the banned ULFA(I) on its installation in the state and of possible kidnapping of its officials. The Dibrugarh superintendent of police (district special branch) in a letter to the general manager (security) of OIL at its field headquarters in Duliajan has asked the company to sensitise its officials and employees about the threat. The letter, a copy of which is available with PTI, said that "reliable intelligence input" indicated that ULFA(I) and its supporters are planning to carry out "subversive activities" in Dibrugarh. "They may kidnap/target men from oil installations for their vested interest," the letter, dated February 22, said and asked OIL to alert the security components deployed at the vital installations and vulnerable strategic locations till February 28. "Further, you are requested to augment the security of the oil rigs/workover rigs by deploying armed security guards where unarmed local security guards are presently manning," the SP said. The alert also suggested joint security and mobile patrolling with local police at frequent intervals to "neutralize such nefarious designs" of the outfit. Reacting strongly to the Assam Police warning, the ULFA(I) publicity department member Rumel Asom said in a statement that the outfit does not have any such plan against OIL. He alleged that the entire development is a result of the "vested interest" of a few top officials of Assam Police and "financial irregularities" by them are behind issuing the alert letter to the company. On April 21,2021 three employees of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) were kidnapped by ULFA(I) militants from the Lakwa oilfield in Sivasagar district along Assam-Nagaland border. Two employees were rescued three days later after an encounter near the India-Myanmar border in Mon district of Nagaland, while the third was released by the militants after 31 days on May 22 in Myanmar near the border. During the first week of April last year, two employees of the Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure were released by ULFA(I) after three-and-half months of their kidnap on December 21, 2020. The duo were kidnapped from Kumchaikha hydrocarbon drilling site in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh with a demand for ransom of Rs 20 crore. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Russia has taken off its mask. For years, President Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs have enjoyed the benefits of Western democracies, their wealth and their lifestyles, all the while trying to undercut and destroy them. Russias major attack on Ukraine underscores Putins deep resentment of the West, his fear of democratic values and his determination to restore Russian control over independent, freedom-loving people in Eastern Europe. Whether his attack succeeded depended first on the Ukrainians and their willingness to fight to protect their freedoms, but second, on the United States strength and global leadership. Though the situation seems dark after three days of combat, there is much to be done. Advertisement The battle for Kyiv is moving toward its second phase, as Russian forces battle through Ukrainian defenders, or fly over them, to attempt to encircle Kyiv and force a new, Russian-supporting leader on the people of Ukraine. By all reports, the Ukrainian Army is fighting hard and inflicting losses on a vastly superior force. However, Russian armor columns with tanks and artillery moved in from the north towards Kyiv. U.S.-supplied Javelin antitank missiles and Stinger antiaircraft missiles have proved effective against the Russians. Major tank battles have been fought. As of late Friday, supplies were running low. President Joe Biden, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin (AP) Meanwhile, most of the world is condemning the Russian attack and Putin himself. President Biden has announced a new, more punishing round of sanctions against Russia. Assembling the sanctions is a testament to the strength of American leadership. NATO is also calling up its rapid reaction forces, to be able to protect NATO territory from any spillover in the fighting in Ukraine, and to help deal with the flow of what could be millions of refugees escaping the fighting. Biden has also pledged humanitarian assistance. But none of these measures the financial sanctions, the promise of humanitarian assistance, nor NATO mobilization will halt the Russian attack or save millions of Ukrainians in the path of the attack. Advertisement Even more than the lives of 40 million people are on the line. NATO itself is less defensible if Ukraine is occupied by a hostile power. The Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are possible next targets. Ukrainian resistance will weaken Russias threat to these democracies. And if Russia gains Ukraines technical capabilities and resources, it poses an even greater threat to NATO. From the sidelines China is watching, calculating U.S. courage and resolve. Ukraines fight is thus our fight, too. The best course of action is to demand Russia halt and establish a safe zone over Kyiv and in the western part of the country. This would have to be declared and enforced by the United States. The UN should back this. In the interim, to keep Ukraine in the fight, and Russia out of Kyiv, Ukraine needs assistance from the United States. This support includes replenishment of Javelin and Stinger stocks, night vision devices and intelligence and communications support. This support needs to be provided on a continuing basis now. In addition, heavier armored and artillery spares may be needed, along with ammunition and fuels. Not fighters but logistics and support are exactly what is needed, and both are American strengths. They must be provided on a bilateral basis, outside of the NATO framework, and urgently. This is a war that strikes at the very soul of Ukraine and its existence as an independent nation. It is also a profound threat to the international rules-based order that has maintained the peace since World War II. But passion is not enough. Military and political leaders in Ukraine must manage the fight successfully. They must direct their forces, manage resupply and protect the security of their population and cities. So far, they have fought brilliantly. Now it is up to the United States and the West. We cannot stand aside. Since President Truman first provided assistance to Greece in fending off a Communist insurgency in 1947 and 1948, the United States has never failed to assist nations defending themselves against attack. Not every effort was successful in the short term, but over 70 years, the United States established its moral authority and America sought to meet its obligation under the UN Charter to assist the victims of aggression. In this particular instance, with China now challenging the United States for global leadership and Russia increasingly aligned with China, there is a special burden placed on American leadership. By harnessing global support, using the financial power of the United States and providing the unique military support only we can give, President Biden and his team can preserve our security in this perilous moment. All Americans should support him. Clark, a retired U.S. Army general, is former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and a senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center. Former West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay Friday challenged before the Delhi High Court the transfer of his application concerning the proceedings against him from Kolkata to New Delhi by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), saying it was against the principles of natural justice as he was not given an opportunity to be heard. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh heard the counsel for Bandyopadhyay and the Centre and reserved its judgement on the petition. The court granted liberty to the parties to file a short written submission by Saturday. Bandyopadhyay had moved the Kolkata bench of CAT to challenge the proceedings initiated against him in a matter related to not attending a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the effects of cyclone 'Yaas' at the Kalaikunda Air Force Station on May 28 last year. The proceedings were initiated by the Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievance and Pensions. Advocate Kartikey Bhatt, appearing for Bandyopadhyay, argued that the transfer order was passed in complete violation of the principles of natural justice, equity and fair play as he was not even granted a right to file his written objections and the Centre's plea was allowed on the very first day of its listing. He argued that convenience of the officer has to be considered while issung the order and the petitioner ordinarily and permanently resides in Kolkata and the entire cause of action occurred within the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Bench of CAT. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said till the time proceedings are virtual, it does not matter it happens in Kolkata or Delhi and the court can record his request or joint request that the hearing shall be held virtual before the CAT. The law officer referred to Section 25 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, which related to the power of Chairman to transfer cases and said, Please see the width of powers. Notice is not even relevant. These are very wide powers akin to the master of roaster power. Section 25 of the Act states, on the application of any of the parties and after notice to the parties, and after hearing such of them as he may desire to be heard, or on his own motion, without such notice, the Chairman may transfer any case pending before one Bench, for disposal, to any other Bench. Mehta added that no judicial interference was warranted in this case. Bandyopadhyay, who was not released by the state government, chose to retire on May 31, 2021, his original date of superannuation before having been given an extension of three months from that date. The Union government had filed a transfer petition before the principal bench of CAT, which on October 22 last year allowed the transfer of Bandyopadhyay's application to itself in New Delhi. On January 6, the Supreme Court had set aside a Calcutta High Court order which quashed the CAT transfer order and granted Bandyopadhyay the liberty to assail the same before the jurisdictional high court. The apex court had delivered its verdict on a plea filed by the Centre challenging the October 29, 2021 order of the Calcutta high court. In the present petition, Bandyopadhyay has claimed that the Centre sought transfer on the ground that the department is based in New Delhi but the "situs" of the office of the Union of India or its convenience can never be a valid ground to transfer an original application and the convenience of a retired officer ought to have been given precedence. Check out latest DH videos here The BJP on Friday alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), with her own trusted men, to cover up the probe of the murder of Anis Khan. Earlier this week, the chief minister formed the SIT to probe the death of the 28-year-old student leader Anis Khan. BJP West Bengal co-in-charge Amit Malviya said his parents claimed that he was thrown to death by uniformed policemen. Malviya alleged that instead of providing justice to the family, the Banerjee government is trying to cover it. Also Read | SIT to probe student leader Anis Khan's death, says Mamata "Anis Khan, 28-year-old student, who was protesting for 130 days against the Mamata Banerjee Govt is thrown to death by uniformed policemen, as claimed by his parents. Instead of providing justice to the family, Mamata Banerjee constitutes an SIT, packed with her men, to cover up," Malviya said. Anis Khan, a former Aliah University student, was allegedly thrown off the terrace of his residence in the dark of night by the assailants, who visited his home identifying themselves as personnel from the Amta police station, as testified by his father who was held at a gunpoint when the assailants committed the murder. The father has called for a CBI probe into the incident. The incident became more complicated when a letter came to the fore wherein Anis had written to the officer-in-charge of the Amta police station that on May 22, 2021, a blood donation camp was organised in his village by the Jana Swasthya Suraksha Committee under his leadership. Banerjee has set a 15-day deadline for the SIT to submit its report. The SIT headed by Additional Director General (CID) Gyanwant Singh has started questioning the officer-in-charge of Amta police station, Debabrata Chakraborty, and second officer Pritam Bhowmik in connection with the murder case. They have been asked to clarify why the police were late in reaching the murder spot and why the basic formalities of the investigation were ignored. Check out DH's latest videos: Russian devotees of Lord Jagannath have offered prayers at the 12th-century shrine here seeking an end to the war with Ukraine and restoration of peace. The three Russians, including a woman, are members of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). They sat at Lion's Gate at Jagannath Temple on Thursday and offered puja for the protection of people in Ukraine. They were offered the Mahaprasad cooked in the temple. Check out the latest videos from DH: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to order an SIT probe into the Tripura violence last year, as the High Court was already siezed of a similar matter. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant asked petitioner advocate Ehtesham Hashmi and others to approach the Tripura High Court with a liberty to attend through video conferencing. The court also granted the petitioner protection from any coercive action. It also asked the High Court to dispose of the pending matter expeditiously. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, said the High Court is only examining issues for compensation, while client is seeking an impartial SIT probe. "If the Chief Justice of state High Court is already hearing after taking suo motu cognisance, we should not intervene at this juncture, as it will amount to expression of no-confidence in the High Court," the bench said. Bhushan said there was serious communal violence, where mosques were burnt but the Chief Minister was still in denial. The court, however, disposed of the matter, saying the petitioners can raise all contentions before the High Court. On November 29, last year, the top court issued notice to the Centre and Tripura government on the plea for independent SIT probe into the alleged hate crimes and incidents of violence against Muslims in the state between October 13 and 27, 2021. In response, the Tripura government has asked the court to dismiss the PIL filed for probe, saying it was based on "self-serving report", "planted and pre-planned articles" and filed by individuals, who were selectively outraged with it, though they remained silent on large scale pre and post poll violence in West Bengal. The petitioners contended that they had personally visited riot affected areas of the State along with other Delhi based advocates and published a fact-finding report 'Humanity Under Attack in Tripura'. Watch latest videos by DH here: The Indian government will evacuate all Indian nationals from Ukraine, India's Ambassador said here on Friday as he assured Indian students holed up in this country, a day after Russia launched a massive military operation against it. Indian Ambassador to Ukraine Partha Satpathy also urged the students taking refuge in temporary shelters to be realistic about the situation and convey to friends and families that everything would just be fine. With Russia announcing a military operation in Ukraine, thousands of Indian students enrolled in Ukrainian higher education institutions mostly studying medicine are in a state of panic and pleading with authorities to ensure their safe return to India. Also Read | Stranded in Ukraine's bunkers, thousands of Indian students desperate for rescue The government of India is completely seized with the matter. Every Indian will go back home. Planes are being lined up. Personnel is being lined up, but its a warzone. We will have to work out the logistics and find the modalities to reach the West, Satpathy said while speaking to students who were holed up here. We have to be realistic about the situation. So, convey to your friends wherever they are in Ukraine that things will be fine, he was seen telling anxious Indian nationals in a video shared by a student. The Indian government is making all possible efforts to evacuate Indians from Ukraine through its land border crossings with its neighbouring countries, Satpathy said. Also read: 'I don't want to die': Ukrainians fear as invasion closes in Government officials said Air India is also planning to operate two flights to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate some of the Indians. After coordinating with our embassies in the neighbouring countries, the Ministry of External Affairs and the government of India, the movement of vehicles has started. Through Romania, we will send our first batch of students, he explained. In an advisory, the embassy said Indian teams are being deputed at the Chop-Zahony check post on the Hungarian border as well as at Porubne-Stret on the Romanian border around Chernivtsi in Uzhhorod. Also Read: Its official: The post-Cold War era is over "In this difficult situation, the embassy of India requests Indians to continue to remain strong, safe and alert. The embassy is also working round the clock to support the Indian community in Ukraine," it said. "The government of India and the embassy are working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary," it added. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday that there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and of them, nearly 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days. My primary objective is to get you back to your parents so that they feel relaxed and I dont keep getting phone calls. But all of you have to be cooperative and be realistic of the current situation, Satpathy added. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday held a meeting with representatives from travel, tourism and hospitality sectors to discuss various credit related issues with them. The meeting was also attended by senior finance ministry officials and heads of various public sector banks (PSBs). "Along with the FM, the meeting was also attended by MoS Finance Shri @DrBhagwatKarad; Finance Secretary; Secretaries for Financial Services, Economic Affairs & Revenue; chiefs of PSBs & IBA, besides senior officials from @FinMinIndia," the finance ministry said in a tweet. Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman chairs a meeting with representatives from travel, tourism and hospitality sectors to discuss various banking related issues with them, in New Delhi today. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/nbBrpfS9wP Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) February 25, 2022 Notably, Budget 2022-23 had proposed to open an additional Rs 50,000 crore window under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to support hospitality and related services sector. "Hospitality and related services, especially those by micro and small enterprises, are yet to regain their pre-pandemic level of business. Considering these aspects, the ECLGS will be extended up to March 2023 and its guarantee cover will be expanded by Rs 50,000 crore to a total cover of Rs 5 lakh crore with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for hospitality and related sectors," Sitharaman had said in the Budget speech. Besides, the Budget also proposed to extend the ECLGS by one more year till March 2023 and guarantee cover expanded to Rs 5 lakh crore from Rs 4.5 lakh crore. This was announced as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan package announced in May 2020 with an aim to provide relief to micro, small and mid sized firms hit the hardest by the pandemic. Check out latest DH videos here Maharashtra minister Jayant Patil on Friday attacked the Union government, saying that instead of "misusing" central agencies for its political aspirations, it should evacuate Indian students stranded in Ukraine amid Russian invasion. The NCP leader also alleged that the ruling BJP "seems to be busy in elections" as nothing was done by the government although he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office five days ago to evacuate Indian students from Ukraine given the tension there. Also Read: Dialogue, diplomacy best way forward to defuse Ukraine crisis, Jaishankar tells Sergey Lavrov "An increase in tension over a #RussiaUkraineConflict, a week ago I demanded @PMOIndia to evacuate the students ASAP. But the ruling party seems busy in elections, it looks like they have nothing to do with the students stuck amidst war. #UkraineInvasion," Patil, who is Water Resources Minister and state NCP chief, said in a tweet. Results of the Assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, will be declared on March 10. "Instead of misusing central agencies for political aspirations. I request you to use your power and evacuate students," Patil said on the micro-blogging site. Patil did not specify any incident, but he was apparently referring to the actions taken by central agencies against some of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders, including former minister Anil Deshmukh and serving minister Nawab Malik - in separate cases. The situation on the #RussiaUkraine border has been escalating for the last 15 days. There are approx 18k Indians, most of them are students in #Ukraine, waiting for the help. I request PM @narendramodi to ensure the safety of students & evacuate them asap. They are our future. Jayant Patil- (@Jayant_R_Patil) February 20, 2022 Malik was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday in a money laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. On February 20, Patil had requested the prime minister via Twitter to ensure safety of Indian students stuck in Ukraine and arrange for their evacuation as soon as possible. Russian forces on Thursday launched a military offensive against Ukraine following weeks of tension between the two neighbouring countries. Watch the latest DH Videos here: The government is making efforts to evacuate Indian nationals from Ukraine through its land border crossings with its neighbouring countries and they would then be brought back home, official sources said on Friday. They said evacuation flights for the Indians are being arranged and the transportation cost will be completely borne by the government. "The government of India is organising evacuation flights for Indians in Ukraine. The cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation," said a source privy to the development. India is focusing on evacuating the Indians through Ukraine's land borders with Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania as the Ukrainian government closed the country's airspace following the Russian military offensive. Read | Russia says ready for talks if Ukraine 'lays down arms' Government officials said Air India is planning to operate two flights to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate some of the Indians. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday that there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and of them, nearly 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days. In a related development, the Indian embassy in Ukraine said efforts are on to evacuate the Indians through Romanian and Hungarian border crossings. In an advisory, the embassy said Indian teams are being deputed at the Chop-Zahony check post on the Hungarian border as well as at Porubne-Stret on the Romanian border around Chernivtsi in Uzhhorod. "In this difficult situation, the embassy of India requests Indians to continue to remain strong, safe and alert. The embassy is also working round the clock to support the Indian community in Ukraine," it said. "The government of India and the embassy are working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary," it said. At a media briefing on Thursday night, Shringla said the government is according the topmost priority to the evacuation of Indians and that teams of Indian officials were on their way to the Zahony border post in Hungary, Krakowiec land border in Poland, Vysne Nemecke in Slovak Republic, and Suceava land border in Romania. "We have also asked some of our officers to go across and set up camp offices in Ukraine close to the border to the places we have identified -- Lviv, which is close to Poland, and Chernivtsi which is close to Romania," he said. Watch latest videos by DH here: The Karnataka High court resumed hearing on the hijab row. On Thursday, the Court asked the counsels to wind up their arguments by Friday as it indicated that it will shortly deliver the order. Stay tuned for more updates. Nearly 400 Indian students in Ukraine's Sumy city bordering Russia have taken shelter in a basement after Russian forces took control of it and have appealed to the government of India to evacuate them. Sumy in northeastern Ukraine is about 50 miles from the Russian border. The city mayor surrendered to Russian forces on Thursday. The students, most of whom are studying in Sumy State Medical University, said they fear for their safety as gunshots can be heard outside. Follow live Ukraine-Russia crisis updates here "Right now, we are hiding in the basement of our dormitory. We do not know if this basement is enough for us to survive. We urge the Indian government to try to evacuate us from the eastern side of Ukraine," Lalit Kumar, one of the students, told PTI. "Travelling on our own is not possible. Martial law has been imposed here and that means no outing, no cars, no buses and no private vehicle can travel. ATMs and supermarkets are also not working," he said. The students also shared short videos of the basement they are hiding in. Kumar, a fifth-year student, said they have limited supplies. Also Read | Stuck in govt building, dollars running out: Indian students' ordeal in Ukraine "We do not have enough supplies here to continue. The Indian government is our last hope... we want go to our motherland and see our loved ones. Kindly help us," he said in a message. Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine on Wednesday night. Russia has launched multiple attacks on several areas in central and eastern Ukraine. At a media briefing on Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla assured all Indian citizens, including students, in Ukraine and their family members that the government will take all possible steps to bring them back safe and sound. He said there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and of them, nearly 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days. Check out latest DH videos here Female commandos conduct hostage rescue training China Military Online) 14:24, February 25, 2022 Soldiers assigned to an all-female special operations element of the Leishen (Thor) Commando Unit with the PLA airborne force provide cover for each other in turn during a hostage rescue training exercise recently.(eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Yang Yuewang) (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) The Talk co-host Amanda Kloots has tested positive for COVID. Kloots, 39, will miss several episodes of the CBS daytime talk show while she quarantines. Advertisement I am feeling completely normal now and feel very grateful for that, she said Thursday in an Instagram post. I am vaccinated and boosted which is very much putting me at ease. Amanda Kloots arrives at the premiere of "Moonfall" on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello/Invision) Kloots joined The Talk in January 2021. She sadly became one of the faces of pandemic suffering after her husband, Broadway star Nick Cordero, died from COVID in July 2020. Advertisement Corderos death convinced Kloots to get the vaccine, she said in February 2021 after receiving her first dose. She said Thursday that her current infection is the first time shes tested positive in the entire pandemic. Kloots said she tested negative prior to a recent trip to Mexico and then tested positive when she returned. This was (a) surprise this morning, she wrote on Instagram. I will hopefully be back to work soon. The event to release Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalins autobiography on February 28 will be a mini-conclave of Opposition leaders with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, CPI(M)s Pinarayi Vijayan, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, and NCs Omar Abdullah set to be in attendance. Gandhi will release Ungalil Oruvan (one among you), the first part of Stalins biography that covers the first 23 years of his life from 1953 to 1976, before he was arrested under MISA during Emergency, at the auditorium of the Chennai Trade Centre Monday evening. Vijayan, Kerala Chief Minister, Yadav, Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, and Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, will also attend the event as speakers. DMK MPs T R Baalu and Kanimozhi and party general secretary Durai Murugan will also be on the dais. Also Read Satraps unite against Modi Govt This is the second time that Gandhi will fly to Chennai in four years for a DMK eventin 2018, he attended the unveiling of M Karunanidhis statue by his mother Sonia Gandhi. It was at this event Stalin declared Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate of the UPA. During his trip to Chennai, Gandhi will visit Sathyamurthy Bhavan, the headquarters of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC), during which he will interact with newly-elected representatives of the urban local bodies. The invitation to Gandhi comes close on the heels of Banerjees initiative to hold a conclave of chief ministers of Opposition-ruled states. Stalin has accepted the invitation and will participate in the meeting in New Delhi soon. Although Stalin's acceptance of the invitation led to speculation of cutting ties with Congress, the DMK inviting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has put to rest all rumours. Stalin has been dropping enough hints that a nationwide alternative to BJP cannot be formed without Congress. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday advised the partys state leaders to avoid wading into the hijab controversy till the court gives its final verdict. Since the court is seized of the matter, let us wait for the final verdict. After the court pronounces its verdict, the party can take a view. Till that time, the leaders should not comment on the issue, Rahul is learnt to have said at a meeting of senior leaders of the state unit here. The meeting was convened to discuss the partys strategy for next years Assembly elections. He asked the state leaders to fight for protecting the interests of minorities and upholding democratic values, party sources said. Also Read | Two more arrested in Harsha murder case, number rises to 10 The Congress state unit has been cautious in reacting to the issue. While former chief minister Siddaramaiah and some Muslim leaders openly demanded that the government allow Muslim girls to wear hijab in schools and colleges, KPCC president D K Shivakumar has avoided commenting on the issue. It is said that Rahul cautioned the leaders not to fall into the trap of the BJP on these issues. He told the leaders not to give scope for internal bickering on any issues, in the backdrop of the infighting between the Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar factions. Also Read | HC interim order not applicable on turban-wearing students: BC Nagesh The leaders requested Rahul for early appointment of office bearers and announcement of candidates for elections, at least 6 months in advance. Emerging out of the meeting, the AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala told reporters that Rahul told the state leaders to expose the corrupt practices of the BJP government in the state. He said the issue of infighting did not come up in the meeting. Shivakumar told reporters, There is no infighting in the party and all are working together. It was decided that the state leaders would resume the Mekedatu march on February 27. Also REad | Hijab row: States power to interfere with ERP is restricted, says Karnataka HC Rahul held individual meetings with the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge, former CM Siddaramaiah, leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council B K Hariprasad and Shivakumar. Senior leaders M Veerappa Moily, G Parameshwara and others attended the meeting. Watch the latest DH Videos here: ; All restrictions, including night curfew, imposed during the third wave of Covid-19 will be lifted from the national capital from Monday following a substantial improvement in the pandemic situation. Schools will go to full physical mode from April one while restaurants and bars will be allowed to function without any capacity constraints from now on as against the existing 50 per cent seating capacity limit. The fine for not wearing masks has also been reduced to Rs 500 from Rs 2,000. These decisions were taken at a meeting of the DDMA chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal in which Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Ministers Satyendar Jain and Kailash Gehlot, NITI Ayog Member Dr VK Paul, ICMR head Prof Balram Bhargava and AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria and other senior government officials. Baijal tweeted, after detailed discussions with experts, in view of the decline in Covid-19 positive cases and hospitalisation, it was decided to remove all Covid-19 related restrictions in Delhi from February 28 while adhering to the guidelines issued by the Government of India and ensuring observance of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour including, wearing of masks & maintaining social distancing. He said special emphasis was laid on ensuring systematic surveillance and greater outreach to achieve 100 per cent vaccination coverage of the targeted population. All agencies should continue to remain vigilant without lowering the guard, he added. "The DDMA withdraws all restrictions as the situation improves and people face hardships due to loss of jobs. Schools to function fully offline from April 1All should continue following Covid-19 appropriate behaviour. Government will keep a strict watch," Kejriwal tweeted. Officials said schools will do away with hybrid mode -- offline and online -- of education and from April, all students will have to reach schools. There have been demands from traders and political parties among others for lifting the remaining restrictions citing the decrease in Covid-19 cases. Check out DH's latest videos: Two militants affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit and a civilian were killed in a gunfight between security forces and ultras in south Kashmirs Shopian district on Friday. Police said based on a specific input about the presence of militants in Amshipora, Shopian, a joint operation was launched during the intervening night of February 24 and 25. After a cluster of houses were taken into cordon, following the drill civilians were evacuated to safety. Thereafter, house to house searches were started in the wee hours to locate the hiding militants, a police spokesperson said. During the searches, he said the militants came out and resorted to indiscriminate firing in which one civilian identified as Shakeel Ahmed Khan of Amshipora got seriously wounded. The injured civilian while being evacuated for medical help succumbed to the injuries, police said. The fire by the militants, police said, was retaliated in which two ultras identified as Muzamil Mir and Shariq Ayoob, both locals and affiliated with the LeT were killed. Muzamil was involved in several militant crimes. Incriminating materials including one AK 56 rifle and one pistol and ammunition were also recovered from the encounter site, police added. On February 19, two soldiers and a LeT militant were killed in a similar encounter in the same district. 27 militants, including eight from Pakistan, have been killed in Kashmir this year in 16 ant-terror operations while last year 171 ultras were neutralized. Besides, the security forces have also arrested 14 active militants this year along with 23 over ground workers (OGWs). The police categorize anybody who supports the militants as an OGW. A person providing a safe house, passage, information or acting as a messenger for suspected militants automatically comes under the radar of the police as an OGW. According to police figures, 156 ultras, including 73 foreigners, were active in Kashmir on December 31. This is for the first time that the number of active militants in the Valley has come down to less than 200 since the insurgency erupted in Kashmir in 1990. Check out DH's latest videos The Common Services Centers (CSC), under the Ministry of Electronics & IT, has signed MoU with the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Ministry of Defence, to provide various pension services to the retired defence personnel and their dependents. The partnership will potentially benefit 3.2 million retired defence personnel across the country, including ex-servicemen like officers, Junior Commissioned Officers, Non Commissioned Officers, and other ranks. Dependents and war widows are also among the list of beneficiaries. As per the agreement, the following services will be available at the network of over 4 lakhs CSCs across the country: Pensioner Data Verification (PDV), Annual Identification through Digital or Manual Life Certificate, Lodging of Grievance, Registering Service Request, Providing information against queries, Request for initiation of family pension on demise of pensioner, said a statement from CSC. Elaborating on the new service, Managing Director, CSC SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) Dinesh Tyagi said: This partnership will help former servicemen access pension related services with ease from where they live. With millions of ex-servicemen set to be transferred from a legacy system to a new online pension disbursing model, the pension services will be available at more than 4 lakh CSCs across India. The aim is to make these services accessible to Defence pensioners near their place of residence. Defence Service Pension is a pension, which is sanctioned to a P.B.O.R. (Personnel Below Officer Rank) on Completion of his terms of engagement for the qualifying service rendered by him in the Armed Forces. Retiring Pension is granted to officers on completing a minimum qualifying service of 20 years (15 years in case of late entrant). Service Pension is admissible to JCOs/OR on completion of minimum mandatory qualifying service of 15 years. Watch the latest DH Videos here: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is calling on the government to block the appointment of Ilker Ayci as chief executive of Air India, citing his previous political links in Turkey, with which New Delhi has strained relations. The call from the economic wing of RSS, the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, comes as government agencies carry out what one government official said were more intensive than usual background checks on Ayci, who was an adviser in 1994 to Tayyip Erdogan, when the Turkish president was mayor of Istanbul. Ayci, a former chairman of Turkish Airlines, did not answer repeated calls by Reuters for comment. Tata Group, the Indian conglomerate which announced Ayci's appointment as CEO of previously state-run Air India after recently taking over the debt-laden airline in a $2.4 billion equity and debt deal, also did not respond. Read | MHA to do background check of new Air India CEO In its Feb. 14 statement announcing Ayci's appointment, Tata said Ayci was "an aviation industry leader" who would "lead Air India into the new era". Ayci said in the same statement that he was delighted to lead "an iconic airline". India's main government spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. Ashwani Mahajan, co-convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, which is seen as having a significant influence on Indian policymaking, said the government must not approve Ayci's appointment as Turkey had been sympathetic to India's rival Pakistan. "It (Air India) has been a national carrier and it still carries the same importance... Tata should not get clearance for this," Mahajan told Reuters. The appointment of a foreign national as CEO of an airline in India requires government clearance before it can proceed. While checks on a CEO are in most cases a formality, they are more stringent in Air India's case, the government source told Reuters, flagging concerns security agencies have about Ayci's links in Turkey. The source declined to be identified due to lack of authority to discuss intelligence matters publicly. India lodged a diplomatic protest in 2020 after Erdogan said New Delhi's decision to impose federal rule in the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan, was worsening the situation there and that Turkey stood in solidarity with its people. Watch latest videos by DH here: The Supreme Court Friday refused to entertain a plea filed by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari against an order of the West Bengal Assembly Speaker dismissing his petition seeking Mukul Roy's disqualification as an MLA. West Bengal Speaker Biman Banerjee on February 11 had dismissed the petition filed by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari seeking Mukul Roy's disqualification as an MLA under the anti-defection law for switching sides after elections. Roy, a former BJP national vice-president, had defected to the ruling TMC in June last year. A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai asked Adhikari to move the Calcutta high court against the Speaker's decision. This writ petition is filed under article 32, challenging speaker decision dismissing Mukul Roy's appeal against disqualification as MLA. After hearing the counsel, we are of considered view that the petitioner can approach High Court assailing speaker order, the bench said. The top court also took note of the submission that Roy's term as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman is only for one year and asked the High Court to decide the matter within a month. At the outset, the bench asked senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, appearing for Adhikari, what was the fundamental right of the petitioner which was violated. What is the extraordinary in this, what fundamental rights involved? Everything being filed under Article 32, the bench asked. Vaidyanathan told the bench that the Speaker's decision is wholly arbitrary. With regard to observations made by the high court on September 28, 2021, the apex court said the observations would be treated as prima facie. "Needless to say the observation made by HC while passing order dated September 28, 2021 is prima facie and parties are to take all contentions available to them under law. Considering the the tenure of Mukul Roy as Chairman of Public Accounts Committee is only for one year, we request the high court to decide the petitions expeditiously and not later than a period of one months, the bench said. The apex court was hearing appeals filed by West Bengal Assembly Speaker and its Secretary and the Returning Officer against the Calcutta High Court's order. The high court had asked Banerjee to take a decision on the petition for disqualification of Roy as a member of the House by October 7. Adhikari, leader of the Opposition, on June 17 had filed the petition before the Speaker seeking Roy's disqualification which was dismissed on February 11. Ambika Roy, BJP MLA of the state, had moved the high court in July challenging Roy's election as PAC Chairman and prayed for nomination of an opposition member to the post as per tradition. Watch the latest DH Videos here: TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu has expressed solidarity with estranged ally Pawan Kalyan, while alleging that the Jaganmohan Reddy government is harassing the actor turned politician over his latest release Bheemla Nayak. The YSRCP government has reportedly deployed revenue, police officials etc to ensure that no benefit, extra shows are held or tickets are sold at higher prices. Kalyan, chief of Janasena Party, has been a vocal critic of Jagan's policies. His much anticipated Bheemla Nayak, a remake of Malayalam hit Ayyappanum Koshiyum, was released on Friday. While other state governments are engaged in efforts to bring their people back home safely from Ukraine, AP chief minister is busy with his vindictive acts against Bheemla Nayak, Naidu tweeted. All public problems, grievances are set aside and revenue officials are positioned at the theatres. After other sectors, Jagan has now targeted the film industry too. His dealing with Bheemla Nayak is akin to state sponsored terrorism, the former CM further said. Naidu romped to power in 2014 in an alliance with the BJP and the crucial support of Janasena. The three parties contested separately in the 2019 elections, when Jagan became the chief minister. The Jagan government had last year brought in an order which has slashed the cinema ticket prices across the state. The move was largely seen as targeting Pawan and the Telugu film industry dominated by Kammas, Kapus. The GO was later stayed by the AP high court. After concerns expressed over survival of the movie industry at lowered ticket prices, Jagan, had earlier this month held talks with the Telugu film industry leaders including Pawan's elder brother K Chiranjeevi. Stating that the talks were fruitful, Chiranjeevi said that a new GO with revised ticket prices is expected by the end of February. Meanwhile, Pawan's fans are agitated over the alleged delay in the GO release and restrictions imposed on Bheemla Nayak. In Gudivada, ministers Kodali Nani and Perni Venkataramaiah faced protests from Pawan's fans. Cinematography minister Perni commented that the movie release should have been postponed for the revised prices to kick in. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Taking a major step in forging opposition unity and take on the Narendra Modi-government, Telangana chief minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi founder-president K Chandrashekar Rao met his Maharashtra counterpart and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar in Mumbai on Sunday and decided to bring in people of same wavelength under one umbrella ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls. While KCR had a luncheon meeting with Thackeray at Varsha, his official bungalow in Malabar Hill, he had evening tea with Pawar at the latters Silver Oak bungalow in Breach Candy. Good fruitful meetings have been held and we will keep meeting in the days ahead, he said. We are into the 75 years of Independence but facing a lot of issuesall should coexist in harmonyWe would be speaking to various national and regional leaderswe have new hopes, new aspirations and new agendawe will involve all with the same wavelength, Rao said. Also Read | BJP moves to please Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan amid sour relations with KCR When asked whether an anti-BJP front was possible without Congress, he said, We have just started the process and in the days ahead, we will meet others also. A meeting of all anti-BJP leaders and non-BJP chief ministers is expected in Baramati, the hometown of Pawar, in the days to come. We will discuss with parties and may meet at Baramati. Those who want to join us will work togetherwe will present our agenda and time table, said KCR after his whirlwind tour of Mumbai. The Shiv Sena and NCP along with Congress are partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra that has kept the BJP out of power. During his meeting with Thackeray, KCR invited him to visit Hyderabad. We are brotherswe share a 1,000 km boundary, he said, pointing out that Maharashtra is a land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Balasaheb Thackeray and many movements have started from this soil. Rao also expressed concern over the central agencies being badly used by the BJP-led NDA dispensation to target political opponents. This is not good, they would suffer, he said. Thackeray too lashed out at the BJP albeit without naming its leaders. Our Hindutva is not about revenge. Politics of revenge was neither Hindutva nor Indian culture, and that the situation needed to changewhat would be the future of India if such a situation continues. Instead of speaking on development issues during their tenure, lies and misinformation are spread about the political opponents, he said. Pawar said that what is more important today is development. Whenever politicians meet we discuss politics, yhje country is facing issues like unemployment, poverty, farmers deaths and other issues in the country that need to change," he said, adding that we have to look ahead. Rao thanked Pawar saying that the latter had supported the Telangana movement and he thanked the senior politician on behalf of people of his state. "Pawar saheb is a senior leader...he was once the youngest chief minister and till now he has played a major role," he added. Check out latest videos from DH: Distress calls from students in Ukraine are pouring in since Thursday at the NORKA-Roots the Kerala government agency for NRIs' welfare and development. So far, around 1,150 students from Ukraine contacted the NORKA-Roots helpline exploring options of leaving Ukraine. Many students also left video messages. NORKA-Roots officials are passing on the information to the external affairs ministry. An online registration facility [http://ukrainregistration.norkaroots.org] for those stranded in Ukraine to share their information was also introduced. As per available information, around 2,320 Kerala students are present in Ukraine. Sources said that many students were making attempts to move to the western border of Ukraine by arranging their own means of transport owing to the lack of proper advice from the embassy officials. There were also reports that many students either lost or damaged their passports. Also read: Stranded in Ukraine's bunkers, thousands of Indian students desperate for rescue Ananthanarayanan, a student among a group of around 120 students, told the media that though they reached the Poland border, the Ukraine military personnel insisted on a transit visa to leave the country. Preethi and Ann, students of Kharkiv national university school of medicine, said in a message that many of them took shelter in a subway railway station, about 30 km from the Russian border. Parents of the students are also making desperate appeals to the authorities to make evacuation plans. Watch the latest DH Videos here: They hit the Daily Double. Former Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneiders winning streak continued as she accepted her partners wedding proposal then had her counterproposal accepted too. Advertisement She said yes! Schneider posted on Instagram Thursday. Well, actually I said yes, but then I wanted to propose too, so she said yes as well lol. Schneider famously enjoyed a 40-game Jeopardy winning streak that started in late 2021 and rolled into early 2022. That is the second-longest stretch in the long-running trivia programs history. While the $1.3 million the 43-year-old Ohio native took home in game show loot was surely nice, Schneider said she couldnt be happier than she is about being engaged. Advertisement [ Poker player skips nieces wedding to play cards in Vegas, hits it big ] This image released by Sony Pictures Television shows contestant Amy Schneider on the set of "Jeopardy!" (Casey Durkin/AP) I couldnt be happier or more proud to be marrying the very best person in the entire world, and Im so glad to be sharing my life with her, Schneider posted. Its great to be able to introduce her to people as Genevieve, my fiancee. She is referring to Genevieve Davis, according to People magazine. That outlet reports that the happy couple planned to take a trip to Ireland and buy fancy clothes with Schneiders Jeopardy windfall. The photo she posted in Instagram indicates the pair spent a few bucks on manicures and diamond engagement rings too. Which party emerged as the third-largest in the just-concluded elections to urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu is one question that is on the minds of almost everyone in the state. While the BJP says it has snatched the third position from Congress, the latter rebuts the claim. Hours after the results were declared on February 22, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai said the party has catapulted itself to the third position in the state, prompting a strong rebuttal from his Congress counterpart K S Alagiri who asserted that his party was the third force in the state after DMK and AIADMK. This throws the pertinent question on whats the real position? If one goes by the percentage of votes polled by parties that contested the elections, BJP, with 5.40 per cent, is the third-largest party. However, if one takes the number of seats won by parties, Congress, which emerged victorious in 586 wards, assumes the third position. BJP won 305 seats in municipal corporations, municipalities, and town panchayats. Also Read: Regional leaders need more coherence to build federal front Many say the comparison between BJP and Congress is misplaced because of the huge gap in the number of seats contested by the two parties. While the BJP fielded its candidates in 5,594 seats (45 per cent), the Congress contested in just 1,370 seats (just a little over 10 per cent) as it was part of the DMK-led alliance. BJP polled 9.26 lakh votes with the majority chunk of 5.87 lakh coming from the 21 municipal corporations, while Congress got 4.99 lakh votes across the state. In percentage, the BJP stands at 5.41, and the Congress (3.31). Going strictly by the percentage of votes polled, the BJP has improved its performance it got 2.4 per cent in 2011 civic elections -- after having come out of the AIADMK alliance. However, the increased vote share did not result in a huge increase in the number of seats. The strike rate of BJP is around 9 per cent, it was 42 per cent was Congress this is again an undue comparison, the analysts said, because the grand old party was in an alliance while the saffron outfit contested alone. In fact, political analysts said, the BJP acted smart by contesting only in areas where it felt it had a chance to poll more votes so that it can build the narrative that it was emerging as an alternative to the Dravidian majors. An analysis should be done with equal parameters. In a democracy, the seats won by a party matter than the vote share. The representation of a party in the council/assembly is counted first than other parameters. The vote share of Congress has reduced because it contested in very less number of seats, political analyst P Ramajayam told DH. Prof. Ramu Manivannan, former Head of Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Madras, told DH that the BJP should get inspired by its performance in the elections and use this as a ground to explore. The results should inspire the BJP as it has secured over 5 per cent by contesting alone. But the party should overestimate and overread the results. The shifts are not going to happen so easily, but this is certainly a step forward for the BJP in Tamil Nadu. It is important for them to keep exploring and be modest about the performance, he said. Senior journalist R Bhagwan Singh agreed with Manivannan by saying the BJP is preparing the field by sowing the seeds for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP adopted a very clever strategy of being choosy on the seats they will contest. They were not willing to field candidates in all seats and draw a blank. They identified their areas of influence and put up candidates there, he said. Watch the latest DH Videos here: A Mumbai Sessions Court on Friday stayed the summons issued by a Magistrates Court asking West Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to appear before it on March 2. Special Session Judge Rahul Rokde adjourned the further hearing till 25 March and also called for a record from the Magistrates Court. Banerjees lawyer Majeed Memon, a senior NCP leader and former Rajya Sabha member, along with advocates Waseem Pangekar, Mateen Qureshi and Khalil Girkar denied the charges levelled against her and said that complain is politically motivated and fielded by a member of BJP. She was summoned in connection with a case filed against her for allegedly disrespecting the national anthem. BJP functionaries Vivekanand Gupta, an advocate by profession, had approached the Magistrate court in Mazagaon and sought that an FIR be registered against her. Metropolitan Magistrate PI Mokashi issued "process" against her and asked to appear on March 2 before the court. On December 1, at a function held at the YB Chavan Pratishthan in Mumbai, Banerjee was seen sitting and singing the national anthem and later she stood up and sang two verses and abruptly stopped singing the national anthem. Watch latest videos by DH here: On February 24, the United Kingdom (UK) announced its "largest-ever" economic sanctions on Russia, and so did the United States (US). As the sanctions get stricter, shared economic interests and geopolitical considerations are likely to deepen economic relations between Beijing and Moscow, including the prospect of building an alternative financial system. The signs of deepening Russia-China economic relations are evident. In an interview with a Russian newspaper amidst Russia's recognition of rebel-held regions in Eastern Ukraine, China's ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, spoke about possibilities of furthering cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, especially in energy, space, financial cooperation, and high-tech weapons systems. These are also the sectors targeted in the recent round of sanctions by the UK and the US. This is explicit signalling by Beijing of its support for Moscow. Also Read Ukraine crisis challenges oil industry caution at high prices Stricter financial sanctions were expected after Russia marched into Ukraine and started bombing Ukrainian cities. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also made a bid to push Russia out of the SWIFT international payment system widely used by banks all over the world. Such sanctions were also speculated during the 2014 Crimean crisis. If America and Europe agree to cut Russia out of SWIFT, it could seriously damage Moscow's international trading capabilities. Exclusion from the global financial system could compel Russia and China to build an alternative financial system to the Brussels-based SWIFT payments system. Iran was once cut off from the SWIFT system. However, Russia will be the first major country to be cut off. Foreshadowing the possibility of stricter economic sanctions, Russia has already started building its alternative payment system called SPFS. Similarly, in 2015 China also launched its own version of payments systems called Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) to internationalise the use of Yuan. Both countries are also exploring options to adopt these alternative models in their respective banking systems. Although both systems are in the nascent stage of development and not as widely accepted as SWIFT, it indicates Moscow and Beijing's recognition of the need to come together amidst the threat of exclusion from the international financial system. Beijing's efforts to promote digital Yuan (e-CNY) are also supposed to bolster its ability to facilitate cross-border payments. Already being tested in around ten regions of China, the testing of e-CNY was also launched for foreigners during the Beijing Winter Olympics. Also Read Putin is on a personal mission to rewrite Cold War history, making the risks in Ukraine far graver SWIFT, Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is an international financial service that enables international financial transactions through a network of banks. Founded in 1973, it has become a standard in international finance to use SWIFT messaging service for international transactions. Interestingly, SWIFT was founded out of fear that one American financial institution may dominate and control the global flow of crucial financial information. And now it has become an instrument of foreign policy, even though a Belgium-based global-cooperative society manages it. In his interview with Russian media, Zhang Hanhui said that China was pleased to see that the Russian government has expanded "purchase of financial products denominated in renminbi (RMB), and investment in reserve currency" among other uses of RMB. He highlighted this as an indicator of positive progress in promoting the diversification of bilateral trade settlement between the two countries. According to numbers quoted by Zhang in the same interview, 17.5 per cent of trade between China and Russia was settled in Yuan in 2020. This is a significant increase since 2014, which recorded trade in Yuan at 3.1 per cent. Notably, Russia's third-largest oil and gas producer, Gazprom Neft, switched to renminbi for settlement of fuelling Russian planes in China. It is the first Russian company to switch to renminbi-based settlement. Also Read Chinese firms expect limited impact from Ukraine crisis; some seek to benefit Private companies in China are also working together with Russian companies to build a digital payments system. For example, AliPay, a subsidiary of Alibaba, has teamed up with Russian internet giant VK (formerly known as Mail.ru) to offer digital payment services to Russian users. In 2019, "Yandex.Checkout" became the first online retailer in Russia to accept WeChat Pay. It is a joint venture of Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, and Yandex. Move to build an alternative international payments system similar to SWIFT would be rooted in realism. Both countries have emerged as rivals of the West in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, respectively. Both countries have faced numerous sanctions over the last few years. Both countries know sanctions may only get stricter over time. Thus, it is prudent and won't be unexpected if Beijing and Moscow stick together despite differences in their worldview. Moreover, despite an imbalance in Russia and China's economic relationship already, Moscow has very few options but to strengthen its relations with China. This might be Beijing's moment to shine as Russia's trusted partner. (Megha Pardhi is Research Analyst st the China Studies Program at The Takshashila Institution.) Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Pradesh Congress president D K Shivakumar on Friday appealed Kannada film industry to extend support to Mekedatu march. Congress is planning to resume march from February 27, which was earlier suspended due to Covid-19 pandemic. "We request the Kannada film industry and pro Kannada organisations to join the march and extend support," both the leaders told media here. The march will resume from Ramnagar on February 27 and will conclude on March 3 with massive public rally at National College Ground at Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said. Party Working President R Dhruvanarayan and Salim Ahmed were present during media interaction. Watch latest videos by DH here: In a relief to the Sikh community students wearing Turban, the state government on Thursday clarified that the high courts interim order while hearing the petitions pertaining to the Hijab is not applicable to the Sikh community students. There was confusion among the parents and in the education circles over the turban-wearing Sikh community students after Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru reportedly asked a Sikh student to remove the turban while complying with the high courts interim order. Clarifying the issue, Primary and Secondary Education Minister BC Nagesh said that wearing the turban is the Constitutional right for the Sikh community people and the high courts interim order is only applicable to the wearing of hijab, saffron stole and religious flags. Also REad | Hijab row: States power to interfere with ERP is restricted, says Karnataka HC The Constitution has given right for the people from the Sikh community to wear turbans and the interim order of the high court pertaining to petitions on wearing of Hijab is not applicable to Sikh community students, the minister clarified. In the meantime, the management representatives of Mount Carmel PU College also denied the reports that they had asked a Sikh community girl to remove the turban. The college authorities revealed that they had only asked the girl if it is possible for her to attend the classes without the turban as she turned up at the college without the turban on a particular day. Dr Sr M Genevieve, the administrator of the college, clarified that they never forced the girl to remove the turban or restrained her from wearing a turban. Only after a few other minority students raised objections to the turban, we had asked the student if it is possible for her to attend the class without the Turban as she turned up at the college, a few days ago, without wearing the turban. We neither forced nor insisted on the girl to remove the turban. Also read: Sikh girl told to remove turban by Bengaluru college Gurucharan Singh, the parent, said, It is true that the college never forced our daughter to remove the turban and they have allowed her to wear it. But recently she was called separately and asked if she could remove the turban in the classroom. Later, I wrote an email to the principal and there was no response from the college for a week. But later, the college authorities spoke to me over the phone and I have explained to them that it is our Constitutional right to wear the turban. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Two years after the Centre notified the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) award, the BJP government has issued an order for the implementation of a hydropower project using water from the disputed rivers basin. This comes at a time when the BJP government is under pressure from the Opposition Congress on implementing various water resources projects, including Mahadayi and Mekedatu. According to an order issued earlier this month, the government has given approval to the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd (KPCL) to implement the Mahadayi Hydro Power Project, as per the final verdict of the MWDT. Also Read | Will not share Mahadayi water with Karnataka: Goa Congress manifesto The government order cites the final report of the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT), stating that Karnataka can make use of 8.02 tmc water for power generation. In its August 2018 award, which the Centre notified in February 2020, the tribunal allocated 13.42 tmcft of water to Karnataka, which includes 5.40 tmcft for consumptive use. KPCL managing director V Ponnuraj told DH that they are working out the details. Its still in the preliminary stage. We need to work out the detailed project report (DPR) and the implementation cost, he said. Even after the Tribunal award, there are cases pending before the Supreme Court, challenging the water allocation. Recently, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the apex court is hearing cases as Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa had filed objections on the water allocation. Also Read | 'Mekedatu or Mahadayi, it's just politics for parties' Notwithstanding the pending case, officials in both the energy and water resources departments explained that the government was well within its right to plan the project as long as it adhered to the existing tribunal award. According to an official in the water resources department, the pending cases in Supreme Court pertain to claims by the state governments for additional water allocation, on top of what has already been awarded by the Tribunal. There is no problem is preparing DPRs as per the Tribunal award that has already been notified. But, Karnataka must obtain statutory clearances for the DPRs from agencies such as the Central Water Commission and forest department, the official said. Meanwhile, sources in the energy department said the ball is now in the court of the KPCL, which needs to take the project forward by preparing a DPR for the hydro power project. Watch the latest DH Videos here: The Karnataka High Court has reserved its judgment in a batch of petitions over the hijab controversy. A three-judge full bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi concluded the hearing in a batch of petitions on Friday. The bench has primarily heard eight petitions on the hijab controversy over a period of the last 11 days. Meanwhile, an advocate also requested the court to suggest mediation on the subject rather than getting into the constitutional aspect of the essential religious practice. Also read: Two more arrested in Harsha murder case, number rises to 10 Kindly submit your written submissions. We have reserved the judgment. If mediation is required we will mention that, the bench observed. As regards Interlocutory Applications (IA) moved by various individuals/organisations in different petitions, the bench said that they can submit written submissions. The bench had told earlier that it will not give audience to the interveners, but will allow them to file written submissions. Earlier, senior advocate Ravivarma Kumar made his rebuttal argument on the submission made by senior counsel for the College Development Committee (CDC) in Udupi. Kumar said a look at the composition of the committee would make it clear that it is an absolute power of the MLA. He said of the 12 members, 11 are nominees of the MLA who has absolute power to administer the college. Ravivarma Kumar said the principal of the college, who is the member-secretary of the CDC, only implements the decision of the MLA. There is absolutely no accountability for the MLA who acts as a monarch of the college. Can the DDPI, principal do their job with MLA being the chairman of the CDC deciding everything? It is the MLA who decides the scheme of things. Supposing there is a misuse of funds. Who should hold the committee responsible and against whom there should be an enquiry? he said. So far... Two sets of petitions have been filed before the High Court. The first petition by students in Udupi Government College for Girls seeking action against the school management, permission to wear hijab and praying for a declaration that hijab is an essential religious practise under Article 25 of the constitution. The second set of petitions challenged the Government Order dated February 5, 2022. The state government contended that wearing of hijab is not an essential religious practice. The state also maintained its order dated February 5, 2022, does not interdict with the rights of the petitioners. On February 10, the full bench passed an interim order saying that pending consideration of these petitions, all students regardless of their religion or faith are restrained from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab, religious flags or the likes within the classroom, until further orders. Watch the latest DH Videos here: Released: February 22, 2022 Delaware County Health Department Director Melissa Lyon introduced the Delaware County Health Department (DCHD) leadership team that includes: Marie Carbonara, Division Administrator of Environmental Health; Rosemarie Halt, Interim Division Administrator of Population Health/COVID-19 and Board of Health Chair; Stephanie Reese, Division Administrator of Personal Health; Lisa OMahony, Public Health Physician; and Victor Alos Rullan, Epidemiologist on Feb. 22. These administrators are leading the departments team of 53 newly hired local experts to improve the health, safety, and quality of life of Delaware County residents. After years of anticipation and preparation, this is an exciting time for Delaware County to finally have its own Health Department dedicated to the health, safety, and well-being of our residents, said Delaware County Council Chair Dr. Monica Taylor. With Melissa Lyons and the Division leadership, this team has started to build a comprehensive foundation for the Health Department that will help improve the lives of Delaware County residents. The Delaware County Health Department Division administrators have already started the process to address health equity in the following ways: Environmental Health Division will prevent, minimize, and contain adverse health events and conditions resulting from communicable disease originating from food, water, vector-borne outbreaks, chronic disease, environmental hazards, injuries, and health disparities. Personal Health Division will promote healthy behaviors, preventing chronic illness and the spread of infectious diseases, and ensuring accessibility to quality health care by offering specific services and programs to all residents in Delaware County. In the next year, the team will focus on tuberculosis management and treatment, vaccines for children, HIV services, investigations of reportable diseases (for example; measles, Lyme disease, and meningitis), maternal child health, rabies bite investigations, school nurse liaisons, and specialized clinics for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Population Health Division will utilize the Public Health 3.0 model to build cross-sector partnerships that enhance collaboration, create funding opportunities, and promote collective action with community partners, agencies, and healthcare institutions to ensure health equity in all communities. These partnerships, along with department-led community health prevention strategies and emergency preparedness planning, will work to address social determinants of health determined by analysis of hyperlocal data. While we focus on achieving the standards set forth by the State in Act 315, we are also delving into hyperlocal data to identify gaps in health and activate the necessary community stakeholders to tackle these issues and build a healthy, thriving, and stronger Delaware County, said Melissa Lyon, Director of the Delaware County Health Department. Our community-based approach will improve health equity for all residents, regardless of race, nationality, age, gender, and socioeconomic differences over time. Local healthcare partners including Health Partners Plans, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation, Keystone First, Trinity Health, ChesPenn, Main Line Health, and community partner, The Foundation for Delaware County, were in attendance and recognized for their partnership, shared passion, and dedication in helping the County launch a health department to build healthy thriving communities. As the organization that established the Delaware County Public Health Fund to help raise charitable donations for the health departments efforts, we are excited to partner with Ms. Lyon and her team to build a healthy Delaware County, said Frances M. Sheehan, President of The Foundation for Delaware County. Our citizens deserve the highest quality government services capable of addressing todays health problems, and one that is prepared to tackle future challenges as well. The video presentation can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmxpLO_z6ns For more information about the Delaware County Health Department please visit https://delcopa.gov/health. Released: February 25, 2022 For the 33rd year, the Mad Poets Society and Delaware County Libraries present the Delaware County Young Poets Competition. Entries are being accepted from students throughout Delaware County, from first grade through twelfth grade from March 1 through April 1, 2022. Submit one original poem per student to any public library in Delaware County or online at http://www.delcolibraries.org/poetry-contest. Poems will be judged by grade level. Original poems must be typed or written neatly on an 8 by 11 size sheet of paper (no odd size or construction paper, please). Please include students name, phone number, address, parent email (no school emails), grade, and school on the top right (front) of the poem. If the information is not listed, the entry will be disqualified. Contact information is for notification purposes only and will not be shared. Winners will be contacted by email the week of May 2 and will be invited to send a recorded reading of their work for posting on social media. Winners poems and names will be published in our annual poetry anthology, posted on Delaware County Libraries website, as well as the Mad Poets Society website. The Young Poets Competition will culminate in a special virtual awards event in June. The contest is sponsored by the Mad Poets Society, Delaware County Libraries, Keystone State Literacy Association: Delaware County, Rose Tree Media Optimist Club, Pennsylvania Poetry Society, and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. For information on this contest, contact Cheri Crow, Coordinator of Youth Services for Delaware County Libraries, at ccrow@delcolibraries.org or email info@madpoetssociety.com. Delaware County Libraries is an agency of county government that provides support services for 26 independent member libraries. For information about the wide range of library services available to all county residents, visit www.delcolibraries.org. A Dungiven man's poetry is among work which is due to be published in a commemorative book later this year. The Creative Writing Project was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic by Ballymagroarty Hazelbank Community Partnership (BHCP). In order to reach out to families and improve the mental health and well-being of the local community, the Derry organisation opened up the project to children, teenagers and adults throughout the Outer West area. Patrick McNicholl, who is orginally from Dungiven but now lives in Derry, put forward some of his writing for consideration and was delighted when it was chosen to be published in the upcoming publication. Patrick said: I am very grateful to the Community Library and all those who have helped to promote my poems. I would also encourage more people to write. Children from a number of schools in Derry will also have their work published. The students attend St Eithne's PS, Rosemount PS, Holy Family PS, St John's PS, Gaelscoil na Daroige and Bunscoil Cholmcille. Secondary school students attend St Mary's College, Thornhill College and St Cecilia's College. Elga Logue, Community Librarian, said: The aim of the project was to reach out the community and encourage them to write poems and stories about any subject of their own choice. This initiative aimed to help improve the mental health and wellbeing of our residents through engagement, as well as helping to address, and respond to, feelings of loneliness and isolation as a direct result of Lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions. Also, to embrace the fun element of the project, by reaching out to adults, teenagers and children, who really enjoy creative writing. Throughout the Creative Writing Project, all submissions received were also published virtually via the group's Facebook page and have been collated for the purpose of producing a publication as a commemorative keepsake and legacy for posterity. Elga added: We wish to thank everybody who has contributed to this publication and acknowledge the Neighbourhood Health Improvement Project (NHIP) for funding the Creative Writing Project. Women entrepreneurs in Central Florida could be the beneficiaries of a new grant through the UCF Incubator program. UCF is part of the Florida High Tech Corridor team that recently won a $150,000 federal grant to support women entrepreneurs in 23 Florida counties. The University of South Florida, University of Florida and Florida Tech are also part of the program. Advertisement The grant is part of the U.S. Small Business Administrations Small Business Innovation Research program. The $150,000 will be divided equally among the four Corridor partner universities. Carol Ann Logue, director of Programs and Operations, UCF Innovation Districts and Incubation Program, said the prize will be used to provide one-on-one support for female business founders by offering educational opportunities, webinars and partnering with organizations that specialize in workshops and seminars. Advertisement Carol Ann Logue, director of Programs and Operations, UCF Innovation Districts and Incubation Program (Madison Pollock/Special to the Sentinel) Though the money is not a large sum, Logue said that there are bigger grant programs offered by Small Business Innovation Research, a competitive program to encourage small businesses to explore their technological potential and profit from commercialization. She said that will bring considerably more money to the table, which will expand the servicing and programming that they offer. All four of the winning groups will meet regularly to track one anothers progress. From there the groups will share their level of resources and expertise, in order to provide entrepreneurship in underrepresented communities. As women, we tend to be passionate in fixing things and solving problems, Logue said. And as more women see other women being successful, that encourages women that have thought about starting a company, that have a passion about a need out there, that they have a great solution to a problem that they know exists. The corridor was the recipient of the prize in response to the proposed program of partnering with the four universities entrepreneurial programs to execute it UCFs Business Incubation Program already provides assistance toward business development and operational support across Central Florida. It will assist in the project with the universitys Corridor team. According to State of Women-Owned Businesses Report by American Express, women-owned businesses are significantly growing within the U.S. economy. They represent 42% in 2019 of all businesses, employing more than 13 million people and generating $1.9 trillion in revenue. Logue said that women have typically been underrepresented when it comes to industries, especially in technology. But women, in particular, we found, make great CEOs, we have seen that in companies in our incubator program, Logue said. Advertisement Entrepreneurs interested in starting up their business or growing their business within the Central Florida area can apply through the UCF Business Incubation Program website. The grant could potentially help Central Florida women entrepreneurs like Janiah McCray, a 22-year-old political science major who owns Carte Blanche Beauty Bar in east Orlando near UCF. She says women need the support of programs like this one. I finally feel like we are getting the acknowledgment we deserve, McCray said. This story is part of a partnership between the Orlando Sentinel and UCFs Nicholson School of Communication and Media. An Inishowen man who admitted a series of driving and public order offences has been told he could be excluded from entering the North and was warned any re-offending would result in that. James McLaughlin (30) of Linsfort, Buncrana appeared at Derry Magistrate's Court where he admitted driving charges including dangerous driving, refusing to give a sample of breath and driving while unfit. He also admitted a charge of disorderly behaviour at Altnagelvin Hospital. All of the offences occurred on August 20 last year. The court heard that police were called to a road traffic accident on the Northland Road in Derry at 1.10am on that date. They found a car that had crashed into the wall of a private dwelling and damaged a lamppost. Two males in the vehicle were 'drifting in and out of consciousness'. Police were told the driver had made off and a taxi driver was able to give police a description of him adding he had a head injury. McLaughlin was located about 400 yards from the scene and was found to have a head injury as well as being unsteady on his feet. The car was registered to him but he refused to give a breath sample. He was taken to hospital and while there was 'consistently abusive' to police and hospital staff. At interview McLaughlin said he remembered driving to Derry but nothing after that. Defence counsel Stephen Chapman said the behaviour in the hospital was 'appalling' and 'out of character' for his client. Deputy District Judge Chris Holmes said 'if you behave like that in a hospital you are going straight to prison it is as simple as that.' He said the only exception would be if there were medical grounds. Mr Chapman said his client had started seeking help for his issues. Judge Holmes said that McLaughlin had his counsel to thank for him not going straight to prison. He described the behaviour as 'horrendous' and told the defendant that 'thanks to Brexit' judges now had the power to exclude people from the North. He warned him if he came back before the court he just might be excluded permanently. McLaughlin was given a four month prison sentence suspended for two years, disqualified from driving for 18 months, fined 700 and ordered to pay Altnagelvin Hospital the sum of 300 in compensation. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan has received an unreserved apology from Facebook as part of the settlement of her High Court action over several defamatory and untrue adverts that were posted on the social media platform. Included in the settlement agreement, Meta Platforms Ireland, formerly known as Facebook Ireland, have agreed to establish an additional scam ad reporting tool, which will allow Irish users to submit reports on misleading adverts to a specialist team within Facebook for review. Speaking after the settlement the broadcaster said it was "a good day" following a' five-year battle over the misleading ads which she said had caused her distress and had damaged her reputation. She also expressed her delight that not only had the fake ads been taken down, but also over the fact Facebook are to introduce an additional tool which allows people to report scam ads. In proceedings launched against Facebook Ireland three years ago Ms O'Callaghan claimed she was defamed, and sought damages, in a series of false and malicious adverts containing her image and name on Facebook and Instagram in May 2018. At the High Court on Friday Paul O'Higgins SC, instructed by solicitor Paul Tweed, for Ms O'Callaghan said the matter had been settled against Facebook. As part of the settlement, Facebook's counsel Joe Jeffers Bl read an agreed statement to the court, where it was acknowledged that the proceedings over the publication of misleading adverts published on Facebook by "malicious third parties" had been resolved. "These adverts contained fabricated statements, which have been extremely damaging to Ms O'Callaghan. Meta Platforms Ireland accepts and regrets that the publication of these ads has caused Ms O'Callaghan distress and embarrassment, and regrets any wider concerns and distress caused by the ads." "Meta Platforms Ireland apologises unreservedly to Ms O'Callaghan" The statement added that the the broadcaster is satisfied that the publication of the the fake adverts, using her name and image, appears to have ceased. The statement added that "Meta Platforms Ireland has undertaken to the broadcaster that it will use robust measures to tackle such advertisements in the future and will offer the ability within Ireland to report scam ads via an additional scam ad reporting tool." Previously the High Court heard that the adverts at the centre of the action contained various misleading and defamatory headlines wrongly suggesting that Ms O'Callaghan has left her job with RTE's Prime Time. Ms O'Callaghan said she had "nothing to do" with the adverts, which are linked to offers for skin care products. She claimed that she was most distressed at being associated against her will with what has been described as "a scam product," the court heard. She claims the adverts have exploited the trust placed in her by the Irish public and have damaged her good name and reputation. The paid-for adverts, known as "targeted advertisements ", appear on social media users' newsfeeds, and are designed to encourage the user to click on the adverts. Those who click on the adverts are offered various skin care products, which she said were falsely stated to be owned or endorsed by Ms O'Callaghan. The pages also wrongly stated that she had left her position in RTE to focus on the promotion of the skincare range, it was alleged. It was also claimed that users who avail of an offer of free trials of the skin care products have reported that had money debited from their bank accounts which they did not authorise. Ms O'Callaghan also sought a permanent injunction restraining the publication of the adverts, as well as damages for malicious falsehood, unlawful appropriation of personality, various breaches of her constitutional rights and defamation. During the course of her proceedings subsequently secured an order requiring the social media company to provide basic subscriber information, payment method details and business manager account information about those behind the adverts. After obtaining that order Ms O'Callaghan's lawyers were able to identify 51 individuals/names, with addresses in the United States and the Balkans who were joined as co-defendants with Facebook. However, it was not possible to identify any real persons, who were behind the fake ads, with that information. Outside of court, her solicitor Paul Tweed said his client welcomed the successful resolution of the broadcaster's proceedings. The settlement he said had achieved his client's objectives of terminating the fake ads, vindicating Ms O'Callaghan's reputation, and has brought about something that will afford Irish Facebook users more protection. The implementation of an addition reporting tool allowing Irish Facebook users to submit detailed reports of fake or scam ads was also a welcome development. The tool will make such misleading material easier to report, he said, adding that such complaints will be dealt with by a specialist team within the social media giants. Statement from Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney following todays Foreign Affairs Council Statement Today the EU adopted a strong sanctions package which will have a long lasting effect on the Russian economy including on the oligarchs and individuals who have supported the invasion of Ukraine. Foreign Ministers decided to add to the sanctions package agreed by EU leaders last night. The names of President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov have been added to the list of Russians who will have their assets frozen in the EU. On behalf of Ireland I made the case for the inclusion of SWIFT in a further package of sanctions expected to be agreed in the coming days. We discussed the humanitarian consequences of Russias aggressive attack and encouraged support for a humanitarian response from the EU. Ireland has already allocated 10m for humanitarian action. The measures announced today by the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, allow visa free access for Ukrainian citizens to travel to Ireland. These are an important practical measure of solidarity with Ukrainians living in Ireland and those who are affected in Ukraine. Following consultations with my EU Foreign Minister Colleagues today, we have decided as a bloc not to expel Russian ambassadors. This and other possible diplomatic measures remain on the table. As Minister for Foreign Affairs, I have a responsibility to consider the potential impact of decisions I take on our ability to assist Irish citizens in Russia and Ukraine and we are are maintaining a clear line of communication for now. Our diplomatic team has now left Ukraine and our Kyiv Embassy will operate on a remote basis from Dublin. On my instruction, the Secretary General of my Department today summoned the Russian Ambassador to make clear the governments strong condemnation of the invasion and Russias gross violation of international law and the UN charter. ENDS Press Office 25 February 2022 Previous Item | Next Item Subscriber content preview By SARA CLINE Associated Press PORTLAND Lawmakers in Oregon's Legislature on Thursday proposed a $400 million package to urgently address affordable housing and homelessness in a state that has one of the highest rates of unhoused people in the country. A 2020 federal review found that 35 people in Oregon are experiencing homelessness per 10,000. Only three states had a higher rate: New York (47 people per 10,000), Hawaii (46 people per 10,000) and California (41 people per 10,000). . . . Subscriber content preview DALLAS (AP) A judge has approved a $237.5 million settlement of a lawsuit in which Boeing investors accused company board members of failing to properly oversee safety issues around the 737 Max before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people. The investors filed the so-called derivative lawsuit on behalf of Boeing. Insurers for several current and former Boeing directors will pay the settlement to Boeing. . . . Subscriber content preview PORTLAND (AP) Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Thursday she will rescind her statewide COVID-19 emergency declaration on April 1. In addition, Oregon's mask requirement for indoor public places and schools will be lifted on March 19, officials said. Both announcements come as COVID-19 hospitalizations and case numbers continue to decrease in the state. . . . Subscriber content preview JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Alaska legislative leaders are pursuing the idea of converting a building near the Capitol into 33 apartments that could be used for lawmakers and staff during sessions. The building was donated to the Legislature last year by the Juneau Community Foundation and currently is being used as office space and for COVID-19 testing for lawmakers and staff, Anchorage TV station KTUU reported. Tenants have been told their leases will not be renewed. . . . The U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Friday issued new guidance on use of masks to protect against COVID-19, placing 25 of Floridas 67 counties in the medium or low category for community transmission. The new risk indicators look at a combination of three metrics new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days. Advertisement Heres the map of Floridas counties base on the new CDC guidelines: Meanwhile, Florida on Friday reported the fewest number of hospital patients with COVID-19 in nearly 10 weeks, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Advertisement With the omicron wave all but over, the state reported just 2,942 new coronavirus cases, the first daily report under 3,000 since Dec. 12. The 7-day average for new cases was 3,655 on Friday, a nearly 90% decline over just one month, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. There were 3,347 COVID-infected hospital patients in the state on Thursday, federal data shows, and 562 in intensive care units. Both numbers have declined by about two-thirds over the past month. The hospital data combines patients admitted for COVID with those admitted for reasons other than COVID or who were infected after admission. Testing positivity rates are nearing 5% in all three South Florida counties, according to the CDCs daily data report. Public health experts say the virus is considered under control when the COVID-19 test positivity rate is under 5%. Orange Countys rate was just over 8%. To date, there have been 5,800,599 known cases of COVID-19 in Florida and at least 69,554 residents have died. Here are the latest key statistics: Duncan, OK (73533) Today Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 71F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. Low 62F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near an inch. Dundalk FC have announced that their bucket collection for Women's Aid Dundalk has raised 1600 which will go to fund the organisations work in the community. The whole of last week saw the club engage in an awareness campaign about the issue of domestic abuse and coercive control, including a video series about the role that women play at Dundalk FC and a video where players detail some of Irelands domestic violence stats. Ann Larkin, manager of the local branch of Womens Aid, was blown away by the response and believes the campaign will have far reaching effects: It was a fantastic night for Womens Aid Dundalk. We really appreciate the work put in by Dundalk FC they pulled out all the stops for us. I know they really wanted to reestablish their connection with the community and honour the females at the club. People were so generous especially given the night that was in it,, it was an amazing night, people were coming prepared to give with the money in their hand ready and there was a huge number that gave. We can only hope that this continues and generates more conversation, the awareness that it has raised about the issue is a huge part for us, having these conversations will be the only way we will see change happen. When did the Sisters of Mercy come to Dundalk? The first of the Sisters arrived in Dundalk in 1847 at the height of the Great Famine. The exact date is not certain but it probably was about this time of year because Father John Coyne, who invited the Order to come to Dundalk, was Parish Priest of Dundalk at the time and had purchased three old houses on Seatown Place, at the junction with Castle Street, from the Revenue Commissioners in January of that year. Mother Ceclia Marmion, a native of Couth Louth, arrived with a Mother de Sales Vigne and number of other Sisters from Baggott Street Covent in Dublin. Workmen were still working on the classrooms in the small school at Mill Street in November 1847 when the sisters started teaching. By the following year, they had enrolled 500 girls. Where was Lucy Soraghan's Corner in old Dundalk? This was the corner of Park Street and the Demesne Road where a lady from the Rath area ran a confectionary shop for many years. It was considered a romantic meeting place for young people of Dundalk in the middle of last century because it was convenient to most Dundalk cinemas and dance halls. Boys and girls who had made dates earlier, would arrange to meet there and, it would be an ideal shop to buy sweets and where the partners could find out who had enough money to pay; otherwise the evening might end in just a stroll around 'The Back of the Wall'. Where was Dundalk's Thostel Meeting House? This was an old meeting hall that stood near the St. Nicholas Green Church in the old walled town where the Town Corporation met from the late thirteenth century. This meeting place was later referred to as the 'Guildhall' and by the 17th century as the 'Sessions House'. Old maps indicate that it stood at the top of the 'Langstaff Lane', now Yorke Street and faced the Town Cross at the top of the 'Cow Market', now Church Street. A hearing against Archbishop Oliver Plunket was held in the Sessions House in 1680 and, probably, the old Thostal was only demolished in the 18th century. What did 'Cuchullain' do for the upkeep of the streets of Dundalk? This was the name of an old steam roller owned by the Dundalk Urban District Council used to repair the surfaces of streets for over 25 years. It was purchased by the Council in 1925 for 760 and was particularly useful during the Second World War Emergency. It was sold by Public Auction in 1952 and worked at a quarry in Newtownards, then sold on to five different owners before it was acquired by a Stuart Harris from Porchester, England, who restored it. Questions for next week: What in old Dundalk were known as 'courts' and where was 'Hailie's Court'? Where and what are 'The Dutch Gables'? Where in Dundalk is 'Traffic Place'? What is the largest townland in the Dundalk Municipal area? The trial of Lisa Smith, who denies membership of the terrorist organisation Islamic State, has restarted at the Special Criminal Court following a seven-day interruption. The three-judge, non-jury court was forced to adjourn the proceedings following a medical issue that prevented the judges from attending. When they returned this morning (FRI), they watched videos of interviews Ms Smith gave to gardai after she was arrested on her return to Ireland from Syria in December 2019. The court has previously heard transcripts of those interviews. The trial is now in legal argument regarding mutual assistance requests made by gardai investigating the allegations against Ms Smith to the authorities in America and Australia. 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. She is on trial before Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, and Judge Gerard Griffin and Judge Cormac Dunne. How to Clip Click and hold your mouse button on the page to select the area you wish to save or print. You can click and drag the clipping box to move it or click and drag in the bottom right corner to resize it. When you're happy with your selection, click the checkmark icon next to the clipping area to continue. When asked what makes The Strand resonate so deeply with guests, Alda Rees pauses, thoughtful. She and her husband, Joe, have been running the place since 2014, and their staff, like the eatery itself, is small. Advertisement Obviously, we want people who can do their jobs and know their steps of service, she says. But we dont want drones. We want them to be themselves, to be who they are. Personalities run the gamut. Advertisement And Joe and I, probably without even knowing it, are perhaps like a mother or father. It has kind of created a family atmosphere here. And that probably resonates to the floor to the customers. Because of its popularity, The Strand has been named the 2022 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards Restaurant of the Year. [ Check out all of the 2022 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards winners ] The Strawberry Chiffon Pie. Desserts here are exquisite. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) It does resonate with people. I can vouch. Not only because Ive been coming here for years, but in the wake of a recent write-up, fans of the Strand came crawling out of the woodwork to testify, many local chefs among them. Its always busy, but it still feels like this hidden gem when you go. The vibe is so chill. Its one of the only places I go for date night when Im off. Rees chuckles when I tell her. Advertisement We do get a lot of industry people here, she says. I think on the whole people like us we are adventurous, we do want to try new things but we also dont want to take a chance. We want to go somewhere we know were going to have fun, feel comfortable and get a good meal. Like funky wines? The Strand's are all-natural. Staffers are great at helping guests with selections. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) And also feel a sense of place. Its precisely where so many of us, ripe for connection as the effects of the pandemic drag on, find solace the predictable excellence of restaurants that are both superb and safe. Places that make us feel welcome. Faces we know and who know us. For the Rees, places like Black Rooster Taqueria are local and inviting. Or Little Saigon, which she says still feels just as it did when they discovered the place decades ago. They like Tori Tori, too, but we like to go early, before it gets crazy, she says, chuckling. Pizza Bruno is another. We love it, she says, laughing. I think its because I was courted on pizza. When we were dating, Joe used to take me to Pepes every Sunday. Alda and Joe Rees, owners and chefs, are pictured at The Strand restaurant on N. Mills Avenue in Orlando Thursday, February 10, 2022. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) (Orlando Sentinel) Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana has been a casual, beloved staple in their hometown of New Haven, Conn., since 1925. Definitely a neighborhood joint. That theirs is, too, Rees believes, was a critical element in The Strand surviving the toughest parts of COVID a situation that had no playbook. Advertisement Being small gave them advantages, allowing the pair to be nimble, to find solutions and implement them immediately, but the main thing that really helped was the loyalty of the clients. They continued to support us. They came for takeout. They bought gift cards. They really carried us through. Its a two-way street, she notes. Wed already been in business for years when COVID hit. Wed been there for them. They trusted us. They were willing to go through it with us. Its easier, she says, for a small place, a neighborhood place, to build those kinds of relationships. "Nothing here is too out-of-the-box," says Alda Rees. "We're a safe spot." She loves seeing adult children bring their parents in. "That's the cutest." (Pictured: Gochugaru-Glazed Salmon dish with white wine.) (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) When we first moved to Florida, almost 30 years ago, there was nothing like this. We were desperate, she says. Ive said this before, but when we opened The Strand, we were creating the restaurant that we wanted to go to, she explains. In older, more concentrated cities cities like the Rees New Haven there are second, third, even fourth generation operators keeping them open. Advertisement Recent circumstances have seen two of their children return to Orlando. Theyre now working at The Strand, too. Like her husband, who was bitten by the restaurant bug when they moved here to help out at her parents place, Im starting to see them get that glazed look in their eyes that says, I kind of like this, she says, though its nothing they ever expected. Its a wild thing to think about, she admits, but this the neighborhood joint is sort of the niche that everyone is looking for, especially now. Were all looking for the comfort of a place that feels familiar, but its not your home its like your home away from home. Rees is thrilled that so many new restaurants are starting to fill that void, even with the irony that most are closed on the same nights, so they havent been able to go be social themselves. The interior of the restaurant has a homey feel. "We try to have an atmosphere that's welcoming to everybody," says chef/co-owner Alda Rees. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) Thats what people want. Were social creatures. Theres the virtual world, where were all on our phones, but nothing beats sitting at the bar Hey, what are you having? Where are you from? The Strand encapsulates that humanity and intimacy. It always has, but the pandemic which served as a power-up to tech-induced isolation, put countless bricks in the walls between us has driven up the stock of such traits. Its nice to get back to those very basic interactions, she says. I love that I get to see it here, every day. Claremont, NH (03743) Today Rain. High 53F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Light rain early. Partial clearing overnight. Low around 45F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Police officers inspect area after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to consequences you have never seen. Brian Hohmann, mechanic and owner of Accurate Automotive, in Burlington, Mass., uses a tire changing machine at his shop, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, in Burlington. Hohmann said most independent shops are perfectly capable of competing with dealerships on both repair skills and price as long as they have the information and software access they need. Christina Kuzminska lights candles at the St. Mary Protectress Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Apopka on Thursday, February 24, 2022. Christina, who is Ukrainian and moved to the United States 5 months ago, has family members, including a brother, that are still in Ukraine. She lit the candles before a vigil was held at the church for the victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She said, My heart is in Ukraine. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) Iryna Vashchuk Discipio, president of Revived Soldiers of Ukraine, a nonprofit dedicated to funding rehabilitation for Ukrainian soldiers, lives in Orlando but spent Thursday fearing for her brother, who still lives in their home country. Her brother was a Ukrainian soldier before an injury prompted him to retire two years ago. But after Russias early-morning invasion Thursday, rest and recuperation will have to wait, Discipio said. Advertisement Its bad, Discipio said. My brother and most of my team are in Ukraine fighting in Kyiv. After months of U.S. intelligence warnings, Russia invaded Ukraine about 5 a.m. local time Thursday. This came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would begin a special military operation in a video released on Russian media late Wednesday. Advertisement Ukrainians living in Central Florida said Thursday that the invasion had left them in shock. Local community leaders spent the day coordinating plans for vigils and rallies to show support for their homeland as reports of explosions and fighting spread. Discipio said she currently has two wounded Ukrainian soldiers receiving medical care through her organization in Orlando and one in Jacksonville. The war in Ukraine has been ongoing since 2014 but Putins recent acceleration of hostilities still came as a surprise, she said. After the news broke, Discipio launched a fundraiser on Facebook to buy supplies and drive them through Poland into Ukraine, as its the only way into the country right now, she said. In less than a day, her support drive had collected more than $55,000. Banks and store closures, along with massive traffic due to Ukrainians trying to flee, will make getting aid into the country difficult, Discipio said. And even the flood of online support she attracted will take time to benefit those suffering back home, she said. The problem with Facebook fundraisers is that they take a month and a half to pass you the money, Discipio said. In a month and a half, we arent going to have a country. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted as the invasion began that it was a full-scale attack on many Ukrainian cities. Latest update. No, this is not a Russian invasion only in the east of Ukraine, but a full-scale attack from multiple directions. No, the Ukrainian defense has not collapsed. Ukrainian army took the fight. Ukraine stands with both feet on the ground & continues to defend itself. Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 24, 2022 In a speech on Thursday President Biden announced stronger sanctions against Russia while also saying that the U.S. will not send troops into Ukraine. The sanctions include controls on Russian exports that will have a severe impact on the Russian economy, Biden said. Putin chose this war, Biden said. And now he and his country will bear the consequences. Advertisement Central Florida officials also denounced the invasion. A career in law enforcement taught me that the only thing a bully understands is strength, U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Orlando, said in a statement. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is an outrage. Said Orlando police Chief Orlando Rolon, We join in concern and heartache for the citizens of Ukraine and to the brave men and women of their military who are fighting to protect their sovereignty against unprovoked aggression. Its a different world now Iryna Sytnyk, a fitness instructor who moved to Orlando seven months ago, said her younger sister and mother are still living in Ukraine, just outside Kyiv. My sister heard the bombs but got up to go to work. Then, when she was walking to work, her job texted her saying to stay home, Sytnyk said. They havent left the house since then other than to wait for two hours to get cash. Sytnyk said her sister and her 10-year-old niece got to the bank and were surprised at the line and the limit on cash. The gas pump had a similar hours-long line and limit on how much you could buy, Sytnyk said. Advertisement I was scared and surprised when I woke up to my sister texting me at 6 a.m. that the invasion started, Sytnyk said. Its a different world now. UCF marketing senior Krystyna Bekhvandi, whose family lives near the Kyiv airport, found out about the first explosion at 10 p.m. She called her dad to seek confirmation. After a couple of tense hours of waiting, he replied, Its happening. War started. Shes still worried about her loved ones, especially given their proximity to the airport, critical infrastructure that could be targeted for attack. My mom is saying tonight is going to be like hell. Bekhvandi, who moved here in 2017, is glad to have found a supportive community in Orlando. She said it is important for everyone to understand the current situation extends well beyond Ukraine, affecting the worlds community. The most important thing is to be united against cruelty, she said. Russia is not our enemy. Our enemy is their leader, who is also Russias enemy. Advertisement Sytnyk said a friend living in Kyiv and her young son have been sheltering inside the metro station for five hours. Her Russian friends are also upset at Putins invasion and worried about the U.S. sanctions hurting them, she said. Iryna Sytnyk's friend was inside a Ukrainian metro station for five hours sheltering from the Russian invasion with her son Thursday. (IrynaSytnyk) Its impacting people who live normal lives because their dollars are going so low, Sytnyk said. But Konstantin Ash, an assistant professor at UCFs School of Politics, Security and International Affairs, said Bidens sanctions will be more likely to stop Putin if their effects are felt by the Russian people. I know that sounds wrong but that would encourage the Russian population to fight Putin on this invasion, Ash said. Putins approval rating within his own country would fall. Ash predicted Putins invasion will ultimately fail. I think this is going to end with Russia withdrawing because no one can hold off insurgent fighters forever, Ash said. Advertisement At the rally, at Lake Eola, Kateryna Gallego walked alone wiping tears. Gallego was the first to warn her family that Russia had begun its invasion. I couldnt stop crying the whole night, Gallego said. They didnt even know it had started when they got up in the morning. Gallego felt angry because she feels the U.S. and NATO didnt do enough. The sanctions arent going to stop a man like Putin, Gallego said. Ivanna Polusmak, who moved to the U.S. from Ukraine when she was 22, said she couldnt smile as she walked alongside her Ukrainian friends making one loop around Lake Eola. Breaking News As it happens Be the first to know with email alerts on important breaking stories from the Orlando Sentinel newsroom. > Im just very sad but I hope that Russia underestimated Ukraine, Polusmak said. Advertisement Polusmak believes [Friday night] will be worse than the initial invasion because there are now Russian troops on the ground. The Russian soldiers wont spare civilians, Polusmak said. Im scared for [Friday night]. Rally organizer, Vasyl Boichook had a rally downtown in early February, but this time 10 times more people showed up because now people believe in the invasion, he said. I think at this protest we got what we came for, Boichook said. We need more support but are thankful for the action. Daniela Vivas Labrador contributed to this report as part of a partnership between the Orlando Sentinel and UCFs Nicholson School of Communication and Media. njaramillo@orlandosentinel.com Last updated 2/25/2022 at 12:45pm About three dozen students showed public support Friday for former Portales High English teacher Kelly Cradock. About three dozen Portales High school students were outside City Hall late Friday morning, showing support for former English teacher Kelly Cradock. The students believe Cradock was mistreated by school officials though it remains unclear exactl... A judge found convicted cop killer Markeith Loyd competent to proceed with his March 3 sentencing in the 2017 killing of Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton, according to a Thursday ruling. In her order, Circuit Judge Leticia Marques said while Loyd suffers from some mental illness, it does not necessarily equate with incompetence to proceed to sentencing. Advertisement The judge relied on the testimony from three medical experts, two of whom were appointed by the court and one psychologist who testified on behalf of the defense. Two of those experts said Loyd was incompetent with his case. Marques, though, said she found the evaluation of the third expert, psychologist Katherine Oses, to be more reliable and therefore more credible. In a hearing last week, Oses said she diagnosed Loyd with antisocial personality disorder, not schizophrenia or psychotic disorder like the other two experts. Advertisement This Court notes that throughout his trial [Loyd] demonstrated an ability to control himself when he wished to, Marques wrote. ... This Court finds that Dr. Oses observations and opinions are supported by the Courts extensive observations of [Loyd] over three years. The Court has observed no significant change in [Loyds] behavior in that time. Loyd, 46, faces a possible death sentence after a 12-person jury unanimously recommended he should be executed for fatally shooting Clayton when she tried to arrest him for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon. Marques will decide whether to follow the jurys recommendation or sentence Loyd to life in prison. At a Feb. 7 hearing, Loyd went on a profanity-laced tirade and had to be escorted out of the courtroom by deputies as his attorneys told the judge a defense expert had found Loyd incompetent. Breaking News As it happens Be the first to know with email alerts on important breaking stories from the Orlando Sentinel newsroom. > Clinical psychologist Xavier Amador told Marques Loyd suffers from various delusions, including believing that the judge and prosecutors on his case are slave masters intent on killing a slave, which is how Loyd refers to himself. The judge, though, said Amador only focused on whether Loyd could consult with his attorneys and control his conduct in the courtroom and did not consider any other factors of incompetence under Florida law. Amadors findings of incompetence based on Defendants actions or words during the trial are not supported by the record nor by the Courts observations, Marques said in her order. Marques said the second expert who found Loyd incompetent, psychiatrist Jeffrey Danziger, opined that Loyd cant communicate with his attorneys or understand the present case against him because he remains fixated on his conviction in the Dixon killing. Advertisement To accept Dr. Danzigers opinion, the Court would have to find that [Loyd] ... is not competent because he simply refuses to accept his guilt and espouses a defense theory that has been rejected by two separate juries, the judge wrote. Loyds sentencing will be the second time hes faced the death penalty. He avoided capital punishment once before when a 2019 jury recommended he be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for his killing Dixon and her unborn child. mcordeiro@orlandosentinel.com Ellie Ucci is 88 but shes nowhere near the end of her nursing career. She is a postpartum nurse at Banner Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert. Shareholders to decide whether to apply Article 8.3 of EBRD constitution The Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has met to discuss events in Ukraine. Shareholder representatives agreed with the Banks management to take steps in response to the crisis, including the possibility of suspending or modifying Russia's and Belaruss access to Bank resources under Article 8.3 of the EBRD's constitution. Proposals will be submitted to the Board next week. Any final decision would be taken by the Bank's Governors. The EBRD has not invested in new projects in Russia since 2014. It has not invested in new projects in Belarus in recent times following the disputed 2020 presidential election in that country. The EBRD has condemned yesterday's invasion of Ukraine and has emphasised its unwavering support for the government there and its citizens. Productivity growth, higher quality services, better decision-making, greater customer reach, and even happiness have been linked to the digital transformation of businesses and economies. And yet, the path towards digitalisation is uneven. In the Western Balkans, as in other EBRD regions, a large urban-rural divide in broadband coverage, underdeveloped digital infrastructure and low levels of digital literacy present barriers to reaping the benefits offered by digitalisation. A challenging digital landscape The process of digitalisation is a challenge for both small businesses and public institutions alike, says Dejan Spasovski, CEO of DE-TA Dejan, a wholesaler of undergarments in North Macedonia. Most official and business documents are still signed in paper form across the region, and distrust in and security concerns about the digital ways of working pose barriers to the implementation of digital tools. But with the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for and benefits of a digital transition have become that much more pronounced. From the six-year-old that had to operate an iPad to learn online, through the manager that had a whole suite of new collaboration technologies to master, to whole businesses that needed to quickly adopt new operational tools as consumers moved online, the pandemic forced society into the digital sphere. Businesses like Dorat MC, a renowned importer and retailer of a wide range of souvenirs and memorabilia in Serbia under the brand Ekspedicija, quickly understood the need to digitalise. Greater reach Digitalisation is the key segment that enables your business to develop, says Milos Cetkovic, CEO of the company. From a consumer perspective, digital tools allow you to find and buy the products and access the services you need at the click of a button. While for business, the advent of the internet and smartphones can create new sales channels and reach new customers. Working with a consultant, Ekspedicija sought to improve its business performance during the pandemic by completely digitalising its sales. The team built a new web store and upgraded its e-commerce infrastructure. We have managed to grow our revenues by about 25 per cent in 2021. Our biggest growth was made in online sales, which are 5.5 times higher than in 2020, Milos notes. The flip side But greater customer enablement by digital channels can come at a cost, particularly if consumer demand outpaces the capacity of the business. When we expanded our online presence, the increased level of online sales affected our warehouse operations, challenging the way inventory was traced and managed, remarks Kriton Prendi, owner of MITO by Caterina Firenze, a shoe production and exporting company in Albania. The different sales channels made it difficult to see an accurate picture of customer preferences and product performance, which is crucial for effective decision-making. This is why, he argues, implementing digital solutions that create operational efficiency is far more important than tools that increase reach. And its why MITO by Caterina Firenze worked with the EBRD to implement an automated warehouse management system, leading to faster processing of received orders, improved inventory management and accurate reporting. Faster and superior Companies that are digitalised are more innovative and able to compete on both local and international markets, agrees Tomislav Djorojevic, CEO and co-owner of MPM doo, a leading retailer and wholesaler of beauty products in Montenegro. Digital tools can improve the efficiency of a company management. With innovation as its end goal, and with support from the EBRD, MPM doo digitalised its loyalty programme, creating a mobile application that replaces physical loyalty cards and enables online shopping. So far, some 73,000 users have downloaded the app. Automation increased the quality of data we have on our customers, as well as improved the customer experience. Our overall processes have improved, as have our results, he explains. A need for skills The trouble with the increasing rate of technological transformation is that those who dont get onboard the digital agenda risk being left behind. The EBRDs Transition Report 2021-22 finds that people in the Banks regions tend to have fairly poor ICT skills, and the low level of digital literacy is a recurring concern in the business sphere. Successful digitalisation goes hand in hand with investing in knowledge, training and equipment, and would help the Western Balkans market to position itself in the European market, says Kriton Prendi. So where to begin? The EBRD is at the forefront of the digital skills gap. With specific products aimed at closing the gap such as Youth in Business and Skills in Business, the EBRD is stepping up to help its regions address the skills divide. The Banks recently launched Digital Transition Approach sets out the ways it will achieve this by 2025, including through delivering specific advisory projects on skills development, and enhancing our clients capacity to forecast needs. And with the generous support of donors that lead the digital way such as Norway, the Bank is poised to succeed, helping Western Balkans economies to thrive. The projects above were implemented through the EBRDs Advice for Small Businesses programme, with funding from Norway through the EBRD's Small Business Impact Fund (Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Sweden, Switzerland, TaiwanBusiness - EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund and the USA). Digitalisation is one the three key strategic priorities for the EBRD, as well as for its SME Finance and Development Group, for 2021-2025. From Ukraine, a West Cork man described clear blue skies this morning amid mass panic, stockpiling and bombing as Russian attacks were reported to his east and south. Eugene OSullivan, originally from Bantry, lives five hours east of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. On the Neil Prendeville show on RedFM on Thursday Eugene said local media are reporting a three-pronged attack. I didnt expect it, it came out of the blue, Eugene said, where I am is peaceful, but east of me I have heard 40 civilians have been killed, there are Russian tanks there. Romanian media is reporting an incursion coming from Belarus, and another from the South. It looks like there is a three pronged attack." Eugene said he is afraid of ground invasion and getting caught in the between the Russians and Ukrainians. Ukrainian soldiers ride in a military vehicle in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian troops launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions, warning other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to consequences you have never seen. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) What I am afraid of is the ground invasion starts, when Ukranian resistance in pockets will take up arms, thats where it gets really dangerous... I would be afraid of big resistance from Ukrainians and you could be in the wrong place at the wrong time, you could be a misfortunate target. At the moment Eugene confirmed bombs and missiles are taking out Ukrainian military infrastructure. In terms of the local community, Eugene said there is panic everywhere. Stocking up on food staples, water, queues at shops, queues at filling stations, pharmacies, there is just panic. The West Cork man explained marshal law is now imposed. You must do what Ukranian military tell you. Or direct you. They can actually come in and take over your house if they want to. You have no more rights in the country. Asked if he was going to stay, Eugene laughed and said: Well I dont have a helicopter. Getting serious, Eugene said: I would rather be here than in Ireland, because the family are here. Im worried but I have to hope for the best. The West Cork man said he has stocked up and has enough supplies for the next two weeks. I have water, generator ready to go, food, shelter underneath us here, what more can you do. Eugene said the next thing is power. Electricity can go, they have cut the electricity connector between Belarus and Ukraine, so there could be a shortage of supply on the system. People walk in a subway to get a train as they leave the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences you have never seen." (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Offering his perspective on the situation, Eugene said: They gave nothing to Putin, US and NATO, he gave them time and they gave him nothing in return. Im not for Putin, Im not for anybody, Im just telling it as it is. He asked for Ukraine not to be allowed to join NATO, they refused, he asked for weapons to be removed for Romania and Poland, cruise missiles facing for Russia, they refused. THE founder and CEO of Chernobyl Children International (CCI) has made a plea for the area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Ukraine to be declared a safe zone. Adi Roche said that the seizure of the plant by Russian forces could lead to the release of an "uncontrollable monster" of radioactive material. Ms Roche has led the international humanitarian response in the area around the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster for decades through her Cork-based charity, CCI. In a statement released last night, she said that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone had vast silos of nuclear waste and water, which are highly dangerous and volatile. The releasing of such material, she said, would be her "worst nightmare" come true. "I appeal on behalf of all humanity to the warring armies, under the Hague Conventions, that the highly contaminated area around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, with its thousands of tonnes of highly radioactive material, not be targeted or used as areas of shelling, bombardment, and ground fighting," Ms Roche said. "My worst nightmare in this conflict is that the tragedy of the Chernobyl disaster could be re-released on the world. "I fear that this area, a sacred area, an area of utter vulnerability and danger, a special area of human tragedy, could once again have deadly radioactive contamination released which would spread everywhere like a great and uncontrollable monster." CCI has led the humanitarian response in Chernobyl for decades. The exclusion zone between Ukraine and Belarus, near Chernobyl, is the most radioactive environment in the world, according to Ms Roche. "There are hundreds of shallow nuclear graves which are scattered throughout the exclusion zone holding the contents of thousands of houses, machinery, buses, and trucks that have been buried to keep the radiation underground," Ms Roche said. "Should a bomb, missile, a shot-down plane or a helicopter crash into this area, the consequences could be disastrous. "In the name of humanity, in the name of the children, please stop this war and declare the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone as a Safe No War Zone." THERE were 6789 approved applicants for social housing in the County Cork area as of Monday, January 31. Cork County Council head of housing Maurice Manning revealed these figures following a motion from Independent councillor Ben Dalton OSullivan at the recent Southern Committee meeting of the local authority. Mr Manning said there were 2904 approved applicants for social housing in the South Cork District. The head of housing Mr Manning also said that the projected delivery of new units in South Cork for this year is 368. Councillor Ben Dalton OSullivan welcomed the detailed breakdown of the figures in the South Cork area. I welcome the clarity surrounding the housing waiting list as we know now how many people are on it and we have a detailed breakdown of the applicants, he said. Cork County Council officials also anticipate that approximately 85 vacant dwellings will be refurbished and re-let in South Cork during 2022. The Independent councillor said he would like to add more funding allocated for the refurbishment of vacant dwellings. I would like to see additional funding allocated for the refurbishment of vacant dwellings. "There is always potential to do up council houses and re-let them as soon as possible. I would always be in favour of more funding being allocated from the government to the council to provide more vacant dwellings. Unfortunately we are in a housing crisis, but Cork County Council did allocate nearly 850 housing units last year. The council are also progressing many council housing developments in Carrigaline and a lot of them are due to come up on CBL shortly which is very welcome, he added. Cllr Dalton OSullivan said he will be seeking more clarity with regards to the refusal rate on the CBL system at the next housing committee meeting. I would have concerns that there is about a 7 to 8% refusal rate on the Choice Based Letting (CBL) system and I would be looking for more details on that in the next housing committee meeting. Helping out because she can, is the main reason 35-year-old program manager Sara Southard became a volunteer with Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland, although the adorable furry friends are a big plus. AADI is a Cork based charity that trains and places highly skilled autism assistance dogs with families that need them. Sara, from Detroit, Michigan is working for Stryker in Ireland since 2019 and living in Cork since 2020 and she said from the day she started working there was an AADI dog in the office. I thought I hit the jackpot with places to work! Learning more about that dog and AADI generally made it easy to decide to help. I love dogs but, unfortunately, couldnt necessarily committ to having one of my own with my work schedule. Then in April 2020, during the first lockdown, Sara got her first AADI puppy, Ernie. Sara said minding puppies is a full-on task, but she loves it. "They are living beings with needs, personalities, the desire to learn and play and be curious. Think of it like having a new baby, except this one is furry, has teeth and doesnt toilet in a nappy. In all seriousness though, were up about 6am for a toilet, we go back to sleep until about 7am until its breakfast time. Then this lucky guy goes back to sleep again after that, I start my work day, we navigate walks and playing between meetings, we do two more mid-day meals, I try to explain what that barking/chewing/whining/scratching noise is in the background of all of my work calls, we do more playing and dinner and snuggles, and then we do it all again the next day. It is certainly a 24/7 commitment! Sara said while having an AADI pup can be stressful, it has helped her to grow as a person. Sara Southard's AADI puppy, Jackson It has forced me to chill out and not sweat the small stuff. Theres sometimes mud on the floor now; sometimes a jumper gets a snag on it from a puppy whos excited to see you. Sometimes its not quiet in the background of my meetings; sometimes I dont get a perfect eight hours of beauty rest because the puppy has to wee in the night, sometimes we have to readjust plans and schedules to make sure everyone has what they need throughout the day, but that is OK! Sara said it is more than OK. Its good to be flexible and volunteering with AADI has taught me that. I dont have to be wound up so tight. Life is a journey and Im much better equipped to go with the flow now. The Stryker manager who lives in Glanmire with her boyfriend Kevin said that she has formed new friendships here in Cork thanks to her furry companions. I can honestly say 90% of the friends Ive made since Ive been here are becuase of these dogs. Having them in my life has been a natural way to meet and interact with other like-minded people as well as to get myself outside and even out of my comfort zone by going places and doing things the dogs would like to do. Explaining why she wanted to get involved with the charity organisation, Sara said: I feel very strongly about acknowledging privilege and Im fortunate enough to be in a position where I am able to help others. What I sacrifice in my day could be stressful at the time, but would be perhaps quite trivial compared to what someone else might be gaining. Sara Southard's AADI puppy, Ernie Sara said volunteering is also a powerful lesson in selflessness for her and everyone around her, including nieces, nephews and neighbourhood kids. Sara Southard's AADI puppy, Ernie There are so many good lessons associated with fostering with AADI, especially when I see how this is impacting the children in my life. For them to be learning that even if something is hard (waking up early for a dawn walk) or sad (when the dog leaves our house to go to its forever home), weve done something really amazing for someone else. The AADI volunteer encouraged others to consider sharing their home with one of these adorable little fur balls. AADI is always looking for fosterers. The more dogs we can get into the network, the more children with Autism we can help. If you were ever interested or curious about what you might be able to do, there is a puppy fostering webinar on the February 24 at 3pm. FILE - This booking photo provided by the Polk County, Fla. Sheriff's Office shows, Bryan Riley, who was arrested Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021, in the shooting of four people in Lakeland, Fla. A grand jury has formally charged Riley in a 22-count indictment that includes four first-degree murder counts in the fatal shooting of a family authorities say he attacked at random. Court documents show the indictment was filed Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021 in Polk County Circuit Court against Riley. (Polk County Sheriff's Office via AP) (AP Photo) A ride-along event will allow an 11-year-old survivor to meet the responders who saved her life. In Sept. 2021, Bryan Riley, a former U.S. Marine, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder after killing four people in Polk County. Advertisement One girl, an 11-year-old, survived the ordeal because she played dead and....prayed. Now, Amvets & American Legion are hosting an event on Saturday to help offset her medical costs, according to the information posted on Facebook. The ride-along will make four stops along the way, and the 11-year-old survivor will be waiting at one of them to thank her rescuers. Advertisement Each driver participating will pay $20 while every passenger puts up $10, according to WTSP. The event will also feature baskets and auction items in addition to music and hamburgers, the news station reported. By Laura Elston, PA Court Reporter The royal family will tour the globe in celebration of the Queens Platinum Jubilee, Buckingham Palace has announced. Among the tours will be a visit by Prince Charles and Camilla to Ireland from March 23rd to 25th. In this #PlatinumJubilee year, members of The Royal Family will undertake a series of Royal Tours this spring: @ClarenceHouse will visit @KensingtonRoyal will visit The Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit The Princess Royal will visit The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) February 24, 2022 Prince William and Kate Middleton will travel to the Caribbean, touring Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas from March 19th to 26th. The Earl and Countess of Wessex will visit Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines from April 22nd to 28th, and the Princess Royal will visit Papua New Guinea from April 11th to 13th. The Queen, who currently has Covid, reached her Platinum Jubilee on February 6th, becoming the first British monarch in history to do so. She called time on her overseas travel a number of years ago, leaving the duties to other family members. The Queen no longer carries out overseas tours (Joe Giddens/PA) Jubilee tours abroad have long been carried out in celebration of the Queens milestone anniversaries. William and Kate, in a personal message on their Twitter account, said they were so excited ahead of their trip. The couple wrote: We are so excited to visit Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas next month as we mark The Queens Platinum Jubilee. We cant wait to meet people in all three countries, celebrate local cultures and understand more about innovative work being done across communities. The message was signed off with W & C. We are so excited to visit Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas next month as we mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee. We cant wait to meet people in all three countries, celebrate local cultures and understand more about innovative work being done across communities. W & C The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) February 24, 2022 Kensington Palace said it was their first joint tour since the start of the pandemic, and they have asked to meet as many local people as possible. They will visit historic Mayan sites and celebrate the rich culture of the Garifuna community in Belize, as well as exploring the countrys biodiversity. In Jamaica, they will engage with the Jamaican Defence Force and celebrate the legacy of Bob Marley and other ground-breaking Jamaican musicians alongside potential stars of the future. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on a tour to Pakistan (Peter Nicholls/PA) In the Bahamas, the Cambridges visit a number of islands and experience a world famous junkanoo parade. A Kensington Palace spokeswoman said: Throughout their visit, the duke and duchess will take the opportunity to commemorate Her Majestys Platinum Jubilee. Their programme will also touch on a number of themes that are close to Their Royal Highnesses hearts and a key focus of their work with The Royal Foundation, including The Earthshot Prize, mental health and the importance of early childhood to lifelong outcomes. She added: Their Royal Highnesses are very much looking forward to the visit, which will be their first joint official overseas tour since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. The Cambridges are also keen to learn more about the impact of the pandemic on the Caribbean and how communities coped. The spokeswoman added: As with previous overseas visits, the duke and duchess have asked that this tour allows them to meet as many local people as possible. The monarchs Jubilee is being celebrated with national festivities in the UK on a four-day bank holiday weekend in June. By PA Reporter Friday's front pages are dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as world leaders have condemned the actions of president Vladmimir Putin. The Irish Times reports that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought fear, death and mass condemnation as the West has agreed new sanctions targeting Russia. The Irish Examiner leads with the photo of an injured woman in Ukraine as peace in Europe has been shattered. The front page of today's Irish Examiner. Subscribe today at: https://t.co/Bqu30PdVl7 pic.twitter.com/QKSDGFvFNC Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) February 25, 2022 The Irish Daily Mail and the Irish Daily Mirror also both lead with the picture of the injured woman while Putin is expected to seize Ukraine's capital within days. For all the big news, pick up Friday's Irish Daily Mail, or click on https://t.co/wKUyK4A9A5 pic.twitter.com/tqjFd5Yw1J The Irish Daily Mail (@irishdailymail) February 24, 2022 Good morning, here is the front page of Friday's Irish Daily Mirror pic.twitter.com/j8akB9Qjis Irish Daily Mirror (@IrishMirror) February 25, 2022 The Irish Daily Star has described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as Europe's darkest hour. Fridays front page pic.twitter.com/WE56no37Sq Irish Daily Star (@IsFearrAnStar) February 25, 2022 And the Belfast Telegraph focuses on sanctions imposed by the West on Russia which aim to "cripple" the country. Morning readers! Stay with @BelTel for all your breaking news. Here's a look at the front page of today's Belfast Telegraph:https://t.co/3AlGJmrP8Y #Tellitlikeitis pic.twitter.com/0lrqLy8JdB Belfast Telegraph (@BelTel) February 25, 2022 In the UK, the front pages all focus on the invasion of Ukraine, many accusing Russian president Vladimir Putin of having blood on his hands. The Daily Telegraphs headline casts the conflict as the new cold war, the i says panic has gripped Ukraines cities under siege as hundreds of thousands try to flee, and The Guardian leads with a photograph of a bloodied woman injured during an airstrike in the eastern city of Chuhuiv. The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph: 'New cold war as Putin strikes'#TomorrowsPapersToday Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4Oomry pic.twitter.com/6YRooTgjTJ The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 24, 2022 Friday's front page: Ukraine's agony - families flee as war comes to Europe#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/J7H1gmytRe i newspaper (@theipaper) February 24, 2022 Guardian front page, Friday 25 February 2022: Putin invades pic.twitter.com/lkwYrxaQnk Guardian news (@guardiannews) February 24, 2022 Her blood is on his hands declares The Sun with a small photograph of Mr Putin over one of the injured woman in Chuhuiv and the Daily Mirror runs with the theme of Her blood his hands. Metro shows the injured woman next to Mr Putin backed up by Adolf Hitler, while the Financial Times reports the invasion is the biggest challenge to European peace in 80 years. The bloodshed begins reads The Independents headline above a photograph of the Chuviuv woman as the Daily Mail says Russia will seize Kyiv in days. By Cate McCurry, PA Travel books are flying off library shelves as holiday readers plan their post-Covid getaway. Librarians say overseas guides are the big page-turners since libraries re-opened to the public, as Ireland Reads Day encourages adults and children across the country to squeeze in a read. The national wellness initiative by Libraries Ireland and Healthy Ireland has so far seen the public pledge well over 200,000 minutes of reading. Tracy McEneaney, executive librarian at Waterford Libraries said: It seems a lot of people are going away, there have been lots of requests for guide books and our travel section is now half full, indicating that people are travelling again. Natasha Vorchykhina, nine, with Tracy McEneaney, Executive Librarian, Waterford Libraries, in Ardkeen Library, Waterford City, joining the nationwide initiative encouraging everyone to squeeze in a read on Ireland Reads Day today(Patrick Browne/PA) And as libraries return to full operation, she has also reunited some members with lost belongings recently finding 300 euros in cash tucked into a book returned to the citys Ardkeen Library. We did a bit of investigation and found out that a woman had put the money in the book to pay for a relatives headstone. We managed to track her down and she was delighted to get it back, she added. We often find money in books, which many people use as safe places to store belongings. She said people remain surprised that access to 12 million books in Irelands library network is free and there are no fines for late returns benefitting one member who recently returned a book borrowed in the 1960s. The Ireland Reads drive is backed by a host of ambassadors, including broadcasters Joe Duffy and Rick OShea, authors Liz Nugent, Sarah Webb and Marian Keyes, who described discovering Enid Blyton books at the age of six as being like my saviour. From then on, and right to this day, reading is the way that I mind myself. If you think you dont like reading, trust me, you just havent met the right book yet, Marian said. Because I read, I always have a companion when I have insomnia, it takes away my anxiety when I am worried about stuff, which is always, because thats the way I am. If you havent been a reader, dont be afraid, its meant to be something nice for you, not the opposite. Libraries across the country are holding events to encourage everyone to pick up a book today including the new North Clondalkin library in Dublin, which is staging a DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) event, followed by a local authors book launch, while Drogheda in Co Louth has a pledge tree allowing readers to commit to their reading minutes. Online, readers can log their reading time at irelandreads.ie. Library members can borrow from 12 million items for free or use the BorrowBox app to choose from more than 40,000 ebooks and 30,000 audiobooks. Library members also have free access to online newspapers and magazines. Ireland Reads is a public libraries initiative in partnership with booksellers, publishers, the National Adult Literacy Agency, Childrens Books Ireland, the Arts Council and Healthy Ireland. James Cox The Big Tree, the iconic sporting pub on Dorset Street in Dublin, reopened on Friday, February 25th. The pub is open to customers again after a significant remodelling. The pub is now part of a 163-bedroom hotel called Dublin One which opened on Lower Dorset Street on February 4th. Both premises are managed by Cliste Hospitality. The Big Street is located on the corner of North Circular Road, which was laid out in the 1780s, and Dorset Street Lower, a pub or inn has reportedly occupied this site since 1543. It grew to fame first as the Rose Tavern, mentioned in historical accounts of those times, and where Huguenot settlers are reported to have created Irelands first Florists Club and held their meetings. The pub derived its current name in the aftermath of the 1798 rebellion where five men, captured by militia, were sentenced to death by notorious alderman and judge, John Claudius Beresford, after a minute-long trial, and hung from a big tree nearby. The tree that they were hanged from became known as the Big Tree and over the years the tavern also became known by the same name. The building once also operated as a grocery and served as the Petty Sessions Courthouse for Drumcondra in the late Victorian period. The Big Tree is also well-loved by GAA fans, and a traditional venue for celebrations before and after big matches at Croke Park. The reopening of The Big Tree and Dublin One creates 80 jobs in total in the Dublin 1 area. A DOUGLAS-based woman whose dad died during the pandemic was inspired by him to start her new bespoke jewellery business. Rhona Abbey is the driving force behind a business called designer-steals.com, which as the name suggests, sells pre-loved designer labels. With over 12,000 followers, shes tapped into a growing cohort of people who have an an appetite to shop more sustainably. The mum-of-four has now added a bespoke jewellery line to the offering called Designerd. The idea came to her when she was having a wardrobe clear-out last year and found an old pair of Gucci flip flops. Some of Rhona's custom made jewellery. I had bought them in Paris and adored them but they really were falling apart. I was holding on to them because they had the most beautiful tortoiseshell GG logos on them and I just couldnt throw them out. It suddenly occurred to me I could take the logos off and make them into something that I could wear again hairslides, brooch or a belt buckle, she said. After that I started to take a real interest in designer hardware zips on bags, bag charms, bag buckles, etc, and really, when you think about it, these are mainly the branded pieces that make the item so valuable so, if the item itself had become worn and shabby I felt the hardware could be polished up and repurposed into jewellery. Rhona has lived in Douglas for the past 20 years but is originally from London, which is where her interest in pre-loved designer wear started. When I lived in London, designer swap shops were really popular. These were shops where you brought in your unwanted designer items and sold them on. It was amazing the bargains you could pick up. I remember getting a beautiful red Chanel mini skirt for 50. Some of Rhona's custom made jewellery. When I first came to Cork I tampered with the idea of setting up my own swap shop but people kept telling me it wouldnt work in Cork it was too small and people would see you wearing their cast offs! So I decided to test the market and set up a Facebook page called Designer Steals. I was basically selling my own pieces and selling for friends and, while it got off to a bit of a slow start, I now have over 12,000 followers and can really see the pre-loved market is thriving. I get lots of requests to sell stuff on behalf of others. There are quite a few outlets now in Cork and across Ireland selling pre-loved and I think the market will only get bigger as we all try to do our bit to build a more sustainable future, she said. Until December, Rhona worked for EY. She joined in London after leaving school and worked there for more than 25 years in London, Dublin and Cork. In Cork, I managed and delivered the regional marketing plan across our offices here, in Galway, Limerick and Waterford. But last December, I decided to take a career break in December of last year to focus on my family, our four boys, and to pursue my interest in designer fashion and accessories, she said. Rhona Abbey and her dad Chris. Right now shes concentrating on buying junk designer items: So thats bags which are torn or very worn, vintage clothing, broken charms, etc, and I am taking them apart and making them into pendants and bracelets. The items are all handmade by me and completely unique. As an example, I bought another red Chanel piece in London recently it was an old cardigan with a hole in the back and a button missing but still intact were four absolutely beautiful Chanel Rue Cambon buttons. I envisaged these mounted on gold bezels and made into pendants and thats actually the piece I am working on at the moment. The reaction to her novel business has been incredible so far. I sold my first 12 pieces in three days! I think there are two reasons for this. Firstly, the pieces are once off and very unique, but I think more importantly people see upcycling as being one of the most important ways we can reduce our environmental impact, she said. For now shes sticking with her online selling, with some pop-ups planned for later in the year: But I would love to have my own shop at some time in the future. I often hear people saying its pointless having a shop when you can sell online, but I dont agree with that at all. Particularly now that we are finally emerging from the pandemic, people are really keen to start browsing shops again. Some of Rhona's custom made jewellery. And shed encourage anyone who has an idea in their head to try it out. I lost my dad to cancer in April, 2020, and it really made me aware of how precious and short life is, so you have to follow your dreams. It was just at the start of Covid. It was a really difficult time. It was the first lockdown when we couldnt travel outside of our counties so I couldnt visit him or support my mum in caring for him for the weeks before he died. Some of Rhona's custom made jewellery. We were very close and losing him made me realise how short and precious life is and you have to spend time doing what you love. Dad loved style and was a firm believer in quality, not quantity, and I definitely have his traits! He would be very proud to see me following my dreams and I know he is with me every step of the way. Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. Sponsored By: St Anthony's Hospital Nurses to be balloted over 4% pay offer Nurses on the Isle of Man are to be balloted over a proposed 4% pay rise offered by Manx Care. Negotiations over the pay award have been ongoing since May last year. The Royal College of Nursing has called for a 15% rise and a one-off payment for its 700-strong workforce. Health Minister Lawrie Hooper will ask politicians to approve a 10m overspend in next month's Tynwald sitting. The Union said: "Fair Pay for Nursing is about recognising the complexity of skill, responsibility and experience demonstrated every day our members and their colleagues as well as providing safe and effective care." Ukraine invasion: IOM will 'take action in line with the UK government' The Manx Government has said it is in close contact with the UK government and will remain so regarding the unfolding situation in Ukraine. In a brief statement, the Government said: "We will take action in line with the UK government." "Our thoughts are with the people in the Ukraine, their families and friends." European leaders and the US announced fresh sanctions on Moscow last night, targeting defence, transport, oil and tech industries. A 15-year-old boy was arrested in the Feb. 5 shooting death of a 19-year-old man, according to the Flagler County Sheriffs Office. On Thursday, the Flagler County Sheriffs Office announced the arrest after a 20-day investigation. The teen was charged with manslaughter with a firearm, but the Orlando Sentinel is not naming the teen because he was not charged as an adult. Advertisement Officials said they spent over 400 hours investigating the death of Jamey Juju Bennett in Palm Coast. Deputies received a call just before 2 that morning about a shooting in the woods. They found Bennett on the ground with a gunshot wound on the upper left side of his chest. First responders employed life-saving measures, but he died shortly after arriving at the hospital. Advertisement During the investigation, Flagler officials learned about a fight at an outdoor gathering after Bennett verbally confronted the suspect. They learned the teen suspect subsequently pulled out a gun and shot Bennett in the chest. Deputies said they served over 20 search warrants and completed over 50 preservation orders for social media accounts and mobile devices to gather the information that led to the arrest. This was a difficult case because many witnesses were not immediately forthcoming, and detectives had to use all investigative means at their disposal to solve this case, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. A young man saw his life end unexpectedly, and it happened at the hands of a gunman even younger than him. This was a 15-year-old trying to be a macho man with a gun. Cherry Lee Ward Yeager age 87 of Athens died Monday at Athens Limestone Hospital. Mrs. Yeager was born October 21, 1934 in Giles County Tennessee. She was a longtime member of First Baptist Church Athens where she sang in the chrior, and was active in the WMU. Mrs. Yeager was a Red Cross vol Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences you have never seen." Apple reportedly told employees its stores and authorized third-party repair shops will soon be able to resolve Face ID hardware issues without having to replace an iPhone entirely. Technicians may have access to a TrueDepth camera part that includes the Face ID and front-facing camera modules. They'll be able to swap it into an iPhone, according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors. The company reportedly said the part may lower the number of whole-device replacements, which will help reduce the company's carbon footprint. Although Apple didn't mention pricing for such repairs in the memo, it would make sense for a new part to be less expensive than a replacement device. What's more, consumers wouldn't have to be concerned about losing or having to restore their data. The report notes that the part will be compatible with iPhone XS and newer devices. As such, iPhone X owners might miss out. If Apple does offer authorized technicians the part, it seems like a good move for all involved. It should bolster Apple's repairability efforts a few months after the company said it would sell iPhone and Mac parts to consumers and offer repair guides to help them resolve hardware issues by themselves . Lenovo is no stranger to gaming phones, and it appears determined to survive the all-out specs war that defines the category. Engadget Chinese reports Lenovo has shared early details of the Legion Phone Y90, its third-generation gaming handset, and storage appears to be the company's advantage. While 'base' models come with 256GB of ordinary UFS 3.1 flash storage (paired to 12GB or 16GB of RAM), the highest-end 18GB RAM model comes with a RAID 0 storage stripe that combines a 128GB SSD with 512GB of flash, much like Xiaomi's Black Shark 4 phones. You won't have to wait long for your games to load. The 6.9-inch 1080p AMOLED screen with a 144Hz refresh rate will be familiar to second-gen Legion owners (albeit with a high 1,300-nit brightness), and the presence of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip won't surprise anyone. Lenovo has ditched the 44MP pop-up selfie camera in favor of an above-screen 16MP unit, though. You'll still find dual fans and vapor chamber cooling, and charging won't be an issue between the 5,600mAh two-battery power pack, two USB-C ports and an included 68W GaN fast charger. There's no mention of a release date or pricing, although those might come at Lenovo's Mobile World Congress press event on February 28th. The Legion Phone Y90 initially appears destined for mainland China, but it won't be surprising if the device reaches other markets (possibly with a different name). Just don't expect it in the US Lenovo hasn't officially released its gaming phones in the country, and there's no evidence to suggest the company will break with tradition this time around. NVIDIA's email systems and developer tools have reportedly been experiencing outages over the last two days due to a suspected cyberattack . The company told The Telegraph , which first reported on the issue, that it was "investigating an incident" and didn't have anything else to share for now. The company is believed to be dealing with a "malicious network intrusion" that, in the words of one person with knowledge of the situation, "completely compromised" NVIDIA's internal systems. Some of its email services were said to be back online on Friday. It's not yet clear whether hackers obtained data on NVIDIA or its customers if this is actually a cyberattack. There's currently no evidence tying the incident to Russia, following concerns it would retaliate against the West with cyberwarfare. The US and other nations slapped Russia with sanctions after it invaded Ukraine on Thursday, including a moratorium on exporting semiconductors to the country. Weather Alert ...FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM CDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING... * 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...From 6 AM CDT this morning through Thursday morning. * 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. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Showers and thunderstorms will develop Wednesday morning over a broad swath of the watch area. Another round of rain and thunderstorms is expected later in the afternoon and will last much of Wednesday night before ending Thursday morning. Storm total amounts of 2 to 5 inches are expected. Given recent rainfall, these additional amounts may cause flooding. - 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. && Officials arrested a suspected arsonist for attacking a Central Florida deputy and a firefighter responding to a house fire. Mark McKerlie, 48, is being held without bond for starting the fire after a family fight, according to a Flagler County Sheriffs Office press release. Advertisement Fire rescue and deputies responded to a call about a house fire around 10 a.m. Thursday morning in Palm Coast. The fire first started at the back of the home, forcing John and Sue Beale, and McKerlie to evacuate toward the front yard. A deputy asked them to move into the street as they tended to the fire. Officials said a deputy walked toward the back of the fire engine to check on McKerlie, who was sitting on the trucks tailgate. McKerlie hit the deputy in the head with his cane and hit a firefighter in the armpit, according to the press release. Video footage from the scene shows the incident courtesy of a deputys body camera. Advertisement Investigators said McKerlie started the fire by igniting a mattress. McKerlie said it stemmed from a family fight earlier in the evening. Taking a swing at one of our deputies or a firefighter who was trying to help was a big mistake, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. Thankfully, my deputy and the firefighter did not suffer any major injuries. This arsonist will now sit in the Green Roof Inn and be held responsible for his actions. McKerlie faces two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and one count of arson. Anna Sorokin, also known as Anna Delvey, deceived the wealthiest New Yorkers by posing as a wealthy heiress. The German con artist could steal thousands of dollars from people who thought they were investing in her business, the Anna Delvey foundation, while duping them. Aside from stealing, she allegedly failed to pay her hotel bills, paid for a private jet flight, and avoided paying for her luxury vacations. Anna also defrauded banks before being convicted in 2017, and her incredible narrative sparked the Netflix show "Inventing Anna." Anna Sorokin was convicted of practically all grand larceny and theft of services charges in 2019. She was sentenced to four to twelve years in jail. Many people believe she is still imprisoned - but is she still imprisoned? Where is Anna Delvey Now? Anna Sorokin was freed from jail in February 2021 as a result of her good behavior. Following her release, Anna reactivated her social media accounts and uploaded photos of herself living a wealthy lifestyle. After her incarceration ended, she spoke with Insider, claiming she never intended to commit fraud. She even mentioned having to face with the consequences of her conduct. Furthermore, she stated that there is no way to undo what she had done by sitting about and reflecting on everything she had done. It would be a "big waste of my time," according to Anna. Her time as a free woman, however, was short-lived, as she was soon arrested in March 2021 and deported to Germany. She was held in New York City for violating the restrictions of her visa, but the celebrity insists that her "overstay was inadvertent." Anna is still jailed at ICE and fighting deportation to Germany, but she is still conducting interviews and preparing her next move. READ ALSO: Wendy Williams Fights Back: Host Suing Producers After Being 'Fired' From Own Show Anna Delvey Knows Kanye West's Ex Meanwhile, Anna Delvey said in an interview with the New York Times that she was best friends with Kanye West's ex-girlfriend Julia Fox. She mentioned mutual pals and even referred to the "Uncut Gems" star as "a girl about time" and "my darling sis." They allegedly met on Instagram after she was released from prison and spoke briefly before jumping on Clubhouse. "I was answering people's queries about my experience," Anna said, "and she made the forum so much better; she asked all the appropriate questions." "We share a sense of humor, she was never judgmental, and we've been in touch ever since." READ MORE: Bella Hadid's Real Feelings After Ex The Weeknd Makes Out With Her Pal Simi Khadra, Revealed! Sean Penn is now making a documentary about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He's on the ground as the country went into a chaos. The actor is now making a documentary about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He's on the ground as the country went into a chaos. The Academy Award-winning actor attended a news conference Thursday in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv, where he listened to government leaders discuss the conflict, Vice Studios revealed. The said documentary is a production of Vice Studios in conjunction with Vice World News and Endeavor Content. This is hardly a project conceived right at the moment. Suffice to say, he did not know he would be in the thick of it while making his documentary. Penn last visited Ukraine in November 2021, when he began his documentary preparations by meeting with members of the country's military. The Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation Press Service provided photos of Penn's November tour at the time. Sean Penn's presence there at this moment is a deliberate show of courage though, to spread the truth, according to the Office of the President. "Penn has visited the Office of the President and spoken with deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk, as well as local journalists and members of the Ukrainian military" ever since his arrival at the country that week, wrote Newsweek. The Office of the President then issued a statement through the Ukrainian embassy lauding the the Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker. ALSO READ: Kanye West Disregards, Mocks Kim Kardashian's Fears Over Pete Davidson and Her Safety The filmmaker traveled to Kyiv specifically to document all of the current events in Ukraine and to inform the world about Russia's invasion of our nation, based on the translated stament from the Office. "Sean Penn is among those who support Ukraine in Ukraine today. Our country is grateful to him for such a show of courage and honesty." The actor is said to be exemplifying the courage that many others, including some Western leaders, have lacked, the statement continues. The more individuals like that - real allies of Ukraine who support the struggle for independence - the sooner Russian's "heinous" invasion can end, the statement concluded. Over the years, Penn has been in the epicenter of several anti-war and humanitarian efforts. The 2020 Discovery Plus documentary "Citizen Penn" chronicled the actor's attempts to form the non-profit Community Organized Relief Effort, or CORE, in reaction to the 2010 Haiti disasters. Additionally, CORE dispatched personnel to assist with COVID-19 testing and vaccination distribution around the country. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, launching air attacks and deploying ground forces across the border in combat that Ukrainian officials reported killed dozens of people. The attack prompted Western warnings of unprecedented penalties on Russia, with NATO, the European Union, and the Group of Seven leaders condemning the invasion and vowing to hold Moscow accountable. Weeks of frantic diplomacy failed to dissuade Putin, who assembled over 150,000 troops on Ukraine's borders in what the West described as Europe's largest military buildup since World War II. "I have decided to proceed with a special military operation," Putin said in a surprise statement on television shortly before 6 am. The first explosions were heard shortly thereafter in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and numerous other places. ALSO READ: Hilary Duff Offended By Backlash Against Parenting Skills: 'You Have No Context' AnnaLynne McCord recited a poem in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and it has been met with a mixed response from the world at large, according to an article on The Hollywood Reporter. In the poem, the Nip/Tuck actress speaks from the vantage point of a woman wishing she had been Putin's mother, so could have prevented him from these actions. The poem went: "I am so sorry that I was not your mother...If I was your mother you would have been so loved. Held in the arms of joyous light. Never would this story's plight, the world unfurled before our eyes. A pure demise. Of nation sitting peaceful under a night sky...If I was your mother, the world would have been warm. So much laughter and joy, nothing would harm. I can't imagine the stain. The soul-stealing pain that the little boy, you must have seen and believe and the formulation of thought quickly taught you lived in a cruel, unjust world. Is this why you now decide no one will get the best of you? Is this why you do not hide nor shy away from taking back the world? Was it because so early in life all that strife wracked your little body for fear?" Dear Mister President Vladimir Putin pic.twitter.com/LbDFBHVWJf AnnaLynne McCord (@IAMannalynnemcc) February 24, 2022 It ended with a direct address of the President, "Oh, dear Mr. President Putin, if only I'd been your mother, perhaps the torture of unwritten youth would not within your heart imbue ascription to such fealty against that world that seemed so cruel." While the intentions were good, the internet instaneoulsy took to the comments section to criticsize the poem for blaming the actions of men on women. Giulia Rozzi wrote, "Dear actress AnnaLynne McCord, I am so sorry I was not your mother. If I was your mother I wouldnve taught you not to blame women for the behavior of men. " Many have seconded the criticisms of the video. While it was a good intentioned In mid-November 2021, a medical researcher in South Africa spotted an unusually large set of mutations in a handful of coronavirus samples. Worryingly, the identification of the mutations coincided with an uptick in Covid-19 cases in a local region, which had already experienced high levels of infection. Concerned about the upsurge, the head of a South African genomic surveillance network launched a wider investigation. Within 36 hours, his team had confirmed the widespread distribution of the variant, worked with the South African government to make a public announcement, and notified the World Health Organization (WHO), which the next day classified Omicron as a variant of concern. In one way, the discovery of Omicron showed the system of global public health working effectively in the fight against Covid-19, given that it quickly identified and publicized a new and threatening mutation. But the story of Omicron also underlined the persistent international divisions that have marked the worlds response to the pandemic. When many countries put in place travel bans targeting southern African countries, it amplified the perception in Africa that the rich world was only looking out for itself. We are honestly tired of this Tulio de Oliveira, leader of the team that detected Omicron, told an interviewer after not having access to vaccines, having to pay more expensive prices, having to get in the back of the queue, and still doing some of the best science on Covid in the world. While it seems that Omicron may have originated in the period before vaccines were developed, the variant focused attention on the threat of further mutations among unvaccinated populations around the world. Two years into the pandemic, many medical experts believe that at least some parts of the world may soon escape the acute phase of the outbreak. The WHOs Europe Director, Hans Kluge, said in January 2021 that it was plausible to think that Europe was moving towards a kind of pandemic endgame. A combination of testing, vaccines, and over-the-counter antiviral treatments could allow countries that have access to these countermeasures to resume something like normal life. But many nations continue to be held back by shortages of vaccines and by their limited capacity to distribute and administer the supplies they have. Some countries fear, too, that the distribution of promising new antiviral medication will follow the same unequal pattern as vaccines, with wealthy states monopolizing initial supplies. At the global level, the greatest remaining challenge of the pandemic is in ensuring that all countries have the resources they need to contain Covid-19. But states should not see the campaign against the SARS-CoV-2 virus as a one-off effort. Instead, given that the virus is likely to become endemic and that it is only a matter of time before there are further outbreaks of highly transmissible diseases, the world needs to improve the way in which it prepares for and responds to health emergencies more broadly. The catastrophic impact of Covid-19 and the weaknesses in global cooperation on public health it revealed have led to a series of high-level reviews and a slew of recommendations for change. Intensive international negotiations under the auspices of the WHO are under way to decide how these suggestions should be put into practice. And the subject is also on the agendas of the G7 and the G20 meetings this year. What is the best way to improve global cooperation against Covid-19 and prepare for future pandemics? To answer this question, one needs not only to assess the failures exposed by Covid-19 but also to understand the political concerns and agendas that shape states policies on global health. Of course, global institutions, agreements, and processes have an impact on how states behave but, at the same time, national political considerations impose limits on the reforms to the global health system that they are willing to sign up to and affect the way they interpret those commitments in practice. The worlds response to the pandemic has been defined both by national interests and geopolitical rivalries. Yet the effort to promote a more cooperative global approach to health emergencies should not be defeatist in the face of these interests. Rather, it should try to supersede and harmonize states interests as far as possible. In this context, the European Union and its member states need to follow a twin-track strategy to promote multilateral cooperation on global health and pandemic preparedness in a world of growing geopolitical competition. The union should try to preserve and work through universal membership organizations as far as possible, while engaging in deeper cooperation with like-minded states. The EU should work both to strengthen the WHO and to support moves by like-minded powers to increase funding for national healthcare systems and health surveillance capacity around the world. The EU has an interest in strengthening the WHO as a technical and norm-setting body, but it should also recognize the limits imposed by the WHOs universal membership and consensus-based approach. It is especially important to move quickly to take advantage of governments heightened attention to global health issues and an administration in the United States that shares at least some of the EUs goals. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to persuade all states to accept stronger commitments to transparency and inspections given the intense political considerations that public health involves. Similarly, the EUs cherished project of a new pandemic treaty will be difficult to negotiate; the most important provisions of such a document are likely to bind only a sub-set of states. Above all, the EU needs to do more to support global equity in access to medical technology and expertise to fight epidemic diseases, particularly by increasing vaccine manufacturing capacity and the availability of vaccines in Africa and other parts of the global south. The best way to improve international cooperation on public health is through a new and open global compact. In this arrangement, countries around the world would commit to step up health surveillance and share information about potential outbreaks, while wealthy states would increase their investment in health systems and take steps to ensure a more equitable distribution of medical goods. There is an urgent need to improve the system for international cooperation on the threat of Covid-19 and in preparation for future pandemics. The EU should move ahead on priority areas of global health with its most relevant partners rather than wait for a universal agreement on a comprehensive package. The unions central goal should be to create a compact between the most scientifically advanced countries and the developing world, in which a commitment to share information on emerging threats and accept robust inspections of healthcare systems is matched by offers of funding for improved preparedness and much greater transfers of knowledge and technology. The EU and the African Union could work together to develop such an approach. But this would require the EU to go much further in promoting effective partnerships between European and African pharmaceuticals companies. At the same time, the EU could cooperate with its partners in the G7 and the G20, particularly the US and the UK, to agree to a broader framework for sharing technology, knowledge, and access to epidemic countermeasures. The union should also work with the US to balance support for a new pandemic fund and increase assessed contributions to the WHO, with a globally representative body overseeing the new funds decisions. This approach provides the best chance to improve the worlds capacity to manage Covid-19 and respond to the next pandemic. Health of Nations: How Europe Can Fight Future Pandemics Policy Brief by Anthony Dworkin European Council on Foreign Relations / ECFR. The Policy Brief can be downloaded here World leaders united in condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine at dawn on Thursday (24 February) with explosions reported in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Mariupol across the country. European Union and NATO leaders immediately condemned the invasion, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen calling on Russia to withdraw its forces and vowing further sanctions. The attack began in darkness soon after 4.30am local time. There were distant explosions in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and the whine of car alarms. Russias invasion of Ukraine was deliberate, cold-blooded and long-planned, NATOs secretary-general said, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of using force to re-write history. Speaking in Brussels, Jens Stoltenberg called for a summit of NATO alliance leaders on Friday to address Moscows military incursion into neighboring Ukraine and said that the military alliance would be bolstering its land, sea and air forces on its eastern flank. Stoltenberg confirmed NATO does not have any troops inside Ukraine and does not plan to send any, but he said the alliance is still committed to providing Kyiv with military and technical support. The EU will impose a massive and targeted raft of sanctions on Russia that will block access to key technologies and cripple the countrys ability to finance the Ukraine invasion, von der Leyen has said. We will target strategic sectors of the Russian economy by blocking their access to key technologies and markets. We will weaken Russias economic base and its capacity to modernize. In addition, we will freeze Russian assets in the EU and stop the access of Russian banks to the European financial market, the head of EUs top executive body said. We are closely aligned with partners and allies. These sanctions are designed to take a heavy toll on the Kremlins interests and on their ability to finance the war. The EU has already imposed sanctions on 27 individuals and entities close to president Putin and the 351 Duma lawmakers who voted to recognize the breakaway provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent. Meanwhile, EU Council president Charles Michel has called an emergency summit for Thursday to discuss how we deal with Russia, notably holding Russia accountable for its actions, according to Michels invitation letter, referring to Russias latest incursion into Ukraine. The Polish and Lithuanian presidents also called for the EU to grant Ukraine EU membership candidate status in a declaration Wednesday. Ukraine is not a member of NATO but other countries close to the theatre of conflict, including Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Lithuania, are. Under Article 4 of the NATO treaty, all are entitled to direct military support if their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. Though not member of either NATO or EU, todays the day to declare Ukraine an EU candidate country, argues Wolfgang Koeth, a senior lecturer at the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) in Maastricht. It would be a historic chance, a step that would give the EU the chance to become again an agenda setter, rather just following, late and indecisively, a playbook set by others, he argues in an opinion published today. No European country is more committed to getting closer to the EU than Ukraine, and the EU has exploited this to nudge the country towards major reforms. However, the EU has so far stopped short of declaring Ukraine eligible for EU membership, since our political leaders realized that such a step would not be popular with their own electorates. Koeth concludes by calling on the EU to seize the unique opportunity to change the narrative of the conflict. If [the EU] wants to be taken serious as a geopolitical actor, it should seize it. U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the nation after Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine. Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences, Biden said. Yesterday, Vladimir Putin's threats to invade Ukraine went from occupying our mind space, as I mentioned last week, to a physical invasion and attack. Ukrainians are scrambling for cover, stock and commodity markets are flailing, and Western allies (including NATO) are threatening more and more sanctions--which may hurt the Russian economy, but are not guaranteed to stop the attempted takeover of this country. All these reactions are to be expected in reaction to a foreign power invading another sovereign nation. What's surprising is that despite weeks worth of troop buildup and military preparations, plus ongoing threats from Putin--this was still a surprise to many people: We never thought he'd really do it. The late Maya Angelou put it perfectly, " When someone tells you who they are...believe them." Putin has told us exactly who he was for years--he's meddled in US elections, poisoned potential rivals, and conducted massive cybersecurity attacks around the world. So why didn't we believe him? Examples of this abound all around us. There are people who still won't get vaccinated because they don't believe COVID will impact them. Many employers are in shock that they can't find enough employees to hire--because too many people are saying no more to bad working conditions and poor pay. Perhaps if we pay more attention to what people are telling us--good or bad--we will be able to take effective proactive action. It shouldn't take bombs falling or people quitting in droves to make us aware we have a problem brewing. Believe me. Subscribe to this newsletter. Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise--even in a crisis situation. Hong Kong: Pact on treatment facilities signed The Architectural Services Department has signed a co-operation agreement with China State Construction International Holdings in respect of eight projects for the construction of community isolation and treatment facilities. The Development Bureau made the announcement and added that the projects will be funded by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The sites are at Penny's Bay, former runway area of Kai Tak, Tam Mei in Yuen Long, former site of The Boxes in San Tin, Hung Shui Kiu near Kai Pak Ling Road, Tsing Yi Town lot no. 200, a site in the Fanling North New Development Area next to Ma Sik Road and a site on the southeastern part of the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. The Hong Kong SAR Government expressed its gratitude to the central government for the tremendous support, the Liaison Office of the Central Peoples Government in the Hong Kong SAR for the intensive co-ordinating efforts as well as the construction teams which have been working at full steam on the projects. It also offered thanks to the developers for lending private land for free. The sites have been swiftly handed over to the construction teams so that construction works can start as early as possible. This story has been published on: 2022-02-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. UNGA president calls on Russia, Ukraine to settle disputes through dialogue Xinhua) 15:08, February 25, 2022 UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and peaceful means to settle disputes. "I call for an immediate ceasefire, deescalation of tensions and a firm return to diplomacy and dialogue," said the UNGA president in a statement. Underscoring that the UN Charter is based on the principle of sovereign equality, Shahid called on all member states to settle their international disputes by peaceful means. "I renew my call to all member states to uphold their obligations under international law and international humanitarian law," said the UNGA president. "The safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and its people is a priority and the need of the hour," he said. (Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun) A pro-Trump protester carries the lectern of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi through the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building after a pro-Trump mob stormed the building on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D, C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images North America/TNS) The Florida man notorious for taking a photo with Nancy Pelosis lectern will serve 75 days in prison. Adam Johnson, of Parrish, was sentenced Friday morning, NBC News reported. Advertisement FILE - This photo made available on Jan. 8, 2020 by the Pinellas County, Fla., Sheriff's Office shows Adam Johnson of Parrish, Fla. The Florida man was photographed carrying a lectern belonging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. (Pinellas County Sheriff's Office via AP, File) (AP) Johnsons attorneys said he regretted participating in the insurrection and that the decision negatively impacted his family. However, Johnson previously bragged he broke the internet and was finally famous when the photo went viral on social media and news websites. Advertisement Federal prosecutors said Johnsons actions showed a sense of entitlement and privilege and said he was gleeful about his actions on Jan. 6, according to NBC News. Read the full report on nbcnews.com. Charlotte Howard Collins has announced the launch of the Wealthy Women Entrepreneurs Network (WWEN), a new organization designed to help female entrepreneurs get their message out to the world. The network provides access to powerful media and business connections, as well as education and training programs, all with the goal of helping women achieve success in their businesses. "We want to provide support for women who are already doing great things and inspire those who might be struggling," said Collins. "The WWEN community is about lifting each other up and empowering one another." For more information, visit www.WealthyWomenEntrepreneursnetwork.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The man in charge of the Texas grid during the 2021 blackouts has laid bare how Gov. Greg Abbott imposed billions of dollars in unnecessary bills on consumers to protect his chances of getting reelected, and he is still driving up electricity prices. On Abbotts orders, the Public Utility Commission of Texas is spending an untoward amount of consumer money in the name of resiliency but boosting corporate profits instead. These political shenanigans, at taxpayer expense, prove why we must remove politics from energy regulation. Texas voters usually in the Republican primary currently underway elect the governor who appoints cronies to the Public Utility Commission. The PUC then oversees the executives who run the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas, a nonprofit that acts as an air traffic controller for the grid. TOMLINSONS TAKE: ERCOT made the February freeze fiasco worse Abbott appointed his former policy adviser and Republican insider, DeAnn Walker, to chair the three-member PUC. An experienced energy executive, Bill Magness, was CEO of ERCOT when a monster Arctic front sank into Texas in mid-February 2021. The three-member Texas Railroad Commission, which voters elect to six-year terms, oversees the oil and natural gas industry. Commissioners rely on the sector for two-thirds of their campaign funding, while ERCOT relies on natural gas power plants called peakers to supply electricity when demand spikes. Everyone involved in overseeing or operating Texass electricity grid and natural gas network for the past 20 years has been a Republican or a Republican appointee. GOP lawmakers created the electricity markets that allowed prices to range from negative dollars to $9,000 a megawatt-hour. Everyone overseeing our energy systems knew the Arctic blast was going to dent power generation. A similar storm in 2011 caused rolling blackouts, and everyone knew the state had ignored federal recommendations made in 2012 to avoid another fatal failure. No one, however, expected the natural gas supply to freeze on such a scale. When demand reached 69,000 megawatts, ERCOT lost 52,000 megawatts of generation. The grid operator was paying $9,000 a megawatt-hour, but that didnt matter because most power plants were inoperable. Abbott was among the angry Texans. During a bankruptcy trial in Houston, Magness testified that Abbott, through Walker, ordered him to use the only tool he had available to influence power plant operators. Magness overrode the algorithm that set prices and guaranteed power plants $9,000 a megawatt-hour. But the offer made no difference because a price signal cannot thaw a power plant or warm up a natural gas well. It can, however, make the power companies still operating very, very wealthy. An Abbott spokesman later denied that Abbott played a role in Magness decision. But a top Abbott aide was in the room when it was made. An independent auditor later testified the decision to hike prices violated regulations and cost consumers $16 billion in unnecessary charges. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wanted to claw that money back, but Abbott used another PUC appointee to run interference. After Abbott blocked efforts to reverse the price-gouging, pipeline company Energy Transfer booked a $2.4 billion profit from the winter storm. The companys billionaire chief executive Kelcy Warren rewarded the governor with a $1 million campaign donation. Abbott has since appointed a new PUC, and, to protect their benefactor, they are pulling out all the stops to keep the grid stable. But the PUC is hiding the cost to consumers. Electricity rates have been higher since the storm. The PUC is buying more backup power and a new algorithm raises prices faster than before. But we dont know how much is a legitimate effort to boost resiliency and how much is overspending that pads energy company profits. These measures are not cost-free, yet we have seen no accounting to date of how they are affecting the cost and availability of electricity for Texans, the non-partisan Texas Consumer Association said in a recent PUC filing. Natural gas prices are 36 percent higher, and several old power plants have shut down, complicating calculations. TOMLINSONS TAKE: How to fix the Texas power grid in 5 difficult steps To date, it has been impossible to determine how the ERCOT-initiated operating measures and the PUC-approved policy measures affect ERCOT electricity costs because no credible estimates or actual accounting have been made public, the association complained. Democrats have made the 2021 grid failure their main argument for ousting incumbent Republican officeholders. Abbotts orders to ensure the grid is stable are entirely understandable. Whats outrageous is that essential services are politicized at all. The governor should not have sole control over the PUC, and the oil and gas industry should not finance the election of their regulators. If our elected representatives want to prevent another blackout, they need to take politics out of energy services. Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and politics. twitter.com/cltomlinson chris.tomlinson@chron.com In an Instagram post on Thursday night, Laika Cheesecake and Espresso said it will donate its profits from this weekend "toward helping the Ukrainian army" following Russia's invasion of the country. Many innocent lives are being affected including personal friends and family, the Alamo Heights company said in the social media post. This donation will go to help secure not only our friends and family but an entire peaceful country being confronted with needless violence. On ExpressNews.com: Ukrainians in San Antonio in despair over the invasion by Russian forces To that end, Laika will donate the entirety of EVERYTHING sold this weekend (including Friday)." Anna Afanasieva and Viktor Krizma opened Laika in a shopping plaza on Broadway across from the University of the Incarnate Word in late 2020. Laika serves cheesecakes whole, by the slice or in reusable glass jars. Afanasieva, originally from the Ukraine, is one of an estimated 3,000 people of Ukrainian descent living in the San Antonio area. Josie Norris /Staff photographer On Thursday, about two dozen protesters, many born in the Ukraine, gathered on Main Plaza to protest Russia's actions, which have drawn worldwide condemnation. In the comments of the post, many of Laikas customers vowed to visit the store this weekend. Laikas hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Timothy.Fanning@express-news.net The afternoon of Jan. 6 took a confusing turn for Tristan McGarity, 13, and his classmates when their teacher at Dobie Junior High School used a word in class that he was taught never to say. It was the N-word, and arguing about it got him removed from the classroom. But the teacher, Pamela Orr-Atwood, later apologized to him. Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District now says it will consider his mothers push to include rules governing offensive language in its employee handbook. Students in Tristans seventh-grade language arts honors class had been buzzing with a rumor that the teacher had used the word in another class that day while reading from the award-winning novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, about a 9-year-old African American girl in 1930s Mississippi. The rumor was true. Orr-Atwood heard the chatter and addressed it directly using the word again, at least twice, in the course of trying to explain why it can sometimes be appropriate in teaching and learning. Students erupted into an argument with the teacher that took up the entire class period. One of them attempted to explain the history of the offensive word. Most insisted she could just as easily say N-word to make her point, according to two students whose account was confirmed by school officials. Tristan, an honors student and an athlete and one of three Black students in the class was outspoken in his objections. Orr-Atwood asked him to leave the classroom. Another educator noticed him in the hallway and took him to the front office so he could report what happened. When she first said the word, I was shocked, because I had never heard anyone say the word in that setting, Tristan said later. I asked her to refrain from using the actual word and just abbreviate to the N-word and not saying the actual word. At least one classmate also was allowed to submit a report, but other students were turned away by front office staff that day. They made reports in the following days. After school, Tristan was visibly shaken when recounting the incident to his mother, Aisha Collier-McGarity. A licensed master social worker who works in San Antonio ISD, she asked for an investigation and met with Principal Vernon Simmons and Orr-Atwood the next day. Collier-McGarity said the teacher continued to rationalize her use of the word in an educational setting but later apologized to Tristan and several other students. An administrator has told Collier-McGarity that Orr-Atwood was to apologize to the entire class. Orr-Atwood did not respond to three requests for an interview. How is it possible that its 2022 and a teacher doesnt understand the impact of the N-word? Collier-McGarity asked. The same word that was often the last word Black men or women heard before being lynched and has been used to degrade and dehumanize Black people. Kin Man Hui / Staff photographer Tristan was given the option of changing classes but stayed. Orr-Atwood has treated him well but it has been somewhat awkward, he said. Orr-Atwood, who is white, has taught second- through eighth-grade U.S. history and language arts for 15 years, according to a profile on the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD website. She started teaching in Texas in 2020 after moving from Maine. The school district has completed its investigation but wont say if she was disciplined or reprimanded. The districts 2021 enrollment of 15,673 students was about 44 percent Hispanic, 34 percent white and 11 percent African American. We understand that language like this can make a student feel uncomfortable, angry, and raise red flags for students, parents, and administrators. It is why we take these matters very seriously. We are committed to making sure that our schools are a safe and supportive learning environment for all students in SCUC ISD, Deanna Jackson, the districts director of communications, said in a written statement. District and campus administrators have been in communication with the parent since mid-January and the incident, which was confirmed, has been formally addressed with the teacher, Jackson added. The request to update the employee handbook regarding appropriate language in the classroom is a good one, and the district will be adding this when we complete our annual review process. In the days after the classroom argument, Orr-Atwood didnt immediately reply to several parents asking about it in an online chat and in emails, Collier-McGarity said. Hello, Ms. Atwood, I would too like to discuss the context in which this word was used, one parent wrote in the chat. I do think parents should have been notified so we could have chimed in on how to present this book if it was chosen for the curriculum, another commented. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor, was published in 1976 and won the Newbery Medal as a distinguished contribution to American childrens literature for its depiction of a Black familys life in the segregated rural South. Collier-McGarity said reading the N-word aloud from a work of literature is defensible but that parents should be informed. A serious and cautious discussion of the N-word without repeating it outside of a reading might have provided a good lesson, said another parent of a seventh-grader in Tristans class who said the child was visibly upset when talking about the incident. The parent, who asked not to be named, said teachers should not be excessively policed and children should feel fine about voicing their opinions in class. (My child) disagreeing respectfully, and being able to say how you feel and listen to how somebody else feels, is a good thing, because you are going to have these debates that come up your whole life, the parent said. Tristan and his mother recounted the events to the SCUCISD board at its February meeting, during the public comments period a few minutes after the board acknowledged the start of Black History Month. Happy Black History Month, Collier-McGarity said. I say this sincerely, but even as I say it, I cant help but think about the irony of being here during Black History Month to talk about the N-word. She asked the district to clarify that teachers and staff cant use offensive language and racial slurs. Tristan also spoke. The teacher said there was no rule saying she cant say the word and she wants to teach how she wants to teach, Tristan told the board. This made me upset and confused because I was taught that this was a word that should not be used. I dont think teachers should be able or allowed to say that. Collier-McGarity said speaking up has been exhausting. But its necessary, because I want him to feel like his voice is heard, she said. He left that class that day hurt and upset and confused, and as a parent its just my duty to show him right from wrong. danya.perez@express-news.net | @DanyaPH A building that started off as a brothel and recently was seeking a historic designation is now a total loss and will be demolished after a two-alarm fire. San Antonio firefighters received reports that the vacant two-story building was ablaze about 11 p.m. Wednesday at 503 Urban Loop. Fire Chief Charles Hood said firefighters found heavy fire and smoke when they arrived. At its peak, the fire had a response of roughly 30 units on scene. They attempted to keep the fire from spreading from within the building, but they quickly were driven outside as the structure became dangerous, Hood said. Several collapses occurred inside the building, he said. Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News As of Thursday evening, fire crews remained on scene to deal with any hot spots that remained. Joe Arrington, a fire department spokesman, said they also were looking to limit the potential for any gas leaks that could occur during demolition. Cold weather created challenging conditions for the firefighters as overnight temperatures stayed near freezing. Hood said they had set up a rehab center with hot chocolate and soup to help keep the firefighters body temperatures up. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio brothel and outlaw hideout gets nod as historic landmark The building had sat empty since 2017, when it was last used by Boys Town as a shelter for troubled youth. It originally was constructed as a brothel in 1883 for Aurelia W. Dashiell, at one point hosting Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch gang. It later was part of Laredito, a Mexican-American working-class neighborhood broken apart between 1949 and the 1970s by urban renewal. Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News In September, the citys Historic and Design Review Commission voted to support a historic landmark designation for the property a request that had been submitted by the Conservation Society of San Antonio, Westside Preservation Alliance and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Plans to demolish the building had been made by the buildings owner, a company linked to Douglas W. Miller II of the Bill Miller Bar-B-Q family, to redevelop the site of the boarded-up complex, potentially as housing catering to students. Hood said that homeless individuals have been known to hang out inside. Crews did not find anyone inside during their initial search, and no one has been reported missing. Arrington said the extent of the damage means the cause of the fire will remain undetermined, but it likely was human-caused given that people are known to shelter there. A former San Antonio police officer was indicted this week for allegedly firing his gun at two teenage suspects a rare instance of an officer being criminally accused of using excessive force. Oscar Cruz Jr., 27, is facing a charge of deadly conduct, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison. The indictment stems from a March 9, 2020, incident in which Cruz responded to the 9500 block of Five Forks Drive on the West Side, where he witnessed two juveniles pulling on vehicle door handles, according to police disciplinary records. Cruz located one of the teens and attempted to detain him, but the teen ran. Cruz brandished his service weapon and began chasing the juvenile, the records state. On ExpressNews.com: 2 fired San Antonio police officers indicted after forcing their way into mans home, beating him The other teen, who was hiding behind a parked vehicle, then reportedly threw an object at Cruz, striking him in the head. At one point, the records state, Cruz told the juveniles,Stop running or I will (expletive) shoot you. Cruz fired two rounds at the juveniles, identified in court records as Elijah Jordan and Cruz Benavidez, as they continued to flee. Records do not indicate whether either was injured. After another officer arrived, Cruz pointed the muzzle of the firearm toward the officer in an effort to show the officer where the teens had fled, the records state. Police officials said that action demonstrated a lack of sound judgment. Cruz who joined the force in September 2017 was issued an indefinite suspension, which is tantamount to firing, in October 2020. Police officials concluded that Cruz used excessive force when he fired at the juveniles and that his actions brought reproach and discredit on himself and the San Antonio Police Department. Cruz appealed his firing and is seeking to be reinstated. The indictment alleges that Cruz did knowingly discharge a firearm at the two juveniles while serving as a public servant. Cruz was arrested Thursday, and his bond was set at $5,000. He was released on bail Friday morning. Police union officials did not respond to requests for comment about the indictment. Police officers rarely face criminal charges challenging their use of force against civilians. In most cases, locally and nationally, prosecutors and grand juries determine that officers actions are justified. The law gives officers wide latitude to use force on the job. That was the case in multiple high-profile deaths at the hands of San Antonio police officers, including the killings of Jesse Aguirre, Marquise Jones, Antronie Scott and Charles Roundtree. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Lisa Krantz /San Antonio Express-News Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Lisa Krantz /San Antonio Express-News Show More Show Less In the past several years, a handful of San Antonio police officers have been criminally charged for their on-duty conduct but rarely for allegations of excessive force. On ExpressNews.com: D.A. in San Antonio vows more careful scrutiny of police use-of-force cases However, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales has vowed greater scrutiny and more transparency in such cases. In October 2020, he created a team of prosecutors to review police use-of-force cases that result in deaths or injuries. The team presents every case to a grand jury, even if it concludes that a criminal charge against an officer is inappropriate or difficult to prove, leading to a few recent indictments. San Antonio police officer Marshall Shepard, 29, who was in the same cadet class as Cruz, was indicted in April 2021, accused of knowingly and recklessly injuring a suspect after a traffic-related call on the Northeast Side. Shepard was suspended without pay until the charges are resolved. And in December, former SAPD officers Carlos M. Castro and Thomas H. Villarreal were charged with aggravated assault by a public servant. They are accused of barging into a Black mans East Side home, tackling him and repeatedly punching him. eeaton@express-news.net New evidence from police indicates the shootout on Mariposa Drive that left two dead, including a bystander watching TV in his home, stemmed from an attempted robbery gone wrong, according to court documents. Christopher James Mejia, 14, and Enrique Bocanegra, 66, were killed Monday as a result of the shooting. Police have arrested 21-year-old Oscar Martinez III, 17-year-old Jerry Ortiz and two juvenile males on capital murder charges. Another 17-year-old male was shot and taken to the hospital in critical condition. He will be booked by proxy upon his release. On ExpressNews.com: Shootout near Olmos Park leaves two dead, one hospitalized as police search for suspect Video footage obtained by police showed Mejia, Martinez and the three juveniles pull up alongside the convenience store on Mariposa Drive in a green Suburban just after 2:30 p.m. Ortiz, who was standing at the doorway of the store, was summoned to the Suburban by the males inside. When Ortiz reaches the vehicle, Mejia jumps out of the Suburban and grabs him, attempting to take a bag from Ortiz. Both males pull out handguns and start shooting, according to an affidavit supporting Ortizs arrest. Martinez later told police that their plan was to jack a bag of drugs that Ortiz was selling, the affidavit said. He said everyone in the Suburban knew of the plan. Police believe the other males inside the Suburban also started shooting because spent shell casings were found inside the vehicle. When officers arrived, they found Mejia and the 17-year-old with gunshot wounds next to a garbage bin on the side of the convenience store. The other three were also on scene and detained immediately. Officers found Bocanegra dead inside his home. A stray bullet had pierced his home, hitting and killing him as he sat and watched TV. On ExpressNews.com: Fifth suspect arrested in deadly shootout that killed teen, bystander Ortiz ran from the scene and officers were unable to locate him. Investigators obtained more video footage from a nearby residence that showed Ortiz lived at that same house. After the shooting, he tried to jump the backyard fence, but he was unsuccessful and ran down the alley instead. A search of the home produced a handgun that was the same caliber as the casings found at the scene. At 9:30 p.m. Monday, Ortiz went to talk to police. He only stated that he was at the convenience store earlier then asked to leave. Because he was not under arrest at that time, he was allowed to leave, the affidavit said. Ortiz later was arrested, on Wednesday, and charged with capital murder. Taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Anastasia Sydoruk called her father in Lutsk in northwest Ukraine on Thursday to say goodbye, perhaps, she fears, for the final time. As the Russian army invaded from the east, Igor Sydoruk was called up to the army reserves to join the fight. Im terrified, said Anastasia, 26, her voice quavering. Im hearing that I most likely will never see him again. Sydoruk is one of an estimated 3,000 people of Ukrainian descent living in the San Antonio area, most watching with dread the reports of fierce fighting across the eastern European country. Many, like the stay-at-home mother who immigrated to the United States seven years ago, still have family there. Its terrifying to think about, she said. Josie Norris /Staff photographer On a wet and chilly day, about two dozen protesters, many born in Ukraine, gathered in Main Plaza to protest what President Joe Biden called Russias brutal assault on the country, which has been independent since shortly after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Many at the protest, such as Olenka Bravo, said they are concerned about relatives and friends living in the country. Bravos parents are divorced, but both live in Kyiv. Josie Norris /Staff photographer I spoke to my mother and she said she can hear the noise from the bombing, said Bravo, 35, who has lived in the U.S. for 14 years. My dad isnt in good health and hes trying to get out of the city and get to the west of the country, where they say its safer. Oleana Khrystyuk said she spoke with a cousin who has a newborn, but she said theres been a run on food, leaving store shelves empty. Another friend has a child with a fever but cant get any medicine because all the pharmacies are closed. I mean, what does this mean? When will it end? said Khrystyuk, who was born in Vinnytsia and has lived in the U.S. more than 25 years. There was a common belief in the crowd that Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent who has often expressed the desire to rebuild the Soviet Union, would not be satisfied with annexing Ukraine. This is not the first country Putin has attacked, said Julia Walters, alluding to Russias seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. She was born in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine and has lived in the U.S. since 2004. And if he wins, its not going to be the last one. Walters and others expressed concern that if Putins depredations in Ukraine are not met with a strong response by the rest of the world, it will embolden other bad actors. Dont think that China isnt watching whats going on in Ukraine, Khrystyuk said. Putins actions appear to have turned away at least some who previously supported him. Victor, a banker who asked that his last name not be published, said he was a high school student in Luhansk, near the Russian border, when Ukraine gained its independence. I grew up speaking Russian in a pro-Russia area, he said. And I remember not liking that Ukraine was becoming independent of Russia. But now, he explained, Ukraine has been an independent country for more than 30 years, and the situation has changed. I think I see a very evil plan being played out by Putin, he said. When youre dealing with evil, you have to realize that evil is not going to stop by itself. There was little confidence that the Wests efforts to discourage Putin via diplomacy and threats of sanctions would have much effect. Why would it? said Irene Van Winkle, who was born to Ukrainian parents and has lived in the U.S. since 1973. Putins not afraid of sanctions. Hes got billions of dollars in the bank. What does he care? Bravo said shed like to see the U.S. increase oil and gas production so the European Union wouldnt be so dependent on Russia. Thats my message to the Texas government: increase drilling, she said. None of the protesters said they were surprised that Putin had launched the invasion, even after weeks of feints and hints that he was withdrawing troops from the border area. For the past few months, my moms been telling me everyones concerned, what will happen, what will happen, Khrystyuk said. We were all hoping for a diplomatic solution, but everyone there was also stocking up on food just in case. Whatever happens, Sydoruk holds out little hope that Putin will be dissuaded by his own people. She said she thinks state-controlled media in Russia are keeping much of the country in the dark. I called a cousin who lives in Russia and asked what he thought about what was happening, she said. He said, Are you crazy? What war? rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini Every problem in this country can be solved by building a wall on our southern border. If your child has diaper rash, a border wall will fix it. If you lost money betting on the Super Bowl, a big, beautiful border barrier will erase your debt. At least thats what Republican messaging suggests. Just look at the way U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tennessee, responded Thursday to Russias brutal invasion of Ukraine. As Americans, we pray for the people of Ukraine, Hagerty tweeted. The U.S. must demonstrate our strength by reclaiming our energy independence and securing our southern border. I dont claim to understand the twisted mind of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but my sense is that tightening up our border with Mexico wont frighten him into withdrawing from Ukraine. The GOPs limitless capacity to score political points based on the idea of a border wall is on display in George P. Bushs new TV ad. The Texas land commissioner, who also happens to be the scion of a fading Republican dynasty, is challenging Attorney General Ken Paxton in the March 1 primary. There is plenty of ammunition available for any challenger in this race. Theres the fact that Paxton has spent most of his tenure under indictment on felony charges of securities fraud. Theres the fact that four former high-ranking Paxton staffers have accused him of using his office to help Austin real-estate investor Nate Paul, in exchange for which Paul took care of remodeling Paxtons home, hired Paxtons mistress and donated $25,000 to Paxtons campaign fund. Finally, Paxtons obsession with pandering to former President Donald Trump has prompted the attorney general to file frivolous lawsuits challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Affordable Care Act. None of those issues, however, came into play during Bushs 15-second commercial. He made it all about building the border wall promised by Trump. George P. Bush, the narrator proclaimed, over an image of a stern-looking Bush standing with arms folded in front of a steel-slat border barrier. Hell finish the wall. The ad never mentions Paxton. Instead, it directs its fire at Eva Guzman, the former Texas Supreme Court justice, who also is challenging Paxton in the primary. Eva Guzman? Guzman opposes George P. Bushs plan to finish Trumps wall, calling it a ploy, the ad states. Eva Guzman wont protect Texas. Bushs fixation with Guzman makes political sense. Recent polls indicate that Paxton leads Bush by a margin of more than 2-1. Bush has accepted that Paxton will finish way ahead of him on March 1. His hope is to make it to a runoff against the incumbent. For that to happen, Paxton would have to collect less than 50 percent of the vote, and Bush would have to finish second. His fear is Guzman will edge him out and claim the second spot in the runoff. Guzman disputes the assertion in Bushs TV ad. She insists that she supports further construction of a border wall. It is Bushs political appropriation of the wall issue, not the wall itself, that she regards as a ploy. In any case, the overriding question created by Bushs ad and basically the entirety of his campaign messaging is this: How does the construction of a border wall have anything to do with the duties of a state attorney general? The Texas attorney generals responsibilities include providing legal representation to the state, overseeing consumer-protection cases and enforcing child-support laws. Authorizing the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is not part of the job description. Warrens November Optimism Massachusetts Senator (and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate) Elizabeth Warren came to town on Tuesday to stump for Laredo progressive Jessica Cisneros primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar. I spoke with Warren before the East Side rally at Cherrity Bar. Along the way, I asked her about the rampant speculation that voter backlash against Democratic President Joe Biden could produce a Republican wave election in November. Warren said much hinges on how voters feel about the state of the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. economy. But she cited two factors that could put Democrats on solid footing. The first is weve delivered on a lot of promises, Warren said. Joe Biden ran on getting enough vaccines and tests out the door, and now its there. You can get tested, you can get a shot just about anywhere, for free. He also ran on stabilizing the economy, which was falling hard. That last rescue package was passed at a time when economists were saying that at this time, in 2022, unemployment would be through the roof and the economy would be in the toilet. And neither of those is true: The economy is strong, and unemployment is low. Warren added that Republican opposition to both the American Rescue Plan Act and the stalled Build Back Better bill will present voters with a stark choice in November. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 A Florida restaurant operator owes its employees $118,000 after not paying its workers a wage and forcing them to live on what they made from tips alone. The U.S. Department of Labor found Rosys Mexican Restaurant in Jacksonville committed multiple violations concerning its staff, according to a press release from the government entity. Advertisement In addition to not paying wages, they failed to pay an overtime rate to its dishwashers, cooks, and servers and failed to maintain accurate payroll records. An investigation also found they allowed a teen worker to work after 7 p.m. during the school week, which violates the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor. By denying servers a cash wage and forcing them to live on tips alone and denying other workers their overtime pay, Rosys Mexican Restaurant made it harder for these employees, who depend on every dollar, to take care of themselves and their families, said Wage and Hour Division District Office Director Wildali De Jesus. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate We dont understand the war in Ukraine. Despite news coverage, government statements and social media crossfires, the truth of Europes largest conflict since World War II is unavailable to people outside Ukraines borders. Inside the country, truths vary for each community, social group, family and individual. Geography amplifies the effect, and many of us in the West are further separated by language, culture and history. Late Thursday as day broke 6,000 miles away in Kyiv, I thought about how what were hearing about the war in Ukraine is hardly the truth. Whenever I think about truth and war, my mind turns to Tim OBriens The Things They Carried. A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth, he wrote. Or I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth. Hes talking about war stories, but the sentiment rings true in this hybrid war thats pumping propaganda and misinformation into the world. We should keep a healthy skepticism of government statements and bold headlines. On ExpressNews.com: Lingle: As invasion looms, lessons go unlearned They may be factual. They may be grounded in fact and embellished. They may be false but emotionally true. They may be nonsense. Each may be true in its own way. We need to be smart consumers of the information and realize each bit that trickles onto our screens may be trying to manipulate us. In looking at Western reporting, Ukraine is destroying Russia in the information war. The stories were seeing boost the Ukrainians and undercut the Russians. Consider Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys plea to Russians before the invasion: And if the Russian leaders dont want to sit with us behind the table for the sake of peace, maybe they will sit behind the table with you. Do Russians want the war? I would like to know the answer. Consider, too, Zelenskyys brave decision to remain in Kyiv as the Russians close in. Think about Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukrainian ambassador to the United Nations, telling his Russian counterpart, There is no purgatory for war criminals. They go straight to hell, ambassador. On ExpressNews.com: Lingle: An Air Force senior general just got candid about mental health in the military How about the story of the 13 Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island and their defiance to the Russian warship? The Russians radioed: This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary victims. Otherwise, youll be bombed. The Ukrainians responded, Russian warship, go (expletive) yourself. The ship fired and killed the guards, and theyve become national heroes. Same goes for Vitaly Skakun, the Ukrainian soldier who sacrificed himself while blowing up a bridge to slow a Russian advance. There are the body counts and stats. On Friday morning, the Ukrainian military said it had killed 2,800 Russians, shot down 10 planes and seven helicopters, and destroyed 80 tanks and 516 other vehicles. Or the fight at the Hostomel airport, where Ukrainian forces routed Russian paratroopers and reclaimed the field. On ExpressNews.com: Lingle: As Afghanistan falls, memories haunt And the story of the Ghost of Kyiv, a Ukrainian fighter pilot who apparently shot down six Russian jets, will live forever. The lady who told Russian soldiers to put sunflower seeds in their pockets so flowers will grow after they die on Ukrainian soil. The accounts of the Russians mobile crematoriums and entire invading units surrendering. Each of these snapshots are likely grounded in some shard of fact, but theres much more to each ones truth. Their messages of grit and heroism get louder with each retelling. Views & Voices: Editorials, columns and commentary, delivered to your inbox OBriens long, perfect passage begins, A true war story is never moral, and continues, If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. It ends, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil. We may not comprehend the specifics of the unfolding trauma, but we can all agree Putins invasion is obscene and evil. Thats whats baffling and disappointing about Putins apologists in our country. They need to be called out for supporting a war criminal. A mentor once told me hed be a pacifist if there werent so many evil people in the world. After a while thats where I landed on the spectrum of peace and violence. The old and terrible lie of war is revealing itself to humanity once again, and we can only wonder if well ever learn its lessons. brandon.lingle@express-news.net Two institutions that keep us grounded and connected church and school should remain free from political interference. Just as we hope our congregations remain sanctuaries for countercultural worship and community, we want our schools to continue serving as the bedrock of our democracy a public good protected by all for the best interest of all. Public schools must be freed from the whims of politicians and the pendulum swings of culture wars. Public schools teach responsible civic engagement, respect for science and truth, and commitment to learning from history, no matter how uncomfortable. Educators are public servants who work hard to cultivate our future leaders. Ideologues, threatened by civic engagement informed by science and history, are strategically taking over local school boards and running for higher offices, spreading chaos and division. When COVID-19 closed everything in 2020, our public schools took on the monumental tasks of safely distributing meals to entire communities and redesigning education for home delivery. Educators delivered more than we ever imagined. But those who wish to destroy public education spurned justifiable praise and coined a different narrative. Critics focused on the failure of distance learning and the cowardice of keeping schools closed. When George Floyds murder thrust our country into racial reckoning, public schools took action. School boards studied police presence, security practices and disciplinary procedures. Many implemented racial equity and diversity initiatives. Our children learned social and emotional skills to resist bullies, respect others and report violence. However, some people took offense and revolted. They ran for school boards and rewound racial progress. They removed books that share nonwhite perspectives from libraries. They canceled diversity initiatives. Opponents of public education have promoted false narratives, turned back the clock on progress, and sown distrust for treasured public schools and teachers. Now, they are close to getting what they have long wanted: a privatized system of school vouchers that profit a privileged few and leave the rest wanting. They may finally convince enough of the public and, more importantly, the Legislature that public schools are failing or untrustworthy and our kids deserve another option: private schools. These private schools, by the way, are too expensive even with vouchers for most families in our public school system. Additionally, they can be selective with admissions. They also educate according to their private beliefs, which is fine until public dollars are used to pay for tuition. Milton Friedman, an economist and proponent of voucher-funded private schools, said only a crisis produces real change. COVID was a crisis public education proponents thought would lead to positive and long-needed school reforms. It revealed the vast inequities in all aspects of society, including education. But those beneficial reforms never took hold. When conversations about equity started to gain traction, privatizers invented a different crisis and derailed long-needed improvements. They will use their bogus liberalism crisis as fuel for their privatization movement long past the pandemic. Will the invented crisis of failing public schools lead to Friedmans vision of voucher-funded privatized schools? Or will we finally give our public schools the support and funding they need to educate all children, since the real crises of the past two years have taught us the vital importance of public education? Faith leaders, spiritual seekers, people of goodwill: We have an obligation to protect our public schools, support our teachers and provide for our children. Public schools are our greatest partner in the creation of thoughtful, compassionate and courageous young people. We must come together to preserve our democratic system of free and quality public education for all children. Every child, no matter their skin color, income, ability or gender, deserves this precious gift. We can take an easy step right now to preserve and protect public education. We must vote in the primary elections for candidates for the Texas House and Senate, State Board Of Education, attorney general, lieutenant governor and governor who share these values and will not sacrifice our schools for political and financial gain. Cameron Vickrey is the associate director for Pastors for Texas Children. Early Thursday morning in Ukraine, poignant tweets emerged from the besieged nation as people wrote about not being able to sleep while waiting for Russian tanks, bombs and gunfire. At 5 a.m., days after Russian President Vladimir Putin denied the existence of Ukraine as an independent country, he ordered special military operations. Soon after, the missiles began to fall. Neither the Ukrainian people nor their government leaders did anything to provoke this brazen violation of international law and disrespect for borders and humanity. Its an invasion that could bring the greatest instability to Europe since World War II. It has the potential to spark a third world war. There is no both sides are responsible argument to be made about whats happening. The only threat Ukraine and its 44 million people pose to Russia is in its democracy and corresponding freedom. This is all on Putin, the tyrannical billionaire kleptocrat, and his feverish dreams of empire-building. Weve begun to see pictures of Ukrainians leaving their homes, people dragging their possessions in suitcases and bags, of women and children at railway stations anxiously awaiting passage to safer places. We expect to see pictures of the dead and of battle. Chaos has been unleashed not only in Ukraine but upon the world. Markets have fallen. Oil and natural gas prices have surged. Putin is not a man to praise. But we have been impressed with a robust response from the United States and allied nations: a renewed sense of urgency and commitment from NATO, tightening global sanctions led by the United States, a humanitarian outcry for what has come. There will be days, weeks and months to analyze all that preceded the invasion and all that should be done to end it. But before we are too far removed from this fateful early morning in Ukraine, lets recognize the real figure of strength who emerged in this crisis. It wasnt Putin and the long, rambling, delusional and lying speech he gave before commencing war. It was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who made an appeal to the people of Russia in a final attempt to prevent war. His address was brief, eloquent and forthright. We know for sure that we dont need the war. Not a Cold War, not a hot war. Not a hybrid one. But if well be attacked by the (enemy) troops, if they try to take our country away from us, our freedom, our lives, the lives of our children, we will defend ourselves. Not attack, but defend ourselves. And when you will be attacking us, you will see our faces, not our backs, but our faces. The war is a big disaster, and this disaster has a high price. With every meaning of this word. People lose money, reputation, quality of life, they lose freedom. But the main thing is that people lose their loved ones, they lose themselves. Zelenskyy spoke of who will suffer: But our main goal is peace in Ukraine and the safety of our people, Ukrainians. For that we are ready to have talks with anybody, including you, in any format, on any platform. The war will deprive (security) guarantees from everybody nobody will have guarantees of security anymore. Who will suffer the most from it? The people. Who doesnt want it the most? The people! Who can stop it? The people. But are there those people among you? I am sure. Whatever the fate of Ukraine and Zelenskyy, his words will be remembered for generations. Across Ukraine tonight and for nights to come, sleep will be hard to come by. As we think of Ukrainians and their needless suffering, those images should disturb our nights until the war stops, their suffering ends and Ukraines independence is assured. Sterling, VA (20165) Today Rain ending this morning. Remaining cloudy. High 79F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low 54F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Amber Straub, 34, of Naples is charged with possession of a weapon on school property. (Collier County Sheriff's Office) A Florida woman who had a poorly concealed 9 mm Glock pistol as she walked her child onto an elementary school campus faces a felony charge, the Collier County Sheriffs Office said. Amber Straub, 34, of Naples is charged with possession of a weapon on school property. Advertisement Newsradio WFLA reported that the gun was loaded. A Golden Gate Elementary School employee noticed a gun-shaped bulge under Straubs clothing Wednesday shortly before 8 a.m. and notified a Youth Relations Bureau deputy. Advertisement The deputy asked Straub if she had a weapon and she said she did. The deputy took the holstered gun from Straub, and she was arrested. The department investigated and said it believes Straub had no malicious intent, but that this makes no difference in the eyes of the law. Straub didnt have a valid Florida concealed weapons permit, the sheriffs office said but even if she had, possessing a weapon on school property is a crime in Florida, with or without such a permit. Sheriff Rambosk has a long established and proven commitment to the safety of our schools, to enforcing existing laws fairly and to upholding the US Constitution and all of the amendments, the sheriffs office said. An amazing woman, Joan Marilynn Stevens, 80, of Augusta, Montana left us February 18th, 2022 after a brief stay in Peace Hospice in Great Falls, MT. Joan was born November 13, 1941 in Ancon, Panama Canal Zone to Wayne L. and Mary Lee (Larry) Proff where Wayne was an Engineer on the 3rd Locks of the Panama Canal. She moved to Dutton, MT with her parents when she was just over a year old. At the age of 14, she started work at the Dutton Drug Store then Casss Drive Inn (Drive-In currently) where she worked every summer all the way through college. She graduated from Dutton High School in 1959. After high school she attended Montana State University for a year then to Northern Montana College for two years and Kinman Business University where she received a degree in bookkeeping. In 1962, she went to work for the Montana Bank (now First Interstate Bank) in Great Falls as a bookkeeper, teller, and computer operator for seven years where she gained many good friends. She married the love of her life Arthur Stevens on February 28th, 1970. After they were married, they lived in Great Falls until Spring. Art worked construction and as a carpenter. They moved into a trailer that was parked at their corrals in Sun River Canyon. Joan left her job at Montana Bank and went to work at Gibson Lake Lodge. Joan and Art helped his father (Herb) and stepmother (Leona) with JJJ outfitting from 1963 to 1968 when Joan and Art bought J-L Outfitters for themselves. This was a new experience for Joan even though she was raised on a farm. There was one year that she spent 93 days in the Bob Marshall Wilderness without seeing civilization. All she wanted when she got out was a hot shower and a good ole greasy hamburger and fries. In 1972, Joan and Art bought an acre of land in Mortimer Gulch. In 1975 they started to build their home. With the help of family and friends, they built a beautiful log home. In March of 1976 they moved into the unfinished home with an addition to the family, daughter Tammy Stevens. For two years after Tammy was born, Joan went back to camp and cooked, but just became too hard. She decided to stay at home and do all the baking and purchasing for the outfitting business from home. Joan and Art owned and operated J-L Outfitters for almost 30 years. It was a lot of hard work, but both enjoyed it. They met so many great people and made lifetime friends. After Arthurs death in 1997, Joan sold the outfitting business. She started working seasonally as the Front Liner for the Forest Service at the Augusta Information Station, while continuing to live in the home she and Art built in Mortimer Gulch. Joans contagious grin and welcoming laughter made everyone that stopped at the Info Station feel welcomed and at home. With her wealth of knowledge of the area, she was a natural at sharing stories and visiting with travelers about the mountains she loved and called home. In 2014 Joan retired to finally take some time for herself and enjoy the mountains. Joan was extremely active in the Augusta community. All Joan wanted to do was be there to support the kids. From Girl Scout leader to concession stand worker, you could always find her warm smiling face in the mix of things. She was someone you could always count on to lend a hand. She would spend her lunch hour washing dishes at Mels diner. Joans kind and caring heart touched many people, young and old. Joan was an exceptionally tough woman. She endured much in her life and handled it all with dignity and grace. She lived independently in Mortimer Gulch for many years until her ailments made it too difficult. It was then that she came to live in Great Falls with her daughter Tammy. To say Joan and Tammy had a special bond is an understatement. There was a connection between them that will never be matched. When the angels came to bring Joan home early Friday morning, she was not alone, but in the company of her loving and attentive daughter Tammy. She was a truly amazing lady that left us all with such wonderful memories. Her infectious laugh and gorgeous smile filled so many people with happiness. Joan will be truly missed and always remembered. Joan is survived by her daughter, Tammy Stevens of Great Falls; her brothers Alan (Chris) Proff and Chuck (Claudia) Proff both of Dutton. Joan was preceded in death by her husband Arthur Stevens and parents Wayne and Mary Lee (Larry) Proff. She has chosen to be cremated at Croxford Funeral Home and a Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Grain merchant Cefetra has acquired two grain stores in Scotland for over 7m, adding approximately 140,000 tonnes to the firm's capacity. One of the grain stores acquired by Cefetra, at Ormiston in East Lothian, has a capacity of circa 80,000 tonnes. The other, at Charlesfield in Melrose, near the Scottish Borders, can hold approximately 60,000 tonnes. Cefetra, which owns over 39 storage sites and 20 ports, is one of the major traders of grains and animal feed raw materials in the UK and Ireland. Managing director Andrew Mackay said the significant investment would 'further strengthen' the company's grain origination business. It demonstrates our long-term commitment to supporting both the farming community and our established customers across Scotland and Northern England," he added. These grain handling, processing and storage facilities, with drying, cleaning and grain analysis operations, give us the infrastructure required to operate in key grain production areas of Scotland. "They allow us to work with and support farmers, whilst also enabling us to supply quality grains, oilseeds and pulses to key customers in Scotland and Northern England. Cefetra dispatches between 85,000 90,000 tonnes of raw materials to industry partners every week, and delivers 550 600 lorry loads per day. Warrenton, VA (20186) Today Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms this morning. Clouds lingering later. High 79F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight A few passing clouds. Low 52F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. The purpose of the legislative session is for priority bills to become law. Thousands of bills are introduced; this year, 293 bills became law. Its hard to keep up with them all, so heres a brief rundown of major bills that became lawand bills that did not. Authorities arrested a Florida woman for illegally selling a capuchin monkey that attacked a 15-year-old girl. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission charged Joan Newberger, 75, with multiple charges for possessing the monkey and the attack, WFLA reported Wednesday. Advertisement Newberger, of Satsuma, sold the teen and her mother a capuchin monkey for $9,500 on Nov. 22, 2021. When they asked Newberger for paperwork and a copy of her permit, she told them she had neither, according to WFLA. Advertisement They later asked to return the monkey, and Newberger agreed to refund $9,000. While returning the monkey, the 15-year-old went to pet the monkey and say goodbye when it bit her finger, WFLA reported. Read the full report on wfla.com. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category MIAMI Friends and supporters of Miami-raised Ketanji Brown Jackson rejoiced over her historic nomination Friday as the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying she would bring a strong intellect, fair mind and distinct perspective to the nations highest court. Brown Jackson, a federal appeals court judge who would replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, is a great choice for the country as a whole, said Trelvis Randolph, president of the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. Bar Association, the legal association named for the pioneering Black Miami federal judge. Advertisement President Biden made a conscious effort to find someone who was capable, qualified and competent to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, Randolph said. We are fortunate that the president decided to look for excellence in spaces that would otherwise be forgotten. This is really a big moment for her and for the rest of us who she is representing, said Miami-Dade County Judge Chiaka Ihekwaba, one of only 11 Black jurists in the county. Our own homegrown Supreme Court nominee. This is truly exciting news! Advertisement Brown Jackson, 51, grew up in a family of educators in Miami-Dade County where she excelled as a student and debater in high school. She became a lawyer, assistant federal public defender, U.S. Sentencing Commission member, federal judge and appellate court judge a career that no other justice has had on the current Supreme Court. In elevating Judge Jackson, the Senate would not just add a supremely capable jurist to the high court, said Miami attorney Stephen Rosenthal, who went to Palmetto High, Harvard College and Harvard Law School with her. In KBJ they can also give the American people an inspirational figure who truly embodies the American dream. Breaking News As it happens Be the first to know with email alerts on important breaking stories from the Orlando Sentinel newsroom. > In his legal blog, Miami attorney David O. Markus, who as a high school student in the 1980s debated against Brown Jackson and followed her to Harvard Law School, flashed a series of headlines about some of her milestones: Ketanji Brown Jackson to be SCOTUS nominee. Woohooo! This is great news. Miami Debate. Palmetto High School. First African American woman. First former public defender. And first Floridian! In her teen years at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, Brown Jackson already knew her life goals. I want to go into law and eventually have a judicial appointment, she was quoted in the 1988 Palmetto High yearbook Echo, in a prescient piece naming her to the graduation class Hall of Fame. Her own family history during the 1980s in Miami strongly influenced the legal path she pursued as a lawyer and judge, Brown Jackson has acknowledged in prior Senate confirmation hearings. She was raised in suburban comfort in the Cutler Bay area by two educators, including a mother who served as a high school principal and a father who taught history and later became the chief lawyer for the Miami-Dade County School Board. They are in Florida right now, and I know they could not be more proud, Brown Jackson said of her parents in a statement delivered after President Biden announced her nomination at the White House. Advertisement 2022 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. critic's rating: 3.5/5 The film is loosely based on the life of Gangubai Harjivandas, popularly known as Gangubai Kothewali, whose life was chronicled in the book Mafia Queens of Mumbai written by S. Hussain Zaidi. Ganga Harjivandas (Alia Bhatt) belongs to a family of lawyers. Like every other teenager growing up in small-town India in the 50s, shes in love with Dev Anand and wants to run away to Mumbai to become a Hindi film heroine. She elopes with her lover Ramniklal (Varun Kapoor) with plenty of jewellery and money but he isnt what he seems. He sells her off to a brothel for a thousand rupees and runs away. Ganga is forced by brothel owner Sheela Bai (Seema Pahwa) to take to the life of a prostitute. Ganga accepts her reality but cant see herself as a victim. She vows to oust Sheela Bai soon and take over the whole of Kamathipura one day. And she manages to do it with the help of mafia don Rahim Lala (Ajay Devgn), who accepts her as his sister and stands behind her in every difficulty. She falls in love with her tailors nephew Afsaan (Shantanu Maheshwari) but is practical enough to know that marriage is out of the question. Shes shown to be a kind-hearted madame, who thinks that the sex trade should be made legal as it fulfils a need of society. She champions the cause of education, housing and other rights for prostitutes and their children. A journalist (Jim Sarbh), champions her cause in the press and advises her that she should use her clout to achieve political power. How she either charms or cajoles her ways out of difficulties forms the crux of the film. Like all Bhansali products, Gangubai Kathiawadi too is a visual treat. The director has successfully recreated the Bombay of the 50s and 60s. Kudos to his production design and VFX team for that. The film is an ode of sorts to Guru Dutt and Sahir Ludhianvi. Theres a tender scene where Gangubai lays her head in the lap of her lover, much like the famous scene from Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), where Meena Kumari, playing the much-neglected choti bahu, tries to find some sort of solace in Bhoothnaths (Guru Dutt) embrace. Gangu is fond of reading Sahir and quotes the opening lines of the song Jine naaz hai Hind par woh kahan hai, which Sahir wrote for Pyaasa (1957), while appealing to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to do something for the upliftment of prostitutes. Kudos also to his dialogue writers for writing some pithy, pathos-filled lines. For example, Sheela Bai admonishes her girls for spending too much time on makeup Grahak ko tumhara chehra nahi chamdi chahiye. Another time, she wakes up Gangu at 4 am saying, Iss dhande ka koi time nahi hota. Gangubais speech near the end is a fiery thunderbolt. Hamari izzat roz lutti hai par khatam hi nahi hoti, says she. Where Bhansali and his writers have excelled is in humanising Gangubai. Her friendship with Kamli (Indira Tiwari) is a tender example of the fact that kinship can flourish even under the most inhuman circumstances. Theres a scene where Gangu is writing a letter for one of her colleagues and turn by turn, the pain of being separated from their loved ones is reflected in every girls expressions. Her affair with Afsaan is the most poetic portion of the film. Its played out through their eyes, through glimpses, body language and expressions. Alia Bhatt owns the film from the first frame. Its as if she was born for the role. The scene where she romances Afsaan in the car, conveying a wealth of emotions without saying anything is so natural and fluid you forget youre watching a film. In the song Dholida, she dances like a dervish, losing herself in her character to such an extent that the lines blur between the reel and real. She spouts every heavy-duty line concocted by the writers with supreme confidence and shows her mettle in her joint scenes with actors of fine calibres, such as Ajay Devgn, Seema Pahwa, Vijay Raaz and Jim Sarbh. But its in the scenes where she uses silence and body language to convey Gangubais pain and anguish that Alia shines the most. Her bond with the audience becomes so strong that theres no need for words to communicate what her character is going through. Debutantexcels in his brief role. And so does the ever-dependable Ajay Devgn in his extended cameo. He has played mafia dons in so many films and yet manages to produce something new with every outing. One wishes there was more of Seema Pahwa, Vijay Raaz and Jim Sarbh in the film, who all shine in their respective roles. Indira Tiwary too is in fine fettle as Kamli. There must be more to Gangubais life than what Bhansali has portrayed here. Shes being deified in the film but one certainly expected to see more, given the fact that she was one of the leading figures of Mumbais mafia. But niggles aside, SLB has again given us a film which keeps us glued to our seats for close to three hours. In todays OTT riddled world where the attention span of the viewer doesnt exceed 15 minutes, that really takes some doing Trailer : Gangubai Kathiawadi SOEs Minister Erick Thohir (ANTARA/HO-KBUMN) JAKARTA, Feb 24, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - President Joko Widodo harbors many hopes and expectations for Indonesia's State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), and strives to see them succeed not only at a national level, but also at an international level. The President believes these SOEs hold vast potential to dominate the essential sectors earlyon, and move to the global level as they mature.Yet SOEs require professional management and a helping hand to assist them on their way. However great, any company that falls into the hands of mis-management will experience under development and and ultimate demise. To survive this fourth industrial revolution, companies need to elevate human resources and ecosystems to the highest standards. In theory, transformation coupled with technological adaptation will follow.Indonesian SOEs Minister Erick Thohir spoke of three big dreams for SOEs, the first being larger SOE contributions to the nation. "If it is not my wishful thinking, it is how to enable SOEs to make a bigger contribution to the country. That is number one," Thohir wrote on his official Instagram account @erickthohir on Feb 20.The second dream involves the number of State-Owned Enterprises becoming less, but therefore larger in terms of the average footprint. The third dream pertains to rationalizing and optimizing the role of SOE services in the community. Each of these three dreams have Key Performance Indicators or KPIs.SOEs have been undergoing a massive and ongoing transformation. It has borne fruit; for the first half of 2021, SOEs reported an income of Rp96 trillion, and net profit of Rp26 trillion. Reflecting on an improved state of affairs, Erick suggested that the restructuring program among State-Owned Enterprises had been going well.It turns out that SOEs behaved more efficiently as they realized greater profits, bringing the total number of SOEs from 108 to 41, and SOE sectors from 27 to 12, comprised of mineral and coal, forestry and plantations, foods, healthcare, finance and insurance, telecommunication, infrastructure and logistics, and several others.Thohir's ministry was successful in reducing the niumbers of SOE companies, and SOE sectors, which he had deemed too great, focusing instead on specific SOEs or segments to incorporate his tranformative notions. Among the groups undergoing transformation, the State-Owned Banks showed some tangible results.The minister noted that the State-Owned Bank Association (Himbara) profit rose by 78% in 2021, while the banks remained focused on their respective segments: BRI (Indonesian Peoples Bank) catering to MSMEs, company-oriented Mandiri Bank, BNI (Indonesian State Bank) with its international scope, and BTN (State Savings Bank) of housing-related financial services.The Himbara Association gained around Rp72.05 trillion in profit in 2021, much improved from their combined profit of Rp40.34 trillion in 2020. BRI contributed Rp 30.76 trillion to this total, Mandiri Rp28.03 trillion, BNI Rp10.89 trillion, with BTN pitchig in for Rp2.37 trillion.Syahrul Ramadhan, Coordinator of Millennial Indonesia's MSME and Business Sector, lauded Erick's initiatives, encouraging the banks to such lofty achievements. Under Thohir's command, for example, less-experienced directors had been replaced with seasoned professionals, the means to generate more profits for the state.Moreover, a business sector mapping was undertaken since the SOEs had so many businesses; some SOEs weren't even sure what their focus sector was. Deputy Head of Commission VI, House of Representatives, Martin Manurung seconded a motion recognizing the adjustments of State-Owned Enterprises as ongoing.Although there are issues here and there, overall, it is doing well. Indeed troubles from the past still linger, though the Commission VI and the government are both committed to the betterment of the situation, as was apparent from their meetings.Manurung affirmed that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) hopes that a future will materialize through Revisions of the SOEs Laws, which are currently being prepared by his administration. Manurung concluded by commending Jokowi's promotion of government investment.Government Capital: the rulesEssentially, the commission and the ministry are on the same boat for most aspects in the quest to improve SOEs. These include restructuring, holdings, clusters, and investments, among others. The commission also agrees to some suggestions made by SOEs that received Government Capital for company acts.In some instances, the discussions of Government Capital cannot be avoided. It should be ensured that capital is used for boosting the SOEs productivity, thereby offering significant contributions to the state in the form of dividend, tax, and more.President Jokowi drew attention to several SOEs that had received excess government capital as a means of protecting continuation, despite making no meaningful contribution to the state, and it has often been stressed that capital should not be used as a way to cover losses caused by faulty management, he insisted.The president gave stern warning that no such cases should recur. In fact, he also suggested that the dying companies be closed right away in lieu of having government capital being handed over to them. The president has sought for such action not out of malice or cynicism but rather based on the spirit to see the companies achieve success together, an expectation which hopefully does not end in dreams.(c) ANTARA 2022. Reporters: Hanni Sofia, Mecca Yumna; Editor: Rahmad NasutionANTARA/HO-KBUMN: https://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_Antara202202242.jpgSource: Indonesian Ministry of State Owned Enterprises / BUMNCopyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. TOKYO, Feb 25, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) today announced that it has strengthened its strategic collaboration with SAP to accelerate NEC's corporate transformation (CX) and to co-create business opportunities.NEC launched its Transformation Office last year to drive projects that accelerate corporate transformation in management, business and within its workforce as well as to achieve NEC's Mid-Term Management Plan 2025 and further growth. During the course of this project, NEC will accumulate know-how on digital infrastructure construction and reform methodologies. It will also create a reference model that it will provide to customers to help them resolve their transformation challenges.In carrying out this initiative, NEC plans to strengthen its strategic alliance with SAP in the following areas:Accelerate NEC's corporate transformationNEC will utilize the latest SAP solutions to accelerate CX, based on the results of the reforms it has made using SAP solutions. Through this, NEC aims to achieve data-driven management, respond flexibly to changes in the business environment and maximize the capabilities of its employees.NEC's CX reviews company rules, business processes, organizational structures and IT systems end to end. CX also thoroughly standardizes, simplifies and automates business processes. This will help optimize employee productivity and encourage innovation to enhance competitive advantages. In addition, NEC will make the best use of the data accumulated in business processes to advance the sophistication of its management.Toward this goal, NEC will continue to adopt SAP S/4HANA as a next-generation mission-critical system to support end-to-end operations, maximize standard functions and adopt "business process intelligence" to strengthen process standardization. In addition, to promoting this initiative within the NEC Group, NEC plans to adopt the RISE with SAP offering at group companies internationally to provide the integrated solutions necessary for corporate transformation.Strengthen co-creation business opportunitiesNEC has a well-established history of collaborating with SAP to sell SAP solutions. By providing its own knowledge of business process transformation, system renewal, operations and maintenance as a reference model, NEC has contributed to the digitalization and business efficiency of its customers.To strengthen this collaboration, NEC will make the best use of the experience gained from its own corporate transformation. It will also tap into the project achievements and management transformation capabilities of the NEC Group company ABeam Consulting Ltd., which has the largest number of SAP consultants in Japan. NEC will also leverage the NEC Group's ability to provide both Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and the latest solutions and functions, such as the RISE with SAP offering, to drive corporate Digital Transformation (DX). Utilizing these resources, NEC will contribute to the realization of end-to-end business process transformation and data-driven management to help customers achieve DX.Initiate innovation to create social valueBased on a shared corporate philosophy of creating social value, NEC plans to develop innovations with SAP technologies. While leveraging its own strengths in biometrics technology and security, NEC will also draw from the strengths both companies have demonstrated in 5G, supply chain and sustainability.About NEC CorporationNEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of "Orchestrating a brighter world." NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.Source: NEC CorporationCopyright 2022 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 24, 2022 / Forward Water Technologies Corp. (TSXV:FWTC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has filed its condensed consolidated unaudited interim financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2021. Copies of these financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis can be found on the Company's issuer profile at www.sedar.com . All financial information in this news release is reported in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Q2 Financial Highlights Total expenses were $2,060,397 for the three months ended December 31, 2021, an increase of 707% over same period in 2020, and $3,488,858 for the nine months ended December 31, 2021, 83% over the same period in 2020. The increase in the expense was largely due to expenses that were incurred in connection with the completion of a qualifying transaction with Forward Water Technologies Inc. ("FWTI") and the listing of the Company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange. Net loss and comprehensive loss was $1,938,856 for the three months ended December 31, 2021, compared to a loss of $336,553 for the same period in 2020. The net loss and comprehensive loss for the nine month period ended December 31, 2021 was $3,504,400 compared to a loss of $922,029 for the same period in 2020. Basic loss per share was $0.02 and $0.04 for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2021, respectively, compared to $0.05 and $0.02 for the same three and nine months in 2020. Operating Highlights and Recent Corporate Developments On October 20, 2021 the Company completed a qualifying transaction with FWTI (the "Transaction") The Transaction constituted a reverse acquisition in accordance with IFRS as the shareholders of FWTI took control of the Company as a result of the Transaction. On October 26, 2021, the Company's common shares were listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "FWTC". In connection with the Transaction, the Company completed a brokered private placement offering of an aggregate of 6,470,000 Subscription Receipts at a subscription price of $1.00 per Subscription Receipt for aggregate gross proceeds of $6,470,000. (see press release dated July 27, 2021) On February 3, 2022, the Company entered into a definitive agreement with Membracon (UK) Ltd. ("Membracon") to form a joint venture. The proposed joint venture will be resourced by both Membracon and the Company and will be responsible for delivery of the Company's proprietary forward osmosis processes and solutions within the United Kingdom and Ireland. On February 14, 2022, the Company signed a sales partnership agreement with Mabarex Inc ("Mabarex") providing laboratory, engineering, and system support. Mabarex will in turn identify commercial applications from its client base. Management Commentary "Forward Water Technologies has been seeing rapidly growing interest in various wastewater sectors by saving water from being permanently destroyed, and realizing large reductions in their operating expenses associated with legacy water solutions. Moreover, the Company is seeing the expansion of its business into the resource recovery sector where the concentration of natural occurring and process water streams improves the economic isolation of minerals such as lithium and other key metals, " said Howie Honeyman, CEO of the Company. Mr. Honeyman continued, "With the expansion of the sales team as well as working closely with various marketing platforms, the Company will be able to introduce the world actively and aggressively to its patented forward osmosis technology solution. The Company's proven trial runs plus initial funds raised concurrently with its go-public transaction, allows the Company to pursue its aggressive growth strategy and execute on its business plan." Summary of Financial Results Income Statement Balance Sheet Statement of Cash Flows About Forward Water Technologies Corp. Forward Water Technologies Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian company dedicated to saving the earth's water supply using its patented Forward Osmosis technology. The Company was founded by GreenCentre Canada, a leading technology innovation centre supported by the government of Canada. The Company's technology allows for the reduction of challenging waste streams simultaneously returning fresh water for re-use or surface release. The Company's mandate is to focus on the large-scale implementation of its technology in multiple sectors, including industrial wastewater, oil and gas, mining, agriculture and ultimately municipal water supply and re-use market sectors. For more information, please visit www.forwardwater.com . Contact Information For more information or interview requests, please contact: C. Howie Honeyman - Chief Executive Officer howie.honeyman@forwardwater.com 416-451-8155 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, the Company's plans to pursue its growth strategy and the impact of the expanded sales team. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the impacts from the coronavirus or other epidemics, general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; unanticipated operating events; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. SOURCE: Forward Water Technologies Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/690388/Forward-Water-Technologies-Announces-Third-Quarter-2021-Financial-Results Will be using the funds to accelerate mission to make banking easier for 30 million users MUMBAI, India, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Niyo , the consumer neo-banking platform, has raised $100 million in its Series C round of funding. The company will be using the funds to accelerate its mission to transform banking in India, and to provide convenient and hassle-free financial services to digital native customers. This Series C round of funding was led by Accel & Lightrock India with participation from Beams Fintech Fund. Existing investors Prime Venture Partners, JS Capital are also participating in this round along with others. Niyo offers digital savings accounts and other banking services in partnership with banks. The company currently serves about 4 million customers across its banking and wealth management products with over 10,000 new users added daily to its platform. Niyo is processing over US$3 billion of transactions making it the largest consumer neo-banking platform in India. The company will utilize the funds for product innovation, marketing and branding, increasing its distribution footprint, and hiring top talent across functions. Niyo is also looking to provide comprehensive financial services to over 30 million users through both organic and inorganic expansion over time making banking a delightful and secure experience. Niyo has launched India's first fully digital salary account this month and is in the process of launching personal loans, credit cards, integrated forex. and other banking products in the next three months. The company was founded in 2015 by Vinay Bagri and Virender Bisht who are veterans in the banking and technology domains. Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to Niyo on the transaction. Niyo Co-founder and CEO Vinay Bagri said, "We have always strived to offer tangible value and a delightful experience to our customers. In the process, we are transforming the way India banks. We are excited to partner with Accel, Lightrock & Beams on our journey as we look to accelerate the mission of taking pathbreaking digital banking products to millions of users in India and positively impact their financial well-being." Anand Daniel, partner at Accel, said, "We are excited to back the fastest growing neo-bank in India, Niyo. Vinay, Viren and team have built a fantastic product with a clear value prop for customers which is reflected in their phenomenal growth. We look forward to partnering with Niyo in changing the way India banks." Ashish Garg, Principal at Lightrock India said, "We are extremely excited about the potential of Niyo in re-imagining the banking experience for millions of users in India across the income pyramid. Neobanks are an emerging asset class in India and believe that the quality of Niyo's team, customer understanding and technology stack will enable them emerge as the leader of the space." Niyo Co-founder and CTO Virender Bisht said, "We are seeing massive tailwinds for digital financial products since COVID. Launched less than a year ago, our first-of-a-kind product offering "NiyoX" is democratizing the superior digital banking experience for users, and has witnessed tremendous user adoption. With this raise, we aim to expand the product suite for our customers and meet their growing expectations." About Niyo Niyo, a digital banking fintech conceptualized in 2015, is making banking smarter, safer and simpler through its suite of financial products. Niyo has sales presence in more than 20 states and union territories in India, currently serving a customer base of 4 million and over 7,000 corporates. Niyo currently has around 500 employees, over 250 of which are dedicated to Tech, Product and Design. Website: www.goniyo.com DUBLIN, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PaaSoo Technology, known within cloud communications industry for allowing enterprises to optimize sending and receiving SMS via APIs, unveils new logo in the world's biggest tech fair, Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona. Since 2016, the fast-growing tech company has gained a reputation for reliability, flexibility and security of its CPaaS solutions, among companies that use mobile phones to communicate with clients. Seeing massive demand in the European market, PaaSoo has decided to expand its services to Europe. To better serve its current and potential versatile clientele, the company is now registered with ARCEP, the French regulatory authority for electronic communications, and has opened the latest local office in France. Further growing its market presence, PaaSoo is proud to take an active part in MWC Barcelona 2022 from 28th February to 3rd March, a highly anticipated 16th edition which marks the comeback of the entire mobile ecosystem. The team is excited to meet their customers and partners face-to-face after 2 years of pandemic restrictions. Above all, PaaSoo invited Marion Decroocq, the Founder of Couleur Aube, to redesign its logo, illustrating the brand essence. The smooth round-curved wing, also subtly interpreting an infinity symbol, with the brand PaaSoo, is modernly presented in refreshing yet calming electric blue. Decroocq denotes, "I thought of Hermes, the messenger God who facilitated exchanges. I found it interesting to start working on the wings and on what they represent: lightness, speed, agility, and these match PaaSoo's value." As the designer depicts, color choice always echoes a reflection. A fresh electric blue inspires confidence, responsibility, and harmony, that successfully associates PaaSoo's stable service and its capability to communicate with the world. About PaaSoo Technology Founded in 2016, PaaSoo has offices in France, Ireland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines. PaaSoo's powerful, agile and cost-effective cloud communication solutions enable clients to connect with end-users across the globe. Companies such as Work Port, Wargaming, Perfect World, and others rely on PaaSoo for critical communications via text or voice messaging. PaaSoo's comprehensive selection of scalable, flexible and easy to use APIs and applications allows organizations of any size to use the power of cloud communications for growing their business and staying connected to customers, e.g., for one-time passwords, notifications, alerts, and promotional offers. For more information: www.paasoo.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1753473/PaaSoo_Logo.jpg ISSAQUAH (dpa-AFX) - Alli & Rose LLC has recalled certain Snak Yard dried plums/ saladitos citing the potential to be contaminated with lead, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. The dried plums were sold at Costco Wholesale stores in four states, including Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington. The affected dried plums come with barcode: 810019600821 and item code: 1516905. The products were available for sale between April 2021 and February 2022. No other Alli & Rose products are included in the recall. Consumers are asked to stop using the affected item and return it to local Costco for a full refund. Lead is a toxic substance present in the environment in small amounts and everyone is exposed to some lead from daily actions. Exposure to larger amounts of lead can cause poisoning. Symptoms can include abdominal pain, vomiting, lethargy, irritability, weakness, behavior or mood changes, delirium, seizures, and coma. Further, heavy metal poisoning in children can cause learning disabilities, developmental delays, and lower IQ scores. In similar recalls due to potential presence of lead, Fresno, California -based Candies Tolteca last week called back certain TOLTECA brand Saladitos dried plums. Los Angeles, California-based Rojas Inc. in early February called back Plain Dried Salted Plums in 0.5oz packages. 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. ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands (25 February 2022) - The Supervisory Board of IMCD N.V. ("IMCD") announces that, at the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") to be held on 2 May 2022, it will propose to appoint Willem Eelman as new member of the Supervisory Board. Mr. Eelman is nominated to fill the vacancy that arises after the resignation of Arjan Kaaks, effective from 2 May 2022. Mr. Kaaks is resigning from the Supervisory Board in accordance with the Supervisory Board's resignation rota, after completing two terms on the board. The Supervisory Board is grateful for his commitment and valuable contributions, as chair of the Audit Committee and as member of the Supervisory Board as a whole. This nomination aims to strengthen IMCD's Supervisory Board with a seasoned financial executive and will add significant experience to the board in the field of IT, digitalisation and information security. It is foreseen that, upon appointment, Mr. Eelman will take up the role of chair of the audit committee of IMCD's Supervisory Board. Willem Eelman (1964) has Dutch nationality and holds a master's degree in Agricultural Economics with a specialty in Marketing and Business Administration, graduating from the Agricultural University Wageningen. He also holds a Chartered Controllers Degree from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and followed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard, Cambridge. Currently, Mr. Eelman is a member of the management board and chief financial officer of Grandvision N.V., where he previously held the position of supervisory board member and audit committee chair. In the past, he held management positions in C&A Europe (chief financial officer and chief transformation officer) and Unilever N.V. (roles in finance and IT, including the role of chief information officer). Besides the nomination of Willem Eelman, the agenda for IMCD's 2022 AGM will include proposals to reappoint the members of the Management Board, to reappoint Deloitte accountants B.V. as external auditor for the year 2022 and 2023, and to approve a dividend of EUR 1.62 in cash per share. Further details on the nomination. This press release contains information that qualifies as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation and was issued on 25 February 2022, 07:00 a.m. CET. Attached, please find the full press release in pdf format. Attachment Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Idorsia receives a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for QUVIVIQ (daridorexant) for the treatment of adult patients with insomnia characterized by symptoms present for at least three months and considerable impact on daytime functioning A CHMP positive opinion is one of the final steps before marketing authorization can be granted by the European Commission - a final decision is expected in approximately two months Allschwil, Switzerland - February 25, 2022 Idorsia Ltd (SIX: IDIA) today announced the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), adopted a positive opinion for the use of QUVIVIQ (daridorexant) as the first dual orexin receptor antagonist in the European Union (EU) for the treatment of adult patients with insomnia characterized by symptoms present for at least three months and considerable impact on daytime functioning. The positive CHMP opinion is supported by robust pivotal Phase 3 data, recently published in The Lancet Neurology, which demonstrated that daridorexant improved nighttime symptoms and daytime functioning in adults with insomnia disorder at months one and three compared to placebo, with a favorable safety profile.1 The efficacy and safety of QUVIVIQ are further supported by a long-term follow-up extension study, which together with the pivotal trials, provides clinical data for up to 12 months of continuous treatment.2 Jean-Paul Clozel, MD and Chief Executive Officer of Idorsia, commented: "The recommendation from the CHMP is an important milestone for Idorsia and a significant step towards delivering a new treatment option for European patients with insomnia disorder. If approved, QUVIVIQ would not only be the first dual orexin receptor antagonist made available in Europe, but also the first insomnia medicine to improve daytime functioning. In addition, with periodic reassessment of the need for therapy, QUVIVIQ can be used for long-term treatment, addressing a key limitation of existing therapies. This is represented in the unique indication adopted by the CHMP, for patients who have considerable impact on daytime functioning, and for those who have been experiencing difficulty sleeping for an extended period. I am very proud that Idorsia will be the company to effect real change across Europe by bringing this innovation to patients." Insomnia disorder is defined as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, causing clinically significant distress or impairment in important areas of functioning.3 This impact on sleep quantity or quality should be present for at least three nights per week, lasts for at least three months, and occurs despite an adequate opportunity to sleep.3 A wide range of daytime complaints, from fatigue and reduced energy to mood alteration and cognitive difficulties, are reported by people with insomnia. Impaired daytime functioning is a critical concern of people living with insomnia disorder.4 Professor Ingo Fietze, University Hospital Berlin, commented: "The Phase 3 program with daridorexant was the first to comprehensively measure the impact of pharmacological treatment on all aspects of the condition, including daytime functioning as perceived by patients. Results demonstrated that daridorexant not only significantly improved sleep onset, sleep maintenance and total sleep time in adults with insomnia disorder, but also patients' daytime functioning, all while maintaining a favorable safety profile. Having the evidence that treatment can provide benefits on both nighttime symptoms and daytime functioning without the limitations associated with existing insomnia treatments, such as rebound insomnia upon discontinuation of treatment, withdrawal symptoms, risk of dependence, or next-morning residual effects, is going to completely change the treatment landscape for our patients." Professor Luigi Ferini-Strambi,Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, commented: "Insomnia affects between 6 and 12% of the adult population in Europe. For patients with insomnia disorder, the medical condition can have a negative impact on many aspects of daily life from studying and employment to social activities and relationships. It can also have a significant economic impact due to an increased risk for injuries and motor vehicle accidents, as well as reduced workplace productivity. This CHMP recommendation marks an important step in changing the lives of patients with insomnia disorder across Europe." QUVIVIQ (daridorexant) in insomnia disorder Insomnia is associated with overactive wake signaling in the brain.5,6 QUVIVIQ is a dual orexin receptor antagonist, which blocks the binding of the wake-promoting neuropeptides orexins and is thought to turn down overactive wakefulness, as opposed to treatments that generally sedate the brain.7 The Phase 3 registration program comprised two three-month studies, together with a long-term double-blind extension study.1 The program enrolled around 1,850 patients with insomnia disorder.1 As insomnia often presents later in life, and older adults are more susceptible to experience fragmented sleep, early awakening and daytime sleepiness,8 around 40% of the recruited population was at least 65 years of age.1 The placebo-controlled studies investigated the effects of three doses of daridorexant (10 mg, 25 mg, and 50 mg) on sleep and daytime functioning parameters, objectively in a sleep lab by polysomnography and subjectively with a daily patient diary at home.1 The impact of insomnia on patients' daytime functioning was measured daily using the sleepiness domain score from the Insomnia Daytime Symptoms and Impacts Questionnaire (IDSIQ) - a patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument developed and validated according to the FDA Guidance for Industry.1,9 More than 800 patients continued treatment in the 40-week extension study, which measured the effect of all three doses vs. placebo, generating data for long-term treatment of insomnia disorder.2 Phase 3 data has been reported in The Lancet Neurology: The pivotal studies demonstrated that daridorexant 50 mg significantly improved sleep onset, sleep maintenance and self-reported total sleep time at months one and three compared to placebo.1 The largest effect was observed with the highest dose (50 mg), followed by 25 mg, while the 10 mg dose did not have a significant effect.1 In all treatment groups the proportions of sleep stages were preserved, in contrast to findings reported with benzodiazepine receptor agonists.1 A major focus of the trials was to evaluate the impact of daridorexant on daytime functioning in patients with insomnia disorder, as assessed by the IDSIQ.1 IDSIQ is a patient-reported outcomes instrument specifically developed and validated according to FDA guidelines, to measure daytime functioning in patients with insomnia.9 The sleepiness domain score of the IDSIQ was evaluated as a key secondary endpoint in both pivotal studies and comparisons to placebo included type I error control for multiplicity.1 Daridorexant 50 mg demonstrated highly statistically significant improvement in daytime sleepiness at month one and month three.1 The sleepiness domain score was not significantly improved on 25 mg in either study at either timepoint.1 The overall incidence of adverse events was comparable between treatment groups.1 Adverse events occurring in more than 5% of participants were nasopharyngitis and headache.1 There were no dose-dependent increases in adverse events across the dosing range, including somnolence and falls.1 Further, no dependence, rebound insomnia or withdrawal effects were observed upon abrupt discontinuation of treatment.1 Across treatment groups, adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation were numerically more frequent with placebo than daridorexant.1 The CHMP has adopted a positive opinion for the use of QUVIVIQ 50 mg for the treatment of adult patients with insomnia characterized by symptoms present for at least three months and considerable impact on daytime functioning. In addition, QUVIVIQ 25 mg will be available for specific patient populations, e.g. taking certain concomitant drugs. Regulatory status of daridorexant The positive opinion recommending QUVIVIQ, is a scientific recommendation issued by the EMA's CHMP, which is sent to the European Commission (EC) for the adoption of a decision on an EU-wide marketing authorization. An EC marketing authorization through the centralized procedure is valid in all European Union Member States, as well as the European Economic Area countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol. For Great Britain, a separate application for the use of daridorexant for the same indication will immediately be made to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) via the European Commission Decision Reliance Procedure, a post-Brexit, temporary administrative process, under which the MHRA will rely on the decision taken by the EC on the approval of the product. Daridorexant is currently under review with Swissmedic and Health Canada. In January, QUVIVIQ (daridorexant) was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adult patients with insomnia. Notes to the editor About insomnia disorder Insomnia disorder is defined as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, causing clinically significant distress or impairment in important areas of daytime functioning.3 This impact on sleep quantity or quality should be present for at least three nights per week, lasts for at least three months, and occurs despite an adequate opportunity to sleep.3 Insomnia is a condition of overactive wake signaling and studies have shown that areas of the brain associated with wakefulness remain more active during sleep in patients with insomnia.6,10 It is a common problem with an estimated prevalence in Europe of 6-12% of the adult population.11 Insomnia as a disorder is quite different from a brief period of poor sleep, and it can take its toll on both physical and mental health.12 It is a persistent condition with a negative impact on daytime functioning.3 Idorsia's research has shown that poor quality sleep can affect many aspects of daily life, including the ability to concentrate, mood, and energy levels. The goal of treatments for insomnia is to improve sleep quality and quantity, as well as daytime functioning, while avoiding adverse events and next-morning residual effects.1 Current recommended treatment of insomnia includes sleep hygiene recommendations, cognitive behavioral therapy, and pharmacotherapy.13 About the orexin system Wake and sleep signaling is regulated by intricate neural circuitry in the brain. One key component of this process is the orexin system, which helps promote wakefulness.13,14,15 There are two forms of orexin neuropeptides - small protein-like molecules used by nerve cells (neurons) to communicate with each other in the brain - orexin A and orexin B.14 Orexin promotes wakefulness through its receptors OX1R and OX2R.14 Together, these neuropeptides and receptors make up the orexin system. The orexin system stimulates targeted neurons in the wake system - leading to the release of several chemicals (serotonin, histamine, acetylcholine, norepinephrine) - to promote wakefulness.16 Under normal circumstances, orexin levels rise throughout the day as wakefulness is promoted and then fall at night.17 Overactivity of the wake system is an important driver of insomnia.10,13 About Professor Ingo Fietze Professor Ingo Fietze completed his studies in Biophysics in Moscow and earned his degree in Medicine in Berlin, Germany. In 1990, he founded the first sleep laboratory at the Charite-Universitatsmedizin Berlin and became the Director and Head of the Interdisciplinary Center for Sleep Medicine at the institute in 2005. In 2015, he was appointed to Adjunct Professor. He specializes in pathophysiology, internal medicine, pulmonology, sleep medicine and somnology. Professor Fietze is an active member of numerous societies: the German Sleep Society (DGSM), German Society for Clinical Neurophysiology (DGKN), German Respiratory Society (DGP), German Cardiac Society (DKG), European Respiratory Society (ERS), European Sleep Research Society (ESRS), World Sleep Federation (WSF), American Association of Sleep Medicine (AASM), "Schlafmedizin Berlin Brandenburg e.V.", and member of the (occupational) unions: "Association for Pulmonologists", "Berliner Wirtschaftsgesprache e.V.", and the Koch Metchnikoff Forum (KMF), Director of the German Sleep Foundation. He has authored more than 250 original scientific publications, four text books on healthy and disturbed sleep and contributes to books and congresses. He serves on the editorial board of the journals Somnology, Sleep and Breathing, and Frontiers in Neurology, and has an active role as a reviewer of several scientific journals. His main focus of research is in the methods of diagnosis and therapy of sleep disorders, cardiovascular risks through sleep disorders, medicine and chronobiology. He is a part of several International Research Networks (ESADA, SAGIC, EIN, EURLSSG). Aside from his clinical-scientific commitments, Professor Fietze also advises on sleep medicine and consults within operational health promotion and sport medicine. Professor Fietze serves as a consultant to Idorsia. About Professor Luigi Ferini-Strambi Professor Luigi Ferini-Strambi earned his degree in Medicine at the State University in Milan, Italy. In 1983, he completed a fellowship in the Sleep Disorders Center at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, USA, and earned his Postgraduate Degree in Neurology at the State University in Milan, Italy, in 1984. He is currently a Professor of Neurology at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, the Chair of the Department of Neurology, and Director of Sleep Disorders Center at Scientific Institute H San Raffaele-Turro, Milan. He serves as the Field Editor of "Sleep Medicine" journal, and is a member of the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Neurology and Behavioral Neurology. He has published more than 390 scientific papers in international journals and is currently a reviewer of several journals: Neurology, Sleep, Journal of Sleep Research, Journal of Neurology, Brain, and The Lancet Neurology. Professor Ferini-Strambi is also the Past-President of the Italian Association of Sleep Medicine and a founder member of the International RBD Study Group. Between the years 2015 to 2017, he was also the President of the World Association of Sleep Medicine Society. Professor Ferini-Strambi serves as a consultant to Idorsia. References 1 Mignot E, et al. Lancet Neurol. 2022;21:125-39. 2 Data on file, Idorsia. 3 The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). 4 Colombo, M.A., et al. Front. Physiol. 2016;29(7). 5 Nofzinger EA, et al. Am J Psychiatry. 2004;161(11):2126-2128. 6 Buysse DJ, et al. Drug Discov Today Dis Models. 2011;8(4):129-137. 7 Roch, C., et al. Psychopharmacology. 2021;238(10):2693-2708. 8 Patel, D., et al. J Clin Sleep Med. 2018;14(06):1017-1024. 9 Hudgens S, et al. Patient. 2020. doi:10.1007/s40271-020-00474-z. 10 Levenson JC, et al. Chest. 2015;147(4):1179-1192. 11 Riemann D, et al. Sleep. J Res. 2017;26(6):675-700. 12 Wardle-Pinkston S, et al. Sleep Med Rev. 2019;48. 13 Muehlan, C., et al. Expert Opin. Drug Metab. Toxicol. 2020;16(11):1063-1078. 14 Muehlan, C., et al. J Psychopharmacol. 2020;34(3):326-335. 15 Boof, M. L., et al. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2019;75(2):195-205. 16 Clifford B. Saper, et al. Trends Neurosci. 2001;24(12).726-31. 17 Gotter, A.L., et al. BMC Neuroscience. 2013;14(1):14-19. IDSIQ 2020, University of Pittsburg. All rights reserved. IDSIQ-14 derivative created 2020 by Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd under license and distributed by Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd under license. IDSIQ is further a registered trademark of Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd. About Idorsia Idorsia Ltd is reaching out for more - We have more ideas, we see more opportunities and we want to help more patients. In order to achieve this, we will develop Idorsia into a leading biopharmaceutical company, with a strong scientific core. Headquartered near Basel, Switzerland - a European biotech-hub - Idorsia is specialized in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecules to transform the horizon of therapeutic options. Idorsia has a broad portfolio of innovative drugs in the pipeline, an experienced team of professionals covering all disciplines from bench to bedside, state-of-the-art facilities, and a strong balance sheet - the ideal constellation to translate R&D efforts into business success. Idorsia was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: IDIA) in June 2017 and has over 1,200 highly qualified specialists dedicated to realizing our ambitious targets. For further information, please contact Andrew C. Weiss Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Hegenheimermattweg 91, CH-4123 Allschwil +41 58 844 10 10 investor.relations@idorsia.com - media.relations@idorsia.com - www.idorsia.com The above information contains certain "forward-looking statements", relating to the company's business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "are expected to", "will", "will continue", "should", "would be", "seeks", "pending" or "anticipates" or similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such statements include descriptions of the company's investment and research and development programs and anticipated expenditures in connection therewith, descriptions of new products expected to be introduced by the company and anticipated customer demand for such products and products in the company's existing portfolio. Such statements reflect the current views of the company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Anhang Michael Ohana joins Prodways Group as Chief Executive Officer, replacing Raphael Gorge who has held the position since the departure of the previous CEO. He will bring to Prodways Group his 28 years of experience in digital transformation and the deployment of innovative technologies, particularly in the dental sector. Michael Ohana, 52, began his career at SCHLUMBERGER where he spent 14 years in various management positions both internationally and in France. He then joined IBM, first as Director of the Energy Division and then as a Member of the IBM France Management Committee. Passionate about digital transformation, he then joined the ENGIE group as Deputy CEO of INEO Digital, a pioneer in the implementation of technological solutions for cities and industries. Since 2015, Michael has been Managing Director of LYRA ETK, which he has transformed, in six years, into a major player in the digital transformation of dental practices and prosthesis laboratories in Europe, notably through the deployment of innovative technologies (intraoral scanners, digital implantology chains, CAD/CAM software and 3D printing solutions). Michael Ohana will join Prodways Group on March 1, 2022. He will bring to the company his valuable experience in digital transformation, both within diversified industrial activities and also in the dental field, the most important application sector for 3D printing today and one of Prodways Group's growth drivers. His contribution will enable the group to continue its development as a key player in French industrial innovation. Michael Ohana is a graduate engineer from ISAE-Supmeca Paris (Inter groupe Centrale Paris) and holds various master's degrees, including the Specialized Master in Strategic Management of Information and Technology from Mines Paris Tech and HEC Paris. About Prodways Group Prodways Group is a specialist in industrial and professional 3D printing with a unique positioning as an integrated European player. The Group has developed right across the 3D printing value chain (software, machines, materials, parts & services) with a high value added technological industrial solution. Prodways Group offers a wide range of 3D printing systems and premium composite, hybrid and powder materials (SYSTEMS division). The company also manufactures and markets parts on demand, prototypes and small production run 3D printed items in plastic and metal (PRODUCTS division). Listed on Euronext Paris (FR0012613610 - PWG), the Group reported in 2021 revenue of 71 million. For further information: www.prodways-group.com Contacts INVESTORS CONCTACT Claire Riffaud Investor relations Tel: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 79/ criffaud@actus.fr MEDIA CONTACT Manon Clairet Financial medias relations Tel: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 73 / mclairet@actus.fr Disclaimer Releases from Prodways Group may contain forward-looking declarations with statements of objectives. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations of Prodways Group. Their realization, however, depends on known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or events to differ significantly from those previously anticipated. The risks and uncertainties that might affect the Group's future ability to achieve its targets are reiterated and presented in detail in our Annual financial report on Prodways Group's website (www.prodways-group.com). This list of risks, uncertainties and other factors is not exhaustive. Other unanticipated, unknown or unpredictable factors may also have significant negative effects on the achievement of our objectives. The current release and the information contained therein do not constitute an offer to sell or to subscribe, nor a solicitation for an order to purchase or subscribe to shares in Prodways Group or in any subsidiaries thereof listed in whatsoever country ------------------------ This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ". - SECURITY MASTER Key: x2dsYJhuaJrIlnFrYZaabZJjZ2ZlmJOcmJWdk5ecYpyVb3Bpl2aXl8WdZnBkmGpt - Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com. ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-73357-cp_prodways_nouveau-ceo_en.pdf Curtis Reeves, center, looks back toward his wife, Vivian Reeves, right, while attends closing arguments during his second-degree murder trial on Friday, Feb 25, 2022, at the Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center in Dade City, Fla. Reeves is accused of shooting and killing Chad Oulson and injuring Nicole Oulson at a Wesley Chapel movie theater in January 2014. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP, Pool) (Douglas R. Clifford/AP) A jury on Friday night found a retired police SWAT commander not guilty on second-degree murder and aggravated battery charges for fatally shooting a man at a Tampa-area movie theater in 2014. Earlier in the day, a prosecutor told jurors Friday that retired Tampa police Capt. Curtis Reeves fatally shot a fellow moviegoer because he threw popcorn in his face during an argument over cellphone use, angering him because it violated his self-image as an alpha male. Advertisement Prosecutor Scott Rosenwasser told jurors during closing arguments that before Reeves killed Chad Oulson, no one would have ever believed that one man would murder another over tossed popcorn but we know thats what happened in a suburban movie theater on Jan. 13, 2014, and it wasnt justifiable. He didnt fear anything, Rosenwasser said. Advertisement But defense attorney Richard Escobar countered that the popcorn toss did not cause the shooting. He said that Oulson, 43, made Reeves, then 71, reasonably believe his life was in danger by turning, yelling and reaching toward him. He said Reeves made the decision to shoot based on his nearly 30 years in law enforcement and hours of training on the justifiable use of deadly force. Reeves didnt have to wait until he was hit before defending himself, Escobar said. Reeves had more knowledge, more experience, more study in that area than anyone in this courtroom, Escobar said. Its a dangerous world. Reeves, now 79, would have faced the equivalent of a life sentence given his age had he been convicted. Deliberations began Friday afternoon after jury instructions. No one disputes most of the basic facts. Reeves and Oulson did not know each other. They had gone with their wives to see a matinee showing of the Afghan War movie Lone Survivor, the Reeveses taking seats in the back row, the Oulsons one row in front of them, slightly to the right. As the previews began and despite an announcement to turn off cellphones, Oulson continued texting his 22-month-old daughters day care. Reeves leaned over and told him to stop Reeves says politely, Oulsons widow and others say it sounded like an order. After Oulson bluntly refused, perhaps with profanity, Reeves went to complain to the manager. When Reeves returned, seeing that Oulson had put his phone away, he told Oulson that if he wouldnt have told the manager if he known he would comply. What happened over the next few seconds is where the stories diverge until Oulson grabs Reeves popcorn and flicks it back into Reeves face. Reeves pulls his .380 handgun, lunges forward and fires one shot, killing Oulson and nearly severing the finger of Oulsons wife, Nicole, who had reached out to pull her husband back to his seat. Escobar said the evidence proves their contention that during the disputed seconds that Oulson, before being shot, threw his cellphone at Reeves, striking him in the face, and then appeared ready to climb over the seats and attack, reaching toward him. Breaking News As it happens Be the first to know with email alerts on important breaking stories from the Orlando Sentinel newsroom. > Reeves testified Thursday that in his entire law enforcement career he had never encountered someone so out of control and he feared he was about to be killed. Given his age, arthritis and other physical ailments, Reeves contended he could not have defended himself except by shooting. Advertisement Escobar said that it took less than three-quarters of a second between the popcorn toss and the shot. That is too fast for it to be the reason Reeves fired, he said. Impossible, Escobar said. But Rosenwasser contended Reeves story was a lie. Security video does not show Oulson throwing his cellphone, the prosecutor said, and Reeves had no injury on his face where he says it hit him. But the video does show Oulson grabbing Reeves popcorn bag, tossing it at him and Reeves firing. Witnesses testified they heard Reeves then mutter, throw popcorn at me. He said Reeves story about fearing for his life, that he was a physical fragile egg despite having just come back from a hunting trip and Oulson being out of control are all fabrications. They are aimed, Rosenwasser said, at covering up the fact that Reeves has an alpha male mindset who liked the adrenaline rush of being a police officer and SWAT commander. He killed Oulson in anger after he had his ego hurt by being challenged and having popcorn thrown in his face, Rosenwasser said. He said Reeves never fired his gun as he moved through the robbery/homicide bureau, fugitive apprehension and SWAT, yet somehow this movie theater argument over a cellphone escalated to the point Reeves faced the most out-of-control, scariest person he ever faced and had to shoot. In his entire career that is the most he has ever been scared? Absolutely unreal, Rosenwasser said. LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2022 / Horizonte Minerals Plc, (AIM:HZM), (TSX:HZM) the nickel company focused on Brazil is pleased to announce that, following a competitive tendering process, Hatch Ltd. ("Hatch") has been selected as the furnace supply vendor ("the Furnace Contract") for the Araguaia ferronickel project ("Araguaia" or the "Project"). Hatch is the leading supplier of electric furnaces to the ferronickel industry, with a strong track record in South America, which includes both Anglo American's and Vale's nickel operations in Brazil and South 32's Cerro Matoso operation in Colombia. Hatch will supply Horizonte with a circular electric arc furnace rated at 60 megawatt, a calcine transfer system to feed the furnace with 835,000 tonnes per annum of calcine and additional services to ensure successful installation and commissioning. This is termed "the Furnace Process Island", where linked process equipment is procured from one supplier to reduce interface risks and ensure that the entire furnace process delivers to nameplate capacity. As part of the Furnace Contract, Hatch has also been engaged to provide execution phase preparation services including: Basic engineering of the Furnace Process Island, which has been substantially optimised since the publication of the Project's Feasibility Study. Planning services to ensure that the furnace components can be supplied and delivered to align with the execution schedule. Commissioning, operational readiness and production ramp-up planning services for the complete ferronickel facility from initial ore preparation to final product. In addition to awarding the Furnace Contract, the Company is finalising contracts for Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management, all the other major process equipment, overland power line, earthworks and civil works. Horizonte's procurement strategy is based on four key principles: Flowsheet design based on a conventional process that is well within the operating parameters benchmarked throughout the ferronickel industry. The design has been further validated through extensive test work and continuous pilot testing. Use of leading equipment suppliers and services providers who have a successful track record of delivering ferronickel projects and other major industrial projects in Brazil. Application of the process island concept, where equipment that is linked together in the flow sheet is procured from one leading vendor, to reduce interface risk also enabling whole systems to be optimised. Establishment of an Owner's Team of experienced Brazilian and global projects personnel, supported by an expert advisory panel with decades of ferronickel project design, project delivery and operational experience. Alongside procurement, early works continue on site which include geotechnical drilling, site access upgrades and temporary site facilities. The Project is well positioned to start the main earthworks at the start of the dry season in early Q2 2022. Horizonte CEO, Jeremy Martin commented: ""Completion of the US$633 million project funding package for the construction of Araguaia was the most significant milestone in Horizonte's journey to date. With an experienced team in place in Brazil, it is the start of a very exciting phase for the Company as the two-year build of Araguaia commences. During H2 2021, the team undertook an extensive competitive tendering process across the key equipment packages with tier one vendors that make up the process flow sheet for the development of Araguaia. We are pleased to award the Furnace Contract to Hatch and have them as part of the engineering and delivery team, at Araguaia, bringing their significant experience in delivering large scale, successful ferronickel projects. The knowledge and guidance Hatch has already provided in our execution preparation has been invaluable in terms of ensuring the entire production system is fully integrated and performs to plan. We are bringing together a highly experienced group of partners to operate alongside us as we work to deliver Araguaia safely, on time, on budget and with the ongoing support of our communities. With early works underway we look forward to site ground-breaking and the main earthworks commencing at the beginning of the dry season in early Q2. With the nickel price reaching decade long highs and the clean energy transition dramatically increasing the demand for nickel in both stainless steel and battery markets, there has never been a better time to be bringing a new, low-carbon, scalable nickel project online. There are very few other projects in the near-term global pipeline that match the economic and sustainability credentials of Araguaia. Whilst we are focused on delivering stage one of the Project, our expanding team is also able to progress our expansion plans to double production at Araguaia alongside bringing Vermelho to a construction decision. It is a very exciting time for the business, and we look forward to keeping investors updated as these workstreams progress." This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014, as retained in the UK pursuant to S3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. For further information, visit www.horizonteminerals.com or contact Horizonte Minerals plc Jeremy Martin (CEO) Anna Legge (Corporate Communications) info@horizonteminerals.com +44 (0) 203 356 2901 Peel Hunt (NOMAD & Joint Broker) Ross Allister David McKeown +44 (0)20 7418 8900 BMO (Joint Broker) Thomas Rider Pascal Lussier Duquette Andrew Cameron +44 (0) 20 7236 1010 About Horizonte Minerals: Horizonte Minerals plc (AIM & TSX:HZM) is developing two 100% owned, tier one projects in Para state, Brazil - the Araguaia Nickel Project and the Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt Project. Both projects are large scale, high-grade, low-cost, low-carbon and scalable. Araguaia is fully funded and in construction. The project will produce 29,000 tonnes of nickel per year to supply the stainless steel market. Vermelho is at feasibility study stage and will produce 25,000 tonnes of nickel and 1,250 tonnes of cobalt to supply the EV battery market. Horizonte's combined near-term production profile of over 50,000 tonnes of nickel per year positions the Company as a globally significant nickel producer. Horizonte is developing a new nickel district in Brazil that will benefit from established infrastructure, including hydroelectric power available in the Carajas Mining District. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, the ability of the Company to complete the Acquisition as described herein, statements with respect to the potential of the Company's current or future property mineral projects; the success of exploration and mining activities; cost and timing of future exploration, production and development; the estimation of mineral resources and reserves and the ability of the Company to achieve its goals in respect of growing its mineral resources; the ability of the Company to complete the Placing as described herein, and the realization of mineral resource and reserve estimates. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, and are inherently 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, including but not limited to risks related to: the inability of the Company to complete the Acquisition as described herein, exploration and mining risks, competition from competitors with greater capital; the Company's lack of experience with respect to development-stage mining operations; fluctuations in metal prices; uninsured risks; environmental and other regulatory requirements; exploration, mining and other licences; the Company's future payment obligations; potential disputes with respect to the Company's title to, and the area of, its mining concessions; the Company's dependence on its ability to obtain sufficient financing in the future; the Company's dependence on its relationships with third parties; the Company's joint ventures; the potential of currency fluctuations and political or economic instability in countries in which the Company operates; currency exchange fluctuations; the Company's ability to manage its growth effectively; the trading market for the ordinary shares of the Company; uncertainty with respect to the Company's plans to continue to develop its operations and new projects; the Company's dependence on key personnel; possible conflicts of interest of directors and officers of the Company, the inability of the Company to complete the Placing on the terms as described herein, and various risks associated with the legal and regulatory framework within which the Company operates. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. 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: Horizonte Minerals PLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/690386/Horizonte-Minerals-PLC-Announces-Award-of-Furnace-Contract-to-Hatch-Ltd-For-The-Araguaia-Project TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2022 / Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd. (AIM:ECO)(TSXV:EOG), the oil and gas exploration company with licences in the proven oil provinces of Guyana and Namibia, is pleased to announce its results for the three and nine months ended 31 December 2021, alongside a corporate and operational update. Results Highlights: Financials: Cash and cash equivalents of US$5.8 million and no debt as of 31 December 2021. Total assets of US$19million, current liabilities of US$2 million and total equity of US$17 million as of 31 December 2021. Operations during and post-period end: Guyana The Company purchased an additional 800,000 common shares in JHI Associates Inc. ("JHI") in return for 1,200,000 new common shares in Eco ("Consideration Shares"). The purchase of the 800,000 common shares in JHI completed on 19 January 2022, increasing the total number of shares held by Eco in JHI to 5,800,000 shares representing c.7.35% of JHI. On the Canje Block, Guyana, Eco received a detailed update from JHI Associates Inc. on 30 October 2021 that ExxonMobil had successfully and safely drilled the Sapote-1 well. The well recorded hydrocarbon shows while drilling and in the logging sequence, in a deeper interval than anticipated, but had no shows in the upper primary objective horizon. With sidewall coring and wireline logging complete, ExxonMobil will now work to define the reservoir properties, including porosity and permeability, and the cored samples will be analysed for hydrocarbons. On the Orinduik Block, the JV Partners (Eco Atlantic (15% working interest ("WI")), Tullow Guyana B.V. ("Tullow") (Operator, 60% WI) and TOQAP Guyana B.V. ("TOQAP") (25% WI)) are advancing towards finalisation of the target selection process and updating the drilling targets inventory. The partnership aims to establish firm targets in the near-term and advance towards drilling. Namibia and South Africa On 10 January 2022, Eco announced this signing of a binding Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") to acquire 100% of Azinam Group Limited ("Azinam") (the "Acquisition"), including Azinam's entire offshore asset portfolio, in return for a 16.5% equity stake in Eco (as enlarged by the associated share issuance). Subsequent to this, Eco reported the signing of a definitive Share Purchase Agreement ("SPA") with Azinam on 8 February 2022, which, pending TSX-V approval, is anticipated to lead to the Closing of the transaction imminently. Eco is now planning and preparing the drilling of an exploration well on Block 2B in H2 2022, a highly prospective Block with past oil discovery (AJ-1) in the Orange Basin, offshore South Africa, close to the recent Graff-1 discovery by Shell and Qatar Energy. In October 2021, Eco completed drafting the four new Joint Operating Agreements ("JOAs") for its new 2021 Petroleum Licenses in the Walvis Basin, offshore Namibia. The Company has received all paying partner approvals on the JOAs and Namibia's Ministry of Mines and Energy has approved Eco Atlantic to be the Operator of all four blocks, which total some 7,065,484 acres (28,593 km 2 ). ). The Company continues to monitor and assess opportunities, both technical and corporate, particularly with the recent Shell Namibia's Graff-1 and TotalEnergies Venus-1 discoveries in the Orange Basin. Solear Ltd. On 24 February 2021, Eco was pleased to announce the successful sale of the Kozani project in Greece by Solear Ltd. ("Solear") at 25% margin and for US$2 million to Nepcoe Capital Partners Ltd ("Nepcoe") and the re-payment of this consideration to Eco Atlantic will be received by the end of February 2022. Outlook: Guyana Eco continues to work closely with its JV Partners on the Orinduik Block with regard to carrying out further drilling activity on the licence as soon as practically possible. The Partners will likely look to drill at least one of the light oil cretaceous stacked targets after the target selection process is finalised. Guyana continues to be one of the most prolific exploration regions in the world, with over ten billion barrels of oil discovered in the last six years. Eco are encouraged by recent neighbouring discoveries - ExxonMobil operated Stabroek block Fangtooth-1 discovery in deeper intervals and Santonian sands similar to the shows seen in Sapote-1 well Canje block and by CGX Energy operated Corentyne block, confirming a discovery at the Kawa-1 wildcat, a shelf discovery which is on trend geologically with the Orinduik block. Namibia and South Africa The Company's licences in Namibia cover approximately 28,593 km 2 , with over 2.362 BBOE of prospective P50 resources. , with over 2.362 BBOE of prospective P50 resources. With the addition of Azinam's offshore portfolio, Eco has expanded upon its strategically significant acreage position in-country and is progressing its various work programmes across its Namibian licences. With the recently announced discoveries at the Graff-1 and Venus-1 the Company continues to witness considerable interest in Namibia from multiple international oil companies. Eco is now planning and preparing the drilling of an exploration well on Block 2B in H2 2022, subject to available funding, a highly prospective Block with past oil discovery (AJ-1) in the Orange Basin, rig contract execution expected in the next month along with commencing orders of long lead items. Once the Azinam deal has closed, Eco will become the official operator of the Block. Corporate: Eco continues to evaluate additional asset and corporate opportunities in and around its current areas of operation, with an overarching aim of building Eco into an exploration business of material scale. Eco also maintains a strict control over costs throughout the business, which continues to generate material savings, ensuring that Eco remains well capitalised with a strong balance sheet. Gil Holzman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented: "I am excited about the positive and busy start to the year we have made. We announced a transformational deal with the purchase of Azinam's offshore acreage, which will add to our highly strategic acreage position in Namibia and allow us entry into Orange Basin, South Africa. Two important large discoveries offshore Namibia has already been announced this year on trend with our new Orange basin blocks, and our team is working hard on the upcoming drilling campaign on Block 2B in H2 2022 and furthering their technical understanding on Block 3B4B which is geologically on same pathway with Graff-1 and Venus-1. "We also increased our interest in JHI, via an additional share swap, reinforcing our view that Guyana remains one of the most attractive hydrocarbon provinces in the world. We look forward to announcing our future drilling plans in due course, as we work with our JV Partners on finalising the target selection and drilling plans. "We were also pleased to play a role in the sale of Solear's Kozani project in Greece for c.US$2 million, which generated a 25% return for Eco shareholders and will now be returned to Eco's treasury. "Eco continues to assess both asset and corporate opportunities, as well as a number of meaningful catalysts that have the potential to deliver value for all stakeholders, and we look forward to updating the market further in due course." The Company's unaudited financial results for the three and nine months ended 31 December 2021, together with Management's Discussion and Analysis, are available to download on the Company's website at www.ecooilandgas.com and on Sedar at www.sedar.com. The following are the Company's Balance Sheet, Income Statements, Cash Flow Statement, and selected notes from the annual Financial Statements. All amounts are in US Dollars, unless otherwise stated. Balance Sheet December 31, March 31, 2021 2021 Unaudited Audited Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 5,234,103 11,807,309 Short-term investments 52,618 1,552,640 Government receivable 10,253 22,697 Amounts owing by license partners, net 394,839 193,655 Accounts receivable and prepaid expenses 106,261 46,480 5,798,074 13,622,781 Investment in associate 10,000,000 - Petroleum and natural gas licenses 1,072,260 1,072,260 Renewable energy licenses 1,364,841 1,411,186 Right of use assets 321,653 332,495 Security deposit 471,380 490,455 Total Assets 19,028,208 16,929,177 Liabilities Current liabilities Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 646,719 501,022 Advances from and amounts owing to license partners, net - 97,153 Short-term portion of lease liability 22,987 22,987 Total current liabilities 669,706 621,162 Warrant liability 1,047,512 - Lease liability 334,452 325,917 Total liabilities 2,051,670 947,079 Equity Share capital 61,070,124 59,099,725 Restricted Share Units reserve 267,669 267,669 Stock options 2,663,057 2,675,724 Foreign currency translation reserve (1,171,172 ) (1,198,097 ) Non-controlling interest - (48,674 ) Accumulated deficit (45,853,140 ) (44,814,249 ) Total Equity 16,976,538 15,982,098 Total Liabilities and Equity 19,028,208 16,929,177 Income Statement Three months ended Nine months ended December 31, December 31, 2021 2020 2021 2020 Unaudited Unaudited Revenue Interest income - 6,123 8,435 41,779 - 6,123 8,435 41,779 Operating expenses: Compensation costs 128,724 173,373 712,991 486,999 Professional fees 91,355 80,280 514,378 200,694 Operating costs 660,170 255,477 1,139,962 1,105,892 General and administrative costs 121,569 138,472 430,926 367,742 Share-based compensation 2,373 33,457 14,083 88,277 Interest expense 8,828 - 19,341 - Foreign exchange gain (loss) (12,235 ) (32,561 ) 40,987 (68,826 ) Total operating expenses 1,000,784 648,498 2,872,668 2,180,778 Fair value change in warrant liability (1,236,827 ) - (1,874,016 ) - Net profit (loss) for the period 236,043 (642,375 ) (990,217 ) (2,138,999 ) Foreign currency translation adjustment 35,160 - 26,925 (87,942 ) Comprehensive profir (loss) for the period 271,203 (642,375 ) (963,292 ) (2,226,941 ) Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to equity holders of the parent 0.00 (0.00 ) (0.01 ) (0.01 ) Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share 199,893,636 184,697,723 194,041,560 184,697,723 Cash Flow Statement Nine months ended December 31, 2021 2020 Unaudited Cash flow from operating activities Net loss from operations (990,217 ) (2,138,999 ) Items not affecting cash: Share-based compensation 14,083 88,277 Depreciation and amortization 57,187 - Accrued interest 8,535 - Revaluation of warrant liability (1,874,016 ) - Changes in non-cash working capital: Government receivable 12,444 (20,007 ) Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 145,697 (130,818 ) Accounts receivable and prepaid expenses (59,781 ) (26,726 ) Advance from and amounts owing to license partners (298,337 ) (135,313 ) (2,984,405 ) (2,363,586 ) Cash flow from investing activities Investment in associate (10,000,000 ) - Short-term investments 1,500,022 - (8,499,978 ) - Cash flow from financing activities Issuance of shares 4,793,789 - Exercise of stock options 71,388 - 4,865,177 - Decrease in cash and cash equivalents (6,619,206 ) (2,363,586 ) Foreign exchange differences 46,000 46,660 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 11,807,309 18,667,016 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period 5,234,103 16,350,090 Notes to the Financial Statements Basis of Preparation The consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a historical cost basis with the exception of certain financial instruments that are measured at fair value. Historical cost is generally based on the fair value of the consideration given in exchange for assets. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Critical accounting estimates Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognized prospectively from the period in which the estimates are revised. The following are the key estimate and assumption uncertainties considered by management. **ENDS** For more information, please visit www.ecooilandgas.com or contact the following: Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas c/o Celicourt +44 (0) 20 8434 2754 Gil Holzman, CEO Colin Kinley, COO Alice Carroll, Head of Marketing and IR +44(0)781 729 5070 | +1 (416) 318 8272 Strand Hanson Limited (Financial & Nominated Adviser) +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 James Harris Rory Murphy James Bellman Berenberg (Broker) +44 (0) 20 3207 7800 Emily Morris Detlir Elezi Celicourt (PR) +44 (0) 20 8434 2754 Mark Antelme Jimmy Lea Hannam & Partners (Research Advisor) Neil Passmore +44 (0) 20 7905 8500 The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended. About Eco Atlantic: Eco Atlantic is a TSX-V and AIM quoted Atlantic margin focused Oil & Gas Exploration Company with offshore license interests in Guyana, Namibia, and South Africa. Eco aims to deliver material value for its stakeholders through its role in the energy transition to explore for low carbon consuming oil and gas in stable emerging markets near to infrastructure. Offshore Guyana in the proven Suriname-Guyana Basin, the Company holds a 15% Working Interest in the 1,800 km2 Orinduik Block Operated by Tullow Oil, and also indirectly through a 6.4% shareholding in JHI Associates Inc. a private company which holds a 17.5% WI in the 4,800km2 Canje Block Operated by ExxonMobil. In Namibia, the Company holds Operatorship and 85% Working Interests in four offshore Petroleum Licences: PEL's: 97, 98, 99 and 100 totalling 28,593 km2 in the Walvis Basin. Offshore South Africa, Eco holds Operatorship and 50% WI of Block 2B, and 20% Working Interest of Blocks 3B/4B and Nearshore 3B/4B, totalling some 21,603 km2. Eco Atlantic is also a 100% shareholder in Solear Ltd., Solear is an independent private clean energy investment company focused on low cost, high yield solar development projects in southern Europe. 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: Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/690393/Eco-Atlantic-Oil-and-Gas-Ltd-Announces-Unaudited-Results-and-Corporate-Update STOCKHOLM, Sweden., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- October-December Net sales for the quarter increased by 0.5% to EUR 41.9 (41.7) million. Organically, net sales increased by 1.2% (41.7) million. Organically, net sales increased by 1.2% During the quarter the contract portfolio value increased by net EUR 10.2 million . Two contracts were won, four contracts were renewed, and no contract was exited or lost. Portfolio run rate annualized net sales at the end of the quarter was EUR 172.8 million , compared to EUR 162.6 million during the third quarter of 2021. . Two contracts were won, four contracts were renewed, and no contract was exited or lost. Portfolio run rate annualized net sales at the end of the quarter was , compared to during the third quarter of 2021. Operating loss amounted to EUR -1.6 million , compared to a loss of EUR -1.5 million prior year. , compared to a loss of prior year. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to EUR 0.7 million compared to EUR 1.1 million prior year, excluding the effect of implementation of IFRS 16 Leases. In constant currencies, Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was EUR 0.7 (1.1) million. Adjusted EBITDA with IFRS 16 implementation was EUR 1.3 (1.8) million compared to prior year, excluding the effect of implementation of IFRS 16 Leases. In constant currencies, Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was (1.1) million. Adjusted EBITDA with IFRS 16 implementation was (1.8) million Cash flow from operating activities amounted to EUR 2.4 (0.4) million, of which change in working capital amounted to EUR 3.1 (0.7) million (0.4) million, of which change in working capital amounted to (0.7) million Net loss for the continuing business amounted to EUR -5.6 million compared to a loss of EUR -2.4 million prior year compared to a loss of prior year The Adjusted EBITDA for Discontinued operations was EUR 0.2 (0.2) million and the net profit was EUR 0.2 (1.1) million, which is not included in the reported numbers above. (0.2) million and the net profit was (1.1) million, which is not included in the reported numbers above. Group net loss for the quarter, including discontinued operations, was EUR -5.5 (-1.4) million January-December Net sales for the period amounted to EUR 164.4 (163.5) million, an increase compared to prior year. Organically, net sales were flat. (163.5) million, an increase compared to prior year. Organically, net sales were flat. Operating loss amounted to EUR -2.8 million , compared to a loss of EUR -3.7 million prior year. , compared to a loss of prior year. Adjusted EBITDA increased to EUR 7.2 million from EUR 7.0 million prior year, excluding the effect of implementation of IFRS 16 Leases. In constant currencies, Adjusted EBITDA would have been EUR 7.3 (7.0) million. Adjusted EBITDA with IFRS 16 implementation was EUR 9.8 (10.5) million from prior year, excluding the effect of implementation of IFRS 16 Leases. In constant currencies, Adjusted EBITDA would have been (7.0) million. Adjusted EBITDA with IFRS 16 implementation was (10.5) million Cash flow from operating activities amounted to EUR -1.8 (7.7) million, of which change in working capital amounted to EUR -3.1 (3.2) million (7.7) million, of which change in working capital amounted to (3.2) million Net loss for the continuing business amounted to EUR -15.5 million compared to a loss of EUR -18.1 million prior year compared to a loss of EUR -18.1 million prior year The Adjusted EBITDA for Discontinued operations was EUR -0.9 (-0.8) million and the net loss was EUR -7.4 (-0.3) million, which is not included in the reported numbers above (-0.8) million and the net loss was (-0.3) million, which is not included in the reported numbers above Group net loss for the period, including discontinued operations, was EUR -22.9 (-18.4) million Events during the quarter On 8 February 2022 it was announced that Quant had signed a renewal of an existing Total Maintenance Partnership with Metsa Wood, into an evergreen contract which cover industrial maintenance on five production sites in Finland and Estonia. The agreement renewal contains scope changes beneficial to both parties, which increase Quant's contract portfolio by EUR 2 million in the first quarter of 2022. Telephone conference A telephone conference where management comment on the report is held at 10:00 CET on February 25th, 2022. Details for participation by telephone are found ahead of the call on www.quantservice.com/investor Stockholm, 25 February 2022 Quant AB (publ) For further information, please contact: Tomas Ronn, CEO: +46 720 92 11 20 Andre Stromgren, CFO: +46 708 410 796 E-mail: ir@quantservice.com Quant AB (publ) is a global leader in industrial maintenance. For over 30 years, we have been realizing the full potential of maintenance for our customers. From embedding superior safety practices and building a true maintenance culture, to optimizing maintenance cost and improving plant performance, our people make the difference. We are passionate about maintenance and proud of ensuring we achieve our customers' goals in the most professional way. The group operates internationally in close to 20 countries world-wide, employing 2,500 people. The parent company is located in Stockholm, Sweden. Quant AB (publ) is privately held by Nordic Capital since 2014. For additional information about the group, please visit www.quantservice.com. This information is information that Quant is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 CET on 25 February 2022. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/quant-ab/r/interim-report-october---december-2021,c3513529 The following files are available for download: LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Jupiter Fund Management plc (JUP.L) said 2021 was another challenging year for Jupiter despite some significant progress on strategic objectives. The Group said it is disappointed to see net outflows of 3.8 billion pounds. AUM increased by 3% through 2021, ending the year at 60.5 billion pounds. For the year ended 31 December 2021, statutory profit before tax increased to 183.7 million pounds from 132.6 million pounds, prior year. Earnings per share was 26.9 pence compared to 20.8 pence. Underlying profit before tax increased to 216.7 million pounds from 179.0 million pounds, last year. Underlying EPS increased 10% to 31.7 pence per share. Net revenue was 568.6 million pounds compared to 457.8 million pounds, last year. Net management fees were 453.7 million pounds compared to 384.0 million pounds. The Board has announced an unchanged final dividend of 9.2 pence per share, bringing our total dividend for the year to 17.1 pence per share. 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. Naima Charlier and Dr Kate Errickerspeaking on female leadership in education LONDON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading premium international schools organisation Nord Anglia Education announced its participation at this year's World Education Summit. At this year's event, Naima Charlier, Director of Teaching and Learning at Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong, and Dr Kate Erricker, Assistant Director of Curriculum, will be hosting a session titled "The Strengths of Female Leaders". Their 45-minute session will explore new models of female leadership and is scheduled for Wednesday 23rd March at 12pm GMT including a live Q&A with the audience. Naima and Kate will discuss: Challenges and opportunities faced by female leaders Exploring inclusive models of leadership Practical strategies to develop more inclusive leadership Naima Charlier, Director of Teaching and Learning at Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong, said: "I've been passionate about empowering women leaders and changing mindsets throughout my entire career. Our role as educators is to start this change by teaching students about equality, diversity and inclusion and by challenging entrenched views about leadership. It's a privilege to be part of the conversation alongside so many colleagues at the World Education Summit." Dr Kate Erricker, Assistant Director of Curriculum, said: "Education is an area currently experiencing significant change with the integration of technology influencing how we teach, learn and lead; however, social norms often progress at a slower pace. This workshop is a great opportunity to join a wider dialogue about gender equality and female leadership in education." Nord Anglia Education is committed to driving sustainable change in its schools for leaders, colleagues and most importantly students. Curriculum initiatives and programmes create opportunities for students to build agency and role model inclusion by working with their peers through Global Campus, Nord Anglia's digital learning platform for students. Nord Anglia's global collaboration with UNICEF is at the heart of schools' programmes, challenging students to tackle inequality and promote diversity and inclusion throughout their young and adult lives. The World Education Summit's theme is "Building a Legacy of Learning" and will run from 21-24 March. The event unites thousands of educators from across the world, with 50,000+ registrants from 87+ countries, and 400+ speakers to choose from. Register here to secure your place. Tickets are available for individuals, schools, or groups. For enquiries David Bates Communications Manager david.bates@nordanglia.com +44 7787 135223 About Nord Anglia Education As a leading premium international schools organisation, we're shaping a generation of creative and resilient global citizens who graduate from our schools with everything they need for success, whatever they choose to be or do in life. Our strong academic foundations combine world-class teaching and curricula with cutting-edge technology and facilities, creating learning experiences like no other. Inside and outside of the classroom, we inspire our students to achieve more than they ever thought possible. No two children learn the same way, which is why our 76 schools in 31 countries around the world personalise learning to what works best for every student. Inspired by our high-quality teachers, our students achieve outstanding academic results and go on to study at the world's top universities. To learn more or apply for a place for your child, go to nordangliaeducation.com. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1503193/Nord_Anglia_Education_Logo.jpg CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian and NZ dollars advanced against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday, amid rising risk appetite as investors digested the latest set of sanctions on Russia by the U.S. and the European Union for its invasion of Ukraine. Although U.S. President Joe Biden imposed harsh sanctions against Russia, he did not target oil exports or banned it from the SWIFT international payments system. Biden expressed unwillingness to deploy troops to fight Russian forces in Ukraine, to help avoid a conflict between the U.S. and Russia. Risk sentiment improved after China injected liquidity into the banking system to maintain stability. The PBOC pumped a net 290 billion yuan through seven-day reverse repurchase agreements to keep liquidity stable towards the end of the month. The aussie edged up to 0.7204 against the greenback and 83.01 against the yen, following its prior lows of 0.7139 and 82.43, respectively. The aussie is poised to find resistance around 0.74 against the greenback and 85.00 against the yen. Reversing from its early lows of 1.0675 against the kiwi and 0.9147 against the loonie, the aussie moved up to 1.0724 and 0.9212, respectively. Next key resistance for the aussie is seen around 1.09 against the kiwi and 0.94 against the loonie. The aussie firmed to 1.5553 against the euro, its strongest level since November 25, 2021. If the aussie rises further, it may find resistance around the 1.53 level. The kiwi climbed to 0.6723 against the greenback and 1.6676 against the euro, rising from its previous lows of 0.6684 and 1.6751, respectively. The kiwi is seen finding resistance around 0.69 against the greenback and 1.64 against the euro. The kiwi rebounded to 77.51 against the yen, from a low of 77.10 seen earlier in the session. The kiwi is likely to challenge resistance around the 80 level. Looking ahead, Eurozone economic confidence index for February is due in the European session. University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for February, U.S. durable goods orders, pending home sales and personal income and spending data, all for January, will be out in the New York session. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de 25 February 2022 PHSC PLC ("PHSC" or the "Company") Transaction in Own Shares PHSC (AIM: PHSC), a leading provider of health, safety, hygiene and environmental consultancy services and security solutions to the public and private sectors, announces that it has today made the following purchases of ordinary shares of 10p each ("Ordinary Shares") pursuant to its share buyback programme announced on 21 January 2022 (the "Buyback Programme"): Date of purchases: 24 February 2022 Number of Ordinary Shares purchased (the "Buyback Shares"): 291,542 Highest price paid per Ordinary Share: 24.75p Lowest price paid per Ordinary Share: 24.00p Volume weighted average price: 24.23p The Company will hold the Buyback Shares in treasury. Following the repurchase of the Buyback Shares set out above, the Company's issued share capital consists of 12,465,441 Ordinary Shares (excluding treasury shares), and the Company will hold 2,211,816 Ordinary Shares in treasury with no voting rights attached. Therefore, the total voting rights in the Company will be 12,465,441. This figure for the total number of voting rights may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. Directors' Dealings and Concert Party Holding As announced on 21 January 2022, the Board notes that certain of the Company's directors, namely Stephen King (Chairman and CEO) and Nicola Coote (Deputy Chairman and Deputy CEO) (the "Concert Party Directors"), co-founders and longstanding executive directors of the Company, are deemed, along with their respective spouses and close relatives, to be members of a concert party in respect of the Company as defined in the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "City Code") (the "Concert Party"). Accordingly, the Concert Party Directors agreed, prior to any share purchases occurring pursuant to the Buyback Programme, to enter into irrevocable undertakings in respect of the Buyback Programme (the "Irrevocables"). Pursuant to the terms of the Irrevocables, the Concert Party Directors have irrevocably and unconditionally agreed to sell (in the case of Stephen King, via his SIPP provider, the entity which holds the majority of his interest in the Ordinary Shares) to the Company such number of Ordinary Shares as is required to ensure that the existing aggregate percentage holding of the Concert Party does not increase at any time as a result of the implementation of the Buyback Programme. Pursuant to the Irrevocables, the Buyback Shares above therefore include Ordinary Shares acquired by the Company from Stephen King and Nicola Coote, as detailed below along with their resulting interests: Shareholder(s) Ordinary Shares sold to the Company on 16 February 2022 Resulting holding of Ordinary Shares (including spouse's holding) Resulting percentage interest in the Ordinary Shares (including spouse's holding) Stephen King 64,398 2,698,450 21.65 Nicola Coote 62,144 2,662,076 21.36 Other Concert Party members - 50,000 0.40 Concert Party 5,410,526 43.40 The Company will make further announcements in due course following the completion of any further purchases pursuant to the Buyback Programme. For further information please contact: PHSC plc Stephen King Tel: 01622 717 700 Stephen.king@phsc.co.uk www.phsc.plc.uk Strand Hanson Limited(Nominated Adviser) Tel: 020 7409 3494 James Bellman / Matthew Chandler Novum Securities Limited (Broker) Tel: 020 7399 9427 Colin Rowbury About PHSC PHSC, through its trading subsidiaries, Personnel Health & Safety Consultants Ltd, RSA Environmental Health Ltd, QCS International Ltd, Inspection Services (UK) Ltd and Quality Leisure Management Ltd, provides a range of health, safety, hygiene, environmental and quality systems consultancy and training services to organisations across the UK. In addition, B2BSG Solutions Ltd offers innovative security solutions including tagging, labelling and CCTV. PDMR Forms: 1. Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated a) Name: Stephen King 2. Reason for the notification a) Position/status: Director b) Initial notification/Amendment: Initial notification 3. Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor a) Name: PHSC plc b) LEI: 213800H1B3AR1XRE2674 4. Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted a) b) Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument: Identification code: Ordinary shares of 10p each GB0033113456 Nature of the transaction: Sale of ordinary shares to Company pursuant to Buyback Programme c) Price(s) and volume(s): Price(s) Volume(s) 24.16p 64,398 d) Aggregated information: n/a (single transaction) e) Date of the transaction: 24 February 2022 f) Place of the transaction: Outside a trading venue 1. Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities/person closely associated a) Name: Nicola Coote 2. Reason for the notification a) Position/status: Director b) Initial notification/Amendment: Initial notification 3. Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor a) Name: PHSC plc b) LEI: 213800H1B3AR1XRE2674 4. Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted a) b) Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument: Identification code: Ordinary shares of 10p each GB0033113456 Nature of the transaction: Sale of ordinary shares to Company pursuant to Buyback Programme c) Price(s) and volume(s): Price(s) Volume(s) 24.16p 62,144 d) Aggregated information: n/a (single transaction) e) Date of the transaction: 24 February 2022 f) Place of the transaction: Outside a trading venue The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended). 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. HIROSHIMA, Japan, Feb 25, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Mazda Motor Corporation's production and sales results for January 2022 are summarized below.I. Production1. Domestic ProductionMazda's domestic production volume in January 2022 decreased 2.0% year on year due to decreased production of passenger vehicles.[Domestic production of key models in January 2022]CX-5: 33,636 units (up 22.8% year on year)MAZDA3: 9,867 units (down 13.3%)CX-30: 5,997 units (down 20.6%)2. Overseas ProductionMazda's overseas production volume in January 2022 decreased 13.6% year on year due to decreased production of passenger and commercial vehicles.[Overseas production of key models in January 2022]CX-30: 13,449 units (up 11.6% year on year)MAZDA3: 13,332 units (up 39.9%)MAZDA2: 4,080 units (down 13.3%)II. Domestic SalesMazda's domestic sales volume in January 2022 decreased 16.5% year on year due to decreased sales of passenger and commercial vehicles.Mazda's registered vehicle market share was 5.1% (down 0.1 points year on year), with a 2.0% share of the micro-mini segment (down 0.1 points) and a 3.9% total market share (down 0.1 points).[Domestic sales of key models in January 2022]CX-5: 2,233 units (up 9.7% year on year)MAZDA2: 1,822 units (down 6.6%)CX-30: 1,724 units (down 33.1%)III. ExportsMazda's export volume in January 2022 decreased 11.8% year on year due to decreased shipment to Europe and other regions.[Exports of key models in January 2022]CX-5: 25,793 units (up 15.9% year on year)MAZDA3: 6,227 units (down 51.5%)CX-9: 4,736 units (down 7.3%)IV. Global SalesMazda's global sales volume in January 2022 decreased 7.7% year on year due to decreased sales in Japan, the U.S., China and other regions.[Global sales of key models in January 2022]CX-5: 32,580 units (up 2.5% year on year)MAZDA3: 23,174 units (up 3.3%)CX-30: 13,475 units (down 18.4%)For more information, visit https://newsroom.mazda.com/en/.Source: MazdaCopyright 2022 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Annual results Credit Mutuel Arkea posts record performances and accelerates growth in the interests of its members, customers and regions Brest, 25 February 2022 - The Board of Directors of Credit Mutuel Arkea approved the financial statements for 2021. The record performances achieved reflect the Group's solid financial structure and the power of a model that helps drive economic growth and employment in the regions. The model has always been based on distinctive strengths, including a regional footprint, innovation culture and a focus on people, which have proved especially important in the economic and social environment of the last two years. In 2021, Credit Mutuel Arkea began to roll out its Transitions 2024 strategic plan. The plan lays out the Group's ambition to be the go-to agile financial partner for the transitions of the future. An example of this ambition in practice is last October's announcement of the launch of a unique methodology in the French banking sector for calculating overall performance, combining financial and non-financial indicators. This overall performance approach serves the Group's wider ambition to become a positive impact bank whose profits benefit all its stakeholders. 2021 2021/2020 2021/2019 Revenues (Net banking and insurance income including gains and losses on disposal or dilution of companies accounted for by the equity method.) 2,531 M + 17.3% + 9.9% Net income Group share 574 M + 61% + 12.3% Gross outstanding loans 73.8 bn + 9,0% + 17.3% Total outstanding savings 155 bn + 12.6% + 24% Common Equity Tier 1 ratio 17% Share of ESG outstanding (Federal Finance and Suravenir) 93% An original and diversified model serving the regions and employment In accordance with its unique model of a cooperative, solidarity bank, Credit Mutuel Arkea continued to grow strongly in all its business lines, taking advantage of its distinctive strengths: innovation culture, the agility of a mid-sized bank, original positioning in the BtoB segment and local presence. The Group's results reflect its footprint in the real economy of the regions, driven mainly by the Credit Mutuel de Bretagne and Credit Mutuel du Sud-Ouest federations, its closeness to its members and customers, and its private equity business, which positions the Group as a leading supporter of regional SMEs and ETIs (mid-cap companies). The dynamism of this business opens up new ways for Credit Mutuel Arkea to nourish the economic fabric and support entrepreneurs. The acceleration of growth is all the more noteworthy given that Credit Mutuel Arkea abandoned market trading for its own account in 2008. In 2021, Credit Mutuel Arkea also sustained an energetic recruitment policy, going against the underlying trend in the French banking sector. 1,000 employees were hired on permanent contracts during the year, the same number as in 2020. Credit Mutuel Arkea now has more than 11,000 employees, up 20% since the end of 2015 despite the absence of material acquisitions1. The Group continued its efforts to promote inclusion and diversity, values to which it is deeply committed. All employees are now trained in inclusion and the Group continues to increase the proportion of women in management. Accelerating transformation as the Transitions 2024 plan begins to take shape In October 2021, the Group launched an unparalleled initiative in the French banking sector by designing a pioneering system for measuring financial and non-financial performance. Once this ambitious methodology is rolled out across all Group business lines, Credit Mutuel Arkea will be able to align its interests with those of its stakeholders and measure the environmental and social impact of its business. This ground-breaking support and management tool will make it possible to measure gains achieved, set a precise pathway for progress and define practical action plans for the Group and its stakeholders. Eventually, the new overall performance approach will have a profound and lasting impact on how the Group's results are read. Greater sharing of value created Largely thanks to the work of the directors and employees of the Credit Mutuel de Bretagne et du Sud-Ouest federations, Credit Mutuel Arkea remained fully engaged with its members and customers hardest hit by the Covid crisis. Having been the first French bank to permanently get rid of banking incident costs for vulnerable customers in 2019, the Group renewed its special funding package for solidarity projects in 2021. The resulting funds have benefited 6,600 individuals, professionals and associations (through direct grants, micro-loans or helping meet loan repayments), and supported more than 1,800 local jobs. Since 2020, Credit Mutuel Arkea and its federations have allocated more than 8.5 million to these schemes. On the strength of 2021 net financial income and in keeping with its values as expressed in the Group's ambition to obtain the status of "entreprise a mission" (company with a mission), Credit Mutuel Arkea aims to share more of the value it creates with its members and customers. The Boards of Directors of Credit Mutuel Arkea and the CMB and CMSO federations have therefore resolved to set up a new community solidarity scheme in 2022 to help their loyal members facing serious life events (accidents, problems getting loans, uninsured losses). Adding together the cost of this scheme, the existing solidarity schemes mentioned above (funding for which was increased by 10% in 2022) and the waiver of banking incident costs, total solidarity funding for vulnerable members is more than 12 million annually and more than 45 million over the full term of the Transitions 2024 plan. All these schemes are managed and run jointly by directors and employees of the 294 local savings banks, who best understand the needs of their regions. Credit Mutuel Arkea also wishes to recognise the individual and collective engagement of all its employees. For 2021, the group will redistribute the fruits of the company's performance through profit-sharing and incentive schemes to the tune of 104 million, up 34% on the previous year. 1Around 7,000 in Brittany, 1,000 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the remainder in the other regions. Continuous adaptation of the investment strategy, particularly in fintechs Credit Mutuel Arkea acts as a precursor and consultant to the fintech ecosystem, where it has been a key partner for more than a decade. The Group was quick to spot the fintechs as allies who could improve customer experience in a fast-changing environment. Credit Mutuel Arkea is investing in order to generate industrial synergies, trial new usages and better meet the needs of its customers. The bank has already achieved strong positions in direct banking and online distribution of financial products, payments, open banking and the development of financial service platforms, and has a strategy to build market share in all these areas. Its pioneer status means the Group now has greater maturity than most French banks in this market. Aware of this, the collaborative bank is embarking on a new phase, maintaining its role as a responsible and engaged shareholder while raising its standards even higher. Specifically, this means Credit Mutuel Arkea will stay actively involved in running its investment portfolio, making case-by-case decisions to efficiently support fintechs in their development projects, either alone or with the backing of partners providing added leverage, in keeping with Group strategy. 2021 results Sustained commercial activity reinforcing solid fundamentals The Group's activity indicators are excellent, showing the bank is on a sustained path of long-term growth. The customer portfolio expanded by 4% representing 200,000 new individual and professional customers (net adds), which means that Credit Mutuel Arkea has passed the 5 million members and customers mark. Key growth drivers were retail banking (particularly online banks Fortuneo and Keytrade and the Credit Mutuel de Bretagne and Credit Mutuel du Sud-Ouest networks), insurance and CFCAL, the subsidiary specialising in credit consolidation. This testifies to the high quality of the commercial relationships and the product and service offering, key factors in customer and member satisfaction, to which Credit Mutuel Arkea pays particular attention and to which one of the emblematic initiatives of the strategic plan is dedicated. The group intends to extend and generalise the implementation of common indicators to improve the group's customer satisfaction and develop the customer culture of its employees. The Credit Mutuel de Bretagne and Credit Mutuel du Sud-Ouest federations have already posted very good NPS (Net Promoter Score) figures for 2021, ranging from +47 to +57 for individuals and professionals. The online bank Fortuneo, for its part, is regularly hailed as the benchmark institution for the quality of its products and its customer relations (1st place in the Pricebank ranking of the best banks and best online banks for 2022). Gross outstanding loans stood at 73.8 billion (up +9%). Loan production was 17.5 billion, up 7.5% compared to 2020. Excluding government guaranteed loans, production was up 19.1% across all loan categories. Over the last six years, the Group's outstanding loans have grown by 65%, outperforming the wider French market (35%). Total outstanding savings also rose by 12.6% to a new record of 155 billion, including net inflows of 9.6 billion (up 21.5%), largely driven by financial savings products and insurance. Suravenir accelerated its development: life insurance net inflows amounted to 1.6 billion, 7% of total market net inflows in 2021. 38% of savings outstanding are now invested in unit-linked contracts (up 4 percentage points versus 2020), reflecting the Group's efforts over many years to diversify savings products. In property and personal insurance, premiums earned in the portfolio rose 3.4% to 455 million, including a 9.6% increase in new business premiums to 58 million. External networks now generate 55% of new business premiums and 34% of earned premiums in the portfolio (up 2 percentage points). Record results vindicate the merits of the strategy and model Group revenues2 reached an all-time high of 2.5 billion. Revenues were up 17.3% versus 2020 and 9.9% versus 2019, when the Group posted an exceptional capital gain of 194 million. Growth reflects the excellent commercial trend across all Credit Mutuel Arkea business lines and the success of its strategy of diversifying sources of revenue2. Net interest margin widened as financing conditions improved. Fee and commission income grew, driven by the contribution of lending and asset management. Net income from insurance activities was helped by the growth of life insurance outstandings and the performance of financial markets. Other operating income was up strongly, driven by the appreciation of private equity investments, which rose sharply in 2021 reflecting the economic recovery and the quality of the Arkea Capital portfolio (1.2 billion under management invested in SMEs and ETIs). 23% of Group revenues2, 589 million, came from the Insurance and Asset Management Division. The BtoB and Specialised Services Division contributed 16% of revenues2 or 409 million. The successful migration of Axa Banque France and the IT partnership established in 2021 with MMB (which took over HSBC France) are major successes for our white-label banking model. The Group is thus reaping the rewards of its bold choices and strategy of diversifying sources of revenue2. Operating expenses up 14% versus 2021 On a like-for-like basis adjusted for non-recurring items, this increase falls to 9.9%: growth in headcount, payroll and investment was mitigated by tight cost control. Gross operating income rose 25% compared to 2020. The cost/income ratio narrowed 2 percentage points to 67.3%. Cost of risk fell 27.7% versus 2020 to 116 million, a return to pre-crisis levels of 16 basis points (as a proportion of outstanding customer commitments). This owed much to the government's Covid-19 support measures, which dramatically cut the number of company defaults, as well as the sound quality of the loan book and still very limited exposure to sectors seen as vulnerable to Covid impacts (less than 2%). Net income Group share was a record 574 million, up 61% versus 2020 when net income was boosted by non-recurring items. It is also a 12.3% increase on 2019 net income Group share, the previous record year. This excellent performance was driven by the appreciation of private equity investments and growth across all Group business lines. Robust financial structure with high solvency ratios Total balance sheet assets rose 5.8% versus 31 December 2020 to 179.3 billion, with a gross loan-to-deposit ratio of 98.7%. Group shareholders' equity increased 8.8% to 8.4 billion. This includes 2.5 billion in member shares, up 7.2% versus 31 December 2020, showing the confidence that members have in their local savings banks and in Credit Mutuel Arkea. The Common Equity Tier One (CET1) solvency ratio at 17%, up since 31 December 2020, and the overall solvency ratio at 21.1% are well above regulatory requirements and show that the Group has maintained an extremely sound financial structure from which to fund customer projects (6.1 billion increase in outstanding loans). Liquidity ratios are also especially robust, well above regulatory requirements: LCR (one-month ratio) is 163% and NSFR (stable resources ratio) is 112%. 2Net banking & insurance income including gains and losses on disposal or dilution of companies accounted for by the equity method. SIMPLIFIED INCOME STATEMENT M 31/12/2021 31/12/2020 Variation % Revenues* 2,530.7 2,157.5 +373 17.3% Operating expenses 1,702.0 1,493.0 +209 14,0% Cost/income ratio 67,3% 69,2% - 1.9 point Gross operating income 828.6 664.5 + 164 24.7% Cost of risk 115.8 160.1 - 44 - 27.7% Operating income 712.8 504.4 + 208 41.3% Net income - group share 573.7 356.2 + 217 61.0% *Net banking & insurance income including gains and losses on disposal or dilution of companies accounted for by the equity method. "Growth has always been in Credit Mutuel Arkea's DNA: profitable, sustainable growth at moderate risk; growth self-financed by retention of earnings as reserves - the essence of the cooperative model - and now backed by our determination to balance financial performance with the creation of non-financial value. With its strong return to growth in 2021, our Group has shown that its model of a mid-sized cooperative bank, with a regional base and innovative and agile culture remains strong and effective, and that performance does not depend on size. We are deeply committed to defending and promoting our autonomy and freedom to do business, the conditions that underpin our performance and business model. We want to be a positive impact bank that considers social and environmental issues for current and future generations and that can reinvent its banking model while continuing to provide finance that serves the regions and their stakeholders. But our excellent financial results would be pointless if they failed to benefit all our stakeholders. This is why, for instance, we have decided, in accordance with our mutual values, to expand our solidarity support for the most vulnerable, promoting a fairer and more equitable distribution of value created." - Julien Carmona, Chairman of Credit Mutuel Arkea - "2021 was a pivotal year for Credit Mutuel Arkea, with a resurgent spirit and the acceleration of our transformation. It was the year we began to roll out our medium-term strategic plan, Transitions 2024. We are progressing with humility and determination toward our objectives, driven by our members and elected representatives and by our 11,000 employees, whom I sincerely thank for their commitment. In this way, the Group is living up to its raison d'etre: to establish itself as an agile financial partner for the transitions of the future. 2022 marks a new and important phase in our ambition to become a positive impact business, with the proposal that our General Meeting adopt the status of an "entreprise a mission" (company with a mission). Our values thus bear fruit in real actions, over the long term, in the service of the regions, economic development and employment." - Helene Bernicot, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Mutuel Arkea - "Credit Mutuel Arkea's performance in 2021 is exceptional in many ways: record revenues and results, strong mobilisation of all the Group's employees to continue supporting our members and customers, and proof on the ground of our social and environmental commitments. They illustrate the virtuous circle that underpins our development: reinforcing our solid fundamentals, cultivating our unique identity and continuing our development to enrich our commitment to sharing value. Credit Mutuel Arkea has once again shown its strength and continues with calm confidence along its distinctive path". - Anne Le Goff, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Credit Mutuel Arkea - About Credit Mutuel Arkea Credit Mutuel Arkea is made up of two regional federations representing two main French geographic zones (Brittany in the West and the South West) and their member local savings banks. Credit Mutuel Arkea also has a presence across Europe thanks to its corporate and online subsidiaries (Fortuneo, Monext, Financo, Arkea Investment Services, Suravenir, CFCAL). Credit Mutuel Arkea is entirely owned by its customer shareholders. Credit Mutuel Arkea employs more than 11,000 people, counts 2,800 directors and has a total of more than 5 million customers. The bank has 179,3 billion euro in total assets. Credit Mutuel Arkea ranks among the leading banks with headquarters in the regions. A detailed presentation for 2021 is available on the group's website at the following address: https://www.cm-arkea.com/banque/assurance/credit/mutuel/ecb_5037/en/investor-presentations Press contact: Ariane Le Berre-Lemahieu - 02 98 00 22 99 - ariane.le-berre-lemahieu@arkea.com Follow Credit Mutuel Arkea news on social networks ------------------------ This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ". - SECURITY MASTER Key: xmeckZ1ulZeYmZ2aZp1pmGprZphjmGnJZWrJmmdtZ8uXmJxpm5mXbpvGZnBkmGtr - Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com. ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-73365-credit-mutuel-arkea-group_s-2021-results-release.pdf New Scaler and Corent Technology Inc. today announced their new partnership that will help organisations achieve best-practice in cloud adoption and management through Corent's SurPaaS automated cloud platform. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220225005117/en/ (Graphic: Business Wire) New Scaler is a leading provider of specialist cloud services and expertise in the UK, with accreditations across both Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS platforms. New Scaler has chosen to partner with Corent Technology to help their clients realize the full benefits of cloud computing. SurPaaS is a multi-cloud, independent and agnostic platform supporting the full cloud journey for service providers and their customers. SurPaaS offers the greatest flexibility, choice and 'freedom of movement' in achieving digital transformation success. It helps New Scaler deliver best in class cloud architectures through the migration phase and beyond. The flexibility of SurPaaS lets customers choose when and how to modernize their IT estate, providing options both 'before the cloud' and 'on the cloud.' Amit Gokhru, CEO at New Scaler, said, "We have many years of experience helping customers from all sectors capitalise fully on the benefits offered by major cloud vendors. We are delighted to be working with Corent Technology as their vision and capability matches our own passion for success with cloud adoption and ongoing management." Jeremy Neal, UK Manager for Corent Technology, said, "It's exciting to be working with the team at New Scaler. Together we offer a winning combination of proven product and service solutions that deliver cloud success for the UK market." About Corent Technology Corent Technology, Inc. is a leading innovator in the cloud migration and SaaS-enablement technology space. Corent's SurPaaS Platform is used by key enterprises, system Integrators and cloud providers to enable rapid discovery, analysis, planning, optimisation, and migration to the cloud; and optionally, automated transformation of software applications to efficient, scalable SaaS. Corent is managed by a team of industry veterans from Microsoft, IBM, HP, EMC, Oracle, and VMware among others. For more information about Corent, please visit www.corenttech.com and to contact Corent please drop a note to info@corenttech.com. About New Scaler New Scaler Ltd. has a wealth of knowledge and practical experience in assisting clients with the adoption and migration to the Cloud. Services we provide are: Offerings in Migration, App Development, Cyber Security, Identity and Access Management, Design and deployment of Landing zone and Digital Transformation. For more information please visit www.newscaler.com or contact info@newscaler.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220225005117/en/ Contacts: Media Contact: Dan Chmielewski Madison Alexander PR 714-832-8716 949-231-2965 dchm@madisonalexanderpr.com DGAP-News: Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. / Key word(s): Miscellaneous Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.: DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTOR'S SHAREHOLDING NOTIFICATIONS 25.02.2022 / 13:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTOR'S SHAREHOLDING NOTIFICATIONS Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. (the "Company") In the proposed Remuneration Policy of the Management Board included with the Notice of Annual General Meeting released on 11 February 2022 it was stated that the value of the allocation under the Company's long-term incentive plan was set at 150% of base salary, initially comprising of 100% allocated as a deferred cash award and 50% allocated as an equity award. It was proposed that 25% of the cash portion be converted into an equity award upon the Settlement Effective Date under the Steinhoff Global Settlement ("SED"). As announced by the Company on 15 February 2022, the SED was 15 February 2022. Upon SED the deferred cash award was reduced by 25% whilst the equity award was simultaneously increased by 25%, leaving the overall entitlement unchanged. The allocation now consists of 75% of base salary deferred cash award and 75% of base salary equity award. The number of conditional share awards that were granted to the Company's managing directors on 26 November 2021 was therefore automatically adjusted. An estimate of the 25% portion to be converted was included in the aggregate number as notified and announced on 26 November 2021. The finalised number of conditional share awards, based on the attainment of the SED as well as the increase in the weighted average share price, is set out below. It should be noted that these conditional share awards remain subject to approval from the Company's general meeting of shareholders and the outcome of a performance assessment at the end of the performance period. The Company is voluntarily informing the market that, following the adjustment of these awards on Settlement Effective Date, each of its managing directors has made a notification to the AFM (the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets) related to the conditional award of shares in Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. as set out below. Date of transaction: 15 February 2022 Person obliged to notify: Louis J. du Preez Issuing institution: Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. Registration Chamber of Commerce 63570173 Place of residence: Amsterdam, the Netherlands Position before transaction Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Number of votes Ordinary Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 5,165 5,165 Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 7,330,944 0.00 Changes Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Value per stock Number of votes Discretionary management mandate Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. -14,355 0.00 0.00 No Position after transaction Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Number of votes Ordinary Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 5,165 5,165 Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 7,316,589 0.00 The above notification has been disclosed in the relevant register on the AFM website: https://www.afm.nl/nl-nl/professionals/registers/meldingenregisters/bestuurders-commissarissen/details?id=120622 Date of transaction: 15 February 2022 Person obliged to notify: Theodore L. de Klerk Issuing institution: Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. Registration Chamber of Commerce 63570173 Place of residence: Amsterdam, the Netherlands Position before transaction Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Number of votes Ordinary Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 194,270 194,270 Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 6,357,459 0.00 Changes Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Value per stock Number of votes Discretionary management mandate Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. -12,448 0.00 0.00 No Position after transaction Type of share Issuing institution Number of shares Number of votes Ordinary Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 194,270 194,270 Conditional share award Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. 6,345,011 0.00 The above notification has been disclosed in the relevant register on the AFM website: https://www.afm.nl/nl-nl/professionals/registers/meldingenregisters/bestuurders-commissarissen/details?id=120623 The Company has a primary listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited. Stellenbosch, 25 February 2022 25.02.2022 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 We hereby inform you that on the initiative and by the decision of the Board of AB Klaipedos nafta, legal entity code 110648893, registered address at Buriu str. 19, Klaipeda (hereinafter - the Company), an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company was convened on 25 February 2022 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the registered office of the Company at Buriu str. 19, Klaipeda. Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company, held on 25 February 2022, adopted the following resolutions: Regarding the approval of AB Klaipedos nafta's Board decision to acquire the floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) INDEPENDENCE: To approve the decision of AB Klaipedos nafta Board, to: 1. Acquire the following floating storage-regasification unit (FSRU): 1.1. Name of the FSRU - INDEPENDENCE. 1.2. International Maritime Organization identification number - 9629536. 2. Approve the following terms for FSRU INDEPENDENCE acquisition which are predetermined in theTime Charter Party: 2.1.The Buyer shall be KN. 2.2.The Seller shall be HOEGH LNG KLAIPEDA PTE. LTD, a company incorporated under the lawsof Singapore with registered number 201 22 6551 and whose registered office is at 4 RobinsonRoad, #05-01 The House of Eden, Singapore 048543 or/and its parent company HOEGH LNGLTD., a company incorporated under the laws of Bermuda with registered number 38061 andwhose registered office is at Canon's Court, 22 Victoria Street, Hamilton HM12, Bermuda. 2.3.The price for the FSRU INDEPENDENCE shall be USD 153.500.000,00 (one hundred fifty-threeand a half million United States dollars), which excludes value-added tax (VAT).2.4.The FSRU INDEPENDENCE shall be purchased on an "as is where is" basis. 2.5.The FSRU INDEPENDENCE sale and purchase agreement shall be signed betweencounterparties no later than 6 December 2024. 2.6.The acquisition of FSRU INDEPENDENCE shall be in line with the other terms and conditionsspecified in the Time Charter Party, as well as market conditions, market's best practice andstandard of prudent businessman. The substrate-like PCB market size is projected to reach $4.71 Bn by 2028 from $1.49Bn in 2021; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.8% from 2021 to 2028 NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insight Partners published latest research study on " Substrate-Like PCB Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Line/Space (25/25 and 30/30 m, and Less than 25/25 m), Inspection Technologies (Automated Optical Inspection, Direct Imaging, and Automated Optical Shaping), Application (Consumer Electronics, Automotive, Medical, Industrial, and Others)". The substrate-like PCB market growth is driven by the growing adoption of substrate-like PCB in medical and industrial equipment, surge in demand in automotive industry, increasing demand for miniaturization and modularization in consumer electronics industry, increasing adoption of 5G technology by smartphone manufacturers. Report Coverage Details Market Size Value in US$ 1,494.9 million in 2021 Market Size Value by US$ 4,718.6 million by 2028 Growth rate CAGR of 17.8% from 2021 to 2028 Forecast Period 2021-2028 Base Year 2021 No. of Pages 150 No. Tables 70 No. of Charts & Figures 73 Historical data available Yes Segments covered Line/Space, Inspection Technologies, Application Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; MEA Country scope US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends Substrate-Like PCB Market: Competitive Landscape and Key Developments AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft; Compeq Co., Ltd.; DAEDUCK ELECTRONICS Co., Ltd.; IBIDEN; KINSUS INTERCONNECT TECHNOLOGY CORP; Korea Circuit; SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS; TTM Technologies Inc.; Unimicron; Zhen Ding Tech. Group Technology Holding Limited are among the key players profiled during substrate-like PCB market study. In addition, several other essential market players were studied and analyzed to get a holistic view of the substrate-like PCB market and its ecosystem. Get Exclusive Sample Pages of this research study at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00014544/ In 2021, Samsung Electro Mechanic Co. Ltd. announced that it would invest a total of US$ 850 million in its Vietnamese production plant by 2023 to build production facilities and infrastructure for semiconductor package substrates. This is expected to enable the company to meet the rising demand for semiconductor substrates in the coming years. In 2021, AT&S announced detailed information about its plan to invest in a state-of-the-art factory for IC substrates at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah, Malaysia. This development is expected to strengthen the company's position in the Southeast Asian market as a manufacturing hub. As technologies advance, revealing new capabilities, the healthcare sector has started to use more PCBs. PCBs play a significant role in devices used for diagnostics, monitoring, treatment, and other things. Smart medical devices are now expected to give healthcare professionals more real-time data on their patients than ever before and operate with greater precision based upon more precise sensors due to them being connected to IoT. Some of the most integral uses of medical PCB devices include infusion pumps (it is used from insulin to patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps)., CT and CAT scanners and others are likely to drive the demand for substrate-like PCB in the future. Moreover, the use of robotics in the medical field in neurosurgery and bone-cutting operations is projected to create a massive opportunity for the substrate-like PCB market in the healthcare sector over the next few years. Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPRE00014544/ Furthermore, printed circuit board uses in the industrial sector vary widely. Electronic components power much of the equipment in manufacturing and distribution centers and other types of industrial facilities. The PCBs used in the industrial sector often need to be high-powered and durable enough to withstand the harsh conditions in industrial facilities. To meet this requirement, companies working in the industrial sector are expected to raise the uptake of substrate-like PCB in the industrial equipment sector and provide lucrative opportunities to the global substrate-like PCB market. The increasing demand for consumer electronics, such as smartphones, tablets, smart bands, fitness bands, and wearables, is driving the global substrate-like PCB market. The rising uptake of substrate-like PCB by various smartphone manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, and investment for product development by key players are supporting the growth of this market. For instance, in 2020, Apple launched two "iPhone SE 2" models in different sizes. These models use a 10-layer substrate-like PCB (SLP) manufactured by AT&S for their motherboard. Moreover, with substrate-like PCB, more space can be created for the battery in a smartphone as it allows for thinner connections between critical components, such as the DRAM, NAND flash memory, and application processor. The automotive sector has witnessed significant developments in the last decade. Consumer safety and ease of driving are considered the prime factors by manufacturers while designing any automobile. The escalating adoption of substrates-like PCBs in connected vehicles is further contributing to the market growth. These vehicles are fully equipped with both wired and wireless technologies, making it possible for the vehicles to connect to computing devices, such as smartphones. Connection with these devices enables drivers to unlock their vehicles and start climate control systems remotely, check their electric cars' batteries status, and track their cars using smartphones. The increasing adoption of smartphones, rise in need for connectivity solutions, growing number of internet users, surge in bandwidth-intensive applications, and construction of telecommunications infrastructure are driving the substrate-like PCB market growth in Asia Pacific. As the majority of smartphone manufacturers are headquartered in this region, substantial demand for substrate-like PCB is projected to rise in this region during the forecast period. Buy Premium Copy of this research report at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00014544/ Manufacturers in the substrate-like PCB market from South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan are at the forefront of production. Players such as Taiwan-based ZD Tech and Japan-based Meiko, for example, are establishing new substrate-like PCB production lines in Vietnam and China for several smartphone manufacturing companies. Further, with technology transfer from dominant players, China is likely to develop substrate-like-PCB technological know-how over time. Substrate-Like PCB Market: Line/Space Overview The substrate-like PCB market, by line/space, is segmented into 25/25 and 30/30 m, and Less than 25/25 m. The 25/25 and 30/30 m segment led the market with a share of 91.8% in 2020. Further, it is expected to garner an 86.3% share by 2028. End users are increasingly demanding thinner/smaller, but more functioning, smartphones, necessitating a reduction in the board area. As a result, minimum line spacing (i.e., the space between lines created via components, layers, and so on) must be maintained to build a larger battery. Apple and Samsung, for example, have used SLP with 25/25 and 30/30 um line/space in their devices. These SLPs can be utilized in computing and telecommunications, automotive, and medical equipment industries, in addition to the consumer electronics industry. About Us: The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials. Contact Us: If you have any queries about this report or if you would like further information, please contact us: Contact Person: Sameer Joshi E-mail: sales@theinsightpartners.com Phone: +1-646-491-9876 Press Release: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/pr/substrate-like-pcb-market Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1586348/The_Insight_Partners_Logo.jpg Technip Energies (PARIS:TE) (ISIN:NL0014559478) is closely monitoring the situation in Russia and Ukraine. The safety of our people and their families is, as always, our first priority. To date, continuity of operations is not affected. As a leading and responsible engineering and technology company, we have a long experience of managing contracts in difficult and complex environments. We understand the contractual mechanisms and protections which are crucial to mitigate risk and to sustain the performance of the company which will be presented during our forthcoming annual earnings release on Thursday March 3rd, 2022. As a result of this prudent approach, we are able to invest in our strategy and to pay dividend to our shareholders as previously announced in our capital allocation framework. Technip Energies is a global and diversified player. Our strategy is centered on helping our clients deliver the energy transition and this is more relevant than ever. About Technip Energies Technip Energies is a leading Engineering Technology company for the energy transition, with leadership positions in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), hydrogen and ethylene as well as growing market positions in blue and green hydrogen, sustainable chemistry and CO2 management. The company benefits from its robust project delivery model supported by extensive technology, products and services offering. Operating in 34 countries, our 15,000 people are fully committed to bringing our client's innovative projects to life, breaking boundaries to accelerate the energy transition for a better tomorrow. Technip Energies is listed on Euronext Paris with American depositary receipts ("ADRs") traded over-the-counter in the United States. For further information: www.technipenergies.com. Important Information for Investors and Securityholders Forward-Looking Statement This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements usually relate to future events and anticipated revenues, earnings, cash flows or other aspects of Technip Energies' operations or operating results. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "intend," "foresee," "should," "would," "could," "may," "estimate," "outlook," and similar expressions, including the negative thereof. The absence of these words, however, does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on Technip Energies' current expectations, beliefs and assumptions concerning future developments and business conditions and their potential effect on Technip Energies. While Technip Energies believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, there can be no assurance that future developments affecting Technip Energies will be those that Technip Energies anticipates. All of Technip Energies' forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties (some of which are significant or beyond Technip Energies' control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from Technip Energies' historical experience and Technip Energies' present expectations or projections. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For information regarding known material factors that could cause actual results to differ from projected results, please see Technip Energies' risk factors set forth in Technip Energies' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which include amendment no. 4 to Technip Energies' registration statement on Form F-1 filed on February 11, 2021. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date they are made. Technip Energies undertakes no duty to and will not necessarily update any of the forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events, except to the extent required by applicable law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220225005247/en/ Contacts: Investor relations Phil Lindsay Vice-President Investor Relations Tel: +44 20 7585 5051 Email: Phillip Lindsay Media relations Stella Fumey Director Press Relations Digital Communications Tel: +33 (1) 85 67 40 95 Email: Stella Fumey Jason Hyonne Press Relations Social Media Lead Tel: +33 1 47 78 22 89 Email: Jason Hyonne MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - Ukrainian forces are waging a desperate battle to repel a full-scale Russian invasion of capital Kyiv. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Russian reconnaissance troops have entered Obolon, a residential area just north of the parliament and the city centre. Multiple explosions were reported in Kyiv Friday morning as Russia targeted the city with missile attacks. News channels aired videos of armored vehicles advancing through northern district of Kyiv. People took shelter in bunkers and underground railway stations to escape air raids. Ukraine's army is waging a fierce battle trying to thwart Russian forces from seizing Kiev. They blew up a bridge over the Teteriv River at Ivankiv to block an advance of Russian troops towards the capital. Ukraine's military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Friday that the country's army was successfully resisting Russian forces advancing from the north. In an address to the nation, Ukrainian President Zelensky appealed to Russia for truce. He has vowed to continue fighting, and ordered conscripts and reservists to take arms. According to him, 137 Ukrainians, including soldiers and civilians, died in Russian assault. UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Friday that Russia lost the lives of more than 450 military personnel. On Thursday, Russian forces seized control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, A UN Security Council resolution condemning Russia for the attack, and urging their force withdrawal from Ukraine, will be put to vote Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron is set to announce 'drastic and strong' sanctions against Russia. Announcing a tough set of sanctions on Russia Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden made his country's stand clear that American forces will not fight in Ukraine. 'Our forces are not and will not be engaged in a conflict with Russia in Ukraine. Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in East.' The president has also authorized the deployment of more U.S. troops from the United States to Europe, to reassure NATO allies of America's commitment to their collective defense. An extraordinary virtual summit of NATO leaders is scheduled to be held at 9 AM ET Friday to discuss the security situation in and around Ukraine. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview that he was 'convinced' that Russian President Vladimir Putin would try to overthrow Ukraine's government. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remains a 'prime target for Russian aggression,' according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price. In a video statement issued late Thursday, Zelensky said, 'According to our information, the enemy marked me as target No. 1, my family as target No. 2. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state. We have information that enemy sabotage groups have entered Kyiv.' Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Highlights: New agreement executed for 100% ownership of the Silver Strike Project, located in Tombstone, Arizona Simplified agreement eliminates all minimum exploration and other cash commitments to vendors, as well as previous lengthy earn-in phase. MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2022 / Tarku Resources Ltd (TSXV:TKU)(FRA:7TK)(OTCQB:TRKUF) (the "Company" or "Tarku") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a new agreement which provides the Company with immediate 100% ownership of the Silver Strike Project, in the Tombstone area, Arizona from EXLA Resources (OTC PINK:EXLA) ("EXLA"). On February 1st, 2022, EXLA announced that it had entered into a binding agreement to purchase through a combination of cash and stock all the rights, interests and future benefits currently held by Mansfield Martin and associated parties in the Silver Strike Project. Tarku and EXLA have agreed to terminate the original acquisition agreement and replace it with a new agreement granting Tarku immediate 100% ownership of the Silver Strike Project, as per the terms stated below. Julien Davy, President, and CEO of Tarku, stated: "This is a transformational development for Tarku. This new agreement creates significant value for our shareholders by giving us an immediate 100% interest in the exciting Silver Strike Project. Tarku, will own and control more than 1,200 hectares of ground, in a famous historic mining district that has produced high-grade silver from surface to a maximum depth of 200m in the early-1900s and is known to have the geological potential for more silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, and manganese mineralization. This new agreement is a win-win solution, as EXLA now benefits from significant exposure to a consolidated 100% of the Silver Strike Project, as well as a focused exploration partner committed to its development. Tarku has lowered its commitments to acquire the project and will have better control on its exploration expenses. The consolidated ownership will also greatly facilitate capital raising initiatives going forward." Chris Lotito, President, and CEO of EXLA, stated: "The opportunity to partner with an exploration team of Tarku's experience and pedigree is an exciting development for EXLA Resources. Consolidation of the ownership of the Silver Strike Project, ensures it can be advanced in the most streamlined method, and as a major shareholder of Tarku we will benefit from the value uplift of the project as it is advanced. We are also delighted to gain exposure to Tarku's exciting Three A's Project, located in Matagami Greenstone Belt." The Purchase Agreement Dated February 24, 2022, EXLA and Tarku entered into an agreement to terminate the previous earn-in option agreement to acquire 75% of the project over 3 years, signed October 12, 2020, with the former vendor and simultaneously entered into a new purchase agreement, allowing Tarku to acquire 100% of the 140 mining titles in Tombstone that is now held by EXLA in return for consideration of: 7,000,000 Tarku' Shares (the "First Tranche Shares") issue to EXLA, which will give EXLA a 9.65% interest in Tarku and Delivering to EXLA debentures being comprised of an aggregate five hundred thousand Canadian dollars (CAD$500,000) principal amount of a six percent (6%) convertible unsecured subordinated debenture due in 60 months (5 years). Each debenture is convertible at a price of CAD$0.10 (collectively the "Second Tranche Shares"); Granting EXLA a first right of refusal (ROFR) allowing EXLA the right to maintain its ownership position by participating in subsequent Tarku financings; Award EXLA a two percent (2%) NSR on the Property, one percent (1%) of which could be repurchased by Tarku for one million US dollars (USD$1,000,000). About the Silver Strike Project Tarku's Silver Strike Project is located in Cochise County, Arizona, in the famous Tombstone Mining District, one of the earliest silver mining areas in the western United States where production started from numerous silver mines in 1877. Despite the attractive quantity of silver found in the district, low metal prices of the 1915's (below 1 USD/oz), a financial panic, the removal of the United States currency from the silver standard (since the 1900s), as well as the technical inability to deal with underground waters, caused this area to be overlooked. The area is rich in silver and other base metals and yet has never been explored in modern times with a "big picture" view and utilizing a thorough systematic approach. More than 95% of historic production is from less than 200 meters from surface and is primarily from oxide ore minerals. Discovery potential is remains significant. The 2021 drill program at Silver Strike has revealed in addition to silver, the presence of high grades of gold, lead, and zinc suggesting similarities in terms of geological context to the nearby Hermosa project which in 2018 was purchased by South32 for US$1.8 billion. In 2022, Tarku's program will focus on project advancement, and new discoveries by conducting geophysical, geochemical and a minimum of 5,000-meter drilling focusing on surface to 400 meters depth along the Lucky Cuss and the Ground Hog Trend. Qualified persons Julien Davy, P.Geo., M.Sc, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tarku, the qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, prepared, supervised and approved the technical information in this news release. About Tarku Resources Ltd. (TSX.V:TKU)(FRA:7TK)(OTCBQ:TRKUF) Tarku is an exploration company focused on new discoveries in favourable mining jurisdictions such as Quebec and Arizona. In Quebec, Tarku owns 100% of the "Three A's" exploration projects, (Apollo, Admiral and Atlas Projects), in the Matagami Greenstone Belt, which has been interpreted by management as the eastern extension of the Detour Belt, and which has seen recent exploration successes by Midland Exploration Inc., Wallbridge Mining Company Ltd., Probe Metals Inc. In Arizona, in the Tombstone District, Tarku owns 100% of 29 km2 in the Silver Strike Project On behalf of Tarku Resources Ltd Julien Davy, President and CEO Tarku Contact Information: Email: investors@tarkuresources.com Website: www.tarkuresources.com Please follow @TarkuResources on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and activities to vary materially from targeted results and planning. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in Tarku's periodic reports including the annual report or in the filings made by Tarku from time to time with securities regulatory authorities. SOURCE: Tarku Resources ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/690378/Tarku-to-Acquire-100-of-Silver-Strike-Project-Arizona Regulatory News: Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) announces the temporary suspension of its operations in Ukraine, including at its factory in Kharkiv. "The safety and security of our colleagues and their families is our primary concern, and we have therefore temporarily suspended our operations in Ukraine," said Jacek Olczak, chief executive officer. "Our employees are advised to stay at home or in any safe place and follow instructions from local authorities," he continued. "We will continue to monitor the situation closely." In 2021, Ukraine accounted for around 2% of PMI's total cigarette and heated tobacco unit shipment volume and under 2% of PMI's total net revenues. The company has one factory and over 1,300 employees in the country, and has contingency plans in place to restart the supply of products once safe conditions allow. Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future Philip Morris International (PMI) is a leading international tobacco company working to deliver a smoke-free future and evolving its portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's current product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor and oral nicotine products, which are sold in markets outside the U.S. Since 2008, PMI has invested more than USD 9 billion to develop, scientifically substantiate and commercialize innovative smoke-free products for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, with the goal of completely ending the sale of cigarettes. This includes the building of world-class scientific assessment capabilities, notably in the areas of pre-clinical systems toxicology, clinical and behavioral research, as well as post-market studies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the marketing of a version of PMI's IQOS Platform 1 device and consumables as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP), finding that an exposure modification order for these products is appropriate to promote the public health. As of December 31, 2021, PMI's smoke-free products are available for sale in 71 markets, and PMI estimates that approximately 15.3 million adults around the world have already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. With a strong foundation and significant expertise in life sciences, in February 2021 PMI announced its ambition to expand into wellness and healthcare areas and deliver innovative products and solutions that aim to address unmet patient and consumer needs. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220225005307/en/ Contacts: Philip Morris International Investor Relations: New York: +1 (917) 663 2233 Lausanne: +41 (0)58 242 4666 Email: InvestorRelations@pmi.com Media: David Fraser Lausanne: +41 (0)58 242 4500 Email: David.Fraser@pmi.com LONDON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital currency markets are linked with significant volatility and uncertainty; hence a continuous buildup of relevant expertise, skills, and knowledge is essential to succeed in this sphere. Consequently, various brokerage services have emerged to accommodate the millions of individuals participating in these competitive markets. Royal-Bridge, a prominent digital-currency broker, has announced the integration of an updated educational blog to assist users in navigating these markets. "We perfectly understand the risks associated with digital currencies, and Royal-Bridge was established with keeping those liabilities in mind," stated Gil McPhahrer, Royal Bridge spokesperson. "Our purpose has always been to mitigate the risks of digital coins transactions by providing our members a safe, secure, and reliable platform to conduct their market affairs with. The recent introduction of an educational blog is a manifestation of our commitment to assure the success of our clients and help them stay on top of market trends. We will continue to make our loyal users' success a number one priority in the future as well." Knowledge about market dynamics Royal-Bridge is an online broker which provides a high-tech web-based platform, for accessing leading digital instruments. This digital currency broker incorporates advanced tools, features, real-time market data, dedicated customer support, and diverse payment methods, all to establish an optimal environment for users. Moreover, Royal-Bridge's newly launched blog is an effort to help members learn about the dynamics and trends of the digital markets. "Our team has taken several steps to maintain an optimal and ideal environment for our members," explained McPhahrer. "At Royal-Bridge, our mission is to provide quality services to our clients, including a cutting-edge platform, leading digital coins, robust security framework, and multiple payment methods. Our recently launched educational blog is one of these services. We are fully committed to improving our operational conditions and allowing our users to experience the best possible environment." About Royal-Bridge With the integration of a technologically advanced and user-friendly interface, Royal-Bridge stands among the leading digital assets brokers today. Members can approach the financial markets via Royal-Bridge's user-friendly platform, which is compatible with numerous electronic devices and integrates professional charting tools & objects. At Royal-Bridge, users take advantage of fast order execution and transactions, up-to-date market information, an informative blog, and a secure platform to achieve a leading position in the markets. The broker assimilates a solid security infrastructure to protect accounts and funds. RESTON, Va., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CirrusLabs , today announced its selection for Trade Winds, a U.S. Trade led mission to the Middle East from March 2nd to March 11th. Trade Winds is the largest U.S. government-led trade mission and business development forum organized by the U.S. Commercial Service to promote trade globally. "After months of interviews and planning, we look forward to representing the U.S. on this mission. The Gulf is a melting pot of innovation, and we are excited to share best practices, help co-create digital innovation factories for emerging technologies such as A.I., robotics, X-Reality, digital-twins, Web3, hybrid cloud and establish a footprint in the region" said Kjell Hegstad, Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation. "Due to the incredible efforts of the U.S. Trade team, local commercial trade attaches and embassy diplomats in the region, we have some amazing meetings scheduled with the most visionary companies and governments in the Gulf. These are connections one can only dream about making," continued Kjell Hegstad. "We are excited to be part of the U.S. Trade Mission to the Middle East and are looking forward to meeting visionary business leaders in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. We believe that the CirrusLabs' Digital Transformation framework that has enabled successful customer transformation in the U.S. and Canada while propelling us to four consecutive years of Inc. 5000 recognition will also be valuable for our Middle East customers as they accelerate digital transformation," said Naeem Hussain, Chief Operating Officer. About CirrusLabs CirrusLabs is a full-service digital transformation provider with offices in the United States (Georgia and Virginia), Canada, and India. We provide services designed to enable Digital Transformation. Our clients include start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Media Contact: Bryan Cowles Phone: 877-431-0767 ext. 393 Email: bcowles@cirruslabs.io NextGen SmartGATE Units Have Begun Shipping in Q2 F2022 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2022 / Legend Power Systems Inc. (TSXV:LPS)(OTCQB:LPSIF) ("Legend Power" or the "Company"), a global leader in commercial electrical system solutions, reports its Q1 F2022 financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2021. The Company has also scheduled a conference call to provide a business update and discuss its Q1 F2022 financial results for Friday, February 25, 2022 at 11:00 AM ET (8:00 AM PT) (details below). The call will be hosted by Randy Buchamer, President & Chief Executive Officer. A complete set of Financial Statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis has been filed at www.sedar.com. All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars. Financial Highlights for Q1 F2022 (quarter ending December 31, 2021) Revenue of $169k versus $766k in Q1 F2021 Adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.00 million versus a $678k loss in Q1 F2021 Net loss of $1.23 million versus a $874k loss in Q1 F2021 Cash of $7.56 million, no debt, and $9.02 million in working capital at December 31, 2021 Subsequent Events On track to ship first 20 Next Generation SmartGATE Platforms in Q2 F2022 First NextGen SmartGATE platform installed and performing above initial expectations Paul Moffat appointed COO "The supply chain issues and NextGen SmartGATE shipping delays that we experienced in Q1 have significantly improved, and we expect to deliver the initial 20 units in Q2 F2022," said Randy Buchamer, CEO of Legend Power. "The foundation for solid growth is now firmly in place as our ESCO partners, channel sellers and direct sales continue to execute. Sales activity remains robust; customer feedback from our initial NextGen SmartGATE deployment is overwhelmingly positive, setting up our business to return to growth in the coming quarters." Overview of Q1 F2022 Financials During Q1 F2022 the Company continued to invest in its sales team, inventory, and expand production and field operations capacity in readiness for ramping Gen3 SmartGATE demand. These investments were highlighted in the Company's June 10, 2021 prospectus as primary use of proceeds in connection with the successful $10 million bought deal financing. The Company's channel sales team now consists of 3 individuals experienced in growing reseller and ESCO relationships and who understand the value propositions that Insights and SmartGATE solutions bring to commercial real estate. Target markets and reseller channels continue to respond positively to Legend's solutions and combined opportunities. As of today the Company is engaged with over 50 organizations interested in becoming Legend selling partners. During Q1 F2022 the channel sales team commenced development of partner support tools for the partner portal including marketing support, sales support, technical support, and deal registration. The partner portal will be launched in March 2022. During Q1 F2022 the Company completed testing of the Gen3 SmartGATE system and began an aggressive build initiative to fill backlog sales orders. The Company continued to work through component inventory supply chain challenges but began to secure additional stock to commence the assembly of 20 plus units. Unfortunately, due to the delivery timing of components revenue recognized during the quarter was lower than what was anticipated. With the Gen3 SmartGATE system reaching commercial production, during Q1 F2022 the engineering team focused on remote commands functionality. This functionality allows the Company to communicate remotely with Gen3 SmartGATE field units and is the foundation of a "remote upgrade" feature. In addition, the engineering department worked on cost reduction strategies including identifying alternative suppliers and design refinements. Financial summary for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 Three months ended December 31, (Cdn$, unless noted otherwise) 2021 2020 Change Revenue 169,220 766,226 (78 )% Cost of sales 131,972 564,180 (77 )% Gross margin1 37,248 202,046 (82 )% Gross margin %1 22 % 26 % (17 )% Operating expenses 1,319,476 1,077,392 22 % Adjusted EBITDA2 (1,005,774 ) (677,607 ) 48 % Net loss (1,229,961 ) (873,792 ) 41 % 1 Gross margin is based on a blend of both equipment and installation revenue. 2 Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS financial measure. Revenue for Q1 F2022 was $169,220 compared with $766,226 in the same quarter of fiscal 2021. The lower revenue during Q1 F2022 was primarily due to delayed product deliveries to customers due to inventory shortages caused by supply chain challenges and, to a lesser extent, the production ramp required for the Gen3 version of SmartGATE. Gross margin in Q1 F2022 was 22%, compared with 26% in Q1 F2021. The decrease in gross margin experienced during Q1 F2022 was due primarily to higher cost of goods sold driven by supply chain challenges, COVID-19 supplier surcharges, and component cost increases. The Company's operating expenses for Q1 F2022 were $1,319,476, up from $1,077,392 in Q1 F2021. The primary cause for the increase was higher salaries and consulting costs as the Company recently expanded its channel sales team and the fact that internal cost cutting measures and COVID-19 government subsidies were still in place during Q1 of the prior fiscal year. Increased salary and consulting costs were offset slightly by a large warranty expense recovery and decreased product development costs in the current quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 F2022 was negative $1,005,774, compared with negative $677,607 in Q1 F2021. Net loss for Q1 F2022 was $1,229,961, compared with a net loss of $873,792 in Q1 F2021. Lower gross margins and increased operating costs in Q1 F2022 compared with Q1 F2021 resulted in a higher net loss. CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS: DATE: Friday, February 25, 2022 TIME: 11:00 AM ET (8:00 AM PT) DIAL-IN NUMBERS: North America Toll Free Dial-in Number (877) 201-0168 International Dial-in Number - (647) 788-4901 ONLINE LISTENING https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/QReg/ShowUUID=928DF40A-D3CD-478A-AEDD-C87DF875DF32 CONFERENCE ID: 6857157 REPLAY: Available at: www.legendpower.com About Legend Power Systems Inc. Legend Power Systems Inc. (www.legendpower.com) provides an intelligent energy management platform that analyzes and improves building energy challenges, significantly impacting asset management and corporate performance. Legend Power's proven solutions support proactive executive decision-making in a complex and volatile business and energy environment. The proprietary and patented system reduces total energy consumption and power costs, while also maximizing the life of electrical equipment. Legend Power's unique solution is also a key contributor to both corporate sustainability efforts and the meeting of utility energy efficiency targets. For further information, please contact: Sean Peasgood, Investor Relations + 1 647 503 1054 sean@sophiccapital.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This Press Release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Company's quarterly and annual Management's Discussion & Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements other than as may be required by applicable law. SOURCE: Legend Power Systems Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/690395/Legend-PowerR-Reports-Q1-F2022-Financial-Results Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 25, 2022) - Deveron Corp. (TSXV: FARM) ("Deveron" or the "Company"), a leading agriculture digital services and insights provider in North America, is pleased to announce that it had closed its previously announced overnight marketed offering (the "Offering") including the exercise in full of the over-allotment option. In connection with the Offering, the Company issued an aggregate of 16,428,573 units in the capital of the Company (the "Units") at a price of $0.70 per Unit (the "Issue Price") for total gross proceeds of $11,500,000. Raymond James Ltd. ("RJL") acted as sole agent and sole bookrunner in connection with the Offering. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each full Warrant will be exercisable for one Common Share (each a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.90 per Warrant Share at any time for a period of 24 months years following closing of the Offering. The Offering was made pursuant to the Company's short form base shelf prospectus dated November 30, 2021 (the "Base Prospectus") and a prospectus supplement to the Base Prospectus dated February 22, 2022 (the "Prospectus Supplement") in each of the Provinces of Canada (except Quebec), and otherwise by private placement exemption in those jurisdictions where the Offering can lawfully be made, including the United States. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to support continued organic growth and product development, and to pursue future acquisition opportunities. The Company has received approval from the TSX Venture Exchange to list the Warrants under the symbol "FARM.WT". The Warrants are expected to commence trading on the TSXV on or about March 3, 2022. 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 the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been 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 requirements thereunder. About Deveron: Deveron is an agriculture technology company that uses data and insights to help farmers and large agriculture enterprises increase yields, reduce costs and improve farm outcomes. The company employs a digital process that leverages data collected on farms across North America to drive unbiased interpretation of production decisions, ultimately recommending how to optimize input use. Our team of agronomists and data scientists build products that recommend ways to better manage fertilizer, seed, fungicide, and other farm inputs. Additionally, we have a national network of data technicians that are deployed to collect various types of farm data, from soil to drone. Our geographic focus is the US and Canada where 1 billion acres are actively farmed annually. For more information, please visit www.deveronuas.com. David MacMillan President & CEO Deveron Corp. 416-367-4571 ext. 221 dmacmillan@deveronuas.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." This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that phrase under Canadian securities laws. Without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve various degrees of risk. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current views with respect to possible future events and conditions and, by their nature, are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific to the Company. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements. The following are important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: changes in the worldwide price of agricultural commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in agriculture, the uncertainty of future profitability and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. Additional information regarding the material factors and assumptions that were applied in making these forward looking statements as well as the various risks and uncertainties we face are described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of our annual and interim Management's Discussion and Analysis of our financial results and other continuous disclosure documents and financial statements we file with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update this forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. The Company relies on litigation protection for forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/114850 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 25, 2022) - Boosh Plant-Based Brands Inc. (CSE: VEGI) (OTCQB: VGGIF) (FSE: 77I) ("Boosh" or the "Company") provides recent updates relating distribution of the Beanfields brand. Raley's, the multi-billion-dollar grocery and retail company, has informed the Company it has made Beanfields their primary displayed bean chip. The Jalapeno lime flavour is being distributed into 150% more stores, with the Black Bean & Nacho flavours into 53% more stores. Beanfield retail launches into Lowe's (Grain Free Rings), The Save Mark Companies (Nacho, Jalapeno, Pico), New Seasons (Grain Free Rings, 2 New Chips), Clark's (2 New Chips & Fiery Hot), & Healthy Edge Retail Group (2 New Chips & Fiery Hot). Boosh's first Save On Foods UNFI order came in at 1,500 cases. Loblaw's begins testing Boosh's chilled line in select stores in Eastern Canada. "It's been practically a seamless integration between Team Boosh and Team Beanfields. Two major highlights in the integration have been our sales departments' ability to immediately connect with the majority of existing retail buyers, and simultaneously secured new key accounts within the last seven days," comments Jim Pakulis, CEO of Boosh. "Based on our analysis we anticipate the expansion into new stores including larger channels and box stores to continue." On behalf of the Board of Directors Jim Pakulis Chief Executive Officer jpakulis@booshfood.com Telephone: (833) 882-6674 www.Booshfood.com About Boosh Plant-Based Brands Inc.: Boosh Plant-Based Brands Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Boosh Food (www.booshfood.com), offers high quality, non-GMO, gluten free, 100% plant-based nutritional comfort foods for the whole family. We currently offer 24 plant-based SKU's ranging from frozen meals, to refrigerated entrees to shelf stable Mac & Cheezes, and are sold throughout Canada. Boosh, good for you and good for planet earth. The information in this news release includes certain information and statements about management's view of future events, expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward looking statements. These statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Because of these risks and uncertainties and as a result of a variety of factors, the actual results, expectations, achievements or performance may differ materially from those anticipated and indicated by these forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, the Company's plans in respect of the Assets, the potential revenues of the Assets and the Company's intention to complete the acquisition of the Assets.. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as well as future results. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward looking statements will prove to be correct. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward looking statements or otherwise. Neither the 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/114857 Las Vegas, Nevada--(Newsfile Corp. - February 25, 2022) - EXLA RESOURCES, INC. (OTC Pink: EXLA) (the "Company") announces that has agreed to sell its interest in the Silver Strike Project, located in the historic Tombstone mining district of Arizona, to Tarku Resources Ltd (TSXV: TKU) (FSE: 7TK) (OTCQB: TRKUF). Summary: EXLA Resources Inc. sells 25%-interest in the Silver Strike Project, located in Tombstone, Arizona to partner Tarku Resources Ltd. EXLA to receive 7,000,000 Tarku' Shares, which will give EXLA a 9.65% interest in Tarku with a ROFR to maintain its interest Consolidates ownership on Silver Strike with a partner focused on the projects development EXLA retains exposure to upside of Silver Strike being advanced, but without any financial obligations EXLA also gains exposure to Tarku's exciting Three A's Project, located in Matagami Greenstone Belt Chris Lotito stated: "The opportunity to partner with an exploration team of Tarku's experience and pedigree is an exciting development for EXLA Resources. Consolidation of the ownership of the Silver Strike Project, ensures it can be advanced in the most streamlined method, and as a major shareholder of Tarku we will benefit from the value uplift of the project as it is advanced. We are also delighted to gain exposure to Tarku's exciting Three A's Project, located in Matagami Greenstone Belt." Julien Davy, President, and CEO of Tarku, stated: "This new agreement is a win-win solution, as EXLA now benefits from significant exposure to a consolidated 100% of the Silver Strike Project, as well as a focused exploration partner committed to its development. Tarku has lowered its commitments to acquire the project and will have better control on its exploration expenses. The consolidated ownership will also greatly facilitate capital raising initiatives going forward." The Purchase Agreement Dated February 24, 2022, EXLA and Tarku entered into an agreement to terminate the previous earn-in option agreement to acquire 75% of the project over 3 years, signed October 12, 2020, with the former vendor and simultaneously entered into a new purchase agreement, allowing Tarku to acquire 100% of the 140 mining titles in Tombstone that is now held by EXLA in return for consideration of: Tarku Resources Ltd. - www.tarkuresources.com Page 2 7,000,000 Tarku' Shares (the "First Tranche Shares") issue to EXLA, which will give EXLA a 9.65% interest in Tarku and Delivering to EXLA debentures being comprised of an aggregate five hundred thousand Canadian dollars (CAD$500,000) principal amount of a six percent (6%) convertible unsecured subordinated debenture due in 60 months (5 years). Each debenture is convertible at a price of CAD$0.10 (collectively the "Second Tranche Shares"); Granting EXLA a first right of refusal (ROFR) allowing EXLA the right to maintain its ownership position by participating in subsequent Tarku financings; Award EXLA a two percent (2%) NSR on the Property, one percent (1%) of which could be repurchased by Tarku for one million US dollars (USD$1,000,000) Forward-Looking Statements: This 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. Such statements include any that may predict, forecast, indicate, or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the words "estimate", "project", "intend", "forecast", "anticipate", "plan", "planning", "expect", "believe", "likely", "should", "could", "would", "may" or similar words or expressions. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results and financial position to differ materially from those in such statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the Company's ability to grow. Actual results may differ materially from those predicted and any reported should not be considered an indication of future performance. Potential risks and uncertainties include the Company's operating history and resources, together with all usual and common economic, competitive, and equity market conditions / risks. For more information you may reach our investor relations group at: Peter Nicosia Bull in Advantage, LLC Phone: 585-703-6565 Email: Info@BlueHorseshoeStocks.com DISCLAIMER: Bull in Advantage, LLC, does not provide securities brokerage or investment advising services. Bull in Advantage, LLC, is not registered as a securities broker/dealer with either the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or with any state or provincial securities regulatory authority. Bull in Advantage, LLC, is not a licensed broker, broker/dealer, market maker, investment banker, investment adviser, analyst, or underwriter. Bull in Advantage, LLC, may not directly sell, offer to sell, or offer to buy any security. Sales of securities are through the issuer or a registered broker-dealer. The content of this email is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. The information contained herein should not be considered as an offer to buy or sell securities. Such offers are provided directly by the issuer or a registered broker/dealer. Or with our Company Communications Manager: Ryan D. Long, Communications Manager EXLA Resources, Inc. info@EXLAresources.com www.EXLAresources.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/exla_resources To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/114855 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 25, 2022) - Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. (TSX: AVL) (OTCQB: AVLNF) ("Avalon" or the "Company") announces the results of its 2022 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held in Toronto, Ontario on February 24, 2022 at 10:00am (the "Meeting"). At the Meeting, all six director nominees listed in the Company's information circular dated January 11, 2022 were elected as directors of the Company. The detailed results of the vote are as follows: Director Number of Votes Cast Percentage of Votes Cast Donald Bubar In Favour: Withheld: 66,450,046 2,938,847 95.76% 4.24% Alan Ferry In Favour: Withheld: 66,402,538 2,986,355 95.70% 4.30% Naomi Johnson In Favour: Withheld: 66,820,341 2,568,552 96.30% 3.70% John E. Fisher In Favour: Withheld: 66,898,218 2,490,675 96.41% 3.59% Marilyn Spink In Favour: Withheld: 66,203,922 3,184,971 95.41% 4.59% Harvey L. A. Yesno In Favour: Withheld: 67,003,668 2,385,225 96.56% 3.44% At the Meeting, shareholders also re-appointed Ernst & Young LLP as auditors of the Company. At 2:00pm, the Company hosted a second virtual shareholders meeting with 41 attendees during which President & CEO, Don Bubar provided an Update Presentation on the Company's recent activities and future plans. A copy of this presentation is available on the Company's website at: https://www.avalonadvancedmaterials.com/investors/presentations. About Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. is a Canadian mineral development company specializing in sustainably-produced materials for clean technology. The Company now has four advanced stage projects, providing investors with exposure to lithium, tin and indium, as well as rare earth elements, tantalum, cesium and zirconium. Avalon is currently focusing on developing its Separation Rapids Lithium Project near Kenora, Ontario while continuing to advance other projects, including its 100%-owned Lilypad Cesium-Tantalum-Lithium Project located near Fort Hope, Ontario. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship are corporate cornerstones. For questions and feedback, please e-mail the Company at ir@AvalonAM.com, or phone Don Bubar, President & CEO, directly at 416-723-9132. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/114856 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With 67870 new cases reporting on Thursday, the total number of people infected with Covid in the United States has increased to 78,799,264, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. This is 65 percent down from what was recorded two weeks ago. With 2941 deaths, the number of people who died due to the disease reached 9944,831. The weekly average of Covid casualties decreased by 27 percent in a fortnight. California reported the most number of cases - 14213 - while Florida recorded the most casualties - 598. US Covid hospitalizations fell by 44 percent in the last two weeks, reflecting the speed of recovery from the disease in the country. Only 57,544 patients infected with coronavirus are currently remaining in hospitals across the nation, as per the latest tally published by the New York Times. There is also a concurrent reduction in the number of patients admitted in intensive care units - 43 percent within a fortnight. 10,976 Covid positive cases are being treated in I.C.U.s. 52,662,670 people have so far recovered from the disease, the Worldometere tally shows. As per the latest data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 215,253,201 Americans, or 64.8 percent of the eligible population, have been administered both doses of Covid vaccine so far. This includes 88.7 percent of people above 65. 43.5 percent of the eligible population, or more than 93 million people, have already received a booster dose that is recommended to provide additional protection from the killer virus. Nearly one fourth of the total eligible U.S. population has not yet taken a single dose of the Covid vaccine jab, according to the latest CDC update. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has announced new measures to ensure that disabled individuals and other high-risk individuals have access to Covid-19 testing, masks, and other critical mitigation strategies. The Administration will equip schools with guidance and support to keep vulnerable students safe and learning in-person. New Covid testing guidance will be launched in American Sign Language and existing Covid guidance will be reviewed to confirm accessibility for all disabled individuals. New at-home Covid tests that are accessible to all will be developed. Disabled individuals will be given masks through community-based organizations and jurisdictions. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Regulatory News: ORPEA (Paris:ORP): The Board of Directors, during its meeting on February 23, 2022, has decided, upon proposal of the Appointments and Remuneration Committee, the following concerning the remuneration of Mr. Philippe Charrier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, in respect of his duties as of January 30, 2022, such remuneration being subject to approval by the 2022 Shareholders' Meeting of the 2022 remuneration policy to be detailed in the Company's 2021 Universal Registration Document. Fixed annual remuneration Mr. Philippe Charrier will receive, prorata temporis for the period from January 30, 2022 to December 31, 2022, a fixed annual remuneration of 760,000 euros, unchanged compared to the amount received in respect of fiscal year 2021 by Mr. Yves Le Masne, Chief Executive Officer of the Company until January 30, 2022. Annual variable compensation and performance share grants for 2022 The Board of Directors has decided to postpone any decision to be taken in accordance with the remuneration policy concerning a possible annual variable compensation or concerning the granting of performance shares for 2022. Remuneration for directorship Mr. Philippe Charrier will receive compensation for his attendance at meetings of the Board of Directors, in accordance with the 2022 directors' remuneration policy. About ORPEA (www.orpea-corp.com) Founded in 1989, ORPEA is one of the major world leaders in comprehensive long-term care, with a network as of 30 June 2021, of 1,156 facilities comprising 116,514 beds (26,359 of which are under construction) across 23 countries, which are divided into five geographical regions: - France Benelux: 586 facilities 49,207 beds (5,672 of which are under construction) - Central Europe: 268 facilities 28,419 beds (5,828 of which are under construction) - Eastern Europe: 142 facilities 15,255 beds (4,101 of which are under construction) - Iberian Peninsula and Latam: 158 facilities 23,108 beds (10,373 of which are under construction) - Other countries: 2 facilities 525 beds (385 of which are under construction) ORPEA is listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN code: FR0000184798) and is a member of the SBF 120, STOXX 600 Europe, MSCI Small Cap Europe and CAC Mid 60 indices. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220225005252/en/ Contacts: Investor Relations ORPEA Steve Grobet EVP Communication and Investor Relations s.grobet@orpea.net Benoit Lesieur Investor Relations Director b.lesieur@orpea.net Investor Relations NewCap Dusan Oresansky Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 orpea@newcap.eu Media Relations Image 7 Laurence Heilbronn Tel.: +33 (0)6 89 87 61 37 lheilbronn@image7.fr Charlotte Le Barbier Tel.: +33 (0)6 78 37 27 60 clebarbier@image7.fr ARNPRIOR, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2022 / Plaintree Systems Inc. (CSE:NPT) ("Plaintree" or the "Company"). Quarterly Statements for the first Three Quarters of Fiscal 2022 ending December 31, 2021. Plaintree announced today that it has released its unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and related management discussions and analysis for the three- and nine-months ending December 31, 2021. During the first nine months of fiscal 2022 ending December 31, 2021, Plaintree realized revenues from operations of $11,025,377 comparable to $8,003,727 for the same period in fiscal 2021. Net income was $164,229 in the nine-month period ending December 31, 2021, as compared to net income of $85,252 for the same period a year earlier. "Supply shortages combined with Covid rules requiring employees to stay home for a week or two if they felt unwell made for a slow 3rd quarter." said David Watson CEO. "However, in Q4 our orders have remained strong and as the world begins to return to the new normal we expect improving results." About Plaintree Systems Plaintree has two diversified product lines consisting of Specialty Structures and Electronics. The Specialty Structures Division includes the former Triodetic Group with over 40 years of experience, is a design/build manufacturer of steel, aluminum and stainless steel specialty structures such as commercial domes, foundations for unstable soil conditions and flood zones, for free form structures, barrel vaults, space frames and industrial dome coverings and Spotton Corporation, a design and manufacturer of high end custom hydraulic and pneumatic valves and cylinders. The Electronics Division includes the legacy Hypernetics and Summit Aerospace USA Inc. businesses. Hypernetics was established in 1972 and is a manufacturer of avionic components for various applications including aircraft antiskid braking, aircraft instrument indicators, solenoids, high purity valves and permanent magnet alternators. Summit Aerospace USA Inc. provides high precision machining to the aerospace and defense markets. Our facility includes 5 axis CNC precision machining of complex castings and large ring parts such as turbine and assembly shrouds as well as assembly & pressure seals. Summit will support requirements from concept, prototype and throughout production. Plaintree's shares are traded under the symbol "NPT". Shareholders and Investors can access Company information on CSE's website and receive full Company disclosure monthly. For more information on Plaintree or to receive stock quotes, complete with trading summaries, bid size and ask price, brokerage house participation, insider reports, news releases, disclosure information, and CSE and SEDAR filings, visit the CSE website at www.cnsx.ca or the Company's website at www.plaintree.com. Plaintree is publicly traded in Canada on the CSE (NPT) with 12,925,253 common shares and 18,325 class A preferred shares outstanding. This press release may include statements that are forward-looking and based on current expectations. The actual results of the company may differ materially from current expectations. The business of the company is subject to many risks and uncertainties, including changes in markets for the company's products, delays in product development and introduction to manufacturing and intense competition. For a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties related to the company's business, please refer to documents filed by the company with the Canadian regulatory authorities, including the annual report of the Company for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021 and related management discussion and analysis. Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. For further information: Lynn Saunders, CFO (613) 623-3434 x2223 SOURCE: Plaintree Systems Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/690479/Plaintree-Systems-Inc-Announces-Third-Quarter-Results Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 25, 2022) - West Island Brands Inc. (CSE: WIB) (FSE: 39N0) (OTCQB: WIBFF) ("West Island" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has the second tranche a non-brokered private placement consisting of 1,430,000 units at a price of $0.25 per unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $357,500.00 for a grand total of $627,500. Each unit is comprised of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share of the Company for a period of 24 months from the closing date at an exercise price of $0.25 per warrant. The proceeds of private placement will be used for general working capital purposes. All securities purchased under this financing are subject to a four month hold period. Finder's fees of eight per cent cash and 8% broker warrants of the amount, where applicable, are being paid in accordance with the policies of the CSE. Completion of the financing is subject to the acceptance of the CSE. About West Island West Island is a multi-faceted, innovative company in the Quebec cannabis space. Its subsidiary, RoyalMax Biotechnology Canada Inc. is a Dorval, Quebec based Health Canada Licence Holder with standard cultivation licence, standard processing, medical sales and sales licences. The Company continues to work with Yunify Natural Technologies, a Quebec based health and personal care research and innovation company to develop proprietary products for West Island including topicals and ionic mists. Through its acquisition of Trichome Treats, an award winning chocolatier, the Company intends on introducing edibles into the West Island product mix. For more information on West Island Brands please visit the website at: westislandbrands.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors WEST ISLAND BRANDS INC. Boris Ziger Boris Ziger, CEO & Chairman The Company's public filings are available for review at www.sedar.com and www.thecse.com. For further information, please contact: Boris Ziger, CEO at: Telephone: 416-304-9935 E-mail: info@westislandbrands.com Website: www.westislandbrands.com Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information Certain information in this press release may constitute forward-looking information. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. The Corporation assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Corporation. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Corporation's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. We seek Safe Harbor. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/114892 "Conscience is the key to a successful life." ~ Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, Zhang-men-ren" online from February 13 to 20, 2022, featuring festive cultural performances, such as Celestial Officials Bestowing Blessings, rhythmic storytelling, martial arts presentations, and energetic dance to shower people with happy energy. At the beginning of the Year of the Tiger, Tai Ji Men dizireceived congratulatory messages from over 700 dignitaries, including those from heads of state, ambassadors of various countries, U.S. Congress members, California state senators, other elected officials in the United States, Taiwan's Presidential Office, Ministry of Justice, legislators, heads of counties and cities, representatives from all walks of life, scholars, religious leaders, and leaders of cultural organizations and media outlets. Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze , Zhang-men-ren (grandmaster) of Tai Ji Men, stated, "Conscience is the key to a successful life. All of our actions must be guided by our conscience. We take steps to make our plans and wishes a reality, and we continue to work toward our objectives while reviewing and improving our plans and ourselves. The accumulation of good deeds will eventually allow us to progress in life in leaps and bounds, giving our lives immense and lasting value." In celebration of the arrival of the Year of the Tiger, Tai Ji Men presented various exhilarating cultural performances to spread good energy and blessings, including a dance drama based on an ancient legend of "The Carp Leaping Dragon Gate," which has a profound meaning and is meant to encourage people to persevere and insist on doing what is right on their life journeys. With conscience, wisdom, and fortitude, as the drama depicts, people will achieve their goals and attain happiness despite the obstacles and challenges along the way. The celebration also included a reenactment of Judge Bao Qingtian's story. A group of Tai Ji Men dizi dressed as Judge Bao and his gallant assistants combined qigong, martial arts, and theater in a powerful performance that inspired the viewers to usher in a brighter future for themselves and the world by following in the footsteps of these ancient sages and knights-errant who acted with conscience, protected justice, and combated corruption. "Run forward! Run forward! We have a bright future ahead of us!" The exhilarating "Celestial Horse Dance" was performed by a group of Tai Ji Men youth, who wished that everyone would fearlessly do good deeds in the Year of the Tiger! To foster cultural diversity and mutual respect, beautiful songs in different languages representing various nations and ethnic groups, such as English, Mandarin, Japanese, Taiwanese, Hakka, and Taiwanese aboriginal languages, were presented. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world, and the counterbalance acts of nature have caused natural disasters all over the world. During the events, an animated film " Tigers' Wish " produced by Tai Ji Men was presented. In the Year of the Tiger, this thought-provoking film highlights important issues, such as respect, war, and environmental protection, encompassing the wisdom of living in harmony with nature and hoping to awaken the conscience of global citizens and inspire them to treat themselves and others with kindness. Over the years, Tai Ji Men has self-funded trips to 101 nations to promote love, peace, and conscience. Through cultural exchanges, it has brought people closer together, uniting the hearts of global citizens of diverse nations and ethnic origins, and earning accolades from leaders in all circles. California State Senator Connie Leyva sent her congratulatory message to Tai Ji Men : "I would like to thank you for your important work to spread kindness and joy in homes and communities across our region. The last two years have been very difficult for many people and families. So it is important that we all continue to come together in unity and friendship." California State Senator Josh Newman also sent a video message to Tai Ji Men : "May your coming new year be filled with good fortune, health, and prosperity as we not only celebrate another year of life, but the wonderful contributions of your community to our district, to our state, and to our country." Santa Clara City Mayor Lisa Gillmor said, "I want to thank Tai Ji Men for its encouragement of physical and spiritual health in our community and beyond. During these uncertain times, we owe our gratitude to organizations like yours for providing nourishment, not only for the body, but also the mind and soul. We cannot thank you enough for the tremendous service you provide to the well-being of our community." Walnut City Mayor Eric Ching stated that he is very grateful for Tai Ji Men's hard work and long-term contribution to the community, and that Tai Ji Men has been promoting love, tolerance, and health. San Jose Councilmember Raul Peralez stated, "The work that Tai Ji Men has done continues to focus on offering peaceful and mindful opportunities for our community that helps to cultivate unity and compassion, and garner goodwill in the community through human relationships and promotion of conscience. Events such as this one help to bring our community together and make our city a better place for all of us." San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Ted Alejandre stated, "Thank you to all of you at the Academy for your dedication to preserve and promote the essence of traditional Chinese culture. Let's all take this new year to spread positive energy, advocate for our mental health and wellness, and inspire each other to make a difference." " Tai Ji Men has been doing so many good things for the community, promoting love and peace," said Dr. Tony Y. Torng, president of the Board for the Walnut Valley Unified School District, adding, "I'm here to congratulate you and it's an honor for me to join this event." Several Tai Ji Men diziand how it had helped them cope with the stress of the pandemic. Brian Kung, who works in a hospital, said that practicing Tai Ji Men Qigong has helped him strengthen his body and calm his heart so that he is less fearful of COVID-19, and he encouraged everyone to listen to their conscience to overcome the pandemic. Chiwen Su, a visual artist, said, "Tai Ji Men Qigong has helped me stay calm and positive. The low impact exercises ensure better health and peace of mind." She also volunteers her time to promote a culture of peace with love and conscience. "My Shifu taught me to help myself and help others and do the right thing," she explained. In response to COVID-19 outbreak, Tai Ji Men has produced eye-catching, entertaining, and practical animations, such as " Anti-Pandemic Battle ' and " 5 Do's, 3 Don'ts and 6 Tips ," reminding everyone to take preventive measures to stop the spread of the virus. These films have been widely shared in 241 countries and regions around the globe to help global citizens overcome the pandemic . Tai Ji Men hopes that people will follow their conscience, unite to protect the Earth and human rights, and create a sustainable world with love, respect, and peace. Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy : Tai Ji Men is an ancient menpaiin 1966, and since then it has grown to 15 academies worldwide. Dr. Hong teaches his diziculture and martial arts around the world while embodying what is true, good, and beautiful as well as spreading the ideas of conscience, love, and peace. Over the past half-century, the shifu and dizi have self-funded trips to over 300 cities in 101 nations to conduct more than 3,000 cultural performances and exchanges and have been recognized as " International Ambassadors of Peace and Goodwill ," contributing significantly to making the world a more loving and peaceful place! Media Contact: Lily Chen Representative info@taijimenla.org 626-202-5268 www.taijimen.org/TJM2016G_ENG A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ca05f072-dc64-4dec-98de-3731858c9aba The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress. AnyRoad, a San Francisco, CA-based Experience Relationship Management provider, raised $47M in Series B funding. The round was led by BlackRock with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Runa Capital, and Kaiser Permanente, Rally Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Day One Ventures, Commonfund and Corner Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to support ongoing investment in product development, integrations and go-to-market strategy and plans to scale the product with a focus on hiring talent in data science, engineering, machine learning and other departments. Led by CEO Jonathan Yaffe, AnyRoad provides an Experience Relationship Management (ERM) platform enabling global brands to properly measure, scale, and implement their offline and online experiences. The solution empowers companies to create brand loyalty, change consumer behavior, and understand their brand associations by providing them with data intelligence sourced from experience-based marketing. It is used by leading brands, including Diageo, Beam Suntory, Unilever, Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser, Honda, Michaels and Tabasco. FinSMEs 25/02/2022 Jeffrey Berman, Casey Berman, Jake Fingert, Mitchell Schear (Camber Creek) Camber Creek, a New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm focused on technology and innovative companies transforming the real estate industry, closed its fourth fund with capital commitments of $325m. Founded in 2011 and led by Jeffrey Berman, Casey Berman, Jake Fingert, and Mitchell Schear, Camber Creek is the original VC firm focused on real estate technology and has more than $500m in assets under management. Over the past decade, Camber Creek has invested early and supported the growth of 34 proptech companies. Almost half of those companies have either successfully exited or are current unicorns. Notable investments in leading proptech companies include Notarize, Flex, FlyHomes, Measurabl, Curbio, HappyCo, Building Engines, and Latch. Camber Creeks partner team has over 60 years of real estate industry and over 30 years of venture investing experience. FinSMEs 25/02/2022 Canela Media, a NYC-based minority-owned digital media technology company, closed a $32m Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Acrew Capital and Angeles Investors with participation from Link Ventures, TEGNA Ventures and Samsung NEXT. In addition, existing investors BBG Ventures, Mighty Capital, Reinventure Capital, Portfolias Rising America Fund, Alumni Ventures and Powerhouse Capital, continued its participation, bringing total funding to date to $35m. BMO Harris Bank provided an additional $10m of capital. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate product development, produce new high-quality original programming for its flagship products Canela.TV and Canela Music, and to enable expansion further into Latin America. Led by Isabel Rafferty, Founder and CEO, Canela Media is a digital media technology company offering brands a complete ecosystem to connect with multicultural audiences starting with its free streaming platform service, Canela.TV, which enriches the new generation of U.S. Latinos with free access to unique, culturally relevant content. In addition to TV content, Canela Music features a unique blend of Latin music programming, featuring various genres from Latin Pop, Regional Mexican, Classics, Romantic, and more. Canela Media reaches more than 50 million unique Hispanics across its 180+ premium Spanish-language sites. Later this year, Canela will roll out the Canela Kids app focused on childrens programming. The company will also be adding 95 new positions in various functions, including engineering, operations and programming. FinSMEs 25/02/2022 OpenComp, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of compensation intelligence solutions, raised $20M in Series A funding. The round was led by K5 Global and J.P. Morgan, with participation from TIME Ventures, 8VC, Circle Ventures and Mantis Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to grow its compensation platform, operations, go-to-market and engineering talent. Founded in 2021 by Thanh Nguyen and Nancy Connery, OpenComp empowers high-growth companies to make the best business decisions via compensation intelligence. The platform empowers customers to pay employees fairly and competitively with real-time compensation benchmarking, cross-organization compensation analysis and DEI evaluation tools. It is available for free for organizations up to 50 employees, with tiered pricing and services for other organizations based on size and needs. More than 2,000 companies use OpenComp to attract and empower top talent, including Calm, DataRobot, Discord, DrChrono, Figma, Medium, Mosaic, Mux, and Reddit. FinSMEs 25/02/2022 Spanish Food & Wine Festival: Cava & Dinner 06:00pm | Ponce de Leon Hall The St. Augustine Spanish Food & Wine Festival's mission is to connect St. Augustine to our city's Spanish history through a series of special events that feature Spanish wine, cuisine, and culture. The festival serves to raise money for local charities, provide memorable experiences for visitors, foster international economic development, and enrich the quality of life in our community. All proceeds from the St. Augustine Spanish Food & Wine Festival will go to benefit the Flagler College Hospitality & Tourism Management Program and its talented students. The Flagler College Hospitality & Tourism Management Program is career-focused, offers a complimentary blend of hospitality and business, and is structured around the practical application of hospitality and tourism business principles. Learn more about the festival and purchase tickets here. Location Tagged As Tampa, FL (33646) Today Partly cloudy this morning. Increasing clouds with periods of showers this afternoon. Thunder possible. High 87F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. The family and attorneys of Ahmaud Aubery raise their arms in victory after three men were found guilty of hates crimes at the federal courthouse in Brunswick, Ga., on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Abortion should be legal in all circumstances Abortion should be legal in most circumstances Abortion should be legal in a few circumstances Abortion should never be legal in any circumstances Vote View Results China understands Russia's legitimate security concerns (People's Daily App) 15:59, February 25, 2022 Noting there is a complex and special historical context of the Ukraine issue, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday told his Russian counterpart that the Chinese side understands Russia's legitimate security concerns. Wang made the remarks during a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Wang also reiterated that China has always respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. He urged all parties to completely abandon Cold War mindset and strive for a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through dialogue and negotiation. Lavrov explained the evolution of the situation in Ukraine and Russia's position. He said the U.S. and NATO reneged on their commitments, kept expanding eastward, refused to implement the new Minsk agreement and violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 2202 (2015). He stressed that the Russian side was forced to take necessary measures to safeguard its rights and interests. (Web editor: Peng Yukai, Liang Jun) This is our best offer! You get home delivery Monday through Saturday plus full digital access any time, on any device with our six-day subscription delivery membership. This membership plan includes member-only benefits like our popular ticket giveaways, all of our email newsletters and access to the daily digital replica of the printed paper. Also, you can share digital access with up to four other household members at no additional cost. Subscriptions renew automatically every 30 days. Call 240-215-8600 to cancel auto-renewal. Most subscribers are served by News-Post carriers; households in some outlying areas receive same-day delivery through the US Postal Service. If your household falls in a postal delivery area, you will be notified by our customer service team. If the past two years have taught us anything, its that Floridians are adaptable. The pandemic placed challenges on families everywhere, especially those facing economic instability. Thankfully, school districts and especially the staff in public school cafeterias, proactively stepped up to ensure kids across the state had access to three nutritious meals a day. This was only possible because schools and other groups could quickly adapt their programs when crisis hit. And that was only possible because the USDA was authorized to grant waivers that allowed them to adapt and innovate. Advertisement For example, early in the pandemic, these national waivers provided schools and community groups the flexibility they needed to safely serve meals to all kids who needed them. Across Florida, we saw meal sites pop up in school parking lots, allowing parents to pick up multiple meals at a time for kids learning from home. In some rural communities, box trucks and school buses were redeployed to deliver meals, bringing nutritious food directly to kids in need. Sky Beard is director of No Kid Hungry Florida, a campaign working to end childhood hunger. Lora Gilbert is chair-elect of Florida School Nutrition Association and senior nutrition director for Orange County Public Schools. In Orange County, kids rely heavily on school suppers as a source of night time nutrition. During the pandemic, waivers have allowed Orange County Public Schools to better meet that need. With the support of bus drivers, police officers, and food service staff, theyve been able to offer pop-up meal distributions where families can pull up in their car, tell the staff how many kids they have, and pick up meals for them to eat at home. This has had a huge impact on both kids nutrition, while also helping families to stretch their budget to cover things like school supplies and rent. Advertisement But now those waivers are about to expire, and thats a big problem. Even with students back in the classroom, the pandemic continues to impact our community. Families are still hurting and our schools are constantly facing challenges like staffing shortages and supply chain disruptions. Were not past needing that flexibility to get kids the food they need. Political Pulse Weekly Get latest updates political news from Central Florida and across the state. > And with summer fast approaching, many kids could once again miss out on the meals they usually eat at school. As you read this, schools and community groups across Florida are working to establish sites to safely serve summer meals. And school teams are already working on budgets, staffing plans, and food orders for the coming school year. This work is hard enough, even without the added uncertainty around when, where, and how they can feed kids. Acting to extend the waivers now sets them up with the tools they need to reach more kids with the meals they need. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Congress can remove that uncertainty by acting now to grant the USDA authority to extend the waivers. Without these waivers, the nutritional needs of Floridas children may not be met. Parents could see already tight budgets stretched even further. And schools and local organizations will not be able to provide the nutritious meals and stability children desperately need at this time. When the pandemic hit two years ago, the collective effort of school districts and non-profits, alongside swift action by Congress and the USDA, prevented child hunger from skyrocketing. Today, it is necessary for these smart actions to continue. The pandemic has not let up, and neither can we. Hunger doesnt wait. We urge our congressional delegation and Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott to ensure Floridas children have access to the nutritious meals they need to learn and grow. Advertisement Sky Beard is director of No Kid Hungry Florida, a campaign working to end childhood hunger. Lora Gilbert is chair-elect of Florida School Nutrition Association and senior nutrition director for Orange County Public Schools. Keep the conversation about local news & events going by joining us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Recent updates from The News-Post and also from News-Post staff members are compiled below. Gainesville, TX (76240) Today Foggy this morning. Strong thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High near 80F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. Low near 65F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. A $7 trip to work could become a reality for Albany residents if a Californian electric scooter service can ink a deal with the city. The idea comes from Bird, a micro-mobility company in Santa Monica which operates e-scooter services in 350 cities worldwide. Bird bills its services as an eco-friendly way to reduce traffic and connect more people to transit. Mike Butler, a Bird senior account executive, laid out the company's plan to the Albany City Council on Wednesday, Feb. 23. The e-scooters cost just a dollar to activate using a smartphone app, which requires riders to complete a series of tutorials before allowing them to ride to a given destination. Trips cost 30 to 40 cents per minute, Butler said, with most trips averaging $7. The e-scooters will arrive free of charge to the city, which can set standards for their use, including speed limits or helmet laws. "In virtually all cases, you can think of this as a personal scooter," Butler said. "The city isn't stopping personal scooters from being on the streets." The e-scooters will not require any additional equipment and can be parked and activated anywhere. It's a design that's allowed e-scooters to litter city sidewalks, which has posed problems for some cities that let Bird and its competitors operate. Butler told city councilors Bird intends to start with a fleet of 50 e-scooters in Albany with the possibility of adding 20 more. Each e-scooter has a range of 20 to 30 miles per charge. Albany Councilor Marilyn Smith voiced concerns older residents might be unaccustomed to riding the e-scooters. She agreed with her colleagues that e-scooter education should be comprehensive. "My personal experience as a rider here is that a lot of people who ride in this area have DNA that was programmed several generations back by parents who were taught to ride against traffic," Smith said. "That poses an incredible danger to people who are riding correctly on bicycles." Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald. Data on accident rates for e-scooters is scarce. Most accidents occurred due to sign posts and potholes, according to a 2020 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. E-scooter riders may be considered liable in the event of any accidents, Butler told the Albany City Council on Wednesday. Insurance payouts, he said, are much like how drivers handle a car accident. "A claim is made, an adjuster is brought out, and they decide who is held liable," Butler said. "In almost all cases, the city is not liable." Each e-scooter will also come with anti-theft software barring riders from traveling outside city lines or taking one home. "If someone all of a sudden is trying to take this way far south, even below the community college, they might run into some issues," Butler said. Most laws governing traffic in Albany would also apply to e-scooters in the city, Albany Police Chief Marcia Harnden said during the meeting. "We would obviously want to ensure that we are not jeopardizing people's safety by operating the scooters," Harnden said. "In a scooter versus a vehicle, the scooter always loses." On Wednesday, Albany City Manager Peter Troedson said the city will keep working with Bird to hammer out an informal memorandum of agreement to clarify the project. Albany Mayor Alex Johnson II said Wednesday he will deliberate with his colleagues on the project. The Albany City Council is scheduled to meet next at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 9. 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. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Drive through Scio and you will likely see red and white signs inscribed with the words "No Factory Chicken Farm in our community." Those signs are made by Christina Eastman, a fifth-generation farmer from Scio who lives up the road from where a future Foster Farms chicken site is planned, one of three proposed in the area. Linn County officials discussed the enterprises at the Tuesday, Feb. 22 Board of Commissioners meeting and again at a town hall with farmers Wednesday, Feb. 23 in Scio. Who's across the road The 38-acre site owned by Evergreen Ranch will house 16, 60-foot-by-600-foot poultry warehouses on Thomas Drive. Based on its permit filings with Linn County, the farm will raise as many as 4.5 million broiler chickens per year. If approved, the chicken farm will neighbor the Broken Dam swimming hole on Thomas Creek. It also will be situated about a half-mile from Lourdes Elementary School and Lourdes Catholic Church. The Evergreen Ranch site is one of three planned chicken farms around the mid-Willamette Valley. They include a Foster Farms contractor on Jefferson-Scio Road to the west and a Hiday Poultry Farms operation in Aumsville to the north in Marion County. All are in the permit-pulling stage. Eastman is among a number of mid-valley farmers who believe the chicken farms in the region will bring pollution, traffic and deep-pocketed investors bent on compromising the community's historic character. Tied hands On Tuesday, Eastman and other sympathetic activists aired their grievances to Linn County commissioners. Many say they fear the planned chicken farms could threaten wildlife and run neighboring water wells dry to feed their livestock. "They'll buy our water rights and do whatever they want because they don't have the love of the state," Eastman said. "This is our home, and I think it's the most beautiful in the state." Linn County commissioners made it clear on Tuesday that land use permits are not theirs to deny by law. "The law doesn't give us any place in the process," Linn County Commissioner Will Tucker said. "The best I can do is call and ask people to hold public meetings." Resistance online Opposition to mid-valley chicken factory farms went online last year when a Facebook group, Farmers Against Foster Farms, began making waves. Their website is a collage of maps, land permits and public records related to the three chicken farms still on the table. One of the minds behind the group is farmer Kendra Kimbirauskas. She raises goats, hogs, beef cattle and poultry with her husband in Scio, where she wants to take a stand against "big chicken." "We have got to insert ourselves in this conversation," Kimbirauskas said on Tuesday. "Otherwise, if we don't, we're not going to be able to put the genie back in the bottle." Farmers Against Foster Farms posts graphic renditions of their claims on their website. They include a so-called "smell zone" illustrating the 400-foot radius of noxious odors the farms are liable to emit. Neighbor wars For Eric Simon, a Brownsville chicken farmer developing the Jefferson-Scio Road site, his critics can get carried away. "It's absolutely ridiculous what they're saying to people," Simon said. "My closest neighbor is 1,400 feet away." Simon started in the business 20 years ago when his family was looking for ways to keep a roof over their heads. He also owns Ideal Ag Supply, a farm supply store in Brownsville. The 60-acre site will raise as many as 3.4 million chickens per year and house 12, 60-foot-by-600-foot poultry warehouses along a desolate span of Jefferson-Scio Road. Simon applied for a state permit in 2020, which requires him to secure the water rights he needs and mitigate biohazards. "We're working within the law," Simon said. "We've gone above and beyond what's required of us." Simon chose the location, he said, purposefully to avoid a neighbor war, not start one. He's engaged with Farmers Against Foster Farms on and offline with mixed success. Some folks, Simon said, just have questions. Others want to fight. Foster Farms has been sued in recent years by watchdog groups who have accused it of inhumane slaughtering methods and waste disposal. In 2020, a California farm workers union sued Foster Farms for nine deaths it attributed to workplace conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Simon acknowledged there are bad actors in his industry. He wants people to know it incentivizes good chicken farmers. "We get judged on our birds," Simon said. "The better their conditions, the more money I make." He hopes to break ground by this spring and hire five workers at the farm. Taking action More than 50 people showed up at Scio's ZCBJ Hall on Wednesday night to brainstorm ways to have their voices heard in Salem. Linn County Commissioner Sherrie Sprenger advised the audience to take up the issue with state agencies and, ultimately, their state legislators. "What works is facts," said Sprenger, a former state legislator representing Linn County. "Get your science, get your data, get a hydrologist to study the water." Using donations, Farmers Against Foster Farms hired an engineer to conduct a water study on the proposed chicken farms, according to Kimbirauskas. The study was submitted to the Oregon Department of Agriculture in October. Farmers Against Foster Farms will have their first meeting with members of the Oregon Senate to discuss chicken factory farms. The virtual informational session is tentatively scheduled with the Senate Natural Resources Committee at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 1. Editor's note: This article has been edited to identify Kendra Kimbirauskas as a farmer. 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. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A new development is taking a page out of history with its live-work concept, according to the property owner, who believes it's the first of its kind in Corvallis. The approximately 8,500-square-foot building at 415 SW Second St. will be divided into as many as five apartments with connected work spaces. Gary Feuerstein of Feuerstein Properties cites the tale of Corvallis tradesman Manuel Knight in the late 1800s to explain the live-work concept. Knight reportedly lived with his family at the corner of Second Street and Adams Avenue, next door to his blacksmith shop. Feuerstein said Knight represents the classic craftsman, dedicated to his community and work. Even more impressive is that he undertook immigration to find a new horizon, a home, a place to sell his skills, Feuerstein said in an email. Feuerstein believes the live-work concept is efficient, healthy, safe, convenient and sustainable. He said live-work is a natural lifestyle, and vibrant city downtowns world-wide have live-work options, reducing commuter traffic and putting residents much closer to workplaces, shopping and services. Its commuting that dehumanizes our cities with the end-of-workday vacating the downtown, he wrote. Its not so much learning as recognizing that enforced commuting is not the way to design our cities. An open house for the first unit, which is around 1,300 square feet, is slated for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26 for those who want a closer look. The unit is expected to be fully ready by March 15. Work has been ongoing since October, according to longtime local contractor Jay Sorgen, who is heading the development. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Corvallis Gazette-Times. In Corvallis, there are no live-work units; this is the first one thats been approved by the city, he said, comparing the concept among other places to the Tribeca neighborhood in New York City, where artist studios with overhead living quarters became quite popular. The concept is there to help reduce auto traffic and emissions, and to help keep people downtown, so that they can just walk around, Sorgen said. Its environmentally safer. Transforming the building includes removing a few old garage doors and replacing them with what Sorgen described as European-style iron gates. He also plans to open a portion of the roof to facilitate an indoor green space near the center of the building. The units will have all the typical residential amenities. Feuerstein has owned the building for around 25 years. The privately-financed renovation is expected to cost $150 per square foot, which is potentially around $750,000 for the four or five units. He said multiple small business inquiries about the development have come from restaurant owners, artists, carpenters and online businesses. Nestled in the downtown area next to the Corvallis Museum, the development is near parks, stores, restaurants and the waterfront. According to Feuerstein, the building was home to the Heckart Planning Mill in 1923. By 1944 it held the Beaver Cabinet Co., and later the Corvallis Implement Co. The interior design plan embraces the industrial aspects of the building, accented with high open ceilings, exposed piping and ductwork, and period construction elements, which work together to blend a work environment appearance into the residential space. Sorgen highlighted the use of repurposed and recycled materials in the development, adding to its unique look. Two of the units will be street-facing with windows, and the remaining will be tucked inside. A recessed parking bay off the alleyway is also planned. The development is located in the central business zone, which allows residences and commercial/industrial uses. Feuerstein said Corvallis Development Services approved a building permit in August. Cyclotopia occupies a portion of the building, but is not connected to the live-work development. Editor's note: This article has been edited to clarify that the project's status as the first live-work development is believed but not clearly established. 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_. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, center, stands with law enforcement officials from across Wyoming Thursday morning during a press conference in support of Senate File 102, Second Amendment Protection Act, which has passed through the Senate and will head to the House for debate. Chruch-Community Communication: You should create something great about something English Finnish DOVRE GROUPS FINANCIAL STATEMENT RELEASE 1.1.31.12.2021: A SHIFT TOWARDS GREEN ENERGY Dovre Group Plc Financial Statement Release February 24, 2022, at 09.15 a.m. Last years corresponding period is shown in parentheses. OctoberDecember 2021 Net sales grew by 137.8% to EUR 42.3 (17.8) million. The growth was driven especially by the acquisition of a majority shareholding in the Finnish windmill park construction and construction design company Suvic Oy in March. Suvics operations are presented under the new Renewable Energy segment. Project Personnel: net sales totaled EUR 22.8 (14.0) million increase of 62.3%. Consulting: net sales totaled EUR 4.2 (3.8) million increase of 11.4%. Renewable Energy: net sales totaled EUR 15.4 (-) million. EBITDA improved to EUR 2.0 (0.8) million increase of 153.3%. Operating result improved to EUR 1.8 (0.6) million increase of 199.6%. Profit before tax was EUR 1.7 (0.5) million increase of 202.5%. Earnings for the shareholders of the parent company EUR 1.1 (0.2) million increase of 625.9%. Earnings per share was EUR 0.011 (0.005). Net cash flow from operating activities totaled EUR 1.2 (2.2) million. JanuaryDecember 2021 Net sales grew by 84.2% to EUR 142.7 (77.5) million mainly as a result of the Renewable Energy business established in connection with the Suvic acquisition. Project Personnel: net sales totaled EUR 76.2 (62.9) million increase of 21.1%. Consulting: net sales totaled EUR 16.1 (14.5) million increase of 11.0%. Renewable Energy: net sales totaled EUR 50.4 million (1 April - 31 December 2021). EBITDA increased to EUR 6.9 (3.2) million increase of 117.0%. Operating result improved to EUR 6.1 (2.4) million increase of 158.1%. Profit before tax was EUR 5.6 (2.2) million including EUR -0.5 (-0.2) million of finance items. Earnings for the shareholders of the parent company EUR 3.7 (1.6) million increase of 123.2%. Earnings per share totaled EUR 0.035 (0.016). Net cash flow from operating activities was EUR 2.3 (4.2) million. Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on March 30, 2022, that no dividend is paid for 2021 to enable further growth in the Renewable Energy segment. OUTLOOK FOR 2022 Dovre Groups net sales in 2022 is expected to be more than EUR 165 million (2021: EUR 142.7 million). The operating profit (EBIT) is expected to be better than last year (2021: EUR 6.1 million). CEO ARVE JENSEN: Dovre Group's business continued to grow strongly in Q4 2021. Our net sales increased by 137.8% to EUR 42.3 million and the operating profit margin rose to 4.2 (3.3) %. The Q4 growth was mainly driven by the favourable development of the new Renewable Energy business, but also by the 62.3% growth in Project Personnel business and the 11.4% increase in the Consulting business year-on-year. The most significant events in 2021 were the further diversification of our business into renewable energy with the acquisition of Suvic and the strengthening of our Project Personnel and Consulting business in Finland with the acquisition of the eSite business, which focuses on virtual reality in industry. The Suvic acquisition was completed on the last day of March, and the net sales of our new Renewable Energy segment in AprilDecember were EUR 50.4 million, corresponding to 35% of Dovre's full-year net sales. In April December the Renewable Energy accounted for 41.0 percent of the Groups net sales. During the year, Suvic announced seven new wind farm projects, five of which were launched in 2021 and two that will be launched in 2022. In February 2022, Suvic announced the signing of three more wind farm projects. In less than a year, Renewable Energy has become a significant part of Dovre's business, and we will continue to invest in capitalizing on the growth opportunities of the Suvic renewable energy business acquisition. The year 2021 was also characterized by strong growth in the Project Personnel and Consulting business units. We won several new framework agreements and individual agreements in both business units, and the combined revenue of the segments increased by 19.2% in 2021. In the Project Personnel business, the largest growth came from Singapore and Norway. The number of employees in our Singapore unit rose to a record level in Q3, despite the fact that we still had to adjust to some of the effects of COVID-19 in Singapore. The growth of the unit was particularly affected by a non-recurring project that ended at the end of 2021. In Norway, demand was boosted by increased energy demand, the high oil price and the COVID-19 tax regulations, which together impacted favourably early phase project activities. The positive development in the Norwegian consulting business continued throughout the year. The most significant event in the Finnish Consulting business was the acquisition of the eSite business from Fortum. eSite specializes in plant imaging and 3D modelling, and we see significant potential in expanding and strengthening our current service offering. We expect the benefits of the business acquisition to be reflected in our business from 2022 onwards. Dovre Group's net sales in 2021 increased by 84.2% to EUR 142.7 million and the operating profit margin improved to 4.3 (3.0) %. With the growth of our business, our number of employees also increased and was 865 (610) at the end of the year. In 2022, in line with our strategy, we will focus on profitable growth. We plan to further expand our services in the energy sector. In addition, our goal is to increase the share of Consulting in our business and to continue to diversify our offering in this business area to new clients and industries, such as transportation, construction, ICT, defence, and healthcare. In addition, in 2022, we will continue to focus on keeping and developing our personnel and ensuring that we continue to have access to the best consultants for our clients' projects. We expect the competitive environment to remain tight, and we will closely monitor oil price developments and other market movements. GROUPS KEY FIGURES EUR million 1012 2021 1012 2020 Change % 112 2021 112 2020 Change % Net sales 42.3 17.8 137.8 142.7 77.5 84.2 EBITDA 2.0 0.8 153.3 6.9 3.2 117.0 % of net sales 4.7 4.4 4.8 3.0 Operating result 1.8 0.6 199.6 6.1 2.4 158.1 % of net sales 4.2 3.3 4.3 3.0 Profit before taxes 1.7 0.5 202.5 5.6 2.2 158.7 % of net sales 3.9 3.1 3.9 2.8 Earnings for the shareholders of the parent company 1.1 0.2 625.9 3.7 1.6 123.2 % of the net sales 2.6 0.9 2.6 2.1 Net cash flow from operating activities 1.2 2.2 -46.8 2.3 4.2 -45.0 Net debt -1.0 -2.4 -56.3 -1.0 -2.4 -56.3 Debt-equity ratio (Gearing), % -3.7 -10.1 -63.4 -3.7 -10.1 -63.4 Earnings per share, EUR Undiluted 0.011 0.005 110.4 0.035 0.016 118.8 Diluted 0.011 0.005 110.4 0.035 0.016 118.8 BOARD OF DIRECTORS PROPOSAL FOR DISTRIBUTION OF A DIVIDEND On December 31, 2021, the parent companys distributable funds were EUR 21,428,945.17. Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on March 30, 2022, that no dividend is paid for 2021 to enable further growth in the Renewable Energy segment. FINANCIAL REPORTING IN 2022 Dovre Group releases its financial reports in 2022 as follows: Q1 trading statement for January 1 March 31, 2022, on Thursday, April 28, 2022 Half-year financial report for January 1 June 30, 2022, on Thursday, August 18, 2022 Q3 trading statement for January 1 September 30, 2022, on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 The companys Annual General Meeting is planned to be held on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Dovre Groups Board of Directors will summon the meeting at a later date. The Annual Report 2021, which includes the companys financial statements, the report of the Board of Directors, the corporate governance statement, and the remuneration report, will be published online during week 11. This stock exchange release is a summary of Dovre Group Plcs Financial Statements Release for January 1 December 31, 2021. The full bulletin is attached to this release and is also available online at www.dovregroup.com-> Investors Espoo, February 24, 2022 DOVRE GROUP PLC BOARD OF DIRECTORS For additional information, please contact: Arve Jensen CEO arve.jensen@dovregroup.com tel. +47 90 60 78 11 Sirpa Haavisto CFO sirpa.haavisto@dovregroup.com tel. +358 20 436 2000 DISTRIBUTION: Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd Major media www.dovregroup.com Dovre Group is a global provider of project management services. Dovre Group has three business areas: Project Personnel, Consulting and Renewable energy. Dovre Group has offices in Canada, Finland, Norway, Singapore and the US, and employs about 900 people worldwide. Dovre Group is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki (symbol: DOV1V). Website: www.dovregroup.com Attachment BOSTON, Feb. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ambassador Labs , the cloud native developer experience leader, today announced the newest release of Ambassador Cloud . Built on leading open source Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) projects, including Telepresence, Argo, and Emissary-ingress, Ambassador Cloud now features ClickOps capabilities to make it easier than ever for developers to code, test, ship, and run applications for Kubernetes. Any developer can begin using Ambassador Cloud for free and upgrade to a paid plan for as little as $5 per month. We built Ambassador Cloud to help developers do what they want to do most, which is write great code, said Richard Li, Founder and CEO at Ambassador Labs. The power of Kubernetes and the tools ecosystem to manage it adds a lot of complexity to the development process. Ambassador Cloud directly addresses the learning curve for developers to master this complexity with ease, allowing them to use their existing tools to simplify how they code, test, ship, and run their Kubernetes workflows from a single pane of glass and with just a few clicks. Ambassador Labs mission is to help organizations ship software faster in the cloud. This mission is fueled by the growth of Kubernetes: developers using Kubernetes increased 67% in 12 months, according to a recent report by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). Today, the role of a modern software developer goes well beyond writing code and now includes managing the suite of tools for release and runtime infrastructures using Kubernetes. Full stack developers are now becoming full lifecycle developers. The Ambassador platform lets us treat HTTP and TCP routes like any other Kubernetes object, which means CI/CD can manage them just like deployments or services, said Bo Daley, Platform Engineer, Zipcar. Operations does not have to get involved in setting up basics like routing, load balancing, and so on, removing development bottlenecks for us. Our developers get to declare just what they need and the platform makes their application accessible to the world as soon as it's deployed. Ambassador Cloud now includes a number of new features to reduce the complexity of building software for individual developers and cloud native teams: Code and Test Services with Telepresence . Developers can set up a local dev environment that connects to a remote Kubernetes cluster, enabling you to use your existing tools and workflow for development. Users can now start a Telepresence session from a list of Kubernetes services and get a secure URL to view any code changes in real time using a point-and-click interface. Teams can also view code changes via a GitHub or GitLab organization, fostering code development collaboration in real time. Developers can set up a local dev environment that connects to a remote Kubernetes cluster, enabling you to use your existing tools and workflow for development. Users can now start a Telepresence session from a list of Kubernetes services and get a secure URL to view any code changes in real time using a point-and-click interface. Teams can also view code changes via a GitHub or GitLab organization, fostering code development collaboration in real time. Safely Deploy Canary Releases with Argo. To support cloud native CI/CD, developers can manage an entire canary release workflow from a single pane of glass in Ambassador Cloud using CNCF project, Argo . Developers can open and merge pull requests, and monitor or even pause a canary release in just a few clicks. To support cloud native CI/CD, developers can manage an entire workflow from a single pane of glass in Ambassador Cloud using CNCF project, . Developers can open and merge pull requests, and monitor or even pause a canary release in just a few clicks. Run Production Apps with Emissary-ingress. CNCF project Emissary-ingress makes it simple for developers to manage and observe traffic from the Internet to their Kubernetes services. Typically managed using a declarative, GitOps -style workflow, Ambassador Cloud simplifies this even further by allowing developers to create a Mapping straight from the Cloud user interface as a pull request. The Mappings are automatically generated from the Cloud and deliver best practice recommendations, such as timeouts and rate limits, so developers feel confident in the availability and resilience of their service workflows. Pricing and Availability Ambassador Cloud is available today and free to use for one Kubernetes namespace. Additional namespaces can be purchased with a credit card for as little as $5 per month. Enterprise Kubernetes Solutions For organizations with sophisticated requirements, Ambassador Labs now delivers enterprise Kubernetes solutions by combining access to expertise and tools to accelerate cloud native adoption. Our Enterprise Solutions team helps organizations implement cloud native best practices and confidently navigate complex architectural, governance, and security requirements. Learn more at getambassador.io/editions/enterprise . Additional Resources Read our announcement blog here . . To learn more about Ambassador Cloud visit: https://www.getambassador.io/products/ambassador-cloud/ Join the Ambassador Developer Community on Slack: https://a8r.io/slack Join the Ambassador Labs team - see open positions: https://www.getambassador.io/about-us/careers/ About Ambassador Labs Ambassador Labs, the cloud native developer experience leader, enables developers to code, ship, and run applications faster and easier than ever. Maker of top Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) open source projects, including Emissary-ingress and Telepresence, Ambassador Labs delivers a developer control plane for Kubernetes that integrates the development, deployment, and production infrastructure for developers and organizations worldwide including Microsoft, PTC, NVidia, and Ticketmaster. Ambassador Labs is backed by top investors including Insight Partners and Matrix Partners. Learn more and get started for free at www.getambassador.io . Media Contact: Lisa Williams press@datawire.io (339) 788-0067 SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Silicon Valley HR tech start-up Innovation Minds has announced its third partnership with a major American NGO, making it arguably the worlds fastest up-and-coming specialist on innovation management and employee experience with not-for-profits. The new partnership with InnovateTLH, based in Tallahassee, Florida, deepens Innovation Minds focus on bringing the latest in HR and innovation technology and techniques to an arena not usually noted for its cutting-edge approaches. By adding InnovateTLH to its stable of non-profit clients and partners, Innovation Minds continues to forge a powerful niche in the NGO space. The Innovation Minds platform is going to be key in addressing some of our most perplexing challenges, says Dr. Scott Balog, founder of InnovateTLH. He adds that the original suggestion for managing ideas across their growing network of educational institutions was to just use an Excel spreadsheet. "The Innovation Minds platform is a far better solution, obviously, Dr. Balog adds. Because its convenient, accessible, easy to navigate and customizable, it uniquely supports our entire community. It brings attention to creative solutions and advances the development of area businesses and jobs. Innovation Minds founder Bala Balasubramaniam is proud of the socially-conscious direction his company is taking. the technology business, its easy to lose track of what really matters. And what really matters is impact. And the impact of NGOs is potentially massive, when we empower them properly. Which is exactly what we are doing. The partnership with InnovateTLH follows on from a project launched last month with the Suriname-America Alumni Association in alliance with the US Embassy. The SAAA project is more of a direct educational initiative, helping young local innovators in Suriname learn the best innovation practices and approaches from Silicon Valley. Ashna Mahepal, director of the SAAA program, points out: We are introducing our members to the innovators mindset, emphasizing cooperation, and providing a web-based toolset and top-quality resources. And now they can work towards solutions that make a difference. We are laying a foundation on which innovators in Suriname can build a powerful future for our country and for their communities. In the SAAA program, innovators are addressing local issues relevant to their own and their fellow Suriname citizens lives, such as making their sidewalks safer for pedestrians and improving access to clean energy. The globalizing world brings many opportunities for growth, Mahepal adds. But to be able to maximize the benefits, we need to first strengthen cooperation at home. Technological developments enable rapid innovation when we first ensure innovative mindsets and platforms. The third NGO project Innovation Minds is working with is actually entering its second year. Innovosource is a Minneapolis-based organization connecting research institutions with corporate innovation teams and StartUp investors. Innovosource used the Innovation Minds platform in a pilot program last year linking a medical device company with a group of research institutions. The project looked at connecting the technical needs of corporations with the latest research. Innovosource founder Jacob Johnson lauds the pilot process as creating a one-stop shop that developed into a vibrant community. We were able to leverage the Innovation Minds platform to create much greater efficiencies, Johnson says. It allowed us to move proposed ideas smoothly into actual research agreements and proof of concept projects. Johnson is excited about the recent growth of the Innovation Minds platform from the idea management space to a broader application across a variety of forms of collaboration and co-creation. Having worked with the company previously, he is acutely aware of the softwares 2022 improvements. I am looking forward this year to more of Innovation Minds best practice research and educational programming, Johnson adds. This will allow us to expand our program and make it even more effective. Well be able to bring the pilot program to more organizations, across more disciplines, to meet more challenges with more answers. Innovation Minds SVP of Product, Rosemary Rein, highlights that Innovation Minds continues to look for more NGOs to work with. She has a long background in the NGO world herself, having been Head of Learning and Development at both Wikipedia and the United Way. Rein says: Innovation Minds encourages NGO's seeking to increase the speed and sustainability of Innovation in their organizations and communities to reach out to us for information on both NGO pilot and grant opportunities in 2022. We will help you to help the world to be a better place. Media contact: Rosemary Rein, Rosemary@innovationminds.com, +1 239 666 8054 ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stephen Shaya, M.D., Managing Director of Akkad Holdings and Executive Servant Leader at J & B Medical, is a panelist during the Tenth Annual Lake Nona Impact Forum which is hosted by the Lake Nona Institute, a nonprofit, community-focused organization that leads Lake Nona's wellbeing initiatives. The Lake Nona Impact Forum is committed to leading the conversation for building the Wellbeing Ecosystem of the Future by exploring the intersections of health, wellness, medical and scientific innovation, and strategies to optimize human performance. The annual Lake Nona Impact Forum will convene 300 of the brightest minds and global thought leaders in health, wellbeing, technology, and business from Feb. 23-25, 2022. The Forum will feature a series of in-depth, collaborative discussions about health innovation in the new reality. As part of the three-day event, Dr. Shaya will join Ben duPont, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Chartline Capital Partners, and panel Moderator Rasesh Thakkar, Senior Managing Director, Tavistock Group, Co-Founder, Lake Nona Impact Forum, on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, to discuss their thoughts on Creating a Legacy for a Better Life. Dr. Shaya commented on his participation in the panel with a quote from Jim Rohn: "All good men and women must take responsibility to create legacies that will take the next generation to a level we could only imagine." Stephen Shaya, M.D., is the Managing Director of Akkad Holdings and Executive Servant Leader at J & B Medical. Akkad Holding is his family office which was started to invest in healthcare opportunities that can leverage J & B's global distribution channels and has a mantra of "People, Purpose, Pay It Forward." J & B is a world-class family of businesses that span across all aspects of medical-related care, including the following: a) insurance covered products; b) national managed care contracts; c) medical-surgical products; d) retail home-care products; e) technology solutions; and f) serves as one of the largest third-party billers of consumable medical products in the United States. One of the family of companies is HNC Virtual Care Solutions, a telehealth company, which provides virtual care to patients worldwide. stephen@akkadholdings.com This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Beverly Hills , Feb. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sammy Courtright talks with Mission Matters about her employee relationship management (ERM) platform, Ten Spot, and how it helps business leaders manage flexible teams across their companies. Listen to the complete interview of Sammy Courtright with Adam Torres on the Mission Matters Business Podcast. What mission matters to you? Courtright aligns her work with her values, helping businesses grow through efficient team management with a specific focus on the importance of flexibility. We at Ten Spot are obsessed with building a product that makes everyone in the world love where they work, she says, and we feel strongly that the role that managers play has a big impact on the employee experience. How did you get started as an entrepreneur? When Courtright was a senior in college, she launched a jewelry company with three other founders in Los Angeles. Of those days, she recalls, On the weekends, I would be flying back and forth helping with sales distribution, PR, design, whatever we had to dowe designed handcrafted artisanal jewelry. After graduating, she moved to LA and began working at another startup. This is really where the entrepreneurial kind of flywheel effect began to happen, she says. I met my co-founder, Jon, and we partnered up and began working on a company called Fitspot, which pivoted during the pandemic and then became Ten Spot. What kind of advice would you give to people who are just getting started? Courtright advises those who are taking their first step toward building a business to validate the needs of the market first. One of the biggest learnings from all of my professional career has been to validate the problem that youre trying to solve as a company that you want to build with customers, she advises. Once thats done, though, she encourages enterprising people to Go for it and go for it quickly. Tell us more about your company, Ten Spot. Ten Spot is an employee relationship management (ERM) platform. Businesses are often lacking in the way they communicate with their employees, sometimes failing to understand their issues, and thats where Ten Spot can step in. We provide managers with needful insights and automation data which assists in managing flexible teams, Courtright explains. How does Ten Spot benefit companies? Through Ten Spot, business leaders can get insights about their employees. Insights can range from employees preferred forms of communication and feedback to personal interests, past and present achievements, and more, giving managers a clearer picture of who their teams are made of and how they work best. It also builds chemistry and community across teams, helping them click and work better together even if theyre entirely remote. Since Ten Spot works across all industries and benefits brands of any size, she notes, it can efficiently contribute to better employee relations for virtually any company. To learn more, visit Ten Spot online. Media Communications Inquiries: adamtorres@missionmatters.com Publicist for Adam Torres and Mission Matters Media KISS PR Brand Story PressWire Brand Publicity Partners KissPR.com For more details, visit Kisspr.com. KISS PR Podcast Marketing powers the Mission Matters Business podcast with brand storytelling. T: 972.437.8942 Media Contact: Az@kisspr.com Attachment San Francisco, CA, Feb. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Minswap, the community-focused decentralized exchange (DEX) being built natively on the Cardano blockchain, announced the official date for the launch of their Liquidity Bootstrapping event which will launch on 23rd of February and Mainnet launch on 8th March 2022. Minswap, the community-focused decentralized exchange (DEX) being built natively on the Cardano blockchain, announced that before the DEX Mainnet Launch, they will have a Liquidity Bootstrapping Event (LBE) for the MIN/ADA pair starting 23rd February. Cardanos DEX Minswap Announces a Liquidity Bootstrapping Event & Mainnet launch. The LBE, for which 2% of total MIN tokens supply has been allocated, will go on from the 23rd of February 2022 to March 13th. MinSwap's total token supply is 5 Billion MIN tokens and these 100 Million MIN will be taken from the DAO treasury. How will the Minswap LBE work: 1. Discovery Phase - 23rd of Feb to 4th March - users can supply ADA to the LBE. The amount of ADA supplied by participants will determine the final ADA/MIN price. ADA supplied to the LBE will turn into "purrADA" tokens (e.g 100 ADA = 100 purrADA). Users can swap purrADA back for ADA at any time. But, to prevent last-minute price manipulation, if you swap purrADA for ADA on the last 2 days (March 3nd & 4th), there will be a fee of 25%. 2. Encounter Phase - March 5th to March 13th - participants can turn in purrADA tokens for ADA/MIN Liquidity Pool tokens, representing their share of the ADA/MIN pool. So by supplying ADA, participants are swapping half that ADA for MIN, at the price that is fairly discovered at the end. Meanwhile, on March 3rd - 4th, projects will be able to seed their token pairs. From March 5th to March 8th anyone can Provide Liquidity in these previously created pairs. March 8th will be the DEX mainnet launch! Then, anyone can swap, provide Liquidity and create pools. 3. Settlement Phase - March 14th - Anyone will be able to stake LP tokens in selected Yield Farms. Anyone will be able to stake their MIN/ADA LP tokens to earn MIN, but those who participated in the Discovery Phase will have a 110%-200% bonus during the first 7 days. MinSwap is the first DEX to apply this liquidity bootstrapping approach on Cardano. According to the Minswap Teams article on medium, the event aims to achieve the following: Fair Price Discovery and Transparency: we will not launch the DEX and decide the price of the MIN/ADA pair ourselves, but rather it will be the community that sets a fair price by how much ADA is provided. The price of the MIN/ADA pair during the LBE will be visible at all times in our UI. Start off the DEX with significant Protocol Owned Liquidity (POL). Essentially, POL means a protocol owning its own liquidity, in the case of Minswap, it will be MIN/ADA LP tokens. The two main advantages of POL are: that this liquidity is a revenue source for the DAO because of the fees generated from the LP tokens and that this liquidity is sustainable as it is controlled by the DAO and remains in the protocol long term. It's a common saying in DeFi that code can be forked, but community and POL can't. Strong community and POL is what Minswap strives for since the very beginning. Equitable and Wide Distribution: participation is permissionless and the barriers of entry to partake are very low, you just need to own ADA! Everyone, regardless of their capital size, will be able to join the event on equal terms, which will result in broader token distribution. As a community governed project, we will begin to rely more and more heavily on the DAO, so we think the more governance participants the better. Less backlog pressure on the DEX: while we expect congestion to still be a factor, we want to avoid a situation where users rush and need to wait days under uncertain conditions in order to swap in the MIN/ADA pair. In this way, we hope everyone can get their hands on the MIN they want and avoid long queues. No front-running by a smart whale: given the price will be determined only at the end, and there will be the same price for all participants, its not possible for a smart whale to submit an order before the launch of the DEX. Minswap is a community-driven DEX in that it has no venture capital funding, making their tokens fairly distributed, and ensuring its the community of users that are maximally rewarded, not speculators and insiders. 78.5% of tokens will be distributed to the community, of which 70% are reserved to reward liquidity providers (LPs) through incentives. For more information about Minswap: You can follow Minswap on Medium and other channels below to keep up to date with the latest news! Medium: https://medium.com/minswap Discord: https://discord.gg/ZhUV6wjx Twitter: https://twitter.com/MinswapDEX Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/MinSwap/ Email: badr@minswap.org Country, Region: San Francisco, CA The information provided in this release is not investment advice, financial advice or trading advice. It is recommended that you practice due diligence (including consultation with a professional financial advisor before investing or trading securities and cryptocurrency). News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The agency, which provides personal one-to-one migration counseling to roughly 50,000 individuals every month, has updated its Canada immigration services for 2022 in light of new immigration laws, higher targets, and more efficient processes already in place. More details can be found at https://www.y-axis.ae Y-Axis is accredited by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC)and British Council, now can streamline visa applications to Canada, for study, work, and permanent residency. The latest initiative offers applicants a comprehensive assistance program for gaining entry and securing residency in Canada. Welcoming new immigrants in 2022: Canada expects to take in more than 400,000 new immigrants in 2022, a higher level than Canada has ever targeted before. Y-Axis indicates that the government is considering an additional increase to Canadas immigration levels, as immigration is a key component of Canadas long-term economic strategy. According to studies conducted, the number of job vacancies has increased by over 70% in Canada and close to 900,000 positions remain unfilled. Express entry draws 2022: Y-Axis will now work with applicants to take advantage of proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act IRPR. As the company explains, while Express Entry draws have continued throughout the pandemic, in 2021, they were restricted to candidates in either the Canadian Experience Class or Provincial Nominee Programs. However, anticipated amendments will prioritize the selection of Express Entry candidates who better meet Canadas labor market needs. Timeframe for obtaining a work permit in 2022: Furthermore, the company can now expedite work permit applications. According to Y-Axis reports, by the end of 2022, Canada aims to process at least 80 percent of work permit applications submitted outside Canada within 60 days or less. For International Experience Canada IEC applicants, the standard is to process all applications within 56 days or less. Study Visa and Family sponsorship: Y-Axis manages both study visa and spousal sponsorship applications. For study visa applications submitted outside Canada, over 80 percent of applications should be processed within 60 days. For applications submitted inside Canada, the standard application processing window is 120 days. Spouse, common-law, and dependent children seeking permanent residence in 2022 can expect to have their applications processed within 12 months or less. Canada has indeed stepped up to the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is indeed up to immigrants to make the most of the situation. Our core competence is career counseling. People approach us with a dream that they have nurtured all their lives, while some come with their last hopes for a brighter future pinned on us, says Clint Khan, Director of Y-Axis Middle East. Canada is a great place for immigrants to settle in and start a new life. One could be part of a country that is considered one of the best countries in the world for immigration and also for being happy. If one is looking to Work, Study, Invest, Visit, or Migrate to Canada, talk to Y-Axis, the Worlds No. 1 Immigration & Visa Company. More information can be seen at https://www.y-axis.ae Website: https://www.y-axis.ae/ Sydney, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Proactive, provider of real-time news and video interviews on growth companies listed in Australia, has covered the following companies: Tietto Minerals Ltd (ASX:TIE) has added more bonanza-grade intersections to its tally from infill drilling on the main Abujar Shear within its 3.35-million-ounce Abujar Gold Project in Cote dIvoire, including 503.85 g/t gold within 10 metres at 51.75 g/t at AG Core. Click here Blue Star Helium Ltd (ASX:BNL, OTC:BSNLF) has received approval from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) for its Sammons Ranch Oil and Gas Development Plan (OGDP) in Las Animas County, Colorado. Click here Emperor Energy Ltd (ASX:EMP) has completed an amplitude versus offset (AVO) analysis of the Kipper and Golden Beach Gas Sands across the Vic/P47 Permit and Judith Gas Field, indicating an additional gas play in the area may extend over 500 vertical metres. Click here Vango Mining Ltd (ASX:VAN) has completed the second phase of drilling at the Skyhawk open-pit in the Marymia Gold Project of Western Australia, intersecting wide bands of high-grade gold zones that confirm the potential for an open-pit approach to the resource. Click here Alkane Resources Ltds (ASX:ALK) first stage of resource drilling at its Boda Prospect in Central New South Wales is nearing completion. Click here Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM) has signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with Hyundai Engineering Corporation Co., Ltd (HEC) to exclusively negotiate the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) and the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) for the Dubbo Project in NSW. Click here Solis Minerals Ltd (TSX-V:SLMN, ASX:SLM) has continued to demonstrate the size of a large copper system at the Mostazal Copper Project in Chile, intersecting copper sulphide mineralisation in all three diamond holes drilled at the project so far. Click here Chimeric Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:CHM) has initiated the first patient in the third dose level of the chlorotoxin CAR T (CLTX CAR T) phase 1 trial at the City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organisations in the United States. Click here Buru Energy Ltd (ASX:BRU) has begun testing operations at the Rafael 1 well in the Canning Basin in northwest Western Australia, with initial clean-up flow underway. Click here Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) has signed a joint co-operation agreement with the Mid West Ports Authority (MWPA) to secure future use of facilities and services at the key mid-west resources sector port facility. Click here Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX:CPH, OTCQB:COPHF) has secured firm commitments from investors to raise $5 million through an issue of 72.4 million new fully paid shares priced at $0.069 per share. Click here About Proactive Proactive is a unique tech-enabled platform providing companies globally with a comprehensive investor engagement solution across their business lifecycle. With six offices on three continents, Proactive works with innovative growth companies quoted on the worlds major stock exchanges, helping executives to engage intelligently with investors. In 2020, Proactive featured in 809 million search results, our content was viewed over 165 million times and our readers spent over 10 million hours on our websites. Proactive has produced over 300,000 articles and 20,000 executive interviews since it was established in 2006. For more information on how Proactive can help you make a difference, email us at action@proactiveinvestors.com Pune, India, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global ventricular assist device market size was USD 1.12 billion in 2020. The market is projected to grow from USD 1.23 billion in 2021 to USD 2.24 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 8.9% during the 2021-2028 period. This information is provided by Fortune Business Insights, in its report, titled, Ventricular Assist Device Market, 2021-2028. Industry Development February 2021: CARMAT has gained sanction for the usage of novel version of its artificial heart in the Early Feasibility Study (EFS). This novel variety comprises specific enhancements in the prosthesis and the wearable system grounded on clinical experience attained in the PIVOTAL study. Request Sample PDF: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/ventricular-assist-device-market-106377 Ventricular Assist Device Market Report Scope: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 CAGR 8.9% 2028 Value Projection USD 2.24 billion Base Year 2020 Market Size in 2021 USD 1.23 billion Historical Data for 2017 to 2019 No. of Pages 150 Segments covered By Type, By Procedure, By Geography Growth Drivers Based on our analysis, the global market exhibited a stellar growth of -9.19% in 2020 compared to the average year-on-year growth during 2017-2019. The sudden rise in CAGR is attributable to this markets demand and growth, returning to pre-pandemic levels once the pandemic is over. The factors such as the increasing prevalence of heart failure, awareness regarding treatment for heart failure and rising applications of these devices in heart failure are contributing to the growth of the market during the forecast period of 2021-2028. To get to know more about the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this market, please visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/ventricular-assist-device-market-106377 Ventricular Assist Device Market Growth Factors: Heart failure is among the dominating reasons of mortality globally, impacting over 1-2% of the population in western nations. As per the American Heart Association (AHA), the occurrence of heart failure is estimated to augment at a substantial development pace by 2030, in the U.S. is expected to reach over 8 million patients. Furthermore, in 2020, across the world, over 5.5 million people are predicted to be impacted by heart failure. Mentioning the surging number of patients experiencing the condition, numerous producers are undertaking initiatives for the obtainability of ventricular assist devices. Request for Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/ventricular-assist-device-market-106377 Regional Insights The Ventricular Assist Device Market size in North America stood at USD 0.45 billion in 2020. The leading nature of this regional market is accredited to the growing implementation of advanced diagnostics for the identification of heart failure and the increasing incidence of cardiovascular diseases in this region. Europe held the second-largest ventricular assist device market share and is anticipated to rise at a substantial CAGR owing to the growing investments in the market pooled with fresher product promotions. The market in the Asia Pacific displayed a higher CAGR owing to the progressions in the healthcare amenities and encouraging government strategies. Speak to Analyst: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/ventricular-assist-device-market-106377 List of Key Players Covered in the Report Abbott Laboratories (U.S.) Berlin Heart GmbH (Germany) Medtronic (Ireland) Cardiac Assist, Inc. (U.S.) Jarvik Heart, Inc. (U.S.) ReliantHeart (U.S.) ABIOMED (U.S.) Sun Medical Technology Research Corp (Japan) Ventricular Assist Device Market Table Of Content: Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Number of Cardiac Surgeries, By Region/Country, 2020 New Product Launches, By Key Players Impact of COVID-19 on the Market Recent Key Developments, Mergers, and Acquisitions, Key Players Global Ventricular Assist Device Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Product Left Ventricular Assist Device Right Ventricular Assist Device Bi-Ventricular Assist Device Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Type Pulsatile Flow Continuous Flow Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Application Bridge to Transplant (BTT) Bridge to Candidacy (BTC) Destination Therapy (DT) Bridge to Recovery (BTR) Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By End User Hospitals & ASCs Specialty Clinics & Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa North America Ventricular Assist Device Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Product Left Ventricular Assist Device Right Ventricular Assist Device Bi-Ventricular Assist Device Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Type Pulsatile Flow Continuous Flow Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Application Bridge to Transplant (BTT) Bridge to Candidacy (BTC) Destination Therapy (DT) Bridge to Recovery (BTR) Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By End User Hospitals & ASCs Specialty Clinics & Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Country U.S. By Product Canada By Product Inquire Before Buying: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/queries/ventricular-assist-device-market-106377 About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data. Contact Us: US :+1 424 253 0390 UK : +44 2071 939123 APAC : +91 744 740 1245 Pune, India, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global orthopedic power tools market size is projected to grow from USD 1.54 billion in 2021 to USD 2.05 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 4.1% during the 2021-2028 period. This information is provided by Fortune Business Insights, in its report titled, Orthopedic Power Tools Market, 2021-2028. Industry Developments: December 2020: Midas Rex high-speed drills with Mazor Robotic Guidance System have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, allowing Medtronic's robotic portfolio to provide a precise surgical experience. Get Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/sample/orthopedic-power-tools-market-100574 Market Drivers and Restraints: Orthopedic power tools enable surgeons to complete the same surgical procedures faster and with more precision and accuracy. Orthopedic power tools have been widely used in the global market due to their persistent positive results. They also have various advantages, such as being lightweight, simple to install, and cost-effective. Surgical power tools have become highly popular in the global market due to this continual progress in the field of orthopedics. To meet Orthopedic Power Tools Market demand, the major manufacturers are also developing novel and technologically advanced products. However, the expensive acquisition and maintenance expenses of these devices, particularly reusable devices, are preventing orthopedic surgeons from using them. To get to know more about the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this market, please visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/orthopedic-power-tools-market-100574 Market Segments: By product type, the market is segmented into instruments (surgical drills, saws, and accessories), and others. Based on application, the market is fragmented into electric power device, pneumatic power device, and battery power device. Based on usage, the market is segregated into reusable and disposable. Based on end-user, the Orthopedic Power Tools Market is divided into hospitals & ASCs, and specialty clinics. Finally, by geography, the market is divided into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Orthopedic Power Tools Market Regional Analysis: The market in the U.S. is expected to increase at a high rate during the projected period. Some of the major factors driving market expansion include the direct presence of key regional companies, a strong distribution network, and well-established healthcare infrastructure. As the number of orthopedic procedures performed in the U.S. and Canada grows, so does the demand for orthopedic power instruments. This, together with suitable reimbursement regulations and improved healthcare infrastructure, is driving the region's adoption of power tools even faster. The second-largest share of the orthopedic power tools market share was held by Europe. This is due to the availability of acceptable payment policies for major orthopedic surgeries and an increase in the number of surgical procedures in Germany, the U.K., and France. Quick Buy - Orthopedic Power Tools Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/100574 List of Key Players Mentioned in the Report: Stryker (Kalamazoo, U.S.) Conmed Corporation (Largo, U.S.) Zimmer Biomet (Warsaw, U.S.) Johnson& Johnson Services Inc. (New Brunswick, U.S.) B. Braun Melsungen AG (Melsungen, Germany) De Soutter Medical (Buckinghamshire, U.K.) AlloTech Co. LTD (Namyangju-si, South Korea) Kaiser Medical Technology (Chippenham, England) Medtronic (Dublin, Ireland) NSK/NAKANISHI (Kanuma, Japan) Table Of Contents : Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Number of Key Orthopedic Surgeries, By Region/Country, 2020 New Product Launches, By Key Players Impact of COVID-19 on the Market Recent Key Developments, Mergers, and Acquisitions, Key Players Global Orthopedic Power Tools Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Product Type Instruments Surgical Drills Saws Others Accessories Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Technology Electric Powered Device Pneumatic Powered Device Battery Powered Device Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Usage Reusable Disposable Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By End User Hospitals & ASCs Specialty Clinics Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Toc Continue.. Ask for Customization of this Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/orthopedic-power-tools-market-100574 About Us: Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in. US :+1 424 253 0390 UK : +44 2071 939123 APAC : +91 744 740 1245 Dublin, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Aircraft Antenna Market by Frequency (VHF&UHF band, Ka/Ku/K band, HF band, X band, C band, L band), Antenna Type, Installation, Application, End User (OEM, Aftermarket), Aircraft Type, & Region (North America, Europe, APAC, RoW) - Global Forecast to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global market for aircraft antenna is estimated to be USD 0.6 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 0.9 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period. The growth of this market is mainly driven by increase in airspace modernization programs, increase in demand for military UAVs and introduction of advanced aircraft systems. The aircraft antenna market includes major players L3Harris Technologies Inc. (US), Honeywell International (US), Collins Aerospace (US), Cobham Limited (UK), and The Boeing Company (US). These players have spread their business across various countries includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well. Industry experts believe that COVID-19 could affect aircraft antenna production and services by 7-10% globally in 2020. The VHF & UHF band segment is estimated to lead the market during the forecast period, with a share of 30% in 2021. VHF & UHF (very high frequency and ultra-high frequency) bands are used for short-range aircraft navigation and communication, enabling an aircraft to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted through a network from a ground location. This band is used for communication in the line-of-sight range. The Terminal Wireless Local Area Network segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period Based on application, the Terminal Wireless Local Area Network segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period. A Terminal Wireless Local Area Network functions with the help of a small compliant transceiver that supports multiple high-speed wireless protocols. This multi-protocol support enables the operation of the GateSync system at airports across the world. The system enables airlines to wirelessly load and offload content and data while the aircraft is on the ground. The microstrip antenna segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period Based on antenna type, the microstrip antenna segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period. Microstrip antennas are popular owing to their low manufacturing cost and ease of fabrication and integration with circuit components. These antennas are lightweight and can be easily mounted on the surface of aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, missiles, and even on handheld mobile devices. The nose mounted segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period Based on installation, the nose mounted segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period. In most military and commercial aircraft, the nose cone also shelters radar antennas and other equipment that are used for the detection of meteorological phenomena, enemy aircraft, and the transmission of communication signals. In the nose section, the antennas installed are weather radar, glideslope, and localizers. The OEM segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period Based on the end user, the OEM segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period. Technological advancements and the need for better connectivity and communication in the aviation industry are additional factors influencing the growth of the aircraft antenna market. The UAV segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period Based on aircraft type, the UAV segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period. The increasing applicability of UAVs in the defense sector has boosted the aircraft antenna market. UAVs have less demanding flight profiles and environmental standard requirements than manned aircraft, and hence, the antennas used in UAVs are smaller and have lower mass as compared to those used in manned aircraft. The North America market is projected to contribute the largest share from 2021 to 2030 The key factor responsible for North America leading the aircraft antennas market is the high demand for new aircraft in the region. The growing demand for aircraft for commercial applications and their increasing utility in the defense sector to carry out transport and surveillance activities are additional factors influencing the growth of the North American aircraft antenna market. Research Coverage The study covers the aircraft antenna market across various segments and subsegments. It aims at estimating the size and growth potential of this market across different segments based on frequency, application, antenna type, installation, aircraft type, end user and by region. This study also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key players in the market, along with their company profiles, key observations related to their product and business offerings, recent developments undertaken by them, and key market strategies adopted by them. The aircraft antenna market is dominated by a few globally established players such as L3Harris Technologies Inc. (US), Honeywell International (US), Collins Aerospace (US), Cobham Limited (UK), and The Boeing Company (US). Market Dynamics Drivers Increasing Airspace Modernization Programs Increasing Demand for Military UAVs Introduction of Advanced Aircraft Systems Replacement of Legacy Systems Restraints Long Duration of Product Certification Uncertainty of Aircraft Orders Opportunities Emergence of Aircraft Manufacturers in Asia-Pacific and Latin America Adoption of 5G in Aviation Industry Rising Popularity of eVTOL Aircraft Challenges High Manufacturing Cost and Designing Constraints Economic Challenges due to COVID-19 Reduced Global Demand for Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) due to COVID-19 Impact of COVID-19 Case Studies World's Largest Commercial Airborne Antenna by Cambridge Consultants Installation of Meta-Surfaces to Make Airborne Communication Antennas Compact and Lightweight Installation of Mechanically Phased Array Antennas for In-Flight Broadband Service Companies Profiled ACR Electronics, Inc. Aeronautical Accessories Inc (Bell, Textron Inc.) Aerovironment Inc. Antcom Astronics Corporation Azimut Ball Corporation Beijing Bdstar Navigation Co. Ltd. Cobham Limited Collins Aerospace Dayton-Granger Emergency Beacon Corp. (EBC) Honeywell International Inc. HR Smith Group of Companies JDA Systems L3Harris Technologies, Inc. Rami (R.A. Miller Industries, Inc.) Sensor Systems Inc. Smiths Inteconnect Spectrum Antenna & Avionics Systems (P) Limited STT-Systemtechnik GmbH The Boeing Company Trig Avionics Limited U B Corporation Verdant Telemetry & Antenna Systems For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rh8wz2 Attachment Dublin, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Online Car Buying Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global online car buying market reached a value of US$ 261.2 billion in 2021. Looking forward, the market is projected to reach US$ 515.6 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 11.60% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we 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. The thriving e-commerce industry on account of the rising awareness among individuals about the associated convenience represents one of the key factors driving the demand for online car buying across the globe. This can also be attributed to the increasing digital literacy, improving internet accessibility, rapid urbanization, and inflating disposable income levels. Moreover, with the surging use of social media networking sites, companies are offering innovative car deals via these sites, which is influencing the market positively. Apart from this, there is a significant rise in the demand for electric vehicles (EVs), which can be accredited to the growing concerns among people about the detrimental environmental effects of petrol-based automobiles. In addition, as governing agencies of numerous countries are implementing favorable policies to promote the usage of fuel-efficient cars, there is an increase in the adoption of online car buying portals to purchase EVs from across the globe. Furthermore, the emerging trend of personal vehicles on account of improving urban road infrastructure is contributing to the market growth. The rising popularity of pre-owned cars, especially among the young population, due to their affordability and accessibility is also impelling the market growth. Key Market Segmentation This report provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global online car buying market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2022-2027. The report has categorized the market based on vehicle type, propulsion type and category. Breakup by Vehicle Type: Hatchback Sedan SUV Others Breakup by Propulsion Type: Petrol Diesel Others Breakup by Category: Pre-Owned Vehicle New Vehicle Breakup by Region: North America Asia-Pacific Europe Latin America Middle East and Africa Competitive Landscape The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being: Asbury Automotive Group Inc. AutoNation Inc. Cargurus Inc. CarsDirect.com Cars.com Inc. Cox Automotive Inc. Group 1 Automotive Inc. Hendrick Automotive Group Lithia Motors Inc. TrueCar Inc. Key Questions Answered in this Report How has the global online car buying market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global online car buying market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the vehicle type? What is the breakup of the market based on the propulsion type? What is the breakup of the market based on the category? 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 online car buying market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/gpmv1q Attachment Dublin, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Vanilla Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Form, Category, and Application" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The vanilla market was valued at US$ 1,434.51 million in 2021 and is projected to reach US$ 1,956.09 million by 2028. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2021 to 2028. Vanilla is the second-most expensive spice after saffron. The bourbon vanilla grown in Madagascar is very popular for its rich flavor, purity, and aroma. Growing vanilla is a tedious process, and growers need to follow stringent procedures to meet the required quality standards. It is cured and dried before packaging as the curing process offers vanilla beans their distinct flavor and aroma. Based on the application, the vanilla market is bifurcated into food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceuticals, and others. The food and beverage segment accounted for a larger market share in 2020. The personal care segment is expected to register a higher CAGR in the market during the forecast period. Due to its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties, vanilla extract is widely used in personal care products, such as moisturizers, scrubs, and anti-aging creams. Vanilla extract is used in products that help fight acne as it possesses antibacterial and antioxidant properties that prevent breakouts while also soothing redness and inflammation. Vanilla contains B-vitamins, such as niacin, thiamin, B6, and pantothenic acid, which are vital for healthy skin. The antioxidant properties of vanilla help protect the skin from pollution and contaminants. Due to all these properties, personal care product manufacturers are frequently utilizing vanilla in their products. Based on the region, the vanilla market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South and Central America (SAM). In 2020, North America held the largest share of the global vanilla market. Asia Pacific is estimated to register the fastest CAGR in the market over the forecast period. The food & beverage industry is an essential part of the US economy. According to the US Committee for Economic Development report, the food and beverage industry consists of close to 27,000 organizations and employs almost 1.5 million people. The continued expansion in the North America food & beverage industry is significantly influencing other related markets, including vanilla. The leading players in the vanilla market are Camlin Fine Sciences Ltd; Givaudan SA; Heilala Vanilla US; LAFAZA Foods; Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, Inc.; Symrise; The Vanilla Company; Kerry Group; Touton SA; and Madagascar Vanilla Company. Reasons to Buy Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies. The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global vanilla market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long-term strategies. Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets. Scrutinize in-depth the market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it. Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation, and industry verticals. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Key Takeaways 3. Research Methodology 4. Global Vanilla Market Landscape 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 4.2.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers 4.2.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 4.2.3 Threat of Substitutes 4.2.4 Threat of New Entrants 4.2.5 Competitive Rivalry 4.3 Ecosystem Analysis 4.3.1 Cultivators and Growers 4.3.2 Manufacturing/Processing 4.3.3 Application/End Use Industries 4.4 Expert Opinion 5. Vanilla Market - Key Market Dynamics 5.1 Market Drivers 5.1.1 Increasing Vanilla Usage in Various End-use Industries 5.1.2 Rising Demand for Natural Food Additives/Flavorings 5.2 Market Restraints 5.2.1 Price Volatility and Supply Shortage 5.3 Market Opportunities 5.3.1 Rising Demand for Organic Vanilla 5.4 Future Trends 5.4.1 Growing Popularity of Clean-label and Plant-based Products 5.5 Impact Analysis of Drivers and Restraints 6. Vanilla - Global Market Analysis 6.1 Vanilla Market Overview 6.2 Vanilla Market -Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million) 6.3 Competitive Positioning - Key Market Players 7. Global Vanilla Market Analysis - By Form 7.1 Overview 7.2 Vanilla Market, By Form (2020 and 2028) 7.3 Paste 7.3.1 Overview 7.3.2 Paste: Vanilla Market - Revenue and Forecast To 2028 (US$ Million) 7.4 Liquid 7.4.1 Overview 7.4.2 Liquid: Vanilla Market - Revenue and Forecast To 2028 (US$ Million) 7.5 Powder 7.5.1 Overview 7.5.2 Powder: Vanilla Market - Revenue and Forecast To 2028 (US$ Million) 7.6 Beans 7.6.1 Overview 7.6.2 Beans: Vanilla Market - Revenue and Forecast To 2028 (US$ Million) 8. Vanilla Market Analysis - By Category 8.1 Overview 8.2 Vanilla Market, By Category (2020 and 2028) 8.3 Organic 8.3.1 Overview 8.3.2 Organic: Vanilla Market - Revenue and Forecast To 2028 (US$ Million) 8.4 Conventional 8.4.1 Overview 8.4.2 Conventional: Vanilla Market - Revenue and Forecast To 2028 (US$ Million) 9. Vanilla Market Analysis - By Application 9.1 Overview 9.2 Vanilla Market, By Application (2020 and 2028) 9.3 Food and Beverages 9.3.1 Overview 9.3.2 Food and Beverages: Vanilla Market - Revenue and Forecast To 2028 (US$ Million) 9.4 Personal Care 9.4.1 Overview 9.4.2 Personal Care: Vanilla Market - Revenue and Forecast To 2028 (US$ Million) 9.5 Pharmaceuticals 9.5.1 Overview 9.5.2 Pharmaceuticals: Vanilla Market - Revenue and Forecast To 2028 (US$ Million) 9.6 Others 9.6.1 Overview 9.6.2 Others: Vanilla Market - Revenue and Forecast To 2028 (US$ Million) 10. Global Vanilla Market - Geographic Analysis 11. Overview- Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak 11.1 North America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 11.2 Europe: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 11.3 Asia- Pacific: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 11.4 Middle East and Africa: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 11.5 South and Central America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 12. Industry Landscape 12.1 Overview 12.2 New Product Development 12.3 Merger and Acquisition 13. Company Profiles 13.1 Camlin Fine Sciences Ltd 13.1.1 Key Facts 13.1.2 Business Description 13.1.3 Products and Services 13.1.4 Financial Overview 13.1.5 SWOT Analysis 13.1.6 Key Developments 13.2 Givaudan S.A 13.2.1 Key Facts 13.2.2 Business Description 13.2.3 Products and Services 13.2.4 Financial Overview 13.2.5 SWOT Analysis 13.2.6 Key Developments 13.3 Heilala Vanilla US 13.3.1 Key Facts 13.3.2 Business Description 13.3.3 Products and Services 13.3.4 Financial Overview 13.3.5 SWOT Analysis 13.3.6 Key Developments 13.4 LAFAZA Foods 13.4.1 Key Facts 13.4.2 Business Description 13.4.3 Products and Services 13.4.4 Financial Overview 13.4.5 SWOT Analysis 13.4.6 Key Developments 13.5 Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, Inc 13.5.1 Key Facts 13.5.2 Business Description 13.5.3 Products and Services 13.5.4 Financial Overview 13.5.5 SWOT Analysis 13.5.6 Key Developments 13.6 Symrise 13.6.1 Key Facts 13.6.2 Business Description 13.6.3 Products and Services 13.6.4 Financial Overview 13.6.5 SWOT Analysis 13.6.6 Key Developments 13.7 The Vanilla Company 13.7.1 Key Facts 13.7.2 Business Description 13.7.3 Products and Services 13.7.4 Financial Overview 13.7.5 SWOT Analysis 13.7.6 Key Developments 13.8 Kerry Group 13.8.1 Key Facts 13.8.2 Business Description 13.8.3 Products and Services 13.8.4 Financial Overview 13.8.5 SWOT Analysis 13.8.6 Key Developments 13.9 Touton S.A 13.9.1 Key Facts 13.9.2 Business Description 13.9.3 Products and Services 13.9.4 Financial Overview 13.9.5 SWOT Analysis 13.9.6 Key Developments 13.10 Madagascar Vanilla Company 13.10.1 Key Facts 13.10.2 Business Description 13.10.3 Products and Services 13.10.4 Financial Overview 13.10.5 SWOT Analysis 13.10.6 Key Developments 14. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jyhfe7 Attachment DUBAI, Arab Emirates, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Online Tour and Travel Booking Platform PakVoyager has relentlessly provided amazing travel and tour experiences to people visiting Pakistan. During the Gilgit-Baltistan Investment conference supported by the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan, Board of Investment of Pakistan, Expo 2020 Dubai, and Rupani Foundation, PakVoyager was invited to discuss innovative strategies to improve the outlook of Pakistan tourism to the world. Based in the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, PakVoyager aims to provide an easy way for an international traveler to find and book Pakistan tours and other travel-related services. At the Gilgit-Baltistan conference, the team at PakVoyager showcased its digital booking platform to the world and hoped to make traveling easier for everyone. The conference was Chaired by the Chief Minister of the Gilgit-Baltistan province, Gilgit-Baltistan ministers, government officials, and investors with the aim of promoting investment opportunities in Gilgit-Baltistan. The Minister of Tourism, Culture & Archaeology in Gilgit-Baltistan, Raja Nasir Ali Khan, appreciated the PakVoyager booking platform for promoting tourism in Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan. He said it would be beneficial to hoteliers and tour operators who publish their tours on this site because they can get more customers worldwide. PakVoyager offers people visiting Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan a wide range of travel packages. The agency's founder is passionate about exposing travelers to his country and believes that booking each aspect of their trip should be simple and straightforward. PakVoyager's simple online booking platform was created with the traveler in mind to ensure a seamless and easy process. For more information, please visit www.pakvoyager.com or send an email to info@pakvoyager.com. About PakVoyager PakVoyager is a world-class digital platform that helps connect foreign travelers with local hospitality providers, all the while enabling tourists to experience the magic of Pakistan and to better the country and its precious environment. The founder has 10-plus years of experience in technology, e-commerce, and digital payments. Being a native resident of Hunza Valley, he has invaluable knowledge of Pakistan tourism. The company has an international office in the UAE to forge global partnerships with other B2B companies in the travel industry to offer its customers the best possible range of services. PakVoyager's local office in Hunza Valley, the popular tourist destination of Pakistan, enables it to keep in close contact with local hoteliers and tour operators and look after customers during their time in Pakistan. ### Media Contact Company: Pak Voyager LLC Phone Number: +971 45589794 Email: info@pakvoyager.com Country: United Arab Emirates Website: https://www.pakvoyager.com Related Images Image 1: Minister of Tourism, Culture & Archaeology in Gilgit-Baltistan, Raja Nasir Ali Khan Minister of Tourism, Culture & Archaeology in Gilgit-Baltistan, Raja Nasir Ali Khan appreciated PakVoyager efforts for promoting Pakistan tourism. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Dublin, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Report Size, Trends & Growth Opportunity, By Product Type, By Application, By Region: Forecast till 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global hydrogen fluoride gas detection market is expected to grow from USD 543 million in 2020 to USD 704 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% during 2020- 2027. Hydrogen fluoride gas is prepared from calcium fluoride (CaF2) and sulphuric acid in a reaction furnace at 200C, which is later cooled and stored as a colourless liquid and it is a corrosive gas and is gas at room temperature. traditional hydrogen fluoride gas detection devices are fixed appliances that have been widely used in several main consumer industries. Market Drivers Government Stringent regulations play a substantial role in the growth of the hydrogen fluoride gas detection market, as hydrogen fluoride is extremely toxic and corrosive, it has hostile effects on human health and the environment. The increasing global demand for small appliances, technological advances in electronics and mobile electronics for automotive, industrial and healthcare applications are also the key factors to drive the growth of the market. Market Restraints Raw materials like high-grade corrosion resistant 316 stainless steel are costly, which in turn upsurges the manufacturing cost of the devices. Thus, High price of hydrogen fluoride gas detection devices is the main restraining factor for the growth of the market. Market Segmentation Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market is segmented into major 4 categories. Based on Product Type, the market is segmented into Fixed and Portable. Based on Application, the market is segmented into Chemicals, Mining & Metallurgical and Pharmaceuticals. Based on Region, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East. Regional Analysis In 2020, the global Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection market was led by North America. The APAC is expected to hold the largest share of the overall hydrogen fluoride gas detection market with the highest CAGR throughout the forecast period because it is a manufacturing hub for automotive, consumer electronic devices and components and large-scale production of electronic components in the region. Market Key Players Some of the key players operating in Global Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market are Analytical Technology Inc. (Ati), Applied Techno Engineers Pvt Ltd., Atb Analytics LLC, Crowcon Detection Instruments Ltd., Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, Gao Tek Inc., Gasera Ltd., Gfg Instrumentation Inc., Henan Otywell Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., Honeywell International Inc., Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection 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 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market, By Application 5.1 Y-o-Y Growth Comparison, By Application 5.2 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Share Analysis, By Application 5.3 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Application 5.3.1 Chemicals 5.3.2 Mining & Metallurgical 5.3.3 Pharmaceuticals 6 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market, By Product Type 6.1 Y-o-Y Growth Comparison, By Product Type 6.2 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Share Analysis, By Product Type 6.3 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Product Type 6.3.1 Fixed 6.3.2 Portable 7 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market, By Region 7.1 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Share Analysis, By Region 7.2 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Share Analysis, By Region 7.3 Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Region 8 North America Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Analysis and Forecast (2021 - 2027) 8.1 Introduction 8.2 North America Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Share Analysis, By Application 8.3 North America Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Product Type 8.4 North America Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Country 8.4.1 U.S. 8.4.2 Canada 8.4.3 Mexico 9 Europe Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Analysis and Forecast (2021 - 2027) 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Europe Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Share Analysis, By Application 9.3 Europe Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Product Type 9.4 Europe Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Country 9.4.1 Germany 9.4.2 France 9.4.3 UK 9.4.4. Rest of Europe 10 Asia Pacific Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Analysis and Forecast (2021 - 2027) 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Asia Pacific Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Share Analysis, By Application 10.3 Asia Pacific Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Product Type 10.4 Asia Pacific Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Country 10.4.1 China 10.4.2 Japan 10.4.3 India 10.4.4. Rest of Asia Pacific 11 Latin America Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Analysis and Forecast (2021 - 2027) 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Latin America Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Share Analysis, By Application 11.3 Latin America Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Product Type 11.4 Latin America Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Country 11.4.1. Brazil 11.4.2. Rest of Latin America 12 Middle East Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Analysis and Forecast (2021 - 2027) 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Middle East Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Share Analysis, By Application 12.3 Middle East Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Product Type 12.4 Middle East Hydrogen Fluoride Gas Detection Market Size and Forecast, By Country 12.4.1. Saudi Arabia 12.4.2. UAE 12.4.3. Egypt 12.4.4. Kuwait 12.4.5. South Africa 13 Competitive Analysis 13.1 Competition Dashboard 13.2 Market share Analysis of Top Vendors 13.3 Key Development Strategies 14 Company Profiles 14.1 Analytical Technology Inc. (Ati) 14.1.1 Overview 14.1.2 Offerings 14.1.3 Key Financials 14.1.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.1.5 Key Market Developments 14.1.6 Key Strategies 14.2 Applied Techno Engineers Pvt Ltd. 14.2.1 Overview 14.2.2 Offerings 14.2.3 Key Financials 14.2.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.2.5 Key Market Developments 14.2.6 Key Strategies 14.3 Atb Analytics LLC 14.3.1 Overview 14.3.2 Offerings 14.3.3 Key Financials 14.3.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.3.5 Key Market Developments 14.3.6 Key Strategies 14.4 Crowcon Detection Instruments Ltd. 14.4.1 Overview 14.4.2 Offerings 14.4.3 Key Financials 14.4.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.4.5 Key Market Developments 14.4.6 Key Strategies 14.5 Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA 14.5.1 Overview 14.5.2 Offerings 14.5.3 Key Financials 14.5.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.5.5 Key Market Developments 14.5.6 Key Strategies 14.6 Gao Tek Inc. 14.6.1 Overview 14.6.2 Offerings 14.6.3 Key Financials 14.6.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.6.5 Key Market Developments 14.6.6 Key Strategies 14.7 Gasera Ltd. 14.7.1 Overview 14.7.2 Offerings 14.7.3 Key Financials 14.7.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.7.5 Key Market Developments 14.7.6 Key Strategies 14.8 Gfg Instrumentation Inc. 14.8.1 Overview 14.8.2 Offerings 14.8.3 Key Financials 14.8.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.8.5 Key Market Developments 14.8.6 Key Strategies 14.9 Henan Otywell Electronic Technology Co. Ltd. 14.9.1 Overview 14.9.2 Offerings 14.9.3 Key Financials 14.9.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.9.5 Key Market Developments 14.9.6 Key Strategies 14.10 Honeywell International Inc. 14.10.1 Overview 14.10.2 Offerings 14.10.3 Key Financials 14.10.4 Business Segment & Geographic Overview 14.10.5 Key Market Developments 14.10.6 Key Strategies For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3k2150 Attachment ABINGDON, England, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For the fourth year in a row, B2M Solutions commissioned a trusted independent market research company to survey over 1,000 companies across the United States, Canada and Europe as part of its 4th Annual State of Enterprise Mobility Survey. The survey found that of all the mobile issues reported, the following rank as the most prevalent monthly issues: Poor or unstable Wi-Fi or mobile coverage experienced by 84% of workers Almost three-quarters (74%) flagged that device batteries drain very quickly and do not last an entire shift 72% reported the mobile apps they use often crash Almost 60% cited that their device reboots itself for no apparent reason However, these stats are only the tip of the iceberg as 86% of monthly mobile issues frontline workers experience go unreported to IT. Half of IT managers also admitted to an increase in the number of worker-reported issues over the last 12-18 months. The impact these issues are having on company financials has never been more acute: Lost Worker Productivity - IT Workers reported a loss in productivity with 88% of IT reporting that it takes 30 minutes or longer to resolve mobile issues - time that could be used to service customers. - IT Workers reported a loss in productivity with 88% of IT reporting that it takes 30 minutes or longer to resolve mobile issues - time that could be used to service customers. Increased costs - 56% report that mobile issues cost their companies unnecessary costs. In fact, the total costs related to these issues over five years are likely 80% or higher of the enterprise's Total Cost of Ownership of mobile devices. The survey notes increased costs from IT related to a high % of unnecessary swapping of healthy batteries and devices in an attempt to quickly resolve workers' mobility issues. - 56% report that mobile issues cost their companies unnecessary costs. In fact, the total costs related to these issues over five years are likely 80% or higher of the enterprise's Total Cost of Ownership of mobile devices. The survey notes increased costs from IT related to a high % of unnecessary swapping of healthy batteries and devices in an attempt to quickly resolve workers' mobility issues. Increased stress - 64% of workers feel stress when their job can't be done due to mobile issues. To compound this, 48% face anger and rudeness if mobile issues impact their ability to service customers effectively. As noted in the survey, workers report this level of stress often manifests in time off work / sick time. - 64% of workers feel stress when their job can't be done due to mobile issues. To compound this, 48% face anger and rudeness if mobile issues impact their ability to service customers effectively. As noted in the survey, workers report this level of stress often manifests in time off work / sick time. Lost revenue - 36% of companies reported lost revenue due to mobile device issues and downtime. 36% of companies reported lost revenue due to mobile device issues and downtime. Lost customers - with 70% of frontline workers in our survey having at least one issue per month with their mobile device and each device on average taking 30 minutes to fix, it is no wonder that 29% of companies surveyed have reported lost customers "Despite the enterprise's growing reliance on mobile devices and applications, the number of mobile issues affecting a workers' ability to do their job is on the rise. These issues are increasing costs to an enterprise - not only in terms of wasted hardware but more importantly, in terms of lost productivity, lost revenue, and lost customers. With the total costs related to these issues over five years forecast to be 80% or higher of the enterprise's True Cost of OwnershipTM of mobile devices, now is the time to act," commented Gary Lee, Chief Revenue Officer of B2M Solutions. He added: "Despite 94% of companies in our survey having a device management tool like MDM / EMM in place to manage mobility, only 2% of these companies state these tools allow them to proactively manage and control these critical issues. Clearly, there is a need for better solutions that provide more detailed analytics alongside real-time visibility. Proactively spotting and fixing problems, and in some cases even predicting them, is the key to empowering frontline workers and IT teams with the tools they need to keep mobility up and running. Without them, we risk more disruption, lengthier downtime, poorer customer service, and higher costs - all of which companies can ill afford as having reliable devices in the hands of workers is now business-critical according to this year's survey." To request a copy of the 4th annual State of Enterprise Mobility Survey, please visit https://b2msolutions.com/2021-state-of-enterprise-mobility/ ### Notes to Editors B2M Solutions commissioned an online survey of 1,021 companies across the United States & Canada (50%), the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain (50%) in 4Q21 using an independent market researcher. The pool of end-user survey respondents was screened by the provider to ensure they depend on a mobile device to do their job daily, while IT worker survey respondents were screened to ensure they were in charge of supporting mobility in an enterprise. There were 4+ million devices under management by IT respondents in the survey. About B2M Solutions B2M Solutions is a global software company dramatically improving how enterprise mobility is operated and managed. The company's flagship product, Elemez, provides real-time actionable analytics and Enterprise Mobility Intelligence for enterprise mobile devices and applications. Unlike traditional enterprise mobile software management tools used for MDM, EMM, and UEM, Elemez proactively identifies, isolates, and predicts issues to help enterprises prevent and avoid problems, improve enterprise mobility's performance and lower the True Cost of Ownership of mobility. Founded in 2002, B2M is a privately held company based in Abingdon, UK, with North American operations in Atlanta, Ga., U.S.A. To learn more, visit: https://b2msolutions.com For additional information: marketing@b2msolutions.com +1 470 237 0360 Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment 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? Survey MADRID, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bnext is the biggest Spanish neobank with a vision to become a leading financial technology platform in Spanish-speaking nations through its growing ecosystem of innovative financial products. The 1st phase of its upcoming B3X token sale will start on Tuesday 1st March 2022. Who is Bnext? Already a giant in many Spanish-speaking countries, Bnext is a next-generation bank that offers its users secure, transparent, blockchain-based International money transfers. The company has already helped over 750,000 people to achieve financial freedom with its cryptocurrency remittance service, whilst typing into a 120 billion dollar market. In June 2021 Bnext partnered with crypto industry leader Algorand, who is both a major shareholder in the Neo-bank and the provider of the blockchain network that underpins the Bnext app. Bnext Wallet App The Bnext digital app lets users seamlessly send, receive, and request money using blockchain technology. Setting up an account is free, comes with an IBAN number, and both a virtual and physical card. In just a few minutes customers can set up an account, download the app, and start managing funds from their address book immediately. The app uses the Algorands low-cost, high-performance blockchain network "from the back" to send USDC to the destination, then seamlessly off-ramps to a Bnext account in the desired fiat currency. This unique system guarantees instant, blockchain-based international bank transfers. The App is available on the App Store, Google Play, and in Huawei AppGallery, so more people than ever will regain control of their finances. Bnext: The Next-World Banking Marketplace The Bnext marketplace has an array of tools designed for users to grow, manage and save their money. It provides multiple advanced tools that the everyday user needs to grow and manage their capital safely, and securely. The marketplace offers high-interest savings accounts, investment opportunities, loan financing, insurance, mortgages, travel, and more. There is also a strong focus on the benefit of cryptocurrency as Bnext customers have the ability to buy and sell digital currencies and many other ways for users to grow their wealth, including index funds, fixed-term deposits, and a rewards program. B3X Utility Token The Bnext (B3X) ERC20 token is a utility token hosted on the standard Ethereum Blockchain network. The maximum amount of issued tokens is capped at 3.5 billion, with 504 million of those tokens available in Phase One of the upcoming token sale. The purpose of the token is to help strengthen the community, offer value to all Bnext users and accelerate international expansion. Token Sale Info The funds received from the token sale will help Bnext scale its operations to Latin America and later globally, creating a platform that will serve as a bridge between the traditional financial system and the DeFI ecosystem that BNext is building. The B3X token sale will be staggered over two phases with the first phase starting on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (1 pm EST) Anyone interested in reserving B3X in advance can do so via the Bit2Me launchpad in 4 simple steps: Open an account Select the phase and amount Check position in the list Complete B3X reservation There will be a total of 504,000,000 B3X tokens Available at a price of 0.015 per token. The token sale will start at 1pm EST on March 1st, 2022 and will end on March 7th 2022. The B3X token price at Phase One will be at a 25% discount to the token price at phase two and there is already a large amount of interest with over 8,000 members currently signed up to participate in the token sale. To learn more about how more people are taking back full control of their finances visit the Bnext website. Bnext Links Telegram ESP | Telegram ENG | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Bnext App Download App Store | Google Play Bnext Whitepaper English | Spanish Bnext is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Dublin, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Semiconductor Foundry Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global semiconductor foundry market reached a value of US$ 72.8 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 111.2 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.44% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use industries. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. A semiconductor foundry, also known as a fab and fabrication plant, refers to a factory wherein devices like integrated circuits (ICs) are manufactured using photolithography. The process involves photographing the circuit pattern on a photosensitive substrate and chemically etching the background. ICs are produced in different technological nodes like 7nm, 10nm, 20nm, etc., which cater to multiple applications. Semiconductor foundries comprise a clean room with a regulated environment for eliminating dust and vibrations, as well as keeping the humidity and temperature within a controlled range. First developed in the late 1980s, they generally include integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) that focus mainly on manufacturing. The growing demand for ICs for use in automobiles, consumer electronics, medical devices, military equipment and smart home appliances is one of the major factors driving the market growth. Also, the rising penetration for the Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices across the globe is positively influencing the demand for ICs. IoT devices make decisions by processing information and help users in connecting various devices to the internet. As a result, they are employed in multiple industries, including retail, medical, automotive and electronics. Furthermore, support from governments of numerous countries for the development of semiconductor technology is spurring the growth of the market. For instance, the New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering, and Science (NY CREATES) and Cree, Inc., a leader in silicon carbide (SiC) technology, announced their partnership on September 23, 2019 for developing the world's first 200mm SiC wafer fabrication facility in Marcy, near Utica. The company will invest US$ 1 Billion in this project, with a US$ 500 million grant from Empire State Development, the umbrella organization for New York state's economic development. Key Market Segmentation: The publisher provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global semiconductor foundry market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2022-2027. Our report has categorized the market based on technology node, foundry type and application. Breakup by Technology Node: 10/7/5nm 16/14nm 20nm 45/40nm Others Breakup by Foundry Type: Pure Play Foundry IDMs Breakup by Application: Communication Consumer Electronics Computer Automotive Others 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 also been examined with some of the key players being TSMC, DB HiTek, Fujitsu Semiconductor, GlobalFoundries, Magnachip, Powerchip, Samsung Group, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, STMicroelectronics, Tower Semiconductor Ltd., United Microelectronics Corporation, X-Fab, etc. Key Questions Answered in this Report: How has the global semiconductor foundry market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What are the key regional markets? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global semiconductor foundry market? What is the breakup of the market based on the technology node? What is the breakup of the market based on the foundry type? What is the breakup of the market based on the application? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the market? What is the structure of the global semiconductor foundry market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the 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 Semiconductor Foundry Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Technology Node 6.1 10/7/5nm 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 16/14nm 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 20nm 6.3.1 Market Trends 6.3.2 Market Forecast 6.4 45/40nm 6.4.1 Market Trends 6.4.2 Market Forecast 6.5 Others 6.5.1 Market Trends 6.5.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Foundry Type 7.1 Pure Play Foundry 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 IDMs 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Application 8.1 Communication 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Consumer Electronics 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 8.3 Computer 8.3.1 Market Trends 8.3.2 Market Forecast 8.4 Automotive 8.4.1 Market Trends 8.4.2 Market Forecast 8.5 Others 8.5.1 Market Trends 8.5.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by Region 10 SWOT Analysis 11 Value Chain Analysis 12 Porters Five Forces Analysis 13 Competitive Landscape 13.1 Market Structure 13.2 Key Players 13.3 Profiles of Key Players 13.3.1 TSMC 13.3.1.1 Company Overview 13.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.2 DB HiTek 13.3.2.1 Company Overview 13.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.2.3 Financials 13.3.3 Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited 13.3.3.1 Company Overview 13.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.3.3 Financials 13.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.4 GlobalFoundries 13.3.4.1 Company Overview 13.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.5 Magnachip 13.3.5.1 Company Overview 13.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.6 Powerchip 13.3.6.1 Company Overview 13.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.7 Samsung Group 13.3.7.1 Company Overview 13.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.7.3 Financials 13.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.8 Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation 13.3.8.1 Company Overview 13.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.8.3 Financials 13.3.9 STMicroelectronics 13.3.9.1 Company Overview 13.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.9.3 Financials 13.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.10 Tower Semiconductor Ltd. 13.3.10.1 Company Overview 13.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.10.3 Financials 13.3.11 United Microelectronics Corporation 13.3.11.1 Company Overview 13.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.11.3 Financials 13.3.11.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.12 X-Fab 13.3.12.1 Company Overview 13.3.12.2 Product Portfolio For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/411kg9 Attachment TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clear Blue Technologies International Inc. (Clear Blue or the Company) (TSXV: CBLU) is pleased to announce Miriam Tuerk, co-founder & CEO of Clear Blue has earned a 2022 Report on Business magazine Changemakers award. Changemakers is an editorial award program produced by Report on Business magazine at The Globe and Mail. The awards intent is to showcase the emerging leaders transforming business today. Miriam Tuerk is one of 50 winners of the award. The Globe and Mail solicited nominations for the Changemakers award in the fall of 2021. Winners were selected by The Globe and Mails award-winning editorial team for their ideas, accomplishments and impact, as determined by their nominations, subsequent interviews and reference checks. Miriam Tuerk has led the organization since its inception over a decade ago. She has been the company's driving force, helping it become the market leader in Smart Off-Grid power technology. With over 7,000 systems in 37 countries, Clear Blue is changing the way the world views reliable power to one that is clean, wireless and remotely manageable. As a female leader, Miriam is highly supportive of diversity in all forms. She has participated on many panels and boards to help shape more female leadership in the tech world. She has also aimed to build a highly diverse and inclusive employee base to ensure more varied ideas and make Clear Blue the optimal workplace for innovators. Miriam Tuerk is shifting the status quo of how electricity is delivered and is helping to bring connectivity to the world. Through Smart Off-Grid power solutions, she aims to change the landscape of energy production and delivery from a traditional wired model to a fully wireless model produced by clean, renewable energy. This technology enables more efficient and cost-effective power that helps remove ties to the grid and helps connect the nearly 3.8 billion people who still can't access reliable telecommunications services because of high costs and power availability. With the technology that it has built, Clear Blue is enabling communities to get connected, fundamentally changing the community and its citizens for the better. The world is facing more challenges than ever before climate change, racial discrimination, income inequality, not to mention the pandemic, says Dawn Calleja, editor of Report on Business magazine. So, its heartening to meet this years crop of 50 Changemakers, who are searching for solutions to many of these problems and offering some inspiration. I am honoured to be part of this list and recognized for my efforts to drive sustainable change that can better lives around the world through Smart Off-Grid power, says Miriam Tuerk, co-founder and CEO of Clear Blue. As much as I am the face of the Company, it is really about the team and the work we are doing together that is truly driving the change. I present the ideas created by our innovative and incredible team who are all driven changemakers trying to use innovative technology to better our world. Editorial coverage of all 2022 Changemakers can be found in the March 2022 issue of Report on Business magazine, distributed with The Globe and Mail on Saturday, February 26th, and online now at www.tgam.ca/Changemakers. About The Globe and Mail The Globe and Mail is Canadas foremost news media company, leading the national discussion and causing policy change through brave and independent journalism since 1844. With our award-winning coverage of business, politics and national affairs, The Globe and Mail newspaper reaches 6.3 million readers every week in our print or digital formats, and Report on Business magazine reaches 2.3 million readers in print and digital every issue. Our investment in innovative data science means that as the world continues to change, so does The Globe. The Globe and Mail is owned by Woodbridge, the investment arm of the Thomson family. About Clear Blue Technologies International Clear Blue Technologies International, the Smart Off-Grid company, was founded on a vision of delivering clean, managed, wireless power to meet the global need for reliable, low-cost, solar and hybrid power for lighting, telecom, security, Internet of Things devices, and other mission-critical systems. Today, Clear Blue has thousands of systems under management across 37 countries, including the U.S. and Canada. (TSXV: CBLU) (FRA: 0YA) (OTCQB: CBUTF) For more information, contact: Miriam Tuerk, Co-Founder and CEO +1 416 433 3952 investors@clearbluetechnologies.com www.clearbluetechnologies.com/en/investors Nikhil Thadani, Sophic Capital +1 437 836 9669 Nik@SophicCapital.com Legal Disclaimer 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. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7d0fb030-9b9e-4f23-8701-dbe8ceb87d46 Parsippany, New Jersey, USA, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wireless Telecom Group (NYSE American: WTT) (the Company), today announced that its shareholders voted to approve the previously announced sale of its RF Components product group, Microlab LLC (Microlab), to RF Industries, Inc. at Wireless Telecom Groups special meeting of shareholders (the Special Meeting) held February 25, 2022. Based on preliminary voting results, more than 82.5% of the votes cast at the Special Meeting were in favor of the approval of the purchase agreement. Wireless Telecom Group will file the results of the Special Meeting, as tabulated by an independent inspector of elections, on a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Tim Whelan, CEO of Wireless Telecom Group, Inc. stated, We are encouraged by the strong shareholder support for the transaction, and we are expecting to close the Microlab sale next week. Mr. Whelan added, We expect to accelerate the evolution of our operating platform after the successful and transformative sale of Microlab, and we will operate and report our business as two segments, T&M and RBS. We are also reorganizing our leadership team around these two segments to best capitalize on exciting market trends. Alfred Rodriguez, the Companys Chief Revenue Officer, will lead our RBS business as General Manager and Senior Vice President. Dan Monopoli, currently the Companys Chief Technology Officer, will lead our T&M business as General Manager and Senior Vice President. Both Alfred and Dan are exceptionally skilled leaders and executives with deep expertise within their respective products and markets. Alan Bazaar, Chairman of Wireless Telecom Group, stated, With the expected closing of the Microlab transaction, we are transforming our business and continuing our focus on creating shareholder value. I am pleased to announce that Scott Gibson, our Vice Chairman, will assume the duties of Chairman at our 2022 annual shareholder meeting. Scotts recruitment and onboarding as a director in April 2021 was intended to further enhance the Boards skills and expertise. I believe Scotts industry and leadership experience is best suited to help the Company capitalize on exciting growth opportunities within the satellite, semiconductor and quantum computing sectors, as well as within 5G small cell and private network deployments. We are encouraged by the execution of our Boards succession plan. We look forward to continuing the refresh of our strategic plans and evaluating opportunities to increase shareholder value during the ensuing months. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, such forward-looking statements may be identified by terms such as believe, expect, seek, may, will, intend, project, anticipate, plan, estimate, guidance or similar words. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could materially affect actual results, including but are not limited to, the ongoing impact that the COVID-19 pandemic may have on our business, including on our supply chain, and the general economy in the future, our dependency on capital spending on data and communication networks by our customers and end users, our dependency on the deployment of 4G LTE and 5G NR private networks and related services to grow our business, the impact of the loss of any significant customers, the ability of our management to successfully implement our business plan and strategy, our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations given our degree of leverage, product demand and development of competitive technologies in our market sector, the impact of competitive products and pricing, our abilities to protect our intellectual property rights and our ability to manage risks related to our information technology and cyber security, among others. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. These risks and uncertainties are disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. The Companys forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. - END - About Wireless Telecom Group Wireless Telecom Group, Inc., comprised of Boonton, CommAgility, Holzworth, Microlab, and Noisecom, is a global designer and manufacturer of advanced RF and microwave components, modules, systems, and instruments. Serving the wireless, telecommunication, satellite, military, aerospace, semiconductor, and medical industries, Wireless Telecom Group products enable innovation across existing and emerging wireless technologies. With a product portfolio including peak power meters, signal generators, phase noise analyzers, signal processing modules, LTE PHY/stack software, power splitters and combiners, GPS repeaters, public safety components, noise sources, and programmable noise generators, Wireless Telecom Group supports the development, testing, and deployment of wireless technologies around the globe. Wireless Telecom Group, Inc.s website address is wirelesstelecomgroup.com. Investor Contact Andrew M. Berger Managing Director SM Berger& Company (216) 464-6400 andrew@smberger.com Contact Michael Kandell 25 Eastmans Road Parsippany, NJ 07054 Tel: (973) 386-9696 Fax: (973) 386-9191 www.wtcom.com Singapore, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FantomStarter has recently reached a series of important milestones. After successfully raising over 1 Mil on the Fantom chain, completing the contract audit with Slow Mist, becoming mobile-friendly and just recently increasing liquidity through various listings both on a CEX and yield farming with SpookySwap. The Fantom native launchpad has been making their dApp as user-friendly and straightforward for new users as possible. Starting with the user UX, they have begun improving the onboarding process for new users to FantomStarter and reworking the investment flow. Providing a seamless investing experience when raising capital for projects on any chain was the next step for FantomStarter. As Alex, in charge of product development, recently mentioned, "We have seen a growing interest in the Fantom Ecosystem but also seen a myriad of opportunities on other chains that foster different niches. In addition to Fantom Chain, projects will be raising capital on Binance Smart Chain and Polygon Network. Expect project initial DEX offerings to launch on one of these very soon." A growing trend At the pace the blockchain industry is developing, more and more blockchain applications are finding mainstream use cases. Many new applications and protocols are building on layer 2 and non-EVM compatible chains from algorithms to data AI, DeFi, Play2Earn and more. "Blockchain is novel and often complicated for new users. FantomStarter can bridge that knowledge gap by making investing on any chain super simple." - Cary Kokkonen, Head of Marketing. It was only a matter of time before low-cost transactions would win over the masses. These new users are coming to FantomStarter with various technical skills. All are looking to invest in assets with the potential to appreciate later. Technical partners Many are catching on and are already familiar with bridges or using different RPCs when transferring funds back and forth between EVM compatible chains according to their needs. Now users will be able to transfer assets cross-chain when investing in projects from the FantomStarter dApp, rather than rely on Multichain's platform to do this and having to open a separate app. Powered by Multichain, the biggest multi-chain infrastructure provider in the crypto world, investing in the top blockchain networks will be as simple as connecting your wallet to one of the supported networks, and the dApp will switch to it. No "heavy lifting" will be required when transferring assets cross-chain thus optimizing the user experience efficiently. Executing transactions via Ankr infrastructure will be faster and more efficient than directly using the public blockchain RPCs. Ankr is a fully decentralized protocol that provides load-balanced access to node clusters from anywhere in the world. Their private endpoints dynamically reduce latency between the user and the most appropriate nodes. Both Multichain and Ankr support the principle of decentralized infrastructure, are chain agnostic and believe in the future of Multi-chain. The community can now expect the best user experience and latency possible when investing on any chain with their launchpad. If you are looking to invest at Public Sale level then subscribing into a FantomStarter Tier could be for you. To help you better make your selection, this comprehensive guide covers what you will need to chose the Tier that is right for you. Stay Connected. Big things are ahead for FantomStarter. Using these channels and stay connected. You wont want to miss out! Website: https://fantomstarter.io/ Blog: https://blog.fantomstarter.io Twitter: https://twitter.com/fantomstarter Discord: https://discord.com/invite/nsMxVcNwy6 Media contact: Elizabeth Kokkonen hello@fantomstarter.io WESTPORT, Conn., Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HMG Strategy, the Worlds #1 digital platform for enabling technology executives to reimagine the enterprise and reshape the business world, is excited to be hosting its 2022 HMG Live! SASE Executive Leadership Summit on March 8. HMG Strategys highly interactive events bring together the worlds most distinguished and innovative security and business technology leaders to discuss the most pressing leadership, strategic, cultural, technology and career challenges and opportunities that they face today and into the future. The 2022 HMG Live! SASE Executive Leadership Summit will focus on the factors that are prompting security leaders to adopt a Secure Access Security Edge (SASE) network architecture to provide edge-to-edge protection across enterprise infrastructure. When companies made the digital pivot in March 2020, the notion of a network perimeter disappeared, said Hunter Muller, President and CEO at HMG Strategy. This has prompted technology and security leaders to find new ways to protect organizational assets, including its people, in new and different ways. World-class technology executives and industry experts speaking at the 2022 HMG Live! SASE Executive Leadership Summit will include: Mike Anderson , Chief Digital and Information Officer, Netskope , Chief Digital and Information Officer, Netskope Nishant Bhajaria , Global Head of Privacy Engineering and Analytics, Uber , Global Head of Privacy Engineering and Analytics, Uber Lawrence Bilker , EVP & CIO, Pyramid Healthcare , EVP & CIO, Pyramid Healthcare Patrick Ford , CISO, America Region, Schneider Electric , CISO, America Region, Schneider Electric Rocco Grillo , Managing Director Global Cyber Risk Services & Incident Response Investigation, Alvarez & Marsal , Managing Director Global Cyber Risk Services & Incident Response Investigation, Alvarez & Marsal John Iannarelli , Former FBI Special Agent and Senior Executive Advisor, FBI , Former FBI Special Agent and Senior Executive Advisor, FBI Greg Kyrytschenko , Deputy CISO, Guardian Life , Deputy CISO, Guardian Life Ryan Loy , CIO, EBSCO Industries, Inc. , CIO, EBSCO Industries, Inc. Michael Moore , Practice Development Manager, Insight , Practice Development Manager, Insight Kumar Ramachandran , SVP of Products for SASE, Palo Alto Networks , SVP of Products for SASE, Palo Alto Networks Bobby Singh , CTO & CISO, TMX Group , CTO & CISO, TMX Group Erik Tomasi, Managing Partner, Symosis Security Valued Partners for the 2022 HMG Live! SASE Executive Leadership Summit include Akamai, BetterCloud, Darktrace, Globant, Insight Cloud + Data Center Transformation, Netskope, Nutanix, Palo Alto Networks, RingCentral, SafeGuard Cyber, SIM Philadelphia, Skybox Security, Strata, Tonkean, Upwork, Zoom, and Zscaler. To learn more about the 2022 HMG Live! SASE Executive Leadership Summit and to register for this custom event, click here. HMG Strategy will also be hosting its 2022 HMG Live! Multi-Cloud Executive Leadership Summit on March 3. Top-tier technology executives and industry experts speaking at this highly interactive event will explore effective techniques for optimizing a multi-cloud environment along with recommendations for developing the right mix of multi-cloud skills. Global technology executives and industry leaders speaking at the 2022 HMG Live! Multi-Cloud Executive Leadership Summit on March 3 include: Hammad Alam , VP, Solutions Architecture, Aviatrix , VP, Solutions Architecture, Aviatrix Ernest Boye , Managing Director, Cloud & Engineering Platforms, American Airlines , Managing Director, Cloud & Engineering Platforms, American Airlines Tim Dokken , Vice President, Information Technology, Johnson Brothers , Vice President, Information Technology, Johnson Brothers Fred Harris , Head of Cybersecurity Risk, Data Risk and IT Risk, Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking , Head of Cybersecurity Risk, Data Risk and IT Risk, Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking Zachary Hughes , VP IT Development & Operations, CHS Inc. , VP IT Development & Operations, CHS Inc. Dutt Kalluri , Former SVP Global Digital & Technology Transformation, Broadridge , Former SVP Global Digital & Technology Transformation, Broadridge Lane Patterson, CEO , Patterson Technologies , Patterson Technologies Wendy M. Pfeiffer , CIO, Nutanix , CIO, Nutanix Anil Saldanha , Chief Cloud Officer, Rush University System for Health , Chief Cloud Officer, Rush University System for Health Steve Winterfeld, Advisory CISO, Akamai Valued Partners for the 2022 HMG Live! Multi-Cloud Executive Leadership Summit include Akamai, Aviatrix, BetterCloud, Darktrace, Genesys Works, Globant, Nutanix, Palo Alto Networks, RingCentral, SafeGuard Cyber, SIM Minnesota, Skybox Security, Strata, Tonkean, Upwork, Zoom, and Zscaler. To learn more about the 2022 HMG Live! Multi-Cloud Executive Leadership Summit and to register for the event, click here. To learn about all of HMG Strategys Upcoming CIO & CISO Summits, click here . About HMG Strategy HMG Strategy is the world's leading digital platform for connecting technology executives to reimagine the enterprise and reshape the business world. The HMG Strategy global network consists of more than 400,000 CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, CDOs, senior business technology executives, search industry executives, venture capitalists, industry experts and world-class thought leaders. HMG Strategys global media model generates more than 1 million impressions per week, providing vast opportunities for business technology leaders and sponsor partners to promote themselves and their brands. HMG Strategy was founded in 2008 by Hunter Muller, a leadership expert who has worked side-by-side with Fortune 2000 executives with strategic planning and career ascent for the past 30+ years. HMG Strategys regional and virtual CIO and CISO Executive Leadership Series, authored books and Digital Resource Center deliver unique, peer-driven guidance from CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, CDOs and technology executives on leadership, innovation, transformation and career ascent. HMG Strategy offers a range of peer-led research services such as its CIO & CISO Executive Leadership Alliance (CELA) program which bring together the worlds top CIOs, CISOs and technology executives to brainstorm on the top opportunities and challenges facing them in their roles. HMG Strategys Global Peer Actionable Insights Services Stack is a unique set of research services that are designed to keep business technology executives up to speed on the latest leadership, business, technology and global geo-economic trends that are impacting businesses and industries. HMG Ventures is a venture capital unit thats designed to connect CIOs, CTOs, CISOs and other technology executives with innovative early-stage technology companies from Silicon Valley to Tel Aviv. HMG Ventures provides technology executives with a window into hot emerging technology companies that can help move the needle for their businesses while also offering these executives unparalleled personal investment opportunities. One early-stage investment in an enterprise-level AI-powered service management provider has generated a 100X return. HMG Strategy also produces the HMG Security Innovation Accelerator Panel, a new webinar series thats designed to connect enterprise technology and security leaders with the most innovative technology and cybersecurity companies from across the world. To learn more about the 7 Pillars of Trust for HMG Strategy's unique business model, click here . A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4478b11b-cb30-466c-8d54-b01ebcabf5d1 SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Squeeze, the leading Sale Experience (SX) Provider, is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Shin as its Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), effective immediately. As CMO, Shin will be responsible for developing and executing on strategies that build the Squeeze brand and help drive growth. He will report directly to Alejandro Vargas, CEO, and Carson Poppenger, President, as he serves on the executive leadership team. Shin brings with him almost two decades of marketing, branding, lead generation, and entrepreneurial experience. He most recently served as the Chief Revenue Officer for Nivati, a fast-growth technology company in the mental health space, where he played a critical role in the pivot of its services and rebrand. Prior to Nivati, Shin worked as the VP of Marketing for Paladin Technologies, a San Diego-based Salesforce consultancy where he led key strategic initiatives to build brand awareness and strengthen relationships with Salesforce. "I jumped on the opportunity to join Squeeze because I saw an innovative company that holds to the same values and standards of practice that are important to me personally," Shin stated. "I'm familiar with seeing the pieces that make for an explosive business, and I believe Squeeze is the next big rocket ship about to take off." "We couldn't be more excited to have Paul join the leadership team here at Squeeze," said Carson Poppenger, President and Founder of Squeeze. "With his level of marketing expertise and proven track record of success, I'm confident that he's going to take our company to even bigger and better things." For more information, please contact pr@squeezemedia.com. ### About Squeeze Squeeze, the leading Sales Experience (SX) provider, empowers clients to maximize revenue and lead generation efforts by filling the gap between most sales and marketing teams. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the company currently has hundreds of employees across multiple offices helping many of today's leading brands "squeeze" the greatest return on leads generated. For additional information, please visit www.squeezemedia.com. Related Images Image 1: Paul Shin Paul Shin, Chief Marketing Officer for Squeeze This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Auto Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia, owner and producer of the Philadelphia Auto Show, announces details on its 2022 event, which is set to return to the PA Convention Center from March 5-13. "Philadelphia, it's time to shift from idle to drive," said Kevin Mazzucola, executive director of the Auto Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia. "We're refueled, recharged and ready to welcome guests back to one of the City's most beloved events." Spanning more than a half-million square feet, the 2022 Philadelphia Auto Show display floor will include several new features as well as time-honored fan favorites. This year marks the 120th edition of the event. Highlights include: The e-Track: The show's first-ever multi-brand electric vehicle test track will be a key feature at this year's event. At the e-Track, consumers will be able to ride in select manufacturers' electric vehicles through an indoor track and experience the capabilities of their entries into this fast-growing automotive segment. The Showroom: Guests will again be invited to check out the latest and greatest developments from some of today's leading vehicle manufacturers in "The Showroom." Camp Jeep & Toyota Ride & Drive: Camp Jeep is back to give attendees the ultimate off-road driving experience indoors via a one-of-a-kind 30,000-square-foot track with an exhilarating hill climb. In addition, Toyota will once again offer guests the opportunity to get behind the wheel of several of its latest models via its outdoor Ride and Drive, located at 12th and Arch Streets. Back-in-the-Day Way: On Back-in-the-Day Way, located in the PA Convention Center's beautiful Grand Hall, guests will take a trip down memory lane and view vehicles from yesteryear thanks to the Antique Automobile Club of America and Classic Auto Mall. Exotics & More: Dozens of the world's most elegant vehicles will also be featured at this year's event. Always a crowd-pleaser, guests will be able to ooh and ahh all day long courtesy of F.C. Kerbeck, Maserati of the Main Line and McLaren Philadelphia. Custom Alley: Featured in Hall F of the PA Convention Center, Custom Alley will showcase a plethora of tricked-out rides, bikes and the latest in after-market excitement. Ticket Information: All tickets will be sold electronically this year on phillyautoshow.com. Ticket prices are $10-$16. Health and Safety Information: All guests are encouraged to visit phillyautoshow.com before their visit to check out the latest health and safety requirements in the City of Philadelphia. For more than a century, the Philadelphia Auto Show has been educating area consumers and supporting the local economy. It generates an annual economic impact of $50 million for the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. To learn more, visit phillyautoshow.com. CONTACT: Deanna Sabec at dsabec@brownsteingroup.com or 609.440.1967. Andrea Simpson at andrea@adagp.com or 610.279.5229. Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jonathan Simpson officially announced his candidacy for the United States Congress in North Carolina's new 14th Congressional District and has launched his official campaign committee, Simpson for America. He brings a vast amount of experience from the private sector, the military, and the political arena. A staunch supporter of congressional term limits, Jonathan believes our democracy deserves true citizen legislators, not career politicians. "Today, I am announcing my candidacy for the United States House of Representatives. I am a Republican, and have been all of my life, but I now am gravely concerned about the future of this conservative party, and as such about the future of our nation itself. This party, and our country as a whole, has been plagued by divisive rhetoric, immature leadership, and an indelible political class. Today, I humbly submit to the people of my district, my state, and our nation that there should always be a choice for voters. Our political system should not elevate the corrupt and entrenched over the passionate and committed. I believe our nation's greatest challenges are ready to be solved, but it will take big ideas and a bold vision. It will require a new kind of leader. It will require someone who puts country before party, someone who puts the common good above politics, and someone who puts service above career." Jonathan is prepared to take his case for comprehensive education reform and privatization, nuclear power prioritization, a better health system for all, immigration, welfare, and tax reform, and more bold ideas straight to the voters of his district, be they Republicans or Democrats. "It's time we had a government and a leader who worked for all of us." Press contact press@jonathansimpson.org Website jonathansimpson.org Facebook | Instagram | Twitter @realjdsimpson Related Images Image 1: Campaign logo This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment RADNOR, Pa., Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (www.ktmc.com) informs investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against TAL Education Group (TAL) (NYSE: TAL). The action charges TAL with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the companys business, operations, and prospects. As a result of TALs materially misleading statements to the public, TAL investors have suffered significant losses. Kessler Topaz is one of the worlds foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field individually and our firm is both feared and respected among the defense bar and the insurance bar. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent. CANNOT VIEW THIS VIDEO? PLEASE CLICK HERE CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR TAL LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/tal-class-action-lawsuit?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=tal LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: April 5, 2022 CLASS PERIOD: April 26, 2018 through July 22, 2021 CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS: James Maro, Esq. (484) 270-1453 or Email at info@ktmc.com TALS ALLEGED MISCONDUCT TAL provides K-12 after-school tutoring services in the People's Republic of China. Specifically, the company offers tutoring services to K-12 students covering various academic subjects, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, political science, English, and Chinese. On April 25, 2021, media reports revealed that the city of Beijing had fined four online education agencies, including TAL, the maximum fine of 500,000 yuan (approximately $80,000) each for misleading customers with false advertising. Specifically, regulators found that TALs VIE, Beijing Xueersi Education Technology Co., Ltd., had been misrepresenting the un-discounted costs of enrollment in its courses to consumers, thereby deceiving customers into paying full price for courses that they believed they were receiving at a discount. Following this news, the price of TAL American Depository Shares (ADSs) dropped from $53.14 on May 11, 2021, to $46.25 on May 13, 2021, a 13% decline over the two-day period. Then, on June 1, 2021, Chinese regulators announced they had fined 15 off-campus training institutions, including TAL, for illegal activities such as false advertising and fraud. The offending companies, including TAL, were hit with maximum penalties for their illegal business practices, totaling a combined 36.5 million yuan ($5.73 million). Following this news, the price of TAL ADSs dropped from $40.51 on June 1, 2021, to $33.27 on June 3, 2021, nearly an 18% decline over the two-day period. Finally, on July 23, 2021, China unveiled a sweeping overhaul of its education sector, banning companies that teach the school curriculum from making profits, raising capital or going public. This drastic measure effectively ended any potential growth in the for-profit tutoring sector in China. Following this news, the price of TAL ADSs fell from $20.52 on July 22, 2021, to just $4.40 on July 26, 2021, a nearly 79% decline. WHAT CAN I DO? TAL investors may, no later than April 5, 2022 seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages TAL investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASE WHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF? A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. At the end of the day, we have succeeded if the bad guys pay up, and if you recover your assets. The complaint in this action was not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com. CONTACT: Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP James Maro, Jr., Esq. 280 King of Prussia Road Radnor, PA 19087 (484) 270-1453 info@ktmc.com A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d060d5a7-030a-47d1-a1ca-4d08b0eeb0f9 If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gray Television, Inc. (Gray) (NYSE: GTN) today promoted Lisa Allen to the new position of Vice President and General Manager of Washington Operations, effective immediately. Since May 2019, Lisa has served as Executive Producer of Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren. This weekend political show is anchored by Grays Chief National Political Correspondent and focuses on policy actions and national events impacting local communities. Lisa has also co-produced in-depth investigative programs featuring Ms. Van Susteren and other journalists within the company. In her new role, Lisa will manage the various elements that comprise Grays operations on Capitol Hill and ensure their close integration with other newsrooms and resources across the company. Grays Washington operations include the following: the Washington DC News Bureau that serves local newsrooms in all of Grays markets, headed by DC Bureau Chief Jacqueline Policastro; Legal and political analysis for individual stations by Greta Van Susteren; Political reporting led by White House Correspondent and Senior National Editor Jon Decker; the Washington-based team of investigative journalists under Grays Vice President of Investigations, Lee Zurik; and Washington-based fellowships and internships. Sandy Breland, Senior Vice President-Local Media explained, Our Washington operations are expanding to serve our growing companys reach, making it necessary for a strong local leader who understands both our challenges and our strengths. We are thrilled to promote Lisa Allen to this new role, as she will ensure that we continue to provide our stations and our audiences with the highest possible level of unique, quality journalism from the nations capital while also accelerating collaborative political content partnerships involving Grays DC Team. Prior to joining Gray, Lisa was a Supervising Producer for Newsy in Chicago. Previously, she held various producer roles at television stations in New York, Chicago, and Detroit. She holds a Master of Arts in Media Studies & International Affairs from the New School and is a graduate of Wayne State University. About Gray: Gray Television, Inc. is a multimedia company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. We are the nations largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the United States that serve 113 television markets reaching approximately 36 percent of US television households. This portfolio includes 80 markets with the top-rated television station and 100 markets with the first and/or second highest rated television station. We also own video program companies Raycom Sports, Tupelo Honey, and PowerNation Studios, as well as Third Rail Studios. # # # Attachment OMAHA, NEB., Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Triage Staffing, a healthcare staffing company announces it has hired Eric Christenson as its President of Digital Transformation. In his new role, Christenson will help lead Triages digital transformation, delivering healthcare professionals and clients an empowered approach to staffing. The Company remains, at its core, a staffing agency but is building a better model, driven by the needs of those it serves, leveraging technology to make that happen. Were always looking for ways to be better; its that simple. Eric shares that vision. He has a long history of experience rooted in healthcare staffing and technology, and were thrilled to bring his expertise to Triage. Together well continue to pioneer client and clinician-centered efficiencies, said John Maaske, Triages co-founder and CEO. Triage is dedicated to improving the healthcare staffing industry and the company has proven committed to using technology to do it. Look no further than their 2020 acquisition of Kamana Health. After partnering together, it has become easier for healthcare travelers to take ownership of their information, and hospitals and staffing agencies directly benefit from reduced friction in the onboarding process. With its hiring of Christenson, Triage aims to continue this type of disruption benefiting clients and clinicians. Joining the team was an easy decision for me. The Triage founders and I share a common goal of delivering our clients cost containment, control and a simplified process, leading to speedier staffing solutions. The time for improvement and change is now. Im excited to be on the team best positioned to deliver, Christenson said. Christenson has a long history within the medical staffing industry, spanning back to 1999. In 2003, he co-founded Medefis, a hospital workforce management solution. Under his leadership, Medefis, grew and flourished, eventually acquired by AMN Healthcare. In 2018, he took over ShiftWise, a VMS technology company that allows facilities to efficiently meet staffing demands and in 2020, he led AMNs acquisition of b4health, a communication-focused software program designed to bring automation and efficiency to the healthcare industry. About Triage: Triage is an award-winning, top-ranked medical staffing agency that places the best and brightest traveling Nursing, Laboratory, Radiology, Cardiopulmonary and Rehab Therapy professionals in facilities across the country. Our staff is committed to building lasting, long-term relationships and that starts with being Real, so candidates can be Ready. Triage recruiters work tirelessly to create the right placement with facilities, never sending candidates with qualifiers, only qualified candidates. The company is proud to have been recognized by Inc. Magazine six times as one of the fast-growing companies in America, recognized by SIA as one of the Fastest Growing and Top 20 healthcare staffing agencies and a top-ranked Travel Company by BluePipes for the fifth consecutive year. Triage has also received top rankings from Highway Hypodermics, VeryWell Health, The Balance Careers and Gypsy Nurse. Triage was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. www.triagestaff.com ITZEHOE, Germany, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OQmented, a technology leader in MEMS-based AR/VR display and 3D sensing solutions, has set itself to enable stylish and light-weight AR smart glasses for the consumer market. To that end, the company has recently showcased its proof of concept demonstrations for their laser beam scanner light engine at several exhibitions and shows with overwhelmingly positive feedback from the industry, revealing the demand for a system supplier. Several experts and tech entrepreneurs are predicting the next iteration of the internet, the so-called Metaverse; an immersive world, combining the real physical world with virtual and augmented realities. Ultimately, this vision goes hand in hand with the replacement of the smartphone by Augmented Reality smart glasses. However, there are several technical challenges in the development of all-day wearable smart glasses. Those glasses have to be of the right size, light-weight and stylish while at the same time delivering high quality images and very good battery life. By providing fully integrated, complete projection display systems, OQmented takes on the relevant part of these challenges for the manufacturers. Leveraging laser beam scanning (LBS) technology allows for a very compact size and the lowest power consumption, at the same time delivering bright full-color images with high resolution and a large field of view. Furthermore, the companys proprietary wafer-level vacuum packaging technology enables the highly integrated packaging of the complete system on wafer scale, offering several advantages: it allows for a minimum size of the projection module the system does not require any relay optics it entails a very high parallelization in the manufacturing of the miniature projectors, i.e., it is suitable for mass production With more than 20 years of experience in wafer-level packaging, OQmenteds founders look back on a long history of massively parallel processing, making this one of the companys greatest strengths. We have hired extensively over the recent months and, in a short time frame, have achieved amazing results. In general, OQmented is very well positioned for the future. For example, only we are able to provide the necessary diameter for the rather large laser beams for diffractive waveguides, said Thomas von Wantoch, CEO/CFO and co-founder of OQmented. We have observed that Augmented Reality has gained a lot of traction among laser manufacturers as well and we are discussing partnerships with top laser companies. About OQmented OQmented is a deep tech company developing and selling ultra-compact LBS projectors for Augmented Reality devices and best in class 3D sensing solutions for mobile and stationary applications. The unique Lissajous scan pattern in combination with the vacuum encapsulation technology and proprietary electronics and software enable new product categories in consumer and various other industries. Further information can be found at www.oqmented.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4dbc3eca-3b9f-4fd3-8066-34369a3a7cea Gloucester, MA (01930) Today Showers this morning, becoming a steady rain during the afternoon hours. High 49F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low 46F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Gloucester, MA (01930) Today Showers this morning, becoming a steady rain during the afternoon hours. High near 50F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Rain ending this evening. Partial clearing overnight. Low 46F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: MANSFIELD [mdash] Patricia Ann Thursby-Daniels, 77, of Mansfield, Texas, formerly of Elkhart, Indiana, died Sunday April 10, at Mansfield Hospital in Mansfield, Texas. She was born May 30, 1944, in Elkhart, Indiana, to Robert James and Opal Mae (Allison) Thursby. On Feb. 14, 1965, she marrie Fernando Alonso talked about 'El Plan' in preparation for this season, but stalling during the third test days was surely not part of the Spaniard's plan. The Alpine driver only managed twelve laps and unfortunately that's all. Early in the morning, Alonso caused a code red in Spain after a mechanical problem. As it turned out, he was not the only driver to cause a red flag in the end, but his had more far-reaching consequences. "After further investigation in the garage, the team can confirm that the problem was a problem with the hydraulics. A small sealing problem led to a fire in the back of the car," Alpine announced in a statement through its own channels. The repair of the leak will take so much time that Alonso will not be able to come back into action. Read more LIVE | Day three of the 2022 Formula 1 winter test in Barcelona Thus ends the first week of testing for the French team. In the end the team completed 266 laps at the Circuit de Catalunya and with that they can be reasonably satisfied. On March 10, 11 and 12 we will see the Alpine again in action when the second test week is scheduled in Bahrain. Alpine Statement Team Statement: After further investigations in the garage following Fernando Alonsos on-track stoppage earlier this morning, the team can confirm the issue was a problem with the hydraulics. A minor sealing issue led to a fire in the back of the car.#F1Testing BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) February 25, 2022 Read more OFFICIAL: Formula 1 will not go to Sochi for Russian Grand Prix in 2022 Max Verstappen is a satisfied man after the morning session of the third day of testing. The Red Bull Racing driver came to a second time and 59 laps. Major problems remained out of the RB18 and so Verstappen has nothing to complain about. Although, there were a lot of red flags after all. The Dutchman was not able to complete his entire program because the session was stopped at least five times in the morning. However, that does not take away from the fact that everything worked well and the new car felt good, Verstappen said in conversation with Motorsport.com. Read more LIVE | Day three of the 2022 Formula 1 winter test in Barcelona Verstappen not looking at rankings George Russell in his Mercedes was the fastest man of the day with a 1:19.233. He was about half a second faster than Verstappen, but the reigning world champion doesn't place much value on that."I'm not really paying attention to the lap times yet. We'll see during Q3 in Bahrain." Moreover, Russell drove on the C5 compound, while Max recorded his fastest time with the harder C3 tire. For Verstappen, the first week of testing is over. Friday afternoon Sergio Perez will be in action for four hours. He will do so on a wet track, because in Barcelona they will test with the new rain tires. Read more OFFICIAL: Formula 1 will not go to Sochi for Russian Grand Prix in 2022 Ferrari is looking good so far ahead of the 2022 Formula One season. On all three test days in Barcelona, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc managed to set top times. This immediately led to speculation from Mercedes, but according to Leclerc one should not prejudge the issues. The Monegasque is happy that the first winter test went well, but on the other hand also recognizes that Ferrari has to keep a cool head. "Of course it's nice to see yourself on P1, but it doesn't mean anything. I think everyone in the team is aware of that," he said in conversation with Sky Sports. Leclerc thinks there's more to F1-75 Ferrari's focus is therefore not entirely on performance. "We're trying as many things as possible," says Leclerc. In addition, the team is trying to understand where the limit of the car is. Now that the test days in Barcelona are over, the focus is fully on Bahrain. According to Leclerc, there is even more to the F1-75 than has been shown so far. "It feels likte it, but of course it's still early days," said the Ferrari driver. So far The first winter test in Barcelona is over and all the Formula 1 drivers have put in their first kilometers ahead of the 2022 season. During the test days, the new cars could be admired in all their glory for the first time. We have put together some of the most beautiful pictures. During the test days at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the new cars of the Formula 1 teams could be seen for the first time in full glory. However, much will still change in the cars before the teams travel to Bahrain for the second winter test and the first race weekend in Sakhir. Read more Summary third F1 test day | Mercedes followed closely by Red Bull In pictures | F1 cars in action at test days Barcelona Ahead of the action in Bahrain, we have to make do with the images from Barcelona for the time being. Below is an overview with some pictures of all the teams that were in action during the first winter test. Yes, it's OK to forgive the loans now No, past borrowers paid their loans, so should today's borrowers Uncertain Vote View Results The bungled American dream: US' record of failures in battling COVID-19 16:17, February 25, 2022 By Chi Zao ( People's Daily Online People wait to enter a COVID-19 test and vaccination site near Times Square in New York, the United States, Dec. 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) Amid the raging spread of the Omicron variant that hit the US hard in recent months, 30-year-old Alex Zhang continued to try her best to get her hands on a rapid home test made available at local drug stores in Washington, D.C., though like many others with the same intention, she was completely out of luck. "During the holidays I didn't find any test kits on nearby pharmacy shelves, while the lines for the testing site were hours long," said Zhang. In response to an ongoing shortage of tests, the first batch of 1 billion "free" tests, as promised by the US federal government, was supposed to be made available to the public on January 19, but like Zhang, many Americans have yet to receive any such test kits. Focusing on the US government's lousy pandemic management, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a scathing report on January 22 that placed the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) on its "high risk" list, which is reserved for those government agencies in need of reform or otherwise vulnerable to fraud or mismanagement. The congressional watchdog also flagged HHS for several deficiencies that included failing to establish clear roles and responsibilities across its vast purview and providing clear communications to the public. This is not the GAO's first time to castigate HHS for its misconducts. In fact, over the years, the GAO has made a total of 115 recommendations concerning HHS' leadership and operations in coping with public health emergencies, but to date, only 33 have been fully implemented. Nearly 79 million COVID-19 cases have been reported across the US, while a total of 944,830 people have already lost their lives as of 15:30 p.m. February 25. Failure and frustration Nearly two years after the first coronavirus wave took hold in the US, Americans are increasingly critical of their government's response to COVID-19, ranging from elected officeholders to public health officials. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in February, 49 percent of Americans reported that they believe the country's public health officials are doing only a fair or poor job responding to the pandemic. Positive ratings of public health officials have fallen 10 points since August and are well below the ratings reported during their initial response to the first outbreak in early 2020. The survey also indicated that 60 percent of US adults are of the opinion that they felt confused as a result of changes to the health recommendations provided by public health officials, including how to best slow the spread of the coronavirus, with this proportion of the population having increased by 7 percentage points since last summer. Echoing this survey, GAO noted that there was confusion among stakeholders and experts on the role of the Strategic National Stockpile in terms of the country's response to the pandemic, while HHS had yet to develop a formal process for "engaging with key stakeholders for pandemic preparedness." Ever since the pandemic kicked off in the US, the public has expressed their frustration with how the country is functioning, and for many this dissatisfaction is leading to a desire for political, economic, and health care changes. According to a 2021 Pew Research poll, about three-quarters of Americans say that their political and health care systems need major changes or must be completely reformed. The US government's crumbling credibility and inconsistent pandemic control policies have also led to a rising wave of anti-intellectualism and a public mistrust of medical and science professionals. According to a survey issued by Pew in February, Americans' confidence in public groups and institutions has turned downward compared with just a year ago. Trust in scientists and medical experts, once seemingly buoyed by their central role in addressing the coronavirus outbreak, is now below pre-pandemic levels. Overall, 29 percent of US adults say they have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the best interests of the public, down from 40 percent who said this in November 2020. Similarly, the share with a great deal of confidence in scientists to act in the public's best interests is down by 10 percentage points. According to experts, the US government's failures in controlling the pandemic has exposed long-simmering weaknesses in its social fabric and institutional designs. "The Federal government and its local counterparts usually operate at their own wills, restricting each other and shirking their duties. Such ineffective cooperation mechanisms and the lack of effective implementation have led to US incompetence in dealing with public emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic," Gong Ting, an associate research fellow of the China Institute of International Studies, told the Guangming Daily. (Web editor: Liang Jun, Hongyu) The BMW Group has joined the cross-sector Responsible Lithium Partnership project. The aim of the project is to reach a shared understanding of responsible management of natural resources with local interest groups and develop a vision for the future of the Salar de Atacama salt flat in Chile. The Responsible Lithium Partnership was initiated in spring 2021 by BASF, the Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Daimler Truck AG, Fairphone and the Volkswagen Group for a planned duration of three years. (Earlier post.) The project does not promote lithium sourcing or the purchase or sale of mineral raw materials. The BMW Group is the sixth member to join the initiative. One of the ways in which it is supporting the project is by sharing scientific findings on the impact of lithium mining on water resources in Chiles Salar de Atacama. Together with BASF, the BMW Group had already commissioned a study by the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Massachusetts Amherst into the effects of lithium mining on local water balances in Latin America in late 2020. The aim of the study is to gain a better scientific understanding of the interdependencies between freshwater and lithium brine layers, evaluate various technologies and acquire the expertise to assess sustainable lithium mining. The study provides a scientific basis for future decisions about lithium sourcing. The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) is coordinating the Responsible Lithium Partnership project, aimed at developing a joint vision for the future of the water catchment areas of the Salar de Atacama. Representatives from lithium and copper mining, agriculture, tourism, indigenous communities and government are invited to a local multi-stakeholder platform where they will develop measures together. A further aim is to develop a joint action plan to improve long-term management of natural resources and implement initial steps. In a prospectus filed on 10 February 2022, lithium producer Lithium Australia reported that it has made a non-binding offer (NBO) to Johnson Matthey PLC for the acquisition of the lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) production operations located in Candiac, Canada and a research and development facility on Moosburg, Germany. The terms of the NBO would involve a consideration payment of approximately 10 million (US$13.4 million) in cash, subject to working capital adjustments and a further deferred payment of approximately 5 million (US$6.7 million) in cash. As of the prospectus date, the NBO has not been accepted or rejected by Johnson Matthey PLC; however, discussions on certain aspects have commenced, Lithium Australia said. The company will make further announcements in the event that either the negotiations complete and binding agreements are executed or that the proposed transaction does not advance. On 11 November 2021, Johnson Matthey announced its intention to pursue the sale of all or parts of its Battery Materials business with the ultimate intention of exiting. The has held discussions with a number of parties about a sale of the entire business, but these discussions did not result in an agreement to sell the entire business as a going concern. Consequently, the company is pursuing the sale of its individual assets. (Earlier post.) Rock Springs Police Chief supports bill JACKSON In a world of rapid sharing online, the Wyoming Legislature is considering a bill that may protect those charged with a crime from the harsh court of public opinion. State lawmakers heard testimony Monday on a proposed law that would prohibit the release of mug shots unless the person was convicted. The bill is being sponsored by Rep. Chad Banks, a Democrat from Sweetwater County. This bill is not meant to disparage law enforcement or their efforts in any way, Banks said when introducing the bill. Citizens in my county are really concerned about this. The bill, HB 00... Amongst the culinary delights of the world, the durian fruit is likely one of the more bizarre and polarizing. Trees producing the fruit are found in Southeast Asia, with the fruit being described by some as the king of fruit. The thorny rind contains creamy, custard-like flesh that is used in a variety of desserts throughout the region or simply eaten by itself. Its smell is something else entirely and is the main aspect of the fruits polarizing reputation. According to the durian fruit entry on Wikipedia.org, the smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgus... Support local journalism We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GREENWICH To prioritize the construction of a new Central Middle School, the Board of Education is changing its capital budget request to get the all rolling in the next fiscal year and looking at January 2026 as an estimated date of completion. This is going to be, Im not going to say the crown jewel of Greenwich, but a big deal for a lot of years, Dan Watson, the school districts director of facilities, said during the boards meeting Thursday evening. The Board of Education will present its modified request to the Board of Estimate & Taxations Budget Committee on Monday before addressing the full board Tuesday. The bottom line of the capital request hasnt changed, but $2.5 million would be moved from Central Middle School masonry repairs to architectural and engineering design as the district moves up the timetable on replacing the aging building. The school district said it will still reinforce the concrete masonry unit walls in the middle school, as recommended by engineers after the building was condemned earlier this month. The board approved a $860,000 funding request for the repairs. The original fiscal year 2023 budget request submitted to the BET included masonry repairs that Watson described as extensive that are no longer needed if the building is to be replaced within five years. With $2.5 million deducted, the CMS masonry request comes to $471,000. The $2.5 million in architectural and engineering design was originally slated for fiscal year 2025 with a $67.5 million request following in fiscal year 2026 for the construction, school officials said. The boards capital budget also includes funds for projects at Julian Curtiss School that were rejected last year. It seeks $1.5 million in fiscal year 2023 and $29.7 million in fiscal year 2024 to upgrade the schools cafeteria, comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, improve security and add special education and preschool spaces. Board of Education member Cody Kittle accused Watson of prioritizing Julian Curtiss over CMS before the building was condemned. He asked Watson which project he would put first now. I think you better check the tape because Central has always been a priority for me, Watson said. Its not a crumbling heap, as some people may see it, but Central definitely needs help. The school board also unanimously approved a $150,000 funding request to create educational specifications and conduct environmental testing to determine the best location for a new CMS building. Educational specifications lay out the school buildings needs so architects, engineers and other consultants can plan accordingly. The bulk of the $150,000 would be spent to drill into the soil on the CMS campus to determine which locations can accommodate a building and the type of construction that is suitable, school officials said. Based on preliminary studies, Watson said the CMS campus does not have the abundant soil contamination the district found at Greenwich High School, but he said he anticipates some natural contaminates would be located. Some board members expressed frustration with the timeline and asked whether there was any way to speed up the construction process. Superintendent Toni Jones explained that the January 2026 completion date is expedited, though some time is budgeted for awaiting the state to approve a grant application. The grant would cover 10 percent of construction costs. Some board members pondered whether skipping the grant and spending more would be worth getting a new building faster. Jones said the district could do other things in the meantime and felt confident that the grant application would be approved so long as all the paperwork was complete. (The Greenwich High School entrance project was rejected, she said, because the application was left incomplete.) The school board agreed to reconvene regarding CMS and discuss the timeline. I think itll be hard for some parents to realize why their children may not see a new school, Karen Hirsh said in planning for the future meeting. Many parents spoke during public comment in favor of quick construction of a new building for Central Middle School, which was built in 1958. annelise.hanshaw@hearstmediact.com A joint committee of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate on Friday voted to adopt rules for the impeachment of Gov. Ralph Torres. But the rules wont be publicly disclosed until they are adopted by the full Senate. A special Senate session will be called for Monday to consider final adoption of the rules, according to the Senate clerk. The CNMI House in January voted to impeach Torres on allegations of felony theft, corruption and neglect of duty. It approved six separate articles of impeachment related to those allegations. It would require a two-thirds vote of the nine-member Senate to convict Torres, a Republican who has been governor since 2015. The Senate has a Republican majority. The Senate Committee on Judiciary, Government and Federal Relations and the Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations formed a joint committee to consider the articles of impeachment. Transparency The joint committee on Friday considered publicly discussing the 28-page impeachment rules page-by-page, but decided only to discuss some of the changes made to the document during the past week. That means details about the proposed impeachment trial remain confidential. There has been public pressure and there has been this narrative around that we in the Senate are trying to prolong this process. That couldnt be further from the truth, said Republican Sen. Karl King-Nabors. What we really wanna do is be transparent and accountable for the information thats provided. He said the rules outline the types of House impeachment records that are acceptable and the manner by which the Senate is willing to accept these documents. The goal is a speedy and transparent process, he said. He said the House took a long time to gather the impeachment documents, and they need to be presented to the Senate in a way that is easy to sift through, and get to the crux of every assertion put forward. The House investigation lasted two years and involved several public hearings to receive testimony. What weve run into in the past and its not only here in the CNMI, this is a common practice in almost any jurisdiction. Its called document dumping, King-Nabors said. Our joint committees have gone to great lengths to specify and really put a finer point on how we want these documents provided to the Senate. He said the rules also are written so they can be applied to any impeachment in the executive branch or the judiciary not specifically for the impeachment of Torres. Articles The Senate will consider the following articles of impeachment: Editors note: Peter T. Wilson, who used explosives to improve circulation in Tumon Bay and carve out Agana Boat Basin, died in Kona, Hawaii, Dec. 22, 2021. He was 93. Author and diver Dianne Strong shares some of Wilsons contributions to the island. In 1960, Don Strode wanted to set up a Division of Fish and Wildlife for the government of Guam. Strode would head up the division and Peter T. Wilson, with a fisheries biology degree from the University of Washington, would handle fisheries. In 1960, Agricultures DAWR hired Wilson. The Navy still controlled Guam to a great extent, so Wilson contacted Adm. Don Felt, head of all Pacific operations. C.E. Miller, Navy commander for Guam, subsequently recommended Wilson. In June 1960, Wilson arrived on Guam with his wife to serve a one-year contract. They stayed in the staff housing next to the original Guam Memorial Hospital, overlooking Tumon Bay. Wilsons first project was disposing of rusted cars and other waste that littered the island, which was destined to launch a tourism industry. Capt. Lewis Melson, head of the Navys Ship Repair Facility, supported the operation, providing barges and personnel. Wilson wanted to improve coral reefs and improve fish populations. One thing that could be said about Wilson was that he knew how to collaborate. Peace Corps Volunteer Pat Bryan, who worked under him in Palau in the 1970s, wrote in The Fish and Rice Chronicles: My Extraordinary Adventures in Palau and Micronesia: Peter was an operator. By that I mean he was convincing. He was not slick, but he overwhelmed with his straight-forward style. If he wanted something, he usually figured out a way to get it. In Palau, he utilized the U.S. Coast Guard to fly in parts for building the fishing vessel Emeraech, among other things. And on Guam, when needed, he used the services of the Navys Explosive Ordnance Detail. Agana Small Boat Basin One day, when the surf was really high, Wilson wrote in Aku! The History of Tuna Fishing in Hawaii and the Western Pacific, I went down to the Agana Boat Basin. Two boats decided to follow a big swell into the Harbor. They made it inside the channel when another wave was created by the outgoing water hitting a low, inner reef area as it rushed out the channel. The boats capsized and the crews swept out to sea where they were, reportedly, drowned. Wilson donned his Mike Nelson-style double-hose regulator to dive in the channel to discover the cause of the tragedy. He located a reef wall several feet high, which caused the rushing outgoing water to form a wave when it hit the wall. Wilsons EOD friends offered to assist him in any way. If they could blast the corner off the reef on an outgoing tide, the current would take the rubble out to sea into deep water, outside the channel. Gov. Joseph F. Flores was the first CHamoru to hold the office, appointed in 1960 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. As only the fourth civilian appointed to serve as governor, Flores was an unusually forward-looking politician, later pushing for increased self-governance in Guam. He founded the precurser to the Pacific Daily News. The federal government had not yet established the Environmental Protection Agency and there was no U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protest, so Flores heartily approved Wilsons plan. He even went so far as to accompany the EOD members. Wilson used $40,000 from federal aid and local funds. The Navy EOD team used outdated ordnance rockets and C3 dynamite to do the job. Boat Basin immediately became Guams premier surf spot and safer for small boats needed for Guam tourism. Tumon Bay To walk along Tumon Bay required Wilson to drive a Jeep through a mass of coconut trees. Having grown up in Hawaii, he saw the bays beauty and immediately envisioned a Guam Waikiki, lined with tourist hotels. But as he wrote in his book, the closer he got to the bay, the more he smelled the stench of rotting eggs from decaying seaweed. Noting the absence of a channel from one side of the bay to the other, he figured poor water circulation was responsible for its murkiness, poor visibility, stagnant water and lack of normal sea life. The abundance of Sargassum seaweed had created low oxygen levels and poor water exchange. A visit to Naval Air Station revealed color aerial photos of the bay taken by VQ-1 squadron and depicted where best to blast a channel. Almost a repetition of the Boat Basin project, Wilson and the EOD blasted a channel. Fresh ocean water bathed the bay. The Sargassum algae decreased, and Tumon Bay became Guams crown jewel of tourism. Twenty-eight days after a man was found dead in Chalan Pago, the Guam Police Department announced his death was a homicide, but his identity and cause of death are unknown. The remains found are in a state that make it extremely difficult to determine the identity, Chief of Police Stephen Ignacio said Friday at a press conference. The autopsy was conducted by a forensic pathologist, where the cause of death has been ruled as undetermined. However, the manner of death is classified as a homicide, Ignacio added. The man is thought to be between 18 and 40 years old, but identification processes that include facial recognition, dental identification, scars and marks were unable to be completed because of the condition of the body. Two distinct tattoos on the body, however, were found and are GPDs primary leads in identifying the man. The first is Strength, Respect, loyalty (that) was in an inverted arch position on the upper front torso. The second was a separate tribal tattoo located on the rear upper torso of the remains, Ignacio said before holding up sketches. GPD is asking for assistance from anyone with any information about the tattoos. Dumpsite On the morning of Jan. 29, the Guam Fire Department responded to a trash fire along Route 10 in Chalan Pago. After the fire was extinguished, a mans body was found. GPDs Criminal Investigation Section was sent to the scene. Throughout the investigation, police believed the man wasnt killed where he was found. We believe that the location we found the body is what we refer to as a dumpsite, meaning the act of killing the person was not done there, Ignacio said, adding the body wasnt in a state of decomposition. Community With GPD exhausting all avenues of investigation, which have included looking through missing persons databases and requesting assistance from their federal counterparts, Ignacio is asking for the communitys help identifying the man. This is a 28-day-old case, so its nowhere near cold, Ignacio said. We are now seeking the help of the community to help us identify the victim. Without the identity of the victim, it makes the investigation difficult to move forward because we dont know the name of this person, we dont know where this person may have been, who he may have been with. Theres a killer on the loose and this is how we work together as a community to keep our community safe, Ignacio said. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Our View: Thank you, GPD, for stepping up to serve and protect The Guam Police Department, Guam Fire Department and several government agencies began learning to pilot remote-controlled drones to assist in Haiti - Justice : Death of Journalist Maxihen Lazzare, police could be involved The General Directorate of the National Police of Haiti (DGPNH) learned with deep sadness of the death of Photo-Journalist Maxihen Lazzare, working for the online media RDI, shot on Wednesday February 23, 2022 during the demonstration that organized contract workers demanding an increase in the minimum wage. Two other journalists were also shot-wounded in the same incident According to the first information, the police would be indexed in the murder of this journalist. The DGPNH seized by this file, informs that the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ) and the General Inspectorate have already opened an investigation into this case. It takes this opportunity to announce to the public shortly the result of this investigation and the appropriate measures that will be taken against all the police officers who may be involved in this regrettable incident. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36033-haiti-flash-demonstration-4-journalists-injured-including-one-fatally.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Diplomacy : Haiti worried about the war in Ukraine Following the outbreak of a Russian military operation in Ukraine, Haitian Chancellor Jean Victor Geneus, in a note made the following statement : Statement by Chancellor Geneus : "The Government of the Republic of Haiti expresses its deep concern over the development of the situation on the borders of Ukraine. It urges the parties concerned to act with restraint and avoid engaging in actions likely to destabilize the region, threaten peace and affect world trade. It appeals for diplomatic efforts to be intensified in favor of a peaceful solution and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Republic of Haiti reaffirms its attachment to the norms and principles of International Law and to respect for the Charter of the United Nations, which alone are capable of guaranteeing world peace and security." HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Politic : Court of Cassation, the Senate in disagreement with the Executive In a note the Senate gives its position concerning the call for candidacies of the Executive https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36004-haiti-notice-court-of-cassation-call-for-applications.html aiming to contitute a list of 9 magistrates from which 3 judges will be chosen to fill the vacancies at the Court of Cassation. Excerpts from the Senate note : "The Senate of the Republic intends to express its deep concerns about the degradation of the country which is linked to the dysfunction of the three powers of the State, all disabled and unable to exercise [...] [...] None of the three powers, each in its infirmity, can arrogate to itself such prerogatives as it does not have, and it is necessary to avoid disappointments which dishonor more. Act is taken of this correspondence of the CSPJ which declared inadmissible the request of the Minister of Justice https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35985-haiti-news-zapping.html , the latter having attempted, by a roundabout way, to fill certain vacancies with the Court of Cassation. [...] The appointment of judges of the Court is governed by Article 175 of the Constitution. It is the Senate of the Republic which proposes the list of judges to the President of the Republic who appoints them to see the CSPJ assess and certify them. However, the Senate is incomplete and the President is deceased. Only a consensus between the Senate and the CSPJ can allow a modus operandi in this case. [...] The institutions cannot transfer more power than they have, the judges to come out of this consensus cannot last more than the transition since the renewed political staff will have the responsibility of putting all the institutions back in their legitimacy, any initiative to the contrary is therefore unacceptable. [...] From all of this, it emerges that the Haitian administration is blocked and that no lasting action can be envisaged without the broad consensus that will inevitably be obtained [...]" Recall that the Executive once again ignored the role and position of the Senate and reached an agreement directly with the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ). As part of this agreement, the Ministry of Justice has launched a call for candidacies https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36004-haiti-notice-court-of-cassation-call-for-applications.html and it was agreed that the choice of the 3 judges will be made by the CSPJ after studying their files from a list of 9 candidates in order to fill the vacant positions and prevent the Court of Cassation from being dysfunctional. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35985-haiti-news-zapping.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36004-haiti-notice-court-of-cassation-call-for-applications.html HL/ HaitiLibre Espanola, NM (87532) Today Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. High 63F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low 37F. NW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Haiti - Diaspora Covid-19 : Daily Bulletin #707 GLOBAL SITUATION 2019-2022: Epidemiological situation: Friday, February 25, 2022 the number of people infected worldwide with the Covid-19 coronavirus and its variants since the start of the pandemic (March 11, 2020) amounts to 432,015,959 cases (+1,638,796 in 24 hours ), the day before (+2,020,551) Number of countries infected: 221 *Healings: 361,204,565 people have been cured of Covid-19 worldwide (+2,180,027 in 24 hours), the day before (+2,602,559) *Deaths: 5,948,212 people died of Covid-19 worldwide (+10,169 in 24 hours), the day before (+11,777) *Active cases (minus deaths and recoveries) in the world is currently 64,863,182 cases (-551,400 in 24 hours), the day before (-593,785) Average cure rate in the world: 83.60% (+) Average mortality rate in the world: 1.37% (=) World: Number of daily confirmed cases "> (Day-1) Vaccination: 10.71 billion doses of vaccine injected (+20 million doses injected in 24 hours. Updated February 25, 2022 (latest data available). HAITI: Epidemiological situation: According to the Ministry of Public Health, +37 new cases in 48 hours of Covid-19 and its variants have been confirmed in Haiti as of February 22, 2022 (latest partial data available) for a total of 30,336 confirmed cases throughout the national territory (48.7% women and 51.3% men), since the first case (March 19, 2020 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html ). Previous update (+12 cases on February 20, 2022). Heals: 25,206 (+21) Cure rate: 83.08% (-) Deaths: 820 deaths (+0) Death rate: 2.70% (=) 5th Wave (Omicron Dominant): Total of the 5th wave (starting December 27, 2021) amounts to 4,341 confirmed cases and 54 deaths Haiti: Active Cases Trend: (less recoveries and deaths) (Day-1) Screening since the start of the pandemic: 178,471 tests (+377 in 48 hours) since March 19, 2020, latest data available. Note that the very small number of people screened every day at the national level out of a population estimated at 11.6 million citizens, does not statistically allow us to make a representative estimate of the situation in Haiti, which translates into a < B>number of daily confirmed cases largely underestimated. TOP 5 of the most affected municipalities in the West (2022): Delmas: 723 (+2); Petion-ville 612 (+2); Port au Prince 404 (+4); Tabarre 278 (+2); Cross-Bouquets 224 (+5) Confirmed cases by department (2022 / 2021 / 2020): West: 2022: 2,484 cases; (2021: 9.890); (2020: 6,945 cases) North: 2022: 261 cases; (2021: 664); (2020: 677 cases) Center: 2022: 211 cases; (2021: 1.001); (2020: 508 cases) Artibonitis: 2022: 162 cases; (2021: 855); (2020: 593 cases) Northeast: 2022: 147 cases; (2021: 404); (2020: 314 cases) Southeast: 2022: 225 cases; (2021: 768); (2020: 274 cases) South: 2022: 211 cases; (2021: 891); (2020: 262 cases) North West: 2022: 241 cases; (2021: 383); (2020: 229 cases) Grand'Anse: 2022: 136 cases; (2021: 861); (2020: 176 cases) Nippes: 2022: 33 cases; (2021: 249) (2020: 149 cases) Cumulative deaths by department (2022-2021): West: 292 deaths (2020: 104 deaths) North: 53 deaths (2020: 34 deaths) Center: 74 deaths (2020: 13 deaths) Artibonite: 39 deaths (2020: 39 deaths) North East: 7 deaths (2020: 6 deaths) South: 51 deaths (2020: 6 deaths) Southeast: 14 deaths (2020: 9 deaths) North West: 15 deaths (2020: 12 deaths) Grand'Anse: 7 deaths (2020: 13 deaths) Nippes: 27 deaths (2020: 5 deaths) Distribution of deaths by age (since the start of the epidemic): 0-9 years: 15 deaths 10-19 years: 10 deaths 20-29 years: 29 deaths 30-39 years: 54 deaths 40-49 years: 78 deaths 50-59 years: 133 deaths 60-69 years: 186 deaths 70-79 years: 181 deaths 80 years and over: 134 deaths Vaccination: 150,734 Haitians (1.29% of the population) +920 in 24 hours have received a 1st dose of vaccine since July 16, 2021, date of the first injection through 149 open vaccination centers https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35051-haiti-covid-19-list-of-149-vaccination-centers-open-in-the-country.html and 100,126 Haitians are fully vaccinated (2 doses, 0.86% of the population) +889 in 24h. Update February 15, 2022 latest information available (source MSPP). List of the 149 Vaccination Centers open in Haiti (and hours) by department: (updated October 20, 2021, latest information available) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35051-haiti-covid-19-list-of-149-vaccination-centers-open-in-the-country.html DIASPORA: Epidemiological situation : USA: *Cases since the first case (February 29, 2020): 80,446,580 cases (+74,176 in 24 hours), the day before (+101,841) *Healings: 52,662,670 healings (+209,108 in 24 hours), the day before (+253,733) National Cure Rate: 65.46% (+) *Deaths: 969,602 deaths (+3,072 in 24 hours), the day before (+3,159) National mortality rate: 1.20% (=) *Active cases (minus deaths and recoveries): 26,814,308 (-138,004 in 24 hours), the day before (-155,051) Tests: 945,419,023 last data available. USA: Number of daily confirmed cases (Day-1) Vaccination: 551.96 million doses of vaccine injected since December 14, 2020, date of the first injection in the United States (+440,000 doses in 24 hours). Update February 25, 2022 (latest data available). DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Confirmed cases since March 1, 2020: 573,458 cases (+422 in 24 hours) the day before (+306). First case (March 1, 2020) Healings: 567,227 healings (+1,139), the day before (+447) National Cure Rate: 98.91% (+) Deaths: 4,363 deaths (+3 in 48 hours), the day before (+3) Death rate: 0.76% (=) Positivity rate over 4 epidemiological weeks: 6.56% (+) Active cases: (excluding deaths and recoveries) 1,868 cases (-280 in 24 hours) the day before (-144) Dominican Republic: Trend of active cases: (minus recoveries and deaths) (Day-1) TOP 5 Provinces with the most new cases in the last 24 hours: National District: +91 new cases in 24 hours (-2 compared to the previous day) MonsenorNouel: +91 new cases in 24 hours () Santiago: +57 new cases in 24 hours (+38 compared to the day before) Santo Domingo: +56 new cases in 24 hours (-47 compared to the previous day) Tests (since the 1st case): 3,093,792 tests (+6,251 in 24 hours), the day before (+6,637) Vaccination: 15.23 million doses of vaccine injected since February 16, 2021, date of the first injection in the Dominican Republic (+10,000 doses injected in 24 hours). Update February 24, 2022 (latest data available). QUEBEC: Confirmed cases since the first case (February 27, 2020): 917,279 (+1,517 in 24 hours), previous (+1,861) Healings: 884,423 people (+1,846 in 24 hours), previous (+1,829) Cure rate: 96.41% (+) Deaths: 13,931 deaths (+28 in 24 hours), previous (+17) Death rate: 1.51% (=) Active cases: (excluding death and recovery) 18,925 cases (-357 in 24 hours), previous (+15) Quebec: Confirmed case trend: Test: 16,640,195 people tested since the first case (+19,033 in 24 hours) Vaccination: 18,367,039 doses of vaccine injected since December 14, 2020, date of the first injection (+12,449 doses in 24 hours), latest data available - MSSS as of February 24, 2022) FRANCE: *Confirmed cases since the first case (January 24, 2020): 22,534,971 cases (+66,732 cases in 24 hours), previous (+ 66,833) *Healings: 20,250,620 healings (+240,768 in 24h), previous (+274,139) National Cure Rate: 89.86% (+) Deaths: 137,770 deaths (+281 in 24 hours), previous (+213) Death rate: 0.61% (=) Active Cases: 2,146,581 (-174,317 in 24h), previous (-207,519) Test: 243,529,298 (last data available February 17, 2022) France: Number of daily confirmed cases: (Day-1) Vaccination: 140.56 million doses of vaccine injected since December 27, 2020, date of the first injection in France (+150,000 doses injected in 24 hours. Update February 23, 2022 (latest data available) Previous bulletin : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36039-haiti-diaspora-covid-19-daily-bulletin-706.html See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30165-haiti-flash-first-case-of-covid-19-in-the-dominican-republic.html HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2022/02/24 | Source The 'older woman and younger male' couple is considered one of the indispensable elements in recent romance dramas. This is because the setting itself is easy to attract viewers' curiosity, and the combination of female top stars and rookie male actors can maximize fresh charm. Naturally, young rookies often work with veterans. Lee Tae-hwan (27), Koo Ja-sung (30) are Hwang In-yeop (31) are drawing attention from viewers by working with Kim Ji-hyun-II, Han Chae-young, and Seo Hyun-jin, respectively. Advertisement Lee Tae-hwan stepped into the small screen through JTBC's "Thirty Nine" which first aired on the 16th. In the drama, he appears as the owner of a Chinese restaurant and forms a love line with his guest Kim Ji-hyun-II. Although he has not appeared in a large amount yet, he has become a hot topic online with his cute charm that makes Kim Ji-hyun-II swoon. He is also determined to highlight the character of the 'younger man' by building friendships with Son Ye-jin and Jeon Mi-do, who are keeping an eye on Lee Tae-hwan for their friend Kim Ji-hyun-II. Koo Ja-sung appears as Han Chae-young's man in IHQ drama's "Sponsor", which begins broadcasting on the 23rd. As a model dreaming of a comeback in the drama, he will have a love affair with beauty company CEO Han Chae-young. The story is about Han Chae-young seducing Koo Ja-sung, who has a family, saying she will make him successful as a celebrity. He has been called 'Han Chae-young's man' early on, playing this unconventional character. In fact, Koo Ja-sung, 12 years younger than Han Chae-young, who is 42 years old this year, shows his ambition to strengthen his leading position through "Sponsor". Hwang In-yeop will meet Seo Hyun-jin, who is known as a 'romance powerhouse', on SBS's "Why Her?" in March. As a law school student in the drama, he continues his romantic mood with lawyer Seo Hyun-jin. As a former model, he appeared on tvN's "True Beauty" last year with a tall appearance of over 185cm, gaining popularity among viewers in their teens and 20s. Afterwards, he targeted the home theater one after another by starring in the Netflix original series "The Sound of Magic" which is scheduled to be released in the second half of this year. Written By Reporter 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 | Hastings, NE (68901) Today Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 52F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Cloudy. Some light rain is likely. Low around 45F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Submit Editor, Heroes, Joe Manchin, Liz Cheney, Kyrsten Sinema, Adam Kinzinger, in Montana, Republican legislators not signing on to audit our 2020 election, former Gov. Marc Racicot heroes the courage to do the right thing versus the easy thing. Mitch McConnell recently said his party shouldnt run goofballs for office neither party should; our country, our state, need fewer goofballs making laws. Im a D-Lite; I met Marc Racicot in 1988, supported him for attorney general and drove him in the Bucking Horse Sale parade. I write checks to campaigns, both partys Tim... Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced Feb. 25 the historic $26 billion settlement with opioid distributors and a manufacturer has been finalized and will return $483 million to the commonwealth for programs to address the opioid epidemic. The agreement, according to a statement from Camerons office, settles claims with Cardinal Health, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Johnson & Johnson for the companies roles in fueling the opioid epidemic. The distributors are expected to start releasing funds to a national administrator in April, and money will begin to be distributed to Kentucky and local governments in the second quarter of 2022. This historic $483 million settlement provides the Commonwealth with funds to meaningfully address the effects of the opioid epidemic, said Cameron. Weve fought to ensure that the opioid companies are held accountable for their roles in creating this crisis and that Kentucky receives the funding it is due for the harm these terrible drugs have inflicted upon our neighbors, friends, and loved ones. This funding cannot come quickly enough, and we will continue to work closely with the legislature and local governments to ensure the funds are put toward programs that will stop the cycle of addiction and help heal our communities. The agreement marks the culmination of years of negotiations to resolve more than 4,000 claims of state and local governments across the country. It is the second largest multistate agreement in U.S. history, second only to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Cameron announced the tentative settlement in July and, after careful review, the statement said, signed on to the proposed deal on behalf of the commonwealth in August. Attorney General Cameron has worked closely with the General Assembly and local government officials to ensure the commonwealth received maximum funding from the settlement, the statement said. These efforts led to the passage of HB 427 in 2021. As a result, the commonwealth and its local governments will receive the maximum of $483 million over a period of 18 years. Kentuckys share of the settlement will be distributed according to the terms of House Bill 427, which provides that local governments will receive 50 percent of all proceeds from the settlement, and the Commonwealth will receive the remaining 50 percent. The bill was sponsored by Representative Danny Bentley and passed with unanimous bipartisan support by the General Assembly last year. The Kentucky Association of Counties and the Kentucky League of Cities worked closely with the legislature and the Attorney General on the agreement. The opioid epidemic has been personal to me because it has impacted the 25th district so drastically, said Senate President Robert Stivers. I and many others have and are working to turn the tide on this crisis, but to be successful, it will take each of us as partners. Today is one more step toward our goal to save lives and help people seek the redemption they need to lead a better life. Todays news comes as Kentuckians in every community across the commonwealth struggle to overcome opioid addiction and provides all of us with a glimmer of hope that this scourge may be defeated and the lives of so many restored, said Speaker of the House David Osborne. I appreciate the attorney generals commitment to this settlement and to Rep. Danny Bentley for ensuring that state and local governments have access to the resources needed for recovery and prevention efforts. The commonwealths portion of the settlement will be overseen by the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. The group is expected to establish a process for eligible opioid abatement programs to apply for settlement dollars. In addition to the settlement funds, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen will: Establish a centralized independent clearinghouse to provide all three distributors and state regulators with aggregated data and analytics about where drugs are going and how often, eliminating blind spots in the current systems used by distributors. Use data-driven systems to detect suspicious opioid orders from customer pharmacies. Terminate customer pharmacies ability to receive shipments, and report those companies to state regulators, when they show certain signs of diversion. Report and prohibit shipping of suspicious opioid orders. Prohibit sales staff from influencing decisions related to identifying suspicious opioid orders. Require senior corporate officials to engage in regular oversight of anti-diversion efforts. Johnson & Johnson is required to: Stop selling opioids. Not fund or provide grants to third parties for promoting opioids. Not lobby on activities related to opioids. Share clinical trial data under the Yale University Open Data Access Project. Attorney General Cameron was joined at todays announcement by state Rep. Danny Bentley; Sen. Phillip Wheeler; Reagan Taylor, 2021 KACo president and Madison County judge-executive; Gary Moore, 2020 KACo president and Boone County judge-executive; Brian Traugott, KLC president and mayor of the City of Versailles; Martin Hatfield, Pulaski County attorney; and Tayler Niece, survivor of the Opioid Crisis. By SA Commercial Prop News At 178,000m, from 85,000m, the Fourways Mall is now larger than Pretoria's Menlyn Park at 169,000m, Sandton City, the 131,000m Mall of Africa in Waterfall and the 166,636m Gateway Theatre of Shopping in Durban. After missing several deadlines, the newly redeveloped multi-billion Fourways Mall has finally opened its doors, becoming the largest shopping centre in South Africa. The mall which has doubled in size, was supposed to open at the end of April but the owners, JSE-listed Accelerate Property Fund decided its new sections will trade starting from 22 August with the official celebration launch set for next week on the 29th. Despite depressed consumer spending, developers are bringing more shopping malls to an already saturated market. At 178,000m, from 85,000m, the Fourways Mall is now larger than Pretoria's Menlyn Park at 169,000m, Sandton City, the 131,000m Mall of Africa in Waterfall and the 166,636m Gateway Theatre of Shopping in Durban. ALSO READ: R850-million Mall of Tembisa gets off the ground Fourways Mall now has more than 250 new brands and stores added to the retail mix, offering a staggering total of 450 shops. The largest original anchor tenants have stayed in the same locations, although all of them have upgraded their stores significantly. Game, Woolworths, Checkers and Dis-Chem are all in the same locations, and Game has an exciting new neighbour in Pick n Pay with these stores anchoring the malls four corners. ALSO READ: Sandton grows apace with R3bn Skyscraper Bearing the malls size in mind, each node has been allocated its own playful colour theme, with all signage and lighting in that area regardless of which floor referring to that particular node. This will help shoppers navigate through the new sections of the mall, making it easy to find their way around, and importantly, back to their parking location. With commercial, residential and mixed-use property in demand, the broader Fourways area continues to create value and deliver opportunity for investors across sectors as it offers a fresh alternative to Gautengs older, more crowded nodes. Mall mania: A bubble waiting to pop Despite talk of a looming oversupply of shopping malls, commercial property investors continue to pour billions into South Africa's retail property sector. Analysts have warned South African Retailers to guard against cannibalization citing bigger centres taking away spend from the weaker centres. SAs economic malaise, and the struggles of retailers including Edcon, continues to take its toll on the countrys landlords. Accelerate Property Fund, which also owns Cedar Square shopping centre in Fourways, reported earnings fell in the year to end-March as it accepted lower rentals to fill space. Accelerate said while it reduced vacancies to 9%, from 10% a year before, this came at a cost, including softer rentals to retain tenants, rent-free periods and tenant installations. Distributable earnings for the financial year declined 10.8% to R475.7m. Total distributions per share were lowered to 50.97c, from 57.55c previously. Accelerate said the property sector will remain under pressure during 2019. Recent retailers results echo these sentiments, with consumers disposable income still under pressure and overall business sentiment poor. Accelerates COO Andrew Costa said the economy speaks for itself it is very weak and there is low disposable income growth. ShareBar Comments must be on-topic and civil in tone (with no name calling or personal attacks). Any promotional language or urls will be removed immediately. Your comment may be edited for clarity and length. wanda birdsong, right, loves horses and got to spend some time with them after taking a carriage ride as Anthony Vasquez held the reins for her. Ahead of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Income Tax Department raided premises linked to a prominent Shiv Sena corporator and his MLA wife for alleged tax evasion, here on Friday. A team of ITD swooped on the Mazagaon home of corporator Yashwant Jadhav and his wife Yamini Jadhav and carried out searches. Jadhav is the Chairman of the BMC's powerful Standing Committee which is authorised to prepare the civic budget and sanction expenditures for various works. The action is said to have come after Bharatiya Janata Party ex-MP Dr. Kirit Somaiya lodged a complaint to the Centre in January, alleging "money-laundering, parking the scam money, hawala transactions" worth around Rs 30 crore, through various shell companies, indulged in by the Jadhav couple. Somaiya also 'suggested' to the ITD and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to initiate suitable action against the couple without waiting for the outcome of reported moves by the Election Commission of India to disqualify Yamini Jadhav for allegedly not disclosing her assets truly in the poll affidavit. The ITD operation came two days after a Maha Vikas Aghadi Minister of Nationalist Congress Party Nawab Malik was arrested in an alleged money-laundering case arising out of a 'tainted' land deal with mafia links. Malik has been remanded to ED custody till March 3 even as the MVA constituents Sena-NCP-Congress carried out huge protests all over the state on Thursday, and the NCP demonstrations continue even today. Greenville, TX (75401) Today Foggy early, then thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High near 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we've all known individuals who have done more than their share to help their neighbors and communities with food, comfort, care, companionship and dozens of other needs. If you know of such a person, you can nominate them to be featured in our upcoming H US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that lawmakers on Capitol Hill want to provide Ukraine with "lethal defense weapons" worth $600 million to help Kiev defend itself against military attack from Russia. Earlier in the day, US President Joe Biden announced further economic sanctions against Russia, as well as the deployment of additional US troops to Europe, Xinhua news agency reported. Biden reiterated that no US forces will be sent into Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday authorised "a special military operation" in Donbass. Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack. "Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force," Putin said in a televised speech to the nation, noting that Russia's move was in response to "fundamental threats" from NATO, which has expanded to eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. Very, we have an emergency plan and complete emergency supply kit. Somewhat, we have a complete emergency supply kit. Little, we have incomplete plan and/or supply kit. Not at all. Vote View Results Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has made yet another plea to Western allies to help Ukraine and stop Russia's brutal assault, BBC reported. "This morning we are defending our state alone. Like yesterday, the world's most powerful forces are watching from afar," Zelensky said in his address to the nation this morning. "Was Russia convinced by yesterday's sanctions? We hear in our sky and see on our earth that this was not enough", BBC reported. The Ukrainian leader has confirmed the multiple missile strikes reported pre-dawn Friday. Zelensky said the strikes began at 4 a.m. on Friday local time. He added that Russia's strikes had targetted both military and civilian sites. Russia has previously said it's not aiming strikes at civilians, the report said. The capital Kyiv has seen blasts this morning, including what appears to be a strike that hit a residential building. Zelensky speaking again to his citizens in a video address is making appeals to Russia for a ceasefire. "Russia will have to talk to us sooner or later about how to end hostilities and stop this invasion," he said. "The sooner the conversation begins the smaller Russia's losses will be". He added that until the attacks stop, "we will be defending our country until then," BBC reported. Just last night, he'd warned of the intensifying attack on the capital. He said he had no intention of leaving the capital and that he knew he was Russia's number one target right now. Ukrainian forces took to the streets of Kiev on Friday with national guard troops pictured lining up defensive positions along a highway shortly before the sounds of gunfire and explosions rang out as they battled Russian forces for control of the capital, Daily Mail reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin's men are now thought to be inside the city, though their exact location and number is unclear. Fighting was reported in Obolon, on the city's outskirts, in the early hours as the ministry of defence told residents to make Molotov cocktails to 'repel the occupiers'. Russian forces were also spotted in Vorzel, Bucha, Irpen districts, the report said. The Russian troops are thought to have arrived from the north-east, having pushed down from Chernobyl which was captured late on Thursday. More Russian troops and armour are advancing on the capital from Konotop, in the east, having bypassed the city of Chernihiv where they ran into heavy Ukrainian resistance, Daily Mail reported. Anton Herashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine's Interior Minister, said Friday will be the war's 'hardest day'. Once Kiev is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport - likely Sikorsky or Boryspil - which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital. The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime - effectively ending the war without Putin's ground forces needing to complete the difficult and bloody task of seizing and occupying the whole country. County in Zhejiang provides strong financial support to young entrepreneurs returning to hometowns People's Daily Online) 16:27, February 25, 2022 Xianju county in east Chinas Zhejiang Province has gone all out in meeting the demands of young people who decide to return to their hometowns in the aim of starting businesses, having offered them strong financial support while improving the environment for entrepreneurship in rural areas. Photo show the scenery of Yongan River in Xianju county, Zhejiang Province. (Photo/Xinhua) According to Zhang Xin, deputy secretary of the Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) of Xianju, all villages and departments have designated CYLC officials to support young entrepreneurs in rural areas. In 2021, a total of 21 executives from branches of financial institutions in towns and neighborhoods held concurrent posts as deputy secretaries of the committees of the CYLC in those towns and neighborhoods, offering services related to banking, finance and insurance to young entrepreneurs in rural areas, Zhang introduced. So far, the executives have provided door-to-door services for young entrepreneurs more than 1,300 times. We didnt know how to handle relevant formalities in the past. Now with the support from the CYLC committees, banks will contact us and streamline procedures, said Wang Xuwei, one of the first people who returned to Xianju to start a waxberry-related e-commerce business. Its so convenient for me to do everything. For example, a bank will remind me of the date to apply for loans, and I just need to apply online, Wang added. Xianju has also held regular activities, such as lectures on financial policies and on-site financial advisory and consulting services, in addition to launching financial products that include loans for homestay and e-commerce businesses. The county has also set up a fund of 500,000 yuan (about $79,009) to support entrepreneurship in rural areas, which provides interest-free loans for some projects. Zhu Xuhui, manager of a waxberry cooperative, has been able to improve his waxberry quality and extend the harvesting season with the countys financial support. With the help of the committee of the CYLC and the agriculture and rural affairs bureau of Xianju county, Zhu built 20 mu (about 1.33 hectares) of waxberry greenhouses with a subsidy of 980,000 yuan in 2019. Recently, a local bank offered a 1-million-yuan loan to Zhu for the building of more greenhouses. Thanks to greenhouse planting, the harvesting season for waxberries is more than 20 days ahead of what was expected, and the yield has been increased by over 50 percent, Zhu said. Besides, his waxberries can sell at a higher price due to the better quality. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Ukrainian soldiers, who died defending an island in the Black Sea from an air and sea bombardment, reportedly told an officer onboard a Russian Navy warship to "go f*** yourself" when asked to surrender, The Guardian reported. There were 13 border guards stationed on Snake Island, a roughly 16-hectare (40-acre) rocky island owned by Ukriane that sits about 186 300 km west of Crimea, when Russian troops bombed the island on Thursday, the report said. All 13 soldiers died after refusing to surrender, Ukrainian officials announced. In his address after the first day of the invasion of his country, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced he would posthumously present all of the soldiers the 'Hero of Ukraine' award. "All border guards died heroically but did not give up," Zelenskiy said. Audio has emerged that is purported to have captured an exchange between Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island and an approaching Russian Navy vessel, in which a Russian officer told the Ukrainian forces on the island to "lay down your weapons", The Guardian reported. "This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed," the Russian office was recorded as saying on a naval radio channel, the report said. After a brief silence in the recording, a Ukrainian officer reportedly responded: "Russian warship, go f*** yourself", The Guaridan reported. The audio has been published by multiple media outlets and was shared on social media by Anton Herashchenko, an advisor to the Ukraine's Interior Ministry, the report said. Arguably in any war, collateral damage in the form of human lives and the displacement of humanity is the most tragic, and most in need of attention of the international community. From an international perspective, the operative law with regard to victims of war is international humanitarian law. by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne in Montreal Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. Sun Tzu (512 B.C.) It was arguably the greatest known orator of human history Cicero to whom is ascribed the maxim Inter arma enim silent leges, which translates as In times of war, the laws are silent. In the 21st century, this maxim, which was purported to address the growing mob violence and thuggery of Ciceros time, has taken on a new flavour across the world: from Syria to Iraq; from Afghanistan to Yemen, finally settling down at Ukraines doorstep. This essay is not political, nor is it exploratory of the reprehensibility of the parties involved in the chaos and mayhem that is occurring in Ukraine with the invasion of Russia. Rather, it discusses some fundamental norms pertaining to the disruption of peace and the laws that might protect those who pay the ultimate price. As Sun Tzu said in his Art of War, all war is based on deception. The aggressor justifies his actions and the victims of aggression reject all explanations offered. The latter seek refuge in what is euphemistically termed the rules based international order built on the tenets of international law. So what are these laws? And how effective are they? At the apex of this international order is the United Nations, which, as this essay was being written was engaged in heated discussions and debate on the crisis in Ukraine. The United Nations Charter makes States fundamentally promise to settle their disputes by peaceful means and to refrain from the use of threat or force against each other. The power and influence of this document has been so great that the law of the Charter, the wide acceptance of that law by governments and peoples, and authority of the United Nations and world opinion behind the law and other political reactions (stronger because war has been outlawed) can claim substantial credit for the fact that the world has avoided major was since 1945. Jurists will argue on the legitimacy of this international move by the member States of the United Nations which are generally guided by the United Nations Charter, Article 2.4 of which provides that all Members must refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations. As a counter argument is the compelling need to protect persons who are attacked by a regime to quell a peaceful protest. Emmerich de Vattel published his magnum opus The Law of Nations in 1758 when the Seven Years War was taking place in Europe. The war began when Frederick the Great invaded Augustus IIIs Saxony. The book had a great impact on Augustus III who appointed Vattel to the Privy Council in 1759, and made him chief adviser of the Government of Saxony on foreign affairs. Vattel defines war as that State in which we prosecute our right by force. saying that public war between States is that which takes place between nations or sovereigns, and which is carried on in the name of the public power, and by its order . He goes on to say finally, as we are not bound to grant even an innocent passage except for just causes, we may refuse it to him who requires it for a war that is evidently unjust, as, for instance, to invade a country without any reason, or even colourable pretext. Vattel opines it is the commercial interests of states that, in the absence of a civitas maxima, support the maintenance of the international order. Thus, the role of neutral states, according to Vattel, is to sustain international trade in the face of interstate conflict. Consequently, Vattel maintains that neutral trade cannot be sacrificed to the interests of belligerents and notes that it is certain, as they have no part in my quarrel, they are under no obligation to renounce their commerce for the sake of avoiding to supply my enemy with the means of carrying on the war against me. Things have moved on since then and economic and commercial sanctions have become a tool of remonstrance which ultimately and inexorably adversely affect both the aggressor and the defender or his allies. Arguably in any war, collateral damage in the form of human lives and the displacement of humanity is the most tragic, and most in need of attention of the international community. From an international perspective, the operative law with regard to victims of war is international humanitarian law. This limb of law is also known as the law of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict. Basically, international humanitarian law encompasses four limbs, the first being that persons who are not, or are no longer, taking part in hostilities must be respected, protected, and treated humanely. They must be given appropriate care, without any discrimination. Secondly, captured combatants and other persons whose freedom has been restricted are required to be treated humanely. They should be protected against all acts of violence, in particular against torture and if they are brought to trial they have the right to enjoy the fundamental guarantees of a regular judicial procedure. Thirdly, the right of parties to an armed conflict to choose methods or means of warfare is not unlimited. No superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering must be inflicted. Finally, in order to spare the civilian population, armed forces are required at all times to distinguish between the civilian population and civilian objects on the one hand, and military objectives on the other. Neither the civilian population as such nor individual civilians or civilian objects should be the target of military attacks. Within these four precepts, international humanitarian law is entrenched as the legal corpus comprised of the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law. The Geneva Conventions consist of four treaties formulated in Geneva, which set the pace in Standards for international law as applicable to humanitarian concerns. The fourth Convention, which relates to the protection of civilians during times of war in the hands of an enemy and under any occupation by a foreign power, provides in Article 3 that even where there is not a conflict of international character the parties must as a minimum adhere to minimal protections that should be accorded to certain categories of persons. These persons are described as: non-combatants, who usually are civilians, members of armed forces who have laid down their arms, and combatants who are hors de combat (out of the fight) due to wounds, detention, or any other cause. Article 3 also requires these persons to be in all circumstances treated humanely, with the following prohibitions: (a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (b)taking of hostages; (c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples. Article 4 defines a person protected by the Geneva Conventions as one who, at a given moment and, in any manner, whatsoever, finds himself, in case of a conflict or occupation, in the hands of a Party to the conflict or occupying power of which he or she is not a national. However, it explicitly excludes nationals of a State which is not bound by the Convention and the citizens of a neutral state or an allied state if that state has normal diplomatic relations within the State in whose hands they are. The term war is no longer used in its traditional restrictive sense of a conflict involving international dimensions. In the modern sense, war is any prolonged state of violent, large-scale conflict involving two or more groups of people and is now considered to include non-international armed conflicts as referred to in Article 3 of the fourth 1949 Geneva Convention. Also, humanitarian law does not apply only to victims of wars between international actors. Victims of non-State actors are also entitled to the protection of these laws. This essay closes with two quotes relevant to the current context by Sun Tzu Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the MountainThe supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. By no means should laws be silent in times of war. When handing down his dissenting judgment in the International Court of Justice in the 1996 Lockerbie Case Justice Weeramantry quoted Mr. Martens, the delegate of Czar Nicholas II, at the 1899 Peace Conference If from the days of antiquity to our own time people have been repeating the Roman adage 'Inter arma silent leges', we have loudly proclaimed, 'Inter arma vivant leges'. This is the greatest triumph of law and justice over brute force and the necessities of war." Putin is now following the same strategy in Ukraine, as China adopted in Tibet. As usual , USA and NATO countries are making lot of noise against Russias move to invade Ukraine and are issuing some empty threats such as imposing sanction against Russia. by N.S.Venkataraman A few decades back, Soviet Union and China claimed that they were the torch bearers of communist philosophy in the world. Both of them declared that they were comrades in arms. However, with the collapse of communist movement all over the world due to the inherent weakness and deficiencies, the Soviet Union collapsed as a country and was split into several nations. Today, neither Russia nor any other country belonging to erstwhile Soviet Union claim to follow communist philosophy and methods. They are all now practicing free enterprise economies with reasonable success. China too has given up the communist methods for all practical purposes and the Chinese economy today is virtually a capitalist economy with no semblance of communism in any policy of Government of China. However, unlike the countries belonging to erstwhile Soviet Union, China continues to claim that it is a communist country, whatever it may mean. The similarities between Xi Jinping led China and Putin led Russia do not end here. The Russian President Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have declared themselves as life Presidents of their countries. Both of them claim that they have been elected by the people and their term as life President has the approval of the people of their country , which is not true . The fact is that both Putin and Xi Jinping rule their country with iron fist and are virtually merciless dictators, which is evident by the fact that any dissenter in their country would be put down and jailed. The latest similarity that has now come to the world attention is the territorial greed of Putin and Xi Jinping. A few decades back, China aggressively entered Tibet, massacred the protesting Tibetans and occupied Tibet and is ruling it with iron curtain now. China did not care about the world opinion about its aggressive method in Tibet. USA and West European countries made much noise against Chinas occupation of Tibet but did not do beyond that. The prayers of the Tibetan people for world support to save them from Chinas occupation have virtually fallen on dead ears. Even India, which is a victim of Chinas aggression, is not supporting cause of Tibets independence, obviously not to displease China. This has made China believe that it can occupy any countrys territory by foul means and other countries would only make noise and then accept the ground reality. Putin is now following the same strategy in Ukraine, as China adopted in Tibet. As usual , USA and NATO countries are making lot of noise against Russias move to invade Ukraine and are issuing some empty threats such as imposing sanction against Russia. Certainly, Xi Jinping in the case of Tibet and Putin in the case of Ukraine are unlikely to be concerned about the threats from USA and NATO countries as both Xi Jinping and Putin are convinced that USA and NATO countries are capable of making only noise and will not go beyond imposing some temporary sanctions that they can manage. Putin knows that other European countries depend on crude oil and natural gas supply from Russia and they would not like their economy to suffer by Russia stopping the supply of crude oil and natural gas. With the success of China in Tibet and what is clearly seen as success of Russia in Ukraine, it is amply clear now that China would be emboldened to execute its threat of invading Taiwan , probably soon. Just like Russia occupying Ukraine by virtue of its size and army strength, China too can occupy Taiwan by virtue of its size and army strength very easily. China knows that all other countries would only be fence sitters and USA and NATO will only react like paper tiger. Chinas next target would be more territories in India and South China Sea. In todays condition, in the unlikely event of USA and NATO countries involving themselves in military war with Russia, certainly China will involve itself in support of Russia in one form or the other. In the same way, if in the event of China occupying Taiwan and in the event of USA and NATO countries launching a war against China, Russia would come to Chinas help militarily. The world has not learnt a lesson , even after seeing the plight of Tibet at the hands of aggressive China. Now, China and Russia are the villains of peace in the world and we do not see any Churchill type leader in USA or Europe to confront Putin and Xi Jinping. Sadly, UNO has become an impotent debating forum. The world should decide that the fight against greedy Putin led Russia and greedy Xi Jinping led China should start now with the liberation of Tibet as the starting point. Do USA and NATO forces have the guts and confidence to start such a confrontation against Xi Jinping and Putin? Homestead, FL (33030) Today Cloudy with showers. Thunder possible. High 86F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Showers early, then clearing overnight. Thunder possible. Low near 70F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District unveiled today a multi-phased renovation that includes its transformed guest experience with new public spaces, meeting spaces and guest rooms, as a part of the continued reinvention of Marriott Hotels, the signature flag within Marriott Bonvoy's portfolio of 30 hotel brands. The design transformation provides a premium elevated experience that speaks to the needs of today's modern traveler. The reimagined guest rooms offer a sleek and upgraded look complete with locally inspired accents that reflect the atmosphere of the trendy Warehouse Arts District. A functional work area provides flexibility to freely move and use technology wherever the guest desires. Hard surface flooring, chic seating areas, platform beds and contemporary furniture present a sophisticated style. Bathtubs have been replaced with deluxe walk-in showers in most guest rooms and spa-like lighting, marble vanities and rain showerheads provide a relaxed and upgraded bath experience. The hotel also converted its former concierge lounge on the third floor into an additional spacious Presidential Suite that features a lounge area with contemporary furniture including a sectional sofa and a dining table with seating for eight. The suite, which connects to a king guest room, opens to an intimate, private courtyard that's ideal for small weddings, social events, and corporate gatherings. With the renovation, New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District transformed the lobby into the Marriott Hotels' Greatroom - a stylish hub of the hotel that serves as a social gathering place for both day and night, complemented by elegant decor that ties in the history of the local neighborhood. Artistic scenes of New Orleans, light-colored Herringbone wood floors, dark wooden beams and accents of teal, navy and gold provide sophisticated flair against a neutral backdrop. Professional artwork, hand selected by Kevin Barry Art Advisory, further defines the modern look and feel of the new design. Statement pieces include a selection of contemporary sculptures, mixed media panels, and bold prints. Clusters of lounge furniture and a central bar provide guests with ample space to relax, collaborate with colleagues or grab a night cap. The upscale bar, surrounded by 34 plush teal leather bar stools, sits underneath cascading orb lights, and offers a vast selection of premium spirits and fine wines. Along with the Greatroom, New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District also features a brand-new M Club designed with a speakeasy vibe. Exposed brick, rich leather seating mixed with blue, green, and gold accents continue the sophisticated look found throughout the hotel. A brand signature, the exclusive area is available to Elite and Club paying members with perks including a range of complimentary food and beverage options featuring hot breakfast, evening drinks and hors d'oeuvres as well as premium beverages throughout the day. The M Club will showcase a collection of delicious snacks and beverages served at various points during the day. Accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the M Club will offer free wi-fi, printing and power supplies to ensure uninterrupted productivity for business travelers. Meeting planners have a lot to celebrate with New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District's Next Gen Meeting Space, which is tailored to foster collaboration. A total of 21 renovated meeting and event spaces offer planners more than 24,000 square feet of flexible space across from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Pre-function spaces include communal tables for attendees to plug in or network between meetings. Two reimagined ballrooms, housed within a 200-year-old historic warehouse, are adjoined to the modern hotel. With exposed brick walls and stunning crystal chandeliers, the ballrooms present an industrial, yet sophisticated and elegant ambiance for social gatherings and weddings. Hotel website JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa is thrilled to announce the return of Ralph Scatena to the role of general manager, as well as area general manager, Phoenix, at the award-winning resort set on 125 acres of Sonoran Desert terrain in affluent Paradise Valley. This marks the first returning general manager in the 85-year history of the resort. As a 40-year Marriott International veteran, Scatena has held multi-faceted positions spanning numerous brand portfolios and markets. He served as general manager of several Marriott properties, including Orlando World Center Marriott in Florida and JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, Calif. Scatena is a seasoned leader who brings an extensive wealth of knowledge and achievements to his third tenure at Camelback Inn. During his last term as general manager at the iconic resort 15 years ago, Scatena earned the coveted recognition of 'General Manager of the Year' while leading the team through a significant property transformation. Scatena has been instrumental in countless above-property leadership positions with Marriott International, including his former roles as regional vice president of sales & marketing and regional director of revenue management where he contributed to the creation of high performing teams that positively impacted the region's top line success. He is skilled in providing strategic, thoughtful, and collaborative approaches by generating new ideas, adjusting processes as necessary, and adapting to the changing needs of guests. Scatena's career has grown with Marriott International, however, Camelback Inn represents a unique time capsule in his career, and life always leads him back to his favorite resort. He treasures the legendary resort's culture, history, and unique connection to Arizona and the ability to constantly move forward. An Important Word from an HFTP Allied Partner In the aftermath of a large fire that destroyed the historic clubhouse of the Oakland Hills Country Club (OHCC), the National Club Association (NCA) partnered with the ClubsHelp Foundation, a 501(c)3 foundation and NCA philanthropic partner, to launch the OHCC Employee Assistance Fund to help the OHCC staff affected by this tragedy. The fund has already received more than $60,000 to support club staff, many of whom will not be able to return to work for a considerable time while the club rebuilds. "We are grateful for the tremendous club industry support of Clubshelp Foundation fundraiser for Oakland Hills Country Club displaced employee fund. It clearly shows the industry care and concern by coming together in times of need, which is our mission," said Rob Goulet, president and co-founder of ClubsHelp. HFTP invites its members and stakeholders to donate today and help the OHCC employees affected by the tragedy. Learn more by visiting the fundraising campaign website. Questions? You may also contact the organizers on the campaign website. Briana Gilmore Communications Coordinator HFTP AvantStay, the premier hospitality platform redefining the way in which people travel, transact and invest in the STR (Short-Term Rental) industry announced the closing of a $500 million PropCo funding round led by Saluda Grade, a real estate advisory and asset management firm. This raise signifies one of the first short-term rental funds ever created, leading to the institutionalization of a new real estate asset class within the short-term rental industry. AvantStay continues to break barriers for the STR industry. With this new capital and partnership with Saluda Grade, we will pioneer and institutionalize a new asset class that will inevitably pave the path for travelers to have a better experience and for investors to generate attractive returns, said Sean Breuner, Founder & CEO of AvantStay. I couldnt be prouder of the entire team for what weve achieved over the last few months, as this news follows our Series B announcement in December. Our accelerated growth shows that there is a deep understanding of our offering. With Saluda Grade as an instrumental partner, we will continue to deliver our brand mission and provide groups with thoughtful and elevated experiences. As part of Saluda Grades drive to identify alternative lending sectors needing institutional capital to fuel growth, the company has secured twelve securitizations worth over $2 billion this past year, which consist of single and multifamily housing nontraditional debt securitizations. AvantStays PropCo fund serves as the companys first foray into the STR industry and its first securitization in the asset class. Saluda Grade was also an investor in AvantStays recent Series B fundraise of $160 million announced in late 2021. We believe AvantStays dynamic and fast-growing customer base makes them the perfect partner for our firm to finally enter the burgeoning STR space, said Ryan Craft, Founder & CEO of Saluda Grade. We were attracted to their higher yielding product and differentiated channels of supply, and we are confident they will continue to lead the industry with their robust offering of hospitality, tech, design, and real estate as an all-in-one package. Securing an institutional PropCo investment from Saluda Grade further allows AvantStay to set a new precedent for best practices with local communities and their governing bodies. Investors, operators and regulators across the industry have recognized that premier brands and professional operators ensure the successful partnership of short-term rentals and local communities for the long term. AvantStays focus on engagement with local communities and compliance with their regulations empowers the communities to extract maximum benefit from tax revenue, direct and indirect employment growth, as well as tourism dollars directed towards local small businesses, said Fiona Quinn, Senior Vice President of Business Affairs of AvantStay. Our investment in our proprietary operating and experience-first platform protects community character. Our partnerships with local regulators and community groups keep us accountable to the highest standards of operations and ensure that AvantStays growth plans align with those of our communities. As a result of this investment and partnership with Saluda Grade, AvantStay will deepen its portfolio and further expand into new markets across the country. The companys goal is to manage the largest luxury home portfolio in the country, while delivering a highly curated and personalized short-term rental experience. Currently, AvantStay has over 1,000 vacation rental homes in more than 100 cities in the U.S. and Cabo San Lucas, supported by dozens of partnerships with companies such as GoPuff, Soothe, and Public Goods. In 2021, the company was ranked 2nd fastest growing hospitality company and 332nd fastest growing company on the Inc. 5000 list, which showcases the nations fastest-growing private businesses. For more information on AvantStay, please visit: www.avantstay.com About AvantStay AvantStay is the premier next generation hospitality platform redefining the way in which people travel, transact, and invest. AvantStay delivers a highly curated experience customized to guests" needs, using a proprietary tech platform to power bookings, seamlessly operationalize in-field and remote management, and activate authentic and elevated consumer touch points. AvantStay currently operates in over 100 cities, with a drive-to market approach, including 1,000+ premier properties across their diversified portfolio, and an AUM of more than $2B. In 2019, AvantStay became one of the initial twelve partners of Homes & Villas by Marriott International, and currently offers distribution on more than 60 OTAs. AvantStay was founded by experienced real estate and technology entrepreneurs Sean Breuner and Reuben Doetsch. The gradual recovery of international tourism has revealed the emergence of new luxury travel trends that reflect the sense of individuality and wellbeing, such as the acute need for hyper-personalisation, restorative escapism and heightened levels of indulgence. Well-poised to embrace this new generation of travellers is the inimitable creator of stylish hotels and resorts, General Hotel Management Ltd (GHM), renowned for delivering unrivalled lifestyle experiences in some of the most luxurious destinations in the world. Bringing to life its hallmark A Style to Remember, GHM has refined a series of 19 touchpoints under its Guest Experience Signatures to deliver exquisitely distinctive and exceptionally memorable guest experiences guided by six brand essences: timeless, elegant, personal, contemporary, authentic and sensorial. Melding core elements of contemporary Asian designs with local nuances for a pronounced sense of place, each GHM property showcases the very best of each destination, an ensemble of passionate associates and unmatched personalized services. The journey begins even before one sets foot into the hotel with a luxury transfer to the property, where a meet and greet entourage eagerly awaits each guest at the lobby with a grand welcome. The arrival experience (pictured above) includes a set of personalized welcome rituals and bespoke amenities that imbibes each newcomer with a sense of arrival, featuring a selection of beverages and snacks reflective of the land and warm, comforting towels that carry an artfully blended signature hotel scent. The culinary experience is a definitive touchpoint as it invokes extensive visual and sensorial delights for an immersive gourmet indulgence. From interactive show kitchens and food stations featuring a repertoire of global flavors, to artfully crafted menus at signature restaurants and an in-room Sweet Delight button to end each day on a sweet note, every detail has been deliberated down for a truly exclusive dining experience. Inspired by the Asian art of healing and wellness, the spa and wellness experience echoes GHMs inimitable Asian identity and style of hospitality, with a repertoire of exquisite treatments that exemplify the Chedi Spa philosophy with influences from the destination as well as The Chedi Spa Suite devoted to the enhancement of ones mind, body and soul. The Departure Experience marks the final touchpoint of the Guest Experience Signatures as the meet & greet entourage bids fond farewell to guests. Farewell gifts encapsulating the essence of the destination are presented to commemorate their time at The Chedi and to inspire their next arrival. For three decades, GHM has earned critical acclaim as an inimitable creator of stylish hotels and resorts. In the new era of travel, these thoughtfully enhanced touchpoints reinforce our 30-year legacy of hospitality excellence by elevating our Guest Experience Signatures so as to captivate the evolved luxury traveller. Each distinct experience has been refined to deliver unique and inspiring moments with unparalleled attention to detail, said Tommy Lai, chief executive officer of GHM. This year, GHM will be celebrating its pearl anniversary in commemoration of 30 years of A Style to Remember. Milestones in 2022 include the highly anticipated opening of The Chedi Katara Hotel & Resort in Doha, Qatar, where GHMs Guest Experience Signatures will be incorporated as its backbone of exclusive offerings, dedicated services and personalized experiences that are unique to this landmark property. ABOUT GHM Since 1992, General Hotel Management Ltd (GHM) has been melding the refined grandeur of contemporary Asian designs with local character for inspired, memorable spaces showcasing the best each destination has to offer and providing guests with a true style to remember. Under its legendary portfolio, GHM conceptualises, develops and operates some of the world's most exceptional luxury hotels and resorts, each property being a distinct original that welcomes an unrivalled lifestyle experience. GHM's exclusive portfolio includes The Chedi AI Bait, Sharjah, UAE, The Chedi Muscat, Oman, The Chedi Andermatt, Switzerland and The Chedi Hotel and Residences Lustica Bay, Montenegro. With seven projects in the pipeline, plans for the brand to globally continue its legacy include the highly anticipated The Chedi Katara Hotel & Resort in Doha, Qatar. For more information, please visit www.GHMhotels.com. CANCELLED: The word no passenger wants to see on an airport display board. Failing to appease disgruntled clientele can seriously damage customer relationships. Dodging the kickback of service failures is therefore supremely important, especially when customers have already pledged their allegiance to a company as have frequent flyers. But how should loyal customers be compensated? In an important recent study, Dr YooHee Hwang and Dr Lisa Gao of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and their co-author explored the best ways to regain customer loyalty after a service failure. The unprecedented flight disruptions due to COVID-19 make their findings all the more relevant today. In the hospitality and tourism industry, failures to meet customers expectations are inevitable. However, it might not be the service error itself that causes customers to take their business elsewhere, but the way in which a company chooses to deal with it. An effective service recovery, say the researchers, can restore customer trust and fairness perceptions. Air travel is a great example of a service prone to disruptions, and, for the researchers, a prime context in which to investigate service repair options. Flight delays and cancellations are all too common, and the stakes can be high for passengers, who might have flight connections, tight work schedules, or financial constraints. Moreover, service repair has been largely overlooked in the context of loyalty reward schemes, which is surprising given how common these are. How best to soften the blow for passengers who are already loyalty reward programme members? One downside to disappointing customers who are already loyal is that they have higher expectations. This can result in more scrutiny and criticism, making it difficult to satisfy customers through recovery methods. However, all is not lost, say the researchers. On the other hand, heightened expectations may provide the service provider with an opportunity to enhance the relationship with its customers. In that sense, service failures could be treated as an opportunity to further consolidate customer relationships. Many airlines offer frequent flyers different compensation options when service errors occur. For instance, United Airlines offers the choice of receiving free miles or monetary compensation for flights that are delayed for 4 hours. One key difference between miles and monetary compensation options is how concrete they are. Air miles compensation doesnt have a physical form that customers can touch, the researchers point out, whereas discount coupons do. Curiously, this concreteness makes all the difference. In other hospitality and tourism sectors, more concrete compensation has been found to increase customer loyalty. The researchers therefore predicted that recovery compensation in a more concrete form should induce loyalty reward members repatronage intention. This effect might also rely on the nature of the initial failure could the company have avoided it, or not? Service failures can be broadly considered as those that are within a companys control, and those that are not. This controllability can also govern customers reactions for instance, customers are far more forgiving when flight delays are a result of bad weather than when they are due to a scheduling error made by the flight crew. If a failed service is within the firms control, customers perceive high levels of controllability, explain the researchers. Another example is inattentive service by a waiter during off-peak hours. The researchers found that passengers were angrier about and more disappointed by service failures that they perceived to be within the firms control. Such negative emotions can prompt low-level thinking the tendency to construe things in a concrete way, focusing on the immediate details of an event or object rather than its wider context. The researchers thus suggest that high controllability of a service failure heightens the customers negative affect, thereby resulting in a concrete mindset. Does this more concrete mindset, in turn, affect the impact of compensation concreteness on passenger loyalty? The researchers next task was to answer this question. Using an experimental design, the researchers assessed the specific effects of the controllability of service failure and compensation concreteness. The participants were 197 members of frequent flyer programmes with a mean age of 37 years living in the US. The researchers first presented them with the hypothetical scenario of a delayed flight of a fictional airline, ABC Airlines. Some of the participants were told that their flight was delayed due to bad weather (a low controllability scenario) and the rest were told that the delay was a result of an internal scheduling error (a high controllability scenario). The participants were then compensated with either a 50-dollar travel certificate for their next flight or 2,500 miles credited to their frequent flyer program account, which corresponded to more and less concrete compensation options, respectively. Having set up different levels of controllability and compensation concreteness, the researchers measured repatronage intention. For this, the participants simply indicated whether they would fly with ABC Airlines again if they had experienced the situation in real life. Negative emotions were also measured, including irritation, annoyance, disappointment, dissatisfaction, and frustration. In this way, the researchers could more precisely define how to best atone for service failures and temper customers anger and disappointment. The first critical finding was that the controllability of a service failure determined customers emotional reactions. That is, customers were less angry and disappointed when the flight delay was perceived to be out of ABC Airlines hands, compared with when the airline was perceived to be at fault. Therefore, the authors recommend that service providers be transparent and let customers know the cause of the failure. Offering this information and discovering customers reactions will also help companies to redress the service failure. When choosing compensation, airlines should take the controllability of the service error into consideration. For the controllable failings, the researchers found that monetary compensation better restored loyalty than did air miles compensation. Crucially, this indicates that airlines should offer concrete compensation options, such as money or discount vouchers, when the service failure is within the companys control. Offering a more concrete option can be a win-win situation for both companies and loyal customers, say the researchers. However, when the flight delay was beyond the airlines control, monetary and free air miles compensation had the same effects on repatronage intention. This could be because customers construal levels are not as concrete, and thus repatronage intention is not influenced by the concreteness of recovery options, say the researchers. Practically, this means airlines can adopt either concrete compensation, such as a discount voucher, or less tangible compensation, such as free miles, to make amends when they are not to blame for the service failure. From a more theoretical perspective, this study extends the notion of congruency effect in the frequent flyer program context, propose the researchers. Namely, when customers have a more concrete mindset, they should be offered more concrete compensation options. This aligns with previous findings that external stimuli, such as compensation options, should be matched to customers internal mental states to achieve the best outcomes. This study offers useful recommendations for airlines wishing to recover the loyalty of frequent flyers. Exploring uncharted territory, the researchers pinpoint ways to properly handle a botched service and to help customers feel valued. Understanding the mindset and emotions of disappointed customers puts companies in a better position to make strategic choices when it comes to excusing themselves to already loyal members. Anticipating customers reactions to being let down could even enhance that loyalty, and not just for airlines any company offering a loyalty scheme has something to gain from this work. YooHee Hwang, Lisa Gao and Anna S. Mattilab (2020). What Recovery Options to Offer for Loyalty Reward Program Members: Dollars vs. Miles? International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 87, 102496. About PolyU's School of Hotel and Tourism Management For over 40 years, PolyU's School of Hotel and Tourism Management has refined a distinctive vision of hospitality and tourism education and become a world-leading hotel and tourism school. Rated No. 1 in the world in the "Hospitality and Tourism Management" category according to ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2020, placed No. 1 globally in the "Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services" category in the University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2019/2020 and ranked No. 1 in the world in the "Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism" subject area by the CWUR Rankings by Subject 2017, the SHTM is a symbol of excellence in the field, exemplifying its motto of Leading Hospitality and Tourism. The School is driven by the need to serve its industry and academic communities through the advancement of education and dissemination of knowledge. With a strong international team of over 70 faculty members with diverse cultural backgrounds, the SHTM offers programmes at levels ranging from undergraduate degrees to doctoral degrees. Through Hotel ICON, the School's groundbreaking teaching and research hotel and a vital aspect of its paradigm-shifting approach to hospitality and tourism education, the SHTM is advancing teaching, learning and research, inspiring a new generation of passionate, pioneering professionals to take their positions as leaders in the hospitality and tourism industry. The School is driven by the need to serve its industry and academic communities through the advancement of education and dissemination of knowledge. With more than 70 academic staff drawing from 21 countries and regions, the SHTM offers programmes at levels ranging from undergraduate degrees to doctoral degrees. Through Hotel ICON, the School's groundbreaking teaching and research hotel and a vital aspect of its paradigm-shifting approach to hospitality and tourism education, the SHTM is advancing teaching, learning and research, inspiring a new generation of passionate, pioneering professionals to take their positions as leaders in the hospitality and tourism industry. Pauline Ngan Marketing Manager +852 3400 2634 Hong Kong Poly NewcrestImage is a privately-owned hotel development, construction, and management firm based out of Dallas. NewcrestImage currently owns and operates 19 properties, with another 12 hotels under construction or in development, including the new dual-branded project in Oklahoma City. Formed in 2013, NewcrestImage has three divisions: real estate development; construction; and hotel management. The company is noted for developing distinctive hotels, such as the first dual-branded property in the Dallas area plus the adaptive re-use of historic buildings in New Orleans, Amarillo, Dallas, and Cincinnati. What you need to know for 2022 Throughout the pandemic, we've seen consumer attitudes toward travel evolve as health guidelines, border restrictions, and other factors also evolve in response to changing circumstances. For the most part, we've seen encouraging trends as travelers have leaned to adapt, demonstrating remarkable resilience in these unpredictable times. Our role is to help brands all over the world navigate both the challenges and the opportunities as travel returns. Join us to learn how travel marketers can leverage the Expedia Group Media Solutions platformwhich offers a wealth of data, technology, and media expertiseto engage and convert travelers as they satisfy their pent-up appetite for travel in 2022. Uncover insights from our latest Expedia Group first-party data and multi-regional custom research ontraveler behavior in 2022: how likely they are to travel, how they are adapting their habits, and what they value most in a travel offering. ontraveler behavior in 2022: how likely they are to travel, how they are adapting their habits, and what they value most in a travel offering. Hear from fellow digital travel marketing experts on products and solutions that drive conversions in today's market. on products and solutions that drive conversions in today's market. Learn how Expedia Group is working with travel partners around the world to support recovery in the travel industry. Featured speakers Tony Garrett spent a recent Saturday as he has much of his free time since being paroled in 2014: Networking to raise funds for kids, like his, who lost parents to the prison system. His nonprofit, Children of the Incarcerated Alliance, is financed entirely by small-dollar donations covering everything from backpack giveaways to rent assistance or, recently, to help a grandmother find a dresser for the young children in her care. He hoped more support would follow the 2020 protests over the murder of George Floyd, as he read story after story about spikes in donations and corporate pledges to charities doing racial justice work. But the trickle down has not happened - not yet, he said. And if it is happening, we dont know about it. We have $30 in the bank, but a (family in need) right now. Despite the statements of solidarity and burst of charity that followed Floyds May 2020 killing by police, giving to nonprofits focused on racial and social justice dwindled quickly, long before it could get to smaller, grassroots organizations like Garretts. Corporate donations to social justice causes surged to 51 percent of all charitable contributions in the month after Floyds death, but plummeted to just 5 percent by the end of 2020, according to Benevity, a Canadian company that monitors corporate giving. On HoustonChronicle.com: Hurricanes. Pandemics. Overwhelming needs. Nonprofits struggle to hold onto workers. Now that time has passed, it feels like were going back to business as usual, said Cherry Steinwender, executive director at the Center for the Healing of Racism, a Houston nonprofit that fights prejudice through workshops on topics such as unconscious bias. But racism is still so alive in this country so I dont have the luxury of going back to business as usual. Leftovers In a report last year, the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity analyzed donations following Floyds murder, and found grassroots organizations were largely neglected. Its not a new problem: Racial justice-minded charities historically have received only a fraction of the money donated to nonprofits each year - about 7 cents of every philanthropic dollar between 2015 and 2018, according to the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity. Of that, grassroots groups have typically received about one penny. And over the same period, about 60 percent of racial justice philanthropy work was financed by just 10 funders, and most of the top recipients were organizations led by white leaders, the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity found. "Given the importance of grassroots organizing for changing power relations and winning enduring change," researchers wrote, "these numbers indicate a lack of clarity among philanthropists about the role of organizing." At Pure Justice, a Houston nonprofit that works toward criminal justice reform through community workshops and outreach, donations soared by $700,000 after Floyds murder. The money allowed the small charity, which normally has a budget of $385,000, to add a third full-time staff member, with enough money left to help people pay rent and support a vaccination drive in which 245 people were inoculated against COVID-19. But today, donations are down about 75 percent compared to 2020, and the group is struggling to find consistent funding to keep up their work. While larger nonprofits can afford to employ full-time grant writers and fund raisers to attract financial support, smaller charities are often preoccupied chasing small, individual donations that tend to ebb and flow with the economy. The lack of consistent funding can pit otherwise like-minded groups against each other as they fight for a small pool of donor money that doesnt end up in the hands of larger charities, said Melanie Pang, who teaches at University of Houstons graduate school for philanthropy. How do you avoid competing with the same organizations you need to collaborate with? she said. On leftovers, how great can your outcomes be? NEWSLETTERS Join the conversation with HouWeAre We want to foster conversation and highlight the intersection of race, identity and culture in one of America's most diverse cities. Sign up for the HouWeAre newsletter here. Small enough to know you The reliance on small donors makes grassroots groups especially vulnerable to economic downturn and drops in individual contributions that often follow, including during the pandemic, which hit minority communities and the charities that serve them particularly hard. About 43 percent of Black-led charities in Texas laid off employees during the early days of COVID-19, compared with 28 percent of all nonprofits statewide, according to Texas A&M University researchers. Nearly half of Black-led organizations had to severely reduce programs and services during the pandemic, compared to 35 percent among all charities. Steinwender, of the Center for the Healing of Racism, said her nonprofit relies heavily on word of mouth for funding. When the pandemic arrived, her charity was still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, which she said caused charitable giving to dip as donors spent money on home repairs and other expenses, or left Houston altogether and stopped donating. Shes not sure how her nonprofit would have survived its 33rd year without the surge of money that arrived after Floyds death. The nonprofit received nearly $500,000 in corporate and individual donations most of them one-time contributions, but still a godsend for a small organization with a budget of about $100,000 annually. A few people told her that they chose to give to the Center simply because it appeared high on Google searches for keywords such as racism and Houston charity. The extra money allowed the nonprofit to, among other things, publish and distribute Spanish versions of a childrens book on food and diversity, and to expand digital seminars on racism and injustice that drew interest from around the globe. Moving forward, they plan to invest much of the remaining money back into local workshops and seminars. There is a need for (large nonprofit) organizations, but there is also a need for small nonprofit organizations, she said. You are able to really put your hands on the hearts and souls of individuals because youre not so big that everyone in the room is just a number. We are small enough to know you, but large enough to serve you. Garrett, 56, formed Children of the Incarcerated Alliance in 2014 after serving 17 years in prison for aggravated assault. He estimates he spends 20-30 hours a week mentoring local kids and helping struggling families, on top of his job as a clerk at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sometimes, he said, he takes out small loans to plug holes in the charitys budget. He considers his work penance for leaving his three young children behind when he was incarcerated. He understands that systemic change takes time, and will require more than a surge in donations whenever racial injustice emerges as a hot-button issue for those who arent threatened by its worst effects. But in the meantime, he said, I'm not going to sit back and do nothing. robert.downen@chron.com Anne Bradbury is CEO of the American Exploration & Production Council (AXPC) whose membership is composed of Americas largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. Russias brazen invasion of Ukraine has put into sharp focus the European Unions dependence on natural gas and how easily Vladimir Putin can weaponize energy exports. We cannot stand idly by. One way we can counter Putins aggression is with our own energy resources. The fallout from this invasion will cause energy prices to spike in Europe and around the world and presents a moment for President Biden to embrace a long overdue shift in policy. The United States can tilt the balance of power in Europe by increasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to the continent, helping to reduce our allies decades-long dependence on Russian natural gas - and the economic, political, and military vulnerabilities that accompany it. European leaders have already recognized the problem of depending on Russian energy. Germany, for example, recently blocked construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would have delivered even more Russian gas. But Europe still needs alternative options that are stable, affordable, and better for the environment. On HoustonChronicle.com: What will Russia's invasion in Ukraine mean for Houston? Soaring oil prices are just the start. American natural gas is stepping up to fill the energy void. In February alone, Europe received nearly 70 percent of all U.S. LNG exports thanks to our ability to redirect cargoes to markets that are in the most need. And we are only scratching the surface of what Americas energy industry is capable of. Russia currently exports 16 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to Europe, compared to the 11 billion cubic feet per day of U.S. LNG export capacity thats currently contracted. But there are four pending applications at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expand operating capacity at three already approved LNG export facilities. These applications represent over 5 billion cubic feet per day of export capacity - roughly equivalent to the amount of gas that would flow through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. President Biden and FERC have the authority to approve these facilities and should move quickly to do so. Meanwhile, the United States currently has 13 FERC approved LNG export facilities representing over 22 billion cubic feet per day of additional export capacity that will be completed once they receive contractual obligations from customers. On HoustonChronicle.com: Europe's tensions with Russia could be a boon for Gulf Coast gas Now is the time for countries in Europe to secure long-term contracts for U.S LNG. This would be an investment in a more secure energy future for Europe, providing a stable source of affordable fuel. LNG will also help our allies meet their climate goals as U.S. LNG exported to Europe has 10 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions than Russian pipeline gas. The White House should explicitly position U.S. LNG as the preferred alternative to Russian gas. The administration should encourage more natural gas production, including restarting leasing on federal lands. FERC also needs to rethink its recent policy guidance for pipelines that lawmakers have identified as a major roadblock to developing the energy infrastructure we need. The response to Russias invasion will be multifaceted, and one key pillar should be energy. If we truly want to counter Putins aggression, now is the time to take decisive action by expanding US LNG exports to Europe - a strong move that President Biden can take with both near and long-term benefits. Monday JS101 Work Teams A Weekly Accountability Group: Hosted by JS101, 2-4 p.m. Registration: JS101.org/workshops. Tuesday Transportation Club of Houston: Lunch meeting. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Monument Inn, 4406 Independence Parkway S., La Porte. Speaker: Steve Boyd, senior managing director at Sun Coast Resources. Information: tcoh.wildapricot.org. Job-Search Survival Workshop: Free online workshop hosted by Sugar Creek Baptist Church. 6-8:30 p.m. Registration: sugarcreek.net/event/job-search/. Information: jobhelp@sugarcreek.net, or 281-242-2858, ext. 1083. The Art of Marketing Yourself to Companies: Hosted by JS101, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Registration: JS101.org/workshops. Creating an Employee Handbook: Hosted by the University of Houston Texas Gulf Coast SBDC. Noon-3 p.m., Houston Center SBDC, 1455 W. Loop South. Information: sbdc.uh.edu. Wednesday Business Planning: Webinar hosted by SCORE. 10 a.m.-noon. Registration: www.houston.score.org. Whats New in 22: The French-American Chamber of Commerce Texas will host an event with the latest on tax and related legislation. 9 a.m. Speakers: George Gans, business tax partner at KPMG, and Guillaume Le Gouic, senior vice president, power systems at Schneider Electric. Information: facctexas.com. Friday IREM Workshop: Enhancing Communication Skills: Institute of Real Estate Management event hosted by Brookfield Properties. 11:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Total Plaza, 1201 Louisiana, Suite 300. Leadership coach David Handler will offer insight into various communication styles and how to leverage them. Cost: $45 members; $50 non-members. Information: iremhouston.org. katherine.feser@chron.com I was still mourning HBOs Insecure, which ended in December after five seasons, when I recently spoke with actor Jay Ellis about his social justice podcast. Ellis played Lawrence, the flawed, immature-yet-evolving character on the hugely popular show about Black single life in Los Angeles. The show had become so much a part of my Sunday evening routine that the characters seemed liked old friends. Ive also dated a few Lawrences, so there was a strange nostalgic feeling with each season. But Ellis has said goodbye to his on-screen persona, so I had to do the same, at least for the interview. Hes now into the second season of his podcast, The Untold Story: Criminal Injustice With Jay Ellis, which takes a hard, thoughtful look at the nations criminal justice system. The podcast, produced by Lemonada Media, is made possible thanks to The Just Trust, an organization that helps communities transform the criminal justice system, and Campaign Zero, which assists policymakers in finding solutions to police violence. Ellis, 40, is the first to admit hes no expert at unpacking social justice issues. The reality of some of this stuff is that its not very cut and dry. Some of its confusing, purposely confusing, and layered at that. But as we got into it, we just realized that this is a really great experience and an opportunity for folks to be able to go on this ride with me as Im learning all about this, he said. In the podcasts first season, which debuted in 2020, Ellis gave us a look into no-knock raids, like the one in which Breonna Taylor was killed in Kentucky in 2020. He talked with families who survived raids that resulted from mistaken identity. He also examined police union contracts, citing Austin, which had one of the countrys most problematic contracts. It limited civilian oversight, sealed important internal affairs files and allowed police misconduct files to disappear. A group of residents launched a campaign to demand changes in the contracts, and their efforts worked. The average citizen really doesnt know that they actually can go to their city council members and be a part of that process of approving a police union contract and whats in it, and whats not it, and navigating on behalf of the community, Ellis said. We got to talk to so many brilliant folks sheriffs, former police officers, city officials, academics and data scientists. It was absolutely amazing. The second season, which launched this month, examines the forensic science behind how people are incarcerated. Ellis visits the Houston Forensic Science Center and its CEO and president, Dr. Peter Stout. In 2003, Houston was known for having one of the nations worst crime labs, which was then a part of Houston Police Department. In 2012, former Mayor Annise Parker, with support from the City Council, created the center to provide independent forensic services to HPD. There were 129 people in the U.S. exonerated for crimes that they didnt commit in 2020, according to the National Registry of Exoneration, which has recorded more than 2,800 exonerations since 1989. The registry is a project operated in conjunction with the Center of Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University Law School. Now, people are getting a fair chance at forensics and at lab results because this is an independent lab, Ellis said. For however these tests come back, they (the lab staff) are strictly just doing their job. Its definitely a leader across the country and a game changer. There wasnt one traumatic experience that led Ellis to want to do a podcast like this. He was born in South Carolina and grew up with a father in the military, so Ellis went to 12 schools in 13 years. He spent high school in Tulsa, Okla. Its where he had his first kiss, first time behind the wheel driving a car, first dance. It was also when he first experience blatant racism. That was where I started to realize that as a young Black man, I was being looked at quite differently by police than my white counterparts, who I went to school with, he said. When youre a kid, theres so much that you dont see because of youth, and then as you start to get a little bit older and you start to recognize some things. You start to see patterns, obviously you recognize that folks are oftentimes being targeted, and specifically folks of color. I think that, for me at such a young age, was the first time where I really started to realize like, Oh, this world is built very different. And what can I do? I dont want to just be helpless. I worry for my children, I told him. At only 4 and 6, they already have experienced the way kids act on the playground, and they have noticed how some children are treated better than others because of their skin color. Ellis, who has a 2-year-old daughter with Serbian model Nina Senicar, said he understood. He was pulled over 10 times by police during his senior year in high school. His parents schooled him, like many Black parents do, on how to comply with police. Turn the music down. Say, Yes, sir. Keep your hands on the wheel. I want folks to realize that they dont have to be the expert, he said. Educate yourself and make sure you understand what is going on in your city and in your community. You cant take your foot off the gas. You have to constantly be pushing forward and demanding change and being active to get change. As we wrapped up talking about social justice, I could not end the conversation without asking about Insecure. Do you miss it? I miss my girls, Ellis said, referring to the female cast, which includes Issa Rae, the shows creator, Yvonne Orji, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales and Christina Elmore. Its weird not to go to work and see people who you love every single day and not just the girls. That crew was absolutely amazing. Theres people whove been with us from day one in every single department. We all became a family. Ellis mentioned his friendship with Houston native Kendrick Sampson, who played Nathan on Insecure. When it came to the playing the role of Lawrence, Ellis said it was a challenge because his personality is much different. While Lawrence let thoughts linger in his head rather than speak them, Ellis said hes direct and motivated. If I want it, I get up and go get it. I think Lawrence, on the other hand, was a little bit more into his feelings, much more of a thinker and second guessed himself a lot. So how about an Insecure movie? If yall can get Issa to write a movie, I will be there, Ellis said. It is going be a hard challenge. These characters lived a very rich life. I dont know how much more there is to discuss, especially this early with these characters, maybe 10-15 years from now. The beauty of Insecure is that it felt like family, even for me as I watched the show at home. Its like a cookout, but there is no drunk uncle or auntie. There is not going to be a fight. Its just going to be a goodbye. Everybodys going to have a good time. And thats what I miss, Ellis said. I miss that, too. joy.sewing@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate While many historically Black neighborhoods and wards are well known in Houston's metro area, some of Houston's history is rooted in lesser-known suburban towns that have been around for decades or even longer. They cropped up in the suburbs after slavery ended in 1865, and several of these towns still exist near Houston today. Here are 10 historically Black neighborhoods, cities and towns that are important parts of Houston's history. Even though all of these towns started in the suburbs, a few have since been annexed. Ames Ames is a small, majority-Black town located about 45 miles from Downtown Houston in Liberty County. Although it was incorporated in 1972, the town has a documented history that dates back to before the Civil War, according to the city of Ames' website. Even though the town had a population of only 25 in 1930, Ames has grown to an estimated 937 residents and about 75 percent are Black, according to U.S. Census data. The town is named after a foreman who was helping build the Texas and New Orleans Railroad Jerry Baker/For the Chronicle Barrett Station Barrett Station, which is located near Crosby, was founded by Harrison Barrett. Barrett had one of the largest holdings in Harris County to be acquired by a formerly enslaved person, according to the Texas State Historical Association.After slavery ended, Barrett gathered as many of his relatives as he could find and built a sawmill, coffee mill and established schools, churches and family farms. Today, Barrett is a census designated place that is home to more than 5,000 people and 2,344 are Black. Bordersville This town was formed when many Black Americans were pushed out of Humble in 1927 after the sawmill closed, leaving many jobless. Edgar Borders opened a mill nearby, hired many of the residents and allowed them to settle on his land. Bordersville was annexed by Houston in 1965, but city officials did not provide services, such as plumbing and running water, according to the Humble Tribune. The land is now an unincorporated portion of Harris County. Kendelton Kendelton is a majority-minority city located west of Sugar Land in Fort Bend County. The town is named after William E. Kendall, who sold parts of his plantation to formerly enslaved people in the late 1800s, according to the TSHA. The former freedsman town is also home to a large park that houses the museum and cemetery. It is home to about 343 residents, according to the U.S. Census. Tony Gaines Tony Gaines The Amos Cemetary is located in Khorville Hufsmith and Kohrville Kohrville and Hufsmith were Black towns in northwest Houston near Tomball that were created in the 1870s by people who were formerly enslaved in Alabama. What remains of the towns are two cemeteries, Amos and Kohrville, and the street Hufsmith-Kohrville Road, according to texasescapes.com. Kohrville is named after the town's first postmaster Paul Kohrmann. It was home to a cotton gin, a general store and a sawmill in the early 1900s, according to the TSHA. The population was about 50. Meanwhile Hufsmith was a little bit larger. It was a small railroad town populated by Black residents that was established in 1872. By 1914, the town had a post office, four general stores and a cotton gin. A school was also established on land donated by Anderson King, who was formerly enslaved. McNair This Baytown-area former town was created in the 1920s. McNair, which was located near the railroad tracks, was annexed by Baytown in the 1960s, according to the Texas Freedom Colonies Project. By the 1980s the suburb featured six churches, a school and a railroad station, according to TFCP. Thompsons This small town near Richmond has less than 200 residents, according to the U.S. Census. It was formed in the early 1800s before the Texas Revolution. In the early 1900s, Thompsons added more Black residents because it was surrounded by former plantations, according to the TSHA. While Thompsons was home to nearly 300 residents in the 1890s, the population began to decrease in the early 1900s, when local businesses featured a gin, general store and two saloons, according to Texasescapes.com.Thompsons had three Black schools and one white school. Courtesy of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice Prairie View A&M University Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Prairie View sits on the land that was once a plantation Prairie View The city is better known than others on this list because of the historically Black college with the same name, Prairie View A&M. Prairie View was the first state-supported Black Americans, according to their website. About 6,700 of the 8,184 residents are Black, according to U.S. Census data. Although the city was incorporated in 1969, when the first mayor W. D. Thompson was elected mayor, the area has a long history in the region. The land the city and college inhabits was once a plantation. Prairie View was formed after the state set aside property for a segregated college for African Americans. The first post office was established in 1892 when the area was home to about 300 residents and a general store, according to the African American Heritage Atlas. Carlos Antonio Rios/Houston Chronicle Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer Tamina is located in Montgomery County Tamina Tamina is located east of The Woodlands and south of Conroe. The historically Black neighborhood is named after Tammany Hall, New York, according to the TSHA. It was established in the 1800s after freedmen helped build the nearby a railroad. The city is still working to get services like sewage that are provided to most of its neighbors. Riceville Riceville was a farming community located near Bray's Bayou before it was annexed in the late 1960s. The church that served as a place that held the community together, Riceville Mount Olive Baptist, is still active today after it opened more than a century ago in 1889, according to the church website. Correction: Tamina is located east of The Woodlands. chris.shelton@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer Show More Show Less Child Protective Services is investigating the death Wednesday morning of a 4-year-old boy in Baytown who authorities say was attacked by dogs. A Texas Department of Family and Protective Services media specialist confirmed Thursday that CPS is investigating his death alongside law enforcement, adding that specific details of the investigation are confidential according to law. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Google Maps Show More Show Less 2 of 2 San Antonio Police video Show More Show Less Authorities have confirmed that a couple who were killed last weekend in a double homicide in San Antonio were a husband and wife who had worked for decades in Houston public schools. William Henry Burger, 56, a middle school assistant principal, and Noreen Burger, 58, a retired educator, died around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner recalled his fear watching video of the encounter: the gray sedan smashing into a fence, the driver emerging, and then the blur of automatic fire as the gunman unleashed a barrage of lead at three of his officers. Its terrifying, he said. Im terrified for our officers and also concerned for our citizens. The Jan. 28 shootout which left three officers wounded was the latest in a rising number of shootings police say criminals are committing with so-called Glock switches, nickel-size devices that allow trigger pullers to essentially turn legal, semi-automatic handguns into machine guns. GUNRUNNING: A shootout in Mexico left 23 dead and led ATF agents to Houston On Thursday, authorities announced federal charges against the alleged gunman, Roland Caballero, as well as 18 other unrelated cases involving firearms illegally modified with Glock switches. Federal officials called the indictments a sobering reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face on the job and another factor propelling the spike in homicides across the region over the last few years. The charges announced today are a sobering reminder of the dangers faced everyday by law enforcement officers around this country, said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. The defendant allegedly shot and wounded three HPD officers with a pistol that was converted into a machine gun. The Department of Justice is focused on taking violent criminals off the street and doing so by working side by side with our state and local law enforcement partners. Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Federal authorities are seeing a dramatic rise in the use of Glock switches, also know as auto switches, which convert a semi-automatic firearm into a machine gun. (Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer) The shooting last month of the three police officers was the latest in Houston. Last year, a gunman shot and killed 54-year-old Officer William Bill Jeffrey with a similarly-modified weapon. Owning a machine gun is a far more regulated process than buying a semi-automatic weapon, firearms law experts said. If an individual can go to a gun store and buy a gun, they can own a machine gun, said Ronnie Yeates, a Magnolia-based attorney who specializes in firearms laws. But there are more hoops to jump through. UNSOLVED: Houstons rate of unsolved murders is soaring. Experts say the police department is to blame. Buyers must pay a special tax and pass a rigorous background check, Yeates said. The law restricts purchases and firearm transfers to weapons made before 1986, when federal laws prohibited widespread ownership of auto-fire weapons. And federal laws also allow gun store owners or federal firearms licensees who obtain special permission to purchase or manufacture machine guns or auto sears/switches. But the proliferation in Glock switches now is due to a flood of the devices into the U.S. market from China, either smuggled into the country directly, or through Mexico, said Fred Milanowski, special agent-in-charge of the Houston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Agents have also seen a rise in 3D-printed switches, but those tend to be less durable than those manufactured more traditionally. In either case, first responders worry that the high capacity, auto-fire weapons could lead to collateral damage and wound innocent bystanders. When youre putting 30 rounds downrange in 2.2 seconds, thats not accurate, Milanowski said. Youre spraying lead everywhere. Houston-based ATF agents recovered 24 guns in 2020. A year later, that number had risen to nearly 150 seizures. Houston is not an outlier. Houston Chronicle A BALLISTICS FINGERPRINT: Federal database helps Houston-area police crack down on gun crimes Late last year, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that the citys ShotSpotter network a gunshot detection system recorded 78 automatic gunfire activations of 935 total rounds, compared to only five such activations of 42 rounds over the same time period in 2020. In August, federal officials announced charges in Oakland, CA, against three men after an investigation in which they bought numerous Glock switches and privately made firearms. A month later, customs officials in Philadelphia intercepted a package destined for a mans home there which contained 20 counterfeit auto switches originally made in China. Across the United States, have seen a five-fold increase in the number of guns modified with auto switches from about 300 guns seized in 2020 to more than 1500 last year, Milanowski said. Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer The small devices which sell for between $200-$400 on the street allow gunmen to empty an extended 30-round magazine in about 2.2 seconds; a 50-round drum magazine takes about 4 seconds. Thats an amazing amount of firepower coming from a hand gun, said David Chipman, a former ATF agent and adviser at the gun control advocacy group Giffords. These kind of switches make a whole class of weapons particularly lethal. These are really catered to criminal and extremist buyers and owners. Experts said the recoil caused by the rapid fire make the guns much harder to control than a standard semi-auto pistol. When you put a Glock switch on it, you pull the trigger one time, it will fire every single round in magazine, said Michael Cargill, a U.S. Army veteran and owner of Central Texas Gun Works. With the recoil and all that pressure, the gun is going to want to move up or down. Its hard for a person to maintain control of the firearm. COLD CASE: After 40 years, a murdered Houston couple has finally been identified. Where is their missing baby? Milanowski, the ATF official, said the arrests are part of a shift by local and federal officials to arrest those with past convictions who rearm themselves and get arrested again or armed, convicted felons who get arrested in Harris County after making bail. Caballero the accused cop shooter faces four charges, including carjacking, using a machine gun in the commission of a crime, possession of a machine gun, and felon in possession of a firearm. The charges, which could lead to a life prison sentence, add to Caballeros significant troubles; he already faces three charges of attempted capital murder and an aggravated robbery charge. His attorney, Spence Graham, said he was in the early stages of defending Caballero. We are conducting our own investigation of these charges, as well as awaiting the results of the States investigation, he said, as we prepare to give Mr. Caballero the high-quality defense the U.S. Constitution guarantees and requires. Besides the charges Caballero faces, authorities announced indictments against 19 people for unlawful possession of an unregistered machine gun, possession of a machine gun or being a felon in possession of a firearm. We want to ensure those with violent felony records and violate the federal law, that have unlawfully modified Glock switches, or fully automatic switches are taken off to the streets, said Jennifer Lowery, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. If theyre going to use these conversion switches, were going to prosecute them. st.john.smith@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Wendy Alvarez recalled her 9-year-old daughter Arlene as a mature girl for her age who knew how to cook eggs, macaroni and cheese or spaghetti by herself and feed her brothers. She was always helping mommy with her little brothers, 7-year-old Armando Jr., and 5-month-old Adriel, her mother said. Arlene was also a natural caregiver who was very fond of her dog, Bo. She spoke of becoming a veterinarian or a doctor. I called her the baby whisperer because, since she was very little, she wanted to hold her baby cousins and calmed them down, said Alejandra Castellanos, a cousin of Wendy Alvarez. But she was good with anybody; doesnt matter what age; she would relate with every person. More than 300 people gathered at Grace Church in southwest Houston to remember Arlene, whose life was cut short on Valentines Day when her fathers truck was struck by gunfire. A man who had been robbed at a nearby bank drive-thru grabbed his own weapon and opened fire on a passing truck that he believed carried the robber, police said. Inside was Arlene, who was in the backseat with headphones on when she was struck in the head. While many in the Houston area have come to known Arlenes name since her senseless death, to her family she was Chispita, or little Sparky, her mother told those gathered. My daughter brought everybody together, her father, Armando Alvarez, told the Chronicle. People, just by looking at her, know who she is. She was always smiling; there is a glow in her that everybody could see in her pictures. Photos of Arlene looped on big screens at the megachurch. She lay in the casket in a soft pink, sparkling tulle gown and a tiara, her delicate face as if she were sleeping. She was our princess, Armando Alvarez said of his daughter. The senseless death of Arlene has prompted protests and solidarity events across Houston, including bike rides past the spot where she was killed and murals painted in her memory. We thank Houston and everybody who has been supporting our family, said Castellanos, who was helping to coordinate the funeral. Our entire family is destroyed. Its overwhelming. On the night of Feb. 14, Arlene and her family were on their way to eat dinner at Arlenes favorite restaurant when shots rang out. Her dad told everyone to get down, but Arlene had headphones on and may not have heard her fathers warning. The gunfire came from Tony Earls, who told authorities he believed that a man who had just robbed him was inside the truck. Earls and his wife were robbed at a Chase Bank ATM in the 2900 block of Woodridge Drive, police said. More about the Alvarez shooting: Man accused in Arlene Alvarezs death was shot at by robber, lawyers contend Earls has been charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury in connection with Arlenes death, according to court records. A grand jury will decide if Earls is to face additional charges arising from the incident, according to prosecutors. Her death is so sad and senseless, said Berenice Perez, a woman who attended the funeral with her two children. It's devastating. We are here to support this family. Perez said Arlenes tragic death made her feel afraid as a mother. She said she was compelled to tell her children that they shouldnt wear headphones in public places, so that they can hear and be aware of their surroundings. It's horrible to take that away from your children. Its something that they should be able to do without worries. They are kids and thats what kids do! The oldest of three, Arlene Lynette Alvarez was born in Houston on May 19, 2012. Her father was also born in the city and her mother came from Guadalajara, Mexico when she was a girl. She went to De Zavala Elementary magnet school. More on HoustonChronicle.com: Spanky's Pizza turns the tables to support family of 9-year old shooting victim Arlene Alvarez Arlene was a very creative girl, which her father said she got from her mother, a hairstylist and entrepreneur with a beauty salon. It was through Wendy that Arlene learned to do manicures, which was a favorite activity. She loved doing my nails, said 8-year-old Adeline Solis, one of Arlenes cousins. The girl smiled at the as pictures of the two together appeared on the big screen. Then she began to cry. I will miss her so much because she was really, really close to me; she was like my sister or best friend, Adeline said, tears streaming down her face. Adeline said her best friend wasnt much of a dolls girl. Instead, she said, they would play with fidget toys and make TicTok posts. We always hang out with each other, and we fight sometimes, she said. But then I would come up to her and say I was sorry and then we would just play with each other again. Family remembered Arlene as a confident child with smarts and leadership skills. And she had a winning smile that allowed her to get her way more often than not, her father said. She always got me with her pure smile, Armando Alvarez said. I couldn't say no to her. At the funeral, singer Priscilla Cook, a friend of the family, sang songs of worship such as Open Heaven. Fathers David Scarpeta and Juan Pablo Diaz offered reflections in English and Spanish, respectively, and led the prayers. After a private service Thursday, Arlenes parents were devastated and exhausted, the family said. But they still came out to close the public service and thank the attendees. Armando said that he and his wife "feel stronger about fighting for our princess. We want justice. We are not going to stop here." olivia.tallet@chron.com joel.umanzor@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Family members of two people who died in recent collisions with law enforcement officials on Thursday demanded justice, accountability and better adherence to pursuit policy. Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney, and Andy Rubenstein, a Houston lawyer, are representing the families of 75-year-old Charles Payne and 22-year-old Autrey Davis. Both were killed in crashes that attorneys allege were caused by law enforcement negligence. You have these African Americans killed because it seems to be OK to exceed the speed limit in a dangerous way in our communities, Crump said. Were going to be bringing every legal remedy possible to get these families justice. On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston educator killed in San Antonio family shooting identified by officials High-speed police pursuits in neighborhoods with predominantly Black and brown residents are similar to shootings, no-knock warrants or other forms of excessive force by law enforcement officers that disproportionately target people of color, Crump said. In neighborhoods with a large white population, Crump said, authorities tend to slow down at intersections, show restraint during pursuits or instead use technology to apprehend suspects. Its not about training, in many regards, its about respect, he said. Its about respect for our community and our lives and our children. Attorneys plan to file federal civil rights lawsuits in both cases. Neither has yet been filed. Payne was driving home from church on Dec. 26 when a Houston police officer smashed into his Cadillac on Shepherd Drive in Independence Heights. Last month, HPD released body camera footage as well as footage from surveillance cameras at a nearby businesses and said Officer Christopher Cabrera had been relieved of duty. The investigation remains ongoing, an HPD spokesman said Thursday, meaning no new information is available. Now, Paynes wife of six decades, seven children and 13 grandchildren are mourning the patriarch of the family. He was a confidante, mentor and spiritual adviser to his family and friends in the community, said his daughter, Kizz Goins. On HoustonChronicle.com: Third Ward residents decry violence, demand action against problem bars The family wants the officer to be charged with vehicular manslaughter. A spokesman for the Harris County District Attorneys Office said the matter remains under review. Prosecutors will present the case to a grand jury to determine if charges are warranted. He killed my father, Goins said about the police officer. I feel like he should be held accountable because hes not above the law. Doug Griffith, Houston Police Officers Union president, previously told the Chronicle that he thinks neither driver could see the other before the collision because another vehicle was blocking their line of vision. This is just a tragic accident, he said. For Harriet Payne, the mans wife, her grandchildren keep asking: Is papa coming back? She knows hes not, but still listens for him coming down the hall and expects to hear him asking whos going to make the morning coffee. I dont have that anymore, she said. (It) seems like my life has been cut short. Christmas will never be the same again for the family, said son-in-law Roderick Dearborne, who rode his motorcycle to the scene of a different fatal crash involving a law enforcement officer roughly three weeks later. A Harris County Sheriffs Office deputy was chasing a driver suspected of armed robbery shortly before 11 p.m. on Jan. 12 when he collided with a vehicle that was not involved in the chase. More from Anna Bauman: Teen charged in shooting death of 11-year-old boy at Harris County apartment Driver Autrey Davis died in the crash. The young mothers 3-year-old son sustained severe brain damage, according to the Davis family, and her 2-year-old daughter survived with no injuries. An internal investigation into deputy Dontre Thomas remains ongoing, according to a sheriffs office spokesman. Thomas is out on workmans compensation as a result of his injuries. Simone Teal, who stepped away from her injured grandsons bedside to attend Thursdays news conference, said she lost her daughter due to negligence. The family and attorneys are demanding release of the deputys dash camera footage. It couldve been avoided, she said, wiping tears. Family members described Davis as a loving, funny woman with a vibrant personality. Its tragic that her small children will grow up without their mother and learn about her only through photos and videos, relatives said. Davis texted or FaceTimed with her sister every day, and last spoke to her cousin on a family Zoom call four days before her death. We laughed and we joked and we said our I love yous and our goodbyes, said Chalinda Johnson, the womans cousin. But I didnt want it to be the last goodbye. anna.bauman@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Perrye Turner was driving to his office when he got the phone call: there was a shooting at a high school in Santa Fe. Ten people were dead, another 13 people were injured. He dispatched a nearby agent, who arrived to find the scene swarming with more than a hundred police officers from dozens of agencies. Turners bosses at FBI headquarters were calling, as were reporters and chiefs from other departments. Within 45 minutes, Turner had ordered the FBIs crisis management teams into position. Soon, agents from across the Houston Field Office were helping set up a unified command structure, coordinating with dozens of agencies, collecting evidence and managing a sprawling investigation. His experience coordinating chaotic situations as head of the FBIs Houston Field Office will be put to use in his new job as Harris Countys first deputy county administrator for justice and safety. The role promises a host of challenges, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. Right now, our community is bearing the brunt of an unprecedented explosion in gun violence only made worse by a criminal justice system broken by generations of bad policies and misguided ideology, she said. Dealing with these challenges in ways that are meaningful and enduring in the largest county in Texas is hard and complicated. Taxpayers deserve to have someone with Mr. Turners expertise laser focused each day to take on these challenges. A history of bloodshed: Santa Fe shooting echoes memories of Columbine Among them: coordinating with the regions legion of law enforcement agencies, streamlining the regions overlapping and byzantine criminal justice system, and helping manage the countys jail population and countys backlogged court system all at a time when law enforcement agencies are clashing with local government and when much of the public is deeply wary of law enforcement. When we fight amongst ourselves, the bad guys win, Turner said. To stay on top of that threat, we have to put our egos aside and collaborate. thats what Im going to try to do here. He will earn $250,000 in the job. Turner began his career in Alabama in the early 1990s. As a new agent, he worked crime and gang cases in assignments in Louisiana and Mississippi and elsewhere across the American South. He also spent time in Washington, D.C., overseeing drug trafficking investigations and the bureaus IT division. I just happened to be the guy that got shot: School police officer fights back in year since Santa Fe shooting Turner arrived in Houston in 2014. He found an office that focused on national security cases and, by his own account, was not well connected with local law enforcement or community organizations. He soon began to shift resources away from national security cases to investigations into international narcotics trafficking and gang violence and helped oversee the creation of a cybercrime division. He hired a media liaison to try to communicate better with community groups and local news outlets. He created less traditional relationships with local universities and businesses, encouraging them to focus on protecting trade secrets and strengthen their IT networks. And he soon learned that Houston is rarely boring: his agents rescued scores of people during Hurricane Harvey, oversaw major events such as Super Bowl LI, the Final Four, and responded to the Austin package bombings. They also tookdown another bomber who terrorized Beaumont residents back in 2018. One of the most challenging moments of his tenure came in 2018 when his agents shot a hostage they were trying to rescue, 47-year-old Ulises Valladares. The scandal drew significant scrutiny with former Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo criticizing the agent who shot the hostage and accusing him of providing a version of events that differed with what his investigators discovered at the scene. The FBI refused to identify the agent who shot the hostage, and federal prosecutors ultimately declined to pursue charges against him. Valladares relatives eventually sued, but the case has not yet gone to trial. Asked about the incident, Turner said he was prevented from speaking about the incident at the time because of directives from supervisors at the bureaus national headquarters. NO CHARGES: DOJ declines charges against FBI agent who shot kidnapping victim from Conroe in botched 2018 rescue The FBI could do a better job in managing the message, he said. Sometimes that hurts us, because I think the community or the public has that quest for 24/7 information. And you got news, 24/7 news coverage, so you got to do it But we could do a better job of managing that. Because if you dont, someone else will form a story for you, and then youre trying to put out fires trying to manage misinformation, or information that is totally inaccurate. Turners stint as the head of the Houston Field Division ended late last year, when he retired from the Bureau. He and his wife, Angela, opted to stay in Houston. Hed already moved eight times over the course of his career. In his new role, hell face challenges that are similar: siloed law enforcement agencies, a sometimes-distrustful public, and the rise in crime in Houston and Harris County that has led to hundreds of additional deaths over the last two years. A few weeks into his new job, hes not sure exactly what his first steps will be. But he plans to follow the same formula he used when he took over the Houston Field Office: Perform a top-to-bottom assessment of the lay of the land here, coordinate better with the countys slew of law enforcement agencies, and help county residents better understand what their government officials are trying to do. He also hopes to help streamline operations across the countys mishmash of criminal justice agencies such as getting the sheriffs office and local constables to use a unified reporting system, which would help prosecutors move criminal cases faster. We have to work together collectively, he said. I know these are big issues, but its not like it cant be done. st.john.smith@chron.com Malis troubles do not start and finish with the unrest in northern Mali nor with the military coup. by Vijay Prashad On February 17, 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron held a press conference in Paris just ahead of the sixth European Union-African Union summit in Brussels along with Senegals President Macky Sall and Ghanas President Nana Akufo-Addo as well as European Council President Charles Michel. At the conference, Macron announced that the French forces would be withdrawing from Mali. This means that France and its European allies will start to wind down Barkhane and Takuba anti-jihadist operations in Mali. The protests in Mali against the presence of the French troops seem to have finally succeeded. Macron said that France had to withdraw its troops because it would no longer like to remain militarily engaged alongside de facto authorities whose strategy or hidden objectives we do not share. A statement appeared on the French government website signed by the European Union (EU) and by the African Union (AU) that made the same point, namely that the Malian transitional authorities have not honored their commitments. The language used by Macron and included in the AU and EU statement shows a lack of transparency about the real reasons behind the withdrawal of troops from Mali. The government of Mali (de facto and transitional) came to power through two coups detat in recent years: Colonel Assimi Goita, leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People of Mali, carried out the first coup in August 2020 against the elected government and installed Bah Ndaw, who was a military officer, as the interim president of Mali. Ndaw was then overthrown in a second coup in May 2021, when Goita took over the position of interim president himself. By June, the European countries insisted that the new military junta hold elections by February 2022. Goita said that he would honor this timeline. He did not do so, which gave the EU and the AU the excuse to break links with Goitas government. Thats the excuse being used by these regional powers to wind down operations in Mali. Matters become far less clear, however, when it comes to the statements that were made by France in this regard. Macron spoke about Goitas hidden objectives, but did not elaborate on that accusation. What could these hidden objectives be? Malis Troubles Malis troubles do not start and finish with the unrest in northern Mali nor with the military coup. If you were to ask Alpha Oumar Konare, the president of Mali from 1992 to 2002, he would tell you a different story. When Konare took over the presidency in Mali in 1992, the people were exhausted by the debt crisis produced by International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies and by military rule. They wanted something more. One of Konares close advisers said during his time in office, We service our countrys debt on time every month, never missing a penny, and all the time the people are getting poorer and poorer. Konares government asked for relief from the IMF so that it could marshal resources toward ensuring the development of the northern part of the country; the insurgency, Konare argued, would be better confronted by development than by war. The United States government and the IMF disagreed. From Konares time in office as president to now, Malis governmentswhether civilian or militaryhave been unable to craft a policy framework to tackle endemic social and economic crises. It is true that there has been a long-standing rebellion in the north that has brought together the Ifoghas aristocrats among the Tuaregs and the Al Qaeda factions that came out of the Algerian civil war (1991-2002) and the destruction of Libya (2011-2012); none of the many peace agreements have worked largely because there is simply no money in Bamako, the capital of Mali, to promise the kind of development needed to undercut a million frustrations. Less remarked, but equally true, are the devastatingly poor social indicators in the rest of Mali, where hunger and illiteracy appear normal in Bamakos bidonvilles. Western intervention in much of Africa has not resulted in beneficial economic assistance in the region. This assistance has come through IMF austerity policies and military aid. Frances 2013 military intervention into Mali came alongside its construction of a military project across the Sahel belt called G5 Sahel (including Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) in 2014. The military in each of these countries received aid, and its officers received training. It is no surprise that Goita, for instance, received training from the U.S. armed forces in Burkina Faso alongside Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who carried out a coup in Guinea in September 2021; it is no surprise either that Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba of Burkina Faso trained alongside these men and carried out his coup in Burkina Faso in January 2022; and no surprise that in Chad, General Kaka (Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno), the son of the former president, was installed as the president by the military in what was effectively a coup in April 2021. Three of the G5 Sahel countriesBurkina Faso, Chad and Maliare now led by a military government (Nigers authorities thwarted a coup in March 2021). All the handwringing about why there are so many coup attempts in Africa these days fails to connect the dots: no agenda out of the IMF-austerity model is permitted by the Western states, which prefer to build up the military forces in the region rather than allow a genuine social democratic process to open in these key African countries. Discomfort With the Western Interventions In October 2021, Malis current Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga told a Russian news outlet that his government had proof that the French are training terrorist groups such as Ansar Dine. According to his interview, France had created an enclave in the Kidal region in 2013. They have militant groups there, which were trained by French officers, Maiga said. Kidal is in Malis north, not far from its borders with Algeria and Niger. Nothing Maiga said should have raised an eyebrow. Frances former ambassador to Mali, Nicolas Normand, made some similar comments in 2019 when he released his book on the continent, Le grand livre de lAfrique. Normand told Radio France Internationale that Macrons government forged ties with the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad and with the aristocrats of the Ifoghas region to prevent them from making a rapid advance toward Bamako. France wanted to play the good armed groups against the bad armed groups, but in the end failed to see that both these groups were terrible for Mali. This approach, combined with the civilian casualties of the French military operations (22 civilians died when France bombed a wedding in Bounti in 2021, for example), turned the people of Mali away from France. French troops have now begun to leave Mali, but they are not returning to France. They will be deployed to next-door Niger, where they will continue their mission to prevent migration to Europe and to fight off the radicalized victims of IMF austerity (which often come in the form of frustrated young people, some of whom turn to terror). Macrons eyes are on the French presidential elections, which are expected to take place in April this year, and on the rising tensions in response to Russias military intervention into Ukraine. Meanwhile, the people of Mali came to the streets to celebrate the departure of the French. Interestingly, many of the signs thanked the Russians. Perhaps the entry of Russian aid and mercenaries are the hidden objectives Macron was referring to? This article was produced by Globetrotter. Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is the chief editor of LeftWord Books and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He is a senior non-resident fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. He has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations. His latest book is Washington Bullets, with an introduction by Evo Morales Ayma. Dozens of animals are waiting to find new homes at Houston's BARC animal shelter, including several who are ready for the Houston Rodeo. Sporting bejeweled pink cowboy hats, Diamond and Jessie are both ready for the rodeo's return this weekend. In honor of the start of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the shelter is offering $20 adoptions on all spayed and neutered dogs and puppies from Feb. 25-March 6. On HoustonChronicle.com: Groups reach out to immigrant communities to increase pet adoptions Diamond is a 1-year-old, female, gray/white American Staffordshire mix that shelter staff say was surrendered by her owner. She loves treats and attention. Her animal ID is A1803603 Karen Warren/Staff photographer Jessie is a 2-year-old, female, tan/white Australian Shepherd mix who was found as a stray. Shelter staff say she is a sweet girl who walks well on a leash and knows how to sit and shake. Her animal ID is A1805497. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Both Rocky and Dallas are older dogs who were brought to the shelter for similar reasons. Dallas, a 6-year-old, male, tan/white German Shepherd/Lab mix, arrived at BARC after his family could no longer take care of him due to terminally ill relatives and a recent death in their family. Shelter staff say he is full of energy and loves attention. His animal ID is A1805165. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Rocky is a 5-year-old, male, black Labrador mix who was brought to BARC after his owner died. Shelter staff say he knows how to sit and shake. His animal ID is A1805143. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Also looking for a home is 5-year-old, female, tuxedo Domestic Shorthair cat Gidget, who was surrendered by her owner. Shelter staff say Gidget is an adorable, petite cat who loves to make biscuits on her blankets. In addition to kneading blankets, she loves getting her chin scratched and ears rubbed. Her animal ID is A1806053. Karen Warren/Staff photographer See below for a look at other shelter animals who need homes: BARC is located at 3200 Carr Street. Adoption hours are from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday are by appointment only. To adopt a pet, click here. To foster, click here. rebecca.hennes@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A Harris County district judge on Thursday upheld the $1 million bail for an Alief man accused of strangling a woman who had been reported missing, dismembering her body and then hiding her bagged-up remains in south Houston. Henry Cossette, 28, is charged with murder in the death of Sara Goodwin, 19. He is also charged with arson and tampering with evidence, in this case a corpse, according to court records. Cossette appeared in the 184th District Court before Judge Abigail Anastasio and was appointed counsel. He remains in custody as of Thursday afternoon on a combined $1.2 million bail. Cossette has maintained his innocence and has no prior criminal history in Harris County, but he may not have the financial resources to post bond on the bail, according to his appointed attorney Kevin Howard. Members of the community who attended the court hearing called for Cossette to be held without bail. One million dollars is not enough, Quanell X, community activist and leader of the New Black Panther Party, said in a news conference outside of the courtroom Thursday. A danger like him should not have a chance to go back on the street. Citing recently highlighted practices that have allowed offenders to pay less than the traditional 10 percent for bail bond, the activist emphasized the brokenness of the system. Anybody can put up 1 percent and finance the rest to go back on the street, he added. Cossettes next court date is scheduled for May 26, according to Howard. Houston police stated earlier this week that they believed Cossette strangled Goodwin on Feb. 6 at his Alief home. Cossette intentionally set his residence at 8600 South Course Drive ablaze on Feb. 19, authorities added. While being treated for injuries sustained in the fire, he admitted to killing the woman and leaving her body in bags at the 1800 block of Fellows Road the location authorities found the remains, police stated. The recovered remains have yet to be officially identified as Goodwin, according to the Harris County medical examiner. joel.umanzor@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate After months of commuting from Coldspring - Deputy Neil Adams, 62, planned to make Wednesday his last night as a security officer at the southwest Houston mall PlazAmericas, officials said. The job had become too precarious, Adams wife revealed to San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers as the two made the same drive to Houston after learning that he had been shot. His gut feeling told him that the job was too dangerous to put his life on the line for people, Capers said. Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer The off-duty Precinct 1 constables deputy was shot and killed around 4 p.m. following a confrontation inside the Sharpstown mall at 7500 Bellaire Boulevard, where he had for months been working an overtime job for extra cash. The suspect in the killing managed to get his hands on Adams gun, witnesses told police. Houston police officers shot the 35-year-old man minutes later on the malls second-floor as he held the knife. He managed to get up and try running away, prompting officers to stun him with a Taser. The man, whose last known arrest in Harris County happened in 2017, died of his injuries at Ben Taub, officials said. Authorities have not publicly disclosed his identity. Flags outside the San Jacinto County Courthouse on Thursday were lowered to half-staff in honor of the deputy. His death blanketed the county seat with hushed grief. Adams was known to many throughout the tight-knit county. His wife, after all, Diana DeeDee Adams, is the countys elected treasurer and he was a frequent sight in her offices at the courthouse. The couple met at the sheriffs office, where both worked as dispatchers at one point. Adams was a late bloomer to law enforcement. Roy Rogers, Precinct 1 constable, said Adams graduated from the academy in 2012, while in his 50s. Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer He told me, It was a booger (hard) for me, Rogers said. He joined the San Jacinto County Sheriffs Office next and later the constables officer. In 2020, county commissioners tapped him to be their first environmental officer handling nuisance abatement and illegal dumping complaints in a county dominated by Sam Houston National Forest. We needed a law enforcement officer to issue citations and really use some teeth, said Adams supervisior, Precinct 3 Commissioner David Brandon. Brandon and Rogers were among the county officials who rushed to Memorial Herman in the Texas Medical Center to be by the side of Adams wife. Houston officers escorted the duo and others from Kingwood and onward. The officials, although late to return to Coldspring from the hospital, showed up for work the next morning. County Clerk Dawn Wright had tears in her eyes. Its our job, we have to do our jobs, Wright said. She and her husband, Dwayne Wright, spent the 63-mile drive to Houston dwelling on the fate of their longtime friend. At the hospital, Adams wife gave her husband a task: go get his truck. I picked up his vehicle at the crime scene, Wrights husband said. Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer He found the truck where Adams left it. Behind the mall. He turned the car on and the radio started blasting 80s music. In the CD player was a Sarah McLachlan album. I didnt know how much it was going to affect me, he said. During the night, Adams wife addressed reporters outside the hospital a rare move following the death of a law enforcement officer in Houston. Flanked by police, she referred to officers like her husband as sheep dogs. My husband always said, You can be a sheep or a sheep dog, Adams said. They just want to protect. Thats what they want to do in their hearts. Dwayne Wright said Adams voiced his concern about working at the mall at least once. He was glad that we live in a sleepy community, he continued. He has known law enforcement officials in San Jacinto County to drive as far as Houston for a chance to earn extra cash. Rogers said overtime jobs are a vital supplement to their income. Even he does them Its something that becomes second nature to you when youre in law enforcement, the constable said. If you dont have an extra job, your family will starve to death. nicole.hensley@chron.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Transgender children across Texas and their families have been plunged into distress since Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton decided in recent days to rewrite state law all by themselves. In Harris County, at least, these unfairly embattled families will have some breathing room, thanks to County Attorney Christian Menefee. My colleague Taylor Goldenstein has the full report on this weeks moves from Austin. Paxton on Monday issued an opinion, in response to an inquiry from state Rep. Matt Krause, that certain gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth constitute child abuse under state law. Abbott heralded this news Tuesday morning, announcing in a tweet that the state Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) will enforce this ruling and investigate & refer for prosecution any such abuse. He followed that with a letter to state agencies, directing them accordingly. The moves come days before Abbott and Paxton face Republican primary challegers on March 1. Menefee, who serves as the attorney for DFPS in civil child abuse cases in Harris County, could help the governor and the attorney general with this scheme. But he wont, he explained in a statement. He accused Abbott and Paxton of ignoring medical professionals and intentionally misrepresenting the law to the detriment of transgender children and their families. Thats because gender-affirming care is still legal in Texas even if some Republican officeholders feel that it shouldnt be, and want to ban it by decree. My office will not participate in these bad-faith political games, said Menefee, a Democrat elected in 2020. Well continue to follow the laws on the books not General Paxtons politically motivated and legally incorrect opinion. A county attorney cant direct DFPS investigations, his office explains, rather its up to the county attorney to pursue civil cases arising from the agencys investigations. And Menefee, as county attorney, will choose not to prosecute such cases in the states most populous county. The move wont be sufficient, under the circumstances, to allay the anxiety that many families in Harris County are feeling now. A DFPS investigation is distressing regardless of its outcome, and the families in question have already endured several years of cruel scrutiny and bullying from state leaders. NEWSLETTERS Join the conversation with HouWeAre We want to foster conversation and highlight the intersection of race, identity and culture in one of America's most diverse cities. Sign up for the HouWeAre newsletter here. But Menefees move is the right one, from a legal perspective as well as a moral one. Legislators considered a bill that would have banned gender-affirming care such as hormone therapy last year, and they didnt pass it. The failure has come back to haunt several of them, including Abbott, in the GOP primary. Still, a governor cant just ignore the will of the Legislature. The opinion issued by the attorney general is just that: an opinion. And Abbott, who served 12 years as attorney general prior to being elected governor in 2014, presumably knows the difference between an opinion and a ruling, as he termed this one in his tweet. Further, this opinion is the brainchild of Paxton, who is not a top-flight legal eagle, even if he is our duly elected attorney general. To be sure, a court might come to the same conclusion Paxton did, in this case. As of yet, however, no court has done so. Menefees move is also a welcome reminder, with early voting underway, that elections have consequences. Since Menefees Tuesday announcement, several other local officials including Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton have announced that they dont intend to participate in Abbott and Paxtons scheme either. District attorneys prosecute criminal cases arising from DFPS investigations. (Speaking of prosecutions, perhaps at some point the courts will see fit to take up Paxtons 2015 indictment for felony securities fraud. He maintains his innocence). For Republicans like Abbott and Paxton, facing off against challengers who question their conservative bona fides, the March 1 primary has spurred yet another lurch to the right, this time at the expense of vulnerable families. For voters, its an opportunity to elevate public servants who will resist the temptation to misrepresent state law in order to advance their partisan priorities. erica.grieder@chron.com WASHINGTON U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat who is one of the states most senior members of Congress, has spent millions to fend off Jessica Cisneros, a progressive challenger who Cuellar beat by just 2,690 votes two years ago. The nearly 20-year incumbent has blanketed airwaves touting his work for the district and warning that Cisneros, a Laredo immigration attorney backed by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, would cut border security and make the South Texas district that stretches from Laredo to San Antonio less safe. The stakes are high, his campaign tweeted as early voting began. But after a rough start to the year for Cuellar one that included FBI searches of his home and campaign headquarters Cisneros says the momentum is all on her side in the final stretch ahead of Election Day. Cisneros says the searches prompted a surge of support. Cisneros raised more than $700,000 since the beginning of the year, nearly five times as much as Cuellar, and has spent hundreds of thousands of her own to paint Cuellar as a corrupt politician who cares more about corporate backers than South Texans. KNOW THE CANDIDATES: Houston Chronicle voter guide / San Antonio Express-News voter guide If were talking about the future of this district, making sure were keeping it reliably blue, we do need to send our best Democratic nominee forward and as were surging, hes declining, said Cisneros, who has drawn backup from progressive stars, including Ocasio-Cortez and Warren, both of whom made trips to San Antonio to rally support during early voting. A victory for Cisneros would be a major upset, and the rematch between the two has yet again drawn the national spotlight and gobs of campaign cash from supporters on either side who see it as a proxy battle for larger ideological debates playing out within the Democratic party. Everybody is watching this race Cuellar, one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and a chief deputy whip with the support of his partys leadership. His campaign is well-funded supported by major oil and gas, technology and pharmaceutical companies and has spent heavily on advertisements warning that the progressive policies Cisneros has advocated would be bad for the district. Delcia Lopez, MBI / Associated Press This is why everybody is watching this race, said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. You couldnt ask for a more clear contrast in a Democratic primary than the one you see in this race on almost all dimensions you could mention, whether ideological or generational or the sense of public image. Cuellars campaign says it isnt worried and argues the FBI investigation which Cuellar has said will clear him of any wrongdoing is a non-factor. Cuellar has been in office for 17 years and his name is among the most well-known in Laredo, where his brother, Martin, is sheriff and his sister, Rosie, is tax assessor. His campaign has spent more than $2 million $1.2 million since Jan. 1 to fend off the challenge. Its still an uphill battle for her to win, said Sharon Navarro, a political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. I think its his to lose. Cuellar is following a similar playbook to 2020, touting millions in federal funding for local projects he says hes brought to the district and endorsements from a list of 171 current and former elected officials from the area. He has stuck to conservative talking points, as well, casting Cisneros as too far to the left for the district. Dont believe Jessica Cisneros lies attacking Henry Cuellar to distract from her agenda that will hurt South Texas, because she knows her agenda wont fly here, goes one Cuellar ad that says Cisneros is backed by the defund the police movement and that she would cut border security. Cisneros, meanwhile, has argued its Cuellar whos out of touch. She has branded herself the underdog against the corrupt Washington insider. Matthew Busch / Bloomberg Im telling voters that Im doing everything I can to make sure that I earn their vote and their support and their trust, more than anything, Cisneros said. Especially with recent events, people are really taking a strong look as to who to trust with a position like this. Cisneros has hammered Cuellar for bucking his party, as well. He was the lone Democrat to vote against sweeping legislation to uphold abortion rights, House Democrats response to Texas new virtual ban on the procedure. And he was the only Democrat to oppose the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, legislation aimed at bolstering unions. She has campaigned on Medicare for all and good-paying union jobs. Im talking about these issues because these are issues that have affected my family since I was born here in Laredo, Cisneros said. If I wasnt confident this is what voters wanted, maybe wed take a different stance. But to me, Im staying true to my values. Bexar County voters play bigger role in 2022 Much of it sounds the same as two years ago. But there are significant differences this time around, the FBI investigation into Cuellar unveiled right as the campaign was beginning to heat up chief among them. Theres also a third candidate in the race this time: Tannya Bennavides, a former educator and organizer who has said she was inspired to run in part by the success Cisneros saw in 2020. Bennavides is now campaigning as the candidate free from outside special interests. We have built a campaign that from the beginning has centered the voices of voters in South Texas who are tired of feeling disenfranchised by both the establishment and the progressive elite machine, she said. Our campaign is being led by folks that truly have their eyes and ears on the ground. The candidates are also competing in a district long centered on Laredo that was redrawn to include tens of thousands more potential voters from Bexar County. The district, which previously covered parts of Bexar County almost entirely east of Loop 410, now stretches across much of southeast San Antonio and into downtown. Its northwestern-most tip now extends beyond the Alamo. The new district is likely bluer: Under these new boundaries, the margin between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump would widen by 2.6 percentage points. That could benefit a progressive like Cisneros, who received twice as many Bexar County votes as Cuellar in 2020. Despite that, Republicans have targeted the district as one of three they hope to flip in South Texas after making surprising gains there in 2020. Seven Republicans are competing in a primary in the district and many have been campaigning on being the one to stop Cisneros, who theyve already begun branding as AOC 2.0. Its going to turn into a national race, this is going to be one of the biggest races in the country, said Steven Fowler, a former Air Force pilot running in the Republican primary. Theres a new member of the squad versus Donald Trump and the Republicans. I think its going to be bigger than a normal congressional race. ben.wermund@chron.com A school teacher, dazed and bloodied, standing next to an apartment complex destroyed by Russian missiles. A plume of black smoke from a decimated airport engulfing the horizon. Ukrainian servicemen piling on to tanks to repel Russian forces. Migrant families with suitcases scurrying across the Ukraine-Poland border. The first photographs to trickle in from the front lines of the burgeoning war in Ukraine were chilling, reminding us all at once why the world has worked so long and hard to create a system of international relations intended to prevent such reckless and monstrous waste of human life. Anadolu Agency, Contributor / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images After months of saber-rattling, Russia began its full-scale invasion into Ukraine early Thursday, and in doing so brought war back to the same battle-scarred continent where, more than 75 years ago, millions died in a worldwide conflagration many had hoped had ended open warfare there forever. Russian troops launched more than 100 missiles on Ukraine in this initial wave of attacks, aiming at airports and other military targets before moving to take control of Kyiv, the capital, and other cities. In an address to his battered nation Thursday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said there were already significant casualties, with at least 40 people killed so far. He urged Ukrainians to step up and defend their country and promised to provide arms to do so. Russias unprovoked attacks revealed overnight a new international order. Vladimir Putin has shown himself unchecked by a basic principle of world peace that the sovereign territory of each nation is inviolate until its own acts of cruelty justify an invasion. The fact that Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that voted for independence shortly after that empires collapse, has been drifting farther away from the Soviet sphere of influence as it forged a more democratic path is hardly such justification. Putins putative goals of demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine are absurd, and made more noxious by the fact that Zelenskiy is Jewish. Putin has made clear for years that he views the fall of the Soviet Union as a catastrophe, a humiliation for one of the worlds superpowers. His sense of grievance grew as NATO expanded to include former Soviet territories such as Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. President Joe Biden and Americas allies must hold firm against this barbaric invasion. Biden has rightly condemned the attack and begun imposing sanctions, in tandem with the European Unions, on Russia and its oligarchs who carry so much influence in the Kremlin. ARIS MESSINIS, Contributor / AFP via Getty Images There will be time yet to assess whether the United States and our European allies could have done more to prevent this breach of sovereignty. That debate, in Congress and throughout the land, is incidentally a hallmark of the kind of democracy Ukraine is now fighting to preserve, and Putin is moving so cavalierly to quash. Biden has vowed to hold Putin responsible for the senseless death and destruction that will follow. Putin is the aggressor, he said. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences. Inevitably, the necessary sanctions will impact millions of ordinary Russians who dont share Putins view that Ukraines democracy is a threat, and dont deserve the pain they will soon be forced to endure. Already, there are reports of Russians protesting the invasion, and that even a number of people in Moscows foreign policy establishment view the attacks as misguided. Americans, too, will feel the pain as these sanctions take effect. Energy prices will continue to soar, which may have positive ramifications for Houstons economy but not for ordinary Americans pocketbooks. Putins endgame isnt clear. Does he seek to conquer and hold all of Ukraine? If successful there, will he seek to expand Russias influence throughout the rest of the former Soviet bloc nations? If America and its allies are unable to deter his ambitions, would he risk wider war by invading Poland, resurrecting grim memories of Germanys 1939 invasion of that oft-fought-over nation? Biden has been unequivocal that American troops are positioned to defend NATO allies and any advance by Putin into those countries would be met with American military might. The United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of American power, he said during Thursdays press conference. In the face of Putins inhumane disregard of life, not to mention international law, its easy to let the mind wander to the fearsome possibilities. Even children are coming home from school asking about the likelihood of World War III. ANATOLII STEPANOV, Contributor / AFP via Getty Images Panic wont help. Whats needed right now is for all democracy-loving Americans to come together in our condemnation of Putins offensive against its independent neighbor. Were encouraged that even Republican Congress members from Texas, including U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, are joining this rebuke, turning a cheek, at least for now, at former President Donald Trumps horrific fawning over Putins aggression. Let us, Republicans, Democrats and independents, raise our voices in support of Ukrainians clinging to survival and autonomy, and, too, for the many Russians ashamed of their leaders erratic insecurity. The people of those two countries, while now at war, are bound by shared history, pride and in some cases, family ties. It also depends on the actions of America and our NATO allies. We urge President Biden to continue to fight back with the harshest sanctions required and the most generous support possible of Ukrainians fighting for their lives, their country and the democratic principles that we share. We want to hear from more readers. Send in your letter using this form. Regarding What will Russia's invasion in Ukraine mean for Houston? Soaring oil prices are just the start. (Feb. 24): I drive electric so $4 gas is no problem. It costs me less than $1 in electricity to drive my Chevrolet Bolt 25 miles. Electric motors are much more energy efficient than gasoline engines. And 34 percent of Texas electricity is now emissions-free. In 2018, I was scared when I bought my first electric car. But it worked out just fine. Alas, too many in Houston are doing things the same old way even though we know it is destroying our civilization. How crazy is that? I have a moral obligation to say it's wrong to steal from future generations. Nan Hildreth, Houston NATO Regarding NATO vows to defend its entire territory after Russia attack, (Feb. 24): The Russian invasion of Ukraine was triggered at least in part by well-justified fears that NATO might expand into Ukraine and pose a threat to Russia. It is not too late to do the right thing now. We should disband NATO and withdraw American troops from Europe. In fact, we should have done all that when the Soviet Union collapsed. Christopher Condon, The Woodlands Putins baseless attack on sovereign Ukraine is unforgivable. Every step President Biden is taking against him, taken together with NATO and other allies, is justified to offset an increasingly bullying, belligerent Russian federation under Putin. I fully support our president and the world against Putin, as we strive to hold Russia accountable. I stand in solidarity with the brave Ukrainians and their President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who said, as they defend themselves, When you attack us, you will see our faces, not our backs. Putin must be stopped, and I applaud every effort to do so. Sylvia Szucs, Houston Biden and Trump Regarding Texas Republicans rip Russia's Ukraine invasion, even as Trump praises Putin's 'peace force', (Feb. 24): When Donald Trump was president, there were no new wars. Why? The other countries were afraid of him. So what do we do now? Talk of sanctions obviously has no effect. The man in the White House obviously has no effect. To stop the Russian invasion of a democratic Ukraine, the U.S. should direct NATO to destroy the Kremlin and other Russian government installations. Destroy Russian aircraft, military and supply ships, arms depots, atomic installations and power generators, all while the Russian army is elsewhere. That will stop the war immediately and demonstrate to the worlds despots the cost of unwarranted, non-defensive military invasion of peaceful countries. Alan J. Winters, Bellaire It took only a moment for Donald Trump to show his true colors and praise Vladimir Putin for his incursion into Ukraine. Trump expressed the most un-American thoughts when he lauded Putin's moves as genius. Trump has no opinion regarding the devastating impact on the free people of Ukraine. Instead he hails this as real peacekeeping and suggests similar tactics should be used on our border with Mexico. This man is a charlatan from the word go, a false prophet who promised he would bring only the best should he become president. Instead he fostered prejudice, anxiety and hatred with his fear mongering during his four years in office, and led our country into chaos. Even now, he continues in the same vein. Those who continue to support him, please open your eyes and ears. There is such a thing as truth, and Donald Trump stands in direct opposition to it. Yvonne Edwards, Houston Regarding Settling scores with Trump couldnt matter less right now, (Feb. 20) Hugh Hewitt thinks Putin not invading Ukraine during the Trump administration is some sort of acknowledgment that Putin was scared of Trump and proves Trump wasnt under Putins thrall. Putins goal with Ukraine is to stop the expansion of NATO. Trump did everything he could to weaken NATO, just one of the many indications of how Trump was under Putins thumb. With Trump, Putin didnt have to threaten invasions to achieve his goals on NATO, he just sat back and let Trump do his bidding. Ronnie Montgomery, Houston Submit letters to the Houston Chronicle Please include the headline, the page and the day it was printed. Include name, address, and day and evening phone numbers for verification purposes only. Letters have a maximum word count of 250 words, though are generally closer to 100 words, and may be edited. The best way to submit letters is through our online form or sent to by emailing us at viewpoints@chron.com. Regarding Bidens pathetic response merely emboldens Putin, (Feb. 24): In this relentless take down of our president, youd think his issues were with the very principle of the response, not the degree. Sure, one could reasonably argue for a stronger response, but its not like Biden can unilaterally kill a pipeline on Germanys behalf. Any European response requires diplomatic coordination with NATO, an organization his predecessor, by the way, wanted to end. If Marc Thiessen feels this strongly about Putin, perhaps he should direct some ire towards folks like Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo or Tucker Carlson. While not in positions of power, they effectively constitute Russias Western flank, parroting propaganda from a man who considers it part of his war machine. Their fawning praise of a murderous dictator would make Neville Chamberlain blush. Robert Campbell, Katy Some teachings, such as, Love your neighbor or, Care for your community, are shared by almost every religious or ethical practice. From an evolutionary standpoint, that makes sense: In the long run, the group does better than the individual. But welcoming the stranger, let alone caring for them, does not come naturally. I was reminded recently that our brains arent wired for it. Strangers are, by definition, unknown. The unknown often generates fear. Strangers, in this context, are harmful. All people should enjoy a sense of safety in their sacred space. But too many people, of many backgrounds, dont always feel safe. My congregants and I know this well and we are all grateful to be alive. On Jan. 15, a gunman entered our synagogue and demanded the release of a woman being held at a nearby federal prison. During the 10 hours I spent held hostage by this terrorist, all the anxiety and fear that many Jewish people live with on a daily basis were realized. No one should live like this not the congregants of the Mother Emmanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C., not the members of Sikh temples nor mosques that have been vandalized, not our small synagogue in Texas, nor the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh or the Chabad synagogue of Poway, Calif. What happened to us at Beth Israel in Colleyville is only the most recent, dramatic event. Even before the Jan. 15 attack on my synagogue, many Jewish people were on edge. Antisemitic attacks have increased in recent years. Hatred has already led to harassment and even bloodshed in too many houses of worship. These problems have been with us for far too long. At least part of the problem is because we, ourselves, are strangers. Jews are strangers. Muslims are strangers. People with a different religious tradition or no religious tradition are perceived as strangers. People of different ethnicities can be considered strangers. People who hold different political views are seen as strangers. Were strangers because one can look from afar and make judgments without understanding anothers reality. Were strangers because it takes too much work to be curious, to give others the benefit of the doubt. It is a lot easier and a lot more comfortable to stick with ones group. Love your neighbor is hard enough. And thats why I, and so many other religious leaders, have pointed out again and again the sacred obligation to love the stranger. The command to care for the stranger is mentioned at least 36 times in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible more than any other mitzvah. Its mentioned so often because we need the reminder, because it isnt natural. It is hard. Just getting past the notion of fearing the stranger is a big enough hurdle. I stress this teaching and try to live by this ethos even after living through a hostage situation where every minute feels like it could be your last. I understand the temptation to seek comfort solely in those one knows and trusts. My congregants and I spent over 10 hours with a gun pointed at us in our sacred home. Adding to the agony, I opened the doors of my synagogue and unknowingly welcomed the individual who would later attack me and my fellow congregants. That I opened the door will always weigh heavily on me. Still, I remain committed to the idea of welcoming and caring for the stranger and living that value. I do not offer this teaching out of naivete. We all have a responsibility to understand the context in which we live. Understanding does not mean that we expect calamity or live in a perpetual state of fear. We have a need for security action plans and preparation in case the worst happens. Ive participated in, and helped organize, far too many vigils after acts of intentional hatred and violence; gathering after gathering of mourning. That is our current reality. I believe with all my heart and soul that we can and must change this reality. That goes back to caring for the stranger caring enough that were willing to meet and talk with those who are different from ourselves. Caring enough to know that while our experiences may not be the same, and we will probably disagree, we are human beings with something to teach and something to learn. This is not easy. And right now, it feels countercultural. Many parts of Judaism are countercultural especially the instruction that we do what is right, not what is easy. When it comes to the care with which we are supposed to treat other people, those teachings cross religious and cultural boundaries. We know that not everyone will meet us here now, but neither can we step away from the work. All of us have a share in it. It means clergy and community leaders from every background meeting with curiosity, to share our traditions and our lives. It means gathering communities of faith together with those who dont practice a religion, with a desire to listen, learn and the opportunity to build new relationships. This isnt just theoretical. In Colleyville and the surrounding area, more than 20 groups already meet to do this work under the umbrella Peace Together. We began gathering after Charlottesville as a mass effort to build relationships. In the last few weeks, my congregation and I received an outpouring of love and support from strangers the world over. If we begin with that love of the stranger, but offer it not in response to violence, but encouraged by empathy, we might just change our world. Charlie Cytron-Walker is the rabbi for Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. This piece was first published by the New York Times. Wait! Before you go Please sign up for our Evening Digest and Breaking Newsletters Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Hudson, NY (12534) Today Steady light rain this morning. Showers continuing this afternoon. High 61F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 49F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Lenox Library Association Appoints Development Director LENOX, Mass. The Board of Trustees of the Lenox Library Association announces their appointment of Maria Lynch as the Association's new Director of Development. This position will play a critical role in fulfilling the Association's mission of supporting the Lenox Library through fundraising efforts required to underwrite the Library's many programs and material collections. "We are excited to work with Maria to strengthen our community relationships and to keep the Lenox Library Association and our beloved town strong and vital," said Edward Richter, President of the Lenox Library Association's Board of Trustees. Prior to joining the Lenox Library Association, Lynch held several positions at the Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, including marketing coordinator, interim-co-director, and most recently, development and marketing associate. During her time in Stockbridge, she led the research and implementation of new donor software, as well as refreshed the fundraising efforts through annual appeals, events, and grants. Lynch's early career background includes public relations, development, and marketing and sales for large retail corporations. Northern Berkshire United Way Receives Emergency Funds For Assistance NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The Emergency Food and Shelter Program Awarded Berkshire County $62,726 in Phase 39 (FY20) and $193,871 in Phase ARPAR (FY21) Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) assistance funding. Northern Berkshire United Way, local administrator of the program, urges qualifying organizations located throughout Berkshire County to submit an application for supplemental emergency food and shelter and to obtain it at this link: https://www.nbunitedway.org/emergency-food-and-shelte-program Local organizations chosen to receive funds must be private voluntary non-profits (with a voluntary board) or units of government; have an accounting system; practice non-discrimination; and have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency food and/or shelter programs. Applicants must submit their application by email only with their financial audit by midnight on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022 to: Christa Collier at ccollier@nbunitedway.org . Paper applications will not be accepted. The funds are awarded through the Department of Homeland Security and the award is made the Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board, that consists of representatives from the Salvation Army, American Red Cross, The Jewish Federations of North America, Catholic Charities USA, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and United Way Worldwide. Funds pass directly from the Department of Homeland Security to the EFSP program and then to local agencies that are awarded funding through a sub-committee of a local board made up of representatives of organizations that are not requesting or receiving funds determines the actual organizations that receive funding. For Phase 38, EFSP awarded $67,202 which local representatives distributed to ten Berkshire County organizations: Berkshire Community Action Council, the Berkshire Food Project, the Cheshire Pantry, Child Care of the Berkshires, Elizabeth Freeman Center, Louison House, Northern Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative, Salvation Army North Adams, Salvation Army Pittsfield and If you already subscribe to our print edition, sign up for FREE access to our online edition. Thanks for reading The Henderson News. Ellensburg man and wife flee Ukraine just before Russian invasion, but remain stuck in eastern Europe Several journalists have been blocked from covering the alleged sexual harassment and detainment of members of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU) by Cambodian police in Phnom Penh. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the continued suppression of independent media by Cambodian authorities. According to Radio Free Asia, journalists were blocked from covering the transportation of striking LSRU workers to a quarantine facility in Phnom Penh on February 24, with police officers spraying the journalists equipment with hand sanitiser. The journalists were subsequently banned from reporting on incidents of sexual assault by police officers towards the workers, many of whom were women. In one incident a male officer grabbed and squeezed the breast of one woman while she was being forced onto a bus, a joint statement, released by a collective of Cambodian trade unions and civil society groups, said. Members of the LRSU have been striking from the hotel and casino NagaWorld since December 2021, with workers staging a walk-out to demand higher wages and the reinstatement of arrested union leaders. This is not the first incident of authorities preventing journalists from reporting on LRSU labour strikes. On February 5, a foreign journalist, employed by the Cambidan Center for Independent Media (CCIM)s news outlet VOD, was intimidated and threatened with arrest whilst covering interactions between authorities and NagaWorld protesters. Cambodia has been the subject of international scrutiny from human rights groups and press freedom organisations since the announcement of its new National Internet Gateway (NIG) in 2021, intended for launch on February 16, 2022, but postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. The Cambodian Journalists Association have denounced the NIG, calling on the government to discard the new gateway claiming that it "violates Cambodias international human rights obligations and its Constitution, by threatening human rights online and offline in Cambodia, particularly the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and privacy." The NIG will give the Cambodian government unprecedented power to monitor all online activity, censor communications, and collect user data. Controlled by a government-appointed regulator, the NIG will support authorities to measures to prevent and disconnect all network connections that affect national income, security, social order, morality, culture, traditions, and customs. It threatens to curtail free speech, access to information, and privacy rights in Cambodia, and gives the government unprecedented authority to monitor and control all internet traffic in the country, said Naly Pilorge, deputy director of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (LICADHO). Nop Vy, executive director of CamboJA, said: "We call Cambodian government to pay more attention and respecting to press freedom, especially provide full of protection and stop barring journalists from exercising their rights and freedom". The IFJ said: The authorities move to block journalists from reporting on the alleged harassment, detainment and sexual assault of peaceful LSRU strikers is a deliberate attempt to further stifle press freedom in the country. The IFJ condemns the continued impediment and harassment of independent journalists in Cambodia. Artificial intelligence has an ageism problem. That's according to a recent World Health Organization policy brief explaining that data used by A.I. in health care can be unrepresentative of older people. A.I. is a product of its algorithms, the brief explains, and can draw ageist conclusions if the data that feeds the algorithms is skewed toward younger individuals. This could affect, for example, telehealth tools used to predict illness or major health events in a patient. It could also provide inaccurate data for drug development. Ultimately, not including older adults in the development process for A.I. can make it harder to get them to adopt new A.I. applications in the future. "To ensure that A.I. technologies play a beneficial role, ageism must be identified and eliminated from their design, development, use, and evaluation," Alana Officer, unit head, Demographic Change and Healthy Ageing at WHO, writes in a summary of the report. She added that the biases of society are often replicated in A.I. technologies. Here are eight ways to make sure A.I. doesn't discriminate against older consumers, as listed in the WHO policy brief. 1. Include older consumers in the design of A.I. technologies. When developing any A.I. technology, make sure you have older people participating in any focus groups and in giving product feedback. 2. Hire age-diverse individuals for data science teams. Hire and train data scientists of all ages on your team. By including older employees, they'll be more likely to recognize and identify any forms of ageism in data collection or in the product's design. 3. Conduct age-inclusive data collection. When choosing demographic data to feed into A.I. algorithms--as with other personal identifiers such as race or gender--make sure people of varying diversity are accounted for. 4. Invest in digital infrastructure and digital literacy. After a product that incorporates A.I. is developed, it's important to invest in education and accessibility initiatives. This can help make older consumers--and their health care providers--more likely to benefit from the technology. 5. Give older consumers the right to consent and contest. Technology should benefit humans, not the other way around. Make sure that it's easy and clear for older people to exercise their choice in participating in data collection or to provide any personal information. 6. Work alongside governance frameworks and regulations. The policy brief recommends various government agencies to help create frameworks and procedures to prevent ageism. It also lists private businesses to work with on compliance for existing regulations. 7. Stay up to date on the new uses of A.I. and how to avoid bias. With the rapid development and creation of new technologies, it's important to keep researching and understanding how A.I. can create new and unintended biases. 8. Create robust ethics processes. If given the option--in, say, hybrid workplaces--white male employees are more likely to work in-person than employees of color, female employees, and working mothers, according to a January study from Slack's research consortium, Future Forum. The researchers also note that proximity bias--that is, unconscious, preferential treatment shown to workers within closer physical proximity to bosses--may be more common than you think. As a result, those who remain remote may miss out on career opportunities and other benefits. The problems are amplified for diverse staffers, who already tend to get overlooked for advancement, as a result of systemic racism. The ripple effects for an organization may be significant too. Research published by McKinsey in 2020 shows that diverse and equitable companies have more success recruiting talent, and they are more profitable than companies that don't meet the same diversity, equity, and inclusion standards. Especially during a labor shortage, it's in a leader's best interest to foster an environment where all employees are set up to succeed. Here's how: Conduct a culture assessment First, it's helpful to understand why an employee may not want to return to the office. Working parents may find that remote work helps them to better balance child care, and disabled employees may find that it better accommodates them. But a culture of discrimination might also lead marginalized workers to prefer their home to the office, says Natasha Bowman, DEI expert and founder of the New York City-based talent management firm Performance ReNew. "Think of all the employee disengagement due to things that aren't job related," she says. "You're met with a microaggression in the office, it sucks the air out of you, and you're not productive for the rest of the day." If microaggressions--subtle and often unintentional discriminatory actions against a person of a marginalized group--sap employee productivity, they put an entire company at a disadvantage--which is why it's crucial for leaders to establish an environment of psychological safety, says Jalie Cohen, senior vice president of HR Americas at the global human resources firm the Adecco Group, which has a North American headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida. The best way to do that is by talking to your employees through a combination of regular one-on-ones, anonymous surveys, and third-party facilitated interviews, which can help build trust and give you an idea of your employees' needs and how to address them. But don't rely on your employees to point out every single potential bias in your workplace, she adds: "Take the time to educate yourself on those communities, and understand their perspective." Then, try to eliminate biases to create an environment where employees can focus on their work instead of being drained by discrimination. Invest in equitable tech If you're shifting from a fully remote to a hybrid work environment, consider how your team can stay synced when some workers are in-person and others are remote, says Markita Jack, head of diversity, equity, and inclusion at San Francisco-based customer engagement software company Iterable. She recommends software that helps both in-person and remote workers to better collaborate, beyond the standard Zoom meeting or Google Doc. "We do our goal planning in a suite called WorkBoard, where we're able to collaborate in documents and have conversations in real time," she says. "It's important to have access, but also accountability to make sure that people are able to contribute to meaningful work, instead of just saying, 'Hey, I'm gonna send this doc over for you to review and then you have to wait on me to respond.'" Jack also recommends the digital whiteboard software Miro. Be an inclusive leader When giving employees the opportunity to work remotely in a hybrid workplace, leaders need to be thoughtful about keeping all workers engaged, Cohen says, whether that means that everyone gets their voice heard in a meeting or that remote employees are offered the same opportunities as those in-person. "Inclusive environments don't happen accidentally," she says. "You have to be intentional in your actions." Working with a DEI expert to recognize ways your workplace might not be inclusive is a good step, Cohen adds. The reporter learned from Hefei Science and Technology Bureau that Hefei is planning to set up a special fund earlier than the angel fund -- Hefei Seed Fund, focusing on solving the first financing problem of the transformation of scientific and technological innovation achievements. According to what introduced by the responsible person of Hefei Science and Technology Bureau,the seed funds will pay attention to the original innovations, integrated innovations and so on,focusing on the support of scientific research projects with industrialization prospect of colleges,universities and research institutes,as well as in hatch projects of collaborative innovation platform which built by academics and local government. The fund will provide support at the beginning of the projects,ensuring that scientific and technological achievements would be retained, transferred, and used up as far as possible. The fund will support the local transformation of research projects, support scientific and technological teams to set up local science and technology enterprises, foster innovation and entrepreneurship, and guide the agglomeration of emerging industries. It will focus on research teams that are about to establish enterprises after their achievements transformation or technology enterprises that have been in operation for less than one year. It is reported that up to now, Hefei Angel Investment Fund has implemented a total of 146 investment projects, the investment amount of 790 million yuan, more than 90% of which are science and technology team entrepreneurship projects. At the same time, Hefei has also established a special fund for industrial transformation of science center. Through the support mode of "subsidy + equity", it can promote the implementation and transformation of CAS's leading projects,such as high-precision electromagnetic measurement core technology equipment and multi-language intelligent speech and language technology. "The seed fund will be linked with angel fund, venture capital guidance fund,industrial transformation special fund of science center, scientific and technological achievements transfer and transformation fund of Anhui Science and Technology market, to further improve the diversified scientific and technological achievements transformation investment and financing system in Hefei." He said. The author of this article is Mr. Nikhil Mathur, Managing Director,GfK The views and opinions expressed are not of IIFL Securities, indiainfoline.com GfK, an AI-powered SaaS and data company, released the sales trends observed for the online retail channel in 2021. GfK Market & Consumer Intelligence powered by gfknewron reveals the shifting preferences of Indian consumers across consumer tech & durable products to online retail channel since the pandemic.At a total TCG level, more than 1/3rd of all value sales has been registered through the online channel, up from 27% in 2020 during Jan - Nov. In 2021, online channel value contribution for small domestic appliances (SDA) accounted for 47%, followed by IT Computing for 39% and smartphones for 38%.The pandemic triggered some shifts in buying behavior. GfK Consumer Intelligence reveals the increasing preference of online shopping via general shopping apps, brands own websites and social media. This reflects the rising consumer trust and digitalization of purchase journeys fueling the online retail contribution to overall category sales of consumer tech products. This trend is expected to continue with evolving consumer needs and choices across big and small cities.Nikhil Mathur, Managing Director India, GfK says With greater digitalization across big and small cities and consumers shifting towards hybrid working and learning, the contribution of online retail has grown in 2021 vs. 2019 for electronics and appliances in India. Product categories like smartphones, MWO and PTV have contributed >35% in terms of online volume sales. The trend is also the result of convenience of 24X7 shopping, promotions and contactless delivery options offered by omni-channel retailers. Significantly, working remotely and, consequently, spending more time at home, is a trend that is likely to endure. Also, with constant innovation taking place in the retail space, Metaverse would be an interesting trend to watch out for.For business leaders and marketers, it is essential to understand the TCG industry sales performance in comparison to pre-pandemic levels since 2020 witnessed several market disruptions owing to lockdowns and two waves of the pandemic.There is reason for marketeers to feel positive about 2022 as we expect the trend of omni-channel retail to continue. Apollo Hospitals will replace Indian Oil in the benchmark Nifty 50 from March 31, 2022, as part of the semi-annual index review. The changes will also be applicable to the Nifty 50 Equal Weight Index.The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract worth Rs1,075 crore with Bharat Electronics for the retro-modification of commander sight of battle tanks-T-90. The company will supply 957 commander thermal imager cum day sights for T-90 tanks of the Indian Army.The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations will partner with a consortium comprised of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute and Panacea Biotec to develop vaccine candidates that could provide broad protection against SARS-COV-2 variants and other Betacoronaviruses.Hinduja Global bagged a contract worth Rs2,100 crore (211 million) by the UK Health Security Agency to provide critical customer support to UK citizens for an initial period of two years, with an option to extend further.JSW Ispat has completed acquisition of 100% equity share capital of Mivaan Steels Ltd.Minda has acquired stakes in four partnership firms including YA Auto Industries (87.5%), Auto Components (95%), Samaira Engineering (87.5%) and S.M. Auto Industries (87.5%).Arihant Capital to consider splitting each share into 5 on March 3. remaining of Thank you for Reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. The rivalry between stars is not something that we haven't seen. From Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha to Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, friends have often turned foes. The rivalry between the fans of two superstars has also been witnessed from time to time. But it is rare to see fans of one superstar fight among themselves to an extent that it turns violent. galatta.com At 4:30 in the morning, a motorcycle-borne gang hurled a petrol bomb at a crowd gathered outside a cinema hall screening actor Ajith Kumar -starrer Valimai. Naveen Kumar who was erecting a flex board was the target. Naveen Kumar suffered minor injuries because of the incident. Police, as per a report on PTI, said that they suspect rivalry between fans of Ajith over erecting banners as the motive behind the crime. Directed by H Vinoth, Valimai, which also features Bollywood actor Huma Qureshi. The investigation is currently underway. (For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.) Russia and Ukraine are currently at war, and there have been fatalities on both sides. Like former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain said, "In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers." At the end of the day, it is the people of both sides who suffer and that is why a large section of the Russian population is also opposed to the war. AFP Since the conflict began an image has gone viral on social media showing a man draped in the Ukrainian flag embracing a woman wearing the Russian flag. Viral image Many including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor have shared the photo as a symbol of hope for peace. Poignant: A man draped in the Ukrainian flag embraces a woman wearing the Russian flag. Let us hope love, peace & co-existence triumph over war & conflict. pic.twitter.com/WTwSOBgIFK Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 25, 2022 The photo dates back to November 2019, and the people in the picture are Juliana Kuznetsova, a Russian national and her fiance a Ukrainian. The photo was posted by Juliana on her Instagram page after they had attended a concert by the Belarusian rapper Max Korzh in Warsaw, Poland. They borrowed these flags and asked to photograph them together after the concert, Juliana had told The Washington Post in December 2019, after it went viral. Juliana claimed that the photo was not staged. We had no political intentions with this photograph, she said. But when the photo spread all over the Internet, I realized: perhaps such a photo will give people hope. And the belief that everything can be fine, no matter what. Love can defeat anything, added Juliana. Growing tensions Meanwhile, as the Russian troops continue to advance in Ukraine, there is growing opposition to the war even in Russia. Reuters Despite the strict warning to Russians not to take to the streets against the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, thousands protested on Thursday soon after the televised announcement of Putin. Several thousand people gathered near Pushkin Square in central Moscow, while up to 1,000 people gathered in the former imperial capital Saint Petersburg, according to AFP correspondents at the scene. In Moscow, protesters were seen massing around Pushkin Square chanting "No to war!" AFP The same slogan, "No to war" was spray-painted on the front gate of the Russian parliament's lower house. OVD-Info, which tracks arrests at opposition rallies, said nearly 1,700 people were detained in 53 Russian cities. More than 900 were arrested in Moscow and over 400 in Saint Petersburg, the monitor said. For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. The defense the Ukrainian forces had put up so far seems to be soon eroding as the Russian troops are bulldozing their way into capital Kyiv. Several large explosions were reported from the outskirts of Kyiv as the battle intensifies. A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces would enter areas just outside the capital later on Friday and that Ukrainian troops were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered. AP Witnesses said loud explosions could be heard in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, close to Russia's border, and air raid sirens sounded over Lviv in the west. Authorities reported heavy fighting in the eastern city of Sumy. What is happening? Earlier, Russian troops had seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advanced on the city from Belarus. Ukraine said radiation levels were elevated there. Reuters/ File The Soviet-era powerplant near the city of Pripyat was the scene of the worst nuclear disaster in history. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that he understood Russian troops were coming for him but vowed to stay in Kyiv. "(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target," Zelenskiy said in a video message. "My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state." There are also reports that Ukraine reached out to Russia to end the war. AP Kremlin on Friday noted President Zelenskiy's willingness to discuss a possible neutrality pledge by Ukraine and said it could not say anything about possible talks between the two countries' leaders. "This is a new statement. We have taken note of it. It looks like a positive development," he said. Peskov said he could not comment on whether talks would take place between Putin and Zelenskiy. Saying that Moscow would analyse Zelenskiy's offer, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Moscow's expectations of Kyiv remained unchanged. Moscow has long demanded guarantees that Ukraine would never join NATO or allow the bloc to deploy troops and weapons on its territory. AFP Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday Moscow was ready for talks if Ukraine's military surrendered. "We are ready for negotiations at any moment, as soon as the armed forces of Ukraine respond to our call and lay down their arms," Lavrov said. With the lack of support from the US, EU and NATO, Ukraine has been left to defend itself against Russia. For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. As the federal government prepares to ease mask guidelines on Friday, Northern Virginia and the rest of the state continue to report significantly lower numbers of new COVID-19 cases. The seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in Northern Virginia fell another 33.7% this week to 357.1 as of Friday, according to the Virginia Department of Health. That's the lowest level since Dec. 1 and 19.9% below the level on Feb. 25, 2021. It's also down 94% from the region's Jan. 13 Omicron peak. Statewide, the seven-day average fell another 30.9% this week to 1,975 per day as of Friday. That's the first time since Dec. 3 that the level has been below 2,000. It's also down 89.5% from the state's Jan. 13 peak and is only 5.6% above the level of a year ago, when vaccines were being rolled out. The Omicron variant remains the dominant variant in the state, with 97.8% of all cases sequenced in the week ending Feb. 5, the most recent week for which the data is available. No cases of the new BA.2 subvariant of Omicron have been officially reported by the Virginia Department of Health, but last week's report from the Biocomplexity Institute at the University of Virginia suggested that variant accounts for over 6% of Virginia's new cases. Meanwhile, data from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association show that COVID-19 hospitalizations fell to 1,002 patients as of Friday, the lowest level since Dec. 1. Hospitalizations are down nearly 75% from their peak on Jan. 18 and are now 32.7% below the level on this date in 2021. However, reports of COVID-related deaths remained high for the fourth straight week. The state reported 520 new deaths and has reported over 2,400 deaths in the past month. Of this week's deaths, 68 were in Northern Virginia, which has now topped 3,000 total deaths. Of those, 24 were in Fairfax County, 17 in Prince William County, seven in Loudoun County, five apiece in the cities of Alexandria and Manassas Park, four in Arlington County and three apiece in the cities of Manassas and Fairfax. "We mourn with the families and friends of the victims of this terrible disease," said Cydny A. Neville, a Dumfries councilmember who serves as chair of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, which has been coordinating the region's response to the pandemic. "We need to work together towards a goal of zero COVID-19 related deaths and hospitalizations. Diagnostic test positivity rates continued to fall this week. The state level fell below the key 10% level for the first time since mid-December, and in Northern Virginia, Arlington's rate fell below 5%, a level at which experts believe the spread of the virus is under control. Rates in several other jurisdictions were approaching that level. No new outbreaks with at least five cases were reported across the region this week. The health department's vaccination dashboard shows that the average number of doses administered per day stands at about 7,700. Vaccinations were as high as 86,000 a day in late March 2021. As of Friday, about 15.39 million vaccine doses had been administered to Virginians, and third doses had been administered to almost 2.8 million Virginia residents. Overall, 80.8% of all Virginians have now received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 71.9% are considered fully vaccinated. LATEST COVID-19 DATA New Cases/Deaths (Seven days ending Friday, Feb. 25) Northern Virginia: 2,500 new cases (down from 3,773 prior week); 68 new deaths (down from 70 prior week) Statewide: 13,825 new cases (down from 20,008 prior week); 520 new deaths (down from 534 prior week) Statewide Testing: 103,434 PCR diagnostic test results (down from 116,857 prior week and fewest since week ending July 30, 2021) Overall Totals Northern Virginia: 417,009 cases, 3,054 deaths Statewide: 1,636,510 cases, 18,536 deaths Statewide Testing: 12.76 million PCR diagnostic tests (18.41 million when including antibody and antigen tests) Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) cases: 147 (including 18 in Fairfax, 12 in Prince William, six in Loudoun, three in Alexandria and one in Arlington). One new case was reported statewide this week. *Provided by Virginia Department of Health. The health department's COVID-19 data is updated each morning (Monday through Friday) by 10 a.m. and includes reports by local health agencies before 5 p.m. the previous day. Statewide Hospital Data (as of Friday, Feb. 25): Hospitalizations: 1,002 (down from 1,424 on Feb. 18) Peak Hospitalizations: 3,948 reached Jan. 18, 2022 Patients in ICU: 198 (down from 297 on Feb. 18) Patients Discharged: 103,872 (1,238 this week) *Provided by Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association For updated national and international COVID-19 data, visit the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus dashboard. Editor's note: InsideNoVa is providing regular COVID-19 updates every week. For daily reports, visit the Virginia Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard. Real-time social media posts from local businesses and organizations across Northern Virginia, powered by Friends2Follow. To add your business to the stream, email cfields@insidenova.com or click on the green button below. The review of the historical coverage of Blacks by many large newspapers also highlights the lack of diversity that continues to persist even in newsrooms in cities with large Black populations. The fallout to the global aviation industry from Russias invasion of Ukraine is spreading beyond the airspace closings over the conflict zone as airlines, lessors and manufacturers face up to growing risks of doing business with Russia. Alaskas Anchorage Airport, a popular refueling hub for long-haul flights when Western airlines were unable to access Russian airspace during the Cold War, said carriers had started making inquiries about capacity in case routes over Russia are affected by the Ukraine crisis. Update: Ukraine Closes Airspace to Civilian Flights as Russian Military Action Begins Japan Airlines 9201.T canceled its Thursday evening flight to Moscow, citing potential safety risks, while Britain closed its airspace to Russian airlines, including Aeroflot. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Friday to stay in Kyiv as his troops battled Russian invaders advancing toward the capital in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Airspace in Ukraine, Moldova, parts of Belarus and in southern Russia near the Ukraine border was closed when the invasion began on Thursday, giving airlines a narrower range of routing options. Emirates said it had made minor routing changes to Stockholm, Moscow, St. Petersburg and some U.S. flights that were hit by the airspace closings, leading to slightly longer flight times. OPSGROUP, an aviation industry cooperative that shares information on flight risks, said any aircraft traveling through Russian airspace should have contingency plans in place for closed airspace due to risks or sanctions. Russia are unlikely to initiate their own sanctions and airspace bans as they would not wish to see Aeroflot receive reciprocal bans, OPSGROUP said. However, they may react in response to sanctions from other states. Russias aviation authority said it reserved the right to respond to Britains flight ban with similar measures, the TASS news agency reported on Friday. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flights from India and Pakistan to London that normally flew over Russia were now following a southern route that avoided Russian airspace. The governing council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a U.N. body, will discuss the Ukraine conflict at a meeting on Friday, a spokesperson said. As airlines assessed the airspace risks, they have also been hit by a spike in oil LCOc1 prices to more than $105 per barrel for the first time since 2014 as a result of the conflict. That raises operating costs at a time when travel demand remains low because of the pandemic. Jefferies analysts said European airlines were also likely to take a longer-term hit to demand in light of the conflict, pointing to a 27% fall in travel from the European Union to Ukraine and Russia over the span of two years after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Aviation bosses are also worried about the impact on dealings with Russian companies. Sanctions could disrupt payments to leasing firms and affect the supply of aircraft parts. Russian companies have 980 passenger jets in service, of which 777 are leased, according to analytics firm Cirium. Of these, two thirds, or 515 jets, with an estimated market value of about $10 billion, are rented from foreign firms. Russias domestic market has been among the best performers globally during the pandemic, with capacity down only 7.5% this week compared to the same week in 2020, according to travel data firm OAG. The Biden administration announced major export restrictions against Russia on Thursday, hammering its access to goods, including aircraft parts. The measures, however, include carveouts for technology necessary for flight safety, raising the prospect the impact to aerospace could be limited rather than sweeping. Eric Fanning, chief executive of the U.S.-based Aerospace Industries Association, said the industry was reviewing the restrictions. Notably, we believe that sanctions and export control activities should not hinder the need to maintain flight safety of commercial aircraft, he said. (Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Additional reporting by Maki Shiraki in Tokyo, Guy Falconbridge in London, Alexander Cornwell in Dubai and Tim Hepher in Paris; editing by Gerry Doyle) Topics Russia Aviation A three-week long protest in Canada against pandemic measures that snarled trade and shuttered Ottawas core likely cost billions in trade delays, tens of millions in lost sales for businesses, and left behind a hefty policing and clean-up tab. Hundreds of trucks and vehicles rolled into Ottawas sleepy downtown on Jan. 28, blocking off key roadways as convoy members expressed their anger at government with loud, persistent horn honking before police cleared them on Sunday. The biggest hit came from the multi-day blockades of three border crossings between Canada and the United States, which snarled an estimated C$3.64 billion ($2.86 billion) worth of goods. The Ottawa occupation also shutdown Canadas fourth-busiest mall, the Rideau Centre, for 24 days, costing an estimated C$70 million in lost sales, according to the Retail Council of Canada. The closure also left scores of mall staff out of work. With roads blocked off and protesters unwilling to follow basic public health order like masking indoors, many downtown stores and restaurants were also forced to close their doors. Downtown residents and businesses have filed a C$306 million class action lawsuit against the Freedom Convoy for disrupting their lives and livelihoods. For Happy Goat Coffee, which was forced to shutter three locations, the worst part was the timing. They were on the verge of reopening to in-person dining after being restricted to takeout for weeks due to the Omicron variant. The employees, us, everybody was really looking forward to it. And all of a sudden, we get this. So its really more damaging than just financially, said owner Henry Assad, who temporarily laid off 14 workers and estimates the three-week closure cost his business up to C$70,000 in lost sales. Lost wages for downtown workers unable to pivot to remote work likely added up to about C$264 million, said economist Armine Yalnizyan in a Wednesday column for the Toronto Star newspaper. The total bill for Ottawa tallied up to about C$30 million, the citys manager said on Wednesday, which included hefty policing costs. Ottawa Police said they spent more than C$14 million over the first 18 days alone. Trade Delays While the Ottawa occupation was disruptive for residents and local businesses, the impact to the broader economy was limited, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Timothy Lane said last week, adding the border closures were more worrying. The six-day closure of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, the busiest crossing between Canada and the United States, delayed roughly C$2.34 billion in trade, according to official estimates. Separate blockades at crossings in Emerson, Manitoba, and at Coutts, Alberta, which ran for six and 18 days respectively, would have held up another C$1.3 billion in trade. Those closures forced some automakers and auto parts makers to temporarily halt production, and froze the transport of some agricultural products. With Ottawa now cleared and traffic flowing at the borders, analysts do not expect a significant hit to economic activity for the month. Royce Mendes, head of macro strategy at Desjardins Group, estimates the impact at about a quarter of a percentage point of GDP in February, easily offset by the reopening rebound. The month was marked by a tailwind from reopening, so should reveal a solid economic rebound from January, he said. ($1 = 1.2696 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa; editing by Lisa Shumaker) Photograph: A protester stands on top of his vehicle to watch Surete du Quebec police officers as they surround vehicles in a blockade on Rideau Street, aiming to end an ongoing protest against COVID-19 measures that has grown into a broader anti-government protest, in Ottawa, Ontario, on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. Photo credit: Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP. Related: Topics Canada Trucking Civil Unrest Randy Ramlo to Retire as CEO of United Fire Group in October 2022 United Fire Group, Inc. president and chief executive officer Randy Ramlo announced he will retire from the company in 2022. A long-term UFG employee, Mr. Ramlo has served in his current role since May 2007. Mr. Ramlo joined UFG in 1984 as an underwriter. Since then, he has held a variety of leadership roles, including vice president of fidelity and surety and chief operating officer. Mr. Ramlo has been instrumental in building One UFG, the companys strategic plan that prioritizes long-term profitability, diversified growth and continuous innovation in an ever-changing industry. Mr. Ramlo will continue in his current role until a successor is named and intends to remain in a consulting role to the company during the transition process following the appointment of a new CEO. Mr. Ramlos anticipated retirement date from UFG is October 31, 2022, pending the successful completion of an executive search process for his successor J.M. Wilson Hires Caleb Heilman as Assistant Transportation Underwriter J.M. Wilson has hired Caleb Heilman as assistant transportation underwriter in their Westerville, Ohio office. Heilman is responsible for assisting underwriters with a wide variety of new and renewal commercial transportation accounts, as well as maintaining relationships with carriers and independent insurance agents in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia. Prior to joining J.M. Wilson, Heilman was an operations manager for Premier Home Exterior. Founded in 1920, J.M. Wilson is a Managing General Agency and Surplus Lines Broker providing independent insurance agents access to specialty markets. A Manhattan judge said Wednesday that lawyers for Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin are seeking a new trial on her defamation claims against The New York Times, along with his removal from the case. U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff made the disclosure during a brief telephone conference with lawyers. Rakoff said in an order last week that jurors knew before delivering their verdict against Palin earlier this month that he had ruled against her as a matter of law the previous day. Rakoff said the jurors repeatedly assured his law clerk that pop-up news notifications on their phones about the judges ruling did not affect their deliberations. After lawyers for Palin asked to make their requests in a 50-page written submission, the judge said each side could file papers of the same length after he issues a written opinion next week explaining why he decided he was tossing out the case regardless of the verdict returned by the jury. Palin, a former Republican vice-presidential candidate, claimed in her 2017 lawsuit that the newspaper libeled her the same year with an editorial about gun control. The Times maintained that it quickly corrected any errors in the editorial and had made an honest mistake that was never meant to harm Palin. Photo: Sarah Palin Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Legislation New York The three largest U.S. drug distributors and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson have agreed to finalize a proposed $26 billion settlement resolving claims by states and local governments that they helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic. Distributors McKesson Corp., AmerisourceBergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. along with J&J had until Friday to decide whether enough cities and counties nationally had opted to join the landmark settlement to justify moving forward with it. The deal aims to resolve more than 3,000 lawsuits largely by state and local governments seeking to hold the companies responsible for an opioid abuse crisis that has led to hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths over the last two decades. The distributors on Friday said there was sufficient participation to proceed. Charles Lifland, an attorney for J&J, in a letter on Thursday reviewed by Reuters told lawyers for the states and local governments it also had determined there had been a sufficient resolution of the claims. The announcement paves the way for the companies to begin making payments to the governments in April, money that officials say will be used to fund treatment and other programs aimed at addressing the health crisis. Because of the money, there will be people alive next year who otherwise would have died, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a lead settlement negotiator, said in an interview. The lawsuits accuse the distributors of lax controls that allowed massive amounts of addictive painkillers to be diverted into illegal channels, and that drugmakers, including J&J, downplayed the risk of addiction when marketing the pain medicines. The proposed settlement, which was first announced in July, calls for the distributors to pay up to $21 billion over 18 years and J&J to pay up to $5 billion over nine years. Most states are settling. All four companies continue to face claims in Alabama, Oklahoma, Washington and West Virginia. New Hampshire declined to settle with J&J as well. Peter Mougey, a plaintiffs lawyer at the law firm Levin Papantonio involved in the negotiations, said ultimately over 7,000 local governments opted into the settlement. Almost 40 states are 99% or higher, he said of participation within the states. It is likely the biggest, though not the last, settlement to result from opioid litigation. This month, the Sackler family owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma in its bankruptcy proposed a revised settlement worth up to $6 billion that would resolve claims the company fueled the epidemic. Drugmaker Mallinckrodt this month won bankruptcy court approval for a $1.7 billion settlement. Read full story Other drugmakers like Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd as well as major pharmacy chains remain in litigation. Talks with those companies are ongoing, Stein said. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru;Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Jason Neely) Topics Drugs A swath of major American businesses from major banks to utility companies is preparing for possible cyberattacks against their computer networks as Russia on Thursday threatened consequences for nations that interfere with its invasion of Ukraine. Their concerns, echoed in C-suites and around Washington, follow recent warnings from the Biden administration that U.S. firms should harden their defenses against potential cyberattacks that could disrupt the nations critical infrastructure. American officials say there are no current threats against the U.S. But they have nonetheless urged organizations to plan for worst-case scenarios and more aggressively monitor their computer networks for possible intrusions. Right now, everybody needs to be at a heightened alert in the event this continues to escalate, and Russia tries to sway political opinion by causing damage in the United States and its Western allies, said David Kennedy, the chief executive officer of security firm TrustedSec. He said companies should be going through their computer infrastructure with a fine-tooth comb to ensure previous intrusions cant be used to cause future, more damaging, attacks. Major U.S. banks, for instance, fear aggressive cyberattacks if Washington imposes deeper financial sanctions on Russia, said two banking executives who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. CEOs of major financial firms and their cybersecurity experts recently met with Treasury officials as Russian threats of war intensified, according to the executives. (The New York Times previously reported the meeting.) QuicktakeCyberwar, How Nations Attack Without Bullets or Bombs Court Siding With Merck Over War Exclusion for Cyber Attack a Warning to Insurers Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday that any foreign attempts to interfere with Russias actions in would lead to consequences you have never experienced, according to remarks of his speech provided by the Kremlin. U.S. officials have tied recent cyberattacks on government websites and banks in Ukraine to the Russian government. On Thursday, President Joe Biden warned that the U.S. is prepared to respond to any cyberattacks. Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has been urging U.S. businesses and organizations to be prepared for cyberattacks, despite the lack of specific threats. Russia may consider taking retaliatory action in response to sanctions that may impact our critical infrastructure, she tweeted on Tuesday. Those warnings were echoed by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a letter Wednesday to energy executives, urging them to prepare to the highest possible level for potential Russia-linked cyber and disinformation activity or cybercriminal activity from actors seeking to exploit the ongoing geopolitical situation. CISAs Shields Up campaign has encouraged cyber preparedness in recent days, from ensuring that software is up to date to designating a crisis-response team for a suspected cybersecurity incident. The Russian government understands that disabling or destroying critical infrastructure including power and communications can augment pressure on a countrys government, military and population and accelerate their acceding to Russian objectives, according to a webpage devoted to the campaign. Speaking on a panel for the Aspen Institute last week, Easterly said, We all recognize that early warnings of a cyberattack effecting U.S. organizations are frankly going to be identified by very likely a private company first rather than the government. Michael Daniel, who served as a cybersecurity coordinator under President Barack Obama, said he is most worried about a Russian hacking operation that spirals out of control. I think its almost inevitable that there will be some sort of spillover effect, he said, which could start with neighboring countries but extend further to the U.S. Steven Silberstein, chief executive officer of the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, known as FS-ISAC, an organization that shares cyber intelligence among financial institutions around the world, said in a statement: Our global intelligence team is continuing to actively assess the situation through enhanced monitoring and cross-border threat intelligence sharing across the financial services sector. Our members and the broader financial services industry remain vigilant. Electric utilities are closely monitoring the situation and are coordinating across the industry and with our government partners, said Scott Aaronson, a security executive at the Edison Electric Institute, a trade group. The Solar Energy Industries Association, meanwhile, encouraged its members in a message Thursday to discuss your organizations cyber response procedures with your staff and have a clear understanding of everyones roles and responsibilities. Other experts urged caution, saying it wasnt a given that Russia would wage cyberattacks against American organizations in retaliation. Adam Meyers, senior vice president for intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike Holdings Inc., said he didnt currently anticipate Russia attacking U.S. targets in retaliation for sanctions or other actions from the Biden administration. Meyers said the guise of the Russian effort is a peacekeeping mission, and to them attack Western entities would be problematic for that narrative. With assistance from Hannah Levitt, Katherine Doherty, Mark Chediak and William Turton. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Cyber USA Russia The Texas Supreme Court recently delivered rulings on a pair of cases challenging the City of San Antonios governmental immunity, and in both instances the court affirmed that the Texas Torts Claim Act protects a city from liability in matters involving a police officers conduct during a pursuit of a fleeing suspect or performing routine traffic management. The first case, Maspero v. City of San Antonio, centered on the question of whether a citys governmental immunity is waived under the Tort Claims Act for a police officers use or operation of a patrol car while in pursuit of a fleeing suspect. The case looks at a 2012 incident where San Antonio police officer Kimberly Kory was participating in an investigation of a drug- trafficking operation and was in vehicular pursuit of a fleeing suspect, David Rodriguez. As Mr. Rodriguez was attempting to evade apprehension, his vehicle collided with the Masperos vehicle, resulting in the Masperos injuries and the death of two of their children. The Masperos sued the City, asserting the Act waived the Citys immunity because their injuries arose from Korys operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle. The City claimed that the Masperos injuries were too attenuated from the officers use of a motor vehicle to trigger the relevant section of the Tort Claims Act and that the Acts emergency exception rendered the Act inapplicable to the Masperos claims. A trial court accepted the Citys plea, and the court of appeals reversing, arguing the Act waived the Citys immunity. In the Courts reversal, it said that the Acts emergency exception applied as a matter of law, as Kory was reacting to an emergency situation. The Court said that Korys alleged failure to comply with internal department policies did not equate to a failure to comply with laws and ordinances and that her alleged failure to use her siren at the time of the collision neither violated the Transportation Code nor had a causal nexus to the Masperos injuries. The Court dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction. In the second case, City of San Antonio v. Riojas, the Court examined what a governmental defendant must show to demonstrate a law-enforcement-officers good faith for purposes of establishing the officers official immunity from suit when the plaintiffs injuries occurred in the context of routine traffic management. The incident in question involved a San Antonio police officer, Tristan, who while driving on an interstate highway activated his emergency lights to warn approaching motorists of a traffic slowdown ahead. The plaintiff, Riojas, was three lanes to the left of Tristian, when he wrecked his motorcycle after the car in front of him stopped abruptly. Riojas sued the City, alleging that Tristan acted negligently by turning on his emergency lights and that the lights caused Riojas accident. In order for Tristan to not be personally liable under Section 101.021(1)(B) of the Tort Claims Act, the City was required to prove that he was acting in good faith when he turned on his emergency lights. The trial court denied the Citys plea that its governmental immunity had not been waived, and the court of appeals affirmed. The court of appeals cited the Wadewitz v. Montgomery need-risk balancing test, saying that Tristan had to show he balanced the need for action against the potential risks of taking it before activating his emergency lights. The court of appeals said Tristan failed the balancing test. In The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals ruling, holding that it had applied the wrong test because Wadewitz and cases like it involved involved a high-speed pursuit or some other emergency action carrying an inherent risk of harm to the public. The Court rather turned to Telthorster v. Tennel, which limited the need-risk-balancing requirement to the emergency-response context. Telthorster determined that when a routine law-enforcement activity is at issue, the governmental defendant is only required to show that a reasonably prudent officer faced with the same circumstances could have believed his conduct was justified. The Court said Tristans affidavit passed that test. Rojas claims against the City were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Source: Texas Courts Topics Auto Texas The Alabama House of Representatives approved legislation Tuesday that would create a new definition of a riot and provide tougher penalties for people who participate in one. Republicans supporting the bill said it is needed to quell violent protests that have caused injuries and property damage. But critics argued that it would have a chilling effect on protests and that a loose definition of rioting could allow an officer to make arrests based on presumptions _ and prejudices _ about the people involved. Legislators voted 75-27 for the bill that now moves to the Alabama Senate. Rep. Allen Treadaway, a retired Birmingham assistant police chief, proposed the bill after a summer protest turned violent in Birmingham in the wake of George Floyds killing by police in Minneapolis. What I observed then was very disturbing to many of us who watched these protests across the country play out. What I saw was individuals coming into these cities, planting incendiary devices, gasoline, sledgehammers and bricks, said Treadaway, a Republican from Morris. The bill, as approved by the House, defines a riot as the assemblage of five or more persons engaging in conduct which creates an immediate danger of and/or results in damage to property or injury to persons. Attending such a gathering after an order from police to disperse would be a misdemeanor punishable by a mandatory 30 days in jail. Several lawmakers who are Black expressed concern that the bills definition of a riot is subjective. They said an officer could make arrests based on his or her presumptions about the people involved. The definition doesnt require you to do anything. The perception of the person is in the eye of the beholder, said Rep. Chris England, a Democrat from Tuscaloosa. Rep. A.J. McCampbell, a Democratic lawmaker from Gallion, said a police officer could look at a group of young Black men and subjectively say they are looking like they are going to cause a riot. McCampbell, a former police officer, referenced instances both past and recent where Black people were treated differently by police. He wore a shirt with a photo of civil rights protesters being attacked by police in 1965 in Selma. He described a recent video from New Jersey that showed a Black teen being handcuffed after a mall fight with a white youth, who was directed to sit down on a couch. And you tell me I dont have reason to be worried about a riot bill. Laws, if they are applied justly and equitably, are the best thing that we can have. But when you are born Black, that equality fails to be something that you can expect, McCampbell said. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Law Enforcement Alabama Civil Unrest A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a northern Kentucky police department after two officers fatally shot an armed man during a traffic stop. The family of Randall Lockaby, 57, of Manchester filed suit last week in federal court in Covington against the Villa Hills Police Department and two officers involved in the February 2021 traffic stop on Interstate 75, The Kentucky Enquirer reported. The suit alleges officers Sean Dooley and Jacob Bolton violated Lockabys constitutional rights and used excessive force. It also accuses the police department of not providing appropriate training to officers. During the traffic stop, Dooley ordered Lockaby to exit the vehicle so it could be searched. After exiting, Lockaby pulled a gun and in less than a second, points the gun up before pointing it down, according to the lawsuit. He did not fire the gun. The officers responded by shooting Lockaby, documents state. Kenton County Commonwealths Attorney Rob Sanders ruled the shooting justified about a month after it happened, saying dashboard and body cameras showed Lockaby refused to follow commands and then pointed a gun at one officer. Attorney Jeff Mando represents the city of Villa Hills and the two officers and said his clients will vigorously defend the officers actions in court, adding that hes confident the use of force was warranted. This is about as clear cut as it gets, Mando told The Enquirer. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Law Enforcement Kentucky After nine fatal collisions since early November, the Federal Railroad Administration plans to investigate the Brightline passenger train in Florida. Were going to start with what we consider to be the most accident prone crossings and work our way back from that, James Payne, the agencys staff director of grade crossing, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The agency said it will start inspecting grade crossings next month in the Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville areas. Inspectors will be checking for equipment defects and safety devices that do not meet federal standards, then will inspect South Floridas quiet zones, which forbid train engineers from sounding their locomotives horns at night in densely populated areas. The focus will also be on whether communities are maintaining their safety obligations they agreed to with the FRA as a condition of having their areas designated as a quiet zone. Brightline train has been called state-of-the-art passenger rail system, moving people across congested parts of Florida. But it also has seen an unusually high number of accidents, adding to Floridas accident rate that is much higher than the national average, according to news reports. Photo: Broward County Sheriffs officials help remove passengers from a Brightline train after it struck a car at an intersection in Pompano Beach, Fla., in 2020. One person died. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) Topics Florida With California entering the third year of severe drought, federal officials said Wednesday they wont deliver any water to farmers in the states major agricultural region a decision that will force many to plant fewer crops in the fertile soil that yields the bulk of the nations fruits, nuts and vegetables. Its devastating to the agricultural economy and to those people that rely on it, said Ernest Conant, regional director for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. But unfortunately we cant make it rain. The federal government operates the Central Valley Project in California, a complex system of dams, reservoirs and canals. Its one of two major water systems the state relies on for agriculture, drinking water, and the environment. The other system is run by the state government. Water agencies contract with the federal government for certain amounts of water each year. In February, the federal government announces how much of those contracts can be fulfilled based on how much water is available. The government then updates the allocations throughout the year based on conditions. Farmers started last year with a 5% allocation from the federal government but ended at 0% as the drought intensified. This year, the federal government is starting farmers at 0% while water for other purposes, including drinking and industrial uses, is at 25%. Last year was a very bad year. This year could turn out to be worse, Conant said. Westlands Water District, the nations largest agricultural water district covering 1,000 square miles in Fresno and Kings counties, said drought conditions last year caused farmers to fallow 200,000 acres (80,937 hectares) while leaving thousands of acres of food unharvested. The district said it is the fourth time this decade that farmers south of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta have gotten no water from the federal government. The water system operated by the state government is also struggling. In December, state officials also announced a 0% allocation. They upgraded that to 15% allocation in January after strong December storms. Anyone whos looked out the window in the past two months knows that California has not seen any significant rain and snow during what are supposed to be our wettest months of the year, said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. While December saw record storms, this type of climate whiplash makes it challenging to forecast conditions ahead. State law requires both systems to have enough water available to maintain water quality throughout the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, a sensitive environmental region home to endangered species of fish. Despite that, endangered species of fish, including salmon, have been dying by the thousands because there hasnt been enough cold water for them to survive. In a news release, the Westlands Water District said it was disappointed with the allocation but understood the drought and environmental laws prevent Reclamation from making water available under the Districts contract. Regina Chichizola, executive director for Save California Salmon, said environmental water releases are important because they keep ocean saltwater from creeping too far into freshwater rivers. Fish and people need that water, she said. Most of the water for both systems comes from rain and snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. That water flows into the states rivers, which then fill a series of major reservoirs throughout the state. Typically, the reservoirs get depleted during the dry summer months before being replenished by winter storms. But California is now entering the third year of a severe drought, with rain and snowfall far below historical averages. January and February are usually the wettest months of the year in California. But the northern Sierra mountains, which are important for filling some of the states biggest reservoirs, have had just 1.7 inchesn of rain over those two months. Thats the lowest ever recorded, breaking a record set in 2013, said Kristin White, Central Valley operations manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The Central Valley Projects reservoirs have decreased by 26.5% compared with last year. And through the end of September, federal officials predict the reservoirs will get 1.2 million acre feet less of water than they had planned. One acre-foot of water is typically enough to supply two average households for one year. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California USA Agribusiness Pollution Aer Lingus owner IAG expects to return to profit from the second quarter of this year as it restores flights closer to pre-pandemic levels, after reporting a multibillion-euro loss for the second straight year. The group, which also owns British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, said it expected passenger capacity to reach 85% of pre-pandemic levels this year, following a collapse to just 36% of 2019 levels last year. That led to a 2.97bn net loss, versus a 4.39bn loss in 2020. Aer Lingus saw a 347m operating loss for the year to the end of December. In the fourth quarter, Aer Lingus saw passenger capacity return to 44.3% compared to 2019. British Airways capacity was back to 52.7% while Iberia was at 75.3% capacity. IAG, which said it was now avoiding Russia's airspace following the invasion of Ukraine, forecast a "significant" operating loss for the first quarter of 2022 due to normal seasonality, the impact of the Omicron coronavirus wave on near-term bookings and the cost of re-building capacity. But, it expects operating profits from the second quarter, leading both that measure and net cash flows from operating activities to be "significantly positive" for the year. It said Omicron had affected bookings in January and February but had had a minimal impact on bookings for Easter and summer 2022. "We are confident that a strong recovery is underway," said Chief Executive Luis Gallego. The group's forecast assumes no further setbacks related to Covid-19 and government-imposed travel restrictions or material impact from "recent geopolitical developments" which it is monitoring closely. Shares in IAG are down 19% over the last year. They fell 6% on Thursday after Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused oil prices to jump, with Brent rising above $105 a barrel for the first time since 2014 on fears of disruptions to global energy supply. Also, without access to Russia's airways, experts say airlines face having to divert flights south while avoiding areas of tension in the Middle East - adding significant cost at a time when they are still reeling from the pandemic. The stock was up 2.4% in early trading this morning. IAG, which operates 533 aircraft between 279 destinations, has been slower than some of its peers to recover, due to its exposure to the slow-to-open British market, the long-shut UK-US route and smaller cargo division. Passenger capacity in the fourth quarter was 58% of 2019 levels, up from 43% in the third. Reuters Afghanistan refugees gather for lunch following prayers with the Muslim community at the Mecca Center in Willowbrook, Ill., on Feb. 11. The Government has said a new funding drive of almost 18.5m will benefit rural towns and villages across the country. Rural and Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys outlined how the Our Rural Future fund would boost community services and public amenities, including remote working and e-hubs. Under the programme, sums from 22,500 and up to 500,000 have been earmarked for specific projects in different counties, through the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. In Sligo, 1.3m will be spread among six different projects, with Kilkenny and Leitrim receiving over 1.1m and Limerick and Cavan just over 1m. In Co Cork, the largest of the four projects is in Mitchelstown, where 500,000 has been earmarked for the development of an enterprise hub, featuring hot desks, own-door offices, and a meeting room in the town's library building. Other projects include a community enterprise hub in Cobh, the creation of a vertical 'pocket park' in Castletownbere, and a remote working hub in Kiskeam. There are also projects set for Blarney and Glanmire in the Cork City Council area. Projects in Co Kerry include 500,000 for the redevelopment of currently disused craft workshops at the famous Blennerville Windmill, to be transformed into a community bakery and bakery school. In Tipperary town, the redevelopment of the public open space known locally as the The Hills is set to cost 500,000, while in Co Waterford old buildings in Ballyduff and Dunmore East are to be repurposed at a cost of 250,000 each. Ms Humphreys said: "Many of the successful projects I am announcing today will see vacant and derelict town centre building such as old banks, Garda stations and convents transformed into community, cultural and arts spaces. There is also a strong focus on remote working projects in this round of funding and I am pleased to see that a number of counties have set out ambitious marketing plans aimed at attracting remote workers to relocate. The 99 projects covered by the latest round of funding will be administered by the local authorities, who applied for the funds last year. A spokesperson for the department said it was down to the local authorities to draw down the funding and then deliver each project. It is expected most should be delivered within 18 months. The Government said since the introduction of the scheme in 2016, almost 94m has been approved for more than 1,300 projects across the country. The first progress report on Our Rural Future found that of the actions with a due date in 2021, a total of 137, or 78%, were completed at the time of publication. Delivery was incomplete, or delayed, on a total of 38 actions. "The ongoing pandemic led to delays in a number of actions, such as projects requiring capital works and to planned events, while a significant number of other actions classified as delayed nonetheless showed significant progress towards completion," the report stated. "All actions marked as delayed will be carried over and will be further reported on in the Second Progress Report midway through 2022." Ms Humphreys said: "In the coming weeks, I will be announcing a further call for applications under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and I am asking local authorities and communities to come forward with more ambitious plans for their areas. As Brendan Murphy and his family were slowly making their way to the European border with millions of other Ukrainians on Friday afternoon, the Irishman described the Russian invasion on the ground as very much a hot war. There are a lot of people dead. Theres a lot of Russians dead," Mr Murphy told the Irish Examiner. The Russians murdered a 14-year-old boy in cold blood, 2km away from us. "Thirteen Ukrainians were killed defending a tiny island when a Russian navy ship bombed it flat, he said. Mr Murphy and his Ukrainian wife Marina, as well as Marinas 80-year-old mother, her daughter, and her three-year-old granddaughter, fled Kyiv on Thursday morning when the invasion began. Now as they inch along a traffic-jammed route out of Ukraine, Mr Murphy said they were concentrating on travelling with an abundance of caution, knowing that at any stage, whats happened to others in Ukraine could well happen to us. He said they have no idea of where they are going, or how long it will take to get there. Where I'm getting to, I don't know. I'm getting to the next kilometre, and the next bend in the road, and then the next one, and the next one, until I get to somewhere else, he said. I might not find the next kilometre. This is a hot war, people are being killed, and I don't have a special pass. They won't say sorry, Brendan, we will be killing you, he added. Brendan Murphy and his wife Marina. Mr Murphy said they feel proud of the sacrifices and successes of Ukrainian forces. We're proud of the sacrifice. Proud that Russians who came here to kill are being killed, proud of the success of the very brave people, he said. He said they were now watching out for people in parachutes, as they have been driving past units of the Ukrainian military preparing for paratroopers and rockets from the sky. He added there was a lot of fake news and disinformation circulating. There's a lot of fake news trying to get Ukrainians killing Ukrainians. You know, saying the Russians were in Ukrainian uniforms and Ukrainian tanks, when thats just not the case. Mr Murphy has been critical of the Irish Government for not waiving visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens in the days and weeks leading up to the invasion. He has spent the last 20 years travelling between Ireland and Ukraine for business, and he and his wife have a home in Ireland. Until recent days, Ireland had been the only EU state to require visas for incoming Ukrainian citizens. While Mr Murphy could have freely returned to his home in Ireland within five hours at any stage in the past few weeks, he said he couldnt live with himself if he left his family behind, who are all Ukrainian citizens. He and a group of other Irish and Ukrainian citizens wrote to Justice Minister Helen McEntee on February 15, urgently asking for a visa waiver. Lifting of visa requirements On Friday, the minister announced the immediate lifting of visa requirements, but Mr Murphy said this was too late for his family and many others who are now struggling to leave the country. He said he was upset that after getting home has become impossible, the visa announcement has proven it could have been done all along, and everyone is just supposed to be happy theyve changed it now. Mr Murphy said it now feels like no one is coming to Ukraines aid, and that everyone left in the country is being neglected. He said every single cent should be cut off from Russia. While the EU has already imposed severe sanctions on Russia, the country has been allowed to remain inside the Swift banking system. Not a single Russian business, not a single financial trade, nothing should move until such time as this is stopped, and to any minister who comes out with waffle, who says sorry, it's complicated, I'm trying, I would say, people are dying, said Mr Murphy. This is much bigger than the pandemic. So just lock it down. Turn the tap off. Not a single cent. Turn everything off, until they start screaming. Then point them in the right direction and say you go stop that fellow there who is killing 14-year-old boys, killing people in cars and buses and in their homes, he said. The protest had been due to kick off at 3pm but, at 2.45pm, both sides of Orwell Road were already thronged with people. Ukrainian flags were ubiquitous. People carried placards with messages such as stop war, hands off Ukraine and stop Russian aggression. The gardai in attendance were urging those protesting to keep the road clear. When a busload of people all wearing yellow and blue rolled up to join their countrymen and women, it was clear that there was no point in trying to allow traffic to keep going through. The road was closed, and the several hundred of people in attendance converged at the gates. The last Census said there were just over 3,000 Ukrainian nationals living in Ireland. Protesters outside the embassy of the Russian Federation in Dublin, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: Sam Boal/PA Wire At Fridays protest outside the Russian Embassy in south Dublin, a sizeable percentage of that population gathered to demonstrate, to vent their anger, to air their frustrations, and to unite in their grief. They were joined by members of the Polish community, and by Lithuanians, Georgians, Irish, Russians and more who wanted to show their solidarity and support as their home is being ravaged by war. At the same time, dozens more gathered at events in Cork, Galway and other parts of Ireland. Using a megaphone to ensure they were heard, different speakers came to the fore to tell their story, express their fears or just to vent their anger at Vladimir Putin and the actions of Russia in recent days. People in attendance wept openly as Valentina Kharchenko spoke of her love for her country, and her hopes that people back home stay safe. I have talked with my friends, she said. I have talked with my family. They dont want to leave Ukraine. Ukraine is a beautiful country. Its the best country in my life. Im very sorry for everyone whos still there Ukraine is an independent country. We want to be free. We need support. We need the worlds support. Demonstrators during a protest at the Russian embassy on the Orwell Road, Dublin over the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. Yuliya Petruk moved to Ireland as a child after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. She said that Ukrainian children should be in school learning about our beautiful heritage, our culture, our language, our poets. But now, theyre learning how to pack light and move fast, she said. Michael Baskin said the Ukrainian army was ready to fight the advancing Russian forces. We are not giving up, he said. I cannot be more proud of what theyre doing now. A man bearing a Georgian flag said that its been Georgia, its been Ukraine and asked who will be next. Who will be the next? It will be other European countries. Aysylu, who is from Russia and living in Kerry, joined the protest in solidarity with Ukrainians. She said: "I am here because what is happening is a crime and not all of Russia agrees with what is happening. "I am here to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine and to support in any way that I can. "I'm happy in Ireland that I can come out and show solidarity and I think I will sleep better tonight knowing that I did something." On a number of occasions, those in attendance thanked the Irish people for their support and urged them to call for further supports to be given to Ukraine. At one stage, they even chanted go raibh maith agat in unison. One potential flashpoint when a car appeared to try to turn into the Russian embassy and was then set upon by protesters came and went very quickly, as gardai and others in attendance appealed for calm. For the Ukrainians in attendance, all their thoughts were back home, for their loved ones and their concern for what happens next. Tetyania Brotsenko said shed spoken to her family yesterday and during the night. Everyone is stressed and shocked and afraid. I can't describe how it is. They could hear all the fighting. Throughout the afternoon, more and more people of all ages came draped in Ukrainian flags to join the protest. Thousands of miles away from home, they proudly struck up another chorus of their national anthem outside the embassy of the country which has invaded them. As they embraced each other and held aloft their placards urging peace in their country, the crowd was united. Whatever happens in the coming days and weeks, the clear sense was that this was unlikely to change. Facebook Ireland has apologised unreservedly to broadcaster Miriam OCallaghan over fake ads on the social media platform which used her name and image. The Prime Time presenter received the unreserved apology as part of the settlement of her High Court action over several defamatory and untrue adverts that were posted on the social media platform. Included in the settlement agreement, Meta Platforms Ireland, formerly known as Facebook Ireland, have agreed to establish an additional scam ad reporting tool, which will allow Irish users to submit more detailed reports on misleading adverts to a specialist team within Facebook for review. Speaking after the settlement the broadcaster said it was "a good day" following a five-year battle over the misleading ads which she said had caused her distress, and had damaged her reputation. She also expressed her delight that not only had the fake ads been taken down, but also over the fact Facebook are to introduce an additional tool which allows people to report, in detail, scam ads. In proceedings launched against Facebook Ireland three years ago, Ms O'Callaghan claimed she was defamed, and sought damages, in a series of false and malicious adverts containing her image and name on Facebook and Instagram in May 2018. At the High Court on Friday, Paul O'Higgins SC, instructed by solicitor Paul Tweed, for Ms O'Callaghan said the matter had been settled against Facebook. Facebook statement As part of the settlement, Facebook Irelands counsel Joe Jeffers Bl read an agreed statement to the court, where it was acknowledged that the proceedings over the publication of misleading adverts published on Facebook by "malicious third parties" had been resolved. "These adverts contained fabricated statements, which have been extremely damaging to Ms O'Callaghan. Meta Platforms Ireland accepts and regrets that the publication of these ads has caused Ms O'Callaghan distress and embarrassment, and regrets any wider concerns and distress caused by the ads." "Meta Platforms Ireland apologises unreservedly to Ms O'Callaghan" The statement added that the broadcaster is satisfied that the publication of the fake adverts, using her name and image, appears to have ceased. The statement added that as a result of bringing the action "Meta Platforms Ireland has undertaken to the broadcaster that it will use robust measures to tackle such advertisements in the future and will offer the ability within Ireland to report scam ads via an additional scam ad reporting tool." Previously the High Court heard that the adverts at the centre of the action contained various misleading and defamatory headlines wrongly suggesting that Ms O'Callaghan has left her job with RTE's Prime Time. Ms O'Callaghan said she had "nothing to do" with the adverts, which are linked to offers for skincare products. She claimed that she was most distressed at being associated against her will with what has been described as "a scam product," the court heard. She claims the adverts have exploited the trust placed in her by the Irish public and have damaged her good name and reputation. The paid-for adverts, known as "targeted advertisements ", appear on social media users' newsfeeds, and are designed to encourage the user to click on the adverts. Those who click on the adverts are offered various skincare products, which she said were falsely stated to be owned or endorsed by Ms O'Callaghan. The pages also wrongly stated that she had left her position in RTE to focus on the promotion of the skincare range, it was alleged. It was also claimed that users who avail of an offer of free trials of the skincare products have reported that they had money debited from their bank accounts which they did not authorise. Ms O'Callaghan also sought a permanent injunction restraining the publication of the adverts, as well as damages for malicious falsehood, unlawful appropriation of personality, various breaches of her constitutional rights and defamation. Lawyer Paul Tweed with RTE presenter Miriam O'Callaghan outside the Four Courts on Friday morning. He said the case had achieved his client's objectives of terminating the fake ads, vindicating Ms O'Callaghan's reputation, and has brought about something that will afford Irish Facebook users more protection. Photo: Collins Courts During the course of her proceedings, she subsequently secured an order requiring the social media company to provide basic subscriber information, payment method details and business manager account information about those behind the adverts. After obtaining that order Ms O'Callaghan's lawyers were able to identify 51 individuals/names, with addresses in the United States and the Balkans, who were joined as co-defendants with Facebook. However, it was not possible to identify any real persons, who were behind the fake ads, with that information. Outside of court, her solicitor Paul Tweed said his client welcomed the successful resolution of the broadcaster's proceedings. The settlement, he said, had achieved his client's objectives of terminating the fake ads, vindicating Ms O'Callaghan's reputation, and has brought about something that will afford Irish Facebook users more protection. The implementation of an additional reporting tool allowing Irish Facebook users to submit detailed reports of fake or scam ads was also a welcome development. The tool will make such misleading material easier to report, he said, adding that such complaints will be dealt with by a specialist team within the social media giants, Clare TD Violet-Anne Wynne has resigned from Sinn Fein. Ms Wynne, who was elected in February 2020, resigned via a statement on Thursday evening. In an explosive statement, seen by the Irish Examiner Ms Wynne said she had "not renewed my membership with Sinn Fein and for good reason". My Wynne alleges she was the victim of a campaign of "psychological warfare" in which she felt she was being gaslit and her unplanned pregnancy was used "as a stick to beat her with". "I was a proud Sinn Fein TD and took my membership with the party very seriously, I believed that they were the party for united Irelanders and were the future for this island. I now have experience that I can no longer ignore that states otherwise," she said. Violet-Anne Wynne, centre, celebrates with her family and supporters after being elected in 2020. She has now left Sinn Fein. Picture: Eamon Ward Ms Wynne notes she entered Leinster House coming from jobseeker's allowance "navigating with great difficulties and with what many may call baggage which I was clear and honest about to the local representatives of the organisation at the time". "The issues I continuously faced seem to be at local level within the organisation and structures and lack of," she adds. "I believe that the administrative side to the party and the organisers wanted me to stand down and have been actively seeking this through gaslighting measures and what can only be described as psychological warfare. "I have tried to force the comradery and on many occasions, I informed them of the impact of their actions on my personal wellbeing and my work but it was to no avail. "I am supposed to be on some form of maternity leave and I asked Sinn Fein for someone who would be experienced enough to act as office manager. "As it transpired, I got a prominent member of Sinn Fein who is getting paid for a 41 hour week plus overtime but actually only works two-and-a-half days/three days of the week." I feel I have been isolated and steps have been taken to ensure that I would face greater difficulties, locally. Leaving Sinn Fein is "not a decision that I have taken lightly", Ms Wynne adds. "I have battled with the party for many months now trying to avoid this course of action as I wholeheartedly believed in them. "My membership has become untenable knowing that what we see is not what is experienced on the ground and therefore I cannot be the only one who is experiencing, or will experience, such difficulties in the future." She says those individuals "obviously were what the party call gatekeepers and did not inform the party" of her situation as she was later told the party felt "blindsided" by her actions. "I had assumed that after the election in 2020 I would receive support as I had clearly received the mandate from the people of Clare. "Unfortunately, this was not the case and instead I was pressured into decisions that I couldn't stand over such as the staff the party wanted me to hire." I learned very fast that the party do not take kindly to autonomy and those who do not follow their plans. Ms Wynne adds she "cannot fault" the Sinn Fein TDs in Leinster House but they are not tasked with making decisions locally and "seem to be an entirely separate entity with no power to influence". "My unplanned pregnancy was also a further stick to beat me with and I am truly concerned for women who may want to come forward for Sinn Fein in the future, in Clare." She says she will continue to represent the people of Clare and will ensure that she does not disappoint those who voted for her. "I hope that they will see a better representative with no obstacles put in my way any longer and someone who will stand against this kind of behaviour no matter where it is coming from." Ms Wynne's time in Leinster House as a Sinn Fein TD has not been without controversy when it emerged that Rural Resettlement Ireland (RRI) took a case against Ms Wynne and her partner John Montaine seeking that they respond to a claim it issued for 12,126, which was the sum of four years arrears owed on a social house. Mr Montaine appeared in connection with the alleged illegal possession of cannabis at the family home last year and contested a Garda no insurance prosecution just this month. Many Sinn Fein TDs who spoke to the Irish Examiner on Friday morning were not aware Ms Wynne had resigned and had not received official notice from Sinn Fein. One Sinn Fein TD told the Irish Examiner that they were ultimately not surprised at Ms Wynne's departure, noting Ms Wynne "had been through a lot of staff" in her two years as a TD. "I'm not one bit surprised," they said. "There were a lot of people trying to help her but it wasn't going anywhere. "I wouldn't say I'm surprised, but I am shocked at the way she did it." It was noted by the TD there is a funeral this afternoon for a long-time Sinn Fein activist in Clare and some were annoyed at Ms Wynne for her timing. "It could've waited till tomorrow at least," they said. It is understood that Sinn Fein held training with Ms Wynne's office staff last week. Commenting on the decision Violet-Anne Wynne to leave the party, Sinn Fein deputy whip Denise Mitchell said: I am so very sorry to hear of Violet-Annes decision this morning. Violet-Anne was a valued member of the Sinn Fein Oireachtas team. The party worked extremely hard over the last two years to resolve challenges at constituency level. That work was continuing. Violet-Anne has welcomed a new baby girl to her family and is currently on maternity leave. We had hoped to continue in our efforts to resolve constituency issues when she returned. Unfortunately, Violet-Anne has now decided to leave Sinn Fein. We wish her and her family the very best for the future. The unfolding events in Ukraine, and the consequent devastating humanitarian crisis, are almost too horrifying to contemplate. Already hundreds of millions of vulnerable people across many continents are fighting crises caused by climate change, Covid-19, and economic breakdown. The last thing the world needs is a man-made catastrophe that will result in bloodshed, displacement, and the loss of civilian lives. Millions of people in countries in which Trocaire works are already dealing with multiple crisis. In Somalia, Ethiopia, DRC, and South Sudan, an estimated 50.4m people are currently suffering acute food insecurity. The solidarity of the international community has to be with civilians in Ukraine at this time, and diplomatic efforts need to prevail over the coming days to stave off a disaster. The principles of international law must be upheld to protect millions of civilians. Failure to do so will have disastrous consequences and would constitute another unthinkable humanitarian disaster in our world. Caoimhe de Barra CEO, Trocaire Maynooth Co Kildare Russian sanctions will be useless We watch with growing horror; we are now facing a European war that we always thought could never happen, ever again. Russian president Vladimir Putin wants to reverse European history since 1989 and restore the USSR to what he perceives was its former glory. Picture: AP Sanctions are worse than useless. Russia has amassed a huge war chest for this moment and there will be no monetary pain. And anyway, China will always trade with Russia. We know that Putin wants to reverse European history since 1989 and restore the USSR to what he perceives was its former glory. Although his monologues suggest he is a madman, in reality his course of action has been obvious since 2014 when he marched into Crimea and the world stood by. We have shown him that he can act with impunity. Forget the sanctions, the West has left Ukraine to fend for itself. The Russians will dominate the entirety of Ukraine in days; there will be deaths and terrible hardship, and we will watch on the internet and on television and bemoan how useless our governments are. Here in Ireland we are acutely aware that borders can be drawn by powerful people with no thought at all about the consequences for ordinary people. David Sprott Ballincollig Cork Nato ineffective at dealing with Putin We now see how ineffective Nato and the EU are when it comes to confronting Vladimir Putin. Europe and USA are incapable of dealing with Putins bully boy tactics. In my opinion, Europe and the world are in serious difficulties from the standard of politicians in place. Michael A Moriarty Rochestown Cork How does it affect day-to-day living? Concern is being expressed at both public and government level about the negative effects on day-to-day living costs as a result of the Ukraine crisis. Given our very high rates of VAT, it would be interesting for the Government to disclose the windfall increases in VAT revenue that these price rises will be generating. Does this provide some room for our Government to lessen these negative effects by reducing VAT to take account of this unexpected and unbudgeted windfall? Paul Fellows Midleton Cork Lack of integrated education in North I think President Michael D Higgins was correct to state in his recent speech in Enniskillen that it was shameful that there wasnt still as of yet very much integrated education among schoolchildren in Northern Ireland. President Michael D Higgins said it was shameful that there wasnt still as of yet very much integrated education among schoolchildren in Northern Ireland. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Freedom of religion is recognised by the UN as one of the fundamental international human rights of our modern times and this right has to also include, I believe, the freedom of any citizen anywhere to have the final say about whatever religion he or she wishes to join. To have the best education about what all religions stand for and then to have ones own say about whether one truly wants to join any of them would be, I believe, a very good and empowering thing for any child or young citizen to experience. In Northern Ireland especially, the religion that one belongs to should not be allowed ever again to become little more than an extra badge of division that keeps citizens apart from one another. True religion should actually be the very opposite to being a source of division among people of goodwill as the message of the parable of the Good Samaritan, I believe, teaches! Sean OBrien Kilrush Co Clare Respect for an opposing view In order to counteract the increasingly aggressive nature of exchanges on social media, our elected leaders should be able to show that it is possible to disagree with each other, while at the same time displaying some respect for opposing points of view. Mary Lou McDonalds ongoing aggressive and personalised attacks on Micheal Martin in Dail Eireann are an appalling example of how people should engage with each other. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Unfortunately, Mary Lou McDonalds ongoing aggressive and personalised attacks on Micheal Martin in Dail Eireann, to the obvious enjoyment of her fellow Sinn Fein TDs, are an appalling example of how people should engage with each other and would be called out as unacceptable if they were directed at a female politician. Politicians will have very little success in trying to encourage young people to show respect and tolerance for each other if at the same time they are seen to be engaging in abusive and demeaning behaviour towards each other for the sole purpose of soliciting political support from those same young people. Vincent McMahon Ennis Co Clare Proper debate about the future of Ireland The decision of the Irish government to establish two new Citizens Assemblies, on biodiversity loss and on an elected Dublin Mayor, is welcome. That said, a glaring omission is any move so far by the Government towards a Citizens Assembly on the constitutional future of Ireland. The debate on Irish unity is widening and is now not only a national but an international talking point. It is vital that a broad platform is created and structured debate and dialogue takes place. We need to plan for a new United Ireland including constitutional arrangements, the health service, education, economic and social development. A Citizens Assembly, representative of the people of the whole island, in all their diversity, would help chart the way forward and address these issues. You cannot argue it is premature to talk of an Irish unity referendum because of lack of preparation, and then fail to prepare with a Citizens Assembly. Tony McDarby Blanchardstown Dublin Hope springs eternal Behold the Hope pattern chair, one of The Pattern Project Collection designed by DFS in partnership with interiors experts Katie Woods and Emily Murray. The curated range of six armchairs will be available in-store and online. We love the low-slung seat and exposed wooden frame offering a nod to retro style, and what about that half sun bolster cushion? Stunning. It's 579 and the scatter cushion is 35; see www.dfs.ie. Bright nights ahead We're delighted to see artist Sarah McKenna has launched two new framed wall art tiles to add to her handmade collection. Pictured here is Oiche geal Bright night, a framed wall art tile that tells the story of the rugged Irish coast with its magnificent vibrant elements. 95, available on www.sarahmkenna.ie and in gift shops throughout Ireland and in select gift stores in Europe and North America. Pancake maker It's almost time for the best Tuesday of the year, pancake Tuesday. The Russell Hobbs Crepe and Pancake Maker is ideal for making breakfast pancakes, dinner party desserts and savoury snacks, and not just of a Tuesday in March. 39.99, available in electrical retailers and ie.russellhobbs.com. Top of the class Well colour me impressed this week with a fabulous new business idea from Galway student, Cormac Delaney. As part of the Student Enterprise Awards Programme, the Holy Rosary College student has come out with an inspired online gift box company, The Irish Parcel Company. Cormac creates gift boxes containing a wide variety of Irish products from producers along the Wild Atlantic Way. "Each parcel is individually hand-wrapped, tied and stamped with a red wax seal, replicating the style of the old parcels that were sent by members of the Irish Diaspora to their delighted relatives 'back home' in Ireland, a tradition which continued right up until the middle of the last century, " explains Cormac. Read More Wish List: Eight top treats for you and your living space We're delighted to see that all the packaging is recyclable and/or biodegradable. "When creating my company, I decided that sustainability would play a key role. My logos, branding and colour scheme were all designed by eco-friendly printers, The Factory in Birr, Co Offaly. "Both layers of my wrapping paper, along with the wood-wool filling is produced by Barry Packaging in Kerry and is 100% biodegradable. The boxes themselves are also produced by Barry Packaging and are 100% recyclable. Even the string that binds our parcels together is 100% biodegradable and is produced by Wicklow company, Many Small Places," says Cormac. Prices start at 35, to find out more, go to www.irishparcelcompany.com. Great hair day On the Bathroom Shelf this week, we have the glorious Velvet Curtain Cotton Touch Texture Balm from R+Co. It's a super dry-styler that adds soft volume and has a light hold for all hair types. If you're after smooth, matte hair, this is for you. 29.90, it's available from select salons, salons online and beauty e-tailers like www.beautybag.ie. Crawford collaboration An interesting collaboration, Crawford Art Gallery in partnership with Pat McDonnell Paints has launched an exhibition, SATURATION: the everyday transformed. It includes photographic works by 13 dynamic young artists, and embrace aspects of social media, street photography, music and fashion photography. Feature work by Ayesha Ahmad, Vittoria Colonna, Conor Clinch, Hazel Coonagh Megan Doherty, Michael Hanna, Cait Fahey, Audrey Gillespie, Dragana Jurisic, Ruth Medjber, Eva OLeary, Padraig Spillane and Niamh Swanton. Find out more at www.crawfordgallery.com and www.mcdonnellpaints.ie. Danish design Laundry, aka, the bane of my life. I'm always on the lookout for hacks or helps. Check out this Danish clothes tidy available from Dublin independent design store The Blue Door. The Scandi-inspired clothes rack is made from white-washed oak, with a jute-wrapped shelf at the bottom for extra storage. This open clothes rack is ideal either as extra hall storage or clothes hanging in your bedroom. Oen can dream. It's 215, find out more at www.thebluedoor.ie. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on the Ukrainian military to seize power in order to better negotiate with Russia. In a video address, Mr Putin called the Ukrainian Government a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis who have has lodged itself in Kyiv and taken hostage the entire Ukrainian people. "I once again appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine: do not allow neo-Nazis and (Ukrainian radical nationalists) to use your children, wives and elders as human shields," he said. A visibly angry Putin went on to urge the Ukrainian armed forces to "take power into your own hands" saying it would be easier for them to reach an agreement with Russia if they did so. Later in his speech, Putin repeated a claim that the Ukrainian leadership and army had engaged in genocide in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. "We are fighting with nationalist groups that are directly responsible for the genocide of the Donbas and the bloodshed of peaceful civilians in the two republics." He added that all Russian servicemen in Ukraine were acting "professionally and heroically." Putin tells Ukrainian soldiers to take power into your own hands and not to let drug addicts and neo nationalists use your families as human shields. Clear that he has lost the plot. And thousands will suffer as a result. pic.twitter.com/jAj9cTT1dC Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) February 25, 2022 Council of Europe suspends Russia Just minutes ago the Council of Europe's committee of ministers voted to suspend Russia over its attack on Ukraine. The motion, brought by Ukraine and Poland, was approved by 42 out of 47 member states. The decision adopted today means that the Russian Federation remains a member of the Council of Europe and party to the relevant Council of Europe conventions, including the European Convention on Human Rights. Ukrainian capital under threat Meanwhile, Russian troops are now bearing down on Ukraines capital, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country that has fuelled fears of wider war in Europe. A Ukrainian Army soldier inspects fragments of a downed aircraft in Kyiv, Ukraine. Picture AP Photo/Vadim Zamirovsky The US and other global powers slapped ever-tougher sanctions on Russia as the invasion reverberated through the worlds economy and energy supplies, threatening to further squeeze ordinary households. UN officials said they were preparing for millions to flee Ukraine, sporting authorities sought to punish Russia on global playing fields, and Nato leaders called an urgent meeting to discuss how far they can go to challenge Mr Putin without engaging Russian forces in direct war. Day two of Russias invasion focused on the Ukrainian capital, where Associated Press reporters heard explosions starting before dawn and gunfire was reported in several areas. Ukrainian authorities used armoured vehicles and snowploughs to defend Kyiv and limit movement, and said Russian spies were seeking to infiltrate the city. Russias military said it had seized a strategic airport outside Kyiv that would allow it to quickly build up forces to take the capital. It claimed to have already cut the city off from the west the direction most of those escaping the invasion are heading in, with lines of cars snaking towards the Polish border. Intense fire broke out on a bridge across the Dnipro River dividing the eastern and western sides of Kyiv, with about 200 Ukrainian forces establishing defensive positions and taking shelter behind their armoured vehicles and later under the bridge. Thousands flee, death toll mounts Ukrainian officials reported at least 137 deaths on the Ukrainian side and claimed hundreds on the Russian one. Russian authorities released no casualty figures. UN officials reported 25 civilian deaths, mostly from shelling and air strikes, and said 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes and estimated up to four million could flee if the fighting escalates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with Moscow to hold talks, and with western powers to act faster to cut off Russias economy and provide military help. When bombs fall on Kyiv, it happens in Europe, not just in Ukraine, he said. When missiles kill our people, they kill all Europeans. His whereabouts were kept secret after he told European leaders he was number one on Russias list of targets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. File Picture: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP He also offered to negotiate on one of Mr Putins key demands: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining Nato. The Russian presidents spokesman said the Kremlin could consider the idea, but foreign minister Sergey Lavrov suggested it may be too late, saying Mr Zelensky had missed the opportunity to discuss a non-aligned status for Ukraine when Mr Putin previously proposed it. After denying for weeks that he planned to invade, Mr Putin argued that the West left him no choice by refusing to negotiate on his security demands. The autocratic leader has not said what his ultimate plans for Ukraine are, but Mr Lavrov gave a hint, saying on Friday: We want to allow the Ukrainian people to determine its own fate. Mr Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia recognises Mr Zelensky as Ukraines president, but would not say how long the Russian military operation could last. Mr Zelensky appealed to global leaders for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by western allies and for defence assistance. If you dont help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door, said the leader, who cut diplomatic ties with Moscow, declared martial law and ordered a full military mobilisation that would last 90 days. The invasion began early on Thursday with a series of missile strikes on cities and military bases, and quickly followed with a multi-pronged ground assault that rolled troops in from several areas in the east, from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and from Belarus to the north. After Ukrainian officials said they lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the worlds worst nuclear disaster, Russia said it was working with the Ukrainians to secure the plant. As western leaders rushed to condemn and punish Russia, US President Joe Biden announced new sanctions that will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and hi-tech sectors, saying Mr Putin chose this war and had exhibited a sinister view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. He added that the measures were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe. Russia will no longer participate in this years Eurovision Song Contest following the invasion of Ukraine, the competitions producer has announced. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said in a statement that the inclusion of a Russian entry at contest in Turin in May would bring the contest into disrepute. Eurovision had previously said it intended to allow Russia to compete but faced strong criticism from state broadcasters in countries including Iceland, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands. Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC had also earlier this week urged the EBU to suspend Russias membership and ban it from the contest. A statement released on Friday said the EBUs executive board had made the decision following a recommendation by the Eurovision governing body, known as the reference group, based on the rules of the event and the values of the EBU. It added: The reference group recommendation was also supported by the EBUs television committee. The decision reflects concern that, in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this years Contest would bring the competition into disrepute. Before making this decision the EBU took time to consult widely among its membership. The EBU is an apolitical member organisation of broadcasters committed to upholding the values of public service. We remain dedicated to protecting the values of a cultural competition which promotes international exchange and understanding, brings audiences together, celebrates diversity through music and unites Europe on one stage. The 66th edition of Eurovision is due to take place in Turin after Italian rock band Maneskin won the 2021 contest. Russia had not yet announced its act for 2022. It last won in 2008 with Dima Bilan singing Believe, and in turn hosted the 2009 contest in Moscow. Last week, the act chosen to represent Ukraine withdrew after facing scrutiny over a reported 2015 visit to Russia-occupied Crimea. Alina Pash had been chosen in a televised national selection show and was due to perform her song Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors, but pulled out after details of the trip emerged and was replaced by rap act Kalush Orchestra with the song Stefania. People who enter Crimea via Russia are considered by Ukraine to have illegally crossed the border, although there is no suggestion that Pash did this. Burma Fuel Shortages Hit Parts of Myanmar Due to Road Closures, Global Price Hikes A herd of cattle is seen in front of a petrol station in Putao that was shuttered this month due to high fuel prices. / Meeting group for Putao residents Locals in Kachin and Kayah states and Sagaing Region, which are currently witnessing intense fighting between Myanmar junta forces and the combined forces of ethnic armed resistance groups and Peoples Defense Forces, are facing fuel shortages due to a combination of prices hike and road closures. Fuel prices have been rising since the military coup on Feb. 1 last year. This month, prices across Myanmar spiked again amid global oil price increases. Fighting has raged for more than a month between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and junta forces, resulting in the closure of roads to Kachin Sates Putao Town. The price of basic commodities and fuel prices have skyrocketed in northern Myanmar. A Putao resident who requested anonymity said, We couldnt buy fuel even if we had the money and were able to afford it. One bottle of petrol holding around 0.75 to 1 liter costs 10,000 kyats ($5) and 1 gallon costs 60,000 kyats ($30) according to the Putao resident. Before the coup, one liter sold for under 1,000 kyats. The price hikes are also hurting farmers who use diesel to run their agricultural machinery, a social media user wrote in a message posted on a Putao regional Facebook group. In central Myanmars Monywa, the capital city of Sagaing Region, one liter of petrol costs around 2,200 kyats; on the outskirts of Monywa it costs 2,500-3,000 kyats ($1.25-1.50) per liter. Khant Wai Phyo, a resident of Monywa, said another problem is that the junta is limiting the amount of fuel allowed into some areas in restive Sagaing Region. Monywa is the commercial hub of Sagaing, and the restrictions on fuel there are hurting locals in other areas in the region, Khant Wai Phyo said. In Kayah State, which also continues to be plagued by fierce fighting, fuel has become a scarce item. Banya, the director of the Karenni Human Rights Group, said diesel oil is running out in his area, where people use it for agriculture machinery and generators, but also rely on it for transportation when they need to flee the fighting. In my area, there are small and medium-sized clinics and hospitals which need diesel to run their operations and to provide oxygen for sick people. We need diesel to supply oxygen to patients to save their lives, Banya said. In Demoso, 0.75 liter of petrol costs 2,000 to 2,500 kyats ($1-1.25). Before the coup, it was only 1,000 kyats ($0.70) for a 0.75-liter bottle. Junta forces only allow merchants who have a good relationship with them to transport fuel, and it can only be used to run junta equipment. Thus, there is an imbalance between fuel demand and supply. In Yangon, Myanmars commercial hub, the prices of gasoline and other fuels range from 1,730-1,820 kyats depending on the type, according to Yangon-based petrol station operator New Day. Global oil prices soared above $100 per barrel on Friday after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. You may also like these stories: Serbia Sold Arms to Myanmar Junta After Coup Regime Forces Kill Motorbike Rider in Central Myanmar Myanmar Regime Backs Russias Invasion of Ukraine Besa Hoxhalli, 38, brushes off leaves at her mothers grave at the Sunnyside Cemetery on Feb. 16 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Burma Myanmar Regime Backs Russias Invasion of Ukraine Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (left) and Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's armed forces Senior General Min Aung Hlaing inspect an honor guard prior to their talks in Moscow on June 22, 2021. / AFP As the world condemned Russias invasion of Ukraine on Friday, Myanmar military junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun took a different view, telling VOAs Burmese Service that Russia was acting to maintain its sovereignty, and praising Moscows role in balancing global power. Russian forces on Friday unleashed one of Europes largest military offensives since World War II with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The regimes support for Moscow is hardly surprising, as Russia is a key supplier of military hardware to the junta, and the two countries have strengthened ties since the military coup in Myanmar in February last year. Two weeks before the coup, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a two-day visit to Naypyitaw pledging to sell air defense weaponry to Myanmar. It is believed that Myanmar military leaders informed their Russian counterparts of the imminent takeover and sought Russias support. Less than two months after the coup, while the international community including most Western nations were condemning the military regime, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Vasilyevich Fomin arrived in Naypyitaw to attend the 76th annual Armed Forces Day on March 27, 2021. On the same day, the regime, known as the State Administration Council, slaughtered more than 100 people across the country, making it the bloodiest single day since the generals seized power. Shunned by the West, Myanmar military leaders have forged closer ties with Russia, China, Belarus, Serbia, Ukraine, India and Pakistan. Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing has exchanged numerous visits with senior Russian military officers, though there has been no face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Myanmar coup leader has reportedly made several requests to meet with Putin. Since the coup, top-ranking military leaders including General Soe Win, deputy commander of the armed forces; then-Air Force chief General Maung Maung Kyaw (who has since been removed from the post); and General Maung Maung Aye, chief of the general staff, have also visited Russia. Maung Maung Aye held talks with Russian army officers about acquiring air defense systems. Russia sold Myanmar US$2.3 billion worth of weapons during his trip, according to Russian news agencies. Myanmar military personnel also study at a number of military schools and training facilities in Russia, including the Omsk Armor Engineering Institute, the Air Force Engineering Academy in Moscow, the Nizhniy Novgorod Command Academy and the Kazan Military Command Academy. While the junta has made clear its position on Russias invasion of Ukraine, it is not without links to the latter; Ukraine also supplies weapons to the Myanmar military. The military purchased from Ukraine an estimated 1,000 BTR-3U armored personnel carriers (APCs) to be assembled in Myanmar. And in 2016-17, Ukrainian arms manufacturers reportedly shipped parts for Mil Mi-2 and Mil Mi-17 helicopters, BTR-3U armored personnel carriers, a ship engine, and ship propulsion and radar systems through a local arms dealer in Myanmar. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Junta Threatens to Disband Two Major Parties After They Refuse to Submit Financial Records Cambodian, Malaysian PMs Call on Myanmar Junta to Implement ASEAN Consensus Teenage Detainees Tortured by Junta in Upper Myanmar Burma Regime Forces Kill Motorbike Rider in Central Myanmar Police check motorbikes in Meiktila Township, Mandalay Region in November 2021. A motorbike rider was shot dead on Wednesday evening by Myanmar junta soldiers in Mandalay Regions Meiktila Township. The rider was on a bike with another man, when junta soldiers fired at them from in front of the military-owned Inwa bank at around 7:30pm. Local residents confirmed the killing to The Irrawaddy. Soldiers from Inwa Bank fired at two young people on a motorbike. The one on the back was hit by two bullets in his back. He died on the spot. His friend drove away and escaped, said a resident who witnessed the incident. Since November, the junta has barred two males from riding together on a motorbike in some areas, especially those where resistance groups are most active, out of fear that regime forces could be attacked with grenades or bombs. Townships where the ban is in force include Meikitla, Sagaing Regions Monywa and Yangon Regions Thanlyin and Hlaing Tharyar. In Meiktila, local authorities imposed the ban after two soldiers died in a bomb attack by motorbike riders in October last year. Mostly, they fine people 30,000 to 50,000 kyats if they break the regulations. I cannot understand why they [junta forces] killed an unarmed civilian like that, said another Meiktila resident who wished to remain anonymous. The Irrawaddy was unable to verify the name of the murdered man and was unable to reach his family for comment. Military regime forces also shot and killed a motorbike rider in Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region in November and another man from Monywa on December 2. Both victims were riding with another male on a motorbike. As of Thursday, the junta has killed at least 1,579 civilians in their lethal crackdowns against the anti-regime movement and detained nearly 12,400 since last years February 1 coup, according to local monitoring group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Regime Backs Russias Invasion of Ukraine Myanmar Junta Threatens to Disband Two Major Parties After They Refuse to Submit Financial Records Cambodian, Malaysian PMs Call on Myanmar Junta to Implement ASEAN Consensus Burma Serbia Sold Arms to Myanmar Junta After Coup NORA A 152mm howitzers manufactured by Jugoimport-SDPR, which were viewed by coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing during his visit to Serbia in 2015 Serbia has continued to supply arms to the Myanmar military since the coup, despite the fact that those weapons are being used to attack and kill civilians, including children. Tom Andrews, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, identified Serbia, along with China and Russia, as UN member states that are continuing to sell arms to the junta in a report issued on Tuesday. On the same day, the independent rights group Myanmar Witness also issued its own report revealing that air-launched rockets were exported by Serbia to Myanmar after the February 1, 2021 coup. Serbia and the Myanmar military have a close relationship that goes back decades to when Serbia was part of the former Yugoslavia. A Serbian delegation reportedly visited Myanmar in January 2022 to discuss sales of artillery to the junta. The Myanmar Witness report said that a Belarussian plane carrying some 1,644 80mm aerial rockets from Serbia landed at Yangon Airport at 6.30pm on February 9 last year, eight days after the juntas coup. The rights group also revealed that the rockets were exported officially by Serbian arms manufacturer Jugoimport-SDPR, which was granted an export license by Serbias Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Communication. Images from social media appear to show crates of rockets being unloaded from the plane at Yangon Airport on February 10, 2021. 80mm aerial rockets are used by the Myanmar militarys Russian-made Yak-130 fighter jets and Mi-24/35 attack helicopters, which have been involved in numerous airstrikes against civilian targets, especially in Sagaing Region and Kayah, Karen and Chin states, where armed resistance to the junta is strongest. On Wednesday afternoon two civilians were killed when junta jets bombed villages in Kayah States Demoso Township. Serbias transfers of these arms likely breach Serbias Geneva Convention obligations and may also violate Serbias responsibility under customary international law given the virtual certainty that rockets of the sort Serbia has authorized would be used against civilians and the prominent role that rockets have played in Myanmars attacks on civilians, said Tom Andrews in the UN report. Last June, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on member states to stop the flow of arms to the junta. However, the UN report identified China and Russia both permanent members of the UN Security Council as having supplied fighter jets and armored vehicles to the regime since the coup. Serbia has supplied artillery shells, as well as aerial rockets. Andrews urged weapons exporting nations to suspend immediately all arms sales to the junta, and called for the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution banning the transfer of arms that the regime is using to attack and kill civilians. It should be incontrovertible that weapons used to kill civilians should no longer be transferred to Myanmar. These transfers truly shock the conscience, Andrews said. Stopping the juntas atrocity crimes begins with blocking their access to weapons. The more the world delays, the more innocent people, including children, will die in Myanmar. The London-based rights group Burma Campaign UK condemned the Serbian government for its sales of rockets being used to target civilians. By supplying arms to the Burmese military, Serbia is complicit in violations of international law, said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. The Serbian government knows that the weapons it supplies to the Burmese military are used against civilians, with children and babies being injured and killed. You may also like these stories: Regime Forces Kill Motorbike Rider in Central Myanmar Myanmar Regime Backs Russias Invasion of Ukraine Myanmar Junta Threatens to Disband Two Major Parties After They Refuse to Submit Financial Records Trinity, TX (77320) Today Cloudy early with peeks of sunshine expected late. High 88F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Mavenir, a network software provider with cloud-native software that runs on any cloud, announces a wide portfolio of O-RAN compliant Radio Units (RUs) expanding the Open RAN radio ecosystem, to provide Communications Service Providers (CSPs) with a wider choice of radios as they progress in rolling out open and interoperable networks. Mavenir says its OpenBeam is providing CSPs with a comprehensive portfolio of O-RAN compliant radio products spanning micro, macro, millimetre wave (mmWave) and massive MIMO (mMIMO) to support Open RAN deployments in 2022 and beyond. The OpenBeam radio portfolio covers a wide range of spectrum, both licensed and unlicensed and follows the philosophy of open interfaces and O-RAN 7.2 interface with Open RAN CU/DU products. OpenBeam radios will be available to the Open RAN Ecosystem including vendors, operators, and system integrators, the company said. Mavenir say that alongside a strong existing ecosystem of partners that Mavenir MAVair Open vRAN interworks with, the new OpenBeam suite provides an innovative and comprehensive radio portfolio that is designed for the growing needs of CSPs with agile, cost-efficient, smart radios to meet critical demands on the network now, and as the network changes and expands. The radio solutions can be used for a wide range of use cases, including basic coverage across all frequency bands for enterprise, urban and rural deployment opportunities, the company stated. The robust set of options address the needs of CSPs to be agile and cost-efficient with low power consumption, low wind load, and are built with integrated intelligence and automation, Mavenir claim. Designed for the growing needs of private enterprises to public networks, the portfolio supports both new and legacy radio access technologies. All radios have a modular design, using proven technology to support both beamforming and multi-band needs, they say. We have engaged with customers globally to curate a comprehensive O-RAN portfolio that addresses the needs of both private enterprises as well as traditional communication providers, says Mavenir senior vice president of radio business unit Rajesh Srinivasa. OpenBeam portfolio covers a wide range of deployment scenarios starting from micro-RUs to 64TR Massive MIMO Radios. OpenBeam radios deliver industry-leading performance and energy efficiency packed in a small footprint. Mavenir chief executive officer Pardeep Kohli said, With the incredible growth of virtualization and Open RAN, we always believed that the ecosystem had to be accelerated as this is fundamental for the success of the future of networks. Mavenir has been working with many partners in the ecosystem, and we have also injected more direct contributions when it comes to innovative design. Mavenir is a strong believer in new generation software-based networks which are orchestrated by artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics software and adapt in a dynamic way to the user behaviours and market demands. The intelligent, dynamic and adaptable software, together with strong underlying automation, is what drives innovation in the future of networks. Mavenir said the OpenBeam radio portfolio will be displayed at Mobile World Congress 2022 in Barcelona on the Mavenir stand in Hall 2, 2H60 from February 28 to March 3. GUEST OPINION: The world learned about the Hafnium attacks on Microsoft Exchange servers last year, and it was bad. Since then, more vulnerabilities have been discovered, as well as additional ways that cybercriminals exploit them. IT teams who still manage on-premises Exchange servers must feel like they live in a zombie movie. The problems just keep coming: zombies as far as the eye can see. Just when an organisation's IT team thinks it has the house fortified, attacks start emerging from the basement. In the Exchange instances, companies discovered that their servers had been exploited only after the attackers were inside. Later, new information showed that cybercriminals use Exchange server vulnerabilities for their botnets so they can secretly steal processing power and mine cryptocurrency. Just when we thought we figured out how to deal with regular zombies, along comes one that attempts to hijack our brain! If only we'd applied those patches sooner! At this point in any zombie movie, you're screaming at the characters to 'Get out of the house!' Thankfully, cloud technologies are available and ready to whisk you to safety. Leveraging the cloud Companies using Microsoft Exchange Online have continued to go about their business, unbothered by the incoming flood of scary news of cyberattacks. Their cloud servers are protected and patched on a regular schedule and monitored by teams of cybersecurity experts. Each time a new Exchange vulnerability is discovered, it often comes with reassuring news for those in the cloud: The threat doesn't apply to Exchange Online. For organisations still managing an on-premises Exchange server, it's vital that they keep up with Microsoft's CUs and SUs cumulative updates and security updates. CUs are generally released quarterly with resolutions to feature problems. SUs are released when security issues are found and fixed. Unfortunately, Microsoft has found that many companies have not kept up with their necessary updates, so they are not on supported CU versions. This means they are unable to install security patches as soon as they are available leaving their servers vulnerable to malicious threats. Vigilance is vital Last year's attacks make it clear that companies wanting to keep their Exchange servers on-premises need to maintain constant vigilance, not only with continuous updates and security patching, but also monitoring for nefarious intruders. Paul Kirvan, writing for TechTarget, has published helpful instructions for battening down the hatches, including a 12-point plan with eight sub-points: Keep servers up to date Launch specialised utilities Deploy firewalls Use Exchange server security programs Secure the perimeter Monitor servers Use allow lists and blocklists Use certificates Limit administrative access Use role-based access control and strong passwords Harden the OS Audit mailbox activity logs In the zombie movie, this is when our heroes start throwing every piece of furniture at the intruders and grabbing the fire extinguisher. Security experts sometimes wonder why internal IT teams aren't keeping up on every single recommended data-protection tactic. The answer often comes down to resources and priorities. Security is vital, but so are development and modernisation projects and time is finite. Don't wait to act At BitTitan, we've seen how moving to the cloud enables internal IT teams to focus more on improving employee and customer experiences, because they rely on cloud-provider support to manage security. The strengthened cloud security eliminates a critical worry of IT teams. Cloud providers like Microsoft Azure invest heavily in state-of-the-art physical and cybersecurity resources. They also implement ongoing updates and perform continuous monitoring. Unfortunately, the zombies aren't going away: they will continue to test the fences of your on-premises servers. It's time to get out of the house. With proven migration solutions, an organisation can migrate securely to the cloud and let Microsoft Azure's security resources improve vigilance over their environment. Telstra is preparing to launch its entry to the growing online marketplace arena with the upcoming debut of Telstra Plus Market. Telstra Plus Market which will open for registrations in March aims to connect Telstra Plus customers and Australian small businesses. "We know how tough the last couple of years has been for Australian small business, and that's why want to make it even more rewarding to support businesses across the country," said Telstra group executive, consumer and small business Michael Ackland. "Telstra Plus Market is a new and exciting online marketplace to help small businesses tap into a wider pool of potential customers." The Telstra Plus loyalty program already has four million members, and Telstra's ambition is to reach more than six million by the end of 2025. Telstra Plus Market offers will be created by participating small businesses and made available exclusively to Telstra Plus members. Members will be able to earn bonus points from Telstra Plus Market transactions, and then redeem those points in the Telstra Plus Rewards store. "We know from our own research that COVID lockdowns placed significant financial pressure on small business with almost 60% reporting a decline in revenue. We want to help the many thousands of small business owners across the country get back on their feet," said Ackland. "Whether you're a florist, bookseller, cafe owner, bicycle repair store or local greengrocer, you will be able to boost your online presence and e-commerce opportunities in an affordable and accessible way, by creating and managing your own Telstra Plus points-based offers." He added "At the end of last year, we piloted the launch of Telstra Plus Market with over 40 retailers and these businesses were able to use the platform to reach new customers and grow revenue." One of those retailers was Muscle Mat. Founder Hunter Stark said "As a small business we are willing to try whatever we can to reach new customers. "Telstra Plus Market gave us access to a new cohort of customers that we wouldn't normally reach with our own marketing efforts. It's a really accessible platform and was so easy to set up. "You'd be pretty silly to turn down an opportunity to tap into this market for your business we absolutely plan to use Telstra Plus Market when it launches." In related news, Telstra is again running its Big Plugs for Small Business promotion. Small businesses that join or sign in to Telstra Plus and enter the promotion before midnight on 21 March are in the running to win Telstra's ad space during Round 8 of the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season or Round 9 of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership. There are also 17 prizes of four million Telstra Plus points and 100 prizes of 40,000 points. Image: Devo Vagabond via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. George Lucas is one of history's most financially successful filmmakers responsible for the Star Wars franchise and Indiana Jones, he has been nominated for four Academy Awards for his work. The multi billionaire, visionary, film director, producer, screenwriter, and entrepreneur turns Click for more. Jacksonville, TX (75766) Today Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mainly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Joplin, MO (64801) Today Heavy thunderstorms during the morning will give way to steady rain this afternoon. High near 60F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch.. Tonight Rain likely. Low 59F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. At the invitation of the WCO Council Chair and Director General of Bahrain Customs, Mr. Ahmed Al Khalifa, the WCO Secretary General, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, visited Manama, Bahrain on 23 and 24 February 2022. Upon his arrival, Secretary General Mikuriya visited the Customs facility at Bahrain International Airports new terminal. He also attended the annual ceremony in honour of Customs officers having performed above and beyond expectations. Dr. Mikuriya met with H.E. Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Bahrains Minister of Interior, who recalled the ICAO-WCO Joint Conference on Enhancing Air Cargo Security and Facilitation hosted by Bahrain in 2014 and welcomed the Secretary General back to the country. He went on to highlight the important role played by Customs in border security and also expressed his hope for greater global cooperation in this respect. The Minister of Finance and National Economy, H.E. Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, also greeted Dr. Mikuriya and thanked him for raising the WCOs profile under his leadership. He then emphasized the need to keep Bahrains economy competitive, pointing to Customs outstanding performance in dramatically shortening clearance times for goods. Secretary General Mikuriya thanked the Government of Bahrain for supporting the WCO through the excellent chairmanship of Mr. Ahmed Al Khalifa and through leading by example with best practices. On 24 February 2022, the South African Institute of Taxation (SAIT) delivered a webinar on issues related to commodity classification and taxation of international trade transactions. The webinar gathered a wide audience of participants from the private sector, including SAIT members and the South African Freight Forwarders Association. Upon the invitation of the SAIT, the webinar panel of experts was joined by a representative of the EU-WCO Programme for Harmonized System in Africa (HS-Africa Programme), funded by the European Union. The webinar offered an opportunity to discuss the latest developments related to Customs and tax policies, with a specific focus on the new version of the Harmonized System. In his interventions, the representative of the HS-Africa Programme briefly introduced the HS emphasizing its role of a common language of international commerce and its importance for trade facilitation. He called attention of participants to some of the most significant changes made in the HS as a result of the HS 2022 amendments, to some aspects of the maintenance of the HS by the WCO, and to the importance of the uniform use of the latest edition of the HS by Customs and trade. Other webinar panelists shared their insights with regard to ensuring strict and consistent compliance with Customs regulations. They stressed the role of commodity classification as the basis for determining many of the most essential elements of Customs and trade transactions, along with origin and valuation of traded items. Panelists felt that it would be in the best interest of trade operators to follow closely the developments in these areas, such as tariff amendments. This would help operators to adjust business processes and operation models and avoid risks, potential disputes, as well as disruptions of supply chains. For more details, please, contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org Afghanistan has been an incessant hotbed of contemporary atrocities that possibly tick many boxes of the Rome Statutes elements of crimes. Yet, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been dragging on the situation for nearly two decades. And its new prosecutor Karim Khan has prioritised the most uncontroversial crimesof regional Islamic State branchesover the most controversial chapter in the countrys infinite archive of war-related affronts since 2001. But while there are no ICC trials on the horizon anytime soon, the Afghanistan dossier is not entirely gathering dust in The Hague. Between 16 and 22 February, the citys District Court had a sixth Afghan defendant before it: a man who presents himself as Abdul Razaq Rafief. But there are vast challenges in this latest universal jurisdiction case, as judges must weigh timeworn, foreign evidence of alleged crimes that may not have been war crimes at all. The busiest ICC in town The District Court of The Hague, that seats in the run-down Justice Palace, is only a 10-minute cycle ride from the lavish ICC Court Tower. Trial observers often joke that its International Crimes Chamber is the busiest ICC in town. Indeed, since 2003 Dutch magistrates have heard cases here of atrocities in DR Congo, Iraq, Liberia, Guinea, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Croatia, Bosnia, Georgia, Ethiopia, Ukraine and Syria. Recently, Suriname was added to the list. What is less known is that since 2005 the Courts most high-level cases have concerned Afghanistan [see box]. Contrary to the ICCs contemporary focus, the Dutch cold cases stem from Afghanistans communist interlude between 1978 and 1992. As much as customary international law and the alleged war crimes, their alleged perpetrators, victims and witnesses have come of age. The potential pitfallbrought up in the latest case by the defenceis judicial anachronism, and the reliance on witnesses memories of events that occurred 40 years ago. The Dutch probe into Rafief started in April 2012. Based on leads from earlier investigations and Internet sources, Dutch police suspected that a man called Arif had been involved in serious abuses of detainees in a prison in the 1980s, and that he resided in Kerkrade, in the Netherlands. The investigators discovered that this Arif was registered in the Netherlands as Rafiefan alias he allegedly provided to immigration services in 2001. Over the years, the Dutch polices war crimes unit heard countless eyewitnesses, wiretapped Rafief, his wife and five childrens phones, and searched his house. And after multiple pre-trial hearings from 2019, the investigation at trial finally started on 16 February. One and only elderly witness In the chamber, behind the judges and under a bulky portrait of Dutch King Willem Alexander, stood about 20blue folders with white markers. It is a massive dossier, said presiding judge Els Kole. It references all kind of sources: police minutes, immigration reports, Afghan identity papers, NGO and UN reports, memoires, documentary clips, literature. No historian was heard about the context; the case relies instead on a context-report produced by Dutch police officers, and an anthropologists report on Afghanistans languages and culture. There is a lot to think about, and it is not simple, acknowledged Kole. This pertains particularly to their assessment of the reliability, usability, and relevance of the testimonies of 24 witnessesnearly all of them victimswho were heard by the investigative magistrate in 9 countries in Europe and North-America. Only one of them addressed the chamber. On the first trial day, Abdul W, an elderly man with a masterly silver beard and antiquated black spectacles, sat in the middle of the courtroom. He said that some 40 years ago he was detained at Pul-e-Charkhi, an infamous jail on the eastern fringes of Kabul. His crime, the former economy student said, had been wanting freedom for his country. In 1984, in prison block 3which he says held political prisonershe was beaten so badly that his hand and leg were broken. Yet, it is the psychological torture and flashbacks of his lost comradessome of whom being buried alivethat still intrude his sleep. I dont remember my name I regret he does not repent his acts, the Afghan man sighed, gazing at the man in the dock, just five steps in front of him. Rafief only attended the first of his five-day trial. According to W, Rafief had been responsible for the dismal prison circumstances at Pul-e-Charkhi. A Dutch policeman paraded the 76-year-old, skin-over-bone suspectwho was in wheelchairbefore the bench. Despite his pressed white chemise and khaki chinos, Rafiefs court entrance was graceless: his Puma-sneakers dragged over the floor; his facemask hung under his aquiline nose; his eyes were colourless. Rafief had a deep, dry cough. A judge offered him water. But even with his throat cleared, the accused could hardly produce words. When he spoke, he mumbled, in Dari. The interpreter summed it up, in staccato: I am sick; I feel dizzy; I dont remember anything; I dont remember where I was born; I dont remember my name; I totally dont know who I am. Only one thing he still knew: I am not the man you are looking for, he claimed. Nevertheless, the Chamber wanted to have a conversation with him. Every question, however, he waived on to his lawyer. By noon Rafief dozed off. Thats fine, M. Rafief, the courts president told him in a parental tone. When has was being wheeled out of the courtroom, Rafief passed by W, raising his arms as if he were powerless. Dungeons of repression Subsidised by the Soviet Union in 1973, Afghanistans prime correctional facility was built for about 5,000 prisoners. After the 1978 revolution, heralding a communist regime until 1992, several Pul-e-Charkhi blocks served as the State Intelligence Agencys (the Khadimat-e Atalat-e Dowlati, or Khad) dungeons of repression. Rafief, claim W and other witnesses, was the man in charge there. From their testimony and that cited from NGO and UN reports, read out by the judges, transpired a grim picture of the crime scene. They described how extraordinary revolutionary prosecutors and courts sent thousands of state enemies to Pul-e-Charkhi to face a reign of terrorand cruel conditions. In winter, Pul-e-Charkhi was like a freezer; in summer like a rotisserie. The dark cells were so overpopulated that people had to sleep in turns on the few matresses infected with lice, while mice nibbled at inmates nails. On the sickening menu was bouillon sometimes containing vermin or even faeces. Abuse was rife: prisoners were hung upside-down, whipped, their hands crushed, their nails pulled, or they had to stand in cold water. On top was the ceaseless fear of under-cover Khad snitches posing as detainees, nightly searches, disappearances, and executions. Commander at Pul-e-Charkhi from1983-1988 These crimes, argued Prosecutors Nicole Vogelenzang and Mirjam Blom, were informed, driven and shaped to the bone by the non-international conflict between the USSR-backed Afghan army and USA-backed Mujahidin. And the Prosecutors allege that Rafief, between 1983 and 1988, worked as Khads Head of Political Affairs and Commander of Pul-e-Charkhi blocks 1, 2 and 3, where anti-revolutionariesthe regimes enemieswere held. Operationalising and reinterpreting a 1952 Dutch war crimes lawby invoking jurisprudence from the early 1990s, the Dutch prosecutors charged that Rafief was a superior, who co-perpetrated and enabled the deprivation of liberty and humiliating and degrading treatment of at least 19 identified political prisoners. But there were several questions hovering over the trial they had to answer with evidence: whether Rafief actually was colonel Arif; whether Pul-e-Charkhi was a war site; whether Rafief could be linked to the victims suffering; and whether Rafiefs alleged acts or omissions violated the Geneva Conventions and customary international law. Trivial and contradictory indictment For the defence, the prosecutions 4-page indictment was contradictory and trivial. Rafiefs lawyers Marijn Zuketto and Rebecca Heemskerk say it read as if the prosecution threw a couple of puzzles of a thousand shattered pieces on the table with the instruction: you can put them together yourself. Their two-day pleading concluded with their request to annul parts of the indictment, or otherwise fully acquit their infirm client. To them, Rafief is first and foremost not the real accused, Arif. Rafief, they maintain, was a mathematics and science teacher in Pol-i-Khomri from 1972 until 1997, when he was apprehended by the Taliban. But in case the Chamber would find otherwise, their strategy was to hypothetically defend Arif, as if he were a phantom defendant. They did so with fervour and erudition. Van Heemskerkwho also teaches at Maastricht Universitylectured the Chamber about international laws early history until the most recent ICC jurisprudence. Her key lesson was that the acts charged, in the context of an internal war, did not yet exist in customary law until the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia defined them in the context of the Balkan wars in the 1990s, and could thus not be considered war crimes in the 1980s. Even if the Chamber would apply new definitions, she said, Arif was a civilian superior, who had no military training. Moreover, combing through the victims testimonies, the lawyers highlighted that they say different things about Arif and even also provided exonerating evidence as to the prison conditions. The judges will pronounce their decision on 14 April. Towards the end of the defence case, only one thing was sure: they had listened with keen ears, learning along the way. Even the prosecutorswho had requested a 12-year prison sentence for Rafiefat times seemed a bit unsure that they had presented a winnable case that will end in a conviction. AFGHAN CASES BEFORE THE DUTCH JUDICIARY 2005 > Hesamuddin Hesam, former head of military intelligence and deputy minister of state, was sentenced to 12 years for torture. 2005 > Habibullah Jalalzoy, Hesams subordinate and former head of a military intelligence department, was sentenced to 9 years for torture. 2007 > Abdullah Faqirzada, former head of a military intelligence department, was acquitted of torture and released. 2012 > Amanullah Osman, former head of a military intelligence department, died during investigation on suspicions of torture, disappearances and extra-judicial execution. 2017 > Sadeq Alemyar, alleged commander of a commando-unit of the Afghan army, was not prosecuted because of lack of evidence over his role in the 1979 Kerela massacre. 2022 > Abdul Razaq Rafief, on trial for war crimes for his alleged role as commander and head of the Political Affairs department at the Pul-e-Charki prison in Kabul. The arrest of a Sri Lankan man by British war crimes police could set a precedent for the detention of current military officers or government officials, Colombo said Friday, calling it a very big danger. Londons Metropolitan Police War Crimes team on Thursday announced the arrest of a 48-year-old man in Northamptonshire in connection with the 2000 murder of high-profile Tamil journalist Mylvaganam Nimalrajan on the Jaffna peninsula. British police can investigate anyone who may fall under British jurisdiction and is suspected of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide or torture anywhere in the world under a no safe haven policy. Sri Lanka has repeatedly been censured by the UN Human Rights Council, primarily in connection with events during the countrys decades-long civil war. Foreign ministry secretary Jayanath Colombage said the British move could threaten current office-holders. Invoking universal jurisdiction is another very debatable topic, he told reporters. Any country can use this as an excuse to target people of another country, he said, calling it a very big danger. So we need to be prepared for that, he added. No additional information about the man arrested in Britain has been released. Western nations have imposed travel bans on Sri Lankan military officials, including current army chief Shavendra Silva, but Tuesdays arrest was the first carried out overseas over war crimes allegations in Sri Lanka. Nimalrajan, 39, a local Tamil journalist who also worked for several media outlets, including the BBC, was shot dead at his home in the embattled Jaffna town in 2000. No one has been prosecuted for the murder. Colombo has rejected a UN mechanism set up last year to preserve evidence following allegations that Sri Lankan troops killed at least 40,000 civilians in the final months of the war in 2009. The UN rights chief called Friday for sanctions and international prosecutions of Sri Lankan war criminals, saying Colombo had repeatedly failed to ensure accountability for wartime atrocities. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet made the comments a day after British police announced the first overseas arrest over war crimes allegations in Sri Lanka. The island nation had drifted towards militarisation under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a retired army lieutenant colonel, and the rights situation was deteriorating, Bachelet said. In the last two years, the independence of the judiciary and other key institutions have been eroded, and democratic space, including for human rights advocacy constricted, she said. In a report to be unveiled at the UN Human Rights Council sessions reviewing Sri Lankas record next week, she also noted that the state had dropped investigations into emblematic cases. There has been a further drift towards militarisation, she said, accusing Colombo of protecting military officers facing allegations and even giving them high positions in the administration. She urged UN Human Rights Council member states to invoke universal jurisdiction and prosecute Sri Lankan officials facing credible allegations of war crimes. Successive Sri Lankan governments have promised but failed to investigate their own troops accused of killing thousands of Tamil civilians in the final months of the islands decades-long Tamil separatist war. The fighting ended in May 2009 following a no-holds-barred military offensive that crushed minority Tamil guerrillas known for their suicide bombings. Bachelet asked member states to explore the possibility of targeted sanctions against credibly alleged perpetrators of grave human rights violations and abuses in Sri Lanka. The appeal came a day after the arrest of a suspect by British war crimes police over a 2000 murder of a high-profile journalist in Sri Lankas northern Tamil heartland of Jaffna, where much of the fighting was concentrated. Londons Metropolitan Police war crimes team on Thursday announced the arrest of a 48-year-old man in Northamptonshire in connection with the murder of Tamil reporter Mylvaganam Nimalrajan. British police can investigate anyone who may fall under British jurisdiction and is suspected of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide or torture anywhere in the world under a no safe haven policy. Sri Lankan authorities fear the arrest of the as-yet-unnamed suspect could set a precedent for the detention of current military officers or government officials. Jayanath Colombage, the top civil servant at the foreign ministry, told reporters in Colombo before an advance draft of Bachelets report was released that the British move could have implications for current office-holders. Invoking universal jurisdiction is another very debatable topic, he said. Any country can use this as an excuse to target people of another country, he added, calling it a very big danger. So we need to be prepared for that. Western nations have imposed travel bans on Sri Lankan military officials, including current army chief Shavendra Silva. Colombo has rejected a UN mechanism set up last year to preserve evidence following allegations that Sri Lankan troops killed at least 40,000 civilians in the final months of the war. A Massachusetts man plans to seek further appellate review after a state appeals court affirmed lower court rulings upholding his $55 citation for honking at a police officer during a traffic jam, his attorney (and father) told Law.com on Wednesday. Robert M. Hagopian, 45, is represented by his father, Robert W. Hagopian, 87, in a case that raises a constitutional challenge to the motor vehicle infraction of unreasonable honking. The case made its way from a district clerk-magistrate to the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, with each judge along the way finding Robert M. Hagopian responsible for violating motor vehicle laws , according to the Massachusetts Appeals Courts opinion filed Tuesday. The "empathy" Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen expressed last week for Ukraine's situation was described as unreasonable self-pity by an official of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Wednesday. What is happening between Ukraine and Russia is a dispute between two sovereign countries. The question of Taiwan is an internal affair of China. Such "empathy" is a fabrication to exploit the Ukraine crisis which is a totally different situation from that across the Taiwan Straits. Tsai and her followers in Taiwan are taking the Ukraine crisis as an opportunity to hype up the so-called military threat and intimidation from the Chinese mainland. The "empathy" Tsai expressed toward Ukraine is nothing but part of Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party's conspiracy to make the question of Taiwan an "international issue", and thus woo international support for what they are doing in pursuit of the island's "independence". However, Tsai has forgotten the fact that Taiwan has always been part of China and never a sovereign country, which is acknowledged by the entire world and Chinese people across the Taiwan Straits. There would be neither political nor military tension across the Straits if Tsai as leader of the island accepted the 1992 Consensus acknowledging Taiwan is part of China. It is the attempts of Tsai and DPP to seek the island's secession from the motherland that has resulted in what the mainland has been doing to assert its sovereignty over the island. What Tsai should also be clear about is the fact that the sales of arms by the United States to the island can only increase the tension across the Straits, and it is just wishful thinking for the secessionists on the island to expect the support of the US no matter what lengths they go to in pursuit of their goal. The mainland will try whatever it can to seek the peaceful reunification of the island, which it believes is in the interests of the Chinese people across the Straits. But military action is always an option the central government will never exclude. Tsai and her clique should never underestimate the resolve of the central government to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. It cannot be clearer to anyone across the Straits that it is in the interests of Chinese people on the island for the Taiwan authorities to accept the one-China principle. By seeking "independence" for the island, Tsai and her clique are putting their own political ambition and interest before the well-being of the people on the island. If Tsai means what she said about peace and security in the region and across the Straits and cares about the well-being of the people on the island, she should uphold the one-China principle. FRIDAY, Feb, 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Mass cullings have been implemented as a highly contagious form of avian flu has swept across the eastern half of the United States in recent weeks, killing both farmed poultry and wild birds. Its very concerning, given how quickly this thing is accelerating, Henry Niman, a biochemist in Pittsburgh who studies the genetic evolution of viruses, told The New York Times. I think we could see historic levels of infections," added Niman, who has been tracking the outbreak's spread across the United States. It's likely the virus is being spread by wild birds returning from winter feeding grounds, according to experts, and many fear the worst will come when spring migration peaks in a few weeks, the Times reported. Poultry growers are being urged by federal officials to report sick or dying birds and to take preventive measures such as preventing contact between their farmed flocks and wild birds. Its important to note that avian influenza is not considered to be a risk to public health and its not a food-safety risk, Mike Stepien, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agricultures Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, told the Times. The virus -- called Eurasian H5N1 -- has not jumped to humans but is being closely watched by scientists because it's closely related to an Asian strain that has infected hundreds of people since 2003. That strain doesn't spread efficiently among humans, but when it does it has a death rate of 60%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it can decimate a country's poultry industry. Right now, turkey farmers in Indiana and Kentucky are the most worried. Several farms in those states have been shuttered in the past two weeks after officials discovered the virus among birds that spend their entire lives crammed into massive containment sheds. Farmers say they have been stunned by how efficiently the virus kills, with animals dying hours after the initial infection, the Times reported. Everyone is on super-high alert and trying to be as prepared as possible because we all remember the devastation of 2014 and 2015, Dr. Denise Heard, a veterinarian with the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, told the Times. The 2014-15 outbreak sent poultry and egg prices soaring and cost the industry more than $3 billion though the federal government compensated farmers for lost flocks. In the end, nearly 50 million birds were killed by the virus or destroyed to prevent its spread, a vast majority of them in Iowa and Minnesota. More information Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on the avian flu. SOURCE: The New York Times The Russian invasion of Ukraine has taken an emotional toll on Ukrainian faculty members and students at the University of Kansas. Early Thursday morning, Russian forces invaded Ukraine in full-scale, according to CBS news. Since last week, the situation in Ukraine has been escalating rapidly, with indications of possible Russian invasion. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia dates back to 2014, mainly in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, according to Vox News. Vitaly Chernetsky, a Ukrainian-American professor of Slavic languages & literatures at KU, said he had several family members currently struggling in Ukraine. This is not anything anyone had ever imagined would be possible, Chernetsky said. People are trying to stay calm and not to panic. The Slavic and Eurasian Languages & Literatures department held a meeting today to address the emotional tragedy for Ukrainian faculty members teaching at the department. Mykola Hordiichuk, a Ukrainian student at the University, said he felt disturbed but is trying to stay calm. I thought that it wasnt going to be serious, Hordiichuk said. I couldnt predict a full-war mode. Initially, Hordiichuk felt misinformed by the news, but he was surprised to find out the invasion was actually happening. At that point, you start realizing this stuff is real, and it is not somebody making this up, Hordiichuk said. Hordiichuks parents still hide in a basement in Uman, Cherkassy region. Some of my relatives started really panicking, Hordiichuk said. [My parents] werent ready for this. Hordiichuk encouraged people to follow information released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, as well as other government sources. The University campus has been supportive of Hordiichuk, he said. A lot of my professors tried to talk to me and offered their condolences, Hordiichuk said. Sarah Crawford-Parker, director of University Honors Program, sent a message to the University Honors community on Thursday, addressing the traumatic impact on Ukrainian students, faculty and staff. 0:28 Explosion in Uman, Ukraine Massive explosion 30 miles away from Hordiichuk's hometown Uman, Ukraine. Closely and with intense concern, we are watching events unfold in Ukraine, Crawford-Parker said. The University Honors Program is intended to be a space of stability and support. Turn to us now and at any moment of volatility or stress. We are here to listen, to console, and to help. Irina Smirnova, a Ukrainian associate professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center, said the Russian invasion of Ukraine is despicable. It is incomprehensible that in our time one country is forcing itself on a sovereign country, to satisfy the imperial ambitions of its dictator, Smirnova said. It seems like a bad bad dream. Smirnova said she has been receiving support messages from other faculty members at the University. I am scared for my mom and friends and all the people in Ukraine who are in terrible danger, Smirnova said. Chernetsky encouraged people who have resources to donate to American charities providing emergency aid to Ukrainians. If you know somebody who has Ukrainian ties, please reach out to them and make them feel less alone, Chernetsky said. Please think of us and not let us feel abandoned and forgotten. On Feb. 28, Chancellor Douglas Girod and Provost Barbara Bichelmeyer sent an email to the University community addressing the concerns of students and faculty affected by the recent events. The Office of International Affairs is offering support and directing Ukrainian and Russian community members to campus resources. This unprovoked attack on a sovereign democratic state has rightfully been condemned by leaders around the world, and on behalf of our university, we join them in condemning this assault, the message said. KU stands with the people of Ukraine and those throughout the world who are opposed to this attack. Park Hyung Sik and Han So Hee display subtle sweetness in the newly released "Soundtrack #1" photo stills, raising expectations and excitement. Park Hyung Sik, Han So Hee Display Sweetness in 'Soundtrack #1' Stills Han So Hee and Park Hyung Sik are generating a lot of buzz for their explosive chemistry in the newly released stills for "Soundtrack #1" even before its release! Disney+'s upcoming romance drama "Soundtrack #1" centers around childhood best friends of 20 years who finally learn about one another's truest feelings after living with each other in the same house for two weeks. The upcoming drama has been receiving positive feedback even before its premiere due to the meeting of global sensation stars Park Hyung Sik and Han So Hee. The two actors boast their charms and talents as Han Sun Woo and Lee Eun Soo, respectively, a photographer and lyricist. Two best friends who learn each other's feelings after staying under the same roof for two weeks. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Han So Hee, Park Hyung Sik Find Each Other Stuck in Between Friends and Lovers in New Drama 'Soundtrack #1' On February 25, the production unit of "Soundtrack #1" unveiled a two-shot photo of Han Sun Woo and Lee Eun Soo that made everyone's hearts flutter. In the photo, Han Sun Woo and Lee Eun Soo sit side-by-side in front of a convenience store on a white snowy night. Lee Eun Soo channels her child-like personality as she enjoys the falling snow, while Han Sun Woo looks at her with so much adoration. The heart-fluttering synergy between two actors, whose characters feel stuck in between lovers and friends, raises fans and viewers' excitement. The First Snow of the Year Signifies Undying Romance To South Koreans, the "first snow" doesn't just mean winter, cold and freezing bones. It's much more romantic than what it looks like. For them, the first snow of the year signifies new opportunities and chances as South Koreans believe that it's the best moment to confess to the person you love or try to be with the person you like. Then,people will stay together for a long time. The subtle romantic moment between Park Hyung Sik and Han So Hee's characters under the snow hints at a possible confession of love, amplifying anticipation. 'Soundtrack #1' Pre-Production and Premiere Disney+'s original series "'Soundtrack #1" is written by screenwriter Ahn Sae Bom for Red Nine Pictures. It will air for the first time in March with "Vincenzo" director Kim Hee Won's guidance and sensuous directing skills. Watch the teaser here: KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. Jurors will begin the second day of deliberations Thursday in the case of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd's civil rights during a 2020 arrest that resulted in his death. NATO flag flying at NATO Headquarters Brussels. For the first time ever, the NATO Response Force has been activated as a defensive measure in response to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Tourists are guided around the abandoned city of Pripyat, inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone, in 2019. Russian forces have seized control of the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, according to the agency that manages the area. 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... What does Putin want in Ukraine? The conflict explained Ketchikan, AK (99901) Today Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 48F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with periods of light rain. Low 39F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. KIEV, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that he wants to hold negotiations with Russia over its military operation. Zelensky made the remarks in a televised address, according to a statement published in the president's official website. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized "a special military operation" in Donbass, and Ukraine confirmed that military installations across the country were under attack. At least 137 Ukrainians were killed and more than 300 injured in the military operation, Zelensky earlier said. 1 Shares Share On December 14th, 2021, hospital CEOs met under the guise of The Transformative CEO Healthcare Summit to brainstorm novel ideas in health care and to create a new world ecosystem. Themes included how to utilize medical data, how technology can transform health care and expanding at-home delivery systems of care. Leaders in health care met just weeks before hospital admissions skyrocketed to an all-time high of coronavirus cases with unprecedented levels of staffing shortages due to the Omicron variant, which virologists and epidemiologists had been predicting around the time of meeting. Frontline health care workers know all too well the reality of the crumbling American health care system, which has been ravaged by the coronavirus. While access to health care has always been an issue that falls along socioeconomic and racial lines, the coronavirus pandemic highlighted the realities of racism and economic privilege in medicine Black and Latino Americans have consistently disproportionately higher rates of coronavirus infection and higher COVID-19-related mortality. The etiologies of disparity are multifactorial including decreased health care access, increased exposure risk, and increased risk of misinformation. To this point, Dr. Tom Mihaljevic, CEO at the Cleveland Clinic stated, A century from now will bring us to an even better place depending on how successfully we address the following four fundamental questions: 1. Can we reach more patients? 2. Can we improve access for more patients? 3. Can we treat all patients equally regardless of their background? 4. Can we leverage technology for the greater good? While equity in patient safety was discussed at The Summit, there seems to have been a lack of discussion on staff or patient safety. Since the start of the pandemic, 1 in 5 health care workers have left medicine due to workplace difficulties. Multiple studies have shown a high degree of insomnia, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptoms in health care workers during the time of coronavirus. Lack of administrative support, lack of proper personal protective equipment (PPE), and overworking are cited as highly associated risk factors for developing mental illness in frontline health care workers. Patient safety is directly related to hospital staffing, with risk of patient death increasing by nearly 7 percent for every additional patient a nurse must care for over the average ratio of 1:6. In addition to mental health, the prevalence of violence against health care workers is increasing. In response, Robert C. Garrett, CEO of New Jersey hospital chain Hackensack Meridian Health, has announced a no-tolerance campaign to decrease verbal and physical misconduct by patients within hospital settings. Additionally, Warner Thomas, CEO of New Orleans-based Ochsner Health, has called on lawmakers to escalate violence against health care workers a felony. While workplace violence is starting to be addressed on an administrative level, why are hospital administrators not advocating for safe staffing? Most health care workers believe the answer is simple: greed. Hospitals financially profit from understaffing. Currently, only California has a robust legislature regulating minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, passed in 2016. A similar bill was set forth in Massachusetts in 2018. The Massachusetts bill was supported by nearly 90 percent of registered nurses in Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Nurses Association. However, with nearly $27 million raised largely by the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association to campaign against the proposition, it was not passed. Currently, a national standard for the minimal nurse-t0-patient ratio is set before Congress, S.1567, the Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2021, proposed in May 2021. Impact In Healthcare, a multidisciplinary nonprofit aiming to transform the health care system, is asking for sweeping changes to hospital policy, including minimum staffing ratios, and has put pressure on the Joint Commission to do so. Two of the largest problems facing the American health care system remain equity in access to health care and staffing safety. During a time when the United States ranks amongst the highest coronavirus death rate of all developed nations, its time to go back to the basics. Hospital CEOs must tend to the very building blocks of their institutions when thinking ambitiously about the future and it is vital to listen to the voices at the frontline when doing so. Ammura Hernandez is an internal medicine resident and author of An Eschatological Isolation. Image credit: Shutterstock.com BEIRUT, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday launched the construction of Beirut Museum of Art (BeMA), the biggest project to kick off in the heart of the Lebanese capital since the beginning of Lebanon's economic crisis in 2019. Mikati said such an important cultural project will create happiness and hope for the Lebanese people in difficult economic conditions. The museum, which is scheduled to open in 2026, will be constructed under a private sector initiative launched by Lebanese businessmen at home and abroad who are keen to preserve Lebanon's cultural history. Sandra Abu Nader, the co-founder of BeMA, told Xinhua that the museum will exhibit around 3,000 pieces of art belonging to the Lebanese culture ministry including paintings, sculptures, works on papers and others. Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada said that the much-anticipated construction launch was a crucial milestone in "the return of Lebanese cultural life to some sense of normalcy." EUGENE-SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Local fitness facilities and residents reacted Thursday to the news that the Oregon Health Authority will be lifting the state mask mandate on March 19. This comes as hospitalizations are projected to reach levels below the start of the omicron surge, according to the OHA. Pursue Fitness in Springfield is no stranger to pivoting due to COVID-19. The facility closed for two months in the beginning of the pandemic. They also moved fitness equipment outdoors at one point. General Manager Matt Turnquist said there is a sense of relief with this news. "I think when these announcements were first made, I believe it was about a month ago, we had the target date of March 31," said Turnquist. "Even that created a lot of relief here. I think people are always looking for some sort of end, and I don't know if we're ever going to get that, but if we get sort of break, people will find relief in that." Turnquist said the fitness industry has forever changed because of the pandemic, but it has highlighted the importance of clean shared places. "One thing the pandemic has shown us is how important access is to affordable, safe and clean fitness spaces," said Turnquist. "I don't think we'll see the end of public fitness spaces. It's just a matter of how they look and how they adapt to all the changes." The Eugene Family YMCA's CEO, Brian Steffen, said the last two years have brought on challenges but has created opportunities for their leadership to think more strategically. "There are things we are doing now that we were not doing before, not just because of COVID," said Steffen. "During the past two years, we launched virtual fitness options for our members. We were the first Y to do that, in partnership of the YMCA of the USA. We launched a blood self-monitoring program. We also expanded or refugee and asylum program." Steffen also said their vision for the new Y opening up in 2023 was inspired by changes made in the pandemic. "For example, during COVID we learned the importance of having an outdoor exercise space so we built an outdoor exercise space," said Steffen. "We also have layered in extra handwashing stations." Masks will remain optional at both Pursue Fitness and The YMCA for those who want to continue wearing them for safety. Steffen said they are still waiting on public health guidance for their child care centers. Some locals said it's about time the mask mandate comes to an end. "I'm glad to see it finally come around," said Eugene resident Don Landauer. "Personally, I have been vaccinated and had my booster. I liked the mask mandate to protect others in case I was carrying something. So there is a little bit of trepidation, but I think at this point we need to lift it and get on with life." However, some are still approaching this new guidance with a "wait-and-see" attitude. "I just turned 68 years old, so I'm in a category where I'm exercising an abundance of caution," said Eugene resident Mike Grudzien. Springfield Public Schools has announced beginning March 19, the indoor mask mandate will be lifted in their schools. Oregon State University has also announced its intention to lift the mask mandate on campus the same day. 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! I see the city I used to live in, beautiful parks and buildings. I recognise streets I used to walk and spend time with friends. Now I see them on fire. As Russian troops advanced into the city of Kyiv (on Friday, February 25) a Ukrainian woman who has lived here in Kilkenny for 13 years tried to express the deep upset and worry she is feeling. Alina Piskaryova lives in Thomastown. She moved there recently having lived in Kilkenny city for many years with her husband and two children. Alina comes from Zhytomyr, about 120km west of Kyiv. She lived in Kyiv for many years and its her second home. Still living there is her mother, her brother, cousins and friends. They have been hiding but now Alina has urged them to move. In recent weeks Alina feared for her family, as she listened to international warnings of a possible invasion. But her mother, in Kyiv, refused to leave. Nobody believed something like this would actually happen. ABOVE: Alina with her children and her extended family in Ukraine On Thursday morning Alina was in touch, by text, with cousins trying to leave Ukraine. They were in Lviv, just 60 kilometres from the Polish border, and the area was being shelled. Since the military action started Alina has been unable to sleep. Shes been keeping a constant watch on news streams, updates from friends on Facebook and texting family and friends in Ukraine. Its the mid-term school break in Ireland and Alina is on a long-planned holiday with her family in America. Shes trying to keep up a brave face for her children, but at ages 10 and 12 they dont really understand. Its absolutely devastating. Alinas mother, her brother and his wife and her parents hid in a small, abandoned house on Thursday, when the invasion began. But Alina has told them to move. I was saying this two weeks ago but nobody believed me. I asked my mother to come here two weeks ago, but she said no. Alinas family thought the eastern part of Ukraine was in danger, Donetsk and Luhansk, but not Kyiv. I thought what are they going to do there?' Alina said. I couldn't understand why. Even if they conquer us we will never give up our land. We will fight and die. We are not slaves in our mind, we will fight to the last Ukrainian. We have to keep this at the top of the news. People have to think about it and the people there, Alina appealed. There is a small community of Ukrainian people in Kilkenny, but they are linked with others from their homeland living in Ireland via social media and chat apps. Alina said a few men are already talking about going back to Ukraine to fight. This is how strong we are. We will never give up. Others are trying to keep their families safe. Alina spoke to one friend in Ukraine on Thursday whose brother and pregnant wife were in a car on the way to the border. It was the day the woman was due to give birth. The people who lived in Ukraine were absolutely peaceful. We are the biggest country in Europe, in the middle, a very peaceful country, Alina said. Alinas husband Slawimir Gackowski is Polish and they chose to raise their family in Ireland, even though she had been happy in Ukraine and had never planned to emigrate. Anna (12) and ten year old Anton attend the Model School in Kilkenny City. Anna and Anton go to Ukraine every year with their mother, to keep strong links with her homeland. I worry we wont be able to keep in communication, Alina said on Friday morning. She is texting people every couple of hours but the chance that the internet and other communication lines might go down is a fear. Her friends trying to get to the borders are also worried they will run out of petrol and wont be able to get to the border. In the city her friends are in shelters with their kids. Im not sleeping. Im following everybody on Facebook. I know whats going on every minute. Im trying to stay as updated as I can. Alina is trying to stay strong. I cant fall apart. Hopefully my family will get to Poland and then they will need my support and my money. Hopefully I can bring my mum here. She urged the Irish government and people to think ahead and prepare for people to come here and be able to live and work. Friends and former workmates have offered their support to Alina. She has just started a new job, working in accounts in a company in Castlecomer, but her friends at her former workplace in Inistioge have been texting her, as have her Thomastown neighbours, asking how her family in Ukraine is. We will all keep praying. Nobody was thinking it would be the whole country. I was on Facebook and I saw people starting to say I hear the bombs from different towns and cities. I thought it was a joke. I see the city I used to live in, beautiful parks and buildings. I recognise streets I used to walk and spend time with friends. Now I see them on fire, Alina told the Kilkenny People. Its a nightmare. The trojan efforts of community groups across the city and country was recognised at a special awards ceremony at The Parade Tower on Wednesday. Kilkenny County Council Cathaoirleach Fidelis Doherty welcomed all groups who attended the Kilkenny Council Council Community Awards Ceremony that recognises and acknowledges communities from across the county for their endless dedication to projects and to their towns and villages. The Cathaoirleach congratulated all involved for their contribution to improving their local community. "Community organisations play a key role in driving the overall prosperity and wellbeing in every city and town, in every county across the country. County Kilkenny has a strong tradition of community cooperation and collaboration. It is important to recognise and reward those communities who come together to work with the local authority and state agencies to contribute to this prosperity. It has been a very difficult two years for all but despite this it is great to see communities continue to do great work in Kilkenny. The community awards event gives us the opportunity to pay tribute to you - groups and individuals - who make a real difference and a valuable contribution, who go the extra mile and provide example and inspiration to others. We congratulate you, along with all other community groups within the county. The very popular Kilkenny County Council Grants Booklet was also launched on the night by the Cathaoirleach. Kilkenny County Council has developed its 5th Edition of the Community Grants booklet, that is also available to view online where you can access grant details on your mobile phone, home computer and with other remote devices. Kilkenny County Council CEO Colette Byrne also made a presentation on the night giving an overview of projects that were completed and underway throughout the county. Colette Byrne also congratulated all the groups for all the great work in their local communities and for those who also assisted on the ground in helping the most vulnerable during the pandemic. Awards on the night were made to the following : 1st Award Pride of Place Awards The IPB Pride of Place, is an all-island competition that rewards people and groups who come together to shape, change and improve daily lives in their communities. Three communities represented Kilkenny for the 2021 competition and they included Windgap Village, the Older Persons Council and the KCAT Arts project. The national event was postponed last year due to the pandemic and will take place in Killarney on May 16. Award to the Older Persons Council (Category - Community Wellbeing) Since July 2020, the Kilkenny PPN in conjunction with the Kilkenny Older Persons Council has overseen and managed the delivery of Age Friendly tablets which are specifically designed to facilitate digital connection for older adults as well as mitigate social isolation which became more pronounced since the pandemic. Within this pilot scheme tablets have been provided to pilot groups and individuals around the city and county in Kilkenny with on average 3/4 users at each location receiving a tablet. With over 34 tablets presently in use, these tablets are provided to a host group and that host group supports the user to become confident and competent in using the tablet. These is truly a partnership approach where the Kilkenny PPN is working in conjunction with the, Age Friendly network, Family Resource Centres, the Social Prescribing Programme Co-ordinator, the ETB and the HSE. KCAT Callan ( Category Creative Space) KCAT, (Kilkenny Collective for Arts Talent) is an Arts Centre which has been in operation for twenty-one years. Over that time a community of creatives and artists has grown in reputation both nationally and internationally. Windgap (Category Population- Village ) In recent years a coming together of the various strands within the community has seen a revival within the village and this vibrant community spirit has enabled this community to embark on many exciting projects. 2nd Award Tidy Towns (4 Groups) Keep Kilkenny Beautiful, is the tidy towns group for Kilkenny City which was established back in 1980. The committee works in partnership with the citys communities, council, businesses and voluntary bodies, enhancing the city and creating a wonderful place to live. Kilkenny City has won the overall National Tidy Towns title twice, initially in 1985 and again in 2014. Inistioge Tidy Towns, they are the oldest tidy towns group in the county, competing in the competition for over 67 years. The village represented Ireland in the Entente Florale competition in 2018 and received a gold medal, and this evening we celebrate Inistioge being awarded their first gold medal in the national tidy towns competition. Tidy Towns, they first joined the competition in 1991 and through the work of the committee and local residents have transformed the village by nurturing local features and taking on some ambitious projects like the building of the Viewing Tower. Tullahought Tidy Towns promotes its rich local heritage and is active participant of Heritage Week annually. Listerlin this group are relatively new to the competition won the County Endeavour Award in the national towns competition as they improved their marks by 7% on their previous entry, the highest % increase in the county. They also scooped the SE regional Covid-19 Community Award. 3rd Award (Tidy Estates Awards) At local level, Kilkenny County Council Tidy Estates Competition aims to encourage residents to take an active role in improving the physical appearance of their estate. The winners of the 2021 competition under the Large, Medium & Small Estate Categories include the following. Large Estates 1st Newpark Lower, Kilkenny Large 2nd Chapelfield, Urlingford Large 3rd Glenvale Ballyraggett Medium Estates 1st Mill Road, Inistioge Medium 2nd De La Salle Place, Kilkenny Medium 3rd Brandon Park, Graignamanagh Small Estates 1st Shamrock Grove, Kilmacow Small 2nd Fr. Raftice Place, Moneenroe Small 3rd St. Patricks Close, Mullinavat Small BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the Japanese side to properly handle issues left over from history so as not to lose further credibility in the eyes of its Asian neighbors and the international community. It has been reported that Republic of Korea (ROK) Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong expressed his concerns over Japan's bid to register the war-linked gold mines on Sado Island as a UNESCO World Heritage Site when holding talks with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in Paris on Tuesday. When asked to comment on Chung's remarks, spokesperson Hua Chunying told a daily press briefing that China's position on the issue of forced labor in Japan during World War II is constant and clear, noting that China understands and supports the attitude of the ROK. The forced recruitment and enslavement of laborers were grave crimes committed by the Japanese military during its overseas acts of aggression and colonial rule, Hua said. In a similar previous bid, Japan admitted that there was forced labor at some of these sites involving workers from China, the Korean Peninsula and other Asian countries, and promised to set up an information center to honor the victims, but never fulfilled that promise. "Now, ignoring the painful memories of its neighbors, Japan is trying to make a similar new bid, which will only trigger stronger indignation and opposition," Hua said. Japan should face up to its history, adopt an honest and responsible attitude, and take concrete actions to properly handle issues left over from history so as not to lose further credibility in the eyes of its Asian neighbors and the international community, she said. Paul Smithwick OBE, a well-known retired Kilkenny solicitor and prominent member of the Smithwick brewing family, has passed away. Mr Smithwick was held in high regard by many in Kilkenny and further afield for his courteous demeanour and ceaseless work ethic. In 2016, the scale of his contribution to the betterment of society was recognised when he was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his service to British-Irish relations. Paul was a proud member of the great brewing dynasty and in recent years relaunched Sullivan's Ale, furthering the brewing legacy of the family and cementing brewing as a key part of Kilkenny's cultural identity. Mayor of Kilkenny Andrew McGuinness described Paul Smithwick as 'a great supporter of all things Kilkenny who kept the betterment of the city to the forefront of all of his business decisions'. Deputy John McGuinness described the loss of Paul as 'a huge loss to Kilkenny'. "He always had Kilkenny at heart and is part of a family whose name is synonymous with Kilkenny in many positive ways. Thoughts and prayers with his family and friends at this sad time, he added. Funeral arrangements to be confirmed. Rest In Peace. Ireland will back the strongest possible and most comprehensive package of sanctions against Russia to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine, the Taoiseach has said. Micheal Martin said the punitive measures will reflect the grave nature of the assault on the Ukrainian people. Speaking ahead of the summit of EU leaders, Mr Martin said he will support sanctions in the financial, energy and transport sector that would help weaken the industrial base of Russia and its capacity to wage a war. EU leaders are meeting on Thursday evening to discuss and agree on a range on sanctions against Moscow. Its not a situation that we wanted to be in but we are coming here this evening and I coming here representing Ireland, along with my European colleagues to, in the first instance, collectively condemn the outrageous and immoral attack on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and on its people, Mr Martin said. Ireland stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people in their darkest hour and we will support the imposition of comprehensive and severe sanctions on Russia, sanctions that reflect the grave nature of the assault on the Ukrainian people. We will be supporting the strongest possible and most comprehensive sanctions that can be deployed, particularly in the financial sector, in energy and transport and in a range of sectors that would weaken the industrial base of Russia and also its capacity to wage war. All diplomatic efforts were made by European leaders over the last while to try and avert this crisis, to de-escalate the situation. But it is very clear that Russian was intent on a military assault on the Ukrainian people. We will support Ukraine in any way we can. We will be providing an initial 10 million euro fund towards humanitarian purposes, but we will also stand ready to do whatever else we can to assist the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian Government in this, their hour of need. Asked whether it would support the removal of Russia from the Swift global interbank payments system, Mr Martin said: We will support the strongest possible sanctions and will work collectively with our colleagues this evening. It is extremely important that we work collectively and in a unified way and pursue the strongest measures possible. He said that Ireland would not recognise a government installed by Russia. We support the democratically elected government of Ukraine and will continue to do so, he added. We are a liberal democracy that fundamentally believes the fundamental principles of a United Nations charter, which have been violated by Russia in this situation. We believe in peaceful resolution of disputes. We think of the Ukrainian people in the line of fire. We think of the young people who will die because of this Russian aggression and in no way is this justifiable by any yard stick and we are very resolute on that. Earlier, Mr Martin paid tribute to two Irish diplomats working in Kyiv and said that the Government was maintaining close contact with Irish citizens in Ukraine. He said that their safety is paramount. Mr Martin also said that Ireland can especially understand the plight of Ukrainians. As a small country in particular, todays use of brute force in pursuit of a warped perception of national interest is a serious affront, he said. Taking questions from reporters, Mr Martin said that he expected to find unity in Brussels over the necessary response. He said that sanctions should not be incremental and needed to be immediate. Ireland stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people in their darkest hour. We will support the imposition of comprehensive and severe sanctions on Russia.#Ukraine #EUCO pic.twitter.com/mBudOgqG99 Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) February 24, 2022 Mr Martin said that any military response from the western countries was not something to be lightly considered. The economic sanctions and dealing with this in a different way from the military route is the most effective one to protect the lives of people across Europe. Ukraines ambassador to Ireland Larysa Gerasko said her country is facing a challenging, alarming and threatening time. Speaking from the Ukrainian embassy in Dublin, Ms Gerasko said: Not only Ukraine, but I would say the whole world. Today a full-scale armed conflict in the heart of Europe was launched by Russia. Russia has deliberately humiliated the UN, the rule of law and the democratic purpose. The Kremlin stated countless times that it is open to diplomatic dialogue. Last night, President Zelensky called Mr Putin to discuss possible settlement or possible steps that would lead to de-escalation, but Putin declined this call and thats everything we need to know abut Russian diplomacy. Ms Gerasko called on the Irish Government and for EU leaders to introduce tougher sanctions against Russia. In order for a tougher package of sanctions we have to target a wider number of entities, Russian entities, Russian banks, Russian companies and Russian oligarchs, she said. These package of sanctions must heed Russian economy. So now the question is where does Putin stop? We are ready to return to the round table of negotiations. And, of course, our western partners, EU member states, the UK and the USA also use all possible means to get Russia to return to the table for further negotiations. In the Dail on Thursday evening, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney confirmed that the Irish Embassy is no longer operating in Kyiv. Our staff and other staff are transferring to a safe place as we speak, he told the Dail. He also provided an update on the plans for a visa waiver scheme for Ukrainian nationals. Mr Coveney said that he was working with the Irish justice minister to put a structure and system in place that will allow Ukrainian citizens in Ireland bring their families from Ukraine to Ireland, if they judge that thats necessary for safety reasons. He said that he will ensure that the system works and is streamlined. Likewise for Irish citizens who are in Ukraine, who of course want to bring their families with them home who may not be Irish nationals, we will also ensure that we have a process in place that will allow them to do that quickly and without impediments, Mr Coveney added. Northern Irelands Assistant Chief Constable has pledged police will help the family of Noah Donohoe get justice. Noah, a 14-year-old pupil at St Malachys College in Belfast, was found dead in a storm drain in the north of the city in June 2020, six days after he went missing. His mother Fiona is hoping to secure answers to some of the questions surrounding his death through the ongoing inquest process. She has raised concerns around a number of folders of sensitive police material. The material is currently being prepared for potential public interest immunity (PII) certification, which may see some sections being redacted. More than 280,000 people have signed a petition calling for the files to be released. Ms Donohoe, accompanied by her sister Niamh, delivered the petition to police headquarters on Friday. A large number of supporters gathered at the premises in east Belfast calling for the material to be released. Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton met Ms Donohoe outside to receive the petition. During a brief exchange, Ms Donohoe told Mr Singleton they need the files released to secure justice, adding: Thats your job, to serve justice, to give us, the public, justice. Her sister asked whether Chief Constable Simon Byrne had given Mr Singleton a message to give to them. He responded: Were absolutely determined to do everything we can to bring justice for Noah. Weve been working with the coroner and we will continue to work with you and the rest of the family to make sure we achieve that. PII is being considered, no decisions have been taken at this time. I thank you for bringing this petition to us today. Mr Singleton added: Well do everything we can to make sure you get justice. In a statement afterwards, he said: The police service has deep and sincere sympathy with the Donohoe family for the unimaginable pain of their loss. I accepted copies of a petition today (February 25) and assured Fiona that we remain fully committed to finding answers for the Donohoe family. The disappearance and death of Noah Donohoe is subject to an ongoing coronial investigation. The Police Service continue to investigate under their Police (NI) Act 2000 duty, but also provide assistance to the coroner, so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time. Two people were taken to the hospital Friday following a three-vehicle crash on Highway 52 in Rochester. KIMT photo. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine. #GLOBALink Produced by Xinhua Global Service Staff members work at "Falcon" testing lab, an air-inflated lab in south China's Hong Kong, Feb. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai) HONG KONG, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Mobile laboratories, nicknamed "Falcon" and built with mainland support, were put into operation Friday in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's (HKSAR) Kowloon to conduct mass COVID-19 testing. The temporary labs consist of five air-inflated chambers each and can handle 80,000 testing samples per day. They are backed by Guangzhou KingMed Diagnostics Group Co., Ltd., which now runs two Falcon labs in Hong Kong. The company said it will continue to send additional personnel to support Hong Kong in accordance with the HKSAR government's relevant epidemic prevention policies, and give full technological support to Hong Kong's universal COVID-19 testing. Chief Executive of the HKSAR Carrie Lam said earlier this week that Hong Kong will conduct mass mandatory testing in March to fight the latest COVID-19 outbreak when all Hong Kong residents must undergo nucleic acid tests three times. Various sectors in Hong Kong have voiced their support for the testing, believing that the move will help to control the pandemic and put society back on track. Hong Kong reported 10,010 new COVID-19 cases and 47 deaths on Friday, official data showed. Staff members work at "Falcon" testing lab, an air-inflated lab in south China's Hong Kong, Feb. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai) Staff members work at "Falcon" testing lab, an air-inflated lab in south China's Hong Kong, Feb. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai) Staff members work at "Falcon" testing lab, an air-inflated lab in south China's Hong Kong, Feb. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai) A staff member works at "Falcon" testing lab, an air-inflated lab in south China's Hong Kong, Feb. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai) Two Easy Ways To Subscribe! The Kodiak Daily Mirror offers full-service, five-day a week subscriptions with home delivery in addition to unlimited access to our online services (including our e-Edition). Online-access-only subscriptions include unlimited access to the Mirror's online services without delivery of the printed newspaper. (Note: New users: You must register and login before purchasing a subscription. Support local journalism Local news, sports and entertainment when you want it. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the best local news, sports and entertainment coverage. Workers produce edible fungi growing kits at an agricultural sci-tech company in Wuguanyi Township of Liuba County in Hanzhong, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 24, 2022. Spring farming activities in Liuba County are underway with the help of modern agricultural facilities and technologies. (Xinhua/Tao Ming) Worker pack edible fungi growing kits at an agricultural sci-tech company in Wuguanyi Township of Liuba County in Hanzhong, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 24, 2022. Spring farming activities in Liuba County are underway with the help of modern agricultural facilities and technologies. (Xinhua/Tao Ming) Workers produce edible fungi growing kits at an agricultural sci-tech company in Wuguanyi Township of Liuba County in Hanzhong, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 24, 2022. Spring farming activities in Liuba County are underway with the help of modern agricultural facilities and technologies. (Xinhua/Tao Ming) Workers examine edible fungi growing kits at an agricultural sci-tech company in Wuguanyi Township of Liuba County in Hanzhong, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 24, 2022. Spring farming activities in Liuba County are underway with the help of modern agricultural facilities and technologies. (Xinhua/Tao Ming) Villagers work at a flower cultivation base in Shaba Village of Liuba County in Hanzhong, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 24, 2022. Spring farming activities in Liuba County are underway with the help of modern agricultural facilities and technologies. (Xinhua/Tao Ming) A worker moves edible fungi growing kits at an agricultural sci-tech company in Wuguanyi Township of Liuba County in Hanzhong, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 24, 2022. Spring farming activities in Liuba County are underway with the help of modern agricultural facilities and technologies. (Xinhua/Tao Ming) Employees water flowers at a flower cultivation base in Shaba Village of Liuba County in Hanzhong, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 24, 2022. Spring farming activities in Liuba County are underway with the help of modern agricultural facilities and technologies. (Xinhua/Tao Ming) President Joe Biden has reached a decision on his first nominee to the Supreme Court, people familiar with the selection said Thursday. GOP lawmakers call for stronger sanctions against Russia but some are careful in their criticism of Biden Protesters demand that Russia be banned from the SWIFT system during a rally for Ukraine at the White House. This system facilitates international interbank transactions, and banning Russia would severely curtail business transactions and banking. BAGHDAD, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage has announced it was restoring monumental sculptures vandalized by militants of the extremist group Islamic State (IS) in the historic city of Hatra in northern Iraq. In the middle of an Iraqi desert, about 90 km southwest of Nineveh's provincial capital Mosul, Hatra stands with its monumental sculptures and high walls full of inscriptions and watchtowers dating back to 2,000 years ago. At a ceremony held on Thursday at the archaeological site of Hatra, the State Board of Antiquities revealed some monumental sculptures that have been restored during the past three months by Iraqi experts in cooperation with Italy's International Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (ISMEO), under the sponsorship of the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH). Ali Abi Shalgham, representative of the Iraqi Minister of Culture, told Xinhua that "many archaeological sites in Nineveh province were under maintenance, including the archaeological site of Hatra." The first phase of restoration has completed in the Hatra ruin site, which included the rehabilitation of the administrative headquarters, the maintenance of some of the ancient city's walls, as well as the restoration of some statues and pieces on the arches of temples, according to Shalgham. Massimo Vidale, scientific director of the Italian expedition, told Xinhua that restoring the vandalized antiquities that decorated the buildings and reflected the grandeur of the city is an essential part of their work. "We restored many destroyed artifacts and at the same time built some buildings, and we have also collected thousands of pieces of artifacts and will return them to their original locations," said Vidale. After Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled by troops led by the United States in 2003, about 15,000 pieces of cultural relics from the Stone Age, the Babylonian, Assyrian, and Islamic periods were stolen or destroyed by looters, according to official statistics. The Mosul Museum and the ancient cities of Hatra and Nimrud were destroyed and large numbers of antiquities were smuggled after the IS militants took control of large territories in northern and western Iraq in 2014. More than 10,000 sites in Iraq are officially recognized as archaeological sites, but most of them are not properly protected and many are still being looted. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a U.S. Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, poses for a portrait, Friday, February 18, in her office at the court in Washington. President Joe Biden has selected her as his nominee to the Supreme Court, according to a source who has been notified about the decision, setting in motion a historic confirmation process for the first Black woman to sit on the highest court in the nation. The al-Zour oil and gas installation in the south of the Gulf state of Kuwait AFP-Yonhap Commodity prices jumped to multi-year highs Thursday after Russia invaded Ukraine, raising the prospect of tighter supplies due to the possibility of additional sanctions on Russian exports, transport disruptions and Moscow withholding supplies. Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, sea and air Thursday, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. It supplies 10 percent of the world's oil, a third of Europe's gas and, together with Ukraine accounts for 29 percent of global wheat exports, 80 percent of sunflower oil exports and 19 percent of world corn exports. Russia is the world's largest supplier of palladium with a 40 percent market share. It accounts for 10 percent of global nickel and 6 percent of aluminum supplies. Oil rose above $105 per barrel for the first time since 2014, UK and Dutch gas rose about 40 percent to 50 percent, wheat jumped to a near decade high, corn to an eight-month peak and aluminum soared to record highs. In precious metals, palladium prices jumped to seven-month highs and gold climbed to a near 18-month peak as investors switched to safe-haven assets. Some markets reversed course after the United States imposed harsh new sanctions on Russia. Oil prices eased after Biden said Washington was working with other countries on a combined release of additional oil from global strategic crude reserves. The United States warned more action could come. Minister for Land, Infrastructure and Transport Noh Hyeong-ouk, left, and Transport Minister of Egypt Kamel Al-Wazir hold copies of a signed memorandum of understanding, Feb. 24. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport By Lee Kyung-min Korea is seeking to bolster economic cooperation, including infrastructure building, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Egypt. The transport minister recently visited Egypt to help transport businesses bolster their competitiveness in the country, an important strategic partner of Korea. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, minister Noh Hyeong-ouk visited Egypt from Wednesday until Friday (local time) in a bid to bolster economic cooperation, including infrastructure building between the two countries. The three-day visit was a follow-up to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the amount of $1 billion (1.2 trillion won) signed by President Moon Jae-In during his state visit trip to Egypt in January of last year. More Korean firms will be able to expand their market presence in Egypt, propped up by a 1 trillion-won railway collaboration in the construction of Cairo Metro Lines 1, 2 and 3 since 2012. Examples include Hyundai Rotem, the rail, defense and eco plant solutions affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, and DAEA TI, a traffic management system service provider, both of which are major partners in the railway modernization project led by the Egyptian government. Korea provided aid of $360 billion to Egypt in May of last year through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), set up in 1987 to provide economic assistance to developing countries. The funds are being used to provide long-term loans at cheap rates and increased economic exchange with other countries. "Transport businesses will be able to bolster their competitiveness not only in Egypt, but further into the Middle East and Africa," the ministry said. Egypt has a population of 103 million the largest in the Arab world and has geopolitical strengths including the Suez Canal, an artificial sea-level waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The ministry thus considers the country an important strategic partner for Korea to enter the Middle East and African markets. Korea and Egypt established diplomatic relations in 1995 and have since maintained close coopera tion in a variety of fields, including overseas construction, large state-run projects and intelligent transportation systems. The cumulative overseas construction orders between the two nations have amounted to 6.2 trillion won since 1976, when Korean firms first won contracts for the country's infrastructure building projects. EU ministers for migration will convene for a special meeting this weekend to discuss "concrete responses" to the Ukraine crisis, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced. Thousands of people have already streamed across the borders into neighboring countries such as Poland, Moldova, Slovakia and also Russia, a spokesperson for the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in Geneva on Friday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday the bloc had prepared contingency plans for refugees with EU member states for the event that Russia invades Ukraine. (dpa) Lou Ann Homan-Saylor lives in Angola at the White Picket Gardens where you can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, teacher, writer, actress and a collector of front porch stories. She can be contacted at locketoftime@aol.com. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is demanding the resignation of the nation's homeland security chief even as the United States faces potential Russian reprisals for standing up to Vladimir Putin following his invasion of Ukraine. The Hoosier Republican signed a letter Tuesday saying U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas needs to go because of what Rokita contends is Mayorkas' failure to enforce federal law and secure America's southern border. "During my two recent trips to the border, I saw firsthand the state of chaos and lawlessness that our federal government has allowed to fester," Rokita said. "This deliberate negligence amounts to an attack on the rule of law by the very people we entrust to enforce it," he said. Rokita has faced criticism from Democrats for his taxpayer-funded trips to the U.S.-Mexico border that last month included a stop at a Donald Trump rally in Texas, where the Republican former president praised Rokita as "another man who has done a fantastic job." In contrast, Rokita alleges Mayorkas, a former federal prosecutor, is not doing a good job. Rokita, a Munster native, claims the record number of migrants and narcotics nabbed at the border by Department of Homeland Security personnel last year suggest even more are making it to communities in Indiana and elsewhere. "From the time you took office to December 2021, Customs and Border Protection seized enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman and child in our country six times over," Rokita said. "We shudder to think how much more is slipping through each day you remain in your position," he said. The attorney general also condemned Mayorkas for following Democratic President Joe Biden's directive to halt deportations during the first 100 days of Biden's term. Rokita said that means dangerous criminals are staying longer in the United States instead of being returned to their home countries. "In fact, given your willingness to enforce the law in the past, the only explanation is that you have consciously and intentionally caved to the far-left mob that has hijacked this administration from our vacant president," Rokita said. When asked by The Times if Rokita stands by his call for Mayorkas' resignation at a time when the United States may have a heightened need for a homeland security chief to protect against potential cyber and military attacks by Russia, Rokita doubled down. "The threat that Russia poses is yet another reason why Secretary Mayorkas should resign immediately. His refusal to enforce the rule of law puts our liberty and national security at risk," Rokita said. Rokita's call for Mayorkas' resignation was joined by Republican attorney generals from 13 additional states. Records show Mayorkas remains on the job. KATHMANDU, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Nepal and India have agreed to develop large hydropower projects in Nepal through joint investments, Nepal's Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said on Thursday. During a secretary-level joint steering committee meeting, the two sides agreed to set up a joint technical team to work on the plan, the ministry said in a press statement. "We're still in the early stage of discussion on developing large hydropower projects through joint investments," Chiranjeevi Chataut, joint secretary at the ministry, told Xinhua. According to him, no project has been identified for joint investments. Indian companies are currently involved in some large hydropower projects in Nepal, including the 900 megawatts (MW) Arun-III Hydropower Project in eastern Nepal and the 900MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project in western Nepal. According to the Nepali ministry, the two sides also agreed that the Nepal Electricity Authority and the Power Grid Corporation of India would set up a joint venture by April to construct a 400 kilovolts (KV) new Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line on the Indian side. Nepal will construct part of the proposed transmission line on its side, as the two countries agreed to jointly fund a 140-km-long transmission line on the Indian side in September last year. Currently, power trade between Nepal and India is conducted through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross-border transmission line in eastern Nepal, which has a capacity of 400KV. Nepal aims to export its surplus electricity to Indian markets, during the monsoon in particular. In November last year, India allowed Nepal to export 39MW of electricity to the country through its energy exchange market. India has also agreed to allow Nepal to export more electricity to India in the upcoming monsoon season, according to the Nepali ministry. In addition, Nepal and India have agreed to conduct a feasibility study on the construction of a cross-border transmission line between Nepal and India's West Bengal State, and such a transmission line may work as a transit for power trading between Nepal and Bangladesh, said Chataut. If you're interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here. Submit DAY6 Wonpil recently received a request from a fan and his response is quickly spreading online and earning positive feedback. Read on to know what happened. DAY6 Wonpil Warms People's Hearts with Response to Fan's Request During Live Broadcast In the early morning of Feb. 25, DAY6 member Wonpil held a voice-only live broadcast and communicated with the fans. One particular fan joined in the conversation and shared her thoughts about living alone and ordering food to be delivered. She said, "Wonpil, I heard it's not recommended for women to hint at living alone when they ask for their food to be delivered to their doors. The world's not safe." The fan then asked DAY6 Wonpil if he could say things as if he's answering the door as her boyfriend. "I want to record and use it," she added. Wonpil sighed after reading the request out loud and expressed his concern for the fan and the others who might be dealing with the same fear every day. He called the situation "unbelievable" and "strange" as he showed how upset he is at the fact that the fans need a male voice recording for them to ensure their safety every time they order food at home. ? .. ? ... pic.twitter.com/DI72G7Nfco .. (@feelingpil) February 24, 2022 "This is unbelievable, really... Like, don't you find it strange? I don't mean that the fan who made a request is weird. I mean that... (sigh) I feel like I'm going to start swearing, seriously," the idol said. DAY6 Wonpil then proceeded to do the fan's request. He repeated the phrase, "Leave it at the door, please" in various versions. "Please leave it at the door. Please leave... Wait, let me try again. Please leave it at the door. Leave it at the door, please. Leave it at the door please!" the keyboardist said. pic.twitter.com/pfWOfpr0dZ vv (@carpediemk1219v) February 24, 2022 Shortly after Wonpil's live broadcast, clips of him responding and doing the fan's request started circulating online. Many K-pop fans were impressed at the DAY6 member's kind gesture. They are praising him not only for fulfilling the fan's request but also for understanding her situation. Fans left comments such as "What a sweet and awesome person he is," "I love that he got upset," "Wonpil is beautiful inside out," "He doesn't only have a nice voice but also a good heart," and more. In the online community theqoo, the post about DAY6 Wonpil's recent voice-only live broadcast has surpassed 84,000 views. DAY6 Wonpil Makes Solo Debut Ahead of Military Enlistment In other news, Wonpil became the fourth member of DAY6 to debut as a soloist. He dropped his first solo album "Pilmography" prior to his military enlistment this coming March. On Feb. 7, Wonpil's "Pilmography" came with the music video for the title song "Voiceless." Besides "Voiceless," the album contains nine more new tracks, many of which he took part in writing and composing. In the first week of release, "Pilmography" sold a total of 32,131 copies on the Hanteo Chart, marking his successful solo debut. On music charts, DAY6 Wonpil's solo debut album took first place on iTunes Album charts in at least 10 different countries, including Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. It also debuted at No. 12 on the Worldwide iTunes Album Chart. For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz. KpopStarz owns this article Written by Mhaliya Scott Law enforcement agencies across the state of Idaho are reporting an increase in drug and drug trafficking cases, particularly when it comes to cases involving fentanyl. Read more By Fang Xiaozhi French President Emmanuel Macron announced at a press conference on February 17 that the divergences between France and Mali's transitional government and the current political and legal conditions in Mali have made it impossible for France to continue carrying out effective anti-terror operations in the country. Therefore, he had decided to coordinate with French allies and withdraw military resources from there. A plan on how to continue the anti-terror operations in West Africa will be worked out before June this year. Mali has been ravaged by poverty, armed conflicts and natural disasters in recent years, where extremist and terrorist organizations including Al Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) have constantly waged attacks and stirred up conflicts. Starting to send troops to Mali in 2013, France launched the massive Operation Barkhane in August 2014, fighting side by side with Sahel G5, including Niger, against extremist and terrorist organizations. In August 2020, military forces staged a mutiny in Mali and formed a transitional government, whose hostility toward French and European soldiers there has led to the deterioration of its relations with France. In June 2021, Paris announced to slash its troop deployments in the Sahel region and instead focus on supporting local troops' anti-terror operations, but would maintain its military presence in the region by dint of participation in Task Force Takuba. On January 28, 2022, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called the transitional government in Mali "illegal", which in turn demanded on January 31 that the French ambassador to Mali leave the country within 72 hours, the very same day when Paris called back its ambassador. In a sense, France's military withdrawal was the result of the escalating conflicts between the two countries. Unsatisfactory results of anti-terror operations are an important reason for France's pullback of troops. French troops have been fighting in Mali for nine long years, burning an astronomical amount of money without achieving equally impressive results. Instead of stemming the so-called Jihadist movement, Paris has witnessed terrorism grow in scale and intensity in the region losing tens of lives in the process. Overall, France's withdrawal of troops from Mali signifies a significant about-face in its West African strategy and will add many uncertainties to regional security. The first to bear the brunt is Mali and the Sahel region. As Macron pointed out, Al Qaeda and IS branches have taken the Sahel region and the Gulf of Guinea as the priority area for expansion. Once the security situation in Mali worsens, terrorism is sure to diffuse, then more refugees will flee West Africa and swarm into other regions and Europe, leading to another refugee crisis in the continent. Paris' decision will also affect the 15,000 troops of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) as well as the normal functioning and follow-up actions of the EU troops stationed there. These forces are vital for maintaining security and stability in current Mali and Sahel region, and French troops have been responsible for providing medical, air and emergency support to them. German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said France's withdrawal has made it unlikely for her country to continue the mission within MINUSMA, and London also said it needed to reconsider whether to let British soldiers continue carrying out missions within MINUSMA. Situated at the center of violent activities in the Sahel region and home to the branches of both Al Qaeda and IS, Mali is critical for the security in West Africa, or entire Africa really. It's hard to tell whether France's existing military presence in the Sahel region will work well and how the security situation there will evolve, but one thing for sure is that the anti-terror actions in West Africa will face greater risks and challenges. (The author is an associate professor from the College of International Studies, National University of Defense Technology) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia. (Xinhua/Xie E) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia. "Today I am announcing that we will immediately allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet urgent needs," the UN chief told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. "We and our humanitarian partners are committed to staying and delivering, to support people in Ukraine in their time of need," said the secretary-general. He said that UN staff are working on both sides of the contact line, "always guided by the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, humanity and independence." "We are providing lifesaving humanitarian relief to people in need, regardless of who or where they are," he said. "The protection of civilians must be priority number one," noted the top UN official. "International humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld." United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia. (Xinhua/Xie E) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia. (Xinhua/Xie E) Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Feb. 22, 2022 shows a screen broadcasting U.S. President Joe Biden delivering remarks on Ukraine situation in a live stream provided by CNBC. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) President Joe Biden said the new measures will target major Russian banks, limit the country's "ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen," and curtail Moscow's high-tech imports and its ability to upgrade the military. WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday additional sanctions against Russia and the deployment of more troops to Europe as conflicts in Ukraine continue to evolve. Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Biden said the new measures will target major Russian banks, limit the country's "ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen," and curtail Moscow's high-tech imports and its ability to upgrade the military. The U.S. president said he had authorized "deployment of ground and air forces stationed in Europe to the eastern flank," as well as "additional U.S. force capabilities to deploy to Germany" as part of the response of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). "Our forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict with Russia in Ukraine, our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine but defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the east," he reiterated, adding that NATO will convene a summit "tomorrow." A senior U.S. defense official said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that the Pentagon had ordered the deployment to Europe of approximately 7,000 additional service members and that they are expected to "depart in the coming days." Photo taken on Feb. 24, 2022 shows long lines of vehicles heading out of the city of Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Sergey Starostenko/Xinhua) The troops, the official added, will deploy to Germany to reassure NATO allies, "deter" Russia's military operations and be prepared to support a range of requirements in the region. Biden also addressed concerns that oil prices may further go up as a result of U.S. sanctions against Russia. "We've been coordinating with major oil-producing and consuming countries toward our common interest to secure global energy supplies," he said. "The United States will release additional barrels of oil as conditions warrant." The announcement was made hours after leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries met virtually to coordinate their responses to Russia's military actions in Ukraine. Biden tweeted he and his G7 counterparts had agreed to move forward on what he called "devastating packages of sanctions and other economic measures" against Russia. Earlier on Thursday, Biden convened a meeting of the National Security Council in the White House Situation Room to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine. Photo taken on Feb. 21, 2022 shows a screen displaying Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking during a televised address to the nation in Moscow, Russia. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi) Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized "a special military operation" in Donbass on Thursday and Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack. In a televised speech, Putin said the "plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories" and that Russia is "not going to impose anything on anyone by force." Russia's move, he explained, is in response to "fundamental threats" of NATO which has expanded to eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that the United States and NATO have broken their commitments, continuously expanded eastward, refused to implement the new Minsk agreement, and violated the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2202. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Kiev decides to sever diplomatic relations with Moscow. MISSOULA, Mont. - Community Medical Center is speaking out after a group of nurses filed a class-action lawsuit against the hospital last week. This comes after the hospital allegedly issued inaccurate paychecks to its employees. The issues started when CMC's payroll system, Kronos, got hacked in a nationwide ransomware attack in December, taking the payroll system completely offline. Last month, the Montana Nurses Association put the hospital under fire for allegedly underpaying 257 nurses, which goes against Montana law. CMC recently sent ABC/FOX Montana a statement saying in part, "It is disappointing that the union has taken legal action, particularly because this issue stems from a ransomware attack with a third-party vendor." They said they're working with an independent auditor to make sure that all employees have been fully and accurately paid all wages due. They anticipate the process will begin in the next 30 days. Read below for CMC's full statement: "It is disappointing that the union has taken legal action, particularly because this issue stems from a ransomware attack with a third-party vendor. In December, we learned that the Kronos Enterprise System, our Cloud-based timekeeping platform, went down nationwide due to a ransomware issue on the national Kronos system. This situation impacted all companies and employees worldwide that utilize the Cloud-based version of this payroll system. When this happened, our hospital implemented downtime procedures, meaning manual data entry, to ensure all Community Medical Center employees were paid for their regular hours. Every employee continued to be paid every pay cycle as we worked through this unfortunate situation. In some instances, employees were overpaid and in other instances they were underpaid largely resulting from delayed pay premiums and differentials. We also worked individually with employees who worked additional hours beyond their regular schedule to supplement their extra earnings as quickly as possible. When we regained access to the Kronos system in late January, our facility timekeepers begun the reconciliation process going back to the initial impacted pay period of December 11, 2021. That process was recently completed, and the final data reconciliation is now underway to address any remaining wage discrepancies. From day one, we communicated to all employees and encouraged them to go to HR if they were concerned about their paycheck, and we performed initial, estimated reconciliations for immediate payment on an individual basis in cases of financial hardship. In an additional attempt to proactively ensure staff were paid as accurately as possible, a reconciliation was completed after the first two pay dates with any identified underpayments being made to staff. Since this process was completed, we know of no employee who has been underpaid by thousands of dollars as alleged. In fact, at this point, it appears there may be at least as many overpayments as there are underpayments, a fact that is conveniently ignored in these ongoing and disappointing allegations. A final data reconciliation is now underway to address any remaining wage discrepancies, and we have committed to our employees to engage an independent auditor to review and validate the accuracy of this extraordinarily complex payroll reconciliation process to ensure that all employees have been fully and accurately paid all wages due. We anticipate this process will begin in the next 30 days, based on auditor availability. We are so appreciative of our team who has worked around the clock for the past two months to address the impact of this malicious ransomware attack on our employees. Although this criminal act was completely beyond our control, we will continue to work non-stop toward a final resolution of this matter. Ensuring our caregivers are compensated accurately for serving our patients and community is of utmost importance to us." HELENA, Mont. - Hunting and fishing permit and special license applications are opening March 1 in Montana. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a release they will be accepting applications for deer, elk, antelope, deer B, elk B, antelope B, moose, sheep, goat, bison, bear and turkey species. New this year, FWP said they are setting up a new smartphone app allowing users to keep and display licenses, permits, and digital carcass tags, known as E-Tags, which can be accessible outside of cellular signal. The app will open soon with details on how to download and use it, according to FWP. Users will need a MyFWP account to use the app. Additionally, hunters and fishers may print physical copies of licenses they buy online or at FWP offices. FWP said the following is new for the 2022 license season: "Hunters have the option to donate their drawing refund to the block management program. Bonus points can now only be purchased by applicants that are eligible to apply for licenses (bonus points can no longer be purchased by youth less than the age of 12). Preference points fee for nonresidents is now $100 instead of $50. A nonresident planning to hunt with an outfitter can purchase a second preference point for the Nonresident Combo drawing. Remember to have your outfitter information with you at the time you apply. Applicants purchasing a conservation license can now opt out of donating 25 cents of that fee to Search and Rescue." Hunting and fishing license applications open March 1 at 5 a.m. through FWP's website. Applicants can find that by clicking "Buy and Apply". To buy in person, FWP offices are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For questions, call FWP's help center 406-444-2950. From March 1 to April 1, they are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. After April 1, their hours will adjust to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The deadline to submit an application for deer and elk hunting is April 1. (The Center Square) President Joe Biden addressed the nation Thursday after Russia declared war on Ukraine and deployed military forces to invade the neighboring nation. Biden condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion, saying that right now there is there is a complete rupture in Russia-U.S. relations. He also said that Putin has ambitions beyond Ukraine, in restoring the old Soviet Union. America stands up to bullies, Biden said in his remarks. We stand up for freedom. This is who we are. The military effort comes after weeks of anticipation and geopolitical maneuvering between the U.S., Russia, Ukraine, and NATO nations. If Russia pursues cyber attacks against our companies, our critical infrastructure, we will respond, he added. Biden went on to say the U.S. and NATO allies have readied their forces to defend NATO member countries in the region. NATO countries that border Ukraine include Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Our forces are not going to fight in Ukraine but to defend our NATO allies and defend those allies in the east, Biden said. There is no doubt that the United States and every NATO ally will meet our Article 5 commitments, which say that an attack on one is an attack on all. Biden touted the impact of U.S. economic measures to respond to Russias aggression after Russian currency and stocks plummeted Thursday. Biden said the U.S. is adding the names of Russian elites to the list of those facing financial consequences. These are people that personally gain from the Kremlins policies, and they should share in the pain, Biden said. Media outlets reported dozens of casualties already after the Russia reportedly targeted a series of Ukrainian sites with military firepower and cyberattacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pledged that the Ukrainian people will defend themselves from the attack. Bidens speech came after the White House released a statement Thursday morning condemning the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces, adding that Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring. Biden said he would meet with his G7 counterparts Friday morning. After that meeting, he will announce further consequences the United States and our Allies and partners will impose for Russias invasion. The statement concluded, Tonight, Jill and I are praying for the brave and proud people of Ukraine. Oil prices of $90-$100 per barrel following Russia's invasion of Ukraine are likely to remain, at least in the short-term, the head of a state oil and gas industry group said Thursday. "Depending on what happens especially if Russia continues to invade the whole country I think the price will go up more," said Dewey Bartlett Jr., president of Keener Oil and Gas and chairman of the Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance. "It will probably settle at some point, and it will certainly be high," he said. Bartlett said, however, "If they invade another country, all bets are off. "The possibility of another big war would have a tremendous impact on the U.S. and global economy." Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic briefly jumped above $100 per barrel to their highest levels since 2014. But they gave back much of their gains after President Joe Biden said new sanctions are "specifically designed to allow energy payments to continue. Benchmark U.S. crude oil for April delivery closed at $92.81 a barrel Thursday, up 71 cents. Brent crude used in the worldwide market for May delivery was up $2.24 to $99.08 a barrel. Bartlett, a former Tulsa mayor, said "poor decisions" by some countries in the region, including Germany, will leave them particularly vulnerable to high energy prices resulting from the invasion. Both Germany and Ukraine, he said, shuttered coal and nuclear power plants and "put all their energy eggs, so to speak" into natural gas, most of which going to Europe comes from Russia. The price of European natural gas spiked as high as 31% on Thursday. Oklahoma's economy could actually benefit, Bartlett said, because the state has an abundant supply of natural gas. However, he said the U.S. currently buys about 600,000 barrels of oil a day from Russia. He said if Biden "tells Russia 'We don't have to buy your oil,' where are we going to get it?" "I would assume Saudi Arabia, ... but a lot of countries that used to have an excess of producing capacity don't have that anymore." He said had the Biden administration not delivered the final coffin nail for the Keystone XL pipeline project, the U.S. could be receiving 600,000 to 800,000 barrels a day of tar sands oil from Canada. "That would give the U.S. a much stronger bargaining position. We could tell Russia, 'We don't have to buy your oil. We can get it right here from our friends in Canada,'" Bartlett said. Gov. Kevin Stitt also addressed that issue on Thursday via Twitter, saying, "This crisis underscores the need for the U.S. to be energy independent." Oil and gas prices have always been a double-edged sword in Oklahoma. While high prices are good for the industry and the state's coffers through production taxes, they are not good for consumers who pay much higher prices at the pump and to heat homes and businesses. Featured Have a news tip or would like to report a typo? Email Anthony Victor Reyes at areyes@kvoa.com. KIEV, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Armed Forces have attacked multiple locations since Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized on Thursday morning "a special military operation" in Donbass. Moscow expressed its willingness to talk with Kiev with a focus on obtaining a guarantee of neutral status and non-deployment of offensive weapons in Ukraine. Here is a timeline of some major events related to the current crisis: Feb. 25, 2022 -- A total of 137 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and another 316 injured on the first day of the conflict, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message on Thursday night. Feb. 24, 2022 -- U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday additional sanctions against Russia and the deployment of more troops to Europe as conflicts in Ukraine continue to evolve. -- Advisor to head of the President's Office of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak said Russian forces seized Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. "After a fierce battle, our control over the Chernobyl site has been lost," Podoliak said. -- The Russian Defense Ministry said that a total of 11 airfields, three command posts, a Ukrainian naval base, and 18 radar stations of the S-300 and Buk-M1 air defense missile systems were among the facilities destroyed. -- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin has expressed his preparedness to engage in discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart with a focus on obtaining a guarantee of neutral status and non-deployment of offensive weapons in Ukraine. -- Ukraine on Thursday severed diplomatic relations with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law in the country following Russia's military operation. -- According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian Armed Forces are destroying "military infrastructure, air defense facilities, military airfields, aviation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces" with high-precision weapons, not targeting Ukrainian cities. -- Putin on Thursday authorized "a special military operation" in Donbass. "Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force," Putin said in a televised speech to the nation, noting that Russia's move is in response to "fundamental threats" of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which has expanded to eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. Feb. 21, 2022 -- The Russian Security Council held an extraordinary meeting, when the country's top officials supported the recognition of Lugansk and Donetsk. -- Putin signed two decrees recognizing Lugansk and Donetsk as independent and sovereign states. At a ceremony held in the Kremlin, Putin also inked the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Russia and Lugansk and Donetsk respectively. -- Through a statement attributable to his spokesperson, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for "peaceful settlement" of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, in accordance with the Minsk Agreements, as endorsed by the Security Council in resolution 2202 (2015). -- At the Security Council emergency meeting on Ukraine, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, called on all parties concerned to seek "reasonable solutions" to the Ukraine issue. Feb. 18, 2022 -- An explosion occurred close to "DPR government building." Local armed groups in eastern Ukraine ordered the evacuation of civilians to Russia, citing the danger of a possible military offensive. Feb. 17, 2022 -- The Ukrainian military claimed that local armed groups in eastern Ukraine launched shelling on the area controlled by government forces. Local armed groups in eastern Ukraine accused the Ukrainian government forces of first using heavy weapons to attack areas under their control. Tensions in eastern Ukraine continued to escalate. Feb. 2, 2022 -- The United States decided to deploy additional troops to Europe, including 1,000 troops to be repositioned to Romania and another 2,000 troops to be sent from the United States to Germany and Poland. Jan. 26, 2022 -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States has delivered a written letter to Russia addressing Moscow's concerns amid escalating tensions on Ukraine's border. Jan. 22, 2022 -- The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the first shipment of military aid from the United States arrived in Kiev. Jan. 10-13, 2022 -- The latest round of talks aimed at defusing tensions between Russia and the West within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ended without a breakthrough as both sides warned of potential escalation. Dec. 10, 2021 -- The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded "legal guarantees" that NATO wouldn't expand eastward. Feb. 7, 2019 -- The Ukrainian parliament passed a constitutional amendment stating Ukraine's commitment to joining NATO. Feb. 12, 2015 -- The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France announced a peace deal in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, which envisaged a ceasefire between Ukrainian government troops and local armed groups in eastern Ukraine. Dec. 23, 2014 -- The Ukrainian parliament renounced Ukraine's "non-aligned" status with the aim of deepening cooperation with NATO. Sept. 5, 2014 -- Then Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and local armed groups in eastern Ukraine signed a ceasefire protocol in Minsk, where envoys from the two sides as well as Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe held talks for a possible political solution to the crisis. April 2014 -- Unrest erupted in eastern Ukraine, where protesters seized government buildings, demanding a referendum on autonomy and closer ties with Russia. February 2014 -- Amid rising protests, Ukraine's parliament voted to dismiss then President Viktor Yanukovych and set early elections. November 2013 -- The Ukrainian government suspended the signing of partnership agreements with the European Union to avoid straining ties with Russia, triggering widespread protests, which soon snowballed into a violent nationwide movement against the authorities. People hide in a bomb shelter in Kyiv in the early hours of February 25. BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday urged the United States to offer an explanation for and put an immediate end to its malicious cyber activities, vowing to take necessary measures to safeguard its cybersecurity and its own interests. Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to relevant reports that exposed cyberattacks perpetrated by the United States on 45 countries and regions over more than 10 years. When asked to comment, Hua said China is seriously concerned about the irresponsible and malicious cyber activities exposed in the reports and strongly urges the U.S. to issue an explanation and immediately cease such activities. Citing reports of U.S. cyberattacks on China by the Equation Group and the hacking group APT-C-39, Hua said these attacks may result in massive leaks of personal information, trade secrets and intellectual property, and threaten the security of China's critical infrastructure. Hua said the U.S. Intelligence Law allows the U.S. government to engage in massive and indiscriminate theft of information and data from all over the world including its allies. "The reports exposed that, apart from China and other developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the U.S. cyberattacks also targets its allies including those in European as well as members of the Five Eyes Alliance." The U.S. is actively seeking multilateral and bilateral cooperation on cybersecurity in the name of helping countries enhance their capabilities, which calls the United States' real intentions into question, Hua said. Noting that cyberspace is the common territory of all people and that maintaining cybersecurity is a common challenge for all countries, Hua said China hopes the U.S. will reflect, adopt a responsible attitude in cyberspace, and work with all parties to jointly safeguard peace and security in cyberspace through dialogue and cooperation. 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? Hayley Justason turned 10 on Feb. 1. Its a milestone birthday that Justason, who is critically ill, reached because of the help of her Kimmswick teacher, Brittany Perschbacher. The educator with Creve Coeur-based Missouri Virtual Academy regularly donates plasma to help save the life of her special student, who has endured 15 surgeries since being born at 27 weeks and needs a triple organ transplant: heart, liver and kidney, says Hayleys mother, Shelley Justason. This means the world to me, that I can give the gift of life, Perschbacher says, noting that she and Hayleys family call the 10-year-old their Wonder Woman. I wanted a way to honor my grandpa, Richard Kiel, [who died due to complications from COVID-19 in 2020,] and I know he would be so proud of me. Another family gave my grandpa the chance to survive by donating [convalescent plasma], and I wanted to pay it forward. Perschbacher says she would do anything for her students. So when she was a match for Hayleys rare blood type, she didnt hesitate to help. Hayley has a lot of life ahead of her and deserves every chance at that life, Perschbacher says. If something as easy as donating and giving two hours of my time helps to keep her alive, it is 100 percent worth it. Every child deserves a fighting chance. Hayley calls Perschbacher an amazing teacher, friend, supporter and plasma donor. Without [Ms. Perschbacher], I wouldnt have a second, another minute, another hour or another day, Hayley says. My family would not get to see another milestone in my life [like] turning double-digits on Feb. 1. She has helped me learn to read to believe in myself [and] I am still soaring like Wonder Woman. The Camdenton High School Bands wind ensemble has been invited to participate in the Music For All Concert Festival, a prestigious and respected concert festival being held in Kansas City on Mar. 10-11. The Music For All Concert Festival is a major event that will feature some of the top concert bands from all over the Midwest. CHS wind ensemble students will have the honor to perform for these groups and an esteemed panel of clinicians. Students will also get to attend free masterclasses from all of the instrumental faculty at University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. Music For All is the governing body of Bands of America and overlooks all aspects that are under the umbrella of the organization. This includes all Bands of America marching festivals, all Music For All educational camps and concert festivals that take place all over the country. Walworth County Sheriff Kurt Picknell has announced his retirement. Picknell is set to retire at the end of the year. He has worked in law enforcement for 35 years and has served as Walworth Countys sheriff during the past eight years. The sheriffs office was established in 1839, and I am honored to serve as your 43rd sheriff, Picknell said in a news release. Public safety serves a key role in preserving the peace and increasing the high quality of life in Walworth County. Picknell said some of the things that have been accomplished during his time as sheriff includes the sheriffs office obtaining accreditation and reaccreditations from the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group; obtaining body-worn cameras for sheriff deputies; implementing a crowd control team; enhancing jail inmate screening at booking; and obtaining a third K-9 with a deputy for patrol coverage for all three shifts. Picknell said other accomplishments include establishing a school resource deputy at Lakeland School, crime prevention program for older adults, employee wellness program and a countywide public safety radio system upgrade, which will be completed in 2024. These examples and more reflect the professional complexity of the entire operation including 911 communications, corrections, investigations, patrol and support services, Picknell said in a news release. There are also highly-skilled specialty teams, support staff and excellent command staff leadership in place to meet future public safety challenges. Walworth County Board Chairperson Nancy Russell said Picknell has done a quality job as the countys sheriff. I have known and worked with Sheriff Kurt Russell ever since he was undersheriff when I was first elected to the county board of supervisors, Russell said in a news release. He has demonstrated a caring positive influence to everyone he interacts with while strongly advocating for the funding of the sheriffs office. Kurt has the respect and confidence of the county departments. Sheriff Picknells shoes will be hard to fill, but Im certain he will be available to help the transition to occur smoothly. Walworth County Administrator Mark Luberda said he has enjoyed working with Picknell. Sheriff Picknell has been a pleasure to work with during my time with the county, Luberda said. His spirit of cooperation and dedication to constantly improving the sheriffs office has been a benefit to everyone who lives, works or visits the county. Picknell said he appreciates the staff he has worked with during his time as sheriff. My immediate thanks goes to the dedicated employees and their families for the 24 hours a day shared sacrifice to the mission-driven focus for public safety in Walworth County, Picknell said. Madison and Dane County will get nearly $21 million to invest in local initiatives to boost disadvantaged communities, including the final capital funding piece for the long-sought Madison Public Market on the East Side, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced Thursday. The funding is part of Evers program that uses federal COVID-19 relief funds. The city is getting $6 million, including $2 million for the Bayview Foundations $52 million redevelopment of its diverse, international, low-income community at the corner of West Washington Avenue and Regent Street Downtown, and $4 million for the $16.5 million Public Market to be forged from a city-owned building at 200 N. First St. The county will receive $14.8 million, including $5 million toward supporting entrepreneurs through the Urban League of Greater Madisons $25.5 million Black Business Hub that will rise at the Village on Park mall on the South Side; $5 million toward expanding economic and other opportunities through the coming $38 million Center for Black Excellence and Culture on the South Side; and $4.8 million to help Centro Hispano build new facilities on the South Side. With this funding, we will be breaking ground this year in November, said Madison Public Market Foundation board member Anne Reynolds. Theres been so much uncertainty over the past two years, but now we finally have some certainty. Its really exciting. The markets financing piece is now locked in, said Matt Wachter, city planning, community and economic director. The city can now pursue a construction contract, contracts with the operator, the Madison Public Market Foundation, and seek other final approvals for the project, he said. Bayviews redevelopment includes a four-story, 48-unit apartment building now under construction, a three-story, 25-unit apartment building and eight, two-story townhouses with a total of 57 units on 4.6 acres. The idea is to move current residents into new buildings as theyre built and then demolish the older ones. On Wednesday, Bayview announced it has exceeded its $4 million capital campaign goal and will extend the campaign in the hope of raising an additional $2 million to increase the long-term stability of programs and operations essential to the organizations continued success and to offset the significant increase in construction costs due to the pandemic. The capital campaign will continue, foundation executive director Alexis London said. A portion of the new state grant will go toward that, and a portion will go to housing costs that are not a part of the capital campaign, she said. Bayview residents were significantly affected by the pandemic; these funds will strengthen our community for years to come, she said. With the $5 million in state money, The Center for Black Excellence and Culture has now raised $17 million of its $36 million capital campaign in six months, said the Rev. Alex Gee, the centers CEO and founder. The Center is a first-of-its-kind Black-inspired, Black-designed and Black-led multimillion-dollar project in Madison and is poised to open its doors at 655 W. Badger Road in late 2023. The building will be a three-level, 65,000-square-foot destination for cultural, health, business, arts and community development. The Urban League has now raised nearly $17.5 million for its $25.5 million Black Business Hub, and with Thursdays announcement the nonprofit now has sufficient funds to begin construction in the next week or two, with fundraising to continue, officials said. Centro Hispano, now located at 810 Badger Road, is looking to create new facilities that can better support its mission, Wachter said. The city has already purchased a property at 833 Hughes Place to combine with city-owned properties at 837 Hughes Place and 2405 Cypress Way to help create new facilities on the block, he said. Targeted aid The grants come from $250 million Evers allocated to local municipalities, counties, tribes and nonprofit health care organizations for projects meant to boost disadvantaged communities. I am glad to award these funds to help local leaders and community-based organizations working together to continue to serve and bolster their neighborhoods, ensuring they dont just recover but thrive, Evers said Thursday. Recently, Evers announced $9 million for Beloit, $15 million for Milwaukee and $10.5 million for Milwaukee County. In total, $200 million is for a Neighborhood Investment Fund grant program and another $50 million is for a Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Investment grant program. Both programs are using money from federal COVID-19 funds, over which Evers has sole discretion as governor a point of contention in the Legislature. Currently, the governor has sole discretion over how federal funds are spent, but there has been a growing push among legislative Republicans seeking more control over how the executive office doles out federal funds primarily in recent years as the federal government pumped billions of stimulus dollars into the state to help address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, the Republican-led Assembly approved a constitutional amendment, SJR 84/AJR 112, to give lawmakers final say over how the governor spends federal funds allocated to the state. Evers would not be able to veto that proposal. Evers has vetoed several efforts in recent years by Republicans seeking control over federal funds. The Council of Ministers has approved the increase in the Interprofessional Minimum Wage to 1,000 euros, in fourteen payments, following the agreement reached this month with the trade unions CCOO and UGT. The increase, effective from 1 January, means that the minimum wage for any activity is set at 33.33 euros per day across the board; domestic workers must receive a minimum of 7.82 euros gross for each hour worked and 47.36 euros gross for the legal working day. Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaThe Minister of Territorial Policy and spokesperson of the Executive, Isabel Rodriguez, has highlighted that since Pedro Sanchez has been President of the Government of Spain, the Minimum Interprofessional Wage has increased by 33.5%, from 735 euros to 1,000 euros. In his view, the measure will have an impact on the welfare of workers, especially younger workers and women. For her part, the Second Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Diaz, added that the wage improvement brings Spain closer to the gates of Europe: "The aim is to become more European and to remove an entirely precarious business and labour relations model. In his opinion, the minimum wage "is starting to be decent", although we need to start talking about raising wages in general: "If wages improve, the economy as a whole improves. This means reversing precariousness and low wages". Furthermore, she has argued that this does not have a negative impact on employment in certain sectors. The self-employed sector registered 105,000 more workers; the agricultural sector 58,000 more; and the domestic workers sector remained stable. Yolanda Diaz stated that the Minimum Interprofessional Wage is the best tool for combating in-work poverty and for wage equality between men and women. Progress towards pay equity Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaOn the occasion of Equal Pay Day, commemorated today, the Government has approved an Institutional Declaration that warns about the gender gap: the percentage of women with incomes below the minimum wage is 25.7%, compared to 11.1% of men in the same situation. The text includes the commitment of the Executive to stable and quality employment, permanent contracts and the fair distribution of care, as well as to the regulations already adopted to advance in this field, such as the Equal Pay Act, the Co-Responsibilities Plan and the labour reform. The government spokesperson pointed out that the wage gap stands at 16.2% after a reduction of five points in the last four years. The Second Vice-President announced that in the coming days a public tool will be made available to companies to register equal pay. Extension of certain social protection measures The Council of Ministers has approved the Royal Decree-Law adopting urgent measures for the protection of self-employed workers, for the transition towards structural mechanisms to defend employment and for the economic and social recovery of the island of La Palma. In addition, certain measures to address situations of social and economic vulnerability have been extended. Extension of the ERTE COVID The government has agreed to extend the Temporary Redundancy Programmes approved during the pandemic (ERTE COVID) to protect workers' income and the productive fabric until 31 March 2022. The measure will facilitate the transition to the structural ERTEs foreseen in the labour reform. The Second Vice-President specified that the social protection measures for the Culture sector will be extended until 30 June 2022, as will those included in the MECUIDA Plan to help families balance work and family life during the health emergency. Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaThe Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Jose Luis Escriva, stressed that the jobs lost during the pandemic have been recovered and 500,000 additional jobs have been created. The number of workers on ERTE stands at 0.6 % of the total number of workers and half of them are working part-time. From a sectoral perspective, the percentage of workers still on ERTE is less than 10% in all sectors except travel agencies, where it stands at 29%. The minister pointed out that in view of these data, a new period is opening up in which the labour reform in force since 1 January will allow those workers and companies that still need it to continue to be protected. The labour reform, according to the minister, includes the sectoral RED mechanism, which exempts companies from 40% of Social Security contributions if workers are being trained for the transition to another job or sector. Escriva stressed that this mechanism will particularly benefit travel agency employees. At the company level, the text includes ERTE due to force majeure, with an exemption of up to 90%, and ERTE due to economic, technical, organisational or production causes (ETOP), with an exemption of 20%. Escriva stressed the importance of training workers during the period in which they are on ERTE to improve their qualifications and their ability to remain in the labour market. More than 31,000 workers, 41% of those eligible, are currently covered by training schemes. In addition, he stressed that over the next month, companies, workers and the administration will have time to adapt to the new mechanisms introduced by the labour reform. Protection for the self-employed Jose Luis Escriva also emphasised that protection for the self-employed due to the suspension of activity has been maintained, with a benefit of 70% of the minimum contribution bases and exemption from contributions. Beneficiaries may not exceed 1.25 times the Minimum Interprofessional Wage. The rest of the self-employed who are under protection will be adjusted to the usual level of social security contributions in an orderly and gradual fashion over a period of four months. Support for the recovery of La Palma The minister said that the deferral and moratorium on the payment of social security contributions for those affected by the eruption on the island of La Palma will also be extended for four months. Collective employment plans The Council of Ministers has agreed to submit to Parliament the Draft Law on the Regulation for the Promotion of Employment Pension Plans, which was presented last 23 November. This instrument is included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, forms part of the reform and modernisation of the pension system and responds to the recommendations of the Toledo Pact. The regulation aims to facilitate access to low-fee savings mechanisms for low and middle-income earners, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the self-employed and young people. The minister specified that adjustments have been made with respect to the previous draft, so the self-employed will now be able to deduct up to 5,750 euros per year. Employees will be able to add their contributions to those made by their employer to benefit from income tax exemptions. The Bill also incorporates incentives for companies, so that their contributions to the pension plan will not be subject to social security contributions, with a limit of 115 euros per month per worker (1,380 euros per year), representing a saving of almost 400 euros per worker. Meritorious Workplace Awards Also in the field of labour, the Executive has approved the Regulation of the Medal and Plaque for Merit for Work. The Second Vice-President announced that the concepts valued and awarded by the government will be modernised. In this regard, the awards will be given to values such as excellence, gender equality and occupational health. Yolanda Diaz also pointed out that medals may be withdrawn when the decorated entity or person has failed to meet the required exemplary standards or has been subject to some kind of administrative sanction or criminal conviction. They will likewise be withdrawn should the beneficiaries have a record of or display conduct manifestly incompatible with democratic values. Advance notice of the call for applications for scholarships The Council of Ministers has regulated the call for grants and study aids 2022-2023, which will have an investment of 2,134 million euros. Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaThe spokesperson of the Executive highlighted that the budget in this area has increased by 45% and the number of beneficiaries by 26% since the 2017-2018 call for applications, and that the aid will reach 200,000 more students than four years ago. As Isabel Rodriguez explained, the most important new feature is that the application and notification deadlines for grants have been brought forward, which will allow students to find out before the enrolment period whether they meet the financial requirements to receive these grants. Regarding university studies, the grade required to obtain a scholarship for a non-qualifying Master's degree has been reduced, with an average mark of five points (down from seven) now sufficient. Since 2018, the Government has been working on a scholarship policy to ensure that no student drops out of post-compulsory education for financial reasons, thus ensuring social cohesion, equity and equal opportunities. Non official translation This week on the Lancaster Farming Podcast, our guest is Morgan Tweet, executive director of the Hemp Feed Coalition, who responds to a recent letter from the AAFCO concerning the allowance of hemp in animal feed. There are three reasons we see so many red American barns. Its traditional, its practical and the color looks good. But there's more to it than that. Ravyn Bashore, Pennsylvania FFA state sentinel, reflects on the lessons she has learned over the last few challenging years and why agriculture is so important. BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The so-called British National Overseas (BNO) passport is not recognized by China, and Britain should stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs in any form, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in Beijing on Friday. It has been reported that Britain will in October put forward a new plan that would allow Hong Kong residents aged 18 or above and born on or after July 1, 1997, to apply for a relevant U.K. visa as long as one parent holds a BNO passport. In response, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a news briefing that Britain's move fundamentally violates the promise it made in a relevant memorandum, openly interferes in Hong Kong affairs, grossly interferes in China's internal affairs, and violates international law and the basic norms governing international relations. "China deplores and firmly rejects this," Wang said. He stressed that the historical merits of the issue are very clear. Prior to Hong Kong's return to China, the British side made the explicit commitment that it would not confer the right of abode to Chinese citizens in Hong Kong who hold BNO travel documents. But more than 20 years after Hong Kong's return to China, Britain has formulated its new policies for the BNO passport and is attempting to turn many Hong Kong residents into second-class British citizens. China has announced that it will not recognize the BNO passport as a valid travel document or proof of identity, Wang said, and China urges Britain to immediately rectify its mistakes and cease meddling in Hong Kong affairs in any way. "No attempt to destabilize Hong Kong or damage Hong Kong's prosperity and stability will ever succeed," he said. A proposed site map for the 858-acre Lebanon Solar project was on display at the crowded conditional use hearing in North Annville Township on Jan. 25. The hearing continued on Jan. 26 and Feb. 24. For farmers, the biggest barrier to making their own repairs might be the digital lock that prevents access to the machines software without a code provided by the manufacturer. New Delhi, February 25: Communist Party of India's Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam has sought immediate intervention of Union Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar for the safe return of Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine. Viswam in a letter to External Affairs Minister said, "I seek the Ministry's urgent intervention to ensure the safe return of hundreds of Indians who are stranded in Ukraine." "The Government must be aware that more than 20,000 Indians reside in Ukraine, including students. With the break out of military operations in Ukraine, the measures taken by the Indian government need to be stepped up. While many have managed to return, several arestill stuck," the CPI MP said in the letter Senior CPI leader further mentioned that the Ukrainian airspace is being closed for civilian flights. "I urge the government that every option should be explored for the emergency evacuation of the Indian nationals including the rail and road methods," he said. Also Read | Andhra Pradesh Govt Opens Helplines For Students Stranded in Ukraine; Check Details Here. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities escalating the ongoing tensions between the two countries. Ukraine gained independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that special military operations are being launched "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in the Donbas region. (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, Feb 25 (PTI) More than three decades ago, thousands of Indians were ferried in buses to Jordan from Kuwait, which was then under attack from Iraq, before they were flown to India, mostly by Air India. The mass evacuation of Indians in 1990 from Kuwait, which also found a place in the Guinness World Records for the biggest evacuation by a civil airliner, might well provide an impetus for authorities as they explore ways to bring back Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine, which is currently under attack from Russia. Also Read | Clubhouse Rolls Out In-Room Chat Feature on iOS & Android. With the Ukrainian airspace being shut for civilian flights amid the Russian attack, India is looking to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine to neighbouring countries through land-border crossings. Indian ambassadors in countries neighbouring Ukraine such as Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary have been asked to send teams from their missions to border areas with Ukraine to facilitate the exit of Indians. Also Read | Asus 8z India Launch Confirmed for February 28, 2022; Teased on Flipkart. By road from Kyiv, it will take over 16 hours to reach Hungary's border and at least more than 7 hours to reach the borders of Poland and Romania. Similarly, it will take over 11 hours to reach the Slovakia border. There were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and out of them, nearly 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days. An Air India plane enroute to Kyiv returned mid-way on Thursday, due to closure of Ukrainian airspace. On February 22, Air India brought back around 240 Indians from Kyiv. Many people have also come back through flights operated by other carriers, including Ukraine International Airlines. Apart from Kuwait, Air India has also operated flights to evacuate people from various countries, including Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt and Tunisia. Jitender Bhargava, former Executive Director at Air India, told PTI that more than 1.70 lakh people were evacuated from Kuwait in 1990. "From Kuwait, people were taken in buses to Jordan and Air India operated flights to Jordan (Amman). From Jordan, people were taken to various parts of India...," he told PTI. At that time, Air India staff were stationed at a hotel in Jordanian capital Amman to issue tickets to Indians since the airline did not have operations to that city, Bhargava, who was closely involved in the efforts to evacuate Indians from Kuwait, said. After the evacuation was over, it was Bhargava who checked with Guinness World Records to check about any existing record regarding evacuation of people. "I wrote to the Guinness World Records so as to know what was the existing record of evacuation by a civil airliner. That is when they said, we don't have it and when we completed the thing, we wrote back to them and then, they recognised it as a world record... in terms of being the largest evacuation by a civil airliner... It remains the record," he said. In 1990, Air India was a small airline with around 19 aircraft in its fleet and it also had to maintain the normal flight schedule as well as operate flights to Amman, he added. Spread over nearly 60 days, more than 1,70,000 Indians were evacuated from Kuwait in 1990 through a massive operation involving Air India, Indian Airlines and the Indian Air Force. Around 500 flights were operated to bring back people and most of the services were by Air India. The evacuation operation, which did not have a code name, commenced around the middle of August 1990 and was completed sometime in October the same year. Not just Air India, even the now grounded Jet Airways had ferried Indians on road before flying them to India soon after the terror attacks in the Belgian capital Brussels in March 2016. According to a former Jet Airways official aware about the operations during that time, hundreds of passengers stranded in Brussels following the blast were taken to Amsterdam, mostly in buses, and flown by the airline's flights to India. The airline, which suspended operations in April 2019 due to financial woes, had operated multiple flights to Amsterdam to bring back the stranded passengers. In the terror attacks in March 2016 at Brussels, more than 30 people were killed and scores were wounded. Over the decades, Air India, which saw the merger of Indian Airlines with itself in 2007, has carried out a large number of rescue and evacuation flights to bring back people from overseas during times of conflict and pandemic. The airline, which was acquired by Tatas in January this year, operated flights to China's Wuhan, which was the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020. Currently, many flights are being operated by Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission which has been in place since May 7, 2020. These flights are to bring back Indians stranded overseas amid the coronavirus pandemic-induced restrictions. A total of 54,748 flights that carried 73,82,038 passengers have been operated till February 24, 2022 under the Vande Bharat Mission, as per data available with the civil aviation ministry. Scheduled international commercial passenger flights are suspended from March 23, 2020 and overseas flights are currently being operated under bilateral air-bubble arrangements. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chandigarh, Feb 25 (PTI) A court here on Friday rejected Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia's regular bail plea, a day after he was remanded in judicial custody following his surrender before a court in connection with a drug case. Majithia was remanded in judicial custody for two weeks by the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Sandeep Kumar Singla. Also Read | Anish Abbasi Gets Appointed as Secretary of BJP Delhi Minority Morcha. The Akali leader, who was on Thursday evening taken to a Patiala jail, had moved the bail plea, which was taken up by the Mohali court on Friday. "The court on Friday rejected the regular bail plea," said Arshdeep Singh Kaler, one of Majithia's counsels. Also Read | Clubhouse Rolls Out In-Room Chat Feature on iOS & Android. "We will appeal before the High Court now," he said. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had earlier called the registration of the FIR against Majithia as political vendetta and said three DGPs and three Directors of Bureau of Investigation were changed and police officers were allegedly coerced to falsely implicate the leader. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case had questioned Majithia for over an hour in the court complex in Mohali on Thursday. The apex court had recently directed the Punjab Police not to arrest the former Punjab minister till February 23 so that he could undertake electioneering in the state. A Bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli had, however, directed Majithia to surrender before a trial court after the Punjab Assembly polls on February 20. It had also directed the trial court to hear and expeditiously decide Majithia's regular bail plea after his surrender in the case. The pre-arrest bail plea of Majithia, who was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on December 20 last year, was dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 24. Majithia, who is the SAD MLA and brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and brother of former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, contested the February 20 polls from the Amritsar East against Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu. The results of the Assembly elections will be announced on March 10. Majithia, 46, was booked under the NDPS Act on the basis of a 2018 probe report into a drug racket in the state. The 49-page FIR was registered by the state Crime Branch at its Mohali police station last year. (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 25: Amid ongoing Russia's military operations against Ukraine, the Government of India will arrange evacuation flights for Indian nationals in Ukraine, said sources on Friday. The sources further said that the cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation. "Two flights for Bucharest today and one flight for Budapest for tomorrow are being planned to be operated as GOI chartered flights," said Government sources. Andhra Pradesh Govt Opens Helplines For Students Stranded in Ukraine; Check Details Here. Air India is operating three flights between India-Ukraine on February 22, 24, and 26. The flights will take off from Boryspil International Airport and bookings are open through Air India booking offices, website, call centers, and authorized travel agents. Earlier on Thursday, with Ukraine closing its airspace after Russia launched a military operation against it, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. India strongly emphasized the need for all sides to exercise the utmost restraint and intensify diplomatic efforts to ensure a mutually amicable solution. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. (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 25 (ANI): India's cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 177 crore landmark milestone with the administration of over 25 lakh doses in the past 24 hours, informed Union Health Ministry on Friday. "India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 177 Crore landmark milestone (1,77,13,71,582) today. More than 25 lakh (25,20,820) Vaccine Doses have been administered till 7 pm today," the ministry said in a release. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: Aparna Yadav Claims BJP Tsunami in UP, Says 'Yogi Adityanath Govt To Return to Power With Thumping Majority'. According to the health ministry, a total of 1,98,39,419 precaution doses for the identified categories of beneficiaries including Health Care Workers, Frontline Workers and people over 60 years have been administered so far. The Ministry expected that the daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Worried Parents Hold Demonstration Outside Russian Embassy in Delhi, Seek Safe Evacuation of Their Children From Ukraine. Of the total administered precaution doses, 41,51,565 have been administered to healthcare workers, 61,53,048 doses to frontline workers, 95,34,806 doses to people over 60 years of age so far. As many as 5,46,03,726 COVID vaccines have been administered as a first dose for the beneficiaries of the 15-18 age group, while 2,65,33,036 doses have been administered as the second dose to the group. Meanwhile, India reported 13,166 fresh COVID-19 infections with a positivity rate of 1.28 per cent and 302 fatalities in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed on Friday. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], February 25 (ANI): Amid Russian military operations in Ukraine, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has established four locations in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania for evacuation of Indian citizens, said Sameer Sharma, Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh. "MEA has established four locations in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania for evacuation of Indian citizens. Roughly 1000 people from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are in Ukraine. We are communicating with MEA," said Sharma. Also Read | Anish Abbasi Gets Appointed as Secretary of BJP Delhi Minority Morcha. The Government of India will arrange evacuation flights for Indian nationals in Ukraine, said sources on Friday. The sources further said that the cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation. Also Read | Clubhouse Rolls Out In-Room Chat Feature on iOS & Android. "Two flights for Bucharest today and one flight for Budapest for tomorrow are being planned to be operated as GOI chartered flights," said Government sources. On Thursday, MEA had sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. Earlier, Indian Embassy in Kiev issued a fresh advisory informing stranded Indian citizens that the government is working to evacuate them through Romania and Hungary. The Indian Embassy also advised Indian nationals, especially students living closest to the above border checkpoints to depart first in an organized manner, in coordination with teams from the Ministry of External Affairs to actualize this option. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday.On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations and imposed sanctions on Moscow. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Umaria (Madhya Pradesh) [India], February 25 (ANI): A four-year-old boy fell into a borewell in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district on Thursday and the rescue operation to take him out safely is underway. Sanjeev Srivastava, Umaria district collector speaking to ANI said, "Teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) rushed to the site and the rescue mission was launched without any delay." Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Crisis: PM Narendra Modi Speaks to President Vladimir Putin, Calls for Immediate Cessation of Violence. The official Twitter handle of the Umaria public relations officer further informed, "The soil being hard, excavation is now being done by manpower, which is taking time. However, the team is making all efforts to reach the child as soon as possible." (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 25 (ANI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday conducted searches at three locations across Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in connection with the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) recruitment case. The places raided by the anti-terror agency are Wayanad district of Kerala and Guntur and Chittor districts of Andhra Pradesh. Also Read | NSE Fraud Case: Anand Subramanian Sent to CBI Custody Till March 6. "The case relates to the recruitment of vulnerable youth into the fold of CPI (Maoist) and further training them for induction into their frontal organisations for organising terrorist camps to further the activities of CPI (Maoist) and threatening the unity, integrity and sovereignty of India," said the NIA officials. The NIA claimed to have seized various incriminating documents, digital devices, SIM cards, digital storage devices. (ANI) Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: From Ayodhya to Amethi, Here Are The Five Key Contests in The Fifth Phase of UP Polls. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The heroic act of Australian police officer Kelly Foster, who sacrificed her life to save a Chinese citizen, will be remembered by the Chinese people, and there should be no doubt concerning the friendly sentiment between the Chinese and Australian peoples, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said at a daily press briefing on Friday. The Chinese embassy in Australia held a ceremony on Thursday to award the Great Wall Commemorative Medal to Foster, honoring her selfless act. The medal, established by the Ministry of Public Security of China in December 2020, is awarded to foreign law enforcement personnel who have made outstanding contributions to protecting the safety of Chinese citizens. The gold medal presented to Foster was the first to be awarded worldwide, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. Wang said that human nature does not distinguish between countries, nations or cultures, and Foster's righteous act has conveyed the kindness and amity of the Australian people toward the Chinese people. "Chinese people always cherish friendship and righteousness, we will always remember her heroic behavior." "Facts have proved that the friendly sentiment between the Chinese and Australian peoples are beyond all doubt," Wang said, "The common aspirations of the two people are the direction of our efforts." Citing remarks from the foreign ministry last year concerning Foster, which noted that "the kindness and sincerity of human nature shine even in the harsh winter," Wang expressed the hope that this beam of light would continue to bring warmth to the two peoples and nourish their friendship. Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) [India], February 25 (ANI): Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah today for the safe evacuation of stranded Odia students and labourers from Ukraine. "Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the telephone and has requested him for the safe evacuation of stranded Odia students and labourers from Ukraine, said the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). Also Read | Sensex Rallies 1,653 Points on Positive Cues From Global Equities. Shah has assured that the government is in touch with the Ukrainian government and working to bring back students and labourers at the earliest, informed the CMO. The tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalated after Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Ukraine had gained independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Also Read | COVID-19 in Delhi: DDMA Meeting Underway, Further Relaxation of Coronavirus Restrictions Likely to Be Taken Up. Putin on Thursday said special military operations are being launched "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". Following the Russian military operations, the Indian embassy in Kyiv had earlier said the present situation in Ukraine is highly uncertain and Indian citizens should remain safe. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Bhubaneswar, Feb 25 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Home Minister Amit Shah, urging them to ensure the safe return of hundreds of students and workers of the state stranded in war-torn Ukraine. While the state is working to ascertain the exact number of people stranded in the restive country, official sources said it is around 1,500. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: Aparna Yadav Claims BJP Tsunami in UP, Says 'Yogi Adityanath Govt To Return to Power With Thumping Majority'. Jaishankar and Shah have assured Patnaik the safe evacuation of those stranded in Ukraine, an official statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. Patnaik directed Special Relief Commissioner PK Jena to coordinate the return of the Odisha residents from Ukraine, while district magistrates were asked to collect information from the families of those stranded. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Worried Parents Hold Demonstration Outside Russian Embassy in Delhi, Seek Safe Evacuation of Their Children From Ukraine. The chief minister said the state government will bear the expenses of the evacuation. The state government also operationalised a Special Assistance Cell at Odisha Bhavan in New Delhi to coordinate the rescue efforts with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Civil Aviation and other agencies concerned. "All processes to ensure the safe evacuation of students from Ukraine is underway. Since the airports in Ukraine are closed, the MEA has been taking the people of Indian origin, including those from Odisha, to some bordering countries from where they can take flights back to India. We are in constant touch with the MEA team working in the field level," said Ravi Kant, Odisha's Resident Commissioner in New Delhi. Most of the students from the state are pursuing medical courses at National Medical University in Kharkiv and Kyiv Medical University. The stranded students are from Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Khurda, Cuttack, Angul, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Sundargarh and Sambalpur districts, official sources said. "The Odisha government has already moved for the safe evacuation of the students. Our resident commissioner in New Delhi is in regular touch with the Ministry of External Affairs," Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra told PTI. Roshan Behera, a fourth-year medical student from Kuchinda in Sambalpur district, told an Odia TV channel from Ukraine that the bomb shelters are already full, crammed with locals. "We are living in constant fear for life as we have never faced such a situation before. We need to be rescued immediately. Our parents and relatives are constantly calling us to know about the situation here. We don't know for how long they can keep contacting us," she said. Aruna Jyoti Biswal, a resident of Mahanadi Vihar in Cuttack whose son is a final-year medical student in Ukraine, said, "My son Aruaman Abhishek was supposed to return home on February 26, but is unable to do so as flights are cancelled. I appeal to both the prime minister and the chief minister to rescue my son." (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 25 (ANI): Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has urged the Supreme Court not to punish him any further in the three-decade-old case and said that the review petition in the road rage case against him is without merit and ought to be dismissed. Sidhu, responding to the review petition, said that the petition in the road rage case against him is without merit and ought to be dismissed. Also Read | Jammu and Kashmir: Gunfight Breaks Out Between Terrorists and Security Forces in Shopian. Sidhu also submitted that while having undergone a sentence of 1 day, he has always abided by the directions of the Courts. Further, he submitted that he has had an active public life with an impeccable record as a parliamentarian wherein he has worked for the welfare of not only the citizens of his constituency but the public at large. Further, he said that various philanthropic gestures have made contributions towards social welfare by helping those in need of immediate financial assistance and by contributing to the development of environmental projects. Also Read | Andhra Pradesh Govt Opens Helplines For Students Stranded in Ukraine; Check Details Here. He also submitted that he has been a law-abiding citizen and ought not to be punished any further. Therefore, he submitted that the power of review may not be entertained in the present case. A special bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul is scheduled to hear the matter today. The family of the 1988 road rage case victim had filed a review petition before the Supreme Court seeking a modification of its earlier order in which the Punjab MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu was acquitted. Sidhu was acquitted in connection with the culpable homicide charges but was convicted of the offence of voluntarily causing hurt in an order given by the apex court. The court had slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on Sidhu. The court had also acquitted Sidhu's associate, Rupinder Singh Sandhu, in the case. The case has gone through Session Court, High court and Supreme Court. The Sessions Court Judge of Patiala had on September 22, 1999, acquitted Sidhu and his associate, due to lack of evidence in the case and giving the benefit of the doubt. It was then challenged by the victim's families before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had in 2006, convicted and sentenced Sidhu to three years imprisonment. Sidhu then filed an appeal before the apex court challenging this order. On December 27, 1988, Sidhu had allegedly hit Gurnam Singh on his head, leading to his death. (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, Feb 25 (PTI) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday spoke to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and sought India's support to a UN Security Council resolution that would condemn the Russian military attack on Ukraine and seek an end to the hostilities. The UN Security Council will vote on the resolution Friday past midnight (IST). Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022: Aparna Yadav Claims BJP Tsunami in UP, Says 'Yogi Adityanath Govt To Return to Power With Thumping Majority'. In the telephonic conversation, Kuleba urged Jaishankar to use India's influence over Russia to force it to cease "military aggression" against Ukraine besides supporting the UN resolution. In a tweet, Jaishankar said he emphasized that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the "way out" to the current situation and discussed the "predicament" of the Indian nationals in Ukraine. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Worried Parents Hold Demonstration Outside Russian Embassy in Delhi, Seek Safe Evacuation of Their Children From Ukraine. "Received call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation.I emphasised that India supports diplomacy & dialogue as the way out," Jaishankar tweeted. "Discussed predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return," he added. In a tweet, Kuleba said he "asked India to use all influence in its relations with Russia to force it to cease military aggression against Ukraine". "Urged India as a non-permanent UNSC member to support today's draft resolution on restoring peace in Ukraine," he added. The draft UN Security Council will condemn in the strongest terms Russia's military operation in Ukraine that has triggered strong outrage by the Western powers. When asked at a media briefing on Thursday about India's position on the draft UN Security resolution on the Ukraine crisis, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has seen it and that New Delhi's stand will depend on the final shape of its text. "I am told that that would undergo considerable changes. We will wait to see the shape that the resolution takes before we can pronounce ourselves and the position that we will take on the issue," he said. In the midst of the escalating situation in Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday during which he appealed for ending violence, and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic dialogue. Jaishankar too held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward to deal with the crisis. The external affairs minister also spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the situation in Ukraine and its implications. The US State Department said Blinken spoke with Jaishankar to discuss Russia's "premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified" attack on Ukraine. "Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia's invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire," it said. In the course of Thursday, Jaishankar also spoke to EU High Representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on the evolving situation in Ukraine. (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 25 (ANI): Asserting that the safety and security of Indian nationals is the topmost priority of the government, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Thursday said that about 4,000 Indian nationals have left Ukraine in the past few days and Indian Embassy in Ukraine continues to be functional. Addressing a media briefing on the Ukraine situation, Shringla said a number of steps have been taken to deal with the emerging situation in Ukraine, including the contingencies that can arise. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Crisis: PM Narendra Modi Speaks to President Vladimir Putin, Calls for Immediate Cessation of Violence. "About 4,000 Indian nationals have already left Ukraine in the past few days. Our Embassy in Ukraine continues to be functional and is rendering all assistance possible to Indian nationals, notwithstanding, the complicated and evolving situation. We started the registration of Indian nationals in Ukraine about a month ago. Our embassy anticipated the need to connect and be in contact with all Indian students in Kiev," he said. Shringla said that based on online registration, it was found that 20,000 Indian nationals were there in Ukraine. Also Read | 'Russia Was Left With No Other Choice', Says President Vladimir Putin on Military Operations in Ukraine. He said the Ministry of External Affairs has taken a number of measures to facilitate flights out of Ukraine and this included removing the cap on the number of passengers that could fly out which was enforced by the civil aviation authorities of both countries. "There were 440 numbers that could fly every week, that cap was removed. We also ensured that the number of flights was augmented rapidly from about twice a week to two flights a day. We should also remember that there were a number of other options available through flights to Dubai, Istanbul and other places from Kiev," Shringla said. The Foreign Secretary also said that the Indian Embassy in Ukraine issued a number of advisories in recent days. "Today itself it had issued three advisories that provided advise to Indian nationals on the situation as it evolves - travel towards safer places in the Western part of the country that will facilitate the exit by road, and other means, safety precautions that our citizens need to take, etc," he said. "We are consulting universities, student contractors in the process of providing for the welfare and safety of our students," he added. Shringla said an MEA control room has been set up in Delhi that has been operational for the past seven-eight days. "Over 20 officers are manning this and are working on a 24X7 basis. At least 980 calls were answered and 850 emails were entertained today. Our Embassy in Kiev has also set up a 24X7 helpline centre. Another measure we have taken is that we have despatched Russian speaking officers to Kiev and to the countries neighbouring Ukraine. Some of these officers have already reached and are functioning, some will be reaching shortly," Shringla said. "We have also asked our embassies and ambassadors in the countries neighbouring Ukraine to send a team of officers to border areas to facilitate the exit of Indian nationals from Ukraine, permit them to come into their countries so that they can be safely evacuated to India," he added. Shringla said teams are on their way to Zahony border post in Hungary, the land border along with Ukraine and Poland, Slovak Republic land border with Ukraine, and the land border of Ukraine and Romania. Regarding the reluctance of Indian students to return to India in wake of offline classes, Shringla said, "One important step we have taken a number of our students were reluctant to leave because the universities authorities said that classes must be offline. We have now persuaded all the universities, institutions to allow online classes. Therefore, students can now leave without having to face the strain of not being able to miss out on their classes. He said India had done preparations according to the "evolving and complicated situations" to evacuate the Indian nationals from Ukraine. "It is a complicated situation. Due to the evolving situation, we may think that the action could have been taken earlier also. We had done preparations according to the evolving and complicated situation. We also have to see that the students who despite issuing an advisory, were seeing if they would miss their classes if they are conducted offline," Shringla said. "We were in touch with them and issued advisory. The ones who wanted to get out of there got out. The ones who had to be facilitated, we facilitated them. If we see the advisory that was issued on February 15, we had said that non-residential Indian citizens could leave the country. We had issued an advanced notice. The situation that stands today is because of the evolving situation. We will handle the evacuation arrangements of our citizens," he said. Shringla's response came in response to a query about opposition parties stating that the evacuation process of Indians in Ukraine was delayed. Asked about the safety of the routes decided for the evacuation of the Indians stranded in Ukraine, Shringla said the safe routes have been identified and the government is sending teams to facilitate citizens on their way out of Ukraine. "The safe routes have been identified. By road, if you go from Kiev, you would reach Poland in nine hours and Romania in nearly 12 hours. The road has been mapped out. We are sending teams who will be present there so that we can provide help to our citizens," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities escalating the ongoing tensions between the two countries. Ukraine gained independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Putin said on Thursday morning that special military operations are being launched "to protect" the people in the Donbas region. He also warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences". (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 25 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday received a call from Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and they both discussed the evacuation of Indian citizens in the light of ongoing military operations of Russia. "Received a call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasized that India supports diplomacy & dialogue as the way out. Discussed predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return," tweeted Jaishankar. Also Read | China Could Invade Taiwan After Seeing West's Response to Ukraine Invasion: Oxford University Professor Timothy Garton Ash. Meanwhile, Indian embassies in the neighbouring countries of Ukraine have organized massive evacuation operations for the Indian citizens. The Indian Embassy in Warsaw issued an urgent advisory for its citizens who desire to be evacuated via Poland and said, "Indian nationals arriving at the Poland-Ukraine border by public conveyance i.e. by bus or taxi, are advised to make for the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing, not Krakowiec crossing." Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Conflict: US Congress Wants To Kick Out Russia From UN Security Council. The Ministry of External Affairs Camp Offices are now operational in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine. Additional Russian-speaking officials are being sent to these Camp Offices. Officials are assisting Indian citizens who reach these cities and will facilitate their departure from Ukraine through adjoining border crossings. A group of around 40 Indian medical students of Daynlo Halytsky Medical University, Lviv walk towards the Ukraine-Poland border for evacuation. They were dropped around 8 km from the border point by a college bus. Also, the Embassy of India in Bratislava has stationed officials at the Slovak-Ukraine border to provide essential assistance to Indian nationals who might cross over to Slovakia from Thursday. Meanwhile, Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine chided European leaders for their hesitancy in taking economic sanctions against Russia. "To some European leaders who are still hesitant: each year at commemorative events you say 'Never again'. The time to prove it is now. Russia is waging a horrific war of aggression in Europe. Here is your 'never again' test: BAN RUSSIA FROM SWIFT and kick it out of everywhere," tweeted Kuleba. He said that he spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and urged him to ban Russia from SWIFT. "Another call with my American friend and counterpart @SecBlinken on the need to use all US influence on some hesitant European countries in order to ban Russia from SWIFT. We also discussed the further supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine," tweeted Kuleba. US President Joe Biden, in his address to the nation on Thursday (local time), said that removing Russia from the SWIFT international financial system is always an option but not one Europe wishes to take now. "It is always an option, but right now, that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take," Biden said during a press conference at the White House. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Islamabad [Pakistan], February 25 (ANI): Fight between Talibani and Pakistani forces erupted over the Durand Line in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar leaving 20 injured and 3 killed during the scuffle. So far, 20 civilians have been injured and three killed in the incident. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Crisis: PM Narendra Modi Speaks to President Vladimir Putin, Calls for Immediate Cessation of Violence. Taking to Asvaka News said, "Fighting has been raging in the Spin Boldak district of #Kandahar between #Taliban & #Paki forces on the #Durand Line since this afternoon. 20 civilians injured & three killed so far. Civilians have fled their homes near the Durand Line." According to the sources in Kandahar, Pakistani border guards beat an Afghan child at the Spin Boldak Gate and Afghan security forces opened fire on Pakistani border guards in the area. The incident took place afternoon on Thursday, after which the gate was closed to traffic. Also Read | 'Russia Was Left With No Other Choice', Says President Vladimir Putin on Military Operations in Ukraine. It added that after the incident, the army forces from the Al-Badr corps arrived at the scene and are preparing to respond to the Pakistani border guards. So far, the details of this incident have not been given by the border gate officials of Sepineh Boldak. Differences between the Taliban and Pakistan continue to persist over the issue of the Durand Line. In this context, Pakistan Consulate in Jalalabad (Nangarhar Province), while highlighting the situation at Ghulam Khan border crossing in Khost-North Waziristan area over the past few days, conveyed to the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday that the Taliban had removed the Pakistani flag from a border post and deployed humvees and armed personnel on the zero line in contravention of the border conventions, as part of its "pressure tactics", reported local media. In response, Pakistan issued warnings to the Taliban of possible counter-action and trade was suspended for a few days. The issue was later resolved with the intervention of traders and tribal elders from both sides, said the local media. However, bilateral relations between Pakistan and the Taliban are turning hostile over the issue of Durand Line and cross-border "terror activities" of groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) against Islamabad. Pakistan intends to bring the tribal areas near the Durand Line under its control and complete its Durand barbed wire fencing. Following deadly attacks on Pakistani troops, the Pakistani military has launched an operation along the Durand Line near Afghanistan. According to the Military analysts, Pakistan has not changed its bilateral policy and the country wants to get rid of international criticism, which has been accused of training and financing terrorism for 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) Islamabad [Pakistan], February 25 (ANI): Pakistan's deteriorating economic conditions are giving a blow to its embassies overseas, especially in Europe and the US, with missions finding it difficult to even pay their staff and service providers. In one of the incidents, Pakistan Embassy in Rome has reportedly been recently sued for non-payment of telephone dues. The embassy was sued by Vodafone, the telecom operator for Euros 11,300 in unpaid invoices. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Crisis: PM Narendra Modi Speaks to President Vladimir Putin, Calls for Immediate Cessation of Violence. The company has knocked on the doors of a local civil court and is seeking compensation for not only non-payment of invoices but also late fee payment surcharges and legal fees with respect to Pak Embassy/staff's unpaid bills reported Al Arabiya. To settle the dispute, the telecom provider asked the embassy to settle the case for a lesser amount. However, even then the matter could not be resolved due to the lack of funds. Also Read | 'Russia Was Left With No Other Choice', Says President Vladimir Putin on Military Operations in Ukraine. Vodafone is not the only company that is at loggerheads with Pakistan over nonpayment. Notably, Earlier, Pakistan Embassies in Serbia as well as in the US were in the news for non-payment of salaries due to financial crunch. The dispute in cases, like in Serbia leads to protests on social media against the non-remittal of dues. The embassy members were even compelled to pull out their children from school due to default of fees. In another such case, Pak Embassy in Washington was unable to pay the monthly wages of its contractual employees for around 4 months. What transpired after that was the tendering resignation owing to delays and non-payment of dues by the staff members, reported Al Arabiya. At times, the lack of funds was also attributed to the diversion of funds from Pak Community Welfare (PCW) following the Covid-19 crisis. These reports were discarded by the Foreign office at a time when the country is reeling under a severe economic crisis already. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Moscow, Feb 25 (PTI) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said that Moscow is ready for talks at "any moment" with Ukraine once the Ukrainian military respond positively to President Vladimir Putin's call, end their resistance and lay down their arms. Lavrov made the remarks following talks with Deputy Foreign Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Sergey Peresada and Foreign Minister of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) Vladislav Deinego, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Conflict: US Congress Wants To Kick Out Russia From UN Security Council. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties with leaders of DPR and LPR on February 21, recognising the two regions of Ukraine as independent. We are ready to hold talks at any moment, once the Ukrainian Armed Forces respond to our president's call, end their resistance and lay down their arms. No one plans to attack and oppress them, let them return to their families, and let us give the Ukrainian people a chance to decide their future, Lavrov was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency. Also Read | Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Ready for Talks With Russian President Vladimir Putin, Says 'Let's Sit Down at Negotiation Table To Stop People From Dying'. President Putin on Thursday launched a multi-pronged all-out attack on Ukraine, casting aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to "consequences they had never seen". President Putin announced in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the head of the Donbas republic, he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation to protect people who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years. Putin said the Russian military operation aims to ensure a demilitarisation of Ukraine. Putin also urged Ukrainian servicemen to immediately put down arms and go home. The US and its allies have decided to block assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs close to Putin after he ordered a "special military operation" against Ukraine on Thursday. Stressing that Russia had always called for negotiations, Lavrov said, "there is no shortage of talks but when talks are replaced with blatant sabotage, while Russia is accused of allegedly failing to implement the Minsk accords, it's effrontery, which is what some of our Western colleagues are famous for, but this time, it just went beyond all limits because it was accompanied by a continuous deterioration of the Russian-speaking population's situation in Ukraine. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kyiv [Ukraine], February 25 (ANI): Russian forces have taken control of the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine on Thursday (local time), as per an official. Yevgeniya Kuznetsova, a spokeswoman for the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management told CNN that troops overran the plant on the first day of Russia's multi-pronged invasion of Ukraine. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Crisis: PM Narendra Modi Speaks to President Vladimir Putin, Calls for Immediate Cessation of Violence. "When I came to the office today in the morning [in Kyiv], it turned out, that the [Chernobyl nuclear power plant] management had left. So, there was no one to give instructions or defend," she said. Earlier taking to Twitter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is trying to seize the power plant. Also Read | 'Russia Was Left With No Other Choice', Says President Vladimir Putin on Military Operations in Ukraine. "Russian occupation forces are trying to seize the Chernobyl [Nuclear Power Plant]. Our defenders are sacrificing their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated," Zelensky tweeted. Ukraine Foreign Ministry also echoed the president's warning. "In 1986, the world saw the biggest technological disaster in Chernobyl," the Ministry tweeted. "If Russia continues the war, Chernobyl can happen again in 2022." (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) London, Feb 25 (PTI) Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday told the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) that the UK will "imminently" impose direct sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Addressing a virtual meeting of NATO leaders, Johnson said his government will personally sanction the Russian leaders over their "revanchist mission" to overturn the post-Cold War order. Also Read | Pakistan Army Promotes Hindu Officer 'Kailash Kumar' As Lieutenant Colonel. He also called for "immediate action" to ban Russia from the SWIFT payment platform to "inflict maximum pain" on the Russian regime. The Prime Minister urged leaders to take immediate action against SWIFT to inflict maximum pain on President Putin and his regime. The UK would introduce sanctions against President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov imminently, on top of the sanctions package the UK announced yesterday, he said, a Downing Street spokesperson said, with reference to the NATO meeting. Also Read | Russia President Vladimir Putin Ready To Send Negotiation Team to Minsk for Talks With Ukraine As Russian Troops Encircle Kyiv. The Prime Minister added that the world must make certain President Putin would fail in this act of aggression. Ukraine was showing strong resistance. He added that there could no normalisation of relations with Russia after this act, the spokesperson said. Johnson warned NATO that the Russian President's ambitions might not stop at Ukraine and that this was a Euro-Atlantic crisis with global consequences. The European Union (EU) has already sanctioned President Putin and his foreign minister. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called on both the UK and the EU to strengthen their package of measures hitting oligarchs supporting the Putin regime and freezing Russian bank assets. NATO is a military alliance originally formed in 1949 by 12 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK and France. Members of the alliance agree to come to one another's aid in the event of an armed attack against any member state. Ukraine is not a member country but wants to join the alliance, something Putin is vehemently opposed to. On Thursday, Johnson had outlined what he termed the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen in the House of Commons. It involved a ban on Russian flag carrier Aeroflot and a full asset-freeze of Russian state-owned bank VTB and powers to allow the UK to exclude Russian banks from Britain's financial system. The UK government also announced a limit on the amount that Russian nationals can deposit in their UK bank accounts and Russian state and private companies will be banned from raising money in the UK. The UK PM informed MPs that overall Britain will be imposing asset freezes on over 100 more new entities and individuals, on top of the hundreds already announced. Legislation to enforce some of the wide-ranging sanctions will be laid in Parliament by early next week. These trade sanctions will constrain Russia's military, industrial and technological capabilities for years to come, declared Johnson. It comes as the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv was hit by air strikes and fighting got closer to the capital. There are warnings that Russia could use thermobaric weapons against Ukrainian forces if they continue to hold up their advance. Earlier on Friday, Belarussian ambassador to the UK, Maxim Yermalovich, was summoned to the Foreign Office over its role in the invasion. The UK condemns the role Belarus is playing in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Belarus must stop supporting Russia's illegal and unprovoked actions. We must be united against Russian aggression, said James Cleverly, UK Minister for Europe and North America. Belarus needs to desist from its support to Russia and respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty in line with its international obligations, the minister noted. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has provoked widespread condemnation from countries in the West, unleashing sanctions against associates of the Putin administration. (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 25 (ANI): The US President ordered the deployment of additional 7,000 troops in Germany, a NATO ally. This comes at a time when Ukraine tensions are escalating after the announcement of Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize the independence of Ukraine's breakaway regions. Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Crisis: PM Narendra Modi Speaks to President Vladimir Putin, Calls for Immediate Cessation of Violence. "Now, I'm authorizing additional US force capabilities to deploy to Germany as part of NATO's response, including some the US-based forces that the Department of Defense placed on standby weeks ago," Biden said in remarks at the White House. Earlier on Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in a press conference, announced that the alliance activated its defense plans at the request of Gen. Tod Wolters, who leads the US European Command, reported The Hill. Also Read | 'Russia Was Left With No Other Choice', Says President Vladimir Putin on Military Operations in Ukraine. While Stoltenberg said that no NATO forces are in Ukraine but it is working to bolster NATO's defense capabilities to defend the members of the alliance and prevent the spillover. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chennai, Feb 25: Tamil Nadu received 3.89 lakh doses of Corbevax against Covid-19 for children in the age group of 12-15. The state health minister Ma Subramanian said that the vaccine will be rolled out after the central government issues guidelines on the same. Ma Subramanian while speaking to IANS said, "The Union government has allocated 21.66 lakh doses of Corbevax vaccine for children in the age group of 12-18 in the state and of this 3.89 lakh doses have arrived in Chennai on Thursday. However, we will roll out the vaccination only after guidelines from the central government. There are nearly 10 lakh children in this age group ". COVID-19 Vaccine Corbevax Gets Emergency Approval From DCGI for 12-18 Age Group. He said that the vaccine against Covid-19 for children in the age group of 15-18 was rolled out on January 3. The minister said that of the 33.46 lakh children in the age group of 15-18 who are eligible for vaccination, 82.27 per cent have received the first dose, and the second dose after a gap of 28 days was administered to 37.64 per cent. The minister also said that in the age group above 18 years of age, the first dose coverage has increased to 91.39 per cent and the second dose has been administered to 72.05 per cent. The Minister also said that the number of people who are due to receive the second dose of vaccine has crossed 1 crore. Ma Subramanian said, "The state has provided all facilities for people to get themselves inoculated and I appeal to each and everyone to get vaccinated with both the doses." (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2022 03:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Pakistan's objections to the hydro-power projects Pakal Dul, Lower Kalnai and Kiru in #JammuandKashmir are likely to figure in the agenda at the annual meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission between March 1 and 3 in #Pakistan this year. pic.twitter.com/gn46NBlVKz IANS Tweets (@ians_india) February 25, 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.) A group of around 40 Indian medical students of Daynlo Halytsky Medical University, Lviv walked towards the Ukraine-Poland border for the evacuation. Reportedly, the students were dropped around 8 km from the border point by a college bus. Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Poland issued an advisory for Indians arriving at the Poland-Ukraine border. See Pics Here: Ukraine | A group of around 40 Indian medical students of Daynlo Halytsky Medical University, Lviv walk towards the Ukraine-Poland border for evacuation. They were dropped around 8 kms from the border point by a college bus. (Source: An Indian medical student from the group) pic.twitter.com/L3JttzjVDY ANI (@ANI) February 25, 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.) USA | Demonstrators protest outside the White House for hours, amid #RussiaUkraineCrisis. Visuals from Lafayette Square Park. pic.twitter.com/QAGSnVJhlX ANI (@ANI) February 25, 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.) New Delhi: The increased adoption of cryptocurrencies is helping Russian President Vladimir Putin evade the first wave of financial sanctions from the West and the country may legalise cryptocurrencies in order to sustain and virtually avoid all the sanctions as it invades Ukraine, the media reported. Cryptocurrency prices in India today (25 Feb 2022). US President Joe Biden has announced new sanctions and limitations on what can be exported to Russia. The US will block five of the biggest Russian banks and freeze all assets they hold in America, worth over $1 trillion. Earlier, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled Britain's largest-ever package of sanctions against Russia, targeting banks and wealthy Russians. However, those measures are becoming increasingly easy to evade, thanks in part to a surge of cryptocurrency adoption in Russia, reports CNN. "If the Russians decide -- and they're already doing this, I'm sure --to avoid using any currency other than cryptocurrency, they can effectively avoid virtually all of the sanctions," Ross S. Delston, an expert on anti-money laundering compliance, was quoted as saying in the report. Bitcoin surged to $39,000 in a quick rally following Biden's sanctions after dipping below $35,000 on Thursday when Putin declared war on Ukraine. According to The New York Times, Russia is legalising cryptocurrency to circumvent US sanctions. Otherwise, the country will not survive the growing sanctions pressure from Western countries. Alex Kuptsikevich, the FxPro senior market analyst, said that after reaching the lows for the month, the first cryptocurrency received support from buyers, as was the case at the end of January. Crypto Ads Guidelines: Advertisers to Carry 'Unregulated', 'Can Be Highly Risky' Disclaimer in Cryptocurrency and NFT Advertisements from April 1, Says ASCI. "Of course, the growth dynamics were relatively modest, which indicates the caution of buyers. It is likely that these are long-term holders rather than short-term speculators, as markets generally remain wary," he said in a statement. Interestingly, buying during the decline has become a key outline of the American session. After more than a 3 per cent fall, US stock indices not only bounced back but also managed to show growth at the end of the day. "This stimulated Bitcoin to strengthen. A short-term surge of bullish sentiment could end quickly if risky assets resume their decline again. If the situation in Ukraine escalates even more, Bitcoin may fall below $30,000 as investors leave for defensive assets," Kuptsikevich noted. The total capitalisation of the crypto market, according to CoinMarketCap, has increased by 9.6 per cent per day to $1.72 trillion. The Bitcoin dominance index rose 0.3 points to 42.6 per cent. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2022 04:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). New Delhi, February 25: China could invade Taiwan after seeing the West's response to Russia's brutal war in Ukraine, a leading historian has warned, Daily Mail reported. Professor of European studies at the Oxford University, Timothy Garton Ash, said that Xi Jinping taking over the island militarily would be a 'worst case scenario', the report said. The political writer claimed that the Communist leader will be thinking: "If comrade Vladimir (Putin) can get away with it in Ukraine, maybe I'll have a go." He also warned Putin's 'minimal aim' is to bring a new iron curtain down over eastern Europe because he wants to create a new empire, Daily Mail reported. World War Three Could Be Triggered 'At Any Time', Warns China After Sending Nearly 150 Warplanes Into Taiwan's Airspace. Ash's warnings came a day after Taiwan's air force scrambled its fighter planes to warn away nine Chinese aircraft in its air defence zone. At the same time, Putin's forces continued to sweep across Ukraine and reached the outskirts of Kiev by Friday morning. Ash said the devastating conflict - which has already seen hundreds slaughtered - is just the beginning of Russia's plans. He told BBC Question Time: "He (Putin) has effectively already invaded Belarus, which is just next to Ukraine. Because he put all his forces in there and they're there for as long as he wants them to be there. "So I think the minimal aim of Vladimir Putin is to create a new iron curtain down the Eastern frontier of NATO so that countries like Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia will be stuck in the Russian empire whether they like it or not," as per the report. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2022 08:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). New Delhi, February 25: Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested on Friday that it would be "easier" to negotiate with the Ukrainian Army than with politicians in Kiev. Ukraine's armed forces should "take power" in the country and negotiate peace with Moscow, Putin said during a Russian Security Council meeting on Friday, RT reported. He also accused the Kiev government and "neo-Nazis" of using civilians as "human shields" amid Russia's offensive in Ukraine. Putin said the Ukrainian military must not allow the government to use their "children, wives and loved ones as human shields" tactics he insisted Kiev is using during Moscow's military operation, the report said. Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Ukraine Claims Russian Forces Targeted Orphanages and Nurseries. "Take the power into your own hands!" the Russian President said, arguing that the army would be a better negotiating partner than "a bunch of drug-addicts and neo-Nazis" who he claimed have "entrenched themselves in Kiev", and have been holding the people "hostage", RT reported. "Also, I would like to commend the efficiency of Russian armed forces, they have been acting honourably, heroically and they are effective and efficient at protecting the Russian people and their homeland," Putin said. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2022 10:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Wu Shaoyu (1st, L) explains the Hainan traditional sugar-making craft in a workshop in Xuelan Village in Danzhou, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 6, 2020. (Xinhua) HAIKOU, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- For the Spring Festival holiday, Wu Shaoyu managed to sell 230,000 yuan (36,400 U.S. dollars) of hand-made sugar online. "It just shows that with proper sales channels, traditional craftsmanship will prove its value," said Wu, an inheritor of Hainan traditional sugar-making, a craft that has received provincial-level recognition in south China's Hainan Province. She is also an online influencer, with followers of about 23,000, and her account has drawn nearly 106,000 likes on Douyin, a popular short-video app in China. As a Hainan local, she keenly promotes the traditional hand-made sugar, hoping the craftsmanship will garner more public attention. BITTERSWEET SUGAR-MAKING CULTURE Wu grew up in Xuelan, a small village in the province's Danzhou City, where most villagers made a living by growing sugarcanes. "Every family knew how to make sugar by hand," Wu said, as she recalled how locals made sugar sitting under a thatched shack with a big bowl. "People would make square-shaped black sugar from the sugarcanes they grew and leave some sugar at home for the children as snacks," she said. "The rest of the sugar would be sold at the local rural market to boost family income. Those were memorable, sweet days." But the traditional sugar-making technique gradually lost popularity as the modern sugar-making industry burgeoned. "Traditional sugar-making just faded out in my village, the number of villagers who had mastered the skills gradually declined," she said. "More importantly, individual villagers that grew and sold sugarcanes for a living slowly slipped into poverty." Wu used to work in the metropolis of Shanghai. Whenever she returned home, her father would complain about the situation. "I am getting old, the big bowl at home is decaying, and the traditional sugar-making techniques are dying," her father would often tell her. "I will probably never be able to eat the homemade sugar again. I'm sad." These words struck a chord with Wu, and she decided to help pass on the old techniques. "If we lose our tradition, we lose our ground," she said. SWEET BUSINESS In 2013, Wu gave up her career in Shanghai and returned to Xuelan Village to renew the prime of the sweet business. She built a traditional sugar-making base with her father to help protect and pass on the craft. "We had an old house, a cow to pull the millstone and big bowls to stew the sugar," she said. "The entire process is quite complicated, including 18 procedures." Wu realized that expanding new sales channels was essential for making traditional sugar better known among the public. So she chose to explore an emerging industry: short videos. According to a report released by Shenzhen-based research firm AskCI Consulting, China had about 880 million online short-video users as of June 2021, and the number is expected to grow. Another report published by CSM Media Research said that nearly 42.8 percent of short-video users have started uploading their own video clips. Wu started uploading videos on the internet in April 2020. Within less than two years, she uploaded about 50 videos presenting the beauty of her native village as well as local snacks, and each video was carefully produced. In her videos, she records how she chops wood, grows and picks vegetables, and makes delicacies. She does not sell sugar directly in the videos, but the down-to-earth, serene and simple rural lifestyle has evoked a sense of nostalgia among many urbanites that place orders for the sugar in her store. "For many people, it's not about the sugar, but rather about a nostalgic feeling," she said. As Wu's business is thriving, she is also leading over 370 local households who are working with her towards prosperity. "This is a dream come true," she said. "I am glad that the traditional sugar-making craft is gradually shining in the spotlight." Wu Shaoyu (1st, R) displays the production process of Hainan traditional sugar-making craft as she records a video in Xuelan Village in Danzhou, south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 6, 2021.(Xinhua) Wu Shaoyu displays the production process of Hainan traditional sugar-making craft as she records a video in Xuelan Village in Danzhou, south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 26, 2019.(Xinhua) New Delhi, February 25: The Ukrainian president says Kiev has been left to fend for itself as NATO is "afraid" to give it any guarantees, RT reported. "I asked them -- are you with us?" Volodymyr Zelensky said. "They answered that they are with us, but they don't want to take us into the alliance." "I've asked 27 leaders of Europe, if Ukraine will be in NATO, I've asked them directly -- all are afraid and did not respond." "We were left by ourselves. Who is ready to go to war for us? Honestly, I don't see anybody. Who is ready to give Ukraine guarantees of NATO membership? Honestly, everybody is afraid," the president added, RT reported. Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Many Russians Detained for Protesting Against Military Operation in Ukraine. Accusing the West of leaving Ukraine to face Moscow alone, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he was not afraid to negotiate an end to the Russian "invasion", but would need security guarantees to do so. Speaking in the early hours of the morning from Kiev, Zelensky said he had reached out to "partners" in the West to tell them that Ukraine's fate was at stake. In an address on Friday, Zelensky said he is open to talking about the possibility of a neutral status for Ukraine, but insisted that his country needs third-party guarantees, the report said. "We are not not afraid of Russia, we are not afraid to talk with Russia, talk about everything: security guarantees for our country and a neutral status. But we are not in NATO now -- what security guarantees will we have? Which countries will give them?" he said, before adding that there should be talks to bring an end to the Russian military offensive. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that "neutral status and rejection of hosting (offensive) weapons systems" are Putin's "red lines" for Ukraine and that the ball was now in Kiev's court. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2022 04:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). New Delhi, February 25: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had an ominous warning for his European counterparts in a video conference call on Thursday night, Sky News reported. According to a journalist at Israel's Walla News, he told other leaders: "This might be the last time you see me alive." The Ukrainian presidential advisor earlier warned that Russia wants to kill Zelensky if it takes Ukraine's capital. It's believed Russia is planning to install a puppet government in Ukraine should it successfully capture Kiev, the report said. Ukraine Faces Total Internet Blackout Amid War With Russia. A squad of Chechen special forces 'hunters' has been unleashed in Ukraine to detain or kill a set of specific Ukrainian officials, Daily Mail reported. Each soldier was reportedly given a special 'deck of cards' with Ukrainian officials' photos and descriptions on them, a Moscow Telegram channel with links to the security establishment reported, Daily Mail reported. The list is of officials and security officers suspected of 'crimes' by the Russian Investigative Committee, the report added. It came as Ukraine's President admitted that he is 'target number one' for Russian assassins in his capital, while his family is 'the number two goal' for Putin's hitmen. The Chechen squad is thought to be in a Ukrainian forest and was allegedly given an 'order to kill' if those on the wanted list could not be detained, the report said. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2022 10:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Some states have dropped their respective mandates as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations decline. However, experts have another take with the COVID-19 Omicron variant introducing another sub-lineage called Omicron BA.2. Infectious disease experts expressed worry about COVID-19 Omicron variant's more contagious version as it continues to spread throughout the United States, according to a Deseret News report. The spread of the Omicron BA.2 has been seen to be slow and steady as COVID-19 cases driven by the main Omicron variant continue to drop. New England Complex Systems Institute President, Yaneer Bar-Yam, tweeted that the BA.2 subvariant is more vaccine evading, resistant to BA.1 induced immunity, and causes more rapid and more extensive lung damage when seen in hamsters. Study: Evidence of major differences between Omicron BA.2 and BA.1: BA.2 has 1. Higher R 1.4X (growing around the world) 2. More vaccine evading 3. Resistant to BA.1 induced immunity. 4. Higher severity (pathogenicity): More rapid and more extensive lung damage in hamsters 1/ pic.twitter.com/tW7QFm5mXf Yaneer Bar-Yam (@yaneerbaryam) February 17, 2022 Physician-scientist Eric Topol said "more reassuring evidence" from South Africa is that the Omicron BA.2 is associated with an increase in clinical severity compared to its original variant. More reassuring evidence, from South Africa, that the BA.2 variant is not associated with an increase in clinical severity compared to its sister Omicron variant, BA.1https://t.co/Pj0cRe12Ak Eric Topol (@EricTopol) February 20, 2022 Nathan Grubaugh, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, said that a lot of them were assuming that the BA.2 was going to quickly take off in the U.S., just like in Europe. Grubaugh said that it might become the new dominant variant. READ NEXT: Washington Mask Mandate Lifted by Gov. Jay Inslee Effective March 21 With Some Exceptions | Find Out Which Places Still Require Wearing Masks Omicron BA.2 The virus is reported to be 30 percent more easily to spread, according to an NPR report. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that Omicron BA.2 has now been found from coast to coast and accounts for around 3.9 percent of all-new infections nationally. Samuel Scarpino, the manager director of pathogen surveillance at the Rockefeller Foundation, said that if the variant doubles again to eight percent, it would mean that the U.S. is into the exponential growth phase. Scarpino added that the U.S. may be staring at another wave of COVID-19 in the U.S. The World Health Organization has determined that the strain should be considered a variant of concern and be monitored by public health authorities. The WHO added that it will continue to closely look at the BA.2 to know whether it causes more severe disease, according to a Fox News report. Omicron BA.2 variant has a lot of mutation and can appear like a Delta infection as it lacks a genetic quirk of the original Omicron variant. It has been found in more than 80 countries, with 50 U.S. states reporting cases infected with BA.2. Dr. Jeremy Luban, a virologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, noted that there might be several people getting to end up on respirators and dying due to the BA.2. COVID-19 in The U.S. New cases plummet 90 percent from a pandemic record set just five weeks ago with U.S. health officials and state leaders announce changes in their respective mask mandates. Hospitalizations have also fallen significantly. Data from the Department of Health and Human Services note 66,000 patients in U.S. hospitals, which is a decrease from the January 20 record of 159,000 patients. Jeff Zients, White House COVID response coordinator, said that they are encouraged by the dramatic declines in cases and hospitalizations nationwide, CNBC News reported. Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo said that she does not think BA.2 is going to cause a huge jump in cases as what they have seen in winter. However, she noted that it is possible it could drag out the decline. Nuzzo said that the U.S. has now the ability to focus its response on protecting those who remain vulnerable despite vaccination, particularly people with compromised immune systems. READ MORE: CDC Recommends Shorter COVID Isolation Period for Health Care Workers Amid Omicron Variant This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Will vaccines work against BA.2, the new sub-variant of Omicron? Covid-19 - from WION Texas Governor Greg Abbott was blamed for the high electric prices during the winter storm that hampered the state last year. Former President and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Bill Magness accused the governor when he testified on the court on Wednesday, Gizmodo reported. According to Forbes, Magness testified on the court in connection to the bankruptcy trial of Waco-based Brazos Electric Cooperative that challenged a $1.9 billion in costs it incurred during the crisis that forced the cooperative into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. READ NEXT: Meta Lawsuit: Texas Takes Legal Action vs. Facebook Over Illegal Harvesting of Facial Recognition Data Ex-ERCOT CEO Blames Texas Gov. Abbott for High Electric Prices It can be recalled that after the winter storm in Texas last year, millions of Texans were left without heat for days. The end of the storm also exposed underlying problems within the state's electric grid. Reports noted that the power prices in the state were capped at around $9,000 per megawatt-hour, during the final days of the storm in mid-February. Magness then underscored that the high pelectric prices came after an attempt from the former Public Utility Commission (PUC) Chairman DeAnn Walker conveying Governor Abbott's wish, Insider highlighted per Yahoo! News. "She [Walker] told me that the governor had conveyed to her if we emerged from rotating outages it was imperative, they not resume... We needed to do what it needed to do to make it happen," Bill Magness said. Magness added that the move of the former PUC chairman also urged power plants to keep big power users, like industrial facilities, offline to conserve powers from emergency reserves, per Gizmodo. Aside from Magness, the former PUC chairman, DeAnn Walker, also took to stand on the trial earlier today. Walker confirmed parts of Magness' testimony on the court, claiming that the Texas governor instructed her to report to ERCOT's headquarters in Taylor and "figure out a way to get the power back on to all the customers and to not go back into rolling outages," per Forbes. Walker also said that the move of keeping the prices at around $9,000 during that time was an "independent decision" that she made. Criticism flowed after the Magness and Walker testified on the court. Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke, Governor Abbot's opponent in the upcoming gubernatorial elections, blasted the state official in a series of tweets for what he allegedly did. Abbott screwed us. Hell continue to screw us until we vote him out. https://t.co/KTL3gCy0T0 Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) February 23, 2022 "Abbot screwed us. He'll continue to screw us until we vote him out," O'Rourke said in one of his tweets, as he quoted a tweet from the Houston Chronicle reporting what Magness said during the trial. Gov. Abbott on Claims of the Ex-ERCOT CEO On Wednesday, Governor Greg Abbott's camp retaliated on the claims that the former ERCOT CEO slammed against him Wednesday. According to the Texas governor's campaign spokesman, Mark Miner, said that Abbott had "no hand" in setting the high electric prices during last year's winter storm, NBC 5 reported. However, another spokesperson for Abbott, which was not named by the Houston Chronicle, acknowledged that the Texas governor instructed "everyone involved" to do what was needed in keeping the power on during that time "to prevent the loss of life,' Gizmodo noted. "This is the same instruction Governor Abbott gave to the PUC and ERCOT earlier this year [during a cold snap]. Do what needs to be done to keep the power on," the spokesperson added. READ NEXT: Ivanka Trump in Talks To Appear 'Voluntarily' Before January 6 House Select Committee This article is owned by Latin Post. Written By: Joshua Summers WATCH: ERCOT Kept Prices High After Gov. Abbott's Direction: Magness - From FOX 7 Austin Former White House doctor Rep. Ronny Jackson has repeated his calls for U.S. President Joe Biden to take a cognitive test immediately amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Jackson said that Biden looks tired, weak, and confused. He added that the president is "incoherent," saying that it sends a message of weakness all over the world, according to The Daily Wire report. The former White House physician, who served during former President Barack Obama's administration, said that Biden's mental fitness for office "or a lack of thereof" was shown during the Afghanistan withdrawal. Jackson said that the whole country is seeing Biden's mental cognitive issues on display and that there is no question in most people's minds that there is something going on with the president. The Republican representative then said that in his mind, Biden is "not fit to be our president right now." Jackson then cited the president's gaffes and missteps. However, he said that what is happening right now is "something different," saying that it is something "much more serious." READ NEXT: Pres. Joe Biden Will Resign Due to Limited Cognitive Abilities, Former White House Doctor Predicts U.S. President Joe Biden's Cognitive Test A new poll released last week revealed that two-thirds of likely voters want to see Biden complete the same cognitive test that former U.S. President Donald Trump took when he was in office, according to a Daily Mail report. A Rasmussen Reports survey showed that 56 percent of respondents do not think Biden is fit for office, while 43 percent of Democrats want to see Biden take the cognitive test and have the results released. A group of 38 Republican House lawmakers signed a letter to Biden calling for his cognitive test. Jackson was the leading proponent of the matter. The letter noted of recent examples of the president's "mental decline," which includes forgetting numbers and names, as well as recent gaffes and hot mic incidents. The purpose of the cognitive test is to assess mild cognitive impairment or early signs of dementia. U.S. President Joe Biden on Russia-Ukraine Crisis Biden has announced new sanctions against Russia as it made its move on Ukraine. Biden said that the new sanctions package include limiting international trade with Moscow, while also penalizing Russian leader Vladimir Putin's inner circle, according to an Aljazeera News report. The sanctions focus on four Russian banks holding more than $1 trillion in assets, which include the country's largest bank, Sberbank. The president said that the new imposition of the sanction would mean that every asset that Russia has in America will be frozen. Biden said that the U.S. will limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen to be part of the global economy. The president told the press that he has "no plans" to talk to Putin. He did not answer why the U.S. is not sanctioning Putin directly, according to a CBS News report. More Russian oligarchs and members of their families will also be affected by the sanctions, with elites seen to be targeted in the future. READ MORE: Joe Biden's Rating Further Sinks, With More Than Half of Americans Disapprove of the President's Performance This article is owned by Latin Post Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: WATCH LIVE | Biden delivers remarks on Russian assault on Ukraine - from Washington Post A new development in the George Floyd case came to light on Thursday when the three former Minneapolis police officers were convicted for violating the Black man's civil rights. A federal jury did not accept their arguments that inexperience, improper training, or the distraction of shouting bystanders excused them from failing to prevent the death of Floyd, ABC News reported. J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao were convicted of depriving the 46-year-old Black man of his right to medical care. Their fellow police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled for nine and a half minutes on Floyd's neck while the Black man was handcuffed and face down on the street in May 2020. Kueng knelt on Floyd's back while Lane held his legs, and Thao kept the crowd of bystanders back. Kueng and Thao were also convicted of not intervening to stop Chauvin from using excessive force. They had pleaded not guilty. Lane shook his head and looked at his lawyer as his verdict was read, while Thao and Kueng showed no apparent reaction, and their attorneys declined to comment afterward. Charles Kovats, acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, said the convictions should serve as a reminder that all sworn law enforcement officers have a duty to intervene. Kovats added that the police officers had a legal obligation, a moral responsibility, and a duty to intervene, and by failing to do so, they committed a crime. READ MORE: Derek Chauvin Prosecutors Seek 30 Years in Jail for George Floyd's Murder as His Lawyer Pushes for No Prison Time Ex-Minneapolis Police Officers on Trial for Killing George Floyd The jury started deliberating on Wednesday morning after a month-long trial. Prosecutors argued during their closing arguments that the defendants had "front-row seats" to George Floyd's killing and chose not to do anything to help him as Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck, NBC News reported. On the other hand, defense attorneys claimed that the former police officers did not get adequate training, and they relied on Chauvin being the most experienced officer on the scene. In a statement, Ben Crump and other attorneys representing Floyd's family said the officers tried to create an excuse that could "let them wash the blood from their hands." They added that the guilty verdicts should be a guiding example of why police departments across the nation should expand and prioritize instruction on an officer's duty to intervene and recognize when a fellow officer is using excessive force. Federal Jury for George Floyd's Death According to Al Jazeera, the jurors were allowed to watch videos from the scene and view other evidence as much as they wanted during deliberations. Thao, Kueng, and Lane are each facing up to life in prison. The three men are scheduled for trial in June on state charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. Robert Paule, a defense attorney for Thao, said that Floyd's death was tragic. However, he noted that "just because something has a tragic ending does not mean it's a crime." All three former police officers in Minneapolis testified during the trial. Lane was the third officer to testify, and he choked back tears while he was testifying. Lane said he tried to assist paramedics after he could not locate Floyd's pulse. Meanwhile, Derek Chauvin was already convicted on state murder and manslaughter charges in April last year and was sentenced to 22 1/2 years. In December, he pleaded guilty to violating George Floyd's civil rights and was waiting for sentencing in the federal case. READ MORE: Derek Chauvin Trial Moves Forward, Video of George Floyd's Final Moments to Be Played This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Former Minneapolis Police Officers Convicted of Violating George Floyd's Civil Rights - From PBS NewsHour U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued a statement on Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Sen. Martin Heinrich's Statement: "Despite months of American and European offers for diplomatic de-escalation, Russia has invaded Ukraine. This is an unjustified and unprovoked war started by a dangerous dictator. "For years, I have worked against Russia's cyber and covert attacks against democracies, from Ukraine's to our own. Russia has now begun an overt and direct attack on the people of Ukraine, the decades-old peace in Europe, and democracy itself. "I stand with President Biden in condemning Russia's actions. We need to stay united with our allies--today and in the coming weeks and months. We must exact the strongest possible price for Russia's unjustified aggression and attempt to overthrow Ukraine's legitimate democracy. Russia will be held accountable." READ NEXT: Sen. Martin Heinrich Offers Well Wishes to Sen. Ben Ray Lujan Who Suffered a Stroke About Martin Heinrich Elected in 2012, Martin Heinrich is a United States Senator for New Mexico. Heinrich serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources, Armed Services, Intelligence, and Joint Economic Committees. He is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities. With a background in engineering, Heinrich brings a unique perspective to the Senate, where he is focused on creating the jobs of the future and protecting the vital missions at New Mexico's national labs and military installations. He is a strong advocate for working families, a staunch ally of Indian Country, and a champion for New Mexico's public lands and growing clean energy economy. READ MORE: Sen. Martin Heinrich Welcomes New Funding for New Mexico to Create Jobs Cleaning up Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells Hector Luis "El Guero" Palma Salazar, who founded the Sinaloa Cartel with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, could soon be a free man. According to Daily Star, a judge in Mexico ruled that El Guero Palma's rights have been violated since he was in jail waiting for witnesses to be found, but authorities have stopped looking for them. Judge Ricardo Delgado Quiroz, head of the Third Unitary Court of the Third Circuit, has overturned a previous court ruling that had left El Guero Palma behind bars indefinitely. In April, a lower court ordered the release of the Sinaloa Cartel boss. But weeks later, a judge ordered El Guero Palma to be held for 40 more days in non-prison custody pending investigation on drug and organized crime charges. Last July, the Attorney General's Office (FGR) put the Sinaloa Cartel founder in Altiplano federal prison in Mexico state after a federal court revoked his acquittal. The court has ordered El Guero Palma's re-arrest and reinstated the process so the FGR could look for the two protected witnesses, who have remained untraceable for six years, Milenio reported. Both witnesses accused the Sinaloa Cartel founder of being behind a shipment of 3,288 kilos of cocaine that was seized in July 1999 in Tecoman, Colima, and a small plane with US$12 million in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora in October 1995. They also accused him of being behind the murder of Antonio Contreras, deputy director of the Judicial Police of Nayarit, and his bodyguard Jose Cruz Guerrero, in May 1995. In his ruling, Delgado Quiroz pointed out that the search for the two witnesses had come to an end in 2017 and 2018 since it was not possible to carry them out. The judge noted that the Federal Public Ministry was informed about it, and it never resorted to challenging the agreements or filing for an appeal. If this circumstance were to continue, the process against El Chapo's pal would make him languish in jail indefinitely, without justification and violating one's "fundamental right of access to the expeditious jurisdiction." Delgado Quiroz then ordered the court that ordered the reinstatement of proceedings against El Guero Palma to issue a new ruling soon to "shed light on the defendant's permanence in prison," Borderland Beat reported. READ NEXT: Re-Arrest of Hector Luis 'El Guero' Palma Salazar, Who Founded Sinaloa Cartel With El Chapo, Was Legal: Mexico Court Sinaloa Cartel Founder Hector Luis 'El Guero' Palma Salazar's Arrest and Appeal Hector Luis "El Guero" Palma Salazar was one of the founders of the Sinaloa Cartel, maneuvering the drug cartel's operation with now-imprisoned El Chapo. He was arrested in Mexico in 1995 and served 12 years in Mexico on bribery and weapons charges before he was extradited to the U.S. in 2007. The Sinaloa cartel founder served nine years of a 16-year sentence in the U.S. for cocaine trafficking before being sent back to Mexico, where his trial on the charges he was acquitted of was held. When he was re-apprehended, El Guero Palma has asked to have his re-apprehension declared illegal since the process was full of irregularities. However, a court has junked his appeal in November, saying his re-apprehension was legal and "the responsible authorities acted in accordance with the law." Tragic Life of Sinaloa Cartel Boss' Hector Luis 'El Guero' Palma Salazar The Sinaloa Cartel and the Tijuana Cartel had a violent rivalry in the early 1990s, marking Mexico's first major narco war, El Pais reported. When Tijuana Cartel boss Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo was arrested, his nephews, the Arellano Felix brothers, led the cartel. Sinaloa Cartel was then led by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. The battle between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Tijuana Cartel intensified after El Chapo and El Guero Palma tried to kill Ramon Eduardo Arellano Felix at a nightclub in Puerto Vallarta. But the botched attempt hit and killed six others instead. The violence had spilled over into the lives of the cartel families when the Arellano Felix brothers ordered a hitman to seduce El Guero Palma's wife. The hitman has successfully completed his mission by killing El Guero Palma's wife. He then sent her head to him in a refrigerated box. The Sinaloa Cartel boss had also received a videotaped showing the death of his two children, being thrown off in a 150-meter high bridge in Venezuela. READ MORE: Sinaloa Cartel Founder 'El Guero' Is Still in Custody of Mexican Authorities This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: El Guero Palma: Tragic Life Story of a Narco - From WorthTheHype President Joe Biden and the White House were criticized over the new sanctions on Russia that allegedly would not prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine. According to The Daily Mail, Biden stated outright during Thursday afternoon's press conference that "no one" expected the sanctions imposed on Russia "to prevent the invasion" of Ukraine. "No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening," the president said in what was a complete opposite to what he said previously. Biden noted that "this could take time, and we have to show resolve." He said Putin "knows what's coming, and so the people of Russia know what he's brought on them, this is what this is all about." After Biden issued the remarks that seemed to be a changing stance on whether sanctions were effective in any way, criticism against the president has quickly spread on the internet. New York Times correspondent Michael Shear tweeted the difference between what the president said from what National security adviser Jake Sullivan said last week. "On Feb. 11, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said 'the President believes that sanctions are intended to deter.' Today, @potus told us: 'No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening.' Those are basically the opposite of each other," Shear noted. On Feb. 11, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said that the President believes that sanctions are intended to deter. Today, @potus told us: No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening." Those are basically the opposite of each other. Michael D. Shear (@shearm) February 24, 2022 CNN's Bianna Golodryga also tweeted: "Biden: 'No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening.' So... then not a deterrent?" But Jennifer Rubin, a columnist for the Washington Post, sprung to Biden's defense and slammed the White House press corps as she suggested Putin's game plan would have been the name, no matter what Biden said. "The WH press corps is either playing dumb or doesn't understand. Sanctions are not meant to deter (hence they did not fail); Putin was ALWAYS going to do this. They are to force Putin to curtail once the pain rises sufficiently or he risks destabilization at home," Rubin said in her Twitter post. The White House was also blasted on social media after Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh said that the sanctions were "not designed to cause any disruption to the current flow of energy from Russia to the world," Fox News reported. In a press conference on Thursday, Singh added that the sanctions were meant to degrade Russia's energy capacity in the long run but not in the "short term." Reporter Stephen Gutowski then tweeted: "Then they aren't much in the way of sanctions." Then they aren't much in the way of sanctions. https://t.co/c4SkPESqSV Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) February 24, 2022 "King Of Stuff" podcast host Jon Gabriel said: "Then what's the point?" Spectator Editor Stephen L. Miller also tweeted: "Not a serious administration." Many netizens believe that getting tough on Russia's oil exports is the most meaningful way to punish the country for its military actions in Ukraine because its main export is energy resources, and it provides Europe with roughly 40 percent of its natural gas. READ NEXT: Joe Biden Condemns Vladimir Putin's 'Premeditated War,' Says Russia Will Be Held Accountable for Ukraine Attack Joe Biden Announces New Sanctions on Russia Joe Biden announced on Thursday new sanctions on Russia that target the country's largest banks and companies, The Guardian reported. The said sanctions effectively cut off Russia from western financial markets and imposed restrictions on the exports of advanced technology used to power the country's tech and military sector. "Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences," Biden said. The president noted that these new measures would "impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time." According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the new sanctions would impact nearly 80 percent of all banking assets in Russia. In a statement, Yellen said the "Treasury is taking serious and unprecedented action to deliver swift and severe consequences to the Kremlin and significantly impair their ability to use the Russian economy and financial system to further their malign activity." Senator Josh Hawley Calls on Joe Biden to Resign Amid Russia-Ukraine Crisis Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican, called on Joe Biden to resign as he was "unfit" to be in office, The Daily Mail reported. At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida on Thursday, Hawley said Vladimir Putin felt emboldened to attack Ukraine because Biden "shut down" U.S.' energy production and gave Russia the green light. "Is it any wonder that Vladimir Putin feels emboldened to do whatever the heck it is he wants to do?" he noted. It can be recalled that when he assumed the presidency, Biden has shut down U.S. energy production projects like the Keystone pipeline while lifting the sanctions on the Nord Stream II pipeline that carries gas to Germany from Russia. The president reportedly lifted the sanctions as a diplomatic favor to Germany, adding that the pipeline was already 98 percent complete anyhow. This week, Biden reinstated the sanctions on the company in charge of building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. However, Hawley believed that the president had not been tough enough on Russia's energy sector. As the U.S. "is the number one energy-producing nation" globally, the senator said Joe Biden should send a message to Vladimir Putin that "we are going to be the ones who supply the oil and gas to the world, which shut down your energy sector." READ MORE: Joe Biden Smirks, Picks Teeth After Reporter Asks if He 'Underestimated' Russia's President Vladimir Putin This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Joshua Summers WATCH: Biden Announces' Additional, Strong Sanctions' Against Russia - From MSNBC BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese military spokesperson on Thursday said the United States has become a "troublemaker" and "accident-maker" in the South China Sea, rather than a "defender" of free navigation and overflight as it has claimed. The United States has aggravated tension by blatantly sending military ships and aircraft to the South China Sea, said Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference. "Free navigation and overflight have never been a problem in the South China Sea," said Tan. "We all know that since last year, the U.S. military has caused a submarine collision and an air crash in the South China Sea," said the spokesperson. He added that several severe accidents in other sea areas in recent years also resulted from actions of U.S. military ships and aircraft. Tan urged the United States to immediately stop its extensive and high-frequency military activities in the South China Sea, which he said should be a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation. Social homes in the Midlands be insulated from the cold and rising fuel prices because of the priority status of the region for retrofitting, a Laois Offaly Government Minister has claimed. Minister of State Pippa Hackett said 345 houses are being retrofitted across Laois and Offaly. She said the first of these home retrofits have been completed, and work is progressing well on the remainder. The Green Party senator claimed it will have a benefit Getting that priority status for the Midlands has really made a difference, and were well ahead of other counties because of it. "It also means people are becoming more skilled at retrofitting, and over recent weeks theres been a huge increase in the number of people registering for the Retrofit Skills Programme at the Mount Lucas training centre run by Laois and Offaly Education Training Board. Its expected that between 800 and 1,000 people will be trained there this year," she said. A statement added that Minister Hackett "dismissed recent suggestions" that jobs on Offaly projects should be ring-fenced for Offaly people. It simply wouldnt be possible to discriminate against job applicants for retrofitting work on the basis that they are not from Offaly, she said. However, the training offered at Mount Lucas is giving the people of Offaly, and across the Midlands, a wonderful opportunity train locally for emerging employment opportunities. I would encourage anyone interested in this career to avail of it. Minister Hackett also pointed in her statement that the Midlands is prioritised for funding from the EU to ease this regions transition to a Green economy. The fund is open to East Galway, North Tipperary, Longford, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, West Kildare and Roscommon It is fair to say that Offaly County Council, Offaly Local Development Committee and Community Groups within Offaly have demonstrated a strong showing in relation to previous Just Transition Funds, and this bodes well for equally strong applications to the EU JT Fund, she said. I will continue to advocate that Offaly is the most impacted county, and as such deserves the largest share of the fund. This is not conjecture, but a fact that has been widely and well documented, for example, most recently in the EnvEcon Report 2021. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to re-orientate the Midlands to a sustainable track and I believe that Offaly partners are the best placed to take advantage of this and pass this advantage along. I will continue to support them in this, she said. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine yesterday (Thursday February 24), and the images and stories emerging from the attack are harrowing. By the end of the first day, the Ukrainian government said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed. Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv. Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Severe all ties. Kick Russia out of everywhete. Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) February 25, 2022 The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, described the horrific rocket strikes on Kyiv, tweeting: Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. In the face of such senseless violence, it can be easy to feel hopeless and powerless but if youre wondering how you could help people in Ukraine, there might be some ways. These are a few ways you can help from home Donate to relevant charities More than anything, children in Ukraine need peace. pic.twitter.com/vkyIsDcpnB UNICEF (@UNICEF) February 24, 2022 If youre able to afford it, donating money to various charities will go a long way to supporting those on the ground. UNICEF executive director Catherine M. Russell said in a statement: UNICEF is working across eastern Ukraine to scale up life-saving programmes for children. This includes trucking safe water to conflict-affected areas; prepositioning health, hygiene and emergency education supplies as close as possible to communities near the line of contact; and working with municipalities to ensure there is immediate help for children and families in need. UNICEF-supported mobile teams are also providing psychosocial care to children traumatised by the chronic insecurity. Donate here: unicef.org/ukraine/en/donate-now High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said the UN Refugee Agency is working with the authorities, UN and other partners in Ukraine and is ready to provide humanitarian assistance wherever necessary and possible. Donate here: donate.unrefugees.org.uk There are no winners in war but countless lives will be torn apart. We remain firmly committed to support all affected populations in Ukraine and countries in the region. Video message by @FilippoGrandi, High Commissioner for Refugees pic.twitter.com/mrtfgbm2lG UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) February 24, 2022 Sunflower Of Peace is a local charity gathering medical supplies for paramedics and doctors on the front lines. Donate here: facebook.com/donate/507886070680475 The British Red Cross has launched an urgent appeal to help Ukraine you can send your money here: donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-crisis-appeal Finally, head to United Help Ukraine (unitedhelpukraine.org) to support a charity focused on providing humanitarian aid to those in need, as well as raising awareness of the conflict. Write to your TD Writing a letter to your local TD can help put pressure on the government to act. This could encourage Micheal Martin's administration to put harsher sanctions on Russia. Ireland's Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, today (Friday February 25) lifted visa requirements between Ukraine and Ireland which she stated applies "to all Ukranians". Support local journalism Russia is attacking Ukraine. We are staying on the ground and bringing you the news you can trust. Support us so that we can continue working for you GoFundMe https://t.co/2rQHaZEpko, Patreon https://t.co/iNjWfwvs1X. Crypto:BTCbc1q444wayyye4jke3ty87sdvm77dwkysz9hwcyu6u The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) February 25, 2022 The fact were so up to date with whats happening in Ukraine is largely down to the tireless work of journalists reporting on the ground. To help them continue this crucial work, follow the news from local sources such as The Kyiv Independent (kyivindependent.com you can also donate on its website) and The New Voice of Ukraine (english.nv.ua). Educating yourself on the history and nuances of the crisis from respected sources before speaking about it online will help tackle disinformation. Join a peace protest This might not seem as direct a way to help Ukrainians as, for example, donating money but it could still have a big impact. Joining a peace protest (if you are able to do so and feel comfortable being in a crowd) is a public way of showing your support for the people of Ukraine, and putting pressure on those in powerful positions to help those affected. BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- A mainland spokesperson on Friday accused Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority of exploiting the Ukraine issue. Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, was asked to comment on the DPP saying that it would join the economic sanctions initiated by the United States against Russia. The DPP authority is taking undue advantage of the Ukraine situation, which is more evidence of their determination to seek "Taiwan independence" by banking on foreign forces, said Ma, warning that "Taiwan independence" is a dead end. The spokesperson also urged a handful of countries to abide by the one-China principle and stop playing the "Taiwan card." More than 760,000 is in the pipeline to develop remote working hubs and other facilities in four Laois communities. Some 766,652 has been allocated for improvements to towns and villages around Laois under the Town & Village Renewal Scheme. Killeshin in the south east of Laois is the biggest recipient. It's getting 500,000 for the Killeshin Digital Hub. The proposed project will result in the second phase development of the Killeshin Community Centre. This will involve the installation of a digital hub / hybrid workspace to accommodate 20 people who wish to avail of remote working facilities in Killeshin. Another remote working facility that also provides venues for community events is also getting more funding. A total of 137,552 is on its way to Mountrath. The proposed project will result in the development of a number of vacant rooms in the Bloom HQ Digital Enterprise Hub, for educational and arts purposes. The facilities in the former Brigidine Convent School have been transformed in recent years thanks to substantial public investment. Camross is getting a further 33,250 to enable the completion of the Camross Community Park and Hub. These are two key projects included in the Camross Development Plan 2019. They will provide outdoor recreational and remote working facilities for the local community. The project received 50,000 under the CLAR grant scheme in 2021 while the community has also raised substantial funds to deliver the project. Knock village is getting 95,850 to develop a vintage style Mens Shed on a currently dis-used site. Laois Offaly TD and Minister of State Sean Fleming welcomed the news which he said is part of the Government funding to breathe new life and combat dereliction into rural towns and villages. "I want to congratulate the local organisations who made applications for funding under this scheme. The quality of the applications were exceptionally high and I know these 4 local communities are ready to go with these projects immediately. "The Killeshin Digital Hub Project will be a tremendous boost to this expanding area and will provide substantial additional employment through this new hub in the Killeshin Community Centre," he said. The funding was also welcomed by Laois Offaly Government TD Charlie Flanagan. This funding is extremely welcome news for rural Laois. I congratulate the community leaders and volunteers involved in these projects which will bring much needed development to rural areas in the county. These initiatives represent excellent value for money and will ensure smaller towns and villages across the county are more attractive and sustainable places in which to live. The funding will bring town and village centres back to life and will focus on remote working areas as well as tackling dereliction which is a scourge on the streetscapes of many towns and villages," he said. Dep Flanagan added that a further call for applications under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme will be announced in the coming weeks. He urged local authorities and communities to come forward with more plans for their areas. Laois Offaly Green Party Minister of State Pippa Hackett also welcomed the money. Some really interesting Laois-Offaly initiatives are being funded under the Town & Village Renewal Scheme. You have digital hubs in Killeigh, Killeshin, and Mountrath, a Mens Shed in Knock and the looped river walk in Clonbullouge. This mix says we want enterprise, activity, and recreation in our towns. Our people are coming up with the ideas and as the only cabinet minister from the region, Im glad to see this Government supporting them, she said. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, announced almost 18.5 under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. Many of the successful projects I am announcing today will see vacant and derelict town centre building such as old banks, garda stations and convents transformed into community, cultural and arts spaces. There is also a strong focus on remote working projects in this round of funding and I am pleased to see that a number of counties have set out ambitious marketing plans aimed at attracting remote workers to relocate," she said. WHAT is the Town and Village Renewal Scheme? Department of Rural and Community Development EXPLAINS It is part of a range of measures to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland. The programme is funded under Project Ireland 2040 as part of Our Rural Future Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2021-2025. It represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland and adopts a more strategic, ambitious and holistic approach to investing in and maximising opportunities for rural areas. The first annual progress report for Our Rural Future has now been published on www.gov.ie. TVRS is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and is administered by the Local Authorities. Since the introduction of the Scheme in 2016, almost 94million has been approved for more than 1,300 projects across the country. It has supported a range of activities from improving the public realm to job creation initiatives such as the development of enterprise hubs and remote working facilities. These projects have been identified by local community groups and businesses, in conjunction with their Local Authorities. The priorities of the 2021 Town and Village Renewal Scheme included: Projects that bring vacant and derelict buildings and sites back into use as multi-purpose spaces. Projects that bring vacant properties in town centres back into use as remote working hubs. This includes funding for the repurposing of existing community or publicly owned buildings in town or village centres to facilitate remote working. Projects to develop parks, green spaces and recreational amenities in town centres to make them vibrant hubs for community enjoyment, and to increase footfall for local businesses. Marketing campaigns targeted at attracting remote workers and mobile talent to their county/region; and promotion of specific town/villages to attract new customers and/or business investment. Milles.ie has opened a new boutique at Kildare Village. The state-of the art pop-up boutique opened its doors today to a huge queue of new and existing customers delighted to browse the latest offering from Millies. Excited shoppers filled the beautiful new boutique when it opened this morning at 9am with the first 100 customers also receiving a luxury beauty giftbag. Joann Mahon, Kildare-born entrepreneur and MD of Millies spoke at the opening. I am delighted to be opening our first pop-up beauty boutique in Kildare Village and it is particularly poignant to be opening in my hometown of Kildare. The shopping experience offered in Kildare Village sits so well with our luxury brand portfolio so it was a natural fit for Millies. We look forward to meeting our loyal customers in person and also welcoming new faces to the wonderful world of Millies over the next few weeks," she said. With brands like Image Skincare, Environ, Murad, Pureology, Redken, Olaplex, Hot Tools, LOreal Steampod, Alfaparf, Color Wow, Moroccanoil, GHD and Bare by Vogue on offer, the new boutique will be a haven for Irish beauty fans. Queues at Kildare Village this morning for the opening The Millies beauty boutique is now open from 9am to 7pm daily, with late opening until 8pm Thursday and Friday in Kildare Village. An Allenwood resident with 14 previous convictions was sentenced to five months in custody over an offence of driving with no insurance. Troy Jordan, with an address at Blackthorn Cottage in Allenwood South, Kildare, was found guilty of driving with no valid insurance at the Prosperous Road in Clane on May 19, 2020. The 51-year-old was cross-examined by gardai, while gardai were cross-examined by the defendant's barrister, Aisling Murphy. A garda told the court said that when asked about who owned the car, Mr Jordan said that it belonged to a man named David Stewart. He also said that the defendant told him that the insurance policy only covered the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, but not the Republic of Ireland. CROSS EXAMINATION During cross examination, Ms Murphy pointed out that the garda who stopped her client failed to notify him of why he was being stopped. She also questioned why the garda didn't try to follow up with UK authorities or the insurance company, Diamond Insurance, about details regarding the case. The garda replied that he did try to contact the insurance company numerous times, but was unable to get through to them. "Anytime my call did go through, I was met with an automatic message," he explained. Another garda added: "Sometimes garda emails get missed by the UK police too." When he took to the stand, Mr Jordan insisted that he tried to provide proof of his insurance to gardai a few days later, but they didn't accept it from him. He also said that the gardai at the time provided no valid explanation for why they refused his insurance. The defendant was also accompanied by Philip Johnson, a man who said he loaned Mr Jordan the vehicle while he carried out works on his regular vehicle. Mr Johnson insisted that he believed that his documents covered him, but Judge Desmond Zaidan expressed doubts that this was the case. However, Mr Johnson insisted that all of the documents he provided to the court was correct. "Of course I have a valid policy: Im holding it my hand right now," he added. DOUBTS The judge added that he had "serious reservations" with Mr Johnson's version of events. "Are you sure you're not just covering for a friend?" the judge asked Mr Johnson, who replied that he only knew Mr Jordan in a professional capacity. In addition, the garda who cross-examined the defendant said that Mr Jordan was in contravention of Section 56, sub-section 4 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961. This in turn relates to a demand made under section 69 of the Act. "Mr Jordan has failed to show that they were permitted to drive, and none of the documents which have been provided to allay that fear," the garda said. The court was also told that the defendant had 14 previous convictions, all for minor road traffic offences. JUDGE'S DECISION After consideration, Judge Zaidan said that he did not accept that Mr Jordan was insured to drive the vehicle. He explained: "The court must apply common sense to the allegations before it, and take a realistic approach to the factual evidence. It is as clear as daylight that the conditions outlined in the policy provided to the court have not been met, and do not afford insurance to Troy Jordan." Judge Zaidan further said that he was "satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt" that Mr Jordan was uninsured at the time. "You have to give the man some credit, he did try," he added. The judge sentenced Mr Jordan to five months in custody, and also imposed a four-year driving disqualification on Mr Jordan. A woman who allegedly bit a garda has been sent for trial to Naas Circuit Court. Antonia Bucur, 38, whose address was given as 3 Artizans Cottages, Newbridge Road, Naas, was prosecuted for assault at Kilcullen Road, Naas, on December 7, 2019. Garda Jacinta OConnor served a book of evidence on her at Naas District Court on February 23. Sgt Jim Kelly said she was under arrest and in the back of a patrol car when the incident happened. Read more Kildare news He said it will be claimed that during a struggle the defendant bit the garda, breaking her skin and the garda had to undergo a number of tests - all of which returned clear. He requested that the defendant be sent forward for trial to the next Naas Cicruit Court sittiings taking place in Drogheda. Solicitor Tim Kennelly said that a translator will not be required for the court hearing. Judge Desmond Zaidan told the defendant she must provide details of any alibi to the prosecution authorities. He freed the defendant on bail of 500. An Irish photographer living in Ukraine has told how he lay in bed shaking as the Russian assault on the country began. Bradley Stafford, 29, originally from Wexford, is currently in the city of Rivne, in the west of Ukraine, after leaving his home in Kyiv ahead of the beginning of the invasion. Mr Stafford first moved to Ukraine in 2017 after visiting the country while travelling. He said he fell in love with the country and married Anastasiia last year. He said: We usually live in Kyiv, but we took the decision almost three weeks ago to leave Kyiv, because we had heard the reports it would be a target. It did rattle us quite a bit, but it was all just noise at that stage. I decided to leave Kyiv and go to my wifes mums house in Rivne, which is about 300km west. Thankfully, nothing has happened here yet. Mr Stafford said he was awake all night watching reports of the beginning of the Russian assault. He said: I have been going on Twitter to see what was going on. This morning just about 3am we started to see a number of reports saying it was going to be happening soon. Shortly after that Ukrainian air space closed. I knew it was getting pretty serious. At about 4.40am I started to hear what sounded like fighter jets overhead. I got out of bed and went to the balcony. I thought it was the Russians at first coming from Belarus, but I think they may have been from a Ukrainian facility nearby. More and more reports started to come in that there were explosions in Kyiv. For the next hour and a half I just lay in bed shaking. Mr Stafford said he expects that the Russians will target Rivne and he will have to make a decision about whether to attempt to leave the country. He said: I am in a city that is not my home. Life has already had this upheaval over the last few weeks, but then we go out into town, it seems so normal. There has been no panic. Even today we went down to the shop. There was a queue at the ATM but everyone was calm, people were walking their dogs. A lot of people probably didnt think it was going to happen. I dont know if anyone thought it was going to be like this. He added: In an ideal world I would love to get out with my family, but none of them wants to leave, my wife doesnt want to leave her family. I said to my wife this morning maybe we should go to the border. I am expecting something to happen with the Russians in Rivne, I dont think they will leave any of the cities untouched. If something was to happen here I think that might change our mind. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (Friday February 25) revealed Ireland's most popular baby names of 2021. The overall most popular names in the country were revealed to be Fiadh for girls and Jack for boys. Jack has reportedly held the top spot since 2007, with the exception of 2016 when James was the most popular boys name. It's the first time Fiadh has taken the overall number one spot for girls. There were several new entries to the Top 100 list, including Hunter, Paidi, Brody, Arlo and Tiernan for boys, and Lottie, Ayla and Indie for girls. Ted was flagged as a fast riser, taking the 90th most popular spot on the list (having risen 49 places), along with Croia in 52nd place (up 43 places). Where both parents were from the EU14 (excluding Ireland), Liam was the most favoured boys' name, while Leon was the name chosen most often by parents from the EU15 to EU27. Muhammad was the highest ranked name of baby boys born where both parents were from outside the EU. The CSO noted there was a wider variety in the names registered for girls (with 4,741 girls' names in 2021) compared with 3,863 names for boys. Data on surnames was also collected. Of 58,442 live births in 2021, 19,701 had unique surnames, including some double-barrelled surnames such as Byrne-Kelly. The three most common surnames given to babies was revealed to be Murphy at 714 (1.2%), Kelly at 551 (0.9%) and Ryan at 468 (0.8%). MAYOR Daniel Butler has moved to strengthen Limericks links with Manchester after holding meetings with its fist citizen. Councillor Butler met the high-profile Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham at a special event in the northern English city last week. And its anticipated the Labour party politician will make a return visit to Limerick later this year. Created in 2015, the role of Greater Manchesters mayor sees Mr Burnham lead 10 local authorities across Englands north-west, and Limericks first citizen says there is a lot to learn from the role, given it carries powers in the areas of health, transport, housing, planning, waste management and policing. Limerick, of course, voted in a plebiscite to elect its own executive mayor, with voters expected to go to the polls later this year. It is doing everything we hope the Limerick mayor will be doing. Manchester has become an amazing northern counterbalance to London and I hope our directly elected mayor can become this in terms of our counter-balance to Dublin. To hear their learning and progress to amalgamation which we have already come through, and the progress to the Directly Elected Mayor and the evolution of the powers that Andy Burnham has and his role in it, and indeed, the challenges they have is really interesting, Cllr Butler said. Im hoping this is just the begining of a relationship, he added. Mayor Butler presented his Manchester counterpart who has strong Irish links with a book marking the Limerick hurlers back-to-back All-Ireland wins, and a bottle of Sailors Home whiskey, produced on Shannonside. For more, visit www.limerickleader.ie UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick have apologised to an elderly patient who was left sitting on a chair for nearly 24 hours while waiting for a bed. The 74 year-old woman was told by her GP that she needed hospital treatment after she was diagnosed with an infection in her foot. After presenting to the Emergency Department at UHL at around 5pm Wednesday evening, the woman was seen by a nurse who confirmed that she needed to be admitted and receive IV antibiotics. The patient was then left alone for hours and she grew increasingly worried that her infection was spreading as her doctor had drawn a line on her leg where, if the infection crossed, it would become very serious. The woman was concerned that the infection was spreading and her 78 year-old husband raised her concerns with the staff. She was then moved to the Acute Surgical Assessment Unit. At 3pm on Thursday, the next day, the woman was still sitting on a chair in the unit waiting for a bed. The woman's daughter, Grace, said that despite the fact her mother was not yet on a trolley, she was being well looked after by staff. Grace told the Limerick Leader: "I don't like giving out and she was looked after by the staff there but we seem to accept now that this kind of thing is OK. "She has been told she needs to be admitted but they just don't have a bed for her. She is being treated and receiving good care which we are grateful for." After her long wait in the ASAU, the woman was eventually placed on a trolley, almost 24 hours after she arrived at the hospital. Grace continued: "It is just not right that a woman of her age was left waiting that long for a trolley. If you are told on arrival you need to be admitted why would you be left to sit on a chair for 24 hours? "A trolley is now considered a luxury. The staff can only work with the resources they have, there just isn't enough for them." A spokesperson for the UHL Group has apologised to Grace's mother and all patients currently facing long wait times at the hospital. They said: "This is not the care we wish to provide for our patients and we would like to assure patients and their loved ones that management and staff are making every effort to minimise wait times for admitted patients. "The hospital remains under severe pressure as a result of sustained high activity levels at our Emergency Department over the last number of months. "We continue to follow our Escalation Plan, which includes use of surge capacity, undertaking additional ward rounds, accelerating discharges and identifying patients for transfer to our Model 2 hospitals." They continued: "However, many patients currently admitted to UHL are sicker and with more complicated conditions, and require longer inpatient stays to recover. "We apologise to all patients currently experiencing excessive wait times and we can reassure them that they will continue to receive appropriate care while they do wait." SYDNEY, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- As record rainfall sweeps across Australia's eastern coast, flash flooding and severe thunderstorms have prompted severe warning after a third loss of life. In the early hours of Friday morning, police uncovered the body of a man who went missing in his vehicle in floodwaters on the Central Coast to Sydney's north. The incident brings the total death toll from the floods to three, as two more people in the Australian state of Queensland were caught in flood waters earlier in the week. The Queensland Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued severe weather warnings to the north of state capital Brisbane. The weather forecasting body flagged "very dangerous, slow-moving thunderstorms" and "intense rainfall that may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding." "Avoid drowning. Stay out of rising water, seek refuge in the highest available place. Prevent damage to your vehicle. Move it undercover, away from areas likely to flood," read a warning posted by the BoM. While the worst of the rain has already passed in the state of New South Wales (NSW), the BoM has forecast rain to continue between 10 and 30 mm into next week. Over the last week areas of NSW and Queensland have experienced between 100 and 200 mm of daily rainfall, which has seen rivers overflow, metropolitan areas flood and major road blockages. The record levels of rainfall have in part been linked to a La Nina weather system which peaked last month. It is expected that the extreme wet weather conditions could continue into March. Military vehicles and equipment are seen at a show during celebrations of Kuwait's National and Liberation Days in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Feb. 25, 2022. Celebrations were held on Friday to mark Kuwait's National and Liberation Days, which are observed annually on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) KUWAIT CITY, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Celebrations were held on Friday to mark Kuwait's National and Liberation Days, which are observed annually on February 25 and 26. Residents in Kuwait City watched as fighter jets flew over the Kuwait Towers. To commemorate the day, Kuwait's Ministry of Defense held a show of military vehicles and equipment. In many parts of the country, citizens took part in various celebrations. Following a steady decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases, the country loosened restrictions on Feb. 14, allowing more activities to take place and the unvaccinated people to travel if they adhere to health regulations. The celebrations this year amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions have been warmly received by many residents. Originally, June 19 was designated as Kuwait's National Day, but due to the intense heat waves in June, the country chose to move it to Feb. 25. Kuwait's Liberation Day is celebrated every year on Feb. 26. The holiday commemorates the liberation of Kuwait in 1991 after a seven-month Iraqi occupation. People visit a military show during celebrations of Kuwait's National and Liberation Days in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Feb. 25, 2022. Celebrations were held on Friday to mark Kuwait's National and Liberation Days, which are observed annually on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) Military vehicles and equipment are seen at a show during celebrations of Kuwait's National and Liberation Days in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Feb. 25, 2022. Celebrations were held on Friday to mark Kuwait's National and Liberation Days, which are observed annually on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) A helicopter is seen during celebrations of Kuwait's National and Liberation Days in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Feb. 25, 2022. Celebrations were held on Friday to mark Kuwait's National and Liberation Days, which are observed annually on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) People march during celebrations of Kuwait's National and Liberation Days in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Feb. 25, 2022. Celebrations were held on Friday to mark Kuwait's National and Liberation Days, which are observed annually on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) THE UNIVERSITY of Limerick have backtracked on their plans to turn on-campus student accommodation into shared twin rooms. In January 2020, it was announced that UL would offer twin room options in their on-campus student villages of Dromroe, Troy, Cappavilla and Thomond. The decision was met with fierce opposition from students as well as the student union, UL Student Life. The plan would have seen an extra 630 beds added to its existing on-campus accommodation at the on-campus student villages. One of the main issues raised over the retrofitting of rooms was that there were no policies in place regarding gender-segregating. A spokesperson stated at the time "Share requests for the new twin room option will be accommodated where possible. Residents can expect to live with students who are in the same year." UL Student Life have welcomed the decision however they also said that the student accommodation situation for students was still at 'crisis level'. A spokesperson for UL said they are continuing to investigate short, medium and long term accommodation solutions. A statement from the University read: "The shared (twin room) option was under consideration but following feedback from the UL student community this project will not proceed. "UL has been working with multiple local partners to ensure options like homestay accommodation have been available to UL students." The statement continued: "The UL Accommodation service has a designated off campus accommodation website called Studentpad, which can be found on the off campus section on the website www.studentliving.ul.ie. "As part of the service provided by the UL Accommodation office, there is regular communication with a large database of landlords to request that available rooms be advertised on this platform. "There are currently a number of off campus accommodation options available on this website." Samara Capital, an India-focused private equity firm and a local partner of Amazon.com Inc., is planning to raise as much as $500 million for a new fund targeting companies in Asias third-biggest economy. The Mumbai-based company is looking to invest in businesses ranging from retail and health care to technology and finance, and plans to close the fund in the second half of 2022, Sumeet Narang, Samaras founder and managing director, said in an interview. We have started the roadshows and many of our existing investors across the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific have already signed up," Narang said. Samara is seeking to step up investments in a consumer market of a billion-plus people. Almost 120 companies, including online grocers to food delivery and beauty startups, raised about $18 billion in initial public offerings last year, a record for the country. Founded in 2007, the firm has invested more than $1 billion since inception, according to its website. The new fund will consider investing $50 million to as high as $400 million in mid-market companies for a controlling stake, Narang said. Samara and Amazon are partners in Witzig Advisory Services Pvt., an investment vehicle that acquired More Retail Pvt. in 2019 from billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birlas conglomerate Aditya Birla Group. More Retail is weighing an IPO that could raise as much as $500 million at a valuation of $5 billion, Bloomberg News reported in December. Rise of PEs Deals involving private equity firms have been rising in India as highly indebted conglomerates look to sell businesses to help pay debt, while succession planning prompts some tycoons to dispose of assets and set up family offices. Easy loans are also helping PEs to finance buyouts. Carlyle Group Inc.s Asia chairman X.D. Yang said in November that the U.S.-based PEs investment amount and pace in India are getting pretty close" to that in China. Last year, Samara listed quick service restaurant operator Sapphire Foods India Ltd. -- a local franchisee for Pizza Hut and KFC. We will have 10 active portfolio companies," Narang said. Every year we invest in two to three companies and exit the same number." This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. In order to reassure Indian traders amid rising uncertainty over escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Department of Commerce and Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Friday operationalised a Helpdesk to address trade-related concerns. This comes in the backdrop of a barrage of sanctions announced by the US and the western countries on Russia after it began to invade Ukraine on Thursday. In view of the current international situation, the Department of Commerce and DGFT have undertaken to monitor the status and related difficulties being faced by stakeholders on Russia/Ukraine trade-related issues. Through the Helpdesk, the government aims to support and seek suitable resolutions to issues related to Indias International Trade in this regard with immediate effect. The government further informed that a weekly meeting with concerned exporters/importers/other trade stakeholders will also be held by DGFT & FT(CIS) division of Department of Commerce every Monday". Exporters are worried that their payments may get stuck if the SWIFT facility gets blocked for Russia. Besides, they are concerned about losses arising from the damage or delay in shipments to Russia. In FY21, Indias exports to Russia stood at $2.6 billion, while imports stood at $5.5 billion. India shipped $469 million worth of pharma products and $301 million worth of electrical machinery to Russia. The Indian Embassy in Poland has issued a fresh advisory after the last one issued earlier in the evening. The advisory for its nationals arriving at the Poland-Ukraine border. In this fresh advisory the Indian embassy in Poland has asked Indian nationals in Western Ukraine desiring to be evacuated to India via Poland to note the co-ordinates of the embassy offices set up for evacuation. The co-ordinates are as follows -Liaison Office, Lviv, Vivek Singh. Ph no - +48 881 551 273 -Embassy Office, Karkowiec, Shubham Kumar, Ph No- +48 575 467 147 -Embassy Office, Medyka, Ranjit Singh. Ph no - +48 575 762 557 -Embassy control room, Warsaw, Sukhvinder malik. Ph No- +48 606 700 105 and +48 225 400 000 See the advisory here The government of Poland is allowing people to cross the border on foot only via Shehyni-Medyka border point. The Krakowiec crossing is only for persons travelling in their vehicles. Earlier it had advised Indian nationals arriving at the Poland-Ukraine border by public conveyance like bus or taxi to make for the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing. Indians crossing into Poland may kindly register their details by filling the Google form for processing their requests for seats in the repatriation flights which will be arranged shortly, the Embassy said. Earlier in the day, the government said it is focusing on evacuating the Indians through Ukraine's land borders with Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania. The Indian embassy in Ukraine today said efforts are on to evacuate the Indians through Romanian and Hungarian border crossings. In an advisory, the embassy said Indian teams are being deputed at the Chop-Zahony check post on the Hungarian border as well as at Porubne-Stret on the Romanian border around Chernivtsi in Uzhhorod. The Ukrainian government has closed the country's airspace following the Russian attack. Air India is planning to operate two flights to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate some of the Indians, according to reports. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday that there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and of them, nearly 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days. Japan will impose sanctions on Russia targeting semiconductor exports and financial institutions, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday after G7 leaders agreed to punish Moscow economically for invading Ukraine. The announcement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale ground invasion and air assault on Thursday, with deadly battles reaching the outskirts of Kyiv. Kishida said the world's third-largest economy planned "asset freezes and the suspension of visa issuance for Russian individuals and organisations" as well as asset freezes "targeting Russian financial institutions". "Thirdly, we will sanction exports to Russian military-related organisations, and exports to Russia of general-purpose goods such as semiconductors and items on a restricted list based on international agreements," he told reporters. Kishida did not detail the scale of the sanctions or which individuals and institutions would be targeted. Semiconductors are essential components in products from cars to gaming consoles, and are in short supply worldwide. The United States has also announced export controls on sensitive components that US President Joe Biden said will "cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports". Japan is a key US ally and member of the Group of Seven, which held virtual talks overnight and agreed "to move forward on devastating packages of sanctions and other economic measures to hold Russia to account", Biden said. On Wednesday, Tokyo announced a ban on the issuing and trade of Russian government bonds in Japan after Moscow ordered troops into two separatist-controlled Ukrainian regions. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world and the third-largest desert overall, behind the cold deserts of Antarctica and the Arctic . The Sahara is one of the harshest environments on Earth, covering 3.6 million square miles (9.4 million square kilometers), an area about the size of the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) and spanning nearly a third of the African continent. The name of the desert comes from the Arabic word sahra, which means "desert," according to the Encyclopedia Britannica . What's the geography of the Sahara? The Sahara is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Red Sea to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Sahel savanna to the south. The enormous desert spans 10 countries (Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia) as well as the territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that was annexed by Morocco in 1975, though control of the region is disputed by the Indigenous Saharawi people, the BBC reported in 2021. The Sahara desert has a variety of land features, but it is most famous for the sand dune fields that are often depicted in movies. The dunes can reach almost 600 feet (183 meters) high, and they cover about 25% of the entire desert, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Other topographical features include mountains, plateaus, sand- and gravel-covered plains, salt flats, basins and depressions. Emi Koussi, an extinct volcano in Chad, is the highest point in the Sahara, reaching 11,204 feet (3,415 m) above sea level, and the Qattara Depression in northwestern Egypt is the Sahara's deepest point, at 436 feet (133 m) below sea level. Although water is scarce across the entire region, the Sahara contains two permanent rivers (the Nile and the Niger), as well as at least 20 seasonal lakes and huge aquifers , which are the primary sources of water for more than 90 major oases in the desert. Water management authorities once thought that the aquifers in the Sahara were "fossil aquifers" water reserves that accumulated under different climate and geological conditions in the distant past and feared that these resources would soon dry up due to overuse. However, a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters in 2013 discovered that the aquifers were still being fed via rain and runoff. The Sahara desert spans the entire northern half of Africa. (Image credit: Shutterstock) What kinds of plants and animals live here? Despite the harsh, arid conditions of the Sahara, many plant and animal species call the region home. Approximately 500 plant species, 70 mammalian species, 90 avian species, 100 reptilian species and numerous species of spiders, scorpions and other small arthropods live in the Sahara, according to the World Wildlife Fund . The camel is one of the most iconic animals of the Sahara, though its ancestors originated in North America. The ancestors of modern camels first appeared about 45 million years ago, and the large mammals eventually made their way to the African continent by traveling across the Bering isthmus between 3 million and 5 million years ago, according to a study published in 2015 in the Research Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Management . Camels were domesticated about 3,000 years ago on the southeast Arabian Peninsula, to be used for transportation in the desert, according to the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna . Camels, also known as the "ships of the desert," are well adapted to the Sahara's hot, arid environment, according to the San Diego Zoo . The humps on a camel's back store fat, which can be used for energy and hydration in between meals. Camels store energy so efficiently that they can go more than a week without water and several months without food. Other mammal residents of the Sahara include gazelles , addaxes (a type of antelope), cheetahs , caracals, desert foxes and wild dogs . Many reptiles also thrive in the desert environment, including several species of snakes , lizards and even crocodiles in places where there is enough water. Several arthropod species also call the Sahara home, such as dung beetles, scarab beetles, " deathstalker" scorpions and many types of ants , according to the Sahara Conservation Fund . Plant species in the Sahara have adapted to the arid conditions, with roots that reach deep underground to find buried water sources and leaves that are shaped into spines that minimize moisture loss, according to the BBC . The most arid parts of the desert are completely devoid of plant life, but oasis areas, such as the Nile Valley, support a large variety of plants, including olive trees, date palms and various shrubs and grasses. Camels are well-suited for life in the arid Sahara. (Image credit: Mint Images, Art Wolfe/Getty Images) What's the climate like in the Sahara? Today, the Sahara has a dry, inhospitable desert climate. However, it alternates between harsh desert and another extreme a lush, green oasis every 20,000 years, according to a study published in 2019 in the journal Science Advances . The study's authors examined marine sediments containing dust deposits from the Sahara from the past 240,000 years. They found that the cycle between a dry and a green Sahara corresponded to the slight changes in the tilt of Earth's axis, which also drives monsoon activity. When Earth's axis tilted the Northern Hemisphere just a single degree closer to the sun (about 24.5 degrees instead of today's 23.5 degrees), it received more sunlight, which increased the monsoon rains and, therefore, supported a lush, green landscape in the Sahara. Archaeologists have discovered prehistoric cave and rock paintings and other archaeological remains that shed light on what life was like in the once-green Sahara. Bits of pottery suggest that about 7,000 years ago, herders raised livestock and harvested plants in what now is an arid desert. But for the past 2,000 years or so, the climate of the Sahara has been fairly stable and dry. The northeastern winds strip moisture from the air over the desert and drive hot winds toward the equator. These winds can reach exceptional speeds and cause severe dust storms that can drop local visibility to zero. Dust from the Sahara travels on trade winds all the way to the opposite side of the globe. Precipitation in the Sahara ranges from zero to about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of rain per year, researchers reported in 2014 in the journal American Meteorological Society . Occasionally, snow falls at higher elevations . Year-round, temperatures in dry, arid deserts such as the Sahara are about 60 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (20 to 25 degrees Celsius) on average, soaring as high as 120 F (49 C) in the summer during the daytime and plummeting to 0 F (minus 18 C) during the winter at night, according to the University of California Museum of Paleontology Berkeley (UCMP). An oasis lake in the Sahara desert. (Image credit: Shutterstock) Is climate change affecting the Sahara? The area of the Sahara desert has grown nearly 10% since 1920, according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Climate , and the desert will likely continue to expand at a comparable rate until 2050, according to another study, published in 2020 in the journal Scientific Reports . Although all deserts, including the Sahara, increase in area during the dry season and decrease during the wet season, human-caused climate change , in conjunction with natural climate cycles, is causing the Sahara desert to grow more and shrink less over time. The 2018 study's authors estimated that approximately a third of the desert's expansion was due to human-driven climate change. One proposal for mitigating the effects of climate change is to install large-scale wind and solar farms in the Sahara. The farms would provide clean energy and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere, and may also promote increased precipitation in the vicinity, according to a 2018 study published in the journal Science . Simulations showed that precipitation over wind farms would double, on average, thereby increasing vegetation by an estimated 20%. The solar farm simulations produced similar results. Additional resources Discover what the Sahara was like millions of years ago, during the Cretaceous period , in this 2019 study in the journal Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History . Find out more about one of the desert's most striking landscape features today, the Air Mountains in central Niger, in a case study from the U.S. Geological Survey . Visit the Sahara with Sir David Attenborough, to learn about the extreme adaptations that enable animals to survive the desert's harsh conditions, in an episode of the BBC One documentary, " Africa ." BIBLIOGRAPHY Goncalves, J., et al. Quantifying the Modern Recharge of the Fossil Sahara Aquifers. Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 40, no. 11, 2013, pp. 26732678., https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50478 . Northern Africa. WWF, World Wildlife Fund, https://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/pa1327 . Introduction to Camel Origin, History, Raising ... (PDF) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284898592_Introduction_to_Camel_origin_history_raising_characteristics_and_wool_hair_and_skin_A_Review . Origin of Dromedary Domestication Discovered. Vetmeduni, https://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/en/infoservice/presseinformation/presseinformationen-2016/origin-of-dromedary-domestication-discovered . Camel. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Animals and Plants, https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/camel . Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN). Sahara Conservation Fund, 18 Sept. 2019, https://www.saharaconservation.org/Wildlife . Skonieczny, C., et al. Monsoon-Driven Saharan Dust Variability over the Past 240,000 Years. Science Advances, vol. 5, no. 1, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav1887 . Twentieth-Century Climate Change over Africa ... - UMD. https://www2.atmos.umd.edu/~nigam/JCLIM.African.Sahara.Desert.Expansion.published.29March2018.pdf . Liu, Y., Xue, Y. Expansion of the Sahara Desert and shrinking of frozen land of the Arctic. Sci Rep 10, 4109 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61085-0 . Li, Yan, et al. Climate Model Shows Large-Scale Wind and Solar Farms in the Sahara Increase Rain and Vegetation. Science, vol. 361, no. 6406, 2018, pp. 10191022., https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar5629 . O'leary, Maureen A., et al. Stratigraphy and Paleobiology of the Upper Cretaceous-Lower Paleogene Sediments from the Trans-Saharan Seaway in Mali. BioOne Complete, American Museum of Natural History, https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-american-museum-of-natural-history/volume-2019/issue-436/0003-0090.436.1.1/Stratigraphy-and-Paleobiology-of-the-Upper-Cretaceous-Lower-Paleogene-Sediments/10.1206/0003-0090.436.1.1.short . West Africa: Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics. Landscapes of the Sahara Desert | West Africa, https://eros.usgs.gov/westafrica/case-study/landscapes-sahara-desert . Africa, Sahara. BBC One, BBC, 31 Aug. 2019, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qh31v . This article was updated on Feb. 24, 2022, by Live Science Senior Writer Mindy Weisberger. Known as the fastest land animals , cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are members of the big cat family, which includes tigers, jaguars, lions, leopards, snow leopards and pumas. Their name comes from the Hindi word "chita," which means "spotted one," according to the book " Cheetahs: Biology and Conservation " (Elsevier, 2018). With aerodynamic bodies, long legs, and blunt, semi-retractable claws, cheetahs are formidable carnivores that can sprint at speeds of 60 to 70 mph (96 to 112 km/h), according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute . What do cheetahs look like? Adult cheetahs are, on average, 2.5 feet (0.8 meter) tall at the shoulder and up to 5 feet (1.5 m) long from head to rump, with their tails adding another 26 to 33 inches (66 to 84 centimeters). Typically, these large cats weigh between 75 and 140 pounds (34 to 64 kilograms), according to the Smithsonian. Like leopards (Panthera pardus) and jaguars (Panthera onca), cheetahs have black spots scattered across their tan coats. But whereas leopard and jaguar spots are arranged in rosette (rose-like) patterns, cheetahs' spots are solid and fairly uniform in size, and are evenly distributed across the whole body, except for the white throat and belly, the Smithsonian notes. Cheetahs' spotted coats help them blend into the environment when resting, stalking prey and hiding from predators. Much like human fingerprints, these markings are unique to each cat. Cheetahs also have signature black "tear stains" on their faces one trailing from the inner corner of each eye, down to the mouth. How fast do cheetahs run? Cheetahs' long, slender bodies; powerful legs; and flexible spines enable them to fully stretch their bodies when they sprint and to cover significant ground around 20 to 22 feet (6 to 6.7 m) per stride, according to the San Diego Zoo. Cheetahs have been known to accelerate from 0 to 45 mph (72 km/h) in just 2.5 seconds, according to the Smithsonian. For comparison, the fastest cars in the world can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.5 seconds, according to Consumer Reports. As noted by Guinness World Records, the peak speed of the fastest human on Earth, Usain Bolt, was 27.34 mph (44 km/h), which he achieved in a race in 2009. That means it's impossible for a person to outrun a cheetah on foot. Related: The world's fastest animals Cheetah Taxonomy Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus and species: Acinonyx jubatus Cheetahs can execute quick turns even while in midair, thanks to their long tails, which counter their body weight, according to the San Diego Zoo. Their semi-retractable claws, which are more dog-like than cat-like, provide great traction during sprints and sudden changes in direction. Cheetahs can sprint at speeds of 60 to 70 mph (96 to 112 km/h). (Image credit: Mike Powles via Getty Images) Where do cheetahs live? Cheetahs are native to Africa and Asia, although the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) has become all but extinct, according to The Times of Israel . According to the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), cheetahs currently inhabit only about 10% of their historic range. The animals are now found primarily in North Africa, the Sahel (the region between the Sahara desert and the savanna of Sudan), East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) and southern Africa (Namibia and Botswana), according to the Smithsonian. A small population of Asiatic cheetahs also lives in Iran, where the animals are critically endangered. In January 2022, Iranian officials reported that only a few cheetahs remained in the country, The Times of Israel reported. Cheetahs don't have one home location where they seek shelter day in and day out. Instead, these nomadic cats have home territories or ranges expanses of grasslands, savannas, forest land and mountainous terrain, ranging from about 5 to 370 square miles (13 to 958 square kilometers), which they regularly roam, according to the Smithsonian. When not actively hunting, they prefer to sleep and rest in tall grasses, under trees or on rocky outposts. How do cheetahs socialize? A cheetah grooms another cheetah. (Image credit: herve_blondeau / 500px via Getty Images) While female cheetahs tend to live alone or with their cubs, males typically live in small groups called "coalitions," which are made up of male cheetah siblings. Females socialize with males only when mating, and they raise their offspring on their own, according to the Smithsonian. The gestation period for cheetahs is around three months, and litter sizes range from three to five cubs. Cheetah cubs weigh between 5 and 10 ounces (140 to 280 grams) when born not much larger than newborn house cats, which typically weigh 3 to 4 ounces (90 to 110 g). Cubs are born with all their spots, as well as mane-like hair on their neck and shoulders. However, these so-called "mantles" disappear as the cubs age, according to the San Diego Zoo. Related: Cat photo album: The life of a cheetah When a cub is about 6 months old, its mother starts teaching it to hunt and avoid predators, such as lions , hyenas , eagles and humans. Mothers live with their cubs for about 18 months, but even under the mother's watchful eye, only about 5% of cheetah cubs survive to adulthood, according to the AWF. The littermates that do survive tend to stay together for another six to eight months, after which the female siblings leave the group to live on their own. Male siblings tend to stick together in coalitions of two or three so that they can better protect their territories. Lone males are not common and typically do not survive long on their own, according to the San Diego Zoo. According to the Smithsonian, male cheetahs reach sexual maturity around age 2. At that point, the coalition seeks out a new home range far away sometimes as far as 300 miles (482 km) from their mother's range. Male territories usually span 5 to 10 square miles (13 to 26 square km) and can extend up to 50 square miles (130 square km). Young females typically stick closer to home, sometimes even occupying the same range as their mother, though living independently. Their home ranges are more extensive than those of males and can cover up to 370 square miles (960 square km), largely because the big cats follow the migration path of gazelles, a primary food source. In the wild, cheetahs have average life spans of 8 to 10 years. In captivity, they can live longer around 12 to 15 years, on average due to human care and a lack of natural predators, the Smithsonian notes. What do cheetahs eat? Cheetahs are carnivores, or meat eaters, whose typical prey are small- to medium-size animals, such as birds, hares, warthogs, gazelles and young wildebeest . During daybreak and dusk, cheetahs spend their time stalking and catching prey. Because their teeth are shorter than those of other big cats, according to the Smithsonian, cheetahs suffocate their prey by clamping down on the animal's throat with their strong jaws, rather than sinking their teeth deep into their prey's flesh. Cheetahs typically creep up on their prey and don't initiate their chase until the targeted animal starts to flee, according to The Maryland Zoo . After catching its prey, a cheetah must rest for about 30 minutes before eating the catch; if a larger predator, like a lion, approaches before the cheetah can consume its meal, the cheetah will often abandon its catch to avoid conflict. A cheetah chases a small gazelle. (Image credit: REDA&CO / Contributor via Getty Images) What does a cheetah sound like? Unlike other large cats, cheetahs can't roar. But they can purr just like house cats, according to the Smithsonian. Related: Why can't house cats roar? Compared with other big cats such as lions, tigers and leopards cheetahs have a wide "vocabulary." In addition to purring, they can produce a large range of vocal cues, such as chirping (similar to a bird's chirp or dog's yelp); stuttering (a short, disconnected moan); hissing; yelping (a loud chirp that can be heard up to a mile (1.6 km) away); and an "eeaow" sound, which is similar to a house cat's meow, according to the Smithsonian. Each vocalization seems to have a specific meaning. Various types of chirping, for example, could be a mother giving instructions to her cubs or a female trying to attract a male to mate, the Smithsonian notes. Are cheetahs endangered? Zoos and conservation organizations breed and raise cheetahs in captivity in an effort to increase the global cheetah population despite habitat loss and other disruptions. These two cheetahs arrived at the Denver Zoo in July 2012. (Image credit: Denver Zoo) According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Species , most cheetah subspecies are considered "vulnerable," meaning their populations are in decline and the species is likely to become endangered if the circumstances threatening its survival don't improve. That said, based on recent estimates of wild cheetah populations, some scientists have pushed for the cheetahs status to be changed from vulnerable to endangered, National Geographic reported . As of June 2021, there were an estimated 7,000 or so cheetahs left in the wild, BBC News reported . According to the Smithsonian, there were at least 100,000 cheetahs living throughout Western Asia and across Africa in 1900. Now, the cats are extinct in at least 13 of their native countries and have lost as much as 90% of their original range. The largest population of cheetahs is a group of approximately 2,500 in Namibia. According to the AWF, the cheetahs' steep population decline is tied to habitat loss, human conflict, and illegal trade and poaching. Conservation efforts are underway to help the population rebound. Groups such as the AWF and the Cheetah Conservation Fund work locally with communities near cheetah populations to create sustainable solutions for agriculture and population growth, so that both the cats and humans have sufficient space. Protected areas and wildlife parks, such as the Cheetah Experience in South Africa, protect cheetahs as their habitats are taken away. Captive breeding programs at zoos such as the San Diego Zoo and the Smithsonian's National Zoo are working to help the cheetah population grow. The programs are also striving to overcome the lack of genetic variation within wild cheetah populations. Additional resources and readings Which is faster: a cheetah, or a Tyrannosaurus rex? Find out with SciShow . . Learn exactly how cheetahs run so fast, with Animal Planet . . Read about India's effort to reintroduce cheetahs to the subcontinent in The Atlantic . Bibliography AFP. (2022, January 10). Iran says only 12 asiatic cheetahs left in the country. The Times of Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-says-only-12-asiatic-cheetahs-left-in-the-country/ African Wildlife Foundation. (n.d.). Cheetah. African Wildlife Foundation. Retrieved February 17, 2022, from https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/cheetah Bartlett, J. S. (2021, November 10). Cars with the fastest acceleration in Consumer Reports' tests. Consumer Reports. https://www.consumerreports.org/cars-best-and-worst-car-acceleration/ Biswas, S. (2021, June 6). Cheetah: The world's fastest cat is returning to India. BBC News. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57313563 Guinness World Records. (n.d.). Superlatives: Fastest. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/products/books/superlatives/fastest International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). (n.d.). Cheetah. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved February 18, 2022, from https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/219/50649567 Marker, L., Boast, L. K., Schmidt-Kuntzel A., & Nyhus, P. J. (2018). Cheetahs: Biology and conservation (Ser. Biodiversity of World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes). Elsevier, Academic Press. https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128040881/cheetahs-biology-and-conservation#book-description The Maryland Zoo. (n.d.). Cheetah. The Maryland Zoo. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.marylandzoo.org/animal/cheetah/ Petri, A. E. (2017, November 12). Cheetahs are dangerously close to extinction. National Geographic. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/animals/cheetahs-are-dangerously-close-extinction San Diego Zoo. (n.d.). Cheetah. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Animals & Plants. Retrieved February 17, 2022, from https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/cheetah Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. (n.d.). Cheetah. Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. Retrieved February 17, 2022, from https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/cheetah The page was last updated on Feb. 25, 2022, by Live Science staff writer Nicoletta Lanese. Originally published on Live Science. This isn't likely to happen on the East Coast, but it could. This is an aerial view of damage to Sukuiso, Japan, a week after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated the area in March, 2011. The Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami or the Great Tohoku earthquake, was a natural disaster that shook northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The disaster began when a magnitude-9 earthquake shook the region in the early afternoon, unleashing a savage tsunami. The effects of the great earthquake, which was the strongest in Japan's recorded history, were felt around the world, from Norway's fjords to Antarctica's ice sheet. Tsunami debris has continued to wash up on North American beaches years later. In Japan, residents are still recovering from the disaster. As of November 2021, there were still about 39,000 evacuees who lost their homes; 1,000 of them were still living in temporary housing, according to Japan's Reconstruction Agency. More than 120,000 buildings were destroyed, 278,000 were half-destroyed and 726,000 were partially destroyed, according to the agency. The direct financial damage from the disaster is estimated to be about $199 billion dollars (about 16.9 trillion yen), according to the Japanese government. The total economic cost could reach up to $235 billion, the World Bank estimated, making it the costliest natural disaster in world history. Related: How Japan's 2011 Earthquake Happened This map shows the travel times of the tsunami generated by the Honshu earthquake on March 11, 2011. (Image credit: NOAA/NWS) A surprise disaster The unexpected disaster was neither the largest nor the deadliest earthquake and tsunami to strike this century. That record goes to the 2004 Banda Aceh earthquake and tsunami in Sumatra, a magnitude-9.1, which killed more than 230,000 people. But Japan's one-two punch proved especially devastating for the earthquake-savvy country, because few scientists had predicted the country would experience such a large earthquake and tsunami. Japan's scientists had forecast a smaller earthquake would strike the northern region of Honshu, the country's main island. Nor did they expect such a large tsunami. But there had been hints of the disaster to come. The areas flooded in 2011 closely matched those of a tsunami that hit Sendai in A.D. 869. In the decade before the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, a handful of Japanese geologists had begun to recognize that a large earthquake and tsunami had struck the northern Honshu region in that year. However, their warnings went unheeded by officials responsible for the country's earthquake hazard assessments, Live Science previously reported. Now, tsunami experts from around the world have been asked to assess the history of past tsunamis in Japan, to better predict the country's future earthquake risk. "For big earthquakes, the tsunami is going to be the big destructive factor," said Vasily Titov, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Center for Tsunami Research in Seattle, Washington told Live Science. "But if the nation is prepared, warning and education definitely saves lives. Compare the human lives lost in Sumatra and Japan. It's about 10 times less." A map showing the shaking intensity of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Darker red circles represent higher intensity tremors. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory) The 2011 Tohoku earthquake The 2011 Tohoku earthquake struck offshore of Japan, along a subduction zone where two of Earth's tectonic plates collide. In a subduction zone, one plate slides beneath another into the mantle, the hotter layer beneath the crust. The great plates are rough and stick together, building up energy that is released as earthquakes. East of Japan, the Pacific plate dives beneath the overriding Eurasian plate. The temblor completely released centuries of built up stress between the two tectonic plates, a recent study found. The March 11 earthquake started on a Friday at 2:46 p.m. local time (5:46 a.m. UTC). It was centered on the seafloor 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Tohoku, at a depth of 15 miles (24 km) below the surface. The shaking lasted about six minutes. Scientists drilled into the subduction zone soon after the earthquake and discovered a thin, slippery clay layer lining the fault, according to a 2013 study in the journal Science. The researchers think that this clay layer allowed the two plates to slide an incredible distance, some 164 feet (50 meters), facilitating the enormous earthquake and tsunami. Early warning Residents of Tokyo received a minute of warning before the strong shaking hit the city, thanks to Japan's earthquake early warning system. The country's stringent seismic building codes and early warning system prevented many deaths from the earthquake, by stopping high-speed trains and factory assembly lines. People in Japan also received texted alerts of the earthquake and tsunami warnings on their cellphones. Death toll of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami The number of confirmed deaths is 19,747 as of December, 2021, according to the reconstruction agency. More than 2,500 people are still reported missing. Less than an hour after the earthquake, the first of many tsunami waves hit Japan's coastline. The tsunami waves reached run-up heights (how far the wave surges inland above sea level) of up to 128 feet (39 meters) at Miyako city and traveled inland as far as 6 miles (10 km) in Sendai. The tsunami flooded an estimated area of approximately 217 square miles (561 square kilometers) in Japan, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . The waves overtopped and destroyed protective tsunami seawalls at several locations. The massive surge destroyed three-story buildings where people had gathered for safety. Near Oarai, the tsunami generated a huge whirlpool offshore, captured on video. The Fukushima nuclear meltdown The tsunami caused a cooling system failure at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which resulted in a level-7 nuclear meltdown and release of radioactive materials. The electrical power and backup generators were overwhelmed by the tsunami, and the plant lost its cooling capabilities. "Fukushima was created by the tsunami. The earthquake was not a factor," Titov said. "Fukushima was designed for a tsunami smaller than the one we saw." Very low levels of radioactive chemicals that leaked from Fukushima have been detected along the North American coast offshore Canada and California. Trace amounts of cesium-134 and cesium-137 (radioactive isotopes) were found in seawater collected in 2014 and 2015, Live Science reported at the time. Houses above the inundation zone in this Japanese village survived intact, while everything below was destroyed by the 2011 tsunami. (Image credit: Patrick Corcoran, Oregon State University) The response In the tsunami's aftermath, Japan's Meteorological Agency was criticized for issuing an initial tsunami warning that underestimated the size of the wave. In some regions, such as Miyagi and Fukushima, only 58% of people headed for higher ground immediately after the earthquake, according to a Japanese government study published in August 2011. Many people also underestimated their personal risk, or assumed the tsunami would be as small as ones they had previously experienced, the study found. Scientists from around the world descended on Japan following the earthquake and tsunami. Researchers sailed offshore and dropped sensors along the fault line to measure the forces that caused the earthquake. Teams studied the tsunami deposits to better understand ancient sediment records of the deadly waves. Earthquake engineers examined the damage, looking for ways to build buildings more resistant to quakes and tsunamis. "The tsunami itself died out a long time ago, but the effects in Japan will be there for decades," Titov told Live Science. Worldwide effects The tsunami waves also traveled across the Pacific, reaching Alaska, Hawaii and Chile. In Chile, some 11,000 miles (17,000 km) distant, the tsunami was 6.6 feet (2 meters) high when they reached the shore, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Related: Weird Earth Movement After Japan Earthquake Finally Explained The surge of water carried an estimated 5 million tons of debris out to sea, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency reported. Japanese docks and ships, and countless household items, have arrived on U.S. and Canadian shores in the ensuing years. The U.S. Coast Guard fired on and sank the derelict boat 164-foot Ryou-Un Maru in 2012 in the Gulf of Alaska. The ship started its journey in Hokkaido. Amazing facts Here are some of the amazing facts about the Japan earthquake and tsunami. The earthquake shifted Earth on its axis of rotation by redistributing mass, like putting a dent in a spinning top. The temblor also shortened the length of a day by about a microsecond. More than 5,000 aftershocks hit Japan in the year after the earthquake, the largest a magnitude 7.9. About 250 miles (400 km) of Japan's northern Honshu coastline dropped by 2 feet (0.6 meters), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The jolt moved Japan's main island of Honshu eastward by 8 feet (2.4 m). The Pacific Plate slid westward near the epicenter by 79 feet (24 m). In Antarctica, the seismic waves from the earthquake sped up the Whillans Ice Stream, jolting it by about 1.5 feet (0.5 m). The tsunami broke icebergs off the Sulzberger Ice Shelf in Antarctica. As the tsunami crossed the Pacific Ocean, a 5-foot high (1.5 m) high wave killed more than 110,000 nesting seabirds at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. In Norway, water in fjords pointing toward Japan sloshed back and forth as seismic waves from the earthquake raced through. The earthquake produced a low-frequency rumble called infrasound, which traveled into space and was detected by the Goce satellite. Buildings destroyed by the tsunami released thousands of tons of ozone-destroying chemicals and greenhouse gases into the air. Additional resources Bibliography Vasily Titov, Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Center for Tsunami Research in Seattle, Washington. Status of Reconstruction and Reconstruction Efforts. Japan Reconstruction Agency, Dec. 2021. https://www.reconstruction.go.jp/english/ P.M. Fulton et al. Low Coseismic Friction on the Tohoku-Oki Fault Determined from Temperature Measurements, Science, Vol 342, Dec. 2013. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1243641 NOAA/ National Weather Service U.S. Tsunami Warning System. https://www.tsunami.gov/ Japan Tsunami Marine Debris. NOAA Marine Debris Program. https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/disaster-debris/japan-tsunami-marine-debris This article was updated Feb. 11, 2022 by Live Science Senior Writer Brandon Specktor. The United Nations Security Council votes on a draft resolution on Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday failed to adopt a draft resolution on Ukraine. The draft resolution, proposed by the United States and Albania, was rejected because it was vetoed by permanent member Russia. Any negative vote, known as veto, from the council's five permanent members means a failed resolution. The United Nations Security Council votes on a draft resolution on Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 25, 2022.(Xinhua/Xie E) Vassily Nebenzia (C, front), Russian permanent representative to the United Nations, vetoes a UN Security Council draft resolution on Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie E) The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is shown here in May 1986, a few weeks after the disaster. In the early morning hours of April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (formerly part of the Soviet Union) exploded, creating what many consider the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever seen. Even after many years of scientific research and government investigation, there are still many unanswered questions about the Chernobyl accident especially regarding the long-term health impacts that the massive radiation leak will have on those who were exposed. Related: 5 weird things you didn't know about Chernobyl Where is Chernobyl? The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is located about 81 miles (130 kilometers) north of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and about 12 miles (20 km) south of the border with Belarus, according to the World Nuclear Association . It is made up of four reactors that were designed and built during the 1970s and 1980s. A human-made reservoir, roughly 8.5 square miles (22 sq. km) in size and fed by the Pripyat river, was created to provide cooling water for the reactor. The city of Pripyat, founded in 1970, was the nearest town to the power plant at just under 2 miles (3 km) away and housed almost 50,000 people in 1986. A smaller and older town, Chernobyl, was about 9 miles (15 km) away and home to about 12,000 residents. The remainder of the region was primarily farms and woodland. The power plant The Chernobyl reactor after the explosion on April 26, 1986. (Image credit: Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) The Chernobyl plant used four Soviet-designed RBMK-1000 nuclear reactors a design that's now universally recognized as inherently flawed. RBMK reactors were of a pressure tube design that used an enriched U-235 uranium dioxide fuel to heat water, creating steam that drives the reactors' turbines and generates electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association. In most nuclear reactors, water is also used as a coolant and to moderate the reactivity of the nuclear core by removing the excess heat and steam, according to the World Nuclear Association . But the RBMK-1000 used graphite to moderate the core's reactivity and to keep a continuous nuclear reaction occurring in the core. As the nuclear core heated and produced more steam bubbles, the core became more reactive, not less, creating a positive-feedback loop that engineers refer to as a "positive-void coefficient." What happened during the nuclear explosion? The explosion occurred on April 26, 1986, during a routine maintenance check, according to the U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Operators were planning to test the electrical systems when they turned off vital control systems, going against the safety regulations. This caused the reactor to reach dangerously unstable and low-power levels. Reactor 4 had been shut down the day before in order to perform the maintenance checks to safety systems during potential power outages, according to the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). While there is still some disagreement over the actual cause of the explosion, it is generally believed that the first was caused by an excess of steam and the second was influenced by hydrogen . The excess steam was created by the reduction of the cooling water, which caused steam to build up in the cooling pipes the positive-void coefficient which caused an enormous power surge that the operators could not shut down. The explosions occurred at 1:23 a.m. on April 26, destroying reactor 4 and initiating a booming fire, according to the NEA. Radioactive debris of fuel and reactor components rained over the area while fire spread from the building housing reactor 4 to adjacent buildings. Toxic fumes and dust were carried by the blowing wind, bringing fission products and the noble gas inventory of naturally-occurring odorless and colorless gases with it. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (Image credit: Sergeev Kirill/Shutterstock) Radioactive fallout The explosions killed two plant workers the first of several workers to die within hours of the accident. For the next several days, as emergency crews tried desperately to contain the fires and radiation leaks, the death toll climbed as plant workers succumbed to acute radiation sickness. The initial fire was stifled by about 5 a.m., but the resulting graphite-fueled fire took 10 days and 250 firefighters to extinguish, according to the NEA. However, toxic emissions continued to be pumped into the atmosphere for an additional 10 days. Most of the radiation released from the failed nuclear reactor was from fission products iodine -131, cesium -134 and cesium-137. Iodine-131 has a relatively short half-life of eight days, according to UNSCEAR, but it is rapidly ingested through the air and tends to localize in the thyroid gland . Cesium isotopes have longer half-lives (cesium-137 has a half-life of 30 years) and are a concern for years after their release into the environment. Evacuations of Pripyat commenced on April 27 about 36 hours after the accident had occurred. By that time, many residents were already complaining about vomiting, headaches and other signs of radiation sickness. Officials closed off an 18-mile (30 km) area around the plant by May 14, evacuating another 116,000 residents. Within the next few years, 220,000 more residents were advised to move to less contaminated areas, according to the World Nuclear Association. Related: Images: Chernobyl, frozen in time Here, an abandoned school in the city of Pripyat, Ukraine, the nearest town to the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl power plant in 1986. (Image credit: Anton Petrus/Getty Images) Health effects Twenty-eight of the workers at Chernobyl died in the first four months following the accident, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), including some heroic workers who knew they were exposing themselves to deadly levels of radiation in order to secure the facility from further radiation leaks. The prevailing winds at the time of the accident were from the south and east, so much of the radiation plume traveled northwest toward Belarus. Nonetheless, Soviet authorities were slow to release information about the severity of the disaster to the outside world. But when radiation levels raised concern in Sweden about three days later, scientists there were able to conclude the approximate location of the nuclear disaster based on radiation levels and wind directions, forcing Soviet authorities to reveal the full extent of the crisis, according to the United Nations . Within three months of the Chernobyl accident, a total of 31 people died from radiation exposure or other direct effects of the disaster, according to the NRC. Between 1991 and 2015, as many as 20,000 cases of thyroid cancer cases were diagnosed in patients who were under the age of 18 in 1986, according to a 2018 UNSCEAR report. While there may still be additional cases of cancer that emergency workers, evacuees and residents may experience throughout their lifetimes, the known overall rate of cancer deaths and other health effects directly related to Chernobyl's radiation leak is lower than was initially feared. "The majority of the five million residents living in contaminated areas received very small radiation doses comparable to natural background levels (0.1 rem per year)," according to an NRC report. "Today, the available evidence does not strongly connect the accident to radiation-induced increases of leukemia or solid cancer, other than thyroid cancer." Some experts have claimed that unsubstantiated fear of radiation poisoning led to greater suffering than the actual disaster. For example, many doctors throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union advised pregnant women to undergo abortions to avoid bearing children with birth defects or other disorders, though the actual level of radiation exposure these women experienced was likely too low to cause any problems, according to the World Nuclear Association. In 2000, the United Nations published a report on the effects of the Chernobyl accident that was so "full of unsubstantiated statements that have no support in scientific assessments," according to the chairman of UNSCEAR , that it was eventually dismissed by most authorities. Dead forest at the Chernobyl site. (Image credit: dreamstime) Environmental impacts Shortly after the radiation leaks from Chernobyl occurred, the trees in the woodlands surrounding the plant were killed by high levels of radiation. This region came to be known as the "Red Forest" because the dead trees turned a bright ginger color. The trees were eventually bulldozed and buried in trenches, according to the National Science Research Laboratory at Texas Tech University. The damaged reactor was hastily sealed in a concrete sarcophagus intended to contain the remaining radiation, according to the NRC. However, there is ongoing intense scientific debate over how effective this sarcophagus has been and will continue to be into the future. An enclosure called the New Safe Confinement structure began construction in late 2006 after stabilizing the existing sarcophagus. The new structure, completed in 2017, is 843 feet (257 meters) wide, 531 feet (162 m) long, and 356 feet (108 m) tall and designed to completely enclose reactor 4 and its surrounding sarcophagus for at least the next 100 years, according to World Nuclear News . Despite the contamination of the site and the inherent risks in operating a reactor with serious design flaws the Chernobyl nuclear plant continued operation to meet the power needs of Ukraine until its last reactor, reactor 3, was shut down in December 2000, according to World Nuclear News . Reactors 2 and 1 were shut down in 1991 and 1996, respectively. Complete decommissioning of the site is expected to be completed by 2028. The plant, the ghost towns of Pripyat and Chernobyl, and the surrounding land make up a 1,000-square-mile (2600 square kilometers) " exclusion zone ," which is restricted to nearly everyone except for scientists and government officials. Despite the dangers, several people returned to their homes shortly after the disaster, with some sharing their stories with news sources such as the BBC , CNN and The Guardian . And in 2011, Ukraine opened up the area to tourists wanting to see the after-effects of the disaster firsthand. Chernobyl today Today, the region, including within the exclusion zone, is filled with a variety of wildlife that have thrived without interference from humans, according to National Geographic . Thriving populations of wolves , deer , lynx , beaver , eagles, boar , elk , bears and other animals have been documented in the dense woodlands that now surround the silent power plant. Nonetheless, a handful of radiation effects, such as stunted trees growing in the zone of highest radiation and animals with high levels of cesium-137 in their bodies, are known to occur. Related: Infographic: Chernobyl nuclear disaster 25 years later The area has recovered to some extent, but is far from returning to normal. But in the areas just outside the exclusion zone, people are beginning to resettle . Tourists continue to visit the site, with visitation rates jumping 30% to 40% thanks to a 2019 HBO series based on the disaster. And the catastrophe that occurred at Chernobyl resulted in a few significant changes for the nuclear industry: concern about reactor safety increased in eastern Europe as well as around the world; the remaining RBMK reactors were modified to reduce the risk in another disaster; and many international programs including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) were founded as a direct result of Chernobyl, according to the World Nuclear Association. And around the globe, experts have continued researching ways to prevent future nuclear disasters. Russian invasion Ukrainian forces use metal detectors to look for mines during an urban combat training exercise within the Chernobyl exclusion zone in the abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine, on Feb. 4, 2022. (Image credit: Ethan Swope/Bloomberg via Getty Images) On Feb. 24, 2022, during a full invasion of Ukraine ordered by Russian president Vladimir Putin, Russian troops took over the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant . Just a day later (Feb. 25), after heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces, increased radiation levels were detected at the power plant, according to Ukrainian officials and online data from Chernobyl exclusion zone's automated radiation-monitoring system. Gamma radiation , a high-energy type of electromagnetic radiation, increased 20 times above typical levels at multiple inspection points. This radiation spike was likely due to radioactive dust that was thrown into the air due to nearby disturbances from war equipment and fighting. "If it's a resuspension of dust, this is generally stuff that was not that mobile, or it would have blown away," Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, previously told Live Science . "So it's probably heavier particles of soil that don't disperse very far." Even with this radiation spike however, "the dose rates they're finding are not that much greater than the usual dose rates in that area, which, admittedly, are probably about a hundred times the background dose of anywhere else in the world," Lyman said. "But even so, if [the troops] don't spend that much time in the area, it's not going to have a significant impact on their health compared to the threat of dying in war." The IAEA released a statement on Feb. 24 saying that it is following the situation at the power plant with "grave concern." Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA director general, appealed for "maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put the country's nuclear facilities at risk," according to the statement. At the IAEA General Conference in 2009, the organization's member states (which includes Russia) adopted a decision stating "any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Statute of the Agency," Grossi noted. Additional resources More about how water cools and moderates nuclear reactors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Find the latest news about the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on their website. Read about longstanding health effects from the Chernobyl disaster, according to the Canadian Safety Nuclear Commission. Bibliography World Nuclear Association. " Chernobyl Accident 1986 " Updated May 2021. World Nuclear Association. " Cooling Power Plants ." Updated September 2020. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. " The Chernobyl accident ." Updated April 2021. Nuclear Energy Agency. " Chapter I The site and accident sequence ." Updated 2002. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. " Backgrounder on Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident ." Updated/reviewed August 2018. United Nations. " International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day 26 April ." United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. " Evaluation of Data on Thyroid Cancer in Regions Affected by the Chernobyl Accident ." 2018. Lars-Erik Holm. The Lancet . July 22, 2000. National Science Research Laboratory. " Chernobyl Research ." Copyright January 2020. World Nuclear News. " Chernobyl confinement structure systems begin operation ." Feb. 8, 2019. World Nuclear News. " Decommissioning of Chernobyl units approaches ." Feb. 19. 2014. BBC. "The people who refused to leave Chernobyl." April 26, 2016. CNN. " After Chernobyl, they refused to leave ." Nov. 7, 2013. The Guardian. " Chernobyl now: 'I was not afraid of radiation' a photo essay ." June 7, 2019. Live Science. " Chernobyl Woos Tourists with Promise of 'Negligible' Risk ." Dec. 15, 2010. Live Science. " Nearly 30 Years After Chernobyl Disaster, Wildlife Returns to the Area ." Oct. 13, 2015. National Geographic. " Animals Rule Chernobyl Three Decades After Nuclear Disaster ." April 18, 2016. Live Science. " Is It Safe to Visit Chernobyl? " June 7, 2019. BBC. " The people who moved to Chernobyl ." Oct. 12, 2018. Live Science. " Disaster Tourists Are Flocking to Chernobyl, Thanks to HBO Series ." June 5, 2019. Live Science. " Who Will Prevent the Next Chernobyl? (Op-Ed) " April 25, 2016. Live Science. " Russian troops have taken over Chernobyl power plant, Ukrainian official says ." Feb. 24, 2022. International Atomic Energy Agency. " IAEA Director General Statement on the Situation in Ukraine ." Feb. 24. 2022. This article was updated on June 20, 2019 by Live Science Contributor Rachel Ross. The concrete structure known as The Shelter seals in the remains of Chernobyl's ruined Unit Four reactor. Nuclear reactions are smoldering again in an inaccessible basement of the wrecked Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, according to news reports. Researchers monitoring the plant which infamously exploded in a deadly 1986 meltdown have detected a steady spike in the number of neutrons in an underground room called 305/2. The room is full of heavy rubble, concealing a radioactive mush of uranium , zirconium , graphite and sand that oozed into the plant's basement like lava, before hardening into formations called fuel-containing materials (FCMs). Rising neutron levels indicate that these FCMs are undergoing new fission reactions, as neutrons strike and split the nuclei of uranium atoms , creating energy. Related: 5 Weird things you didn't know about Chernobyl For now, this radioactive waste is smoldering "like the embers in a barbecue pit," Neil Hyatt, a nuclear materials chemist at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., told Science magazine . However, it's possible that those embers could fully ignite if left undisturbed for too long, resulting in another explosion. This potential explosion wouldn't be anywhere near as devastating as the one that shattered the plant in 1986, which resulted in thousands of deaths and spewed a radioactive cloud over Europe, Maxim Saveliev, a senior researcher with the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants (ISPNPP) in Kyiv, Ukraine, told Science. If the nuclear material ignites again, the blast will be largely contained within the steel and concrete cage known as the Shelter, which officials built around the plant's ruined Unit Four reactor one year after the accident. Still, even a contained explosion would make the long-term mission of removing the plant's FCMs much harder, Saveliev said. The Shelter is old and could easily crumble from the force of an explosion, filling the area with heavy debris and radioactive dust. (The Shelter itself is contained in a larger steel structure called the New Safe Confinement, which was completed in 2018.) Neutron levels have been steadily rising in room 305/2 for four years, Saveliev said, and could continue rising for several more years without incident. It's possible these nuclear nuggets will fizzle out on their own in that time. But if neutron levels keep rising, scientists will have to intervene. That is more easily said than done, of course; plant managers have yet to figure out how to access the tons of radioactive material buried below the room's thick layers of concrete debris. Radiation levels are too high for humans to endure, but radiation-resistant robots might be able to drill through the rubble and install neutron-absorbing control rods into the room, according to the ISPNPP. Ukraine hopes to present a detailed plan for the removal of Chernobyl's still-smoldering FCMs by September, Science reported. Originally published on Live Science. BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday elaborated China's basic position on the Ukrainian issue. He made these remarks and exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine during his phone talks with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell as well as Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic counselor to French President Emmanuel Macron, respectively. Wang expounded on China's basic position on the Ukrainian issue in the following five points. First, China firmly stands for respecting and safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and earnestly abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, said Wang. Secondly, China advocates the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, he said. Thirdly, he said, "China has been following the evolution of the Ukrainian issue, and the present situation is something we do not want to see." Fourth, the Chinese side supports and encourages all diplomatic efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. Fifth, China believes that the UN Security Council should play a constructive role in resolving the Ukrainian issue and that regional peace and stability as well as the security of all countries should be the priorities, he added. Laredo leaders gave an update regarding the water line break and boil water notice on Thursday, stating that while some improvements have been made, the overall state of the water system is grim and will be an expensive venture to replace each water line. A workshop is being scheduled for the beginning of March that will bring in consultants and Interim City Manager Samuel Keith Selman together to review the master water plan and master waste sewer plan. Saenz said that the workshop will show the pipelines and the water flows destination respective of the lines. I would say based on what I have seen and heard, a majority of these lines need to be replaced, Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz said. This could easily cost between $120,000-150,000 per block to actually replace the water line, the sewer line and any other cable or infrastructure line; on top of that, we need to pave the streets and sidewalks. Earlier this week, an estimated grand total cost to fix/replace the entire system was $500 million. Furthermore, it was also indicated that residents will eventually see a tax increase toward their water and sewer bills as the city closes in on the replacement of the system. Its going to cost millions of dollars to repair and revamp the entire water and sewer we have here locally. We have lines between 50-70 years old, and Im told we are not the only city, but unfortunately, we are the ones with the symptoms. And the symptoms will continue until we replace the entire water and sewer system. Relief funds are being sought out by the city, and Saenz said that both Reps. Richard Raymond and Tracy King as well as associates in Austin are helping to address the current circumstances. Additionally, federal funds from the American Rescue Plan are also being looked at in order to support the replacement efforts. Saenz acknowledged that federal funds will be channeled through the Texas Water Development Board that will grant money to the communities, including Laredo. The city is planning to send in its application for funds as soon as possible in preparation for when the funds are made available. The city will be required to submit their project information form by March 4 before applying. I personally foresee for this matter to get resolved, multiple contractors working on our city for a period of time, Saenz said. This is where the consultants come in to tell us These areas take priorities, and we need so many contractors here replacing the old infrastructure, and thats going to be ongoing. Three years prior, approximately $200 million in bonds for water and sewer were sought out and a majority has been allocated, Saenz said. The funds were spent in the inner city where the greatest needs was, but the workshop will outline the priorities and discuss issuing more bonds under an emergency order. This will allow a bypass of the procurement process and attain funds as quickly as possible. Earlier in the conference, he said that some southern areas may have already seen or may soon see water flowing, including around the Laredo College South area and Cielito Lindo as he thanked crews and ongoing conservation efforts. Additionally, the mayor said that construction of the El Pico water line feeding south through Loop 20 is being connected as of 2 p.m. and should be operational Thursday evening. Today is really the first day that we can actually say that there has been some improvement, metaphorically, he said. With the ongoing efforts, Saenz predicted that more areas should receive water, but that remains to be determined as approximately 150,000 have been impacted during the current boil water notice and 20,000 were without water as of Wednesday. He added that repairs and replacements have been ongoing since Thursday morning, with crews focusing on the affected areas while also constructing a new line. The line would be a temporary surface pipeline from Monterrey Street that travels to the Lyons tank and would supplement the line built from El Pico water treatment system through Lake Casa Blanca. Residents in the Highway 359 area and in the colonias may see water flow through Thursday, but it the flow may fluctuate. I do want to alert people that once we get over this hump, there will be additional areas that will need some attention, he said. That 36-inch line is very frail, thin and corroded. So as we continue to repair and replace with new pipe on the old line, I foresee other breaks down in the future, but well address those as they come. Regarding the future, Saenz said that in the next two to three months, a line will be added from the El Pico plant to feed into the Bartlett water tank. Short-term solutions will see partial bypasses will be used as the city encounters potential breaks through the 36-inch lines. Potentially, (there will be) boil water notices in the future as well. I want to prepare, the people and users as well, Saenz said. As we fix, we may end up with more boil water notices, because every time we do have a break, there is a potential for contamination and soil coming in. cocampo@lmtonline.com 956-728-2567 A man residing illegally in Laredo has been indicted for assaulting a U.S. Border Patrol agent and smuggling migrants, the U.S. Attorneys Office said on Wednesday. A grand jury charged Ever Gordillo-Cardenas, 44, with assault on a federal agent and transport migrants. If convicted, Gordillo-Cardenas faces up to 20 years in prison. The citys ongoing water crisis has created real problems for all Laredoans, including members of the Texas A&M International University community of students, faculty, and staff. TAMIU president Dr. Pablo Arenaz announced Thursday that the Universitys Rec Center is open to all students and staff in need of bathing services. Were a caring university and we want to take care of all of our Dustdevils, Arenaz said, "Unfortunately, some have been without water for days - and so the University has opened its Rec Center to all TAMIU students and employees for bathing. Students and employees are encouraged to bring their own towels, shampoo, and soap. A limited supply of towels is available for checkout." The Rec Center hours of operation are as follows: Monday through Thursday 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sunday 2-6 p.m. Additionally, the university will host an on-campus packaged water distribution for TAMIU students and employees impacted by the water outage crisis. The university is also extending services hours for the on-campus Dusty Food Pantry from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and providing a limited number of Dustys Diner meal vouchers for students in need. We are all hopeful that this situation will soon be resolved, but will continue to make our Rec Center bathroom and shower facilities available to students and staff as long as necessary, Arenaz said. A teen has been arrested for transporting migrants in south Laredo, according to the Texas Department of public safety. At about 12:50 p.m. Feb. 18, a trooper observed a white pickup speeding eastbound on Cielito Lindo Boulevard. The U.S. Border Patrol had recently relayed information about a white pickup picking up migrants in the area. If you do not have a current print subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, but want to view unlimited articles for the month, please choose this option. Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue TD recently led a trade mission to the Gulf Region of the UAE and Saudi Arabia where he met with Irish companies at Gulfood, the worlds largest food trade event. The week-long trade mission saw the Minister engage with buyers of food and politicians in the region promoting Irelands top-quality, safe and sustainable food sector. While at Gulfood in Dubai, Minister McConalogue met with Lakeland Dairies at its stand. It was great to be able to meet with such a tremendous Irish company as Lakeland Dairies at the Gulfood event in Dubai recently. Thanks to the work of companies like Lakeland Dairies with the assistance of Bord Bia, Irish food is the choice of so many high-end retailers, restaurants and customers in the Guld Region. I was delighted to be able to spend time with the team Lakeland Dairies at Gulfood to understand their strategy for the Guld Region, the Minister said. Agri-food exports to the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were over 155 million last year, dominated by dairy products, but with significant growth in exports of prepared consumer foods. The Gulf Region has real potential for growth. The customers and politicians I engaged with over the course of the trade mission all recognised Ireland as being a sustainable food destination of choice. I am confident that with pioneering companies like Lakeland Dairies, driven by committed and innovative farm families, we can see further gains being made in the region in the time ahead, he added. While in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Minister McConalogue met with the leadership of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) in Riyadh, where agreement in principle was reached to lift the current restriction whereby Irish beef exports to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must come from cattle slaughtered under 30 months of age. Further technical engagement will now take place to complete the necessary formalities to confirm the expanded access. Minister McConalogue also secured SFDA commitment to further technical engagement on sheep meat access, and raised the possibility of poultry meat access in the future. Following a constructive meeting with the SFDA, I'm pleased to report that the requirement for all beef exported to Saudi Arabia to be from animals under 30 months has now been lifted. While the necessary formal exchanges remain to be completed, it is welcome news and comes following detailed engagement with the Saudi competent authorities by my Department, with support from the Embassy of Ireland in Riyadh and the agricultural attache for the Gulf region. Irish food is synonymous with quality, sustainability and safety in the Gulf Region, and I am confident that the door will soon be open for a wider range of Irish food access to the Saudi market, the Minister concluded. A jury of ten people have acquitted a Longford man of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to two fishermen on two separate dates in 2019. Thomas McDermott of 68 Cluain na Sidhe, Killashee, Co Longford, was found not guilty of threatening to kill a man on September 25, 2019, and another man on a date between January and April 2019, by unanimous jury verdict. When questioned by prosecuting barrister Shane Geraghty last week, fisherman, Geoffrey Cooper, told the court that he was fishing on the west bank of the Royal Canal near Killashee with a friend of his, Martin Blacow, who was visiting from the UK. I noticed to my left, two black and white springer spaniels followed by a gentleman on the bank, Mr Cooper continued. He walked by, went to the hedge, pulled two big tree branches out of the hedge and launched them into the canal, said Mr Cooper. The dogs jumped in after them and then he pulled the logs out and did it again. I said thats not very considerate, and all hell broke loose. Mr Cooper told the court that the accused dropped one log and carried the other over to him and the language started. He said you f**king English c**t and you b**tard and he stood behind me with the log waving behind my head. I said nothing, said Mr Cooper. He said Ill f**king kill you, you English c**t, youre from Yorkshire and I said yes I am from Yorkshire. He said Ive f**king dealt with you before, you c**t, youre a f**king dead man, Ill cut your balls off, Ill cut your throat. I kept talking very quietly, Mr Cooper recalled, he put the branch down and knelt beside me and took his phone out. He took my photograph so I said now youve taken my photograph, what about me taking yours?. He said you'll be f**king dead before you get your phone out. Ill f**king kill you. Dont ever come down here again on your own because Ill f**king kill you. And if you want my comment, he definitely would, said Mr Cooper. A second witness, Martin Blacow, who had been fishing with Mr Cooper on September 25, gave evidence from Burnley Crown Court via live video link. He explained that he and Mr Cooper had been fishing in Killashee when a man came towards them. He confirmed to Mr Geraghty that the man had been throwing sticks in the water for his dogs and that Mr Cooper had said it was inconsiderate. When cross-examined by Mr Groarke, Mr Blacow said he had seen the man had been throwing sticks in for the dogs to fetch ten or a dozen times before Mr Cooper had said anything. On day two of the trial, Thomas Evans told the court that he has been fishing for 40 years and that on a date in early 2019, he was fishing on the canal at Killashee with his friend, Anthony Nicholson. He described to Mr Geraghty a similar incident where a man with two dogs was throwing sticks into the canal. He also said that, when challenged by Mr Nicholson, the man became verbally abusive. This man is seriously dangerous in my opinion, said Mr Evans, explaining that when the man returned 15 or 20 minutes later, he became abusive towards Mr Nicholson again. I got off my box and headed towards them and as I got closer, he walked by me and said you and your f**king gay mate, dont ever be on this f**king bank again. I went down to Tony and he was very upset again. Tony has never gone back there. Its the fear. Anthony Nicholson, when asked by Mr Geraghty if he remembered the incident before the courts, told the court he has had nightmares about it. He explained that he cannot remember the exact date of the incident but that it was definitely before his birthday in April. He said that on the afternoon in question, at around 2pm, he was fishing in Killashee when a man with two dogs walked past. He threw a stick right next to where I was fishing and I said why have you thrown a stick in where Im fishing and not further down?, he said. It was an awful thing. The dogs came out and he picked up the stick and said do I have to swear? Its not very nice, he said. When told by Judge Comerford that he has to tell the truth, Mr Nicholson continued with his evidence. He said dont tell me what to do, this is my canal, you f**king English b**tard. I live here. And I said I live in Ireland too, he said. I was very scared because Im not a strong person and he was talking really nasty and dirty. He called me an f-ing English b**tard, and a Yorkshire c-word a couple of times. He could have beaten me up and I think if Tommy hadnt been there, he wouldve done. The way he was talking to me was nasty - really aggressive. How anybody could be like that to someone who was just out there for pleasure, fishing how anybody could give that kind of abuse it was disgusting and terrifying. And when he came back, he came up to me and said if I see you again, Ill f**king shoot you, you f**king Yorkshire b**tard and then Tommy came over and he walked off. Mr McDermott, when questioned by his defence barrister insisted that he had no involvement in the incident between January and April 2019 but recalled the incident on September 25 clearly. He explained to Mr Groarke that he noticed the two men fishing and the jeep parked on the bank. As I came around the blind side of the first fisherman, I saw that he had his fishing pole extended behind him, blocking my path, said Mr McDermott. I looked at him, waiting for him to retract or lower his pole. He didnt and I was forced to step over with difficulty given my mobility issues. He said he proceeded to do so and walked onwards where he encountered the second fisherman and the same thing ensued where he had to step over the pole. I thought it was rather odd, entitled behaviour, said Mr McDermott. I then walked further and stopped to throw the sticks in for the dogs, as I do on occasion. He went on to tell the court that, after throwing the sticks in the water, the first fisherman responded with a tirade of abuse. I was taken aback at first but then I collected my thoughts calmly and responded, he said. I explained to him that the canal was not just for his use. I told him Im free to go where I please without being inhibited. Mr McDermott explained that he had hoped to keep walking towards Kenagh, cross the bridge and walk back on the far side of the canal. But given I encountered these people and their odd and bizarre behaviour, my peace had been disturbed, so I went back and I took a picture of the first gentleman and then I took a picture of the back of the car to compile evidence after they victimised me, he said. He said, now youve taken my picture, Im going to take your phone and throw it in the f**king canal. I said 'good luck' and then I walked away. When cross-examined by Mr Geraghty, Mr McDermott confirmed that he had deleted the photographs from his phone to free up space and refuted suggestions that he had done so to dispose of evidence. He continued to stress that he knew nothing of the early 2019 incident as he had no involvement and it was accepted in court that there was no direct evidence, such as formal identification by the witnesses, linking him to the incident. This is what it comes down to: you thought this was entitled behaviour and the moment you heard the English accent, you blew a fuse, said Mr Geraghty. I believe weve already been over this, said Mr McDermott, stressing his opinion that anyone of sound mind would consider the behaviour of the fishermen odd and bizarre. Can I suggest it wasnt? Can I suggest you flipped and threatened to kill or cause serious harm to these people? said Mr Geraghty. You can suggest it, said Mr McDermott. They said they wouldn't lie, said Mr Geraghty. Well thats a lie right there. The only perfect person to walk this earth was Jesus Christ and anyone who says they never lie, that's a lie right there, said Mr McDermott. Judge Francis Comerford noted a lack of direct evidence putting Mr McDermott at the scene in early 2019, but also acknowledged the striking similarities in the events that occurred. He told the jury, when they were beginning their deliberations, that they should first consider the incident of September 25. If they found Mr McDermott guilty of that incident then, and only then, should they look at the second incident, which ocurred between January and April of that year. The jury, following less than an hour of deliberations returned to the courtroom with a unanimous verdict that Mr McDermott was not guilty of the September 25 charge and could therefore not be considered guilty of the incident on the earlier date. BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Friday signed an arrangement with the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on mutual assistance in preservation measures to aid arbitration proceedings. The arrangement was signed by SPC Vice President He Rong and Cheong Weng Chon, secretary for administration and justice of the Macao SAR government. It is the fifth judicial assistance arrangement between the two sides since Macao returned to the motherland in 1999, according to an SPC statement. The arrangement stipulates types of preservation measures, the arbitration proceedings to which they apply, and the stages at which to apply for such measures. He Rong said the arrangement symbolizes more optimized, improved and comprehensive judicial cooperation between the mainland and Macao in civil and commercial matters, and fully demonstrates the institutional strength of the "one country, two systems" principle. Cheong, for his part, said the arrangement bears great significance to the development of the arbitration sector in Macao and the settlement of cross-border civil and commercial disputes. National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company rolling out the new high-speed fibre broadband network under the Governments National Broadband Plan (NBP), is calling on primary school students to take part in its new Imagine the Future competition. Nearly 700 primary schools across in the Intervention Area of the NBP are eligible to take part. Principals can register and find out more about the Imagine the Future competition, by visiting NBIschools.ie . The closing date to submit entries for the competition is March 25. Students participating in NBIs new art, design and imagination competition will have a chance to win a Promethean ActivPanel - a state of the art interactive flat panel display for their school, as well as a number of other individual student prizes for county and national competition winners. The Imagine the Future competition will highlight and delve into how students perceive the principle of high-speed fibre broadband and the potential opportunities that arise from it. Students will be asked to create a piece of art responding to the simple statement, Imagine the Future. Entries can take a variety of forms, including a sculpture, a photo, a painting, a song, a short movie or even a dance making it as accessible as possible for students to participate. Entries can focus on the following themes: Transportation of the future School of the future Home of the future Workplace of the future Hospital of the future Community of the future The competition will go through three phases: a school, county and national phase. Winners from each school will progress to the county phase, where a panel of judges selected by NBI will decide who will represent their county at the final national phase and be in with a chance to win an ActivPanel. As the connected hub of the modern classroom, the Promethean ActivPanel creates powerful digital learning experiences which are further enhanced through internet access. Samantha Ecock, Territory Manager - Ireland, from global education technology company, Promethean, will be helping to judge the competition, with the winner currently due to will be announced in May of this year. Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer of National Broadband Ireland, said: NBI is delighted to have launched the Imagine the Future competition for primary schools in the NBP intervention area, and we are inviting schools from across the country that are in the intervention area of the National Broadband Plan to take part. The aim of the competition is to give young people the opportunity to imagine the endless possibilities and opportunities afforded to them through access to high speed broadband. I would like to thank all of the schools that are taking part in the competition and I wish all of the students the best of luck in their projects. National Broadband Ireland is actively working across the country to design and build the new high-speed, Fibre-to-the-Home network, which will connect over 1.1 million people and over 554,000 premises in the projects Intervention Area. Local News, Business & Finance, Politics By Chris Boyle Published: February 25 2022 Nassau County taxpayers are confused and frustrated with our complex property assessment system, said Comptroller Phillips. Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips today announced a number of new reviews relating to the countys Department of Assessment. The audit will cover Assessment Rolls for the years 2021 through 2024, as well as the departments application of the five-year phase-in. Nassau County taxpayers are confused and frustrated with our complex property assessment system. Its my job, as the independent protector of Nassau County taxpayers and residents, to not only ensure that county departments are functioning properly and efficiently, but to see that taxpayers are being treated fairly, said Comptroller Phillips. This audit will help restore taxpayers confidence that their assessments are not only correct, but also fair. The Comptrollers Office will examine the systems and processes in place and recommend improvements that ensure the accuracy of property values listed on the rolls. Comptrollers Office staff have already done great work identifying many of the problems with the assessment system in place under former county administrations. This new review fulfills my pledge to taxpayers to improve transparency and make sure that county government works for them, Phillips said. I want to commend Comptroller Phillips in fulfilling her promise to the taxpayers to do this reassessment audit. Property assessment is one of the most important issues facing Nassau County right now. We know that the reassessment system and process is broken. Comptroller Phillips independent audit is essential, and will provide critical information my colleagues on the legislature and I need to help make the county's reassessment more fair, accurate and transparent. said County Executive Bruce Blakeman. I welcome Comptroller Phillips review of the assessment process to ensure greater accuracy in assessed values and full transparency in how those values are determined. After years of misinformation and mistakes by the previous administration, which resulted in tax increases to 65% of homeowners, it is important that we use every means available to reform how the county assesses properties, stated Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello. The Legislative Majority remains committed to ensuring that the reassessment process is fair and transparent. Press Releases, Politics By Long Island Published: February 25 2022 New York Attorney General Letitia James issued the following statement in response to President Joe Bidens nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court: New York Attorney General Letitia James issued the following statement in response to President Joe Bidens nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court: Today is an important, historic day for all Americans, but especially for every little Black girl who, for the first time, will soon see herself represented in the highest court of the land. From her time as a public defender, through her current role as circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a brilliant legal mind who has dedicated her life and career to public service and justice in all forms. The Supreme Court must reflect the diversity and inclusivity of our nation. I congratulate Judge Jackson on her trailblazing nomination, and I look forward to hearing more about her accomplishments in the upcoming hearing. Activate your all-inclusive access for print subscribers: Link your losaltosonline.com account to your print subscription here. Your account number is your one-line street address as printed on your newspaper use normal capitalization. Example: 138 Main St. When your current subscription expires later this year, you will be able to renew at losaltosonline.com/users/admin/service/purchase. If you have any trouble accessing your account or linking your subscription, our Subscription FAQ may have the answer you need. Contact howardb@latc.com or call him at (650) 397-5213 with any questions or to learn more. Ensure you get a print copy of the Loudoun Times-Mirror delivered weekly to your home or business! Complete online access is included with all print subscriptions purchased online. Plus, up to four other members of your household can share online access through this subscription with their own, individual linked accounts at no additional charge. (Are you a current advertiser? Ask your sales rep for our special advertiser rate code!) Masks to be optional at Michigan City schools as COVID cases fall across county, state Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, speaks at an informal meeting of the General Assembly on his priorities for the remaining eight months of his office at the UN headquarters in New York, on Jan. 19, 2022. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) "It is not okay that 27 countries have vaccinated less than 10 percent of their populations while others are rolling out boosters or lifting restrictions entirely," said Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly on Friday held a hybrid high-level debate to ramp up momentum for universal vaccination against the COVID-19 pandemic with participants calling for solidarity, equality and action. Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, appealed for greater global solidarity to vaccinate the entire world against COVID-19. In his remarks at the "Galvanizing momentum for universal vaccination" debate, Shahid underscored the persistent inequity in access to these lifesaving medicines and the failure of the international community to protect everyone from the disease. "Let me be clear: vaccine inequity is immoral, and it is impractical," he said, speaking from the iconic UN General Assembly Hall in New York. As of Friday, there were more than 428.5 million cases of COVID-19 globally, and 5.9 million deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Shahid said that although more than 10 billion vaccines have been administered around the world so far - enough to inoculate every person on the planet - some 83 percent of the population of the African Union has yet to receive a single dose. "It is not okay that 27 countries have vaccinated less than 10 percent of their populations while others are rolling out boosters or lifting restrictions entirely," he said. An airport worker transports packages of Chinese-made Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX at the Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dec. 13, 2021. (Photo by Sovannara/Xinhua) Shahid convened the day-long debate to galvanize momentum toward ensuring everyone can receive vaccines, bringing together world leaders, senior UN officials, civil society and non-profit representatives, private sector stakeholders, front-line first responders and even celebrities. "If the pandemic has shown us anything, it is the importance of collective action - that our strength lies in solidarity," he said. In a video message to the meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called vaccine inequity "a moral indictment of our times," as it costs lives, damages economies, and allows the virus to circulate and mutate. Galvanizing momentum means countries share vaccine doses and contribute to the COVAX solidarity mechanism, said the UN chief. "It means manufacturers prioritizing and fulfilling vaccine contracts with COVAX, ensuring full transparency on monthly production and creating the conditions for the local or regional production of tests, vaccines and treatments," he added. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies must share licenses, know-how and technology to support vaccine production across regions, said the UN chief. Funding from donors and international financial institutions also needs to be ramped up, as does the fight against the "plague" of vaccine misinformation, he added. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, Feb. 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie E) "We have seen hopeful progress when supply is secured and predictable... when doses are donated with ample shelf-life... and when there is a deep understanding of what a country needs to accelerate vaccinations," said Guterres. The president of the UN Economic and Social Council, Collen Vixen Kelapile, addressed the dichotomy of the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis has shattered lives and livelihoods, among other fallouts, and wiped out advances in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he said. However, he noted that it has also shown the best humanity can achieve, with the development of vaccines in record time. "The extent to which we are able to ensure fair and equal access to the vaccines will determine the ability of the most vulnerable countries to recover from the pandemic," he said. "It will determine whether the world can truly overcome the pandemic, and embark on a sustainable recovery and achieve the SDGs," he added. (Alliance News) - BP PLC is under pressure from the government to cut its ties with Russian oil giant Rosneft, which the British-based company holds a 20% stake in. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng held a virtual call with BP's chief executive Bernard Looney for around 20 minutes on Friday to discuss the company's position. A Whitehall source told the PA news agency: "BP left the meeting with no doubt about the strength of the Business Secretary's concern about their commercial interests in Russia." Oil giant BP admitted last year that sanctions on Russia could be problematic for its business, as global leaders are lining up to impose an even more stringent economic retaliation against the Kremlin. The company, which co-owns Rosneft with the Russian government, said in its annual report that "events in or relating to Russia, including trade restrictions and other sanctions, could adversely impact our income and investment in or relating to Russia". But both Looney and former BP chief executive Bob Dudley continue to sit on Rosneft's board. The chief executive was in Russia as recently as October, appearing on a panel with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he later described as a "privilege". Rosneft's own chief executive, Igor Sechin, is a former deputy prime minister in Putin's government, and is reportedly known as Darth Vader behind the scenes in Moscow. Rosneft and Sechin were sanctioned by the US government in 2014. At the time the US said that Sechin "has shown utter loyalty to Vladimir Putin a key component to his current standing". When asked on Friday, BP refused to condemn Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which started the day before, and did not answer questions about the future of its stake in Rosneft. Several European former politicians stepped down from the boards of Russian companies on Thursday but Looney and Dudley remain in place. On Thursday Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for the UK to also sanction Rosneft and gas giant Gazprom. He said: "The absence of Gazprom and Rosneft, part-owned by BP, in today's sanctions list is the elephant in the room. "The UK must do everything we can to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. "Russia's state-owned oil and gas giants stand to profit from this war and soaring prices. "We must start treating Putin's Russia like the rogue state it is and immediately cut off UK investment in these firms." Despite repeated questions from the PA news agency, BP did not answer the question of whether it supports or opposes Putin's invasion. Instead it released a statement saying that the developments in Ukraine and Russia are "concerning". On Thursday morning Putin's troops started crossing the border into Ukraine itself, after previously having only entered the territories in the eastern area of Donbas that Russian proxies have occupied since 2014. "We are closely watching the concerning developments in Ukraine and Russia," BP said in response to questions about its position on the invasion or whether it will raise objections in Russia. "We are doing all we can to monitor the fast-changing situation. "Our priority is the safety and security of our people. "We are accounting for all our team and will continue to support them and provide any help they need. BP will, of course, comply with all relevant sanctions." Shares in BP rose 3.6% to 378.50 pence in London on Friday, lagging the wider FTSE 100 index which rose 3.9%. By Simon Neville and August Graham, PA source: PA Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Friday and not separately reported by Alliance News: ---------- Cloudbreak Discovery PLC - London-based natural resource project generator - Enters an option agreement on the Rizz Project in British Columbia with 1311516 BC Ltd. Cloudbreak to earn 75% interest in the project. 1311516 BC will spend CAD750,000, around USD588,472, over a three-year period in exploration expenditures on the property. Upon completion of the agreement, 1311516 BC and Cloudbreak will enter into a joint venture. ---------- Ethernity Networks Ltd - Israel-based networking and security company - Enters into a share subscription with 5G Innovation Leaders Fund LLC, a US-based investor and significant shareholder in Ethernity Networks, to raise USD2 million. The company says the funding will allow it to accelerate the company's transition towards the mass production of UEPs and ACE-NIC products. ---------- Concurrent Technologies PLC - Essex, England-based designer and manufacturer of computer boards - Launches a new 100 gigabit Ethernet processor plug in card, TR MAx/6sd-RCR. Chief Executive Miles Adcock says the offering will enable customers to speed up their time to deployment. ---------- Bens Creek Group PLC - London-based mining company focused in North America - Completes all remedial works required on its preparation and wash plant. The plant will now undergo in-depth testing and sample processing which is expected to last two weeks. Until the preparation and wash plant is fully operational, the sale and delivery of unwashed product to Integrity Coal Inc will continue in line with the company's previous announcement. Bens Creek adds that the purchase of a second highwall miner has now been completed. The machine is expected to be deployed by the second quarter of 2022. ---------- Duke Royalty Ltd- Guernsey-based royalty finance provider - Invests further GBP1.5 million into its existing royalty partner Lynx Equity UK Ltd. Lynx will use the investment to acquire Danish equipment manufacturer Obel-P Automation AS. Duke Royalty's investment in Lynx now totals GBP15 million. ---------- Horizonte Minerals Plc- London-based nickel company - Says Hatch Ltd has been selected as the furnace supply vendor for its Araguaia ferronickel project in Brazil. Hatch will supply Horizonte with a circular electric arc furnace rated at 60 megawatts, a calcine transfer system to feed the furnace with 835,000 tonnes per year of calcine and additional services to ensure successful installation and commissioning. ---------- Aquila European Renewables Income Fund PLC - Hamburg-based investment company - Says works at The Rock project have been focused on the energisation of its 72 turbines. Currently, a number of the turbines are already energised and as a result are producing electricity and revenue, Aquila says. The commercial operations date for the project has been extended to the second quarter of 2022 from the first quarter, largely driven by severe winter conditions. Aquila acquired a 14% interest in The Rock project in June 2020. ---------- Kavango Resources PLC - London-based mining company focused on Botswana - Extends exclusive three-month option to acquire 85% of Kalahari Key Mineral Exploration Proprietary Ltd. Kavango has until Monday to exercise the option. KKME currently owns 100% two prospecting licences at the Molopo Farms project in Botswana. Power Metals Resources holds a 40% interest in the project. ---------- Seplat Energy PLC - Lagos-based oil and gas company focused on Nigeria - Agrees to acquire 100% of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corp for USD1.28 billion. The acquisition encompasses the entire offshore shallow water business of ExxonMobil in Nigeria. Seplat says the shallow water business has a skilled local operating team and a track record of safe operations, producing 95,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020. The acquisition will be funded through existing cash resources and credit facilities as well as a new USD550 million loan facility and USD275 million offtake facility. ---------- Reabold Resources PLC - London-based oil and gas company with projects in the UK, the US and Romania - Extends the longstop date of its equity exchange agreement with Daybreak Oil & Gas Inc to April 29. The transaction, once completed, will result in Reabold holding up to 47% of Daybreak's share capital. ---------- Oxford BioDynamics PLC - Oxford-based biotechnology company - Announces the successful validation and US launch of its checkpoint inhibitor response test, EpiSwitch CiRT. The clinical blood test predicts the likelihood of a cancer patient's response to immunotherapy drugs, immune checkpoint inhibitors. ---------- Supply@ME Capital PLC - London-based financial technology platform - Receives a partial conversion notice from Mercator Capital Management Fund LP in relation to GBP500,000 convertible loan notes issued on February 2. Following receipt of the conversion notice, the notes are to be converted into 489.8 million shares at a conversion price of GBP0.0010. GBP178,333 of the notes will remain outstanding. ---------- Tintra PLC - London-based lottery and e-commerce product business - Reports delay in the sale of certain assets of Prize Provision Services Ltd, its lottery administration business, to Sterling Management Centre Ltd. Says it still expects to complete the transaction in a "timely" fashion and that a "non-binding tight timeline" has been established. Tintra adds that it will dissolve its wholly-owned subsidiary PPS Blockchain Ltd as it has "not progressed in any meaningful way". ---------- Various Eateries PLC - London-based restaurant operator - Says its wholly-owned subsidiary Various Eateries Trading Ltd has entered into agreement to reissue its second deep discounted bond with Friends Provident International Ltd. The redemption date extends to April 15, 2023 from April 15, 2022. The bond has a subscription amount of GBP9.5 million. ---------- Insig AI PLC - London-based machine learning company - Says that its wholly-owned subsidiary Insig Partners Ltd has entered into a long-term services agreement with CarVal Investors. The agreement is to launch a new line of high yield and investment grade environmental, social and governance scoring tools to optimise the company's portfolios. ---------- Macau Property Opportunities Fund - Guernsey-based investment company - Says the realisation of its assets have been negatively impacted by Covid-19. As a result, the company agrees a new investment management agreement of USD100,000 per month for 2022, effective from February 1, following an interim payment of USD99,000 in January. Agreement will expire on December 31 unless new arrangements are made. ---------- Alkemy Capital Investments PLC - London-based company focused on acquisition in mining and technology metals sectors - Enters an exclusivity agreement with Sembcrop Utilities Ltd to enter into a lease over a brownfields site at Wilton International, a chemical engineering park, on which it intends to construct a lithium hydroxide processing facility. Forms a wholly-owned subsidiary company, Tees Valley Lithium Ltd, to pursue this. The processing facility will aim to produce 24,000 tonnes per year of lithium hydroxide monohydrate. The entry into the exclusivity agreement and incorporation of a subsidiary constitutes a reverse takeover transaction therefore the Financial Conduct Authority has suspended the company's listing. ---------- Good Energy Group PLC - London-based renewable energy supplier - Receives deferred consideration in relation to its disposal of its 47.5 megawatt renewable generation asset portfolio. The company has now received GBP20.7 million to date. A final total consideration of GBP21.2 million is expected by June 30. ---------- SimiGon Ltd - Israel-based software company - In the process of preparing an application requesting cancellation of the ex parte temporary restraining order made against it and adds it intends to defend the lawsuit made against it. The lawsuit was made by Gal Erez, a 4% shareholder in the company, requesting the removal of alleged minority shareholders oppression. Erez submitted an application for a restraining order in order to prevent the cancellation of the admission of the company's shares to trading on the AIM Market. On February 21, the court issued an ex parte temporary restraining order with respect to the cancellation. ---------- Bank of Georgia Group PLC - London-based bank operating in Georgia - Says Gemsstock Ltd, an entity associated with Director Alasdair Breach, bought 18,251 shares at an average price of GBP14.06 for GBP256,618 on Tuesday. The same person bought 39,386 shares at an average price of GBP14.84 for GBP584,637 on Wednesday. Transactions total GBP841,255. ---------- By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - The UK will "imminently" level personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Boris Johnson has announced. The prime minister told Nato leaders in a virtual meeting on Friday that the UK would echo measures announced by the EU to target the Russian leader. Referring to Putin's wish to recover territory which previously fell under the USSR, he said Russia was "engaging in a revanchist mission to overturn post-Cold War order". Johnson told allies "the UK would introduce sanctions against President Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov imminently, on top of the sanctions package the UK announced yesterday", according to a No 10 spokesman. "He warned the group that the Russian president's ambitions might not stop there and that this was a Euro-Atlantic crisis with global consequences," he said. Johnson also used the meeting to urge "immediate action" over the banning of Russia from the Swift payment system to "inflict maximum pain" on the Kremlin. By Geraldine Scott, PA Political Correspondent source: PA Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Manchester, VT (05254) Today Periods of rain. High 53F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 43F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Did you know ... Mary McLeod Bethune is applauded for her work in education, civil rights and womens rights. She saw a need and began immediately to fill that need. She was born in 1875, near Mayesville, South Carolina. She was the first in her family not born into slavery. She was the 15th of 17 children. Bethune is noted for being the founder of many schools and organizations. She strongly believed that education was the way for Blacks to gain equality. After failing to get a missionary job in Africa, Bethune went to Florida to live. She founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Institute for young Black women. She started with just five students and her son, Albert Jr. and only $1.50. After two years, the school grew to 250 students. That facility grew into what is today known as Bethune-Cookman College. Her desire to improve the lives of Black people continued and in 1924, she became president of the National Association of Colored Women. By 1935, she had established the National Council of Negro Women (NCW). This organization was an influential group with a civil rights agenda. Mary McLeod Bethune became quite concerned about the health and lack of medical treatment for Afro Americans, therefore, founded the Mary McLeod Hospital and Training School for Nurses. In 1936, she was appointed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the National Youth Administration (NYA). By 1939, she was the director of Negro Affairs which oversaw the training of thousands of Black youths. She was the only female member on Roosevelts Black Cabinet. She had a dynamic friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, which allowed her to lobby for integrating the Civilian Pilot Training Program and to bring the program to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This effort led to graduating some of the first Black pilots in the country. She worked tirelessly lobbying to help young people get jobs during the Great Depression and the war effort. She worked to get Afro Americans into decision making positions in many organizations. Her civil rights work helped to integrate the Red Cross. In 1951, she served on President Trumans Committee of 12 for national defense. Bethune received an honorary doctorate from Rollins College. She died of a heart attack in her home in 1955. However, in 1974, a statue was erected in her honor in Washington, D.C., the first in the capital to portray either a woman or an Afro American. Also, in 2021, she became the first African American to represent a state in the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capital. The Afro American community owes so much to Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune for being a stalwart supporter for Civil Rights and for improving the living conditions of African Americans. Whilst sporting bodies continue to try and find the best response to the conflict in Ukraine, some individual athletes are speaking out on their own, with Sebastian Vettel confirming that he will not race in Russia. Vettel spoke of his shock at the overnight developments, as well as urging Formula 1 to take the Russian GP off the calendar. "In my personal opinion, obviously I woke up again after this morning's news, shocked, I think it's horrible to see what is happening," Vettel explained in an interview at winter testing in Barcelona. "Obviously, if you look at the calendar, we have a race scheduled in Russia. "For myself, my own opinion is I should not go, I will not go, I think it's wrong to race in that country, I'm sorry for the people, innocent people who are losing their lives, getting killed for stupid reasons under a very strange and mad leadership." Formula 1 have still yet to make a decision on what will happen to the Sochi Grand Prix that is planned for September 25, merely suggesting they were monitoring the situation. "F1 is closely following developments around the Russian GP, as it is at other events, and at this time we have nothing to comment on the race scheduled for September," an F1 statement read. Russia does have a presence within the sport, with Nikita Mazepin, a Haas driver, being a Russian national, whilst the Haas team is also chiefly sponsored by Uralkali, a Russian fertiliser company. The team announced on Thursday evening that their livery will be blank white for Friday morning, with all Russian colours and Uralkali logos being removed. Former US President Donald Trump once again makes a controversial statement, this time praising Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticizing current US President Joe Biden's response to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, hours before the Russian military intervention in the neighboring country began. "In my administration this would not have happened," Trump said last night in an interview with journalist Laura Ingraham on Fox News as the invasion was unfolding During his presidency, Trump made it clear that he professes a marked admiration for Vladimir Putin, and now he has made it clear again. His former secretary of state, former CIA director, and possible 2024 presidential candidate, Mike Pompeo, has done the same, calling Putin a "highly talented statesman." However, the former Republican president described the operation launched against Ukraine as "terrible". "It's a very sad thing for the world, for the country, and it's certainly very sad for a lot of people who are going to be killed unnecessarily," he added. Trump's US - Mexico comments Trump has also made some comments exploring the possibility of the United States doing the same on its border, which seems to indicate that he thinks the idea of invading Mexico seems interesting to him. In fact, his former adviser on defense matters, and nominated for ambassador to Germany -although it was not ratified by the Senate, Douglas Macgregor-, had already proposed shooting illegal immigrants in the US without trial. He made his intentions clear in a radio interview on Tuesday, just hours after Russia invaded Ukraine. "I saw it yesterday on TV, and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares that a large portion of Ukraine is independent. It's wonderful. in the peacekeeping force. It is the most powerful peacekeeping force. We could do that on our southern border," he said, referring to Mexico. The former president continued his explanation by offering more details: "It is the most powerful peacekeeping force I have ever seen. I have never seen so many tanks." DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian information, communication and technology (ICT) authorities on Friday urged police to intensify the fight against cyber attacks. "Police should learn on the best ways of fighting cyber attacks for the security of the country," said Jim Yonazi, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology. Yonazi made the call when he opened a meeting in the capital, Dodoma, on cyber security attended by police officers and a committee of experts dealing with cyber attacks. Director of Criminal Investigations Camilius Wambura said cyber attacks are a threat not only to Tanzania but also across the globe. In July 2020, Tanzania's communications regulator issued an alert over cyber attacks, saying between 10 and 15 organizations based in the country had reported cases of such attacks. The American actor Sean Penn is currently in Ukraine to film a documentary about the invasion of the country by Russian troops, which started on Thursday. The meeting was reported on the Ukrainian presidential office's Facebook page. "The director came to Kyiv specifically to record all the events taking place in Ukraine as a documentary filmmaker and to tell the world the truth about Russia's invasion of our country," the official statement said. "Our country is grateful to him for such a show of courage and honesty." Meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskiy The presidency also reports that on Thursday the two-time Oscar winner visited the office of the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and attended a press conference by Iryna Vereshchuk, deputy prime minister and advisor to the office of the head of state. The 'Mystic River' star was talking to accredited journalists at the press conference and "with our military, he saw how we defend our country", explained the statement. "Sean Penn shows the courage that many others, including Western politicians, lack. "The more people who come to our country now, as true friends of Ukraine, who support the struggle for freedom, the sooner it will be possible to stop Russia's treacherous attack." The actor and director visited Ukraine in November 2021 for the first time to prepare this documentary, amid tensions between Ukraine and Russia, and this is not the first time he has been involved in humanitarian operations or given his opinion on political conflicts. Weather Alert ...FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON... * 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 Thursday afternoon. * IMPACTS...Excessive runoff will likely result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations, especially in areas that have already received heavy rainfall over the past few days. Several main-stem rivers could go into flood. A few locations could see significant flash flooding. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Multiple rounds of thunderstorms are expected today through Thursday afternoon with the potential for very heavy rainfall. Widespread 2 to 3 inches of rain is expected with locally higher amounts of 5 to 6 inches. The heavier rain will begin to shift east of far southeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas Thursday afternoon. - 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. && YAOUNDE, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Three workers of international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and two security guards were kidnapped in Cameroon's Far North region overnight, according to security and local sources. The three aid workers, nationals of Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Senegal, and the two guards were abducted by gunmen at their residence in Fotokol locality of the region. It was not clear who carried out the kidnapping, but militants of the Boko Haram terror group are known to be active in the region. A search and rescue operation is underway to secure the release of the hostages, an army official told Xinhua but asked not to be named. Boko Haram has increased attacks on civilians in the region since January, according to security reports. On Wednesday night, Boko Haram militants killed at least three people in the region's Ziler community, according to local officials. MOGADISHU, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Elite forces of the Somali National Army (SNA) on Friday killed 29 militants of al-Shabab in the southern region, a military official said. Special Gorgor Unit commander Mohamed Sheikh told Xinhua that the army foiled an attempted attack by the militants on the military base in Barire, a town about 60 km south of Mogadishu. "We killed 29 al-Shabab fighters here in Barire today after they attempted to attack us at our base," the commander said on the phone. "We thwarted the attack and pushed them back with heavy casualties." He said that one soldier was killed while three others sustained injuries during the operation. The operation came as al-Shabab intensified attacks on SNA and African Union military bases and key government installations in Mogadishu as well as other regions in south and central Somalia as the Horn of Africa country holds parliamentary elections. TUNIS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisian Ministry of Health on Friday announced measures that would ease the current COVID-19 restrictions in the light of the improved situation in the country. "From March 1, the reception capacity in open spaces will increase to 100 percent. As for closed spaces, this capacity will be 75 percent, with the obligation to present the COVID-19 vaccine passport," said a ministry statement. The ministry added that from April 1, the reception capacity in closed spaces will also be tolerated at 100 percent, with the presence of vaccine passport. "These decisions could be further rectified depending on the development of the pandemic situation in the country," it noted. For travellers from abroad, all arrivals aged above 18 will no longer be obliged to present a negative PCR test, if there is proof for full vaccination. Since the start of the national vaccination campaign on March 13, 2021, a total of 6,326,343 Tunisians have completed their COVID-19 vaccination, according to the health ministry. Photo taken on Feb. 20, 2022 shows students studying at the Asia Euro University in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The passion to learn Chinese is on the rise among Cambodians as the two countries have enjoyed close ties in diverse spheres even during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic.(Photo by Van Pov/Xinhua) PHNOM PENH, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The passion to learn Chinese is on the rise among Cambodians as the two countries have enjoyed close ties in diverse spheres even during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic. You Rong, a senior majoring in Chinese literature at the Asia Euro University (AEU) in Phnom Penh, said the huge influx of Chinese investors and tourists in recent years had motivated him to learn Chinese. "In Cambodia, the number of Chinese people and investors have increased from year to year, and more importantly they always need Chinese-speaking persons to be their assistants or interpreters," he told Xinhua, saying the language had enabled him to get a decent job. The 23-year-old student, who currently works as a storekeeper for the Chinese delivery app E-GetS, said Chinese proficiency is essential for him to communicate with Chinese colleagues. "With Chinese, it will be easy to communicate with them or to do business with them," he said. "I think there is a vast job market for Chinese translators and it will be possible for them to earn a good income to support their families," he said. Nem Sreang, a sophomore student in the major of Chinese literature, said a lot of Chinese people are coming to Cambodia for investments and holidays, offering the opportunities for lucrative jobs. "Chinese language is widely used. No matter it's in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam or other countries, there are always Chinese people there for investments," she told Xinhua. The 21-year-old student said her Chinese proficiency has well improved since all lecturers at the Department of Chinese Language at the AEU are native speakers. "When I graduate, my goal is to run a private school offering Chinese and English languages as well as computer courses," Sreang said. Junior student Lim Meavleng, who has learned Chinese since her childhood, said she wants to work as an interpreter after graduation so that she can introduce the tourist attractions and history of Cambodia to Chinese people. "What motivated me to study Chinese is that I want to understand the history of China and the daily lives of Chinese people," 20-year-old Meavleng said. "If I have a chance to visit China, I want to go to Wanli Changcheng (the Great Wall of China) because when Chinese people come (to Cambodia), they always say the site is magnificent." "Chinese language not only gives me the platform to communicate with Chinese people but also opens a door to a plethora of opportunities," said 24-year-old Kong Tifong, who dreams of pursuing his Master's degree in east China's Shanghai. "After graduation, I want to be an international relations specialist because this kind of job will give me an opportunity to communicate internationally and to improve my public relations skills," he said. He said close relations between China and Cambodia in politics, economics, trade, investment, tourism and culture have prompted Cambodians to learn Chinese. Gan Min, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC), said learning Chinese is very popular in the Southeast Asian nation when nearly 100,000 students had registered to study at the institute in the past 12 years during the pre-pandemic era. She said the teaching sites of the Confucius Institute of the RAC are available in six Cambodian provinces and cities, with two Confucius classrooms, 19 Chinese language centers, and two university Chinese departments. She said the AEU is one of a few universities in Cambodia providing Chinese language programs at degree levels with the support from the Confucius Institute of the RAC and the Chinese Embassy to Cambodia. Gan added that the university has been well equipped with digital equipment, so during the pandemic, students still can learn online with Chinese native lecturers. "We hope that the pandemic will be over soon, so we can return to in-person classes again," she said. Screenshot shows students majoring in Chinese literature at the Asia Euro University taking part in a Spring Festival couplet collection activity on Jan. 29, 2022 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The passion to learn Chinese is on the rise among Cambodians as the two countries have enjoyed close ties in diverse spheres even during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic.(Confucius Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia/Handout via Xinhua) PHILADELPHIA Feb. 24, 2022 Maurizio Cereda University of Pennsylvania Reduced risk of intubation, a medical procedure with higher mortality rates which requires placing patients in a medically induced coma Increased patient tolerance over traditional interfaces such as masks or nasal cannulas Therapeutic use longer than any of the above therapies A simple interface that is easy to operate A semi-enclosed environment that helps protect staff and patients from the exchange of contagious aerosolized particles Milan Italy August 2020 Whitney Bain Raymond and Ruth Perelman School University of Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania $8.9 billion Whitney Bain /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A doctor who has treated hundreds of patients for respiratory distress over the last 30 years has found that an innovative device new to the U.S. offers an improved experience for patients and doctors alike.Dr., Anesthesiologist, Critical Care Physician, and CCM Fellowship Director at the Hospital of the, has been using the StarMed CaStar R Hood since August of 2020 and estimates he has treated 50 75 COVID-19 patients who were struggling to breathe."To me, it's a no brainer," Dr. Cereda said. "It's a better interface, it's better tolerated, and it's safer than everything else that is considered standard. Why not use it?"Traditional interfaces such as CPAP and NIV masks, used for treating patients suffering from acute respiratory distress caused by COVID-19, the flu, and other pulmonary disorders, often create intolerable side-effects including infection, lesions, and tissue breakdown. The StarMed CaStar R Hood, manufactured by leading respiratory device manufacturer Intersurgical, is an alternative interface that helps reduce and even eliminate many of these side effects, resulting in a more comfortable and better tolerated treatment.According to Dr. Cereda, the StarMed Hood's most notable benefits include:Dr. Cereda reports that his patients have also had positive things to say about the StarMed Hood. He has already ordered additional hoods and believes more hospitals should be utilizing the device. Dr. Cereda says the biggest impediment to treating more patients with the StarMed Hood is simply convincing patients and staff to try a new interface."People need to be willing to learn and determined to try instead of defaulting to methods they already know," he said. "It can be difficult to introduce a new device like this, but ultimately it's better for our patients, and that's what's most important."Dr. Cereda first discovered the hood concept while completing his residency at the University ofinduring the 1990s. When the FDA issued Intersurgical an Emergency Use Authorization for the StarMed Hood in the U.S. in, Dr. Cereda was finally able to start using the device to treat his patients at UPenn."We jumped on it right away," Dr. Cereda said. "It's such a simple interface that anyone can use, and it's a great system because all you need is a gas source, so you can use it in many different circumstances."Dr. Cereda is available to comment on how the StarMed Hood has helped him treat dozens of respiratory distress patients, and why hospitals should take note. To arrange an interview, please contactat whitney@redbanyan.com.About Intersurgical Intersurgical is a global designer, manufacturer, and supplier of high-quality medical devices for respiratory support. For more than 30 years, Intersurgical has provided innovative healthcare solutions in the U.S., developing products from conception to completion and adhering to the highest industry standards. Known for revolutionary products in the medical community, most notably i-gel, an innovative airway management device, Intersurgical provides a range of respiratory product solutions for patients and clinicians, offering quality, innovation and choice in respiratory care.About Penn Medicine Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of theof Medicine at the(founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and theHealth System, which together form aenterprise., Intersurgical, 9543792115, whitney@redbanyan.comSOURCE Intersurgical Advertisement "We need a human-centered, green recovery that puts people first," said the UN Chief."Putting people first means achieving universal social protection, the best line of defense against shocks of all kinds and critical to a just transition."Guterres commended the ILO for convening the forum, which comes at a crucial time for countries, economies, families and workers.In the wake of the pandemic, poverty is rising, inequalities are widening, and household income is declining, while billionaires' profits are soaring, he said.The Secretary-General added that the situation is worse for women, as they face rising unemployment and shoulder most of the burden for care.Many women will be unable to re-enter the workforce without "robust" safety nets and decent job opportunities, he said.Meanwhile, vaccine inequity persists, meaning that richer countries are preparing for recovery as many low-income nations face spiraling debt as well as a massive and enduring jobs deficit.Additionally, the Secretary-General emphasized the pressing need for climate action, recalling that countries are "dramatically off-target" when it comes to limiting global warming.He said that putting people first means renewing the social contract and making massive investments in their future well-being.Among the key topics of discussion at the forum are the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for a Just Transition, which the UN Chief launched in September 2021.The goal is to create at least 400 million jobs, especially in the "green" and care sectors, and to extend social protection to nearly 4 billion people who currently are without coverage.Guterres urged countries to act now to achieve a just recovery, stating that the balance between a global breakthrough and a global breakdown depends on choices made today.Source: IANS It started with late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was probably one of the first television actors to break the mold and make a space for himself in the Bollywood industry, and now, following his lead are several others who are finally ascending to the silver screen. One would think that the transition from small screen to the silver screen wouldnt be all that difficult, after all, theyre all actors at the end of the day. But youd be wrong. A lot of struggle, proving your mettle and luck goes into entering the B-town, and with this new wave of OTT platforms and cinema, here is a list of all the TV actors who are set to make their Bollywood debuts . 1) Shantanu Maheshwari The actor started off his career with Dil Dosti Dance, a dance-drama show and slowly started getting featured on shows like Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, Dil Dosti Dance and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. During one of these shows, Alia Bhatt appeared as a guest judge and even ended up complementing Shantanu. And now, years laters, the actor will be seen in the film Gangubai as Ramnik Lal. 2) Avneet Kaur The actress who took part in reality shows like Dance India Dance Li'l Masters, Ek Mutthi Aasmaan and Aladdin - Naam Toh Suna Hoga, will be seen making her debut in Bollywood alongside actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the film Tiku Weds Sheru. This movie will also mark Kangana Ranauts debut as a producer in the industry. 3) Laksh Lalwani A TV actor who was popularly known for his role in shows like Porus and Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil, has gotten a big break with Dharma Productions, for he will be seen in the second and much anticipated installment of the film Dostana 2. 4) Rubina Dilaik Donning roles of an ideal bahu in shows like Choti Bahu and Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki, Rubina has been in the news for quite some time. Especially after she also appeared in Bigg Boss 14. Now, the actress is set to enter Bollywood with filmmaker Palash Muchhal in the film Ardh. 5) Parth Samthaan After having made a name for himself in the TV industry, actor Parth Samthaan is ready to take his talent to the next level as he gears up for his Bollywood debut. The Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya star will be seen marking his B-town debut with the film Ghudchadi, also starring Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon. 13 Ukrainian soldiers were stationed on the Snake island in the Black Sea, when they were cornered by Russian warships, being asked to surrender to avoid any bloodshed. At that time and stage, when you know there is no escape for you, life leaves little choice for you to make. Either you lay down your weapons and accept your defeat, or you stand tall until the last breath and fight till you cant anymore. last words for some incredibly brave ukrainians pic.twitter.com/cRYCzGRQtB ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) February 25, 2022 However, these handful of Ukrainian soldiers found a third way, and that was not just to stand their ground, but also to give the Russian invaders, a piece of their mind by asking them to go f**k themselves, to be precise. An audio tape of an exchange between Ukrainian soldiers stationed at an island in the Black Sea and an officer from the Russian Navy has surfaced. It takes us through a brief conversation between the two parties, where the Russian officer can be heard asking Ukrainian soldiers to surrender. Godspeed brave souls. Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity. Nelson Mandela Big Time (@real_CraigT) February 25, 2022 This is a Russian military warship, a voice on the clip said, as reported by CNN. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise you will be bombed. In response, the Ukrainians decided to stay completely honest in their skin as they said, Russian warship, go fuck yourself. Soon after it was reported that all 13 soldiers stationed at the Zmiinyi Island in the Black Sea were killed. But something had lived on, and it was their fearless last memory. Russia is just killing it's Slavic brothers and sisters, I seriously doubt the Russian forces feel good about this - they will feel a deep shame. Putin has blood on his hands which cannot be washed off. GooRee (@GooRee) February 24, 2022 They were all killed Original video link https://t.co/Q0AuO1pXIe Abhishek Saxena (@tagabhishek) February 24, 2022 You can see the Russian warship and the lighthouse in the soldiers video. pic.twitter.com/I6lESVba1g Bryce Hamilton (@brycehamilton) February 24, 2022 The clip has made several rounds on the internet with people dropping comments like, last words for some incredibly brave ukrainians, while another one wrote, Legends never die." One of the soldiers who died. A 23 year old with a lot to live and a "normal life". He did a live stream during the bombings. pic.twitter.com/GwDF8zCkZb jr.maciel (@jrmaciel4) February 25, 2022 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky also acknowledged the heroic moment. "On our Zmiinyi Island, defending it to the last, all the border guards died heroically. But did not give up. All of them will be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. He further said, May the memory of those who gave their lives for Ukraine live forever. A Memorial Service of Christian Burial will begin at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 7, 2022, at Robert Barham Family Funeral Home Chapel. Robert Barham Family Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with the arrangements. Mrs. Cobb, 68, of Meridian, passed away Sunday, May 1, 2022, at Bedford Care Ce SYDNEY, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Scientists from Australia's Queensland Museum have re-described a species of bright blue octocorals or "soft coral" found in the Australian state of Queensland. The finding published in the Zootaxa journal on Friday showed that the species, which was previously thought to belong to a species found in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, was in fact unique to Queensland. "This particular Sunshine Coast octocoral, was previously known as Sansibia, but upon further examination, we found it to be a new species," said Queensland Museum Collection Manager of Sessile Marine Invertebrates Merrick Ekins. He started observing the variety under an electron microscope after noticing it in the north of Queensland's capital Brisbane, which has prompted him to run its DNA sequence. "I decided to name this species 'opalia' as the color resembles the inner fire you see in opals and it's so beautiful." Opalia is an octocoral that belongs to a group of 9,000 living marine species called cnidarians, which includes corals, jellyfish, sea anemones, octocorals, sea pens, sea whips and sea fans among others. Octocorals get their names due to the fact they have eight-branched tentacles and unlike other "hard corals," which have just six tentacles and are non-reef-building or do not contribute to the build-up of reef bodies. Despite its presence in Australia for more than 100 years, Ekins told Xinhua it was the first time anyone had stopped to question its true origin. "Whenever someone says, this is worldwide distributed. I'm always a bit (skeptical). That's a reason why we've got to get back to this historical stuff ... go out to their original location it was described from and try and get a fresh sample." He added that identifying new species was an important part of conservation as it put a spotlight on the uniqueness of all ecosystems. "We must be losing so many species that we just don't even know about, because we haven't looked at them." If youve ever wanted to be part of a search-and-rescue team or a weather spotter, the Daviess County Emergency Management Agency has some opportunities for you. John Clouse, the agencys deputy director, said a search-and-rescue class is coming up from 5 to 9 p.m. on March 4 and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 5. And an Elite Weather Spotter class is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 18 at Owensboro Christian Church. Clouse said search-and-rescue team members have to be certified by the state, and certification requires several classes. We try to host the basic class here twice a year, he said. Clouse said the county has four teams a K-9 unit, a ground search team, a man-tracking unit and a command post with 30 members. We always need more members, he said. In 2016, Clouse said, the teams were called out 40 times during the year. But searches usually average about 15 to 20 a year, he said. Weve already had half a dozen this year, Clouse said. And its still February. For more information and to register, go to https://kyem.ky.gov/training/Pages/default.aspx and scroll down into March and find Daviess County. Clouse said that a lot of people are interested in the weather, especially when it turns severe. The local EMA had a basic class for weather spotters recently, he said. Clouse said it would be good if those who attend the elite class have had the basic class, but its not mandatory. Meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Paducah will conduct the class, he said. Were the only location for all of western Kentucky, Clouse said. Weather spotters are primarily activated during times of severe weather thunderstorms and potential tornadoes, he said. To register, go to www.weather.gov/pah/spottertraining and scroll down to Registration is REQUIRED to attend on site classes: Please fill out this google form to register for ANY of the classes listed below and click on the words goggle form. People can also call 270-685-8448 for more information. Keith Lawrence, 270-691-7301, klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com. Kentucky has received more than $300 million in federal funding to help support Kentuckys drug prevention, treatment and enforcement efforts as part of the federal American Rescue Plan. U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell visited Jefferson and Warren counties Thursday to host a Drug Czar roundtable discussion with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta, as well as federal, state and local officials, experts and law enforcement in an effort to combat the opioid and substance use epidemic in the state and country and to discuss how best to use the funds. According to Gupta, the goal is to expand access to substance use treatment. The opioid epidemic, he said, is plaguing Americans and is being driven by the distribution of fentanyl. Its an historic moment, because weve now had over 100,000 Americans pass away in any 12-month period, he said. That means an American is perishing every five minutes around the clock and fentanyl ... is driving the majority of these deaths. There are four tiers, he said, that should be a priority in order to combat the opioid epidemic, including creating better access to Naloxone, which treats narcotic overdoses in emergency situations. Additionally, he said there needs to be modern approaches to the problems, better access to treatment and an effort to dismantle the financial systems upholding criminal drug activity in Kentucky and the United States. Tommy Loving, executive director for the Warren County Drug Task Force, said the amount of fentanyl seized in the past year has tripled, and the number of overdose deaths doubled in the area. The biggest priority, Gupta said, should be expansion of treatment services and ensuring more people have access, as well as ensuring elicit finance networks that continue to plague our system and victimize Americans do not exist any longer, and we do everything we can to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations. We have to work towards expanding our treatment systems across Kentucky and across the nation. And were happy to see that theres about $4 billion from the American Rescue Plan that is coming through the states ... in order to do that. Additionally, McConnell commented on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, noting that he had just had a briefing with President Joe Biden and others on what is happening and the best approach moving forward. McConnell said that although he could not share details of that conversation, his advice to the president remains the same, publicly and privately, which is to increase sanctions and provide Ukraine with whatever they need to fight the invasion, if that is what it chooses to do. We have a war in Europe for the first time since World War II, he said. Assuming theres an insurgency and Ukraine is willing to fight, we need to give them the tools to fight with. We need to do everything we can to make this Russian incursion painful for the Russians who are engaged in it. Im hopeful thats the path the president will take. Christie Netherton, cnetherton@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7360 Thank you for subscribing! By signing up to this free newsletter you agree to receive occasional emails from us informing you about our products and services. You can opt out of these emails at any time. SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Friday approved returning to South Korea part of the land of its military bases in and around the capital Seoul, according to the South Korean foreign ministry. The land return was approved at a telephone conference held between representatives on the two sides of the joint committee of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which governs the legal status of about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed here. The returned swaths of land include around 165,000 square meters of land inside the 500,000-square-meter Yongsan Garrison of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) in central Seoul, and the site of Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu, some 20 km north of Seoul, as well as a water detention basin of Camp Stanley in the same city. A joint statement said the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to work closely together to complete the return of a considerable portion of the Yongsan Garrison by early this year. The land return is part of a broad relocation plan to consolidate U.S. military bases here into a garrison in Pyeongtaek, about 70 km south of Seoul, and another in Daegu, some 300 km southeast of the capital. We're sorry, but we're unable to locate the page you requested. The page may have been removed, renamed, or deleted. You can try searching for the topic using the search button in the right hand corner above. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 25, 2022 Contact: press@michigan.gov Gov. Whitmer Proclaims Feb. 21-25 Public Schools Week in Michigan After Proposing Historic Education Budget LANSING, Mich. - Governor Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed February 21-25 as Public Schools Week in Michigan and reiterated her commitment to making historic investments in K-12 education so students can succeed. "Every kid has a birthright to a phenomenal public education in a safe school where they can learn and grow," said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. "I'm proud of the historic investments we have made in Michigan's public schools without raising taxes. We should build on these efforts to put Michigan students first this year with another budget making the highest per-student funding ever, retaining and recruiting thousands more teachers and staff, and investing $1 billion in school construction and renovation." "Public Schools Week is a great occasion to reflect on the important role that our local schools play in our communities, as well as the importance of supporting our students, families, teachers and education support professionals - especially during these stressful times," said Paula Herbart, president of the Michigan Education Association and a veteran teacher in Macomb County. "I hope we can all come together as a state, put aside any differences, and work shoulder-to-shoulder to strengthen our public schools and provide every Michigan child the opportunity to succeed." Education Investments in the Governor's proposed FY 2023 Budget: $18.4 billion investment in education-the most in Michigan history. Highest ever per-student funding-$9,135 for every kid in every district to improve their classroom experience. More personalized learning, new textbooks and equipment, smaller class sizes, and more extracurriculars, AP, and honors classes. A $2,000 bonus for every school employee-teacher, aides, parapros, custodians, administration, bus drivers, cafeteria workers-this fall and another $2,000 bonus for staff that come back to their district in 2023. $11,000 in total bonuses for teachers and certified school staff including school social workers and nurses who stick with their districts for four years. $1 billion for school construction and renovations. Funds to improve air and water quality and build or refurbish classrooms, cafeterias, gyms, and more. Resources to improve classrooms for students to learn math, science, computer science, and technology. Grants to make schools safer for students and staff in the classroom. Enhanced support for special education, economically disadvantaged students, rural districts, and English language learners. Growing career and technical education to put more young Michiganders on paths to good-paying jobs. Free preschool under the Great Start Readiness Program for all eligible 4-year-olds Resources to hire and train 10,000 new teachers, hundreds of on-campus mental health professionals. Open 40 school-based health clinics to serve 20,000 students. In July 2021, Governor Whitmer signed the School Aid budget into law which included $723 million to eliminate the gap between the minimum and maximum foundation allowance by setting both at $8,700 per pupil, an increase of $589 per pupil from the current year minimum amount and an increase of $171 per pupil from the current year target amount. In addition, intermediate school districts receive a 4% operational funding increase. In December 2021, the Michigan Legislature passed a supplemental bill that invests nearly $1 billion in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan into Michigan's families, communities, and small businesses.?The investments made to schools include $150 million for COVID school testing to keep kids safe and learning in-person and $10 million to support teacher recruitment, training, development, and retention. This month, the Michigan Legislature passed a $1.2 billion supplemental bill investing federal resources to keep kids learning in-person and in Michigan's long-term health care work force. View the full proclamation here. # # # BIG RAPIDS The Big Rapids Middle Schools drama departments latest musical production is hitting the stage. The middle school theatre program is bringing the High School Musical Jr. musical, based on the Disney Channel movie and adapted by Bryan Louiselle, to the stage. The play features characters and songs from the 2006 romance flick. The musical follows Troy Bolton (Cole Haist) and Gabriella Montez (Kam Lowery-Sumlin) as the two teens sing their way through the trials and tribulations of high school love and friendship. Devann Hattis, the musicals director, said the story has been a unique production to put on. There are a few little changes that just make it more accessible to a middle school crowd, Hattis said. It also caters to middle school voices, but otherwise its the same story that people know. Well watch Gabriella and Troy try to figure out if they stick to the status quo of what theyre pegged as being, or will they be themselves and do something theyve never done before. Rehearsals have been going well for the most part, she added. We have a great group of kids, a great mix of people who have been doing this for a while and some who are trying it for the first time. Theyre just living out the message of this, that you dont have to choose and you can do all of these things if you want to try them. Hattis explained that the set took around 32 hours over a weekend and a few days to build, paint and finish. Working and perfecting with the sound pieces, lighting, and blocking for the performance has been the focus for the cast and crew the last few weeks. The play involved set building and lines as well as requiring students to learn songs and choreography over a number of months. Amy Schroeder, head choreographer for the production, said working with students has been enjoyable. We started teaching the kids the dances right away during the first rehearsal we had, Schroeder said. We had to practice often and do a lot of reviewing, but it doesnt take me very long to choreograph because Ive been doing it for years. It doesnt take me a lot of time to make it up, but it does take a while to teach them and work through when we have people absent or sick. Its a lot of personal time with the dancing specifically, especially if its singing and dancing together. Thats the hardest part. Its a lot of coordination, so it helps that Im also a singing teacher, she added. I can kind of help them put both together. The Were All In This Together scene will have the original dancing and singing as the movie, and its adapted for this show a bit but for the most part, its the classic dance. Its iconic and youll see it in our show, which is fun. The show also includes characters Taylor McKessie (Abby Lundwall), Sharpay Evans (Layla Tucci), Ryan Evans (Jude Reger), and Zeke (Isaac Wilhelm). Alex Dubowski, deck chief for the production, works with students and handles technical duties backstage. Its been a learning curve for sure, especially adding the middle schoolers in, Dubowski said. After the first few days of getting in a quiet mindset, they got really good at it. Its been a lot of figuring out set design and movement which has been hard work. We have a teacher or parent at each side of the stage to keep noise levels down and students focused, which helps keep everyone focused and adds to us being able to make set changes faster and get everyone where they need to be for scene changes. The cast is comprised of over 60 middle school students in leading or background roles, and the stage scenes include complex lighting and mood-setting directorial choreography and music. Hattis said she is proud of the hard work students have put in. Were hoping to make it a really tight and well put together show, Hattis said. Ive been really proud and impressed with the work that our technical director has put in, especially considering theyre middle schoolers and theyre learning some of this as we go. Im hoping that people in attendance will take away the idea that you can try new things and it might just be something you love to do. Im a middle school teacher and I love this age group, she added. These kids are my favorite group to work with and weve had a lot of fun getting the show together. I think people will really enjoy seeing them shine. Tickets can be purchased at the door 1 hour prior to the show at $3 for students and $5 for adults. Stage performances are set for 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Big Rapids High School auditorium at 21175 15 Mile Road in Big Rapids. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate U.S. Congressmen Jack Bergman and John Moolenaar, and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow addressed Russia's attack and invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions in a move that could rewrite the world's geopolitical landscape. Ukraines government pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. President Vladimir Putin ignored global condemnation and cascading new sanctions as he unleashed the largest ground war in Europe in decades, and chillingly referred to his countrys nuclear arsenal. He threatened any country trying to interfere with consequences you have never seen. Bergman (MI-01) said the events unfolding in Urkraine are an "absolute tragedy and an act of war against the Ukrainian people." Putin is an out-of-touch bully dictator but he recognizes Americas weak presidential leadership," he said. "President Biden needs to step up, show strength and lead the world in a unified economic and diplomatic effort to isolate Russia through sanctions and providing the resources needed to protect allies in Ukraine and throughout Europe." European Union leaders have agreed to impose sanctions against Russia that will have massive and severe consequences. During an emergency summit Thursday to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, the 27 member countries' leaders approved punitive measures against Russias financial, energy and transport sectors and restrictions on exports and financing. They also added more Russian individuals to its earlier sanctions list. Moving in lockstep with other major allies, the U.S. imposed sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs and announced export controls aimed at starving Russias industries and military of U.S. semiconductors and other high-tech products. Biden, for now, held off imposing some of the most severe sanctions, including cutting Russia out of the SWIFT payment system, which allows for the transfers of money from bank to bank around the globe, or targeting Russias energy sector. Ukraine's president called for Russia to be cast out of SWIFT, but the the U.S. has expressed concern about the potential damage to European economies. Bergman, who currently represents Michigan's 1st District which includes Manistee County, offered his thoughts on how the U.S. should respond. Let me be clear, Ive fought in combat, Ive been responsible for Marines in combat, Ive talked to my Marines parents after their kids were killed in combat," said Bergman. "Those seeking to rush into boots-on-the-ground involvement in a centuries-old war between Russia and Ukraine are wrong and misguided. We must seek strong leadership and real diplomatic action to deter Putin and his cronies. Moolenaar (MI-04) announced his support Thursday for the NYET Act, which would impose severe sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin's government. It would sanction Russian financial banks, businesses and Russias Nord Stream 2 pipeline. In addition, the bill would ban the sale of U.S. made semiconductors to Russia and support weapons financing for Ukraine so it can buy additional arms to defend itself. Finally, the legislation would specifically boost funding for the State Departments efforts to counter Russian propaganda in eastern Europe. "We must impose severe sanctions on Russia as soon as possible, and the NYET Act will make that happen. I am supporting this legislation because it is a smart, targeted approach that will hurt Russian financial institutions and the powerful people who prop up Vladimir Putins government, said Moolenaar. It will also block U.S. exports of semiconductor chips to Russia. We need those chips here to support our economy and manufacturing. Finally, there are more than 39,000 Ukrainian-Americans in Michigan, and I am praying for them and their families. Putins invasion will cause massive destruction and endanger their loved ones. I stand ready to work across the aisle in Congress to pass sanctions on Russia and support Ukraine diplomatically during this dark hour. Moolenaar also made the following statement Monday about Russias attack on Ukraine: Vladimir Putin is attacking Ukraine to oppress the free people who live there and to take their country from them. The consequences for this invasion must be swift and I stand ready to support harsh sanctions on Putin and his officials for this attack. The Biden Administration must not be weak and it must act with determined resolve to enforce sanctions. Finally, it must do everything it can to get every American citizen out of harms way as quickly as possible. Stabenow, one of Michigan's two U.S. senators, issued a statement on Thursday condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I share the horror of the many Ukrainian-Americans in Michigan of this brutal, unprovoked, and unjustified attack by President Putin on the people of Ukraine. America will stand strong with all of our allies to do everything we can to protect their freedom and independence and save lives," Stabenow said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A new wind turbine project in Huron County has taken a step forward with one group approving documents concerning it. The Huron County Board of Commissioners approved decommissioning documents for a new phase of the Deerfield Wind Farm, with most of the project not on county-zoned land. The 21 turbines that are part of this project are located in Huron Township, which is self-zoned. The parts of this expansion on county-zoning land include an electrical substation on Redman Road, expanding an operations and maintenance site on Kinde Road, and electrical collection circuits going from the towers to substations. The documents include a decommissioning consent agreement, a permit performance surety bond, and a corporate guarantee, all from the wind farms parent company, the Oakville, Ontario-based Algonquin Power. The countys wind ordinance requires the parent company provide $1 million in decommissioning financial assurance per project, with Algonquin Power providing a $1 million permit performance bond and a $1 million corporate guarantee. Director of Building and Zoning Jeff Smith said the company has gone above and beyond the anticipated decommissioning costs, since the costs for the portion that falls under county zoning would cost $150,000. The county would have multiple forms of financial assurances to cover itself in the instance the operating company were to walk away from the project. Were hopeful that weve made them give us the full face value of decommissioning under the value of permit performance bond, Smith said. Smith said that the county is holding the parent companys feet to the fire, since the corporate guarantee is coming from the projects parent company, not a subsidiary. Keith Iseler, the Huron Township Planning Commission chairman, said the township is still waiting the final details for its decommissioning documentation, and it has made it clear those need to be in line before the final approval can move forward. As long as they provide evidence those items are taken care of, were done, Iseler said. The current Deerfield Wind Farm consists of 72 turbines spread across Bloomfield, Dwight, Huron, and Lincoln townships. It began operation in February 2017 and has a combined capacity of 151.2 MW. Algonquin Power plans the 21 new turbines to produce between 2.65 MW and 6 MW of power, be between 263 and 390 feet tall, and provide enough power for up to 100,000 homes. Algonquin Power spokespeople have previously stated that once they get all their project permits in place by the first quarter of 2022, construction can begin by the end of that quarter, with operations planned to start by the end of the third quarter 2022. Iseler added the start date also depends on when the countys weight restrictions on roads are lifted. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Congressman John Moolenaar and U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters addressed Russia's attack and invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. Moolenaar announced his support Thursday for the NYET Act, which would impose severe sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin's government. It would sanction Russian financial banks, businesses and Russias Nord Stream 2 pipeline. In addition, the bill would ban the sale of U.S. made semiconductors to Russia and support weapons financing for Ukraine so it can buy additional arms to defend itself. Finally, the legislation would specifically boost funding for the State Departments efforts to counter Russian propaganda in eastern Europe. "We must impose severe sanctions on Russia as soon as possible, and the NYET Act will make that happen. I am supporting this legislation because it is a smart, targeted approach that will hurt Russian financial institutions and the powerful people who prop up Vladimir Putins government, said Moolenaar. It will also block U.S. exports of semiconductor chips to Russia. We need those chips here to support our economy and manufacturing. "Finally, there are more than 39,000 Ukrainian-Americans in Michigan, and I am praying for them and their families. Putins invasion will cause massive destruction and endanger their loved ones. I stand ready to work across the aisle in Congress to pass sanctions on Russia and support Ukraine diplomatically during this dark hour. More information on the Never Yielding Europe's Territories (NYET) Act can be found here. Michigan's two U.S. senators also issued statements Thursday, condemning Russia and calling for sanctions, as well as supporting the Ukrainian people. Sen. Gary Peters called the invasion "an appalling and illegal assault on a sovereign nation and democracy itself." "This is a dark and dangerous moment," he said. "The U.S. and our European allies must send Putin an unmistakable message by swiftly enacting crippling sanctions to hold Russia accountable." Sen. Debbie Stabenow echoed support for the Ukrainian people. I share the horror of the many Ukrainian-Americans in Michigan of this brutal, unprovoked, and unjustified attack by President Putin on the people of Ukraine. America will stand strong with all of our allies to do everything we can to protect their freedom and independence and save lives," she said. After President Joe Biden announced he was authorizing additional sanctions and limitations for Russia, she tweeted her support. "President Putin must face severe consequences," she tweeted. BIG RAPIDS Officers with the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety responded to the following calls. All calls may not be reported. Officers received a call for assist in the 1000 block of South State Street. Caller reported a small truck had been tailgating her while she was on her way into town. It was determined all violations occurred in the county. Report forwarded to Mecosta County Sheriffs Office. A report of harassment was made in the 200 block of South Michigan Avenue. Complainant advised that her employer is receiving texts about her past from an unknown subject. Case is under investigation. A report of a property damage accident was made near Pine Street and Mitchell Court. Tuesday, Feb. 22 An arrest warrant was executed in the 300 block of Morrison Street. Male was arrested for outstanding warrants along with other violations of the Controlled Substance Act. A juvenile call was taken in the 400 block of South Third Avenue. Mother called because her children were fighting with one another. A civil issue was reported in the 300 block of Morrison. A noise complaint about loud music was reported in the 400 block Hutchinson Street. A suspicious situation was reported in the 1300 block of Catherine Street. Complainant reported a black male was on his back patio and left when he told the male he had a gun. The male never spoke or attempted to make entry. Officers were unable to locate the male, and the case is under investigation. Wednesday, Feb. 23 Officers picked up a prisoner from Missaukee County. A traffic stop near Spring and State led to driver being cited for improper plate. The vehicle was taken to Curries. A report of fraud was made in the 1800 block of Milton. Complainant was convinced to deposit a fake check and purchase gift cards. A request for a well-being check was made. A female called a cab company asking for a ride, stating that a male kicked her out of the apartment with no shoes or coat. Both said the argument was verbal only, and female walked out of the apartment with no shoes on her own. Thursday, Feb. 24 A traffic stop near State and Sanborn led to driver being cited for no ops. A traffic stop near Ives and Campus led to driver being cited for a minor in possession of marijuana. Officers were called to possible domestic assault between male and female in 500 block of South Michigan. Male struck female when he was woken up to take care of the baby. Both stated physical contact was not intentional as male was startled when he woke up. A report of fraud was taken at the Big Rapid Department of Public Safety. Female sent $300 in iTunes gift cards to someone claiming to be her pastor. A traffic stop at North State and Bellvue streets led to the arrest of passenger for an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for not paying fines. Driver also was cited for no insurance and for a minor in possession of marijuana. Vehicle removed by BR Tow. A report of threats was made in the 300 block of North Warren. Threats were made via telephone to resident after male was trespassed. Male was warned about further contact may result in charges. Seven vehicles were towed for parking on the street after 2 a.m. Vehicles were removed so the Department of Public Works trucks could plow snow. SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Police in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir Friday said two militants were killed in a gunfight with government forces in the region. The gunfight broke out at village Amshipora in Shopian district, about 56 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Today contingents of police, paramilitary and army cordoned off Amshipora village here. The moment they reached the suspected area, militants fired upon them, triggering a gunfight. In the exchange of the fire, two militants were killed," a police official said. The operation was launched on a specific intelligence suggesting the presence of militants, the police said, adding that the government forces have not suffered any damage during their fight with the holed-up militants. According to the police, the identities of the slain militants were being ascertained. Last week two troopers and a militant were killed in a similar gunfight at village Zainapora of the district. A guerilla war has been going on between militants and the Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Stephanie Brining may have had to use new ways to teach her students, but working to make that personal connection with students never changes. The fourth-grade teacher has been with North Huron Schools for the past 11 years, having been teaching for the past 17 years. Looking back on her childhood, Brining would be the student who wanted to write on the chalkboard, run errands for her teacher, and help correct papers. Being a teacher was something she always saw herself doing. I knew I wanted to be with elementary kids because I love to babysit, and I worked at daycare centers, Brining said. Being around children was always natural for me. I wanted to make a difference in kids lives. A Bad Axe native and graduate of Bad Axe Public Schools, Brining went to Grand Valley State University for her undergraduate degree and to Marygrove College for her masters degree. She first taught in Crown Point, Indiana, near the Gary metro area, for two years because her husband got a job out there. After moving back to the area, she taught at Bad Axe schools for four years before coming to North Huron. This is the first year in eight years Ive been teaching every subject area, Brining said, having mainly taught writing and social studies in the past. Its been a shift in mindset for me knowing I can teach every subject again. Writing is a big passion for Brining, so she feels privileged that the North Huron administration allows her to incorporate a lot of writing techniques into her everyday teaching. She is also still getting comfortable with teaching her students how to use technology as part of learning. One of the ways that Brining teaches math is with thinking tasks, where the kids are given the answer to a problem before telling them about the problem, so they have to figure out what the problem is by working backwards. The students also work with number sense skills, real world situations, and group work besides the basic paper and pencil math assignments. The students have also been working on social and emotional learning, which includes learning breathing techniques that help calm the body, being kind to other students, and saying affirmations to themselves in front of a mirror. Once thats in place, learning will happen more easily, Brining said. Brining has 18 students in her class this year, which is in the average class size range for her. She considers the districts small class sizes fortunate because it allows her to make better connections with the students. Its good being in a small district with one class per grade, Brining said. You get to do a lot of work with each other. The last two years have obviously been challenging for Brining while teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, but what it taught her was that children are very resilient and that teachers have to go with the flow because they do not know what tomorrow will bring. Any day that I can be here in person and have children here does not go unappreciated anymore, Brining said. Brining knows that the work she does is not unnoticed. At the beginning of the school year, the district celebrates International Dot Day, inspired by the Terry Shay kids book The Dot, where children write compliments to people who have made an impact on their lives. Brining received several such compliments this year. I received several emails at the beginning of the year saying, Thank you for helping me get ready for the sixth grade. Its very different. I miss you, Brining said. The first students I taught in Indiana, I found them again on Facebook and some have their own children. Its eye-opening that Ive been doing this longer than it feels like. MIDDLETOWN The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Health Resources and Services Administration, recently awarded Community Health Center $2 million to increase health care access and quality for underserved patients through virtual care. These include telehealth, remote patient monitoring, digital patient tools and health information technology platforms, according to a press release. CHC was among 29 HRSA-funded health centers nationally receiving awards totaling nearly $55 million. This builds on over $7.3 billion in American Rescue Plan funding invested in community health centers over the past year to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19, the news release said. CHC will use the award to build upon its experience delivering clinical care virtually during the pandemic, with a primary focus on its patient population with diagnosed behavioral health disorders, it said. This includes expanding its model of school-based virtual behavioral health care during the COVID crisis to all schools in which CHC provides school-based care. It also plans to focus on the homeless population in shelters, transitional housing, and COVID temporary hotel housing to test virtual care as an on-going fundamental care strategy for homeless and transient populations. This award will allow us to expand a dynamic new model of care, combining in-person and virtual care into a single, holistic approach prioritizing the needs and preferences of our patients, President and CEO Mark Masselli said in a prepared statement. Virtual care has been a game-changer for patients, especially during the pandemic, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in the news release. This funding will help health centers leverage the latest technology and innovations to expand access to quality primary care for underserved communities. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Russian invasion of Ukraine early Thursday has cast doubt on the future of online prayer services a Cromwell native conducts for a Ukrainian church. Steven Bibisi, who hosts a daily session on Zoom with members of the Church of God in Odessa, Ukraine, as part of his missionary work, said he still plans to hold meetings, but isnt sure who will be able to attend now. Whoever comes on, comes on, Bibisi said. As a missionary for the nonprofit religious group Rabbonis Love, Bibisi has provided aid for primarily orphans and widows in Ukraine. He said his first trip there in January 2019 was spent installing running water systems that ended up being especially useful since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bibisi, a tax planner by trade, said once tax season ended, he was planning to travel to Odessa again, but now, thats unlikely. Obviously, this puts things on a bit of a hold. He still plans to do what he can to support the friends he has made in the country under threat, which includes holding his daily prayer group. At this point, thats all we can really do, Bibisi said. Several of Bibisis friends in Ukraine have begun evacuating, but, he admitted, he has no idea where they are going to go. Im constantly on Facebook messenger to be able to talk to them, Bibisi said. I hurt for the people there theyre like family. The Associated Press reported the three-pronged invasion began in the predawn hours Thursday with Russian troops and planes hitting cities with airstrikes or shelling. Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee and more than 40 people were killed. President Joe Biden vowed Thursday afternoon to place economic sanctions on Russia and said the country was ready to protect every inch of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Katja P. Kolcio is a Ukrainian-American professor at Wesleyan University and a faculty member in the colleges Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies Programs. Her father immigrated to the United States as a refugee fleeing WWII. Kolcio was on the phone with her friends and family still in Ukraine Thursday morning, she said. They have been preparing for the last few weeks, she said. She said the people there dont really have anywhere to go, and many are preparing to defend their homes themselves. Ukrainians are also actively battling misinformation being pushed by Russian leaders, Kolcio said. People in Ukraine are no stranger to Russian aggression, she added. Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraines Crimea region in 2014. She admitted, though, this invasion is an unexpected escalation. This is not a new war, but this is an extreme escalation, Kolcio said. Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim said he was also surprised at Russias actions. I have been following the news over the past couple of months like everyone else, but did not expect Putins saber-rattling to escalate into a full-blown invasion, he said. Portland First Selectman Ryan Curley said Thursday he was deeply disappointed to hear of the invasion. My thoughts are with the people of Ukraine and every resident of Portland and Connecticut with family ties to the country, he said. Kolcio said one way to help the people of Ukraine is to write to local representatives to emphasize there is more at stake than just NATO-Russian relations. This has implications for the world involving the rise of autocratic dictatorships, she said. Kolcio has organized a series of panel discussions at Wesleyan that are open to the public. Theseries, Ukraine-Russia Crisis: A Series of International Livestream Conversations, kicks off on Friday, and will continue March 4 and 11 from noon to 1 p.m. in Fisk Hall. Florsheim said the news affects everyone who hopes to live in a peaceful world. The only winners in war are those at the top, he said. LONDON - Ukrainians flocked online Friday to look up an usual recipe: molotov cocktails. They did so after the county's deputy defense minister, Hannah Malar, urged civilians to help "resist" Russian invasion forces, which attacked Ukraine on Thursday and neared the capital, Kyiv, on Friday. Malar said in a Facebook post Friday that the Russian invaders have "already felt the power" of Ukraine's military forces. "But it is important that everyone resists," she added. She called on Ukrainians to make the dangerous homemade weapons and take up arms and join territorial defense forces, which she noted have simplified their recruitment procedures. "In addition, a cocktail of hammer or small arms - they are a minus, we are a plus," she said. Searches for "how to make a molotov cocktail" spiked in Ukraine in the last 24 hours, according to Google search data. Molotov cocktails are improvised incendiary devices, made by pouring a flammable liquid into a glass bottle and plugging it with a cloth "fuse" before setting it on fire. Search interest was initially highest in the northeastern regions of Ukraine, which were first attacked by Russian forces, including Slobozhanshchyna, where Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv is located. Google searches also showed a popular variation on "how to make a molotov cocktail in the forest." As forces moved closer to Kyiv throughout Friday, search interest on how to make the devices skyrocketed in the capital region, home to nearly 3 million people, overtaking the rest of the country. "This is our land," wrote Malar. "We do everything to make it very difficult for the enemy. . . . Victory will be ours!" - - - The Washington Post's Adela Suliman contributed to this report. TIRANA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Albania has decided to reduce the quarantine period for positive COVID-19 patients in Albania from ten to five days, Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu announced here on Wednesday. "The Technical Committee of Experts has decided to reduce the isolation time for those affected by COVID-19 to five days, based on the instructions of the Public Health Institute," Manastirliu said via a Facebook post. Another recommendation given by the Technical Committee of Experts was that the booster vaccine would be available five months after receiving the last dose of the vaccine, rather than six. "Emphasizing the importance of boosting vaccination, increasing the vaccine coverage of the population and assessing the dynamics of the spread of new daily cases and the situation in hospitals, the experts of the Technical Committee of Experts will re-evaluate the anti-COVID measures," Manastirliu added. Earlier this month, the minister announced that Albania may lift most pandemic-related restrictions in March. Head of the National Emergency Service in Albania Skender Brataj, who is also a member of the Technical Committee of Experts, said that the relief of pandemic restrictions may include lifting the 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, which is in force since September 2021. According to the Albanian epidemiologist Ilir Alimehmeti, measures against COVID-19 need to focus now on supporting hospitals and health workers rather than restricting people's activities. In Albania, there are currently a total of 3,763 active COVID-19 cases, according to the latest report of the Health Ministry. The country reached its peak of the pandemic in January 2022 when the number of active cases was about 24,000 cases. On Tuesday, the ministry reported 279 new coronavirus cases and two COVID-19-related deaths, taking the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country to 270,734 cases, with 263,518 recoveries and 3,453 fatalities. STAMFORD Purdue Pharma, which is trying to settle several thousand lawsuits alleging it fueled the opioid crisis with deceptive OxyContin marketing, announced it has gained the Food and Drug Administrations approval for a treatment for opioid overdoses. The FDA approved Stamford-based Purdues new drug application for its Nalmefene hydrochloride injection. The treatment is an opioid antagonist indicated for the complete or partial reversal of opioid drug effects, including respiratory depression, induced by either natural or synthetic opioids, and the management of known or suspected opioid overdoses, according to the company. Distribution of the treatment comprises one of the key components in Purdues proposed settlement of the lawsuits, but the companys efforts to tackle the opioid crisis face major skepticism from critics who see the firm as one of the key culprits in the epidemic. Nalmefene is an important part of our commitment to help abate the opioid crisis, Purdue CEO and President Craig Landau said in a statement. This FDA approval is an example of our ongoing efforts to help provide much-needed treatment for patients and health care providers. Nalmefene will be an important treatment option to address the opioid crisis, which has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and is being fueled by the increasing prevalence of illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids. The Nalmefene injection, in vial formulation, is intended to be used by health care professionals in emergency departments, according to Purdue. It is expected to be available by the middle of this year, and Purdue plans to distribute the treatment for no profit. FDA officials could not immediately be reached for comment about why the agency approved the treatment. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who sued the company when he was state attorney general, said he had a number of concerns about the new treatment in light of Purdues history. While the company denies the lawsuits allegations, it pleaded guilty in 2020 to three criminal charges of conspiring to defraud the government and violate anti-kickback law. No individuals, however, were charged in connection with that plea. Given Purdue Pharmas history of creating an epidemic of substance abuse and addiction along with, in effect, the FDA enabling it I have very strong questions about the effectiveness and safety of Nalmefene hydrochloride, Blumenthal said in an interview. They said they wont profit, but given Purdues pattern of distortion and deception, Im in the show-me camp. Ill believe it when I see it. The distribution of the Nalmefene injection comprises one of several public health initiatives worth a total of about $4 billion that would be overseen by its successor company, according to Purdues settlement plan. Through another of those initiatives, Purdue said it would distribute millions of doses of a generic version of buprenorphine-and-naloxone tablets to treat opioid dependence. In 2020, the FDA approved such a generic drug developed by Rhodes Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Purdue. An over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray to treat opioid overdoses, which Purdue said would be sold at a fraction of the cost of existing naloxone nasal sprays, comprises the other key public health initiative outlined in its settlement plan. Purdue has been supporting the sprays development through a collaboration with another company, Harm Reduction Therapeutics. Connecticuts William Tong is one of eight state attorneys general who appealed a bankruptcy judges approval last September of the settlement plan, which the company values at a total of more than $10 billion. Tong has said the proposed amount is too small, and he also objects to proposed legal protections for the Sackler family members who own the company. The Sacklers have agreed to contribute at least $5.5 billion and up to $6 billion to the settlement, but they would not do so without third-party releases that would shield them from current and future lawsuits related to Purdues opioids. Those releases would not prevent potential criminal prosecution. Last December, another judge vacated the bankruptcy judges decision. Since early January, representatives of the appealing states, Purdue and the Sacklers have participated in meetings by phone, online and in person aimed at reaching an agreement. But the parties so far have not made a deal. Tong declined to comment on the FDAs approval of the Nalmefene treatment. Separate from the Purdue litigation, Connecticut has signed onto a $26 billion settlement with distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson a pact that resolves opioid-related claims of wrongdoing against those companies. Elected officials on both sides of the aisle are proposing legislation that would ensure the approximately $300 million payout that Connecticut is set to receive from the settlement would be directed to efforts to tackle the opioid crisis. There were 1,361 confirmed drug-overdose deaths in Connecticut in 2021, as of the first week of December, according to the state Department of Public Health. There were 1,378 overdose deaths in the state in 2020, an increase of 14 percent from 2019. The synthetic opioid fentanyl and fentanyl analogs were involved in 85 percent of the states overdose deaths last year and in 2020. pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott The nation's first sea-going heavy icebreaker in more than 45 years will be named Sentinel -- a nod to its predecessors as well as future missions in the polar regions, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said Thursday. In his fourth and final "State of the Coast Guard" address delivered at Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida, Schultz announced the name and said design work continues on the $745.9 million vessel, expected to be delivered in 2025. The service had hoped the vessel, being built by Pascagoula, Mississippi-based VT Halter Marine Inc., would be finished by 2024. Read Next: Russia Attacks Ukraine as Defiant Putin Warns US, NATO But given the complexities of the design and delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Schultz described that date as "aspirational." "It's a state-of-the art ship that requires exacting designs, complex steel work and systems integration," said Schultz, who will retire from the Coast Guard this spring. "There's international collaboration, the implications of COVID and international travel. There were some things that were delayed, and we made a couple of adjustments. Put it all together, and that pushes delivery to the spring of 2025," Schultz said. The Sentinel is the first of three planned Polar Security Cutters; the Coast Guard issued a $552.7 million contract for the second ship in the class last December. Currently, the Coast Guard operates the 46-year-old heavy icebreaker Polar Star, now deployed to Antarctica, and the medium polar icebreaker Healy, commissioned in 2000. The name Sentinel, according to Schultz, provides a connection to the Polar Star and its sister ship, Polar Sea, which have largely supported Antarctic operations over the past four decades. It also represents its mission and role in the nation's naval fleet, he added. "It evokes a lot of strong things in terms of us projecting sovereign presences in the high latitudes, both the Arctic and Antarctic," Schultz said. He declined to announce the names of second and third planned cutters, but added that the Coast Guard has a "couple of good second and third names up our sleeve." The service is in the midst of its largest ship recapitalization effort in decades, replacing its medium endurance cutters with 25 360-foot Offshore Patrol Cutters and planning to build three medium icebreakers, known as Arctic Security Cutters. In the past decade, it has commissioned nine of 11 planned National Security Cutters and built dozens of Fast Response Cutters. It also plans to build a variety of ships known as Waterways Commerce Cutters. Schultz said that despite the delay in delivery of the Sentinel, the service will have no gaps in its ability to provide support in the polar regions and plans to keep the Polar Star running for several years after delivery of the first Polar Security Cutter. Polar Star, he said, may be "tired and old," but "we'll keep it a couple of years" until delivery of the second heavy icebreaker because "quite frankly, we need the capacity." "I'm encouraged because of the hard work of our sailors on the Polar Star," Schultz said. The Coast Guard heavy icebreaker Mackinaw, commissioned in 2006, plies the Great Lakes, ensuring the safety of shipping lanes and repairing aids to navigation. Editor's note: This story was updated to include the cutter Mackinaw, which serves the nation's inland waterways and does not deploy to sea. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime Related: After Pandemic Hiatus, America's Only Heavy Coast Guard Icebreaker Returning to Antarctica Russia lobbed missiles into Ukraine's cities and rolled tanks toward its capital Kyiv on Thursday, sending citizens fleeing in fear as U.S. forces and NATO allies watched the largest invasion of a European democracy in decades from the sidelines. President Joe Biden unveiled new sanctions and a deployment of 7,000 troops and armor to Germany, another symbol of the U.S. commitment to NATO, after a deployment earlier this year of an equal number of service members to alliance countries in Europe failed to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from trying to use military might to conquer his neighbor. But Putin appeared unswayed by a bolstered NATO and increasing financial penalties as he pushed ahead in what Pentagon analysts now believe is a bid to decapitate the government of Ukraine. The country, which is not a member of the alliance, stood alone under assault Thursday, with refugees flowing across the border to Poland and Moldova as the violent incursion, which finally became reality after months of warnings from the U.S. and NATO, took shape. Read Next: Taiwanese Fighters Scrambled Amid Fears Beijing Could Be Emboldened by Ukraine Invasion In the end, Putin had not been bluffing when he spent nearly a year massing more than 150,000 troops at Ukraine's borders. And on Thursday, Biden held firm on his pledge that the U.S. will not fight on behalf of the former Soviet republic, which had hoped to move closer to the West. "The next few weeks and months will be hard on the people of Ukraine. Putin has unleashed great pain on them," Biden said in an address Thursday. "But the Ukrainian people have known 30 years of independence. They've repeatedly shown that they will not tolerate anyone who tries to take their country backwards." Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an update after the first day of fighting, announced that 137 Ukranians had been killed, including 10 officers; 316 more had been wounded. He noted that Ukraine has been fighting the Russian invasion on its own. We're alone in defense of our country, he said. Who will fight along with us now? To be honest, I see no one." A senior defense official called Russia's moves the start of the invasion, and more Russian forces remained poised to fight, including ships in the Black Sea that could be used for a landing assault. A series of last-ditch sanctions, backed by nations around the world, on the eve of the attack failed to stop the Russian advance. Russia launched three assaults across the Ukraine border beginning late Wednesday that aimed for Kyiv, Kherson and Kharkiv, where initial fighting was heaviest. By Thursday afternoon, it had launched more than 160 airstrikes using ballistic missiles and fixed-wing bombers, according to a senior defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "We would describe what we're seeing as an initial phase, and it is likely that we will see this unfold in multiple phases. How many? How long? We don't know," the official said. Ukrainian officials said that their estimates had more than 60 battalion-sized tactical groups deployed into the country out of 90 that Russia amassed on its border, with Ukrainian forces reportedly using Javelin missiles supplied by the U.S. to repel Russian tanks. The Ukrainian government also reported that its military destroyed 15 Russian T-72 tanks using Javelin missiles, which were part of a U.S. aid package, valued at $650 million, delivered to Ukraine over the last year. Russia's state-controlled media claimed it had taken out 83 Ukrainian military facilities, and destroyed four aircraft and a drone. But Biden and U.S. officials have warned repeatedly about Moscow spreading disinformation, especially about its progress on the battlefield. Russian and Ukrainian forces fought Thursday morning over Chernobyl, the now-shuttered power plant and site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Several hours later, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that Russian forces had captured the area. In his update, Zelensky vowed to remain in Kiev despite being marked as target number 1 and his family target number 2. A man helps a firefighter to extinguish a burning barn following Russian shelling outside outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) U.S. forces continued to flow into Europe on Thursday as the NATO alliance braced for the unknown in Ukraine. The Germany deployment announced by Biden will include the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. Support personnel based outside of the base will deploy with the unit. Meanwhile, six F-35 Lightning II fighter jets announced by Biden earlier this week were set to arrive in Estonia, Lithuania and Romania on Thursday, two in each respective country. AH-64 Apache attack helicopters were also expected to arrive in Poland and the Baltic region by late Thursday, after being delayed by weather. The U.S. was not flying any surveillance missions over Ukraine, but Air Force reconnaissance aircraft such as the RQ-4 Global Hawk, RC-135 Rivet Joint, WC-135 Constant Phoenix and E-8C Joint STARS had been flying around neighboring countries for weeks. Two remotely piloted Global Hawks were seen on publicly accessible aviation trackers over Ukrainian airspace Wednesday and Thursday before the country restricted civilian flights. Additionally, as cyberattacks continue to cripple Ukrainian government agencies and civilians, more attention is being paid to any possible attacks on NATO satellites. A senior defense official told reporters that U.S. space capabilities are working at "full capacity" but declined to answer whether Russia has attempted to interfere in any way. A damaged Ukrainian military facility in the aftermath of Russian shelling outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) U.S. Space Command told Military.com in a statement that it is assisting U.S. European Command amid the Ukraine crisis with "intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance" as well as "satellite communications; weather monitoring, and missile warning." U.S. troops had been pouring into NATO countries since the beginning of February, beginning with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 82nd was in Poland partnering with NATO forces there and preparing to receive any Americans fleeing across the border from Ukraine. The effort was backed by the State Department. Airmen with the 435th Contingency Response Group, which helps set up makeshift airfields in combat locations, have been relocated from Germany's Ramstein Air Base to Poland for possible assistance with Ukrainian evacuees. The Navy confirmed that it had the aircraft carrier USS Truman and its strike group, as well as eight other destroyers, operating next to Europe but noted that none were in the Black Sea. Russia has also positioned a sizable naval presence in the Mediterranean that includes two Slava-class cruisers and several smaller ships that have been in the area since last week, according to Russian state-controlled media. The British Ministry of Defense also said that Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which is led by another Slava-class cruiser, was active in the area and that Russia suspended civilian shipping in the Sea of Azov. The Slava cruisers were launched by the Soviet Union in the 1980s to take on U.S. aircraft carriers by overwhelming them with volleys of high-speed cruise missiles. Each ship can carry 16 of these missiles. But for now, the flow of Ukrainians trying to escape Putin's invasion forces, which has already begun, will be a problem for Poland and other European nations, according to the senior defense official. "We've seen an increase over the last 12 to 18 hours" of refugees crossing the Poland border, the defense official said. "I think every expectation is that that number will continue to go up." U.S. officials have estimated that Russia's military actions could produce between 1 million to 5 million refugees. Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service -- a religious nonprofit dedicated to helping those in need seek asylum, said in a press release that American military officials should prepare for the likely influx of families. "Thousands could lose their lives, and millions more could lose the only home they have ever known," Vignarajah said. "The U.S. and its allies must prepare to respond to the very real possibility of a mass exodus of Ukrainian refugees." -- Travis Tritten can be reached at travis.tritten@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @Travis_Tritten. -- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin. -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly. Related: Cyberattacks Accompany Russian Military Assault on Ukraine When the Air Force decided to drop the dreaded tape test from its fitness assessment in 2020, airmen rejoiced at replacing what many critics viewed as an outdated body standard. And while a replacement for the body measurement has not officially been announced, a leaked document circulating online shows that a more lenient and simple standard may take its place. Earlier this month, images posted to the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page showed charts and emails laying out how a new test called the "waist-to-height ratio" could be put in place as soon as this summer. Read Next: 'Go F--k Yourself:' The Defiant Last Stand of Ukraines Snake Island Defenders The email, which does not identify a command or officer giving the guidance, says that the new equation would not be part of a physical fitness test, but would be a separate assessment done frequently within an airman's squadron. Lou J. Burton, a spokesman for the Air Force Surgeon General's office, confirmed the service is "developing policy for the Waist-to Height Ratio" but declined to validate the authenticity of the emails. "The Air Force acknowledges both body composition and physical fitness contribute to overall health and wellness," Burton said in an emailed statement. "Any documents published online are pre-decisional and subject to change." This past November, when changes to the Air Force physical fitness test were announced, the service said the surgeon general recommended the waist-to-height ratio as the best method for assessing body composition. In December 2020, the Air Force became the first service branch to ditch the waist measurement portion of the physical assessment. Since then, the Army also began taking a hard look at the tape measure test, which has been used to measure a person's body mass index since the 19th century. That assessment is done by using a tape measure to compare height to circumference measurements around the hips, abdomen and neck to determine overall body fat. Stew Smith, a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist who writes a column for Military.com, said the simplicity of the new equation could help airmen focus on other areas of physical fitness. "The older height weight measurements were outdated," Smith said. "This is a better math equation than what they had previously, and it seems like this one may be more lenient." The Space Force currently follows Air Force physical testing standards. But the newest service branch is hoping to create its own fitness assessment, which likely will be significantly different from the others. Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman, the Space Force's highest-ranking enlisted leader, has repeatedly told Guardians during town halls that the service wants to take a "holistic" approach to fitness, focusing more on overall wellness and health than just passing a test. "I think we'll get some physical fitness answers here very soon," Towberman said in a Feb. 10 town hall streamed on Facebook. "And the holistic health assessment answers continue to be worked." Towberman said a decision brief has been passed off to Gen. John Raymond, the service's chief of space operations, but it is not clear when details will be released to Guardians. Raymond has spoken publicly about wanting the physical fitness standards for Guardians to be different from the other branches because the Space Force's mission is different and its members won't be as heavily deployed compared to the Army and Marine Corps. Smith added that different standards for the Space Force will likely help retain and recruit highly academic talent. "You may have a candidate who has some serious technical skills but who may not be comfortable doing demanding physical work," he added. "If you consider it more of a health and wellness test, then it will likely be more successful for them." -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly. Related: What You Need to Know About the Air Force's Latest PT Changes Editor's note: Since the publication of this story, reports have emerged that the 13 Ukrainians were captured, not killed. On Saturday, the Ukrainian Border Patrol Agency said that it had "received hope that all of Zmiiny's defenders are alive." Russian state-controlled media reported the island's defenders had surrendered. The Ukrainians said they sent a ship to investigate the island on Saturday but added it was captured by the Russians. Monday, the Ukrainian Navy announced that it was "very happy to learn that our brothers are alive and well" and described them as having been captured by the Russians. Original story In the early hours of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, defenders of a small island in the Black Sea received a transmission from a Russian warship -- consider your loved ones and surrender. The 13 Ukrainian border guards stood fast, held the island for about 12 hours, and delivered a final, defiant message to the Russians: "go f--k yourself." According to Ukrainian government posts, the border guards were stationed on the tiny but strategic Snake Island, located about 30 miles off the southern tip of the Ukrainian mainland, near the Romanian border. It's less than a square mile in size but vital to the country's territorial claims. Read Next: US Forces Watch as Ukraine Invasion Unfolds and Citizens Flee Violence Several hours after the first call to surrender came over the radio, Russian warships opened fire, the Ukrainian government said. The flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet -- the missile cruiser Moskva and the patrol ship Vasily Bykov -- were reported in the area, according to the Ukrainians. Yet, despite hours of bombardment, the defenders held on. An hour later, the Ukrainian government said that the island was still under its control, despite attacks from the air and sea. At some point in the attack, the Russians offered Snake Island's defenders one last chance. According to an audio recording, initially posted to Telegram by an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, the Russian warship radioed: "I am a Russian warship, I repeat: I suggest you lay down your arms and surrender otherwise you will be bombed." The recording goes silent, and the defenders are heard saying, "This is it." Then came their reply. "Russian warship - go f--k yourself." The recording went viral on the internet and was posted on the Ukrainian news outlet "Ukrayinska Pravda", as well as many Western media outlets. The Washington Post reported that it had confirmed the recording's authenticity with a Ukrainian official. Late on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said that the island's infrastructure was destroyed and all contact with the defenders was lost. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an update after the first day of fighting, said all of the island's defenders were killed. He added that he was conferring the title "Hero of Ukraine" -- the nation's highest honor -- on all the defenders of the island. In all, Zelensky said the defenders were among the at least 137 Ukrainians who were killed in the first day's fighting. Although tiny, the island's defense at all costs underscores its strategic importance to Ukraine. The Atlantic Council think tank called the spit of land "key to Ukraine's maritime territorial claims" in the Black Sea in an article last year. Zelensky chose to highlight the island's importance by hosting an interview with Ukrainian media in advance of a summit over the annexation of Crimea last year. "This small island, like any other of our territory, is Ukrainian land and we will defend it with all our might," Zelensky told reporters then. Now, "despite its acquisition through illegal annexation, Russia could declare that it is entitled to the island's maritime claims," security analyst Michael van Ginkel wrote in a message to Military.com. Controlling the island and its sea lanes "allows Russia to regulate traffic between Ukrainian Black Sea ports like Odessa/Kherson and international markets," van Ginkel noted. "Likewise, it is strategically placed to regulate trade that transits the Danube River, which is a major EU transport corridor for commerce," he added. The island's siege and capture also underscores the uncontested naval presence that Russia has in the Black Sea. The ship that reportedly took part in the attack -- the Moskva -- is a massive, 11,000-ton cruiser that was launched by the Soviet Union in the 1980s to take on U.S. aircraft carriers by overwhelming them with volleys of high-speed cruise missiles. The U.S. Navy has deployed 14 ships, including a carrier strike group, to the European area of operations -- a number of ships that has not been seen since the Cold War. However, a spokeswoman for the branch told Military.com on Thursday that none of them is in the Black Sea. -- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin. Related: Ukraine's Capital Under Threat as Russia Presses Invasion The U.S. was preparing thousands of troops who could be called upon to support NATO after the alliance on Friday activated a rapid response force in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said. The activation by President Joe Biden and leaders of member states marks the first such use of the NATO Response Force to guard alliance territory, which does not include Ukraine. But it remained unclear how many American service members could participate as the alliance was still weighing its needs. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the force would be sent to the alliance's eastern flank, which borders Ukraine and the ongoing war triggered by Russia's invasion, according to The Associated Press. Read Next: 'Go F--k Yourself:' The Defiant Last Stand of Ukraine's Snake Island Defenders Some of the 7,000 troops that Biden said on Thursday will deploy to Germany could also be part of the NATO force, though the U.S. and NATO members have made clear it would not be sent to fight Russia in Ukraine. The U.S. has already deployed about 12,000 troops and equipment such as F-35 Lightning II fighter jets and Apache attack helicopters to Germany, Poland, Romania and the Baltic states. "We are going to provide additional security assistance for Ukraine -- we will," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. "How that is going to be done is still being worked out." The Pentagon has said more than 11,000 troops have been put on heightened alert for deployment since January, but it could not provide exact figures on Friday of those who remain on alert or have been deployed. Gen. Tod Wolters, the head of U.S. European Command who also serves as the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said the alliance activation on Friday was a "historic moment." The NATO Response Force is described by the organization as a "highly ready and technologically advanced" group of 40,000 troops from member nations. Biden said Thursday the 7,000-troop deployment will include the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. The NATO activation came as Russia pushed farther into Ukraine and continued to threaten the Ukraine capital, Kyiv, after launching an invasion Wednesday. Progress appeared to be slowing, with Russian troops facing more resistance from Ukrainian forces than anticipated. "It's looking like they're trying to reach the capital as fast as they can to encircle Kyiv," Michael Kofman, an adjunct senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security think tank, said during a briefing event Friday. "It also looks like they're attempting large pincer movements to try to cut off and encircle big parts of the Ukrainian military in the east and south of the country." Earlier Friday, the Ukrainian military still had command-and-control capabilities and was flying air offensives against Russian forces, according to a senior defense official who briefed the press on the situation on the condition of anonymity. There was intense fighting in the capital as well as at a hydro-electric dam, and Russia was staging an amphibious landing in the east of the country along the Sea of Azov. "I think they [the Russians] tried something that at best had very mixed results for them," Kofman said, cautioning that it was still very early in the invasion. "I think the things they're trying aren't necessarily working very well right now, but they're likely going to adjust." Russia had deployed only about one-third of the more than 150,000 troops it had staged around Ukraine's borders in the buildup before the invasion, the defense official said. The fighting had already started a flood of refugees fleeing from Ukraine across neighboring borders. Several hundred Americans had crossed from Ukraine to Poland between Thursday and Friday. The Army's 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has set up in Poland to train with its forces and prepare to help U.S. citizens trying to escape. Before invading, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that Ukraine, a former Soviet republic along its western border, never be allowed to join the West's 30-nation NATO alliance, which has expanded dramatically over the past few decades. Putin carved off and annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014 following a coup that ousted the Moscow-aligned president and government, and has since fueled a years-long separatist conflict between the new pro-western government in Kyiv and the heavily ethnically Russian region of Donbas in the eastern part of the country. -- Travis Tritten can be reached at travis.tritten@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @Travis_Tritten. Related: US Forces Watch as Ukraine Invasion Unfolds and Citizens Flee Violence Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., officially announced his retirement Friday, setting the stage for another Republican to replace the Army veteran as the party's top lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Inhofe said in a press release that he plans to step down before 2023, citing a desire to spend more time with his wife, Kay, and their family. "It is bittersweet, but with a clear heart, that Kay and I announce that at the end of the year, I will retire from the United States Senate," Inhofe said. "Throughout our years, there has been one constant -- making the world safer and better for our 20 kids and grandkids and the next generation of Oklahomans." Read Next: 'Go F--k Yourself:' The Defiant Last Stand of Ukraines Snake Island Defenders Inhofe has played an influential role in America's defense policy with upward of 30 years' experience on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees in Washington. The Oklahoman took over as acting chairman of the committee in late 2017 when then-Sen. John McCain was battling cancer, and officially stepped into the role after the Arizona senator's death in 2018. Inhofe's time as chairman came to an end in 2021 when Democrats took back the majority in the Senate, but he still held immense influence as the committee's ranking member. The Army veteran has been consistently ranked as one of the most conservative members of the Senate, and has pushed for Republican-backed policies in the military and an increase in defense spending. As the acting chairman, Inhofe was instrumental in passing the $716 billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2019, which authorized a 2.6% military pay raise and increased the active-duty forces by more than 15,000 service members. After becoming the ranking member last year under Democratic control of the committee, Inhofe was a vocal critic of President Joe Biden and assertively questioned the chaos surrounding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. "What we've seen in Afghanistan has been nothing short of a disaster," Inhofe said this past September. "We have a hard time finding words properly to describe how wrong that was, and we want to know why -- we still want to know why President Biden left hundreds of Americans behind." In an interview with The Oklahoman on Friday, Inhofe endorsed his chief of staff, Luke Holland, to replace him and promised to campaign for him before the Republican primary. Inhofe said he still wants to focus on defense policy in the waning days of his term. "Today's announcement is not the end of the road," Inhofe said. "I have work yet to do for Oklahomans over these next nine months, including passing the National Defense Authorization Act and holding the Biden administration accountable." Inhofe's retirement paves the way for a former Air Force officer, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., to become the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he could end up chairing the committee if Republicans retake the Senate in the midterm elections later this year. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a press release that Inhofe's presence on the committee will be missed, but added he was grateful for the politician's service. "I know the Inhofes will be glad to have more time with their consummate family man," said McConnell. "And while the Senate will miss one of its foremost experts on defense policy, I am glad our friend will continue to serve with us through the end of this Congress." -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly. Related: White House Ally Inhofe Succeeds McCain as Senate Armed Services Chair The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration. What does Vladimir Putin hope to achieve, and how? For months, a sizable group of analysts in the West has been willing to take Putin at his word that Russias long-term goal is to compel a restructuring of Europes larger security architecture. After years of loudly protesting against NATOs eastward expansion, the argument goes, Putin finally turned to dramatic displays of hard military power as an instrument with which to extract concessions from the West. Just weeks ago, few would have disputed that Putins crisis diplomacy in Ukraine had produced some non-trivial successes for Russia. Anxious to avoid war in Europe, leaders such as Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron were at pains to stress their willingness to negotiate issues such as arms control and Russian access to NATO bases. At one point, Germanys Olaf Scholz even raised the prospect albeit in tentative language of barring Ukraine from joining NATO, a signature ambition of the Russian regime. By ordering a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, however, Putin has changed the calculus of Western leaders. His war of choice will not induce the Wests leaders to concede even more of his demands at least not any time soon. More likely than not, it will have the opposite effect: it will harden Western capitals against him and preclude diplomatic talks other than, perhaps, those aimed at securing a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine. Yet this does not mean that a long-term settlement in Europe is now impossible. It just means that a settlement has become much harder to achieve via negotiation. Putin knows this and has pressed ahead with his invasion of Ukraine regardless. On its face, this might seem puzzling. Why would Putin escalate the conflict in Ukraine if it means losing his chance to negotiate larger reforms to the European security order? There are two possible answers to this question, both of which are unsettling. First, Putin might be planning a unilateral restructuring of Russias external environment, focused squarely on Ukraine. If he can succeed in dismembering and destabilizing Ukraine, Putin might emerge from this war satisfied that Russia has been made somewhat more secure, powerful, and feared across Europe not nothing, from his perspective. Second, however, Putin may still be determined to impose a wide-ranging settlement on the West that includes his maximalist goals of limiting NATO deployments and barring future expansion. He might be wagering that, if Western leaders were unmoved by the sight of Russian troops massing on the Ukrainian border, then perhaps they will be inclined to bargain in earnest once blood is being shed. In this scenario, whatever happens in Ukraine is a means to a much larger end, not an end in itself. Western leaders should not discount the possibility that they are the real targets of Putins invasion of Ukraine. They should recognize that, if this is truly Putins plan, then Russian aggression will not be limited to terrorizing the government and people of Ukraine. Putin can only wrest concessions from Berlin, Paris, and London if leaders in those capitals can be made to feel real pain. People across Europe should therefore be afraid: Putin means to hurt them. Why the West Has Not Yet Backed Down Nobody can pretend as though Russia has not been clear about its grievances. For decades long before Putin became president, in fact Russian leaders have bristled at a raft of Western policies in Eastern Europe: NATO expansion, to be sure, but also the deployment of US and allied forces ever closer to Russias borders, the development of a missile defense shield, and political and military interventions in countries belonging to Russias historic sphere of influence (e.g., Serbia and Ukraine). Yet despite Moscows complaints being commonly understood, Western governments have almost uniformly rejected the remonstrances of Europes largest and most powerful military power. Why? Part of the explanation for the Wests inflexibility is surely that its leaders have become prisoners to longstanding ideas about NATOs intrinsic goodness. Having maintained for decades that NATO expansion is a cause of peace in Europe, they could not easily contradict themselves by conceding the Russian argument that, in fact, NATO is a destabilizing force on the continent. If Biden, Macron, Scholz, or any other Western leader were to explain to domestic audiences that NATO expansion is a root cause of the current crisis in Eastern Europe, there can be no doubt about the political firestorm that would follow. Charges of weakness, negligence, and appeasement would abound especially in an era where Russian subversion of democratic societies is a genuine fear. Also at stake, perhaps, is what social scientists call ontological security that is, a stable sense of self. NATO members view themselves and their alliance as good, defensive, and unthreatening. To contemplate limits on NATO expansion would have required NATOs leaders to first accept the premise that their collective security organization is a bad thing or, at least, is responsible for causing some seriously bad outcomes. While there are those in the Wests academic communities who readily agree with this assessment, it is an idea anathema to most occupants of high office. It is also possible that Western leaders considered the argument that Russia is made less secure by NATOs existence and reached the conclusion that Moscows reasoning was bad or disingenuous. From this view, it has always strained credulity for Russia to claim insecurity when it boasts the largest military in Europe, the biggest nuclear arsenal in the world, and is bordered only by NATOs smallest and weakest members. The target of Russias present aggression Ukraine is not a NATO member, is the poorest country in Europe, and has been exposed as abjectly impotent in the face of Russian aggression. Western leaders might therefore have considered it absurd to argue that Ukraines political or military alignments make a jot of difference to Russian national security. That Russian leaders kept making this argument was revealing only insofar as it showed Moscow to be a nefarious actor bent on achieving unreasonable (predatory) goals in Europe rather than sound and levelheaded (defensive) reforms capable of serving the entire European family. Finally, Western governments might have declined to grant Russias demands up until now simply because they saw no advantage for themselves in doing so. After all, those states that have paid the costs of NATO expansion Georgia in 2008, Ukraine in 2014 and today are not NATO members. Not a single NATO member has ever suffered military consequences as a result of Russian dissatisfaction with the political and territorial status quo in Europe. Why, then, should NATO have been expected NATO to accept limits on its deployments or foreclose future enlargement? The alliance exists to keep members safe from external attack, not to enhance the security of non-members like Ukraine. Why War Wont Work, And How It Might These four explanations for NATOs immovability in the face of past Russian demands its leaders political self-interest, ontological security, genuine distrust of Russia, and cold disinterest in Ukrainian security are not mutually exclusive. Each might be operating simultaneously. But the point is that some set of reasons has served to prevent NATO from accepting Russias calls for a reformed security architecture for some time now. By manufacturing a crisis in Ukraine, Putin forced the West to take genuine notice of Russias professed dissatisfaction and even begin the process of offering concessions. It does not follow, however, that the actual use of force against Ukraine will now cause the West to continue giving ground. Consider, first, whether Putins unprovoked Russian attack on Ukraine will make it easier for Western leaders to appease or accommodate Moscow without facing a prohibitively costly domestic backlash. Nowhere does this seem likely to be the case. At least in the short term, NATO leaders will come under enormous pressure both domestically and from their fellow allies to adopt hard lines toward Russia, including the swift imposition of economic and diplomatic sanctions. Nor is it conceivable that this attack on Ukraine will lead to a change in national or transnational identity among NATO members. The cold execution of a contrived war of choice has hardened the idea that European NATO members are civilized followers of international rules whereas Russia is a rogue actor that cannot be trusted and must be feared. Accused of war crimes, Putin will become a pariah. Western politicians will hardly be falling over themselves for the opportunity to meet with him. It is similarly implausible that the invasion of Ukraine is going to lead those Western leaders who previously scoffed at Russian claims of insecurity to change their assessments of Moscows geopolitical circumstances. On the contrary, they feel vindicated: in their eyes, Putins actions have removed any doubt whatsoever that Russia is an aggressor, not the aggrieved. This problem is compounded by the fact that, in the context of an ongoing invasion, it will become increasingly difficult for those who did (and still do) sympathize with Russias geopolitical position to continue making public arguments in favor of accommodation. The invasion of Ukraine will badly hobble doves in the West, perhaps irreparably. The only remaining question, then, is whether an invasion of Ukraine can force Western governments to recognize that their own national security is truly indivisible from that of Ukraine and Russia. Can NATOs membership be convinced that a negotiated settlement is necessary to enhance their own collective security? If Putin can achieve this, then it would open the door to NATO eventually agreeing to negotiate with Russia on issues that have previously been beyond the pale. It seems clear that a limited invasion one restricted to the Donbas alone, for example would not have had this effect. It is now eight years since Russia annexed Crimea. Eastern Ukraine has been in a state of war ever since. At no point have Western governments shown any sign of believing that their own security was in jeopardy as a result of the fighting taking place in Europes far east. This, perhaps, is why Putin has not limited his invasion to the Donbas. He has made the war into a large conflagration. His forces are attacking cities across Ukraine. There is the looming prospect of a humanitarian catastrophe. A Ukrainian Army soldier inspects fragments of a downed aircraft in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Zamirovsky) And there might be much more to come: What if Russian forces are to seize Kyiv and topple the government there? What if airstrikes are launched along the Polish and Romanian borders? What if the Russian air force violates the airspace of other NATO members or pursues Ukrainian fighters across international frontiers? Such outcomes would be unsettling for politicians in Berlin, Paris, and London. They would verge on existential threats from the perspective of Bucharest, Warsaw, and others in the east. As noted above, this large-scale attack on Ukraine will probably harden Western opinion against Putin in the first instance. NATO will profess solidarity and resolve. But if large numbers of refugees stream out of Ukraine, if anti-Russian fighters look for bases in NATO countries, or if conflict spills over into other parts of Europe, for example, then people in Central and Western Europe might quickly become convinced that the concept of indivisible security captures a meaningful reality after all. In turn, it is reasonable to expect that the whole of Europe can be forced to acknowledge however grudgingly that a reformed security order is needed. This is the one area where Putin can overturn the political calculus that, for years, has prevented the West from entering into serious negotiations over the future of the European security order: he can cause so much pain and suffering in Ukraine and beyond that NATO members are forced to concede that they have a self-interest in negotiating a wide-ranging settlement in Europe, not just a moral obligation to bring peace to Ukraine. But to do so, Putin will have to author the case for indivisible security in blood. It will not a clean or surgical process. There are no euphemisms capable of minimizing or sanitizing what is about to come. The war will be terrible and that will be the point. Europes War, Europes Peace Far from nudging the United States and Western Europe toward voluntarily accepting that a new security architecture is needed in Europe, Putins invasion of Ukraine will almost certainly make it much harder for Western governments to grant Russia its most ambitious designs for European order. Faced with the sight of Russian tanks rolling across Ukraine, Western leaders will feel under heavy pressure to demonstrate strength and resolve codewords for militarism rather than engage in meaningful diplomacy with Moscow. Doves in the West will be deprived of oxygen, hawks will claim vindication, and leaders will have little choice but to harden their stances against Russia. Meanwhile, along Russias borders, Kyiv and other Eastern Europe capitals will be made to fear Russian aggression even more than they have up until now. A new generation will grow up knowing what it means to experience Russia as a regional menace. The NATO alliance might even end up expanding, with Finland and Sweden petitioning for and being granted membership. If this happens, it will add another 830 miles of border where NATO meets Russian territory. Moscows security environment will have been made worse, not better. The only way this apparently self-defeating war makes sense for Putin is if he intends to turn the conflict into something so terrible that Western leaders are dragged back to the negotiating table with the blood drained from their faces. If he succeeds in doing this, a commitment to bar forever Ukrainian entry into NATO will only be the start of what Putin demands as the price of peace. Everything included on Moscows December 2021 wish list will be up for negotiation. The tragedy of Putins war is that, in the abstract, a reformed security order is almost certainly a good idea in the European context. This is true not just because Russia says so, but because weak states like Ukraine are patently in need of new protections. Leaders in the West can no longer pretend that NATO alone is capable of guaranteeing a Europe whole and free. The war in Ukraine is Russias fault but it is also a failure of international law and order. In the long run, the West must understand that Europes security architecture must command the respect of non-NATO members, too, including both Russia and Ukraine, if every country is to be free from the scourge of war. With his crisis diplomacy in Ukraine, Putin put a spotlight on the case for continental reform. He might even have generated some degree of sympathy for the Russian position, not just in public forums but also along one or two corridors of power. Alas, by invading Ukraine, Putin has made the path to a reformed security architecture much harder for the West to traverse. Now, only terrible bloodshed will be enough to convince Western leaders that they have a self-interest in compromising with an autocrat they view with utter disdain. All wars end. That much is certain. The whole world should hope that this war ends quickly, with the least possible amount of suffering. But it is prudent to plan for the grim scenario painted above: a long war, prosecuted by Russia for the purpose of causing maximum pain and suffering for all of Europe, which will only end when Europe as a whole comes together to forge a peace acceptable to the continents worst aggressor. How and when will that war end? With compromise, common institutions, and lasting peace? It is hard to imagine right now. But these are the questions that Western governments might soon be forced to answer. Putin will make sure of it. Dr. Peter Harris is an associate professor of political science at Colorado State University, where his teaching and research focus on international security, international relations theory and U.S. foreign policy. He is also a non-resident fellow with Defense Priorities and a 1945 contributing editor. This article originally appeared on 19fortyfive.com. William Cathay enlisted in the U.S. Army on Nov. 15, 1866, for a three-year term. Since the Army didn't do full physical examinations during this period, it would allow Cathay to serve out most of the contract, even though William Cathay was actually Cathay Williams, a woman posing as a man. But her service started long before she was old enough to enlist. She would end her Army career as the Army's only female Buffalo Soldier and first Black woman to enlist. She was born in 1844 in Missouri to a free father and an enslaved woman, which made her legally a slave. When the Union Army captured Jefferson City, slaves were considered "contraband" so Cathay Williams and slaves like her supported the Union Army as camp followers. She and others cooked for the troops, cleaned their laundry or acted as nurses. According to stories told by Williams after her enlistment and discharge, she followed the Union Army throughout the west and was present for many of its most important engagements, including the Siege of Vicksburg and Gen. William T. Sherman's March to the Sea. She had begun supporting the Union Army at age 17. By the time the war ended, she was 22 years old, but the Army was all she'd known as an adult. With the Civil War over and slaves across the country freed, she enlisted in the Army, posing as William Cathay and was sent to the 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment. The unit was organized in 1866 as one of six segregated Black infantry regiments, which became collectively known as "Buffalo Soldiers." They were the first all-Black infantry regiments of the regular Army formed during peacetime. The 38th's primary mission was protecting the construction of the intercontinental railroads, the first of which was completed in 1869, when the 38th merged with the 41st Infantry Regiment. The 41st was also a segregated unit, which had spent the time in Louisiana and Texas. The only thing that kept Williams from completing her enlistment was a disease that would be eliminated in the United States 20 years later: smallpox. She contracted the virus not long after signing up for the Army. After recovering, she rejoined the 38th, which was then in New Mexico for the railroads' east-west continental connection. After she suffered years of stress on her body, frequent hospitalizations and never fully recovered from her smallpox infection, Army doctors finally took a closer look at William Cathay and discovered the truth. She was honorably discharged in 1868 and moved to Fort Union, New Mexico, where she went to work as a cook. The Buffalo Soldiers went on to fight in the Indian Wars of the American West and the Spanish-American War. Cathay Williams moved to Colorado. She became a seamstress as her story remained untold in the wider press for almost a decade. In 1874, a reporter from the St. Louis Daily Times heard rumors of a Black woman who had served in and was honorably discharged from the Army and published an account two years later. Williams' medical troubles followed her for the rest of her life. She was known to have suffered from neuralgia (pain along certain nerves) and diabetes (from which she lost all her toes), but her applications for medical pensions from the Army were denied. No one knows precisely when or where she died or at what age. The Global Association of Buffalo Soldiers Recognition and Riding Club Inc. finally recognized Williams' historic service after almost 150 years. In 2015, it unveiled a monument bench for Pvt. Cathay Williams on the Walk of Honor at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. How to use the mindat.org media viewer Click/touch this help panel to close it. Welcome to the mindat.org media viewer. Here is a quick guide to some of the options available to you. Different controls are available depending on the type of media being shown (photo, video, animation, 3d image) Controls - all media types Zoom in and out of media using your mousewheel or with a two-finger 'resize' action on a touch device. Use the mouse or your finger to drag the image or the view area of the image around the screen. < and > at the left and right hand side of the screen move forwards and backwards for the other images associated with the media you selected. Usually this is used for previous/next photo in a gallery, in an article or in search results. Keyboard shortcuts: use shift + the left and right arrow keys. < and > in the bottom center are used for switching between the photos of the same specimen. Keyboard shortcuts: use the left and right arrow keys. > in the bottom center, raises the information box giving details and further options for the media, < at the top of this box then hides it. Keyboard shortcuts: use the up and down arrow keys. ? opens this help window. Keyboard shortcuts: use the H key or the ? key. Other keyboard shortcuts: 1 Fit image to screen 2 Fill screen with image 5 Display at full resolution < Make background darker > Make background lighter space Hide/dim titles and buttons Scalebar If the field of view (FOV) is specified for the photo, the scalebar appears in the left bottom corner of the viewer. The scalebar is draggable and resizeable. Drag the right edge to resize it. Double click will reset the scalebar to it's default size and position. If the scalebar is in default position, double click will make it circular. Controls - Video Video files have a standard set of video controls: - Reset to start, - Skip back, - Play, - Pause, - Skip forwards. Keyboard shortcuts: You can stop/start video play with the P key. Controls - Animation (Spin Rotation) Animation (usually 360 degree spin rotations) have their own controls: - enable spin mode. Note that while images are loading this option will not be available but will be automatically activated when the animation has loaded. Once active you can spin the image/change the animation by moving your mouse or finger on the image left/right or by pressing the [ or ] keys. The button switches to move mode so that you can use your mouse/fingers to move the image around the screen as with other media types. The button, or the P key will start playing the animation directly, you can interrupt this by using the mouse or finger on the image to regain manual movement control. Controls - 3D Stereoscopic images If a stereoscopic 3D image is opened in the viewer, the 3D button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "3D settings" menu. The 3D images can be viewed in several ways: - without any special equipment using cross-eyed or parallel-eyed method - with stereoscope - with anaglyph glasses. - on a suitable 3D TV or monitor (passive 3D system) For details about 3D refer to: Mindat manuals: Mindat Media Viewer: 3D To enable/disable 3D stereo display of a compatible stereo pair image press the 3 key. If the left/right images are reversed on your display (this often happens in full-screen mode) press the 4 key to reverse them. Controls - photo comparison mode If a photo with activated comparison mode is opened in the viewer, the button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "Comparison mode settings" menu. Several layouts are supported: slider and side by-side comparison with up to 6 photos shown synchronously on the screen. On each of the compared photos a view selector is placed, e.g.: Longwave UV . It shows the name of currently selected view and allows to select a view for each placeholder. Summary of all keyboard shortcuts BRUSSELS, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The channels of dialogue must be kept open so that a ceasefire can be achieved, French President Emmanuel Macron said early on Friday morning over Russia-Ukraine conflict. "We have to keep channels open so that a ceasefire can be achieved as soon as possible," said Macron after an extraordinary meeting of the European Union (EU) leaders to address the situation in Ukraine. Macron spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on telephone Thursday. According to the Kremlin, both sides had a "serious and frank" exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine. It added that Putin gave "comprehensive explanations of the reasons and circumstances for the decision to conduct a special military operation." The call was "frank, direct, rapid," said Macron, who also conveyed to Putin a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, asking for a ceasefire and start of discussions. Zelensky had spoken to the gathered EU heads of state earlier on Thursday and claimed he couldn't reach the Russian president himself. "I think it is my responsibility to take such initiatives when asked by Ukraine. And also, while condemning, sanctioning and continuing to act to keep this door open, so that the day conditions are met we can obtain a cessation of hostilities for the people of Ukraine," said Macron. The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that the Russian Armed Forces have disabled 118 military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine after President Putin authorized "a special military operation" in Donbass. In a televised speech to the nation earlier on Thursday, Putin said, "Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force," noting that Russia's move is in response to "fundamental threats" of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has expanded to eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. Moscow has expressed its willingness to talk with Kiev with a focus on obtaining a guarantee of neutral status and non-deployment of offensive weapons in Ukraine. Enditem. Fort Madison, IA (52627) Today Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 62F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy with rain developing after midnight. Low near 50F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Keokuk, IA (52632) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. High 62F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 51F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. 25.02.2022 LISTEN After Yvonne Nelson, Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy, and a host of other celebrities who has expressed their worries about the government's E-Levy, rapper Medikal has also voiced out his displeasure. The rapper in a video spotted on Instagram is heard blaming the hikes in fuel prices on the E-Levy. Medikal asserted that the finances of the average Ghanaian will be in total jeopardy should the bill be passed because he believes even without it, products and commodities are inflated. "Fuel is costly because of the E-Levy and I am beginning to understand it because the fuel pump has been reading for a while now," he said. However, there was a fuel station attendant who educated him that the fuel hike had nothing to do with the e-levy and questioned the rapper to imagine the aftermath of it being passed in parliament. In his reaction, the AMG Gang inmate stated, "I am going to buy a horse." WOMEN PALM oil producers at Akyem Asuom in the Kwaebibirem Municipality of the Eastern Region have appealed for government support to enable them produce in large qualities. They lamented the stressful conditions they go through before the final stage of producing the oil saying it was not good for their health and their babies. The women said the intense heat that meets them from the fire they use to prepare the oil and also the sun makes their work difficult. They therefore pleaded with the government to assist them with equipment such as tents to provide shade and simple modern machines that can make it easy and comfortable for their work. They further added that the price that buyers offer them after going through such stress is nothing to write home about. The women made the appeal when the President of the Artisanal Palm Oil Millers and Outgrowers Association, Ghana, Paul Amaning, visited them. He assured the women that government has put in place measures to help actualise their expectations. He said the association and the German government have teamed up to train about 900 people in the various universities in the country to prove the system. When you check the value chain, I think there are a lot of things we need to resolve. Pricing of oil palm or CPO cannot be determined as of today because we need to engage all the stakeholders including (GOPDC), the bigger companies to come out with how the pricing will be determined. As an association, we keep on engaging the Tree Crop Development Authority to come out with the pricing formula and I think soon, we will solve that problem. In the oil palm business, there is nothing like a waste but it is here that we havent identified the purpose of it, for example, the sludge can be used as fat for animals as food. With our new system, we have developed we will be able to dam it well and process it into fat for animals like chicken and pigs. French President Emmanuel Macron has issued a stark warning to Russia of an uncompromising response to its overnight attacks on Ukraine, effectively ending weeks of shuttle diplomacy to avoid war. Speaking this Wednesday, President Macron described the latest escalation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a turning point in European history. In his televised address, the French head of state said: "We will respond without weakness to this act of war, with calm, determination and unity." He added that the events were a "turning point in the history of Europe and our country" that would have "deep and lasting consequences for our lives". This comes as decisions are expected to be taken at meetings of the G7, EU and NATO in the coming hours. Macron added that the sanctions agreed against Russia would be commensurate to the scale of the aggression Moscow had launched against Ukraine. "In the military, economic and energy domains we will be without weakness," he said. Hopes for diplomatic solution have expired Macron has repeatedly spoken to President Vladimir Putin seeking a diplomatic solution to the standoff but to no avail. After frenetic telephone talks over the weekend, Macron hasn't spoken to the Russian leader since Putin recognised two Ukrainian breakaway regions as independent on Monday. The French president had notably unsuccessfully tried to broker a summit between Putin and US President Joe Biden. Macron also underlined that the "massive" Russian attack on Ukraine was "contrary to all the commitments made by the Russian authorities "By going back on his word and refusing the diplomatic path and choosing war, President Putin not only decided to attack Ukraine, he decided to tarnish the whole sovereignty of Ukraine "He decided to inflict the most significant damage on peace and stability in Europe for decades," Macron concluded, insisting that France and its partners had "done everything" to try and avert the crisis. 25.02.2022 LISTEN I have received a copy of the recent press release by the honourable minister of lands and natural resources. This press release follows the submission of a report by the 3-member committee chaired by the former chief executive officer of minerals commission. Their mandate was to investigate the explosion that had occurred at Bogo-Appiate. The 3-member committee and the minerals commission are yet to provide copies of their full reports for public access. I have read the press release with all the contents well understood, however there are few things I want to bring to the fore for further consideration, if indeed we want to do the right things as a nation. My aim for writing this opinion piece revolves around three dominant themes that I have gleaned from the said press release. The themes include: Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703) and the Minerals and Mining (Explosives) Regulations, 2012 (L. I 2177) The sector ministers role in the explosion The fine imposed on Maxam Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703) and the Minerals and Mining (Explosives) Regulations, 2012 (L. I 2177) The press release disclosed that companies engaged in mining explosive businesses are by law mandated to register with the minerals commission and obtain all required permits and licenses. The law states that the conveyance, storage, possession, manufacture, and use of explosives for mining, quarrying and civil works, as well as substances used for the manufacture of explosives are governed by law, particularly, the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703) and the Minerals and Mining (Explosives) Regulations, 2012 (L. I 2177). In addition, the report showed that Maxamthe company at the centre of the recent explosion had breached regulatory laws governing the manufacture, storage, and transportation of explosives for mining and civil works. The question is how was Maxam able to violate both the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703) and Minerals and Mining (Explosives) Regulations, 2012 (L. I 2177) devoid of any detection and continued to operate with impunity until this unfortunate explosion? This development goes to show the lack of oversight by officials delegated to inspect company licenses for compliance management. My view is Maxam would have continued with their operations with contempt for the health, safety, security, and prudent management of the environment in which they operate, if not for this unavoidable explosion. This incident is happening during a period where Ghanas economy is in deep stagnation. And this occurrence might affect the already pressured environment, hindering governments effort in managing our economy optimally. The blame for the cause of this explosion must fall on all the institutions and persons responsible for checking compliance systems of companies engaged in mine explosives to ensure that they are adhering to regulations as pertains to mining activities in Ghana. An independent body must investigate them. And if it is determined that they violated their duty of care. And made an error of judgement about their inspection tasks, which led to the explosion, to face the consequences of their action. The sector ministers role in the explosion It is not surprising that we have allowed the person under whose administration the incident occurred to investigate himself. History has shown that many instances like this have occurred. Hence, if we are experiencing same during our current dispensation, then perhaps no one might have the moral right to query such abuse of power. Until we hold our public officials liable for their actions and inactions, we will continue to expose our already burdened mining communities to these avoidable accidents that come to worsen their already perilous economic circumstances. The minister revealed in the press release that I as the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and therefore the overseer of activities in the sector have imposed an administrative fine.... This statement shows an acknowledgement of his national responsibility for all mining operations in the country. That said, I believe the honourable thing for the minister to do is to resign from his position. I make the call for his resignation based on two key reasons. The first one is his lack of and/or failure to perform his oversight responsibility as the sector minister for mining operations in the country. Second, his dearth of oversight obligation had precipitated this unfortunate tragedy, resulting in death of community members. The sector minister stepping down from his position would not only be a moral justification on his part to do so. However, it will also provide him the opportunity to show leadership and respect to the victims and survivors of the incident. We are in an era where it is appropriate for everyone, including public officeholders, to own up and be accountable for their actions and failure to act. We will watch and see how things will transpire. The fine imposed on Maxam Imposing fine on Maxam is in the right direction and will serve as a deterrent to other companies that display disregard for the rules and regulations governing mine explosives activities in the country. The measures instituted by the ministry for Maxam to comply with as a condition for renewing their business permit will strengthen the mechanism for regular inspection of their facilities for the storage, transport, and supply of explosives. Regardless of these penalties, the harm and trauma this explosion has caused to families and friends and the community at large will remain with them for the rest of their lives. I hope that the Six million United States Dollars (USD$6,000,000) that Maxam would pay to the government over 18 months will yield positive development outcomes. I am interested in the support for victims and survivors of the explosion, as I did not come across any mention of provisions for them in the press statement. Setting up a foundation run by independent and trusted professionals to provide livelihood and educational opportunities for the families would not be a bad idea. I propose that 10% of the fine to be allocated to the said foundation as seed money to support the victims and survivors families. The rest could be used for further development of the sector, including regular in-service trainings for ministry officials in the areas of health, security, safety, and environment to promote and enhance their work. According to the press announcement, the measures instituted by the ministry of lands and natural resources for Maxam to comply with are an attempt to ensure that they perform all mining and mine support services in a safe environment without danger to life and/or property. The sector minister has established a ministerial committee of inquiry under the leadership of Prof. Richard Amankwah to: undertake a general review of the health and safety regime in the mining industry review the existing laws, regulations and guidelines on health and safety standards in the mining industry inquire into any matter relating to health and safety in the mining industry and make recommendations to government for legislative, policy and other reforms it may deem fit While it is important to review the existing health, safety, and security protocols in the mining industry, these procedural processes were long overdue and did not warrant an accident of this nature to occur before we perform these tasks. We must, as a nation, be proactive in the exercise of our responsibilities in every sector of the economy to allow for better economic outcomes. Conclusion I support the fine imposed on Maxam and the measures instituted by ministry of lands and natural resources for compliance. However, we must learn and reflect on this incident and try every means to ensure that it never occurs, not only in the mining sector, but in every single sector of the Ghanaian economy. God bless our homeland, Ghana, and make our nation great. Shadrack Keddey Canberra WARSAW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Polish Border Guard said on Friday that 29,000 people entered Poland on Thursday through its border with Ukraine. Poland is prepared for the "worst-case scenario" in light of the conflicts in Ukraine, and is ready to provide medical care to those who come to Poland, Wojciech Andrusiewicz, spokesperson for the Health Ministry told the Polish Press Agency on Thursday, after Russia launched "a special military operation" in Donbass. Eight reception centers have been set up for displaced Ukrainians in Poland's eastern Lubelskie province and the southeastern region of Podkarpackie that borders Ukraine, according to Polish Deputy Interior Minister Pawel Szefernaker. Ukrainians arriving in Poland would be provided with "food, medical assistance and information," he said. Poland is also preparing a medical train to transport Ukrainians wounded in the conflicts, and has prepared 120 hospitals ready for receiving patients, Poland's Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said in an interview with the Wirtualna Polska website. The health minister also said on Friday that his ministry has introduced a plan to vaccinate Ukrainian nationals against COVID-19, adding that people crossing the Polish border from Ukraine will be exempt from the quarantine and a negative COVID-19 test requirement considering the situation in the country. The National Organizer of the NDC, Comrade Joshua Akamba has assured the family of the late Western Regional Organiser of the NDC, Dr Japhet Baidoo that the party would fully support the bereaved family in every possible means to give their beloved a befitting burial. Comrade Akamba urges the families of the deceased and that of his surviving wife not to hesitate to get the party deeply involved in every arrangement that would be made in respect of Comrade Baidoos funeral. Mr Akamba made this known during the traditional one week observation of the late Dr Japhet Baidoo. Comrade Akamba eulogised Dr Japhet Baidoo as someone who was highly dedicated and committed to serving the party in every capacity that promoted the party in the region. Comrade Akamba extended the condolences of former President John Dramani Mahama to the bereaved family and promised that Mr Mahamas desire to personally attend the funeral. The one week observation was well attended by some current and past Western Regional Executives of NDC led by Comrade Nana Toku. Also present were former appointees and some current national executives. Comrade Nana Toku threw more light on the late Comrade Japhet Baido's services to the party. He told sympathizers that Comrade Japhet had served the party his entire life urging party faithfuls to emulate same. Representatives of the NPP in the Western Region as well as some friends of the widow from the Effia Nkwanta hospital and other sympathisers also graced event. According to the family, the rites of the late Regional Organiser would be held between the 29th and 30th April at Windy Ridge, Takoradi. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, says the government is engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure the safety of Ghanaians in Ukraine. Pressure is mounting on the government to as a matter of urgency evacuate all Ghanaian citizens living in Ukraine following the invasion of the country by Russian forces. Russian troops have already entered Ukraine with many residents fleeing from targeted regions such as Kyiv and Kharkiv. Parliament and the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) have urged government to consider evacuating Ghanaians from Ukraine. But speaking to journalists in Accra, the Minister said the government will take a concrete decision soon. We are all awaiting what will happen, and for us, this morning were trying to figure out what to do with our nationals who are resident in Ukraine. It is becoming difficult from where we sit to move them so we need to ensure that they are safe and they are keeping safe. We are engaged very much on this. Meanwhile, the Ministry has indicated in a statement that efforts are underway to consider the possibility of evacuating Ghanaians. The statement urged Ghanaians in Ukraine to limit their movement and seek refuge at designated government installations dotted across Ukraine. The Ghana Diplomatic Mission in Berne, Switzerland, has urged all Ghanaian nationals in Ukraine to limit their movements in public places as they obtain essential goods and to remain in their homes or move to government places of shelter, the statement said. Our Diplomatic Mission in Berne, and our Honorary Consulate are directly engaged with the relevant authorities in Ukraine in an effort to secure the safety and protection of Ghanaian citizens there during this difficult period, the statement added. citinewsroom 25.02.2022 LISTEN The family of a taxi driver who died in a police cells after he was arrested for knocking down some police officers around the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi-Takoradi, has sued the Ghana Police Service. The family says it seeks to find answers on what killed Joseph Entsie as it suspects foul play. Entsie was pronounced dead at the Sekondi Police cells on December 25, 2021; the same day he was arrested and detained. In an interview with Citi News, brother of the deceased taxi driver, Kwame Appiah, said the Police have on a number of occasions attempted changing the narrative claiming that he committed suicide. We will be going to court on March 2. After the post-mortem, weve not seen any report. The police and the doctor have refused to give it to us. They say my brother hanged himself in the cells. He was in shorts when he was going to the cells, but he was in trousers when he was found hanging dead. So who gave him that trousers? No one saw him hanging in the cells so they have to come and explain everything to us, he stated. He also indicated that the family will not bury the body until the truth is revealed. We are waiting for the whole issue to be investigated before we do the burial service. We cant bury him right now because if we do, the case will be a foolish case. If our brother will be at the mortuary for 100 days, we dont care because it is the police that took the body there and they are paying for it. citinewsroom Former President John Agyekum Kufuor is urging stakeholders concerned in the UTAG strike to quickly reach a compromise to ensure that academic activities returns to normalcy in the various public universities across the country. UTAG has been on strike for nearly six weeks owing to the failure of the association and the government to reach a compromise on the formers conditions of service. But according to former President Kufuor, progress cannot be made if the two sides do not resolve the issue amicably. He argued that to the extent that both sides are engaging each other, one party, particularly UTAG can make some concessions such as granting the government the opportunity to meet its demand halfway and fulfilling the other part when the countrys economic situation improves. President Kufuor asked members of UTAG to put into consideration the plights of students who are bearing the brunt of their industrial action. A sense of compromise must come in. Sit with the State. We heard youve been sitting and talking but I would expect that between the two sides, there will be some give and take. So if in your knowledge you talk and [the State] says I hear your demand, and this is how much we can do and as and when things are changing for the better, we could revisit the negotiating table, he said. The University of Health and Allied Sciences and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology have endorsed its National Executive Committee's decision to suspend their strike but that differs from the University of Education, Winneba and the University of Ghana who voted to reject the decision of the NEC to suspend the strike. citinewsroom Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Benito Owusu-Bio (MP) has urged the Boundary Commissions of Ghana and La Cote D'Ivoire to prioritarise cross-border cooperation in every aspect of their deliberations. He said the successful implementation of mutually agreed decisions by stakeholders will not be possible if citizens of the border communities are not involved in the formulation and implementation phases of decisions made. "I would like to remind all stakeholders and partners of the fact that the management of our common boundaries has a human face. All efforts towards proper boundary management are done in the interest of the people of the communities involved, therefore, implementation will not be possible if they are not involved," he added. Mr Owusu-Bio said this during the opening session of the Joint Ghana/La Cote D'Ivoire Boundary Commissions Introductory Meeting held in Accra on Thursday, 24th February, 2022. The Deputy Minister also called the Commissions of both countries to ensure proper management of land and maritime boundaries to serve as a tool for safeguarding the peace and security of both countries. He said with the nature of emerging security threats along various boundaries due to the rise in political unrest in some neighbouring African countries, there is the need to jointly manage the common land and maritime boundaries of these countries. "This is the time for both countries to jointly demarcate, delimit and reaffirm their common land and maritime boundaries as well as jointly ensure proper management of the boundaries," he stressed. The Deputy Minister said it is important for both countries to employ the efforts and support of all stakeholders and partners as the achievement of all targets for proper collaboration cannot be done solely by the Commissions of both countries. He expressed his joy over the peaceful acceptance of the ruling over the common Maritime boundary, describing that it tells the bond of good neighbourliness still exit between both countries. Mr Owusu-Bio on behalf of the President Akufo-Addo and the Sector Minister, Samuel A. Jinapor applauded the efforts made by the two Boundary Commissions to arrive at such a historic occasion. He also commended the support rendered by the African Union Border Programme in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation so far while acknowledging the support provided by some Ghanaian institutions including the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, the Ghana Maritime Authority, the Ghana Armed Forces among others. In his welcome address the National Coordinator of the Ghana Boundary Commission, Major General Emmanuel Wekem Kotia said the commission has over the few years in operation been engaging neighbouring countries to build the necessary relationships, goodwill and consensus to enable Ghana live peacefully with its neighbours including La Cote D'Ivoire based on agreed defined International boundaries. Stating the purpose of the meeting, General Kotia said the meeting will afford participants the opportunity to discuss pertinent issues on future joint activities in areas including the operationalisation and reaffirmation of land boundaries, implementation of international tribunal for the Law of Sea ruling between Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire, setting up of joint committees on maritime and land boundary issues among many others The Executive Secretary of the La Cote D'Ivoire Boundary Commission, Mr. Diakalidia Konate in his address expressed his profound gratitude to the Deputy Minister and the National Coordinator for the warm reception given to him and his delegation. He said beyond colonial trajectory, the two countries are link on many levels in history and, therefore, is hopeful that after the deliberations at the meeting, they would come to great conclusions that will further promote the stronger cooperation between the countries. He charged both parties to put in place a good framework to ensure sustainable solutions to the boundaries issues of both nations. This Joint Ghana/La Cote D'Ivoire Introductory meeting is the first of its kind between the two National Boundary Commissions since the operationalisation of the Commission's of both countries. Classfmonline.com Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has said it is becoming difficult for the government of Ghana to evacuate her citizens from war-hit Ukraine. According to the minister, the government is engaging the relevant stakeholders to ensure that Ghanaians in Ukraine are safe. Addressing journalists in Accra following the crisis in Ukraine, the minister said: We are all awaiting what will happen, and, for us, this morning were trying to figure out what to do with our nationals who are resident in Ukraine. It is becoming difficult, from where we sit, to move them, so, we need to ensure that they are safe and they are keeping safe. We are engaged very much on this. Ghanaian Students studying in Ukraine are yet to be evacuated after calls on the government to evacuate them after Russian forces launched a major military assault on Ukraine. The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) wants the government to, as a matter of urgency, safeguard the Ghanaian students from any impending danger. There are about 1,200 Ghanaian students in Ukraine, according to the president of the Ukraine chapter of NUGS, Mr Philip Bobie Ansah. Apart from the students, there are also some Ghanaians in Ukraine whose safety have been threatened by the impending war between Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, the government of Ghana has called on Ghanaians in Ukraine to seek shelter in their homes and in government places as they engage relevant authorities for further action. The call comes after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine early this week threatening the safety and security of Ghanaians living in that country. Ghanas Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in a tweet noted that the safety of Ghanaians is its concern. The government of Ghana is gravely concerned about the security and safety of our over 1,000 students and other Ghanaians in Ukraine and has asked them to shelter in place in their homes or in government places of shelter as we engage the authorities, our relevant diplomatic missions and our honorary consul on further measures, the ministry tweeted. classfmonline.com A group calling itself the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Faithfuls in Savelugu is calling on the National Executive Council (NEC) to intervene and see to it that a suspension imposed on the constituency from taking part in the Polling Station Elections is lifted. The Constituency was suspended from taking part in this years polling station elections through an announcement by the partys General Secretary on January 28, 2022. At a press conference organised by the NPP Faithfuls, the group says followers of the elephant party in the Savelugu Constituency are stunned by the decision and members are now unable to sleep. This issue of suspension is a matter that is of grave concern to us and we have not been able to sleep peacefully, ever after this revelation was made by the General Secretary of our party on 28th January, 2022. We are to say the least, stunned by this news especially when Savelugu was among the list of places that were on suspension, part of a press release issued by the NPP Faithfuls after the press conference reads. According to the group, the suspension of Savelugu from the NPP polling station election has, as a matter of fact, deepened mistrust and apathy among party rank and file. This will not inure to our benefit especially coming on the back of a time when we want to break the eight-year spell of government, the release from the NPP Faithfuls says while adding, How do we break the eight when the trust and sense of belongingness between us is broken? On the back of concerns raised, the NPP Faithfuls are calling on the National Executive Council to intervene for the party to reinstate Savelugu Constituency in this years NPP polling station elections. We, therefore, call on the apex decision-making body of our party, the National Executive Committee to intervene in this matter. We would want the NEC to ensure that the earlier suspension handed us is lifted as Savelugu is very ready like our fellows who also have court cases in their constituencies but are having their Constituency elections afterall. Pusiga and Zabzugu are other examples of such constituencies, the NPP Faithfuls release notes. It concludes, We also demand a swift intervention by the NEC to ensure that, no person or group of individuals will arrogate absolute power to themselves to manipulate our time-tested party constitution in favour of their selfish and inward-looking interests. Read the release in full below: PRESS CONFERENCE BY NPP FOLLOWERS/FAITHFULS IN SAVELUGU CONSTITUENCY ADDRESSED BYHON.IDDIRISU NURUDEEN ON WEDNESDAY 23RD FEBRUARY 2022 AT SAVELUGU. We wholeheartedly wish to convey our gratitude to the media, our partners, who are members of the forth estate of the realm, for your professionalism in covering press conferences and proceedings of this nature and magnitude. This countrys democracy is enriched by your worthy contributions. We have convened todays press conference to share with you the fear that we harbour in our hearts following the suspension of Savelugu Constituency from taking part in the upcoming Constituency Executive and polling station elections which started on 21st February, 2022. This issue of suspension is a matter that is of grave concern to us and we have not been able to sleep peacefully, ever after this revelation was made by the General Secretary of our party on 28th January, 2022. We are to say the least, stunned by this news especially when Savelugu was among the list of places that were on suspension. We therefore sought answers or reasons behind the suspension. Some of the measures included: 1. MEETING OF THE PARTY BASE We held a meeting on the 3rd of February to deliberate on how we could possibly have reasons behind our suspension. At the said meeting, attendants agreed that, the New Patriotic Party was a party of structures and that, there was no way such a decision so arrived at could not have involved the Council of Elders, the Constituency Executives etc. We therefore sought audience with the Chairman of the Council of Elders which was quickly granted us. At the said meeting, it was made known to the chairman that, Savelugu had been suspended from the oncoming Constituency Executive Elections and we came to find out from him if he (chairman) knew of any reasons for the suspension. In that same meeting, his council secretary was in attendance and they both denied any knowledge of the suspension and their involvement in anything that must have informed that decision. The chairman lamented the lack of consultation between they, Council of Elders and the Constituency Executives. He indicated it was partly to blame for the circumstances we find ourselves in today. We the youth implored the chairman of Council of Elders to call a meeting between the council and the Constituency Executives to find out from the Constituency Chairman if he knew of anything that could have resulted in earning Savelugu a suspension. The council agreed to our request. 2. MEETING BETWEEN COUNCIL OF ELDERS AND CONSTITUENCY EXECUTIVES The meeting came off on the 4th of February 2020 at the residence of the Chairman of Council of Elders. At the meeting, it was put to the Constituency Chairman whether he knew anything that might have earned us the suspension. To this, the constituency Chairman denied any involvement in that decision and revealed he also learnt of it from social media. 3. MEETING WITH THE MCE OF SAVELUGU On Friday, the 4th of February 2022, we secured a meeting with the Municipal Chief Executive of Savelugu. We know the Municipal Chief Executive is the representative of the President of the Republic of Ghana in the constituency and we believed we could get answers to our plight from her but lo and behold, she revealed she also learnt of that development on the media platforms and that there has not been any official communication to her outfit to that effect. To this end, our fears were deepened, our hope of getting details to this suspension was waning. 4. AUDIENCE WITH MP We sought a meeting with the MP (Hon. Mohammed Abdul-Somed Gunu) to ascertain from him if he knew anything about this current development. He thanked us first of all, for recognizing his worth and inviting him to a meeting. He gave us to understand that, he first learnt of it in the news and subsequently placed a call to the NPP Director of Elections and Research who could not answer his call. He later returned the call and he put the matter of the inclusion of Savelugu among the list of suspended constituencies to him. The Director of Elections told him one of the reasons was that, Savelugu was still in court contesting the outcome of the parliamentary elections. He (MP) further stated that, he was told that, all matters and reasons could not be made open to the public as we were in court. The MP on his part asked the meeting to exercise patience and bear the news momentarily as eventually Savelugu would vote because he anticipated that the court case maybe over before the elections were held. He also promised the meeting that, he would try to get an appointment with the Director of Elections for a selected number of attendants at the meeting when the Director visits Tamale in February 2022 for the court case.This however did not materialize. CONVERSATION WITH SOME REGIONAL EXECUTIVE Whiles in a meeting with the Chairman of the Council of Elders and his Secretary on Friday, February 2022, one of us placed a call to a member of the Regional Executives. We sought to find out what he knew about the suspension of Savelugu in Particular. He made us to understand that, they the Regional Executives intend to use the current Constituency Executives for the Regional Executive Elections. He disclosed that, per the intelligence gathered on the grounds, the current crop of executives will not survive the elections. Hence the decision to protect them and use them for the Regional and National Elections. This revelation further alarmed us and heightened our fears, of some persons trying to manipulate the system to favour their preferred candidates against others. He made us to understand that, they the Regional Executive were scheduling to meet members in the constituency on the 14th of February, 2022 to put this decision before them. Why the need to protect someone you perceive to have performed well? The delegates will determine that. It is their constitutional right to do so through the ballot box. The fear and suspicion that grip us Ladies and Gentlemen, Rumors and speculations are rife concerning this suspension. The lack of consultation as it appears to be among the constituency executives and council of elders and regional executives is worrisome to us. This absence of a seeming collaboration and transparency has created a vacuum between the leaders and the led thereby heightening the feeling of anxiety and mistrust within the rank and file of this great party in the Savelugu Constituency. The revelation by some members, suggesting that, a letter was sent from the constituency level to the national in which it was stated that, Savelugu was not ready to hold the election. The Regional Executive member who disclosed to us their resolution to protect the current leadership of the party, to use them for the Regional Executive elections and the National Executive Elections is a smack on our democratic credentials as a party and should not see the light of day. The speculation that, some members of the current Constituency Executive on their company rounds have made pronouncements to the fact that, the they were going to be given some sort of protection by the Regional Executive of our party lends credence to the rumours that have been making rounds. Especially when a member of the Regional Executive in a phone call revealed their resolution and even threatened that, any party member who makes any noise about it will be handed a suspension from the party. He was quick to add that, all those seeking a mandate to serve the party at the constituency level should intensify their attendance to weddings, funerals etc. and not bother looking for any member of the Regional Executives because they were all in Accra. OUR RESOLUTION Ladies and Gentlemen and the press. The above narrative, has as a matter of fact, deepened mistrust and apathy among party rank and file. This is from the polling station members to the ordinary party faithful. This will not inue to our benefit especially coming on the back of a time when we want to break the eight-year spell of government. How do we break the eight when the trust and sense of belongingness between us is broken? We therefore call on the apex decision making body of our party, the National Executive Committee to intervene in this matter. We would want the NEC to ensure that the earlier suspension handed us is lifted as Savelugu is very ready like our fellows who also have court cases in their constituencies but are having their Constituency elections afterall. Pusiga and Zabzugu are other examples of such constituencies. We also demand a swift intervention by the NEC to ensure that, no person or group of individuals will arrogate absolute power to themselves to manipulate our time-tested party constitution in favour of their selfish and inward-looking interests. Thank you. IDDIRISU NURUDEEN FORMER COMMUNICATION OFFICER 0542741875. A Ghanaian student in Ukraine, Joseph Yankson has disclosed that he and some of his colleagues have found shelter in a bunker in the midst of bombings in the country. Speaking to GTV on Friday during the national televisions breakfast show, the student shared that there is a lot of anxiety amongst students in the troubled country attack by Russia. There have been several bombs going off in the city and right opposite my university, we're now in a bunker that is also a bomb shelter. There is a military base just about 100 meters from my university, and since most of the attacks are on the military bases there's a high possibility of an attack on the base, so there is a lot of anxiety, Joseph Yankson shared. In a plea, the Ghanaian student who is now stuck in Ukraine called on the United Nationals (UN) and humanitarian agencies to get involved and find ways of evacuating everyone to their countries. We are calling on humanitarian agencies and the UN to come to our aid and the Gov't of Ghana, should also put plans in place to evacuate us if the opportunity presents itself, Joseph Yankson added. Meanwhile, the Ghana government has expressed worry over the happenings in Ukraine and has stressed that efforts are being made to ensure the security and safety of Ghanaians in the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration wishes to assure the general public of its concern, and particularly our compatriots in Ukraine that all efforts are being made to ensure their safety and security. Our Diplomatic Mission in Berne, and our Honorary Consulate are directly engaged with the relevant authorities in Ukraine in an effort to secure the safety and protection of Ghanaian citizens there during this difficult period, a press release from Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration said on Thursday. Afenyo-Markin, I am sorry to tell you that you are gradually drifting from being a Member of Parliament to a street comedian over this fraudulent E-Levy. Despite how hard you try to defend this fraudulent electronic taxation the NPP government doesn't deserve, every comment you make doesnt make any sense. Why are you mocking yourself Afenyo-Markin, over this E-Levy? If the common Ghanaians aren't interested and, therefore, not evening listening to the voices of the president, Nana Akufo Addo, and the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, what makes you believe they will listen to you? Dont you feel ashamed of yourself as a Member of Parliament; your country has gold, bauxite, diamond, timber, oil, and other precious resources, yet your government the NPP, couldnt do anything with those resources but wait for E-Levy to pass before the evacuation of Ghanaians from Ukraine? Afenyo-Markin is playing an active role as a comedian than being a Member of Parliament What a funny man? I dont know how you became a Member of Parliament because you don't impress me at all. Just imagine, the other day, you were requesting the Members of Parliament for a medical checkup abroad over the E-Levy. Do you know what that means? You have agreed or accepted that your government is very incompetent to fix the country, including the health system, therefore, the Members of Parliament should ignore the abysmal health system under Akufo Addo, for a better one in developed countries. If you claim to be a Member of Parliament, you need to think before passing out comments, dont speak before thinking, and avoid being a comedian, which you are now even though you are in Parliament. Where are the missing COVID 19 funds? If you care about Ghanaians in Ukraine why dont you make efforts to retrieve all the stolen monies by the NPP government? Your government has incurred huge debt in Ghana, yet can't account for what those monies were used, why cant you give answers to the common people about how those monies were used? Above all, since you became a Member of Parliament how many jobs have you created for your people? Even though you haven't provided them a single job, you are taking salaries you dont deserve. If you care about the Ghanaians in Ukraine to be evacuated, make the same plea to the NPP ministers to cut their pay to save the people. As rich as you are with many benefits, you are not ready to submit to a pay cut but you want to steal from the poor with this fraudulent E-Levy despite the multiple taxations Nana Akufo who promised to protect the publics purse has already piled up on the heads of the common people. Mr. Comedian Afenyo-Markin, it is not this fraudulent E-Levy that can save the lives of Ghanaians caught in the middle of a war in Ukraine. If you want to make Ghana more resourceful, let the NPP government bring back all the stolen monies because your party stinks of corruption more than the NDC. I thank God that due to the birth of modern technology all the lies, empty promises, and whatever was said against the NDC government for the NPP to win the 2016 elections are available on Youtube to expose you, other than that we wouldnt have remembered that Akufo Addo promised to cut all taxes. Ghanas Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Harold Adlai Agyeman has emphasised that Ghana unreservedly stands by the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. According to him, Ghana recognises Ukraine as a bona fide Member State of the United Nations, whose membership of this Organization provides for her guarantees over her internationally recognized borders. It may be begging the question, but nonetheless worth repeating. Ghana unreservedly stands by the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a bona fide Member State of the United Nations, whose membership of this Organization provides for her guarantees over her internationally recognized borders, the same borders with which she joined this Organisation, Harold Adlai Agyeman. Ghanas Representative to the UN made this statement at an emergency UN Security Council meeting before Russia attacked Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, 2022. Harold Adlai Agyeman while warning of dire consequences for Russia, preached peace and stressed that insecurity in one country translates to insecurity in every other country. The situation has implications not only for Ukraine and its immediate neighbours but also for all our countries. Security is indivisible and the insecurity of one is the insecurity of all. We note with concern, the risks that an escalation of the situation in Ukraine holds for global peace and security and stress that those that choose the path of conflict rather than peace bear the consequences of their actions, Ghanas representative at the UN shared. Meanwhile, the Ghana government has expressed worry over the happenings in Ukraine and has stressed that efforts are being made to ensure the security and safety of Ghanaians in Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration wishes to assure the general public of its concern, and particularly our compatriots in Ukraine that all efforts are being made to ensure their safety and security. Our Diplomatic Mission in Berne, and our Honorary Consulate are directly engaged with the relevant authorities in Ukraine in an effort to secure the safety and protection of Ghanaian citizens there during this difficult period, a press release from Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration said on Thursday. MOSCOW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russian airborne forces have successfully conducted a landing operation at the Gostomel airfield in a suburb of Kiev and blockaded the Ukrainian capital city from the west, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday. During the capture of the airfield on Thursday, more than 200 members of Ukraine's special units were killed and there were no casualties in the Russian Armed Forces, the ministry's spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. The Russian military will not strike residential areas of Kiev and were taking all measures to prevent casualties among civilians, he said. India went into overdrive overnight to try and evacuate thousands of its citizens, mostly students from cities in Ukraine. It also sent officials to frontline borders of the war-locked country to carve out a safe passage as desperation grew at home. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a telephone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin sought an immediate cessation of violence as he voiced his deeper concerns. The prime minister also sensitised the Russian president about Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students, and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India, Modi's office added. His government was in touch with Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary to assist Indians leaving Ukraine and had manned border centres with Russian-speaking officials, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. We are advising that if you find yourself in a difficult situation then you should remain in secure areas...If you can move then move westwards towards the borders, he said as callers flooded monitoring centres in Delhi. Some 4,000 of an estimated 20,000 Indians in Ukraine returned home before its airspace was shut to civilian flights on Thursday, Shringla told a late night news conference. Indian hotspot India also persuaded Ukrainian universities to go online to help out home-bound students, the country's top diplomat added. Indian students numbering 18,000 account for almost a quarter of all foreign students in Ukraine. A majority of them are enrolled in medical schools which charge less than half the fees collected by privately-run colleges back home. Harsh, who used one name, said he was holed up with 800 other students in Ivano-Frankivsk where he was enrolled in the National Medical University. We comfort each other, we share our resources and we hide in the bunkers, he told Indian TV from the western Ukrainian city. Ukrainian colleges are recognised by the World Health Council and their degrees are valid in India. Students also find the quality of education at these centres superior to the curriculum offered by local institutions. The southern state of Kerala accounting for 2,300 students in Ukrainian universities in a Thursday night SOS sought help from the federal government. Most Indian students stayed back as travel from Ukraine is expensive and air fare almost doubled in the run-up to the Russian invasion. Air-lift saga Sources said the military was also on stand-by to join any evacuation by transport aircraft it deployed to rescue Indians from Kabul during the disorderly American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan last August. Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, a former Indian foreign secretary, said evacuations can get tangled in red tape. Even the government, which has a huge depth of experience in airlifting Indians from difficult areas or warzones would require some time because it would require coordination with different governments for sending aircraft and seeking permission for over flights, he said. These things cannot be done at a drop of a hat, the diplomat warned. India air-lifted 170,000 stranded workers from Kuwait after Iraq invaded the Sheikhdom in 1990 and three decades later it evacuated thousands more from several countries at the peak of the pandemic. Russia with love... Observers say Delhi was unlikely to face much trouble in evacuating its citizens from Ukraine because of its time-tested ties with Russia, which also account for a bulk of India's military hardware. And, on cue, Russia said it hoped ties with India would be unhindered despite the Western sanctions it faced after attacking Ukraine. We have big plans and we hope that our partnership will continue further at the same level we are enjoying today, said Roman Babushkin, Russia's charge-d'affaires in Delhi. The crisis will not impact India-Russia ties even in areas of defence, Babushkin added. The absence of an outright condemnation by India of Russia's aggression has left Washington seemingly nonplussed. 'We are in consultation (with India) today... we haven't resolved that yet, US President Joe Biden said at a White House news conference. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Mr. Kennedy Agyapong has descended on the Akufo-Addo government in the latest outburst over reports that the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has increased tariffs. Earlier this month, the Minority in Parliament accused the PURC of approving new electricity service charges in the country on the blindside of the Ghanaians. Speaking to the press in Parliament on February 16, John Jinapor who is a Ranking Member on the Energy and Mines Committee said We did our own investigations and realized that PURC has secretly increased the tariffs by very huge margins. The law demands that before the PURC can make these adjustments, they will need to consult the customers and consumers. Secondly, after the increment, they need to inform Ghanaians but they have done this secretly and have started charging the people." The Yapei Kusawgu MP continued, We the Minority members on the Energy and Mines Committee are asking the PURC to reverse the charges, their action is illegal. Speaking on Net2 TV on the matter, Kennedy Agyapong says he agrees with John Jinapor. According to him, the PURC revised tariffs are ridiculous and will lead the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government into a ditch. Another signal to the NPP government and President Akufo-Addo is the PURC prices. This one, I agree with John Jinapor, PURC prices are ridiculous. President Akufo-Addo, Minister Energy Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh pay attention to PURC. The prices are ridiculous and they want to collapse businesses. Most businesses will not be able to afford the cost of electricity in this country, Ken Agyapong shared. The vociferous leading member of the NPP added, I dont know the level of the independence of the PURC that makes them increase prices like that. Mr. President, Minister of Energy we are heading to a ditch. Since the allegation was first made, the PURC has denied the revision of tariffs. 25.02.2022 LISTEN A LOT of Ghanaians are stranded in Ukraine as a result of Russia's invasion yesterday. From a bunker, I bring you this report. I normally wake up at dawn to study, and I set an alarm on my phone to help me track the time. But today, something else woke me up. I could not believe my ears. Could it perhaps be fireworks (knockout as we popularly call it)? But the sound was loud and vehement. Friends from different parts of the city started calling me. It made me wake up fully. We later got to know it was an attack from the Russians. Sorry for being rude, my name is Clemet Kojo Acquah, a former resident of the Tarkwa municipality, presently a medical student at Kharkiv National Medical University, living in the eastern part of Ukraine (Kharkiv city), a part called Peremoga, and a scholarship beneficiary from the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat. Peremoga is just 20 minutes' drive to the Russian border. Some of the cities close by are Poltava, Sumy State, Kramatorsk and of course the controversial Donetsk and Luhansk. So back to the story, today around 4am, we heard a loud sound that we later got to know were bomb attacks. We were very terrified, some people started packing their things and wanted to go to a different city for refuge, but we were later told there were bomb attacks on about five cities simultaneously (Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, Kramatorsk and Mariupol). We have now packed a few things, with our passports and other relevant documents in case we need to move, then we do. The borders have been closed for now, there are no flights coming nor leaving. All those who were supposed to leave the country today were disappointed and left stranded at the airport for obvious reasons. A video interview I watched of the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin, suggests that they are not backing down. He has even warned other countries not to interfere, else there will be consequences. For now, Ukraine has not responded aggressively, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a video he posted on his Instagram page, said they are not scared to defend their land. This is a clear indication of a future escalation of something that has just begun. They have provided bomb shelters at vantage points and warned that we go there in case of further aggression. We, therefore, call upon the government of Ghana, to hasten any measures it has for the Ghanaian community in Ukraine. Outspoken Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has urged government to consider a bilateral partnership in evacuating Ghanaian students stranded in Ukraine. He opined that there seemed to be no plan or concrete exit strategies from the government to get Ghanaian citizens out of Ukraine. The Honorable Member of Parliament on Good Morning Ghana show on Metro TV today stated that regarding Russia and Ukraine war, a bilateral partnership would be best needed if Ghana was serious in rescuing the stranded students. He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs directive to the students to seek shelters was inadequate and unhelpful. He added that Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya were able to evacuate their citizens from Ukraine in spite of the airspaces closed. He pointed out that even though there was no Ghanaian resident mission in Ukraine, bilateral partnerships were possible and would be the best way forward in evacuating the stranded Ghanaians in Ukraine. Yes there is no Ghanaian resident mission in Ukraine, but can we take advantage of bilateral partnerships because we see that always. When there were evacuations in Afghanistan we saw how the Australians, the Canadians and the Brits came together through bilateral agreements they pulled their resources and were able to get their people out of there, he intimated. In addition, he stated that other countries had found exit points through the land borders. According to him, nothing stops government from having a bilateral partnership with countries getting their citizens out. He indicated that all statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not inspire hope to the stranded Ghanaians as there was no exit strategy. Ghana has condemned Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine yesterday. Ghana is asking Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and end the war. These were contained in a tweet by Ghanas Foreign Affairs Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey. Today, the world woke up to the bombardment and invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. Ghana condemns unreservedly this unprovoked attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a United Nations Member State and calls on Russia to withdraw and end the war, she tweeted on Thursday, 24 February 2022. Today, the world woke up to the bombardment and invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. Ghana condemns unreservedly this unprovoked attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a United Nations Member State and calls on Russia to withdraw and end the war. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (@AyorkorBotchwey) February 24, 2022 There are thousands of Ghanaians in Ukraine schooling and working. The government has asked them to seek shelter in their homes and other government infrastructure while they speak with relevant authorities. Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) has also expressed extreme concern at the very serious and dangerous situation created in Ukraine. AU Chair Macky Sall, President of Senegal, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, expressed this concern in a statement. They called on the Russian Federation and any other regional or international actor to imperatively respect international law, the territorial integrity and the national sovereignty of Ukraine. The Chair of the African Union and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission urged the two parties to establish an immediate ceasefire and to open political negotiations without delay, under the auspices of the United Nations, in order to preserve the world from the consequences of planetary conflict, and in the interests of peace and stability in international relations in service of all the peoples of the world. The assault on Ukraine is ongoing on several fronts after Russia launched attacks from the east, north and south on Thursday. Ukraine has reported that scores of people have been killed, while thousands have fled the country. ---Classfmonline.com Some of us, as a matter of principle, do not begrudge the Members of Parliament who are resisting the passage of the E-Levy with an excuse that it will overburden their constituents. That being said, since our Members of Parliament arent keen on the E-Levy, we would please urge those who allegedly grabbed gargantuan double salaries to refund all the monies as soon as possible. It is nearly two years since the sensational vineyard news spiralled through that some NDC Members of Parliament have allegedly grabbed double salaries. Regrettably, however, as I write, nothing meaningful has been done towards bringing the suspects to book. It would thus appear that the alleged suspects are hiding behind the dowdy and largely unjust parliamentary privileges and concessions. I must confess that I had mixed feelings when I read some time ago that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service had submitted the dockets on the investigations of the double salary grabbing NDC Members of Parliament to the Attorney Generals Office for advice. In fact, my ambivalence stemmed from the fact that Ghanas justice system tends to clampdown heavily on the goat, cassava and plantain thieves, and more often than not, let go the impenitent criminals who hide behind the narrow political colorations. To be quite honest, it is quite nauseating to see some public officials who prefer to be called honourable behaving somewhat dishonourably. Truly, Ghanaian politics has become a scorned profession, not a noble profession it used to be. Once upon a time, anyone who gained a seat in parliament was looked up to and respected by all. Alas this is not the case anymore. Our Members of Parliament must earn the honourable prefix/suffix by living exemplary lives, and desist from desecrating our honourable parliament. How can honourable Members of Parliament knowingly keep double salaries to the detriment of the poor and disadvantaged Ghanaians? For argument sake, if the law can excuse a suspected double salary grabbing Member of Parliament from prosecution, the law might as well make room for the equally important contributors such as farmers, teachers, and doctors among others. Why must we allow a section of the population to perpetrate criminalities and then hide behind the law? I have always maintained that if we are ever prepared to beseech the fantastically corrupt public officials to only return their loots without any further punishment, we might as well treat the goat, plantain and cassava thieves same. For after all, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. I am afraid, the democratic country called Ghana may not see any meaningful development, so long as we have public officials who are extremely greedy, corrupt, and insensitive to the plight of the impoverished Ghanaians. It may sound somewhat hackneyed in the ears of some observers, but the fact remains that we began life with the likes of South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, and, look at where they are today. They are diligently making cars, Mobile phones, electronics, good roads and good housing. And, they have put in place pragmatic policies and programmes to developed their respective countries and just look at where we are today. Disappointingly, however, we now go to those countries we started life with, and beg for donations, or borrow money--do you recall the STX housing deal which was unsuccessfully pursued by Mills/Mahama administration, and yet cost us a staggering $300 million ? I weep for my beloved Ghana. When it comes to the prosecutions of the political criminals, we are often made to believe: the wheels of justice turn slowly, but it will grind exceedingly fine. Where is the fairness when the political thieves could shamefully dip their hands into the national purse as if there is no tomorrow and go scot free, while the goat, cassava and plantain thieves are incarcerated? In sum, the sum of the double salaries may not be commensurable with the proceeds of the E-Levy, it will go a long way to alleviate the plight of the impoverished Ghanaians. K. Badu, UK. [email protected] Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has indicated that the tension between Ukraine and Russia is the more reason why the government should be supported to mobilise more revenue. According to the Effutu Constituency Member of Parliament (MP), the situation in Ukraine will impact Ghanas economy in so many ways and for that matter, the e-levy is needed to cushion Ghanaians. Mr. Afenyo-Markin during an address in Parliament on Thursday, February 24, 2022, told the Minority side of the house that it is crucial the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) is approved to help the government to rake in additional revenue to support the economy in such difficult times. As a businessman, I am worried. I am concerned knowing that the value chain is going to be affected, imports will cost, duties will cost and if you look at what is happening to the cedi, now dollar is moving around a certain figure. There is going to be pressure on the limited resources that we have and as a nation, Ghanaian businesses who are supposed to do well to pay taxes they are going to suffer, their businesses will not do well the way they expect, their projections will be affected, that is the reality and I must bring this to the attention of all of us so that any policy that will be brought will be seen in that light, Afenyo-Markin said on the floor of Parliament. The Deputy Majority Leader continued, Of course Honourable Deputy Minority leader, you have not spoken into the mic but if you are talking about the E-levy, this is the more important reason why we need it. If you are talking about the E-levy, that was the next point I was getting to, that we should congregate around it and find a way of generating revenue as a country to save the situation because we are not in normal times. Haruna Iddrisu couldnt have raised this matter at a better time than now. The E-Levy, announced by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in November last year is still without consensus. While the Majority members are determined to have it approved, the Minority side of the hung Parliament have mounted a spirited resistance. Thugs have vandalised and burnt beyond recognition equipment of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP)'s office in Kumawu constituency in the Ashanti region on Thursday, February 24, 2022. The attack allegedly instigated by the constituency chairman Joseph Danso, secretary Fredua Agyeman and one Akoto (Research and Elections) started unfolding on Thursday, February 17, 2022 when officers at the regional party office in Kumasi were physically prevented from following due processes in giving out nomination forms for polling station executives elections to some persons. They continued their act with impunity by allegedly organising thugs to storm the constituency office Saturday, February 19, 2022 to stop the release of nomination forms to polling station coordinators. Mr. Danso had allegedly been, contrary to party modalities demanding half of the nomination forms to distribute himself, a development that the regional representative and constituency committee chair, Martin Ameyaw, rightly objected to. Mr. Ameyaw was compelled to return the forms to Kumasi and later returned to Kumawu to make sure that polling station coordinators received them for onward release to polling station executive hopefuls. But before midday Friday, February 24, 2022 constituency chairman Joseph Danso, secretary Fredua Agyeman, one Akoto (Research and Elections), in the company of three "macho men" from outside the constituency, massed up others to allegedly vandalise the office and set the items on fire. Not even president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's branding materials were spared. "We burnt all the party items," Assemblyman for Oyoko electoral area, Fareed Ofori, confessed to Kessben News on Thursday. One of the "macho men" nicknamed 2Face allegedly slapped and chased a constituent, Yaw Boakye, into someone's room. Another constituent, Johnson Adu, was allegedly pounced on by the district National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) director, Emmanuel Obeng, and his thugs. The two victims went to the Kumawu police station for medical forms and took them to the Kumawu Polyclinic where they got treated and discharged on Thursday. Also, Sefa Tweneboa and Samuel Agyeman who are driver and aide respectively to the District Chief Executive (DCE), Samuel Addai Agyekum, allegedly aided the "macho men" to identify and attack constituents they believed are supporters of the Member of Parliament (MP), Philip Basoah. It is public knowledge that the DCE is one of the key subjects of police investigations into the gunpoint assault on the MP during the controversial confirmation of the DCE for his second tenure. Somalia on Friday extended its deadline to finish voting for the lower house of parliament, the latest in a series of election delays that risk starving the country of budget funds. The fragile Horn of Africa nation has struggled to hold elections, with polls delayed by more than a year, bedevilled by political squabbling and a simmering Islamist insurgency. The lower house elections were due to be completed on Friday and pave the way for lawmakers to pick a president. But Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Yusuf said the deadline had now been revised to March 15. "The National Consultative Council... expressed their disappointment with the fact that they could not meet the deadline," the minister said in a televised address. The announcement came days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that it might have to stop its programme in Somalia if the polls were postponed again. The IMF programme is due for a review in mid-May but election delays mean that a new administration may not be ready to endorse planned reforms in time, forcing it to an automatic halt, Laura Jaramillo Mayor, the fund's Somalia mission chief told AFP. Elections were originally scheduled for a year ago but were delayed when President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known by his nickname Farmajo, tried to extend his term. Farmajo's four-year mandate expired in February last year, but was controversially extended by parliament in April, triggering deadly gun battles on the streets of Mogadishu. Somalia. By Vincent LEFAI AFP Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble then brokered a new election timetable, but in the months that followed, a bitter rivalry between him and Farmajo derailed the process again. The international community has voiced fears that election delays, as well as the feud between Farmajo and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, could set off new troubles for a country that has lacked stable governance for three decades. The United States last month threatened to impose sanctions if the country missed Friday's deadline. Somalia's elections follow a complex indirect model. Nearly 30,000 clan delegates are assigned to choose 275 MPs for the lower house while state legislatures elect senators for the upper house, a process that has now been completed. Once the lower house election is concluded, both assemblies vote for the next president. So far about 175 members of the lower house have been elected. Government Spokesperson and a member of the ruling New Patriotic Party, NPP, Hon. Abdul El Samed disagrees with critics attributing the minor misunderstanding in the party's polling station nomination process to the upcoming flagbearship race. According to him, the minor incidents recorded across the country have nothing to do with the presidential ambitions of both the Vice President, Dr. Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumia and Trade Minister, Alan Kyeremanten. However, he has described the incidents as normal occurrences during such internal elections of every political party even though, he was not happy with the developments. Debating on the happenings in the NPP's ongoing polling stations elections on Koforidua Based Bryt FM "Ebesi Sen" political show, Hon. Abdul El Samed accepted the fact that some of the incidents could have been avoided was also quick to add that, the party had learnt a lot going into the Constituency, Regional and National elections. "Despite the fact that there were some few minor issues, I don't think the opposition NDC should rejoice over it because it serves as a great lesson to them as they prepare for theirs," he stated. He again denied earlier submission by the opposition representative that the NPP had an agreement to allow Alan Kyeremanten succeed President Akufo-Addo after his term expires during the party's internal elections to choose a candidate to replace then President John Agyekum Kufuor. The representative of the main opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC Francis Tetteh had earlier attributed the happenings in the NPP's elections to the perceived presidential candidate battle between the Vice President and the Trade minister on who to lead the party come 2024. He argued that it has led to the creation of camps within the NPP which is likely to affect the party in the 2024 general elections. KIEV, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Kiev has plunged into chaos after Russian forces launched a military offensive against Ukraine. Terrified people have been queuing for hours to get fuel, food and medicine. Many left Kiev to seek shelter in western Ukraine, building up kilometers-long traffic jams. "We were not able to leave, there were terrible traffic jams... We saw people walking from Kiev just along the highway, with children, animals, suitcases," 28-year-old Iryna told Xinhua. Iryna was forced to return to her home in Kiev. "Today we will sleep in the dressing room, there are no windows there," Iryna said. Oksana, a 40-year-old manager, said she was hiding in an underground parking area after an air defense alarm in Kiev. "I keep my bag at the door, I'm afraid that the attack on the city will continue," Oksana said. Oksana lives on the left bank of Kiev. She said explosions were heard near her home the whole day. "Like all people in my country, I am scared," she added, crying. Earlier on Thursday, Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine. As Russian forces approach the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, NATO leaders are set to meet to set out a strategic response to Moscow's invasion. Missiles have struck at the heart of the capital, as neighbouring countries brace for an influx of refugees fleeing the fighting. Missiles pounded Ukraine's capital on Friday as Russian forces continue their advance on Kyiv, with Ukrainian authorities saying they are preparing for an assault aimed at overthrowing the government. Air raid sirens have reportedly been sounding across the city of three million people, as residents' shelter in underground metro stations, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an all-out invasion of the country. Ukrainian officials have reported that a Russian aircraft was shot down and crashed into a building in Kyiv overnight, setting it ablaze and injuring eight people. Sources say Russian forces are expected to enter areas just outside the capital later this Friday and that Ukrainian troops are defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered. Kyiv city council has warned residents of the Obolon district, near an air base seized by Russian paratroopers on Thursday, to stay indoors because of "the approach of active hostilities". Witnesses say loud explosions could be heard in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, close to Russia's border. Authorities have also reported heavy fighting in the eastern city of Sumy. Zelenskiy is 'number one target' Tens of thousands of people have fled the major cities, with dozens reported killed. Russian troops have also seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advance on the city from Belarus. US officials believe Russia's initial aim is to topple President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and "decapitate" his government. Zelenskiy said the troops were coming for him, but he would stay in Kyiv. Speaking in a video message, the Ukrainian president said: "The enemy has marked me down as the number one target. My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state." Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by Putin, in what is the biggest attack on a European state since World War II. Putin claims Ukraine is an illegitimate state carved out of Russia, a view Ukrainians see as aimed at erasing their more than thousand-year history. Ukrainians remain defiant Meanwhile, Britain maintains Moscow's aim is to conquer all of Ukraine adding that its military had failed to meet its main objectives on the first day because it failed to anticipate that Ukrainians would resist. UK defence minister Ben Wallace has said that "contrary to great Russian claims - and indeed President Putin's sort of vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause - he's got that completely wrong, and the Russian army has failed to deliver, on day one, its main objective." Ukrainians have been circulating an unverified recording of a Russian warship ordering a Ukrainian Black Sea outpost to surrender. The Ukrainians reply: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself." Zelenskiy said the 13 guards were killed by a Russian strike and would receive posthumous honours. Exodus to the west Ukrainians have been fleeing into neighbouring Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia - mostly women and children - after Kyiv restricted passage for men between 18 and 60 years old. Poland's deputy interior minister Pawe Szefernaker said Ukrainian bus drivers were unable to drive across the border as conscription-age men were being held back in Ukraine. Ukraine voted for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and has recently stepped up efforts to join NATO and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow. NATO leaders, meanwhile, are meeting today to discuss the military alliance's next step, although Ukraine is not a member country. Since the invasion, Western countries have announced sanctions on Moscow touted as "far stronger than earlier measures", including blacklisting its banks and banning technology imports. They stopped short of forcing Russia out of the SWIFT system for international bank payments, drawing criticism from Kyiv which says the most serious steps should be taken now. The Kremlin has said the sanctions will have an impact on the country, but can be overcome. World markets brace for impact Russia is one of the world's biggest energy producers, and both it and Ukraine are among the top exporters of grain. War and sanctions are set to disrupt economies around the world. Oil and grain prices have soared, however share markets around the world, many of which plunged on Thursday at news of the outbreak of war, appear to have bounced back. Later this Friday, the United Nations Security Council is due to vote on a draft resolution condemning the invasion, though Moscow is certain to veto it. China, which recently signed a friendship treaty with Russia, has refused to call Moscow's actions an invasion. Health Ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are in a two-day ongoing meeting in Accra to discuss and adopt the newly developed West African Health Organisation (WAHO) vision 2030 strategic framework. The WAHO vision 2030 developed for health organisations in Africa is expected to guide member states towards the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for improved quality of live in the sub-region. When adopted, the document will provide a regional roadmap that will enable multisectoral interventions for improved health outcomes of the people in the sub region in the next eight years. Professor Stanley Okolo, Director General of the WAHO, said at the opening of the assembly on Thursday that the document would focus more on improving the health and wellbeing of the public by focusing more on nutrition, obesity and ensure that children got the needed vaccines required for growth. The newly developed WAHO Vision 2030 is framed around three goals- to accelerate access to inclusive and affordable quality health, to ensure effective public health emergency preparedness and response capabilities and promote organisational excellence in the ECOWAS region. Prof Okolo said the WAHO vision 2030 was facilitated by the Tony Blair Institute with inputs from WAHO staff, member states as well as partners and stakeholders. Before the development of WAHO vision 2030, ECOWAS ministers of health adopted the WAHO 2016-2020, a four -year strategic plan, which focused on improving health programmes, providing technical and financial assistance to member states in the sub region, among others. The WAHO Director General said the development of the WAHO vision 2030, for adoption was one year late due to the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Ghana's Minister for Health, who opened the meeting said WAHO's Vision 2030 was very apt as it aligned directly with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). He said the old strategic plan saw the roll-out of many health interventions and programmes within the ECOWAS region, including health information and research for health, access to health, epidemics, disease control and emergency preparedness. The Health Minister said Ghana launched its revised National Health Policy (2020) and a new Universal Health Coverage (UHC) roadmap in 2020 to reinforce the government's commitment to ensuring that no one was left behind. This new WAHO document has come at an opportune time as it will afford us the chance to align our next health sector medium-term development plan to achieve policy coherence and better efficiency, he said. Mr Agyeman-Manu encouraged all ECOWAS member states to continue to work together in unity. GNA The Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, Mrs Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has said there is a gap within the National Democratic Congress (NDC), as far as internal cohesion is concerned. She admitted to it in an interview with Hajia Bintu Saana on CTVs morning show Dwabre Mu on Friday, 25 February 2022. I want to call on the NDC, on all of us, that everybody has a contribution; some have [knowledge], some have experience, some have some competencies that even if you become a party executive, you havent seen before, so, if you go as an elected official and you think all the work is in your pocket, across the country, [then the work will be difficult], she said. This one is a direct appeal to the party activists, supporters, volunteers: Look, where there is no cohesion, the work will be difficult, he observed. Apart from that I went through about five, six of the Westminster political courses every political party has a group that thinks for the party, she added. Asked if the NDC has that kind of group, Mrs Bawah Mogtari said: We used to have but I dont know if all those; you understand. When Hajia Bintu wondered if there was no sense of leadership in the party, she said: Theres leadership but look, we must open up; politics has changed, adding: It is not like it used to be. Look at the number of strategies that even the opposition NPP had about polling, about this, about [that], she pointed out. I remember the first time that I participated in political polling; it was under a man called Carl Silverman. I wasnt even a branch executive but each time they came to the ministries, they always looked for people who are affiliated to tell them which officers are NPP, NDC because, at that time, they were removing a lot of people from their offices because Kufuor had just [come into power], she recalled. All of these things were research-based, so, our party, too, must have its people, the former deputy minister of transport stressed. We must start looking at cohesion, she reiterated. Asked if there was a gap in terms of internal cohesion, she said: You can always tell there is some gap, explaining: Elected officers, they dont want to open up to anybody and have the Nobody should tell them how to do their job kind of attitude. Using her personal experience to buttress her point, Mrs Bawah Mogtari said: I even sent a message forwarded to me to a very key person in the party; the person called me back and asked me: Ah, why are you forwarding this to me by text? Oh, please, its not safe. What is not safe about a text? she asked. Weve been told how people monitor our phones and everything, she added. Asked by Hajia Bintu if the party has internal problems, she responded: Tony Aidoo has always been saying something every day: we must learn to speak truth even to our own internal power. We must arrive at a point where; what is it we are looking for? We want power. She said: Today, me, if you ask me, I have no doubt in my mind that President Mahama is actually one of the individuals who has the pulse of Ghana at his fingertips. Mrs Mogtari added: A lot of the lies and propaganda; we have come to see that all that our opponents wanted was power to take whatever was available, even for the poor Ghanaians. Go round the country and see. ---Classfmonline.com Mrs Joyce Bawah Mogtari, Special Aide to former President John Mahama has said there is no need for the e-levy which government earnestly wants to be approved by parliament. The initially proposed 1.75 per cent levy is meant to affect some electronic transactions. The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Minority Caucus as well as some civil society organisations, have expressed intense opposition to the tax. The government, however, insists it is necessary for the countrys fiscal health. The current hang parliament has also made it difficult for the government to railroad the bill. Speaking on the subject, Mrs Mogtari told CTVs Dwabre Mu host Hajia Bintu Saana in an interview on Friday, 25 February 2022: My take on e-levy is that it is totally unfounded, it is totally unnecessary, it is completely needless. She said: When Nana Akufo-Addo became president, he explained that first, he was coming to protect the public purse. He said borrowing was a lazy mans business. His vice-president said there was money in this country; hes been at the Bank of Ghana and he knows that Ghana has enormous wealth and that the exchange rate will expose you if the fundamentals were weak. According to her, The only reason that they were doing that was because we had taken that undue step of going to the IMF for policy credibility. But, my sister, you know that all the IMF gave us was two tranches which totalled $2 million $900-and-something in the beginning and the next $900-and-something arrived when we had left office, she recalled. Additionally, Mrs Mogtari denied claims that employment in the government sector was frozen as a result of going to the IMF in the Mahama era. That story they even told to malign us that we had actually stopped intakes into civil and public service, how can that possibly be true? The civil and public services have always been a training ground, she noted, adding: Did you hear about any rationalisation? You would have heard about the uproar? Today, she contrasted, have you seen the office of government machinerys budget? What they received this year and the addition, the extra which totals about GHS500 million. While in opposition, she noted, Nana Akufo-Addo travelled business class as a presidential candidate but now flies on chartered private jets for his international trips. Now, the presidents private travels and lavish accommodations alone, during his last trip to some European countries, cost about GHS4.9 million, the former deputy minister of transport told Hajia Bintu Saana. How many NABCo graduates cant that money pay? she wondered. North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa recently computed that the Ghanaian taxpayer would shoulder a staggering US$776,000 or the cedi equivalent of GHS4,979,328.16 for the presidents 10-day working visit to France, Guyana, Belgium, Germany and UK for opting to travel on a chartered private jet instead of Ghanas presidential jet. According to him, the cost was much higher than the GHS4.6 million the government has been unable to release to the Student Loan Trust (SLT) since last year, which has made it impossible for the SLT to cater for the needs of thousands of tertiary students for more than a year. What should further embarrass all well-meaning Ghanaians is the fact that our real-time tracking reveals that none of the African presidents joining President Akufo-Addo for these meetings is engaged in such unconscionable hedonistic misconduct. They are all making good use of their national presidential jets, Mr Ablakwa said in a Facebook post. The President left for Accra on Thursday, 10 February 2022 and returned on Sunday, 20 February 2022. In Bawah Mogtaris view, such trips were unnecessary. At least, if I dont know anything, I know about international law and how it works. If, for example, the UK has voted that this amount will come to Ghana, whether you travel there or not, the money will come, she told Hajia Bintu Saana on the Accra-based station. Comparing the Ghanaian leaders foreign trips with those of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Mrs Bawah Mogtari said the latter is a man of enormous wealth and can own any jet under the sun but weve seen photos of him travelling commercial. In any case, she noted, what do presidents do? President Kufuor used to travel first class; President Mahama, the same; President Mills, the same, she observed. In fact, she recalled, At the time when Nana Addo was Candidate Nana Addo, there were many times when we were travelling, as part of the presidential entourage, [and] we would meet him on the flight. Even then, he was travelling business. So, what are we talking about? ---Classfmonline.com Five workers with the French medical charity MSF have been kidnapped in Cameroon's Far North, a region troubled by jihadist insurgents, MSF and a senior local official told AFP on Friday. Armed men in Fotokol, near the border with Nigeria, on Thursday entered a building used by MSF and "five members of our team were taken away," the charity said in an email. The five comprise three aid workers with Chadian, Senegalese and French-Ivorian nationalities, and two Cameroonian security guards, a local administrative official said. The Far North is a tongue of land that lies between Nigeria to the west and Chad to the east. It touches on the marshlands of the Lake Chad region, where Boko Haram jihadists and militants from the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) are notorious for attacks on troops and civilians. In September 2019, six Cameroonian soldiers were killed near Fotokol by suspected Boko Haram members. Last August, 26 Chadians were killed in the marshlands just on the other side of the border. But the local official cautioned that there was "no evidence" yet "to connect this incident to (jihadist) attacks." "We don't know if it was a simple robbery that went wrong. A safe was opened," he said. "The identity and the motives of those behind it are unclear." The army has launched a search for the five, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. Cameroon's troubled Far North region. By AFP Violence in the Lake Chad area began with the rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria in 2009. Since then, more than 36,000 people have died, most of them in Nigeria, and three million have fled their homes, according to UN figures. The attacks prompted countries in the region in 2015 to set up a joint anti-jihadist mission, the Multinational Mixed Force (MMF), gathering troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Six MMF troops -- four Nigerians and two Nigeriens -- died last December during a sweep in the marshlands in which 22 jihadists were also killed, according to the authorities. ISWAP emerged in 2016 as a splinter group from Boko Haram amid a dispute over the indiscriminate targeting of Muslim civilians and the use of women suicide bombers. Boko Haram announced last June that its leader, Abubakar Shekau, had died in internecine fighting with ISWAP. In addition to jihadist attacks in the north, Cameroon is struggling with an insurgency in two western regions, where militants among the country's anglophone minority have launched a campaign for a separate state. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered military forces and missiles in Ukraine. A few hours later, a Haitian political leader Werley Nortreus has said he wants the Caribbean nations to stay away from Ukraine's ongoing crisis to protect the Caribbean territories. In recent days, Russia and Ukraine have been in conflict because the Russian president wanted to protect his territory from Ukraine. Several sources have confirmed that Russia doesn't want other nations to join in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech that he announced a military operation in Ukraine, and he also said that countries that interfere with Russian actions will face consequences you have never seen, Russian media outlets announced. To anyone who would consider interfering from outside: If you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history, said President Putin. On Thursday, rising Haitian political leader Werley says he does not want the Caribbean nations to join Russia and Ukraine's ongoing crisis in order to protect the Caribbean territories as the Russian President Putin already warned that nations that join Ukraine will face consequences that they have never seen before. There has been a conflict between Russia and Ukraine for some time. Russian President Putin has warned other nations. What is happening is not small, which is why I want Haiti and other nations in the Caribbean to stay away from this. In fact, Haitians know that Haiti has no military and nuclear forces to fight with other countries. It makes sense for the Caribbean nations to stay away from such war, said Werley. After Russia invaded Ukraine, many countries in the world spoke to President Putin by telephone. Countries such as India, Turkey, Brazil, Iran, and many others claimed that they are ready to respond to any nations that attack Russia. I am warning and advised Caribbean countries to stay away from such chaos because it will not be good for the future of Caribbean countries if they ever attack the Caribbean, which will lead to World War III, said Werley. 25.02.2022 LISTEN Yesterday, 24th February, marked the 56th anniversary of the overthrow of President Nkrumah of blessed memory. I write in honour of President Nkrumah and all that he did for Ghana, Africa and the world. Indeed, I write as a proud African and an objective Nkrumahist. Nkrumah, in death, has turned on its head the saying that " the evil that men do, lives after them but the good is oft interred with their bones". For him, the evil has been interred with his bones and the good lives on. Let us leave the great man whose address, delivered to the inaugural meeting of the O.A.U. on 24th May, 1963 in Addis Ababa is considered by many to be the greatest speech ever delivered by an African and imagine the future. It is a decade from now and we are alive. The President of Ghana has the power to make proclamations that have the force of law. And he can sack any member of the superior court at any time for reasons that appear to him sufficient! And by the way, a constitutional amendment that passed with 98% support has turned Ghana into a one-party state! And most of those who speak up-- both from the opposition and his own party are in Preventive Detention. All these would be against the 1992 constitution but they were in the 1960 constitution, as amended in 1964 when Osagyefo left for Hanoi, never to return! If this happened at this future date, what would you do as a soldier? What would be your duty as a citizen? To acquiesce or to resist? About a year ago, we buried President Rawlings with full honours. He deposed a government that had evinced no desire to prevent constitutional change and imposed pain and suffering on many Ghanaians. Was Rawlings, who could have joined the political space but destroyed it and imposed so much suffering on Ghanaians more of a patriot that Afrifa and Kotoka? If yes, why? If no, why not? Was Ghana's tragedy what Nkrumah became by 1966 or his overthrow? How did the man who did so much for us become the man who left for Hanoi? I have heard the arguments about all those who were trying to kill him and how he had to deal with them. America has had many Presidential assassinations and never been a one-party state. Why couldn't we preserve a constitution based on the rule of law and Nkrumah's life? While moving the "Motion of Destiny", Nkrumah said, "Mr. Speaker, that self-government is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end-- to the end of building the good life to the benefit of all, regardless of tribe, creed , colour or station in life." He failed-- we failed. He should have walked out of power in broad daylight, surrounded by the adulation of a grateful people. I fear that we celebrate the wrong heroes and learn the wrong lessons from our history. Let us by careful study and discernment know whom to celebrate for our celebrations are prayers. We will get more of the heroes we celebrate. May God bless all the heroes of 24 February, including Afrifa, Ankrah, Bawah, Kotoka and Zanerugu. Long live Nkrumah. May God strengthen our democracy and may we grow from strength to strength guided by the spirit of "Yen ara yen asase ni". Arthur Kobina Kennedy (25th February, 2022) The Member of Parliament for Asawase in the Ashanti region, Muntaka Mohammed has condemned his colleague MP Alexander Afenyo-Markin for asking parliament to sanction media houses for the wrong reportage on his comments in parliament yesterday. Speaking in parliament today, Muntaka Mohammed stated that, although he understood Afenyo-Markin's anger over the matter, it was not in his place to determine the editorial policy of a media house. He added that, if the Deputy Majority Leader had issues with the said reportage, he should direct his complaints to the National Media Commission (NMC) and not the floor of parliament where the media houses had no say or representation. He said the Deputy Majority Leader's use of parliament to seek redress on the matter was an abuse of his position. He told the Second Deputy Speaker who presided over proceedings today, Honorable Andrew Asiamah Asamoah that he had personally listened and watched the tape and could testify that Mr. Afenyo-Markin mentioned the evacuation of Ghanaian students and linked it to the controversial E-levy. I have listened to the video more than 20 times, you mentioned Ukraine evacuation will cost money and it is the reason we should leave all this politicking. Dollar is having a challenge that is why E-levy must be approved. You said it, the video is here, I have forwarded it to all of them so you can disagree with how they framed their headline, but it is not for us to tell a news portal how their headline should be, he said in Parliament. The MP for Asawase indicated that it was not right for the Effutu lawmaker to demand that parliament sanctions media houses for the reportage on his comments when as an MP he knew the right place to seek redress. You may disagree with how they captured the headline, but it is not for us to determine how the headline should be and so please lets allow speakers ruling to stand, lets meet in confidence look at the thing together and if theres a reason genuinely why you want what you want to be done then as a house we can come together, but you cannot insist that what you want be done your way. That cannot be right, he advised Mr. Afenyo-Markin. He said the MP was taking advantage of his presence in the chamber to the disadvantage of the media houses that did not have audience in the house. The Deputy Majority Leader and MP for the Effutu Constituency in parliament on February 24 stated that the E-levy was needed to support government evacuate Ghanaians stranded in Ukraine. Afenyo-Markin is reported to have said, as a businessman, I am worried. I am concerned knowing that the value chain is going to be affected, imports will cost, duties will cost and if you look at what is happening to the cedi, now dollar is moving around a certain figure. There is going to be pressure on the limited resources that we have and as a nation, Ghanaian businesses who are supposed to do well to pay taxes they are going to suffer, their businesses will not do well the way they expect, their projections will be affected, that is the reality and I must bring this to the attention of all of us so that any policy that will be brought will be seen in that light, Of course Honourable Deputy Minority leader, you have not spoken into the mic but if you are talking about the E-levy, this is the more important reason why we need it. If you are talking about the E-levy, that was the next point I was getting to, that we should congregate around it and find a way of generating revenue as a country to save the situation because we are not in normal times. Haruna Iddrisu couldnt have raised this matter at a better time than now. Following the backlash from Ghanaians who were appalled by his comments as the video went viral, the MP has beseeched parliament to look into the matter as he claims he did not suggest that the E-levy was needed to evacuate Ghanaians from Ukraine. He prayed the Speaker to direct media houses to pull down what he described as misreportage of his words. The Speaker however ruled that the matter would be discussed by the leadership. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina Constituency, Mr. Francis Xavier Sosu is advocating for the security arrangements at various court houses to be tightened. It follows this weeks unfortunate incident at the Accra High Court where the firearm of a Prison officer mistakenly went off. The officer who was part of a team escorting suspected kidnappers to the court to stand trial injured himself in the foot and had to be rushed to the court clinic for medical attention. Concerned for the lives of judges and lawyers, Francis Xavier Sosu who is himself a lawyer is pushing for tightened security measures in the courts in the country. As a result, the Madina MP subsequently after Wednesdays gunshot incident filed an urgent question to the Minister of Justice and Attorney general to tell the house steps being taken to ensure the safety of all our courts across the country. In Parliament today, Francis Xavier Sosu expressed worry over how the question he filed is not being treated with the seriousness it deserves. In the course of the week there was an unfortunate incident where a prison officer accidentally discharged firearm in court, and for which reason, I filed an urgent question to the Minister of Justice and Attorney general to tell the house steps being taken to ensure the safety of all our courts across the country in the light of the said accidental discharge of the firearm. My checks indicate that the question has been admitted but it hasnt been programmed for next week even though I think it is a very urgent matter, the Madina MP said on the floor of parliament. With Parliament already adjourning for the week after todays sitting, Francis Xavier Sosu has decided to push for answers next week when sitting resumes. Meanwhile, Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah has already ordered an investigation into last Wednesdays gunshot incident. WASHINGTON, February 22, 2022 The World Bank Groups (WBG) Board of Executive Directors today discussed a new five-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Ghana for 2022 to 2026 . The CPF prioritizes investments in human capital, job creation, economic diversification, building a resilient health system, and fostering a greener and more inclusive society. Ghana has achieved considerable economic and social progress in the past 30 years. It achieved middle-income status in 2011 because of strong, sustained economic growth, averaging over 5 percent since the early 1990s. This was supported by a stable democracy and driven largely by gold and cocoa exports and the development of substantial oil and gas reserves. It achieved the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving poverty from 52.7 percent (1993) to 23.4 percent (2016). However, the pace of poverty reduction has slowed in recent years, and inequalities in some areas continue, particularly in some northern areas of the country. The CPF will support Ghana in its COVID-19 and medium-term development agenda. It is designed around three mutually reinforcing focus areas, namely: Enhancing Conditions for Private Sector Development and Quality Job Creation; Improving Inclusive Service Delivery; and Promoting Resilient and Sustainable Development. Exploiting the opportunities of digital transformation will be a cross-cutting theme. The $4.5 bn CPF was prepared jointly by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The World Bank Group is happy to support Ghanas economic recovery plan. The CPF is aligned with Ghanas Coordinated Program of Economic and Social Development Policies and will support the Government of Ghana in creating a competitive environment for the private sector to flourish and play a greater role in job creation particularly for youth, said Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The World Bank Group, through the CPF, will also support policies and programs that aim to strengthen digital transformation for improved service delivery and productivity, improve governance, and promote greater inclusion, including strengthening womens economic empowerment. The social and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis has been significant. Ghana was one of the earliest countries in Africa to announce social distancing measures, including school closures and cancelling of mass gatherings, complemented by aggressive testing and recently a strong vaccination program. These measures - while saving lives - came at a heavy economic cost in the immediate term. The CPF will address the immediate as well as medium-term implications of the COVID-19 crisis in line with the Ghana Coronavirus Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support program and lay a path on how the World Bank, IFC, and MIGA, will leverage their relative strengths to partner with Ghana for stronger development outcomes. IFC will continue to work closely with the Government of Ghana and the private sector to provide investment and advisory services for expanding access to finance for micro, small, and medium enterprises, enhancing agribusiness growth and productivity, and supporting Ghanas sustainable industrialization for secure jobs, said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Senior Country Manager for Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The CPF focuses on improving the investment climate and enacting regulatory reforms. Succeeding in these reforms would be critical for accelerating private sector development, said Merli Baroudi, MIGAs Director of Economics and Sustainability. The CPF will move towards larger and more cohesive and transformational interventions, potentially across multiple sectors, that align closely to strong government programs and with greater use of results-based financing, where appropriate. It is designed to be flexible, especially during its early years of implementation, with an early review of progress to accommodate needed changes for a post COVID-19 recovery. MOSCOW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a Russian delegation to the Belarusian capital of Minsk for negotiations with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. The Russian team will consist of representatives of the defense ministry, the foreign ministry and the presidential administration, Peskov said. Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a televised address that he wants to hold negotiations with Russia over its military operation. Peskov recalled the purpose of Russia's operation is to "help the Lugansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic, including by the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, which is actually an integral part of the issue for Ukraine's neutral status." Also on Friday, Putin held a phone conversation with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who promised to create all the necessary conditions for the Russia-Ukraine talks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a briefing that his country has no plan to occupy Ukraine and Moscow is ready to hold negotiations straight after the Ukrainian forces "lay down their arms." Russian forces have blockaded the Ukrainian capital of Kiev from the west, and they also continue to perform tasks in the areas of other cities, said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov. Foreign nationals in Ukraine are being evacuated to Romania, Slovakia and Poland due to the Russia-Ukraine impasse, a Ghanaian student in Ukraine, Nana Kwame Appiah Denis, has revealed. He said most of these foreign nationals are students. They have been asked not to carry too many luggage on them in order to make their movement easier, he told TV3s Komla Adom on the mid day news, Friday, February 24. I am safe where I am but the situation now is that a lot of students especially, from the Western side of Ukraine are moving to Poland. As at now, Poland, Romania, Slovakia have opened their borders to allow foreign nationals. As at now, we know that many students are organizing buses, you will be advised not to take too much things to make it easier to carry the few things that you have with you. Even getting monies from the ATMs is also is a major problem because there is a limit to how much you can withdraw now, Nana Kwame Appiah said. The Government of Ghana expressed concerns about the safety of Ghanaian students in Ukraine following the conflict with Russia. In series of tweets on Thursday, February 24, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration said The Government of Ghana is gravely concerned about the security and safety of our over 1000 students and other Ghanaians in Ukraine and has asked them to shelter in place in their homes or in government places of shelter, as we engage the authorities, our relevant diplomatic missions and our honorary consul on further measures. Meanwhile, Ghana's Honorary Consul to Ukraine, Dr. Albert Kitcher has said it is not possible to evacuate Ghanaian students and Ghanaians in general from Ukraine at the moment following the Russia-Ukraine crisis. He said the airspace of Ukraine has been shut hence, air travels are not possible. Alternatively, he said, Ghanaians living close to the Russian borders will need to relocate to safer locations in Ukraine. Speaking on the mid day news on TV3 Thursday, February 24, Dr Kitcher said The Ghanaian community is safe despite the early morning issue we all woke up to. As of last night, there was a state of emergency which was declared and because of that, I sent messages to them. So, I will say that our people are safe and I have spoken with some even this morning. He added Where we are now, if we have everything we cannot evacuate because the Airspace of Ukraine is currently shut. What can be done is, if we identify any areas that prove to be problematic or people will be vulnerable there, to relocate them or evacuate them to a safer place. We had all these in plan knowing this will develop, so already, the Mission and the Ministry was working on the modalities to get the students out. If there will be any evacuation it will be an evacuation to safer place. We ourselves are looking at the situation, as it is now, if a place is so close to the Russian border we will want people to move from there. I had a communication also from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ukraine and they advise that people stay calm. Although Ghanaian students in Ukraine have said they are safe in the interim, they have asked the Government of Ghana to prioritize evacuating them from that country due to the crisis with Russia. President of the Ukraine Chapter of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) , Dr Phillip Bobie Ansah also told TV3's Komla Adom on the Mid day news on Thursday February 24 that absolutely, we are all safe as we speak now. Regarding the plea for them to be evacuated, he said we have heard responses from the embassies. ---3news.com A Ghanaian student in Ukraine, Nana Kwame Appiah Denis, has revealed that he and his colleagues in that country are having difficulties accessing cash from the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) due to the crisis. I am safe where I am but the situation now is that a lot of students especially, from the Western side of Ukraine are moving to Poland. As at now, Poland, Romania, Slovakia have opened their borders to allow foreign nationals. As at now, we know that many students are organizing buses, you will be advised not to take too much things to make it easier to carry the few things that you have with you. Even getting monies from the ATMs is also is a major problem because there is a limit to how much you can withdraw now, he told TV3s Komla Adom on the mid day news on Friday February 25. The Government of Ghana expressed concerns about the safety of Ghanaian students in Ukraine following the conflict with Russia. In series of tweets on Thursday, February 24, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration said The Government of Ghana is gravely concerned about the security and safety of our over 1000 students and other Ghanaians in Ukraine and has asked them to shelter in place in their homes or in government places of shelter, as we engage the authorities, our relevant diplomatic missions and our honorary consul on further measures. Meanwhile, Ghana's Honorary Consul to Ukraine, Dr. Albert Kitcher has said it is not possible to evacuate Ghanaian students and Ghanaians in general from Ukraine at the moment following the Russia-Ukraine crisis. He said the airspace of Ukraine has been shut hence, air travels are not possible. Alternatively, he said, Ghanaians living close to the Russian borders will need to relocate to safer locations in Ukraine. Speaking on the mid day news on TV3 Thursday, February 24, Dr Kitcher said The Ghanaian community is safe despite the early morning issue we all woke up to. As of last night, there was a state of emergency which was declared and because of that, I sent messages to them. So, I will say that our people are safe and I have spoken with some even this morning. He added Where we are now if we have everything we cannot evacuate because the Airspace of Ukraine is currently shut. What can be done is, if we identify any areas that prove to be problematic or people will be vulnerable there, to relocate them or evacuate them to a safer place. We had all these in plan knowing this will develop, so already, the Mission and the Ministry was working on the modalities to get the students out. If there will be any evacuation it will be an evacuation to safer place. We ourselves are looking at the situation, as it is now, if a place is so close to the Russian border we will want people to move from there. I had a communication also from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ukraine and they advise that people stay calm. Although Ghanaian students in Ukraine have said they are safe in the interim, they have asked the Government of Ghana to prioritize evacuating them from that country due to the crisis with Russia. President of the Ukraine Chapter of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) , Dr Phillip Bobie Ansah also told TV3's Komla Adom on the Mid day news on Thursday, February 24 that absolutely, we are all safe as we speak now. Regarding the plea for them to be evacuated, he said we have heard responses from the embassies. ---3news.com Deputy Minority Chief Whip Ahmed Ibrahim has said some Majority MPs who are not ministers of state under President Nana Akufo-Addo are cash-strapped. According to him, many of the NPP MPs are living in opposition despite their party being in power. Mr Ibrahim, who is also the NDC MP for the Banda constituency in the Bono East Region made this comment on the Citizens Show hosted by Kwabena Bobie Ansah on Accra100.5FM on Thursday, February 24, 2022. I had many of these MPs confide in me as an opposition leader in parliament that if they want contracts from the system, they have to go begging some family and friends of the sitting president, he alleged. Many of these Majority MPs are suffering more than some of us in opposition, he said. He stated further that there is apathy on the part of the Majority MPs. As for us [NDC MPs], the citizens know we are in opposition but those in government are suffering because the party is not supporting their activities at the constituency levels, he pointed out. He further alleged that some ministers who are MPs are not independent, as procurements at their various Ministries, Departments and Agencies are done from the Finance Ministry. He explained that some of the MPs are only ministers in name whereas decisions are taken for them at different quarters. This is the situation many of these Majority MPs are faced with, he said. 25.02.2022 LISTEN A Police operation has foiled an intended robbery attack on passengers and motorists on the feeder road between Nyamebekyere-Kokotenten which is robbery prone in Obuasi. The operation has led to the shooting of one of the suspected robbers. Four other suspected robbers who were not within the range of the Police escaped arrest and are being pursued. Police report shows that at about 5:30 am on Thursday, February 24, 2022, intelligence was gathered that some persons were planning to rob passengers on the feeder road between Nyamebekyere Kokotenten, which is a robbery prone area. On receipt of the information, a Police team was dispatched to patrol that stretch of the road on board a private Hyundai Grace when they encountered five men armed with guns. The armed men on seeing the private Hyundai Grace vehicle fired into the vehicle with the aim of robbing the passengers. The Police team returned fire and killed one of the suspected robbers while the rest who were far from the Police team fled into the bush. The deceased was later identified as Yaw Obolo, about 35 years of age. A locally manufactured single-barreled gun, eight (8) BB live cartridges and one Itel mobile phone were retrieved from the scene. Residents of the nearby community assisted the Police while they combed the area in search of the rest of the robbers but they were not successful. The deceased, Yaw Obolo, has been deposited at the Obuasi Government Hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy. The Police Administration assures the Public of doing all within their power to bring the rest of the suspected robbers to face the law. The public is also urged to support the Police with credible information to help arrest such miscreants. ---DGN online The Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament and Member of Parliament for Effutu Constituency, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has bemoaned the manner in which colleague MP Muntaka Mohammed is seeking to counter his disappointment and distress over media misrepresentation of his comments. He said, the advocacy of his fellow MP was surprising as he had been a victim of numerous media false reportages. The Deputy Majority Leader said he never stated that the country needed E-levy to evacuate Ghanaians from Ukraine as was widely reported in the media. The MP for Asawase who was trying to shoot down Afenyo-Markin's appeal to the Speaker to have the matter probed stated that, he had watched the video and could confirm that Mr. Afenyo-Markin did say that the controversial E-levy was needed to evacuate Ghanaians in Ukraine. Hon. Muntaka told Hon. Afenyo-Markin that he had no right to determine the editorial policy of media houses. These words did not sit well with the Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament who said, Honorable Muntaka Mubarak, it is rich to hear you advocate in this manner. I would subject all your comments to posterity and pray that we dont end our politics all too soon. Muntaka, you are not the one to say this, from how you have suffered at the hands of misreportage you are not this one to say this. The speaker however ruled that the matter will be handled by leadership of the house. On February 24, the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin stated that the government would need the e-levy to help evacuate Ghanaian students stranded in Ukraine as a result of the attack by Russia. However, he has today denied saying the E-levy was needed to evacuate the Ghanaian students as was widely reported in the media. His exact words were: as a businessman, I am worried. I am concerned knowing that the value chain is going to be affected, imports will cost, duties will cost and if you look at what is happening to the cedi, now dollar is moving around a certain figure. There is going to be pressure on the limited resources that we have and as a nation, Ghanaian businesses who are supposed to do well to pay taxes they are going to suffer, their businesses will not do well the way they expect, their projections will be affected, that is the reality and I must bring this to the attention of all of us so that any policy that will be brought will be seen in that light. Of course Honorable Deputy Minority leader, you have not spoken into the mic but if you are talking about the E-levy, this is the more important reason why we need it. If you are talking about the E-levy, that was the next point I was getting to, that we should congregate around it and find a way of generating revenue as a country to save the situation because we are not in normal times. Haruna Iddrisu couldnt have raised this matter at a better time than now. The President of Breast Care International (BCI), Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, has appealed to Senior High School students to involve themselves in the crusade against breast cancer in their various localities. She said, that can be done if they avail themselves to be educated on the disease which is the number one killer cancer among women. She believed that if they have the knowledge of the disease, they would be in a better position to educate their families about the misconceptions around breast cancer. Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai said this during free breast cancer screening and education at the Kumasi Wesley Girls' Senior High School in Kumasi, on Wednesday, February 23, 2022. The exercise was part of activities in celebrating the school's Students Representative Council (SRC) week. According to Dr Wiafe Addai, if the children are educated on the myths surrounding the disease, like its been caused by witchcraft, they will grow up well informed. "Most women believe that breast cancer is caused by witchcraft and can only be treated spiritually. After failed treatments, they will end up at the hospital where a little can be done to help them," she posited. This, she asserted, "if the children also educate their families on the disease, it will reduce the premature deaths among breast cancer patients after being enlightened on its causes, treatments and prevention by their children." Dr Mrs Wiafe Addai, who is also the CEO of Peace and Love Hospitals, asked the students to report early to the hospitals if they detect any unusual lumps in their breasts for prompt actions to be taken. The headmistress of the Kumasi Wesley Girls' Senior High School, Very Rev Monica Afriyie Ntiamoah, in thanking Dr Mrs Wiafe Addai and her team for the exercise, admonished the students to adopt the Self-Breast Examination (SBE) method to regularly check for any unusual lumps. The Ghana Police Service has announced that officers in Obuasi have mounted a search for four armed robbers that planned to attack motorists on the dawn of Thursday, February 24, 2022. A successful police operation yesterday saved passengers and motorists from a robbery attack as one of the robbers was gunned down. According to a Police report, at about 5:30 am on Thursday, intelligence was gathered that some persons were planning to rob passengers on the feeder road between Nyamebekyere Kokotenten, which is a robbery-prone area. On receipt of the information, a Police team was dispatched to patrol that stretch of the road onboard a private Hyundai Grace when they encountered five men armed with guns. The armed men on seeing the private Hyundai Grace vehicle fired into the vehicle with the aim of robbing the passengers. The Police team returned fire and killed one of the suspected robbers while the rest who were far from the Police team fled into the bush. A locally manufactured single-barreled gun, eight BB live cartridges and one Itel mobile phone was retrieved from the scene. Residents of the nearby community assisted the Police while they combed the area in search of the rest of the robbers but they were unsuccessful. As the police continue with investigations to arrest the four robbers that escaped, the body of the deceased who was later identified as Yaw Obolo, has been deposited at the Obuasi Government Hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy. Find more from the Police statement below: Police Foil Attack on Motorists, Gun down One Robber at Obuasi A Police operation has foiled an intended robbery attack on passengers and motorists on the feeder road between Nyamebekyere - Kokotenten which is robbery prone in Obuasi and led to the shooting of one of the suspected robbers. Four other suspected robbers who were not within the range of the Police escaped arrest and are being pursued. Police report shows that at about 5:30 am on Thursday, February 24, 2022, intelligence was gathered that some persons were planning to rob passengers on the feeder road between Nyamebekyere Kokotenten, which is a robbery prone area. On receipt of the information, a Police team was dispatched to patrol that stretch of the road on board a private Hyundai Grace when they encountered five men armed with guns. The armed men on seeing the private Hyundai Grace vehicle fired into the vehicle with the aim of robbing the passengers. The Police team returned fire and killed one of the suspected robbers while the rest who were far from the Police team fled into the bush. The deceased was later identified as Yaw Obolo, about 35 years of age. A locally manufactured single-barreled gun, eight BB live cartridges and one Itel mobile phone were retrieved from the scene. Residents of the nearby community assisted the Police while they combed the area in search of the rest of the robbers but they were not successful. The deceased, Yaw Obolo, has been deposited at the Obuasi Government Hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy. The Police Administration assures the Police of doing all within their power to bring the rest of the suspected robbers to face the law. The public is also urged to support the Police with credible information to help arrest such miscreants. Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak is demanding answers from the Majority Leadership on what has caused a rescheduling of the President's State of the Nation address. It was previously announced that the President's sessional address would be delivered on the 3rd of March, but that has been postponed, and no date has been given. The President's address will provide government's key policy objectives and deliverables for the year ahead, highlight achievements and challenges, and outline developmental measures for the coming financial year. But the Builsa South legislator said explanations must be offered for why the address has been put on hold. Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, we have to know why the address has been put on hold. I believe that as a nation; with the conditions facing us, we are all anxious to hear what the state of the nation is. So if it has been put on hold, we must know why. Article 67 of the Constitution mandates the President to present the address to Parliament at the beginning of each session of the lawmaking body and before the dissolution of the house. Following the recent happenings in the country; the controversial E-Levy, the spike in fuel prices, labour agitations, uncertainties in the educational sector, among others, may feature strongly in his presentation. The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has maintained that evacuating stranded Ghanaian students from Ukraine is the single most effective response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In a petition to the government on Friday February 25, NUGS said We therefore make the following recommendations which must all be geared ultimately towards evacuation, Parliament should direct and supervise our mission in Switzerland through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take immediate steps to make food, water and sanitary materials available to students while preparation for evacuation is underway. The embassy must improve its communication with students and establish formal means of giving out information to reassure the students who are losing hope in our systems. Meanwhile, a Ghanaian student in Ukraine, Nana Kwame Appiah Denis, has revealed that foreign nationals in Ukraine are being evacuated to Romania, Slovakia and Poland due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. He said most of these foreign nationals are students. They have been asked not to carry too many luggage on them in order to make their movement easier, he told TV3's Komla Adom on the mid day news, Friday February 24. I am safe where I am but the situation now is that a lot of students especially, from the Western side of Ukraine are moving to Poland. As at now, Poland, Romania, Slovakia have opened their borders to allow foreign nationals. As at now, we know that many students are organizing buses, you will be advised not to take too much things to make it easier to carry the few things that you have with you. Even getting monies from the ATMs is also is a major problem because there is a limit to how much you can withdraw now, Nana Kwame Appiah said. The Government of Ghana expressed concerns about the safety of Ghanaian students in Ukraine following the conflict with Russia. In series of tweets on Thursday, February 24, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration said The Government of Ghana is gravely concerned about the security and safety of our over 1000 students and other Ghanaians in Ukraine and has asked them to shelter in place in their homes or in government places of shelter, as we engage the authorities, our relevant diplomatic missions and our honorary consul on further measures. Meanwhile, Ghana's Honorary Consul to Ukraine, Dr. Albert Kitcher has said it is not possible to evacuate Ghanaian students and Ghanaians in general from Ukraine at the moment following the Russia-Ukraine crisis. He said the airspace of Ukraine has been shut hence, air travels are not possible. Alternatively, he said, Ghanaians living close to the Russian borders will need to relocate to safer locations in Ukraine. Speaking on the mid day news on TV3 Thursday, February 24, Dr Kitcher said The Ghanaian community is safe despite the early morning issue we all woke up to. As of last night, there was a state of emergency which was declared and because of that I sent messages to them. So, I will say that our people are safe and I have spoken with some even this morning. He added Where we are now, if we have everything we cannot evacuate because the Airspace of Ukraine is currently shut. What can be done is, if we identify any areas that prove to be problematic or people will be vulnerable there, to relocate them or evacuate them to a safer place. We had all these in plan knowing this will develop, so already, the Mission and the Ministry were working on the modalities to get the students out. If there will be any evacuation it will be an evacuation to a safer place. We ourselves are looking at the situation, as it is now, if a place is so close to the Russian border we will want people to move from there. I had a communication also from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ukraine and they advise that people stay calm. Although Ghanaian students in Ukraine have said they are safe in the interim, they have asked the Government of Ghana to prioritize evacuating them from that country due to the crisis with Russia. President of the Ukraine Chapter of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) , Dr Phillip Bobie Ansah also told TV3's Komla Adom on the Mid day news on Thursday, February 24 that absolutely, we are all safe as we speak now. Regarding the plea for them to be evacuated, he said we have heard responses from the embassies. ---3news.com President Nana Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians and all stakeholders that the government is determined to protect the territorial integrity of the nation. Our country and the sub-region currently faces a two-prong threat from violent extremism from the Sahel region which is fast moving southwards towards our northern borders and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea located on our southern borders. These threats demand enhanced collaboration of all security actors within the region. Government is determined to do everything within its power to guarantee the nations territorial integrity and ensure the safety of Ghanaians. That is why I have charged the highly respected Chief of Defense Staff to work with his counterparts in the region to develop possible course of actions against terrorism, violent extremism, he said at the commissioning of four 40-meter river class patrol boats for the Ghana Navy at the Western Naval Command in Sekondi in the Western Region. The vessels are GNS Volta-P40, GNS Densu-P41, GNS Pra-P42 and GNS Ankobra-P3. As part of government's effort to provide effective security to the offshore oil and gas infrastructure, approval was granted by the Ministry of Defense and the Ghana Navy to enter a lease agreement with Israel Shipyard Limited for the lease of four aluminium offshore security vessels. The vessels are to replace previous arrangements of using private vessels manned by naval personnel in providing security and support to oil and gas activities in the country's maritime domain. President Akufo-Addo also lamented the state of insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea. He noted that this is threatening the country's economic growth while also denting the image of coastal states in the Gulf of Guinea and said the investment made for the Ghana Navy is in order. The high dependence of the nation's economy on offshore resources, as well as the enormous potentials of the maritime sector to contribute to our food security and employment generation, makes provision of effective maritime security very imperative. Therefore the Ghana Navy deserves all the support it needs ---3news.com BERLIN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Germany's COVID-19 case numbers may have been underestimated, Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach said Friday, urging the population to remain cautious. "We have very high case numbers, which we may even be underestimating," Lauterbach said. Although the peak of the current wave has passed, he said "we are not safely out of the woods yet." Daily COVID-19 infections declined to 210,743 on Friday, around 9,300 less than a week ago, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases. Germany's seven-day COVID-19 incidence rate also continued to fall, reaching 1,259.5 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the RKI. However, Lauterbach stressed that the spread of the new subvariant BA.2, which is apparently less severe but more contagious, is problematic. In Germany, BA.2. currently accounts for around 16 to 17 percent of cases, and as much as 25 percent in large cities. Last week, the German government agreed on a three-step plan to gradually lift most COVID-19 restrictions by March 20. Meanwhile, contact restrictions for vaccinated and recovered people, as well as access restrictions for the retail sector, were dropped with immediate effect. Nevertheless, Lauterbach appealed to the federal states to refrain from easing restrictions any further. A top court in Gabon has dismissed a bid by opposition figures for a medical assessment of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who suffered a stroke more than three years ago. The group had filed a petition demanding that Bongo be tested to see whether he was fit to exercise his duties. But the Court of Cassation, the country's highest judicial body, on Friday rejected a 2020 decision by the Court of Appeal, which had authorised an ordinary court to rule on the request. Instead, the top court determined that a common-law court has no competence to rule on the head of state, according to the decision seen by AFP. Bongo, 63, the son of veteran former ruler Omar Bongo, suffered a stroke while on a trip to Saudi Arabia in October 2018. He needed months of convalescence abroad, and his long absences sparked speculation about his fitness to govern and fears about a vacuum of power. After slowly returning to the public eye, he has recently stepped up official activities, making live speeches and attending summits abroad, although he still needs to walk leaning on a stick or the arm of an aide. Bongo's entourage say he intends to seek the candidacy of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) for the August 2023 presidential elections. The petition was filed in 2019 by Appel a Agir (Call to Act), a group gathering 10 figures in civil society and politics in the central African state. "The Court of Cassation has just brought the final curtain down on this judicial rumour-mongering orchestrated by Appel a Agir," said Bongo's lawyer, Aimery Bhongo-Mavoungou. "This ruling opens the way to declaring once and for all that the president is in good shape, and nothing can prevent him from fully exercising his duties, which he does so well at the moment." Elza-Ritchuelle Boukandou, a lawyer who is a member of Appel a Agir, acknowledged that the group's legal strategy had now been "definitively rejected". "However, we will continue to press, before public opinion, for him to prove that his state of health enables him to run the country," she said. Bongo was elected president in 2009, succeeding his father, who had ruled for 42 years. He was re-elected in 2016 in a vote marked by a wave of deadly violence after the result was announced. Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the NDC running mate of John Dramani Mahama in the 2020 presidential election, has called for a national industrial policy. The industrial policy, which is to be crafted devoid of partisanship, together with five other proposals, could turn the fortunes of the Ghanaian economy around and spur the country into economic prosperity. The five other proposals are gender inclusiveness in the formal economy, promotion of ethnic diversity, international migration policy, digital transformation, and improvement of access to education to ensure job creation. Prof Opoku-Agyemang said this at an event to commemorate the overthrow of Ghana's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah on the theme: 56 years after the overthrow of Nkrumah; the state of the Ghanaian economy. She explained that with the economy being in deep distress, it was important to revisit some of the policies of Nkrumah with long-term plans that weaves all the sectors together, set proper benchmarks [for the plans] and do serious monitoring and evaluation. Such a vision must be anchored on uplifting the vulnerable and creating a prosperous nation that was at peace with itself and others. The industrial policy, as an official strategy of the country to encourage economic growth, she said, should focus on building a domestic manufacturing sector that was continentally and globally competitive. There was also the need for strengthening of the transport and telecommunication sector, which should be part of a cohesive and unified intervention towards making an entire economy grow over time. She also called for the importation of technologies that would gradually help in producing more goods in the country from scratch to finish than to import the finished products. That would spur large industries in every region in the country [based on the resources at their disposal] to engender economic transformation, create more decent employment and enhance the living conditions of the citizenry. She said: Although one cannot turn this around overnight, we need a roadmap on the sectors so an administration can decide to prioritise and we can grow our economy and evolve it. Prof Opoku-Agyemang added that it had become important to have a policy that would limit the importation of finished goods and emphasised on the creation of machinery. On the Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy), she was surprised that the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, said the country had no money, yet it expected the citizenry to have money to pay the E-Levy. She said: If what the Minister for Finance is saying is true, and since he hasn't denied, and I have no reason to doubt him that government has no money. How can the poor citizens have money? She said: What we need is proper economic planning that takes our circumstances into consideration with an overall aim of making us truly independent, and it shouldn't be that this country is doing it, therefore, we must do it. Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr, General Secretary of the Socialist Movement of Ghana (SMG), bemoaned the current state of the Ghanaian economy, and was worried about the use of statistical figures in determining the state of the economy rather than the real living conditions of the people. He insisted that taxation, including the E-Levy and going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank would not be a panacea to Ghana's economic woes. The World Bank, and Economic and Finance experts had said Ghana did not require an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to guarantee a strong economic footing to accelerate its national development. Mr Pratt said: Over the last five years, the price of 'kenkey' has doubled, and Our many friends and relatives have not been paid for seven months, even though they continue to go to work daily; that's a statement about the Ghanaian economy. He charged the government to utilise the country's natural resources and workforce, including professionals and those in academia to solve the economic challenges facing Ghana. GNA The growing level of indifference to work among young tertiary graduates is becoming a bane for Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in the private sector. At a meeting to launch the Ghana Chapter of the African Chamber of Trade (ACT), some CEOs called for a reengineering of the minds of the youth to have the right attitude and discipline to work and excel. Mr Victor Abbey, a management consultant and CEO of V5 solutions limited, said the work culture of the youth was affecting businesses and charged educational institutions to prepare young graduates for the world of work. That, he said would entail helping graduates understand the realities on the ground with manageable expectations and dedication to personal development. Mr Michael Bartlett-Vanderpuye, the Chairman of M&C Group Global, said negative attitude towards work was widespread among the Ghanaian youth, including artisans who were gradually losing out their jobs to expatriates within the subregion. Comparing the francophone labourers to ours, they work 24/7. Put a Ghanaian there and Saturday he will tell you he is going for a funeral, he said. The increasing level of young graduates in the country, he said, required the building of the capacity of the private sector and the creation of a conducive environment to engage the youth since government could not provide employment for all citizens. Sharing thoughts on creating conducive atmosphere for businesses, Mr Manuel Kwame Ahianyo, the CEO of Manglad Roofing Systems Ltd., advised against the use of taxes as a tool to coerce businesses into silence. He said the tax system had been structured in such a way that it could easily be used to target business owners who shared differing opinions on matters of national interest so if you speak the truth, you have become a target. The loopholes in the tax collection coupled with the lack of monitoring and enforcement of punitive laws on tax evasion, he said, tended to disincentivise businesses to be genuine. It looks like if you want to be the honest person in Ghana to do business and do the right thing and pay the taxes, you will pay more, and they come at you more, he said. Acting President of ACT-Ghana Chapter, Reverend Ismaila Awudu, said it was long overdue for businesses to unite, support one another to grow and be in a better position to take advantage of internal and external opportunities and build a stronger private sector. The ACT is a pan African chamber of commerce and industry, which promotes and facilitates intra-African trade and investment according to the terms of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Some member countries of the ACT are Benin, Gambia, Nigeria, Botswana and Rwanda GNA A circuit court in Koforidua has given the police a one month ultimatum to complete investigations and charge suspects involved in the attack on the Asamakese chief's palace and subsequently aiding the installation of a parallel chief. The court granted the plea of the Attorney General on Tuesday, February 22 to allow the police investigators to conduct a ballistic forensic examination on weapons retrieved from suspects during the raid on December, 20 last year. The court presided over by His Honour, Kwame Polley wants prosecution led by, David Hodanu, to expedite investigations into the case involving thirty-one (31) suspects. The court had granted bail to the suspects after they appeared before it a few months ago. They were arrested after thugs - allegedly hired by a faction in the chieftaincy dispute, Barima Pobi Asomaning - besieged the Asamankese palace to aid the performance of traditional rites for his enstoolment as a parallel Chief. The armed thugs violently invaded the palace amidst the firing of gunshots. According to a police report, nine (9) persons sustained injuries and were treated at the Asamankese Government Hospital. The Police in the cause of the arrest retrieved and seized 52 AA spent shells, one sidearm with 2 loaded magazines and one pump action gun from the Suspects. Barima Pobi Asomaning has been claiming legitimacy to the Asamankese stool. The revelation that the current occupant, Osabarima Adu Darko III has been gazetted was believed to have triggered the violent incident. The overlord of the area, Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin after the incident implored the Ghana Police Service to restore peace and order to the Asamankese traditional area. According to him, the impasse which resulted in the seizure and occupation of the Asamankese palace was an assault on the dignity and integrity of Okyeman. In a statement reacting to the events, the Okyenhene clarified that Osabarima Adu Darko III remains the legitimate Chief of Asamankese; thus the purported installation of Barima Pobi Asomanin II, is unlawful, irregular, uncustomary, and an aberration of Akyem Abuakwa custom and therefore null, void, and of no effect. He further stated that the said impasse had already been resolved in favour of Osabarima Adu Darko III and Barima Pobi Asomanin II fined The case has been adjourned to March, 24. Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei 25.02.2022 LISTEN The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has applauded the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) for ruling in its favour against the former Public Procurement Authority boss, Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei. A statement issued by GII on February 25, 2022 stated that CHRAJ had also ruled that the former CEO of PPA be disqualified from holding any public office for 10 years. According to the statement, Mr. A.B. Adjei was also directed by CHRAJ to declare his assets in accordance with Article 286(1) (c) of the 1992 constitution within three months. He was also directed to refund an amount of GHC 5,697,530.00 (less GHC 86,000.00) to the state within the next 6 months. The decision of CHRAJ was founded on new findings it made following a petition by the Ghana Integrity Initiative to the commission on October 4, 2019 after the contract for sale expose by renowned journalist, Manasseh Awuni Azure. The initiative petitioned CHRAJ to conduct investigations into possible breaches by Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei and other members of the PPA board. It alleged that Mr. Adjenim Boateng had been involved in corrupt practices and had used his position as CEO of PPA to facilitate his companies to win contracts. It also alleged that the companies he established and got contracts awarded to, subcontracted or sold the same contracts to other entities without the consent of the said entities and through that, enriched himself illegally and placed himself in contravention to Article 286 of the 1992 constitution and as such should be investigated. The Ghana Integrity Initiative also petitioned CHRAJ to investigate a company, TDL who was awarded a contract through the influence of Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei although it was less than 3 years old as a company. It asked CHRAJ to particularly investigate Thomas Amoah and public officers of the procurement entities for their involvement. After investigations, CHRAJ reported on February 16, 2022 that Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei and Dr. Emmanuel Yaw Boakye put themselves in positions that conflicted with their performance as CEO and Board Member. The report also stated that on two occasions, Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei used his position as CEO of PPA to alter board decisions in favour of TDL, a company he had personal interests in. In addition, the report stated that the former PPA boss failed to declare his assets as required by Chapter 24 of the 1992 constitution and Act 550. Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjeis unexplained wealth after investigations revealed that between August 2017 and August 2019 a huge amount of GHC 5, 697,530.00 in total had been deposited into his account therefore, CHRAJ ruled that he refunds that amount to the state. The Ghana Integrity Initiative praised CHRAJ for its investigation through the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to fast track the criminal investigation aspect of this case. 25.02.2022 LISTEN The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) chapter at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has voted to reject the decision by the National Executive Council (NEC) to suspend its strike action. NEC early this week announced through a statement after an emergency meeting that the over six weeks strike has been suspended for a period of two weeks as it returns to the negotiation table to demand from government to improve the conditions of service for its members. After that decision, the UTAG chapters in various universities have been engaged in a memorandum. At the end of the KNUST exercise today, the UTAG branch of the University in the Ashanti Region has rejected the NEC decision. Out of the 865 teachers that cast their votes, only 211 voted for the suspension of the strike with the remaining 654 rejecting the NEC decision. Speaking to Citi News in an interview, Dr. Eric Abavare who is Vice President of the KNUST UTAG chapter has stressed that although the suspension of the strike has been rejected, lectures will proceed from Monday, February 28, 2022, as planned by the management of the school. The voting today has been peaceful and ended successfully. The outcome is that the UTAG-KNUST branch has overwhelmingly rejected the decision from NEC that the strike should be suspended. It does not in any way stop lectures to continue. Lectures will continue in this period of two weeks where NEC has suspended the strike. Students must come to school, Dr. Eric Abavare. Meanwhile, the UTAG chapter at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, (UPSA) has also today voted to reject the decision of NEC. Similarly, lectures in the school which started on Wednesday will continue next week until the two weeks period communicated by NEC elapses. A journalism lecturer, Karl Tufuoh, has suggested that prospective journalists be certified before practice to improve the standards in the profession. He noted as an example that nobody who has not been to law school can practice law. Maybe the GJA and the National Media Commission should approach the government to take a look at those who will be allowed to practice journalism. Mr. Tufuoh noted for example that there are proposals from the Institute of Public Relations to certify all public relations practitioners. Maybe that is what journalism needs because all of us listen to various media houses and where people are treading, there is a very thin line between being defamed and fair comment. Mr. Tufuoh was contributing to a roundtable discussion on freedom of speech and media freedom on Friday held by Citi FM in collaboration with the National Media Commission. This was in the wake of the arrest of some persons, including a broadcaster, for comments made on air that were deemed unlawful. It turns out invariably that the majority of those people are those who have not been to some form of journalism school, Mr. Tufuoh observed. The roundtable discussion also featured the lawyer, George Sarpong, the founder of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Prof. Kwame Karikari, and the Managing Partner for Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, Ace Ankomah. It was moderated by Vivian Kai Lokko, Head of News at Citi FM and Citi TV. ---citinewsroom The National Media Commission (NMC) Chair, Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo, has said his outfit cannot be expected to leap to the defence of journalists who breach the law in their work. Mr. Ayeboafo said one of his challenges is that people think that we must defend everybody irrespective of what they do for as long as they are media people. He suggested that there was currently an unwillingness to accept the liability attached to the expression [of freedom of speech]. Mr. Ayeboafo reminded that the commission worked in the interest of more than just journalists and that they exist for all Ghanaians. The National Media Commission is not for journalists. It is for every Ghanaian. So if you are a journalist, and you malign an individual, it is the duty of the Media Commission to [support] that individual who has been so maligned, he explained. The National Media Commission is sent out with national resources, and the nation is responsible for the rights of every Ghanaian. Because of the commissions mandate, Mr. Ayeboafo added that we cannot sit down and allow one group of Ghanaians to be undermining the rights of another Ghanaian. A few broadcasters have faced scrutiny and arrest for comments made in public, calling into question the limits of freedom of speech and the reach of the criminal code. Accra FMs Kwabena Bobie Ansah, was for example arrested for alleging that the First Lady and the Vice Presidents wife had fraudulently acquired State lands at AU village, and around the Kotoka International Airport. Mr. Ayeboafo urged journalists and broadcasters to heed the guidance of the commission. The expectation is that if the National Media Commission says to put a brake on what you are doing, people will respect that because it is better than the policeman arresting you. Notwithstanding the recent arrests, the commissions chair stressed that Ghanaian media was in a healthier place than before. We are in better times than before, what we need to do is to make sure we are more professional in the things that we do, he said. He also highlighted the importance of journalists maintaining their integrity in such matters. If we as journalists want to be relevant to the people of Ghana, then we must take the first step and not defend when it is indefensible, otherwise we will lose face and every one of us will be put together and labelled as bad journalists. Mr. Ayeboafo was contributing to a roundtable discussion on freedom of speech and media freedom on Friday organized by Citi FM in collaboration with the NMC. The roundtable discussion also featured the lawyer, George Sarpong, the founder of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Prof. Kwame Karikari, and the Managing Partner for Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah, Ace Ankomah. It was moderated by Vivian Kai Lokko, Head of News at Citi FM and Citi TV. ---Citinewsroom 25.02.2022 LISTEN The Appiatse Disaster Relief Committee has set March 11 for the mass burial of persons who lost their lives in the Bogoso-Appiate explosion in the Prestea-Huni-Valley Municipality of the Western Region. The explosion occurred on January 20, 2022, after a truck carrying explosives owned by Maxam Limited got involved in an accident resulting in the explosion. Thirteen persons lost their lives while many others sustained varying degrees of injury. In an interview with Citi News, the Municipal Chief Executive for Prestea Huni-Valley, Isaac Dasmani, said families who prefer a private burial will be allowed to do so. Today [Friday] we met the bereaved families and had a discussion where the decision to have a mass burial for the deceased was taken. We set March 11, 2022, for the burial. Some families however begged to bury their dead privately, which we agreed to. The Appiatse disaster was one that destroyed a whole community, claimed lives, and left several others injured. The National Disaster Management Organisation with support from well-meaning Ghanaians, companies and organisations, has been taking care of the people by providing them with relief items and a temporary shelter since January 20, 2022. Currently, the rebuilding of the community is ongoing, whiles the committee inaugurated to probe the disaster has presented its report to the government. A support fund has also been set up by the government to help the rebuilding efforts and also offer support to the people. The government has fined Maxam company, which was responsible for transporting the explosives through its subcontractors $6 million. The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has since directed that $5 million of the amount be used in the rebuilding of the community. Accordingly, I have directed the Minerals Commission to ensure that the said Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) is paid to Appiatse Support Fund, in accordance with the agreed terms of payment, the President said. ---citinewsroom Baroness Catherine Hoey, UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Ghana, says the lack of international certification in gold trade is making it difficult for countries to directly buy gold from Ghana. She said the UK had interest in buying gold directly from Ghana but the country could not do so due to the lack of London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification. Bareness Hoey made the remarks when she paid a courtesy call on Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources at his office in Accra on Friday, February 25, 2022. The LBMA is the international trade association for the global Over the Counter (OTC) bullion market for precious metals. The Organisation works with miners, investors, fabricators, refiners, manufacturers, consumers and central banks from around the world, acting as the voice of the world's precious metals market, and the contact point for regulators, investors and clients. Bareness Hoey urged Ghana to work towards securing the certificate to facilitate gold trade between Ghana and the UK. UK can't buy gold from you directly. We always have to go to Dubai. The whole idea is to get accreditation for Ghana...It seems you're missing out on a lot of money and we need you to get the certification, she said. Bareness Hoey said the UK was also exploring investment opportunities in Ghana's tourism space among other trade areas. We want to get more UK tourists to come to Ghana, she said. Mr Jinapor said the LBMA certification was a priority for the Government, adding that the absence of the certificate was hindering Ghana's ability to participate in the entire gold value chain at the global level. He said securing the LBMA certification had been difficult for the country due to the cumbersome nature of the requirements set by the Organisation. Mr Jinapor said the Government had set up a committee to explore ways the country could attain the certificate. A committee has been set to try and navigate this LBMA but it's been really difficult. For instance, the LBMA outfit insist that the refinery must have worked continuously for three years, and they must satisfy certain requirements. The question is, if you don't give them the authorisation to sell to the market you ask them to sell, how do they fulfil this three-year mandatory requirement? Mr Jinapor said the appointment of Bareness Hoey as Trade Envoy to Ghana would bolster the trade relations between Ghana and the UK and called for more engagements to strengthen the relationship. GNA STOCKHOLM, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was too slow and characterized by a lack of leadership, according to a report released by the independent Corona Commission here on Friday. "We must not forget what the situation looked like in the spring of 2020. Sweden then occasionally had among the highest death rates in Europe," said Mats Melin, chairman of the commission, when presenting their final report. Since the start of the pandemic two years ago, COVID-19 has claimed 17,000 lives out of a population of 10.4 million. "Sweden should have opted for more rigorous and intrusive disease prevention and control measures," said the commission, which was appointed by the government in June 2020 to evaluate the COVID-19-related measures taken by the government, the administrative agencies concerned, the regions and the municipalities. Instead, while most other countries enforced strict lockdown rules, the Swedish strategy was based on advice, recommendations and voluntary measures. Although the commission found that this was in principle an appropriate approach as the government should not unnecessarily limit their citizens' freedoms, the report said that "it must not stand in the way of more rigorous action that may be required in particularly critical phases." "Earlier and additional steps should have been taken to try as far as possible to slow the spread of the virus in the community," the report said, suggesting that holidaymakers returning from the Alps, where the first European outbreak was reported, should have been placed in quarantine. The inquiry also found that shopping centers, restaurants, public indoor swimming pools as well as indoor cultural and sporting events should have been closed and canceled already in March 2020. However, this was not possible due to legislation that was not amended until mid-April the same year. "This was, as we stated in our second interim report, too late," the commission said in their final report. It also found that "the Public Health Agency should not have dismissed the use of (face) masks as a disease prevention and control measure in indoor settings and on public transportation." While most other countries introduced mandatory face mask rules early on, the Swedish Public Health Agency said that they could do more harm than good and give a false sense of security. Once the agency changed its mind in December 2020 and urged individuals to wear a mask when using public transport, many people ignored this. According to the report, the government also relied too much on the opinion of the agency and especially its director general. "It was clear that the agency was setting the pace, and that the government had no objection to it doing so." Consequently, the government's leadership in handling the pandemic was unclear. Besides criticizing how the pandemic was handled, the Corona Commission also said that their inquiry was hampered by substandard documentation and by "the government offices' initial reluctance to assist." The commission did not analyze recent developments, such as the government's handling of the Omicron variant that flooded Sweden in January and brought critical services to the brink of collapse. It did, therefore, not scrutinize the recent decision to remove virtually all restrictions as well as the advice that everyone with COVID-19 symptoms should be tested. The Corona Commission also said that the handling of the pandemic deserves further investigation. "The fact that the pandemic is not over means that it can only be regarded as a provisional balancing of the books," it said in the final report. 25.02.2022 LISTEN The Ada West District in the Greater Accra Region recorded 357 teenage pregnancy cases and seven cases of abortion in 2021. The pregnancies were among girls between 10 and 19 years. In 2020, 317 cases of teenage pregnancy and 18 cases of abortion were recorded in the district as against 372 pregnancies and 11 cases of abortion in 2019. The figures were in a press release issued after a stakeholders' meeting, which coincided with the launch of a project aimed at improving girls' access to quality education and sexual reproductive health services. A copy of the release signed by Mrs Celestina Andoh, the Executive Director of Indigenous Women Empowerment Network (IWEN Ghana), a non-governmental organization, mentioned lack of information on sexual reproductive health as the major cause of teenage pregnancy in the district. It explained teenage pregnancy was impeding girl-child education in the district as many girls who got pregnant dropped out of school. Although the Education Policy allows girls to return to school after delivery, many of the girls do not go back to school, the release stated. To control teenage pregnancy and reverse the trend, IWEN Ghana, an indigenous women's rights organisation has launched the six months project to empower girls with sex education. Plan International and Global Affairs Canada, international NGOs, are funding the advocacy project, which would also help girls, particularly, those with disabilities to realise their full potential. According to the stakeholders, the district has the highest teenage pregnancy cases in the Greater Accra Region which need to be tackled with the seriousness it deserves, it said. The release explained gender imbalances, socio-cultural attitudes on sexuality and poverty had increased the vulnerability of girls to sexual abuse and HIV and AIDS infections in the area. Gender-based violence is mostly perpetrated by boys and men and increasing awareness of gender-based violence will promote attitudinal change, it stated. Under the project, the release said men and boys knowledgeable on gender-based violence would be identified and trained as champions of change and they would be engaged to empower their peers on issues of sexual violence against girls as well as sexual reproductive health. The District Assembly is doing everything possible to make education more accessible to girls to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services, the release quoted Stella Kpondo, the Ada West District Planning officer. She, therefore, called for support from all stakeholders to improve girls' retention rate in schools in the district. GNA South Sudanese authorities should cease harassing and threatening journalists for their work covering the countrys parliament, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. At about 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 22, officers with the countrys National Security Service intelligence agency arrested eight journalists on the grounds of the parliament in Juba, the capital, according to news reports , CPJ interviews with several of those journalists, and Patrick Oyet, president of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan, a local trade group, who spoke to CPJ over the phone. The reporters were covering a press conference that included members of opposition parties when a group of NSS officers halted the briefing on the grounds that it was illegal, seized the journalists recording devices, and took them to the parliaments security office, according to those sources. The detained journalists included reporters for the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America, The City Review newspaper, Radio Bakhita, Eye Radio, The Insider South Sudan news website, No. 1 Citizen newspaper, and Radio Miraya, according to Oyet and the journalists who spoke with CPJ, who said they were held for about three hours and then released without charge. Authorities in South Sudan should focus on ensuring that journalists can effectively cover their nations politics, instead of detaining them for doing their jobs, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator. Security forces harassment and threats toward journalists who sought to cover an event at the countrys legislature show how far authorities are willing to go to control the public discourse. Voice of America reporter Winnie Cirino told CPJ that the NSS officers detained her and the other journalists minutes after the press conference began. The Insider South Sudan managing editor David Mono Danga, who also works as a reporter for Voice of America, told CPJ that he believed they were detained because they were covering an event held by opposition politicians. The press conference sought to address the intimidation of journalists and opposition lawmakers, as well as alleged government mismanagement, according to a press release by the members of parliament who held the conference, which CPJ reviewed. The NSS officers decided to put the whole thing on us, the journalists, The City Review reporter Keji Janefer told CPJ. They insisted it was our fault. At the parliaments security office, NSS officers attempted to question each journalist individually, but the reporters refused and said they should remain as a group; the officers then accused them of violating the rules concerning coverage of the legislature, The City Review reporter Sheila Ponnie told CPJ. After about an hour, the officers took the journalists by bus to an NSS office on Bilpam Road, also in Juba, Ponnie said. Cirino told CPJ that agents held the journalists in a group at that office, seized their phones, and then locked them in a room inside the building, where an officer lectured them on how they should conduct their work. After an hour, the NSS officers released the journalists without charge and returned their recorders and phones, but told them to delete any recordings of the press conference and threatened that, if the journalists outlets published stories covering the conference, the officers would hold them personally responsible, Cirino and Ponnie said. That was a serious threat to our lives, Danga said. That is a threat to my life and my family. Keji said it was very bad when security personnel start marking you, given the environment we are operating in. South Sudan ranked fourth on CPJs 2021 Impunity Index , which calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of a countrys population. Cirino, Danga, and Keji added that they were concerned about the security of information on their phones, as NSS officers had taken them out of their sight during their detention. CPJ has documented how digital forensics technology can be used to extract contacts and other information from journalists devices. Cirino told CPJ that, while they were at the parliament security office, the reporters communicated with Oyet and other journalists, who raised public awareness about the detentions on social media . Cirino and Keji said she believed that awareness and Oyets intervention at the Bilpam Road office helped secure their release without charge. Separately, Ponnie told CPJ that NSS officers at the parliament stopped her while she was working last week, ordered her to hand over her phone and, after she refused, forced her to delete recordings she had made. When CPJ called NSS Internal Security Bureau Director of Public Relations David John Kumuri for comment, he said he would call back after 30 minutes, but failed to do so. CPJ repeatedly called him back but he did not answer. Parliamentary spokesperson John Agany Deng told CPJ in a phone interview that the February 22 press conference was basically illegal and denied that the journalists had been arrested, before the call quality became too poor to understand him; he did not answer subsequent calls from CPJ. In broadcast media interviews this week, he defended NSS officers actions and alleged that the press conference was illegal and proper media procedures were not followed. CPJ also called Elijah Alier, the managing director of South Sudans media authority, and Sapana Abuyi, the authoritys director-general for information and media compliance, but the calls did not go through. A positive story is emerging from Eritreaa young, developing country that is on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal on child mortality by 2030. Child mortality rate is defined as the probability of a child dying before age five. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goal 3.2 targets a reduction in neonatal mortality to at least 12 per 1,000 live births and 25 or fewer per 1,000 live births for children under-5. With a population of 3.5 million, Eritrea has significantly reduced child deaths since it gained independence in 1993. Over almost three decades, the countrys child mortality rate has gone from 130 per 1,000 live births in 1993 to 39 per 1,000 live births by 2020. Eritreas child mortality rate is one of the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), although that figure remains slightly above the global average of 37 per 1,000 live births as of 2020. Still, the countrys performance is better than the SSA average, which is 73 deaths per 1,000 births. In fact, more than half of all child deaths globally in 2020 occurred in SSA, according to estimates by the UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME). Several factors account for Eritreas success, including sustained high-level political commitment. For example, the first international convention ratified by the Eritrean government post-independence was the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, reflecting the countrys priority on childrens health, wellbeing, and development. To strengthen the national health system, the government is strengthening health infrastructure, leading to improvements in access, coverage, and quality of services, especially in poor, remote and marginalized communities. There are currently about 350 health facilities in the country, including hospitals, health centers, clinics, and health stations, a marked improvement considering that there were 93 such facilities at independence. As well, the number of doctors, nurses and other health professionals continues to increase. Approximately 80 per cent of the population now lives within 10km of a healthcare facility, and that includes nearly 98 per cent of pregnant women who now have access to routine ante- and post-natal care. For example, in 1991, the percentage of pregnant women who made at least one ANC visit was about 19 per cent. In addition, the percentage of deliveries by skilled birth attendants has also risen, climbing from about only six per cent in 1991 to 71 per cent in 2019. Another strategy employed by Eritreas Ministry of Health is robust public campaigns to encourage women to visit healthcare facilities during pregnancy and delivery, promote adoption of basic interventions such as breastfeeding and vitamin-A supplementation, and provide families who reside in mosquito-endemic areas with insecticide-treated mosquito nets to prevent malaria. Eritreas road network that was 4930 km in 1991 is currently about 15,000 km, connecting over 85 per cent of cities and villages. Also, above 80 per cent of citizens have access to safe water because of expansion in water, sanitation, and hygiene services, which is a significant jump from 1991 when only a mere 13 percent of the countrys population had access to clean and safe water What is more, Minister for Land and Water Resources Tesfai Ghebreslassie says that more than 54 per cent of Eritrean communities have achieved open defecation-free status, while more than 50 per cent of schools and health facilities have water, sanitation and hygiene services. These facilities have contributed greatly to reducing the prevalence and spread of an array of serious diseases that thrive in contaminated water sources or unimproved sanitation conditions, and ultimately played a positive role in improving childrens general health and reducing child mortality. Central to its strategy to reduce child mortality is a national immunization program, which is helping to tackle preventable diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, and smallpox. The national immunization schedule today includes 12 different vaccines, whereas at independence it was only six, and according to UNICEF, the national coverage rate, which hovered at only 10 per cent at independence, now stands above 95 per cent - making it one of the highest in SSA. Notably, during a working visit to Eritrea in late 2021, Mohammed Malick Fall, UNICEF Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, explained that he was, struck by the level of immunization [of children], before going on to note that there, are many advanced countries that have a hard time reaching [those levels]. Lastly, Eritreas advances in womens education have led to increased enrollments, and literacy among girls aged 15-24 is now above 90%. Child mortality experts maintain that women with more education have fewer children and make better health decisions, including prenatal care, basic hygiene, nutrition, and immunizationvital to reducing the leading causes of deaths in young children. In 2020 alone, IGME reports that approximately 7.2 million children, adolescents and youth died mostly of preventable or treatable causes globally. In sum, while Eritrea still has some distance to cover to meet SDG child mortality reduction targets, the countrys performance so far in the sector indicates it is on the right path. For more information on COVID-19, visit www.un.org/coronavirus Africa Renewal The official start of free trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021 moved a major continental aspiration closer to reality. One year later, cross-border trade in goods and services may not exactly be in full swing as had been anticipated, but indications are that there is some progressthe cup is half-full, not half-empty. A major hurdle is ongoing negotiations on the remaining crucial elements of the trade pact, particularly rules of origin. However, in an interview with Africa Renewal last month, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, sketched an optimistic vision of 2022. In sum, AfCFTAs implementation will rev into higher gear, traders would be delighted, and the push toward accelerated industrialization of the continent should begin in earnest. Concluding negotiations on rules of origin, which is basically to determine the nationalities of thousands of products to prevent dumping, will be key to success. Already, negotiators have reached an impressive 87.8 per cent agreement on rules of origin. That includes more than 80 per cent of the about 8,000 products listed under the World Customs Organisation's Harmonized System of rules of origin and tariffs. Such a high threshold of consensus guarantees that the vast majority of products can be traded. What is outstanding are automobiles, textiles, clothing and sugar. These account for about 12-15 per cent of what we call the tariff book. We want to conclude negotiations on these so that we can reach a 100 per cent rules of origin convergence, Mr. Mene said. Mr. Mene is convinced that traders in Africa deserve an enabling environment, including robust market information and other incentives to power their businesses. The Futures Report 2021 launched last December in New York provides traders with valuable business information, making it one more item in the AfCFTAs toolbox to catalyze intra-African trade. Jointly produced by the AfCFTA Secretariat and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the report, titled Which Value Chains for Made in Africa Revolution, highlights for market participants value chains with lucrative opportunities in goods and services for value addition. Noting rising inequalities, the report states that, Africa is the only continent where the number of poor people increased, up from 392 million in 2000 to 438 million in 2017. Africa must diversify into other commodities beyond the current commodity cycle traps into different high technology-content industries, comments Mr. Mene, in the foreword to the report. Africa has 42 of 63 elements for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), including coltan, cobalt, copper, nickel and graphite, for which global demand will increase by 1,000% by the year 2050. UNDP Africas Regional Director, Ahunna Eziakonwa, is urging Africa to stop exporting raw materials, but to industrialize its economies, produce goods rich in African content, and create decent jobs for generations to come. In addition to completing 100 per cent negotiations on rules of origin, Mr. Menes sunny optimism for free trade in Africa in 2022 will depend on other supporting pillars: - The first is establishing a Trade Finance Facility to support SMEs, especially those managed by women and young people. The timing for bringing this initiative to fruition is less certain given the involvement of commercial banks. to support SMEs, especially those managed by women and young people. The timing for bringing this initiative to fruition is less certain given the involvement of commercial banks. That conversation [with commercial banks] is going slower than I would have hoped because there are several technical issues that we have to iron out, says Mr. Mene. It may take a bit longer. The second pillar is launching the African Trade Gateway, which is a one-stop digital platform with information on rules that apply to thousands of products, customs procedures, market information and trends, and payment transfers. Mr. Mene said: The African Trade Gateway is within our control. We can roll that out relatively quickly. which is a one-stop digital platform with information on rules that apply to thousands of products, customs procedures, market information and trends, and payment transfers. Mr. Mene said: The African Trade Gateway is within our control. We can roll that out relatively quickly. The third pillar is an AfCFTA Adjustment Facility, which is expected to cushion the fiscal effects of tariff loss in countries. Mr. Mene was quick to point out that this facility is not intended to address budgetary shortfall; rather, it will be to support specific value chains in specific productive sectors of the economy, for example, textiles and agro-processing. The AfCFTA Secretariat and Afreximbank have raised $1 billion for the Adjustment Facility, a good start, although the startup liquidity estimate is between $7 billion and $10 billion. The fourth pillar is rolling out the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a platform that facilitates cross-border payments in local African currencies and is expected to save African traders about $5 billion annually in currency convertibility. The PAPSS was officially launched on 13 January 2022 while a continent-wide rollout and awareness-raising campaign among traders is expected to be ramped up in the coming weeks. We have over 42 currencies in Africa. We want to reduce and eventually eliminate that cost [$5 billion] because it constrains our SMEs' competitiveness and makes trade costly and inaccessible to many SMEs and young entrepreneurs, explained Mr. Mene. The last pillar is ensuring that Africas Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are compatible with AfCFTA. Countries that establish SEZs subject such zones to special trade laws, such as tax breaks, to attract investments and boost employment. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), a champion of AfCFTAs success and SEZs, reports that there are 237 SEZsand counting in 38 African countries. In anticipation of increased activities in Africas free trade area, UNCTAD recommends appropriate policies to enable SEZs to adjust to both new trade and investment environment in Africa and future changes in global value changes and investment patterns. For more information on COVID-19, visit www.un.org/coronavirus Africa Renewal The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Anand Subramanian, the former group operating officer of National Stock Exchange (NSE), from Chennai on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. A source told IANS that he will be produced before the concerned court. The federal probe agency will seek his custodial remand. Recently, his statements were recorded for three consecutive days in Chennai. But, he was evasive throughout the questioning, sources said. Mr Subramanian was brought to the NSE by Chitra Ramkrishna, former managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) and he reportedly had access to the email ID on which the emails were sent to Himalayan Yogi with whom the classified information was shared. The CBI recently raided the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) office and recovered some incriminating documents, including digital documents. "These are crucial documents and evidence nailing the lies of the alleged accused involved in the case. We are in the process of making a foolproof case against all the accused. These will help the prosecution in proving our case when it goes to court," the source told IANS. Chitra Ramkrishna resigned from NSE on 2 December 2016. However, SEBI in its 11th February order raised serious questions on how the NSE board allowed her to exit from the Exchange, despite the misconduct in appointing and sharing confidential information with an unknown person. SEBI examination found that in spite of having knowledge of such grave irregularities and misconduct on the part of Chitra Ramkrishna on the appointment of Anand Subramanian in the NRC and NSE board meeting held on 21 October 2016 and knowledge of exchange of confidential information by Chitra Ramkrishna with an unknown person in the NSE Board meeting held on 29 November 2016, NSE and its NRC and board members, in the board meeting held on 2 December 2016, allowed Chitra Ramkrishna to exit through resignation despite having committed such bizarre misconduct as reflected from her email correspondence with a fictitious email address apparently belonging to Anand Subramanian without taking any action in this regard, the order says. The SEBI order tabulates and documents the extraordinary rise of Anand Subramanian, with the connivance of the NSE board, without declaring him a key management person (KMP) even while he was appointed on the boards of NSEs subsidiary companies and almost every decision of the Exchange, since his appointment as a consultant, was routed through him. He also availed of perks that were not given to any other consultant; he travelled first class around the world, often accompanying Ms Ramakrishna and was allowed to spend two to three days a week in Chennai, where his wife was also employed by the Exchange. More importantly, his evaluation did not go through the HR (human relations) process and was decided by Ms Ramakrishna alone. It is a scandal that all this was unknown to the regulator, although NSE is a highly regulated and very sensitive market institution. After receiving the complaints, SEBI, four times in 2016, asked NSE to clarify if Anand Subramanian had been designated as KMP. Mr VR Narasimhan, the then CRO, told SEBI that there was no violation of Securities Contracts (Regulations) (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations) Regulations, 2012 (SECC Regulations) in the appointment of Mr Subramanian and the MD, being a competent authority, had appointed him. Earlier this week, finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman had told the media that he Union government is looking at the lapses that took place at the NSE. In an interview to Economic Times, Ms Sitharaman says the Union government is examining the matter to determine if the SEBI has taken necessary punitive action in the case. the government was analysing if there had been enough application of mind in dealing with this on the part of the market regulator, and if after applying its mind, SEBI took adequate corrective steps. The government will not entertain or tolerate any perception among investors about opaqueness and credibility at institutions, the FM told the newspaper. Market regulator SEBI recently penalised Chitra Ramkrishna, former managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of NSE for passing sensitive information about the Exchange to an unknown or faceless spiritual force residing in the Himalayas. In an order issued on 11 February 2022, SEBI barred Ms Ramkrishna, Ravi Narain, former vice-chairman and Anand Subramanian, former GOO and adviser to MD and CEO, from associating with any market infrastructure institution (MII) or any intermediary registered with SEBI. While imposing a monetary penalty of Rs3 crore on Ms Ramkrishna, the market regulator has asked NSE to forfeit her excess leave encashment of Rs1.54 crore and the deferred bonus of Rs2.83 crore. The market regulator also restricted NSE from launching any new product for six months. Based on the 192-page order passed by the SEBI, the CBI had already lodged a first information report (FIR) against Ms Ramkrishna. Weather Alert ...Patchy dense fog across the area this morning... While most of the area remains clear this morning, a few areas of dense fog have developed overnight. Visibility in these areas of fog has dropped to under one-quarter mile at times. While fog should dissipate within 3 hours of sunrise, use caution if traveling, and be alert for areas of poor visibility. MISSOULA, Mont. - Middle School and high school aged-kids can learn how to use 3D printers, virtual reality headsets, vinyl cutters and more if they register for the Boys and Girls Club's new Tech Club program. It's a free after-school program starting March 7 at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Students will learn everything from 3D modeling to computer coding and can even try to do real-life jobs through VR headsets. Boys and Girls Club CEO, Kristian Stipe, said these techniques will help students succeed in the ever-changing job market. "We have to make sure that our students and our youth are ready for jobs that don't even exist yet. So really introducing them to these techniques and tools that they can start building a career out of," Stipe said. He added it's a great place for kids to learn new skills, especially if they're going home and don't have anything to do after school. The club will run Monday-Friday after school until 6 p.m. starting March 7. Transportation will be provided to all middle schools. Visit the Boys and Girls Club's website to register. MISSOULA, Mont. - The University of Montana has updated its masking policy, making masks recommended starting in March. Masks are currently required in university classrooms and teaching labs, and effective Thursday, March 3, the requirement will become a recommendation except for in a couple of places. Masks will still be required inside Curry Health Center and in medical clinic settings on campus. The university says these areas will have the requirement clearly posted. As the federal Transportation Security Administration has extended the face mask requirement for individuals across all transportation networks throughout the United States, masks will still be required on over-the-road buses and commuter bus systems. Masks are being recommended to reduce the spread of COVID-19, especially for those who are: Exhibiting symptoms of illness consistent with COVID-19; Close contacts to positive cases and have not been vaccinated; Returning from travel to areas of high transmission of COVID-19; Have not received vaccination against COVID-19 and/or are high risk due to health conditions, medical history or are immunocompromised Students, employees and visitors wanting to wear a mask can pick up disposable or reusable masks at a variety of locations across the campus, including most student services offices and the Griz Card office in the University Center. Sources: UM Mask Recommendations and Requirements WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden will announce his intent to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court on Friday, according to the White House. Jackson, who currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, will be the first African American woman serving on the country's highest court if the Senate confirms the nomination. The nomination came about a month after Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a longtime liberal, said that he is about to retire this summer after nearly three decades on the bench. Jackson clerked for Breyer in the 1999-2000 term. The White House said in a statement that Biden had "conducted a rigorous process" to identify Breyer's replacement and "sought an individual who is committed to equal justice under the law and who understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court's decisions have on the lives of the American people." "Judge Jackson is an exceptionally qualified nominee" as well as a historic nominee, the statement read. "The Senate should move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation." Biden will deliver remarks announcing the nomination at the White House on Friday afternoon. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden pledged he would tap an African American woman to be his nominee to the Supreme Court if he got the chance. The Democrat reaffirmed the commitment after Breyer's announcement of retirement but has drawn criticism from some Republicans on Capitol Hill, who have argued that the selection should be based on merit rather than race or gender. Jackson, 51, has been viewed as a potential candidate for the Supreme Court after she was confirmed by the Senate last year with bipartisan support to the D.C. Circuit, often referred to as the second most powerful court in the United States. Born in D.C. but raised in Miami, Jackson received her law degree from Harvard University and graduated cum laude in 1996. Earlier in her legal career, she worked as an assistant federal public defender in D.C. and served as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission for four years. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement on Friday that he looks forward to meeting with Jackson in person and "studying her record, legal views, and judicial philosophy." McConnell also noted he voted against confirming Jackson to the D.C. Circuit last year and alleged she "was the favored choice of far-left dark-money groups that have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the Court itself." "With that said, I look forward to carefully reviewing Judge Jackson's nomination during the vigorous and thorough Senate process that the American people deserve," he added. It requires a simple majority of votes in the 100-seat Senate to approve Biden's nomination of Jackson to be the next Supreme Court justice. The Senate is evenly split between the two parties. Democrats can approve the nomination without any Republican support, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tie-breaking vote. The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the U.S. judicial system, with the power to review and overturn the decisions of lower courts, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law including the country's constitution. The high court consists of nine justices, who have life tenure and can serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office. Currently, conservatives have a 6-3 majority over liberals on the bench, and Jackson's ascension won't change the court's ideological balance. While Californias mask mandate was lifted on Feb. 16 and requirements changed to strongly recommended, there are exceptions. Those include health care settings, jails and schools, where masks are required at least until Feb. 28 when the California Health and Human Services Agency will reevaluate based on the latest data. Christopher Neely here, as awake as ever to the contributions of scientists along Monterey Bay to the progress of marine biology. The latest example of the sci-fi work being done in our backyard involves decoding the communication patterns of the worlds largest known animal, and deciphering, through those patterns, how they react to their environment and how this flexibility might contribute to their long term success in a rapidly changing ocean. Blue whales are majestic animals. Weighing in up to 330,000 pounds and measuring 80 feet long, with an average lifespan of up to 90 years, they are the largest animal known to ever exist on Earth. However, this majesty comes with much mystery. Relatively little is known about this species, but a pair of new studies has given scientists a rare view into the life and complexities of the blue whale. This new information begins with a crowning achievement out of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute: the hydrophone. This underwater microphone, installed in 2015, sits off the Monterey Bay at a depth of 900 feet. It is powered by a cable system, which has allowed the microphone to record sea sounds continuously for seven years. The hydrophone is unique along the coast of California, transcending the limits of batteries and memory cards. Despite their size and clear need for as many nutrients as possible, blue whales are innately unselfish foragers according to the first study, led by David Cade, now a postdoctoral research fellow at Pacific Groves Hopkins Marine Station, and co-authored by MBARI biological oceanographer John Ryan and incoming MBARI postdoctoral fellow William Oestreich. With Ryan analyzing environmental variables and Oestreich analyzing speech patterns, the research team found that blue whales, which often travel in pairs or as individuals, can recognize when a patch of krill (a blue whales favorite meal) is especially dense. The whale will send out a call that can travel hundreds of kilometers and alerts other blue whales of the feast. According to the study, this can lead to up to 40 blue whales populating a one-kilometer radius, feeding on the krill swarm. This is remarkable, says Oestreich, since krill populations are often patchy and spread out. Oestreich says if whales find food that is going to help them survive, then its intuitive that they just feed on it and move on but the study shows a propensity for inviting other blue whales to the dinner table. But its not as if a whale finds food, eats until full and then calls other whales to feed on the leftovers. Oestriech says there is growing evidence that a blue whale can recognize the krill is dense before it begins feeding, deciding preemptively to share. You make our work happen. The article youre about to read is from our reporters doing their important work investigating, researching, and writing their stories. We want to provide informative and inspirational stories that connect you to the people, issues and opportunities within our community. Journalism takes a lot of resources. Today, our business model has been interrupted by the pandemic; the vast majority of our advertisers businesses have been impacted. Thats why the Weekly is now turning to you for financial support. Learn more about our new Insiders program here. Thank you. JOIN NOW Ryan says this means individual blue whales can be sensors for dense krill swarms, a critical attribute to ensuring the survival of the pack in a large and patchy ocean. Ryan says these feeding groups are becoming more common, which might signal the populations are recovering from decades of harm from the whaling industry. After feeding along the Central Coast between June and September, blue whales migrate south and, by January, are typically found in Mexico and Central America, mating and breeding. However, the second study further emphasizes the ability of blue whales to adapt to their environment. Led by Oestreich and co-authored by Ryan, the study, which similarly analyzed whale sounds and environmental variables, shows blue whale populations can alter their migratory and breeding schedules by up to four months if food is especially plentiful up north. This was especially puzzling to the researchers for two reasons. 1.) The breeding cycle for blue whales typically only lasts for four months, which makes a four-month variation significant. 2.) Research has shown blue whales are very punctual when migrating north to begin foraging. This level variation, even between consecutive years, on their southern migration shows an ability to actively prioritize feeding and decide to delay breeding, reacting in the moment to environmental factors. This ability to make decisions based on the environment is not necessarily unique. What is unique, Oestreich says, is the ability by researchers to learn about these decisions among marine animals, which are more difficult than terrestrial animals to observe so continuously. Ryan and Oestreich say none of this is possible without MBARIs cabled hydrophone. Read full newsletter here. February 25, 2022 Disarming Ukraine - Day 2 The Russian operations in the Ukraine continue at a moderate pace. Some more troops were committed today. In all the Russian military may have now introduced some 20-40% of its prepared forces. The Ukrainian military is not so much holding a line but concentrating in and around its bigger cities. It has destroyed some bridges north of Kiev to make an approach more difficult. That will slow down the Russian moves but will not prevent them. Russia's military is famously good at setting up combat bridges. So far the Russians have used their artillery sparsely. An exception was last night near Kharkiv in the northeast of Ukraine where a strike by multiple launcher artillery systems (MLRS) hit some area target with yet unknown results. A 13 minutes long video from a highway drive near Kherson, a city north of Crimea, shows nearly 100 destroyed Ukrainian trucks and tanks. These are likely victims of air attacks. If this map from a Turkish think tank source is correct the Russian troops did not attempt much deeper strikes today but mostly consolidated their frontline. This map from Janes shows less progress. But it also has not marked the Donbas area in the southeast which is held by pro-Russian forces. Russia's President has called on the Ukrainian military to overthrow its government. I do not think he believes that will happen but it is a possibility so why not call for it. Facebook now allows to praise Ukrainian Nazi groups like the Azov battalion. This was prohibited with Azov previously being in the same category as ISIS. Now these are 'our guys'. There are a lot of discussions of sanctions against Russia and every western country is trying to get as much exemptions for its industries as possible . The U.S. has for example exempted everything that has to do with hydrocarbons from its own sanction package. It will still buy Russian oil and will continue to sell drilling equipment to Russia. The EU countries are still negotiating with themselves. They should be careful with what they do. Britain has had the stupidity of sanctioning the Russian air carrier Aeroflot. In a counter move Russia prohibited British Airways from flying over Russian territory. Normally all flights from Britain to the Far East cross Russian airspace. These will now have to be redirected to other routes which will significantly increase their flight time and fuel burn. Russia has threatened 'inconvenient' counter-sanctions to those who sanction it. Overflight rights are only one of the tools it can use. NATO has said it will continue to deliver weapons, including air defenses, to the Ukraine. NATO does not have any weapons but some NATO countries seem to strive for a larger war. The U.S. seem willing to sacrifice the Ukraine to create a quagmire for Russia. Syria was also supposed to become a quagmire for Russia when Russia came to its help. It didn't turn out that way. Posted by b on February 25, 2022 at 18:46 UTC | Permalink Comments next page OTTAWA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Crown liquor stores in several Canadian provinces have pulled Russian products, including Vodka, from their shelves, local media reported Friday. In Ontario, Peter Bethlenfalvy, finance minister of the biggest province in Canada, said he was directing the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to withdraw products produced in Russia. "We strongly support the federal government's efforts to sanction the Russian government," Bethlenfalvy was quoted as saying in a statement. "We will continue to be there for the Ukrainian people during this extremely difficult time." The reports said the LCBO carries around 25 Russian-produced products and that the stores could remove them within 24 hours. Crown liquor stores in other four provinces, namely the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, New Brunswick liquor stores, Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, and Manitoba Liquor Mart made similar moves on Friday, according to the reports. The League of Women Voters honored city secretary Amy Turner on Wednesday during the Making Democracy Work luncheon. Turner received the Making Democracy Work award, which is awarded once a year to a community leader. The Midland League of Women Voters has presented the award for more than a decade to those who have demonstrated through professional work or volunteerism, ways in which to improve the community. President Emily Holeva said Turner has shared and implemented a vision of making Midland a fair place to live and has mobilized others to work with them to affect positive change in the values that exemplify the spirit and mission of the League of Women Voters. Amy has a record and reputation for excellent character and integrity, Holeva said. She has shown qualities of patience, open-mindedness, firmness, understanding, compassion and humility. ... She has a record of community involvement as well. Mayor Patrick Payton said one of the most important things Turner does for the mayor and council members is making sure council members stay on top of what needs to be done. She does things in a very nice and gentle way, Payton said. He added that the term city secretary doesnt do justice to the work Turner completes. He also shared a story about when he entered her office one day and there was a dog sitting in the corner. One of the times I have enjoyed the most is going into her office one day and it was a display of her heart, Payton said. There was a dog sitting in her corner which I guess she had just found. She has this dog sitting in the office which is sort of reminiscent of what she has to do with every city councilmember ... keeping us better than we are. Turner, who has been in her position in Midland for 12 years, will retire from her position in 12 months and four days (at the time of publication) -- a fact she enjoys sharing. She said she has been a city secretary for 21 years and her job is one of the most misunderstood professions. The city secretary, sometimes called the city clerk, is the oldest public profession, she said. The city secretary is the local official who administers many of the democratic processes, such as elections, access to records and access to historical legislative actions, which ensures transparency for the public. We act as compliance officers for federal, state and local statutes. We also serve as the filing officer for campaign finance filings. Turner also manages the hotel occupancy grants that are given to nonprofits in the community, which is one of her favorite parts of the job. The bulk of her work is doing city council agendas. Im very thankful and grateful to receive this because really my whole career has been about democracy, about helping the public to access information, she said. A Midland 19-year-old is being held on a combined bond of $1.250 million after allegedly shooting at a vehicle. Daniel Dominguez Jr. is being held at the Midland County Jail on five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony charge. Bond is set at $250,000 for each count. On Tuesday, a Midland Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop around 10:39 p.m. at the intersection of North Mineola Street and East Illinois Avenue. During the stop, the occupants stated that they were shot at by a person in a maroon pickup truck. The occupants told the officer they were on the phone with 911 dispatchers about the shooting incident, according to an arrest affidavit. One of the occupants told the officer she had received a message on social media after the incident depicting a green laser bring pointed at the screen and a message stating next time its gon b you head (b****). You lucky u alive after them shots hoe. Get shot (b****), according to the arrest affidavit. The occupants stated they saw a green laser coming from the maroon pickup when they heard the gun shots. They also identified a man named Daniel later identified as Dominguez as the one who shot at them, according to the arrest affidavit. Shortly after the traffic stop, MPD officers were dispatched at 11:11 p.m. to the Walgreens on North Big Spring Street in reference to a disturbance with weapons. Dispatch stated that the callers said the same maroon pickup truck driven by Daniel was following them and had two AR style firearms with green laser attachments in his possession, according to the arrest affidavit. Dispatch also stated he would be heading to his house. Officers located a maroon vehicle at Dominguezs house and found Dominguez and two firearms inside the vehicle. Officers noted that one of the firearms had a green laser attachment, according to the arrest affidavit. Midland Police Department Chief Seth Herman said that the arrest of administrators last week at Midland Christian brought about an alleged victim that led to the arrests at Trinity School of Midland. Herman told the Reporter-Telegram that society sees more instances of people coming forward when there are crimes like abuse that take place, certainly more than 20 or 30 years ago when, as Herman said, things were kept hush, hush. It has incrementally improved that more people are willing to come forward, Herman said. Without talking about the details of either case because the investigations with both continue Midlands top cop said Friday that he thought one beget the other in that once the first arrests were reported, it made it more likely that a person came forward at another campus. The most recent event was spurred on by stories that came out from the first event, Herman said. Herman said the law states administrators and school officials are mandated to report such instances. He said education institutions -- whether public or private -- are made aware of the states family code that says teachers, administrators and other school employees are classified as professional reporters by the state of Texas, according to a release from the Midland Rape Crisis Center. The center refers to Family Code Section 261.101, which states: A professional may not delegate to or rely on another person to make the report. Texas Family Code Section 261.101 section A states, "A person having reasonable cause to believe that a child's physical or mental health or welfare has been adversely affected by abuse or neglect by any person shall immediately make a report. The Childrens Advocacy Center suggests abuse or neglect can be reported at 800-252-5400 or online at TxAbuseHotline.org. As far as why employees of both schools were charged with state jail felonies, Section 261.109 of the Family Code states, an offense under subsection (a-1) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor intended to conceal the abuse or neglect. It shouldnt be a surprise to anyone or directly involved in the running of a school or teaching, Herman said. Herman made a point to say that there is no targeting of any group of schools but that Midland Police Department conducts investigation as they arise. Both schools are private schools. Midland Christian School, according to its website, is rooted in Christian principles and beliefs along teachings founded in Gods word. Trinity calls itself a college preparatory community that provides a nurturing environment to enrich the mind, strengthen the body, enliven the soul, and inspire servant leadership, according to the mission on its website. The Midland Police Department hosted Coffee with a Cop Friday at Black Rifle Coffee Company located at 3500 N. Big Spring. As the Ukraine-Russia conflict is escalating, many people in Kiev are seeking shelter in subway stations. Xinhua correspondent Li Dongxu visits one of the largest subway stations in the Ukrainian capital to see the situation there. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Muskogee, OK (74401) Today Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 67F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. A few storms may be severe. Low 62F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 2 to 3 inches of rain expected. UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Abdulla Shahid, president of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and peaceful means to settle disputes. "I call for an immediate ceasefire, deescalation of tensions and a firm return to diplomacy and dialogue," said the UNGA president in a statement. Underscoring that the UN Charter is based on the principle of sovereign equality, Shahid called on all member states to settle their international disputes by peaceful means. "I renew my call to all member states to uphold their obligations under international law and international humanitarian law," said the UNGA president. "The safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and its people is a priority and the need of the hour," he said. Despite that Verda Knox is ill, her house burned down this past year and she didnt have any insurance and someone shot her 26-year-old son to death about two weeks ago, she refuses to let her troubles weigh her down. Instead she is focused on Kentuckians who lost everything in the recent tornadoes. Cornelia Minnifield, Knoxs partner in the Neighbors Helping Neighbors charity they formed, understands what total destruction tornadoes can inflict. The native Oklahoman said, Ive seen them come in and destroy a whole community." She specifically mentioned a tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, in 2013, killing seven children at an elementary school there. "I know the destruction of tornadoes and to see that is beyond unbelievable, she said. These two ladies dont just sit and commiserate with people who have lost everything. Putting their trust in the Lord and letting love do the rest, they have gotten busy and helped others when catastrophes have stricken them. They took blankets and food, donated by 380 people, to Austin, Texas when its residents were suffering through the recent terrible ice storm; and also jumped in to help when Katrina hit New Orleans. Theyve already been to Kentucky, where tornadoes swept through almost 220 miles, leaving ruins in their paths. They came home and went to work collecting all types of things that they say include anything that people might need for their survival, and they plan to begin delivering the things later this week. According to Knox, they have furniture, including living room suits, mattresses, lamps, bedding, comforters, blankets, lots of curtains and sheets, microwave ovens, dishes, pots, Clorox, sanitizers, shower curtains, 15 or so televisions, 2,000 Pampers and a brand new generator. Its enough to fill a 26-foot truck, and maybe more. In Kentucky, they will have the help of Terry Duncan and others at the Macedonia Baptist Church, a relationship spearheaded by Deacon Wallace Evans with Mt. Calvary #2 Missionary Baptist Church in Brooksville. The staff in the Horry County Probate Judges office was wiping away tears Tuesday as Judge Kathy Ward talked about her decision to retire. Ward announced this past week that after forty years in the Probate Office, with the most recent eight as the presiding judge, that she will step down at the end of her term, which will end in early January of 2023. It was unanimous, the female-heavy staff loves her and hates to see her go. I started in Probate Court in January of 1981, and, if my math is correct, thats over 40 years, she said. A wise man, she said, once told her that it is better to leave four years too soon than four years too late. Im still healthy and as much as I have adored and loved serving the people and being a part of this court, I think theres a time and place for everything and nows the time, she said. Ward holds the only judgeship in county government that is elected. Members of the S.C. General Assembly appoint all of the others, which include masters-in-equity, magistrates, family and circuit judges. Filing opens for Wards position March 16 at noon and closes March 30 at noon. Ward says she has no inside information about who might run for the job. Probate judges run by parties, so there will be a primary in June and the General Election will come in November. The new judge will take office when Ward leaves. One of two associate judges in the office, Donna Lupo, plans to retire along with Ward. Allen Beverly is the chief associate judge in the office. No matter that the job involves some difficult topics like conservatorships, wills, involuntary commitments and guardianships, the office also has a happy side. Its staff issues marriage licenses, and this week was a busy one because lots of people wanted to get married on 2-22-22, the ladies said. Ward says shes loved every minute of being the judge, and according to her staff, they have also loved working with her. A $26 billion opioid settlement involving more than 4,000 state and local governments' claims against the nation's three major pharmaceutical distributors and one manufacturer has received final approval and is nearing the distribution of funds, according to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. The companies will start releasing funds to a national administrator on April 2, and state and local governments will start receiving funds soon after. The agreement marks three years of negotiations to resolve more than 4,000 claims nationwide. It is the second largest multi-state agreement in U.S. history, second only to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Illinois is one of 52 states and territories that are part of the agreement, alongside thousands of local governments. In Illinois, 94 of the state's 102 counties have signed onto the agreement. Another 104 of 113 eligible Illinois municipalities also are part of the agreement. All together, Illinois is expected to receive its full share of the settlement, or approximately $760 million. This historic agreement is the result of years of tireless work by attorneys in my office, and I am pleased that Illinois will soon receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical distributors and manufacturers that funneled high volumes of addictive opioids into our communities, Raoul said. The majority of Illinois money will go to the Illinois Remediation Fund to be used for abatement programs throughout the state. An advisory board will be established as a subcommittee of the states Opioid Overdose Prevention and Recovery Steering Committee to make recommendations that prioritize the equitable distribution of the money, factoring in population, opioid usage rates, overdose deaths and the amount of opioids shipped into a region. Under terms of the settlement, pharmaceutical manufacturer Johnson & Johnson is required to: stop selling opioids not fund or provide grants to third parties to promote opioids not lobby on activities related to opioids share clinical trial data under the Yale University Open Data Access Project Pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen will: Jacksonville Police ACCIDENTS Kelly A. Newingham, 24, of Woodson was cited on a charge of failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident after the car she was driving and one being driven by Dawn M. Seward, 54, of Beardstown collided at 11:29 a.m. Thursday at West Morton and Lincoln avenues. THEFTS, BURGLARIES A purse was stolen between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday from an apartment in the 500 block of West State Street. Unspecified items were stolen between Feb. 17 and Thursday from a storage unit in the 1100 block of East Morton Avenue. Greene County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Donald W. Johnson, 49, of Springfield was booked into Greene County Jail at 1:06 a.m. Tuesday on a St. Louis County, Missouri, warrant accusing him of possession of a controlled substance and a Greene County warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court. David B. Bennett, 27, of Macomb was booked into Greene County Jail at 11:53 p.m. Sunday on charges of endangering the life or health of a child, reckless driving, driving while license is suspended and speeding. Greenfield Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Dylan E. Miller, 30, of Jacksonville was booked into Greene County Jail at 11:03 p.m. Monday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, delivery of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Kelsey Jo Morris, 31, of Jacksonville was booked into Greene County Jail at 10:02 p.m. Monday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia. and bringing contraband into a penal institution. White Hall Police ARRESTS, CITATIONS Daniel W. Stepp, 36, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday on a Greene County arrest warrant accusing him of attempted burglary, burglary, possession of methamphetamine, theft and criminal trespass to a residence. Daniel W. Stepp, 36, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 7:11 p.m. Monday on a charge of criminal trespass to a building. Compiled by David C.L. Bauer Given the popularity of podcasts these days, its no surprise that several have popped up on environmental topics. Whether you are interested in green tech, environmental justice or climate change, theres no doubt a podcast (or two) for you. Here is a rundown of some of the leading offerings. Investigative journalist Amy Westervelts podcast company, Critical Frequency, has launched some of the most engaging eco-podcasts out there today. One is "Inherited," a reported, narrative podcast by, for and about youth climate activists. Each explores a different facet of what the next generation plans to do with the climate-compromised world it is inheriting. Another great listen from Critical Frequency is "Drilled," a narrative, investigative climate accountability podcast reported, hosted and produced by Westervelt herself. The most downloaded climate podcast of all time, "Drilled" tackles the fossil fuel industrys role in spreading climate denial. Lastly, the latest offering from Critical Frequency is "Damages," a courtroom drama podcast that follows hundreds of climate lawsuits currently underway around the world in order to highlight activists quest for justice in perhaps the largest crime against humanity of all time, human-induced climate change. The first season explores "rights-of-nature" laws, which bring Indigenous approaches to nature into Western judicial systems by giving ecosystems the same rights as individuals. Sea Change Radio is another great source for long-form audio on green topics. This nationally syndicated radio show and podcast with an archive of 700 shows spanning the last 16 years focuses on the shift to environmental and economic sustainability. Veteran host Alex Wise interviews activists, entrepreneurs and policymakers to get the inside scoop on various climate and other initiatives in the U.S. and globally. If youre fascinated with the science of nature, the weekly "Nature Podcast" highlights research from a recent issue of the scientific journal Nature. Each weekly edition features interviews with the scientists behind some of the most striking environmental research currently underway, with topics ranging from astronomy to zoology. Another great podcast for keeping your finger on the pulse of environmental activism is "How to Save the Planet," a weekly podcast from leading non-profit Friends of the Earth that features stories from the front lines of the climate movement while explaining complex issues environmental racism, eco-anxiety, fracking, etc. in language anyone can understand. Yet another, "Sustainababble," infuses coverage of climate and environment with humor thanks to the witty repartee of hosts Oliver Hayes and David Powell as they interview a wide range of experts to untangle confusing environmental concepts and highlight the green-washing that pervades so much of the information sphere. For those listeners with shorter attention spans, the "Climate Connections" podcast might be just the ticket. This daily 90-second audio drop hosted by Anthony Leiserowitz, a human geographer at Yale University who studies public perceptions of climate change, details how the climate crisis is already shaping our lives and what we can do about it. The show aims to highlight positive solutions to reduce climate-related risks and wasteful energy practices. Presidents Day inevitably raises the question of what characteristics we want to see in our presidents. This leads us to our consensus greatest presidents, namely George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Both were known for their honesty: Washington had the famous I cannot tell a lie story with the cherry tree, and Lincoln carried the nickname Honest Abe. So the simple answer to the question seems to be honesty. But its not quite so simple when it comes to leaders of a modern, global power who are imbued with enormous responsibility. A cynic might point out that honesty did not even define these greatest of presidents: the Washington cherry tree story is almost certainly a myth, and Honest Abe was less than honest when it came to his secret negotiations with Confederate leaders to end the Civil War. Nonetheless, honesty matters quite a bit. Presidential history reveals circumstances in which a president might be induced to lie. The first is regarding national security. A president is under no obligation to reveal classified information about troop movements, military capabilities or strategic intentions. The media are often in the wrong expecting presidents or senior leaders to do so. In the first Gulf War, for example, journalists asked such intrusive questions that Saturday Night Live had a skit showing reporters asking ridiculous things such as, Which method of hiding SCUD missiles is working best for the Iraqis? and Where would you say our forces are most vulnerable to attack, and how could the Iraqis best exploit those weaknesses? Colin Powell later recounted in his memoirs that he knew the Bush administration was winning the PR fight when he saw that skit. But just because a president is not obligated to reveal national security does not mean that it is OK to outright lie when asked a direct question. In 1960, for example, Dwight Eisenhower lied when he denied that an American U-2 spy plane had been flying over the Soviet Union. The Soviets then revealed that they had captured the downed pilot, Francis Gary Powers. Here was a case where an evasion or even heaven forbid, the truth would have served the country and Eisenhower better. A second temptation to lie is in the case of a personal misdeed. Examples include Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Nixon did more than just lie; he initiated a cover up that brought down his presidency. The truth would have not only been the right thing to do, but it would likely would have let him remain in office. Clinton lied under oath about his inappropriate relationship with a White House intern. It was clearly wrong, yet he may have learned the wrong lesson from it all. According to John Harris book The Survivor, Clinton told one confidant that The lie saved me, meaning the focus on the question of perjury may have distracted the American people from focusing on the affair until they eventually got used to the idea. Regardless, Clinton was impeached and lost credibility for himself and the office. Third, and most challenging, is the so-called noble lie, a mistruth intended to get the American people to behave in a certain way. We have learned in the pandemic the perils of the noble lie. When government officials put out something that they believe that the people need to hear, it often does not work especially in an age of nearly unlimited information and it has the deleterious effect of eroding faith in our institutions. Of course, some presidents may lie because its in their nature. They just cant help it. Robert Kennedy once said of his mortal enemy, Lyndon Johnson, He just lies continually about everything. He lies even when he doesnt have to lie. Habitual liars, however, are the exceptions. Most presidents want to be seen as truthful individuals, but face circumstances where they feel the need to justify the lie. But even in those circumstances, history shows that it usually does not work out well for them, or for us. Perhaps this is why Washington and Lincoln, with their flawed-but-intact reputations for honesty, remain at the top of our presidential pantheon. Sometimes the simplest answer is the best one: Honesty is the best policy, for presidents and the rest of us. Thomas Barwick/Getty Images A new $842.2 million fund will provide grants for Texas homeowners who have fallen behind on mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance and homeowner association fees. The Texas Homeowners Assistance Fund, run by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Under the program, Texas homeowners who experienced hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic can receive up to $40,000 for past due mortgage payments and up to $25,000 for past due insurance, property tax and HOA fees. A pilot phase is currently open for residents of Hidalgo County or those who have their mortgage serviced by HomeLoanServ. Pabst, owner of San Antonio-born Lone Star, moved its headquarters to San Antonio in 2020 and has been entrenching itself in the local art scene ever since. Matt Tumlinson is the latest San Antonio-based artist invited to collaborate with the brewing company in honor of Texas Independence Day. Together, in their own independent ways, Tumlinson and the National Beer of Texas are aiming to wrangle the existential question of what it means to be a modern Texan. According to the artist, the truth is found somewhere between myth and an internet connection. Its complicated the same way many Texan's enjoyment of the nationalistic brew is equal parts ironic and proud. I think we have this image of ourselves, but it's rooted in something that really doesn't exist anymore," Tumlinson says. "You know, cowboys and the open range and all this other stuff. And that's still part of our heritage, but how do you acknowledge the heritage, while also, you know, comment on the Texas of today? Surviving the rodeo: A rhinestone cowboy's guide to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Tumlinsons limited-run merchandise collaboration with Lone Star, a brand that began brewing light beers for cowboys in 1884, attempts to tap into the bubbling spirit of the 1970s Austin. It was a time when everyone from Michael Murphey to Willie Nelson would take the stage at the legendary Armadillo World Headquarters venue. The story goes that the audiences for these shows were often a split between real-deal cowboys and Barton Springs dipping Austin hippies. The two camps mutual love for this particular scene of Texas country led them to intermingle, and apparently, so did the effects of Lone Star Beer. At the time, Armadillos, with a capacity of 1,500, sold more Lone Star draft beer than anywhere else in the state, other than the 44,500 capacity Astrodome. Drinking the beer became intuitively hip for a swath of home-grown Texans with progressive sensibilities. Nelson would swig it on stage doesn't get more classically cool than that. Wally McNamee /Corbis via Getty Images It was around this time, known as the brands "Cosmic Cowboy" era, that Lone Star brought on Armadillo World Headquarters resident artist Jim Franklin to create Lone Star merchandise, which ended up heavily featuring the armored creature. With this partnership, the increasing popularity of the free-wheeling outlaw country scene, Armadillo's, and Lone Star all seemed to coalesce. Out of the now-defunct Armadillo's, the question of 'who are we?' became a little more interesting (and more lucrative) for the Texas beer company. Naturally, the armadillo critter, the central motif in the Tumlinson's Lone Star collaboration, is a nod to this moment in Texas history where two distinct groups came together to develop this scene. It resonated with me that you could also be two of these things at once and, you know, kind of get along with everybody, says Tumlinson, who says there are both "hippie" and "country" parts to himself. A fantastic voyage: San Antonio's The Magic Time Machine at 50 The complicated interplay between the new guard and the old are central themes to much of Tumlinsons work, from his murals to his paintings. His painting Curious Encounters, depicts two distinct men sidled up against the bar. Both signaling signs of Texan-hood mustachioed, Stetson wearing. One is older, clad in dirty denim and nursing a Lone Star, the other younger, tattoo-laden, sipping Topo Chico and texting. As a local viewer, you imagine them holding court at a joint like the Lonesome Rose. You look at it the first time and the hipster kind of plays the bad guy, or we're supposed to, like, roll our eyes at him," Tumlinson says. "But if you delve into it further, there's little details kind of sprinkled around throughout that kind of, I hope tell the story of like, well, it's entirely possible that that's a father and son. It's funny to me, I know people like this personally. This kid, you know, he plays in a heavy metal band, but he grew up in Podunk America and he can do all the stuff his cowboy dad can do, but he chose not to. Thats kind of the Texas of today, like everybodys got the internet, we're not stuck where we're at. Mark Champion Long awaited party: My grandma had her first-ever pinata at 79 and now Im emotional Born in San Antonio, Tumlinson spent most of his childhood in Early, Texas, a small town about an hour south of Abilene. He returned to the city about 10 years ago. While acknowledging how symbols of Texas are often bastardized, from cowboys to the open road, subverted symbols of Texas, from pop-culture, Luby's and the ranch, are the shorthand through which Tumlinson expresses himself. Its what he knows. On some level, he admits, he deals with them in an effort to better understand himself and why the people around him think the way they do. He also does it to give the Lone Star State, often improperly depicted, its proper due. With increasing development facing San Antonio, which Pabst is incidentally a part of, and during a particularly politically tense and unique time in history, reassessing these themes seems as relevant as ever for Texans. It's like explaining your family, Tumlinson says. Like yeah, the place I'm from is a little nuts, but this is why I love it, and these are the flaws in it, but you know, it's trying to try to sift through all that." In April of 2020, Lone Star-Pabst, partnered with Cruz Ortiz of San Antonio's Burnt Nopal to design the can of their first Mexican-style lager, Lone Star Rio Jade. Since then, they have worked with Austin-based artist Lauren Dickens, opened an art gallery in Southtown, and have been frequent partners with the San Antonio Street Art Initiative. Everything we do, we want to regionalize it and localize it as much as possible and celebrate the artistry and beauty that Texas has to offer, Lone Star brand manager Daniel Crawford previously told MySA. "I really appreciate that Lone Star was able to kind of bring in so many local people," Tumlinson says. "They could have outsourced all of it, so it was really a cool move. "That's one of my favorite things about San Antonio you know, everybody always says it, but it's a big town but it feels small. If you're creative, it's really a cool place to be because of that." Have your eye on Tumlinson's Lone Star merch? Well, the line sold out within 24 hours (and the second small drop did again a couple days later). Classic navy and ivory and believably vintage-looking, Tumlinson's work clearly resonates with the Texas of today. "I'm trying to get Lone Star to print more but, you know, they're in the business of selling beer and not merchandise," Tumlinson says. "So, we'll see if if it ends up happening or not, but I think you kind of set the stage for doing some other stuff in the future hopefully." Downtown San Antonio could be getting a Chick-fil-A location. The Rand Building, at the heart of the city center, is the planned address for the newest installment of the chicken chain and its cow mascots. Filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation show 110 E Houston Street, otherwise known as the Rand Building, listed for the registered Chick-fil-A project. It's unclear which of the tenant spaces the 6,000-square-foot location will fill, but the plan has a construction timeline of July 2022 through December 2022. Construction has an estimated cost of just over a million dollars. Chick-fil-A could not provide tentative details, like an opening date, because the project is in the infancy stages. "While we're still early in the process, Chick-fil-A is happy to share that we are actively pursuing a new location in the San Antonio area," the company said in an email to MySA. "We look forward to working through the approval process with the City of San Antonio and are excited by the prospect of joining this neighborhood. We hope to have the opportunity to serve new guests delicious food in an environment of genuine hospitality." Beaver nuggets expansion: Buc-ee's could beef up I-35 footprint in Texas A separate TDLR filing for the address shows a $575,000 improvement to the shell of the Rand Building is also in the works. The filing says a drive-thru will be added to be used by a future restaurant tenant. The Chick-fil-A project registration also mentions a drive-thru. It's unclear how a drive-thru option will be fit into the building, which was built in 1913 and originally housed Wolff & Marx, Co., a department store. Weston Urban, the developer that took over ownership in 2013 and is also behind Frost Tower, was not immediately available to respond to requests for comment. The building houses Geekdom. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rosella coffee shop was housed on the first floor. Pinch Boil House also opened there in 2017. The popular Southeast Asian restaurant closed doors at 110 East Houston in December 2021, but still operates a location in Alamo Heights at 5130 Broadway. Sweet and savory delights: New San Antonio crepe cafe Kaffeinated opens in La Cantera area Chick-fil-A operates 29 restaurants in San Antonio proper (including branded menus on college campuses and in mall food courts). If approved, the restaurant would be the first in downtown proper. Currently, the closest Chick-fil-A restaurant to downtown is about 13 minutes south, near South Park Mall. A Chick-fil-A location was planned for the San Antonio International Airport. However, City Council rejected that plan in a controversial March 2019 decision in response to concerns that that company's foundation had donated to groups which opposed LGBTQ rights. A Whataburger location replaced the spot slated for Chick-fil-A. It opened in August 2021. San Antonians looking for a way to help Ukraine amid the Russian invasion can do so by buying a dessert from a local business. Laika Cheesecake and Espresso is donating the entirety of its weekend profits to supporting the Ukrainian army. Anna Afanasieva, who is originally from Ukraine, opened the 4718 Broadway business with Viktor Krizma in late 2020. Laika serves multiple creamy cheesecakes with a variety of toppings. The desserts can be ordered by the slice or in takeaway, reusable jars. On Thursday, February 24, as the world reacted to the attack on Ukraine by Russia, Laika offered a way for locals to help. An Instagram post addressing the "devastating" violence against sovereign nation called on the city to "stand with Ukraine." A split-second decision: Pregnant San Antonio woman is fleeing Russian invasion of Ukraine Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images Afanasieva was not immediately available to comment, but the post, which shows the Ukrainian flag, includes a call to action. All proceeds the shop makes from Friday through Sunday will be donated to the Ukrainian army. "Many innocent lives are being affected - including personal friends and family," the post reads. "This donation will go to help secure not only our friends and family but an entire peaceful country being confronted with mindless violence." Customers shared their support in the comments section of the post. "I will see you all weekend long," user @theepicureancowboy's comment says. 'This is wrong': Texas leaders react to Russia's attacks in Ukraine In February 2021, the San Antonio Express-News called Laika's cheesecakes "some of the best" in the city. On Thursday, a protest gathered at Main Plaza to rebuke the Russian assault on Ukraine. There are about 3,000 people of Ukrainian descent living in San Antonio, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Laika is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Canyon Lake community members have a chance to have their opinions heard with an online survey launched by Comal County. The survey is a chance for boating enthusiasts to share how the Canyon Lake boat ramps can be improved. The survey began on Friday, February 25 and will be active through March 11. Residents can find the survey link on the Comal County website and social media platforms. As we have grown, we have experienced a change in the use and behavior at our boat ramps during certain times of year, said Comal County Commissioner Pct. 1 Donna Eccleston. The survey is meant to help county officials better understand concerns and issues related to Canyon Lake owned boat ramps from the community. Comal County will use information from the survey to develop solutions to better serve the users of the boat ramps as well as those neighboring them, according to a county press release. Comicon heads to New Braunfels: Hill Country Comicon books Erik Estrada for March comeback Matthew Busch, Contributor / For The San Antonio Express-News Whenever attempting to make changes that affect the public in such a big way, it is paramount that we work with the public to educate, create consensus, and implement solutions. Wed be fools to pursue the boat ramp issue in any other way, said Jen Crownover, Comal County Commissioner Pct. 4. Crownover explained how crucial it is for the county to get it right. She looks forward to digging through the data, so the county can move forward with the best solutions for everyone involved. The feedback from the survey, stakeholder groups, and community members, county leaders will develop the Boat Ramp Operations Plan. New housing development: 252-duplex rental community takes shape in Hill Country It will be the guiding document for how Canyon Lake boat ramps that are operated by the county, will be managed, improved and used for recreational purposes, ensuring the needs of the Canyon Lake community and visitors there are met for years to come. There are nine county operated boat ramps on Canyon Lake. The other ramps are private or belong to the Army Corp of Engineers. Bexar County has seen low turnout during the early voting stages of the 2022 primary election. Democrats have had slightly higher numbers than Republicans as early voting coming to a close. There were 38,533 people that voted on the Democratic ballot as of Thursday, February 24, narrowly beating out the turnout of Bexar County Republican voters at 37,713, according to early voting totals from Bexar County Elections. Even so, total turnout of 76,246 is low compared to the county's 1,194,389 registered voters, 6.4%. The turnout is comparatively lower than the 2018 primary early voting turnout of about 8.5%, or 93,101 voters. There were 1,085,664 registered voters in Bexar County at that time. More could turn out to vote on election day, March 1, but numbers are still low considering the primary is laying out ballot for the midterm elections. Bexar County has the county judge race, as well as a few key congressional races. Not to mention the high-profile governor's race that is pitting Beto O'Rourke against Gov. Greg Abbott. Early voting for the primary election closes Friday, February 25 at 8 p.m. Locals can vote at any one of the locations found here. Here's some other news you might have missed. Pregnant San Antonio woman fleeing Ukraine As Russian forces continue to invade Ukraine, one pregnant San Antonio woman is trying to get back to the U.S. Her baby is also due "any moment." Read more here Duplex development to shake up Hill Country A 252-unit duplex home community is starting to take shape as Embrey closed on a purchase of land in Gruene for the company's first single-family rental platform. Read more here. River Walk hotel to be sold to Arizona nonprofit The troubled Grand Hyatt hotel is set to be sold to a nonprofit trust in a new 40-year deal that will help take San Antonio off the hook from the hotel's debt and eventually turnover ownership to the city. Read more here. Buc-ee's could beef up I-35 footprint Reports are saying that another Buc-ee's is planned further north on I-35 near Waco. Read more here. It's a difficult time to be a teacher. Teaching through a pandemic, on top of already working long hours, teachers everywhere are exhausted. Luckily, H-E-B is preparing to honor those who devote their time to their classrooms. Eight San Antonio-area educators were surprised as finalists this week for the 2022 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards. For 20 years, the grocery giant has given out awards to teachers. Since the awards' inception, it has grown to become the largest monetary awards program for educators in Texas. Recently, H-E-B dropped a new Creamy Creation's ice cream flavor to celebrate the award-season. Each educator recognized for their work was visited by H-E-B representatives (including H-E-Buddy himself) and presented with a $1,000 check for themselves and a $1,000 check for their school. Check-out the king of country: George Strait makes a truly Texas cameo in H-E-B Super Bowl commercial The teacher winners in the San Antonio area include: Alejandra Martinez from Memorial Junior High School in Eagle Pass ISD; Lacy Greco from Leon Springs Elementary School in Northside ISD; Joe Garay from Valley Hi Elementary School in Northside ISD; Kendall Hoes, from Bryon P. Steele II High School in Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD; Ninette Ligarde from Herff Elementary School in San Antonio ISD; and Jessica Reeves from Ingram Tom Moore High School in Ingram ISD. Two San Antonio-area principals were honored as semifinalists. Wendy Carroll Conover from Lytle Elementary School in Lytle ISD and Dr. Lisa Baker from Communications Arts High School in Northside ISD were the honored principals. Mariah Contreras/Talk Strategy All finalists are invited to Austin on April 30 to compete on a statewide level for larger cash prizes. Six teachers total teachers will be rewarded, one elementary and one secondary school teacher in three separate categories marked by experience. The categories are the Rising Star Award, given to exceptionally promising teachers with less than 10 years of experience. The Leadership Award, for teachers with 10 to 20 years in the classroom, and the Lifetime Achievement Award, for those with more than 20 years of experience. More in education: Why teachers are struggling with Texas' critical race theory law The more experience a teacher has, the more money is on the table for winners in each category. Ligarde and Reeves are finalists in the Lifetime Achievement category and would receive $25,000 in cash for themselves and a $25,000 grant for their schools if selected. Rising Star winners will receive a $5,000 check for themselves and a $5,000 grant for their schools. Leadership winners will claim a $10,000 check for themselves and a $10,000 grant for their schools. To keep up with the progress of the awards or learn more about next year's nominations, visit H-E-B online. Update at 3 p.m. February 25: Arlie Francis, a close friend of Ellissa and Andrii Petrenko, says as of Thursday, February 25, the couple has not been able to reunite since leaving their home the morning of the invasion. Ellissa has relocated to western Ukraine and has not crossed the border to Poland. Andrii is currently prohibited from leaving the country as Ukraine has imposed fight age restrictions on men 18-60. Francis says that the Petrenkos will regroup and reconsider their plans once they're able to join each other. As of Friday, the GoFundMe set up for the couple has raised $24,000 of the $30,000 goal. Original story continues below: As San Antonio watches the shelling of Ukraine at the hands of Russia more than 6,000 miles away, a woman from the Alamo City and her husband are fleeing their home amid the invasion in time to safely deliver their baby girl. Ellissa and Andrii Petrenko decided to leave their home near Kyiv in the early morning hours of Thursday, February 24, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin made a speech, declaring a "special military operation" in the sovereign nation. According to a close family friend, Ellissa, 29, is set to give birth to the couple's first child at any moment. She's been traveling with friends for hours, stuck in the traffic jams that have been shown in photos across social media. Her goal is to cross into Poland, where she can hopefully fly back to the U.S. or find a place to deliver her child away from the dangers of the new war. Her husband, who waited for his mother to flee, is following close behind her. Arlie Francis, a San Antonio man who says 34-year-old Andrii is "like a son" to him, spoke to MySA on behalf of the couple and their families. He said the pair met about two years ago while Andrii was in San Antonio for a conference. The couple clicked and embarked on a long-distance relationship for a year before getting married in January 2021. Ellissa moved permanently to Ukraine the following month. Andrii built a small home for them about 20 minutes outside of Kyiv's center. They made the split-second decision to leave the new lives they were building in Andrii's country early Thursday morning. Francis says he was able to chat with the couple for about 30 minutes on the eve of the invasion that they didn't truly believe would happen. Courtesy, Arlie Francis "This is how fast things can change, we spoke with them for about 30 minutes yesterday and they did not believe at that point that Russia was going to invade," Francis says. "Everything changed, Andrii actually went to bed last night hearing planes overhead and bombs exploding not far from them and it was with that that they began to make moves for Ellissa to get to the western part of the country and across the border." Francis says Andrii is also trying to get the rest of his family to safety. He did not travel with Ellissa because he was waiting on his mother's arrival from his hometown of Shostka, about 4 hours from Kyiv. Andrii's father chose to stay behind. Ellissa is traveling with close friends Sergei and Alina Lesnick. "They're very much aware of planes overhead, falling bombs, a clamp down on the banking system, and a very, very frenetic, hyper-frightened atmosphere where everybody is trying to get out of the country as fast as they can," Francis adds. Courtesy, Arlie Francis Francis says trying to stay in contact with the couple while being faced with a barrage of images showing scenes of what they are enduring on the ground is "gut-wrenching." "These are people that are walking away from their lives right now," he adds. Ellissa's family launched a GoFundMe on Thursday where those who are interested in donating to the Petrenkos' travel and medical expenses can give. The best way to protect your heart is to be proactive about it. Thats the main message from three busy San Antonio women who took the time recently to talk about heart health and their work with the American Heart Association. February is American Heart Month and volunteers across Texas are joining the national effort to raise awareness and resources for heart health. Its an important issue for women like Fran Yanity, President/COO of The PM Group, Harriet Helmle, Director of Client Relations for Covenant Multifamily Offices, now CAPTRUST, and Mary Rose Brown, CAO and Executive VP of NuStar Energy. All three women have had personal experiences with heart disease, either enduring an episode themselves or helping loved ones through heart issues. And all three women are dedicated to spreading awareness of cardiac disease, specifically about the symptoms in women. Mary Rose Brown, an Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for NuStar Energy L.P., one of the largest pipeline operators in the U.S., has been a part of heart health for decades. She got involved because of a personal experience with a friend that wasnt aware that the signals of heart attack are different for women than they are for men. Brown felt passionate after that experience to educate women in San Antonio on the signs that they may not be trained to recognize. Some of the signs that we traditionally know, such as the pain in the arm, may not be how a woman experiences a heart attack. Some women may feel pain in their chin and that is a lesser-known symptom. We just aim for more awareness to make sure that women know and can take care of themselves, said Brown. Fran Yanity, President/COO of The PM Group, said raising awareness of symptoms is also one of the reasons her organization has, for years now, supported the American Heart Association. As a company we (The PM Group) support many organizations, American Heart Association is one of them, Yanity said. I have a family history of heart disease and congenital defects which is ultimately what led me to get involved. The PM Group supported AHA before Yanity started working with the American Heart Association in August of 2017 as part of the Red Sofa Tour that ran through mid-2018. That year, Yanity was the Go Red For Women Chair she raised $350,000 in local donations and was inspired by the community involvement in the tour. The best activation was when we had the Red Sofa in front of City Hall and had Mayor Ron Nirenberg and City Manager Sheryl Sculley stop by, Yanity said. We also made several stops around town including a Health Fair and at San Antonio Shoemakers Factory. Yanity says the message of the American Heart Association is particularly important for women because many dont know that heart disease is the number one killer of women in America, today. Its also important because people can take concrete steps to keep themselves healthy and monitor for potential issues. The message of personal responsibility in healthcare is one Harriet Helmle is also working to spread. Helmle narrowly avoided a heart attack in 2018 because she said told her doctor when something was feeling off about her body. It was a Monday afternoon at the office and Helmle had an unusually clear schedule for the rest of the day. At that point, Helmle was already a heart patient. She had a couple of stints in, was already actively involved with American Heart Association and had a strong relationship with her cardiologist, Dr. Ildiko Agoston at UT Health. Agoston and Helmle were talking on the phone that Monday about their shared philanthropic involvement with Social Venture Partners when Helmle confessed something was feeling different with her body. I said Ive got something weird happening, I feel like someones taking their finger and pressing it on my chest. It doesnt hurt comes and goes and is becoming more frequent, Helme recalled. She said get to the emergency room right now. Helmle was hesitant to follow her doctors advice but was finally convinced and agreed to meet Agoston at the emergency room. She hung up the phone and then she did something that Helmle herself advised against in previous speeches with AHA. She drove herself to the hospital. One of the things Id always spoke about was not to drive yourself to the hospital if youre having heart issues. Call 911 and dont risk it, Helmle said. But, it was tax season and everyone was busy. I said, I dont feel bad and so, going against everything I knew would be the right thing to do, I drove myself. Agoston met Helmle at the ER with a wheelchair. After examination, Helmle was told she had come in just in time. Within a day and a half, Helmle was in surgery for a triple bypass and she says shes been feeling good ever since. She proactively monitors her health by recording daily stats on her body that include weight, blood sugar and pressure and oxygen levels. I was two hours away from a massive heart attack and didnt know it. Talk about scary moments, Helmle said. Helmles story highlights one of the challenges when it comes to women and heart health many times women dont experience the same red flag heart issue symptoms as men. Women dont have the massive pain usually that men have, we dont get the pain in our arm, Helmle said. Mine was a tap on the chest and if she (Dr. Agoston) hadnt have been on her toes, what would have happened? Brown echoed Helmles sentiment that women often will ignore symptoms until its too late because they dont know what to look for and because its more natural for women to push through strange body symptoms to finish tasks. Women like working moms and working grandmothers often ignore their own health while focusing on family members and business priorities, Brown said. Women think they are too busy to have a heart attack. Heart problems can impact everyone, even younger generations. According to the latest AHA data, gathered between 2015 and 2018, among women 20 years of age and older, 44.4% had some form of cardiovascular disease. And the best way to prevent heart disease is to take responsibility for your health and proactively monitor your body. Ive known people that thought they were healthy and thought they were taking care of themselves and literally had a heart attack at the gym during a workout, Yanity said. She lived to tell about it, but there are all these stories out there. It does affect so many people and its just an important mission. Helmle points out that the first step in taking your health into your own hands is finding a fantastic primary care doctor and then to schedule and attend regular check-ups. The second step is to really listen to whats going on in your body and take personal responsibility for your health. Know your body, know whats normal and what isnt normal, Helmle said. I keep thinking if Id have had a big board meeting that night, I would have blown it off. Instead, I identified something was wrong and took steps that probably saved my life. Brown pointed out the same thing, reminding herself and everyone else that being proactive about heart health is one of the best forms of self-care around. Busy women need to get this message to other busy women: self care is not selfish, Brown said. It is the best way to make sure you are here to care for your family, your business associates and the community. To learn more about the program and to nominate extraordinary women like this, visit mysa.com/extraordinarywomen. By Lambert Strether of Corrente Patient readers, this is a not-completely-truncated Water Cooler, because I had to finish up this post on Ukraine. Also, Ill try to paste only one copy; I write and produce Water Cooler at breakneck speed, but my whole workflow is designed to prevent such a thing from happening. So Im not sure what went on there. Strange thing happen at sea. lambert Bird Song of the Day Amazingly, only three recordings! * * * Politics But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? James Madison, Federalist 51 They had learned nothing, and forgotten nothing. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter Thompson Truckers How Facebook Twisted CanadaS Trucker Convoy Into An International Movement [The Verge]. This pipeline from physical protest to social media to establishment outlets is what has helped the convoy evolve from a local standoff into a televised event that can raise millions from supporters thousands of miles away. Almost all of that infrastructure pre-dates the convoy itself, drawing from anti-vaxx groups, QAnon, and other fringe communities. And while the convoy itself may soon be broken up by the Canadian government, those online pathways are much stickier. To understand how this echo chamber works, we have to start with the Ottawa protest itself. The Freedom Convoy started as a loosely affiliated group of Canadian truck drivers led by a group called Canada Unity, founded by far-right activist and QAnon conspiracy theorist James Bauder. But over the last 30 days, Bauder has managed to build a coalition of fed-up truck drivers, fringe Canadian political party members, neo-Nazis, anti-vaxxers, and an international coterie of scammers, grifters, and low-level online creators that has been able to generate major headlines around the world. Fed-up truck drivers Power was lying in the street. Bauder picked it up. Where was the left? Just putting this one out here: The American trucker convoy that left California days ago is still continuing apace. They say they were gifted 25k gallons of gas in Kingman, Az., but are hungry for cash donations. On Ukraine? "Biden can't fight on two fronts, the convoy for freedom now has free ride in USA! pic.twitter.com/GZAI28PafS Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) February 25, 2022 Not sure of the provenance. Biden Adminstration I dont agree with everything Stoller says on this thread, but I think hes got this right: Biden was clear with everyone we would withdraw from Afghanistan. Everyone including our allies refused to believe him. He was clear that Russia would invade. Everyone including our allies refused to believe him. Next time people will believe him. Credibility matters. Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) February 25, 2022 Also, Biden did withdraw from Afghanistan (albeit following through on a commitment from the former guy, and something [genuflects] Obama was unable or unwilling to do). That took stones, and the press went into their pull-the-wings-off-flies mode shortly thereafter. As for Taiwan, Stoller continues: The U.S. can't protect Taiwan for much longer, we will lose if China attacks because Taiwan has a weak military. But if Taiwan actually arms itself with real defensive weaponry, China can't win. So far the problem has been Taiwan doesn't think it's necessary. Now they will. Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) February 25, 2022 Theres a timing issue there, of course. Biden to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson for Supreme Court [Associated Press]. In [federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson], Biden delivers on a campaign promise to make the historic appointment and to further diversify a court that was made up entirely of white men for almost two centuries. He has chosen an attorney who would be the high courts first former public defender, though she also possesses the elite legal background of other justices. That timeline could be complicated by a number of things, including Russias invasion of Ukraine and the extended absence of Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, who suffered a stroke last month and is out for several weeks. Democrats would need Lujans vote to confirm Bidens pick if no Republicans support her. Jackson was confirmed to [the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit] on a 53-44 Senate vote, winning the backing of three Republicans: Graham, Maines Susan Collins and Alaskas Lisa Murkowski. Propaganda works: We're also seeing some real bipartisanship on Russia-Ukraine While 61% of Dems see the conflict as a critical threat, 56% of Republicans agree. Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) February 25, 2022 The Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) for Iraq was bipartisan, too. So was the USA Patriot Act. Many, many very bad ideas are bipartisan. Democrats en Deshabille I have moved my standing remarks on the Democrat Party (the Democrat Party is a rotting corpse that cant bury itself) to a separate, back-dated post, to which I will periodically add material, summarizing the addition here in a live Water Cooler. (Hopefully, some Bourdieu.) It turns out that defining the Democrat Party is, in fact, a hard problem. I do think the paragraph that follows is on point all the way back to 2016, if not before: The Democrat Party is the political expression of the class power of PMC, their base (lucidly explained by Thomas Frank in Listen, Liberal!). It follows that the Democrat Party is as unreformable as the PMC is unreformable ; if the Democrat Party did not exist, the PMC would have to invent it. If the Democrat Party fails to govern, thats because the PMC lacks the capability to govern . (PMC modulo class expatriates, of course.) Second, all the working parts of the Party reinforce each other. Leave aside characterizing the relationships between elements of the Party (ka-ching, but not entirely) those elements comprise a network a Flex Net? An iron octagon? of funders, vendors, apparatchiks, electeds, NGOs, and miscellaneous mercenaries, with assets in the press and the intelligence community. Note, of course, that the class power of the PMC both expresses and is limited by other classes; oligarchs and American gentry (see industrial model of Ferguson, Jorgensen, and Jie) and the working class spring to mind. Suck up, kick down. * * * Two Hearts Beat as One: Thanks to @sensanders for this excellent statement. https://t.co/Z4ZYWrdhoB Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) February 25, 2022 To be fair to Sanders, I expect liberal Democrat McCarthyism to go off the charts. It might be expedient to get out of the way of the juggernaut. 2022 * * * In a Contested Oregon Primary Race, Democrats Back Candidate Taking Fossil Fuel Money [DeSmog]. Late last year, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) announced his retirement from Oregons 4th District, opening up a seat that he held for more than three decades. Hes earned a reputation in Congress as a champion of transportation and climate policy: He was one of the original cosponsors of the Green New Deal in 2019, and most recently, he helped craft the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed into law last year, and also helped shepherd President Joe Bidens Build Back Better agenda through the House of Representatives, before it ran aground in the Senate. Within hours of DeFazio making his retirement public, Val Hoyle announced her intention to seek his seat. He quickly endorsed her. Hoyle served as a representative in Oregons legislature from 2009 to 2017 and is currently the state Labor Commissioner. She quickly consolidated the backing of powerful Democrats, with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) endorsing her in late January. But at a time when the climate emergency is worsening and the Democrats climate agenda is sputtering, DeFazios anointed successor for his relatively safe Democratic seat is a candidate who has a long record of supporting Jordan Cove, the now-defunct liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project that southern Oregonians battled for more than 15 years. Realignment and Legitimacy Electoral Turnovers (PDF) [NBER]. The Abstract: In most national elections, voters face a key choice between continuity and change. Electoral turnovers occur when the incumbent candidate or party fails to win reelection. To understand how turnovers affect national outcomes, we study the universe of presidential and parliamentary elections held since 1945. We document the prevalence of turnovers over time and we estimate their effects on economic performance, trade, human development, conflict, and democracy. Using a close-elections regression discontinuity design (RDD) across countries, we show that turnovers improve country performance. These effects are not driven by differences in the characteristics of challengers, or by the fact that challengers systematically increase the level of government intervention in the economy. Electing new leaders leads to more policy change, it improves governance, and it reduces perceived corruption, consistent with the expectation that recently elected leaders exert more effort due to stronger reputation concerns. The dataset, however, is worldwide, i.e., not confined to the United States. Tracking Viral Misinformation [New York Times]. The deck: Times reporters will chronicle and debunk false and misleading information that is going viral online. Starting with Iraq WMDs? The nonprofit and nonpartisan group found that 16 percent of Americans, or roughly 41 million people, believed last year in the three key tenets of the [QANON] conspiracy theory. Those are that Satanist pedophiles who run a global child sex-trafficking operation control the government and other major institutions, that a coming storm will sweep elites from power and that violence might be necessary to save the country. Fortunately, the release of Epsteins videos and the complete flight logs put that theory to rest. Oh, wait. #COVID19 Case count by United States regions: Rise like a rocket, and fall like a stick; the slope of the downward curve is more or less the same as the upward curve. Previous peaks how small the early ones look now have been roughly symmetrical on either side. But the scale of this peak, and the penetration into the population, is unprecedented. I wonder if there will be plateau when BA.2 takes hold. Since the Northeast has form, that is probably the region to watch for this behavior first. I have added a Fauci Line to congratulate the Biden administration for having passed the former guys second highest peak on the way down. The official narrative was Covid is behind us, and that the pandemic will be over by January (Gottlieb), and I know some people seem to not want to give up on the wonderful pandemic, but you know what? Its over (Bill Maher) was completely exploded. What a surprise! This time, it may be different. But who knows? MWRA (Boston-area) wastewater detection: Continues encouraging (and independent from the CDC). The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) service area includes 43 municipalities in and around Boston, including not only multiple school systems but several large universities. Since Boston is so very education-heavy, then, I think it could be a good leading indicator for Covid spread in schools generally. From CDC Community Profile Reports (PDFs), Rapid Riser counties: Whats with Idaho? Not ski resorts, my first thought, at least from a cursory look at the map. Of course, Idaho is not populous, so a small rise in absolute numbers could be considered rapid. Maine is a data problem. (Remember that these are rapid riser counties. A county that moves from red to green is not covid-free; the case count just isnt, well, rising rapidly.) The previous release: Here is CDCs interactive map by county set to community transmission: Continuing slow improvement. Hospitalization (CDC Community Profile): Sea of green once more, including the Northern Marianas. From the point of view of our hospital-centric health care system, green everywhere means the emergency is over (and to be fair, this is reinforced by case count and wastewater). However, community transmission is still pervasive, which means that long Covid, plus continuing vascular damage, are not over. (Note trend, whether up or down, is marked by the arrow, at top. Admissions are presented in the graph, at the bottom. So its possible to have an upward trend, but from a very low baseline.) Death rate (Our World in Data): Total: 969,602 966,530 . A continous drop in the death date, which is good news. Sadly, as of February 22, 1,000,000 960,157 = 39,843, and 39,843 / 6 days until Bidens State of the Union Speech is 6,640.5, so I guess we wont break a million in time. I was hoping for a ribbon cutting ceremony of some kind. Maybe the West Wing staff could have staged a photo op with funny hats and noisemakers. Walenskys staff could have joined in by Zoom. Ah well, nevertheless. Covid cases in top us travel destinations (Statista): * * * And now its complete because its ended here, as the Fremen say in Dune. Ah well, nevertheless. * * * Contact information for plants: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Todays plant (BH): BH: Here is a photo of Virginias state plant, poison ivy. I did this to send to grandchildren who often visit our property. * * * Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the recently concluded and thank you! successful annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldnt see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know Im on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals: Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated. If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you! Patient readers, this set of Links is very heavy on Ukraine, to the detriment of other important topics. But its a big story! lambert Largest bacterium ever discovered has an unexpectedly complex cell Nature. Its threadlike single cell is visible to the naked eye, growing up to 2 centimetersas long as a peanutand 5000 times bigger than many other microbes. A Billion Years Before Sex, Ancient Cells Were Equipped for It Quanta Capital markets union is key to a sovereign EU FT Climate Association Between Ambient Heat and Risk of Emergency Department Visits for Mental Health Among US Adults, 2010 to 2019 JAMA. The Abstract: In this case-crossover study of 3 496 762 ED visits among 2 243 395 unique individuals, higher warm-season temperatures were associated with an increased risk of ED visits for any mental health condition and for specific mental health conditions. #COVID19 The Moral Danger of Declaring the Pandemic Over Too Soon Gregg Gonsalves, NYT. From last week, still germane. * * * Investigation of a cluster of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections in a hospital administration building (accepted manuscript) (PDF) Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. From the Conclusion: In a hospital administration building outbreak, sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed transmission among co-workers. Transmission occurred despite the absence of higher-risk exposures and in a setting with adequate ventilation [800 ppm] based on monitoring of carbon dioxide levels. But from the body: These reports and the cluster reported here raise concern that airborne transmission might occur when individuals share the same enclosed space for prolonged periods despite ventilation that meets current standards. Thats a big step in the hospital infection control community. Prevalence and circulation patterns of SARS-CoV-2 variants in European sewage mirror clinical data of 54 European cities Water Research. From the Abstract: This first pan-European surveillance compared the mutation profiles associated with the variants of concerns: B.1.1.7, P.1, B.1.351 and B.1.617.2 across 20 European countries, including 54 municipalities. The results highlight that SARS-CoV-2 variants detected in the wastewater samples mirror the variants profiles reported in clinical data. This study demonstrated that >98% coverage of SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences is possible and can be used to track SARS-CoV-2 mutations in wastewater to support identifying variants circulating in a city at the community level. * * * Titanium dioxide particles frequently present in face masks intended for general use require regulatory control Nature. From the Abstract: Although titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a suspected human carcinogen when inhaled, fiber-grade TiO2 (nano)particles were demonstrated in synthetic textile fibers of face masks intended for the general public.. No assumptions were made about the likelihood of the release of TiO2 particles itself, since direct measurement of release and inhalation uptake when face masks are worn could not be assessed. The importance of wearing face masks against COVID-19 is unquestionable. Even so, these results urge for in depth research of (nano)technology applications in textiles to avoid possible future consequences caused by a poorly regulated use and to implement regulatory standards phasing out or limiting the amount of TiO2 particles, following the safe-by-design principle. Is helping cells self-destruct the key to treating COVID-19? Harvard Public Health. Word of the day: apoptosis. My Nashville Post role has evolved since 2000 when I joined the now-defunct The City Paper. TCP became a Post sister publication in 2008 (when I began doing some Post work) and folded in 2013. I have been managing editor of the Post since late 2011. Follow William Williams Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today (Natural News) Three in every 10 people in India believe that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is a myth created by some powerful forces. A poll conducted by YouGov in more than 20 countries worldwide revealed this finding. Thirty percent of respondents from India believed that the Wuhan coronavirus is a myth created by some powerful forces, and the virus does not really exist. It also found that 41 percent of Indian participants are of the opinion that the truth about the harmful effects of vaccines is being deliberately hidden from the public. Thirty-two percent of respondents said they believe the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was created and spread around the world on purpose by a secret group or organization. The same poll also found that half of Indian respondents believe in the existence of a globalist cabal pulling the strings on everything. Fifty percent said they believe the theory that regardless of who is officially in charge of governments and other organizations, there is a single group of people who secretly control events and rule the world together. In a piece for Statista, data journalist Martin Armstrong pointed out that the theory of COVID-19 being a myth was highest in India. Other developing countries followed with 23 percent of South Africans believing in the theory, 20 percent of Indonesians adhering to it and 19 percent of Nigerians espousing the idea. Developed countries such as Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark saw lower results with between three and five percent of respondents saying they believe COVID-19 is a myth. All in all, the YouGov poll determined that India has the highest average belief in popular conspiracy theories among the countries surveyed. A total of 36 percent of respondents believed the 12 conspiracy theories put forward in the poll were true, compared to a mere 27 percent who believed otherwise. (Related: Is a right wing conspiracy theory becoming fact?) India debunks the myth of COVID-19 using ivermectin, HCQ India managed to debunk the myth of COVID-19 with the help of common drugs like hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and ivermectin. Back in April 2021, the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare updated its guidelines for mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. It urged patients to consider ivermectin once a day, to be taken [on an] empty stomach for three to five days. Caregivers of quarantined COVID-19 cases were also exhorted to take HCQ prophylaxis as per protocol and as prescribed by the treating medical officer. Dr. Pierre Kory of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance pointed out the effects of adopting an ivermectin and HCQ protocol on COVID-19 cases. He cited data from the Indian state of Maharashtra and the union territory of Delhi, which showed a decline in caseloads in the two weeks of the protocols adoption. Later, the state of Uttar Pradesh benefited from adopting ivermectin to address COVID-19. The Gateway Pundit reported in October 2021 that the state, home to more than 241 million, experienced a 98.7 percent recovery rate from COVID-19 after using the anti-parasitic drug. The state government first issued guidelines in August 2021 on how to take ivermectin through a notification. This medicine is quite effective in protecting [against] COVID-19. Therefore, we appeal [to] each and every citizen to have this tablet, it stated. COVID-positive patients isolating at home were advised to take one tablet daily for three days, while primary and secondary contacts were advised to take one tablet on the first and seventh day of exposure. Because of this, 71 of 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh reported zero COVID-19 cases 24 hours after the northern Indian state adopted the ivermectin protocol. Forty-two districts in the state remained COVID-free given this development. Interestingly, Uttar Pradesh has the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate among the 36 states and union territories of India. About 20 percent of adults in the states population of 241 million are fully vaccinated. Despite this, it is one of the five areas having the lowest number of COVID-19 cases in the country. More related stories: Indian state with 240 million people completely eradicated covid with ivermectin. Widespread ivermectin use has caused a 97% drop in coronavirus cases in Delhi, India. Same ivermectin that US government doesnt want Americans to receive is saving lives across India. Watch this report by One America News about the successful use of ivermectin in Uttar Pradesh. This video is from the Signposts channel on Brighteon.com. Conspiracy.news has more stories about conspiracy theories. Sources include: GreatGameIndia.com YouGov.co.uk Statista.com TheCOVIDBlog.com TheGatewayPundit.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Republican lawmakers in Kentucky are pushing bail reform after a Black Lives Matter-linked bail fund sprung an activist who was charged with shooting at a Jewish Democrat running for mayor in Louisville. (Article by Jack Davis republished from WesternJournal.com) On Monday, activist Quintez Brown was charged with attempted murder and wanton endangerment after shots were fired at Democrat mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg and members of his staff. On Wednesday, Brown was back on the street, thanks to the Louisville Community Bail Fund, which helped those arrested in 2020 rioting over the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor get out of jail. The fund put down $100,000 to get Brown out of jail. In response, Kentucky legislators Jason Nemes and John Blanton are pushing two bills one to block bail funds from releasing some individuals who have been arrested and a second that allows judges to deny bail for some crimes, according to the Washington Free Beacon. Now, this guy who attempted to assassinate the frontrunner for Louisville mayor is walking free two days later. I mean, thats abhorrent. It shocks the conscience. And I think its frightening, Nemes said. He said Democrats and other public officials are also stunned. Some of them were very upset and scared, not only for Craig, who a lot of them know, love, and support but for themselves, Nemes said. You know, is this the way it isyou can target a public servant, and all of a sudden, youre walking two days later out of jail? People have been stunned. We need to change that. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted that even his supporters admit that Browns mental state is highly uncertain, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. But guess what: Hes already been let out of jail. A left-wing bail fund partnered with BLM Louisville to bail him out, McConnell said. Less than 48 hours after this activist tried to literally murder a politician, the radical left bailed their comrade out of jail. It is just jaw-dropping. The innocent people of Louisville deserve better, he said. Greenberg said in a statement that Browns release shows that our criminal justice system is clearly broken. It is nearly impossible to believe that someone can attempt murder on Monday and walk out of jail on Wednesday, Greenberg said. If someone is struggling with a mental illness and is in custody, they should be evaluated and treated in custody. Sadly, like others who suffer from a broken system, my team and family have been traumatized again by this news, he said. Chanelle Helm, a Black Lives Matter leader, said the group did not believe Brown would get any help in jail. Jail is a final destination for black folks in this state, Helm said, adding that [J]ails and prisons do not rehabilitate people. The communitys been doing that. A Friday statement from Black Lives Matter Louisville and the Louisville Community Bail Fund said Brown needs direct mental health support. As many activists and organizers discover, battling racial trauma as a young person is hard when many of our communities dont know how to practice healing, and this work is difficult, the statement said. But Greenberg said there should be no free pass for those who commit violence. Regardless of what leads someone to commit a violent crime, there must be consequences, he said. Gun violence is unacceptable under any circumstances for any reason anywhere. Read more at: WesternJournal.com (Natural News) Canadians are in the middle of a war. Their body autonomy and due process rights continue to be stripped, layer by layer, by a terrorist, totalitarian government. The Canadian government is now targeting individuals who support freedom, medical ethics, democracy and the rule of law by freezing their bank accounts. The Canadian government has claimed ownership over all Canadians. Anyone who protests for their livelihoods, their right to work or their basic civil liberties is now targeted by the criminals who run the Canadian government. Canadian government is freezing bank accounts of innocents According to Canadian politician Mark Strahl, the government is now targeting innocent people by freezing their bank accounts. On February 20th, the Canadian government froze the bank account of a single mom working a minimum wage job. The woman donated $50 to the Freedom Convoy, to help feed the people who are arent allowed to make a living in Canada any longer. Briane is a single mom from Chilliwack working a minimum wage job, Strahl wrote. The Chilliwack-Hope MP apologized for the single moms $50 donation and said she gave $50 to the convoy when it was 100% legal. Intimidated by the totalitarians in power, Strahl wrote that the woman never participated in any other way. Still, her bank account has now been frozen, he wrote. This is who Justin Trudeau is actually targeting with his Emergencies Act orders. Strahl did not provide the media with any other details, because people who support the Freedom Convoy are being hunted and doxxed by the Canadian government. Thank you to those who have read this and offered to help someone youve never met, he wrote in a follow-up post on Twitter. Shame on those who have read it and attacked someone youve never met. I will keep working with Briane to resolve this matter with her bank and will provide updates as they are made available. To those of you, especially the media, demanding more details on Briane, having seen what has been said about her online today and what has been done to other convoy donors in the last weeks I am not going to help you dox her. I know who she is and I wont stop fighting for her, he iterated. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have admitted to seizing 206 financial products and have targeted 253 bitcoin addresses. The have also targeted 56 entities associated with vehicles, individuals and companies related to the Freedom Convoy. The RCMP has given to the financial institutions names of leaders and organizers of the protests and of people whose trucks were part of occupations and blockades. That is the only information given, according to the RCMP, that the RCMP has given to financial institutions. Trudeaus terrorist government is destroying itself Breaking peoples spirits down one mandate at a time, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau essentially declared he can force all Canadians to wear worthless medical devices indefinitely and take an endless number of covid shots while starving, oppressing and depriving every person of their basic freedoms if they do not comply. This has led to a critical moment in history, where people from all walks of life must come together and PROTEST the illegitimacy of government mandates and the unethical edicts of a totalitarian government. The Freedom Convoy demands vaccine freedom and full restoration of civil liberties, medical ethics and informed consent. The Freedom Convoy is showing the Canadian government and the tyrants around the world that they have a right to gather, to speak, to make a living and not be defiled by destructive medical experiments nor subjugated by government force. Instead of relinquishing his pride, Justin Trudeau hardened his heart and shut his ears, demanding absolute power and authority over the Canadian people and the Freedom Convoy. Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history, asserting dictatorial control over everyones lives. In this act, the Canadian government is destroying itself. Trudeau, with the endorsement of the Parliament, has suspended the rule of law and vanquished due process rights all to hunt down the people standing up for their freedoms and body autonomy rights. This terrorist government is now trampling and detaining innocent people, destroying businesses and property, committing larceny and threatening violence toward all political dissenters. That is not a free country. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Virologist Dr. Yan Li-Meng has exposed plans by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to unleash a hemorrhagic fever virus that could lead to another pandemic. While its not clear whether or not the Chinese succeeded to launch the virus at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Yan told the Health Ranger Mike Adams in a recent Brighteon Conversations interview that it has already been tested in one of the biggest cities in China. On December 22 last year, the northern megacity of Xian implemented severe lockdown policies that barred 13 million residents from leaving their homes. (Related: Chinese city implements harshest lockdown yet as Beijing aims for zero-COVID.) Thousands were hauled away by truckloads to other counties and cities, where they were quarantined. For the rest, the furthest they could go is the metal door enclosing their neighborhood or residential compound. Some districts found themselves in tighter lockdowns, with residents not allowed to venture past their doorstep. In some areas, the elevator services were cut off without prior notice. Firefighters had to climb the walls to get into a sealed-off neighborhood on New Years Eve, when a building caught fire. These abrupt confinements have prompted outcries as residents struggled to secure their basic needs. During a live-streamed press conference, distraught viewers flooded the channel with pleas in the live comments section, clamoring for food and other necessities. In response, the authorities disabled the comments section. It all started from a Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) cluster that grew to over 2,100 cases Chinas largest outbreak in months. The move is in line with the countrys zero-COVID policy. Except it wasnt really a COVID-19 outbreak at least according to Yans sources. My team received information that the Chinese Communist Party has conducted trials using citizens in one of the biggest cities, she said referring to XiAn. Another intelligence report said the CCP is fully prepared to attack through the Winter Olympics. So that means if the timing is good, they will release a bioweapon. The Chinese government, according to Yan, considers the Winter Olympics as one of the ideal opportunities to spread the hemorrhagic fever virus and make the outbreak or pandemic worldwide. (Related: SHOCK CLAIM: China has released another bioweapon during the Olympic games a hemorrhagic fever virus heres nutritional info on what may BLOCK it in your blood.) Yan hopes to preempt CCPs evil plan Yan is one of the first to research coronavirus and previously revealed she was forced into hiding after accusing Beijing of a cover-up. She was also among the first to suggest the COVID-19 virus leaked from a Wuhan lab. This time, the virologist is hoping to preempt the CCPs evil plan. We all need to make people know that the CCP prepared something. And we hoped to give international pressure and push them to delay this or even cancel this evil plan, she said. CDMedia reported earlier this month that the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), CCPs armed forces, launched the virus on its own people during the Beijing Olympics in order for athletes and diplomats to return home and infect the rest of the world. The purpose of the launch is multifold. After being developed in a lab, the PLA is testing the pathogens performance on Chinas own people and those attending the Olympics, CDMedia reported. The virus has been altered inside a laboratory to make the incubation period longer than usual, now suspected at three to four weeks, in order to allow visitors to Beijing to return home with no symptoms during transit. The news outlet noted that the virus is highly transmissible and causes bleeding through multiple orifices of the body, even the skin. Yan wasnt sure about the virus being highly transmissible but didnt dismiss the possibility that the CCP turned it into one. We need to know how high the transmissibility between the asymptomatic or mild cases, patient to other people. Based on previous knowledge, we say the hemorrhagic fever virus doesnt have very strong transmissibility between humans. Thats why we say we can control it. Now, we need to confirm whether there is something modified by the CCP, she said. More related stories: The next plandemic? Chinas Peoples Liberation Army launches hemorrhagic fever viral attack during Olympics, says source. Dr. Li-Meng Yan says CCP is spreading hemorrhagic fever bioweapon at Olympics, reveals antidote. HIGHLY SUSPECT: Biopharmaceutical company unveils antibodies that inhibit daratumumab, a drug that easily treats hemorrhagic fever. Watch Dr. Yan Li-Meng as she talks about Chinas biological warfare threats against the world during a Brighteon Conversations interview with the Health Ranger Mike Adams. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. Follow Pandemic.news for more news related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sources include: Brighteon.com TheEpochTimes.com CreativeDestructionMedia.com (Natural News) Violating its promise to Americans, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been caught withholding data about the outcome of the governments Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) booster shot campaign. The fake federal agency that is actually just a private corporation in disguise released some of the data, but intentionally omitted the 18-49 demographic, which we know is the least likely to benefit from booster injections. The CDC also removed all information about child hospitalization rates and comorbidities because it is simply too damning, and would expose the whole vaccination push as a massive fraud. With Rochelle Walensky at the helm, the CDC has become more blatantly corrupt than perhaps ever before in its history. The corrupt entity now just strikes data and information that makes its programs and special interests look bad, and it barely even bothers to provide excuses anymore. Transparency is nonexistent. CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told the media that the agency has decided to cherry-pick which data it shares with Americans because basically, at the end of the day, its not yet ready for prime time. First that data has to be manipulated, in other words. Once it has been cleansed of all that damns Big Pharma, then it is ready for public consumption. Even vaccine pusher Paul Offit wants the CDC to be honest with Americans When pressed further about the issue by The New York Times, Nordlund basically admitted that the CDC is sanitizing inconvenient and damning data from its reports because it knows that Americans will see it and be reluctant to get injected. They call this phenomenon vaccine hesitancy, but the reality is that it is just vaccine rejection by people who are doing their homework and discovering that neither the CDC nor Big Pharma can be trusted about pretty much anything. Many scientists are expressing outrage over the CDCs decision to censor certain data because doing this only further erodes public confidence in the agency while damaging its reputation. Tell the truth, said Dr. Paul Offit. Present the data. I have to believe that there is a way to explain these things so people can understand it. Offit, as you may recall, is a big proponent of vaccines. And even he is upset that the CDC is now lying right in peoples faces without shame. Theres no reason that they should be better at collecting and putting forth data then we were, Offit added, noting that American scientists like himself are now having to rely on Israeli data instead. The CDC is the principal epidemiological agency in this country, and so you would like to think the data came from them. Epidemiologist Jessica Malaty Rivera, who is part of the team that ran the Covid Tracking Project that collected and compiled data on the plandemic for a website that was up and running until March 2021, feels similarly. We have been begging for that sort of granularity of data for two years, Rivera is quoted as saying, adding that there is no risk of the data being misinterpreted. Releasing the full data in its entirety would build public trust, she says, as well as paints a much clearer picture of whats actually going on. It gets really exhausting when you see the private sector working faster than the premier public health agency of the world. Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, says she had to get the data she needed from the Times since the CDC refuses to release it directly. Theyve known this for over a year and a half, right? And they havent told us, Maldonado laments. More news coverage like this can be found at Corruption.news. Sources for this article include: DailyMail.co.uk NaturalNews.com (Natural News) The illusion of freedom will continue as long as its profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.Frank Zappa (Article by John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead republished from Rutherford.org) We are no longer free. We are living in a world carefully crafted to resemble a representative democracy, but its an illusion. We think we have the freedom to elect our leaders, but were only allowed to participate in the reassurance ritual of voting. There can be no true electoral choice or real representation when were limited in our options to one of two candidates culled from two parties that both march in lockstep with the Deep State and answer to an oligarchic elite. We think we have freedom of speech, but were only as free to speak as the government and its corporate partners allow. We think we have the right to freely exercise our religious beliefs, but those rights are quickly overruled if and when they conflict with the governments priorities, whether its COVID-19 mandates or societal values about gender equality, sex and marriage. We think we have the freedom to go where we want and move about freely, but at every turn, were hemmed in by laws, fines and penalties that regulate and restrict our autonomy, and surveillance cameras that monitor our movements. Punitive programs strip citizens of their passports and right to travel over unpaid taxes. We think we have property interests in our homes and our bodies, but there can be no such freedom when the government can seize your property, raid your home, and dictate what you do with your bodies. We think we have the freedom to defend ourselves against outside threats, but there is no right to self-defense against militarized police who are authorized to probe, poke, pinch, taser, search, seize, strip and generally manhandle anyone they see fit in almost any circumstance, and granted immunity from accountability with the general blessing of the courts. Certainly, there can be no right to gun ownership in the face of red flag gun laws which allow the police to remove guns from people merely suspected of being threats. We think we have the right to an assumption of innocence until we are proven guilty, but that burden of proof has been turned on its head by a surveillance state that renders us all suspects and overcriminalization which renders us all lawbreakers. Police-run facial recognition software that mistakenly labels law-abiding citizens as criminals. A social credit system (similar to Chinas) that rewards behavior deemed acceptable and punishes behavior the government and its corporate allies find offensive, illegal or inappropriate. We think we have the right to due process, but that assurance of justice has been stripped of its power by a judicial system hardwired to act as judge, jury and jailer, leaving us with little recourse for appeal. A perfect example of this rush to judgment can be found in the proliferation of profit-driven speed and red light cameras that do little for safety while padding the pockets of government agencies. We have been saddled with a government that pays lip service to the nations freedom principles while working overtime to shred the Constitution. By gradually whittling away at our freedomsfree speech, assembly, due process, privacy, etc.the government has, in effect, liberated itself from its contractual agreement to respect the constitutional rights of the citizenry while resetting the calendar back to a time when we had no Bill of Rights to protect us from the long arm of the government. Aided and abetted by the legislatures, the courts and Corporate America, the government has been busily rewriting the contract (a.k.a. the Constitution) that establishes the citizenry as the masters and agents of the government as the servants. We are now only as good as we are useful, and our usefulness is calculated on an economic scale by how much we are worthin terms of profit and resale valueto our owners. Under the new terms of this revised, one-sided agreement, the government and its many operatives have all the privileges and rights and we the people have none. Only in our case, sold on the idea that safety, security and material comforts are preferable to freedom, weve allowed the government to pave over the Constitution in order to erect a concentration camp. The problem with these devils bargains, however, is that there is always a catch, always a price to pay for whatever it is we valued so highly as to barter away our most precious possessions. Weve bartered away our right to self-governance, self-defense, privacy, autonomy and that most important right of all: the right to tell the government to leave me the hell alone. In exchange for the promise of safe streets, safe schools, blight-free neighborhoods, lower taxes, lower crime rates, and readily accessible technology, health care, water, food and power, weve opened the door to militarized police, government surveillance, asset forfeiture, school zero tolerance policies, license plate readers, red light cameras, SWAT team raids, health care mandates, overcriminalization and government corruption. In the end, such bargains always turn sour. We asked our lawmakers to be tough on crime, and weve been saddled with an abundance of laws that criminalize almost every aspect of our lives. So far, were up to 4500 criminal laws and 300,000 criminal regulations that result in average Americans unknowingly engaging in criminal acts at least three times a day. For instance, the family of an 11-year-old girl was issued a $535 fine for violating the Federal Migratory Bird Act after the young girl rescued a baby woodpecker from predatory cats. We wanted criminals taken off the streets, and we didnt want to have to pay for their incarceration. What weve gotten is a nation that boasts the highest incarceration rate in the world, with more than 2.3 million people locked up, many of them doing time for relatively minor, nonviolent crimes, and a private prison industry fueling the drive for more inmates, who are forced to provide corporations with cheap labor. We wanted law enforcement agencies to have the necessary resources to fight the nations wars on terror, crime and drugs. What we got instead were militarized police decked out with M-16 rifles, grenade launchers, silencers, battle tanks and hollow point bulletsgear designed for the battlefield, more than 80,000 SWAT team raids carried out every year (many for routine police tasks, resulting in losses of life and property), and profit-driven schemes that add to the governments largesse such as asset forfeiture, where police seize property from suspected criminals. We fell for the governments promise of safer roads, only to find ourselves caught in a tangle of profit-driven red-light cameras, which ticket unsuspecting drivers in the so-called name of road safety while ostensibly fattening the coffers of local and state governments. Despite widespread public opposition, corruption and systemic malfunctions, these cameras are particularly popular with municipalities, which look to them as an easy means of extra cash. Building on the profit-incentive schemes, the cameras manufacturers are also pushing speed cameras and school bus cameras, both of which result in hefty fines for violators who speed or try to go around school buses. Were being subjected to the oldest con game in the books, the magicians sleight of hand that keeps you focused on the shell game in front of you while your wallet is being picked clean by ruffians in your midst. This is how tyranny rises and freedom falls. With every new law enacted by federal and state legislatures, every new ruling handed down by government courts, and every new military weapon, invasive tactic and egregious protocol employed by government agents, we the people are being reminded that we possess no rights except for that which the government grants on an as-needed basis. Indeed, there are chilling parallels between the authoritarian prison that is life in the American police state and The Prisoner, a dystopian television series that first broadcast in Great Britain more than 50 years ago. The series centers around a British secret agent (played by Patrick McGoohan) who finds himself imprisoned, monitored by militarized drones, and interrogated in a mysterious, self-contained, cosmopolitan, seemingly idyllic retirement community known only as The Village. While luxurious and resort-like, the Village is a virtual prison disguised as a seaside paradise: its inhabitants have no true freedom, they cannot leave the Village, they are under constant surveillance, their movements are tracked by surveillance drones, and they are stripped of their individuality and identified only by numbers. Much like the American Police State, The Prisoners Village gives the illusion of freedom while functioning all the while like a prison: controlled, watchful, inflexible, punitive, deadly and inescapable. Described as an allegory of the individual, aiming to find peace and freedom in a dystopia masquerading as a utopia, The Prisoner is a chilling lesson about how difficult it is to gain ones freedom in a society in which prison walls are disguised within the trappings of technological and scientific progress, national security and so-called democracy. Perhaps the best visual debate ever on individuality and freedom, The Prisoner confronted societal themes that are still relevant today: the rise of a police state, the freedom of the individual, round-the-clock surveillance, the corruption of government, totalitarianism, weaponization, group think, mass marketing, and the tendency of mankind to meekly accept his lot in life as a prisoner in a prison of his own making. The Prisoner is an operations manual for how you condition a populace to life as prisoners in a police state: by brainwashing them into believing they are free so that they will march in lockstep with the state and be incapable of recognizing the prison walls that surround them. We can no longer maintain the illusion of freedom. Read more at: Rutherford.org Hong Kong: Treatment of COVID-19 discussed Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan today met Director of the Bureau of Medical Administration, National Health Commission Jiao Yahui via video conferencing to exchange views on the treatment of COVID-19. Officials and experts of the commission, together with the visiting Mainland COVID-19 medical expert delegation and Hong Kong experts, took part in the meeting. Noting that the Chief Executive has announced a set of actions to control the epidemic, Prof Chan said the treatment of COVID-19 patients is an important part of the action plan. With the central government's experience and guidance in fighting the epidemic, along with its support in manpower and resources, our treatment capability will be enhanced so as to reduce severe cases and deaths. She pointed out that over the past few days, the Mainland COVID-19 medical expert delegation has gained a deeper understanding of the situation concerning the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will follow up on the recommendations and advice offered by the experts, with a view to further improving the treatment, she added. Noting that all 300 beds of Tin Shui Wai Hospital will be reserved for receiving COVID-19 patients from tomorrow, the health chief said the contingency measure can help concentrate manpower and resources to cope with the epidemic situation. This story has been published on: 2022-02-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. (Natural News) A high-ranking Facebook executive has been fired by the company after he was allegedly caught soliciting sex from a minor during an amateur undercover sting operation in Columbus, Ohio, a video of which was then posted online. Jeren Andrew Miles, 35, of Palm Springs, Calif., allegedly sent explicit sexual text messages to a 13-year-old boy and then sought to make arrangements to meet with him at the Le Meridien Columbus hotel, according to the video which was posted to the YouTube channel Predator Catchers Indianapolis earlier this month. Miles was serving as manager of Community Development at Facebook/Meta but a spokesman confirmed to The Daily Caller that he is no longer with the company. The seriousness of these allegations cannot be overstated, the spokesperson told the outlet. The individual is no longer employed with the company. We are actively investigating this situation and cannot provide further comment at this time. In the video, the anti-pedophile activist group busted Miles at the hotel before he subsequently agreed to give the team an interview. This is so wild. Facebook/Metas Manager of Community Development, Jeren A. Miles, was allegedly caught in an amateur child sex sting. YouTube channel Predator Catchers Indianapolis live-streamed their interrogation of him, The Post Millennials Andy Ngo posted on Twitter along with the video. (Warning: Strong language.) This is so wild. Facebook/Metas Manager of Community Development, Jeren A. Miles, was allegedly caught in an amateur child sex sting. YouTube channel Predator Catchers Indianapolis live-streamed their interrogation of him. Read my breaking report:https://t.co/V0iePnkwKR pic.twitter.com/D1aw1BDdeP Andy Ngo ???? (@MrAndyNgo) February 17, 2022 During the interview, Miles did admit that he sent some sexually explicit messages to a person he believed to be a 13-year-old boy, as he states in the video. I was flirting, I was talking to him, Miles said, but claimed: There was never any intention of meeting up with him. Later, he admitted that he did arrange for the purported boy to meet with him after sending him information and a location. The Post Millennial noted further: Miles serves on the board of directors for LGBTQ+ group, Equality California. He has since deleted his social media accounts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Miles previously worked as the Director of Community Affairs for Lyft, according to an archive on LinkedIn, according to The Post Millennials Andy Ngos website. In addition to community activism, Jaren Miles visited the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg when he worked for Lyft. According to his now-deleted Twitter account, Miles said he was looking forward to partnering with the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg, providing them with rideshare opportunities. A spokesperson for Predator Catchers Indianapolis told Ngo in an email that the group provided details of the situation to both the Columbus, Ohio and Palm Springs, Calif. police departments. Its not clear if either agency is conducting a further investigation, however, though that seems likely given the nature of the alleged crime. The man in the videos name is Jeren Miles, 36, of Palm Springs, California. Our team members gained access to his room by knocking on his door and telling them why they were there. He then invited them in for a conversation about his online activity the spokesperson told Ngo. Screenshots of the online conversation are being finalized and will be sent to the Columbus, Ohio and Palm Springs, California Police Departments later today, the person added. Eric Schmutte, the man recording the live stream and one-half of Predator Catchers Indianapolis, tells me he is sending all the chat logs and evidence to law enforcement in Columbus, Ohio and Palm Springs, Calif., where Miles purportedly lives, Ngo reported further. Another day, another perv linked to Facebook taken down. Sources include: NaturalNews.com ThePostMillennial.com (Natural News) More than 14,000 ghost flights have departed from airports in the United Kingdom, according to newly revealed official figures. A ghost flight is defined as an airline flight that sets out towards its destination either with no passengers at all or with less than 10 percent of its passenger capacity filled. Ghost flights have been around for years now, but the onset of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) accelerated the growth of ghost flights, as fewer people flew but airlines still ordered their planes to take off anyway. (Related: Air carrier makes thousands of ghost flights to avoid losing privileges at major airports.) The British government has a rule that requires airlines to only allow flights to depart if 80 percent or more of the slots for passengers were filled. But this rule was suspended at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to help the airline industry make some revenue during lockdown. This means that the rule that required airlines to operate flights to retain their slots and privileges at major airports was also suspended. Nonetheless, Britains major airlines still flew 14,472 ghost flights, according to the data. The information was released by Member of Parliament (MP) and Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Transport Robert Courts on Feb. 10. The data were compiled by the Civil Aviation Authority and covered the period from March 2020 to Sept. 2021, right before the government started slowly reinstating its pre-pandemic rules on air travel. An average of 760 ghost flights occurred every month and 25 every day from March 2020 to Sept. 2021. All 32 airports investigated were hosts to hundreds of these ghost flights. Heathrow Airport in London, the U.K.s largest and busiest airport, is the biggest offender with 4,910 ghost flights departing from its terminals between March 2020 and Sept. 2021. This is followed by Manchester and Gatwick airports, with 1,548 and 1,044 ghost flights in the same period, respectively. Pre-pandemic aviation regulations started being reintroduced on Oct. 2021. Airlines at the time were grounded if they were not able to fill at least 50 percent of their passenger capacity. This requirement will rise to 70 percent at the end of March. Leftists, environmentalists condemn ghost flights Environmental groups and left-wing politicians have condemned the ghost flights, pointing out that flying is one of the most emission-heavy activities people can undertake, and ghost flights serve no purpose but to allow airlines to retain their slots at airports. Labor Party and left-wing MP Alex Sobel, chairman of the Net Zero All-Party Parliamentary Group, called for reforms to be passed to turn the aviation industry into an efficient sector of the economy to reduce unnecessary emissions outputs. At a time of climate emergency, we need to be drastically reducing our use of fossil fuel, not burning it in empty planes, remarked Anna Hughes, director of the anti-air travel group Flight Free U.K. If more than 14,000 empty flights took off from U.K. airports when there was no requirement to retain landing slots, how many more will have taken off since? said Hughes. Of course, all flights harm the climate, which is why we also campaign for a reduction in demand, a tax on aviation fuel and more affordable trains. But preventing planes from flying empty should be an easy win for policymakers and the climate. Airlines claim ghost flights supported the economy In response to criticism surrounding the ghost flights, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and EasyJet insisted that they did not operate ghost flights to retain their slots at the countrys busiest airports during the pandemic. COVID-19 had an unprecedented impact on customer demand, with wide-ranging global restrictions that limited international travel. For three months during 2020, Virgin Atlantic did not operate any passenger flights. Any lower-occupancy flights that operated outside of this window were not ghost flights they supported the global movement of people including returning foreign citizens and repatriated U.K. citizens, said a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic. John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow Airport Holdings, the company that operates Heathrow and several other airports in the country, said ghost flights were used to transport cargo around the world. If you were flying PPE from China or U.K. exports into the U.S. while those markets were closed [to leisure travel], you would fly them on a passenger plane and you might only have a couple of passengers on board, said Holland-Kaye. Given how tight finances are, nobody is flying a plane unless it is economically viable. This is actually about keeping the U.K. supply chain going while borders are closed to passengers. More related articles: FBI confirms an American Airlines pilots UFO sighting. United Airlines pilot who refused to take COVID vaccine stuck on unpaid leave. Fauci says people will have to wear masks inside airplanes FOREVER. Former flight attendants sue Alaska Airlines over anti-religious discrimination. COVID-19 hits aviation industry: American Airlines grounds fleet, suspends flights. Watch this video to learn about the massive changes occurring in the airline industry. This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com. Learn more about how the COVID-19 pandemic forced industries to adapt to the new normal at Pandemic.news. Sources include: EcoWatch.com TheGuardian.com News.Sky.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Unions European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the United Kingdoms Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines before seeing data from clinical trials. Team Enigma researcher Sasha Latypova made the statement in an interview with Dr. Jane Ruby during the Jan. 21 episode of Live with Dr. Jane Ruby on Brighteon.TV. What weve uncovered in these emails was incredibly shocking. It looked like they, the three agencies EMA, FDA and MHRA, were coordinating schedules purely on political grounds, political pressure to approve without even seeing the data. So the emails are all around the time of approval of these injections. They have not seen the data, they have not compiled all the reviews yet at that time, Latypova revealed. Latypova was referring to the leaked emails involving 140 people mostly from the three agencies. She noted that all people identified in the emails are highly trained professionals and experienced in different diagnostic techniques, tests and statistics. They were frantically collaborating and coordinating the schedules on which they are supposed to approve these things. So that is completely shocking and completely against any regulatory mandate that these agencies have, she said. Team Enigma is made up of a group of analysts, biostatisticians and other experts that came together to do an analysis of the lot numbers for the COVID jabs, and they found that vaccine batches produced by Pfizer and Moderna have caused adverse events. The information they gathered is published in HowBad.Info. The FDA is responsible for protecting the American peoples public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products and medical devices. (Related: VAERS analysis exposes CDC, FDA for covering up hundreds of serious adverse events associated with COVID vaccines) The EMA is a decentralized agency of the EU responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines in the EU, while the MHRA regulates medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the UK. It is an executive agency sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care. FDA approved COVID vaccine without seeing trial data Ruby explained that the FDA is given data from a trial done by a company they would have to evaluate and approve before a COVID vaccine is sold and marketed. She added there are general time frames and reviews of data that need to be followed before a vaccine is approved. Latypova added the emails explicitly said that clinical data wont be available until a specific date, but the FDA was expected to approve the vaccines around or before Christmas and that the three agencies were discussing and coordinating this before anyone could see any completed data. This, according to Ruby, was collusion between the three agencies that were planning to get the vaccine done and approved by the state without getting the data of the trials. Latypova said officials of the EMA and MHRA were under pressure to give their approval by a certain date from then U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. She added that EMA head Emer Cooke and EU Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides were calling and pressuring each member state health regulators, health regulatory or health ministers to come up with a particular approval pathway and strategy to approve the vaccines under pretense of crisis. All of these people are highly trained professionals. They have been in this review and regulation of pharmaceutical industry for years and years, all of them. They know what has been violated, Latypova said. Ruby noted that someone could make a case against Azar since he is guilty of racketeering by breaking the RICO laws of the United States and bypassing all FDA regulations and federal laws that are in place by focusing on getting through by a particular date. She added all of these authorizations are illegal and that they are now the smoking guns to show that these agencies didnt look at the data and they didnt do any pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamics. More related stories: More than 1,000 published studies show covid jabs are dangerous Highly vaccinated Israel has the most COVID-19 cases per capita IN THE WORLD COVID-19 vaccine spike proteins are SHEDDING, giving people heart attacks, strokes and more Extensive analysis of trial data finds that Pfizer covid jab does more harm than good Pfizer sweeps in to control the FDA and facilitate sweeping redactions of the court-ordered disclosure of their vaccine injury data Watch the full Jan. 21 episode of Live with Dr. Jane Ruby below. Live with Dr. Jane Ruby airs every Monday from 7-8 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. Follow Vaccines.news to know more about the COVID-19 vaccines. Sources include: Brighteon.com ForbiddenKnowledgeTV.net FDA.gov EMA.Europa.EU Gov.UK (Natural News) The tactics currently being deployed by Big Pharma and governments all around the world to save lives from the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) are similar to those concocted by Adolph Hitler as part of his eugenics and depopulation programs. According to the historical record, Hitler tried to legitimize his agenda by wrapping it in terms like science and medicine, which made it more palatable to the masses. Much like Tony Fauci and Rochelle Walensky are doing today, Hitler created a pseudoscientific facade for his experiments that made it appear as though he was just trying to help make things better for society. Hitler was able to recruit more followers among reasonable Germans by claiming that science was on his side, reports the History News Network. While Hitlers race hatred sprung from his own mind, the intellectual outlines of the eugenics Hitler adopted in 1924 were made in America. It turns out that the Carnegie Institution cultivated many of the ideas Hitler is credited with prior to his reign. During the 1920s, eugenics scientists at Carnegie formed key relationships with Germanys fascist eugenicists, which is revealed in Hitlers 1924 book Mein Kampf. In that book, Hitler quoted American eugenics ideology and openly displayed a thorough understanding of American eugenics. There is today one state in which at least weak beginnings toward a better conception [of immigration] are noticeable, Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf. Of course, it is not our model German Republic, but the United States. Hitler was so proud of what he learned from the American eugenics movement that he told a fellow Nazi that he studied with great interest the laws of several American states concerning prevention of reproduction by people whose progeny would, in all probability, be of no value or be injurious to the racial stock. Hitlers bible was a race-based eugenics book There is evidence to suggest that the covid plandemic was designed to target certain bloodlines, including the testing component that we now know was actually done to harvest peoples DNA. Hitler would probably be thrilled to know that governments around the world successfully disguised the global eugenics program known as covid as a public health operation. He would also probably love the vaccine component, which may also be selective in who it injures and kills. During his heyday, Hitler wrote a fan letter to American eugenics leader Madison Grant calling his race-based eugenics book The Passing of the Great Race his bible that is how devoted he was to rooting out the undesirables from society. Hitlers struggle for a superior race would be a mad crusade for a Master Race, History News Network explains. Now, the American term Nordic was freely exchanged with Germanic or Aryan. Race science, racial purity and racial dominance became the driving force behind Hitlers Nazism. Nazi eugenics would ultimately dictate who would be persecuted in a Reich-dominated Europe, how people would live, and how they would die. Nazi doctors would become the unseen generals in Hitlers war against the Jews and other Europeans deemed inferior. Doctors would create the science, devise the eugenic formulas, and even hand-select the victims for sterilization, euthanasia and mass extermination. If this all sounds familiar today, that is because the eugenicists of today adopted Hitlers tactics for use during the plandemic. There are desirables (the fully vaccinated) and undesirables (the unvaccinated). There are the compliant (the desirables) and the non-compliant (the undesirables). There is also now a two-tiered society: people who believe in and follow the plandemic and those who do not. There are even two-tiered places of employment where the jabbed are treated different than the non-jabbed a eugenics dream come true. American interests directly funded Nazi Germanys eugenics institutions None of Hitlers eugenics and depopulation programs would have been possible without large cash infusions from legacy families like the Rockefellers, who by 1926 had already donated some $410,000 today that would be worth around $4 million to hundreds of German researchers. In May 1926, the Rockefellers awarded $250,000 to the German Psychiatric Institute of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, which later became the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Psychiatry. One of the German Psychiatric Institutes leading psychiatrists was none other than Ernst Rudin, who became the director and later the architect of Hitlers systematic medical repression. Rudin organized and led many medical experiments on Jews, Gypsies and other undesirables. As time went on, these eugenics programs would eventually extend to old people who were systematically killed in the name of science. Many other horrific things occurred until after World War II had finished and eugenics was declared a crime against humanity and an act of genocide. Some of those who committed such atrocities were prosecuted, but many others were not. Those who escaped justice would go on to start new projects elsewhere, including in the United States where eugenics programs occur all the time, often under the cover of medicine. The Human Genome Project, for instance, has made it possible for every human being to be biologically identified and classified based on traits and ancestry. Human genetics genocidal roots in eugenics were ignored by a victorious generation that refused to link itself to the crimes of Nazism and by succeeding generations that never knew the truth of the years leading up to war, History News Network notes. Yet even now, some leading voices in the genetic world are calling for a cleansing of the unwanted among us, and even a master human species. More related news can be found at Genocide.news. Sources for this article include: HistoryNewsNetwork.org NaturalNews.com (Natural News) One year ago, the Globalist American Empire flexed its muscle by more or less politically castrating the sitting US president while he was still in office. They banned President Trump from every social media service of note, shut down his email list, crushed entire websites like Parler, banned thousands of rank-and-file Trump supporters and linked groups from Twitter and Facebook, and turned reams of data over to Deep State law enforcement so as to enable the largest manhunt in American history. (Article republished from Revolver.news) It was an incredible overreach. At the time, it felt difficult to imagine what could come after. Mass deplatformings, undisguised censorship, the calculated destruction of an entire political faction and any companies seen as enabling it. What more, realistically, could they do? A lot more, it turns out, and Justin Trudeau is pointing the way. Four days after granting himself emergency powers in response to the trucker protest against vaccine mandates, Trudeau sent in police to smash the protest. Along with the physical escalation of its crackdown, the Trudeau regime also used its emergency powers to freeze the bank accounts of anyone lending financial support to the Trucker Convoy. But the emergency part of the response has already been exposed as a lie. Refusing to let a crisis go to waste, the Trudeau regime is now racing to make its emergency powers permanent. Trudeau promised that his emergency powers would be temporary. But as all eyes were trained on this weeks police sweep of the Ottawa convoy, his government was quietly moving to make its expanded financial surveillance powers permanent. My latest @NROhttps://t.co/o1SDtqFxk6 Nate Hochman (@njhochman) February 20, 2022 Not only that, but the Trudeau government is also mulling a bill that would let people be sued or criminally charged for thought crimes. Incredibly, the bill would allow people to be targeted for allegedly contemplating a hateful act or statement. The Economist: On February 14th Mr Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in the laws 34-year history. Mr Trudeaus government has expressed shock that racist symbols were displayed during the protest. It appears to be planning to reintroduce an anti-hate bill that could lead to the imprisonment of people who use racist speech. This could include a clause which would allow individuals to take other people to court if they fear that they may be about to say something which falls under the definition of hate propaganda. They could also be charged for contemplating an offence motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other similar factor. If you feel North Americas two great Anglo democracies have taken a dark, decisive turn in the last few weeks, you arent alone and you arent mistaken. The Globalist American Empire is crumbling, and as it crumbles it also trembles, shrieks, and lashes out. As Western nations abandon even the pretense of being free-societies, our corrupt ruling class will ever-more enthusiastically embrace the naked language of compulsion, intimidation, and force. The way Trudeau treated the Trucker Convoy, youd think they were violent arsonists or deadly killers. Police smashed up vehicles: Police are breaking into vehicles in Ottawa. pic.twitter.com/wgRBbtZpZH Marie Oakes (@TheMarieOakes) February 18, 2022 Officers arrested citizen journalists for recording events: About an hour ago the Youtuber ZOT was arrested by Ottawa police in the middle of a livestream. As he was being given a last warning by an officer, two others moved in and placed him under arrest before the stream cut out. #FreedomConvoy2022pic.twitter.com/exS8hlNQhN Cosmin Dzsurdzsa (@cosminDZS) February 18, 2022 By mid-afternoon Friday, at least seventy people had been arrested just in Ottawa. 70 people arrested in Ottawa today according to police. Ahmar Khan (@AhmarSKhan) February 18, 2022 During the three weeks of trucker protests, Trudeau and his allies smeared participants as racists motivated by hate, with an agenda of antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia. Truckers were accused of threats and violence. These calumnies were obvious lies. If there was ever a peaceful protest, the trucker occupation of Ottawa certainly qualified. The most damning fact that The New York Times can muster against the truckers after more than two weeks of protesting is that, during the first 11 days of the protest, truck horns blasted up to 16 hours a day, and some residents say they have been harassed on the street. In reality, there was only honking for the first 11 hours of the protest because the truckers ceased when a judge ordered them to. That was the extent of the trucker protest. Some residents in one of Canadas richest, most privileged neighborhoods in the Imperial Capital heard a lot of honking for less than two weeks, roads were clogged up and a few people were allegedly harassed. Ottawa businesses didnt even bother boarding up their windows, because why would they? Nobody expected any real chaotic violence from the protesters. In fact, the protest was so peaceful that street crime in Ottawa actually fell during the protests. Compare this to the damage created by the BLM protests, which Trudeau supported: Even today, BLM is celebrated and well-funded. In contrast, the Regime responds to the Trucker Convoy movement with a declaration of total war. Despite being entirely peaceful in its conduct and restrained in their demands, Trudeau crushed the convoy physically and banned protest leaders from doing so much as speaking in support of the cause. But perhaps most sinister of all is how banks, media, and (perhaps?) even the intelligence services were collectively enlisted to make even the most marginal financial supporter of the truckers entirely beyond the pale. Just as Trudeau was announcing his new emergency powers, the whistleblower group Direct Denial of Secrets (DDoS) announced it had obtained a full list of all donors to the trucker convoys on GiveSendGo. The Antifa hacker group immediately shared the information with press outlets. The press itself soon played its part, directly contacting many on the donor lists and making it clear they could dox anybody they wished if they felt like it. You dont want to end up like this cafe owner, do you? The point of publishing donors hacked information was so the far-lefts henchmen can intimidate them. A gelato cafe in Ottawa has closed after receiving threats of violence. The owner donated $250 to the Freedom Convoy & her info was hacked & published. https://t.co/QfVRGW6FZC Andy Ngo ???? (@MrAndyNgo) February 16, 2022 It gets even more sinister. In 2020, the Trump Department of Homeland Security claimed that DDoS is a criminal hacker group. Despite that, it enjoys IRS non-profit status. DDoSs high-profile hacks have, almost without exception, targeted domestic dissidents against the regime, or its international enemies, rather than the regime itself. Besides doxing every GiveSendGo donor, DDoSs other targets include Gab, Parler, local police departments, Russia, Myanmar, and right-wing chat groups online. So much for speaking truth to power. By all accounts, DDoS speaks power to truth. Perhaps unsurprisingly, DDoSs leader is the chronically ill they/she transgender freak show Emma Best. DDoS almost certainly works hand in hand with serious criminals, if it is not an outright criminal organization itself. Yet nobody is shutting down financial support for DDoS or seizing its assets. While Julian Assange awaits trial and, in all likelihood, life in prison for embarrassing the security state and the Hillary Clinton campaign, Emma Best (they/she) faces no serious efforts to stop his activities whatsoever. And why would he? He is among the most heroic tranissaries rendering an invaluable service to the Globalist American Empire. The right to protest, publicly, is enshrined as a sacred privilege and marker of democracy. When the US backed the overthrow of Ukraines government in 2014, it was because President Viktor Yanukovych allegedly used force against peaceful protesters (in fact, they were not peaceful; they killed several police officers). The American Regime used the Chinese governments use of force against mostly peaceful protesters in Hong Kong to justify more moral grandstanding. If a trucker protest just like the one in Canada had been suppressed and criminalized like those in Minsk, or Moscow, or Tehran, the State Department and US regime press would shriek about totalitarianism. Now, the hypocrisy is too naked and blatant to ignore. The Canadian crackdown is a decisive mask off moment for the class obsessed with masks. Canada is ordering banks to freeze accounts without court order. And by granting broad immunity, theyre formally deputizing financial institutions as digital police. All pretense of democracy is gone. Theres no consent of the governed. Its just wokes vs workers now. https://t.co/2GHXFtAWEm Balaji Srinivasan (@balajis) February 16, 2022 A similar mask-off moment is unfolding in America. Last week, the Biden Administrations intelligence officials smeared Zero Hedge as a Russian intelligence operation for publishing articles critical of US foreign policy. A week before that, the administration claimed that dissident views on Covid-19 policies contribute to domestic terrorism. In the US client state of Ukraine, the mass banning of Russian-language TV stations is characterized as a gift to the Biden administration. Even MyPillow founder Mike Lindell is getting a Canada-style debanking because of his political activism. BEATTIE: They are debanking Mike Lindell the same way the US Government using debanking against adversaries pic.twitter.com/w3j61VkeWF Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) January 18, 2022 Still, what is most interesting about the Canada development is not how evil it is, but how overt. Western governments seem to be abandoning even the pretense of existing as free societies. Even the press is admitting it. Regime media attempting to stigmatize freedom, a thread ? 1/ pic.twitter.com/p7B8CspmvQ Auron MacIntyre (@AuronMacintyre) February 19, 2022 The good news is, its unclear how well this will work. The pretense of being a free society is central to the self-perception of Americans and Westernerns more generally. If a government shorn of moral legitimacy decides to rule by force instead, it is unclear that it will have the persuasive or coercive tools to make the change stick. A year ago, in the early days of the Biden Administration, Revolver warned about Americas rapidly crumbling moral authority in a piece entitled, With Zero Moral Authority Left, The Globalist American Empire is Doomed to Fail at Home and Abroad: In China, people tend to defer to state authority so long as the state is performing competently. There is no psychological need for the Chinese to think of their nation in moral terms as a free society that respects human rights. For better or worse, things are different in America. Being a free society is just as must an essential part of American self-identity as being a global superpower. Americas decline from global superpower status and its transition from a nation that at least pretends to be a free society to a more transparent and overt totalitarianism are mutually reinforcing tendencies that could strain the very special preconditions for American patriotism as we know it. It is far from clear that the American regime can complete this transition without dire consequences with respect to its standing globally, and to its own citizens right here at home. Patriots of all stripes should not view this as a consolation prize, but as a great opportunity. READ THE REST That opportunity is now greater than ever before. The Globalist American Empire was low on legitimacy a year ago. Today, it is scraping the bottom of the barrel. It cannot win wars. It cannot prevent crime; in fact, it encourages it. It cannot keep shelves stocked or even consistently keep the lights on. It nakedly dispenses with bedrock American rights like freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and equality under the law. It makes a mockery of the democracy it claims the sole right to represent. It shuts down your bank account while shrieking of racism, homophobia, and fascism. And now, it fears being called out. The authorities in Canada lashed out because they were genuinely afraid. As Substack writer N.S. Lyons noted last week in a piece analyzing the clash between the Physicals and the Virtuals (those who engage in real-world economic activity versus those who use laptops): When the truckers rolled their big rigs, which weigh about 35,000 pounds, up to the political elites doorstep, engaged their parking breaks (or removed their wheels entirely), and refused to leave until their concerns were addressed, this was like dropping a very solid boulder of reality in the Virtuals front lawn and daring them to remove it without assistance. And because the Virtuals do not yet actually have the Jedi powers to move things with their minds, the truckers effectively called their bluff on who ultimately has control over the world. To many of the Virtuals, this is existentially frightening. [The Upheaval] This is the key weakness of the Globalist American Empire: Its most zealous adherents are not able to maintain the society they rule over. Though members of the thinking class, they are actually bereft of meaningful hard skills. They do not build roads, keep the lights on, or grow food, and if suddenly tasked with doing so they would be in a near-hopeless position. A handful of truckers getting uppity put their backs to the wall. A more meaningful, widespread general strike by even a few hundred thousand workers would immediately render their regime helpless. That is why they must threaten even the slightest deviation with maximum force, with threats to seize protesters entire life savings without due process. With its hysterical reactions against all dissent, the Globalist American Empire prepares the way for its own doom. The Empire has no clothes. As it claims more power than ever, it is in fact closer than ever to losing it all. Read more at: Revolver.news (Natural News) Back in 2011, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer signed a memorandum of understanding with a China-based drug manufacturer called Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. that we now know supported the military combat efforts of the communist regimes Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). Pfizer reportedly approached the Chinese military-linked pharmaceutical firm to expand its own market access into China, and Shanghai Pharmaceutical saw this as an opportunity for the companies to jointly pursue potential business opportunities in China, according to the memo. The potential partnership is intended to leverage both companies strengths, Pfizer proudly announced at the time, adding that the deal would result in matching Pfizers global capabilities in developing innovative medicines with Shanghai Pharmaceuticals capabilities and reach in the China market. The companies plan to explore future cooperation opportunities, including further distribution and commercialization, research and development activities, manufacturing and equity investment opportunities, it was further revealed as part of an information leak. Another Shanghai Pharmaceutical partner linked to Wuhan Institute of Virology More than a decade has gone by since, and Pfizers little partnership with this Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked operation is finally coming out in the open, as are the terms that Shanghai Pharmaceutical is bound to suggest treason on the part of Pfizer. According to reports, Shanghai Pharmaceutical is subject to Article 7 of Chinas National Intelligence Law, which requires that any [Chinese] organization or citizen shall support, assist, and cooperate with state intelligence work. An unearthed Corporate Social Responsibility Report from 2020 also reveals that Shanghai Pharmaceuticals longstanding collaborations with the PLA involved organizing and implementing drug storage on behalf of the military combat, a project that was worth roughly $2.4 million. In addition, since 2007, [Shanghai Pharmaceutical] has begun to organize and implement drug storage on behalf of the military combat, the documents further explain. The amount was more than RMB15 million, and Shanghai Pharma was the storage enterprise while other subsidiaries acted as emergency units. It is now the East China region (Shanghai) drug security mobilization center. If that is not all bad enough, it also came out that Shanghai Pharmaceutical was partnered with Chinas Secondary Military Medical University (SMMU), also known as the Peoples Liberation Army Naval Medical University. This partnership forged a plan for Shanghai Pharmaceutical to provide a certain amount of R&D (research and development) funding input annually for the establishment of advance of SMMU Shanghai Pharmaceutical Translational Medicine Alliance to carry out R&D cooperation in fields of new medicine and medical devices development and so forth, a press release explained. In other words, Shanghai Pharmaceutical has been working for the Chinese military to develop new drugs and medical devices. Keep in mind that the Chinese military and its government are enemies of the United States, geopolitically speaking. But wait, there is more: SMMU also reportedly has ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which is the place where the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) is believed to have originated. The Deputy Director of WIVs Academic Committee, Hongyang Wang, had a listed affiliation with SMMU on the schools website before it was mysteriously scrubbed in mid-2020. The Chinese military has been pushing for a vaccine passport system since at least 2018, which was well before the plandemic began, just to be clear. And Pfizer, which we now know has been working with the Chinese military, also just so happens to be pushing for jab passports. Meanwhile, Pfizers U.S. lobbying efforts for this and other devious schemes reached an all-time high in 2021 at the height of the plandemic. It must all just be a coincidence, right? More related news coverage about Pfizer can be found at Corruption.news. Sources for this article include: TheNationalPulse.com NaturalNews.com OmicsOnline.org (Natural News) In a Monday appearance on Fox News Channels Tucker Carlson Tonight, liberal media hate object Kyle Rittenhouse went beyond just announcing he was suing the media for the lies they spewed about him. Instead, he and his legal team had set up an organization, The Media Accountability Project (TMAP), that would take up his cases and the cases of others who the media heinously targeted with lies and misinformation in an attempt to ruin their lives. (Article by Nicholas Fondacaro republished from NewsBusters.org) And thats exactly what Rittenhouse promised ahead of the appearance. Accountability is coming he exclaimed multiple times in tweets. Such lawsuits were hinted at back in November when Rittenhouse told Carlson he felt the media were defaming him and hurting his future. Me and my team have decided to launch The Media Accountability Project as a tool to help fundraise and hold the media accountable for the lies they said and deal with them in court, he told Carlson Monday night. Carlson was curious as to why there wasnt already an organization that handled this kind of thing already. Rittenhouse didnt know but he was adamant that he didnt want other innocent people to be victimized by the liberal media: CARLSON: Why isnt there a group like this that exists already, since the media so often are not observers, theyre players, theyre participants in the news, why hasnt someone done this before? RITTENHOUSE: Thats a good question, Tucker, and Im not sure, to be honest. But I dont want to see anybody else have to deal with what I went through. So, I want to hold them accountable for what they did to me, because I dont want to see anybody have to go through what I went through. On his short list of people, the organization is looking to sue on his behalf, Rittenhouse said theyre looking at quite a few politicians, celebrities, athletes, Whoopi Goldberg is on the list. That specific callout of Goldberg was because [s]he called me a murderer after I was acquitted by a jury of my peers. That also included Cenk [Uygur] from The Young Turks, they called me a murder before a verdict and continues to call me a murderer. And for those who called him a white supremacist, Rittenhouse warned: Theyre all going to be held accountable and were going to handle them in a courtroom. In a Daily Mail op-ed from before the end of the Rittenhouse show trial, former Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann advised Rittenhouse on how to go about suing the media and how to prepare himself for the trials and tribulations. Again, the chances are still low and nothing is guaranteed in a defamation trial. Kyle should also be prepared for a long trial which will be present in his mind for years, Sandmann said, noting he still had six outstanding suits after three years. So, if Kyle is prepared to take on another burden in his early life, with the acceptance that it might result in nothing, I answer, give it a shot and hold the media accountable. Many suspected that Rittenhouse would be taking on the liberal media machine by himself. But few foresaw an organization dedicated to combating the medias lies to spring from it. The transcript is below to read: Fox News Channels Tucker Carlson Tonight February 21, 2022 8:41:05 p.m. Eastern TUCKER CARLSON: I cant think of many people whove been at receiving end of this much sinister lying from so-called news organizations as you have. How are you going to respond? KYLE RITTENHOUSE: Well Tucker, thank you for having me. Me and my team have decided to launch The Media Accountability Project as a tool to help fundraise and hold the media accountable for the lies they said and deal with them in court. CARLSON: Interesting. So the idea is, maybe like the Covington Catholic kids, you will be suing news organizations that maliciously lie about people who are in the news, is that the plan? RITTENHOUSE: Yes, sir. Were going to be holding them accountable, Tucker. CARLSON: Do you I guess I have to ask kind of a dumb question Why isnt there a group like this that exists already, since the media so often are not observers, theyre players, theyre participants in the news, why hasnt someone done this before? RITTENHOUSE: Thats a good question, Tucker, and Im not sure, to be honest. But I dont want to see anybody else have to deal with what I went through. So, I want to hold them accountable for what they did to me, because I dont want to see anybody have to go through what I went through. CARLSON: Yeah. They tried to imprison you for the rest of your life; it wasnt coverage it was advocacy. You have a lot of potential targets to sue yourself, will you be suing any of these news organizations, and if so, when? RITTENHOUSE: Well, right now were looking at quite a few politicians, celebrities, athletes, Whoopi Goldberg is on the list. She called me a murderer after I was acquitted by a jury of my peers. She went on to still say that, and theres others, dont forget about Cenk from The Young Turks, they called me a murder before a verdict and continues to call me a murderer. CARLSON: Interesting. And what about the people who called you groundlessly a white supremacist, which makes it pretty hard to get a job for the rest of your life if you are a white supremacist. Will you be responding to them? RITTENHOUSE: Absolutely. We are going to hold everybody whos lied about me accountable. Such as everybody who lied called me a white supremacist. Theyre all going to be held accountable and were going to handle them in a courtroom. CARLSON: A Kyle Rittenhouse, I appreciate you announcing that tonight. The Media Accountability Project. And, of course, were rooting for justice like we always are. So, thank you very much. Good to see you. RITTENHOUSE: Thank you, Tucker. And if anybody wants to help join us in this battle, they can donate at TMAP.org. TUCKER: Thanks a lot. Read more at: NewsBusters.org (Natural News) One would think that with all the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine mandates that are currently in place, science would be able to offer a much deeper and clearer understanding of the risks involved with getting injected. Sadly, this is not the case. The reason, of course, is that science is not allowed to conduct the type of research required to provide the general public with the data it needs to make an informed decision before consenting to the shots. It turns out that many scientists are simply too afraid to question the governments dogma about Fauci Flu shots for fear of losing grant money or even their careers. When the decision is between going along just to get along or bucking the system and risking everything, many choose the former. According to the government, the risk of experiencing side effects from the Operation Warp Speed injections is minimal, though it has provided no proof to back this. The reason is that the proof does not exist. In fact, there is plenty of evidence to show that the jabs do not work, at least not to prevent disease. The jabs are actually making people seriously ill or outright killing them. Even the Biden regime has acknowledged that China Flu shots destroy health. So far, theres evidence of an increased risk of blood clots following the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines, and an increased risk of heart inflammation following the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, reported the Daily Sceptic. Whats more, theres evidence that side effects are more common in young people and those whove already had COVID two groups that face very little risk from the disease itself. Government science is not real science One of the things that remains a mystery is the risk factor for specific subgroups of people, such as those aged 18-30 with a prior infection. Some of the health conditions that arise post-injection are also not yet well-understood. And chances are they will never be understood because the current paradigm of science has a stranglehold on honest inquiry into such matters. Any scientist who dares to delve into it is quickly blacklisted from the community or even fired for promoting misinformation. Shouldnt scientists be rushing to answer these and other unanswered questions about vaccine side effects? Youd certainly think so. But unfortunately, that isnt the way science works in our current, politicized era, the Sceptic added. A study published in the journal Science reveals that researchers face a dilemma in seeking to identify side effect risk factors for COVID injections because of the way science currently works. Probing possible side effects presents a dilemma to researchers: They risk fomenting rejection of vaccines that are generally safe, effective and crucial to saving lives, the slanted study declared. You have to be very careful before tying COVID-19 vaccines to complications, Nath (one of the studys authors) cautions. You can make the wrong conclusion. The implications are huge.' Avindra Nath, who works as the clinical director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, basically decreed in this study that the jabs are safe and effective. And anyone who questions this, even with sound scientific evidence, is automatically making a wrong conclusion. This same study goes on to admit that the scientific community is currently uneasy about questioning the narrative and that everyone is tiptoeing around it due to fears of repercussions. Ive talked to a lot of clinicians and researchers at various institutions, and they dont want to touch it, said Resia Pretorius, a physiologist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The latest news about Fauci Flu shots can be found at Genocide.news. Sources include: DailySceptic.org NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Ohio attorney Tom Renz denounced the Department of Defense (DoD) for concealing data on Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine injuries. He also criticized the vaccine mandates for undermining military readiness on the Feb. 22 edition of his Brighteon.TV program Lawfare with Tom Renz. Renz presented data from the Pentagons Defense Medical Epidemiological Database (DMED), which consolidates information from the Defense Medical Surveillance System. According to the attorney, critics claimed that the DMED data is incorrect which is not actually the case. If you look at this [and] go down to cancers, all cancers, you [will] see almost a 300 percent increase. One of the big things that Ive [heard] a number of doctors and people say [is] Well, how could that be? Cancer takes a long time to develop and thats not normal, he said. Renz previously mentioned this increase in cancers following vaccination during a Jan. 25 roundtable hosted by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI). He told the lawmaker that cancers and miscarriages after vaccination increased three times more than the five-year average in just a years time. The lawyer added that neurological issues caused by the COVID-19 vaccine jumped from 82,000 to 863,000 during the same time period. (Related: Tom Renz reveals the names of vaccine damage Pentagon whistleblowers during Johnson roundtable.) The point is that now, theyre attacking the data because its inconvenient. Before, we always have to follow the data. Here, the data is clear as day: Cancer went up [by] 300 percent. Now [that] the data shows something that they dont like [its now] dont trust the data, its wrong [and] theres clearly a mistake in the data, said Renz. The COVID [vaccines] are according to Moderna, Pfizer and anyone else a gene therapy. Its a new category of drug, its never been out there before. You just dont know what its going to do. And as we all know, there were no long-term studies, [not] even any real short-term studies. The studies on [these] were all garbage from top to bottom. This is fraud from beginning to end. COVID-19 vaccines, mandates undermine military readiness Renz also pointed out why the Pentagon is going to great lengths to cover up the DMED data. Theyre terrified of this data [because] not only does it show that the vaccines are poisonous, but it also means that the DoD is going to have to spend a ton of money on taking care of the veterans theyre poisoning for the rest of their lives. Thats a nightmare for these guys, he said. Think about the kid whos 18 years old and [in] perfect health, goes into the military, gets the jab and gets thrown out shortly thereafter because they developed some sort of issue like myocarditis. If youre not in the military for over a certain period of time, you dont get [veterans] benefits [or] any sort of coverage. Were damaging the kids, were throwing them out; theyre not able to do much because of their health issues and they dont have coverage, [so] theyre out of luck. This is a tragedy. The attorney also cited a leaked senior leader brief that mentioned the actual number of vaccinated military personnel. While President Joe Biden wants everyone to believe that all active-duty and reserve members are vaccinated, the document revealed that only three-fourths of all military members received the COVID-19 shot. Now, Biden wants to throw out everybody thats not fully [vaccinated.] Well, you got 339,833 [service members] that are only partially [vaccinated,] and 179,952 that are either not vaccinated or unknown. Hes [going to] start a war with [Russia] while throwing our 25 percent of our military are you serious? How about China? Were poisoning most of our military; do we really want to throw out the rest? Aside from the actual service members, Renz mentioned that 71.4 percent of civilian employees and contractors are either unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. He commented: These are other people that are supporting the military. Thats [more than] 1.8 million between our military and our supporting civilian contractors that he wants to throw out. Does that seem like good policy for anybody? More related stories: DoD document proves that militarys purge of unvaccinated servicemen putting country at risk. Our nations security is at risk due to Bidens illegal military vaccine mandate, experts warn. Viral video shows increasing number of illnesses in US military following COVID vaccines. Cover up: DOD silent after whistleblowers expose COVID vaccine injuries in military. Watch the full Feb. 22 edition of Lawfare with Tom Renz below. Catch new episodes of the program every Tuesday at 11:30-12 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. Suppressed.news has more articles about the DoD concealing vaccine injury data. Sources include: Brighteon.com 1 Brighteon.com 2 (Natural News) The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) essentially confirmed in its recently published advice that one in every 10 young children who took the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) injection in the United States ended up missing at least one day of school due to adverse reaction. JCVI is an independent expert advisory committee that advises U.K.s health departments on immunization and makes recommendations concerning vaccination schedules and vaccine safety. The advisory committee stated that over eight million children aged five to 11 have been given the COVID-19 injection in the United States. This means approximately 800,000 American children have been forced to miss school because theyve suffered an adverse reaction so severe they were unable to perform daily activities. This explains why JCVI is advising the U.K. government to roll out Pfizers COVID-19 injection to children aged five to 11 on a non-urgent basis. U.K.s Health Secretary Sajid Javid also said the choice will be up to the parents if they want to take up the offer to help increase their childrens protection against future waves of COVID-19 as the country learns to live with the virus. Interestingly, JCVI did not recommend Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine to children over aged 12 and above. The committees assessment is that the health benefits from vaccination are marginally greater than the potential known harms. (Related: UK to experiment on children 5 to 11 years old despite vaccine advisory committees initial concerns.) However, Englands Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty overruled JCVI and instructed the government to offer Pfizers COVID-19 injection to children aged 12-15 with immediate effect. Whitty claimed that it is likely vaccination will help reduce transmission of COVID-19 in schools which are attended by children and young people aged 12 to 15 years. Evidence suggests otherwise. The U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Vaccine Surveillance Report for Week 7 of this year shows that the COVID-19 injections increase the risk of infection and transmission, with the case rates per 100,000 highest among the triple vaccinated population in all age groups. For every ICU admission prevented, 15 children develop myocarditis due to COVID-19 vaccines JCVIs published advice also stated that in order to prevent 0.5 ICU admissions among children aged five to 11 due to COVID-19, 1.9 million children will need to be vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer injection. In other words, 7.6 million doses will need to be administered to prevent a single ICU admission. Elsewhere in JCVIs published advice, the so-called experts claimed that severe adverse reactions among children are extremely rare. They cited a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which concluded that only two cases of vaccine-related myocarditis have been reported per one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered. Based on that, there will be 15.2 children aged five to 11 who will develop myocarditis per 7.6 million doses. Meaning, they are willing to risk having 15.2 cases of myocarditis from that age-group to avoid a single ICU admission. Science and basic math dont agree with JCVIs advice, it appears. Myocarditis reduces the hearts ability to pump and can cause rapid or abnormal heartbeats. Signs of myocarditis in children include chest pain, breathing problems, abnormal heartbeats, rapid breathing, fever and fainting. A study published by the CDC on July 30 found that 397 children between the ages of 12 and 17 were diagnosed with myocarditis after receiving Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine. The condition occurred mostly in young boys. Heart inflammation was not identified as an adverse reaction during the safety trials for the vaccine, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added a warning in June last year to the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines possible link to cases of myocarditis in teenagers and young adults. There is no mild version of myocarditis. (Related: Cardiologist says no case of COVID-19 vaccine-induced myocarditis is mild.) It is extremely serious as the heart muscle becomes incapable of regenerating. Eventually, myocarditis weakens the heart so the rest of the body doesnt get enough blood. Clots can then form in the heart, leading to a stroke or heart attack. Other complications of the condition include sudden cardiac death. These revelations contained within the JCVIs published advice raise serious concerns as to how they have possibly concluded that all children aged five to 11 should be offered the COVID-19 injection on a non-urgent basis. There is clearly a huge amount of risk and near-zero benefit. More related stories: Experimental mRNA vaccines found to cause HEART DAMAGE, destroying young boys health at unprecedented rate. UNKNOWN RISK: Pfizer admits more studies are needed on myocarditis risk linked to COVID vaccines for kids. Getting jabbed with Pfizers covid shot increases teenage boys risk of heart inflammation by 1,330%. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky was caught lying about vaccine-induced myocarditis in children in the video below. This video is from the SurvivalTV channel on Brighteon.com. Follow Vaccines.news for more news related to COVID-19 vaccines. Sources include: DailyExpose.uk BBC.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act earlier this month to provide him political cover so he could crack down on Freedom Convoy truckers protesting his insane COVID-19 vaccine mandate, he must have calculated that the leftist-dominated Parliament was going to side with him. And it did. Earlier this week, the countrys two main left-wing parties joined together in order to approve of his actions in a vote that essentially transforms Canada from a Western democracy into a socialist autocracy, or worse. Trudeaus decision to invoke the Emergencies Act passed a vital vote in the House of Commons on Monday thanks to the parliamentary support of Jagmeet Singh and the New Democratic Party (NDP), True North news reported, adding that 185 MPs voted in favour of the act with 151 against. The outlet went on to report that had the vote failed then Trudeaus powers would have been immediately revoked because, under the Emergencies Act, the prime ministers actions must be approved by Parliament within seven days. Again, Trudeau obviously calculated that he would be declared justified under the declaration. The passing of the motion in the House of Commons will keep the emergency measures in place until mid-March at the latest. The Senate must also vote on the governments request, although this will serve more as a formality, the outlet reported. Some Canadian members of parliament, however, are not sitting idly by, including Conservative Party leader Candace Bergen. We will continue to fight this power grab by the Prime Minister and his government, Bergen said in a statement following the vote. Thats why immediately following the vote, Conservatives gave notice of a motion to revoke the Prime Ministers emergency. Liberal and NDP MPs will need to explain to Canadians why they are continuing to enforce a national state of emergency that gives the federal government far-reaching powers and authority. She makes a good point: The Freedom Convoy protest is over; police have cleared the truckers and their supporters out of Ottawa. There is no reason to continue operating as though an emergency still exists when it clearly does not. But Trudeau and his administration are already trying to use the extra time to make aspects of the Emergencies Act permanent, as noted by Revolver News, to include thought crimes. [T]he Trudeau government is also mulling a bill that would let people be sued or criminally charged for thought crimes. Incredibly, the bill would allow people to be targeted for allegedly contemplating a hateful act or statement, the outlet reported, going on to cite The Economist: Mr. Trudeaus government has expressed shock that racist symbols were displayed during the protest. It appears to be planning to reintroduce an anti-hate bill that could lead to the imprisonment of people who use racist speech. This could include a clause which would allow individuals to take other people to court if they fear that they may be about to say something which falls under the definition of hate propaganda. They could also be charged for contemplating an offence motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other similar factor. If you feel North Americas two great Anglo democracies have taken a dark, decisive turn in the last few weeks, you arent alone and you arent mistaken, Revolver News continued. The Globalist American Empire is crumbling, and as it crumbles it also trembles, shrieks, and lashes out. As Western nations abandon even the pretense of being free-societies, our corrupt ruling class will ever-more enthusiastically embrace the naked language of compulsion, intimidation, and force. The extreme left in Canada and the U.S. are making a concerted, coordinated push to destroy the last vestiges of republican self-government. It is obvious. Sources include: TNC.news Revolver.news (Natural News) A Chinese satellite was seen grabbing another satellite and taking it out of its normal geosynchronous orbit before placing it into a super-graveyard drift orbit. The move has raised questions about the potential uses of these kinds of satellites designed to maneuver close to other satellites for inspection or handling. It has also increased growing concerns about Chinas space program. (Related: China launches what experts fear is a satellite-crushing weapon.) Last January 22, Chinas Shijian-21 satellite or SJ-21 departed from its common position in orbit during daylight hours when observations were difficult to make with optical telescopes. SJ-21 was then seen making a large maneuver to close in on another satellite, a BeiDou Navigation System satellite. SJ-21 then picked the dead satellite out of its usual geosynchronous orbit and put it a few hundred miles away in what is called a graveyard orbit. These distant orbits are booked for obsolete satellites at the end of their lives and are designed to decrease the risk of accident with operational assets. The uncommon movement was seen by telescopes belonging to commercial space awareness firm Exoanalytic Solutions. During a recent webinar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Exoanalytic Solutions Space Situational Awareness Chief Architect Brien Flewelling said the SJ-21 satellite appears to be functioning as a space tug. The United States Space Force has been progressively turning to commercial space companies to supply a variety of data and services to boost its situational awareness, and the Joint Task Force-Space Defense awarded Exoanalytic Solutions a contract in 2021 to give space domain data. Comms, data relay, remote sensing and even ISR and some other things [these] capabilities are increasingly available in the commercial market, Space Force Deputy Lt. Gen. David Thompson said last year. SJ-21s actions has potential military use Shijian-21 or SJ-21 was launched in October 2021. The satellite is officially called an On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (OSAM) satellite, a wide class of satellites equipped with capabilities to get close to and communicate with other satellites. Such systems allow a wide range of functions, such as stretching the life of existing satellites, assembling satellites in orbit or performing other maintenance and repairs. SJ-21 was designed to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies, according to Chinese state news outlets. SJ-21s recent action raises questions and concerns about these kinds of satellites and their potential for military use. Todd Harrison, director of CSISs Aerospace Project, said in an interview with Breaking Defense that SJ-21s moves present more questions than answers. He added that while people can watch the satellites actions, the intent behind it and what China plans to do with this technology is a more subjective assessment. SJ-21 has already made headlines with its questionable action. Last November, just a month after its launch, an unidentified object was seen circling alongside SJ-21. The Space Force named the unknown object as a spent apogee kick motor, but it was also said that it might have been an experimental payload intended to test SJ-21s ability to carry out remote operations and maneuver other satellites. The U.S. Air Forces China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) released a report on Shijian-21 immediately after its unknown companion came. The report said: Even Chinese media, academics and bloggers agree with Western analysts that remote proximity operation capabilities and robotic arm technologies are dual-use, which means that they have potential military applications in addition to scientific or utility uses. The report mentions unproven claims that SJ-21 might have some form of net employed to catch space debris, claims which also came out on social media. Studying the potential uses of these dual-use satellites is challenging. As CASI notes, while SJ-21s previous actions show technology to potentially enable weapons or reconnaissance capabilities, they are also perfectly in line with Chinas peaceful economic and scientific goals in space, particularly related to debris removal. Even so, if SJ-21 can seize a dead satellite and move it out of orbit, there is likely nothing to stop it from doing the same thing to an operational satellite that the American military relies upon. It is crucial to note that the U.S. is also seeking on-orbit servicing capabilities that will likely draw related concerns from Americas competitors. Northrop Grumman is developing a satellite with DARPA-made robotic arm that is able to perform detailed inspections, relocations of client vehicles or simple repairs such as releasing a solar array that is stuck or an antenna that doesnt deploy properly. It is projected to launch in 2024. Pentagon already concerned about Chinas space capabilities These new capabilities in orbit of China highlight concerns the Department of Defense has been voicing in recent years. James Dickinson, commander of U.S. Space Command, told Congress last year that Chinese satellites like SJ-21 and others could be used in a future system for grappling other satellites. Way back in 2013, there had been reports of Chinese satellites using robotic arms to seize other satellites. A robotic arm launched aboard the Tianhe module of Chinas Tiangong space station had exhibited similar capabilities. And those concerns of the Pentagon and Space Command arent unfounded. In another direct case of this probable threat, an American spy satellite was stalked closely in 2020 by a Russian space apparatus inspector believed to have capabilities akin to SJ-21. Manipulating one satellite close to another in orbit is a technologically complex motion and there is always the possibility of an accidental collision happening during one of these operations. There are also concerns about enemy satellites with more destructive powers such as high-powered microwaves or the ability to shoot projectiles. Any satellite that has the ability to move in close proximity to another satellite could possibly perform an array of attacks such as jamming transmissions, blinding sensors, spraying aerosols on solar panels and optics and physically employing or moving it out of orbit like Shijian-21s current operation. With all of these information, its no wonder Space Force has enlarged its Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, which aims at monitoring other satellites in the same orbit as SJ-21 where many of Americas critical early warning and spy satellites are located. Some Pentagon leaders argued that declassification of Americas space-based capabilities could provide deterrence and promote support for Space Force. As Shijian-21s recent moves prove, there is an urgent need for the U.S. to be able to defend its assets in distant orbit. More related stories: Space arms race heats up as Russia admits to destroying a satellite with a space missile. Pentagon: Chinas space weapons program on the march. Is Putins Star Warrior weapon a threat to Nato satellites? New satellite will test whether magnets can be used to collect space debris. Watch the video below to know how Chinas new destructive weapons can blind U.S. satellites. This video is from the End Time News channel on Brighteon.com. Follow Space.news to know more about space satellites. Sources include: BlacklistedNews.com TheDrive.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Rudolph Valenta of the Medical University of Vienna has found that people who are double vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) have virtually no protection against the Omicron (Moronic) variant. A peer-reviewed paper he published in the journal Allergy suggests that only people who receive a third booster injection are capable of forming antibodies possibly capable of partially blocking Moronic, though this, too, is questionable. The third vaccination developed protective antibodies in many individuals, Valenta is quoted as saying, adding that there is also a significant proportion (20 percent) in whom no protection was established. Valenta and his team examined an Austrian subpopulation of people who had either gotten injected for or recovered from the Fauci Flu virus. They looked specifically at the individuals antibody status and protection against not just Moronic but also Delta and the other reported strains. The scientists made sure to include a range of participants covering each brand of injection currently available in Austria, as well as participants with natural immunity and clean blood. Concerning the Moronic variant, the researchers claim to have developed a test for the earlier variants that they were able to use to determine whether it is capable of binding to the receptor on cells via its receptor-binding domain, or RBD. The results showed that both COVID-19 convalescent individuals and individuals who had been vaccinated twice had developed antibody protection against Delta, the researchers learned. However, the antibodies were not able to block receptor binding against Omicron. Natural immunity will always be preferable to fake vaccine immunity Among all of the previously known variants of the Fauci Flu, the RBD differed only slightly, the researchers found. In other words, the injections, assuming they work, should have been able to target all of them. This is not the case, however, as evidence shows that injected people are actually catching more variants, including Moronic, than the unvaccinated. Omicron is the first variant that differs greatly from the previous variants in RBD, consequently, infections with the previous variants and currently available vaccines provide little or no protection against Omicron, the study found. A cells RBD, by the way, is a key component used by viruses to enter the spike protein domain. This allows for viruses to basically dock to the human body, gain entry into cells, and produce infection. There are many ways to stop this process that do not involve any type of injection, but as far as the government and mainstream science are concerned, only vaccines can stop it. Until we have such a vaccine, only repeated vaccinations with the existing vaccines will provide some protection, Valenta insists. The protective effect achieved by vaccination can be evaluated with special tests that can be rapidly adapted to new virus variants. As of December 2021, the Moronic variant became the dominant strain of the China Flu in the United States. Other studies suggest that it evades the alleged protection provided by the injections, and that natural immunity remains superior when it comes to staying protected. People who caught the Fauci Flu and later recovered, another recent study found, still had protective antibodies in their systems some 20 months post-infection. This adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that letting this all run its course naturally and not panicking by getting injection after injection is the best approach to saving lives. Even Bill Gates admits that Omicron has done a better job of creating B & T cells than the vaccine, wrote a reader at The Epoch Times. Why arent we hearing more about that? More of the latest news about covid can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: TheEpochTimes.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Some diehard supporters of Donald Trump remain in denial about the former presidents primary role in unleashing Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines on the world as part of Operation Warp Speed. They say that he had no choice, and that people were demanding the shots as a way to escape lockdown but were they? Leaked emails obtained by Team Enigma show that Trump was colluding and conspiring with Pfizer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and numerous other prominent regulatory agencies in Europe and the United Kingdom to fast-track his injections to market before there was even any science done on them. Dr. Jane Ruby unpacked all this on a recent episode of her program, which you can watch from Brighteon below: This video is from channel Puretrauma357 on Brighteon.com. The three agencies in particular that played a key role in the scam include the FDA, the EMA (European Medicines Agency), and the MHRA, which is the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in the U.K. Prior to the covid crimes and hoax, the process for approving and regulating what medicines you take has been based in whatever time it took for a panel of experts who are specialized in a particular area that that drug relates to, Ruby explained. And they look to confirm the safety and efficacy of that new entity from the proper trial design, the proper trial duration, and the execution of those studies. Team Enigma has come into possession of leaked emails across these agencies that look like they were working to meet an outside deadline, one that could have been set by President Trumps warp speed and his administration in alignment with Pfizer. And it was Pfizer itself, of course, that ensured its own legal indemnity. At least 140 prominent experts were involved in Trumps covid jab racketeering scam Ruby spoke with Team Enigmas Sasha Latypova, who revealed that 140 different people were identified in email exchanges between these agencies and Pfizer. Most of them are from the EMA, and all of them are medical experts and professionals. There are plenty of red flags that any of them could have identified, they have the training, they are not lay people, Latypova revealed. And surprisingly, all of it got shoved through the door very quickly, rapid, rapid approval. It turns out that Trump set a deadline for the release of the shots that had nothing to do with proper safety testing. And these agencies basically obeyed his and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourlas orders and prodding to get the approvals done at warp speed, no matter the cost to human life. Theyre telling each other that, oh, FDA is going to speak with MHRA in three hours and maybe that means that theyre going to approve faster.,' Latypova further explained. All three separate agencies coordinating by emails separate governments, separate continents, all paid by different taxpayers coordinating around the same outside deadline. In the old days, neither the FDA nor any other regulatory agency would ever commit to a deadline for approval. It goes against the principles of what a regulator does. But things appear to have changed dramatically under Trump. Not only its FDA but its MHRA and EMA, and they are referring to Pres. Trump who already by that time had lost the election, and it seems that theyre all still working on his timeline, so thats shocking, thats completely shocking, Latypova said. The emails clearly refer to at that time HHS Sec. Azar and Trump as being the drivers of the timeline. There are numerous emails that refer to these specific deadlines and timelines and even emails saying that if we dont meet this timeline, its going to be extremely, extremely difficult for all of us, things of that nature, and they mean timeline for approval. In other words, Trump and Bourla were pushing the FDA, the EMA, and the MHRA to approve the injections at warp speed before seeing any of the data, let alone any conclusive data or evidence. This is why they were all, to quote Latypova, obsessed with meeting this timeline. Operation Warp Speed is another name for pre-meditated racketeering At one point, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla flat-out lied to the FDA about what the European agencies were doing in an attempt to pressure the agency for even faster approval. It seems like the hierarchy went Pfizer CEO, then Pres. Trump, then Azar, then FDA, then the EMA and the MHRA, Latypova says. There was no process, they just went and created one. They adapted the rules to fit Trumps timeline to rush out a random product. Be sure to watch the full interview above to capture the full essence of the severity of what has taken place, and more importantly who it was who did this to us: Trump. (Related: Trump also bypassed regulators by funneling cash into Operation Warp Speed through a defense contract management firm.) More related news can be found at Trump.news. Sources for this article include: RedVoiceMedia.com Brighteon.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) New evidence shows that the Wuhan coronavirus may have been tinkered with in a lab when scientists found genetic material owned by Moderna in the spike protein of the virus. The group of scientists detected a small snippet of code identical to the gene they patented three years before the pandemic even hit. They discovered the unique furin cleavage site of the virus, which makes it easier to infect people and separate it from other coronaviruses. Furin is a protease enzyme encoded in the FURIN gene. Some proteins are inactive when synthesized, but they may become active when sections are removed. This gene is responsible for proteolytic cleavage of HIV prior to viral assembly and is also thought to play a role in tumor progression. The structure of the virus has been one of the focal points of debate about its origin, as some scientists claimed that it could not have been acquired naturally. An international team of researchers suggested that the virus may have mutated to have a furin cleavage site during experiments on human cells in a lab. The team said there is a one-in-three trillion chance that Modernas sequence randomly appeared through natural evolution. There is also some debate about whether or not the match is as rare as the study claims, as other experts described it as a quirky coincidence rather than a smoking gun. (Related: If the spike protein facilitates entry of a gain-of-function coronavirus into cells, then why are we coerced to submit to spike protein-generating vaccines?) The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID, has all the information it needs to spread in around 30,000 letters of the RNA (genetic code). The virus shares a sequence of 19 specific letters with a genetic section that is owned by Moderna, and 12 of the shared letters make up the structure of the viruss furin cleavage site. The rest match with nucleotides in a nearby part of the genome sequence. Moderna filed a patent similar to virus genetic material in 2016 What makes this interesting, however, is that Moderna filed a patent in February 2016 as part of its cancer research. The patented sequence is part of a gene called MSH3, which is known to influence the repair of damaged cells in the body. The patent was approved in March the following year. (Related: Vaccine researcher admits big mistake, says spike protein is dangerous toxin.) In a new study, researchers compared the COVID-19 makeup to millions of sequenced proteins on an online database, and of the 30,000 letters of genetic code that made the virus, it is the only one of its type to carry 12 unique letters that allow its spike protein to be activated by the common furin enzyme, which made it easier to spread between human cells. Analysis of the original COVID genome also found that the virus shares a sequence of 19 specific letters with a genetic section owned by Moderna. Dr. Balamurali Ambati of the University of Oregon and one of the authors of the paper said the matching code may have originally been introduced to the COVID genome through infected human cells expressing the MSH3 gene. Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist from the University of Warwick, admitted that while the finding was interesting, it is not significant enough to suggest lab manipulation. Were talking about a very, very, very small piece made up of 19 nucleotides. So it doesnt mean very much to be frank, if you do these types of searches you can always find matches, he said. However, a microbiologist at the University of Reading, Dr. Simone Clarke, questioned whether the find was as rare as the study claims. He said there can only be a certain number of genetic combinations within furin cleavage sites, and they do so like a lock and key in the cell. The two only fit together in a limited number of combinations. He also said that while it is an interesting coincidence, it is surely not entirely coincidental. More related stories: BIOWEAPON: New study reveals spike protein in coronavirus vaccines responsible for adverse reactions. Moderna rebrands mRNA as Spikevax to indicate it turns people into spike protein factories. Unvaccinated Americans refuse blood transfusions from vaccinated donors due to spike protein fears. Spike protein variants in coronavirus vaccines are the root cause of blood clots, new study finds. Dr. Mikovits: Covid vaccine spike protein injections could kill 50 million Americans. Watch the video below to learn more about Modernas COVID-19 vaccine. This video is from the Aimless News channel on Brighteon.com. Follow Pandemic.news for more updates related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sources include: StrangeSounds.org Nature.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) The tyranny in Canada continues to grow as evidenced by a declaration from the mayor of Ottawa. According to a tweet from the city, he has declared that all vehicles essentially stolen from Freedom Convoy demonstrators will be sold not returned to their rightful owners to cover the costs of China-loving Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus authoritarian crackdown. Ottawas mayor says vehicles seized during downtown protest should be sold to cover costs incurred by the city: https://t.co/7nupLOVIvN CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) February 20, 2022 We actually have the ability to confiscate those vehicles and sell them, Mayor Jim Watson said Saturday, citing the Emergencies Act that Trudeau invoked earlier this month, according to the CBC. And I want to see them sold. I dont want them return to these people whove been causing such frustration and angst in our community. Spoken like a true fascist. The CBC adds: The mayor told CBC News that Ottawa has that power due to the Emergencies Act, which was invoked by the federal government last week. Watson said hes been pleased by the level of professionalism shown by law enforcement since officers began stepping up their efforts Friday to clear the protest. But he also said he worries about demonstrators who have been taunting police, being completely irresponsible, and dont want to seem to leave. DEMONSTRATORS: You must leave. As night falls, it is unsafe to stay. Get out of the cold and cease further unlawful activity. Anyone within the unlawful protest site may be arrested, the Ottawa Police noted in a tweet over the weekend. DEMONSTRATORS: You must leave. As night falls, it is unsafe to stay. Get out of the cold and cease further unlawful activity. Anyone within the unlawful protest site may be arrested. #ottawa #ottnews Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) February 20, 2022 The state-run outlet went on to report that police officers from several agencies throughout Canada retook Wellington Street from protesters, using journalistic language that is more akin to RT.com or the old Soviet Pravda outlet. Police were seen herding Freedom Convoy demonstrators away from the parliamentary precinct, the outlet added (imagine using the term herd in a report dealing with a police response to a Black Lives Matter protest). In the wake of the crackdown, nearly 200 Canadians were arrested and dozens of vehicles were subsequently confiscated and towed by the city of Ottawa. Ottawa resident Zexi Li, who took part in launching a class-action lawsuit against convoy organizers, told the CBC that the weekend actions taken by Trudeau and police were long overdue but a welcome relief nonetheless. While I think the response is long overdue, its definitely a relief either way, she said. She went on to claim that the suffering city residents have endured has been absolutely unacceptable, noting further that police downplayed it for too long (protests and demonstrations are not supposed to make people comfortable isnt that what former CNN host Chris Cuomo said about the BLM rioting?). Yes, it is. Please, show me where it says that protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful, he said in early June, just a few days after George Floyds death lead to widespread violence and looting around the U.S. Because I can show you that outraged citizens are what made the country what she is and led to any major milestone. To be honest, this is not a tranquil time. As for Trudeaus use of emergency authority to clamp down on protests he doesnt agree with, he just got the green light to continue using them from the countrys left-wing parliament. Canadas parliament on Monday backed Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus decision to invoke rarely-used emergency powers to end pandemic-related protests that have blocked streets in the capital Ottawa for more than three weeks, Reuters reported. The Emergencies Act was approved in parliament by 185 to 151, with the minority Liberal government getting support from left-leaning New Democrats, the newswire added. Translation: As in the U.S., its always the left that turns authoritarian, not the right. Sources include: CBC.ca Reuters.com (Natural News) A lot is happening these days with the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) plandemic, which is rapidly unraveling amid escalating civil unrest and continued revelations about the crimes against humanity that have been perpetrated on the world. The Freedom Convoy trucker convergence on Ottawa, for example, continues to grow, which prompted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invoke the Emergencies Act, giving him new dictatorial powers. Trudeau has already used these powers to terrorize the protesters by arresting some of them and even stripping them of their banking rights. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also been forced to admit that the Operation Warp Speed vaccines create negative efficacy, meaning they damage the immune system and render it less able to ward off disease. Figure 3 in this study by the CDC that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) corroborates a study out of Denmark, both of which show that covid jabs make a person more prone to infection, not less. Pfizer whistleblower Brooke Jackson also revealed recently that the drug giant committed massive fraud with its covid jab clinical trials. This revelation dovetailed with an announcement by government authorities in Scotland that covid jab injury and death data will no longer be published because it shows undeniably that the injections are killing people. They can try to flee, but the plandemic rats will eventually pay for their crimes against humanity The corporate-controlled media, in a desperate attempt to deter people from protesting against covid jab mandates, is now harassing Freedom Convoy protesters by doxing their identities in fake news articles. Since it is now obvious that the plandemic sham is falling apart as people wake up to the truth, the lying media has resorted to bullying people who engage in free speech against the governments dictates. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), one of the leading congressional voices against the covid sham, has still not heard back from the Department of Defense (DoD) about a letter he sent to the agency about the massive spike in injuries and deaths being seen in the U.S. military due to its jab mandates. The Pentagons highly accurate and credible Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) clearly shows that heart problems, neurological damage and other conditions are skyrocketing among fully vaccinated servicemen, and yet the DoD refuses to acknowledge this, let alone provide any explanation for it. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is also overflowing with jab injury cases, but you will not hear a peep about it from the government or from the media because it rips to shreds the Biden regimes continued false claim that the injections are safe and effective. Excess deaths are also up at least 40 percent, according to the latest life insurance data. This revelation comes as Democrats are suddenly starting to backtrack on their beloved face mask mandates, and possibly soon the jab mandates as well. A mass awakening is happening, and the perpetrators behind this global hoax are starting to bail. Those fleeing are hoping to exit stage left unnoticed, but it will not be that easy for them once the culmination of their lies catches up with them. On the other hand, there are many who are now doubling down even as the ship sinks. History will be especially unkind to them, and rightfully so once they are forced to face the music for their crimes against humanity. Theres a mind boggling number of guilty people; but fear not, there are people who know what youve done and the world community will get the justice it deserves, is how one of Steve Kirschs followers so beautifully put it. More of the latest news about the collapsing plandemic can be found at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: SteveKirsch.substack.com NaturalNews.com JamaNetwork.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) After surrounding Ukraine with nearly 190,000 troops for weeks on end, Russian President Vladimir Putin finally ordered them to invade, setting in motion the potential for another deadly, destructive war along Europes perimeter. BREAKING: Russias agreements just signed with the LPR and DPR give the right to use military infrastructure and military bases on each others territory, and provide for joint protection of the borders of Donbass, said a tweet from top-rated ASB News, which reports breaking news and analysis regarding the Russian military. BREAKING: Russias agreements just signed with the LPR and DPR give the right to use military infrastructure and military bases on each others territory, and provide for joint protection of the borders of Donbass ASB News / MILITARY?? (@ASBMilitary) February 21, 2022 The site went on to note that the agreements between two separatist regions in Ukraine, declared sovereign by Putin of course, is for basing Russian troops there for at least a decade. After he ordered troops into Ukraine, Putin then declared any resistance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would lead to a bloodbath. And those who seized the power and keep the power in Kyiv, we demand [they] stop hostilities immediately, Putin said Monday through a state media interpreter. Otherwise, all the responsibility for the possible continuation of the bloodbath will be on the consciousness [conscience] of the regime that is ruling in Kyiv. Russian forces are now very close to Kiev, and the government of Ukraine has destroyed some of its own bridges there in an effort to slow the Russian advance. The Washington Examiner noted further: Putin delivered the speech one day after the scheduled end of military drills that entailed the mass mobilization of Russian forces around Ukrainian borders at positions that enable them not only to move into the Donbas region but even to threaten the Ukrainian capital. Putin portrayed the decision as long overdue after years of trying to pressure Ukrainian officials to agree to a political deal that would give his proxies special status under a revised Ukrainian constitution. Its certainly a very concrete further escalatory step, a senior European official told the outlet. In overall trajectory, though, this has not brought about a fundamental change the Russian military is still ready to move at any given moment. It should be noted that Putin did not dare try this under our real president, Donald Trump, because he knew Trump would not have allowed him to get away with it. Joe Biden, however, is a weak-minded invalid who is nothing more than a figurehead for the deep state regime that has been pining for war with Russia, no matter what they say publicly. #Ukraine: Footage of #Russias military peacekeepers being bussed in to the Donbas across the border. This is essentially the beginning of the invasion. pic.twitter.com/7pUgkJrJzQ Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan) February 21, 2022 Earlier Monday, Putin signed a decree that recognized the independence of a pair of breakaway regions, the Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics. The official signing was used as the impetus to order the Russian Ministry of Defense to send in peacekeepers to Donbass, while also ordering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish diplomatic relations with both breakaway regions. Vladimir Putin, then, has redrawn the global map. In announcing his moves, the Russian leader implied that the notion of a wider war in Ukraine quite suits us, going on to argue that modern Ukraine was entirely and completely created by Russia, a reference to Communist leader Vladimir Lenin who led the Bolshevik revolution that saw the overthrow of the Russian czar and led to the creation of the former Soviet Union (which Putin wants to recreate). Now, grateful descendants have demolished monuments to Lenin in Ukraine. This is what they call de-communization, Putin noted. Do you want de-communization? Well, this quite suits us. But you must not stop halfway. We are ready to show you what genuine de-communization means for Ukraine. The world is going to blow up under the hapless Biden. Hide and watch. Sources include: WWIII.news WashingtonExaminer.com (Natural News) There had been a lot of speculations on social media that Russian strikes on Ukrainian military installations could also include the United States bio-labs in the region. The Russian government has, for years, accused the U.S. of developing bioweapons near its borders. The theory was put forth Thursday, February 24, by a Twitter user whose account was immediately suspended. In his thread, the Twitter user indicated that there are several U.S. bio-labs in Ukraine under the auspices of the Department of States Biological Threat Reduction Program, which is an initiative where the U.S. partners with other countries to counter the threat of outbreaks (deliberate, accidental or natural) of the worlds most dangerous infectious diseases. The Ukrainian U.S. Embassy website also states that the priorities of the Biological Threat Reduction program are to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern, and to continue to ensure that Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats. This program also supposedly led to the creation of two bio-labs in Kyiv and Odessa in 2019 areas that were attacked by Russia. A map circulating online showed that U.S.-backed bio-labs are also located in Vinnytsia, Uzhgorod, Lviv, Kherson, Ternopil and near Crimea and Luhansk. Another map showed the areas that were recently attacked by the Russian forces many of which are cities where the U.S. bio-labs are believed to operate. Russia has already raised concerns over the prospect of the U.S. developing biological weapons along its border. Russian Federations Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev claimed that last year, there were clear signs that dangerous pathogens at the labs could be used for military or political purposes. (Related: Russia warns Ukraine of full-scale conflict along the countrys eastern border.) Last July, Patrushev also said more and more new biological laboratories under the control of the United States are growing by leaps and bounds, mainly in the Russian and Chinese borders. We are told that peaceful sanitation stations operate near our borders, but for some reason, they are more reminiscent of Fort Detrick in Maryland, where Americans have been working in the field of military biology for decades, Patrushev said. By the way, we should pay attention to the fact that outbreaks of diseases that are not typical for these regions are recorded in the surrounding areas. When asked whether or not he believed the U.S. to be developing bioweapons at the labs, he said they had good reason to believe that it is the case. Not a day goes by at the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague that the Americans and their allies do not come forward with another chapter of the anti-Russian chemical dossier, he said. China and Russia already jointly called on the United Nations to monitor the possible development of bioweapons by the U.S., stating that rapid advances in the field of science and technology with dual-use capabilities increased the risk of biological agents being used as weapons. (Related: Latest development on Russias attack on Ukraine and reports from Kiev: Tanks roll in from Belarus, airports and sea ports seized by Russian troops, military targets obliterated with precision missile strikes.) False accusations by Russian propagandists? Since 2018, Russian propagandists have been spreading lies that the U.S. is operating secret bio-labs in Ukraine. In May 2020, the Security Service of Ukraine released a statement calling on politicians to stop the spread of information about the existence of foreign military labs in Ukraine. Recently, fake news about the alleged activities of American military biological laboratories in Ukraine has been spread in the media and social networks No foreign biological laboratories operate in Ukraine. Statements recently made by individual politicians are not true and are a deliberate distortion of the facts, the statement said. More related stories: Putin declares two Ukraine regions independent republics, sends in peacekeeping troops. Russia recognizes breakaway republics of Ukraine as U.S. tries to exploit the region for global war. Rising gas prices to hit $7 a gallon if crude oil cost spikes and tension between Russia and Ukraine escalates. Oksana Davyda Romero tells Ann Vandersteel: Putin, Russia not ready for open war against Ukraine Brighteon.TV. Biden regime blames Russia-Ukraine conflict for rising inflation, deflecting from the many decades of corrupt monetary policy that actually caused it. Watch the video below to know more about alleged U.S. bio-labs in Ukraine. This video is from the Anti-Disinformation channel on Brighteon.com. Follow WWIII.news for more updates related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Sources include: InfoWars.com Snopes.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Ukrainian officials have confirmed that Russian forces have captured the decommissioned Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and parts of the surrounding areas, including the infrastructure housing nuclear waste and other radioactive materials. The Ukrainian government is warning that continued conflict in the area could theoretically lead to radioactive material leaking from the site. Close to the Belarus-Ukraine border is the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a wide area of around 1,000 square miles that was almost entirely evacuated due to the dangers posed on the people that used to live within the zone following the 1986 Chernobyl radioactive disaster. The area is still leaking radioactive material even after 36 years. When Russian forces moved into Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, it launched an offensive on multiple fronts, including by going through Belarus to enter northern Ukraine. Reports immediately came in that Russian troops assaulted the area and captured it, including the old power plant, according to sources within the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy called the Russian attack on Chernobyl a declaration of war against the whole of Europe. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed that Russian forces have occupied the area. Unfortunately, I have to say that, as of now, the Chernobyl zone, the so-called exclusion zone, and all Chernobyl facilities have been taken under control by Russian armed groups, said Shmyhal in a news briefing after an extraordinary cabinet meeting in the capital of Kyiv, 60 miles to the south of Chernobyl. According to the leadership of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, there are no victims at the moment, he added. Sources informed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Russian forces are currently using the Chernobyl area as a staging ground in its attempt to take over Kyiv. Another source said the Kremlin wants to take over the nuclear reactor as a signal for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization not to interfere militarily. Fighting around Chernobyl could cause a radioactive leak The Chernobyl power plant was decommissioned several years after the 1986 nuclear accident. The reactor that exploded has been covered up with a protective shelter to prevent any radiation from leaking. But multiple Ukrainian officials and other analysts have warned that the conflict puts the integrity of the infrastructure housing radioactive materials at risk. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the office of the Ukrainian president, warned that Europe might be threatened if the Russian attack results in a radioactive leak. It is impossible to say the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is safe after a totally pointless attack by the Russians, said Podolyak. This is one of the most serious threats to Europe today. Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko also warned that the Russian attack could result in the entirety of Europe being covered in radioactive fallout. If as a result of the [Russian] artillery strikes the nuclear waste storage facility is destroyed, the radioactive dust may cover the territories of Ukraine, Belarus and the EU countries, he said. Igor Novikov, a former adviser to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, warned that the threat to Europe from a potential leak in Chernobyl needs to be taken seriously. Id say first and foremost we need help explaining the dangers to our friends in the West, he said during an interview with Al Jazeera. I mean, Ukraine has 15 active nuclear reactors and nuclear waste in Chernobyl. One mortar miss and everyone in Europe is facing a major nuclear catastrophe. Id ask everyone to speak with your political representatives, your friends and peers. Everyone should understand that its not only about Ukraine, the whole of Europe is in major danger. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine has already informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that all nuclear facilities in the exclusion zone were taken over by Russian forces. The agency did not inform the IAEA of any destruction at the site. However, a Ukrainian official familiar with the situation at Chernobyl claimed that Russian shelling has damaged a radioactive waste repository, leading to a slight increase in radiation levels in the immediate area. IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said it is following the situation with grave concern and has called for maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put Ukraines nuclear facilities at risk. It is of vital importance that the safe and secure operations of the nuclear facilities in that zone should not be affected or disrupted in any way, said Grossi. More related stories: Latest development on Russias attack on Ukraine and reports from Kiev: Tanks roll in from Belarus, airports and sea ports seized by Russian troops, military targets obliterated with precision missile strikes. Russia recognizes breakaway republics of Ukraine as U.S. tries to exploit the region for global war. Biden regime claims Russia is about to unleash cyberattack against power plants, water treatment facilities and banks. Russia-Ukraine crisis will put even more strain on the global food supply, driving up prices of wheat and corn around the world. Bitcoins value continues to shrink amid Russia-Ukraine conflict; investors turn to gold and silver. Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how the Russia-Ukraine conflict heralds the beginning of World War III. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. Learn more about the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine at WWIII.news. Sources include: Reuters.com AlJazeera.com Twitter.com RFERL.org APNews.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Director Christopher Scolese warned Wednesday, February 23, that Russias military could target satellites to disrupt communications and GPS services if full-scale war ensues in Ukraine. Scolese issued the warning at the National Security Space Associations Defense and Intelligence Space Conference. I think were seeing pretty clearly that Russia is committed to doing what they want to do in Ukraine, and they want to win, he said. So I think its fair to assume, to the extent that they can, and to the extent that they feel it wont extend the conflict out of their control, that they will extend it into space. Just a few hours later, on Thursday morning local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to march into Ukraine. Russia launched the full-scale invasion after previously insisting it had no plans to attack. Scolese did not specify what actions the Russians might take, but he said its easy to imagine based on past behavior. They are already doing GPS jamming, as an example, he said. Both government and commercial satellites systems are potential targets. The NRO operates government-owned spy satellites, but lots of imagery and intelligence are now collected and distributed by commercial satellite operators like Maxar, Planet, BlackSky and others, so any attempt to disrupt the countrys ability to gather intelligence could impact private and public assets. For years, the military has worried that Russia and China will try to jam the countrys GPS and communications satellites during a conflict. (Related: China, Russia, working on weapons that can kill US GPS satellites.) Russia could also target military GPS users with falsified PNT data, a technique known as spoofing. A GPS outage could wreak havoc across all military activities involving aircraft, ships, munitions, land vehicles and ground troops. I would tell everybody that the important thing is to go off and ensure that your systems are secure and that youre watching them very closely because we know that the Russians are effective cyber actors, Scolese said. And, again, its hard to say how far their reach is going to go in order to achieve their objectives. But its better to be prepared than surprised. Russia seems prepared to disconnect from global internet In June and July last year, Russia successfully disconnected from the global internet during tests. In 2019, Russia adopted legislation known as the sovereign internet law that seeks to shield the country from being cut off from foreign infrastructure. The legislation tightened Moscows control over the global network. Tests involving all Russias major telecoms firms were held from June 15 to July 15 and were successful based on preliminary results, a source in the working group told news outlet RBC. The purpose of the tests is to determine the ability of the Runet to work in case of external distortions, blocks and other threats, the source said. Runet refers to the Russian-language community on the internet, or simply the internet in the Russian language. Another RBC source said the capability of physically disconnecting the Russian part of the internet was tested. It was not immediately clear how long the disconnection lasted or whether there were any noticeable disruptions to internet traffic. The law stipulates that tests be carried out every year. The first exercises were held in December 2019. In 2020, such exercises were supposed to be held once a quarter: March 20, June 20, September 20 and December 20. However, they were called off due to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (Related: Russia preparing for future cyber attacks, readies own web in case of internet shutdown.) The Kremlin was aware of the tests, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, describing them as timely and saying that Russia had to be ready for anything. The legislation seeks to route Russian web traffic and data through points controlled by state authorities and build a national Domain Name System to allow the internet to continue working even if Russia is cut off. In June 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had to ensure that Runet could function in a reliable way to guard against servers outside of Russias control being switched off and compromising their operations in the process. State communications regulator Roskomnadzor said the tests were aimed at improving the integrity, stability and security of Russias internet infrastructure, RBC reported. Vanishing from the global internet is commonly known as an internet shutdown or an internet kill switch an action undertaken by a government to stop all internet activities in the whole country. The legal basis for an internet shutdown in Russia stems from a set of laws passed by the government between 2012 and 2018 to comprehensively regulate the internet infrastructure in the country. In September 2014, Putin and the Security Council of the Russian Federation proposed a plan for the Kremlin to shut down Runet in the event of a national security threat, such as a military confrontation or antigovernment protests. Peskov claimed that the government only intends to protect Runet from unpredictable actions of the West. Runet may be forced to run on its own very soon, but its only because of Russias own unpredictable actions. More related stories: Space arms race heats up as Russia admits to destroying a satellite with a space missile. Russia just launched a secret military satellite into orbit from its new Arctic base of operations the high ground for planet Earth. These countries have an INTERNET KILL SWITCH (and they admit it). Russia successfully disconnects from the global internet during tests. Watch this video about the U.S. suspecting that Russia is developing anti-satellite weapons. This video is from the Nworeport channel on Brighteon.com. Follow CyberWar.news for more news related to the internet, computers and cyberattacks. Sources include: LiveScience.com RBC.ru EastWest.ngo Brighteon.com (Natural News) I told you this part wasnt going to be pretty. The collapse of fascist ideological movements and fanatical death cults never is. The New Normal is proving to be no exception. (Article by CJ Hopkins republished from Off-Guardian.org) After three weeks of non-violent civil disobedience outside the Canadian parliament in Ottawa by truckers and other Canadian citizens struggling to uphold their right to not be subjected to forced vaccination, Justin Trudeau unleashed the goon squads. Thousands of militarized riot police (and other unidentified heavily-armed operatives) swarmed the area, surrounded the protesters, started breaking into trucks and arresting people, and beating them with batons and the butts of their rifles. In one particularly ugly episode, the New Normal stormtroopers rode their horses directly into a crowd of non-violent protesters, trampling an elderly lady with a walker. She had just finished saying something to the police along the lines of you break my heart this is about peace, and love, and happiness. Then they knocked her down and rode their horses over her. Despite an abundance of video evidence clearly depicting exactly what happened, the Ottawa Police tried to spin it this way Heres an overhead photo of the incident The big red arrow (courtesy of The Marie Oakes) points to the ladys walker, or the alleged horse-assaulting bicycle. Presumably, the face of the gentlemen above her also caused the horse to trip, or was in the process of causing the horse to trip, at the moment that this photo was taken. And that wasnt all. Oh no, far from it. The show of force was just getting started. After all, this was not a mostly peaceful outbreak of rioting, looting, and arson. This was non-violent civil disobedience, with childrens bouncy castles, makeshift saunas, honking, dancing, illegal barbecuing, and other forms of terrorist activity, which had to be crushed with an iron fist. On Saturday, the goon squads broke out the stun grenades, the pepper spray, and the big wooden sticks. By Sunday morning, they were shooting people with non-lethal, mid-range impact weapons. Tow truck operators in horror-movie ski masks were brought in to haul away the big rigs. Before he turned the goon squads loose on Friday, Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, suspending the Canadian constitution, which he had already suspended back in 2020 due to the apocalyptic pandemic, which is why the protesters were protesting in the first place. Parliament was scheduled to debate his authority to declare another state of emergency, but, of course, the debate was abruptly suspended due to the massive police operation that his invocation of the Act had enabled. Acting under the Emergencies Act, he immediately cancelled the right of assembly, outlawed the protests, and started threatening to kill peoples dogs and take away their kids. Then he and his fascist New Normal lieutenants started freezing the bank accounts of anyone and everyone even vaguely connected to the trucker protest. According to a Bloomberg report: The emergency orders require virtually every participant in the Canadian financial system banks, investment firms, credit unions, loan companies, securities dealers, fundraising platforms and payment and clearing services to determine whether they possess or control property of a person whos attending an illegal protest or providing supplies to demonstrators. And, as if all that wasnt fascist enough, Ottawas police chief has made it clear that, once the crackdown is finally over, they will hunt down anyone involved in the protests, arrest them and charge them with criminal offenses, subject them to financial sanctions, and otherwise destroy their lives and families. The crackdown in Ottawa is hardly an aberration. As my readers might recall, New Normal Germany outlawed protesting against the New Normal (i.e., the new official ideology) back in September of 2020, and the German police have been absolutely brutal. Anyone deemed a Covid denier is subject to surveillance by Germanys Intelligence services. The US Department of Homeland Security designates us domestic violent extremists. Same story in Australia, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and assorted other countries. I have been describing the New Normal as a new form of totalitarianism (or fascism, if you prefer) for the past two years, and I have been documenting it from the very beginning (see, e.g., these Twitter threads from March 2020 and April 2020, which the OffGuardian editors have preserved for posterity). It has been there all along, right out in the open, but rendered invisible by the official Covid narrative. The official narrative is rapidly dissolving, rendering the fascism of the New Normal visible. This is happening now because those of us who have seen it from the beginning and have been resisting it all along have held out long enough to run out the clock. GloboCap cant keep the narrative going, so all they have left is brute fascist force. Read more at: Off-Guardian.org (Natural News) The financial sanctions Biden has announced against Putin are nothing compared to the Canadian governments own financial terrorism that it has unleashed against its own peaceful citizens. Donate just $20 to the freedom convoy and all your bank funds can be stolen without notice, completely outside of due process. But were told that Putin is the worst villain on the planet. Yet Putin hasnt stolen anyones bank accounts in the USA or Canada (for starters). For the record, I dont see Putin demanding Americans and Canadians be injected with spike protein bioweapons that have already killed nearly one million Americans right here at home, either. Those demands came from our own corrupt governments, media propagandists, fraudulent science institutions and pharma-infiltrated Big Tech giants. Similarly, when the fake Biden president decries Putins violation of Ukraines sovereign borders, the corporate media is utterly silent about Americas invasions, attacks and military violence committed against Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Syria and dozens of other countries. Over the years, the media cheered those attacks, never once caring about how many innocent people would be displaced in those countries. When America attacks innocent nations, its never described by the western media as a brutal onslaught thats killing innocents. Its always described as an effort to defend freedom. Funny, isnt it, how Americas violence is dressed up as peace, but when anybody else does it around the world, suddenly its a brutal onslaught. The corporate media is so dishonest in its coverage of conflict that if Ukraine were being invaded by Black Lives Matter with the exact same weapons as the Russian military, we would all be told the incursion was mostly peaceful with only rare episodes of bombs or missiles. The lying media has been complicit in the vaccine holocaust that has already killed millions around the globe Missiles and bombs arent the only forms of violence that kill people. Vaccine violence is another concept thats become crystal clear these days as literally millions of people are now dead from the covid vaccines that were pushed onto innocent people by pharma-controlled governments and complicit corporate media giants over the last 18 months or so. Thanks to a bombshell smoking gun analysis of the covid-19 spike protein, it turns out that Moderna actually patented a particular genetic sequence three years before the covid outbreak and that sequence is found in the covid-19 spike protein. This is proof that Moderna helped synthesize the virus that got released onto the world, which in turns generated tens of billions of dollars in revenues for Moderna. In other words, the entire covid outbreak and all its damage lives lost, economies destroyed, liberties demolished was done on purpose and was engineered by powerful corporations and governments (NIH, Fauci) in order to deliberately harm humanity. In the world of pure evil, Putin doesnt even hold a candle to Fauci. That crime against humanity dwarfs the current events in Ukraine, as devastating as they are. While Putin has launched missiles at targets in Ukraine, global governments and pharma corporations launched a deadly biological weapon against the entire planet, causing untold death, suffering and destruction on a scale that has never been witnessed in the history of human civilization. Big Media, Big Tech, Big Science, Big Government and Big Pharma all went along with it. They pushed the false narrative that vaccines are safe and effective while deliberately conspiring to destroy the reputation of ivermectin and other interventions that could save lives. In a world where Joe Biden claims Russia is attacking the people of Ukraine, it was actually Bidens own government (and Trumps before) that attacked the people of America with a biological weapon and a fraudulent vaccine. So to anyone thats going to scream about Putin and Russia, get your crisis hierarchy sorted out correctly so that you at least recognize that Putins attack of Ukraine pales in comparison to the USA / CCP attack on the entire world via biological weapons and deadly jabs that transform the bodies of innocent people into spike protein weapons factories. For the record, we are opposed to all forms of violence against innocent people. That includes kinetic violence, of course, but it must also consider vaccine violence, medical violence, hospital homicide and gain-of-function biological weapons development. Yes, war is bad. Kinetic war is horrible. But so is biological warfare, economic warfare, censorship, government propaganda, journo-terrorism and everything else weve all been subjected to under the fraudulent covid narrative. Putin didnt make our children wear masks and lock our elderly in nursing homes and hospital beds where youre not even allowed to visit them. Americas own medical tyrants did that. And they tried to force deadly spike protein shots on everyone, all in the effort to achieve global depopulation and extermination of the human race. Remember that when youre watching the propaganda media whine about Russia. CNN has killed far more Americans than Putin has Ukrainians, just from the networks vaccine propaganda alone. Get more details in todays Situation Update podcast here: Brighteon.com/002a529b-189c-43fe-be14-52b56893a4b8 Find more information-packaged podcasts each day, along with special reports and emergency updates, at: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/HRreport Also follow me on: Brighteon.social: Brighteon.social/@HealthRanger Telegram: t.me/RealHealthRanger Gettr: GETTR.com/user/healthranger Parler: Parler.com/user/HealthRanger Rumble: Rumble.com/c/HealthRangerReport BitChute: Bitchute.com/channel/9EB8glubb0Ns/ Clouthub: app.clouthub.com/#/users/u/naturalnews/posts Join the free NaturalNews.com email newsletter to stay alerted about new, upcoming audiobooks that you can download for free. Download my current audiobooks including Ghost World, Survival Nutrition, The Global Reset Survival Guide and The Contagious Mind at: https://Audiobooks.NaturalNews.com/ (Natural News) Chaos has ensued in Ukraine following the attack from Russia. Citizens of Kiev, the nations capital, have reportedly been emptying ATMs of cash and taking refuge wherever they can, while others are desperately trying to flee the area via car, only to discover that there is not enough fuel available for everyone. Failure to prepare with a larger stockpile of petrol has forced the Ukrainian government to ration what little fuel remains, resulting in long lines and lots of panic. The rideshare service Uber is reportedly down across nine cities, though it is still live in Bolt and Uklon, which are nearer to the war, to help people in those areas escape to safety. Panic buying commenced on Thursday after Russian forces started dropping bombs as part of an overnight invasion. Banks, supply shops and gas stations started to run bare as locals learned about the situation. Traffic also quickly became gridlocked on the main roads out of Kiev despite calls from the government for people to stay at home. Some were able to make it safely across the border into Poland while others are still waiting for their escape. Watch the Situation Update below to learn about what happened in the days leading up to the invasion with Russias recognition of the breakaway republics of Ukraine: This video is from channel Health Ranger Report on Brighteon.com. Have what you need on hand in case an emergency comes to your doorstep Many of Ukraines city centers are now a ghost town after the government imposed martial law. Vehicles could be seen whizzing past military convoys on their way out of these areas, and some citizens were seen taking up arms themselves. Vladimir Putin, who is calling this a special military operation, has warned other countries like the United States not to interfere. He threatened consequences you have never seen for those who try. Concerning the fuel situation in Ukraine, authorities said that petrol and diesel must be prioritized for civil and military forces, as well as critical infrastructure services. This is why Uber and other taxi services have had to shut down operations, we are told, issuing the following statement to Interfax-Ukraine: Due to growing geopolitical tensions and recent events, we have decided to temporarily suspend the program. The security of all application users is our top priority. We continue to monitor the circumstances and hope that this is a temporary situation. Food and other goods are also now being stretched thin as unprepared and scared Ukrainians rushed out to buy food and withdraw money. Whatever goods remain are being snapped up quickly, and there will likely not be enough for everyone. Buyers flocked to grab goods while they still can in Kiev, Lviv and Mariupol as Russian forces loomed in the east of the country, the DailyMail Online reported. Hundreds stood outside the facilities as they waited to empty them of stock with some embracing each other as they ready themselves for the enclosing conflict. This tragic situation highlights the importance of not just citizens stocking up and being prepared for emergencies, but also governments doing the same. The Russia conflict has been simmering for quite some time now, so preparing for it would seem to have been pertinent. Everybody thought western Ukraine was safe because it was close to the EU and NATO nations, said 44-year-old Maria Palys to the media about how much of the country was, in fact, taken off guard by the invasion. It seems like it is not the right protection. More related news coverage can be found at Collapse.news. Sources for this article include: DailyMail.co.uk Brighteon.com (Natural News) Stunning video posted online this week appears to confirm reported rumors that China-loving Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a graduate of the globalist World Economic Forums Young Leaders school, used UN troops to tyrannically put down the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa. Previously, as Natural News reported, Canadian police were photographed wearing uniforms that did not have name tags or badge numbers, meaning they were totally anonymous even as they violently confronted and arrested truckers and their Freedom Convoy supporters over the weekend. Now, according to video clips posted at Sons Of Liberty Media, Canadians have confirmed that UN-marked aircraft have landed at nearby airports, lending more weight to the previous reports of UN troops on Canadian soil at Trudeaus request. I wonder where all those cops in Ottawa came from, says a man taking the video, adding that there is no snow on the plane though it has been snowing in the area for days. Perhaps this is the reason that the goons in Ottawa on Saturday had no badges or names on their uniforms and were demonstrating their cruelties to peaceful protesters, Sons of Liberty Media speculated, adding: It may also be why Nazi traitors in the RCMP are encouraged in their own tyrannies against their own people, as reported on Saturday when members of the RCMP applauded the trampling of an older woman and others with horses ridden by RCMP thugs. WATCH: Ottawa Police assault Alexa with their baton for recording them. This was 15 minutes prior to those same officers shooting her point plank with a riot gun. Help support her legal fight against them at https://t.co/8agVavgIm8 pic.twitter.com/YIAcrgGaFb Efron Monsanto ???? (@realmonsanto) February 19, 2022 Be aware, these devils may be showing up not with the traditional blue helmets but impersonating a citys own police force. Its criminal and its treasonous, the report added. Trudeau has been blasted by members of Parliament over his invoking the Emergencies Act to crack down on the anti-COVID-19 vaccine protest and has been criticized by civil libertarians in Europe and the United States as well, though not a peep of protest has come from the Biden regime, which is set to deal with its own trucker convoy later this week. The prime minister of Canada, the way hes behaving right now hes exactly like a tyrant, like a dictator. Hes like Ceau?escu in Romania, MEP Cristian Terhe?, of Romania, said during a speech to European Parliament in Brussels. If you raise doubts about the vaccines, youre outcasted. Whats the difference between what he does and what happened under The Inquisition? On one side they say well we should not believe in God, Terhes continued, comparing the 12th century Catholic Churchs effort to find and eliminate so-called heresy in Europe and the Americas. But on the other, they say believe in science,' he said of Western governments. We dont have to. Science is not about belief. Science is about measurements, conclusions, hypothesis and arguments, he added. He went on to offer his support for the Canadian drivers. I hope this movement for freedom and for rights is spreading all around the world, he said. Because at the end of the day, we have to make sure that those elected officials understand that they were elected into those offices for the people. Not to behave like masters of slaves. Last week, Trudeau sparked outrage among members of Parliament when he responded to criticism from the chambers only Jewish Conservative Party member by comparing the protestors to Nazis. If Canadians are going to trust their government, their government needs to trust Canadians, Lantsman said, in repeating Trudeaus words from 2015. Lantsman then brought up how he recently labeled the protesters very often misogynistic, racist, women-haters, science-deniers, the fringe. Same prime minister, six years later as he fans the flames of an unjustified national emergency, Lantsman said. When did the prime minister lose his way? she asked. Conservative Party members can stand with people who wave swastikas, they can stand with people who wave the Confederate flag, Trudeau said, eliciting outraged responses from other members of parliament. We will choose to stand with Canadians who deserve to be able to get to their jobs, to be able to get their lives back. These illegal protests need to stop, and they will. Is the use of UN jackbooted thugs standing with Canadians? Sources include: SonsOfLibertyMedia.com NYPost.com FoxNews.com Pablo Escobar's Cocaine Hippos will be declared as exotic invasive species in Colombia, as per the Colombian government. The now-deceased Colombian drug lord Escobar has left not only a handful of drugs but also left his cocaine hippos, which he had imported from Africa. Colombian authorities are considering declaring the hippos as invasive species due to their invasive nature and they have already multiplied rapidly, affecting both local human residences and biodiversity. As a result, the local authorities are attempting to determine how to handle them. However, it is still unclear what specific measures the Colombian government will take if the hippos will be categorized as exotic invasive species. Some possible methods are euthanasia, castration, or relocation. Nevertheless, the declaration will affect the displaced hippos from now on. Escobar's Cocaine Hippos Escobar illegally exported the hippos from Africa in the 1980s. The hippos were placed at Escobar's residence in the town of Puerto Triunfo in Antioquia Department, Colombia. The residence is connected to natural wildlife habitat, including rivers, where the hippos thrived, as per the Green Matters website. Escobar's cocaine hippos grew in population from their Puerto Triunfo habitat due to sufficient food and water with no natural predators. The population of the hippos has already reached 130, and experts estimate they are expected to increase by 400 in 2030 if no action is done, as per CBS News. Also read: Hippos in Mozambique Release Poop Tornado to Unfamiliar Hippos: New Study Exotic Invasive Species Prior to the declaration, the said hippos have generally showed territorial aggression and disrupted road traffic movement surrounding their habitat. There are only a few reported cases where the hippos attacked residents living in the area. Not only will the Colombian government declare Escobar's hippos as invasive species, but the declaration will also apply to the hippos' immediate offspring and succeeding descendants in the coming years and generations, according to Inside Edition. In addition, environmentalists and scientists have reportedly raised concern that the hippos' feces alter the water composition and affect the local ecosystem. Potential Population Control Measures Complete eradication of the cocaine hippos is out of the picture. According to Carlos Eduardo Correa, Colombia's environment minister, there are no conclusions yet on what methods to use on the hippos, but there have been discussions about castration and sterilization of the hippos, as per ABC News. In addition, other measures to control the population of Escobar's hippos are still possible, including euthanasia. The government will consult members of the local communities first before any action is done against the hippos. Biggest Drug Lord of All Time Escobar's cocaine hippos received their name during the regime of the infamous and notorious Colombian drug lord between the early 1970s and early 1990s. Escobar established the Medellin Cartel, a network of organized drug and criminal organizations in Colombia. His influence has also reached other countries in Central America, South America, and even the United States. The drug lord died in Medellin, Colombia, in 1993 during an anti-drug operation against him that lasted for several years. Related article: Pablo Escobar's 'Cocaine Hippos' Sterilized as Population Grows Out of Control A kangaroo is roaming around Denmark and the country's police are appealing for help to catch the animal. Some locals said the kangaroo might have been staying in farmland for about eight years. Roaming Kangaroo Spotted in Denmark Denmark authorities were baffled when a kangaroo was observed hopping through a farm in the south-east of the country, as per Daily Mail. A kangaroo hopped loose next to a road in Denmark on Monday morning, and local police stated they have no idea where the animal came from. Police released video of the Kangaroo bounding through a field in the tiny Danish village of Oster Ulslev on social media. No one has reported the kangaroo as missing, and the local zoos claim it doesn't belong to them. On police social media, speculation grew that an Australian Kangaroo is seen through a field in the small Danish village. Also Read: Australian Teenagers Arrested for Brutally Slaughtering 14 Kangaroos, Including 2 Joeys Reaction from Locals According to locals, it was the same marsupial that has eluded officials for years, while some said it was a local pet. A woman named Connie Laerke, who lives nearby, claimed to have seen the same kangaroo three kilometers away from Oster Ulslev the previous Thursday. Martina Bull, a student, added, they had one bouncing around in the Hedensted neighborhood for almost a year and it still hasn't been caught. "There was a kangaroo loose last summer," Claudia Ringmark said on Facebook Pernille Nielsen, another Facebook user, said it may have escaped from Vordingborg on Masned island. She claimed there are kangaroos there. Henrik Kroman, a local, claims that the same kangaroo has been on the run for the past eight years. "It has been loose for a very long time, we have been trying to catch it without luck, we moved to Oster Ulslev in 2017 when it was already on the run from the owner, it has probably been on the loose since 2014." Mr Kroman said he lunged at that same kangaroo when trying to catch it. He said it is very difficult to catch, let alone impossible and that he nearly caught the animal in 2019. Mr Kroman added that he was just about two metres away from the animal when it jumped. Police Seeks Assistance to Catch the Kangaroo On Monday, police in southeastern Denmark asked for the public's assistance in tracking down a kangaroo that was spotted hopping across a field, as per New York Post. Any sightings or information about the animal's whereabouts should be reported to the non-emergency number 114, according to the South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police. The animal isn't seen as harmful. Despite the fact that kangaroos are uncommon in northern Europe, this is the second time the same police district has asked for assistance in locating one. A kangaroo escaped from a private animal farm in the same location in 2014. In July 2018, a kangaroo went missing for half a day in Denmark before being located by its owner. Related Article: Anatomically Faultless Kangaroo is Most Ancient Australia's Rock Painting For more news, updates about kangaroos and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News! Russian forces overrunning Ukraine now have raided Pripyat, home to the disreputable Chernobyl nuclear power factory that exploded in 1986. The Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak has told the Associated Press that Russian forces took control of a decommissioned nuclear power plant. The blitzing assaulted a radioactive waste storehouse establishment in Chernobyl during a vicious attack in the area, adding the quantity of radiation in the area. The 1986 radiation increase On April 26, 1986, the reactor of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was destroyed by violent explosion through a series of failures during the protective drill. The explosion spent radiation throughout Europe, and European radiation detection was the first sign that it was wrong with something wrong with the Destusr factory, according to Weatherboy. The defective reactor is no longer burned, but nearby radioactive waste becomes a serious threat to the nearby people and the surrounding people. Twenty-four ridges were drawn around the plant. It is considered an "exclusion area". This sincerely contaminated area was closed for human housing in the 1986 disaster. The plant was covered with concrete after the plant disaster to prevent further radioactive debris, but leaving the area would have allowed radiation to exit the plant in 1990. As part of this, a new shelter was built and moved here to better protect radioactive materials. Construction work began in 2010 and was completed in 2019. The invasion of the Chernobyl site is not Russia's first attack into a nuclear accident in Europe. In June 2020, a mysterious radioactive cloud moved towards Europe. At the time, Lassina Zelbo, secretary-general of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), announced that Swedish sensors had detected three isotopes commonly associated with fission. Nuclear power. "These isotopes probably come from private sources. We can indicate the probable region of the source, but it is not within the mission of the CTBTO to pinpoint the exact origin," Zerbo tweeted after the radioactive cloud was discovered. Read more: Chernobyl to House Giant Solar Power Plant, Revitalize Potential Radioactive catastrophe scientists are watching for signs According to Aljazeera, Officials versed in the current assessment report that Russian shelling struck a storage facility for radioactive waste in Chernobyl and increased radiation levels. The increase is not immediately visible. A senior US intelligence official said he believes Russian forces at Chernobyl are trying to advance to Kiev, 130 kilometers (80 miles), to link up with other Russian forces across Ukraine. Officers weren't allowed to talk over this sensitive issue openly. The location and near radioactive waste confinement areas demand nonstop monitoring and conservation while new harbors are being installed. Due to Russia's irruption of Ukraine, the status of these significant resources is unknown. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), based in Vienna, states that Ukraine has informed that an "unidentified army" controls a nuclear power plant. IAEA Secretary-General Rafael Mariano Grossi called for "maximum restraint" to avoid actions that could endanger Ukraine's nuclear facilities. "The IAEA is nearly covering Ukraine's development in line with its charge, paying particular attention to the safety of nuclear power factories and other nuclear-affiliated establishments," he said in a statement. Also read: Chernobyl Radiation Slows Decomposition of Vegetation in Red Forest U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, listens during votes September 2021 on amendments to the "Build Back Better" package. Sign up to get breaking news, weather forecasts, and more in your email inbox. Sign Up Now KENNEWICK, WA - Ukrainian exchange students have come right here to Tri-Cities. One of them is Anastacia Maneichik, who came in 2005, and stud The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will host an all-day virtual event on Thursday, February 24, 2022. This weeks event continues OSTPs ongoing dialogue with nationwide stakeholders in education, government, business, philanthropy and civil society about strategi 2022 will be another busy year for enterprise incident responders as ransomware, supply chain and myriad zero-day attacks will continue to rise, according to Cisco's Talos security experts. To help address the threats, the Cisco Talos team used a blog and online presentation to detail steps enterprises can take to defend themselves against the growing field of bad actors and also to point out lessons learned from recent damaging exploits such as the Log4j vulnerability and Microsoft Exchange server zero-day threats. Once, zero-day attacks were typically launched by state actors against service providers, but those days are gone, wrote Nick Biasini head of outreach at Cisco Talos in a blog about the security landscape in 2022. Now new, less experienced combatants seek out a broader range of targets, using less surgical attacks. This has led to more risky behavior than weve seen historically, without as much regard for collateral damage, he wrote. These state actors have changed their strategies, as well. Rather than focusing on espionage against other nations, now they also target dissidents and activists with attacks designed to destroy and disrupt. At the same time criminal enterprises have become a larger threat thanks to the billions of dollars they are able to collect readily through cryptocurrencies. Weve never faced more challenges as defenders Biasini stated. Some of the biggest challenges for 2022 include ongoing problems such as Log4j and ransomware. Unpatched Log4j remains a threat Log4j software is widely used in enterprise and consumer services, websites, and applications as an easy-to-use utility to support client/server application development. But it has weakneses that, if exploited, could let unauthenticated remote actors take control of affected server systems and gain access to company information or unleash denial of service attacks. Cisco telemetry has detected attackers exploiting these weaknesses in vulnerable VMware Horizon servers and infecting them with malicious payloads including Cobalt Strikea tool developed to help penetration testers protect networks but also used by attackers, said Neil Jenkins Cisco Talos Cyber Threat Alliance Chief Analytic Officer in an online presentation. Even though there have been warnings to patch against Log4j, not everyone does, and there are still threat actors, particularly advanced threat actors, who may look to target those vulnerabilities in future, he said. Cisco Talos stated that Log4j will be widely exploited moving forward, so users should patch affected products and implement mitigation solutions as soon as possible. Ransomware still a scourge With the exception of Q1, ransomware took up nearly 50% of all the threats that Talos tracked in 2021, thanks to the lure of lucrative payouts from ransomware victims. In turn, some of that cash will help ransomware cartels develop more sophisticated approaches. As we saw with [supply chain attack] Kaseya, these cartels have the ability to purchase or develop zero-days to be leveraged in attacks, a trend that should concern us all and another reason why behavioral protection will continue to be an important aspect of detection in 2022 and beyond, Biasini stated. Another issue is that there are more and more ransomware players. At the beginning of 2021, many attacks came from one group, but by the end of the year there were at least 13 different ones, Jenkins said. Even with one family, you have a lot of different affiliates who are using different tactics, so even with one dominant family, you can see still see a diversification and the types of attacks and the types of tooling theyll use, Jenkins said. There are other factors that could change the ransomware landscapethe US governments anti-ransomware initiatives for oneas well as the scrutiny these groups are getting from law enforcement around the globe, Jenkins said. Larger ransomware groups might fragment to be less detectable, and open-source ransomware developers may have a more difficult time as some of their forums are shut down. As a result, the attackers might choose smaller targets to avoid the publicity and attention from law-enforcement that larger attacks might draw, Jenkins said. The best protection is to maintain cyber-defense best practices such as offline backups, instituting multi-factor authentication, and having incident response plans in place, Jenkins said. Zero day is here to stay There has been a dramatic increase in zero-day attacks, with more than 50 discovered in the wild during 2021more than in all of 2019 and 2020 combined, Biasini stated. And zero days remain a rich source of attacks. At the recent Tianfu Cup hacking contest in China, there were no less than 30 successful exploits demonstrated against the short list of targets, including a handful that affected the latest versions of Windows and iOS. All of them were likely reported to the Chinese government due to recent regulation changes, Biasini stated, which can have consequences. The most recent example of this is Alibaba being penalized by the Chinese government for not disclosing Log4j to them in advance, he stated. Beware suspect USBs Another interesting development has been the continued practice of one of the oldest vulnerabilities in the security realmthe use of malicious USB devices. Starting in 2021, even carrying into this year, there has been an uptick of malicious USBs used as a means of initial access, which is a true blast from the past, Jenkins said. But just a reminder that even these old, outdated attack vectors can still be used, and still have success. Enterprise best practices Cisco Talos researchers did have recommendations for enterprise incident response. Patching, inventorying, segmentation training, and having incident-response plans in place are all important, but the Cisco experts have one main suggestion: institute multi-factor authentication. We identified that a lack of MFA is probably the biggest one of the biggest hindrances to enterprise security, Jenkins said. There is a large number of ransomware incidents that could have been avoided with MFA. So we absolutely encourage wherever possible when you can and especially on sensitive systems to, to institute MFAas soon as possible. Some other ideas: Keep accurate asset lists, current documentation and policiesespecially those related to patching. These are fundamental when it comes to incident response. The last thing you want is to be in the middle of an active incident to find out you dont have an accurate inventory of assets or that you havent patched anything in six months. Ensuring fundamentals like network segmentation and proper access controls are implemented will limit the effects of a breach, Cisco stated. Get software bills of materials (SBOM) from vendors when considering software options. That should allow a quick determination of how vulnerabilities in specific libraries or open-source software could change daily operations and hopefully allow for a more thorough and thoughtful response. Plan based on the idea you will be breached at some point. Create a cybersecurity incident response plan that includes all the stakeholders in the process. During an incident, every minute counts, making it crucial that the appropriate departments are ready to make decisions and take actions so containment can happen as soon as possible. Preparing and practicing your processes related to an incident can make the difference between mitigating a compromised system and suffering a total breach. Enable logging. This can be difficult and expensive, but its crucial to have logging enabled when you are engaged in an incident. Without it, you may never be able to determine things like the initial infection vector or patient zero. These failures can be catastrophic if multiple actors are able to abuse that same undiscovered weakness, Cisco stated. Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully. 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. MERIDEN A man spotted in the gallery of an ongoing murder trial was taken into custody this week for his alleged role in a shooting last year, according to authorities. On Oct. 7, 2021, officers responded to the area of Broad and Camp streets for a report of gunfire in the area. Arriving officers found shell casings but no victims. Several witnesses were interviewed and evidence was collected before officers cleared the scene. Soon after, an individual called police and reported he was the target of the gunfire on Broad Street. Police said detectives responded to the home and spoke with the man, who said he tried to get on the highway when another vehicle cut him off. The passenger in the other vehicle, he told police, started shooting at his car. The victim was uninjured in the incident, police said. Detectives identified 20-year-old Justice Roman was the alleged shooter and obtained a warrant charging him in connection with the shooting. On Tuesday, members of the Crime Suppression Unit were at the state courthouse in New Haven for the ongoing murder trial of Trevor Outlaw, who was charged last February in connection with the June 2020 shooting death of Giovanni Rodriguez, police said. While in the courtroom, detectives saw Roman sitting in the gallery, police said. With the help of judicial marshals, detectives took Roman into custody without incident. He was taken by officers to Meriden police headquarters and charged on two active warrants one for the October 2021 shooting, and another for an unrelated motor vehicle incident, police said. In connection with the shooting, Roman was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, criminal attempt at first-degree assault, weapons in a motor vehicle, criminal use of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit and unlawful discharge. The other active warrant charged Roman with first-degree reckless endangerment, interfering with an officer, reckless driving, failure to obey an officers signal and operating a motor vehicle without a license. His bond were set at a combined $260,000. A legislative panel on Tuesday voted to suspend the latest version of COVID-19 mitigations for public schools, saying in part that those rules are still being litigated in a state appellate court. The vote means that, for the time being, there is no state mandate on mitigation measures for public or private K-12 schools. Reporter Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey). London Taylor, 22, looks at the more than dozen supporters who came to his sentencing Thursday, where he was given 28 years in the May 2020 fatal shooting of his friend James Rooster Coleman, 25, in Champaign. Reporter Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk). Michael McCuskey assumed his role of legislative inspector general this week, bringing 32 years of judicial experience to the position. I want them to be a little scared of me, McCuskey said of the lawmakers who appointed him. One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021 Longview, TX (75601) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Researchers at NTNU have managed to restore muscle function in older mice with muscle loss using advanced gene therapy. The hope is that this method might eventually be used on humans to prevent severe loss of muscle mass. Many millions of elderly people worldwide suffer from sarcopenia, a disease that is characterized by muscle wasting. A large proportion become so frail that they can no longer exercise." Jose Bianco Moreira, Researcher, NTNU "Gene therapy is the most effective method to be able to give these people the same health benefits you normally get with physical exercise," says Moreira, who has been involved in the new research. He is part of the Cardiac Exercise Research Group (CERG). In the darkest and least understood part of our genetic material, the researchers found an absolutely crucial RNA strand. Then they used gene therapy to trigger the genes to create more of this muscle-building RNA strand. The experiment had impressive effects in both mice and roundworms, as well as in experiments with precursors to human muscle cells. Gene therapy with CRISPR The research article, which was published in one of the journals of the world-leading Science family, was a collaborative project between CERG and researchers in Switzerland and Denmark. In the study, the researchers used the Nobel Prize-winning gene editing method CRISPR-Cas9. This method involves supplying the body with an enzyme (Cas9) that finds its way to specific genes and introduces a change into them, thus editing the gene itself. "The potential of CRISPR is virtually limitless. We can treat disease conditions once, and then patients don't have to take a pill every day," says Moreira. Hunting for health gains in dark DNA The main challenge of the method is to determine which gene needs to be changed to obtain the desired health effect. "If we can isolate the crucial genes and mechanisms, we'll be able to start developing more effective medicines that simulate the effect of exercise. A lot of the molecular mechanisms that provide the training effect might be hidden in the dark part of our genetic material," says Martin Wohlwend. Wohlwend is the main author of the study, and the article is part of the doctoral degree he recently completed at NTNU. Our DNA contains the recipe for making all the proteins our cells need. The first step in protein production involves copying a sequence of DNA into RNA. This is called transcription. This RNA strand is a messenger that gives cells information about how to make a protein. But 99 per cent of our DNA makes RNA strands that don't encode any protein sequences. Wohlwend refers to this part of the genetic material as "dark DNA". "RNA strands from dark DNA could have important health effects. But there's still a lot we don't know about this part of our genetic material," he says. Discovered important exercise gene Strength training can cause our genes to increase the production of RNA strands that help the body maintain or gain more muscle mass. One of the most important of these RNA strands is called CYTOR. "We discovered CYTOR in the dark genetic material in skeletal muscle cells. Of all the gene transcripts that changed level after strength training, CYTOR was the one that showed the greatest increase," says Wohlwend. The research team then searched their way to the part of the DNA strand that is responsible for producing CYTOR. It turned out that people with a specific variant of this gene produce more CYTOR than people who have other variants of the same gene. Older people who have the "good gene variant" are also able to go faster and longer on a walking test than other older people. "We also noticed that CYTOR levels drop as we get older. Overall, all of these findings gave us really good clues so we could move forward with more thorough studies of the CYTOR gene and how it affects age-related muscle loss," says Wohlwend. Stimulates growth of fast-twitch muscle cells Your average 80-year-old has lost over 30 per cent of the muscle mass they had as a young adult. Without exercising to counteract the loss of muscle mass, humans already start to lose muscle around age 30. The body has two basic types of muscle fibers: the slow-twitch (type I) muscle fibers needed for endurance activities, and the fast-twitch (type II) muscle fibers used for short bursts of strength. As we age, we primarily lose type II muscle mass. "Our experiments show that CYTOR contributes to increased development of precisely the type II muscle fibers," says Wohlwend. Increased levels counteracted muscle loss The next step for the researchers was to take a closer look at what happens when gene therapy is used to increase CYTOR levels. Using the CRISPR-Cas9 method, the researchers increased CYTOR production in live animals and in precursors to muscle cells from older humans. The results are very promising. "In human cells, CYTOR production increased as a result of gene therapy. We also observed that the therapy stimulated the cells to promote the development of fast-twitch type II muscle," Wohlwend says. Experiments with mice confirmed that gene therapy not only provides a theoretical effect at the cellular level, but can actually provide improved muscle function. Gene therapy, which increased CYTOR production in the calf muscles of aging mice, gave the mice increased muscle mass, better grip strength in their hind legs and greater running capacity. When the researchers reduced CYTOR production in young mice, however, the mice developed weaker muscles and more inflammation and cell death in the muscles. "The CYTOR gene seems to be absolutely crucial in order to maintain normal muscle function," the NTNU researcher said. Basis for new treatment of the elderly Finally, the researchers cloned human CYTOR into the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. The goal was to take a closer look at how human CYTOR affects muscle function and health in a living organism that ages rapidly. This roundworm is a favorite research model among researchers in the field of aging because it only lives for a few weeks. It does not have its own gene with the same function as CYTOR. "We observed that human CYTOR delayed the aging process of the worms in many ways. The worms gained stronger, more functional muscles and moved faster than worms that didn't receive the same treatment. They also lived longer," says Wohlwend. Of course it will take a while until editing the genes of humans in the same way as in these animal experiments becomes common practice. But researchers are now working to develop gene therapy that is based on RNA. "All in all, our findings may have laid the groundwork for new treatment methods for muscle loss in the elderly," says Moreira. In a recent study, researchers investigate the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the hopes and dreams of Australians. Study: A qualitative study of how COVID-19 impacts on Australians' hopes and dreams. Image Credit: fizkes / Shutterstock.com Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia has been proactive in preventing community transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). About 55% of all COVID-19 occurrences in Australia have occurred in people between the ages of 20 to 49, with males and females being affected equally. About 94% of COVID-19-related deaths have occurred in people over the age of 70. Compared to the rest of the world, Australia accounts for a small percentage of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Surveillance, quarantine, testing, and contact tracing, as well as outbreak responsiveness, have been the key aspects of Australia's COVID-19 pandemic response procedures. The Australian government closed national borders and prohibited Australians from visiting overseas to reduce transmission and infection. Impact of COVID-19 on individuals While the enactment of efficient public health measures to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 benefited Australia, the pandemic has had significant effects on individuals' everyday lives. Compared to those living in more densely populated places, who often had the highest exposure to SARS-CoV-2, those residing in cross-border areas were particularly affected by the government's anti-COVID-19 response. Thus, the uncertainties and limits imposed on people's future paths, as well as their long-term hopes and goals, were inevitably affected. About the Study In a recent BMC Public Health study, the researchers gathered information on individual and community experiences with the COVID-19 epidemic. The first phase of the project included a survey of 677 individuals from various Australian states and territories. These individuals were recruited through professional networks and social media. All survey participants were asked if they would be interested in being called for a follow-up interview, 416 of whom agreed. Out of the 416 participants who expressed an interest in a follow-up interview, 172 identified themselves as living with a chronic illness. The interviews Ninety of the original 172 participants from around Australia completed phone interviews between August 2020 to December 2020. All participants were at least 18 years old, lived in Australia, and indicated that they had a chronic condition in the original survey. The interviews were semi-structured, with prompts centered on issues such as social distancing, handwashing, cleaning and disinfecting community behavior, as well as leaving the house. The prompts also included topics like government guidelines on social distancing, changes to daily life, COVID-19 vulnerability, impact on physical health, feeling safe, impact on mental health, and risk of infection in one's community. One specific question was asked on how COVID-19 had affected the participants' future hopes and dreams. While these themes were used as a starting point for interviews, the researchers were advised to let the participants lead the conversation to observe what other issues came up. Digital tagging was utilized to assign emergent themes to original field notes and construct a searchable dataset. Individuals' goals and desires for the future were also addressed in the interviews. Study findings About 77% of the study participants were female, whereas all study participants were between 20 and 81 years of age, with a median age of 50 years. Job stability, travel, reassessing ideals, and generational effects emerged as four primary themes from the data specific to future goals and desires. The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia resulted in the loss of school and work opportunities for some young individuals, thereby affecting their future goals and dreams. Job security was a significant concern among interviewees, with the primary fear is losing one's job and not being able to find another one in the future. Male and female participants indicated similar anxiety levels regarding job security, a concern reflected across all age categories. Many participants were also concerned about the uncertainty of travel, the annoyance of canceled arrangements, and the inability to plan abroad vacations or future visits with family and friends. Over half of the 90 people interviewed included future travel in their discussions of goals and dreams, which was cited more frequently by women than men. People in Australia found themselves staying at home and spending time with narrower social groups because daily journeys and social interactions were reduced. Furthermore, many participants expressed interest in making each day count and appreciating the importance of family over worldly wealth. The participants also mentioned improved environmental health several times and a deeper awareness of physical health. Another recurring theme in many interviews was a concern for future generations, with 11 women and seven men addressing the impact on future generations in their discussions about goals and dreams. More males than females expressed concerns for younger generations, particularly in participants of the older age groups. This generational concern was expressed by concerned parents and grandparents and covered topics ranging from economic impact to mental impact. Future outlook The COVID-19 pandemic created a unique situation in which individuals felt powerless, both because of concerns regarding SARS-CoV-2 itself and a result of state and federal government initiatives. Interviewees mentioned their mental health but also considered new possibilities for the future, thereby indicating that issues related to psychosocial welfare were present throughout the interviews. Brain organization differs between boys and girls with autism, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The differences, identified by analyzing hundreds of brain scans with artificial intelligence techniques, were unique to autism and not found in typically developing boys and girls. The research helps explain why autism symptoms differ between the sexes and may pave the way for better diagnostics for girls, according to the scientists. Autism is a developmental disorder with a spectrum of severity. Affected children have social and communication deficits, show restricted interests and display repetitive behaviors. The original description of autism, published in 1943 by Leo Kanner, MD, was biased toward male patients. The disorder is diagnosed in four times as many boys as girls, and most autism research has focused on males. When a condition is described in a biased way, the diagnostic methods are biased. This study suggests we need to think differently." Kaustubh Supekar, PhD, study's lead author, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences The study was published online Feb. 15 in The British Journal of Psychiatry. "We detected significant differences between the brains of boys and girls with autism, and obtained individualized predictions of clinical symptoms in girls," said the study's senior author, Vinod Menon, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the Rachael L. and Walter F. Nichols, MD, Professor. "We know that camouflaging of symptoms is a major challenge in the diagnosis of autism in girls, resulting in diagnostic and treatment delays." Girls with autism generally have fewer overt repetitive behaviors than boys, which may contribute to diagnostic delays, the researchers said. "Knowing that males and females don't present the same way, both behaviorally and neurologically, is very compelling," said Lawrence Fung, MD, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, who was not an author of the study. Fung treats people with autism at Stanford Children's Health, including girls and women with delayed diagnoses. Many autism treatments work best during the preschool years when the brain's motor and language centers are developing, he noted. "If the treatments can be done at the right time, it makes a big, big difference: For instance, children on the autism spectrum receiving early language intervention will have a better chance of developing language like everyone else and won't have to keep playing catch-up as they grow up," Fung said. "If a child cannot articulate themselves well, they fall behind in many different areas. The consequences are really serious if they are not getting diagnoses early." New statistical methods unlock differences The study analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging brain scans from 773 children with autism 637 boys and 136 girls. Amassing enough data to include a sizeable number of girls in the study was challenging, Supekar said, noting that the small number of girls historically included in autism research has been a barrier to learning more about them. The research team relied on data collected at Stanford and on public databases containing brain scans from research sites around the world. The preponderance of boys in the brain-scan databases also set up a mathematical challenge: Standard statistical methods used to find differences between groups require that the groups be roughly equal in size. These methods, which underlie machine-learning techniques in which algorithms can be trained to find patterns in very large and complex datasets, can't accommodate a real-world situation in which one group is four times as large as the other. "When I tried to identify differences [with traditional methods], the algorithm would tell me every brain is a male with autism," Supekar said. "It was over-learning and not distinguishing between males and females with autism." Supekar discussed the problem with Tengyu Ma, PhD, assistant professor of computer science and of statistics at Stanford and a co-author on the study. Ma had recently developed a method that could reliably compare complex datasets, such as brain scans, from different-sized groups. The new technique provided the breakthrough the scientists needed. "We happened to be lucky that this new statistical approach was developed at Stanford," Supekar said. What differed? Using 678 of the brain scans from children with autism, the researchers developed an algorithm that could distinguish between boys and girls with 86% accuracy. When they verified the algorithm on the remaining 95 brain scans from children with autism, it maintained the same accuracy at distinguishing boys from girls. The scientists also tested the algorithm on 976 brain scans from typically developing boys and girls. The algorithm could not distinguish among them, confirming that the sex differences the scientists found were unique to autism. Among children with autism, girls had different patterns of connectivity than boys did in several brain centers, including motor, language and visuospatial attention systems. Differences in a group of motor areas including the primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, parietal and lateral occipital cortex, and middle and superior temporal gyri were the largest between sexes. Among girls with autism, the differences in motor centers were linked to the severity of their motor symptoms, meaning girls whose brain patterns were most similar to boys with autism tended to have the most pronounced motor symptoms. The researchers also identified language areas that differed between boys and girls with autism, and noted that prior studies have identified greater language impairments in boys. "When you see that there are differences in regions of the brain that are related to clinical symptoms of autism, this seems more real," Supekar said. Taken together, the findings should be used to guide future efforts to improve diagnosis and treatment for girls, the researchers said. "Our research advances use of artificial intelligence-based techniques for precision psychiatry in autism," Menon said. "We may need to have different tests for females compared with males. The artificial intelligence algorithms we developed may help to improve diagnosis of autism in girls," Supekar said. At the treatment level, interventions for girls could be initiated earlier, he added. The study's other Stanford Medicine co-authors are scientific data analyst Carlo de los Angeles; senior research scientist Srikanth Ryali, PhD; and graduate student Kaidi Cao. Co-authors include members of Stanford's Maternal and Child Health Research Institute, Stanford Bio-X, the Stanford Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and the Stanford Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, and the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants AG072114, MH084164 and MH221069), the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, a Stanford Innovator Award and grants from the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institutes, including the Transdisciplinary Initiatives Program, the Taube Maternal and Child Health Research Fund, and the Uytengsu-Hamilton 22q11 Neuropsychiatry Research Program. The University of Oulu Functional Neuroimaging research group has for the first time succeeded in describing how the various types of pulsations in the human brain change when a person sleeps. Brain pulsation changes during sleep and their role in brain clearance have not been previously studied in humans. The results of the study may also help understand the mechanisms behind many brain diseases. Previous research has shown that the clearance of waste material accumulated in the brain is at its most active during sleep, when an increase in the so-called delta waves can be observed in the EEG, especially during deep sleep. Three types of pulsations are involved in this brain clearance: cardiovascular brain pulsation produced by the arterial pulse, respiratory pulsation in the veins and cerebrospinal fluid filled spaces, and slow vasomotor pulsations in the arterial wall. It was previously unknown how these various types of brain pulsations related to brain clearance change when a person sleeps. This question has now been further clarified by a study recently published in the high-profile scholarly journal The Journal of Neuroscience. The study utilized fast functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brain of healthy subjects during sleep and in awake state. As the subjects slept, the vasomotor and respiratory pulsations in their brain intensified and became more stable. Furthermore, cardiovascular pulsations also intensified during sleep, but these changes were visible in smaller areas of the brain. In the areas where the pulsations intensified, an increase in delta waves was also observed in the EEG, which is indicative of increased brain clearance. The increase in respiratory pulsation was at its greatest in areas of the brain that we use a lot during the day. These include the visual cortex, auditory cortex and sensorimotor cortex. The clearance of these areas of the brain is what is needed the most during the night." Heta Helakari, head researcher Previous studies have shown that the clearance of waste material from the brain becomes particularly accelerated during deep sleep. However, the results now obtained reveal that the intensification of pulsation activity already begins during lighter sleep and that deep sleep may not be needed. The results of the study may help in the understanding not only of brain clearance but also the mechanisms behind many brain and memory diseases. "Now that we know how the pulsations work in healthy subjects during sleep, we can study how these pulsations are disrupted in various brain diseases. We have already been working on this topic with the data collected from subjects who are awake," Helakari says. Sleep disorders are known to be associated with many common brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, but the actual cause and effect relationships are not yet known. It has been shown that the deterioration of brain pulsations and clearance precedes the accumulation of a beta-amyloids in the brain, which is typical of Alzheimer's disease. According to Helakari, the currently published study and the available functional magnetic resonance imaging open the way to new and more feasible brain research. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 55 million people worldwide suffer from various types of memory disorders. The study was funded by, among others, the Northern Finland Health Care Support Foundation, the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, the Academy of Finland and the Finnish Brain Foundation. The highly contagious omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 became the dominant strain in the United States in mid-December 2021, coinciding with a rise in hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19. Among those admitted during the omicron surge, vaccinated adults had less severe illness compared with unvaccinated adults and were less likely to land in intensive care, according to a new study by Cedars-Sinai and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Overall, the omicron-period group had a lower likelihood of being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and were also less likely to require invasive mechanical ventilation compared with the delta-period group." Matthew Modes, MD, pulmonologist at Cedars-Sinai and co-first author of the paper Investigators also found that during the omicron period fewer patients died while hospitalized (4.0%), compared with those admitted when the delta variant was dominant (8.3%). In a single-hospital study published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, scientists looked at the characteristics of 339 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, from July to September of 2021, when the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 was dominant. They compared that group with 737 patients admitted with COVID-19 during December 2021-January 2022, when the omicron variant was most prevalent. Clinical information was gathered from the electronic health records of the patients in the study and then analyzed by a team of investigators led by Sharon Isonaka, MD, MS, chief value officer and vice president for Clinical Efficiency and Value at Cedars-Sinai. The analysis revealed that a greater portion of the patients hospitalized during omicron were vaccinated as compared to patients hospitalized during the summer of 2021 when the delta variant predominated, likely reflecting the higher percentage of the populations that were vaccinated during omicron. "In addition to the protection that vaccination offered people admitted to the hospital when omicron dominated, we saw that the addition of a booster dose appeared to be particularly important in reducing the severity of illness, especially among older adults," said Peter Chen, MD, senior author of the study and director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Cedars-Sinai. "Unvaccinated patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the omicron variant dominance still had a higher chance of being admitted with serious complications and appeared to be at higher risk for the development of respiratory failure, compared with vaccinated patients," said Chen, who holds the Medallion Chair in Molecular Medicine and is a professor of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Large numbers of hospitalizations during the pandemic have strained health systems throughout the country. Vaccination, including a booster dose for those who are fully vaccinated, remains critical for mitigating the risk of severe illness associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. "A clear pattern emerges if you take just the omicron-period patients and compare their vaccination status against the percentage of them who ended up in the ICU. The more vaccinated someone isfrom unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, fully vaccinated without a booster dose to fully vaccinated with a booster dosethe better the outcome for the patient," said Michael Melgar, MD, a co-first author of the study and a medical officer with the CDC. A regional corner of Africa is a hotspot for cases of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, prompting researchers to call for targeted health support rather than a national response. The new research, published today in BMJ Global Health, found a high prevalence of all three infectious diseases in the Gambela region, a regional center located in western Ethiopia that borders South Sudan. Lead author Dr Kefyalew Alene, from the Curtin School of Population Health and the Telethon Kids Institute, said it was concerning to find one region reporting large numbers of all three diseases. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, and malaria are the three most serious infectious diseases in the world, causing high morbidity and mortality rates especially in low and middle-income countries." Dr Kefyalew Alene, Study Lead Author, School of Population Health and the Telethon Kids Institute, Curtin University "This study identified that the Ethiopian region of Gambela, which is home to more than 330,000 people, was a hotspot for high cases of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. The high prevalence of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in this region may be due to inadequate case management and weaker health systems along the border." The study found the Gambela region was characterized by low healthcare access, low socioeconomic index, and high temperatures and rainfall. Dr Alene said the study suggested the need for more targeted health services to deal with the spate of cases concentrated to one part of Africa. "This highlights that targeting health services at a local level would be more effective than a nation-wide service response," Dr Alene said. "These findings can guide policymakers in Ethiopia to design geographically targeted and integrated disease control programs to achieve maximum impact in addressing the high prevalence of cases." Thought Leaders Dr. Dani Dumitriu Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Columbia University In this interview, we speak to Dr. Dani Dumitriu about her latest research that investigated the development screening test scores for babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please could you introduce yourself and tell us what inspired your latest research into COVID-19? I am Dani Dumitriu, MD, Ph.D., pediatrician, and neuroscientist at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and New York-Presbyterian. I spend 80% of my time researching the developmental origins of resilience my lab is called the DOOR lab and 20% of my time as a pediatric hospitalist providing care in the newborn nursery. Most recently, I spearheaded Columbia Universitys COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes (COMBO) Initiative, which broadly seeks to understand the health and wellbeing of infants born during the pandemic and their mothers. Mothers who have viral infections during pregnancy often give their infants a higher risk of developing neurodevelopment deficits. Why is this? Were you expecting to see a similar trend with COVID-19? Viral infections during pregnancy often lead to something we call maternal immune activation or MIA, and MIA has been associated with adverse outcomes in both animal models and human studies looking at other viral infections. Additionally, data from early in the pandemic did indeed show that pregnant women who contract COVID-19 mount a strong immunological response, meaning MIA definitely occurs in these women. Therefore, we and numerous other study groups around the world expected to see certain consequences of this MIA on the future neurodevelopmental trajectories of infants with in utero exposure to the virus. Image Credit: sirtravelalot/Shutterstock.com Can you describe how you carried out your latest research into COVID-19 and developmental screening scores? In this particular study, which is a small component of the overarching COMBO study, we used the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, 3rd Edition or ASQ3 to screen for neurodevelopmental deficits at 6 months of age. The ASQ3 is a standard screening tool widely used in pediatric offices and includes 30 questions that cover skills in 5 domains: communication, gross motor, fine motor, personal-social, and problem-solving. It asks questions such as Does your baby pick up a small toy with only one hand? and When in front of a large mirror, does your baby smile or coo at herself? and parents can answer Yes, Sometimes or Not yet. For our study, mothers filled out this questionnaire online when their babies were around 6 months of age. What did you discover from your research? What do you believe to be the reason behind these results? Our initial question was: Does maternal infection with SARS-CoV-2 affect neurodevelopmental scores at 6 months? To answer this, we compared 114 COMBO infants born to mothers with COVID-19 during pregnancy to 141 COMBO infants whose mothers had tested negative for the virus. We found absolutely no difference between these two groups even when we accounted for several things that could influence these scores, such as the sex of the baby, the exact gestational age that the baby was born at, moms socioeconomic status, and more. We were then able to tackle another question: Does being born during the pandemic affect neurodevelopmental scores at 6 months? We were fortunate to be able to answer this because the first author Dr. Lauren Shuffrey had been conducting a study on infants born in our same medical center during the three years preceding the onset of the pandemic. Dr. Shuffrey had been investigating completely different questions but had scores from 62 infants at 6 months of age on the same ASQ3 screening tool. Therefore, she and co-first author Dr. Morgan Firestein were able to compare the pooled 255 COMBO infants to this historical cohort. And thats when we saw a difference. Infants born during the pandemic had slightly lower average scores on gross motor, fine motor, and social skills. Its important to note that these differences were small but significant. In this study, we did not investigate the causes for the observed effect on neurodevelopment, but based on prior animal and human research, we believe this effect is likely due to the stress these mothers experienced during pregnancy. Image Credit: Association of Birth During the COVID-19 Pandemic With Neurodevelopmental Status at 6 Months in Infants With and Without In Utero Exposure to Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection Developmental screening tests are used to see how a child is developing. How do these tests work, and how accurate are these tests in assessing the development of a child? This is a very early developmental timepoint. We gathered this data in 6 month-old babies. Lots is happening during the first few years of life, and because of this, assessments at 6 months of age are poor predictors of long-term outcomes. They are simply a snapshot in time, indicating that we need to pay attention, conduct more research, follow these infants long-term, and begin to formulate a primary prevention response. Despite these differences not being large, you have suggested that they warrant careful attention as they can pose a significant impact on public health. Why is this? Hundreds of millions of babies have been born worldwide since the onset of the pandemic. If and the if is of critical importance our data replicates across other geographic areas, other pandemic waves (the current study only covers the first wave in New York City), other racial/ethnic groups, other viral strains, etc, this could translate to significant public health consequences. In our sample of a few hundred babies, we did not see a significant increase in infants who fell below the cutoff for referral. We only saw small differences in average scores. However, if our results generalize to the hundreds of millions of babies born during the pandemic, this would lead to a doubling (or more) in the rate of infants who fall below the referral cutoff, which would translate to millions of infants. Do you believe that the pandemic will have neurodevelopment effects on future generations? If so, what interventions should be put in place to get the babies onto the right development trajectory? I think the pandemic has the potential to affect the generation born during this worldwide natural disaster. But I am extremely hopeful that it will not. The generation born during the 2-year period during which the 1918 Spanish flu ravaged the world had a 15% lower rate of graduation from high school compared to the generations born in the preceding and succeeding 2-year periods. But we are in a different era now. An era where we can rapidly generate the knowledge of potential effects, such as with our study, and then guide public health policies that will ameliorate or completely prevent long-term consequences. The brains of 6-month-old infants are very plastic, very malleable, so by talking, singing, playing, interacting with them, and finding safe ways to take them out of the home more often, parents can absolutely help mitigate potential issues down the road. Pediatricians can help support this by placing extra emphasis on neurodevelopment during these times. Public health policies can help by providing support to parents, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who are already at increased risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. And the public can help by enhancing human connection. The pandemic has led to a lot of social isolation, loneliness, and feelings of disconnect. By reconnecting, we can help support each other and get the babies born during this time onto an optimal neurodevelopmental trajectory. Image Credit: Nutlegal Photographer/Shutterstock.com You have also alluded to the role COVID-related stress could play in a baby's social skills. Why could stress experienced by the mothers during pregnancy affect their infants social skills? What further research needs to be carried out to confirm this? Stress during pregnancy, and especially early in pregnancy, can broadly affect neurodevelopment. The precise effects are difficult to predict but depend on timing, type, and duration of stress. There is a vast literature on this topic, with my COMBO co-Chair Dr. Catherine Monk being a thought leader in the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease or DOHaD. However, our understanding of how stress specifically during pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic will affect DOHaD is in its infancy. We need a lot of additional research, including objective, subjective, and longitudinal measures of stress during pregnancy, which our current study did not address. What are the next steps for you and your research? Our COMBO team of over 100 researchers, clinicians, and trainees is hard at work gathering data on a large number of outcomes in both mothers and babies and we invite you to visit our website for the most updated information. We use a combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional study design and to date over 1,200 mother-baby dyads from New York, Utah and Alabama have contributed their time and effort to help us understand the effects of this unprecedented time on mothers and babies. We will share more of their stories soon! Where can readers find more information? Please find a link to our study page here: www.ps.columbia.edu/COMBO Please find a link to the full paper here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2787479 Also please follow us on Twitter: @COMBOstudy About Dr. Dani Dumitriu Dr. Dumitriu is trained as a general pediatrician, neuroscientist, and pediatric environmental health scientist. She completed her MD/PhD training, pediatric residency, and pediatric environmental health science fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she was awarded her first major NIH independent funding during her residency, becoming the first female in the US to receive an R01 during clinical training. She joined Columbia University as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (in Psychiatry) in November 2018. She dedicates 80% of her time to research into the neurobiological basis of resilience as the Principal Investigator of the DOOR lab (Developmental Origins of Resilience lab) at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and 20% of time to caring for newborns in the Well Baby Nursery at the NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. The mission of the DOOR lab is to broadly uncover and harness the principles of health and resilience across species, lifespan, and investigational scale. Dr. Dumitrius work spans animal models of stress with a focus on the resilient subpopulations, human longitudinal observational and interventional studies to prospectively identify the building blocks of lifespan health, and tool development for novel experimental ideas without current technological solutions (e.g., telemetry for wild rats to uncover the principles of their evolutionary fitness). Most recently, having been a frontline pediatric hospitalist in the newborn nursery as the pandemic swept through New York City the first and hardest hit epicenter in the US Dr. Dumitriu spearheaded the COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes (COMBO) Initiative. COMBO investigates the independent and combined effects of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection and the COVID-19 pandemic environment on a range of maternal, infant, and dyadic outcomes. COMBOs research group now includes over 100 investigators, clinicians, and trainees who span the fields of pediatrics, neonatology, obstetrics, psychiatry, psychology, neurology, otolaryngology, and public health. Experts from each discipline contribute to smaller working groups focusing on specific topics, such as child neurodevelopment, to develop state-of-the-art protocols and assessments. To prevent infection from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or at minimum provide protection against severe complications associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), resulting in hospitalization, the durability of vaccination-induced cellular and humoral immune responses is critical. The SARS-CoV-2 vaccination approach in Germany, like many other nations, was prioritized based on an individuals occupation, underlying comorbidities, or increased age. Even though those prioritized subgroups have received the vaccine, there is a disagreement on whether a third booster dose is needed to sustain or increase levels of protection in some of these populations. In Germany, there are currently approximately 80,000 hemodialysis patients, and this group of individuals is at a particularly increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19. Underlying comorbidities and dialysis treatment can often induce a state of immunosuppression in hemodialysis patients. The nature of dialysis treatment requires frequent visits to healthcare settings, which puts patients at further risk due to increased exposure to the infection. SARS-CoV-2 and hemodialysis patients In this study, a group of researchers from various institutions provided follow-up data for a previous study that examined systemic B and T cell responses 16 weeks after BNT162b2 vaccination, and also the potency of vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies in a cohort of 76 hemodialysis patients and 23 healthcare workers with no comorbidities. Due to the emergence of variants of concern (VOC), and the fact that every licensed SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was developed to protect against the original wild-type strain, the authors also investigated antibody binding and neutralization toward the current VOCs (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta). The authors took blood samples from the dialysis patients and the control group 16 weeks after the standard 2-dose BNT162b2 immunization with a 21-day interval (T2). The longitudinal follow-up included 76 patients on maintenance hemodialysis and 23 healthcare personnel from the same healthcare setting. The authors used an S-Monovette lithium heparin blood collection kit to collect plasma. Interferon- (IFN-) release assays (IGRA) were performed on whole-blood samples. To inactivate possible microorganisms, saliva samples were treated with a final concentration of 0.3% Tri (n-butyl) phosphate and a final concentration of 1% Triton X-100. Substantial decrease in antibody titers Due to the level of antibodies being a good indicator of protection, the researchers used MULTICOV-AB, a previously published bead-based multiplex immunoassay that analyzes over 20 different SARS-CoV-2 antigens at once, including VOC receptor-binding domains (RBDs). RBD IgG responses to SARS-CoV-2 wild-type RBD in the dialysis group were substantially lower than in the control group 16 weeks following full immunization. Antibody titers had dramatically decreased by 61% in the control group and 75% in the dialysis group at 16 weeks after the second dosage, compared to levels at 3 weeks after the second dose. Decreased neutralization capacity following vaccination The authors next examined whether the potential neutralization was inhibited because solid evidence exists on the protective role for neutralizing serum antibodies. The authors performed an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2- (ACE2-) RBD competition assay, which revealed that neutralizing activity against the RBD of wild-type 16 weeks following vaccination was substantially decreased in the dialysis group when compared to the control group. The scientists discovered that 82.6% of control samples and 89.5% of dialysis patient samples were below the 0.2 threshold, indicating that there was no neutralizing activity. This threshold was determined using data from other ACE2 competition assays. This is a considerable decrease in neutralizing activity when compared to 3 weeks following the second immunization when only 4.3% of control samples and 50.0% of dialysis patient samples were under the threshold. Dialysis patients display reduced T cell response after vaccination Due to a T cell response being robust enough to clear a SARS-CoV-2 infection in certain individuals, the authors sought to implement a commercially available IGRA to investigate spike-specific SARS-CoV-2 T cell responses. The IFN- mean responses in the dialysis group tended to be lower compared to the control group, although the difference was not significant. After restimulation, IFN- release in the control group decreased considerably from the initial time point, however, this fall was not significant in dialysis patients. In the hemodialysis group, the number of non-responders was greater than in the control group. T-cell immunity appeared to be more important than B-cell immunity in causing a reduced serologic response, with 2.6% of dialysis patients having a T-cell response but no B-cell response, compared to 23.6% who had a B-cell response but no T-cell response. Because there were no measurable SARS-CoV-2 wild-type B- and T-cell responses in the dialysis group, 17.1% were classed as complete nonresponders, compared to none in the control group. Implications Collectively, these results strongly indicate the potential benefits of a third booster dose in hemodialysis patients, due to diminishing immune response following two doses. Recently published research on giving a third dose of vaccine to hemodialysis patients and transplant recipients has found significant increases in humoral responses following vaccination, with a lower number of nonresponders. However, longitudinal follow-up studies in these and other vulnerable populations will be required in early 2022 to evaluate the rate of antibody degradation after administration of a third dosage. Thought Leaders Dr. Ethan Winkler and Dr. Tomasz Nowakowski Research Associate and Assistant Professor University of California, San Francisco In this interview, we speak to Dr. Ethan Winkler and Dr. Tomasz Nowakowski about their latest research which illustrated the interplay between vascular and immune cells that contributes to brain hemorrhage. Please can you introduce yourself, tell us about your background within your respective fields, and what inspired your latest research? Ethan Winkler, MD, Ph.D., is a neurosurgeon-scientist, having completed clinical training in neurological surgery and a Ph.D. focusing on cerebrovascular biology and the blood-brain barrier. He is clinically subspecializing in vascular neurosurgery. He is inspired to advance our understanding of human cerebrovascular diseases, such as stroke and arteriovenous malformations, through science to identify new translational therapies to improve the care of his patients. Tomasz Nowakowski, Ph.D., is a scientist interested in neurodevelopment and defining cellular diversity in the human brain. His research group is inspired to understand how the human genome, a fundamental unit in biology, generates the cell types of the brain that supports its complex function and the creation of new molecular tools to uncover genetic control mechanisms underlying neurodevelopment and tissue organization in the cerebral cortex. In your work, you began by analyzing cells in arteriovenous malformations. Can you describe the clinical significance of these structures and how you conducted your analyses? Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are abnormal tangles of blood vessels that occasionally form in the brain. It results in pressured arterial blood being present in the venous system, so-called shunting, and makes AVMs prone to rupture. Rupture of an AVM results in bleeding and a type of stroke called hemorrhagic stroke, a leading cause of stroke in young people. However, there are no medical therapies available for AVMs. We obtained both normal human brain samples and AVMs from patients undergoing neurosurgery and specifically isolated the vasculature to perform these analyses. First, we established a cell census of the normal vasculature to serve as a reference. We then made systematic comparisons between the normal cerebrovasculature and AVMs for each cell type by leveraging this reference. We also performed comparisons between AVMs at different stages of the disease, such as those which bled and those which did not, to hone in on cell populations that contribute to disease progression. Collectively, these analyses created a blueprint of cellular and molecular changes in AVMs, which may further guide the development of therapies. As well as identifying new cell types, you also identified a population of immune cells that communicated with cells in diseases arteries. How has this finding changed the way we think about vascular disease? With bleeding in the brain, the arteries are assumed to be weakened, but how they become structurally compromised is still an active area of investigation. A lot of vascular research focuses on the vascular cells themselves. While its been suspected that the immune system may contribute to bleeding, we found it quite surprising that the contributing cells were so highly specialized to a specific subtype of monocytes. In other words, the problem may not be with the vascular cells themselves but rather the product of highly specific interactions with immune cells. Based on these findings, we hope that targeting these specialized immune cells, which are easily accessible in the bloodstream, could offer therapeutic promise while avoiding some of the challenges of targeting vascular cells in the brain such as the blood-brain barrier. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com What is the current state of vascular disease treatment, and how may your findings lead to the development of new therapeutics? For most vascular causes of hemorrhagic strokes, such as AVMs or aneurysms, available treatments are limited to invasive procedures such as surgery, endovascular embolization, or radiosurgery. There are presently no medical therapies for AVMs. Our ultimate goal is to develop an effective therapy to shrink or obliterate an AVM, which is highly specific and does not have consequences in the surrounding brain or normal vasculature. Our findings provide a detailed blueprint with a comprehensive list of candidate pathways or molecular abnormalities to inform future therapeutic development. However, further works are needed to identify which of these targets may have greatest efficacy. Neurovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in the US. Do your findings have the potential to impact our current understanding and treatment of dementia? Yes absolutely. Ethan received his Ph.D. studying vascular contributions to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. There is a growing appreciation of vascular contributions to dementia. We hope that our cell atlas provides refined molecular definitions to better study or target vascular cells in dementia and may be used to understand the molecular underpinnings of selective vascular cell vulnerabilities in various forms of dementia. Your work has contributed to the Human Cell Atlas. What impact will having a cell reference map for the whole human body have on medical science? We think having a cell reference map for the whole human body will have a tremendous impact in providing a new mechanistic understanding of alterations in human diseases. In addition, understanding how to target different cell populations within an organ or between organs has very valuable therapeutic implications. What unique contributions does your work make to the Human Cell Atlas? Prior efforts to create a cell atlas of the human brain have largely overlooked the brains vasculature due to biases in cell isolation. The human cerebrovasculature is of vast medical importance for the diseases that affect it and the critical role it plays in neurologic function. The cerebrovasculature also serves as an important obstacle to treating nearly all brain diseases through specialized properties like the blood-brain barrier. Understanding its cellular complexity opens the door to many new avenues of research, such as understanding how vascular cells may vary in different brain regions or how they contribute to a myriad of different diseases. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com How do you believe your work will impact the field of vascular disease research? Resources such as our cell atlas are urgently needed to expand our mechanistic understanding of cerebrovascular disorders and identify potential therapeutic candidates unbiasedly. We believe this is a great first step forward and provides a valuable resource to researchers worldwide to help accelerate additional studies better characterizing the cerebrovasculature in other brain regions and other cerebrovascular diseases. This work involved collaboration between individuals from different scientific disciplines. How important was this collaboration to the outcome of your work? This was a beautiful example of the interplay between neurosurgeons and scientists. By formulating such a cohesive, multi-disciplinary team, we could leverage unique access to the human brain and valuable clinical perspective when defining potentially translatable therapeutic targets. At the same time, the tremendous scientific expertise allowed for rapid adaptation of new molecular tools and advanced computational analytics. The vibrant discussions between clinicians, clinician-scientists, and scientists provided for in the unique environment of the UCSF Weill Institute of Neurosciences really allowed us to answer relevant questions with state-of-the-art technologies to provide this unique resource for the scientific and clinical communities. The link between the immune system and different bodily systems is an emerging trend in medical science. Do you believe more collaboration between different scientific disciplines and a more integrative approach to disease research is required for the continued progress of medical science? Absolutely. Many of the greatest discoveries occur at the interface of scientific fields. Unique perspectives from different fields are essential to allow one to view disease processes or scientific questions from different lenses to facilitate progress. Clinicians and scientists are trained very differently and place importance on different aspects of investigation. Our opinion is that a vibrant, multi-faceted exchange leads to the best translational potential in medical science. Whats next for you and your research? We are really interested in further understanding what our findings mean mechanistically for the development of cerebrovascular pathologies, most notably vascular malformations, and exploring our candidate targets to design efficacious therapies that may one day be translated back for the betterment of our patients. Where can readers find more information? About Dr. Ethan Winkler Ethan Winkler, MD, PhD, is a neurosurgeon-scientist who is subspecialized for the treatment of cerebrovascular disorders. He completed both an MD and PhD at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. His graduate thesis work investigated vascular contributions to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers Disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, with an emphasis on defining the function of brain pericytes. He subsequently completed both neurosurgical residency training and post-doctoral fellowships at the University of California San Francisco. He is currently a fellow in Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology at Barrow Neurological Institute and Research Associate in the UCSF Weill Institute of Neuroscience. He is interested in leveraging his unique access to the human brain to investigate cellular contributions to cerebrovascular diseases with special focus on vascular malformations. It is his long-term goal to develop highly effective and safe translational therapies to fill in vital gaps in available treatment modalities and improve outcomes in patients with vascular malformations, aneurysms, or stroke. About Dr. Tomasz Nowakowski Tomasz Nowakowski, PhD, is a scientist with focus on studying neurodevelopment. He completed his PhD from the University of Edinburgh and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of California San Francisco. His fellowship work used single-cell RNA sequencing to study the heterogeneity of cellular populations in the developing brain and discovered biomarkers of outer radial glia. He is now Assistant Professor in Anatomy, Psychiatry, and Neurological Surgery at the University of California San Francisco Weill Institute of Neuroscience as well as an investigator in the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. His group actively seeks to uncover genetic control mechanisms underlying neurodevelopment events and tissue organization in the cerebral cortex with the goal of identifying selective patterns of cell vulnerability in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Autism and Schizophrenia. A new analysis from Indiana University, the nonprofit Rand Corp. and the University of Michigan highlights the changes in the U.S. health care workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that the average wages for U.S. health care workers rose less than wages in other industries during 2020 and the first six months of 2021. This is in spite of the health care workforce shouldering the heavy burden of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers said their findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Health Forum, are critical for planning and responding to ongoing and future public health crises. While there has been extensive media coverage of the considerable employment declines in the health care sector, evidence from complete national employment and wages was scarce. These findings provide a data-driven picture of employment levels by various health care settings and can help guide decision-making not only around the current health care shortage but also during a future crisis." Kosali Simon, Distinguished Professor and Herman B Wells Endowed Professor, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, IU Bloomington and Study's Co-Author The research team used industry- and county-level data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics covering 95% of all U.S. jobs during 2020 and the first six months of 2021 to examine what happened to wages and the number of jobs at physician offices, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health care facilities, dental offices and other health care settings. They examined whether the number of health care jobs in a county is reflected in how hard that county was hit by COVID-19 cases, and how much of a health care shortage they faced even before the pandemic. The study found that health care employment levels declined in mid-2020 to 21.1 million jobs, a 5.2% decrease from 22.2 million in 2019. Employment declines varied across health care organization types during the first year of the pandemic, with the largest decline taking place among dental offices (10%) and skilled nursing facilities (8.4%). Additionally, wages in the health care sector increased at a lower rate relative to the national average across all sectors. Compared to 2019, there was a 5% increase in health care sector wages versus 6.7% for the national average in 2020, and 1.5% increase in health care versus 6.9% nationally in 2021. While employment levels of most health care sectors rebounded to pre-COVID levels in 2021, the researchers found there was a 13.6% decline in employment at skilled nursing facilities compared to 2019. Thuy Nguyen, research assistant professor at the University of Michigan and senior author, said the study found substantial employment declines among nursing homes, which were more serious in areas with high COVID-19 burden. But she said those findings were expected, as these employees may experience greater frustration and burnout associated with the pandemic. Jonathan Cantor, policy researcher at the Rand Corp. and lead author of the study, said that whether it is changes in the use and finances of health care clinician offices and institutions, increased health risks, or burnout from increased patient burdens and child care disruptions, there is no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted the health care work force. "While federal programs provided financial assistance to hospitals and institutions, it is important to focus on the effect of the pandemic on health care employment levels and wages, especially if we want to prevent such shortages in the future," added Christopher Whaley, a policy researcher at the Rand Corp. and another co-author of the study. Scientists have developed a prototype sensor that could help doctors rapidly measure adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and lactate levels in blood samples from patients, aiding in the rapid assessment of the severity of some diseases. Hokkaido University scientists and colleagues have designed a prototype biosensor that detects levels of ATP and lactates in a patient's blood, enabling rapid assessment of the severity of some medical conditions. The details were reported in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics. ATP is a molecule found in every living cell that stores and carries energy. In red blood cells, ATP is produced by a biochemical pathway called the Embden-Meyerhof pathway. Severe illnesses such as multiple organ failure, sepsis and influenza reduce the amounts of ATP produced by red blood cells. As such, the severity of these illnesses could be gauged by monitoring the amounts of ATP and lactates in a patient's blood. In 2013, our co-authors at Tokushima University proposed the ATP-lactate energy risk score (A-LES) for measuring ATP and lactate blood levels to assess acute influenza severity in patients. However, current methods to measure these levels and other approaches for measuring disease severity can be cumbersome, lengthy or not sensitive enough. We wanted to develop a rapid, sensitive test to help doctors better triage their patients." Akihiko Ishida, Applied Chemist, Hokkaido University Ishida and colleagues at Hokkaido University and Tokushima University developed a biosensor that can detect levels of ATP and lactate in blood with great high sensitivity in as little as five minutes. The process is straightforward. Chemicals are added to a blood sample to extract ATP from red blood cells. Enzymes and substrates are then added to convert ATP and lactate to the same product that can be detected by specially modified electrodes on a sensor chip. The intensity of the current generated at the electrodes depends on the amount of by-product present in the sample. The team conducted parallel tests and found that other components present in blood, such as ascorbic acid, pyruvic acid, adenosine diphosphate (ADP), urate and potassium ions, don't interfere with the ability of the electrodes to accurately detect ATP and lactate. They also compared their sensor with those currently available and found it allowed for the relatively simple and rapid measurement of the two molecules. "We hope our sensor will enable disease severity monitoring and serve as a tool for diagnosing and treating patients admitted to intensive care units," says Ishida. The researchers next aim to simplify the measurement process even further by integrating an ATP extraction method into the chip itself. They also plan to make their sensor system even more compact In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers of Wales coronavirus disease 2019 Evidence Centre (WC19EC) conducted a rapid systematic literature review to assess the safety, effectiveness, and efficacy of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disinfection methods, including the ozone devices, in schools. Background There is a risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection to individuals from contaminated surfaces if enough viable viruses reach the host's mucous membrane from the surface. However, maintaining hand hygiene, routine disinfection, and cleaning help diminish the chances of SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with contaminated surfaces. Further, following a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, additional cleaning measures are also advised to limit further risks in real-world settings such as educational premises. Various non-touch disinfection technologies such as ozone devices, hydrogen peroxide, and light-based techniques for surface cleaning have been explored as a solution to prevent SAR-CoV-2's spread in educational settings. However, sufficient proof regarding the safety, effectiveness, and efficacy of these cleaning technologies against SARS-CoV-2 in real-world settings, like schools, is not available. About the study In the present rapid evidence summary, the scientists conducted a systematic literature review on September 2021 for two weeks to determine the: 1) surface survival of SARS-CoV-2, 2) the effectiveness and efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 cleaning technologies, focusing mainly on ozone machines but also others such as hydrogen peroxide vapor and light-based technologies, and 3) harms and benefits associated with these SARS-CoV-2 cleaning technologies, including health consequences. The team specifically aimed to understand the potential health impacts of the currently used SARS-CoV-2 disinfecting technologies in educational settings for young people and children. A total of 82 studies providing primary, secondary, and tertiary evidence was included in the present literature review, with most of them published during 2020 and 2021. Nevertheless, studies providing indirect evidence dating from 2006 were also included. Findings The results imply that SARS-CoV-2 fragments can remain on the surfaces for around seven days in the communities, yet data regarding their viability was not available. According to the real-world transmission factors and surface survival data, the chance of surface transmission after a SARS-CoV-2 patient has been in an indoor space was modest following 72 hours, regardless of the last cleaning. Although there was a scarcity of direct proof studying the effect of ozone cleaning procedures on SARS-CoV-2 in real-world settings, especially in schools, prior findings show that gaseous ozone can inactivate several bacteria and viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 in experimental settings. Apart from ozone devices, hydrogen peroxide and light-based technologies also inactivated SARS-CoV-2 in the experimental conditions. There was insufficient data regarding the strategies for ensuring ozone removal following the disinfection, monitoring of occupational exposure, and training requirements for staff. Additionally, since ozone has an immensely reactive oxidizing capacity, its excessive amounts can damage building materials and lead to health problems, mainly respiratory issues, through by-product generation or direct exposure. The health problems associated with short-term ozone exposure can occur even at extremely low concentrations, and children with asthma were particularly vulnerable. Other health effects linked to ozone exposure include reproductive, cardiovascular, and nervous system issues and death. Further, the rooms must be sealed while disinfecting using ozone devices to prevent ozone gas leakage, which can be toxic at high doses. There is also a chance of ozone reacting with organic pollutants present in the room and producing secondary pollutants, like formaldehyde. As a result, the use of ozone cleaning methods in real-world situations, like schools, was not recommended by prominent environmental health organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the United Kingdom Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies Environmental Modelling Group (UK SAGE EMG). Conclusions The study findings infer that there was no direct proof for the safety and effectiveness of using ozone devices to inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in real-world educational settings for young people, children, and staff. In contrast, there was evidence for risks of potential harm to young people and children from ozone or its secondary pollutants originating from the ozone devices, both in controlled and uncontrolled usage in educational settings. Hence, the study indicates the significance of evaluating other interventions like gaseous chlorine dioxide for disinfection and curbing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, thereby minimizing the interruption to schooling during the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In addition, the authors suggest the need for a rapid review of the effectiveness and efficacy of ozone devices in decontaminating indoor settings in the future as the only systematic review conducted on the topic was aimed at the decontamination of the sealed chamber using ozone. *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 COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a frightening reality; the course of infection with this disease is highly variable. Some young patients have died from the virus, whereas several elderly people have survived without experiencing respiratory symptoms at all. Researchers are left wondering: why? For illuminating factors that underlie these varied susceptibilities through efforts that began with biking through eerily quiet Parisian streets in the earliest pandemic days, to collect blood samples Paul Bastard is the grand prize winner of the inaugural Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology. Bastard's hope is that his findings about the impairment of specific immune mechanisms in those who have suffered most from COVID-19 will pave the way for the adoption of precision medicine approaches for this disease, and for infectious diseases more broadly. "The precision medicine approach would let us give the patient the treatment that would help the most with the least side effects," said Bastard, a researcher at the Imagine Institute (INSERM, University of Paris) in Paris, France, and the Rockefeller University in New York, New York. It would also enable researchers to target particularly vulnerable patients, to help them avoid severe disease. Bastard has been interested in the question of why infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is fatal in only some people and how to treat this group since the earliest days of the pandemic. As COVID-19 emerged in France, I went to help for a few weeks in the hospital where my wife worked. I was a pediatrician suddenly taking care of elderly patients with an unknown disease. The whole building was now exclusively for COVID-19 patients. It was quite terrible as people who were previously healthy would need oxygen and treatment in the Intensive Care Unit treatment, and unfortunately often died. It was a huge motivation for me to try to understand why this was happening in order to be able to help." Bastard, Researcher, Imagine Institute, INSERM, University of Paris Through a consortium established in February 2020 to understand varied COVID-19 outcomes the COVID Human Genetic Effort (CHGE) (www.covidhge.com) Bastard and many colleagues across the world were able to recruit patients with varying degrees of clinical outcome. CHGE was established by Jean-Laurent Casanova of Rockefeller University and Helen Su of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "When the CHGE was initiated," Bastard said, "the aim was to recruit as many people as possible with either life-threatening COVID-19 or very mild or asymptomatic infection." The researchers sequenced these patients' exomes to test their hypothesis that some individuals with life-threatening COVID-19 had underlying errors in their immune systems. Working in the laboratory of human genetics of infectious diseases of Jean-Laurent Casanova and Laurent Abel and being affiliated with the consortium allowed Bastard and colleagues to swiftly recruit samples from a large number of patients, for their genetic and immunological studies. "In France I remember starting the recruitment during the first lockdown. It was early March 2020, and I went on my bike all around the hospitals in Paris and nearby suburbs to collect blood samples from patients. The city was completely empty, and all delivery services were shut down, so I was assigned a special authorization to collect these COVID-19 samples. Initially, we would recruit a few patients a day, but we soon received many more." The results of the sequencing studies from this large pool revealed something consistent in some of the hospitalized patients suffering from severe COVID-19: a glitch in type I interferon (IFN) signaling. Type I IFNs, secreted by cells when they are infected, normally help fight viruses. In some individuals, however, the body had previously developed an autoimmune response with autoantibodies attacking type I IFNs and blocking their anti-viral effect, as Bastard was observing. This abnormal reaction can then exacerbate harmful inflammation and disease. Identifying autoantibodies against IFN as a driver of severe COVID-19, especially in older patients but also in many younger patients presenting with life-threatening COVID-19, provided clues to the reasons why COVID-19 is fatal for some individuals. The pattern suggested to Bastard that screens could help identify patients at the highest risk of life-threatening complications from SARS-CoV-2 infection. "These patients would really benefit from being identified as early as possible (even before SARS-CoV-2 infection), getting vaccinated, and being treated at onset of disease to prevent severe disease," he said. Bastard explained that screening for autoantibodies against type I IFNs could be relatively easily done using a technique called "ELISA" routinely used in biology labs. "There are already several labs and hospitals in France and abroad that have implemented it which is absolutely thrilling for me to hear." As part of their study of autoantibodies against IFNs in COVID-19 patients, Bastard and colleagues uncovered that they appear to increase in prevalence with age in the general population, though the researchers don't know why. "It could be because the aging of the immune system becomes more 'permissive' to these autoantibodies," he said. He writes in his prize-winning essay that there may be a role for autoantibodies against type I IFNs in many other viral diseases (like influenza) that also increase in severity with age. Bastard helped other colleagues identify a second factor underlying severe COVID-19 outcomes: rare mutations in genes controlling type I IFNs, for example the gene which encodes the receptor TLR7 that is involved in initiating type I IFN responses. Screening for these mutations, while a little more difficult, could also be implemented, he said. "Having information [about the presence of these mutations] before patients contracted COVID-19 would give the physicians the opportunity to administer the missing interferons to the patients in order to avoid severe disease," said Bastard. Collectively, data from the efforts of Bastard and his colleagues stands to help physicians formulate the best course of treatment for at-risk patients. "This research stood out to the Science editors and judges for its exceptionally important identification of factors that can contribute to COVID-19 severity, and which can be recognized prior to infection allowing people with particular vulnerabilities to protect themselves. More broadly, this work may also help explain some of the variability seen in immune responses to other viruses and help inform clinical practice in the years to come," said Seth Thomas Scanlon, Associate Editor at Science. The Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology focuses on transformative research in human immunology, with trans-disease applications to accelerate vaccine and immunotherapeutic discovery. This international prize is intended to encourage and support young investigators from a wide range of disciplines. It is be awarded annually to one young scientist based on work done in the past 3 years. "It is really a huge honor for me to receive such an important prize," said Bastard. "Although I am receiving it, the work that was done here is that of a very large team of people in our lab and outside -- led by Qian Zhang and Jean-Laurent Casanova -- without whom none of it would have been possible. Winning this prize is really a recognition of all of this work and of our field." "This is the kind of brilliant and disruptive thinking that will change the trajectory of immunology," said Dr. Gary Michelson, founder and co-chair of Michelson Philanthropies. "We are proud, through this partnership with Science, to support the next generation of innovators and provide a renowned platform for their research. Early career investigators with bold concepts do not receive traditional funding. This award shines a spotlight on the problem of not funding the people who are at the ideal intersection of intellect, knowledge, imagination, daring and perseverance." Finalists For her research deciphering immune responses to viruses and vaccines using human tonsil organoids, Lisa Wagar is also a finalist for the Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology. Wagar received a BSc from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and a PhD from the University of Toronto. After completing her postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University, Dr. Wagar started her lab in 2020 in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of California, Irvine where she is currently an Assistant Professor. Her research focuses on translational human immunology and the use of organoids to understand the complex interactions that occur between immune cells upon vaccination and infection in humans. For his research revealing how a conserved flavivirus protein holds potential as a target for versatile vaccines and therapies, Scott B. Biering is a finalist for the Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology. Biering received undergraduate degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles and a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Chicago. He is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley in the laboratory of Dr. Eva Harris. His present research investigates the role of viral proteins in inducing viral pathogenesis and promoting viral dissemination. Katherine (Katy) Spink has become a member of Single Use Supports Board of Directors. Her many years of expertise in cell & gene therapy consulting will enrich the companies focus on innovating solutions for advanced therapies. Image Credit: Single Use Support GmbH As a graduated cancer biologist at Stanford University, Katherine has put into practice her knowledge of advanced medicine throughout her whole professional career. In her current role as Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner at well-established and trusted Dark Horse Consulting Group, she is contributing to improve manufacturing of cell and gene therapies. In the Board of Directors at the fast-growing Austrian biopharmaceutical process solution provider Single Use Support, Katherine Spink will join as neutral member of Board of Directors to sharpen expertise in driving enhancement in logistics around promising ATMPs. My goal is to work with the management team on the exciting list of products of Single Use Support and, in doing so, to address some of the remaining unmet needs within the cell and gene therapy space. I believe the Single Use Support products have great potential to improve robustness and reproducibility of manufacturing processes. Katharine (Katy) Spink, Board of Director, Single Use Support Welcoming Katy to Single Use Support affirms the companies focus of upcoming years on pioneering logistics and supply for cell & gene therapy. It is intended to push boundaries by developing innovative products and accelerating supply chain, and to provide biotech companies with efficient end-to-end process solutions. Restaurant jobs have always been difficult, but the mental stress has gotten worse during the pandemic as restaurants closed or cut hours or became ground zero for the fight over mask-wearing. It is totally nerve-wracking sometimes because all of my tables Im interacting with arent wearing their masks, said Nikki Perri, a server at French 75, a restaurant in downtown Denver. I am within 6 feet of people who are maskless. Perri is 23, a DJ, and a music producer. And shes not just worrying about her own health. Im more nervous about my partner. Hes disabled. He doesnt have the greatest immune system, she said. After the initial shutdown, French 75 was having problems finding employees when it reopened. So were other restaurants. We put a Survey Monkey out and pay was No. 3, said chef and owner Frank Bonanno. Mental health was No. 1. Employees wanted security, and mental health, and then pay. His company, Bonanno Concepts, runs 10 Denver restaurants including French 75, Mizuna, and Denver Milk Market. The survey went out to employees of all 10. Bonanno said these jobs offer competitive pay and good health insurance, but the mental health benefits arent very good. Most such psychologists and psychiatrists are out-of-pocket for people to go to. And we were looking for a way to make our employees happy, he said. That, according to his wife and co-owner, Jacqueline, was when they had a revelation: Lets hire a full-time mental health clinician. I know of no other restaurants that are doing this, groups or individual restaurants, she said. Its a pretty big leap of faith. It took a little while to figure out what exactly employees wanted and what would be most helpful. Focus groups began in summer 2021 and they made a hire in October 2021. Qiana Torres Flores, a licensed professional counselor, took on the new and unusual role. Her title is "wellness director." Shed previously worked one-on-one with clients and in community mental health. She said she jumped at the chance to carve out a profession within the restaurant world. Especially in the restaurant and hospitality industry, that stress bucket is really full a lot of the time. So I think having someone in this kind of capacity, just accessible and approachable, can be really useful, she said. Traveling among the 10 restaurants, Flores has led group sessions and mediated conflicts between employees. She has taught the companys 400 employees techniques to cope with stress, and put on Santas Mental Health Workshop to help with holiday-related sadness and grief. She has done one-on-one counseling and referred some employees to more specific types of therapy. Not only is there help, but its literally 5 feet away from you and its free and its confidential. And its only for you, Flores said. The owners say her presence gives them a competitive advantage and hope it helps them retain their employees. Restaurant staff members often work difficult hours and can be prone to substance use issues a grind-it-out mentality is part of the job culture. Many workers either dont ask for help or dont always see mental self-care as important. It has been a really important option and a resource for our team right now, said Abby Hoffman, general manager of French 75. I was just overjoyed when I found out that this program was starting. She gives the effort high marks, and said it builds on earlier efforts to recognize the psychological toll of restaurant jobs. I think the conversation really started around the death of Anthony Bourdain, knowing how important mental health and caring for ourselves was, Hoffman said. The death by suicide of the charismatic Bourdain, a celebrity chef who openly struggled with addiction and mental illness, resonated with many restaurant workers. Bourdain died in mid-2018. Then, Hoffman said, came the pandemic, which helped relaunch tough conversations about the psychological impacts of their jobs: We were, again, able to say, This is so stressful and scary, and we need to be able to talk about this.' Voicing these concerns, she speaks for an entire industry. The Colorado Restaurant Association recently conducted a survey, and a spokesperson says more than 80% of its members reported an increase in the stress levels of their staff over the past year. A third of the restaurants fielded requests for mental health services or resources from employees in the past year. More than 3 in 4 restaurants reported a rise in customer aggression toward staff members. Denise Mickelsen, a spokesperson for Colorados restaurant association, said shes unaware of other restaurants or groups hiring a full-time staffer dedicated to health and wellness. Its fair to call what theyre doing fairly unique and/or innovative, said Vanessa Sink, director of media relations for the National Restaurant Association. Its something that some of the larger chains have been trying but is not widespread. Other projects in a similar vein are springing up. One is called Fair Kitchens. It describes itself as a movement fighting for a more resilient and sustainable foodservice and hospitality industry, calling for change by showing that a healthier culture makes for a healthier business. It cited research by Britain-based Unilever Food Solutions that found most chefs were sleep deprived to the point of exhaustion and felt depressed. Back in Denver, the server Perri said shes grateful her employers see workers as more than anonymous, interchangeable vessels who bring the food and drinks and actually do care about us and see us as humans. I think thats great. And I think other places should catch up and follow on cue here. And if that happens, she said, it could be a positive legacy from an otherwise tough time. This story is part of a partnership that includes Colorado Public Radio, NPR and KHN. Hoosier Action families gather at the Indiana Statehouse on Feb. 24 to push lawmakers to defeat House Bill 1300, which limits charitable bail organizations. Six-year-old Morgan Miller, center, colors small fish to gobble up the big fish of HB 1300, lower right, with Aubrey Kearney. Jerry Fisher, 8, colors in the background. Deputy clerk Natosha Riley casts her vote in a mock election at the Floyd County Clerks Office on Dec. 10, 2021. The mock election was held to test new voting machines. The poll workers volunteered to help with the local primary elections on Tuesday. Jacob Arbital, planning director for the Town of Clarksville, places a sensor on his car in August 2021 to track air temperatures as he drives through the town as part of the Beat the Heat initiative. News and Tribune File Photo Brian A. Howey is publisher of Howey Politics Indiana at www.howeypolitics.com. Find him on Facebook and Twitter @hwypol. 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) He may have been launching war against Ukraine, but it was the West that Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to have in his sights early Thursday. It was the West that created the "fundamental threats" to Russia that prompted military action, he said, per Time. "All of the so-called Western bloc, which the US formed in its image and likeness ... is what's known as the empire of lies." The US and its allies "tried to crush us" after the fall of the Soviet Union and "[we] will never forget it," he added. He also said attempts at intervention in Ukraine "will lead to consequences of the sort that you have not faced ever in your history." Here's what experts say that could mean for Ukraine and the world: It's clear that "Putin intends this war as his revenge against the West, and the United States in particular," writes Simon Shuster at Time. The US and its allies are therefore faced with a dilemma. "They can either break their promises of support for Ukraine and abandon the country to Russia, or they can risk getting pulled into a war with a nuclear superpower intent on their humiliation." Thus, we have "the greatest military crisis on the European continent since the Cold War," writes WJ Hennigan at Time. "The standoff between the US and Russia, two nations that command the world's largest nuclear arsenals, has no modern precedent. Even during the Cold War, the nations' military forces were never so closely positioned amid an active conflict." He adds the situation is "volatile" and the consequences "unpredictable." The Washington Post editorial board argues President Biden, who's promised assistance to Ukraine, "is right to answer Mr. Putin robustly, even at some risk" to the US and its allies, as "the peace and stability of Europe" is at stake. Putin is "claiming, grotesquely, that Russia must unleash war on Ukraine because it threatens Russia, when his real fear is that exemplary democratic success in a large, culturally similar neighbor would undermine his own kleptocratic rule," and "he must not get away with it." The Wall Street Journal editorial board notes the US (alongside Britain and Russia) gave security assurances to Ukraine while persuading the country to give up its nuclear weapons in 1994. But getting assistance to Ukraine now requires the cooperation of neighboring countries, writes WaPo columnist Robert Kagan. And Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania may not be willing to take that risk with Russian forces just over the border, especially given Putin's vague threat. At the Atlantic, political scientist Eliot A. Cohen argues that continued support from Ukraine's friends is essential because the only thing that will bring about an end to the conflictwhich Putin has orchestrated out of "unassuageable grief at the loss of empire, and fear of democratic contamination"is deaths. "Russia, with its low birth rate and yearning for middle-class comfort, is not in the mood for the heroic sacrifice of thousands of its young men, particularly if a bloody Ukrainian war forces the deployment of conscripts," he writes. The alternative could be "the final shredding of the post-Cold War settlement in Europe, and a fatal weakening of the American position in one of the three great centers of economic productivity in the world," writes Cohen. Russia would not only be able to station forces on the borders of four NATO member countries, but "China's Xi Jinping might take a chance on incorporating Taiwan by force, and Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei might make the final lunge for nuclear weapons." (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) Is that a crossbow in your pocket, or arejust, no. Police in Florida say a man stole a crossbow from a store by shoving it down the front of his pants, reports NBC News. More specifically, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office says "one of the world's dumbest criminals" stole a 33-inch crossbow valued at about $1,300 from a True Value store in such a manner, per Fox News and the New York Post. You can watch the video here or via the sheriff's Facebook page. To be fair, police say the tactic actually worked, at least temporarily. The thief did, in fact, successfully leave the store, according to the sheriff's office. The video shows him using a single crutch in an apparent ruse to help disguise why he was walking funny. Store employees noticed the theft about two weeks later, checked surveillance video, and, voila. Police then arrested 46-year-old Darren Durrant, who faces a charge of felony petit theft. Durrant has two previous felony theft convictions. "You just can't make this stuff up," wrote Sheriff Wayne Ivey. (Read more weird crimes stories.) (Newser) Update: Legislation known widely in Florida as the "don't say gay" bill is about to become the "don't say gay" law. The state Senate on Tuesday passed the measure, which restricts what teachers in grades kindergarten through third can tell students about gender identity or sexual orientation, per the Hill. Advocates say such discussions should be left to parents. It now heads to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign. Our original story from Feb. 24 follows: LGBTQ advocates expressed outrage Thursday after the Florida House approved legislation prohibiting classroom discussions about sexual orientation in the state's elementary schools. Educators would be prohibited from speaking about gender issues that aren't "age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students," according to the bill; opponents say it puts young LGBTQ people at greater risk of mental illness and bullying. The measure now goes to the Senate, which is working on a similar bill, the Hill reports. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has indicated support for such a law. Supporters said the measure, which opponents call the "Don't Say Gay Bill," is intended to help parents, who would have more authority to take school districts to court over the issue. The measure's sponsor said it's only fair to set clear expectations for teachers and school districts. "I believe in the idea that creating boundaries at an early age of what is appropriate in our schoolswhen we are funding our schoolsis not hate," said Republican Rep. Joe Harding. Opponents have criticized the vagueness of the language, but Harding has said it would not prohibit discussions about students' families or LGBTQ history, such as the 2016 attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. The wording says the bill applies only to kindergarten through third grade, but Democratic Rep. Michael Grieco said he didn't buy that those would be the only students affected. "I'm going to vote down on this bill, and I am going to say 'gay' until I am rainbow in the face," he said Thursday. One advocacy group, Equality Florida, said the bills in the state's legislature "will turn Florida into a surveillance state and give the government broad license to censor conversations about American history, the origins of racism and injustice, and the existence of LGBTQ+ people." PEN American, a nonprofit that advocates free speech, said another eight states are considering 15 bills to limit classroom discussions about LGBTQ identities, per NBC News. (Read more LGBTQ stories.) (Newser) Update: Sean Penn has left Ukraine and it doesn't look like the process was easy. The actor-director, who flew to the country to work on a Vice Studios documentary about Russia's invasion, tweeted a photo showing him walking toward the Polish border, luggage in hand, with a line of vehicles stretching into the background. "Myself & two colleagues walked miles to the Polish border after abandoning our car on the side of the road," Penn wrote. "Almost all the cars in this photo carry women & children only, most without any sign of luggage, and a car their only possession of value." A US family who escaped Ukraine to Poland on Feb. 25 said they had to walk the final 8 miles with traffic stalled. CNN confirmed Penn got out. Our original story from Feb. 24 follows: That really was Sean Penn at a government briefing about the Russian attack Thursday in Kyiv. The Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker is doing a documentary about the invasion, Variety reports, that he began work on during a visit in November. The president's office posted a photo of Penn in the front row for the briefing on Facebook, saying that he'd met with Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, military personnel, and journalists, per USA Today. "Sean Penn demonstrates the courage that many others, especially western politicians lack," the president's office posted on Facebook, saying that he went there "to tell the world the truth about Russia's invasion of our country." Penn, who founded the nonprofit disaster relief organization CORE, has been involved in several antiwar and humanitarian efforts. A video of President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting with Penn went up on the Ukrainian leader's Instagram account. Zelensky acted professionally before entering politics, per CNN. (Read more Sean Penn stories.) (Newser) Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe plans to announce his retirement next week, Politico reports, probably putting his seat up for grabs in a special election in the fall. The 87-year-old Oklahoman, who already had said this would be his final term in the Senate, would serve out this congressional session. If he resigns no later than March 1, his seat would appear on Oklahoma's November ballot, per KJRH. If Inhofe steps down before his successor is elected, the Republican governor would appoint a temporary replacement. Inhofe, who has held the seat since 1994, won reelection in 2020 by about 30 percentage points, per KOCO. The state's other senator, Republican Sen. James Lankford, already is on the ballot for reelection this year. Oklahoma hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1990, per the AP. (It was Inhofe who once put former President Donald Trump on a speakerphone in a restaurant.) (Newser) Thousands of Russians who woke up to the news that their nation had attacked Ukraine took to the streets to protest on Thursday. They found a heavy police presence, with officers breaking up even small gatherings by using loudspeakers to order demonstrators to disperse, the New York Times reports. After access to Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow's city center was closed off, a few hundred demonstrators lined streets leading to it, at times chanting, "No to war!" OVD Info, a rights group, reported that more than 600 demonstrators were detained. Protests took place across Russia, and the group counted a total of 1,620 people detained in 52 cities, per the AP. The protesters, some of whom displayed the Ukrainian flag, talked about how disheartened they were by the attack on a neighbor often called a "brotherly nation." One protester who said, "The world has turned upside down" broke into tears when she saw the square wasn't packed. "Everyone must be here, it is the only way to show that something monstrous is happening," she said. Russian celebrities and public figures spoke out, as well. Oxxxymiron, one of the nation's most popular rappers, urged the creation of an antiwar movement in Russia. "I cannot entertain you when Russian missiles are falling on Ukraine," he posted on Instagram. The government has promised to punish protesters. Demonstrations took place in cities around the world. In New York, protesters in Times Square shouted "Stand with Ukraine," per the AP, while others gathered near the Russian Federation's UN mission. Protesters also demonstrated in cities including Montreal, Budapest, Mexico City, and Santiago, Chile. Demonstrators burned a Russian passport in Vilnius, Lithuania. In Chicago, an immigration attorney said she's been receiving calls from Ukrainian Americans trying to help family members back home. "They are absolutely devastated, extremely sad," she said. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) Updated: A judge in Michigan has denied a request from the parents of an alleged school shooter to have their own bonds reduced from $500,000 each to $100,000 each, reports the AP. The upshot of the decision is that it appears James and Jennifer Crumbley will remain locked up on their separate charges of involuntary manslaughter. Among other things, they are accused of not properly securing the gun allegedly used by son Ethan. An earlier story from February follows: The parents of the alleged Oxford High School shooter will stand trial on manslaughter charges, a judge decided Thursday on the second day of their preliminary examination hearing. "The court finds that the deaths of the four victims could have been avoided if James and Jennifer Crumbley exercised ordinary care and diligence in the care of their son," she said in her decision. "There was extensive testimony that Ethan Crumbley was certainly a troubled young man, and that the (parents) had knowledge of that situation. But they purchased a gun, which he believed was his and and that he was free to use." The order came after the Crumbleys broke down crying upon hearing excerpts from their son's journal read in court, the Detroit Free Press reports. Their 15-year-old son blamed them for his mass shooting plans, writing, "I have zero help with my mental problems and its causing me to shoot the school. My parents wont listen to me." He wrote that he planned Michigan's deadliest school shooting ever because "I have fully mentally lost it after fighting my dark side. My parents wont help me." He also wrote that he hoped his parents could forgive him. Text messages between him and a friend were also shared, including one in which he wrote, "They make me feel like I'm the problem. My mom makes everyone feel like a piece of s---. I actually asked my dad to take me to the doctor the other day, and he just gave me some pills and said to 'suck it up.' My mom laughed when i told her." An Oxford High School counselor testified that his parents seemed cold and even unfriendly toward him the morning of the shooting, when they were called to the office and told school staff believed Ethan Crumbley was experiencing suicidal ideation and had drawn a picture of a gun in class with the words "The thoughts won't stop. Help me." They did not hug or even touch or greet him, the counselor said, and seemed impatient to leavewithout their son. The teen was also in court this week, ClickOn Detroit reports, as prosecutors argued he should remain at Oakland County Jail rather than being moved to a juvenile facility. During that hearing, prosecutors said the teen "enjoyed his dark side," torturing baby birds and expressing admiration for Hitler. (More details from that hearing here.) (Newser) In November, Elon Musk sold Tesla shares worth billions of dollars after polling Twitter users about the move. The Securities and Exchange Commission is now taking a close look at stock sales made by his brother, Kimbal Musk, a day before the poll was posted, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing "people familiar with the matter." Kimbal Musk sold 88,500 shares worth a total of $108 million the day before his brother's tweet, per the Journal. Tesla shares dropped sharply after Elon Musk confirmed his plan to sell 10% of his stake in the company, and they have not returned to the same level since. The share price largely recovered after an initial drop but it has fallen by around a third since the start of the year. Kimbal Musk is on Tesla's board of directors and the sale could have violated insider trading law, though the question of whether Elon Musk's plan was company information or personal information "would be a hard-fought question in court," and one that Elon Musk "would be willing to spend a little bit" to address, University of Michigan law professor Adam Pritchard tells the Journal. The reported investigation is a new front in Elon Musk's long-running battle with regulators, the Guardian reports. Last week, Musk and Tesla accused the SEC of carrying out an "endless" and "unrelenting" investigation as retaliation for Musk's criticism of the regulator. Musk hasn't commented on the Journal's report since it was published, but earlier this week the CEO and his attorney accused the SEC of leaking information about an upcoming investigation. "The SEC leaked confidential information to the WSJ, deliberately violating federal law," Musk told CNBC. "We found out about this because, in their eagerness to gain a scoop, WSJ jumped the gun and inquired about it with Tesla before, rather than after, SEC publication." (Read more Elon Musk stories.) (Newser) Western countries and the US have responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine with sweeping sanctions, but they're holding back on deploying what analysts call the "nuclear option" of financial sanctions: kicking Russia off the Belgium-based SWIFT messaging system for global financial transactions. The system "doesn't move the money, but it moves the information about the money," Alexandra Vacroux, executive director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard told NPR as tensions escalated last month. The secure messaging system links more than 11,000 financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories, and Vacroux says cutting Russia off is considered the "nuclear option" because of the massive initial impact it would have on the country's economy. Iran was kicked off the system in 2012, but some Western countries are hesitant about cutting Russia off nowpartly because they want to keep the option in reserve, and partly due to concerns about their own economies and the future of the system itself. Russia supplies more than a third of Europe's natural gas, and cutting it off from SWIFT would make it harder for buyers to pay for energy supplies, the Economist reports. It could also diminish the power of the US dollar; bolster SPFS, Russia's rudimentary alternative to SWIFT; and give a boost to CIPS, China's rapidly growing messaging system. Ukraine has urged Western countries to block Russia from SWIFT, and the move is supported by leaders including Britain's Boris Johnson, but France has called it a "last resort" and Germany is also believed to be hesitant, reports the BBC. President Biden downplayed the option Thursday, arguing that the sanctions already imposed "exceed SWIFT," the AP reports. He said the issue should be revisited around a month from now. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell disagreed, saying the US should "ratchet the sanctions all the way up." "Dont hold any back," he said. "Every single available tough sanction should be employed and should be employed now." (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) Explosions are being heard before dawn Friday in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraines president pleaded for international help, the AP reports. The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear, but the blasts came amid signs that the capital and largest Ukrainian city was increasingly threatened following a day of fighting that left more than 100 Ukrainians dead. A Ukrainian government advisor tells CNN Kyiv is being hit with cruise or ballistic missiles. Russian forces had surrounded Kyiv by Thursday and appeared ready to move in. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said the government had information that subversive groups were encroaching on the city, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv could well be under siege in what US officials believe is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime. Blinken says he's "convinced" that's what Putin has planned, and Zelensky, who remains in the capital, says he believes he is the No. 1 target of what he described as "enemy sabotage groups." US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) This story has been updated with new developments. Russian forces have now entered Ukraine's capitaland authorities are urging residents to resist the invaders. A post on the Ministry of Defense's Facebook page asked the people of Kyiv "to inform us of troop movements, to make Molotov cocktails, and neutralize the enemy," the Guardian reports. Missiles hit the city before dawn and by midmorning, the Ukrainian military was fighting Russian forces in the residential district of Obolon, around 6 miles from the city center, the BBC reports. The BBC says it has verified videos of Russian armored vehicles moving through the district. Ukrainian forces have set up positions on bridges, and witnesses say blasts and gunfire can be heard in the city center. In other developments: Plane shot down over capital. Reuters reports that Ukrainian authorities say a Russian aircraft was shot down over Kyiv overnight. Authorities say the aircraft crashed into a building, injuring eight people. Comparison to 1941 . "Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv," Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, wrote on Twitter, per NBC. "Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany." . "Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv," Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, wrote on Twitter, per NBC. "Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany." Kremlin denies plan to occupy Ukraine . At a media briefing Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Russia plans to "demilitarize" Ukraine but not occupy it. When asked by a BBC reporter how Russia could justify the invasion of a democratic neighbor, Lavrov denied Ukraine was a democratic country and pointed to past Western military actions in countries including Yugoslavia and Iraq. . At a media briefing Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Russia plans to "demilitarize" Ukraine but not occupy it. When asked by a BBC reporter how Russia could justify the invasion of a democratic neighbor, Lavrov denied Ukraine was a democratic country and pointed to past Western military actions in countries including Yugoslavia and Iraq. Offer of non-aligned status . Lavrov said an offer from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss non-aligned status for the country will be analyzed by the Kremlin, but he believes Zelensky is "simply lying," the AP reports. . Lavrov said an offer from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss non-aligned status for the country will be analyzed by the Kremlin, but he believes Zelensky is "simply lying," the AP reports. Zelensky addresses nation. In a televised address, Zelensky said that Ukrainians would have to fight the invading forces instead of expecting foreign forces to come to the rescue, the New York Times reports. "We are left to our own devices in defense of our state," he said. "Who is ready to fight together with us? Honestly, I do not see such." The president described himself as "Target No. 1" of the Russian invaders. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) The 13 soldiers defending a Ukrainian outpost in the Black Sea died after making it very clear to a Russian warship that they had no intention of surrendering, according to the Ukrainian government and reports in Ukrainian media. In audio believed to be from a naval radio channel, a Russian officer says, "This is a Russian military warship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed." A male Ukrainian soldier can then be heard saying, "Should I tell them to f--- themselves?" reports Politico. A female soldier says, "Well, just in case," and the male soldier tells the officer, "Warship, go f--- yourself." The recording was posted on the website of a Ukrainian news outlet, and a Ukrainian official confirmed its authenticity to the Washington Post. Authorities say all 13 border guards were killed Thursday when Russian forces bombed Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, the Guardian reports. The strategic 42-acre island is around 180 miles west of Crimea, near Ukraine's border with Romania. "All border guards died heroically but did not give up," said President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said the soldiers would be posthumously awarded the Hero of Ukraine award. The Post reports that a video posted on TikTok shows a border guard cursing as the island comes under fire. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) She stood just a few feet from two Russian soldiers holding guns. If the Ukrainian woman was intimidated, it didn't show. "You're occupants, you're fascists!" the unnamed woman shouted in their faces, according to the Independent's translation of the viral video shared on Twitter by Ukraine World. (The woman's own alleged footage is here.) "What the f--- are you doing on our land with all these guns?" Then, in what's quickly become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance to Russia's invasion, the woman held out a hand of sunflower seeds. "Take these seeds and put them in your pockets so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here," she said. Sunflowers just happen to be Ukraine's national flower. The soldier to whom the woman was primarily speaking, who was blocking a street in the southern Ukrainian port city of Henichesk, told her he was part of a military exercise, per the Telegraph. "You came to my land. Do you understand? You are occupiers. You are enemies," she responded in the video, viewed 4.9 million times in less than 24 hours. "Put the sunflower seeds in your pockets, please. You will lie down here with the seeds," she said, predicting the soldiers' deaths. Twitter users have applauded her bravery. (Thirteen soldiers who had four choice words for Russia before being killed are also being hailed.) (Newser) An elderly couple's love story, which included an escape from a nursing home and a mad dash across Australia, has come to a sad endand not just with a conviction for unlawfully detaining a mentally ill person. Ralph "Terry" Gibbs, 80, pleaded guilty to deprivation of liberty and endangering the life of his partner of 15 years, 84-year-old Carol Lisle, who suffered from Parkinson's disease and dementia, on Feb. 9. A month earlier, he'd driven 3,000 miles from Queensland to Western Australia, where a goddaughter had moved Lisle to a nursing home over concerns that Gibbs could no longer care for her, reports the New York Times. Gibbs then helped his "sweetheart" to his car and drove off for home. Authorities launched a national manhunt before locating the couple two days later in a remote desert community near Western Australias border with the Northern Territory, per the Guardian. Both were dehydrated and Lisle had to be airlifted back to the west coast for medical treatment, per ABC Australia. Gibbswho was last week handed a seven-month suspended sentence and a two-year restraining order that kept him from seeing Lislesaid it was for love. Because of coronavirus restrictions, he'd been able to visit Lisle only four times since her move to Mandurah last March. And at each visit, "when I would leave to go home, she would say, 'Can I come with you?'" Gibbs told the Guardian last week. If he feared an end to the relationship, it was for good reason, as Lisle died Monday. Those close to her "believe the separation from her loved ones contributed to her death," a friend told ABC. Gibbs didn't have long to mourn. Forty-eight hours later, he was killed in a head-on collision in northern Queensland, per the Times. Before his death, he recalled what may have been the couple's last communication. As Lisle was loaded into the plane that would take her back to Perth, "I yelled out to her and everyone heard me say, 'love you sweetheart' and her eyes opened and she said, 'love you too,'" Gibbs told the Guardian. "That's the way we were all these years." (Read more Australia stories.) (Newser) Like most men his age in former Soviet countries, former Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko spent time in the military as a young man. The 56-year-old has now picked up a Kalashnikov again to defend Ukraine's capital from Russian invaders. Poroshenko, who left office in 2019, told CNN Friday that Vladimir Putin is "simply crazy." "Everybody should understand, Putin declared a war not for Ukraine. Putin declared a war to the whole world," he said. Russian troops entered the outskirts of Kyiv Friday. Poroshenko, who spoke surrounded by other defenders, said his battalion was about 1.5 miles from the fighting. Poroshenko said Ukraine needs the West's assistanceincluding tough sanctions on Russia. He said Ukrainians are "free people with a great European future" and vowed that Putin would never capture the country, "no matter how many soldiers he kills, how many missiles he has, how many nuclear weapons he has." The AP reports that according to Britain's Ministry of Defense, "sporadic clashes" are happening in Kyiv, but the bulk of the Russian force advancing on the capital is 30 miles from the city center. A Pentagon official said Friday that Russian momentum appears to have slowed and "they are not moving on Kyiv as fast as they anticipated it going," the New York Times reports. Ukraine's President Volodymr Zelensky urged citizens to resist the invasion and told the military to "stand strong" in a speech early Friday. He also told EU leaders that "this might be the last time you see me alive" as he requested more help, per Axios. Putin, meanwhile, urged Ukraine's military on Friday to overthrow the government. The Guardian reports that the Russian leader was "visibly angry" during a televised address in which he described the country's leaders as a "gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis" who have "taken hostage the entire Ukrainian people." It was far the first time Putin has falsely claimed that Zelensky, who is Jewish, is a Nazi, the BBC notes. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) For awhile on Friday, headlines were flying around about possible talks between Ukraine and Russia. But instead of clarifying, the possibility of such negotiations has since become mired in confusion and uncertainty. This all began when Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Vladimir Putin in a video on Friday: There are fights all over the country," he said, per the Washington Post. "Lets sit down. A Kremlin spokesman responded by saying Russia was willing to send a delegation to Belarus for a sit-down, provided Ukraine would agree to "demilitarization" as one of the pre-conditions, per the BBC. Zelensky had said he was "not afraid" to discuss a possible "neutral status" for Ukraine, perhaps one in which it would pledge not to join NATO, but he gave no sign he would consider demilitarization, notes the BBC. The AP puts it this way: "The Kremlin accepted Kyiv's offer to hold talks, but it appeared to be an effort to squeeze concessions out of Ukraine's embattled president instead of a gesture toward a diplomatic solution." Adding to the uncertainty: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov then suggested that it was too late for talks and that Zelensky should have agreed to them earlier. As of Friday afternoon, it appeared the two sides had stopped communicating about the idea, per the New York Times. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) (Newser) The Biden administration said Friday that it will move to freeze the assets of President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, following the European Union and Britain in directly sanctioning top Russian leadership. The Treasury Department announced the sanctions shortly after the EU said it had also approved an asset freeze against Putin and Lavrov as part of a broader package of sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, per the AP. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also told NATO leaders during a call Friday that Britain would move to impose sanctions against Putin and Lavrov. It wasnt immediately clear how impactful an asset freeze would be on Putin or Lavrov, but the direct action targeting the Russian president was meant to be seen as a warning to Putin that he could emerge as an international pariah if he doesnt end the invasion of Ukraine. CNN describes it as "the most personal escalation of a sweeping effort" to punish Putin for his decision to send his troops over the border. Prior to Friday, sanctions had reached to Putin's inner circle but not to the leader himself. (Russian troops were closing in on the capital of Kyiv.) (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.) Please purchase a subscription read this premium content. If you have a subscription, please sign up for a digital website account or log in. Airmen with the 109th Airlift Wings Skiway construction team employ barren land survivial techniques as they erect the first shelter at Camp Rockwell during Air National Guard Exercise Arctice Eagle. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Jamie Spaulding/released) The Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) is rapidly prototyping a Bradley hybrid electric vehicle (BHEV) to help inform future hybrid electric technologies. (Photo provided by BAE Systems) These are the first of 2,000 Soldiers to arrive in Europe following the Pentagons announcement of additional forces moving from the United States to Europe in support of our NATO allies. The XVIII Airborne Corps, which serves as America's Contingency Corps, will provide a Joint Task Force-capable headquarters in Germany, as 1,700 Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division deploy to Poland. These moves are designed to respond to the current security environment and reinforce NATOs eastern flank. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joshua Cowden) (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joshua Cowden) Airmen with the 109th Airlift Wings Skiway construction team employ barren land survival techniques as they erect the first shelter at Camp Rockwell during Air National Guard Exercise Arctice Eagle. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Jamie Spaulding/released) Les Gara is running for governor and served as a legislator from 2003-2018. Jessica Cook is running for lieutenant governor. Shes a 20-year teacher and former vice president of the National Education Association, Alaska Chapter, and the Anchorage Education Association. She teaches at Alpenglow Elementary School. Wayne E. Heimer has been involved with Dall sheep as a hunter, researcher, manager, and hunter advocate for 50 years. He spent 25 years with ADF&G as a Dall sheep specialist and has worried over the future of Dall sheep hunting more than anybody. He might know what hes talking about. He has written a history of RHAK origin which should be on the web at http//nwsgc.org > proceedings within days. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Bahrain Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani signed a deal with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto for diplomatic training. The deal came as the foreign ministers chaired a meeting of the Bahrain-Hungary Joint Economic Commission. The memorandum of understanding was for the Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa Academy for Diplomatic Studies and the Hungarian Diplomatic Academy for cooperation in diplomatic training. During the meeting, Al Zayani highlighted the importance of high-level visits between the two countries, recalling the visit of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to Hungary in 2019. He also affirmed Bahrains keenness to strengthen bilateral ties with Hungary. Discussions also focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including economic, trade, investment, energy, science, technology, information, agriculture, health, higher education, youth and sports, culture and tourism. For his part, the Hungarian Minister stressed the need to expand and develop friendship and cooperation relations between the two countries. The Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to the agreement reached by the two countries regarding mutual recognition of the COVID-19 vaccination and certificates in 2021 TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com Retail major MegaMart opened Bahrain's 16th store at Sehla. The branch was opened by Northern Governor Ali Al Asfoor in the presence of Company Director Hashem Ahmed Jaafar and Company General Manager Anil Nawani. MegMart set up its first grocery store at Salmaniya in the year 1993 and since then it has written a great success saga for itself in the retail sector. As of today, Mega Mart is one of the biggest retailers and distribution networks with imports from Australia, the UK, the US and South Africa. It prides itself on serving the local community with the highest quality fresh produce from around the world and its ultra-modern, European style supermarkets. Prices throughout MegaMart are cost-effective and competitive and currently, all supermarkets in its network are performing impressively, owing to carefully selected locations that have been strategically designed to cater to consumers in the vicinity. Speaking to The Daily Tribune, on the sidelines of the opening ceremony in Sehla, Mr Nawani said: Our aim is to serve communities better and we are moving more closely with the Bahraini society. We have more store plans, serving neighbourhoods across the Kingdom. Our Sehla store is the perfect store having a wide range of product line. We also give emphasis on 100 per cent hygiene. And we are not looking at very big stores as we believe that optimum stores can serve communities better in light of the geographic and social landscape of the Kingdom. Bahrain court jails three for seven years, imposes hefty fines for embezzlement of public funds Bahrain court jails three for seven years, imposes hefty fines for embezzlement of public funds TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com A Bahraini court awarded two employees of Jaffaria Endowments and a contractor seven years in jail each and slapped them with a fine of BD68,598 on charges of misappropriation of public money. The Fourth High Criminal Court also ordered the defendants to return the BD68,598 they embezzled from the Endowments funds. The misconduct of the duo, serving at the engineering and maintenance department of the Jaffari Endowments, were reported in the National Audit Office report for 2019-2020. According to court files, the pair, responsible for reporting the progress of several construction sites, faked reports in favour of the contractor. Court files say the endowments had a contract with the third suspect to demolish 26 of their projects; renovate mosques and other works. After completing the first three works, and without verifying the quality of the works, the contractor, with the help of two employees, managed to pass an audit report and receive money exceeding the original values of the works undertaken. The first suspect was the man in charge of verifying the completed works, and the other person was in charge of verifying, approving and referring it to the accounts for payment. The NAO report had highlighted their wrongdoing, based on which the Public Prosecution summoned them for questioning. The Prosecution questioned the person who spotted the wrongdoing and formed an expert committee to verify the charges levelled against them. Public Prosecution, following an investigation, also found that the Endowments was not conducting a prior audit of suppliers and contractors to verify their financial and technical capabilities. This allowed unqualified institutions that had no previous experience to obtain contracts, said a statement. The Prosecution further found that the completion rates in the first and second projects didnt exceed 17%, for which the defendant showed spend BD63,000, instead of the required BD14,000. The Prosecution had found nine correspondents between the Endowments and the Contracting agency regarding termination of contracts and claims for owned amounts. However, the person concerned with verifying technical reports on projects, and requesting bids, agreed to pass the payments for the company Japanese conglomerate Hitachi has put together evacuation plans for roughly 7,200 employees in Ukraine, Nikkei has learned, as the Russian invasion sets off a scramble by companies to ensure the safety of their workers. Tech subsidiary GlobalLogic, which is headquartered in the U.S., has five locations in Ukraine that employ 7,200 engineers. Hitachi has made arrangements for those employees, mostly Ukrainian nationals, to be relocated to locations in Germany, Poland and other nearby countries. "We are taking necessary action because the safety of the employees and their families is the overriding priority," a Hitachi manager said Thursday. There are 57 Japanese companies operating in Ukraine as of January, according to business intelligence company Teikoku Databank. Automakers and other manufacturers make up about half the number at 28 companies. The Japanese government is preparing to fly charter planes to countries near Ukraine for Japanese citizens who have relocated via overland routes. Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates there were about 120 Japanese nationals in Ukraine on Saturday. The number is down from more than 250 in December. Major trading conglomerates have been relocating Japanese personnel away from Ukraine since late January. All employees at Itochu and Marubeni have been evacuated. Japan will impose additional sanctions targeting Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday, joining the United States and Europe in piling pressure on Moscow that defied international calls for diplomacy. Speaking at a press conference, Kishida said the new package of sanctions include export controls on semiconductors and other products, a freeze on assets held by Russian financial institutions, and a suspension of visa issuance for certain Russian individuals and entities. Kishida said the world's third-largest economy planned "asset freezes and the suspension of visa issuance for Russian individuals and organisations" as well as asset freezes "targeting Russian financial institutions". Kishida did not detail the scale of the sanctions or which individuals and institutions would be targeted. Semiconductors are essential components in products from cars to gaming consoles, and are in short supply worldwide. The United States has also announced export controls on sensitive components that US President Joe Biden said will "cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports". Japan is a key US ally and member of the Group of Seven, which held virtual talks overnight and agreed "to move forward on devastating packages of sanctions and other economic measures to hold Russia to account", Biden said. On Wednesday, Tokyo announced a ban on the issuing and trade of Russian government bonds in Japan after Moscow ordered troops into two separatist-controlled Ukrainian regions. Japan's finance minister says his government is ramping up its sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. He says it will freeze assets belonging to three Russian banks. Suzuki Shunichi told reporters on Friday that Japan will join the US and European countries in taking swift and strong measures against Russia in financial and export-control areas. Suzuki said the assets that will be frozen belong to the State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs and two other banks. The minister warned that the risk of cyberattacks will rise, an apparent reference to the threat of retaliation by Russia, and urged Japanese financial institutions to tighten their security. In an ever-changing consumer landscape, the annual Product of the Year Awards are a go-to resource for those looking to find the best new products on the market, whether they're shopping online or in-store. With a distinctive red seal that is globally recognized as the vote of confidence from consumers themselves, shoppers can easily cut through the clutter and trust that these products demonstrate the utmost innovation in their respective categories, whether in function, design, packaging or ingredients. "Given the continued flux and uncertainty over the past two years, we're prouder than ever to provide consumers with the vote of 4,000 fellow shoppers as a guide they can trust when making important purchase decisions for themselves and their families," said Mike Nolan, Global CEO of Product of the Year Management. "One of the great strengths of Product of the Year is that we champion manufacturers for putting forward products that reflect the latest trends and offer consumers the solutions they're looking for." For over 30 years globally and 13 years in Canada, Product of the Year has served as the stage for brands to showcase exceptional quality and innovation. As an annual benchmark that forecasts the trends in store for the year ahead, this year's winners reflect the things that everyday consumers value mostfrom personal care, household essentials to the latest food and beverage options and beyond. The 35 winners of the 2022 Product of the Year Canada Award include: Beauty | L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara L'Oreal Paris L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara B ed Frame | Podium GoodMorning.com Podium Bread & Bagel | Dempster's Signature Bagels Bimbo Canada Dempster's Signature Bagels Cheese | Boursin Minis Garlic & Fine Herbs Fromageries Bel Boursin Minis Garlic & Fine Herbs Coffee Maker | Hamilton Beach FlexBrew TRIO Coffee Maker Hamilton Beach Hamilton Beach FlexBrew TRIO Coffee Maker Cookware | T-Fal Platinum Hard Anodized Cookware Group SEB Canada T-Fal Platinum Hard Anodized Cookware Dairy-Free Cheese | Boursin Dairy Free Fromageries Bel Boursin Dairy Free Electric Toothbrush | Philips One by Sonicare Philips Canada Philips One by Sonicare Face Serum | Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hyaluronic Acid Serum Johnson & Johnson Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hyaluronic Acid Serum Frozen Food | Compliments Smoked Gouda Cheese Beef Burgers Stuffed Sobeys Inc. Compliments Smoked Gouda Cheese Beef Burgers Stuffed Functional Beverage | Oasis Health Break with collagen A. Lassonde Inc. Oasis Health Break with collagen Gluten-Free | Sol Cuisine Cauliflower Burger Sol Cuisine Sol Cuisine Cauliflower Burger G rocery Delivery Service | Voila by Sobeys Sobeys Inc. Voila by Sobeys Hair Care | Dove Hair Therapy Breakage Remedy Range Unilever Canada Dove Hair Therapy Breakage Remedy Range Healthy Snacks | Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP Salted Maple Flavoured Kettle Corn Conagra Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP Salted Maple Flavoured Kettle Corn Household Cleaning Product | Sunlight Rinse Aid Henkel Sunlight Rinse Aid Household Product | SpongeTowels UltraPRO Paper Towel Kruger Products L.P. SpongeTowels UltraPRO Paper Towel Mattress | Casper Wave Hybrid Snow Casper Casper Wave Hybrid Snow Mattress-in-a-box | Cocoon by Sealy Classic Mattress Sealy Canada ltd. Cocoon by Sealy Classic Mattress Organic Beverage | Blender Bites 1 Step Organic Smoothie Pucks Blender Bites Ltd. Blender Bites 1 Step Organic Smoothie Pucks Plant-based Chicken | Sol Cuisine Hot N' Spicy Chik'n Wings Sol Cuisine Sol Cuisine Hot N' Spicy Chik'n Wings Plant-based Foods | Dempster's Chickpea Tortillas Bimbo Canada Dempster's Chickpea Tortillas Ready-to-eat | Vector Maple Crunch Cereal Kellogg Canada Vector Maple Crunch Cereal Sauces | Heinz Crowdsauced The Kraft Heinz Company Heinz Crowdsauced Skin Care | Neutrogena Bright Boost Overnight Recovery Gel Cream Johnson & Johnson Neutrogena Bright Boost Overnight Recovery Gel Cream Small Appliances | T-fal Easy Fry Grill & Steam XXL Air Fryer Group SEB T-fal Easy Fry Grill & Steam XXL Air Fryer Snack Bars | Live Right Cran-Cherry Cashew Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bar Live Right Snacks Live Right Cran-Cherry Cashew Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bar Snacks - Cheese & Cheese Flavoured | Compliments Maple & Aged White Cheddar Popcorn Mix Sobeys Inc. Compliments Maple & Aged White Cheddar Popcorn Mix Snacks | Takis Dragon Sweet Chili Bimbo Canada Takis Dragon Sweet Chili Sofa-in-a-box | The Endy Sofa Endy The Endy Sofa Soups & Dressings | Campbell's Concentrated Broth Campbell Company of Canada Campbell's Concentrated Broth Spreads | The Laughing Cow Mix Chickpea with Herbs Bel Canada Group The Laughing Cow Mix Chickpea with Herbs Sustainable Product | Ziploc Recyclable Paper Bags SC Johnson Ziploc Recyclable Paper Bags Sweet Snacks | Sara Lee Little Bites Party Cake Mini Muffins Bimbo Canada Sara Lee Little Bites Party Cake Mini Muffins Vision Care | Hoya MiYOSMART Lens Hoya Vision Care Canada The 2022 Product of the Year Canada winners will be highlighted nationally in a segment of The Morning Show on Global, on March 3 at 9:00 a.m., hosted by Carolyn MacKenzie and Jeff McArthur. In addition, the 2022 winners will be featured in a video pre-roll to run on GlobalTV app and ConnectedTV, across targeted content from some of Corus premium brands, such as Global Television, W Network, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, and Slice. Winning products will also receive coverage from EnsembleIQ, a premier business intelligence resource with revered publications, including Canadian Grocer and Convenience Store News Canada. For additional information about the 2022 Product of the Year Canada winners, visit productoftheyear.ca and follow along on social media with #POYCanada2022 on Instagram , Facebook , LinkedIn and Twitter . About Product of the Year: Product of the Year is the largest consumer-voted award for product innovation. Established over 30 years ago, POY currently operates in over 40 countries with the same purpose: guide consumers to the best products in their market and reward manufacturers for quality and innovation. Product of the Year winners are backed by the votes of 4,000 consumers in a national representative study conducted by research partner Kantar, a global leader in consumer research. The award is a powerful merchandising program for marketers proven to increase product sales, distribution, and awareness. Winning products announced in February of each year are included in Product of the Year's national marketing program and receive the right to use the Product of the Year honor and logo in their own marketing and sales communications for two years. For more information, visit productoftheyear.ca . About Kantar: Kantar is the world's leading marketing data, insight, and consultancy company. We know more about how people live, feel, shop, vote, watch and post worldwide than any other company. Working across the entire sales and marketing lifecycle, we help brands uncover growth in an extraordinary world. Kantar is part of WPP and its services are employed by over half of the Fortune 500 companies in 100 countries. SOURCE Product of the Year Canada For further information: Andrea Phills, Account Manager, Product of the Year Canada, [email protected] Research continues to show that BIPOC youth face unique challenges and inequities when preparing for their future. Earlier York University research showed that 20 per cent of Black students dropped out of Canadian high schools double the rate of White or other racialized students. For many, it is difficult to commit to learning when there is no pathway to prosperity ahead. Informed by the insights and lived experiences of academic, business, and non-profit leaders from the communities that it serves, this scholarship is awarded to youth who identify as Black (15-29) who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees entering grade 11 or 12 or who are enrolled in post-secondary education for the 2022-2023 academic year. This scholarship is valued at up to $10,000 per year, for up to four years and must be allocated to fund tuition and other academic/life expenses. "After being in the transportation industry for seven years and losing my job during the pandemic, I realized that I needed to pursue my dreams of becoming a nurse," said Jenell Parkes, 2022 RBC Future Launch Black Youth Scholarship recipient. "The pandemic allowed me to understand that I am ready, capable, and deserving of this opportunity. Now more than ever the demand for nurses is tremendously high which gave me even more of a push to follow my dreams. This scholarship will enable me to achieve those dreams." Jenell Parkes and Jemima Okanlawon, both 2022 Scholarship recipients share their personal journeys and plans for the future. Read their stories here on RBC Stories. "We were truly inspired by the exceptional candidates who shared with us their unique stories and their incredible ambitions to make an impact in their communities," said Mark Beckles, Vice-President, Social Impact & Innovation at RBC. "Thanks to our strong community partnerships across the country, we worked together to identify 20 inspiring individuals and provide them with resources and support to help them pursue their chosen career path." Through an advisory committee of Black academics and youth-serving leaders, this scholarship was created by the community, for the community ensuring it will meet the needs of the young people it is meant to support. Eligible students were nominated by one of 12 participating community partner organizations. Nominated students were evaluated by a selection committee comprised of Black leaders from academic, business, and non-profit backgrounds. Students awarded the scholarship funding will also receive access to additional resources in the form of mentorship, academic and career planning, tutoring, and internship/networking opportunities. "Access to meaningful educational opportunities requires time, resources and support. At Visions of Science, we believe that the youth that we engage are STEM leaders and will undoubtedly blaze new trails in their respective fields," said Eugenia Duodu Addy, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Visions of Science. "We are grateful to be a community partner with the RBC Black Youth Scholarship to ensure that youth have access to continue on their path unhindered, and to continue to receive support every step of the way. These young people are role models for their communities and a representation of the future that is possible we love to see it and couldn't be more proud!" "Funding and advocacy through support programs like the RBC Black Youth Scholarship awards will establish a sustainable framework for Black youth to pursue higher education and skills training, ensuring their long-term upward mobility in our communities," said Andre McDonald, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta a member of the advisory committee which helped to design the scholarship. The Black Youth scholarship is made possible through donations from the RBC Foundation in support of RBC Future Launch a 10-year, $500 million commitment to empower Canadian youth for the jobs of tomorrow. With a focus on networking, skills development, practical work experience and mental wellbeing supports and services, the initiative aims to help break down the barriers facing young people. In 2020, as part of its Action Plan Against Systemic Racism, RBC committed to providing $50 million in focused funding through RBC Future Launch to create meaningful and transformative pathways to prosperity for up to 25,000 BIPOC youth by 2025, with investments in areas such as skills development and mentoring. RBC also allocated 40% of summer opportunities to BIPOC youth, with a focus on recruiting from Indigenous and Black communities. Universities Canada, a national leader in scholarship management for more than 50 years, administers this program and works in partnership with selection committees to award the scholarships. Eligible youth must be nominated by a participating community partner for this scholarship. To view the complete list of scholarship recipients, learn more or view full eligibility requirements, visit: rbc.com/futurelaunchscholarships. About RBC Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 88,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank, and one of the largest in the world based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com . We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact . SOURCE RBC For further information: For media inquiries, please contact: Elynn Wareham, [email protected], Corporate Communications, RBC With a kick of heat and crispy breading, Sol Cuisine's Hot & Spicy Chik'n Wings rival the taste and texture of traditional chicken wings even taking inspiration from the 'drums and flats' shapes for those looking for a plant-based, hot wing experience. Perfect for sharing with vegans, vegetarians and plant-curious eaters, the Hot & Spicy Chik'n Wings are 100% vegan, kosher, and made with non-GMO ingredients. Cauliflower Burgers: Product of the Year in the Gluten-Free category Meatless and delicious, Sol Cuisine's Cauliflower Burgers are the latest addition to Sol Cuisine's market-leading line of plant-based burgers. Carefully crafted with flavourful ingredients cauliflower, sweet potato and chickpeas these burgers pack a nutritional punch. Each of Sol Cuisine's burgers are all vegan, gluten free and non-gmo verified. "Our vision for Sol Cuisine is the same as it was when I founded the company in 1980: be the leading provider of plant-based foods by winning in taste, convenience and variety," said Dror Balshine, president and founder of Sol Cuisine. "We are delighted to be among the winners of the 2022 Product of the Year Canada, and hope this 'seal of approval' from Canadians coast-to-coast will encourage those interested in trying plant-based for the first time." Sol Cuisine's thoughtfully curated portfolio of over 30 products includes burgers, appetizers and entrees for plant-based eaters and meat lovers alike. Building off the overwhelming success of the Hot & Spicy Chik'n Wings, recent additions to the Sol Cuisine line include Cauliflower Wings in Sweet Chili and Buffalo -Style flavours. Canadians can find the award-winning products and more at major grocery retailers and natural food stores across the country. About Sol Cuisine Sol Cuisine is a fast-growing producer of branded and private label, consumer-preferred plant-based protein offerings across key center-of-plate and appetizer categories. The Company's products are offered through an established omni-channel distribution platform in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, and are available in over 11,000 stores and more than 41,000 unique points of distribution across four primary channels: Canada Retail Sales & Club; U.S. Retail Sales & Club; Food Service & Industrial; and Private Label. Over a history of 20+ years, Sol Cuisine has consistently demonstrated an ability to innovate and delight consumers in Canada and the U.S., while remaining true to its commitment to producing great tasting, nutritionally superior products. This commitment has resulted in several Canadian product wins, including the #1 frozen plant-based burger in Canada, the #1 consumer-preferred chicken alternative and the #1 quality roast product as determined by Whole Foods Market. The Company's taste and nutritional superiority has also resulted in private label contracts with some of the most recognized natural brands in North America. These products are all produced at Sol Cuisine's two state of the art facilities, totaling 35,000 square foot facility in Mississauga, Ontario, capable of supporting up to 10 million kilograms of volume per annum. For more details on Sol Cuisine's consumer brands: Website: www.solcuisine.com Instagram: @solcuisine Facebook: @solcuisine Twitter: @solcuisine LinkedIn: @solcuisine About Product of the Year Product of the Year is the world's largest consumer-voted award for product innovation. Established over 31 years ago in France, POY currently operates in over 40 countries with the same purpose: Guide consumers to the best products in their market and reward manufacturers for quality and innovation. In Canada, the Product of the Year seal is backed by votes of thousands of Canadian consumers, serving as a shortcut for shoppers to save time and money. For entrants of the winning products, the award is a powerful marketing message proven to increase product awareness, trial and quality. Product of the Year Canada accepts entries from consumer products that demonstrate innovation in design, function, packaging or ingredients, and were launched within the previous year (January 2020). A jury compromised of industry experts select the finalists that meet the Product of the Year standards of value and innovation. Those selected finalists are then categorized and judged through an online survey of Canadian consumers, conducted by Kantar on behalf of Ensemble IQ. Consumers vote and the distinct internationally renowned red seal. Winning products are announced annually and receive the right to use the Product of the Year Canada seal in their marketing and communications for two years. For more information, visit productoftheyear.ca . SOURCE Sol Cuisine Ltd. For further information: Erin Cochrane, Edelman, [email protected] The cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation, according to sources cited by ANI. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. Amid ongoing Russias military operations against Ukraine, the Government of India will arrange evacuation flights for Indian nationals in Ukraine, said sources on Friday. The sources further said that the cost will be completely borne by the government for this evacuation. Two flights for Bucharest today and one flight for Budapest for tomorrow are being planned to be operated as GOI chartered flights, said Government sources cited by ANI. With Ukraine closing its airspace after Russia launched a military operation against it, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has sent teams to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. Earlier, on Thursday, an Air India flight that took off from Delhi to bring back Indian citizens from Ukraine returned midway after Russia launched its air assault resulting in the closure of Ukrainian airspace. A number of explosions were heard in the capital city of Ukraine as the Russian special military operation entered the second day, local media reported on Friday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the new EU sanctions against Russia will hit 70% of the Russian banking sector, key state-run corporations and deprive Russia of access to modern technologies. President of the European Council Charles Michel on Friday said that the European Union has made a political decision to impose additional sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine. We took a political decision to add an additional package of mass sanction which will be painful for the Russian regime, Michel said after the extraordinary EU Summit. We also discussed support for the Ukrainian people and state to mobilize financing capacity and humanitarian support, he added. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the new EU sanctions against Russia will hit 70 percent of the Russian banking sector, key state-run corporations and deprive Russia of access to modern technologies. First, this package includes financial sanctions that cut Russias access to the most important capital markets. We are now targeting 70% of the Russian banking market. But also, key state-owned companies including in field of defense, von der Leyen said after the extraordinary EU Summit. The European Council has agreed on further restrictive measures that will impose massive and severe consequences on Russia for its action in Ukraine. These sanctions cover the financial sector, the energy and transport sectors, dual-use goods as well as export control and export financing, visa policy, additional listings of Russian individuals and new listing criteria, the European Council statement read. Amid Russias ongoing military operation in Ukraine, a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on a resolution has been listed on a UN schedule for Friday. However, the proposal could be vetoed by Moscow, CNN reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraines breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations to protect the people in the Donbas region. Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russias military operations in the Donbas region. World Bank President David Malpass met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich on Saturday where he reaffirmed the World Bank Group's "strong support and commitment" to the people of Ukraine and the region. The World Bank, in its statement on Thursday, said that it is ready to provide immediate financial support to Ukraine amid the present political and military crisis. We stand ready to provide immediate support to Ukraine and are preparing options for such support, including fast-disbursing financing. Alongside development partners, the World Bank Group will use all our financing and technical support tools for rapid response, as per the statement. David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, in the Thursday statement, said, The World Bank Group is horrified by the shocking violence and loss of life as a result of the events unfolding in Ukraine. We are a long-standing partner of Ukraine and stand with its people at this critical moment. According to the World Bank statement, The devastating developments in Ukraine will have far-reaching economic and social impacts, it added, We are coordinating closely with the IMF to assess these costs. Malpass discussed the situation with the Board of Directors and said that they have mobilized their Global Crisis Risk Platform to accelerate coordination across the World Bank Group. Malpass met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich on Saturday where he reaffirmed the World Bank Groups strong support and commitment to the people of Ukraine and the region. The World Bank Group is also in active dialogue to support neighbouring countries and people that may be affected by this conflict and will make additional resources available, said Malpass in the statement HAMDEN With local COVID-19 case rates on the decline, Mayor Lauren Garrett has rescinded an indoor mask mandate that took effect in December. The decision does not affect town buildings or Hamden Public Schools. The latter are still operating under a statewide universal mask mandate. Though that mandate expires Feb. 28, the town Board of Education is expected to decide Monday whether to implement a local requirement. Garrett based her decision to lift the mask mandate on local case rates, she said. Several weeks ago I reached out to (the Quinnipiack Valley Health District) when I started to see the cases come down and wanted some kind of guidance on how and when we would end our mask mandate, she said. I really wanted to rely on public health officials and data rather than just picking a date on the calendar. QVHD uses metrics posted every Thursday to the state website, according to Garrett. Those metrics show case rates by Connecticut municipality. Garrett had planned to lift the mandate when Hamden turned orange on that map, meaning it had fewer than 15 cases per 100,000 residents in a two-week period, she said. That happened Thursday. when Garretts office issued a release indicated it was rescinding the mask mandate. Hamden had 12.7 cases per 100,000 residents between Feb. 6 and Feb. 19, the state website showed Friday. Masks still must be worn in town buildings, according to the order, which does not preclude businesses from setting their own requirements. Buildings under the jurisdiction and control of the Board of Education still must abide by Lamonts mandate and/or any other order, rule, regulation or policy promulgated by the State of Connecticut, Connecticut State Department of Education, Connecticut Department of Health or Hamden Board of Education, the order says. meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com As thousands of Ukrainians flee their homes for safety amid Russias invasion this week, there are ways Connecticut residents can help. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine Thursday, sending troops and war planes into cities and military bases, the Associated Press reported. As of Friday, Russian troopers descended upon Kyiv, Ukraines capital, according to the Associated Press. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 137 people, including 10 military officers, were killed and 316 people were wounded in the attack, according to the Associated Press Thursday evening. The United Nations reported on Friday that 25 civilian deaths and 102 injured, mostly from shelling and airstrikes. About 100,000 people are believed to have lost their homes in the violence. Now, more than ever, we need concrete support, Zelensky tweeted Thursday. Connecticuts congressional delegation condemned the Russian attacks and supported sanctions imposed by President Joe Biden and other countries. Heres how Connecticut can help: Americares Stamford-based Americares, a nonprofit that provides medicine and medical supplies during conflicts and other emergencies, said it is prepared to respond to the conflict in Ukraine. Americares has contacted international emergency response partners on the ground in Ukraine and in Eastern Europe to offer assistance, the organization said on its website. Americares is prepared to deliver medicine, medical supplies and emergency funding to help families access essential health care services. To donate, go to the organizations website. Art for Ukraine Ukrainian-American artist and gallery owner Oksana Tanasiv will host a benefit for Ukraine at the Oksana Tanasiv Gallery in Norwalk on March 12. A number of local artists will participate by hanging up their artwork for sale that evening. All of the funds raised from the sale of artwork will go to Ukrainian medical centers, [the] Ukrainian Army, refugee camps and other people in need. The International Committee of the Red Cross The ICRC says it will use funds to respond to urgent, humanitarian needs. ICRC water engineers and doctors are aiming to help more than 3 million people access clean water as well as improve the living conditions of 66,000 people whose homes were damaged from the conflict. Peter Maurer, the president of the ICRC, is calling for officials to uphold International Humanitarian Law and protect civilians and essential services. To donate, go to ICRC.org/EN/Donate/Ukraine. The International Rescue Committee The IRC says it is on the ground in Poland and preparing to help displaced families. Funds will help the organization provide food, medical care and emergency supplies to refugee families in countries like Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen. To donate, go to Rescue.org or call 855-9RESCUE (855-973-7283). Come Back Alive Foundation The Kyiv Independent, Ukrains English-language media outlet, recommends foreigners donate to Come Back Alive. The Kyiv-based charity provides Ukraines military with auxiliary equipment, specialized software, drones, personal body protection, training and other supplies. People wishing to donate can go to SaveLife.In.ua/EN/Donate. There are several ways to donate on the website, either by clicking on the Fondy.eu link, or using Bitcoin. Knights of Columbus The New Haven-based organization announced that it is committing $1 million in aid for Ukrainian refugees, including aid for Ukrainian Knights and their families impacted by the recent Russian invasion. The Knights of Columbus has also established a Ukraine Solidarity Fund, an international fundraising campaign for which the organization will match all funds raised, up to an additional $500,000. To donate, visit kofc.org/secure/en/donate/ukraine. Razom Razom is a Ukrainian support group that has been air-lifting medicine and supplies from nearby New Jersey to Poland, to then be delivered to Ukraine. Olga Litvinenko, a former Miss Connecticut representative who recently helped her mother get out of the Ukraine, told Hearst Connecticut that she would be assisting in Razoms relief effort. To donate, visit razomforukraine.org/donate/. Save the Children Save the Children is currently seeking donations for the organizations efforts in aiding the people of Ukraine. According to Janti Soeripto, the president and CEO of Save the Children, the organization has been moving around funding and supplies for months to ensure that they would be ready to help Ukraine. Save the Children is looking to raise $90 million to reach 3.5 million children and their families. To donate, visit savethechildren.org. Stay Strong Ukraine Started in New Milford by a Ukrainian immigrant, Stay Strong Ukraine works with a number of organizations, including the Ukrainian Red Cross, in order to provide supplies and other medical necessities to the people of Ukraine. To donate, visit staystrong-ukraine.com, or visit the organizations Amazon wishlist. Ukraine Jewish Relief Fund Chabad-Lubavitch of the Shoreline has established the Ukraine Jewish Relief Fund, a fund that will support the 350,000 Jewish men, women and children that are residing in Ukraine. Wherever they are, and whatever the needs, Chabad-Lubavitch is there for them, wrote Rabbi Yossi Yaffee, to Hearst Connecticut. Even as bombs drop and the war unfolds, the nearly 200 Chabad-Lubavitch emissary families in 35 cities throughout the length and breadth of Ukraine remain with their people, providing much-needed material aid, encouragement, and spiritual strength and support. To donate, visit jewishshoreline.org/special/campaigns/ukraine/donate.htm. UNICEF The United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund, or UNICEF, is ramping up its programs to help children in Ukraine. This includes helping provide safe water, healthcare, education and protection. To donate, visit UNICEF.org. Unitarian Universalist Association Local congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association are hosting fundraisers to support the Hungarian Unitarian Church. In addition, the church is asking for congregations to further support the UUSC Emergency Relief Fund for Ukraine Response and the International Womens Convocations Faithify Campaign. To donate, visit uua.org. Voices of Children This foundation provides psychological support to children affected by the war. This includes art therapy, mobile psychologists and other support. To donate, visit Voices.org.ua/EN/Donat. Vostok-SOS Vostok is a non-governmental organization that helps find shelter for people who are displaced as well as helps people evacuate from conflict zones. The organization also provides humanitarian aid and psychological support. To donate, visit Vostok-SOS.org/EN. Support Ukrainian Journalism Various entities set up a GoFundMe campaign to support Ukrainian media, including Ukrainska Pravada, Ukrainer, Liga.net, the Kyiv Independent and other outlets. The funds will go toward supporting media in Ukraine, including purchasing security equipment, paying drivers and providing medical care. The campaign is run by The Fix, Are We Europe, Jnomics, the Media Development Foundation and other media across outlets Europe. To donate to the campaign, or view other support options, visit GoFundMe.com/F/Keep-Ukraines-Media-Going. Dr. Manisha Juthani, an infectious disease expert from Yale who has been acting state health commissioner since Gov. Ned Lamont nominated her last summer to head the state Department of Public Health, was confirmed for the position Thursday by a key legislative committee. The lone opponent to her nomination before the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee was state Rep. Jason Perillo, R-Shelton, who during an extended question session with Juthani, said that Connecticut was slow to act on the coronaviruss 2020 infections of nursing home residents and questioned the efficacy of mask wearing in elementary schools. Juthanis nomination, approved by the committee 7-1, heads to the state House of Representatives for a final vote. She told lawmakers that during her time as acting commissioner, she has been impressed by the dedication of state employees in battling the COVID pandemic within the framework of state laws and public health regulations. Perillo recalled that the states early response to the outbreaks in nursing homes was not adequate and that the DPH eventually issued controversial guidance to hospitals to release recovering COVID patients back to nursing homes. What we asked both nursing homes and hospitals to tell us, is that if you are seeing difficulty in doing this, do let us know, Juthani replied. What we were hearing from the industry was very mixed. Two hundred and four out of 205 were already doing it, at any given point in time. Anybody could say no to taking a patient. Perillo said it was clear that there were missteps in handling the nursing home outbreaks in 2020. Juthani said that PPE - personal protective equipment - was in short supply early on, while in the months since, there have been increased nursing home inspections, stepped-up infection controls, and better understanding of viruses. We were all learning in real time, Juthani said. Now, as a state, we have a huge (PPE) stockpile that we manage at DPH. Its going to be rotated to make sure that if something expires, you know, send it out, let it go to people who can use it, quickly, and refill. We hadnt seen something like this in 100 years and we were caught off guard. Juthani, whose grandmother died in a nursing home in the early months of the pandemic, called the difference in nursing homes over the last two years a success story. I would agree that nursing homes are better today than then, but there was no where to go but up, said Perillo, a medical services administrator. A lot could have been done better, but weve learned from that, Juthani said. Other families wont have to go through what families like mine did. Perillo asked what kind of mental health considerations the state pondered before the mask mandates for schools were issued. I heard a lot of concern from - I am sure we all did - from parents and from teachers, that they felt that the masks were really, and are, really inhibiting students ability to learn effectively, especially in the elementary grades. I think it is unclear how much the actual mask has resulted in what we are seeing in terms of behavioral health for adolescents and children, Juthani said.There are intense impacts that this pandemic has had on the social and emotional well being of our young people in our state. And the masks could be a component of that. I dont anticipate that when the masks go away, our behavioral health problems are going to go away. She praised Lamont for working with health professionals and recalled opposing his 2020 plans to reopen restaurants. Despite my efforts, the governor chose to keep restaurants open, Juthani said. He chose to have me come on a press conference and express my opinion and I think we have had a very healthy working relationship, she said. I feel very fortunate to work with somebody who brings differing opinions to the table and listens to them and then makes the best decision he thinks necessary for the state. What a credit to him, to bring somebody who he met because of a disagreement, into this role. She was asked what the state should anticipate in the future. This virus will transition to being more of a seasonal virus that we see when we see other respiratory viruses, said Juthani, a resident of Fairfield. Having said that, now between the omicron variant, vaccination and boosters, there are very few people left who havent had some kind of exposure to this virus or vaccine, and because of that I am hopeful that we will have a period of reprieve. She said that now, the state should be planning for a fall increase in COVID cases, again. What the impact of those variants might be here, remains to be seen, she said. Members of the committee, led by Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, co-chairman of the committee, applauded the job Juthani has been doing. Juthani praised Gov. Lamont for working with health professionals, and recalled opposing his mid-2020 plans to reopen restaurants. Despite my efforts, the governor chose to keep restaurants open, Juthani said. He chose to have me come on a press conference and express my opinion and I think we have had a very healthy working relationship, she said. I feel very fortunate to work with somebody who brings differing opinions to the table and listens to them and then makes the best decision he thinks necessary for the state. What a credit to him, to bring somebody who he met because of a disagreement, into this role. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT NEW HAVEN Two inmates at the New Haven Correctional Center died of suspected fentanyl overdoses Thursday, according to the state Department of Correction. A correctional officer was conducting a routine tour Thursday when they saw two individuals unresponsive in the same cell. Correctional and medical staff started performing life-saving measures, including administering CPR and Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal drug, the DOC said. Personnel contacted 911 and one person was taken to the Hospital of St. Raphael, where he was pronounced dead. The responding emergency medical technician pronounced the second individual dead at the correctional facility, the DOC said. The Department of Correction is not releasing the individuals identities as they are waiting to notify their families. The exact manner and cause of death will be determined by the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the DOC said. The DOC said one correctional officer also exhibited symptoms of fentanyl exposure. The officer was given Narcan as well, and he is recovering at the hospital. When asked how fentanyl got into the prison, the Department of Corrections said its Security Division, the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime and the Inspector Generals Office are investigating the incident. While we may not be able to give you all the answers right now, we are working around the clock to determine the facts of this incident, the state agency said in an email statement Thursday evening. Just about a year ago I wrote a Faith Matters column urging people of faith in Connecticut to support The PROTECT (Promoting Responsible Oversight, Treatment, and Effective Correctional Transparency) Act, then known as Senate Bill 1059, to limit the harms of prolonged isolation, aka solitary confinement, in Connecticut prisons. Both chambers of the General Assembly passed the bill with bipartisan support. It was on its way to becoming law. Its remaining hurdle? The governors signature. But Gov. Lamont chose to veto the bill. With his veto, he stood in the way of enacting into law legislation designed to protect the well-being and humanity of all in Connecticuts prisons, of correctional staff as well as of those incarcerated. He stood against a movement, trending in more and more states across the country (including neighboring New York and New Jersey), to eschew the brutalizing practice of caging people in a cell the size of a parking space for as long as 22 hours a day. Angel Quiros, commissioner of the state Department of Correction, recently claimed, There is no solitary confinement in the Connecticut Department of Corrections. He asserted that holding people for only 22 hours (reduced from the previous practice of 23 hours) constitutes a huge change. Hardly a change, and by no stretch of the imagination huge. The reality throughout Connecticut prisons is that many individuals continue to be held in isolation for up to 22 hours per day, deprived of sensory stimulation and meaningful human contact. Quakers introduced the practice of solitary confinement into the United States with the 1829 opening of the Eastern Pennsylvania State Penitentiary, the first prison in the U.S. constructed entirely for the purposes of solitary. The Quakers belief? Solitude would offer those incarcerated the time, space and incentive to repent of their ways, to become genuinely penitent, hence the term penitentiary. Quickly, however, the Quakers recognized the suffering and harms, spiritual, emotional, psychological and physical, of such isolation and were appalled. They repented the errors of their ways. They denounced the practice and called for it to be ended. But over the ensuing nearly two centuries, the use of solitary has, instead, become endemic in U.S. state and federal prisons, including Connecticuts. With this years legislative session, however, Connecticut has a second chance. A new version of the PROTECT Act has been raised. It will likely be a Senate bill but as of this writing had not yet been assigned a number. Once again Connecticut has the opportunity to enact into law limits on the practice which a recent Washington Post editorial described as a sanitized form of torture. Once again, I am using a Faith Matters column to raise this critical issue and urge advocacy for the legislation. Why? As people of faith, we should be as appalled as were the Quakers by the harms that prolonged isolation causes, degrading and brutalizing the image of God in all who are subjected to such inhumane treatment. This bedrock of our faith traditions that all persons are created in the image of God confers inherent dignity, worth and sacredness on all. No one is beyond the reach of Gods embracing love or redemption. No exceptions. None. Scripture exhorts us to remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured (Hebrews 13:3). What does it mean for us to remember? For me, remember means recognizing that we share humanity with those incarcerated; it means refusing to regard or dismiss them as other. It means identifying and empathizing as if those incarcerated were flesh of our flesh, for in a real way they are. Remember means acting on our faith: standing against human rights abuse in our state prisons and advocating for humane alternatives, standards of care and treatment that will lead to genuine correction and rehabilitation. So again this year, I appeal to all readers of this column to engage in advocacy. Contact your legislators and urge their support for the PROTECT Act. Let your legislators know that for you this is a matter of faith as well as justice. This is about the humanity and well-being of those incarcerated. It is about the humanity and well-being of correctional staff. And it is also about the humanity of us all. When our state, in our name and with our tax dollars, is subjecting people to a form of torture, we are all complicit. As a matter of faith, let us speak up and, like the Quakers before us, call for an end to prolonged isolation. Our humanity depends on this. The Rev. Allie Perry is the worship coordinator of Shalom UCC, New Haven, and on the steering committee of Stop Solitary CT. Her email address is allie.perry@gmail.com. Niagara Falls, NY (14301) Today Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly in the morning. High 58F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Generally clear skies. Low 39F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. LOCKPORT A California man, accused of shipping guns and drugs to a Niagara Falls AirBnB, has taken a plea deal from Niagara County prosecutors. Brock Goines, 34, from Cucamonga, California, pleaded guilty to charges of attempted second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He had originally been charged with just second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Goines, who has a prior felony conviction in his home state, faces up to 10 years behind bars when he is sentenced by Niagara County Court Judge Caroline Wojtaszek. A co-defendant in the case, Haleigh Felton, 26, from Inglewood, California, had charges against her dropped as part of the plea deal. Goines and Felton had rented a 25th Street AirBnB in February. But prior to their arrival, the short-term rental operator intercepted a package sent to the property by the couple. The operator called Falls police and Narcotics Intelligence Division detectives along with agents from the FBIs Safe Streets Task Force and the U.S. Marshals executed a search warrant on the package. They recovered two loaded Ruger LCP .380-caliber pistols, a quantity of suspected marijuana and more than 500 narcotic pain pills. Neither police nor prosecutors have indicated what they believe led Goines to bring drugs and guns to the Falls. From left, Mike Shanley and dog Ruby of Dog Tags New York stands with Mayor Michelle Roman, Gordy Bellinger of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 268, Phil Kauppinen of Grand New Flag and Karl Hinterberger and Gunner of Dog Tags New York. Kauppinen donated $2,600 to Dog Tags, representing 5% of his net profit for 2021. (Photo by Benjamin Joe) Operatives of the Delta State Police Command have rescued unhurt a 37-year-old kidnap victim (name withheld) of Egbo-Urhie community in Ug... Operatives of the Delta State Police Command have rescued unhurt a 37-year-old kidnap victim (name withheld) of Egbo-Urhie community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state. It was gathered that this followed a distress call on the night of February 21, 2022, from an unidentified person from Otu-Jeremi community in Ughelli South LGA, that some hoodlums had stormed the community and kidnapped a young man along with his Toyota Corolla car. Consequently, the Divisional Police Officer, Otu-Jeremi Division swiftly detailed patrol teams who went on their trail. However, before their arrival, some policemen attached to Counter Terrorism Unit, Base 5, Warri, who were escorting their principal, coincidentally ran into the hoodlums and trailed them to Ekrokpe community. Our correspondent gathered that the hoodlums upon sighting the police, shot at them and the security team retaliated while the vehicle of the suspected kidnappers was successfully demobilised by the team. Also, one of the suspects, Onwuka Kelly, aged 23 years was arrested and the victim (name withheld) age 37yrs of Egbo-Urhie Community of Ughelli South LGA was rescued unhurt. Exhibits recovered by the police from the suspect included one cut-to-size double barrel gun, one cut-to-size single barrel gun and one live cartridge. The Police Public Relations Officer for the State Command, DSP Bright Edafe, while confirming the incident told journalists that an investigation was ongoing regarding the incident. In another development, on February 22, at about 10.30 hours, the police received information from a tricycle (Keke) rider that two young men flagged him down at PTI junction, Effurun and hired him to convey them to Agbarho. The tricycle rider further disclosed that on getting to Agbarho bridge along Ughelli-Portharcourt Expressway, one of the passengers hit him on the head, forced him out of the tricycle and robbed him of his tricycle. The DPO Agbarho Division detailed operatives to investigate the matter with a view to arresting the suspects and recovering the tricycle. Consequently, on the following day at about 1200hrs, upon an intelligence-led investigation, the hoodlums were trailed to their hideout in Eghwarha road Agbarho, where two suspects namely Goodluck Ahirima (24) and Charles Oyibocha (24), were arrested and the snatched tricycle recovered. The PPRO similarly confirmed the incident noting that investigation was ongoing. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will hold a meeting on Saturday over the implementation of the electoral bill... The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will hold a meeting on Saturday over the implementation of the electoral bill 2022. On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari finally signed the electoral act amendment bill into law. Buhari had initially rejected the bill after the national assembly made direct primary compulsory for political parties in the country. The president said the provision violates the spirit of democracy. Consequently, the senate and House of Representatives reworked the bill to provide for indirect and direct primary, as well as consensus candidates. In a statement issued by Festus Okoye, national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education committee, INEC said the signing of the bill is historic. It contains many progressive provisions that will facilitate the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria, the statement reads. The nation now has the Electoral Act 2022 which replaces the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). Together with the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the new Act constitutes the principal law to govern the conduct of future elections, including the 2023 General Election. INEC said given the tight timelines contained in the new law, it fully appreciates the importance of proceeding with their implementation in earnest. Consequently, an extraordinary meeting of the Commission is scheduled for tomorrow Saturday 26th February 2022. Thereafter, a statement will be issued on the way forward, the statement reads. In the newly signed electoral bill, parties are now at liberty to use indirect, direct primary, as well as the consensus option to elect their candidates for any election that will be organised by INEC. Electronic transmission of election results is also part of the new provisions in the bill. Lucky Irabor, chief of defence staff, says the personnel of the Nigerian armed forces are not contemplating undertaking a coup. Irab... Lucky Irabor, chief of defence staff, says the personnel of the Nigerian armed forces are not contemplating undertaking a coup. Irabor spoke on Friday at a virtual media chat tagged Open Ears Dialogue. He said the armed forces will continue to educate its personnel that coups do more harm than good. The armed forces of Nigeria have nothing whatsoever to do with anything that has to do with coup. We have learned our lessons over the years and we have come to our conclusion that coups will do us more harm than good, he said. And so this is what the leadership of the armed forces is passing down the chain, and educating everyone under our command that there is no reason whatsoever for anyone to contemplate that. He asked politicians to desist from luring armed forces members into political matters, saying the military should be insulated from any political persuasions or inclinations. And in the same vein, the leadership of the armed forces is also telling politicians to leave us alone, do not mix us up with issues that have to do with politics and do not use political inclinations and persuasions to want to lure anybody from the armed forces into the idea of having to undertake coups and all, he said. We will not. Thats the reason why perhaps the discussions you may have been having in the media, we have been insulated from such discussions because they already know our viewpoint in this regard. Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has promised repentant Boko Haram members that the Federal Government would support them with a legitimate m... Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has promised repentant Boko Haram members that the Federal Government would support them with a legitimate means of income. Osinbajo said the legitimate means of income would help them start a new life. He spoke at the Hajj Camp in Maiduguri, on Thursday, during his working visit to the State to launch the MSME Clinic and inaugurate various projects executed by the Borno State government. Osinbajo also promised the repentant insurgents that government would provide them a place to stay, work, and carry out their legitimate business. He assured them that the Federal Government would take care of them in the best way possible. According to Osinbajo: I am the chairman of the Presidential Committee and His Excellency Governor Zulum is the vice-chairman of the committee. We will be working with you and the state government and other donor agencies and friends to ensure that we are able to provide you with a means of not just income but a place where you can settle down with your families and do your own work and do your own business. But you must work patiently with us. We will make sure that we take care of you the best way we can by Gods grace. Former Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko has vowed that Russia will never capture Ukraine. The ex-President, who was armed and s... Former Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko has vowed that Russia will never capture Ukraine. The ex-President, who was armed and surrounded by defence forces spoke with CNN on Friday from the streets of Kyiv. According to him, the people of Ukraine are ready to defend their country. Everybody should understand, [Russian President] Putin declared war, not for Ukraine. Putin declared a war on the whole world, he said. He called the Russian president simply mad. Hes just simply crazy, he said, adding that it is just simply evil for the Russian leader to come here to kill Ukrainian[s]. While also thanking the U.S and U.K for providing Ukraine with defence weapons, the ex-President vowed that No matter how many soldiers he kills, how many missiles he has, how many nuclear weapons he has, we Ukrainian[s] are free people with a great European future. He called for more help from world powers, saying that his country needs assistance, which could come in form of sanctioning Russia, kicking them out of SWIFT, and blocking their planes and ships in European and NATO ports. He further confirmed to CNN that the battalion is about two to three kilometres (about 1.5 miles) from the fighting between Russia and his countrys soldiers. Watertown, NY (13601) Today Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 56F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 39F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Looking for a book club to join but short on time for reading? Try the New Orleans Library's monthly What If? Short Story Book Club. The club reads and discusses speculative fiction, meeting on Zoom at 11:30 a.m. March 5, and on the first Saturday of every month. Two stories will be discussed, both falling into the speculative fiction umbrella, which includes genres like fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history, and/or weird fiction. In March, the group will focus on The Best We Can by Carrie Vaughn, and Between the Dark and the Dark by Deji Bryce Olukotun. Both stories are available for free either in the librarys catalog or in online literary magazines. Find a copy at catalog.nolalibrary.org, or email maddison@nolalibrary.org for additional help. Visit nolalibrary.org/events to register. This book club is sponsored by the Friends of the New Orleans Public Library. TEEN ADVISERS: Teens can share their thoughts about how the Orleans Parish Library can better serve their needs through products, programming, services and more at the monthly Teen Advisory Board meeting March 2. The hourlong meeting kicks off at 4:30 p.m. on Zoom. The Teen Advisory Board is open to students in grades 6-12 and is always accepting new members. To join, fill out an application at nolalibrary.org/teens. For more information, contact Caitlin Young at cmyoung@nolalibrary.org or (504) 596-3101. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the New Orleans Public Library. TAX HELP: The New Orleans Public Library is partnering with AARP Foundation Tax-Aide to provide in-person tax preparation assistance. This free service is available to all but is designed with a focus on low- to moderate-income taxpayers older than 50. Through April 11, the Algiers Regional Library, at 3014 Holiday Drive, and the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library, at 5120 St. Charles Ave., will host AARP tax assistance. Algiers appointments are available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays; Latter appointments are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays, with the exception of Mardi Gras. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteers are certified by the IRS to prepare federal returns, which includes most items on Form 1040, the U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. AARP volunteers can also prepare Louisiana tax returns, if applicable. The volunteers are not able to help with: Rental property income Farm income Moving expenses Casualty and theft losses Alternative Minimum Tax Loss from a self-employment business Registration is required. Call (504) 233-2316 to book an appointment. 2-DAY CLOSURE: The New Orleans Public Library will close to the public on March 10-11 for a systems upgrade. During this time, library services and e-Resources will be unavailable. The closure will affect: Culture Pass program Materials reservations, check-out/in and renewals E-Resources Mobile App Wi-Fi Wireless printing Point of Sale Automated phone messaging All library locations will close at 6 p.m. March 9 and will reopen at 10 a.m. March 12. Jane LeGros is the director of marketing and communications for the New Orleans Public Library. As a nascent chef, Kynnedi Jett delights in creating different types of food, and during Carnival season putting clever twists on king cakes. The teenager studies culinary arts and hospitality management at the New Orleans Career Center, situated in Treme. On a Wednesday afternoon in mid-February, Jett and her cooking classmates participated in the schools annual King Cake Wars, presenting a decadent treat filled with cream cheese, lemon zest and a touch of vanilla. Its sugary blue icing carried symbolic meanings, Jett explained. The first one is NOCC; the second is the Philadelphia Cream Cheese label, Jett said, noting how both brands are represented by blue logos. The third one is a joke with chef (Brook Berry) that shes having a baby boy. Berry, NOCCs culinary instructor, is not having a baby, for the record. But she doesnt mind joking along with her students while teaching them about cooking and working in the hospitality industry. A lot of them want to work in the industry. And so this really helps give them a head start in that, Berry said. They've got the safety and sanitation skills, knife skills, and then basic culinary and slightly advanced baking skills to give them a head start. A variety of training Established in 2018, the New Orleans Career Center connects Orleans Parish public school students with pathways to careers in health care, engineering, culinary arts and hospitality management. Through hands-on learning with industry and education experts, trainees develop the skills they need to succeed in professional environments. They split their time between standard high school classes and NOCC courses, while completing industry-focused coursework and earning professional credentials, certifications and college credits before graduating. NOCC also hosts an Adult Rapid Reskill training program, which is codesigned by local employers. Conceived during the pandemic, the Patient Care Technician, or PCT program, is free training for adults hoping to become certified PCTs positions that often lead to nursing careers. We anticipated a decline in hospitality and other jobs during the pandemic, and an uptick in need in the health care system, and so we have an adult training program that's trained 122 adults since the start of the pandemic, said Jake Gleghorn, NOCCs director of strategic initiatives. That includes job placement for anyone who successfully completes the program. Each program is run in partnership with local health care organizations that guarantee employment once the students pass their credentialing tests. Since April 2020, 122 participants have gained employment as PCTs. A pipeline to mid-skill jobs NOCC was founded out of a need for career and technical education, specifically for high schoolers. Gleghorn said 70% of jobs in New Orleans are mid-skill jobs, which means prospective employees must have a high school diploma, but they dont necessarily need a college degree. We saw that there were a lot of employers that wanted these kinds of roles filled, and there were a lot of people that needed these pipelines to those jobs, Gleghorn said. NOCC offers work-based learning, such as internships and opportunities for obtaining clinical hours for health care training. Industry experts, such as chefs and professionals from LSUs School of Nursing, visit NOCC and perform demonstrations for students. The center, currently housed in a former elementary school, has had three different homes in the past three years, said Gleghorn. This was supposed to be our home during the pandemic, but we were just able to welcome trainees in June of last year, he said. NOCC is in the process of building a nearby state-of-the-art, 143,000-square-foot facility on 1331 Kerlerec St. It is slated to open in 2023. This is not going to be the same NOCC that you see in a year from now, Gleghorn said. We're looking to offer more course choices for the high school students and adults in New Orleans. A central location The location of NOCC remains key, he added. As a hub, we want to make sure that we are accessible to all the different neighborhoods, he said. Kids come for half a day. They get on a bus at their home high school, come here, and take the bus back. NOCC opened with 134 students but has welcomed nearly 350 students a year since then. When the new building opens, NOCC expects to accommodate about 1,200 students a year, said Gleghorn. Since its launch, NOCC has helped 262 high school trainees earn industry-valued credentials. Also, 78 trainees have earned college credits, and 122 adult trainees have reskilled and secured employment soon afterward. Graduates have moved on to study in nursing schools. One graduate is fulfilling an engineering program at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Another is preparing for a summer internship with JPMorgan Chase & Co. We have a variety of success stories across all of our pathways, Gleghorn said. Back to baking Gleghorn says King Cake Wars pairs nicely with pastry instruction and the cultural foundations of the culinary program. Despite competition from delicacies filled with fruit and inspired by Chantilly cakes, a traditional, purple, green and gold, cinnamon-laced sweet won first place. Obviously being Carnival season, the King Cake Wars was a perfect opportunity, Berry said. Kids love a good healthy competition. Before the throwdown, students learned how to make a classic king cake. Then they decided how they were going to fill and decorate it, Berry said, noting that they dabble with all sorts of food throughout the course. This was a chance for them to be creative, instead of me giving them a recipe and saying, This is what you do. Contact the author at suzpfefferle@gmail.com In this series, Lagniappe presents a different work each week from the collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art, with commentary from a curator. On view in the exhibition "Queen Nefertaris Egypt," opening to the public March 18 at the New Orleans Museum of Art, is this elegant statuette of an elite woman. Carved over 3,000 years ago from a single piece of precious imported wood, it likely depicts a woman who lived within the confines of the royal harem, or womens quarters. From predynastic times, the pharaohs of ancient Egypt married multiple wives to emphasize their wealth, facilitate diplomatic alliances and ensure their line of succession. The pharaohs many wives and other dependents of all ranks his mother, sisters, aunts and children, along with administrators, servants, and attendants lived together in secluded estates. The lives of ancient Egyptian women, such as the one seen here, are brought to life in the exhibition. Nefertari, whose name means beautiful companion, was one of the most celebrated queens of ancient Egypt and the first of the great royal wives of pharaoh Ramesses II (reigned 12791213 BCE), during the New Kingdom period (about 1539-1075 BCE). Drawn from the extraordinary collections of the Museo Egizio in Turin Italy, the 230 objects in the exhibition include sculpture, jewelry, votive stelae, painted sarcophagi, and other funerary items. Goddesses are also celebrated through monumental sculpture and objects for private shrines. The daily life of ancient Egyptians is illuminated by objects found at the artisan village of Deir el-Medina, home to the craftsmen who built the royal tombs. Visit noma.org for ticketing information on the exhibit. KYIV, Ukraine Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv and gunfire was reported in several areas, as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleaded for international help to fend off an attack that could topple his democratically elected government, cause massive casualties and ripple out damage to the global economy. The Russian military said it had seized of a strategic airport just outside Kyiv and the city off from the west. The Ukrainian military, meanwhile, said a group of Russian spies and saboteurs was seen in a district on the outskirts of Kyiv, and police told people not to exit a subway station in the city center because there was gunfire in the area. Elsewhere in the capital, soldiers established defensive positions at bridges, and armored vehicles rolled down the streets, while many residents stood uneasily in doorways of their apartment buildings. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv could well be under siege" in what U.S. officials believe is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to install his own regime. The assault, anticipated for weeks by the U.S. and Western allies, amounts to the largest ground war in Europe since World War II. After repeatedly denying plans to invade, the autocratic Putin launched his attack on the country, which has increasingly tilted toward the democratic West and away from Moscows sway. 'War will knock on your door' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose grasp on power was increasingly tenuous, appealed to global leaders for even more severe sanctions than the ones imposed by Western allies and for defense assistance. If you dont help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door, said the leader, who cut diplomatic ties with Moscow, declared martial law and ordered a full military mobilization that would last 90 days. Zelenskyy said hes the No. 1 target for the invading Russians but that he planned to remain in Kyiv. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said early Friday that the Ukrainian attended a meeting of European Union leaders via video link from what appeared to be some sort of bunker. As air raids sirens sounded in the capital early Friday, guests of a hotel in the city center were directed to a makeshift basement shelter, lined with piles of mattresses and bottles of water. Workers, all local university students, served tea and cookies to the guests. Some people ducked out to a courtyard to smoke or get fresh air. Were all scared and worried. We dont know what to do then, whats going to happen in a few days, said one of the workers, Lucy Vashaka, 20. Missile strikes and ground assault The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes on cities and military bases, and then quickly followed with a multi-pronged ground assault that rolled troops in from several areas in the east; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. After Ukrainian officials said they lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the worlds worst nuclear disaster, Russia said Friday it was working with the Ukrainians to secure the plant. There was no corroboration of such cooperation from the Ukrainian side. Zelenskyy said that 137 heroes, including 10 military officers, had been killed, and one of his advisers said about 400 Russian forces had died. Moscow has given no casualty count. Neither claim could be independently verified. Seeking shelter in subway stations Fearing a Russian attack on the capital city, thousands of people went deep underground as night fell, jamming Kyiv's subway stations. At times it felt almost cheerful. Families ate dinner. Children played. Adults chatted. People brought sleeping bags or dogs or crossword puzzles anything to alleviate the waiting and the long night ahead. Nobody believed that this war would start and that they would take Kyiv directly, said Anton Mironov, waiting out the night in one of the old Soviet metro stations. I feel mostly fatigue. None of it feels real. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Many who spent the night in makeshift bunkers, emerged in the early hours of Friday to a relatively quiet city. Some traffic and cars moved along highways, along with columns of military. The lines at fuel stations the day before had evaporated. With social media amplifying a torrent of military claims and counter-claims, it was difficult to determine exactly what was happening on the ground. Russia said it was not targeting cities, but journalists saw destruction in many civilian areas and Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said a rocket hit a multistory apartment building in the city on Friday, starting a fire. Meanwhile, the mayor of the city in the rebel-controlled east said Ukrainian shelling hit a school building. The Ukrainian military on Friday reported significant fighting near Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. Russian troops also entered the city of Sumy, near the border with Russia that sits on a highway leading to Kyiv from the east. Later came the reports of at least some forces much closer. The hardest day will be today. The enemys plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. Russia seizes Chernobyl plant Hours after the invasion began, Russian forces seized control of the now-decommissioned Chernobyl plant and its surrounding exclusion zone, presidential adviser Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been no casualties or destruction at the industrial site. The conflict shook global financial markets: Stocks plunged and oil prices soared amid concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket. Condemnation came not only from the U.S. and Europe, but from South Korea, Australia and beyond and many governments readied new sanctions. Even friendly leaders like Hungarys Viktor Orban sought to distance themselves from Putin. U.S. President Joe Biden announced new sanctions that will target Russian banks, oligarchs, state-controlled companies and high-tech sectors, saying Putin chose this war and had exhibited a sinister view of the world in which nations take what they want by force. He added that the measures were designed not to disrupt global energy markets. Russian oil and natural gas exports are vital energy sources for Europe. Biden, NATO leaders to meet Biden was to meet Friday morning with fellow leaders of NATO governments in what the White House described as an extraordinary virtual summit to discuss Ukraine. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he aimed to cut off Russia from the U.K.s financial markets as he announced sanctions, freezing the assets of all large Russian banks and planning to bar Russian companies and the Kremlin from raising money on British markets. Now we see him for what he is a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest, Johnson said of Putin. Zelenskyy urged the U.S. and West to go further and cut the Russians from the SWIFT system, a key financial network that connects thousands of banks around the world. The White House has been reluctant to do that, worried it could cause enormous economic problems in Europe and elsewhere in the West. While some nervous Europeans speculated about a possible new world war, the U.S. and its NATO partners have shown no indication they would send troops into Ukraine, fearing a larger conflict. NATO reinforced its members in Eastern Europe as a precaution, and Biden said the U.S. was deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO. Ukrainians were urged to shelter in place and not to panic. Until the very last moment, I didnt believe it would happen. I just pushed away these thoughts, said a terrified Anna Dovnya in Kyiv, watching soldiers and police remove shrapnel from an exploded shell. We have lost all faith. Isachenkov and Litvinova reported from Moscow. Francesca Ebel, Josef Federman and Andrew Drake in Kyiv; Angela Charlton in Paris; Geir Moulson and Frank Jordans in Berlin; Raf Casert and Lorne Cook in Brussels; Nic Dumitrache in Mariupol, Ukraine, Inna Varennytsia in eastern Ukraine; and Robert Burns, Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Eric Tucker, Nomaan Merchant, Ellen Knickmeyer, Zeke Miller, Chris Megerian and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed. Kim Raines Chatelain, who for eight years has been Jefferson Parish Inspector General David McClintock's top deputy, will succeed McClintock as head of the office on March 18. The five-member Jefferson Parish Ethics and Compliance Commission, which oversees the parish's inspector general, unanimously chose Chatelain on Wednesday to take over the parish's lead watchdog role. Chatelain was chosen over another internal candidate, Susan Andrews, who heads the office's audit wing. Chatelain will take over from the only inspector general Jefferson Parish has ever known. During his nine years, McClintock built the department from a standing start to one with 10 employees and an annual budget of $1.4 million. McClintock also at times clashed with other parish figures, including former Jefferson Parish President Mike Yenni and former Jefferson Parish Council member Mark Spears, over investigations. "I am so excited and looking forward to this appointment," Chatelain said, thanking the commission after the vote was taken. "I will continue its operation seamlessly as well as delivering reports of equal quality." Chatelain said she believed some of the conflicts McClintock became embroiled in were a result of the office being new. Things are different now, she said. "We are firmly rooted and integrated into government," she said. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The office will need to grow to meet the requirements of the parish charter, she said. Specifically, she said she planned to bring on new personnel to help fulfill the "inspections and evaluations" function of the office, which was cited as something McClintock had failed to do by Commission Chairman Howard Maestri in the fall. The commission voted in November to not renew McClintock's contract, creating the opening for a new inspector general. Chatelain is taking over after a candidate search that some had questioned due to an unusual parish provision that requires new Jefferson Parish Inspectors General to be certified by the Association of Inspectors General at the time of their appointment. Chatelain and Andrews were the only two applicants to have that certification out of the 10 that sought to office. Other IGs in Louisiana at the state level and in New Orleans allow new appointees to the office to obtain the certification within the first year. "I think we have two of the finest people to draw from," Maestri said after Chatelain's appointment was formally voted on. "No one is the loser here." On Wednesday, the commission again discussed asking the Jefferson Parish Council to consider changing the ordinance, but deferred the matter for at least one month after Chatelain raised questions about whether there should be other tweaks to ensure that applicants have supervisory experience as well. "I understand the desire to have more applicants," she said. "You don't want an inspector general on a learning curve." Chatelain's salary will be set and voted up on at the commission's March 16 meeting. McClintock earns about $190,000 per year. ROME Pope Francis visited the Russian Embassy on Friday to personally express his concern about the war, the Vatican said, in an extraordinary, hands-on papal gesture that has no recent precedent. Usually, popes receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican, and diplomatic protocol would have called for the Vatican foreign minister to summon the ambassador. For Francis, the Vatican head of state, the decision to leave the walled city state and travel a short distance to the Russian embassy to the Holy See was a sign of his anger at Moscows invasion of Ukraine and his willingness to appeal personally for an end to it. Vatican officials said they knew of no such previous papal initiative. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the visit, and the Vatican said Francis travelled to and from the embassy in a small white car. The Holy See press office confirms that the pope went to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See on Via della Conciliazione, clearly to express his concern about the war. He was there for just over a half-hour, Bruni said. Day of fasting, prayer Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict and has urged the faithful to set next Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine. But he has refrained from publicly calling out Russia, presumably for fear of antagonizing the Russian Orthodox Church. Just this week, at the end of his Wednesday general audience, he refrained from naming Russia when he called for political leaders to examine their conscience before God and refrain from actions that harm civilians and discredit international law. A day later, the Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin, held out hope for diplomacy. There is still time for good will, there is still room for negotiation, there is still room for the exercise of a wisdom that prevents the prevalence of partisan interests, protects the legitimate aspirations of each and saves the world from the madness and horrors of war, Parolin said in a statement. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up A person who answered the phone Friday at the Russian embassy said Ambassador Alexander Avdeev wasnt there; there was no immediate reply to an email sent to the embassy seeking comment. Pope has 'acute' knee pain News of Francis' initiative came just after the Vatican announced he had canceled a scheduled Sunday visit to Florence and will not preside over Ash Wednesday commemorations next week because of a flareup of acute knee pain. The Vatican said the 85-year-old pope was canceling his participation in the events after his doctors prescribed a period of rest. The pope, who has long had sciatica nerve pain that makes him walk with a pronounced limp, has suffered for several weeks with what he has said was an inflamed ligament in his right knee. He has cited the pain in explaining his limited mobility recently and his decision to remain seated during events that would otherwise see him stand. Francis had been due to travel to Florence for a half-day visit Sunday to address a meeting of Mediterranean bishops and mayors and to celebrate Mass. It would have been his first pastoral visit within Italy since the pandemic. He was to have presided over Ash Wednesday commemorations, including a short procession, at a church outside the Vatican in the Aventine neighborhood of Rome. The Argentine Jesuit enjoys generally good health, though he had 13 inches of his large intestine removed in July. Francis also had part of one lung removed when he was a young man after a respiratory infection. Despite the knee pain, the Vatican released Francis itinerary for an April 2-3 visit to Malta, making clear he plans to go ahead with his agenda. NEW ORLEANS Allison Smith has been promoted to public relations account executive at Zehnder Communications. Smith joined Zehnder in 2020 as a public relations coordinator. In her new role, she will continue working in the agencys public relations department, supporting clients strategic plans in the economic development and hospitality industries. She earned a bachelors degree in public relations from LSU. ---- The New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors has sworn in officers for 2022. David Favret, of Latter & Blum, is now president. He has been a member of the association since 2004. Melissa Warren, of Stirling Properties, is the president of the association's Commercial Investment Division. She has been a member of the organization since 2010. Juhmad Hollis, of Sil-loH Realty New Orleans, is now the president of the Gulf South Real Estate Information Network. He has been a member of the association since 2017. --- Brody Leblanc has been named director of food & beverage and executive chef of Le Meridien New Orleans. Leblanc has worked at the Ritz Carlton and W hotel and spent five years at Dickie Brennan's. In 2012, he was a guest chef at the Masters Tournament. ----- Edison Avila is the new operations manager for Acadian Ambulance's Orleans service area, which covers Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes. Avila started his career with Acadian in 2008 as an emergency medical technician, then became a paramedic. He has worked as a paramedic field supervisor and operations supervisor, and was most recently the operations coordinator for the service area. --- Jeffrey Hunt has been named executive director of the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce. Hunt has more than 18 years of experience in public policy, fundraising/economic development, strategic planning and member retention. The organization also announced the new board of directors, which includes: Perry Sholes, chair; Krista Pouncy-Dyson, immediate past chair; Rubi Brown, vice chair; Josline Gosserand Frank, second vice chair; Andre Lewis, treasurer; Stephanie Chambliss, secretary; and Dana Brown-Martin, membership chair. Along with the executive committee, new board members include: Jolie Bernard, Joann Minor, Lynette White Colin, Diana Holmes, Schuyler Williams, Dr. Shondra Williams, Jon Lyndon Renthrope and Renato Glasper. Returning board members are Ed Robinson and Arlanda Williams. BATON ROUGE Franklin Associates has made the following promotions: Johnathan Hill is advisory services practice lead. Hill joined the company in 2018. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up James C. Taylor, a 10-year veteran of the firm, was promoted to senior project manager. Andrew Santee was promoted to project manager. A retired Army captain, he joined the company in August. Tran Doan was promoted to project coordinator after joining the firm in the spring. ---- Mickey Robertson is the 2022 board president for the Growth Coalition. Robertson is the president of MR Engineering & Surveying, which he has owned since 2009. Robertson succeeds attorney Erik Piazza, who served as president from 2018 to 2021. Executive committee members are Larry Bankston, executive director; Rusty Golden, vice president; David Guillory, treasurer; and Justin Langlois, secretary. -- Womans Hospital has added four new directors to its leadership team: Bryan Baucom is executive director of information services care delivery. Baucom brings with him knowledge in health care information services and informatics. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in management information systems from the University of Central Oklahoma and a master's degree in business administration in health care administration from Oklahoma City University. Jennifer Levy returns to Womans as the executive director of physician practice management. Levy served as a nurse manager at Womans from 2017 to 2020. Alicia Plumer has been promoted to clinical director of perioperative services. Plumer has 18 years of nursing experience with a background in critical care and perioperative service. Tonya Songy has been promoted to director of tumor registry. She has served as manager of health information management and cancer registry at Womans for the past 17 years. ----- Andrew Durdin has been named director of physician practice management at Lane Regional Medical Center. He will oversee the day-to-day functions of Lane Dermatology, Lane Family Practice, Lane Gastroenterology, Lane OB/GYN, Lane Pediatrics, Lane Surgery Group and FastLane After-Hours Urgent Care Clinic. Durdin was most recently as administrator for Anesthesiology Group Associates in Baton Rouge. He earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Southeastern Louisiana University and a master's degree in public administration from LSU. -- Bryce Risher has been promoted to partner at Dyke Nelson Architecture. Risher was a founding member of the firm, starting out in July 2012 as a project manager. He earned a master's degree of architecture from LSU. While at LSU, he won the AIA Henry Adams Award, which recognizes scholastic achievement, character and leadership. The Louisiana State Police Crime Lab is sitting on a backlog of 2,500 DNA cases, an official testified Thursday in an Orleans Parish courtroom, blaming a staffing exodus and heavy demand for a huge logjam that could stall a host of pending trials. Were beyond our capacity, said Erica Sparacino, DNA manager for the state agency. She said expected return times even on expedited DNA requests have reached 12 to 14 weeks. We cant keep up with the volumeWe have more cases coming to us, and more violent in nature. Sparacino said the agency had whittled a previous backlog down to 150 cases four years ago but is paying now for overworking its staff then, in the form of a slew of departures. Since then, the inbox of pending DNA requests has swelled with a surge in violent crimes that often involve more testing samples. She said the lab gets more than 5,000 DNA testing requests a year. The crime lab has struggled to keep up with DNA testing demands in the past, as have many law enforcement agencies nationally, resulting in some troubling delays. In 2009, LSP acknowledged a backlog led to a nearly two-year delay in a DNA match to Baton Rouge-area serial killer Jeffrey Lee Guillory. In 2013, then-Gov. Bobby Jindal announced his administration had cleared the backlog, which had reached as high as 1,425 in 2009. The current backlog, defined as active cases sitting for more than 30 days, appears to be the largest since Hurricane Katrina. Sparacino said the lab once completed DNA testing within a month, but it has lost 23 analysts in the past three years. Among the vacancies are several positions dedicated to New Orleans cases. She said the pandemic has complicated the ability to adequately train new DNA analysts. This is just crazy, responded Criminal District Judge Laurie White during a hearing in the case of Edwin Martin, 28. He has remained jailed since June in lieu of $150,000 bond and was indicted in November on a count of first-degree rape of a victim under age 13. After a hearing meant to focus attention on the backlog, White vacated an April 11 trial date that was scheduled earlier this month for Martin, citing the testing delays. DNA in the case was submitted to the state lab in September. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Derbes acknowledged at Thursday's hearing that prosecutors didn't request "expedited" testing of DNA in Martin's case before Thursday, saying many cases hold similar urgency. White expressed exasperation at the lab's delays, with the Orleans Parish courthouse finally poised to resume jury trials next month after a nearly unbroken two-year hiatus. Why are we not being more Google Earth on this problem? White asked. We have a broken system with DNA slowing it down, along with all the other breaks in this pathetic system. District Attorney Jason Williams met with White in her chambers before Thursdays hearing, at which he called the backlog absolutely a funding issue that goes beyond the Orleans Parish courthouse. Williams said the languishing DNA requests include 600 New Orleans cases. Receiving the results doesnt mean ready for trial, he added. You dont know the plan until you know what the evidence is. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up A spokesman for Williams office did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for the number of cases scheduled for trial in Orleans Parish that await DNA test results. Since Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans DNA testing capacity in 2005, the city has relied on the state lab, which in the past has been staffed with several analysts dedicated to New Orleans crimes, under varying agreements. Asked how many DNA requests are pending from East Baton Rouge Parish, District Attorney Hillar Moore III said, "That's tough to answer. They receive a lot from different parishes. But it's voluminous. It's a lot." "We need to find a way to keep the talented experts at our lab from being poached by other agencies after they are trained and certified," Moore said. "DNA is involved in almost all cases. We need to explain we we have or do not have DNA or at least tried to get it on every case, as defense counsel and juries will ask why not. It is time-consuming and expensive but desperately needed. We have one of the best crime labs in the nation and need to properly fund them." NOPD Deputy Superintendent Paul Noel testified Thursday that the city expects to open its long-awaited new crime lab in April or May, with one floor dedicated to DNA testing. But Noel said the city remained years away from being accredited and ready to test DNA itself. Sparacino said the process takes at least three to five years. NOPDs choice to head the push to resume DNA testing in New Orleans, Mark Powell, appears close to being hired as civilian director of the crime lab after a two-year search. But Powell faced questions last week at his current job overseeing the San Francisco police crime lab, over a database used to search suspects that allegedly includes DNA results from sexual assault victims. NOPD spokesman Gary Scheets responded on Thursday in a statement. "We have received assurances from officials with the San Francisco Police Department and the city administration that the policy governing the practices mentioned in recent media reports was created and implemented prior to the candidate running the lab," it read. Scheets said two city-funded DNA analysts currently work at the state lab. New Orleans accounts for about a third of the DNA testing requests with the State Police lab, which does the same work for more than 100 law enforcement agencies across Louisiana as well as its own cases, Sparacino said. The pandemic, among other factors, has hampered the intensive training needed for incoming analysts, which can take a year, she said. LSPs staff of DNA case analysts has shrunk by more than half, with several of the New Orleans posts vacant, she said. A State Police spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about the backlog. Staff writer Elyse Carmosino contributed to this report. An Orleans Parish judge on Thursday declined to rule on a motion that would have placed a witness in an upcoming murder trial on an ankle monitor and forced her to testify. The motion, requested by the Orleans Parish District Attorneys Office on Wednesday, was for a material witness warrant, an arrest warrant used to take an uncooperative witness into custody. Its a move that prosecutors have only recently begun to make after allegations that the previous administration had abused their use. A settlement agreement now sets rules for when material witness warrants can be used. Orleans Parish District Court Judge Tracey Flemings-Davillier questioned whether prosecutors motion for a material witness warrant met the guidelines set in the 14-page settlement document that District Attorney Jason Williams signed in October. Flemings-Davillier called prosecutors motion premature, and said she would not consider it until prosecutors had served an unsuccessful subpoena to the witness for the trial itself. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The warrant, if issued, would force the testimony of an alleged witness to the killing of Patrick Lamar. Demeccio Caston, 31, has been charged with second-degree murder in the August 2019 shooting in New Orleans East. His trial is slated to begin on March 7. Prosecutors requested the material witness warrant after the witness failed to appear Tuesday for a pretrial conference. But a condition of the settlement agreement, which guides the offices policy on material witness warrants, stipulates that a motion cant be sought for the sole reason that prosecutors believe it may become impossible to secure the witness presence by subpoena. While the witness had not complied with a subpoena to a pretrial conference, Flemings-Davillier said she hadn't had the chance to respond to a subpoena for the trial. The request Wednesday was the second for a material witness warrant by prosecutors this month. The first request came during the Feb. 9 bench trial of Dijon Curtis, who is charged with the January 2020 slaying of Brent Jenkins. At that time, prosecutors asked Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Angel Harris to approve a motion for a material witness warrant for a witness they had been unable to serve with a subpoena. Harris rejected the request. Later that day, the witness was served with a subpoena, and he testified in the trial. A dispute over a love interest prompted a man to shoot his former classmate outside a New Orleans Pelicans game last week, according to police. Geron Elzie, 35, and his 36-year-old former schoolmate began arguing on Feb. 17 after the older man accused Elzie of sleeping with his girlfriend. The men had until recently made plans to room together in an apartment in Central City, police wrote in records filed at criminal court on Thursday. The argument got so heated that Elzie eventually shot his romantic rival with a 9mm pistol at least three times in his left ankle, investigators wrote. The victim was left lying in a Smoothie King Center parking lot as the Pelicans battled the Dallas Mavericks inside the stadium. The bullets completely shattered the victim's ankle, police noted in court records, and he was facing several surgeries and the possible amputation of his foot. Updated information on the victims medical condition wasnt immediately available Thursday. In an interview with police, the victim allegedly identified Elzie by the nickname Red, described how the pair went to middle school together, and recounted how Elzie had moved into an apartment the victim was supposed to sublet. On Wednesday, officers obtained a warrant to raid the apartment and found Elzie there by himself, according to court documents. Police allege that Elzie acknowledged his nickname was Red, admitted he knew the man he was accused of shooting, and placed himself at the scene of the attack by describing the book bag the victim had with him at the time. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Elzie also told officers that he and the victim had been arguing after the victim accused Elzie of having sex with his girlfriend. Police searched Elzies place and found a pistol whose caliber matched the five bullet casings that investigators recovered on West Stadium Drive. They also seized a small bag of what they suspected was heroin. After an officer handcuffed Elzie and began walking him toward a patrol cruiser, he managed to slip from the cops grasp and ran a couple of blocks, police allege. He allegedly stopped running when an officer drew a stun gun. Elzie was booked with aggravated second-degree battery, simple escape, illegal possession of heroin, illegally possessing a gun in the presence of drugs, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. His bail had not been set as of Thursday afternoon. The most serious count he faces is aggravated second-degree battery, which can carry up to 15 years in prison. New Orleans police are investigating to a double shooting in the 7th Ward. Police responded to a shooting at the intersection of North Robertson and Frenchmen streets at around 12:49 p.m. They found a man suffering from a gunshot wound to the knee. Emergency Medical services took him to the hospital. About two hours later, a second injured man in the shooting arrived at the hospital via private conveyance, police said. He is being treated for a gunshot wound. No other information, including the men's current condition, a motive or suspect, was immediately available. A robber who zip-tied his victim, shot a police officer and sparked a manhunt while stealing narcotics from an Uptown New Orleans drugstore has been sentenced to 20 years, 1 month in prison. U.S. District Judge Greg Guidry punished Richard Sansbury, 28, on Tuesday for conspiracy, armed robbery involving controlled substances and firing a gun in furtherance of a violent crime. It's the same sentence that Guidry, whom President Donald Trump nominated to the court, gave Sansbury's co-defendant, Alan Parson, on Oct. 19. Sansbury and Parson, 20, pleaded May 25 guilty to holding up the 24-hour CVS store at 4901 Prytania St. on June 17, 2019. Federal investigators said the duo traveled to New Orleans from Indianapolis, where they lived, to steal hydrocodone, morphine and hydromorphone pills. They timed the stickup at 6:06 a.m. to coincide with employee shift changes. They arrived wearing hooded sweatshirts and medical gloves, and armed with guns. Sansbury zip-tied a cashier and marched him to the restroom while Parson zip-tied an employee in the pharmacy area and loaded a garbage bag up with drugs. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Unknown to them, another employee had called police. Parson and Sansbury shot their way out the front door of the CVS, sustaining gunshot wounds and shooting a police officer in the shoulder. CVS security cameras and police body cameras recorded the shootout. Police captured Parson when he collapsed in the 1300 block of Lyons Street, less than two blocks from the store. A manhunt shut down the area around the 1100 block of Upperline Street, about four blocks from the store, for more than two hours until police arrested Sansbury there. Sansbury will be placed on supervised release for four years after his imprisonment. Jason Franklin, the man charged with raping three children on the west bank more than 40 years ago who was also a suspect in the unsolved 1978 kidnapping and murder of 5-year-old Stephanie Hebert in Waggaman, died Sunday while awaiting trial. Franklin, 76, was an inmate at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna, but had been in the hospital for an undisclosed illness since late last month, according to Capt. Jason Rivarde, spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. He was about to enter hospice care at the time of his death, Rivarde said. Franklin was indicted March 28, 2019, on three counts of aggravated rape of a victim under the age of 13. He was accused of raping three children some time between 1975 and 1977 while he lived on Aster Lane in Waggaman, according court records. One of the victims he was charged with sexually abusing was Stephanie Hebert, whose abduction and murder went unsolved for decades, court records said. Though Franklin had been identified as a "prime suspect" in the girl's reopened homicide case, according to court records, he had not been booked with her murder at the time of his death. Stephanie disappeared on the afternoon of June 13, 1978, after leaving her Aster Lane home to play with a friend. More than 150 deputies, reserve officers, firefighters and residents searched the Live Oak-Floral Acres subdivision, but no one could find the little girl. Stephanie's skeletal remains were discovered five months later near a tree in a swampy and wooded area of St. Charles Parish. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Two people were identified as suspects in the years after Stephanie's death. One was Daniel Parks, a friend of the Hebert family. The other was a 16-year-old boy. Parks was never charged, and a grand jury declined to indict the teen, whose little sister was friends with Stephanie. He was later cleared by DNA evidence, he said when contacted. He is not being identified by The Times-Picayune. In 2018, Sheriff's Office cold case detectives reopened the investigation into Hebert's death, according to court records. While looking into the case, Franklin was identified as a suspect in Stephanie's rape and homicide as well as the sexual assaults of the other two children, according to authorities. The other two victims, who are now adults, told detectives that Franklin had sexually abused them when they were younger, according to court records. The Sheriff's Office did not disclose why they suspected Franklin in Stephanie's death. Detectives obtained a warrant for Franklin, a registered sex offender with convictions for child pornography possession and attempted rape in other states, court records said. Franklin was arrested at his Pittsfield, Mass., home on the 40th anniversary of the discovery of Stephanie's body and was extradited to Louisiana. He denied responsibility for Stephanie's death during questioning by investigators, according to court records. The District Attorney's Office dismissed the rape charges against Franklin Wednesday citing his death, according to court records. In the span of an hour one night in December, a man driving a black van ordered food at four East Jefferson fast food restaurants, rolled up to the drive-thru windows and pulled a gun on the cashiers. In two of the robberies, the cashiers ran and the van sped off. In another, an employee turned over some cash. And in the last, the driver of the van climbed into the drive-thru window to grab the cash register's drawer. Joseph Servat, 26, the Harahan man accused in the spree, pleaded not guilty Thursday to three counts of armed robbery, three counts of attempted armed robbery, two counts of simple burglary and auto theft, in the case, according to Jefferson Parish court records. Detectives with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and the Kenner Police Department worked together to solve the rash of armed robberies that were reported the night of Dec. 8. All of the restaurants targeted were on Airline Drive. The holdups began about 10 p.m. at a Taco Bell in the 1600 block of Airline Drive in Metairie, said Sheriff's Office Robbery Detective Eric Hymel. A man driving a black van entered the drive-thru and ordered a burrito. But when the van got to the cashier's window, the man brandished a silver-colored shotgun and demanded cash, according to authorities. The frightened Taco Bell employee shut the window and ran, and the man with the gun drove off. But authorities say the gunman, later identified as Servat, didn't give up. He drove about two miles west and pulled into the drive-thru of a Rally's located in the 4000 block of Airline Drive in Metairie, at about 10:15 p.m., according to Hymel. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The victims, an employee and a manager, reported that a man in a black van ordered food before pulling out a shotgun and demanding money, authorities said. The staffers ran, and the van drove off. The van then showed up in the drive-thru of another Taco Bell, this time in the 6700 block off Airline Drive in Metairie, about 30 minutes later, according to authorities. During this hold-up, the driver made off with an undisclosed amount of cash after pointing the gun at the drive-thru's cashier. The last robbery of the night occurred at a McDonald's in the 2100 block of Airline Drive in Kenner. The black van entered the drive-thru line and the driver ordered food. But when he threatened the cashier with the gun while demanding money, the employee ran from the window, Kenner Detective Nick Engler said. Instead of leaving, the man climbed through the McDonald's drive-thru window and stole the cash register's till, which contained money, according to authorities. While doing so, a glass smoking pipe slipped from his pocket, Engler said. The pipe was later collected for DNA testing. The results weren't available. Servat was identified as the robbery suspect through surveillance video from the restaurants, according to Hymel. "The video was fantastic quality and gave very clear, detailed photographs of the suspect and the suspect vehicle," he said. The van, which had been stolen from a lot of vehicles used in local movie productions, was recovered the morning after the robberies. Servat was arrested two days later and taken into custody in Escambia County, Fla., the Sheriff's Office said. Servat was being held Friday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna. Bond for the robbery cases was set at $760,500. He was being held without bond for violation of probation for 2020 convictions of unauthorized entry of a business, theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. With New Orleans officials poised to crack down on road-work contractors for the half-finished projects clogging up city streets, industry representatives are pointing an accusatory finger back at City Hall. During a City Council hearing Thursday, the regional manager for the Louisiana Associated General Contractors said that foot-dragging from bureaucrats leaves projects stalled not industry incompetence. When contractors rip up roads and discover unforeseen issues, they can wait months for word on how to proceed, and the lack of communication between the city and contractors has grown so serious that the relationship is best described as toxic, said Andre Kelly, who doubled down on those points under questioning from District A Council member Joe Giarrusso. We have tried to talk to different officials about what we need done, how we can serve as partners, and it has not happened for us, Kelly said. We have been either cold-shouldered or ignored. Yes, it is toxic. His comments at the Public Works committee hearing came as the city prepares to dole out $1 billion on infrastructure projects this year. Mostly backed by FEMA funds tied to Hurricane Katrina reconstruction, the projects are meant to solve residents gripes about pothole-pocked roads and unreliable water, but theyre also producing endless frustrations of their own. District B Council Member Lesli Harris described Thursday how shes been driving past the same torn-up road in Central City for months on her way to City Hall. City officials have largely laid the blame for the sloppy and stalled work with contractors. Residents' outcry grew so loud that last August, Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration paused new bids for what was supposed to be 90 days. The pause has continued into this year. At the same time, the city said it would cut the days that contractors have to finish individual projects, restructure new contracts so that companies have to finish one job before moving to the next and take into account residents' complaints on future bids. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Josh Hartley, the acting director of the Department of Public Works, said at a Jan. 27 City Council hearing that the city had mailed letters to contractors reminding them to send in schedules and stick to them. Contractors who skip ahead to different blocks will find their payments cut off, he said. We do that two or three times on these older projects, I think the word will get out that we're serious, he said. We're not going to tolerate it any more. However, company heads said that many of the delays can actually be chalked up to the citys Department of Public Works. Far too often, contractors make a formal request for information about how they should proceed with a job, or request a change order because something unexpected has cropped up, and dont hear back for weeks or months. Inquiries that might receive a response in 60 days in suburban parishes take five or six months in Orleans, said Kelly Commander of Command Construction. On Thursday, a City Hall spokesperson said that officials are working on a new process to ensure that the requests, which can involve complicated engineering questions, are answered sooner. The new process, to be finalized in "the coming months," will authorize payments before change order documentation is finalized and will require engineers of record to complete documentation within specified timelines. "The Department of Public Works recognizes that Plan Changes and Requests for Information from contractors related to construction projects must be processed in a timely manner so that schedules and payments to the contractor are not delayed," said the spokesperson, Beau Tidwell. Contractors also said that theyve been left on their own when it comes to crime. Auto burglaries are a common problem, but shootings and carjackings have been added to the list of late, they said. Our employees have all had to flee job sites because of daylight shootings, said Bart Peak, the vice-president of operations at Wallace C. Drennan. I myself have been caught in the crossfire on our job sites. The companies' contracts with the city make clear that job-site security is their responsibility, Tidwell said. Mayor LaToya Cantrells promise to reinvent the citys sanitation system after it collapsed following Hurricane Ida is months behind schedule, with a key bid solicitation aimed at replacing the garbage hauler for half of the city's residents delayed yet again. The need for a new approach to solid waste became painfully clear as uncollected garbage piled up for weeks after Ida. Once the crisis passed, Cantrell administration officials said the first step was to terminate the contract of Metro Service Group, one of the citys two primary haulers, and rebid the contract covering collections in Lakeview, Gentilly, New Orleans East and downriver neighborhoods. But the timeframe for the solicitation has now been pushed back at least twice, with the first or second week of March the latest expected release date, according to the administration. Sanitation Director Matt Torri said in a November budget hearing that the solicitation would be released before the end of the year. In early January, administration officials said it would happen in mid-February. The reason for the delay is unclear. Torri was scheduled to discuss the solicitation at a City Council committee meeting on Thursday, but Council member Oliver Thomas said Torri couldn't attend because he was busy supervising Mardi Gras parade operations. Earlier in the week, a City Hall spokesperson said the solicitation was still undergoing legal review, but did not provide any additional details. After the administration found emergency contractors to handle the post-Ida sanitation crisis, Cantrell said she intended to blow up the citys privatized solid waste collection system, in which two primary contractors handle the vast majority of the city in two similarly sized service areas. The two contractors, Metro and Richard's Disposal, work on seven-year contracts with identical duties. The contracts are set to expire at the end of next year, but Cantrell said last fall shed had enough of Metro after a year of inconsistent collections and the crisis after Ida. Richard's, which collects in Mid-City, Algiers and upriver neighborhoods, had problems as well, but the majority of missed pickup complaints concerned Metro, according to 311 data. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up A third contractor, Empire Services, hauls trash for the French Quarter and parts of the Central Business District. Missed pickup complaints overall have tapered since the administration switched to once-per-week collections in the fall, and the decline in complaints about Metros service has been especially sharp. Since the start of the year, complaints about Richard's are roughly double those concerning Metro, though both are well below the first two months after Ida. The once-weekly schedule which replaced twice-weekly pickups allowed the haulers to maintain generally consistent pickups, though many residents are angry that their $24 monthly sanitation fee was not lowered for the less-frequent service. The only thing Im hearing from constituents in the district and all over the city is, when are they going to get back to two-a-week? said Thomas, who represents District E and chairs the Public Works Committee. The feeling is, people are paying for it already. You pay for two-a-week-service, why dont you get it? Torri, the sanitation director, has previously said the sanitation fee is meant to fund all of the sanitation departments operations, which include other services like litter abatement. Torri contends the fee is not enough to cover all department expenses, even with once-per-week garbage collections. Thomas said Torris explanation sounds like an excuse. The sanitation fee garnered $34.5 million in 2020, the most recent year for which complete information is available, according to documents provided by the Sewerage and Water Board, which collects the fee. That was about $2 million under the department budget at the time. The budget has grown since then, and in 2022 sanitation is allocated $41.6 million in funding. Part of the reason for the increased budget was to pay for new equipment as part of a nascent effort to bring some sanitation operations in house. Cantrell said in an October interview that it was time to reexamine the 15-year-old privatized system, which began under former Mayor Ray Nagin and continued through Mitch Landrieus administration. Through the years, governments across the country were moving and shifting towards contractual labor, instead of in-house. We believe there is a need for a hybrid. We learned that clearly, quite frankly, during Ida, Cantrell said. Credible allegations of bid-rigging had delayed Louisiana plans to replace its aged voting machines, when President Donald Trump lost his bid for a second term. Joe Biden was still handily beaten in Louisiana, but Trump's fans hereabouts were nevertheless quick to embrace the notion that the election was stolen. If sinister forces could rig bids, it must have been even easier for committed Republicans to figure they could do the same with an election. No sane person who has looked at the evidence could possibly believe that Biden was not a legitimate winner, but sane people who weigh evidence don't have much say in the GOP right now. A party nuts enough to term a deadly invasion of the U.S. Capitol legitimate political discourse is poised to regain control of both House and Senate, and will be licking its lips should Biden choose to seek reelection. The GOP's own leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, bemoans the rise of what he calls goofballs in the party. He must have such Trump apologists in mind as Marjorie Taylor Greene, who got herself elected to Congress on the strength of her QAnon credentials in Georgia, and the attorneys who argued he won the election he lost Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. It happens that one of the many lies Giuliani and Powell told in the challenges to the election was that voting machines made by a company called Dominion had been manipulated to switch millions of votes from Trump to Biden. Powell explained that the software that made the fraud possible was developed under the direction of Venezuelan President Huge Chavez, who was not available for comment, having died in 2013. All the other claims lodged by Giuliani and Powell were also too absurd to merit serious consideration and were laughed out of court. Recounts in Georgia and Arizona proved a waste of time. Republican election officials everywhere were convinced that Trump was a real loser. However, suspicions had been raised in Louisiana about Dominion long before Republicans latched onto election integrity as cause for the faithful to rally around. Nobody doubts that, after close to 30 years in operation, Louisiana's voting machines are overdue for replacement. Our machines, unlike those used by most American voters these days, do not generate a paper trail. When then-Secretary of State Tom Schedler in 2018 sought bids for a new system, the winner was Dominion, but one of the losers, Election Systems and Software, complained that the specifications had been changed midstream so that the outcome was foreordained. The quest for new machines was called off. Schedler's successor, Kyle Ardoin, tried again early last year, but the result was the same. Elections Systems argued the specs favored Dominion, the process was halted, and it was back to square one. Trump supporters, who had swallowed just about every far-fetched allegation of election fraud the internet has to offer, poured into a state Senate committee hearing in April to vent their fury. Legislators responded by establishing a Voting Systems Commission with no fewer than 13 members to come up with ideas on how to deny fraudsters, should they ever show up, any chance of stealing an election. We await the commission's recommendations. In the days before social media peddled ideas calculated to undermine the communitarian spirit, such an unwieldy commission was hardly needed to address what should be straightforward questions of election technology. But the lunatic fringe has gone mainstream. Email James Gill at gill504nola@gmail.com. This column has been updated to clarify the outcome of the second voting machine procurement attempt. 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. OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahoma lawmakers Tuesday vowed that Oklahoma would be the most pro-life state in the nation after learning that the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to allow states to choose whether to allow abortion access. State abortion rights advocates at the same time said they were terrified at this point. Bill Scanlon is a former Ward 6 city councilor who volunteers in support of the Norman Police Department and Norman Fire Department, and serves multiple city committees. Prior to his work in Norman, Scanlon served 26 years in the U.S. Air Force where he last worked as chief of mission analyses under the assistant chief of staff for the Air Force, Studies and Analyses at the Pentagon and worked for Northrop Grumman in Washington, D.C. United States Senator Bob Casey stopped at Bald Birds Brewing Co. in Jersey Shore on Wednesday to tour the facility with owner Joe Feerrar and County Commissioner Rick Mirabito. Bald Birds Brewing Co. was recently approved for 2.4 million dollars through the Department of Agriculture and Business Industry Loan Guarantee program. Feerrar said he intends to use the new loan to continue to expand the business as they move towards aging whiskey, beginning their distillery, and expanding their wedding and banquet offerings on the campus. Its an incredible story thats exciting for our community. Not only has he taken a building on the verge of obsolete, but he's turned it into something thats cutting edge, and very popular, stated County Commissioner Rick Mirabito. Hes using the skill sets that he used in high school, and college, and turning this into a business that is hiring many other people at family sustaining wages and its inspiring. All the local jobs he created and the local people he hired to do it. Bald Birds previously received a $1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant. Feerrar explained how that state grant enabled Bald Birds to bring in equipment necessary to sustain the growing demand of their product in their 153,000 square foot facility. One specific example is the current canning line Bald Birds uses, which contributed to the output and ability to sign on for their 18 million units contracted for 2022. Without that grant I wouldnt have been able to get that canning line that turned us into a regional powerhouse, stated Feerrar. You can see it up close, the benefit of it. Whether its a state loan or grant, in this case we continue to be supported by The Department of Agriculture and Business Industry Loan Guarantee program," said United States Senator Bob Casey during the visit on Wednesday. Senator Casey toured the massive Bald Birds property while getting a behind the scenes look at all of the operations Feerrar has taken on. Casey asked intricate question after question to break down the basics of the operations currently underway at Bald Birds. Senator Casey explained what a place like Bald Birds would need to be able to qualify for the Department of Agriculture Loan. He explained there is an advantage with the company being in a rural community, and the targeted investment to create jobs and grow the local economy is prime with a business growing as rapidly as Bald Birds. Bald Birds has brewed 175 different beers to date. Feerrar says that they are also working in conjunction with Penn College and their brewery science program as he continues to look to expand production and additional job opportunities. According to Feerrar, the best way for these students to understand their craft is to use their tools in an actual brewery. Joe is showing us where a state investment benefits and makes these jobs possible," Casey added. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get Our Free Newsletters Never miss a headline with NorthcentralPa.com newsletters. Sign Up Today! Morning Headlines: Would you like to receive our daily morning newsletter? Afternoon Update: What's happening today? Here's your update! Daily Obits: Get a daily list straight to your email inbox. Harrisburg, Pa. The United Parcel Service (UPS) will see an addition of 1,721 new, full-time jobs through its Northeast Regional Hub, one of four UPS locations supported by the state. The total state investment in UPS is roughly $8.9 million. Through the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), UPS received $2.7 million in Job Creation Tax Credits, $5.6 million in Infrastructure and Facilities Improvement Program funding, and $659,400 in grants for workforce training and development to expand at four Pennsylvania locations in Lehigh Valley, Carlisle, Lower Swatara, and Philadelphia. The investment will create 1,721 new, full-time jobs and retain another 6,458 full-time jobs which pay living wages that average $52,721 annually. UPS appreciates the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for their support of these projects as we contribute to the communitys economic vitality, said Ray Barczak, president of UPSs East Zone. Our new and expanded facilities will provide additional opportunities to serve businesses and consumers throughout the state with good-paying jobs. The project was coordinated by the Governors Action Team, a group of economic development professionals who report directly to the governor and work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get Our Free Newsletters Never miss a headline with NorthcentralPa.com newsletters. Sign Up Today! Morning Headlines: Would you like to receive our daily morning newsletter? Afternoon Update: What's happening today? Here's your update! Daily Obits: Get a daily list straight to your email inbox. Even with reduced hours at area bars and restaurants, DUI cases are on the rise and local numbers show an increase in drug-related charges, according to area experts. In Lycoming County, DUI cases were lower in 2021 than 2019, the year before the pandemic, according to District Judge Gary Whiteman but those numbers may be deceptive. The numbers, although they look lower on face value I would suggest they are higher, Whiteman said during a meeting of the Lycoming County DUI Advisory Board on Tuesday. In 2021, 477 DUI cases were filed, according to Whiteman, down from 544 in 2019. There may be a variety of reasons for the decrease, Whiteman said, the primary one being that restaurants and bars have either been closed or had reduced hours since the beginning of the pandemic. Youre limiting the number of hours available to the consumer, Whiteman said. During the early days of the pandemic, restaurants may have limited their hours to decrease the spread of the coronavirus. Now, the employee staffing shortage requires restaurants to continue in a limited capacity. A six-pack for the road By contrast, in the wider region of northcentral Pennsylvania, state police are seeing record numbers of DUI cases, according to Troop F Patrol Section Commander Lt.Travis W. Doebler. In 2021, Troop F reported 1,300 DUI cases spread out among Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Tioga and Union counties, according to Doebler. Yes, the bars have been shut down, but every convenience store now has a beer cage, Doebler said. Weve seen more DUIs from people going to a convenience store and getting a six-pack for the road to supplement what has been shut down due to COVID. A decrease in traffic stops could also be a cause for the lower number of DUI cases in Lycoming County, according to drug recognition expert Shawn Noonan, retired from the Pennsylvania State Police. This means a decrease in proactive stops such as a taillight out, window tint or failure to use a turn signal, which often result in further DUI-related charges. Noonan pointed to lower staffing among law enforcement over the past two years... Continue reading On the PULSE Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get Our Free Newsletters Never miss a headline with NorthcentralPa.com newsletters. Sign Up Today! Morning Headlines: Would you like to receive our daily morning newsletter? Afternoon Update: What's happening today? Here's your update! Daily Obits: Get a daily list straight to your email inbox. Williamsport, Pa. Detectives said a man exchanged $80 for eight bags of fentanyl prior to a high-speed chase that ended in felony charges for two men. Kaseem Bradshaw, 20, of Philadelphia was charged with multiple felonies after a confidential informant set up a deal for the substance on Jan. 6, 2021. After organizing an exchange spot, detectives said they observed Bradshaw enter a vehicle with the CI and complete the transaction. The CI gave the fentanyl back to the authorities, who then attempted to stop the vehicle occupied by Bradshaw and another man. Detectives said the vehicle reached high speeds and nearly caused several crashes before pulling into the parking lot at Wegmans. Kassem Bradshaw was then taken into custody. The other man, identified as Kyiem Bradshaw, 44, of Williamsport, ran into Wegmans and was later taken into custody. Post Miranda Rights, Kyiem Bradshaw gave a full confession to conspiring with Kaseem Bradshaw to deliver suspected fentanyl to a CI, wrote Detective Sarah Edkin of the Lycoming County Narcotics Enforcement Unit. Kaseem Bradshaw was charged with felony possession with intent to deliver, conspiracy, and third-degree criminal use of a communication facility. Kaseem Bradshaw was initially given $300,000 monetary bail during an arraignment, but had it changed to $50,000 unsecured on Feb. 1, 2021. Kyiem Bradshaw was charged with the same offenses, but also given third-degree felony fleeing and second-degree misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person. According to a release from Williamsport Police, Kyiem Bradshaw was also charged with criminal trespassing and other offenses after allegedly breaking into a home with a knife in a separate incident. Kaseem Bradshaw docket sheet Kyiem Rahmir Bradshaw docket sheet Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get Our Free Newsletters Never miss a headline with NorthcentralPa.com newsletters. Sign Up Today! Morning Headlines: Would you like to receive our daily morning newsletter? Afternoon Update: What's happening today? Here's your update! Daily Obits: Get a daily list straight to your email inbox. Instant unlimited access to all of our content on www.northcoastcitizen.com. The North Coast Citizen E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement. Lifestyles wire Russia widens its attack on Ukraine: We now have war in Europe Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images/TNS Ukrainian servicemen get ready to repel an attack in Ukraines Lugansk region on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, killing dozens and forcing hundreds to flee for their lives in the pro-Western neighbor. Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS A line for the ATM grows as people try to obtain cash as news of Russia invading Ukraine continues to dominate the headlines, in Slovyansk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS Hundreds of people seek shelter underground, on the platform, inside dark train cars, and even in the emergency exits, in a metro subway station as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS A statue holding up the Ukrainian flag at sunset in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS Hundreds of people seek shelter underground, on the platform, inside the dark train cars, and even in the emergency exits, in a metro subway station as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS People go about their daily lives as news spreads of Russia beginning its invasion of Ukraine, in Slovyansk, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Chris McGrath/Getty Images North America/TNS Cars sit at a standstill as people try to leave the city on Feb. 24, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine. Overnight, Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine, with explosions reported in multiple cities and far outside the restive eastern regions held by Russian-backed rebels. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images/TNS) Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS Ukrainian Military Forces servicemen block a road in the so-called government quarter in Kyiv on Feb. 24, 2022, as Russias ground forces invaded Ukraine from several directions today, encircling the country within hours of Russian President announcing his decision to launch an assault. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images/TNS) KHARKIV, Ukraine Russia pressed ahead with its assault on neighboring Ukraine on Thursday, with explosions resounding in cities across the country, airstrikes crippling its defenses and reports of troops crossing the border by land and sea. An adviser to Ukraines interior minister said on Facebook that Russian missiles had struck Ukrainian military command centers, air bases and depots in the capital, Kyiv, and in the major cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro. The government acknowledged that Russian forces had taken control of Chernobyl, the city north of Kyiv that was the site of the worlds worst nuclear accident, raising fears of a possible escape of radioactive material. Ukraines interior ministry also confirmed that Russian troops had taken a strategic international airport barely 10 miles outside Kyiv. Huge traffic snarls formed as residents tried to flee the capital. Video showed Russian armored vehicles advancing into mainland Ukraine from Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow illegally seized eight years ago. Ukrainian air-traffic controllers sealed off the countrys airspace due to the high risk of aviation safety for civil aviation. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law in his embattled nation and encouraged his compatriots to take up arms. Meanwhile, the U.S. and the West announced new sanctions on Russia for an invasion that they had warned for weeks was coming but that Moscow had denied was planned. Russian President Vladimir Putin portrayed the incursion which followed months of Russian military buildup along Ukraines borders to the north, east and south as a move to liberate and protect eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed secessionists hold sway over a large swath of the region. He warned other countries not to intervene, saying that it would lead to consequences you have never seen in history. In Washington, President Joe Biden described the invasion as a premeditated attack that came without provocation, without justification, without necessity. He laid responsibility for it firmly at the Russian leaders door, calling it Putins war. Biden conferred with other world leaders Thursday to try to coordinate a response to an act of aggression that has drawn outcry across the globe and that raised the specter of catastrophic bloodshed in Europe. The attack rattled Europe and stirred memories not only of the Cold War but also of World War II. It reflected Putins long mistrust of NATO and the West and his ambition to stitch back together remnants of the former Soviet Union. And it raised the specter of how the West let alone Ukraine would handle a possible humanitarian and refugee crisis while trying to counter a powerful Russian military that possesses both conventional and nuclear weapons. We now have war in Europe on a scale and of a type we thought belonged to history, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday, describing the incursion as a deliberate, cold-blooded and long-planned invasion and a blatant violation of international law. This is a grave moment for the security of Europe, said Stoltenberg, who will convene an emergency virtual summit of NATO leaders Friday. Russias unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine is putting countless innocent lives at risk with air and missile attacks, ground forces and special forces from multiple directions, targeting military infrastructure and major urban centers. An adviser to Zelenskyy said Russian forces had seized Chernobyl, where a reactor exploded in April 1986, scattering radioactive materials across Europe. The stricken nuclear plant has since been decommissioned and the damaged reactor encased in a giant concrete and steel shelter, but Ukrainian authorities warned that fighting could damage the covering. After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe, Zelenskyy aide Myhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press. Washington and its European allies announced new sanctions aimed at further isolating Russian banks, oligarchs and companies from world markets, measures going beyond similar steps taken earlier this week. Biden also directed Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to deploy about 7,000 more U.S. service personnel to Europe; they will be based in Germany to help reassure NATO allies and to deter further Russian aggression. But Biden has insisted that U.S. and NATO troops will not fight in Ukraine itself, which is not a member of the trans-Atlantic alliance. NATO ambassadors said in a statement after emergency talks Thursday that the alliance would beef up land, sea and air forces on its eastern flank. We have increased the readiness of our forces to respond to all contingencies, the envoys said. Putin announced his special military operation in east Ukraine in a nationally televised address early Thursday in Moscow. Even as he spoke, bombing runs began across the former Soviet republic, with some two dozen strikes reported on major cities and other areas. An adviser to Zelenskyy said that more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and dozens more wounded in fighting. Russias defense ministry said in a statement, quoted by the Russian Interfax news agency, that Ukrainian air defenses were suppressed. Ukraines defense ministry said its forces shot down five Russian warplanes and a helicopter, an assertion denied by Moscow. Russian military vehicles were reported to have entered Ukraine from Belarus to the north, where Russian troops had been holding joint military drills that Western capitals warned were a prelude to an incursion. Kyiv lies barely 50 miles south of the Belarusian border. On Wednesday, Western powers said Russian soldiers had already entered Ukraine from the east, in the industrial heartland known as the Donbas, where Moscows proxy militias have engaged in skirmishes with Ukrainian forces for eight years. Putin on Monday recognized two Donbas enclaves under the control of pro-Russia separatists, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent republics, setting the stage for him to send in troops to the region under the pretext of peacekeeping. Here in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, the countrys second-largest city, Ukrainian soldiers stood in a field with two Howitzers aimed north, where the Russian border lay. A convoy of large Ukrainian military trucks lumbered down the road. Almost all shops were closed. In the lobby of the high-end Kharkiv Palace Hotel, guests sipped coffee, wondering if they should join the westward exodus. The Russians will be here in two hours, said a man who gave his name as Anton, who had come to Kharkiv on a work trip and was trying to find a way to return to Kyiv. The road heading southwest to the city of Dnipro was not an option, he said, since he expected it to be bombed by the Russian military. Some residents flocked to subway stations looking for escape or for shelter, lugging backpacks, small suitcases and pet carriers. Inside one station, people wedged themselves against the wall, using their bags to claim what little space they could as the crowds kept piling in. Those who could cram themselves into subway carriages did so, sitting on the seats, the floor or anywhere else they could find, waiting in darkness for the line to start up. Standing in the middle of a subway platform was Sergei, 30, a real estate agent turned programmer who was carrying his baby daughter, Naomi. He wasnt scared for himself, he said, but for Naomi. His wife, Katya, agreed, saying that they were trying to leave not because were not patriots, but because we have a child. ... If it wasnt for her I would go fight. As the day had worn on, the couple discussed whether they should try to get out of the city. There were no planes, no trains. Should they take a car and risk the traffic not to mention the possibility of encountering Russian soldiers on intercity roads? We just dont know. There are too many rumors, Katya said. Another individual seeking refuge in the station, also named Sergei, expressed disbelief at his familys predicament. His daughter, 4, his wife and his mother sat on pink-and-blue yoga mats spread out on the floor of the platform. This is the 21st century. I just cant believe this is happening, the 38-year-old marketing manager said, looking around at people threading their way through the crowds, as if they were extras in a film. Not a World War II movie, Sergei said. A horror movie. Outside, Nasruddin Nooruldin, a 23-year-old medical student from India, stood among a gaggle of other international students, all of them looking anxious. Were hoping to get an evacuation flight, he said. There are hundreds, maybe even more than 1,000 of us from India here. Earlier in the Donbas town of Slovyansk, about 75 miles north of Donetsk, the sound of explosions filled the morning air, but residents appeared to remain calm. As the sun rose, some emerged to start their workdays, if under tense circumstances. Were going to stay open, said Bogdan, an 18-year-old barista, as he slipped an almond croissant into a paper bag and handed it to a waiting customer at a cafe. For now were waiting. Anton Chechenko, 30, an electric engineer who works in Slovyansk but whose family lives in Dnipro, about four hours to the west, stood in the central square and watched a flock of pigeons strut on cold tiles. Everyone here has lived through war. And were not seeing shelling yet, he said. Besides, he added, fear isnt something that can save your life or your health. You need calm for that. The most visible sign at that hour of any distress was at banks and gas stations, where queues formed in the early morning and persisted as the day wore on. Alexander, 30, who gave only his first name, stood near a bank talking to an army officer on the street. He had just come back from the store and had loaded his backpack with canned food and other supplies. He planned to go to a village near Kharkiv, to the northwest. It will be calm there, he said. Shortly after he spoke, Zelensky announced that Ukraine was formally severing ties with Russia, which had earlier pulled out its diplomatic personnel from Kyiv, before the invasion began. Zelensky exhorted those who have not yet lost their conscience in Russia to go out and protest against the incursion. As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history, Zelensky tweeted. Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and wont give up its freedom. The assault negated weeks of frantic diplomacy to try to prevent war and indeed came as the U.N. Security Council was in the midst of discussing the crisis in an extraordinary session. It shatters a three-decade stretch of relative peace in Europe, which survived two world wars and a cold one in the 20th century. Even some seasoned analysts of contemporary Russia were stunned by Putins decision to move in, despite all the signs pointing to just such an intention. The West is now under heavy pressure to present a united front not only in its rhetoric but in the severity of penalties it is willing to inflict on Russia and, as a consequence, on some of its own economies, particularly in Europe. Germany took a significant step toward that goal Wednesday when Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that his government was halting authorization of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project to bring Russian gas westward. Much of Europe relies on Russian gas to heat homes and generate electricity. More than one-third of the gas consumed by the 27-nation European Union is imported from Russia, making some member nations nervous over major confrontation with Moscow. The Biden administration says it has been working with European partners to secure other sources of energy for the continent, although a rise in prices would be an inevitable result. ____ (Bulos reported from Kharkiv and Chu from London. Times staff writers Patrick McDonnell in New York and Sarah D. Wire in Washington contributed to this story.) Hammond Horseshoe Casino, Merrillville-based Centier Bank, Captrust in Chesterton, General Insurance Services in Michigan City and Starin Marketing in Chesterton were honored as among the Hoosier State's top workplaces. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce recently released its Best Places to Work in Indiana list for 2022. It honored 125 Indiana businesses in various industry sectors, including 40 newcomers. The Indianapolis-based chamber representing businesses across the state has been honoring top workplaces through the annual program since 2006. Best Places to Work in Indiana not only recognizes our states outstanding employers, but also sets a high standard for other Hoosier companies by encouraging them to realize the importance of evaluating their own workplace, Indiana Chamber President and CEO Kevin Brinegar said. It is clear that a positive work environment makes employees more engaged in their job and in their company, which is what every employer wants and can greatly aid in employee retention something on the minds of many businesses right now. The winners were honored in different size categories that range from small companies with between 15 and 74 employees to major firms with more than 1,000 employees. Out-of-state companies can participate so long as they have at least 15 full-time workers in Indiana. The honors were determined by the research firm Workforce Research Group, which relied on employer reports and comprehensive employee surveys to reach its conclusions. Companies got in-depth evaluations identifying what employees say are their strengths and weaknesses, insights that can be used for employee recruitment and retention. They will be recognized at the 2022 Best Places to Work in Indiana awards celebration on May 12 in Indianapolis. For more information or tickets, visit www.indianachamber.com/specialevents. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. GARY New owners have acquired the landmark Miller Bakery Cafe restaurant and plan to revive it with a fresh new concept. Peggy and Rex Blackwell and their son Matthew Blackwell bought the 555 S. Lake St. building that was previously home to an acclaimed fine-dining restaurant for an undisclosed amount. They plan to open "a modern, family and community-oriented concept known as Tiny's" on the downtown stretch of Lake Street in Gary's lakefront Miller neighborhood. Tinys Coffee Bar will have offerings that include coffee drinks, sandwiches, artisan cocktails, and more. We hope to be open by summer," Matthew Blackwell said. Restaurateur John Moultrie, who owns Bistro on the Greens in LaPorte, had been in talks to lease the property and open another restaurant there, but was struggling to find enough employees during the protracted labor shortage. That fell through after a long period of inactivity, previous building owner Diana Riatt said. "We were in talks, but we were hoping to sell and not just lease the building," Riatt said. "He wasn't able to move forward with COVID and everything. The deadline kept moving and moving." The historic streamline-style building was built as the Miller Bakery in 1941. It closed in the late 1980s and then reopened as a casual dining restaurant known as the Miller Bakery Cafe, which specialized in steak, seafood and cocktails in a sophisticated, urbane setting. It closed after its initial run, but then Raitt, a Miller resident, bought the building and leased it to her son Jack Strode, a seasoned Chicago restaurant manager, who reopened it in 2012. It ended up closing as a result of the Lake Street reconstruction, which added a bike lane and left the street torn up for years. We truly enjoyed serving the community for six years and finally found a good way to pass the torch, Riatt said. Miller Bakery Cafe had been an institution. It was destination dining that drew visitors from across Northwest Indiana, and its bar was a popular neighborhood hangout. Were happy to share this exciting news we invite our former customers to post their favorite memories and photos over the years on our Miller Bakery Cafe Facebook page," Strode said. "Were looking forward to reliving those good times, and holding onto the memories for my family and the community in a special online album. The new owners plan to remodel the building, expanding to the side lot next door to add outdoor dining. It will end up with an entirely new modern look inside and out, they said. Matt Blackwell said he plans to create a space where people can eat, gather and relax. It will cater to the Miller neighborhood, as well as visitors to the beach and the Indiana Dunes National Park. "Its exciting to bring new life to this historic building in Garys Miller Beach neighborhood. The coffee bar will be named after my grandfather, a 65 man nicknamed Tiny," he said. Raitt said she was excited about the new concept. "They're great people who want to be part of the community," she said. "Matthew is going to be the new face of the company. It was time for a new concept that's also restoring the heritage of the old bakery. The building just turned 80 years old last year. It's great seeing it being restored and brought back to life. It was a huge gap in the Miller Beach community." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Indiana House joined a chorus of state, national and international entities Thursday seeking to punish Russia for invading Ukraine. In a unanimous vote, Hoosier state representatives agreed to insert in Senate Bill 388 a provision barring any business entity organized under the laws of the Russian Federation, or wholly controlled by Russian citizens, from acquiring by any means any real property located in Indiana. State Rep. Ryan Dvorak, D-South Bend, led the push to keep elements of what he described as Russia's "kleptocracy" from operating businesses or purchasing homes in Indiana. "Our message today is that Indiana will not be a safe haven for ill-gotten Russian funds, nor for its oligarchs trying to find financial shelter in the wake of Putin's unconscionable invasion of Ukraine," Dvorak said. "The people of Ukraine need our support," he said. If ultimately enacted into law, the prohibition on Russian entities acquiring real property in Indiana would take effect July 1 and run until June 30, 2023 though those dates still could change as the measure continues moving through the legislative process. Dvorak's also unsuccessfully attempted to require the Indiana Public Retirement System divest its approximately $40 billion in assets held on behalf of Hoosier teachers and government employees from any company continuing to do business in the Russian Federation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, deemed the divestment provision insufficiently related to the underlying legislation to be inserted in the proposal and the Republican-controlled House voted 65-26 to affirm Huston's decision. In addition to banning Russian entities from acquiring property in Indiana, the measure prohibits all foreigners from purchasing many types of Indiana agricultural enterprises and requires enhanced disclosure of large donations from foreign entities to universities in Indiana. A final House vote on the proposal is expected next week. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CROWN POINT A longtime advocate for abused and neglected Lake County children is the governor's pick to fill a judicial vacancy on the Lake Superior Court. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Friday he's selected Rehana Adat-Lopez for the opening on the bench created by the Oct. 19, 2021, death of Judge Diane Ross Boswell, and subsequent transfer of Judge Gina Jones to Boswell's former court. Adat-Lopez will be sworn-in as Lake County's newest superior court judge at a later date, according to the governor's office. She initially will serve a two-year term. Lake County voters then will decide at a general election whether Adat-Lopez should be retained for a renewable six-year term. Holcomb selected her from the list of five "most highly qualified" candidates recommended in December by the Lake County Judicial Nominating Commission out of the 12 Lake County lawyers who applied for the post. Since 2013, Adat-Lopez has worked as director and attorney of the Lake County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) program that speaks for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. The CASA department Adat-Lopez manages includes a staff of 18, along with 90 volunteers. Adat-Lopez also regularly appears in court as an attorney on behalf of children, including at more than 400 bench trials in juvenile court. Altogether, Adat-Lopez has more than 24 years of civil litigation experience in both the public sector and private practice, including 14 years at personal injury law firms in Northwest Indiana and as an attorney for the Indiana Department of Child Services in Gary. She's also served as a temporary judge on multiple occasions at various civil courts in Lake County. Adat-Lopez was born in the East African nation of Uganda and immigrated to the United States with her family when she was a young child to escape persecution. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science at Loyola University Chicago in 1993 and her law degree in 1996 at Valparaiso University School of Law. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CROWN POINT The Indiana Supreme Court denied a petition to transfer a case involving a menu, two politically connected men and a Region steak house. The Indiana Supreme Court issued the order Thursday, denying Christopher Meyers' petition to transfer his case against Randolph Randy Palmateer. "We are pleased with the ruling today by the Indiana Supreme Court denying the transfer of this case," said Joseph C. Svetanoff, who is a representative of Palmateer and the Northwestern Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council. "Additionally, we fully acknowledge the previous correct decisions upholding the position of our clients by the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Lake County Superior Court, Civil Division located in East Chicago." The litigation stems from an alleged incident in 2018 involving Meyers, who is a consultant and former Gary city official, and Palmateer, who is a business manager of the Northwestern Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council, at Gino's Steakhouse. "Furthermore, our clients are relieved that this frivolous lawsuit is now concluded," Svetanoff said. "Finally, our clients after almost four years of litigation feel fully vindicated and are of the opinion that justice has prevailed." Following the Indiana Court of Appeals decision in October 2021, Meyers had filed to transfer jurisdiction to the Indiana Supreme Court. Last fall, Indiana Court of Appeals court judges declined to give Meyers a new chance to sue Palmateer. The Oct. 27, 2021 ruling cited that there were alleged unnecessary delays in pursuing claims against Palmateer which caused the suits dismissal. "While we prefer to decide case based on their merits, it is apparent that Meyers personally did nothing to pursue his claims against the defendants," the Court of Appeals of Indiana document said. "In our view, that inaction evinces an unwillingness to move forward and resolve the dispute, even though Meyers alleged in his complaint that he sustained a serious eye injury from the incident." However, Meyers claimed the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing his complaint because any miscommunication between Meyers' attorneys is not within control of the plaintiff, and he should not be penalized for it, according to a court document. In addition, the document stated that Meyers "asserted that dismissing the complaint was error because defendants failed to show any resulting prejudice from a brief five-month delay." The incident began as a chance meeting between the two men April 6, 2018, at Gino's Steakhouse, 600 E. U.S. 30 in Merrillville, a popular meeting spot for public officials. A lawyer for Palmateer previously said Meyers argued with Palmateer, blaming the union official for Meyers' loss of several job opportunities, precipitating an argument in Ginos bar. During the encounter, Palmateer is accused of grabbing a leather-bound restaurant menu and flipping it in Meyers' direction, striking Meyers in the eye. Meyers' attorneys claim the attack left Meyers with a permanent vision impairment. Merrillville police submitted evidence to Special Prosecutor Stanley Levco, who concluded it wasnt a crime. Levco noted witness statements made it clear Palmateer tossed a menu, injuring Meyers, but it was unclear whether Palmateer intended to hurt Meyers or whether it was an accident. Meyers filed a civil suit against Palmateer in mid-September 2018, later adding Palmateers union group and the restaurant as defendants. The complaint stated that Palmateer negligently and recklessly hit Meyers in the eye with a menu at the restaurant. The Times' Bill Dolan contributed to this report. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Indiana State Police say a motorist, who led a local pursuit early Wednesday and attempted to cause a trooper to crash, wound up being wanted elsewhere in the state on rape charges. Jaquis L. Brown, 34, of Lawrence, Indiana, added two felony counts of resisting law enforcement and misdemeanor reckless driving, resisting and driving while suspended to his legal woes, state police Sgt. Glen Fifield said. A trooper stopped Brown for speeding shortly before 4 a.m. Wednesday along Interstate 65 in Merrillville when Brown fled north at excessive speeds, Fifield said. "During the pursuit, the suspect made several movements with his vehicle in an attempt to make the pursuing officer crash," police said. The pursuit continued west on Ridge Road to Martin Luther King Drive where Brown abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot, Fifield said. The trooper soon caught up to Brown, who continued to resist, according to police. He was taken into custody with the help of Hobart police. "A passenger that was in the vehicle was released and is not facing any charges," Fifield said. It was later learned Brown was wanted on warrants out of Marion County on charges of rape, criminal confinement and sexual battery, police said. "Mr. Brown also had a misdemeanor warrant for driving while suspended through LaPorte County, Fifield said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PORTAGE An Illinois man faces a felony count after leading an officer on a high-speed chase through a school zone and then reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph before crashing into a home, Portage police said. Gerald Anderson, 31, of Richton Park, Illinois, said he fled because, "I'm a felon, I'm black, my license is suspended, I have dreads, and I'm in Indiana. I was scared," police said. Anderson faces a felony count of resisting law enforcement with a motor vehicle and misdemeanor criminal recklessness, according to the incident report. He also was cited for exceeding the speed limit in a school zone, police said. A Portage officer said he was parked Thursday in the area of Willowcreek Middle School on Central Avenue at 7:25 a.m. Thursday when he clocked an eastbound Chevrolet Impala driving 42 mph in the 20-mph school zone. He stopped the vehicle and while approaching on foot, the driver sped away eastbound on Central Avenue, the officer said. The driver, later identified as Anderson, disregarded traffic signals and stop signs through the downtown area, traveled left of center, forced other vehicles off the road to avoid a collision and exceeded 100 mph, police said. Anderson continued north on McCool Road, where his vehicle went airborne 20 feet over railroad tracks before spinning out of control upon landing, police said. His vehicle then slid into a home and a vehicle parked in a driveway in the 2400 block of McCool Road, police said. "The inside of the basement is visible from the front yard," the officer said of the damaged home. Anderson and two passengers began to exit the vehicle, at which time the officer said he grabbed Anderson. When the male passenger did not immediately respond to commands to stop and reached into his jacket pocket, the officer said he pulled his gun and instructed the man to get on the ground. As the passenger began to comply, another officer arrived to help. Anderson said he was on his way to drop off a female friend at her Portage home, police said. After Anderson was medically cleared, he was taken to jail. The male and female passengers reportedly told police they asked Anderson stop and let them out during the pursuit. The male passenger, who is from Chicago, remained at the hospital for treatment, police said. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CROWN POINT Sheriff's police have a message for patrons of gun shows at the Lake County Fairgrounds: Follow the law or face arrest and prosecution. Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said Thursday his department began an undercover investigation named Operation Scarecrow in September to target illegal purchases at the gun shows, which long have been criticized as a source of firearms used in crimes. Illegally purchased guns often are used in crimes because they likely can't be traced back to any suspects, Martinez said. "They're using it for gun violence, and a lot of people are getting killed out on the streets," he said. "Innocent people are getting hurt, and we need to put a stop to this." Some of those arrested during the undercover investigation also were motivated by money: They were getting paid to serve as straw purchasers, Martinez said. Officers seized 66 firearms, arrested or detained 56 people and confiscated more than $18,000 in cash during three gun shows in October, November and December, according to data provided by police. Twenty-two people, ranging in age from 15 to 64, have been charged, according to police and Lake Superior Court records. An investigation into a 23rd person remains ongoing, police said. One suspect was shot and killed in East Chicago before charges were filed, police said. Two additional cases were turned over to federal authorities for further investigation. Police had 11 people in custody as of Thursday, and 12 remained at large. In addition to guns, police recovered a total of 50 Ecstasy pills; 271 grams of Ecstasy in powder and rock form; 7 grams of psilocybin mushrooms; 20.7 grams of prescription Xanax pills; 14 bags of synthetic marijuana; and 209 grams of marijuana, officials said. About one-fourth of the department's approximately 165 officers have assisted with the operation each month, including officers from the Special Operations Division, High-Crime Unit, Patrol Division, interdiction and narcotics units, and undercover police. The officers used a high-quality surveillance system inside the Industrial Building at the fairgrounds, license plate readers, drones, helicopters and other technology to gather evidence and build their cases. The operation was among the largest in the department's history, and Martinez ensured whatever resources were needed were available, said Cmdr. Jim Stahl, who leads the Special Operations Division. Martinez is committed to equipping the department with technology, such as surveillance cameras, license plate readers and its aviation unit. "This new tech was vital to helping us identify suspects and bring them to justice," Stahl said. He also credited "good old-fashioned police work" for the operation's success. Flagrant violations of the law Many law-abiding people attend the guns shows and legally purchase firearms and other items, Stahl and Martinez said. Those show patrons are not who sheriff's police were targeting, he said. "To be clear, I support the right to legally keep and bear arms in accordance with the Constitution," Martinez said. "Simply said, our investigation has helped to cut off the supply of illegal weapons at its source." Investigators began the investigation by simply watching activity during the guns shows. What they saw surprised them, Martinez said. When The Times observed Operation Scarecrow on Dec. 18, the groups police zeroed in on inside the Industrial Building appeared to be exchanging money and guns without much concern for the law. "We were busy every hour of the operation," Martinez said. Officers and Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Edgar Rodriguez watched for groups of people working together to shop, purchase and then immediately transfer guns to other people. People taking photos of guns and texting, people exchanging large amounts of cash, and shoppers immediately handing off guns to those who did not purchase them caught investigators' attention. The Crown Point gun shows, which have been held for decades, long have been criticized as a place where straw purchasers who often have no convictions that would prevent them from buying a gun can divert firearms to those cannot legally possess them. Registered dealers at the gun shows must conduct background checks, but private sellers are excluded from that requirement, Stahl said. "Some of the people we took into custody went to a private seller, who doesn't have to do the background check," he said. "They were taking real advantage of that loophole. Detectives were looking for that type of activity." During the December gun show, investigators at their headquarters in the Sheriff's Department watched three large screens as they remotely operated cameras inside the Industrial Building at the fairgrounds. After identifying a crew of shoppers, investigators began to focus on their "money guy," a man in a green hoodie withdrawing cash from an ATM and handing it to others. By the time the man left the show, he likely had passed out more than $1,000 to other members of his group, officials said. When police noticed another man place his identification on a table to make a purchase, they zoomed the camera in so far they could read his name and date of birth on the ID card. A check with intelligence officers showed the man had a license to carry a firearm, which made sense if he was serving as a buyer, officials said. As each crew left the fairgrounds, police watched closely for any guns being handed off to nonbuyers and relayed information to patrol officers to conduct traffic stops. Those who were detained were brought back to the Sheriff's Department for questioning. Fatal pursuit sparked probe Martinez said he first brought the idea for Operation Scarecrow to his command staff after members of the High-Crime Unit began noticing firearms they were seizing from convicted felons had not been stolen, he said. Investigators were looking into the source of those weapons when they also learned a man visited the gun show July 10, just before he became involved in a pursuit and fatal crash in St. John. Larael L. Littleton, 20, of Gary, was driving a white Honda near the fairgrounds when a sheriff's officer attempted to pull him over because a temporary license plate on the Honda appeared to be fictitious, according to court records. Littleton led police on a chase into St. John, where he struck a Buick at the S-curve in the 9500 block of 93rd Avenue and crashed into a tree, according to court records. Littleton's passenger, Tiara McDonald, 28, of Calumet City, died at a local hospital. The driver of the Buick and Littleton also were taken to hospitals. Police recovered a drum magazine and extended magazine for a Glock firearm and multiple rounds of .40-caliber ammunition in the Honda, court records state. They said they also found a credit card swiper and four credit cards that didn't match Littleton's or McDonald's names. Littleton was taken into custody in August and pleaded not guilty to two counts of resisting law enforcement, reckless homicide and auto theft. During the Oct. 3 gun show, police set their sights on several crews, including a group of five men who were later found with a total of 14 firearms and more than $10,000 in cash, court records show. One of those five men, Charles D. Wilson III, 23, of Gary, has a history of alleged gun violence, court records show. Wilson was involved in a shootout April 7, 2018, in Hammond during what police described as "a gun deal gone bad." Wilson and his cousins Derek T. McLaurin-McNutt and Derrel C. McLaurin-McNutt were accused of luring Elijah Nolan, 19, of Gary, to the Robertsdale neighborhood to rob Nolan of a compact semi-automatic MAC 10 handgun they believed Nolan had stolen from their friend. Wilson and the McLaurin-McNutt brothers were charged in May 2019 with murder and armed robbery, but Lake County prosecutors later dropped the charges. Defense attorney Scott King, who represented the brothers, told The Times in 2019 he believed Nolan not his clients was the one planning a robbery. A deputy prosecutor's motion said the case had been referred back to Hammond police for further investigation, but the charges were never re-filed. After his encounter with sheriff's police Oct. 3, Wilson was charged with felony operating a loaded machine gun and possession of a machine gun in connection with a shooting Sept. 4 at Kennedy Avenue and Michigan Street in Hammond. No one was wounded. Charges linked to the Hammond shooting were filed Nov. 22. Wilson was arrested on those charges Dec. 24, after police found him and another man hiding in the crawlspace of a Merrillville home where an 8-year-old boy had accidentally shot himself with a gun left on a bed, court records state. Crew of 5 arrested Wilson remained in custody Thursday on new charges linked to the Oct. 3 gun show. Wilson was among a group of five people police were watching that day because of suspicious activity, records show. When police tried to box in a Pontiac Grand Prix that Wilson was driving as he left the gun show, Wilson struck an unmarked minivan as he fled and drove between a red 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe and black 2011 Cadillac Escalade, damaging both of them, court records state. Police stopped the Pontiac inside the fairgrounds. Officers recovered two handguns, and AR-15 rifle, two magazines for the rifle, ammunition and other items from inside the Pontiac, court records state. Wilson was charged with felony resisting law enforcement and three misdemeanor counts of leaving the scene of an accident. His passenger, Shaquann A. Anderson, 25, of Gary, was charged with two felony counts of use of false information to obtain a firearm, two counts of false statement on criminal history information form and one count of assisting a criminal. Another man involved in Wilson and Anderson's group, Dwight Culver, 29, of East Chicago, is accused of ramming a county vehicle with a blue 2012 Chrysler Town and Country van in the 800 block of Court Street and leading police on a pursuit onto Interstate 65. The van's right rear tire shredded and came off near the exit to 109th Avenue, but Culver continued driving and merged onto eastbound U.S. 30, records state. He ran a red light and almost struck several vehicles before hitting a median and spinning out, court records state. Flames and smoke began billowing from under the minivan's engine and around the tires, and Culver put his hands up and got out, according to court documents. Police recovered nine guns from the minivan, including one gun of "unknown make or model," four rifles, three handguns and one revolver, court records state. Magazines for several of the guns and ammunition also were found, police said. 'This is the beginning' Martinez said his department will remain committed to policing the gun shows. Police Chief Vincent Balbo said Martinez has been clear about the department's mission. "This is not the end, this is the beginning," Balbo said. "We're going to be very proactive with people that are involved in any aspect of violent crime." During a news conference Thursday, Balbo said investigators were confident the 66 confiscated firearms on display at police headquarters would have been used in crimes of violence, including carjackings, armed robbery and more. "It's absolutely critical that we continue this effort, and based on the results here, we are going to continue those efforts," Balbo said. Illegal weapons have a direct impact on the safety of the community, he said. In addition to guns, police seized firearm components that could be used to confused or slow down analysis of ballistics evidence in criminal cases, he said. He vowed sheriff's police would continue to investigate not only who illegally buys guns, but what groups may be directing the purchase of weapons and their use in crimes across the Region. When asked when the next gun show is scheduled, Stahl said, "We are always watching." "You are more than welcome to come here and purchase a weapon legally," he said. "We're definitely a proponent of that. What we're making sure doesn't happen are the people who are not supposed to possess these weapons purchase them or be in possession of them. ... That's what our main objective is." While sheriff's police cannot prevent every illegal gun sale in Lake County, "every little bit helps," Martinez said. "We wanted to send a message out there for anybody here in Indiana or from out of state: If you intend to come to Lake County, Indiana, to a gun show or any gun store to purchase guns illegally, we will arrest you, and we will prosecute you," he said. Love 11 Funny 2 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 2 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. For the second year in a row, a House-approved proposal to allow all adult Hoosiers legally entitled to own a firearm to carry a handgun in public without obtaining a state license has failed to advance in the Senate. The end of House Bill 1077 came surprisingly quick. It was sent by Senate President Rod Bray, R-Martinsville, to the Bray-led Senate Rules Committee Thursday after the deadline already had passed for Senate committees to revise and endorse measures originating in the House. As a result, the proposal will not be eligible next week for further amendment by the full Senate, nor will the Senate be able to vote to send the measure to a House-Senate conference committee to try to resolve the differences between the two chambers. However, because permitless carry was approved by the House, it potentially could be inserted in other legislation still moving through the legislative process at some point before the General Assembly adjourns on or before March 14. Though for any permitless carry plan to advance to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to be signed into law or vetoed it must be approved with identical language by both the House and the Senate. Many senators simply seemed ready to be done with the whole issue following a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the plan Wednesday that lasted more than nine hours and ended with a 6-5 vote to delete the permitless carry provisions from the legislation. The remaining portion of the measure merely authorized Indiana residents applying for a handgun carry permit to obtain a "provisional license" they could immediately use for up to 90 days while the applicant was fingerprinted and a background check conducted by the state police. It was supported in committee by state Sens. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores; Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne; Sue Glick, R-LaGrange; Tim Lanane, D-Anderson; Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago; and Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis. The move to scrap permitless carry was opposed by state Sens. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo; Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis; Mike Gaskill, R-Pendleton; Eric Koch, R-Bedford; and Mike Young, R-Indianapolis. Multiple law enforcement professionals vigorously opposed permitless carry, including Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter who said eliminating handgun carry permits will endanger the more than 18,000 police officers serving Hoosiers across the state. "If you choose to support this bill you will not be supporting us. You will not be supporting the front-line officer," Carter said. Supporters of the original measure, sponsored by state Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, said they believe it's wrong to condition the constitutional right to keep and bear arms on a requirement that lawful gun owners get permission from the state before carrying a handgun in public. "This bill is all about the lawful person and trying to respect their rights," Smaltz said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. GRIFFITH Police are seeking information in a theft investigation at a Griffith business. The Griffith Police Department released photos of suspects and a vehicle Thursday, asking the public's assistance in identifying them. On Monday police responded to a theft at the LiqGO store, at 404 N. Broad St. in Griffith. Images of the suspects and their vehicle were recovered from the security video system of the business, police said. Anyone who can identify the suspects, vehicle or provide any other information is asked to contact Griffith Detective Al Tharp at 219-924-7503, extension 252. In addition, anonymous tips can be made through the Griffith Police Departments Anonymous Tip Hotline at 219-922-3085. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. VALPARAISO Attracting and retaining talent means considering employees needs and changing old practices, two employment experts told Valpo Chamber members Thursday. Its a workers market right now, said Lisa Daugherty, president and CEO of the Center of Workforce Innovations. As many as 60% of professionals in this workforce are all looking for other jobs, said Robyn Minton-Holmes, CEO of RMH & Associates. That meant that 60% of the audience at Aberdeen Manor likely were seeking other positions, she noted. This is huge. This is really a big shift, she said. Across Indiana, according to new data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, there are 3.22 million workers in the states labor pool, Minton-Holmes said. Just under 2 million Hoosiers age 16 and above arent working. Of those, 95% dont want a job. Another 5%, or just under 100,000, want a job but arent looking currently. Just 19,800 people are both unemployed and looking for work. The focus should be on retaining employees, she said. Women are leaving the workforce at a greater rate, Minton-Holmes said. "Theyre leaving for retirement, increased family time or because they need child care." Daugherty put that last reason in perspective. A person making $30,000 a year doesnt clear that amount when it costs $10,000 a year to put a single child in daycare. In the seven-county Northwest Indiana region, 7,000 people were getting unemployment benefits in the last quarter, yet 20,000 jobs were posed in that same period. Its a serious gap, and its not going to change for some time, she said. CWI is working with partners to help residents get the skills they need to fit available jobs. But employers have to change as well, Daugherty said. Over the last couple of years, our turnover rate was probably high, 20 to 30 percent, Daugherty said. Its now down to 6 to 8 percent. One of the first things she did with CWIs employees is to listen to them and gauge what they thought would make their lives better. Were working really hard to empower employees and give them a voice, she said. One of the changes was monetary. Youve got to keep pace with wage growth, Daugherty said. Were in a correction period, just like the stock market. Workers are also looking for flexibility in scheduling and remote work. People want to work, she said, but want different schedules. Accommodating their requests, creating a human-center organization, improves productivity, efficiency and the overall experience, she said. Customer service benefits as well. From a management perspective, your operations people are going to tell you everything she said is not possible, Minton-Holmes said, but its being done successfully across a variety of organizations. With the pandemic, employees learned working from home might not be so bad. Many enjoyed the flexibility it offered. Going back to the 60% of workers looking for other jobs, Minton-Holmes said employers should be concerned about that. If youve got 60% churn in your organization right now, thats on you, she said. Ask employees, what would help you stay? CWI offers a variety of resources for employers and employees alike. We come to the table with dollars, Daugherty said. We are a resource for you. Tap into us. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. When Porter resident Florian Steciuch left Ukraine Sunday, he said there was little talk or obvious concern among residents in the western part of his family's homeland about the threat of a Russian invasion. "Where we were was very safe," he said, explaining the western part of the country borders NATO nations and is a long way from the more volatile region to the east and the capital of Kyiv. Steciuch said he is now hearing first-hand how the situation in Ukraine is changing dramatically in the wake of Thursday's invasion by Russia. Residents from the east are fleeing to the western part of the country by the hundreds of thousands in search of safety, shelter and food. "It was hard to fathom," he said of the invasion. Those living in the eastern part of the country had become accustomed to the sight of and occasional skirmishes with Russian soldiers, Steciuch said. Steciuch, whose parents were born in Ukraine, said he and his wife, Sadie, have regularly traveled to the country to conduct ministry and humanitarian work through his New York-based V1 non-denominational church, which hosts services at the Art Theater in Hobart. It is his strong faith in God that he is now relying on to help the Ukrainian people in the wake of what he says has been a failure by President Joe Biden and Western European leaders to act. He calls on others to join him in prayer for divine intervention in what he sees as a spiritual attack by Russia. "Above all, we pray for peace," he said. Steciuch said he is disappointed in the lack of military response by the United States and Western Europe. Friends of his in Ukraine have been pleading for him to do what he can to encourage the United States to "do something real." Steciuch, who moved to the Duneland area in 1993 from New York City and works as a senior financial adviser, said his recent trip to Ukraine lasted 10 days. He left as scheduled because there was no immediate pressure to flee the country. He blamed the invasion squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the Russian people are not in support of the military action. Russians have turned out by the thousands to protest the invasion, leading Thursday to nearly 2,000 being detained across the country, according to international media. Steciuch said his church is in the process of creating links for those interested in donating to help the Ukrainian people and being assured 100% of the proceeds will reach the people. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is demanding the resignation of the nation's homeland security chief even as the United States faces potential Russian reprisals for standing up to Vladimir Putin following his invasion of Ukraine. The Hoosier Republican signed a letter Tuesday saying U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas needs to go because of what Rokita contends is Mayorkas' failure to enforce federal law and secure America's southern border. "During my two recent trips to the border, I saw firsthand the state of chaos and lawlessness that our federal government has allowed to fester," Rokita said. "This deliberate negligence amounts to an attack on the rule of law by the very people we entrust to enforce it," he said. Rokita has faced criticism from Democrats for his taxpayer-funded trips to the U.S.-Mexico border that last month included a stop at a Donald Trump rally in Texas, where the Republican former president praised Rokita as "another man who has done a fantastic job." In contrast, Rokita alleges Mayorkas, a former federal prosecutor, is not doing a good job. Rokita, a Munster native, claims the record number of migrants and narcotics nabbed at the border by Department of Homeland Security personnel last year suggest even more are making it to communities in Indiana and elsewhere. "From the time you took office to December 2021, Customs and Border Protection seized enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman and child in our country six times over," Rokita said. "We shudder to think how much more is slipping through each day you remain in your position," he said. The attorney general also condemned Mayorkas for following Democratic President Joe Biden's directive to halt deportations during the first 100 days of Biden's term. Rokita said that means dangerous criminals are staying longer in the United States instead of being returned to their home countries. "In fact, given your willingness to enforce the law in the past, the only explanation is that you have consciously and intentionally caved to the far-left mob that has hijacked this administration from our vacant president," Rokita said. When asked by The Times if Rokita stands by his call for Mayorkas' resignation at a time when the United States may have a heightened need for a homeland security chief to protect against potential cyber and military attacks by Russia, Rokita doubled down. "The threat that Russia poses is yet another reason why Secretary Mayorkas should resign immediately. His refusal to enforce the rule of law puts our liberty and national security at risk," Rokita said. Rokita's call for Mayorkas' resignation was joined by Republican attorney generals from 13 additional states. Records show Mayorkas remains on the job. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Several theories have been proposed as to why spending time in forests might provide health benefits. Some have suggested that chemicals emitted from trees, so-called phytoncides, have a physiological effect on our stress levels. Others suggest that forest sounds birds chirping, rustling leaves have a physiologically calming effect. Yet evidence to support these theories is limited. On a recent visit to Japan, I met with Dr. Hiroko Ochiai, a surgeon based at Tokyo Medical Center, and her husband, Toshiya Ochiai, who is currently the chief executive of the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine. Dr. Ochiai is trained in forest therapy and currently conducts most of her sessions with volunteers within a forest in Nagano, about three hours from Tokyo, with the help of a local guide, and plans to offer forest therapy soon at one of Tokyos largest hospitals. I usually encourage participants to sit or lie down on the forest ground and listen to the sounds, she says. The hypersonic natural world can be soothing, and things are always moving even while we are still. It can be very calming. Last June the Northside Hospital Cancer Institute in Atlanta began to formally offer forest therapy as part of a pilot project in collaboration with the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Twelve patients with newly diagnosed cancers recently signed up for a session, according to Christy Andrews, the executive director of Cancer Support Community Atlanta. It was a four-hour session that seemed to have an impact on the patients, she said. I remember one participant telling me afterward that it was a way to steer away from cancer, and the group became very cohesive. I think it helped reduce the isolation in a way thats different from a regular support group. Dr. Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller, an obstetrician-gynecologist based in Cedar Falls, Iowa, began guiding patients in her practice through the Prairie Woods in Hiawatha Iowa, though she has also led groups in forests around Des Moines. She became a certified guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy three years ago and tries to tailor her offerings based on the group she is leading. I generally get a sense of where people are at. For some, its best for me to stick to the science, but others may literally want to hug a tree. The traditional tea ceremony at the end might turn some people off, so Im conscious of that and adjust accordingly, she says. Leonard Kessler, the author and illustrator of hundreds of childrens books for early readers that celebrated the ordinary (I Have Twenty Teeth Do You?) and the not-so-ordinary (Mr. Pines Purple House), died on Feb. 16 at his home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 101. His daughter, Kim Kessler, confirmed the death but did not specify a cause. A white house is fine, declared Mr. Pine, the doughty hero of Mr. Kesslers beloved Mr. Pines Purple House. But there are FIFTY white houses all in a line on Vine Street. How can I tell which one is mine? Mr. Pine then set out to distinguish his house with purple paint, soldiering on despite mishaps and upsets, in a paean to the maverick spirit and perseverance. Squish, squish, went the brush. Squish, squish, squish. When Mr. Pines Purple House was published in 1965, it sold widely for 29 cents a copy. But by the mid-1990s it had been out of print for decades and become a collectors item, selling for $300 on eBay, as Jill Morgan, a former software engineer, discovered when she tried to find a copy for her own young children. A former Austrian chancellor and ex-prime ministers of Italy and Finland were among the officials who quit their positions on the boards of leading Russian companies on Thursday in protest over Russias invasion of Ukraine. But Germanys former chancellor, Gerhard Schroder, was not among them. Mr. Schroder, a friend of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, is a familiar face on the boards of some prominent companies, including Rosneft, the Russian oil giant. He is chairman of the shareholders committee of Nord Stream 2, the company that owns the new Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline that Berlin said this week it would stop. He has also been invited to sit on the board of Gazprom, the Russian gas behemoth that is the parent company of Nord Stream 2. Mr. Schroder, 77, who was chancellor from 1998 to 2005, on Thursday called for an end to the war, writing in a post on his LinkedIn account. The second Democratic myth is, Economics trumps culture. This is the idea that if Democrats can shower working- and middle-class voters with material benefits, then that will overwhelm any differences they may have with them on religious, social and cultural issues on guns, crime and immigration, etc. This crude economic determinism has been rebutted by history time and time again. The third myth is, A progressive ascendancy is emerging. The fact is that only 7 percent of the electorate considers itself very liberal. I would have thought the Biden economic agenda, which basically consists of handing money to the people who need it most, would be astoundingly popular. Its popular, but not that popular. I would have thought Americans would scream bloody murder when the expansion of the existing child tax credit expired. They havent. Distrust in government is still astoundingly high, undercutting the progressive project at every turn. What do Democrats need to do now? Well, one thing they are really good at. Over the past few years a wide range of thinkers across the political spectrum have congregated around a neo-Hamiltonian agenda that stands for the idea that we need to build more things roads, houses, colleges, green technologies and ports. Democrats need to hammer home this Builders agenda, which would provide good-paying jobs and renew American dynamism. But Democrats also have to do something theyre really bad at: Craft a cultural narrative around the theme of social order. The Democrats have been blamed for fringe ideas like defund the police and a zeal for critical race theory because the party doesnt have its own mainstream social and cultural narrative. With war in Europe, crime rising on our streets, disarray at the border, social unraveling in many of our broken communities, perceived ideological unmooring in our schools, moral decay everywhere, Democrats need to tell us which cultural and moral values they stand for that will hold this country together. The authoritarians tell a simple story about how to restore order it comes from cultural homogeneity and the iron fist of the strongman. Democrats have a harder challenge to show how order can be woven amid diversity, openness and the full flowering of individuals. But Democrats need to name the moral values and practices that will restore social order. It doesnt matter how many nice programs you have; people wont support you if they think your path is the path to chaos. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia declared the start of a special military operation in Ukraine on Thursday, after months of speculation about Russias intentions as it massed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraines border. We would like to hear from people who are affected by the conflict. If you are in a safe place and able to do so, please tell us what you are experiencing. If you have been in touch with friends and family in the affected areas, please tell us what it has been like trying to get and stay in touch. A reporter might contact you to hear more. Faye Morrone, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New York, said on Friday that by noon local time, the storm was moving out of the greater New York City area. There are a couple of showers in and out of the city, but the bulk of precipitation has moved off to the East, she said. It was continuing to push off to the east, away from New York City and ultimately away from southern Connecticut and Long Island. There was less than an inch of rain, sleet and snow in the city, she said. Temperatures were either at or above freezing levels, or about 32 to 34 degrees and lower farther north to the Lower Hudson Valley. Anywhere that is still seeing precipitation, there is likely a snowy mix or freezing rain, she added. In terms of the broader region, by tonight we should be dry, Ms. Morrone said. Some places got a decent amount of rain and sleet, which was not so great, travel-wise, but we are warming through the afternoon, she said. It will all pull off to the north and east and over the ocean tonight. Snow had made its way into parts of Illinois, including Chicago, and Iowa, where the Weather Service said road conditions deteriorated. WASHINGTON President Biden will announce his Supreme Court nominee on Friday, according to two people familiar with his plans who were not authorized to speak publicly. The presidents decision ended a monthlong search to replace Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the senior member of the courts three-member liberal wing, who announced in January that he would retire at the end of the courts current term this summer once his successor was in place. Mr. Biden is under pressure to announce his selection, who he has promised will be a Black woman, even as he is dealing with Russias invasion of Ukraine and before his first State of the Union address, scheduled for Tuesday. The White House did not comment on his decision, which CNN reported earlier. Vice President Kamala Harris canceled a previously planned trip to Louisiana on Friday, though advisers to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris said that was at least partly because she and Mr. Biden would be focused on Russia for part of the day. Mr. Biden is scheduled to meet virtually with other NATO heads of state on Friday morning. Senior lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees said on Thursday that the Russian armys movements into Ukraine appeared to pose a direct threat to Kyiv, Ukraines capital. My sense is that they may be going into Kyiv imminently, said Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, cautioned that the United States did not have perfect visibility into the region. But he said that it did appear that a full nationwide invasion was underway, one that is not just destroying military targets but also causing civilian deaths. They are encircling Kyiv and they may follow through with plans to topple the government, Mr. Schiff said. That would be consistent with the intelligence we had before the invasion. And Mr. Putins use of denazify, in context with his false claim that Ukraines democratic government is a neo-Nazi dictatorship, is seen as a threat to topple that government outright. Western intelligence agencies have warned for weeks that Moscow may be plotting to install a pliant dictatorship in Kyiv. Still, it is possible that these references are bluster, meant to intimidate Ukraine into accepting some accommodation short of full Russian subjugation. Girding for Conflict I urge you to immediately lay down arms and go home. I will explain what this means: The military personnel of the Ukrainian army who do this will be able to freely leave the zone of hostilities and return to their families. I want to emphasize again that all responsibility for the possible bloodshed will lie fully and wholly with the ruling Ukrainian regime. Mr. Putins offer of amnesty to Ukrainian soldiers who leave the battlefield is most likely intended to encourage desertion. But it may also serve as a warning that Russian forces will accept heavy bloodshed in their invasion, which is already reaching into civilian areas, on the grounds that responsibility for loss of life ultimately rests on Ukrainian forces for not immediately surrendering. I would now like to say something very important for those who may be tempted to interfere in these developments from the outside. No matter who tries to stand in our way or all the more so create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately, and the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history. This statement is widely seen as a threat of nuclear strikes against any Western country that might militarily intervene against Russias invasion of Ukraine. Russian threats of using nuclear weaponry to retaliate against an attack on Russia itself are nothing new. But Mr. Putin, in extending this nuclear umbrella to cover his invasion forces in Ukraine, has issued a major and potentially destabilizing threat. Russian forces have carried out nuclear exercises in recent days, likely intended as a signal of his sincerity. Citizens of Russia It is our strength and our readiness to fight that are the bedrock of independence and sovereignty and provide the necessary foundation for building a reliable future for your home, your family, and your Motherland. Mr. Putin ends by appealing directly to Russian citizens to support his war in Ukraine as a necessary national struggle. But there is every indication, including in opinion polls, that Russian citizens, as well as members of the countrys all-important elite, do not want a war with Ukraine and are deeply skeptical of Mr. Putins aggression. If Mr. Putin hopes to stave off public or political backlash as the wars already-mounting political and economic toll on Russia rise, appeals to national struggle, such as this one, have so far proven severely insufficient. SLOVYANSK, Ukraine The Russian military plunged into Ukraine by land, sea and air on Thursday, killing more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, and ominously touching off a pitched battle at the highly radioactive area around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor that melted down in 1986. Day 1 of the first major land war in Europe in decades began before sunrise with the terrifying thud of artillery strikes on airports and military installations all over Ukraine. A senior Pentagon official said that three lines of Russian troops and military forces were moving swiftly toward Ukrainian cities one heading south from Belarus toward Kyiv, the capital; another toward Kharkiv, in northeast Ukraine; and a third toward Kherson in the south, near Crimea. The forces were using missiles and long-range artillery, the official said. By sunset, Russian special forces and airborne troops were pushing into the outskirts of Kyiv. While the ultimate goal of Russias president, Vladimir V. Putin, and his generals remained unclear, American officials assessed that the end game was likely the replacement of President Volodymyr Zelenskys government with a Russian-controlled puppet regime. The lethal realities spurred tens of thousands of Ukrainians to flee by car or bus toward the far-western part of the country, which was deemed safer, snarling the roads, and there were long lines at gas stations. As Russia prepared to strike Ukraine and the United States rushed to defend neighboring allies in Europe, former President Donald J. Trump had nothing but admiration for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. He is pretty smart, Mr. Trump said on Wednesday at a Florida fund-raiser, assessing the impending invasion like a real estate deal. Hes taken over a country for $2 worth of sanctions, he said, taking over a country really a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people and just walking right in. Historians called the remarks unprecedented. The idea that a former president would praise the man or leadership who American troops are even now traveling to confront and contain, said Jeffrey Engel, a presidential historian at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, is astounding. Yet Republican leaders, while condemning the invasion of Ukraine, stayed silent about the ex-presidents repeated praise this week for Mr. Putin, even as some Trump allies from former administration figures to the Fox News host Tucker Carlson amplified his Russian-friendly views to the partys core. PARIS President Vladimir V. Putin has ordered Russian troops into Ukraine but made clear his true target goes beyond his neighbor to Americas empire of lies, and he threatened consequences you have never faced in your history for anyone who tries to interfere with us. In another rambling speech full of festering historical grievances and accusations of a relentless Western plot against his country, Mr. Putin reminded the world on Thursday that Russia remains one of the most powerful nuclear states with a certain advantage in several cutting-edge weapons. In effect, Mr. Putins speech, intended to justify the invasion, seemed to come closer to threatening nuclear war than any statement from a major world leader in recent decades. His immediate purpose was obvious: to head off any possible Western military move by making clear he would not hesitate to escalate. Given Russias nuclear arsenal, he said, there should be no doubt that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country. He added: All necessary decisions have been taken in this regard. James Corden forewent any attempt at jokes at the top of his show and delivered a somber monologue instead. But today, if you are thinking about the news, there is really only one news story, and that news is so dark. That a war has begun, a sovereign country has been invaded, and all day today, and then tonight, and now as I sit here, I cant all I can think about is the innocent men and women and children in Ukraine who are terrified for their lives and I dont know how to process it. Like, I dont even know how to talk about this to my own children, let alone begin talking to you about it on television. And its weird, you know, like just because I wear a suit and I sit behind this desk, it doesnt really mean anything. I am not nearly qualified enough to speak about these events. Im not. And I dont really want to make jokes about any other trivial news story that we found today, because I cant shake the feeling of how utterly terrifying all of this is, and how scared the people of Ukraine must be feeling today; how scared everyone in Eastern Europe must be feeling today. And Im sure I cant fathom that this is happening in 2022 and the ramifications of this are monumental, and we should be under no illusion of how serious and sad the situation in Ukraine is. So, I dont know what to say other than our thoughts are with every single person in Ukraine tonight. JAMES CORDEN Amidst all this horror, its important to keep our eyes on the unhinged fascist lunatic, Colbert said, referring to former president Donald Trump, who doubled down on his support of Putin. If you are more than a few decades old, the invasion of Ukraine was horrific but familiar. It was what TV had taught you to expect since childhood. There was the buildup of tensions over a supposed military exercise, the scenario that opened The Day After in 1983. There were the columns of tanks, an image out of the invasion of Czechoslovakia, Soviet newsreels and the 1984 movie Red Dawn. There were the maps of Europe, with arrows diagraming pincer attacks and fire-red explosion graphics. There was the American president pledging that this aggression would not stand. There was his glowering Russian counterpart proclaiming his countrys destiny and threatening woe to any who interfered. There was the live video from the United Nations, as desperate diplomats flung mere words, no competition for the detonations on the other side of the split screen. This was the worst kind of nostalgia programming. This was the background chatter in the first act of a Very Special TV Movie, just before the whistle overhead and the blinding flash in the distance. Look, I plan on changing the world with these people, and yes, I wish it was done sooner, said Colonel DeJesse, who does not direct the hiring process but concentrates on the operational side of the new unit. Are people dragging their feet? No. Is it a major priority? No. It is just the speed of a major organization like the Army. The plan reflects a recognition that the military needs a force of scholarly experts to advise U.S. commanders and local authorities on how to protect cultural heritage, a recognition that has intensified after the destruction and looting of ancient objects during and after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The experts will, among other things, delineate sites to avoid in airstrikes and ground fighting, and mark places like museums to be protected against looting. Beyond the inherent value of such preservation work, officials say that efforts to protect cultural legacies have the power to bind local people and foster peace, once the shooting stops. And as a matter of diplomacy and soft power, the sight of American forces helping to save other countries cultural treasures can be a powerful tool in the battle for hearts and minds. Monuments Men is one of the best images out of the Second World War, said Andrew Kless, director of the global studies program at Alfred University in upstate New York, an applicant to the new corps who learned in 2020 that he had been selected for an officers position; he is still waiting for news of his final appointment. This is taking longer than anything I have experienced, he said. That has not changed my mind about joining it. I am taking a long-term view. This is a new program. Col. Marshall Straus Scantlin, director of strategic initiatives, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), said the pandemic had hindered the ability to convene review panels, which are typically conducted in person. It just takes time and we want to make sure we get it right, he said. More magic or at least the promise of it abounds in Stuart Gibbss Once Upon a Tim, illustrated by Stacy Curtis. Gibbs is the author of many previous works, including the Spy School and Charlie Thorne series. Fans of heraldic silliness like The Princess Bride and Shrek will delight in Once Upon a Tim, a charming take on the traditional knightly adventure. Like those other tales, Once Upon a Tim subverts the genres tropes in the service of satire. Poor Tim is a peasant, just like his parents and grandparents before him. Peasantry is unpleasantry. Its a boring life filled with chores and more chores. There isnt much else to be in the kingdom, other than the village idiot, a currently occupied position that seems to involve putting mud in ones pants. This is not a kingdom with a lot of upward mobility. Tims fortunes change when a stinx, the most horrible, terrible, deadly monster you can imagine, snatches away the neighboring kingdoms princess, Grace. (The neighboring kingdom is not, so far as we know, Monaco.) Prince Ruprecht vows to rescue the good princess and, in so doing, secure himself a beautiful and, more important, rich bride. But first he needs to gather a posse of brave knights. This is where Tim comes in, along with his best friend, Belinda, an iconoclast a word labeled an I.Q. Booster. (The book is littered with these, which is kind of distracting but did teach me the word borborygmus: the weird gurgling noise your stomach makes sometimes.) Girls arent allowed to be knights, so Belinda disguises herself, and Tim agrees to preserve her secret, since girl peasants have it even worse than boy peasants. The two enlist in the service of Prince Ruprecht and his wizard, the sinister Nerlim, along with Ferkle (the village idiot, who just happened to wander over to the knight tryouts), and leave the boring comforts of home to seek out the dastardly stinx. What follows is much silliness and much doom: the Forest of Doom, the River of Doom, the Chasm of Doom and the Mountains of Doom. They must contend with man-eating butterflies, quarrelsome trolls and fed-up pack animals, not to mention Tims fr-dog, Rover, who used to be all dog but is now half frog, thanks to a witchy transmogrification. They are not a promising crew, to be sure, but their amateurish princess-rescuing gives rise to merriment. The books fun comes from Gibbss deployment of deadpan humor and boisterous slapstick. Its heart lies in a clever subversion of type. Nobody is quite who we were led to believe, least of all Tim, who may have been born a peasant but has the heart of a lion. Or, maybe, a fr-dog. Another romantic soul among Guhas cast of characters is Samuel Stokes, a Quaker from Philadelphia who identified with Gandhis cause, settled in India, changed his name to Satyanand Stokes and converted to Hinduism. In a long letter written before the outbreak of World War II, Stokes challenged Gandhis view of nonviolence by offering reasons for Indians to take the side of Britain against Germany and Japan. Britain and her allies represent the earlier wave of imperialism as opposed to the new one that threatens the world, Stokes told Gandhi. Unlike the British, he said, the Nazis have shown themselves capable of the utmost ruthlessness. When Gandhi replied two months later, in June 1939, he explained his philosophical differences with Stokes but, Guha writes, did not respond to what was perhaps the greater question raised by Stokes the fundamental difference between German imperialism and British imperialism. One rebel who may be familiar to wider audiences is Madeleine Slade, known as Mira. She came from Britain, was treated by Gandhi like a daughter and became his disciple during the independence struggle. Many decades later, aged nearly 90, she was consulted by Richard Attenborough as he researched his Gandhi biopic, and was shown in the film playing a key role at Gandhis side. More obscure was the British Communist Philip Spratt, who arrived in India in 1927, helped found Indias Communist Party and was jailed by the British authorities. Many readers may find Spratts early conspiratorial activities interesting, but his later life as a writer on socialism in India is rather less compelling. Guhas previous works have distinguished him as an exceptional chronicler of Indias modern history. His latest volume provides fresh perspectives on the independence struggle that will appeal to those seeking more obscure eyewitness accounts. And since the books main figures were born outside of India, Rebels Against the Raj may strike a chord with contemporary outsiders who themselves have been seduced by Indias history and culture. But the book also has a broader message: Guha is dismayed by Indias current turn toward Hindu-majoritarian nationalism. He writes: Hindus, it is now said, are destined to be the worlds Vishwa Guru, teachers to the rest of humanity. They have apparently nothing to learn from or gain from the world in return. For Guha this is a total misconception: It ignores just how much the outside world has given to modern India. Russian forces push toward Kyiv A day after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had destroyed more than 70 military targets, including 11 airfields, a helicopter and four drones. Russian forces also captured the former nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, north of Kyiv, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. Explosions were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv and elsewhere. In a short video address, Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said at least 137 Ukrainians had been killed so far. Russian saboteurs had entered Kyiv, the capital, he added. He said he feared that the country would not receive military assistance. President Biden has said that U.S. forces will not fight in Ukraine, but that additional troops will be deployed to Germany and NATOs eastern flank to bolster defenses. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have fled the countrys cities, with buses and cars packed with family members, pets and personal belongings backed up for miles outside Kyiv. Anna, a resident of Chernihiv who was stuck in traffic, wiped away tears as she spoke to reporters for The Times. Im sorry, I fear for my kids, she said. Here are the latest maps of the invasion and the latest updates. Aims: Zelensky described himself as target No. 1 for Russian forces, followed by his family, but vowed to remain in the capital. I am asking citizens of Kyiv to be vigilant and adhere to the rules of martial law, he said. He disputed Russias claims that it was striking only military targets. At least one prominent Starbucks investor echoed that concern, arguing that the company appeared to be wasting money in its efforts to resist the union. The company is devoting quite a bit of time and money to putting forward these arguments in front of the N.L.R.B., said Jonas Kron, the chief advocacy officer of Trillium Asset Management, which makes investments to further environmental, social and governance goals and had a roughly $43 million stake in Starbucks at the end of last year. It doesnt feel like theyre using investor resources stakeholder resources that well. Mr. Kron and Trillium have urged the company to take a neutral stand toward the union. Other labor experts suggested it may eventually be forced to do so whether it wants to or not. Im sure there will be a tipping point at some point, said Amy Zdravecky, a management-side lawyer at Barnes & Thornburg. How many losses do you have before you change strategy? Ms. Zdravecky added that the unions ability to win an election in a state not normally sympathetic to organized labor suggested that the campaign had staying power, and that one risk for Starbuckss approach to opposing the union is that it could begin to alienate the companys liberal-leaning customer base. Fighting unions may not align with where they want to be elsewhere, she said. Many of the issues that workers in Mesa cited in their decision to support the union were similar to those identified by workers in Buffalo, like staffing and Covid-19 safety. Liz Alanna, a shift supervisor at the store, said that customers sometimes waited 45 minutes last fall after submitting a mobile order because there were not enough baristas to handle the volume. The lobby would be full of people waiting, Ms. Alanna said. . The Mesa campaign had an additional subplot that raised the stakes for workers. In early October, the stores manager, Brittany Harrison, was found to have leukemia. The company initially appeared to rally behind her, Ms. Harrison said in an interview, but its posture later changed. Id reach out to the district manager and it would go to voice mail or ring forever and she wouldnt call back, she said. Ms. Harrison, and other workers like Ms. Alanna, said that she repeatedly sought an assistant manager to help at the store but that none was forthcoming. The hesitancy over vaccines has been attributed to misinformation about the vaccines potential side effects and efficacy, as well as a high level of public distrust of the government. But even as Hong Kong recorded more deaths in just over two weeks than it did in the last two years, some residents remained reluctant to get inoculated. I worry that the side effects of vaccination will kill me, said Lam Suk-haa, an 80-year-old resident who stopped to talk on her way to a restaurant in the working-class neighborhood of North Point on Wednesday. For sure, I dont dare get the shot. Ms. Lam said she was skeptical of Western medicine in general. She also said she had heard from a television news report that people like her who have high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels could be at risk of severe side effects from vaccination. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in fact, recommends that older people with medical conditions get vaccinated to reduce the risk of severe illness.) Health officials in recent days have repeatedly urged older people to get vaccinated and are working to ramp up the inoculation of residents at care homes. The government also imposed rules requiring proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, malls and supermarkets. These measures have helped: Now, three-quarters of people in their 70s, and nearly half of those age 80 or older, have received at least one shot. The International Energy Agency said representatives from its 31 member countries met Friday to discuss the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on global energy markets. The agencys mission includes intervening in energy markets during emergencies, when there is a serious disruption of oil supplies, and the announcement appeared to be a signal that it was making preparations to act. Such a move would probably take the form of a large release of oil inventories with the intent of calming markets. The Russian invasion has increased concerns among oil market participants against the backdrop of already tight global markets and heightened price volatility, the groups executive director, Fatih Birol, said in a statement. The invasion pushed Brent crude, the international benchmark, to around $105 a barrel on Thursday. Brent prices later dipped below $100 a barrel as news that Western sanctions would not directly target Russian energy activities eased fears of supply disruptions. Natural gas prices in Europe also fell back after jumping on Thursday but remained at historically high levels. In the three decades that Dave Grohl has been a rock star, he has recorded with the likes of Stevie Nicks and Paul McCartney, directed documentaries, performed for presidents and been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, twice. But this month presents a first: On Feb. 25, Foo Fighters are releasing Studio 666, a horror-comedy directed by BJ McDonnell (Hatchet III) and starring, well, Foo Fighters. Why? For fun, Grohl said in a recent video interview. As he explained, It was never our intention to enter the Hollywood game with this big horror film. It just happened. In the film, which also features Whitney Cummings, Will Forte and Jeff Garlin, the band moves into a mansion, where Grohl himself once actually lived, to work on their 10th album. But songwriting proves challenging. Hoping to dig himself out of a creative rut, Grohl wanders around the house and discovers a secret that infuses him with creativity and blood lust. Detective Felicia Richards did not expect to cry. But during an emotional eulogy just over an hour into the second of two funerals for police officers shot to death last month in Harlem, tears began to run down her face. Standing at the pulpit in St. Patricks Cathedral was Keechant Sewell, who had been the commissioner of the New York Police Department for one month and one day. And for the second time, she was paying tribute to an officer who had been killed in the line of duty. The seven-minute eulogy mixed warm recollections of Detective Wilbert Moras life and aspirations with expressions of grief shared in his relatives native Spanish. For Commissioner Sewell, the first woman to lead the largest police force in the nation, the remarks at the funerals of Detectives Mora and his partner, Jason Rivera, carried the weight of longstanding tradition. And for at least some in the pews, her performance began to answer questions about her readiness for the job: Ms. Sewell was plucked from a comparatively obscure position in the Nassau County Police Department by Mayor Eric Adams. If there was anybody who was on the fence, she got them that day, said Detective Richards, the president of the Guardians Association, a fraternal organization of Black police officers. It wasnt about what else was going on, it wasnt about politics. It was about the heart. There, they joined another spirited group and broke into the Ukrainian national anthem together, as some protesters wept and hugged. Others cloaked themselves in the Ukrainian flag and chanted in English and Ukrainian. Some, like Christina Bundziak, 21, said they feared for the safety of friends and family still living in Ukraine. Ms. Bundziak, a student at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, took the day off from class to join the protest. She held a handmade cardboard sign bearing Putins name prefaced by an expletive. I had to do something to show any support I can, she said. Some demonstrators, like Michael Boyko, 30, from Hoboken, N.J., said they had been fearing an invasion for months as they watched news reports of Russian troops amassing around Ukraines borders. But they were nevertheless shocked at the speed and intensity of the assault. Its hard to believe how quickly theyve attacked the western cities and really the entire country, said Mr. Boyko, whose grandparents immigrated from Ukraine. Putin never believed in Ukraines own sovereignty, and what hes doing now is just proof of that. At a Ukrainian diner in the East Village, pierogi and tears The staff at Veselka, the Ukrainian diner in the East Village, said a prayer before the restaurant opened, my colleague Alyson Krueger reported. My grandfather always believed in a free Ukraine, said the owner, Jason Birchard, whose grandfather opened the place in 1954 after fleeing the Soviet Union. Mr. Birchard said Veselka was getting an outpouring of love in recent days. Ironically, it was this letter and similar statements from Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona that brought the Democratic Partys momentum to a sudden halt. Democrats would spend the next three months negotiating the two-track process and struggling to meet the shifting demands of moderates and conservatives over the substance of the social policy bill. The immediate effect of this split within the Democratic Party was to undermine Biden, whose popularity was already on the decline. He took one hit from the Afghanistan withdrawal, another from the ongoing pandemic and still another from the chaos and division in Washington. If there was one goal in mind among the moderates and conservatives who froze the Democratic Partys agenda in place, it was to pass their priorities in law while distancing themselves from their progressive colleagues. What happened, instead, is that they weakened Democrats across the board, as candidates struggled to overcome a sense of failure that had settled over the party. Terry McAuliffe, a moderate former governor of Virginia, couldnt clear that hurdle. In November, he lost his bid for a (nonconsecutive) second term to Glenn Youngkin, a conservative Republican. In the wake of that defeat, moderate and conservative Democrats in Congress demanded that the House pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill so that the party would have something to tout on the campaign trail. Having made concession after concession in an effort to secure votes for the presidents social policy package, progressives now agreed to end the two-track process and hold a vote on the infrastructure bill. The House voted, and the bill passed. Moderates had their win. But rather than go on the offensive, infrastructure spending in hand, they sat quiet. There would be no publicity blitz, no attempt to capture the nations attention with a campaign to sell the accomplishments of moderation, no attempt to elevate members who might shine in the spotlight and certainly no serious attempt to push back on the right-wing cultural politics that helped Republicans notch a win in Virginia. The current court whose conservative supermajority was manufactured over the past several years in a series of power grabs by Senator Mitch McConnell and his Republican caucus is now the most right-wing it has been in a century, even as the country as a whole has moved left. Judge Jackson cant arrest that hard right turn alone, but when she finds herself in dissent, she can speak out loud and clear, not only to her fellow justices but also to the American people, in order to help them understand how far out of sync the court is with the country. Dissents dont make law, but they can point the way to a better future, as Justice John Marshall Harlan did with his powerful solo dissent from one of the courts most egregious rulings, Plessy v. Ferguson, in 1896. More than a century later, the Supreme Court finds itself in a precarious position; a record low 40 percent of Americans approve of its work, according to Gallup. Justice Breyer has long been sensitive to the risks of a politicized court, and he went to great lengths to persuade the public not to think about the Supreme Court in a partisan way. He insisted that all justices leave their politics at the door when they put on their robes. True judicial independence may be hard to achieve, but it is vital. As Alexander Hamilton pointed out, the courts have the power of neither the sword nor the purse. Their ability to issue life-altering rulings derives entirely from the publics acceptance of their legitimacy. That acceptance depends, in turn, on the sense that the courts are doing their best to remain fair and impartial, despite the swirl of politics and partisanship around them. The moment people stop believing this, the courts legitimacy is destroyed. The collapse in confidence in the high court has grave implications for American government and society. Yet this is the only Supreme Court we have. What can be done to begin to repair its standing? The first step is personnel: appointing justices who will interpret the Constitution as a document that can adapt to changing circumstances and that embodies the nations highest and most enduring ideals. For now, justices like that are in the minority. But the power of dissent is real and can lay the groundwork for future courts and the American people. One reform that could be achieved in the near future would be to apply to the justices the same code of ethical conduct that applies to all lower federal court judges, prohibiting the sorts of political activities that can create the appearance of bias. Recent revelations about the political activism of Justice Clarence Thomass wife put that issue front and center. But it is relatively small potatoes in the larger picture of the courts role in American life and politics. The reforms that would have a far more meaningful impact are the hard ones. The most obvious to consider is term limits, which have enjoyed consistent support from both conservatives and liberals. Steven Calabresi, a co-founder of the Federalist Society, wrote in The Times that lifetime appointments created a self-perpetuating oligarchy and that carefully timed retirements only contributed to the public perception of justices as political actors. The strongest proposal involves staggered 18-year terms for justices, giving every president at least two and as many as four appointments. There are ways to do this without amending the Constitution, but it would not be easy. The U.S. government should commend these brave Russians for their heroism in recognizing and opposing Vladimir Putins evil. Our leaders should salute them as the true children of Pushkin, Tolstoy and Sakharov. John Francis Philadelphia To the Editor: Vladimir Putin openly dreams of the Cold War world where numerous countries were ruled by the Soviet Union. His latest step has been to invade Ukraine. The democratic world faces a moment of truth. Do we really believe in democracy, or are we just interested in our own cushy and perceived safe life rather than standing by other democratic countries if there is a cost to pay? Sanctions are fine but take years to have any major effect. In the meantime Ukraine, and who knows what other country, will fall back under Russian control. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, we acted and stopped him. Was it really just about oil, or did we believe that invading another country was wrong and unacceptable? The Cold War ended decades ago, and there has been a long period of peace in Europe and Russia. It is up to the democratic world to decide if we want to slip back into that threatening world that existed during the Cold War. Ray Warren Mandurah, Australia To the Editor: My theory is that Vladimir Putin had planned on invading Ukraine during the pliable Trump administration, when he could get away with it. Luckily for Europe, his plans were delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. He has gone ahead, but now Joe Biden is president and NATO is united, so his success is less assured. Winnie Boal Cincinnati To the Editor: The monstrous actions of Vladimir Putin and the lack of humanity in his rule over Russia should serve as a terrifying lesson for America. We can see what happens when an authoritarian cements his power through lies and propaganda, when the sycophants around him grovel at his feet, when the media promotes his lies, when a class of wealthy individuals lends him support to enhance their own financial status, and when he and his supporters subvert democracy and fair elections. Sound familiar? Donald Trump builds his American version of authoritarianism on lies, his sycophants grovel in fear of offending his followers, right-wing commentators at Fox News and other far-right outlets spread propaganda and lies, and the authoritarians followers show an utter disdain for democracy, voting and fair elections. When an E.R. doctor walked past, I drew her attention to what I thought was obvious that I was bleeding out and pleaded with her to examine me. But she just grimaced and walked away. At some point I started shaking violently; I was going into shock. I later learned that I lost nearly 40 percent of my blood. Only then did the hospital give me the D & C procedure that saved my life. When I finally got home, my 2-year-old didnt recognize me. Whos that lady? she asked. It took weeks to recover my strength, and much longer to stop reliving the experience in my mind. Upon reviewing the medical records from the provider, I could find no reasonable explanation for the roughly four-hour delay in treatment that resulted in the extreme loss of blood. Given what I now know about the Catholic health care systems restrictions, my best guess is that the hospital was willing to gamble with my life in the name of its ethical directives. Given that as many as one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, complications are not uncommon. The 2016 A.C.L.U. report to which Dr. Eisenberg contributed his story detailed a number of other ways in which women experiencing pregnancy complications may not receive the kinds of medical care from Catholic facilities that they desperately need. These facts may help explain some alarming trends in maternal health, particularly among women of color. According to a 2018 report, Bearing Faith: The Limits of Catholic Health Care for Women of Color, by the The Law, Rights, and Religion Project at Columbia Law School, in conjunction with Public Health Solutions, Pregnant women of color are more likely than their white counterparts to receive reproductive health care dictated by bishops rather than medical doctors. Americas maternal mortality rate is startlingly high among nations in the developed world, and Black women are roughly three times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause as white women. In many states women of color disproportionately receive reproductive health care restricted by ERDs, the authors wrote, before suggesting that this should be evaluated against the backdrop of vastly inferior health care delivered to women of color across the board. Religious restrictions on maternal medicine are not exclusive to Catholic hospitals. In a 2021 report, The Southern Hospitals Report: Faith Culture, and Abortion Bans in the U.S. South, the results of a two-year investigation also by the Law, Rights, and Religion Project, researchers concluded that Protestant and even secular hospitals across the South delay or deny care to women facing severe pregnancy complications at the behest of anti-choice administrators or boards, community pressure, or fear of losing private or public funds. Our research reveals that access to abortion, including during medical emergencies, is even more severely curtailed than already restrictive state laws might suggest, the authors wrote. If Roe v. Wade is overturned or weakened, state abortion bans will make hospital restrictions on abortion even more significant, as patients facing serious pregnancy complications or underlying health conditions, such as cancer, will no longer have any legal alternative for abortion care in their state. Mr. Putin claims that he is a liberator, and that Ukraine will profit from the invasion. But even my 76-year-old granny, a typical Soviet babushka who still misses the Soviet Union and its stability, thinks he has gone mad. I called her early on Thursday morning, while most of Kyiv was still sleeping. She sounded puzzled but was fully awake. Another sign of strangeness: A sleepyhead, she usually wakes up well after 10 a.m. Save yourself, your husband and your dog, she told me. I will stay in my apartment. If a Russian missile hits my apartment, well, so be it. I had a long life. I would rather die in my perfectly decorated flat than in some dirty basement. I tried to urge her to pack her belongings and documents, but she refused. I would rather cook some soup, she said with sad laughter, and ended the call. This was devastating: My granny is everything to me, all the family I have left, and our lives are entwined. Though Im not planning to leave the city, I want to be prepared if things get very bad. The thought of leaving my grandmother behind is almost too much to bear. To ward off despair, I took my dog, Hans, for a walk. Not even a Russian attack will stop Hanss need for exercise. As I stepped onto the street, I saw people everywhere. In the densely populated part of north Kyiv where I live, thats not that unusual. But the atmosphere was peculiar. Neighbors were hurriedly loading their cars with belongings, while others were standing in lines for the grocery store and cash machine. People were moving fast: Some had huge backpacks and looked like they were going camping. Nobody smiled. A woman, clearly anguished, stopped me. I recognized her: She was a neighbor and a fellow dog owner. Can you please tell me what to do? she asked me. I dont know what to do. My terrier and her boxer started nervously barking at each other. Despite constant warnings from the media and the government that the Kremlin which built up around 190,000 troops in and near Ukraine since October was poised to invade, she had not believed Mr. Putin would dare to do it. She hadnt checked if there was a bomb shelter nearby; she hadnt stored any food. The pandemic was certainly a catalyst for Ellen Nenner, who is 85 and goes by Ricki. After spending the past two years alone in her five-bedroom house in Jamaica Estates, Queens, she decided to pack up, sell the house where shed lived for 50 years and move to an apartment on the Upper West Side. It occurred to me quite soon through the pandemic that I was really inhabiting a house, that I was not living a life, she said. If I go out to take a walk, its a nice neighborhood but theres nothing of interest here. The house is in contract with a buyer, so she has until April to pare down. Shes been sorting through photographs and silver with her daughter, Lisa Nenner Eliseo. The process, she said, evokes memories of her husband and her younger daughter, who have both died. Going through the house has brought us even closer, Ms. Nenner said of her relationship with her surviving daughter. We laugh a lot. Sometimes, we cry a lot. The process has been overwhelming at times, she said. But as shes moved along, shes gotten faster. One item was a gorgeous silver platter, a gift from her mother, that she used at a time in her life when she hosted dinner parties. But those days are long gone. As beautiful as it is, I dont need it, I have no place for it, she said. I can get along without it. And so, she will auction the platter, along with the crystal and Royal Copenhagen dinnerware that her mother gave her. (Her 75 cookbooks, however, will go to a charity.) Should you look through every photograph? Every letter? The professionals often advise clients to take their time and be deliberate, even if its exhausting. At the beginning youre really gung-ho, said Shelley Anbouba, the owner of NEAT Method Dallas-Highland Park, in Texas. As you get toward the end, your enthusiasm level changes and your perspective changes, and thats when you say, OK, Im done, forget it. Im just going to get rid of all this. But Ms. Anbouba encourages people to pause in those moments and avoid making rash decisions. Lisa Paterson has spent much of the pandemic helping her 93-year-old mother reorganize her Upper West Side apartment. At first, her mother was resistant to the idea, showing no interest in combing through her books, jewelry and photographs. But Ms. Paterson persisted, seeing it as a way to help her mother be more comfortable in the apartment where she has lived since 1972. I wanted my mom to live in dignity during this stage of her life, she said. The process has given Ms. Paterson, 61, opportunities to make peace with her childhood and life. Her father died when she was 11, her brother died at age 27, and her husband was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Going through photographs and old letters with her mother has been cathartic. Its a nice thing to do with her and prepare yourself for the end of someones life, she said. This process has made me feel like I dont have any questions unanswered. Among all the stuff, Ms. Paterson found photographs of her parents that had been tucked away for decades. She framed one and displayed it on her mothers mantel. I wanted to honor all of her memories, she said. For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate. More than half of people who took a rapid antigen test five to nine days after first testing positive for the coronavirus or after developing Covid-19 symptoms tested positive on the antigen test, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The finding raises more concerns about the agencys revised isolation guidelines, which say that many people with Covid can end their isolation periods after five days, without a negative coronavirus test. A C.D.C. scientist who was an author of the study said that he did not believe the agencys isolation guidelines needed to change. But the results suggest that many people with the virus may still be infectious during this period, scientists said. The study demonstrates what a lot of people have suspected: that five days is insufficient for a substantial number of people, Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan, said in an email. The bottom line, she added, is that this absolutely should lead to a change in isolation guidance. Venus is so hot that its surface glows visibly at night through its thick clouds. That is what pictures taken by NASAs Parker Solar Probe have revealed. The planets average temperature hovers around 860 degrees Fahrenheit, and thick clouds of sulfuric acid obscure the view. Until now, the only photographs of the Venusian surface were taken by four Soviet spacecraft that successfully landed there in the 1970s and 1980s, operating briefly before succumbing to the hellish environs. During flybys of Venus, the Parker spacecraft pointed its cameras at the night side of Venus. It was able to see the visible wavelengths of light, including the reddish colors that verge on the infrared that can pass through the clouds. Its a new way of looking at Venus that weve never even tried before in fact, werent even sure it was possible, said Lori Glaze, director of NASAs planetary division. On Feb. 11, 2019, Kathrine Taylor Adams was brushing her teeth and scrolling through Instagram when she paused to read a personal ad that Brook Ann Nelson had written for an account that functioned as a dating board for queer women. In the post, Mx. Nelson, who uses a gender neutral courtesy title, mentioned wanting to get tickets to the opera, stay out dancing til dawn and read the NYTimes in disheveled sheets in the morning. Intrigued, Ms. Adams sent a message to Mx. Nelson, who lives in Seattle. I guess were soulmates? wrote Ms. Adams, who goes by Kate. She added, I can be in Seattle by tomorrow lunchtime if youre free to go ahead and start picking table arrangements for our small but elegant lesbian wedding. At the time, Ms. Adams was living in Baltimore. She had moved to Maryland from Raleigh, N.C., in 2016, the year after she divorced her husband of two years when she came out as a lesbian. On Memorial Day weekend in 2015, Tim Wildin and two friends arrived at the Equinox gym in the Flatiron district of Manhattan only to discover that their beloved high-intensity interval-training class was being replaced that day by another workout, led by Christopher Vo. Wow, who is this person, Mr. Wildin, 41, recalled thinking when he saw Mr. Vo, 36, for the first time. Soon Mr. Wildin started going out of his way to take more classes with Mr. Vo, a lead fitness instructor at Equinox locations around the city, and a founding trainer at Liteboxer, a digital fitness program. Mr. Wildin, then living in the West Village, rode his bicycle as far as West 92nd Street to work out with Mr. Vo. He has such a beautiful light to his personality, and a most beautiful smile, Mr. Wildin said of Mr. Vo, who graduated with a B.F.A. in dance from Juilliard and has appeared in several Broadway shows, including his role as King Simon of Legree during the 2015 to 2016 revival of The King and I. On March 8, 2022, the name of Ana Nogueiras play was changed. It is now called Which Way to the Stage, not Here She Is, Boys. I want to feel like everyone is going to be OK, the playwright JC Lee said. Lee was speaking, via a video call from his home in Los Angeles, about To My Girls, a comedy that begins previews on March 15 at Second Stage in Manhattan. Written during the pandemic, though set in a world just beyond it, the play is set during an eventful weekend with a group of gay friends at an Airbnb in Palm Springs. Lee often writes tense thrillers, but amid the stressors of the past two years, he found himself typing up a sunnier play, which treated its inhabitants more gently. Of course, as the character who falls asleep on the lawn and wakes up with a bad burn can tell you, sunshine has its dangers, too. To My Girls, along with Charly Evon Simpsons Sandblasted, Bryna Turners At the Wedding and Ana Nogueiras Which Way to the Stage, is among the bristly comedies by 30-something playwrights jazzing up Off Broadways spring season. After a sparsely populated fall and a winter of postponements, most of the major theaters have programmed plays that invite audiences to laugh, even if many of those laughs eventually catch in their throats. Lee and Simpson finished their plays during the pandemic. Turner and Nogueira wrote theirs years before. Yet each show seems to speak to this mixed-up moment, addressing the desire to connect with others, especially after such a long time apart, and the danger of it. These playwrights have been away from the theater for a while now, so a lot of that desire is personal. And laughter seems like a good way maybe the best way to work through the trauma and loss of the past two years. In the version of the story we thought we understood, Hank the Tank was a hungry, hungry trespasser, unbothered by human concerns like doors and manners, who had broken into dozens of homes to maintain his 500-pound frame. That is still mostly correct. But in an unexpected twist since the black bears story attracted international media attention this week, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said on Thursday that the bear had not acted alone. According to the agency, DNA evidence collected over the past several months showed that at least three bears were involved in the break-ins that had been reported in the Lake Tahoe area in California and Nevada. Until the update, all of the incidents had been pinned on Hank, whose portly frame and prodigious appetite were looked on across the world as some mix of admirable and relatable and, to those whose homes were invaded, perhaps as a little terrifying. As it turns out, humans are not great at telling bears apart. Identifying bears simply by their visible, physical characteristics can lead to misidentifying bears and therefore confusing management efforts, the wildlife department said in a statement. A Maryland legislative committee on Friday approved the State Board of Educations decision to allow all 24 local school districts to decide whether to require face coverings in schools. The decision, effective immediately, ends an emergency order mandating the masking in schools that had been in effect since the beginning of the school year. Both Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, and the state superintendent of schools, Mohammed Choudhury, had lobbied for the decision, which came on the same day that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new masking guidance that allows many more areas of the country to ease pandemic restrictions. Other states also announced the easing of some restrictions on Friday, including California, Colorado and Illinois. The Maryland State Education Association, the union that represents 76,000 teachers and other support staff, had urged caution, asking for the mask mandate to remain in place longer. WASHINGTON More than 75 years ago, faced with a Soviet Union that clearly wanted to take over states beyond its borders, the United States adopted a Cold War approach that came to be known as containment, a simplistic-sounding term that evolved into a complex Cold War strategy. On Thursday, having awakened to a violent, unprovoked attack on Ukraine, exactly the kind of nightmare imagined eight decades before, President Biden made clear he was moving toward Containment 2.0. Though it sounds a lot like its predecessor, it will have to be revised for a modern era that is in many ways more complex. The nation that just moved to wipe an entire country off the world map, in the words of Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, also remains a key supplier of natural gas to keep Germans and many other Europeans warm. That explains why Mr. Biden has been constrained from cutting off the valuable export. And the Russia of today has a panoply of cyberweapons that it can use to strike at the United States or its allies without risking nuclear Armageddon an option to retaliate against American sanctions that was never available to President Vladimir V. Putins predecessors. Those are only two examples of why containment will not be easy. But Mr. Biden has been clear that is where he is headed. When President Biden and his advisers began planning for a possible Supreme Court vacancy during the presidential transition, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was brought up as one of the likeliest possibilities. Mr. Bidens decision on Friday to choose her for his first nominee made it clear that she never left the top of the list. Plans to move her into position began last year, when Mr. Biden elevated her from the Federal District Court in the District of Columbia to the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a feeder team for potential justices. It was an early test of her appeal to Republican senators in an evenly divided Senate. She won the support of three. When Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the senior member of the courts three-member liberal wing, announced last month that he would retire, White House officials began to extensively research at least four other jurists who could fulfill his campaign promise to nominate the first Black woman to the court. But according to several people familiar with the process who were not authorized to speak publicly about it, the prevailing sense was that Judge Jackson was the most logical choice. Given the 50-50 split in the Senate, the Judiciary Committee led by Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, is itself evenly divided, with 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans. If no Republicans on the panel vote to send the nomination to the floor, Democrats will have to take extra steps to force it out of the committee. While Justice Amy Coney Barrett was raced through confirmation hearings and on to the court right before the 2020 presidential election, the time between nomination and the start of public hearings has usually been about 45 days. Given how Republicans dashed through Justice Barretts confirmation, Democrats are trying to shorten the process while avoiding criticism of moving too quickly. Finally: Senate hearings that could be contentious, and a final vote Counting her approval last year, Judge Jackson has previously been confirmed three times by the Senate once for the appeals court post, once for a Federal District Court seat in 2013 and also in 2010 to head up the federal sentencing commission. The Senate took a roll-call vote only on the appeals court post and she was confirmed last June 53-44. But the review of a Supreme Court nominee is in a class by itself, and the previous outcome is no guarantee that she can garner the same level of support. Though recent confirmation fights have been blistering affairs, Senate Republicans led by Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, have so far mainly held their fire. That is in part because the new justice is not expected to change the ideological makeup of the court. Republicans also recognize the political risks of taking too hard a line against the first Black woman nominated to the high court, though a few have criticized Mr. Biden for confining his search by race and gender. In Kentucky this week, Mr. McConnell said he was not troubled by Mr. Bidens decision to pledge to select a Black woman. He also said that he expected that the nominee will be respectfully vetted with the kind of process I think you could be proud of. However, some Republican members of the Judiciary Committee have previously raised objections to Judge Jacksons record and views and can be expected to do so again in the high-profile setting of a Supreme Court confirmation hearing. A handful of Republicans on the panel are considered potential presidential candidates in 2024 and will want voters to see them sharply challenging Mr. Bidens nominee. Follow the latest updates on Judge Ketanji Brown Jacksons Supreme Court confirmation hearings. WASHINGTON President Biden on Friday said he would nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, elevating a well-regarded federal appeals court judge who, if confirmed, would make history by becoming the first Black woman to serve as a justice. Mr. Bidens decision, made after a monthlong search, fulfilled a campaign promise to nominate a Black woman to the bench, and set into motion a confirmation battle that will play out in an evenly divided Senate. He announced the nomination at the White House, flanked by Judge Jackson and Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to be elected vice president. For too long our government, our courts, havent looked like America, Mr. Biden said in remarks delivered two years to the day after he made his campaign promise in South Carolina. I believe it is time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation. In Judge Jackson, 51, Mr. Biden selected a liberal-leaning jurist who earned a measure of Republican support when he nominated her last year to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit an accomplishment the president, intent on curtailing the sort of partisan rancor touched off by recent nominations, took pains to emphasize. In South Texas, another test is developing over the power of identity politics and whether liberals can answer the fears that conservatives are stoking about open borders, critical race theory and rising crime. In the primary campaign for Texas 28th district, it is Mr. Cuellars experience versus Ms. Cisneross storytelling: the powerful and connected versus the underdogs, the community, the pueblo. There have been many changes here since Ms. Cisneros first challenged Mr. Cuellar, but the most significant may have been the shock for both parties of seeing Hispanic voters lurch toward Mr. Trump in 2020. Zapata County, just south of here, is heavily Latino; Hillary Clinton won it by more than 30 points in 2016, then it went to Mr. Trump by about five points. Ms. Clintons 60-point margin in Starr County, which is 96 percent Latino, shriveled to a five-point advantage for Mr. Biden. In response, Ms. Cisneros is running a campaign against the 17-year incumbent that could easily have been engineered by a Republican. She still favors Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, more liberal immigration policies and abortion rights, but those have not been her focus. Instead, she has played up her biography and hit Mr. Cuellar hard on rising prices. She has portrayed him as a Washington insider, greasing his pockets with money from big corporations, and presented herself as embodying the struggling community he left behind. My medicines cost more, insurance more, intones an older Latina in one of Ms. Cisneross most recent ads, as the woman sweeps the stoop of her modest house and laments that nothing has changed in Laredo. Now its food and gas, but we dont make more. If you ask me, Henry Cuellar has been in Washington too long. Senate Democrats and progressive activists on Friday celebrated the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court while Republicans promised an exhaustive though respectful review of the first Black woman put forward for a seat on the high court. Its critical that any such nominee, including Judge Jackson, receive the most thorough and rigorous vetting, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. Our review will be as fair and respectful as it is complete and comprehensive. Democrats and their liberal allies portrayed Judge Jackson, a federal judge since 2013, as an impeccable pick for the court who would provide valuable experience as a former public defender and, in the words of Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, by ensuring the Supreme Court reflects the nation as a whole. To be the first to make history in our nation, you need to have an exceptional life story, said Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, who as chairman of the Judiciary Committee will preside over confirmation hearings expected in late March. Judge Jacksons achievements are well known to the Senate Judiciary Committee, as we approved her to the D.C. Circuit less than a year ago with bipartisan support. Follow live updates on the Texas primary and election results. Local election officials in Texas have rejected thousands of absentee ballots based on requirements set by the states new election law, an alarming jump that risks potentially preventing some Texans from voting in Tuesdays primary election. The states Republican and Democratic primaries will be the first elections held since the Republican-led Texas Legislature overhauled the states election laws. Election officials in the most populous counties have rejected roughly 30 percent of the absentee ballots they have received more than 15,000 ballots as of Wednesday, according to a review of election data by The New York Times. The ballots were rejected largely because voters either did not include their drivers license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number, or the numbers they put down did not match what officials had on file. The new identification requirements were put in place by the voting law passed last year, known as Senate Bill 1. The rate of rejection represents a significant increase from past elections, including in 2020, when the statewide rejection rate was less than 1 percent for the general election, according to data from the federal Election Assistance Commission. In 2020, officials rejected 8,304 ballots in Texas out of nearly a million votes statewide. This year, that statewide number has already been surpassed in two counties alone: Harris County and Dallas County rejected more than 8,600 ballots as of Wednesday. WASHINGTON A House committee on Friday expanded its investigation into former President Donald J. Trumps destruction and removal of White House documents, demanding more information about classified material found at Mr. Trumps property in Florida and reports that aides had discovered documents in a White House toilet during his time in office. In a letter to the national archivist, Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York and the chairwoman of the Oversight Committee, said the panel was seeking a detailed description of the contents of 15 boxes recovered from Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trumps Palm Beach compound, including their level of classification, and all records that he had torn up, destroyed, mutilated or attempted to tear up, destroy or mutilate. She also said the panel wanted documents relating to White House employees or contractors finding paper in a toilet in the White House, including the White House residence. The letter also sought information about the findings of any federal inquiries into the classified material and any communications with Mr. Trump about the Presidential Records Act or White House policies on record-keeping. The American people deserve to know the extent of what former President Trump did to hide and destroy federal records and make sure these abuses do not happen again, Ms. Maloney said in a statement. WASHINGTON Over three months, senior Biden administration officials held half a dozen urgent meetings with top Chinese officials in which the Americans presented intelligence showing Russias troop buildup around Ukraine and beseeched the Chinese to tell Russia not to invade, according to U.S. officials. Each time, the Chinese officials, including the foreign minister and the ambassador to the United States, rebuffed the Americans, saying they did not think an invasion was in the works. After one diplomatic exchange in December, U.S. officials got intelligence showing Beijing had shared the information with Moscow, telling the Russians that the United States was trying to sow discord and that China would not try to impede Russian plans and actions, the officials said. The previously unreported talks between American and Chinese officials show how the Biden administration tried to use intelligence findings and diplomacy to persuade a superpower it views as a growing adversary to stop the invasion of Ukraine, and how that nation, led by President Xi Jinping, persistently sided with Russia even as the evidence of Moscows plans for a military offensive grew over the winter. This account is based on interviews with senior administration officials with knowledge of the conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the diplomacy. The Chinese Embassy spokesman, Liu Pengyu, answered an earlier request for comment a half-day after this article was posted online, saying, For some time, China has actively promoted the political settlement process of the Ukraine issue. The Senate could confirm President Bidens Supreme Court nominee without a single Republican vote, but Mr. Biden and Democrats would like to avoid that outcome if possible and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has drawn some G.O.P. support in the past. Even before Judge Jackson was chosen, the president and Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, began reaching out to Republicans they saw as potentially open to supporting a Biden nominee, including Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah. Democrats say that bipartisan backing for the nominee helps build her credibility and that of the court. They also hope that some Republicans will welcome the opportunity to support the first Black woman to join the high court and be willing to put aside any ideological differences if they consider the nominee qualified for the job. As long as all 50 Democrats back the nominee, support from at least one Republican would also avoid the spectacle of Vice President Kamala Harris having to break a tie to seat a new justice, which would be a first in Supreme Court confirmation history. On the district court, too, Judge Jackson on several occasions ruled against Mr. Trump and his allies. In 2019, she ordered Donald F. McGahn II, Mr. Trumps former White House counsel, to testify about what House Democrats said was a pattern of presidential obstruction of justice. She said federal courts could resolve clashes between the other branches and rejected the administrations argument that close advisers of the president had absolute immunity from congressional subpoenas. Presidents are not kings, she wrote, adding, They do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control. She also blocked a Trump administration policy in 2019 aimed at speeding deportations, noting its human impact. There is no question in this courts mind that an agency cannot possibly conduct reasoned, nonarbitrary decision making concerning policies that might impact real people and not take such real life circumstances into account, she wrote in a decision later reversed by the appeals court. In 2018, she struck down the bulk of three executive orders from Mr. Trump that would have made it easier to fire federal employees, saying they conflict with congressional intent in a manner that cannot be sustained. This court has no doubt that the net effect of these provisions is to put an entire hand on the scale with respect to certain negotiable provisions of a collective bargaining agreement before negotiations even begin (never mind the thumb), she wrote, and to require agency negotiators to cut off any digits that union representatives might seek to extend in the hopes of reaching an agreement on these particular issues. The appeals court vacated the decision, saying the unions could not sue in federal court and had to bring an administrative challenge. As Russian troops have poured into Ukraine, officials in Beijing have fumed at any suggestion that they are betraying a core principle of Chinese foreign policy that sovereignty is sacrosanct in order to shield Moscow. They will not even call it an invasion. Russias operation is one preferred description. The current situation is another. And Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, says his position on the crisis is perfectly coherent. The abrupt changes in the eastern regions of Ukraine have been drawing the close attention of the international community, Mr. Xi told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin, in a call on Friday, according to an official Chinese summary. Chinas fundamental stance has been consistent in respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, and abiding by the mission and principles of the United Nations Charter, Mr. Xi said. The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Sign up to get it by email. This weeks issue is written by Manan Luthra, an intern with the Australia bureau. If during the last two years you thought of leaving your locked-down Australian city for the freedom of a country town, you werent alone. A report released last week by the Regional Australia Institute found that in 2020 and 2021, net migration from state capitals to regional areas was more than twice as high as in 2018 and 2019. Beachside towns in Queensland were the destinations of choice, with the surfing communities of the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast the most popular. Sydney and Melbourne lost the most inhabitants; across the country, the main reasons given were the Covid-19 pandemic and the flexible working arrangements that came with it. (The report, based on customer data provided by a bank, described the changing migration trends in percentage terms, but it did not release the underlying numbers.) Having lived in Sydney for the past two years, subjected to restrictions as harsh as not being allowed more than three miles from my house, the appeal of moving to a town with fewer people, a lower risk of transmission and more personal space was obvious to me. For my acquaintances in Melbourne, who endured six lockdowns in two years, that appeal was equally evident, if not more so. But now, Fortress Australia is open. Travelers from other countries began arriving again on Monday; the rules around mask-wearing, social distancing and vaccine passports are being relaxed; and the most populated Australian states are now encouraging workers to return to their offices. Where, then, does that leave Australias new regional migrants? Will those who left major cities start to return, and if not, what will it take to bring them back? In Canada, a country with one of the worlds largest Ukrainian diasporas, Russias invasion of Ukraine has been met with particularly visceral emotion, including from the deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, the daughter of a Ukrainian-Canadian mother. Speaking after Russia invaded Ukraine this week, Ms. Freeland, who lived for a time in Ukraine as a student in the late 1980s, said that President Vladimir V. Putin had cemented his place in the ranks of the reviled European dictators who caused such carnage in the 20th century. The horrific human costs of this cruel invasion are the direct and personal responsibility of Vladimir Putin, she said in a speech peppered with Russian and Ukrainian, adding: To my own Ukrainian-Canadian community, let me say this: Now is the time for us to be strong as we support our friends and family in Ukraine. BRUSSELS European leaders meeting into the early hours of Friday hammered out an agreement over a new set of sanctions aimed more broadly at the Russian economy and at President Vladimir V. Putin himself, as his troops advanced in their invasion of Ukraine. One of the decisions was to freeze the assets of Mr. Putin of Russia and his foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, but not impose a travel ban on them, three European Union diplomats and officials familiar with the draft E.U. sanctions said on Friday. The blocs 27 members had been able to push out a first set of sanctions on Wednesday in response to Mr. Putins recognition of separatist enclaves in Ukraine, and they did so in record time. But the second package of penalties, which they described as unprecedented for the European Union in terms of size and reach, was harder to forge consensus on, even as Russian forces approached Kyiv, Ukraines capital, and war in Europe was no longer theoretical, but a devastating reality. The number of military and civilian casualties resulting from the fight was unclear, but on Friday the local police said a 14-year-old boy had been killed in a village near Kharkiv when a shell hit near his home. But strikes occasionally hit close enough to the city to elicit shrieks of terror from pedestrians, sending them fleeing into metro stations for cover. Inside an underground station in central Kharkiv, terrified residents have been holed up for two days with their babies, pets and the few belongings blankets, yoga mats and spare clothing they could grab in short dashes to home and back, during breaks in the shelling. The city has parked trains in the station and allowed people to sleep in them. Lidiya Burlina and her son, Mark, work in Kharkiv and were cut off from their home village, a two-hour train ride away, when the Russians moved in. Theyve been living in the metro station ever since. The stores in town are working only in the morning, Ms. Burlina said, and there is very little bread, which has dramatically increased in price in the two days since the war started. They cannot reach anyone in their village because the local power station was blown up. Theyre sitting there in the cold, they cant buy anything, and theres no heat, Ms. Burlina said. And were here in the metro. Victoria Ustinova, 60, was sheltering in the metro with her daughter, two grandchildren and a fuzzy Chihuahua named Beauty, who was wearing a sweater. The family could have taken shelter in the basement of their apartment building, but from there the booms of artillery and tank fire were still audible. ROME Pope Francis has abandoned plans for a trip to Florence this weekend and will be unable to preside over Ash Wednesday services next week because of acute knee pain, the Vatican said on Friday. The popes doctor had prescribed a period of greater rest for the leg because of acute gonalgia, or knee pain, the Vatican explained in a note. The note did not specify whether the problem related to Franciss previous difficulties with sciatica, a chronic nerve condition that causes, back, hip and leg pain, makes him walk with a limp, and has forced him to cancel or modify high-profile appearances in the past. That condition, which Francis, 85, has called his troublesome guest, also makes it difficult for him to stand for long periods. MOSCOW The Russian government said it was partially limiting access to Facebook for restricting some pro-Kremlin news media accounts, a move that could make it harder for Russians to share their anger over their countrys invasion of Ukraine. The Russian telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, said Facebook was involved in the violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms because it had limited access to four Russian media accounts, including that of the state-run news agency RIA Novosti and of the Defense Ministrys television channel, Zvezda. Starting Friday, Roskomnadzors statement went on, measures are being taken to partially limit access. Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta, Facebooks parent company, said the move came in response to the social networks warning labels on misleading content. Russian authorities ordered us to stop the independent fact-checking and labeling of content posted on Facebook by four Russian state-owned media organizations, he said in a statement. We refused. As a result, they have announced they will be restricting the use of our services. MOSCOW Russia on Friday rejected talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and made it clear that it was seeking to topple his democratically elected government, which Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov said was steered by neo-Nazis and the West. We do not see the possibility of recognizing as democratic a government that persecutes and uses methods of genocide against its own people, Mr. Lavrov said during a news conference in Moscow. Moscow also vowed that the conflict would soon be over. Russia cannot allow Ukraine to become a dagger raised above us in the hands of Washington, the head of Russias foreign intelligence agency, Sergei Naryshkin, said in a brief address aired on Russian state television. The special military operation will restore peace in Ukraine within a short amount of time and prevent a potential larger conflict in Europe. Russian propaganda falsely claims that neo-Nazis controlling Ukraines government are perpetrating a genocide against Russian speakers in the country. President Vladimir V. Putin said Thursday that the purpose of Russias attack on Ukraine was to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, and Mr. Lavrov repeated those terms on Friday, making it clear that Russia was seeking to install a new government in Kyiv. While Ukraine is under attack by Russia, Ukraines civilian population is also under siege from the coronavirus, a situation only likely to worsen. The fighting in Ukraines east is forcing a mass migration to the west that is crowding mass transit centers and trains and jamming roads. Video images of the large numbers of Ukrainians on the move show understandably few signs of face coverings, even as the country is just getting past a record high point in its infection rate. The coronavirus outlook for those fleeing the fighting is grim, according to Dr. Eric S. Toner, a senior scholar at the Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Theyre quite vulnerable, and as people huddle together, either sheltering or evacuating in crowded buses, trains and cars, maybe in hotels and refugee camps, its going to cause a reversal of the progress, he said in an interview on Thursday. They cant maintain distance and dont have access to masks. Asghar Farhadi made his first film at age 13, shot with an 8-millimeter camera, about two boys who agree to share an abandoned radio on alternate days, but who then discard it because neither can listen to their favorite nightly program. The film which won him a new bicycle as a prize is a story of children grappling with trivial challenges. But like all stories Mr. Farhadi has scripted and directed to wide acclaim as one of Irans pre-eminent filmmakers, it deployed the mundane to convey the profound. It is very valuable for me to always focus on ordinary people, Mr. Farhadi, who at 49 is a two-time Oscar winner, said in an interview from Los Angeles where he was visiting from his home base in Tehran. I dont think my work will ever be about people who are special or famous because they are not part of my emotional bank. For the characters in that emotional bank, drawn largely from his own childhood, circumstance can turn a prized object into a useless annoyance. People struggle with painstaking decisions and intricate compromises, anticipating one outcome but facing an entirely different result. Individuals are nuanced, not easily categorized as saviors or villains. Public schools in New York City will no longer require students and staff members to wear masks outside while on school grounds starting on Monday, David C. Banks, the citys schools chancellor, announced on Friday. While schools across New York State will continue to require students, staff members and visitors to wear face coverings at school while indoors, the decision to lift the citys outdoor mandate is a significant step in New Yorks path to loosening pandemic restrictions, and could pave the way for the removal of the indoor school mask mandate. Throughout the pandemic, our schools have remained some of the safest spaces for our students and staff, thanks to our gold standard health and safety protocol, Mr. Banks said in a statement. I am so pleased that we are able to make this exciting announcement and safely allow students and staff to remove their masks when outdoors at N.Y.C. public schools. The decision comes as city Department of Education officials said that coronavirus cases among students and staff members had decreased by 99 percent since their early January peak, and that the in-school test positivity rate was under one percent. March 31: The Treasury Department leveled new sanctions on Russian technology companies and illicit procurement networks that the country is using to evade existing sanctions. Among the 34 organizations and individuals targeted are companies that illicitly procure dual-use equipment and technology for Russias defense sector and produce computer hardware, software and microelectronics that are used by Russias defense sector. April 6: A senior official in the Biden administration said that the United States had imposed full blocking sanctions against Sberbank, the largest financial institution in Russia, and Alfa Bank, one of the countrys largest privately owned banks. The administration also announced punitive measures against two adult daughters of Mr. Putin, the wife and daughter of Mr. Lavrov, and members of Russias national security council. The Treasury will also block Russia from making debt payments with assets that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction, a move that will force Russia to find new sources of funding outside its frozen central bank funds. April 8: The United States announced sanctions against two major Russian state-owned enterprises: Alrosa, one of the worlds largest diamond mining companies, and United Shipbuilding Corporation, which constructs many of the countrys military warships. The Treasury Department said the move would cut off revenue for Russias war against Ukraine. April 20: The Treasury Department moved to crack down on Russias efforts to evade sanctions by imposing a new set of measures targeting individuals and organizations accused of facilitating illicit transactions. The new sanctions target Transkapitalbank, a privately owned Russian commercial bank said to offer its clients the ability to conduct transactions through an alternative system to SWIFT. The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on a network of 40 individuals and associated companies accused of pursuing deals around the world to facilitate business opportunities for sanctioned Russian companies. European Union Feb. 23: The European Union adopted a first round of economic sanctions targeting 27 individuals and entities, including political, military, business and financial organizations, as well as people linked to the decision to recognize the so-called republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The penalties include European Union-wide asset freezes and travel bans. The sanctions also prevent Russian state and regional governments, including state banks, from accessing European Union financial and capital markets, freeze the assets of three banks linked to the separatist enclaves and extend trade bans that have been placed on Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014. Feb. 25: European leaders approved a new set of sanctions, freezing the assets of President Vladimir V. Putin and Sergey V. Lavrov, Russias foreign minister. The European Union will also ban the export of aircraft and spare parts that are necessary for the maintenance of Russian fleets, as well as specialized oil-refining technology and semiconductors. Additional measures will penalize Russian banks and elites. Feb. 28: The European Union adopted new measures to finance the purchase and delivery of weapons to Ukraine. The bloc also announced a total closure of E.U. airspace to all Russian aircraft and a ban on transactions with the Russian central bank. With the minute-by-minute reports on Russian military attacks across Ukraine, and the detailed analysis of Vladimir Putins moves and motivations, it can be easy to lose sight of the country itself especially when many people are still on a learning curve about Ukraine. Here are four ways to think about Ukraine, in maps and charts, that help show why the nation is so important to Europe and Mr. Putin, and how the Russian invasion is already reverberating across America and around the world. How big is Ukraine? Ukraine is Europes second largest country by land area and seventh largest by population. In square miles, it is slightly smaller than the state of Texas. Overlaid atop a map of Western Europe, it encompasses Switzerland, northern France and southern Germany. A map of Ukraine overlaid atop Western Europe, for size comparison. U.K. GERMANY UKRAINE FRANCE ITALY SPAIN U.K. POLAND GERMANY UKRAINE FRANCE ITALY SPAIN Compared to two other nations that have experienced invasions in this century, Ukraine is larger than Iraq about 223,000 square miles (including Crimea and separatist regions) compared to Iraqs 169,000 but smaller than Afghanistan (252,000 square miles). The battlefield is enormous, Seth G. Jones, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said of Ukraine. Even if Russians are successful with overthrowing the government in Kyiv, a Russian-installed government wont sit well with many Ukrainians, Jones added. Were talking about the potential for fighting to continue in a huge geographic area, Jones said, adding that a protracted insurgency in Ukraine could lead to large displacements of people the likes of which we havent seen since World War II. What are Ukraines largest cities? A map of major cities in Ukraine with population values for the largest cities. 100 MILES POL. BELARUS RUSSIA Claimed by separatists, held by Ukraine Lviv Kharkiv Kyiv UKRAINE MOLDOVA Held by separatists ROMANIA Odessa Ukraine CRIMEA BLACK SEA Population 600k 1 million people Population Warsaw BELARUS 200k 600k 1m RUSSIA POLAND Claimed by separatists, held by Ukraine Lviv 720k Kharkiv Kyiv 1.4m 3.0 million Dnipro UKRAINE 980k Donetsk 910k Held by separatists MOLDOVA Zaporizhshia 720k Chisinau ROMANIA SEA OF AZOV Odessa 1.0m CRIMEA Ukraine Bucharest BLACK SEA 100 MILES Population BELARUS 200k 600k 1m Warsaw Vorozneh POLAND RUSSIA Claimed by separatists, held by Ukraine Lviv 720k Kharkiv Kyiv 1.4m 3.0 million SLOVAK. UKRAINE Dnipro Held by separatists 980k Donetsk HUNGARY 910k MOLDOVA Zaporizhshia Rostov-on-Don 720k Chisinau SEA OF AZOV ROMANIA Odessa 1.0m CRIMEA Krasnodar Ukraine Bucharest BLACK SEA 100 MILES Source: Statista Note: Population estimates are for 2021. The countrys most populous cities are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, Dnipro, Zaporizhshia and Lviv. Ukraines capital, Kyiv, has a population of almost 3 million people. Since the country gained independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyiv has become the nations economic and cultural center. Kharkiv, with 1.4 million inhabitants, lies 20 miles from Ukraines Russian border. The city holds symbolic importance for Mr. Putin, who wrote last year that a failed 1918 attempt at Ukrainian statehood in Kharkiv was an instructive reminder of Russias power. Lviv is the largest city in Western Ukraine and a growing technological hub. Close to countries in the European Union, the city has long been a bastion of anti-Russian political activity. How do Ukrainians feel about Russia? Ukrainians attitudes toward Russia Russia annexes Crimea 100% 75 Positive attitude 50% 50 34% 25 Negative attitude 0 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 Ukrainians attitudes toward Russia Russia annexes Crimea 100% 75 Positive attitude 50% 50 34% 25 Negative attitude 0 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 Source: Kyiv International Institute of Sociology Most Ukrainians had a positive attitude towards Russia in the early 2010s, according to polling from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. That changed in 2014, when Russia swiftly invaded and then annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. Since then, anti-Russian sentiment has remained high, with some regional variation. In a survey conducted earlier this month, 21 percent of respondents in Western Ukraine held positive attitudes towards Russia, compared to 53 percent in Eastern Ukraine, which is closer to Russia. (The survey did not include inhabitants of separatist-controlled regions.) But even in Eastern Ukraine, respondents were protective of the countrys independence. Just 11 percent of the surveys respondents there thought that the country should join Russia and become a single state. And there was widespread opposition to a Russian invasion: 58 percent of respondents across the country said they were ready to resist Russian troops, and 37 percent supported an armed insurgency if Russian troops invaded their city or village. How could the invasion of Ukraine affect the economy? Some countries rely heavily on Ukraines wheat exports Libya 49% Share of wheat imports coming from Ukraine Tunisia 45% Bangladesh 30% Some countries rely heavily on Ukraines wheat exports Libya 49% Share of wheat imports coming from Ukraine Tunisia 45% Bangladesh 30% Source: The Atlas of Economic Complexity Note: As of 2019. Sometimes referred to as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine is one of the worlds largest exporters of grains. Prices of the commodity have already spiked, and supply disruptions could lead to increased food insecurity in countries that rely on Ukraines exports, such as Libya and Tunisia. The largest shocks to the worldwide economy will likely be in the gas and oil markets. Europe relies heavily on its energy needs from Russia, and more than a third of Russias gas exports flow through Ukraine. As of Thursday afternoon, oil prices topped $100 a barrel for the first time in more than seven years. Some experts predict that consumers may see gas prices rise to more than $4 per gallon. Ukraine itself is heavily dependent on nuclear energy, generating roughly half of its overall electricity at its 15 reactors scattered across the country. While the country may not export much of that energy, its nuclear power plants are still cause for concern: Attacks in that Chernobyl exclusion zone have prompted fears of kicked-up radioactive dust, which could drift across country borders. Correction: An earlier version of a graphic accompanying this article misstated Ukraines share of global wheat exports. It is 9 percent, not 34 percent. An earlier version of a graphic accompanying this article misstated the maps scale. The bar represents 100 miles, not 500 miles. Stillwater, OK (74078) Today Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. A few storms may be severe. High near 65F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. Low 58F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. A Chinese man who won the praise of his employer by working 12-hour shifts basically 30 days a month recently sparked controversy in his home country. On February 18, pictures of a framed billboard depicting the model employee of a company in Zhengzhou, Henan went viral on Chinese social media, sparking a heated debate. The honorary billboard praises the man, one XueLintao, for working 12-hour days, basically 30 days a month, influencing both new and old employees through his actions, improving the companys daily production, saving his employer money in labor costs and improving equipment utilization. But most netizens didnt see Xue as an example, but rather as a traitor and as an accomplice in overtime hell. A day after his photo went viral online, Xue Lintao took to social media to clarify things, saying that no one forces him to work 12 hours a day. He does so voluntarily, because his salary is calculated based on the number of hours worked, so if he wants to make more money, he has to work more. He also said that due to the nature of his job, he doesnt have to be present at work at all times and that his particular job isnt that intense either. Xue Lintao added that his employer allows him to take time off if he wants to, and that he has one week of paid leave every quarter. He also dismissed allegations that his employer was exploiting him. The mans explanation did little to calm the spirits of fellow workers who considered him part of Chinas notorious overworking problem. Some called him a traitor of labor and others asked, how many deaths from overwork are you trying to cause? Xue did find some support online, though, with one sociology university professor claiming that he was an example of dedication and hard work that should be admired. Companies should be criticized if they force employees to work overtime, but if its the workers decision, it should be commended. Interestingly, Xue Lintao was also named the companys employee of the year in 2021. As a key player in assembling the Golin team, director of creative and agency resourcing Tiasha Stevnson has a close-up view of how both employers and potential employees can ensure the success of the recruiting process. For job hunters, she says, the first big step is self-exploration. Among the questions to ask yourself: "What do I like to do, what am I good at, and what will people pay me to do?" Once they've answered those questions, job seekers should "start to put together a list or a Venn diagram and see, are there any synergies with these things? And then you keep your eyes open for those types of opportunities." She also says that looking for a new job does not necessarily mean leaving your present company. "Companies want to keep people in the company or in the network, and they want people who are happy. And so, I think it's important to one, know what you want to do or have some inkling, and then be honest with the team, talk to HR, talk to your manager, talk to people who do the job you think you want to do." And while a career path may lead an employee out of a company, that does not have to be a one-way street. "To let people know what you want to do, you may have to leave the company, and then a lot of people boomerang back." She also says that sometimes job seekers have to take a role not just in seeking a new position, but in creating one. When Stevenson was job hunting herself, "I went through my resume and crossed out everything I didn't want to be doing, and really had a resume that looked forward to what I wanted to do, and the team was open to speaking with me." When it comes to what employers should be looking for, Stevenson stresses the need to bring in employees that add to the conversation. "We're looking for people who can bring something different to the table as well as learning the skill set that we all are already experts at." Experience in working with diverse teams is another big plus. "We're reaching out to an American population that's more diverse than it's ever been before. And so, it's important to show that you can work on a team with people who are different from you. I think that's something that hiring managers are definitely looking for right now." View all of the interviews in the PR's Top Pros Talk series. Subscribe to get notified when new episodes are available. Interested in taking part? Contact Doug Simon at [email protected] D S Simon Media helps clients get their stories on television through satellite media tours and by producing and distributing content to the media. The company also produces live social media events. Stacie Cobos The Bezos Earth Fund, a Jeff Bezos-funded organization dedicated to driving climate and nature solutions, hires Stacie Cobos as chief communications officer. Cobos was most recently vice president, brand marketing and communications at the International Fund for Animal Welfare. She has also led communications at The Climate Reality Project, was senior vice president of public affairs at Hill + Knowlton Strategies and served as national press secretary for the Democratic National Committee. The fund says it plans to disburse $10 billion in grants by 2030. Oscar Suris Edelman brings on Oscar Suris as president of its New York office. Suris was most recently executive managing director for C-suite strategies and crisis communications at Zeno Group, Edelmans sister agency. He was previously head of corporate communications at Wells Fargo and director, corporate communications at both Ford Motor Company and AutoNation. Earlier in his career, he was executive assistant to the chairman and publisher at the Miami Herald and worked as a reporter at the Wall Street Journal, Orlando Sentinel and Miami News. Oscar is a proven leader and a seasoned counselor who will set the pace and tone for our New York operation, said Edelman US chief executive officer Lisa Osborne Ross. His career history alone demonstrates his ability to deliver best-in-class work in high-stakes situations. Kathleen Shouldis Clarifai, an AI platform for computer vision, natural language processing, and audio recognition names Kathleen Shouldis vice president of marketing. Shouldis joins the company from IBM where she spent 23 years, most recently as the CMO and VP of marketing, industrial market and Watson IoT. In her new position, she will oversee the development and execution of Clarifai's overall marketing and growth strategy, including go-to-market, marketing operations, and demand generation. "Kathleen brings advanced enterprise go-to-market and brand-building expertise across the commercial and federal sectors from IBM, where she worked directly with relevant users and client C-Suite executives," said Clarifai senior vice president of platform Alfredo Ramos, Sr. A MAN was fined 100 after Tullamore District Court was told he used a false no claims bonus certificate when seeking motor insurance. Radouane Hamdaoui (54), Parkview, Edenderry pleaded guilty to making a gain or causing a loss by deception on December 22, 2020. The plea was entered by Marc Bairead, solicitor. Legal aid had been granted to Mr Hamdaoui at a previous appearance in January. Sergeant James O'Sullivan told the court Mr Hamdaoui made an online application for insurance and he produced a no claims bonus certificate representing five years accident-free. Judge Catherine Staines was told that document was found to be false. The accused had no previous convictions. Mr Bairead said his client, a father of three, was on a disability payment following an accident at work. The man was Algerian and had been in Ireland since 2002. He had an Algerian licence and while he converted it to a European licence he never used it to drive in this country. As his children were getting older he decided he would buy a car and look for insurance but could not get any. The solicitor said he then met someone he was mildly aware of who told him he could get the insurance sorted and he knew he made a mistake by not asking any questions. Mr Bairead said all his client wanted to get insurance so that he could drive his children to school. The car was now gone and he was never going to drive again. He acknowledged he had made a serious mistake and apologised to the court for it. He had been driving for about a month but had not done so since. Judge Staines gave the man four months to pay the 100 fine. An Offaly student has been chosen as a Leinster Regional finalist in a national speech writing competition. Caoimhe Spain, a student at Colaiste Naomh Cormac, Kilcormac, has been chosen as a Leinster Regional finalist in ActionTalks, which is a national speech writing competition run by ActionAid and open to all students aged 14 to 17 year olds. ActionAid provides long term support and focuses on the human rights of women and children in developing countries, so they can overcome the obstacles holding them back. The approach is to empower women to take control over their own lives. Irish Aid, the Department of Foreign Affairs, funds an ActionAid Womens Rights programme in Kenya, Nepal and Ethiopia. ActionAid works with marginalised communities in an effort to prevent gender-based violence and help women gain an independent income. The competition, now in its eighth year, received 134 entries from 34 schools across 19 counties. The competition aims to engage young people aged 14-17 with global issues, including gender equality and sustainable development, and challenges them to use their voice to create positive change. This year the competition focused on how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted on womens rights and how we can create a more equal world post-pandemic. Regional finalists are asked to provide a video of themselves reading their speech. This will be graded on quality and delivery. Two winners from each region will win a 50 One4All voucher and will be selected to proceed on to the final. This year the overall prize is a 500 One4All voucher for the winner and a 100 One4All voucher for their teacher. CEO of ActionAid Ireland Karole Balfe said: With over 130 high quality entries this year, we had a challenge on our hands choosing the Regional finalists. It is the first year that we have included Regional Finals, and we are absolutely delighted to do this, and give these young people another platform to voice their fantastic speeches. The quality is extremely high this year, and we are blown away by the contestants passion. Congratulations to Caoimhe, for writing such an inspiring speech and making it this far. You can read more at about the Irish Aid womens rights programme here: https://actionaid.ie/womens-rights-programme/ The long-awaited Arts Centre in Tullamore will be completed during the summer and it will be a bigger and better facility than many are expecting. Councillors waxed lyrical about the new facility during this week's meeting of Offaly County Council, calling it a game changer and magnificent. We had a tour recently of the proposed new arts centre, said Cllr Declan Harvey, Cathaoirleach, during the meeting. It looks absolutely fabulous. The layout, the size, the spread, were all so impressive. I was taken aback by how big it is inside. Cllr Sean O'Brien said he loved the tour as well. Excuse the pun but it will be a state of the art building. It has a lot of room for groups to meet and perform different aspects of the arts. It will be a brilliant addition to the centre of Tullamore. It will be brilliant for Offaly as a whole, not just Tullamore. The builders say they will be out by July. I hope they will remain true to their word. The new board met recently and there is a great energy. It is onwards and upwards. Cllr Tony McCormack agreed with the councillors. He said it's going to be a fantastic building and that it was like something you would see in Dublin or further afield, it was that good. He pointed out that there has been no project to compare to it in Tullamore thus far. It's massively positive. Cllr McCormack warmly praised the work of Chief Executive Anna Marie Delaney who, he said, sometimes put her neck on the line, went above and beyond the call of duty in her pushing of the project. A lot of arts people and arts groups have been operating for years in substandard buildings, Cllr McCormack continued. That's going to change when Community Arts Centre finally opens. It will be a game changer. Already it is changing things because local property owners are beginning to develop their own properties / businesses in preparation for its opening. The Arts Centre will give its immediate area, the street it's on, a significant boost. He reminded everyone that there was strong feeling locally over a number of years about the need for an arts centre in the town. During the local elections it was one of the major topics on the doorsteps. He said the Centre's Board has to raise 500,000 for the project. The Board of Directors is deeply committed to raising that sum. They are working very hard at it. Cllr Harvey pointed out that the Board got a lot of flak about the project from members of the public during the last few years. The Board took the criticisms on the chin and continued to work very hard. Cllr Danny Owens said he was on the tour as well. Like the other councillors I was taken aback by the vastness inside. It will be a whole new revelation for the town. It will be very good for business in the town. I can't wait to see it open. Anna Marie Delaney praised Council staff Sally O'Leary, Sharon Kennedy and Joe Dooley for their excellent work on the project. She praised the board of management. The board has stuck to it through thick and thin, through the ups and the downs. Our tour was an eye-opener. It's a fantastic facility. I found it mesmerising. When you go into it, it is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside. She wished the new Board the very best in the months and years ahead. Work is continuing on the major theatre and arts space project in Tullamore town centre and following the removal of builders' hoardings, the elevation facing the street can now be seen. The arts complex, which will have a 250-seat theatre as its centrepiece, is being located on a site which runs from High Street down to the rear of the Bridge Centre. The projected cost of the centre is 5.2 million. In 2020 Offaly County Council entered into an agreement with the Department of Culture for the provision of 2 million towards the building, which involves the refurbishment of the former Kilroy's store. According to that agreement, the 2 million grant must be fully drawn down by October 31 next. Another 200,000 is coming from the Government under an urban regeneration fund. In 2019 the council agreed a 2.5 million loan for the project over 20 years. In November 2021 the council was told that 150,000 was being provided to cover part of that loan repayment. The council is also putting 100,000 towards the centre's initial operational costs. Councillors were told in November that the local authority was setting up a new company to run the centre and that the centre's Board is committed to raising 500,000 in 2022. According to the minutes of the meeting, council director of services Sharon Kennedy said she was confident the funding would be raised. At the same meeting, council chief executive Anna Marie Delaney said the centre will become self-financing in the future. The Kilroy's store was bought for 405,000 by the council. What's Included With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call our customer service team at 716-372-3121 or email nfinnerty@oleantimesherald.com. Canadians in Ukraine are being urged to flee the country if it's safe to do so or shelter in place if it isn't. Here's how Ottawa plans to help them as the Russian military advances. Canada's cyber spy agency is warning organizations, including power companies and banks, to shore up their defences against Russia-based cyber threat activity as the Western world responds to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The EU is to freeze the assets of Russian President Putin and his foreign minister amid reports of gunfire and explosions near the capital Kyiv. Follow DW for the latest. Medicago's plant-based COVID-19 vaccine is now approved by Health Canada, which will soon give Canadians the option of getting a homegrown shot against SARS-CoV-2. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Boris Johnson has announced sanctions against a further five Russian oligarchs as the UK takes action against Vladimir Putin's "cronies" in response to the invasion of Ukraine. During protests across North America in 2020, in the wake of the death of American George Floyd, some 2,000 residents of Thunder Bay, Ont., were out in full force during one rally, carrying signs and chanting "Black Lives Matter." As part of Black History Month, CBC News spoke with four Thunder Bay residents about their experiences. Russian forces would enter areas outside Kyiv on Friday, a top Ukrainian defense official has said. Ukraine's president called on the international community to help his country. Follow DW for the latest. NowThis 01 Apr 2022 I wanted to show to the world that Russians are against the war This former Russian state TV employee is speaking out.. Ukrainians are fleeing to their EU neighbors as they fear even further escalation. The UN and the EU have vowed support as the already dire humanitarian situation worsens. Rumble 26 Mar 2022 Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all.. Rumble 27 Apr 2022 After some criticism by Western leaders for not doing enough, the UN Secretary General heads to Moscow for talks with President.. Russia will not be allowed to participate in the final of this year's Eurovision song contest, the organizer said on Friday, after Ukraine and several other European public broadcasters called for Russia to be expelled. Watch VideoAn embattled Ukraine moved to solidify its bond with the West on Monday by applying to join the European Union, while.. Newsy 28 Feb 2022 Japan will impose additional sanctions targeting Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday, joining the United States and Europe in piling pressure on Taiwan reported that nine Chinese aircraft breached the island nation's air defense zone in the most recent incursion of Beijing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying argued that Taiwan was "not Ukraine" and was always a part of the mainland. New Zealand's honorary consul to Ukraine Mark Wright said he can hear "deep booms" of war from his place in Kyiv.In an interview with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand, released to the media, Wright described... The Russian invasion of Ukraine worsens the US economy as gas prices are expected to increase up to $5 a gallon, but President Joe Biden warns oil companies against exploiting the situation. Ukrainian forces are waging a desperate battle to repel a full-scale Russian invasion of capital Kyiv. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Russian reconnaissance troops have entered Obolon, a residential area just north of the parliament and the city centre. Multiple explosions were reported in Kyiv Friday morning as Russia targeted the city with missile attacks. News channels aired videos of a Washington (AFP) Feb 25, 2022 Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted a wave of sanctions as global leaders seek to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin. As Russia's military closes in on Kyiv and Ukrainian refugees pour into neighboring countries, here are some of the sanctions heaped on Moscow so far. - United States - US President Joe Biden was the first to announce sanctions, hours after Russian President Vladi Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 25, 2022 Equities bounced back Friday from the previous day's rout with investors taking their lead from a rally on Wall Street after Washington decided against imposing the stiffest sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to send troops into Ukraine sent shockwaves through Asian and European markets and pushed oil past $100 for the first time sin Nearly two million were AstraZeneca shots that advisers said should not be given to younger adults. Russian troops are bearing down on Ukraines capital, with gunfire and explosions resonating ever closer to the government quarter, in an invasion of a democratic country that has fuelled fears of wider war in Europe. Republicans blast President Joe Biden over Ukraine crisis with some are seeking answers on how to rescue Americans stuck in the war-torn country. The latest updates on the invasion and an explanation of how California gas prices could be affected. Russian and Ukrainian forces fought on Thursday for control of Chernobyl, the still radioactive site of the world's worst nuclear accident. But why would anyone want an inoperative power plant surrounded by miles of radioactive land? A Ukrainian woman has been heralded for her bravery after a video emerged online of her confronting a Russian soldier.The video, believed to have been captured in Henichesk, a city along the Sea of Azov in southern Ukraine shows... Russia pressed its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital Friday after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. Ukraine's Armed Forces told citizens on Thursday they could join the fight as long as they had an ID, saying they give weapons to all patriots. New Zealand Herald 27 Feb 2022 Travel restrictions from Canada, the EU and Balkan countries have seen flights from the Russian national carrier all but shut out.. In May, the Putin-backed dictator grounded a plane to detain a journalist. Now he's in the spotlight again, playing a major role in the Ukraine-Russia crisis. The Canadian Press has learned the federal government will match donations individuals make to the Canadian Red Cross to help bring humanitarian relief to Ukraine. Rumble 20 Mar 2022 He should be glad she didn't drop him in the backseat. Ukrainians are now just throwing Molotov cocktails out their car.. euronews (in English) 26 Apr 2022 The former boxing champion says his country wants to be part of the European Union, even if Russia wants to rebuild the Soviet.. Johnson City, Tennessee: Premier demolition expert E Luke Green has become the go-to choice for safe and professional services thanks to building a well-deserved reputation as a 'safe pair of hands in the building industry. 2022 will see the Johnson City-based full-service demolition and environmental business celebrate an incredible 60 years in the industry. A company spokesman said their longevity was down to delivering best practices in the commercial construction ELDON [mdash] A graveside memorial service, with military honors, will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, 2022, at the Eldon Cemetery in Eldon, IA for Charles and Irene Stribling. Family and friends are welcome to attend. The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Collin Periatt. Wednesday, Feb. 23 11:55 p.m. An 18-year-old Flint man was stopped for speeding in Greendale Township. The man was later cited for driving with no license, possession of marijuana, and speeding. A relative arrived on the scene and took possession of the vehicle and driver. 10:06 p.m. A deputy spoke with a 44-year-old Lee Township resident who was requesting extra patrols in a Lee Township neighborhood regarding a 35-year-old man possibly driving in an unsafe manner. 4:28 p.m. Deputies and Michigan State Police were dispatched to a Larkin Township location for a trespass complaint. Upon arrival, no one was on the property. Deputies and Michigan State Police checked the property and observed fresh car tracks and footprints near the rear of the property. No suspects were located. 4:14 p.m. Officers investigated an animal complaint and ordinance violation on Sylvan Lane. 3:16 p.m. Officers investigated a suspicious situation on East Ashman. 2:56 p.m. Officers investigated a case of fraud on Camelot Court. 12:38 p.m. Officers investigated a suspicious situation on East Main Street. 12:04 p.m. Deputies responded to a Lee Township residence to check the well-being of a 10-year-old boy at the request of his school. The concern was that the boy may be feeling suicidal. He was found to be in good health, but feeling down. Contact was made with the boy's mother and the deputy offered to transport the boy to MyMichigan Medical Center for a mental health evaluation. The mother stated that she would assess the situation and take care of the boy herself. 10:23 p.m. Deputies were dispatched to a Jerome Township location to check on a suspect who was to be lodged on an aggravated stalking complaint. The suspect did not answer the door. 9:38 a.m. Officers investigated a death on Natalie Court. 7:48 a.m. A deputy spoke with a 40-year-old man who was observed driving erratically at a Lincoln Township location. The man was subsequently arrested for OWI, resisting and obstructing, and driving with a suspended license. A report was sent to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office. 7:43 a.m. Officers investigated a suspicious situation on Bay City Road. 7:26 a.m. A deputy was dispatched to check on a vehicle in a ditch in Jerome Township. The deputy checked the area and the vehicle was not located. As Russian military forces flooded into Ukraine on Thursday, Midland native Corie Jason could only watch on social media as the invasion of her home country of the past four years unfolded. Jason moved to Ukraine for a teaching job in 2018. Never did she expect to flee from the country due to a Russian invasion. But that is what she did about three weeks ago, before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military invasion to begin this week. This left Jason, who is currently in Hungary, unsure when, or if, she will be able to return to her home in Ukraine. (I) never would expect this to happen to (me) and to (my) home, Jason said. She grew up in Midland, graduating from Midland High School before going on to live in Lansing to attend Michigan State University. Four years ago, Jason moved to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. She taught English to Ukrainian adults and said she loved living in Ukraine, being in Eastern Europe, and being able to travel the continent. However, she grew concerned regarding potential Russian military action in January, when Russian troops were gathering in the country of Belarus, which is not far from Kyiv. About three weeks ago, she heard from the U.S. Embassy that all Americans were urged to evacuate Ukraine due to a potential Russian invasion. Fortunately, Jason had a friend who has an apartment in Budapest, Hungary, where she could stay, which is where she is located now. She expected only to be gone for a few weeks and left most of her belongings at her apartment in Kyiv. On Wednesday morning, she woke to the news of the invasion. A friend of hers, who was still in Ukraine and lived four streets away from Jasons apartment, sent her photos of a bomb or a missile that was dropped near his home. She has felt a mix of guilt, sadness, and a drive to be helpful to her Ukrainian friends. She has been working to relay updates on the war to friends who are still trying to escape the country. Jason is left unsure where to go from here, with her ability to return to Ukraine being dependent on the outcome of the invasion. If Ukraine ends up being controlled by Russia, she will have to start her way of life over. Since she mainly taught English in Ukraine, she would have to figure out how to teach English somewhere else, or fall back on her experience in acting. She said people can help Ukraine by donating money and calling on government officials to diplomatically stand against the invasion. Two charities are included below: Midland City Council will discuss the possibility of having Ashman and Rodd streets become two-way streets during its next meeting. At 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, council will meet in its regular meeting at Midland City Hall. Residents can tune in either in-person or over livestream through the citys website or its government channel, MGTV-188. Currently, Ashman is a one-way street with traffic flowing southwest from the intersection of Saginaw Road to Ann Street in downtown Midland. Rodd, parallel to Ashman and one or two blocks away from it, is a one-way street with traffic flowing in a northeast direction from East Main Street in downtown to Cambridge. Many major buildings in town are located on the two streets, including Kroger, Memorial Presbyterian Church, Dan Dan the Mattress Man, and St. Brigid Catholic Church and School on Ashman; and Central Park Elementary School and the U.S. Post Office on Rodd, among others. After council approved a redesign of Buttles and Jerome streets (Business US-10) by the Michigan Department of Transportation in 2021, this prompted the city to consider also changing Ashman and Rodd streets to two-way traffic. At an earlier meeting this year, council gave direction to city staff to look into the possibility of having these roads go in both directions. According to the meeting agenda, the topic has been brought up by the Downtown Development Authority, Center City Authority, the Midtown neighborhood, and MDOT since 2016. Recent discussions of a Center City redevelopment have also brought up the possibility of making the roads go both ways. Ashman and Rodd streets have been one-way streets since the 1960s, according to the meeting agenda. The city would explore making both streets two-way from Saginaw Road to Ann Street, a stretch of about 1.3 miles. (East Ashman, which starts east of Saginaw Road, is a two-way street.) Council will vote on possible assistance for city staff to further study and provide design recommendations for the two streets to become two-way. Public input will be collected during the design work, with a final report and recommendation coming back to council by the end of May. Council will also hold a public hearing on a concept plan for an assisted living facility on Bay City Road, and council will vote on a resolution for a second year of having Bird e-scooters available for rent in Midland. Midland County Department of Public Health Medical Director Cathy Bodnar said the county is modifying its COVID-19 protocol recommendations after the State of Michigan eased its own recommendations regarding masking and other measures. The state updated its guidelines on Feb. 16 to indicate that Michigan is in a "post-surge recovery phase" of the COVID pandemic. "No immediate resurgence predicted. Local and state public health will monitor conditions that could lead to future surges" is how the state's COVID webpage describes the recovery phase. "During the phase that we're in now, our state recommends that all individuals continue to practice masking in high-risk settings: long-term care facilities, homeless shelters, jails, correctional facilities, and healthcare facilities," Bodnar told the Daily News on Feb. 17. "What is most critical is that all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, should wear a mask during quarantine. "Its not that were totally stopping every (protocol). There are some places where we need to continue to mask. We cant lose sight of where we really still need to be masking." Bodnar said it's important to keep everyone healthy but also to keep vital infrastructure going. "We cant prevent every case of COVID-19, and eradication is not possible," Bodnar said. "We want to prevent death and severe illness. And we need to keep our vital infrastructure going: our schools, our transportation, and our manufacturing. "Now we have things we didn't have at the start of the pandemic: vaccines, treatments," she continued. "And we have non-pharmaceutical measures: masking, distancing, ventilation. With our (COVID) numbers really dropping, it makes sense to move to this recovery phase, which means dialing back some of the (protocols) we've been doing." Bodnar said the county health department is working on updating its recommended COVID protocols for schools and for the community in general. "I think it is time to pivot toward recovery," she said. "The other thing I do want to share with our community is that we are maybe a week or two behind some parts of the state. We were hit with Omicron a little bit later. So we are recovering from Omicron a little bit later. So our positivity rate is a bit higher than the state average." As of Feb. 23, Midland Countys seven-day rolling positivity rate for COVID testing between Feb. 15-21 was 11.2%, and Gladwin Countys was 11.4%. The surrounding 12-county region was listed at 11.6% and the state of Michigan was at 7.9%. In celebration of Black History Month, Northwood University celebrates two Black beauty product pioneers, with one representing the past and one representing the future. Madam C.J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; Dec. 23, 1867, died May 25, 1919) was a Black entrepreneur who developed a line of cosmetics and hair care products for Black women. Her company, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, was so successful that history records Walker as the first self-made female millionaire in America. Walker was born in Louisiana. She had five siblings. Her older siblings were enslaved. Walker was the first child in her family to be born into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation. At age seven, Walker was orphaned and raised by an older sister. She adopted the name Madam C.J. Walker after her marriage to Charles Joseph Walker. History finds that many successful entrepreneurs leverage creativity and innovation to overcome hardship and solve problems. Madam C.J. Walker suffered from dandruff, scalp problems and baldness. These hair and scalp-related problems would serve as the inspiration for the development of her unique line of hair care products designed to better meet the unique needs of Black Americans. Madam C.J. Walker faced seemingly insurmountable odds in her early years, but through sheer grit and determination, she was able to overcome all obstacles and rise to a level of success that was truly astonishing and it paved the way for future female entrepreneurs like Camara MacKey. Northwood University is proud to honor African American student and entrepreneur MacKey, a Black student and entrepreneur from Chicago, Illinois. She is currently a senior majoring in marketing with a minor in management. MacKey, like Madam C.J. Walker, saw a need for hair care products designed specifically to meet the unique needs of people of color. MacKeylaunched her business, Tropical Secrets, when she was just 17 years old. MacKey observed that many women of color felt pressure to adopt European hairstyles that were not natural and resulted in damage to their hair and scalp. Tropical Secrets is MacKey's vision to bring the natural beauty of her hair, and the hair of other women of color, to the forefront, and free women of color from the pressure of adopting hairstyles that are not healthy for them. MacKey's vision for Tropical Secrets goes far beyond the selling of products. Her faith inspires her to give back. She hopes to drive Tropical Secrets to such a level of success that the company will be able to help other entrepreneurs of color launch their businesses. For MacKey, Tropical Secrets is an innovative force for positive change. She loves being an entrepreneur because it gives her the freedom to express her individuality and provides her with an outlet for her creative genius. I am most proud of MacKey for her grit and perseverance. Many young entrepreneurs who are faced with setbacks and the challenges of building a business give up. MacKey will not quit. She will be successful, and her success will benefit all women of color, and society as whole. She continues a strong entrepreneurial tradition at Northwood with 34% of our graduates owning all or part of their own business. Northwood University is proud of MacKey, and we are excited for her future as a Black beauty pioneer. John Gustincic is the director of the Alden B. Dow Center for Creativity and Enterprise, and advisor for Northwood Universitys DECA chapter. He can be reached at gustinci@northwood.edu. Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) Mauritian Finance Minister Renganaden Padayachy on Thursday said that with the reopening of borders positively impacting the tourism industry and investment sector, Mauritius looks forward to an economic recovery exceeding 6 Photo: (Photo : Hannah McKay - Pool/Getty Images) Micro preemie Jari Lopez from New Mexico is one happy and healthy baby who recently celebrated his first birthday. But a year ago, on February 22, 2021, his parents were told that he had only a 30 percent survival rate due to his size, weight, and general condition as a premature baby. Jari was the smallest infant at Albuquerque's Presbyterian Hospital at the time of his birth. Mom Amber Higgins Lopez delivered her son, roughly the size and weight of a loaf of bread, on the 24th week of her pregnancy. A few weeks before Jari was born, Amber had to see a specialist because her ultrasound showed that the baby in her womb was developing smaller than normal and could be a micro-preemie. She told the show "Good Morning America" that the specialist advised her for admission to the hospital because they had to monitor the baby on the ultrasound every single day. Amber was also experiencing concerning symptoms of preeclampsia. Thus, the specialist advised that it would be best for the mom to have an emergency C-section. Read Also: Surprise Baby! Mom Learns She's Pregnant 10 Hours Before Giving Birth to Her First Child Taking it Day by Day Julian Lopez, Jari's dad, recalled taking everything day by day after Jari came out. The baby needed to be attached to a breathing machine because his lungs were not yet developed at 24 weeks. Dr. Jennifer Anderson, the pediatrician who took care of Jari, admitted that they were not sure the baby would survive. As a micro-preemie, they thought that they didn't have the right equipment and breathing tube that Jari's tiny size could tolerate. However, with the help of a skilled nurse, Jari was attached to the breathing machine in time. The medical workers could also see that Jari was fighting and improving. Miraculously, the micro-preemie did not develop any major complications, and he was able to breathe on his own after six weeks. Amber said that Anderson and her team also made sure that she and Julian were comfortable and well-attended whenever they would visit their son at the neonatal intensive care unit. Jari stayed at the NICU for 127 days, where he also underwent a double hernia repair surgery and several blood transfusions. Three Birthday Parties for a Special Boy Today as a one-year-old child, Jari has grown at least two feet tall and weighs 16 pounds. Amber said that her baby is quite active, feisty, and easily excited about what's around him. Jari will need to catch up with his developmental milestones, but he's one perfect baby in his parents' eyes. His parents planned three birthday parties for their son because his life had to be celebrated in a major way. Amber said that she wanted to share Jari's story because they saw a lot of tiny babies at their time in the hospital. A report from the University of Washington cited that micro-preemies, also known as babies with extremely low birth weight, are at risk of many health concerns from the onset. The mom wants other parents of tiny babies to know that there is always hope, and their son is proof that micro-preemie babies can overcome their condition. Related Article: New Mom Burst Some Blood Vessels for Pushing Hard During Childbirth Photo: (Photo : Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We The 45 Million) President Joe Biden has canceled the student loan debt of over 16,000 borrowers amounting to $415 million, including a first-ever action of the U.S. Department of Education against a currently operating college involved in misconduct. Biden and the Education Department approved the cancellation of the student loan debts of former students from several colleges, including DeVry University in Illinois, on Wednesday, February 16, 2022. These were former students who filed for borrower defense to loan repayment claims years ago on the basis that their school engaged in misleading claims. Fox 13 reported that DeVry University defrauded about 1,800 former students by misrepresenting its job placement rates between 2008 to 2015. The school claimed that 90 percent of its graduates acquired jobs within their chosen field six months after graduating. However, the actual percentage for its job placement rates was 58 percent. Donna Shaults, the spokesperson for DeVry University, said that the school's leadership has changed since 2015, and they have been kept up to date about the issues with the student loan debts. While the Education Department expects DeVry University to cover the cost of the canceled debts, Shaults said they disagree with the department's conclusion in its review of the borrower defense claims. Read Also: Mom Pleads Guilty to Stealing Daughter's Identity, so She Could Attend College and Date Younger Men Other Qualified Borrowers Aside from approving the borrower defense claims of former students of DeVry University, Biden also canceled the student loan debts of ITT Technical Institute Nursing School with 130 borrowers, Minnesota School of Business/Globe University with 270 borrowers, Westwood College with 1,600 borrowers, and Corinthian Colleges and Marinello Schools of Beauty with a combined 11,900 borrowers. These institutions, however, have shut down operations, unlike DeVry University. In a statement, Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said that it was unfortunate these schools misled their former students into obtaining student loans yet could not deliver on their promise. The secretary added that his department is still reviewing pending borrower defense claims, which means more student loan debt forgiveness is expected in the coming months. The Education Department has had a backlog of borrower defense claims after former secretary Betsy DeVos stopped the process during President Donald Trump's time, citing that this was bad policy. The debt relief policy was established under President Barack Obama. Maine Lawmakers File Bill for Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Meanwhile, lawmakers from Maine have introduced a bill that may consider a $40,000 student loan forgiveness for first-time home buyers. The proposal was filed before the committee on Tuesday, February 22, in the presence of the Maine State Housing Authority. Former students living in Maine have one of the highest average student loan debts in the country at $33,000 per individual. Banks often refuse them when they apply for home lone because they are considered financial high risks. Democratic Senate President Troy Jackson said that he would support the bill that will help young adults buy their first home and reduce their student loan debts over a period of five years. He said that Maine needs more residents to set their roots and become the tax base to help the state's economy. Related Article: Father Owes $550,000 in Student Loans So His 5 Kids Could Finish College Photo: (Photo : CHRISTIAN CHARISIUS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) State police in Maryland have issued a public warning about the "grandparent scam" that preys on unsuspecting senior citizens who are convinced their grandchildren need their help to bail them out of jail. According to WUSA9, the Maryland State Police Cumberland Barrack has received reports of the scam in early February, where unscrupulous individuals have succeeded in stealing at $9,200 to $15,000 from their victims. However, other counties in the state have also had reports of the grandparent scam in the previous months. The modus involves someone calling the seniors with claims that they are their grandchild, weaving a tale of legal trouble that has gotten them arrested. The caller then provides a phone number of an attorney who could confirm to the grandparent that their grandchild needs cash for bail. Fortunately, some victims got wind of the scam before losing substantial cash, but not everyone had the same experience. Read Also: Police Arrest Grandfather for Unlawful Conduct After Grandson Brings His Gun to School to Shoot Zombies Worried Grandma Withdrew Money for "Grandson" In Prince George County, the perpetrators were able to scam an old woman who believed that her grandson needed her help after a car crash and his arrest. The grandmother said that her "grandson" was crying on the phone, saying he did not want this to go on his record since he's a good person. Worried, the grandmother went to the bank to withdraw $12,500 and then waited for a "bondsman" to pick it up without realizing she would never see this money again. She felt an urgency to the way the scammers operated, and they had information about her, which made her not suspect that this was all ruse. The police said that if grandparents receive a distress call from their grandkids, they should resist the urge to help before confirming anything. Regardless of the dramatic stories they tell, grandparents are advised to call another family member or a friend of their grandson to check if it's true. In South Carolina, the Oconee County Sheriff's Office also investigated one case of the grandparent scam. But instead of asking for bail money, the person claimed to be working in the fraud department of PayPal. After the senior gave his account information and financial details to the "PayPal representative," more than $10,000 of his money went missing. Elder Fraud Increasing Senior citizens are easy targets for scams because they have the money and good credit, and they can also be too trusting of other people. Seniors are also less likely to report being scammed because they don't know how or are ashamed of what happened. Authorities said that older people should be cautious about receiving unsolicited calls or emails. They must also never give out private information, especially if this involves cash, checks, jewelry, or gift cards. End the call with the scammer right away but call the police if there are any threats or a sense of danger. They may also report the fraud to the FBI. Related Article: Grandfather of Baby Left in Dumpster by Teen Mom To Seek Custody Photo: (Photo : Getty images ) The community and family of Caleb, the five-year-old boy, the mom, and the boyfriend who were murdered execution-style on Sunday are shocked after learning about the family's brutal murder and the possibility that two teenagers may be responsible for the deaths. The authorities report that they now have the custody of 16 and 17-year-old boys for the murders from tips and information shared by the community. Fox2Detriot reported that young Caleb Harris, mother Lashon Marshall, and boyfriend Aaron Benson were murdered in their home on Sunday in Evergreen Rd and Fenkell St. The disturbing details On Tuesday, the Detriot Police Department said two teenagers committed the crime. The victims were found at 5 PM in their residence on Sunday afternoon after a relative checked on them. The relative claimed that they had not heard from Benson and the family in a week. When they checked on the family, they found the bodies of Marshall and Benson. They later found the boy's body in another room of the home with two bullets in the face. Police believe that Harris, Marshall, and Benson were killed before Sunday, but they did not get into details yet. The police said that they now know the motive of the killings, but they will not disclose it. The authorities also said that the teenagers were known to the victims. The family members found that someone had kicked in the back door. When they discovered the bodies, they called the authorities. The police said they could identify the suspects because they received tips from the community, Police Chief James White said, as per Dailymail. The police also reported that they had obtained search warrants, and the two suspects were taken into custody without incident. The suspected teenagers are now being held in a youth home. Meanwhile, former state representative Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, a relative of Caleb, comforted the boy's grandmother, Shalesa Floyd. She wondered what mindset anyone could have that would intentionally shoot a baby in the face? She called the murderers heartless. According to Floyd, the boy's father lives out of state and is currently in a state of turmoil. She said that his son is falling apart, and she is "hurting deep." Floyd also told NBC News that the father had been trying to get custody of Caleb. However, she accused the Child Protection Services of not doing enough. Read Also: Family Calls for Justice as Police Shot Uncle's Bride at Wedding Reception The possibility that teenagers killed the boy According to Fox Detriot news, many are having a hard time understanding the possibility that two teenage boys committed the murder. In a press conference, Detroit Police Commander Michael McGinnis said that the individuals taken into custody may likely be "responsible for this heinous act." According to Zeek Williams, a longtime community organizer, when a five-year-old is murdered in the community, everybody sees it as if it was their kid. The possibility is that two teens killed the three, including a five-year-old, in cold blood, which means that "we have dropped the ball." It also means that everyone has a role to "right the ship." Related Article: Father Finds Wrong Body in a Coffin, Later Learns His Son Was Cremated by Mistake The agreement to receive $175,000 for a health literacy grant to share evidence-based information about COVID-19 and improving health literacy. Payson Goals for the Health Literacy Grant: Goal #1: Build partnership with Banner Health and develop guidance Objectives: identify target illnesses and injuries audiences, develop messaging strategy and develop consistent and CLAS educational Action steps: What actions are needed to make it easier for people to find, understand and use COVID-19 information and services? - ID key data points on most frequent illnesses and injuries in Payson - Develop policies and procedures for data collection and sharing of information - Identify at-greater-risk target audience/populations - Develop messaging strategy to increase health and safety literacy - Identify currently available educational resources that are CLAS appropriate - Produce linguistically appropriate materials for social media/local community - Identify community resources to assist with agreed upon messaging strategy for increasing health literacy within the community Goal #2: Promote changes in the healthcare delivery system that improves information, communication, informed decision-making, and access to health services Objectives: provide health literacy education using culturally and linguistically appropriate health and safety information services in the community. Action steps: What actions are needed to make it easier for people to find, understand and use COVID-19 related information? - Develop training materials and appropriate courses for health literacy education based on data driven priorities, with emphasis on new COVID-19 related information. - Train literacy specialists in this case Fire and Police personnel on how to deliver the information, gather the data and understand it. - Disseminate health literacy information during emergency service calls, customer contacts, community events, and through public service announcements - Integrate on-going opportunities to distribute information material - Partner with other Gila County grantees for training and sharing materials - Develop a website to distribute the materials created Goal #3: continuous quality improvement through data collection and translation, customer and health care provider feedback. Objectives: manage on-going program progress to ensure excellent health care literacy assistance to the community. Action Steps: what actions are needed to make it easier for people to find and understand and use COVID-19 information and services. - Manage the on-going delivery of health care literacy education. - Manage the results of the program to ensure its progress in meeting goals and objectives. - Develop a plan to make sure the health literacy program continues after the grant completes in June 2023. - Finalize grant reporting. Windows 11 has continued to tack away from its launch state, issuing new features that are mainly course corrections from its initial approach. Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22563 is a case in point, bringing fixes to the taskbar for tablets and an improved Widgets experience. Its a theme we talked about in our recent video describing the Windows 11 spring 2022 update: Microsoft released its new Windows 11 OS, users complained, so Microsoft backtracked. For example, Microsoft released Windows 11 with minimal changes to the taskbar experience for tablets such as the Surface Pro 8. Specifically, while Windows 10 alters the taskbar when a tablet like the SP8 is undocked, Windows 11s stable configuration leaves it largely unchanged. Build 22563 makes a welcome change. One of the concerns with a tablet is how easily youll inadvertently click something you didnt mean to. In the new build, the taskbar slims down into just a tiny ribbon at the bottom of the screen. If you swipe up, it expands into a more easily navigable area. Yes, its a second click, but its like sliding a utility knife back into its sheath when its not in useyoure trading a bit of inconvenience for additional safety. The changes to Widgets are more subtleand, if were being honest, probably more discernible once we get some hands-on time with the new build. Were trying out some changes in Widgets to bring more dynamic content to your Widgets board, by experimenting with bringing together the widgets and news feed experiences as a dynamic blended feed containing both widgets and news content, Microsoft said in a blog post. This should make it easier for you to discover and engage with new widgets and news content through your feed. With a dynamic feed theres less of a burden on you to curate the canvas on your own, but youll still be able to pin your favorite Widgets to the top if you want. From the illustration Microsoft provided, there really dont appear to be substantive changes to Widgets before and after the new build: Instead, it looks like Widgets is being made more flexible, so that youll discover and add new widgets to the feed. Note that the add widgets button appears to have moved to the top, where theres now a small plus icon that appears next to your avatar icon. Microsoft also made some other small changes. The first appears to be a continuation of Windows 10s behavior in Snap Assist. If you snap an app to one side or a corner of the screen, Windows suggests other apps to fill the space. Now, the first three apps Windows 11 suggests will be your most recent three tabs opened within Microsoft Edge, then other apps. Microsoft says that youll be able to control this behavior via the Alt+Tab controls: Settings > System > Multitasking inside the Settings menu. Windows 11s Snap Assist will now suggest Edge tabs. Microsoft Microsoft has also changed the search behavior in Quick Access, the search bar at the top right of any File Explorer window. Now, in addition to searching files stored locally on your PC, Windows will add a search of your OneDrive content as well. Starting with this build, Windows Insiders can now use 37 new emoji characters in the emoji picker as part of Emoji 14.0, the company added. They include troll, melting face, and mirror ball emoji. Technically, these improvements are all part of the Dev Channel, so Microsoft is under no obligation to bring them to the stable channel of Windows. But these feel like fixes that youll see soon, regardless. Member of Parliament for Yapei-Kusawgu, John Jinapor, has asked Ghanaians not to expect reduction in fuel prices any time soon due to the ongoing geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine. He has asked the Government of Ghana to use the profits made from crude oil sales to cushion Ghanaians during this difficult moment. The former Deputy Minister of Energy told TV3 that the government has made quite substantial profit from the sale of crude oil. He said Based on what is even happening today, because of the geopolitical tension between Russia, the West vis-a-vis Ukraine, you should expect that crude oil prices will not be coming down anytime soon. And so, what is Ghana doing? First of all, we are making a huge windfall. If you look at 61 to 100, that represents a 60 per cent jump, in terms of the revenues that we are expecting and so clearly, we are making some very huge windfall which we can use to cushion the ordinary Ghanaian. The other issue is that if you look at taxes on petroleum products the taxes are so huge, not just the number of taxes but the rate at which they have increased them. In 2021 we introduced what we call the energy sector recovery levy , policing levy, increased and so all those increments culminated in petroleum prices increment of about 13.6per cent instantly. So far the BOST margin has gone up about 200 per cent fuel margin has gone up about 200 per cent , it is just a plethora of taxes. Oil prices went up on Thursday, with Brent rising above $105 a barrel for the first time since 2014 after Russias attack on Ukraine exacerbated concerns about disruptions to global energy supply, the Economic Times reported. Oil prices are soaring with no end in sight as the news of Russias full-scale military incursion of Ukraine, immediately putting at risk up to 1 million bpd (barrels per day) of Russian crude oil exports transitioning through Ukraine and the Black Sea, said Louise Dickson, senior oil market analyst at Rystad Energy. 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. Featured Video Access Bank Ghana has held its first SMEs capacity building workshop for the year, in Tamale. It was on the theme "Boosting digital skills for emerging opportunities". The workshop brought together SMEs from across the Northern Regional capital, to equip them with emerging trends on digitalization for business growth. Speaking ahead of the workshop, MD of Access Bank Ghana, Olumide Olatunji urged participants to make use of knowledge they would acquire from the workshop. " "Our world keeps evolving and so should our approach to every business venture. Applying new skills and dynamics of the present business terrain will propel your businesses to growth". Mr. Olatunji assured SMEs of the Bank's unflinching support to the sector 'Access Bank recognizes the immense contribution SMEs make to Ghana's economic development and so we will continue to support you with knowledge, hands-on training, business advisory services and capital to help your businesses to succeed", he intimated. Addressing participants at the workshop, Kafui Bimpe, Group Head of Access Bank's Business Banking stressed the Bank's commitment to championing the cause of SMEs in the country. "Through capacity building on digitalization, access to loans for business expansion, advisory services, and other tailor- made products, we are equipping SMEs to contribute more towards Ghana's economy. Presently, statistics shows that SMEs contribute significantly to Ghana's economy, an apparent reason to support the sector". He shared the bank's joy, in impacting over 6,000 SMEs in the previous year and hoped to extend these training to all the other regions. Access Bank seeks to consolidate the gains made in the past year, while equipping more SMEs with knowledge on digitalization to promote their businesses. The Bank is well positioned to support SMEs and has instituted interventions such as its wide offering on digital banking solutions, international remittance services (AccessAfrica money transfer service) and Instant Business Loan (IBL) specifically targeted at SMEs. In a bid to ensure continuous education on digitalization for SMEs, Access Bank has sponsored a column on SMEs dubbed SME Focus in the business segment of the Daily Graphic newspaper to go out fortnightly. The second edition will be out on 4th March 2022. Through constant customer engagement, the Bank gets to understand their varied needs and help to proffer solutions to them. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Governance Lecturer at the Central University, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, has waded into the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin launches an attack on Ukraine. According to a publication by Dailymail in the United Kingdom, Russia, today, ''launched all-out war on Ukraine with simultaneous attacks coming from south, east and north, by land and by air''. The publication further disclosed that ''missiles and bombs rained from the sky, tanks rolled across the border, troops parachuted down on eastern regions and explosions were seen across the country after Vladimir Putin gave the order to attack''. Hundreds of Ukrainian troops are said to have been killed in the clashes. Russian President Vladimir Putin cleared a military operation in Ukraine as diplomatic talks to prevent the clash between the two countries and the imposition of Western sanctions on Russia to deter Putin have all failed. According to ndtv.com, Putin's action is aimed at defending separatists in the east of the country, called the Donbas region. "I have made the decision of a military operation," he said in a statement. President Putin has reportedly marched over 150,000 troops along the borders of Ukraine and has called on Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms. US President Joe Biden has also warned of "consequences" for Russia, stressing the world will "hold Russia accountable" for her actions. Touching on this development during Peace FM's morning show ''Kokrokoo'', Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah noted that President Putin's actions will have a huge ripple effect on world economies. He feared there could be a ''third world war'', therefore asking God to strike Putin dead. ''Why can't God just strike him dead? . . . For a situation like this, he (Putin) should have been struck dead by the next morning," he said. He added; ''I pray God that, when he starts the fight, he should be part of the first Russians who die.'' 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 International security expert and the Dean of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, has warned of dire consequences if the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalates. Dailymail.com reported that Russia has "launched an all-out war on Ukraine with simultaneous attacks coming from south, east and north, by land and by air". According to them, "missiles and bombs rained from the sky, tanks rolled across the border, troops parachuted down on eastern regions and explosions were seen across the country after Vladimir Putin gave the order to attack''. Hundreds of Ukrainian troops are said to have been killed in the clashes. Speaking in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Vladimir Antwi-Danso explained Russia is guarding its territory to ensure it's not invaded by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). "Once NATO is coming close to Russian border, they'll do everything to protect territory . . . in International relations, there's no morality . . . and so if someone feels threatened they'll do anything to protect themselves," he stated. Vladimir Antwi-Danso says if this conflict is not handled well, it can lead to a third world war which will be deadly."If it is not handled well, it might turn into a 3rd World war and it can be apocalyptic because North Korea and China will back Russia . . . it will be a suicidal war and so we need to pray"."The way forward is diplomacy and level-headedness and the UN must take it up to start serious negotiations . . . " he added.Vladimir Antwi-Danso has agreed with pundits who claim the conflict between the two countries can worsen the already escalating fuel prices.According to him, "the first few months or a year or two we should expect an escalation of fuel prices and economic wobbling, and so we should be ready . . . Russia can decide to stop gas, they can decide to withdraw the amount of fuel they pump unto the world grid, and so on . . . every country is going to be affected by what is happening and so we should tighten our belt".However, he believes things "will be better". Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Reach for Change and the Jacobs Foundation, two NGOs operating in Ghana have launched a two-year support program that envisions to positively influence the educational system in Ghana. This collaborative initiative will support local social entrepreneurs in education to strengthen their innovative solutions, in order to improve educational outcomes for more children Speaking at the launch of the event on Thursday at the Alisa Hotel in Accra, Solomon Twum, Country Manager Ghana, Reach for Change iterated the need to laying solid foundation, as one of the many ways to address the countrys educational challenges Several initiatives, including private and public efforts have attempted to tackle many aspects of our educational challenges in Ghana. We believe that the solution to our educational challenges lay in creating a solid foundation of evidence based educational solutions which have a track record of measured social impact consistently over a period of time. According to Solomon Twum, the need to employ collaborative approaches to addressing the issue has become imperative. It is in this regard that we are seeking to offer tailored research based support and access to the Jacobs Foundation network, partnerships and resources in order to help refine these solutions and prepare them for replication throughout the country, He further bemoaned the issue of poor educational outcomes and low enrollment levels in primary education especially amongst girls and children with disabilities. While many current social entrepreneurs in Ghana strive to innovate and create effective education solutions, they are facing a number of common challenges affecting their development and scaling, such as limited access to funding, political barriers within the education sector, difficulties in measuring and proving their impact, and a need for stronger strategic leadership within their organizations Co-Lead of the Learning Minds Portfolio at the Jacobs Foundation,Laura Metzger, opined the need to create an enabling environment for social entrepreneurs to thrive . Jointly with Reach for Change, we are thrilled to support education-focused social entrepreneurs in Ghana in strengthening the positive impact of their solutions. We also want to leverage our networks and resources to provide social entrepreneurs a platform to amplify their reach and inspire other education stakeholders in Ghana and beyond, According to her, the collaboration with the Jacobs Foundation will create a tailored support program that meets the specific needs of the social entrepreneurs and their organization's development journey. The partnership will support the development of new learning models, leadership pathways and global networks. The selected social entrepreneurs will also receive grant funding to execute their solutions. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong says it will be difficult for the government to evacuate Ghanaians in war-hit Ukraine. He explained that Ukraine is now a 'no flight zone' for any country to evacuate its citizens. " . . Evacuation from the country is not easy . . . it will not be advisable to fly any plane . . . we don't have a mission in Ukraine . . . we have just a honorary consul in Kiev . . . we are making efforts to move some of our people to western Poland . . . even America and Britain have not been able to evacuate their citizens yet, the fight just started," he said in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie'. There is tension between Russia and Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched airstrikes into Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, February 24, 2022. However, Russia has warned against further damaging actions. The dire nature of the situation and the potential of it becoming a full-blown war has compelled Ghanas Foreign Affairs Ministry to release a statement on measures being taken to protect Ghanaians in Ukraine. The statement reads, the Government of Ghana is gravely concerned about the security and safety of our over 1000 students and other Ghanaians in Ukraine and has asked them to shelter in place in their homes or in government places of shelter as we engage the authorities, our relevant diplomatic missions and our honorary consul on further measures." Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video William Ato Essien, former Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Capital Bank has denied taking GHC200 million dishonestly out of the GHC620 million liquidity support given to Capital Bank. Essien explained that he was not a management member of the Bank, not a signatory, and not part of the day-to-day operations of the Bank. I have no access to the treasury of the Bank, he added. Essien, who was continuing his cross-examination by Mrs Evelyn Keelson, Chief State Attorney, indicated that he did not get any personal benefit from the liquidity support and that his personal bank account could attest to that. The accused said it was factually incorrect that the GHC200 million cedis he took from the Banks liquidity support made the Capital Bank insolvent. It is factually incorrect because I am standing trial for GHC130 million and GHC27.5 million cedis. He said from the total of the GHC157.5, he legitimately earned GHC27.5 as Finders fee. According to him, since he legitimately earned the GHC 27.5 he had the right to use same, the way he pleased. He denied that the money he allegedly used for his personal gains was also used in setting up Sovereign Bank and a company known as Ocean Spring. Essien said in his witness statement before the court that, the Board of the defunct Capital Bank duly approved the payment of GHC27.5million cedis as his Finders Fee. He said he found money to cater for the Banks financial challenges and was paid for the services he rendered. Question: Do you have any appointment letter from the Bank to support the claim that you were the Transaction Officer? Answer: An oral agreement is as good as a written agreement. I have been looking for money for the Bank at the time I stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer. The Bank had never refused the money I found for it. I was contracted to find money and have done that since year 2012. Question: I am putting it to you that the GHC27.5 million was used under the guise of paying Bank of Ghana officials who facilitated the disbursement of the GHC620miilion. Answer: No, my Lord. I was paid my finders commission, and, in that respect, approvals were duly given by the Board in recognition of the success achievement of the receipt of the GHC620million. This transaction was not the first time I had found money from a government institution for the Bank. Question: The first tranche of liquidity support was requested by Rev Fitzgerald Odonkor, the then Managing Director and Daniel Diapah, a manager. Answer: It is factually inaccurate. Question: Your response clearly shows that you did not play any role in the acquisition of the liquidity support. Answer: That is not correct. I acted as the Transaction Advisor. Questions: The contradictory answers you have given on record clearly show that you were not the transaction adviser for the liquidity support. Answer: We requested for GHC300 million from Band of Ghana, but we were given GHC150 million. With the second tranche, we requested for GHC450million, but we were given GHC300 million and in the third tranche, we requested for GHC450 million, but we were given GHC170 million. The court presided over by Mr Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, a Court of Appeal Judge, sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge, adjourned the matter to March 3. This is to enable Essien to call his defence witness, one Dr Isaac Nyame. Essien and two others are standing trial in the GHC620 million offered to Capital Bank by the Bank of Ghana as liquidity support. The two are Fitzgerald Odonkor, the former managing director of Capital Bank and Tettey Nettey of MC Management Service, a company owned by Essien. They are being held for allegedly conniving and stealing GHC620 liquidity support offered by Bank of Ghana to defunct Capital Bank. The accused persons have denied the offences and are on bail. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's 2022 State of the Nation Address (SONA), has been postponed indefinitely, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Deputy Majority Leader of Parliament, has disclosed. He was presenting the Business Statement of the Sixth Week, ending Friday, 4th March 2022, of the First Meeting of the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament. "Mr Speaker, in presenting the Business Statement for this week last Friday, indication was given to this House that, the President is expected to deliver the Message of the State of that Nation on Thursday, 3rd March 2022," he said. The Deputy Majority Leader said the indicative date given, no longer holds, noting that Members of Parliament would be duly informed of a new date when the President would deliver his address to this House. The State of the Nation is an annual address to Parliament given by the President in conformity with Article 67 of the Constitution of Ghana. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, says the Government is working with relevant stakeholders to ensure the safety of Ghanaians in Ukraine following a military operation by Russia. A statement issued by the Ministry on Thursday said: Our Diplomatic Mission in Berne, and our Honorary Consulate are directly engaged with the relevant authorities in Ukraine in an effort to secure the safety and protection of Ghanaian citizens there during this difficult period. It urged all Ghanaian nationals in Ukraine to limit their movements in public places and remain at home or move to government places of shelter. The statement said the government was concerned over the deteriorating military situation in the country, which had direct impact on the safety and security of Ghanaians, including over 1,000 students in Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration wishes to assure the public of its concern, and particularly, our compatriots in Ukraine that all efforts are being made to ensure their safety and security, the statement noted. Meanwhile, Parliament and the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) have urged government to consider evacuating Ghanaians from Ukraine. Also, the President of National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in Ternopil City, Richard Ofori, said Ghanaian students in the region, numbering about 250, were expected to be safely evacuated by Tuesday. He said, Buses have been booked for tomorrow (Saturday) and Tuesday to transport students to Poland, about 200 to 250 Ghanaian students. We had to make the decision ourselves. However, Dr Vladimir Antwi Danso, an International Relations Expert and Security Analyst, had advised that it was unsafe to evacuate Ghanaians at the moment because the airspace was currently porous. In a media engagement, he asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work out a contingency plan and find alternative evacuation routes for the thousands of Ghanaians, including students in Ukraine. He noted that it was important for the Ministry to collate data on all Ghanaians and where they resided in Ukraine to begin such evacuation processes when the time was appropriate. Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with air strikes or shelling as civilians crammed into trains and cars to flee. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kouleba, following the attack, said the operation was aimed at "destroying the Ukrainian state, seizing its territory by force and establishing an occupation. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video NIGERIA: An abusive husband who was on the run after strangling his wife to death has been apprehended. Ifeanyi Victor allegedly strangled Evelyn Alifia on Feb. 18 at their home in Lugbe, Abuja. The pair began dating last year and got engaged in August, just months after. Against the advice of her pastor, Evelyn, a mother-of-one, chose to be with Ifeanyi. In December 2021, they updated their Facebook friends that they are now married.Ifeanyi, who is jobless, moved in with Evelyn and reportedly began abusing her almost immediately. Evelyn was financially responsible for the family, yet she reportedly suffered abuse and was maltreated by Ifeanyi, who threatened to kill her when provoked. Evelyn began planning to move out of the house when she reportedly found a gun in Ifeanyi's bag on Saturday February 18, 2022. She rang her sister and informed her of her findings and her decision to inform the police. That evening, Ifeanyi allegedly strangled Evelyn and locked her body in their room before running off. He reportedly called Evelyn's family and informed them of their daughter's death. Reports say he ran off with Evelyn's phone and ATM and promised her family that he will return them later. The police recovered Evelyn's decomposing body on Monday, Feb. 21, while Ifeanyi remained on the run. He was eventually captured on Thursday, Feb. 24, while making enquiries about travelling to South Africa. A photo of him, taken just before he was apprehended, shows him laughing without remorse, despite taking his wife's life. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lindaikejiblog (@lindaikejiblogofficial) 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 John Boadu, the general secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has confirmed that all efforts to get the Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo back to the country to perform her parliamentary duties have not been successful. He said the continued absence of the lawmaker is a worrying trend. Speaking on Asaase Radio, Boadu said, were all concerned about making sure our government runs and considering how Parliament is split in the middle, any occasion that any of the MPs is absent is a cause for worry. Demands The Assin Central MP Ken Agyapong alleged that Safo is demanding for the removal of Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin before she would return to Parliament. If the President heeds to Adwoa Safos demands then I will also go to the US and demand that the President resigns before I come to Parliament, Agyapong told Kwaku Nhyira-Addo. However, Boadu feels the matter should be handled with tact because there were times that Ken [Agyapong] himself was outside the country, he had planned to come two days before we needed him and he had to be rushed to come to join his colleagues. Just as Adwoa was occasionally brought in and this time I think shes kept out far too long and all efforts to get her is proven futile, but I dont think were at the end of the tunnel, Boadu added. Adwoa Safo took leave of absence Meanwhile, the national chairman of the governing party Freddie Blay has disclosed that Safo took a leave of absence to address some health issues. I know that she [Adwoa Safo] asked for a period off to take care of some health issues and so lets not make any hasty decisions we must appreciate the situations she also finds herself in, Blay told The Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday. It is unfortunate that Adwoa Safos matter is in the public domain but I will like to say that at the end of the day Parliamentary proceedings must continue; a resolution will be reached. Sack Adwoa Safo now The managing editor of the Daily Dispatch, Ben Ephson, has urged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) not to allow Adwoa Safo, the MP for Dome-Kwabenya, to hold the party to ransom. Ephson said the party should call Safos bluff and sack her to pave the way for a by-election Source: asaaseradio.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video An Accra Circuit Court has acquitted and discharged Salifu Maase also known as Mugabe Maase, radio presenter of two criminal charges preferred against him. He was charged with offensive conduct to breach public peace and publication of false information that could cause fear and panic and was on GHC50,000 with three sureties bail. Mugabe has on Thursday February 24, 2022 been released on the two counts by the court presided over by Eva Bannerman Williams. He is said to have described the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and all police officers in the country as fools during a political show Inside Politics on Accra based Radio XYZ on Feb 8, 2019. Mugabe is alleged to have said further on his programme on Radio XYZ that he had credible information regarding a threat on the life of Mr. Manasseh Awuni, whose documentary on some alleged militia group training at the former seat of government, Osu Castle, dominated major conversations in the country. However, the government said the documentary was misleading and denied sponsoring the group. The Minister of State in charge of National Security at the time, Byran Acheampong said the activities of the group, known as De Eye, at the Osu Castle were halted in October 2018. However, the then Director General of Criminal Investigation Department of the Police, DCOP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah at a press conference had said Maase during police interrogations said he made the statements under the spirits. Previous PostHassan Zeins Lawyers File Injunction Against A Plus 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. Featured Video THE ATTORNEY Generals Office has filed an application before an Accra High Court to summon two persons who stood as sureties for former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Attionu Tamakloe, who is standing trial for causing financial loss to the state. The two officials who stood surety for the accused person have been identified as former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Alex Mould and one Gavivina Tamakloe, formerly with National Theatre. The Attorney Generals (AG) Department has also filed an application seeking leave to hold the trial of the John Mahama appointee in her absence. The applications were filed by the prosecution as a result of the failure of the former MASLOC boss to return from the United States of America for the continuation of the trial after the court had granted her permission to travel. Ms. Tamakloe and a former Operations Manager of MASLOC, Daniel Axim, are standing trial for causing financial loss to the state. They are facing 78 counts of charges including conspiracy to steal, stealing, and unauthorised commitment, among others. Medical Check-up Last year, the court presided over by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe had granted Ms. Attionu leave to travel to the US and was expected to return to court on October 6, 2021, but failed to do so and the judge issued a warrant for her arrest and subsequently adjourned the matter to November 16, 2021. The accused person still failed to return to the country and the case was once again adjourned to January 10, 2021, with the hope that she would have returned by that date. She has still not returned to the country, thereby holding the trial in abeyance. Applications Stella Ohene Appiah, a Principal State Attorney, appearing before the trial court yesterday, said the prosecution has filed two applications in respect of Ms. Tamakloes continuous absence from the trial. She said the first application is for forfeiture of recognisance of sureties while the second application is for her to be tried in absentia. As a result, former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Alex Mould and one GavivinaTamakloe, formerly with National Theatre who stood as sureties for the accused are to be served with forfeiture processes to come and explain to court why they should not be made to pay the GH5m bail sum to the state. The court has adjourned the case to March 10, 2022, for the sureties to be served with the processes and appear in court. Trial Ms. Attionu and Mr. Axim have been dragged to court for allegedly stealing, causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GH93 million, among other charges. Together, the two are facing 78 counts of charges including conspiracy to steal, stealing, unauthorised commitment, resulting in a financial obligation for the government, improper payment, money laundering and contravention of the Public Procurement Act. The two accused persons allegedly stole a total amount of GH3,198,280 while at MASLOC and willfully caused a GH1,973,780 financial loss to the state. Again, Ms. Attionu and her accomplice while in charge of MASLOC allegedly made unauthorised commitments resulting in financial obligations for the government to the tune of GH61,735,832.50. The charges against the two also include a GH22,158,118.85 loss to public property and improper payment of GH273,743.66 as well as money laundering of GH3,704,380 while in charge. 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. Featured Video The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford, has denied some media reports suggesting that he has granted the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabeya Sara Adwoa Safo, permission to absent herself from Parliament. The Speaker said he has not granted any such permission and that the Votes and Proceedings of Parliament. Mr Bagbin's explanation on the floor of the House on Thursday followed some media reports that suggested that he was aware of the Dome-Kwabenya MP's absence from the House. "I want it to be known by all that I have not granted any such [media] interview anywhere. I have not said anything like that anywhere, and the Votes and Proceedings of the House are so loud that, she is absent without permission. That is on the Votes and Proceedings of the House. it is not the Speaker who determines who is present and who is absent... and those who are absent with permission. And so please, I have received a lot of [telephone] calls from a number of media men on that issue and that is why I don't want to delay in making the world know that I have not said such thing anywhere," Mr Bagbin said. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video FILE - Sophie Woodruff, a member of the all-female flambeaux group, 'Glambeaux,' marches in the Krewe of Muses Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014. New Orleans residents, accustomed to catching beads, small toys or other trinkets tossed by parade float riders during Carnival season, were able to catch a new parade favor Thursday night: rapid COVID-19 tests. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File) A Ukrainian Army soldier inspects fragments of a downed aircraft in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. It was unclear what aircraft crashed and what brought it down amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Vadim Zamirovsky Alberta Premier Jason Kenney shakes hands with Kaycee Madu after Madu's swearing in as minister of municipal affairs in Edmonton on Tuesday, April 30, 2019. Madu would later become justice minister, but has been moved out of that portfolio over a call he made to Edmonton's chief of police after Madu received a traffic ticket. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson People sit in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Canada should prepare to provide asylum to those fleeing the violence, says a Canadian security expert in Ukraine. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Zoya Shu Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner poses for a photo with the other members of the Supreme Court following a welcoming ceremony for Judge Mahmud Jamal at the Supreme Court of Canada, Thursday, October 28, 2021 in Ottawa. Back row left to right: Judge Nicholas Kasirer, Judge Malcolm Rowe, Sheila Martin, Judge Mahmud Jamal. Front row left to right: Judge Suzanne Cote, Judge Michael Moldaver, Wagner, Judge Andromache Karakatsanis, Judge Russell Brown. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Ontario Premier Doug Ford attends a news conference at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto, on Monday, February 14, 2022. Ontario's premier says he wants the federal government to fast-track Ukrainian refugees to his province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young Thank you for reading the Philadelphia Tribune. You have exhausted your free article views for this month. Please press the "subscribe" button below and see our introductory price of $0.10 per week for 10 weeks. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you next month. Ukraine's All-Time Poker Leader Eugene Katchalov Seeks Escape as Russia Invades February 24, 2022 Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S. Eugene Katchalov is one of the millions of Ukrainians searching for safety as Russia invades his native land. The former poker pro, who sits atop Ukraine's all-time poker money list according to The Hendon Mob, has been tweeting about his situation, giving his followers a glimpse into civilian life during war. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine Thursday, unleashing a ground attack Europe hasn't seen since World War II. Some fear this could be the beginning of World War III, while others believe those predictions are off-base. Katchalov, who retired from poker in 2018, is Ukraine's all-time winningest tournament player with $9.2 million in cashes while Yevgeniy Timoshenko is in second place with just over $7.8 million. Seeking a Safe-Haven Over the past few years, Katchalov has spent his time in esports and as the co-founder of QLash, a professional esports organization. At present, however, he's more focused on staying safe. Hey guys, Im in Kiev, #Ukraine. Woke up to the sound of a distant explosion and decided to leave the city with my https://t.co/J5WcYlRooo Eugene Katchalov (@EugeneKatchalov) Katchalov resides in Kyiv (or Kiev), the most populous city in Ukraine with over 2.9 million residents. Russia, a powerful nation with three times the population of Ukraine, borders Ukraine's east coast, and has already launched strikes in Kyiv, the capital city on the north-central part of the country. Ukrainian officials have already reported dozens of deaths from the conflict, including some civilians caught in the crossfire. Katchalov has said traffic in town is "crazy" and that thousands of locals are attempting to flee the country all at once. He fears that even if he tries to leave, the gas supply won't even be enough to make it to a neighboring border. According to the United Nations, several thousand have already fled the country, which could lessen the traffic if Katchalov decides to flee on Friday. Seems like it may be better to stay put as there may not be enough gas to make it to the border and traffic may be https://t.co/stLF0Gjv5K Eugene Katchalov (@EugeneKatchalov) The former poker star informed his Twitter followers that he found a few hotel rooms in a local village and "will likely spend at least a few days" there. Later in the day, he decided to change up his plans and said he expects to head toward the border on Friday and anticipates being stuck in "massive traffic and hoping there will be gas to fill up along the way." Eugene Katchalov Civilian Life During Combat When Putin's military attacked Ukraine on Thursday, millions of innocent civilians such as Katchalov were put in harm's way. As such, innocent people, including children, are now living in a state of fear, not knowing what may happen next. One of those individuals is Katchalov, who has given his Twitter followers a glimpse into what it's like to live in a nation that is under attack. Just heard a few really powerful explosions. Was quite far but still unnerving. Likely somewhere near Kiev. #Ukraine Eugene Katchalov (@EugeneKatchalov) "Feels surreal, like being inside of a war movie. Dont know anyone who expected it to get this bad," Katchalov tweeted. The esports enthusiast said he has friends in Kiev with newborns and fears for their safety. He's stuck in a tough situation, which he explained in one tweet. If he leaves town, he risks running out of gas and getting stuck in the middle of a highway, but if he sticks around, he's concerned about losing internet and power, and the potential of the Russian invasion worsening. Katchalov has a lengthy history of playing his cards right. But he's never experienced such a serious situation where one wrong move would be far more costly than losing a pot on a failed bluff. The former PokerStars Team Pro member may have seen the conflict between Russia and Ukraine getting to this point years ago. "What is happening right now between Russia and Ukraine is essentially a political war, and this saddens me a lot," Katchalov told PokerNews in a 2015 interview. "The two countries used to be like cousins, if not brothers to each other. But now, the propaganda both on the Russian and the Ukrainian side is so severe that is causing some very heated emotions and is making people angry at each other." At the time of publishing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensk disclosed that 137 of his troops have been killed in combat. PokerNews will continue to monitor Katchalov's situation. You can also follow him on Twitter @EugeneKatchalov. 2/24/2022 Edit: Ukraine has banned all males aged 18-60 from leaving the country and those who fit into that demographic could be forced to serve in the military. Katchalov is a US citizen in possession of a US passport. Sharelines Find out what former poker pro Eugene Katchalov is doing to escape war-torn Ukraine. An Edgefield man was arrested Feb. 16 in relation to a child pornography investigation headed by the South Carolina Attorney General's office. James Thomas Covar, 57, is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in the third degree, a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count. "Investigators state Covar possessed files of child sexual abuse material," according to a release from the South Carolina Attorney General's office. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigators with the Attorney General's office made the arrest. Investigators with the Edgefield County Sheriff's Office, Greenwood County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Secret Service and Homeland Security assisted with the investigation. The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's office. Attorney General Alan Wilson stressed all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law. A North Carolina man wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service was arrested Tuesday, Feb. 22 following an incident involving a gun. Tyrone Emanuel Ingram, 44, of Laurinburg, North Carolina, was arrested by Aiken County deputies after it was discovered he is wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service. The charges he is facing are unknown. On Tuesday night, Aiken County deputies responded to the 3200 block of Whiskey Road in reference to a person with a gun. The victim stated she was in a verbal argument with the suspect when he pulled a knife on her, according to an incident report obtained from the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. The victim stated that when the suspect pulled the knife on her, she got a gun and made him strip down to his boxers, according to the report. Witnesses called police. Neither party wanted to press charges, according to the report. Police ran the suspect's name through the National Crime Information Center and discovered he had a warrant from the U.S. Marshals Service. Ingram was booked into the Aiken County detention center and a hold was placed on him. He is waiting to be picked up by the U.S. Marshals. As the bilingual and Hispanic population grows in the CSRA and North Augusta, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in North Augusta is working to better serve its members by creating a congregation for those who speak Spanish. Called the Riverside Branch, the congregation offers a place for Spanish-speaking people to come and worship. Prior to its start in late January, a translator with a microphone would speak to bilingual or Spanish-speaking individuals through headphones. The translators would also be available in Sunday school classes and various meetings. Josue Hernandez, the branch president of Riverside Branch, helped create the new program within the Mormon Church. It was working but its cumbersome, Talbert Black Jr., the public relations coordinator for the area said. There was a lot of emphasis on the language which is the obvious thing but then there was also a conversation about cultural differences and the English speaking ministers not really understanding the Spanish-speaking members. Hernandez felt some disconnect between the translations and his connection to the gospel and Book of Mormon. Hernandez said it was difficult to feel the spirit when listening to translate as opposed to listening to the message in its original language. Black is happy for the members of the new LDS congregation. I think that really is a significant thing is that there is now a place for Spanish speaking people to come and worship" at services that have the cultural flavor they are looking for where they can feel the love of Christ, Black said. Nathan Hancock, the North Augusta ward president, is also happy to see the growth of Riverside Branch. Well we are hoping that they continue to attract members, Hancock said. We have quite a few members in the area and we are hoping that some of them will decide to start attending now because maybe its a better fit or its something that they can feel a little more connection. The Port of Charleston is temporarily limiting operations at its main container hub this week, citing "space constraints." The State Ports Authority issued a customer advisory Feb. 23 alerting shippers, truckers and others that it won't accept any loaded overseas-bound cargo shipments at its Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant between 5 a.m. and noon on Thursday and Friday. "All export loads will be turned away from the gate during these hours," the maritime agency said. Wando Welch will only accept empty and refrigerated cargo boxes during that time period over those two days, the SPA said. Last week, The Post and Courier reported that a record 30 container ships were anchored off the South Carolina coast waiting for berth spaces to become available at the port. That number had declined to 26 container ships on Feb. 24. SPA chief executive Jim Newsome has said that it could take until the end of March before all of the vessels are cleared. "We have our work cut out for us. It's going to be significant to reduce this backlog," Newsome told the authority's board Feb. 15. The real estate at the port's container yards is being stretched to the limit by supply chain snarls and a huge surge in imported goods fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 66,000 containers were sitting at the SPA's three terminals in January, mostly at Wando Welch, or about 25,000 more than the SPA can efficiently handle. We continue to see unprecedented volumes," said SPA spokeswoman Kelsi Brewer. "We have a record number of import containers on our terminals awaiting delivery, which is the principal cause of the congestion. With containers dwelling longer on our terminals, this impacts berth productivity for vessels as well as the motor carriers ability to deliver exports." Pete Buttigieg, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, weighed in on the Charleston port's congestion this week, saying short-term fixes like the pop-up container yards the Port of Savannah established could help clear the terminals. Newsome said the Port of Charleston is hampered by a lack of available land for such cargo yards as well as permitting restrictions that make them impractical. He also said the port has also been hampered by the lack of rail service on or adjacent to its terminals, something Savannah already has. The SPA is building a rail yard adjacent to its Leatherman Terminal in North Charleston, but it won't start operations until 2025. The SPA recently issued an "emergency call for truckers" to move cargo from Wando Welch to existing offsite rail yards, adding railroads serving the port Norfolk Southern and CSX Corp. need as many as 3,000 containers transferred to their sites. Rick Todd, president and CEO of the S.C. Trucking Association, said a growing number of truckers are avoiding the port because of its congestion, opting for other opportunities like joining fleets for single shippers like Walmart. "If the SPA, the ocean carriers, brokers, and customers had been paying better rates and improving efficiencies inside and outside the gates, they would be in better shape today," Todd said. "That would have helped to create a more profitable and robust intermodal trucking sector, with more folks wanting driving jobs." Gate transactions the number of times a container is picked up or dropped off were down 9.1 percent in January compared to the previous month. Part of the reason is it's taking longer for truckers to maneuver through the crowded terminals. It now takes an average of about one hour for a driver to wait in a queue to enter one of the terminals, check in at the gate, pick up or drop off a shipping container and exit the property. A year ago, it was just under 42 minutes. Todd said truckers "wont suffer inefficiencies when there are plenty of profitable and efficient opportunities with their in-demand assets." The rural road is busier than when George Hughes was young, before subdivisions notched the countryside. It cuts through his 60-acre farm near the small but growing southern Greenville County town of Fountain Inn. When his cows need to cross, he places signs on either side of the two-lane track and stops traffic, the way his father once did. The process takes less than a minute. The drivers he stops dont always make it easy. Ive had everything from being cursed out for stopping traffic to people jumping out and taking pictures with the cows, Hughes said. The trick to quickly getting his 25 head of cattle to greener pastures on the other side of Jones Mill Road is to make sure the calves are running before they get to the asphalt. Sometimes they dont want to step on the pavement, the 67-year-old said, smiling. In his youth, the area around the Hughes homestead was dominated by forest and farmland mostly owned by relatives. Back then, the road stayed empty with the exception of the occasional tractor or truck rumbling by. Now the world around his property is changing, and that transformation is accelerating. Houses are quickly popping up within a stones throw. He receives near-daily calls and letters from developers hoping to buy his land to build a subdivision. The offers keep coming. The letters go straight from the mailbox to his garbage can. Hughes has no interest in selling the land his family has called home since before the Revolutionary War. He is financially able to resist growing pressure from developers and real estate brokers. But for many whose families have deep roots in the rural bastions of southern Greenville County and throughout South Carolina, the area's rapid growth and rising property values present difficult choices. Financial incentives to sell keep growing as the cost of living increases. Farming becomes more difficult as the surrounding area is transformed into a suburb. And with each new generation, ownership becomes more complicated as the connection to the land fades. Those factors are multiplied as the local economy surges, creating new jobs and a greater demand for housing. Greenville County's rising population is outpacing most of South Carolina, one of the fastest growing states with close to a half-million more residents in 2020 than in 2010. In the same time, the county grew by close to 75,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. One of every 10 South Carolina residents lives in Greenville County. The southern part of the county, boosted by three interstates and the growing pull of Greenville, remains largely rural but is rapidly developing. The populations of Mauldin, Simpsonville and Fountain Inn strung together along Interstate 385 grew by about 10,000 combined between 2010 and 2020, a figure that does not include the significant growth in the county just outside their city limits. At one point in 2021, there were close to 5,000 homes under construction simultaneously in and near Mauldin, with thousands more in the approval pipeline. As the landscape changes, farmland in the area continues to shrink. Between 2012 and 2017, there was a 6 percent dip in the number of farms operating in Greenville County, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More telling is a 13,000-acre drop in agricultural acreage over the same period roughly 19 percent and a 13 percent decrease in average farm size. Those percentages exceed but align with a statewide trend. South Carolina lost 226,331 acres of farmland during the same five-year stretch. For families on the edges of the rapidly developing corridor who have long resisted the rising tide of development, legacy is weighed against practicality. History against financial stability. A traditional way of life against a new age. As the world around changes, the scales are tipping. Agonizing decisions At 74 years old, Penny Hawthorne is the sixth generation of her family to live on her land. Her two grandsons, who live nearby with her daughter, are the eighth. She lives in a house built by an ancestor more than 200 years ago. Her son, Bo Hawthorne, also lives on the land. He still keeps cattle, but the sprawling property hasnt served as a fully functioning farm since her grandfather died in 1965. At one point the family owned 800 acres, but much of it has already been sold and developed. Still, Hawthorne and her family own hundreds of acres of undeveloped property at the intersection of Fork Shoals and West Georgia roads. The land, about a mile east of Woodmont High School, has long been of interest to homebuilders. While her sister, who lives in Atlanta, has been ready to sell what remains for years, the idea never had much appeal for Hawthorne. Like Hughes, letters and phone calls from developers have been a regular part of her daily life for more than a decade. Like Hughes, the pamphlets previously went straight from mailbox to trash can. But as the years piled up, the offers became harder to ignore. Recently, Hawthorne and her family agreed to sell to TCC Venture LLC. Im old and Im not getting any younger, she said. And the cost of living is unreal, isnt it? The decision was not an easy one. Its absolutely killing me to do this, she said. In October, TCC petitioned the county to rezone 116 acres of the Hawthorne property. The change would make way for a 277-acre development, including a subdivision with up to 861 homes and a commercial area. If the sale goes through, Hawthorne and her family would retain the small portion of the land that includes their homes and a family graveyard. When news of Hawthornes plans to sell became public, it prompted a groundswell of opposition from nearby residents who worried the development would dramatically alter the character of the area. In late October, the Greenville County Planning Commission rejected the rezoning. TCC hasnt given up on plans to develop the land and is in the process of drawing up another request. In the meantime, Hawthorne is in limbo, uncertain when shell be able to sell her land after agonizing over the decision. A double-edged sword As individual rezoning and annexation requests for new development continue to draw crowds to local planning commission and council meetings, experts say big-picture planning can help ease the transition the area is experiencing. Like the families at the heart of southern Greenville Countys ongoing transformation, municipal and county officials are faced with difficult choices. On one hand, the area needs more housing. The countys inventory is stretched thin as demand grows, inflating prices and keeping many out of the market, according to Nick Sabatine, CEO of the Greater Greenville Association of Realtors. At the beginning of 2021, there were 3,218 total units on the market in Greenville County, a supply strained by a growing number of people moving to the area. As of the same time this year, that number had dropped about 31 percent, to 2,226. Theres a major shortage of homes for sale, Sabatine said. In January, a real estate analyst underlined the countys housing situation during a local homebuilders convention in Greenville. "When you're at 0.7 months of supply, you might as well say zero, because there are just some homes that are never going to sell," said John Hunt with Atlanta-based firm MarketNsight. "This is zero inventory. We've never been here before. We're in uncharted territory. I don't know how to fix it." The only thing helping the area keep up with the surging demand is new construction, Sabatine said. In 2021 alone, 9,816 building permits were issued for new homes in the county, 162 percent of the 20-year average. On the other hand, residential growth in rural areas strains infrastructure that wasnt designed for dense development and can create tension between newcomers and residents whose families have lived in the countryside for generations. Adam Kantrovich, an agribusiness professor with Clemson University, said transforming large swaths of sparsely populated land into subdivisions that each include hundreds of units can put significant strain on local governments. Country roads werent designed for high traffic. Waterlines, sewage systems and pump stations have to be installed, along with new electrical lines. The additional tax revenue barely covers the cost of building and maintaining the new infrastructure, if it does at all, Kantrovich said. Those issues are commonly exacerbated by the conflicting needs of farming and suburban development. You have someone running late and wants to go flying down the road, but now youve got this tractor thats going from one field to the next or going down the road, Kantrovich said. That starts complaints. The smells, sights and sounds inherent to an agricultural operation can also create friction with new suburban residents who may not be accustomed to farm life. New development also drives up property values, which, while making it more lucrative to sell rural property, prices farmers out of buying surrounding land to grow often a necessity for agricultural businesses that operate with razor-thin margins. Those obstacles added to the already existing challenges of modern farming have pushed younger generations to break from family farming traditions, leaving little reason not to sell other than sentimental attachment. Legacy vs. progress Jay Marett had not walked the land that once served as his familys prosperous dairy farm in a long time. Three decades, in fact. The last time he was there, it was for an auction. His elderly grandfather was no longer up to running the operation he built, and there was no one to step into his shoes. So they dismantled the business and sold off the cows and equipment. That was in the early 1990s. When Marett returned to the land about 20 minutes south of his downtown Greenville home for the first time in November, it remained unchanged in many ways. A renters beef cattle still grazed in the rolling pastureland. The barns, which his grandfather and uncle built with repurposed lumber from the the once thriving Camperdown Mill in downtown Greenville after it closed in 1956, still stood. But time had taken a toll. The milking stations and feed stalls were falling in on themselves. A tangle of vines climbed up the sides of towering silos, echoing and empty inside. Marett inherited the property from his mother when she died in 2019 and shares it with his 84-year-old aunt, Dorothea Thomasson. Between the two of them, they own hundreds of acres near the intersection of Log Shoals Road and Interstate 185. Marett grew up not far from the dairy, riding dirt bikes in the pastures, fishing in the ponds and exploring the woods. Back then, his home was surrounded by farmland, much of it occupied by his extended family. People consider that area country now, but its not country compared to what it was back when I was growing up, he said. Marett said he knew early on farming wasnt for him. He served as a deputy with the Greenville County Sheriffs Office from 1994 to 2008, then went to work at Greenville County Emergency Management. He retired as that agencys director in September. Selling the land he inherited has been in the back of Maretts mind for some time, but hes never actively sought a buyer. Before she passed, Maretts mother sold 93 acres nearby. Construction on a new development is underway on that property. Thomasson, though, has resisted for years. When sections of her familys land were seized through eminent domain to make way for a portion of the I-185 Southern Connector, she and her relatives actively fought. Development around her has only intensified since then. She hoped to hold out and slow the continued transformation of the area her family has called home since the 1800s. I didnt want to sell land because I was hoping to keep the traffic down, she said. But thats a pipe dream and a half now. Once resolute, Thomasson has softened. Recently, Brad Skelton of Red Oak Developers approached Thomasson and Marett about buying the land. He offered ideas on how to salvage the repurposed Camperdown materials, preserve the silos and beautify a granite deposit on the property. The development could be called Riddle Fields, a nod to Thomassons maiden name and the family that called the area home for generations. For the first time, Thomasson began to seriously consider the possibility of selling the property. Im getting on up in age, and Ive just got so much for my kids to take care of, and my grandkids, she said. Talks with Skelton have slowed but the sale is still on the table. Thomasson remains uncertain about what she wants to do. For Marett, the eventuality seems inevitable whether its Skelton now or someone else in the future. A mile in either direction, its development, he said as he left the property in November. So, its coming. Managing growth In November, Greenville County created a new classification that for the first time gives residents who live on or near farms the option to zone their land agricultural. Large rural portions of the county are currently without any zoning designation. Farmers throughout the county see it as a way to preserve large-tract farms and promote sustainable growth, particularly if enough landowners in specific areas cooperate with each other. Landowners are taking measures on an individual basis, as well. Scott Park, director of land conservation with Upstate Forever, said residents placed more acres under conservation easements in 2021 through his organization than ever before in the nonprofit's history. Conservation easements are agreements between property owners and land trusts, like Upstate Forever, that protect the character of the land and preclude development while allowing the owner to retain property rights and secure tax benefits. In southern Greenville County, Upstate Forever has easements on close to 2,700 acres of land, a figure that does not include property protected by other trusts. There are about 43,000 acres of easement-protected privately owned land across Greenville County, according to Jennifer Howard, executive director of the South Carolina Land Trust Network. Statewide, about 800,000 acres are under conservation easements. Of those, about 92,700 are in Charleston County and 22,000 are in Richland County, two other areas experiencing rapid growth. As development accelerates in Greenville County, Park said, so do requests for easements. But they cant reverse change. The stream of industry bringing jobs and prosperity to southern Greenville County, as well as rural areas in nearby Spartanburg, Laurens and Anderson counties, will alter the area. An island in a sea of change On a cleared, 50-acre site across the road from George Hughes farm, an island of water oaks and sweetgum trees stands amid a sea of churned dirt. About the area of a small house, it looks out of place on the worksite, almost as if the bulldozers missed a spot by mistake. Rows of lichen-wreathed stones stick up among the roots, weathered and faded but too uniform to be there by accident. Engulfed by what will soon be a 94-home subdivision, the circle of trees hides a family burial ground stretching back before America was a country, where generations of Hughes ancestors are interred. Hughes stops by the gravesites from time to time, making the walk from his pasture across the road to look at the progress on the coming development and clear away garbage that has occasionally appeared among the headstones since work began two years ago. Like the cemetery, his land is becoming an island. The burgeoning development that surrounds his ancestors headstones is just one of several that have sprung up near his farm in recent years. He runs a successful dental practice in Simpsonville. Keeping his cows has never been about the money. He tends his herd as a connection to the generations who farmed the land before him. His daughter, Rebecca Holmes, is tied to the land too. Also a dentist, she co-owns the Simpsonville practice with her father. She started pitching in on the farm when she was 12, driving the family truck to move bales of hay around the property. She and her husband help Hughes with the cows in their free time. Hughes has an independent source of income, a deep connection to the land and a younger generation invested in his family homestead. That combination makes him uniquely positioned to resist the ever-growing pressure from developers and real estate brokers. He plans to keep the forests, creeks and pastures on his land untouched for years to come. But nearby, a subdivision was recently built on a tract previously owned by one of Hughes relatives. There are two more already complete down the road. The property encircling the family burial ground once belonged to a cousin. Hughes can preserve his own land. He cant stop the world from changing around it. Kingstree, SC (29556) Today Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 88F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. CONWAY A developer wants to build 226 single-family homes on nearly 88 acres off McKinley Short-Cut Road next to the two-land road's interchange with S.C. 22, adding to thousands of homes that have either been built or approved north of S.C. 905 and S.C. 90 in recent years. In May, Horry County Council unanimously rejected large amphitheater in the same location after opposition from nearby residents. Weve had a little bit of input, more so whats going on than opposed; of course, everybody is concerned with traffic or whatever, Horry County Planning Director David Jordan said at a Feb. 24 virtual planning workshop. No major input as of yet. Felix Pitts from G3 Engineering, representing the applicant, told the commissioners that none of the proposed 10,000-square-feet lots are in the flood zone, and they will donate one acre of the land to nearby Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. There are nearly 2 acres of wetlands on the site, with a proposed 25-feet buffer, according to the rezoning application. A Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated distribution warehouse, built in 2010, is adjacent to the proposed subdivision. None of the commissioners had follow-up questions for Pitts at the virtual meeting. The Horry County Planning Commission is expected to consider a request for the new neighborhood at a March 3 meeting. After the amphitheater's rejection, the developers behind the proposed amphitheater, Charleston-based PDN Enterprises, requested rezoning property in Conway along U.S. 378 and Hemingway Chapel Road in February. The company would not disclose its plans for the land. Out of fear developers planned to build a large outdoor concert venue, the Conway Town Council rejected the rezoning request. CONWAY Horry County officials are eyeing locations for a rural agricultural civic center to hold rodeos, livestock shows, conferences and weddings. The idea has been discussed for years but could be finally coming to fruition with a future land purchase for the project. County Parks and Recreation Director Paul McCulloch presented a list of seven possible locations for sale to a council subcommittee Feb. 24 but no decision was made after an executive session. McCulloch said two of the proposed sites will most likely drop off the list because they dont meet the countys need of at least 200 acres. Council member Al Allen said they are still in the exploration stage of deciding which location to purchase, but any final selection will be in western Horry County near the S.C. 22 corridor. This will be a big project, an expensive one, and council wants to make sure that all of our Is are dotted and our Ts are crossed, Allen told reporters after the meeting. County officials have discussed the center holding up to 5,000 people. The locations the county is inspecting include: 44 acres on Adrian Parkway just off S.C. 701 North. 111 acres on U.S. 501, north of S.C. 22. 818 acres near the intersection of S.C. 22 and S.C. 319. 216 acres north of Aynor on U.S. 501 229 acres on S.C 401, north of Baxter Forks. 1,138 acres on Hardwick Road, off of U.S. 501. 210 acres on Bay Water Road, off of S.C. 22. The county would pay for the bulk of the project, but part of the funding will come from Horry Electric Cooperative, which is partnering with the county on the project and is expected to hold its annual meeting at the center. The co-op pays an annual $400,000 power tax to the county, currently leaving around $2.4 million in the bank to purchase the land for the civic center, according to Allen. Allen said they hope to have a signed contract within six months. Any subcommittee decision will have to be voted on by council. Officials have said they plan to model the future location after Clemson Universitys T. Ed Garrison Arena and Expo Center, the largest livestock showcase facility in South Carolina. This has been an ongoing thing for several years, and its time to get this train on down the track, Allen said. Most of Horry County's convention and conference centers are at the beach. Myrtle Beach has a 250,000-square-foot convention center. Horry-Georgetown Technical College has a conference center near Market Common. Nearly 25 hotels at the beach have conference centers, according to a listing with the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. MYRTLE BEACH The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce has launched a nonprofit foundation to help diversify the region's economy from tourism and lobby for new roads, especially Interstate 73. Partnership Grand Strand said it plans to accelerate economic growth by attracting different types of businesses, retaining the local workforce and helping with the revitalization of downtown Myrtle Beach. The five-year initiative has a total fundraising goal of $3 million, with the foundation already receiving 54 percent of its funding since quietly launching in November. Campaign co-chairs Coastal Carolina University President Michael Benson and Brittian Resorts and Hotels Chairman Clay Brittain joined Chamber chair Alex Husner at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Feb. 24 to gain support from over 200 business and community leaders in attendance. Benson said he met with leaders during early fundraising efforts and the Myrtle Beach-area is currently over-reliant on tourism, hospitality and retail that accounts for 73 percent of all employment. Myrtle Beach is South Carolina's top tourism destination, bringing $20 billion a year in revenue. As one leader pointed out during our discussions, we are one Hurricane Katrina away from economic disaster," Benson said. The chamber has been a major proponent for building I-73 that would extend from Michigan to Myrtle Beach. Funding for the project has been slow to come together. Local governments have pledged to send part of their tourism-related tax collections to help pay for the interstate, but a recent chamber mailer criticized Horry County for not allocating its share. In addition to I-73, Chamber president Karen Riordan said the foundation also plans to advocate for U.S. 501 improvements and Coast RTA bus system. In the hopes of boosting its downtown, Myrtle Beach has bought at least a dozen hotels, businesses and homes near downtown. The foundation could help with that effort, leaders said. Now is the time to give our downtown its proper identity, image and brand for the next century, Brittain said. Riordan said the foundation plans to dedicate 25 percent of all of the funds raised to the Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance for research and market studies to advance its plan. MYRTLE BEACH Grand Strand Medical Center wants to stop McLeod Health from opening a proposed $15.3 million ambulatory surgery facility in Carolina Forest by asking a state court to overturn state regulators' 2020 approval of the project. The Myrtle Beach-based hospital alleges it is a major medical provider for Carolina Forest residents and will be substantially adversely impacted if McLeod opens 5 miles away in an area where the Florence-headquartered hospital historically had little presence, according to a filing in the S.C. Administrative Law Court. McLeod has owned since 2014 a 42-acre campus just off S.C. 31 at International Boulevard, where the four-operating room, two-endoscopy facility is slated, including a future 48-bed hospital previously approved by S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Grand Strand Medical claims in the filing that McLeod selected the Carolina Forest location despite the area already having the greatest concentration of Horry County surgical facilities, including Conway Medical Center 11 miles away. Carolina Forest is among the fastest-growing areas in the state's fastest-growing county, with a population of 23,342, according to 2020 census data. Carolina Forest would be one of South Carolina's top 25 largest cities if it incorporated. Northern Horry County would be in much closer proximity to McLeod Loris and McLeod Seacoast (in North Myrtle Beach), thereby expanding access to services for McLeods current patient base, the filing said. Grand Strand said in the appeal that McLeod has a motivation to capture a market share in an affluent, already well-served area of Horry County while pointing out that Parkway Surgery Center, located 5 miles from the proposed location, could lose 40 percent of its patients. In previous filings, McLeod denied all of Grand Strand's claims and said it has met all of the state's criteria to earn an approval for the project, which will allow it to provide "lower cost, high quality services." McLeod officials said in an statement, "We await the final decision of the judge in this matter and look forward to serving the patients on the coast who seek us for medical services and entrust us with their healthcare." DHECs South Carolina Health Plan projects the county needs an additional 155 hospital beds by 2024 to keep up with demand. The health plan is used for the administration of the Certificate of Need Program, a regulatory process in which health care providers seek the states permission to build new spaces, expand existing sites or buy high-dollar medical equipment in South Carolina. Much like the McLeod project, which received DHEC's blessing in 2020, approved applications have often drawn lawsuits from competitors that can drag on for years. The S.C. Senate voted 35-6 on Jan. 25 to repeal the controversial Certificate of Need process, which now moves to the state House for debate. As of yet, the administrative law court had not made a decision on the appeal after a 10-day trial that ended earlier this month. NORTH CHARLESTON Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies teamed up to arrest 12 people in connection with a drug trafficking ring that operated in and around the city. The defendants, all of whom live in North Charleston, range from 19 to 60 years old. Most of them were charged in federal court with conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, according to a Feb. 24 news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina. A few of the defendants were also charged with firearms offenses. U.S. Attorney Corey F. Ellis called drug organizations, especially ones whose members use guns, a "serious and direct threat" to the communities they invade. Agents seized substantial amounts of drugs and firearms some of which were illegally changed to operate as automatic machine guns during its drug trafficking investigation, according to the attorney's office. Eleven of the defendants were indicted on drug-related charges: Kenneth Roger Brown, 31; Tyrone Cox, 41; Kevin William Dukes, 36; Demetric Gantt, 42; Frederick Wendell McCray, 41; Terrell Kurt Myers, 40; Kendrick Smalls, 31; Cornelius Walker, 19; La'Justin Williams, 39; Tyrone Wilson, 60; and Travis Wright, 41. Five of the men also faced firearms-related charges. A separate indictment charged Clayton Thomas, 22, with several counts of knowingly making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of firearms. Many of the defendants were also charged with using a phone in furtherance of drug trafficking, the news release states. Law enforcement officers are still searching for one fugitive who has also been charged in the drug conspiracy case, according to prosecutors. The drug ring was investigated by several local departments, including Charleston, Mount Pleasant, North Charleston and Summerville police, as well as the Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester sheriff's offices. The State Law Enforcement Division, along with the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, also assisted in the high-level investigation. All 12 of the defendants are being held in the Charleston County jail, records show. South Carolina beekeepers may soon see some relief toward selling their honey directly to restaurants, retailers and grocery stores. A bill advancing in the state Senate says beekeepers producing less than 400 gallons of honey annually can receive an exemption from regulatory requirements, meaning they could sell in otherwise regulated venues. The new effort is a step forward from a bill that passed in 2012 that allowed beekeepers to sell to consumers only at a roadside stand or farmer's market. This fell in line with the laws in neighboring states such as Georgia. The current bill would go a step further by permitting sales to inspected food establishments. State Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, one of five senators who sponsored the bill, said the deregulation would help more than 3,000 beekeepers statewide compete with larger producers. Who doesnt want local honey? Senn said. This is a natural, wonderful product. To me, this is one of the things that I don't think that they should have overbearing regulations. The Senate bill, S.961, is out of conference committee after receiving a favorable report from the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. A similar bill in the House, H.4854, is in the Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs. Charleston honey company Apis Mercantile partners with small apiaries throughout the state to source honey thats bottled in the companys James Island site. As an organization, Apis strives to connect small and mid-sized honey producers with larger regional markets that have traditionally been inaccessible to them or dominated by imported honey, Apis co-founder John Berdux said. Berdux views the proposed changes as a necessary step that could lead to more regional sourcing of honey. It would help further the connection between consumers and their food source, while allowing local producers to compete in the crowded honey market, he said. I'm a firm believer that the future of agriculture in the United States is decentralized, very regional, Berdux said. Instead of a beekeeper having to set up at farmers markets to unload their honey over the course of a year, they could sell it all directly to a registered food manufacturer in one sale. It opens up additional sales channels and grants greater sales opportunities to our state's beekeepers. Ben Powell, Clemson University's apiculture and pollinator program coordinator, said the beekeeping community has concerns about the bill. Allowing an exempted beekeeper to sell through a third party vendor could lead to harmful or low-grade honey, he said, and there is no legal solution for bottlers if problems do arise. "There's some concern that this bill was produced outside of the beekeepers," Powell said. "It would add confusion to the beekeepers and honey sale trade and not really benefit a whole lot of beekeepers." Beezie Fleming, owner of bbs bailiwicks and a Berkeley County Farm Bureau Federation board member, has beehives in Pinopolis and Bonneau. She sells her raw wildflower honey directly to local consumers, but given the current challenges facing small honey producers and the farming community as a whole, Fleming sometimes wonders if its worth the effort it takes to make beekeeping more than just a hobby. She sees the potential benefits of the bill but understands why some people are concerned. This legislation would at least allow a beekeeper to sell in bulk to a restaurant or wholesaler, taking the cost of jarring/labeling your own honey out of the equation, Fleming said. If we want to produce food, including honey locally, there needs to be some support to sustain our local producers. Fleming has had several retail stores and restaurants reach out about carrying her honey, but she has been unable to sell to them because she does not operate an approved honey house. According to the S.C. Department of Agricultures website, honey house requirements include cleanable walls and floors, approved water sources, shatterproof lighting, clean utensils and equipment, sinks, proper drainage, (and a) SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) approved septic or sewer system. The crux of the matter doesnt lie in what defines a honey house since small beekeepers with an exemption are already permitted to sell products in person, per the 2012 law. Opening up the wholesale market could lead to more regulation of honey produced by small and mid-sized beekeepers, Berdux contends. The proposed law could also help farmers who produce honey on the side add revenue. The amendment that is currently making its way through the S.C. Senate would make this honey available to food manufacturers that are licensed and inspected by the SCDA, offering greater regulatory oversight of this honey, and higher food safety standards, than has been the case since the exemption was enacted in 2012, he said. A decision on the Senate bill could come as soon as Feb. 28 following the conclusion of the two-day South Carolina Beekeeper Associations spring conference in Spartanburg that kicks off Feb. 26. According to Powell, the matter will be explained at length during the Feb. 25 conference. A retired state trooper turned maintenance man, Richard Lewis remembers sitting with a co-worker when he overheard his boss talking on the phone. "Sharon two down, and two to go," he heard Ken Durham say. For Lewis, this was ominous. He recalled Sharon Wall, then interim superintendent of John de la Howe, telling him in early 2018 that one of the next maintenance supervisor's first tasks was to fire four longtime maintenance workers, including Lewis. That supervisor was Durham, mayor of Edgefield and a veteran contractor. He started as director of facilities and campus projects in April 2018 and was tasked with returning the run-down campus to its former glory. Since that conversation, two maintenance workers had retired, leaving just Lewis and co-worker Timothy Myers. When they overheard that conversation, they understood that they were the "two to go." Now that recollection is part of a lawsuit Lewis filed against the South Carolina School for Agriculture at John de la Howe, Durham, Wall, school President Tim Keown and Facilities Manager Scott Mims. He alleges wrongful discharge, infliction of emotional distress, conspiracy, defamation and violation of the state whistleblower act. The lawsuit was filed a few days before Christmas. Keown and Wall said they could not comment on pending litigation. Durham and Mims did not respond to emails seeking comment. This is the latest legal action against the school. Frank Dorn, who served as director of agriculture but was made assistant director of facilities last year, is also suing the school. In a civil action filed Oct. 8 against the school, Keown and teacher Elizabeth "Libby" Templeton, Dorn alleges Keown defamed him, and that Keown and Templeton conspired to wreck his credibility. The school has denied any wrongdoing, and the case is pending in court. Dorn still works at John de la Howe. The pair of lawsuits come on the heels of reporting about the school for Uncovered, an investigative project led by The Post and Courier to ferret out questionable behavior among elected officials and public employees across South Carolina. The Charleston daily and the Index-Journal revealed numerous cases of questionable spending and ethical practices at the school. These stories led to reports from the state Office of Inspector General and Division of Procurement Services that detail a laundry list of violations. Working for Durham At a meeting on his first day, Durham told the maintenance and custodial staff that he had strong organizational skills, but "couldn't build a doghouse with a hammer, nails or lumber" and had "no hands-on experience," the filing said. The lawsuit alleges it wasn't long before Lewis noticed Durham "was making unlawful demands of maintenance staff," such as cutting breaks and working through lunch. After meeting about this with human resources, Lewis remembers Durham telling him, "everywhere you go on campus, I got my eyes on you." Afterward, Lewis noted that the school resource officer began following the maintenance crew, keeping tabs on where they were and when they took breaks. Lewis documented a number of things he found concerning: Durham wouldn't allow workers to ride together in maintenance trucks, sometimes forcing employees to walk across the expansive 1,200-acre campus instead of riding with someone who was heading to the same place. Staff members were forced to work roofing during the hottest part of the day when the heat index topped 106 degrees instead of scheduling such tasks for the cooler morning. Maintenance employees weren't allowed to set foot on certain parts of campus, even when it interfered with their ability to work. Lewis thinks part of this restriction was because of "Sheriff Deputies using the main entrance substation as a romantic rendezvous point." Durham would ask a 62-year-old co-worker each day when he planned to retire. Blowing the whistle Two contracts totaling $70,000 went to Shannon Philpott and his company, Faith Remodeling 2 Construction. But when Philpott's crew performed work June 30, 2020, on John de la Howe's campus, Lewis thought he recognized the men and the truck from a contractor that had previously done work for the school: Edgefield Asphalt and Concrete, a company owned by Mims. "(Lewis) witnessed a distinctive truck that he recognized as being the property of Defendant Mims and his company, Edgefield Asphalt & Concrete, LLC. (Lewis) previously witnessed the truck on at least one occasion; however, signage identifying the vehicle had been removed. Plaintiff witnessed Mims company employees pouring concrete for sidewalks on the parade field on JDLH grounds," the filing said. He reported this to the administration. He also raised concerns about the slew of contractors with ties to Edgefield, where Durham is mayor and Mims serves on Town Council. Nothing happened. On Feb. 16, 2021, Lewis quit "as no reasonable employee could be expected to continue working while being subject to retaliation for informing their supervisors of state law violations, ethical violations, and mismanagement," according to the complaint. After leaving, he spoke with The Post and Courier and Index-Journal. He was subsequently quoted in reporting and the newspaper published an image he provided of the Faith Construction truck. Lewis told The Post and Courier, "What was so strange to me was that Scott pulls up in a de la Howe truck, gets out, goes to the dually, opens the toolbox and gets a Gatorade from a cooler just as if its his own truck." After reading Lewis' words, Keown could not keep quiet and blasted him on Facebook: "Notice how the former maintenance director is doing the cell phone investigation from the comfort of the AC in a pickup truck?" After noting that Mims and others worked outside in the summer heat, he quipped, No wonder the poor man needed a Gatorade! The school president also took aim at The Post and Courier, separately writing that the story "is the most poorly investigated journalism Ive ever read. The former maintenance employees listed in the article are the sole reasons the campus was crumbling." The complaint notes that Lewis is among those former employees mentioned in the story. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, a quip that usually comes after a long Internet discussion, is something a group of Augusta area high school seniors will say for the first time on March 5. Modeled after the viral TED platform, an online community with in person forums where people can speak on insightful topics of their choosing, Lakeside High School seniors Reeya Verma, Sydney Kelly and McKenzie Matthews wanted to create a space for people falling into the category of Generation Z to share their experiences and knowledge with the public. To start an event, its not something really casual. You have to go through a pretty lengthy application process to get a license which took me about 2 to 3 months. It was about a 4,000 word application, Verma said. I knew I couldnt do it alone. I had look for the most hardworking and resilient people I knew, and these are the people that I found and chose to work on it together. After months of planning alongside other Augusta area high school students, the first ever TEDxYouth event was created. TEDxYouth at Lake Olmstead will be held at the Georgia Cyber Center with a theme of AUG: adapt, unite and grow. We wanted it to be very in the community, make it feel like there is a camaraderie among everyone there in the Augusta community in that they are really sharing ideas that are going to help not only grow themselves and grow the people there, but grow the community as a whole, Kelly said. They hope to start a conversation between different generations and to expand and discuss topics that might not be talked about in the classroom. Sometimes the classroom isnt a comfortable space to share your ideas and maybe you dont have a good teacher that facilitates rich discussion on things other than just the subject you are learning, Verma said. Several high school teachers and students are planning on sharing talks on topics that are not already on the TED platform. Spoken word performances are also planned for the event. The group emphasized the importance of involvement within the TEDx event. I think a lot of people just assume it's just lectures, like you are going into a classroom setting, you're going to be talked to, but I think the thing about TED is that they want that audience inclusion and they want to engage with you, Matthews said. Its not just let me teach you about something I learned about. Its let me teach you about something and then I want to add you to the discussion as well. The group wanted to share the voice as youth and up and coming citizens of the CSRA. I think that it is so important just because we are going to be the voices of the future and just having and bringing that to our community is really important and giving others a platform to share their ideas has really just inspired me to do this, Kelly said. I hope that this isnt the last TEDxYouth event in Augusta, Verma said. It is the first, but I hope people find power, inspiration and growth in our event and continue it for years to come. Remaining tickets can be found online. To learn more about TEDxYouth at Lake Olmstead, follow their social media pages. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Impassioned speeches are being made in Columbia in support of a federal constitutional convention. Much is being made of one delivered by a 14-year-old girl who asks: How much more will we let them step on us before we say enough is enough? This is the rhetoric of 1860. What exactly is she talking about? Enough of what? How are we being stepped on? There is no military draft. Low-wage earners pay almost zero federal taxes. High earners pay less than their parents did. Mortgage rates are well below historical averages. For every dollar our state sends to Washington it gets back more than $1.50 in aid. No goods are being rationed. No troops are being stationed on our streets. No newspapers are being censored. No one is reading our mail. More than 20% of our citizens receive Social Security and Medicare assistance. The FAA and FDA keep our skies and food safe. FEMA brings relief when natural disasters strike. If we dont like our elected leaders, we vote them out. Where is the oppression? Clearly, Congress should address our runaway national debt, campaign finance reform is needed, and we should have a robust debate about term limits. But the only truly threatening things going on in our country are threats to fair elections: extreme gerrymandering, voter suppression and a very polarizing media phenomenon where misinformation and artificial passion are being used to manufacture outrage and boost ratings. To paraphrase British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, never have so many been so outraged by so little. We need to put things into perspective. Compared to our ancestors, most of us have it easy. We dont need a constitutional convention. Electing more moderate, less partisan politicians would solve most of our problems. CARL VOELKER Johns Island Transplant risks The Feb. 18 Post and Courier article about Senator Majority Leader Shane Massey introducing legislation to nullify the decision by MUSC not to perform organ and tissue transplants on patients not immunized against COVID speaks loudly about the misunderstanding of what is involved in transplantation. For one, this includes long lists of people waiting for a transplant and the short supply of organs. Because almost all transplantations are performed with organs from an individual partially matched, or not even marginally matched, to the patient, the recipient will require chemotherapy to avoid rejection of the organ or tissue. And a universal consequence of the use of immunosuppressive drugs is the debilitation of the immune system. So these patients are at high risk for severe COVID infections. If they do not survive the infection, that means that an individual who is fully vaccinated and not at the same high risk for infection would not have received the transplant that was lost. Since COVID vaccines are free and safe, why should patients waiting for a transplant not get vaccinated? It is not a matter of denying health care service. It is basically trying to transplant organs to those who, by virtue of being vaccinated, are more able to benefit from the transplant than unvaccinated patients. The simple solution is to get vaccinated. DR. GABRIEL VIRELLA Emeritus professor of immunology and microbiology Medical University of South Carolina Charleston More Burgess info An article in Tuesdays Post and Courier highlighted Gary Burgess entry for the election of the S.C. education superintendent. According to his media statement, Mr. Burgess attended Wofford College, attended Converse College and received a doctorate from the University of South Carolina. What exactly does he mean by the term attended? The article states that he has been a principal in an Anderson District Four school and superintendent of that district. He also has been actively involved as a member of the Anderson County Education Board that encompasses all five Anderson school districts. His resume, when examined on the internet, also includes a reference to the American Educational Consultants website. I would suggest that more specific information on Mr. Burgess experience and qualifications is needed. It should be noted that the resume of current superintendent Molly Spearman, who is not seeking reelection and who defeated Mr. Burgess in 2014, includes a bachelors degree in music education from Lander University, a masters degree in education supervision from George Washington University and an education specialist degree from the University of South Carolina. SEYMOUR ROSENTHAL Mount Pleasant COLUMBIA State and local governments across South Carolina will share in a $26 billion national settlement with a pharmaceutical company and three major opioid distributors to combat abuse of the highly addictive drugs, Attorney General Alan Wilson announced Feb. 25. Over the next 18 years, state agencies, cities and counties could split more than $330 million to "attack the opioid problem," Wilson said. Allowed expenses include providing naloxone, medicine that reverses an opioid overdose; training for first responders; outpatient therapy; screenings for pregnant women; treatment for infants born addicted; and pre-trial diversion programs that get addicts help instead of locking them up, he said. "You won't be filling in potholes" with this money, he said. The $26 billion settlement with pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson and three major distributors Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen stems from Wilson's 2019 lawsuit against the shippers. Under investigation and expecting a lawsuit, Johnson & Johnson asked to join the negotiations, according to Wilson's office. Of the total, Johnson & Johnson will pay $5 billion over seven years, while the three distributors will pay the rest over 18 years. Fifty-two states and territories as well as thousands of local governments nationwide have signed on to the agreement since the terms were tentatively reached last summer. Without the buy-in of other suing governments, the deal would have been scuttled, said Deputy Attorney General Jared Libet. It is the second-largest multistate agreement in U.S. history, behind only the 1998 tobacco settlement with the nation's largest cigarette manufacturers. "Opioid-involved overdose deaths have increased drastically both in South Carolina and nationwide" since OxyContin was introduced in 1996, and the problem has worsened during the pandemic, Wilson said. In 2020 alone, nearly 1,400 South Carolinians died from an opioid overdose, and the drug is still prescribed too much, he said. For every 1,000 South Carolinians, there were 686 prescriptions for opioids such as oxycodone and hydrocodone in 2019, according to the latest data from the state's public health agency. All 46 counties and 43 cities in South Carolina have signed on to the settlement, though smaller towns that didn't will still benefit. Nonprofits will also benefit as they'll be able to provide services through awarded contracts. "These funds are vital to the recovery community organizations that will support families and individuals in long-term recovery," said Sara Goldsby, director of the state Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services. Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! The money will also enable local officials to tailor their response to a problem that's widespread but varies by community, she added. "Cities and counties will have an immediate and direct cash infusion to address their individual needs," Goldsby said. "Each county is so unique in their assets and challenges." Total payments to South Carolina over the next two decades could top $363 million. But that best-case scenario hinges on there being no future lawsuits against the companies from local governments in the state, including school districts, that aren't listed in the deal approved by a federal court. That's why Wilson is asking the Legislature to pass a law banning such lawsuits from happening. If legislators move quickly, South Carolina should receive $75 million by the end of 2022, since Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay the bulk of its share upfront if it gets a no-other-lawsuit guarantee, Libet said. Otherwise, payments to South Carolina will range between $13 million and $20 million yearly, with the largest payments toward the end of this decade, he said. A nine-member board, made up of public health officials and other professionals, will be tasked with distributing grants and ensuring money's spent correctly. Wilson said his office will serve as the board's legal advisor but will have no control over where the money goes. Under the deal, 92 cents of every dollar South Carolina receives must be spent to combat opioid abuse. The other 8 percent up to $29 million total will be shared by dozens of law firms that were part of negotiations, Libet said. "This is welcome news for the people of the state," said Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D-Charleston, an attorney for Motley Rice, a law firm that represented states and local governments nationwide in the case. "Our state agencies and local governments have been hamstrung by money to deal with the problem," he said. "Money is now less of an issue." He's confident the money will be used as intended to stem the opioid crisis. "Even if we wanted potholes filled, that will be contrary to the agreement," Kimpson said. "If we take the money, we dont have a choice." It is the latest settlement against companies that fueled the nation's opioid epidemic. Last year, global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. agreed to pay nearly $600 million for its role in advising businesses on how to sell more prescription opioid painkillers. South Carolina's share of that is about $9 million over five years. Chris Smith started working at J&J Cafeteria in Conway at a young age, washing dishes. He eventually started working at the restaurant full-time. It was a good job, until Bobby Edwards took over as manager. National Human Trafficking Hotline If you believe you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, or may have information about a trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888 or text the hotline at 233733. Or, visit https://humantraffickinghotline.org. Thats when the abuse began. Edwards stopped paying Chris and forced him to work 100 hours or more per week. He physically harmed Chris, verbally abused him and isolated him from others. That went on for six years. This was a case of human trafficking, or, more specifically labor trafficking. Projects reporter Jennifer Berry Hawes explains what Chris endured and how he got out, and Kathryn Moorehead, director of the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force, discusses ongoing efforts to raise awareness around these kinds of crimes. More Ways to Listen Understand SC is available in all major podcasting apps. Search for us or use one of these links: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Simplecast Learn more about the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force. The Post and Courier is hosting a free panel event, Don't Look Away: What is labor trafficking and why is it hard to recognize? Find more information here about how to attend. This episode was hosted and edited by Emily Williams and featured Jennifer Berry Hawes, projects reporter for The Post and Courier. Understand SC is a weekly podcast from The Post and Courier that draws from the reporting resources and knowledge of our newsroom to help you better understand South Carolina. Are there any stories you'd like to hear on the show? Contact us at understandsc@postandcourier.com. Related reading: I dont have any deep thoughts on Vladimir Putins old-fashioned rape of Ukraine. I set out my (obvious and superficial) thoughts yesterday morning in Russia invades Ukraine. There I observed that Ukraines President Zelensky must be a brave man. He appears also to be a serious man and patriot. I wish we could swap him out for our own shell of a president or airhead of a vice president. Below is a video clip from Zelenskys public remarks earlier today. Now Barak Ravid reports for Axios that in his most recent call with EU leaders Zelensky stated: This might be the last time you see me alive. He and his family deserve a place in our prayers. Ammo Grrrll introduces a series: For nearly eight years, commenters have asked me to describe my journey from a Republican family to a Democrat, to a leftist, back to a Democrat and finally, back home to conservatism. It always seemed too daunting a task, but I have finally given it a shot. This is the first installment of what could be as many as seven or eight. If I can serve as a bad example and inspire someone else to come home, then it will have been worth it. (I will interrupt the series if a contemporary crisis demands my commentary! LOL.) Here we go: I was born an extremely tiny white baby who already demonstrated a propensity for neurotic promptness, arriving three months early. (Later I would be famous for showing up to dinner parties while at least one host was still in the shower). The sex I was assigned was called Girl or Female and it suited me right down to the ground because I had girl parts. So that all worked out better than if, in a careless moment, I would have been assigned boy. Whew! It worked out particularly well because the good ol country doctor who delivered me told my parents that had I BEEN assigned the random, whimsical sex of boy, I would probably never have made it to be writing this political history. Turns out female babies are hardier than male babies at birth who knew? And here I thought there were NO differences between girls and boys that were visible to the naked eye at least. So there I was, a scrappy baby girl in the only color that can be born with racist DNA according to half-white, only half-racist Obama! Born to a First Grade school teacher and a Navy veteran and G.I. Bill Pharmacy student at South Dakota State University, we lived first in a trailer about the size of my current pantry, and then in the barracks for married students at the college. My heritage was 100 percent Irish on my mothers side and a typical American mutt mix of Dutch, German, and Danish on my fathers side, with a rumor of an American Indian wife somewhere in the hazy and unverifiable past. I never learned what the alleged tribe was of this exotic relative, to whom she was married, or how to leverage that information to merit teaching a course at Harvard. I came to believe it was untrue one of those things that people sometimes say to make themselves seem more interesting. If I was ever going to be interesting, I would have to find another way. The first presidential election of which I was vaguely aware was in 1952 when I was informed that I Like(d) Ike. I was allowed to stay up to listen to the returns on the radio somewhat past my bedtime, but it didnt last long because Ike won in a squeaker, 442 electoral votes to 89. He was a bald-headed grandfatherly Republican man who evidently had done something important in the Big Terrible War That Killed Daddys Brother. His wife had the strange name of Mamie and popularized the wearing of bangs. In anticipation of this trend, at age three, I had cut my own bangs right before a formal portrait sitting. It was not a success. Our family did not care for the fact that Ikes opponent, also with an odd name Adlai? Seriously? Who names a helpless baby Adlai? had a hole in his shoe! AND was (shhhthe children!) DIVORCED. These were the issues upon which the fate of the world turned, or so it seemed to a six-year-old. That landslide went so well that somebody decided to run the experiment again in 1956 and it went 457 to 73. Children quickly absorb their parents opinions, values, and prejudices and so did I. My mother, one of the kindest humans ever to walk the earth, had a deep and abiding dislike for Democrats though at least half her closest friends were Democrats because she was convinced that the government agencies that handed out commodities during the endless Depression had skipped their home and given all the fresh oranges only to Democrats. They were so poor that getting a single orange in your stocking at Christmas was a major treat. Jumping ahead just for a minute, as an adult, I became skeptical of any discrimination allegedly involved in the distribution of fruit by the government. Wouldnt that be based on need rather than on party Registration? Ha!Ha! What a naive little Hobbit I was! Even a cursory glance at the current Build Back Bigoted Bill where EVERYTHING is for minority this and minority that, I can see that this reward your friends, punish your enemies strategy has a long and sordid history. Stupid bureaucracy made a lifelong Republican out of a lady they possibly could have bought off with a few well-timed grapefruits. So apart from an obsession with citrus fruit, what were the values that I learned in my family? Well, religious ones, in the main: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Dont steal or lie. (Thankfully, murder and adultery never came up at the age of six.) Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself. When you see someone in need of help, pitch in, from threshing to the PTA, from comforting the bereaved to visiting the sick. From my paternal grandmother I heard upwards of 1,000 times Nobody is better than you and you are better than nobody instilling great confidence but not allowing me to get too big for my britches. She was a tough-as-nails Gold Star Mother married to a World War One veteran. All four of her sons served in the military, two Army, one Navy, one Marines. Support for the military was never up for discussion, just taken for granted, as was respect for the American flag and love of country. Virtually ALL my relatives worshiped WORK. Work was what gave your life meaning; work was how you got ahead. Even my alcoholic uncle went off to paint houses every day, with a fifth of Johnny Walker Red in his lunchbox. He was a mess, but he wasnt lazy. My mother used lazy in the way a leftist uses White Supremacist or domestic terrorist. It was one of the worst things she could say about a person. To get labeled as lazy by my dear mother might mean working fewer than 12 hours a day. The same with thrifty. She confessed to me once that her neighbor a lovely young woman Mother adored who worked all day and had two little kids bought BOTTLED juice and didnt use frozen concentrate! Imagine! Lazy AND not thrifty!! I think of her every time I put Uncle Matts Organic OJ with Pulp into my cart at Sprouts. (Best OJ anywhere) Daddy was more relaxed, less tight with money and definitely less interested in dusting and vacuuming. His watchword was independence. He owned his own drugstore a bit later in the story and urged us to eschew any kind of debt except for real estate, and to be dependent upon and beholden to nobody if possible. That philosophy has served me well. So here we have a middle-middle class white girl in a stable two-parent family of college-educated professionals in Heartland America. What could cause her to lose her bearings? Civil Rights, thats what. Television showed powerful images of gross unfairness, inequality and near-unfathomable cruelty. Next week: Part Two JFK, Inequality, and A Broken Heart, oh my. We didnt have to wait long to hear the left bring racism into the Ukraine crisis, as noted here yesterday: Theres also this, which might be parody, but with the left, todays parody quickly becomes tomorrows dogma, so just wait a few more hours: And dont forget the climate change angle. Thankfully Mr. Longface himself is on the job to remind us: Gosh. Too bad we didnt have Kerry around in World War II. Im sure he could have stopped Hitler and the Holocaust by pointing out the carbon footprint of the whole thing. What will Mr. Longface say if the Russians switch to sustainable weaponry? And to complete a trifecta, the New York Times is duly worried that Ukrainian refugees are going to flee . . . without masks: Chaser: I guessed wrong on this one. I thought Putin would bluff and bluster, and then cash in his chips. I thought the weak Western powers would agree to a partition of Ukraine, with the largely Russian-speaking Eastern provinces going to Russia, along with other considerations, unrelated to Ukraine, that would be more or less secret. But Putin invaded instead, and seems bent on conquering all of Ukraine and perhaps more besides. What made Putin so bold? A key factor no doubt was the weakness of Western leaders, pre-eminently the doddering Joe Biden. But the Wests weakness is not a function of a few individuals. You likely have seen tweets that contrast recruiting ads for the U.S. Army, featuring cartoons and lesbians, with recruiting ads for the Russian and Chinese armies. The contrast is painful. Along the same lines, Russian generals no doubt have followed closely the introduction of Critical Race Theory into U.S. military training and have drawn appropriate conclusions about the cohesion of our armed forces. And of course there was the Afghanistan debacle. Putin and his minions also witnessed the bizarre spectacle of the Biden administration suppressing production of American oil and gas, returning the U.S. to a state of energy dependence and driving up the global price of petroleum, thereby enriching Russia. How formidable can an enemy this stupid possibly be? And lets not forget that the USSR bankrolled the American environmental movement for decades. Was that a good investment, or what? And as for the United NationsI believe Russia currently chairs the Security Councilthis tweet by the Secretary General says it all: U.N. Secretary-General Guterres addresses U.N. Security Council meeting: If indeed an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart: Pres. Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance." https://t.co/zEbTJQF9x1 pic.twitter.com/leJZgJRvev ABC News (@ABC) February 24, 2022 All we are saying is give peace a chance. Right. The natural cycle, it has been said, runs from tragedy to farce. So lets move from the tragedy of a great nation led by a senile political hack to a farce that typifies the decline of American culture into sissification. This comes from an actress and human rights advocate of whom I had not heard until now, but it fits with the pathetic culture that we have created: Dear Mister President Vladimir Putin pic.twitter.com/LbDFBHVWJf AnnaLynne McCord (@IAMannalynnemcc) February 24, 2022 I thought Putin would respect the risk posed by American military prowess, however degraded it might be. I was wrong. With hindsight, that result was perhaps overdetermined. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in a video on Thursday said 137 civilians and military personnel have been killed in the country on the first day of Russian invasion with 316 wounded, Al Jazeera reported. He described the victims as heroes. Theyre killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. Its foul and will never be forgiven, he said, referring to Russian forces. The numbers are expected to rise following recent strikes, including reported strikes in Kyiv Friday morning. President Zelenskyy also said that Russia had named him target number one, and my family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state. I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine. He also voiced frustration with the outcome of discussions that he said he had with the heads of NATO member states. We have been left alone to defend our state, Mr Zelenskiy said. Who is ready to fight alongside us? I dont see anyone. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, over 100,000 Ukrainians have moved out of their homes in search of safety and few thousands have crossed over into Moldova, Romania and other countries. We have preparedness plans everywhere, together with respective governments, Mr Grandi said. With the death toll rising, we are seeing images of fear, anguish and terror in every corner of Ukraine. The protection of civilians must be priority number one. International humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld, Antonio Guterres, UN chief, tweeted. Russia in a special military operation attacked Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday through different flanks; including Crimea and Russia. Despite numerous sanctions from world leaders and organisations, President Vladimir Putin of Russia said he remains undeterred in his mission to denazify Ukraine. Seplat Energy has entered into a contract with a Nigerian unit of Texas-based supermajor Exxon Mobil, to procure Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimiteds entire oil assets in Nigeria that date back to 1961 when the American firm first got the nod to prospect for oil in the country. Under the contract terms, Seplat will buy out Exxon Mobils interests at $1.3 billion with a potential for $300 million premised on certain pre-agreed considerations, according to the regulatory filing seen by PREMIUM TIMES. The Transaction encompasses the acquisition of the entire offshore shallow water business of ExxonMobil in Nigeria, the statement said, which is an established, high-quality operation with a highly skilled local operating team and a track record of safe operations, producing 95 kboepd (W.I.) in 2020. Exxon Mobil, a member of the league of the worlds seven public energy companies commonly called Big Oil in industry parlance, runs another local subsidiary Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited but has been intent on divesting its stake in a joint venture operated with state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The multinational holds 40 per cent in the partnership through MPNU and NNPC the remainder. This is a win-win for both companies. Together, we will strengthen our focus on profitability and cash generation to reinvest in Nigerias energy development, Seplats chief Roger Brown said in respect of the newly announced deal with Exxon Mobil. Shares in Seplat had gained 9.99 per cent on Lagos Custom Street at 10.45 WAT on Friday, following the news. Nigerias slow energy transition and IOCs gradual exit By degrees, international oil companies (IOCs) are scaling back investment in fossil fuels like petrol, while expanding their commitment to cleaner energy in line with a global roadmap aiming for net zero emissions by 2050. That ambition needs about $4 billion annual commitment from energy companies until 2030 to be workable, said the International Energy Agency. Nigeria, which lags behind the curve of the transition, is steadily seeing a partial exit of the likes of Shell and Exxonmobil, who prefers to take the proceeds of their oil asset divestment to more favourable havens. ExxonMobil Nigeria has regular disposals of surplus materials and assets, according to a snippet of news on the landing page of the companys website. Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, told a gathering of investors last May Nigerian oil is out of tune with his companys green energy plan. Seplat, which has been the subject of the takeover talks since at least November, also has its eyes set on Shells estimated $4 billion stake in another joint venture involving NNPC, and could be in a pole position to beat competitors like Sahara Group and Tony Elumelu-backed Heirs Holdings to it, given its stature as Nigerias biggest oil & gas company by market value. President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the reworked Electoral Amendment bill into law. The president signed the bill about at the Presidential Villa on Thursday in the presence of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and other officers. The signing comes a few days after a presidential media aide, Femi Adesina, assured that Mr Buhari will assent to the bill. Before he signed it, the president sought an amendment to the bill by asking the National Assembly to delete Clause 84(12) of the bill. The clause reads, No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election. The president said the Clause constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at conventions or congresses of any political party, for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the national election. The Section, he said, has introduced qualification and disqualification criteria that ultra vires the Constitution by way of importing blanket restriction and disqualification to serving political office holders of which they are constitutionally accorded protection. The practical application of section 84(12) of the Electoral Bill, 2022 will, if assented to, by operation of law, subject serving political office holders to inhibitions and restrictions referred to under section 40 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution. It is imperative to note that the only constitutional expectation placed on serving political office holders that qualify, by extension as public officers within the context of the constitution is resignation, withdrawal or retirement at least 30 days before the date of the election. It will be stretching things beyond the constitutional limit to import extraneous restriction into the constitution on account of the practical application of section 84(12) of the bill where political parties conventions and congresses were to hold earlier than 30 days to the election. with particular regards to the benefits of the Bill, industry, time, resources and energy committed in its passage, I hereby assent to the Bill and request the Nationally Assembly to consider immediate amendments that will bring the Bill in tune with constitutionality by way of deleting section 84(12) accordingly, he said. Mr Buhari who disclosed that he received inputs from relevant MDAs after thorough reviews of the bill and its implications to Nigerias democratic processes, said it contains salient provisions that could positively revolutionise elections in Nigeria through the introduction of new technological innovations. These innovations would guarantee the constitutional rights of citizens to vote and to do so effectively he adding that it would improve the effectiveness and transparency of the election process. History of rejections The National Assembly had in January, transmitted the reworked version of the bill to the president for assent, after the latter half rejected it five times citing reasons that ranged from cost of election, insecurity, drafting errors to proximity to the date of elections. In the newly signed bill, the lawmakers had addressed an issue raised by the president the mode of primaries for which political parties will conduct primary elections to elect candidates for political offices. The new law provides political parties the have the option of using direct, indirect or consensus modes of primaries. It also provides for the use of electronic voting and electronic transmission of results. Many individuals and civic groups, who have called for electoral reforms have, said the law will ease electoral processes and promote fairness and credibility in future elections. President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the re-worked Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law. Mr Buhari signed the bill into law a few minutes after noon, after months of controversies over aspects the president was not comfortable with especially the mode of primaries to be approved for political parties. Below is a transcript of what Mr Buhari said when he signed the bill at the Presidential Villa on Friday. ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE SIGNING OF ELECTORAL BILL 2022 INTO LAW STATE HOUSE, ABUJA FRIDAY 25TH FEBRUARY, 2022 The Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2022, passed by the National Assembly forwarded for Presidential Assent, via a letter dated 31st January, 2022. In line with established tradition, I received inputs from relevant ministries, departments and agencies of government after careful and thorough reviews of the Bill and its implications to democratic processes in our country. 2. It is gratifying to note that the current Bill comes with a great deal of improvement from the previous Electoral Bill 2021. There are salient and praiseworthy provisions that could positively revolutionize elections in Nigeria through the introduction of new technological innovations. These innovations would guarantee the constitutional rights of citizens to vote and to do so effectively. 3. The Bill would also improve and engender clarity, effectiveness and transparency of the election process, as well as reduce to the barest minimum incidences of acrimony arising from dissatisfied candidates and political parties. 4. These commendable efforts are in line with our policy to bequeath posterity and landmark legal framework that paves the way for credible and sound electoral process that we would all be proud of. 5. Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, from the review it is my perspective that the substance of the Bill is both reformative and progressive. I am making this bold declaration because I foresee the great potentials of the Bill. Worthy of note include the democratic efficacy of the Bill with particular reference to sections 3, 9(2), 34, 41, 47, 84(9), (10) and (11) among others. 6. This however, cannot be said about one provision as contained in the proposed Bill, which provision constitutes fundamental defect, as it is in conflict with extant constitutional provisions. 7. Section 84 (12) constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at Conventions or Congresses of any political party, for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the National Election. The section provides as follows:- No political appointee at any level shall be voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election. 8. This provision has introduced qualification and disqualification criteria that ultra vires the Constitution by way of importing blanket restriction and disqualification to serving political office holders of which they are constitutionally accorded protection. 9. The practical application of section 84(12) of the Electoral Bill, 2022 will, if assented to, by operation of law, subject serving political office holders to inhibitions and restrictions referred to under section 40 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). 10. It is imperative to note that the only constitutional expectation placed on serving political office holders that qualify, by extension as public officers within the context of the constitution is resignation, withdrawal or retirement at least 30 days before the date of the election. 11. Hence, it will be stretching things beyond the constitutional limit to import extraneous restriction into the constitution on account of practical application of section 84(12) of the bill where political parties conventions and congresses were to hold earlier than 30 days to the election. 12. Arising from the foregoing, with particular regards to the benefits of the Bill, industry, time, resources and energy committed in its passage, I hereby assent to the Bill and request the Nationally Assembly to consider immediate amendments that will bring the Bill in tune with constitutionality by way of deleting section 84(12) accordingly. Thank you may God bless our country. The Wazirin Katsina, Sani Lugga, has resigned shortly after responding to an administrative query issued by the Emirate Council requesting him to explain his comment on insecurity in the state. The Wazirin Katsina, who is the political adviser to the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmuminu Kabir, is one of the most influential counsellors in the palace. He is a professor of management studies and has a masters degree in conflict resolution. The emirate spokesperson, Sarkin Labarai Katsina, Ibrahim Bindawa, confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES. As you have asked, let me be direct please. The Wazirin Katsina has sent in his resignation to His Highness, he said without providing details. Check made by this newspaper revealed that Mr Lugga was not the first public office or traditional title holder to complain on insecurity in Katsina. Governor Aminu Masari, the emir, Abdulmuminu Aminu, District Head of Batsari, state lawmakers and other top appointees have also been vocal against banditry. Comment over insecurity Several newspapers in the country reported how Mr Lugga, during a paper presentation in Ilorin, Kwara State said the security situation in Katsina is worsening. He was quoted to have said: We are no longer counting the number of deaths because there is no single day in the last two and half years that somebody will not be killed or abducted in the state. It is really a state of war. It is more than conflict. He said insecurity led to the closure of schools in eight local government areas of the state. Resignation PREMIUM TIMES learnt from a palace source, a senior district head and kingmaker in the emirate who asked not to be named, how the Waziri resigned. He responded to the query but also went ahead to resign. We are all not happy to be honest with you and His Highness didnt take it personal when he (Waziri) was queried. He was expected to respond and have the response kept for record purposes. The resignation took us by surprise, the highly placed monarch said. He said the emirate has accepted the resignation though no official statement has been released on the issue. Another palace source said Mr Lugga wrote in four pages as a response to the query issued to him and followed it with a two-page resignation letter, detailing why he could not continue serving the emirate. I actually didnt see the query but I saw his response and the resignation letter. May be he didnt seek clearance from the emirate council before commenting on the issue in his capacity as Wazirin Katsina. But in his response, he wrote that he said what he said because it is the truth. He insisted that the Emir, district heads and even the state governor have all complained on the level of insecurity in the state. So, I think it is because he felt the issue (insecurity) has become public knowledge that he said that. The query, I understand, is an administrative one; just for formalities and nothing more, he said. Mr Lugga was appointed as the Wazirin Katsina in 2002 by the father of the current Emir. Mr Luggas grandfather, Sheikh Haruna, was the first Wazirin Katsina. His father, Abubakar Lugga, was the Sarkin Dawa (Emirate Councillor in charge of Forestry and Natural Resources) Insecurity in Katsina PREMIUM TIMES had reported how bandits have been attacking communities in the state. Recently, a divisional police officer and a soldier were killed in the state by bandits. A village head and four others were also killed. That was followed by the abduction of another village head and killing of 13 people. . in January, notorious banditry kingpin, Dankarami, stormed Ilela village, killed 12 and burnt down the community. Governor Masari had on several occasions complained about the increasing bandits attacks, and had twice asked the people of the state to protect themselves. Last year, Mr Masari told the Chief of Defence Staff that 10 local government areas in the state were recording daily attacks. The Sarkin Ruman Katsina, district head of Batsari, Tukur Muazu, had on several times cried out over bandits attacks in his area. At the peak of coronavirus, the monarch said his subjects prefer death from the virus to bandits. He also said, last year, that fleeing bandits had taken over some parts of his district. The emir himself had cried out over bandits incessant attacks when he said the terrorists should be killed outright. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has returned 1,120 (euros) to a German victim said to have been defrauded by some Nigerians. The commission said in a statement on Friday that Regina Gluck was defrauded by an indigene of Edo State, Austin Isibor Aisosa. Mr Aisosa allegedly obtained the fund from Ms Gluk through false representation that he was a wounded American soldier in Afghanistan and needed urgent medical attention to return to the United States. Following the recovery of the money from the suspect, the statement stated that EFCC, through the secretary to the commission, George Ekpungu, presented the money to Jan Ritterhoff, an official of the German Embassy in Nigeria, on Thursday. Mr Ekpungu expressed satisfaction for the recovery and the commissions resolve to continue to partner with the German Embassy and other international partners in fighting economic and financial crimes. It is obvious that EFCC is doing its work and we will continue to do our best to fight all forms of economic and financial crimes, he said. Receiving the money on behalf of the victim, Mr Ritterhoff thanked the EFCC for the effort and assured of the German governments assistance to Nigeria in the fight against economic and financial crimes. We are happy that this is possible and we will return it to Ms. Gluck as soon as possible. We are always here to help you and we are grateful for your help in very difficult cases, he said. This came as the latest in the series of EFCCs return of recovered proceeds of alleged fraud to both local and foreign victims. In January, the EFCC announced that it recovered N3.6million stolen from a bank account and returned to the 86-year-old victim, Muhammed Mubi, in Yola, Adamawa State. Mr Mubi was said to be a retired Permanent Secretary at the Adamawa State Ministry of Education. The agency also said in December 2021 that it refunded N326,000 that was illegally withdrawn from the bank account of a student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Diemesor Gabriel. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) needs to roll out its guidelines for 2023 general elections following the signing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law. Mr Abubakar made the call in his verified Twitter handle in reaction to the signing of the Bill into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Friday. He said that INEC needed to do so in earnest so that the political parties and Nigerians could fully commence the journey to choose their leaders in 2023. The former vice president commended all stakeholders, including the National Assembly, that made the bill a reality. Now that the legal framework for the 2023 elections is in place following President Muhammadu Buharis assent to the Electoral Bill, INEC needs to roll out the election guidelines in earnest so that the political parties and Nigerians can fully commence the journey to choose their leaders in 2023. I wish to acknowledge the work of the legislature in bringing this law with new innovations into fruition. I also pay tribute to the nudge of the civil society and patriotic Nigerians in making this brand new Electoral Act a reality, Mr Abubakar said. Mr Buhari had earlier on Friday signed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2022 into law at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The President said the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2022 passed by the National Assembly held a lot of promises for improving the election processes with a lasting legacy to the country. He noted with delight the introduction of new technology and efforts to engender clarity and transparency in the nations election processes as contained in the Electoral Act amendment. Mr Buhari, however, highlighted the need to amend section 84(12), which contravenes the rights of political office holders to vote, or be voted for in political party conventions and congresses. (NAN) The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the newly recorded Wild Polio Virus (WPV) case in Malawi was imported. The WHO Regional Immunisation Advisor for Africa, Richard Mihigo, made this known on Thursday while addressing journalists at Area 2 Primary Health Care (PHC) centre in Abuja. Mr Mihigo said Polio is not an indigenous virus that was circulating in the country at the time. He said the imported case was promptly detected due to good quality surveillance system in the country. He noted that effective routine immunisation has prevented the country from experiencing polio outbreak for many years. It is important to highlight that the last case of wild poliovirus in Malawi was in 1992, almost 30 years ago. So they have maintained a very good routine immunisation, he said. He said WHO has data in place that is being analysed in the laboratory to find out more about the imported case. Malawi recently declared an outbreak of polio after a young child in the countrys capital, Lilongwe, developed the disease in the first case of polio in Africa in more than five years. A statement issued by WHO shortly after the case was detected, linked the strain found in the child to one circulating in Pakistan where the virus remains endemic. Polio Virus Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. It is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, through contaminated water or food and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis. Africa was certified polio free in August 2020 following the elimination of the virus in Nigeria. Nigeria was the last African country to eliminate the virus which can be prevented with adequate vaccination. WHO said the new case did not affect Africas status of being polio-free. Quality survelliance Mr Mihigo, who is one of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi) team to Nigeria, said they were in the country to assess the progress on the implementation of routine immunisation, Polio, and also the progress on COVID-19 vaccination. He said it is important for the African continent to improve its quality surveillance systems to prevent another outbreak. He noted that the case in Malawi raises concerns that the virus could reemerge in the region. He said: This is also a good illustration of a good quality surveillance system, if improved, it can pick up any case, wherever it happens. Its important that we continue to tighten the surveillance system, but also continue to increase coverage for routine immunisation so the new cohorts of children that are born are protected against any type of imported infection. More vaccination needed Mr Mihigo, while speaking on their visit to the PHC, said they were impressed to see how functional the health care centre is. We have seen people coming to receive their COVID-19 vaccination, what is so heartwarming is that many parents also brought their children to receive routine vaccination. So I think this is really something we are congratulating the government of Nigeria for and we hope that this will continue to increase peoples confidence not only for routine immunisation, but also to make sure that the numbers for COVID-19 vaccination are improving, he said. In her remarks, an independent board member of Gavi, Helen Rees, said one of the most powerful tools known to protect children from various diseases is vaccination. Ms Rees said Gavi is supporting the Nigerian government to increase routine immunisation for children. Advertisements These childhood diseases and some of the commonest killers here we understand are diarrhea and pneumonia, and many of those deaths could be avoided, if we could improve on immunisation coverage, she said. In her remarks, Director, PHC Systems, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Nneka Onu, said the visit was part of activities of the high level Gavi mission in Nigeria. Ms Onu said it was important that they see how people are getting vaccinated, and the quality of service integrated. In a continued invasion of Ukraine, Russia in the early hours of Friday unleashed rockets on the Ukraine capital Kyiv, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraines foreign minister said in a tweet. Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv, an enraged Kuleba tweeted. Adding that the last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. CNN also confirmed the attacks, saying they appeared to come from the east of the city. At least three more explosions reverberated across the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, at dawn on Friday. They appeared to be coming from the southwest of the city, CNN reported. Mr Kuleba noted that Ukraine will defeat Russia the same way it defeated Nazi Germany. He again called on the world to stop Putin, Isolate Russia, Sever all ties, Kick Russia out of everywhere. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said Russian troops had been stopped from advancing in most directions. In a televised speech, Mr Zelenskyy said the Russian strikes were aimed at both military and civilian targets, Al Jazeera reported. A missile strike hit a Ukrainian border post in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhya, killing and wounding some guards, the border guard service has said. The region has no land border with Russia but is located on the coast of the Azov Sea which the neighbours share. Russia in a special military operation commenced an attack on Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday. Despite sanctions from world leaders and organisations, President Vladimir Putin of Russia says he remains undeterred in his mission to denazify Ukraine. Until 1989, Africa was characterized by many authoritarian governments. After that, democracy took root as countries abolished military dictatorships, undertook constitutional reviews and embraced multiparty politics and elections. This promoted stability, legitimacy and acceptance in African political spheres. The general expectation was that multiparty democracy would eventually lead to economic growth and development. But almost three decades after the third wave of democratisation, it is not clear that the development dividend has been attained. Despite Africas vast natural resources, it remains the worlds poorest region. Persistently high public debt and corruption, coupled with unemployment, income inequality and poverty remain endemic. Although the cause of underdevelopment in Africa is multifaceted, an undeniable root is poor leadership. The inability of governments to drive their countries development agenda continues to threaten democracy, with most countries reverting to autocracy. According to the V-Dem 2020 Democracy report, which ranked states in four categories liberal democracy, electoral democracy, electoral autocracy and closed autocracy over 70 per cent of sub-Saharan African countries were either electoral or closed autocracies as of 2019. Similarly, the EIU Democracy Index, which ranks countries as full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes, says Africa recorded its lowest score of 4.16 in 2020 since the index started in 2006. Indeed, as of 2020, only Mauritius could be described as a full democracy in Africa, with seven other countries Tunisia, Cabo Verde, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Ghana and Lesotho tagged as flawed democracies. The rest were either hybrid or authoritarian regimes, with the latter constituting the majority. In the past decade, declining democracy in Africa is also evident in recurring military takeovers. Since 2010, Africa has had 43 successful and attempted coups. In 2021 alone, there were four successful coups (Mali, Tunisia, Guinea and Sudan) and two attempts (Central African Republic and Sudan). Barely two months into 2022, there has already been one successful and one attempted coup (Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau). The usual explanations for these coups point to economic mismanagement, corruption and low development in the affected countries, which the economic impact of COVID-19 has worsened. The democratic reversal has exposed the fragility of African democracy and the threat of political instability. It also questions whether democracy is delivering the expected development dividends. The relationship is an issue of contention among scholars. Some hold that democratic regimes undermine development; others say they enhance it. Arguments have been made that economic development facilitates democracy, while some schools of thought say it has no significant impact on growth. In Africa though, strong relationships can be observed. Using both the EIU and V-Dem index scores in 2019, nine countries ranked as the top 10 African democracies have a very high, high or medium human development score. (Mauritius is very high, Seychelles, Botswana, South Africa and Tunisia are high, and Sao Tome & Principe, Ghana and Namibia are medium.) And except for Madagascar, all countries ranked as the top 10 democracies by at least one of the two indexes are middle-income countries, with Seychelles being a high-income country. In terms of poverty reduction, less than 3 per cent of Mauritius, Seychelles, Cabo Verde and Tunisias populations live on under US$1.90 a day. Ghana, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa have a US$1.90 poverty rate of 9.7 per cent, 11.8 per cent, 17.1 per cent and 17.2 per cent of their populations respectively. How then do we explain why some countries ranked as democratic perform very poorly on development indexes? States like Lesotho, Senegal and Madagascar all score low on human development. In fact, in 2019, 73.2 per cent of Madagascars population lived on less than US$1.90 a day. For Lesotho and Senegal, this is 36.4 per cent and 29.7 per cent respectively. The difference in the development rate in these countries can be attributed to their level of governance. Democratic states such as Seychelles, Mauritius, Cabo Verde and Botswana have high scores on governance indexes and are also more developed. On the other hand, democratic countries such as Madagascar and Lesotho, which perform poorer on such indexes, have low development. This suggests that good governance may serve as an intervening factor between democracy and development. Good governance in the form of rule of law and justice, accountability, transparency and anti-corruption, is necessary to drive growth. Could there be alternative routes to development? Does autocracy yield the desired results? Comparing the 10 worst African democracies using the above indexes reveals an interesting relationship between authoritarian regimes and levels of development. Most at the bottom of the democratic indexes are low-income countries (Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Burundi, Chad, CAR, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, Congo and South Sudan). And they have low human development (Djibouti, Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Burundi, Chad, CAR, DRC, Somalia and South Sudan). Indeed, states such as Somalia, Burundi, CAR, DRC, Guinea-Bissau, Chad and South Sudan which are at the bottom of democracy indexes are also at the bottom of governance and development indexes. Over 70 per cent of people in South Sudan, the DRC, CAR and Burundi live below the poverty line of US$1.90 a day. Likewise, Guinea-Bissau, Congo, Somalia and Chad have a high poverty rate. In addition to their poor governance, another common feature is years of political instability. So authoritarian regimes coupled with instability, poor leadership and weak governance produce the worst outcomes for development. There are a few exceptions in which authoritarian regimes appear to perform better on development indexes. Countries like Libya, Equatorial Guinea and Algeria, which are highly undemocratic, have performed better on development. They are middle-income and have high human development indexes and poverty rates of less than 2 per cent. So irrespective of the regime type, good governance promotes development. Visionary leadership and strong institutions are Africas surest pathway to achieving sustainable development. This means that democratic states should focus not just on elections, but on achieving good governance. Enoch Randy Aikins, Researcher, African Futures and Innovation, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Pretoria (This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish). Advertisements The gunmen who robbed a bank in Edo State, Nigerias South-south, on Thursday afternoon were filmed while carrying out the robbery. The clip, which was posted on Facebook, showed the robbers walking along the road, firing gunshots into the air, apparently to scare people away. Except for a few cars, which may have been driven by the robbers, the road looked deserted. The one-minute, 37-seconds video appeared to have been shot at a distance, from a storey building. See them! See them, chai! A voice is heard from the background of the video. These ones are criminals, they (were) ready (for this robbery). Some of the robbers walking out from the bank were seen hauling large sacks, apparently containing cash. One of them carried the sacks on his shoulder. They put the stolen cash in the boot of a red-coloured Toyota Corolla. Oh boy, gun wey these people carry, police no carry, said the background voice in the video. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported earlier that the robbers killed two police officers and five people during their siege on Uromi town in Esan Northeast Local Government Area of Edo State. According to the report by NAN, the robbers attacked four banks and a divisional police headquarters. They were said to have also used dynamites during the operation. The police spokesperson in Edo, Bello Kontongs, confirmed the attack but said he had no further details. Mr Kontongs, a superintendent of police, said one of the four banks attacked is a new generation establishment. Nigerians have lamented over the malfunctioning of their cars, which they said happened after they added low quality petrol to their vehicles. Motorists who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES said the fuel they purchased from filling stations affected their cars, making them spend to fix the vehicles. In the past weeks, fuel scarcity worsened in many cities, leaving people struggling to go to work or engage in other daily activities. The federal government said methanol, a chemical additive, found in recently imported fuel exceeded Nigerias specification, and efforts to get replacement led to scarcity. There have been fuel queues in major cities including Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan and even Cross River state. Motorists lament Abduljabbar Musa, an Abuja resident, said he bought N4000 worth of fuel from a filling station on February 9, but regretted he did. On my way to the airport, after I got fuel from the filling station, my car started jerking. I put the car off, but it refused to start afterwards, Mr Musa said. He said his mechanic advised he should empty his fuel tank. The fuel was drained and replaced with another before my car started working properly. I spent another N15,000, he said. He said he reached out to the station, which promised to get back to him. They never did, till date, Mr Musa said. Abdulaziz Nafada, another resident, said he bought watery fuel of N10,000 from another station along Airport Road as well. When I got home, my car stopped working, he said, I wasted N10, 000 on the watery fuel, then spent another N10,000 to engage the services of a mechanic (home service). He said he did not contact the fuel station. Nasir Ayitogo, a PREMIUM TIMES journalist, who also shared his experience, said he filled his car with substandard fuel purchased from another filling station. Considering the long queue due to the fuel scarcity, I decided to fill up my tank, after queuing inside the station for about 30 minutes, he recalled. Upon getting home, Mr Ayitogo said he realised his car started acting strangely. It was jerking uncontrollably as if there was water or no fuel in my tank. I made several attempts to try to salvage the situation but the problem persisted, he said. He said, So I decided to call my mechanic, when he came, he told me I must have bought the bad fuel that was in circulation so they had to empty my tank. Mr Ayitogo said he was advised to report to the fuel station, which he did but got not significant results. At the filling station, he said he requested to see the manager but was not granted access to the manager. They directed me to one of their supervisors, so when I narrated my ordeal to the supervisor, he said my complaints were strange as I was the first person coming with such complaints. So I left the station, he said. More Bitter Tales Some Nigerians who said they had similar experience took to social media to vent their anger. @Maazihashem, a Twitter user said, My car just went up in flames on Gwarimpa express less than 3 minutes after purchasing black market fuel. Be careful out there guys, Advertisements My car just went up in flames on Gwarimpa express less than 3 minutes after purchasing black market fuel. Be careful out there guys Hashem (@MaaziHashem) February 17, 2022 In a similar message, @timosilva in response to @Maazihashem tweet said, Too bad yours had to burn.. Im still trying to solve mine I went to buy fuel and bought gbese (debt), the car wont start.. Drained all the fuel and bought another type.. still. https://twitter.com/timosilver/status/1494382048517177353?s=20&t=nglg9AD-K7ZqsLg5dCJieg Another user, @Leroiemmytv, said Same thing happened to my car. Change the fuel pump and wash off any trace of the old fuel. Same thing happened to my car. Change the fuel pump and wash off any trace of the old fuel. Leroi Emmy TV (@LeroiEmmyTVNews) February 17, 2022 Options PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Nigerians are paying deadly price for Europes dirty fuel. Ridwan Oke, a Lagos-based lawyer, said affected motorists can explore legal options to demand compensation. If your engine has issues due to the adulterated fuel, you need to get prove from an expert to confirm the cause and the cause must be ascertained to be the adulterated fuel, he said. Mr Oke said affected person should be able to provide evidence of purchase of the adulterated fuel and the station you purchased from. Anybody that has prove to the two options above, can come together to sue the NNPC, every company responsible for importing fuel into the country as well as the filling station that sold the fuel, Mr Oke said. The lawyer said the suit would be a class action and that before you can do this, you must be able to prove that a specific damage has been done to you. As for the filling stations, he said, You might be wondering, why sue them? This is because they sold to you and they have the responsibility to sell a quality product to you. Failure to do so, they are also liable for the damage caused. President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday highlighted some reservations as he signed the reworked Electoral bill into law. The president signed the bill around noon on Friday in the presence of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, the Vice President; Yemi Osinbajo; Speaker of the House of Representative, Femi Gbajabiamila and other top officials. He commended the National Assembly for reworking the legislation which he said comes with a great deal of improvement from the previous Electoral Bill. The bill, he said, contains salient and praiseworthy provisions that could positively revolutionise elections in Nigeria through the introduction of new technological innovations as well as improve effectiveness and transparency of the election process. Complaints The president, however, complained about a Section of the bill Clause 84(12). The Clause reads, No political appointee at any level shall be voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election. The president said the provision in this Clause is in conflict with extant constitutional provisions. It constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at conventions or congresses of any political party, for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the national election. This provision has introduced qualification and disqualification criteria that ultra vires the Constitution by way of importing blanket restriction and disqualification to serving political office holders of which they are constitutionally accorded protection. The practical application of section 84(12) of the Electoral Bill, 2022 will, if assented to, by operation of law, subject serving political office holders to inhibitions and restrictions referred to under section 40 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution. It is imperative to note that the only constitutional expectation placed on serving political office holders that qualify, by extension as public officers within the context of the constitution is resignation, withdrawal or retirement at least 30 days before the date of the election, he said. The president also explained that it will be stretching things beyond the constitutional limit to import extraneous restriction into the constitution on account of practical application of Section 84(12) of the bill where political parties conventions and congresses were to hold earlier than 30 days to the election. (but) with particular regards to the benefits of the Bill, industry, time, resources and energy committed in its passage, I hereby assent to the Bill and request the Nationally Assembly to consider immediate amendments that will bring the Bill in tune with constitutionality by way of deleting section 84(12) accordingly. The presidents demand is one of many he has asked of the National Assembly with regards to the Electoral bill. Between 2018 and December 2021, he had rejected the bill five times citing different reasons ranging from from cost of election, insecurity, drafting errors to proximity to the date of elections. The most recent amendment he sought was that the lawmakers allow political parties to have different options for mode of primary elections to elect candidates for political offices. He asked the lawmakers to include direct, indirect and consensus candidates against the initial version passed that contained only direct primaries. The lawmakers had since, addressed the issue making provisions for different options for primaries. It also provides for the use of electronic voting and electronic transmission of results. Many individuals and civic groups who have called for electoral reforms, have said the law will ease electoral processes and promote fairness and credibility in future elections. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said the action of a few miscreants who burnt his farm in Benue State should not be used to judge the state. In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, Mr Obasanjo said the burning of the 17,000 mango tree plantation would not deter his investment in the state, as he would bounce back and increase the direct workforce from 150 to more than 1,000. The former presidents farm situated in Gwer East local government area of the state was destroyed on January 29 by suspected hoodlums. This action by this few misdierected miscreants should not be judged by the world, Mr Obasanjo said. It is not the true reflection of the people of Benue. The action should not scare away investors, because Benue people are very accommodating and friendly. The statement said the former president spoke while hosting a delegation from Benue State and the community, where the farm, is located, at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The delegation, led by the Chairman of the Gwer East Traditional Council, Dominic Akpe, was accompanied by the House of Assembly member representing Gwer East Constituriency, Geoffrey Agbatse; Chairman Gwer East Local Government, Ortserga Emmanuel; among others, empathised with the former president on the burning of his mango plantation in the state. Mr Obasanjo lamented that the dastardly act had only delayed the vision he had for the project. He said the incident was not the best for the state and the community. The land was acquired long ago and payment made for the lease of the land. If the government has not paid any compensation to any family or that they have not been adequately compensated, burning of the farm, was not the best to do. You have said it yourself that the farm employed about 150 workers before it was burnt. Our plan was for the project to provide at least 1,000 persons directly, both on the farm and when the processing factory takes off. What has happened, was not a loss to we investors alone but to the 150 that were working on the farm before it was burnt and the people that we intend to engage in the processing factory, that had been delayed now even with the level of unemployment in the country. The governor did everything to make the project a reality. What they have burnt, was a pilot project for what we have in mind if things work well. The governor, the Tor Tiv, the Bishop and other notable leaders and stakeholders, had emphatised with us, they had ntervened and had assured us that justice would be served. What has happened is not in the character of the people of Benue and particularly, the community, where the farm is located. You have said that you need Investment in the state either from within or outside the state. Therefore, the world should not judge Benue by this act of a few disgruntled elements that perpetrated this act. Let me assure you that we are not going to leave the area. We are looking at what we can do when the rain starts. The project will only be delayed but we shall improve on what we have on ground. The government had promised us the possibility of giving us more land and this will give us opportunity for bigger plantation. Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mr Akpe empathised with Mr Obasanjo over the incidentl The traditional ruler, disclosed that some of those that perpetrated the act, had been arrested, stating that others would be apprehended. We have come to appeal to you not to lose hope despite the arson. During the several meetings and discussions after the incident, it was obvious that we initially regarded the farm as yours and did not own it. We have now discovered its importance to us and have resolved to own it by providing security, regularly monitoring it, and at holding regular meetings with the gist community to ensure that what happened in the 29th January 22, never ever repeats itself. Moving forward, we have identified other parcel if land and when we are able to strike an agreement with the host communities, request you to expand the farm to other parts of the local government. The House of Representatives says signing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into Law by President Muhammadu Buhari will usher in more robust democracy. The spokesperson for the House, Benjamin Kalu, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja. Mr Kalu said that signing the bill into law had opened various options of participation in politics, adding that there would be no room for excuses. According to him, this is a happy day for democracy in Nigeria. The ninth assembly has been a great voice to this achievement. We have stood on the side of Nigerians to ensure that what was worth doing at all was worth doing well. We want to thank the chairman of the National Assembly and the President of the Senate, Sen. Ahmed Lawal. We also thank the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila. The two chambers have exhibited a lot of maturity in governance by not involving in any ego trip, but by collaborating and cooperating with the executive, he said. He said the lawmakers had ensured that legislation was not self serving but in the interest of the country and public interest in line with world best democratic ethos and principles. He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the courage to sign the bill since he would no longer run for election. The Electoral Act is not about him but a legacy that the President has left for electoral reform and generations unborn. The President keeps pruning it to suit what he feels is best for the country, how do we tailor it to be all embracing and all incorporating. That is why he painstakingly looked at it and signed before the expiration of the 30 days allotted, he said. NAN reports that some of the key provisions of the proposed amendment of the Electoral Act stipulate that parties must conduct primaries and submit their list of candidates at least, 180 days before the general elections. Clause 65 states that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can review results declared under duress, while clause 3(3) stated that funds for general elections must be released at least one year before the election. Clause 84 stipulates that anyone holding a political office must relinquish the position before they can be eligible to participate in the electoral process either as a candidate or as a delegate. Clause 94 allows for early commencement of the campaign season. By this provision, the campaign season will now start 150 days to the Election Day and end 24 hours before the election among others. NAN reports that successive administration had reneged in signing the Electoral Amendment Bill. Mr Buhari declined assent in the 8th Assembly led by Bukola Saraki, while current 9th Assemblys first amendment bill sent to the President was rejected for having direct primaries as the only option of choosing candidates. It was, however, reworked and three additional options of: direct, indirect primaries and consensus were included. According to Mr Kalu, I am happy that finally, the President again, leaves a legacy that all of us will always remember. The president has done what was very difficult for many past administrations. NAN reports that Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, witnessed the signing of the Bill. (NAN) The Senate has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022 into law. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Ajibola Basiru, made the commendation in a statement in Abuja on Friday. He said the Act was now the legislative framework for the conduct of elections in Nigeria. Mr Basiru congratulated the ninth Assembly on the innovative provisions in the Electoral Act that addressed obvious lapses that had inhibited credible elections in Nigeria. He identified the conduct of primaries, campaign expenses, use of technological devices in elections and electronic transmission of results as some of the reforms introduced that would ensure the credibility of elections in the country. The lawmaker stated that the Senate had taken notice of Section 84(12) of the Act, especially the concerns raised the President and assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would give the section the desired legislative attention. Similarly, the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, said Mr Buhari had written his name in gold for signing the Bill into Law. Mr Omo-Ageges Special Adviser Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, stated this in a statement in Abuja on Friday. He expressed delight that the country would go into the next general election with a new electoral legal framework. The deputy senate president recalled that although the process under the 8th Senate was fraught with mutual suspicions and bitterness, electoral reform for the ninth National Assembly remained a priority in its legislative agenda. The ninth Senate has promised to bequeath a lasting legacy to Nigerians. Todays development adds to the list of historic legislations that have defiled previous Assemblies, which the ninth Senate has passed, he said. (NAN) A presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, on Friday, said he is physically fit to lead Nigeria in 2023. Mr Tinubu said this when he visited the Ataoja of Osogbo, Jimoh Olanipekun, to seek his blessings for his presidential ambition. At the Ataojas Palace in Osogbo, Mr Tinubu said he was in Osogbo to seek the Ataojas endorsement. Mr Tinubu said if given the opportunity, he would not let Nigerians down, adding that he has the capacity to run the nations affairs. The aspirant, who said he had informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his ambition, said he was ready to offer honest service to the country and its people. The time is here now. The clock is ticking, calendar is ticking and this is the time Nigerians need a thorough hope, solid hope for progress, prosperity and growth. We need a lot of jobs for our children, solid education for our children, we need progress for our country and we need someone that can do this. I offer myself the opportunity to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I have informed President Buhari that I want to step into his shoes. I told him I want to serve my country to the best of my knowledge. I need your endorsement and your prayers, he said. Mr Tinubu, who further explained that Nigerians must continue to remain united, irrespective of tribe or religion, urged Nigerians to embrace the lyrics of the old national anthem. According to him, it states tribe and tongue maybe differ, in brotherhood we stand. We believe in one Nigeria, irrespective of our tribe, we must see ourselves as one entity that will bring progress to Nigeria, and this is my promise, he said. Im fit to run Mr Tinubu, who said that many people were complaining of his fitness because he went abroad for a knee injury, said he was fit and not applying to be a sprinter or a grave digger. I am not applying for the job of bricklaying or grave digging. I went to school to study Accountancy and Management. I am applying for brain intelligent thinking job and I will do it right. The job I want to do for Nigeria is for Nigeria to be greater and to be proud of itself, Mr Tinubu said. Responding, Mr Olanipekun, who said Mr Tinubu has the capacity to be the president, prayed that God would grant his hearts desires. The traditional ruler said he was of the belief that Mr Tinubu was capable of serving as the president of the country.(NAN) A kingdom can endure with unbelief but not with injustice . Victory is gained through justice and defeat comes through injustice (Othman, Vol. III, 2013:182-195) I am grateful to the Arewa House for giving me the opportunity to speak on this important topic concerning the legacy of a scholar, philosopher and extraordinary reformer, Sheikh Uthman Danfodio especially as it affects the hydra headed virus ravaging Nigerias social political and economic fabric-Corruption. Nothing of recent underscores the depth of the corruption quagmire in our country as the sordid details of the alleged drug deals of the soon to be extradited top police corp DCP Abba Kyari. This particular case is interesting because it reveals how audacious the corrupt have become in the Nigerian system. Since Abba was already indicted on cybercrime, one would have expected him to keep a low profile as men of the underworld do in other climes, when the radar is on them. But in Nigeria, the criminals now believe that there is no government and that they can literally get away with just anything. It is not just Abba Kyari and some public officers alone that are deep in corruption, some bank owners do same through foreign currency round tripping insider abuse of the credit system and stealing of customers money through illegal charges. The young kill for money making rituals with gusto, and in some parts of the country ritualist now conduct day-time open initiation in the public glare. Kidnapping is everywhere, the goal is to extort money. Corruption is so widespread and its cost to the country is colossal. According to Price Water Cooper (PWC), a global consulting outfit. If not arrested by 2030, corruption will be costing Nigeria 30 per cent of her GDP, that is $200 billion, a whooping N100 trillion (one hundred trillion naira), about seven times our national budget. The effect of this is rampant poverty every where, illiteracy, disease and insecurity. In Northern Nigeria, the effects are spectacular and uneven compared to the rest of Nigeria. The world Bank estimated in a 2020 report that 87 per cent of those that live in poverty in Nigeria are from the three geopolitical zones of Northern Nigeria (North-East, North-West and North-Central). The situation is more severe in the North-East and North-West. Also, 66 per cent of Nigerias 10 million out of school children are from Northern Nigeria. The North is top too on lack of access to primary health care services, clean water and other social amenities. In the North, there is acute disparity in income distribution. Majority of farmers and other primary producers have very low income. Attempts to escape poverty through hard-work is limited by lack of adequate social support system, as well as insurgencies that limit access to farmlands. Only few legitimate businesses are doing well and the few who make money from legitimate means are under massive social pressure as they are a few oasis in the desert of poverty. Criminal gangs make money through kidnappings, illegal taxes on poor villages and other criminal acts. Majority of the population live in fear, panic and uncertainty. It was under similar conditions in the early 19th century that the teachings of Sheikh Uthman Danfodio caught the imagination of the poor people of Northern Nigeria and a revolution was birthed, leading to the abolition of the corrupt Sarakunas and the establishment of a caliphate. Of course as a Christian, I will not be competent to speak on the religious doctrines that underpin Sheikh Uthman Danfodios teachings, but as a scholar and devotee of history, I am allowed to examine the Sheikhs social and philosophical doctrines relevant to the subject matter of corruption, a menace and scourge which must now be eliminated. I am guided too that the Nigeria state as presently constituted is multi-religious, pluralistic and democratic, with a constitution that binds all officials, establishes and regulates the functions of organs of States rights and duties of citizens and institutions etc. Our examination of the Sheikhs work will be done within the context of our modern and contemporary realities. What is corruption? How did it grow in Nigeria? Rose Adkernan, defines corruption as the misuse of public power for private gain. The above definition has been contested as restrictive precluding the roles of in-formalised bloating of the state (Forrest: 1986, Joseph: 1991, Lewis: 1996, Abubakar: 2001). The latter broadening of the concept expands the definition of corruption to beyond activities through bureaucratic machinery of the State to capture variants operating in the social fabric of the society. Corruption is a Global phenomenon but in recent year the discuss has largely focused on Africa and most of the developing world where existing institutions and structures seem too weak to contain its spread and rampaging effects. Nevertheless, historic evidence exists that before contacts with Tran-Saharan and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Colonialism, the prevalence of corruption was minimal in Nigeria and Africa as a whole The simple reason been that in original African societies the main means of production was land held by the entire community not by a few. Communal ownership ensured that every one had access to the means of livelihood. These existed side by side with family based manufacturing. The competition to own the means of production to the exclusion of the majority did not exist. Income disparity was low. Some of the values of intergrity associated with the simple original African lifestyles survived to the modern era. When we were children, women selling farm products left there whares by the road side while absent and indicated the price of the products by the number of stones they laid by the road side. Potential buyers bought the products and dropped the correct sums at the road side. And no one made a way with the money. All the realities of the simple intergrity of simple people with communal live styles changed with the arrival of Arab Slave traders and European Colonialism. In the early twentieth century, the British organised conquered British West Africa in an essentially corrupt manner. Ali Mazrui has shown that the diseased mind-set of seeing government property as a booty was developed during the colonial period as the colonised rightly viewed their colonisers as foreign. It became almost a patriotic duty to steal government property to the extent thatsuch an act was considered by the colonised as an act of heroic restoration (Mazrui, 1982). Following independence in 1960, most of the early political leaders had very austere lifestyles. Mostly transparent and disciplined political leaders such as Sir Ahmadu Bello, neither built grand mansions with public wealth, nor accumulated unexplainable wealth. That was also the standard lifestyles of Mallam Aminu Kano. A few corrupt people were in various bureaucracy of State, this was not pervasive. The Army through a coup in January 1966 overthrew the independence government in Nigeria. One of the excuses of the coup plotters for intervening in 1966 was corruption. From the benefit of hindsight, the First Republic leaders were saints. Many decades after the murder of some of those great first Republic leaders in Nigeria no leader of comparative integrity have worked the land. Advertisements Military rule with its opaque accounting structure coupled with petrodollars worsened the corruption problem of Nigeria, rather than addressing it. The corruption under the military found Swiss-coded accounts and other foreign safe havens as convenient destinations to warehouse their loots. Since military intervention in 1966, in politics, up to democratic restoration of the 4th republic, the second phase of oil boom induced corruption could be said to have taken place in Nigeria. In the preceding period to the oil boom, corruption was largely agrarian in nature as agriculture continued to be the pillar of the Nigerian economy. Its contribution to the GDP was about 66 per cent in 1950, 65.4 per cent in 1960, and 87.6 per cent in 1965. However, it declined to 53.2 per cent in 1970 due to colossal diversion of funds meant for the sector and the emergent petroleum industry. With the inception of the so-called oil boom, mainly from 1973, oil revenue rose for the first time to 1.4 billion, 1.6 billion in 1974 and 4.2 billion in 1975. The inception of democracy in Nigeria till date is the third phase of our study of the evolution of corruption in Nigeria. Between 1966 and the now state actors in Nigeria have siphoned over $440 billion in loot from the treasury This is six times the Marshal Planthe sum total needed to rebuild devastated Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War. Corruption in this third phase came to adopt some typical features due to modernisation of originations made during the first and the second revolutions, and most importantly, application of Information and Communication Technology. As noted by Hiresh Patel: The boom in technology over the last economic period has acted as a catalyst for the boom in fraud. Computerisation and globalisation have made fraud easier, quicker to carry out and easier to conceal. Organised criminals in particular have taken advantage of this. In 1999, when President Obasanjo was sworn in as the first civilian president in the Fourth republic, Nigeria was ranked 98th out of the 199 countries evaluated by the Transparency International. While in 2000, the country was ranked as the most corrupt country on the face of the earth. It became the second corrupt country in 2001, third in 2002 and again second in 2003. The country was later ranked as the third most corrupt nation in 2004 with 50 per cent of the corruption-taking place in the presidency. Globally in 2006, Nigeria ranked as the 121st most corrupt country. In the 2009, global corruption perception index, Nigeria dropped from its 121st place in 2008 to 130th position, out of the 180 countries surveyed. Furthermore, unlike the Sheikh Uthman Dan Fodio, who insisted on punishing any official caught embezzling public property, state pardon of corrupt officials as witnessed under military regimes continued in the Fourth Republic. For instance, the administration of Goodluck Jonathan granted pardon to former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who was earlier convicted of diverting the sums of 1.7 million and $250,000. More so, disclosures in 2015 shows that fifty five people stole 1.3 trillion from 2006 to 2013. The break down shows that fifteen former governors cornered the sum of N146.84 billion; four former ministers embezzled the sum of N7 billion, former civil servants both at Federal and State levels took away 14 billion Naira, while people in the banking industry helped themselves with N524 billion. On their part, businessmen carted away N653 billion. Analysts have argued that the total amount stolen represented more than a quarter of 2015 budget. Furthermore, using World Bank rates and costs, it was shown that, one third of the stolen fund could have provided 635.18 kilometres of road, 36 ultra-modern hospitals in each state, 183 standard schools, built 20,062 units of two bedroom houses and educated 3,974 children from primary to tertiary level at 25.24 million per child, etc. Foreign countries also provided safe havens for looted funds. This demonstrates a forward integration policy of Nigerias corruption Industry. For instance, it is estimated that the majority of Nigerias treasury looters are worth about $6 billion. This figure is almost 20 percent of the countrys foreign reserves as at February, 2016. According to Ojodu corruption has become Nigerias major export apart from oil. In contemporary Nigeria the mass media which played a major role in the anti-colonial struggle and the struggle for democracy appeared to have been captured by forces of corruption. Many media Houses have presented questionable awards to many state chief executives who by all standard are midgets in record of performance compared to first Republic leaders whose record of performance are un paralleled and who never received any such awards in their life times. Therefore, the anti-corruption legacy of Sheikh Uthman Danfodio are quite relevant to the present day Nigeria if, and only if we desire to seek any possible and meaningful change. Danfodios Values In Politics Values have as their subject matter the ideal life and how to come closer to it. They can be standards or principles by which human beings are influenced in their choice among the alternative courses of action which they perceive as being open to them. In other words, the moral and ethical standard of the life of a normal human being. The leader of the Sokoto Caliphate, Sheikh Uthman Danfodio, trailing the classical Islamic philosophers, used the highest book of authority in the religion, the Quran, and the Hadith to explain life, proposing ethical values. The Quran is closely supported by the Hadith [sayings, actions and approvals of the Prophet of the religion]. For the fact that the Sokoto Caliphate scholars, especially Uthman Danfodio, lived a practical life as religious and political leaders, some of their ethical values centred on leadership. They explain the foundation and qualities of leadership which entails virtue, good conduct, justice, righteousness, and obligation. The political values held in high esteem by Sheikh Uthman Danfodio are in three categories. These are leadership values, process values and community values. His leadership values were first and foremost justice, kindness, modesty, integrity, honesty and service to mankind. His process values included consultation, advice, obedience and privacy. Then his community value are unity and consensus, privacy of public interest, and welfare. The whole of these values can be found in the Sheikhs idea of corruption-free government which basically and perpetually focused and based itself on accountability, representation and law enforcement. Justice in the sense of putting things where they properly belong and thereby ensuring the harmony of the world has more than any other subject occupied the Sheikhs thinking. Any leadership which lacks this base is doomed to fall into corruption. Let us be reminded that Sheikhs ideology resulted from the corrupt nature of Hausaland where he was raised up. The Hausa leaders of the period were having a sway in terms of corruption. The Nature of Corruption in Hausaland The Sarakuna of the Sheikhs period were known to have been tyrannically exploitative in squandering public resources. They also overtaxed the citizens to accumulate wealth for affluence. Corruption, oppression, poverty and social dislocation were widespread. Even the peasantry were much aware of the evil taxations, nepotic appointments and the possession of kings corrupt items of luxury like carpets, rugs, silks, and slave boys and girls. The corrupt practices couched in the name of gifts and tributes in the land. The humongous taxes imposed on the peasantry included, but not limited to land tax, animal tax, market space tax, the corn for kings horses, the corn for kings slaves, and so on. Apart from the political leaders, there were classified category of venal mallams who compromised Islam and ushered in corruption. In his treatise, Manhaj al-Abidin, the Shehu attempted to outline some of the key factors that lead to the corruption of the character of the lama and the solutions needed to effect a lasting change. Even in terms of social relations, Sheikh fought corruption. During wedding ceremonies he distanced the walima from all forms of corruption. The walima was supposed to be a time of celebration, joy, and relaxation. Not miscreant acts and fornication which were stopped at the instructions of the Sheikh. That particular act raised the institution of marriage to a more respected status. His quest for corrupt free society was not restricted to calls of the ruling class only, but it extended to the individuals. The Sheikh in a highly pragmatic style warned the Muslims that jihad does not need the presence of an Imam, for it really begins with the individual struggle against corruption and evil. However, because of what is of more concern to us in the present day Nigeria, let us give attention to the Sheikhs anti-corruption legacy in state resources management. The Anti-corruption Legacy in State Resources Management On the management of public resources, Sheikh Dan Fodio considered the production and material aspects of the life of the community. His government laid down principles which guided the state activities in the regulation of basic resources such as land and the means of perfecting the exchange of goods and services and making it more beneficial. The assessment of revenue and its collection is a principal function of financial management. His conception of the public treasury, therefore, actually internalised this requirement. Immediately after consolidating power, he demonstrated the importance he attached to the public treasury by appointing the communitys treasurer in the person of Ummaru al-Kammu. In addition to several pieces of write-ups on the requirements for the institution of public treasury, he devoted the whole of chapter thirty six of Bayan Wujub al-Hijra ala al-Ibaad to the issue of state revenue resources. His position on the delineation of the state revenue base is enumerated thus: The khums (one-fifth of a war booty), the fai (abandoned property in the homes of warring enemies), the tax, poll tax and the tithe, an unapportion inheritance share which is determined by law, and property whose owner is untraceable. Even in 1810 when the caliphate was already firmly established, the Sheikh repeated this enumeration. However, if an emergency arises and there is nothing left in the treasury, members of the community are under obligation to help the government with their money. The amount of their contribution will depend on their financial status, and the contribution should not become an established tax. Sheikh Uthman also condemned, in strong terms, illegal taxes and irregular imports. His indictment of the former Sarakuna regime lists a number of such imposed taxes. They included what the Superintendent of the market takes from all parties to a sale . The cotton and other things which they take, peoples beasts of burden which the officials seize without permission. Moreover, whoever dies in their country they seized his property and they call it inheritance. In addition, they impose taxes on merchants and travellers and confiscate a proportion of other peoples animals that strays and mix up with theirs. The Sheikhs attitude to the administration of the public treasury appears to be governed by the conviction that wealth is Allahs property and that is should be applied strictly to those purposes which He has decreed. More importantly, to ensure that those specifically mentioned as being entitled to the use of public resources did not, because of their positions, appropriate more than their reasonable requirements, the Sheikh adduced a further opinion. This drove home the point that contrary to any feeling which people in power may have to the effect that any person could be given from the state treasury any amount over and above what is sufficient for him, it should be noted that: no Muslim should draw from the state treasury more than what he needs when the state treasury contains no more than sufficient for those who are entitled to it, as in the case of the present day. If a man takes more than what he is in need of, he must keep it aside for those who deserve it and return it. In the same way, anyone who has sufficient for his basic needs without help from the state treasury, should take nothing from the treasury. The delineation of the principles and institutions in Sheikh Uthman Danfodios intellectual works have provided a reasonably clear idea of the types of revenues recognised as valid sources of wealth for the public treasury, the purpose for which it was legitimate to use the and the framework deemed appropriate for the proper management and application of those resources. The caliphate created the machinery for the collection and custody of the revenue. It also varied the revenue sources in order to cope with the changing situation and the realities of their circumstances. The narratives have also suggested the main purpose for which the caliphate leadership used the treasury purchase to buy weapons, and military gear, remunerations for officials and their supporting staff, and also aid to the needy and destitute. It is recorded in history that at a time the Wazirin Sokoto promoted Quranic education and supported scholars and teachers to instruct their circles and students in the Quranic and Islamic sciences. He also looked after any stranger, orphan or destitute who appeal to the Amiyrul muminiyn. Gidado, another official was in the habit of going round to see if there is anyone who was hungry or in need of clothing, or whose house needed repairs so as to have things put right. On regulation of commerce, the Sokoto caliphate through the legacy of Sheikh Uthman Dan Fodio identifies with the purposes of the state and the scope of governments responsibilities for social affairs. It established and supervised markets, supported agriculture, created jobs, introduced new crafts and industries and generally ordered and regulated the economic life of the community. The underlying justification for all these, especially according to Muhammad Bello, one of the sons of the sheikh and also the first successor of the throne, was the conviction that this was one of the principal means of ensuring the harmony of the world, and therefore the well-being of the society. Sheikh shows concern for issues of commerce and trade as manifest in his Kitab al-Farq and Siraj al-Ikwan. His government strived and reform markets. He criticised the illegal transactions that used to take place in markets both for their injustice and negative effect on trade and commerce. He stressed the obligation of authorities to supervise and regulate scales and measures. In addition to specifying the types of resources of revenue, there was a comprehensively detailed description of unacceptable oppressive exactions. These included property acquired illegally, payments made for the purpose of obtaining appointments to an office, gifts from the common people to the caliphate officers, properties collected from thieves (which must be deposited in the treasury), unspecified tolls and tithes. In the Caliphate, the manner and purpose of spending public resources was prudent. Beginning with the zakatul fitri, (food items collected after the Ramadhan fasting) it is stipulated that: It shall only go to the needy and poor. It should be shared out within the area of collection.provided that there is someone who is entitled to it; otherwise it should be taken to the nearest place where those entitled to it are found. The rest should be transferred to where it is needed most. Its custodian shall not be given anything out of it. Regarding the property and land tax, it was the revenue used to pay judges, scholars and residents to the territory where the property was located. However, there is an exception in the case of those who needed it much more than the residents. It has been established that some portion will have to be transferred to them. In fact, where the need of those living outside the area of collection was more critical, the larger part was transferred to them. The other important matters on which the leader was to spend a portion of the revenue obtained from property and land tax were defence, wages and social welfare. Therefore, the traditional manner of applying revenues obtained through land tax in the caliphate was building a barrier in the form of fortress against the enemy, and then purchasing military equipment. The leader will then pay the allowances of scholars, the judges, the prayer callers and any person employed to take charge of anything in the interest of the community. After that he will pay the indigent their allowances on the basis of the amount they need and nature of their want. If the money is more than enough, the surplus will be kept in the treasury for what may possibly occurring form of calamity; or for building mosques, or freeing captives, or settling debts, or assisting bachelors to get married, or helping the pilgrims, or for any other purpose which may possibly arise. Apart from the centre, the provinces of the Sheikhs caliphate did much better in terms of prudence and accountability. The conclusion one can derive, therefore, from the nature of the organization charged with administration of the public treasury are manifold. But a certain instance is that, it is clear that beginning as a simple structure made up of the treasurer and tax collectors under the Sheikh, the system was developed and reorganised by his successors. This shows the legacy left behind by the Sheikh yielded useful fruits. The Sheikh is known to have shown concern for commerce and trade. He emphasised the need for government to strive to reform the market. For this reason, he criticized the illegal transactions that took place in them both for their injustice and for their negative effect on trade and commerce. He stressed the obligation of the authorities to supervise and regulate scales and measures so that cheating could be curtailed. The administrative actions to fight corruption subsumed constituting, regulating and perhaps physically improving markets, desisting from confiscation, seizures and illegal taxes and exactions as well as punishing officials who commit them. That is the extent to which Sheikh Uthman Danfodio established his anti-corruption legacy. When Sheikh Uthman Dan Fodio started his crusade against corruption, he was not alone as a cleric in history to have done this. Most passionate clerics who drew deep inspiration for social justice from the books of the two great religions; Christianity and Islam, have tended to end up in that direction. The reformation movement ignited by a Catholic monk, Martin Luther who nailed his 95 Theses to the door of his local church. Started a continental movement that led to reformation in Europe. Martin Luther criticised the Catholic Church which was in the 16th century the political and religious head in Europe. The Catholic Church was church and Government owning vast land and properties. Corruption was rife under her rule, religion was abused injustice was rife. Bishops and priests who enjoyed enormous wealth power and influence sold indulgences a process which lay men were deceived that they will obtain salvation. The movement kicked off by Martin Luther started on October 31, 1517 when Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the castle church winterberg, Germany. His Ninety-Five Theses were quickly published and circulated throughout Germany and later translated across Europe. This movement led to the rise of protestants Christians Church and later in its secular form the separation of the church from the State. Apart from advocating reforms in the church doctrines, the reformation movement propagated puritanical view of life that promoted hardwork as a basis of acquisition of wealth. Halting the Corruption Scourge: Policy Recommendation Stop state capture by corrupt interest: The first step towards stopping corruption in Nigeria is to ensure the forces of corruption do not hijack the elections in the build up to 2023 elections.Through the following steps by all: 1. a.) Politicians with prima-facie cases of corruption established against them should be shamed and prevented by the electorates from been nominated in the primaries of various parties and if they cannot be stopped in the primaries, voted massively against at the general elections. b.) Every Nigerian must join in the call that appointed public officers aligned with private interests who have political ambitious must now resign their appointments to prevent the complete privatisation of the state by the novou riche. 2. The decentralisation of Government processes to reduce corruption induced through overcentralization of power. 3. Constitutional amendment should be done to ensure that elected public officers at the Federal and State publicly declare their assets upon election to office.Mere declaration at the Code of Conduct Bureau asset declaration forms will no longer suffice. 4. A new policy of encouraging electronic registration of all assets such as land and house titles at state levels. 5. A new Ethical reform campaign should be launched aimed at promoting simple lifestyle rather than ostentatious living as well as ensuring that public officers maintain simplicity in the type and numbers of cars they use, houses they live in, and ceremonies they stage. 6. Embarking on civil service and public service reforms. 7. Reforming Anti-corruption agencies and other law enforcement agencies. 8. Ensuring compliance with existing financial regulations by all public officers through a quarterly audit system to be published on the website of the Auditor General of the Federation 9. The implementation of a new wage structure that guarantees cost of living Bibliography Arnett, J. (1992). The Rise of the Sokoto Fulani, Government Printers, Kano. Balogun, I.A.B. (l967). A Critical edition of the Ihya al-Sunnah wa Ikhmad al-Bida of Uthman Dan Fodio, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of London. Bobboyi, H., ed., (2011), Principles of Leadership according to the Founding Fathers of the Sokoto Caliphate, Centre for Regional Integration and Development, Abuja. Daily trust Newspaper, 2016 El-Masri, F. H., ed. (1978). On Good Governance: Being a Translation of Sections 51-57 of Bayan Wujub Al-Hijra all-Ibab by Shaykh Uthman b. Fodiye, A Publication of the Sokoto Caliphate Bicentenary Conference, Baraka Press, Abuja. Fodiye, Muhammad Bello b. (1806). Principles of Politics: Being the Translation of Usul Al-Siyasah by Muhammad Bello b. Uthman b. Fodiye. Trans. Shehu Forrest, T (1988): The political Economy of Civil Rule and the economic crisis in Nigeria (1979 1984): The struggle for spils; in review of African Political Economy No. 35, pp 4-26 Yamusa (1978). A Publication of the Sokoto Caliphate Bicentenary Conference, Baraka Press, Abuja. Fodiye, Shaykh Abdullahi b., (c.1807). Diyaal Hukkam (Guide to Administrators), Translated by M. Hisket in 1963, Kano. Fodiye, Muhammad Bello b. (1806). Principles of Politics: Being the Translation of Usul Al-Siyasah by Muhammad Bello b. Uthman b. Fodiye. Trans. Shehu Yamusa (1978). A Publication of the Sokoto Caliphate Bicentenary Conference, Baraka Press, Abuja. Fodiye, Shaykh Abdullahi b., (n.d 1). Idha al- Nusukh. Ibrahim, A. Z. (2017). Utilitarianism and Islamic Divine Ethics of the Sokoto Caliphate Scholars: A Hermeneutic Interpretation PhD Thesis, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Marculloch Diarmaid (2004): The Reformation, a history. Viking Adult, New York City. Max Weber (2003): The Protestant Ethics and the spirit of capitalism. Dover edition, originally published by Charles Scribners son (1958), New York. Othman, F. (2013). Yahya, A.B. et.al, (2013). Selected Writings of Sheikh Othman bn Fodiyo, Vol. I-III, Iqra Publishing House, Gusau. PWC Nigeria Transparency 2021 report. Sulaiman, I. (1986). A Revolution in History: The Jihad of Usman dan Fodio. Mansell Publishers Limited, London. , (1987). The Islamic State and the Challenge of History: Ideals, Policies and Operation of the Sokoto Caliphate. Mansell Publishers Limited, London. Quick, A.H. (1995). Aspects of Islamic Social Intellectual History in Hausaland: Uthman Ibn Fudi, 1774-1804 C.E., PhD Thesis, University of Toronto, Canada. Tukur, M., (2004). Leadership and Governance in Nigeria: The Relevance of Value, Hudahuda Press/Hodder & Stoughton, London. Saidu, M. (2021). The Industrialization of Corruption in Nigeria II, Department of History& Diplomatic Studies, Federal University of Kashere, Gombe Usman, Y. B. (ed.), (1979). Studies in the History of the Sokoto Caliphate. Third Press International, New York. Yahya, A.B. et.al (2013). Selected Writings of Sheikh Othman bn Fodiyo, Vol. I-III, Iqra Publishing House, Gusau. Yola, J. H., (2004). Philosophy among the Sokoto Scholars. Benchmark Publishers, Kano. Zahradeen, M.S. (1976). Abd Allah bn. Fudis Contributions to the Fulani Jihad in Nineteenth Century Hausaland, McGill University, Canada This is the text of a paper presented by at the Arewa House (Center for Research and Historical Documentation, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State), on Wednesday, February 23. As the we await the presidents assent with optimism and the announcement of new election dates by INEC, Nigerians expect the change in dates will result in an election whose democratic credentials are unquestioned. In 2023, the durability of Nigerias 23-year-old democracy will be tested as citizens express popular choice by voting preferred candidates into executive and legislative seats. Without a shadow of doubt, the scheduled dates for Nigerias 2023 general election will be altered should President Buhari give assent to the Electoral Bill 2022 before the expiration of the 30-day timeline on March 1. Speculations are rife that the president will sign the bill today, Friday, February 25, even though theres no official statement from the Presidency to the contrary. The indication that the president is inclined to assent to the bill, rather than withhold assent, is reassuring after President Buhari set a record of being the first Nigerian president with the highest number of withheld assents to electoral bills since Nigerias return to democratic rule in 1999. In April 2021, Nigerias Electoral Commission announced the dates for the 2023 general elections February 18, 2023, for the presidential and National Assembly elections and March 4, 2023 for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections. While the dates for the elections were announced, the Notice of Election wasnt issued by the Commission. In any case, the Electoral Act 2010, the substantive electoral law, requires the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the Notice of Election not later than ninety (90) days before the date fixed for an election. However, the Electoral Commission is not precluded from issuing a Notice of Election earlier than 90 days. The certainty that the general election will hold on these dates depends mainly on the combined effect of specific provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, amongst other factors. Electoral activities must be strictly executed within timeframes set out in the Constitution and the Electoral Act. Non-compliance with these stipulated timelines renders a process or activity within the election value-chain a nullity or an illegality. In fixing dates for an election, INEC takes cognisance of Sections 76(2), 116 (2), 132 (2), 178 (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provides that executive and legislative elections shall hold not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of the incumbent or the dissolution of a legislative house. Based on the Constitution, the earliest date for election into the office of president or governor is December 31 and the latest date is April 29, 2023. Similarly, the earliest date for the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly elections is January 10, 2023, and the latest date is May 10, 2023. This gives INEC the autonomy to fix election dates within this timeframe. Strict compliance with this timeframe is required to avert a constitutional crisis and a lacuna in the democratic process. As legislative practice and procedure stipulate, the Electoral Bill 2022 will take effect as soon as the president assents to the bill. If this is the case, then the dates for the 2023 election earlier announced by the Electoral Commission and other subsequent electoral activities will be affected. In other words, INEC will announce new dates for the 2023 election because the February 18, 2023 date already announcedfalls short of the 360 days requirement in the Electoral Bill While INEC has the sole prerogative of issuing the Notice of Election and fixing election dates, the Commission is mandated by law to publish the Notice within a specific timeframe for the various elections. A Notice of Election is the official declaration by INEC to electorates and political parties of the dates of elections; the timelines for the conduct of party primaries, submission of party nomination forms; and list of candidates. The publication of the Notice of Election is important to the electoral process as it marks the official flag-off and commencement of electoral activities, such as party primaries, submission of list of candidates, and public campaigns. This is similar to the lighting of the Olympic torch to announce the start of the Olympic games and attendant activities. The requirement of the law is that the Notice should be published in each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and in each constituency where an election is to be held. In addition to providing clarity on different electoral activities in the election timetable, the issuance of a Notice of Election facilitates preparation and planning by key electoral stakeholders like INEC, political parties, voters, etc. In the Electoral Bill 2022 awaiting presidential assent, the timeline required for publishing the Notice of Election was increased from 90 days to 360 days. Clause 28(1) of the Bill mandates INEC to issue a Notice of Election not later than 360 days before the day appointed for an election. If the election dates for the 2023 election are to be maintained, INEC would have issued a Notice of Election on February 22, because the total number of days from February 22, 2022 to February 17, 2023 is 360 days. Unfortunately, the inchoate status of the bill made it impossible for the Commission to issue the Notice. Concerned that the delay in assenting to the bill might affect the dates for the 2023 general elections, civil society groups organised a National Day of Protest on February 22, to mount public pressure on President Buhari to give assent to the bill. As legislative practice and procedure stipulate, the Electoral Bill 2022 will take effect as soon as the president assents to the bill. If this is the case, then the dates for the 2023 election earlier announced by the Electoral Commission and other subsequent electoral activities will be affected. In other words, INEC will announce new dates for the 2023 election because the February 18, 2023 date already announced by INEC for the Presidential and National Assembly election, falls short of the 360 days requirement in the Electoral Bill, for the issuance of the Notice before the date of an election. Should President Buhari give assent to the Bill on February 25, as anticipated and INEC issues Notice of Election on the same day, the earliest date that the presidential and National Assembly election may be held is February 25, 2023; and March 11, 2023 for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections. The latest date will be April 9, 2023, taking into cognisance the 21 days timeframe for runoff or supplementary election. Should President Buhari give assent to the Bill on February 25, as anticipated and INEC issues Notice of Election on the same day, the earliest date that the presidential and National Assembly election may be held is February 25, 2023; and March 11, 2023 for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections. The latest date will be April 9, 2023, taking into cognisance the 21 days timeframe for runoff or supplementary election. Interestingly, February 25 and March 11 will still remain the earliest possible dates, according to the Bill, even if the president assents on March 1, which is the expiration of the 30 days constitutional timeline the president has to assent or withhold assent. As the we await the presidents assent with optimism and the announcement of new election dates by INEC, Nigerians expect the change in dates will result in an election whose democratic credentials are unquestioned. In 2023, the durability of Nigerias 23-year-old democracy will be tested as citizens express popular choice by voting preferred candidates into executive and legislative seats. Amidst dwindling public interest in the electoral process, the 2023 election presents an opportunity to rebuild public trust in democracy through transparent, inclusive, and peaceful elections. Samson Itodo is an elections, democracy and public policy enthusiast. Itodo serves as the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa and the Convener of the Not Too Young To Run movement. He is a member of the Board of Advisers of International IDEA, an intergovernmental organisation that supports and promotes democracy around the world. Please send comments and feedback to sitodo@yiaga.org . He tweets @DSamsonItodo. ASUU is right that government promises but never delivers, so they should be held accountable for what they have promised The struggle for a responsive and accountable government is a much larger one and goes far beyond the ASUU struggle. ASUU must go into introspection and learn what every trade unionist knows the gains in the struggle are never total; they are always incremental. Nigerias national educational policy is based on the premise that the greatest investment that a nation can make for the quick development of its economic, political, social and human resources is education. The Nigerian Constitution defines education as a public good that government should provide. Article 18 of the Constitution states that: 18.(3) Government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy; and to this end Government shall as and when practicable provide (a) free, compulsory and universal primary education; (b) free secondary education; (c) free university education; and (d) free adult literacy programme. In pursuance of this policy, university stakeholders have held successive governments to this constitutional provision. Government however does not provide sufficient funds for universities to provide the quality academic and research output expected from them. The result has been a steady decline in the quality of the university system. This is the context that set the stage for the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)/government battle. Over the past forty years, ASUU strikes have become part of Nigerias national strife and trauma. Enormous numbers of working days are lost regularly due to the strikes. The numbers of days during which Nigerian universities were closed due to ASUU strikes under the Forth Republic are staggering: 1999 150 days; 2001 90 days; 2002 14 days; 2003 180 days; 2005 three days; 2006 seven days; 2007 90 days; 2008 seven days; 2009 120 days; 2010 157 days; 2011 190 days; 2013 150 days; 2016 seven days; 2017 35 days; and 2018-2019 97 days. In 2020, scores of days were lost to strike, from March 23 to December 23, although much of it coincided with the lockdown restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, 2022, ASUU has embarked on a strike from February 14 till date, making it 11 days since the strike began. The reality is that the organisation of a very long strike every other year benefits ASUU and its members but it is very harmful to students. For decades, public universities have not covered the syllabuses because of the after-strike rush to examinations We are churning out doctors, engineers and political scientists who have not met the course coverage required to justify their graduation. For ASUU, the power of strikes is the only thing that forces government to provide additional resources for universities, so they believe they are using this power in pursuit of the public good. The power of ASUU is clear. By closing down public universities and sending students home for months, parents are forced to put pressure on government to accept ASUU demands. During these strikes, academic staff do not work and Nigerian law is clear in its no work, no pay policy. Government always says that they will not pay academics for the periods they are on strikes, however, after each and every strike, government has been forced to pay the backlog of staff salaries. Meanwhile, many academics use the period of strikes to teach in private universities and get paid, so that children of the elite get a good education. Academics now love these strikes because it has objectively become a period of savings for their personal projects. Each strike ends with an agreement in which government commits to provide significant additional financial resources for the universities but never pays up all that it promises. However, there is always an increase in allowances of staff members after each strike, so once again, the staff wins. The reality is that the organisation of a very long strike every other year benefits ASUU and its members but it is very harmful to students. For decades, public universities have not covered the syllabuses because of the after-strike rush to examinations. Students in public universities also spend much longer time to graduate. We are churning out doctors, engineers and political scientists who have not met the course coverage required to justify their graduation. The strikes are destroying our universities from within and after forty years of this phenomenon, we cannot just continue saying it is the fault of government. ASUU is right that government promises but never delivers, so they should be held accountable for what they have promised. The fact of the matter, however, is that the Nigerian government is irresponsible and signs deals it has no intention of complying with, which affect all stakeholders within and outside the education sector. The struggle for a responsive and accountable government is a much larger one and goes far beyond the ASUU struggle. ASUU must go into introspection and learn what every trade unionist knows the gains in the struggle are never total; they are always incremental. The key question in the struggles between ASUU and successive governments has been financing and, constitutionally, financial matters are addressed in budgets. Budgets are laws, which our Constitution says must be fully implemented by all governmental agencies. We know however that since 1999, no budget of any government ministry, department or agency (MDA) has ever been fully implemented. The Federal and State universities are government agencies and struggles and strikes to increase their budgets do not translate into improved funding. The monies may be appropriated but most of it would not be released, mainly because it is not available and sometimes other priorities, such as security provisioning, are considered more important. ASUUs persistent demands that the agreements it reaches with government must be fully implemented is correct but does not reflect current practices. It is despicable that government commits itself to budget line items it cannot deliver but the significance of this is that the real crisis is not one of commitment to tertiary education but a generalised incapacity of government to deliver on all its commitments. Given this culture of academic corruption, should the Nigerian government decide today to grant all the financial demands of the universities, there will be no fundamental improvement in their quality because of the internal rot that has destroyed them from within. The failure of ASUU is its refusal to start addressing these internal problems of academic corruption and collapsed standards. The problem around the titanic ASUU/government battles is that it has been reduced to a ASUU Charter of Demands, much of which is about money. Government has not raised issues it should have about the rapidly declining fall of standards in our universities. The fall is closely associated with rising corruption in the academy. Academic ethics have taken a hard blow as lecturers exploit their students through the sale of hand-outs and sexually harass their female students. The academic principle of peer review has declined and a significant part of university professors are promoted on the basis of self-publication. So many academic journals in Nigeria that are supposedly peer-reviewed, demand and receive upfront monetary payments from prospective authors. So many Nigerian professors have very few, and many have no citation counts in professional academic measures of quality. It is easy for ASUU to pick on Minister Pantami but how many professors would survive the checks they applied to the minister. It was this crisis of academic standards that led my good friend, Professor Ibrahim Bello-Kano of Bayero University to announce that the Nigerian university system has collapsed beyond redemption to Super Secondary Schools and there is no hope for recovery. Given this culture of academic corruption, should the Nigerian government decide today to grant all the financial demands of the universities, there will be no fundamental improvement in their quality because of the internal rot that has destroyed them from within. The failure of ASUU is its refusal to start addressing these internal problems of academic corruption and collapsed standards. The Nigerian elite have demonstrated their lack of confidence in the university system by sending their children abroad for tertiary education. A few send their children to private Nigerian universities. This means that the children of the poor are the main beneficiaries of public university education and they are not competitive, in comparison to the foreign trained children of the elite. Essentially, the Nigerian state has abdicated its responsibility for the qualitative development of the children of the masses and created a situation in which social mobility has been cut out for them as a result. Increasingly, high-paying jobs are open mainly to foreign trained Nigerians. This larger conversation about declining quality in our universities and class discrimination against the children of the masses must be added to the charter of demands. A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES. Fasting in Shaaban is like mental and physical training for fasting in Ramadan. Many Muslims may experience difficulty when they start the fast in Ramadan, but if they started fasting a few days in Shaaban, their bodies may get used to fasting and not feel so lethargic and weak when Ramadan comes. In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation may He extol the Messenger in the highest company of Angels and send His peace and blessings upon him likewise upon his family, Companions, and true followers. Dear brothers and sisters! Rajab (Arabic: ) is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. The lexical definition of the classical Arabic verb rajaba is to respect which could also mean be awe or be in fear, of which Rajab is a derivative. This month is regarded as one of the four sacred months (including Muharram, Dhul-Qaadah and Dhul-Hijjah) in Islam in which battles are prohibited. The pre-Islamic Arabs also considered warfare blasphemous during the four months. The months of Rajab and Shaaban are a prelude to the Noble month of Ramadan. The word Rajab came from rajub (), the sense of veneration or glorification, and Rajab was also formerly called Mudar because the tribe of Mudar did not change it but rather expected in its time other than the rest of the Arabs, who changed and altered in the months according to the state of war. The name of Rajab literally means respected, regarded, and admired. It seems that the word is originally a Semitic one. There are other names for the month, such as Rajab Al-Morrajjab, Rajab Al-Asab and Rajab Sharif. Respected servants of Allah! The Islamic months, calculated according to the moons movements, adhere to the lunar calendar. The lunar calendar ends, approximately 11 days prior to the solar year. Hence, every Muslim will experience the sacred months, performing Hajj, and the month of Ramadan, fasting, in different periods and seasons, during a 33-year life span. The seventh month to occur in the Islamic calendar is the month of Rajab, which falls between the months of Jumadah and Shaaban. Rajab endorsed, and the first to appear, is one of the four Sacred and Blessed months in Islam: Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months [in a year], so was it ordained by Allah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them, four are Sacred [i.e., the 1st, the 7th, the 11th and the 12th months of the Islamic calendar]. That is the right religion, so wrong, not yourselves therein. [Quran, Surah Al-Tawbah, Verse 36] The word of Allah Almighty, the Quran, mentions the four Sacred months through connotation, although not mentioned by name. However, the Sunnah does mention the names of these months. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) final sermon recollects with the utmost of importance, consequentially Abu Bakr (RA), voiced Prophet Muhammads (Peace be upon him) exhortation in the following Hadiths: Time has completed its cycle and is as it was on the Day when Allah created the heavens and the earth. The year is twelve months, of which four are sacred, three consecutive months Dhul-Qaadah, Dhul-Hijjah, and Muharram, and the Rajab of Mudar which comes between Jumadah and Shaaban. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Expectations during the Sacred months from Muslims are acknowledged and fundamental. The Quranic verse in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 217, prohibits initiating a war during these months implicitly commanding it is strictly forbidden. However, existing wars can continue and in defence, if it is necessary to defend oneself, their tribe or Muslims. Allah the Most High says: They ask you about the sacred month about fighting therein. Say, Fighting therein is great [sin], but averting [people] from the way of Allah and disbelief in Him and [preventing access to] al-Masjid al-Haram and the expulsion of its people therefrom are greater [evil] in the sight of Allah. And fitnah is greater than killing. And they will continue to fight you until they turn you back from your religion if they are able. And whoever of you reverts from his religion [to disbelief] and dies while he is a disbeliever for those, their deeds have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter, and those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally. [Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 217] Sinning is prohibited in any month of the year, but the punishment for intentionally or otherwise sinning during the four Sacred months multiplies, as is the reward for good deeds. Committing sins is detrimental to our very being. When the Almighty Allah eulogises our deeds, they become inviolable. Thus, when glorified from two angles of more then, they become indestructible from multiple angles, except with the power of Dua. The following verse is one indication of how rewards and punishments can multiply: The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing. [Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 261] Preparation for Ramadan Its recorded in Baihaqi, at the start of this month, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) would pray: O Allah, favour us with the blessings of Rajab and Shaaban and take us to the Noble month of Ramadan. [Baihaqi] Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) spent the months of Rajab and Shaaban preparing for the blessed month of Ramadan. Classical Muslim scholar Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali quoted another scholar, Abu Bakr Al-Warragin in his book, Lataif Al-Maarif: Rajab is a month of cultivation, Shaaban is the month of irrigating the fields, and Ramadan is the month of reaping and harvesting. Dear brothers and sisters! As we prepare for Ramadan, first and foremost we must repent, asking Allah, Al-Ghafur, The Forgiver to forgive us, and guide us to mentally, physically and spiritually strengthen our commitment to Islam. Anas Ibn Malik reported that: The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: All of the children of Adam are sinners, and the best sinners are those who repent. [Sunan al-Tirmidhi] Advertisements Dutifully and attentively, we must perform our compulsory prayers and increase our discretionary prayers during the Sacred month of Rajab. In Shaaban, follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), leading us to enforce both Fard and Sunnah during Ramadan. It has also been narrated by Abu Nuaim in his famous and great book, Hilyatul-Auliyah from Anas Ibn Malik (RA), that the Prophet of Allah (Peace be upon him) welcomed the month of Rajab by making the following Dua: Oh Allah, bless us in Rajab and Shaaban and let us reach Ramadan. The Isra and Miraj Respected brothers and sisters! It was during this month, Allah Almighty conferred on Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the great honour of ascending to the heavens. Allah the Most High says: Exalted is He who took His Servant [Prophet Muhammad] by night from Al-Masjid Al-Haram to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, whose surrounding We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing. [Quran, Surah Al-Isra, Verse 1] This honour had never been ascribed to any other Prophet than the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). He (Peace be upon him) made a journey with his physical being from the sacred city of Makkah to Jerusalem and, from there he ascended through the seven heavens to a place so near to the Divine Court that not even an angel, far less a human being, could have access. After having reached the Sidratul-Muntaha even Angel Jibril (AS), the head of the angels expressed his inability to proceed beyond this point. The five daily prayers became obligatory on all Muslims following this night of ascent. Beloved servants of Allah! Shaaban (Arabic: ) is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. It is the month of separation, so called because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water. Shaaban is the last lunar month before Ramadan, and so Muslims determine in it when the first day of Ramadan fasting will be. The virtues of Shaaban is mentioned in various Hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Aisha, the wife of Prophet, narrated that: (She) did not see him fasting in any month more than in the month of Shaaban, except Ramadan. In another narration, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said: Do those deeds which you can do easily, as Allah will not get tired (of giving rewards) till you get bored and tired (of performing religious deeds). The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Shaaban, the eighth month of Islams Hijrah or lunar calendar, and the month that precedes the Noble month of Ramadan was the most beloved month to Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him). Shaaban is significant for many reasons. First, it is the time that Muslims start getting ready for the month of Ramadan. It was in the middle of the month of Shaaban when Muslims believe that Allah ordered Prophet Muhammad to change the Qiblah, the direction towards which Muslims face when they pray, from Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to the Noble Kaabah in Makkah. Al-Aqsa Mosque had been the Qiblah for thirteen years in Makkah, and for nearly eighteen months after Prophet Muhammad migrated to Madinah. Verses from the Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), instructing him and all Muslims to turn towards the Kaabah in Makkah when they pray. Most interpretations date this incident to the middle of the month of Shaaban. The Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) show that it is recommended to fast during Shaaban. Well-known companion of the Prophet, Anas Bin Malik reported that Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was asked: Which fast is the most meritorious after the fasting of Ramadan? Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) replied: Fasting of Shaaban in honour of Ramadan. Fasting in Shaaban is like mental and physical training for fasting in Ramadan. Many Muslims may experience difficulty when they start the fast in Ramadan, but if they started fasting a few days in Shaaban, their bodies may get used to fasting and not feel so lethargic and weak when Ramadan comes. Shaaban is like an introduction to Ramadan and it has some things in common with Ramadan, such as fasting, reciting Quran and giving to charity. Aisha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is narrated to have said: The Messenger of Allah used to fast until we thought he would never break his fast, and not fast until we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allah fasting for an entire month except in Ramadan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in Shaaban. The Prophets adopted son, Usamah Ibn Zaid, narrated that: I said to the Prophet, O Messenger of Allah! I did not see you fasting in any month as you do in the month of Shaaban. The Prophet said, People neglect this month which is between Rajab and Ramadan; in this month the actions of the people are presented to Allah, so I like my deeds to be presented while I am fasting. Though fasting is made obligatory in Ramadan, Muslims believe fasting in Shaaban is beneficial in a number of ways as it offers a chance to start preparing for Ramadan. In Shaaban, many Muslim scholars and others used to consistently recite and read the Noble Quran along with fasting, which also helps in getting our routines of worship in place for the coming month of Ramadan. Muslims believe that if they begin increasing acts of worship in Shaaban, they will enjoy the fruits of their efforts in the Noble month of Ramadan. I end my todays sermon by saying: all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation; may Allah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in the highest company of Angels, bless him and give him peace and security and his family, his Companions and all those who follow him correctly and sincerely until the establishment of the Hour. I ask Allah, the Most High to grant us success and enable us to be correct in what we say and write, ameen. Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okenes Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761. This Jumuah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Rajab 23, 1443 A.H. (February 25, 2022). I am not sure anybody knows what the outcome of these unnecessary conflicts will be. The solution I see is: first, a de-escalation of the conflict, a ceasefire by all sides, including in Eastern Ukraine, and a negotiated settlement A resuscitation of the Minsk Agreements is a good place to begin. The United Nations (UN) should concentrate on these, rather than hold endless meetings seeking to blame one side or the other. The eight-year war in Ukraine took a dramatic turn yesterday when Russian troops officially rolled into the country on the side of the separatist rebels in Eastern Ukraine. It was also to insist on its position that Ukraines decision to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) threatens Russias security. Ukraine, which since 2014 had declared itself at war with Russia, had on November 25, 2018 sent two gunboats, the Nikopol and the Berdyansk, and a tug boat, the Yani Kapu, into the Kerch Strait in the Crimea to confront the Russian Navy units. However, none of the previous confrontations compares with this weeks military conflicts, which Russia claims is a limited military operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine but which the latter says is an outright invasion. Months of claims by NATO of an impending Russian invasion had been capped this month by the United States deciding to send troops to Romania and Poland. However, events took a dramatic turn on Monday, February 21, when Russian president, Vladimir Putin, called an exraordinary meeting of the countrys security council. Three things struck me about this meeting. The first was that its deliberations were public. Second, a conclusion that Russia had been pushed to the wall with the infliction of renewed Western sanctions and non-respect of Russian position on the Eastward expansion of NATO. The third was a complaint about the non-implementation of previous agreements, including the Minsk I &II Protocols designed to end the war in Ukraine. The meeting, therefore, decided to recognise the two breakaway Ukrainian Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The next day, the Russian parliament, the Duma, voted to give Putin permission to use military force outside the country. On Wednesday, Donetsk and Luhansk formally requested that Russian troops be sent into their separatist republics. The next morning, Russian troops began pouring, not just into the East, but also other parts of Ukraine. Putins announced intention is the protection of the civilian populations in the Eastern Region and regime change, while the Ukrainian government said it is an attempt to occupy the country. American President Joe Biden claimed the Russian attack is unprovoked. What is his deploying American troops to the region for, especially Poland, if not provocation? The United States would not have allowed Chinese troops pouring into Mexico or Russia setting up missiles in Cuba; so how does it expect Russia to lie back as it is being surrounded by hostile NATO troops? A major casualty in the war would be the truth, as all sides rev up their propaganda. Within hours of the attacks, the Ukrainian government announced it had destroyed five Russian war planes and an helicopter. On the other hand, the Russians, who denied the Ukranian claims, announced they had neutralised the Ukranian defence system. Eventually, the truth would lie in the rubbles of the war. There are various declarations, such as the European Unions, threatening to impose the harshest sanctions ever on Russia. But it is easier for those countries to issue threats from the safety of their countries, while the Ukrainians do the dying and witness their country and economy being destroyed by avoidable wars. A major casualty in the war would be the truth, as all sides rev up their propaganda. Within hours of the attacks, the Ukrainian government announced it had destroyed five Russian war planes and an helicopter. On the other hand, the Russians, who denied the Ukranian claims, announced they had neutralised the Ukranian defence system. Eventually, the truth would lie in the rubbles of the war. The wars in Ukraine have their origins in a country polarised between a war-mongering EU/NATO and an edgy Russian bear. The immediate trigger was the 2014 coup against elected President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian politician from Eastern Ukraine who, back in 2004, had been denied the presidency after winning a runoff. This time, he was overthrown in a violent coup because his government preferred to sign a trade agreement with Russia, rather than with the EU. For the East Ukrainians who had put their fate in free and fair elections, this second coup against a political leader from their side seemed too much a price to pay and they made a battle cry: To your tents Oh Israel! It is that civil war that has now festered into a full scale international war, with the Russians backing the rebels and NATO propping up the government in Kiev. In my November 30, 2018 analysis of the Ukrainian War titled Ukraines Farcical Drama, I had written that: The disputes in Ukraine are likely to go on for a long time, but I think the country shot itself in the foot by using the populace of one part of the country to overthrow the legitimately elected government led by politicians from another part of the country. I had argued that the military option adopted by Kiev would not lead to peace and that if Ukraine were to witness peace and reunite, it may need to consider the restoration of the Yanukovych administration as part of national reconciliation; if this seems far-fetched, so does the reunification of the country. But the war on ground would neither be lost nor won on propaganda but by reworking the failed diplomacy that has led to todays events. It might be fashionable or profitable to blame Russia, but what do you do with the so-called international community that has pretended for eight years that those dying in Eastern Ukraine never existed? Fortunately, in May 2019, Ukraine was able to replace the infantile, warmongering President Petro Poroshenko with a more sensible President Volodymyr Zelensky who, in the April 21 rerun election, trounced the incumbent by taking 73.22 per cent of the votes, with Poroshenko clinching only 24.45 per cent. Although a comedian by profession, Zelensky was dead serious about bringing peace. But apparently, the warmongers have had the upper hand and war has not only continued, but escalated. There are lots of propaganda around the conflicts in Ukraine. But the war on ground would neither be lost nor won on propaganda but by reworking the failed diplomacy that has led to todays events. It might be fashionable or profitable to blame Russia, but what do you do with the so-called international community that has pretended for eight years that those dying in Eastern Ukraine never existed? I am not sure anybody knows what the outcome of these unnecessary conflicts will be. The solution I see is: first, a de-escalation of the conflict, a ceasefire by all sides, including in Eastern Ukraine, and a negotiated settlement. A resuscitation of the Minsk Agreements is a good place to begin. The United Nations (UN) should concentrate on these, rather than hold endless meetings seeking to blame one side or the other. The UN Security Council should be put to better use, rather than turned into a debating club where accusations and counter-accusations fly. The contending forces in Europe and America are far too gone in their politics of self-justification and blame to be useful in the process. Germany that had hitherto played a more reconciliatory role has now been sucked into the fray. Perhaps other parts of the world, especially the underdeveloped world, might be more useful. Fortunately, Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, is in Moscow; can he begin to lay the foundations for a peaceful resolution? At this time, we miss a leader like Nelson Mandela. Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author. Advertisements Within the Realist paradigm in International Relations, there is no stronger determinant of foreign policy choices than the quantum of power a nation is capable of ramping up behind its national interest. This is what is being demonstrated in what, from the Western point of view, one can safely characterise as the Ukrainian debacle. What bears emphasis in the carefully choreographed extant conflict over Ukraine is the profundity of Russias position. It simply says that the continuous eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is at variance with its own national security interests. I argue that such a claim is, of course, much stronger than the logic of Ukrainian sovereignty that the West was trumpeting. The concept of sovereignty defined by the French jurist, Jean Bodin, several years ago, as the supreme authority of a sovereign over its people and territory has, without doubt, suffered a good deal of qualitative and quantitative reversals, especially since the end of World War II. It is, therefore, misleading to create the impression that sovereignty is still wholly sacrosanct in todays global system. At any event, Western arguments here, that none should constrain Ukrainian sovereignty, as it relates to its right to choose its friends, flies in the face of the Monroe Doctrine, once espoused by Washington. This Doctrine technically recognises the right of every Great Power to carve a sphere of influence for itself. Thus, when a nuclear power proclaims, as Russia did in the instant case, that something is fundamentally injurious to its national security interests, other countries do not act as if nothing had been said. This is why the U.S. stance on this whole issue smacks of policy somersault, and bears a tinge of miscalculation. The question that comes to mind here is, why was Washington readying its nuclear arsenal for a possible confrontation with the defunct Soviet Union over Cuba in 1962, before the ice broke, if the idea of its right to a secured sphere of influence was not important? To be charitable though, an appreciation of this reality may well be one of the reasons President Biden has repeatedly announced that the United States is not interested in a war with Russia over Ukraine. It is a most reasonable position to take in the light of strategic realities, the acute political polarisation at home, and weariness attendant upon the never ending Afghanistan war from which a smart Biden beat a controversial, but very well thought out, retreat, late 2021. President Putin may not be as diplomatically savvy as the Westerners with whom he is sparring, but he comes to this game with a very strategic mind, and a relatively closed political system. Even if he wants the entire Ukraine back, and I now think he does. This, not so much because of the military operations, which got underway earlier a shortwhile ago, but from the way he extensively laid out what amounts to Russias claim on Ukraine in the past few days. Even so, the Russian leader comes across as smart enough to approach his goal in bits a little at a time, starting with Crimea in 2014. Thats why I do not think the immediate objective of Russias ongoing special military operations in Ukraine could be to annex the latter. Rather, this looks more like an exercise that seeks to de-militarise Ukraine, as Putin has since announced; and almost certainly, to effect regime change in Kiev. These are limited objectives that are realisable in what I assume would be a blitzkrieg, delivered swiftly and clinically. But Putin most certainly would want to keep the Donbass region of Ukraine, as he did Crimea. I had hoped that Ukraine would be smart enough to drop its much trumpeted desire for NATO membership. On February 19, 2022, I had tweeted my concern and hope thus: The world can be spared the horrors of a new war, this time possibly pitching the US/NATO alliance against Russia, by the former simply committing to halting further eastern expansion of NATO. Nothing short of this would assuage the genuine fears of Moscow. For now, and in the foreseeable future, Western response to ongoing Russia invasion of Ukraine, worrisome as it is, may not go beyond a range of economic sanctions on Moscow. Nobody is quick to militarily take on the successors of a former superpower, and one with such a formidable arsenal of nuclear weapons that Moscow parades. Ukraine refrained from doing this, and still does. That refusal, for me, is like a standing invitation, an open sesame, as it were, for the Russian war machine to roll, if not in the immediate, certainly at some point in the future. Extant military operations undertaken by Russia are therefore hardly a surprise. For, the truth is, historically and strategically, Ukraine is too important to Russia for any Russian leader to allow it fall completely into the hands of the U.S. and its NATO allies, which is what its membership of the alliance would epitomise. For now, and in the foreseeable future, Western response to ongoing Russia invasion of Ukraine, worrisome as it is, may not go beyond a range of economic sanctions on Moscow. Nobody is quick to militarily take on the successors of a former superpower, and one with such a formidable arsenal of nuclear weapons that Moscow parades. Kiev failed to appreciate this, and seemed to wallow in the illusion that consequential help may come from its friends in the Western alliance. Now, because Russian energy (gas) supply is so critical to much of Western Europe, especially Germany, it would not be too long before some form of rapprochement between Russia and the West is launched. As it was over Crimea, so it promises to be over Donbass, after the initial high pitched diplomatic engagement; and indeed, ongoing military action. For obvious reasons, Germany should be pleased with any valve of escape from this unwanted crisis, given the promise of getting Nord Stream 2 back on track, which is concomitant with the possible easing of tension. For the U.S., whose feet are already firmly planted in much of the western part of the defunct Soviet Union, and largely contiguous neighbours of todays Russian Federation, through these countries membership of NATO, allowing Ukraine to be wouldnt even amount to much of a loss of influence. Yet, it would have been enough to drive continental Europe away from the path of an unnecessary full scale war. Given the highly engaging diplomatic shuttle of President Macron for peace, this initiative would facilitate the consolidation of Frances emerging leadership of Europe in this post-Brexit era. This is to say that a Third World War is most unlikely from the current Great Power spat. I had noted in an earlier tweet on January 25 that the only enduring solution to the Ukrainian question, if you will, is akin to what saved the world from a nuclear confrontation over Cuba in 1962. I canvassed that Ukraine should drop its desire for NATO membership, and for the West to commit to Kievs non-inclusion in the alliance, in exchange for Russian guarantee to not invade and annex Ukraine. In all of these, Ukraine would seem to be the loser. It is not only now losing yet another chunk of its territory, the Donbass region, soon after Crimea, it is losing a good deal of its basic infrastructure and military installations. Perhaps more importantly, Kiev is now inexorably onto the path to Finlandisation the virtual loss of freedom to conduct much of its affairs, especially in relation to foreign policy. It is obvious that Ukrainian President Zelenskys very limited experience in statecraft (to all intents and purposes, a rookie), being a professional comedian before his surprise election a couple of years ago, is what accounts for the perfunctory manner it has navigated in this whole crisis. I had noted in an earlier tweet on January 25 that the only enduring solution to the Ukrainian question, if you will, is akin to what saved the world from a nuclear confrontation over Cuba in 1962. I canvassed that Ukraine should drop its desire for NATO membership, and for the West to commit to Kievs non-inclusion in the alliance, in exchange for Russian guarantee to not invade and annex Ukraine. It all seems too late now in the face of Russias invasion of the country. The advocacy was at variance with mainstream Western orientation on Ukraine; and not a few pundits were uncomfortable with the prescription. But it is the way of pragmatism; and I argue that even now, there does not seem to be a more rational alternative to securing Russian withdrawal from Ukraine. Within the Realist paradigm in International Relations, there is no stronger determinant of foreign policy choices than the quantum of power a nation is capable of ramping up behind its national interest. This is what is being demonstrated in what, from the Western point of view, one can safely characterise as the Ukrainian debacle. Femi Mimiko, mni, is professor of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; and a member of the National Institute. E-mail: femi.mimiko@gmail.com; Twitter: @FemiMimiko The time is NOW! Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila. As echoed by the Speaker of Nigerias 9th House of Representatives in the Crossroads film, its time to give women in Nigeria a chance to sit at the decision making table by adopting the bill to create additional seats for women in the National Assembly. The National Democratic Institute (NDI) is proud to announce the release of Crossroads, a short documentary film starring Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila (Speaker of Nigerias 9th House of Representatives), Nigerias finest Nollywood actress Ini Edo, 2face Idibia (2baba) and directed by Daniel Ukpai. Crossroads is a fascinating narrative of stories that are hardly ever told especially in this part of the world. Stories from female Nigerian lawmakers on their political journey, and how their tenure in office contributed to meeting Nigerias socio-economic needs. These female lawmakers spoke about the benefits to be derived from increasing the percentage of women in Nigerias parliament and why the reward is greater than the cost. Stories from the Unrelenting, Hon. Comfort Amwe, the only female member in the Kaduna State House of Assembly; despite winning a seat in a previous election and losing it at the tribunal, she never gave up. Against all odds, she contested in another election, won a tribunal case, and became a member of Kaduna State House of Assembly. Hon. Ijeoma started her political journey as a councilor in Enugu State and was recently voted Speaker Enugu South LGA legislative arm in a tight race with male members. Senator Abiodun Olujimi currently serves as a senator of the Federal Republic Nigeria representing Ekiti South senatorial district and Minority Leader of the Nigerian Senate. She is a strong advocate for creating spaces for more women to occupy elective positions. Today Nigeria is at a crossroad. See the YouTube Link to the Crossroads film and also a one minute trailer. President Muhammadu Buhari and governors under the aegis of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday January 22, 2022 rose from a consultative meeting and finally laid to rest speculations about zoning of the partys national offices. By a simple play of musical chairs, the APC leaders announced they would be swapping roles between the North and South. Thus, offices in the National Working Committee hitherto occupied by northerners in the last eight years will shift to southerners. It was a welcome development especially as it disappointed those who have gone to town in recent times crowing about the imminent disintegration of the ruling party over an alleged inability of its leaders to agree on anything. Still, it is not yet uhuru. The APC must now sit down and transform this record accord into election-winning strategy by making sure that each post goes where it will garner the most electoral benefits for her given existing power dynamics in the Nigerian political space in the build-up to the 2023 general elections. This is only possible by a clear-headed SWOT analysis that is based on the reality on ground in each geopolitical zone within the context of the overall national balance of power between the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led opposition. It goes without saying now that where the party sends the position of National Chairman within the North to which it has been micro-zoned is of utmost importance. To my thinking, the most compelling criteria for the choice of the next APC National Chairman from Northern Nigeria should be based on at least five fundamental factors, namely current strength of the party in the selected zone, the candidates antecedence, his acceptance within the party, his national diversity rating, political experience and overall state of health. We will now examine the following: The current strength of the APC in the state from which he or she will emerge and the strategic imperative of using the office to garner strength where the party is relatively weak; the candidates leadership persona translated in terms of charisma, persuasiveness, acceptability within the party, capacity to rally members using party structures as well as in-depth knowledge of party processes and procedures; the proven national influence and network of the individual, especially capacity to quickly feel the political pulse of a situation and respond constructively or of a constituency and reach across diverse political stakes and platforms for a resolution; cognate experience in high political leadership, with clear line of sight, ie, hindsight to recognise common pitfalls or advantages and evolve, and political foresight to drive for success while avoiding the inevitable rabbit holes that enthrall and distract an inexperienced leader and; strong mental and physical fitness for, among other reasons, hitting the ground running on the inevitable tour of reconciliation across the 36 states and the FCT and going through the rigors of leading a presidential campaign across the length and breadth of the country so soon after his emergence. Once the above five factors are accounted for, and in order to make sure no geopolitical zone is marginalized or excluded, or feels so, the APC must go further to align them with the political considerations that will play out in 2023. Many of such considerations are already very visible right now and proving to be extremely divisive within both the governing party and even pretenders to the throne, such as the PDP. For instance, the question of where the next presidential candidate of the APC comes from will take bearing from where her next national chairman emerges from. It is a fact that out of the three geopolitical zones in the North, only the North Central has not enjoyed any stint in the seat of power in a democracy since independence in 1960, either as President or Vice President, and that includes in this fourth republic. The people of the North Central have recently risen in unison against what they call the near default zoning of the national chairmanship of ruling political parties to them once it is the turn of the North while the other two geopolitical zones (GPZs) rotate and savour the two highest jobs. There is now a groundswell of support for such bodies as the North Central Renaissance Movement (NCRM) which campaigns to withdraw the zones support from any party that dumps the chairmanship on them again on the journey to 2023. Of course, one cannot blame the people of the zone. The premise is that parties send their national chairmanship position to the zone they want to exclude, ab initio, from the presidential race, and a people is entitled, not only to wonder why they must always be the ones to get the short end of that stick but to reject it as the pendulum starts to oscillate towards them again. To further underlay their seriousness on this matter the region, which hosts the Federal Capital Territory, has promised to rally with their votes to the party which puts one of them on the ballot for the Presidency. As all political parties know, the North Central owns the second largest voting turnout among Nigerias geopolitical zones, going by the 2019 presidential elections. Thus, their threat or discontent on this matter of a national chairman should not be trifled with, at least not by the APC to which they gave nearly half a million more votes in 2019 than they gave the PDP. Moreover, if INEC is to be believed, electoral votes have become too organic and too technical to be manipulated on any scale large enough to affect electoral outcomes. With the barrage of citizen advocates and groups springing up all over the region around this cause, the APC must not dismiss their threats lightly or it may end up discovering that they were serious the hard way. In fact, it would be most unwise for the party to toy with the disenchantment of a zone where five APC states effectively encircle the PDPs sole outpost. Wide-ranging logic and strategy, not sentiments, are therefore the best tools to use in choosing a national chairman for the APC that will be acceptable to all the differing positions. While 2023 presidential permutations alone may not be the most compelling argument for where its national chairman should come from, it should not be lost on the APC that this is a strong factor that will affect voting patterns in the 2023 Presidential race. In the circumstances, if the APC chooses to tread with caution and side-steps the brewing rebellion against perceived marginalisation in the North Central geopolitical zone logic and strategy would dictate the APCs National Chairman must come from a state in the North West or North East which does not currently have an APC governor on seat. By ceding this very influential position to such a state, the APC will shore up her political weight in that state for future elections. As of today, among the 19 states of the North, the APC has 14, leaving five states to the PDP. It is thus strategically wise and logically adds value for the APC to further deplete the electoral value in those PDP states by strategic selection of her National Chairman and other offices from them. Let us break it down further by geopolitical zones and states. In the North West, the only state without an APC governor is Sokoto State. Tambuwal, the sitting governor of the state is likely to run for the presidency under PDP. If he gets his partys ticket, it is clear that even having a National Chairman from that state will not win it for the APC because the people of Sokoto will want to have a repeat of Shagari by having another of their sons occupy the exalted seat of the President of the country. It will therefore not be strategic for APC to pick its Chairman from Sokoto as there will be no significant positive impact. It needs to look elsewhere while working hard to divide the PDPs votes in Sokoto and simultaneously maximise her electoral gains in six of the seven states in that North West geopolitical zone that it controls. Let us move to the North Central which consists of six states. Five of those states are under the firm grip of APC governors. It used to be all of them but Ortom of Benue State defected to the PDP. Incidentally the PDP has already gone to Benue State to pick their National Chairman in person of Mr. Iyorchia Ayu. It is a most unwise choice by the PDP, if I am allowed to posit. It does not strengthen the electoral chances of the main opposition party in any way because it is most likely to continue winning there in future elections for as long as the Governor is in its fold. While this is a rather strange assessment, it is the correct one and simply part of Nigerias peculiar electoral realities. Aside Benue, the geopolitical zone is expected to go with the APC in 2023 and for as long as the existing five to one status quo remains. In the North East there are six states, three are under the APC, and the other three are under the PDP creating ample room for a tie-breaker play. With the permutations favoring the North West and the North Central to remain firmly APC in the 2023 presidential race, the North East geopolitical zone is the go to place for the APC in her search for an impactful national chairman. If the APC is wise, it will look outside the three states she has in her kitty already, that is, Borno, Yobe, and Gombe. That leaves Taraba, Adamawa or Bauchi. Adamawa is the state of the former Vice President, Mr. Atiku Abubakar whose influence there is already towering. On top of that he is also seeking to run again for president under the PDP in 2023. Whether we admit it or not, Atiku is a former Vice President, and still has a very strong political grip on the electoral jugular of Adamawa State. This is a state where he has previously been elected Governor, been nominated and won as Vice President and which has been his base in virtually all presidential elections since 2007. His network in the state will still remain strong whether he is in the 2023 election or not. The APC will also not have President Buhari on the ballot in 2023 so Atikus influence needs strong countering from some other quarter. Fortunately, Mr. Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) hails from Adamawa State. His political influence, while not at par with Atikus is enough to split Adamawa votes to keep APC reasonably relevant there. Hence, APC is advised to avoid Adamawa in her search for a national chairman, which leaves us with Bauchi and Taraba for the eminent position. Taraba State has been under the strong influence of the PDP for as long as this fourth republic has lasted. Taraba has always gone with the PDP, we have but less than one year to the next general election and going there for a National Chairman may not really bring the value that we need considering the shortage of time that we have. Moreover, there is more at stake in Bauchi than Taraba for the APC. In the 2019 presidential elections, Taraba gave the APC 324,906 and the PDP 374,743, not an earth-shaking margin. On the other hand, Bauchi delivered 798,428 votes to the APC and a miserly 209,313 to the PDP indicating that the APC has a golden vein of support among the populace that she can tap into for 2023. If we mine with the tool of a local boy who is widely acceptable by his people, we can repeat 2019 in 2023 in Bauchi. Fortunately for the APC it does have at least two persons who fit the profile perfectly. Number One is former Governor of the state, Mr. Isa Yuguda. My opinion and advice to the APC would be that he is the perfect candidate for a consensus National Chairman of the APC from the North. He has won two gubernatorial elections for himself in Bauchi State, he was a striker in the APCs line up for the 2019 presidential election campaigns and he helped to beat the incumbent governor and the PDP silly in that contest as illustrated in the figures above. As an added incentive he is a cosmopolitan Nigerian indeed whose reach, network and friendships are sufficiently national in outlook so that striking the accords necessary to run the party effortlessly would be easy for him. He is also of that rare breed of crossover politicians who moves seamlessly between the elites and the grassroots and is trusted well enough by both classes. Yuguda is also a son-in-law to the powerful YarAdua dynasty of Katsina State, another massive voting bloc for the APC which gave the party 1,232,133 in 2019 and only 308,056 to the PDP. As Chairman of the APC, he will come with panache, but more importantly with people who can help the APC win elections across state lines. In the case that Yuguda does not fly, and I do not know of any lawful or unlawful reason why he should not if the APC is out to win elections and not merely get in her own way with tribal and religious politics, I would suggest another excellent pick in the person of Yakubu Dogara, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. While in Office, he presided over strong political stakeholders from at least 360 constituencies in Nigeria. Some of them are currently serving in the same House, the Senate, or in some other high capacity at party or national levels. He has the capacity, reach and network to bring more people to vote for APC. His brief stint in the PDP after leaving office before decamping back to the APC is a minus but it could be a plus too, as he can reach across party lines to friends in the opposition to help him in any office, including national chairmanship of the APC. He is relatively young and will appeal to Nigerias burgeoning youth demographic which has recently begun to pull political weight. The North East is thus the perfect geopolitical zone for the APC to source her next national chairman from and Bauchi is the state to go. Despite APCs overwhelming win there with President Buhari on the ballot in 2019, the party still lost to the PDP in the last gubernatorial elections and needs to retake it in 2023. A Yuguda or Yakubu chairmanship will vastly improve APCs chances of getting back Bauchi and building the party for the future the former much more than the latter. In conclusion, if the APC is to retain the Presidency in 2023 and remain a formidable party in Nigeria, the current sentimental approach over legacy party, promise or fail, disregard of health status, disregard of the mood of the nation, hubristic belief that Nigerians can be cajoled to endorse any nonsense that politicians come up with, including empty North/South zoning or religious and tribal favouritism must stop immediately and make way for clear-headed political assessments such as this one. Advertisements I hope the APC leadership right up to the President is serious about winning elections and not just playing to the shifting galleries of parochial opinions. If they are, they will take this free counsel to heart. If not, the party might as well start now to pack her load out of Aso Rock Presidential Villa. Abubakar Kago writes from ABU Zaria, Kaduna State. An Ikeja High Court on Friday sentenced kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, to life imprisonment for the kidnap of Donatus Dunu, the Chief Executive Officer of Maydon Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Hakeem Oshodi also sentenced Evanss two co-defendants, Uche Amadi and Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu, to life imprisonment for the same offences. The judge, however, discharged and acquitted the other co-defendants, Ogechi Uchechukwu; Chilaka Ifeanyi, an ex-soldier; and Victor Aduba, also an ex-soldier. The judge held that there was no evidence linking them to the crimes. Sentencing the convicts, Mr Oshodi said that they did not show any remorse for their crimes and had tried to lie their way out of the charges during the trial. Mr Oshodi noted that the Kidnapping Prohibition Law of Lagos State prescribed a mandatory life sentence for any individual found guilty of kidnapping. A lesson must be taught. In this respect, the law is the law that must be upheld. The first, second and fourth defendants- Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike a.k.a Evans, Uche Amadi and Okwuchukwu Nwachukwu, are each hereby sentenced to life imprisonment. This is the sentence of the court, he said. NAN reports that this is the first judgment delivered in the five kidnapping trials Evans is facing at the various High Courts of Lagos State. The defendants were arraigned before Oshodi on August 31, 2017, on a two-count charge of conspiracy and kidnapping. According to the prosecution, Mr Dunu was kidnapped on February 14, 2016, on Obokun Street, Ilupeju Road, Lagos. He was shackled and blindfolded during his 88-day ordeal, and the convicts collected 223,000 euros as ransom from his family for his release. The prosecution closed its case on January 10, 2020, after presenting four witnesses including Mr Dunu. The defence closed its case on August 3, 2021, after the six defendants and Evanss sister, Ndubuisi Obiechina, testified. The offences are in violation of Section 2(1) of the Kidnapping Prohibition Law, No. 13, Laws of Lagos State, 2017.(NAN) Plattsburgh, NY (12901) Today Rain likely. High 54F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 41F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Southbury, CT (06488) Today Cloudy with occasional rain showers. High 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low near 50F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. W Residences Dubai Downtown, which will be managed by Marriott International is situated in the prestigious Downtown Dubai with uninterrupted, spectacular views of Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure in the world, The Dubai Fountain, Dubai Opera and Old Town Dubai. The W Residences Dubai - Downtown is estimated to be completed by December 2025. Ziad El Chaar, Vice Chairman of Dar Al Arkan Properties, said: "Our experience in delivering high-end co-branded homes with global brands puts us in a unique position to always bring the best, most desirable residential spaces to our customers. The W Residences Dubai Downtown sets a new standard for extraordinary hotel living in the heart of a bustling city like Dubai catering to clientele who like to be close to the action but have their own luxurious private space close by." Jaidev Menezes, Vice President, Mixed-Use Development Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International commented: "We are delighted to work with Dar Al Arkan to launch this residential development under the W brand. With its vibrant design and impeccable service, W Residences Dubai - Downtown will be a great fit in Dubai's iconic Downtown district." The architecturally stunning tower consists of a limited number of 384 exclusive, high-end residences with state-of-the-art appliances and fittings to compliment the exquisite interiors and give residents modern, functional, and elegantly appointed homes. Residents will live the W lifestyle at W Residences Dubai - Downtown which will offer luxury amenities. FUEL - the W brand's high-energy, social take on wellness will allow residents to focus on mind and body and will be complemented by an infinity outdoor swimming pool with views of Burj Khalifa and a terrace that features a lounge and dining area, as well as the FIT Fitness Centre and a spa. Residents will also have access to the W brand's signature Whatever/Whenever service which will provide ultimate levels of convenience, round-the-clock in-Residence dining and catering services, laundry and dry cleaning, housekeeping, babysitting, fitness training and much more. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1754401/Dar_Al_Arkan.jpg SOURCE Dar Al Arkan Company sets up a hub in Miami and appoints new SVP for the Americas, Jenna Wyer and appoints new SVP for the Americas, Ramps up local partnerships in Brazil , Mexico , Colombia and Costa Rica , , and Growth strategy builds on region's booming payments and e-commerce trend SINGAPORE and MIAMI, Feb. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Thunes , a Singapore-based fintech company and a leader in global cross-border payments, is speeding up its global expansion with the setting up of a regional hub in Miami to expand into new Latin American markets. This development follows the company's recent announcement ramping up its presence in Greater China . "Thunes is actively expanding into new markets and regions and becoming a truly global player. Given the exciting opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean, we are expanding our team and technology to build a robust and inclusive payments infrastructure. Our goal is to become a large payments platform in the region, making interacting with, managing and accepting cashless payments as fast and effortless as possible," said Aik Boon Tan, Chief Commercial Officer, Thunes. Thunes recently appointed Jenna Wyer, Senior Vice President for the Americas , who will leverage her experience in the mobile payments and e-commerce space to spearhead Thunes' growth strategy in Latin America and set up partnerships with leading local digital payment players. "I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to build new strategic partnerships and drive Thunes' continued expansion across Latin America's vibrant markets. Fintech solutions like ours are playing a pivotal role in the development of the region's economic activities, bringing vast benefits to millions of businesses and consumers," said Jenna Wyer, SVP for the Americas, Thunes. " The demand for smooth and easy payments is accelerating in Latin America , and Thunes is looking to address this opportunity." Two trends drive this growth: Online shopping is booming Latin America saw the world's fastest-growing retail e-commerce sales growth in 2020, and a rising number of these online purchases are not local. saw the in 2020, and a rising number of these online purchases are not local. Mobile payments are gaining momentum, with smartphones acting as banks for millions of people in Latin America who do not have access to a traditional bank account. The next three years will see around 100 million additional smartphone connections, taking the total to 532 million by 2025 an adoption rate of 80% . Thunes has established regional payout partnerships available in 16 Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay. It recently launched partnerships with Brazil's Bexs Banco to enable real-time businesses and customers inbound payments to Brazil. Thunes Collections capabilities cover 90+ alternative payment options in the region, including Boleto in Brazil, Rapipago in Argentina, and SafetyPay in Colombia. This increased flexibility enables more options for businesses and consumers to make cross-border transactions. Media Contact: Irina Chuchkina [email protected] SOURCE Thunes CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This Back History Month, a special t-shirt has been highlighted on Belk's website as part of the company's Culture Shop collection. The company held a t-shirt design contest for high school students, encouraging them to create designs around the concept of what Black history meant to them. The contest launched before Halloween so that the winning shirt could be produced in time for February's celebration of Black History Month. Prizes included a $5,000 donation to the winner's school, a $500 Belk gift card for the winner, and the opportunity for the shirt to be mass produced and sold on Belk.com. After reviewing all the submissions, Storm Kimble was selected as the winning artist. Kimble is a junior at Invest Collegiate Transform, a local Charlotte, N.C. charter school. To celebrate her win, Kimble was honored at her school with a special check presentation, and she also received the first shirts produced featuring her artwork. Kimble chose to divide the $5,000 donation between her school and a local non-profit called "Playing For Others," a leadership training program that combines personal development, service, and the arts to foster leaders who are confident, compassionate, and creative. Kimble personifies a true leader, not only with creative talents, but also her desire to give back to the community that has helped shape her. When asked to describe her vision for the design, Kimble said, "Black history is more than a month. It is a celebration of the history that we create every day. (Black History Month is) filled with Black excellence and tragedy. A mix of good and bad but never forgotten." Kimble's shirt is available on Belk.com and has been featured within Belk's Culture Shop, a curated boutique that is part of Belk's commitment to better reflect the customers and communities we serve. The launch and evolution of this initiative was a collaborative effort between Belk's Black employee resource group (B.R.I.G.H.T.), cross-functional internal partners, as well as diversity and inclusion leadership. For over 130 years, Belk has been proud to highlight its customers and communities, especially when it comes to education efforts. Belk is honored to make a donation to Kimble's school on her behalf. To purchase Kimble's limited edition Black History Month t-shirt, visit www.belk.com/the-culture-shop/ About Belk Charlotte-based Belk, Inc., a privately-owned department store, opened its first store in 1888, beginning a legacy of selling great products at great prices, treating customers like family, and giving back to the community. Today, Belk serves customers at nearly 300 Belk stores in 16 Southeastern states, at belk.com and through the mobile app. For over 130 years, Belk has proudly put customers and community at the center of what they do, supporting local charities, organizations, and families when they need it most. For more information visit https://newsroom.belk.com/. To shop, find your local store at https://www.belk.com/stores/ , visit belk.com or download the Belk app in Google Play or Apple Store. SOURCE Belk, Inc. INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 25, 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 an initial $1.1M investment in autoLOTO to support bringing applications to market in critically underserved areas around construction and manufacturing. autoLOTO has transformed the construction life safety industry with its Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) process ensuring user accessibility, communication, and instant lifesaving information. The company's patent pending software identifies equipment isolation points instantly upon receiving user equipment input to help end users identify the correct LOTO that offers optimal protection. This eliminates nearly all possible human error from the LOTO process. "Having up-to-date and accurate lockout/tagout procedures is essential in creating a safe work environment for mission critical and pharmaceutical engineers," said Jackie Karceski, Chief Technology Officer at CAI. "CAI has seen the commercial viability of autoLOTO, and our investment will allow us to bring the tools and training needed to provide a streamlined technology-based solution to drive productivity and change across multiple industries." "autoLOTO has proven to save time, money, and lives through its revolutionary live visual interface and drastic reduction in human error," said Daniel Furbush, President at autoLOTO. "autoLOTO is grateful to have a partner in CAI that values our vision. We are excited that our innovation road map will accelerate with the announcement of this investment and partnership." About CAI Since CAI's founding 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, UK, Korea, Switzerland, India, Ireland, Italy, China, and Singapore, we have built an international team of over 800 professionals providing local support from a global company. Our engineering, technical, and 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 . About autoLOTO autoLOTO is a transformative enterprise application that saves lives through hazardous energy identification and management. autoLOTO seamlessly blends a mobile application, desktop management program, and the clients' physical infrastructure to create a system that makes the Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) process easier, more efficient, and demonstrably safer. www.autoloto.co Contact: David Shenberger +13177219847 [email protected] SOURCE CAI For 18 consecutive years, Cat Lift Trucks and its local dealer Darr Equipment Co, have played a critical role in the production of the largest livestock exhibit and rodeo in the world. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo attracts more than 2.5 million visitors and 30,000 exhibitors over a span of three weeks. This year, Cat Lift Trucks has committed to providing over 100 forklifts to keep the show running smoothly, from setup to tear down throughout the 300-acre complex. Darr Equipment's technicians will also be on-hand throughout the show to provide lift truck operator training and on-site support throughout the Rodeo season. "Our long-standing partnership with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo means a great deal to our company and our employees," said John Sneddon, executive vice president of Sales and Marketing at Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas. "Since 2005, we have proudly supported the show by serving as the Official Lift Truck Provider with our local dealer, Darr Equipment. The work performed behind the scenes, by our forklifts and Darr's technicians, allows us to help bring together the city of Houston in a meaningful way, while also indirectly helping to provide educational scholarships for deserving kids. It's a real honor to help give back to our community in this way." Texas education has been at the forefront of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's mission since it began in 1932. Cat Lift Trucks plans to honor their 2022 Cat Lift Trucks Scholarship recipient at the show. This year, a deserving Houston-area high school senior will receive a $5,000 Cat Lift Trucks scholarship to go toward their higher education. The Cat Lift Trucks scholarship program was introduced in 2005, and since then, the program has awarded $130,000 in educational assistance to 26 Houston-area students. The 2022 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will begin on Monday, February 28, and run through Sunday, March 20, 2022. For more information on Cat Lift Trucks, visit https://www.logisnextamericas.com/en/cat. About Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas and its group companies have helped customers Move The World Forward for more than 100 years. A technology-driven manufacturer, Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas offers scalable solutions from material handling to automation and extensive fleet support. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, its complete portfolio of advanced solutions spans across five leading brands Mitsubishi forklift trucks, Cat lift trucks, Rocla AGV Solutions, UniCarriers Forklifts and Jungheinrich warehouse and automation products. All products are backed by an extensive dealer network offering industry-leading customer service and product support. For more information, visit www.logisnextamericas.com. About Cat Lift Trucks Cat lift trucks is one of the most trusted forklift brands in the World. For more than 55 years, customers have relied on the Cat lift trucks brand for quality and reliable forklifts backed by exceptional service and support through its trusted dealer network. With capacities ranging from 2,500 to 15,500 pounds, Cat lift trucks delivers fuel-efficient lift trucks for greater productivity and advanced electric forklifts with longer run times and a lower total cost of ownership. Cat lift trucks are manufactured and distributed by the Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas group, one of the largest lift truck manufacturers in the World. For more information, visit www.logisnextamericas.com/en/cat. SOURCE Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas CirrusLabs, today announced its selection for Trade Winds, a U.S. Trade led mission to the Middle East. Tweet this "After months of interviews and planning, we look forward to representing the U.S. on this mission. The Gulf is a melting pot of innovation, and we are excited to share best practices, help co-create digital innovation factories for emerging technologies such as A.I., robotics, X-Reality, digital-twins, Web3, hybrid cloud and establish a footprint in the region" said Kjell Hegstad, Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation. "Due to the incredible efforts of the U.S. Trade team, local commercial trade attaches and embassy diplomats in the region, we have some amazing meetings scheduled with the most visionary companies and governments in the Gulf. These are connections one can only dream about making," continued Kjell Hegstad. "We are excited to be part of the U.S. Trade Mission to the Middle East and are looking forward to meeting visionary business leaders in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. We believe that the CirrusLabs' Digital Transformation framework that has enabled successful customer transformation in the U.S. and Canada while propelling us to four consecutive years of Inc. 5000 recognition will also be valuable for our Middle East customers as they accelerate digital transformation," said Naeem Hussain, Chief Operating Officer. About CirrusLabs CirrusLabs is a full-service digital transformation provider with offices in the United States (Georgia and Virginia), Canada, and India. We provide services designed to enable Digital Transformation. Our clients include start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Media Contact: Bryan Cowles Phone: 877-431-0767 ext. 393 Email: [email protected] SOURCE CirrusLabs ST. LOUIS, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Clean Futures Fund learned yesterday that the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has been seized by Russian Federation forces as part of their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Approximately 50 power plant workers and a crew of the Chernobyl Fire Brigade are trapped at the plant without Ukrainian protection and are unable to leave. Image of Chernobyl Workers receiving individual healthcare grants from CFF to provide acces to medication to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disease and high blood pressure. Without this support, many of these workers would have the lifesaving medication they need. The most recent feeding of the dogs of Chernobyl was earlier this week. We now no longer have access to the 350 stray dogs that have been relying on CFF for food during the harsh winter. The dogs are dependent on the feeding program for their safety and survival. The high calorie food provides them with the energy they need to keep warm during the harsh winter, and prevents them from needing to hunt or forage in the woods where they are at high risk of predation from wolves. The seizure of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is a strategic asset. While no electricity has been created at Chernobyl since 2000, a large power transmission switch yard remains in operation which can affect the power grid throughout the region, including the capital of Kyiv. These courageous workers continue to work at the site of the world's worst nuclear power disaster to operate the power distribution center and manage critical functions related to spent nuclear fuel storage and the New Safe Confinement that protects humanity from the remains of the reactor destroyed during the catastrophe in 1986. They are now trapped, without access to food, medication, or a means to reunite with their families. Clean Futures Fund is forced to immediately suspend its operations for 2022. This includes not being able to provide ongoing support to the power plant workers through our Chernobyl Workers Healthcare program, leaving them without medication for chronic illnesses like diabetes and thyroid disease. It also leaves the stray dogs and cats inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone without the support of our Dogs of Chernobyl program, which provides basic necessities like food and veterinary care, and the spay and neuter program that has helped reduce the wild dog population in the zone by 50%. "We implore all of our supporters around the world to petition the elected officials of their country to demand the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine, and recognize the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people," said Dr. Jennifer Betz, Board Member of Clean Futures Fund. "Without immediate withdrawal, the outlook is dire - the families that we have supported for the last five years will be left to source and pay for their own lifesaving medications, and the dogs will be left to fend for themselves without food or medical support, in what is still the harsh months of winter." About CLEAN FUTURES FUND: Clean Futures Fund is a St. Louis, Missouri area-based U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established to raise awareness and provide international support for communities affected by industrial accidents and long-term remedial activities. The Fund identifies and finances humanitarian aid projects and the exchange of information and experiences from affected communities in order to support long-term remedial activities around the world. We are currently focusing our efforts on the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, the site of the world's largest nuclear disaster. www.cleanfutures.org. Contact: Dr. Jennifer Betz Board Member [email protected] 503-799-6368 Available for interviews in person or virtually. SOURCE Clean Futures Fund DUBLIN, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Africa Startup Ecosystem Funding Report 2020 "Moving Up"" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. SMEs of informal sectors make up 50%-80% of GDP in most African Countries, this report and subsequent editions will foster: Investment in early-stage African ventures The Channeling of funding to growth-stage African ventures Tracking of funding activity of venture capital investment for Africa Removal of bottlenecks to venture capital investment in Africa Create steady pipeline of African investor-ready businesses Provide resources to accelerate the growth of small & medium scale African companies Data and information as provided in this report also becomes an important resource as the African continent enters new territory through AfCTA (African Continental Free Trade Area). Comparisons of investment & funding activity pre & post commencement of AfCTA, will provide qualitative and quantitative insights into the impact of the new Continental Business & Economic frameworks applicable across Africa. In this data and technology-driven age, which many refer to as the 4th Industrial Revolution, Africa cannot continue to walk in the dark. Compared with other parts of the world Africa, will continue to get left behind, if the deficit in available data and information persists at the current level existing. The publisher possesses the awareness and understanding that information provides, the power it feeds to stakeholders interested in developing Africa and how this availability of information can attract investments to further develop our continent. The report can also assist government stakeholders in policy recommendations and decisions to develop a more reliable and suitable investment ecosystem that supports the growth and development of start-ups and SMEs. 2020 was an unprecedented year in so many respects. Disruption, a word typically associated with start-ups, is a word that aptly describes the effects of the global pandemic. Clearly, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was the greatest disruptor. For the first time in several generations (possibly since the advent of modern travel) it became almost impossible for people to move from country to country. Borders were closed, restrictions placed on movement by respective Governments, employees asked to work from home, children were required to learn remotely in a virtual learning environment. The stories of disruption that occurred in 2020 will be told for many generations to come. In Africa, the pandemic's impact was felt greatly in the economic sense. Depending on the African country, the informal economy, consisting of small and medium sized enterprises and individuals make up over 60% of economic output. The pandemic literally forced a decline in human activity and by extension pushed many Africans below the poverty line. Start-ups are the engine room of growth in any society, providing jobs, and solving specific problems. Venture capital has long been identified as the enabler of start-ups and although planned before the pandemic, it is in these disruptive times that we set up GetFundedAfrica. The goal is simply to track start-up funding in Africa based on our belief that venture capital provides a runway for the growth of start-ups. In essence, "Uplifting Africa through entrepreneurship". The pandemic has significantly highlighted the importance of start-ups in Africa's development. This report is the publisher's first attempt to contribute to the discourse on funding for Africa's problem solvers. The caption 'moving up' aims to capture the climb African start-ups have had to make - and will continue to make to solve problems. In developing this report, a few key issues are evident - the pandemic has increased our collective reliance on the internet; the considerable barriers to accessing the internet in Africa; the importance of Government action to create an enabling environment for start-ups to fundraise and solve societal problems in a sustainable manner. Companies Mentioned Accion Venture Lab Blue Haven Initiative Catalyst fund Techstars Eversend Five Elms Capital Galactech GET IT Grainpulse GreenTec Capital HAVAIC Imperial Venture Fund Ingressive capital JUMO Kalon Venture Partners Kasha Mobiz Newtown Partners Orange Digital Ventures Platform 45 Platform Investment Partners Growth Umkhathi Wethu Ventures Village Capital WhereIsMyTransport WidEnergy Africa For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/p2kwz1 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets The cookware market covers the following areas: Cookware Market Sizing Cookware Market Forecast Cookware Market Analysis Drivers and Challenges The rapid penetration of regular kitchen stoves using LPG as fuel in emerging countries in APAC is one of the key factors driving growth in the cookware market. Cookware products that are made of materials such as cast iron, stainless steel, and aluminum find higher applications over regular kitchen stoves and cooktops. Over the last few years, the significant growth of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as the primary fuel used for cooking applications, especially in emerging countries in APAC, such as India, and China, has led to sales of these cookware products. Leading consumers of LPG in APAC such as India, China, and Indonesia are expected to continue to witness high adoption of cooking gas in households during the forecast period. Government initiatives have also led to the growth in the application of LPG cylinders for cooking applications. The growth in penetration of LPG in the key countries that have a high customer base is expected to boost the sales of compatible cookware products. The growing threat from the unorganized sector will challenge the cookware market during the forecast period. Over the last few years, the presence of the unorganized sector in the global cookware market, especially in developing countries in APAC such as India and China, has been a major hurdle for market vendors. The presence of a diverse customer base in these emerging economies poses the challenge of market penetration to the organized market vendors. According to TTK Prestige, the unorganized market in India sells cookware products such as pressure cookers and non-stick cookware at around 20% lower prices than organized players. Organized vendors such as TTK Prestige and Hawkins Cookers have lost significant market share to the unorganized sector due to low market penetration in rural areas, which have a large customer base in countries such as India and China. Some Companies Mentioned and their Offerings Conair Corp. - The company offers baking and casserole dishes, chafing dishes, and other cookware products through its brand Cusinart. The company offers baking and casserole dishes, chafing dishes, and other cookware products through its brand Cusinart. Gorenje Group - The company offers a wide range of cookware products. The company offers a wide range of cookware products. Groupe SEB - The company offers Ingenio 5 range, Thermal-Spot Titanium Pro Fumeless Wok, and other range of cookware products. The company offers Ingenio 5 range, Thermal-Spot Titanium Pro Fumeless Wok, and other range of cookware products. Hawkins Cooker Ltd. - The company offers cookware products through various brands such as Futura, Hawkins Tpan, and others. The company offers cookware products through various brands such as Futura, Hawkins Tpan, and others. Meyer Corp. - The company offers a wide range of cookwares through brands such as Circulon, Anolon, and others. Subscribe to our "Lite Plan" billed annually at USD 3000 to join a community, who are eligible to view 3 reports monthly and download 3 reports annually. Related Reports: Crystalware and Glassware Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Ceramic Tableware Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025 Cookware Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 5.30 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 3.43 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America Performing market contribution APAC at 44% Key consumer countries China, US, India, Germany, and UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Conair Corp., Gorenje Group, Groupe SEB, Hawkins Cooker Ltd., Meyer Corp., Newell Brands Inc., The Middleby Corp., The Vollrath Co. LLC, TTK Prestige Ltd., and Wilh. Werhahn KG 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. Key Topics Covered: ***1. Executive Summary ***2. Market Landscape **2.1 Market ecosystem *2.1.1 Parent market *Exhibit 01: Parent market *Exhibit 02: Market Characteristics **2.2 Value Chain Analysis *Exhibit 03: Value chain analysis: Housewares and specialties *2.2.1 Input *2.2.2 Inbound logistics *2.2.3 Operation *2.2.4 Outbound logistics *2.2.5 Marketing and sales *2.2.6 Services *2.2.7 Support activities *2.2.8 Innovations ***3. Market Sizing **3.1 Market definition *Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition **3.2 Market segment analysis *Exhibit 05: Market segments **3.3 Market size 2020 **3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 *3.4.1Estimating growth rates for emerging and high-growth markets *3.4.2 Estimating growth rates for mature markets *Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 (billion $) *Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%) ***4. Five Forces Analysis **4.1 Five Forces Summary *Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025 **4.2 Bargaining power of buyers *Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of the buyer **4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers *Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of the supplier **4.4 Threat of new entrants *Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants **4.5 Threat of substitutes *Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes **4.6 Threat of rivalry *Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry **4.7 Market condition *Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020 ***5. Market Segmentation by Material **5.1 Market segments *Exhibit 15: Material - Market share 2020-2025 (%) **5.2 Comparison by Material *Exhibit 16: Comparison by Material **5.3 Aluminum - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 *Exhibit 17: Aluminum - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) *Exhibit 18: Aluminum - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) **5.4 Stainless steel - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 *Exhibit 19: Stainless steel - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) *Exhibit 20: Stainless steel - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) **5.5 Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 *Exhibit 21: Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) *Exhibit 22: Others - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) **5.6 Market opportunity by Solutiom *Exhibit 23: Market opportunity by Solution ***6. Customer landscape *Technavio's customer landscape matrix comparing Drivers or price sensitivity, Adoption lifecycle, importance in customer price basket, Adoption rate and Key purchase criteria *Exhibit 24: Customer landscape ***7. Geographic Landscape **7.1 Geographic segmentation *Exhibit 25: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%) **7.2 Geographic comparison *Exhibit 26: Geographic comparison **7.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 *Exhibit 27: APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) *Exhibit 28: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) **7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 *Exhibit 29: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) *Exhibit 30: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) **7.5 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 *Exhibit 31: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) *Exhibit 32: North America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) **7.6 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 *Exhibit 33: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) *Exhibit 34: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) **7.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 *Exhibit 35: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ billion) *Exhibit 36: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) **7.8 Market opportunity by geography *Exhibit 37: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) **7.9 Market opportunity by geography *Exhibit 38: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) ***8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends **8.1 Market Driver *8.1.1 Rapid penetration of regular kitchen stoves using LPG as fuel in emerging countries in APAC *8.1.2 Rapid growth in online sales *8.1.3 Growing popularity of induction cookware **8.2 Market challenges *8.2.1 Growing threat from unorganized sector *8.2.2 Volatility in raw material prices *8.2.3 Increasing competition among market players *Exhibit 39: Impact of drivers and challenges **8.3 Market trends *8.3.1 Induction-compatible copper cookware *8.3.2 Growing emphasis on cookware aesthetics and functionality *8.3.3 Rising popularity of ceramic coated non-stick cookware ***9. Vendor Landscape **9.1 Overview *Exhibit 40: Vendor landscape **9.2 Landscape disruption *Exhibit 41: Landscape disruption *Exhibit 42: Industry Risk ***10. Vendor Analysis **10.1 Vendors Covered *Exhibit 43: Vendor Landscape **10.2 Market positioning of vendors *Exhibit 44: Market positioning of vendors **10.3 Conair Corp. *Exhibit 45: Conair Corp. - Overview *Exhibit 46: Conair Corp. - Product and service *Exhibit 47: Conair Corp. - Key offerings **10.4 Gorenje Group *Exhibit 48: Gorenje Group - Overview *Exhibit 49: Gorenje Group - Business segments *Exhibit 50: Gorenje Group - Key offerings *Exhibit 51: Gorenje Group - Segment focus **10.5 Groupe SEB *Exhibit 52: Groupe SEB - Overview *Exhibit 53: Groupe SEB - Business segments *Exhibit 54: Groupe SEB Key news *Exhibit 55: Groupe SEB - Key offerings *Exhibit 56: Groupe SEB - Segment focus **10.6 Hawkins Cooker Ltd. *Exhibit 57: Hawkins Cooker Ltd. - Overview *Exhibit 58: Hawkins Cooker Ltd. - Product and service *Exhibit 59: Hawkins Cooker Ltd. - Key offerings **10.7 Meyer Corp. *Exhibit 60: Meyer Corp. - Overview *Exhibit 61: Meyer Corp. - Product and service *Exhibit 62: Meyer Corp. - Key offerings **10.8 Newell Brands Inc. *Exhibit 63: Newell Brands Inc. - Overview *Exhibit 64: Newell Brands Inc. - Business segments *Exhibit 65: Newell Brands Inc. Key news *Exhibit 66: Newell Brands Inc. - Key offerings *Exhibit 67: Newell Brands Inc. - Segment focus **10.9 The Middleby Corp. *Exhibit 68: The Middleby Corp. - Overview *Exhibit 69: The Middleby Corp. - Business segments *Exhibit 70: The Middleby Corp. Key news *Exhibit 71: The Middleby Corp. - Key offerings *Exhibit 72: The Middleby Corp. - Segment focus **10.10 The Vollrath Co. LLC *Exhibit 73: The Vollrath Co. LLC - Overview *Exhibit 74: The Vollrath Co. LLC - Product and service *Exhibit 75: The Vollrath Co. LLC Key news *Exhibit 76: The Vollrath Co. LLC - Key offerings **10.11 TTK Prestige Ltd. *Exhibit 77: TTK Prestige Ltd. - Overview *Exhibit 78: TTK Prestige Ltd. - Product and service *Exhibit 79: TTK Prestige Ltd. - Key offerings *10.12 Wilh. Werhahn KG *Exhibit 80: Wilh. Werhahn KG - Overview *Exhibit 81: Wilh. Werhahn KG - Business segments *Exhibit 82: Wilh. Werhahn KG - Key offerings *Exhibit 83: Wilh. Werhahn KG - Segment focus ***11. Appendix **11.1 Scope of the report *11.1.1 Market definition *11.1.2 Objectives *11.1.3 Notes and caveats **11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ *Exhibit 84: Currency conversion rates for US$ **11.3 Research Methodology *Exhibit 85: Research Methodology *Exhibit 86: Validation techniques employed for market sizing *Exhibit 87: Information sources **11.4 List of abbreviations *Exhibit 88: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Delaware Congressional Delegation joined Delaware State University trustees, faculty, staff, and students as well as Delaware Governor John Carney, Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki, and other civic leaders at an event unveiling "Delaware State University Riverfront," a $4.7MM facility donated by Capital One to the University last summer. Delaware State University President Tony Allen, who serves as Chair of President Biden's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities , was proud: "It's about time Delaware State University returned to the state's metropolitan center a city so many of our current students and alumni call home and a corporate hub for world-class employers like Capital One." Allen continued, "It is well-researched that HBCUs have long been the central driver for propelling people from low-resourced backgrounds particularly Black people into the American middle class. To win together, our communities need to have a competitive education pipeline that rapidly prepares us for equitable economic opportunity, provides comprehensive and systemic support for the most vulnerable, and responds to an ever-changing workforce with intention and speed. This partnership is not the single solution, but it represents a significant move in the right direction." With plans to open this spring, "Delaware State University Riverfront" will headquarter the University's School of Graduate, Adult, and Extended Studies, a new partnership with the Teen Warehouse for its workforce development center, and an incubation hub for micro and small businesses with a particular focus on minority and women-owned companies. The facility, which is valued at $4.7MM, contains 35,000 square feet with six floors, an open floor plan, and custom meeting space. In addition to formally opening the facility, Capital One and Delaware State University shared a series of updates related to their expanded recruitment partnership. Capital One announced today that an executive mentorship program will be launched in the spring to pair Capital One executives with University sophomores. The Capital One Foundation is also providing $270K in grants for the University's Career Services Experiential Learning program, an initiative that seeks to help students bridge the gap between classroom and career. In November, Capital One shared its plans to deepen its recruiting partnership with the University, focusing on connecting students to career pathways in business analysis, technology, and product development. "Capital One was founded on the idea that new technology, world-class talent, and a focus on inclusion could transform financial services. Central to all of those things is our continued ability to bring great people and diverse perspectives into our company, and we're incredibly excited by the opportunity to do that by deepening our recruiting relationship with Delaware State and its students," said Shavonne Gordon, Vice President of Enterprise Diversity & Recruiting at Capital One. In remarks at the event, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), U.S. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Governor John Carney, Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki, and other leaders highlighted the partnership between Capital One and Delaware State University as an example of the critical role public-private partnerships play in strengthening HBCU infrastructure and expanding career pathways for HBCU graduates. Both Capital One and the University are strong advocates for the passage of the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, bipartisan federal legislation that proposes to make historic federal investments in HBCUs and strengthen public-private partnerships to enhance and grow these institutions. The bill is co-sponsored by: U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), U.S. Representatives Alma Adams (D-N.C.) and French Hill (R-Ark.), and 175 other Members of U.S. Congress. "This is a true win/win/win that we know will yield dividends for the community, for the University, and for Capital One. With deep roots in Wilmington, we at Capital One are honored to help bring this incredible learning institution, the only HBCU in the state of Delaware, back to the heart of the city," said Capital One's Delaware Market President Joe Westcott. The Delaware State partnership marks an important milestone in advancing Capital One's enterprise HBCU recruitment and advocacy strategy, propelled in part by a fivefold expansion in efforts to support full time and intern hiring efforts over the last two years, a $1MM commitment to supporting HBCUs through the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and United Negro College Fund (UNCF), a suite of programs to deliver skills training to HBCU students, and strong public support of policies that strengthen HBCUs across the country. Capital One has been a vocal supporter of bipartisan efforts spearheaded by Senator Coons to increase federal funding for HBCU infrastructure and encourage more public-private partnerships focused on strengthening and sustaining HBCUs. The partnership also extends Capital One's larger commitments to advancing racial equity through the Capital One Impact Initiative, a $200MM, five-year commitment launched in 2020 to support growth in underserved communities and propel socioeconomic mobility by closing gaps in equity and opportunity. "Public/private partnerships are essential to strengthening and sustaining HBCUs, and it is a true honor for Capital One to be able to contribute to the ongoing legacy and impact of Delaware's only HBCU by investing in its students and infrastructure. HBCUs are engines of opportunity and our partnership with Delaware State is a natural extension of Capital One's commitment to advancing a more inclusive and equitable economy," said Andy Navarrete, Executive Vice President, Head of External Affairs at Capital One. Today's event featured products from local, small, minority-owned vendors and Delaware State University alumni-owned businesses, including Wilmington Green Box, a healthy food and cold-pressed juice business, that focuses on providing at-risk teens with entrepreneurial jobs. About Capital One Capital One, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index. Capital One was founded on the principle that great talent, great analytics and great technology could revolutionize financial services and democratize credit. We believe that attracting, hiring, and enabling great people can change banking for good. About Delaware State University Delaware State University is the nation's #3 public Historically Black College/University (US News & World Report) with a 130-year history of providing a high-quality, low-cost education for ALL. The University is the nation's #1 provider of professional pilots of color and Delaware's #1 provider of nurses, teachers, social workers, and accountants of color. Expanding its footprint throughout the state, the University recently completed the historic acquisition of Wesley College in downtown Dover. For more information, visit https://www.desu.edu/ . SOURCE Capital One CALGARY, AB, Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Enverus Intelligence Research, a part of Enverus, the leading global energy data analytics and SaaS technology company, has released a new report that examines the impacts Russia's invasion of Ukraine will have on oil prices, the effectiveness of Western sanctions and potential political fallout. "While we see energy sanctions as a big leap for Russia-dependent euro economies, Brent prices exceeding $100/bbl imply the loss of ~1.5 MMbbl/d, which is tighter relative to our base model," said Ian Nieboer, report author and managing director of Enverus' Global (International) Energy Analytics business. "This amounts to about 20% of Russian crude and refined product exports. Whether that is accurate will depend upon the coordination of Western sanctions, battlefield developments and whether President Vladimir Putin decides to wield the energy weapon himself." "Benchmark oil prices have incorporated a meaningful geopolitical risk premium perhaps $10-$15 so far this year. The combination of slow-to-arrive, but still expected, U.S. supply growth, shrinking OPEC spare capacity, and strong demand amid increasing geopolitical tensions focused on but not exclusive to Russia and Ukraine have driven prompt Brent toward $100. The arrival of hot conflict last night is pushing crude prices past that mark," Nieboer said. Key takeaways from the report: Brent prices exceeding $100 /bbl imply the loss of ~1.5 MMbbl/d tighter relative to our base model. This amounts to ~20% of Russian crude and refined product exports. /bbl imply the loss of ~1.5 MMbbl/d tighter relative to our base model. This amounts to ~20% of Russian crude and refined product exports. The combination of slow-to-arrive (but still expected) U.S. supply growth, shrinking OPEC spare capacity and strong demand amid increasing geopolitical tensions focused on (but not exclusive to) Russia and Ukraine have driven prompt Brent toward $100 /bbl. Members of the media should contact Jon Haubert to schedule an interview with one of Enverus Intelligence Research's expert analysts. About Enverus Enverus is the leading energy SaaS company delivering highly-technical insights and predictive/prescriptive analytics that empower customers to make decisions that increase profit. Enverus' innovative technologies drive production and investment strategies, enable best practices for energy and commodity trading and risk management, and reduce costs through automated processes across critical business functions. Enverus is a strategic partner to more than 6,000 customers in 50 countries. Learn more at Enverus.com. About Enverus Intelligence Research Enverus Intelligence Research, Inc. is a subsidiary of Enverus and publishes energy-sector research that focuses on the oil and natural gas industries and broader energy topics including publicly traded and privately held oil, gas, midstream and other energy industry companies, basin studies (including characteristics, activity, infrastructure, etc.), commodity pricing forecasts, global macroeconomics and geopolitical matters. Enverus Intelligence Research, Inc. is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser. SOURCE Enverus SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hagens Berman urges Gatos Silver, Inc. (NYSE: GATO) investors with significant losses to submit your losses now. A securities class action has been filed and certain investors may have valuable claims. Class Period: Oct. 28, 2020 Jan. 25, 2022 Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Apr. 25, 2022 Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/GATO Contact An Attorney Now: [email protected] 844-916-0895 Gatos Silver, Inc. (GATO) Securities Class Action: The litigation focuses on Gatos' statements concerning its Cerro Los Gatos ("CLG") mine located in Chihuahua, Mexico, including the Company's estimates in its July 1, 2020 Technical Report ("2020 Technical Report") that the CLG deposit "contains approximately 9.6 million diluted tonnes of proven and probable mineral reserves." According to the complaint, defendants made materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts, including: (1) that the 2020 Technical Report contained errors; and (2) that, among other things, the GLG mineral reserves had been overestimated by as much as 50%. The truth came to light on Jan. 25, 2022, when Gatos disclosed that during a resource and reserve update process, which included a detailed reconciliation of recent production performance, the Company concluded that there were errors in the 2020 Technical Report, as well as indications that there is an overestimation in the existing resource model. As a result, the Company estimated a potential reduction of the metal content of CLG mineral reserve ranging from 30% to 50% of the metal content and warned that the mineral resource and reserve estimates in the 2020 Technical Report should not be relied upon. This revelation drove the price of Gatos shares as much as 70% lower on Jan. 26, 2022. "We're focused on investors' losses and proving defendants knew the 2020 Technical Report was inaccurate at the time of the IPO and thereafter," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation. If you invested in Gatos and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman. Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Gatos should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email mailto:[email protected]. About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw. Contact: Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895 SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP At 7.5%, the U.S. inflation rate is at its highest point since 1982, and energy costs are a prime driver of this increase. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, energy prices were up 29% in 2021. Natural gas futures prices are up 61% from a year ago, indicating higher electricity prices are not likely to only prove a short-term point of pain and will continue to have a significant impact consumers' electricity bills going forward. "With the high cost of day-to-day living, it's always challenging to plan family budgets. Given our participation in the CCA, it's a load off my mind not only that my electricity prices haven't soared, and knowing that they will be stable for the next few years, provides tremendous peace of mind. In addition to the cost savings, I'm happy to know that my energy needs are being met with local, renewable sources without any added effort or inconvenience," said program participant Nicholas Dedring of Beacon. The savings achieved by participating in HVCP provide relief for customers serviced by Central Hudson as they have been plagued with billing issues since the utility began using new software in the fall of 2021. CCA empowers municipalities to select their own energy suppliers and power sources, and helps move New York toward its goal of 70% renewable energy by 2030. The Cities of Beacon and Poughkeepsie, Towns of Clinton, Marbletown, New Paltz, Philipstown, Red Hook, and Saugerties, and the Villages of Cold Spring and New Paltz all participate in the HVCP clean energy program. Program administrator Joule Assets, via Joule Community Power, managed a competitive bidding process to secure for residents the fixed rate for 36 months. HCVP participants can opt out without penalty if they no longer wish to participate. Eligible residents can opt in any time at no cost by visiting the program website. "We are thrilled our residents are able to reap both financial and environmental benefits during these difficult times," said Town of New Paltz Supervisor Neil Bettez. "Residents experiencing financial difficulties should consider joining Hudson Valley Community Power. Doing so will allow them to save money and help our planet by taking actionable steps towards addressing our growing climate crisis." Joule Chief Executive Officer Jessica Stromback said, "We are proud to deliver much needed savings to tens of thousands of households during unpredictable financial times. Residents not paying a fixed rate are suddenly receiving extremely high bills, and the record high prices are putting undue stress on families already struggling financially. Unpredictable electricity prices make it hard for families to budget. Thankfully, residents enrolled in Hudson Valley Community can rest assured that their electricity rates will stay the same month to month through June 2024. About Hudson Valley Community Power Hudson Valley Community Power is a community choice aggregation program comprising communities in NY's Hudson Valleythat enables participants to save money on electricity by pooling electricity demand in order to leverage the collective buying power of residents and small businesses in effort to secure more favorable terms on their electricity supply and community solar contracts, protect consumers, and support renewable generation sources. Since July 2019, the default electricity supply in participating communities is 100% renewable. The Town of Saugerties launched an electricity supply offering September 2021. Joule Community Power is the program administrator. To learn more, visit hudsonvalleycommunitypower.com. About Joule Community Power Joule Community Power (Joule) is committed to developing a clean energy future for all. Through our comprehensive portfolio of community choice aggregation and sustainability services, Joule ensures the at-scale uptake and deployment of new clean energy resources, enabling municipalities to deliver on their sustainability objectives. Joule's programs empower municipalities to make energy decisions for their own communities, thereby enabling local decision-making and empowerment. In doing so, Joule is shifting New York State's energy dependency from a utility-controlled, fossil fuel model to a municipally-controlled clean, renewable energy model for thousands of households at a time. As a first mover, in 2021, Joule launched the first and only opt-out community solar program in the U.S., bringing the benefits of solarincluding guaranteed electricity bill savingsto entire communities. As of December 31, 2021, Joule represented 800,000 New Yorkers in 44 municipalities. Additionally, Joule enables consumers and institutions to take action and benefit from New York State's ongoing investment in sustainability initiatives. To learn more, visit joulecommunitypower.com. SOURCE Joule Community Power SHANGRAO, China, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. ("JinkoSolar" or the "Company") (NYSE: JKS), one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world, announced that its principal operating subsidiary, Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. ("Jiangxi Jinko"), had announced certain preliminary unaudited financial results for full year 2021. For 2021, (i) the preliminary unaudited revenues of Jiangxi Jinko under PRC GAAP were RMB40.48 billion, (ii) the preliminary unaudited net income attributable to the shareholders of Jiangxi Jinko was RMB1.12 billion, and (iii) the preliminary unaudited net income attributable to the shareholders of Jiangxi Jinko excluding extraordinary gains and losses was RMB532.3 million. JinkoSolar currently owns approximately 58.62% equity interest in Jiangxi Jinko. The preliminary unaudited financial results of Jiangxi Jinko for 2021 described in this press release (the "Jiangxi Jinko Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results") are different from JinkoSolar's consolidated financial results (the "Consolidated Financials"), mainly because (i) the consolidation scope of the Jiangxi Jinko Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results differs from that of the Consolidated Financials: the Jiangxi Jinko Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results are prepared solely for Jiangxi Jinko, whereas the Consolidated Financials also include financial statements of JinkoSolar and its other subsidiaries, and (ii) the Jiangxi Jinko Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results and the Consolidated Financials are prepared according to different accounting standards and principles: the Jiangxi Jinko Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results are prepared in accordance with PRC GAAP, whereas the Consolidated Financials are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. As such, investors of JinkoSolar should exercise caution when reviewing the Jiangxi Jinko Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results described in this press release and are advised not to base their investment decisions solely on such preliminary unaudited financial results. The Jiangxi Jinko Preliminary Unaudited Financial Results described in this press release are unaudited and are subject to change upon the completion of its full year 2021 audit process. These preliminary unaudited financial results should not be viewed as a substitute for full financial statements of Jiangxi Jinko prepared in accordance with PRC GAAP. About JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS) is one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world. JinkoSolar distributes its solar products and sells its solutions and services to a diversified international utility, commercial and residential customer base in China, the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Chile, South Africa, India, Mexico, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, and other countries and regions. JinkoSolar has built a vertically integrated solar product value chain, with an integrated annual capacity of 32.5 GW for mono wafers, 24 GW for solar cells, and 45 GW for solar modules, as of December 31, 2021. JinkoSolar has 12 productions facilities globally, 22 overseas subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, India, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Australia, Portugal, Canada, Malaysia, UAE and Denmark, and global sales teams in China, the United States, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Australia, Korea, India, Turkey, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Hong Kong, as of December 31, 2021. To find out more, please see: www.jinkosolar.com Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the quotations from management in this press release and the Company's operations and business outlook, contain forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in JinkoSolar's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: In China: Ms. Stella Wang JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. Tel: +86 21-5180-8777 ext.7806 Email: [email protected] Mr. Rene Vanguestaine Christensen Tel: + 86 178 1749 0483 Email: [email protected] In the U.S.: Ms. Linda Bergkamp Christensen, Scottsdale, Arizona Tel: +1-480-614-3004 Email: [email protected] SOURCE JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Analytics technology from CloudMedx can revolutionize chronic care management and planning in every community. Nearly half of all Americans, including six-in-ten adults, live with a chronic disease -- costing the country an estimated $3.7 trillion in direct and indirect costs as well as lost productivity. The problem is expected to keep growing in the years ahead. It impacts every area of the country, but some are worse off than others. Now, a new interactive tool from CloudMedx is showing health officials, government leaders, and citizens the degree to which chronic conditions are hurting their communities. Using unprecedented technology, it also allows organizations to determine how their actions can help shape better outcomes. The Chronic Conditions Explorer (CCE), available at ccd.cmxcloud.com, lets users zoom into any county to discover information, including which neighborhoods are hotspots for which illnesses. It shows the percentage of the population that has any of a long list of conditions, from COPD to kidney disease, diabetes, heart failure and more. (The CDC notes that "chronic condition is a general term that includes chronic illnesses and impairments.") The tool also shows emergency room admission rates; per capita costs of these illnesses; numbers of uninsured, and much more. It analyzes how much access patients have to pharmacies, hospitals, and specialists. It tabulates economic factors such as unemployment, poverty, and income inequality that may be exacerbating health and inequality in various neighborhoods. And it displays social determinants of health (SDOH) such as food insecurity, housing, and internet availability. Combining information that is regularly updated from a large number of sources representing all 50 states, 3000 counties, and numerous hospitals using unique algorithms, the CCE delivers the most holistic look at the state of chronic conditions in America, instantly presenting crucial information in an easy-to-view, intuitive way. In addition, the CCE recommends best practices to help combat disease at local and regional levels. Privilege mode integrates with partner data to offer more For healthcare decision makers, the explorer incorporates privately held data, compounding insights by factoring in patient registries, geographies, timelines and more, giving them a richer and deeper understanding of the populations they serve. "The CCE assists healthcare stakeholders in their decision making process, allowing them to predict patient loads for various diseases, calculate costs, and determine the course of action that will deliver the best possible care at the best price," says Tashfeen Suleman , CEO and cofounder of CloudMedx . Using the privilege version, government and health officials can run dozens of scenarios to understand how their plans and strategies may impact health outcomes and costs. For example, a health plan might see a high correlation between food insecurity and diabetes. The tool allows the planner to determine how nutritious food delivery would impact health in the region and lower the expenses associated with diabetes care. In addition, the Chronic Conditions Explorer provides resources to help partners implement programs aimed at improving health in a population. To experience the deeper insights and scenario modeling of the CCE privilege version, register at cloudmedxhealth.com . About CloudMedx: CloudMedx Inc. is transforming healthcare delivery using Artificial Intelligence, giving patients, providers and payers the information they need to ensure the best care, optimize outcomes , and save money. The company's data platform collects and organizes vast amounts of information from public and proprietary sources, including clinical, social, and economic insights. With powerful data visualizations, predictive analytics, interoperable tools and a suite of application services, CloudMedx provides unified patient records, unprecedented understandings of health data in various populations, and automated workflows, yielding superior outcomes. Based in Palo Alto, California, CloudMedx is deployed at some of the largest provider and payer organizations in the country, working with their existing technology to pioneer a new era in which lack of information never gets in the way of patient care or operational excellence. SOURCE Guarisco Group LLC DUNEDIN, Fla., Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanctuary Medicinals today announced the opening of its sixth medical cannabis dispensary in Florida. Located at 1352 Main Street in Dunedin, the 2,300 square-foot dispensary is situated in a prime location in the downtown area, which is easily accessible for travelers coming from I-275, US-19 or FL-60. The Dunedin location will also be Sanctuary's first medical dispensary to offer a drive-thru lane, creating added convenience for patients. "Sanctuary is thrilled to expand access to high-quality medical cannabis to patients in Florida with the opening of our first new location of 2022 and our sixth dispensary in the Sunshine State overall," said Jason Sidman, CEO of Sanctuary Medicinals. "We're excited to introduce Sanctuary to the Dunedin community and look forward to creating a positive impact here," he added. "It's always exciting to see new locations open their doors, and Dunedin is no different," said Bill Dewar, Chief Operating Officer. "The addition of a drive-thru at our Dunedin location a Sanctuary first creates a better experience for our patients," Dewar added. Dunedin joins the St. Petersburg dispensary as the second Sanctuary location on Florida's Gulf Coast, with more locations coming both to the region and across the state throughout the year. Patients in the West Tampa, Clearwater, Largo and Tarpon Point communities are now within reach of Sanctuary's premium products grown or created in-house, including flower, vape cartridges, tinctures and more in addition to a still-growing menu of edibles and concentrate offerings. A Grand Opening event will be held Friday, February 25th, 9am 8pm ET, during which all registered patients will receive a 25 percent discount. Additionally, first-time guests are eligible for a 50 percent new customer discount on purchases up to $150 at any Sanctuary Medicinals Florida location. About Sanctuary Medicinals Sanctuary Medicinals is a vertically-integrated, multi-state cannabis company with operations in Florida, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The company was also recently awarded a provisional retail license in New Jersey. Sanctuary is rapidly expanding into new markets, bringing its high-quality, award-winning products, including flower, vapes, concentrates and edibles to patients and consumers across multiple states, with a steadfast commitment to creating positive impact in the communities in which it operates. For more information, please visit SanctuaryMed.com. Follow us at on social media: Facebook: @sanctuarymedicinalsfl Instagram: @sanctuarymedicinalsflorida Media Contact Loren Hynes 978.301.6600 x1111 [email protected] SOURCE Sanctuary Medicinals ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SWAT Mosquito Systems today announced that they will open a new location in Orlando, Florida. This move is the first foray out of the South Florida region and furthers the company's mission to be the premier provider of mosquito prevention in the Southeast. "We are thrilled to expand the SWAT Mosquito Systems concept throughout Florida. The decision to expand our presence into the Orlando area was a logical next step in our business growth strategy," says Steve Jenkins, CEO at SWAT Mosquito Systems. "Moving into this new market is further validation of our great product, people, and potential. This move ensures the company is best positioned to continue offering both the commercial and residential Florida communities a bug-free environment." SWAT Mosquito Systems has dominated the South Florida market for the past 16 years, combating mosquitoes and no-see-ums with a unique approach. The company provides permanent automated mosquito misting systems for commercial and residential clients, offering installation, repair, maintenance, and service, including tank refills of existing systems. SWAT's expansion into Orlando is just the start of their growth initiative. "We plan on expanding throughout the state of Florida, and eventually other areas of the Southeast," says Jenkins. SWAT will soon open locations in Tampa, Sarasota, and Fort Myers, with an eye toward further expansion into neighboring states. For more information about SWAT Mosquito Systems, please call 407-816-6100 or visit https://orlando.swatmosquitosystems.com. SWAT Mosquito Systems 6663 Narcoossee Rd Suite A1 Orlando, FL 32822 (407) 974-3599 Orlando Mosquito Misting Systems Photos: https://www.prlog.org/12906698 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE SWAT Mosquito Systems BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Luxury Collection, part of Marriott Bonvoy's portfolio of 30 extraordinary hotel brands, welcomes The Ocean Club, a Luxury Collection Resort, Costa Norte in the Dominican Republic's northern coast to its unique ensemble of experiential hotels. Just a 15-minute drive from Puerto Plata Airport, the resort is located deep within the expansive beachfront landscape of the island. Throughout the property, a contemporary and sophisticated design, by Chapi Chapo Design, is portrayed while materiality makes a connection to the place it is an intimate retreat suffused with natural beauty and distinctive cultural experiences. The Ocean Club, a Luxury Collection Resort, Costa Norte "Costa Norte is an ideal fit for our expanding footprint as we continue to offer our global explorers captivating home bases from which to explore all corners of the world," said Philipp Weghmann, VP and Global Brand Leader for The Luxury Collection. "The Ocean Club will draw on the area's natural wonders, and we're delighted to offer our guests unique design and exceptional service as they discover this magical destination." The Ocean Club offers 64 spacious suites, by French interior designer Nathalie Pain, ranging from one to three bedrooms and five multitiered four-bedroom penthouses, which evoke beachfront elegance with modern craftsmanship and design. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the interior with natural daylight and ocean views, while a light color palette with thoughtfully curated artwork and furnishings brings a sophisticated eclecticism and residential feel to the suites. The most enchanting accommodation is the resort's three-floor Presidential Penthouse suite, the largest in the Caribbean with a total of 9,732 square feet of space. The suite boasts five bedrooms, a fitness center, jacuzzi and multiple terraces offering unlimited views of the surrounding tropical landscape. "We are thrilled to formally introduce The Ocean Club, a Luxury Collection Resort, Costa Norte as Dominican Republic's most extraordinary place to vacation, gather, dine and delight," said Herve Humler, President of Ocean Club group. "The opening of this newest gem further diversifies the reinvention of the northern coast of the Dominican Republic." The Ocean Club features three distinct epicurean experiences celebrating the best of the Dominican Republic's produce and cuisine and The Cellar, a Caribbean speakeasy. Baia, the hotel's signature restaurant will offer familiar staples as well as new dishes inspired by the region's produce. Aguazul features Asian-Peruvian fusion cuisine, a menu where the elegant and delicate cuisine of Japan meets the freshness and spicy punch of Peru. Rock Bar & Grill, a casual outdoor restaurant, offers meals at the foot of the ocean where the sunset is the backdrop to Mediterranean meals and signature cocktails. The Cellar showcases an intimate room to enjoy a world-class vintage spirits collection and limited-edition cigars. The property features three pools, two of which are adult-only and beachfront whirlpools with firepits perfect for those who want to unwind after a day of exploring. Guests who prefer their toes in the sand can enjoy the secluded beach, with private wooden cabanas, several lounges and bespoke beach service. The property also features a dedicated marina and helipad to arrive by boat or helicopter. Inspired by the Mediterranean art-de-vivre, L'OCCITANE Spa is seen as the pinnacle of the entire resort experience. Guests at The Ocean Club can enjoy a range of holistic and wellness therapies in a contemporary setting, inspired by local rituals. With four treatment rooms, the spa boasts open-air relaxation areas as well as two sauna rooms, savory nourishment and cafe featuring light delicacies. The hotel also offers complimentary access for all guests to a 24/7 Fitness Center with cardio equipment and free weights. With the hotel's lavish views and stunning grounds providing the perfect backdrop, The Ocean Club is poised to welcome all occasions from social gatherings to intimate events with various spaces to choose from. Rates start from 750 USD per room per night and include both breakfast and airport transfers. For more information or to book a stay, please visit https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/poplc-the-ocean-club-a-luxury-collection-resort-costa-norte/ About The Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts The Luxury Collection, part of Marriott International, Inc., is comprised of world-renowned hotels and resorts offering unique, authentic experiences that evoke lasting, treasured memories. For the global explorer, The Luxury Collection offers a gateway to the world's most exciting and desirable destinations. Each hotel and resort is a unique and cherished expression of its location; a portal to the destination's indigenous charms and treasures. Originated in 1906 under the CIGA brand as a collection of Europe's most celebrated and iconic properties, today The Luxury Collection brand is a glittering ensemble of 120 of the world's finest hotels and resorts in more than 35 countries and territories. All of these hotels, many of them centuries old, are internationally recognized as being among the world's finest. For more information and new openings visit theluxurycollection.com or follow Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. The Luxury Collection is proud to participate in Marriott Bonvoy, the global travel program from Marriott International. The program offers members an extraordinary portfolio of global brands, exclusive experiences on Marriott Bonvoy Moments and unparalleled benefits including free nights and Elite status recognition. To enroll for free or for more information about the program, visit MarriottBonvoy.marriott.com. About Marriott Bonvoy Marriott Bonvoy's extraordinary portfolio offers renowned hospitality in the most memorable destinations in the world, with 30 brands that are tailored to every type of journey. From The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis to W Hotels and more, Marriott Bonvoy has more luxury offerings than any other travel program. Members can earn points for stays at hotels and resorts, including all-inclusive resorts and premium home rentals, and through everyday purchases with co-branded credit cards. Members can redeem their points for experiences including future stays, Marriott Bonvoy Moments, or through partners for luxurious products from Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques. To enroll for free or for more information about Marriott Bonvoy, visit marriottbonvoy.com SOURCE Marriott International, Inc. WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the National Prescription Opiate Litigation Plaintiffs' Executive Committee confirmed participation of over 90% of litigating local governments nationwide in the $26 billion global opioid settlements finalized with the "Big Three" drug distributors - AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson - and opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. The settlements require 85% of funds be allocated to programs that will help address the ongoing opioid crisis through treatment, education, and prevention efforts. A majority of states have already passed agreements that dictate how funds will be distributed between state and local subdivision governments, ensuring funds will effectively reach communities in the coming months. The settlement was made possible in part by the years of advocacy by the entire Plaintiffs' Executive Committee (PEC) on behalf of their more than 3,300 community clients. This team of lawyers worked for over four years to position these cases for this unprecedented resolution and cultivated collaborative working relationships with the State Attorneys General. The Plaintiffs' Executive Committee continues to work actively with all parties to address the unique needs of the few states and communities that have yet to sign onto the agreements. The settlements currently have 100% participation from litigating local governments in nearly forty states. Statement from PEC negotiation team of Elizabeth Cabraser of Lieff Cabraser, Jayne Conroy of Simmons Hanly Conroy, Paul Geller of Robbins Geller, Peter Mougey of Levin Papantonio Rafferty, Joe Rice of Motley Rice LLC, Jennifer Scullion of Seeger Weiss, and Chris Seeger of Seeger Weiss: "We arrived at this moment after years of work by community leaders across the country who committed themselves to seeking funds they need to combat the opioid epidemic. We must also recognize the efforts of the many attorneys general and private counsel who have relentlessly pursued long overdue opioid epidemic recovery resources on behalf of their constituents and clients. The bottom line from this news is that help is on the way for first responders and healthcare workers on the front lines of this public health crisis. While nothing can truly make whole what was lost in this country, what we can do is ensure that thousands of communities nationwide have the tools they need to prevent the opioid epidemic from taking more lives. We hope this agreement does exactly that. It is also important to remember that while this is a vital step, it is only one of the many that are necessary to put an end to this crisis. We will continue our work at the negotiation table and in court during the trials ahead to hold companies in the opioid supply chain accountable." The settlement is the first of its kind to administer resources directly to the state and local governments specifically for relief programs to help rebuild the devastation caused by the opioid epidemic. The settlement will distribute funds based on population adjusted for the proportionate share of the opioid epidemic impact. The share of the impact is calculated using detailed, and objective national data, including the amount of opioids shipped to the state, the number of opioid-related deaths that occurred in the state and the number of people who suffer opioid use disorder in the state. Initial deposits were put into escrow in 2021 and the first round of funding for many programs could be delivered as soon as May 2022 following a consent judgment within each participating state. Additional funds are expected to be received by July 2022. The settlement also calls for injunctive relief that requires the "Big Three" drug distributors and Johnson & Johnson to make significant changes to corporate practices to protect consumer health and welfare. Litigation continues in state and federal courts around the country against other companies in the opioid supply chain. This settlement follows the jury verdict from November 23, 2021 in the federal trial in Ohio that found CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart liable for fueling the opioid crisis in Lake County and Trumbull County of Ohio. A judge will determine the value of the opioid epidemic abatement funds owed by pharmacy chains to these communities in May 2022. A bench trial decision is pending in West Virginia federal court where Cabell County and the City of Huntington brought a case against the "Big Three" distributors. Both the Ohio and West Virginia trials are part of the federal opioid litigation, which involves more than 3,300 communities across the United States holding drug manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacy chains accountable amid the ongoing and worsening opioid epidemic. The federal trial involving the City of San Francisco against pharmacy chain defendants will begin on April 25, 2022. In a case conducted jointly by PEC firms and the Attorney General of New York, manufacturer Teva and distributor Anda were found liable by a jury on December 30, 2021. Updated information about these settlements are available at the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee negotiation team's website: www.nationalopioidsettlement.com . Media Contact Sunshine Sachs: [email protected] SOURCE National Prescription Opiate Litigation Plaintiffs Executive Committee SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vance & Hines today announced the FP4, the next generation of its industry-leading engine control module (ECM) flash tuning products. The FP4 features an all-new circuit board, case, firmware and mobile app, all of which were designed and manufactured in Santa Fe Springs, California. The FP4 brings greater control and optimum performance tuning to Harley-Davidson Touring and Softail models because it's the only app-driven tuner in the market. Vance & Hines Reveals FP4, Its Next Generation Engine Control Module Tuner "We know riders want the best setup for their Harley-Davidson, just like we do for our race bikes," said Vance & Hines President Mike Kennedy. "Think about it, the bike's stock ECM is set for a stock exhaust and factory air intake. When you make changes, like adding a different exhaust or air intake, you need the right tune to get the full performance potential out of your engine." The heart of the Vance & Hines FP4 is the ability to dial-in the motorcycle's ECM tune to match the performance upgrades that a rider adds to their motorcycle, such as an aftermarket exhaust system and a high flow air intake. Owners of the FP4 may choose from a vast library of Vance & Hines maps created in the company's dyno-tuning lab in California. Vance & Hines maps are model-specific and are created using actual parts on real motorcycles, not projections made from previous tests. Owners are able to further develop those maps with a number of customization options found in the FP4 app. The Vance & Hines FP4 unit has a slimmer and smaller case and a longer wiring harness than its predecessor, Fuelpak FP3, allowing more options for locating the hardware on the motorcycle. It features simplified LEDs on the unit, which display the communication between the unit and the bike. The FP4 also uses the new red OBD II connector, which is now standard on 2021 and 2022 Harley-Davidson Touring and Softail models. The Vance & Hines FP4's smartphone app is one of the significantly upgraded features of the device. It has a new look, is easier to use and is faster than ever before. The user experience is vastly improved with a redesigned navigation bar, giving easy access to the FP4's core tuning functions. The Live Data capability of the app includes a new gauge layout and delivers more data to the rider than any other ECM tuner on the market. The new Performance Data feature is a data logger that allows users to go for a ride, then study the data collected from that ride. This feature also uses the built-in GPS from the rider's phone to map out and store the ride route, allowing riders to analyze and compare the data collected to the actual road and highway situations at the time. Support for users of the Vance & Hines FP4 takes customer service to a whole new level. Riders can use the app to directly upload their map to the FP4 customer service website to receive hands-on technical support, while speaking to a representative on the phone, email or chat. This support for owners is unheard of in the powersports industry. "With FP4, it's as simple as connect, tune, ride. That's the mantra that guided us in developing the next generation of our industry-leading ECM tuner," Kennedy continued. "The FP4 is the most intuitive, easy to understand, rider friendly tuner in the market, and we're really proud of that." The Vance & Hines FP4 is compatible with 2021 and 2022 model year Harley-Davidson Touring and Softail motorcycles. Suggested Retail is $459.99. About Vance & Hines The Vance & Hines brand has always been about enhancing the exhilaration of the motorcycle ride. It started over 40 years ago, when Terry Vance and Byron Hines were two young enthusiasts in the fledgling Southern California motorcycle drag race scene. Terry always wanted to go faster and Byron knew how to make that happen. In short order, their on-track success and innovation drew the attention of other racers, riders and motorcycle manufacturers, which ultimately translated to commercial demand for their products and services. Today, the Company's mission and activity is the same; make bikes go faster on the racetrack and take those learnings to make impactful products for riders around the world. Since the Company's inception in 1979, it has run factory race programs in partnership with Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati and Harley-Davidson in drag racing, road racing and flat track. Vance & Hines is based in Santa Fe Springs CA and has its Racing Development Center in Brownsburg IN. Learn more about the company's history and products at www.vanceandhines.com. Press Contact Steve Piehl 4143750475 https://news.vanceandhines.com SOURCE Vance & Hines DUBLIN, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Military Laser Rangefinder Market 2022-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The publisher has been monitoring the military laser rangefinder market and it is poised to grow by $4.67 billion during 2022-2026,progressing at a CAGR of 6.70% during the forecast period. This report on the military laser rangefinder market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by the demand for lightweight military laser rangefinders and the need for highly precise weapons. The military laser rangefinder market analysis includes the product segment and geographic landscape. The publisher's military laser rangefinder market is segmented as below: By Product Handheld equipment Observation systems By Geographical Landscape North America Europe APAC South America MEA This study identifies the increase in border security threats as one of the prime reasons driving the military laser rangefinder market growth during the next few years. The publisher presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters. Our report on military laser rangefinder market covers the following areas: Military laser rangefinder market sizing Military laser rangefinder market forecast Military laser rangefinder market industry analysis The publisher's robust vendor analysis is designed to help clients improve their market position, and in line with this, this report provides a detailed analysis of several leading military laser rangefinder market vendors that include Elbit Systems Ltd., Jenoptik AG, LAP GmbH Laser Applikationen, Leonardo Spa, Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., Saab AB, Safran SA, Teledyne FLIR LLC, and Thales Group. Also, the military laser rangefinder market analysis report includes information on upcoming trends and challenges that will influence market growth. This is to help companies strategize and leverage all forthcoming growth opportunities. The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors. The publisher presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers. The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research - both primary and secondary. The publisher's market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast the accurate market growth. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary Market Overview 2. Market Landscape Market ecosystem Value chain analysis 3. Market Sizing Market definition Market segment analysis Market size 2021 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021 - 2026 4. Five Forces Analysis Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition 5. Market Segmentation by Product Market segments Comparison by Product Handheld equipment - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Observation systems - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Market opportunity by Product 6. Customer landscape 7. Geographic Landscape Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 MEA - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Key leading countries Market opportunity By Geographical Landscape Market drivers Market challenges Market trends 8. Vendor Landscape Vendor Landscape Landscape disruption 9. Vendor Analysis Vendors covered Market positioning of vendors Elbit Systems Ltd. Jenoptik AG LAP GmbH Laser Applikationen Leonardo Spa Lockheed Martin Corp. Northrop Grumman Corp. Saab AB Safran SA Teledyne FLIR LLC Thales Group 10. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k936r0 Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets ATLANTA, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Pigford v. Glickman class action racial discrimination lawsuit filed by Black farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for decades of anti-Black racism in the delivery of loans, subsidies, disaster assistance, and other program benefits. Despite their steadfast organizing efforts, Black farmers still have not received justice from ongoing institutional discrimination within USDA. Due to the disastrous implementation of the Pigford lawsuit, most Black farmers were left with unconscionable debt, farm foreclosures, and with no legal recourse to save their family farms. Only 4 percent of the $1B settlement went to debt cancellation. Moreover, the Pigford lawsuit did not uproot institutional discrimination within USDA. Consequently, anti-Black racism persists within USDA, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices, the Office of Civil Rights, and the county committee system. For 25 years, thousands of Black farmers have either been foreclosed on or forced to take out loans with private banks to pay off debts with USDA. The USDA also offset Black farmers' tax refunds, social security, disability, and subsidy payments to cover this immoral debt. Over the years, aging Black farmers delayed foreclosures by filing pro se complaints in federal court. Our Coalition provided President Joe Biden with two tremendous policy recommendations to lessen the economic suffering of Black farmers within his first 100 days in office: debt cancellation for socially disadvantaged farmers and the USDA foreclosure moratorium. Unfortunately, similar to the Pigford lawsuit the implementation of the debt cancellation program has been poorly implemented by Secretary Thomas Vilsack. The American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law in March 2021 by President Joe Biden, provided debt cancellation and a $1B Fund for outreach and other technical assistance services for farmers of color. Of significant importance, section 1006 also included a provision to provide direct payments to farmers who had experienced discrimination from USDA including farmers who had to pay USDA via private bank loans to maintain ownership of their multigenerational family farms. A month after the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, our Coalition, backed by over a hundred signatories, submitted a letter to Secretary of Vilsack urging for swift implementation of the $5B debt cancellation and related services provisions of the Act to alleviate the economic devastation caused by the COVID pandemic and exacerbated by decades of systemic racial discrimination by USDA against Black farmers and other farmers of color. White farmers filed numerous lawsuits in federal courts challenging the debt cancellation program for socially disadvantaged farmers, which ultimately resulted in the halt of the debt cancellation program. As a result of Secretary Vilsack's inaction for over 100 days, justice was delayed once again for Black farmers. During this same period, Secretary Vilsack provided billions of dollars in funding to a variety of entities including the timber and meat-packing industries through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Fund, and nonprofits through cooperative agreements, while continuing his inaction regarding the relentless economic suffering of Black farmers. One of Secretary Vilsack's most egregious decisions was funding 20 nonprofits $75M in cooperative agreements from the American Rescue Plan Act, ranging from $2M to $10M, with no oversight, accountability, nor transparency. Many of these nonprofits have received numerous cooperative agreements from USDA since 2021. Notably, none of the nonprofits that signed our Coalition's letter back in April 2021 received funding; thus, creating a cloud of cronyism and political retribution over the stewardship of the $1B Fund. Although planting season is quickly approaching, Secretary Vilsack has continuously refused to distribute the $750M in direct payments to farmers who have experienced discrimination from USDA. Secretary Vilsack's recent obstructionism further affirms his abysmal civil rights track record. There is a saying in the Black community, "when somebody shows you who they are, believe them the first time." During his 8-year term, the Black farming community witnessed Secretary Vilsack's weak commitment to racial equity and open hostility to restoring Black farmers through the resolution of their discrimination complaints. The Black farming community vehemently opposed Secretary Vilsack's third term as Secretary of Agriculture. In an open letter to President-Elect Joe Biden published in the Washington Post on December 30, 2020, Lloyd Wright, former director of the USDA Civil Rights Office, opined that Secretary Vilsack should have been disqualified from consideration back in 2008 due to the fact that when he left the Governor's office in Iowa, he left a class action lawsuit filed by more than 5,000 African American plaintiffs alleging discriminatory hiring and promotion practices while he was Governor. Mr. Wright further documented Secretary Vilsack's continued pattern and practice of systemic discrimination as Secretary of Agriculture by his refusal to settle discrimination complaints by Black farmers during his 8-year tenure. The Office of the Inspector General's September 2021 USDA Oversight of Civil Rights Complaints audit report is the latest incriminating report as to the dysfunctions and failures of the Civil Rights Office. The report found that the Civil Rights Office did not timely process civil rights complaints. Specifically, in fiscal year 2019, the Civil Rights Office averaged 799 days to process complaints compared to the 180-day standard. The report was heavily redacted "due to concerns about the risk of circumvention of the law." To date, our numerous requests to receive an unredacted copy of the report have been ignored. During his eight-year tenure, Secretary Vilsack foreclosed on Black farmers who should have had their debt cancelled from the Pigford lawsuit. One of the most egregious cases was that of Dorothy and Eddie Wise, Black farmers from Whitakers, North Carolina. On January 20, 2016, the Wises were forcibly removed from their farm by federal marshals in full military gear in a foreclosure action related to the Pigford lawsuit debacle. Due to the trauma of the violent dispossession of their family farm, Dorothy Wise died within a year. Secretary Vilsack also placed debt offsets against Black farmers' social security and disability checks in cases where these checks were the sole income to feed their families. To illustrate, Rod Bradshaw, Black farmer from Jetmore, Kansas, revealed that the USDA wrongly took over $186K in debt offsets from his since the Pigford lawsuit debacle. Currently, the racial disparities in debt offsets are being investigated by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic and the Center for Public Integrity. Additionally, Secretary Vilsack made numerous claims about civil rights at USDA that were proven to be untrue by the 2-year investigation, "How USDA Distorted Data to Conceal Decades of Discrimination Against Black Farmers" by Nathan Rosenberg and Bryce Wilson Stucki. The investigation found that USDA promoted misleading data to depict a fictional renaissance in Black farming that falsely inflated the agency's record on civil rights and ultimately cost Black farmers land and money. Back in 2010, Secretary Vilsack wrongly and hastily fired Shirley Sherrod, Georgia State Director for Rural Development, due to false allegations of discrimination against white farmers but took no action against any of the racist USDA loan officers with well-documented complaints of discrimination and racial animus against Black farmers. More recently, Secretary Vilsack did not fire any of the loan officers in Georgia who accelerated the loans and issued foreclosure notices against Black farmers in violation of President Biden's existing USDA foreclosure moratorium. In yet another blatant act of arrogance and disregard for the restoration of Black farmers, Secretary Vilsack has refused to respond to U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock's congressional inquiry as a member of the U.S. Senate Agriculture committee regarding the allocation of the $1B Fund provided under the American Rescue Plan Act. For these reasons, we demand the resignation of Secretary Thomas Vilsack. SOURCE African American Agriculturalist Association Tishman Speyer will work with Almono, a joint venture of the Richard King Mellon Foundation , The Heinz Endowments , and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation , to convert the historic former steel-mill site, a symbol of Pittsburgh's industrial past, into a hub of innovation, science and sustainability that honors the community's history. Tishman Speyer and Almono will create the infrastructure and environments to support exploration and advances in robotics, A.I., life sciences and other 21 st century fields. Tishman Speyer will further activate and animate Hazelwood Green through the development of new affordable and market-rate apartments, parks, open spaces, shops and eateries run by small and local retailers and other community amenities, all in accordance with approved Preliminary Land Development Plan for the site. Each element will be designed to complement and act as a vibrant extension of the historic Hazelwood neighborhood that surrounds the site. Almono and Tishman Speyer expect to deliver millions of square feet of new mixed-use development over the coming decade. In addition to its new role as master developer for Hazelwood Green, Tishman Speyer has agreed to work with Carnegie Mellon University on its Robotics Innovation Center. Tishman Speyer will assist Carnegie Mellon on the siting, design, construction and programming of its facility, which will be located within Hazelwood Green's historic Mill District. Opening for CMU's project is slated for 2024. "Pittsburgh has long been a global model for urban reinvention, thanks in large part to the support of its bedrock local institutions, including Mellon, Heinz, and Benedum," said Tishman Speyer President and CEO Rob Speyer. "We look forward to delivering on a shared vision for Hazelwood Green as a sustainable, equitable hub of innovation, discovery and community." Added Tishman Speyer Senior Managing Director Jeffrey Mandel, "We are thrilled by this opportunity to collaborate with world renowned innovators and local community members to create a thriving, sustainable neighborhood at Hazelwood Green." "Tishman Speyer is an ideal partner for the next phase of this important project," said Sam Reiman, Director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation. "They are uniquely well suited to help us maximize the potential of this generational opportunity from their international expertise; to their ability to build innovation districts around research universities; to their relationships with the world's most creative corporations; their record on sustainability and historic preservation; and their demonstrated commitment to building community partnerships that are consistent with our foundation values. Tishman Speyer will be instrumental in working with Carnegie Mellon on their transformative buildings at Hazelwood Green and connecting them physically and programmatically to Greater Hazelwood." Grant Oliphant, President of The Heinz Endowments, said, "This is a huge milestone for Hazelwood and for Pittsburgh. The vision for Hazelwood Green is breathtakingly ambitious, because it envisions the reinvention of this massive site as the key to unlocking a more inclusive and sustainable future for everyone in Pittsburgh, and to make sure the neighborhood around it shares in what happens here. As we looked around to find a master developer who could take on a challenge of this magnitude, Tishman Speyer quickly emerged as the logical choice. The firm is one of the most accomplished developers of transformative, mixed-use spaces in the world, and its team has the expertise, creativity, resources and depth to deliver on the goals we have set for this site. We look forward to working alongside them and our local and community partners to create a place that will drive Pittsburgh's continued renewal and benefit all in our community." Jen Giovannitti, President of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, added, "The Almono foundations have been committed to this moment for over twenty years: the moment when the various parts fall into place to create an achievable vision for growth, equity and sustainability on a prominent former steel mill site. Now Pittsburgh's bold leaders from academia, community, business, and philanthropy join a global developer who has aspirations as audacious as our own. I want to thank our predecessors, our Boards of Trustees, and the select group of elected officials that believed in this project and lent their support in meaningful ways since we purchased the property in 2002." Tishman Speyer is a pre-eminent builder and a trusted placemaker for the world's leading companies, institutions and cities. The firm, which has delivered more than 50 million square feet of mixed-use development and redevelopment projects over the past decade, has earned an international reputation for its innovative approaches to architecture, interior design, sustainability, healthy live-work environments and best-in-class tenant amenities. Tishman Speyer brings to the partnership a proven ability to produce vibrant, welcoming and authentic neighborhoods that complement and enhance their surrounding communities. The company is currently working with the San Francisco Giants on the creation of Mission Rock, a new, 28-acre mixed-use development on the Bay Area waterfront and was selected by Harvard Allston Land Company to develop the forthcoming Enterprise Research Campus across 14 acres in the Boston region. Other major mixed-use collaborations include Tailgate City in San Diego, The Springs in Shanghai and the redevelopment of the Chang-An Steel Mill in Beijing. Tishman Speyer is also regarded for its redevelopment and ongoing stewardship of Rockefeller Center in New York City. In May 2021, the Richard King Mellon Foundation awarded $75 million to Carnegie Mellon University to construct a new robotics innovation center and provide ongoing support for its Manufacturing Futures Institute located at Mill 19 at Hazelwood Green. "Carnegie Mellon University is pleased to have the opportunity to work with Tishman Speyer to develop our Robotics Innovation Center, and to have their expertise on board for the comprehensive development of Hazelwood Green as an innovation hub," said CMU President Farnam Jahanian. "Through our partnerships with the foundation community, the Greater Hazelwood community, and both the public and private sector, CMU has already developed several world-class research, development and training initiatives at Hazelwood Green, including the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute and the Manufacturing Futures Institute. With Tishman Speyer on board, I look forward to amplifying our impact on this ecosystem and advancing our collective vision for Hazelwood Green as a model for sustainable and inclusive economic development." In November 2021, the Richard King Mellon Foundation announced that it was awarding a $100 million grant the largest in its 74-year history to the University of Pittsburgh. This grant will help the University build a highly specialized biomanufacturing facility, which it is calling Pitt BioForge. "These singular initiativeswhich are impressive all on their ownfit within a larger collective effort to transform Hazelwood Green," says Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. "We have Almono leading the way, a strong commitment to community, the University of Pittsburgh and CMU as innovation engines, andnowthe unparalleled expertise of Tishman Speyer. It's a powerful combination that is poised to bring new economic growth and opportunities to the Pittsburgh region." "This is great news for Pittsburgh. Having Tishman Speyer, a nationally renowned builder of developments that enhance regions, at the helm of Hazelwood Green will be a win-win for our community. The fact that the partners in Hazelwood Green were able to attract such an esteemed partner is a testament to their work and vision," said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. "The work to create and support an ecosystem around technology, robotics, AI, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and technologies of the future will benefit this entire region." "We know the vision for Hazelwood Green has always been to rebuild a part of the neighborhood while lifting up the surrounding community and creating opportunities for existing residents," said Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey. "With a developer of the caliber of Tishman Speyer at the table, we are excited to begin working towards achieving these shared goals. We look forward to this partnership and are thankful to build off the foundation laid by the community and the Almono Partners that centers the social and economic needs of our city." "Hazelwood Green can and will set the standard for future development in the City of Pittsburgh," said Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O'Connor. "I'm excited to welcome Tishman Speyer to the neighborhood and have confidence that this partnership will ensure that this is a touchstone of modern, thoughtful design that's attentive to residents' social and economic needs, promotes and enshrines affordability, and meets high sustainability standards and certifications." "The Hazelwood Initiative is excited to welcome Tishman Speyer to our neighborhood," said Hazelwood Initiative Executive Director Sonya Tilghman. "We look forward to collaborating with them on a Hazelwood Green that is fully integrated with the existing community and a model for how development can put people first." Center for Life founder and Executive Director Tim Smith said, "As a long time community leader in the Greater Hazelwood community, I'm thrilled to hear that Tishman Speyer will be joining in with the Hazelwood leadership to help us accomplish our goal of 'Development without Displacement.' Center of Life is looking forward to working with the Tishman Speyer Team." Todd Stern, Managing Director at U3 Advisors, which will continue to serve as managing agent for the site, said, "As strategic advisors to large nonprofit institutions throughout the United States, we believe that this extraordinary partnership is uniquely positioned to bring world-class mixed-use development to the historic Hazelwood neighborhood while ensuring that the benefits of growth are shared equitably among Pittsburgh's diverse stakeholders." Hazelwood Green is a rare opportunity in urban economic development. It is an open riverside tract of vast size at 178 acres, Hazelwood Green is nearly half the size of Downtown Pittsburgh itself, with a striking Downtown view, proximity to two of the nation's leading research universities (Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh) and a remarkable historical pedigree. Hazelwood Green is the site of the former Jones & Laughlin steel mill. Two historic structures from the mill's operations remain, and already have been renovated and redeveloped by Almono. Mill 19, now owned by RIDC, is home to Carnegie Mellon University's Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing and Manufacturing Futures Initiative, Catalyst Connection and Motional. The mill's steel superstructure supports the largest rooftop solar array in the United States. And the renovated Roundhouse opened last year, with its 10 bays and turntable still highlighting the structure. The Roundhouse now is home to Silicon Valley-based entrepreneurship platform OneValley. The Roundhouse is aiming for LEED Gold Certification. About Almono. Almono Limited Partnership (Almono LP) is the primary land owner at Hazelwood Green. Almono LP is made up of three foundations: the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, Richard King Mellon Foundation, and The Heinz Endowments. The site's development will catalyze investment within the Hazelwood neighborhood while drawing from the deep history and culture that remains intact through the people and the physical fabric of the neighborhood. There is no site of this scale and potential that is more uniquely situated within the urban context of the Pittsburgh region; where research and talent is grown and fostered within premier universities, local neighborhoods remain unique and affordable, and the real estate market demands creative financial solutions. About Tishman Speyer. Tishman Speyer is a leading owner, developer, operator and investment manager of first-class real estate in 30 key markets across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. We develop, build and manage premier office, residential and retail spaces for industry-leading tenants, as well as state-of-the-art life science centers through our Breakthrough Properties venture. With global vision, on-the-ground expertise and a personalized approach, we are unparalleled in our ability to foster innovation, quickly adapt to global and local trends and proactively anticipate our customers' evolving needs. By focusing on health and wellness, enlightened placemaking and customer-focused initiatives such as our tenant amenities platform, ZO., and our flexible space and co-working brand, Studio, we tend not just to our physical buildings, but to the people who inhabit them on a daily basis. Since our inception in 1978, Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed, and operated 484 properties, totaling 219 million square feet, with a combined value of over $121 billion (U.S.). Our current portfolio includes such iconic assets as Rockefeller Center in New York City, The Springs in Shanghai, TaunusTurm in Frankfurt and the Mission Rock neighborhood currently being realized in San Francisco. About U3 Advisors. U3 Advisors works nationally with anchor institutions to advance their mission and unlock their impact. Through envisioning and implementing transformative real estate and economic strategies and interventions, U3 creates vibrant and sustainable campuses and communities that promote economic impact and inclusion. SOURCE Tishman Speyer This historic nomination brings us one step closer to a judiciary that reflects all of the citizens it serves. Tweet this Judge Jackson was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Miami, FL. Her parents attended segregated schools in the South before enrolling at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Both started their careers as public school teachers and became leaders and administrators in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. When Judge Jackson expressed her desire to attend Harvard to her high school guidance counselor, the guidance counselor warned her not to set her sights "so high." Despite that admonition, Judge Jackson enrolled in and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and then Harvard Law School. At Harvard Law School, Judge Jackson graduated cum laude and was an editor on the Harvard Law Review. After law school, Judge Jackson served as a law clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer, who became her mentor. She later served as a federal public defender representing defendants who could not afford a lawyer. Judge Jackson then followed in the footsteps of her mentor, Justice Breyer, by working on the U.S. Sentencing Commission where her work focused on reducing sentencing disparities and ensuring that federal sentences were just and proportionate. Upon confirmation, Judge Jackson would become the first former federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court. Since Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement, President Biden has conducted a rigorous process to identify his replacement. The President sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and an unwavering dedication to the rule of law. He also sought a nominee much like Justice Breyer who is wise, pragmatic, and has a deep understanding of the Constitution as an enduring charter of liberty. The President sought an individual who is committed to equal justice under the law and who understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court's decisions have on the lives of ordinary people. Judge Jackson meets all of these criteria. She is an exceptionally qualified nominee who is regarded as one of the nation's brightest legal minds. We urge the Senate to move forward with a fair and timely confirmation. This historic nomination brings us one step closer to achieving a judiciary that reflects all of the citizens it serves. Judge Jackson will undoubtedly make an indelible mark on the Supreme Court, and we applaud President Biden for honoring his promise. # # # About Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA) is an international service organization that was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African-American, college-educated women. Alpha Kappa Alpha is comprised of over 300,000 members in more than 1,000 graduate and undergraduate chapters in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Liberia, Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Canada, Japan, Germany, South Korea, South Africa, and in the Middle East. Led by International President and Chief Executive Officer, Glenda Glover Ph.D., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is often hailed as "America's premier Greek-letter organization for African-American women." Visit www.aka1908.com for more information. SOURCE Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. SAN FRANCISCO , Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Avela has been selected to The Top 20, the acclaimed list of finalists in The GSV Cup the world's largest pitch competition for EdTech startups. Companies selected to The Top 20 represent the top pre-seed and seed stage startups in digital learning across the "Pre-K to Gray" space. Avela will now compete for up to $1M in cash and prizes in San Diego this April at the ASU+GSV Summit, the 13th annual education technology event hosted by Arizona State University and GSV Ventures. GSV Cup Top 20 Badge Avela Wins GSV Cup Top 20 Avela was selected from an initial applicant pool of 750+ global companies, which was further narrowed to The Elite 200 semifinalists. More than 175 judges from leading venture capital firms and strategic partners in digital learning like Accel, General Atlantic, Reach Capital, and Owl Ventures, among others, used rigorous criteria to determine the Top 20 most promising companies to compete on stage at ASU+GSV. "We truly appreciate our school district partners for trusting us to support their enrollment reform and equity initiatives, and for endorsing us for this award," said Greg Bybee, Co-Founder and CEO of Avela. "It's an honor to work with these leading educators, and we look forward to showcasing their innovative work at the ASU+GSV Summit." "GSV is so proud to recognize an epic group of global edtech founders as our final 20," said Deborah Quazzo, Managing Partner of GSV Ventures and Co-founder of ASU+GSV Summit. "These companies have been rigorously evaluated by a judging panel exceeding 90 top venture investors. Congratulations to all!" The Top 20 companies include AdeptID, AdmitKard, Avela, Bodyswaps, Cerebry, Clayful, Cognitive ToyBox, Collective Academy, Crack The Code, Curious Cardinals, InfinityEDU, Kibo School, Learn In, Lynx Educate, PathMatch, Spark Studio, Terra.do Climate School, Ticmas, Tomorrow University, and uDocz. The GSV Cup is powered by Google Cloud, HubSpot for Startups, HolonIQ, and GSV Ventures. Learn more about Avela and the GSV Cup at https://avela.org/gsv . ABOUT AVELA Avela gives enrollment, admission, and award officers the tools to make equitable decisions and empower families. Avela's enrollment suite supports each stage of the admission journey with a focus on equity, accessibility, and ease of use. Avela is proud to work with leading education nonprofits, school districts, and universities to promote equity in access to education. https://avela.org. ABOUT GSV VENTURES GSV Ventures is a female-led, multi-stage venture capital firm focused on the $7+ trillion education sector. The fund is currently investing out of GSV Ventures Fund III and backs innovative entrepreneurs around the world in the "Pre-K to Gray" Arc of Learning. GSV manages over $675 million in global EdTech investments. Portfolio holdings include Andela, Class Technologies, ClassDojo, Coursera, Course Hero, Degreed, Guild, MasterClass, Outlier, Photomath, Quizizz, Lead School, Brightchamps, and ClassPlus, among others. For Media Relations contact: Greg Bybee [email protected] 415-580-2613 SOURCE Avela, Inc. "I am incredibly proud of our entire team at Bestow and want to congratulate everyone for all they do each day for our customers, partners, and each other," said Melbourne O'Banion, Co-Founder and CEO of Bestow. "We are excited to earn the Great Place to Work Certification as we enter into our fifth year of business on the heels of major progress and growth." Life insurance technology company Bestow is proud to be Certified by Great Place to Work for the first time this year. Bestow has a bold mission to make life insurance accessible to millions of underserved families, and the team has developed an incredible culture while delivering against that mission. In 2021, Bestow doubled headcount and revenue year-over-year while achieving pivotal business milestones, including strategic partnerships powered by its platform , becoming the first full-stack challenger carrier , and launching a SaaS offering which is a first-of-its-kind solution for the life insurance industry. Foundationally, Bestow is a mission-driven company with guiding principles that include intellectual rigor, being customer obsessed, and delivering results. The team's commitment to these values is reflected in the survey results, which show at Bestow: 95% of employees feel management involves people in decision-making. 99% of employees agree that Bestow executives fully embody the best characteristics of the company. 99% of employees consider Bestow's benefits as special and unique; and 95% of employees look forward to coming to work at Bestow. The company has plans to hire at least 150 people in 2022. According to Great Place to Work research , employees at Bestow are: 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work Twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company's profits, and have a fair chance at promotion. Employees are immensely valued at Bestow, and it shows in benefits offerings and employee engagement initiatives. One of Bestow's most-valued benefits is 100% paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for employees and their qualifying dependents. In addition to industry-standard benefits like unlimited paid time off, the company provides $1,000 a year to learn, grow and experience the world through a lifestyle spending account. Bestow also has employee-led and leadership-sponsored Employee Resource Groups like "Pride" and "Ladies and Allies at Bestow." "Great Place to Work Certification isn't something that comes easily it takes ongoing dedication to the employee experience," said Sarah Lewis-Kulin, vice president of global recognition at Great Place to Work. "It's the only official recognition determined by employees' real-time reports of their company culture. Earning this designation means that Bestow is one of the best companies to work for in the country." Bestow has offices in Austin and Dallas, Texas, and Des Moines, Iowa, with employees in 33 states. To learn more about what makes Bestow an exceptional place to work or view current job openings, visit bestow.com/careers . About Bestow Bestow is the leading life insurance technology company. As both a direct-to-consumer destination and an infrastructure provider, Bestow powers instant life insurance solutions for businesses of all sizes, across any channel. In a world full of unknowns, Bestow is on a mission to make life insurance accessible to millions of underserved families by creating the best possible products and experiences that serve future generations. To learn more, visit bestow.com . About Great Place to Work Certification Great Place to Work Certification is the most definitive "employer-of-choice" recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place to Work-Certified. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All. Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and on LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook and Instagram . SOURCE Bestow Inc. NEW HAVEN, Conn., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. (NYSE: BHVN; the "Company" or "Biohaven") announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Channel Biosciences, LLC, a subsidiary of Knopp Biosciences LLC , and its Kv7 channel targeting platform adding the latest advances in ion-channel modulation to Biohaven's growing neuroscience portfolio. The Kv7 platform has been developed and refined for over a decade by a team with deep experience in ion channel science led by Michael Bozik, M.D., and Steven Dworetzky, Ph.D. Both leaders, along with members of their scientific team, are anticipated to join Biohaven as part of the transaction, further bolstering the discovery and translational expertise at Biohaven Labs. The lead asset, BHV-7000 (formerly known as KB-3061), is a potent activator of Kv7.2/Kv7.3, key subunits involved in neuronal signaling and in regulating the hyperexcitable state in epilepsy. The acquisition of BHV-7000 and the Kv7 channel-targeting series demonstrates Biohaven's continued commitment to neurology and to meeting the unmet needs of these patients. Biohaven intends to bring BHV-7000 to the clinic in 2022, with focal epilepsy as the lead indication for development. Vlad Coric, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Biohaven, stated, "With this transaction, we have added one of the most innovative and exciting therapeutic targets for epilepsy to Biohaven's portfolio. This technology platform is poised to deliver new treatment options for patients suffering from epilepsy and, if ultimately approved, will be synergistic with our existing commercial sales force already calling upon neurologists who also may treat patients with seizures. We are excited to welcome Mike, Steven and members of the Kv7 team into the Biohaven family and look forward to working with them to accelerate this platform to benefit patients." Michael Bozik, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Channel Biosciences and its parent, Knopp Biosciences, commented, "Kv7 modulators have demonstrated clear efficacy in the clinic but have been limited by off-target effects. Our team has developed a portfolio of what we believe are potentially best-in-class Kv7 modulators to deliver novel therapies across several different indications. We are proud that Biohaven recognizes the potential of this platformBiohaven was the clear partner of choice, given their demonstrated leadership in neurology and excellence in both developing and commercializing paradigm-shifting treatments for patients." Epilepsy affects approximately 3.5 million Americans, or more than 1.2% of adults and 0.6% of children, and more than 50 million patients worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. It is the fourth most common neurological disorder, and many patients struggle to achieve seizure freedom, with more than a third of patients requiring two or more medications to manage their epilepsy. While the use of anti-seizure medications is often accompanied by dose-limiting side effects, BHV-7000 is specifically designed to target potassium channels without engagement of GABA receptors. The lack of GABA activity potentially gives BHV-7000 a wide therapeutic window and is expected to result in an improved side effect profile, limiting the somnolence and fatigue so often seen in patients receiving anti-seizure medications. By adding BHV-7000 to its pipeline, Biohaven aims to bring this novel potassium channel modulator as a solution to patients who remain uncontrolled on their current regimen. Irfan Qureshi, M.D., Vice President of Neurology at Biohaven, commented, "The Kv7 channel platform is highly complementary to Biohaven's existing neurology pipeline and expands our potential to serve patients. We know Kv7 is a clinically validated target for focal epilepsy, and BHV-7000's unique profile is particularly exciting. Preclinical data suggest it offers the potential for significant reductions in seizure frequency without the troublesome side effects associated with other anti-seizure medications." Members of the Channel Biosciences' scientific team will join and complement the discovery expertise at Biohaven Labs, adding world-leading ion channel scientists and driving its mission for bringing novel medicines to patients facing neurologic and neuropsychiatric diseases. This team includes CEO Dr. Bozik, a neuroscience clinician who was part of the leadership team at Bristol Myers Squibb that brought Abilify through to New Drug Approval, and Chief Scientific Officer, Steven Dworetzky, Ph.D., who cloned and discovered the KCNQ 2, 3, and 5 genes (now called Kv7.2, 7.3, and 7.5), and who has authored numerous patents and publications in this area. Dr. Dworetzky commented, "The selection of BHV-7000 as the lead asset to enter the clinic is based upon its superior potency for Kv7.2/Kv7.3 and wide therapeutic margin compared to other compounds. We are excited to join Biohaven to accelerate clinical development of BHV-7000 and other drug candidates from our ion channel platform." Terms of the Arrangement In consideration for the transaction, Biohaven will make an upfront payment comprised of $65 million in Biohaven common shares and $35 million in cash to Knopp Biosciences. Biohaven has also agreed to make additional success-based earnout payments (i) up to $325 million based on BHV-7000 developmental and regulatory epilepsy milestones through approvals in the US, EU and Japan, (ii) up to an additional $250 million based on developmental and regulatory milestones for the Kv7 pipeline development in other indications and additional country approvals, and (iii) up to $562.5 million in scaled, commercial annual sales-based milestones of BHV-7000, the total of which will be achieved when annual sales exceed $3 billion. Biohaven has also agreed to make scaled royalty payments for BHV-7000 and the pipeline programs, starting at high single digits and peaking at low teens for BHV-7000 and starting at mid-single digits for the pipeline programs. About Biohaven Biohaven is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative, best-in-class therapies to improve the lives of patients with debilitating neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including rare disorders. Biohaven's Neuroinnovation portfolio includes FDA-approved NURTEC ODT (rimegepant) for the acute and preventive treatment of migraine and a broad pipeline of late-stage product candidates across three distinct mechanistic platforms: CGRP receptor antagonism for the acute and preventive treatment of migraine; glutamate modulation for obsessive-compulsive disorder, Alzheimer's disease, and spinocerebellar ataxia; and myeloperoxidase (MPO) inhibition for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. More information about Biohaven is available at www.biohavenpharma.com. About Knopp Biosciences LLC Knopp Biosciences is a privately held, Pittsburgh-based drug discovery and development company focused on delivering breakthrough treatments for immunological and neurological diseases with high unmet need. Knopp's clinical-stage oral small molecule, dexpramipexole, is in development for eosinophilic asthma. Knopp's preclinical Kv7 platform is directed to small-molecule treatments for epilepsy and neuropathic pain. Please visit www.knoppbio.com. Forward-looking Statement This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The use of certain words, including "believe", "may" and "will" and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including statements that are based on the current expectations and assumptions of Biohaven's management about BHV-7000 and Kv7 as a target for the treatment of epilepsy, pain disorders and affective disorders. Biohaven may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements, and the conditions to the obligations of Biohaven and Channel Biosciences to consummate the transaction may not be satisfied, the transaction may not close at all or on the terms expected, and if the transaction closes, Biohaven's plans to integrate the acquired business into Biohaven may not be successful. You should not place undue reliance on Biohaven's forward-looking statements. Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Additional important factors to be considered in connection with forward-looking statements are described in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2021, and Biohaven's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements are made as of this date and Biohaven does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. NURTEC and NURTEC ODT are registered trademarks of Biohaven Pharmaceutical Ireland DAC. Neuroinnovation is a trademark of Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. Biohaven Contacts Investor Relations Jen Porcelli, VP, Investor Relations Biohaven Pharmaceuticals [email protected] +1 (201) 248-0741 Media Mike Beyer, Media Relations Counselor Sam Brown Inc. [email protected] +1 (312) 961-2502 SOURCE Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. LONDON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele on Sunday said he will send Congress a proposal to grant citizenship to foreigners who invest in the Central American country, another step in the populist leader's plan to bolster the country's economy by attracting non-traditional capital. "I'm sending 52 legal reforms to congress to remove red tape, reduce bureaucracy, create tax incentives, citizenship, in exchange for investments, new securities laws, stability contracts, etc.," Bukele said on Twitter. Since September, El Salvador has attracted increasing international interest when it passed a law that made the cryptocurrency Bitcoin legal tender. Like the new package of El Salvador reforms, that law was first proposed by Bukele. If the new citizenship legal reform is passed, El Salvador would become one of the few countries to offer a citizenship by investment programme, joining several other small countries, mainly in the Caribbean, according to the world's leading government advisory and marketing firm CS Global Partners . CBI Programmes usually require a vetted applicant to make a minimum monetary contribution to a government fund or purchase real estate in the country to obtain citizenship. Greater crypto freedom with CBI "An increasing number of crypto investors and tech entrepreneurs have started looking to second citizenship as a means of achieving greater freedom", says Micha Emmett, the CEO of CS Global Partners. She added that this growing demographic has combined assets like cryptocurrency with additional citizenships to unlock financial autonomy and wealth diversity. "As crypto gained more traction in the last few years, we've started seeing an increase in interest for second citizenship from the tech community. This demographic, technologically, is already global, so it makes sense that they want their assets to reflect this mindset," she said. A second citizenship offers a level of safety and security that investors can rely on during political or economic turmoil. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has particularly triggered families to obtain second citizenship to better protect themselves and their financial assets whilst increasing their global mobility. The dual-island nation of St Kitts and Nevis has been a popular destination amongst the wealthy, mainly because of its CBI Programme . This initiative provides a trusted route to second citizenship once an applicant invests in the nation. Established in 1984, St Kitts and Nevis' programme is internationally recognised as a 'Platinum Standard' brand. Despite being the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, St Kitts and Nevis is one of the most technologically advanced nations in the region regarding its crypto-friendly approach to banking. The islands recently passed a bill simplifying the trade of virtual assets and are also currently running a digital currency pilot programme known as DCash. St Kitts and Nevis also does not impose income, inheritance, or capital gains tax, allowing citizens to breathe a little freer as they focus on the investments that matter to them. More countries are considering the CBI route El Salvador is not the only country tossing with the idea of citizenship by investment to boost its economy. Just last month, Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the Government would offer Pakistani nationality to foreign investors, particularly as a way to recruit heavy investments from the wealthy individuals of neighbouring China and Pakistan. Jamaica's Government is also being pushed to consider adopting a citizenship by investment programme with the funds gained through the process used for various development projects. Julian Dixon, CEO and broker at Jamaica Sotheby's International Realty, made the call in October 2021. She said funds gained from the project should be used to invest in the country's infrastructure, real estate, job creation and business development. "For a number of countries, especially in the Caribbean, there is no denying that CBI programmes offer a much-needed injection of foreign direct investment, often in a way that can make a significant developmental difference. These funds are channelled into reducing international aid and debt, developing the tourism sector, job growth as foreigners often employ locals when expanding offices or constructing properties, and sustainability initiatives," CS Global Partner's Emmett commented. Dixon particularly pointed out that St Kitts and Nevis, which pioneered the citizenship by investment programme close to four decades ago and has invested upwards of US$300 million from the programme in modernising its infrastructure. She said Jamaica could do the same. A trusted product St Kitts and Nevis offers a trusted product that has been acclaimed globally by independent studies like the annual CBI Index published by the Financial Times' PWM magazine. With an influx of citizenship programmes on the market, St Kitts and Nevis continues to be a powerhouse within the industry with one of the longest-standing programmes in operation. Those who become citizens gain a wealth of benefits , including increased global mobility to financial centres in Asia, Europe and Africa, alternative business prospects, and the ability to pass citizenship down, thus establishing a future legacy for one's family. Additionally, St Kitts and Nevis does not impose any personal income, gift or inheritance tax and has a currency pegged to the US dollar, making it a financially lucrative destination for savvy investors. The country's CBI Unit, which processes all economic citizenship applications, usually issues approvals or denials within a period of three months. There are no interviews, language, education, or business requirements. Travel to the island is not obligatory, and no minimum residence stays apply either before or after Citizenship is obtained. Due diligence procedures remain among the industry's most robust, and the nation is strengthening them by focusing on enhancing fingerprinting and biometrics. For those looking to hedge against future risks, combining the dual-island nation's crypto-friendly policies and second citizenship provides investors with the ultimate insurance policy during times of unpredictability. St Kitts and Nevis remains the best destination for securing your future with a thriving financial services sector and a growing crypto hub. Media Contacts: [email protected], www.csglobalpartners.com SOURCE CS Global Partners FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Angelinos have been aware of Cannaphyll's best-in-class, hemp-infused topicals since the bi-coastal brand launched its first products nationwide in 2020. Since then, its popular body-care formulas have only been available in California via e-commerce channels. Beginning this month, the SoCal marketplace will be able to purchase Cannaphyll topicals in select Earthbar locations in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Cannaphyll Cannaphyll Earthbar President, Bob Lustig, commented on the arrival of Cannaphyll products in his stores, "Cannaphyll offers premium products at affordable prices. We are excited to offer them for sale in select locations." Cannaphyll's line of topical products includes gel, spray, and cream options. Each contains 1,000 mg of USDA Certified Organic hemp oil per ounce. Additionally, Cannaphyll's patent-pending formulas utilize other active ingredients, such as elderberry, aloe vera, arnica, hyaluronic acid, and a signature blend of essential oils. This potent combination of phylloceuticals works to deliver fast-acting, natural relief from pain and inflammation. "We're very excited to make our products more easily available to the Southern California consumer," says Cannaphyll CEO, Jude Bond, adding that "Los Angeles has been one of our most popular markets to-date, and we're proud that it has been an early adopter of the brand." LA Weekly recently named Cannaphyll one of the 12 Best CBD Lotions and Creams, calling it "a unique blend of effective and gentle ingredients to support pain, muscle, and joint relief." For a list of Earthbar locations that stock Cannaphyll, please visit Cannaphyll's store locator, via www.cannaphyll.com About Cannaphyll: Cannaphyll is a health and wellness brand based in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida and San Francisco, California. The original Cannaphyll formula was created by company founder and VP of Product Development, Kim Clark, in 2011. The company was founded in 2017 when Jude Bond joined Clark to market her popular hemp-oil-infused topicals. Registered in 2019, the brand officially launched in February of the following year, winning Best Overall Branding and Marketing at USA CBD Expo 2020. The brand's products are available in many locations, including cannaphyll.com , amazon.com , select Earthbar stores, physicians' offices, chiropractors, yoga studios, acupuncturists, and many others. Learn more about Cannaphyll at cannaphyll.com . About Earthbar: Founded in 1971, Earthbar is respected as a Southern California, holistically-based healthy supply company. They pride themselves in offering a "better way of being" and believe in "Provision with a Purpose." Earthbar is constantly researching, innovating, and striving to bring their loyal consumers a variety of "better-for-you" products. They presently have locations across the state of California, including operations in numerous Equinox Gyms, the Los Angeles International Airport, and free-standing brick-and-mortar outlets. For more information visit www.earthbar.com . Please direct inquiries to: Jude Bond, CEO Phone: (727) 365-3142 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Cannaphyll MIAMI, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Casa , a South Florida-based technology startup that provides home improvement contractors turn-key software to run their business, announced today the closing of a $1.2 Million pre-seed fundraising round and the coming launch of their new platform. Hustle Fund, GS Futures, Chaos Capital, and other investors participated in the round. Contractor Website on Casa Consumer Financing on Contractor Website Residential Home Improvement Contractors use Casa's new all-in-one platform for managing their website, SEO, social media management, customer relationship management (CRM), financing their customers, marketing automation, accessing business capital and increasing sales. This is all integrated into one powerful white-label website. Founded in 2020, Casa is now coming out of stealth mode and formally announcing the launch of the third iteration of the platform called, "Ares". The Casa Platform launched its Beta in March of 2021. Casa has since been adopted by over 700 Contractors in all 50-states across over 100-different trades including: various remodeling specialties, roofing, HVAC, siding, pool construction, hardscaping, and others. Casa helps contractors run more efficiently, get paid faster, and make more money per project. For example, Casa's proprietary financing technology has no additional costs to contractors and pre-qualifies over 85% of applicants without affecting their credit score. Offering financing through Casa enables Contractors end-customers to afford the scope they want and pay Contractors on-time. Casa's industry leading financing platform supports personal loans, promotional financing offers, unsecured credit cards, HELOC's, and home equity investments through dozens of partners including Foundation Finance Company, FTL Finance, Noah, Hometap, and more than a dozen other industry leading financing partners. Casa is growing rapidly and the company projects reaching 1,000 new contractors per month by this summer. Casa's growth is powered by its low cost and ease of use. Starting at $99 a month, contractors can save thousands of dollars per year by using the Casa "business in a box" platform as opposed to paying multiple vendors for less powerful features with no interoperability. "Contractors can launch a powerful world-class website that is fully integrated into our back-office software solutions in a matter of minutes and without any technical experience." said Santo J. Leo, CEO and Co-Founder of Casa. "In addition to enterprise-level software, our contractor customers have access to industry leading hands-on support to make digitizing their business seamless. Contractors have a dedicated Account Executive who trains all stakeholders including ownership, sales, service, financing, and accounting departments on Casa. Additionally, we provide phone and chat support for any in-field needs that may arise whether from the contractor or their end-customers." Casa will use the funds to support the platform's continued growth to hire more sales and engineering talent. Casa is already in the final stages of closing its Seed round and plans to launch its new version, "Ares", this spring. Ares expands the CRM to include quoting, contract management, invoicing, digital payments, social media, marketing automation, and many other features. About Casa: Casa helps contractors run more efficiently, get paid faster, and make more money per project. Launch your new website and start pre-qualifying your customers for financing in a matter of minutes or schedule a demo at www.pros.casa. Casa also provides a free contractor search engine and project financing tools for consumers who do not yet have a contractor. Learn more at www.pros.casa. Media Contact: Santo Leo 833.983.2272 [email protected] SOURCE Casa SAO PAULO, Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 4Q21 X 4Q20 HIGHLIGHTS Consolidated vehicle traffic increased by 7.0%. Excluding ViaCosteira and RodoNorte, the increase was 2.5% in the period . Excluding ViaCosteira and RodoNorte, the was The number of passengers transported in airports increased by 86.3% in the period. in the period. The number of passengers transported in mobility business increased by 24.9% in the period. in the period. Adjusted EBITDA grew by 37.9% , with a margin of 51.7% (10.1 p.p.). Same-basis 1 adjusted EBITDA increased by 49.7% , with a margin of 53.7% (13.3 p.p.). , with a margin of 51.7% (10.1 p.p.). Same-basis adjusted EBITDA , with a margin of 53.7% (13.3 p.p.). Net Loss totaled R$133.2 million , compared to a loss of R$74.8 million in 4Q20. On the same base 1 , Net Income totaled R$182.6 million , compared to a Net Loss of R$12.3 million . , compared to a loss of in 4Q20. On the same base , , compared to a Net Loss of . On January 28, 2022 , the Company disclosed a Material Fact announcing it's subsidiary RioSP (Dutra) - Sistema Rodoviario Rio de Janeiro (RJ) Sao Paulo (SP) signed a concession agreement to operate Rodovia BR-116/RJ, Rodovia BR-116/SP, Rodovia BR-101/RJ, and Rodovia BR-101/SP for a term of thirty years. , the Company disclosed a Material Fact announcing it's subsidiary signed a concession agreement to operate Rodovia BR-116/RJ, Rodovia BR-116/SP, Rodovia BR-101/RJ, and Rodovia BR-101/SP for a term of thirty years. On January 21, 2022 , the Company disclosed a Material Fact announcing the signing of a concession agreement for the Pampulha Airport , whose purpose is the concession of public services for the operation, expansion and maintenance of this asset, for a concession term of 30 years. , the Company disclosed a Material Fact announcing the , whose purpose is the concession of public services for the operation, expansion and maintenance of this asset, for a concession term of 30 years. On November 29, 2021 , the Company communicated the termination of RodoNorte's concession agreement , due to the end of its maturity. , the Company communicated the , due to the end of its maturity. On November 25, 2021 , CCR informed its shareholders that it would begin paying interim dividends of approximately R$0.08 per common share on December 15, 2021 . , CCR informed its shareholders that of approximately per common share on . The COVID-19 pandemic impacted demand and consequently CCR's 4Q21 results. For more details, please refer to the "COVID-19" section of this earnings release and Note 1.1 of the Financial Statements. 1. Same-basis adjustments are described in the same-basis comparison section. IFRS Proforma Financial Indicators (R$ MM) 4Q20 4Q21 Chg % 4Q20 4Q21 Chg % Net Revenues1 2,557.3 2,835.2 10.9% 2,671.4 2,993.6 12.1% Adjusted Net Revenues on the same basis2 2,354.7 2,651.3 12.6% 2,468.9 2,809.6 13.8% Adjusted EBIT3 425.0 600.6 41.3% 474.2 685.2 44.5% Adjusted EBIT Mg.4 16.6% 21.2% 4.7 p.p. 17.8% 22.9% 5.1 p.p. Adjusted EBITDA5 1,064.0 1,467.0 37.9% 1,137.1 1,579.2 38.9% Adjusted EBITDA Mg.4 41.6% 51.7% 10.1 p.p. 42.6% 52.7% 10.1 p.p. Adjusted EBITDA on the same basis2 950.9 1,423.5 49.7% 1,024.0 1,535.7 50.0% Adjusted EBITDA Mg. on the same basis4 40.4% 53.7% 13.3 p.p. 41.5% 54.7% 13.2 p.p. Net Income (74.8) (133.2) 78.1% (74.8) (133.2) 78.1% Net Income on the same basis2 (12.3) 182.6 n.m. (12.3) 182.6 n.m. Net Debt / Adjusted EBITDA LTM (x) 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.0 Adjusted EBITDA5 / Interest and Monetary Variation (x) 3.5 2.6 3.4 2.6 IFRS Proforma Financial Indicators (R$ MM) 2020 2021 Chg % 2020 2021 Chg % Net Revenues1 8,941.1 11,175.4 25.0% 9,356.0 11,723.4 25.3% Adjusted Net Revenues on the same basis2 8,149.9 9,154.1 12.3% 8,564.8 9,802.4 14.4% Adjusted EBIT3 2,071.1 3,558.1 71.8% 2,216.1 3,840.0 73.3% Adjusted EBIT Mg.4 23.2% 31.8% 8.6 p.p. 23.7% 32.8% 9.1 p.p. Adjusted EBITDA5 4,715.8 6,995.0 48.3% 4,996.9 7,387.5 47.8% Adjusted EBITDA Mg.4 52.7% 62.6% 9.9 p.p. 53.4% 63.0% 9.6 p.p. Adjusted EBITDA on the same basis2 4,140.7 5,313.1 28.3% 4,421.9 5,705.5 29.0% Adjusted EBITDA Mg. on the same basis4 50.8% 58.0% 7.2 p.p. 51.6% 58.2% 6.6 p.p. Net Income 191.0 695.6 264.2% 191.0 695.6 264.2% Net Income on the same basis2 232.1 1,013.3 336.6% 232.1 1,013.3 336.6% Net Debt / Adjusted EBITDA LTM (x) 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.0 Adjusted EBITDA5 / Interest and Monetary Variation (x) 3.9 4.3 3.7 4.2 Net revenue excludes construction revenue. The same-basis effects are described in the same-basis comparison section. Calculated by adding Net Revenue, Construction Revenue, Cost of Services, and Administrative Expenses. The adjusted EBIT and EBITDA margins were calculated by dividing adjusted EBIT and EBITDA by net revenue, excluding construction revenue. Calculated by excluding non-cash expenses: depreciation and amortization, provision for maintenance, and accrual of prepaid concession expenses. Conference Calls/Webcast Access to the conference calls/webcasts: Conference call in Portuguese with simultaneous translation into English: Friday, february 25, 2022 11:00 a.m. Sao Paulo / 9:00 a.m. New York Participants calling from Brazil: (11) 4090-1621 or (11) 3181-8565 Participants calling from the U.S.: (+1) 412 717-9627 Access Code: CCR Replay: (11) 3193 1012 Code: 8366456# or 5097751# The instructions to participate in these events are available on CCR's website: www.ccr.com.br/ri. IR Contacts Flavia Godoy: (+55 11) 3048-5955 Douglas Ribeiro: (+55 11) 3048-6353 Caue Cunha: (+55 11) 3048-2108 Caique Moraes: (+55 11) 3048-2108 SOURCE CCR S.A. BEIJING, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The situation in eastern Ukraine has recently undergone rapid changes, causing great concern in the international community. There is a complex historical context on the Ukraine issue and the current situation is the result of the interplay of many complicated factors. Chinese President Xi Jinping Friday spoke with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on the phone, exchanging views on the situation in Ukraine. The Chinese president made it clear that the Chinese side supports the Russian side in solving the issue through negotiation with the Ukrainian side. China's consistent stance on the Ukraine issue During Friday's phone conversation, Xi told Putin that China determines its position concerning the Ukrainian issue on its own merits. Xi noted China has long held the basic position of respecting all countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity, and abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China has recently reiterated its call for all parties involving in the Ukraine issue to exercise restraint to avoid further escalation of tensions and opposed actions that hype up war. On regional hotspot issues, as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying pointed out, China is always committed to promoting peace and negotiation and playing a constructive role in seeking a peaceful resolution of these issues. Rejecting the Cold War mindset "It is important to reject the Cold War mentality, take seriously and respect the reasonable security concerns of all countries and reach a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiation," said Xi on Friday. He added China is prepared to work with other members of the international community to promote common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and to resolutely safeguard the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law. Xi stressed, in a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on February 16, that relevant parties should stick to the general direction of political settlement, make full use of multilateral platforms and seek a comprehensive settlement of the Ukraine issue through dialogue and consultation. Putin expressed Russia's willingness to have high-level negotiation with Ukraine when talking with Xi. The Kremlin later also announced that Moscow is ready to send a delegation to Belarus' capital Minsk for talks with Ukraine. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-02-25/China-calls-on-Russia-Ukraine-to-solve-issue-through-negotiation-17WIP1jPxpS/index.html SOURCE CGTN To understand more about Market Dynamics. Download our FREE sample report According to the recent market study by Technavio, the Chocolate Market in South America is expected to increase by USD 4.11 billion from 2021 to 2026, at an accelerated CAGR of 5.24%. The report provides a detailed analysis of drivers & opportunities, top winning strategies, competitive scenario, future market trends, market size & estimations, and major investment pockets. Download FREE Sample: for more additional information about the key regions in South America Top 3 Vendor Analysis of Chocolate Market in South America The Chocolate Market in South America is fragmented, and the vendors are deploying growth strategies such as focusing on product delivery through multiple distribution channels to compete in the market. Companies are employing mergers, expansions, acquisitions, and partnerships, as well as new product development, as strategic tactics to increase their brand visibility. Colombina SA: Offers chocolate products such as Choco Vanilla Cone, ChocoBreak Assorted Fruit x 50 UN, and ChocoBreak Assorted Fruit x 30 UN. Empresas Carozzi SA: Offers chocolate products such as maqui truffles, cranberries, ginger, rum and cognac chocolates. Lindt and Sprungli (USA) Inc: Offers chocolate product brands such as Lindt, Ghirardelli, Russell Stover, and Caffarel. If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extract FREE! Get report snapshot here to get a detailed market share analysis of market participants: https://www.technavio.com/report/chocolate-market-industry-in-south-america-analysis Chocolate Market In South America 2022-2026: Segmentation Chocolate market in South America is segmented as below: Product Dark Chocolate Milk And White Chocolate Geography Brazil Chile Rest Of South America The chocolate market in South America is driven by rising awareness regarding health benefits offered by chocolate and increasing marketing activities. In addition, other factors such as growing demand for customized chocolate are expected to trigger the chocolate market in South America toward witnessing a CAGR of over 5.24% during the forecast period. Download our FREE sample report for more key highlights on the regional market segmentation of the above-mentioned country. Latest Drivers & Trends Driving the Market- Chocolate Market in South America Key Driver: Rising awareness regarding health benefits offered by chocolate: Dark chocolate, which has a high percentage of cocoa, is particularly suggested for preventing or slowing the aging process as well as some ailments such as cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, chocolate's antioxidant content, blood pressure-lowering capabilities, and presumed anti-aging benefits will continue to drive the consumption of chocolate and chocolate products. According to recent research findings, chocolate consumption helps people look younger and reduces stress, which is projected to drive chocolate demand in the market throughout the forecast period. Chocolate Market in South America Key Trend: The impulse purchasing behavior of consumers: Confectionery items exhibited prominently in venues like shops and supermarkets can draw customers' attention and lead to impulse purchases. Furthermore, impulsive purchases are fueled by a surge in consumer disposable money and a shift in lifestyles, in addition to attractive display techniques used by retailers. In recent years, the color and packaging of chocolate have played an essential influence in its purchase. Following the shift in product perception, manufacturers have made significant investments in product design, labelling, pricing, and packaging. Find additional information about various other market Drivers & Trends mentioned in our FREE sample report . Didn't Find What You Were Looking For? Customize Report- Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights about 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! Here are Some Similar Topics- Limonene Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The limonene market share is expected to increase by USD 137.10 million from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 4.79%. Download Exclusive Free Sample Report Fruits and Vegetables Market in Uruguay by Type and Exporting nations - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The fruits and vegetables market share in Uruguay is expected to increase by 2214.52 thousand units from 2021 to 2026, at a CAGR of 6.59%. Download Exclusive Free Sample Report Chocolate Market Scope in South America Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 5.24% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 4.11 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 4.60 Regional analysis South America Performing market contribution Rest of South America at 53% Key consumer countries Brazil, Chile, and the Rest of South America Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled Arcor Group, Colombina SA, Dori Alimentos SA, Empresas Carozzi SA, Ferrero International SA, Lindt and Sprungli (USA) Inc., Mars Inc., Mondelez International Inc., Nestle SA, and The Hershey Co. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis 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. Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 1.1 Market Overview Exhibit 01: Key Finding 1 Exhibit 02: Key finding 2 Exhibit 03: Key finding 3 Exhibit 04: Key finding 5 Exhibit 05: Key finding 6 Exhibit 06: Key finding 7 2. Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 07: Parent market Exhibit 08: Market characteristics 2.2 Value chain analysis 2.2.1 Inputs 2.2.2 Inbound logistics 2.2.3 Primary processing 2.2.4 Secondary and tertiary processing 2.2.6 End-customers 2.2.7 Marketing and sales 2.2.8 Services 3. Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 09: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 10: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2021 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021 - 2026 3.4.1 Estimating growth rates for emerging and high-growth markets 3.4.2 Estimating growth rates for mature markets Exhibit 11: South America - Market size and forecast 2021 - 2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 12: South America market: Year-over-year growth 2021 - 2026 (%) 4. Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five Forces Summary Exhibit 13: Five forces analysis 2021 & 2026 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 14: Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 15: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 16: Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 17: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 18: Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 19: Market condition - Five forces 2021 5. Market Segmentation by Product 5.1 Market segments The segments covered in this chapter are: Dark chocolate Milk and white chocolate Exhibit 20: Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Product Exhibit 21: Comparison by Product 5.3 Dark chocolate - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 22: Dark chocolate - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 23: Dark chocolate - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Milk and white chocolate - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 24: Milk and white chocolate - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 25: Milk and white chocolate - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Market opportunity by Product Exhibit 26: Market opportunity by Product 6. Customer landscape Technavio's customer landscape matrix comparing Drivers or price sensitivity, Adoption lifecycle, importance in customer price basket, Adoption rate and Key purchase criteria 6.1 Overview Exhibit 28: Customer landscape 7. Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation The regions covered in the report are: Brazil Chile Rest of South America Exhibit 28: Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 29: Geographic comparison 7.3 Brazil - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 30: Brazil - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 31: Brazil - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.4 Chile - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 32: Chile - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 33: Chile - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.5 Rest of South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 34: Rest of South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 35: Rest of South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.6 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 36: Market opportunity by geography ($ billion) 8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.1.1 Rising awareness regarding health benefits offered by chocolate 8.1.2 Increasing marketing activities 8.1.3 Growing demand for customized chocolate 8.2 Market challenges 8.2.1 Growing health concerns about diabetes and obesity 8.2.2 Shortage of vanilla 8.2.3 Price fluctuation of raw materials Exhibit 37: Impact of drivers and challenges 8.3 Market trends 8.3.1 The impulse purchasing behavior of consumers 8.3.2 Increasing number of M&A 8.3.3 Rising demand for premium chocolate 8.3.4 Introduction of organic, vegan, and sugar and gluten-free chocolate 9. Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview Exhibit 38: Vendor landscape 9.2 Landscape disruption Exhibit 39: Landscape disruption Exhibit 40: Industry risks 10. Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 41: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 42: Market positioning of vendors 10.3 Arcor Group Exhibit 43: Arcor Group - Overview Exhibit 44: Arcor Group - Business segments Exhibit 45: Arcor Group - Key offerings Exhibit 46: Arcor Group - Segment focus 10.4 Colombina SA Exhibit 47: Colombina SA - Overview Exhibit 48: Colombina SA - Business segments Exhibit 49: Colombina SA - Key offerings Exhibit 50: Colombina SA - Segment focus 10.5 Dori Alimentos SA Exhibit 51: Dori Alimentos SA - Overview Exhibit 52: Dori Alimentos SA - Product and service Exhibit 53: Dori Alimentos SA - Key offerings 10.6 Empresas Carozzi SA Exhibit 54: Empresas Carozzi SA - Overview Exhibit 55: Empresas Carozzi SA - Business segments Exhibit 56: Empresas Carozzi SA - Key offerings Exhibit 57: Empresas Carozzi SA - Segment focus 10.7 Ferrero International SA Exhibit 58: Ferrero International SA - Overview Exhibit 59: Ferrero International SA - Product and service Exhibit 60: Ferrero International SA-Key news Exhibit 61: Ferrero International SA - Key offerings 10.8 Lindt and Sprungli (USA) Inc. Exhibit 62: Lindt and Sprungli (USA) Inc. - Overview Exhibit 63: Lindt and Sprungli (USA) Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 64: Lindt and Sprungli (USA) Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 65: Lindt and Sprungli (USA) Inc. - Segment focus 10.9 Mars Inc. Exhibit 66: Mars Inc. - Overview Exhibit 67: Mars Inc. - Product and service Exhibit 68: Mars Inc. - Key offerings 10.10 Mondelez International Inc. Exhibit 69: Mondelez International Inc. - Overview Exhibit 70: Mondelez International Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 71: Mondelez International Inc.- Key news Exhibit 72: Mondelez International Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 73: Mondelez International Inc. - Segment focus 10.11 Nestle SA Exhibit 74: Nestle SA - Overview Exhibit 75: Nestle SA - Business segments Exhibit 76: Nestle SA- Key news Exhibit 77: Nestle SA - Key offerings Exhibit 78: Nestle SA - Segment focus 10.12 The Hershey Co. Exhibit 79: The Hershey Co. - Overview Exhibit 80: The Hershey Co. - Business segments Exhibit 81: The Hershey Co. - Key news Exhibit 82: The Hershey Co. - Key offerings Exhibit 83: The Hershey Co. - Segment focus 11. Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.1.1 Market definition 11.1.2 Objectives 11.1.3 Notes and caveats 11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 84: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.3 Research Methodology Exhibit 85: Research Methodology Exhibit 86: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 87: Information sources 11.4 List of abbreviations Exhibit 88: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio Top 3 Vendor Analysis of Crowdfunding Market AngelList Holdings, LLC - The company offers hemostasis diagnostics machines under the brand name of Alinity. CircleUp Network Inc. - The company offers hemostasis diagnostics machines under the brand name of DxH Connected Workcell. Crowdcube Ltd. - The company offers hemostasis diagnostics machines under the brand name of CoaguChek. Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights. Subscribe now to our most popular "Lite Plan" billed annually at USD 3000. View 3 reports monthly and Download 3 Reports Annually! Crowdfunding Market 2022-2026: Segmentation By type, the market has been segmented into P2P lending, equity investment, hybrid, reward, and others. The P2P lending segment will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. Several initiatives by governments across the world are supporting the growth of the market in this segment. Individuals can access the funds for spending on planned activities in a shorter time as P2P lenders liquidate the fund before the end of the terms for which the loan is availed. However, the growth of this segment is expected to remain slow during the forecast period, due to the declining number of participants opting for the P2P business model, especially from MEA and APAC. By geography, the market has been segmented into APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East And Africa. APAC will have the largest market share growth during the forecast period. Learn about the contribution of each segment of the market. View Our Free Sample Report Drivers and Challenges The free-of-cost promotion through social media is one of the key factors driving the growth of the crowdfunding market. This provides an opportunity to pre-sell and market products free of cost. An active crowdfunding campaign can be inexpensive and can rapidly reach multiple channels. Social media is a common platform that is adopted for many crowdfunding campaigns. It allows the tracking of referral traffic to the websites. Thus, with social media, enterprises can promote ideas free of cost. This is likely to drive the global crowdfunding market during the forecast period. Time consumption will be a major challenge for the crowdfunding market during the forecast period. Crowdfunding includes several stages, which involve product development, finding investors for initial investments to fund marketing expenses, product registration, and expenses related to making the product compliant to standards if any. These processes are time-intensive and can often lead to delays in crowdfunding projects. In most of these crowdfunding projects, the deadlines are fixed by the individuals/companies. The delays in delivering the projects can result in customers withdrawing from the projects, as well as refunds. Such delays and failures in the crowdfunding market result in reduced customer/investor confidence in investing in crowdfunding campaigns. Learn about more drivers and challenges impacting the growth of the crowdfunding market. View Our Free Sample Report Now Similar Reports: Life Annuity Insurance Market in Singapore by Distribution Channel and Type - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Insurance Brokerage Market in Europe by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Crowdfunding Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Decelerate at a CAGR of 16.81% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 239.78 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 18.97 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 63% Key consumer countries US, China, Australia, UK, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled AngelList Holdings, LLC, CircleUp Network Inc., ConnectionPoint Systems Inc., Crowdcube Ltd., Crowdfunder Ltd., DonorsChoose, FUELADREAM Online Ventures Pvt. Ltd., Fundable LLC, Fundrise LLC, GoFundMe Inc., Indiegogo Inc., ioby, Ketto Online Ventures Pvt. Ltd., Kickstarter PBC, Milaap Social Ventures India Pvt. Ltd., Patreon Inc., RealCrowd Inc., Seedrs Ltd., Chuffed.org Pty Ltd., and Kiva Microfunds 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. Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Market overview Exhibit 01: Executive Summary Chart on Market Overview Exhibit 02: Executive Summary Data Table on Market Overview Exhibit 03: Executive Summary Chart on Global Market Characteristics Exhibit 04: Executive Summary Chart on Market by Geography Exhibit 05: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Type Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Incremental Growth Exhibit 07: Executive Summary Data Table on Incremental Growth Exhibit 08: Executive Summary Chart on Vendor Market Positioning 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 09: Parent market Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 12: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2021 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026 Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 4 Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 17: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2021 and 2026 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 18: Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026 5 Market Segmentation by Type 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 24: Chart on Type - Market share 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 25: Data Table on Type - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Type Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by Type Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by Type 5.3 P2P lending - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 28: Chart on P2P lending - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 29: Data Table on P2P lending - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 30: Chart on P2P lending - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on P2P lending - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Equity investment - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 32: Chart on Equity investment - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 33: Data Table on Equity investment - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 34: Chart on Equity investment - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 35: Data Table on Equity investment - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Hybrid - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 36: Chart on Hybrid - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 37: Data Table on Hybrid - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 38: Chart on Hybrid - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Hybrid - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.6 Reward - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 40: Chart on Reward - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 41: Data Table on Reward - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 42: Chart on Reward - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 43: Data Table on Reward - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.7 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 44: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 45: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 46: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 47: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.8 Market opportunity by Type Exhibit 48: Market opportunity by Type ($ billion) 6 Customer Landscape 6.1 Customer landscape overview Exhibit 49: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 50: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 51: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 52: Chart on Geographic comparison Exhibit 53: Data Table on Geographic comparison 7.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 55: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 56: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 57: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 59: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 60: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 61: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 62: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 63: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 64: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 65: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 66: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 67: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 68: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 69: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 71: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 72: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 73: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.8 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 74: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 75: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 76: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 77: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.9 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 79: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 80: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 81: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.10 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 82: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 83: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 84: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 85: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.11 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 86: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 87: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 88: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 89: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.12 Australia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 90: Chart on Australia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 91: Data Table on Australia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) Exhibit 92: Chart on Australia - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) Exhibit 93: Data Table on Australia - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.13 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 94: Market opportunity by geography ($ billion) 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.2 Market challenges 8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges Exhibit 95: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026 8.4 Market trends 9 Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview 9.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 96: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation 9.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 97: Overview on factors of disruption 9.4 Industry risks Exhibit 98: Impact of key risks on business 10 Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 99: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 100: Matrix on vendor position and classification 10.3 AngelList Holdings, LLC Exhibit 101: AngelList Holdings, LLC - Overview Exhibit 102: AngelList Holdings, LLC - Product / Service Exhibit 103: AngelList Holdings, LLC - Key news Exhibit 104: AngelList Holdings, LLC - Key offerings 10.4 CircleUp Network Inc. Exhibit 105: CircleUp Network Inc. - Overview Exhibit 106: CircleUp Network Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 107: CircleUp Network Inc. - Key offerings 10.5 ConnectionPoint Systems Inc. Exhibit 108: ConnectionPoint Systems Inc. - Overview Exhibit 109: ConnectionPoint Systems Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 110: ConnectionPoint Systems Inc. - Key offerings 10.6 Crowdcube Ltd. Exhibit 111: Crowdcube Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 112: Crowdcube Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 113: Crowdcube Ltd. - Key offerings 10.7 Crowdfunder Ltd. Exhibit 114: Crowdfunder Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 115: Crowdfunder Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 116: Crowdfunder Ltd. - Key news Exhibit 117: Crowdfunder Ltd. - Key offerings 10.8 Fundable LLC Exhibit 118: Fundable LLC - Overview Exhibit 119: Fundable LLC - Product / Service Exhibit 120: Fundable LLC - Key offerings 10.9 Fundrise LLC Exhibit 121: Fundrise LLC - Overview Exhibit 122: Fundrise LLC - Product / Service Exhibit 123: Fundrise LLC - Key offerings 10.10 GoFundMe Inc. Exhibit 124: GoFundMe Inc. - Overview Exhibit 125: GoFundMe Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 126: GoFundMe Inc. - Key offerings 10.11 Indiegogo Inc. Exhibit 127: Indiegogo Inc. - Overview Exhibit 128: Indiegogo Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 129: Indiegogo Inc. - Key news Exhibit 130: Indiegogo Inc. - Key offerings 10.12 Kickstarter PBC Exhibit 131: Kickstarter PBC - Overview Exhibit 132: Kickstarter PBC - Product / Service Exhibit 133: Kickstarter PBC - Key offerings 11 Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 134: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 135: Exclusions checklist 11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 136: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.4 Research methodology Exhibit 137: Research methodology Exhibit 138: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 139: Information sources 11.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 140: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Daewoong Pharmaceutical (Daewoong) announced the topline results of the phase 3 clinical trial for a triple combination therapy of Enavogliflozin, a new antidiabetic drug with the mechanism of SGLT-2 inhibitor, with Metformin and Gemigliptin. Enavogliflozin is an SGLT-2 inhibitor for diabetes in development by Daewoong for the first time in South Korea. Professor Sungrae Kim of the Catholic University of Korea Bucheon St. Mary's Hospital as a coordinating investigator and principal investigators from 27 institutions have participated in the phase 3 clinical trial for Enavogliflozin as a triple combination therapy with Metformin and Gemigliptin. The study was conducted as a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, and active-controlled confirmatory phase 3 clinical trial which comprised of 270 patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients with type 2 diabetes, who had been administered Metformin and Gemigliptin, were additionally administered Enavogliflozin or Dapagliflozin for 24 weeks, and the baseline change of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) between the two study groups was compared during the treatment period. As a result, the patients administered Enavogliflozin showed a decrease in HbA1c level by 0.92% and by 0.86% in those administered Dapagliflozin, thereby proving the non-inferiority of Enavogliflozin compared to Dapagliflozin. The safety of Enavogliflozin was also verified in the patients with moderate diabetes, who required combination therapy of Metformin and Gemigliptin, as there were no unexpected adverse drug reactions nor drug-drug interactions. The safety of Enavogliflozin has been proven through three sequential clinical trials of monotherapy, metformin combination, and Metformin and Gemigliptin combination. The coordinating investigator Professor Kim said, "The clinical trial of Enavogliflozin's triple combination therapy in comparison with Dapagliflozin on about 270 Korean T2DM patients for 24 weeks has proven the safety and outstanding blood glucose lowering effects of Enavogliflozin." "It is expected Enavogliflozin becomes the better treatment option with the indication for monotherapy and combination therapy," he added. Bringing out meaningful results from the phase 3 clinical trial of Enavogliflozin's triple combination therapy, Daewoong is now a step closer to the release of a new SGLT-2 inhibitor for the first time in South Korea. Daewoong plans to immediately apply for the new drug approval and to launch not only Enavogliflozin but also Enavogliflozin/Metformin fixed-dose-combination drug by the first half of 2023. Daewoong released the topline results of the phase 3 clinical trial of Enavogliflozin monotherapy and Metformin combination therapy this January. "With the success of this clinical trial, we are putting all our efforts to market the best-in-class antidiabetic drug for patients with mild to moderate diabetes," commented Changjae Lee, Daewoong Pharmaceutical CEO. "Daewoong will help diabetes patients through the release of Enavogliflozin, designated as the fast-track drug for the first time in South Korea, while continuing to secure new drug portfolio as a global healthcare company." SOURCE Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd Shawn Khunkhun, chief executive officer of Dolly Varden, commented: "Completing the consolidation and unification of the Kitsault Valley Project is a pivotal event towards exploring and developing these high-grade precious metals assets in a globally recognized and coveted mining district. I look forward to working closely with our new partner and shareholder Fury to unlock the full potential through discovery, development, permitting and production. I would also like to thank Hecla for their continued financial and technical support." Tim Clark, CEO and Director of Fury, added: "The consolidation of these two adjacent properties is an exciting next step that benefits both our companies and only further enhances the upside opportunity of additional discovery of high-grade ounces along this prolific 15km mining trend. We look forward to working closely with the team at Dolly Varden and leveraging complementary skillsets, geology and infrastructure to continue to maximize value for investors in both companies." Pursuant to the ancillary rights agreement between Hecla Canada Ltd. ("Hecla") and the Company dated September 4, 2012, Hecla exercised its anti-dilution right in respect of the Transaction and has acquired 9,048,539 common shares of Dolly Varden at a price of $0.59 per common share for aggregate proceeds to Dolly Varden of $5,322,351. As a result of this subscription, Hecla will maintain its equity interest in the Company of 10.25%. Transaction Highlights Combined mineral resource base of 34.7 million ounces of silver and 166 thousand ounces of gold in the Indicated category and 29.3 million ounces of silver and 817 thousand ounces of gold in the Inferred category, solidifying the combined Homestake Project and DV Project (to be referred to together as the " Kitsault Valley Project ") as among the largest high-grade, undeveloped precious metal assets in Western Canada . ") as among the largest high-grade, undeveloped precious metal assets in . Consolidation of two adjacent projects, allowing for numerous potential co-development opportunities with capital and operating synergies. Exposure to a large and highly prospective land package, with potential to further expand resources through additional exploration along a combined 15 km strike-length within a 163 km 2 consolidated land package. consolidated land package. Tim Clark , the Chief Executive Officer of Fury, and Michael Henrichsen , the Senior Vice President, Exploration of Fury, joining the Dolly Varden board. Transaction Details Pursuant to a purchase agreement dated December 6, 2021 (the "Purchase Agreement"), Dolly Varden has acquired 100% of Homestake Resource Corporation from Fury in exchange for a $5 million cash payment and the issuance of 76,504,590 common shares of Dolly Varden ("Common Shares"). Homestake Resource Corporation owns a 100% interest in the Homestake Project. As a result, Fury now own approximately 32.88% of Dolly Varden's issued and outstanding Common Shares. The Homestake Project hosts a Current Mineral Resource estimated to contain 165,993 ounces of gold and 1.8 million ounces of silver in the Indicated category and 816,719 ounces of gold and 17.8 million ounces of silver in the Inferred category within a 7,500 hectare land package located contiguous to and northwest of the DV Project. The DV Project hosts a Current Mineral Resource estimated to contains 32.9 million ounces of silver in the indicated category and 11.4 million ounces of silver in the Inferred category within a 7,800 hectare land package. For further resource disclosure, please see below under the heading "Technical Disclosure". The combined Homestake Project and DV Project would boast a collective mineral resource base of 34.7 million ounces of silver and 165,993 ounces of gold in the indicated category and 29.3 million ounces of silver and 816,719 ounces of gold in the inferred category, solidifying the combined Homestake Project and Dolly Varden Project, the Company's existing project, as among the largest high-grade, undeveloped precious metal assets in Western Canada. The close proximity of the Homestake Project and DV Project, combined with common infrastructure in the region, is expected to generate substantial co-development synergies for the consolidated Homestake Project and DV Project, to be called the "Kitsault Valley Project", as the respective deposits are advanced in combination. In connection with the Transaction, Dolly Varden and Fury have also entered into an investor rights agreement (the "Investor Rights Agreement") granting Fury the right to appoint two nominees to the Dolly Varden board so long as Fury owns greater than 20% of the Common Shares outstanding. Should Fury own greater than 10% of the Dolly Varden Common Shares outstanding, Fury shall have the right to appoint one nominee to the Dolly Varden board. Additionally, the Common Shares issued to Fury are subject to a one-year hold period. The Investor Rights Agreement also contain certain customary re-sale restrictions, voting and standstill conditions, and participation rights as agreed between Dolly Varden and Fury. The Common Shares issuable to Fury will be subject to a contractual one-year hold which expires on February 25, 2023 and a statutory hold period of four months plus one day which expires on June 26, 2022. All Common Shares issued to Hecla will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus one day which expires on June 26, 2022. Further information regarding the Transaction, the Purchase Agreement and the Investor Rights Agreement is provided in the Company's management information circular dated January 24, 2022 (the "Circular"). The Circular is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at https://www.dollyvardensilver.com/investors/#special-meeting. Advisors and Counsel Haywood Securities Inc. ("Haywood") has acted as financial advisor to Dolly Varden. Stikeman Elliott LLP acts as legal counsel to Dolly Varden. Minvisory Corp. has acted as financial advisor to Fury. McMillan LLP acts as legal counsel to Fury. About Dolly Varden Silver Corporation Dolly Varden Silver Corporation is a mineral exploration company focused on exploration in northwestern British Columbia. The DV Project consists of the namesake Dolly Varden silver property that hosts a unique pure silver mineral resource as well as the nearby Big Bulk copper-gold porphyry property. Adjacent to the DV Project, the Homestake Ridge Project hosts structurally controlled epithermal gold, silver and copper mineralization. Together, the consolidated DV Project and Homestake Ridge Project, to be referred to as the Kitsault Valley Project, create one large, high-grade precious metals project with further synergistic and exploration upside potential. The Kitsault Valley Project is considered to be highly prospective for hosting high-grade precious metal deposits, since it comprises the same structural and stratigraphic setting that host numerous other high-grade deposits (Eskay Creek, Brucejack). The Big Bulk property is prospective for porphyry and skarn style copper and gold mineralization similar to other such deposits in the region (Red Mountain, KSM, Red Chris). About Fury Gold Mines Limited Fury Gold Mines Limited is a Canadian-focused exploration company positioned in two prolific mining regions across the country. Led by a management team and board of directors with proven success in financing and advancing exploration assets, Fury intends to grow its multi-million-ounce gold platform through rigorous project evaluation and exploration excellence. Fury is committed to upholding the highest industry standards for corporate governance, environmental stewardship, community engagement and sustainable mining. For more information on Fury Gold Mines, visit www.furygoldmines.com. Qualified Person The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Rob van Egmond, P. Geo, Chief Geologist for Dolly Varden, who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Technical Disclosure Homestake Resource Estimate: The Homestake resource estimate is based on the technical report with an effective date of January 20, 2022 and titled, "Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Homestake Ridge Gold Project, Skeena Mining Division, British Columbia" which was filed and is available on Dolly Varden's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The report has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, Companion Policy 43-101CP to NI 43-101, and Form 43-101F of NI 43-101. Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 2.0 g/t gold equivalent. Dolly Varden Resource Estimate: The Dolly Varden resource estimate is based on the technical report with an effective date of May 8, 2019, and titled, "Technical Report and Mineral Resource Update for the Dolly Varden Property, British Columbia, Canada" which was filed and is available on Dolly Varden's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The report has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, Companion Policy 43-101CP to NI 43-101, and Form 43-101F of NI 43-101. A 150 g/t silver cut-off was chosen to reflect conceptual underground mining and processing cut-off grade. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There has been insufficient exploration to define the inferred resource as an indicated or measured mineral resource, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading the resource to a measured resource category. There is no guarantee that any part of the mineral resource discussed herein will be converted into a mineral reserve in the future. Forward Looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements or forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation that may not be based on historical fact, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believe", "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "potential", "unlocking" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Dolly Varden to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements or information in this release relates to, among other things, potential synergies expected from the combination of the DV Project and Homestake Project and the development potential of the Kitsault Valley Project. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and assume, among other things, the ability of the Company to successfully pursue its current development plans, that future sources of funding will be available to the company, that relevant commodity prices will remain at levels that are economically viable for the Company and that the Company will receive relevant permits in a timely manner in order to enable its operations, but given the uncertainties, assumptions and risks, readers are cautioned not to place heavy reliance on such forward-looking statements or information. The Company disclaims any obligation to update, or to publicly announce, any such statements, events or developments except as required by law. For additional information on risks and uncertainties, see the Company's most recently filed annual management discussion & analysis ("MD&A"), which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The risk factors identified in the MD&A are not intended to represent a complete list of factors that could affect the Company. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. SOURCE Dolly Varden Silver Corp. Find additional information about market landscape, Get a Free PDF Sample Report Growth in the global pharmaceuticals market will be driven by factors such as increasing life expectancy, rising prevalence of sedentary lifestyle, and increase in cases of chronic conditions. Drug Delivery Devices Market 2022-2026: Scope The drug delivery devices market report covers the following areas: Drug Delivery Devices Market 2022-2026: Segmentation By route of administration, the market has been segmented into oral, injectable, pulmonary, and others. The oral segment will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. The growing prevalence of chronic conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and infectious diseases is expected to drive the growth of this segment during the forecast period. By geography, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia, and ROW. North America will have the highest market share growth during the forecast period. Learn more about the contribution of each segment. Download a Free Sample Drug Delivery Devices Market 2022-2026: Driver and Challenge The growing prevalence of chronic conditions is one of the key factors driving the growth of the drug delivery devices market. The prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cancer, arthritis, and Alzheimer's disease, is growing worldwide, especially in developed countries such as the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, France, Germany, and others. This can be attributed to the changes in the lifestyle and eating habits of consumers in these countries. Product recalls will challenge the drug delivery devices market during the forecast period. They can impact a company's sales, brand image, and consumer confidence. This can create pitfalls such as low-volume generation and limited product demand, leading to significant financial losses for vendors. Drug Delivery Devices Market 2022-2026: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the drug delivery devices market, including 3M Co., AbbVie Inc., Antares Pharma Inc., Becton Dickinson and Co., BIOCORP Production, F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd., Johnson and Johnson Inc., Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. among others. Subscribe to our "Lite Plan" billed annually at USD 3000 that enables you to download 3 reports/year and view 3 reports/month. Drug Delivery Devices Market 2022-2026: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2022-2026 Detailed information on factors that will assist drug delivery devices market growth during the next five years Estimation of the drug delivery devices market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the drug delivery devices market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of drug delivery devices market vendors Related Reports: Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Drugs Market by Product and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Botanical and Plant-Derived Drugs Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Drug Delivery Devices Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.28% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 77.26 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 4.69 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and ROW Performing market contribution North America at 40% Key consumer countries US, Germany, UK, China, and Japan Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled 3M Co., AbbVie Inc., Antares Pharma Inc., Becton Dickinson and Co., BIOCORP Production, F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd., Johnson and Johnson Inc., Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries 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. Table Of Contents : ***1. Executive Summary **1.1 Market Overview *Exhibit 01: Key Finding 1 *Exhibit 02: Key Finding 2 *Exhibit 03: Key Finding 3 *Exhibit 04: Key Finding 5 *Exhibit 05: Key Finding 6 *Exhibit 06: Key Finding 7 *Exhibit 07: Key Finding 8 ***2. Market Landscape **2.1 Market ecosystem *Exhibit 08: Parent market *Exhibit 09: Market characteristics **2.2 Value chain analysis *Exhibit 10: Value chain analysis: *2.2.1 Research and Development (R&D) Drug discovery *2.2.2 Integration and product development *2.2.3 Manufacturing *2.2.4 Outbound logistics: *2.2.5 Marketing and sales: *2.2.6 Support services: *2.2.7 Innovation ***3. Market Sizing **3.1 Market definition *Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition **3.2 Market size 2021 **3.3 Market segment analysis *Exhibit 12: Market segments **3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021 - 2026 *Exhibit 13: Global - Market size and forecast 2021 - 2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 14: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2021 - 2026 (%) ***4. Five Forces Analysis **4.1 Five Forces Summary *Exhibit 15: Five forces analysis 2021 & 2026 **4.2 Bargaining power of buyers *Exhibit 16: Bargaining power of buyers **4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers *Exhibit 17: Bargaining power of suppliers **4.4 Threat of new entrants *Exhibit 18: Threat of new entrants **4.5 Threat of substitutes *Exhibit 19: Threat of substitutes **4.6 Threat of rivalry *Exhibit 20: Threat of rivalry **4.7 Market condition *Exhibit 21: Market condition - Five forces 2021 ***5 Market Segmentation by Route of administration **5.1 Market segments *Exhibit 22: Route of administration - Market share 2021-2026 (%) **5.2 Comparison by Route of administration *Exhibit 23: Comparison by Route of administration **5.3 Oral - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 24: Oral - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 25: Oral - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **5.4 Injectable - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 26: Injectable - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 27: Injectable - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **5.5 Pulmonary - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 28: Pulmonary - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 29: Pulmonary - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **5.6 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 30: Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 31: Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **5.7 Market opportunity by Route of administration *Exhibit 32: Market opportunity by Route of administration ***6. Customer landscape **6.1 Overview *Technavio's customer landscape matrix comparing Drivers or price sensitivity, Adoption lifecycle, importance in customer price basket, Adoption rate and Key purchase criteria *Exhibit 33: Customer landscape ***7. Geographic Landscape **7.1 Geographic segmentation *Exhibit 34: Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) **7.2 Geographic comparison *Exhibit 35: Geographic comparison **7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 36: North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 37: North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 38: Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 39: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **7.5 Asia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 40: Asia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 41: Asia - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **7.6 ROW - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 *Exhibit 42: ROW - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion) *Exhibit 43: ROW - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) **7.7 Key leading countries *Exhibit 44: Key leading countries **7.8 Market opportunity by geography *Exhibit 45: Market opportunity by geography ***8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends **8.1 Market drivers *8.1.1 Growing prevalence of chronic conditions *8.1.2 Increased strategic developments *8.1.3 Increase in regulatory approvals for drug delivery devices **8.2 Market challenges *8.2.1 Product recalls can pose a challenge to manufacturers *8.2.2 Lack of trained professionals to administer drugs *8.2.3 Lack of proper healthcare infrastructure in developing countries *Exhibit 46: Impact of drivers and challenges **8.3 Market trends *8.3.1 Development of new drugs and vaccines for COVID-19 *8.3.2 Rising adoption of self-injectable devices *8.3.3 Growing adoption of advanced drug delivery systems ***9. Vendor Landscape **9.1 Competitive Scenario **9.2 Overview *Exhibit 47: Vendor landscape *The potential for the disruption of the market landscape was moderate in 2020, and its threat is expected to remain unchanged by 2025. **9.3 Landscape disruption *Exhibit 48: Landscape disruption *Exhibit 49: Industry risks ***10. Vendor Analysis **10.1 Vendors covered *Exhibit 50: Vendors covered **10.2 Market positioning of vendors *Exhibit 51: Market positioning of vendors *10.3 3M Co. *Exhibit 52: 3M Co. - Overview *Exhibit 53: 3M Co. - Business segments *Exhibit 54: 3M Co.- Key news *Exhibit 55: 3M Co. - Key offerings *Exhibit 56: 3M Co. - Segment focus **10.4 AbbVie Inc. *Exhibit 57: AbbVie Inc. - Overview *Exhibit 58: AbbVie Inc. - Business segments *Exhibit 59: AbbVie Inc. - Key offerings *Exhibit 60: AbbVie Inc. - Segment focus **10.5 Antares Pharma Inc. *Exhibit 61: Antares Pharma Inc. - Overview *Exhibit 62: Antares Pharma Inc. - Business segments *Exhibit 63: Antares Pharma Inc. - Key offerings *Exhibit 64: Antares Pharma Inc. - Segment focus **10.6 Becton Dickinson and Co. *Exhibit 65: Becton Dickinson and Co. - Overview *Exhibit 66: Becton Dickinson and Co. - Business segments *Exhibit 67: Becton Dickinson and Co. - Key offerings *Exhibit 68: Becton Dickinson and Co. - Segment focus **10.7 BIOCORP Production *Exhibit 69: BIOCORP Production - Overview *Exhibit 70: BIOCORP Production - Business segments *Exhibit 71: BIOCORP Production - Key offerings *Exhibit 72: BIOCORP Production - Segment focus *10.8 F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. *Exhibit 73: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Overview *Exhibit 74: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Business segments *Exhibit 75: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Key offerings *Exhibit 76: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Segment focus **10.9 Johnson and Johnson Inc. *Exhibit 77: Johnson and Johnson Inc. - Overview *Exhibit 78: Johnson and Johnson Inc. - Business segments *Exhibit 79: Johnson and Johnson Inc. - Key offerings *Exhibit 80: Johnson and Johnson Inc. - Segment focus **10.10 Novartis AG *Exhibit 81: Novartis AG - Overview *Exhibit 82: Novartis AG - Business segments *Exhibit 83: Novartis AG.- Key news *Exhibit 84: Novartis AG - Key offerings *Exhibit 85: Novartis AG - Segment focus **10.11 Pfizer Inc. *Exhibit 86: Pfizer Inc. - Overview *Exhibit 87: Pfizer Inc. - Business segments *Exhibit 88: Pfizer Inc.- Key news *Exhibit 89: Pfizer Inc. - Key offerings *Exhibit 90: Pfizer Inc. - Segment focus **10.12 Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. *Exhibit 91: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. - Overview *Exhibit 92: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. - Business segments *Exhibit 93: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. - Key offerings *Exhibit 94: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. - Segment focus ***11. Appendix **11.1 Scope of the report *11.1.1 Market definition *11.1.2 Objectives *11.1.3 Notes and Caveats **11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ *Exhibit 95: Currency conversion rates for US$ **11.3 Research Methodology *Exhibit 96: Research Methodology *Exhibit 97: Validation techniques employed for market sizing *Exhibit 98: Information sources **11.4 List of abbreviations *Exhibit 99: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dynamic Infrastructure, a global firm providing AI-driven risk mitigation analysis and prioritization services for civil infrastructure operators, announced this week the hire of Orly Ben-Eliyahu as its VP of Business Development. Dynamic Infrastructure Expands Team with New VP of Business Development, Orly Ben-Eliyahu Ms. Ben-Eliyahu, who will be working from a Maryland office, brings with her rich and diverse experience in Strategic Business Development, Marketing, and Community Building, as well as a valuable coast-to-coast professional network. She has served in senior management positions for many years, both in the US and Europe, and has worked as an independent consultant driving strategic partnerships, sales, and marketing efforts. Orly graduated with honors from Tel-Aviv University, with a master's degree from the Executive Master's Program in Philosophy, Information, and Digital Culture. Dynamic Infrastructure's technology analyzes image and inspection data reports both historical and as it is collected sorts them, understands the impact of each data point, and plots out a "damage timeline" for every asset. With powerful AI and domain-specific knowledge, Dynamic Infrastructure's cloud platform digitizes and analyze hundreds of civil infrastructure asset inventories in a matter of weeks, replacing years of manual human labor. DI accounts for localization of regulatory guidelines in its analysis and alerts, and is the only company offering a 99% accuracy guarantee, through a warrantee provided by leading insurer Munich Re. "I've always looked for positions in which I could make a concrete, measurable difference to the lives of people, as opposed to simply selling abstract business technology," explains Ms. Ben Eliyahu. "Dynamic Infrastructure is all about making civil infrastructure such as bridges, tunnels, dams and other small grid elements safe and secure for citizens who don't ever want to find themselves in a scenario when aging and deterioration trigger closures or even a disastrous collapse. Across the globe, it's a growing crisis and needs a solution that's 100% reliable to avoid massive costs in repair and even lives." "We have a growing list of successful customers," says Saar Dikman, the company's CEO. "It's the right time to bring on board a veteran executive with business acumen and the strong ability to think creatively about growing our business quickly. At the same time, we wanted someone who could engage on a very human level someone driven by a sense of social responsibility. I'm confident we've found the perfect fit with Orly, and I'm delighted to be working with her." About Dynamic Infrastructure: Founded by industry professionals with decades of operation and maintenance experience with Private Public Partnerships, BOTs and Departments of Transportation (DoTs), Dynamic Infrastructure has become an industry leader and key driver for Automated risk mitigation for inventories and creating maintenance-usable 3D digital twins. With offices in the US, Germany, Italy and an R&D center in Israel, Dynamic Infrastructure has analyzed over 1,500 assets in the US, Europe and Australia, to support civil-infrastructure engineers and managers, transportation authorities, and asset owners to bolster their decision-making processes and day-to-day maintenance and repair work. For more information: Dynamic Infrastructure BD, Orly Ben Eliyahu [email protected], +1 (646) 233-1481 SOURCE Dynamic Infrastructure BOGOTA, Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL;NYSE: EC) informs that to comply with the provisions of Part III Title I Chapter VI of the Basic Legal Circular issued by the Financial Superintendence of Colombia (E.C. 029 of 2014), the Board of Directors of Ecopetrol S.A. ("Ecopetrol" or the "Company") approved the implementation of the following measures aimed at guaranteeing the adequate representation of shareholders at the Ordinary General Shareholder's Meeting to be held on March 30, 2021: The Board instructed the Company's management to: Inform shareholders of their right to be represented through the appointment of a proxy and indicate the legal requirements of the proxies to be granted for such purpose. Appoint those who will validate the shareholders' proxy assignments, advising that those proxies that fail to meet the minimum requirements established by law will not be admitted as valid, and no proxy form will be accepted where the name of the respective appointed representative is not clearly defined. Inform all Company employees to abstain from making any recommendations or determinations regarding the proxy selection of the shareholders. Inform all Company employees that they may not suggest to shareholders to vote for a specific candidate list. Inform all Company employees that they may not suggest, coordinate, or agree with shareholders regarding i) the submission of proposals at the Meeting; and/or ii) voting in favor or against any proposal discussed in the Meeting. Verify that the shareholders do not grant proxies to persons directly or indirectly related to the Company's management or employees. The General Secretary of Ecopetrol was appointed as the officer responsible for verifying adequate compliance with the above measures. The Legal Affairs Vice Presidency of Ecopetrol was appointed as the area responsible for supervising the review of proxies and the proxy scheme to be implemented in 2022. The previous measures adopted by the members of the Board of Directors of the Company in a meeting held on February 23, 2022, will be informed by its Chairperson to the general market through the Delegate Superintendent for Issuers before the General Shareholders' Meeting. Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 17,000 employees. In Colombia, it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA's shares, the company participates in energy transmission, the management of real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla - Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with Drilling and Exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico), Brazil, and Mexico, and, through ISA and its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol holds leading positions in the power transmission business in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile, and the telecommunications sector. This press release contains business prospect statements, operating and financial result estimates, and statements related to Ecopetrol's growth prospects. These are all projections and, as such, they are based solely on the expectations of the managers regarding the future of the company and their continued access to capital to finance the company's business plan. The realization of said estimates in the future depends on the behavior of market conditions, regulations, competition, the performance of the Colombian economy and the industry, among other factors, and are consequently subject to change without prior notice. This release contains statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration, and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. For more information, please contact: Head of Capital Markets Tatiana Uribe Benninghoff Email: [email protected] Head of Corporate Communications Mauricio Tellez Email: [email protected] SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A. SAO PAULO, Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Embraer S.A. (" Embraer ") (NYSE: ERJ) informed today the early results of the previously announced offer (the " Tender Offer ") to purchase for cash outstanding 5.150% senior unsecured notes due 2022 issued by Embraer (the " 2022 Notes ") and senior unsecured guaranteed notes due 2023, issued by Embraer Overseas Limited and fully, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by Embraer (the " 2023 Notes " and, together with the 2022 Notes, the " Notes "), subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase (as defined below). Additionally, Embraer has amended the Maximum Tender Amount as follows: (i) for the 2022 Notes from an amount representing up to US$150,000,000 to up to US$59,927,604 in aggregate consideration and (ii) for the 2023 Notes from an amount representing up to US$150,000,000 to up to US$240,043,650 in aggregate consideration. Except for the change with respect to the Maximum Tender Amount, there are no other modifications being made with respect to the Tender Offer. The complete terms and conditions of the Tender Offer are set forth in the offer to purchase dated February 10, 2022, as amended with respect to the Maximum Tender Amount by this press release (the " Offer to Purchase "). The following table sets forth certain information regarding each series of the Notes and the Tender Offer, including the aggregate principal amount of the Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) as of the Early Tender Date, according to D.F. King & Co., Inc., the tender agent and information agent for the Tender Offer (the " Tender Agent and Information Agent "): Title of Security CUSIP/ISIN Aggregate Principal Amount Tendered Aggregate Principal Amount Accepted for Purchase Total Consideration(1) 5.150% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022 29082AAA5 / US29082AAA51 US$59,217,000 US$59,217,000 US$1,012.00 5.696% Senior Unsecured Guaranteed Notes due 2023 Rule 144A: 29081YAD8 / US29081YAD85 Regulation S: G30376AB6 / USG30376AB69 US$228,613,000 US$228,613,000 US$1,050.00 ________________ (1) The amount to be paid for each US$1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered prior to the Early Tender Date and accepted for purchase. The Total Consideration includes an Early Tender Payment of US$30.00 for each US$1,000 principal amount of Notes. Does not include Accrued Interest (as defined in the Offer to Purchase), which will be paid in addition to the Total Consideration. Withdrawal rights with respect to the Tender Offer expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on February 24, 2022 (the " Early Tender Date "). The Tender Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on March 10, 2022, unless extended by Embraer. Since the aggregate principal amount of each series of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) as of the Early Tender Date reached the Maximum Tender Amount, Embraer will not accept for purchase any Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date. Pursuant to the terms of the Tender Offer, Embraer will pay for the early tendered Notes accepted for purchase on March 1, 2022. Embraer reserves the absolute right to amend or terminate the Tender Offer in its sole discretion, subject to disclosure and other requirements under applicable law. Embraer has engaged Banco Bradesco BBI S.A., Itau BBA USA Securities, Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Natixis Securities Americas LLC and Santander Investment Securities Inc. to act as the dealer managers (the " Dealer Managers ") in connection with the Tender Offer. Questions regarding the terms of the Tender Offer may be directed to Banco Bradesco BBI S.A. at +1 (646) 432-6642, Itau BBA USA Securities, Inc. at +1 (888) 770-4828 (toll free) or +1 (212) 710-6749 (collect), Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC at +1 (800) 624-1808 (toll free) or +1 (212) 761-1057 (collect), Natixis Securities Americas LLC at +1 (212) 891-6100 and Santander Investment Securities Inc. at +1 (855) 404-3636 (toll free) or +1 (212) 940-1442 (collect). Disclaimer None of Embraer, the Dealer Managers, the Tender and Information Agent, the trustee for the Notes or any of their respective affiliates is making any recommendation as to whether holders should or should not tender any Notes in response to the Tender Offer or expressing any opinion as to whether the terms of the Tender Offer are fair to any holder. Holders of the Notes must make their own decision as to whether to tender any of their Notes and, if so, the principal amount of Notes to tender. Please refer to the Offer to Purchase for a description of the offer terms, conditions, disclaimers and other information applicable to the Tender Offer. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase or the solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. The Tender Offer is being made solely by means of the Offer to Purchase. Embraer is making the Tender Offer only in those jurisdictions where it is legal to do so. The Tender Offer is not being made to holders of the Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, blue sky or other laws of such jurisdiction. In those jurisdictions where the securities, blue sky or other laws require any tender offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Tender Offer will be deemed to be made on behalf of Embraer by the Dealer Managers or one or more registered brokers or dealers licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction. This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including those related to the Tender Offer. Forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future, and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Embraer S.A. Antonio Carlos Garcia Head of Investor Relations +55 (11) 3040-6874 SOURCE Embraer S.A. HOUSTON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Energistics, an affiliate of The Open Group and global, non-profit consortium in the oil and gas industry, today announces the appointment of Pablo Perez Bardasz, the President and CEO of Bardasz, to its Board of Directors. Pablo Perez Pablo Perez Bardasz logo With over 25 years of experience in upstream oil and gas technology, Pablo is an expert in data management, visualization, analytics, and operational solutions. His many years of international experience have given him deep insights into diverse business requirements revolving around data solutions and real-time services globally. Please go to https://bardasz.com/news/energistics-appoints-pablo-perez-bardasz-to-its-board-of-directors for more information about this organization. He started his career as a software developer with PDVSA. In 2002, he joined Petrolink and spent 12 years focused on business development and strategic sales of real time services. He became active in the Energistics community in 2007 in various positions as LATAM Region Lead, member of the WITSML Executive Team, and lead of standards adoption for the Americas. In 2014 he started his own company, Bardasz, providing ultimate solutions to monitor and optimize drilling and completion operations. On the day of his election, Pablo said: "It is a great privilege to be appointed to the Energistics Board of Directors. Our industry is undergoing a massive digital transformation movement that will revolutionize business processes by unlocking greater use of multiple data types from a variety of data sources. Energistics plays an integral role enabling companies to seamlessly extract more value out of the data." Steve Nunn, CEO and President of The Open Group, and a member of the Energistics Board of Directors commented: "We are delighted to welcome Pablo to the Board of Directors. Pablo brings considerable experience and expertise which is vital at this very important time for Energistics and the industry. I look forward to working with Pablo and the other Board Members as we continue to lead the charge in data exchange standards for the industry." In addition to Steve Nunn, other members of Energistics Board of Directors include Laurent Deny, Oil & Gas Software Development Manager at Emerson; David Smith BEACON Senior Solutions Manager at Baker Hughes; and Wilfred Berlang, General Manager Reservoir Surveillance Technology at Shell. About Energistics Energistics is a global, non-profit consortium in the oil and gas industry that was established over 25 years ago. Its goal is to bring upstream professionals within the industry so they can create a more collaborative environment for developing and deploying open data exchange standards as well as for challenges related to information sharing within the oil and gas industry. Its members include a number of oil companies and oilfield service companies as well as hardware and software vendors, system integrators, and regulatory agencies all of which have become part of a global standards community. As of January 1, 2022, Energistics has become an affiliate of The Open Group. This has created a larger and broader community through which they can better foster the development of data standards such as WITSML and OSDU. Please go to www.energistics.org for more information about this organization. About The Open Group The Open Group is a global consortium that enables the achievement of business objectives through technology standards. Our diverse membership of more than 870 organizations includes customers, systems and solutions suppliers, tool vendors, integrators, academics, and consultants across multiple industries. Further information on The Open Group can be found at www.opengroup.org. Contact Gosia Gnyp Hotwire for The Open Group +44 7415 233639 [email protected] SOURCE Energistics NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insight Partners published latest research study on " Facial Recognition Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Component (Software, Hardware, and Services), Application (Security & Surveillance, Access Control, and Others), and Vertical (BFSI, Retail & Ecommerce, Government, Healthcare, Education, Automotive & Transportation, and Others)". The facial recognition market growth is driven by the increasing demand from government and defense sectors, increasing deployment of facial recognition technology by governments and the deployment of advanced biometric technology including facial recognition software have gained major traction. Get Exclusive Sample Pages of this research study at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00003385/ Report Coverage Details Market Size Value in US$ 5,012.71 Million in 2021 Market Size Value by US$ 12,670.22 Million by 2028 Growth rate CAGR of 14.2% from 2021 to 2028 Forecast Period 2021-2028 Base Year 2021 No. of Pages 165 No. Tables 77 No. of Charts & Figures 89 Historical data available Yes Segments covered Component, Application, and Vertical Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; MEA Country scope US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends Facial Recognition Market: Competitive Landscape and Key Developments Tech5, IDEMIA, Aware Inc., Cognitec Systems GmbH, Ayonix Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, Onfido, NEC Corporation, Thales Group, and Face PHI are among the key players profiled during the facial recognition market study. In addition, several other essential market players were studied and analyzed to get a holistic view of the global market and its ecosystem. Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPRE00003385/ In 2022, BAXE and Haventec partnered with IDEMIA to launch the first blockchain ecosystem using a facial authentication solution for identification. The solution will ensure user data, digital assets and communications are protected and secure. In 2021, Onfido's announced partnership with FaceTec to offers the company's flagship biometric identity verification to authentication. The user can access the existing account in a second. On a global scale, the facial recognition market has a lot of room for expansion. For the public and private sectors, facial recognition provides a high level of protection. Terrorist attacks on government organizations have risen significantly in recent years, prompting businesses and governments to adopt facial recognition biometrics. Furthermore, the use of facial recognition has grown due to rising applications in physical security and intelligent signage, as well as increasing technological improvements such as cloud-based services and 3D-based recognition systems. However, in some places, rising sensitivity to shared personal data, lack of accuracy, and a high implementation cost stymie industry progress. Face recognition systems that are technologically advanced and have applications in mobile security and drones are anticipated to provide lucrative opportunities for the facial recognition market in the future. Facial Recognition Market: Application Overview Based on application, the facial recognition market is segmented into security & surveillance, access control, and others. In 2020, the security & surveillance segment led the market and accounted for the largest market share. The facial recognition offers enhanced level of search automation and efficiency to the investigation workflow and thus saves significant amount of time and manual efforts. Moreover, advanced facial recognition tools used by security and surveillance agencies can analysis several faces in real-time for security and surveillance application. Thus, with the growing use of advance screening and security system by security and surveillance agencies owing to rising emphasis on homeland security and increasing allocation of funds for domestic security, the facial recognition market players are projected to witness significant traction during the forecast period. Buy Premium Copy of this research report at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00003385/ Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on APAC Facial Recognition Market Growth: The facial recognition demand was increased for monitoring and tracking people's movement, verification identification, security measures, and patient identification due to the pandemic, which positively influenced the growth of the facial recognition market. In addition, the large scale deployment of facial recognition systems in various applications such as biometric sign-in, public security, travel security, authorized healthcare services, and eLearning platforms is expected to drive the facial recognition market growth in the coming years. These contactless verification technologies have become important amid the pandemic. Moreover, two companies in China have developed AI-based coronavirus diagnostic software to detect lung problems using CT scans. At least 34 Chinese hospitals used this technology to screen 32,000 suspected cases in February 2020. Hence, the overall impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the APAC facial recognition market is low to moderate. About Us: The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials. Contact Us: Contact Person: Sameer Joshi E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +1-646-491-9876 Press Release: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/pr/facial-recognition-market SOURCE The Insight Partners VENICE, Fla., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmland prices are rising sharply as a result of high yields and strong commodity prices, as well as other factors, according to R.D. Schrader, president of Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company. That was his message to landowners who packed a meeting room in Venice, Florida, for the company's annual State of the Farmer's Economy Update. "A lot of things are falling into place to create one of the most positive land markets in recent years," said Schrader. "The high yields and strong commodity prices are a powerful combination we haven't seen in several years. In addition, many investors see the U.S. farmland market as a safe haven." Prices on high quality farmland have risen by up to 24 percent in some parts of the Midwest, Schrader said. "We had auctions in 13 states in 2021, and competition was the strongest we've seen in seven or eight years," he added. Steve Slonaker, a farm manager, appraiser and auction manager, pointed to factors creating challenges for those appraising farmland currently. "We're seeing factors we've never seen before, including the use of Midwest farmland for wind and solar leases, pipelines, carbon wells and others. Since we have little or no history on which to base our assessments, this makes the picture more complicated for everyone buying, selling or leasing farmland," he said. He pointed to increased input costs, including recent innovations such as sugar on soybean plants and sulfur on corn and soybeans. However, strong commodity prices point to profitable farm operations despite the higher costs, he said. The company will host additional Farmer's Economy Updates in Lafayette, Indiana on Monday, March 7, and in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Friday, March 11. Those interested in attending may call 800-451-2709 for a reservation. Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company, based in Columbia City, Indiana, is a leading auctioneer of agricultural land and equipment throughout the United States. The company is a five-time USA Today/National Auctioneers Association Auction of the Year winner. For more information: Carl Carter, 205-910-1952 SOURCE Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company Download FREE Sample: for more additional information about the key countries in Europe Regional Market Outlook 36% of the market's growth will originate from Germany during the forecast period. France and UK are the other key markets for fingerprint sensors in Europe. Market growth in Germany will be faster than the growth of the market in the Rest of Europe. The significant increase in the investment in telecommunication technologies, such as 4G/5G, is expected to accelerate the adoption of smartphones, which will facilitate the fingerprint sensor market growth in Germany over the forecast period. Download our FREE sample report for more key highlights on the regional market share of most of the above-mentioned countries. Fingerprint Sensor Market in Europe Facts at a Glance- Total Pages: 120 120 Companies: 10+ Including CMOS Sensor Inc., Egis Technology Inc., Fingerprint Cards AB, id3 Technologies, NEXT Biometrics Group ASA, Qualcomm Inc., Shanghai Oxi Technology Co. Ltd, Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co. Ltd., Synaptics Inc., and VKANSEE among others 10+ Including CMOS Sensor Inc., Egis Technology Inc., Fingerprint Cards AB, id3 Technologies, NEXT Biometrics Group ASA, Qualcomm Inc., Shanghai Oxi Technology Co. Ltd, Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co. Ltd., Synaptics Inc., and VKANSEE among others Coverage: Key drivers, trends, and challenges; Product insights & news; Value chain analysis; Parent market analysis; Vendor landscape; COVID impact & recovery analysis Key drivers, trends, and challenges; Product insights & news; Value chain analysis; Parent market analysis; Vendor landscape; COVID impact & recovery analysis Segments: Application (mobile, PC, and access) Application (mobile, PC, and access) Geographies: Germany, UK, France , and the Rest of Europe Vendor Insights- The fingerprint sensor market in Europe is fragmented and the vendors are deploying growth strategies such as product innovation to compete in the market. CMOS Sensor Inc.- The company offers fingerprint sensor that includes contact image sensor technology, industrial proximity linear technology, space technology, optical fingerprint sensing technology, linear image sensor module technology. The company offers fingerprint sensor that includes contact image sensor technology, industrial proximity linear technology, space technology, optical fingerprint sensing technology, linear image sensor module technology. Egis Technology Inc.- The company offers fingerprint sensor that includes in-display fingerprint sensor, live finger detection, invisible fingerprint sensor, covered fingerprint sensors, fingerprint sensor with hard coating. The company offers fingerprint sensor that includes in-display fingerprint sensor, live finger detection, invisible fingerprint sensor, covered fingerprint sensors, fingerprint sensor with hard coating. Fingerprint Cards AB- The company offers fingerprint sensor that includes high accuracy for fingerprint recognition, long term stability, non-intrusive technique. Find additional highlights on the vendors and their product offerings. Download Free Sample Report Latest Drivers & Trends of the Market- Fingerprint Sensor Market in Europe Driver: Rising number of data security breach incidents: One of the key factors driving the fingerprint sensors market growth in Europe is the rising number of data security breach incidents. For instance, ransomware took advantage of a known vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows operating system. Microsoft, however, had already released a patch to fix this vulnerability; however, the IT departments of most of the organizations did not take it seriously and did not install the patch. This ignorance resulted in a malware attack and encrypted the data of many systems and devices, and it demanded a ransom to provide the decryption key. This ransomware was also able to infect other Windows devices on the same network, which multiplied the severity of the incident. These incidents do not honor any country's political or jurisdictional boundaries and can be carried out sitting anywhere in the world. Thus, the rising number of data security breach incidents is expected to propel the adoption of fingerprint sensors in Europe during the forecast period. Fingerprint Sensor Market in Europe Trend: Evolution of 3D fingerprint authentication: The ultrasonic-based technology is engineered to capture 3D acoustic details within the outer layers of the skin, enabling superior image quality for more accurate capture and the recognition of unique and subtle fingerprint characteristics. Capacitive touch-based sensors use electrical current to create the image of the user's fingerprint. Owing to the limitations of capacitive sensors, only a surface-level impression of the fingerprint is captured. Using high-frequency sound waves, a highly detailed 3D image of the unique and subtle features of a user's fingerprint can be created (by penetrating the outer layers of the skin). Such technological innovations are expected to support the growth of the market in focus in the coming years. Find additional information about various other market Drivers & Trends mentioned in our FREE sample report. Didn't Find What You Were Looking For Customize Report- Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights about 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! Here are Some Similar Topics- Smart Sensors Market in UAE by Technology and Application - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The smart sensors market share in the UAE is expected to increase by USD 842.20 million from 2021 to 2026, at a CAGR of 15.96%. To get more exclusive research insights: Download Free Sample Report Sensors Market in Oil and Gas Industry Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026: The sensors market share in the oil and gas industry is expected to increase by USD 1.73 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 4.04%. To get more exclusive research insights: Download Free Sample Report Fingerprint Sensor Market In Europe Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Decelerate at a CAGR of 15.78% Market growth 2022-2026 436.52 mn units Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 21.61 Regional analysis Germany, UK, France, and Rest of Europe Performing market contribution Germany at 36% Key consumer countries Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled CMOS Sensor Inc., Egis Technology Inc., Fingerprint Cards AB, id3 Techologies, NEXT Biometrics Group ASA, Qualcomm Inc., Shanghai OXi Technology Co. Ltd, Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co. Ltd., Synaptics Inc., and VKANSEE 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 preview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 2. Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 01: Parent market 2.2: Market Characteristics Exhibit 02: Market Characteristics 2.2 Value chain analysis Exhibit 03: Value Chain Analysis: Electronic equipment and instruments 2.2.1 Inputs 2.2.2 Inbound logistics 2.2.3 Operations 2.2.4 Outbound logistics 2.2.5 Marketing and sales 2.2.6 After-sales service 2.2.7 Support activities 2.2.8 Innovations 3. Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 05: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2020 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2021 - 2026 (million units) Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2021 - 2026 (%) 4. Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five Forces Summary Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2021 & 2026 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2021 5 Market Segmentation by Application 5.1 Market segments The segments covered in this chapter are: Mobile PC Access Exhibit 15: Application - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Application Exhibit 16: Comparison by Application 5.3 Mobile - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 17: Mobile - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million units) Exhibit 18: Mobile - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 PC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 19: PC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million units) Exhibit 20: PC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Access - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 21: Access - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million units) Exhibit 22: Access - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.6 Market opportunity by Application Exhibit 23: Market opportunity by Application 6 Customer landscape 6.1 Overview Exhibit 24: Customer landscape 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 25: Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 26: Geographic comparison 7.3 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 27: Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million units) Exhibit 28: Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.4 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 29: UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million units) Exhibit 30: UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.5 France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 31: France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million units) Exhibit 32: France - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.6 Rest of Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 33: Rest of Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (million units) Exhibit 34: Rest of Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.7 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 35: Market opportunity by geography (million units) 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.1.1 Rising number of data security breach incidents 8.1.2 Extensive use of fingerprint sensors in consumer electronic devices for biometric authentication 8.1.3 Rising adoption of biometric systems in enterprises 8.2 Market challenges 8.2.1 Security of fingerprint data within the system 8.2.2 Increased adoption of substitute technologies, such as face and iris scanning 8.2.3 Intense competition among vendors Exhibit 36: Impact of drivers and challenges 8.3 Market trends 8.3.1 Evolution of 3D fingerprint authentication 8.3.2 Increasing demand for ultrasonic fingerprint sensors 8.3.3 Increasing instances of security breaches in various industries 9. Vendor Landscape 10.1 Competitive scenario 10.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 37 Vendor Landscape 10.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 38: Landscape disruption 10.4 Industry risks Exhibit 39: Industry risks 11. Vendor Analysis 11.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 40: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 41: Market positioning of vendors 10.3 CMOS Sensor Inc. Exhibit 42: CMOS Sensor Inc. - Overview Exhibit 43: CMOS Sensor Inc. - Product and service Exhibit 44: CMOS Sensor Inc. - Key offerings 10.4 Egis Technology Inc. Exhibit 45: Egis Technology Inc. - Overview Exhibit 46: Egis Technology Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 47: Egis Technology Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 48: Egis Technology Inc. - Segment focus 10.5 Fingerprint Cards AB Exhibit 49: Fingerprint Cards AB - Overview Exhibit 50: Fingerprint Cards AB - Product and service Exhibit 51: Fingerprint Cards AB - Key news Exhibit 52: Fingerprint Cards AB - Key offerings 10.6 id3 Techologies Exhibit 53: id3 Techologies - Overview Exhibit 54: id3 Techologies - Product and service Exhibit 55: id3 Techologies - Key offerings 10.7 NEXT Biometrics Group ASA Exhibit 56: NEXT Biometrics Group ASA - Overview Exhibit 57: NEXT Biometrics Group ASA - Business segments Exhibit 58: NEXT Biometrics Group ASA - Key offerings 10.8 Qualcomm Inc. Exhibit 59: Qualcomm Inc. - Overview Exhibit 60: Qualcomm Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 61: Qualcomm Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 62: Qualcomm Inc. - Segment focus 10.9 Shanghai OXi Technology Co. Ltd Exhibit 63: Shanghai OXi Technology Co. Ltd - Overview Exhibit 64: Shanghai OXi Technology Co. Ltd - Product and service Exhibit 65: Shanghai OXi Technology Co. Ltd - Key offerings 10.10 Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co. Ltd. Exhibit 66: Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 67: Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 68: Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co. Ltd. Key news Exhibit 69: Shenzhen Goodix Technology Co. Ltd. - Key offerings 10.11 Synaptics Inc. Exhibit 70: Synaptics Inc. - Overview Exhibit 71: Synaptics Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 72: Synaptics Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 73: Synaptics Inc. - Segment focus 10.12 VKANSEE Exhibit 74: VKANSEE - Overview Exhibit 75: VKANSEE - Product and service Exhibit 76: VKANSEE - Key offerings 12. Appendix 12.1 Scope of the report 12.1.1 Market definition 12.1.2 Objectives 12.1.3 Notes and caveats 12.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 77: Currency conversion rates for US$ 12.3 Research Methodology Exhibit 78: Research Methodology Exhibit 79: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 80: Information sources About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio SYDNEY, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- eCommerce marketing platform Yotpo has today announced the appointment of Suzy Nicoletti as its Sydney-based Vice President and General Manager of the JAPAC region, following the Israeli company's launch into the Australian market in 2021. Nicoletti will spearhead Yotpo's operations for the region, which will include increasing Yotpo's physical presence in the Sydney office to support its growing portfolio of forward-thinking online retailers. Also a former Google Executive, the California-native joins Yotpo with more than 15 years' experience scaling companies globally, including leading Twitter's ANZ operations over the past 5 years as Managing Director. Of her appointment, Suzy Nicoletti, Yotpo Vice President and General Manager, JAPAC said: "Australian eCommerce brands have demonstrated they can play on the global stage, and it's Yotpo's mission to ensure we're on the ground to help them succeed. With consumer retail habits evolving, brands like Culture Kings, Princess Polly, and JSHealth have emerged as significant contributors to Australia's online retail industry. "As a passionate advocate for building Australia's technology footprint, I'm excited to develop our Australian presence into a hub that will empower the next generation of online brands across JAPAC, while putting Australia's eCommerce industry on the map," she said. In less than a year, Yotpo has increased its Australian customer base by 100 per cent, with other key brands including LVLY, Lyre's, LSKD and Bondi Sands. Yotpo attributes this growth to a combination of strategic hires and its comprehensive offering including SMS marketing, loyalty, referrals, and reviews for a wide range of brands, from startups to household names. David Michaeli, Head of New Markets at Yotpo, said the JAPAC region is experiencing notable growth, and Nicoletti's appointment was a strategic move in furthering the momentum. "Australian retailers are acutely aware of the importance of building relationships and loyalty with their customers, which is why so many have embraced Yotpo. Since COVID restrictions amplified consumer appetites to shop online, Australia has produced more eCommerce businesses than we've seen in this region to date, and it's reflected in our growth. "With this in mind, we knew we needed the local leadership team to be no less than excellent, and we're now proud to welcome Suzy to join and lead the team," he said. For more information, visit Yotpo.com About Yotpo Yotpo is an eCommerce marketing platform that helps thousands of forward-thinking brands like Steve Madden, Brooklinen, and Princess Polly accelerate direct-to-consumer growth. Yotpo's single platform integrates its advanced solutions for Loyalty & Referrals, SMS Marketing, Reviews, and more, to improve customer engagement, promote community advocacy, and increase retention. Yotpo integrates with the tools online businesses use every day, including Google and Instagram, and is available on most eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Adobe Commerce, and BigCommerce. Yotpo is a three-time Forbes Cloud 100 company with teams across the world including the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Bulgaria, and Australia. Yotpo is hiring! Visit yotpo.com/jobs . Media Contacts For Yotpo Australia Felicia Coco at LaunchLink [email protected] For Yotpo USA Erin Fisher at Aircover PR [email protected] Cristina Dinozo [email protected] SOURCE Yotpo DUBLIN, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Grow Light Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global grow light market reached a value of US$ 3.58 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 6.99 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 12% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we 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. A grow light, or plant light, is an artificial source of light that emits light in the electromagnetic spectrum to promote photosynthesis and accelerate growth in plants. It is commonly available in fluorescent, high-intensity discharge (HID), light-emitting diodes (LED) and incandescent variants. They are primarily used for supplementing sunlight, color and temperature to the crops and can be customized according to a specific goal, such as flowering inhibition, anthocyanin accumulation and enhanced rooting. Owing to this, they find extensive applications in vertical farming, indoor farming, commercial greenhouses, landscaping, and for other purposes. Significant growth in the agricultural sector is one of the key factors driving the growth of the market. Furthermore, widespread adoption of vertical and indoor farming practices is also providing a boost to the market growth. The hydroponic farming systems use multiple grow lights to maintain an adequate amount of sunlight and protecting the plants from damage caused by insects and pests. Additionally, the rising demand for food as a result of the increasing population, coupled with the limited availability of cultivable land, is also impacting the product demand positively. Grow lights aid in maintaining the optimal yield and plant quality, thereby meeting the steadily rising food demand across the globe. Apart from this, various technological advancements, including the development of smart grow lights integrated with the Internet of Things (IoT), are acting as another growth-inducing factor. Other factors, including various innovations in the field of agricultural sciences and the implementation of favorable government policies, are projected to drive the market in the upcoming years. Key Market Segmentation: The publisher provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global grow light market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2022-2027. Our report has categorized the market based on technology, installation type, spectrum and application. Breakup by Technology: HID LED Fluorescent Others Breakup by Installation Type: New Installations Retrofit Installations Breakup by Spectrum: Full-Spectrum Partial Spectrum Breakup by Application: Indoor Farming Vertical Farming Commercial Greenhouse Turf and Landscaping Others 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 Argentina Colombia Chile Peru Others Middle East and Africa and Turkey Saudi Arabia Iran United Arab Emirates Others Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined with some of the key players being Epistar, Everlight Electronics, Gavita International B.V., General Electric Company, Heliospectra AB, Illumitex Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., LumiGrow, Osram Licht AG, Shenzhen Juson Technology Co. Ltd., etc. Key Questions Answered in this Report 1. What was the global grow light market size in 2021? 2. What are the major global grow light market drivers? 3. What are the major trends in the global grow light market? 4. What is the impact of COVID-19 on the global grow light market? 5. What will be the size of the global grow light market by 2027? 6. What is the leading technology in the global grow light market? 7. What is the major installation type in the global grow light market? 8. What is the global grow light market breakup by the spectrum? 9. What is the global grow light market breakup by application? 10. Which is the leading regional market in the global grow light industry? 11. Who are the leading players in the global grow light 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 Grow Light Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Technology 6.1 HID 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 LED 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 Fluorescent 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 Installation Type 7.1 New Installations 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Retrofit Installations 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Spectrum 8.1 Full-Spectrum 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Partial Spectrum 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by Application 9.1 Indoor Farming 9.1.1 Market Trends 9.1.2 Market Forecast 9.2 Vertical Farming 9.2.1 Market Trends 9.2.2 Market Forecast 9.3 Commercial Greenhouse 9.3.1 Market Trends 9.3.2 Market Forecast 9.4 Turf and Landscaping 9.4.1 Market Trends 9.4.2 Market Forecast 9.5 Others 9.5.1 Market Trends 9.5.2 Market Forecast 10 Market Breakup by Region 11 SWOT Analysis 12 Value Chain Analysis 13 Porters Five Forces Analysis 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1 Market Structure 14.2 Key Players 14.3 Profiles of Key Players 14.3.1 Epistar 14.3.1.1 Company Overview 14.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.1.3 Financials 14.3.2 Everlight Electronics 14.3.2.1 Company Overview 14.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.3 Gavita International B.V. 14.3.3.1 Company Overview 14.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.4 General Electric Company 14.3.4.1 Company Overview 14.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.4.3 Financials 14.3.4.4 SWOT Analysis 14.3.5 Heliospectra AB 14.3.5.1 Company Overview 14.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.5.3 Financials 14.3.6 Illumitex Inc. 14.3.6.1 Company Overview 14.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.7 Koninklijke Philips N.V. 14.3.7.1 Company Overview 14.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.8 LumiGrow 14.3.8.1 Company Overview 14.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.9 Osram Licht AG 14.3.9.1 Company Overview 14.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 14.3.10 Shenzhen Juson Technology Co. Ltd. 14.3.10.1 Company Overview 14.3.10.2 Product Portfolio For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/i3kdkc Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Semiconductor Foundry Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global semiconductor foundry market reached a value of US$ 72.8 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 111.2 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.44% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use industries. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. A semiconductor foundry, also known as a fab and fabrication plant, refers to a factory wherein devices like integrated circuits (ICs) are manufactured using photolithography. The process involves photographing the circuit pattern on a photosensitive substrate and chemically etching the background. ICs are produced in different technological nodes like 7nm, 10nm, 20nm, etc., which cater to multiple applications. Semiconductor foundries comprise a clean room with a regulated environment for eliminating dust and vibrations, as well as keeping the humidity and temperature within a controlled range. First developed in the late 1980s, they generally include integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) that focus mainly on manufacturing. The growing demand for ICs for use in automobiles, consumer electronics, medical devices, military equipment and smart home appliances is one of the major factors driving the market growth. Also, the rising penetration for the Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices across the globe is positively influencing the demand for ICs. IoT devices make decisions by processing information and help users in connecting various devices to the internet. As a result, they are employed in multiple industries, including retail, medical, automotive and electronics. Furthermore, support from governments of numerous countries for the development of semiconductor technology is spurring the growth of the market. For instance, the New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering, and Science (NY CREATES) and Cree, Inc., a leader in silicon carbide (SiC) technology, announced their partnership on September 23, 2019 for developing the world's first 200mm SiC wafer fabrication facility in Marcy, near Utica. The company will invest US$ 1 Billion in this project, with a US$ 500 million grant from Empire State Development, the umbrella organization for New York state's economic development. Competitive Landscape: The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined with some of the key players being TSMC, DB HiTek, Fujitsu Semiconductor, GlobalFoundries, Magnachip, Powerchip, Samsung Group, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, STMicroelectronics, Tower Semiconductor Ltd., United Microelectronics Corporation, X-Fab, etc. Key Questions Answered in this Report: How has the global semiconductor foundry market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What are the key regional markets? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global semiconductor foundry market? What is the breakup of the market based on the technology node? What is the breakup of the market based on the foundry type? What is the breakup of the market based on the application? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the market? What is the structure of the global semiconductor foundry market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the 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 Semiconductor Foundry Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Technology Node 6.1 10/7/5nm 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 16/14nm 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 20nm 6.3.1 Market Trends 6.3.2 Market Forecast 6.4 45/40nm 6.4.1 Market Trends 6.4.2 Market Forecast 6.5 Others 6.5.1 Market Trends 6.5.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Foundry Type 7.1 Pure Play Foundry 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 IDMs 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Application 8.1 Communication 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Consumer Electronics 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 8.3 Computer 8.3.1 Market Trends 8.3.2 Market Forecast 8.4 Automotive 8.4.1 Market Trends 8.4.2 Market Forecast 8.5 Others 8.5.1 Market Trends 8.5.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by Region 10 SWOT Analysis 11 Value Chain Analysis 12 Porters Five Forces Analysis 13 Competitive Landscape 13.1 Market Structure 13.2 Key Players 13.3 Profiles of Key Players 13.3.1 TSMC 13.3.1.1 Company Overview 13.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.2 DB HiTek 13.3.2.1 Company Overview 13.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.2.3 Financials 13.3.3 Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited 13.3.3.1 Company Overview 13.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.3.3 Financials 13.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.4 GlobalFoundries 13.3.4.1 Company Overview 13.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.5 Magnachip 13.3.5.1 Company Overview 13.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.6 Powerchip 13.3.6.1 Company Overview 13.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.7 Samsung Group 13.3.7.1 Company Overview 13.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.7.3 Financials 13.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.8 Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation 13.3.8.1 Company Overview 13.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.8.3 Financials 13.3.9 STMicroelectronics 13.3.9.1 Company Overview 13.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.9.3 Financials 13.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.10 Tower Semiconductor Ltd. 13.3.10.1 Company Overview 13.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.10.3 Financials 13.3.11 United Microelectronics Corporation 13.3.11.1 Company Overview 13.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.11.3 Financials 13.3.11.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.12 X-Fab 13.3.12.1 Company Overview 13.3.12.2 Product Portfolio For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kzndzx Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets DETROIT, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Great Lakes Coffee is a small business that in many ways reflects the American dream. Founded in 1994 by owners who dreamed to bring authentic specialty coffee to Michigan, the company has expanded from one to five locations, employs 40+ people, provides competitive wages and benefits, and serves hundreds of customers daily. The company launched its first public cafe space in Midtown Detroit in 2012 at the corner of Woodward and Alexandrine. Over the past 10 years, Great Lakes Coffee Midtown, together with its frontline team of baristas and kitchen staff has become a hub of positive community activity and development. Innumerable relationships have been formed within its walls, countless students have earned degrees while studying within this space, artists have been given a free platform to display their work and multiple businesses and community initiatives have been launched through meetings held over a cup of coffee. Today, however, we are at a crossroad with a group of employees who have grown dissatisfied with their jobs and the opportunities Great Lakes Coffee provides. We believe their dissatisfaction is based largely upon misinformation and miscommunication between management and frontline staff. We take responsibility for that and we will try very hard to repair these relationships. We want to reach a resolution that is not only acceptable, but amicable, to all. At the same time, misinformation is being spread and demands are being made on this company that no small business can sustain. This is especially true on the heels of the Covid pandemic which put many Detroit small businesses out of business, and from which many in the foodservice industry are still reeling. The facts are that Midtown Cafe employees receive compensation ranging from $17 to $23/hour including wages and tips. Additionally, full-time and qualified part-time employees are offered company-supplemented group medical insurance plans and receive paid-time-off benefits. Although some employees have expressed concern that they have been overworked, the average Great Lakes Coffee Midtown employee works about 22 hours per week. Our Midtown Cafe incurred only 12 hours of staff overtime throughout the entirety of 2021. We therefore hope to better understand these concerns as we work through this together. Allegations that we encouraged sick employees to come to work are simply not true. We understand the fears and challenges that Covid has brought to both frontline staff and business owners. Covid created unprecedented anxiety in the workplace, and therefore we were attempting to act in the best interest of employees and customers alike. We understand that our established policies may not have been fully communicated to staff, this is another area where we'll have to do better in the future. Despite our business success to date, Great Lakes Coffee is still a small business which like so many other businesses has just come through two years of extraordinarily difficult times. We are not clear of these times yet, so while we fully intend to do everything we can to satisfy our employees, we cannot take unrealistic steps that will in any way jeopardize the business and the sustainability of the jobs it supports. In that situation, nobody wins. We hope that by working closely with our customers and our employees, we can find our way through this situation and move forward together to continued success. That's the only outcome any of us want or that we can accept for our employees, our customers, and our company. Sincerely, Greg and Lisa Miracle SOURCE Great Lakes Coffee OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Omaha Chamber Young Professionals today announced their 2022 Change Makers, sponsored by University of Nebraska at Omaha Office of Graduate Studies. These four individuals will be honored at this year's YP Summit, March 31. "Omaha's success is spurred on by young professionals who strive to make a difference for their communities. These Change Makers have all done something extraordinary and we are proud to recognize them here. The 2022 Change Makers truly are an inspiration and an example to others," said Ana Lopez Shalla, Senior Director, Workforce Development for the Greater Omaha Chamber. The Change Makers have been carefully selected for their commitment to the success of their community, their friends and family, and themselves by breaking down barriers and overcoming challenges through innovative and exemplary acts. This year's Change Makers include: Daniela Rojas Florez , Assistant Dean of Student Success, College of Saint Mary , Assistant Dean of Student Success, DaShawn McGary , B.S.B.A, Co-Founder and Director, Divine Living , B.S.B.A, Co-Founder and Director, Divine Living Leah Whitney Chavez , Executive Director and Founder, World Speaks Omaha , Executive Director and Founder, World Speaks Omaha Theodore W. Johnson , MPA, Instructor Aviation Institute, University of Nebraska at Omaha Daniela Rojas Florez graduated from College of Saint Mary with a double major in art and theology, and completed her Master's in Higher Education Administration at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Daniela now serves as Assistant Dean for Student Success at College of Saint Mary. DaShawn McGary is a co-founder and director of Divine Living, a home and community services-based agency through Medicaid, that provides assistance to community members with developmental disabilities. Leah Whitney Chavez is the Executive Director and Founder of World Speaks Omaha, a nonprofit that remove barriers from our community by providing language access services and community education courses. Theodore W. Johnson, MPA, is an Instructor within the Aviation Institute at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) who is pursuing his doctorate in public administration. About the YP Summit YP Summit organizers strive to provide a positive experience that energizes young professionals, celebrates many points of view, expands networks and challenges attendees all with the goal of extending our talents. About the Greater Omaha Chamber The mission of the Greater Omaha Chamber is to champion a thriving business community and a prosperous region through visionary leadership and collaboration. CONTACT: Aron Wehr Greater Omaha Chamber 402.978.7920 [email protected] SOURCE Greater Omaha Chamber OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce has announced its 2021 annual report. The Greater Omaha Chamber Economic Development Partnership expanded to eight counties, the region saw more than $1.5 billion in capital investment, landed 44 new projects while securing 4,533 new and existing jobs with an annual payroll of $89.4 million. The region continues to generate interest from our industries of strength: finance and insurance; logistics and manufacturing; agribusiness; medtech and biosciences. Big names in these areas again drove the Chamber's landed project success, led by announcements from Amazon, Facebook, Fiserv and Novozymes. "In my 18 years at the Chamber, I have never ceased to be amazed at the work that we do here. In year two of the pandemic, we not only kept our relentless pace, we accelerated. We should be proud of efforts in workforce and economic development, inspiring and training the next generation of leaders, and striving for diversity and inclusion," said David Brown, president and CEO, Greater Omaha Chamber. The Chamber's focus has not only been on new projects and established business expansion, it is also activity supporting startups and local entrepreneurs. The Chamber's REACH program continued to develop its Spanish-language program, providing education and opportunities to more business owners in our community. "REACH's sustained success has allowed us to expand the program, and in the process help even more small and emerging business find new opportunities they wouldn't have access to otherwise. I look forward to bringing the REACH program to further heights in 2022 and setting more small and diverse businesses on the path of success," said Winsley Durand III, Executive Director of the REACH initiative for the Greater Omaha Chamber. In recognition of REACH's success and his tireless efforts, Durand received the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Community Living the Dream Award from the City of Omaha. About Greater Omaha Greater Omaha is a No. 1 ranked up-and-coming-tech hotspot , a " top 10 best place to live on a $60,000 salary " and one of the " best cities for young professionals " according to SmartAsset . Greater Omaha is home to more than 30 communities and nearly 1 million people. About the Greater Omaha Chamber The mission of the Greater Omaha Chamber is to champion a thriving business community and a prosperous region through visionary leadership and collaboration. SOURCE Greater Omaha Chamber WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Guidehouse, a leading global provider of consulting services to public sector and commercial clients, today announced a new consortium, Building the Clean Hydrogen Economy, which has been working together since fall 2021. Led by Guidehouse, consortium members will work together to create and launch innovative pilot projects that use clean hydrogen to decarbonize heavy transport, increase renewables integration, and decrease emissions in the U.S. energy sector more broadly. "Hydrogen offers incredible potential for decarbonizing some of society's most challenging industries; however, little has been done in the way of considering technology, business models, and regulatory/policy issues together," says Lisa Frantzis, partner in Guidehouse's Energy, Sustainability, and Infrastructure (ES&I) segment. "We are thrilled to bring together some of the brightest industry players to develop truly innovative pilots that will advance the use of hydrogen and identify the most effective applications." The consortium's working groups are currently conceptualizing three pilots: heavy duty transport in the Southwest U.S.; green ammonia production in NY; and integrated blue and green hydrogen for industrial, peaking power, ammonia, and heavy transport applications in the U.S. Gulf Coast, each of which could be a part of developing hydrogen hubs across the United States. The pilots have a well-defined business case and include the stimulation of clean hydrogen demand to drive an adequate, cost-competitive supply by 2025-2030. The consortium will focus on projects that can scale and be replicable for significant impact on decarbonization across the U.S. "Hydrogen is a classic 'chicken and egg' situation. Consortium members fully understand that scalable business cases must address the development of markets just as much as the supply chain," said Richard Shandross, consortium manager and associate director at Guidehouse. Before the pilots launch, members will work to build partnerships with regional and global players across the private sector and gain commitments for engagement through memorandums of understanding (MOUs). The team will also apply for funding sources when available and as needed. Guidehouse will continue to guide the pilots through implementation and execution, providing analysis, and working to build relationships among members and industries. To date, over 20 organizations have joined the consortium, including (but not limited to) Ameresco, AVANGRID, Bank of America, Citi, CF Industries, Chart Industries Inc., Con Edison of New York, Constellation, Cummins, Dentons, Exelon, Hyzon Motors USA, ITOCHU, Linde, National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation, Navistar, New York Power Authority, rsted, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, Salt River Project (SRP), Sempra Infrastructure, and Walmart. The consortium is also in active discussions with the Port of Los Angeles and other hydrogen groups to assess additional stakeholder engagement. "Guidehouse brings deep relationships with all the stakeholders in this new hydrogen marketplace and has the subject matter expertise to steer the consortium and launch these pilot projects," says Jan Vrins, leader of Guidehouse's ES&I segment. "Additionally, we have unique market and technology insights and have completed innovative and groundbreaking hydrogen engagements in Europe and internationally that can be leveraged in the U.S." "The market's demand for a clean, scalable and dispatchable future energy source such as green hydrogen is something Ameresco is well positioned for through our Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) and Green Electric Generating facilities across the country," said Ameresco EVP, Mike Bakas. "We look forward to utilizing our core competencies to accelerate the growth of hydrogen in the market for the benefit of our clients and the environment." "We see a role for us to become a leader in the green hydrogen economy by building on our expertise as a leading renewables developer and operator," said Manuel Gonzalez, SVP and Chief of Staff to the CEO of AVANGRID. "AVANGRID's utility territories are particularly rich with experts in the hydrogen technology industry, and we are collaborating with them to establish the Northeast as a "Green Hydrogen Valley" in the US, while directing investments towards economically and environmentally distressed communities." "Hydrogen will play a key role in the transition to clean energy, but we are just beginning to unlock its full potential," said Andy Sarantapoulas, Vice President Marketing and Product Management at Linde. "We are excited to join the Building the Clean Hydrogen Economy consortium, where we will contribute Linde's leading hydrogen experience, technology and resources to help accelerate the use of clean hydrogen across multiple industries. It will take a great deal of collaboration between public and private parties to create the necessary framework to sustainably support the technology, infrastructure, funding and business models required and we look forward to playing an integral role." About Guidehouse's Energy, Sustainability, and Infrastructure Segment With more than 700 consultants, Guidehouse's global Energy, Sustainability, and Infrastructure segment is the strongest in the industry. We are the go-to partner for leaders creating sustainable, resilient communities and infrastructure, serving as trusted advisors to utilities and energy companies, large corporations, investors, NGOs, and the public sector. We've solved big challenges with the world's 60 largest electric, water, and gas utilities; the 20 largest independent power generators; five of the 10 largest oil and gas majors; the 20 largest gas distribution and pipeline companies; European governments; and the U.S. federal government's civilian agencies involved in the country's land, resources, and infrastructure. We combine our passion, expertise, and industry relationships to forge a resilient path toward sustainability for our clients. We turn vision into action by leading and de-risking the execution of big ideas and driving outcomes for our clients that enable them to reach their ambitions through transformation. About Guidehouse Guidehouse is a leading global provider of consulting services to the public sector and commercial markets, with broad capabilities in management, technology, and risk consulting. By combining our public and private sector expertise, we help clients address their most complex challenges and navigate significant regulatory pressures focusing on transformational change, business resiliency, and technology-driven innovation. Across a range of advisory, consulting, outsourcing, and digital services, we create scalable, innovative solutions that help our clients outwit complexity and position them for future growth and success. The company has more than 12,000 professionals in over 50 locations globally. Guidehouse is a Veritas Capital portfolio company, led by seasoned professionals with proven and diverse expertise in traditional and emerging technologies, markets, and agenda-setting issues driving national and global economies. For more information, please visit www.guidehouse.com. About Ameresco Founded in 2000, Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE: AMRC) is a leading cleantech integrator and renewable energy asset developer, owner and operator. Our comprehensive portfolio includes energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, asset sustainability and renewable energy solutions delivered to clients throughout North America and the United Kingdom. Ameresco's sustainability services in support of clients' pursuit of Net Zero include upgrades to a facility's energy infrastructure and the development, construction, and operation of distributed energy resources. Ameresco has successfully completed energy saving, environmentally responsible projects with Federal, state and local governments, healthcare and educational institutions, housing authorities, and commercial and industrial customers. With its corporate headquarters in Framingham, MA, Ameresco has more than 1,000 employees providing local expertise in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com. About AVANGRID AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $39 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 7,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021 and 2022 as one of the JUST 100 companies a ranking of America's best corporate citizens. In 2022, AVANGRID ranked second within the utility sector for its commitment to the environment and the communities it serves. The company supports the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World's Most Ethical Companies in 2021 for the third consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com. About Linde Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2021 sales of $31 billion (26 billion). We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain and protect our planet. The company serves a variety of end markets including chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining. Linde's industrial gases are used in countless applications, from life-saving oxygen for hospitals to high-purity & specialty gases for electronics manufacturing, hydrogen for clean fuels and much more. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer expansion, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions. For more information about the company and its products and services, please visit www.linde.com. For more information, contact: Jennifer Peacock Guidehouse 404.575.3859 [email protected] SOURCE Guidehouse The 1,200 square foot retail facility is strategically located at the northwest corner of Lankershim Boulevard and Hesby Avenue in the NoHo Arts District, a vibrant and heavily trafficked section of metropolitan Los Angeles. NoHo is fast developing, with over $1 billion being invested over the coming years in a series of large-scale housing and commercial development projects 1 . "It has been a lengthy, complicated process to get to this pivotal and exciting moment for the Halo team. Despite the ongoing challenges COVID and external forces have presented us, we have persevered and our first Budega store in NoHo is on the verge of opening. With the licenses in place the team can begin the final stages of preparing and stocking the store for its opening," said Katie Field, President and Director of Halo. Retail Strategy Budega The NoHo location is expected to generate up to $10 million of annual retail sales at maturity2. The Company is also licensed for delivery, and this additional service is expected to increase top-line sales and help capture overall market share. The NoHo location's delivery service area will include Studio City, North Hollywood, Hollywood Burbank, and the Eastern San Fernando Valley. Budega will offer a product assortment exceeding 1,000 SKUs, including many top-tier California brands and the debut of the Budega branded product lineup. The Budega dispensaries will also stock Halo's Hush branded cartridges, gummies and pre-rolls. Ms. Field commented further, "Not only will the opening of NoHo significantly increase our topline net revenue but, furthermore, the Company expects to increase profit before tax margins by stocking up to twenty percent of Budega's shelf space with Halo brands and products." California remains the highest-grossing state for cannabis retail sales in the United States but also has among the lowest per capita density among other mature recreational cannabis markets. There are approximately 250 licenses3 in Los Angeles County for a population of 3.9 million across 500 square miles, compared to Oregon, which has a population of 4.3 million people and approximately 800 stores4 across 98,466 square miles5. In California, licensed cannabis shops offering legal goods are more sparsely scattered across the state. There are roughly two licenses per 100,000 people in California, one of the lowest rates in the nation among states that support legal recreational sales. By comparison, Oregon has 18 retail shops for every 100,000 residents. Colorado boasts a similar ratio, and Washington state's rate is more than triple California's6. ___________________________ 1 https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-11-17/district-noho-housing-office-retail-transit-complex-planned-north-hollywood 2 Based on a standard 12-month ramp based on Management's estimates and experience in the cannabis sector and utilizing a proforma matrix taking into account time to saturate the applicable market with branding and consumer awareness. The topline projection number were further prepared using Management's retail algorithm which factors known market conditions, size of store, historical data, area traffic counts and estimated market / consumer size and other third-party data sources. 3 Downloaded from DCC license database https://search.cannabis.ca.gov/. About Halo Collective Inc. Halo is a leading, vertically integrated cannabis company focused on the West Coast of the United States and operates other emerging businesses in CBD and non-psychotropic mushroom functional beverages. In its cannabis operations, the Company cultivates, extracts, manufactures, and distributes quality cannabis flower, oils, and concentrates and has sold hundreds of millions of grams of cannabis in the form of flower, pre-rolls, vape carts, edibles, and concentrates since inception. The Company sells a portfolio of branded cannabis products including its proprietary Hush, Winberry Farms, Williams Wonder Farms, and Budega brands, and under license agreements with Papa's Herb, DNA Genetics, Terphogz, and FlowerShop*. In Oregon, Halo has a combined 14 acres of owned and contracted outdoor and greenhouse cultivation. The Company also operates Food Concepts LLC, a master tenant of a 55,000 square foot indoor cannabis cultivation, processing, and wholesaling facility in Portland. In California, Halo maintains licenses for extraction, manufacturing, and distribution. The Company has partnered with Green Matter to purchase the Bar X Farm in Lake County and plans to develop up to 63 acres of cultivation, comprising one of the largest licensed single-site grows in California. Halo is opening three retail dispensaries in Los Angeles under the Budega brand in North Hollywood, Hollywood, and Westwood. Halo is also expanding into other consumer health and wellness categories expected to experience rapid growth in consumer demand, including functional supplements such as nootropic nutraceuticals. The Company has recently agreed to acquire H2C Beverages, a company focused on cannabinoids and non-psychotropic mushroom functional beverages, and entered into a distribution and manufacturing agreement with Elegance Brands Inc., to propel the national distribution of beverages, capsules, and topical supplements under H2C and Halo's functional mushroom brand, Hushrooms. Halo has acquired a range of software development assets, including CannPOS, Cannalift, CannaFeels, and a discrete sublingual dosing technology, Accudab. The Company intends to reorganize these entities (including their intellectual property and patent applications) into a subsidiary called Halo Tek Inc., and to complete a distribution of the shares of Halo Tek Inc. to shareholders on record, at date to be determined. Outside of North America, Halo is the largest shareholder of Akanda Corp. ("Akanda"), an international medical cannabis company whose mission is to be the world's leading platform for medical cannabis and wellness products. Led by an experienced global leadership team and guided by the highest ethical standards, Akanda is building a unique seed-to-patient model that leverages the competitive advantages of its cultivation campus in the Kingdom of Lesotho and a distribution marketplace and other innovative solutions designed to maximize patient access and choice. Halo also operates three Kushbar retail cannabis stores located in Alberta, Canada, leveraging its Oregon and California brands. ___________________________ 4 Downloaded from https://www.oregon.gov/olcc/marijuana/Pages/Marijuana-Market-Data.aspx 5 Population figure sources include US Census Bureau. Square miles are sourced from https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/los-angeles-ca-population. 6 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/23/california-legal-illicit-weed-market-516868 For further information regarding Halo, see Halo's disclosure documents on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Connect with Halo Collective: Email | Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only Halo's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Halo's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". Forward-looking information may relate to anticipated events or results including, but not limited to the anticipated licensing and opening of the Company's Budega-branded retail dispensaries in California and the prospects thereof, including projected annual sales revenue, management's plans regarding its portfolio of cannabis businesses, the Company's expansion plans regarding Canada, the expected size and capabilities of the final facility planned at Ukiah Ventures, the size of Halo's planned cultivation facility in Northern California, and the ability of Bophelo and Canmart to serve the UK market and the proposed spin-off of Halo Tek Inc. By identifying such information and statements in this manner, Halo is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. In addition, in connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Halo has made certain assumptions. Although Halo believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. Among others, the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information and statements are the following: inability of management to successfully integrate the operations of acquired businesses, changes in the consumer market for cannabis products, changes in the expected outcomes of the proposed changes to Halo's operations, delays in obtaining required licenses or approvals necessary for the build-out of Oregon operations, dispensaries or Canadian operations, the proposed spin-out with Halo Tek Inc., delays or unforeseen costs incurred in connection with construction, the ability of competitors to scale operations in Northern California, delays or unforeseen difficulties in connection with the cultivation and harvest of Halo's raw material, changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; and the other risks disclosed in the Company's annual information form dated March 31, 2021 and other disclosure documents available on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Halo does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking information and statements attributable to Halo or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice. Third Party Information This press release includes market and industry data that has been obtained from third party sources, including industry publications. The Company believes that the industry data is accurate and that its estimates and assumptions are reasonable, but there is no assurance as to the accuracy or completeness of this data. Third party sources generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but there is no assurance as to the accuracy or completeness of included information. Although the data is believed to be reliable, the Company has not independently verified any of the data from third party sources referred to in this press release or ascertained the underlying economic assumptions relied upon by such sources Non-Solicitation This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell nor the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. SOURCE Halo Collective Inc. SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cosmelab, a cosmetics company, has explored more than 30 overseas markets. It's planning additional global distribution channels for next year. "Our ultimate goal is to be the standard of K-beauty." https://img.hankyung.com/pdsdata/pr.hankyung.com/uploads/2022/02/20220224_01.jpg Cosmelab CEO Jin-young Park during an interview with the Korean Economic Daily at Cosmelab's headquarters on Jan. 25. (Photo by Hyuk Choi, a reporter at the Korean Economic Daily) Following announcement covered by Hankyung.com, The reputation of Korean cosmetics is spreading beyond China and Southeast Asia to Europe, the home of cosmetics. This is the result of word-of-mouth consumers who experienced safe ingredients and excellent efficacy, as well as the increased awareness of Korean cosmetics from the Korean wave (Hallyu). Last year's Korean cosmetics exports showed off their power by exceeding $7 billion amid the coronavirus infection (COVID-19). This is not limited to large firms that you know just by hearing their names in Korea. The industry consensus is that the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Korea that are pioneering a number of overseas markets with one product competitiveness is increasing and that remarkable results are being achieved. Cosmelab, a leading player in proving the power of small and medium-sized Korean cosmetics companies, was founded by CEO Park Jin-young in 2006 and is more famous overseas than in Korea. Currently, their products are exported to Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore and beyond Asia to the Americas, the Middle East, and Europe and are expected to enter additional overseas markets next year. The company has been focused on expanding to more countries, but CEO Park now plans to increase actual brand power by strengthening distribution channels for each country from next year. "Competitiveness of products certified in Europe It has become a stepping stone for entering overseas markets." The main product of Cosmelab is the skincare cosmetics of their brand G9SKIN. In particular, this year, the 'Self Aesthetic Mask Series' has drawn a lot of attention since the demand for simple skincare at home has increased due to COVID-19. He said, "This year, we exported 7,000 sets of our self-esthetic mask series to Europe alone and shipped 20,000 sets around the world." and added, "Many countries reordered it more than four times, Japan also requested to import it, and we even achieved the result of re-exporting related products." In the meantime, he also expressed confidence in pursuing overseas business next year. CEO Park said, "Currently, G9SKIN products have completed the second order at the Nordstrom Rack online mall, a separate discount distribution channel of Nordstrom, a premium department store in the US, and are about to enter the online store. It is a situation in which we are talking about expanding offline sales if the results are good." He added, "We are engaged in overseas marketing efforts to enter large distribution channels such as Costco, Ulta, and CVS to grow the American market further. In addition to business expansion in the Americas, Cosmelab is also planning to enter the Latin American market through Ecuador, and the Southeast Asian market through Indonesia. The CEO said, "Currently, we are waiting for an initial order with an Ecuadorian distributor. After shipment in November, the product will arrive on site in December. https://img.hankyung.com/pdsdata/pr.hankyung.com/uploads/2022/02/20220224_02.jpg Cosmelab CEO Jin-young Park during an interview with the Korean Economic Daily at Cosmelab's headquarters on Jan. 25. (Photo by Hyuk Choi, a reporter at the Korean Economic Daily) CEO Park explains that he entered the European market earlier, and product distribution has stabilized there. It was a godsend for him to quickly acquire the CPNP (Cosmetic Products Notification Portal), a cosmetic certification required for distribution in the European Union (EU). Currently, about 80 products of Cosmelab have completed CPNP certification. He said, "Obtaining CPNP certification means that the product's quality has been verified. Based on this, it was possible to grow the market while greatly increasing the preference for the retail industry in Europe. This year alone, we rapidly entered the Nordic countries of Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Since we already have market competitiveness to enter all of Europe, I think the speed of entering other markets will be even faster." "I consider the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity we'll continue to challenge ourselves to become a global company." Obtaining CPNP certification acts as a key competitiveness factor in entering the overseas market. It has a high reputation as a certification system that meets strict standards, but it was not an issue for CEO Park. This is because the certification criteria align with his management philosophy of 'clean beauty.' The CEO avoids animal testing from the product development stage and minimizes animal-derived ingredients that meet the criteria for obtaining CPNP certification, which requires a declaration of non-animal testing. Park said, "The global trend cannot escape from the clean beauty movement, which vegan cosmetics represents. My principle is to exclude animal testing and animal-derived ingredients as much as possible. The philosophy of creating ethical cosmetics has been a great help in advancing into most overseas markets beyond Europe," he said with a smile. However, this doesn't mean that Cosmelab hasn't had any crises. Due to the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, he had to cancel planned overseas expansion and annual sales plummeted by half. However, Cosmelab used this crisis to identify the company's drawbacks; the company had been focused on offline sales and converted product marketing to an online channel. Mr. Park said, "We are improving our overall marketing plan while revising our structure for a massive online transition. Specifically, we plan to actively invest in promotions through online beauty platforms and social network services (SNS). As the entire industry is reorganized into online channels, I think this will become a driving force for future competitiveness." https://img.hankyung.com/pdsdata/pr.hankyung.com/uploads/2022/02/20220224_03.jpg Cosmelab CEO Jin-young Park during an interview with the Korean Economic Daily at Cosmelab's headquarters on Jan. 25. (Photo by Hyuk Choi, a reporter at the Korean Economic Daily) The ultimate goal of Cosmelab is to be a global company that represents Korea. CEO Park hopes to become a brand recognized globally for its quality, not just a company that makes a lot of money. The CEO said, "Rather than a numerical target, it is my dream to become a pronoun of K-beauty that can be found anywhere in the world. To make this happen, I will continue to take on new challenges and pursue product development and expansion of distribution channels." Cosmelab is certified as one of the 'Hi Seoul Companies' by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Business Agency (SBA). The SBA discovers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with excellent growth potential, helps them be private global organizations, and supports overseas investment, consulting, and inter-company collaboration. CEO Park said, "The SBA support project has helped Cosmelab grow its export markets. Moreover, based on the support of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, it's a significant opportunity to develop more active overseas sales such as global marketing and certification projects, which are difficult to solve internally." SOURCE Hankyung.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Iberia Advisory announces today the recent award of a contract to support the DON's Operations Management Division of FMO. The three-year prime contract leverages Iberia's subject matter expertise in FMO programs. Iberia will provide data analytics and internal controls support for the following portfolio of financial management programs: Integrated Risk Management Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 Defense Finance and Accounting Service Bill Government Purchase Card and Travel Charge Card Barring Act Waiver and Contract Debt Deferment Military Banking "Iberia is honored to receive this award. Our team members have been working with FMO for several years and understand the intricacies of their programs, systems, and culture. We will utilize our institutional knowledge to provide strategic guidance and drive innovations across each of these FMO Operations Management Division programs," said Ryan Waguespack, President of Iberia. This contract represents Iberia's second contract with the DON FMO. The Operations Management Division of FMO provides operational and sustainment support of all Financial Improvement Audit Readiness related activities within the DON. In addition, they facilitate FMO's business success by ensuring an overarching alignment across Divisions by maintaining continuous communications, and providing acquisition management, budgeting and resources, and analytical support to its customers. About Iberia Advisory Iberia Advisory is a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and provider of financial management services to the Federal Government and Department of Defense (DoD). Iberia provides government consulting services in the areas of Financial Management & Audit Support; Program & Project Management; Advanced Analytics & Decision Support; Transformation & Strategy; and Change Management. To learn more, visit www.iberiaadvisory.com SOURCE Iberia Advisory POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- IMI (International Medical Industries, Inc.) bolsters expertise in secure drug delivery products with the release of new Prep-Lock Tamper Evident Cap for ENFit and Oral Syringes with incorporated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. IMI's Prep-Lock line of Tamper Evident Products helps ensure medication safety from pharmacy to patient. The DoseID certified RFID Technology presents an opportunity to augment the proven benefits of tamper-evident products. "RFID technology represents the future of inventory management and medication safety. This technology aligns perfectly with IMI's core business strategy of providing drug security solutions to healthcare institutions worldwide," says Bryan McGurn IMI Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Prep-Lock Tamper Evident Caps are an established method for providing safeguards to ensure medication safety. Tamper Evident Caps for ENFit and Oral Syringes offer the same high-value risk mitigation as the IV Caps utilized by 84% of the top outsource compounders in the US. RFID technology enables real-time scanning that optimizes inventory management, efficiency, and medication safety while creating quantifiable pharmaceutical supply chain benefits by providing item-level inventory visibility. Every drug secured with a Tamper Evident Cap featuring RFID is trackable throughout its entire lifecycle. These two powerful technologies in combination enhance workflow efficiencies, eliminate time-consuming manual inventory control processes, provide assistance with growing regulatory demand, and supply a comprehensive strategy to prevent, detect, and resolve drug diversion events. In addition, Tamper Evident Caps with incorporated RFID technology offer a significant reduction in RFID implementation costs. IMI joined DoseID, a consortium of RFID proponents in 2020 to support the interoperability, quality, and performance of RFID tagged products. The DoseID RFID tag, now incorporated in the Prep-Lock Tamper Evident Cap, is certified by Auburn University RFID Lab's ARC Program to ensure the high standards set by the DoseID consortium are met and that those standards meet the needs of the healthcare industry. "We're using RFID tags to automate some of our inventory management and get better insight into inventory movement," says Dr. Paul Stranges, PharmD, BCACP, AE-C Clinical Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmacy Practice at The University of Chicago's College of Pharmacy. "It really helps our efficiency." Incorporating RFID technology in IMI's Tamper Evident Cap delivers a significant advantage in supply chain management. They offer both hospitals and outsource compounding operations an efficient and cost-saving method for applying RFID benefits to their drug preparations. For more information about IMI visit https://imiweb.com/rfid-tamper-evident-caps/ Media Contact Angela Merlo Phone: 800-344-2554 Email: [email protected] SOURCE International Medical Industries, Inc. VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - International Battery Metals Ltd. (the "Company" "IBAT") (CSE: IBAT) (OTC: IBATF) (FSE: 8RE) is pleased to announce that it has completed a placement financing of 3,333,333 units (each a "Unit") for gross proceeds of US$10,000,000. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company valued at Cdn$3.83 and one share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share for a period of two (2) years from the date of issue at an exercise price of Cdn$3.83 per share. The proceeds of the Offering will be used for the finalization of fabrication, testing, and deployment of the Company's first mobile lithium extraction unit to South America and also for general working capital. The Company will pay an advisory fee of US$600,000.00 to Piper Sandler and Co. IBAT is an advanced technology company focused on ecological and ethical lithium brine extraction. The company is applying its patented intellectual property into its first mobile lithium extraction unit that it expects to deploy to either Argentina or Chile this year. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Dr. John Burba" Dr. John Burba, President CEO & Director Tel: (778) 939-4228 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 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. 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, 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 International Battery Metals Ltd. The focus for this year's Myeloma Action Month will be on actions that individuals or groups can take to draw attention to and increase awareness about the disease, and to foster community-building. Help the IMF spread myeloma awareness on a global scale by using the hashtag #MYelomaACTION , on all social media channels Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Using the #MYelomaACTION hashtag, all related posts will be displayed on the IMF's digital "Wall of ACTION" at the Myeloma Action Month website: mam.myeloma.org. Yelak Biru, CEO of the IMF and a 26-year myeloma survivor is the epitome of "taking action" for myeloma and making a difference. He has been actively involved in advocating for the disease for years and years prior to becoming the IMF's new CEO. "Living with myeloma is not easy but having an organization like the IMF beside me during my cancer journey has helped me live withand not formyeloma," Biru attests. "For more than 30 years, the IMF has been a catalyst for research, an accelerator of hope, and a partner to patients and their loved ones. I am humbled to join the organization and to do what I am passionate about doing, in the service of those who love what we do," says Biru of his current "action" for myeloma. How can you get involved in Myeloma Action Month? Take Action Join the movement and take action for myeloma by using the MAM website photo uploader in mam.myeloma.org . All you need to do is upload a photo of your chosen action, put a caption to it, hashtag with #MYelomaACTION , then share with the community through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. in . All you need to do is upload a photo of your chosen action, put a caption to it, hashtag with , then share with the community through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Share the IMF's Facts and Stats about myeloma to help raise awareness about the disease. the IMF's Facts and Stats about myeloma to help raise awareness about the disease. Change your Facebook profile image and Twitter profile image to the MAM logo . and to the . Download this Patient Action Letter from IMF Chairman and Chief Science Officer Dr. Brian G.M. Durie , personalize it, and send it to general practitioners and internists. The letter spells out potential myeloma signs, symptoms, and diagnostic tests that can be used to educate health care providers who may not be as familiar with the disease. from IMF Chairman and Chief Science Officer Dr. , personalize it, and send it to general practitioners and internists. The letter spells out potential myeloma signs, symptoms, and diagnostic tests that can be used to educate health care providers who may not be as familiar with the disease. Get your Myeloma Action Month merchandise and take a selfie with it, then post on social media. Find a virtual support group at myeloma.org/support-groups and join an upcoming meeting or start a support group in your local area by contacting Robin Tuohy , the IMF's Vice President of Support Groups. , the IMF's Vice President of Support Groups. Use this local MAM press release to develop a public service announcement (PSA) for a local newspaper, radio, or TV station. This can help increase awareness of myeloma and local support groups. Participate and Learn Sign up for and participate in the IMF's scheduled virtual information programs for the whole month of March. Experience and Nurture Explore the IMF's new Wellness program and nurture your body and mind as part of Myeloma Action Month. Health and wellness are especially important for myeloma patients and for those who care for them as these practices help improve emotional and spiritual well-being. The Mind and Body section has accessible and inclusive wellness resources for myeloma patients and caregivers alike. Accessorize Additionally, the myeloma community can purchase signature Myeloma Action Month-branded fanny pack. In addition, Myeloma Warrior T-shirts, hats, bracelets, and sweatshirts are available on the website. The IMF is grateful to the following Platinum Sponsors for supporting Myeloma Action Month: 2seventy bio, Amgen, Binding Site, Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Pfizer, Regeneron, Sanofi, and Takeda Oncology. For additional information about Myeloma Action Month, please visit: mam.myeloma.org. ABOUT MULTIPLE MYELOMA Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow plasma cells white blood cells that make antibodies. A cancerous or malignant plasma cell is called a myeloma cell. Myeloma is called "multiple" because there are frequently multiple patches or areas in bone where it grows. It can appear as both a tumor and/or an area of bone loss, and it affects the places where bone marrow is active in an adult: the hollow area within the bones of the spine, skull, pelvis, rib cage, and the areas around the shoulders and hips. ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL MYELOMA FOUNDATION Founded in 1990, the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) is the first and largest global foundation focusing specifically on multiple myeloma. The Foundation's reach extends to more than 525,000 members in 140 countries worldwide. The IMF is dedicated to improving the quality of life of myeloma patients while working toward prevention and a cure by focusing on four key areas: research, education, support, and advocacy. The IMF has conducted more than 250 educational seminars worldwide, maintains a world-renowned InfoLine, and in 2001, established the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG), a collaborative research initiative focused on improving myeloma treatment options for patients. In 2012, the IMF launched the Black Swan Research Initiative, a groundbreaking research project aimed at curing myeloma. The IMF can be reached at (800) 452-CURE (2873). The global website is www.myeloma.org . Follow the IMF on: Twitter: @IMFmyeloma Instagram: @imfmyeloma Facebook: @myeloma LinkedIn: International Myeloma Foundation Media Contact: Jason London 818-487-7455 x261 [email protected] SOURCE International Myeloma Foundation Download FREE Sample: for more additional information about the key countries in Europe Regional Market Outlook 34% of the market's growth will originate from Europe during the forecast period. Russian Federation and Germany are the key markets for Irish whiskey market in Europe. Market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in South America and Africa. Irish whiskey is widely preferred as an alcoholic beverage in the region will facilitate the Irish whiskey market growth in Europe over the forecast period. Download our FREE sample report for more key highlights on the regional market share of most of the above-mentioned countries. Irish Whiskey Market Facts at a Glance- Total Pages: 120 120 Companies: 10+ Including Asahi Group Holdings Ltd., Becle SAB de CV, Brown Forman Corp., Diageo Plc, G and J Distillers Ltd., Pernod Ricard SA, Suntory Holdings Ltd., Teeling Whiskey Co. Ltd., West Cork Distillers Ltd., and William Grant and Sons Ltd. among others 10+ Including Asahi Group Holdings Ltd., Becle SAB de CV, Brown Forman Corp., Diageo Plc, G and J Distillers Ltd., Pernod Ricard SA, Suntory Holdings Ltd., Teeling Whiskey Co. Ltd., West Cork Distillers Ltd., and and Sons Ltd. among others Coverage: Key drivers, trends, and challenges; Product insights & news; Value chain analysis; Parent market analysis; Vendor landscape; COVID impact & recovery analysis Key drivers, trends, and challenges; Product insights & news; Value chain analysis; Parent market analysis; Vendor landscape; COVID impact & recovery analysis Segments: Distribution channel (offline trade and online trade) Distribution channel (offline trade and online trade) Geographies: Europe ( Russian Federation , Germany , and Ireland ), North America (US), APAC ( India ), South America , and MEA Vendor Insights- The Irish whiskey market is concentrated and the vendors are deploying growth strategies such as quality, price, service, brand image, distribution, and marketing to compete in the market. Asahi Group Holdings Ltd.- The company offers a wide range of Irish whiskey through its subsidiary Nikka Whiskey. The company offers a wide range of Irish whiskey through its subsidiary Nikka Whiskey. Becle SAB de CV- The company offers Irish whiskey through its subsidiary Old Bushmills Distillery Co. The company offers Irish whiskey through its subsidiary Old Bushmills Distillery Co. Diageo Plc- The company runs its operations in North America , Europe and Turkey , Africa , Latin America and Caribbean , and Asia Pacific . Moreover, the company offers Irish whiskey through its subsidiary Roe and Co. Find additional highlights on the vendors and their product offerings. Download Free Sample Report Latest Drivers & Trends of the Market- Irish Whiskey Market Driver: Increasing demand for premium whiskey: A significant rise in per capita income in the US is increasing the demand for premium varieties of whiskey among consumers. Owing to the increasing demand, vendors offer premium varieties of whiskey. For instance, Micil Distillery launched two new Irish whiskeys, such as Micil Inverin small blended Irish whiskey with 46% ABV with a price range of $45 and Micil Earls Island Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey 46% ABV with a price range of $55. Premium varieties of whiskeys are widely preferred because of their authenticity, taste, and brand. Thus, increasing demand for premium whiskeys is expected to drive the growth of the Irish whiskey market in the US during the forecast period. Irish Whiskey Market Trend: Increasing demand for craft whiskey: The demand for craft whiskey is increasing as they are perceived to be made with better-quality ingredients and offer a better taste. For instance, In November 2020, Craft Irish Whiskey Co. launched a new limited-edition Irish whiskey called The Taoscan Irish Whiskey. The demand for craft whiskey is expected to remain high during the forecast period owing to increasing demand from developed countries such as the US and Germany. The increasing demand for craft whiskey is leading to the opening of new distilleries across EMEA and the Americas. Thus, the growing demand for craft whiskey is expected to positively influence the growth of the market during the forecast period. Find additional information about various other market Drivers & Trends mentioned in our FREE sample report. Didn't Find What You Were Looking For Customize Report- Don't miss out on the opportunity to speak to our analyst and know more insights about 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! Here are Some Similar Topics- Whiskey Market by Product, Distribution Channel, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025: The whiskey market share is expected to increase by USD 28.67 billion from 2020 to 2025, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 5.64%. To get more exclusive research insights: Download Free Sample Report Irish Whiskey Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Decelerate at a CAGR of 5.33% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 1.54 billion Market structure Concentrated YoY growth (%) 7.71 Regional analysis Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution Europe at 34% Key consumer countries US, Ireland, Russian Federation, Germany, and India Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Asahi Group Holdings Ltd., Becle SAB de CV, Brown Forman Corp., Diageo Plc, G and J Distillers Ltd., Pernod Ricard SA, Suntory Holdings Ltd., Teeling Whiskey Co. Ltd., West Cork Distillers Ltd., and William Grant and Sons 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 preview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 2. Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 01: Parent market 2.2: Market Characteristics 2.3 Value chain analysis Exhibit 02: Value chain analysis: Brewers 2.3.1 Inputs 2.3.2 Inbound logistics 2.3.3 Operations 2.3.4 Outbound logistics 2.3.5 Marketing and sales 2.3.6 Support activities 2.3.7 Innovation 3. Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 03: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 04: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2020 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 3.4.1 Estimating growth rates for mature markets Exhibit 05: Global - Market size and forecast 2021 - 2026 ($ million) Exhibit 06: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2021 - 2026 (%) 4. Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five Forces Summary Exhibit 07: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 08: Market condition - Five forces 2021 5 Market Segmentation by Distribution channel 5.1 Market segments The segments covered in this chapter are: Offline trade Online trade Exhibit 09: Distribution channel - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Distribution channel Exhibit 10: Comparison by Distribution channel 5.3 Offline trade - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 11: Offline trade - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 12: Offline trade - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Online trade - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 13: Online trade - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 14: Online trade - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Market opportunity by Distribution channel Exhibit 15: Market opportunity by Distribution channel 6 Customer landscape 6.1 Overview Exhibit 16: Customer landscape 7 Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 17: Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 18: Geographic comparison 7.3 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 19: Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 20: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 21: North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 22: North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 23: APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 24: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 25: South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 26: South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 27: MEA - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 28: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.8 Key leading countries Exhibit 29: Key leading countries 7.9 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 30: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) 8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.1.1 Increasing demand for premium whiskey 8.1.2 Increasing use of online sales channels 8.1.3 Increased consumption of alcoholic beverages among women 8.2 Market challenges 8.2.1 Growing health awareness among consumers 8.2.2 Campaigns against alcohol consumption 8.2.3 Growing competition from other alcoholic beverages Exhibit 31: Impact of drivers and challenges 8.3 Market trends 8.3.1 Increasing demand for craft whiskey 8.3.2 Rising population of millennials worldwide 8.3.3 Whiskey-based tourism 9. Vendor Landscape 9.1 Competitive scenario 9.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 32: Vendor Landscape 9.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 33: Landscape disruption 9.4 Industry risks Exhibit 34: Industry risks 10. Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 35: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 36: Market positioning of vendors 10.3 Asahi Group Holdings Ltd Exhibit 37: Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 38: Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 39: Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 40: Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. - Segment focus 10.4 Becle SAB de CV Exhibit 41: Becle SAB de CV - Overview Exhibit 42: Becle SAB de CV - Business segments Exhibit 43: Becle SAB de CV - Key offerings Exhibit 44: Becle SAB de CV - Segment focus 10.5 Brown Forman Corp. Exhibit 45: Brown Forman Corp. - Overview Exhibit 46: Brown Forman Corp. - Product and service Exhibit 47: Brown Forman Corp. - Key offerings 10.6 Diageo Plc Exhibit 48: Diageo Plc - Overview Exhibit 49: Diageo Plc - Business segments Exhibit 50: Diageo Plc - Key offerings Exhibit 51: Diageo Plc - Segment focus 10.7 G and J Distillers Ltd. Exhibit 52: G and J Distillers Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 53: G and J Distillers Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 54: G and J Distillers Ltd. - Key offerings 10.8 Pernod Ricard SA Exhibit 55: Pernod Ricard SA - Overview Exhibit 56: Pernod Ricard SA - Product and service Exhibit 57: Pernod Ricard SA - Key offerings 10.9 Suntory Holdings Ltd. Exhibit 58: Suntory Holdings Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 59: Suntory Holdings Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 60: Suntory Holdings Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 61: Suntory Holdings Ltd. - Segment focus 10.10 Teeling Whiskey Co. Ltd. Exhibit 62: Teeling Whiskey Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 63: Teeling Whiskey Co. Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 64: Teeling Whiskey Co. Ltd. - Key offerings 10.11 West Cork Distillers Ltd. Exhibit 65: West Cork Distillers Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 66: West Cork Distillers Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 67: West Cork Distillers Ltd. - Key offerings 10.12 William Grant and Sons Ltd. Exhibit 68: William Grant and Sons Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 69: William Grant and Sons Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 70: William Grant and Sons Ltd. - Key offerings 11. Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.1.1 Market definition 11.1.2 Objectives 11.1.3 Notes and caveats 11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 71: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.3 Research Methodology Exhibit 72: Research Methodology Exhibit 73: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 74: Information sources About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio MT. PLEASANT, Mich., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Isabella Bank Corporation (OTCQX:ISBA) today announced its Board of Directors declared a first-quarter cash dividend of $0.27 per common share at its regular meeting on February 23, 2022. The dividend will be payable March 31, 2022, to shareholders of record as of March 29, 2022. Based on ISBA's closing stock price of $25.75 per share as of February 23, 2022, the annualized cash dividend yield is 4.19%. "I'm pleased to announce our $0.27 first quarter cash dividend, which continues to provide our shareholders with an attractive yield," said Jae A. Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This is one way in which we strive to increase shareholder value. This commitment was recently evidenced by our record financial results for 2021, which included the completion of key initiatives designed to improve financial performance and, most importantly, the value of our stock." About the Corporation Isabella Bank Corporation (OTCQX: ISBA) is the parent holding company of Isabella Bank, a state chartered bank headquartered in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Isabella Bank was established in 1903 and has been committed to serving the local banking needs of its customers and communities for 119 years. The Bank offers personal and commercial lending and deposit products, as well as investment, trust and estate planning services through Isabella Wealth. The Bank has locations throughout seven Mid-Michigan counties: Clare, Gratiot, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, Montcalm, and Saginaw. For more information about Isabella Bank Corporation, visit the Invest in Us link at www.isabellabank.com. Isabella Bank Corporation common stock is quoted on the OTCQX tier of the OTC Markets Group, Inc.'s electronic quotation system (www.otcmarkets.com) under the symbol "ISBA." The Corporation's market maker is Boenning & Scattergood, Inc. (www.boenninginc.com) and its investor relations firm is Renmark Financial Communications, Inc. (www.renmarkfinancial.com). Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements. To the extent that the foregoing information refers to matters that may occur in the future, please be aware that such forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results. Additional information concerning some of the factors that could cause materially different results is included in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Forward Looking Statements" set forth in Isabella Bank Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available from the Securities and Exchange Commission's Public Reference facilities and from its website at www.sec.gov . SOURCE Isabella Bank Corporation TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Manjit Singh, EVP & Chief Financial Officer, Sun Life will participate in the virtual RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference. He will join RBC's Darko Mihelic in a virtual fireside chat. Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2022 Time: Manjit Singh, EVP & Chief Financial Officer to participate in a fireside chat at 8:40 a.m. ET To access the live webcast, please visit www.sunlife.com/RBCGlobalFinancialConference. The webcast will be archived on Sun Life's website following the event. About Sun Life Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2021, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.44 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. Note to editors: All figures in Canadian dollars Media Relations Contact: Irene Poon Manager, Corporate Communications T. 416-988 0542 [email protected] Investor Relations Contact: Yaniv Bitton Vice-President, Head of Investor Relations & Capital Markets T. 416-979-6496 [email protected] SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc. "As a director and poet, my mission is to tell authentic stories of my community, and my partnership with Martell was another opportunity to pay tribute to the impact Black creatives have on society and one another," said Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah. "My hope is that 'The Unexpected Effect' will inspire people to follow their passion and reimagine their future." As a brand committed to driving positive change, Martell celebrates those who boldly redefine convention to benefit the many instead of conforming to codes that favor the few. Drawing inspiration from this ethos and Janelle Monae's Afrofuturistic optimism, Martell is looking to the past as a launchpad for the future to bring the campaign to life with a "Cocktail of the Future." Developed in partnership with ms. franky marshall, who is also featured in the film, the new experience shines a necessary light on the impact of Black culture on the American hospitality zeitgeist and features Martell Blue Swift, the first spirit drink made of V.S.O.P Cognac and finished in Kentucky bourbon casks. "Throughout history, whether it's been on the stage or behind the bar, Black creatives have laid the groundwork for culture, and this collaboration is a testament to that legacy," said Janelle Monae. "Afrofuturism is a principle that is redefining culture as we know it, awakening us to the world's everchanging possibilities. Now, we have a new cocktail we can enjoy as we celebrate our work and create our future." The limited-edition "Cocktail of the Future" kit pays homage to the unsung heroes of hospitality and those who pioneered many popular cocktails enjoyed today. Included is a Martell Blue Swift recipe that creatively evokes ms. franky marshall's vision of the future an eclectic mix of diverse cultures and perspectives coming together alongside a copy of The Ideal Bartender by Tom Bullock, the first cocktail book published in 1917 by an African American bartender. "Janelle Monae leads with her retro-futuristic flare and unapologetic individuality, and I think we're alike in that way," said ms. franky marshall. "The drink is an eclectic fusion of my Caribbean heritage and the stylish French influence that Martell brings to the bar. We hope that people enjoy the cocktail at home just as much as I did while creating it." "Martell's legacy is shaped by audacity. Our new campaign celebrates Black creative expression and showcases what it means to redefine convention," said Devaunshi Mahadevia, U.S. Brand Director for Martell Cognac. "In partnership with those at the forefront of the industry, we are working alongside the community we serve to help reimagine the future." Martell further solidifies its support for BIPOC communities during Black History Month, Women's History Month and beyond with a $200,000 donation to the Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation, which will be used to fund projects that advance opportunities and education for BIPOC women in the restaurant industry. "At Pernod Ricard, we're working towards an inclusive future that provides a level-playing field for all and honors the full range of people and stories that shape our diverse culture," said Pamela Forbus, CMO of Pernod Ricard North America. "This campaign is a testament to the journey we're on and commitment to mirror the diversity of our society in all we do." To learn more about Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah, a dynamic creative who is passionate about connecting BIPOC actors, directors, and crews with opportunities, talent, and resources to tell culturally rich and diverse stories in film, visit melacast. The Martell Blue Swift "Cocktail of the Future" kit is available in limited quantities through March 31st at https://www.cocktailcourier.com/cocktail/cocktail-of-the-future/. To learn more about Martell and "The Unexpected Effect,", visit https://www.martell.com/en-us/spread-joy/ or follow at @martellusa on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. About Martell The oldest of the great cognac houses, founded by Jean Martell in 1715, Maison Martell is renowned throughout the world for the finesse and elegance of its cognacs, the result of a legacy of savoir-faire handed down through nine generations. Together with a passion for its craft and profound attachment to the terroir, Maison Martell is defined by the audacity with which it has pioneered new expressions from the icon Martell Cordon Bleu in 1912 to the trailblazing Martell Blue Swift today. About PRUSA Pernod Ricard is the No.2 worldwide producer of wines and spirits with consolidated sales amounting to 8,824 million in FY21. The Group, which owns 16 of the Top 100 Spirits Brands, holds one of the most prestigious and comprehensive portfolios in the industry with over 240 premium brands distributed across more than 160 markets. Pernod Ricard's portfolio includes Absolut Vodka, Ricard pastis, Ballantine's, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Malibu liqueur, Mumm and Perrier-Jouet champagnes, as well Jacob's Creek, Brancott Estate, Campo Viejo, and Kenwood wines. Pernod Ricard's strategy focuses on investing in long-term and sustainable growth for all its stakeholders, remaining true to its founding values: entrepreneurial spirit, mutual trust, and strong sense of ethics. The Group's decentralised organisation empowers its 18,500 employees to be on-the-ground ambassadors of its vision of "Createurs de Convivialite". Pernod Ricard 2030 Sustainability and Responsibility roadmap "Good Times from a Good Place" is integrated into all its activities from grain to glass, and Pernod Ricard is recognised as a UN Global Compact LEAD participant. Pernod Ricard is listed on Euronext (Ticker: RI; ISIN Code: FR0000120693) and is part of the CAC 40 and Eurostoxx 50 indices. About Janelle Monae Janelle Monae is widely celebrated as an artist who defies genre touching soul, R&B, rap, jazz and classical while making a sound of her own. She is a pop superstar with eight Grammy nominations and a globally successful career. Monae co-founded her own label imprint, Wondaland Arts Society, which recently launched its production arm, Wondaland Pictures. As an actor, Monae has starred in critically acclaimed films including Moonlight, Hidden Figures, Harriet, The Glorias, the television series Homecoming and most recently starred in the horror film Antebellum. Monae is currently in production for the highly anticipated sequel Knives Out 2. On April 19, 2022, Monae will release her first book titled The Memory Librarian and other stories of Dirty computer. Monae also recently wrapped production for the highly anticipated sequel Knives Out 2. Contact: Marissa Williams [email protected] SOURCE Martell DUBLIN, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Medical Aesthetic Devices: Technologies and Global Markets" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report on medical aesthetic devices gives a detailed analysis of the devices used for medical aesthetic procedures. In addition, the report covers the applications and end users for the market. The report covers applications, such as botulinum neuromodulators, breast augmentation devices, dermal fillers, energy-emitting devices, and assistive liposuction devices. The market landscape is also captured by end-user segments such as hospitals, beauty clinics and medical spas. A detailed analysis illustrating market dynamics and market structure is incorporated in the report. Porter's Five Forces analysis as well as the supply and distribution chain are discussed in detail. The report covers the current regulations and guidelines for medical device quality management and manufacturing practices in the context of their use within the medical aesthetic devices industry. Top market players-including details on their business operations and segment focus-as well as revenue and strategy analysis are included in the report. In addition, market share analysis of the leading market players is also captured in the report, along with company product launches and pipeline products. In terms of geography, the report analyzes the market across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World. The market in key countries, namely the United States, Canada, Mexico, the top five countries in Europe, China, India, and Japan are discussed as there is a high concentration of medical aesthetic manufacturing companies and contract manufacturing organizations in these nations. The report includes: 14 data tables and 31 additional tables An up-to-date review and analysis of the global markets for medical aesthetic devices used for cosmetic treatments Analyses of the global market trends, with data from 2018-2021, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2026 Evaluation and forecast the overall market size for medical aesthetic devices, and quantification of the market potential by device type, end user, and region Discussion of the COVID-19 implications on the medical aesthetic devices market and key statistics for the number of surgical procedures performed Insights into the regulatory environment for medical aesthetic devices in the U.S. and Europe Identification of the major market drivers, restraints and other forces influencing the global market demand, and assessment of new developments within the industry Review of key patent grants on medical aesthetic devices Market share analysis of the key companies operating in the global market, and coverage of their proprietary technologies, key M&A deals, strategic alliances, and other development strategies Comprehensive company profiles of the leading global players, including AbbVie Inc., Alma Lasers, Inc., Bausch Health, Contura International, El.En. Group, Johnson & Johnson and Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KGaA Executive Summary Aesthetic medicine covers a wide range of medical procedures that are aimed at improving the physical appearance and satisfaction of the patient, using non-invasive to minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. The aesthetic medicine specialty is not confined to dermatologists and plastic surgeons, as doctors of all specialties seek to offer services to address their patients' aesthetic needs and desires. All aesthetic medicine procedures are performed under locoregional anesthesia. The exciting field of aesthetic medicine is a growing field. This is because patients not only want to be in good health, but they also want to enjoy life to the fullest, be fit and minimize the effects of natural aging. Indeed, patients are now requesting quick, non-invasive procedures with minor downtime and very little risk. This recent trend explains the current success of aesthetic medicine around the globe. Aesthetic procedures include: Injections of neurotoxins and dermal fillers Chemical peels Cosmetic dermatology treatments Microdermabrasion Body contouring and treatment of cellulite Nutrition Hair transplant Hair reduction Fat grafting/platelet rich plasma Laser and IPL Scar management Venous treatment Initially, to address simple skin care and facial treatment, aesthetic medicine borrowed extensively from mainstream medicine. Fat grafts in orthopedics found new life as compatible long-term fillers to flesh out wrinkles in aging faces. Chemical peels removed dead skin cells, freeing up fresh ones to glow and grow. Botulinum, an R&D success, became a popular injection for removing wrinkles and creases. Today, effective aesthetic medicine-as a minimally invasive practice-is based on doctors having skilled hands, whereby they leverage reliable, cutting-edge medical technology, such as laser technology, chemical peels, fillers, and injectables of natural or bio-ingredients. It spans surface treatments through chemical peels and lasers to minimally invasive procedures, such as thread-lifts, botulinum type A injections, derma fillers, fat grafts, and hair transplants. Aesthetic medicine bridges the gap between beauty and health. It is important because beauty is not just skin deep. Beauty includes the need to feel good in one's own skin, thereby nurturing a psychophysical balance. We cannot ignore the importance of aesthetics from a psycho-sociological point of view, especially when today's society so highly covets attractive appearances. Key Topics Covered Chapter 1 Introduction Study Goals and Objectives What's New in this Update? Reasons for Doing this Study Scope of Report Methodology Importance of this Report Key Questions Answered in the Report Geographic Breakdown Chapter 2 Summary and Highlights Overview of Findings Chapter 3 Market and Technology Background Introduction Overview Medical Aesthetics Societies Medical Tourism for Medical Aesthetics Key Statistics for Medical Aesthetics Market Segments Market Dynamics Drivers Restraints Chapter 4 Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic Overview Chapter 5 Market Breakdown by Device Type Introduction Market Size and Forecast Implants Market Size and Forecast Breast Implants Soft Tissue Implants Aesthetic Dental Implants Facial Aesthetic Devices Market Size and Forecast Microdermabrasion Devices Dermal Filler Devices Laser and Energy Emitting Devices Advantages of Lasers Applications Market Size and Forecast Skin Tightening and Body Contouring Devices Market Size and Forecast Liposuction Devices Skin Tightening Devices Cellulite Reduction Devices Chapter 6 Market Breakdown by End-user Introduction Hospitals Market Size and Forecast Slimming and Beauty Clinics Market Size and Forecast Chapter 7 Market Breakdown by Region Overview Market Size and Forecast North America Market Size and Forecast United States Canada Mexico Europe Market Size and Forecast Germany France United Kingdom Italy Spain Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific Market Size and Forecast Japan China India Australia South Korea Rest of Asia-Pacific Rest of the World Market Size and Forecast Brazil Middle East South Africa Other Countries Chapter 8 Patent Review General Patent Application Process Chapter 9 Market Opportunities Overview Opportunities Chapter 10 Competitive Landscape Overview Competitor Market Ranking Major Players Porter's Five Forces Analysis Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining Power of Buyers Threat of New Suppliers Threat of Substitutes Competitive Rivalry/Degree of Competition Key Developments Mergers and Acquisitions Chapter 11 Company Profiles Abbvie, Inc. Anika Therapeutics, Inc. Bausch Health Companies Inc. Contura International A/S Crisalix SA Cutera, Inc. Cynosure, Inc. El.En. Group Ideal Implant Inc. Implantech Implant Teknolojileri Johnson & Johnson Lumenis Ltd. Medytox Inc. Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KGaA Photomedex Inc. Revance Therapeutics, Inc. Suneva Medical, Inc. Syneron Medical Ltd. Venus Concept For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/la95cq Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets BUFFALO, N.Y., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB)("M&T") will participate in the RBC Capital Markets, which is being held in a virtual format. Representatives of M&T are scheduled to address investors and analysts on March 9, 2022 at 3:20 p.m. (ET). A live audio-webcast of the event will be available at: https://ir.mtb.com/events-presentations. The discussion and webcast may contain forward-looking statements and other material information. A replay will also be made available following the event. About M&T M&T Bank Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T's principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, operates banking offices in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Trust-related services are provided by M&T's Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by M&T Bank. Investor Contact: Brian Klock (716) 842-5138 Media Contact: Julia Berchou (716) 842-5385 2022 M&T Bank. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. SOURCE M&T Bank Corporation TOKYO, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nippon Express Co., Ltd., a group company of Nippon Express Holdings, Inc. has been included for the second consecutive year on the "Supplier Engagement Leader" comprising highest-rated companies in the "Supplier Engagement Rating" conducted by CDP, an international NGO engaged in researching and disclosing environmental information on companies and cities. Logo1 (Nippon Express): https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/img/202202227644-O2-35P4W8mA Logo2 (CDP): https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/img/202202227644-O1-TolEJj72 One of the environmental rating institutions most trusted by investors, CDP is a non-profit organization whose principal activities involve requesting that companies and local governments disclose information on their climate change, water security, forest conservation and other environmental measures at the behest of institutional investors and major purchasing organizations around the world who take a great interest in environmental issues, thereby encouraging companies and local governments to pursue such measures. The NX Group regards "responsibility for the global environment" as a priority issue and accordingly it pro-actively discloses environmental information, pursues green (eco-friendly) logistics initiatives such as cooperative delivery and modal shifts, and formulates projects that help reduce CO2 emissions. The effectiveness of these efforts was acknowledged in CDP's latest rating. Nippon Express will continue to practice sustainable management from a long-term perspective while meeting the expectations of all stakeholders globally by ardently addressing environmental issues, and the NX Group will work in concert to achieve further growth and enhance its corporate value as it aims to become the trusted presence that customers and societies in all ages demand. Related information CDP Supplier Engagement Rating: https://www.cdp.net/en/research/global-reports/engaging-the-chain#supplier-engagement-2021 NX Group's approaches to environmental issues: https://www.nipponexpress-holdings.com/en/csr/environment/ Nippon Express website: https://www.nipponexpress.com/ Official LinkedIn account: NX GROUP https://www.linkedin.com/company/nippon-express-group/ SOURCE Nippon Express Holdings, Inc. CHICAGO, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- North Park University (North Park) and the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) have partnered to offer all North Park undergraduate students free admission to the AIC. The University Partner Program also includes special exhibitions, virtual programs and lectures, professional development, an invitation to AIC's Jobs at Art Museums fair, and two dates during the academic school year for the entire North Park community to enjoy free admission. North Park's Student Engagement office presented the idea of being part of the partnership opportunity to one of its very own students, Emily Underwood, an Education and Art major. As the fine arts representative in Student Government, Underwood sat side-by-side with Student Engagement staff members to plan the program and make it a reality. "If Student Engagement sees that you have an idea, they work tirelessly to make sure you are connected with the right people to make it happen," said Underwood. "I am so excited to have been a part of this which I know will be used and loved by North Park students," added Underwood. Viewing Chicago as an extension of the classroom, North Park's curriculum integrates experiential learning opportunities spanning the arts, sciences, nonprofits, ministries, businesses, and civic organizations. "Being involved in this partnership opens up even more opportunities for the city (Chicago) to be a part of our classroom. The art world can be brought into every classroom," said Underwood. In addition to free admission for all undergraduate students with a valid North Park ID, partnership benefits also offer: AIC's renowned encyclopedic collection, archival materials in the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, lectures, and programs 50 general admission tickets for faculty, staff, and other guests 10% discount on first time memberships (up to Member Plus level) for North Park students, staff, and faculty (excluding student and e-member levels) students, staff, and faculty (excluding student and e-member levels) Two virtual opportunities Invitation to Jobs at Art Museums (JAM), an annual museum career awareness event Opportunities for special professional development programs Concierge service for planned group trips, meetings, classes, or tours Complementary admission to AIC is valid through January 31, 2023. ABOUT NORTH PARK UNIVERSITY North Park University is city-centered, intercultural, and emerging as the model for Christian higher education in 21st Century America. SOURCE North Park University WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 28 at 12pm EST, the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the largest collaborative of not-for-profit hospices in the United States, will be hosting a digital roundtable on healthcare innovation, moderated by Modern Healthcare's Ginger Christ. Register for Healthcare Innovation: "In-Home Cardiac Care is All Heart". In 2021, NPHI launched the Advanced Cardiac Care (ACC) Program to support the home-based palliative care of patients with serious cardiovascular disease. Since then, top performing NPHI programs have seen nearly 30% increases in cardiac patient admissions and improved clinical outcomes, even in the face of COVID-19 restrictions. "The ACC has demonstrated that community-based hospice providers are uniquely suited to bridge treatment gaps in cardiac care: Patients enrolled in our programs lived much longer, saw fewer hospitalizations, emergency visits, and were more likely to die at home all at a lower average cost of care," said Cameron Muir, MD, Chief Innovation Officer, NPHI. "Serious cardiac illness can be daunting for patients, families, and caregivers, which is why our programs never turn anyone away, regardless of ability to pay." "We're so proud of the work our members have done to support this population," added Carole Fisher, President, NPHI. "But the success of this program made us ask ourselves: What are the ingredients for successful innovation in the palliative and hospice care space?" To answer this question, on February 28th at 12pm EST, NPHI will be hosting a moderated discussion featuring several NPHI members who participated in the ACC program. Panelists include: "Figuring out how to innovate well across hospice care is critical when you look at what we know about palliative care for those with cardiovascular disease," said Steve Cone of Capital Caring. "We know that we can reliably prevent thousands of patients with heart failure from dying in hospital ICU's why aren't more programs doing this?" Palliative care is valuable for heart failure patients and according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association can lower risk of repeated hospitalization and minimize the need for invasive procedures such as mechanical ventilation or defibrillator implantation. This is key because the prevalence of heart failure is expected to grow, increasing the need for families to consider long-term care options. "The COVID-19 pandemic has really highlighted the value of at-home care, including palliative care and home hospice care, for heart failure patients and aging populations," said palliative care expert, Neeraj Mendiratta, MD, volunteer medical expert for the American Heart Association and assistant physician in chief with Kaiser Permanente. "There's a false perception that palliative and at-home care is only provided at the very end of life. However, palliative care can be beneficial for patients in any stage of a serious illness" As heart failure progresses, patients experience a high symptom burden that negatively impacts their ability to function, creates discomfort and increases risks of death. Palliative care not only helps relieve symptoms and improve quality of life (e.g., pain management and emotional support) but can also improve prognosis. Using data from the Veterans Affairs (VA) External Peer Review Program, researchers found that cardiac patients who received palliative care were: less likely to be re-hospitalized (31% vs 40%) less likely to require invasive procedures (2.5% vs 5.4%) 25% less likely to be placed on mechanical ventilation Initial national baseline data from NPHI members enrolled in the ACC was similarly compelling. Compared to those without hospice and palliative care, patients in said member programs were: 23% less likely to be re-hospitalized 13% less likely to visit the emergency department in the last 30 days of life 33.7% more likely to die at home Palliative care has already transformed the care experience for many families. For Charlie Peters and his wife Beth, palliative care allowed them to stay in their home of 60 years. Prior to receiving specialized care, their son had urged his parents to consider assisted living. "We didn't want to do that, particularly Charlie who loves and is comfortable and happy in his home," said Beth. "I was so fearful () that something awful would happen to him, and I'd have to call an ambulance. Knowing they're there, I sleep at night, and my son is sleeping at night too." Additional information on the Advanced Cardiac Care Program Patient and Caregiver Handbook can be found here. Register for the roundtable here. About the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI): Serving over 120,000 patients daily and employing thousands of medical professionals, NPHI is driven by passion and integrity to help people live fully through the endoflife. Our commitment is to ensure patients and their families experience advanced illness and endoflife care consistent with their goals, values, and preferences. Our notforprofit member programs across 32 states and the District of Columbia seek to accomplish this by facilitating innovative design of more effective and comprehensive models of care, advocating for comprehensive communityintegrated care that is customized to meet each individual patient's needs, and enabling collaboration between national thought leaders, decisionmakers, and health care stakeholders to strengthen hospice care. www.NPHI.info | www.NPHI.live Media Contact: Allan Malievsky Communications Director, NPHI [email protected] +19179741371 SOURCE National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) TULSA, Okla., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE: OGS) will hold its 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders as a virtual meeting only on Thursday, May 26, 2022, at 9 a.m. Central Daylight Time. The meeting will also be audio webcast on the ONE Gas website, www.onegas.com. The record date for determining shareholders entitled to receive notice of the meeting and to vote is March 28, 2022. Date: Thursday, May 26, 2022, at 9 a.m. CDT Virtual: Register to virtually attend the live online Annual Meeting at http://www.proxydocs.com/ogs Webcast: Log on to the webcast at http://www.onegas.com/investors/events-and-presentations ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE: OGS) is a 100-percent regulated natural gas utility, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "OGS." ONE Gas is included in the S&P MidCap 400 Index and is one of the largest natural gas utilities in the United States. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ONE Gas provides a reliable and affordable energy choice to more than 2.2 million customers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Its divisions include Kansas Gas Service, the largest natural gas distributor in Kansas; Oklahoma Natural Gas, the largest in Oklahoma; and Texas Gas Service, the third largest in Texas, in terms of customers. For more information and the latest news about ONE Gas, visit onegas.com and follow its social channels: @ONEGas, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Analyst Contact: Brandon Lohse 918-947-7472 Media Contact: Leah Harper 918-947-7123 SOURCE ONE Gas, Inc. Online Tutoring Market: the growing importance of STEM education to drive growth The growing importance of STEM education among students, parents, and various educational stakeholders globally is a major factor driving the growth of the global online tutoring market. STEM integrates these subjects into a unified learning model based on real-world applications. It trains students to be skilled in job opportunities in the STEM field. Increasing job opportunities in the STEM field is one of the major reasons for the rising popularity of STEM courses among students globally. STEM job opportunities are expected to outpace the growth of non-STEM job opportunities during the forecast period. Online Tutoring Market: Advanced technologies to be a major trend Advanced technologies such as mobile apps and wearables are the recent trends in the global online tutoring market. The use of virtual reality (VR) in tutoring is creating a unique environment for studying. Along with the use of VR in online lessons, tutors are enhancing their sessions with various mobile apps. The proliferation of smartphones, coupled with the increasing penetration of the Internet, is fueling the demand for mobile learning apps. Furthermore, VR and smartwatches are expected to be the most popular technologies in virtual classrooms. The main benefit of these types of technologies is the ability to share content easily. To know more about drivers & challenges - Request Free Sample Research Report Online Tutoring Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the online tutoring market by Courses(STEM, Language courses, and Other courses) and Geography (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and MEA). Revenue Generating Segment -. Online tutors such as Ambow Education, Club Z! Inc, and TAL Education Group offer various online STEM tutoring programs to help students excel in school academics and the standardized college entrance exams. The strong focus on the standardization of tests will further increase the competition among students, which will encourage them to join specialized STEM courses/test preparation online tutoring programs during the forecast period. Hence, the stem courses segment will be significant for revenue generation. Regional Analysis - 44% of the market's growth will originate from APAC during the forecast period. China and India are the key markets for online tutoring in APAC. Market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in other regions. The availability of apps and wearables for online tutoring, the growing popularity of online microlearning, and the standardization of tests will facilitate the online tutoring market growth in APAC over the forecast period. To gain further insights on the market contribution of all regions & courses segments - Request a free sample report Related Reports: Online Education Market -The online education market share is expected to increase by USD 121.85 billion from 2020 to 2025, at a CAGR of 9.24%. Download a free sample now! K-12 Game-based Learning Market -The K-12 game-based learning market share should rise by USD 9.03 billion from 2021 to 2025 at a CAGR of 20.63%. Download a free sample now! 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 USD 153.07 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 15.10 Performing market contribution APAC at 44% Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Ambow Education Holding Ltd., D2L Corp., iTutorGroup, K12 Inc., Pearson Plc, TAL Education Group, Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd., Varsity Tutors LLC, Vedantu Innovations Pvt. Ltd., China Distance Education Holdings Ltd., and 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. Table of Content 1. Executive Summary 2. Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 01: Parent market Exhibit 02: Market Characteristics 2.2 Value chain analysis Exhibit 03: Value Chain Analysis for educational services 2.2.1 Inputs 2.2.2 Operations 2.2.2.1 Pitching and profiling 2.2.2.2 Resourcing and communicating 2.2.2.3 Delivery and support 2.2.2.4 Connecting and innovating 2.2.2.5 Marketing and sales 2.2.2.6 Support activities 2.3.3 Innovations 3. Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 05: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2020 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025 Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ million) Exhibit 07: Global market - Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%) 4. Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five Forces Summary Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020 5. Market Segmentation by Courses 5.1 Market segments The segments covered in this chapter are: STEM Language courses Other courses The two segments have been ranked based on their market share in 2020. The STEM courses constituted the largest segment in 2020, while the smallest segment was Other Courses. Exhibit 15: STEM - Market share 2020-2025 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Courses Exhibit 16: Comparison by Courses 5.3 STEM- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 17: STEM - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 18: STEM - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.4 Language Courses - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 19: Language Courses - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 20: Language Courses - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.4 Other Courses - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 21: Other Courses - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 22: Other Courses - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 5.5 Market opportunity by Courses Exhibit 23: Market opportunity by Courses 6. Customer landscape Exhibit 24: Customer landscape 7. Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation The regions covered in the report are: APAC Europe North America South America MEA North America ranked first as the largest market globally, while MEA accounted for the smallest market share in 2020 Exhibit 25: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 26: Geographic comparison 7.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 27: APAC- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 28: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 29: Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 30: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.5 North America- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 31: North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 32:North America- Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 33: South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 34: South America - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Exhibit 35: MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million) Exhibit 36: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%) 7.8 Key leading countries Exhibit 37: Key leading countries 7.9 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 38: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) 8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.1.1 Growing importance of STEM education 8.1.2 Strong global demand for test preparation 8.1.3 Increasing focus on language learning 8.2 Market challenges 8.2.1 Threat from open-source and private tutoring 8.2.2 Difficulties in developing and distributing digital content 8.2.3 Data security and privacy issues in online tutoring industry Exhibit 39: Impact of drivers and challenges 8.3 Market trends 8.3.1 Apps and wearables for online tutoring 8.3.2 Growing popularity of online microlearning 8.3.3 Standardization of tests 9. Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview Exhibit 40: Vendor landscape 9.2 Landscape disruption The potential for the disruption of the market landscape was moderate in 2020, and its threat is expected to remain unchanged by 2025. Exhibit 41: Landscape disruption Exhibit 42: Industry risks 10. Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 43: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 44: Market positioning of vendors 10.3 Ambow Education Holding Ltd. Exhibit 45: Ambow Education Holding Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 46: Ambow Education Holding Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 47: Ambow Education Holding Ltd. Key news Exhibit 48: Ambow Education Holding Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 49: Ambow Education Holding Ltd. - Segment focus 10.4 China Distance Education Holdings Ltd. Exhibit 50: China Distance Education Holdings Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 51: China Distance Education Holdings Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 52: China Distance Education Holdings Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 53: China Distance Education Holdings Ltd. - Segment focus 10.5 D2L Corp. Exhibit 54: D2L Corp. - Overview Exhibit 55: D2L Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 56: D2L Corp. Key news Exhibit 57: D2L Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 58: D2L Corp. - Segment focus 10.6 iTutorGroup Exhibit 59: iTutorGroup - Overview Exhibit 60: iTutorGroup - Product and service Exhibit 61: iTutorGroup - Key offerings 10.7 K12 Inc. Exhibit 62: K12 Inc. - Overview Exhibit 63: K12 Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 64: K12 Inc. - Key offerings 10.8 Pearson Plc Exhibit 65: Pearson Plc - Overview Exhibit 66: Pearson Plc - Business segments Exhibit 67: Pearson Plc Key news Exhibit 68: Pearson Plc - Key offerings Exhibit 69: Pearson Plc - Segment focus 10.9 TAL Education Group Exhibit 70: TAL Education Group - Overview Exhibit 71: TAL Education Group - Business segments Exhibit 72: TAL Education Group - Key offerings Exhibit 73: TAL Education Group - Segment focus 10.10 Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. Exhibit 74: Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 75: Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. - Business segments' Exhibit 76: Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. Key news Exhibit 77: Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings 10.11 Varsity Tutors LLC Exhibit 78: Varsity Tutors LLC - Overview Exhibit 79: Varsity Tutors LLC - Product and service Exhibit 80: Varsity Tutors LLC Key news Exhibit 81: Varsity Tutors LLC - Key offerings 10.12 Vedantu Innovations Pvt. Ltd. Exhibit 82: Vedantu Innovations Pvt. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 83: Vedantu Innovations Pvt. Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 84: Vedantu Innovations Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings 11. Appendix 11.1 Scope of the report 11.1.1 Market definition 11.1.2 Objectives 11.1.3 Notes and caveats 11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 85: Currency conversion rates for US$ 11.3 Research Methodology Exhibit 86: Research Methodology Exhibit 87: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 88: Information sources 12.4 List of abbreviations Exhibit 89: List of abbreviations About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio The reductions are possible because of faster growth in passenger volume contributing to higher-than-projected revenues from non-airline sources such as parking, rental cars, food and beverage, and news and gift concessions. In addition, airport operating expenses were reduced $2.1 million in the last six months of calendar year 2021. Ontario's passenger volume has approached near pre-pandemic levels in recent months. In the final six months of calendar year 2021, passenger activity was 94.7% of the same period in 2019. "With the transfer of Ontario International to local control in 2016, we pledged that our Southern California aviation gateway would strive to offer a cost structure attractive to airlines as they make route planning decisions," said OIAA Commission President Alan D. Wapner. "Now, as the aviation industry prepares to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever we keep airport costs as low as possible for our airline partners. Air carriers need to know where they can operate most profitably, and we are proud to say that is Ontario International Airport." Deputy Chief Executive Officer Atif Elkadi added, "We are pleased to share our increased non-airline revenues and lower operating costs with our airline partners through a reduction in landing fees and terminal rental rates for the second half our fiscal year. Moreover, we are committed to doing all possible to continue this trend." About Ontario International Airport Ontario International Airport (ONT) is the fastest growing airport in the United States, according to Global Traveler, a leading publication for frequent fliers. Located in the Inland Empire, ONT is approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California. It is a full-service airport which, before the coronavirus pandemic, offered nonstop commercial jet service to 26 major airports in the U.S., Mexico, Central America and Taiwan. More information is available at www.flyOntario.com. Follow @flyONT on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram About the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) The OIAA was formed in August 2012 by a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Ontario and the County of San Bernardino to provide overall direction for the management, operations, development and marketing of ONT for the benefit of the Southern California economy and the residents of the airport's four-county catchment area. OIAA Commissioners are Ontario Mayor Pro Tem Alan D. Wapner (President), Retired Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge (Vice President), Ontario City Council Member Jim W. Bowman (Secretary), San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman (Commissioner) and retired business executive Julia Gouw (Commissioner). OIAA Media Contact: Steve Lambert (909) 841-7527 [email protected] SOURCE Ontario International Airport DAEJEON, South Korea, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PharmAbcine Inc. (KOSDAQ: 208340ks), a clinical-stage biotech company focusing on the development of next-generation antibody therapeutics, announced today the completion of last patient last visit in its Phase Ib combination trial for mTNBC (metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer) patients in Australia. The clinical study, which had the first patient dosed in December 2018, evaluated the safety and clinical efficacy of olinvacimab, the Company's anti-VEGFR2 (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptors) antibody candidate, in combination with MSD's (Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ., USA) anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab). A total of 11 patients were recruited and divided into two cohorts. The low-dose cohort (five patients) received a 12mg/kg weekly dose of olinvacimab, and the high-dose cohort (six patients) received a 16mg/kg weekly dose of olinvacimab. All patients equally received a 200mg flat dose of pembrolizumab every three weeks. In December 2020, PharmAbcine presented the highly encouraging interim data of the study at SABCS (San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium). In the high-dose olinvacimab cohort, an ORR (Overall Response Rate) of 50% was reported in three of six patients, and a DCR (Disease Control Rate) of 67% was reported in four out of six patients. Notably, one patient in the high-dose cohort showed CR (Complete Response) in the target lesion but was labeled as PR (Partial Response) due to a tumor remaining in a non-target lesion. The last patient, who just completed 35 cycles of olinvacimab and pembrolizumab combo treatment, will receive olinvacimab in monotherapy as compassionate use starting from early March 2022. In addition, another patient, who showed CR in the target lesion, has already been receiving olinvacimab as compassionate use since August 2021 and is in stable condition. The encouraging data from this study provided strong scientific rationale for PharmAbcine to proceed to a Phase IIa study. In September 2021, PharmAbcine received Australian HREC (Human Research Ethics Committee) clearance to commence the subsequent Phase IIa combo trial designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of 16mg/kg weekly dose of olinvacimab in combination with 200mg of pembrolizumab in a larger population setting. The study had the first patient dosing in December 2021, and is actively recruiting patients. "The patients, who continued to receive the treatment since the interim data presentation in 2020, showed no serious adverse events," said Dr. Jin-San Yoo, CEO of PharmAbcine. "We are pleased to report this critical milestone and looking forward to getting the final report made available in the future," KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. About mTNBC mTNBC is a highly malignant type of cancer that shows a high recurrence rate within the first five years after the diagnosis. mTNBC accounts for 10-20% of all breast cancers and shows a 5-year survival rate of approximately 11%. Unlike some other breast cancers, mTNBC does not express estrogen or progesterone receptors or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and it does not respond to existing cancer drugs designed to target these markers. mTNBC is very difficult to treat, and there are very few FDA approved treatment options for these patients. About Olinvacimab Olinvacimab is the Company's leading pipeline that neutralizes the VEGF/VEGFR2 pathway, suppresses tumor angiogenesis, and results in tumor growth inhibition. It is undergoing multiple global clinical trials. Other than the ongoing Phase II olinvacimab and pembrolizumab combo trial in mTNBC, which had the first patient dosed in December 2021, a Phase II olinvacimab mono study for bevacizumab-nonresponding rGBM (recurrent glioblastoma multiforme) patients is ongoing at multiple sites in both US and Australia. The olinvacimab and pembrolizumab combo treatments in two Phase Ib studies for both mTNBC and rGBM are finished. Two patients in the mTNBC study and one patient in the rGBM study are receiving olinvacimab monotherapy as compassionate use. About PharmAbcine Inc. PharmAbcine is a clinical-stage biotech company focusing on the development of fully human antibody therapeutics to treat neovascular disorders, tumors, and other medically unmet diseases. It provides therapeutic antibodies for a wide spectrum of indications from oncology, immuno-oncology, ophthalmology, pulmonology, to renal pathology. PharmAbcine has its own HuPhage library and innovative selection system. PharmAbcine's advanced 3G expression system accommodates high levels of antibody production and steady reproducibility. With these cutting-edge technology platforms, it provides state-of-the art antibody generation services. PharmAbcine also has unique knowhow in the area of the antibody production, early drug development, and clinical development. For additional information about PharmAbcine, visit http://www.pharmabcine.com or follow us on Youtube and Linkedin. For licensing deals, co-development, and collaboration in research or antibody discovery inquiries, please contact: Business Development Team E-mail: [email protected] Office line: +82 70 4279 5100 For investor relations and public relations inquiries, please contact: IR/PR Team Sungjun Park, Associate E-mail: [email protected] Office line: +82 70 4270 2637 SOURCE PharmAbcine LANSDOWNE, Va., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation announced today the semifinalists for its highly competitive Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship . Through this award, the Foundation supports high-achieving community college students with financial need seeking to complete their bachelor's degrees at selective four-year institutions. Since its inception, the Cooke Foundation has selected Transfer Scholars from over 337 community colleges and has awarded more than $54 million in transfer scholarships. While national college enrollments have been on the decline in the midst of the pandemic, recent National Student Clearinghouse data finds that transfers are on the rise among community college students who have stayed enrolled in the first year of the pandemic. For the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, this was a highly competitive year. This year's 440 semifinalists were chosen from a pool of over 1,200 applicants attending 180 community colleges in 35 states. "The past year has been particularly difficult as students continued to navigate the complexities of hybrid learning, the demands of family care, and disrupted work schedules," said Seppy Basili, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. "We are so proud of these semifinalists for their perseverance and achievements at their community colleges." The Undergraduate Scholarship offers unmatched support to community college students seeking to complete their education at top four-year institutions. In addition to financial support, selected Cooke Transfer Scholars will receive comprehensive educational advising from the Foundation to guide them through the process of transitioning to a four-year school and preparing for their careers. Undergraduate Transfer Scholars will additionally receive opportunities for internships, study abroad, and graduate school funding, as well as connection to a thriving network of nearly 3,000 fellow Cooke Scholars and Alumni. The Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship recipients will be announced by early May. Cooke Transfer Scholars are selected based on their exceptional academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, service, and leadership. Students must be currently enrolled in community college or recent alumni. A list of this year's Cooke Transfer Scholar semifinalists, their community colleges, and their hometowns is here . Learn more about the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship here . The Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Since 2000, the Foundation has awarded $230 million in scholarships to nearly 3,000 students from 8th grade through graduate school, along with comprehensive counseling and other support services. The Foundation has also provided $120 million in grants to organizations that serve such students. www.jkcf.org SOURCE Jack Kent Cooke Foundation LUMBERTON, N.J., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Online bedding supplier Pure Parima has earned a reputation for providing the best Egyptian cotton sheets, pillowcases, and duvet covers. As part of its commitment to delivering both quality and style, the retailer is pleased to be adding bedding in the bold new shade of Midnight to its current product line. "We believe that our customers deserve access to the highest-quality bedding that melds flawlessly with their existing decor," said company founder Parima Ijaz. "To that end, we're constantly adding new products and designs to our collection. Our newest and boldest color yet, Midnight represents a beautiful and exciting addition to the Pure Parima line." Featuring a rich, deep blue, the Midnight shade has been hailed as a color fit for royalty. Dark and intense, this stunning color calls to mind inky skies and glorious ocean waters. Midnight bedding products are available through both the Yalda and Hira collections. Clean and sophisticated, the Yalda Sheet Set features a good thread count of 400 coupled with a luxuriously soft sateen weave. Along with double-hem stitching, the Yalda set boasts pillowcases with envelope closure for customer convenience. Additionally, customers looking to outfit their homes with Midnight bedding can shop the Hira Collection sheet sets. At once strong and exceptionally soft, Hira sheet sets feature a contemporary accent diamond embroidery and a silky sateen construction. Along with Midnight, popular shades in this line include Tan, Linen, Soft Peach, Icy Blue, and Charcoal. Buyers may opt to pair their Midnight sheets with matching duvet covers or choose a coordinating hue such as White, Ivory, or Gray. Pure Parima also provides an array of accessories for individuals looking to accent their bedrooms. Both the Diamond Quilted Coverlet Set and the Hira Decorative Lumbar Pillow are available in Midnight. Silky and delightfully lustrous, the Quilted Coverlet Set boasts a petite diamond reversible quilted coverlet and matching shams that have a quilted front and a silky sateen back. Made from hand-picked fibers, this luxurious collection is at once cozy and cooling. On the other hand, the Lumbar Pillow wins acclaim for its contemporary accent diamond embroidery and lustrous sateen finish. This supportive piece functions equally well on a bed or in a living room or den. Smooth, soft, and highly breathable, these products are ideal for hot sleepers and those with sensitive skin. "We attribute our success to our dedication to providing 100 percent Egyptian cotton sheets that bear the Cotton Egypt Association seal of approval," said Ijaz. "Unlike our competitors, we manufacture our luxury bedding sets using extra-long staple cotton that was handpicked in the Nile River Valley. That means our sheets resist tearing and pilling while staying softer longer." Along with using certified raw materials, Pure Parima wins converts due to the fact that it manufactures its products free from harmful chemicals and substances. It's no surprise that Cosmopolitan called them the "Best Egyptian Cotton Sheets on the Market." Pure Parima also offers sheets with a percale weave. Cooler and crisper than sateen, the bedding in the Ultra Percale Sheet Set features extra-long staple cotton fibers woven into an elegant matte finish. Part of the esteemed Hotel Collection, this set boasts a thread count of 350 and exquisite single-needle stitching on the flat sheet and pillowcases. The collection is available in sizes Twin, Full, Queen, King, and Cal King. Choose from two shades: White and Carbon. Thread count is one of the many factors separating Pure Parima from the competition. While dishonest retailers frequently inflate the thread counts of their products, the truth is that only 800 threads can fit in a given square inch of fabric. Brands that claim to offer higher counts are actually weaving multiple strands of short-staple fabric together. On the other hand, Pure Parima uses only long-staple cotton fibers from the Nile River Valley. Rich with vitamins and minerals, this soil makes for a longer-lasting, silkier final product. The quality of Pure Parima sheets helped make them the Sleepfoundation.org Pick for Best Egyptian Cotton Sheets. Shoppers should note that all Pure Parima luxury bedding sets come wrapped in a customized embroidered fabric pouch. For best results, buyers should store their sheets and pillowcases in the original packaging to prevent exposure to dirt. Stow bedding in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area and wash it in cold water. Avoid liquid fabric softeners, chlorinated bleach, dryer sheets, and excessive heat to preserve the longevity of purchases. While line drying is the best choice, it's also acceptable to machine dry on the low-heat setting. Want to learn more about the Midnight sheets or other products? Customers can feel free to email Pure Parima their questions at [email protected] or contact Pure Parima team online SOURCE Pure Parima DUNEDIN, Fla. and ZUG, Switzerland, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Salveo Agro and Zentia AG today announced that Zentia, a family office's private holding and investment company, entered as an early investor and for a material stake into Salveo Agro, a new technology-based crop protection and biotechnology company developing natural crop protection products and biostimulants based on their patented Tectus Matrix technology. The investment was made as a private placement towards Zentia for an undisclosed amount. Zentia has entered into an agreement to also support Salveo Agro's ambition to extend the application of its patented natural ingredients-based technology to address a broad spectrum of plant pathogens as well as to act as a potent biostimulant for high value crops. Together with its partners and investors, Salveo Agro's strategy is to demonstrate that its Tectus Matrix technology, already demonstrated as highly effective in the treatment of Sigatoka Negra and Panama Disease in bananas, is also a sustainable and disruptive technology that addresses a broader spectrum of pathogens (including bacteria). It is a rapidly scalable solution suited for global use. Jack Bracewell, CEO, Salveo Agro comments: "We are very pleased to see Zentia joining our owner group with this investment. Zentia is a professional and competent investor that is characterized by a long-term investment perspective. We are particularly satisfied with the investment as it shows a strong belief in Salveo Agro's, vision and mission." "We are aware of Zentia's strong commitment to invest in technologies that support a sustainable development in the world. We are gratified and honored that Zentia has invested a substantial amount in Salveo Agro and thereby support us to tackle the environmental challenges presented by current pesticides issues as well as the social impact to the livelihoods of farmers caused by resistant plant pathogens globally," Jack continues. For Zentia, the investment into Salveo Agro is based on a wish to invest in companies that contribute to a sustainable development in the world. "Salveo Agro is an interesting investment for Zentia. The development of natural alternatives to current chemicals-based crop protection products has proven a great challenge. Salveo Agro has taken an innovative and scalable approach to solving this key problem resulting in a strong business potential while minimizing environmental impact. We believe this methodology could be a major step in the transition towards a more sustainable future in agriculture," says Henriette Cataldo, Managing Director of Zentia. The Board of Directors of Salveo Agro can complete the private placement based on existing authorizations. Zentia is being granted a seat on the Board of Salveo Agro and an option to purchase additional shares and further invest in the company. About Salveo Agro Salveo Agro is an agriculture biotechnology manufacturer of natural pesticides and plant nutrients that was founded in the State of Florida the 13th of July 2016. The company's flagship formulation Tectus Matrix was developed to provide a sustainable treatment to treat Sigatoka Negra as well as cure and prevent the banana wilt FOC TR4 pandemic infecting banana plantations globally. Testing performed to date have proven the efficacy on Cavendish plants infected with TR4. The formulations' have additionally shown excellent results on numerous high value agricultural crops and pathogens. The company expects that it's natural biostimulant, fungicide and bactericide formulations will not only open the door to treat countless agricultural crops and diseases but will also lay the groundwork for a new treatment practice of crop protection in agricultural systems. www.SalveoAgro.com About Zentia AG Zentia is a family office and private holding and investment company founded to promote a sustainable future for its founding family's assets through generations. Zentia focuses on sustainable investments and acts as the incubator for technology start-ups with a high potential for positive social impact in the world. We act as a responsible investor with high ethical standards and a long-term investment approach, all contributing to enable the family to succeed with the mission to inspire and develop the leaders of tomorrow. Zentia AG Phone: +41 41 508 55 18 Email: [email protected] www.zentia.ch Contact: John Bracewell Company: Salveo, Inc. (d.b.a. Salveo Agro) Phone: +1.954.900.1988 Email: [email protected] Video and additional Media Materials: www.SalveoAgro.com/press SOURCE Salveo Agro WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SCORE , mentors to America's small businesses and a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration, congratulates SCORE Cleveland for being named 2022 Chapter of the Year. SCORE Cleveland was recognized from among 240 chapters nationwide for its outstanding mentoring and educational support to small businesses during these challenging times, including tripling their total services over the past two years. SCORE Cleveland Wins National Chapter of the Year (COTY) Award for Outstanding Service With a focus on "no client left behind," the chapter's 80+ volunteers dedicated themselves to assisting local entrepreneurs in all aspects of starting and running a small business. In doing so, they enriched their community by helping to start 394 new businesses and create 676 new jobs in one year. In 2021, SCORE Cleveland's services to local small businesses included: 32,000+ volunteer hours 14% increase in new, active volunteers from the previous year 4,869 mentoring sessions, a 29% increase over 2020 82 workshops and webinars with a total of 2,682 attendees Client service across a 130 mile wide area Collaborative partnerships with 50+ organizations "This award is for our leadership team, mentors, and subject matter experts who are passionate about making a difference in the small business community and the lives of others," said SCORE Cleveland Co-Chapter Chair Bob Cohen. "I couldn't be more proud of their accomplishments." SCORE Cleveland client Laura Licursi shares that her mentor has had great insight for her business, has consistently gone above and beyond to point out new opportunities and find answers. "[My SCORE mentor] helped me stay on track and bring my business back to where it was before the pandemic hit." SCORE Cleveland was officially recognized at the Chapter of the Year Award ceremony, held virtually on Feb. 24 via SCORE's YouTube channel. Visit SCORE Cleveland online here . About SCORE: Since 1964, SCORE has helped 11 million entrepreneurs to start, grow or troubleshoot a business. SCORE's 10,000 volunteers provide free mentoring, workshops and educational services to 1,500+ communities nationwide. In the past five years, SCORE volunteers have helped start 186,685 businesses and create 378,550 non-owner jobs. Follow @SCOREMentors on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Funded [in part] through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Contact: Betsy Dougert SCORE 800-634-0245 [email protected] SOURCE SCORE Find additional information about the market landscape. Get Free PDF Sample Report The global aerospace and defense market is driven by factors such as demand for lightweight materials, robust growth in aircraft production, and growing preferences for fuel-efficient aircraft. Sea Skimmer Missile Market 2022-2026: Scope The report also covers the following areas: Sea Skimmer Missile Market 2022-2026: Segmentation By application, the sea skimmer missile market has been segmented into defense and military and homeland security. The defense and military segment will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. The increasing focus of countries to strengthen their defense and military capabilities will drive the growth of the segment during the same period. By geography, the sea skimmer missile market has been segmented into North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA. APAC will have the highest market share growth during the forecast period. For more information about the contribution of each segment, View Our Free Sample Report Sea Skimmer Missile Market 2022-2026: Vendor Analysis The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. The rising military expenditure is notably driving the sea skimmer missile market growth. However, factors such as climate-related issues may impede market growth. To help businesses improve their market position, Technavio's report provides a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the market. Some of the major vendors of the sea skimmer missile market include Brahmos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Lockheed Martin Corp., MBDA, Northrop Grumman Corp., Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Raytheon Technologies Corp., Saab AB, and The Boeing Co. The key offerings of some of these vendors are listed below: Brahmos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. - The company offers sea skimmer missiles that precisely hit sea and land-based targets beyond radar horizon, under the brand name of Brahmos. The company offers sea skimmer missiles that precisely hit sea and land-based targets beyond radar horizon, under the brand name of Brahmos. Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. - The company offers sea skimmer missiles that provide an optimal solution for meeting naval helicopters' future mission requirements, under the brand name of IAI. The company offers sea skimmer missiles that provide an optimal solution for meeting naval helicopters' future mission requirements, under the brand name of IAI. Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - The company offers sea skimmer missiles that are integrated with autonomous target recognition, which ensures that the correct target is detected, recognized and hit, at sea or on land, under the brand name of Kongsberg. Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights. Subscribe now to our most popular "Lite Plan" billed annually at USD 3000. View 3 reports monthly and Download 3 Reports Annually! Sea Skimmer Missile Market 2022-2026: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2022-2026 Detailed information on factors that will assist sea skimmer missile market growth during the next five years Estimation of the sea skimmer missile market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the sea skimmer missile market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of sea skimmer missile market vendors Related Reports: Aircraft Engine Compressor Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025 Aircraft Engine Market by Application and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026 Sea Skimmer Missile Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.53% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 922.56 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 1.36 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution APAC at 32% Key consumer countries US, UK, France, China, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Brahmos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Lockheed Martin Corp., MBDA, Northrop Grumman Corp., Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Raytheon Technologies Corp., Saab AB, and The Boeing Co. 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. For more valuable insights, Download Latest Free Sample Report Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 1.1 Market Overview Exhibit 01: Key Finding 1 Exhibit 02: Key Finding 2 Exhibit 03: Key Finding 3 Exhibit 04: Key Finding 5 Exhibit 05: Key Finding 6 Exhibit 06: Key Finding 7 Exhibit 07: Key Finding 8 2. Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 08: Parent market Exhibit 09: Market characteristics 2.2 Value chain analysis Exhibit 10: Value chain analysis: Aerospace and defense 2.2.1 Inputs 2.2.2 Inbound logistics 2.2.3 Operations 2.2.4 Marketing and sales 2.2.5 After-sales service 2.2.6 Industry innovation 3. Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market size 2021 3.3 Market segment analysis Exhibit 12: Market segments 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021 - 2026 3.4.1 Estimating growth rates for emerging and high-growth markets 3.4.2 Estimating growth rates for mature markets Exhibit 13: Global - Market size and forecast 2021 - 2026 ($ million) Exhibit 14: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2021 - 2026 (%) 4. Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Five Forces Summary Exhibit 15: Five forces analysis 2021 & 2026 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 16: Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 17: Bargaining power of suppliers 4.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 18: Threat of new entrants 4.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 19: Threat of substitutes 4.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 20: Threat of rivalry 4.7 Market condition Exhibit 21: Market condition - Five forces 2021 5 Market Segmentation by Application 5.1 Market segments Exhibit 22: Application - Market share 2021-2026 (%) 5.2 Comparison by Application Exhibit 23: Comparison by Application 5.3 Defense and military - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 24: Defense and military - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 25: Defense and military - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.4 Homeland security - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 26: Homeland security - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 27: Homeland security - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 5.5 Market opportunity by Application Exhibit 28: Market opportunity by Application 6. Customer landscape 6.1 Overview Technavio's customer landscape matrix comparing Drivers or price sensitivity, Adoption lifecycle, importance in customer price basket, Adoption rate and Key purchase criteria Exhibit 29: Customer landscape 7. Geographic Landscape 7.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 30: Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%) 7.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 31: Geographic comparison 7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 32: North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 33: North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 34: Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 35: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 36: APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 37: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 38: South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 39: South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 40: MEA - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million) Exhibit 41: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%) 7.8 Key leading countries Exhibit 42: Key leading countries 7.9 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 43: Market opportunity by geography 8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 8.1 Market drivers 8.1.1 Rising military expenditure 8.1.2 Technologically advanced systems 8.1.3 Increasing investment in maritime surveillance capabilities 8.2 Market challenges 8.2.1 Climate-related issues 8.2.2 Regulatory norms 8.2.3 Project delays and test failures Exhibit 44: Impact of drivers and challenges 8.3 Market trends 8.3.1 Advanced connector technology 8.3.2 Emergence of 3D printing and composite materials 8.3.3 Usage of artificial intelligence in sea skimmer missiles 9. Vendor Landscape 9.1 Overview Exhibit 45: Vendor landscape The potential for the disruption of the market landscape was moderate in 2020, and its threat is expected to remain unchanged by 2025. 9.2 Landscape disruption Exhibit 46: Landscape disruption Exhibit 47: Industry risks 10. Vendor Analysis 10.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 48: Vendors covered 10.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 49: Market positioning of vendors 10.3 Brahmos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. Exhibit 50: Brahmos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 51: Brahmos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 52: Brahmos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. - Key News Exhibit 53: Brahmos Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings 10.4 Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. Exhibit 54: Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 55: Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. - Product and service Exhibit 56: Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. - Key News Exhibit 57: Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. - Key offerings 10.5 Kongsberg Gruppen ASA Exhibit 58: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - Overview Exhibit 59: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - Business segments Exhibit 60: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - Key News Exhibit 61: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - Key offerings Exhibit 62: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA - Segment focus 10.6 Lockheed Martin Corp. Exhibit 63: Lockheed Martin Corp. - Overview Exhibit 64: Lockheed Martin Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 65: Lockheed Martin Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 66: Lockheed Martin Corp. - Segment focus 10.7 MBDA Exhibit 67: MBDA - Overview Exhibit 68: MBDA - Product and service Exhibit 69: MBDA - Key News Exhibit 70: MBDA - Key offerings 10.8 Northrop Grumman Corp. Exhibit 71: Northrop Grumman Corp. - Overview Exhibit 72: Northrop Grumman Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 73: Northrop Grumman Corp. - Key News Exhibit 74: Northrop About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio SUMMIT, N.J., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Seqirus, a global leader in influenza prevention and a business of CSL Limited (ASX:CSL), today announced the renewal of a five-year agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).1 The agreement further strengthens the U.S. government's pandemic preparedness and response capability by ensuring ready production of medical countermeasures (MCMs). This allows BARDA to request that Seqirus provide influenza vaccines and adjuvants for pre-pandemic stockpiling or for manufacture to support rapid response to an influenza pandemic or other public health emergency. Seqirus and BARDA have held similar agreements since 2006. Seqirus stands ready to provide BARDA with: Supply of AUDENZ (Influenza A(H5N1) Monovalent Vaccine, Adjuvanted), the first-ever adjuvanted, cell-based influenza vaccine designed to help protect individuals six months of age and older against influenza A(H5N1) in the event of a pandemic. 2 The vaccine combines Seqirus' proprietary MF59 adjuvant technology with its cell-based manufacturing platform. Cell-based manufacturing, an alternative to traditional egg-based manufacturing, avoids egg-adapted changes, one source of possible strain mismatch between the vaccine and circulating influenza virus. 3,4 AUDENZ was approved in 2020 and received a supplemental FDA approval in 2021. The vaccine combines Seqirus' proprietary MF59 adjuvant technology with its cell-based manufacturing platform. Cell-based manufacturing, an alternative to traditional egg-based manufacturing, avoids egg-adapted changes, one source of possible strain mismatch between the vaccine and circulating influenza virus. AUDENZ was approved in 2020 and received a supplemental FDA approval in 2021. Supply of its proprietary MF59 adjuvant, which when added to an influenza vaccine, is designed to enhance and broaden the body's immune response by creating broad, cross-reactive antibodies. 5,6,7 This adjuvant is an important part of pandemic preparedness planning as it reduces the amount of antigen required to produce an immune response, increasing the number of doses of vaccine produced. This ensures that a large number of people can be vaccinated as quickly as possible, as directed by the U.S. National Influenza Vaccine Modernization Strategy and the White House American Pandemic Preparedness Plan. 8,9,10,11 adjuvant, which when added to an influenza vaccine, is designed to enhance and broaden the body's immune response by creating broad, cross-reactive antibodies. This adjuvant is an important part of pandemic preparedness planning as it reduces the amount of antigen required to produce an immune response, increasing the number of doses of vaccine produced. This ensures that a large number of people can be vaccinated as quickly as possible, as directed by the U.S. National Influenza Vaccine Modernization Strategy and the White House American Pandemic Preparedness Plan. Access to pre-pandemic vaccines using either cell- or egg-based manufacturing technologies from Seqirus' global network of production facilities, including Holly Springs, North Carolina ; Liverpool, United Kingdom ; and Parkville, Australia . In a pandemic, BARDA would source vaccines from the Holly Springs facility. "As a global leader in seasonal influenza prevention and pandemic influenza preparedness, Seqirus remains committed to working with BARDA and other global partners on the front line of public health in mitigating the potentially devastating effects of another influenza pandemic," said Marc Lacey, Executive Director, Pandemic Response Solutions, Seqirus. "With our proven ability to provide a differentiated portfolio of seasonal influenza vaccines across the globe, Seqirus is well-positioned to apply our pandemic influenza vaccine expertise, flexible platform technologies and innovative research capabilities to meet the needs of the U.S. government in such a critical capacity. We are proud to be a trusted partner in support of BARDA's pandemic preparedness objectives." Seqirus and BARDA Build on Longstanding, Successful Partnership Seqirus has a longstanding partnership with BARDA. The company's manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina, the largest cell-based influenza vaccine producer in the world and the first such domestic facility, was built through a public-private partnership established in 2009 with BARDA. The partnership utilizes a highly scalable method of production and is currently positioned to deliver up to 150 million influenza vaccine doses to support an influenza pandemic response, in addition to its seasonal influenza vaccine production. Seqirus has made many investments in the facility in recent years, including the expansion of a new line to fill-finish vaccine into vials, which is currently underway. These investments serve to strengthen the company's continuous efforts to increase manufacturing capacity and decrease production time. About Seasonal Influenza Influenza is a common, contagious seasonal respiratory disease that may cause severe illness and life- threatening complications in some people.12 Influenza can lead to clinical symptoms varying from mild to moderate respiratory illness to severe complications, hospitalization and in some cases, death.9 Because transmission of influenza viruses to others may occur one day before symptoms develop and up to 5 to 7 days after becoming sick, the disease can be easily transmitted to others.9 Estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that during the 2019/20 influenza season, there were an estimated 405,000 influenza-related hospitalizations in the U.S.13 The CDC recommends annual vaccination for individuals aged 6 months and older, who do not have any contraindications.14 Since it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body that help protect against influenza virus infection, it is recommended that people get vaccinated before influenza begins spreading in their community.15 The CDC recommends that people get vaccinated by the end of October.12 About Pandemic Influenza Pandemic influenza, is a contagious airborne respiratory disease which is unpredictable in timing and severity.16 The risk of influenza-associated morbidity and mortality is greater with pandemic influenza than with seasonal influenza because there is likely to be little or no pre-existing immunity to the virus in the human population.17 Four influenza pandemics have occurred over the past century, with the 1918 pandemic being the most severe in recent history, estimated to have killed up to 50 million people worldwide.18 According to the CDC, a novel influenza A virus such as the highly pathogenic avian A(H5N1) strain can cause severe disease and have a high mortality rate.19 If the influenza A(H5N1) virus were to change and become easily transmissible from person to person while retaining its capacity to cause severe disease, the consequences for public health could be severe.16 About Seqirus Seqirus is part of CSL Limited (ASX: CSL). As one of the largest influenza vaccine providers in the world, Seqirus is a major contributor to the prevention of influenza globally and a transcontinental partner in pandemic preparedness. With state-of-the-art production facilities in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, and leading R&D capabilities, Seqirus utilizes egg, cell and adjuvant technologies to offer a broad portfolio of differentiated influenza vaccines in more than 20 countries around the world. About CSL CSL (ASX:CSL; USOTC:CSLLY) is a leading global biotechnology company with a dynamic portfolio of lifesaving medicines, including those that treat haemophilia and immune deficiencies, as well as vaccines to prevent influenza. Since our start in 1916, we have been driven by our promise to save lives using the latest technologies. Today, CSL including our two businesses, CSL Behring and Seqirus provides lifesaving products to patients in more than 100 countries and employs more than 25,000 people. Our unique combination of commercial strength, R&D focus and operational excellence enables us to identify, develop and deliver innovations so our patients can live life to the fullest. For inspiring stories about the promise of biotechnology, visit CSLBehring.com/Vita and follow us on Twitter.com/CSL. For more information visit www.seqirus.com and www.csl.com . Intended Audience This press release is issued from Seqirus USA Inc. in Summit, New Jersey, USA and is intended to provide information about our global business. Please be aware that information relating to the approval status and labels of approved Seqirus products may vary from country to country. Please consult your local regulatory authority on the approval status of Seqirus products. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding future results, performance or achievements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. AUDENZ (Influenza A(H5N1) Monovalent Vaccine, Adjuvanted) Important Safety Information INDICATION AND USAGE AUDENZ is an inactivated vaccine indicated for active immunization for the prevention of disease caused by the influenza A virus H5N1 subtype contained in the vaccine. AUDENZ is approved for use in persons 6 months of age and older at increased risk of exposure to the influenza A virus H5N1 subtype contained in the vaccine. CONTRAINDICATIONS Do not administer AUDENZ to anyone with a history of a severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to any component of the vaccine, or after a previous dose of an influenza vaccine. WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Hypersensitivity reactions can occur. Appropriate medical treatment and supervision must be available to manage possible severe allergic reactions (e.g., anaphylaxis) following administration of the vaccine. If Guillain-Barre syndrome has occurred within 6 weeks of receipt of a prior influenza vaccine, the decision to give AUDENZ should be based on careful consideration of potential benefits and risks. Vaccination with AUDENZ may not protect all recipients. Immunocompromised persons, including those receiving immunosuppressive therapy, may have a diminished immune response to AUDENZ. ADVERSE REACTIONS In adults 18 through 64 years of age, the most common ( 10%) solicited local and systemic reactions reported in clinical trials were injection site pain (64%), fatigue (25%), headache (25%), malaise (22%), myalgia (14%), arthralgia (10%), and nausea (10%). In adults 65 years of age and older, the most common ( 10%) solicited local and systemic reactions reported in clinical trials were injection site pain (36%), fatigue (20%), malaise (16%), headache (16%), and arthralgia (10%). In infants and children, 6 months through 5 years of age, the most common ( 10%) solicited local and systemic reactions reported in clinical trials were tenderness (56%), irritability (30%), sleepiness (25%), change in eating habits (18%), and fever (16%). In children 6 through 17 years of age, the most common ( 10%) solicited local and systemic reactions reported in clinical trials were injection site pain (68%), myalgia (30%), fatigue (27%), malaise (25%), headache (22%), loss of appetite (14%), nausea (13%), and arthralgia (13%). To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Seqirus at 18553588966 or VAERS at 18008227967 or www.vaers.hhs.gov. Before administration, please see the full Prescribing Information for AUDENZ. AUDENZ and MF59 are registered trademarks of Seqirus UK Limited or its affiliates. USA-H5N1-22-0001 MEDIA CONTACT Maria Tortoreto +1 (201) 248-5208 [email protected] 1This project has been supported 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 (BARDA), under Contract No. 75A50122D00002. 2AUDENZ (Influenza A (H5N1) Monovalent Vaccine, Adjuvanted) [package insert]. Holly Springs, NC: Seqirus Inc; 2021. 3CDC. (2021). Cell-Based Flu Vaccines. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/cell-based.htm . Accessed November 2021. 4Rajaram, S., Boikos, C., Gelone, et al. (2020). Influenza Vaccines: The Potential Benefits of Cell-Culture Isolation and Manufacturing. 5Frey SE, Aplasca-De Los Reyes MR, Reynales H, et al. (2014). Comparison of the safety and immunogenicity of an MF59-adjuvanted with a non-adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccine in elderly subjects. Vaccine. 2014;32:5027-5034 6O'Hagan DT, Ott GS, Nest GV, Rappuoli R, Giudice GD. (2013). The history of MF59 adjuvant: a phoenix that arose from the ashes. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2013;12(1):13-3 7Banzhoff A, Pellegrini M, Del Giudice G, Fragapane E, Groth N, Podda A. (2008). MF59-adjuvanted vaccines for seasonal and pandemic influenza prophylaxis. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2008;2(6):243-249 8Khurana, S, Verma, N, Yewdell, JW, et al. (2011) MF59 adjuvant enhances diversity and affinity of antibody-mediated immune response to pandemic influenza vaccines. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3501657/ . Accessed February 2022. 9Reed, SG, Orr, MT, Fox, CB. (2013). Key roles of adjuvants in modern vaccines. Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.3409 . Accessed February 2022. 10U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2020). National Influenza Vaccine Modernization Strategy (NIVMS) 2020-2030. Retrieved from https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/nivms/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed February 2022. 11American Pandemic Preparedness: Transforming Our Capabilities. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/American-Pandemic-Preparedness-Transforming-Our-Capabilities-Final-For-Web.pdf?page=29. Accessed February 2022. 12CDC. (2021). Key Facts about Influenza (Flu). Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/keyfacts.htm. Accessed February 2022. 13CDC. (2021). Estimated Influenza Illnesses, Medical visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths in the United States 20192020 Influenza Season. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2019-2020.html. Accessed February 2022. 14CDC. (2021). WG Considerations and Proposed Influenza Vaccine Recommendations, 2021-22. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2021-06/03-influenza-grohskopf-508.pdf. Accessed February 2022. 15CDC. (2021). Who Needs a Flu Vaccine and When. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/vaccinations.htm. Accessed February 2022. 16CDC. (2016). Pandemic Basics. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/basics/index.html. Accessed February 2022. 17WHO. (2021). How pandemic influenza emerges. Retrieved from: https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/communicable-diseases/influenza/pandemic-influenza/how-pandemic-influenza-emerges . Accessed February 2022. 18WHO. (2017). Pandemic Influenza Risk Management: A WHO guide to inform and harmonize national and international pandemic preparedness and response. Retrieved from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259893/WHO-WHE-IHM-GIP-2017.1-eng.pdf;jsessionid=4421F16879D2F8B96481F8D0C745C7F3?sequence=1 . Accessed February 2022. 19CDC. (2015). Highly Pathogenic Asian Avian Influenza A(H5N1) in People. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/h5n1-people.htm. Accessed February 2022. SOURCE Seqirus CHICAGO, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a research report "Smart Buildings Market by Component (Solution (Safety and Security Management, Building Infrastructure Management, Network Management, and IWMS) and Services), Building Type (Residential, Commercial, and Industrial), and Region - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Smart Buildings Market size is expected to grow from USD 72.6 billion in 2021 to USD 121.6 billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.9% during the forecast period. The major drivers for the Smart building include the rising adoption of IoT-enabled building management system, rising awareness of space utilization, increased industry standards and regulations, and increase demand for energy-efficient system. Browse in-depth TOC on "Smart Buildings Market" 330 Tables 54 Figures 301 Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=1169 The safety and security management solution in the solution type segment is expected to lead the Smart Buildings Market in 2021. Security is an integral part of smart buildings. Smart buildings enable occupant safety and security with the help of security solutions integrated with the smart building system. These buildings help in emergency preparedness and management, wherein benefits from new technologies and their integration via advanced wireless networks supporting deployed sensors and IoT are easily achieved. Access control and video surveillance system help track every activity across a facility. This helps to detect intruders and keep the environment safe. The rising deployment of advanced access control systems, video surveillance systems, and fire and life safety systems to safeguard the occupant and assets is contributing to the high market share if this segment. Industrial building segment is expected to grow with the fastest growth rate during the forecast period. Industrial buildings are often large and have many moving parts. Smart industrial building solutions automate building temperature control, security, and maintenance for more efficient property management through various mobile computing devices, such as mobile devices and computers. The segment is expected to adopt smart building solutions to achieve energy and cost savings, higher productivity, enhanced identity and access management, and optimized surveillance. Manufacturing and industrial buildings have their own set of requirements for different manufacturing processes and storage purposes. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=1169 North America to lead the Smart Buildings Market during the forecast period. The growth of the market in North America can be attributed to the region has witnessed the emergence of latest smart building solutions that leverage new technologies, such as IoT, big data, cloud computing, data analytics, deep learning, and artificial intelligence, for saving energy, reducing operational expenditures, increasing occupancy comfort, and meeting increasingly stringent global regulations and sustainability standards. Moreover, North America is a technologically advanced region in the world due to the rapid adoption of emerging technologies by the organizations in the region. Furthermore, the US and Canada are prominent countries contributing to technological development in this region; for instance, US organizations are heavily investing into smart building measures, such as building controls and building systems integration, to leverage energy efficiency and energy storage and deliver smarter, safer, and more sustainable buildings while the Canadian government is taking initiatives to support Canadas commitment to protecting the environment and its resources by making federal buildings more energy-efficient and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, driving the growth of smart buildings. Market Players: The major vendors covered in the Smart Buildings Market include 75F (US), ABB (Switzerland), Aquicore (US), Bosch (US), BuildingIQ (US), Cisco (US), CopperTree Analytics (Canada), ENTOUCH (US), Hitachi (Japan), Honeywell (US), Huawei (China), IBM (US), Igor (US), Intel (US), Johnson Controls (Ireland), KMC Controls (US), Legrand (France), Mode:Green (US), PTC (US), Schneider Electric (Germany), Siemens (Germany), Softdel (US), Spaceti (Czechia), Telit (UK), and Verdigris Technologies (US), Spacewell (Belgium), Gaia (India), eFacility (India). Browse Adjacent Markets: Digitalization & IoT Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Smart Cities Market by Focus Area, Smart Transportation, Smart Buildings, Smart Utilities, Smart Citizen Services (Public Safety, Smart Healthcare, Smart Education, Smart Street Lighting, and E-Governance), and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 Facility Management Market by Component (Solutions (IWMS, BIM, Facility Operations and Security Management) and Services), Deployment Mode (Cloud, On-premises), Organization Size, Vertical (BFSI, Retail), and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/smart-building-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/smart-building.asp SOURCE MarketsandMarkets WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Below is a statement by U.S. Conference of Mayors President Miami Mayor Francis Suarez on Ukraine: "As President of the United States Conference of Mayors, I join my fellow mayors across America in condemning Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Putin's actions are a threat to our collective security and international peace. We stand with Ukraine's mayors as they lead their cities, and we stand with the democratic government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people as they resist this war of aggression. We will continue to work to support the freedom of Ukraine, the larger Ukrainian community, and our fellow mayors who serve the Ukrainian people." About the United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors BOGOTA, Colombia, Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The President of Ecopetrol S.A. hereby summons all Shareholders to the ordinary Assembly of the General Shareholders' Meeting to be held on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, starting at 9 a.m., at the Centro Internacional de Negocios y Exposiciones (Corferias), located on Carrera 37 No. 24 - 67 in Bogota, D.C. The Assembly will be held adhering to strict biosafety protocols within the framework of the health emergency attributable to COVID-19 (Resolution 1913 of 2021 - Ministry of Health and Social Protection). The meeting's Agenda will be the following: Review of security and biosafety protocols Quorum verification Opening of the General Shareholders' Meeting by the Chief Executive Officer of Ecopetrol S.A. Approval of the Agenda Appointment of the Chairperson presiding over the General Shareholders' Meeting Appointment of the commission responsible for scrutinizing elections and polling Appointment of the commission responsible for reviewing and approving the minute of the meeting Presentation and consideration of Board of Directors' report on its performance, development, and compliance with the Corporate Governance Code Presentation and consideration of the 2021 Management Report by the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer of Ecopetrol S.A. Presentation and consideration of the individual and consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2021 Reading of the Statutory Auditor's opinion Approval of the Board of Directors' report on its performance, progress, and compliance with the Corporate Governance Code Approval of the 2021 Management Report by the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer of Ecopetrol S.A. Approval of the individual and consolidated financial statements Presentation and approval of the profit distribution project Presentation and approval of the legal assistance package for the members of the Board of Directors of Ecopetrol S.A. Presentation and approval of the bylaws amendment Interventions and miscellaneous The Meeting will be broadcast live via streaming on Ecopetrol's website at www.ecopetrol.com.co/asamblea2022. To facilitate registration and entry to the venue on the day of the Assembly, the Company has provided a non-mandatory pre-registration form on its website at www.ecopetrol.com.co/asamblea2022, which will be enabled from 1:00 p.m. on March 8 to 1:00 p.m. on March 25, 2022. The voting process will be conducted electronically. Shareholders are requested to attend the Meeting with their smart mobile devices. If they do not have access to a device with the requisite characteristics, the Company has provided an alternate mechanism for shareholders to exercise their right to vote. Shareholders may exercise the right to inspect the Company's books and other documents referred to in Articles 446 and 447 of the Commercial Code as of March 8, 2022. To access information not found on the page www.ecopetrol.com.co/asamblea2022, shareholders must request an in-person appointment to the email [email protected] including therein the information accrediting them as a shareholder or their legal proxy. To facilitate the exercise of said right of inspection, we suggest including in this email the information they wish to inspect in order to have the corresponding area specialists present. Shareholders who cannot attend the Assembly in person may be represented by employing a proxy form (a.k.a. power-of-attorney) duly granted in writing to a trusted proxy, who must meet the requirements established in Article 184 of the Commercial Code. Proxy form templates can be downloaded from the website at www.ecopetrol.com.co/asamblea2022. Except in cases of legal representation, Ecopetrol administrators and employees may not represent shares other than their own while they are employed by the Company, nor substitute the powers conferred thereon. Additionally, they may not vote on the Company's financial statements. For the legal representation of the shareholders, strict compliance will be given to the provisions of the Basic Legal Circular 029 of 2014 regarding the illegal, unauthorized and unsafe practices of securities issuers. FELIPE BAYON PARDO Chief Executive Officer MANDATORY ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ASSEMBLY Present the physical or digital vaccination card accrediting fulfillment of the complete COVID-19 vaccination schedule. If you have symptoms such as cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, fever, or others associated with COVID-19 you will not be able to enter the premises. Wear a mask correctly and at all times, maintain physical distancing of at least 1 meter and wash hands frequently. In case you are representing other shares, have the respective proxy form and any respective additional documents handy. Due to capacity and biosecurity restrictions, only one companion will be allowed for those shareholders requiring special attention. The admission or distribution of advertising elements and any other material that may affect the normal course of the Assembly is prohibited. ADMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ASSEMBLY To avoid overcrowding, guarantee the adequate participation of all shareholders, and ensure their entry to the venue, the doors of Corferias and registration points will open as of 7 a.m. Due to capacity restrictions, we suggest registering for the Assembly before its start time. Due to capacity restrictions, we suggest registering for the Assembly before its start time. We recommend that those individuals with comorbidities or who are immunocompromised do not attend the Assembly in-person, and instead appoint a trusted proxy or follow the meeting via streaming. Additional information is available at: Shareholder Services Office Bogota phone number: from abroad (+571) 307 7075 / from Bogota (601) 307 7057; rest of the country: (+57) 01 8000 113434 Email: [email protected] www.ecopetrol.com.co/asamblea2022 SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul Moving & Storage at Princeton & Candelaria permanently closed its doors on Feb. 18 after 11 years of serving the community. The store at 3103 Princeton Drive NE opened to DIY moving customers in 2011. The retail space encompassed just 700 square feet and was originally part of the Kargo of Albuquerque repair shop, a U-Haul-owned facility. U-Haul will maintain ownership of the store space, while the repair shop continues to service rental equipment in the region. Customers of the Princeton Drive location can find a full line of U-Haul products and services less than three miles away at U-Haul of Westside at 2201 6th St. NW. U-Haul of Westside offers truck and trailer sharing, U-Box portable storage containers, boxes and moving supplies, propane, towing equipment, professional hitch installation and more. A variety of U-Haul self-storage units with high-tech security features remain available for rent at the Princeton Drive location. Contact U-Haul of Westside at (505) 842-0762 for storage inquiries at either facility. Local U-Haul Companies are always exploring opportunities for growth as they pursue means to better meet the needs of customers, but sometimes find it necessary to close or relocate facilities or cease certain business operations at locations. Reasons for closures can include: long-term strategic plans; physical plant limitations; shifts in demographics; trends in migration; expansion of the U-Haul neighborhood dealer network; and proximity to new or existing U-Haul stores or shops. Four Team Members were let go as a result of the Princeton Drive store closing. As an essential service provider, U-Haul continues to serve communities during the COVID-19 recovery while offering contactless business programs and enhanced cleaning protocols, including added steps for sanitizing equipment between customer transactions. U-Haul products are used daily by First Responders; delivery companies bringing needed supplies to people's homes; small businesses trying to remain afloat; college students; and many other dependent groups, in addition to the do-it-yourself household mover. About U-HAUL Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 23,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 176,000 trucks, 126,000 trailers and 46,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 825,000 rentable storage units and 71.6 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S., and continues to be the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. U-Haul has been recognized repeatedly as a leading "Best for Vets" employer and was recently named one of the 15 Healthiest Workplaces in America. Contact: Andrea Batchelor Jeff Lockridge E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 602-263-6981 Website: uhaul.com SOURCE U-Haul WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- United Chinese Americans (UCA) applauds Attorney General Garland and Assistant Attorney General Olsen for taking the first step to end the flawed "China Initiative." UCA appreciates the government for listening to the various concerns of Chinese Americans and other affected communities regarding the harm of this program. UCA is thankful for the many organizations and individuals who stepped up to help redeem the integrity of America's judicial system and reclaim the promise of our democracy. While the United States has a legitimate need to counter espionage and other illicit transfer of technology and intellectual propertya concern UCA fully supportssingling out one country among a myriad of threats from a myriad of countries has fueled the practice of racial and country of origin profiling at a time when anti-Asian hate crimes are already at a record high. As US-China relations worsen, another deeply troubling development with the DOJ's China Initiativeand indeed with other federal agenciesis the convenient, overly broad, and even abusive use of national security as a means to prosecute individuals, especially those with ties to China. Many Chinese American scientists under investigation or prosecution by the China Initiative are treated as if they were spies or foreign agents. And most shockingly, certain law enforcement officials even publicly acknowledge they have achieved their "national security" goal by creating a chilling effect on the scientific community through the dragnet they put on campus and at research institutions or by overzealous prosecutions through the China Initiative. These methods and practice have led to irrevocable damage both to these scientists and to the credibility of our law enforcement agencies. This is utterly un-American. At the heart of the China Initiative is the perception of Asian Americansespecially Chinese Americans todayas "perpetual foreigners" whose loyalty to America is often questioned. It's this harmful mindset that has subjected our community to harsh scrutiny, mistrust, and thus unequal treatment under law by the very same government sworn to protect us. This must change if America is ever to remain a viable democracy based on the rule of law. As UCA acknowledges the progress made by the DOJ with regard to the China Initiative, UCA will continue to be watchful and hold federal law enforcement agencies accountable, not only by its long-standing values, but also by the new prosecutorial guidelines. In particular, UCA calls on: The DOJ to use its new guidelines to immediately review and, if applicable, drop those ongoing cases against scientists whose only charged "crime" concerns research integrity; The FBI to use the new guideline to immediately review and, if applicable, terminate those ongoing investigations of scientists; The federal law enforcement agencies to start a meaningful and sustained dialogue with Asian American communities, initiate bias training, discipline agents for their misconduct, and recognize and remedy the harm and suffering the overzealous prosecutions have inflicted upon the scientists and their families. For years, UCA has been at the forefront of the fight for our constitutionally guaranteed civil rights and civil liberties, through cases such as Sherry Chen, Xiaoxing Xi, Anming Hu and others. UCA will continue to partner with other organizations and communities to hold the United States to her promises of equal justice, freedom and fairness for all. SOURCE United Chinese Americans (UCA) DALLAS, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Famed trial lawyer Mark Werbner of Werbner Law has earned the distinction as one of only 50 attorneys selected to D Magazine's inaugural Best Lawyers Hall of Fame, putting him among North Texas' most respected and influential professionals. Launched just this year, the Hall of Fame recognizes those who have been selected to one of D Magazine's annual "Best" lists at least 15 times. The lists recognize those at the top of their field in a range of professional services. Mr. Werbner has made D's Best Lawyers List repeatedly for his work in business and commercial litigation. The Hall of Fame honorees will be featured in the March issue of D Magazine. "I'm very pleased and more than a little humbled to have been selected for such an honor," said Mr. Werbner. "I'm also thankful for such an amazing group of peers who consistently set the bar higher and higher when it comes to legal skill and representation." In a career spanning more than 30 years, Mr. Werbner has tried approximately 150 cases to verdict. As lead co-counsel in a groundbreaking international case, Terror Victims v. Arab Bank, he helped secure a federal jury verdict against the bank that had provided terrorists with financial support. The verdict represented the first time in U.S. history that a foreign bank was found liable for materially supporting terrorism. In 2015, he also argued and won a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a patent infringement case. The original jury verdict was recognized by VerdictSearch and Texas Lawyer as one of the top 10 verdicts in the state. Mr. Werbner established his own practice, Werbner Law, in March 2021 to focus on business, commercial, and personal injury litigation. The firm was recently selected to the Best Law Firms list for 2022 by Best Lawyers U.S. News & World Report for its expertise in white-collar criminal defense in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, and received honors for bet-the-company and commercial litigation. About Werbner Law Mark Werbner has an international reputation as a "go to" trial attorney in multifaceted business litigation, intellectual property, patent litigation, life-altering personal injury cases, product safety lawsuits and other areas of the law. To learn more, visit https://werbnerlaw.com. Media Contact: Sophia Reza 800-559-4534 [email protected] SOURCE Werbner Law "Residents of Alexandria and Pineville now have a new choice for internet provider and will enjoy future-proof multi-gigabit speeds," said Jim Gleason, CEO of Vexus. "Demands on bandwidth are high in homes today. Activities such as working from home, online learning and multiple video streams mean residents need a network that delivers lightning-fast upload and download speeds. Vexus plans to bring both multi-gigabit speeds and great local customer service to the region." Vexus Fiber plans to begin construction later this year and connect nearly 25,000 homes and businesses to its 100% fiber network. Completion of the network in the region is estimated to take about 36 months. "A city's high-speed broadband infrastructure will be as important in this century as roads and bridges were in the last century," said Mayor Jeffrey Hall of Alexandria. "We are excited our residents will have increased options for access to high-speed broadband in our community." "We welcome the addition of Vexus Fiber into Central Louisiana," said Mayor Clarence Fields of Pineville. "One thing I have learned about the telecommunications industry is that it is constantly changing, and Vexus seems to be the kind of company that has the personnel and the desire to meet those ever-changing demands. Vexus caters to more mid-sized cities like Pineville, and that's why I see their business model being very successful." "Fiber optic gigabit speed internet is a critical part of a city's infrastructure going forward. We are pleased to partner with Vexus Fiber to bring this vital service to the citizens of the Louisiana Central region," said Larkin Simpson, Executive Vice President of Louisiana Central, the regional economic development organization. "This new service, plus the capital investment and permanent jobs that go with it, will be an economic boost for our region. Investments like this further advance the region and state in making broadband for everyone a reality. Reliable high-speed internet availability is beneficial for quality businesses, education, healthcare, communications, and much, much more." This expansion is financed through existing Vexus Fiber investors, Pamlico Capital and Oak Hill Capital, who have agreed to invest additional equity as part of their ongoing commitment to Vexus' growth and the communities they serve. "Vexus Fiber continues to demonstrate there is extensive demand for a new alternative broadband provider as evidenced by its accelerating 25% organic growth rate," said Art Roselle of Pamlico Capital. "With Vexus, residents can now enjoy high-tech internet with the same reliability and speed enjoyed by those in large metro areas." Vexus Fiber currently operates fiber-to-the-home networks in Lubbock, Amarillo, Wichita Falls, Abilene and surrounding areas in Texas, as well as Hammond, Covington and Mandeville areas in Louisiana. The company is also building new networks in Lake Charles, Louisiana; Tyler, the Rio Grande Valley and San Angelo, Texas; and Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Residents and businesses that are interested in Vexus Fiber services can visit connect.vexusfiber.com to express interest and receive updates on construction. Typically, residents will receive communication via email and mail about activity in their neighborhood 30 days prior to construction. Additionally, Vexus plans to hire local management, sales, and technical and customer service professionals to support the area. For those interested in joining the Vexus Fiber team visit vexusfiber.com/jobs . About Vexus Vexus is a leading provider of fiber-based communications solutions for both residential and business customers across Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico. As a technology leader in the industry, Vexus Fiber offers an extensive range of internet connectivity over a true fiber-to-the-premise network. Services also include a robust HD Video platform, Voice, TeleCloud services, and more. For more information, please visit vexusfiber.com. Vexus Fiber Contact: Kyle Alcorn 573-481-2732 Pamlico Contact: Stuart Christhilf 704-404-7150 Oak Hill Contact: Dawn Dover 917-349-5621 For inquiries email: [email protected] SOURCE Vexus Fiber BEIJING, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WeTrade Group Inc. ("WeTrade" or the "Company") (US: WETG), a leading technical service provider of SaaS and Cloud Intelligent System for micro businesses, today held the annual strategic development conference in Beijing JDB Technology Park. The conference provided a specific analysis of the industrial supply and demand situation, and analysed the opportunities and challenges facing the development of WeTrade Group in terms of policy, economic and technological environments. By 2022, digitalisation in China has evolved over the past 10 years, from a vague beginning to a gradual clarification. Today, digitalisation is no longer a "metaphysics" for companies, but a clear path to growth. In 2022, WeTrade Group will continue to further increase its omnichannel and multi-terminal strategy, extending on the basis of WeChat application to help customers acquire and retain customers in multiple channels and solve their traffic dilemma. At present, WeTrade Group has signed service provider agreements with Alipay and Baidu, and cooperation with platform service providers such as Douyin and Red is under negotiation. In addition, after attracting and acquiring customers at multiple ends, WeTrade Group will also help merchants achieve customer retention, incremental repurchase and bring in more new users through social fission to form replicable and sustainable growth through enriched marketing solutions and private domain traffic operation models. In 2021, WeTrade Group has already reached cooperation with tourism enterprise clients such as Zhongyan Shangyue, Beijing Youth Commercial Mall, China Kanghui and Lvyue. With the gradual stabilization of the pandemic prevention and control, the tourism industry is also looking for opportunities, and WeTrade Group will, based on its own advantages, empower the development of the tourism industry and help it recover rapidly through the integration of omni-channel and multi-terminal traffic. In addition to the tourism industry, in 2022, the company will further expand its development in the beauty industry. Since the beginning of the year, WeTrade has laid out 3,000 beauty shops in China, including Mudaochan Life and Health Center, and helped offline physical shops and brands to build a close connection between members and shops through online and offline integration, further enhancing the operational efficiency. Mentioning the company development, the Founder of WeTrade Group, Mr. Zheng Dai thought the development of the digital economy and the promotion of digital transformation of industries and enterprises is a matter of economic structural transformation and upgrading, and has risen to the national level. From national to local governments, a number of policies related to the digital economy have been introduced intensively, and policy dividends continue to be released. This also provides opportunities for the development of WeTrade Group. The company will further polish its products and refine its operations on the basis of multi-end connectivity, providing customers with complete products and services, helping them to reduce costs and increase efficiency, and truly solving customers' pain points. About WeTrade Group Inc. WeTrade Group Inc. is a world's leading technical service provider of SAAS and Cloud Intelligent System for micro-businesses, and is a pioneering internationalized system in the global micro-business cloud intelligence field and the leader, innovator and promoter of the world's cloud intelligent system for micro-businesses. WeTrade Group independently developed the cloud intelligent system for micro-businesses (Abbreviation: YCloud). YCloud can strengthen users' marketing relationship and CPS commission profit management through leading technology and big data analysis. It also can help increase the payment scenarios to increase customers' revenue by multi-channel data statistics, AI fission and management as well as improved supply chain system. Up to now, YCloud's business has successfully landed in mainland China and Hong Kong, covering the micro business industry, tourism industry, hospitality industry, livestreaming and short video industry, aesthetic medical industry and traditional retail industry. For more information, please visit https://ir.wetg.group. SOURCE WeTrade Group Inc. HAMILTON, Bermuda, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- At its regular meeting held on February 24, 2022, the Board of Directors of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. declared a $1.00 per share annual dividend, payable in cash on March 23, 2022, to holders of record of Common Shares as of the close of business on March 14, 2022. About White Mountains White Mountains is a Bermuda-domiciled financial services holding company traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange under the symbol WTM. Additional financial information and other items of interest are available at the Company's web site located at www.whitemountains.com . CONTACT: Rob Seelig (603) 640-2202 SOURCE White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Xebra Brands Ltd. ("Xebra") (CSE: XBRA) (OTCQB: XBRAF) (FSE: 9YC), a cannabis company, is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") for gross proceeds of up to CAD$1,200,000. The Private Placement is for up to 10,000,000 units at a price of CAD$0.12 per unit. Each unit is comprised of one common share of Xebra (a "Share"), and a half warrant. Each full warrant entitles the holder, on exercise, to purchase one Share at a price of CAD$0.25 for a period of 12 months from the closing date of the Private Placement. Finders' Fees of 7% in cash or shares may be paid in connection with the Private Placement in accordance with the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE"). The Private Placement is subject to approval by the CSE. Xebra intends to use the proceeds of the Private Placement for general working capital purposes. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, Rodrigo Gallardo President For more information contact: +1 (604) 418-6560 [email protected] Certain information contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, these include, without limitation, statements regarding Xebra Brands Ltd.'s expectations in respect of its ability to successfully close the above referenced private placement. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those set out in such statements. SOURCE Xebra Brands Ltd. Mike Ashley's Frasers Group PLC (LSE:FRAS) said it acquired digital retailer Studio Retail Ltd (SRL) as well as other assets of Studio Retail Group PLC (LSE:STU) (SRG), which is in administration. Frasers, which is SRG's biggest shareholder with a stake of almost 29%, said it paid 26.8mln in cash to SRGs lenders to release it from its liabilities. In addition, it has agreed to act as guarantor in respect of certain payments related to the SRG group pension scheme. SRG called in the administrators on Thursday after its bank HSBC rejected its request for a loan, Retail Gazette reported. The acquisition of SRL will provide Frasers with expertise and synergies in its ambition to elevate its customer journey including a flexible repayment proposition, the group said. It noted that the deal has helped rescue another business out of administration and saved approximately 1,500 jobs. Frasers shares rose 1.53% to 630.50p in early trade. Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd (AIM:ECO, TSX-V:EOG) told investors it had US$5.8mln of cash and equivalents at the end of 2021, and, it has made a positive and busy start to 2022. The AIM-quoted company this morning released results for the third quarter and nine-months ended December 31. It highlighted a business with around US$19mln of assets, and, a portfolio stacked with opportunity across oil and gas exploration in southern Africa and South America, as well as emerging renewable energy opportunities. "I am excited about the positive and busy start to the year we have made, said chief executive Gil Holzman. We announced a transformational deal with the purchase of Azinam's offshore acreage, which will add to our highly strategic acreage position in Namibia and allow us entry into Orange Basin, South Africa. Two important large discoveries offshore Namibia has already been announced this year on trend with our new Orange basin blocks, and our team is working hard on the upcoming drilling campaign on Block 2B in H2 2022 and furthering their technical understanding on Block 3B4B which is geologically on same pathway with Graff-1 and Venus-1. Holzman added: "Eco continues to assess both asset and corporate opportunities, as well as a number of meaningful catalysts that have the potential to deliver value for all stakeholders, and we look forward to updating the market further in due course." In regard to corporate transactions, the period include two key highlights a deal to increase Ecos interest in JHI, which is partnered with Exxon offshore Guyana, and a US$2mln divestment of a stake in the Kozani photovoltaic park project in Greece which resulted in 25% margin to Eco, which sees consideration funds paid to Eco before the end of this month. Offshore Guyana, the company said it continues to work closely with its JV Partners on the Orinduik Block with regard to carrying out further drilling activity on the licence as soon as practically possible at least one light oil cretaceous stacked targets are expected to be drilled meanwhile through its stake in JHI it continues to be associated by Exxons prolific exploration in the region. In Namibia, meanwhile, the company has some 28,593 square kilometres with estimates putting prospective resources at some 2.36bn barrels, in strategic locations, and in light of recent third-party discoveries in the region theres said to be considerable interest in Namibia, from multiple international oil companies. Elsewhere, offshore South Africa, it has interests in acreage in the Orange Basin which is expected to include an exploration well in the second half of 2022. Ferrexpo PLC (LSE:FXPO) has issued force majeure notices to certain customers following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The world's third-largest exporter of high-grade iron ore pellets said export activities at the port of Pivdennyi, located in southwest Ukraine, have been temporarily suspended following notification from the port authorities. Ferrexpo uses the port to ship pellets to customers. Mykolaiv is on the Southern Bug (Pivdennyi Buh) river, northwest of Kherson, where Ukrainian and Russian forces fought over a bridge yesterday. Michael Duitsman (@DuitsyWasHere) February 25, 2022 The group's mining and processing operations, which are located adjacent to the city of Horishni Plavni in central Ukraine, continue to operate. While Ukraine's logistic networks continue to experience disruption Ferrexpo will stockpile its iron ore pellets on-site. Liberum Capital Markets said that while mining and processing operations continue to operate, it expects them to be eventually affected by the tragic situation in the country. The company has the ability to stockpile its iron ore pellets and we estimate the company's cash position at $150m based on strong FCF year to date and post the 6.6 cents interim dividend. The outlook in the short term remains very uncertain but the shares now pricing in c.70% loss of asset, which we believe is overdone, the broker said. Our view is that Russia can not maintain a sustainable footprint in the country and the assets will remain in institutional investor hands. In a bear case scenario, a loss of production for next twelve months would reduce our valuation by 15% for FXPO (excluding shutdown and start-up costs) to 380p, it added. Shares in Ferrexpo, which plunged yesterday, were up 4.9% at 149.2p in the first hour of trading on Friday. Create your account: sign up and get ahead on news and events NO INVESTMENT ADVICE The Company is a publisher. You understand and agree that no content published on the Site constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is... In exchange for publishing services rendered by the Company on behalf of Samarkand Group PLC named herein, including the promotion by the Company of Samarkand Group PLC in any Content on the Site, the Company... A pilot plant to produce pyrite concentrate for downstream processing is on track to be completed within weeks. Most energy metals investors are aware that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the main source of mined cobalt and that Chinese companies control more than 80% of the cobalt refining industry to provide commercial-grade cobalt metal and powder to supply the burgeoning lithium-ion battery market. Lithium-ion batteries have driven a spectacular roller coaster in the cobalt market in recent years and while analysts warn that cobalt content in the new batteries will slowly reduce, this is unlikely to dampen industry appetite for the metal as energy storage and electric vehicle production expand. Almost all cobalt is produced as a by-product from base metal mines. These generally have comparatively low cobalt content and many have considerable community, environment and cost issues. Australia has the potential to increase cobalt production to supply growing market demand and reduce the monopoly of supply by identifying and developing pyrite-cobalt (sulphide) deposits which can be built without the high-costs and ecological concerns faced by many current cobalt producers. Australian company Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX:COB) (OTCMKTS:CBBHF) is developing the Broken Hill Cobalt Project (BHCP) which serves as a model to address these challenges. The project is at the forefront of a new era of cobalt production in Australia. The companys consulting geologist Dr Ian Pringle explains why the BHCP will be a game-changer for Australia and for the cobalt industry. Cobalt in sulphide deposits Commercial cobalt deposits belong to two types of ore - sulphides (magmatic and sediment hosted) and sulphide-free laterite deposits. Sediment-hosted sulphide deposits in central Africa dominate cobalt production, and the DRC produced more than 70% of global cobalt supply in 2020. Sulphide ores contain cobalt together with other base metals such as copper and/or nickel and metals are extracted using conventional practices. The rest of the world has relatively low-grade sulphide deposits with cobalt as an accessory metal to nickel and/or copper, seldom with contents more than 0.1% cobalt in magmatic sulphide deposits like Kambalda (WA), Norilsk (Russia) and Sudbury (Canada). Magmatic sulphide deposits account for 23% of cobalt production but cobalt recovery from most is low, commonly between 20% and 66%. Cobalt in laterite deposits Nickel-rich laterite deposits supply 15% of cobalt demand and laterite ores are becoming a growing source of cobalt outside the DRC. Nickel and cobalt in sulphide-free laterite ores must be separated through complex, large-scale, bulk mining and hydrometallurgical processing often requiring the removal of considerable volumes of water. Laterite cobalt is produced from substantial, near-surface nickel deposits which range to more than 400 million tonnes. Laterite mines have average nickel grades between 0.66% and 2.4% (median 1.3% nickel) and cobalt contents between 0.01 and 0.15% (median 0.08% cobalt). Most laterite nickel-cobalt mines are within 26 degrees of the equator in the Philippines, Indonesia, PNG, New Caledonia, and Brazil. These near-surface deposits form from supergene weathering of underlying ultramafic parent rocks in geologically short time frames of generally less than a million years. Without including cobalt in deep-sea nodules and submarine rock surfaces, the US Geological Survey calculated that 36% of global cobalt reserves occur in laterite deposits. Australia has large cobalt-bearing nickel laterite deposits including Glencores Murrin Murrin Mine in the north-eastern Goldfields of WA and CleanTeQs undeveloped Syerston Project in central NSW. In 2019, Murrin Murrin was the countrys largest single cobalt producer with 3,400 tonnes per year of cobalt and it accounted for the majority of Australian cobalt output. The Broken Hill Cobalt Project Cobalt Blues BHCP is 23 kilometres west of Broken Hill in Far West NSW. The resource is not a laterite but rather a sulphide (pyrite) cobalt deposit with no copper, negligible nickel and very distinctive mineralogy which enable a mine design with substantially lower outlay and high cobalt recoveries (85-90%). The company intends to produce 3,500 to 4,000 tonnes per year of cobalt using a very different metallurgical process than laterite treatment and this is expected to be a healthy investment for stakeholders and the environment. BHCPs process is divided into concentration, calcining, leaching and product recovery. Processing will be supported by the nearby 53MW Broken Hill Solar Farm and reticulated town water supply. An ecologically sensitive integrated waste landform has been planned for co-disposal of mine waste rock and process plant tailings. Using COBs innovative processing, the BHCP will have a marketable, sulphur value-add by-product of 300,000 tonnes per annum which can be pelletised to provide innocuous handling of dry sulphur prills without fear of acid spillage. Concerns of laterite mine waste Production from laterite-hosted cobalt carries a suite of environmental concerns. Tailings from laterites may include high levels of magnesium, sulphate and manganese and mine waste has the potential to be physically unstable. The sheer scale of laterite deposits requires that cobalt extraction consumes considerable water and produces substantial waste slurry. Laterite production also requires whole-of-ore acid leaching using considerable quantities of caustic chemicals such as sulphuric acid and ammonia and these understandably provide concerns for safety and spillage. Environmental issues of laterite mining were recognised in the Philippines where a government executive order in July 2010 placed a moratorium on new mining projects. A proposal by the country's Mining Industry Coordinating Council to lift the ban was rejected by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in November 2017. Indonesia is the worlds largest nickel producer with most production from processing nickel-cobalt laterite ore. The Indonesian Government, concerned by damage to the environment, recently announced its intention to prohibit dumping of mine waste in the ocean, a common practice at many of the island nations laterite mines. Without permits for deep-sea tailings disposal some planned nickel-cobalt projects are unlikely to progress and others will be affected by costly land-storage options in Indonesias high rainfall climate. Land area affected by mining Australia has more than 6,500 square kilometres of land affected by all types of mining and ranks second in the world after China. Although large coal and iron ore mines contribute to land disruption Australias laterite nickel-cobalt deposits are widespread and future development of laterite resources will expand Australias mine footprint, often within areas of ecological sensitivity. However, the BHCP consists of steep-dipping pyrite-(cobalt) sulphide lenses which according to COBs mining studies can be excavated by open cut openings covering a combined area of one square kilometre, which is about 1.5% the area of the Murrin Murrin laterite deposit. Benefit of concentration The 4 million tonnes of laterite ore mined at Murrin Murrin each year are recovered through shallow, open cut mining and processed using high-pressure sulphuric acid-leaching (HPAL) technology and refining. The project includes a 90MW power station, 4,400 tonnes per day acid plant, 6 tonnes per hour hydrogen sulphide plant and a reverse osmosis water treatment plant. The HPAL circuit consists of four titanium lined autoclaves which operate under high pressure (up to 44 Bar), high temperature (255o C) and uses concentrated sulphuric acid. The rock to be mined at BHCP will have a similar cobalt head grade to Murrin Murrin ore but by using conventional processes cobalt content can be improved by producing a pyrite concentrate with average grade of 0.45% cobalt, 40% iron and 45% sulphur. This simple concentration step removes 80% of waste product, meaning that the BHCP refinery is only 20% of the capacity of the mine (a laterite ore mine needs to process the majority of its mined production, leading to larger processing and capital costs). Each year planned processing of one million tonnes of concentrate will allow for a considerably smaller process plant and lower capital and processing costs than a laterite mine with comparable cobalt production. COBs innovated pressure oxidation is undertaken at much lower pressure (10 Bar) and temperature (130o C) than HPAL processing of laterite ore. Cobalt value is currently approximately 2.5 times of nickel. Murrin Murrin produces about 12 times more nickel than cobalt and is similar to other HPAL laterite projects. While laterite cobalt producers have been able to increase emphasis on cobalt production, they are primarily nickel mines. Cost comparisons Start-up at Murrin Murrin HPAL laterite mine commenced in 1999 but a string of technical issues meant that its annual nameplate capacity of 45,000 tonnes of nickel was not reached despite accumulated capital costs of about US$1,700 million. Glencore reported 2018 production of 3,244 tonnes of cobalt and 39,717 tonnes of nickel. Cobalt Blues recently updated engineering study for the BHCP estimates a capital cost of US$392 million to produce 3,500-4,000 tonnes per annum of cobalt as battery-grade cobalt sulphate and mixed hydroxide products together with 300,000 tonnes of pelletised sulphur to replace imported sulphur supply to a spectrum of Australian industries. Benefits for Australian mining To remain a top tier cobalt producer without the environmental and supply issues faced by other nations Australia must develop new sulphide cobalt projects like the BHCP. This is because HPAL processing of nickel-cobalt laterites like Murrin Murrin is technically challenging (high autoclave pressures and temperatures) with considerable ramp-up period, high capital intensity and rare achievement of nameplate capacity. Nickel mines with cobalt by-products are dependent on nickel price fluctuations irrespective of cobalt prices and depressed nickel prices may result in mine closure despite a positive cobalt market. Sulphide cobalt deposits like the BHCP benefit from pre-processing ore concentration, smaller footprint, lower energy use and less water consumption than HPAL producers as well as from the integral environmental advantages that these differences afford. Inclusion of the BHCP in the Australian Government Critical Minerals Prospectus 2020 and recently, the NSW Government Minerals Strategy are testament to the importance of the project. Cobalt Blues innovative patented ore processing can also provide similar environmental and cost benefits to other metal sulphide deposits. COB has successfully tested ores from several undeveloped copper, cobalt and gold deposits with impressive metal recoveries and costs. Update on COB progress A pilot plant to treat 90 tonnes of BHCP ore and produce approximately 15 tonnes of pyrite concentrate for downstream processing is on track to be completed at Broken Hill in several weeks. The plant will supply varying specifications of cobalt products (including mixed hydroxides and sulphates) as direct test samples for lithium-ion battery producers. The project on the way to gaining State Significant Development Status and this will help streamline intended 2021 feasibility studies and subsequent project development. Global markets are reacting to the extent of the Russian incursion into Ukraine, with US President Biden unveiling wide-ranging sanctions on Russia. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned that Russia intends to encircle and threaten Kyiv, the economic and cultural centre of the nation state, as it became clear that the Ukrainian government is no longer in control of the infamous Chernobyl nuclear reactor. The entire international community now plainly see Russias complete abandonment and abdication of the commitments it made to the world and we will never forget, he added. Sanctions imposed by Western governments Western governments were swift to impose sanctions on the Russian regime, recognising that economics might be the least messy way to restore peace with nuclear players involved. US president Joe Biden has unveiled a first tranche of sanctions against Russia, with targets including Russian state-owned banks, trading in five Russian oil tankers and container ships and oligarch elites. US banks and individuals are now banned form trading Russian sovereign debt. EU foreign ministers banned Russian bond trades in the European market. The UK has frozen assets of several named Russian individuals and businesses and imposed travel bans. For its part, Australia imposed sanctions too. While unlikely to have a material impact on the conflict, these include the banning of activities of several named Russian individuals living in Australia. Global markets continue to brace In response to the outbreak of fighting, global markets braced for a widening of the conflict. Investors fled risk assets and retreated to safe havens. On Thursday, Brent crude soared past $US100 a barrel for the first time since 2014. Base metal prices rose by up to 3.4% on Thursday with aluminium leading the way. Russia produces around 6% of the world's aluminium. The gold futures price rose by US$15.90 or 0.8% to US$1,926.30 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$1,895 an ounce in afternoon US trade. Aussie markets, dollar down The Aussie dollar fell from a high of around US72.00 cents to bottom out at US70.94 cents before resting weakly at US71.75 cents in afternoon US trade. Iron ore fell by US$1.10 or 0.8% to US$136.95 a tonne. A dumping of global equities saw the ASX record its biggest single-day loss since late 2020, though this morning saw a weak uptick in activity as trading kicked off. At close of play on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index had fallen by 3%, taking $73 billion in value out of investors pockets, while it looks like Wall Street is facing a bare market when trading resumes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Moscow Exchange is suspended until further notice. Emperor Energy Ltd (ASX:EMP) has completed an amplitude versus offset (AVO) analysis of the Kipper and Golden Beach Gas Sands across the Vic/P47 Permit and Judith Gas Field, indicating an additional gas play in the area may extend over 500 vertical metres. The analysis was supported by new, fully processed pre-stack depth migration (PSDM) 3D seismic data carried out on the Kipper and Golden Beach Gas Sands, designed to capture seismic imaging of areas with complex geological structures. Emperor compared the AVO results favourably to those of the Kippler-1 well operated by Exxon Mobil, where the Kipper and Golden Beach sands are the principal reservoirs. AVO analysis results Emperors results show a very strong (AVO) response in four areas of gas sands as below: Kipper gas sand; and Upper, Intra and Lower Golden Beach gas sands. Initial calculations of rock volumes indicate the four gas sand intervals have the potential to contain economical Gas in Place and add to the existing P50 unrisked prospective gas resource of 1.226 trillion cubic feet of gas within the Vic/P47 Permit area. EMP is now in the process of producing new Gas in Place calculations for the Kipper and Golden Beach sands in preparation for an upgrade of prospective resources within Vic/P47. About Emperor Energy Emperor Energy is a diversified energy company with upstream and downstream assets in Australia. The companys flagship 100%-owned Judith Gas Field is within the VIC/P47 Permit in the offshore Gippsland Basin, Victoria and is next to the BHP/ExxonMobil Kipper field. The completion of pre-front end engineering design (pre-FEED) for the provision of midstream infrastructure and services related to gas to be produced from Judith Gas Field has provided a clear understanding of the project design, management, time frame and costs involved in bringing the gas from Judith into the lucrative East Coast gas market. Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) has signed a joint co-operation agreement with the Mid West Ports Authority (MWPA) to secure future use of facilities and services at the key mid-west resources sector port facility. The agreement will serve AVL as it moves towards approval, funding and development of the Australian Vanadium Project, which it touts as one of the most advanced vanadium projects being developed globally. The project is a high-grade vanadium-titanium-iron mineral resource in the Murchison Province, 43 kilometres south of the mining town of Meekatharra in Western Australia and 740 kilometres north-east of Perth. Strategic location for shipping AVL will produce a vanadium concentrate on-site and complete production of a high-purity vanadium and an iron titanium (FeTi) co-product at a processing plant located near the port city of Geraldton. The agreement allows AVL and MWPA to work co-operatively to define the best alternatives for the storage and shipping needs of the project. MWPA is actively planning for future growth of the port facilities and AVL will become a key long-term partner in the ports proposed expanded capabilities. AVL sees the generation of a FeTi coproduct for sale, in addition to the production of a high purity vanadium pentoxide product for steel and battery industries, as a key point of difference for the project. The companys chosen strategic location for its vanadium processing facility, near infrastructure in Geraldton, will enable the sale of the FeTi coproduct, in turn enhancing the projects economic resilience through the addition of a secondary revenue stream. It is hoped that the project will ship approximately 900,000 dry tonnes per annum (tpa) of FeTi coproduct through the Port of Geraldton for the 25-year life of the project. Offtake talks in progress AVL is in discussions to secure multiple offtake agreements for the FeTi coproduct, primarily used in blast furnace applications. In November the company signed its first letter of intent for sale of the product to Shenglong Metallurgy International in Hong Kong, the commercial arm of Guangxi Shenglong Metallurgy Co Ltd. The Port of Geraldton will also be used as a receiving port for AVLs processing reagents and large break-bulk equipment needed for the processing plant and crushing, milling and beneficiation plant at Meekatharra. Proximity to the port will also enable the company to import renewable energy hardware for both project sites. MWPA has provided indicative quotes for AVL to access the Port at Geraldton for shipping and product storage, which enables these figures to be included in the companys bankable feasibility study (BFS). Long-term relationship Through this relationship, AVL and MWPA also seek to define a long-term plan which integrates the needs of AVL with the strategic growth strategies of MWPA. Having confidence that MWPA will be able to directly accommodate our requirements is another big step in our pathway to production, AVL managing director Vincent Algar said. Improving confidence levels in our costings and providing necessary assurances for future access and communication is a major benefit as we finalise our BFS and move towards approvals and funding. Acting MWPA CEO Damian Tully said: We look forward to working with Australian Vanadium to develop the export and import capacity at MWPA to facilitate their trade requirements. This is an exciting project for us and we look forward to playing a key role in its future development. This story from Alex Biggs, Managing Director of Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR) is about the company gathering momentum in the lithium and zinc space. Alex gives us a rundown on the 2022 path for the company with Mavis Lake Lithium project, the Halls Peak Base Metal project and the new acquisition of Plaid and Whiteloon Lake Lithium projects. When I first looked at Critical Resources, I was interested in the Halls Peak project and this story is now at the cusp of drilling for lithium in Canada. As we all know, lithium is the magic word, and with the onset of a world of No Emission and electrification of power, this is going to be a space that will continue to grow. One of the major factors that will affect demand is the jurisdiction of projects. What that means is that the ESG factor is not only going to play a role but a major one in determining the demand for your product. Chapters 00:00 Start 00:15 Introduction 00:54 Alex Biggs update 01:39 Halls Peak 05:03 Potential of Halls Peak. 07:18 The New England Fold Belt is Prospective. 07:57 What's the money market telling you? 10:02 What's the time frame on drilling in Canada? 11:29 Taking a big tenement area in Canada. 13:17 Realisation that the demand for Lithium batteries is bigger than first thought. 15:07 Key driver of future Critical metals demand is the emergence of EV and ESG. 17:04 The role of Jurisdiction. 18:02 Decoupling of world from reliance on China and the market expectations on confidence in 2022. 19:23 Consistent flow of news is key. 20:50 What is the news flow for the next 12 months? 23:05 Conclusion PODCAST About Alex Biggs Managing Director Alex Biggs is a qualified Mining Engineer, educated at the Western Australian School of Mines. He has experience in operations, consulting and finance with a focus on feasibility studies, financial modelling, project evaluation and project management. He also has experience in capital raising, both equity and debt as well as deal structuring and significant commercial expertise. Alex has a strong focus on underground and open-pit hard rock mining in multiple commodities. He has held various positions at companies including Venturex Resources, Palisade Capital Corporation, Barrick Gold as well as Principal positions in consultancy and advisory capacities. Alex joins Critical Resources as Chief Executive Officer to further the companys assets and build a strong, sustainable future for the company and its shareholders. About Critical Resources Limited (ASX: CRR) Critical Resources Limited is a base metals exploration and development focused company headquartered in Perth, Western Australia and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: CRR). The Company has the Halls Peak Base Metal Project in NSW and has recently acquired the Mavis Lake Lithium Project in Canada. Mavis Lake Lithium Project The Mavis Lake Lithium Project is 19 kilometres east of the town of Dryden, Ontario. The Project is in close vicinity to the Trans-Canada highway and railway major transportation arteries linking larger cities such as Thunder Bay, Ontario, to the southeast and Winnipeg, Manitoba, to the west. The region boasts excellent infrastructure with hydro-power located a few kilometres to the southwest of the project. The region is a well-established lithium province with multiple projects located within the vicinity. Previous drill programs have yielded high-grade Li2O intercepts including 55.25m at 1.04% Li2O from 80.75m in drill hole MF18-531,4 and 26.30m at 1.70% Li2O from 111.9m inc. 7.70m at 2.97% Li2O from 130.5m in drill hole MF17491,3 presenting significant exploration potential. Mavis Lake Lithium Project Latest ASX Announcements - Lithium Project Acquisition ESS: Sale of Mavis Lake Lithium JV Interest Canadian High Grade Lithium Asset Binding Terms Sheet Signed Airborne Survey to Start Immediately at Mavis Lake Lithium Please let Samso know your thoughts and send any comments to info@Samso.com.au. Remember to Subscribe to the YouTube Channel, Samso Media and the mail list to stay informed and make comments where appropriate. Other than that, also feel free to provide a Review on Google. For further information about Coffee with Samso and Rooster Talks visit: www.samso.com.au About Samso is a renowned resource among the investment community for keen market analysis and insights into the companies and business trends that matter. Investors seek out Samso for knowledgeable evaluations of current industry developments across a variety of business sectors and considered forecasts of future performances. With a compelling format of relaxed online video interviews, Samso provides clear answers to questions they may not have the opportunity to ask and lays out the big picture to help them complete their investment research. And in doing so, Samso also enables companies featured in interviews to build valuable engagement with their investment communities and customers. Headed by industry veteran Noel Ong and based in Perth, Western Australia, Samsos Coffee with Samso and Rooster Talk interviews both feature friendly conversations with business figures that give insights into Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) companies, related concepts and industry trends. Noel Ong is a geologist with nearly 30 years of industry experience and a strong background in capital markets, corporate finance and the mineral resource sector. He was founder and managing director of ASX-listed company Siburan Resources Limited from 2009-2017 and has also been involved in several other ASX listings, providing advice, procuring projects and helping to raise capital. He brings all this experience and expertise to the Samso interviews, where his engaging conversation style creates a relaxed dialogue, revealing insights that can pique investor interest. Noel Ong travels across Australia to record the interviews, only requiring a coffee shop environment where they can be set up. The interviews are posted on Samsos website and podcasts, YouTube and other relevant online environments where they can be shared among investment communities. Samso also has a track record of developing successful business concepts in the Australasia region and provides bespoke research and counsel to businesses seeking to raise capital and procuring projects for ASX listings. Disclaimer The information contained in this article is the writers personal opinion and is provided for information only and is not intended to or nor will it create/induce the creation of any binding legal relations. Read full disclaimer. Solis Minerals Ltd (TSX-V:SLMN, ASX:SLM) has continued to demonstrate the size of a large copper system at the Mostazal Copper Project in Chile, intersecting copper sulphide mineralisation in all three diamond holes drilled at the project so far. Assay results have yet to be received, but detailed logging is underway, and the three holes have returned wide mineralisation delineating a copper system 250 to 444 metres wide: 362 metres copper mineralised zone (from surface) in hole #1 444 metres copper mineralised zone (from surface) in hole #2 250+ metres copper mineralised zone (from 256 metres) in hole #3 Solis says this early drilling has considerably enhanced the scale of the surface manto copper system, and already has plans underway to expand the drilling program based on this exceptional early drilling success. Extremely encouraged by the significant size Drilling of our initial campaign of diamond holes at Mostazal is progressing very well. We have intersected widespread copper sulphide mineralisation in all three holes completed to date, with our latest hole MODD003 the deepest hole drilled at the project thus far, Solis Minerals CEO Jason Cubitt said. We are working to understand the significance of the over-250-metre sulphide zone in MODD003 and, while we have not yet seen the typical alteration system that we would expect to see associated with our original porphyry target, we are extremely encouraged by the significant size of the mineralisation system we have intersected. The addition of detailed down-hole geophysical data together with the assay results from sampling of this core will be required to better understand the extent of the mineralised system at Mostazal. The company is also planning to conduct induced polarisation (IP) and/or magnetotellurics (MT) geophysical surveys down to 500 metres depth or more to better assist in the hunt for the main feeder system. These first drill holes were designed to test the near-surface manto-style mineralisation encountered in the historical drilling, and our logging has confirmed the presence of widespread alteration and disseminated copper sulphide mineralisation throughout all three holes completed so far. The drill rig has now moved onto MODD004, our last planned hole of this initial phase of drilling. This drillhole is targeting a high-tenor copper-in-soil anomaly to the east of the main manto mineralisation and mining area and may represent the eastern extension of the known mineralisation or the surface expression of a separate mineralised system below the main manto stacked lenses. Assays from these diamond drill holes are expected in March. In the meantime, Solis will work to verify historical drilling of the area to support establishing a JORC and/or NI 43-101 (Canadian standard) compliant mineral resource for the surface manto copper system. About Solis Minerals Solis Minerals acquires, explores for, and develops mineral properties in Chile and Peru. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, silver, iron, and molybdenum deposits. Solis holds three large-scale projects in one of the worlds richest copper districts in the Andes porphyry copper belt. The newly acquired Mostazal project in Chile contains eight exploitation licences totalling 16 square kilometres. Preliminary interpretation of the geophysical data indicates mineralisation at surface has a striking correlation to four deeply rooted magnetic anomalies two of which measure a combined 1.6 kilometres in diameter. Detailed historical resource studies have been produced along with 60 drill holes totalling 11,380 metres. Mostazal is host to historical and recent small-scale production. Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM) has signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with Hyundai Engineering Corporation Co., Ltd (HEC) to exclusively negotiate the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) and the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) for the Dubbo Project in NSW. The agreement for the exclusive negotiation follows the request for proposal process run by ASM for FEED for the Dubbo Project, where HEC have been identified by ASM as the preferred candidate based on HECs experience and capability. Under the HoA, ASM and HEC have entered into an exclusivity period for the award of FEED by 31 March 2022 and subject to the successful delivery of FEED for the award of EPC until 25 February 2023. The companys current target is for the FEED contract to be awarded in Q1 2022, and for the delivery of the FEED in Q4 2022. The terms of the FEED and any EPC (including the price, scope, and schedule) are yet to be agreed by the parties. Key milestone towards a Final Investment Decision ASM managing director David Woodall said exclusively engaging with HEC was another key milestone in moving the Dubbo Project towards a Final Investment Decision and demonstrates the support the Dubbo Project has from key stakeholders in Korea. Woodall added: The team at HEC are impressive being at the forefront of providing innovative and sustainable engineering solutions that will enable the successful delivery of our Dubbo Project, a key to our mine to metal strategy. Meeting HEC CEO Mr Kim Chang-Hag and his team show the quality project partner HEC brings. The desire of both HEC and ASM to work in partnership to deliver the Dubbo Project with significant benefits to both Korea and Australia put us in a great position as we continue discussions with Korean financial institutions to fund the development of Dubbo. Partnership that helps Korea secure the critical metals it needs HEC Chief Executive Officer Kim Chang-Hag said: HEC has delivered large projects successfully globally, and we are delighted to be working with ASM on FEED progressing to EPC to develop the Dubbo Project. We believe we can deliver an innovative and optimised solution to support the development of the Dubbo Project and ASMs critical metals business in a partnership that helps Korea secure the critical metals it needs for its manufacturing industries. Blue Star Helium Ltd (ASX:BNL, OTC:BSNLF) has received approval from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) for its Sammons Ranch Oil and Gas Development Plan (OGDP) in Las Animas County, Colorado. Approval of the Vecta Oil and Gas Ltds OGDP hearing held overnight was the residual condition precedent to the formation of the area of mutual interest (AMI). The Sammons Ranch OGDP consists of four proposed helium exploration wells located in the AMI agreed between Blue Star (50%), Vecta (25% operating interest) and Prospero Oil and Gas LLC (25% non-operational interest). The AMI includes Blue Stars Serenity prospect, located immediately southeast of its Galactica and Pegasus prospects. Final permit to drill Approval of the OGDP and associated Forms 2A allows Vecta to submit its final permit to drill for the Sammons 315310C well, which is expected to be done in the next few days. Blue Star understands that approval for the final permit to drill is typically received within 30 days of its submission. Planning for the execution of the Sammons 315310C well is underway with drilling expected to begin promptly after receipt of the approved final permit to drill. Ilika PLC (AIM:IKA, OTCQX:ILIKF) has announced that current chief financial officer, Steve Boydell, will be stepping down from his role with effect from July 2022. The company, a producer of solid state battery technology, said Boydell will leave to pursue other opportunities. It said he will continue in his role at the London-listed company until after the completion of its current financial reporting period, in order to ensure an orderly transition. The search for a successor has begun, a statement said, with any announcements to be made in due course. Steve has been a thoroughly dependable member of the management team, supporting us through our IPO and subsequent placings and we wish him all the best with his future career, said chief executive Graeme Purdy. Live Company Group PLC (AIM:LVCG) saw its shares rise by 8.6% to 4p after it announced it had signed two contracts for BRICKLIVE shows. The first contract for is Paw Patrol, a childs tv show, and is with Northampton BID, which will run from 12 March to 27 March. The second is with a heritage steam railway for Paddington which will take place during May half term and is the second time the company will be working with a historic railway company, a statement said. 2:10 pm: Evraz investors as of yet unconcerned by any potential sanctions Evraz PLC (LSE:EVR) rose by 23% despite the company announcing it is preparing for the severe downside scenario as the situation in Ukraine worsens. The steel giant said revenue grow to US$14mln in 2021 from US$9.7mln in 2020, as shares climbed to 211p. Its profits also increased by roughly four fold to US$3.1bn, with plans to push ahead in 2022 to improve its operational performance. As of yet, the company has not been impacted by any of the sanctions imposed on Russia, but believes should it be hit, it will have to reduce spending by US$500mln a year and go to the market to raise capital for 2023 and 2024. 12:59 pm: Net debt a concern for IMI investors IMI PLC (LSE:IMI) released preliminary results for the year ending 31 December 2021 today which saw its shares fall by 3.47% to 1455p. Despite an increase in revenue and operating profit from the previous year, investors have seemingly latched onto net debt nearly doubling to 623mln from 316mln. The engineering company said the increase in net debt incorporates a share buyback programme and the acquisition Adaptas, a manufacturer of solutions for laboratory science equipment. The company said that it expects 2022 full year adjusted earnings per share to exceed 100p," currently at 92p. 11:46 am: Tintra shares soar following progress on asset sale Tintra PLC (AIM:TNT), up 37% at 220p, was the top riser on Friday after it updated shareholders on the sale of certain assets. The company has previously notified of certain regulatory and administrative complexities associated with the sale of assets of Prize Provision Services to Sterling Management Centre. These have now been materially addressed. 11.10am: Ncondezi dips after updating on its working capital Ncondezi Energy Limited was down 7.5% to 0.008p following an update on its working capital facility term loan with Seritza Limited. The power development company said the current outstanding amount is US$300,000, but reassured investors it has sufficient cash to repay the loan and remain funded until the end of the first half of the year. It added that it is in restructuring discussions with Seritza, which may lead to a maturity extension as well potential non-cash settlement solutions. Ncondezi plans to submit a written loan restructuring proposal no later than 4 March 2022, with Seritza saying it will not call in the loan for a period of 30 days while the restructuring is finalised. 10:15 am: Eurasia Mining is unaffected by sanctions on Russia Eurasia Mining PLC (AIM:EUA) soared by 28% to 14p after it announced that current sanctions imposed by the UK, US and EU will have no impact on its operations. The palladium, platinum, rhodium, iridium and gold producing company with operations in Russia reaffirmed it has no accounts or relationships with Russian state-owned banks, which have been targeted with sanctions. It also said that a weak Rouble will positively impact the bottom line of the company when selling metals in the domestic markets. The sanctions do not prevent the company from executing any of its strategies in the area. 9:18 am: Seplat rises following acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited Seplat Energy Plc (LSE:SEPL) climbed 8.6% to 101p after it entered into an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited. Completion of the transaction is subject to ministerial consent and other required regulatory approvals. The company is paying US$1,283 million upfront plus up to US$300 million in contingent consideration. Petro Matad Limited (AIM:MATD, OTC:PRTDF) dives 8.7% to 3.7p following an operational update that spoke of possible delays to its drilling programme. The company has advanced negotiations with operational service providers for the 2022 work programme and has secured some price reductions compared to the 2019 drilling programme. The Mongolia-focused explorer is pushing for operational activity to start after the winter hiatus in the second quarter of 2022, with the re-entry, stimulation, and completion for production of Heron 1. The equipment and personnel required for this work are largely already in Mongolia. However, currently, the timing of the availability of drilling equipment and crews for the drilling of additional Heron wells has not been confirmed by the contractors. The most active Chinese drilling contractor along with the other, mainly Chinese, service providers have been affected by Covid-related travel restrictions. Costerfield generated $33 million in quarterly adjusted underlying earnings and $17.8 million in net income, bringing the site's year-end totals to $88.9 million and $47.8 million, respectively Mandalay Resources Corporation has reported record fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2021 revenue and underlying earnings, which it attributed to the successful execution of its strategy, particularly its Costerfield gold-antimony mine in Australia. The Toronto-based company posted consolidated revenue of $72.9 million for the three months to December 31, 2021, its highest yet for a quarter, resulting in adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) of $40.6 million, also a record. It reported net income of $15.3 million, or $0.17 per share. "The main driver behind this is Costerfield's continued operational strength, making it a lynchpin to Mandalay's success today and going forward given its growing mineral reserves and resources, president and CEO Dominic Duffy said in a statement. At Bjorkdal, its continued production improvements over the second half of the year sets the operation up for a much-improved 2022, while also investing in what is proving up to be a very successful exploration program," he added. Mandalay also reported record full-year revenue of $229.4 million, an increase of 28% from 2021, and adjusted underlying earnings of $115 million for a margin of 50%. Consolidated net income reached $54.9 million, or $0.60 per share. Costerfield generated $33 million in quarterly adjusted underlying earnings and $17.8 million in net income, bringing the site's year-end totals to $88.9 million and $47.8 million, respectively, Mandalay said. Bjorkdal generated $85.3 million, $27.9 million and $4.9 million in revenue, adjusted underlying earnings and net income, respectively, in 2021, it added. The company ended December 2021 with $30.7 million in cash on hand, which had increased to $47.2 million by the end of January 2022. "2021 was a statement year for Mandalay, we've now demonstrated 24 months of operational execution and look to carry this momentum throughout 2022 by obtaining higher production numbers and better cash flows, which ultimately should lead to better shareholder returns, Duffy said. The company is now in an excellent financial position with a strong balance sheet, and I would like to thank all of our employees and contractors for their continued commitment in making Mandalay a leading junior gold producer," he concluded. Canada-based Mandalay Resources has producing assets in Australia (Costerfield gold-antimony mine) and Sweden (Bjorkdal gold mine), with projects in Chile and Canada under closure or development status. Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com The company is commercializing its proprietary forward osmosis technology that allows manufacturers to clean their wastewater and reclaim up to 90% of the waste as clean water Forward Water Technologies (TSX-V:FWTC) Corp has told investors it is seeing rapidly growing interest in various wastewater sectors for its technology as it reported fiscal third quarter 2021 financial results. The Toronto, Ontario-based company is commercializing its proprietary forward osmosis technology that allows manufacturers to clean their wastewater and reclaim up to 90% of the waste as clean water. Moreover, the company is seeing the expansion of its business into the resource recovery sector where the concentration of natural occurring and process water streams improves the economic isolation of minerals such as lithium and other key metals, " CEO Howie Honeyman said in a statement accompanying the results. He added: With the expansion of the sales team as well as working closely with various marketing platforms, the company will be able to introduce the world actively and aggressively to its patented forward osmosis technology solution. Honeyman noted that the company's proven trial runs, plus initial funds raised concurrently with its go-public transaction, have allowed it to pursue its aggressive growth strategy and execute on its business plan. During the period, the company completed the reverse takeover of Hope Well Capital Corp (HWCC) and listed its shares on the TSX Venture Exchange. In connection with the transaction, it completed a brokered private placement offering of an aggregate of 6,470,000 subscription receipts at $1 each for aggregate gross proceeds of $6,47 million. For the fiscal 3Q ended December 31, 2021, it had total expenses of $2.06 million, an increase of 707% over the same quarter in 2020. Meanwhile, total expenses for the nine months ended December 31, 2021, also shot up 83% to $3.49 primarily because of expenses that were incurred for the transaction related to HWCC and the TSX Venture Exchange listing. For the quarter, the company reported a net loss of $1.94 million, or a basic loss per share of $0.02, compared to a loss of $336,553 for the same period in 2020. Following the end of the reporting period, Forward Water announced on February 3 that it entered into a definitive agreement with Membracon to form a joint venture. The proposed joint venture will be resourced by both Membracon and the company and will be responsible for the delivery of its proprietary forward osmosis processes and solutions within the UK and Ireland. On February 14, the company signed a sales partnership agreement with Mabarex Inc, providing laboratory, engineering, and system support. It said Mabarex will in turn identify commercial applications from its client base. Forward Water Technologies (TSX-V:FWTC) is a Canadian company dedicated to saving the earth's water supply using its patented forward osmosis technology. The company was founded by GreenCentre Canada a leading technology innovation centre, supported by the government of Canada. Its technology allows for the reduction of challenging waste streams simultaneously returning fresh water for re-use or surface release. Forward Water Technologies (TSX-V:FWTC)' mandate is to focus on the large-scale implementation of its technology in multiple sectors, including industrial wastewater, oil and gas, mining, agriculture and ultimately municipal water supply and re-use market sectors. Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com Hair is a senior mining executive with nearly 40 years of operational and capital markets experience in the mining and metals industry Great Panther Mining Limited (TSX:GPR, NYSE:GPL) has announced the appointment of its chairman, Alan Hair, as the companys new interim CEO, effective immediately, following the resignation of Rob Henderson for personal reasons. Great Panther said it will develop, in due course, a transition plan for the appointment of a permanent CEO. As Chair and Interim CEO, I look forward to working more closely with the senior executive team and the Board to continue to realize the potential of Tucano by returning it to steady-state production and advancing the exploration of our highly prospective land package in Brazil, including the development of our Urucum North underground project, Hair said in a statement. I am confident in our management team's ability to deliver on our strategy for all Great Panther's assets, he added. The company noted that Hair is a senior mining executive with nearly 40 years of operational and capital markets experience in the mining and metals industry, and is a director of Bear Creek Mining Corporation and Gold Royalty Corp (NYSE-A:GROY). Vancouver-based Great Panther owns a diversified portfolio of assets in Brazil, Mexico and Peru made up of three gold and silver mines, an advanced development project, and a large land package with district-scale potential. Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com Europe imports about 40% of its natural gas from Russia, but Germany recently halted certification of the Russian Nord Stream II natural gas pipeline to Europe Trillion Energy International Inc has updated shareholders on its SASB natural gas project in the southwestern Black Sea in Turkey's territorial waters in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and halting of the Nord Stream pipeline. In a statement, the company said it "does not expect to incur any adverse impact from the conflict currently and plans to proceed with its development schedule." Europe imports about 40% of its natural gas from Russia, but on February 22, 2022, Germany announced that it had halted certification of the Russian Nord Stream II natural gas pipeline to Europe. The Nord Stream 2 was expected to be a key conduit for natural gas to Europe from Russia. Turkey also imports about 50% of its natural gas from Russia. We believe the Russian actions against Ukraine manifest a significant natural gas supply risk to Europe and Turkey, the company said. Our SASB gas field development plan will help mitigate natural gas supply risk to our region. As well, numerous sources have predicted further increases in oil & natural gas prices because of renewed uncertainty of supply coming from Russia given its invasion of Ukraine. Trillion said CEO Art Halleran plans to visit Turkey and Romania during March 2022 to address the planned work program with the companys partners and suppliers to ensure the project moves along swiftly. The company is 49% owner of the SASB natural gas field, one of the Black Sea's first major natural gas development projects. Meanwhile, Trillion also said that it expects to recommence trading today, February 25, on the OTCQB under the symbol TCFFF. Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham Washington, Feb 25 : US President Joe Biden has announced additional sanctions against Russia and the deployment of more troops to Europe as conflicts in Ukraine continue to evolve. Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Biden on Thursday said the new measures will target major Russian banks, limit the country's "ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen," and curtail Moscow's high-tech imports and its ability to upgrade the military. The US President said he had authorised "deployment of ground and air forces stationed in Europe to the eastern flank," as well as "additional US force capabilities to deploy to Germany" as part of the response of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Xinhua news agency reported. "Our forces are not and will not be engaged in the conflict with Russia in Ukraine, our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine but defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the east," he reiterated, adding that NATO will convene a summit "on Friday". A senior US defense official said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that the Pentagon had ordered the deployment to Europe of nearly 7,000 additional service members and that they are expected to "depart in the coming days". The troops, the official added, will deploy to Germany to reassure NATO allies, "deter" Russia's military operations and be prepared to support a range of requirements in the region. Biden also addressed concerns that oil prices may further go up as a result of US sanctions against Russia. "We've been coordinating with major oil-producing and consuming countries toward our common interest to secure global energy supplies," he said. "The US will release additional barrels of oil as conditions warrant." The announcement was made hours after leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries met virtually to coordinate their responses to Russia's military actions in Ukraine. The US President tweeted that he and his G7 counterparts had agreed to move forward on what he called "devastating packages of sanctions and other economic measures" against Russia. Earlier on Thursday, he convened a meeting of the National Security Council in the White House Situation Room to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised "a special military operation" in Donbas on Thursday and Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack. In a televised speech, Putin said the "plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories" and that Russia is "not going to impose anything on anyone by force". Russia's move, he added, is in response to "fundamental threats" of NATO which has expanded to eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday said the US and NATO have broken their commitments, continuously expanded eastward, refused to implement the new Minsk agreement, and violated the UN Security Council Resolution 2202. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said Kiev decides to sever diplomatic relations with Moscow. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Tehran, Feb 25 : The Iranian Foreign Minister has said an agreement in the ongoing talks in Vienna on the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal needs the Western sides to take a "courageous and realistic" political decision to guarantee Tehran's interests. Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Thursday made the remarks in a phone conversation with his British counterpart Liz Truss, noting that for a swift and sustainable agreement, the US and E3 group of France, Britain and Germany have to remove the sanctions on Tehran, according to the Foreign Ministry's website. In regard to his meetings with European Union Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell and German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock on the sidelines of the 58th Munich Security Conference, he said, the talks have made good process and the negotiating teams in Vienna are making hard efforts to reach a good agreement, Xinhua news agency reported. Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the world powers in July 2015. However, former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed Washington's unilateral sanctions on Tehran. Since April 2021, several rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, to revive the deal. Berlin, Feb 25 : The number of Covid-19 cases logged in Germany since the start of the pandemic has reached 14.19 million, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases has said. After the Omicron peak has passed, the daily number of new Covid-19 infections declined to 216,322 on Thursday, around 19,300 less than a week ago. Germany's seven-day Covid-19 incidence rate also continued to fall and has reached 1,265 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, Xinhua news agency reported. The number of patients treated in intensive care units (ICUs) decreased by more than 100 to around 2,280, far below the peak of around 5,700 during the height of the second wave in early 2021, according to the German Intensive Care Availability Register (DIVI). "We have only experienced the baby days of coronavirus," Health Minister, Karl Lauterbach said on Wednesday. The pandemic is not over yet and there is no certainty that future coronavirus variants might not be more dangerous. Lauterbach stressed that mandatory vaccination is still necessary. "We have to take into account Germany's special position," he said. The share of unvaccinated people aged 60 years and above in Germany -- the group particularly at risk from the virus -- is 10 to 12 per cent, much higher than in many other European countries. The country's vaccination campaign is slowing down. According to official figures, only 148,000 vaccine shots were administered on Wednesday. To date, 47.1 million people have received a booster jab, and 19.7 million people are not vaccinated. On Wednesday, the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer said on Twitter that it had started to deliver its drug for the treatment of Covid-19 in Germany. This year, the company plans to deliver one million doses of the oral drug to the country. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Washington, Feb 25 : A new study suggests that racial ethnic minorities in the US were more likely than white adults to experience Covid-19-related discrimination. In the study published on Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers measured the prevalence of Covid-19-related discrimination in all major racial and ethnic groups in the US. They also analysed the impact of other social and demographic factors on Covid-19-related discrimination, Xinhua news agency reported. Researchers at the US National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), collected information from 5,500 American Indian or Alaska native, Asian, African American, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Latino, white, and multiracial adults. A total of 22.1 per cent of the participants reported experiencing discriminatory behaviours, and 42.7 per cent reported that people acted afraid of them, according to the study. All racial minorities were more likely than white adults to experience Covid-19-related discrimination, with Asian and American Indian adults being most likely to experience such discrimination, according to the study. Limited English proficiency, lower education, lower income and residing in a big city or the East South Central census division also increased the prevalence of discrimination. The pandemic has exacerbated preexisting resentment against racial minorities and marginalised communities, said the study. "The study showcases the need for careful and responsible public health messaging during public health crises to help prevent and address discrimination against groups that have been marginalised," said a release of the NIH on Thursday. Brussels, Feb 25 : Allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) agreed to further beef up its forces on its eastern flank near Ukraine but it has no intention of sending troops into Ukraine, NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said. NATO did not have combat troops inside Ukraine and it "had no intention of deploying NATO troops to Ukraine," Stoltenberg on Thursday told the press after an extraordinary meeting of the North Atlantic Council. NATO's response came as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday authorised "a special military operation" in the Donbas region, and Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack, Xinhua news agency reported. "We call on Russia to immediately cease its military action, withdraw its forces from Ukraine, and choose diplomacy," said the NATO Secretary-General. Putin said in a televised speech to the country earlier on Thursday that Russia's plans "do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories". "We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force," the Russian President said, noting that Russia's move is in response to "fundamental threats" of NATO which has expanded to eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. Earlier, NATO's Ambassadors said in a statement they had decided "in line with our defensive planning to protect all allies, to take additional steps to further strengthen deterrence and defense across the Alliance". "We are deploying additional defensive land and air forces to the eastern part of the alliance, as well as additional maritime assets," they added. "We have increased the readiness of our forces to respond to all contingencies." -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Moscow, Feb 25 : Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephone conversations with leaders of several countries, the Kremlin has said. Putin had a telephone conversation on Thursday with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, explaining how the situation around Ukraine is evolving. Raisi expressed understanding with respect to Russia's security concerns caused by the destabilising actions of the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Xinhua news agency reported. Issues relating to the diplomatic efforts to preserve and fully implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program were reviewed, the Kremlin said, adding that it was noted that reaching a final agreement on the JCPOA would contribute to regional stability and security. The Russian President also briefed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Moscow's stance on the Ukraine issue. "When discussing the situation, Putin outlined his fundamental assessments of Kiev's aggressive actions against the civilian population of Donbas, as well as about Kiev's many years of destructive policy aimed at breaking the Minsk agreements," the Kremlin said. Modi thanked the Russian President for the clarification and asked for assistance in ensuring the security of Indian citizens currently in Ukraine. Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron also discussed the situation in Ukraine during a phone conversation. According to the Kremlin, both sides had a "serious and frank" exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine. The Kremlin added that the Russian President gave "comprehensive explanations of the reasons and circumstances for the decision to conduct a special military operation". Putin on Thursday authorised "a special military operation" in the Donbas region, and Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Washington, Feb 25 : US President Joe Biden said he will meet with his counterparts of other Group of Seven (G7) countries to discuss next moves they will take on Russia in response to Moscow's military operation in the Donbas region. The US President met the G7 countries on Thursday morning. Biden on Wednesday evening said the US will also "coordinate with our NATO allies to ensure a strong, united response that deters any aggression against the alliance." Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday authorised "a special military operation" in the Donbas region. Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack, Xinhua news agency reported. "Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force," Putin said in a televised speech to the nation, noting that Russia's move is in response to "fundamental threats" of NATO which has expanded to eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Cairo, Feb 25 : Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Nayef Al-Hajraf have signed a memo of understanding on the mechanism of political consultations between the two sides, Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez tweeted. Earlier, Shoukry and Al-Hajraf on Thursday discussed means of boosting relations between Egypt and the Gulf countries, as well as tackling a number of important regional and international issues, Hafez added. In December 2021, Egypt and the GCC launched for the first time the political consultation mechanism, when Al-Hajraf said that "Egypt-Gulf relations are pillars for regional security and stability," Xinhua news agency reported. Wuhan, Feb 25 : Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province, has reported 20 locally transmitted confirmed Covid-19 cases in the latest coronavirus flare-up, said local authorities. In the 24 hours to Thursday afternoon, the city registered three new local confirmed cases, Peng Houpeng, Deputy Director of the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, told a press conference. Two were among those who attended a training session held by a company, and the other one was a close contact of one trainee, the official said. The city also has reported a total of six asymptomatic carriers in the 24-hour period, Xinhua news agency reported. Most of the positive cases are from the training session. To contain the virus as quickly as possible, local health authorities have taken a spate of epidemic control measures. These include epidemiological investigations, quarantine and nucleic acid testing. As of Thursday noon, the health authorities have collected more than 1.14 million samples in nucleic acid testing targeting key groups and others with risk exposure to coronavirus. One hotel and four residential buildings have been classified as medium-risk areas for Covid-19. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Santiago, Feb 25 : Chile registered 30,675 Covid-19 infections and 224 deaths from the disease in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 2,953,895 confirmed cases and 41,795 deaths, the Ministry of Health has said. It also reported 106,133 active cases in the south American country, Xinhua news agency reported. Health Minister Enrique Paris said there has been a general decline in the number of infections, after a peak of more than 38,000 daily cases on February 11 as a result of the Omicron variant of the virus. New infections decreased by 14 per cent in one week, with 13 of the country's 16 regions seeing a reduction in new cases, according to official data. The Covid-19 positivity rate in the last day was 25.62 per cent nationally and 17.64 per cent in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, the Ministry reported. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) New Delhi, Feb 25 : In a latest development in the NSE fraud case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Anand Subramanian, the former Chief Strategic Advisor of National Stock Exchange, from Chennai on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. A source told IANS that he will be produced before the concerned court. The federal probe agency will seek his custodial remand. Recently his statements were recorded for three consecutive days in Chennai. But, he was evasive throughout the questioning, sources said. Subramanian was brought to the NSE by Ramakrishna and he reportedly had access to the email ID on which the emails were sent to Yogi with whom the classified information was shared. The CBI recently raided the SEBI office and recovered some incriminating documents, including digital documents. "These are crucial documents and evidence nailing the lies of the alleged accused involved in the case. We are in the process of making a foolproof case against all the accused. These will help the prosecution in proving our case when it goes to court," said the source. The CBI had on February 19 grilled erstwhile NSE director Ravi Naraian. He served as the CEO of NSE before Chitra Ramakrishna. Earlier, it was said that he had fled to London and was living there. But the CBI source confirmed to IANS that Ravi Naraian was in Delhi where his statement was recorded. "Ravi was asked to join the investigation. He responded to our summon. He was called at the Delhi office where he was grilled. He is also a suspect in the case," said the CBI source. Ravi too was evasive and tried to evade a lot of questions. He also requested that his LOC should be closed. Chitra Ramakrishna, the former MD and CEO of National Stock Exchange was recently grilled by the CBI in Mumbai. On February 18 she got her statement recorded with the federal probe agency. The CBI had asked her around 50 questions. She had tried to play the victim card by claiming that she didn't know a lot of things. She also had claimed that she was innocent and somebody was trying to frame her. The CBI had asked her, for how long she had been sending mails to Yogi Baba, was she given any cut for sharing classified information, if yes where has she invested the money. The CBI had already opened Lookout Circular against Chitra, Anand Subramanian and Ravi Narayan. Sources told IANS that Chitra and two others involved in the case were flight risk and hence the LOC was issued against them. The CBI had lodged an FIR against Chitra on the basis of the 192-page report of SEBI in which she has been accused of leaking classified information to a Yogi who lived in the Himalayas. The mystery man Yogi has still not been found by the CBI. On February 17, the Income Tax Department conducted raids at the house of Chitra in Mumbai and Chennai. Incriminating documents were recovered during the raids. The I-T department scanned various transactions and digital records. They also recorded the statements of a few of her employees. Recently SEBI had imposed a fine of Rs 3 crore on her. SEBI had uploaded a 192-page order on its official website narrating how Chitra was allegedly involved in suspicious activities by leaking information. Chitra had said that a sage, who lives in the Himalayas, was giving her directions. She also sent him emails regarding the NSE. She quit SEBI in December 2016. It has been learnt that she allegedly shared vital inputs with the Yogi. "Information regarding organisational structure, dividend scenario, financial results, human resource policies and related issues, response to regulator, etc., were shared by her with the Yogi," said the source. Between 2014 and 2016 she sent emails at rigyajursama@outlook.com. Subramanian was made the Chief Strategic Advisor of NSE. He served at this post between 2013 and 2015. He was given the post of group operating official and advisor to the MD. He discharged his duties on this post between 2015 and 2016. Subramanian, who had previously been working as a mid-level manager in Balmer and Lawrie, had no exposure to the capital market. His salary was increased from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 1.68 crore annually. In 2017 his salary was hiked to Rs 4.21 crore yearly. Bengaluru, Feb 25 : Karnataka police have launched a hunt for a puppy killer who is targetting stray puppies and killing them mercilessly in Yelahanka locality of Bengaluru, police said on Friday. According to police, they are probing the matter and verifying CCTV footage, recording statements of locals, dog lovers, activists to get clues about the person. They have also lodged a case in this regard on a complaint by Aniruddha B.R., a private company employee. The police have recovered a puppy's carcass hanging from a tree opposite a private apartment near Shamarajapura in Yelahanka New Town. The incident had come to light last week and the police are waiting for the post-mortem report. An incident of burning of three stray puppies had surfaced a couple of months ago. The miscreant had burnt three puppies near an under-construction building in Yelahanka. A complaint was lodged by a local resident after the carcasses of half burnt puppies were found. As per police, both the acts appear to be the handiwork of the same person. Since these incidents have taken place in isolated places, it is difficult to track the culprit or gather information, they said. However, the police have taken up the case under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and Section 428 under IPC for mischief by killing or maiming animals, stating that they will zero in on the puppy killer soon. The investigation is on. February 25 : Rajpal Yadav plays a transgender in his forthcoming film Ardh. On Thursday, the actor revealed his first look from the film. Taking to his Instagram handle, Rajpal shared a poster from the film, wherein he can be seen in an orange saree, long hair with flowers in his hair. Sharing the picture, the actor captioned it as, Presenting to you the first look of my next film ARDH! The film also stars Rubina Dilaik, Hiten Tejwani and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Going by the poster, the film will get an OTT release this year. Fans loved Rajpals new avatar in the film and poured in comments in appreciation. Many said the film will be a hit, while others commented that the actor looked awesome. A fan tweeted, Waiting for this. As a serious actor, have loved you in Mai, meri Patni or woh, Jungle and Darna zaruri hai. This is a comeback! Rajpal Yadav will play a transgender, who has come to Mumbai to become a hero. Rubina and Hiten will play his friends. The film will mark music composer Palash Muchhals directorial debut. He has also penned the script. Talking about getting Rubina Dilaik on board, Palash Muchhal had earlier said in an interview that she did well in the screen test. He had beat 50 girls to bag the part. Rubina Dilaik is still remembered for her role in the film Choti Bahu. She was also seen in Bigg Boss 14. Rajpal Yadav is a versatile actor and has played several characters on the big screen. Starting from the comedy film Hera Pheri to some serious roles in Main, Meri Patni Aur Wo, Rajpal has delivered several power-packed performances. He will also be seen in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 with Kartik Aaryan. Rajpal will also be seen in Mannu Aur Munni ki Shaadi alongside Shreyas Talpade and Kanika Tiwari. The film is directed by Deepak Sisodia, and written by Mahesh Rooniwal. Chennai, Feb 25 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin on Friday requested Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to take urgent steps to bring back Tamilians stranded in Ukraine. In a telephonic conversation with the Union minister, he apprised him that of the 5,000 stranded people from Tamil Nadu, a majority are students. He told Jaishankar that the Chief Minister's office and he himself were receiving frantic calls from the parents of the stranded students to bring their children back to the safety of homes. Stalin, according to officials, urged the Union Minister to appoint a nodal officer to coordinate with the state government to bring the students back to India. He said that with a large number of Tamil students and others in Ukraine, the government of India must act immediately. He had also written to the minister in this regard on Thursday, saying: "I request the Government of India to take this issue up with the authorities in Ukraine for evacuating them out of that country immediately. Also, special flights like Vande Bharat Mission to evacuate them from various parts of Ukraine can be arranged." The Chief Minister said that the government has opened 24x7 help desks and a special nodal officer has been appointed to coordinate with the students, parents, and Government of India to evacuate the students at the earliest. R. Mayilsami from Erode, father of M.R. Soumya, who is pursuing medicine at Kyiv university while speaking to IANS said: "My daughter is stranded there. She had called us on WhatsApp and asked us to bring her back to India and I have been frantically contacting our officials for the same. I am glad that our Chief Minister has taken up the matter with the Union External affairs minister and we expect an evacuation in the line of Vande Bharat mission to take place soon." Parents and family members of the students stranded in Ukraine are expecting that the students reach home at the earliest after high level of diplomatic maneuvers. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The BJP on Friday alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has constituted a three member Special Investigation Team (SIT), with her own trusted men, to cover up the probe of murder of Anish Khan. Earlier this week, the chief minister formed the SIT to probe the death of the 28-year-old student leader Anish Khan. BJP West Bengal co-incharge Amit Malviya said his parents claimed that he was thrown to death by uniformed policemen. Malviya alleged that instead of providing justice to the family, the Bangerjee government is trying to cover it. "Anish Khan, 28 year old student, who was protesting for 130 days against the Mamata Banerjee Govt is thrown to death by uniformed policemen, as claimed by his parents. Instead of providing justice to the family, Mamata Banerjee constitutes a SIT, packed with her men, to cover up," Malviya said. Anis Khan, a former Aliah University student, was allegedly thrown off the terrace of his residence in the dark of night by the assailants, who visited his home identifying themselves as personnel from the Amta police station, as testified by his father who was held at a gunpoint when the assailants committed the murder. The father has called for a CBI probe into the incident. The incident became more complicated when a letter came to the fore wherein Anish had written to the officer-in-charge of the Amta police station that on May 22, 2021, a blood donation camp was organised in his village by the Jana Swasthya Suraksha Committee under his leadership. Banerjee has set a 15-day deadline for the SIT to submit its report. The SIT headed by Additional Director General (CID) Gyanwant Singh has started questioning the officer-in-charge of Amta police station, Debabrata Chakraborty, and second officer Pritam Bhowmik in connection with the murder case. They have been asked to clarify why the police was late in reaching the murder spot and why the basic formalities of the investigation were ignored. Jaipur, Feb 25 : The IIM Udaipur completed the summer placement process for the Batch of 2021-23 with 300 students securing placements and the average stipend increasing by 65.72%. Sharing the topline results and sustaining its growth trajectory -- the stipend for the batch reached Rs 3,00,000 offered in the FMCG and consulting sectors. The top 10 per cent secured an average stipend of Rs 2,62,000; the top 20 per cent secured an average of Rs 2,22,500, and the top 50 per cent received an average stipend of Rs 1,61,000. The number of offers made in the consulting sector saw a remarkable upswing, increasing by 60 per cent compared to last year. Additionally, IIM Udaipur students bagged international internships this year. Several past recruiters, including Accenture Strategy, Accenture Technology, Aditya Birla Capital, Amul, Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, among others returned to the campus. With the most diverse batch in its history, 300 eligible candidates sought placements through the Institute. IIM Udaipur is only one of 4 IIMs that subscribe to IPRS and will be sharing an externally audited placement report on its website. Meanwhile, on this achievement, Prof. Janat Shah, Director, IIM Udaipur, said, "It is gratifying to see that IIM Udaipur has also grown so much in terms of the patronage and support of the industry in its short history of 10 years. Our summer placements this year, despite challenges of Covid and business uncertainties, reflect this. We are delighted to welcome the campus engagement of new recruiters and thank the ones from the past for continuing to repose their faith in the talent of our students." The Institute is the youngest B-school in Asia to be listed on the FT Global MIM Rankings 2021. It is only the fourth IIM, along with IIMs Ahmedabad, Calcutta and Bengaluru, to be on this prestigious ranking for the third year. Los Angeles, Feb 25 : Hollywood star Sean Penn, who is known for his association with anti-war and humanitarian causes, is in Ukraine filming a documentary on the Russian invasion, reports 'Variety'. The Oscar winner appeared at a press briefing on Thursday (U.S. Pacific Standard Time) in Kiev, listening to government officials of Ukraine talking about the ongoing crisis. The doc is a Vice Studios production in association with Vice World News and Endeavor Content. The actor last visited Ukraine in November 2021 to start the preparations for his documentary by visiting with the country's military installations, 'Variety' reports. "Penn has visited the Office of the President and spoken with [Ukrainian] Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, as well as local journalists and members of the Ukrainian military," 'Variety' quoted 'Newsweek' as reporting. The Office of the President issued a statement through the Ukrainian embassy praising the Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker. The statement's translation accessed by 'Variety' read: "The director specially came to Kyiv to record all the events that are currently happening in Ukraine and to tell the world the truth about Russia's invasion of our country." The statement added: "Sean Penn is among those who support Ukraine in Ukraine today. Our country is grateful to him for such a show of courage and honesty. Sean Penn is demonstrating bravery that many others have been lacking, in particular some Western politicians. "The more people like that -- true friends of Ukraine, who support the fight for freedom -- the quicker we can stop this heinous invasion by Russia." United Nations, Feb 25 : The backing of India that is caught between the West and Russia and has tried to project a low-key, neutral response to the crisis in Europe is being sought by both sides ahead of a resolution on Ukraine that is likely to come up in the Security Council on Friday. Leaders from Russia and the US contacted Indian counterparts on Thursday to discuss the Ukraine situation. The resolution would be a test of India's position in a post-Cold War world that is quickly plunging into a new Cold War. A senior US administration official said that the resolution would condemn in "strongest terms" Russia's invasion of Ukraine and invoke the UN Charter's provisions in its Seventh Chapter empowering the Security Council to take action when there is an act of aggression. The official acknowledged that the resolution would be vetoed by Russia, a permanent member of the Council, but said, "Being on record in the Security Council is a principled action that is part of a much broader coordinated response that will undoubtedly have a significant impact on Russia." "I think every member of the Council is going to have to decide where they stand," the official added. At a news conference on Thursday, US President Joe Biden issued a general warning to countries that would support Moscow. "Any nation that countenances Russia's naked aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association," he said. But he expressed hope that India would be in sync with the US on Ukraine. Asked if India, a major defence partner, was in sync with the US on Russia and Ukraine, Biden said, "We're going to be." He added, "We're in consultation with India today; we haven't resolved that completely." In a high-pressure gambit, President Vladimir Putin phoned Prime Minister Narendra Modi to brief him about the Ukraine developments. According to India's External Affairs Ministry, Modi "appealed for an immediate cessation of violence." The ministry readout said that Modi "called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue" and "reiterated his long-standing conviction that the differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue." State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had called External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to emphasise the need for a strong collective response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Discussing "Russia's premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine," Price said that "Blinken stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia's invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire." Jaishankar's tweet only said, "Appreciate the call from @SecBlinken Discussed the ongoing developments in Ukraine and its implications." He also had a conversation with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Jaishankar tweeted, "Just spoke to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia on the Ukraine developments. Underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward." India has so far maintained a neutral stand in the Security Council. India's Permanent Representative T.S. Tirumurti said at an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday that New Delhi regrets "that the calls of the international community to give time to the recent initiatives undertaken by parties to diffuse tensions were not heeded to." He did not mention Russia by name or condemn its invasion. India abstained on a procedural vote backed by the West and opposed by Russia at a Security Council meeting last month on Ukraine. (Permanent members cannot veto procedural votes, so it was carried with a majority vote.) New Delhi faces a dilemma between the relations it had developed during the Cold War and afterwards. India not only depends on Russia for its weaponry and has commercial ties, it also has historically close diplomatic relations. At the United Nations the Soviet Union -- Russia's predecessor -- had vetoed a US-backed resolution directed against India during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence when Indian troops intervened on the side of the Bangladeshi freedom fighters to liberate that country. Although India has maintained a non-aligned foreign policy stance that was once tilted towards the Soviet Union, in recent years New Delhi has turned Westward with growing strategic and defence ties with the US that is itself pivoting to the Indo-Pacific because of the Chinese threat. India is a member of the Quad, the four-member group that includes Japan and Australia and is emerging as a counter-force to China -- and those two countries have come out in support of Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Russia. The US administration official who briefed reporters was asked if India -- and another Security Council member, United Arab Emirates -- "will be brought along to support" the resolution and if the US was disappointed by their failure to condemn Russia. The official avoided answering the question directly and instead talked about the unanimity in the Council for a diplomatic solution. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War San Francisco, Feb 25 : The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened an investigation into Elon Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk for allegedly violating insider trading regulations with recent share sales. The Wall Street Journal reported that the regulator is investigating whether recent stock sales by the Tesla CEO and his brother "violated insider-trading rules". The SEC probe began last year after Kimbal sold 88,500 Tesla shares worth $108 million, "one day before the Tesla chief polled Twitter users asking whether he should unload 10 per cent of his stake in the electric-car maker and pledging to abide by the vote's results", the report said late on Thursday. Kimbal, who also sits on Tesla's board of directors, has frequently traded Tesla stock at regular intervals under a plan. The regulators will now look into whether Musk told his brother about the poll or potential sale before Kimbal sold his shares on November 5, "or if Kimbal otherwise learned of the poll and then traded", according to the report. Musk sold more than $16 billion worth shares since early November when he polled Twitter users about offloading 10 per cent of his stake in the electric-car maker. "Much is made lately of unrealised gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10 per cent of my Tesla stock," he had posted. In a tweet late on Thursday, Musk said that he was "building a case" against the SEC and declared, "I didn't start the fight, but I will finish it." The conflict between Musk and the SEC began in September 2018 when the SEC charged Musk with making "false and misleading" statements to investors after he wrote on Twitter in August that he had secured enough funding for a massive private buyout of Tesla at $420 a share. The stock seesawed all month and the deal Musk alluded to never materialised. Musk and Tesla had to pay $20 million in fines each, and Musk was forced to step down as Chairman for at least three years as part of a revised settlement agreement the agency reached with the automaker and CEO in 2019. Earlier this week, Musk (via his attorney) accused the US SEC of leaking information about a federal investigation in retaliation for his public criticism of federal financial regulators. The letter came after Musk alleged that the SEC was engaged in harassment by continually investigating him, "trying to chill his right to free speech". New Delhi, Feb 25 : As Russia invaded Ukraine, people started donating the Ukrainian army in cryptocurrencies to support them and in the past 24 hours, more than $400,000 worth Bitcoins have been donated to just one group. Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian NGO that raises crypto funds for the Ukrainian army, received more than $400,000 worth of digital tokens in the past day, according to data from blockchain and crypto analytics firm Elliptic. The average amount donated is around $1,000 to $2,000, and the group has received at least 317 individual donations in the past two days, reports Fortune. Pro-Ukraine groups and pro-crypto communities on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have also contributed. The surge of donations in cryptocurrencies signifies that digital assets have "emerged as an important alternative funding method, allowing international donors to bypass financial institutions that are blocking payments to these groups," according to Elliptic. Their analysis shows that hundreds of crypto-asset donations totalling several hundred thousand dollars have been made to these groups -- increasing by over 900 per cent in 2021. Elliptic has identified several cryptocurrency wallets used by these volunteer groups and NGOs, which have collectively received funds totalling just over $570,000 - much of it over the past year. The Ukrainian Cyber Alliance has received close to $100,000 in Bitcoin donations over the past year. Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has also set up a designated bank account to accept donations for its troops in legal currencies. Cryptocurrency prices have plummeted in the past two weeks over fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and the market has lost $150 billion in value since Putin ordered a specific military strike against Ukraine. New Delhi, Feb 25 : With a target to remove up to 5,00,000 ocean-bound plastic bags in Goa and to take global action beyond ambition to restore ocean health, the ninth annual World Ocean Summit to debate developments in plastics, aquaculture, shipping, fishing, energy and tourism will run from March 1 to 4. High-level plenary sessions will address cross-industry topics including ocean finance, ocean governance, and ocean restoration solutions. Speakers will discuss the finance gap, assess new technologies and highlight successful initiatives that are beginning to make an impact on ocean health. The prominent speakers include John Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, US; Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, UN and chair, UN Sustainable Development Group; H.S.H. Albert II, sovereign prince of Monaco; and John BriceAo, Prime minister, Belize. The event will bring together the broadest cross-section of the ocean community, from businesses to scientists, government, investors, and civil society. It will feature six industry tracks: shipping, fishing, aquaculture, energy, tourism, and plastics. The theme of the four-day event, organised by Economist Impact, is "How to achieve 2030 targets". Programming will consist of online conversations, interactive sessions, roundtables and a virtual exhibition. Over 150 leading figures from across the ocean community will explore this year's theme by looking at developments in shipping, fishing, aquaculture, energy, tourism, and plastics. Last year, the event attracted over 8,000 registrants from 175 countries. Speaking ahead of the summit, Ian Hemming, Managing Director, Economist Impact Events, said: "We are looking forward to reconnecting the international oceans community, and hosting four days of remarkable and memorable discussions, and showcasing the latest innovations in the sector." More than 100 speakers will provide checks on how their industries are progressing towards 2030 targets, and what needs to happen next. Sessions will address cross-industry topics, including ocean finance, governance, and restoration solutions. On behalf of each attendee this year, the organisers will be supporting the removal of up to 500,000 ocean-bound plastic bags in Goa with their sustainability partner, rePurpose Global. New Delhi, Feb 25 : As the West prepared to cut off Russia financially, Vladimir Putin summoned his oligarchs to demand loyalty over his attack on Ukraine -- perhaps fearing a rebellion from within after prominent Russian TV figures and celebrities spoke out to oppose the conflict, Daily Mail reported. Speaking in the Kremlin, he said that Russia had been 'forced' to take action over Ukraine and had 'no other choice' but to attack, saying the country remains 'part of the global economy' and that he 'will not hurt the system we belong to'. "I want you to show solidarity with the government," he told them, the report said. It came after Vladimir Putin personally gave the order to attack around 5 a.m. on Thursday, unleashing a salvo of rocket fire that American intelligence said involved more than 100 short and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles, and 75 bombers that targeted military sites including barracks, warehouses and airfields in order to knock out the country's military command structure. Russia said the strikes destroyed 74 Ukrainian military ground facilities, 11 airfields, three command posts and 18 radar stations controlling Kyiv's anti-aircraft batteries, the report said. American officials said this was merely an 'initial phase' of the attack, and that the majority of Russia's 1,90,000 troops at the front remain in reserve. The goal of the attack is to 'take key population centres' and 'decapitate the Ukrainian government', the officials added, Daily Mail reported. San Francisco, Feb 25 : Microsoft has started testing a new taskbar for tablets that would only display key information like the time, date, network and battery status. The feature is currently available on the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22563. A new setting will automatically hide the taskbar when someone is not using a device as a tablet, and it will provide more screen space for Windows 11 tablet users, reports The Verge. The tech giant is also planning to modify how widgets work in Windows 11 soon. "This should make it easier for you to discover and engage with new widgets and news content through your feed," the reports quoted the Windows Insider team as saying. "This release focuses on making widgets discoverable from the feed and over time we plan to make the feed even more personalised." Microsoft is also experimenting with two new methods to warn Windows 11 users that they have installed the operating system on unsupported hardware. In the test builds of Windows 11, a new watermark has appeared on the desktop wallpaper, alongside a similar warning in the landing page of the settings app. Microsoft's minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11 have been controversial, particularly as the OS only officially supports Intel 8th Gen Coffee Lake or Zen+ and Zen 2 CPUs and up. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is following the situation in Ukraine 'with grave concern' and appealed for maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put Ukraine's nuclear facilities at risk, Daily Mail reported. Ukrainian presidential advisor Myhailo Podolyak said: "After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe." It comes after Russian forces seized control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant after a 'fierce' battle, with the condition of nuclear storage facilities 'unknown', sparking fears of a radiation leak that could cause fallout in Europe, the report said. Video revealed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles standing in front of the destroyed reactor, which sits just 60 miles north of the capital Kyiv. An official said Russian shelling hit a radioactive waste repository and an increase in radiation levels was reported, although this has not yet been corroborated, Daily Mail reported. Speaking after the latest developments, US President Joe Biden announced more sanctions against Russia but admitted that he had not expected previous threats of financial penalties to deter Vladimir Putin. He also resisted calls to send in US troops to Ukraine, saying he has no plans to speak to the Russian leader who he accuses of trying to rebuild a Soviet empire. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Ukraine's capital was under bombardment in the early hours of Friday, with the skies ablaze as Vladimir Putin's tanks moved to within 20 miles of Kyiv, Daily Mail reported. Ukraine's deputy defence ministry said that one missile was shot out of the sky by their anti-missile defense systems. Another missile struck a residential building in the city, the government said. A Ukrainian jet, a SU-27, was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in a separate incident, the Ukrainian government said, Daily Mail reported. Hours earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky raged at Western cowards who failed to come to his aid, saying his country is being 'left alone' to face Russian troops. Officials warn that Kyiv will be seized this weekend, the report said. In a video address to his nation after midnight, the president called his fallen compatriots 'heroes' after 137 were killed on the first day of fighting, and insisted he will stay until the bitter end. He said: "They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven. "We have been left alone to defend our state. Who is ready to fight alongside us? I don't see anyone. "Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of NATO membership? Everyone is afraid." He added that the enemy has already entered Kyiv and urged residents to be vigilant and observe curfew rules, acknowledging he was the "target number one", the report said. The Ukrainian capital is expected to be surrounded by Russian forces this weekend and the country's resistance effectively crippled, US security officials fear. Washington, Feb 25 : US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that lawmakers on Capitol Hill want to provide Ukraine with "lethal defense weapons" worth $600 million to help Kiev defend itself against military attack from Russia. Earlier in the day, US President Joe Biden announced further economic sanctions against Russia, as well as the deployment of additional US troops to Europe, Xinhua news agency reported. Biden reiterated that no US forces will be sent into Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday authorised "a special military operation" in Donbass. Ukraine confirmed that military targets across the country were under attack. "Our plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories. We are not going to impose anything on anyone by force," Putin said in a televised speech to the nation, noting that Russia's move was in response to "fundamental threats" from NATO, which has expanded to eastern Europe and brought its military infrastructure closer to Russian borders. Backdrop Russia has declared war on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and is executing a plan meticulously prepared and war-games. NATO appears to have over-relied on the potency of its sanctions to deter Putin, which appears to be a major strategic error because it has not worked in the past and does not appear to be working now. Instead, it has emboldened Russian leadership's resolve that NATO will be unable to respond to a quick offensive beyond condemnation, Ukraine's capacity building, and sanctions on Russia. It has pushed Ukraine to disaster, as its President's loud demand to join NATO was neither acted upon by West, nor provided him any assurance that anyone else would do the heavy lifting or put boots on the ground in Ukraine to fight Russians, despite a massive military force imbalance in Russia's favour. Decoding Strategic and Military Action of Russia so far The contours and logic of Russian plans were evident from its posturing over months, President Putin's speeches to the nation and his demands made to Ukraine. The political aim of Russia seems to be to target Ukraine's leadershipto give up demand of NATO membership, or else force a regime change, replacingit with a pro-Russian government not propagating NATO membership/agenda. Strategically, the centre of gravity for the Russian offensive is the minds of Ukraine's leadership and military to surrender to Russia with minimum militaryactions. This strategic goal cannot be realised without surrounding Kyiv, which is the key strategic objective; as a result, operations to encircle Kyiv and capture adjacent airbases have been launched. After Russia recognised the independence of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, the liberation of the Donbas region was a foregone conclusion. The military aim is to demilitarise Ukrainian military to ensure that Ukraine cannot be used as a springboard by NATO to threaten the security of Russia and isolate Kyiv to facilitate regime change without military interference. To shape the battlefield, Russian military postured three sides of Ukraine with massive combat superiority, used forces in Belarus to invade from the North to reach Kyiv via shortest route, used its Black Sea fleet and Crimea to blockade Ukraine from South, and forces in Donbas region to invade from east and some forces from northeast to expedite consolidation. The military operations were preceded by cyber-attacks and information warfare. Military operations were launched in a well-planned and professional manner under the banner of 'Special Operations,' beginning with air and missile strikes to neutralise air defence capability, air assets to achieve air superiority, and pulverise military targets, claiming to have destroyed over 70 military targets and installations, including 11 airfields in Ukraine, before ground elements marched in, adding conventional superiority to upgrade its hybrid war. NATO's Response and Future Options President Biden's address on February 22, and statements of other western leaders, clearly indicated that NATO is not going to have boots on ground in Ukraine and will depend on financial sanctions and material support to Ukraine as response to Russian aggression. This weakness emboldened Russia to seize opportunity for offensive into Ukraine with minimum military cost, so far. NATO is still unclear about further responses, as the Russian offensive is already underway; hence time for any possible military action by NATO is already over. NATO, therefore is only salvaging its own security by strengthening NATO countries bordering Ukraine/Russia to prevent any possibility of Russian adventurism into any of the NATO countries, leaving Ukraine to its fate, as it's not a member of NATO as yet. Likely Russian Action Ahead Russia will try to achieve its strategic objectives as fast as possible and move out of Ukraine to minimise its cost. It will avoid fighting in built up areas, as it will prolong the invasion and may not remain as an occupational force to avoid backlash from a segment of hostile population turning into insurgency against it. It will therefore try to maximise pressure on Ukraine by all instruments of power to submit to regime change or force it at the earliest and de-escalate. Notwithstanding what Russia wants, the resolve of Ukrainian military and leadership will determine the timeframe and escalation dynamics and the support of NATO to refuel resistance will determine the staying power. Russia is unlikely to make the mistake of annexing Ukraine, as it does not make sense in strategic cost benefit analysis. To build pressure for Ukraine to surrender, Russia may also take over some key strategic installations, till its strategic aims are achieved. It's a harsh punishment for Ukraine's uncomfortable geopolitical location and leadership's desire to join NATO, which has thrust it into the centre of a "Big Power Contestation" that is going to be a tragedy for its people, in all contingencies. Indian Response The first priority for India should be to evacuate its own students and diaspora.It can push for diplomatic solutions and peaceful resolutions, as well as measures to reduce temperatures, but it should avoid taking sides because it has good connections with all of the opposing powers. While each country's sovereignty must be maintained, both sides have rejected it when it has served their interests, as in the Iraq war, Crimea and Afghanistan. India needs to factor the weak western response to Ukraine crisis in its strategic calculations, as it can embolden other authoritative powers like China to take similar actions in Indo-Pacific region. (Major General S.B. Asthana is a strategic and security analyst, a veteran Infantry General. He is the Chief Instructor, United Service Institution of India. The views expressed are personal) Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Bengaluru, Feb 25 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that the Indian government is contemplating to bring back Indian students stranded in war-torn Ukraine through land routes. While interacting with reporters, CM Bommai stated that he had spoken to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar this morning in detail about the crisis. "Indian government is initiating all possible measures for the evacuation of students from Ukraine. Russian language speaking diplomats are being sent to Ukraine. "Options are being explored for bringing back Indian students from Ukraine through land movement since air lifting is impossible currently. The diplomatic channels are being opened in this regard. The possibility of taking out students from the west direction in Ukraine is being thought about," he explained. "The Foreign Minister has got all the information regarding Indian students in Ukraine. Many Karnataka students are pursuing medical courses there and majority of them are staying in Kharkiv city. Presently all are safe," CM Bommai stated. "The students have been asked by the embassy not to make any movement unless asked. Clear information would be given to students during evacuation and they are in constant touch with the student community," he said. "I have requested him to arrange for their food, shelter and other basic arrangements. We have opened a helpline and there is another helpline by the Government of India to coordinate between students and parents. The foreign affairs ministry has asked the students to be careful. No one is in trouble yet. However, bombing is happening near the region where the students are staying presently, that is a matter of concern," he said. Srinagar, Feb 25 : An gunfight broke out between the terrorists and security forces at Amshipora area in South Kashmir's Shopian district, officials said on Friday. "Encounter has started in the Amshipora area of Shopian. Police and security forces are on the job," police said. The gunfight erupted 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. Seoul, Feb 25 : South Korea said Friday it plans to provide financial support to local exporters in an effort to minimise their potential damage from international sanctions against Russia over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The US announced new sanctions against Russia, including export controls, over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in a bid to restrict Russia's ability to do business in major currencies, Yonhap news agency reported. South Korea said Thursday it will join the international community in imposing sanctions against Russia though it stopped short of drawing up its own punitive measures against Moscow. The government said it will immediately provide trade financing to local exporters if they suffer business losses due to the sanctions. It also plans to draw up an emergency financing programme worth of up to 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) if needed. South Korea said the Ukraine crisis is expected to have limited impacts on the economy in the short term, given its export volumes to Russia and Ukraine, and a stockpile of major raw materials. The government is closely watching the developments of the Ukraine tensions on concerns that it could jack up already high oil prices and disrupt supplies of energy and raw materials. Oil prices topped $100 per dollar Thursday, moving to a seven-year high, amid the escalating Ukraine tensions. South Korea heavily relies on imports for its energy needs. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Washington, Feb 25 : Even as Russia's military invasion of Ukraine has sparked criticism and invoked several sanctions, it is unlikely to affect its longstanding space partnerships with the US, NASA has said The US space agency has asserted that civil cooperation between the US and Russia in space, particularly with regard to the International Space Station (ISS), will continue, Space.com reported. NASA and Russia's state space corporation, Roscosmos, jointly operate the ISS. The orbiting space lab currently has two Russian cosmonauts, one European astronaut and four Americans. On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine leading to sanctions by the US "on what can be exported to Russia." "NASA continues working with all our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the ongoing safe operations of the International Space Station," NASA spokesperson Joshua Finch said in an emailed statement to Space.com. "The new export control measures will continue to allow U.S.-Russia civil space cooperation. No changes are planned to the agency's support for ongoing in orbit and ground station operations," it added. Earlier in a public, televised statement, President Joe Biden discussed the new sanctions. "We estimate that we'll cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports. That will strike a blow to their ability to continue to modernize their military. It'll degrade their aerospace industry, including their space program," Biden said. Although his statements did not directly mention the space collaboration between the two countries, Dmitry Rogozin, the director of Roscosmos, posted a thread of tweets raising assumption that the new sanctions will interfere with the two nations' space partnerships, the report said. "Do you want to destroy our cooperation on the ISS?" Rogozin tweeted in Russian (translated with Twitter translate). "If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from uncontrolled deorbiting and falling into the United States or Europe? There is also the option of dropping a 500-tonne structure to India and China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, so all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?" Rogozin added. NASA and Roscosmos have been working together on the ISS for nearly three decades now. They coordinated on Russia's former Mir space station, swapped seats on NASA's Space Shuttle and Russia's Soyuz rocket, and even worked together during the Apollo era on the Apollo-Soyuz test project, The Verge reported. "NASA continues working with the State Space Corporation Roscosmos (Roscosmos) and our other international partners in Canada, Europe, and Japan to maintain safe and continuous International Space Station operations," said Finch in an emailed statement to the Verge, a few hours before the invasion began. "NASA and its international partners have maintained a continuous and productive human presence aboard the International Space Station for more than 21 years," he added. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Los Angeles, Feb 25 : Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg recently revealed that he approached Warner Bros for pitching the sequel to Martin Scorsese's 2006 epic crime thriller 'The Departed', the film that earned him an Oscar nomination. However, things didn't materialise. The actor spoke to KFC Radio with regards to the same as quoted by 'Esquire', "I went into a meeting with (screenwriter) Bill Monahan at Warner Bros to pitch the sequel to 'The Departed'". "And let's just say the pitch didn't go very well. He really didn't have anything fleshed out, but he's the kind of guy you just trust to go and write something. And so when we were working on the script for 'Cocaine Cowboys' and 'American Desperado' (I) said, 'Bill, just go write. They like to have things well thought out and planned.' It'd be a pretty good one", he added. Although Wahlberg did not reveal the details about the failed pitch, he did mention that Monahan was planning to hire actors like Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro to join the cast for the sequel, which would center on Wahlberg's character. The writer admitted that the absence of a synopsis for the sequel was the reason behind the project not getting a nod from the studio, "I don't do synopses and I don't pitch." He rounded up the fate of the sequel with a sense of uncertainty, "Personally, I don't know if it's ever going to happen." Mumbai, Feb 25 : Ahead of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Income Tax Department raided premises linked to a prominent Shiv Sena corporator and his MLA wife for alleged tax evasion, here on Friday. A team of ITD swooped on the Mazagaon home of corporator Yashwant Jadhav and his wife Yamini Jadhav and carried out searches. Jadhav is the Chairman of the BMC's powerful Standing Committee which is authorised to prepare the civic budget and sanction expenditures for various works. The action is said to have come after Bharatiya Janata Party ex-MP Dr. Kirit Somaiya lodged a complaint to the Centre in January, alleging "money-laundering, parking the scam money, hawala transactions" worth around Rs 30 crore, through various shell companies, indulged in by the Jadhav couple. Somaiya also 'suggested' to the ITD and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to initiate suitable action against the couple without waiting for the outcome of reported moves by the Election Commission of India to disqualify Yamini Jadhav for allegedly not disclosing her assets truly in the poll affidavit. The ITD operation came two days after a Maha Vikas Aghadi Minister of Nationalist Congress Party Nawab Malik was arrested in an alleged money-laundering case arising out of a 'tainted' land deal with mafia links. Malik has been remanded to ED custody till March 3 even as the MVA constituents Sena-NCP-Congress carried out huge protests all over the state on Thursday, and the NCP demonstrations continue even today. Hyderabad, Feb 25 : The government of Telangana on Friday offered to bear full travel expenses of students from Telangana stranded in Ukraine. State Minister for Industries and Information Technology K. T. Rama Rao urged the central government to arrange for special aircraft to bring the students home. He made an appeal to Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar on the plight of students from the state stranded in Ukraine. "We appeal to Govt of India to arrange for special aircrafts & Telangana Govt is ready to bear the full travel expenses for these students so we can bring them home safe & soonest," tweeted Rama Rao. Earlier, responding to a tweet by a relative of one of the 20 students stranded in Ukraine, the state minister requested the Indian embassy in Ukraine to reach out to them. One Epuri Raghavendra tweeted that 20 Telangana students, including his brother, are waiting for help in Vinnytsia. He wrote that students are very scared and helplines in Ukraine are not responsive. They disconnected the call by saying present location of students is very faraway for help. The Telangana government has set up helplines at Telangana Bhavan New Delhi and State Secretariat Hyderabad to help the students and citizens of the state who are stranded in Ukraine. Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar on Friday held a teleconference with the Principal Secretary, General Administration, Vikas Raj and Resident Commissioner Telangana Bhavan Gaurav Uppal and took stock of the situation. The helplines have so far received 75 calls. The chief secretary said that the state government is in constant touch with the External Affairs ministry, Government of India and taking all steps to ensure the safety and security of the Telangana people. Efforts are also being made to ensure that all the stranded persons are evacuated and they reach the state safely, he said. Chennai, Feb 25 : With nearly five months gone after the assurance given by the DMK government that their issues would be soon sorted out, the retrenched workers of Hindustan Motors/Hindustan Motor Finance Corporation Ltd have decided to launch an indefinite hunger strike from Monday, H. Ismail said. Ismail is one of the retrenched workers whose grandfather's land was acquired by Hindustan Motors in 1968. "We have decided to launch an indefinite hunger strike from Monday morning outside the PCA Automobiles India Private Ltd, in Tiruvallur," Ismail told IANS. He said the government in October 2021 had assured them that their issues would be sorted out soon and hence they had wound up their protest then. However, nothing has happened after that and their matter has been sent to the state labour department, he said. "It is the Tiruvallur district administration that should be involved. Sending the issue to the Labour Department is nothing but side tracking the matter," Ismail added. Car-maker PCA Automobiles located in Tiruvallur is a joint venture between global automotive manufacturer Stellantis Group and India's C.K. Birla group. Hindustan Motors Ltd/Hindustan Motor Finance belonged to the C.K.Birla group. The workers were earlier employed by Hindustan Motors Ltd/Hindustan Motor Finance Corporation Ltd. at its Tiruvallur car plant rolling out Japanese Mitsubishi Motors Corporation's models like Lancer, Pajero and also under contract manufacturing deal for Isuzu Motors MU 7 model. Later, about 175 permanent workers and over 150 contract workers were retrenched by Hindustan Motor Finance Corporation and the plant was transferred to PCA Automobiles. "We were retrenched despite an agreement signed between the two joint venture partners that the workers will be absorbed by PCA Automobiles," Ismail said. "Based on this Employee Transfer Agreement, Hindustan Motor Finance Corporation got permission from the Tamil Nadu government to transfer the plant and other assets to PCA Automobiles. Post transfer of assets, the workers -- permanent and on contract -- were sent out," E. Srinivasan, Secretary of the Hindustan Motors Land Giving Farmers Progressive Association, told IANS. According to Srinivasan, Hindustan Motors acquired about 356 acres of agricultural land from 1968 at Tiruvallur. Initially, Hindustan Motors bought the land directly from the owners. But it was not able to get the extent it wanted and sought the District Collector's help. Later, the company deposited the land cost with the government treasury and the government transferred the land to the company, Srinivasan said. At that point of time, the District Collector had assured that the land owners will be employed by the company in the Hindustan Motor's earthmoving equipment plant at Tiruvallur. "The land cost was so low that many landowners did not make efforts to get their money from the government treasury as the expenses incurred would be higher," Srinivasan added. However, the landowners were not given employment as promised earlier and after protesting Hindustan Motors employed 82 persons -- mostly the grandsons of the landowners -- in the 1980s. "After a decade of protests another batch of 82 workers were hired as trainees in 1997," Srinivasan said. Srinivasan and Ismail had earlier told IANS that Hindustan Motors confirmed the trainee workers only after 10 years. Hindustan Motors hived off a sizable portion of the land for its car plant to roll out Mitsubishi Motors Corporation's models like Lancer, Pajero. And some workers of the Hindustan Motors' earthmoving equipment division were transferred to the car plant. Some years later, the Indian company transferred the plant to Hindustan Finance Corporation and then to PCA Automobiles while sending out permanent and contract workers. Hindustan Motors sold its earthmoving equipment division (that made dumpers, loaders and others) to Caterpillar, US. Barring the 22 workers whose grandfathers had given their land to the factory and some others, the majority of the permanent workers had agreed to take lumpsum compensation from Hindustan Motor Finance Corporation. "The company had deposited the lump sum in our bank accounts without our consent. We wrote to the company, Tamil Nadu government and also to PCA Automobiles stressing our demand for jobs and the amount deposited would be treated as our monthly wages," Srinivasan had said. After the job loss, life for all the workers turned upside down. "We were not able to get proper employment in other companies as age was against us. Many workers joined car service stations and others at a wage of Rs 8,000 per month, after drawing about Rs 50,000 per month. Our families are still in dire straits," S. Gandhi, Former Secretary of the worker's union at Hindustan Motor Finance, had told IANS. According to Srinivasan, the PCA Automobiles plant has about 190 acres of land of which about 150 acres are vacant. "We want our land back so that we can do farming and manage our families," Srinivasan said. "Our land is there. The old owner -- C.K. Birla group and new owner Stellantis Group -- are also there. The car plant is also rolling out Citroen brand cars. Only we are not there. This is not just," Ismail and Srinivasan said. According to Ismail, the retrenched workers have seen several District Collectors. All of them knew about the Employee Transfer Agreement signed between Hindustan Finance Corporation and PCA Automobiles and its subsequent breach. But still no solution for them. (Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in) New Delhi, Feb 25 : Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has made yet another plea to Western allies to help Ukraine and stop Russia's brutal assault, BBC reported. "This morning we are defending our state alone. Like yesterday, the world's most powerful forces are watching from afar," Zelensky said in his address to the nation this morning. "Was Russia convinced by yesterday's sanctions? We hear in our sky and see on our earth that this was not enough", BBC reported. The Ukrainian leader has confirmed the multiple missile strikes reported pre-dawn Friday. Zelensky said the strikes began at 4 a.m. on Friday local time. He added that Russia's strikes had targetted both military and civilian sites. Russia has previously said it's not aiming strikes at civilians, the report said. The capital Kyiv has seen blasts this morning, including what appears to be a strike that hit a residential building. Zelensky speaking again to his citizens in a video address is making appeals to Russia for a ceasefire. "Russia will have to talk to us sooner or later about how to end hostilities and stop this invasion," he said. "The sooner the conversation begins the smaller Russia's losses will be". He added that until the attacks stop, "we will be defending our country until then," BBC reported. Just last night, he'd warned of the intensifying attack on the capital. He said he had no intention of leaving the capital and that he knew he was Russia's number one target right now. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War San Francisco, Feb 25 : Tesla CEO Elon Musk's request to force the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into court to address his allegations about unpaid settlement funds has been denied by a federal judge. In a recent court filing, US District Judge Alison Nathan said it was "unclear" exactly what Musk was requesting, reports The Verge. Musk has accused the SEC of subjecting him and his company to "endless, unfounded investigations" and alleged that the agency was ignoring its commitment to distribute $40 million in fine money to Tesla shareholders, as per the 2018 settlement. The SEC responded that it was still developing a plan to allocate the funds, the report said. Nathan rejected Musk's request for a conference, arguing that if he wants to impose a deadline on the distribution of funds, he needs to file a motion to request one. "Otherwise, the Court cannot enforce a deadline that does not currently exist," Nathan wrote. Nathan also rejected Musk's efforts to hold the SEC accountable for allegedly leaking information. She noted that Musk's team failed to produce any "specific facts or legal authority to justify this request". The judge's filing comes on the heels of breaking news that Musk and his brother Kimbal Musk are under investigation by the SEC for potential insider trading. Musk has been at war with the SEC since his 2018 tweet about taking Tesla private, infamously declaring "funding secured". After Musk sent the tweet, the SEC launched an investigation, eventually concluding that Musk misled investors about his plan to take Tesla private. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday extended his best wishes to Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who is scheduled to undergo a surgery for thyroid. In response to a tweet by the President of Maldives, the Prime Minister said: "I convey my best wishes to President @ibusolih for a successful surgery and a quick recovery." President Solih has thanked Prime Minister Modi for his kind words. Quoting Prime Minister Modi's tweet, the President of Maldives said: "Thank you Prime Minister for your kind words." Sharing information about his surgery Solih tweeted: "Following advice from my doctors, I'm scheduled to undergo surgery on my thyroid this morning. I will formally notify Speaker of @mvpeoplesmajlis and VP @FaisalNasym will temporarily assume my duties for the duration of my surgery. I look forward to returning to work shortly.IA." Los Angeles, Feb 25 : A day before the re-release of the iconic Hollywood classic, 'The Godfather', in a limited number of screens across the United States, the film's director, Francis Ford Coppola, has said he is not a huge fan of the many award functions that have emerged over the past few years. Coppola still prefers the Oscars, that too with certain reservations over its grand scale, he told 'Variety'. "There are too many award shows now. I liked it when it was just the Oscars," he said. 'The Godfather' won three Oscars, including Best Picture, after plucking eight nominations at the 45th Academy Awards, which was watched by 85 television viewers across the United States in 1973. Marlon Brando, who played Vito Corleone in the film adapted for the silver screen by Coppola from Mario Puzo's eponymous novel, got the Best Actor Oscar, but he did not receive it in person. Instead, he sent the Native American actress, model and civil rights activist Sacheen Lightfoot to accept the statuette on his behalf. In his conversation with 'Variety', Coppola, who won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1973, said he looked back fondly at the time when the ceremony was simpler. "I don't like it so much as a big razzle-dazzle production. I like it more intimate, when they had a gentle quality that I think was nice." When asked about his opinion on the announcement by the Academy to present eight technical awards off air to streamline the telecast, he responded by saying: "All those (categories) are important. It seems odd, but I guess they have their reasons." Coppola won his first Oscar in 1971 for the original screenplay for the epic biographical war film 'Patton' (1970), based on the U.S. World War II General George Patton. Recalling the reception 'The Godfather' got, Coppola said he wasn't really sure of the film's success on such a scale and was left surprised when the film clinched coveted awards. "There were so many negative thoughts about the picture at the time that I was very unsure and, quite honestly, astonished that it had this success," Coppola said. Mumbai, Feb 25 : Ahead of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Income Tax Department raided premises linked to a prominent Shiv Sena corporator and his MLA wife for alleged tax evasion, as Mayor Kishori Pednekar slammed the action, here on Friday. A team of the ITD swooped on the Mazagaon home of corporator Yashwant Jadhav and his wife Yamini Jadhav and carried out searches, besides some business associates in Byculla. Jadhav is the Chairman of the BMC's powerful Standing Committee which is authorised to prepare the civic budget and sanction expenditures for various works. Among other things, Jadhav allegedly took bribes of over Rs 15 crore from civic contractors for awarding them big tenders, and then diverted the money through associates to shell companies in India and UAE purportedly belonging to his family and relatives. Mayor Pednekar, who went to visit the Jadhav couple, was barred by the police from going to their home and appealed to party activists to remain calm. "The central agencies are being used to harass us. We are not scared of them. This is being done as the Shiv Sena has done good work in the BMC," Pednekar told mediapersons. Pointing at the 'continuous hounding' by Central probe agencies, she said that many leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) were targetted but they did not bend before them, they were cleared by the courts and are now rehabilitated politically. Aam Aadmi Party city working President Ruben Mascarenhas labelled Jadhav as "one of the most corrupt politicians in India", while the Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Ashish Shelar said that more corruption details will tumble out. Mascarenhas demanded that the ITD probe must be widened to include the BJP and the ruling Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress in the country's biggest and richest civic body. Today's ITD action is said to have come after Bharatiya Janata Party former MP Dr Kirit Somaiya lodged a complaint to the Centre in January, alleging "money-laundering, parking the scam money, hawala transactions" worth around Rs 30 crore, through various shell companies, indulged in by the Jadhav couple. Somaiya also 'suggested' to the ITD and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to initiate suitable action against the couple without waiting for the outcome of reported moves by the Election Commission of India to disqualify Yamini Jadhav for allegedly not disclosing her assets truly in the poll affidavit. Seoul, Feb 25 : The US on Friday returned multiple parcels of land of its military's Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul and two other bases north of the capital to South Korea, the defence ministry here said, a move bound to accelerate regional development projects. The decision, including the return of 1,65,000 square metres of land inside the garrison, came as Seoul has been pushing to clear hurdles for a mega project to build a national park in Yongsan and other regional refurbishment plans, Yonhap news agency reported. Lim Sang-woo, director-general for North American affairs at Seoul's foreign ministry, and Lt. Gen. Scott L. Pleus, the deputy chief of the US Forces Korea, approved the decision in a telephone conference. They are representatives of the joint committee of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) governing the legal status of 28,500 American troops here. The returned swathes of land in Yongsan are part of the nearly 5,00,000 square metres of land in the garrison that the US agreed last year to work toward handing over to the South by early this year. At the joint committee session, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to pursue the return of a "considerable" portion of the Yongsan Garrison by early this year, its joint statement read. Friday's decision also included the return of Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu, 20 kms north of Seoul, and a water detention basin of Camp Stanley in the same city. The handover of the Red Cloud site spanning 830,000 square metres is where the Uijeongbu municipality seeks to construct an e-commerce logistics complex. The return of the 1,000-square-metre basin is expected to help the city's river refurbishment efforts, officials said. Aside from the return, the two countries reached a consensus on ways to improve information sharing, an environmental accident response system and access to US military installations as part of efforts to strengthen the "cleaner, safer" management of American bases currently in use, according to Seoul officials. The return of the base is part of a broad relocation scheme to consolidate US bases across the Korean Peninsula into a garrison in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, and another in Daegu, 302 km southeast of the capital, with an aim to enhance defence readiness and operational efficiency in the face of North Korean military threats. Beijing, Feb 25 : Chinese police have caught 52 suspects involved in the production and sale of fake or substandard medicines in a law enforcement campaign launched in January this year, said China's Ministry of Public Security on Friday. According to the ministry, 22 criminal dens where such activities took place were busted during the campaign. It added that the money involved in the cases solved amounted to over 270 million yuan (about $42.6 million). Chinese police departments have been cracking down heavily on criminal activities involving fake medicine since 2019. So far, over 12,000 cases have been solved and 17,000 suspects arrested. Police departments will continue to crack down on such criminal activities to ensure the safety of medicine for the public, said an official with the ministry. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Russians supported Pakistani dissidents, who organised terror attacks inside the country, including hijacking Pakistani civilian aircraft and attempts to assassinate General Zia-ul-Huq, writes Bruce Riedel. Bruce Riedel is a senior fellow and director of the Brookings Intelligence Project, part of the Brookings Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence. He retired in 2006 after 30 years of service at the Central Intelligence Agency, including postings overseas. He was a senior advisor on South Asia and the Middle East to four presidents of the US in the staff of the National Security Council at the White House. The Afghan resistance did virtually all the fighting against the Russian 40th Army that occupied Afghanistan starting on Christmas Eve 1979. President Jimmy Carter rapidly mobilised a strategic alliance to fight the Russians. Within two weeks he had persuaded Pakistani leader Zia ul-Huq to support the mujahideen with refuge, bases, and training in Pakistan, Riedel writes. 'The US and Saudi Arabia would jointly fund the insurgency. The Pakistani intelligence service, the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), would be the patrons of the mujahideen; the CIA and the Saudi intelligence service would be the financiers and quarter masters of the war. No CIA officer ever was deployed in Cold War Afghanistan. Our British counterparts, MI6, did send officers into Afghanistan to deliver select weapons and training. "The ISI did all the rest; it was Zia's war. The ISI trained and occasionally led the mujahideen in battle, even striking into Soviet Central Asia," Riedel writes. The Russians supported Pakistani dissidents who organised terror attacks inside the country, including hijacking Pakistani civilian aircraft and attempts to assassinate Zia (who died in a suspicious plane crash in 1988), Riedel said. Pakistani fighters engaged Soviet aircraft in dogfights. The Pakistani tribal border areas became dangerous and unruly. A Kalashnikov culture emerged that still haunts Pakistan today, he added. For Washington and Riyadh, the operation was fairly inexpensive. The Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Turki al-Faisal, has written that the Saudis spent $2.7 billion supporting the Afghans; the CIA spent about the same. Saudi private sources led by then-governor of Riyadh province, now King Salman, raised another $4 billion for the rebels. Saudi citizens, including Osama bin Laden joined the mujahideen but very few actually engaged in combat, Riedel wrote. The Afghan people paid a horrible cost for the war. at least a million Afghans died, five million became refugees in Pakistan and Iran, and millions more were displaced in their own country. But they won. The Soviets never sent enough soldiers to defeat the insurgents and could not recruit enough Afghans to fight with them. The Pakistanis were not intimidated by the Russians. The Afghan people fought for their independence, Riedel said. (Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in) Seoul, Feb 25 : South Korea is preparing to evacuate 36 of its 64 nationals who are still in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said on Friday. "For the 36 of them who wish to leave the country, we are making full preparations to evacuate them this week," Chung said during a meeting of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, Yonhap news agency reported. Chung added that evacuation efforts have been complicated by airport closures and congestion on roads, but the South Korean Embassy personnel plan to resume the operations soon. He also said the government will join the international community's economic sanctions campaign against Russia, including through export controls on strategic materials. In response to Democratic Party Representative Lee Sang-min's skepticism about whether the US can be trusted for South Korea's national security, given its response to the Ukraine crisis, Chung rejected any comparison between South Korea and Ukraine. "The South Korea-US alliance is not only the foundation of our foreign affairs and national security, our own defence capabilities are at a considerable level unlike Ukraine, so the people need not worry even a bit in light of the US response to the situation in Ukraine," he said. When asked about the possibility of US military operations in Ukraine and South Korea's participation in them, Chung said no such plans are under consideration either here or among the relevant nations. Bhubaneswar, Feb 25 : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday morning spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over telephone on the evacuation of stranded people from Odisha in Ukraine. Patnaik requested Shah for safe evacuation of the stranded students and labourers from the war-torn Ukraine, Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement. The Home Minister has assured Patnaik that the government of India is in touch with the Ukraine government and working to bring back students and labourers from Ukraine at the earliest, it said. A lot of students and labourers from Odisha are stuck in Ukraine. Most of the stranded students are pursuing medical courses there. The students and their parents have been requesting both the State government and the Centre for the safe return of their children. Los Angeles, Feb 25 : Leo Award winner Darren Mann, who broke out with 2018 drama 'Giant Little Ones', has joined the cast of the neo-noir thriller 'The Minute You Wake Up Dead', where he will be seen in the company of Morgan Freeman, Cole Hauser and Jamie Alexander. As per 'Variety', the film, with screenplay by Timothy Holland, traces the journey of a stockbroker in a small town who gets involved in an insurance scam with a next-door neighbour, an association that leads to multiple murders. Milestone Studios is handling production finance and sales. Mann's upcoming credits include the final season of TNT's 'Animal Kingdom' and the indie project 'Breakwater'. In the latter, he'll star opposite Dermot Mulroney and Mena Suvari in a story of a young ex-con who risks his newfound freedom to track down the estranged daughter of a fellow inmate, unknowingly bringing her past straight to her doorstep. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Indian Defence Ministry will come up with a third list of defence items banned for import very soon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday stressing upon self reliant in the sector. "A total 70 per cent has been allocated for domestic defence industry this budget," said Prime Minister while addressing a post budget webinar titled 'Aatmnirbharta in Defence - Call to Action' on the announcements made in the budget. The webinar was organised by the Ministry of Defence. Prime Minister Modi recalled that India's defence manufacturing was quite strong even during the period of slavery and in the immediate aftermath of independence. Indian made weapons played a major role during the Second World War. "Though, in the later years, this prowess of ours declined, still it shows that there has been no dearth of capabilities, neither then nor now", he said. Underscoring the importance of customisation and uniqueness of the defence system for a surprise element over the adversaries, PM Modi said: "Uniqueness and surprise elements can only happen when the equipment is developed in your own country." This year's budget, the Prime Minister mentioned, has a blueprint for developing a vibrant ecosystem from research, design and development to manufacturing within the country. About 70 per cent of the defence budget has been kept for domestic industry only, he added. The defence Ministry has, so far, released Positive Indigenisation Lists of more than 200 defence Platforms and Equipment. After this announcement, the Prime Minister informed that contract worth Rs 54,000 crore have been signed for domestic procurement. Apart from this, the procurement process of more than Rs 4.5 lakh crore worth of equipment is at various stages. Third list is expected soon, he said. The Prime Minister lamented the long-drawn process of weapon procurement which often results in a scenario where weapons outdated by the time they are commissioned. "Solution for this lies is in Aatmnirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives", he emphasised. The Prime Minister lauded the armed forces for taking decisions while keeping the importance of Aatmnirbharta in mind. The Prime Minister stressed the need to keep the pride and feelings of the jawans in the matters of weapons and equipment. "This is possible only when we are Aatmnirbhar in these areas," he said. He noted that cyber security is no longer confined to the digital world but has become a subject of national security. "The more we deploy our formidable IT power in the defence sector, the more confident we will be regarding our security", he said. Noting the competition among the defence manufacturers for contracts, the Prime Minister said it often led to money-focus and corruption. A lot of confusion was created with regard to quality and desirability of weapons. Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan tackles this problem also, he said. He lauded the ordnance factories for being a shining example of progress with determination. The Prime Minister expressed happiness that seven new defence undertaking that were incorporated last year are rapidly expanding their business and reaching new markets. "We have increased defence exports six times in the last 5-6 years. Today, we are providing Made in India Defence equipment and services to more than 75 countries", the Prime Minister added. As a result of the government's encouragement to 'Make in India', the Prime Minister said that more than 350 new industrial licenses have been issued for defence manufacturing in the last seven years. Whereas in the fourteen years from 2001 to 2014, only 200 licenses were issued. The Prime Minister also said that the private sector should also come on a par with DRDO and defence PSUs, hence 25 per cent of defence R&D budget has been kept for Industry, start-ups and academia. Special Purpose Vehicle model has also been arranged in the budget. "This will establish the role of the private industry as a partner beyond just a vendor or supplier", he said. Transparent, time-bound, pragmatic and fair systems of trial, testing and certification are essential to the growth of a vibrant defence industry, Modi noted. For this, an independent system can prove useful in solving problems, he added. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Super Cassettes Industries Pvt Ltd (SCIPL) has filed a suit in Delhi High Court seeking a permanent injunction against Tata Motors Limited (TML) from using the marks 'Ultra T.Series' or 'Ultra Sleek T-Series Range' in Tata Motors Range of Trucks. In the plea, SCIPL has claimed that the mark 'T-Series' is a registered mark of SCIPL under Class 12 since October 13, 1989. It has been alleged that the second week of March 2021 it came to know that TML has launched a product under the impugned mark 'T-Series'/'T.Series' which is identical to SCIPL's mark 'T-Series.' TML launched the video for the product 'Ultra Sleek T-Series range' on Youtube which has more than 2,32,800 views. The launch of the product is promoted under the mark T-Series and is widely reported on various news platforms, it said. The matter was listed on Friday before the bench of Justice Amit Bansal, wherein Tata Motors Ltd. was represented by Senior Advocate Sanjeev Sindwani along with a team of advocates from Karanjawala & Co. It was contended on behalf of TML that the present case is misplaced as there has in fact been no trademark infringement or passing off as alleged in the plaint. It was submitted on behalf of Tata Motors Ltd. that in March 2021 a new range of smaller cabins on TATA Ultra were introduced which included a series of vehicles and its variants including T.6, T.7, T.9. The launch included a series of vehicles across Ultra range i.e. T.6 Cab, T.6 High Deck load body, T.6 Half Side load body, T.7 Cab, T.7 High Deck load body, T.7 Half Side load body, T.9 Cab, T.9 High Deck load body, T.9 Half Side load body. The vehicles were registered with ARAI also as T.6, T.7, T.9 . This series of vehicles signifying a cluster and that 'series' was used as a descriptive word. It was submitted that in the automobile industry the term 'series' is used as a descriptive word signifying a cluster of vehicles. Other automobile giants like Audi, BMW, Scania also use the term 'series' to launch a line of new vehicles. It was submitted by way of illustration that BMW has 7 series, Audi has Q series. In view of the submissions advanced, the Court was of the view that the matter can be resolved amicably since it pertained to two well-known and reputed companies. In view of the same, the matter was adjourned for four weeks so as to enable the parties to amicably resolve the issue. Yaounde, Feb 25 : At least three people died after terror group Boko Haram raided a locality in Cameroon's Far North region overnight into Thursday, according to local and security sources. Militants of the group raided Ziler locality of the region, killing a blacksmith, a mason and a septuagenarian, Xinhua news agency reported. "The terrorists also kidnapped a member of local vigilante group and torched many houses and looted," a military official told Xinhua. The army has deployed troops to the localities to reinforce security. Boko Haram has multiplied attacks on the civilian population in the region since January, according to security reports. Seoul, Feb 25 : President Moon Jae-in on Friday instructed his aides to take pre-emptive measures to ensure the safety of South Koreans and minimise the economic impact in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moon ordered his aides to check the situation in Ukraine and respond pre-emptively through a government task force to deal with the Ukrainian crisis, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said, Yonhap news agency reported. Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered the biggest security crisis in Europe since the Cold War, drawing global condemnation and tougher sanctions from the US and other Western nations. Moon said South Korea will join economic sanctions against Russia. Seoul, Feb 25 : Senior diplomats of South Korea and the US highlighted their shared will for a "unified" response over Russia's invasion of Ukraine during their phone talks on Friday, the foreign ministry here said. First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun and his US counterpart, Wendy Sherman, condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine and reaffirmed their "unwavering support" for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the ministry said in a press release, Yonhap news agency reported. Choi said that Seoul, as a responsible member of the international community, will join economic sanctions against Russia and other efforts for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis, the ministry said. In a separate release, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that Sherman stressed Russia's "premeditated war" is "a needless act of aggression" against Ukraine and reiterated the importance of responding in "a united and decisive way" to hold the Kremlin accountable for its actions. On Thursday, Washington announced sweeping export restrictions against Moscow which could affect South Korea's exports of high-tech items such as semiconductor and electronic parts to Russia. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Lucknow, Feb 25 : The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has demanded action against Jamait Ulama-e-Hind (JuH) for standing in favour of terrorists. The JuH president Arshad Madani had announced support for those convicted in Ahmedabad blasts and had said that his organisation would provide legal help to them. VHP spokesman Vinod Bansal said that the court verdict in Ahmedabad blasts was historic since the court has handed death sentence to 38 people and life term to 11. Eight terrorists are still absconding. The accused had triggered 22 blasts in Ahmedabad on July 26,2008 in which 56 persons had lost their lives and 200 were injured. Blasts were triggered even in a hospital. He lauded the police for busting the entire network of terrorists without having any eyewitness. He said that the links of terrorists extended to Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. "The investigating team and even the judge faced death threats during the case. The JuH supporting such elements indicates its direct involvement in divisive activities and attempts to harm the nation. "Such an outfit should face action," he added. The VHP leader further cited the example of Sri Lanka where lawyers had refused to take up the case of terrorists. The Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) has also expressed concern over the decision of JuH. The Manch said that this was the verdict of the court and not of any political party. Manch spokesman Shahid Siddiqui said that the court did not practice appeasement policies and based its verdict on evidences. "Those who had taken so many lives, deserve the strictest punishment," he said. Gurugram, Feb 25 : Narnaul deputy jail superintendent Kuldeep Hooda allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance at his relative's house in Makdaula village of Gurugram, the police said on Friday. Preliminary investigation revealed that Hooda was facing graft charges. While two jail wardens were arrested in connection with accepting a Rs 1 lakh bribe from gangster Vikram alias Papla Gujjar in Narnaul jail, Hooda and Anil Kumar Jangra have been absconding since then. Jangra and Hooda had filed an anticipatory bail application in the Narnaul Court, which was rejected. They again filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which was rejected on Thursday. Hooda might have taken the extreme step as he was disheartened by the High Court rejecting his bail plea, a police official said requesting anonymity. Hooda was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead during treatment. Hooda, a native of Polangi in Rohtak, was residing in Sonipat. However, his family alleged that Hooda was framed in a false case and demanded action against the "guilty" officials of the police department. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Supreme Court on Friday refused to order an SIT probe into the Tripura violence last year, and asked the petitioner to move the Tripura High Court, which is hearing a related matter. A bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Surya Kant asked the high court to dispose of the plea expeditiously. Justice Chandrachud said since the matter is already being heard by the high court, which took suo motu, then the petitioner can raise his contentions over there. The bench told advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing advocate Ehtesham Hashmi, that his client can raise the issues there and the high court will not only hear the matters before it, but also the issues raised by the petitioner. Bhushan urged the bench to direct the high court to decide issues raised by the petitioner expeditiously. The top court also allowed the petitioner to make a request to the high court to allow him appear through video conferencing and asked the authorities not to take coercive action, if he were to attend the physical hearing over there. Bhushan argued that there was serious communal violence, where mosques were burnt. "We prayed for an independent probe in violence," said Bhushan. He added that the chief minister is still in denial and he is also denying all communal violence and says no mosque has been burnt. Justice Chandrachud said: "If the Chief Justice of state High Court is already hearing after taking suo motu cognisance, we should not intervene at this juncture, as it will amount to expression of no-confidence in high court". Bhushan said the high court is only looking into prayers for compensation and his client is seeking an impartial SIT probe. He also mentioned his client's apprehensions regarding coercive action by the authorities. The bench replied that the court will protect his client. On November 29 last year, the top court issued notice on a plea seeking independent SIT probe into the communal violence in Tripura. The plea had arrayed Centre, DGP Tripura, and the Tripura government as respondents. The plea claimed that between October 13 and October 27, last year, hate crimes were perpetrated in Tripura by organised mobs. "Included damage to mosques, burning of business establishments owned by Muslims, organising rallies shouting Islamophobic and genocidal hate slogans and delivering hate speeches targeting Muslims in various parts of Tripura", said the plea. Seoul, Feb 25 : Britain's top envoy here has made an emphatic call for South Korea and other partner countries to "collectively raise the cost" for Russia's "unacceptable" invasion of Ukraine this week, welcoming Seoul's decision to join anti-Moscow sanctions. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Thursday, Ambassador Colin Crooks commented on Russia's multi-pronged attack on the pro-West neighbour, lambasting it as "terrible acts." "We have to show President (Vladimir) Putin and his regime that these activities are completely unacceptable," Crooks said in his first media interview since his arrival here earlier this month for the ambassadorship, Yonhap news agency reported. "We have to collectively raise the cost Russia has to pay," he added, portraying the current conflict as a "very dangerous and sad moment" for the world. Britain has closely been consulting with several other nations, including South Korea, to coordinate joint responses and sanctions against Russia, according to the ambassador. "We are working with all of our partners around the world, freedom-loving countries like Korea, to uphold the rights of Ukraine like any other country," he said. His remarks came after Seoul announced a plan to join international sanctions against Russia. Fluent in Korean, Crooks is the first British ambassador who served in both Koreas, which are still technically at war. The 1950-53 Korean War ended only with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Crooks is known for his regular Twitter posts about life in one of the world's most secretive states during his stint in Pyongyang from December 2018 to May 2020. He is the last British national to set foot in the North as it imposed stringent border controls due to Covid-19. The diplomat now looks forward to playing a role in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula by sharing his experience of growing up in Northern Ireland, which suffered an ethno-nationalist conflict from the late 1960s to 1998. "The situation in North Korea is obviously very different, but there are some points that I think are the same," he said. "There is a need for dialogue, a need for tolerance, a need for negotiation." Touching on his time in Pyongyang, Crooks recounted his encounters with North Koreans yearning for a "brighter future around the corner" following a whirlwind of summit diplomacy surrounding the two Koreas, the United States and China in 2018. That hope, however, faded after the Hanoi summit between former US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un collapsed without a deal in February 2019, he said. "I think that the North Korean regime missed a huge opportunity at Hanoi. They had an opportunity there to do a deal which would have guaranteed their security and their prosperity," he said. "Instead, they mishandled the Hanoi summit." Despite Pyongyang's reluctance to re-engage since then, Crooks said Seoul should leave open the door for dialogue and Britain is ready to leverage its diplomatic capacity to play a bridging role between the two Koreas. But in the meantime, international sanctions on the North should be in place as part of engagement efforts toward the ultimate goal of the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, he said. "Sanctions are a part of the negotiation and part of the discussion. And this all has to do with a framework of denuclearisation," he said. "I can't see that the lifting of sanctions right now would help." Crooks expressed concern over human rights in North Korea due to pandemic-driven restrictions that have aggravated its already weak economy. The envoy wanted to see the North cooperate with the UN to receive Covid vaccines and address challenges in medical infrastructure to vaccinate its people and get ready for reopening its economy. "Their tight border closure has come at a very heavy cost to North Korean people and their economy," he said. "I worry about the humanitarian situation in North Korea." Peace efforts aside, Crooks looks forward to contributing to deepening economic relations between South Korea and Britain given South Korea was among the first countries to sign a new free trade deal with Britain following London's exit from the European Union in 2020. The ambassador said he wants the two countries to further expand trade and investment in various areas, including digital technology, green growth, offshore wind power and service sectors. Having served in the Korean embassy in the late 1990s, Crooks was impressed by South Korea's transformation to a "more confident" country with a vibrant economy, advanced technologies and popular culture loved by the world. During his service here, the ambassador wants to contribute to improving the two countries' people-to-people ties through his active public diplomacy, and Twitter will be intrinsic to that endeavour, he said. "Coming back to South Korea was my long-held dream," a smiling Crooks said in fluent Korean. "It's my second home." Chennai, Feb 25 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin on Friday expressed grief over the death of four persons in an explosion at a fireworks manufacturing unit. The Chief Minister has announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh to the families of each of the persons killed in the blast at Thuraiyoor in Thoothukudi district. The amount would be disbursed from the account of the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund, said a statement. Those killed in the explosion on Thursday were identified as Kannan, 48; Ramar, 42; Jayaraj 47, and Thangavel, 43. The four were killed on the spot after a wall collapsed following the blast. The blast occurred at the Century Fireworks on Kovilpatti- Pasuvanthani road. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Social audio platform Clubhouse is introducing an in-room chat feature that will allow users -- from the mods to the listeners in the audience -- to communicate with each other via text during a live room. For creators, in-room chat feature, on iOS and Android platforms, will offer another touchpoint with audiences in a room and provide a way to get feedback in real time. "We hope that this will make conducting quick polls or sourcing questions from the audience that much easier, and bring engagement to the next level," the company said in a blogpost. The company said that creators will always have full control over in-room chat. They can decide if chats are enabled when they start a room via the room composer. Creators also can delete any message during the live rooms or after a room ends and turn off in- room chat at any time during the room. "If you have sent a message and want to delete it, you can delete your own messages during the live room or after a room ends," the company said. If someone violates the guidelines in chat they can report them directly from the chat. Long press on their name and hit report. You can also long press to block them. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The increased adoption of cryptocurrencies is helping Russian President Vladimir Putin evade the first wave of financial sanctions from the West and the country may legalise cryptocurrencies in order to sustain and virtually avoid all the sanctions as it invades Ukraine, the media reported. US President Joe Biden has announced new sanctions and limitations on what can be exported to Russia. The US will block five of the biggest Russian banks and freeze all assets they hold in America, worth over $1 trillion. Earlier, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled Britain's largest-ever package of sanctions against Russia, targeting banks and wealthy Russians. However, those measures are becoming increasingly easy to evade, thanks in part to a surge of cryptocurrency adoption in Russia, reports CNN. "If the Russians decide -- and they're already doing this, I'm sure --to avoid using any currency other than cryptocurrency, they can effectively avoid virtually all of the sanctions," Ross S. Delston, an expert on anti-money laundering compliance, was quoted as saying in the report. Bitcoin surged to $39,000 in a quick rally following Biden's sanctions after dipping below $35,000 on Thursday when Putin declared war on Ukraine. According to The New York Times, Russia is legalising cryptocurrency to circumvent US sanctions. Otherwise, the country will not survive the growing sanctions pressure from Western countries. Alex Kuptsikevich, the FxPro senior market analyst, said that after reaching the lows for the month, the first cryptocurrency received support from buyers, as was the case at the end of January. "Of course, the growth dynamics were relatively modest, which indicates the caution of buyers. It is likely that these are long-term holders rather than short-term speculators, as markets generally remain wary," he said in a statement. Interestingly, buying during the decline has become a key outline of the American session. After more than a 3 per cent fall, US stock indices not only bounced back but also managed to show growth at the end of the day. "This stimulated Bitcoin to strengthen. A short-term surge of bullish sentiment could end quickly if risky assets resume their decline again. If the situation in Ukraine escalates even more, Bitcoin may fall below $30,000 as investors leave for defensive assets," Kuptsikevich noted. The total capitalisation of the crypto market, according to CoinMarketCap, has increased by 9.6 per cent per day to $1.72 trillion. The Bitcoin dominance index rose 0.3 points to 42.6 per cent. Lucknow, Feb 25 : As the elections in Uttar Pradesh move towards the last three phases, it is now the prestige of OBC leaders in all parties that is at stake. Almost all parties have put OBC leaders at the helm of their campaigns and the last three phases will test their popularity. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has been playing an important role in the BJP campaign. He has been vigorously campaigning for his party candidates, flitting from one constituency to another. Maurya is contesting from his Sirathu seat in Kaushambi district and is pitted against Pallavi Patel of Samajwadi Party. Pallavi is a first-time contestant but is confident that the caste arithmetic of the constituency will take her to the victory stand. Though Keshav Maurya has got Anupriya Patel - who is Pallavi Patel's estranged sister - to campaign against her but Maurya is facing voters' resentment in his constituency. "Since he became deputy chief minister and a member of the Vidhan Parishad, he has not looked after the constituency. Now that he is contesting, he is back seeking votes," said Arvind Patel, a local resident. Another prominent leader whose fate depends on the coming phases is Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president and MLA Om Prakash Rajbhar. Rajbhar is contesting from Zahoorabad constituency in Ghazipur. The BJP has pitted another Rajbhar - Kalicharan Rajbhar - who will cut into the SBSP president's base vote of the community. However, Rajbhar is facing the biggest challenge from BSP that has fielded a rebel SP candidate Shadab Fatima. A former MLA, Shadab Fatima, is popular in the constituency and is confident of wresting the seat this time. Om Prakash Rajbhar prides himself as the architect of the SP-led alliance since he was among the first to break ties with the BJP in UP. His claims of defeating the BJP in UP may come a cropper if he does not do well on his seat. Union minister Anupriya Patel also faces a test in the next phases of election for her party Apna Dal which has, so far, seen a high success rate in election. The Apna Dal is a Kurmi-centric party that was funded by Dr Sonelal Patel, Anupriya's father. Though Anupriya is not contesting the election, her party candidates are reportedly feeling the heat of anti-incumbency in their constituencies. Anupriya is campaigning vigorously for her party and hopes to overcome the hurdles to maintain her success rate which will also decide her future. For Sanjay Nishad, president of the Nishad Party, these elections are a make-or-break affair. He is testing waters in the election for his party in alliance with the BJP and his performance will decided the future of his relationship with the party. The Nishad community has been demanding reservation in the scheduled caste category and Sanjay Nishad, despite promises, has failed to convince the BJP to announce the same. If his party fares poorly in the elections, it could mean rough weather for his relationship with the BJP in the long term. For the former BJP minister Swami Prasad Maurya, his election this time, is crucial for his political future. Maurya, who quit the BJP to join SP last month, has shifted to a new constituency Fazilnagar in Kushinagar district. He is contesting on a SP ticket while the BJP has fielded Surendra Kushwaha. Maurya is facing a tough challenge from the BJP that is keen to defeat Maurya and avenge his 'betrayal'. Another OBC leader in the fray is Krishna Patel, who heads the breakaway faction of the Apna Dal. She is contesting from Pratapgarh as an alliance candidate of Samajwadi Party and her faction of Apna Dal(K). Anupriya Patel has decided not to let her party contest against her estranged mother which makes it easier for Krishna Patel since the BJP had given the seat to Anupriya Patel. However, whether Krishna Patel can make an impact on adjoining seats, remains to be seen. The OBC leadership in the Congress will also be put to test in the coming phases with UPCC president Ajay Kumar Lallu contesting the Tamkuhiraj Assembly seat in Kushinagar. Lallu is facing challenge from SP and BJP and a faction within his own party. The result of his election will also decide his future as UPCC president in the Congress. Seoul, Feb 25 : South Korea will join international sanctions against Russia, but is not considering imposing unilateral sanctions on its own, a senior official at the presidential office said on Friday. Park Soo-hyun, senior secretary for public communication, made the remark a day after President Moon Jae-in expressed regret over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and said South Korea will participate in international sanctions, Yonhap news agency reported. "It's not an era where we can do something independently," Park said on TBS radio, elaborating on the president's remarks. "It means that if the US and European countries impose sanctions on Russia, we will naturally join them because we are connected." The foreign ministry has indicated that Seoul may join international sanctions, including export curbs, on Russia. The ministry said it has been in consultations with the US and other nations to prepare details of the export control packages. South Korea is a major producer of semiconductors, electronics and other high-tech materials. Park also said that 64 Korean nationals currently remain in Ukraine and 36 of them expressed their willingness to leave the country, and the South Korean embassy in Ukraine will continue to make utmost efforts to ensure the safety of Korean nationals.' New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Covid-19 pandemic has rendered nearly 19 lakh children in India without a parent or caregiver -- the highest in the South-East Asia region, according to new figures published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal on Friday. But, media reports claim that the Indian government figures refute these figures and as per the Ministry of Women and Child development's Baal Swaraj - Covid care portal, the number is 1.5 lakh. Globally, the number has surged to more than 5.2 million, revealed the study. Calculations of estimated orphanhood cases per capita showed the highest rates were in Peru and South Africa, with 8 and 7 out of every 1,000 children affected, respectively. "We estimate that for every person reported to have died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, one child is left orphaned or loses a caregiver. That is the equivalent of one child every six seconds facing a heightened risk of lifelong adversity unless given appropriate support in time," said lead author Dr Susan Hillis, from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Before the Covid pandemic, there were an estimated 140 million orphaned children worldwide. And in July 2021, the first estimate of Covid's impact on orphanhood was 1.5 million children between March 2020 and April 2021. The new study increased this estimate to more than 2.7 million children for the same time period, by re-calculating the figures from updated Covid-19 death figures along with excess mortality data to account for indirect deaths associated with the pandemic (July 2021 estimates: 1,562,000 children vs latest estimates: 2,737,300 children), the findings revealed. Yet, these may not be the real numbers. According to Dr Juliette Unwin, lead author from Imperial College London (UK), the real estimates are likely to be 10 times higher than what is currently being reported. "Sadly, as high as our estimates of orphanhood and caregiver deaths are, they are likely to be underestimated, and we expect these numbers to grow as more global data on Covid-19 deaths becomes available," Unwin said. "Real-time updated data suggests the true totals reached 6.7 million children as of January 2022. While our current study looked at estimates through October 2021, the pandemic is still raging worldwide, which means Covid-19 related orphanhood will also continue to surge," she noted. The global study suggests that two out of three children orphaned from Covid are adolescents aged 10 to 17 years. Further, in line with evidence that Covid deaths disproportionately affected men, three out of four children worldwide lost their father. Overall, children who experience the loss of a caregiver have an increased risk of poverty, exploitation and sexual violence or abuse, HIV infection, mental health challenges and severe distress, and in some contexts, increased vulnerability to gang involvement and violent extremism. The researchers call for evidence-based programmes for children experiencing orphanhood to be urgently incorporated into pandemic response efforts, including programs that support economic strengthening, enhanced community and family support, and programs that avoid placing children in institutional care. Seoul, Feb 25 : Ukraine's ambassador to Seoul called Friday for South Korea and other partners to stand united in sanctioning and isolating Russia for its invasion of his country, saying the "future of the world order" is at stake in the armed conflict. Ambassador Dmytro Ponomarenko used a press conference in Seoul to drum up support for his country, including military and financial aid, not to mention solidarity in imposing "massive, coordinated" sanctions against Moscow, Yonhap news agency reported. "We urge the international community to show solidarity with Ukraine by imposing immediately the massive coordinated sanctions against Russia and isolating Russia in all possible international fora," he said. The ambassador put the conflict in Ukraine in a broader geopolitical context, trying to hammer home the need for South Korea and other countries to throw their support behind his country. "Now we are defending not only the lives and security of Ukrainian citizens, but also security of citizens of the entire Europe and the future of the world order," the ambassador said. Ponomarenko expressed appreciation to South Korean President Moon Jae-in's outspoken support for Ukraine's sovereignty and his government's pledge to join international sanctions against Russia. Though Ukraine has not yet asked for foreign troops on its soil, its military and people are in urgent need of military assistance, including weapons, protective equipment, fuel and whatever necessary to "counter the biggest army in the continent," he said. "We would also be grateful if the Republic of Korea, being a highly developed, hi-tech country, gave us a hand in strengthening our cyber-security capabilities," he said, referring to South Korea's official name. The envoy said the worst case scenario for Ukraine will be having a Kremlin-backed "puppet government" and that his country wants to be part of NATO, which is included in its Constitution, to prevent such a case. On Friday, foreign embassies in South Korea posted messages on social media to draw support for Ukraine's sovereignty. Christopher Del Corso, the U.S. embassy's charge d'affaires ad interim, posted a photo of his meeting with Ponomarenko at the Ukrainian embassy in his Twitter message under the hashtag #StandwithUkraine. Maria Castillo, the EU ambassador to South Korea, also met Ponomarenko along with other EU ambassadors and posted a photo of them holding the Ukrainian and EU flags together to express their resolution to stand by Ukraine. The British embassy in Seoul said it hung the Ukrainian flag in a show of "solidarity with our Ukrainian friends," with a Twitter message that read: "The #UK stands with the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia's unprovoked attack on freedom and democracy." Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday decided to lift all Covid-related restrictions in the national capital, including the night curfew and 50 per cent capacity rule at restaurants and bars from Monday. As per the new DDMA guidelines, all online classes will be discontinued from April 1 in the city in view of the declining Covid trends. Schools have to do away with the hybrid mode from April 1. All restrictions are likely to be lifted from April 1. The decision was taken in a DDMA meet chaired by Lt Governor Anil Baijal, and attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. "DDMA withdraws all restrictions as situation improves n people facing hardships due to loss of jobs. Schools to function fully offline from 1 Apr. Fines for not wearing masks reduced to Rs 500. All shud continue following Covid Appropriate Behaviour. Govt will keep strict watch", said Kejriwal in a tweet. The fine for not wearing the face mask has also been reduced to Rs 500 in the city. However, all these restrictions are subject to Covid positivity rate remaining below 1 per cent. The government will continue to keep watch on the Covid appropriate behaviour and surveillance on testing and vaccination. Chennai, Feb 25 : An unidentified fan of matinee idol and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu late M. G. Ramachandran has sent a threat postcard to the All India Radio station, Coimbatore for not airing the actor's songs on his 105th birthday. The birth anniversary of the late actor-politician was celebrated on January 17. The officials received the postcard on Thursday and lodged a complaint with the Ramanathapuram police. The AIR station aired actor Rajnikanth's movie songs on his birthday but failed to do so on the birthday of MGR, the postcard read. The unidentified person, according to Ramanathapuram police, also threatened that a petrol bomb would be hurled at the AIR station. After the AIR staff lodged a formal complaint, the Ramanathapuram police took possession of the postcard and deployed two policemen at the radio station. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Slamming the Union government over the foreign policy "failures" amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the Congress accused the Centre of making one strategic blunder after another and betraying the nation. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday posted on Twitter: "The Modi govt's foreign policy failures have ensured that our adversaries are successfully weaning away our friends. Beijing Janata Party (BJP) govt has committed one strategic blunder after another. They have betrayed the nation." Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the government, saying, "This government's strategic mistakes will prove to be very costly." Both the leaders were reacting to reports that Russia and Pakistan have come closer. Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said: "Looking at the sudden expansion of Russian troops in Ukraine, the BJP government can no longer avoid the debate on China inside Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must discuss the Indo-China border conflict in the Parliament with different political parties and state his position." Prime Minister Modi chaired the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Thursday evening as the crisis between Russia and Ukraine intensified into conflict. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar attended the meeting. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, P.K. Mishra and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were also present in the meeting. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War New Delhi, Feb 25 : An active member of Mewat based interstate robbers gang, wanted in a case of attack on police in 2021, has been arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. DCP of Special Cell, Jasmit Singh, said on Friday that Yunus was wanted in a sensational case of attack on police in four PCR vans while being chased by them. Recently, one of his aides was held by the Cell. The official said on Friday that one semi-automatic pistol of .32 bore with two live cartridges were recovered from him. Inspector Ishwar Singh and ACP Attar Singh and got the tip-off regarding the accused. A team was then formed to nab him. "Following the tip-off we laid a trap in Malviya Nagar area. He was held near Shivaji Park Press Enclave road on Thursday night. He tried to flee by opening fire at the police team but was overpowered," said the police official. He has been involved in nine criminal cases in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. Yunus, wanted in a fresh case of assault on police and attempt to murder in Delhi, had been absconding after getting bail in all above pending trial cases. New Delhi, Feb 25 : It appears the Russians almost pulled off a plan to seize an airport on the first day of the invasion of Ukraine when 20 attack helicopters landed a crack team of troops at Antonov Airport, 15 miles to the north of Kiev, Daily Mail reported. But Ukrainian national guard units managed to retake the landing strip overnight after heavy fighting, scattering the surviving Russian attackers into the surrounding countryside, the report said. A Russian attack on the capital would likely be coordinated with a push by troops on southern and eastern fronts - Crimea and Donbass - aimed at pinning down Ukrainian armed forces so they cannot retreat and reinforce the city, officials told author Michael Weiss. It may also be accompanied by bombing raids and sabotage attacks on power grids and infrastructure to sow panic and force people to flee, snarling up roads and making it difficult for forces already in Kiev to move around, Daily Mail reported. The plan appeared to be underway in the early hours, as explosions sounded before dawn with the city under bombardment from what the Ukraine defence minister called 'horrific rocket strikes' not seen since 1941. Ukraine's armed forces claimed to have shot down a Russian jet over the outskirts of the city, with flaming wreckage seen falling from the sky, as Zelensky gave a national address, saying Russia has identified him as 'target number 1' of the invasion but he and his family were remaining in the city. He said invading Russian forces are targeting civilian areas, praising his countrymen for their 'heroism' and assuring them that the armed forces are doing 'everything possible' to protect them, Daily Mail reported. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Pakistan is actively pursuing the case of Sumaira - a Pakistani woman languishing in an Indian prison for nearly five years - with India, the Pak Foreign Office said, Dawn reported. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistan's High Commission in New Delhi were taking all possible steps to secure early release and repatriation of Sumaira and her four-year-old daughter, Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesman Asim Iftikhar told Dawn. He said the Foreign Office received the confirmation of her nationality from the Interior Ministry on Feb 17 and it was conveyed in writing to India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) the same day through Pakistan's High Commission in New Delhi. According to Pakistan's High Commission spokesman in New Delhi Jamil Baitu, the Pakistani mission followed up with the Indian side on the morning of February 18. Later in the afternoon, Charge d'Affaires Aftab Hasan Khan, along with the Counsellor concerned, visited MEA authorities in person and asked them to deal with the matter not as a normal case but as an urgent matter of humanitarian concern. According to reports, Sumaira, who used to live with her parents in Qatar, married Indian Muslim, Muhammad Shahab, who managed to take her to India without a visa. In 2017, she was arrested by the Indian police on the charges of entering the country illegally, Dawn reported. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Some 18,000 guns with ammunition have been distributed to reservists in the Kyiv region alone since the Russian invasion began early Thursday, according to Ukrainian authorities, CNN reported. In a joint statement, defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov and Valeriy Zaluzhniy, chief of staff for the Armed Forces, said there were more arms coming. "Soon we are to receive additional support with modern weapons and other resources from our partners," they said, CNN reported. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered a general military mobilisation. Zelensky said that "in order to ensure the defence of the state, maintaining combat and mobilisation readiness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations", a broad-based mobilisation was ordered, including in the capital, Kiev, and all Ukraine's major cities. This included a ban on all male citizens from 18- to 60-years-old leaving the country, according to the State Border Guard Service, CNN reported. The mobilisation also instructed the "conscription of conscripts, reservists for military service, their delivery to military units and institutions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine" and other state security services. New Delhi, Feb 25 : US intelligence has warned of a plan by Russia to seize an airport in Ukraine capital Kiev, fly in troops, and 'decapitate' the government, Daily Mail reported. Anton Herashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine's Interior Minister, said that Friday will be the war's 'hardest day' as Russia armour pushes down from Chernihiv - to the north-east of the capital - and Ivankiv - to the north-west - in an attempt to encircle Kiev, where President Volodymyr Zelensky is still holed up, the report said. Ukrainian forces blew up several bridges leading to the capital in the early hours to try and slow down the assault. The US warned tanks were fighting Ukrainian forces 20 miles from the city early Friday, before clashes were reported in a northern district just a few hours later. The fighting appeared to be taking place in Obolon, with the ministry of defence urging residents to make Molotov cocktails to hurl at Russian tanks. Russian forces were also reported in nearby Vorzel, Bucha, Irpen districts. Once Kiev is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport - likely Sikorsky or Boryspil - which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital, Daily Mail reported. The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime - effectively ending the war without Putin's ground forces needing to complete the difficult and bloody task of seizing and occupying the whole country, Daily Mail reported. Chennai, Feb 25 : With the Russian troops marching into Ukrainian capital Kiev, a Indian doctor from Kerala who has been living in the country since 1987, said that the situation is grave. Dr. U.P.R. Menon, a consultant with the Ministry of Health in Ukraine, and head of the Indian Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Association, is holed up inside a bunker beneath his home, and comes out occasionally. Married to a Ukrainian national, he told IANS that he is in the bunker with his wife and mother-in-law while his only son is in another part of the country. The Indian doctor said that casualties, currently, are not that high as the Ukrainian army has not engaged with the Russians in direct shelling and once that begins, the casualties and damages will increase. Dr. Menon said that on Thursday, shops were open but he did not visit any shop and occasionally, reaches his home as the bunker is situated below his home building. The doctor who is working with the Ukrainian government said that all borders except the Western border are under Russian siege, and evacuation is possible only through the Western border. He said that the Indian government will try and evacuate its citizens through the Western border. He said that the situation was very tough and a large number of people are holed up in bunkers and in many other areas of Ukraine, as heavy shelling is taking place. He also asked everyone to pray for Ukraine and when asked whether he hopes that the war would end soon, he said: "There is a saying in Russian, hope dies last." Mumbai, Feb 25 : 'No Time to Die' director Cary Joji Fukunaga and location manager Charlie Hayes recently shared the idea behind the film's locations and how the landscape of each place helps in telling the story with regard to the mood and tone of the movie and how locations are always a fundamental component of the James Bond films. The film boasts of breathtaking locales across five different geographic locations spread across Norway, Italy, London, Jamaica and Faroe Islands. Talking about the significance of the location of Norway, Cary Joji Fukunaga said, "I had been spending time in Norway and fell in love with the landscape there. And with the actor playing Mr. White (played by Jesper Christensen) being Danish, and Lea being French we decided we could make Madeleine Norwegian." Charlie further explained the overall process as they chose a commercial forest, just north of Oslo on a vast lake. "The house itself was actually built on the lake rather than alongside it because that worked best for the creative process. The existing structures that we found just weren't quite right in terms of the geography and the layout of the scene that Cary had in his mind." He then laid out the challenges that came the team's way during the course of filming, "But building the house on the lake brought its own set of challenges. The Norwegian team that we were working with were initially a little bit confused by this request. And then when we were filming, inevitably temperatures started to rise and we noticed that the ice was thinning beneath us. It was safe, of course, but it was a strange thought to get your head around", Charlie added. Sharing the thought behind zeroing down on Italy as the location, Fukunaga said, "Italy was the perfect setting," says Fukunaga, "because they drive off into the sunset at the end of Spectre and where else is as romantic as Italy? And the ancient town of Matera was just amazing; we had to shoot there." Moving further, Hayes revealed as to why London is a perennial location in the Bond films and its prominence in the recent instalment of the film franchise, "London has seen a lot of action in the past couple of films. In 'Skyfall' and in 'Spectre', there were large chases shot in and around London, which were really memorable." He further said, "Another important UK location was the Ministry of Defence land on Salisbury Plain where Chris Corbould and the special effects team carried out an enormous explosion to replicate the attack on Safin's lair. When looking for somewhere to film these particular moments, right at the top of the list is the military training estate on Salisbury Plain, which is an enormous 150 square mile area of military training land." Hayes then talks about Jamaica's importance in the film, "It is not just the cosmopolitan world as we know it but the incredible vibrancy of the natural world, the coral reefs of the ocean, the flowers and the fauna and the birds. Fleming loved the beauty of the world and we wanted that to feed into Bond's story in this film. "Going to Jamaica was always on the cards." The makers found a perfect landscape in the Faroe Islands to capture the exterior shots, "We filmed a series of plate shots which were stitched together to create Safin's lair. The geography is absolutely spectacular." "It has an enormous visual benefit for us in the film, although it was a difficult place to take a film crew. Numbers had to be strictly limited. We had to make sure that the people we took were supervised by mountain safety, and that we had enough rescue personnel to allow them to carry out their duties safely", Charlie concluded. 'No Time to Die' starring Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, LAa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz and Ralph Fiennes is set to arrive on Prime Video on March 4 in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. New Delhi, Feb 25 : A resolution calling to kick Russia off the U.N. Security Council for its invasion of Ukraine -- which has virtually no chance of being enforced -- is circulating among US Congress members from both parties, Axios reported. The development comes as a recessed Congress tries to assert its role in punishing Russia. Driving the news: The resolution is being led by Rep. Claudia Tenney, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in coordination with a House Democrat, according to Tenney's office. "It's obviously a tall effort to kick Russia off," Nick Stewart, Tenney's chief of staff, told Axios. "But, it's one diplomatic tool we have to up the pressure and increase the isolation." "It's in a sense a messaging bill, but it also empowers our diplomatic counterparts." The resolution, Axios reported calls for the U.N. to "take immediate procedural actions" to amend Article 23 of its charter to remove Russia as a permanent member of the Security Council. The resolution argues that Russia's invasion of Ukraine "poses a direct threat to international peace and security" and "run contrary to its responsibilities and obligations as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council." According to the U.N. charter, all permanent members of the Security Council have to sign off on any amendments, giving Russia the ability to block such a move, Axios reported. Russia's veto on the Security Council also would allow it to block any U.N. effort to condemn or intervene in its invasion of Ukraine. Causing further headaches to the West is that Russia's ambassador to the U.N., Vasily Nabenzya, is serving as the panel's rotating president this month. He was presiding over an emergency meeting of the council at the precise moment Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his invasion of Ukraine - triggering criticism of Russia's membership on the panel, Axios reported. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Mumbai, Feb 25 : As filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali celebrates his 59th birthday on Friday, his frequent collaborator Ranveer Singh spoke about how the director has shaped him as an artiste. The two have worked together on 'Ram Leela', 'Bajirao Mastani' and 'Padmaavat', all of which gained positive response from all quarters. The actor spoke about how the director rendered him with a new perspective on the craft of acting, "Mr. Bhansali is somebody who has shaped me as an artiste more than any other creative collaborator in my entire life. I used to approach acting a certain way - I used to think 'mujhe sab pata hai, I know everything' but Mr. Bhansali stripped down my constructs." "He broke me down and he made me into ash, so that I could rise from the ashes to be reborn as the artiste that I've grown into today. I'm indebted to him lifelong for that", he added. There has been an evolution of Ranveer's creative bandwidth ever since he has started working with Bhansali, commenting on the same Ranveer shared, "He really expanded my bandwidth as an artiste, my range and overhauled my understanding of the craft of acting. I'm grateful to him for everything that he has contributed towards shaping my craft. As a director he has these wild ideas about what to do in a scene, about the characters and about the choices." Revealing the key to their creative partnership, the actor said, "We work well together because I'm up to explore those wild ideas of his. We keep playing off each other and coming up with new ideas and different ways to do scenes, enact scenes differently, block it differently, stage it uniquely - he's basically just found somebody who's game for any wild idea that may strike him. He truly creates with freedom and that's what I love about him." New Delhi, Feb 25 : Meta-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram, in association with the Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC), on Friday launched a new edition of their youth programme -- the Counter Speech Fellowship. In its sixth year now, the programme will engage young people on topics that matter to them and encourage them to lead conversations about them online and will focus on four themes -- Gender Equality, Diversity, Bullying and Mental Wellbeing. "Instagram is a place where people express themselves creatively. The catalyst for such creativity is a positive environment and that's the reason why we are investing in the fellowship for the sixth year now," Natasha Jog, Public Policy Manager, Instagram, Facebook India, said in a statement. "Young people across India have been part of this fellowship and have gone on to create communities that voice youth opinions and advocate for societal change. We are thankful for the continued partnership with YLAC, and the ecosystem consisting of parents and young people, who invest their time and energy to make this fellowship a critical part of a young person's digital upbringing," Jog added. The Counter Speech Fellowship engages creative teenagers to use the power of visual storytelling to start meaningful conversations on issues that are important to young citizens around the world. The programme is built around the idea of using art for positive expression and advocacy, and is designed as an incubator for the future generation of leaders and activists. February 25 : As Gangubai Kathiawadi opened today in theatres amid positive response, its lead actor, Alia Bhatt, shared a set of photos on Instagram. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial hits the theatres as scheduled, after facing a lot of legal blockades. Adding to the hype, Alia had shared a bunch of pictures on her Instagram handle on Thursday, ahead of the release of her film. In one of the photos, she can be seen in the signature namaste pose of Gangubai. The actor can be seen in a white top and blue jeans. A moon-shaped silhouette can be seen in the backdrop. In one photo, the actor also showed her finger with a ring with the half moon engraved on it. Alia wrote, "One day to go" and added moon and heart emojis. While fans praised the film and Alias brilliant performance, celebs such as Vicky Kaushal, Javed Akhtar, Neetu Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh and others have also appreciated the film and Alias performance. Vicky wrote in an Instagram story, Absolutely shook by the sheer brilliance in this film. SLB sir you are a master! And @aliabhatt dont even know what to say about you Breathtakingly amazing as Gangu! Hats off. After watching the film, Javed Akhtar tweeted, I have never spared any superlative while praising Alia Bhatt as an actor but after watching Gangu bai I realised that actually I was making understatements . She is beyond any superlative . What a performance !!! Riteish Deshmukh tweeted, "Saw #GangubaiKathiawadi last night!!! Another magical experience.. #SanjayLeelaBhansali is an absolute master storyteller. Every frame in the film has perfection written all over it. @aliaa08 you are gold! You are a fantastic actor but you have outdone yourself as Gangubai." Meanwhile, Alia reacted to Kangana Ranaut's claim that Gangubai Kathiawadi will be a huge flop. In a recent interview, the video of which has gone viral, Alia gave a savage reply to Kanganas claim and said, "All these don't even reach my ears, my eyes never get engaged in all these". Gangubai Kathiawadi also garnered rave reviews from critics in foreign media after it was premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last week. While The Guardian called it a storytelling killer instinct," Cinemagicon called the film downright revolutionary. Moviepilots review reads as: Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali creates thrilling underworld drama that packs a punch. Gangubai Kathiawadi is based on a chapter from author S Hussain Zaidis book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. It is a biographical narration about Gangubai, played by Alia, who was a powerful as well as loved and respected madam of a brothel in Kamathipura during the 1960s. The films also stars Ajay Devgn, Vijay Raaz, Seema Pahwa and Shantanu Maheshwari. New Delhi, Feb 25 : With airspaces being shut over certain parts of Europe, especially eastern, amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the world's premier technology event 'Mobile World Congress 2022' (MWC 2022) in Barcelona, Spain, next week is in a tight spot and may barely sail through, industry experts said on Friday. The 'MWC 2022' is scheduled to begin -- with a mix of in-person and virtual events -- in Barcelona on February 28 and will end on March 3. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has said Ukraine's skies and airspace in Russia and Belarus within 100 nautical miles of borders with Ukraine could pose risks. UK flights to and over Russia have been banned by the country's civil aviation authority in retaliation for a British ban on Aeroflot in UK airports and airspace. Experts said the event may go on but a cautious approach is the need of the hour. "I do not think that the Russia-Ukraine war will have any impact on the MWC 2022, though it will limit the presence of startups from these countries as we know that both Ukraine and Russia have a strong technology startup ecosystem," Tarun Pathak, Director Counterpoint Research, told IANS. In 2020, MWC was forced into cancellation after the GSM Association, its organiser, banned travellers from coronavirus outbreak zones in China and many exhibitors pulled out and the tech show took place virtually in 2021. This year, till now, the largest mobile tech trade conference is scheduled to go on as planned, and the organisers were yet to issue any statement on if there are any changes to the itinerary. Faisal Kawoosa, founder and chief analyst of Techarc, said that the current scenario can spoil the event as people may reconsider their trip to Barcelona due to war. "I see this as an event spoiler. With the way things are panning out, many people will opt out from travelling to the event. Several attendees are closely watching the whole situation while reconsidering their trip to Barcelona next week," Kawoosa told IANS. "However, the show must go on if things do not go out of hand. We must have MWC this year," he added. The show is expected to have over 1,800 attendees and exhibitors from 183 different countries. Many of the industry's biggest names, like Google, Samsung, OPPO, Nokia, Ericsson and Meta (formerly Facebook), are expected to be present this year. (Vivek Singh Chauhan can be contacted at vivek.c@ians.in) Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Chandigarh, Feb 25 : Researchers have found that ayurveda drug BGR-34 can help lower the sugar level within 12 weeks as well as exert a powerful anti-oxidant action to prevent diabetic complications. Published in the latest edition of Serbian Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research on Sciendo scientific platform, the study by researchers from Chitkara University in Punjab suggests that the ayurvedic drug BGR-34 is more effective for the diabetes treatment, better in efficacy, reliability and affordability with little or no adverse effects. Led by researcher Ravinder Singh, the team had conducted Phase IV clinical trials for 12 weeks on 100 diabetic patients which were divided into two groups. Subjects from one of the groups were given allopathic drug, Sitagliptin while other group was given ayurveda drug, BGR-34 without informing them about the medicines, in the double blind study. Researchers investigated the drugs on various parameters which included HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin), RBS (random blood sugar), FBS (fasting blood sugar) and PPG (postprandial glucose) values. The ayurvedic drug showed promising results. The researchers found that glyclated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level in the diabetic patients who were given BGR-34 went down significantly from the baseline value 8.499 to 8.061 per cent in the fourth week, 6.56 per cent in eighth week and 6.27 per cent in 12th week. Similarly, RBS test revealed that before taking the herbal drug, the sugar level on an average which was 250mg/dl declined to 114mg/dl in the 12th week at the same time, FBS sharply went down to 74 from 176 in the same duration. Based on these results, it can be simply concluded that BGR-34 is effective in reducing high blood sugar levels and is more potent and efficacious in decreasing the glycemic levels possibly by modulating the insulin release and strengthening the I-cell functional capacity, says the study. Developed by the scientists from CSIR's labs -- the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), BGR-34 is being manufactured and marketed by AIMIL Pharmaceuticals. Sanchit Sharma, Executive Director of AIMIL Pharmaceuticals, attributed BGR-34 efficacy to the presence of herbs like Vijyasar, Dharuharida, Gilo and Manjistha, besides phyto-constituents from a few other medicinal plants which are well-known for their anti-diabetic properties. Bhubaneswar, Feb 25 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced his government will bear the expenses for bringing back students and workers of Odisha stranded in Ukraine. Patnaik has asked Development Commissioner-cum-Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P.K. Jena to co-ordinate the overall issue of bringing back citizens from Odisha. Besides, the Resident Commissioner in Delhi will coordinate with the government of India over this issue, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. The Chief Minister has also directed the district administration to collect information regarding students and workers in Ukraine and effectively coordinate with their family members at this hour of crisis. Earlier in the morning, the Chief Minister had spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the issue. A large number of citizens of Odisha, many of whom are students, are stranded in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Odisha government has set up a special cell in Delhi, and appointed a nodal officer for safe return of the citizens from Odisha. "To ensure the safe and early return of stranded citizens of Odisha in Ukraine, a Special Assistance Cell has been made functional in the office of the Resident Commissioner of Odisha, Odisha Bhawan, New Delhi, to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Civil Aviation and other concerned agencies," said the Home department in an order. Ravi Kant, Resident Commissioner, New Delhi has been designated as the nodal officer for the purpose. Those who need assistance from the nodal officer can contact on mobile phone/whatsapp - 8527580245, landline - 011-23012751, e-mail- re.odisha@gmail.com/rescm-or@nic.in, said the Home department. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari challenging the West Bengal Assembly Speaker order, who dismissed his petition seeking disqualification of Mukul Roy as an MLA. A bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai said: "After hearing counsel, we are of considered view that the petitioner can approach high court assailing the Speaker's order." In June last year, Roy, a former BJP national Vice President, had defected to the Trinamool Congress. In the same month, Adhikari filed the petition before the Speaker seeking Roy's disqualification. The bench queried senior advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan, representing Adhikari, which fundamental right of his client was violated. "What is the extraordinary in this, what fundamental rights involved?" it asked as Vaidyanathan contended the Speaker's decision was arbitrary. The bench said in September last year, the high court made some observations and they would be treated as prima facie. It added that parties can take all contentions available to them under law. On the aspect of Roy's tenure as Chairman of Public Accounts Committee, the bench said it is only for one year, and asked the high court to decide the petitions expeditiously. "Not later than a period of one month," it said. In February, Speaker Biman Banerjee dismissed the petition filed by Leader of the Opposition Adhikari seeking Roy's disqualification as an MLA under the anti-defection law. The petition claimed that he switched sides after elections. Earlier, the high court had asked Banerjee to take a decision on the petition for disqualification of Roy as a member of the House. Amaravati, Feb 25 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday spoke on telephone with the Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, seeking his support in the repatriation of Telugu students stranded in Ukraine. Jaishankar told the Chief Minister that the Central government has been taking all possible measures to evacuate the students by relocating them to nearby countries and later shifting them to India. Reddy urged the Union Minister to bring back the stranded students safely. The Chief Minister also held a high-level meeting with state officials at his camp office to discuss the safe return of the stranded students. During the meeting with the senior officials, the Chief Minister directed them to establish communication with everyone from the state and find out their well-being and take appropriate measures for their safety. He also told them to provide necessary information to the Central government officials, especially the information received from the stranded people in Ukraine. He instructed the authorities to evacuate people through special aircraft from the state if necessary. Further, the Chief Minister directed authorities to set up control rooms at the district level and collect details of the stranded students. State government officials are in constant touch with the Union Foreign Ministry and APNRTS for the safe return of Telugu students from Ukraine. Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, Chief Minister's Special Principal Secretary Jawahar Reddy, Chief Minister's Secretary Dhanunjay Reddy, AP Bhavan Principal Resident Commissioner Commissioner Praveen Prakash, Government Advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy and Special Officer International Cooperation Jitesh Sharma were present at the meeting. Later speaking to the media, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma said that the Chief Minister has been constantly reviewing the situation and taking steps to bring back the stranded students from Ukraine. He said that helplines +48660460814, +48606700105, 1902, 8500027678 have been set up both in Ukraine and in Andhra Pradesh to assist the students and their parents. He said that four teams were set up in the borders of Ukraine connecting Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania to airlift the students safely. Kiev/New Delhi, Feb 25 : Print out an Indian flag and paste prominently on vehicles and buses while travelling towards Ukraine's borders with Poland, Romania, and Hungary, the Indian embassy in Ukraine advised all the stranded Indian nationals. It also told the Indian nationals and students to carry passport, cash, preferably dollars, for any emergency expenses, and other essentials. The embassy has asked stranded Indians to move towards border check posts Poland, Romania and Hungary as camps have been set up for immediate evacuation from there. In the meantime, the Indian Air Force has been ready to airlift stranded nationals in Ukraine along with commercial aircraft. The Ministry of External Affairs is in touch with the Ministry of Defence. On Thursday, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla stated that India is in touch with both Russia and Ukraine as a "stakeholder". "We have told them that we will need provisions for airlifting. In that case, IAF can go along with commercial aircraft. All options are on the table," he said. He also said that India's topmost priority is safety and security of Indian nationals and their evacuation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Thursday discussed the ongoing crisis in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin and stated that the differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue. The Prime Minister also sensitised the Russian President about India's concerns regarding the safety of the Indian citizens in Ukraine, especially students, and conveyed that India attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Ukrainian forces took to the streets of Kiev on Friday with national guard troops pictured lining up defensive positions along a highway shortly before the sounds of gunfire and explosions rang out as they battled Russian forces for control of the capital, Daily Mail reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin's men are now thought to be inside the city, though their exact location and number is unclear. Fighting was reported in Obolon, on the city's outskirts, in the early hours as the ministry of defence told residents to make Molotov cocktails to 'repel the occupiers'. Russian forces were also spotted in Vorzel, Bucha, Irpen districts, the report said. The Russian troops are thought to have arrived from the north-east, having pushed down from Chernobyl which was captured late on Thursday. More Russian troops and armour are advancing on the capital from Konotop, in the east, having bypassed the city of Chernihiv where they ran into heavy Ukrainian resistance, Daily Mail reported. Anton Herashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine's Interior Minister, said Friday will be the war's 'hardest day'. Once Kiev is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport - likely Sikorsky or Boryspil - which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital. The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime - effectively ending the war without Putin's ground forces needing to complete the difficult and bloody task of seizing and occupying the whole country. New Delhi, Feb 25 : India has set up camps on Ukraine's borders touching Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia for evacuation of stranded nationals from the war-hit east European nation. With Ukraine closing its airspace after Russia launched a military operation in the country on Thursday, the Indian Embassy in Kiev has asked the Indian nationals to start moving towards the bordering areas so that they can be evacuated safely. The Embassy issued two advisories urging Indian nationals to start moving towards the country's western border check-posts. In the first advisory, the Embassy stated: "Indian nationals arriving at the Poland-Ukraine border by public conveyance, i.e., by bus or taxi, are advised to make for the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing, not the Krakowiec crossing." The Embassy stated that the Polish government is allowing people to cross the border on foot only through the Shehyni-Medyka border point. The Krakowiec crossing is only for persons travelling in their own vehicles. The Embassy also gave a list of the officials deployed at the bordering areas with Poland -- Pankaj Garg (+48660460815) is stationed at the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing. The Embassy office at the Krakowiec crossing is headed by Shubham Kumar (+48881551271). The liaison office in Lviv is operational and is managed by Mira Berezovska (+380679335064) and Vivek Kumar (+48881551273, from late on Friday). "Indians crossing into Poland may kindly register their details by processing their requests for seats in the repatriation flights which will be arranged shortly," it stated. In the second advisory, the Embassy said that it is working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary. "At present, teams are getting in place at the Chop-Zahony Hungarian border near Uzhhorod Porubne-Siret, and Romanian border near Chernivtsi," the Embassy stated. Indian nationals, especially students, living closest to the above border check-posts have been advised to depart first in an organised manner, in coordination with teams from the Ministry of External Affairs, to actualise this option. "Once the above routes are operational, Indian nationals travelling by their own arrangements for transport would be advised to proceed to the above border check-points, and remain in touch with the helpline numbers set up at the respective check-points for facilitation through the border," the Embassy stated. Students have been advised to remain in touch with student contractors for orderly movement. Jaipur, Feb 25 : A Congress MLA in Rajasthan, Ameen Khan, has charged the Gehlot government with ignoring Muslims and their interests in the state. During the budget session in the Assembly, he said, "Everyone knows that 95 per cent Muslim citizens go for polling and of them, 99 per cent vote for the Congress. But, we are sad because we don't get justice." Ameen Khan said: "The Congress has an old habit and it should change it failing which the party can suffer." "I have studied the budget, roads have been announced in other's areas, but not an inch in my area. In the old days, people were ignorant, now people are aware. We look forward to special concessions for the poor," he claimed. Ameen Khan added, "There are two Muslim Ministers in the state cabinet and none of them is having a plum portfolio." "Saleh Mohammed has a department limited to Muslims and Zahida has a government press and we don't have to print books," he said. "We had demanded a residential school for minorities in my area. Two residential schools were sought, but not a single was announced in the budget." The lawmaker appealed to the state government to change the "policy". "Change this policy. We are being ignored which is not right," he said. He said that better portfolios were given to Muslims during the BJP regime. "Yunus Khan was a minister with Vasundhara and was handling two key departments." "BJP talks about Hindutva. It is clearly written in Hinduism that they will not kill anyone if Hindu rule is established. So we are quite assured that no one will be killed," he said. He added that fear is being creatd among the masses against the BJP. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday said it has arrested the Chief Project Director (CPD), Railway Electrification (RE), Western Railway, Ahmedabad and two others including Deputy General Manager (DGM) of a private company in a bribery case of Rs 15 lakh. A senior CBI official said it was alleged that AK Chaudhary had demanded a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from the DGM of a Mumbai-based private company in lieu of showing favours in a tender awarded to the said company for Traction Sub Station (TSS) Line Laying and foundation at Wankaner (Gujarat). It was learnt that the accused sent the bribe amount to Ahmedabad through hawala channel, which was collected by the employee of private company at Ahmedabad and after collecting the bribe money, the said employee delivered the bribe amount of Rs 15 lakh to the public servant. The CBI caught the public servant and the employee of the private company and recovered the bribe money from the possession of the accused. On Friday, searches were conducted at the premises of the accused, and those associated with the accused in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Patna which led to the recovery of several incriminating documents. The arrested accused would be presented before the Special Judge, CBI cases, at Ahmedabad. Further probe into the matter is underway. New Delhi, Feb 25 : As the fear of reprisal and retaliation from terrorists starts lifting, shocking incidents of rape and outrage of modesty of women by terrorists are coming to light in Jammu and Kashmir. Shockingly, the hands those fed the terrorists at homes and hideouts have been the main targets of their bestial greed. Afroza lives in Baramulla district. She was barely 14 when militants entered the family's home by force. "We gave them food and they ate whatever we had to offer. They started fondling with me and I had no idea about their intentions in the beginning. "They raped me repeatedly, and for my life and that of my family, I had no option but to submit to their brutalities. "They would come daily to abuse and rape me. However, I managed to save my sister from their wolfish eyes as she was a minor then. Life has become a burden for me since then," Afroza narrated her horrific tale. Bismah from Kupwara district had an even more shocking experience with the so-called 'Islamist fighters'. "They took my husband outside and shot him dead. Minutes after killing him, they entered our home and started brutally raping me. "My chastity and modesty was violated in every possible way. They just wouldn't leave my home and kept on repeating physical and mental torture. It was something even the worst beasts would shy away from," Bismah said. For Chasfeeda from Uri, the experience was equally shattering. "They would send my husband away for some work and then gang-rape me many times without end. They would just not leave our house and we could do nothing about it. Telling the truth would endanger the lives of my children and husband," Chasfeeda said. Asked whether the 'Islamic fighters' would offer prayers during their stay at her home, Chasfeeda said, "That is just to deceive the world. They are beasts wearing long beards and having muscular bodies." These are just a few instances where the victims could muster courage to narrate their harrowing experiences. The weapon wielding beasts must have shown their true nature at other places they went seeking shelter and food. Shimla, Feb 25 : Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday urged Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to take measures for the early evacuation of 130 people belonging to the state from war-struck Ukraine. In a letter to the Union Minister, the Chief Minister said as per the preliminary information, over 130 people of Himachal Pradesh have been stranded in Ukraine. He said the state government was concerned regarding the safety and security of its people. He said the Chief Secretary has been in touch with the Foreign Secretary. Thakur also appreciated the efforts of the ministry for setting up a helpline in Ukraine and Delhi to provide assistance to the stranded people. New Delhi, Feb 25 : A team of international researchers, including from India, have found that Covid virus' contains tiny chunk of DNA that matched sequence patented by Moderna three years before the onset of pandemic. The findings, published in Frontiers in Virology, has raised fresh suspicion that Covid virus may have been tinkered with in a lab, Daily Mail reported. The scientists team, including Akhil Varshney from Dr. Shroff Charity Eye Hospital in New Delhi, showed a tiny snippet of a genetic material owned by Moderna in the virus's spike protein. But records show that Moderna had filed the patent in February 2016 as part of its cancer research division, the report said. In the study, the team compared Covid's makeup to millions of sequenced proteins on an online database. The virus is made up of 30,000 letters of genetic code that carry the information it needs to spread, known as nucleotides. It is the only coronavirus of its type to carry 12 unique letters that allow its spike protein to be activated by a common enzyme called furin, allowing it to spread between human cells with ease. Analysis of the original Covid genome found the virus shares a sequence of 19 specific letters with a genetic section owned by Moderna, which has a total of 3,300 nucleotides, the report said. The patented sequence is part of a gene called MSH3 that is known to affect how damaged cells repair themselves in the body. Scientists have highlighted this pathway as a potential target for new cancer treatments. Twelve of the shared letters make up the structure of Covid's furin cleavage site, with the rest being a match with nucleotides on a nearby part of the genome. The researchers suggest the virus may have mutated to have a furin cleavage site during experiments on human cells in a lab. "The matching code may have originally been introduced to the Covid genome through infected human cells expressing the MSH3 gene," wrote Dr Balamurali Ambati, from the University of Oregon, in the study. At the same time, the team also claimed that there is a one-in-three-trillion chance Moderna's sequence randomly appeared through natural evolution. "We're talking about a very, very, very small piece made up of 19 nucleotides," Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, was quoted as saying to Daily Mail. "So it doesn't mean very much to be frank, if you do these types of searches you can always find matches. "Sometimes these things happen fortuitously, sometimes it's the result of convergent evolution (when organisms evolve independently to have similar traits to adapt to their environment). "It's a quirky observation but I wouldn't call it a smoking gun because it's too small. "It doesn't get us any further with the debate about whether Covid was engineered," Young said. A statement from the US drug maker Moderna is awaited, the report said. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Shillong, Feb 25 : The Meghalaya government is in constant touch with the External Affairs Ministry to safely evacuate the stranded students and other citizens of the state in Ukraine, Health Minister James Sangma said on Friday. The Minister, who could not tell the exact number of people from Meghalaya stranded in Ukraine, said that Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma also took up the matter with the MEA. "We hope that till the time these stranded people are evacuated to India they will remain safe and healthy. People from Meghalaya are in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and other places of the country," the Health Minister told the media. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had earlier tweeted: "Received news about students from Meghalaya stranded in Ukraine. Humbly request Hon'ble Union External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar Ji to ensure the safe return of all Indian citizens. We are praying for everyone's safety. May peace prevail." Media reports said that more than 10 students from Meghalaya, who are pursuing undergraduate medical studies in that country, are stranded in Ukraine. The Indian government is trying to bring back Indians stranded in war-torn Ukraine through land routes. Srinagar, Feb 25 : Two terrorists and a civilian were killed in an encounter between terrorists and security forces at Amshipora area in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, officials said on Friday. Police said during the intervening night of February 24/25, based on specific input generated by police regarding presence of terrorists in village Amshipora area of Shopian, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by Police, Army's 44 RR and CRPF. "During the operation, a cluster of houses were cordoned off and searches were started to locate the hiding terrorists," police said. "During the evacuation of civilians trapped around the suspect spot, two terrorists hiding in the nearby house came out and resorted to indiscriminate firing resulting in grievous injuries to one civilian identified as Shakeel Ahmad son of Abdul Rahim Khan resident of Amshipora, who was immediately evacuated for medical assistance. However he succumbed to his injuries and the terrorists' fire was retaliated effectively leading to an encounter." Police said in the ensuing encounter, both the terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter. They have been identified as Muzamil Ahmad Mir, resident of Chatripora and Shariq Ayoub, resident of Bonpora, Amshipora Shopian. "As per police records, both the killed terrorists were categorized and linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT. Both the killed terrorists were part of groups involved in several terror crime cases," police said. Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including one AK-56 rifle, two AK magazines, one Chinese pistol, one pistol magazine and 26 AK rounds were recovered from the site of encounter. Police have registered a case and investigation has been initiated. New Delhi, Feb 25 : China could invade Taiwan after seeing the West's response to Russia's brutal war in Ukraine, a leading historian has warned, Daily Mail reported. Professor of European studies at the Oxford University, Timothy Garton Ash, said that Xi Jinping taking over the island militarily would be a 'worst case scenario', the report said. The political writer claimed that the Communist leader will be thinking: "If comrade Vladimir (Putin) can get away with it in Ukraine, maybe I'll have a go." He also warned Putin's 'minimal aim' is to bring a new iron curtain down over eastern Europe because he wants to create a new empire, Daily Mail reported. Ash's warnings came a day after Taiwan's air force scrambled its fighter planes to warn away nine Chinese aircraft in its air defence zone. At the same time, Putin's forces continued to sweep across Ukraine and reached the outskirts of Kiev by Friday morning. Ash said the devastating conflict - which has already seen hundreds slaughtered - is just the beginning of Russia's plans. He told BBC Question Time: "He (Putin) has effectively already invaded Belarus, which is just next to Ukraine. Because he put all his forces in there and they're there for as long as he wants them to be there. "So I think the minimal aim of Vladimir Putin is to create a new iron curtain down the Eastern frontier of NATO so that countries like Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia will be stuck in the Russian empire whether they like it or not," as per the report. London, Feb 25 : The UK government is introducing a bill that will require tech giants like Facebook, Google and other tech platforms to verify the identities of users. According to Engadget, the measure is part of the government's Online Safety Bill announced last year and is ostensibly designed to help users block anonymous trolls online. "Tech firms have a responsibility to stop anonymous trolls polluting their platforms," UK Digital Minister Nadine Dorries was quoted as saying in a statement. "People will now have more control over who can contact them and be able to stop the tidal wave of hate served up to them by rogue algorithms," Dorries added. Tech firms would need to decide how to carry out the checks when users create social media accounts. Some options proposed by the government include facial recognition via profile pictures, two-factor authentication and government-issued ID, the report said. The UK's media regulator Ofcom would be in charge of laying out the rules, it added. The government has also proposed measures that would force companies to filter out "legal but harmful" material. That would allow parents, for instance, to apply settings stopping their kids from receiving search results about certain topics, or putting "sensitivity screens" over them. Tech firms in violation could face fines of up to 10 per cent of their global annual revenues, which could be in the billions with companies like Google and Facebook. The government could also block services from being accessed in the UK under the proposed rules, which would need to be approved by parliament to become law. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Despite having former Wimbledon men's doubles champion Frederik Lochte Nielsen in the Denmark team, India's captain Rohit Rajpal has said that hosting the Davis Cup World Group Playoff I tie on grass courts at the Delhi Gymkhana Club (DGC) on March 4 and 5, is a well-thought-out plan. He added that the Indian team is focusing on their strengths and that will be their strategy going forward against Denmark. However, he said that the Denmark team is still more than capable of doing well, despite its top player Holger Rune being pulled out of the action. "We also looked at the discomfort of the opponents. I am sure if we had travelled to Denmark, they would not have liked to face players like Ramkumar and Rohan on grass courts. We had a long discussion with Yuki and Rohan about the court. After discussing with all the players we have decided that grass is the best option," he explained. Asked about the defeats to Finland and Croatia in the previous matches, the India skipper hoped that his players will be more consistent against Denmark. "Don't forget, we will be playing with support from the crowd. We have a home advantage. And we all know that Denmark's players are not comfortable on grass courts. We have a very good chance here," he added. Rajpal said that the team is not taking the clash against Denmark lightly. Denmark does not have a singles player inside top-200 in the squad but Rajpal said they won't take anything for granted. They will be led by Mikael Torpegaard, ranked 278 on ATP charts "We are not going to take Denmark lightly. We know that there are no easy matches here," said the Indian captain. New Delhi, Feb 25 : External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Friday discussed the prevailing situation in the east European country which is under attack from Russia, along with the measures to evacuate stranded Indian nationals from there. "Received call from Ukrainian FM @DmytroKuleba. He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasised that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the way out," Jaishankar tweeted. The minister also stated that they discussed the predicament of Indian nationals, including students. "Appreciate his support for their safe return," Jaishankar said. Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke to Jaishankar and called for collective response over the ongoing crisis. Blinken tweeted, "Spoke with @DrSJaishankar today about the crisis in Ukraine and the importance of a strong collective response to Russian aggression. Russia's attack on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is a clear violation of the rules-based international order." The spokesperson for the US Secretary of State, Ned Price, said, "Antony Blinken spoke with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar today to discuss Russia's premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack on Ukraine." Price also stated that Blinken stressed the importance of a strong, collective response to condemn Russia's invasion and call for immediate force withdrawal and ceasefire. On Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had stated that Jaishankar has spoken to concerned officials in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia for setting up camps on the border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. India is working out evacuation plans through Romania, Hungary and Poland, after Ukraine shut its airspace soon after the Russian military operation began on Thursday. London, Feb 25 : Amid fears of over blood clot risk, about 4.7 million Covid vaccine doses were wasted in the UK by the end of October 2021, according to a government report. According to the National Audit Office (NAO), this included about 1.9 million AstraZeneca shots that ended up in the bins, BBC reported. The NAO, which scrutinises spending of public money, said the wastage is far lower than projected for the country's most ambitious vaccination programme ever. Experts had assumed 20 per cent of stocks might not be used, because of handling and storage problems or expiry dates. The NAO said the vaccine programme met "stretching and unprecedented targets" to save lives. But it was left with too many expiring AstraZeneca doses, after experts recommended that people under 40 should preferably be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, to avoid a rare but possible link to blood clots. Some wastage was avoided by redirecting 4.5 million AstraZeneca doses to other countries, but stocks already at local sites had to be destroyed in line with regulations. Approximately 1.9 million doses were written off, the report said. "The vaccine programme has been successful in getting early access to what were brand new vaccines, securing supply of them, and administering them to a large proportion of the population at unprecedented speed," Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, was quoted as saying. "The programme must now redouble its efforts to reach those who are not yet vaccinated, while also considering what a more sustainable model will involve as it moves out of its emergency phase," he added. AstraZeneca Covid vaccine was developed in collaboration with Oxford University and rolled out in less than 12 months in the UK. It was celebrated as a UK success story and billed as "Britain's gift to the world". But fears over the links to blood clots led several countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria, Iceland, and Thailand, to pause their use of the vaccine. Doubts cast by several scientists and politicians alike over the efficacy of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, developed in collaboration with the Oxford University "probably killed hundreds of thousands of people", Prof John Bell, an Oxford scientist who worked on the jab, told a BBC Two documentary, early this month. "I think bad behaviour from scientists and from politicians has probably killed hundreds of thousands of people -- and they cannot be proud of that," Bell said "They have damaged the reputation of the vaccine in a way that echoes around the rest of the world," he added. Washington, Feb 25 : Even as the number of Covid cases are declining in several parts of the world, US drug maker Moderna has said that the pandemic will end in 2022, yet annual vaccinations are needed, the media reported. Although Covid is entering an endemic phase, Moderna Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said the virus will continue to circulate but at a more static and predictable rate, CNBC reported. "We do believe that we are transitioning into an endemic phase marked by a period of stability in case counts, hospitalisations and deaths at least in the Northern Hemisphere," he was quoted as saying to analysts after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings. North America, Europe, most of Asia and much of Africa are in the Northern Hemisphere. However, Burton said Moderna is closely monitoring the trajectory of the virus in the Southern Hemisphere, which includes large nations such as Brazil and South Africa, as winter approaches there. Burton said Covid will likely follow seasonal patterns like other respiratory viruses, such as the flu. However, he warned people will still get sick and die from Covid even when the virus becomes endemic. He noted that other endemic coronaviruses cause 340,000 hospitalisations and 20,000 deaths annually for people older than 65 years old, citing data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. According to Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, there is still a need for another booster shot in the fall, particularly for individuals over 50 and those who are at high risk due to underlying health conditions. "I got a flu shot every year, not that I was worried of dying or getting hospitalised - I just don't want to get sick," Bancel was quoted as saying. On Thursday's earnings call, Bancel said he expects Covid shots will have a similar role in the future as the virus becomes seasonal, the report said. Moderna has also announced that it is developing a booster vaccine that targets Omicron and other Covid variants such as Delta. Burton said the current booster protects against hospitalisation from Delta and to a lesser extent from Omicron. However, he said the effectiveness of the vaccine declines over time, the report said. Burton said the disease burden and deaths have declined from their highest levels during the first wave of infection, when no one had immunity to the virus. "With each subsequent wave in mid-2021 with delta and late 2021 and early 2022 with omicron, the morbidity observed from these waves tended to be less severe, certainly relative to the first wave, as our immune systems became more experienced at fighting the SARS-CoV-2-virus," Burton said. Bengaluru, Feb 25 : Close on the heels of a reputed college at Bengaluru asking a Sikh girl student to remove her turban in wake of hijab row, a private school in Karnataka's Mangaluru has allegedly denied admission to a 6-year-old Sikh boy for wearing a turban. The boy, with his parents, had gone on Thursday to a reputed private school in the city seeking admission to Class 1, but authorities reportedly denied admission citing that no religious symbols are allowed in the school. Later, the matter was reported to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) which has asked the childline to submit a report in this regard. The CWC has stated that this is a knee-jerk reaction of the school authorities on the Karnataka High Court's interim order on not allowing any religious symbols, saffron shawl, or hijab into the classrooms. CWC and the Education Department have, however, said that they have not received any complaint in this regard from the parents of the boy. Minister for Education B.C. Nagesh had clarified that the interim order of the larger bench of the High Court which is looking into the matter on hijab row is not applicable to Sikh students. He said that wearing a turban is a constitutional right of a Sikh community members and HC order implies only on hijab, saffron shawls and other religious symbols. New Delhi, Feb 25: The Taliban regime has decided to deploy more units of its special forces including a unit of suicide bombers on the Durand Line following repeated clashes between Taliban fighters and Pakistani forces. Border tensions have risen since last year, with the Taliban opposing Pakistan's move to put up a fence on the Durand Line that that demarcates the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The Taliban does not accept the Durand Line as the true border between the two countries as it is seen as a forced legacy of the British. Following a fresh clash between Pakistani forces and Taliban fighters on Thursday on the Durand Line near the Spin Boldak crossing area, the Taliban regime deployed its suicide bomber Badri unit according to various Taliban supporters who posted videos on Twitter. In a clash on Thursday, the Pakistani army started heavy artillery firing when the Taliban fighters tried to establish a check post on Durand Line near the Spin Boldak crossing area. "Unfortunately, the first shots were fired by Pakistani forces", says the Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid though he did not mention the deployment of special units on the disputed border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to the Taliban's Interior Ministry, these special units are also being deployed on the Central Asian Borders following the tension in the region because of the "fights" between Russia and Ukraine to "maintain" stability. Interestingly two days ago, the elusive Interior Minister of the Taliban regime and chief of the UN-designated terrorist organisation Haqqani Network had announced in a madrasa in Kandahar that another 1500 suicide bombers were being inducted in the Taliban army. "Our struggle for the last 20 years was for establishing the Islamic govt. There have not been as many martyrdom operations (suicide attacks) in history as we did," said Haqqani, the self-acclaimed expert who introduced "suicide bombers" in the Taliban's "war" strategy. As usual, the video clips of Haqqani addressing the gathering did not show the face of the elusive most wanted terrorist who is carrying a bounty of $10 million on his head. Addressing his squad of "suicide bombers" Haqqani said that so far his trained bombers had carried out 1,050 attacks alone and achieved martyrdom. Last year in November, in his public appearance as the Interior Minister of Taliban regime, Sirajuddin Haqqani called on the heirs of hundreds of suicide bombers at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul and promised to help them. This year in January, the Taliban regime who did not allow girls to attend school and banned women from work and education announced the formation of a "suicide bomber brigade" which will ironically have the first unit of women "fighters" recruited by the Taliban. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Indian Embassy in Slovakia has moved all its senior staff members to the border areas with Ukraine to facilitate crossing of Indian nationals from the war-hit country to Slovakia. "From Thursday afternoon, the Embassy of India in Bratislava has stationed officials at the Slovak-Ukraine border to provide essential assistance to India nationals who might cross over to Slovakia," the Embassy stated. The Embassy also released numbers of the officials for the stranded nationals -- Manoj Kumar, Consular Officer is available on +421908025212, while Ivan Kozinka is available on +421908458724. Apart from them, few more officials have been moved. India is working out evacuation plans for Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine through Romania, Hungary and Poland. "Slovakia at this point of time is not yet a designated evacuation point. However, we are ready to provide assistance to Indian nationals in Ukraine who may come to Slovakia," said the Embassy. On Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had stated that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken to the concerned officials in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia for setting up camps on the border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. The Foreign Secretary also stated that flight options will available from Dubai and Istanbul and the Indian Embassy continues to be operational in Ukraine. Bengaluru, Feb 25 : The Karnataka High Court bench on Friday concluded hearing petitions seeking the right to wear hijab while attending classes and asked all counsel to submit written submissions as it reserved its verdict. The three-judge bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, and Justices Krishna S. Dixit, and J.M. Khazi heard arguments and counter-arguments for 11 days on a day today basis considering the urgency and sensitivity of the matter. Counsel appearing for petitioners who are college students maintained that the government order issued in this regard does not have any legal standing and it violated their fundamental right to practice of religion and thereby denied them right to education which is paramount. They also argued that the constitution of the College Development Committee (CDC), and the School Development and Management Committee (SDMC) do not have legal sanctity. They also questioned the appointment of political representatives attached to an ideology being given decision-making power in an academic environment. They also noted that there is no provision to prescribe uniforms in the act. The government, through Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi, argued that the government has no role in taking decisions on wearing of hijab, and it is left to the discretion of the CDCs and SDMCs. The AG argued that wearing of hijab is not an essential part of Islam and the government certainly has the authority to take decisions when it comes to public order, health, and morality. The bench was also informed on fundamental rights, individual in nature, being subjected to restrictions. The government has also submitted intelligence inputs and reports on the role of Campus Front of India (CFI) and other organisations in raking up the issue all of a sudden. The verdict is eagerly awaited as the issue has been discussed at the international levels. The hijab row which started from Udupi Pre-University Girls' College has become a crisis in the state, with students refusing to attend classes without hijab and maintaining that they will wait until the final verdict is given. Though the high court had issued an interim order banning both hijab and saffron shawls or scarves inside the classrooms, but the agitation is ongoing. Bengaluru, Feb 25 : The Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) on Friday appealed to the students from the state stuck in Ukraine to stay calm and face the situation with fortitude and be assured that the solution for safe evacuation is worked out on a mission mode. The students were advised to follow advisories issued from time to time by the Indian Embassy (eoiukraine.gov.in), which is in constant touch with their universities. In case there is a critical emergency, they should contact the emergency lines provided by the Embassy, while diplomats in the countries bordering Ukraine are in strategic locations for safe evacuation from alternative routes, it stated. Further, the Chief Minister's Office, Chief Secretary, and Nodal Officers are personally pursuing cases with the MEA and the Embassy in Kiev. The MEA is making alternative arrangements in mission mode for evacuation of Indian nationals since the Ukrainian airspace is closed, it stated. The KSDMA has created a web portal to collect relevant information of stranded people in Ukraine who hail from Karnataka. The app created for the communication provides information of stranded persons, and relevant information collected from the MEA website and the Centre. The control room of the KSDMA will talk to the informants, giving latest updates and will collect information, as required. The state government, after collating data on stranded students hailing from Karnataka through helpline and number and web application, will share the details with the MEA control room in New Delhi and Indian Embassy in Kiev on near real time basis. The KSDMA stated that a total of 346 students from Karnataka have been stranded in Ukraine among which 115 hailed from Bengaluru. New Delhi, Feb 25 : A squad of Chechen special forces 'hunters' has been unleashed in Ukraine to detain or kill a set of specific Ukrainian officials, Daily Mail reported. Each soldier has reportedly been given a special 'deck of cards' with Ukrainian officials' photos and descriptions on them, a Moscow Telegram channel with links to the security establishment reported, as per the Daily Mail report. The list is of officials and security officers suspected of 'crimes' by the Russian Investigative Committee, the report added. It came as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitted that he is 'target number one' for Russian assassins in Kiev, while his family is 'the number two goal' for Vladimir Putin's hitmen. The Chechen squad is thought to be in a Ukraine forest and has allegedly been given an 'order to kill' if those on the wanted list cannot be detained, the report said. There is speculation that those identified by Moscow as 'Nazis' would also be on the hunted list. Putin had previously said that a key aim of invading Ukraine was to 'deNazify' the country. State TV in Chechnya reported that Ramzan Kadyrov, 45, the republic's leader and a close Putin ally, has visited his forces in Ukraine, Daily Mail reported. The Chechens are believed to be from the South battalion of the Federal Guard Service, based in Chechnya. Kadyrov on Thursday met with Viktor Zolotov, Director of the Federal National Guard Service and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian National Guard Forces, another close Putin ally. Zelensky, 44, addressed the nation on Thursday night, at the end of the first day of the Russian invasion of his country. The former TV comedian insisted that he had remained in Kiev as he urged his fellow citizens to stay strong. He said he was speaking from Kiev but the elegance of the presidential palace was long gone: Zelensky, in his olive green t-shirt, appeared to be speaking from a bunker, the report said. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Pakistan's objections to the hydro-power projects Pakal Dul, Lower Kalnai and Kiru in Jammu and Kashmir are likely to figure in the agenda at the annual meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission between March 1 and 3 in Pakistan this year. To be held at Islamabad, this will be the 117th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission since the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) was signed by India and Pakistan in 1960. Article VIII (5) of the Indus Waters Treaty requires the Permanent Indus Commission to meet at least once a year, alternately in India and Pakistan. The last such meeting was held here on March 23 and 24 last year. The Indian delegation will be led by Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters, Pradeep Kumar Saxena, and will comprise advisors from the Central Water Commission, the Central Electricity Authority, NHPC Ltd, and the Ministry of External Affairs. There would be three three female officers, a first since signing of the Treaty. The Pakistan side will be led by its Commissioner for Indus Waters, Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah. The agenda for the meeting is being fine tuned by the two Commissioners. Pakistan's objections to the hydropower projects Pakal Dul (1,000 MW), Lower Kalnai (48 MW), and Kiru (624 MW) in Chenab basin in Jammu and Kashmir and few small hydroelectric projects in Ladakh are likely to be discussed during the meeting. The Indian delegation will leave for Pakistan through Atari border on February 28 and return via the same route on March 4. "We shall be leaving on Monday," Saxena confirmed. Under the 1960 vintage IWT, India and Pakistan share waters of six rivers in the Indus basin. Of these, India has complete rights over three eastern rivers - Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi, while Pakistan has rights over the western rivers - Chenab, Jhelum, and Indus. India can, however, build only run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers. Pakistan gets almost 80 per cent share of the Indus basin waters (approx 135 MAF) against India's 33 MAF. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for talks with Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Friday as its military encircled Kiev on the second day of Russias invasion of Ukraine, Moscow Times reported. The negotiations could put an end to Ukraine's NATO ambitions after its President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was willing to discuss Ukraine's "neutrality" - a demand of Putin's - in his latest attempt to appeal to the Russian leader to negotiate. The Kremlin said it took note of Zelensky's offer. China's Foreign Ministry has also said that Putin told Chinese leader Xi Jinping over phone that "Russia is ready for high-level talks with Ukraine". "Vladimir Putin is ready to send a Russian delegation to Minsk in response to Zelensky's proposal," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, Moscow Times reported. The delegation would comprise Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Presidential Administration officials, Interfax quoted him as saying. Peskov added that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close Russian ally, welcomed the opportunity to host the Russia-Ukraine talks. Minsk was previously the site of negotiations for an eastern Ukraine ceasefire in 2014 and 2015. Belarus is currently hosting thousands of Russian troops on its territory after joint military exercises ended on February 20. The Kremlin spokesman reiterated Putin's stated goal of invading Ukraine to "help" eastern Ukraine's pro-Moscow breakaway republics "including through the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine". "This, in fact, is an integral component of [Ukraine's] neutral status," Peskov told reporters. Putin recognised the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics as independent and mounted the military campaign against Ukraine after they requested his military assistance this week. Donetsk and Luhansk foreign ministers arrived in Moscow earlier on Friday to formally establish diplomatic relations, the report said. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War New Delhi, Feb 25 : As much as 444 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) wheat has been estimated for procurement during the forthcoming rabi marketing season 2022-23, which is more than the procurement estimate of RMS 2021-22, the government said on Friday. Also, a quantity of 42.92 LMT rice (rabi crop) has been estimated for procurement during the forthcoming rabi crop of current KMS 2021-22 from seven rice (rabi crop) procuring states. Estimates of procurement of rice (rabi crop) from governments of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana are awaited. This was revealed at a meeting called by the Secretary, Food & Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, to discuss the procurement arrangements for ensuing Rabi Marketing Season 2022-23 and rabi crop of Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2021-22. It was attended by state Food Secretaries and Food Corporation of India (FCI) through video conference, a release from the Ministry said. During the meeting, promotion of coarse grains, implementation of minimum threshold parameters for online procurement operations, supply of jute bags and packaging material, storage space, improving efficiency and transparency in procurement operations, and online settlement of food subsidy claims were also discussed. The three top states in the list of procurement estimates of wheat during the RMS 2022-23 are Punjab (132 LMT), Madhya Pradesh (129 LMT) and Haryana (85 LMT). Similarly, the state-wise list of procurement estimates of rice against the rabi crop during KMS 2021-22 was topped by (as on Friday) Andhra Pradesh (25 LMT), Odisha (10 LMT), and West Bengal (3 LMT). However, these are tentative as data from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana is awaited. --IANS niv/vd AAA New Delhi, Feb 25 : The International Criminal Court (ICC) has the mandate and jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute China's genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs in East Turkistan. Following the end of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the Chinese government announced it would allow the UN Human Rights Chief, Michelle Bachelet, to visit East Turkistan, which Beijing refers to as Xinjiang (the new territory). However, Beijing has made it clear that the visit would be friendly in nature; and sternly opposed any investigation of its ongoing atrocities against the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples in the region. If the UN does not launch an investigation into China's ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity, there will be no deterrence. In that case, Bachelet's visit to East Turkistan will be no different from the International Red Cross' 1944 visit to Theresienstadt, a ghetto and concentration camp in the Nazi-occupied region of the former Czechoslovakia, where 33,000 Jews were killed. Furthermore, we fear that China will use Michelle Bachelet's visit as propaganda to continue carrying out and denying its brutal genocide and crimes against humanity against the people of East Turkistan. If the UN is unwilling to investigate, and individual governments and parliaments recognition of China's atrocities against Uyghurs/ Turkic peoples as genocide cannot produce enough pressure to convince the Chinese government to stop, then what can? Will the world continue to issue symbolic condemnations and recognitions, or will it act to implement its treaty obligations under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide? These are essential questions that many have been repeated for years but which have not been able to get a concrete answer as we strive to find a way to end this 21st-century genocide and safeguard the very existence of the Uyghur people. The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on 14 November 2019 to open an investigation in Bangladesh and Mvanmar concerning the Rohingya genocide. This significant development gave us an answer to our questions. Due to part of the crimes against the Rohingya occurring in Bangladesh, a signatory to the Rome Statute, the ICC established jurisdiction to investigate crimes perpetrated by the junta of Myanmar. Over the decades, the Chinese government's ruthless colonisation, genocide, and occupation campaign forced many Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples to flee East Turkistan to countries in Central Asia and Southeast Asia, including some signatories to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. There are numerous known cases of Uyghurs being forcibly deported to China by many countries worldwide and later forcibly disappeared into China's archipelago of concentration camps and prisons. There have been many cases of Uyghurs being forcibly deported from Tajikistan and Cambodia, both signatories of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, into China and never heard from again. Relying on the precedent of the Rohingya case, the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE) partnered with the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement (ETNAM) and numerous Uyghur and Kazakh victims in our global diaspora to file the first-ever legal complaint against Chinese officials at the International Criminal Court. The first legal submission was made to the ICC on 16 Julv 2020, by a team of British lawyers led by Rodney Dixon QC, on behalf of the East Turkistan Government in Exile and the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement. On December 14, 2020, the ICC published its Report on Preliminary Examination Activities 2020 which stated that due to a lack of available evidence at that stage; the Office determined that there was no basis to proceed at this time. However, the report also explained that "Since the issuance of its decision, the senders [ETGE and ETNAM] have communicated to the Office a request for reconsideration pursuant article 15(6) on the basis of new facts or evidence. The case is thus being reconsidered by the Office of the Prosecutor in light of further, new evidence." In early 2021, investigators working for our legal team were able to travel to Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries to gather further evidence to submit to the ICC. On June 10, 2021, the legal team submitted a second dossier of evidence to the ICC, which showed a highly organised and systematic plan by the Chinese authorities to round up Uyghurs living in an ICC State Party -- Tajikistan -- and deport them back to China, where they have been forcibly disappeared. The evidence shows that over the past 10-15 years, the number of Uyghurs living in Tajikistan has been reduced from an estimated 3,000 to approximately 100 with most Uyghurs being unlawfully arrested in Tajikistan and then deported and forcibly disappeared. A third dossier of evidence was submitted to the ICC on November 11, 2021 following further on-the-ground investigations and interviews in Kyrgyzstan, which signed the Rome Statute but did not ratify, and other countries. The investigation found an 87 per cent decrease in the East Turkistani Uyghur population in Kyrgyzstan in recent years as a result of forced deportations and disappearances, following the same pattern as the case of Uyghurs in Tajikistan. The ICC's Office of the Prosecutor has acknowledged receipt of our legal team's further submissions of evidence and are considering them. With the Beijing Olympics have ended and growing international concern on the plight of the Uyghurs, governments across the world must support East Turkistan's case at the International Criminal Court. In the Rohingya case, numerous governments supported the ICC opening an investigation, and similar calls must be made regarding China's ongoing genocide of Uyghurs/ Turkic peoples in East Turkistan. If governments are genuine in their vows to Never Again, they must fulfill their treaty obligations to prevent and punish the perpetrators of the greatest humanitarian crisis of our century. Governments must call on the ICC to start investigations before the UN Human Rights Chief Michele Bachelet's visit to East Turkistan, Failure to support the Uyghurs legal efforts to end the ongoing genocide and obtain justice will only show that the claims of Never Again; and commitment to human rights and justice are nothing but empty vows. What's even worse, the lack of an international investigation will only embolden China to continue its brutal attempts to eradicate the Uyghurs. As Holocaust survivor Eli Wiesel stated, "We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." Governments need to break their silence and voice their support for an international investigation to be carried out regarding China's ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghur and other Turkic people of East Turkistan. (Ghulam Yaghma is a veteran East Turkistani independence leader and President of the East Turkistan Government in Exile. He currently lives in Canada. Salih Hudayar is the Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile and the Founder of the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement. He is the leading Uyghur voice calling for restoration of East Turkistan's independence) Mumbai, Feb 25 : In a relief for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banjeree, a Mumbai sessions court on Friday stayed, till March 25, a magistrate court's summons to her in a case of alleged disrespect to the National Anthem in December. Granting the stay, Sessions Judge Rahul Rokde also sought the records from the magistrate court in the private complaint filed by a Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Vivekanand Gupta. On February 2, the magistrate court had summoned Banerjee asking her to appear before the court on March 2. Banerjee's legal team led by Majeed Memon, and comprising Waseem Pangekar, Mateen Qureshi and Khalil Girkar, vehemently refuted the charges levelled by the BJP activist and termed the complaint as "politically motivated". They pointed out that the offence under Prevention of Insult to National Honours Act, Section 3, was not made out as the sanction required under Section 197 of the CrPC was not obtained. Memon further argued that the mandatory requirements under Section 202 for postponement of process when the accused resides beyond the magistrate's territorial jurisdiction was not complied with, and list of witnesses was not annexed. Gupta said that Banerjee's legal team should have issued a notice informing him when the matter would be heard and claimed that the principles of natural justice were not followed. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has urged the Central government to lift the export prohibition on bamboo charcoal for optimum utilisation of raw bamboo and higher profitability in the bamboo industry. One of the biggest challenges that the Indian bamboo industry faces today is the extremely high input cost owing to inadequate utilisation of bamboo. However, export of bamboo charcoal would ensure complete utilisation of the bamboo waste and thus make the bamboo business more profitable, it said. KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena has written to the Commerce and Industries Minister, Piyush Goyal, seeking to lift the export restriction on bamboo charcoal for the larger benefit of the bamboo industry, a release from the KVIC said on Friday. In India, bamboo is mostly used in manufacturing of agarbatti (incense sticks) wherein, a maximum of 16 per cent, i.e. the upper layers of the bamboo, is used for manufacturing of bamboo sticks while the remaining 84 per cent is wasted completely. The bamboo waste generated in agarbatti and bamboo craft industries is not being utilised commercially, as a result, the bamboo input cost for round bamboo sticks is in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 per metric tonnes (MT) as against the average bamboo cost of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per MT. "Compared to this, the bamboo price in China is Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per MT but their input cost is Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per MT owing to 100 per cent waste utilisation," the KVIC said. "Bamboo waste can be best utilised by making 'Bamboo Charcoal', which, though, has a very limited use within the domestic market but is hugely in demand in the international market. However, the Indian bamboo industry is not able to tap the opportunity due to its export prohibition," the KVIC said. "Lifting the export restriction on bamboo charcoal would not only enable the industry to exploit huge global demand but also enhance the profitability of existing KVIC units by proper utilisation of bamboo waste and thus contribute to the PM's vision of 'Waste to Wealth'." The world import demand of bamboo charcoal has been hovering in the range of $1.5 to 2 billion and has been growing at the rate of 6 per cent in recent years, the release said, and added, the bamboo charcoal for barbeque sells for about Rs 21,000 to Rs 25,000 per tonne in the international market. Besides, it is also used for soil nutrition and as a raw material for manufacturing activated charcoal. An amendment in the export policy for bamboo products under the HS code 141100 was made in 2017, wherein exports of all the Bamboo products were kept in the OGL category and were free to exports. However, exports of bamboo charcoal, bamboo pulp, and unprocessed shoots are still under prohibited category. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Realising that sweeping eastern Uttar Pradesh is important to form the next government in the state, the BJP is now putting all its efforts to repeat its 2017 performance in the region. In the 2017 Assembly polls, the BJP had won 115 of the 164 seats in eastern Uttar Pradesh. In an effort to repeat or further improve its previous tally, the BJP has combined development with its core agenda of Hindutva and nationalism. Polling in these seats is being held in the last three phases of Assembly polls. This time, the BJP is facing challenges on the caste equation after OBC leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya and others left the party and joined rival camps. Another major challenge for the BJP is that its former alliance party, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) of O.P. Rajbhar, has joined hands with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party (SP) this time. A senior BJP functionary from Uttar Pradesh said that some leaders or regional parties with influence over their respective caste have left them, but that would not have any impact on BJP's chances in eastern Uttar Pradesh. "We are not only going to repeat our previous performance, but we are all set to better it. Our top leadership is on the ground seeking people's blessing to serve them for the next five years in order to continue the pace of development the region and the state witnessed in the last five years," he said. Now the top BJP leadership is aggressively raising issues related to Hindutva and nationalism, while mentioning the development and welfare initiatives of Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath in the region. However, the saffron camp blames SP chief Akhilesh Yadav for 'polarising' the polls by invoking Jinnah (Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founder) to appease a particular community. "It was Akhilesh Yadav who invoked Jinnah in a public meeting. Akhilesh was not participating in an academic conference, but he was addressing an election rally. He raised Jinnah's name with a clear intention to polarise the voters on religious lines," Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Harish Chandra Srivastava said. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Even as they keep their fingers crossed awaiting an opportunity to leave the war-torn Ukraine, scores of stranded Indian students have taken shelter in different schools across the country to evade bombing. Since Thursday morning, Russia has opened bombing along the Ukraine border and also hit many cities. Earlier on Friday, Indian authorities had told the Indian students living near the Hungarian and Romanian border to depart first in an organised manner in coordination with the teams. A 20-year-old medical student Ankit Kumar stranded in Kiev told IANS that thousands of Indian students from different cities of Ukraine are running from pillar to post to get any help to leave the country. "Finally today, many of them could come together in schools in different Ukraine cities with the help of Indian Embassy," Kumar said. Reaching the shelters was just a part of the ordeal. Even inside the shelters, the students can hear regular blasts. "With colleges and universities expressing their helplessness and closing their doors for all, the students had feared that they may have faced food shortage. The other worry was staying warm, especially at night when the temperature dips at 1 degree Celsius too," a second year MBBS student, Mamta Bansal told IANS. New Delhi, Feb 25 : A special National Investigation Agency Court in Patna on Friday sentenced three convicted for circulating fake Indian currency to eight years jail. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Selim S., Shahnawaz Shaikh, and Mannalal Chaudhary, who were recently held guilty under various sections of the IPC. This case related to the seizure of FICN by police in Bettiah town in Bihar's West Champaran district on February 2, 2019. Around four lakh fake notes were seized by the police from their possession. Initially, an FIR was lodged with Bettiah Town Police Station. Later on, the NIA had re-registered the case, took over the investigation, and filed four charge sheets. The court noted that the NIA proved their case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted the accused. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Friday said it has entered into an agreement with Vodafone to buy its 4.7 per cent equity interest in Indus Towers. According to Bharti Airtel, the agreement is based on the principal condition that the amount paid for the equity stake shall be inducted by Vodafone as fresh equity in Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) and simultaneously remitted to Indus Towers to clear VIL's outstanding dues. "The said acquisition purchase would be at an attractive price representing a significant discount typically available for such large block transactions," the telcom major said. "In addition, Airtel is also protected with a capped price which is lower than the price for the block of Indus shares sold by Vodafone on February 24, 2022. This shall be value accretive to Airtel and protect its existing significant shareholding in Indus Towers." Besides, the telecom major said that any such acquisition shall only be done when such proceeds are confirmed to be utilised by Vodafone to infuse as equity into VIL including any regulatory or shareholders' approval being fully obtained. "We believe this transaction allows Airtel to secure continued strong provision of services from Indus Towers, protects and enhances Airtel's value in Indus Towers, enables it to receive rich dividends and as also paves the way for subsequent financial consolidation of Indus Towers in Airtel. "We believe that this self-paying capital allocation serves multiple strategic purposes for Airtel." Furthermore, Airtel said it remains committed to look at opportunities for monetising this vital asset at an appropriate time. "In doing so, it will ensure that the tower company has been stabilised and any new strategic or financial investor/s has the ability to continue to serve the critical needs of Airtel." In addition, the company said that the telecom market structure has started to stabilise on account of the efforts of the Centre including the recent relief package. "With the likely introduction of 5G in the future, we believe a lot more infrastructure would be required in which Indus Towers, an undisputed leader, has a significant role to play and partake the potential growth in the business. "The stability and sustenance of a specialised and strong infrastructure company like Indus Towers is vital for a continued strong provision of co-location services including the support to rollout 5G." New Delhi, Feb 25 : Union Culture and Tourism minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday said that temples are the symbol of India's culture and way of life. He added that the Union Government has proposed the Hoysala temples of Belur and Somnathpur to the UNESCO World Heritage. He was speaking after inaugurating a two-day international conference 'Devayatanam - An odyssey of Indian temple architecture' in Hampi, Karnataka. "Temples are the symbol of India's culture and way of life. The country's rich tangible and intangible cultural heritage needs to be celebrated and protected and the conference provides a platform to discuss, deliberate and disseminate to the world the grandeur of Indian temples, art and architecture," Reddy said. The Minister noted that this was in line with the overall vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who inspires us with 5 Vs -- Vikas (development), Virasat (heritage), Vishwas (trust), Vignan (knowledge), will lead us to becoming a 'vishwaguru' (world leader) so that India shows the world the way. "Temples of this land should be seen through multiple dimensions as they simultaneously provide spiritual well-being to the soul, enlightenment through education, economic opportunities to the local community, a creative outlet for the craftsmen, artists and artisans, and are a repository of our culture, and glory that shades on our past. The temples promote unity, integrity, and civilization," Reddy said. He mentioned that the temples of Hampi are already featured in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO for their sheer brilliance, scale of imagination, and scintillating architecture. "Approximately 10 of India's 40 UNESCO World Heritage Inscriptions are Hindu Temples in different architectural styles, patterns and symmetry. This year the Union Government has proposed Hoysala temples of Belur and Somnathpur to the UNESCO World Heritage List, apart from this India is rebuilding many grand temples," Reddy said. Union minister of State for Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal said that temples have been centres of Indian art, knowledge, culture, spirituality, innovation and education. Chennai, Feb 25 : Tamil Nadu Public Works Department (PWD) officials on Friday walked out of a Supreme Court-appointed sub-committee meeting on the Mullaperiyar Dam in Kerala to protest non-cooperation of Kerala Forest Department officials, sources said. The sub-committee comprises an official from the Central Water Commission in the rank of Executive Engineer and officials from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The subcommittee visited the Mullaperiyar dam, its baby dam, shutters, seepage level, and the gallery and held a meeting at Kerala Kumali. In the meeting, Tamil Nadu officials said that they were not getting cooperation from the Kerala Forest Department and PWD officials who had refused transportation of construction materials to the dam site, sources told IANS, They also said that the Tamil Nadu side had received the necessary approval from the authorities concerned to cut and remove trees and lay roads in the area. The Tamil Nadu officials informed the meeting that the Kerala side was delaying the cutting of trees and laying of roads under one pretext or the other, and walked out. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Supreme Court on Friday emphasised that the government and the courts should adopt a reformative approach for those who have spent 10-14 years in prison, while serving a life term, and explore the possibility of releasing them either by granting bail or remitting their sentence. It made these observations while granting bail to nearly two dozen petitioners, who have been languishing in jail for more than 10 years. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M.M. Sundresh observed that the poor and the underprivileged suffer in the jail, however the rich and the influential can secure bail and also escape the law by fleeing from the country. Senior advocate Ravi Prakash Mehrotra, representing 20 petitioners languishing in the jail, submitted that the criminal appeals were pending in the Allahabad High Court between 8-10 years and emphasised that a reformative approach should be taken towards people who have been sentenced to life imprisonment and have already served over 10 years. The top court was unhappy with a deluge of petitions, where prisoners have not been granted relief by the Allahabad High Court, and asked the court to decide bail plea of all prisoners, who have served more than 10 years in jail. It was informed that nearly 1.83 lakh criminal appeals are pending before the high court, and the counsel argued that there should be some policy to release prisoners who have served more than 10 years. The top court asked the high court to prepare a separate list for those who have undergone 10-14 years in custody along with those who have spent 10 years in custody. It added the high court should release all such prisoners at one go in a scenario where lawyers do not appear for the convict and also the state government has not objected to their plea for release. It noted that if there is no adverse report on a prisoners' conduct, then they should be given a chance to blend with the society. "There may be cases where for whatever reasons, a lawyer is not present. But if they (the prisones) have completed 14 years in prison, the state itself can take a stand and the high court judge can pass orders to examine the case for release," it observed. The top court cited an example where an accused has been in prison for 17 years and bail plea was rejected by the high court. "Since counsel was not prepared, the plea was rejected, and thereafter, four times the plea was not heard even when counsel was ready," it said. It asked the high court to find a template on granting bail in such situations. The top court granted bail to all the 20 petitioners and scheduled the matter for further hearing in the last week of March. An autocratic national leader raises concern about the treatment of his ethno-cultural group, which forms a substantial minority, in a neighbouring country and threatens invasion if the territory they inhabit is not merged with his own country. Does this seem like what we are witnessing in Russia and Ukraine, or between Russia and other post-Soviet Union states -- with a few changes? Not exactly. This was the late summer of 1938, when Adolf Hitler, flush from the Anschluss, or "reunion" of Austria with his Third Reich earlier that year, demanded that Sudetenland, where German settlers had been living for centuries under the Austro-Hungarian Hapsburg Empire, and had become a part of the then Czechoslovakia following the World War I settlements, be handed over to him. Comparisons between Hitler and Russian President Vladimir Putin started doing the rounds as soon as war returned to Europe following the Russian military action in Ukraine. Before considering how valid these are, let us see what the Sudetenland crisis led to. As prominent statesmen from leading western democracies -- the UK and France -- buckled to Hitler's demand, giving rise to the phrase "appeasement politics", used (and misused) ever since then around the world, and Czechoslovakia, the sole democracy in Central Europe, was dismantled. Hitler assured the world that this was his last territorial demand. He did not stick to his word -- occupying the rump Czechoslovakia early next year and then, made demands on Poland for a corridor to Danzig, separated from German territory because of the same post-World War I settlements. From Lithuania, he asked for Memel. The latter may not be that known to many, apart from the fanatical history buffs, but the Polish demand triggered World War II. Comparisons between Hitler and Putin may spring to mind, but these can be a bit laboured. For one, unlike Hitler, the Russian President is not that keen on territorial aggrandisement, despite seeking the restoration of the Soviet Union/Tsarist Russia boundaries. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991, the primary focus for leaders of Russia, the primary successor state, has been the interests of ethnic Russians in the "near abroad", as the other post-Soviet Union countries, are named. This has also been accomplished by granting them Russian citizenship, as Russia has done now in the areas of Donetsk and Lugansk, which were out of Kiev's control. This worked elsewhere too - the Latvian aircrew arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the 1995 Purulia arms drop case were pardoned and released in 2000 after they acquired Russian citizenship while in an Indian jail. The Russian leader whom the Fuehrer can be better compared to has been Stalin, and Alan Bullock, one of the pioneering biographers of the German dictator, went on to compare their lives in parallel. A better comparison between what President Putin is believed to seek with his Ukrainian gambit -- a neutral, non-aligned neighbour -- would be how the Soviet Union dealt with its northern neighbour Finland from 1939 till 1991. Finland, which had been a part of the Tsarist Russian empire for over a century till it was granted its freedom in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, and after defeating its own Bolshevik revolution, had a varied foreign policy in its initial years, including participation in the Russian Civil War, and association with its Scandinavian countries. After the outbreak of World War II, the Soviet Union demanded some of its areas, especially a stretch just around 30 km from the then Leningrad (St Petersburg). Negotiations failed to make any headway and Soviet troops invaded Finland in November 1939, leading to the "Winter War". To the surprise of Soviet leaders, Finland more than held its own for two months, but ultimately capitulated early next year. The peace treaty in April 1940 made it give up considerable territory -- almost 10 per cent. The only European power that promised help was Hitler's Germany, and when it invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Finland also joined it -- but did not operate out of its former territory. Following the Nazi reverses on the eastern front, Finland sued for peace in 1944. It faced tough conditions, including the relinquishment of some more territory, but remained unoccupied and independent -- a fate no other ally of Nazi Germany enjoyed. There were some more conditions -- especially, that it remain under the Soviet orbit, but this control was much lighter than seen in central and east European countries. Its situation, in fact, became a political term - "Finlyandizatsiya" in Russian or "finlandisation", about how a powerful country makes a smaller neighboring country refrain from opposing the former's foreign policy rules, while allowing it to keep its independence and its own political system. Though the term, which originated in the West German political debate of the late 1960s as Willy Brandt began his "ostpolitik", is considered "pejorative", it is of course a more pragmatic way, and isn't politics the art of the possible? (Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in) Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Agartala, Feb 25 : The Asian Development Bank (ADB), which identified Tripura for a strategic partnership, will provide around Rs 8,000 crore over the next 4-5 years to implement various developmental projects. A Tripura finance department official said that in addition to the funding, the ADB will provide technical assistance and support for diagnostic studies. The proposed funding of Rs 8,000 crore is excluding the the current projects being implemented in Tripura. Tripura Chief Secretary Kumar Alok in a tweet said: "Projects requiring regional cooperation with Bangladesh have also been identified and will be taken forward with the consent of both countries' governments. I thank Shri Sameer Khare, ED ADB and County Director Mr Takeo Konishi for taking this initiative." The finance department official said that the government is working for the socio-economic development of the state by prioritising development of the health, industry, education, transport, tourism, agriculture, infrastructure sectors and the ADB has came forward to speed up the development of these primary sectors. An ADB delegation headed by the bank's Executive Director Samir Kumar Khare earlier this week held a series of meetings with Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma, who holds the finance portfolio, and senior officials. Deb lauded the ADB for identifying Tripura for a strategic partnership and emphasised upon the successful and speedy implementation of all the schemes taken up by the ADB for the development of the state. Deputy Chief Minister Varma said that a huge part of the state is forest area and the ADB has scope to work on different schemes on climate change based on the state forest resources. Besides that, there is a lot of scope for the ADB to invest in the industry, infrastructure, tourism, health sectors, he added. ADB Executive Director Samir Kumar Khare during the meetings with the state government elaborated about the plans taken up by the bank for the next four years for the development of different sectors through a pictorial presentation. ADB's Country Director Takio Konishi also attended these meetings. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested on Friday that it would be "easier" to negotiate with the Ukrainian Army than with politicians in Kiev. Ukraine's armed forces should "take power" in the country and negotiate peace with Moscow, Putin said during a Russian Security Council meeting on Friday, RT reported. He also accused the Kiev government and "neo-Nazis" of using civilians as "human shields" amid Russia's offensive in Ukraine. Putin said the Ukrainian military must not allow the government to use their "children, wives and loved ones as human shields" - tactics he insisted Kiev is using during Moscow's military operation, the report said. "Take the power into your own hands!" the Russian President said, arguing that the army would be a better negotiating partner than "a bunch of drug-addicts and neo-Nazis" who he claimed have "entrenched themselves in Kiev", and have been holding the people "hostage", RT reported. "Also, I would like to commend the efficiency of Russian armed forces, they have been acting honourably, heroically and they are effective and efficient at protecting the Russian people and their homeland," Putin said. Patna, Feb 25 : Two more families in Bihar have requested the Indian government to conduct rescue operations in the war-torn Ukraine and bring back their children. Subham Mishra, a resident of Maner, who went to Ukraine's Kharkiv to study medical science, is trapped in the war zone. Mishra is a student of Kharkiv Medical College. He is currently staying at a metro station in Kiev, and is said to be safe. His father Rajesh Mishra told IANS: "We have contacted him through WhatsApp in the morning hours and he said that he is safe and sound and staying in a metro station. He informed me that the situation is extremely bad there. He has only one packet of biscuit and one bottle of water in this bag." "The biggest concern for us is low temperature. In the night, the temperature goes into minus 20 degree Celsius these days. In these adverse circumstances, it is extremely difficult to stay in the metro station," Mishra told IANS. Meanwhile, another man from Katihar also requested the government to ensure safety of his daughter, Nidhi Jha. "My daughter is staying in Kiev, and is safe. We requested the government to rescue Indian students from the war zone. She is a third year medical student. We are extremely scared due to the war between Russia and Ukraine," said Chandrashekher Jha. Earlier in the day, the family members of a student Ankit Kumar Shah had requested the Indian government to start a rescue operation in Ukraine. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Ukraine has made claims that Russian forces have attacked orphanages and nurseries in the country, Sky News reported. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter (which has been translated into English): "Today's Russian attacks on kindergartens and orphanages are war crimes and violations of the Rome Statute. "Together with the Office of the Attorney General, we are collecting these and other materials, which we will immediately transfer to The Hague. Responsibility is inevitable," Sky News reported. A reporter on the ground has also claimed to have images from the alleged attack on a kindergarten - which was being used at the time as a shelter. The European Union will freeze bank accounts of Russia's President Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in the bloc but will not issue a travel ban, Austria's foreign minister has announced, Sky News reported. Alexander Schallenberg said: "There will be no travel ban against them, though, because we want to retain the possibility of negotiations in order to end the violence in Ukraine." He made the comments as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, confirming an earlier report in the FT. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the response of the Centre, and others on a plea filed by a woman alleging forceful conversion of her daughter by a Child Care Institution. A division bench, headed by Chief Justice D.N. Patel was hearing the plea, in which the mother alleged that her daughter was forcefully converted to another religion after she was remanded by the Child Welfare Committee under the Juvenile Justice Act. The plea, filed through advocate Dibyanshu Pandey, was challenging various provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules, 2016, pertaining to power, functions, and composition of the Child Welfare Committees. The bench, also comprising Justice Jyoti Singh, issued notice to the Centre and other respondents after hearing the plea. In her plea, the petitioner alleged that provisions of the JJ Act confer arbitrary powers on the CWC, which led to violation of the fundamental rights of her and her daughter. As per the woman's plea, her daughter was arbitrarily sent into institutional care, where she was indoctrinated into another religion without parental consent and was also subjected to cruelty and exploitation for more than five months. The petitioner alleged that two NGOs were trapping her daughter. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky had an ominous warning for his European counterparts in a video conference call on Thursday night, Sky News reported. According to a journalist at Israel's Walla News, he told other leaders: "This might be the last time you see me alive." The Ukrainian presidential advisor earlier warned that Russia wants to kill Zelensky if it takes Ukraine's capital. It's believed Russia is planning to install a puppet government in Ukraine should it successfully capture Kiev, the report said. A squad of Chechen special forces 'hunters' has been unleashed in Ukraine to detain or kill a set of specific Ukrainian officials, Daily Mail reported. Each soldier was reportedly given a special 'deck of cards' with Ukrainian officials' photos and descriptions on them, a Moscow Telegram channel with links to the security establishment reported, Daily Mail reported. The list is of officials and security officers suspected of 'crimes' by the Russian Investigative Committee, the report added. It came as Ukraine's President admitted that he is 'target number one' for Russian assassins in his capital, while his family is 'the number two goal' for Putin's hitmen. The Chechen squad is thought to be in a Ukrainian forest and was allegedly given an 'order to kill' if those on the wanted list could not be detained, the report said. New Delhi, Feb 25 : Ukrainian citizens flooded the country's ATMs in an attempt to withdraw their money as the military conflict with Russia intensified. Russians have also been queuing at the banks, RT reported. Long queues of people trying to withdraw cash have led to fears of bank runs. Images taken in Ukraine capital Kiev and other major cities showed long lines forming at ATMs after the central bank, the NBU, enacted a temporary cash withdrawal limit of 100,000 Ukrainian hryvnia per day (about $3,353). On Friday, the head of the NBU said that the flow of cash into ATMs would not be limited, and non-cash payments are also not subject to restrictions. The regulator, however, has prohibited the country's banks from making any foreign exchange transactions using Russian and Belarusian rubles. It has also banned operations on the accounts of Russian residents and introduced a moratorium on cross-border currency payments, the report said. In Russia, people have also been seen queuing outside of ATMs. Data by the Russian central bank showed that demand from the population and businesses for cash has jumped to its highest levels since March 2020, RT reported. On Thursday, Russians withdrew more than 100 billion rubles (over $1 billion) from their accounts. However, that amount is 1.5 times lower than during the surge in currency withdrawals at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Russian regulator has announced an emergency support package, saying it will ensure the maintenance of fiscal stability and the business continuity of financial institutions by using all necessary tools. The central bank assured that the country's credit organisations have a clear plan of action for any scenario. Jaipur, Feb 25 : Many students from Rajasthan are stuck in war-hit Ukraine, who are awaiting help from the Centre to return to India. Mahendra, a student from Nagaur studying in Ukraine, urged the Rajasthan government and the government of India to help him and other students return to India. In a video message shared on social media, Mahendra said, "Indian students are worst-affected by the war between Ukraine and Russia and hence the state and Central governments should work to bring us back soon." He tagged @PMO and @RajCMO in his twAet. Meanwhile, two girls from Bhilwara, who returned home recently, said that a few students from Bhilwara are still stuck in Ukraine. "They are worried and terrorised," said Avika Vijayvergiya. Meanwhile, another student named Aashita Soni said, "The Indian government should help us reach home." Another student, Harshil Mehra, said that all they can hear is the sound of explosions. "Our friends who left for airport are quite sad as the airport was shut. We are hoping the Indian government will help us," he said. Another medical student from Anupgarh in Shriganganagar district said the situation is quite tensed in Ukraine and there are around 100 students with her. "We have been advised to stay where we are and the Indian Embassy has assured quick help," he said. Bharatpur district' Shubham, who's pursuing his MBBS in Ukraine, said that roads are deserted in the country and everyone has packed themselves inside their houses. "A few minutes back, we were asked to pack our bags as we are being sent to a safe place," Shubham said, adding, "Marshal law has been clamped here, so everyone stuck inside their houses." New Delhi, Feb 25 : Amid the crisis in Ukraine, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday that the first batch of evacuees from the war-hit nation has reached Romania via the Suceava border crossing. "The MEA team at Suceava will now be facilitating their travel to (Hungary capital) Bucharest for their onward journey to India," said MEA spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi. The government has arranged two Air India flights to ferry them back from Bucharest on Saturday, sources said. The Indian Embassy in Ukraine is working on evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary and the teams are present at Chop-Zahony Hungarian border near Uzhhorod, and Porubne-Siret Romanian border near Chernivtsi. Scores of stranded Indian students have taken shelter in different schools across Ukraine to evade bombing. Earlier on Friday, Indian authorities had told the students living near the Hungarian and Romanian borders to depart first in an organised manner in coordination with the teams officials who have moved to the borders from neghbouring Poland, Hungary and Romania. A 20-year-old medical student, Ankit Kumar, who's stranded in Kiev, told IANS that thousands of Indian students from different cities of Ukraine are running from pillar to post to get help to leave the country. "Finally today, many of them could come together in schools in different Ukraine cities with the help of the Indian Embassy," Kumar said. New Delhi, Feb 25 : It is not just the road widening for Char Dham Yatra project that has earned flak for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). In Telangana, a special committee of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has recommended re-alignment of a 4-lane road that was originally planned to cut right across a water body belonging to the state Irrigation Department. The Committee submitted on February 24 to the NGT its report that was prepared on February 19. Chuttukunta tank, a traditional reservoir, in Raghava Puram Village in Suryapet district of Telangana, is the subject matter of debate in front of the NGT wherein it was alleged that the NHAI had planned a road that simply cut across it. On February 15, the NHAI authorities, during a discussion, said, "The alignment of the 4-lane road was adopted by not considering this particular water body in the Detailed Project Report. Simple cross drainage was taken into consideration for the alignment." The proposed alignment will bifurcate the tank bed into two parts for a stretch of 340 metres directly affecting the water spread area to the extent of 3.36 acres as against the total water spread area of 33.63 acres, which, the Telangana Irrigation Department officials claimed, "is a clear indication of reduction of tank capacity." The Irrigation Department also refused to provide NOC as it said that the road alignment was new and the NOC should have been sought earlier as no construction activity can be allowed in the tank bed. It also refused to accept NHAI's offer of deepening the tank bed as it will lead to water level below the sluice gate and can have more dead storage, of no use to irrigation. It had also raised objections to the executive engineer's recommendations as per order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, of column bridge. It further quoted previous examples from different villages where such construction in tank bed was disallowed and the road alignment was shifted away. The Committee, therefore, considered that the proposed alignment is a "clear case if interference of road for a length of 340 metres with a width of 40 metres covering 3.36 acres in the water spread areas of the tank" and hence recommended that NH alignment has to shift towards north to ensure "equilibrium ecosystem of the water body". New Delhi, Feb 25 : Moscow will respond to the sanctions imposed by the US and its allies over Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the head of the Russian Senate, Valentina Matviyenko, told journalists during her visit to Tajikistan on Friday, RT reported. "As for the reciprocal sanctions... they are ready," Matviyenko said, adding that Russia's response would not mirror the restrictions imposed by Washington and its allies, but would instead hit the western nations where it hurts. "We are well aware of the West's weak spots and we have drafted an entire package... a series of potential sanctions to be used against those nations that announced sanctions against Russia," the Senate head said, adding that "the West has many soft spots", the report said. The official did not elaborate on any details of the drafted sanction proposals. She only said that the measures would be designed so as not to hurt Russia itself. The Russian government has taken "all the threats stemming from sanctions" into account and developed "safety mechanisms", RT reported. Matviyenko has also said that Russia will remain a reliable gas supplier for Europe despite measures taken by the US and Germany against the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. Berlin decided to put an immediate halt to the certification of the project even before Russia launched its operation in Ukraine. The decision was taken following the official recognition by Moscow of the two breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk Republics earlier this week, the report said. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War New Delhi, Feb 25 : A defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged European countries to do more to help, as he urged his citizens to resist Russian invasion, BBC reported. The second day of fighting saw tanks enter the capital, Kiev, for the first time, as Ukrainian military vehicles also rushed to the city to defend it. Ukrainian officials said they have handed out 18,000 guns to volunteers, as well as issuing instructions on how to make petrol bombs, the report said. Fighting continues across the nation. "Russian tanks are still shooting residential buildings in our cities," Zelensky said in an address to the nation earlier. Zelensky said Western nations - and nearby Europe in particular - must go further and "act without delay", BBC reported. "Europe has enough strength to stop this aggression," he said. "The columns of tanks and the air strikes are very similar to what Europe saw a long time ago, during WW2 - something about which it said 'never again'," he said, adding: "But here it is, again. Now, in 2022. 75 years after World War II ended." He said all counter-measures must be considered -- including throwing Russia out of Swift, imposing visa bans and closing airspace to Russia, BBC reported. The Ukraine President's appeal came as Russia offered talks with Ukraine for the first time since the crisis began, but under restrictive conditions. Zelensky has been seeking talks with Vladimir Putin since before the invasion began. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The National Investigation Agency on Friday conducted searches at three different locations, including Wayanad district of Kerala as well as Guntur and Chittor districts of Andhra Pradesh in connection with a case pertaining to recruitment of vulnerable youth into banned Communist Party Of India-Maoist. The youths were allegedly recruited into the CPI-Maoist and further trained for induction into its frontal organisations, and in organising terrorist camps to further the activities of CPI-Maoist, and threatening the unity, integrity and sovereignty of India. During the searches conducted, various incriminating documents, digital devices, SIM cards and digital storage devices have been seized. Bengaluru, Feb 25 : Dabang Delhi KC clinched the Pro Kabaddi League season 8 trophy after beating Patna Pirates 37-36 in the final, here on Friday. The star raider Naveen Kumar (13 points) and all-rounder Vijay (14 points) secured Super 10s as Delhi overcame a tough challenge from three-time champions Patna Pirates. Patna had an uncharacteristically poor night in the defence with the likes of Mohammadreza Shadloui and Sunil committing far too many errors. The Pirates, however, had a chance to level the scores in the final move of the match, but Naveen evaded the defenders to cross the baulk line and win Delhi their first PKL trophy. The match had a high-intensity start with both sets of raiders picking up points. The defences opted for a cautious approach and conceded easy Bonus Points. Sachin's pace caused troubles in the Delhi defences while the Patna defenders stayed away from tackles on Delhi's Naveen Kumar. Mohammadreza Shadloui clinched the first successful tackle in the 7th minute and sent Naveen Kumar to the dugout. That helped Patna get a man advantage on the mat and they converted it into an all-out by the 11th minute. The Pirates opened a 4-point lead but Delhi immediately staged a fightback with Sandeep Narwal tackling Sachin successfully. Delhi matched Patna blow-for-blow but Sachin's clever raids helped the Pirates evade an all-out. Both left corners - Delhi's Joginder Narwal and Patna's Mohammadreza Shadloui -- made uncanny errors. It became a cagey affair in the final minutes of the first half with both teams not wanting to make mistakes. The scores were 17-15 at the interval with Patna in the lead. Both teams had just two successful tackles each in the first half. Naveen and Sachin opened the second half with successful raids. But Delhi's experienced defence ensured they inched closer to inflicting an all-out in the early minutes. But raider Guman Singh clinched a 2-point raid in the 6th minute after the break to help Patna who had their backs against the wall. Shadloui then backed it up with a tackle on Naveen Kumar. Patna thought they had changed the balance of the match but Delhi's all-rounder Vijay secured a 3-point Super Raid to sustain the pressure. The scores were level at 24-24 with 10 minutes remaining in the final. Naveen clinched his Super 10 immediately after the first Time Out. Delhi continued to dominate the mat and inflicted an ALL OUT with 6 minutes remaining to open a 2-point lead. Vijay followed it up with a 2-point raid for Delhi as they sensed an opportunity to take the match completely away from Patna. Patna's defence, especially Shadloui, was having an unusually poor night and the team conceded another 3-point Super Raid with three minutes left in the match. The all-rounder picked his Super 10 in the process. Shadloui turned raider in the final minutes to pick up points to make it a 1-point match in the last raid of the match. But Naveen kept calm and crossed the baulk line to clinch the match for Dabang Delhi K.C. New Delhi, Feb 25 : The realty sector can no longer turn a blind eye to sustainable and climate-conscious practices and must take more assertive steps for adoption of green building practices, Tara Subramaniam, President of National Real Estate Development Counil's (NAREDCO) women wing MAHI, said on Friday. The real estate sector contributes 20 per cent of greenhouse gases. Subramaniam made the remarks at the first-ever women-focused realty convention held in New Delhi. She added that women in the real estate sector should think of modern and progressive ways for driving further growth in the sector. The NAREDCO's women wing was established to empower women entrepreneurs and to further encourage participation of women in the real estate sector and make the space more inclusive. D. Thara, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, stressed on the need for women to bring about different and new dimensions into property development and architecture, the Council said in a statement. Thara urged women to break traditions and create new opportunities. "It should be looked upon as to how we can break the way the labour market operates. Why cannot a woman be a good mason? If a woman is made a sub-contractor, it would make women workers from rural areas feel much safer," the Council added in the statement quoting the Additional Secretary. NAREDCO is an autonomous self-regulatory body under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Bhubaneswar, Feb 25 : Senior Congress leader and former Odisha Chief Minister, Hemananda Biswal passed away here at a private hospital on Friday, his daughter Sunita said. He was 82. Biswal served as Chief Minister of Odisha twice - from December 7, 1989 to March 3, 1990, and from December 6, 1999 to March 5, 2000. The first tribal Chief Minister of the state, he was also Deputy CM from March 15, 1995 to May 9, 1998. Biswal joined Congress in 1972 and was elected to the Assembly for the first time in 1974 and again re-elected in 1980 to till 2004 from Laikera Assembly segment in Jharsuguda district. He was elected as an MP from Sundergarh in 2009-14. A six-time MLA, he served as minister of several departments including Home, Industries, Panchayati Raj, General Administration, and Health. He is survived by five daughters - Sabita, Sanjukya, Manjulata, Sunita, and Anita. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi condoled his demise. "Anguished by the passing away of former Odisha CM Shri Hemananda Biswal Ji. He was active in public life for many years and worked extensively among people. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with his family and supporters. Om Shanti," Modi tweeted. Expressing his heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Biswal, Gandhi, in a tweet, said, "He was a stalwart of the Congress Party and would be remembered as a great tribal leader." Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal and senior leaders from the state, including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state Congress President Niranjan Patnaik have expressed grief at the demise of the leader. Doha, Feb 25 : Poland's Iga Swiatek, the No 7th seed in the world, notched a breakthrough win over No.6 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece. The 6-4, 6-3 win against Sakkari helped Swiatek eeach the final. Swiatek advances to the Doha final for the first time, where she will meet No.4 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia for the title. 2020 Roland Garros champion Swiatek will be going for her fourth career WTA singles title while Kontaveit seeks her seventh. Fast facts: Swiatek and Sakkari had their first three meetings all last year - and each time Sakkari had won in straight sets. Sakkari was even responsible for ending Swiatek's 2020 Roland Garros title defense in the 2021 quarterfinals. But Swiatek finally solved the Sakkari riddle in Doha, moving into a WTA 1000 final for the second time in her career, and the first time on a hard court. In her previous WTA 1000 final, Swiatek thumped Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 to win the Rome crown last year. gainst Sakkari, Swiatek was in blistering form, taking the clash in an hour and 28 minutes. Swiatek slammed 20 winners in the affair while allowing Sakkari only nine winners. Each player had eight break points, but Swiatek converted five while Sakkari converted three. Swiatek has now collected seven Top 10 wins in her career, and two consecutively this week after knocking off top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. Guwahati, Feb 25 : President Ram Nath Kovind said on Friday that Lachit Barphukan, the celebrated General of the Ahom dynasty, defeated Aurangzeb's army in the historic Saraighat battle and that defeat proved to be the final nail in the coffin of the expansionist policies of Mughals in northeast India. Inaugurating the year-long celebrations of 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Barphukan, Kovind added that the land of Assam is one of the few areas where all the attempts of the invaders in the medieval period were thwarted. "Mughals made repeated attempts for expanding their empire in the northeastern region. In the battle of Alaboi in 1669, around 10,000 brave soldiers of Assam sacrificed their lives. After that the feeling of patriotism got stronger. Two years later, in the battle of Alaboi, Lachit Barphukan retaliated and not only Aurangzeb's army was defeated in the historic battle of Saraighat, but that defeat proved to be the final nail in the coffin of the expansionist policies of Mughals in the northeast," the President said. He added that 'Lachit Barphukan Gold Medal Award' was instituted at the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 1999 and is given annually to the best cadet. A statue of this great warrior was also established in the NDA campus. Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi said that to project the heroic activities of Barphukan, former Assam Governor Lt. Gen (Retd.) S.K. Sinha, with his initiative installed a statue of Barphukan at the NDA. At the Assam Raj Bhavan, Barphukan's memory is honoured as one of the wings of the Raj Bhavan has been named as 'Lachit Dwar', the Governor said, adding that setting up of the Alaboi battle war memorial in Kamrup district and construction of Lachit Barphukan Maidan in Jorhat corroborate the efforts of the Assam government. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while addressing the year-long celebrations of the 400th birth anniversary of Barphukan at a function held at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati highlighted the heroic sacrifice and contribution of the 17th-century war hero from Assam. Kovind accompanied by his wife and daughter arrived in Guwahati on Friday on a three-day visit to Assam and visited the Kamakhya temple atop Nilachal Hill and offered his prayers. On Saturday, the President will address the 19th convocation of Tezpur University in Sonitpur district and then he will visit the famous Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve and take a jeep safari at the Bagori range. Kovind and his family before leaving for Delhi will take an elephant safari on Sunday. New Delhi, Feb 26 : As hostilities continue between Russia and Ukraine, the Tata Group-led Air India will mount direct flights to Romania and Hungary for bringing back stranded Indians. Romania and Hungary share land borders with Ukraine. Many Indian nationals, including students, have made their way into these countries from Ukraine. Air India will operate two flights, one each from Delhi and Mumbai, to Bucharest (Romania) and Budapest (Hungary) on Saturday as special government charter flights. These flights will be operated on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft which have a capacity of 254 passengers per plane. "Air India has always been playing a pivotal role, standing by the nation during any crisis and now, inspired by the common mission shared by the Tata group and AI of serving the nation & its people first," the airline said late on Friday night. "Our employees are only too eager to respond to the call of our nation, driven by our values & conviction that 'if we don't do it then who will?'," it added. Earlier, Air India was operating direct special flights to Kiev but it had to stop these operations due to a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) issued over the closure of the Ukrainian air space. In fact, one of Air India's flight bound for Kiev from New Delhi returned to the national capital's IGI Airport after NOTAM was announced at Kiev airport on Thursday. On Tuesday, the airline had carried out the first of its special flight operations ferrying Indian citizens from Ukraine. Apart from Air India, other Indian operators were expected to start special flight services to Ukraine. Last week, the Centre removed the restrictions on the number of flights and seats between India and Ukraine, evidently to facilitate the return of Indian students and professionals stranded in the east European nation due to the ongoing tensions with Russia. -IANS rv/arm New Delhi, Feb 26 : Russias communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said on Friday that it is partially restricting access to Meta platforms Facebook in response to restrictions the US social media giant has imposed on Russian media, accusing Facebook of censorship, The Guardian reported. "On February 25, the prosecutor general's office, in agreement with the foreign ministry, decided that the social network Facebook is involved in the violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens," a statement of the Roskomnadzor website said, adding that starting from Friday, measures would be taken to "partially restrict access" to Facebook, The Guardian reported. It is not immediately clear what the restrictions would involve. Russia has recently turned up the pressure on western social media giants. Last year, the country slowed down the operations of Twitter, after it was accused of failing to remove illegal content, the report said. Kremlin critics have previously warned that a potential invasion of Ukraine could have negative consequences for Russia's civil society. "Any potential military action of any scale puts Navalny's life at greatest risk yet," Maria Pevchuk, the ally of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, tweeted just two weeks ago, The Guardian reported. Bhubaneswar, Feb 26 : The Odisha State Election Commission (SEC) on Friday announced that election for 109 urban local bodies (ULBs) in the state will be held on March 24. State Election Commissioner, Aditya Prasad Padhi said the elections will he held for 47 municipalities, 59 notified area councils (NACS) and three municipal corporations of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Berhampur. The election results will be declared on March 26, he added. The election officer will issue formal notification for the election on February 28 while candidates can file their nominations from March 2 to 7. The candidates can withdraw their nomination papers by March 14, Padhi said. He informed that the model code of conduct will remain in force only in the jurisdictions of the ULBs till March 26 from Friday. For the first time, there will be direct election for the post of Mayor and Chairperson, and none-of-the-above (NOTA) option will be used in the poll. This time, the submission of affidavits by the candidates has been made compulsory, the State Election Commissioner added. More than 41 lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in the urban body elections. Nearly 27 lakh voters, 3,030 booths and 1,731 wards are there in 106 municipalities and NACs while there are 14.26 lakh voters, 168 wards and 1407 booths in the three municipal corporations. Two EVMs will be used in each booth -- one for Mayor or Chairperson and another for corporators and councillors. Padhi said the term of maximum ULBs in Odisha ended in September 2018 while the term of Hindol and Attabira NACs has not been completed so far. The newly constituted NACs at Remuna, Chandbali, Dhamnagar and Bijepur will go to polls for the first time, he added. The term of Berhampur Municipal Corporation ended in September 2018 while the tenure of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Cuttack Municipal Corporation ended in January and February 2019, respectively. New Delhi, Feb 26 : A radiation spike has been recorded near Chernobyl's nuclear power plant which has been seized by Russian forces, monitoring data shows, BBC reported. Invading Russian troops took control of the plant -- the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986 -- on Thursday, Ukraine said. Radiation levels increased about 20-fold on Thursday, monitoring stations there reported, as per BBC report. But experts say another major nuclear disaster there is "extremely unlikely". The rise was caused by heavy military vehicles stirring contaminated soil in the 4,000-square km (2,485 square-mile) exclusion zone surrounding the abandoned plant, Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate reported. The biggest spike was recorded close to the damaged reactor. Radiation levels are continuously monitored there -- measured as a dose that you would receive per hour in a location. Close to the reactor, normally receive a dose of about three units -- called microsieverts -- every hour. But on Thursday, that jumped to 65 microSv/hrs -- about five times more than you would get on one transatlantic flight, BBC reported. Claire Corkhill, a nuclear materials expert from Sheffield University, told the BBC the spike was "quite localised" and there had been increases along the main routes in and out of the zone around the reactor. "The increased movement of people and vehicles in and around the Chernobyl zone will have kicked up radioactive dust that's on the ground," Corkhill said. New Delhi, Feb 26 : North-Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) leaders said they are deploying more troops to eastern Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, BBC reported. "No one should be fooled by the Russian government's barrage of lies," the 30 leaders said in a joint statement, the report said. "President Putin's decision to attack Ukraine is a terrible strategic mistake, for which Russia will pay a severe price, both economically and politically, for years to come," the statement says, as per BBC report. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia has "shattered peace in Europe". NATO has deployed elements of its rapid response force on land, sea and in the air towards eastern Europe. He said that the security bloc has "already strengthened our defence" and that the US, Canada and European countries have already deployed thousands of troops in the region, BBC reported. More than 100 fighter jets are now operating in 30 defence locations in Europe, accompanied by more than 120 ships and three strike carrier groups, Stoltenberg added. He emphasises that the forces will defend "every inch of NATO territory" and adds that it will continue to offer support to Ukraine, as well as other nations in the region threatened by Russia, including Georgia, Moldova and Bosnia, as per BBC report. NATO has already made it clear that it won't send troops to Ukraine, which is not a member of the alliance. He called on Russia to immediately cease its assault, withdraw its forces from Ukraine and to re-enter a peaceful dialogue, BBC reported. The NATO Secretary-General said the invasion has caused enormous suffering and argues that Western leaders must "stand ready to do more, even if it means we have to pay a price, because we are in this for the long haul". Stoltenberg says that the "Kremlin's objectives are not limited to Ukraine" and says that Russia has demanded legally binding agreements to halt further NATO expansion, according to BBC report. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Moscow, Feb 26 : Russia has no purpose of occupying Ukraine and Moscow is ready to hold negotiations straight after the Ukrainian forces "lay down their arms," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said "Russia will ensure the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine. We have suffered too much from Nazism, and the Ukrainian people suffered too much to just turn a blind eye to all this," Lavrov added on Friday during a press conference. No one will abuse the Ukrainian soldiers, who can return to their families after ending hostilities, he said. Russia has always been in favour of talks and there is still a chance for dialogue on Russia's security concerns, according to Lavrov. "We have always advocated a diplomatic solution. It was Russia that played a decisive role in laying a reliable foundation for a diplomatic solution, the Minsk agreements," the Minister added. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised "a special military operation" in Donbas, and Ukraine confirmed that military installations across the country were under attack, Xinhua news agency reported. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said the Russian Armed Forces have disabled 118 military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War Kuwait City, Feb 26 : Celebrations were held to mark Kuwait's National and Liberation Days, which are observed annually on February 25 and 26. Residents in Kuwait City watched as fighter jets flew over the Kuwait Towers. To commemorate the day on Friday, Kuwait's Ministry of Defense held a show of military vehicles and equipment. In many parts of the country, citizens took part in various celebrations. Following a steady decline in the number of new Covid-19 cases, the country loosened restrictions on February 14, allowing more activities to take place and the unvaccinated people to travel if they adhere to health regulations. The celebrations this year amid the easing of Covid-19 restrictions have been warmly received by many residents, Xinhua news agency reported. Originally, June 19 was designated as Kuwait's National Day, but due to the intense heat waves in June, the country chose to move it to February 25. Kuwait's Liberation Day is celebrated every year on February 26. The holiday commemorates the liberation of Kuwait in 1991 after a seven-month Iraqi occupation. Washington, Feb 26 : US President Joe Biden will announce his intent to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court, according to the White House. Jackson, who currently sits on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, will be the first African American woman serving on the country's highest court if the Senate confirms the nomination. The nomination came nearly a month after Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a longtime liberal, said that he is about to retire this summer after nearly three decades on the bench. Jackson clerked for Breyer in the 1999-2000 term, Xinhua news agency reported. The White House on Friday said in a statement that Biden had "conducted a rigorous process" to identify Breyer's replacement and "sought an individual who is committed to equal justice under the law and who understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court's decisions have on the lives of the American people." "Judge Jackson is an exceptionally qualified nominee" as well as a historic nominee, the statement said. "The Senate should move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation." The US President will deliver remarks announcing the nomination at the White House on Friday afternoon. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden pledged he would tap an African American woman to be his nominee to the Supreme Court if he got the chance. The Democrat reaffirmed the commitment after Breyer's announcement of retirement but has drawn criticism from some Republicans on Capitol Hill, who have argued that the selection should be based on merit rather than race or gender. Jackson, 51, has been viewed as a potential candidate for the Supreme Court after she was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 with bipartisan support to the D.C. Circuit, often referred to as the second most powerful court in the US. Born in D.C. but raised in Miami, Jackson received her law degree from Harvard University and graduated cum laude in 1996. Earlier in her legal career, she worked as an assistant federal public defender in D.C. and served as vice chair of the US Sentencing Commission for four years. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement on Friday that he looks forward to meeting with Jackson in person and "studying her record, legal views, and judicial philosophy." McConnell also noted he voted against confirming Jackson to the D.C. Circuit in 2021 and alleged she "was the favoured choice of far-left dark-money groups that have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the Court itself." "With that said, I look forward to carefully reviewing Judge Jackson's nomination during the vigorous and thorough Senate process that the American people deserve," he added. It requires a simple majority of votes in the 100-seat Senate to approve Biden's nomination of Jackson to be the next Supreme Court Justice. The Senate is evenly split between the two parties. Democrats can approve the nomination without any Republican support, with Vice-President Kamala Harris casting a tie-breaking vote. The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the US judicial system, with the power to review and overturn the decisions of lower courts, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law, including the country's constitution. The high court consists of nine justices, who have life tenure and can serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office. Currently, conservatives have a 6-3 majority over liberals on the bench, and Jackson's ascension won't change the court's ideological balance. Tehran, Feb 26 : Head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, Mohammad Eslami said Iran is entitled to develop its "civilian" nuclear program, Press TV reported. Dismissing allegations by some countries that Iran is seeking "to make an atomic bomb," Eslami said on Thursday that this is the right of his country to develop its civilian nuclear energy program, given that it is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The IAEA is duty-bound to encourage and assist the development and practical application of peaceful atomic energy throughout the world, he said, adding that however, "not only did they (IAEA) withhold help (to Iran), but they also created obstacles." With regard to Iran's current negotiations with the world powers in the Austrian capital of Vienna, the Iranian Nuclear Chief said the purpose of negotiations is the removal of sanctions imposed by the US, Xinhua news agency reported. Iran's stance in this regard is clear, as "the talks are aimed at having the sanctions removed, establishing a verification regime on the removal of sanctions, and taking guarantees from the other side they will not violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) again," he was quoted as saying. Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the JCPOA, with world powers in July 2015. However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran. Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in Austria's capital Vienna between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, with the US indirectly involved in the talks, to revive the landmark deal. United Nations, Feb 26 : The UN General Assembly held a hybrid high-level debate to ramp up momentum for universal vaccination against the Covid-19 pandemic, with participants calling for solidarity, equality and action. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, on Friday appealed for greater global solidarity to vaccinate the entire world against Covid-19. In his remarks at the "Galvanising momentum for universal vaccination" debate, Shahid underscored the persistent inequity in access to these lifesaving medicines and the failure of the international community to protect everyone from the disease. "Let me be clear: vaccine inequity is immoral, and it is impractical," he said, speaking from the iconic UN General Assembly Hall in New York, Xinhua news agency reported. As of Friday, there were more than 428.5 million cases of Covid-19 globally, and 5.9 million deaths, according to the World Health Organisation. Shahid said although more than 10 billion vaccines have been administered around the world so far -- enough to inoculate every person on the planet -- some 83 per cent of the population of the African Union has yet to receive a single Covid vaccine dose. "It is not okay that 27 countries have vaccinated less than 10 per cent of their populations while others are rolling out boosters or lifting restrictions entirely," he added. He convened the day-long debate to galvanise momentum toward ensuring everyone can receive vaccines, bringing together world leaders, senior UN officials, civil society and non-profit representatives, private sector stakeholders, front-line first responders and even celebrities. "If the pandemic has shown us anything, it is the importance of collective action -- that our strength lies in solidarity," he said. In a video message to the meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called vaccine inequity "a moral indictment of our times," as it costs lives, damages economies, and allows the virus to circulate and mutate. Galvanising momentum means countries share vaccine doses and contribute to the COVAX solidarity mechanism, said the UN Chief. "It means manufacturers prioritising and fulfilling vaccine contracts with COVAX, ensuring full transparency on monthly production and creating the conditions for the local or regional production of tests, vaccines and treatments," he added. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies must share licenses, know-how and technology to support vaccine production across regions, said the UN Chief. Funding from donors and international financial institutions also needs to be ramped up, as does the fight against the "plague" of vaccine misinformation, he added. "We have seen hopeful progress when supply is secured and predictable... when doses are donated with ample shelf-life... and when there is a deep understanding of what a country needs to accelerate vaccinations," Guterres added. The President of the UN Economic and Social Council, Collen Vixen Kelapile, addressed the dichotomy of the Covid-19 pandemic. The crisis has shattered lives and livelihoods, among other fallouts, and wiped out advances in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), he said. However, he noted that it has also shown the best humanity can achieve, with the development of vaccines in record time. "The extent to which we are able to ensure fair and equal access to the vaccines will determine the ability of the most vulnerable countries to recover from the pandemic," he added. "It will determine whether the world can truly overcome the pandemic, and embark on a sustainable recovery and achieve the SDGs," he said. The Justin Swaggerty Aviation Foundation (JSAF) will hold a special press conference for the launch of the newly formed foundation. The event will be held at the Naples Hilton at 5111 Tamiami Trail N, Naples FL 34103 on Thursday March 3, 2022 from 10:00am 12:00pm. At the press conference founder Laura Swaggerty will be on hand to introduce the exciting mission and goals of the foundation. JSAF was formed to honor the memory of her late son, Justin Swaggerty. He was just weeks away from turning 21 and becoming a commercial pilot when he passed away. Laura Swaggerty, Justin's mom, lives in Naples, Florida. She established the Justin Swaggerty Aviation Fund to help students who want to pursue a career in aviation. JSAF will raise funds to provide scholarships for young adults who need financial assistance while pursuing their dream of becoming a private or commercial pilot through Paragon Aviation at Paige Field in Ft Myers and NAC Naples. It is also Laura's vision to send out mercy flights with Agape Aviation to help those in crisis that are in need of food and supplies. Justins life was short but fruitful. It wasnt until after he passed that I realized that he was so encouraging and impactful to so many people who came across his path. I want to continue his legacy of love and help other young people who share his passion for flying to pursue their dreams as well, said Justins mother, Laura Swaggerty. Justin Swaggerty was born on July 27, 1999 and passed away on June 6, 2020. He truly enjoyed flying and sharing his passion for flight with others. Despite many obstacles, including being raised without the presence and support of a father, Justin believed in going for his dreams and encouraging others to do the same. There is a shortage of pilots and it is a rewarding career, but many young people might think its out of their reach. JSAF would like to honor Justin by encouraging other young people to follow their dreams of becoming a pilot. About the Justin Swaggerty Aviation Foundation (JSAF) The mission of JSAF is to inspire young adults to build faith, achieve greatness and manifest their dreams through their passion for flying. To learn more about JSAF visit http://www.jswagaviation.org. Connext Global Solutions Highlights 71% Company Growth Expanded Leadership Team, Emphasizes Focus on Customer Service Co-Sourcing What really makes us different in the business process outsourcing space is our commitment to management excellence, accountability, and trust, added Taylor Goucher, Director of Client Services for Connext. Connext Global Solutions (Connext) is helping mid-sized businesses tackle the workplace shortage head-on with innovative remote staffing solutions. Today, the company announced significant growth in 2021, culminating in hitting the 300-employee milestone, the leasing of a 10,000 square foot/300 seat building to expand staffing, and the creation of a new leadership role to support the companys dedication to helping customer service leaders rapidly scale their operations. The companys growth in 2021 placed the company in a power position within the Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) industry. The company is now large enough to rapidly scale customer service operations and improve the speed of change for growing companies while remaining nimble and flexible, allowing organizations to expand with little overhead. Even with rapid growth, Connext continues to deliver management excellence and accountability from their combined experiences at Harvard, West Point, and years of service in the military. Our mission, quite simply, is to help companies grow by introducing co-sourcing to mid-market businesses around the United States, remarked Tim Mobley, CEO of Connext. Co-sourcing, also known as remote staffing or staff augmentation, is where a vendor becomes a long-term business partner that provides full-time, dedicated employees to augment the needs of the company in whatever capacities are required. Marc Sylvester Hired as Vice President and Business Line Manager-Customer and Business Services Division to further strengthen Connexts position within the BPO market, the company created an executive position dedicated to supporting customer experience teams. Marc has more than 20 years of experience managing call center and customer experience teams at large public companies. In his new role, Marc will help Connext clients build, train, and manage customer experience teams to delight customers. Marc provides the expertise and leadership to bring best practices from some of largest companies in the world to Connexts middle market clients. What really makes us different in the business process outsourcing space is our commitment to management excellence, accountability, and trust, added Taylor Goucher, Director of Client Services for Connext. We are obsessed with our clients success and because of that, we invest heavily in our management talent and leadership development. Connext Experiences Tremendous Growth in 2021; Positions as Leader in Customer Experience Co-Sourcing helping businesses improve their agility in a volatile environment, increase efficiency, and emphasize core competencies, led Connext to 71% growth in 2021. The company hit a major milestone of 300 employees and signed a lease for a second building in the Philippines that is 10,000 square feet and has 300 available employee seats. This growth has positioned the company to provide best-in-class customer experience co-sourcing. Customer service and other aspects of the customer experience journey are among the largest outsourced functions at the enterprise scale; however, the middle market is largely just starting that journey. Most customer experiences leaders spend valuable time on staffing challenges, rather than focusing on the overall customer experience and continuous improvement of that experience. Connexts growth positions it to remove staffing challenges for its clients and rapidly scale without adding infrastructure and overhead. Click here to learn more about Connexts co-sourcing services: https://www.connext.solutions/ About Connext Global Solutions Connext is a back-office Business Process Outsourcer (BPO) that has one mission: enable client growth. The Connext model allows us to work hand in hand to build high-functioning outsourced teams for clients who have never outsourced before or have had a previously poor outsourcing experience. Since 2014, over 50 clients have charged us with enabling their growth through highly talented remote staff, white-glove service delivery and management, and targeted process improvement. Connext has the unique ability to thrust local and regional companies into the national stage and compete with significantly larger counterparts. Established in Honolulu to support Hawaii clients, Connext has become a global enterprise with a growth rate exceeding 70%. Their Philippine-based client support centers are in Angeles City, Pampanga and Clark Freeport Zone. To learn more about Connext Global Solutions, please visit their website. Media Contact: Paula Page paula@paulapagepr.com (650) 279-3881 https://paulapagepr.com/ Weve seen the pattern before, declared Richard Warner, founder and CEO of Aware Force. In the past two years, cybercrime goes up when high-profile news stories break." Research identified by employee cyber security engagement firm Aware Force shows a potent new form of malware has emerged since the initial Russian attack on Ukraine began, and companies and consumers in the U.S. should be on alert for an increase in the number of phishing emails that contain dangerous malware. According to The Guardian, the joint research was published by the National Cyber Security Centre in the UK and U.S. agencies, including the National Security Agency. It warned that a Russian state-backed hacker group known as Sandworm had developed a new type of malware called Cyclops Blink, which targets firewall devices made by the manufacturer Watchguard to protect computers against hacks. The sophisticated virus can withstand typical remedies including reboots, the report said. The findings come as the UK and U.S., allies to Ukraine, are on high alert for Russian state-sponsored hacks. BE ON GUARD FOR A POTENTIAL RISE IN FAKE EMAILS WITH DANGEROUS ATTACHMENTS Weve seen the pattern before, declared Richard Warner, founder and CEO of Aware Force. In the past two years, cybercrime goes up when high-profile news stories break. Phishing emails, ransomware, and financial scams targeting U.S. companies and individuals grew significantly during COVID outbreaks, the creation of fiscal stimulus packages, and election controversies. There are already signs that cybercrime linked to the conflict in Ukraine will spread globally. For instance: McAfee says phishing emails related to the Ukraine attack will be particularly effective. Scammers can easily create highly topical fake emails, and payoffs are large because readers are aware and curious about the topic. ZDNet says this weeks major attacks on the power grid, banking, and other Ukrainian infrastructure, are seen as a large-scale test for use later against targets around the world. Already a growing threat to companies, ransomware is evolving quickly. Today, British newspaper The Guardian says a newly discovered type of ransomware attacks firewalls, bypassing traditional methods of cyber protection. To distribute the new malware, criminals use emails with compelling subject lines designed to get recipients to download and open attachments. MIT says, because its impossible to localize a cyber-attack, the impact on Ukraine will quickly grow across the globe. In 2017, Russian malware called Petya and WannaCry, targeted at Ukraine, caused $10 billion in damages in the US, according to the Department of Homeland Security, making it the most expensive cyberattack in history. Disinformation campaigns are ramping up. Barrons reports social media posts in Eastern Europe showing doctored photos and videos attributed to credible news sources, along with a spike in anti-Western content, are growing. WHAT EMPLOYEES SHOULD DO TO STAY SAFE ON THE JOB Slow down when going through emails and texts. Be suspicious of emails that are urgent or compelling. Trust your gut. Does a message seem odd, even if it's from someone you know well? Be suspicious. Dont open attachments unless you know the sender and youre expecting the document. If you receive an email or text asking you to provide or change personal information, send money, or log in to an account, call the sender directly using the phone number you have (not the one in the email) to confirm the message is genuine. ABOUT AWARE FORCE For six years, Aware Force has been raising the bar helping cybersecurity professionals protect their organizations. Our team hails from television and radio journalism, cybersecurity content generation, creative multimedia services, and internet technology. Aware Force founder Richard Warner has moderated over 100 cybersecurity summits nationwide, bringing together cybersecurity professionals from public companies, state and local governments, non-profits, and education. This constant exposure to cyber pros from all over the U.S. provides an invaluable perspective on evolving cyber threats. Influence operations have been around since ancient times. Advancements in the modern era from the cognitive sciences have made them more systematic and effective. We are pleased to offer our solution to help NATO strengthen its defensive cognitive warfare capabilities. - John Fuisz, CEO Co-organized by NATO's Innovation Hub and the Canadian Ministry of Defence, the 2021 iteration of the NATO Innovation Challenge ended on 30 November 2021 with the victory of Veriphix, a US company that has developed a belief dynamics platform to track and measure a populations beliefs about any topic, empowering brands to move customers towards ideas, products and services. This challenge, co-organized with the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, with Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (funding program of the Canadian Ministry of Defence for innovation) and Old Dominion University, dealt with Cognitive Warfare and brought together more than 130 solutions from 13 nations. High-level authorities such as Mrs. Jody Thomas, Deputy Minister of National Defence of Canada and General Philippe Lavigne, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, showed their support by opening the event. The Fall 2021 Innovation Challenge iteration focused on innovative solutions that pertained to countering cognitive warfare. During the virtual final pitch event, the remaining 10 finalists delivered their proposals and answered questions from the jury. The Innovation Challenge was open to entrepreneurs, designers, inventors, engineers, scientists, coders, innovators and others. The best entries in this edition of the NATO Innovation Challenge could help inform and support the development of future NATO military doctrine, standards and requirements, and the development of new capabilities. Influence operations have been around since ancient times. said John Fuisz, Veriphix Founder and CEO. Advancements in the modern era from the cognitive sciences have made them more systematic and effective. We are pleased to offer our solution to help NATO strengthen its defensive cognitive warfare capabilities. About Veriphix Veriphix is a behavioral science-based data analytics startup that tracks and measures belief, and provides the nudges that impact belief, to improve business outcomes across marketing, strategy, and product design. About the NATO Innovation Hub Since 2017, The NATO Innovation Hub from Headquarters Supreme Allied Command Transformation has organized innovation challenges twice a year. Each challenge is co-organized with a NATO Nation, which host the final event: the pitch day of the finalists. The challenge is open to anyone (individuals, entrepreneurs, start-ups, industry, academia, etc.) located in NATO Nations. The Innovation Challenge aims to give NATO new, creative and efficient ways to respond to security challenges. By organizing these important competitive innovation challenges around real-world issues, Allied Command Transformation continues to be at the forefront of NATO efforts as it relates to the importance of transformation and development as continuous and essential drivers of change. Despite the many benefits of working from home, people demonstrate a desire to return to the work culture they were used to. Flexas.com offers Continental Europes widest selection of available office spaces. By combining a transparent online platform with personal service and local market expertise, it offers the fastest route to your next office. As COVID-19 measurements and national lockdown restrictions gradually come to an end, Flexas.com registers a 300% spike in new office space inquiries across the continental European region. Over the course of the pandemic, many businesses were pushed to fundamentally alter how they operate. Employees have experienced on-site, remote, and hybrid work in the last two years. Despite the many benefits of working from home, people demonstrate a desire to return to the work culture they were used to. Collaboration is human interaction Employees show a need for those human interactions and socializing opportunities that they were used to from pre-pandemic times. While employers want to offer the best tools and environment that cultivates productivity, employees seek more than just a paycheck. They search for fulfillment in the work they are delivering. Thus, employers and employees reconsider their relationships with the working environment and re-evaluate what they expect from their office space. Since the need for working from home is coming to an end, we have seen a huge increase in the demand for office spaces. During the past pandemic period, we have seen that flexibility is one of the most important requirements while looking for a new office space. With the recent developments, we see a market demand spike as employers are re-evaluating what their employees expect from their offices. Resulting in above-average market movement. On top of that, with the restrictions ending, employers are more willing to commit to new investments." explains Marcel de Groot, CEO at Flexas.com Flexibility above all There is a clear need in the market for flexible contracts. Employers ask for the ability to be able to upsize or downsize. Having this ability allows their businesses to quickly act on market trends and business success. Long term contracts are therefore currently less in favor. Flexas.coms complete portfolio is available online and it operates from offices in Amsterdam and Paris and serves the continental European market with regional native experts. For more information go to http://www.flexas.com or send an email to info@flexas.com. ABOUT FLEXAS.COM Flexas.com is continental Europe's biggest new style office broker. They help companies and entrepreneurs in their search for their most suitable office space. They provide independent professional advice and their services are completely free of charge for tenants. Flexas.com provides an online platform on which you can efficiently find the most suitable office space. Here youll find over 2,500 available office spaces in all thinkable sizes. Combined with personal service and market expertise, they help thousands of companies per year in their search for their next office space. Flexas.com has offices in Amsterdam and Paris and serves the European continent with native regional experts. For more information check http://www.flexas.com or send an email to info@flexas.com. alliantgroup is excited to add Erik Paulsen, former Congressman (R-MN), to its Strategic Advisory Board. Paulsen served in Congress from 2009-2019 and was a leading member on the chief tax writing House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over health care, economic and trade policy. Additionally, Paulsen was the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship, access to capital, digital trade and key economic issues. Paulsen is known as a leading advocate for medical innovation and is a passionate advocate for the medical technology industry, which not only brings life-saving technologies to patients, but is driven by small and medium sized businesses that provide hundreds of thousands of jobs that pay higher than average salaries. What I truly appreciate about alliantgroup is the firms mission of helping small business. My grandfather owned a small manufacturing company that is now run by my uncles, so I have a special connection to the power behind small businesses and what they need to succeedthey are the heart and soul and engine of our economy and Im excited to use my expertise to help them get to the next level, said Erik Paulsen. Eriks long-held passion for helping small businesses thrive is core to alliantgroups mission. We are so excited to have him join the team and bring his expertise and dedication around innovation and skills growth to our clients. I am especially excited to apply his medical technology experience to the ever-growing bench of industries that alliantgroup helps with reinvestment and growth, said Dhaval Jadav, alliantgroup CEO. Prior to his service in Congress, Rep. Paulsen was a member of the Minnesota State Legislature, where he served as House Majority Leader. He has over 16 years of business experience, including working as a business analyst at Target Corporation. He has his B.A. in mathematics from St. Olaf College. alliantgroup is a management consulting company with a mission to strengthen American businesses through reinvestment in innovation and job growth. We educate businesses, the industry groups that serve them and the accounting firms that advise them on federal and state credits and incentives that are legislated by our government to keep the U.S. competitive in the global landscape. We are proud to have helped over 27,000 businesses claim more than $16 billion in credits and incentives. alliantgroup is headquartered in Houston, Texas with additional offices located in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, New York, Irvine, Sacramento, Washington, D.C.; and Bristol and London in the U.K. For more information, visit alliantgroup and engage with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Jason Saunders The project, as envisioned by K. Hovnanian and Zumot Management, is the perfect example of how to harmoniously transform an existing office park into a walkable and livable residential community." Jason Saunders Jason Saunders of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty closed on the sale of The Boulevards at Westfields on behalf K. Hovnanian Homes, who purchased the 21-acre property in Fairfax County, Va. One of the nations top builders, K. Hovnanian Homes will be developing the site along with Zumot Real Estate Management. The project, as envisioned by K. Hovnanian and Zumot Management, is the perfect example of how to harmoniously transform an existing office park into a walkable and livable residential community, Saunders said. With its thoughtful balance of mixed housing types, the site design perfectly integrates into the current landscape of the Westfields community. The developers will be transforming the current commercial site in alignment with the vision for Westfieldsa true live/work/play community. K. Hovnanians plan calls for the construction 187 townhomes120 of them in the stacked style. In addition, Zumot Real Estate Management will build a Class-A, 130-unit apartment building on the property. We are honored to have worked with the Westfields Business Owners Association, Fairfax County staff, and Supervisor Kathy Smiths office to create this final community design that realizes the vision of Westfields, said Martin Rizer, K. Hovnanian Homes Vice President of Land Acquisitions. The new neighborhood is located at Park Meadow Drive and Meadow Wood Lane in Chantilly, Va., near existing offices and an amenity-rich shopping center anchored by a Wegmans Food Market. Construction has begun and the homes are available for sale. Prospective buyers may contact Saunders for current availability by phone at 240-351-8931 or via email at Jason.Saunders@penfedrealty.com. About K. Hovnanian Homes K. Hovnanian Homes (NYSE: HOV) is an award-winning builder with over 50 years of experience in the construction and real estate development industry. It is the sixth-largest home builder in the United States. More information about the Westfields development can be found at http://www.khov.com/find-new-homes/virginia/chantilly/20151/k-hovnanian-homes/the-boulevards-at-westfields. About Jason Saunders Jason A. Saunders is a top-producing commercial real estate broker specializing in the sale of land for ground up-residential and mixed-use development projects in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. With extensive experience spearheading land acquisition in Northern Virginia for one of the countrys largest home builders, Saunders understands land value, rezoning, entitlements, and underwriting for residential and multi-family developments. More information on Saunders can be found at Jasonsaunders.penfedrealty.com. About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty (http://www.penfedrealty.com) is a full-service real estate company with an annual sales volume of over $8 billion. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., the company has over 2,000 agents and more than 50 offices, providing complete real estate services nationwide and helping over 20,000 clients with their real estate needs each year. In 2019, the company's Commercial Division was ranked #5 in sales among all Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices' network of brokerages worldwide, then climbed to #3 in 2020. PenFed Realty is a wholly owned subsidiary of PenFed Credit Union and is a member of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brokerage network, operated by HSF Affiliates LLC. We are proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer. Equal Housing Opportunity. Positive Brand is excited to announce that the company will be acting as agency of record to Blatchford, the world class designer and manufacturer of orthotic and prosthetic technologies. We are so proud and honored to serve Blatchford. We value the opportunity to partner with companies that offer products and services that enrich peoples lives and empower them to achieve their best potential. We believe that is what makes business meaningful for us all, explained Mike Heronime, president of Positive Brand. Blatchford creates technologies that transform peoples lives. For people with lower limb amputation whose lives are affected by immobility and the clinicians challenged to improve their outcomes. By designing next-generation biomimicry prosthetics designed to enhance the natural abilities of the legs, Blatchford empowers users to engage and enjoy life in ways they thought had been completely lost to them. Founded in London in 1890 by Chas A. Blatchford, the company has a long history of providing innovative prosthetic solutions for patients with lower limb loss. As agency of record, Positive Brand is jointly responsible for the development, implementation and support of Blatchfords annual marketing plan. Positive Brands initial campaign work includes the product launch for KX07, a rugged, water-proof prosthetic knee developed for active people that rely on their prosthesis to maintain their level of activity. Positive Brand is also collaborating with Blatchford to develop marketing materials for their involvement in tradeshows including the upcoming American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP) tradeshow being held in Atlanta, March 2-5. The guiding vision for these product launches and campaigns comes from Tara Munro, Marketing Manager at Blatchford US. Under her leadership, Positive Brand is developing campaigns that focus on patient outcomes and lifestyle improvements. In a marketplace that usually builds communication on product features and clinical data, Munros overarching strategy is to position Blatchford as a technology leader that uses innovation to transform peoples lives. Positive Brand was selected to partner with Blatchford based on their strategic approach to marketing that is grounded in behavioral science combined with their many years of experience in the healthcare and technology sectors working with related companies. Since 2004, Positive Brand has served a wide range of healthcare related organizations that include Susan G Komen, Childrens Hospitals, Fisher Clinical Services, American Kidney Fund, E-Clinical Solutions, Carter BloodCare, United Regional, The Chronic Disease Fund, Care Now, and Fred Hutch. ABOUT BLATCHFORD. Blatchford is a multi-award winning manufacturer of some of the worlds most advanced prosthetic technology. For over two decades, Blatchford has combined clinical expertise and pioneering innovation to redefine mobility for patients with lower limb loss. Blatchford is committed to helping those who face mobility and quality of life challenges through continued research, innovation and design of lower limb prosthetics that promote independence and participation. Blatchford is headquartered in Basingstoke, United Kingdom and has 7 office locations across 6 countries. Blatchfords U.S. headquarters are located in Miamisburg, Ohio. Visit Blatchford.com for more information. ABOUT POSITIVE BRAND. Positive Brand is a creativity and marketing services company that produces strategically branded messages for companies from the Fortune 500 to fledgling startups. The company takes a scientific approach to marketing based on years of continually studying human behavior and its impact on marketing effectiveness. Positive Brand was launched in 2004 to deliver fully integrated (creative, strategy, execution, omni-channel) marketing services to clients of all sizes. The company is based in Brooklyn, New York but serves clients in New York City, Miamisburg, Orlando, Denver, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. You can learn more about Positive Brand at positivebrand.com. ### If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Mike Heronime at mike@positivebrand.com Center for Vein Restoration "CVR was founded because the medical community was not meeting the needs of people suffering from venous insufficiency. We saw patients with crippling pain in their legs not being treated. Research and technologies were needed.- Dr. Sanjiv Lakhanpal, President and CEO, Center for Vein Restoration Center for Vein Restoration (CVR) is Americas largest physician-led, patient-centric vein center. Established in 2007, world-renowned and respected cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon Sanjiv Lakhanpal, MD, FACS, embarked on creating a venous health care provider that radically improved lives. He envisioned providing safe, personalized, and positive treatment for a woefully underserved population suffering from venous insufficiency. Today, Dr. Lakhanpal is the President & CEO of Center for Vein Restoration. He is a stalwart advocate for and contributor to advancements in the care of patients suffering from chronic venous disorders. CVR has grown into the nations leader in varicose and spider vein care, offering a variety of nearly pain-free solutions to eliminate unsightly and uncomfortable veins. Beginning with Dr. Lakhanpal caring for approximately 100 patients out of a single clinic in the Washington, DC area, CVR has expanded to 100+ locations (and growing), with 80+ board-certified physicians in twenty-two states impacting the lives of over 200,000 patients annually. CVR offers comprehensive treatment plans customized to each patient's clinical and financial needs. Our physicians are trained using state-of-the-art equipment to perform the most modern vein closure modalities. CVRs Mission To improve lives in the communities we serve by providing state-of-the-art vascular care in a compassionate and affordable manner. CVRs Vision To continuously redefine the care of patients with venous disorders by providing comprehensive vein care throughout the United States in an environment of clinical excellence, integrity, mutual respect, and trust. CVRs Commitment to Research and Education CVR maintains the highest education and training standards for physicians and vascular technicians across our network of clinics. We annually publish research from our database (the largest venous database in the country) and are the only non-academic vein group granted a venous and lymphatic medicine fellowship program by the American Board of Venous & Lymphatic Medicine (ABVLM). CVRs Venous and Lymphatic Medicine Fellowship Center for Vein Restoration was granted a Venous and Lymphatic Medicine Fellowship by the American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine in 2017. The fellowship is a 12-month post-graduate medical education training program is designed to provide broad training in the diagnosis and management of patients suffering from chronic venous disorders. Up to twelve fellows learn all aspects of non-invasive duplex scanning of the venous and arterial systems as well as diagnosis and management of superficial and deep venous disorders. Students leave with expertise in all methods for treating superficial venous insufficiency, including laser and radiofrequency endovenous ablations, non-thermal technologies such as mechanochemical ablations (Clarivein), cyanoacrylate (Venaseal), Polidocanol microfoam (Varithena), ambulatory micro-stab phlebectomy, ultrasound-guided foam, and cosmetic sclerotherapy. Please contact Stephanie Westee, Venous and Lymphatic Medicine Fellowship Program Coordinator, at stephanie.westee@centerforvein.com for more information. Learn About Partnership with CVR Vein practices from across the country use this event to explore the advantages of a partnership with the nation's largest physician-led vein treatment organization. Participants learned about the efficiencies CVR provides, including operations, sales, marketing, patient services, pre-authorization, and billing. For more information about partnership opportunities, visit strongertogether@centerforvein.com. What Comes Next? VISION, 2022 The power is on! Center for Vein Restoration looks forward to the next big event for the venous and lymphatic disease community. CVR will present the Premiere Clinical Convention, VISION 2022, March 10 13, 2022, Westfields Marriott, Washington, DC. Join the innovative and fun-loving CVR family as we welcome guests and luminaries back for the vein care industrys event of the year! Bringing healthcare visionaries together in an intimate setting, VISION 2022 features world-renowned speakers, networking opportunities with esteemed colleagues and industry partners, along with a ten continuing medical education (CME) credits opportunity. Learn from the clinical leaders in vein care. Register HERE. About Venous Insufficiency Venous insufficiency, the cause of significant suffering due to the sequelae of venous hypertension, most commonly arises as achy, tired, and heavy legs. This common and underdiagnosed disorder affects between 30 to 40 million Americans. Risk factors include age, weight, prolonged sitting or standing, genetics, and DVT (blood clot) history. Treatment options have evolved to an array of minimally invasive procedures in an office setting. About Center for Vein Restoration Center for Vein Restoration (CVR) is the largest physician-led practice treating vein disease in the country. Having performed its first procedure in 2007 under President and CEO Dr. Sanjiv Lakhanpal, Center for Vein Restoration has since become nationally recognized as the clinical leader in treating chronic venous insufficiency. With 100+ centers and growing, CVR has over 600 employees, conducts over 200,000 patient interactions annually, and achieves a 98 percent patient satisfaction rating. To learn more about CVR and its mission, visit centerforvein.com or by phone at 1-800-FIX-LEGS. "Greg, Anne and Warren all bring refreshing perspectives to our company vision, and its incredibly exciting to welcome leaders with such formidable experience to our team," said Craig Manson, CEO of Configo Health Configo Health Inc., the leading provider of analytical benchmarking solutions for childrens hospitals, today announced that it has appointed Greg Fitzgerald as Chief Technology Officer, Anne OShaughnessy as Vice President of Operations and Warren Boudreau as Vice President of Customer Success, further bolstering its executive leadership roster. Greg, Anne and Warren all bring refreshing perspectives to our company vision, and its incredibly exciting to welcome leaders with such formidable experience to our team. Their collective passion for pediatrics and data will have tremendous impact as we continue transforming access to benchmarks for childrens hospitals, said Craig Manson, CEO, Configo Health. Fitzgerald, who joins the company from Centene Corporation where he led innovation and product delivery engineering teams, brings nearly 20 years of experience in building highly reliable, scalable and secure health data solutions. At Configo, he will focus on creating disruptive technologies and innovations including the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to extend the companys competitive edge and deliver value for clients. Configos mission of creating value from data within pediatrics requires strong architectural design, data engineering and software development. Im excited to grow our team of highly capable developers and to continue to build upon our existing best-in-class technology platform to empower our childrens hospital clients to make the best possible clinical and administrative decisions through our actionable insights, said Fitzgerald. In the Vice President of Operations role, OShaughnessy will focus on scaling the delivery and compliance functions and building the operational foundation to support the companys growth; including its upcoming SOC 2 certification. Prior to joining Configo, she spent much of her early career at Massachusetts General Hospital in medical device development and was more recently Head of Delivery at Goldman Sachs backed Eigen Technologies. Rounding out the leadership team additions, Boudreau, a nurse by training with over 15 years of clinical and informatics experience, will serve the company as its Vice President of Customer Success, focusing on helping customers get the most from Configos products, services and data. Boudreau joins Configo from Texas Childrens Hospital where he led a team of over 30 clinicians and informaticists as their Director of Quality Outcomes & Analytics. About Configo Health, Inc. Configo Health is a healthcare data and analytics company, focused exclusively on pediatrics, that helps childrens hospitals and their teams make better decisions through the use of timely, trusted and actionable insight. Through its OPUS benchmarking platform, Configo currently serves the needs of Quality & Safety and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion leadership with its Surgery proposition launching later this year. Configo Health has offices in both Washington D.C. and New York. If you would like to know more about the Inland Valley Partners, LLC lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047. The Los Angeles labor law attorneys, at Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC, filed a complaint against Inland Valley Partners, LLC ("Inland Valley Partners"), for allegedly failing to provide employees with legally-compliant meal and rest breaks. The Inland Valley Partners labor lawsuit, Case No. 22STCV04406, is currently pending in the Los Angeles Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the Complaint can be read here. The lawsuit alleges Inland Valley Partners violated the Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA"), which gives rise to civil penalties as a result of Inland Valley Partners' conduct. PAGA allows aggrieved employees to file a lawsuit to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the State of California for Labor Code violations. An "aggrieved employee" is defined as "any person who was employed by the alleged violator and against whom one or more of the alleged violations was committed." Cal. Lab. Code section 2699(c). PAGA allows aggrieved employees to become deputized as private attorneys general to enforce the Labor Code. The lawsuit further alleges that, as a result of their work schedules, Inland Valley Partners employees were allegedly unable to take off duty meal breaks and were not fully relieved of duty for meal periods. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges employees were from time to time interrupted during their off-duty meal breaks to complete tasks for Inland Valley Partners. Employees were allegedly required to perform work as ordered by Inland Valley Partners for more than five (5) hours during a shift without receiving an off-duty meal break. Further, the lawsuit alleges Inland Valley Partners failed to provide employees with a second off-duty meal period each workday in which these employees were required by Inland Valley Partners to work ten (10) hours of work. Employees therefore allegedly forfeited meal breaks without additional compensation and in accordance with Inland Valley Partners' strict corporate policy and practice. If you would like to know more about the Inland Valley Partners lawsuit, please contact Attorney Jackland K. Hom today by calling (619) 255-9047. Zakay Law Group, APLC and JCL Law Firm, APC are labor and employment law firms with offices located in California that dedicate their practices to fighting for employees who have been wronged by their employers due to unfair employment practices. Contact one of their attorneys today if help is needed with workplace issues regarding wage and hour, wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, and/or harassment. Save big on new Hyundai vehicles at Mathews Hyundai! Prospective buyers looking for great deals on new Hyundai models around Marion, Ohio, have reason to celebrate. Mathews Hyundai is offering superb deals on the latest Hyundai models. The 2022 Hyundai Kona N Line AWD is being offered for $28,855 or at 0.9% APR for 24 months. This subcompact SUV is equipped with a 195 hp 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and features a 7-speed Dual Clutch Transmission with SHIFTRONIC. Shoppers can purchase the 2022 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid for $25,125 or at 0.9% APR for 24 months. Exceedingly fuel-efficient, it delivers 53 mpg in the city, 56 mpg on the highway and 54 mpg combined. Mathews Hyundai has put forth the 2022 Hyundai Venue Limited for $23,700 or at 0% APR for 24 months. This SUV is a driver's delight with an 8-inch color touchscreen, LED headlights and heated front seats. Additionally, buyers can opt for the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL AWD for $32,825 or at 0.9% APR for 24 months. Featuring a Bluelink Connected Car System, wireless device charging and proximity key with push-button start, this family SUV is comfortable and convenient. Customers interested in learning more about these deals are encouraged to visit the dealership at 1793 Marion-Mt Gilead Rd, Marion, Ohio 43302, United States or log on to the dealerships website https://www.mathewseasthyundai.com/. Tom Liddell, CEO We serve with humility within a culture that fosters innovation, recognizes performance, and rewards hard work. Harmony Healthcare IT, a medical data management firm in South Bend, has been named to the Best Places to Work in Indiana list for the second year in a row. The award program, created by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, recognizes and honors leading employers with outstanding workplace cultures. One of only a few 2022 award winners in the South Bend area, Harmony Healthcare IT is part of an elite group of 125 businesses statewide that will be officially celebrated at a ceremony on May 12, featured in the Indiana Chambers BizVoice magazine, and hosted on the Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick statewide television program. I am proud of our team and our contribution to healthcare, said Tom Liddell, CEO of Harmony Healthcare IT. We demand a lot of ourselves for the benefit of our clients and their patients. We serve with humility within a culture that fosters innovation, recognizes performance, and rewards hard work. The Best Places to Work in Indiana award criteria is weighted with 80 percent focused on comprehensive employee feedback about culture, benefits, perks, flexibility and the overall employee experience and the remaining 20 percent measuring the companys workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. Harmony Healthcare IT moved to a new building in 2021 to accommodate a team that expanded by 30 percent over the past two years. As steady growth continues, there are open positions which offer a variety of unique benefits ranging from an employee options program to wellness reimbursement to paid time off for volunteering. We have many tremendous employers in the state, so its great to see more and more companies take part in this effort to evaluate their workplace cultures and gain the recognition they deserve, says Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar. These companies consistently demonstrate to their employees how much they value their contributions. For the complete list of companies named to the 2022 Best Places to Work in Indiana, visit the Workforce Research Groups website: https://www.bestplacestoworkindiana.com/ About Harmony Healthcare IT - Harmony Healthcare IT is a data management firm that moves and stores patient, employee, and business records for healthcare organizations. To strengthen care delivery and improve lives, vital information is preserved and managed in a way that keeps it accessible, usable, interoperable, secure, and compliant. Serving hundreds of healthcare clients in the U.S. and Canada, Harmony Healthcare IT has been consistently ranked as the #1 data extraction, migration, and archival healthcare IT company according to Black Book Market Research for three years (2019-2021) as well as ranked #1 in the 2020 Best in KLAS Software & Services Report as a Category Leader in Data Archiving. For employment opportunities and list of benefits at Harmony Healthcare IT, visit https://www.harmonyhit.com/careers/ For more information about Harmony Healthcare IT, visit: http://harmonyhit.com # # # # Erin Holley, Senior Member of Technical Staff, Introspect Technology I am honoured to have received this award, and I would like to recognize my colleagues as well for their continued effort to push the boundaries of technology in this field. Introspect Technology, leading manufacturer of test and measurement tools for high-speed digital applications, is pleased to announce that Erin Holley, Senior Member of Technical Staff, has earned a prestigious 2022 Report on Business magazine Changemakers award. Changemakers is an editorial award program produced by Report on Business magazine at The Globe and Mail. Its intent is to showcase the emerging leaders transforming business today. Erin Holley is one of only 50 winners across Canada. At only 27, Erin Holley is literally helping create the next wave of technology that powers the data centers used for communications, e-commerce, and biomedical research. Being an engineer, Erins ambitions are naturally deeply rooted in technology and technological products. She is keenly interested in solving the worlds most complex measurement problems where she routinely thinks about phenomena spanning a few femtoseconds (1 / 1 quadrillionth of a second) of timescales and trillions of bytes of data. However, what makes her truly unique is her recognition that technology alone does not effect industrial change and that an entire set of commercial efforts and alliances are necessary to achieve this. It is rare to find a young Canadian technologist who is rapidly propelling herself on the global technology stage and who is quietly changing how next-generation data center technology is being architected. Erin Holley created Introspect Technologys first memory interface test and measurement tool for next-generation data center implementations. She is currently responsible for the companys memory interface and data center solutions, and she represents the company at global industry alliances such as the JEDEC Alliance. The results of Erins efforts are easy to quantify at Introspect Technology. In the last fiscal year, her product line was the second fastest growing line for the company, said Dr. Mohamed Hafed, Introspect Technology CEO. Introspect Technology has been recognized as one of Canadas top growing companies for three years in a row, and it is not an exaggeration to say that Erin had a large part to do with this consistent growth rate, he continued. I am honoured to have received this award, and I would like to recognize my colleagues as well for their continued effort to push the boundaries of technology in this field. We have a great team of people at Introspect Technology, and I am always inspired by their commitment to excellence, said Erin Holley, Senior Member of Technical Staff at Introspect Technology. The Globe and Mail solicited nominations for the Changemakers award in the fall of 2021. Winners were selected by The Globe and Mails award-winning editorial team for their ideas, accomplishments and impact, as determined by their nominations, subsequent interviews and reference checks. The world is facing more challenges than ever before climate change, racial discrimination, income inequality, not to mention the pandemic, says Dawn Calleja, editor of Report on Business magazine. So its heartening to meet this years crop of 50 Changemakers, who are searching for solutions to many of these problems and offering some inspiration. Editorial coverage of all 2022 Changemakers can be found in the March 2022 issue of Report on Business magazine, distributed with The Globe and Mail on Saturday, February 26th, and online now at tgam.ca/Changemakers. About The Globe and Mail The Globe and Mail is Canadas foremost news media company, leading the national discussion and causing policy change through brave and independent journalism since 1844. With our award-winning coverage of business, politics and national affairs, The Globe and Mail newspaper reaches 6.3 million readers every week in our print or digital formats, and Report on Business magazine reaches 2.3 million readers in print and digital every issue. Our investment in innovative data science means that as the world continues to change, so does The Globe. The Globe and Mail is owned by Woodbridge, the investment arm of the Thomson family. About Introspect Technology Founded in 2012, Introspect Technology designs and manufactures innovative test and measurement equipment for high-speed digital applications. Whether it is the next smartphone or the level-4 autonomy engine in a mobility solution, our award-winning tools are used to develop, test, and manufacture next-generation products. In short, we help the leading global technology companies make tomorrows technology todays possibility. Noah and the Rainbow: a delightfully crafted, faith-based narrative for children. Noah and the Rainbow is the creation of published author Karin Gallagher, a loving wife and mother who was born and raised in Riverside, California. Gallagher shares, Noah and the Rainbow is a true story based off the book of Genesis in the Bible. Noah was a righteous man, and God found favor with him. God told Noah to build an ark, so he could start all over again. The fun rhyming nature of this book makes it easy for a child to follow along. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Karin Gallaghers new book will delight and entertain young readers as they learn about Noahs time with the ark. Gallagher shares a charming biblical story in hopes of encouraging young believers in their faith. Consumers can purchase Noah and the Rainbow at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Noah and the Rainbow, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Sarah Olivias Memory Quilt: a delightful fiction with an important message of family, love, and valuing each moment. Sarah Olivias Memory Quilt is the creation of published author M.Q. Bauder, a retired educator living with her husband in coastal South Carolina. Bauder grew up in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in Roanoke, Virginia. Bauder shares, Sarah Olivia is on a quest to find out why memories are so important after she receives an assignment from her teacher. A heavy snowfall, no electricity, a candlelight dinner, and shared stories around the fire at Poppie and Nanas house help her to discover the secret of why memories are so special and leads Sarah Olivia to recognize the memory quilt that she is creating without even knowing it! Published by Christian Faith Publishing, M.Q. Bauders new book will delight and entertain as young readers learn alongside a charming little girl named Sarah Olivia. Bauders delightful story paired with vibrant imagery will captivate the imagination of young readers from the start. Consumers can purchase Sarah Olivias Memory Quilt at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Sarah Olivias Memory Quilt, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. The Night Before Jesus: a potent reminder of the blessing of Christs birth. The Night Before Jesus is the creation of published author Maurio Medley, a Pittsburgh native who now lives in Florida with his loving wife, Jill, and three children, Rio, Joi, and Koa. Both Maurio and Jill are educators within the Orange County Public School system. Medley shares, This book takes a classic story and transports you back to the night before Jesus was born. Told from the perspective of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, you will experience a firsthand look at the unlikely birth of Jesus, the Son of God. Walk with Joseph and Mary as they enter Bethlehem, nervous and unprepared. Experience the fear of not knowing where you are going to spend the most important night of your life. Stand at the entrance of the manger as baby Jesus takes his first breath. Stare into the eyes of the savior of the world with the shepherds invited by angels. Witness heaven and earth rejoice over the most important event in the history of the world. Feel the peace of this silent night turn to threats on the life of many young children as a king feels threatened by prophecy. See a shadow of the things to come as everything in the life of this child points to the reason why he was born. The Night Before Jesus is a story that you will read over and over again as the big day approaches. It will make the most wonderful time of the year even more spectacular. It is a story that will become an instant classic in your family. It reminds us what we are truly celebrating at Christmas. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Maurio Medleys new book is a delightful look at the night God blessed the world. Medley shares in hopes of encouraging young readers to value and understand why Christmas is so important. Consumers can purchase The Night Before Jesus at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Night Before Jesus, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Meridian Honda Finance A Car The Meridian Honda at Meridian, MS offers buyers financial services available at their fingertips. The dealership aims to make it easy for customers to purchase their dream vehicles. Prospective clients can log in or register to create their accounts. Once started, all payments and financial accounts can be viewed through the portal at their convenience. The tool allows buyers to apply for credit pre-approval and choose between leasing or financing their own Honda. All the information is available on the portal, including tracking when the lease ends and learning about future options for renewal or cancellation of the service. Another great feature the dealership offers through its unique financial policies is the Honda Loyalty Benefits. As a buyer, choosing to drive the latest vehicle is often difficult. The center thus provides detailed information about choosing the terms and mileage that work along with staying in the Hyundai family when the customer is ready to trade up into a new lease. The financial benefits also include different coverage options and plans to help get the best mileage for the vehicle and special offers on Honda marine engines and Powersports equipment. Prospective clients who would prefer to visit the center to explore the benefits can head over to the Meridian Honda showroom at 503 Front Street Ext, Meridian, MS 39301, or contact their website to learn more. Customers can also consult with the finance representative on-call (601) 693-4651 and plan to visit the dealership between 8 a.m - 6 p.m (Monday Friday) and 8 a.m - 5 p.m (Saturday). Trigon Lapidus Wedge The Trigon Lapidus Wedge allows for reproducible triplanar correction, length restoration, and anatomical realignment. Nvision Biomedical Technologies has received FDA Clearance for the first use of PEEK-OPTIMA HA Enhanced in Lapidus and Subtalar Fusion Wedges. Through the expansion of its Trigon product line, these wedges are the fifth and sixth medical devices cleared by Nvision utilizing PEEK-OPTIMA HA Enhanced. This polymer from Invibio Biomaterial Solutions promotes multi-directional bone healing and allows for improved fixation. Additionally, the Trigon Lapidus Wedge is the first implant to specifically reference lengthening in its FDA indication. We are always looking at new ways to address different foot and ankle procedures that will benefit the patient and surgeon, said Nvisions Senior Vice President of Product Development, Tom Zink. By taking an innovative approach to marrying the best materials, manufacturing platforms, and engineering science, we are changing the conversation around foot and ankle surgery. The Trigon Lapidus Wedge is a PEEK-OPTIMA HA Enhanced implant indicated for a first metatarsal-cuneiform lengthening arthrodesis. It is offered in three footprint sizes with various length restoring thicknesses, as well as variations in sagittal and transverse angle correction. Additionally, the system provides a jig that allows for frontal plane rotation, resulting in triplanar correction with the ability to restore or maintain length of the first metatarsal. Most bunion osteotomies address the cosmetic bump at the first MPJ by cutting and shifting the head of the first metatarsal in 2D. However, the majority of bunions have a frontal plane 3D rotational deformity, said Walter W. Strash, D.P.M., FACFAS. The Nvision Trigon Lapidus Wedge enables the foot and ankle surgeon to address the bunion deformity at the TMT joint where it occurs. The Trigon Lapidus Wedge allows for reproducible triplanar correction, length restoration, and anatomical realignment. The Trigon Stand-Alone Subtalar Wedge is the first PEEK-OPTIMA HA Enhanced wedge for Subtalar Fusion in the market. The PEEK-OPTIMA HA Enhanced material, which has a modulus similar to bone, allows artifact-free imaging and provides an osteoconductive surface for bone ongrowth. With a 25mm diameter, the Subtalar Wedge offers correction heights ranging from 6mm to 16mm in parallel and angled options. The Trigon Subtalar Wedge provides the ability to rotate the wedge after insertion allowing the surgeon to optimally position the calcaneous relative to the talus, said Mica Murdoch D.P.M., FACFAS. In addition, the properties of PEEK-OPTIMA HA Enhanced result in faster fusion times and provide better bone apposition than a metal implant, increasing the chance of a successful correction. Nvision, founded in 2013, is quickly becoming the largest medical device manufacturer in San Antonio, with 23 FDA-cleared devices across a range of orthopedic specialties. In the last four months, Nvision added four products with FDA clearance to its portfolio, with one currently in FDA review and two more scheduled for submission. Nvision has 18 issued patents with more than 30 in development. About Nvision Biomedical Technologies Nvision is a San Antonio-based medical device and implant manufacturer focused on providing surgeons with implants paired with instrumentation and biologics that simplify and improve surgical procedures to help patients get back their quality of life. Nvision is committed to developing and manufacturing thoughtfully designed products combined with exceptional service that keep patients, surgeons, healthcare providers, and distribution partners in mind. Nvision is aligned with surgeon thought leaders, key researchers, and development engineers from prestigious institutions to design, test, and bring to market the intuitive, intelligent, and integrated concepts. Find out more at http://www.nvisionbiomed.com Confirmed cases of hidden cameras being used to obtain private, graphic photos and videos have increased by 50% in some areas but experts say these numbers are much higher in some areas. We get three (3) to ten (10) calls from people concerned about hidden cameras every day and not all of them are just paranoid, says Matt Aubin, lead investigator at Southern Recon Agency in Orlando, FL. Honestly, I think its the availability of high-quality equipment at really, really, really cheap prices, said Aubin. You said that they doubled, but thats just the ones that they actually caught and reported, he continued to say. With so many private citizens spying on each other, Aubin decided to share some of his expertise in a staged situation where Channel 10 News in Tampa Bay, FL, set up six (6) hidden cameras. Aubin proceeded to methodically pick apart abnormalities and indicators of hidden cameras, detailing his process as he pointed out each device. Aubin instructs citizens to be vigilant when entering a room; looking for anomalies as well as unplugging and removing electronics that appear suspicious. With schools, public restrooms, fitness centers, and dressing rooms being targeted more frequently, its more important than ever to keep a watchful eye. Matt Aubin, the lead investigator with Southern Recon Agency and CSCT Global, has numerous credentials, including a seat on the FALI Board of Directors, Digital Forensics Examiner, FBCI Florida Board Investigator CFI-FTER Certification, and Forensic Interviewer TSCM certification that give him a unique perspective and a refined knowledge regarding missing persons cases. Southern Recon Agency, LLC https://www.google.com/maps?cid=8488823182635232207 7512 Dr Phillips Blvd #50-723, Orlando, FL 32819 http://www.srecon.com/ We are proud to welcome Blue Caffe's customers to the Quench family. This is our third acquisition already in 2022 and is another example of our ongoing commitment to provide exit opportunities for POU dealers whenever they are ready. Quench, a leading provider of filtered water solutions for businesses and dealer partners across North America, announced today that it has acquired Blue Caffe, a provider of point-of-use drinking water systems and coffee services based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 2002, Blue Caffe is a multi-city Wellsys dealer and enhances Quenchs density across the state. We are proud to welcome Blue Caffes customers to the Quench family, said Ryan Hartley, Vice President Corporate Development of Quench. This is our third acquisition already in 2022 and is another example of our ongoing commitment to provide exit opportunities for POU dealers whenever they are ready. Quench has been a trusted partner of Blue Caffe, with their extensive product line and strategic nationwide resources I know that the synergies of products and staff will significantly enhance opportunities to serve our customers in an even better capacity," said Brad Kelley, owner of Blue Caffe. More on Quenchs acquisition process can be found at https://quenchwater.com/acquisitions/ or by contacting our acquisition team directly by email at acquisitions@quenchwater.com. About Quench Quench USA, Inc. offers bottle-free filtered drinking water solutions for healthy and environmentally conscious consumers outside the home, through direct sales and independent dealers across North America. Our bottle-free water coolers, ice machines, sparkling water dispensers and coffee brewers, purify a users existing water supply to provide reliable and convenient filtered water to a broad mix of businesses, including government, education, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and other large commercial customers, including more than half of the Fortune 500. Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, Quench has sales and service operations across North America to serve our 60,000+ customers, and a network of over 250 independent dealers selling products under the brand names Pure Water Technology, Wellsys and Bluline. Quench is a Culligan Company. For more information, please visit https://quenchwater.com. About Culligan Founded in 1936 by Emmett Culligan, Culligan is a world leader in delivering water solutions that will improve the lives of its customers. The company offers some of the most technologically advanced, state-of-the-art water filtration and treatment products. Culligan's products include water softeners, drinking water systems, whole-house systems and solutions for businesses. Culligan's network of franchise dealers is the largest in the world, with over 900 dealers in 90 countries. For more information visit: http://www.culligan.com. Join SGF's free virtual fertility events this March to learn more about endometriosis, fertility basics, and menstrual cycles with SGF physicians Dr. Martin, Dr. Osheroff, and Dr. Polotsky. "Endometriosis affects approximately 48 percent of women experiencing infertility. We want those with endometriosis to have a better understanding of how their diagnosis might affect their fertility and encourage them to see a fertility specialist as soon as possible." Individuals and couples struggling with infertility are invited to join Shady Grove Fertilitys (SGF) three, free virtual events featuring topics including endometriosis, fertility basics, and menstrual cycles. In support of those affected by endometriosis, and to honor Endometriosis Awareness Month this March, Joseph Osheroff, M.D., who sees patients at SGFs Columbia, Maryland, office, will host a virtual Endometriosis webinar on March 1 at 12 p.m. ET. Endometriosis is present when cells that ordinarily line the uterine cavity reside in the pelvis leading to cyclic pelvic pain, inflammation, and sometimes scarring in and around the Fallopian tubes. Endometriosis affects approximately 48 percent of women experiencing infertility, shares Dr. Osheroff. We want those with endometriosis to have a better understanding of how their diagnosis might affect their fertility and encourage them to see a fertility specialist as soon as possible. On March 15, Ryan Martin M.D., who sees patients at SGFs Warrington, Pennsylvania, office, will host a Fertility 101 webinar on March 15 at 12 p.m. ET. During this informational event, Dr. Martin will discuss: who should see a fertility specialist, what to expect during the initial appointment, how fertility is diagnosed, treatment options, and SGFs unique financial options. Rounding out March events is Alex Polotsky, M.D., who sees patients at SGF Colorado's Colorado Springs and Denver offices, will host the Menstrual Cycle and Fertility webinar on March 29 at 2 p.m. ET. Dr. Polotsky will review the basics of menstruation and ovulation, explain irregular vs. normal cycles, and describe red flags that warrant the attention of a fertility specialist sooner rather than later. March 2022 virtual fertility events at-a-glance While SGF fertility webinars are complimentary, interested parties must register to attend by visiting the SGF calendar of events. For more information, visit SGFs growing resource library for free, on-demand webinars, e-books, and other educational resources. Follow SGF on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and events. For people struggling to conceive, it may be time to consult a fertility specialist. Contact the SGF New Patient Center at 1-888-761-1967 or complete a brief online request form to schedule a virtual fertility consult with an SGF physician. About Shady Grove Fertility (SGF) SGF is a leading fertility and IVF center of excellence with more than 100,000 babies born and 5,000+ 5-star patient reviews. With 47 locations, including new locations in Colorado and Norfolk, VA, as well as throughout CO, FL, GA, MD, NY, PA, TX, VA, D.C., and Santiago, Chile, SGF offers patients virtual physician consults, delivers individualized care, accepts most insurance plans, and makes treatment affordable through innovative financial options, including 100% refund guarantees. More physicians refer their patients to SGF than any other center. SGF is among the founding partner practices of US Fertility, the largest physician-led partnership of top-tier fertility practices in the U.S. Call 1-888-761-1967 or visit ShadyGroveFertility.com. The UHRP and the Campaign for Uyghurs have made significant contributions to building fraternity between nations and promoting peace by defending the human rights of the Uyghur, Kazakh, and other predominately Muslim ethnic minorities (...)", said Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) Human rights organizations like The Peace Project are calling for accountability against China, which has not changed course in its oppression of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, a province of northwestern China. The Uyghurs, living in an area that is sometimes referred to as East Turkestan, are facing unimaginable violations of their human rights. The U.N. and many other global leaders have now labeled the atrocities occurring as a clear genocide of the Uyghur people. China has subjected millions of individuals in this ethnic group to work in camps and reeducation programs, in what appears to be an attempt to systematically cleanse the race out of existence. Forced marriages with Han Chinese citizens and schooling that erases Uyghur traditions are also being enforced across the region. In reaction to Chinas egregious campaign to homogenize the region, human rights organizations such as The Peace Project are educating the public, hoping to put pressure on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to end their genocide of the Uyghur people. The first call to action was a diplomatic boycott of politicians attending the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. More than 10 leading nations joined the diplomatic boycott and did not send politicians to attend the Olympic games including America, Canada, Japan, India, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, Belgium, Estonia, and The United Kingdom. Human rights organizations also criticize Olympic sponsors such as Airbnb, and Coca-Cola for their complicity in the genocide through their sponsorship. The Peace Project urges citizens to call on these companies to stop their business in the region, and acknowledge Chinas horrific actions. Coca-Cola, in particular, has a bottling plant in the Xinjiang province and has known ties to forced labor from Uyghurs actions that violate their own discrimination and corporate social responsibility policies. This follows a dark precedent in the history of Coca-Cola, which includes sponsoring the Olympic Games in Germany in 1936, when the Nuremberg Laws highly antisemitic and racist policies were already in place. Though the fight against this genocide in China continues, efforts taken by the Uyghur Human Rights Project and the Campaign for Uyghurs have been so notable they have been jointly nominated to receive the upcoming Nobel Peace Prize. The UHRP and the Campaign for Uyghurs have made significant contributions to building fraternity between nations and promoting peace by defending the human rights of the Uyghur, Kazakh, and other predominately Muslim ethnic minorities that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has targeted with genocide and other crimes against humanity, said Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) on the nomination. Going forward, the continued goal of human rights organizations like The Peace Project is to carry on spreading awareness of Chinas actions, including their use of enhanced monitoring technology to control Uyghurs movements and suppress any attempt to highlight the atrocities worldwide. The Peace Project is educating the public by providing resources on their website and has created an animation that explains the dire impact of current CCP policies on the lives of Uyghurs and potentially, all of us. The Peace Project The Peace Project is a nonprofit organization that educates the public about the impacts of hatred through their Hate Free Initiative and Uyghur Initiative. They are currently focusing their efforts on spreading awareness about the Uyghur genocide and are partnering with other nonprofits in hopes of putting an end to this horrible injustice and educating the public about modern genocide. For more information, please visit http://www.thepeaceproject.org. With LoadBoard Network, Trucker Path mobile app users have an opportunity to match their capacity with available loads by going beyond just the industrys largest load boards. Through the LoadBoard Network, Trucker Path users can access hundreds of thousands of loads daily, Trucker Path, the most comprehensive and most used mobile app for North American commercial truck drivers, today announced it has joined the newly launched load posting aggregation service provider, LoadBoard Network. With this integration, the 1,000,000 active carriers using Trucker Path and its TruckLoads digital freight exchange will now have access to a larger pool of carriers, brokers and shippers for matching capacity with available loads. Through the LoadBoard Network, Trucker Path users can access hundreds of thousands of loads daily, said Jeff Ogren, SVP business development and strategy for Trucker Path. Load boards are still the preferred means of matching empty capacity with available loads. Making the LoadBoard Network part of the Trucker Path ecosystem gives our users access to a much larger pool of reliable carriers, brokers and shippers through a seamless digital booking experience. With this integration, were helping them improve utilization and find more loads more efficiently. LoadBoard Network automates load posting to a network of dozens of independent load boards and carrier applications simultaneously. For Trucker Path mobile app users, it provides an opportunity to match their capacity with available loads by going beyond just the industrys largest load boards. By joining our load posting aggregation service, Trucker Path users will now have more choices, said Mark Draeb, president of LoadBoard Network who was previously a co-founder of the PostEverywhere load posting service. It will provide Trucker Path carriers with more freight hauling opportunities and make capacity available to our broker and shipper customers. I've worked with Trucker Path for years. I look at this partnership as getting the band back together, were just using new and improved instruments. About LoadBoard Network LLC LoadBoard Network LLC is a software company that serves the freight transportation industry. LoadBoard Network develops innovative SaaS technology to help transportation brokers and freight shippers run their businesses more efficiently through data aggregation and task automation. LoadBoard Network software is available in app form, through web services and via third-party integrations with service providers in the transportation industry. Connect with LoadBoard Network at http://www.LoadBoardNetwork.com or call 701-645-3252. About Trucker Path Trucker Path, the North American trucking industrys most comprehensive and most used mobile app for truckers, is in use by more than 1 million drivers. The online platforms unmatched capabilities provide access to vital up-to-date information about truck stops, real-time parking availability, fuel prices, weigh station status, truck scales and wash locations and much more. The advanced technology, designed to mitigate inefficiencies in the transportation industry, offers navigational assistance with truck optimized routing, and its TruckLoads freight matching load board connects drivers, carriers and brokers. For more information, visit http://www.truckerpath.com. Media Contact: Susan Fall LaunchIt Public Relations 858-490-1050 susan@launchitpr.com Comparing only quotes at least once every six months can help you find better insurance deals and save a lot of money, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. Compare-autoinsurance.org has launched a new blog post that explains the benefits drivers gain when using online car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/the-pros-of-using-auto-insurance-quotes-online/ The internet has changed the way people select and purchase their products. Everything is simpler and more convenient. These radical changes also applied to the car insurance industry. The methods used by drivers to search and buy car insurance are now different than the methods used before the appearance of the internet. The main reasons for using online quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained at any time. Obtaining and comparing online quotes can be done from anywhere and at any time. Drivers are no longer required to go from one insurance company's physical location to another to gain a few quotes. To obtain multiple online car insurance quotes, drivers only need a stable internet connection. Online quotes are free. Both brokerage and insurers' websites are offering free online quotes. Drivers dont have to pay a car insurance agent in order to get a few quotes. Online quotes are very accurate. The rates calculators used by insurance companies can offer really accurate quotes. To be that precise, these rates calculator use statistical models, sophisticated algorithms, and economical data. However, an online quote can only be accurate if the data provided by a user is also accurate. Obtain access to several discounts. While completing an online questionnaire, drivers can gain access to several discounts. The online form can promote a bundling discount to those who bundle their car insurance with home insurance. But thats not the only discount that can be promoted on an online questionnaire. Multi-car policy discount, safety gear discount, low-mileage discount, or good driver discount are just a few of the discounts that can be promoted. Online quotes can help drivers to decide if its time to switch their carriers. Drivers should obtain quotes and compare quotes at least two times per year. Drivers who notice that the average price of the compared quotes is way lower than the current insurance prices should contact their insurers and demand an explanation. If the explanation is not plausible, then drivers should switch their insurers. For additional info, money-saving tips and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/ Compare-autoinsurance.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand name insurance companies, etc. Connecticut has become the latest state to introduce a library e-book bill, introducing bill 131 in its February session. The Connecticut bill is similar to efforts in other states now underway, in that it would require publishers who offer an e-book to consumers in the state to also offer to license the works to libraries on reasonable terms. One notable difference, however, is that the Connecticut bill offers a broad definition of what is meant by "reasonable" terms. In Connecticut, "reasonable terms" is defined as "purchase or licensing specifications that consider publishers' business models as well as libraries' efficient use of funds in providing library services," according to the Connecticut bill's language. The Connecticut bill comes amid a legal battle in Maryland, after the Association of American Publishers filed suit in federal court in December, 2021, claiming (among other things) that the Maryland law is preempted by the federal Copyright Act. In a boost to the AAP's position, federal judge Deborah L. Boardman on February 16 issued a preliminary injunction barring the law from being enforced, just days after a three-hour hearing on February 7. The lawsuit continues, but in her opinion Boardman held that the Maryland law is likely preempted. Furthermore, supporters in New York are considering next steps after their bill was vetoed in late December by Governor Kathy Hochul. The bill in Connecticut is the sixth library bill now pending in state legislatures, and the eighth bill overall. Bills are currently pending in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois, Tennessee, and Missouri, and bills have already passed (unanimously) in Maryland and New York. The bill was announced at a press event at Connecticut State Library in Hartford, attended by Deborah Schander, Connecticut State Librarian; Ellen Paul, Connecticut Library Consortium; librarians Scott Jarzombek, Fairfield Town Library and Stephanie Coakley, Pequot Library. Connecticut State Library Board Chair Maureen Sullivan was also on hand. Libraries are at a critical juncture," said State Librarian Deborah Schander told reporters, as reported in Fairfield's Hamlet Hub. "Two years into this pandemic, they are offering both traditional and innovative services to their communities, but not without figurative and literal costs. One particular pressure point is the cost of providing electronic materials, which are far higher than those associated with print books. With more people borrowing e-books and audiobooks than ever, this is the time to talk about ways we can support our libraries collections and their bottom lines. Ellen Paul told reporters the library e-book issue "affects every taxpayer in Connecticut who supports their local library through their hard-earned tax dollars," according to Fairfield's Hamlet Hub. "Libraries regularly pay four to five times what consumers pay for the same e-books and then are forced to re-buy the same titles every year, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars over the life of a single e-book and making a robust e-book collection out of reach for many libraries." Correction: the press event was held at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford, not the Fairfield library as first reported. YA author Traci Chee debuted in 2016 with the speculative fiction The Reader trilogy, and surprised readers by writing a work of historical fiction for her following book, the 2020 We Are Not Free, about the Japanese American internment during World War II, which was a National Book Award finalist. She describes her newest book, A Thousand Steps into Night, as a Japanese-influenced fantasy about loud and clumsy Miuko, who is unexpectedly cursed by a demons kiss that begins to transform her, too, into a deadly demon. Desperate to undo the curse, Miuko embarks on a dangerous journey. PW spoke with Chee about her childhood dream of being a video-game designer, the challenges of making up a new language, and the power of speculative fiction as social critique. With A Thousand Steps into Night, youve returned to writing fantasy. Did you always want to be a writer of speculative fiction? I have been a reader as long as I can remember, and have always been drawn to magic. I read the Dragon Riders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey when I was in fourth gradewhen I was way too young for itbut I fell in love with those books. I went on to read the Redwall books by Brian Jacques, and all of the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. I read Madeleine LEngles A Wrinkle in Time over and over. I so identified with nerdy, angry outcast Megand I was fascinated that she was a girl who could direct things, make things happen, go on adventures through space, save her brother, and defeat the villain, armed with nothing but her love and her faults. Even though I was such a big reader, it wasnt until after middle school that I realized I wanted to be a writer. And it was all because of a video game. When I was in sixth grade, my mother finally let my brother and me have a PlayStation console, and we began to play a video game called Final Fantasy 7. Its a very immersive role-playing game, where you control the characters and build worldsenormous, expansive suck-you-in-worlds. I felt, Wow!this is what I want to do. I want to be a video game designer. It was the late 90s, though, and things like coding classes, etc., didnt exist. Today kids who want to design video games have many avenues for pursuing this passion, but all I had was pencil and paper. So I wrote my own video games. I spent much of seventh and eighth grade creating this epic video game story, inventing weapons and magic spells, drawing characters, and making maps of the worlds I was writing about. I even faxed a letter to Square Enix, the makers of Final Fantasy 7, telling them that I had a great video game idea. (They never wrote back.) But gradually I came to realize that what I loved most about designing a video game was writing the story, and that's when I started writing fiction. By the end of high school I was very invested in being a writer. I went to University of California in Santa Cruz where I studied literature with a specialization in creative writing, and then got a masters degree at San Francisco State University. Almost all of the fantasy books I had loved as a child were written by white people about white boys, so thats what I was writing. But when I met with my instructor at Santa Cruz, Karen Yamashita, to talk about my writing, she said, Why are you writing about white boys? They write enough about themselves. Those words really stuck with me. I remembered them, and when I began writing The Reader, I made it about a girl like me. In a 2018 interview, after you had completed The Reader Trilogy, you were asked about the process of world building. You said, I would do it differently if I were to write another world-building fantasy. I would try to be more organized and have a story bible with geography, clothes, cultureeverything. I wouldnt have to pore through old journals to find one piece of information! Sowith A Thousand Steps into Night, did you live up to those plans? Oh no no no! (laughing) I feel so called out! I was feeling optimistic about my future books when I said that. But Ive come to understand that Im not a story bible kind of writer. There is still information about A Thousand Steps into Night scattered throughout my journals. Except for the made-up language, though. That was carefully constructed with my friend Ariel Macken, a writer and linguistics major. I wanted the language to sound Japanese-inspired, so we decided to make it a language based on syllables, not individual letters. Then, to further differentiate it from Japanese, we included additional sounds, like va and dra. I wanted the book to read as though it were a found manuscript, as if a scholar had discovered it and translated it into English, so I added this imaginary scholars explanatory, often tongue-in-cheek, footnotes to help the reader understand this invented culture and language. Thats an intriguing aspect of the book: the footnotes with pronunciation guides and definitions of the made-up words, which make the reader think it might actually be a real language. What about the Japanese influence on the story itself? Are there elements of Japanese folklore in the book, and how much liberty did you take in working them into this story? Its all made up! I was inspired by Japanese childrens folk tales, which were always in the background as I was growing up. The stories were about very humble characters stumbling into miraculous situationsbut not grand miraculous situations, like in Western folk tales. My main character Miuko embodies this idea that even the most ordinary of us should have adventures like in folk talesall kinds of people should be able to have encounters with the magical. In these Japanese folk tales, the miracles were always modest ones. For example, theres this story about a magical tea kettle which, when placed over a fire, sprouts the legs, head, and tail of a tanukia Japanese racoon dog. At first, the kettle is owned by someone who mistreats him, but then hes sold to a poor peasant, who treats him well, and together they perform tricks and make money and live happily ever after. Folk stories like that were a huge influence on this book, and I also delved into folklore from the Edo period, lots of ghost stories in particular. All these stories influenced my thinking, but nothing from any of them is actually in my book. I wanted to create a secondary world that has the feeling of Japanese folklore, but is not Japan. How did you go about creating the character Miuko? When I started writing this book, sexism in our society was really rearing its ugly head. There had been a very public calling-out of misogyny, followed by a backlash against that calling-out. I wanted to write about what its like to exist in that kind of society, and what kind of hero that society might need. So in addition to being influenced by Japanese folklore, the book is also a critique of American patriarchy. In the world of A Thousand Steps, Miuko is a character who doesnt have any of the stereotypically desirable female qualities, like beauty, serenity, or grace. Instead, shes the very plain, very loud, and very clumsy daughter of an innkeeper. It just occurs to me now that shes a little bit like Meg Murry in her inability to fit into her community! And I wanted to explore how these qualities make her an outcast in society, but also empower her on her adventure. Shes a monster for stepping outside of her socially sanctioned role, but theres also freedom in being a monster, because she can finally operate outside the rules shes always had to abide by and finally discover who she really is without those constraints. Ive never written a fantasy that is also such a pointed social critique, but I think the power of speculative fiction is that it shows us ourselves in an incisive way. I hope that the story reads both as a thoughtful commentary on the ways sexism manifests in our society and as an exciting romp through a lush, magical world filled with demons, spirits, and uproarious misadventures. A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee. Clarion, $18.99 Mar. 1 ISBN 978-0-358-46998-8 Rachel Sonis at Penguin Workshop has acquired, in a two-book preempt, No Rules Tonight by Banned Book Club creators Kim Hyun Sook (l.) and Ryan Estrada. Based on Hyun Sook's real-life experiences, this YA graphic novel, pitched as Persepolis meets Love, Actually, takes place in 1980s South Korea under the brutal Fifth Republic and follows a group of students as they embark on a Christmas break trip to the Jiri Mountains, where one magical weekend empowers them to ask the ultimate question: what would you do if you only had one night of freedom? Publication for the first book is set for fall 2024; Janine Kamouh at WME did the deal for North American rights. Carolina Ortiz at HarperAlley has bought, in an exclusive submission, Julio Anta (l.) and Red Dryer's coming-of-age YA graphic novel Second Generation Blues, following Luis Menendez as he struggles to escape from the burden of being the only son in a hardworking Cuban American family and endless responsibilities at their restaurant to reach for his own dreams and the promise of first love. Publication is slated for summer 2024; Jessica Mileo at InkWell Management Literary Agency represented the author, and Britt Siess at Britt Siess Creative Management represented the illustrator. Dan Ehrenhaft at Blackstone Publishing has acquired, in a preempt, world rights to The Empire Wars series, in a three-book, six-figure deal, by Akure Phenix. Pitched as Get Out meets The Hunger Games, it's a story about loyalty, trust, and fighting for what's yours. Publication of the first book is scheduled for spring 2024; Lynnette Novak at the Seymour Agency brokered the deal. Emily Seife at Scholastic has bought Where You See Yourself by debut author Claire Forrest. In this contemporary YA novel, a high school senior who is a wheelchair user navigates senior class traditions, internal and external ableism, and a blossoming romance, all while going on a series of college admissions visits across the country that force her to think about where she best fits in and who she wants to be. Publication is planned for 2023; Patricia Nelson at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency negotiated the two-book deal for world rights. Charlotte Greenbaum at Abrams/Amulet has acquired Bex Glendining's debut YA graphic novel, Indigo Port, about a young woman struggling with the grief of losing her estranged grandmother. While cleaning out her grandmother's apartment, the girl discovers there was more to her grandmother than meets the eye, which takes her down a magical rabbit hole of love and forgiveness. Publication is set for spring 2025; Paige Terlip at Andrea Brown Literary Agency handled the deal for world rights. Rosemary Brosnan at HarperCollins/Quill Tree has bought, in an exclusive submission, The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi (Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero). In this contemporary middle grade novel, aspiring journalist Maha Raheem interviews South Asian elders about Partition for a documentary project and reconnects with her family's history, but Maha's single-mindedness causes rifts with both her best friend and her Pakistani grandmother. Publication is slated for winter 2024 with a second, untitled middle grade novel in winter 2025; Kari Sutherland did the deal for world rights while at Bradford Literary Agency. Samantha Suchland at Disney Press has acquired Izzy Hawthore: Destiny Awaits, a novelization by Bethany Baptiste of the 2022 Disney and Pixar movie Lightyear starring Chris Evans. Ambitious cadet Izzy has trained her entire life to be a Space Ranger, and when the legendary Buzz Lightyear falls out of the sky, a life-or-death mission becomes her one and only chance to live up the name of the greatest Space Ranger ever: her grandmother. Publication is scheduled for April 2022; John Cusick of Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management brokered the deal for world rights. Meg Gaertner at Jolly Fish Press has bought Jiu-Jitsu Girl, a middle grade contemporary novel by debut author Jennifer Dutton. When her mom forces her to take Jiu-Jitsu lessons, 12-year-old Angie's plans for befriending the popular girls at her new school seem derailed. She'll need to navigate the perils of sixth grade and the "grossness" of Jiu-Jitsu to find out what kind of girl she is, and what kind she wants to be. Publication is planned for spring 2023; Ann Rose at Prospect Agency negotiated the deal for world rights. Eve Adler at Union Square Kids has acquired world rights to the first two books in the Pigeon Private Detectives chapter book series by Christee Curran-Bauer. The first title, The Case of the Missing Tarts, follows pigeon detectives as they use the scientific method to find out who stole the delicious tarts they were eager to eat. Publication for books one and two is set for spring 2023. Natascha Morris, while at BookEnds Literary Agency, and James McGowan brokered the deal. Joy Peskin at FSG has bought New Yorker contributor and kindergarten teacher Avi Steinberg's debut picture book A Story No One Has Ever Heard Before, which teaches kids how to spin a yarn from beginning to end with some help from a carrot with a fear of heights, an alien with a cat allergy, and a knight who would rather make a friend than wield a sword. Publication is slated for fall 2023; Danielle Svetcov at LGR Literary sold world rights. Kait Feldmann at Clarion Books has acquired, in an exclusive submission, world rights to Cindy and Panda by author-illustrator Benson Shum, a picture book that follows Cindy who loves to bake and a panda who wants to help; their freestyle recipe may lead to disaster, but the pair have the perfect ingredients for a sweet-as-pie friendship. Publication is scheduled for summer 2023; Teresa Kietlinski at Bookmark Literary handled the deal. Emma Ledbetter at Abrams Books for Young Readers and Anne Heltzel at Abrams/Amulet have bought three books written by professional surfer Maya Gabeira (l.).Gabeira's first picture book, Maya and the Beast, illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki, is a fairy tale of big waves and even bigger courage, inspired by Gabeira's personal story of resilience. Ledbetter will edit Maya and the Beast, slated for August 2022, and a second picture book planned for fall 2023. Heltzel will edit Gabeira's YA memoir, which is set for spring 2023. Cait Hoyt at Creative Artists Agency represented Gabeira for world English rights, and Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the artist. Nancy Mercado at Dial has acquired world rights to This Is How We Play and This Is How We Talk by Caroline Cupp (l.) and Jessica Slice (c); the first book is illustrated by Abbey Bryant (r.). The authors, both disabled, interviewed dozens of other disabled people about their experience with play and communication to create these joyful celebrations of beautiful adaptation and connection. Publication is set for 2023 and 2024; Jill Marr of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and Clelia Gore at Martin Literary Management represented the authors, and Nicole Tugeau at Tugeau 2 represented the illustrator. Melissa Manlove at Chronicle Books has bought world rights to Shrinking Violet by Laurel Snyder (l.), illustrated by LeUyen Pham, about a girl whose fear makes her feel small and out of control, until a feathery friend is threatened and she learns how to grow past her fear to stand up for herself and others. Publication is slated for spring 2025; Tina Dubois at ICM Partners represented the author, and Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties represented the illustrator. Julia McCarthy at Atheneum has acquired Lolo's Sari-Sari Store by Sophia N. Lee (l.), a picture book about a child's love for her Lolo and the sweet memories of helping in his sari-sari store before moving to the U.S. where she discovers new connections between her two homes, to be illustrated by Christine Almeda in her first picture book. Publication is set for summer 2023; Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger represented the author, and Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary represented the illustrator. Susan Kochan at Putnam has bought world rights to A Hat for House by Audrey Perrott (l.), illustrated by Druscilla Santiago. When a gust of wind takes House's hat right off his rafters, the entire neighborhood pitches in to help him find a new one before a strong storm rolls in. Publication is scheduled for summer 2024; James McGowan at BookEnds Literary Agency represented the author, and Kelly Sonnack at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator. Alex Borbolla at Atheneum has acquired, at auction, Take Pride in the Ride by Jenny Lacika (l.), a picture book anthem celebrating lowriders and the cultural importance they hold in Chicano communities; Dine/Chicana artist Nani Chacon will illustrate. Publication is planned for spring 2024. Miranda Paul negotiated the two-book deal for the author, and the illustrator represented herself. Renee Kelly at Penguin Workshop has bought Sassquatch by Sophie Corrigan (l.) (Pugtato Finds a Thing) and Michael Whaite, a picture book about a sassy sasquatch who is not a smelly beast with big feet, but is actually dying to be seen as he is, and is looking for the love of the worlda timely cautionary tale about the distracting dangers of fame and social media approval. Publication is set for August 2024; Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group sold world rights. Catherine Laudone at S&S/Paula Wiseman Books has acquired world rights to There's Always Room for One More, written by Robyn McGrath (l.) and illustrated by Ishaa Lobo. In this picture book, a girl struggles with her family trading in their old table for a new one, until she discovers that a bigger table means more room for family, friends, and making memories. Publication is scheduled for fall 2023; Amy Thrall Flynn at Rubin Pfeffer Content represented the author, and Jennifer Rofe at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator. Katherine Harrison at Knopf has bought world rights to Thank You, Moon by Melissa Stewart (l.) (14 Monkeys), illustrated by Jessica Lanan (The Fisherman & the Whale). Under a night sky, this nonfiction picture book describes how various animals adapt to the moon's phases to hunt, hide from predators, build homes, or build families. Publication is planned for summer 2023; Tricia Lawrence at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and Ed Maxwell at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates represented the illustrator. Andrea Welch at S&S/Beach Lane has acquired world rights to This Wolf Is Different by Katie Slivensky (l.) in her picture book debut, illustrated by Hannah Salyer. This nonfiction story explores the journey of a young prehistoric wolf, who moves away from her pack and toward a new type of life with a child companion. Publication is slated for fall 2023; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the illustrator. Karen Smith at Knopf has bought world rights for The Shape of Things by Dean Robbins (l.), illustrated by Matt Tavares (Twenty-One Steps). This nonfiction picture book follows the evolution of mapmaking, stretching all over the worldstarting with prehistoric maps made from cave drawings, to Egyptian maps made from papyrus, to Native American maps made from rock, to modern-day electronic cartography. Publication is set for summer 2024; Marietta Zacker at Gallt & Zacker Literary represented the author, and Rosemary at Stimola Literary Studio represented the illustrator. Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow Books has acquired world rights to Morris Award finalist C.E. Winters's (l.) debut picture book, Cut!: How Lotte Reiniger and a Pair of Scissors Revolutionized Animation, illustrated by Matt Schu. It tells the true story of the career of Lotte Reiniger, the animator and inventor who designed and directed the oldest surviving full-length animated film. Publication is scheduled for winter 2023. Barbara Poelle at Irene Goodman Literary represented the author, and Chad W. Beckerman at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator. Carolyn Yoder at Astra/Calkins Creek has bought world rights to The Painter and the President: Gilbert Stuart's Brush with George Washington, written by Sarah Albee (l.) and illustrated by Stacey Innerst. This nonfiction picture book is about the relationship between artist Gilbert Stuart and President George Washington during the painting of Stuart's iconic Washington portrait. Publication is planned for fall 2024; Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Susan Cohen at Writers House represented the illustrator. Amy Novesky at Cameron Kids has acquired world rights to The Lion Queen by Rina Singh (l.), illustrated by Tara Anand, a picture book inspired by the story of Rasila Vadher, a real-life Lion Queen who protects the animals of the Gir National Park. Publication is scheduled for fall 2023; Essie White at Storm Literary Agency represented the author, and Chad W. Beckerman at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator. Ousman Umar, trans. from the Spanish by Kevin Gerry Dunn. Amazon Crossing, $19.95 (170p) ISBN 978-1-5420-3011-3 In this astounding tale of courage and tragedy, Umarfounder of NASCO Feeding Minds, a nonprofit committed to improving the lives of Ghanaiansrecounts the harrowing journey he endured immigrating to Europe from Ghana. When we started out, there were forty-six of us. Only six survived, he writes at his storys outset, laying bare the scope of misfortune he encountered over five years, after leaving his remote village at age 12 with a group of migrants for a better life in Europe. Early on in their trip, though, their smugglers abandoned them, forcing Umar and the others to find their own way through the desert without food or water: Whenever we were lucky enough to find moist sand, we grabbed fistfuls of it and squeezed it until a single drop fell on our lips. Even after making it out of the desert, brutal beatings and the cruelty of human traffickers became Umars norm as he made his way to Casablanca en route to Europe. Still, with unerring humanity, Umar brings instances of light to his sobering tale through moving recollections of the friendships that bolstered him and moments of divine intervention that led him to finally find a new home in Spain. This is a stunning testament to the strength of the human spirit. Russias declaration of war against, and invasion of, Ukraine this week is certain to have consequences for the international publishing industry. While it is too soon to say exactly what the impact will be, several international publishing organizations have already condemned Russia for their attack. Among the critics are PEN International, the Federation of European Publishers, the European Writers Council, the Italian Publishers Association, and the major German publishing agencies and associations. The Borsenverein Group, the organization that includes the Frankfurt Book Fair and oversees the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, issued a statement saying they are outraged" by the attack on Ukraine and called for an end to hostilities. We appeal to the Russian people and their president to stop the deliberate destruction of peace and freedom in Europe. And we send words of solidarity to the people of Ukraine: you are part of an international community that supports human dignity, democratic participation, and equality for all. You have a right to peace!" In criticizing the attack, the Federation of European Publishers said: "Ukraine is a free country in a free Europe, and has the right to peace and democracy, for its citizens to live in safety, and to territorial integrity. The statement continued: "We are very fortunate that this year, Ukraine is one of the participating countries in the European Union Prize of Literature. Ukraine is part of Creative Europe, of our common European family, and we believe that literature brings a message of peace and allows all European citizens to be 'united in diversity'." The International Publishers Association, of which both Russia and Ukraine are members, said it had no position on the matter. The first place where there is likely to be some visible expression of protest will be the Bologna Children's Book Fair, scheduled for March 21-24. That said, Bolognas program director, Elena Pasoli, said that the fair will not change any plans to include Russian publishers in the program. We dont have any plan to treat Russian publishers differently from the past, she said. I dont feel blaming our beloved publishers for whats happening. Ukrainian publishers are beloved friends as well, she added, noting that Yulia Kozlovets, general coordinator of the International Book Arsenal FestivalUkraines primary book fair served as one of the jury members of the 2022 BolognaRagazzi Awards. In fact, as the past decades have seen Ukraines publishing scene emerge as a force of its own, it is the countrys childrens book publishers, including Old Lion Publishing House and A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA, that have won the most international acclaim. Such Ukrainian authors as Andrei Kurkov, who writes in Russian, have become international superstars. (Kurkov's next book to be published in English, Grey Bees, forthcoming from Dallas, Tex.based Deep Vellum Publishing in April, is set on the front lines of the fighting in the separatist region.) Ivan Fedechko, rights director of Old Lion Publishing House, which is based in Lvivitself an UNESCO City of Literaturewrote PW to say that the war is already impacting business at home. "Now when the war is in our home and civilians are hiding in the bomb shelters, there are no other thoughts except worries about your family, friends, and your country, he wrote. Strong reaction and the real help of West is highly important at this moment." Another publisher, Liliia Solovinska from "" -- Ranok publishing house -- has described on Facebook how she fears for her safety. Her family are hiding in the their bathroom of their home in Kharkov, with the sound of machine gun and rocket fire outside, and the city surrounded by the Russian military and tanks encroaching. A Proxy Propaganda War For its part, Russia has been conducting a proxy propaganda war against Ukraine dating back to the countrys independence in 1991. One of the nation's weapons has been books, and Russian publishers are known to have flooded the Ukrainian market with cheap paperbacks in an effort to undermine any growth in the local publishing industry. Back when Russia subsumed Crimea in 2014, Oksana Hmelyovska, one of the coeditors of Chytomo, a Ukrainian website covering books and the media market, said that we hope that culture and publishing play not the last role in defense of our independence. Three years later, in 2017, Ukraine went so far as to ban Russian books, which then accounted for more than half of the country's sales. The ban lasted for nine months and, after Ukraine was accused of censorship, the ban was altered to only impact books that contained either overt Russian propaganda for Russia as an aggressor or showed favor for Communism and the Soviet ideology, the liquidation of Ukraine as an independent country, and those promoting the idea of the Ukraine as Malorossia, or Little Russia. Since then, more than 1.5 million copies of Russian books have been banned from import or publication. The rules are fair, said Iryna Baturevych, deputy director of the Ukrainian Book Institute and cofounder of Chytomo. Russian propaganda works very well. This has been an information war. Baturevych noted that Russian books continue to be available in Ukraine and, according to the latest data by the Ukrainian Book Institute, 204 million total copies of a combined 21,818 titles were approved for publication or distribution by the Ukrainian State Committee of Television and Broadcasting between 2017 and 2022. It has been easier, said Baturevych, for Ukrainian readers to detect propagandistic nonfiction titles and ban them, but to find propagandistic writing in fiction requires a close read, and it often slips through the censors: We are definitely sick of getting books with titles like, Smoke Over Ukraine or Novorossiya in My Heart. Ukrainian authorities have also opted to ban outright nine separate Russian publishing companies from operating in the country due to what has been called consistent systematic publishing and distribution of the books classified as anti-Ukrainian content. These publishers include Alhorythm, Centrpolygraph, Knyzhkovyi Svit, Piter Publishing House, Viche, Yauza, and Yauza-Press, and AST/Eksmo, the largest and most dominant trade publishing house in Russia, is also banned. Serhiy Oliynyk, the head of the import permission department at the Ukrainian State Committee of Television and Broadcasting, indicated that 20% of the titles banned by the Ukraine were published by AST/Eksmo. Asked whether their publishing house was susceptible to political influence, Evgeny Kapyev, Eksmo's general director, told PW in November 2021 that the house is entirely independent of the government. Russians already know Putin is sometimes an angel, sometimes a devil, Kapyev said, and as a consequence, they dont want to read about politics. Last year, the imports of Russian books to Ukraine rose by 73% over 2020, to more than five million copiesthe largest figure since 2014. Not all of this is propagandistic soft power machination, but, rather, simply publishers meeting market demand; Ukrainians have been buying more books over the past decade according to the Ukrainian Book Institute and, although Ukrainian is the language of preference in the majority of the country, many citizens will read books in both Ukrainian and Russian. Baturevych noted that one area that cannot be understated is the problem of piracy, which itself is fostered by unethical publishers and others in the region. Booksellers believe that as much as 40% of all books on the Ukrainian market are illegal, including books imported from Russia, she said. Digital piracy is also widely prevalent in the country, she added. What Can Be Done? Asked how publishers can show support for the Ukrainian publishing industry, Baturevych said that one of the best ways is to pay attention to how they sell rights, noting that foreign publishers often overlook Ukrainian publishers when it comes to selling rights to bestsellers, offering rights for distribution in Ukraine to Russian publishing houses. In a post appearing in the U.K. publishing newsletter BookBrunch, New York literary agent Barbara Zitwer said she has stopped working with Russian publishers. "I have taken the decision to cease selling books or buying books from Russia until the war ends. I hope everyone in publishing will follow and in our way, help to show that we care deeply about ending this war and we mean it," she wrote. Others are debating the matter in publishing forums, like the Facebook group Publishers Without Borders. Numerous Russian publishers, often speaking of their own accord and some anonymously to protect their identity, have expressed outrage and disgust with the war, noting, many Russians have family, friends and close colleagues in the Ukraine. As for material assistance, little can be done immediately save for perhaps one thing: continue working with and expressing support for Ukrainian publishers. "The last several years have shown how Ukrainian publishers can be more and more competitive, Baturevych said. The question [of who to sell rights to] can't be regulated by the stateit is a business interest of foreign publishers. But it is nice to know people collaborate in an ethical way, showing support for Ukraine. This is very important for us, and I strongly believe it helps us to develop an independent in-home market that is able to resist Russian or any other kind of propaganda. There are several hashtags circulating encouraging people to show their support for Ukraine during the Russian invasion, the most prominent of which is #StandWithUkraine. Members of the Ukrainian Student Association gathered Thursday night in Rawls Hall to discuss plans of action in light of the Russian invasion Ruth Gilmore speaks on what it means to be an abolitionist at Thursday's lecture. Sasha Marcones grandparents left their home at 8 a.m. Friday Ukraine time for a bomb shelter in Kyiv. Purdue Police Officer Jon Selke has been temporarily reassigned to administrative services following the release of special prosecutor Rodney New York City, NY (11385) Today Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High near 65F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low around 55F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Published on: 24 February 2022 A family seeking refuge after fleeing war A family seeking refuge after fleeing war The case is made on behalf of a French student who left France to study at a Turkish university. After being politically persecuted and spuriously condemned to six years in prison by the Turkish regime, last year she fled to Greece, intending to return to her family and home in France. After crossing the Evros river, the victim presented her French Passport and ID which permit her to enter the EU, informed the Greek police of the grave danger she was facing and begged them for assistance. Her family contacted the Greek and French authorities several times, asking for their consular protection, but no such support was provided. Greek forces abducted, detained and abused the young woman, before she was forced onto an unsafe dinghy for a life-threatening voyage to a military zone in Turkey, where she was captured by Turkish soldiers and is now serving a six-year prison sentence in terrible conditions. From her cell, she has now filed a lawsuit against Greece at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). She argues that she was fleeing Turkey to escape a politically motivated prison sentence, and accuses the Greek authorities of forcing her and other migrants back across the border into Turkey - violating her rights both as a person fleeing persecution and as a European citizen. Queen Marys Professor of Law Violeta Moreno-Lax is on the case's legal team alongside Adv. Omer Shatz, Adv. Francesco Gatta and Ms. Estelle Nandnaba from frontLEX. Prof Moreno-Lax explained: This case is part of a broader policy of systematic pushbacks, entailing serious human rights violations at the Greek-Turkish border, perpetrated with Frontex cooperation and EU assistance. Whether EU citizens or foreign nationals, thousands have been victims of this illegal practice, which this application to the ECHR should bring to a halt. Under the principle of non-refoulement in European and international human rights law, people cannot be returned to a country where they would face torture, punishment or harm. However, these so-called 'pushbacks' of migrants are increasingly common, despite violating European and international law. Journalists, lawyers and human rights organisations have documented countless pushbacks by Greece of migrants and refugees across sea or land borders, denying them the right to asylum procedures. Although thousands of people have suffered this ordeal over the years, experts believe this is the first case brought to court involving a European citizen. According to Prof Moreno-Lax: This is the first time an EU citizen has been illegally pushed back to face ill-treatment because of her physical appearance. Not looking 'European enough' triggered a spiral of violence that has put her life at risk, revealing the cruelty of the racist foundations of the EU border control regime. This story was first reported by the Associated Press. Launched in 2020, Canela Media is one of the first AVOD streaming services for US Hispanics/Latinos. The company has a distribution of FAST channels through partners such as Samsung, XUMO and LG. Canela Music launched in 2021 with a variety of music genres and original content. In all, Canela Media reaches over 50 million users across its OTT products and 180 Spanish content sites.The new investment was co-led by Acrew Capital and Angeles Investors with participation from Link Ventures, TEGNA Ventures and Samsung NEXT. BMO Harris Bank provided an additional $10 million of capital. In addition, existing investors BBG Ventures, Mighty Capital, Reinventure Capital, Portfolia's Rising America Fund, Alumni Ventures and Powerhouse Capital, continued its participation, bringing Canela Medias total funding to date to $35 million.The financing will be used to help Canela Media accelerate product development, produce new original programming for its flagship products Canela.TV and Canela Music, and to enable expansion further into Latin America. Later this year, Canela will roll out the Canela Kids app focused on childrens programming and will also be adding 95 new positions in various functions, including engineering, operations and programming."Canela Media set the standard for US Hispanic consumer brand marketing in streaming media," said Isabel Rafferty, founder and CEO of Canela Media . "From inception, we made it our mission to serve the underrepresented US Hispanic consumer, while bridging the gap to multicultural audiences for marketers. We look forward to helping more brands capitalise on our unparalleled and in-depth knowledge and understanding of how to establish meaningful and culturally relevant connections with US Hispanics.Commenting on the investment opportunity, Richard Wolpert, venture partner at Acrew Capital, stated, We continue to see significant business opportunities and growth coming from the US and LATAM Hispanic consumer segment, particularly in streaming media where consumers are looking for viewing options tailored to not only their language, but also their content consumption desires. Canela Medias approach of For Latinos, by Latinos has helped them remain authentic and attract brands seeking to truly connect with multicultural audiences."We believe this team, combined with its truly unique platform and approach, will unlock the full potential of the US consumer market, added Rodrigo Garcia, advisor at Angeles Investors . Our firms investment philosophy is all about finding the most exciting startups, funding the most disruptive and fastest growing business models and growing the impact of Hispanic and Latino entrepreneurs in the US economy. With Canela Media, we have discovered the perfect match. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/24/2022 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. : Before the 90 Days couple Mike Berk and Ximena Morales have reportedly broken up and called off their engagement.Rumors have been swirling for weeks that Ximena and Mike split and the Colombia native moved on with a new man, and now In Touch Weekly has confirmed the couple's relationship is over less than one year after they got engaged.On Monday, February 21, Ximena took to Instagram to post a photo of her new tattoo that pays tribute to the 2002 Disney movie, Lilo & Stitch. That tattoo on her wrist reportedly appeared to cover up a tattoo she had previously received of Mike's name.Ximena had previously shown off that Mike tattoo in September 2020 on TikTok, according to the magazine.On February 17, Ximena, 24, posted a lovey-dovey video on TikTok of a dark-haired man who wasn't Mike, 34.The video was set to a Spanish-language song called "Jaque Mate" by Juanse, according to In Touch.Ximena was apparently showing off her new boyfriend at the time, which clearly indicated she and Mike had recently broken up.Ximena quickly deleted the video of this mystery man, presumably because producers saw the spoiler material -- which revealed she's no longer engaged to Mike -- and asked her to take it down.The video, however, was captured by @90shotzfired and later reposted by 90 Fiance blogger John Yates.In the video, Ximena spliced together clips of her FaceTiming with the bearded man, and she also included some solo shots of him. Ximena set the video to the same romantic song she had used in one of her previous TikTok videos that featured Mike.Shortly after Ximena took down her post, she apparently messaged @90shotzfired on Instagram and tried to explain why her recent video of a mystery man was not a spoiler about whether she and Mike are still together.Ximena reportedly claimed on her Instagram Story that someone had hacked into her account and uploaded fake stuff.But John believes Ximena was just trying to cover her tracks and she's clearly not dating Mike anymore.John wrote on his Instagram account earlier this month, "I'm sorry but I'm not buying ANY of this -- if I were Judge Judy I'd say BOLOGNA MADAM! First off she messages Shotz with every excuse in the book -- 'someone stole my account', then the 'video is fake', then 'this was before I met Mike' then it was 'someone stole my phone' -- well WHICH EXCUSE IT IT?"Mike proceeded to comment on all the drama on Instagram when a fan asked him if he was okay."I am fine and just shocked [at] what I am seeing," Mike responded.But John also criticized Mike's reaction to Ximena's alleged new boyfriend."Then you have Mike saying 'I'm so shocked' GTFOH," John complained."I have been blogging about this show for a looooong time and here's what happened: Ximena posted the new video of her man on her TikTok... production caught wind of it and told her to take it down but it was too late as the floodgate had already been opened. The end. #90DayFiance."John also reposted a picture @90shotzfired had uploaded from Ximena's TikTok video. The screenshot shows one of Ximena's FaceTime conversations with her new guy took place in February 2022."Sure Ximena, this video was from the past," John captioned the screengrab, clearly calling her out for lying. "The past being 10 days ago. Maybe the dog ate your homework."It seems the couple's breakup was pretty recent because back on February 9, Ximena and Mike had listed each other's handle in their Instagram bios and added the heart-eyes emoji.Mike and Ximena have since removed each other's name.The pair also appeared to still be together and engaged in early January 2022.Ximena had posted two videos on her TikTok account -- which have since been deleted -- indicating she and Mike were an item at the time.In the first of two videos Ximena had posted that no longer appear on her TikTok account, she showed a picture of Mike holding a ring box as well as her wearing an off-the-shoulder sparkly wedding dress."I love you my life. Thank you for so much happiness," Ximena had written in Spanish, according to Soap Dirt.In the second video, Ximena had shared a picture of another wedding dress hanging up as well as a ring box by itself.She had simply captioned the post, when translated from Spanish to English, "Marry me!"On the latest fifth-season episode of : Before the 90 Days, Mike was shown visiting Ximena in Colombia two weeks after their engagement because Ximena had allegedly suddenly grown distant.Mike noted how something seemed "off" with his fiancee, and so he hoped to rekindle their romance and get back on track.Ximena, however, didn't seem happy to see Mike, especially because she had been hoping to undergo several cosmetic procedures -- which she expected Mike to pay for -- before they reunited.Ximena complained about how Mike had become too "clingy," and when the pair went out to a club on their first night back together, Mike apparently went home alone.Mike said he wanted to be a priority in his fiancee's life and asked Ximena why she had returned home so late after clubbing, basically insinuating she may have been with another man, which angered Ximena even more."It seems like I'm the only one putting in effort to connect. I'm hoping for it to get better, because if not, then the relationship -- I don't think it's going to work," Mike vented in a confessional.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage! The Eurovision Song Contest announced Friday that it is barring Russian musicians from competing in this year's event in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENT This year's competition is set to take place May 10-14 in Turin, Italy. "The decision reflects concern that, in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year's contest would bring the competition into disrepute," said the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the competition. Eurovision is a televised songwriting competition in which primarily European countries submit and perform an original song. The winner is selected by a combination of votes from a jury of music industry professionals and viewers at home. The winning country hosts the next year's competition. The board said it made its decision after consulting with membership. "The EBU is an apolitical member organization of broadcasters committed to upholding the values of public service," the board's statement said. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! "We remain dedicated to protecting the values of a cultural competition which promotes international exchange and understanding, brings audiences together, celebrates diversity through music and unites Europe on one stage." Italian rock band Maneskin won last year's competition with the song "Zitti e Buoni," or "Shut Up and Behave." The band received 524 points above second-place Barbara Pravi of France (499 points) and third-place Gjon's Tears of Switzerland (432 points). Ukraine's Go_A came in fifth place and Russia's Manizha came in ninth out of 26 competitors. Joseph Gordon-Levitt said Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber, premiering Sunday on Showtime, highlights an ethical flaw in American business practices. ADVERTISEMENT The 41-year-old Gordon-Levitt plays Uber founder Travis Kalanick in the series. "If your company achieves profitability and is doing pretty good, you won't get venture capital investment," Gordon-Levitt said on a Television Critics Association Zoom panel. "The economy doesn't reward that kind of success. It rewards unicorns." Super Pumped, based on the book by Mike Isaac that chronicles the tech company, depicts how Kalanick sought venture capital funding from Bill Gurley (Kyle Chandler). The company grew the user base for its rideshare app while battling city transportation departments and taxi unions. Gordon-Levitt said Uber is one of many companies pressured to demonstrate exponential growth. The actor said such pressures led Kalanick to enact business practices that left drivers and users vulnerable. "Oftentimes, to achieve that kind of unicorn success, you have to be Machiavellian," Gordon-Levitt said. "You have to be predatory." In addition to acting, Gordon-Levitt founded a media company, HitRecord. HitRecord produces films like Don Jon and online media by facilitating collaboration amongst artists. Gordon-Levitt said he hopes the business world can change to reward companies for ethical practices. He hopes that, in the future, companies can be successful "for doing the right thing, being kind and good to people, thinking about the long-term future and making sure that everyone is taken care of." FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Gordon-Levitt also said Uber deserves credit for improving its platform for drivers and users since the events depicted in Super Pumped. That the company suffered financially for it is indicative of the economy favoring cutthroat businesses, Gordon-Levitt said. "As they've cleaned up their act. Unfortunately, their stock price and their growth has gone down," he said. In addition to business demands, Gordon-Levitt said Kalanick also let power go to his head, and that Super Pumped will show how Kalanick lost sight of his goal to provide affordable, accessible rideshare, in part by surrounding himself with yes men. "It's sort of an Icarus story of someone who is really well-meaning," Gordon-Levitt said. "Watching Travis's rise and then fall is, I think, watching someone who doesn't have anyone around him anymore who will disagree with him." In playing Kalanick, Gordon-Levitt said he needed to do more than simply re-enact the events of Uber's development. He met with associates of Kalanick to get a sense of his impact on others. "People actually had a lot of positive things to say about him," Gordon-Levitt said. "He was so energetic, that he was so inspiring, that he would get everybody on their side, that he made everybody feel like what they were doing was incredibly important." Not everybody gave Kalanick glowing reviews. Gordon-Levitt said he also obtained confirmation about some of Kalanick's negative qualities depicted in Super Pumped. "Yes, I heard about a certain level of intensity that could be intimidating," Gordon-Levitt said. "I heard about some of the toxic behavior, that he was not focused enough on addressing within the company." He said he hopes Kalanick will like his portrayal, and that Super Pumped is more even-handed than much of the negative press Kalanick has received. "The way that the writers of this show wrote him, he comes off as a badass," Gordon-Levitt said. "There's fireworks coming out of his mouth every minute, and who wouldn't enjoy that?" Gordon-Levitt said he is still optimistic about positive applications for digital technology. He uses social media to promote his acting projects, and HitRecord projects. "I absolutely still believe in the positive outcomes that can result from using digital technology to bring people together," Gordon-Levitt said. "I do think there are some really big problems when you make money off of those connections through mass surveillance and advertising." Gordon-Levitt said he hopes laws will be enacted to limit surveillance by digital companies. Until they are, he encourages users of social media to keep some of their personal information private. "You can stay private if you want to," Gordon-Levitt said. "You have to choose to." Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on Showtime. Kimberly Akimbo is headed to Broadway. ADVERTISEMENT Producers announced Friday that the musical comedy will move to Broadway in the fall. Kimberly Akimbo will begin previews Oct. 12 and officially open Nov. 10 at an unspecified Shubert theater. The musical is based on the play by David Lindsay-Abaire, which follows Kimberly, a 15-year-old girl with a medical condition that causes rapid aging. The show features music by Jeanine Tesori and a book and lyrics by Lindsay-Abaire. Victoria Clark, 62, plays Kimberly and will reprise the role on Broadway. Original cast members Steven Boyer, Bonnie Milligan and Justin Cooley will also make the move to Broadway. "It's a coming-of-age story, but an unusual one because the clock is ticking from the get-go," Clark said in an interview with The New York Times. "She has a limited amount of time left, and what draws me to her is her joie, and watching how someone can triumph who you least expect to succeed." The show is directed by Jessica Stone and choreographed by Danny Mefford, with David Stone as lead producer. Kimberly Akimbo premiered Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company in November. Lilly Singh is sharing her pain after being hospitalized for ovarian cysts. ADVERTISEMENT The 33-year-old YouTube star, comedian and television personality said Wednesday that she spent a day in the emergency room. Singh shared a video of herself rolling her eyes in her hospital bed. She included the caption "learning there are cysts on my ovaries" and set the clip to "Smokin Out the Window" by Silk Sonic. "Spent the last day in the ER because my ovaries have the AUDACITY to be wilding out. Both of them have cysts. And I'm just out here like REALLY B?! Let me understand this. You're going to make me suffer once a month and then IN ADDITION, stab me inbetween periods? LOLOLOLOL. WOW. THE ENTITLEMENT... the NERVE. IM WEAKKKK," Singh captioned the post. "No but actually. It hurts and I'm tired lol but I truly expect nothing less than my organs doing the most. After all I am their mother," she added. Actor and producer Kenya Barris , comedian and television personality Howie Mandel and actress Brittany Furlan sent love and support to Singh in the comments. "Dude!!! Soooo many prayers to you!!!!" Barris wrote. "I'm here if you need anything," Mandel added. FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! "Welcome to the club Cyster sending love," Furlan said. Singh came to fame on YouTube under the name Superwoman. She has since hosted the NBC late-night talk show A Little Late with Lilly Singh, which ended in June 2021. As an actress, Singh most recently appeared in Dollface Season 2. She will also release her second book, Be a Triangle: How I Went From Being Lost to Getting My Life Into Shape, in April. Robin Roberts announced on Thursday that her partner Amber Laign has breast cancer. ADVERTISEMENT Roberts made the announcement in a video uploaded to Instagram. The 61-year-old said she will be missing some episodes of Good Morning America as she supports Laign. "My sweet Amber wanted me to tell you something that she's been facing. At the end of last year, Amber was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery last month, and this morning will begin chemotherapy," Roberts said. "Thankfully the prognosis is good. And we're so grateful to our family and close friends who have known this and have kept it private until Amber was ready to share it with others," she continued. Roberts mentioned that she has been with Laign for 17 years and that Laign supported her during her own battle with breast cancer in 2007. "It's my turn now, to be there for her as she was for me. That means that I'll be away from GMA from time to time like this morning as she starts chemo," Roberts said. Woburn, MA (01801) Today Showers this morning becoming a steady light rain during the afternoon hours. High 54F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low 48F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn is in Ukraine, the country's presidential office said Thursday, as the country deals with a full-scale invasion of Russian military forces. ADVERTISEMENT Penn was seen in photos posted on Facebook attending a government briefing. Ukraine's office of the president said Thursday that Penn had arrived in the capital, Kyiv, to film a documentary about the conflict. The 61-year-old actor is working on the project in collaboration with VICE Studios, NBC reported. Photos have also surfaced of Penn meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Newsweek reported that Penn flew to Kyiv earlier in the week and that he had previously traveled to Ukraine in November. During that trip, Penn met with Russia-backed separatists. It's not Penn's first time filming a documentary on an international level. His 2015 interview with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, may have helped lead police to arrest the Mexican drug cartel boss three months later. Athens, GA (30605) Today Thunderstorms this morning, then partly cloudy during the afternoon hours. High 88F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight A few passing clouds, otherwise generally clear. Low 61F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight A shower or two possible this evening with partly cloudy skies overnight. Low 46F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%. Ben Shrader asTevye, left, and Mia Houck, Russian singer dancing during Woodrow Wilson Musical Theatre Class performing Fiddler on the Roof during dress rehearsal Wednesday evening in the schools auditorium. Performances will be held, February 25th & 26th at 7pm, February 27th at 2pm, March 4th & 5th at 7pm and March 6th at 2pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door $10. for students and $15. for adults.Rick Barbero/The Register-Herald) The states community colleges could begin the formal transition to one consolidated institution as soon as next month. Connecticut State Colleges and Universities submitted a renewed merger proposal to its accreditor, the New England Commission for Higher Education, earlier this month for consideration and approval. The association will meet with college officials on Mar. 3 and deliver a decision. CSCU President Terrence Cheng expressed confidence at a Board of Regents meeting Thursday that the regional accreditor will approve the plan. The substantive change proposal clarified the roles of central leadership and campuses in decision-making and local management, and stressed alignment across the campuses, officials said. It also limited new positions to make the new structure more affordable, but added a vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion. Officials decided to merge the community colleges into Connecticut State Community College almost five years ago, and have cited enrollment declines, lagging measures of student success and an unsustainable financial trajectory. Two community colleges currently have negative financial reserves, officials reported. And unfortunately, several institutions may likely follow that in the next year or two, said Michael Rooke, interim president of Connecticut State. So we urgently feel the need to restructure our staffing to account for enrollment declines, and leverage our shared services, and invest heavily in enrollment, retention and completion. CSCU officials told the legislature earlier this week that even with Gov. Ned Lamonts proposed changes to the biennial budget, the system is still projected to see a $174 million deficit. Headcount fell over the 2010s by more than 33 percent at the community colleges, according to state data a trend then sped up by the pandemic. Rooke and his colleagues said the proposed merger would improve student success, from adding a quoted 158 advisors by the summer to aligning curriculum and transcripts so students can take classes on any campus and easily transfer to the four-year universities. There will be single college catalog published this fall with common general education requirements, prerequisites and learning outcomes. The interim president anticipated Connecticut State could begin accepting students this October, which he said is going to be here sooner than we expect. He said the formal process to transition should wrap in June 2023, so that the statewide community college can formally open on July 1. Theres still much to be done over the next 15 months or so, Rooke said, such as to finish the merged colleges strategic plan and establish a diversity, equity and inclusion plan. Officials will also implement the new shared governance structure, and transition current roles and responsibilities to future positions before summer next year. Rooke added that one of his goals has been to make the consolidation process as unnoticeable as possible for students in terms of interruption to their education, though he suggested he would raise awareness of the change for those who may be less involved with their schools. But the faculty advisory committee to the Board of Regents said they did not see the renewed proposal before it was submitted to the regional accreditor. I just want to emphasize one point in particular, namely the Faculty Advisory Committee, based on our discussions with faculty at the community colleges and at the universities, remain opposed to the elimination of the accreditation of the 12 community colleges, said David Blitz, chair of the committee and a philosophy professor at Central Connecticut State University. We understand many of the aspects of increased coordination and modification of strategy, Blitz said. But we are concerned about the danger of elimination of campuses, if not in the immediate, then in the unforeseeable future. Cheng responded to faculty concerns by stressing the thought and input that has gone into the merger, and his intention to keep campuses open. The amount of work that has gone into this process for over five years now is indisputable, said Cheng. Its not an easy process; its not a comfortable process. Change is hard. We have to evolve, or else we just continue to die a little bit more every day. And thats not what our students deserve. Its not what the state deserves. We are going through this process because we are focused on doing whats best for our constituencies and whats responsible for the tax payers investment in our system, Cheng said. CSCU is also seeking approval from the United States Department of Education to award federal student aid funds. It will proceed with its plans to move to central offices in New Britain next month. WINSTED Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities, an assistance dog program dedicated to assisting people with disabilities, has achieved reaccreditation by Assistance Dogs International, the leading authority in the Assistance Dogs industry. It establishes and promotes standards of excellence in all areas of assistance dog acquisition, training and partnership, according to a statement. ECAD, co-founded by Lu and Dale Picard in 1995, is a non-profit organization that has its Training and Wellness Center in Winchester. Through its Open Doors Program, ECAD has placed assistance/service dogs with clients that represent a wide range of physical disabilities. ECADs Project HEAL is a program designed specifically for veterans who often have PTSD or TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) as well as a physical disability. Canine Magic helps children on the Autism Spectrum. Each service dog placed is trained to meet the specific needs of the client. To date, ECAD has placed more than 350 service dogs in 25 states. In his congratulatory letter to Dale Picard, executive director, ADIs chairman of the board, Richard Lord, wrote: ADI accreditation represents a significant achievement for the staff and management of Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities (ECAD). It is indicative of your programs strong commitment to upholding the highest professional standards of excellence within the Assistance Dog Industry. I speak for all the ECAD family - our instructors, staff members, and our volunteers - when I say how proud we are with our continued ADI accreditation. It is a status we have had since 2004, but it is not something we take for granted, said Lu Picard, director of programs. All of us work hard with our beautiful and gifted canines each and every day, to not only meet ADI standards but surpass them. It is rewarding to have our efforts recognized. Once accredited, a program becomes a member of ADI. Member programs must complete a reaccreditation every 5 years to comply with ADIs Standards of Practice. ADI accreditation is a peer-review process conducted by a trained ADI assessor over a period of 2-4 days. Currently there are 145 ADI accredited assistance dog programs in the world. For more information, visit www.assistancedogsinternational.org or contact Chris Diefenthaler, ADIs Executive Director at chris@assistancedogsinternational.org or (419) 350-5788 For more information on ECAD, go to www.ecad1.org Gilbert Trust accepting scholarship applications WINSTED The W.L. Gilbert Trust Corporation and the Gilbert School announces that applications are now being accepted for its 2022 scholarships. All Gilbert School graduating seniors and alumni who are attending college are invited to apply for a scholarship. Each year The Gilbert School recognizes outstanding seniors and alumni with scholarship awards given through The W. L. Gilbert Trust Corporation. Last year, more than $140,000 was distributed to help with the rising cost of higher education. The number of endowed scholarships and named funds increases every year, thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends of The Gilbert School. These scholarships are a symbol of thanks for the education received at The Gilbert School and are often established in memory of a loved one. Applications are available from The Gilbert School guidance department or can be downloaded from the school's website at www.gilbertschool.org. The application deadlines are March 7 for The Phyllis C. Locascio Scholarship, and April 1 for all other scholarships. No applications will be accepted after these deadlines. For more information, contact The Gilbert School guidance department at 860-379-8521. Alumnus award nominations wanted TORRINGTON The Torrington High School Distinguished Alumnus Award acknowledges and honors a THS graduate who exhibits integrity in his/her adult life and has made significant contributions to the community, state or nation through educational achievements, professional practice, or public service. Form must be completed and submitted to the Superintendents Office by March 1. Late submissions will not be considered for this year but will be put in the file for review next year. Nomination forms may be submitted via email to lsolianicroci@torrington.org or by mail to Torrington Board of Education, Attention: Superintendent's Office, 355 Migeon Avenue, Torrington, CT 06790. Torrington to observe Gulf War Veterans Day TORRINGTON The Torrington Veterans Memorial Committee invites the public, current military personnel, and all veterans to join in an observance of Gulf War Veterans Day at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 28, at the soldiers monument in the center of Coe Memorial Park. Guests should dress warmly. Any American flag that is torn, faded, or otherwise damaged may be brought to the observance, where a member of a Veterans organization will take the flag and see that it is properly retired. For questions or comments, contact the Torrington Veterans Memorial Committee: vetactcom@yahoo.com Republicans announce endorsements TORRINGTON The Torrington Republican Town Committee this week announced its candidate endorsements for the 2022 campaign season. Members chose them Feb. 17. Candidates included: Bob Stefanowski, Governor; George Logan, U.S. House 5th District; Lisa Seminara, Senate, District 8; Rep. Stephen Harding, Senate, District 30; Rep. Jay Case, 63rd House District; and attorney James Steck, Probate Judge District 23. Volunteer judges needed for History Day The Connecticut Democracy Center is looking for judges with a love of history and education to help evaluate entries for this year's Connecticut History Day. CT History Day (CHD) is one of 58 affiliate programs of National History Day (NHD). CHD annually engages over 4,000 middle- and high-school students in historical research, interpretation, and creative expression through project based learning. The program seeks to bring students, teachers, museums, and scholars together to support young people as they engage in history. To learn more about being a judge or to volunteer, visit historydayct.org. EAST HARTFORD A man authorities said was a member of a large-scale fentanyl trafficking ring was sentenced Thursday to more than 11 years in federal prison, prosecutors said. Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven sentenced 42-year-old Daniel Estremera, who last lived in East Hartford, to 138 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. The sentence stems from his role in the trafficking ring and violation of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction. In July 2019, the DEAs Hartford Task Force started investigating a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization that was distributing fentanyl and heroin in Connecticut, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said investigators learned that members of the trafficking ring were getting kilogram-quantities of narcotics mostly fentanyl from a supplier, and then selling the drug to various narcotics traffickers, including Estremera Prosecutors said Estremera and others sold the drug to street-level distributors. Cash produced from these sales was delivered to a money broker in Brooklyn, N.Y., who helped the members of the ring launder the proceeds before they were transferred to leaders of the trafficking organization, prosecutors said. On Aug. 14, 2019, investigators stopped Estremeras car after he met with a drug associate and seized almost $15,000 in cash, prosecutors said. Two weeks later, prosecutors said, investigators stopped an individuals car after they saw Estremera transfer a shopping bag to another person before they drove away. Prosecutors said $72,570 in cash was found in the bag. Between August and October 2019, law enforcement officers seized more than $100,000 in cash from other members of the trafficking organization. The drug ring members used several locations to store, process and package fentanyl from street sales, including office space on Pratt Street in Hartford, an apartment in Hartfords Asylum Hill neighborhood and an apartment in New Britain, prosecutors said. Estremera used a South Street apartment in West Hartford to process, package and store narcotics, prosecutors said. Investigators searched the apartment on March 13, 2020, and seized about 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl and about 500 wax folds of it, prosecutors said. Investigators arrested Estremera and several co-defendants on April 28, 2020. Estremera has been detained since his arrest. On the day of their arrests, prosecutors said, investigators seized about $100,000 in cash, a gun, several thousand wax folds of suspected fentanyl and several items used in the processing and packaging of the drug. A grand jury returned an indictment on June 3, 2020, that charged Estremera and nine others with narcotics distribution and money laundering offenses. Estremera pleaded guilty on July 20, 2021, to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Hall on Thursday sentenced Estremera to 120 months for trafficking fentanyl, and a consecutive 18 months for violating the conditions of his supervised release. His criminal history includes serving 42 months in prison for a state drug conviction and a federal conviction for his role in a Hartford-area heroin trafficking ring, prosecutors said. He was sentenced in federal court in February 2009 to 120 months in prison, followed by eight years of supervised release. He was released from prison in March 2018 and was on supervised release at the time of his arrest in this case. MANCHESTER Police say the occupants of a vehicle in a fatal crash last weekend on Interstate 384 may have been involved in catalytic converter thefts before the incident. As the investigation into the deadly crash progressed, a separate probe began into the activities of the three individuals leading up to the crash, Connecticut State Police said Friday. At the crash site, among the vehicle debris, officers found several items that state police said indicated they were involved in catalytic converter thefts. State police said investigators seized several stolen catalytic converters, cutting tools, stolen license plates and two stolen guns. The crash killed 16-year-old Hartford resident Roman Quinones, who was identified by the states chief medical examiner through fingerprints, state police said. The crash occurred around 5 a.m. Feb. 19 on I-384 near Exit 2 in Manchester. Quinones was a passenger in the vehicle, which state police said was being driven by a 21-year-old Hartford man. Another 21-year-old Hartford man was also a passenger in the vehicle. State police said the driver was headed east on I-384 when he lost control and drove from the right side of the highway to the left. Police said the vehicle drove onto the grassy median and hit a tree, splitting the vehicle in half. Quinones was pronounced dead at the scene. The two other Hartford residents were taken to the hospital with suspected serious injuries, police said. The investigations are ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper First Class John Wilson at 860-534-1098 or john.wilson@ct.gov. Leading Republicans on Thursday assailed Russia for plunging Europe into its first major land war in decades - isolating former president Donald Trump, the de facto standard-bearer of their party, in his praise for the country's authoritarian leader. From Capitol Hill to the campaign trail, prominent GOP voices, including some close Trump loyalists, vowed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would pay a severe price for ordering a military offensive against Ukraine, even as the party sought to blame President Joe Biden for the crisis. Meanwhile, Republican leaders strained to articulate an alternative policy to counter Russia's revanchist campaign - at once insisting on more severe measures and opposing the deployment of U.S. forces, which Biden has said is not an option. The crosscurrents point to the hurdles Republicans face in staking out a position against foreign adversaries that include not just Russia but also China as they contend with the former president's admiration for strongmen and an ascendant wing within their party that disfavors foreign intervention. The competing impulses were captured in the reaction of Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., a rising GOP star who replaced the hawkish Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., as chair of the party's House Conference. Stefanik's statement, mostly trained on Biden's leadership capacities, also criticized Putin as a "gutless, bloodthirsty, authoritarian dictator." The solution she proposed, with few details, was "strength." Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who has suggested blocking Ukraine from joining the NATO alliance, which would mean acceding to a key Putin demand, nonetheless backed sweeping action in a Thursday statement. "President Biden must act now to hit Vladimir Putin where it hurts, beginning with Russia's energy sector," he said. "The Biden administration should sanction Russian energy production to a halt, and help arm the Ukrainians to defend themselves." Trump, in a radio interview on Tuesday, called Putin's actions "genius," though he appeared to strike a sarcastic tone at times. On Wednesday, he told donors gathered at his Mar-a-Lago Club that Putin's moves were "pretty smart," according to a video of his remarks. And in an appearance on Fox News later that evening, he made the claim that the invasion was a result of what he falsely described as the "rigged election" in 2020. Trump has often told aides that Putin is "a brilliant strategist, and really tough, and really smart and savvy," said a person who has spoken to him about it on numerous occasions, and that "Biden is not up for it." He told donors gathered for dinner at Mar-a-Lago last year how "tough" Putin was, according to a person who heard the comments. The person, who like others in this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private discussions, said the former president is "very respectful of Putin, in a perverse sort of way." The person said Trump's observations on Wednesday were meant not to buttress Putin, but to contrast him with Biden and portray Biden as not up for the job, adding that some allies were trying to get him to tweak his comments. A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for an interview. Former vice president Mike Pence, while critical of Biden, also sharply attacked Putin in a Fox News appearance Wednesday evening. "No one in the GOP should be praising Vladimir Putin. He's a former KGB officer and a dictator and a thug. We should be clear about that," said Marc Short, the former vice president's longtime chief of staff, in an interview. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he had breakfast Thursday with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in between a conversation with a top State Department official and calls with Democratic senators to discuss a supplemental appropriations bill that would aid the Ukrainian people. Graham said he wasn't a fan of Trump's "genius" comment about Putin, "but I understood what the president was trying to say." "Number one, the Republican Party is going to rally around the idea that Putin is a thug and a crook," Graham said in an interview. "I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of Republican senators see what's happening to Ukraine is detrimental to our national security and well-being." Competitive primaries throughout the country showcased the GOP's divisions on foreign policy as well as a clear preference within segments of the party not to engage on Putin's attack, which is quickly becoming the most significant threat to European security since World War II. In the crowded Senate contest in Ohio, J.D. Vance, a self-styled populist who rose to prominence with the publication of his 2016 "Hillbilly Elegy," said this week, "I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other." In a Thursday statement, he seemed to walk that remark back by saying, "Russia's assault on Ukraine is unquestionably a tragedy." But he also claimed that demands for a response are thinly veiled calls for military intervention, which he rejected. By contrast, Jane Timken, a former chair of the state party who has been endorsed by retiring senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said, "I believe 'America First' means protecting American security interests at home and abroad." At the same time, Timken reposted a statement from Trump that seemed to take glee in unfolding events: "Putin is playing Biden like a drum. It is not a pretty thing to watch!" In Arizona, the three leading Senate candidates - each of whom released brief statements on Twitter - either declined or did not respond to requests for interviews about the crisis and what the GOP's policy should be. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, seen by Republican strategists as a formidable 2024 contender even if Trump runs again, did not mention the Russian invasion during a speech Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. His spokeswoman weighed in on Twitter earlier in the week, observing that the "USA is in no position to 'promote democracy' abroad while our own country is falling apart." Among other GOP figures thought to be eyeing presidential bids, some were more outspoken. But even those who boast foreign policy experience didn't dwell on a strategy to counter Russian aggression. Nikki Haley, Trump's first ambassador to the United Nations, emphasized "strength" in a statement on the crisis. Mike Pompeo, a former secretary of state whose recent assessment of Putin as "very shrewd" was featured in Russian media, issued a statement Thursday saying he was "taught at West Point to be clear eyed about your enemy's strength." "We must, united, act swiftly to impose real costs on Putin's regime beyond the sanctions already imposed," he said of the ongoing attack. "If we do not confront actions that disrupt peace and disregard sovereignty with strength, we will only invite more deadly and brazen attacks in the future." The views of Republicans voters are more nuanced on how to approach Russia, a shift that accelerated in the Trump era. Tony Fabrizio, a prominent Republican pollster who has done surveys for Trump and a range of Senate and gubernatorial candidates, said there have been sharp changes in the party's outlook on foreign policy in recent years. "China is clearly seen as the bigger threat," said Fabrizio, who was Trump's main pollster in 2016 and 2020. "And the party is split down the middle with roughly half being isolationists, which is a significant shift from 15 years ago." A recent Quinnipiac poll found Republicans evenly divided over Biden's decision to send troops to bolster NATO allies in Eastern Europe, with 47% opposed and 43% backing the move - a split Fabrizio said he has found in his own polling this week. He said his polling showed even less Republican support for military support, and that Republicans viewed China as more of an "enemy" than Russia. Short said the party had also shifted on foreign policy because of Trump - and is less likely to support military entanglements. "But I don't think that's where our party is, saying great things about Putin," he said. In the White House, Trump was resistant to criticism of Putin because he "thought the guy had valid points and was generally right about the things he would rail on," said a former senior administration official who regularly discussed Putin with Trump. "He was always saying that Putin has his points, I understand him, we have a good relationship. I think he believed it. Putin played to his vanities and did it superbly. The same thing with Kim and even Xi," this official said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump was not alone in expressing admiration for Putin this week. Steve Bannon, Trump's onetime chief strategist, and Erik Prince, the former head of military contractor Blackwater, emphasized in a Thursday discussion aired on Bannon's show that Putin had taken a hard line on social issues. "Putin ain't woke," Bannon said. Fox News host Tucker Carlson told viewers they should ask themselves, "Why do I hate Putin so much?" Most elected Republicans did not echo those comments, but few pushed back directly. When asked at a news conference about Trump's praise for Putin's strategy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., declined to address the former president's comments, even as he called Putin a "bad guy" and an "authoritarian." "We need to do everything we can to stop him," McConnell said. Some Republican senators, such as Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, a former ambassador to Japan, were explicit in blaming Biden. In a statement, he said, "Despite Ukrainian President Zelensky's persistent call for pre-invasion sanctions, the Biden administration chose to do nothing until it was too late and must now change course." Others, even close allies of Trump, took a different view. "Ultimately, there is only one group of people responsible for the tragedies unfolding - Vladimir Putin and his cronies," Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said. Of several dozen congressional offices contacted by The Washington Post, almost all either did not respond to questions about the former president's remarks or pointed to statements that did not address the issue. One exception was Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., a frequent Trump critic, who said in a statement that there is not a "thing praiseworthy about Putin. He's a tyrant; he's got the blood of innocent civilians on his hands; he's a serial liar; he wants to undo the fact that the Soviet Union lost the Cold War; he's a murderer with absolutely no regard for human life. Whether you vote red or blue, every American should understand Putin is evil." Trump's influence over the party also sharpens the partisan lens in which the crisis is unfolding, said Brian Taylor, an expert on Russian politics at Syracuse University. "The Trump effect on the party just makes it even more of a partisan issue," Taylor said. "The frame of reference becomes, 'Whatever helps Donald Trump.' " The groups issued the call in response to recent round-ups of striking NagaWorld casino workers. City Hall security personnel prevent reporters from covering striking casino workers as authorities round the workers up and take them away in buses in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, Feb. 24, 2022. Cambodian civil society groups, community organizations, and trade unions on Thursday accused governmental officials of sexually harassing female strikers and applying COVID prevention rules arbitrarily as part of an effort to break up recent labor demonstrations. A joint statement signed by 51 groups specifically points to how authorities have handled members of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld, most of whom are women. Since striking from the hotel and casino in December 2021, the workers have been subjected to violence, imprisonment and the arbitrary application of COVID-19 measures, the letter from the groups states. Women strikers have been repeatedly and disproportionately targeted by government efforts to disperse the peaceful strike, the groups said. Authorities have denied the women access to bathrooms near the strike site, prevented them from returning home until after dark, and followed them once they were allowed to leave. On Tuesday, a male officer grabbed and squeezed the breast of one woman while she was being forced onto a bus, the groups said. Similarly, on Dec. 29, state authorities used vulgar sexual language with a striker and threatened to sexually assault her. Among the groups that signed the joint statement were the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights, and the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia. Their statement says that in February, the strikers repeatedly complied with governmental orders to undertake multiple COVID-19 virus tests and fulfilled quarantine orders. Despite meeting the terms, 64 workers were forcibly taken to a quarantine facility on Monday as they tried to resume their strike. They were allowed to return home later that evening after complying with further COVID-19 testing, the groups said. But on Tuesday, authorities took 39 strikers to the same quarantine center that lacks beds and water for drinking and bathing. On the following day, authorities escorted 51 additional strikers to the facility. Each of the workers has been fined up to 2 million riels (U.S. $470) for allegedly violating COVID-19 measures as they tried to resume their strike, the groups said. Thousands of employees from the Hong Kong-owned NagaWorld Casino in Cambodias capital walked off the job in mid-December, demanding higher wages and the reinstatement of eight jailed union leaders and nearly 370 others they said were unjustly fired from the casino. Eleven members of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld, including seven women, have been arrested since December 2021, and are being held in pre-trial detention, the groups said in their statement. The women have been charged with incitement to commit a felony and face up to two years in prisons if convicted. Phnom Penh City Hall security personnel rounded up another 27 strikers on Thursday and took them to a quarantine facility on the outskirts of town where about 90 other workers picked up during other strikes are being also held. Authorities released 35 workers from the larger group, without providing them with transportation home, and sent four workers who tested positive for COVID-19 for treatment, according to one of the workers. Authorities wanted to release more employees, but the workers refused to leave until everyone in the group was let go, said the woman, who declined to give her name. Phnom Penh City Hall issued a statement on Thursday denying that security personnel sexually harassed the striking casino workers and accused the NGOs of issuing false information about COVID-19 prevention measures. Authorities found that several strikers they had rounded over the past few days to be COVID-19 positive, the statement said. It is outrageous to have statements accusing the authorities of using violence, including sexual harassment, against the women workers, the statement said. The statement said that strikers with evidence of harassment file legal complaints. Authorities also said journalists had issued statements contrary to the fact. But they prevented local and foreign reporters from covering the round-up of workers on Thursday, spraying hand sanitizer on the journalists equipment in some cases. They also prohibited human rights monitors from recording incidents of harassment. RFA could not reach City Hall officials or Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan for additional comment. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Authoritarian regimes around the world are making gains against liberal democracies and encouraging more leaders to abandon democracy, according to a Washington-based think-tank, Freedom House. "Autocracy is making gains against democracy and encouraging more leaders to abandon the democratic path to security and prosperity, with countries that suffered democratic declines over the past year outnumbering those that improved by more than two to one," the organization warned in its annual report. "Authoritarian regimes in China, Russia, and elsewhere have gained greater power in the international system, and freer countries have seen their established democratic norms challenged and fractured," the report said. Freedom House president Michael J. Abramowitz warned that democracy was "in danger" around the world. "Authoritarians are becoming bolder, while democracies are back on their heels," he said. "Democratic governments must rally to counter authoritarian abuses ... and prevent homegrown efforts to undermine the separation of powers and the integrity of elections." The report found that, of the 47 nations elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council for 2022, 15 are rated Free, 18 are rated Partly Free, and 14 are rated Not Free. It said the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had become "increasingly repressive" in recent years, tightening control over all aspects of life and governance, including the media, online speech, religious practice, universities, businesses, and civil society. "The CCP leader and state president, Xi Jinping, has consolidated personal power to a degree not seen in China for decades," Freedom House said, adding that Xi was "directly involved" in the mass incarceration of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in Xinjiang. It said rare first-hand accounts from inside detention camps in Xinjiang had revealed systemic sexual abuse and torture of ethnic minority detainees, in addition to credible reports of deaths in custody. "The authorities took further steps to forcibly assimilate all ethnic minorities into the dominant Han Chinese national identity, in part by imposing Mandarin as the language of instruction at all educational levels," the report said. Shih Yi-hsiang of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights said the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China's ongoing military saber-rattling directed at democratic Taiwan had thrown the findings of the report into greater relief. "The international community is now playing close attention to Chinese and Russian authoritarian expansionism," Shih told RFA. Worsening restrictions A Chinese rights activist, who gave only the surname Xu, said dictators are afraid of pluralism and diversity. "A dictator is for the unbridled freedom of [a single] individual, and he will deprive all the people of their freedom [to achieve it]," Xu said. "A free society works for the freedom of all the people and restricts the freedom of the ruler." "China is just the opposite; it restricts the people's freedoms to give the greatest possible freedom to its leaders," he said. A political dissident who declined to be named said the situation in China only appears to be worsening under CCP leader Xi Jinping. "In the years since the 19th Party Congress, the years under Xi Jinping, the human rights situation has gotten worse and worse," the dissident said. "It's not just the large numbers of people getting arrested; there are now far more restrictions on online speech." "There's a lot of stuff that you could get away with saying a few years ago that you can't say now," he said. Taiwan and Hong Kong Taiwan, by contrast, is listed as a "Free" country, scoring highly for political rights and civil liberties, according to Freedom House. "There are still some areas in which Taiwan is a bit less free, and there are human rights violations," Shih said. "For example, the treatment of foreign migrant workers, and some forced demolitions and forced evictions ... while there are some topics journalists aren't allowed to report on." In Hong Kong, where a draconian national security law imposed on the city by the CCP has led to dozens of political arrests and the closure of several pro-democracy media organizations, freedom scores have plummeted. The once-free city is now classed as "Partly Free." Zhao Sile, a journalist who specializes in authoritarian politics, said China has two main routes through which it seeks to export its model of authoritarian rule, for the time being. One is the theft of intellectual property, while another is to invest in key infrastructure in other countries, including energy and communications. "The more it has guaranteed [control of resources] in other countries, the more it can shore up the weaknesses in its own regime," Zhao said. "It's a two-way expansion of authoritarianism; on the one hand, it exports influence to the rest of the world, and on the other, it consolidates [CCP] power at home," she said. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Democratic Taiwan on said it would join the U.S. and its allies in imposing sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, in a move that will disrupt exports of cutting-edge technology from the world's biggest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). "We must solemnly condemn Russia's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and its disruption of regional and global peace and stability," Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen said. "Taiwan is willing to participate in efforts that contribute to the peaceful resolution of disputes. Taiwan will also join the international community in economic sanctions against Russia," she said. Tsai also called for greater vigilance to prevent foreign forces and local players from exploiting the Ukraine criss to "create panic and affect the morale of Taiwanese society." Taiwan premier Su Tseng-chang also mentioned sanctions, and warned against information warfare by "some foreign forces." "We will absolutely be protecting our national sovereignty and security ... in line with the world's democratic countries," Su told reporters. Mainland Affairs Council chairman Chiu Tai-san said the government is making necessary preparations to counter misinformation from "the other side," in an apparent reference to China, where the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has stopped short of describing Russia's land, sea and air attack on Ukraine as an invasion, and which has ordered its own state media and social media platforms to ban criticism of Russia. "We have taken note that the other side may carry out information operations, so we will be focusing on that," Chiu said. "We have also seen that some Ukraine government actions have been targeted by hackers, and the president has asked us to strengthen our work in that area." Diversifying gas supplies TSMC, a major Apple supplier, said it would comply with any sanctions imposed by Taiwan's government. "TSMC complies with all applicable laws and regulations and is fully committed to complying with the new export control rules announced," the company said in a statement. Taiwan's economics ministry said the island would be looking to diversify its supplies of natural gas after a contract with Russia expires in March. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the Taiwan government "strongly condemns" Russia for launching a war in violation of the United Nations Charter, invading Ukraine by force and occupying its territory. "As a member of the international community of democratic nations, ... Taiwan is a staunch defender of universal values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and human rights," Ou said. "Russia is choosing to use force to intimidate the weak, rather than resolving disputes through diplomacy," she said. Wang Chih-sheng, secretary general of the China Asia-Pacific Elite Exchange Association, said that Taiwan can use its cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturer to exert some leverage over Russia. "Joining in with these sanctions means that we're using this important tool as a powerful way to play our part in the international effort to maintain peace and stability," Wang told RFA. MAC spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng agreed. "We believe the other side is spreading false and fake news," he told reporters, particularly in regard to parallels being drawn by many in China with the invasion of Ukraine and a putative invasion of Taiwan by the CCP. "The Republic of China [on Taiwan] is a sovereign state. Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China, and the future of Taiwan is not something that China can interfere with," Chiu said. "The only reason peace and security in the Taiwan Strait have attracted the attention of the international community is the CCP's ongoing military intimidation and attempts at coercion against Taiwan," he said. The invasion of Ukraine prompted other comparisons in the region, with some observers drawing parallels to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, where Pyongyang has ramped up missile tests to challenge Seoul and Washington. But South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, who attended an emergency meeting of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee at the National Assembly in Seoul on Friday was quick to dismiss any similarities, saying that the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Ukraine are "fundamentally different." He called that the U.S.-South Korean alliance for security on the Korean Peninsula "solid" and added that, unlike Ukraine, South Korea maintains a high level of self-defense capabilities to protect South Koreans from any potential invasion by the North. Stoking nationalism Chinese officials have been quick to fuel nationalistic sentiment since the invasion began, calling on Chinese people in Ukraine to identify themselves with bumper stickers on their cars, or with the Chinese national flag. In the early hours of morning, the Chinese embassy in Kyiv told Chinese citizens in Ukraine to make preparations to evacuate the country, "The situation in Ukraine has deteriorated sharply, and there is a high security risk to Chinese citizens and Chinese-funded companies in the country," the embassy said in a statement on its official social media accounts. "Personnel registration has begun, ahead of a series of chartered flights returning [to China]," it said. "The timing of charter flights will be notified in advance, in accordance with the flight safety situation." Chinese state news agency Xinhua on played down the number of casualties as Russian troops advanced on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. It quoted a Chinese student in Lviv as saying on Feb. 24 that everything was relatively quiet, with plenty of supplies still in the shops, although many appeared to be lining up to withdraw money from banks. The agency referred to the military action as "sudden tensions." A former media editor who gave only the surname Gao said official media in China are also being careful not to be too anti-Ukraine, however. "The stance being taken by the official media is that the West has aggravated the whole affair ... the Chinese side doesn't see it as Russian aggression," he said. He said there are still people on Chinese social media who are anti-aggression, although the majority of comments are rooting for Russia. "People's attitudes range from extreme to neutral, but basically most people are applauding [the Russian invasion]," Gao said. "They are demanding the restoration of the territory of the former Soviet Union." "Some oppose war, because military conflict kills people, while more sober comments think the invasion ... will have a huge impact on global politics," Gao said. "So there are basically three camps." Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie, with additional translation by Leejin Jun. In this file photo, North Korean farmers plant rice seedlings in a field at the Sambong Cooperative Farm, South Pyongan Province, North Korea. North Korea is reorganizing collective farm labor groups to prevent workers from forming alliances based on family ties, which the state fears undermine its agricultural goals, sources in the country told RFA. In a society where most families pride themselves on maintaining genealogical records that go back centuries, duty to family is of the utmost importance in North Korea. Collective farm group leaders worry that having too many workers with the same surname in a single working group could empower them to serve the interests of their own families before the broader society, sources told RFA. The local party committee of the cooperative farms in the city of Anju are rearranging work groups so that no more than three people with the same surname are working together, a resident of the city in South Pyongan province, about 40 miles north of the capital Pyongyang, told RFAs Korean Service. In order to increase grain production this year we must cultivate wheat and barley instead of corn, said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. Cooperative farmers prefer to cultivate corn because it has a more stable market price and is more filling than wheat and barley, but the authorities want a crop that can be harvested quickly, requires less fertilizer and can improve acidified soil. The rearrangement is intended to remove any discord that could challenge this change, the source said. There are more than 10 workers with the surname Ri who are in my group at the cooperative farm in Sonhung village in Anju. All of them were born and raised in Sonhung and are related to each other by at least the 12th degree, she said. In Korea, 12th degree relations of the same generation would be fifth cousins, sharing a great-great-great-great-grandparent. Though relatives so distant would hardly be considered kin in other societies, they count as family in a culture that emphasizes bloodlines. The source said the working group was centered around helping their relatives rather than listening to instructions from their leader. The authorities saw the Ris as a potential force that could confront the farm leader, she said. So, they split them up into other teams. Thirteen people named Han were separated in Komhung village, in the provinces Sukchon county, a source there told RFA. They had been living as farmers in the area for many generations and were related by at least the eighth degree [third cousins or closer], but the authorities are suddenly placing them on different teams, three of them on each, said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely. The farmers are criticizing the way that authorities are dispersing relatives who have been living close together for many generations, she said. The fact that many farmers work with members of their same clan is a direct result of North Korean governmental policies that forbid farmers from moving to cities to prevent a manpower shortage in rural areas, the source said. More than half of the people living on the Korean peninsula have one of the five most common surnames: Kim, Lee (usually Romanized as Ri by North Koreans), Park, Choi and Jeong (Jong), according to data compiled in 2015 by the South Korean Statistical Information Service, that included estimates for North Korea. Because Korean genealogical records are paternalistic, an unknown distant relative with the same surname would be easier to trace than an unknown close relative with a different surname. Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Lao officials in Bokeo province have issued new rules for the Chinese-run Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in an effort to better protect female workers who have been held there against their will and, in some cases, trafficked as sex workers. But labor officials and former SEZ workers say the measure may not be enough to stop employers from abusive practices, in part because Lao authorities have little power to operate in the SEZ. The new procedures established by the provincial SEZ Management Office in northwestern Laos require all SEZ employers and workers to sign labor contracts that ensure workers have a safe workplace, insurance benefits and fair wages. They also forbid forced labor and require regular monitoring and reporting of work and living conditions to the management office. The workers must be registered and accepted by a company or sent to the SEZ by an employment placement agency, an official from the Special Economic Zone Management Office of Bokeo province told RFA on Thursday. All Lao, Chinese, Burmese and Thai workers must come in through the proper channel, said the official, who declined to give his name in order to speak candidly. If they want to work here, they must go by the rules. After employers and workers sign labor contracts, authorities in the SEZ will issue a Smart Card to the workers that shows their identity and the name of their employer, the source said. Every worker who has a card will be registered with the provinces management office. The new regulations took effect on Tuesday. Workers in the SEZ said they remain skeptical that the new regulation will stop employers from holding female workers against their will, demanding exorbitant sums for housing and food, and forcing some workers into prostitution to pay their debts. Local Lao authorities recently rescued several women who had gone to SEZ after being promised jobs as barmaids or chat girls who recruit investors online. But hundreds remain trapped inside the zone by their employers, despite wanting to leave. Lao authorities cannot easily enter the Chinese-run zone, which operates largely beyond the reach of the Lao government. Rescues have taken place only after the women provided proof of their identity and endangerment to a special provincial task force. A former SEZ worker whose employer prevented her from leaving said that signing a contract is not an effective solution to the problem, and that once signed, it might not be enforceable. If Lao authorities do not have more power in the SEZ to monitor worker conditions, inspect work premises, and reinforce labor laws, then abuses like the denial of benefits or, worse, human trafficking, will continue, she said. The contract will make no difference, said the former SEZ worker from the countrys capital, who declined to give her name out of fear for her safety. Ive been there, physically detained. I had no freedom at all. As we know, in the SEZ, Lao police have no right to do anything at all, she said. A better solution A woman from the countrys capital Vientiane, who used to work as an online chat girl in a call center in the Golden Triangle SEZ and was pushed into prostitution when she could not make her sales quota, said the new labor contract requirement is not a failproof safeguard against abuse. She noted that women in SEZ often have to fulfill ambitious sales quotas that are difficult if not impossible to meet as they pile up debts for food and housing. The contract must be fair and must clearly state that the worker will have basic rights, freedom, and social welfare benefits. Everything must be transparent, she said. If you get a good job, it might be worth spending all the money [to pay the recruiters fee], but if you get a bad job like in my case, the employer wouldnt provide food and water, she said. Youd have to pay for everything, and the cost of living here is expensive. In a case like this, youd be heavily indebted [to the employer]. An official from the Prosecutors Office of Bokeo province told RFA on Tuesday that a mandatory labor contract might not be the best solution. With so many young women and men being trafficked and recruited to work in the SEZ, our authorities now want to help or rescue them, but they cant because they have no right to enter the SEZ. Our rules and laws are not applicable in there, he said. A better solution would be for the Lao government to give more power to the Lao police and various governmental and outside groups to monitor the zone and crackdown on human trafficking and forced labor there, said the official who declined to give his name. Up to now, no government agency has monitored and checked on labor abuse in the SEZ, he said. The SEZ has become an unforbidden zone plagued with human trafficking, forced labor and other serious crimes. Earlier in February, RFA reported that at least 19 Lao women had been rescued by police from the SEZ, eight of whom had escaped through a fence before being helped by police. The rest of the women had filed complaints with Lao authorities and formally requested their help, so that police could enter the SEZ and free them. Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Clashes add thousands to the list of displaced persons since the militarys coup a year ago. Fighting between Myanmar junta troops and local militias has intensified along the border of Shan and Kayah states, leaving at least 10 civilians and 80 junta soldiers dead, sources in the region say. Around 20 Peoples Defense Force fighters have also been killed in the clashes, sources said. Local aid groups and other sources say the fighting began on Feb. 16 in the town of Mobye in southern Shan state and has spread to Nang Mae Khon in Kayah state, forcing more than 30,000 people to flee their homes. Clashes continued Friday morning, a spokesman for the Karenni National Defense Force (KNDF) told RFAs Myanmar Service. The fighting has been intense for eight days in a row, and has gotten worse in recent days, the spokesman for the armed ethnic group said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. And as junta forces are now using airstrikes, the destruction is even greater. More than 70 to 80 enemy soldiers have been killed in the fighting, while we suffered about 20 losses, the spokesman added. At least 10 civilians have been killed in heavy shelling by junta forces near Mobye since fighting began, the KNDF said on Feb. 22, with other local sources saying that junta helicopters and fighter jets have carried out daily bombing raids in the area since Feb. 17. A Peoples Defense Force fighter in Kayah states Demawso township told RFA that the juntas Light Infantry Battalion 427 in Demawso, Light Infantry Battalion 422 in Mobye, and Infantry Battalion 250 in Loikaw township were using heavy artillery fire against civilian targets. Its really too cruel to attack innocent civilians when there arent any battles happening nearby, he said. We are suffering heavy casualties. Two doctors working in Myanmars Civil Disobedience Movement, Maung Nwae Le and U Alexander, were killed Thursday evening by junta airstrikes that also destroyed six houses in Dawkamee village, the Demawso Peoples Defense Force said in a statement. Villagers remaining in Demawsos Nang Mae Khon have meanwhile fled their area to escape heavy fighting, one refugee who had earlier escaped to southern Shan state said. They said earlier that they would wait to see how the situation developed, but then were not able to escape to the north when things got worse. So last night, when the planes attacked Nang Mae Khon, they fled to the west, moving all night. Its not so easy to come here, especially in large numbers, she said. Destroying property, spreading fear Ko Banyar, director of the Karenni Human Rights Group, said that 25 civilians had been injured in clashes during the recent nine days of fighting. Myanmar junta soldiers now see all villagers as enemies, he said. They are deliberately destroying peoples property, he said. Wari Suplai and Wi The Ku villages are still burning, so the military is deliberately trying to endanger peoples lives if they return to their homes. Cutting off health and food supplies also threatens peoples lives, and we can see that the military is spreading fear among the locals. All in all, the junta is systematically violating human rights, he said. More than 10,000 refugees have fled Daw Bu Ku and Thay Sulie villages since Thursdays bombing of Nang Mae Khon, the Karenni Human Rights Group said. Reached for comment, deputy information minister, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, said that no junta soldiers had died in the recent fighting, but some had been injured. In the Mobye area, around 150 to 200 [Karenni National Progressive Party] militants set fire to the Loi Lem Lay police station yesterday, and they then attacked security forces in seven places near Mobye Nang Mae Khon. Some of our soldiers were wounded, but as far as I know no one was killed, he said. In nine days of fighting, more than 20,000 people from Mobye and 10,000 from Nang Mae Khon have fled their homes, bringing the total number of war refugees in Kayah state to nearly 200,000, according to the Karenni Human Rights Group. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Richard Finney. They say the junta is trying to placate the international community amid an international genocide hearing. Ethnic Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will not return to their home in neighboring Myanmars Rakhine state unless they are granted equal rights and freedom of movement, they said Thursday, days after the junta announced that it is preparing for their immediate repatriation. The juntas Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Feb. 20 that it is readying the return of displaced persons from Rakhine state. The announcement notably avoided both the use of the term Rohingya, a mostly Muslim ethnicity that the military says does not exist in Myanmar, and the term Bengali, which the junta favors and implies the group is originally from Bangladesh. The junta statement also called for a meeting with the secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), saying that after agreeing to the blocs initial recommendations on the re-admission of displaced persons in Rakhine state, assistance is needed to implement them. Rohingya refugees and activists in Bangladesh told RFAs Myanmar Service on Thursday that they have no confidence the junta will act on the recommendations and said they need assurances their rights will be protected before they return. Ali Jenner, a Rohingya refugee from the Baluhali refugee camp in Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar district, said he and others in the camp have no trust in the junta at all. If the Rohingya people can get equal citizenship, security rights, equal rights and all our original rights as other citizens there, then we can agree to go back, he said. The West African nation of Gambia filed a case at the ICJ in November 2019 accusing Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention during the alleged expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya amid a brutal crackdown in 2017. The ICJ, which is the judicial arm of the United Nations, began hearings on Feb. 21, the day after the junta statement on returning refugees, to determine whether it has jurisdiction to examine claims that atrocities committed by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya constituted a genocide. The hearings are scheduled to last until Feb. 28 and will include arguments presented by representatives of Myanmar and Gambia The juntas defense lawyers Christopher Staker and Stefan Talmon have argued that Gambia submitted its case on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and that the ICJ has no jurisdiction because the OIC is not a country. They also argue that Gambia is not an aggrieved country and has no right to sue Myanmar. Gambia defended its right to sue Myanmar in an appeal issued on Feb. 23. Gambian Attorney General Dawda Jallow says the case was not only brought to the ICJ to protect the rights of the Rohingya, but to uphold Gambias rights as a signatory to the U.N. Convention on Genocide. The International Court of Justice hears proceedings in a trial on charges of genocide against Myanmar in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 10, 2019. Reuters Response to pressure Rohingya living in refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh have said they are hopeful that the ICJ can bring justice for the Myanmar militarys rights violations against the ethnic minority group. But others are wary of how the case may influence the junta in the near term. Khin Maung, the founder of the activist group Rohingya Youth Union, who lives in Thinkhali Refugee Camp No. 13 in Bangladesh, said he cannot trust a junta statement he believes was issued as a response to international pressure. We welcome the fact that they want to call us home. But did they create necessary conditions for us to return to Rakhine state? Thats what we should be thinking about, he said. [Junta chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing] is trying to use us for his advantage. He is doing this because of international pressure and not because of goodwill. We are ready to go back, no matter who makes the decision to call us back, but it is impossible to return unless our requirements are met. Khin Maung said it is impossible for Rohingyas to return home without guarantees of citizenship or security and freedom of movement in the areas where they had previously lived. Discussions about a repatriation should first be held with the Rohingyas themselves, he said. Crimes on a nationwide scale However, junta Deputy Information Minister Zaw Min Tun told RFA that the plan to repatriate the Rohingya was created long prior to the ICJ hearings and was not part of a bid to placate the international community. He said the Rohingya had previously said they would accept the offer to return to Rakhine state, but that Bangladesh had refused to let them leave. We have been saying all along that we will accept and let them live as before. Accommodations were prepared, he said. Its just that they didnt come back even after we made three or four offers. The other side did not release them They are working on it with a political agenda. Rohingya activist Nay San Lwin told RFA that members of her ethnic group cannot expect that their rights will be respected by the junta when the military is currently committing crimes against humanity on a nationwide scale. In the year since Myanmars military seized power from the countrys democratically elected government in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup, security forces have killed nearly 1,580 people across the country. Even if the Rohingya return, it will probably be just a handful, Nay San Lwin said. Most of them have said that they will return only if they can live in peace with the full basic rights they deserve. Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Other Southeast Asian states are more muted in their reactions. The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service site is seen damaged by shelling in the Kyiv region in Ukraine, in a handout from the press service of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, Feb. 24, 2022. Singapore and Indonesia condemned the violation of Ukraines territorial integrity on Thursday, after Russia invaded the former Soviet Republic, but much of the rest of Southeast Asia was muted in its reaction to the development. Russian forces invaded Ukraine early on Thursday in what the European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell on Twitter called among the darkest hours of Europe since the Second World War. Missiles rained down on Ukrainian targets as columns of troops poured across the countrys borders on three sides, Reuters reported. At least 40 Ukrainian soldiers were killed Thursday, according to AP. Singapore said the city-state was gravely concerned by Russias announcement of what it called a special military operation in Ukraines Donbas region. Singapore strongly condemns any unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country under any pretext. We reiterate that the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be respected, the ministry said in a statement. We hope military actions will cease immediately; and urge a peaceful settlement of the dispute, in accordance with the UN Charter and international law. Indonesias foreign ministry said in a statement that Jakarta was concerned about the escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine because it endangers the people and peace in the Asian region. Affirming that international law and the United Nations charter regarding the territorial integrity of a country must be adhered to, and condemning any action that clearly constitutes a violation of the territory and sovereignty of a country, ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah read out from the statement. Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo posted on Twitter without referring to Russia or Ukraine: Stop the war. War brings misery to mankind and puts the whole world at risk. The Ukrainian envoy to Indonesia urged stronger words and deeds from Indonesia, Southeast Asias largest country and the worlds third largest democracy. [W]e also expect Indonesia, like other countries in the world, to impose sanctions and also provide deep criticism and condemn Russia's aggression, envoy Vasyl Hamianin said Thursday in Jakarta. I think that if Indonesia speaks up, no one, no country, no region, no leader in the world would dare to ignore it. Indonesia currently holds the presidency of the G-20 which groups the worlds 19 biggest economies and the EU and this creates a dilemma when it comes to responding to Russias invasion of Ukraine, an analyst told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. Indonesia will refrain from commenting because we want the G-20 to run well, Teuku Rezasyah, a professor of international politics at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, told BenarNews. The G-20 meeting in Bali will be attended by leaders of the U.S., Russia, and the European Union. So, Indonesia needs to make a statement that wont be interpreted as taking sides. As president of the G-20, Indonesia has a strategic position, but it also poses a dilemma. We do not get involved Meanwhile, other members of the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) delivered tamer reactions, perhaps because the credo of the regional bloc is non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations. Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob told a press conference Thursday that he regretted the the latest developments in Ukraine. ASEAN, as an organization of free countries, agrees that we do not get involved in the issues of foreign countries, he said at a press conference in Cambodia, which he was visiting. [Cambodian] PM Hun San also agrees that we will not be making any statements unless ASEAN countries discuss the matter and come to a consensus. The Philippines said its main concern was the safety of Filipinos in Ukraine, while Thailand said it was following the developments in Ukraine with deep concern. ASEAN member Vietnam, Moscows closest partner in Southeast Asia, has remained passive, giving no substantive comment besides a formulaic call for restraint, reported Radio Free Asia (RFA), a BenarNews sister entity. In a departure from before, though, the Vietnamese media is covering the situation in Ukraine without their usual pro-Russia bias, RFA said. Russia is Vietnams most important defense partner and the main provider of weapons and equipment to the Vietnamese armed forces. ASEAN has yet to issue a statement about Ukraine, although news agency Reuters got a look at what it said was a draft statement by the regional bloc. It said the situation must see a peaceful resolution in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter. Past and future implications While striking, the lack of a strong response from Southeast Asia is not new, analyst Zachary Abuza wrote Tuesday in a commentary for BenarNews. He cited Moscows 2014 invasion of Crimea as one example. The only reason that Southeast Asia was at all pulled into the situation was the July 17, 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 by a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile that killed all 298 passengers and crew, Abuza, a professor at Washingtons National War College, noted in the column. Even then, few in Southeast Asia showed any will to confront Russia over MH-17, he said. The reason for the lackluster response is that Russia is far from Southeast Asia and has few economic or political ties with the region, the columnist wrote. But Southeast Asian nations should take a stronger stance, he argued. [T]his is something that creates a very dangerous legal precedent, especially for an assertive country like China that has repeatedly pushed for its own interpretations of international law, most clearly in the South China Sea. Six Asian governments have territorial claims or maritime boundaries in the South China Sea that overlap with the sweeping claims of China. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of that sea overlapping Indonesia's exclusive economic zone. China has never accepted the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which said that Beijings expansive historical claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis. And stability in Southeast Asia has been threatened lately with alleged incursions by Chinese vessels in the exclusive economic zones of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia in the South China Sea. BenarNews reporters Nontarat Phaicharoen and Wilawan Watcharasakwet in Bangkok, Suganya Lingan and Muzliza Mustafa in Kuala Lumpur, and Jeoffrey Maitem and Basilio Sepe in Manila contributed to this report. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service. More than 100 people who were evacuated from a steel plant in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol have arrived in Zaporizhzhya, the Mariupol city council said, as Russian forces resumed their assault on the complex. Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. The council said in a statement that the people who arrived in Zaporizhzhya -- a city about 230 kilometers northwest of Mariupol -- were receiving assistance after emerging from weeks in the bunkers of the sprawling Azovstal plant. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 156 people were evacuated. She said several hundred more people remained inside the plant and tens of thousands of women, children, and elderly remain in Mariupol. "There is no medicine, water, or communication services," she said at a briefing on May 3, adding that the authorities needed to rescue everyone who wants to escape. The United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross coordinated the evacuation of women, children, and the elderly from the steel works. "We would have hoped that many more people would have been able to join the convoy and get out of hell. That is why we have mixed feelings," Pascal Hundt of the ICRC told journalists on a video conference call. Osnat Lubrani, UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, said that 101 women, men, children, and older people could finally leave the plant, and several dozen more joined the convoy in a town on the outskirts of Mariupol. Some evacuees decided not to stay with the convoy and headed to destinations other than Zaporizhzhya, Lubrani said. A few women who arrived in Zaporizhzhya held up handmade signs calling on the Ukrainian authorities to evacuate soldiers still holed up in the plant and their relatives and loved ones who are trapped. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he hoped the continued coordination with Kyiv and Moscow will lead to more humanitarian pauses that will allow civilians safe passage from the fighting. WATCH: Current Time reporter Borys Sachalko comes under fire as he accompanies a Red Cross team attempting to evacuate a village that lies between Russian-occupied Kherson and Ukrainian-held Mikolayiv in southern Ukraine. Despite the calls for additional evacuations, Russian troops began to storm the plant soon after the latest group of people got out, Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communications under the National Security and Defense Council said in a statement on May 3. According to the Vereshchuk, Russia purposely resumed the assault after some civilians got out. "This was their plan: to allow some civilians to leave and then continue bombing. However, civilians remain there, there are people who did not have time to get out from under the rubble because the blockages were so heavy that in two days they simply could not lift them physically. We need to continue the humanitarian operation, including Azovstal," Vereshchuk said. French President Emmanuel Macron also urged that evacuations from the steel plant be allowed to continue. Macron spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on May 3, calling on Russia to rise to the level of its responsibility as a permanent member of the UN Security Council by ending its devastating aggression, an Elysee statement said. The storming of the plant comes days after Putin said he had called off plans for such an operation. Putin instead said he wanted Russian forces to blockade the sprawling plant "so a fly can't get through." Later on May 3, Russian strikes began targeting the western city of Lviv. The strikes happened just before 8:30 p.m. local time. It wasnt immediately clear what was targeted. Mayor Andriy Sadoviy wrote on social media that people in the city should take shelter. Train service out of Lviv was suspended. Sadoviy acknowledged in another message that the attacks had damaged power stations, cutting off electricity in some districts. The governor of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine said Russian troops shelled a coke plant in the city of Avdiyivka, killing at least 10 people and wounding 15 more. "The Russians knew exactly where to aim -- the workers just finished their shift and were waiting for a bus at a bus stop to take them home," Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote in a Telegram post. "Another cynical crime by Russians on our land." Kyrylenko said 11 more people were killed in the shelling of four towns in the region. The number includes five killed in the town of Lyman and four in Vuhledar. Kyrylenko said the death toll on May 3 was the highest on a single day since a Russian strike on a train station in the city of Kramatorsk killed 57 people on April 8 and injured 109 others. WATCH: Ukrainian troops southeast of Kharkiv survey heavy damage to a community cultural center, reflecting on the impact on locals, now all but gone. Ukrainian officials say the Russian military also struck railroad infrastructure across the country on May 3. Oleksandr Kamyshin, head of the state-run Ukrainian railways, said the Russian strikes hit six railway stations in the countrys central and western regions, inflicting heavy damage. The governor of the Dnipro region, Valentyn Reznichenko, said Russian missiles struck railway infrastructure in the area, leaving one person wounded and disrupting train service. Earlier on May 3, in a video address to the parliament in Kyiv, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced 300 million pounds ($376 million) worth of extra military aid for Ukraine. Britain has already sent military equipment, including missiles and missile launchers, to Ukraine. The new aid will consist of electronic warfare equipment, a battery radar system, GPS jamming equipment, and thousands of night vision devices. In his speech, Johnson referred to a 1940 address by World War II leader Winston Churchill as Britain faced Nazi Germany's aggression. "The British people showed such unity and resolve that we remember our time of greatest peril as our finest hour," Johnson told the Verkhovna Rada. "This is Ukraine's finest hour, an epic chapter in your national story that will be remembered and recounted for generations to come." "We will carry on supplying Ukraine...with weapons, funding, and humanitarian aid, until we have achieved our long-term goal, which must be so to fortify Ukraine that no one will ever dare to attack you again," Johnson said. In Brussels, the EU's executive indicated it was prepared to propose another sanctions package to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine. But Slovakia and Hungary will not support sanctions against Russian energy, including on oil imports. The two countries say they are too reliant on Russian oil and there are no immediate alternatives. The sanctions will also target the Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, which will be excluded from the global banking communications system SWIFT, unnamed diplomats said. Fighting also raged in the strategic port city of Odesa and across Ukraine's east. A 15-year-old boy was killed in a fresh Russian strike on Odesa, the city council said. Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv, was under shelling, the military said on May 3, while the General Staff said Ukrainian forces were defending the approach to Kharkiv from Izyum, some 120 kilometers to the southeast. Since Russia launched its unprovoked war on February 24, its troops have failed to completely take over any major Ukrainian city. On the diplomatic front, Germany's conservative opposition leader traveled to Kyiv on May 3 for meetings with Ukrainian officials, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz made clear that he wouldn't be visiting Ukraine any time soon. Friedrich Merz, who heads former Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc, visited the town of Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, which has been heavily bombarded by Russian forces. Scholz refused to go to Ukraine because of Kyiv's refusal to invite Germany's head of state, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whom Ukrainians accuse of cozying up to Russia during his time as foreign minister. "It can't work that a country that provides so much military aid, so much financial aid...you then say that the president can't come," Scholz told public broadcaster ZDF late on May 2. The United States warned that Moscow was planning to formally take over regions in Ukraine's east. Michael Carpenter, the U.S. ambassador to the OSCE, said Russia is planning to imminently annex the territories of Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, using referendums after failing to overthrow the government in Kyiv. Russia encountered surprisingly staunch resistance in the north around the regions of Kyiv and Chernihiv, which forced it to redeploy its troops in the south and east, where fighting has intensified in recent days. Ukraine's east and south are seen as key strategic goals for Russia, allowing it a land link to Crimea. Separately, Russia's state news agency TASS quoted the Defense Ministry on May 3 as saying that more than 1 million people, including nearly 200,000 children, had been taken from Ukraine to Russia in the past two months. Defense Ministry official Mikhail Mizintsev said those civilians "were evacuated to the territory of the Russian Federation from the dangerous regions" of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, and from other parts that came under Russian control. No details were provided on the location or circumstances of the moves. With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, BBC, and dpa NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance will deploy parts of its combat-ready response force to reassure Eastern member countries after Russias invasion of Ukraine. "We are now deploying the NATO response force for the first time in the context of collective defense," Stoltenberg told a news conference on February 25 following a virtual NATO summit. Live Briefing: Ukraine Under Attack RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. Russia has shattered peace on the European continent. What we have warned against for months has come to pass, despite all of our efforts to find a diplomatic solution, Stoltenberg said as he opened the summit. Moscow bears sole responsibility for the deliberate, cold-blooded, and long-planned invasion, he added. He did not say how many troops from the NATO response force would be deployed but referred to thousands and confirmed that the move would involve land, sea, and air power. In addition, parts of a force known as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), which is currently led by France, will also be sent. NATO previously had around 5,000 troops stationed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland but has significantly increased its defenses in the countries over the past three months. U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the decision to activate the NATO response force and said Russian President Vladimir Putin had failed in his goal of dividing the West. NATO is as united and resolute as its ever been, and NATO will maintain its Open Door to those European states who share our values and who one day may seek to join our Alliance, Biden said in a statement issued by the White House. After participating in the summit, Biden said he spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. I commended the brave actions of the Ukrainian people who were fighting to defend their country, Biden said in the statement. I also conveyed ongoing economic, humanitarian, and security support being provided by the United States as well as our continued efforts to rally other countries to provide similar assistance. The United States and some of NATOs other 29 members are supplying a variety of weapons to Ukraine, and Stoltenberg said that would continue. He said weapons they would supply include air defenses. But NATO has said it wont launch any military action in support of Ukraine, which is a close partner of the alliance but not a member. The U.S. military said on February 24 that it is sending 7,000 troops to Europe in addition to 5,000 recently deployed. Based on reporting by Reuters and AP Activist Nikita Chirkov hit the streets of St. Petersburg on the first day after Russias invasion of Ukraine with a small sign reading: No War. A few people passed by, he said, nodding or smiling in support. But after eight minutes, police appeared and hustled him off to the station for allegedly violating coronavirus restrictions. Live Briefing: Ukraine Under Attack RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. He told RFE/RLs North.Realities that he felt obligated to express his support for Ukraine and his disagreement with the policies of President Vladimir Putin. I feel fear and hatred toward Putin, Chirkov said. I am afraid for my relatives and friends who live in Ukraine. I am afraid of the uncertainty. After this, what will happen in Russia? For me, this war means that I live in an aggressor country with a deranged dictator. Chirkov was one of 1,831 Russians detained in 60 cities on February 24 for publicly speaking out against the war, according to OVD-Info, a nongovernmental organization that monitors political repression. In the northwestern city of Pskov, Vladimir Kapustinsky stood on October Square with a sign reading: Dont Shoot. After only a couple of minutes, a plainclothes police officer appeared and asked to see Kapustinskys documents. No comment, the officer told RFE/RL when asked his opinion of the war in Ukraine. The Kremlins swift nationwide crackdown on the anti-war protests -- coming on top of severe repressions that intensified after the near fatal August 2020 poisoning of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny -- seemed to presage a new level of state control over Russian society. The authorities are going to tighten the screws and persecute dissidents, said Ruslan Aisin, a political analyst based in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. [The state] will fight against the anti-war movement, which will likely only grow. History shows that war euphoria quickly dies down. We didnt choose this war, just like we didnt choose our leaders." Lev Shlossberg, the head of the Pskov branch of the liberal Yabloko party, also anticipated a reaction from the authorities. There is a real chance that martial law could be introduced -- independent media banned, political parties shut down, elections canceled, he predicted. There will be a complete crackdown on all dissent, regardless of the political views of the people, parties, or groups. In the wake of the political aggression of the war, we will see total repression inside the country. Liberal former St. Petersburg city lawmaker Maksim Reznik agreed, saying the Russian people are hostages to a junta. In this situation, he added, we cannot be silent about the crimes of the junta. Our silence makes us co-participants. We are living in a new reality. The state media-monitoring agency Roskomnadzor on February 24 warned all media to report only information about the war from official government sources under threat of being fined or blocked. The federal Investigative Committee the same day warned the public against participating in anti-war demonstrations, reminding the public that having a criminal record will mean negative consequences and will impact your subsequent life. Nonetheless, anti-war activity continued in Russia on February 25. Moscow-based journalist and activist Marina Litvinovich, who was the first to call for mass nationwide demonstrations the previous day and who was detained by police shortly after doing so, wrote on Facebook that the anti-war movement must take additional steps, including distributing flyers and posters, spraying anti-war graffiti, wearing and carrying clothing and bags with anti-war slogans and symbols, and so on. WATCH: Security forces in Russia broke up anti-war protests in several cities across the country on February 24: The newspaper Novaya gazeta published its February 25 edition in both the Russian and Ukrainian languages. The papers editor, Dmitry Muratov, a co-laureate of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, wrote that it was done because we do not recognize Ukraine as an enemy or the Ukrainian language as the language of an enemy. And we never will. Only an anti-war movement of Russians can save life on this planet, he added. A group of more than 200 municipal lawmakers from across the country signed an open letter condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We call on everyone not to participate in aggression and not to endorse it, the letter states. Please, dont be silent: This war can only be stopped by mass public condemnation. Dozens of leading cultural figures, including writers, filmmakers, actors, journalists, also signed an open letter calling on all citizens of Russia to say 'no' to this war. More than half a million people have signed a change.org petition denouncing the war and announcing the beginning of the formation of an anti-war movement in Russia. Become part of the anti-war movement. Speak out against the war, the petition says. Do at least something to show the entire world that in Russia there are and always will be people who do not accept the vileness being perpetrated by the authorities, who have turned the state itself and the peoples of Russia into instruments of their crimes. But it remains to be seen whether such calls will gain traction. Many Russians support Putins decision to invade Ukraine, with some believing the Kremlins false portrayal of the Ukrainian government as fascists carrying out genocide against Russian speakers. If the decision on a military operation had been made in 2014, it would have saved a lot of lives. How many children have been orphaned! said a retiree who asked to be identified only as Raya in Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, on February 24. Half of what you read on the Internet is lies. I was in western Ukraine in Soviet timesand they even back then hated us because we spoke Russian. It was the same in the Baltic states when I went on vacation there. And Russia gave them so much during the Soviet era. A retired former border guard in Ufa, who gave his first name as Azat, said that if the decision on a military operation had been made in 2014, it would have saved a lot of lives. In addition, many of those inclined to protest have been put in difficult positions by the crackdown of the last years. Yulia Morozova, a physical-education instructor in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, near Ukraine, told RFE/RL that she planned to join the anti-war protests on February 24 but was talked out of it by her friends. She has already served two administrative jail terms for participating in protests and a third arrest would certainly mean criminal charges. Meanwhile, her sister, elderly mother, and other relatives are in Kyiv. Right now, Im so ashamed, she told RFE/RL. I feel so helpless and there is nothing I can do in this situation. I hope [Putin] lives to face a court and that he is condemned. Dina Nurm, an activist from Kazan, told RFE/RL's Idel.Realities that it is morally very hard to be a citizen of an aggressor country. We didnt choose this war, just like we didnt choose our leaders, she said. But we feel responsible for this military aggression. Over the last decade, protests have been brutally put down, and many people simply dont believe that speaking out against the war can lead to anything other than fines. But at the same time, we are hearing now from many people who earlier were silent. RFE/RLs Russian Service, North.Realities, Siberia.Realities, and Idel.Realities contributed to this report. The geopolitical divide between Russia and the West has dramatically deepened perhaps irreversibly -- following Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. But one important issue still binds them, at least for now: energy. Russia has long been the European Union's primary supplier of natural gas. During the first quarter of 2021, it was responsible for almost half of all the natural gas imported by the bloc. Nord Stream 2 Nord Stream 2 is an $11 billion pipeline designed to deliver natural gas to Germany from Russia via the Baltic Sea. The project has many critics who say it would only increase the EU's dependency on Russian gas while depriving Ukraine of vital transit fees from existing pipelines that run through its territory. However, given the Kremlin's latest moves against Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Berlin was suspending certification of Nord Stream 2, effectively putting the project on permanent hold. The United States announced that it was also imposing sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its corporate officers. Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, acknowledged the EU's heavy dependence on Russian gas but backed the German government's decision. If Not Russia, Then Where? So, where can the EU get its natural gas from, besides Russia? The EU has been trying to cut its dependence on Russian gas over the years, but it is still reliant on Moscow, and it won't be easy to fully detach. Germany can also import from Norway, the Netherlands, Britain, and Denmark via pipelines. But Norway is delivering natural gas at maximum capacity and says it can't replace any missing supplies from Russia. U.S. and European officials have unveiled a barrage of new financial sanctions against Russia following the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, but can the measures affect the fast-moving situation on the ground? The first wave of sanctions was announced on February 24 following the early morning attack against Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden announced restrictions on exports to Russia and sanctions against Russian banks and state-controlled companies. The European Union announced a similar set of measures and is currently preparing another sanctions package to target Russian businesses, energy, and elites that includes asset freezes on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Both Washington and Brussels, however, chose not to boot Russia off of SWIFT, the dominant system for global financial transactions. Biden played down the need to do so, saying it remains an option but "right now thats not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take. He also suggested the sanctions Washington was imposing would have more bite than a straight ban on SWIFT. This decision not to exclude Russia from SWIFT has been a source of frustration for Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has called for tougher measures from the West and criticized European leaders who are wary that such a ban would hurt their economies -- most notably their reliance on Russian energy. To better understand the latest batch of sanctions against Russia and the financial tool kits that U.S. and European officials have at their disposal, RFE/RL spoke with Joerg Forbrig, director for Central and Eastern Europe at the German Marshall Fund, a think tank, in Berlin. RFE/RL: What is your view on the recent sanctions unveiled by the United States and the European Union? Given the circumstances in Ukraine after Russias invasion, do you think this is a proportional response from the West? Joerg Forbrig: This is obviously a sanctions package from both sides of the Atlantic that has been in preparation for quite some time. This has enabled especially the European Union to respond much quicker than they have in similar situations in the past. It's quite notable that the EU will have, by the end of this week, passed two sanctions packages. The first two days ago, another one that's being discussed today (February 25). So this is a very swift response. I would also point out that, from what we know, so far, this is a very coordinated response by both the United States and the European Union. These are clearly sanctions that are in lockstep [and] that are complementary, that cover similar areas of the Russian economy [and] of Russian politics. So this is a very solid transatlantic response. But at the same time, it's also one that will not likely change events on the ground immediately. These sanctions don't have a deterrent effect anymore. The threat of them has clearly not prevented the Kremlin from launching a war against Ukraine. It is also unlikely that there will be an immediate effect on the events on the ground, but this is nonetheless a very important response because it does impact Russia in the mid- to long-term. It also sends a signal to Ukrainian society that there is Western support. RFE/RL: Noticeably absent from these sanctions is blocking Russia from accessing the SWIFT payment system. Why is SWIFT such a focus of the sanctions debate on Russia and why is it being held back? Forbrig: First of all, I would say, sanctions are a very complicated beast. They require an awful lot of research, intelligence, [and] information. They have effects not only on the country that you sanction, but also on the countries that roll out the sanctions, [and] typically those effects are not measured in the short-term, but how they unfold in the mid- to long-term. So, this is a very complex policy field. What you have in these very complicated situations is that very often the public and also individual policymakers zoom in on one specific step. Over the last years in relation to Russia, this was the Nord Stream 2 [natural gas pipeline]. This was a project that captured public attention and became a [main target] for any sanctions. Nord Stream 2 was shelved this week by the German government and now that discussion has switched to SWIFT payments, which has a similar function of simplifying the discussion. Now, we have seen yesterday (February 24) at the EU summits that the SWIFT [payment system] decision was basically postponed. There were a number of countries, including Germany, but not only, that opposed the exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT system. The primary reason or argument that has been cited here is that Europe is dependent on Russian energy imports. It is a dependency that has built up for many years and that is very strong, but if you now exclude Russia from the SWIFT system, this basically means that Europeans cannot pay for Russian energy imports any longer. This is one of the primary arguments put forward; whether or not it has merits is a separate story. Now, in order to protect Europe from the impact of Russias exclusion from the SWIFT system, all of that said, policymakers have been at pains to stress that the SWIFT option remains on the table. It is a very strong one. It's sometimes [even] called a nuclear option. This is something that also the German chancellor, for instance, mentioned yesterday, that the SWIFT decision can be reserved for later. But in the broader context, if you want to follow through with waves of sanctions, then it's obviously always good to have some escalation potential for later on -- and SWIFT being on the table, hopefully credibly, may serve that escalation purpose and it may indeed be introduced at some stage later. RFE/RL: U.S. President Joe Biden said that the sanctions imposed exceed SWIFT. Do you agree with that assessment? Forbrig: Its a bit hard for me to tell right now. We know from the announcement of the U.S. sanctions that the two largest lenders in Russia --Sberbank and VTB -- are being sanctioned. They account for a very large part of banking transactions in Russia. So this will certainly have an impact. At the same time, I suppose that the primary reason for the [United States] not touching SWIFT at the moment is because [Washington] and the EU are trying to be coordinated on sanctions, and the [United States] felt very strongly that [Europe] is not yet in a position to go along with an exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT system. So, in order to preserve political unity, the [United States] didn't go in the direction of a SWIFT exclusion. At the same time, they tried obviously very hard to show that [the] measures that were being rolled out are basically tantamount to an exclusion from the SWIFT system and maybe even more impactful. RFE/RL: This is obviously a fast-changing situation and, as you mentioned earlier, sanctions take a lot of time for their effect to really actually be felt. So, how effective of a tool are sanctions in terms of changing Russias behavior on the ground right now in Ukraine? Forbrig: I think what we will see is a situation where it gets a lot worse in Ukraine, unfortunately, and for such a situation, having additional response options is very important. And they're not reduced to SWIFT, either. There's an additional discussion now on a potential no-fly zone over Ukraine in order to prevent some of the worst developments. There's obviously an option to be much broader with personalized sanctions. The EU has rolled out sanctions against 350 individuals earlier this week; other countries have done similar measures. You can go much broader in order to hit the ruling class in Russia. So, having these options in reserve [and] also preparing them now in order to be able to roll them out as swiftly as the EU has been able, for instance this week, is very important. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. The Council of Europe has suspended all representatives of Russia from participation in the pan-European rights bodys Committee of Ministers and its parliament over Moscow's attack on Ukraine. The 47-nation Council of Europe announced the suspension on February 25, saying in a statement it decided to suspend the rights of representation of Russia from the committee and the assembly with immediate effect. Council of Europe Secretary-General Marija Pejcinovic Buric described the attack on Ukraine as a "flagrant violation" of the statute of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which the body oversees. "This is a dark hour for Europe and everything it stands for," she said. The Strasbourg-based organization said Russia remained a member of Council of Europe and continued to be bound to the relevant human rights conventions. Suspension is not a final measure but a temporary one, leaving channels of communication open, the statement said. The decision does not affect the ECHR, which is part of the Council of Europe. The Russian judge on the court, Mikhail Lobov, remains a member and applications introduced against Russia will continue to be examined and decided by the court, it said. Russia, a Council of Europe member since 1996, has been sanctioned once before. After its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, the Russian delegation in the assembly was deprived of voting rights. Russia responded by boycotting the sessions of the assembly and suspending contributions to the council's budget. The dispute was resolved, and Russia's rights were restored in 2019 in a deal that infuriated Kyiv. Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, AP, AFP, and Reuters A video circulating on social media shows a man trying to block a Russian military convoy using only his body. The vehicles are marked with the letter "Z" -- a code that has been painted on trucks and armor that are part of the Russian invasion force, indicating it was shot on February 24-25. The location could not yet be verified, but the person doing the filming speaks a mix of Ukrainian and Russian common to central Ukraine. Thousands of Serbs have taken to the streets in Belgrade to protest against the planned development of a large lithium mine in the Balkan country and to call for tougher environmental controls. Demonstrators gathered in front of the parliament building on September 11 to demand an end to the development of the lithium project as some waived signs saying that Serbia's nature is "not for sale." Nenad Kostic, a chemistry professor, told the crowd there was no such thing as "green" mining, a reference to lithium's classification as a green energy source because of its use to power electric cars. The protesters then proceeded to block Branko's Bridge -- one of the city's main thoroughfares -- for an hour. The rally was organized by about 30 environmental groups, whose influence has grown amid widespread concerns that pollution is worsening. It was the largest environmental protest in Belgrade since April. Organizers threatened to hold more should the authorities not heed their message. London-based Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest metals and mining company, is studying possible development of Serbia's lithium mine, believed to be one of the largest in Europe. The mine has the potential to generate significant export revenue and jobs for Serbia, especially if the country pursues plans to refine it locally and develop battery plants. Demand for electric cars is expected to surge in the coming years as the United States, Europe, and China seek to cut carbon emissions. Rio Tinto has said it would invest as much as $2.4 billion to develop the project. However, protesters say Serbia's rivers, natural surroundings, and air quality have already been endangered enough by profit-seeking government policies and fear fertile agricultural lands in the western regions will be harmed by the project. "Our demand is that the government of Serbia annul all obligations to Rio Tinto," said Aleksandar Jovanovic, one of the organizers. "We have gathered to say no to those who offer concentrated sulphuric acid instead of raspberries and honey." Organizers warned more protests lay ahead if the government doesn't heed their demands. More than 100,000 people have already signed a petition against the development of the lithium mine. In a statement following the protests, Rio Tinto said it understands citizens' concerns about the environmental impact of the project and would adhere to the nations ecology laws. Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihajlovic accused some organizers of the protest of using the lithium project as an opportunity to build their political careers. However, she said the government would hold a referendum on the construction of mines and factories. Serbia's environmental movement has been spurred in part by what citizens say is worsening air pollution and a growing waste-management problem. Much ire for the air pollution has been directed at coal-fired power plants run by Chinese companies. With reporting by AP A woman in the southern Ukrainian town of Henichesk is being praised for confronting an armed man on February 24 when Russia launched a military attack against Ukraine. The unidentified woman berates the man, asking why he came to her country "with a weapon." According to the mayor of Henichesk, the town was taken over by Russian soldiers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged citizens to help defend Kyiv as Russian troops advanced on the city, forcing people to seek refuge in shelters or flee. Authorities had already warned people in capital about advancing Russian forces after missiles struck the city. Live Briefing: Ukraine Under Attack RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. Zelenskiy said Russian forces were targeting civilian areas as they advanced with troops and tanks from three sides. The Defense Ministry early on February 25 told residents to make petrol bombs to repel invading Russian forces and by evening witnesses reported hearing artillery rounds and intense gunfire from the western part of the city. The president called on Ukrainians to "stop the enemy wherever possible." Zelenskiy previously vowed in a video showing him on the streets of Kyiv with government officials that he would remain in the capital and defend Ukraine's independence. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said that five explosions had struck near a major power plant on Kyiv's eastern outskirts. There was no information on what caused them. Zelenskiy also warned in a video message released early on February 26 on his Telegram channel that Russian troops would attempt to seize the Ukrainian capital during the night. "The enemy will use all its forces to break our resistance. This night they will storm," he said. Zelenskiy said earlier on Twitter that there had been heavy fighting, with people killed at the entrance to the eastern cities of Chernihiv and Melitopol, as well as at Hostomel. Explosions also were heard in Kharkiv in the east near Ukraine's border with Russia, and air raid sirens sounded over Lviv in the west, according to witnesses. Authorities reported heavy fighting in the eastern city of Sumy. An RFE/RL correspondent in Kharkiv said a column of Russian Grads, which are truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, was destroyed outside the city. The correspondent reported seeing the body of a Russian soldier at the scene. Other casualties were unknown. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, meanwhile, fled to neighboring countries in search of safety. Those arriving were mostly women, children, and elderly after Zelenskiy signed a decree banning men age 18 to 60 from leaving. At border crossings in Poland, Ukrainians arrived on foot and by car and train and were greeted by Polish authorities and volunteers offering them food and hot drinks. Traffic was backed up for several kilometers at some border crossings into Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. The European Union will take in all people fleeing Ukraine due to the current conflict, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said. We tried everything so this day wouldnt come, she said. And it came because the Russian president chose it, opted for war and against human lives. In the midst of the violence and chaos, Russia and Ukraine signaled an openness to negotiations. The Kremlin accepted Kyiv's offer to hold talks, but it was not clear that it was a gesture toward a diplomatic solution. Zelenskiys spokesman, Sergiy Nykyforov said Ukraine remains "ready to talk about a cease-fire and peace." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to send a delegation to Belarus's capital for talks with Ukraine. Peskov told reporters that after the parties discussed Minsk as a possible venue, Ukrainian officials changed course and said they were unwilling to travel to Minsk and would prefer to meet in Warsaw. They then halted further communication, Peskov said. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Russia's offer of talks was an attempt to conduct diplomacy "at the barrel of a gun" and that Putin's military must stop bombing Ukraine if it was serious about negotiations. WATCH: A woman in the southern Ukrainian town of Henichesk berates a Russian soldier, asking why he came to her country "with a weapon." Putin on February 25 called on the Ukrainian Army to overthrow the government, describing its leaders as "terrorists" and "a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis." Putin made the baseless statement in a televised address in which he also accused "Ukrainian nationalists" of deploying heavy weapons in residential areas of major cities to provoke the Russian military. "They say that civilian objects are not a target for them. But this is another lie of theirs. In reality, they do not distinguish between areas in which they operate," Zelenskiy said in a video address early on February 25. "Ukrainians are demonstrating heroism," he said, adding that "all our forces are doing everything possible" to protect people. The Ukrainian leader said earlier that his country was facing Russia's assault "alone." "This morning, we are defending our state alone. Like yesterday, the world's most powerful forces are watching from afar. Did yesterday's sanctions convince Russia? We hear in our sky and see on our earth that this was not enough," he said. Zelenskiy said 137 civilians and military personnel had been killed in the Russian attacks on the first day. He called them "heroes" in a video address released early on February 25 in which he also said more than 300 people were injured in less than 24 hours of fighting. Ukraine's Defense Ministry later on February 25 said that more than 1,000 Russian servicemen had been killed so far in the conflict. "Russia has not suffered so many casualties during the fighting in any of its armed conflicts since its inception," it said in a statement. "Russian mothers send their sons to certain death, because the Ukrainian armed forces hold the lines and will defend their country against the occupiers," the statement read. The Russian Defense Ministry, on the other hand, has said there had been no casualties. Neither claim could be independently verified. The United Nations said 25 civilians had been killed and 102 wounded, figures that were likely to be a "significant underestimate." The Ukrainian military reported significant fighting in the area of Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers northwest of Kyiv. "The hardest day will be today. The enemy's plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv," Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said on Telegram. Zelenskiy said he understood Russian troops were coming for him but vowed to stay in Kyiv. "[The] enemy has marked me down as the No. 1 target," Zelenskiy said in a video message. "My family is the No. 2 target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state. "I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine," he said. "They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven," Zelenskiy said. The president said all border guards on the Ukrainian Black Sea island of Zmiinyi (Snake) in the Odesa region were killed. All of them will be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine, he said. Ukraine's border guard service earlier in the day reported that the island had been taken by Russian forces. Russia began its invasion before dawn on February 24, unleashing air strikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from multiple directions. The deputy defense minister reported heavy Russian shelling in the eastern Donetsk region. Ukrainian officials said that during the first days of the hostilities they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world's worst civilian nuclear disaster. Heavy fighting also took place in the regions of Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson and Odesa, Ukraine's most important seaport, in the south. Speaking on February 25, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Russia intends to take the whole of Ukraine but that the Russian Army failed to deliver on the first day of its invasion. For his part, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian accused Putin of trying to destroy Ukraine's statehood, warning that the "security" of its president was at risk. Meanwhile, Putin told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in a call on February 25 that Russia is willing to hold high level talks with Ukraine, China's Foreign Ministry said. China has refused to call Russia's action in Ukraine an "invasion" or criticize Moscow, despite intensifying assaults from Russia's military. The EU said on February 25 that Putin was looking to destroy Ukraine and that his actions were comparable to those of the Nazis in World War II. "He is talking about de-Nazifying Ukraine, but he behaves like Nazis. So this is all in his head," EU spokesman Peter Stano told reporters in Brussels. With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, CNN, dpa, and the BBC International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan has expressed his concern over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said his court may investigate possible war crimes in the country. "I remind all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine that my office may exercise its jurisdiction and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity, or war crime committed within Ukraine," Khan said in a statement on February 25. It is imperative that all parties to the conflict respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, Khan said, adding that his office will continue to closely monitor the situation in Ukraine. In December 2020, the office of the prosecutor announced it had reason to believe war crimes and other crimes were committed during the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The preliminary examination was closed, but a formal request to judges to open a full investigation has not been filed yet. Judges must agree before an investigation can be opened. In December last year, Khan said there was no update on the case when asked about progress of the examination. Russia is not a member of the ICC and has opposed the ICC case. However, the court can investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Ukraine regardless of the nationality of the alleged perpetrators. Based on reporting by Reuters The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. RFE/RL correspondent Maryan Kushnir came across destroyed Russian military equipment, including Grad missile launchers, outside Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city on February 25. He also found the tail section of a missile that hit a residential area of the city. Residents of Kyiv witnessed large explosions above their city in the early hours of February 25, a day after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Several amateur videos showed the skies light up as loud explosions shook the capital. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said the country's air defenses had shot down a Russian aerial vehicle. It was unclear if it was an aircraft or a missile. Debris landed on an apartment block and emergency crews scrambled to put out a fire in the heavily damaged building. Tetyana and her two sons, aged 6 and 9, are bundled in black winter jackets and stocking caps inside a small train station in Przemysl, Poland, less than a dozen kilometers from the border with Ukraine. "I can't hold back tears," she says, recounting the hours since she learned that Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops had launched an invasion of her homeland earlier on February 24. "My husband is a reservist; he stayed in Lviv," she says. In addition to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ordering a general military mobilization late on February 24 and urging able-bodied Ukrainians to volunteer to defend the country from Russian invaders, the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service has barred men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country. Tetyana recalled running with her children and her mother-in-law to Lviv's train station to flee, hopefully to safety but unquestionably into uncertainty. "My heart is broken -- to think of my husband and everything, all the relatives we have left in Ukraine," Tetyana said. "I want to go home as soon as possible. But no one knows what will happen next." The boys' grandmother, Iryna, said she has no words to describe what has just befallen her country of 44 million people, which Putin has vowed to "demilitarize" and "de-Nazify," in an unfounded characterization that Moscow has used to refer to Ukraine's democratically elected government. "I couldn't believe the war this morning. That Putin attacked us!" she said. "What mother gave birth to him?" Iryna also expressed anger that there were so many young men on the train from Lviv to Przemysl: "Here they are.... Who will defend Ukraine?" It is a scene -- of personal fear and loss, even far from the front lines -- that is unfolding all along the eastern and southern borders of Ukraine, Europe's second-largest and eighth-most populous country. Polish authorities said that 29,000 people crossed their border from Ukraine on February 24. Poland has said it can take in up to 1 million people fleeing conflict in Ukraine. But some governments and humanitarian groups have predicted that a full-scale war will displace millions of Ukrainians, with many likely bound for EU members like Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, or Romania, and others going to non-EU member Moldova. Moldovan Border Within hours of Russia's launch of its large-scale invasion of Ukraine to the north and east, a trickle of families hauled suitcases across the border at the Palanca checkpoint in Moldova on February 24, in search of safety. It is Moldova's easternmost point, lying low above a bay onto the Black Sea and just 40 kilometers from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. None of the travelers were eager to give their names. Most are from Odesa, the storied "pearl of the Black Sea," with about 1 million residents. But it's also been a provisional headquarters for the Ukrainian Navy since Russia occupied and seized control of Crimea in 2014, shortly before it backed separatists in a war against the government in the eastern Donbas region. One woman among the heavily laden travelers, with a small child, said she was headed to Moldova to visit a grandfather. Asked whether it was dangerous in Odesa, she said simply, "Not yet." "Theres martial law and a war going on," said another, a young man. "Its scary.... Theres shelling. They're targeting military storages and facilities." Asked why she was leaving Odesa, an elderly woman said as she labored to carry heavy bags: "Because I have to save my family. I'm here with family." Moldovan lawmakers approved a request on February 24 from Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita for a 60-day state of emergency to cope with the fallout from the war in Ukraine. Of the 4,200 or so refugees who arrived from Ukraine on the first day of hostilities, at least 100 were said to have applied for asylum in Moldova. Many of them hope to continue on to EU destinations. Pavlo and Svitlana Buklovskiy left Odesa immediately with their 5-year-old son after they were awakened before sunrise by the pounding of missiles slamming the city. They left behind almost everything they own, taking just a backpack of basic necessities and some of their son's toys. Within hours they were in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, where they stocked up before continuing to Romania, hoping to end up in Budapest. Romanian Border Nearby Romania has also seen an increased number of arrivals, particularly on its northern border with Ukraine. It shares another 100 or so kilometers of eastern border and 33 kilometers of maritime boundary on the Black Sea -- 650 kilometers in all. Some families had loaded up vehicles and lined up for gas in the southern Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi before heading the 50 kilometers or so to the border crossing into Romania at Terebliche-Siret. WATCH: People gathered at the railway station in Kostyantynivka, in eastern Ukraine, hoping to catch a train to safety following Russia's invasion on February 24. "People are a little worried, because there are three neighboring regions -- Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnitsky, and Vinnitsa -- that have already been hit by missiles," Vasile Barbuta, a 28-year-old dual citizen from Chernivtsi, said on February 24. Around 180,000 Romanian speakers live in the Chernivtsi region, according to official figures. Most of those crossing into Romania on the first day after the Russian launch of the war were dual citizens, authorities say. Local officials in Romania, one of the EU's poorest states, say many of the new arrivals want to continue toward fellow members Poland and Czech Republic. But despite Defense Minister Vasile Dancu's assurance earlier this month that Romania was ready to receive 500,000 refugees in the event of a conflict, Bucharest appeared to be dragging its feet on opening refugee camps. Reluctant Welcome "We do not want to invite a flow of refugees," a Romanian political source told RFE/RL's Romanian Service, echoing other accounts, after a February 24 meeting of the Romanian Supreme Council of National Defense chaired by President Klaus Iohannis. "If the refugees turn up, we'll ensure the necessary conditions, but we aren't inviting refugees to come to Romania." Romanian officials were not rushing to make the refugee camps operational, according to multiple sources, and authorities were not actively encouraging those without Romanian passports to fill out refugee documents. Nicolae Costas, a professor at Chernivtsis state university, said that "everyone is panicking" since Putin launched the invasion, but that Russian missile strikes hadn't yet targeted the city. He cited "hellish lines" at gas stations and grocery stores and a "big crowd at the border," but he also said local buses were operating normally. Romania's Border Police insisted the crossing points were fully staffed and equipped, and that they could call in more officers if needed. But still, long queues were reported at Terebliche-Siret and other Romanian border checkpoints. NGOs like the Red Cross and the Association of Jesuit Refugee Services, along with UNICEF, said they were closely coordinating with Romanian authorities and ready to help. Stefan Mandachi, a restaurateur from Suceava, about 40 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, said his businesses would provide a free meal and even accommodation to anyone who identifies themselves as Ukrainian. "We decided we'll give one hot meal a day to every Ukrainian who comes to our restaurants," Mandachi told RFE/RL's Romanian Service. "If necessary, we'll compartmentalize a large event hall -- it's 1,000 square meters -- so that those who need shelter can sleep." Other Romanian entrepreneurs have been offering refugees housing and food, too. And groups have popped up on social media in which ordinary Romanians post announcements aimed at Ukrainians entering the country. The Uniti For Ucraina (United For Ukraine) group on Facebook has attracted 50,000 members already, including locals and Ukrainian refugees. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on February 25 that EU interior ministers gathering this weekend would look at how bloc members could better cope with the expected refugee problems to come. "Obviously, Europeans will be there to show solidarity, to welcome refugees," Le Drian told France Inter radio, according to Reuters. Written by Andy Heil based on reporting by Romanian Service correspondents Andreea Ofiteru and Ionut Benea in Bucharest and Siret; RFE/RL's Belarusian Service in Przemysl, Poland; and RFE/RL Moldovan Service correspondent Nicu Gusan in Palanca. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, dashing hopes that he would hold back despite dark and aggressive rhetoric and insistent demands for restrictions on Kyivs sovereignty. For Ukraine and Russia, the consequences are unpredictable. Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward. A Deadly Decision In the past, when he has made the most momentous decisions of his more than 22 years as president or prime minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin has always seemed to have one eye on his legacy. This time, he took a giant, grotesque step toward shaping it forever. Unprovoked, Putin launched a war on Ukraine on February 24, with Russian forces invading from three sides and the Kremlin hinting that it hopes to bring down the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the democratically elected leader of a country that, like Russia, has been independent since the Soviet Union fell apart 30 years ago. Hours after the first missiles hit, Ukraine said dozens of soldiers and civilians were dead, and more than 100,000 people had fled their homes, according to the UN. The Ukrainian death toll had reached 137 by the morning of February 25, Zelenskiy said. Putins big decisions in the past have played out as tightly scripted dramas in which the outcome is clear from the outset, at least in retrospect, but in which critics -- as well as those in the audience who are simply tired of the perpetual leading man and his performances -- hold out hope until the last that he will, for once, do what they see as the right thing. But then he doesn't. It happened in 2011, when Putin and his protege, Dmitry Medvedev, put on a two-man show at a ruling United Russia party congress for the announcement that Putin -- president from 2000 to 2008 -- planned to return to the Kremlin after four years in the No. 2 spot as prime minister, shattering millions of Russians hopes for reform and political change. It happened again in 2020, when the real point of plans for hundreds of changes to the Russian Constitution was revealed by Valentina Tereshkova, a United Russia lawmaker and the first woman in space, when she proposed an amendment that would allow Putin, who at the time was barred from seeking reelection in 2024, to do so -- and to do so again in 2030. The march toward the public announcement of Putins decision to invade Ukraine was marked by a similarly stilted choreography, with a series of addresses recorded days in advance of their broadcast and a remarkable meeting of the normally secretive presidential Security Council that was, maybe for the first time, televised in full. 'Unbelievably Dark And Aggressive' Hours after that meeting, also on national TV, Putin unleashed a falsehood-filled diatribe against Ukraine and the West -- and, at the very end, announced that Russia would recognize the territories claimed by the Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine as independent countries, paving the way for the invasion. The unbelievably dark and aggressive speech, as one Russia analyst put it, convinced many who watched it that Russia would, in fact, invade Ukraine. Others couldnt quite believe it until it happened -- and then it seemed, looking back at Putins remarks about Ukraine over the past few weeks and months, like something that he may have decided on long before that decision was made public. And while that was also true of the two occasions on which he concluded that he would not leave the Kremlin when he could just as well stay, first by exploiting a loophole in the constitution and then by changing it, this was different. Putins moves to prolong his rule have clearly had a profound and long-lasting impact on Russia and its citizens -- those jailed in an intense and persistent clampdown on dissent, for example, and those swept away by a COVID pandemic whose effects have been aggravated by what Kremlin critics say has been a badly botched response. But launching a large-scale attack on another country is another thing entirely, with consequences more immediate, tragic, and bloody. And most of all, consequences that were entirely avoidable. In Ukraine, in Russia, and around the world, millions of people have been stunned by Putins staggering decision. Some of them were on the streets of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and dozens of other Russian cities on February 24, protesting despite the risks of defying a government that arrested more than 1,800 of them. Others were headed west from Kyiv in their cars, trying to escape in case Ukraines capital, where the historical roots of Ukraine and Russia lie, is targeted by Russias leader. Emilia, a 36-year-old IT programmer, and her daughter, Ira, 8, found themselves in the subway station beneath Kyivs Independence Square -- the Maidan -- where celebrations of independence from Moscow and momentous protests aimed to maintain it have been held in the years since the Soviet collapse. No one expected, in the modern world, that we would be down here in the subways, camped out, hiding out, like what we read and saw in photographs from World War II, Emilia told an RFE/RL correspondent. She added a question: What is the point of this nonsense? To receive The Week In Russia in your in-box every Friday, click here. Written By Joe Schulz served as the reporter of the Green Laker in 2019 and 2020, before being hired as a reporter for the Commonwealth in October 2020. He is from Oshkosh and graduated from UW-Oshkosh in December 2020 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. | De Beers boosts 2021 revenue, rough output Anglo 25 february 2022 News De Beers total revenue jumped to $5.6 billion in 2021 compared to $3.4 billion, a year earlier with rough diamond sales rising to $4.9 billion from $2.8 billion in 2020, driven by positive sentiment and strong demand for diamond jewellery in key consumer markets, according to Anglo American. It said rough diamond sales volumes were significantly higher at 33.4 million carats in 2021 from the previous years 21.4 million carats as the midstream capacity recovered despite the second wave of Covid-19 infections in India in the second quarter. The average realised price rose by 10% to $146 per carat from $133 per carat in 2020, mainly as a result of positive market sentiment which gave rise to an 11% strengthening of the average rough price index. Anglo said De Beers underlying EBITDA increased to $1,1 billion in 2021 from $417 million, a year earlier, reflecting the improvement in sales driven by the recovery in demand. Unit costs plateaued at $58 per carat as the benefit of higher production volumes was offset by an increase in input costs and unfavourable exchange rates. De Beers rough diamond production increased by 29% to 32.3 million carats from the previous years 25.1 million carats primarily due to the lower levels of production in 2020 as a result of the impact of Covid-19 related lockdowns and lower demand due to the pandemic. Production in Botswana, leapt 35% to 22.3 million carats from 16.6 million carats in 2020 as production was increased in response to stronger prevailing demand. In Namibia, production was broadly in line at 1.5 million carats from the previous years 1.4 million carats in 2020, reflecting an increase from the remobilisation of most vessels in late 2020, partly offset by planned maintenance. In South Africa, De Beers production climbed 41% to 5.3 million carats from 3.8 million carats in 2020, while Canada's production was marginally lower at 3.2 million carats compared to 3.3 million carats in 2020, mainly due to a temporary Covid-19 related shutdown in the first quarter of 2021. De Beers production guidance for 2022 was projected at between 30 million and 33 million carats, subject to trading conditions and the extent of further Covid-19 related disruptions. Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished Roanoke Rapids, NC (27870) Today Mostly cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 86F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 58F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. The US will increase exchanges and cooperation with Vietnam regarding climate change response in a bid to realise major goals set by the two countries leaders at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), said US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. Kerry, who is on a Vietnam visit from February 22-25, made the statement at a meeting with Minister of Public Security General To Lam in Hanoi on February 24. The US official noted the US-Vietnam relationship is on a good track of development across sectors and emphasised that climate change response plays an important role in ensuring environmental and national security. Vietnam appreciated the determination and role of Joe Bidens administration and of Kerry himself, and hoped that the US would continue to take the lead in combating climate change and promoting related international cooperation activities, affirmed Lam. For the implementation of important global goals in the field, the minister asked the US side to clarify commitments that can support Vietnam and to promote the Vietnam-US cooperation in environmental protection and biodiversity conservation serving the development of a green, circular, sustainable and low-carbon economy. Lam suggested the US assist Vietnam regarding projects and equipment to improve the nations capacity of detecting and handling environmental crimes. The Ministry of Public Security also looks for the USs support in building a vocational training center for the environmental police forces of Vietnam and ASEAN countries, he added. On the same day, Kerry also met with Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha, who informed him of Vietnams efforts against climate change. According to the minister, Vietnam has reviewed and completed the national electricity development planning for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2045 in line with the 2050 goal of net zero emissions; developed plans to implement the global declaration on the transition of coal-fired power to clean energy and to reduce methane by 30 percent; and actively facilitated and cleared hurdles for investors in Vietnams climate change and renewable energy projects. Ha hoped Vietnam and the US continue to strengthen collaboration in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change, especially implementing commitments to methane emission reduction. He recommended the US aid Vietnam in connecting with financial and credit institutions capable of providing financial, professional and technological support for Vietnam to improve capacity in fulfilling its commitments to emission reduction and climate change adaptation. For his part, Kerry stated climate has become a national interest and security priority of the US. With countries around the world making joint efforts to address the challenges of climate change, especially after COP26, the US wishes to cooperate with Vietnam in the fields of renewable energy and green economy, he stressed./. Danvers, MA (01923) Today Rain showers early becoming a steady light rain for the afternoon. High 52F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 47F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Around his square stone home on Palomar Mountain, pioneer Nate Harrison left a curious collection of bullets and bottles, sardine tins and fine china. To San Diego State University archaeologist Seth Mallios, these are the artifacts of freedom. Harrison, a former slave from Kentucky, was San Diegos first African-American homesteader and a legendary local figure. After working the Gold Rush, he traveled to Southern California, where he ranched, hunted and reinvented himself as an iconic personage in 19th and 20th Century San Diego. This was the spot where he first got to express his freedom, Mallios said. This was someone who had endured slavery, endured conditions in the mines, and endured the Wild West. This was where he established himself as a free person. Harrisons tale also illustrates how people from around the world staked their place in the Golden State. Advertisement Its a story about the birth of the United States in California, Mallios said. The site sits on the mountain in an oak grove overlooking Pauma Valley, scented with gusts of wood smoke and pine. Mallios and 25 of his students are excavating the 11-by-11 foot stone hut and an adjacent patio, during a spring break dig. Students found ordinary implements such as spoons, wire and rifle cartridges, as well as some oddities. A cracked bottle of Pluto Water, featuring an embossed image of the devil, included natural mineral laxatives, and represented the suite of snake oil remedies common in the era. The excavation of Harrisons homestead is part of Mallios long-standing project to unearth the facts behind the historic figure, and to let his students get their hands dirty through archaeological field work. Some people cant believe you get paid for it, he said, as students chiseled out chips of glass and sheep bones, or sifted tubs of soil. Others are miserable, because youre filthy and theres bugs. For Vijes Davis, an undergraduate anthropology major, its a chance to reconstruct untold parts of Harrisons story. History is always lost when nobody writes about you, she said. It just puts parts of his life together. In Harrisons case, Mallios said, oral history added some parts that dont square with the facts. Legend has it he rafted down the Mississippi to escape slavery, fought historic battles and lived to 107, Mallios said. Documents show that Harrison was brought to California by his owner to work the gold mines, gained freedom when his owner died, and lived not quite a century but well into his 90s, Mallios said. A lot of it is trying to match the oral history and the archaeology, and seeing whats actually true said anthropology student Aldo Torales. For Torales and other members of the crew, the physical relics of Harrisons life tell a story just as intriguing as the legends. Arriving in San Diego, Harrison herded sheep, planted fruit trees and hunted deer. Sheep bones, bullet fragments and unspent cartridges are some of the more common items found on site. Harrison gained title to the land on Palomar Mountain as a homesteader, but also received the property as a gift from the local Luiseno tribe, with whom me maintained close relations, Mallios said. The sites isolation and fortress-like perch must have represented safety to the former slave during that rough-and-tumble era of early California. Over time, Harrison made inroads with numerous communities, crossing cultural boundaries that were even more sharply drawn in his day. He befriended nearby Native Americans, inviting them to gather acorns, and interacted with Latino neighbors. He was baptized a Catholic late in life, Mallios said. And he became an iconic fixture among homesteaders and eventually city dwellers, who would visit his home to taste a little slice of the Antebellum South, Mallios said. From his simple stone home Harrison could see visitors approaching on the steep, windy mountain road. Traveling up the mountain took a full day, Mallios said, so Harrison sometimes brought down water for the horses or overheated radiators. In the dig site, Mallios students found pieces of pitchers that they think he used to deliver water. In a play on racial stereotypes and the history of Native American tribes in the region, Harrison always introduced himself as the first white man on the mountain, Mallios said. The charismatic mountain man acquired a reputation as a storyteller, and his homestead became a center of heritage tourism. He would tell tales about grizzly bears and mountain lions, Mallios said. Hes crafting a new identity and its on his own terms. The items he left behind show a peculiar mixture of the rustic and refined. Tins of canned meat, sardines and tobacco were littered around the site, along with shards of whiskey bottles. He loved to drink whiskey, so that matches the myth, said Laura Roderickz, a former student of Mallios who took time off work to join the dig. Along with them were bits of fine china, milk glass and ornate garter and suspender clips. Although records indicate that Harrison never married, rumors held that he wed two Native American women at different times. Mallios team found tins of rouge and other cosmetics. I cant say it wasnt his, Mallios said. But I dont think it was. Weve found kids toys: marbles and a cardboard jigsaw piece. That mixture of the iconic and the ordinary drew former student Kathleen Stanford to the excavation site to work with her former professor. What I love about Nate Harrison is that hes an everyday man, but he also has that legend, she said. In some cases, the myth and legend match. One tale holds that Harrison left a shovel propped against a tree and the branches grew around it. Mallios searched the oaks with metal detectors with no luck. Later, a fire burned a tree limb, revealing rusted remains of the shovel blade, its durable presence a reminder of the man who was born a slave, but died a pioneer. Students will present some of the artifacts at Montezuma Hall on the SDSU campus, from 4 to 6 p.m. on April 18. For more information, call (619) 587-4139 or visit the Nate Harrison Exhibit event page on Facebook. When kindergartners showed up for school at Escondidos Central Elementary Wednesday, they encountered brand new classrooms at the districts oldest school. Built in 1935, Central Elementary sits in the citys historic district, surrounded by colorful Craftsman bungalows and elegant Victorians. As its student population and needs exceeded the original buildings, the 600-student campus added five kindergarten classrooms and five preschool classrooms, with separate play structures for those areas. Built with funds from Proposition E, Escondido Union School Districts $182.1 million bond measure, the new structures are part of plans to modernize aging facilities and make campuses safer. The construction projects at Central highlighted the bond spending and added an extra dose of excitement to the first day of school. It looks beautiful, said Andrea Cardenas as she waited for her son Saul to explore the new kindergarten playground, before walking him to his classroom. It looks immaculate. Its such an improvement over last year. Hes very excited for his new class. The new classrooms feature high ceilings and natural light sources to conserve energy and create a bright, airy environment. Against the wall, a row of Apple computers and headphones sit on a table lined with tot-sized chairs. The room is wired for the iPads that students will share for lessons. And an AVer interactive panel a kind of high-tech whiteboard allows them to share their work wirelessly. Advertisement Outside, a spacious playground features colorful plastic slides and climbing structures. The blacktop is painted with numbers and shapes that teachers will use for math lessons. A series of wide, low steps doubles as a miniature amphitheater for class performances. Its way nicer than the previous kindergarten rooms, said Claudia Zavala, dropping off her daughter, Alexa Oregon. She was very excited. I have older kids who come here. Theyve been watching the construction to see how it came out. Across campus, the youngest students arrived at five new preschool classrooms four devoted to special education students and the fifth hosting a mix of general and special education children. Crews also constructed wide, wheelchair-accessible walkways and are installing black metal security fencing around the school. Thats been a culture change for the campus, where families and neighbors have enjoyed open access, said Principal Stephanie Rosson. Its a bit of a learning curve, because it has been such an open campus she said. Once they understand that were doing it not because we want to keep them out, but because we want to keep the kids safe, they work with us. The recent additions to Central Elementary are among a number of new facilities and programs that North County school districts are rolling out this year. Solana Beach School District is also renovating its oldest campus, the 60-year-old Skyline School. Funded with Measure JJ bond proceeds, the entire campus has been demolished and reconstructed and will be ready for students who return to class on Aug. 28, according to the district. They will return to a new building with classrooms, a science, technology and reading lab, library and media center, school office and other facilities, as well as a new play area and blacktop. Other facilities will be added in the fall. In Poway, Stone Ranch Elementary School in 4S Ranch also adapted to growing pains, said district spokeswoman Christine Paik. To accommodate its 1,200 students, the campus added a new building, with 19 classrooms and shared spaces, which replace the portable structures the school has used for several years. The building will be finished when students start school next week, on Aug. 22. Later, the campus will move out the portables and convert that area to a playground. Poway Unified School District is also launching a dual language immersion program in Mandarin, at Adobe Bluffs Elementary in Ranchos Penasquitos, where students will receive half their instruction in English and half in Mandarin. The district plans to add a pathway for middle and high school students who want to continue studying the language, Paik said. Oceanside High School, which has already adopted career pathways in health, justice, business and performing arts, is also adding new science pathways. In the environmental Science Academy, students will learn about renewable energy, environmental issues and careers in energy, according to the district website. Students in the Academy of Engineering will take classes on electric circuits and microcontrollers, computer programming and AP computer science. For alumni of some of the regions older schools, recent renovations inspire a sense of both nostalgia and promise. At Central Elementary, Doug Paulson, a former student at the campus and current board member for Escondido Union School District, said the combination of instruction and facilities shapes students learning experiences. As a student at Central from 1969 to 1975, he said, he remembered hearing performances by chamber orchestras and big bands. This year, the new facilities will free up classroom space for students to engage in visual arts, dance and theater activities, said Rosson, the principal. Eventually, what every school comes down to is culture, and what goes on in the classroom, said Paulson, who also teaches at Orange Glen High School in Escondido. You can have the best school in the oldest facility. We want to have the best school in the newest facility. deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan Salandra Bowman, SC ETV chief learning officer, Ph.D. Salandra Bowman arrived at the University of South Carolina from the small town of Greenwood, expecting to major in French and perhaps become a teacher. But her life took a sharp turn in the spring of her freshman year, when her adviser suggested she take a class in African American Studies. After taking that course, I never left. I just dug deeper and deeper into the content, she says. The coursework addressed a lot of the questions that I had in high school. It gave me opportunities to learn more about African American thinkers and intellectual traditions and read the literature that I was craving. In my honors English and AP English courses in high school, I would always ask, When are we going to read something by black folks? Soon, she was immersed in courses that introduced her to writer Toni Morrison, slave narratives, W.E.B. Du Bois and the Harlem Renaissance. The literary contributions and traditions, along with the history and politics, it all was really instrumental in my own personal development and getting clear about what I know, how I come to know it and what my values are, she says. The (AFAM) degree gives you the capacity to understand who you are as a human being and what your responsibility and contribution is to sustain the world. Salandra Bowman As a first-generation college student, Bowman admits she had some concerns about majoring in African American Studies, fearing it could limit her career choices. She graduated in 2005 with a degree in English and a minor in AFAM Studies. But she wasnt finished with the subject. After a short stint working for the Social Security Administration, she was lured back to higher education, this time for a bachelors degree in AFAM Studies. Then it was time for graduate school. She left South Carolina to earn her masters from Ohio State University and later started her Ph.D. in Black Studies at Michigan State, but decided to come back home where she would begin to use my master's and undergraduate degrees in public service to the state, and then later enroll in a doctoral program (at UofSC) in education, foundations and inquiry. She worked for the TRIO programs at the university, taught as an adjunct instructor in AFAM Studies and worked for the states Technical College System. Those positions were instrumental in really helping me get clear about how I would use my African American Studies training in the workforce. One of the things I say is that we must always make room for diversity of thought, always considering the counter-narrative or those voices that are unspoken, making sure that the work that we do resonates with the community that we are working with. At ETV, where she directed training and research and now has joined the executive ranks as the chief learning officer, she uses her degree every day as she works to make society more accessible and integrate the voices of historically underrepresented groups. She also earned her doctorate from the College of Education in December. In the classroom at UofSC, she says shares her story with students. To my students, I try to be transparent about my career pathway and some of the challenges that I've encountered, but I really try to assure them that you can be and do whatever you want to do with a degree in African American Studies. I'm proof of it. I have worked in youth engagement programs. I've worked in technical education. I am now working in state government and communications. I teach in higher education, and I am civically engaged in my community. The degree gives you the capacity to understand who you are as a human being and what your responsibility and contribution is to sustain the world. At the university, she was the beneficiary of excellent teaching and mentorship in the AFAM Studies program. I was a student in one of Dr. (Qiana) Whitteds first classes. Her Toni Morrison class changed my life. I love me some Jesus, but Toni Morrison is gospel for me. Dr. (Bobby) Donaldson is amazing; he invited us to really think about our responsibility to understand history so that we can counter some of the narratives that are out there. In Dr. (Cleveland) Sellers courses, we were singing freedom songs. He would send us on these hunts and give us a date, asking What is the significance of this date? And all of that, its never left me. All of that has informed me as a scholar, as a practitioner, as a member of my community and a member of my family. You cannot go through that type of program and not be changed. You cannot. Scarsdale, NY (10583) Today Rain diminishing to a few showers this afternoon. High 64F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 52F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. A state appeals court increased public access Thursday to records of immigrant detention centers in California, requiring disclosure of information about operations at a federal lockup managed by a citys private subcontractor. A 2018 state law allows members of the public to see records of facilities that hold immigrants awaiting deportation hearings pursuant to a contract with a city. That law must be interpreted broadly in favor of access under the voter-approved California Public Records Act, said the Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego. The ruling allows an immigration attorney to seek records of government reports, complaints and other information about the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico (Imperial County). U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement signed a contract in 2014 with the city of Holtville to hold migrants at the privately owned facility. After Holtville reached a contract with the owner, the owner turned operations over to a subcontractor, Management & Training Corp., one of the nations largest private prison operators. A January 2021 report by the state Attorney Generals Office said there were 680 immigrants held at the facility, under mostly healthful conditions, but with poor mental health services and relatively little access to legal aid. When the immigration attorney, Anna von Herrmann, sought access to the facilitys records in January 2019, Management & Training Corp. refused, and the refusal was upheld by a Superior Court judge, who said the operating company was not covered by the state law because it did not have a contract with the city. The appeals court, however, said the law should not be read that narrowly. The Legislature intended the CPRA (California Public Records Act) to apply on a facility-wide basis and not just to the original city contractor, Justice Judith Haller said in the 3-0 ruling. A contrary interpretation would allow a contractor to avoid public scrutiny by hiring a subcontractor, she said, and lawmakers could not have intended that a statute enacted to enhance transparency could be so easily frustrated. The state law does not apply, however, to a private owner of a detention center that contracts directly with ICE. That was what happened to the Calexico center in October 2019 when Management & Training Corp. signed a new management contract with the federal agency, without the city as an intermediary, said von Herrmanns lawyer, Abenicio Cisneros. He said access might be available for post-October 2019 records under federal law. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Cisneros said the ruling was still a step forward because it shows that private prison companies that contract with local governments to operate for-profit immigration detention facilities cannot evade transparency simply by subcontracting through a middleman. Susan Coleman, a lawyer for the company, declined to comment. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko WASHINGTON Sen. Alex Padilla unveiled a housing and homelessness bill on Friday, legislation that would massively increase federal investments in both traditional and experimental approaches to one of Californias most intractable problems. While the bill faces long odds of becoming law, the California Democrats proposal sets a marker for what a progressive federal housing policy could look like. It also enters Padilla into some of the thornier controversies on the subject, including investing in safe parking sites that have been met with fierce neighborhood opposition in communities across the state and hotel/motel conversions to house homeless residents. Padilla says his bill is a holistic approach, aiming to tackle the problem of housing insecurity from different angles. The hundreds of billions of dollars for new housing would be paired with other large investments in short-term options like the parking sites and with programs to help those who historically are most vulnerable, like the elderly and disabled people. A problem of this size and a problem of this importance calls for an all-hands-on-deck approach, Padilla said at an event announcing the bill at a Sacramento apartment complex that was converted from a hotel under a state affordable housing program. Local governments are doing their part, the state is doing its part, and Im proud to announce the Housing For All Act of 2022 as a guide for how the federal government can better do its part, he said. The pressing need is evident to anyone in the Bay Area, as homelessness has been visibly on the rise. That was driven home this week when a fire at an encampment under a freeway overpass in San Franciscos Glen Park neighborhood killed one woman and injured three other people. This tragic incident is yet another reminder of how urgent the work is to provide every person with the dignity and safety of housing, Padilla told The Chronicle. We can and must do better. Padillas plan also acknowledges the limitations of what the federal government can do on housing. Much of housing policy, like zoning and permitting, is done at the state and local levels. What Congress can add is money. Ive seen the issue at different levels of government, Padilla said in an interview with The Chronicle, noting his experience on L.A. City Council and in the state Legislature. The most important thing the federal government can do is bring resources to bear on so many fronts. But those limitations are significant. The bill would increase money for housing vouchers, but has no clear answer to address landlords not accepting them. It would pour unprecedented billions into building affordable housing, but has no way to get around local attempts to block projects, or regulatory hurdles that can delay them indefinitely. Padillas hope is that by increasing supply long-term, giving people short-term options and assistance to navigate them, and addressing housing instability as a multi-faceted problem, those issues will not be as significant. The investments in his bill are enormous compared with present spending, in one case increasing federal funding by more than 6,500%. The biggest increase in Padillas bill would put $45 billion into the Housing Trust Fund that finances affordable housing for the lowest-income households each year for the next 10 years, more than 65 times the roughly $690 million it got in fiscal year 2021. The money for Emergency Solutions Grants, which help people and families find housing after a crisis or homelessness, would nearly double to $500 million per year, and federal grants for communities to create affordable housing would nearly quadruple, to $4 billion per year. The bill also puts money behind some more experimental approaches to housing. An entire section of the legislation is focused on innovative, community-driven solutions, which draw heavily from efforts being tested in the state. Many of the programs in my bill were inspired by efforts that were pioneered right here in California, Padilla said. It would create a $25 million safe parking program to create parking sites that offer places for those who live out of their vehicles to park overnight, usually with onsite support like bathrooms and security, and to offer services around those sites. Another $500 million would go toward converting spaces like hotels, motels or spaces like shopping malls to help house individuals or provide support to the vulnerable. Money would also go toward eviction protection, crisis grants and library-based programs. The bill would also seek to promote housing thats planned close to transit and would create a racial equity commission within the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Padilla said in the interview that the goal behind some of the experimental, and controversial, approaches was to meet people where their need is, in addition to working toward bigger fixes. A safe place to park overnight for someone experiencing homelessness ... that is not a long-term solution, Padilla said. But it is sometimes tough for people to get to a long-term solution when theyre worried about getting through a night or getting through a week. ... It also becomes a focal point for service providers to center their outreach. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. All told, Padillas bill would put more than $530 billion over 10 years toward combating homelessness and increasing and improving housing, according to his office, a sum that alone rivals the $500 billion in new funding over five years in President Bidens massive infrastructure bill for roads, bridges, transit and more. Padilla believes the funds are necessary. The California Legislative Analysts Office in 2016 estimated that in the state alone, affordable housing for low-income households would require $15 billion to $30 billion to be spent annually. I think the level of investment is pretty darn big, but so is the need and so is the urgency, Padilla said. Theres not one key dynamic or one magic wand that fixes everything. If it was easy, it would be fixed already. But the path forward for the bill is uncertain. Its house counterpart will be introduced by Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), but Padilla does not have any Senate co-sponsors lined up yet. His proposals dwarf the amount for housing that was included in the Democrats Build Back Better social infrastructure package, and that legislation is on ice in the face of opposition from two moderate Democrats who have balked at the price tag. Padilla said there were several possible ways to move the bill forward, either whole or in pieces, including another effort at Build Back Better, government funding bills or housing-focused legislation. Were going to keep at it, Padilla said. This is just step one. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Lauren Hepler contributed to this report. Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Its commonplace in Silicon Valley and corporate America for a company to engage interns, both paid and unpaid. But it is unusual for a companys workforce to be predominantly composed of unpaid interns. Oigetit Fake News Filter, a Sunnyvale company that describes itself as using artificial intelligence to fact-check news articles, appears to rely on an inordinate number of unpaid interns to perform substantial work, according to Chronicle interviews with 10 former interns at the company, who worked there at varying times. Most said they supervised other unpaid interns, totaling more than 100 who reported to them. All of the interns interviewed said they felt Oigetit had taken advantage of them. Most said that they felt overworked and that they didnt benefit from their time there. Under California law, unpaid interns may not perform tasks integral to a companys business, according to David Balter, assistant chief counsel of the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Oigetit (pronounced like Oh I get it) downplayed its interns roles. The interns are not essential to the business, but an opportunity is provided for often young or inexperienced individuals to gain valuable industry experience and help them in their professional and academic pursuits, Oigetits legal counsel, Alan Kossoff, wrote in an email response to detailed questions from The Chronicle. The vast majority of interns are extremely happy and use their training and experience at Oigetit Fake News Filter to their advantage and benefit in their academic and business careers. The companys website shows 42 team members in the U.S. and 110 overseas in countries from Australia to Vietnam, as of December. Interns said they worked remotely, even before the pandemic. Kossoff said the company has seven paid employees, limited unpaid interns in California, additional interns throughout the U.S., and most interns are located in other countries. He did not answer a question about how many of the paid employees are full time. According to the interns and to Oigetits job listings on LinkedIn, unpaid interns perform tasks such as frequent posts to social media accounts, monitoring analytics, quality assurance testing of the companys apps and writing code for its app. Oigetits recruitment ads describe some intern roles as carrying a lot of responsibility. For instance, in February it advertised on LinkedIn for an unpaid intern to serve as a jack-of-all-trades that will provide executive-level support to the COO and CEO. Many interns told The Chronicle that they were also assigned tasks usually performed by an HR department, such as interviewing and screening other intern candidates, and then onboarding and training new interns. Many of the interns said that they, while still unpaid, were promoted to supervise other unpaid interns, ranging from a few people to dozens in some instances. Kossoff said Oigetit interns work under supervision of paid employees. He did not respond to questions about whether interns supervise other interns, or are involved in hiring and onboarding other interns. In California, unpaid interns are supposed to receive training equivalent to what theyd learn in a vocational school, to be closely supervised by regular employees, and not to displace the work of paid employees, said Balter from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Federal law is similar, although new standards introduced in 2018 provide a little more leeway, experts said. The federal rules emphasize determining whether the intern or the company is the primary beneficiary in their relationship. Interns in other countries would be subject to those countries laws, Balter said. Trainees should not be a cheap source of labor, Balter said. His department said it has received two reports of alleged labor law violations at Oigetit, but cannot confirm or deny any current investigations. Kossoff said Oigetit complies with federal and state laws for its interns. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle A company that improperly classifies workers as unpaid interns could be found in violation of laws governing minimum wage, and could be subject to damages that can amount to double the unpaid wages plus interest, plus compensation for sick leave, meal and rest periods, and overtime, Balter said. If a company is concerned about whether its violating the rules about unpaid interns, theres an easy fix, he said: Pay the people. Then theres no legal issue. Once The Chronicle started contacting Oigetit workers, Franklin Urteaga, the CEO and co-founder, sent a strongly worded email to current and former team members, warning them not to speak to reporters and threatening consequences for anyone who violates Oigetits nondisclosure agreement, which says that they cannot disparage the company. Oigetit will ensure that those who do so are prosecuted to the full extent of the law and will contact their university to notify them of these unlawful acts, the email said. NDAs are standard fare for Silicon Valley employees. Companies say they protect intellectual property, although often the gag orders are so sweeping that they prohibit employees from discussing anything that occurred at their workplaces. Oigetits NDA, as quoted in Urteagas email, says signers may not make any statements, or take any other actions whatsoever, to disparage, defame, sully or compromise the goodwill, name, brand or reputation of the Company or any of its affiliates. While such language is not unusual, there is starting to be some pushback against NDAs. California last year enacted legislation, SB331 or the Silenced No More Act, saying NDAs cannot restrict former employees from speaking out about workplace sexual harassment or discrimination. We will not allow a small group of troubled people who commit corporate and cyber crimes (to) affect the great work we are all doing to empower citizens all over the world with trusted and reliable news, the Oigetit email said. Oigetit alumni who spoke with The Chronicle said the email made them fear retaliation, but they wanted to reveal that they felt exploited as a source of cheap labor. The Chronicle granted them anonymity in accordance with its policy on anonymous sources. Internships are a long-standing way for students, recent graduates and people changing careers to gain experience, burnish their resumes and make contacts. For companies that hire interns, they provide a way to discover and recruit fresh talent. More than 60% of graduating seniors report having had an internship or co-op experience during college, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a nonprofit that promotes employment of college graduates. Almost half of interns it surveyed were unpaid, although most of those worked for nonprofits and government. Among interns at for-profit companies, just under 30% said they were not paid. Those numbers have stayed fairly consistent for the decade its been tracking internships, said Edwin Koc, director of research and public policy for the nonprofit. About 30% of interns receive school credit for their experience, the organization said. Graduates with intern experience especially those who were paid get more and higher-paying job offers, its studies show. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle Among paid interns, the average wage in 2020 was $20.76 an hour. Thats boosted by the generous salaries that top-tier law firms and tech companies think Google, Facebook, Apple pay their interns, along with perks such as housing stipends, frequent social events and lavish dinners. (The Chronicle has paid internship and fellowship programs.) A movement is afoot to push for all interns to be paid. There are two big reasons: to end the possible exploitation of free labor and to address the inequity that only affluent students can afford to work for free. Experience doesnt pay the bills, said Carlos Mark Vera, co-founder and executive director of Pay Our Interns, a philanthropy-funded advocacy group that seeks to end unpaid internships. Internships 20 years ago were optional; now theyre basically mandatory to land a good job, Vera said. We are penalizing people who cannot afford to work for free. For a student just launching a career, an internship, whether paid or unpaid, often seems like a great way to get a foot in the door. Listing an internship on a resume is how a worker can signal to an employer that they either have a skill or capability or should be hired over somebody else, said Kathryn Edwards, a labor economist at the Rand Corp., a nonprofit think tank. Edwards said she is concerned about the pernicious aspects of unpaid internships, noting that unpaid workers lack basic labor safeguards accorded to employees, such as benefits, and protection from sexual harassment and civil rights violations. Why work for free? Several of the Oigetit interns described themselves as inexperienced with the work world and said they were happy to land a position, even unpaid, at a Silicon Valley company. They hoped it would enhance their future job prospects. At the time, I was like, I really need to get my first internship and see if it takes me anywhere, said one former intern. Several said they were attracted by Urteagas background, which includes a lengthy stint in the Clinton administration as a technology adviser. At first it sounded very alluring a guy from the White House who was a technology adviser, who had a ton of pictures of himself with his arms around Bill and Hillary, one former staffer said. Indeed, the company promotes Urteagas credentials in its recruitment ads, which all specify that the positions are unpaid. In LinkedIn job postings for unpaid interns, Oigetit says: You will have a unique opportunity to work with Franklin Urteaga, the Founder & CEO of Oigetit Fake News Filter. Franklin is a world-famous former White House Innovation Advisor to U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton & Obama. Interns said that, in fact, Urteaga was extremely hands-on, involved in most meetings, and personally messaging them to do tasks. Mojdeh Shirazi, the chief operating officer, was the other main executive involved in running the company, they said. Oigetits counsel, Kossoff, said its interns receive training and have an opportunity to gain marketable skills relating to business operations, programming, social media and marketing. But the interns interviewed by The Chronicle characterized their experiences differently. They said they had hoped the work would boost their understanding of journalism, communications, media studies or other fields. All those interviewed by The Chronicle said they felt that they had learned little, if anything, at Oigetit. I received minimal training, and it did not apply to my schoolwork, one intern said. I learned significantly less here than in any other internship I have completed. Many described their jobs as taking screenshots and posting to social media, but said it was often time-consuming, especially when it involved video. I taught myself for the most part, one intern said. The only guidance you get is from interns who have been there longer. Kosoff said Oigetit executives have written over 100 letters of recommendations for interns helping them gain admission into graduate programs and assisting them to secure paid employment. He said the internships provide hands-on experience so interns are able to build their resumes and receive academic credit. Current Oigetit recruitment ads on LinkedIn say: This position is unpaid; however we provide applicable college course credit. Kossoff did not answer questions about which colleges, if any, gave academic credit for Oigetit interns. None of the interns interviewed reported getting school credit for their work at Oigetit. They said they were not aware of any others who did. Kossoff said Oigetit interns generally work about one or two hours a day and the typical internship lasts about three months. But most of the Oigetit alumni interviewed by The Chronicle had different recollections of their working hours. Many of the interns said they felt they were expected to be constantly available, and felt criticized if they made mistakes or didnt respond quickly enough to executives messages. Several alumni said theyd get frequent text messages from management asking them to rush and do a task, such as to post a breaking news story, at all times of the day and all days of the week. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Oigetit did not answer questions about whether managers expected interns to be frequently available. I was expected to work crazy hours, said one former intern. If that intern didnt respond quickly to messages, Oigetit executives would hold an assessment call and say they lacked entrepreneurial spirit, they said. Turnover was extremely high, according to the interns. People would leave out of nowhere, wed have to replace them immediately with someone else, said one former intern. It didnt matter what your qualifications were, it was just like, Can you be on your phone for an hour and post these stories? Oigetit did not answer questions about intern turnover. The company has testimonials from over 100 interns about their positive experiences at Oigetit, Kossoff wrote. On the website Glassdoor, which lets workers leave anonymous reviews of their employers, Oigetit has a rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, with 45% of respondents saying they would recommend it to a friend. The 128 anonymous Glassdoor reviews are a mixture of glowing and scathing. Some of the interns interviewed by The Chronicle said the company asked interns to leave positive reviews. Many of the alumni interviewed by The Chronicle described unusually rapid promotions. After a few months or even weeks with the company, they said, their bosses, who were also interns, quit and they were promoted to managerial roles, such as team lead or project supervisor. It was my first internship and I was only two months into it (when) Im promoted, said one former intern. Although something felt off, they figured the position would look good on a resume and they should wait to ask questions. It was weird going from being an intern to in charge of the whole team, sometimes as many as 14, sometimes just three or four because we had so many people come and go all the time, said another. As a lead you were doing a lot more things, going to a lot more meetings, still for no pay, and youre expected to work even more. Hieu Williams, a partner at Hirschfeld Kraemer, a San Francisco law firm that represents management in labor cases, said she was troubled by the idea of a company with numerous unpaid interns. California internships are meant to be part of established schools or training programs, she said, such as cosmetology students working at a salon or social work or psychology students accruing clinical hours with patients under supervision by a licensed professional. She was especially taken aback by the notion of interns being put in charge of other interns. Supervising others to me seems to lean in favor of classifying that person as an employee, she said. Government guidelines say that companies may not dangle the promise of eventual compensation in front of unpaid interns, Williams said. But the Oigetit alumni said they were frequently told that theyd make money through stock options if the company were sold. In a text message reviewed by The Chronicle, Oigetit COO Shirazi replied to an intern who asked for written confirmation by saying, As things shift and get closer to acquisition, we would start providing the information about rewards/agreements. Several alumni said the promises of stock were frequently repeated. They (CEO Urteaga and COO Shirazi) verbally all the time said that, If you stick around until the company gets acquired, then you could get a percentage, or stock options, said a former intern. They would say things like, Well take care of you. I was promised stock in this company and that theyd sell it in four to six months, said another former intern. Once I became a lead we would have meetings (in which Urteaga and Shirazi would say) you guys are doing a good job, once the company is sold, you guys will be compensated first, another alum said. Kossoff did not respond to questions about whether Oigetit told interns they would receive stock options or other compensation if the company were sold. Some of the Oigetit interns said it was a financial hardship not to be paid. Some took on paying jobs at the same time as the internship, but said they found it hard to juggle. My phone is blowing up by people in charge (at Oigetit) saying, Did we post about this, did we post about that? one intern said. Im thinking: Im at work, I cant be on my phone. Oigetits business model is not immediately apparent. It has apps and a website that showcase and link to articles from various news sources with Oigetits own ratings on their reliability. It does not charge subscription fees or sell advertisements. Oigetit Fake News Filter is a start-up that does not generate any revenue or profits, Kossoff wrote. The company is bootstrapped with angel investor funding. Crunchbase does not list any investors for Oigetit. Former interns said their understanding was that it was trying to grow quickly by getting people to download its app, and then find a bigger company to buy it. That approach is not unusual in Silicon Valley, where many enterprises value fast growth over profits. The tech world is full of multibillion-dollar companies Amazon, Tesla, Square, Snap, Zillow, for instance that went years without making a penny in profits. Those companies generated substantial revenue, however just not always enough to cover their expenses and startup costs. Companies that push for exponential growth rather than profits usually have deep-pocketed investors to finance their operations. Oigetits reach is modest as measured by app downloads. Its apps for Androids and iPhones had 7,900 and 7,700 downloads, respectively, from their 2019 releases until late January, according to data.ai, a mobile data and analytics provider formerly called App Annie. Data.ai said this placed it in the bottom 5% of the News & Magazine category. The former Oigetit interns contacted by The Chronicle all said they had moved on to other internships or jobs. While many did include Oigetit on their resumes, they said they didnt feel that their time there helped their career prospects. There were a lot of things that didnt sit right, said one former intern. Another intern described the day they quit Oigetit as the happiest day of my life. It was almost like getting out of a toxic relationship, the former intern said. I just felt so taken advantage of; I needed to get out of there. Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid Jeannene Przyblyskis career as a conceptual artist defied easy categorization. But one might distill her style and approach to her craft by looking to a potion she created of San Francisco street smells one that included the mingling scents of fog, wood and street that she sold as a perfume called Urban Essence. It was one of many acts of conceptual and performance art that Przyblyski created as part of the Bureau of Urban Secrets, which she once described as an unprofitable think tank that practices history as public art. It asks people how the stuff of the city can be art if you look at it the right way. She had business cards designed to look like something a private eye might carry. Her work with the bureau could have been a full-time job, except that she already had one as professor and vice president and dean of academic affairs at the San Francisco Art Institute. Przyblyski, who had a doctorate in art history from UC Berkeley, juggled these jobs until she started experiencing muscle weakness and other symptoms that turned out to be amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neuro-degenerative malady also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. She died at her home in Inverness on Jan. 24. She was 62. Jeannene was first and foremost an explorer of ideas, places, times and eras, and the natural world around her, said her husband, Eric Jaye, a political consultant in San Francisco. Her practice was driven by that exploration. She was able to boil things down to their essence in a way that made them approachable to her audiences. Among her projects was a phantom radio station, KBRDG, which carried the sounds of the 1930s and was broadcast from Fort Point during International Orange, a group show at the brick fortress to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge in 2012. Another was A Stroll through Time on Lovers Lane, which involved people dressed in Victorian costume walking along the famed footpath in the Presidio on Valentines Day in 2009. In her spare time, Przyblyski served terms on the San Francisco Arts Commission and the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association. You had the above-ground Jeannene as a professor, academic and civic leader, and you had the subterranean Jeannene, excavating untold stories and histories of San Francisco and the Bay Area through the Bureau of Urban Secrets, said Art Institute colleague Jennifer Rissler. Her loss leaves a huge hole in the Bay Area Arts ecosystem. Jeannene Marie Przyblyski (pronounced as sha-bil-ski) was born Oct. 8, 1959, in Norwalk, a working class suburb south of Los Angeles. Her father, John, worked in the aeronautics industry and her mother, Mary, was a teachers aide. At Cerritos High School, she was involved in theater before graduating in 1977. She became the first member of her family to attend college, at UC San Diego. She lived off campus in the beach town of Del Mar, and one day, while riding back there from campus on a city bus, she was introduced to Jaye, a fellow student, by a mutual friend who was sitting next to her. Jaye stayed on the bus past his stop to walk Przyblyski home. We struck up a conversation that lasted for 40 years, Jaye said. Przyblyski earned her bachelors degree with a double major in political science and visual arts in 1981. Soon after, she and Jaye moved to San Francisco to rent an apartment above a grocery store at the last stop of the J-Church line in Noe Valley. They were married in 1987. In 1992, Przyblyski got her doctorate from UC Berkeley and landed a teaching job at Mills College. Their daughter, Isabella, was born in 1993. After years of commuting to Oakland from Noe Valley, Przyblyski got a faculty job at the Art Institute on Russian Hill, teaching art history and art practice, and was later named the first chair of a program teaching the history and theory of contemporary art. After starting that program, she was elevated to dean in 2009. The higher she rose in academia, the more creative her own art interventions became. The goal was always to see how far she could take the art, and that was the case with Urban Essence. I determined that the perfume would be available until I actually smelled it on somebody, and then it would go out of circulation, she told The Chronicle in 2012. One evening I was at a dinner party and I was talking to the woman seated next to me. I took a big whiff and said, Youre wearing Urban Essence, and she said, Yes, I love it. No one has worn it since, because I pulled it out of production. When asked how the special agents of the Bureau of Urban Secrets maintained their cover, Przyblyski answered that they were middle-aged women in suits. Nobody suspects them of anything. One such agent was Rissler, who succeeded Przyblyski as dean of academic affairs at the Art Institute. For the KBRDG broadcast, visitors entered a dark room and worked the dials on an old tube-radio console until they could hear swirling fog and foghorns, mixed with voices from the past, in an attempt to re-create the sounds of the 1930s when the bridge was being built. You wanted to be a part of anything Jeannene had her fingers on, said Rissler, who provided voice-over for the radio. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. In 2012, Przyblyski left the Art Institute to become provost at California Institute of the Arts, a prominent independent college of 1,400 students in the Santa Clarita Valley north of Los Angeles. But she was never more than a commuter with a cottage in Silver Lake, and the schedule memorized for Southwest Airlines, who flew home on weekends. She also developed an interest in bird watching and, as an all-in type, she studied species online and took birding trips both in L.A. and throughout the Bay Area. She would get up early for an annual bird count sponsored by the Cornell Ornithology Lab. To me, Jeannene was like a present-day female version of Thoreau, a lover of nature and birds, but also keen observer of human nature, said close friend Lokelani Devone, a San Francisco attorney and neighbor. She had a playful artistic awareness that allowed her to see things that others missed or just overlooked like knowing where to find the marker for the end of the Lincoln Highway and other urban secrets. In summer 2017, Przyblyski traveled to Hamburg, Germany, for the 250th celebration of its famous art school. By then she had decided to leave her job as provost at CalArts, and when she ran into her old colleague, Rissler, Przyblyski informed her of the decision. Then and there, Rissler invited her to return and teach at the Art Institute. She still had the passion to teach, but it was just too difficult as the disease progressed, her daughter said. She stayed in touch with her former students and absolutely had her spirit, and was reading and bird watching until the end. She was buried at Fernwood Cemetery in Mill Valley. A public memorial will be held there in April or May. Survivors include her husband, Eric Jaye, of San Francisco; daughter, Isabella Jaye of San Francisco; mother Mary Przyblyski and brother, John Przyblyski, both of Santa Rosa. Donations in her name may be made to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, and the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, 900 Pennsylvania Ave, San Francisco, CA 94107. Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@samwhitingsf This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The voices of hundreds of Bay Area Ukrainians solemnly singing their countrys national anthem resonated through Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco Thursday afternoon. Many held Ukrainian flags and signs, tears rolling down their cheeks, as they gathered in an impassioned show of patriotism and solidarity a day after Russian forces began attacking eastern Ukraine, wracking the region with explosions and forcing mass evacuations. Our worst nightmare has come true and our neighbor attacked in full force, Nick Bilogorskiy, chairman of Palo Alto-based advocacy organization Nova Ukraine, told the crowd. Maksym Zubkov, of Berkeley, said he is worried for his family and friends in Ukraine, who have been terrorized by the invasion. The past couple of days have felt like a bad dream, he said. I just dont believe that this is happening, Zubkov said, adding that he has not eaten or slept much in the last 48 hours as he worried about the unfolding war in his homeland. Like others at Thursdays rally in front of City Hall, he said he wanted world leaders to impose harsher sanctions on Russia than the ones that President Biden already announced this week. They called on world powers to bar Russia from SWIFT a global financial transaction network and to cut diplomatic ties with Russia. Attendees were united in their desire to avoid military escalation. There were calls for an end to the fighting in Ukraine, but many also said that Ukraine was going to need help fending off Russian attacks. Yanina Miller, a Ukrainian living in Marin County, said she wants the U.S. and other countries to provide military assistance to Ukraine. Tied to her necklace, she had a tattered piece of blue and yellow fabric she picked up from the site of Russian-Ukrainian fighting in 2014, Miller said. The conflict with Russia has persisted for years, she said, and the recent escalation makes her terrified. Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle She made a sign that read, Dont pray for us; fight with us and said she worried that every second of delay is a persons life. Millers family has been stuck in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine and she has been communicating with them over Viber, she said. Her grandmother, who she said was born during the fighting of World War II, was reminded this week of that wars violence and destruction, Miller said. Military planes roared over parts if Eastern Ukraine Wednesday morning, Miller said. Roads were clogged with traffic and many residents, including her relatives, she said, resigned themselves to sheltering in place. With Ukrainian music blasting in the background, Fiodor Otero of Berkeley said his family in eastern Ukraine is sheltering in place but ready to fight for their country if necessary. Showing up to Thursdays rally felt like the least he could do to raise awareness about the suffering in Ukraine, he said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. I feel so useless, but I think the one thing everyone can do is say something to condemn Russia on what they are doing, Otero said. Russians, Belarusians, Latvians and Americans were among those who joined Ukrainians in solidarity Thursday. Aleksei Miasnikov, a Russian immigrant living in Pleasant Hill, said he was embarrassed by his countrys actions this week. I dont know how to speak to my Ukrainian friends, he said, shaking his head. But its good to be together. You feel that you are not alone. Andy Picon is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon Gary Arlington was a memorably unassuming businessman. He was happy to make $5 a day when he opened San Franciscos first comic book shop in 1968. The San Francisco Comic Book Co. storefront covered all of 200 square feet on 23rd Street in the Mission District, missing the now-trendy areas foot traffic peak by at least three decades. I didnt think about money. I was given this mission to create this unique little store, he told The Chronicle in 1971. All Ive ever wanted to do is pay the rent and eat. Im not projecting big plans. Arlingtons small plans went awry, and he became a legend, helping to stoke the independent comics industry and creating a retail template that hundreds of Bay Area stores have followed. But his store closed in 2002 and has largely existed in its patrons memories until now. This week, a cache of photo negatives all but one never published was discovered in The Chronicle archive. They had been lost for 50 years. The images show the efficient genius of the store, which used ladders and the tallest racks in retail to maximize every square inch of the tiny shop. Conversations and debates were bound to happen. It would be rude not to engage with fellow customers in such a compact space. Clem Albers / The Chronicle Arlington created his church of underground comix in 1968 as a method of survival, after his parents died and the trunks full of valuable comics in their basement needed a new home. In the beginning, he accepted food stamps for comics, using them to buy his own groceries, while keeping the racier comix titles which celebrated more mature themes including sex and recreational drug use under the counter like contraband. Zap Comix started by Robert Crumb were among his biggest sellers. As business boomed he became a publisher as well, the comic book version of City Lights book store in North Beach. Arlington edited the San Francisco Comic Book by recruiting the talent that had been gathering in San Francisco including Crumb, Bill Griffith and Spain Rodriguez. He correctly predicted that the comic book industry, which had been impacted by the 1954 Comic Code Authority formed to regulate graphic content, would rise bigger than ever. Comic art in America has been a suppressed thing. Its always been considered kid stuff. Its junk! Get it out of the house! Arlington told The Chronicle in 1973. Right here in Northern California youre seeing the rebirth of the comic book industry. Its going to be far superior to anything thats been done. Clem Albers/The Chronicle His customers included Maus author Art Spiegelman, underground comix titan Crumb, Last Gasp Comics publisher Ron Turner and future Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, among hundreds more future comic artists, retailers and superfans. Spiegelman offered this tribute in 2012: San Francisco was the capital of comix culture in the 60s and early 70s; and Gary Arlingtons hole-in-the-wall shop was, for me, the capital of San Francisco. As Crumb explained: Gary has made a cultural contribution in San Francisco in the late 60s through the 70s, 80s and 90s that was more significant than he realizes. The 1971 photos were taken by The Chronicles Clem Albers, a legend in his own right, who had worked for the paper since before World War II, taking a break to photograph internment camps in 1942 and 1943. Albers had a penchant for visual essays, capturing the 3339 23rd St. store inside and out. Clem Albers / The Chronicle The comic store images were misfiled in a literature censorship category in the archive, instead of under Arlingtons name or the shops name. The photos show a tiny store where every square inch from floor to the high ceiling is covered with comic book racks and comics displayed in plastic wrap. Arlington stands like a bird on a perch, looking over his customers on the low rung of one of several ladders. A mix of sullen-looking men and wide-eyed children browse horror comics, Tales of the Green Beret and some of the earliest Marvel X-Men issues. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Arlingtons store has been mischaracterized as the first comics-only store in the U.S. (It may not even be the first in the Bay Area; two opened in the South Bay around the same time.) But its influence was enormous nonetheless. In the subsequent years, the region boomed for comics retailers and alternative comics and zines, many inspired by San Francisco comix publishers including Arlington and Turner. Today, San Francisco is home to the Cartoon Art Museum, and continues to have shops known for innovation and community-building including Comix Experience, Isotope and Mission Comics & Art in San Francisco; Cape and Cowl Comics and Dr. Comics & Mr. Games in Oakland; and Flying Colors Comics in Concord. David Paul Morris/Special To The Chronicle Arlington continued as a retailer until the early 2000s, and was recognized for his influence up until his 2014 death at age 75. He spent his last days drawing his own comic figures with Sharpie pens, writing in a journal and following the San Francisco Giants living in supportive housing near the ballpark. He continued reading comics until the end. This is kind of weird to say, but Id rather go home, sit in my bedroom with all my good comic books (than be) talking to some girl out downtown somewhere, he told The Chronicle in 1971. I can be home with my comic books, and I know Im going on a beautiful trip. Peter Hartlaub is The San Francisco Chronicles culture critic. Email: phartlaub@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @PeterHartlaub Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle Beach-goers along San Francisco Bay Area coastlines should beware of the high risk for sneaker waves and enhanced rip currents starting early Saturday morning and lasting through Sunday afternoon, National Weather Service officials said Thursday. Sneaker waves can pull people and dogs into the water when the hazardous, energetic waves rush toward the coastline at an unexpected rate, reaching further beyond where the tide typically goes, said David King, a meteorologist with the National Weather Services Bay Area office. Rip currents which can drag swimmers out to sea can be seen at anytime of the year, but King said that they are more prevalent during the winter months, when the Pacific Ocean is more active and when swells are coming from the northwest direction, like the ones expected this weekend. Santa Clara County health officials are preparing to lift the countys indoor mask mandates. California health officials are expected to announce an update to state masking guidance in schools next week. A Northern California high school had to cancel classes after teachers failed to show up, just days after the school district made masking voluntary. Latest updates: Californias falling test positive rate stalled after mask mandate was lifted: Californias rapidly declining coronavirus test positive rate appears to have stalled immediately after the state rolled back its universal indoor mask mandate on Feb. 16. On Friday, the state reported that the percentage of coronavirus tests that came back positive over the past seven days was back up to 4%, after dropping to 3.8% on Feb. 18. While thats a substantial decline from the pandemic high of 22.6% reached during the peak of the omicron winter surge in early January, it is still nearly twice as high as it was in early December and marks more than a four-fold increase from the 0.8% low reported last summer after the widespread rollout of vaccines. The rate has hovered near 4% since California eased most of its virus mitigation measures, including a universal indoor mask mandate, on Feb. 16. Newsom to repeal dozens of COVID-related orders, keep state of emergency: Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that he would terminate 95% of the emergency actions his office issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic but will keep in place Californias broader state of emergency related to the pandemic. Californias early and decisive measures to combat COVID-19 have saved countless lives throughout the pandemic, Newsom said in a press release. We must remain prepared to quickly and effectively respond to changing conditions in real-time. The governor immediately lifted 19 of the measures with the executive order he signed on Friday, with the rest to be terminated on March 31 and June 30. The measures that remain in place are aimed at relieving strain on the health care system, including continuing to allow pharmacists to test for the virus and out-of-state health care workers to work in California. Read the full story here. What the new CDC mask guidelines mean for California and the Bay Area: Almost all Bay Area counties on Friday dropped suddenly out of the federally defined high transmission category for COVID-19, after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its mask guidelines and announced new criteria for assessing local risk. Under the new guidelines, more than 70% of U.S. residents live in an area defined as low to medium risk and no longer advised to wear masks indoors. Read the full story here. How masking rules have changed over time in California and the Bay Area: Constantly changing mask mandates and recommendations at the federal, state and local level have been one of the hallmarks of the pandemic, leaving many feeling confused for the last two years. For a look back at where weve come from and where were heading, see our timeline. Wachter praises CDCs new mask rules, says hes keeping his on: Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSFs chair of medicine and a prominent Bay Area voice on the pandemic, tweeted his support for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions decision to revise its mask guidance and use new criteria for assessing local COVID risk on Friday. Good call to ease mask requirements; current criteria are too stringent, he said, adding the agency was right to take a more holistic approach to assess local COVID-19 risk levels. Separately, he noted that transmission rates have fallen enough in San Francisco for him finally to be game for indoor dining/gatherings but that he would continue to still wear my mask elsewhere inside (ie, shopping) in other public settings. San Francisco is averaging 31 daily cases per 100,000 residents three times higher than the threshold of 10 cases per 100,000 residents Wachter considers safe enough to ditch the mask completely. For those who arent at elevated risk and who have had 3 shots, this seems like a reasonable time to begin loosening up the reins, Wachter tweeted. To me, dining indoors is worth the very small risk; going mask-less in the Safeway is not. Santa Clara County lawsuit against church that defied COVID health orders can proceed: A judge ruled this week that a lawsuit against Calvary Chapel San Jose can proceed, allowing Santa Clara County officials to continue their legal efforts to collect more than $2.8 million in fines the church has not paid, officials said Friday. The church openly defied county health orders meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus and was held in contempt in December 2020 by a Santa Clara Superior Court judge. County officials said the church put its members and the community at risk of contracting the coronavirus. Some efforts by the state to close down worship during the early days of the pandemic were overturned by courts and California has paid out millions in settlements. Household COVID transmission skyrocketed with omicron: Coronavirus infections within households jumped during the omicron surge from December through January, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report issued today. The rate of transmission was especially high among those who lived with patients who were not vaccinated or who did not use mitigation strategies such as isolation or wearing a mask to reduce the risk of transmission to household contacts. About one in two household contacts tested positive for the virus during the surge, according to the report, much higher than previous variants of the virus. The findings from this investigation reinforce the importance of multi-component prevention strategies, including up-to-date vaccination, isolation of infected persons, and mask use at home, to reduce Omicron transmission in household settings, the CDC said. Rocker Mayer reinfected with COVID, postpones tour dates: Rock musician John Mayer, who is scheduled to perform at San Franciscos Chase Center March 18 to 19, has postponed a handful of East Coast dates on his Sob Rock tour after he tested positive for COVID-19 a second time. The seven-time Grammy winner also tested positive for the virus in January, forcing the cancellation of Dead and Companys Playing the Sand concerts in Mexico. Whelp. More members of the band tested positive for COVID today, and I was one of them, Mayer said in an Instagram post on Friday. Im so sorry to make you change your plans. This is a bummer for everyone in the band and crew, to say nothing of the question hanging over everyones head mine included as to how I tested positive on PCR twice in two months. (The first was extremely mild, but this ones got the better of me.) One of Californias biggest music festivals returns with no COVID restrictions: Following a two-year pandemic hiatus, the California Roots Music and Art Festival plans to return to the Monterey County Fair and Event Center from May 26 to 29. But just like Coachella in Southern California, the organizers of Northern Californias largest reggae music festival say there are no coronavirus safety measures in place due to the fluid nature of the pandemic and government policies that appear to be shifting weekly. To be honest, we cant definitively say at this point. Currently, we have no restrictions, they said. Read more about the dilemma concert promoters face here. More than 5.2 million children have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID: At least 5.2 million children around the world became orphans or experienced the death of at least one caregiver during the first 20 months of the pandemic, according to a new large-scale study published Friday by The Lancet. The number of fatalities among parents and caregivers nearly doubled from April to October 2021 compared with the tally after the first 14 months of the pandemic, the report found. The researchers said a larger proportion of adolescents children aged 10 to 17 experienced the death of parents or caregivers, relative to children of younger ages. Globally, 76.5% of children experienced the loss of a father, compared to 23.5% who lost their mothers. CDC to unveil new metrics for assessing virus risk: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will change the way it assesses community levels of disease for COVID-19 as early as today, according to sources who spoke to the Associated Press. The updated metrics will help many counties nationwide to move closer to lifting safety measures aimed at controlling the spread of the coronavirus, such as mask mandates. By the current standards, 97% of the counties in the U.S. are at substantial or high levels of virus transmission tiers for which the agency recommends masking indoors. The agency will move away from looking at case rates and positive test rates in determining virus risk, according to the source, and also incorporate hospitalizations, emergency room visits and deaths in each region. COVID paid sick leave is back in California. Heres how it works: Many California workers can once again apply for COVID-related sick pay under legislation approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this month. As of Feb. 19, people who work for public or private companies that have 26 or more employees are entitled to up to 80 hours of COVID-related paid sick leave retroactive to Jan. 1 and extending through Sept. 30. Similar legislation expired last year when federal tax credits for businesses providing the leave ended at the close of September. Read the full story here. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. COVID cases fall across most of U.S.: The weekly average of daily new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. fell 37.7% compared to the prior 7-day period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. White House prepares to shift pandemic strategy, trying to eliminate COVID is not realistic: President Bidens COVID-19 response team is preparing to move beyond crisis mode in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, according to multiple media reports. After consulting with a group of outside experts led by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a bioethicist with the University of Pennsylvania, the White House will introduce a 136-page plan entitled Getting to and Sustaining the Next Normal: A Roadmap for Living With COVID, that outlines the public health strategies required to transition to an endemic approach to managing the virus. Trying to eliminate COVID is not realistic, the authors wrote in a copy of the plan obtained by the New York Times. Instead, the nation must plan to mitigate its effects, prepare for variants, and build towards a next normal. Biden was scheduled to address the next phase of the nations COVID-19 response during his State of the Union address on March 1 but the crisis in Ukraine may put those plans on hold. Moderna forecasts COVID will become endemic before 2023: Officials from Moderna said on a quarterly earnings call on Thursday that they expect COVID-19 will become endemic before the end of the year, indicating it will become a manageable seasonal disease. But they said that booster doses of its vaccine will likely be required annually. While we are hopeful that we are about to enter a period of relative stability in the Northern Hemisphere, we believe firmly that a vaccine booster dose will be required for the fall of 2022 to provide ongoing protection against this virus, said Moderna Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton on the call. The Boston biotech company reported a fourth-quarter net income of $4.87 billion, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The company said it expects sales to be larger in the second half of 2022 than in the first half due to the ongoing need for vaccine doses. COVID-19 pandemic worsened discrimination toward racial and ethnic minorities: People from all major racial and ethnic minority population groups in the United States experienced more COVID-19 related discrimination than white adults, according to a new study by the National Institutes of Health. In what is being described as the largest study of its kind, with the most diverse participants, researchers found that those who said they experienced discrimination reported being threatened or harassed based on someones perception of another having COVID-19. Compared with white adults, 22.1% of participants in the study said they had experienced COVID-19 related discriminatory behaviors, and 42.7% of participants reported that people acted afraid of them. Participants who identified as Asian or American Indian/Alaska Native were most likely to have experienced this hostile behavior, and participants who identified as Hawaiian or Pacific Islander or Latino were also highly likely to have experienced discrimination, according to the report. Santa Clara County expects to lift indoor mask mandate March 2: Santa Clara County health officials on Thursday announced today that the 7-day rolling average for new COVID-19 cases had dropped to 501 on Feb. 24, meeting the updated criteria for modifying the countys universal indoor masking mandate. If the average remains below the threshold of 550 average daily cases for seven consecutive days, the indoor masking requirement would no longer be mandatory beginning March 2. The county also requires that at least 80% of residents be vaccinated and that COVID-19 hospitalizations are low and stable in the judgment of the public health officer. Our COVID-19 hospitalizations are low and stable, and today we have met the new case metric as well, said Dr. Sara Cody, the countys health officer. Read the full story here. When will the mask mandate end in California schools?: In a state thats largely backed its public health leaders in the long and wearisome battle against COVID-19, one topic has proved more polarizing among Californians than almost any other: masking kids in schools. Read the full story here. Maternal deaths rose 14% in first year of pandemic: The number of women in the United States who died during pregnancy or shortly after the end of pregnancy rose during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2020, 861 women died of maternal causes, a 14% increase from the 754 deaths reported in 2019 and a 30% jump from the 658 deaths that occurred in 2018. The report also found disparities based on race and ethnicity, with three times as many Black women as white women dying. Deaths among pregnant Black women rose 26% over the previous year. Google brings back in-office perks, including massages and gyms: Googles parent company Alphabet Inc. said on Wednesday that it plans to restore office perks, such as massage services and fitness centers, as it lures workers back into its Mountain View headquarters and other spaces in the region. Based on current conditions in the Bay Area, were pleased that our employees who choose to come in now have the ability to access more onsite spaces and services to work and connect with colleagues, the company said in a statement to Reuters. Google said that working in its offices remains voluntary and those who choose to do so must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Many California workers can once again apply for COVID-related sick pay under legislation approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this month. As of Feb. 19, people who work for public or private companies that have 26 or more employees are entitled to up to 80 hours of COVID-related paid sick leave retroactive to Jan. 1 and extending through Sept. 30. Similar legislation expired last year when federal tax credits for businesses providing the leave ended at the close of September. Newsom signed the supplementary COVID sick pay legislation back into law on Feb. 9 after labor groups pressed state leaders to revive the measure. The previous measure helped many workers who are low-income and from communities of color, both of which groups have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The new measure is slightly different from last years legislation, under which employees could receive an automatic two weeks of paid sick leave. This year, full-time employees and people working an average of 40 hours per week can still request up to 80 total hours of COVID-related sick pay, but the hours are split into two types, 40 hours each, depending on the circumstances. Here are the eligibility rules for the sick leave pay and how to claim it: Who is eligible for the COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave? Both full- and part-time workers at businesses with 26 or more employees are entitled to up to 80 hours of paid sick leave, according to state officials. The 80 hours are split into two types or banks, the first more flexible and the second more restrictive, with employers allowed to require proof of a positive coronavirus test. Workers can apply for either type of paid leave at any time depending on their circumstances, and may even request both types during the same week, according to KQED and the Los Angeles Times. Type 1: Full-time employees can access up to 40 hours of paid sick leave if they: Attend an appointment for the COVID vaccine or booster shot for themselves or a family member. (A family member includes a child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild or sibling, according to state officials.) Cannot work or work from home because they are experiencing symptoms. from the vaccine or are taking care of a family member experiencing symptoms from the vaccine. Are quarantining or isolating due to a COVID infection. Are experiencing COVID symptoms and are seeking a medical diagnosis. Caring for a family member who is quarantining or isolating due to a COVID infection. Caring for a child whose school or place of care has been closed or unavailable due to positive COVID infections on site. Type 2: Full-time employees can request an additional 40 hours of leave if theyre unable to work or work from home if they: Tested positive for COVID-19. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Are caring for a family member who tested positive for COVID. Part-time employees can request the amount of hours they have worked over two weeks, state officials said. But half of those hours are available only if they or a family member tests positive for COVID. What if I or a family member tested positive for COVID and took time off before the new legislation went into effect Feb. 19? If you took unpaid leave or were paid at a lesser rate for taking time off because of one of the reasons listed above between Jan. 1 and Feb. 19 this year, you can request retroactive pay, state officials said. Payment is at the employees regular or usual rate of pay, not to exceed $511 per day and $5,110 in total, state officials wrote in a flyer about the new legislation. A Spanish version is available here. How do I claim COVID paid sick leave if I qualify? You can make a request to your employer for COVID paid sick leave in writing - an email or text message, for example - or verbally request the hours, interim workers' rights directing attorney Veronica Chavez of Oakland nonprofit Centro Legal de la Raza told KQED. Make sure to plan in advance and communicate which type or bank youll be requesting from. Employers are required to include the amount of paid sick leave their employees use on wage pay statements or separately in writing on pay day, according to the Los Angeles Times. This will be separate from an employees regular paid sick days. Jessica Flores is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jessica.flores@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesssmflores Santa Clara County is preparing to eliminate its indoor mask mandate in one week, assuming COVID cases and hospitalizations remain stable or continue falling as expected, health officials said Thursday. Ten days after the state dropped its universal mask mandate, Santa Clara County remains the only place in the Bay Area still requiring that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear face coverings in indoor public spaces. The county decided to stick with a local mandate until cases had fallen to a more acceptable level and hospitalizations were stable, health officials said. As of Thursday the county is meeting targets for lifting the mandate, but officials said they will wait another six days to make sure both metrics are steady. We are on track, and given the steady decline in cases that we continue to see, Im fairly confident that we will be able to lift the masking requirement on March 2, said Dr. Sara Cody, the county health officer, in a briefing Thursday. If we see in our data that the level of community transmission is rising, which we do not expect, we would continue to require masks. But I want to be very clear: The data that we are following looks very encouraging. The day California lifted its state mandate, Cody announced the new criteria for loosening in Santa Clara County. Those included: At least 80% of all residents fully vaccinated, a goal the county had already met; COVID hospitalizations low and stable, as judged by Cody; and an average of 550 or fewer cases reported every day for a week. Santa Clara County fell below the 550 case average on Thursday, Cody said; the county reports cases with a one-day lag, and the average for Wednesday was 501 cases. Cody said that wastewater surveillance an early indicator of the amount of virus in the community shows that transmission continues to slow down. A month ago, the county was reporting more than 5,000 cases a day on average. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Hospitalizations are also still falling. As of Wednesday, 269 people were hospitalized with COVID in Santa Clara County, down nearly 20% from the previous week and less than half the number hospitalized at the peak of the omicron surge in late January. Cody noted that once the mask mandate is dropped, people will still be strongly advised to continue wearing face coverings indoors, and vulnerable residents at risk of severe illness may want to keep them on for many more weeks, or longer. Under state and federal orders, masks will still be required in certain settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, on public transit and in K-12 schools. I know everyone looks forward to the day when we wont even need to wear masks anymore, and they arent part of our life at least for a little bit, Cody said. I look forward to the day when we can all comfortably take off our masks inside. Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday After the recall of three San Francisco school board members in last weeks election, the reconstituted board will likely focus its attention on crucial issues that the previous body seemed to overlook, including the $125 million budget deficit. But as the city moves on to its next chapter, there is at least one initiative launched by the old board, albeit haphazardly, that is worth continuing: a reckoning with history. The boards plan to rename 44 city schools created so much controversy in 2021 that commissioners backtracked on the idea a few months later. This topic may seem like a hot potato, too painful to touch, but this moment is a golden opportunity. As a scholar and public historian of slavery, the Civil War, emancipation and Reconstruction, I believe San Francisco can show the nation how a city can engage constructively and democratically with the countrys history. This work wont be easy. Like many of my colleagues, I teach 19th century histories that confound both positive and negative myths about the United States, especially the story of slavery and emancipation during an era of wars against the Native peoples in California, increasing exclusion of Asian migrants and discrimination against people of Mexican descent. In these stories, Abraham Lincoln a figure at the center of San Franciscos renaming controversy is both a committed opponent of slavery and an apologist for white racism, a celebrant of settler colonialism and a critic of some of the eras worst excesses, the man who commuted death sentences against 265 Dakota men and who also approved the hanging of 38 others in the largest execution in U.S. history. Neither a whitewash nor a simple erasure can capture the messy history of an individual, much less a society. Although there is no easy moral calculus, there is a pathway to better decisions that I and my colleagues have used to help create new national parks and contextualize and sometimes rename public monuments and city squares: more history. Two decades after the first attempt to create a site focused on the Reconstruction Era in Beaufort, S.C., was derailed by criticism, National Park Service employees tried a new approach. They set up numerous public gatherings to hear from different community members. They also held historians workshops to check the process against updated work in the field and created partnerships with schools, churches and local foundations. The result? A robust national park experience that is uniquely integrated into its community. Visitors flow from the park to relevant offsite locations, including an education center, local churches and even a historical home all in the interest of providing a nuanced presentation of our collective past. The park also partners with a community organization to embed it into educational programs for local students. The process to get there wasnt easy, but the Beaufort site demonstrates that it is possible to wrestle more fully with our nations history. While a renaming effort wont turn every San Franciscan into a professional historian, it will allow everyone to be part of a similar process of doing good history. Heres how: First, encourage students and teachers to prepare publicly available historical reports. The old school board missed an opportunity to turn this debate into an educational process. The new board has the chance to get this right. Schools could develop exhibits and stage debates, while checking sources in an age of misinformation. That background could be incorporated into displays and markers at both schools that are renamed and those that arent. Second, commission reports on the original decisions behind why schools bear their current names. Often the words that people use in selecting a name tell us a great deal about what San Franciscans thought they were honoring. This may clarify the choices we now face. Third, call on scholars as resources. Historians shouldnt have a veto on school naming; schools belong to the public. But historians can be useful in providing context, checking facts and avoiding some of the embarrassing mistakes that plagued the 2020-21 effort. Most scholars would welcome the opportunity to help conduct research. Fourth, solicit public nominations of local people for potential naming opportunities. We can collect information about local people whose actions are worth remembering, whether they become namesakes of schools or not. Theres a tendency to grab for famous, distant names in pressure-filled decisions, but preserving the memory of local activists, organizers and changemakers is a better path to building a meaningful public history. We might learn something about nearly forgotten Black San Franciscans like Mifflin Gibbs or Charlotte Brown or the oft-misremembered Mary Ellen Pleasant and many, many others. Fifth, engage with, dont just humor, the broader public. Too often elected officials tune out during long (and, to be fair, often repetitive) public comments. Why not experiment with new formats? Try town halls with question-and-answer periods, organized debates in neighborhoods where schools are located, straw polls about prioritization. And finally, pledge to repeat the process every 20 years. Societies understand their history differently as they learn more and see more. We should honor that process and not treat our decisions as forever binding. Some people surely would remain disappointed. But we might learn something more about the past and about each other. More history wont eliminate all of our disagreements, but it may help us find common ground where possible and develop deeper understanding where divisions remain. Gregory Downs is a professor of history at UC Davis and co-editor of the Journal of the Civil War Era. In 2017, he co-led the effort to create the first national park devoted to Reconstruction in Beaufort, S.C. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a world away, but for the more than 50,000 people of Ukrainian heritage in the Bay Area, and for the 120,000-plus with ties to Russia, it's close to home. On this episode of the Fifth & Mission podcast, UC Berkeley political science professor M. Steven Fish joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about Russian President Vladimir Putin's delusional motives, how he might be stopped, and the sacrifices Americans might have to make. Also, we hear from several Ukrainians who attended a rally protesting the invasion at San Francisco City Hall. Photo above: Julia Kosivchuk cries at a rally protesting Russia's invasion of Ukraine Thursday at San Francisco City Hall. As Tina Collins and her little crew roamed through the Tenderloin and downtown Wednesday night counting unsheltered people, one thing stood out almost immediately: The landscape of homelessness in the area has changed markedly in the past few years. The crew was part of the first one-night homeless count throughout San Francisco since 2019, and in the areas where gleaming storefronts and financial buildings towered, there appeared to be fewer people than three years ago sleeping on the street. In the tattier Tenderloin, there were more unhoused folks than in the Union Square area but notably fewer tents than in 2019, or even people bedding down on the sidewalks. Some of that all might have been due to the nights brutal 38-degree chill, but counts in other years had been cold too and this one still stood out. Whether the lower street presence will be reflected in the citywide count when its released by summer is unknown. From 7 p.m. to around midnight, teams spread out to all corners of the city, checking in roadways, parks, parked cars and anywhere else homeless people might gather. Officials combine the street count with data on the homeless population in shelters, jails and other indoor places to get an accurate look at the crisis. The event mandated nationally by the federal government helps determine how much federal, state and local money is directed to the homelessness crisis. The count is inherently flawed, given that homeless people can be tough to find in just one night, but it is at least consistent through the years and similar to that of other counties for comparison. The tally is usually done once every two years, but last years was canceled because of COVID fears. Experts expect the count will increase like it did last time, when the number of homeless people citywide rose by 17% to 8,011. Those who study homelessness and the citys Public Health Department say the actual year-round number is actually 18,000 or more. Collins and many others working on the count Wednesday also said they expected the total numbers to go up, given the pandemics economic disruption for lower-income people. And they guessed that because of the intensive effort in the Tenderloin over recent months by Mayor London Breed to move street campers either into services or temporary housing or just away, the street counts will be bigger in other areas. Its clear from walking around the Tenderloin that a lot of people got help, but youve got to realize that some people who would be out here are still in those emergency COVID (shelter-in-place) hotels, said Collins, whose team was from the Code Tenderloin nonprofit aid organization. And Im hearing that there are more people in the Mission. So I definitely think the count will be up over last time. In more than three hours of walking, from around Hyde Street east to Third Street, zigzagging back and forth down to Market Street, her team tallied a half-dozen tents and 287 people. About 100 of that total were counted hanging out along Market and in United Nations Plaza. In 2019 that same area had dozens of tents and notably bigger sprawls on the sidewalks. The plaza had the biggest crowds of Wednesday night, a mix of housed and unhoused people that by 9 p.m. was a seedy tableau of drug dealers, drug users smoking or shooting dope, and people hawking obviously stolen phones, clothes, toys and more. From the east edge to the fountain, dozen of people sat on chairs, cardboard and blankets, many lighting pipes or straws or injecting drugs, while scores of others milled about. During the daytime, the plazas Tenderloin Linkage Center, created last month under the mayors emergency initiative to address the neighborhoods drug crisis, attracts masses of homeless people lining up for the housing, rehab and other services the center offers. But this nighttime scene was bigger and felt more out of control. Ive lived my whole life in San Francisco, and Ive never seen it like this, one of Collins team members, 57-year-old Ernest Owens, said as he walked through counting people. Its a nightmare. New Jack City. Over on Powell Street, 33-year-old C.J. Peaslee smiled at the group as it passed him and his dog, Karma, panhandling on a piece of cardboard. Its so cool that youre counting, he said. I sure hope it helps. That was a typical reaction from most everyone counted that night friendliness and hope that the effort will make a difference. Just like last year when COVID fears canceled the count, the pandemic limited Wednesdays operation. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. For one, it was delayed a month so the omicron surge could subside. And for another, only 225 counters were used, as opposed to 600 in 2019 again, because of COVID concerns. And there was no communal gathering of all the counters together to get directions before they headed out. Instead, they met in small groups separately before walking or driving to their territories. This time, no general public volunteers joined the effort, just people from nonprofit service providers and city departments, said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, which organized the operation. But she said the department felt the job could get done just as well because it used mostly specialized workers, like homeless-aid counselors, and consolidated routes so the more experienced teams could move quicker. They also had one more hour than last time to get the job done, and used a new app rather than paper sheets to speed up the tallying as they went along. In 2019, there were no pandemic shelter-in-place hotels or safe sleeping tent sites, so they got added to the mix. This was the first count for McSpadden, who took the helm of the homeless department in April. She walked with Collins team, observing and letting the counters do their work. How this count turns out will be key to how she dispatches her resources as she leads the citys homelessness efforts with a massive infusion of new state and federal money and the 2018 tax-raising Proposition C. In all, San Francisco will be spending about $800 million for each of the next two years more than double the usual homelessness budget on housing, shelter and other services to try to stem what many people call the citys No. 1 problem. Weve put up new housing and helped a lot of people, but there are still a lot of people out here, she said. I really dont know what these new numbers will show. Well just have to see. Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChron The director of San Franciscos police crime lab is the front-runner for a new post running a lab in New Orleans, potentially departing at a time when his current workplace is under fire after revelations that it used rape victims DNA to investigate unrelated crimes. Mark Powell is in the final, background-check phase of being named the next director of the New Orleans police crime lab, according to a report in the New Orleans Advocate, citing multiple sources with knowledge of the job search. San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said in a statement that Powell is an accomplished and respected forensic scientist who has been a valued member of the San Francisco Police Department for more than four years. Scott said he is supportive of Powells decision should he choose to leave the department, but hopes he will to stay in San Francisco. The San Francisco police crime lab attracted national attention last week after San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin revealed that the lab had identified a suspect in a recent property crime through DNA she had submitted as a victim in a 2016 rape exam. Boudin called the practice immoral and potentially illegal, and dismissed the property crime case for potential constitutional violations. He also said that the practice appeared to be routine, and that the DNA of rape victims is entered into whats known as a quality assurance database thats used to identify criminal suspects. It is unclear how or if Powell played a role in creating or maintaining the disputed practice. His LinkedIn page stated he became the director in San Francisco in 2018, while the practice appears to have begun in 2015, according to internal documents. Powell did not return email and phone requests for comment. A person who answered the phone at the crime lab referred all questions to the San Francisco Police Departments media unit. A spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Department said in a statement that officials there received assurances from the San Francisco Police Department that the labs policies around rape kit DNA were created and implemented prior to (Powell) assuming a leadership role with the lab. Boudins claims were confirmed by the police officials and departmental documents. According to crime lab policy, the quality assurance database is used as something of a kitchen sink for all DNA profiles collected by the Police Department, as well as that of lab workers and police officers, whose DNA is stored for elimination purposes. That means that in addition to suspects DNA, the quality assurance database includes the profiles of rape and other violent crime victims, child victims, consensual sex partners and anyone else whose DNA may be found at a crime scene but needs to be eliminated as a suspect. San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott initially said it was possible that the property crime suspects DNA was matched from a different database, but later confirmed at least one of the hits came from the quality assurance index. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Officials have said the policy seems to be standard practice among many crime labs, meaning that the issue may not be unique to San Francisco. Scott has vowed to fully investigate and end the practice, and has said it could have a chilling effect on sexual assault victims coming forward. Days after Boudins announcement, the crime lab altered its policy to state that any DNA matches tied to victim DNA would not be reported to criminal investigators. Any hits tied to a consensual sex partner would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, according to a staff email relaying the policy changes. The policy states that the victim profiles will still be maintained and searched to check for DNA contamination. Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy San Francisco Mayor London Breed plans to intensify police intervention into open-air drug use in the Tenderloin, with a top official saying Thursday that officers will now join outreach workers seeking to get people doing drugs off of sidewalks and into a new linkage center where they can access housing, addiction treatment and other services. If people continue illegal behavior and dont comply, the official said, they could be arrested. The new approach signals the desire by officials to see significant change in the Tenderloin, and is likely to reignite criticism from some city supervisors, District Attorney Chesa Boudin and community groups who say criminalizing addiction is counterproductive. When Breed first announced her emergency declaration to crack down on open-air drug dealing and use in the Tenderloin more than two months ago, she said people who rejected intervention could go to jail. The emergency was meant to stem the citys overdose epidemic, which has killed more than 1,300 people across San Francisco in the past two years. After critics pushed back against the threat of arrests, Breeds staff members said they would not involve police at first when trying to persuade people to get help and use the linkage center, which opened a month ago in United Nations Plaza. But Mary Ellen Carroll, the head of the Department of Emergency Management and the leader of the mayors initiative, told The Chronicle on Thursday that the approach is about to shift. She said that, so far, outreach workers have offered people on the streets voluntary services and have told them to move along from targeted blocks if they dont want to go to the linkage center or accept another service. Carroll described this as more of a pull, but said the city will now use a push involving law enforcement, though she stressed that arrests were a last resort. You can either engage in services or go to this place, you can move along, or if youre doing something illegal, police are going to intervene, she said. We really havent, as far as the outreach, been doing that, she added, but that is the next step that were looking toward. Carroll said arrests would be on a case-by-case basis and it really would be based on behavior and discretion. ... Its not our intention to arrest people for using, but if their behavior is causing harm in the community and they are completely resistant to engaging with all other services, we dont have a choice but to ask PD to come in. In the past, Breed has focused on creating programs that remove law enforcement from interactions with those struggling with homelessness, mental health issues and drug use. She has said she still supports those moves, but that the situation in the Tenderloin demands action. The neighborhood, which has a high concentration of children, has made national headlines for its street conditions, open-air drug markets and overdose deaths. Carroll said the work so far has been focused on connecting people to voluntary services, including placing more than 300 people in housing or shelter either directly from the streets or via the linkage center. City data shows only a fraction of visitors to the U.N. Plaza linkage center have been connected to services. Carroll said that there is a scarcity of housing and shelter, but enough drug treatment to meet the demand, and the city is working on getting more resources online. Last week, the city logged 2,666 visits to the linkage center, which could include the same person coming more than once. The city provided 166 referrals for services and 13 completed linkages, meaning someone was enrolled in a program or moved into housing or shelter. Those numbers were down significantly from the week before, when there were 402 referrals and 48 completed linkages. Carroll added that the next phase will be for people who are uninterested or unwilling and not engaging with that. The choice to stay on the street and continue with those behaviors, thats not one of the choices anymore, she said. Carroll said Thursday the change will start immediately, after conversations with Police Chief Bill Scott and city leaders this week. She said it wont be a roundup with police conducting mass sweeps. Carroll said police could enforce laws against drug dealing and drug use, and a controversial ordinance that bans sitting and lying on public sidewalks and generally affects people who are homeless. Police can issue a ticket or misdemeanor citation under the sit/lie ordinance. An offender can receive a fine or community service on the first offense. If theres a second offense within 24 hours, the person can face up to 10 days in jail. Whether someone remains in jail or is charged with a crime requires cooperation from judges, who decide whether to release someone from custody before trial, and the District Attorneys Office. Boudin, who could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday evening, said in December his office has prosecuted drug sales and possession with intent to sell at higher rates than my predecessor in 2018 and 2019. He said arresting people addicted to drugs will not solve problems in the Tenderloin. Asked after Breeds emergency declaration whether he would prosecute drug users, he noted that possession is a misdemeanor, meaning someone arrested for the crime is given a citation, then told to come to court. He said that given what we know about addiction, the chances of those people even showing up to court is very small. He said the approach wasnt a useful response to a public health crisis. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Critics of the Tenderloin emergency and increased policing have questioned whether the city has enough housing, shelter and treatment and can get people quickly into available spots. Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton, who voted against the emergency, said in December the board had urged the mayor to declare a state of emergency for the overdose crisis not increase law enforcement budgets here in San Francisco and arrest people who use drugs when we currently dont have adequate resources to address their needs. Even Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who voted for the emergency, said at a hearing Thursday that the city doesnt seem to have enough detox beds for those who want to get off drugs. That has to be addressed, she said. Kelley Cutler of the Coalition on Homelessness said theres a mismatch between demand and resources. Cutler said on Twitter Thursday evening that she was doing outreach today and asked folks about their experience at the linkage center. People WANT resources. People WANT housing. There is big demand & few resources. Folks said youve got to get there early to be able to get a shower or laundry. Carroll said when the linkage center first opened, people came more by word of mouth, not even through outreach, but she said, Now were getting to the point where its getting harder. ... The folks that are left are those who are entrenched, for a variety of reasons, not as willing to engage in services. Separately, Carroll said more police are needed in general to respond to drug dealers, for whom the linkage center would not be offered as an option. She said she supports Breeds request for $7.9 million in additional police overtime for this fiscal year, which needs to be approved by the Board of Supervisors. Carroll said the city is doing as much as we can without law enforcement including community engagement, programming and resources, but said more police are also needed. The last thing that any of us wants to do is have to arrest people and take them to jail, thats not our goal, she said, but at the same time, people are dying on the streets. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench Paul Kuroda/Special to The Chronicle 2020 Google is restoring its signature perks like shuttle buses, massages and cafes in the Bay Area as the pandemic eases and it moves toward bringing back most office employees for at least a few days a week. The Mountain View tech giant is also lifting a temporary weekly testing policy for on-site workers in the Bay Area, but vaccinations will remain mandatory. Masks are currently required in Santa Clara County, which is likely lifting its mandate next week. Around 30% of Bay Area Google workers were voluntarily in the office last week. A Russian spa in San Francisco has declared this weekend the Weekend of Ukraine, offering anyone with a Ukrainian passport free spa passes. Archimedes Banya, a Russian banya, or bathhouse, with elements of Greek, Turkish and German spa and steam room culture, issued a statement to its customers over email Thursday in support of Ukraine, after Russian forces launched an invasion of Ukraine. We, the staff at Archimedes Banya, are supporting the independence and national sovereignty of Ukraine, and express our condolences to the Ukrainian people suffering from the aggression, reads the statement from spa management, which was also posted on the Archimedes Banya website Thursday. Abhishek Vaidya, the general manager of the spa, told SFGATE in an email that the decision was made because staff are disappointed with whats going on right now. Banya is a communal bathhouse, Vaidya said in an email. Our hope is for people to come together in solidarity. The statement goes on to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for his actions. We are confident that this act of aggression does not represent Russian culture and people, reads the statement. It represents only the dictator who does not care about his people and how the world will see them. The statement concludes, Wishing everyone peace. Vaidyas said his hope is that the offer will facilitate conversations and community in San Francisco. Talk to each other, comfort each other. We have both Ukrainian and Russian clients who feel the same way, he said. You are not alone! We stand with you. Gas prices skyrocketed across the country this week after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, but the spike is especially dramatic in California, where the average cost of a gallon of gas is inching toward the $5 mark. The state average hit a record-high $4.77 on Thursday, $1.23 above the national average, the American Automobile Association said. The price of a barrel of crude oil went from $90 to $100 this week with the market anticipating a restriction of supply from Russia, and thats driving up gasoline prices everywhere, explained AAA spokesperson Aldo Vazquez. Now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, the United States and its allies are likely to impose more significant financial sanctions on Russia, Vazquez said. Russia will likely retaliate by keeping away its oil from the global oil market, and that will have a significant impact on the price of crude oil. Will the average price of a gallon of gas in California hit $5? The answer to that question varies depending on whom you talk to. I do expect that in the next few weeks, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy. Quite possible, but not necessarily, said Severin Borenstein, an energy economist at UC Berkeleys Haas School of Business. Oil prices are quite volatile. Thats a prediction that were not ready to make at the moment, Vazquez said. Its certainly a possibility. Many counties in the state have already gone above $5. Humboldt and Trinity remote Northern California counties with small populations are at $5 a gallon. Mono County (population 14,000) has the most expensive gas in the state at $5.567. In the Bay Area, none of the counties have reached the $5 mark yet, but Napa ($4.97), San Francisco ($4.94), Sonoma ($4.93) and San Mateo ($4.92) are getting close. Solano County at $4.78 a gallon has the cheapest gas in the Bay Area with a ways to go before reaching a $5 average. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, gas prices began rising dramatically across the United States last year amid an imbalance in supply and demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand came back from the pandemic very quickly, in part because many people are avoiding public transit, Borenstein explained. Supply is not coming back as quickly, but drilling is now accelerating. Californians generally pay more for gas than residents in any other state even when there arent supply or demand issues and thats due to taxes and environmental fees. The federal government charges an excise tax of 18.4 cents per gallon. States can implement additional taxes, and in California, theyre higher than in any other state, totaling 68.15 cents, data from the American Petroleum Institute shows. At least three military aircraft were seen and identified performing drills or readiness missions today over the Bay Area. Residents in Berkeley and the South Bay reported seeing a pair of Black Hawk helicopters circling and a low-flying Lockheed C-130 at about noon Friday. The helicopters and plane were identified by the ADS-B Exchange site that tracks aircraft. Black Hawk helicopter "ALLIED 1" circled and crossed the San Francisco Bay, likely taking off from Moffett Federal Airfield in Santa Clara County. Its route can be seen here. Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules also took off from Moffett this morning and flew up the coastline and over San Francisco. See its flight path here. Unverified Twitter account @ScanBerkeley also reported both sightings over the East Bay. Twitter user Chris Samuel photographed all three aircraft and shared the images on the site. It's unclear whether the flights are regular training exercise or drills triggered by the activation of the NATO Response Force on Friday morning for the first time in its history, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. SFGATE reached out to officials at Travis Air Force Base and Moffett Federal Airfield for comment but had not heard back at time of publication. This story will be updated when further information comes in. A large crowd of people gathered in front of San Franciscos City Hall at 4 p.m. Thursday to protest Russia President Vladimir Putins decision to attack Ukraine. The rally, which filled Civic Center Plaza, began with hundreds of people singing the Ukrainian national anthem, a moment that brought some to tears. Many waved blue and gold Ukrainian flags, and there was a sea of signs within the crowd. Some read Russians Go Home, No USSR 2.0 and Support Ukraine. Expressing both sadness and anger, the crowd chanted Stop Putin and Hands of Ukraine. Courtesy Anna Hoch-Kenney The reason Im here is to raise awareness of Putins war and show the world that Ukrainians in America stand with those in Ukraine, said SF resident Andy Soluk, who held a flag. A listing for the event on Facebook indicated that 947 people were going; KCBS radio reported that up to 1,500 people were there. The organizers wrote on Facebook that the purpose of the event is to gather together in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and demand three things of U.S. President Joe Bidens administration: enacting hellish sanctions on Russia; quickly increasing military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine; and isolating Russia in all possible formats on the world stage. Andy Soluk Russia invaded Ukraine early Thursday morning local time with bombings and other hostile actions, triggering worldwide criticism. Putin called the attack a special military operation. On Thursday, Biden announced financial sanctions and export controls on Russia and said many other countries around the world are mirroring American actions. In San Francisco, Dmytro Kushneruk, the citys consul general of Ukraine, called on U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., to make every possible effort to implement a system of effective countermeasures to countervail Russian aggression, a statement from the consul generals office said. Andy Soluk Padilla put out his own statement, saying America will stand with the brave people of Ukraine and continue to coordinate with our allies in imposing severe costs on Putin and his cronies. Other Bay Area members of Congress issued similar calls for unity against Russia, with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, calling Putin a ruthless dictator whose actions are a threat to democracies everywhere and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, saying that attacks on free and sovereign countries will be met with severe consequences. Bay City News contributed to this report. The sun was still baking Anza-Borrego Desert State Park on an early Friday evening last spring when I arrived in the parking lot of one of Californias little-known slot canyons. For the uninitiated, slot canyons are narrow, smooth-walled crevices formed by flowing water eroding rock over millions of years. They are absurdly beautiful, and I had only recently learned that it would be possible to explore one in my home state. I bounded out of the car and followed some footprints in the sand, leading to a drop-off that definitely was not the entrance. I noticed the Danger: Sheer Cliff, Stay Back sign, slowly backtracked and tried a footpath in the opposite direction. The terrain was unmarked and pretty confusing, but eventually, I reached an opening that appeared to be an entrance and stepped through. As I turned to face the sun, I saw that the canyon walls shot up 40 feet on either side. The sandy path was wide where I stood, but I could see that within a few hundred feet, it narrowed significantly. This would be a squeeze, I thought, and thats exactly why I was doing it. Ashley Harrell Call me a claustrophiliac, but theres something undeniably thrilling about moving through natures tightest spaces. Like many people, my introduction to slot canyons was the horrifying film 127 Hours, the mostly true story of a man who got trapped in Utahs Bluejohn Canyon and was forced to drink his own urine and amputate part of his own arm to survive. As appalled as I was by what transpired in the film, I found myself Googling Bluejohn Canyon and admiring the layered look of the sandstone. I definitely wanted to see something like this. A few years later, Antelope Canyon in Arizona started blowing up on Instagram. The photos were absolutely incredible, and in fact, a photo taken inside that canyon fetched the highest sum of any picture ever taken: $6.5 million. Ashley Harrell The black-and-white depicts a hazy, haunting beam of light shining from above into the rainwater-eroded cavern. That photo and countless others brings more than 4 million people a year to the small town of Page and into the Navajo-owned attraction. Visitors capture their own images using the Vivid Warm filter that turns the walls pinkish orange, and the results are predictably stunning. Ill admit, I wanted to see Antelope Canyon like everybody else. (Britney Spears even shot a music video there!) But as it happened, my first in-person encounter with a slot canyon was destined to occur right here in Californias largest state park, Anza-Borrego. When planning the trip, I focused on which palm oases hikes and off-roading adventures to try. But upon arrival, a woman in the visitor center mentioned that The Slot hike was something special. Slot, as in, slot canyon? I asked, getting excited. She nodded. Ashley Harrell The canyon was about a 20-minute drive southeast along Borrego Springs Road through the ocotillo-dotted desert. After a left on Route 78 East, I drove a little over a mile before then took a left on a dirt road. After another mile there was a fork, where I went left again and a mile later came to the mostly empty parking lot. The small lot supposedly fills up early on weekend mornings and clears out during hotter parts of the day, when temperatures climb in to the 80s in the springtime and the 100s in the summer. (Sometimes trails even close when it gets too hot.) So arriving on a spring Friday at around 5 p.m. when the attendant who collects $10 from each vehicle on Saturdays and Sundays doesnt work was pretty much perfect timing. Ashley Harrell For even a short hike in the desert, Id recommend bringing at least a liter along, wearing a sun hat and slathering on some sunscreen. But I actually didnt do any of that. I chugged some water and hit the trail, thinking Id probably be back very soon. The trail through the canyon is not even a mile, the internet told me, and I could choose to either double back or climb out of the canyon and make a loop by hiking along the rim. I decided I would feel it out when I reached the end of the canyon and trudged past creosote bush and cholla cactus as the flowing corridors began to heighten and close in. This is what I had come for, the look of the gently curving walls, the feeling of being right up against them and somehow managing to pass through. After a few minutes of turning sideways, sucking my gut in and creeping through the narrowest stretch, the canyon opened up a bit, and high overhead I saw something even more impressive: a rock bridge! I had seen things like this in Sedona, Arizona, and Utahs Arches National Park, but never California. Ashley Harrell It looked like a long, rectangular piece of rock had broken off one side of the canyon and careened toward the other, eventually finding a perfect balance between the walls. The unexpected feature put me in a great mood, and I skipped past a darting lizard on my way to the end of the canyon. There, I had to make my choice. I considered turning back, which seemed shorter and simpler, but I was won over by the idea of looping back on unexpected territory. But take my word for it on this one dont do the loop. It requires climbing steep, sandy terrain out of the canyon, and takes a lot more time than doubling back would have. The journey had me huffing and puffing, and despite starting in the late afternoon, it was still scorching, and the mile-long walk back to the car was all desert and no shade. Ashley Harrell I arrived back at the car thirsty, but with all of my limbs intact. This slot canyon might not have been as treacherous as the ones in Utah or as Instagrammable as the Antelope, but I had managed to make it a solid adventure nonetheless. And Im definitely going to seek out more slot canyons in California and beyond. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Each Thursday morning, Norma Matthews and her twin sister, Edith Antoncecchi, carefully style their hair and sometimes put on coordinating outfits. Then they catch a lift to a church in St. Petersburg, Fla., for the Golden Heirs musical hour for seniors. They go for the coffee and doughnuts, as well as to hear the music they know by heart, Norma said, but they also soak up the fuss people make over them. "People love that we're still together," Norma said. "We've done everything together since the day we were born." The identical twin sisters turned 100 in December and have become celebrities of sorts in the area since they were featured in the Tampa Bay Times, Edith said, who insists that people call her "Edy." The sisters draw attention wherever they go, said Margaret Shaffer, a neighbor who often drives them to the musical hour. "Edy is more quiet, and Norma is the chatty one," she said. "If you take them to a restaurant, Norma is gone - she has to get up and talk to everyone." "But they both light up the room," she said. The twins, born on Dec. 23, 1921, when Warren G. Harding was president, have had plenty of peaks and valleys in their lives and endured a scandal of their time. They were born in Revere, Mass., five miles outside Boston to Italian immigrant parents, Norma said. Their father left their mother for another woman when the girls were 13, and their mother took a job in a shoe factory to pay the bills. "When he divorced our mother, other kids avoided us like we had a disease," Norma said. "It was considered a scandal." That was in part how they developed their tough skin. They decided they didn't need the other snobby kids, added Edy, who is the older by a few minutes. "We made our own fun." She and Norma dressed alike, played pranks on their teachers by switching classes and helped look after their little brother, John. "We didn't have it easy, but we had a lot of fun," said Edy, recalling how they put on plays and puppet shows, and shared secrets, wardrobes and the same brass bed. When their mother remarried, boys had to ask permission to take them on walks because they weren't allowed to date, Norma said. But after high school, when she became a hairdresser and Edy went into nursing, they each met somebody they wanted to marry. "For the first time, we'd be living apart," Norma said. "So we decided it was important that we always lived as close as we could to each other." When she married Charles Matthews on Valentine's Day in 1943, and Edy married Leo "Chick" Antoncecchi three months later, they settled near each other in the Boston area for 51 years. Norma raised three children and spent many years mourning a daughter who had died at age 2, a crushing blow. Edy experienced a similar agony four years ago when one of her two sons died. "Edy was always there for me, and I was always there for her," Norma said. "Whenever I'd get sick, Edy would somehow know. She'd call me up or come rushing over to make sure I was OK." Edy's husband, Leo, died in a car accident in 1994, and Norma's husband, Charles, died of Alzheimer's disease several months later. Bereft, the sisters decided that a change of scenery would help them heal. They moved to Florida in 1995, where they again live under the same roof - this time in a mobile home park. Although they are both in good health, they no longer drive and instead rely on the kindness of friends and neighbors, Edy said. "They give us rides to church and the grocery store," she said, adding that Norma does most of the cooking. Norma said she cooks healthy meals such as baked salmon and poached eggs on toast, but the real secret to the siblings' longevity is "no drinking, no smoking and living a clean life so we'll go to heaven." Their commitment to their Christian faith has helped guide their life choices, they said. "There's only up or down, so forgive others and keep clean for your own sake," Norma said. "Edy and I have done our best to take that to heart." Norma's son, Chuck Matthews, said he's not surprised that his mother and aunt have endured for more than a century. "My mom's an alpha female and Auntie Edy is happy to follow," said Matthews, 69, who lives in Derry, N.H. "They read each other's minds and take care of each other." For their 100th birthday, more than 50 relatives flew to St. Petersburg to honor them at one of their favorite Italian restaurants, he said. The rousing lunchtime celebration was followed by a long nap, Matthews said. While Edy is more reserved in public, she holds her own with his mother, he noted. "Sometimes I'll call and you'll hear them arguing in the background," Matthews said. "I'll say, 'Why are you fighting?' and they'll say, 'Who's fighting? We're not fighting - we're talking!' " "It's all part of their special connection," he added. The sisters rely on each other so much, they said, they're not sure one would survive long without the other. With all that history, they said, how could they? "We really feel that one can't depart without the other," Norma said. "I'd do anything for Edy. She's my everything." BENZIE COUNTY The futures of the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department and the Health Department of Northwest Michigan are uncertain after Lisa Peacock announced her resignation from both departments in a letter Tuesday. In the letter, Peacock cited an increasingly toxic relationship between her and the Health Department of Northwest Michigan Board of Commissioners as the main reason for her resignation as the health officer for both health departments which oversee six counties including Antrim, Charlevoix, Ostego, Emmit, Benzie and Leelanau counties. Gary Sauer, a commissioner on the Benzie-Leelanau board of health, said he's not concerned at the moment about Peacock's resignation but he said that might change. He cited the possibility that the board of health for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan could vote to terminate their contract but he's hoping that doesn't happen. He said that the board of health for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan is meeting next week. He noted that the Benzie-Leelanau have six months to hire a health officer if their contract with their Health Department of Northwest Michigan were to be terminated. If a new health officer is chosen, nothing will change in terms of the current contract, which also includes the medical director for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan. As for Lisa Peacock's decision, he's a little disappointed. "It's her decision. I understand all the pressure she was under and sometimes moving on is the best decision. I have nothing bad to say about Lisa." For her part, Peacock noted that despite what she has faced, her situation was not particularly unique. She said that she was not the only health officer in Michigan or the country at large who has faced increased hostility from politicians and the public alike. "I am not the only health officer or medical director who has faced similar difficulties, Peacock said. "It is unfortunate that there are so many forces working against public health at this time. Public health workers are not politicians and typically take their roles and duties very seriously, wanting nothing more than to protect the health and well-being of the public. It is an exciting and challenging field in health care the whole community is your patient. She noted that she hopes her experiences will not be the future for public health leaders, but that she is concerned about what she and other public leaders have faced over the past two years. "I cant speak for future leaders, but I hope we see people with a passion for this work standing up to take the torch and communities getting behind them and supporting them. I am gravely concerned about the level of trauma we have experienced and the impact that will have on our current workforce." She noted that despite her resignation, she will continue to work until April 29, 60 days from her resignation on Feb. 22. She noted her duties will remain the same as they have and described what the work is like as a public health officer. "My duties remain the same and I am the health officer for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan and Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department. With the support from my leadership team and our dedicated staff, we provide a variety of services to citizens throughout our jurisdictions. The health officer is like a CEO and is responsible for oversight of all health department operations," Peacock said. She said she also has a transition and a person to take over for her in mind. "I plan to continue my duties until my planned departure on April 29. At the same time, I am working on a transition plan with our leadership team in both health departments." Peacock also had advice for her successor. "The next person who takes on this role will have his or her own skill set and leadership style. I would advise them to rely on their superior skills and dedication to our mission to serve our entire community and to achieve health equity by promoting well-being, preventing disease, and protecting the environment through partnerships, innovation and excellence in public health practice. She also said it is important to delegate responsibilities" and to rely on the incredibly talented leadership and staff at both agencies who are experts in their fields." WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden announced Friday the nomination of federal Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, a historic choice that fulfills the president's pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court and would make Jackson, 51, just the third African American in the high court's 233-year history. A former public defender, Jackson served as a trial court judge in Washington for eight years before Biden elevated her last year to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She was confirmed to that court after a relatively uncontentious Senate hearing and with the backing of three Republican lawmakers. Biden introduced Jackson on Friday afternoon at the White House, praising her as "someone with extraordinary character" who "will bring to the Supreme Court an independent-minded, uncompromising integrity." The president, who spent weeks considering whom to nominate, touted Jackson's varied legal experience and her personal background. "For too long, our government and our courts haven't looked like America," Biden said. "I believe it's time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation, with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications, and that we inspire all young people to believe that they can one day serve their country at the highest level." Jackson's confirmation would not affect the current conservative 6-to-3 supermajority on the court. She would be likely to vote with liberals on the most contentious issues facing the Supreme Court, including affirmative action, abortion, LGBTQ protections and gun rights - but she would be replacing another liberal more than 30 years her senior. And while Biden described Jackson as a "consensus-builder," the court's right flank is moving fast and not particularly looking for compromise. Jackson, who would join a significantly diminished liberal wing if confirmed, would bring a diverse personal and professional background to the high court. She was a law clerk for Breyer in 1999, and she helped shape federal sentencing policy on the U.S. Sentencing Commission after stints at private law firms. At the federal public defender's office in D.C. for 2 years, Jackson represented indigent clients in criminal cases and detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She would be the first justice since Thurgood Marshall with significant experience as a criminal defense attorney, a trait often touted by her supporters. Jackson's Ivy League credentials - she's a Harvard Law graduate and former editor of the Harvard Law Review - are similar to other modern justices, but the importance of her nomination is singular. She would be the first Black woman on the nation's highest court. And for the first time in history, there would be near-parity on the court, with five men and four women. As recently as 2009, there was only one woman. "I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded will inspire future generations of Americans," Jackson said at the White House. In her brief remarks, she highlighted her family's diverse background and touched on points that could resonate widely: her faith, her relatives' careers in the police and military, the importance of her family. Jackson began by thanking God "for delivering me to this point," and she also did not neglect to mention an uncle who landed in prison after struggling with drugs. If confirmed, she would join a bench that includes Justices Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor, meaning a third of the court for the first time would be made up of people of color. Civil rights groups fervently applauded the announcement, saying it was deeply unjust that an institution with so much influence over Americans' lives had been limited to White men for so long, and calling Jackson's nomination a big step forward. "This is a tremendously historic moment for our nation and our community in particular," NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. "President Biden has met this moment with an extraordinarily qualified nominee, who has stellar credentials and an impeccable background." Biden announced Jackson's nomination exactly two years after vowing on a South Carolina debate stage to nominate the first Black woman if a Supreme Court vacancy emerged during his presidency. After Biden was elected, liberal activists mounted an aggressive public campaign to persuade Breyer, now 83, to retire, warning if he did not step down before the midterms, Democrats could lose another reliable liberal vote on the court. Former president Donald Trump placed three justices on the high court, which fundamentally reshaped the Supreme Court's ideological balance. In addition to Jackson, Biden interviewed J. Michelle Childs, a federal judge in South Carolina, and Leondra Kruger, a justice on the California Supreme Court. Biden called Jackson on Thursday night to offer her the nomination. Childs's candidacy, in particular, was backed by House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., whose endorsement of Biden ahead of the South Carolina primary revived his presidential campaign. Clyburn praised Jackson's selection on Friday though showed no remorse for his public campaign in support of Childs. "I'm Black, and I'm a Southerner, and I'll do everything I can to promote Southerners and Black people who are deserving of attention for public office," Clyburn said Friday. "When you play the game you may not always win. But if you don't play the game, you will never win. And so I advocated for Judge Childs. She is an outstanding judge." While Biden's commitment to make a historic nomination of a Black woman was applauded by Black leaders and the civil rights community, some Republicans complained that the president was applying a racial litmus test. Along with his selection of Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate, Biden's pattern of elevating women and minorities to prominent government posts is now likely to be among his biggest legacies. Biden's choice could also provide Democrats a political boost by energizing Black voters ahead of November's midterms especially as the president's popularity has been sagging, including among some African American voters who say he has not fulfilled his promises of sweeping change. More immediately, the nomination will kick off a Senate fight that is likely to be bitter, if recent confirmation battles are any indication. Liberal and civil rights groups are ready to tout Jackson's qualifications and temperament and push back against any attacks they see as racist or sexist. Republicans and conservatives, meanwhile, have been drawing up plans to dismiss any Biden nominee as radical and outside the mainstream. In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he looked forward to reviewing Jackson's record but also quickly signaled he was likely to oppose her nomination. "I voted against confirming Judge Jackson to her current position less than a year ago," McConnell said. "Since then, I understand that she has published a total of two opinions, both in the last few weeks, and that one of her prior rulings was just reversed by a unanimous panel of her present colleagues on the D.C. Circuit. I also understand Judge Jackson was the favored choice of far-left dark-money groups that have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the Court itself." But the White House is hopeful Jackson can get bipartisan support. In introducing her, Biden underscored that Jackson has already been confirmed by the Senate three times, and Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lindsay Graham (S.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), all backed Jackson when she was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit in a 53-to-44 vote. Still, the stakes are significantly higher for a Supreme Court nominee, and there is no guarantee that the three GOP senators who backed her last time would do so again for the high court. Jackson was born in the District of Columbia in 1970 and grew up in Miami in a family that valued public service. Her parents began their careers as public school teachers. Two uncles were law enforcement officers, including one who became Miami's police chief. A high school debate champion and class president, Jackson earned her undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard, where she met her future husband Patrick Jackson, a surgeon. She went on to work as a law clerk for three federal judges, including Breyer. "Justice Breyer, the members of the Senate will decide if I fill your seat, but please know that I could never fill your shoes," Jackson said Friday. In eight years on the U.S. District Court, Jackson has presided over hundreds of cases, and Republican lawmakers are likely to revive questions about several of her rulings against the Trump administration. She ordered former president Donald Trump's former White House counsel Donald McGahn to comply with a House subpoena, for example, declaring "presidents are not kings." Jackson also issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that blocked the Trump administration from expanding its power to deport migrants who illegally entered the United States by using a fast-track process. At the courthouse just blocks from the U.S. Capitol, Jackson is known for her collegiality and as a skilled writer who works long hours. She reads final drafts of her opinions aloud while standing at a lectern to ensure her writing is accessible to a broader audience. In her chambers, the maroon and gold embossed set of U.S. Code books is not purely decorative but an integral part of Jackson's process. She reminds her law clerks to "always start with the books." During her varied legal career, Jackson served as a vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, giving her experience working on a multi-member bipartisan panel that required compromise to shape federal sentencing policy. Her former law clerk Jo-Ann Sagar, a lawyer in D.C., said Jackson would bring that same approach to the Supreme Court. "She considers herself a lifelong learner," said Sagar, who also clerked for Breyer and for Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his time on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. "There's always something to be learned from someone even if you disagree with them. She's very committed to that idea that there is always common ground and that the distances between us are not as significant as they may seem at first glance." Andrew Crespo, a Harvard Law School professor who previously worked as a public defender, said Jackson's experience as an attorney for poor criminal defendants would bring a fresh perspective to the court on issues of policing and mass incarceration. While Breyer was outspoken with his concerns about the constitutionality of the death penalty, he was at times more moderate regarding cases involving the rights of criminal suspects. "If you have represented people who have gone through that system, you understand its injustices because you have seen them up close," said Crespo, who was a law clerk to Breyer and Justice Elena Kagan. "Someone who comes to the bench with those perspectives will be not just a welcome addition to the bench, but someone who moves the court in a welcome direction." On the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Jackson was part of a three-judge panel this fall that unanimously rejected Trump's bid to block the release of White House records to the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision in January with only Justice Clarence Thomas noting dissent. Last summer, she allowed the Biden administration's pandemic-related moratorium on evictions to remain in place before the Supreme Court later blocked the measure. And in her first appellate ruling in February, Jackson wrote a unanimous opinion siding with labor unions in a challenge to a Trump administration change in collective bargaining rules. At her D.C. Circuit confirmation hearing last spring, Jackson committed to being a neutral, fair-minded judge in response to questions from Republicans. "I know very well what my obligations are, what my duties are, not to rule with partisan advantage in mind, not to tailor or craft my decisions in order to try to gain influence or do anything of the sort," Jackson told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It doesn't make a difference whether or not the argument is coming from a death row inmate or the president of the United States," she said. "I'm not injecting my personal views." Senate Democrats have been eager for Biden to make his Supreme Court selection and move quickly on confirmation, although the initial hope of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that the process would take no more than a month now appears unlikely. Democrats want to be sure that all 48 Democratic senators, plus the two independents who vote with them, are present for any confirmation vote. Various health considerations, including covid-19 diagnoses, have often foiled Senate leaders' plans in recent months, and Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., who suffered a stroke in late January, is expected to return to Washington sometime in March. Biden urged the Senate to move quickly to confirm Jackson. "Her opinions are always carefully reasoned, tethered to precedent, and demonstrate respect for how the law impacts everyday people," he said. "It doesn't mean she puts her thumb on the scale of justice one way or the other, but she understands the broader impact of her decisions." - - - The Washington Post's Robert Barnes contributed to this report. RTHK: Putin calls on Ukraine army to remove leaders in Kyiv Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the Ukrainian army to overthrow the government whose leaders he described as "terrorists" and "a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis". Putin also accused "Ukrainian nationalists" of deploying heavy weapons in residential areas of major cities to provoke the Russian military, a claim that could fuel fears Moscow is creating pretexts for justifying civilian casualties. In a televised address, he urged the Ukrainian military to "take power in your own hands". "It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis," he said, referring to the leadership in Kyiv under President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish. Putin, who on Thursday ordered Russian troops to attack Ukraine, claimed that Ukrainian "nationalists" were preparing to deploy multiple rocket launchers to residential areas of Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Ukraine's leadership are "acting like terrorists all over the world: they are hiding behind people in the hope of then blaming Russia for civilian casualties". "It is known for a fact that this is happening on the recommendation of foreign consultants, primarily American advisers," Putin said. Separately, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the alleged deployment: "We consider the situation to be extremely dangerous." Putin and top Russian officials have said Moscow's troops are only targeting ultra-nationalists in Ukraine. Putin also praised Russian troops saying they were acting in a "courageous and professional manner". "They are successfully solving the most important task of ensuring the security of our people and our Fatherland," Putin said. On a conference call to reporters, Peskov accused the Ukrainian authorities of refusing to hold talks with Russians in Belarus, as was previously suggested by Moscow. "After a brief pause Ukrainians said they now want to go to Warsaw," Peskov said. "And now they have gone incommunicado." (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-02-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. As the Russian military pounded targets across Ukraine with an array of bombs and missiles, a small team of Ukrainian border guards on a rocky, desolate island received an ominous message: Give up or be attacked. "I am a Russian warship," a voice from the invaders said, according to a recording of the communications. "I ask you to lay down your arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary deaths. Otherwise, you will be bombed." The Ukrainians responded boldly. "Russian warship," came the reply, "go f--- yourself." The Russians opened fire, eventually killing the 13 border guards. News of the defiant last stand on the Black Sea went viral Thursday, highlighting the grim decisions that Ukrainians faced during the largest attack on a European nation since World War II. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said hours later that the island's defenders will be bestowed with the title "Hero of Ukraine," the highest honorific the Ukrainian leader can award. A copy of the recording was posted on the website of the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda, and a Ukrainian official confirmed its authenticity to The Washington Post. A separate recording, posted on TikTok, shows what appears to be a border guard in a helmet and balaclava on the atoll, also known as Zmiinyi Island or Snake Island, cursing after coming under fire. His profile lists him as a 23-year-old from Odessa, a port city on the Black Sea. Stories of resistance amid bloodshed came from all over Ukraine. Zelensky, speaking in a news conference, said the border guards had attempted to protect the island for much of Thursday before they were killed. At least 137 Ukrainians were killed in less than a day of fighting, with operations continuing, he said. A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the operations candidly, said the Pentagon was aware of Ukrainians fighting back but declined to characterize their performance, citing a desire not to assist Russia. "This is their country they're fighting for," the official said of the Ukrainians. While isolated, the 42-acre island marks the edge of Ukraine's territorial waters, giving it a strategic role within the Black Sea by connecting a shipping corridor to the Ukrainian cities of Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kherson. The sparsely populated island has changed hands numerous times over the last century, serving as a military outpost for radar and other equipment. After World War I, the island was seized by Romania. The Soviet Union took control of it after World War II, leading to the construction of a lighthouse and military base, according to a history of the case published at Queen's University in Canada. The island became Ukraine's after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, though Romania continued to dispute ownership. An international court ultimately left Ukraine in control of the island and Romania with possession of much of the surrounding waters. - - - The Washington Post's Dalton Bennett and Maria Paul contributed to this report. KHARKIV, Ukraine As Russian troops closed in on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Friday in Europes largest ground conflict since World War II, leaders of the besieged nation urged their citizens to fight back. Make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier! the Ukrainian Border Guard implored in a Facebook post, warning that Russian troops had advanced on the suburbs of Kyiv. As military and civilian deaths mounted and explosions and air-raid sirens sounded across the country, there was a deepening sense among Ukrainians that nobody was coming to help. We are defending our country alone, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address in which he ordered men of fighting age to stay in the country. Zelenskyy slammed sanctions levied by the West against Russia as insufficient, and warned that unless world leaders do more to stop the invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin would continue his aggressions. If you dont help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door, said Zelenskyy, a former stand-up comic and actor who has transformed, overnight, into a wartime leader. On the second day of its large-scale assault on Ukraine part of Putins dream of stitching back together remnants of the former Soviet Union the Kremlin said Friday it was ready for talks, but only once the Ukrainian army ended its resistance and laid down arms. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted at a briefing that Russia does not intend to oppress the Ukrainian people and said they should have a chance to decide their future. But Pentagon officials have warned that Moscow intends to replace Ukraines democratically elected government with one it can control. Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly said that he would not accept a Ukraine under Russias thumb, has offered to negotiate on one of Putins key demands: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining NATO. The goal of membership in the transatlantic military alliance is enshrined in Ukraines constitution. The Kremlin said Friday that Russia was ready to send a delegation to Belarus to discuss that point. In the meantime, Russian troops continued their assault across Ukraine, hitting strategic military sites but also civilian targets. In a Kyiv apartment building, residents woke to plumes of smoke and screaming the result, according to the citys mayor, of Russian shelling. What are you doing? What is this? asked a dazed survivor, Yurii Zhyhanov, according to the Associated Press. As tens of thousands of his compatriots have already done, he quickly gathered his belongings to flee the city with his mother. The enemy wants to bring the capital and us to our knees, said Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, adding that Russian saboteurs had already infiltrated the city. Authorities said Friday that some 18,000 guns along with ammunition were distributed to reserve fighters in Kyiv. Russias military said it had seized a strategic airport near Kyiv, which would allow it to rapidly build up forces to take the capital. It said it had already cut off the city from the west the direction in which many of those escaping the invasion were heading. Lines of cars sat snarled in traffic as the sun went down Friday, trying to make their way toward the Polish border. United Nations officials reported at least 25 civilian deaths, and said that at least 100,000 people have fled their homes. The U.N. has warned that some 4 million Ukrainians could flee the country if the fighting escalates, which would represent a refugee crisis in Europe not seen since 2015, when millions arrived there after escaping the Syrian civil war. Zelenskyy said in an address late Thursday that 137 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the first day of fighting, along with 316 wounded. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar gave a tally of Russian losses. As of Friday afternoon, she said, the Russian army had lost up to 80 tanks, hundreds of armored combat vehicles, 10 warplanes and seven helicopters. The figures could not be independently verified. Moscow has not issued a toll of losses. The pyrotechnics over Kyiv were largely absent in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-most populous city. In the morning, residents cautiously emerged from the underground subway stations where they had taken shelter, making their way along mostly empty streets amid a snowstorm. Even the buses were still running. It wasnt until slightly before noon that the sounds of explosions reverberated through the city center, sending pedestrians scurrying for shelter while motorists attempted to escape from a threat they could only hear but could not see. One of the last remaining staff members at a hotel in Kharkiv said he intended to stay. Alexander, a 24-year-old waiter who declined to give his last name, seemed resigned to the Russian invasion to come. Why would I go? he said. This is my country. America isnt here. The European Union isnt here, he said. So were fighting on our own. ____ (Bulos reported from Kharkiv and Linthicum from Mexico City.) A record number of students have applied to the campuses of the University of California for fall 2022 classes, according to university officials Thursday. Systemwide, freshman applications jumped by 7,140 as compared with applications last year, rising by .5 percent to an all-time high of 210,840 for fall 2022 as compared with 203,700 in fall 2021. California freshman applications also saw impressive gains with 3.3 percent growth between now and this time last year. By comparison with 2020, the growth rate is 16.8 percent. UC's dedicated outreach efforts to California high schools contributed to a surge in applications from California freshmen in underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, and in applications from low-income students for fall 2022. The city of Fairfield opened a temporary warming center Thursday evening for the next three nights for homeless individuals because of the excessive cold temperatures expected during late night, overnight and early morning hours. The warming center, at the Fairfield Community Center, 1000 Kentucky St. -- is open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. for the next three nights -- or through Saturday night. It will provide shelter for homeless individuals and for those without heat. Masks will be required regardless of vaccination status. City officials said Thursday that the warming center's hours may be extended if excessive cold temperatures persist. The Fairfield Police Homeless Intervention Team will be distributing fliers in English and Spanish to homeless individuals within city limits. For more information, call (707) 428-7300, then press option 8 to be directed to a live police dispatcher. The shooting suspect connected with a fatal drive-by shooting in Vallejo last week has been arrested. A Vallejo police spokesperson said Thursday that an 18-year-old man, Kaulana Aalona, of Vallejo, was arrested Monday in connection with the Feb. 18 homicide, which occurred in the 100 block of Olympic Drive. Upon arrival just after 12:49 p.m., Vallejo officers found a solo vehicle accident. The driver, a man, suffered at least one gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead ay the scene by paramedics. Preliminary details indicate the victim was driving on Olympic Drive when he was shot by an unknown suspect prior to the crash. Aalona has been booked for murder into the Solano County Jail. This was Vallejo's fifth homicide of 2022. The name of the victim has not been released. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Det. Brian Murphy at (707) 648-5430 or Det. Josh Caitham at (707) 648-4342. The environmental group Save Mount Diablo is claiming a "major" victory in its challenge to the city of Pittsburg's approval of the 1,650-unit Faria/Southwest Hills project, proposed by Seeno company Discovery Builders. On Feb. 10, a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge ruled the city's environmental impact report (EIR) was inadequate -- the basis of Save Mount Diablo's legal challenge to the project, which the Pittsburg City Council approved in February 2021. Online court records on Thursday didn't indicate an appeal of the decision has been filed. Pittsburg's city attorney wasn't available Thursday to comment on the city's next move, which could be to redo the EIR. The massive residential subdivision was planned for 606 acres of ridgeline and hillside grazing land in what is currently unincorporated land just south of Pittsburg, which would annex the development. According to Save Mount Diablo, the court found the EIR deficient in four areas: It didn't properly analyze the impact of 150 accessory dwelling units that were added to the project; It didn't include a baseline description of biological resources that could be impacted; It didn't consider the water supply or air quality impacts. Rats continue be a problem for employees in Alameda County offices at the Eastmont Town Center in Oakland, a county employee said and county officials admitted this week. The Alameda County Social Services Agency temporarily closed its offices at the center at 7200 Bancroft Ave. on Sept. 9 for the health and safety of the staff and the public, spokeswoman Sylvia Soublet said then. The offices were going to be cleaned before reopening, Soublet said. Agency officials Thursday identified the affected area as the Eastmont Self Sufficiency Center, located on the first floor. Other county agencies lease space at the center, too. Rats are eating through doors and carpet and crawled into the mail machine and ate a tube in the machine, Williams said. On Wednesday morning, the division director found one in a drawer looking up at her. The property is owned by Vertical Ventures, headquartered in Walnut Creek, and managed by Cushman & Wakefield. The center comprises 541,000 square feet and was last renovated in 2009. It was built between 1965 and 1972. Employees see rat droppings and rat damage in the morning when they come into work and have said that they don't want to work in the building. Vertical Ventures president and founder Hamid Rezapour referred a request for comment to Cushman & Wakefield, which declined to comment for the story. Alameda County Vector Control has been involved in the problem, said community relations coordinator Daniel Wilson. They were called in last September. Vector control staff went in without much success using live traps. Wilson said Norway rats are the problem. Norway rats live in the sewer system, among other places. Vector control's general recommendation is more traps and less available food for the rats, which is what they are coming for, Wilson said. Alameda County Board of Supervisors Vice President Nate Miley, whose district includes the Eastmont Town Center, did not have time to talk about the problem Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning or early Thursday afternoon. The National Weather Service forecast for Friday for the San Francisco Bay Area starts the day off with another cold morning with overnight lows ranging from the mid to upper 20s in the isolated inland valleys to the 30s and mid 40s around the Bay and coast. Daytime highs will range from the mid 50s to the mid 60s under sunny skies. Daytime temperatures will continue to warm through the weekend. Copyright 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Copyright 2022 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Square Pie Guys is bringing Detroit-style pizza to San Franciscos historic Ghirardelli Square. The newest restaurant location will mark Square Pie Guys third outpost in the Bay Area thats slated to open sometime in the late spring or early summer. Eater first reported the news. Its exciting, co-owner Danny Stoller told SFGATE. I feel fortunate. I mean, running restaurants is not easy and it's been so cool to put a team together. And it's a beautiful space. Housed within the former space of The Pub, the third Square Pie Guys store will be the largest to date, compared to the other sites at 1077 Mission St. in San Francisco and 499 9th St. in Oakland. Stoller, who co-owns Square Pie Guys with Marc Schechter, said the team hopes to create a bright and airy atmosphere for indoor dinners, thanks in part to several windows, while also offering sweeping waterfront views for outdoor seating. The pair has also secured a liquor license so they can eventually serve wine and craft beers from local brewers that include beers from their soon to be neighbor, San Francisco Brewing Co. Guests will find an array of similar pizzas from the existing menu but it too will eventually get new items that wont be revealed until closer to opening. Takeout and delivery will similarly be available. Jon A. via Yelp Once opened, Square Pie Guys will join some of the other popular food tenants at Ghirardelli Square along with dim sum restaurant Palette Tea House and newcomer Barrio, a Latin kitchen restaurant that opened its second SF location at Ghirardelli Square last summer. We love creating community and being part of communities, Stoller said. This is a cool way to flex that and create new opportunities for folks to gather. Square Pie Guys has grown quickly within the last three years, after first opening in the summer of 2019. During the pandemic, the business shifted gears to focus heavily on a delivery and takeout model before announcing its second store opening in Oakland in early 2021. Stoller says hes learned a lot within that timeframe and is fortunate to have a supportive team during the stressful moments throughout the pandemic. Hes thrilled about the upcoming store and adds that Ghirardelli Square is a cool place to be. In general, we're excited to be in a new neighborhood and see more SF guests, Stoller said. Also, to see folks that might not live here that happen to be in the area trying us out for the first time. Maybe that can put Square Pie Guys on a national light for the first time. On Thursday, Russian troops launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine, according to AP News. This is the first major war in Europe in decades. Russia began artillery strikes on airports and military installations all over Ukraine before sunrise on Thursday, The New York Times reported. By the afternoon, Russian troops and tanks had entered the country on three fronts, according to The Financial Times. Ukraine also lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the scene of the worlds worst nuclear disaster, per AP reporting. In a televised address after the initial attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that the country is now under martial law. Martial law is the temporary substitution of military authority for civilian rule, according to the U.S Department of Justice. These attacks have sent people fleeing for safety. "137 Ukrainians have been killed and 316 wounded after the first day of fighting," Zelensky announced in a press conference, per The Washington Post. Zelensky emphasized that Russian forces were attacking civilian areas as well as military sites. Organizations around the world are on the ground in Ukraine and neighboring countries to help those in need with shelter, food, water, and additional aid. And there are ways that you can help the citizens of Ukraine right now. As journalist Jane Lytvynenko pointed out on Twitter, Ukrainians have put together a list of organizations where foreigners can donate. "Important resource " Lytvynenko tweeted. "Ukrainians put together a list of resources on how foreigners can help. There are all reputable organizations doing good work. Spread far and wide:" Important resource Ukrainians put together a list of resources on how foreigners can help. There are all reputable organizations doing good work. Spread far and wide:https://t.co/NeGElG48jZ Jane Lytvynenko (@JaneLytv) February 22, 2022 If you're looking to support the people of Ukraine and aid the country's refugees, here's what you can do to help: Donate to medical supply charities Revived Soldiers Ukraine is a non-profit that distributes medical supplies to hospitals in need and assists injured soldiers who need medical help and rehabilitation. DONATE Razom for Ukraine will use donations to fund medical aid for the people of Ukraine, including the purchase of first aid kits, backpacks filled with medical supplies, and medical rehabilitation for injured soldiers. DONATE United Help Ukraine is providing first aid kits and other emergency medical supplies to the front lines. They are also preparing to help civilians that need medical support. DONATE Sunflower of Peace is fundraising for medical supplies for doctors and paramedics on the front lines. They claim that one supply-filled backpack can save up to ten lives. DONATE Support children in war-torn regions Voices of Children provides psychological and psychosocial support to children affected by the war in Eastern Ukraine. They use art therapy, video storytelling, and individual guidance to help children heal from trauma. DONATE Vials of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Photo from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Vietnam , Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Serbia will receive support from the hub in South Africa, the WHO said in a press conference late Wednesday. Those countries were vetted by a group of experts and proved that they could absorb the technology and, with targeted training, move to production relatively quickly, according to the WHO. During the event, the WHO also announced the establishment of a similar hub in the Republic of Korea. These hubs will serve all low- and middle-income countries wishing to produce biologicals, such as vaccines, insulin, monoclonal antibodies and cancer treatments. One of the key barriers to successful technology transfer in low- and middle-income countries is the lack of a skilled workforce and weak regulatory systems, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Building those skills will ensure that they can manufacture the health products they need at a good quality standard so that they no longer have to wait at the end of the queue. Although Vietnam is a developing country, we have had a lot of experience in vaccine development over the past decades, said Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long during the virtual address. The WHO has also recognised our National Regulatory Authority. We believe that in participating in this initiative, Vietnam will be able to produce the mRNA vaccine on a large scale, not only for domestic consumption but also for other countries in the region and the world, contributing to reducing inequalities in access to vaccines, Long said. He said he was glad the WHO had selected Vietnam as one of the vaccine manufacturers, and the Government and the Ministry of Health of Vietnam were committed to providing the maximum facilitation for Vietnamese vaccine producers to receive the transferred production technology. The mRNA vaccine is an advanced technology that allows fast modification and updates in response to new variants of the virus and production in large quantities. It is meaningful in the context of the pandemic and helps to respond to other pandemics that might arise in the future, Long noted. With the capacity and enthusiasm of manufacturers as well as the determination of the Government, Vietnam hopes to continue receiving the support of WHO and partners to be able to master and update mRNA vaccine technology in the future. This will help enhance vaccine production capacity in the region, contributing to efforts to ensure national and regional health security, said the Vietnamese health official. Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi, Minister of Foreign Affairs from Indonesia, said that Indonesia was one of the countries that continuously supports vaccine equity and equal access to Covid vaccines for all countries, including through the transfer of vaccine technology and know-how to developing countries. This transfer of technology will contribute to equal access to health countermeasures, which will help us to recover together and recover stronger. This is the kind of solution that developing countries need. A solution that empowers and strengthens our self-reliance, as well as a solution that allows us to contribute to global health resilience, she said. Many countries have responded to the call from the WHO for expressions of interest from the technology transfer hub in late 2021. The WHO said it would provide support to all respondents but was prioritising countries that did not have mRNA technology but already had some biomanufacturing capacity. The WHO previously announced six African countries Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia and two Latin American nations Argentina and Brazil as the first on their continents to receive mRNA technology from the global hub. The global organization will enter into discussions with other interested countries, and other mRNA technology recipients will be announced in the coming months. Training is expected for the selected countries from March. VNA Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Houston Chronicle files Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 SHELTON - Clara Barton, known as the Angel of the Battlefield, will soon be paying a visit to the city. Carolyn Ivanoff, an educator, author and independent historian, will be playing the part of Barton, one of the most decorated women of the 19th century, on March 5. The event, titled Clara Barton, The Life and Legacy of an American Icon, will be at 1 p.m. at Brownson Country Club, 15 Soundview Ave. Local Russia widens its attack on Ukraine: We now have war in Europe KHARKIV, Ukraine Russia pressed ahead with its assault on neighboring Ukraine on Thursday, with explosions resounding in cities across the country, airstrikes crippling its defenses and reports of troops crossing the border by land and sea. Huge traffic snarls formed in Kyiv as residents tried to flee the Ukrainian capital. Video showed Russian armored vehicles advancing into mainland Ukraine from Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow illegally seized eight years ago. Ukrainian air-traffic controllers sealed off the countrys airspace due to the high risk of aviation safety for civil aviation. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law in his embattled nation and encouraged his compatriots to take up arms. Meanwhile, the U.S. and the West prepared to impose punishing sanctions on Russia for an invasion that they had warned for weeks was coming but that Moscow had denied was planned. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraines interior minister, said on Facebook that Russian missiles had struck Ukrainian military command centers, air bases and depots in Kyiv and the major cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro. Russian President Vladimir Putin portrayed the incursion which followed months of Russian military buildup along Ukraines borders to the north, east and south as a move to liberate and protect eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed secessionists hold sway over a large swath of the region. He warned other countries not to intervene, saying that it would lead to consequences you have never seen in history. President Joe Biden is expected to confer with other world leaders Thursday to try to coordinate a response to an act of aggression that has drawn outcry across the globe and that raised the specter of catastrophic bloodshed in Europe. We now have war in Europe on a scale and of a type we thought belonged to history, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday, describing the incursion as a deliberate, cold-blooded and long-planned invasion and a blatant violation of international law. This is a grave moment for the security of Europe, said Stoltenberg, who will convene an emergency virtual summit of NATO leaders Friday. Russias unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine is putting countless innocent lives at risk with air and missile attacks, ground forces and special forces from multiple directions, targeting military infrastructure and major urban centers. Zelenskyy said Russian forces were trying to seize Chernobyl, where a reactor exploded in April 1986, scattering radioactive materials across Europe. The stricken nuclear plant has since been decommissioned and the damaged reactor encased in a giant concrete and steel shelter, but Ukrainian authorities warned that fighting could damage the covering. Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated, Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter. In Washington, Biden said in a statement after the invasion began that Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way. Washington and its European allies are expected to enact new sanctions likely designed to freeze out Russia from much of the international financial system that go beyond those announced earlier this week. But Biden has insisted that U.S. and NATO troops will not fight in Ukraine itself, which is not a member of the transatlantic alliance. NATO ambassadors said in a statement after emergency talks Thursday that the alliance would beef up land, sea and air forces on its eastern flank. We have increased the readiness of our forces to respond to all contingencies, the envoys said. Putin announced his special military operation in east Ukraine in a nationally televised address early Thursday in Moscow. Even as he spoke, bombing runs began across the former Soviet republic, with some two dozen strikes reported on major cities and other areas. An advisor to Zelenskyy said that more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and dozens more wounded in fighting. Russias defense ministry said in a statement, quoted by the Russian Interfax news agency, that Ukrainian air defenses were suppressed. Ukraines defense ministry said its forces shot down five Russian warplanes and a helicopter, an assertion denied by Moscow. Russian military vehicles were reported to have entered Ukraine from Belarus to the north, where Russian troops had been holding joint military drills that Western capitals warned were a prelude to an incursion. Kyiv lies barely 50 miles south of the Belarusian border. On Wednesday, Western powers said Russian soldiers had already entered Ukraine from the east, in the industrial heartland known as the Donbas, where Moscows proxy militias have engaged in skirmishes with Ukrainian forces for eight years. Putin on Monday recognized two Donbas enclaves under the control of pro-Russia separatists, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent republics, setting the stage for him to send in troops to the region under the pretext of peacekeeping. Here in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, Ukrainian soldiers stood in a field with two Howitzers aimed north, where the Russian border lay. A convoy of large Ukrainian military trucks lumbered down the road. Almost all shops were closed. In the lobby of the high-end Kharkiv Palace Hotel, guests sipped coffee, wondering if they should join the westward exodus. The Russians will be here in two hours, said a man who gave his name as Anton, who had come to Kharkiv on a work trip and was trying to find a way to return to Kyiv. The road heading southwest to the city of Dnipro was not an option, he said, since he expected it to be bombed by the Russian military. Some residents flocked to subway stations looking for escape or for shelter, lugging backpacks, small suitcases and pet carriers. Inside one station, people wedged themselves against the wall, using their bags to claim what little space they could as the crowds kept piling in. Those who could cram themselves into subway carriages did so, sitting on the seats, the floor or anywhere else they could find, waiting in darkness for the line to start up. Standing in the middle of a subway platform was Sergei, 30, a real estate agent turned programmer who was carrying his baby daughter, Naomi. He wasnt scared for himself, he said, but for Naomi. His wife, Katya, agreed, saying that they were trying to leave not because were not patriots, but because we have a child. If it wasnt for her I would go fight. As the day had worn on, the couple discussed whether they should try to get out of the city. There were no planes, no trains. Should they take a car and risk the traffic not to mention the possibility of encountering Russian soldiers on intercity roads? We just dont know. There are too many rumors, Katya said. Another individual seeking refuge in the station, also named Sergei, expressed disbelief at his familys predicament. His daughter, 4, his wife and his mother sat on pink-and-blue yoga mats spread out on the floor of the platform. This is the 21st century. I just cant believe this is happening, the 38-year-old marketing manager said, looking around at people threading their way through the crowds, as if they were extras in a film. Not a World War II movie, Sergei said. A horror movie. Outside, Nasruddin Nooruldin, a 23-year-old medical student from India, stood among a gaggle of other international students, all of them looking anxious. Were hoping to get an evacuation flight, he said. There are hundreds, maybe even more than 1,000 of us from India here. Earlier in the Donbas town of Slovyansk, the sound of explosions filled the morning air, but residents appeared to remain calm. As the sun rose, some emerged to start their workdays, if under tense circumstances. Were going to stay open, said Bogdan, an 18-year-old barista, as he slipped an almond croissant into a paper bag and handed it to a waiting customer at a cafe. For now were waiting. Anton Chechenko, 30, an electric engineer who works in Slovyansk but whose family lives in Dnipro, about four hours to the west, stood in the central square and watched a flock of pigeons strut on cold tiles. Everyone here has lived through war. And were not seeing shelling yet, he said. Besides, he added, fear isnt something that can save your life or your health. You need calm for that. The most visible sign of any distress was at banks and gas stations, where queues formed in the early morning and persisted as the day wore on. Alexander, 30, who gave only his first name, stood near a bank talking to an army officer on the street. He had just come back from the store and had loaded his backpack with canned food and other supplies. He planned to go to a village near Kharkiv, to the northwest. It will be calm there, he said. Shortly after he spoke, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine was formally severing ties with Russia, which had earlier pulled out its diplomatic personnel from Kyiv, before the invasion began. Zelenskyy exhorted those who have not yet lost their conscience in Russia to go out and protest against the incursion. As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history, Zelenskyy tweeted. Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and wont give up its freedom. The assault negated weeks of frantic diplomacy to try to prevent war and indeed came as the United Nations Security Council was in the midst of discussing the crisis in an extraordinary session. It shatters a three-decade stretch of relative peace in Europe, which survived two world wars and a cold one in the 20th century. Even some seasoned analysts of contemporary Russia were stunned by Putins decision to move in, despite all the signs pointing to just such an intention. The West is now under heavy pressure to present a united front not only in its rhetoric but in the severity of penalties it is willing to inflict on Russia and, as a consequence, on some of its own economies, particularly in Europe. Germany took a significant step toward that goal Wednesday when Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that his government was halting authorization of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project to bring Russian gas westward. Much of Europe relies on Russian gas to heat homes and generate electricity. More than one-third of the gas consumed by the 27-nation European Union is imported from Russia, making some member nations nervous over major confrontation with Moscow. The Biden administration says it has been working with European partners to secure other sources of energy for the Continent, although a rise in prices would be an inevitable result. Try out LudingtonDailyNews.com for only 99 per month for the first 3 months, $9.99 a month after. Unlimited website access 24/7 Unlimited e-Edition access 24/7 The best local, regional and national news in sports, politics, business and more! With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-Edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. Page Content ALEXANDRIA, Va. SHRM (the Society for Human Resource Management) announced the Workplace Policy Conference (WPC) 2022 being held in Washington, D.C. March 27-29 will feature closing remarks by Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, panel discussions with leaders from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and a conversation with members of Congress. In a panel discussion titled "The Future of Equitable Workplaces," EEOC Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels and Commissioner Andrea R. Lucas will speak about workplace enforcement, operational priorities and how to advance equal opportunity in the workplace. NLRB board members Gwynne A. Wilcox and John F. Ring and NLRB General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo will discuss how the board enforces the National Labor Relations Act and what HR professionals need to know to protect workers and employers in a session called "Scales of Justice: How the NLRB Weighs the Law, Workers and Employers." Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., will also meet with conference attendees. "We are thrilled to welcome Secretary Walsh, our panelists and guest speakers to WPC 2022, and I am especially pleased we are able to gather together in person," said SHRM Chief of Staff and Head of Government Affairs Emily M. Dickens. "With his years as a labor leader, state legislator, mayor and labor secretary, Secretary Walsh's expertise in workplace policy is unparalleled. His commitment to public service and his focus on equity and fairness provide an extraordinary opportunity to learn about implementing policy that works for all. Likewise, our many participants from across government will offer special insight on how the HR community can shape the world of work by engaging with Congress and the administration." The list of federal officials speaking at WPC 2022 also includes National Council on Disability Vice Chair James T. Brett, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman Phyllis Coven, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Taryn Williams. Panelists focused on workplace policy at the state level include Executive Director of Women in Government Meredith Martino, National Foundation for Women Legislators Executive Director Jody Thomas and National Conference of State Legislatures Chief Executive Officer Tim Storey. WPC 2022 is also an opportunity for attendees to: Hear directly from policy experts on changes impacting work, workers and the workplace. Learn how businesses and HR professionals are proposing to reshape the workplace through policy. Meet with members of Congress to build meaningful and productive relationships. Network with experienced policymakers. Earn professional development credits toward SHRM certification. Visit SHRM.org to register for WPC 2022. About SHRM SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, creates better workplaces where employers and employees thrive together. As the voice of all things work, workers and the workplace, SHRM is the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today's evolving workplaces. With 300,000+ HR and business executive members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 115 million workers and families globally. Learn more at SHRM.org and on Twitter @SHRM. Planemakers Boeing Co. and Airbus SE are in discussion with the new owners of Air India, Tata Group, about an order for a raft of new planes, part of a plan to rejuvenate the ailing carrier and its aging fleet, suggests reports. Air India was handed back to its founders, the Tata group, in January, almost seven decades after it was nationalized, capping years of struggle by the government to sell the struggling airline. Tata Sons has begun talks with the planemakers and lessors for jets consisting of Airbus A350-900s and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, as per a report. The talks are at a preliminary stage, with Tata Sons assessing the right fleet mix and no decisions taken yet on aircraft type or order size, the report added. The carrier is in discussions for new Airbus or Boeing narrow-body jets that form the mainstay of Air Indias domestic and short-haul operations, as well as wide-body aircraft capable of flying as far as the US. While the airline has lucrative landing slots, the group faces an uphill task to upgrade Air India's aging fleet and turn around its financials and service levels. The carrier presently has 153 planes in its fleet, according to its website. That includes 49 wide-body aircraft manufactured by Boeing and Airbus, including jets from the best-selling 737 and 320 families, making it a complicated mix considering each aircraft type requires separate skill sets of pilots and crew. In terms of fleet, we know we have work to do," Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of the Tata Group, told Air India employees earlier this month at an internal company briefing, according to a video reviewed by Bloomberg News. We will address it with utmost urgency. Well upgrade our fleet, well bring modernity in our fleet, well bring a new fleet." A deal for 50 brand new 787-9 jets could be valued at $14.6 billion at sticker prices, although discounts are common in such large transactions. Air India, one of the worlds first buyers of the Boeing Dreamliner, operates the oldest versions of the fuel-efficient workhorse, although several of them remain grounded due to a lack of parts. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! It is raining where I am. A friend has just sent an exasperated text saying that three buses were cancelled, meaning her recently resumed commute into the CBD office was even more tortuous than the usual one-hour trip. At least she is not on a train line. As we go through the latest iteration of opening up, it seems we are keen to forget some of the lessons learned during the lockdowns. There is Premier Dominic Perrottet, encouraging us to revitalise the CBD. Panellists on The Drum on the ABC are asserting that getting into the office is good for us and articles in the media are excitedly greeting the return of bumper-to-bumper commuter traffic. Illustration: Dionne Gain Credit: When traffic congestion is seen as a good portent, it is time to take a deep breath, preferably not of carbon monoxide. It is obvious there are powerful vested interests determined to see us all trudge back into city centres. There are the landlords accustomed to their skyrise office buildings attracting sky-high rents, cafes, restaurants and service industries set up to cater for the office masses. They have all suffered to varying degrees from the absence of people. However, while supporting or compensating these sectors might have some merit, it is not an argument for the benefits of being physically present in an office. Some are arguing that being forced to interact with people who you might not normally choose to spend time with can provoke creative thinking with challenges to set ideas through exposure to diversity of opinion. Yet sometimes those provocations are actually unwanted, unpleasant and can become the cause of complaints, stress and underperformance. My family and I were invited to South India in January 2020 by friends who have lived in the state of Tamil Nadu for more than 20 years, and have supported a school, childrens home and mobile computer bus in a rural fishing village. Before going to visit our friends home in the village, I wanted to share Indian city life with my family, so we spent several nights in Mumbai and Chennai. Id spent roughly two months in India travelling and training as a yoga teacher, and I was excited to experience it again with my family. On our first day in Mumbai, we decided to walk to the Mani Bhavan Gandhi museum. When we see each other on the street, on the TV, in the boardroom, that sighting says to us, I can belong here, too. I need to see you here so that I can see myself. Credit:Stocksy We were on a mighty trek that day, a sensory extravaganza for us all. India arrests you on first contact, no matter how many times you have been there. As we were approaching the museum, I looked to my left and saw a young black woman in her late teens with a group of white people. Our eyes locked, we smiled, and she ran over to me. The table is upholstered in fine leather, in that pale beige that only rich people seem to wear. Black-suited wait staff arrive and tenderly place the opening snacks upon it. One raises a glass dome, releasing wreaths of aromatic smoke swirling around small lollipops of stuffed chicken wing. Another rotates the sterling-silver top of a vintage caviar bowl to reveal tiny triangles of a layered egg confection topped with oscietra caviar and gold leaf. Two small tarts of chicken-liver parfait, their pastry paper-thin, nestle in the verdant green moss of a length of burnished wood like a woodland scene from Bambi. Illustration by Simon Letch, Credit: There was more, but I dont want you to spit out your coffee to damn me to hell because I was there and you werent. I cant quite believe I was there, either. And after an extended period probably best referred to as The Lasagne Years, I cant believe this sort of restaurant is there at all. Oncore, which was opened in Sydney last November by Clare Smyth of Londons three-Michelin-starred Core restaurant, isnt the only fine diner to have risen from well, you know. To walk into Melbournes Society restaurant is to enter a world in which a one-bite caviar pretzel is $27 and fellow diners appear cast from Hollywood. Sydneys magnificent Shell House Dining Room & Terrace, the grand ballroom of Seta, the haute bistro Margaret from Neil Perry in Double Bay, and Melbournes high-rolling Gimlet, Chancery Lane and Aru are filled with people in celebratory, caviar-ordering, champagne-drinking mode. Why? And why now? Anthony Albanese is looking very prime ministerial. With a makeover, new glasses and the discipline of Sophrosyne, he was succeeding until Putin intervened in making the Prime Minister look like a campaign manager instead of a leader. Increasingly friendless within his own party, Morrison had fallen into the trap of being the face of his own scare campaigns, reinforcing the impression that he was Scotty from Marketing. Sophrosyne, Greek spirit of moderation and self-control, has administered political victories since John Hewsons dreams hit the garbage shute. She stands in for the Australian people, who like their politics the way they like their democracy sausage: modest, well done and not overly greasy. Anthony Albaneses discipline has wrong-footed the Prime Minister. Credit:Louie Douvis The trouble with these Sophrosynean elections, though, is that eventually a politician gets to govern. Regardless how centrist the candidate has managed to seem during the election, there is a party machine full of passionate idealists waiting in the wings. Indeed, behind the chorus mask the leader dons for electioneering purposes, they themselves almost invariably harbour Ideas. (I could spend another whole column on the pickle we find ourselves in when they dont, but that will have to wait for another day.) This disconnect between before and after the election has been a particular problem for Labor. As many analysts have observed, in 2007 the majority of voters were not so much sick of Liberal policies after 11 years of John Howard, as ready to put a fresh face on them. Kevin Rudd campaigned as Liberal-lite and the Coalition helpfully accused Rudd of me-too politics, reinforcing the continuity that voters could expect. Rudd implied hed be more Liberal than even the Liberals: he famously promised to be a fiscal conservative and responded to what The Age then called a startling $9 billion in commitments from Howard by labelling them an irresponsible spending spree adding that this reckless spending must stop. Two men who carried out the brazen daylight execution of a Sydney solicitor have been jailed for at least two decades each over the horrific crime. Ho Ledinh, 65, was shot three times as he sat with friends outside the Happy Cup Cafe at Bankstown in Sydneys west on the afternoon of January 23, 2018. Criminal lawyer Ho Ledinh was shot dead in Bankstown in January 2018. CCTV showed a gunman walking up to Mr Ledinh about 3.35pm and shooting him at close range with no warning, causing him to fall to the ground. The gunman then fled on foot and was eventually picked up by a van. Arthur Keleklio, 42, pleaded guilty to murder last year in the NSW Supreme Court and admitted to pulling the trigger, while Abraham Sinai, 37, was found guilty of murder after a jury was told he helped to arrange the killing. Throughout history, there have been many leaders, like Putin, who believed there was never a dilemma so small that war could not solve. As the great Russian writer Anton Chekhov said: The world perishes not from bandits and fires, but from hatred, hostility, and all these petty squabbles. Vince Scoppa, Tennyson Point Khaki election incoming The war in Ukraine will require Scott Morrison to pivot his claims of an extreme left-wing Labor in cahoots with communist China to one in cahoots with fascist Russia. He will get the khaki election that he has tried so hard to engineer (Minor player with a loud voice: Why Morrison will keep talking tough on Russia, smh.com.au, February 25). Graeme Finn, Summer Hill Oligarch island Boris Johnson is being urged to intern wealthy Russians and their families resident in Britain (Gravely miscalculated: Leaders condemn unprovoked attack, February 24). Perhaps we could offer him the use of our facilities on Christmas Island for this purpose. Jim Mackenzie, Cherrybrook It is apparent that the sale of wet lettuce and talking weasels is alive and well in Europe (World condemns Russia for choosing path of bloodshed and destruction, February 25). Peter Phillipson, Fingal Bay Its not clear whether Vladimir Putin is channelling Stalin or Hitler or both, but we can be thankful that his useful idiot is no longer in the White House or all of Europe would be at risk. Alan Watterson, Hastings Point Teachers working conditions are as bad as their pay Illustration: John Shakespeare Credit: Before we look at why we are not attracting more high achievers to teaching, have we looked at why so many current ones are leaving (Pay teachers more, but its not all about money, February 25)? Any corporation worth its salt does an exit interview to find out why it lost a valued employee, and adjusts itself accordingly. I suspect that higher on the list than pay would be working conditions hours a week of make-work, much of which could be done by admin staff (if there were any) or is simply unnecessary. No amount of extra pay makes up for a miserable and unrewarding work day. Andrew Taubman, Queens Park The most effective teachers are those who know what they are teaching and why they are teaching it. Love and respect for the children round it off (Letters, February 25). Bob Hall, Wyoming To teachers in public schools, hang in there. You are doing a magnificent job. How society continues to disrespect you with poor resourcing, remuneration and esteem is an utter disgrace. Christine May, South Durras Ministers off track Chris Minns says Transport Minister David Elliott must go, otherwise there is no accountability in the NSW government (Train chiefs, bureaucrats war gamed shut down, February 25). But lack of accountability is surely a given with Coalition governments. The beleaguered Dominic Perrottet has made the bizarre claim that the opposition is running a scare campaign. In case he didnt notice, commuters are the victims here, not him. Perrottet and Elliott plead ignorance of any plans to shut the rail network down. If thats true, both are too incompetent to be in Parliament. Graham Lum, North Rocks No public servants were publicly reprimanded, stood down or sacked for making the decision to shut down all Sydney rail services on Monday, without Ministerial approval. What does that say about the state of our public service and the state governments commitment to the twin concepts of transparency and accountability of ministers? Pasquale Vartuli, Wahroonga It seems the Premier and Transport Minister need a reminder of the Westminster systems convention of ministerial responsibility: a minister administers and bears responsibility for the actions of a department they control. Premier, to borrow a phrase from the PM, if the Minister doesnt resign, he can go. There is no option C. Col Shephard, Yamba Illustration: John Shakespeare Credit: No trains on Monday, and for the rest of the week only 20 to 30 per cent of peak hour services were operating, giving rise to major overcrowding and the impossibility of social distancing. Whether this is related to government action or inaction, bureaucratic bungling or union bloody mindedness, the effect is the same unsafe conditions during a pandemic for tens of thousands of commuters. It seems the public needs protection from the consequences of so-called protected industrial action, and while workers rights are important, so are those of the rest of the community. Those who call the shots in the transport industrial relations field should wake up to contemporary realities and the potential for their decisions to adversely affect the health of the community. Doug Walker, Baulkham Hills Bad air It seemed odd to place the new tunnels air station within the large, beautiful Callan Park next to Iron Cove waters. Surely the air there is some of cleanest in Sydney (Letters, February 25). However, once the new multiple tunnel stacks all over Rozelle start pumping toxic gases it will change our air quality readings to one of the most polluted. Please save us, ditch fossil fuel powered cars. Alberto Bizcarra, Rozelle Unlevel field Transgender women playing in womens and girl sporting competitions creates an uneven playing field (Letters, February 25). Boys and girls generally play in mixed sporting comps, for example soccer, up to the age of 12. But for obvious physical and hormonal reasons, single-sex competitions are the norm above that age. Males who have gone through puberty are generally taller, stronger, faster and more aggressive than their female equivalents. To decide later in life to transition to female does not make them physically equal with other females, even if they keep their testosterone medically lowered. They have likely had several years benefiting from the effects of testosterone that cannot be reversed. Without wanting to discriminate against transgender people, can there not be categories for women, men and open? Kathryn Newburg, Burraneer Respect in politics The thing politicians dont seem to get is that unless you gain the respect of the public, you will eventually decline (Minns preferred to Perrottet as premier: poll, February 24). Sometimes it can happen really quickly, as Perrottet is finding. Respect is not only finding the person likeable, but also human, empathetic, sensible, relatable and having time to explain decisions rather than just selling them. Gladys Berejiklian is an example. Her performance in the bushfires and COVID-19 made most accept her as respectable. A poor choice of partner only made her more human. Representatives must also represent those who elected them. People need to feel their member is working on their behalf, not for the big end of town, splinter groups, unions or parties. Without confidence in their aims, there can be no respect. Neville Turbit, Russell Lea Love my terrace Your Marrickville correspondent is quite right about terraces as really good alternatives to high-rise apartments or large houses on treeless blocks (Letters, February 25). This Easter will see us in our terrace for 50 years. Here weve brought up four children who, as little people, could come and go from the house (without making an outing of it, as from apartment block to park) to a safe garden, with sandpit and two trees. Elizabeth Jones, Kirribilli Woked up I keep reading and hearing the word woke being bantered around but still dont know what it means. However, after a good nights sleep I woke up and am alert writing this message (Letters, February 25). Richard Stewart, Pearl Beach It is a very Conservative thing to describe anyone with normal human empathy as woke. Greg Thompson, Bega Im finding super annoying. People are super excited or super annoyed. The fact that you are excited or annoyed should be enough. If you have to use a word to hype up how you feel, then the old-fashioned very should be enough. Paul Gray, Daylesford (Vic) Do gooders does it for me. Ross Storey, Normanhurst Reaching out is what gropers do in lifts. Jeremy Light, Mosman Look, lets not overlook look too. Edward Loong, Milsons Point Cup runneth over Where are we at these days with the water restrictions (Leau point: wettest Sydney summer in three decades, February 25)? Alicia Dawson, Balmain VIP treatment I have COVID. I am fully vaccinated (Clive Palmer taken to hospital with COVID-like symptoms, smh.com.au, February 24). I have not summoned three ambulances to my home and then walked out of hospital, having been discharged within hours of arrival. Jo Rainbow, Orange Postscript Loading Yet again, human misery, wanton destruction and needless sacrifice of lives; all to feed the unbounded ego of a little man, Donald Hawes of Peel wrote. Of course, the little man is Russian President Vladimir Putin, described as a psychopathic, delusional dictator who believes himself to be invincible and godlike a sort of hybrid Ivan the Terrible and Stalin by Andrew Mitterdorfer of Gordon. His actions were compared to those of Hitler during World War II and many worried he is immune to sanctions and determined for war. Dorin Suciu of Eleebana had difficulty understanding why any human would want to cause such vast misery and Adrian Connelly of Springwood said he shuddered to think what kind of response there might have been had Donald Trump still been US president. The fear of a possible WWIII spurred correspondents, like Andrew Budd of Currumbin (Qld), to write: The West will continue to spit venom and craft ever eloquent words of denunciation of Russias invasion of Ukraine. But the Wests failure to meaningfully respond will be equally responsible for the architecture of the final result. Queensland has recorded seven more deaths on Friday, almost all in aged care, as the state marks a month since the peak of the recent Omicron wave. There were 5440 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, 3110 detected through RAT kits. Of those who died, one person was aged in their 60s, three were in their 80s and three were in their 90s. Three were not vaccinated, three had two doses, and one person was boosted with three doses. Why should we care about poverty, human rights atrocities, health epidemics, environmental catastrophes, weapons proliferation or any other problems afflicting people in faraway countries when they do not, as is often the case, have any direct or immediate impact on our own security or prosperity? Afghanistan evacuees arrive at Australias main operating base in the Middle East on August 21. Credit:ADF Should Australians care about terrorist atrocities in the Middle East only because extreme jihadist movements seek to recruit deluded young men who may return to threaten our homeland security? Should we care about Ebola outbreaks in West Africa only because the disease might turn up here? Should we care about refugees from Afghanistan and Iran and Sri Lanka only because they might become queue-jumping asylum seekers threatening our territorial integrity by arriving by boat? Should we care about the catastrophic humanitarian risks of any nuclear weapons exchange only if radiation-cloud or nuclear-winter impacts are likely to reach Australian shores? Isnt all this just boy-scout stuff, not the real business of national government? What has it got to do with what any country should really care aboutadvancing and protecting its national interests? My answer is that we have both a moral and a national interest imperative to be, and be seen to be, a good international citizen. At the heart of the case for good international citizenship is simply that this is the right thing to do that states, like individuals, have a moral obligation to do the least harm, and the most good, they can do. Answers will vary, depending on ones philosophical or spiritual bent, as to what is the source of that obligation. But the striking thing is just how much convergence there is around basic principles, whether ones approach to ethics is religiously or humanistically based, and whatever the cultural tradition in which one has been brought up. About 4.30pm on Thursday, preparing to finish my day at work I flicked open the Herald website on my computer. The headline that leapt out told of Russian invasion of Ukraine. The worst fears of the Ukrainian people and the world have come to pass. Reading stories of the developing crisis over the last couple of weeks I have felt sick and tense that combination of apprehension, powerlessness and helpless anger at the wrong being done. It takes us back to those same feelings, magnified by terrible grief and pain, that we experienced when our son Jack was murdered, along with all the 297 other passengers of MH17, when the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 by a Russian Buk missile crew. Jon and Meryn OBrien sit on the bench at their son Jacks soccer club which was dedicated to him. Credit:Wolter Peeters This war, now being waged openly by Russia against its smaller neighbour, is the same war, and displays the same bullying aggression, the same disregard for human life and the rights of others, that killed our son. Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine. We think of the agony they are going through now. After MH-17 was shot down and our lives were changed forever, shattered is not too strong a word, we tried to make sense of the conflict that had killed Jack. A former prosecutor says Victoria Police knew seven years ago of the confusion over delegation powers, which this week left the force scrambling to swear in more than 1000 police officers who had been working without formal authority. Former police prosecutor Justin Shaw said on Friday that drink-driving hearings were thrown into disarray in 2015 when it emerged lower-ranking commissioners were signing off on the credentials of breath-test operators without the authority to do so. Former police prosecutor Justin Shaw says the force shouldve foreseen that officers hadnt been sworn in properly. Credit:Simon Schluter Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said on Thursday an administrative error resulted in acting assistant commissioners swearing in recruits for the past eight years, even though they didnt have the proper authority to do that, leaving the force with the task re-swearing in more than 1000 officers. The error arose when changes were made to the Victoria Police Act by the former government in 2013, which meant acting assistant commissioners were appointed without the required power. In the 142 years since bushranger Ned Kelly was executed, a never-ending stream of books have been written about him. But a new one has won praise from the head of Victoria Police. Chief Commissioner Shane Patton calls Nabbing Ned Kelly which tells of police efforts to catch the Kelly gang a must read. Historian David Dufty with his new non-fiction book Nabbing Ned Kelly. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Patton praises the book on its back cover: A must-read book that unmasks the Kelly myth and shines new light on the police efforts to bring them to justice. The books author, Canberra historian David Dufty, says he has no police links. He set out to explore what he saw as an under-studied angle: the police role as opposed to Neds side of the Kelly saga. A prominent senior detective sergeant has been sacked from the force after an internal police investigation found he sexually assaulted a subordinate who said she felt powerless to report it. A tribunal decision released in November affirmed the dismissal of Jeff Cocks, after it was found he had groped a junior officer under her dress and inserted his tongue in her ear following a drunken staff lunch. Former senior detective sergeant Jeff Cocks in 2015. Photo has been digitally altered. Credit:Jason South Criminal charges have not been laid following the incident. Mr Cocks, who maintains his innocence, was a celebrated and influential senior detective who became known for a series of high-profile drug busts and successful crackdowns on young offenders obsessed with guns, violence and gangster culture. Last month several prominent advocates wrote requesting urgent attention to the very low rates of vaccination among the urban homeless community in Western Australia, in particular for First Nations people who make up approximately 40 per cent of Perths homeless population. At that point, a request was made to defer the opening of WAs borders to allow sufficient time for vaccination rates to be significantly increased among this highly vulnerable population. WA Premier Mark McGowan delayed his states reopening date to get third-dose booster rates up. But only 7 per cent of the homeless population have received their booster shot. Credit:WAtoday Thankfully, less than a week later came the decision to postpone WAs reopening to protect the community from COVID. Since then, research published by Professor Lisa Wood and Homeless Healthcare as part of the University of Western Australias Coronavax study shows that just 38 per cent of Aboriginal people experiencing homelessness in Perth had received two doses of the COVID vaccine by the end of January. With deepest apologies to Jane Austen: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of prime ministerial ambition must be in want of a wife. Or if not a wife, then a girlfriend. In the case of Anthony Albanese, who is currently polling as our likely next PM, that girlfriend is Jodie Haydon, a 43-year-old strategic partnership manager for an industry superannuation fund, who lives in Albos electorate. At home with Anthony Albanese and partner Jodie Haydon. The relationship has been known for a while, but on Thursday the couple went public in the time-honoured way that prime ministerial hopefuls must: with a lovely photo shoot and accompanying feature in The Australian Womens Weekly. Australia will send military equipment and medical supplies to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against invasion while also urging China to stop aiding Russia in its attack on its neighbour. Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised the military and medical help on Friday in a significant expansion in Australian support for Ukraine after Russian forces launched missile attacks across the country and sent tanks rolling across its border. In a separate move to join global pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and the oligarchs who support him, Mr Morrison also declared Australian support for a decision to cut Russia out of the SWIFT financial network, the lifeblood of the global banking system. The Australian stance is significant because it comes at a time when European leaders are at odds over whether to take the far-reaching step of removing Russian banks from the SWIFT system, amid fears it would trigger wider disruption to world finance. Elliott says his diary showed between Monday and Thursday, he had five meetings related to his transport portfolio and does not believe any were cancelled. However, the first time he met his Transport Secretary Rob Sharp, who Elliott makes no secret of disliking, was this week when Perrottet hauled them both in to bury the hatchet. The premiers message was clear: the pair needed to work constructively together in the interest of NSW. Meanwhile, throughout last week, the likelihood of the shutdown was being war-gamed within the Transport Department. In fact, documents tabled to the industrial umpire suggest the agency had known for days that it was a live possibility if negotiations worsened. Premier Dominic Perrottet arrives for a press conference at Sydney International Airport as the train network was shut down. Credit:Brook Mitchell Several departments were providing contingency plans to the Transport Department, and the states chief economist Stephen Walters had been asked to model the economic impacts of a shutdown. Perrottet and Elliott are adamant they had no idea about the preparatory work that was under way. The transport debacle has provided yet another headache for Perrottet who is four months into the top job but has had no honeymoon period. A grim summer, which saw the Omicron wave sweep across the state, was not a good start for the new premier. Determined to stick to his decision to relax restrictions on December 15, Perrottet pushed ahead with his plan. But he did so as COVID-19 case numbers were skyrocketing into the thousands, and even his colleagues started to question his decision. Perrottet had a change of heart a week later and reintroduced mandatory masks and density limits in pubs and restaurants. He maintains he did not regret his decision, but he was widely criticised for his haste. NSW Transport Minister David Elliott met with the rail union on Tuesday. Credit:Brook Mitchell A Super Saturday of byelections earlier this month, including in former premier Gladys Berejiklians seat of Willoughby, was a baptism of fire for the new premier. The Liberals lost the once-safe seat of Bega, formerly held by the former transport minister Andrew Constance, and came dangerously close to losing Willoughby. Perrottet remained stoic, stressing that despite slipping further into minority government after the loss of a seat, his government was still in a strong position to govern. However, Mondays rail meltdown revealed some very significant cracks in his third-term government. As well as exposing how bitter the industrial relations battles with frontline workers are likely to be in the coming year, including with nurses and teachers, it also revealed a level of complacency and hubris within his team. Senior government sources say a fundamental misunderstanding between Elliotts chief of staff and a senior transport bureaucrat during a late night phone call on Sunday meant the minister went to bed without knowing what was about to unfold. After that brief call, at 10.43pm, the chief of staff messaged the bureaucrat: The minister has been briefed and is happy with our position. Loading Elliotts office thought they had been briefed about widespread disruption across the network on Monday, while the transport bureaucrat hung up the phone believing they had spelled out the full implications of what could soon occur, including a shutdown. The Transport Minister, still disappointed about losing his former portfolio of police, did not help the situation when he seemingly brushed off all responsibility, and said even if the rail bureaucrats had called him in the middle of the night to alert him of the shutdown, he would not have answered his phone anyway. A clearly unimpressed Perrottet, who had been wanting to use his energy to blame Labor and their union mates for grinding the city to a halt, instead had to publicly admonish Elliott and stress that he expected all his ministers to be available 24 hours a day. To cap off a bad week for Perrottet, exclusive polling for the Herald showed that Opposition leader Chris Minns has leapfrogged him and is now the preferred premier. The Resolve Political Monitor found that Minns is the preferred premier among 32 percent of voters, with Perrottet trailing at 29 per cent. However, 39 per cent of voters were undecided on who should lead NSW. For the first time in a decade, Labor is competitive. Its primary vote has climbed to 34 per cent (although still too low to win) while the Coalitions has slipped to 37 per cent, down from 41 per cent. A senior government source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says Perrottets major problem is he isnt Gladys. There is still a halo over Gladys, almost like she can do no wrong and that makes it very hard for Dom, the source says. However, Labor still has some way to go despite its significant improvement in its polling. As the government was floundering in the aftermath of the debacle, Minns held back from calling for Elliotts head for days, acutely aware of his predecessor Jodi McKays tendency to flippantly demand resignations. It left a sense among some within the party that Minns had missed an opportunity to hit Elliott and the government harder. One senior Labor source says: Chris is also naturally more cautious and even-keeled. He doesnt overreact to things - he even under-reacts sometimes. Loading It was not until Thursday afternoon that Minns demanded Elliotts resignation, insisting that the minister had either lost control of his department or had misled the public. By this stage, it was four days since a late night hearing of Fair Work on Sunday failed to resolve differences between the government and the rail union over the latters ban on altered working, a change from a train crews planned roster. The hearing was adjourned on Sunday night without a breakthrough. However, within the next few hours, Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland made the final decision to shut the network. Longland deemed it was too unsafe to run trains. It was a dramatic turnaround from less than 24 hours earlier when a Fair Work commissioner congratulated the two sides on reaching a settlement. When Sydneysiders woke up on Monday to the shock news that the rail network had been shut, Perrottet and Elliott launched a blistering attack on the union and Labor to wedge the Opposition and deflect blame for the disruption. For a short time, it worked. People wait for buses near Central Station after all Sydney Trains and Trainlink services were stopped on Monday. Credit:Kate Geraghty However, it then became clear that it was the government, not the unions, who had brought the city to a standstill. The major failing from the governments perspective was reflected in the brinkmanship that played out this week, which saw the transport agency end up effectively making the call to lockout staff, a senior transport insider says. Judith Amzalak is keeping an anxious vigil by her phone in Bondi. Never straying too far, lest she miss the next message from her daughter Miriam Moskovitz who is bunkered in the basement of her Ukraine home, 40 kilometres from the Russian border. Mrs Moskovitz and her husband Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz have spent more than 30 years building a life and a thriving Jewish community in Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city. The two were posted to the city in 1990 after the fall of communism as emissaries of the Chabad movement, the largest Orthodox outreach organisation in the world. Henry and Judith Amzalak, pictured at their home in Bondi, are concerned for daughter Miriam in Ukraine. Credit:Flavio Brancaleone Russias long-threatened invasion of Ukraine this week only affirmed their life mission to be pillars of the Ukrainian Jewish community. A key left-wing Labor union which represents council workers, the Australian Services Union, wrote to all Labor MPs and crossbenchers arguing council jobs and services could be cut due to one element of the housing reform package: scrapping the need for the government to pay council rates on publicly owned houses. The union pressure came on top of anger at a Friday morning government briefing for council mayors and chief executives, many of whom were already complaining that the governments rate capping policy would send some councils bust. We want this to be re-looked at, so it doesnt hurt jobs or the community, ASU secretary Lisa Darmanin told The Age. We will vigorously campaign on any policies that affect the jobs of our members. With an eye on this years election, Premier Daniel Andrews shelved a major housing reform. Credit:Joe Armao As one MP said this week: It was pretty clear soon after Friday that we were opening ourselves up to an election fight on housing affordability and also pissing off unions and councils. Another government source said: Why would we do this to ourselves in an election year? It made no sense to allow this to fester and that was clear to everyone. The ferocity of industry reaction belied the fact that talks about a potential tax began in 2019, when the government approached the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) and the Property Council about the concept of developers chipping in to fund social housing. However, these groups say conversations about developer contributions ended in 2019. In 2021, new talks involving began on the separate topic of speeding up and simplifying the planning process a long-held ambition of developers. In late 2021, the government took the unusual step of bringing the Property Council into the tent. The peak body was told the government wanted to establish a tax on the end value of properties. By bringing the major property industry body along for the ride, it minimised the prospect of a well-funded media campaign on the new levy like the one spearheaded by the Property Council over the governments windfall gains tax last year. The governments argument was thus: slashing red tape would deliver super profits to developers, so it was only fair the property sector paid some of this into a social housing fund. The Property Council did not oppose such a tax; the contention centred on its rate. In December, the industry group told the government it could cop a charge of between 1 and 1.5 per cent. The government originally came to the table with a proposal of 2.5 per cent, which would have netted the state government more than $1 billion each year a large haul for the severely stretched state budget that would have equated to about a quarter of the land tax revenue collected each year. It was these good-faith deliberations with the PCA that informed briefings delivered to Mr Andrews by senior ministers and staffers before he savaged the councils boss, Ms Hunter, for reneging on an agreement. Loading When Treasurer Tim Pallas and Planning Minister Richard Wynne revealed the policy on Friday, the rate was 1.75 per cent. The Property Council was given a heads-up about the final decision on the rate but, with the larger amount, its questionable if an agreement ever existed. The PCA had always intended to publicly highlight the flow-on costs of the tax at any rate above its desired range. The Property Council, whose members include Australias biggest developers, immediately went on the attack. To hit the government where it hurt, it emphasised that while wealthy developers may be the target of the tax, Labor and swinging voters in key parts of the electoral map would pay the price. The levy would see an extra tax bill of $9,362 on the median house price in Wyndham in Melbournes west, a $21,525 increase in Burwood in Melbournes east and $11,725 in Armstrong Creek in Geelongs growing southern suburbs, Ms Hunter said in a written statement on Friday. The new Social and Affordable Housing Contribution is a tax by another name. This is the 10th new property-based tax this Victorian government has introduced. At a time when other jurisdictions in Australia are discussing tax reform, Victoria remains the only state in Australia that is implementing tax increases. Government ministers were surprised by the strength of Ms Hunters response. Even though 1.75 per cent went beyond the Property Councils red line, they didnt expect the lobby group to take an immediate campaign footing, as the UDIA and HIA who were blindsided by the tax both did. Some Labor figures also feared the government would lose a vote on the bill in the upper house. After defections of Adem Somyurek and ally Kaushaliya Vaghela, the government needs two more votes on top of the three it can usually rely on. A loss would have been Labors fourth embarrassing defeat in the upper house in a few months. The Premier publicly questioned the fate of the bill on Wednesday, saying: The threes not enough. COVID-19 will rip through Perths vulnerable and low-vaccinated homeless population unless the state immediately triggers its plan to protect rough sleepers. That is the warning from a group of eminent West Australians including Professor Fiona Stanley and Associate Professor Ted Wilkes in an open letter addressed to Premier Mark McGowan on Friday. The government says it is ready and able to assist rough sleepers. Credit:Getty Images Perth has a homeless population of about 1000 people. New University of WA and Homeless Healthcare research found just 38 per cent of Aboriginal people experiencing homelessness in Perth had received two doses of the vaccine. Only 7 per cent of the broader homeless population had received their booster shot, which has shown to be far more effective at reducing serious illness from the Omicron variant than just two doses. Singapore: Australian IT worker Andrew Gosling faces up to seven years in jail after he killed a Singaporean father-of-four by throwing a wine bottle from an apartment block. The 49-year-old had been in Singapore for only two months when he threw the bottle from the seventh storey at a table in the barbecue area below in August 2019. Andrew Gosling. Credit:Nine News The bottle killed 73-year-old Muslim man Nasiari Sunee and injured his wife Manisah as they were about to sit down to dinner for a friends housewarming at the Spottiswoode apartment block in central Singapore. On Friday, Gosling stood motionless in the dock as he pleaded guilty to the offences with his father Ian and mother Pamela watching on, along with half-a-dozen members of the victimss family. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says every border guard defending a strategically important island in the Black Sea was killed in a Russian attack on Thursday. An audio clip has emerged of a purported exchange between Ukrainian guards on Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, and the Russian Navy. According to a translation, the Russians told the Ukrainians on Snake Island to surrender, or they would be bombed. Credit:location4film.com.ua According to a translation, the Russians told the Ukrainians to surrender, or they would be bombed. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest you surrender your weapons and capitulate. Otherwise, I will open fire, according to the clip. In fact, Ukraines President, Volodymyr Zelensky, is a Russian-speaking Jewish man who polled particularly strongly in Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine during the presidential election of 2019. There is no evidence of anything approaching genocide in Ukraine, though fighting between the Ukraine government forces and separatists supported by Russia in the east has cost an estimated 13,000 lives since Russia invaded and annexed Crimea in 2014. Loading Count among the dead 38 Australian citizens and residents who were among 298 people, including 80 children, who were onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 when it was shot from the sky on July 17, 2014, over eastern Ukraine. International investigators concluded the plane was hit by a Russian Buk missile transported from Russia, fired from a site held by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine and quickly returned to Russia. Despite all the evidence, Russian authorities deny any involvement. Putins style, of course, is not that of a ranting Hitler. He has long perfected a menacing charm. Loading It was likely fashioned during his 16 years as an intelligence officer in the old KGB, five years of which were spent in the shadows in Dresden, East Germany. According to investigative journalist Catherine Belton - whose 2020 book Putins People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West chronicles Putins rise - he was involved, among other things, in KGB coordination and support for the terrorist Red Army Faction, whose members frequently hid in East Germany. The menace in Putins persona as all-powerful President is no confection: critics of Putin have a habit of turning up dead or - in the case of his popular political opponent, Alexei Navalny, who survived poisoning with a nerve agent - rotting in prison. But as Putin sought agreement this week from his doormat security chiefs that two areas of Ukraine were effectively independent - and therefore ripe for the taking - the Russian President turned his menace on one of his own, the man he personally appointed in 2016 as Director of Foreign Intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin. It was as if he needed a touch of cruel sport as he limbered up to invade Ukraine. The close relationship between Putin and Naryshkin had long been noted in international circles. In 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine, US President Barack Obama ordered sanctions against several of Putins closest friends - a group that included Naryshkin. This should hardly surprise: he and Putin have been in lockstep, their careers soaring, since both were KGB agents in the old Soviet Union. Loading Naryshkin has sometimes been identified as a potential successor to Putin as President, though even before his abasement this week, such a succession seemed increasingly unlikely. Last year, Putin, having already served twice as President, signed into law a constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for reelection twice more, potentially extending his presidency to 2036. On Monday, anyway, when Putin brought together his security council, old friendship meant nothing. Naryshkin tripped up when asked whether he supported the decision to recognise the independence of the separatist regions of Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk. Naryshkin, standing alone at the podium, the room ringed by silent security bosses sitting at ramrod attention, suggested the West be given a last chance to return to the Minsk agreements - international pacts signed between Russia and Ukraine from 2014 designed to avoid war in the separatist areas. Maybe an ultimatum ought to be offered to the West, Naryshkin suggested. Putin demanded to know what that might mean. Are you suggesting we start negotiations or recognise sovereignty? Naryshkin was reduced to stuttering and stammering, and Putin demanded that he speak, speak, speak plainly. Clearly not knowing what to say that would please his leader, the spy chief blundered again by going too far for Putin, supporting the idea of annexing the two regions into the Russian Federation. Were not talking about that, snapped Putin, as Naryshkins face visibly paled. Were talking about recognising their independence or not. Yes or no? And so Naryshkin, mortified, agreed that yes, indeed, of course he agreed. Putin, a tiny smile playing around his lips, his fox eyes hooded, responded, Good, please take a seat. Could Naryshkin have detected a distant Siberian wind from the gulags, or a pre-dawn knock on the door from the old-time paranoid years of purge as he strode stiffly to his chair? We know of his mortification because soon after, the Kremlin released the video to any news agency that wanted it. The message? If Putin would so easily stick a metaphorical knife into the ribs of his hand-picked international intelligence chief, the chance that he would pull back from invading Ukraine was risible. Putin, however, seems less the monstrous Joe Stalin - he of the great purges, the gulags and the terror of the pre-dawn knock on the door - than a reborn Tsar, dreaming of restoring empire. He made it plain in the long, rambling speech he delivered this week to justify invading Ukraine. Loading Going further than his 2005 declaration that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century, he reached back a century to declare that recognition by the Bolsheviks of Ukraine as a republic was a catastrophic mistake. He even criticised the ceding of Russian land to end the war with Germany in 1918. He was, thus, mourning much more than the loss of the old Soviet Union. He was howling about the loss of the territory of the former Russian empire. Putin was speaking of the land of the Tsars, so vast that invaders, unable to withstand its distances and its weather, perished in every attempt to conquer it. Even Napoleon in 1812 lost 380,000 of his 450,000-strong army, plus his reputation, just as Hitler miscalculated disastrously by ordering Operation Barbarossa, the largest German operation of World War II. Germany lost 750,000 soldiers. Stalins Soviets sacrificed 800,000 dead and 5 million wounded or captured, but triumphed. Putin, it is plain, wants back those lands that long provided a buffer against the West. Putin seems as willing as any tyrant to sacrifice his peoples economic wellbeing in pursuit of ideology and territory. But what, then, of the current onslaught of Western economic and financial sanctions against Russia and its individuals now that Putin has decided to try to regain some of that old empire? Loading Putin, personally wealthier than any Tsar - estimates range from $70 billion to $200 billion - seems as willing as any tyrant to sacrifice his peoples economic wellbeing in pursuit of ideology and territory. He shrugged at US, EU and other international sanctions when he invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014, even though the rouble collapsed, contributing to the Russian financial crisis of 2014-2016, when workers wages decreased and food prices rose. But what of the savage sanctions against the oligarchs, many of them Putins old cronies from the KGB, whose massive fortunes are said to be linked to his through patronage and kickbacks? The Russian invasion of Ukraine is on the other side of the world but it has cranked up Australias anxiety about its own security situation. When confronted by a threat, such as that posed by President Vladimir Putin, in the past Australia could trust that together with our US ally we had an economic, military and also moral superiority, which guaranteed our ultimate success. But over the course of the past two decades the old Western democratic alliances on which we rely have lost some of their prestige and power. This is partly due to our own mistakes. The disastrous invasion of Iraq based on fake intelligence and the humiliation in Afghanistan sapped US moral authority and wasted its resources. The Trump presidency undermined the US commitment to democratic values both at home and abroad. Large sections of the Republican Party are so intent on frustrating their Democrat enemies that they have praised Mr Putins invasion of his neighbour. Earlier Moscow offered to hold talks with Ukraine in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, which US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said was an attempt to conduct diplomacy at the barrel of a gun. He said Russia must stop its bombing if it is serious about diplomacy. Russia had attempted to engage in a pretence of diplomacy even as it prepared to invade Ukraine this week, Price said. Members of the Ukrainian territorial defence battalion set up a machine gun in Kyiv on Friday. Credit:Getty Images Despite disagreements about where talks could take place, Ukraine authorities said they were still open to negotiating with Russia. Both sides of the conflict were in ongoing discussions, according to a spokesperson for the Ukrainian presidents office. Responding to claims from the Kremlin that Ukraine had stopped engaging in the discussions, President Volodymyr Zelenskys spokesman Sergii Nykyforov said the country remained ready to talk about a ceasefire and peace. Russian missiles pounded Kyiv on Friday, families cowered in shelters and authorities told residents to prepare Molotov cocktails to defend Ukraines capital from an assault that the mayor said had already begun with saboteurs in the city. Ukraines presidential adviser said the country had kept control of territory attacked by Russian forces. Russias idea is to create chaos and form a temporary administration, Mykhailo Podolyak said. The most severe situation was in the cities of Kharkiv, Sumy and Yug, he added. People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter in Kyiv. Credit:Emilio Morenatti/AP Junior Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said Ukraine has successfully attacked invading Russian forces, saying Russia has sustained casualties of 2800. Loading However, Interfax news agency reported Russian forces cut off two cities - Sumy and Konotop - in north-eastern Ukraine, quoting Russias Defence Ministry. The forces have taken out 211 Ukrainian military targets, Interfax reported, citing the ministry. Some media reports say Russia also suffered losses. In Poland, which has the regions largest Ukrainian community of about 1 million people, authorities said wait times to cross the border ranged from six to 12 hours in some places. At Medyka in the south of Poland, some 85 kilometres from Lviv in western Ukraine, roads were packed with cars, police directing traffic, and people hugging loved ones after they arrived on the Polish side. An internet map site showed a third of the way congested with heavy traffic. It is only women and children [coming through] because for men it is forbidden. We leave all our fathers, men, husbands at home and it feels like shit, said Ludmila, 30. When asked if she was worried about her husband, Ludmila broke down in tears. Loading Ukrainian rules now restrict men aged 18 to 60, who could be conscripted, from leaving. UN aid agencies say the war could drive up to 5 million people to flee abroad. They said fuel, cash and medical supplies were running low in parts of Ukraine. At least 100,000 people were already uprooted in Ukraine since Russia launched its attacks, the UN refugee agency said. Loading Russias central bank said it was increasing the amount of cash given to banks to replenish ATMs, the regulators latest measure to try to maintain financial stability since the invasion. Demand for cash in Russia on Thursday stood at 111.3 billion roubles ($1.86 billion) and was the highest since March 2020, central bank data showed. Top European Union finance officials said the conflict would slow European economic growth this year through higher energy prices and lower business confidence to some extent trade, but the EU was ready for it. We know there will be economic costs. These costs will emerge over the coming weeks and months, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers Paschal Donohoe said, adding that finance ministers will review fiscal plans in coming weeks to make sure they can support the economy if necessary. NATO leaders said they were deploying more troops to Eastern Europe to reinforce borders and support allies. No one should be fooled by the Russian governments barrage of lies, the 30 leaders said in a joint statement after a virtual summit chaired by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. We are now making significant additional defensive deployments of forces to the eastern part of the alliance. NATO will deploy thousands of land, air and sea troops from its rapid-response force for the first time in defence of alliance members, Stoltenberg said. Some of the 40,000-strong force, which has previously only been used for humanitarian missions, will be sent to NATOs eastern members to protect all allies and every inch of NATO territory, he said. Loading Stoltenberg also said the alliance would provide more military suppor, including for air defence systems to Ukraine, but that its hard to predict what are our possibilities in the future. Separately, Germany announced it would be deploying a company of troops to Slovakia, where the soldiers would build part of a new NATO battle group. Reuters, Bloomberg, AP ~Meaningful Youth Participation to take center stage~ PHILIPSBURG:--- The Department of Youth, in collaboration with UNICEF the Netherlands, will host the 4th Youth Round Table Conference on March 3rd upcoming. This event will be held virtually as a precautionary measure due to the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic and will be the first of other RTC activities that will take place during this year. However, despite the challenge posed by the pandemic, the department anticipates the participation of approximately 250 students from the various high schools and tertiary education institutions on the island as well as other youth-related organizations. This year's program also sets a new precedent, having it executed in its entirety by youth speakers, presenters, panelists, and entertainers from St. Maarten. The theme for this years conference is placed on Meaningful Youth Participation and through this, the Department of Youth is working towards a youth mainstreaming strategy for the government apparatus in general. This event comes on the 25th anniversary since the first ever Youth Summit was held on the island in 1997. The conference was a collaboration between the former Department of Social Cultural Development, now known as the Department of Youth and the St. Maarten Youth Council Association. Through this initiative, the department devised its strategy for years to come by anchoring the decision to host such conferences on a 5-year basis. This decision would allow the further planning, implementation, and evaluation of policies and programs stemming from these events. A notable outcome from the 2004 Youth Summit was the drafting of the islands first Integrated Youth Policy during the tenure of former Commissioner Louie Laveist. This policy was and remains the compass to direct the Department of Youths additional policies and programs up to the present. In 2013, the Youth Round Table Conference saw the implementation of the St. Maarten Youth Desk as an outcome, offering information sessions to students and parents and included a youth innovation competition where youth initiatives were presented by the various schools. These proposals were later translated into activities organized by youth. 25 years later, the department continues to employ the same strategy albeit in a different format to cater to our current reality since the disaster of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and the start of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020. The Minister of Education, Culture, Youth & Sport, the Honorable Drs. Rodolphe Samuel, acknowledges the importance of getting youth on the island engaged in an even more meaningful manner by including them in decision making that affects them and creating opportunities to prepare youth on the island to assume more leadership roles based on international and global standards. While the Topic of Meaningful Youth Participation is not new for St. Maarten, it certainly holds a high priority in my portfolio and that of this Ministry. Together with our partners,we are now exploring enhanced ways and means to translate these policies and programs to suit the 21st century and equip our youth to function in their best capacity as leaders the Minster said. He further challenged the participants to become more aware of the topic of meaningful youth participation by engaging actively in the discussions and taking heed of the recommendations from this conference. The Minister extended his sincere gratitude to the staff of the Department of Youth and to the team of UNICEF the Netherlands, for their tireless efforts to make this conference a success. SABA:---The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Service KNMI has been on Saba since February 11 to, among other things, install a new Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) on Parish Hill and to do the regular maintenance of the monitoring equipment that is already there. After bringing up the construction materials and equipment to the Whales Tail at Parish Hill together with a group of local young men, the KNMI team got to work to install the new GNSS monitoring station. This is the fourth and last permanent GNSS monitoring station to be installed on Saba. Together with the GNSS equipment on the North Coasts Grey Hill, St. Johns, at the airport and now on Parish Hill, the KNMI can closely monitor the Mt. Scenery volcano from all sides of the island. There was no GNSS yet on this side of the island. It is important to monitor the volcano from all sides, said KNMI volcanologist Elske de Zeeuw-van Dalfsen about the new GNSS on Parish Hill. The equipment for the new GNSS at the Whales Tail was brought to Saba by boat from the Netherlands. Seismometers Unlike on the other locations, no seismometer was installed on Parish Hill, because there is already a seismometer inside the building of the Saba Telephone Company Satel in The Bottom. In total, there are five seismometers on Saba, at the airport, in Windwardside, St. Johns, The Bottom, and on Grey Hill. Installing a satellite connection at the new GNSS at the Whales Tail was not necessarily like on the remote Grey Hill location in April last year because there is the reception on Parish Hill. With no seismometer or satellite equipment, the total load to carry up to the Whales Tail was less heavy. The four-member KNMI team, with local assistance, carried up the GNSS, solar panels, and an electronic cabinet, along with tools and the materials to secure the equipment to the ground. Hot Springs The KNMI team also went to the Hot Springs near the Sulphur Mine to collect the data of the loggers that were placed there in October last year. The KNMI continuously measures the temperature of the Hot Springs. The temperature at the Hot Springs has been stable with a maximum of 82 to 84 degrees Celsius. While on Saba, the KNMI team, as usual, did regular maintenance of all measuring equipment. All five seismometers, the four GNSS installations that were already in place were thoroughly checked, and one computer was replaced. The monitoring stations are constantly subjected to the elements like strong winds and salt, so maintenance remains very important. Cost-efficient GNSS During their visit this time, the KNMI team also installed four cost-efficient GNSS instruments as an experiment to see how well they work. One was placed on the top of Mt. Scenery, one alongside the new GNSS on Parish Hill, one on the location of the new Black Rocks harbor, and one in Windwardside. The cost-efficient, easy-to-install versions of the regular, more expensive permanent GNSS will remain for two years and were strategically placed to further complete the network of monitoring equipment. We want to see how well they work and how we can best deploy them. The cost-efficient GNSS are more mobile because they can easily be moved to another location, explained de Zeeuw-van Dalfsen. The cost-efficient GNSS instruments were only placed on Saba, as an experiment. Facebook group The KNMI has started a Facebook group where updates are placed about KNMIs work on Saba and St. Eustatius. The idea is to keep people abreast in an easily accessible manner. People can also share volcano or earthquake-related observations, for example, if they feel a tremor, said de Zeeuw-van Dalfsen. The address of the new Facebook group is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/191096753226885 Information is also available on: https://knmidc.org/volcanoes The KNMI team, which leaves Saba on Saturday, February 26, during this visit consisted of volcanologist Elske de Zeeuw-van Dalfsen, seismologist Reinoud Sleeman, technician Belmin Kuc, and geodesy expert Andreas Krietemeyer. The KNMI plans to return to Saba in the last quarter of this year. In May, the KNMI team will visit St. Eustatius where a fourth permanent GNSS will be installed north of The Quill. Somerset, KY (42501) Today Mostly cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High 69F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 49F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Images Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. Pictured in front, from left, are Jules Heninger, Future Teachers of Alabama; Emma Newsome, Future Business Leaders of America; Cami McClenny, EHS Career Tech Director; Enterprise Mayor William Cooper; Alisa Mason, JROTC; Emily Strickland, president of the EHS Future Farmers of America chapter; and Ashtin Money, Skills USA. In back, from left, are Max Crush, Health Occupation Students of America; Zachary Gayford, Technical Students Association; and Micah Smith, JROTC. As many Connecticut school districts prepare to lift mask mandates on Monday, the latest state figures show cases among students and staff have reached some of the lowest levels this academic year. The latest state data released Thursday showed there were more than 800 fewer COVID cases among students and staff in Connecticut schools in the past week. The state reported 513 infections among students in the past week, a decline of more than 700 cases. For teachers and staff, there were 123 infections, a decline of roughly 120 cases, figures show. Infections among teachers and staff have been steadily declining since a peak the first full week back after the Christmas holiday, state figures show. Similarly, infections and hospitalizations have dropped to levels not seen since before the omicron variant arrived in Connecticut. On Thursday, Connecticut reported a positivity rate of 3.99 percent with 458 COVID infections found among 11,467 tests. Hospitalizations fell by a net of seven patients for a total of 248. The state reported there were 119 COVID deaths in the past week. As of Monday, school districts will have independent discretion to require masks for teachers and students after the state lifts its broad requirement. Many districts have opted to make masks optional starting Monday, but several have decided to extend the requirement for several weeks until they make a final decision. The state Department of Public Health issued an order late Wednesday, a formal document that laid out Connecticuts masking policy, that drew some confusion with language that said: Based upon the public health conditions in the state at this time, the use of an appropriate face-covering is required as set forth below. However, the memo makes clear that masks are only required in schools on or after Feb. 28 if they are mandated by the school district, or the local governing bodies of those districts. DPH Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani maintains the authority to issue broad mask requirements in schools, child care centers, health care facilities and shelters depending on COVID conditions until June 30, according to Chris Boyle, a DPH spokesperson. But local school districts have been given the authority to otherwise set their own mask rules. Its part of a narrative that has been continually created by this administration that has only brought confusion, fear and frustration on local school districts, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora , R-Branford, said Wednesday. In anticipation of the broad mask mandate ending, DPH released new COVID guidance for schools, including promoting vaccination, isolation for symptomatic students and staff, and urging parents to report cases to school officials. The guidance also suggested that school districts continue to support students and staff who elect to wear masks in school, even when not required to do so. When there are outbreaks within schools, DPH suggested districts prepare to institute temporary mask mandates depending on several factors, including the level of transmission. Juthani, who was fully appointed Thursday as commissioner of DPH, defended the decision to lift the broad school mask mandate next week. I have had schools writing to me who are 90-, 100-percent vaccinated, you know, and they dont feel that the same rules should apply to them as other schools. And other schools who may not have the same vaccination rate, but for their own set of reasons, for their populace, feel that they should not have to do certain things, she added. And then other groups have said, you know what, we have polled our parents and they want to keep the masks on. I have heard all variations on this. Juthani said state officials carefully selected the date when the broad mask mandate would end and considered factors like the Presidents Day holiday this week and at-home tests becoming available for all students. It was a very thought-out process, with lots of meetings and lots of different outreach to different groups, she said. We tried to take that into account as much as we could into the final decision that came out. During Juthanis appointment hearing Thursday, state Rep. Jason Perillo, R-Shelton, a member of the executive and legislative nominations committee, asked what data supported the Feb. 28 date. There were some people who would say it should be longer, Juthani said. And there are people who say it should be shorter. Right? Were trying to identify the relatively safe time when people can make this decision and it can be a local decision. When you have a 24-percent positivity rate that has gone down to a 3-percent positivity rate, that is the right trajectory. All the metrics that we had are going in the right direction. They are continuing to go in the right direction. And thats all that went into this decision making. Staff writers Liz Hardaway and Ken Dixon contributed to this story. CT State Police / Contributed BOZRAH A local woman was taken into custody this week in connection with a kidnapping warrant held by a Nevada law enforcement agency, according to Connecticut State Police. Jessica Ann Bisson, 43, of Brush Hill Road in Bozrah, was taken into custody on Wednesday after troopers from Troop K in Colchester responded to Mack Road in Lebanon to try to find a person wanted by North Las Vegas police. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW HAVEN State and local officials distributed masks and coronavirus tests at the Bella Vista housing complex on Eastern Street Thursday, offering residents tools to help safeguard themselves as the coronavirus pandemic nears the two-year mark. Alder Renee Haywood, D-11, a resident of the complex, said she had partnered with fellow alders, officials from the Department of Public Health and New Haven Rising, among others, to organize the distribution effort, which attracted scores of people looking to receive the health safety tools. I think that its needed, said Haywood, noting the chance to help out staffers, as well as her neighbors. All these people are entwined with the people that live here. Nalley Acosta and Aidee Nieves, both regional coordinators of the state health departments health equity program, said the gathering was part of a larger effort across Connecticut, as the state seeks to partner with residents and trusted messengers to share pandemic safety measures. Its about building a partnership (to help get to people in need), said Acosta. Eleazar Lanzot, key leader with New Haven Rising, said the group had been working with the state to get masks and tests to the community, especially in hard-hit areas. The effort was in keeping with the groups mission of aiding residents and fighting discrimination, he said. We really want to help out the community and address some of the injustices that have been done, said Lanzot. This is one way we try to help. Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, city Health Director Maritza Bond and state Rep. Al Paollilo, D-New Haven, also in attendance, expressed their support for the endeavor. Bysiewicz praised Haywood for helping putting together the event, and those in attendance for wearing masks. This is something that came from the community, said Bysiewicz. This is going to be what continues to keep us safe. She said she hoped the event spurred people to discuss the importance of vaccination with children and young adults in their families, noting the Lamont administration was ending the statewide mask mandate as of Feb. 28. Paolillo said the beginning of the pandemic felt like a long time ago, but that it was important to maintain safety measures. I think during this time we want to continue to stay safe and healthy, said Paolillo. I think thats really the message today to continue to protect each other. Bond said the city was continuing monitoring efforts, including considering city wastewater, as the number of coronavirus cases in the city and at local hospitals trend downward after the rise of the omicron variant. According to the state, 68 people were hospitalized with coronavirus in New Haven County as of Thursday. As of Feb. 17, there were 92 people hospitalized; as of Feb. 10, 150. Bond asked residents to remain vigilant at this stage and continue to take appropriate precautions. The city, in conjunction with DPH, continues to offer PCR coronavirus testing, she noted. Haywood said the event demonstrated that people were paying attention to the news and taking steps to aid one another. Asked why she wanted to organize the gathering Thursday, she pointed to the simple utility of it. The life you save may be your own no telling, said Haywood. You can help everybody and it doesnt take much. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com The application window opened Thursday for Connecticut retailers who want to participate in the recreational and medical cannabis markets. The state plans to license two general applicants and two social equity applicants as hybrid retailers. The application window for the lottery is open for 90 days and will close May 25. Social equity status is determined by income and residency. The state has established its Social Equity Council, a group thats charged with ensuring those who were most impacted by the war on drugs benefit from the recreational market. Medical dispensaries that are already licensed and want to add recreational sales will not be subject to the lottery system. They also will be required to maintain their medical programs. READ MORE: What you need to know about Connecticuts recreational pot licensing process READ MORE: Legal weed in CT: Your questions answered Application windows for other types of cannabis businesses started opening early in February. Open application windows include retailers, delivery services and micro-cultivators, among other business types. Other application windows are set to open on a rolling basis through March. Applications are available online. Those with questions can email dcp.cannabis@ct.gov. Recreational cannabis in Connecticut was legalized during the 2021 legislative session. Retail sales are expected to begin by the end of this year. STAMFORD A 15-year-old boy has been charged in a shooting that sent another teen to the hospital earlier this month. Lt. Tom Scanlon said the teenager, who lives in the Glenbrook area of Stamford, was arrested Thursday on charges of first-degree assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit and first-degree reckless endangerment. The arrest stems from a Feb. 13 shooting that happened in the rear of a commercial property on Hope Street, according to Scanlon. Investigators later determined that the victim and a third teenager were involved in a confrontation when the 15-year-old boy pulled a gun and shot the victim in the buttocks, police said. By the time officers responded to the scene, though, all parties had fled, according to police. Patrol officers later found the victim driving away at a high rate of speed on Summer Street, according to Scanlon. He said officers made contact with the victim and escorted him to the hospital. Using video evidence, investigators later identified the teen as the lead suspect. Scanlon said the arrest is the latest in a number of other juvenile-related incidents, particularly violent crimes, which, he said, are an increasing concern within the department. The department would like to commend the collaboration among the officers in Patrol, Narcotics and Organized Crime, and Investigators Damein Rosa and John McClafferty of the Major Crimes Unit, in the successful apprehensions of these suspects, said Scanlon, referring to the arrest of the shooting suspect and a robbery suspect police arrested a day earlier. As the City of Stamford prepares to submit its proposal to receive up to $50 million of Connecticuts highly anticipated $100 million Innovation Corridor funding (the proposal is due March 4), Im pleased to voice my support and commend the countless individuals and organizations (public and private) who are working tirelessly to develop and expand Stamfords vibrant technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem. The cities that are selected to receive Innovation Corridor funding will have the opportunity to make a transformative investment in their communities. The initiative is designed to create a projected 15,000 jobs in Connecticut over five years in high-growth sectors such as data science, advanced manufacturing, and insurance technology. When Gov. Ned Lamont announced it in October, he deemed it a key part of our plan to accelerate long-lasting and equitable economic development in Connecticut." For six years StamfordNext and many others have been working to grow the city into a robust, national hub for cutting-edge technology. Weve made tremendous progress that ideally positions the city for further investment and support. Should Stamford be granted Innovation Corridor funding (winners will be announced this spring), the infrastructure weve established for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in technology should be expanded tenfold. In the last year alone, Stamford made strides in innovation: UConn Stamford launched its Stamford Data Science Initiative that includes: 1) The opening of a Technology Incubation Program, TIP Digital, that has grown from supporting five data science startups to 23. 2) An entrepreneurship co-op program named the Stamford Startup Studio, which provides students real-world experience in developing products and operating as a startup; and 3) The Data Science Faculty Fellows program that recruits top data science faculty researchers for the University of Connecticuts Stamford campus. AT&T and UConn partnered to bring advanced development & research technology utilizing the AT&T 5G+ network to the UConn Stamford campus to bolster the UConn Stamford Data Science Initiative. The Stamford Partnership launched TechHub, a collaborative of programs and events to unite Stamfords technology community such as: The TechHub Fireside Chat Series with leaders and innovators to discuss timely issues. Most recently, Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances, and Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons were featured speakers. Free weekly community co-working sessions at Third Place by Half-Full Brewery for sharing ideas, inspiration and knowledge. ( Third Place is another StamfordNext-funded initiative thats dedicated to building our innovation ecosystem. Its unique versatility as a coworking & event space, coffee house and tasting room makes it the perfect venue for fostering community.) Executive networks for technology experts and business leaders to discuss data and analytics; cybersecurity; and workforce, community and economic development TechFWD, a workforce development initiative to help individuals learn the digital skills needed to create and grow small businesses GE Appliances announced its multimillion-dollar initiative, CoCREATE Stamford, that will return small appliance manufacturing to Stamford and offer an innovative community makerspace for hands-on learning. Digital Currency Group, a leading investor in cryptocurrency and decentralized finance technologies, announced its relocation from New York City to Stamford by late 2022. The move is expected to bring 300 jobs to Connecticut in the booming fields of data science and blockchain technology. Picture this: A coworking space in UConn TIP Digital, filled with innovators, researchers, students and engineers. Theyre writing algorithms, learning coding, starting companies, and pushing the known boundaries of technology. The students are completing internships with the startups and landing full-time jobs after graduation because theyve gained invaluable real-world experience and the data science skills employers need. The startups attract investors who hope to find the next Tesla or Uber. After business hours, Stamfords Pacific Street corridor near Harbor Point is the hip new hang-out spot for the tech professionals and students. On Friday nights, they enjoy the latest local brew at Third Place by Half Full Brewery then head out for live music at one of the areas growing number of cool venues. This is happening now. This the new Stamford. Our city is exciting, innovative, and eager to continue its progress. Not only do we aim to foster innovation and support startups in their incubation; we want to be those startups forever home. Lets show them they dont need to fly the nest to San Francisco or Austin to find the talent, resources, and funding they require. Lets be a thriving technology hub so they stay here to work and to live. And lets continue to grow our talent pool by offering skills-based training that will prepare our workforce for the jobs of the future and entice more cutting-edge companies such as DCG to make Stamford their home. Now is the time to fund the Stamford innovation ecosystem. The Innovation Corridor grant would be optimally utilized here. Our citys wealth of high-tech talent, progressive business, and dedicated leaders are ready to truly transform Stamford. Wesley Bemus is the executive director of StamfordNext , a nonprofit collaborative that invests in the people, technology and expertise in Stamford to propel the citys growth and enable innovation. Milton, PA (17847) Today Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 69F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 48F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Ashtabula, OH (44004) Today Showers early, then cloudy in the afternoon. High 54F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 43F. Winds light and variable. This is archive content that is no longer updated. Go to the up-to-date statistics page. A more recent publication of this set of statistics is available. Latest publication: Prices of dwellings in housing companies 2022, February Published: 25 February 2022 Prices of old dwellings in housing companies continued to rise in January According to Statistics Finland's preliminary data, prices of old dwellings in housing companies rose in January in all the largest towns except Espoo compared with the previous year. In Espoo prices fell by just short of one per cent. In the whole country prices rose by 3.3 per cent from the year before. Compared with December, prices rose by close on one per cent in the whole country. In January, two per cent more sales of old dwellings in blocks of flats and terraced houses were made through real estate agencies than one year ago. Development of prices of old dwellings in housing companies by month in large cities in 2015 to 2022M01, index 2015=100 Among large towns, prices of old dwellings in housing companies rose most in Tampere and Helsinki compared with the corresponding period of last year. Since 2015, prices have gone up by nearly 19 per cent in Tampere and by 27 per cent in Helsinki. In Greater Helsinki, prices of dwellings in blocks of flats rose by 4.4 per cent and in terraced houses by 1.2 per cent from one year ago. Examined by major region, prices of old dwellings in housing companies rose in January on the annual level most in Eastern and Northern Finland. Compared to 2015, prices have risen by 13 per cent in Southern Finland. Prices have fallen by one per cent in Northern Finland and by 0.5 per cent in Western Finland. Prices have gone down by over 16 per cent in Eastern Finland. Development of prices of old dwellings in housing companies by month in major regions 20152022M01, index 2015=100 Prices per square metre of old dwellings in housing companies, January 2022 1) Area Price, EUR/m Index 2015=100 Monthly change, % Yearly change, % Whole country 2,283 107.8 0.8 3.3 Greater Helsinki 4,080 119.9 1.1 3.4 Rest of the country (whole country - Greater Helsinki) 1,756 97.2 0.4 3.2 Satellite municipalities 2) 2,299 100.3 2.9 4.0 Helsinki 4,742 126.9 2.5 4.9 Espoo-Kauniainen 3,654 109.3 -3.3 -0.9 Vantaa 3,028 108.8 2.9 4.6 Tampere 2,969 118.7 -0.7 7.0 Turku 2,336 118.8 -0.3 1.6 Oulu 1,941 105.9 2.8 3.9 1) Preliminary data2) Satellite municipalities = Hyvinkaa, Jarvenpaa, Kerava, Kirkkonummi, Nurmijarvi, Riihimaki, Sipoo, Tuusula and Vihti The statistics on the prices of old dwellings in housing companies are based on the Tax Administration's data on dwellings (data on ownership of dwellings in housing companies). The numbers published from data on dwellings should not be used to assess the activeness of transactions in the latest periods. When the monthly statistics on prices of old dwellings in housing companies are published for the first time, they cover approximately 60 per cent of all transactions made in the latest statistical reference month. The monthly data become revised during the following months so that the final data for the year are published in the release concerning the first quarter of the following year. Further information about data revisions can be found in separate tables. The numbers of old dwellings in housing companies sold through real estate agents are based on the data from the price monitoring service of the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies. As a rule, these data do not become revised retrospectively. Data on prices of dwellings in housing companies in different areas and by house type are available at stat.fi/til/ashi/tau_en.html. The tables also contain data on the prices per square metre at the municipal and postal code levels and on the numbers of transactions. If only a few transactions are known in the area, a couple of deviating cases may significantly affect the average price for an area and the price index. Instead of individual monthly and annual changes, the development of prices should be examined over a longer time period and not only for a particular point in time. Source: Prices of dwellings in housing companies, Statistics Finland Inquiries: Petri Kettunen 029 551 3558, Anu Ramo 029 551 3450, asuminen.hinnat@stat.fi Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala Publication in pdf-format (357.5 kB) Updated 25.2.2022 Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Prices of dwellings in housing companies [e-publication]. ISSN=2323-8801. January 2022. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 4.5.2022]. Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/ashi/2022/01/ashi_2022_01_2022-02-25_tie_001_en.html A number of 14 asylum applications were registered in the Suceava County from some citizens of Ukraine, and in the past 24 hours 5,000 Ukrainians entered the country through the Siret border crossing point, prefect Alexandru Moldovan told AGERPRES, on Friday. He said that all 14 people are in the Regional Centre for Accommodation and Procedures for Asylum Seekers (CRCPSA) in Radauti and will follow all the legal procedures that need to be followed in such situations. Moldovan specified that, according to the information received from CRCPSA from Radauti, the centres still has 72 available places, Agerpres.ro informs. According to the prefect, since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, approximately 200-300 people from this country have stayed in county units, pensions or hotels, most of those who entered Romania, according to his information, being in transit to other European countries. At the same time, the prefect said that, in the county, several mobile camps for the accommodation of refugees from Ukraine can be made operational, if there are requests and the situation imposes it. He also said that two mobile camps from Neamt and Bistrita have arrived in the county, which will be set up if needed. ''I spoke with the representatives of the Archdiocese who are also preparing accommodation and food, somewhere around 250 places. (...) If this need arises and we receive orders, we will operate the mobile camp. (...) We have asked for additional mobile camps to be prepared, because the projections and analyzes made indicate this possibility. (...) We solved the problem with water, through donations from Dorna. We have secured a financial allocation from the County Council, because we have requested them for barracks and catering in case of need for a week, including to cover for the necessary expenses with the heating generator and we have requested the removal of these elements from the state reserves, said the prefect. The number of people who crossed the border from Ukraine in the past 24 hours has increased by 87.5pct, according to the General Inspectorate of Border Police. "At the border with Ukraine, the total number of Romanian and foreign citizens was 12,220 people, of which 10,624 were entering the country. Compared to February 23, when 6,519 people were registered (4,041 entering the country), there was an increase of 87.5pct," the same source said. On Thursday, within 24 hours, at the national level, approximately 111,817 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, carried out the formalities through the border crossing points, out of which 58,268 people were on their way to enter the country, and 53,549 people on their way out, Agerpres.ro informs. Compared to the previous day, February 23, when the traffic values at the national level were 93,060 people (46,901 wanting to enter the country, 46,159 on their way out) there was an increase of 20pct recorded. At the border with Moldova, the traffic values were 18,728 people (of which 12,055 were on the way into the country), and on the previous day there were 14,228 people (7,972 on the way into the country) - an increase of 31.6pct. At the national level, 14,068 Ukrainian citizens completed the control formalities, out of which 10,408 were entering Romania, an increase of 150pct being recorded. At the border with Ukraine, 7,422 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania, and 2,193 entered the country from the Republic of Moldova. "On February 24, 11 people requested the granting of a form of protection of the Romanian state at the border crossing points, which will be taken over by the representatives of the General Inspectorate for Immigration," said the IGPF. On Friday, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis participated by virtual videoconference in an extraordinary meeting of the Bucharest 9 (B9) Format calling for coherent and unitary enhancement of the deterrence and defence posture on the Eastern flank especially in the Black Sea. "Important Bucharest 9 meeting, which I am co-hosting with President Andrzej Duda. In my intervention, I called for the coherent and unitary enhancement of the deterrence and defence posture on the Eastern Flank, especially at the Black Sea," Iohannis wrote on Twitter. He announced on Tuesday that he and his Polish counterpart Duda had decided to hold a special B9 summit on Friday amidst the latest security developments in the region, Agerpres.ro informs. "I spoke with Polish President Andrzej Duda today about the serious security situation in the Black Sea region as a result of Russia's flagrant violations of international law. As a result, we decided to hold a summit in Warsaw on Friday, February 25, of the Bucharest 9 (B9) Format to coordinate our response and to demonstrate our unity. We are with Ukraine!," the head of state wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu stressed on Friday at a special meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels the need to maintain the EU's firm stance on Russia's "unacceptable" aggressions, given the gravity of the situation facing Ukraine and which has a major impact on the entire Euro-Atlantic security, informs a release sent by the Foreign Ministry (MAE). According to the MAE, the meeting aimed to address the far-reaching and multidimensional effects of Russia's illegal, unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, following talks by European leaders at Thursday's European Council, establishing firm and swift EU reactions against Moscow, including the adoption of a substantial, robust and comprehensive package of sanctions. During the special meeting, an exchange of views took place with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, Agerpres.ro informs. "The Romanian Foreign Minister reiterated his solidarity with Ukraine and his support for the independence and territorial integrity of this state, and reaffirmed his firm condemnation of Russia's military aggression, which is a blatant violation of international law and the fundamental principles underlying international order. He also said that in accordance with international law, Belarus was in turn responsible for aggression against Ukraine by offering its territory in support of military aggression by Russian troops. The Romanian official also stressed the importance of bringing back to the EU's active attention the issue of prolonged conflicts in the Black Sea region, which Minister Aurescu brought to the current agenda of the CAE last year, with the support of 10 more European counterparts. of the May debate at the informal CAE in Lisbon. Minister Aurescu pointed out that the current security crisis, aggravated by Russia through an armed aggression starting from a prolonged conflict - the one in eastern Ukraine - shows very clearly the opportunity and necessity of Romania's initiative, which must be continued by the CAE. The foreign ministers formally adopted the package of additional sanctions against the Russian Federation, based on the political agreement of the European leaders, expressed at the extraordinary meeting of the European Council the day before. Regarding the support provided to Ukraine, Bogdan Aurescu said that it is important for the EU to respond to the immediate needs of this country transmitted under the European Emergency Mechanism and informed that Romania provided first humanitarian aid, consisting of medical supplies, the MAE release said. Minister Aurescu pleaded in favor of EU support, in the current circumstances, and for the other Eastern partners, especially the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, whose resilience needs to be strengthened. He said it was essential to send a strong message in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two states, along with support for Ukraine. Aurescu also insisted on evaluating, at the level of the European External Action Service and the European Commission, the measures available for providing technical and financial assistance, to increase their resilience and to support the efforts of the Republic of Moldova, both in terms of management of Ukrainian refugees, as well as a possible new energy crisis. The Romanian official also informed about Romania's support for the evacuation of citizens from member states, but also from third countries located in Ukraine, by facilitating the transit through our country. He also proposed for consideration the idea of creating a special fund dedicated to the management of the refugee situation in the context of the present crisis, if necessary, the quoted release also highlights. The Bucharest general mayor Nicusor Dan sent on Friday a message of solidarity in the context of the situation in Ukraine, while announcing the municipality's support for possible refugees. "We are in an exceptional situation, we have a war at the border. In this context, I want to address a message of solidarity and I want to assure that the Bucharest City Hall is open and available to the central authorities for everything that means possible refugees or any other things related to this issue," said the mayor, in the beginning of the meeting of the General Council of the Capital.* * *The Archdiocese of Suceava and Radauti meet the Ukrainian citizens who pass through the Siret customs point with non-perishable food, household items and personal hygiene, water, also offering accommodation at parishes and monasteries, as a result of the intensification of political tensions and military aggressions in Ukraine.Also, a support office is installed near the customs point, where Ukrainian speakers and young volunteers will provide advice to applicants, food and water packages, the Press Office of the Archdiocese of Suceava and Radauti informs on Friday, in an AGERPRES press release.* * *"The Vrancea Red Cross, together with all the branches in the country, is currently in an extensive process of organizing, preparing and acquiring the stocks of materials necessary to support the civilian population fleeing from Ukraine to our country. In continuation of these activities, the Vrancea Red Cross offers human and logistical support in the accommodation spaces made available by the Romanian state authorities in the triage points, provides basic first aid, psychosocial support and services for the restoration of ties with the family, if necessary. Given the distance that separates us from the border with Ukraine, we are ready to help the Red Cross branches in Botosani and Suceava, including the authorities that offer and provide accommodation for refugees in Ukraine," said Rodica Davidean, director of the Red Cross branch.* * *The Tasuleasa Social Association from Bistrita, known for its environmental and social projects, announced on Friday, through a post made on its social media page, that it can receive between 20 and 30 refugees from Ukraine at its campus in Tihuta Pass, located at the border with Suceava County.In their message, the people from Tasuleasa Social showed their solidarity with Ukraine and "their compassion for the inhabitants of the great Russia, who woke up overnight that their country hates all the world". The association Code for Romania is restarting the TaskForce mechanism, as it has done in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is coming with an ecosystem of digital solutions in the context of the crisis in Ukraine, according to a release sent, on Thursday evening, to AGERPRES. "The association Code for Romania is coming with an ecosystem of digital solutions in the context of the crisis in Ukraine. The war targeting today Ukraine has started already a series of crises with grave effects on the medium and long-term, thousands of refugees are running, terrified, towards our country and other neighbors. At just two years after, Code for Romania restarts the TaskForce mechanism, as it has done in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, when panic, fear, insecurity, helplessness took hold of Romania," the release mentions.According to the quoted source, the measures envisaged by Code for Romania will help in offering verified information about the current situation and effects, help in administering the critical needs of refugees, resources and capacity for local authorities and support for the civil society in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova."It's imperiously necessary for the civil society in Romania to come to the aid of our neighbors, out of respect for liberty, democracy, values affected at this moment in the neighboring country. We have stopped the usual activity to concentrate the entire attention of the team and the Code for Romania community on solutions to diminish the effects of the war. Through TaskForce we are enabling an ecosystem of four solutions to support Ukrainian refugees that will arrive in Romania. At the same time, we are putting our entire capacity to support the civil society in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in these hard moments for them, but also to support the local and central authorities in Romania which have an active role in offering support in these moments," said Bogdan Ivanel, co-founder and CEO of Code for Romania.Thus, at this moment, the Code for Romania Association is operationalizing an ecosystem of four solutions. One of them is a 'roof', a solution to identify accommodation spaces which will help refugees that arrive in Romania and need immediate help. The platform can receive registrations from persons which make available rooms or buildings for persons that are living in shelters made available by Romanian authorities.The second is "Resource & Volunteer Management (RVM)", the solution to manage resources already used at this time by the Department for Emergency Situations. The solution allows the management of available resource stocks, their quantity, the types of materials and where they are stored, as well as the status of volunteers organized on distinct specializations.Another solution is "Who does what", a solution that is currently being adapted to the new crisis, to war, in order to have as clear an image as possible of the roles of institutional actors in this crisis situation.The fourth solution, "Dopomoha", is an information and support platform for persons who request aid from Romania. With the aid of a decision-tree any person will be able to find in a few minutes what the procedures are that he needs to follow to obtain asylum, accommodation and other resources available for the situation they are in.The information will be available in Romanian, Ukrainian and Russian, the release emphasizes. The Bucharest Court of Appeal on Friday refused to take up a request submitted by the National Council for the Study of Securitate Archives (CNSAS) for the court to ascertain that Governor of the National Bank of Romania Mugur Isarescu was an informant of the late political police Securitate. The court's decision is not final. The CAB decision comes after the Romanian Constitutional Court (CCR) on November 23, 2021 took up a constitutionality objection filed by Isarescu and ruled that Law 161/2019 amending and supplementing Emergency Ordinance (OUG) 24/2008 on access to the dossiers kept by Securitate on people and exposing Securitate as political police is unconstitutional in its entirety, Agerpres.ro informs. During the trial, Mugur Isarescu's lawyer, former Minister of Justice Valeriu Stoica, requested and obtained from the judges the unconstitutionality objection filed with CCR over the legal provisions based on which CNSAS declared Isarescu an informant of the late Securitate, namely Law 161/2019 in its entirety, as well as Article 12 (1) of OUG 24 /2008 and Article 2 (b) (i) of OUG 24/2008. In June 2020, CNSAS asked in court filings with the Bucharest Court of Appeal to declare Isarescu a Securitate informant. It claims that Isarescu acted as an informant between 1979 and 1989, providing the Securitate with information disclosing activities running contrary to the totalitarian communist regime, such as negative comments about living standards in Romania. According to CNSAS, the information provided by Isarescu mentions activities or attitudes contrary to the totalitarian communist regime. In the opinion of CNSAS, such information restricted fundamental human rights and freedoms. The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Daniel Petrescu, met on Friday with the commander of the NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM), Lieutenant General Roger L. Cloutier Jr., in the context of the documentation visits that the commander of LANDCOM carries out in Romania until Monday. According to a press release, during the meeting, the two officials discussed the process of planning the future deployment of land troops in Romania. They also assessed the state of implementation of measures to strengthen NATO's deterrent and defence stance. The Chief of the Defence Staff stressed that, in the current regional context, "the balanced, unitary and proportionate presence of forces on the entire eastern flank is a strategic priority". The Romanian Army will maintain close coordination within NATO for supplementation with defensive operational structures, on the model of the enhanced Forward Presence, which will lead to the increase in the allied relevance in the Black Sea region, according to the Ministry of National Defence, Agerpres.ro informs. Lieutenant General Roger L. Cloutier Jr.'s program includes visits to the Land Forces General Staff and to allied multinational structures deployed in Romania. A demonstration exercise of Reinforced Air Police will be organized, on Tuesday, at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Base, informs the Ministry of National Defence. "Allied troops carrying out Reinforced Air Police missions, together with Romanian Air Force airmen, in 57th Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base will be visited on Tuesday, March 1, by the chiefs of the Air Force from Germany, Italy and Romania. On this occasion, from at 12.00, there will be a demonstration activity on how to jointly carry out a Reinforced Air Police mission, in which aircraft belonging to the German Air Force, the Italian Air Force and the Romanian Air Force will participate," reads a release transmitted on Friday by the Ministry of National Defence, Agerpres.ro informs. The scenario of the exercise foresees the interception of a "target" aircraft, represented by a C - 27 J Spartan transport plane of the Romanian Air Force, which will depart from Base 90 Otopeni Air Transport. "Currently, the Romanian Air Force carries out, together with servicemen from the air forces of Italy, Germany and the United States, enhanced Air Policing missions under NATO command for the defence of the national airspace. (...) Air Policing missions held jointly contribute to the development of the reaction and deterrence capacity, as well as to the consolidation of the interoperability between the Romanian, Italian, American and German Air Forces," the release also mentioned. Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu attends a special meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels today that will address the effects of Russia's illegal, unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, Agerpres reports. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE), FAC will also aim to adopt a substantial, robust and comprehensive package of sanctions against Russia, as decided politically by European leaders at their Thursday's summit.The European Council then agreed to adopt additional restrictive measures with massive and severe consequences for Russia, as well as a new package of individual and economic sanctions against Belarus.Aurescu will reiterate the messages condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which is a flagrant violation of international law and the fundamental principles underlying the rule-based order, and will also mention Belarus' responsibility in support of Russia's aggression.The head of the Romanian diplomacy will reconfirm the importance of maintaining EU unity and coordination with partners, especially the US, but also with NATO and other international actors, for managing the current crisis, taking into account all its dimensions and implications.Following the political agreement of the European Council of February 24 on a package of additional restrictive measures, Aurescu will voice support for the need to continue to closely coordinate the reactions and approaches of the EU, together with partners and allies, at the same time with a coherent public communication to increase the sanctions' potential for deterrence.Aurescu is expected to mention the humanitarian support given to Ukraine by Romania, as well as the support given to other international partners for the evacuation through Romania of foreign citizens from Ukraine.He is also expected to mention the importance of supporting the other eastern partners, especially Moldova and Georgia, which resilience must be strengthened, as well as support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two countries. Ukrainian citizens arriving in Romania have the right to access all types of medical services during their stay in our country, while in the case of those who wish to obtain the refugee status, the specific legal provisions in force apply, said the Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, on Friday, at the end of the task force meeting for the management of the situation generated by the military aggression in Ukraine, Agerpres reports. He underscored that the information package that the Ukrainians will receive upon entering Romania will also have a section dedicated to access to medical services."I have already made public, yesterday, some of the measures taken by the Ministry of Health as the result of the war situation in Ukraine. (...) I will tell you some new things about access to medical care. (...) The vast majority of those who arrived in Romania, whether they came directly from Ukraine or came from the Republic of Moldova, were people who did not apply for refugee status in Romania. There were only 11 asylum applications filed, which determined us to find all the ways in which people coming from Ukraine can benefit from medical services," said Alexandru Rafila.In terms of status, he explained, there are three categories of Ukrainian citizens who have arrived in Romania."It is about the citizens who have come regularly, the vast majority of the 7,000 Ukrainian citizens who remained in Romania and who fortunately benefit from the provisions of a very old Agreement, it is true, but which is perfectly valid, and I checked that with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which agreement gives Ukrainian citizens the right to access all types of medical services in Romania, so from this point of view, things are clear, of course, during their stay, which you understood that not may exceed 90 days," Rafila said.For those seeking asylum status, the minister added, there are clear provisions for providing medical care for "almost all categories of medical services.""There is a fund - it is not at the Ministry of Health, it is at the Ministry of Interior - which ensures the payment of medical services for asylum seekers. And if they receive refugee status, they have the same rights as Romanian citizens, so there is no problem with the insurance for medical services," Rafila highlighted.The authorities will include in the information package that the Ukrainian citizens will receive when they enter the Romanian territory a section dedicated to how they can access medical services.Referring to the medical humanitarian aid granted to Ukraine, Rafila explained that an inventory is being made at the level of the Ministry of Health of the possibilities existing in the stock of the Ministry of Health or subordinate institutions.There are permanent mobile medical teams at both the ministry and the DSPs (public health directorates), and hospitals are ready to receive any Ukrainian applicants for medical services."Also, we are testing these people in the screening centres against the novel coronavirus infection, not at the border. And, something that I initiated yesterday, and I'm glad that it was approved today, we have the CNSU [National Committee for Emergency Situations] Decision regarding the exemption from showing the COVID electronic certificate when Ukrainian citizens enter Romania," Rafila brought to mind. The representatives of some Christian associations in the Maramures County are waiting at the Sighetu Marmatiei border crossing point for the refugees coming from Ukraine offering them food and water, priest Adrian Morar, working for the Social-Philantrophic and Missionary Sector of the Diocese of Maramures and Satmar, told AGERPRES on Friday. "We are offering sandwiches and water to the refugees who enter the country. It's a first gesture, a gesture of humanity, for it's only natural to help these people who are going through such difficult moments. (...) We have mobilized and we are collecting blankets, non-perishable foodstuffs, medicines and other goods that the refugees, regardless if they want to stay here or continue their journey, will need in a first stage," said Adrian Morar.He specified that the refugees will also benefit from spiritual assistance in Ukrainian language from the Romanian priests who are serving in the Ukrainian communities in the Maramures County.The Ukrainian Orthodox Curacy, which is subordinated to the Romanian Patriarchy, also functions in the Sighetu Marmatiei border town.Moreover, a citizen from the Repedea rural town, which is mostly inhabited by Ukrainian ethnics, offered accommodation to a refugee family.The Sighetu Marmatiei Mayor, Vasile Moldovan, on Friday confirmed to AGERPRES that the authorities are arranging a camp for the refugees in this county, with a container having already been installed for triage and the Maramures Inspectorate for Emergency Situations will deliver 30 tents today, which could be necessary for the refugees. Iasi Mayor Mihai Chirica said on Friday that the Municipality of Iasi could offer financial support worth 100,000 euros and well as logistic support to the mayoralty of Chernivtsi, an Ukrainian city entwined with Iasi. "On the evening of Thursday, February 24, the Chernivtsi Mayor, Roman Klichuk, sent the Mayoralty of the Municipality of Iasi a support request consisting of a series of equipment and goods to support the Ukrainian population affected by the Russian army invasion. The Mayor in Chernivtsi has requested, among others diesel and electric generators, charging devices, handling equipment, transport machinery, water tanks and purifiers, first aid kits, tents, sleeping bags, all these necessary to set up some refugee centres," Mihai Chirica said in a press release, Agerpres.ro informs. According to the Iasi Mayor, at his proposal, a resolution draft has been initiated on earmarking a financial aid worth approximately 100,000 euros. The draft has been approved by the Local Council specialist committees in Friday's meetings and will be voted on in Monday's meeting. The management of the Romanian National Opera in Iasi announced on Friday that it is ready to support the artists of the Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, offering them the opportunity to work in Iasi. According to a press release, the management of the Iasi Opera sent an address to the Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre showing readiness to find formulas through which the artists of the Ukrainian institution could continue their activity in Iasi. "We are all affected by what is happening on our border, and we have been thinking about how we can help those who are suffering because of the war. Since the best form of support for artists is to give them the opportunity to express themselves freely, we have sent an invite to the lyrical theatre in Odessa, which has a valuable collective, to come and perform on our stage," the interim manager of the Romanian National Opera in Iasi, Andrei Fermesanu, stated, Agerpres.ro informs. Pending a response from the Odessa Opera, the Iasi Opera will offer the public three performances in early March: the Spring Gala on March 1 and Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, on March 5 and 6. The leader of The Force of the Right party, former liberal PM, currently deputy Ludovic Orban considers that Romania does not need Russian gas during the warm season if own resources are efficiently exploited, a problem being Germany, where the petrochemical industry was affected, which ensures millions of jobs, Agerpres reports. "The warm season is coming and dependence on gas will greatly be reduced for all European countries, and for Romania, in the warm season, we have no need for Russian gas if we exploit our resources. And not to begin exploiting gas in the Black Sea. An efficient exploitation of resources (...) can ensure all we need for consumption, but indeed, the problem is tied to Germany. Germany cannot afford giving up natural gas from Russia, because it would destroy its petrochemical industry, which is extremely important for Germany's GDP. It is Germany's third industry, which ensures a huge number of jobs, a few million," Orban declared on Thursday night for private TV broadcaster Realitatea Plus.He added that there could be a discussion of reducing gas imports, but that would imply ensuring additional resources from somewhere else."Certainly, here, Americans have developed their liquified natural gas terminals, which are connected to the European networks, but I do not how to what extent their capacity of liquified natural gas exports can increase, so that it can supplement an eventual loss of exploited natural gas. Europe has today rd 35% dependence of natural gas, so 35% of gas consumed in Europe comes from Russia. I believe that a decrease in gas quantity is obtainable and will hit Russia without any discussion," Ludovic Orban concluded. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is one that echoes in the hearts and emotions of Romanian citizens everywhere, said on Friday, in an interview with AGERPRES, the British Ambassador in Bucharest, Andrew Noble, Agerpres.ro informs. "I know, from the discussions with many colleagues from Bucharest, that this is not just a technical invasion. It is also an invasion that echoes in the hearts and emotions of Romanian citizens everywhere. I can see that it is a totalitarian state, like the one from which Romania managed to free itself 32 years ago," the diplomat said. He speaks, in the interview, about the sanctions announced by London in the context of the military conflict and about the chances of diplomacy at the moment. AGERPRES: The British Prime Minister announced a series of sanctions for Russia in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Could you talk a little bit about them and how effective will they be? Will there be a need for a second packAGE of sanctions? Andrew Noble: We made a first set of sanctions when Putin annexed the two breakaway territories, which were quite limited. But yesterday, the Prime Minister announced a sweeping set of sanctions affecting the whole of the financial system, including making it impossible for Russian entities to use sterling in their international transactions. We are in the process of legislating further, to increase the impact of the sanctions that were announced yesterday, but they are very, very far-reaching already. They include a ban on the Russian state and private companies from raising funds in the UK, we're looking at the cutting of Russia off from SWIFT, we will impose asset freezes on over 100 entities and individuals and banning Aeroflot from the UK and many more sanctions, so I think it's a very considerable package. AGERPRES: You mentioned SWIFT and there was a big debate both in the US and the EU, because they did not make the decision of taking Russia out of SWIFT. Is the UK decided to take Russia out of the SWIFT system? Andrew Noble: We believe it's important to put real constraints on Putin's government to be able to act, and, clearly, taking Russia out of SWIFT would be one such measure. What we have done is to prevent him from being able to use our currency for his international transactions, and we would like to see comparable steps taken by the entirety of the international community. AGERPRES: There is a meeting, or there are announcements of a meeting between the President of Ukraine and the President of Russia. At least the President of Ukraine said that he's available for such a meeting. Does the UK believe in such a meeting? The question I want to ask is: Is diplomacy still available at this point when it comes to Russia and Ukraine? Andrew Noble: Diplomacy is always available, apart from when an aggressor decides that they want to abandon diplomacy and use violence, and that's what we have seen this week. There were talks planned between Secretary of State Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov that should have taken place on Thursday, and that diplomatic opening was only closed due to Russia's flagrant use of violence. So you know, diplomacy is always available, but the readiness to use diplomacy seriously needs also to be shown and, unfortunately, President Putin has a track record of going along with the actions of diplomacy, but actually preparing for war. That's why we see ourselves in this terrible conflict now. AGERPRES: When it comes to the military involvement of the UK, especially in Romania, is the UK ready or willing to contribute militarily in Romania or on the Eastern Flank with troops or military equipment? Because Germany sent troops, France announced it wants to lead a battle group in Romania, do you have any signals on this front? Andrew Noble: These are all contributions that are managed within the NATO framework and the British government has made a very considerable offer to NATO of increased forces - land, naval and air - to contribute to the security of Allied countries and that's what we will continue to do. Romania is one of the main focuses of that British contribution, which isn't just ground forces, it's also naval assets and air assets, seeking to provide the security of Romania and of the Alliance as a whole. AGERPRES: Everybody is expecting a refugee crisis, hopefully not, but when it comes to the possibility of a refugee crisis, is the UK willing to help financially in such a refugee crisis? Andrew Noble: Well, we don't know what requirements there may be for assistance. We have a thousand troops on standby, if there was a need to help manage a refugee wave, but the Romanian government has, so far, no such requests for assistance of any kind, in our direction at least. AGERPRES: As far as I know, there is a consistent Ukrainian community in the United Kingdom. What's the message for them? What's the support for them at this moment? Andrew Noble: The political support for Ukrainians and the country of Ukraine is absolute and with full support of the Prime Minister and all major political parties of the United Kingdom, as was shown by the debate in Parliament, last night. Ukrainian citizens in the UK are a valuable part of our society and we are distraught with them that a totalitarian leader has invaded their country and is continuing with that military assault. We want that assault to stop and we want Ukraine to be turned back to being a peaceful country as quickly as possible. AGERPRES: At this moment I have to ask you the question if the UK has a worst-case scenario in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and what is that scenario and what would be the response to that scenario? Andrew Noble: I'm not sure I would discuss worst case scenarios, I think it's more appropriate that we deal with the situation on the ground - and we have clarity that President Putin intends to invade and control politically Ukraine. That may not be a worst case scenario but it is a very bad scenario and it's one reason that we're seeking to give solidarity and support to the Government of Ukraine, and we're supporting the neighbouring countries of Ukraine in resisting any outfall from that crisis. AGERPRES: There is also a big Russian community in the United Kingdom. Is there a message that the UK wants to send them? Andrew Noble: I think one of the things that the Prime Minister was at great pains to point out is that our problem is not with Russian people. This is a terrible act of international violence perpetrated by a small group of people at the pinnacle of Russia, but we do not believe that President Putin is acting with the support of the Russian people, either in Russia or the Russians who live in the United Kingdom and who are an important part of our society and our economy. So the message to the Russians is: we suffer with you because of this leader that you have got which has suppressed all democratic opposition and won't even allow demonstrations to take place on the streets of Russian cities. We want to resist his use of violence in a neighboring and peaceful country, and we want you to enjoy your lives in the UK where you are really valued individuals. We're very much thinking of this as a distant and intolerant group of people, a very small group, who are actually misusing the power and the availancy of Russia against Ukraine. AGERPRES: Is the United Kingdom open to bilateral talks with Russian leaders at this moment? Andrew Noble: Well, I think the Prime Minister Johnson put it well yesterday, that we the UK, the whole of the West - NATO countries -, have demonstrated for many months that we are open to diplomacy. We've had British ministers visiting Moscow for talks with their opposite numbers, and unfortunately President Putin has decided to ignore all of that and to carry on with this program of violence that he planned some time ago. And the cynicism of him appearing to conduct diplomatic negotiations was demonstrated when the Blinken-Lavrov talks were cancelled by the invasion of Ukraine. AGERPRES: Then, again I ask you, is the way of diplomacy still open? Andrew Noble: Well, Putin has closed the way of diplomacy. You cannot talk to a man who is insisting on the demilitarisation and denazification of a peaceful, non-Nazi country. He is not open to diplomacy and that, unfortunately, is the big stumbling block. We will see the United Nations Security Council call for a peaceful and urgent abandonment of violence and we fully expect that Russia will veto such a United Nations Security Council Resolution, which I think demonstrates that most of the world is in favour of peace being restored and forces returning to their barracks - and even their country of origin, but Russia is determined to fight a war to suppress this democratic neighbour. AGERPRES: Is there anything else you would like to add to this subject? Andrew Noble: I think the only thing I can add is that I know, from talking with a lot of colleagues in Bucharest that this is not just a technical invasion, this is also an invasion that affects the hearts and emotions of Romanian citizens everywhere. They can see that this is a totalitarian state of the sort that Romania managed to free itself of 32 years ago, and the memories that Putin using violence in this way, to suppress democracy and to suppress freedom, are some that make people sick in their hearts and our solidarity goes out to the people of Romania, and Slovakia, and Poland, and the other bordering countries as much as it does to Ukrainians. President Klaus Iohannis had a phone call on Thursday with the president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, in which he reconfirmed Romania's full support for this country and its citizens, in the region's current context, Agerpres reports. "I reconfirmed to the president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, during the phone call we had, Romania's full support for the Republic of Moldova and its citizens during this dramatic context in our region. We are closely coordinating to manage this situation," Iohannis wrote, on Twitter, on Friday. President Klaus Iohannis stressed on Thursday, in Brussels, Romania's full solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and said that our country will continue to provide support, mainly humanitarian assistance, the Presidential Administration informs, Agerpres reports. The Romanian president attended the extraordinary meeting of the European Council, convened as a result of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, the head of the state stressing Romania's full solidarity with the Ukrainian people.According to the Presidential Administration, the head of the state condemned, in his intervention, in the strongest terms, the massive armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which represents a flagrant violation of international law.President Iohannis highlighted the impact of Russia's unacceptable actions on the security and stability of the eastern neighbourhood, as well as severe consequences on European and Euro-Atlantic security, these acts blatantly violating Russia's international commitments, including its role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council."President Klaus Iohannis called the attack by Russian troops on several regions of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, as a deliberate and unequivocal act of aggression against an independent and sovereign state. The President of Romania stressed that, in this difficult situation, the European Union must continue to defend its values and principles, highlighting the importance of unity and ties with close partners in the region and globally. President Klaus Iohannis supported the EU's firm and swift response, including the adoption of the strong sanctions package and the further preparation of additional individual and economic sanctions, targeting Belarus as well," the source said.President Iohannis pleaded for mitigating the negative impact of Russia's actions on the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, partner states that are already feeling the pressure from Moscow, stressing the importance of providing the necessary financial support to strengthen the partners' resilience."Considering the current situation as the biggest challenge in the recent history of Europe, President Klaus Iohannis highlighted the need to continue the close coordination of responses and approaches with Euro-Atlantic partners, especially the USA and at NATO level," states the Presidential Administration. President Klaus Iohannis stressed on Friday at the Bucharest 9th Summit (B9) that Russia "has full responsibility for the current situation and must be held accountable for these acts of extraordinary gravity," informed the Presidential Administration. In his speech, the head of state welcomed the effective coordination in Format B9 of the unprecedented crisis management in the immediate vicinity of the Eastern Flank, which substantially affects European, Euro-Atlantic and global security, Agerpres.ro informs. "President Klaus Iohannis has highlighted the added value of dialogue in this context in achieving the Allied goals in general, as well as in preparing for today's Extraordinary NATO Summit," the source said. The head of state condemned in "strongest terms" Russia's unacceptable action of military aggression against Ukraine, stressing that this act does serious harm to international law and rule-based international order. "President Klaus Iohannis underscored that this is one of the worst moments since World War II," the presidential administration said. The head of state emphasized, in this context as well, his full solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. He reaffirmed our country's full support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, for the Ukrainian people and the democratically elected leadership of the country, as well as for the right of this state to make its own foreign and security policy decisions. Regarding NATO's response to the current security context in the region, President Iohannis reiterated that recent security developments show the need to strengthen the coherent and unified consolidation of NATO's deterrent and defence stance on the entire Eastern Side, especially on the Black Sea and the need to urgently create the NATO Combat Group in Romania. The head of state stressed the importance of maintaining support for Ukraine and its partners in the region who are "under pressure from Russia", especially the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, including by increasing their resilience. The allies in the B9 format also discussed the political, economic and humanitarian support they can provide to Ukraine. On Friday, President Klaus Iohannis, together with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, hosted the Bucharest 9 (B9) Format Summit, which was held in hybrid format. In addition to the leaders of the B9 countries, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, took part in the talks. The summit was convened in the context of the Russian Federation's unjustified, illegal and unprovoked armed aggression against Ukraine, preceded by the Russian state's illegal recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk provinces, which are part of Ukraine's territory. The B9 meeting also took place in the context of the NATO Summit on Friday. The Iasi National Athenaeum reports that it is launching a solidarity campaign for Ukrainian artists, in the context of the tragic situation in the neighbouring country. On Friday, the Iasi Athenaeum sent letters of solidarity to the theatre and public institutions in Chernivtsi, Kiev, Odessa, Kherson and Nizhin - places where the Iasi troupe of actors had representatives in the past, while voicing regret over the tragic moments in Ukraine. In order to support artists from the neighbouring country, the Iasi National Athenaeum will provide the existing public cultural institutions with cultural infrastructure, stage equipment, accommodation services, as well as other services necessary for the continuation of artistic and cultural activities, Agerpres.ro informs. "With a view to the hard-fought Ukrainian people, we offer our support to Ukrainian artists, collaborators and friendly institutions to be able to express themselves artistically on the Athenaeum stage. We are profoundly sadenned by the losses suffered and our thoughts and prayers are for all the ones affected by war," said Andrei Apreotesei, manager of the National Athenaeum in Iasi. More than 3,000 Ukrainian refugees could be accommodated in various places in Maramures County, Ionel Bogdan, President of the County Council (CJ), told a news conference on Friday, Agerpres reports. "We have prepared a series of measures. A refugee camp is being prepared starting today [Friday - ed.n.], on the municipal stadium in Sighetu Marmatiei, where tents will be installed by ISU [the Emergency Situations Inspectorate]. Basically, this area will be a triage area, and the refugees who will come and ask for political asylum in Romania will be then taken to the appropriate accommodation. We will provide all the necessary infrastructure, the County Council will finance everything that means food, clothing, medicine, hygiene products and so on, including accommodation. (...) More than 3,000 accommodation places have been identified in the count," said Ionel Bogdan.The president of the Maramure County Council specified that the amount of 5 million RON was prepared from the reserve fund for the necessary logistics for the possible refugees from Ukraine."It is very important for Romania and Maramures to support refugees - children, families, grandchildren - who are crossing the border into Romania during this period," Ionel Bogdan added.ISU Maramures also stated that it has the possibility to make available, if necessary, 33 tents for refugees where triage, serving meals or other activities required by the situation can be carried out.Maramures International Airport (AIM) has also confirmed that it can supply military, medical or charter flights, if needed. Over 700 people from Ukraine have crossed the Danube by ferry to eastern Isaccea in the last 24 hours to avoid war in their country, Agerpres reports. The Ukrainians were greeted by relatives, friends and the Tulcea authorities, who offered them hot tea."Those who are now crossing the Danube by ferry have been in the cold all night on the other bank and we suspect they are cold. We will also bring portions of food. Those who did not have a means of transport, namely about 15 people, were accommodated in a center we have set up. Everybody is involved. We receive a lot of calls from people in the country who want to help them. Last night, 700 people went through, most of them in their cars," the mayor of Isaccea, Anastase Moraru told AGERPRES.Among the people who spent the night in the center set up by Isaccea City Hall is a 24-year-old woman from Afghanistan, settled in the Odessa region a few years ago."I left Odessa two days ago. There is no safety there. It is very bad for everyone. I want a future for my three children and for myself," said the young woman from Afghanistan, who begins to cry when asked about her husband.There are mothers with babies in their arms at the crossing point of the Danube with the ferry on the outskirts of the city, as well.However, there are also cars with registration numbers from Iasi, Bucharest, Buzau and Galati, where people are waiting for their relatives from Ukraine."I came to meet my relatives. Last night [Thursday evening - ed.n.] they called me and I'm very worried. The elderly don't want to join the army. There is nothing to do the military service with. I've had Romanian citizenship for two years and I have a family here. My mother has been with us for a month, but my brother, father and sister are there. If they come here they will have a place to stay. We have friends and this morning I was called by a person and he told me that it has a place to accommodate two people. So, there are solutions," declared David V., aged 26, from Tulcea."Yesterday morning, I woke up at 5.00, at the sound of an explosion. A short time passed and it started rumbling again and people got scared. They go to the store and buy whatever they can. There is a big line at gas stations. You can buy a maximum of 20 liters and that's it," say two women."My hometown was bombed. It was scary. Now we want to go to Turkey, because we have friends there. I want the war to end as soon as possible, to complete my studies and become a translator," said Grisa Maxim, 17 years old.People say that the road from Orlovka to Ismail is full of cars waiting to cross the Danube by ferry."I still have two brothers and grandparents at home in Kilia Noua. They have birds in the yard and they couldn't leave them. It's hard," says a teenager.The authorities have prepared a means of transport for the refugees, who will arrive at the special centers set up in the county. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca checked, on Friday afternoon, the state of preparations of the authorities for the management of the situation on the border with Ukraine, during a working visit to Siret, Suceava County. "Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca checked, together with the Ministers of Internal Affairs - Lucian Bode, Health - Alexandru Rafila, Defence - Vasile Dincu, the Head of Emergencies Department, Raed Arafat, and the President of the Suceava County Council, Gheorghe Flutur, the preparations for the preparations for managing the measures taken by authorities on the border with Ukraine. The '9 May' Siret Stadium is one of the places where one of the refugee camps can be set up, if necessary, near the Siret Border Checkpoint", reads a post on the Government's Facebook page, Agerpres.ro informs. During the visit, the Chief Executive went to Siret Border Checkpoint, where these days there is a significant influx of Ukrainian citizens entering Romania. Posta Romana National Company (CNPR), the Romanian postal service company, will make available accommodation units from the internal circuit devoted to employees for hosting refugees from Ukraine, a CNPR release sent to AGERPRES on Friday reads. According to the release, Posta Romana has at its disposal in the post office network a total of 23 accommodation units, devoted to the internal circuit of employees, in 18 counties."Posta Romana, through its mission, is made up of people who dedicate themselves to people, without discrimination. So we cannot stand by and only sympathize with the suffering of the citizens of Ukraine, who are forced to leave their country. We want to be solidary, not only in thought, but in action as well! We have decided to make all our accommodation spaces available to the local authorities who will be involved in the operations of hosting Ukrainians, the refugees will have access to the normal conditions of accommodation, to utilities, to live during their displacement from their homeland. It's a small step, we understand that we have to contribute so that humanity is not defeated!," said CNPR Director General Valentin Stefan.The institution says that there are 203 beds in the available accommodation units. President Klaus Iohannis attends, on Friday, in a videoconferencing system, the extraordinary meeting of the Bucharest Format 9 (B9) and the extraordinary meeting of the heads of state and government of NATO states, according to the Presidential Administration. President Klaus Iohannis announced on Tuesday that he had decided together with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, to organize an extraordinary summit of the B9 Format in Warsaw on Friday, in the context of the security situation in the region."I discussed today with the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, about the serious security situation in the Black Sea region, as a result of Russia's actions, which blatantly violate international law. Consequently, we decided to organize on Friday, February 25th, in Warsaw, an extraordinary summit of the Bucharest Format 9 (B9), in order to coordinate our response and to demonstrate our unity. We are joined by Ukraine!" the president wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.Meanwhile, the Minister of National Defense, Vasile Dincu, co-chaired on Thursday, together with his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, and with the participation of the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America, Lloyd J. Austin III, the extraordinary meeting of the defence ministers in Bucharest Format 9 (B9), organized, by videoconference, in the context of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation over the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, informs a press release of the Ministry of National Defense (MApN)."The meeting represented a good opportunity to coordinate official positions, ahead of the NATO Summit and the B9 Summit, planned to take place on Friday, February 25, at the level of the heads of state and government. In his speech, the Romanian Minister of Defense strongly condemned Russia's unfolding aggression against Ukraine, noting that Russia's attitude represents a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law and of all commitments assumed by Moscow, including the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine in internationally recognised borders," reports the MApN release.According to the source, the Romanian dignitary stressed the importance of unity and solidarity within the North Atlantic Alliance now more than ever and welcomed the recent measures adopted at the level of the Alliance in order to strengthen the position of deterrence and defense on the entire Eastern Flank of NATO.The Romanian Minister of Defense also conveyed his full support for the implementation of the measures adopted by NATO and informed the B9 and US defense ministers about a series of measures adopted at national level, for the implementation of allied decisions on defense plans and contribution to the NATO Response Force.At the same time, Minister Vasile Dincu said that Romania is ready for the management of the flow of refugees. The National Gas Company Romgaz SA posted a preliminary net profit of 1.90 billion RON for 2021, up 52 percent from the previous year, and a turnover of 5.85 billion RON, by 43.63 percent higher than the year before, shows the Preliminary Consolidated Annual Report sent on Friday to the Bucharest Stock Exchange, Agerpres reports. "The increase in turnover is the result of the 52.41 percent increase in revenues from the sale of natural gas (both from the company's own production and of volumes purchased for resale), and of the 69.9 percent increase in revenues from the sale of electricity. On the other hand, the consolidated revenues from storage services decreased by 30.64 percent," the company release states.The estimated natural gas production for 2021 was about 5.029 billion cubic meters, by 508.8 million cubic meters higher than the output of 2020 (+11.3 percent).Romgaz Group consists of parent company SNGN Romgaz SA, the Natural Gas Storage Subsidiary Depogaz Ploiesti SRL ("Depogaz"), 100 percent owned by Romgaz, and the associates SC Depomures SA (40 percent of the share capital) and SC Agri LNG Project Company SRL (25 percent of the share capital).The National Gas Company Romgaz SA is Romania's largest gas producer and supplier, the main segments of the Group's activity being gas exploration, production and supply, gas storage and the production of electricity. President of the Senate and head of the National Liberal Party Florin Citu declared today that Romania is ready to take in refugees from Ukraine, stating that in the first stage the incurred expenses could be covered from the budget of the local authorities and settled by the government later on, Agerpres reports. "I know that the Ministry of the Interior is getting the documentation ready. Romania is prepared. We also had a discussion inside the party. We have Liberal County Council presidents in border counties, and in Suceava and in Maramures we also have Liberal mayors. I told them that they must be ready to offer all the necessary conditions to those who flee to Romania, to accommodate them, offer them all the conditions for them to not suffer. It's a difficult moment. The County Council presidents have taken measures as early as yesterday. President of the Suceava County Council Gheorghe Flutur had a meeting scheduled this morning with the mayors in the area," Citu said today at the Senate.Asked if refugee camps will be organized in the north of the country, the Liberal leader replied: "I don't know if there will be camps. We must use the resources we have. There are guest houses we can settle them in. At the same time, they should not stop in the north, we can move them southwards - and on this we had discussions with several Liberal Council presidents, in order to identify areas where the refugees from Suceava and Maramures could be transferred." Citu also mentioned that in the end the local authorities could have their expenses reimbursed by the government. We have met today to discuss the gravest threat to Euro-Atlantic security in decades. We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, enabled by Belarus. We call on Russia to immediately cease its military assault, to withdraw all its forces from Ukraine and to turn back from the path of aggression it has chosen. This long-planned attack on Ukraine, an independent, peaceful and democratic country, is brutal and wholly unprovoked and unjustified. We deplore the tragic loss of life, enormous human suffering and destruction caused by Russias actions. Peace on the European continent has been fundamentally shattered. The world will hold Russia, as well as Belarus, accountable for their actions. We call on all states to condemn this unconscionable attack unreservedly. No one should be fooled by the Russian governments barrage of lies. Russia bears full responsibility for this conflict. It has rejected the path of diplomacy and dialogue repeatedly offered to it by NATO and Allies. It has fundamentally violated international law, including the UN Charter. Russias actions are also a flagrant rejection of the principles enshrined in the NATO-Russia Founding Act: it is Russia that has walked away from its commitments under the Act. President Putins decision to attack Ukraine is a terrible strategic mistake, for which Russia will pay a severe price, both economically and politically, for years to come. Massive and unprecedented sanctions have already been imposed on Russia. NATO will continue to coordinate closely with relevant stakeholders and other international organisations including the EU. At the invitation of the Secretary General, we were joined today by Finland, Sweden and the European Union. We stand in full solidarity with the democratically elected president, parliament and government of Ukraine and with the brave people of Ukraine who are now defending their homeland. Our thoughts are with all those killed, injured and displaced by Russias aggression, and with their families. NATO remains committed to all the foundational principles underpinning European security, including that each nation has the right to choose its own security arrangements. We will continue to provide political and practical support to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself and call on others to do the same. We reaffirm our unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, including its territorial waters. This principled position will never change. In light of Russias actions, we will draw all the necessary consequences for NATOs deterrence and defence posture. Allies have held consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty. We will continue to take all measures and decisions required to ensure the security and defence of all Allies. We have deployed defensive land and air forces in the eastern part of the Alliance, and maritime assets across the NATO area. We have activated NATOs defence plans to prepare ourselves to respond to a range of contingencies and secure Alliance territory, including by drawing on our response forces. We are now making significant additional defensive deployments of forces to the eastern part of the Alliance. We will make all deployments necessary to ensure strong and credible deterrence and defence across the Alliance, now and in the future. Our measures are and remain preventive, proportionate and non-escalatory. Our commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty is iron-clad. We stand united to protect and defend all Allies. Freedom will always win over oppression. The city of Suceava will buy equipment worth 500,000 lei in order to be donated to the city of Chernivtsi, with which it has been twinned for several years, Mayor Ion Lungu announced on Friday. He said that the city of Suceava stands with the Ukrainian people and, in particular, with those in the Chernivtsi region in the tragic moments they are going through. He stated that he was in contact with the mayor of Chernivtsi, Roman Klichuk, and on Friday he received a written request from him for humanitarian and logistical assistance, Agerpres.ro informs. It is about diesel generators of different powers (5 kW, 45 kW, 100 kW, 120 kW, 160 kW), autonomous heating generators, water tanks with a volume of 7 - 7.5 m3 and 3 - 5 m3, first aid kits, mattresses, sleeping bags and tents. On the other hand, he said that the municipality is contacted by citizens of Suceava who want to provide humanitarian aid, including the provision of accommodation and starting Saturday at the mayor's office a direct telephone line will be opened, where these requests will be centralized, at the number 0230 / 210.678, daily between 8.00 - 18.00. Timisoara Mayor Dominic Fritz on Friday announced the initiation of a local committee of solidarity with Ukraine, which will coordinate and facilitate humanitarian aid efforts for the twin city of Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Fritz said that the Mayor of Chernivtsi, Roman Klichuk, already asked for his support, in the form of civil protection equipment. The local solidarity committee with Ukraine will coordinate a fundraising campaign to support the twin city of Chernivtsi and to organize actions to help the war-affected population. The first meeting of this committee will take place on Saturday, and the ways in which the population can get involved will be announced, Agerpres.ro informs. One of the twin cities of Timisoara is Chernivtsi, a town in the southern part of Ukraine. Mayor Dominic Fritz is in contact with the mayor of Chernivtsi, who has already asked for support in the form of civil protection equipment from Timisoara. Organizations that want to get involved in this group can access the email address timisoara.pentru.ucraina@gmail.com. Romania will grant a temporary derogation from the observance of certain rules for the entry of pets from Ukraine on the national territory, informs the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA), in a press release sent on Friday to AGERPRES. "Due to the exceptional conditions created by the situation in Ukraine, in order to avoid possible difficulties with refugees coming from this country with pets, we inform you that in accordance with Article 32 of the EU Regulation No. 576/2013 on the derogation from rules provided for the non-commercial movement of pets, Romania authorizes the non-commercial movement of pets on its territory (...)," the institution states. According to the same source, the authorities allow to enter Romania animals that meet the conditions for entering the European Union (identified, vaccinated, with/or without the antibody titres), those that are not properly identified with a microchip/tattoo, while, in the event that the animals not vaccinated against rabies or in the case of which the vaccination is no longer valid, the responsible person will fill in the Pet Location Form, which can be downloaded from the ANSVSA website, Agerpres.ro informs. The owner of the animal will be able to complete all the formalities and procedures after entering Romania. In order to facilitate the access of Ukrainian refugees with pets, ANSVSA issued instructions in the territory and at the border crossing points. ST. LOUISFeb. 15, 2022Continuing its support of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Missouri & Kansas, FSI (Foam Supplies, Inc.), the worlds leading polyurethane systems house, has once again granted $40,000 to the nonprofit organization for the fourth straight year. As a Wish Benefactor Partner, FSIs annual gift will help grant wishes to local children between the ages of 2 and 18 facing critical illnesses. Since our founding 50 years ago, FSI has had a longstanding resolve to be a contributor to the community it serves, says Todd Keske, CEO at FSI Through our partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, we can help enrich the lives of children facing challenging circumstances with hope, strength and joy. Helping others and giving back is a valued tradition at FSI. Throughout the year, FSI employees volunteer their time and energy to making a positive impact on Make-A-Wish and other charities throughout the St. Louis area. This employee volunteer initiative annually raises thousands of dollars through grassroot fundraisers and internal campaigns. We are incredibly grateful for FSIs continued generosity and commitment to our mission and wish kids, says Lisa Kral-Lauterbach, Senior Director of Community & Corporate Philanthropy at Make-A-Wish Missouri & Kansas. A wish forever transforms the lives of children, their families and entire communities. FSIs generous gift, and the continued support of their employees, puts us one step closer to achieving our vision of granting the wish of every eligible child. # # # ABOUT FSI FSI, a global chemical supplier, is a leader in the polyurethane industry whose vision is building a better tomorrow. We create a sustainable environmental and social impact that positively changes the world and improves life. Our innovative products are trusted because we stay true to our core values of Sustainability, Innovation, and Caring. FSIs patented Ecomate technology is the most tested and proven environmentally friendly blowing agent on the market today. Ecomate has zero global warming potential, zero ozone depletion potential, and has no volatile organic compounds. With a global presence along with multiple international manufacturing locations, FSI is headquartered in St. Louis, MO. Since our founding in 1972, we have been a purpose-driven organization, with a passion for our trade. We persevere by putting people first and remain privately held with family-based values that focus on more than just profits. Industries served include automotive, boating & marine, commercial refrigeration, construction, HVAC, refrigerated transport and spray foam. To learn more about our pursuit of environmental responsibility, please visit our websites at foamsupplies.com and ecomatetechnology.com. ABOUT MAKE-A-WISH Make-A-Wish Missouri & Kansas creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. We are on a quest to bring every eligible child's wish to life, because a wish is an integral part of a child's treatment journey. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Make-A-Wish is the worlds leading childrens wish-granting organization, serving children in every community in the United States and in 50 countries worldwide. The local chapter is headquartered in Ballwin, Missouri and serves all counties in Missouri and Kansas. Since 1983, Make-A-Wish Missouri & Kansas has granted more than 9,000 wishes to local children with critical illnesses. For more information about Make-A-Wish Missouri & Kansas and how you can transform lives, one wish at a time, please visit our website (wish.org/mokan) and connect with us on Facebook (makeawishMOKAN), Twitter (@makeawishMOKAN), Instagram (@makeawishMOKAN) and YouTube (MakeAWishMOKAN). Thank you! You've reported this item as a violation of our terms of use. Error! There was a problem with reporting this article. This content was contributed by a user of the site. If you believe this content may be in violation of the terms of use, you may report it. Report Abuse Log In to report Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. For Immediate Release Contact: Kathryn Moraczewski 202-617-7406 (m) St. Louis Based Firm, NMBL Strategies, Helps Americas Black Holocaust Museum Usher in its next chapter with Grand Reopening on February 25, 2022 St. Louis, MO February 25, 2022 By partnering with St. Louis based consulting firm, NMBL Strategies, Americas Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) is proud to reopen its doors today and looks forward to continuing to welcome guests for generations to come. NMBL Strategies (NMBL) is gratified to have helped with strategic planning and grand reopening plans for this celebrated Milwaukee institution, known for realizing Dr. James Camerons vision of creating a space for reconciliation and healing in order to promote a more united community. Todays Grand Reopening activities include opening and ribbon cutting ceremony. In addition, entrance is free to the public today courtesy of Herb Kohl Philanthropies. The new galleries will take visitors on a chronological journey through the over 400 years of history of African Americans from pre-captivity to the present, uniquely displaying the under-told stories as an integral part of American history. ABHM, an integrated physical and virtual experience, will continue to serve as a catalyst to educate and create space for critical conversation, reconciliation and healing, in order to promote a more equitable world without racism. Our organization has been blessed by the opportunity to work with NMBL on our strategic framework and process at a very critical time in our re-emergence, said Dr. Robert Bert Davis, President & CEO of Americas Black Holocaust Museum. They have the perspective on productivity and advancement of a museum or non-profit that is profound. This is because of their experience and leadership in the museum and non-profit world, their inclusion of data collection and research in their findings and finally because of the natural talent and intellect that they possess. After successfully developing and sharing the strategic plan with Americas Black Holocaust Museum, NMBL Strategies was engaged to operationalize the plan. NMBL targeted five, key areas of focus for the organization including grand re-opening plans, communications, fundraising, advisory board and operations/staffing. Through these efforts, NMBL has helped lay the foundation for a more sustainable future for ABHM. NMBL has been privileged to work with ABHM at such an important time in history. After engaging with the community, it was clear how desperately they wanted it to reopen after closing its doors in 2008, said Eric Moraczewski, CEO of NMBL Strategies. It has been an honor to work alongside the ABHM team to help create a clear path forward for this important institution. With Americas Black Holocaust Museum reopening today, it marks a highly anticipated day for Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To date NMBLs efforts have helped yield great success for the museum including national recognition and media coverage. It also helped secure a $10 million gift from an anonymous donor and a new membership and sponsorship programs that have already brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars prior to the museum reopening. In addition, NMBL is helping in the hiring of new staff members. The museum is poised to continue to serve as a national model for how public history, arts, culture and commerce can work in unison to spur economic growth and cultural vitality. About NMBL Strategies NMBL Strategies seeks to empower small businesses, nonprofits and public-private enterprises through trusted consulting partnerships. Our consultants have real world experience and significant tenure within their fields and are able to deliver the best and most strategic return on investment. We strive to grow our business with the same dedication and decisiveness we offer to our broad range of clients. For more information, please contact info@nmblstrategies.com or www.nmblstategies.com. # # # Thank you! You've reported this item as a violation of our terms of use. Error! There was a problem with reporting this article. This content was contributed by a user of the site. If you believe this content may be in violation of the terms of use, you may report it. Report Abuse Log In to report Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. EXPANDING ConstructReach, a workforce development initiative and consultancy, launched a weekly podcast called iReach, to focus on topics and challenges surrounding the construction industry. A $15 million gift from Bob and Signa Hermann to St. Louis Childrens Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine is spurring the development of a new research center aimed at addressing childhood behavioral health. The Hermann Center for Child and Family Development will blend world-class research with a revolutionary model for whole-family behavioral health care. The total amount needed to fully fund the Hermann Center is $20 million. Wealth management firm Krilogy is affiliating with Krilogy Law, a separate and independent law firm providing clients estate and business planning services. HELPING OUT Enterprise Bank & Trust is offering free professional development courses for business leaders. The virtual courses begin March 9 and run through May 19 and include topics such as management and leadership, finance, marketing and sales, and human resources. More information is available at www.enterprisebank.com. MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Accounting firms BKD and DHG announced a merger. Tom Watson, current CEO of BKD, will serve as the CEO of the new organization; and Matt Snow, current CEO of DHG, will serve as chair. MILESTONES Liese Lumber Co. in Belleville is marking its 150th anniversary. President Michael Lippert represents the fourth generation of his family to operate the lumberyard since the 1920s. Employees at The Doe Run Co.s Sweetwater Mill in Ellington in southeast Missouri celebrated 25 consecutive years worked with no lost-time incidents. MORE BUSINESS PROAIM Americas LLC was awarded a five-year, $420 million contract for medical equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency Electronic Catalog. RECOGNITION The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Inc. honored the following African American journalists during its Black History Month celebration: Robin Boyce, WSIE; Sylvester Brown, The St. Louis American, Take 5 magazine; Maurice Drummond, KMOV; Ruth Ezell, Nine PBS; Ty Hawkins, KTVI; Art Holliday, KSDK; Kim Hudson, KTVI; Kevin Johnson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Tim Lampley, independent journalist/producer; Alvin Reid, The St. Louis American; Robert Townsend, KSDK; and Shirley Washington, KTVI. We found the cool, quirky things offered by parks in the St. Louis area: remote-control tracks and ruins, centuries-old quarries and cabins, f It seems the pandemic has altered the publishing calendar as well. Thats at least one plausible explanation for why a juicy beach read like The Paris Apartment is dropping during the coldest month of the year. But whether you pack it away for a trip to warmer weather or read it indoors by a fire, the pages were most definitely written to be turned quickly. In her third thriller (The Guest List and The Hunting Party), Lucy Foley keeps you guessing with multiple first-person narrators and short chapters designed to leave you hanging. The star of this twisted tale is Jess, arriving in Paris from London to visit her half-brother, Ben. Ive never let a closed door stay closed for long, she narrates, while standing in his swanky Paris apartment building near a mysterious door marked Cave. Turns out Ben is missing, and Jess cant get any answers from the denizens of No. 12, Rue des Amants. The back cover of the book splashes short descriptions of the characters like theyre the stars of Gilligans Island. Theres Sophie, the socialite; Nick, the nice guy; Antoine, the alcoholic; Mimi, the girl on the verge; and the concierge. Of course, theyre all suspicious and cant be trusted, even when theyre narrating their own chapters. But plucky heroine Jess not only likes to open doors, shes quite the amateur detective, piecing things together like a much younger and more fashionable Miss Marple. Fans of whodunits may very well sleuth it out before the denouement, but that doesnt make the journey any less enjoyable. Given the popularity of stories like these on streaming platforms, dont be surprised to see it on Hulu or another site someday soon. Until then, read the source material. Long before Samantha Jones became a news anchor at KMOV (Channel 4), colleagues knew that she had what it takes to succeed in television. Jones, who started out on weekend mornings in December 2018, was promoted just a year later to evening anchor on weeknights. And in the last year, she also became a single mom. In a professional career that started less than a decade ago, Jones had several jobs in TV news before coming to KMOV from Abilene, Texas, and eventually replacing Courtney Bryant on the evening news program. I really like St. Louis, Jones says. Ive worked at a lot of stations, and my biggest thing has always been liking my co-workers and liking where I work. And once you find those two things, I feel like you can figure everything else out. Once you find somewhere that you like, its really hard to want to leave it. Larry Foley, a professor of journalism at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, recalls that as a student there Jones talent and potential were obvious. She has a friendly way of communicating with the camera that makes you feel comfortable when youre watching her, Foley says. At the same time, you look at Samantha reading the news, and you think: She knows what shes talking about. And thats a gift that not everybody has. Tevin Wooten, a meteorologist with the Weather Channel who knew Jones as a student and later as a colleague at Fayettevilles KNWA (Fox 24), says Jones has it. She was always that shining star, Wooten says. The student that the teacher calls on, or looks to as the example of what things should be like. That was Samantha in a nutshell always great and always a professional. Discovering journalism Life in TV news wasnt Jones first career choice. I went to college (at the University of Arkansas) thinking that I wanted to be a nurse, but I couldnt pass chemistry, Jones says. I took it twice and I failed it worse the second time than I did the first time. Then inspiration hit. I always thought Erin Andrews from ESPN had a really fun job, Jones says. And it looked like she enjoyed her job. So I thought, why not try journalism and see where that goes? So in her junior year, she switched her major to journalism. I remember walking into that first fundamentals of journalism class, she says, and having just this epiphany moment of, what was I doing for the last two or three years? This comes so naturally and makes so much sense. I loved it, and I never looked back. Jones graduated in 2014 with a bachelors degree in broadcast journalism. In March of the following year, she began working as an anchor and reporter at KSWO in Lawton, Oklahoma. Her experience there, she says, provided a really good basis for all of my skills in the business. I was a reporter, and I covered a lot of city council meetings, she says. I also got a good feel for editing stories, especially on a deadline. And its the place where I learned to produce (compile all the elements of a newscast into a cohesive show). In November 2015, Jones returned to Fayetteville to work as a multimedia journalist at KNWA (Fox 24). Her duties at the station also included filling in as an anchor and producer. I had originally applied to work at the station before I graduated, she says. But they had just hired a bunch of people from my class. Being able to circle back and work there, Jones says, was a pretty lucky break that gave her the experience to be successful at her next job, as evening anchor/producer at KRBC, an NBC affiliate in Abilene, Texas. Jones was born in Tucson, Arizona, in 1992 but didnt grow up there. To paraphrase the old Beach Boys song, she got around. I was only in Tucson for six weeks, she says. My dad was in the Air Force, so then we moved to Japan. We were there for four years. But she didnt really pick up the language during her time in Okinawa beyond the regular hello and thank you and that kind of stuff. The family moved back to the United States in 1996 to Amarillo, Texas just in time for her to attend kindergarten. As a child, she also lived in Seattle and Medford, Oregon, before spending her high school years in San Antonio. Aside from St. Louis, Jones says, I claim San Antonio as home, because my mom and brother are still there. Motherhood transformation With her infant daughter, Stella, Jones lives in an apartment in downtown St. Louis. Becoming a parent 6 months ago has significantly altered her work-life balance, she says. I feel transformative, in a way, in the last year since having the baby, Jones says. Because it used to be that I could just go to work, and that was what it was. That was my main focus. I love my job, and Im super-passionate about it, she says. I think its important that I continue to be myself at work. But at home, Im a mom. Its still all so fresh and so new. And its a lot of responsibility to juggle. It helps that her home isnt far from the KMOV studios at the Gateway Tower on Memorial Drive. Ive just liked being that close to work, even before the baby, she says. Its easy to have a five-minute commute. Because when I started (at KMOV) I was working mornings, and I definitely didnt want to have a 20- or 25-minute drive cut into my free time. Jones, 29, describes her weekdays as pretty busy. It obviously starts in the morning, being a mom, she says. And then I go into work, at about 2 oclock. She anchors the 4 p.m. broadcast solo, and co-anchors the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news programs with Cory Stark. Her other duties include creating the teases that promote upcoming news stories. Jones says she has time between the 6 and 10 p.m. broadcasts to come home and take care of the baby a little bit. To cover her time at work, Stella has a nanny. As a television anchor, Jones is a public figure and subject to being recognized. But she takes it all in stride. I was going to brunch one morning this was at the height of the pandemic, I think, she says. And I had my mask on, I had glasses on, I had my hair up, and was just passing this woman in a doorway. And she and I made eye contact for two seconds. And she goes, Ohmigod, youre Samantha Jones from the news. I couldnt have looked any more not like me on TV, and she still nailed it. And does anyone ever mention that she shares a name with a Sex and the City character? All the time, Jones says, laughing. Samantha Jones Home Downtown Family Daughter Stella, 6 months old, and pet felines Tink, ToeJoe and Little Cat Career Anchor at KMOV, where she's worked since 2018. Past stints in Lawton, Oklahoma; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Abilene, Texas. Extended family Mother, Bobbi Jones, 56; brother, Blake Jones, 26. Both live in San Antonio, Texas. Future plans To balance her career and motherhood, while continuing to inspire and offer representation in the community. Staying in? We've got you covered Get the recommendations on what's streaming now, games you'll love, TV news and more with our weekly Home Entertainment newsletter! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ST. LOUIS As the region gradually recovers from the overwhelming winter COVID-19 surge, some doctors and health experts said this week they now expect case rates to settle into more manageable patterns here and move past the large waves that have hit relentlessly over the past two years. They say enough residents across the state have built up some immunity either via vaccination or infection to likely slow the virus. I think the odds are with us, said Dr. Alex Garza, chief community health officer for SSM Health and co-leader of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. Missouris case rates have been steadily declining from record levels, dipping to 2,000 per day on Thursday from as high as 15,000 daily in January. New COVID admissions to St. Louis-area hospitals have fallen to 47 per day this week from more than 200 daily last month. And Wednesday, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page announced plans to end the countys mask mandate on Monday and move instead to a mask recommendation. Some experts say its too early to discount future variants, arguing the virus could still mutate into a more infectious strain. Others say the odds are now in favor of caseloads staying on a lower track. Garza said he thinks it would be difficult for a new variant to come along that is different enough to cause big upswings in cases. But, he added, weve been wrong before. Dr. Sarah George, associate professor of infectious diseases at St. Louis University, said that absent a new, more problematic variant, we can be cautiously optimistic. Still, vaccinations have slowed to a relative trickle in Missouri. And that leaves doctors here worried. 56% vaccinated No one knows what portion of a given community needs to have protection from the coronavirus in order for it to become less likely to spread. Dr. William Powderly, a professor at Washington University School of Medicine and director of the schools Division of Infectious Diseases, said countries in Europe that had the least amount of severe infections from the omicron variant of the virus generally had vaccination rates of 70% to 80%. Its going to be very hard to do that in states like Missouri, that dont have a high level of vaccine uptake, Powderly said. Well still have a vulnerable population, that every time we have a new wave will be at risk of severe infection. In Missouri, a state of nearly 6.2 million people, 63% have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Statewide, 56% have been fully vaccinated, and about 22% of the population have received a third dose. Some have a degree of protection from a previous COVID-19 infection, but that immunity is relatively short-lived, said Terri Rebmann, an epidemiology professor and special assistant to the St. Louis University president. Powderly said those who got sick earlier in the pandemic, in particular, should get vaccinated. If youre relying on the immunity you got from an infection, say, in the fall of 2020, the virus that generated that immunity is quite different from the virus that is circulating now, and could be very different from the virus that will circulate later in the year, or next year, Powderly said. Only if required In December 2020, when the vaccines were just beginning to roll out in the U.S., about one-third of adults said they wanted to get the shot as soon as possible, according to polling conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. About 48% said they either wanted to wait and see or that they would get vaccinated only if required. And 15% said they would definitely not get vaccinated. Over time, the percent who said they would definitely not get vaccinated didnt change substantially. As of January, it was 14%, the polling shows. But those in the wait and see and only if required categories have opted to get the vaccine: As of last month, the most recent available, only 7% of American adults fell into those two categories combined. Some of the main concerns people had were about safety and side effects, said Lunna Lopes, a senior survey analyst for the foundation. A lot of those concerns seem to have been addressed by watching other people get vaccinated, Lopes said. Its played out in St. Louisans such as Geniece Johnson, 24, of St Louis County. Johnson got her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday at the John C. Murphy Health Center. She had put off getting the vaccine because she was scared and worried about the possible side effects, she said. But now its required for her job in home health, and her mother, who is a nurse, told her it was safe. Johnson wants to take phlebotomy classes and may want to work in a hospital one day. She knows such jobs often require COVID vaccinations. Biggest wild card George, of St. Louis University, called the possibility of a new, problematic variant the biggest wild card in COVID right now. Garza said experts havent seen any variants so far that would evade the immunity people have built up. I think that would be pretty dramatic, Garza said. In recent weeks, experts have been monitoring the spread of a subvariant of the omicron variant known as BA.2. Estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention place the subvariant at about 4% of cases nationwide. In some European countries that have seen more BA.2 cases, the subvariant isnt affecting the curves that much, Powderly said. Garza said he could see BA.2 prolonging the current decline in cases. But he does not expect it will cause a big uptick. All pandemics come to an end. Its not going to last forever, Garza said. Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. FRIDAY, Feb. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- You've just delivered your second or third child, and you're ready to close the door on any future pregnancies. Does it matter whether you choose to use an IUD or have your tubes tied? It turns out that IUDs are nearly as effective as having your tubes tied in preventing unwanted pregnancies and cause fewer side effects, a new study finds. It challenges the widely held belief that having your tubes tied (tubal ligation) -- which requires surgery and is permanent -- is more effective than an IUD, which is easily removed. "Tubal ligation is really no longer the gold standard for pregnancy prevention," said study first author Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. She and her colleagues examined claims data from more than 83,000 Medi-Cal recipients who received either a tubal ligation or an IUD between 2008 and 2014, to see how many became pregnant within a year. Pregnancy rates were 2.6% for those who had tubal ligations, 2.4% for those with levonorgestrel (hormonal) IUDs and 2.9% for those with copper IUDs, according to the study. Compared to women who had their tubes tied, those with IUDs were less likely to get infections or have procedure-related complications, and more than six months later had less pelvic, abdominal and genitourinary pain. "Tubal ligation is permanent and regrets following these procedures are hard, especially when coverage of infertility treatment is limited, as it is for Medicaid clients," Schwarz said in a university news release. Since IUDs are at least as effective as tubal ligation, patients "should be encouraged to try an IUD before going to the operating room for a permanent procedure," Schwarz suggested. The study is the first rigorous assessment of how long-term birth control methods perform in the real world, according to the researchers. "Women are told the chance of pregnancy with these contraceptives is 1 in 1,000 but we found much higher rates of pregnancy," Schwarz noted. "This real-world data is really important for clinical decision-making." The findings were published Feb. 23 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. More information There's more on birth control at the U.S. Office on Women's Health. SOURCE: University of California, San Francisco, news release, Feb. 23, 2022 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. THURSDAY, Feb. 24, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- An increase in telemedicine during the pandemic and easier access to prescription drugs to end a pregnancy may help explain why more than half of U.S. abortions are now done with a combination of medicines instead of surgery, researchers report. The percentage of abortions done with U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved mifepristone pills rose from about 44% in 2019 to 54% in 2020, according to preliminary numbers from the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. Two factors may have contributed to the increase in the use of prescription pills for abortions, Guttmacher researcher Rachel Jones suggested. During the pandemic, there was a rise in the use of telemedicine and the FDA started to allow abortion pills to be mailed to patients instead of requiring in-person visits to get them, a change that became permanent last December. That means that millions of women can now get a prescription through an online consultation and receive the pills through the mail. The FDA approved mifepristone (the main drug used in "medical abortions") in 2000, and use of the abortion pills has been rising since then. The recent increase "is not surprising, especially during COVID," Dr. Marji Gold, a family medicine physician and abortion provider in New York City, told the Associated Press. Patients seeking abortions at her clinic have long chosen the pills over the surgical procedure, she noted. Abortion opponents have stepped up efforts to get state legislatures to place additional restrictions on medical abortions. So far this year, 16 state legislatures have proposed bans or restrictions on medication abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, the AP reported. It said that mailing abortion pills is banned in three states Arizona, Arkansas and Texas and that 32 states require these medications to be prescribed by physicians even though other medicines can be prescribed by physician assistants and other health care providers. More information Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more on mifepristone. SOURCE: Guttmacher Institute, news release, Feb. 24, 2022; Associated Press Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. FRIDAY, Feb. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A massive genetic family tree traces the ancestry of all people today. The researchers who created it said it shows how individuals worldwide are related to one another and reveals key events in human evolution, including the migration out of Africa. "Essentially, we are reconstructing the genomes of our ancestors and using them to form a vast network of relationships," said study leader Anthony Wilder Wohns. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. "We can then estimate when and where these ancestors lived. The power of our approach is that it makes very few assumptions about the underlying data and can also include both modern and ancient DNA samples," Wohns explained. Wohns did the mapping work as part of his doctoral studies at the University of Oxford's Big Data Institute in the United Kingdom. The massive family tree was made using a new method that combines genetic data from multiple sources a method the authors said could have wide-ranging uses in medical research, such as identifying genetic predictors of disease risk. Their findings were published Feb. 24 in the journal Science. "We have basically built a huge family tree, a genealogy for all of humanity that models as exactly as we can the history that generated all the genetic variation we find in humans today," said Yan Wong, an evolutionary geneticist at the Big Data Institute and one of the principal authors. "This genealogy allows us to see how every person's genetic sequence relates to every other, along all the points of the genome." Using modern and ancient human genomes from eight databases, the researchers included 3,609 individual genome sequences from 215 populations. The ancient genomes, from samples collected worldwide, ranged in age from thousands to more than 100,000 years old. From that, the research team came up with a human family tree that includes nearly 27 million common ancestors and where they lived. The investigators plan to continue to incorporate genetic data as it becomes available in order to make this genealogical map even more comprehensive. "This study is laying the groundwork for the next generation of DNA sequencing. As the quality of genome sequences from modern and ancient DNA samples improves, the trees will become even more accurate and we will eventually be able to generate a single, unified map that explains the descent of all the human genetic variation we see today," Wong said in an Oxford news release. Though humans are the focus of this study, "the method is valid for most living things from orangutans to bacteria," Wohns noted. "It could be particularly beneficial in medical genetics, in separating out true associations between genetic regions and diseases from spurious connections arising from our shared ancestral history," he added. More information For more on human evolution, go to the U.K.'s Natural History Museum. SOURCE: Oxford University, news release, Feb. 24, 2022 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. FRIDAY, Feb. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Headphones have a much greater impact on listeners than external speakers because they put voices "inside your head," a new study explains. "Headphones produce a phenomenon called in-head localization, which makes the speaker sound as if they're inside your head," said study co-author On Amir, a professor of marketing at the University of California, San Diego. "Consequently, listeners perceive the communicators as closer both physically and socially. As a result, listeners perceive the communicator as warmer, they feel and behave more empathically toward them and they are more easily persuaded by them," Amir explained in a university news release. The findings could have significant implications for training programs, remote work and advertising, according to the researchers. In a series of experiments and surveys involving more than 4,000 people, the investigators found that headphones have a much stronger effect than external speakers on listeners' perceptions, judgments and behaviors. The findings scheduled to be published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes could make a mark in a number of areas, including remote work and workplace training, the researchers suggested. "Organizations may consider this research when designing their trainings or webinars," said study author Juliana Schroeder, associate professor of management, at the University of California, Berkeley. "For example, managers might encourage employees to listen to safety trainings or webinars using headphones, which may more effectively change their attitudes and behaviors, compared to listening via speakers." Companies could send employees headphones to encourage their use in phone conversations, which could increase collaboration, especially in the era of remote work, Amir added. Headphones may also cultivate a more loyal and engaged audience for on-air personalities, the researchers said. "Clearly, our research suggests that influencers, bloggers and podcasters want to try to make sure that people listen by headphones because that creates that attachment," Amir said. "Our research proposes that it is not only what or whom people hear that influences their judgments, decisions and behaviors, but also how they hear the message." More information For advice on safe headphone use, go to Harvard Health. SOURCE: University of California, San Diego, news release, Feb. 23, 2022 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. Aisha Sultan Aisha Sultan is home and family editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Aisha Sultan 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 For the first time in nearly two years, our son will be able to see some of the faces of his classmates in school. This week, our school district switched to a mask optional policy. Theres a wide range of emotions among parents some are overjoyed, others are terrified and many feel a mix of cautious optimism and anxiety. Our family has been supportive of masking to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Nearly a million people have died in America and countless more have been seriously sick a staggering amount of loss and suffering. But theres also something lost for students who have spent years in masks. The extreme politicization of public health practices during this pandemic has made it difficult to talk empathetically about the different perspectives. But lets try. Those who feel this decision is premature point to the continued high number of daily COVID deaths (on average still nearly 2,000 a day), the fact that children under age 5 cannot be vaccinated and that medically vulnerable people still face risks of severe, chronic illness or death even when vaccinated. Wearing a mask is a small tradeoff to protect others, they say. Those who welcome the change can also cite data and science in their defense. The total number of infections have declined significantly over the past month, and deaths are also declining. Among those 5 and older, 81% have at least one shot, and a new study estimates 73% of Americans are currently immune to the omicron variant. For those with both shots and a booster, the chances of serious illness due to COVID are very low. The current variant is milder, and there are effective treatments available. Wearing a high-quality, properly fitting mask like an N95 means you are protected even if others are not masked. Meanwhile, spending critical years of childhood and adolescent development with a mask on, while ones peers and teachers are also masked, will impact some children more than others. Its harder to hear people and read expressions while masked. There are legitimate concerns about prolonged barriers to social connections for society as a whole. The conversation about masking in schools is not as simple as pointing to one side as living in fear or the other as selfish and lacking empathy. It will help young people recover from the instability of the past two years to know that their teachers and school leaders care about them, even if parents disagree with the current mask policy. A central ongoing lesson of the pandemic has been to learn to adjust to changing circumstances. I asked my son how many people were still wearing masks after the first day of it becoming optional. He said about 60% of the school had stopped masking. Parents in other districts that had dropped the requirement a few weeks earlier said the percentage of mask wearers has declined over time. In some schools, nearly everyone is unmasked and has been even through the recent surges. I asked our son if he kept his mask on when allowed to take it off. He said that he did. Hes part of the schools band, which has an upcoming trip to Disney World to perform. He didnt want to risk catching the virus and missing the trip. That seems like a logical and practical decision. Teenagers tend to make decisions based on how they are personally affected by the consequences. The same could be said of adults. The circumstances of the pandemic have changed enough that people are looking at the data through their own risk factors and personal experiences. Our college student, whose university still has a mask mandate in place, and high schooler remain masked in their schools for now. But I cant wait until others can see their smiles again. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Tony Messenger Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Tony Messenger Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Social Services knew it had a problem. People needing to fill out an application, and have an interview, to obtain food stamps, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, could no longer go to a local office to see somebody in person. So, they waited on hold at the overwhelmed call center, which had technological problems long before the pandemic. Officials at the state agency turned to Facebook to try to calm people who were hungry. Hungry and angry Missourians, some of them seeking food aid for the first time, flooded the Facebook page with complaints. Ive been on the phone for 6 days. I cant get through. I have probably called 200 times. Mary Holmes was one of those people. The St. Louis resident is 55. Her children are grown. She helps take care of some of her 14 grandchildren. She lives in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Holmes only source of income is federal disability checks because she has cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Late in 2021, Holmes moved. She filed change of address forms with the various state agencies that provide her services. She knows they went through because she started receiving mail from the state at her new home. But the SNAP program sent mail to an old address. By the time she received it, and tried to get a state official on the phone, they had canceled her federally funded food assistance. They said I had to reapply, Holmes told me. This alone is one of the fundamental problems with how Missouris state government treats its most vulnerable residents. Before the pandemic, the state let more than 100,000 people drop off Medicaid health coverage because of similar snafus, most of them children, disabled people or senior citizens. Thousands of people like Holmes, who clearly qualify for food aid, were dropped even while being approved in other departments of state government. Its a moral choice. The state has failed its poor for decades, and refuses to update antiquated computer systems or hire employees at a decent wage. Holmes waited on hold for four hours one day. The recorded voice told her there were 692 people in front of her. Day after day she called back and had the same experience. It was really depressing and frustrating. She was not alone. Katherine Holley, a lawyer with the nonprofit Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, has been working on the problem for years. My clients are suffering, Holley said. If youre a low-income person trying to navigate these unnavigable systems, youre incredibly beaten down. This week, Holley and a group of lawyers from the National Center for Law and Economic Justice and the Stinson law firm filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Holmes and others like her, alleging that the state of Missouri has systematically failed to serve people who qualify for the federally funded food programs. The SNAP application process in Missouri is built around the use of a dysfunctional, centralized call center. The call center was overloaded and ineffective even before the pandemic, and it has continued to be so even since DSS offices reopened to the public. Wait times are extraordinarily long, and the call center frequently deflects calls, the lawsuit alleges. Thousands of Missourians, including the individual Plaintiffs in this action, cannot meaningfully access SNAP as a result of Defendants policies. The state has yet to respond to the lawsuit. A spokeswoman for DSS declined to comment. Holmes did what most people in a similar situation would do, if they had the capability, when her food stamps got dropped: She got help from friends and family, and local food pantries. But thats not a sustainable public policy. Holley said she hopes the lawsuit forces the state to speed up the process by which it is trying to update its antiquated computer systems, and design a system that is effective in getting needed aid, whether it is food or health care, to people who need it. So many low-income Missourians are falling through the cracks, Holley says. If this was an issue that affected middle-class or affluent people, it would not be endured. From City Hall to the Capitol, metro columnist Tony Messenger shines light on what public officials are doing, tells stories of the disaffected, and brings voice to the issues that matter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. EDWARDSVILLE A Glen Carbon woman on Thursday sued the Madison County Jail, 17 corrections officers, the countys sheriff and the jails medical service provider, accusing them of negligence in the death of her daughter two years ago. Rana Schmidt, the mother of Elissa Lindhorst, said her daughters death in February 2020 was preventable had her daughter received proper care for her drug addiction while incarcerated, according to the federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court of the Southern District of Illinois. The suit alleges that instead of medical care for her daughter, who vomited repeatedly in her cell while withdrawing from opioids, jail staff provided a mop, bucket and biohazard bag. Other detainees in the jail pleaded for the staff to help Lindhorst and filled out a sick slip on her behalf to request medical attention, but the suit states a staff member threw the slip away. Surveillance video shows other detainees attempting to help Lindhorst and yelling for help, the suit says. A staff member at the jail claimed to have filled out a sick slip on behalf of Lindhorst, but there is no record of it on file, according to the suit. Lindhorst, 28, was booked into the jail shortly before 5 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2020, in a controlled substance case. She was found unresponsive in her cell the morning of Feb. 24, 2020, and taken to a Maryville hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. The suit claims she had severe dehydration and had aspirated her vomit, causing her lungs to become congested and inflamed. The Madison County Sheriffs Department could not immediately be reached for a comment on the case. John D. Lakin is the Madison County sheriff, and held the post at the time of Lindhorsts death. In addition to suing jail staff who saw her daughter in her cell, Schmidt named the jails contracted medical service provider, Advanced Correctional Healthcare, for negligence to adequately train and supervise medical personnel and sheriff deputies at Madison County Jail and other facilities where ACH is contracted to provide medical care, the suit says. Schmidt is seeking unspecified damages, including for medical and funeral expenses and pain and suffering. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ST. LOUIS The former FBI agent chosen by St. Louis' top prosecutor to investigate a Missouri governor in 2018 is set to stand trial next month on multiple felony charges. William Don Tisaby's return to St. Louis for trial March 28 comes four years after the investigator sat for a day-long deposition about his probe of claims that then-Gov. Eric Greitens snapped a photo of a partly nude woman in 2015 without her permission, and threatened to share it if she disclosed their affair. The deposition in March 2018 led to Tisaby's indictment on charges of perjury and evidence tampering. The Post-Dispatch recently obtained the eight-hour video of Tisaby's deposition, which includes several tense exchanges between Tisaby and Jim Martin, one of Greitens' defense lawyers. The video shows how Greitens' lawyers sought to attack Tisaby's credibility by eliciting inconsistent and incorrect testimony about his investigation. It also reveals Tisaby stumbling over basic questions and struggling to explain key evidence and witness statements. A St. Louis jury will be tasked with deciding whether Tisaby perjured himself. Jurors will have to consider whether he intended to deceive Greitens' legal team and whether his misstatements under oath were important enough to taint the case, or just the result of being confused or ill-prepared. Tisaby's lawyer declined comment for this article. Tisaby's work on the Greitens case has been one of the biggest liabilities for St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner since she was elected in 2017. Tisaby's trial also will offer a glimpse into key details of Gardner's disciplinary hearing set for two weeks later. That hearing could decide the fate of her law license and political future. For some, Gardner's credibility has already been damaged because of the Greitens and Tisaby cases, said Richard Middleton, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. If testimony at Tisaby's trial reveals Gardner helped conceal evidence, Middleton said, "it would certainly present a huge problem for the city, as there would likely be a call for an immediate review of all her cases." Greitens indicted The hair stylist's ex-husband claimed Greitens had threatened to release a nude or semi-nude photo of the woman if she exposed their affair. Greitens denied that. Gardner first interviewed Greitens accuser without Tisaby. Five days later, Tisaby interviewed the woman, with Gardner present. That February, a grand jury indicted Greitens on one felony count of invasion of privacy. One month later, Greitens defense team deposed Tisaby, seeking to attack his investigation. Gardner, who was present at the deposition, frequently objected to questions about Tisabys investigation of matters unrelated to the invasion of privacy charge. The defense team deposed Tisaby again in April, but he refused to answer questions. A grand jury indicted Tisaby almost three years ago on charges of lying multiple times in his March 2018 deposition in the run-up to what would have been Greitens' trial in May of that year. Gardner's office dropped the case against Greitens during jury selection but a short time later brokered the governor's resignation. Greitens' lawyers, who claimed Tisaby had committed perjury and that Gardner let him do it, then filed a complaint with police that sparked a contentious, monthslong grand jury investigation into Tisaby and the circuit attorney's office. Along with the indictment of Tisaby last year, Missouri's chief disciplinary counsel brought ethics charges against Gardner. Greitens is now among more than a dozen Republicans running for a U.S. Senate seat that opened when Sen. Roy Blunt announced his plans to retire. Tisaby's deposition At the heart of Tisaby's case is whether he deliberately told several lies during a March 2018 deposition about his investigation of Greitens. Martin, the defense lawyer who led Tisaby's deposition, repeatedly asked Tisaby whether hed taken notes during interviews with Greitens' accuser and another witness. Tisaby said he had not. He also said he had asked them no questions preferring to hear their stories without interruption and had no advance knowledge of Greitens accusers claims because he wanted to conduct an independent review. Tisaby, 69, told Martin in the deposition that during his FBI career he never took notes, instead committing key details, including direct quotes in the Greitens case, to memory. He said he was able to recall nearly every detail of the interview weeks or months later. Those claims appeared to crumble under questioning about Tisaby's investigation and his failure to recall details of his interviews or produce notes and records as ordered by a subpoena. "Mr. Tisaby, have you noticed that throughout this deposition you often change your story after the first time you answer a question?" Martin asked. "Well, yeah, after I think about it, yes sir, and give me time to think about it," Tisaby said. "Well, do you understand how important this is when somebody's indicted the governor of the state? Do you think it would be more important for you to think about it before you give an answer instead of giving answers that you then say are incorrect and trying to correct them all the time?" Martin said. "Mr. Martin, that is why I am doing it," Tisaby said. " If I say something and I think about it a little bit, I go back to give you the best answer possible." Tisaby refused to answer questions about his demotion and suspension during his more than 20-year FBI career. The suspension related to the agency's conclusions that he lied under oath about having remarried in 1998 before his divorce was final. Tisaby was suspended for 60 days and received a pay cut, but he was never criminally charged with bigamy. Tisaby also refused to answer some questions about the scope of the Greitens investigation, saying certain aspects were "privileged." Toward the end of the deposition, Tisaby insisted he had disclosed all subpoenaed records and that his final report was an "accurate summary" of his witness interviews. "I didn't give any false information," Tisaby said. "I'm just changing it after I thought about it." After Greitens' lawyers accused Tisaby of lying under oath, Gardner acknowledged Tisaby was wrong about taking notes but said his misstatements and alleged failures to disclose favorable evidence weren't serious enough to undermine the Greitens case. While comparing Tisaby to "Inspector Clouseau," the inept fictional detective from the Pink Panther movies, Gardner's team rejected the perjury claims against Tisaby, calling them "missteps" and "lapses" but not misconduct. Cases intertwined In court filings, Gardner's ethics lawyer denied the misconduct charges against her, calling them "another attempt by Ms. Gardner's political enemies largely from outside St. Louis to remove her from office and thwart the systemic reforms she champions. Two of Greitens' lawyers, Martin and Scott Rosenblum, are expected to testify at Gardner's disciplinary hearing April 11. Last year, Missouri's chief disciplinary counsel accused Gardner of violating rules of evidence by failing to provide or omitting witness statements favorable to Greitens' defense and allowing Tisaby to make multiple false statements under oath. Under the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland, prosecutors have an obligation to release information that is favorable to the defense. Encouraging or allowing someone to lie under oath is called suborning perjury. Gardner withheld or omitted statements made by Greitens' accuser that suggested an ongoing, consensual relationship months after their encounter in Greitens' basement, according to the ethics charges. Gardner also made false claims to her own staff, in open court and in filings, and to the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel about interview notes she and Tisaby took, and their disclosure to the defense. Middleton of UMSL said in an email that in comparing the Tisaby and Gardner cases, some facts "suggest a level of coordination to keep certain evidence protected from defense counsel." But he said they also might suggest that Gardner considered some of the materials privileged work or that the stress of the job weakened her oversight of her office and her own recall of high volumes of evidence in the Greitens case. "The facts could suggest an overzealous CA who was seeking to win a high-profile and career-defining case at any cost," Middleton said. "Only (Gardner and Tisaby) know the true rationale behind their actions." In a statement Friday, Gardner said she handled the case involving Greitens like any other criminal case. "In every case, the Circuit Attorney is dedicated to ensuring that her office carries out its duty to prosecute criminal cases on behalf of the residents of the City of St. Louis in a manner that is fair and ethical for alleged victims and defendants alike," Gardner said. Gardner has said she never hid her role in the Greitens investigation and produced all notes taken during witness interviews. In response to the misconduct charges against her, Gardner's lawyer Michael Downey said neither she nor her office had withheld any evidence that might have helped Greitens' case. Downey said Greitens' "aggressive" defense team sought to undermine the victim and Gardner's prosecution by "dissecting and scrutinizing its investigation process and production of investigative records in an unparalleled fashion." "In hindsight, were each and every one of Ms. Gardner's actions in the intense, fast-paced Greitens investigation and prosecution perfect?" Downey wrote. "No, but that is not the measure or purpose of attorney discipline. The question here is whether Ms. Gardner engaged in some conduct that should impair her ability to run her office, represent the interests of the citizens and St. Louis, and reform the St. Louis justice system as Ms. Gardner's constituents want her to do. The answer to that question is a clear "no" Ms. Gardner should be allowed to remain in office, with her work unimpeded by the proceedings brought here." Perjury cases rare Last June, following months of delays brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the first special prosecutor, Gerard "Jerry" Carmody, withdrew from the case, saying that after three years as the special prosecutor investigating Tisaby, he had "other pressing matters" that needed his attention. Also, the city comptroller refused to pay more than $250,000 that Carmody's firm had billed for work on the case. One of Tisaby's lawyers claimed Carmody had threatened him after a court hearing. Tisaby's lawyer alleged Carmody wanted off the case to avoid scrutiny of a donor list to Greitens former charity, the Mission Continues, that included companies that were clients of Carmody's firm. Carmody denied those claims. The court then appointed Johnson County Prosecutor Robert W. Russell, a Republican, to try Tisaby's case in St. Louis. Legal scholars say the prosecution of perjury cases is rare and difficult for prosecutors because the false testimony must include the intent to deceive. Prosecutors must show that someone knowingly gave false statements under oath in order to mislead or obstruct an investigation, said Bennett Gershman, a law professor at Pace University in New York and a former Manhattan prosecutor. Proving perjury also requires that those false statements are "material" to the central issues of a case. "It's a very tight area that the prosecutor has to navigate through in order to both charge perjury and convict that person of perjury," he said. "It's not something that's easily done." Gershman, who reviewed the Tisaby indictment, characterized Tisaby's misstatements as "side issues" that don't seem central enough to the Greitens case to give rise to perjury charges. "It seems to me they're using perjury in a very, very attenuated way," he said. "Usually perjury charges go to significant issues in the case the individual lies about these significant issues in order to thwart the investigator. Using the charge of perjury in this matter, to me, is a stretch." Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. EDWARDSVILLE Prosecutors on Friday announced new charges against a former Roxana School District substitute teacher who was previously accused of having sexual contact with two teen boys. Danielle C. Fischer, 29, was charged by a grand jury with having sexual contact and filming sexual encounters with a 16-year-old male student while she was his teacher between May 1 and June 30, according to court documents. She was also charged earlier this month with sexually assaulting and abusing two other male students a 16-year-old and 17-year-old boy on June 5. Fischer was a long-term substitute teacher in the Roxana School District during the 2020-2021 school year and began working for the Alton School District last year. Roxana Superintendent Debra Kreutztrager said earlier this month Fischer never had a full-time position with the district. "It is sickening to see figures of authority abuse children," Madison County State's Attorney Tom Haine said in a statement. Fischer's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ST. LOUIS COUNTY A second former patient of an eating disorder treatment facility has sued in U.S. District Court in St. Louis federal court complaining about her treatment there, including an employee she accused of fondling her. The lawsuit, filed by a patient identified only by the pseudonym Ronda Roe, says oversight and control were dangerously lax at the Alsana Treatment Center and details a series of problems with patient care and treatment. It also says an employee, Austin DeJaynes, fondled Roe multiple times. DeJaynes declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday. Roes suit said group therapy sessions were cancelled, turned into free art periods or led by inexperienced, untrained, and/or unlicensed employees, the suit says. A staffer left a box cutter unattended that Roe used to harm herself, and employees did not seek treatment for Roe after she tried to strangle herself with a cord after she got kicked out of group therapy for becoming upset, the suit says. A lawsuit filed last month by another former patient said she was psychologically abused and driven away from her longtime partner by an employee last year. That suit came shortly after the center said new admissions were being halted at two residential programs and one outpatient program after allegations that employees may have been involved in inappropriate conduct involving a client receiving outpatient care at our St. Louis program. In an email, Alsana CEO Gayle Devin said, We believe the allegations against the company are meritless and look forward to being vindicated in court. There is nothing more important to us than the well-being of our clients. Alsana was known as the Castlewood Treatment Center until 2018. Castlewood was the subject of past lawsuits and allegations of misconduct that were denied by the center and staff at the time. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A North County man and a California resident were charged Friday with shooting and killing a 24-year-old in University City. Police say North County resident Nathanael Brown-Shatto, 19, and Carlos Castellanos Jr., 20, of Fairfield, California, shot and killed Harvey Holloway III on Feb. 19 in the 7800 block of Birchmont Drive. An 18-year-old also injured during the shooting remains in critical condition, according to police. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorneys Office on Friday charged each man with first-degree murder, unlawful use of weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. Bail for both men was set at $1 million each and they both remain in jail. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the University City Police Department at 314-725-2211, Ext. 8010, or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ST. LOUIS A woman was found fatally shot in a vehicle Friday afternoon in the Kingsway West neighborhood, police said. Police responded to the 5100 block of Greer Avenue around 3:30 p.m., and found the woman in a vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. JEFFERSON CITY Missouri lawmakers are seeking to get ahead of any future eviction moratoriums, proposing several bans on the enforcement of local and national orders. The proposals specify that eviction moratorium orders can only be upheld if allowed by state law, a response to the many pauses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rep. Chris Brown, R-Kansas City, called the eviction moratoriums a clear violation of contract law and property rights at a House committee hearing on his proposed ban Wednesday. Brown noted that the orders have cost landlords billions of dollars in back rent during the coronavirus pandemic. The bottom line is this put landlords in an unfair situation, Brown said. We talk a lot about government or bureaucratic agencies picking winners and losers. And I certainly felt like that that was done unlawfully. Estimates early in the pandemic concluded 30 million to 40 million Americans were at risk of eviction before a national moratorium took effect. Local and national relief under both political parties leadership worked to keep people in financial distress in their homes. Housing advocates have argued that with access to employment stymied and a highly contagious virus killing millions, continuing to turn people out of their homes would have exponentially compounded the crisis. People throughout this pandemic have experienced a number of exceptionally difficult hardships, and I dont think landlords and investors are immune from that hardship, Jeremy LaFaver of Empower Missouri said Wednesday, arguing the need of people to have roofs over their heads and families to have a safe place to call their home had simply taken precedence. Despite fears that evictions would surge after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned national moratorium in August, evictions in St. Louis and St. Louis County have climbed steadily but so far stayed below pre-pandemic averages, according to data from Princeton Universitys Eviction Lab. This mitigation was aided by millions of dollars of federal rental aid and responsive short-term eviction pauses from local entities. The St. Louis County Council instituted its most recent moratorium in December, a 15-day pause in response to an omicron variant surge. Brown said rental aid during the pandemic allowed renters to line their pockets while they failed to pay rent, though opponents of the legislation noted a significant portion was distributed directly to landlords. Rep. Robert Sauls, D-Independence, also emphasized that moratoriums only applied to evictions on the basis of non-payment. Landlords still were able to legally evict tenants for other reasons, such as property damage, criminal activity or threatening the health or safety of other residents. Opponents of the legislation warned the future is uncertain for many renters, with housing prices jumping sharply and the health outlook continually shifting. Posted at 4:21 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25. Grace Zokovitch gzokovitch@post-dispatch.com CLAYTON A St. Louis County government email responding to a local nonprofit group seeking information about COVID-19 testing included a link to a campaign site for County Executive Sam Page. The email was the subject of a County Council ethics committee inquiry Thursday into a complaint that Pages administration violated laws forbidding the use of public resources for political campaigns. Damon Broadus, county public health director of health promotion and public research, sent the email Jan. 10 with information about a county effort to collect reports of at-home test results. Broadus email added that Pages office does their best to help residents stay on top of the news in the county. It included a link for signing up for a Page campaign newsletter. Department of Public Health spokesman Chris Ave said in a statement that the email mistakenly included a link to a campaign website. The inclusion of that link was wrong and never should have occurred. Before the error was caught, the substance of the email, including the link, was emailed to other individuals. DPH is investigating the situation as a personnel matter, Ave said. Page spokesman Doug Moore said in a statement that Dr. Faisal Khan, acting public health director, informed Dr. Page that a personnel investigation is underway to determine what happened. Moore said Page found out about the email Wednesday. Dr. Page has for the past two years in his weekly press conferences referred residents to county-run sites that offer information on COVID-19, including ReviveSTL.com, where residents can find information on testing and vaccines. The Jan. 10 email read in full: You may have seen Dr. Pages press conference from last Friday, if not it can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/2JHN0gAeSl4?t=854 he shares the info below: How to Report Results of At-Home COVID-19 Tests to DPH: If you have conducted at-home testing and are positive, you can report that result to the Department of Public Health. A number of residents who have tested positive for COVID on a home COVID test have asked whether they should report their results to DPH. DPH has created an email account for those who wish to report a positive COVID test result. That email is dph.submission@stlouiscountymo.gov. Lastly, each week, the County Executives office does their best to help residents stay on top of the news in the County. There is a newsletter with useful resources that you can sign up for at: https://bit.ly/3nijXBs The Jan. 10 email was a follow-up to a Jan. 5 email from a local nonprofit CEO asking for information on COVID-19 at-home testing in north St. Louis County. The email, which also copied Councilwomen Rita Days and Shalonda Webb, was sent to Broadus and Rochelle Walton Gray, a former councilwoman Page hired in 2020 to conduct vaccine outreach. Gray deferred to Broadus, removing Days and Webb from the email thread. Broadus notified the nonprofit that the county didnt have a way to report at-home test results at that point, but said he would provide any updates if that changed. He emailed again Jan. 10, a few days after Page held a press conference announcing the public health department created a new email address to receive at-home test reports. Jane Dueker, an attorney and frequent and vocal critic of the Page administration, sent a complaint about the email to the councils ethics committee, alleging it represented an overt and blatant inappropriate diversion of public resources for campaign purposes. Dueker told a reporter Thursday the email was sent to her by a whistleblower but refused to provide more details. She said she doubted the public health departments explanation that the link was included in error. How can that be a mistake? she said. Its a bright line that you never ever use government resources for campaigns, ever. Ave said the department was unaware of the link until Councilman Mark Harder, chairman of the ethics committee, disclosed the complaint had been made in a letter dated Feb. 16 and included in the councils public agenda this week. After Khan inquired, Harders office sent them the email Wednesday, Ave said. Asked how the department knew the link was added by mistake, Ave said the person involved didnt know that the link went to a campaign website. Broadus and Gray did not return messages seeking comment. During the council hearing, Councilman Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, urged the council to issue subpoenas and records requests for any other emails with the link. Im sure we have the ability to search every county email in our system, he said. Harder agreed and said he would schedule another ethics committee meeting. The recipient of the Jan. 10 email, North County Inc. President Rebecca Zoll, said she had opened the link for the email but had done nothing more with it and had no more contact with county officials about it. She was unaware that the email was a subject of council discussion until a reporter called Thursday, she said. She had not been contacted by any council member or anyone else about it. Zoll is part of a volunteer North County outreach group formed in 2020 to share information about any COVID-19 vaccine and testing events, she said. Th organization has a strict policy against endorsing electoral campaigns or sharing campaign information. The next email Zoll received from Broadus, on Jan. 25, included a link to ReviveSTL and did not reference the past communications, according to a copy seen by a reporter. Originally posted at 1:45 p.m. Updated at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. CLAYTON St. Louis County on Friday released a public survey asking for input on how to spend roughly $84 million in federal pandemic relief funds. The survey asks residents for their preferred uses of the money for broad categories, including public health, economic support for small businesses, resources for mental health and substance abuse issues, housing assistance, childcare and education, water and broadband infrastructure and road repair. Respondents can also submit their own ideas for projects using federal funds. The survey provides respondents up to 150 characters to suggest a project for each spending category. The survey is available at https://stlouiscountymo.gov/community-needs-survey/. The survey will close in three weeks, said Doug Moore, spokesman for County Executive Sam Page. The county is also expected to hold town hall meetings in March for input on pandemic aid with an outreach team including members of Pages cabinet. Hearing from our residents on what the needs are in their communities is critical especially as we talk about recovering from this pandemic, Page said in a statement. The survey, drafted with the participation of the County Council, is meant to guide county planning for federal aid remaining from the $193 million American Rescue Plan Act. As of Friday, the county had about $90 million left to spend. But about $6 million of the remaining funds will be spoken for under two bills expected to get final approval from the County Council on Tuesday. One bill puts $4.2 million to buy a new 911 emergency dispatch system to upgrade one installed in 2001. Another bill earmarks $2 million in ARPA funds to continue the GrandPad program, which loaned thousands of tablets to homebound seniors isolated during the pandemic. The program, which was paid for through past pandemic aid, is set to expire in March. Council Chair Rita Days said Friday that the survey could inform council negotiations on other proposals for the money individual council members introduced last year. I just think we have to look at priorities, Days said Friday. And this survey will help us to determine the priorities based on what the community is saying. Days and Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, D-4th District, in August proposed $50 million for public health projects in north St. Louis County, including the construction of two new public health centers and the deployment of two mobile health units. Councilman Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, has called for $34.4 million for improvements for the police department, including the construction of a real-time camera surveillance and crime reporting center, a new central county precinct and the purchase of 50 patrol vehicles. Fitch is a former county police chief. And Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-6th District, has called for $62.5 million for infrastructure, public health and small business support projects in his south St. Louis County district, which is mostly unincorporated. The countys 88 municipalities have separately received a total of about $135 million in federal aid divided among them based largely on their population. Moore said Friday that the county will publish a webpage with information on the countys spending of ARPA funds next week. Over the past year, the county has appropriated roughly $103 million from the ARPA windfall. The bulk $80 million was used, at Pages recommendation, to shore up the countys operating budget through 2024 to avoid cuts from revenue losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The council also has approved spending another $23 million, including $11 million for public health COVID-19 testing and staffing, $5 million for emergency housing aid and $5.2 million for temporary pay raises for jail corrections officers. The council also approved $1 million to continue contracts with Deloitte and Lewis Rice, two firms that have advised the county on federal aid regulations since 2020, $875,000 to pay for a vaccine incentive gift-card program, and about $175,000 to provide raises for some employees with public-facing roles during the pandemic. Chief Diversity Officer Veta Jeffery, a member of Pages outreach team, said the town halls and survey are meant to learn what matters most to county residents and include opportunities for those whose lives have been disproportionally impacted during this pandemic. The pandemic has drastically changed our lives and needs have rapidly changed since the last distribution of funds, she said. While the funds wont solve all the problems our families are facing, the surveys offer an opportunity for us to learn what matters most to you today. Originally posted at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PITTSBURGH, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Almono Limited Partnership owners of Pittsburgh's Hazelwood Green and Carnegie Mellon University announced today that they reached agreements with Tishman Speyer, one of the world's leading developers, owners and operators of cutting-edge real estate, to transform the 178-acre site into a global center for tomorrow's economy anchored by exciting new research facilities for science and engineering. Tishman Speyer will work with Almono, a joint venture of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, to convert the historic former steel-mill site, a symbol of Pittsburgh's industrial past, into a hub of innovation, science and sustainability that honors the community's history. Tishman Speyer and Almono will create the infrastructure and environments to support exploration and advances in robotics, A.I., life sciences and other 21st century fields. Tishman Speyer will further activate and animate Hazelwood Green through the development of new affordable and market-rate apartments, parks, open spaces, shops and eateries run by small and local retailers and other community amenities, all in accordance with approved Preliminary Land Development Plan for the site. Each element will be designed to complement and act as a vibrant extension of the historic Hazelwood neighborhood that surrounds the site. Almono and Tishman Speyer expect to deliver millions of square feet of new mixed-use development over the coming decade. In addition to its new role as master developer for Hazelwood Green, Tishman Speyer has agreed to work with Carnegie Mellon University on its Robotics Innovation Center. Tishman Speyer will assist Carnegie Mellon on the siting, design, construction and programming of its facility, which will be located within Hazelwood Green's historic Mill District. Opening for CMU's project is slated for 2024. "Pittsburgh has long been a global model for urban reinvention, thanks in large part to the support of its bedrock local institutions, including Mellon, Heinz, and Benedum," said Tishman Speyer President and CEO Rob Speyer. "We look forward to delivering on a shared vision for Hazelwood Green as a sustainable, equitable hub of innovation, discovery and community." Added Tishman Speyer Senior Managing Director Jeffrey Mandel, "We are thrilled by this opportunity to collaborate with world renowned innovators and local community members to create a thriving, sustainable neighborhood at Hazelwood Green." "Tishman Speyer is an ideal partner for the next phase of this important project," said Sam Reiman, Director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation. "They are uniquely well suited to help us maximize the potential of this generational opportunity from their international expertise; to their ability to build innovation districts around research universities; to their relationships with the world's most creative corporations; their record on sustainability and historic preservation; and their demonstrated commitment to building community partnerships that are consistent with our foundation values. Tishman Speyer will be instrumental in working with Carnegie Mellon on their transformative buildings at Hazelwood Green and connecting them physically and programmatically to Greater Hazelwood." Grant Oliphant, President of The Heinz Endowments, said, "This is a huge milestone for Hazelwood and for Pittsburgh. The vision for Hazelwood Green is breathtakingly ambitious, because it envisions the reinvention of this massive site as the key to unlocking a more inclusive and sustainable future for everyone in Pittsburgh, and to make sure the neighborhood around it shares in what happens here. As we looked around to find a master developer who could take on a challenge of this magnitude, Tishman Speyer quickly emerged as the logical choice. The firm is one of the most accomplished developers of transformative, mixed-use spaces in the world, and its team has the expertise, creativity, resources and depth to deliver on the goals we have set for this site. We look forward to working alongside them and our local and community partners to create a place that will drive Pittsburgh's continued renewal and benefit all in our community." Jen Giovannitti, President of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, added, "The Almono foundations have been committed to this moment for over twenty years: the moment when the various parts fall into place to create an achievable vision for growth, equity and sustainability on a prominent former steel mill site. Now Pittsburgh's bold leaders from academia, community, business, and philanthropy join a global developer who has aspirations as audacious as our own. I want to thank our predecessors, our Boards of Trustees, and the select group of elected officials that believed in this project and lent their support in meaningful ways since we purchased the property in 2002." Tishman Speyer is a pre-eminent builder and a trusted placemaker for the world's leading companies, institutions and cities. The firm, which has delivered more than 50 million square feet of mixed-use development and redevelopment projects over the past decade, has earned an international reputation for its innovative approaches to architecture, interior design, sustainability, healthy live-work environments and best-in-class tenant amenities. Tishman Speyer brings to the partnership a proven ability to produce vibrant, welcoming and authentic neighborhoods that complement and enhance their surrounding communities. The company is currently working with the San Francisco Giants on the creation of Mission Rock, a new, 28-acre mixed-use development on the Bay Area waterfront and was selected by Harvard Allston Land Company to develop the forthcoming Enterprise Research Campus across 14 acres in the Boston region. Other major mixed-use collaborations include Tailgate City in San Diego, The Springs in Shanghai and the redevelopment of the Chang-An Steel Mill in Beijing. Tishman Speyer is also regarded for its redevelopment and ongoing stewardship of Rockefeller Center in New York City. In May 2021, the Richard King Mellon Foundation awarded $75 million to Carnegie Mellon University to construct a new robotics innovation center and provide ongoing support for its Manufacturing Futures Institute located at Mill 19 at Hazelwood Green. "Carnegie Mellon University is pleased to have the opportunity to work with Tishman Speyer to develop our Robotics Innovation Center, and to have their expertise on board for the comprehensive development of Hazelwood Green as an innovation hub," said CMU President Farnam Jahanian. "Through our partnerships with the foundation community, the Greater Hazelwood community, and both the public and private sector, CMU has already developed several world-class research, development and training initiatives at Hazelwood Green, including the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute and the Manufacturing Futures Institute. With Tishman Speyer on board, I look forward to amplifying our impact on this ecosystem and advancing our collective vision for Hazelwood Green as a model for sustainable and inclusive economic development." In November 2021, the Richard King Mellon Foundation announced that it was awarding a $100 million grant the largest in its 74-year history to the University of Pittsburgh. This grant will help the University build a highly specialized biomanufacturing facility, which it is calling Pitt BioForge. "These singular initiativeswhich are impressive all on their ownfit within a larger collective effort to transform Hazelwood Green," says Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. "We have Almono leading the way, a strong commitment to community, the University of Pittsburgh and CMU as innovation engines, andnowthe unparalleled expertise of Tishman Speyer. It's a powerful combination that is poised to bring new economic growth and opportunities to the Pittsburgh region." "This is great news for Pittsburgh. Having Tishman Speyer, a nationally renowned builder of developments that enhance regions, at the helm of Hazelwood Green will be a win-win for our community. The fact that the partners in Hazelwood Green were able to attract such an esteemed partner is a testament to their work and vision," said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. "The work to create and support an ecosystem around technology, robotics, AI, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and technologies of the future will benefit this entire region." "We know the vision for Hazelwood Green has always been to rebuild a part of the neighborhood while lifting up the surrounding community and creating opportunities for existing residents," said Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey. "With a developer of the caliber of Tishman Speyer at the table, we are excited to begin working towards achieving these shared goals. We look forward to this partnership and are thankful to build off the foundation laid by the community and the Almono Partners that centers the social and economic needs of our city." "Hazelwood Green can and will set the standard for future development in the City of Pittsburgh," said Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O'Connor. "I'm excited to welcome Tishman Speyer to the neighborhood and have confidence that this partnership will ensure that this is a touchstone of modern, thoughtful design that's attentive to residents' social and economic needs, promotes and enshrines affordability, and meets high sustainability standards and certifications." "The Hazelwood Initiative is excited to welcome Tishman Speyer to our neighborhood," said Hazelwood Initiative Executive Director Sonya Tilghman. "We look forward to collaborating with them on a Hazelwood Green that is fully integrated with the existing community and a model for how development can put people first." Center for Life founder and Executive Director Tim Smith said, "As a long time community leader in the Greater Hazelwood community, I'm thrilled to hear that Tishman Speyer will be joining in with the Hazelwood leadership to help us accomplish our goal of 'Development without Displacement.' Center of Life is looking forward to working with the Tishman Speyer Team." Todd Stern, Managing Director at U3 Advisors, which will continue to serve as managing agent for the site, said, "As strategic advisors to large nonprofit institutions throughout the United States, we believe that this extraordinary partnership is uniquely positioned to bring world-class mixed-use development to the historic Hazelwood neighborhood while ensuring that the benefits of growth are shared equitably among Pittsburgh's diverse stakeholders." Hazelwood Green is a rare opportunity in urban economic development. It is an open riverside tract of vast size at 178 acres, Hazelwood Green is nearly half the size of Downtown Pittsburgh itself, with a striking Downtown view, proximity to two of the nation's leading research universities (Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh) and a remarkable historical pedigree. Hazelwood Green is the site of the former Jones & Laughlin steel mill. Two historic structures from the mill's operations remain, and already have been renovated and redeveloped by Almono. Mill 19, now owned by RIDC, is home to Carnegie Mellon University's Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing and Manufacturing Futures Initiative, Catalyst Connection and Motional. The mill's steel superstructure supports the largest rooftop solar array in the United States. And the renovated Roundhouse opened last year, with its 10 bays and turntable still highlighting the structure. The Roundhouse now is home to Silicon Valley-based entrepreneurship platform OneValley. The Roundhouse is aiming for LEED Gold Certification. About Almono. Almono Limited Partnership (Almono LP) is the primary land owner at Hazelwood Green. Almono LP is made up of three foundations: the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, Richard King Mellon Foundation, and The Heinz Endowments. The site's development will catalyze investment within the Hazelwood neighborhood while drawing from the deep history and culture that remains intact through the people and the physical fabric of the neighborhood. There is no site of this scale and potential that is more uniquely situated within the urban context of the Pittsburgh region; where research and talent is grown and fostered within premier universities, local neighborhoods remain unique and affordable, and the real estate market demands creative financial solutions. About Tishman Speyer. Tishman Speyer is a leading owner, developer, operator and investment manager of first-class real estate in 30 key markets across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. We develop, build and manage premier office, residential and retail spaces for industry-leading tenants, as well as state-of-the-art life science centers through our Breakthrough Properties venture. With global vision, on-the-ground expertise and a personalized approach, we are unparalleled in our ability to foster innovation, quickly adapt to global and local trends and proactively anticipate our customers' evolving needs. By focusing on health and wellness, enlightened placemaking and customer-focused initiatives such as our tenant amenities platform, ZO., and our flexible space and co-working brand, Studio, we tend not just to our physical buildings, but to the people who inhabit them on a daily basis. Since our inception in 1978, Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed, and operated 484 properties, totaling 219 million square feet, with a combined value of over $121 billion (U.S.). Our current portfolio includes such iconic assets as Rockefeller Center in New York City, The Springs in Shanghai, TaunusTurm in Frankfurt and the Mission Rock neighborhood currently being realized in San Francisco. About U3 Advisors. U3 Advisors works nationally with anchor institutions to advance their mission and unlock their impact. Through envisioning and implementing transformative real estate and economic strategies and interventions, U3 creates vibrant and sustainable campuses and communities that promote economic impact and inclusion. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/almono-and-carnegie-mellon-university-reach-agreements-with-tishman-speyer-to-accelerate-transformation-of-hazelwood-green-into-21st-century-innovation-hub-301490359.html SOURCE Tishman Speyer FILE PHOTO: The logo of Nvidia Corporation is seen during the annual Computex computer exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan May 30, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo (Reuters) - U.S chipmaker Nvidia Corp said on Friday it was investigating a potential cyberattack, following a news report that said the attack may have had taken parts of its business offline for two days. A malicious network intrusion caused outages in Nvidia's email systems and developer tools over the last two days, the Telegraph reported earlier on Friday, but said it was unclear if any data was stolen or deleted. "We are investigating an incident. Our business and commercial activities continue uninterrupted," Nvidia said in a statement. "We are still working to evaluate the nature and scope of the event and don't have any additional information to share at this time." Shares of the company pared gains to trade down 0.7% in late-afternoon trading. At a market cap of nearly $600 billion, Nvidia is the most valuable chipmaker in the United States. It is known for its graphics processing units (GPU) that enhance videogaming experiences and advanced computer simulations. (Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli) Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, nearly 1,000 U.S. Air Force personnel, including 55 people from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, have been deployed to help civilian hospitals and care facilities, the Air Force said Thursday. From Wright-Patterson, a 15-person team has been sent to Maine, a 20-person team to Oklahoma and another 20-person team to Massachusetts, the Air Force said. Our Airmen are always proud to serve, but there is something even more special to our team members in providing care to our nations citizens alongside our civilian medical partners, Col. Christian Lyons, the 88th Medical Group commander, said in the Air Force announcement. Nothing is more inspiring than the military-civilian partnership being demonstrated right now to save lives. The Air Force Medical Service has responded as part of the federal COVID-19 response, and today the service has upwards of 24 active duty and Reserve teams currently deployed across the country, it said. Those personnel include pulmonologists, trauma nurses, respiratory therapist and medical technicians. Civilian medical facilities and other institutions in 34 states are also receiving support from Air National Guard medics. Wright-Patterson medical personnel have been helping civilian hospitals for months. In January, the 88th Air Base Wing said a 15-member Air Force team with physicians, nurses, and medics was deployed to support the Mercy Health Care system in Muskegon, Mich. Personnel from the same unit were also sent to Michigan last year. As military medics, it is our duty to go where our nation calls us, and that means continuing our COVID-19 mission, said Lt. Gen. Robert Miller, Air Force Surgeon General. We ask a lot of our medics, who have played an integral role in the joint fight against COVID-19, working across federal agencies, military departments and the entire health care system. Wright-Patt relaxes health protection condition Taking a cue from improving regional COVID numbers, leaders of Wright-Patterson relaxed the installations health protection condition (HPCON) from Charlie to bravo-plus on Friday, allowing base worker occupancy to gradually rise form 25% to 40%. A public health emergency declaration remains in effect, the base said on social media. We continue to regain ground in the current COVID fight, as our key performance indicators used to determine our local health protection condition level keep improving, the base said. The base was under HPCON Delta just two weeks ago before moving to Charlie. This is a great thing, folks, but let me tell you this doesnt mean that the pandemic is over, said Col Patrick Miller, commander of the bases 88th Air Base Wing and Wright-Patterson installation commander. (c)2022 the Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio) Visit at www.journal-news.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The Marine Corps awarded a $252 million contract to Northrop Grumman to supply infantry troops with the next generation of targeting equipment, according to a company news release Tuesday. The Next Generation Handheld Targeting System, or NGHTS, will allow a Marine to transmit targeting information to artillery, aircraft, loitering drones, missile systems or warships waiting offshore. The system will operate even when GPS is denied or unavailable, according to the defense contractor. NGHTS will significantly enhance the ability of Marines to identify ground targets under a wide range of conditions, company vice president Bob Gough said in the release. Connected to military networks, NGHTS can provide superior situational awareness and accurate coordinates for the delivery of effects from beyond the line of sight. Work on the new system will be done at the companys defense microelectronics plant in Apopka, Fla. The system can rapidly acquire targets, provide laser guidance and laser spot imaging, according to Northrop Grumman. It is equipped with high-definition infrared sensors good over extended ranges, a high-definition color display and a day-and-night celestial compass. Each unit weighs less than 10 pounds, including batteries, Gough said in an email to Stars and Stripes on Friday. Delivery of the first units is expected in 2023; the contract should be fulfilled by February 2030, according to a Pentagon contract announcement on Feb. 17. NGHTS is designed to replace four legacy targeting systems in use by the Marines, Gough said. They employ the Portable Lightweight Designator Rangefinder, Joint Terminal Attack Controller, Laser Target Designator and Thermal Laser Spot Imager, according to the Marines Systems Command website. NGHTS is a multifunction device that combines the capabilities of multiple legacy systems into a single, handheld unit, Gough said in his email. For the customer, this translates to fewer systems that need to be maintained over time. In an operational scenario, it means Marines need to carry less gear to get the same or better capability. Northrop Grumman, based in Falls Church, Va., is a global aerospace, defense and security company with 90,000 employees. The majority of its business is with the U.S. government, principally the Department of Defense and intelligence community, according to the company release. (Tribune News Service) Latin American and Caribbean leaders reacted to the news Thursday of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with a flurry of statements, videos and tweets that ranged from open condemnation to avoiding direct criticism to even backing the aggression, highlighting the increased polarization of the Western Hemisphere. As President Joe Biden works to build an international coalition to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue will likely generate more friction with some of the Latin American governments that so far have issued a half-hearted response to the invasion. Here are some of the reactions from regional leaders to Russias military aggression. Mexico Populist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is already facing domestic criticism, including from former Mexican diplomats, for what they say is a lukewarm response to Russias military attack on Ukraine. In his daily morning press conference, Lopez Obrador said his government will continue promoting dialogue, that force is not used, that there is no invasion. We are not in favor of any war. But he stopped short of explicitly condemning Russias incursion into Ukraine. Mexico has always supported peace and peaceful solutions, he said. Peru In a similar tone as Mexico, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry rejected the use of force but avoided mentioning Russia in a tweet expressing its profound concern about the evolving events in Ukraine. The statement called for ceasing hostilities. Argentina Earlier this month, left-leaning Argentine President Alberto Fernandez offered his country as Russias gateway to Latin America during a meeting with Putin. Facing intense criticism, his government quickly issued a statement on Thursday morning lamenting the situation in Ukraine, rejecting the use of force and calling on Russia to cease its military actions in Ukraine. But in the afternoon, Fernandez said he was calling on all parties not to use military force, triggering again criticism for what some saw as a reluctance to denounce Russia as the aggressor. Brazil President Jair Bolsonaros trip to Moscow last week, as tensions over Ukraine were escalating, already created discord with the U.S. government. Brazils statement Thursday probably did little to improve the state of relations, which have gone colder since former president Donald Trump left the White House. In the statement, the Brazilian government said it is deeply concerned about the military operations launched by Russia against Ukraine territory and called for the cessation of hostilities. But it did not condemn Russias actions. Chile Chile condemns Russias aggression against Ukraine, the countrys foreign affairs ministry said in a statement. Clearing doubts about his position, left-leaning president-elect Gabriel Boric said Russia opted for war. From Chile, we condemn the invasion of Ukraine, the violation of its sovereignty and the illegitimate use of force, he said on Twitter. Our solidarity will be with the victims and our humble efforts with peace. Colombia Colombia, a major non-NATO ally of the United States, issued a forceful condemnation of Russian actions. Colombia categorically rejects the attacks against Ukraine by Russia, President Ivan Duque said on Twitter early Thursday. These events threaten the sovereignty of Ukraine and put the lives of thousands of people at risk, in an unquestionable situation contrary to International Law and the UN Charter. Caricom The Caribbean Community organization known as CARICOM, made up of 20 nations, said it strongly condemns the military attacks and invasion of Ukraine by The Russian Federation and calls for the immediate and complete withdrawal of the military presence and cessation of any further actions that may intensify the current perilous situation in that country. In the statement, CARICOM also criticized the recognition by Russia of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent, calling it a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela The authoritarian leaders of the three closest allies of Russia in the Americas had no comment on the Russian attacks Thursday. But they have previously expressed their support for Russias actions in Ukraine, which the three have justified saying Russia has the right to defend against American and NATO expansion in Eastern Europe. As Putin was preparing to launch the attack on Ukraine, Cuban leader Miguel Diaz-Canel was meeting with the chairman of the lower house of Russias Federal Assembly, Viacheslav Volodin, late Wednesday. According to Cuban state media, the Cuban leader expressed his solidarity with the Russian Federation in the face of the imposition of sanctions and the expansion of NATO towards its borders. But unlike Nicaraguas Daniel Ortega and Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro, the Cuban leader has avoided referring to Russias military incursion in Ukraine and has not publicly endorsed it. ------ Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. TAIPEI As Russia pushes into Ukraine and President Biden marshals the global response, the elephant standing in the shadows is China. On the surface, Russian President Vladimir Putins attack may seem to hand Chinese leader Xi Jinping a golden opportunity a chance to pursue the common goal of the two U.S. rivals to damage Washington and its alliances. But the conflict also puts Xi in an uncomfortable position that ultimately could prove consequential for his country and its relationship with the United States and American allies. If Putin continues to use military force to re-create his dream of restoring the boundaries of the former Soviet Union, Chinas dual goals of discomfiting the West and benefiting its economy may be hard to maintain. That is particularly true if China is seen as enabling Putins destabilizing behavior and personal ambitions to restore Russias glory, something China has little self-interest in supporting. While Russia and China are not formal allies, their strengthening partnership has raised concerns in Washington and other capitals about how well Western powers could combat challenges in a two-front cold war. The Ukrainian conflict coincides with the 50th anniversary of President Nixons trip to China, meant to diplomatically draw the country away from the Soviet Union. Some in the U.S. have advocated similar efforts to limit Beijings backing of Moscow, although few see that as likely. This is a very different world than 50 years ago, said Bin Yu, professor of political science and director of East Asian Studies at Wittenberg University. America was on the top, able to deal with both countries. Now America is faced with two large powers. Beijing has never been a supporter of economic sanctions as a means of upholding international order, let alone when imposed by individual countries. And just as it has done with North Korea, China is expected to quietly help Putin soften the blow of Western measures, whether by providing backdoor channels to facilitate Russian finance and trade, or buying more oil and gas. Some experts argue that Chinas tacit support has emboldened Putin in his latest military action. With Chinas soft backing, Russia can direct its military power toward Ukraine without worrying about disputes along its China borders. The Chinese can provide almost everything the Russians need, and Russia in return provides China with more and more energy, said Yu. But the most important thing is this diplomatic support. The risk is that China may find itself lumped together with Russia in the eyes of West, alienating many of the nations it now relies on for trade. One possible outcome of the events [involving Ukraine] is a sharper division of the world into autocracies and democracies. And I think thats a world that China does not benefit from, said Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. China continues to have hope that it can have a somewhat normal relationship with the West, she said. It continues to rely on Western countries for all sorts of technology, and whether were talking about collaborative research or people-to-people exchanges, China does not want to have all that cut off and be seen as in the same camp as Russia. After Putins meeting with Xi during the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing, Russia issued a 5,300-word joint statement seeming to declare a new unity with China. It denigrated American political activities, NATO and other Western democratic coalitions, and promised a new partnership with no forbidden areas of cooperation. But there are strict limits on how far Beijing is likely to go in backing military adventuring by Russia or anyone. Chinas long-professed principle of noninterference in sovereign states is the centerpiece of its foreign policy. Putins military aggression and recognition of separatists in Ukraine clashes with Chinas messages of stability and national sovereignty as sacrosanct. Many of the worlds largest nations were quick to condemn Russias attack on Ukraine. But the response from China reflected Beijings increasingly close ties with Moscow. On Wednesday, hours before explosions were reported across major Ukrainian cities and airports, a spokeswoman for Chinas Foreign Ministry blasted the United States as the culprit in the current problems over Ukraine, accusing the U.S. of heightening tensions, creating panic and even hyping up the possibility of warfare. Many American analysts were puzzled by Beijings antagonistic statement. But it was a reminder that the Biden White House and Congress have not let up on their criticisms of Chinas human rights abuses in Hong Kong and the western Chinese region of Xinjiang. Nor has the U.S. pulled back from the tariffs and other hardline policies under former President Trump. And unlike Trump, Bidens negotiations and strengthening of U.S. alliances, including the security pact with Australia and Great Britain, have put more pressure on Chinese leaders. Most American analysts as well as some Chinese scholars say Beijing does not want to join with Russia in being isolated from the West. Indeed, China is in a very different situation from Russia. Unlike Russias much smaller and anemic economy dependent on oil and gas, China is the worlds second-largest economy. The Chinese Communist Partys political stability and interests are tied directly to the development of its economy that is deeply intertwined with the U.S., Europe, Japan and other democracies. Im pretty convinced that the Chinese are not enthusiastic about a bifurcated world order and the emergence of two blocs, said Daniel Russel, a top Asian affairs official in the Obama administration and now a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. And if there were two blocs, I dont think Russia would be their choice of preferred parties, certainly not on the economic side. China does stand to gain some concrete things from its deepened ties with Moscow, notably a stable source of energy in Russias vast oil and gas fields. Beijing also has purchased Russian military technology, including jet engines that China cannot produce by itself. But by and large, experts said, Putin has given up most of the technology Moscow has to offer. Russias diplomatic support also could prove valuable, especially over Chinas claim on Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing considers a part of its territory. As Xi has ratcheted up reunification rhetoric and warplane incursions over the island, some in Taiwan worry that the invasion of Ukraine foreshadows a similar show of force from China. As for Xis shared interest with Putin in a weakened America and the Western-led connections, so far, Russias actions in Ukraine seem to have done the opposite: Its strengthened U.S.-led alliances and deepened their resolve, instead of splintering NATO and dividing Washington and its allies. In fact, Glaser thinks that the Putin-Xi statement attacking the West may have been a wake-up call to some Europeans that have been reluctant to go along with the U.S. in pressuring China. The best outcome for China would have been a diplomatic solution in which NATO says there will be no more expansion, an outcome in which the United States was not closely aligned with its European partners, said Glaser. In confronting the West, Putin has sought to raise doubts about Americas credibility and deterrence in the eyes of the world, Russel said. To the extent that [other] countries start to question whether the United States can or will actually protect them, the more likely they are to cave under pressure from Beijing to go along [with them]. Thats the central axis of Chinese interests. In Washington, one important question is whether the closer Moscow-Beijing ties are more than a short-term marriage of convenience. Theres a history of suspicion between the two. Also, Putins unpredictability and the one-sided leverage that Beijing has over Moscow will test their relationship. Whether China is able to back Putin depends on how much the situation deteriorates. An extended conflict or war could increase economic and political pressure on China as more U.S. allies get involved. China also has economic relations with Ukraine, a trading partner and important hub for its Belt and Road Initiative. Now things get a lot riskier for China, said Ja Ian Chong, associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. How much would Beijing want to risk its own ties with the rest of the world? Its a question that China may not yet have an answer to. Some Chinese policy experts seemed taken aback by the strikes that Russia launched on Thursday. Afterward, the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine notified local citizens to stay home and avoid glass and windows. Those driving long distances should pay attention to refueling opportunities and display a Chinese flag conspicuously on their vehicle, the embassy said. The Chinese didnt think that it was going to happen, so there was an element of surprise, said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at Washington-based think tank Stimson Center. Then again, when this actually happened, they did not see it as a strategic loss. So far theres no cost to Chinas actions. Lee reported from Washington. Yang reported from Taipei. ___ 2022 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa An undisclosed number of F-35A Lightning IIs from the Alaska-based 354th Fighter Wing arrived on Okinawa this month to train and support regional allies at a time when tensions are on the rise around the globe. The fifth-generation fighters from Eielson Air Force Base arrived at Kadena Air Base on Feb. 20 to conduct integrated air operations, Pacific Air Forces said in a news release on Wednesday. The 18th Wing at Kadena declined to say how many aircraft arrived on the southern island prefecture or the duration of their stay, according to a wing email to Stars and Stripes on Friday. The fighters traveled to Okinawa ahead of Russias invasion of Ukraine early Thursday, amid fears that conflict in Europe could embolden China to act against Taiwan, which it views as a breakaway province and has threatened to retake by force. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has empathized with Ukraines situation because of Chinas own military threats and intimidation, CNN reported Wednesday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have both said that what happens in Ukraine may affect Chinese-Taiwanese relations. However, Kadena said only that the F-35A deployment is beneficial training that allows airmen to familiarize themselves with other theaters while enhancing skills and relationships with allies and partners, according to the wings email. Hosting transient aircraft operations to support our allies and partners are a normal part of our mission at Kadena Air Base, the statement said. All operations are being conducted in accordance with bilateral agreements. F-35As from Eielson arrived Dec. 3 at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, for Operation Iron Dagger, Pacific Air Forces said at the time. Japanese military officials said they would remain in theater for several weeks. Two F-35B squadrons are permanently stationed at MCAS Iwakuni with the 1st Marine Air Wing, the aviation combat element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 fly the short-takeoff, vertical-landing version of the fighter. The Air Force F-35As are conventional aircraft that require a runway to take off and land. Japan has about 20 F-35A stealth fighters stationed at Misawa Air Base in northeast Japan. The Japanese Defense Ministry is committed to purchasing 147 of the multirole fighters, including as many as 42 F-35Bs. Over 700 F-35s, made by defense contractor Lockheed Martin, have been delivered to the United States and its partner nations, including Japan and Korea, Reuters reported Sept. 27. Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See more stories here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. TOKYO The number of new COVID-19 cases Friday in Japans capital city, while still substantial, fell again below the number a week prior, signaling the further waning of the omicron wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Tokyo confirmed another 11,125 new infections on Friday, nearly a thousand more than Thursday but 5,004 fewer than Feb. 18, according to public broadcaster NHK and metropolitan government data. Japan reported 61,152 new cases nationwide on Thursday and another 206 deaths due to COVID-19, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. That number, too, is nearly 34,000 less than the daily case count on Feb. 17. The quasi-emergency measures imposed in Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures in January worked as intended, Capt. Manning Montagnet, commander of Naval Air Facility Atsugi southwest of Tokyo, said Friday on American Forces Network radio. Most health experts believe Japan hit its apex for wave six last week, he said. Accordingly, case rates are all coming down. U.S. Forces Japan had not updated its daily case count as of 6 p.m. Friday. It last updated its count Wednesday with 73 new COVID-19 infections at 11 installations. Yokosuka Naval Base, homeport of the 7th Fleet south of Tokyo, reported 192 new cases between Feb. 18 and Friday, according to a post on the base Facebook page. Kadena Air Base on Okinawa reported 74 active cases Friday, according to an update on its website. Okinawa prefecture confirmed that 753 people tested positive Friday, its highest one-day count since 784 on Feb. 2, according to the prefectural Department of Public Health and Medical Care. Another 41 people in the U.S. military population also tested positive. Yokota Air Base, the airlift hub in western Tokyo where USFJ is headquartered, said on its website that 39 people tested positive there between Feb. 18 and Thursday. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, south of Hiroshima, said in a news release that 26 people tested positive Wednesday and Thursday. Sasebo Naval Base on Kyushu island reported one new case Friday, according to a post on its Facebook page. Stars and Stripes reporter Mari Higa contributed to this report. CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea The two front-runners in South Koreas presidential election on Thursday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putins military operations in Ukraine and took separate paths in outlining solutions to resolve the conflict. Yoon Seok-youl, the conservative People Power Partys nominee and a former chief prosecutor, condemned the full-scale invasion and warned the situation in Ukraine is by no means irrelevant to us. To write it off as a problem of some country on the other side of the world reflects a lack of proper understanding of international relations in the 21st century, Yoon said in a press release Thursday. He added that the war in Ukraine reflects the diplomatic sorrow of a non-allied nation without an ally. Yoon, who opposes South Korean President Moon Jae-ins efforts to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, cautioned that memoranda between nations can become mere scraps of paper. Only a strong alliance between Washington, D.C., and Seoul can enable us to decide our own fate, he said. Meanwhile, Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Partys candidate and the former governor of Gyeonggi province, made two seemingly different characterizations about South Koreas policy toward Ukraine. In a nationally televised speech at a campaign stop in Wonju City on Thursday, Lee described the invasion as being on the other side of the Earth and having nothing to do with us but warned of economic consequences to South Korea during times of instability. What must not be done by political leaders is to raise a war crisis, he said. What must be done by political leaders is to keep peace, my fellow Koreans. Following a meeting with his staff on Thursday night, Lee in a campaign statement expressed strong regret to Russias invasion of Ukraine, and said, the sovereignty of Ukraine must be respected. The candidates comments come less than two weeks before South Koreas presidential election on March 9. Russian forces launched a land, air and sea assault against Ukraine early Thursday after weeks of staging thousands of military troops on their shared border. Putin has justified the attack as a defensive measure for the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO member states dismiss that notion. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned the invasion. It is wrong, he said in a speech to reporters at the United Nations in New York, N.Y. South Korea strongly condemns Russias invasion of Ukraine and the use of force that causes innocent casualties cannot be justified under any circumstances, according to a Foreign Ministry statement on Friday. Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence should be respected, the statement said. South Korea will take part in efforts to curb Russias invasion of Ukraine, including taking part in international economic sanctions, according to a statement from President Moon Jae-in on Thursday. Seoul as of Friday had not specified what sanctions it will impose against the Kremlin. A Foreign Affairs ministry official told Stars and Stripes on Friday by phone that although the government is "looking through details and concrete measures," Seoul is "not yet considering" its own sanctions against Russia. Its customary in South Korea for some government officials to speak to the media on condition of anonymity. The U.K. will impose its most punishing sanctions to inflict maximum and lasting pain against Putins inner circle, including Russian oligarchs and financial institutions, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a press release on Thursday. President Joe Biden also announced additional sanctions Thursday, freezing U.S. assets held in Russian banks and blocking Russias largest financial institutions, according to a press release and on the White House website. Stars and Stripes reporter Yoo Kyong Chang contributed to this report. Taiwans president played down concerns that Russias invasion of Ukraine could trigger a similar crisis in Asia, warning against any efforts to use the crisis in Europe to sow panic in Taiwan. President Tsai Ing-wen condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for damaging global stability and violating Ukraines sovereignty, a nation that shares similar security worries with Taiwan. I want to stress that the situation in Ukraine and in Taiwan Strait are fundamentally different, not only because of the natural barrier of the Taiwan Strait, but also Taiwans geopolitical and strategic status, she said in a speech in the southern city of Tainan Friday morning. She also warned the public to be wary of any external forces using fake information about Ukraine to cause panic about a possible threat to Taiwan. One example of what Tsai characterized as cognitive warfare against the island was an offer by the Chinese government to evacuate any Taiwanese citizens from Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry in Taipei said the offer was a disgusting attempt by Beijing to use the crisis in Ukraine for political propaganda in an effort to discredit the Taiwanese government. There are currently just 33 Taiwanese citizens in Ukraine, according to the ministry. Some 160 km (100 miles) of sea separate Taiwan from China, a nation of 1.4 billion people whose government has threatened to use military force to stop the leadership in Taipei from moving toward formal independence. That threat is a part of daily life in Taiwan, though officials in Taipei see the current risk of a Chinese attack as low. One reason for that is the leadership in Beijing wants domestic stability before a twice-a-decade congress later this year that is likely to hand Chinese President Xi Jinping a precedent-breaking third term in power. Officials in Taiwan also see the Peoples Liberation Army as lacking the capabilities to guarantee the success of any attack. Chinese state media heaped scorn on Tsais expression of concern for Ukraine Friday. Tsais empathy for Ukraine is unreasonable self-pity, the China Daily wrote in an editorial, citing an unidentified official at Beijings Taiwan Affairs Office. The dispute between Ukraine and Russia is between two sovereign countries while Taiwan is merely a Chinese internal issue, the article states. While there are few signs of widespread unease in Taiwan, markets have been jittery. Foreign investors offloaded a net NT$53.4 billion ($1.9 billion) of Taiwanese stocks Thursday, the most in a year. The benchmark Taiex stocks gauge rose 0.3% at the close on Friday while the Taiwan dollar was largely unchained versus the greenback as of 2 p.m. Taipei time. Tsai also reiterated her governments support for U.S.-led sanctions against Russia. Earlier Friday, Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua told reporters at the Legislature in Taipei that Taiwan will review exports to Russia strictly based on the Wassenaar Arrangement, adding: We will talk to allies about other sanctions. Taiwan is not a formal member of the agreement, a 42-country non-proliferation regime focusing on export controls for conventional weapons and sensitive dual-use goods and technologies. China has ramped up military, economic and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan during Xis time in power. Chinese warplanes made some 950 forays into Taiwans air-defense identification zone in 2021, more than double the previous year. Taiwans Defense Ministry detected nine Chinese military aircraft off Taiwans southwest on Thursday, the day Russia mounted its attack on Ukraine. The U.S. has strengthened its support for Taiwan under presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The Biden administration believes that China has been gauging the U.S. response to the earlier build-up of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border as a proxy for how Washington would deal with more aggressive action by Beijing against Taiwan. Biden said earlier in his term he would defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack. The U.S. approved a $100 million sale of military equipment and services to Taiwan in February, prompting China to say it would sanction Raytheon Technologies and Lockheed Martin. TOKYO The U.S. ambassador to Japan and his counterpart from Russia dueled Friday over the extent one country would punish the other over the economic penalties imposed on Russia for its war in Ukraine. Russian Ambassador Mikhail Galuzin went first at 2 p.m. Friday, addressing reporters at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan in Tokyo. Russia will respond in kind, he said, to sanctions imposed by Japan, the United States and its European allies. There will be damage for both sides, he said. The penalties that target Russian banking and select industrial sectors will not achieve their goals, Galuzin said. Its not possible to exclude Russia from the global economy, he added. This is not a responsible approach to the world economy, especially in times when we should unite our economic potential to struggle (against) economic decline caused by the COVID-19 infection, he said. U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel appeared next at 4 p.m. at the correspondents club. The sanctions imposed following Russias invasion of Ukraine, begun Thursday in earnest following months of troop buildups along the countries shared border, will not be cost-free for America and its allies, he said. The sanctions are already having an effect. The Russian ruble dropped 4.5% against the U.S. dollar on Thursday and the Moscow Exchange benchmark lost about a third of its value, according to the Wall Street Journal. Russias economy had already shrunk by a third due to sanctions imposed in 2014 after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, Emanuel said. But the measures imposed this week are much more severe, he said. The sanctions are not only being felt today, he said. They will be felt tomorrow. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced restrictions on exports to Russia and sanctions against Russian banks and state-controlled companies in the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday declared there will be controls on high-tech products such as semiconductors, a freeze on assets held by Russian banks and a suspension of visa issuance for certain Russian individuals and entities, Kyodo news reported. On Thursday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi summoned Galuzin to condemn the invasion of Ukraine as clearly a violation of international law, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry. Unilateral change of the status quo by force is absolutely unacceptable, and Japan strongly condemns the invasion, the statement said. Galuzin at a Feb. 2 press conference in Tokyo denied that Russia intended to invade Ukraine. On Friday, he told reporters that the world order that emerged after the Soviet Union collapsed, leaving the U.S. the lone superpower, is over. The new reality is a multipolar world, he said. Russias aggression in Ukraine will have impacts beyond its borders, Emanuel said later. He said people around the world are marching, not to join authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China, but to be part of the free, democratic world. People who are not part of it want to join it, he said, and people who are part of it are willing to fight to keep it. KHARKIV, Ukraine (Tribune News Service) Moscow accelerated its assault on neighboring Ukraine on Thursday, with explosions resounding in cities across the country, airstrikes crippling defenses and reports of troops crossing borders by land and sea as Russian forces pressed closer to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and citizens fled on clogged highways and took cover in subway stations. It was uncertain how long the Ukrainian army could hold back a blistering onslaught by Russian forces that included missiles, heavy artillery and cyberattacks. But with brisk Russian advances from the south, north and east, it appeared Russian President Vladimir Putin had his sights set on not just on taking eastern Ukraine but also on conquering a former Soviet republic turned U.S. ally and perceived threat to Moscow. We now have war in Europe on a scale and of a type we thought belonged to history, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday, describing the incursion as a deliberate, coldblooded and long-planned invasion and a blatant violation of international law. The Russian invasion with an estimated 190,000 troops massed around Ukraine targeted strategic military sites and swept much of the nation. Russian missiles struck Ukrainian military command centers, air bases and depots in the capital, Kyiv, and in the major cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro, an adviser to Ukraines interior minister said on Facebook. The government acknowledged that Russian forces had taken control of Chernobyl, the city north of Kyiv that was the site of the worlds worst nuclear accident, raising fears of a possible leak of radioactive material. Ukraines Interior Ministry also confirmed that Russian troops had seized a strategic international airport barely 10 miles outside Kyiv. Russia has every intention of decapitating Ukraines government, a senior Pentagon official said, calling Thursdays offensive a likely prelude to a direct assault to overthrow the Ukrainian government. What were seeing are initial phases of a large-scale invasion, said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details. In Washington, President Joe Biden described the onslaught as a premeditated attack that came without provocation, without justification, without necessity. He laid responsibility for it firmly on Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling the conflict Putins war. Russias three lines of attack include a southern advance, from the Crimean peninsula, stretching north to the city of Kherson. Another assault extended from north-central Ukraine to the south, basically from Belarus to Kyiv, the Pentagon official said. The third is from northeastern Ukraine to the south. There was no definitive word on casualties. Civilians took shelter in their homes, subway stations and elsewhere, while some headed for the countrys borders. Lines formed at banks as people hastened to withdraw cash from their accounts. Both the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization moved to bolster the alliances military presence, though Biden said there was no plan for troops to become involved in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member. The Pentagon ordered the deployment to Germany of 7,000 additional service members in a move intended to reassure NATO allies, deter Russian aggression and be prepared to support a range of requirements in the region. NATO also said it was sending additional land, air and maritime assets to its eastern flanks in a bid to enhance its ability to respond to all contingencies, the alliance said. Huge traffic snarls formed as residents tried to flee the capital. Video showed Russian armored vehicles advancing into mainland Ukraine from Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow seized eight years ago. Ukrainian air-traffic controllers sealed off the countrys airspace due to the high risk ... for civil aviation. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law in his beleaguered nation and encouraged his compatriots to take up arms. Meanwhile, the U.S. and the West announced additional sanctions on Russia for an invasion that they had warned for weeks was coming but that Moscow had denied was planned. Putin portrayed the incursion which followed months of Russian military buildup along Ukraines borders to the north, east and south as a move to liberate and protect eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed secessionists hold sway over a large swath of the region. He warned other countries to not intervene, saying that it would lead to consequences you have never seen in history. Biden conferred with other world leaders Thursday to try to coordinate a response to an act of aggression that has drawn outcry across the globe and that raised the specter of catastrophic bloodshed in Europe. The attack rattled Europe and stirred memories not only of the Cold War but also of World War II. It reflected Putins long mistrust of NATO and the West and his ambition to stitch back together remnants of the former Soviet Union. And it raised the specter of how the West let alone Ukraine would handle a possible humanitarian and refugee crisis while trying to counter a powerful Russian military that possesses conventional and nuclear weapons. This is a grave moment for the security of Europe, said Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary-general, who will convene an emergency virtual summit of alliance leaders Friday. Russias unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine is putting countless innocent lives at risk with air and missile attacks, ground forces and special forces from multiple directions, targeting military infrastructure and major urban centers. An adviser to Zelenskyy said Russian forces had seized Chernobyl, where a reactor exploded in April 1986, spewing radioactive materials across Europe. The stricken nuclear plant has since been decommissioned and the damaged reactor encased in a giant concrete-and-steel shelter, but Ukrainian authorities warned that fighting could damage the covering. After the absolutely senseless attack of the Russians in this direction, it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe, Zelenskyy aide Myhailo Podolyak told the Associated Press. Washington and its European allies announced more sanctions aimed at further isolating Russian banks, oligarchs and companies from world markets, measures going beyond similar steps taken earlier this week. Putin announced his special military operation in eastern Ukraine in a nationally televised address early Thursday in Moscow. Even as he spoke, bombing runs began across the former Soviet republic, with about two dozen strikes reported on major cities and other areas. An adviser to Zelenskyy said that more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and dozens more wounded in fighting. Russias Defense Ministry said in a statement, quoted by the Russian Interfax news agency, that Ukrainian air defenses were suppressed. The Russian news agency Tass reported that Russian strikes crippled 74 Ukrainian military facilities, including 11 airfields, a navy base and 18 radar stations housing missile systems. All goals set for Thursday have been successfully fulfilled, Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told reporters in Moscow. Ukraines Defense Ministry said its forces shot down five Russian warplanes and a helicopter, an assertion denied by Moscow. Russian military vehicles were reported to have entered Ukraine from Belarus to the north, where Russian troops had been holding joint military drills that Western capitals warned were a prelude to an incursion. Kyiv lies barely 50 miles south of the Belarusian border. On Wednesday, before Thursdays large-scale incursion, Western powers said Russian soldiers had already entered Ukraine from the east, in the industrial heartland known as the Donbas, where Moscows proxy militias have engaged in battles with Ukrainian forces for eight years, costing thousands of lives. Putin on Monday recognized two Donbas enclaves under the control of pro-Russia separatists, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent republics, setting the stage for him to send in troops to the region as peacekeeping forces. Here in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, the countrys second-largest city, Ukrainian soldiers stood in a field with two Howitzers aimed north, where the Russian border lay. A convoy of large Ukrainian military trucks lumbered down the road. Almost all shops were closed. In the lobby of the high-end Kharkiv Palace Hotel, guests sipped coffee, wondering whether they should join the westward exodus. The Russians will be here in two hours, said a man who gave his name as Anton, who had come to Kharkiv on a work trip and was trying to find a way to return to Kyiv. The road heading southwest to the city of Dnipro was not an option, he said, as he expected it to be bombed by the Russian military. Some residents flocked to subway stations looking for escape or for shelter, lugging backpacks, small suitcases and pet carriers. Inside one station, people wedged themselves against the wall, using their bags to claim what little space they could as the crowds kept piling in. Those who could cram themselves into subway carriages did so, sitting on the seats, the floor or anywhere else they could find, waiting in darkness for the train service to start up. Standing in the middle of a subway platform was Sergei, 30, a real estate agent turned programmer who was carrying his baby daughter, Naomi. He wasnt scared for himself, he said, but for Naomi. His wife, Katya, agreed, saying that they were trying to leave not because were not patriots, but because we have a child. If it wasnt for her I would go fight. As the day had worn on, the couple, who gave only their first names for fear of their safety, discussed whether they should try to get out of the city. There were no planes, no trains. Should they take a car and risk the traffic not to mention the possibility of encountering Russian soldiers on intercity roads? We just dont know. There are too many rumors, Katya said. Another individual seeking refuge in the station, also named Sergei, expressed disbelief at his familys predicament. His daughter, 4, his wife and his mother sat on pink and blue yoga mats spread out on the floor of the platform. This is the 21st century. I just cant believe this is happening, the 38-year-old marketing manager said, looking around at people threading their way through the crowds, as if they were extras in a film. Not a World War II movie, Sergei said. A horror movie. Outside, Nasruddin Nooruldin, a 23-year-old medical student from India, stood among a gaggle of other international students, all of them looking anxious. Were hoping to get an evacuation flight, he said. There are hundreds, maybe even more than 1,000 of us from India here. Earlier in the Donbas town of Slovyansk, about 75 miles north of Donetsk, the sound of explosions filled the morning air, but residents appeared to remain calm. As the sun rose, some emerged to start their workdays, albeit under tense circumstances. Were going to stay open, said Bogdan, an 18-year-old barista, as he slipped an almond croissant into a paper bag and handed it to a waiting customer at a cafe. For now were waiting. Anton Chechenko, 30, an electric engineer who works in Slovyansk but whose family lives in Dnipro, about four hours drive to the west, stood in the central square and watched a flock of pigeons strut on cold tiles. Everyone here has lived through war. And were not seeing shelling yet, he said. Besides, he added, fear isnt something that can save your life or your health. You need calm for that. The most visible sign at that hour of any distress was at banks and gas stations, where queues formed in the early morning and persisted as the day wore on. Alexander, 30, who gave only his first name, stood near a bank talking to an army officer on the street. He had just come back from the store and had loaded his backpack with canned food and other supplies. He planned to go to a village near Kharkiv, to the northwest. It will be calm there, he said. Shortly after he spoke, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine was formally severing ties with Russia, which had earlier pulled out its diplomatic personnel from Kyiv, before the invasion began. Zelenskyy exhorted those who have not yet lost their conscience in Russia to go out and protest against the incursion. As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history, Zelenskyy tweeted. Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and wont give up its freedom. The assault negated weeks of frantic diplomacy to try to prevent war and indeed came as the United Nations Security Council was in the midst of discussing the crisis in an extraordinary session. It shatters a two-decade stretch of relative peace in Europe, which survived two world wars and a cold one in the 20th century. Even some seasoned analysts of contemporary Russia were stunned by Putins decision to move in, despite all the signs pointing to just such an intention. The West is now under heavy pressure to present a united front not only in its rhetoric but also in the severity of penalties it is willing to inflict on Russia and, as a consequence, on some of its own economies, particularly in Europe. Germany took a significant step toward that goal Tuesday when Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that his government was halting authorization of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project to bring Russian gas westward. Much of Europe relies on Russian gas to heat homes and generate electricity. More than one-third of the gas consumed by the 27-nation European Union is imported from Russia, making some member nations nervous about a major confrontation with Moscow. The Biden administration says it has been working with European partners to secure other sources of energy for the Continent, although a rise in prices would be an inevitable result. (Bulos reported from Kharkiv, Chu from London and McDonnell from New York. Times staff writers Sarah D. Wire and Anumita Kaur in Washington contributed to this report.) ___ Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Russian attacks on Ukraine from the Black Sea ultimately could give Moscow more control over an area transited by U.S. and allied naval ships under normal circumstances. Russias naval forces began the process of an amphibious assault from the adjoining Sea of Azov to the west of Mariupol along Ukraines eastern coastline, a senior defense official told reporters Friday. The indications are right now that they are putting potentially thousands ashore, the defense official told reporters on condition of anonymity. Six Russian landing ships, each capable of transporting several tanks and at least 300 troops, entered the Black Sea earlier this month. Prior to the amphibious operations, Russia shelled cities along Ukraines western coastline and overran Snake Island, a small outcropping south of Odessa, according to Ukraines Foreign Affairs Ministry. Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Friday afternoon on Facebook that cargo ships near the port of Odessa were being fired upon by Russian warships. A Russian naval assault would include putting troops ashore near Odessa, said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow and director of the Hudson Institutes Center for Defense Concepts and Technology. They would join with forces coming from the Crimean Peninsula to block roads and cut the city off from the rest of Ukraine, Clark said. Video posted on the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service website Thursday showed Russian military tanks and troops streaming into Ukraine from Crimea. Along with the amphibious capabilities, Russia has a cruiser surface action group in the Black Sea and other ships to support them, said Sebastian Bruns, McCain Fulbright scholar in residence at the U.S. Naval Academy and a maritime expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Kalibr missile strikes from sea are also very likely although I have not seen evidence (of them), Bruns said. Capturing Odessa would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a land bridge to Kremlin-supported Transnistria, a self-proclaimed breakaway state from Moldova, Bruns noted. Such a bold move would effectively strangle Ukraine even if the fight for Kyiv might be prolonged, he said. The Russian advance toward Ukraines capital was indeed meeting greater resistance by the Ukrainians than the Russians expected, the U.S. senior defense official said. Still, greater control of the Black Sea could have security implications for several countries that border it, and particularly NATO allies Romania and Bulgaria. The U.S. has sent troops there in recent weeks as part of a reassurance mission. Russia wants control of the Black Sea and acts as if other nations don't have the right to be there, said Adm. Robert P. Burke, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and Allied Joint Forces Naples, during a July appearance at a U.S. Navy Memorial speaker series. "We need to challenge that narrative and not let that become the norm," Burke said. U.S. ships have refrained from transiting near Ukraine during the Russian invasion, though a U.S. Global Hawk surveillance drone was spotted over the sea on public aviation tracking websites Thursday. Meanwhile, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, along with at least four destroyers and one cruiser, remains in the Mediterranean Sea. Four additional destroyers recently were deployed from their U.S. homeports to the region, and the Navy has four others homeported in Rota, Spain. No U.S. ships have gone into the Black Sea since the destroyer USS Arleigh Burke departed on Dec. 15, according to the ship watching website Turkishnavy.net. While the U.S. focuses on providing support and reassurance to its NATO allies, it must be mindful of nearby Russian ships and submarines, Bruns said. European Space Agency satellite images on Thursday showed a group of 16 Russian ships, including at least two Slava-class cruisers and two Kilo-class submarines, sailing in the eastern Mediterranean, the website Naval News reported Thursday. While Russia is advancing on the ground in Ukraine, Russian sailors may feel or be under orders to be more aggressive in the maritime domain, Bruns said. The risk of miscalculation is now significantly higher and Western, not just U.S. Navy commanders, should take that into consideration, Bruns said. Stars and Stripes reporter Caitlin Doornbos contributed to this report. Europes reluctance to compromise on its energy supplies has for now taken one of the most impactful measures off the list of international sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine: ouster from SWIFT, the dominant messaging system behind global payments. U.S. President Joe Biden says its still an option, and the U.K. and some other countries in Europe -- Poland and Lithuania, for example -- are pushing hard for its inclusion. But two key factors are holding things back: Push-back from countries like Germany and Italy over energy security and worries it could invigorate rival messaging systems, including one from China or another that Russia started in 2014 after being isolated over the annexation of Crimea. SWIFT is the financial nuclear weapon, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday. It stops any payments from Russia or to Russia. When you have a nuclear financial weapon in your hands, you think before using it. Some member states expressed reservations, and we are taking those reservations into account... This evaluation wont be done in coming days or weeks. It should be done in hours. Europe uses SWIFT to send payments for Russian natural gas it needs to heat its homes and power factories, meaning a ban could threaten supplies in the midst of the winter heating period, adding to an already heightened cost of living crisis in the region. In the 24 hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing two breakaway Ukrainian territories, the West spent about $700 million on everything from oil and refined products, natural gas, aluminum, coal, nickel, titanium, gold and other commodities from Russia, showing the scale of the transactions between the two sides. The EU isnt on board with removing Russia from SWIFT for one thing because the EU isnt on board with letting go of Russian energy, said Erik Meyersson, a Stockholm-based senior economist covering the Eurozone at Svenska Handelsbanken. Europes reliance on Russian fuel was also in clear view when the U.S. Treasury said on Thursday that energy will be among areas exempted from the sanctions. With energy-related transactions still possible via European banks, theyre sanctions designed not to sanction, according to Columbia University professor Adam Tooze. SWIFT -- which stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication -- delivers secure messages and payment instructions among financial institutions and companies in over 200 countries and territories. It handled 42 million messages a day on average last year, making it key to payments that are the lifeblood of international commerce. Politicians and bankers alike say Russias exclusion might bolster rival systems. Thats even though the Bank of Russias financial messaging system officially counts about 400 users -- compared with the more than 11,000 finance firms and companies that use SWIFT. An analysis by Bloomberg of the firms that the Russian central bank lists as using its system shows they are largely from Russia or satellite states. International banks listed include a small number of local units of Japanese firms as well as Frances Societe Generale and Credit Agricole. SocGen declined to comment while Credit Agricole said it doesnt have access to the system. Russia could also be tempted to move to Chinas financial messaging system, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer told reporters on Thursday. On Friday, however, he said Austria would support Russias expulsion from the SWIFT system. Banks in the U.K. have also raised another potential downside to a SWIFT cutoff in talks with political leaders, according to people familiar with the discussions. Since SWIFT is a messaging system for payments, banning Russia could make it harder to trace funds of individuals or businesses that are sanctioned, the people said. Biden said the U.S. sanctions on Russian banks have an equal consequence, maybe more consequence than SWIFT. Thats in part because the Treasury effectively cut Sberbank PJSC off from the U.S. financial system by ordering U.S. firms to cease correspondent banking relationships with Russias largest lender. Biden noted, however, that Russia could still face harsher sanctions, including a suspension from SWIFT. EU leaders also discussed stronger options including SWIFT during their summit on Thursday night, according to an official for the bloc. Several leaders urged their counterparts to adopt such a measure as part of the second package of sanctions, the official said. U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said his country will work to persuade other nations to exclude Russia from the SWIFT system, giving the most overt signal yet from a British minister about its stance on the matter. SWIFT, which is overseen by the National Bank of Belgium and central bank representatives from the U.S., U.K., EU, Japan and others, was forced to cut access to Iranian banks in 2012, after the EU imposed financial sanctions on the country over its nuclear program. Iranian lenders were blocked again in 2018 after the U.S. imposed a new round of sanctions on the country and said SWIFT itself could face curbs if it didnt comply. SWIFT says it was an isolated event that was taken in the interest of the stability and integrity of the wider global financial system. TOKYO - Japan on Friday announced additional sanctions against Russia over its military invasion of Ukraine, following in the footsteps of the United States, the European Union and Britain. The coordinated sanctions involving Group of Seven nations include export controls on semiconductors and other high-tech products, and financial sanctions on major Russian banks. The measures reflect a determination among the countries concerned to make it clear that actions that shake the foundations of the international order will not be tolerated. Washington aims to deal a blow to Russias military and aerospace sectors by restricting exports of semiconductors and telecommunications equipment. At a press conference at the White House on Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden said, Between our actions and those of our allies and partners, we estimate that well cut off more than half of Russias high-tech imports. The financial sanctions will target five major banks, including Sberbank, Russias largest bank. The United States will sever the banks connections to the U.S. financial system. It will also restrict trading in bonds and stocks issued by major Russian companies, including Gazprom, one of the worlds largest gas companies. It stopped short of banning Russian financial institutions from SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, which provides payment networks to banks around the world. Thats not the position the rest of Europe wishes to take, Biden said. The British government on Thursday announced that it will freeze the assets of all Russian financial institutions in Britain and ban the export of important technologies that can be used for military purposes such as communications and aerospace. It also plans to ban Russias largest airline, Aeroflot, from flying in its airspace. The European Union held an emergency summit meeting in Brussels on the day, and agreed to impose additional sanctions on Russias financial, energy and transportation industries. At a press conference on Friday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tokyo will work closely with the G7 and the international community to strengthen sanctions. Japans sanctions will focus on restricting exports of semiconductors and other general-purpose goods to Russia, freezing the assets of Russian financial institutions, individuals and organizations, and halting visa issuance. Financial sanctions will be imposed on three banks, including state-run VEB (the Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs). The government will also tighten screening for semiconductors and other products. The situation in Ukraine cannot be ignored from the viewpoint of our countrys security, said Kishida. In cooperation with the international community, we will send out a strong message that changing the status quo by force will not be tolerated in any region, including Asia. Thirteen Ukrainian personnel who died defying a Russian warships order to surrender a small Black Sea island were hailed posthumously as national heroes Friday, Ukrainian officials said. On Thursday, two Russian warships reportedly approached Snake Island, a Black Sea outcropping near the Danube Delta that is called Zmiinyi Island in Ukrainian. The roughly 46-acre island is considered strategically important because of its proximity to the port of Odessa, among other factors. Someone aboard one of the Russian warships demanded that the border guards give up their weapons or face annihilation, according to a widely disseminated audio recording. The recording was posted on the instant messaging service Telegram by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and former member of parliament. In the audio, at least two people listening to the Russian message can be heard talking to each other, one saying, This is it and then asking the other if he should tell the invader to f--- himself. The other person says, Just in case. Russian warship, go f--- yourself, the first person says just before the recording ends. The island sustained fierce shelling from the ships, the Ukrainian Border Guard Service reported Thursday on its Facebook page. In a separate post, the two Russian ships were identified as the cruiser Moscow and the frigate Vassily Bykov, belonging to the Black Sea Fleet. The aggressor used a combat aviation against the border guards and the armed forces on the island of Zmiinyi, the service posted late Thursday afternoon. Also, the shelling of the island from ship weapons continues. All 13 guards were killed, and all infrastructure was destroyed as Russia captured the island, the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry said Friday on Twitter. The guards will be awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said. Remember, the enemy today repeatedly tried in vain to intimidate Ukrainian defenders on the island with demands to surrender, the border guard service posted late Thursday to Facebook. The border guards and zsu (armed forces) bravely held the defense. Russia blatantly captured Ukrainian island #Zmiinyi, destroying the infrastructure. All 13 border guards were killed, refusing to surrender. They will be awarded the title Hero of Ukraine postmortem, says @ZelenskyyUa Glory to Ukrainian heroes! #StopRussianAggression pic.twitter.com/PWEIvqzxyJ MFA of Ukraine (@MFA_Ukraine) February 25, 2022 Meanwhile, Russian state media told a completely different story. The Russian news agency Tass reported Friday that 82 personnel had laid down their weapons, surrendered Snake Island and signed documents rejecting military resistance. A U.S. Global Hawk surveillance drone was flying south of Snake Island over international waters in the Black Sea on Thursday, according to Flightradar24 and other public aviation traffic websites. So far, U.S. officials havent directly commented on what transpired at Snake Island. Occupation of the island would allow the Kremlin to have a stranglehold on Ukraines southern coast and better enable a blockade, analysts have said. Russian troops on the island would obligate Ukraine to keep forces in Odessa, said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow and director of the Hudson Institutes Center for Defense Concepts and Technology. Doing so would prevent Ukraine from reinforcing troops in Kyiv or the east who could be facing Russian invasion forces, Clark said Thursday. The Russian advance on Ukraines capital Kyiv has been slowed by stiffer resistance than U.S. intelligence officials believe the Kremlin anticipated, a top Pentagon official said Friday, even as The New York Times reported that some of Moscows troops had reached the northern fringe of the city. The Russian march on Kyiv where U.S. officials believe Moscow aims to decapitate Ukraines West-aligned government is going slower than the Russians would have had anticipated it going, this senior defense official told reporters Friday on the condition of anonymity to provide the U.S. militarys latest observations about the fight. The new assessment, based largely on evidence the Pentagon did not immediately share, comes just hours after U.S. officials warned Russian forces could quickly seize the Ukrainian capital. Theyre meeting more resistance than they expected, the Pentagon official said. They are not advancing as far or as fast as we believe they expected they would. A good indicator is that [Ukrainian] population centers have not been taken [and] Russia has yet to achieve air superiority over Ukraine. The New York Times, which has journalists in the capital, said some Russian units had reached a northern district of Kyiv on Friday, as missiles hammered the city. It was unclear how many Russian troops had reached the area. The newspaper quoted the chief of Britains chief of defense intelligence, as saying the Russians were moving along two axes to try to encircle Kyiv and topple the Ukrainian government. Ukraines air and missile defense systems were still working Friday, although they had been damaged in Russian strikes, the official added. Russia had launched at least 200 cruise and short-range ballistic missiles into Ukraine by Friday, striking primarily at military targets including the air and missile defense systems, aircraft and Ukrainian bases. Nonetheless, the official said, Ukraines command and control is intact, and its forces were continuing to fight. The Pentagon and other Western officials have said fighting has been heavy in parts of Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country Thursday morning. President Joe Biden who met virtually with other NATO heads of state Friday morning to discuss the alliances response on Thursday called the move an unprovoked brutal assault on a sovereign nation, imposed new sanctions of Russian institutions and elites, and ordered some 7,000 American forces to deploy on short-notice to Europe to bolster NATO defenses. Those troops including the 3,800 soldiers of Fort Stewart, Ga.s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division had not yet departed for Europe as of Friday, the official said. However, American F-35 advanced fighters arrived in Baltic nations Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and had begun flying missions along their borders by Friday. In a statement after the emergency meeting, NATO said it would make further deployments to its eastern flank to ensure strong and credible deterrence and defense across the Alliance, now and in the future. Meanwhile, the Pentagon was working Friday to find new ways to support Ukraines armed forces, from outside the country, the Pentagon official said. Biden has vowed U.S. troops will not fight Russian forces on Ukrainian soil. The president warned Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be intent on moving forces beyond Ukraine, and he warned an attack on NATO territory would be met with military power from the U.S. and the entire alliance. The Pentagon has observed Russia move only about one-third of the more than 150,000-troop strong military power it massed along Ukraines border in recent months. The official cautioned that he was not going to make predictions about Putins next moves or if Russian forces would still be able to capture Kyiv in the coming days. They have a lot of power at their disposal, the official said, adding the Russians appeared to be launching a new amphibious assault in the countrys east, west of the Sea of Azov that could include thousands of naval infantry troops meant to move toward the Ukrainian seaport city Mariupol and into the Donbas region. The Pentagon continues to believe the Russian military has only begun the initial phases of its operations in Ukraine and could further escalate the fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement that at least 137 Ukrainians including military troops and civilians had died in the fighting with Russia on Thursday and more than 300 others had been wounded. He claimed many more Russian troops had been killed in the clashes. The Pentagon declined to comment on death tolls for either side on Friday. The official said if Russian forces continue to fight, the battle will remain bloody, especially considering the resistance Ukrainians have put up since the invasion. I would say that from our perspective, its both gut-wrenching and inspiring what we have seen in the last 24 hours, the official said. Which is Ukrainians being willing to fight for their country and to do so bravely. RZESZOW, Poland The top American diplomat in Poland traveled south Friday aboard a Black Hawk helicopter to meet with U.S. paratroopers, thousands of whom have taken up positions near the border with Ukraine to shore up NATOs defenses. I flew in from Warsaw in a way I never thought I would do in Poland, Ambassador Mark Brzezinski said after landing in an area where temporary U.S. Army encampments are popping up. The U.S. Embassy established a welcome center in Przemysl, which is just 6 miles from Ukraines border, in the event large numbers of Americans cross into Poland. So far, few Americans have turned up at the welcome center after leaving Ukraine, where an estimated 6,600 U.S. citizens were believed to reside in recent months. But the overall number of people departing Ukraine has risen since Russia began its full-scale invasion Thursday, resulting in long waits in the cold for families stuck in lines for 14 hours at a time, Brzezinski said. He blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the unfolding crisis. Since arriving in Poland earlier this month, soldiers with the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions have set up encampments around Rzeszow. U.S. military equipment has been flowing into the area for weeks. One of the tasks for the troops could be assisting with the flow of people out of Ukraine, depending on the outcome of the war. Brzezinski said the U.S. and Poland are still assessing what supporting role American military personnel could have. But when asked by a Polish reporter about American readiness to defend Polish territory should the war spill over, Brzezinski said the U.S. is fully prepared. Russias decision to launch a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine involving ground forces and attacks from the air and sea has brought widespread condemnation amid fears that Moscow is closing in on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. We are in a dangerous situation, Brzezinski said. On Thursday, the U.S. said it will deploy 7,000 additional troops to Europe in the days ahead. That comes on top of the 5,000 already deployed to Poland. Other U.S. forces in Europe have been repositioned closer to NATOs eastern flank in such countries as Romania, Bulgaria and Latvia. Their presence is meant to reassure fellow member countries and send a signal of allied resolve to Russia. NATO also granted authority to U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, the alliances top military commander, to activate the 40,000-person response force if he deems it necessary. For now, the U.S. soldiers in Poland are operating out of the public eye, training inside bases and setting up gear along airfields where military hardware can be seen from a distance. U.S. troops and their counterparts in the Polish 18th Mechanized Division also have been working on carrying out joint operations and practicing medical evacuation. PHILADELPHIA (Tribune News Service) The invitations were written in Dari, Pashto, and English. The food included traditional Afghan fare, platters of dried fruits, and cups of hot tea. The babies were, well, adorable. By turn they cried out loud or slept in silence, as around them balloons popped and plates spilled and older siblings laughed and chased across a brightly decorated conference room on the second floor of a Center City hotel. Thats where newly arrived Afghan mothers and mothers-to-be were welcomed to an old American tradition a baby shower, and a big one, thrown last week by Nationalities Service Center, the immigrant-services agency that leads the Philadelphia regions effort to resettle hundreds of evacuees from fallen, war-riven Afghanistan. Some of the little ones who arrived alert in their mothers arms or dozing in plastic carriers are new American citizens, born in this country after their parents reached temporary, safe haven housing on U.S. military bases. Other babies were born in Afghanistan shortly before the Taliban takeover, held close as their families crammed aboard huge C-17 Globemasters that carried them up and out of their homeland. None yet knows of their parents perilous evacuation from Kabul, of the abiding fear and torment for family members left behind, or how, as they cooed or gurgled or smiled during the baby shower, around them swirled their mothers dreams for their futures. I want him to have an education, and a good life, and a good job, said Madina Mohammad, who cradled her 3-month-old son, Younus, named for the faithful prophet who delivered messages from Allah. Her baby, then still in the womb, traveled 7,000 miles from a crumbling Afghanistan to be born in South Jersey, at a hospital near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The child paid no mind to a shower that grew chaotically joyful, with balloons bouncing across tabletops and the volume of conversation rising in three languages an event to celebrate all the women who care for others, said Christina Kubica, NSCs manager of specialized health services. And also a time to at least briefly set aside the sorrows and demands of the moment most Afghans arrived owning only the clothes they wore and consider the possibilities of the future. I have a lot of wishes for my daughter, said Raihana Hashimi, as she held her 15-month-old child, Omalbanin. To study and get a good job, and help the country. She thinks shes found a good place to try to make those wishes a reality. I like the city of Philadelphia. Its good for living. The tumultuous U.S. evacuation of its allies commenced the largest national resettlement effort since the end of the Vietnam War, one in which the Philadelphia region has played a central role. More than 30,000 evacuees have landed at Philadelphia International Airport, designated as the countrys central arrival hub. At peak, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst housed more than 11,000 evacuees, among the largest populations on eight military installations. Federal officials announced on Saturday that the last group of evacuees had left the base, the final safe haven still in operation. The dramatic end to the 20-year American war saw 84,600 people brought to the United States and proved that life is unstoppable. At least 570 babies have been born in this country to Afghan evacuees, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Locally, NSC clients have had seven children, and more are on the way, with nine women pregnant. At the Wednesday shower, Najia Haidari held her sleeping 5-month-old daughter, Eliana, born when the family was living at Camp Atterbury in Indiana, before they were transferred to Philadelphia. I want her to be someone who pays back the U.S., Haidari said. To be a doctor, an engineer. Whatever we received, to pay them back. Yes, hardships have been many and change constant, she said. But as she conversed with other mothers and friends at the shower, she declared: Im feeling great, because of my kids, my family, and the family of NSC that supports us. For now, Haidari and her family live in the Marriott Residence Inn, among about 240 evacuees who await permanent housing after being moved off the military bases. The hotels large, second-floor lounge has become a de facto organizing area for NSCs efforts to provide families not just with government authorizations but a sense of community. Part of whats so tough about resettlement is the loss of connection, the grandmother who would have held your baby for you while you prepared dinner, said Gretchen Shanfeld, NSCs senior director of program operations. Before the shower guests arrived, an adjoining conference room became a whirl of plastic table cloths, streamers, and Very Hungry Caterpillar cut-outs being attached to the walls. Crayons and coloring paper were set up at a table for older siblings, as NSC staffers hustled to prepare for the event. Where were the food tongs? And scissors? The shower was women-and-children only. All the agencys female clients were invited, and many came, helping crowd the room with 30-some parents, children, and friends. Glittery gift bags were stacked on a table and halfway up the wall, those and other packages containing scarves, nail polish, shampoo, pacifiers, books, clothes, winter hats, and wool play balls. Its a way to say, We see you, we get it, we care. We know youre afraid, said NSC executive director Margaret OSullivan. We all have a shared humanity here. In Afghanistan, the nearest thing to an American baby shower is a tradition called jorra, which means gifts for the day of celebration, Afghan journalist Malali Bashir explained in her blog, Afghan Watch. Presents are given only by the mother of the mother-to-be, while the paternal grandmother is responsible for hosting an all-women luncheon at her home. Gifts tend toward clothes and herbal baby medicines, though better-off families may give cradles and bath sets, or even a gold ring or a locket carved with verses from the Quran, Bashir explained. Im so happy to see the rest of the moms and the families, said Fariha Hajizada, whose 2 1/2 -year-old daughter, Souda, busied herself engaging with other toddlers at the baby shower. My daughter can play. The shower also was a chance for NSC workers, exhausted by the months-long demands of a sudden, mass resettlement, to put aside the daily struggle and converse on happier topics with women theyve come to know intimately. NSC expects to ultimately resettle 500 Afghan evacuees, by far the most among local agencies. Were happy to be here with the rest of the moms and see each other, said Mohsina Ahmadi, holding her 18-month-old daughter, Boshra. I want my kids [to have] a good education, a good life, to study and get a good job. To work for the city and the country. 2022 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Visit at inquirer.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. WASHINGTON Sen. Jim Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced Friday that he will retire at the end of the current congressional session after decades in office. The 87-year-old Oklahoma legislator will step down on Jan. 3, four years before the end of a six-year term he won in 2020. He was first elected to Congress as a member of the House of Representatives in 1987 and became a senator in 1994. Todays announcement is not the end of the road, Inhofe said in a statement. I have work yet to do for Oklahomans over these next nine months, including passing the National Defense Authorization Act and holding the Biden administration accountable. Inhofes retirement will leave a Republican leadership vacancy on the powerful Senate committee overseeing military affairs, where he has long held sway over Department of Defense policies. Inhofe succeeded the late Sen. John McCain as chairman of the committee in 2017 but lost the post when Democrats took control of the Senate in January 2021. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., is in line to succeed Inhofe as the ranking Republican on the committee and could become chair if the GOP retakes the Senate in the November mid-term elections. An Army veteran, Inhofe is among the Senates most conservative members. He advocated for a strong U.S. military presence around the world and pressed for robust spending on defense. Inhofe endorsed his chief of staff, Luke Holland, to replace him in a special election in November to continue my legacy of a strong national defense, according to a letter Inhofe sent to the Oklahoma secretary of state. (Tribune News Service) A man partnered with a pharmacy worker to steal $8.2 million worth of HIV medication from a Veterans Affairs branch in New Jersey, federal authorities say. Now, he faces three and a half years in prison. Wagner Checonolasco, 34, from Lyndhurst, N.J., pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to steal government property, federal authorities said in a news release. District Judge Esther Salas imposed the sentence on Feb. 24 in Newark federal court, the release says. Brooke M. Barnett, Checonolascos defense attorney, told McClatchy News that her client was very loved by his family and within the community. Barnett said Checonolasco started stealing the drugs to help family members who had AIDS. This is about survival, the attorney said. Barnett said that while he broke the law, those are the facts, Checonolasco had a pristine record until this incident. He targeted the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) located in East Orange, New Jersey. The VAMC pharmacy maintained prescription medication, such as medication for the treatment of HIV, authorities say. According to court documents obtained by McClatchy News, Checonolasco conspired with Lisa M. Hoffman to steal medication from the VA. Hoffman was employed at the VAMC pharmacy, authorities say, and her job responsibilities included ordering the necessary medications. From early 2018 through 2019, Checolonasco and Hoffman conspired to steal HIV medication from the VAMC, court documents show. Hoffman would place large orders for HIV medication and then steal the treatments for Checolonasco in exchange for a cash payment, according to federal agents. Checolonasco would then proceed to resell the drugs for a profit, investigators said. During that timeframe, the pair is accused of stealing approximately $8 million worth of HIV medications. As part of his sentencing, Checonolasco will have to pay restitution in the amount of $8,286,486, court documents show. Hoffman, 48, from Orange, New Jersey, also pleaded guilty to her role in the scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9, 2022, the release says. 2022 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (Tribune News Service) Nothing bonds a family more than plunging into freezing cold water together during the winter. In Alfred Lambertsons case, taking a frigid dip into the ocean is now a family tradition he shares with his granddaughter. Better known as Al to family and friends, this U.S. Navy veteran from Keyport has no plans on stopping, even though this year hes taking not one, but two dips in the icy waters this year at the age of 88. For the past five years, Lambertson has been participating in the Polar Bear Plunge at Seaside Heights, where thousands of participants sign up to dive in the Atlantic Ocean in February. Everyone who makes the plunge, either as an individual or a team, pledges to raise money, which goes directly to the Special Olympics New Jersey. I started simply because (my granddaughter) Tiff needed donations for the Special Olympics, Lambertson said. I came to the event five years ago and thought, what the hell, let me take a dive in. And he might just be the oldest participant. His granddaughter Tiffany Rowald said her husband, Alan, was the first in the family to take the plunge. I was a towel holder at the event and became jealous that I wasnt participating, she said. Now, every year, she and Lambertson sign up with their team, the Bayshore Shrinky Dinks . To date, theyve raised $64,875. However, this year is a little bit different for Lambertson. This vibrant and animated veteran decided to spend his 88th birthday on Wednesday taking an extra dip in the water this time in the Raritan Bay at Keyport Waterfront Park in Keyport. Full of excitement and dressed in his American flag speedo that he wears to every plunge, Lambertson took to the frigid waters as family, friends and admirers watched and cheered him on. He had planned to take a quick dip and jump out, since the water and air is usually between 30 to 40 degrees this time of year. But with the temperature at an unseasonably warm 67 degrees in Monmouth County on Wednesday, Lambertson just couldnt let the sunny day go to waste. He took a longer swim than expected diving straight in with his whole body submerged underwater. So, whats it like celebrating 88 years in an ice bath? It feels great, Lambertson said. Cant complain. Being surrounded by family and friends has made it that much more special. Lambertson says there isnt a lot that goes into preparing for the plunge. He prides himself on working out four times a week and taking great care of his health. You work out and take cold showers, he joked. To Rowald, it means the world to have her grandfather by her side each year. The memories and experiences are just as important for Lambertson, but he said hes also focused on the impact hes having in his community. Simply getting involved is the message he wants everyone to take from his story. Diving in the freezing water for five minutes is nothing in comparison to what those with disabilities face every day, he said. Young or old, always try to make a difference. Never too early to start. There are no plans on stopping the plunge anytime soon for this Jersey Shore superstar. Ive got a couple more years in me unless I hear from the man upstairs first, he said. djohnson@njadvancemedia.com . 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com . Changes to the SunCommercial's back end processing means the e-edition is getting a facelift. The biggest change is the e-edition, by default, is now presented in Text view. A new Marc Spijkerbosch artwork is being commissioned for the entrance to Kawerau thanks to the Kawerau Creative Communities fund and Hutec Engineering. Industrial Symbosis Kawerau has been granted $4800 from Kawerau District Councils Creative Communities scheme for the project. ISK project manager Su Cammell says the idea for a mural on the Hutec building had been around for a couple of years and Hutec had asked that it be about Kawerau history rather than specific to its business. She's not sure when the mural will start taking shape. The first step is to get the concept design done. Its a very big space, so getting the design right is really important. She says they want a design that's not too detailed, so it doesnt distract people from driving. Weve had approval from [the NZ Transport Agency], because you dont want to be distracting motorists. She says it will be good to see geothermal energy woven into the design as it was one of the connecting themes that tied industry to the early history of Kawerau. Maori first came here because they could use the geothermal energy to cook and heat and now it has become a significant source of energy for the country. That is one of the connecting themes that we have got. Mr Spijkerbosch will be sitting down with Hutec to come up with a concept and there may need to be some consultation with other groups such as local iwi before a design is decided on. Ms Cammell says further funding will likely be needed for the installation of the mural as it's such a large project. Creative Communities is an art fund distributed to local councils by Creative New Zealand to assist with art projects. The council has more than $30,000 of unallocated funds for the latest round of funding. The minutes for the Creative Communities scheme assessment committee, held in December, were received by the council on Tuesday. As well as the funds for the mural, another $2075 has been granted to provide an art course specifically focused on the sea and its environment for the people of Kawerau. The seascapes art course is being run by Jenny Thomas, in conjunction with the Kawerau Arts Society. Two other applications were denied. Every Body is a Treasure applied for $4000 for a Kawerau District Visual Poetry Jam and Joanne Black applied for $4421.81 for a beautifying Kawerau project. These were declined because they didnt meet the criteria or didnt provide enough information. Committee chairwoman Sela Kingi says they are encouraging those who did not make it through this round of funding to apply for future rounds with help and support to complete their applications. Changing the way we get around Tauranga is the aim of the Wednesday Challenge that launches next Wednesday. But with the increasing prevalence of Covid-19 and amidst the current Omicron outbreak, the Wednesday Challenge, like most other initiatives, has had to approach things differently. To comply with latest social distancing regulations, two key components of the challenge the Liftango carpooling app and the Wednesday Challenge Ferry, which were set to launch at the same time as the Challenge, have been delayed until after we start coming out of this latest outbreak. "Weve delayed them until case numbers are falling and there are less health and safety concerns around people being together," says project director Heidi Hughes. "But all our other modes; from biking to walking, skateboarding, scootering are even more relevant at this time, as it is important for mental health and wellbeing that people still get fresh air and exercise. "Working from home is considered a transport option in The Challenge, so people will be able to start participating and collecting points on a Wednesday if they are not even leaving the house for work." Heidi says the public launch event for the challenge has also had to take a different tack. "We had planned to have a grand community launch next Wednesday, so people could come along to an expo style event and discover everything they needed to know. "Now we are doing a digital experience launch, with an intro video hosted by Ben Hurley. "The public can find out everything they need to know, from their own home, school, business or neighbour by jumping on their computer or mobile device and enjoying the digital experience." Anyone can view the digital launch experience by visiting this page of the website https://www.wednesdaychallenge.co.nz/discovery-experience With the launch of the initiative just days away, Heidi says the response has been incredible so far. "People really get it. They understand that this is an initiative by the people, for the people. "They see that as individuals we can make a difference, have some fun, reap the benefits and win some amazing prizes. "They see it as a fun community initiative that also packs a punch in terms of what it can deliver for Tauranga and theyre signing up." The Wednesday Challenge is a Challenge for people of Tauranga to travel differently one day a week for the year of 2022. The challenge is powered by a web app that allows the public, businesses and schools to sign on, create a profile and start logging their journeys each Wednesday. "Theres an amazing $4000 major prize from My Ride Mount Maunganui, that people are in to win, simply if they sign up. Each month we have a $1000 prize giveaway. In March theres a $1000 shopping spree to the Crossing, April theres a $1000 bucket list experience from Chuffed gifts and in May a 4-month unlimited membership to F45 Tauranga worth $1,000 and thats just for starters." Whilst theres a strong environmental and road congestion focus to the challenge Heidi says the health and well-being benefits it also brings shouldnt be overlooked. "Theres stats that show that running for 15 minutes a day can help reduce depression by 26 per cent, 70 per cent of physically active people report better sleep, mild exercise is enough to reduce anxiety, bad moods and depression and improve self-esteem and cognitive function and exercising on workdays can boost your time management skills and your daily competed workload by an impressive 72 per cent. "Were excited about the diverse ways the Wednesday Challenge can bring positive benefits to Tauranga." The Wednesday Challenge aims to reduce car dependency in Tauranga over the year with a target of 20 per cent of regular drivers participating in the challenge. "We currently sit at around 5 per cent, so if we all choose to make a difference just one day a week, we would see tangible change to how our streets feel -Think winding the clock back 10 years on Tauranga Traffic!" The Wednesday Challenge launches March 2 in Tauranga, it is administered by Envirohub Bay of Plenty, with funding from Waka Kotahi, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Tauranga City Council. Keen to find out more? Go to www.wednesdaychallenge.co.nz Bay of Plenty Are you looking for a labouring job that has an immediate start date? Do you like to be active and engaged while working... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Tauranga Hospital briefly closed their Orthopaedic Ward yesterday following the identification of a Covid-19 exposure event. The ward was closed at 1pm yesterday to new admissions and visitors, although the risk to staff was considered low, says a statement from the Bay of Plenty District Health Board. Altogether, 68 people were identified as close contacts, including 24 patients and 42 members of staff. Two of those patients tested positive and are now being isolated in the new negative pressure ward recently opened at the hospital were they are receiving treatment for Covid-19. The other 21 patients returned negative PCR results, apart from one, who refused a swab and is therefore isolating and being treated as if Covid-19 positive. All 42 staff members returned negative RAT tests. The BOPDHB say they will continue to be monitored for symptoms. The ward reopened for admissions and visitors later last night, after the results were returned, says a BOPDHB statement.. Were very grateful to our amazing staff for the work they are doing at this time to care for the people of our community and help keep everybody safe, says BOPDHB acting Chief Operating Officer Bronwyn Anstis, whilst also thanking PathLab for urgently processing the PCR tests. The BOPDHB say events like this are not unexpected as Omicron continues to rise with more exposure events in the community and workplaces, including increasing numbers of close contacts who need to be tested, likely. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand joins its international partners in condemnation of Russia's attack on Ukraine and has immediately taken a range of measures against the Russian government. Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine and launched a full-scale land, sea and air attack on the country overnight on Thursday local time. Putin said his goal was the "demilitarisation and denazification" of Ukraine, but US President Joe Biden has asserted the evidence clearly shows Russia is the aggressor and it has no evidence for its justifications. New Zealand has joined with the UN in launching economic sanctions against Russia. Ardern says Russia began a "military offensive and an illegal invasion" of Ukraine yesterday, New Zealand time. "The UK's Ministry of Defence communicated this morning that more than 80 strikes have been carried out against Ukrainian targets and that Russian ground forces are advancing across the border on at least three axis from north and northeast, and south from Crimea," the prime minister says. "There are reports of attacks in a range of locations around Ukraine, including heavy shelling in eastern Ukraine and fighting in some areas, including around airports and other targets of strategic importance." She says New Zealand joins its international partners in condemnation of the attack and has immediately taken a range of measures against the Russian government. "By choosing to pursue this entirely avoidable path, an unthinkable number of innocent lives could be lost because of Russia's decision," she says. New Zealand calls on Russia to do what is right and immediately cease military operations, and permanently withdraw to avoid a "catastrophic and pointless loss of innocent life", she says. The invasion poses a significant threat to peace and security in the region and will trigger a humanitarian and refugee crisis, she says. Russia has demonstrated a disregard for diplomacy and efforts to avoid conflict in the lead-up to the attack, she says, and "must now face the consequences of their decision to invade". As a permanent UN Security Council member, Russia has "displayed a flagrant disregard for international law and abdicated their responsibility to uphold global peace and security" and now must face the consequences, Ardern says. New Zealand has immediately imposed measures in response which include targeted travel bans against Russian officials and other individuals associated with the invasion. They will be banned from obtaining visas to enter or transit New Zealand. Secondly, this country is prohibiting the export of goods to Russian military and security forces. "While exports from New Zealand under this category are limited, a blanket ban is a significant step as it removes the ability for exporters to apply for a permit and sends a clear signal of support to Ukraine," she says. Finally, New Zealand has suspended bilateral ministry consultations until further notice. Ardern says there will be a significant cost imposed on Russia for its actions. New Zealand will also consider humanitarian response options, she says. "Finally our thoughts today are with the people in Ukraine affected by this conflict. Decades of peace and security in the region have been undermined. "The institutions built to avoid conflict have been threatened and we stand resolute in our support for those who now bear the brunt of Russia's decisions." She again calls for Russia to cease military actions and return to diplomatic negotiations to resolve the conflict. During questions from journalists, Ardern says New Zealand is not constrained by being unable to launch autonomous sanctions. "There are additional measures that we can take. Obviously already you'll see those targeted travel bans, we do have the ability to extend those as required and as those involved with this activity grows. "We also have the ability to continue to restrict the amount of diplomatic engagement that we have ... and obviously the autonomous sanction regimes that have been proposed in the past don't for instance cover situations of human rights violations." Ardern admits there are some limitations on economic sanctions New Zealand can impose, but the government continues to get advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the tools that can be used and "we want them all to be on the table". The measures New Zealand has imposed are limited but send a very clear message. "What this does say is that there's no ability to apply or seek to export ... this is a blanket ban," she says. She says New Zealand's response is very much in line with other countries, and the world is sending a very clear message to Russia that what they are doing is wrong " and they will face the condemnation of the world". "One of the things that does stand out currently with this conflict is just the degree to which there is unity, unity of voice, that what is happening here - the blatant breach of international law, a rules based order - how that stands in the face of everything that countries have worked so hard for in the wake of World War II." She says the messages shared in unity send a strong message and it is important New Zealand shares in that. Some differences compared to other countries is New Zealand has not frozen assets, "but again that is an act that in some countries would have a much greater effect". "What we have here is a member of the security council who is now blatantly undermining our international rules-based order." She says she has not removed the idea that an autonomous sanctions regime may be introduced in future. She says historically New Zealand's imports of Russian oil have been limited "about 20 percent", and Z Energy for example has not purchased any in the last six months. "Our fuel supply tends to be dominated by Middle East and Asia." She says New Zealand has security of supply and what is happening won't affect that, but an effect on international markets due to the role Russia plays - not just fuel but also wheat - can be expected. She says about 40 New Zealanders have been recorded as being in the region. New Zealand issued advice to leave the area before the invasion began, and has supported some individuals to leave. Commercial options to depart have since reduced, and New Zealand has a consular team in southeastern Poland, which is where those seeking to exit Ukraine are most likely to go. At this stage it's too early to say what New Zealand's humanitarian support and ability to take refugees will be, she says. Asked what makes her think New Zealand and other countries' interventions will have any effect on Russia, Ardern says "the alternative of doing nothing just can't stand". She says there have always been challenges to the rules-based international order, but this is the blatant use of military might and violence that will take innocent lives. - RNZ Tauranga stargazers who have missed the Starlink satellite train over the past two evenings will have another chance to view it Friday and Saturday night. Elon Musks SpaceX-operated satellite convoy is a popular sight for those who like to look up at the sky on a clear evening and conditions may prove helpful. MetService is predicting minimal cloud cover this evening, as we enter the final weekend of the summer. With sunset at 8.01pm, it is possible the spectacle is visible, however the sky will have to be dark enough. The Tauranga Astronomical Society have posted on Facebook that the train, official name Starlink G4-8, will be visible tonight from 8:30pm, as seen from Tauranga. For observers in Tauranga and the upper North Island, Starlink will be highest in the south-east half of the sky at around 8:33pm - reaching a maximum altitude angle of 75 degrees at 8:33pm. For observers in Christchurch and South, Starlink will rise in the South West at 8:28pm. Starlink will rise in the South West as it passes parallel to the West coast of the South Island before passing right over the central North Island, heading North East. For observers in the lower North Island and the South Island, Starlink will be highest in the north west. The train will disappear into the shadow cast by the Earth at 8:36pm There will be another pass on Saturday night from around 8:48pm, which may provide better visibility due to its later time. Get website access for only 99 per month for the first 3 months, then $7.50 a month after. Cancel anytime! Unlimited website access 24/7 Unlimited e-Edition access 24/7 The best local, regional and national news in sports, politics, business and more! With a Digital Only subscription, you'll receive unlimited access to our website and e-Edition. Our digital products are available 24/7 and are accessible anywhere, anytime. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Tahlequah, OK (74464) Today Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 67F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. A few storms may be severe. Low 61F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 2 to 3 inches of rain expected. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. Disk fragmentation is generally main cause of slow and unstable computer performance. 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How does it work Install it and forget it: Install Smart Defrag, begin to defragment your hard drives in a manual way, or just minimize it to the system tray. Languages: English, Danish, German, Finnish, Dutch, Hungarian, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Turkish, Russian, Spanish, Why it matters: The Ukraine crisis has sparked concerns on the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain. For now, chipmakers say there's no immediate risk thanks to raw material stockpiling and diversified procurement strategies, but they are looking for alternative suppliers to avoid potential disruptions in the future. By now it's no secret that Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine earlier this week, which prompted several countries to consider new sanctions on the former. As local factories closed on Thursday, some in the tech and auto industries worry about the potential impact on the global supply chain. According to Techcet analysts, both countries supply significant quantities of materials needed for making chips on pretty much any process node. Specifically, Ukraine supplies over 90 percent of the semiconductor-grade neon used by the US, while 35 percent of the palladium imported to the US is from Russia. Manufacturers may have stockpiles of certain materials and gases required and source them from various suppliers, but that doesn't mean they're entirely protected from disruption. While the geopolitical shock caused by the ongoing military conflict is undeniable, chipmakers are trying to downplay fears that it will worsen the global shortage of chips. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), Russia only accounts for 0.1 percent of global chip purchases, and its incursion into Ukraine doesn't pose any immediate supply disruption risks, as the industry relies on a "diverse set of suppliers of key materials and gases." Companies like ASML --- who makes EUV lithography equipment --- and memory manufacturer Micron rule out the possibility of major disruptions in the short term, but they are currently exploring alternative sources of noble gases for production needs. Intel, GlobalFoundries, SK Hynix, United Microelectronics Corp. and ASE Technology had similar statements on the matter. This is yet another reminder that the global semiconductor supply chain is incredibly complex yet still highly concentrated in a few countries. For instance, over 90 percent of DRAM and NAND chips are made in Taiwan, Japan, China, Singapore, and South Korea. ASML is the only company making advanced EUV lithography machines, and Tokyo Electron is the only company making EUV photoresist coater and developer systems. Foundries like Intel, TSMC, Samsung, and others are scrambling to regionalize their manufacturing, but any potential conflict ---say, in Taiwan --- is a recipe for disaster. More than 63 percent of all chips are made in Taiwan and 18 percent are made in South Korea, which should give you an idea of the fragility of the global semiconductor supply chain. For PS4 users, capturing a perfect screenshot of a photo or a clip is quite laborious, to begin with. However, Sony noticed this inconvenience and arrived at creating an easier and simpler alternative for this one. PS5 owners can now take advantage of the new auto-capture feature this time. The Japanese console maker announced its official launch on Wednesday, Feb. 23 in select countries around the world. PS5 Auto-Capture Has Finally Come True Last month, Tech Times spotted a report that Sony will release a PS5 screenshot feature that will allow users to "automatically" upload the saved media to their smartphones' camera roll. This can be done through the official PlayStation App. However, the article suggested that it will only be available for US-based users. But, fans waited for this feature, yet it did not come in January. This time, we officially saw Sony's announcement about the "gradual" roll-out for this much-awaited feature on Twitter. "We're gradually rolling out the ability to share your PS5 game captures through the PS App in more regions! Americas are first up, with more countries next month," Sony tweeted this on Wednesday, Feb. 23 along with a link that will direct you to its site. Were gradually rolling out the ability to share your PS5 game captures through PS App in more regions! Americas are first up, with more countries next month. Details: https://t.co/yskER3hn8t pic.twitter.com/8sfrm6PZZj PlayStation (@PlayStation) February 23, 2022 This Game Capture feature lets users have more freedom in storing their screenshots in their preferred location. Whether it's on the camera roll or not, they can also share them on social media platforms. Additionally, they can right away send them to their computers. Related Article: PS5 DualSense Controller Button Remapping: Here's How to Do it PS5 Game Capture to Roll Out in Select Regions In a report by Tech Spot, Sony will bring the PlayStation 5 auto-capture in select countries first mostly in the Americas. United States Uruguay Peru Paraguay Panama Mexico Nicaragua Guatemala Ecuador El Salvador Chile Colombia Canada Bolivia Brazil Argentina Japan How to Activate PlayStation 5 Auto Uploads to PS App CNET wrote in its article the easiest set of producers that Sony fans should follow if they want to use this Auto Capture. Begin by downloading the official PS App on Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Make sure to log in to your account and connect the app to your next-gen console. After linking it, head to the app. Go to Library Captures and select Enable. On your PlayStation 5 console, proceed to Settings. Tap Captures and Broadcasts, then click Captures. Just remember to turn on the Auto Upload first. It is expected that Sony will roll out this feature to more countries as we head to March. Meanwhile, the company confirmed that it would unveil its newest FPS game "Shadow Warrior 3" on its PlayStation Now gaming service next month. It is to note that this subscription service is created to match Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass. According to the Japan-based firm, it would now follow what Xbox Game Pass offers to date, which is the first day-one launch for its gaming title. Read Also: YouTuber Designs One-Handed PS5 DualSense Attachment For Players Who Want to Eat Snacks Without Hitting the Pause Button This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Joseph Henry 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. How to show support to the people of Ukraine? Here are the charity apps and websites that you can go to send donations. Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent almost 200,000 troops and thousands of combat vehicles to Ukraine's borders. According to a source, there have been casualties, including Ukrainian civilians and soldiers, and Russian troops after Russian troops arrived. Knowing there are casualties, many Ukrainians need help. If you want to support them, here are the channels where you can send funds to the non-profit groups that provide medical, food, and other essential supplies to Ukraine. Ukraine Charity Apps, Websites USA Today shared the list of the non-profit websites that are currently helping Ukraine fend the invading Russian troops. Also Read: Ukraine Fights Cyberattacks Amidst Russian Invasion: Government Websites Under DDoS Attack If you also want to help the Ukraine, here are the sites and apps you can send your donations: Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross works with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society to rebuild the homes destroyed during the Russian-Ukraine war. ICRC also provides aides to mental health facilities, schools, community centers, and hospitals. Army SOS Army SOS Citizen's Initiative currently manages the necessary purchases of shields, ammunition, food supplies, and uniforms that will further strengthen Ukraine. Come Back Alive Foundation Come Back Alive Foundation is currently one of the biggest Ukraine-supporting charity groups. What makes this efficient is that it accepts traditional and crypto donations. United Help Ukraine United Help Ukraine raises the awareness of people across the globe regarding the crisis happening in the country. Aside from this, it also conducts fundraisings through PayPal, helping wounded Ukrainian soldiers, as well as their families. What NATO is Doing About It BCC reported that already prepared its warplanes to stop the Russian-Ukraine war. However, the Western alliance clarified that combat troops would not be sent to fight Russians invading Ukraine. Although this is the case, the West is still trying to fend off Russia by targeting its industry, residents, and industry. For example, the United Kingdom announced that more Russian banks would freeze their assets. Meanwhile, the U.S. government is currently cutting off the Russian government from Western financial institutions. In our previous news, the FBI's recent warning claimed that ransomware attacks might target the U.S. as Russia-Ukraine tension becomes more serious. On the other hand, BTC plunges by 7.5% as the Russia-Ukraine tension continues. For more news updates about the ongoing Russian-Ukraine on-going war, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Russia-Ukraine Invasion Map Uses Twitter Post Updates! Here's How CIR's Tech Works and How To Use It This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Meta's Metaverse plan now includes new AI voice assistants that are more advanced than Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa. This was confirmed in the latest presentation made by the tech company. During the discussion, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that one of the current goals of their metaverse development is to create an artificial intelligence-powered assistant that is smarter than the current voice assistant services. "That's going to require advances across a whole range of areas, from new hardware devices to software for building and exploring worlds," explained Zuckerberg via Vox's latest report. Meta's Metaverse To Offer Better AI Voice Assistant According to Venture Beat, Meta's metaverse's upcoming personal assistant tech will be more advanced than Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa. Also Read: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Wants Workers to Be Named 'Metamates' However, the name of the voice assistant service is not yet revealed. But, Meta's CEO still provided some ideas about what their AI innovation has to offer. Zuckerberg said that they want to develop a more intuitive voice assistant. He added that the technology would be able to gather contextual clues in users' conversations and collect data about consumers' facial expressions, gaze, and hand gestures. Meta AI Assistant's Other Details On Wednesday, Feb. 23, Meta explained that the new voice assistant they are developing would play an important role in the arrival of their metaverse. The tech firm also said they are working on a new project called CAIRaoke, a self-learning AI neural model. This innovation is expected to power the upcoming voice assistant of Meta. What makes CAIRaoke unique from the models used by Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa is its ability to teach itself, allowing Meta's own AI-powered voice assistant to exceed the capabilities of its competitors. In other news, Meta recently launched the new Facebook Splits payment feature. Meanwhile, Meta removed anti-vaccine pages as part of its effort against the ongoing COVID-19 misinformation issue. For more news updates about Meta and its upcoming AI voice assistant, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Meta AI: Mark Zuckerberg's Virtual World Gets Built by Detailing its Features-For the Metaverse? This article is owned by TechTimes Written by: Griffin Davis 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Clubhouse is now introducing its new text chat feature after previously only offering a live audio chat functionality. It is worth noting that Clubhouse launched way back in 2020 as a social media platform that specifically focuses on live audio chat, as per a news story by 9to5Mac. It sets it apart from other services out there that primarily offer either videos, photos, or text messaging functionalities. The audio chat format that Clubhouse popularized even attracted other social media giants, namely Reddit and Twitter, to offer a similar feature on its platforms, allowing its users to enter audio-only rooms as well. Clubhouse Text Chat Feature However, Clubhouse is now adding a new feature that allows its users to text chat on what used to be audio-only rooms, according to a recent report by Engadget. The social audio app announced that it is introducing a new feature for its users who are mic shy, empowering them to join the conversation in live audio sessions. Clubhouse acknowledged in its blog post that "not everyone in the community wants to raise their hands and jump on stage to participate." In fact, the audio social media network said that tons of its users would prefer to join the conversation by simply being an audience, noting that online stage fright is a thing. Thus, the new text chat feature on Clubhouse gives both the mods and the listeners a chance to interact via text in a live audio room. Meanwhile, Engadget noted in the same news story that the audio-only function has become limited in rooms, which have a massive amount of audience, such as when the speakers are prominent figures. That said, the only way to interact with large audiences is to utilize the text function, which Clubhouse is now adding to its platform. However, it is worth noting that audio rooms still give their audience a chance to join the conversation by turning on their mics. But now, there is an additional option to use the text chat function to interact with the folks inside a live audio room. Read Also: Clubhouse Invite Codes on eBay Sold for $400 at One Point | Co-Founder Comments on Apps' 18-Month Run Clubhouse Text Chat Moderation Although Clubhouse prides the text chat function as an additional option to interact, other social media platforms have already proved it also comes as a moderation nightmare. As a result, the social audio app noted that the creators of the audio room have the power to control the text chat messages, giving them an option to manually delete and report them. On top of that, room creators could also opt to turn off the chat function before starting their live audio session. Related Article: CES 2022: Clubhouse Community Head, UTA Sr. Executive Explains Why Social Audio is Important This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Teejay Boris 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Facebook's security team is set to protect the accounts of its users in Ukraine. The social media company announced it will enable the lock profile tool for Ukrainians, and they are building a "Special Operations Center" so people can monitor what is happening in Ukraine. Facebook's Lock Profile The Facebook lock profile can provide users a one-click access to additional security and privacy features, according to Meta's Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher. Gleicher added that when their Facebook profile is locked, users who are not their friends can't download or share their profile picture or even see their photos on their timeline. This is not the first time that the social media giant has encouraged users in unsafe areas to lock their Facebook profiles, according to Engadget. Also Read: Facebook to Rebrand Name Next Week | Renaming to Focus on the Metaverse Most recently, the platform enabled the lock profile tool for people in Afghanistan last year amid the withdrawal of the United States from the country. The social media company has noted that it can be helpful for activists, journalists, and others who may be at a higher risk of being targeted, according to Reuters. Facebook has also formed a dedicated team to keep a close eye on what is happening in Ukraine. Gleicher added that in response to the unfolding military conflict in Ukraine, they have established a Special Operations Center to respond in real time. Gleicher said that the center is staffed by experts, including native speakers, so they can monitor the situation and act as fast as possible. Facebook Shares Old Photos of Ukrainian According to USA Today, thousands of people on Facebook shared an image purporting to show Ukrainians praying the conflict would not escalate to war. These images were posted amid the rising tensions in the days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The caption of a Feb. 18 Facebook post reads "Ukrainian Christians pray outdoors in the snow for their country in this phase of war danger. The post got more than 13,000 shares in a week. A Facebook post making the same claim, which was posted on Feb. 19 by Christian vocalist and author Sheila Walsh, garnered more than 22,000 likes and 19,000 shares before it was corrected. Other duplicates are still online and are being shared. While the photo is from Ukraine, it has been taken out of context. It turns out that the photo has been online since 2019. This means that the picture is more than 2 years old. On October 2019, Christian blog God Reports published the photo in an article with the headline "Why have these Ukrainians been praying daily on their knees for years?" Word&Way published the article again and added the image 5 days later. According to the reports, the people in the photo were praying in Kharkiv, which is a city in eastern Ukraine, for peace and religious freedom. The caption reads that Ukrainian believer have been kneeling and praying, usually in frigid temperatures, in Kharkov's city square daily for 5 years. In 2014, pro-Russian protests spread across Ukraine in response to the pro-Western Euromaidan movement. Several demonstrations were held in Kharkiv, which is the second-largest city in Ukraine. Related Article: Meta Facebook App Down But Says Service is Back Now-What Happened to Messenger, Instagram? This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. HMB Global, the tech company behind the production of Nokia phones, was banned from selling the said phones in Germany and Switzerland. Aside from the ban, the company's inventory of phones is facing major issues in other countries across Europe. From Nokia G21 to Nokia G11, all Nokia smartphones are currently out of stock on HMB Global's website. Nokia Phones Banned in Germany and Switzerland From what is seen on the company's website, Nokia phones have disappeared from several countries across Europe. These include major markets like Spain, France, Italy, and Finland, according to Android Authority. The only Nokia phone available in these countries right now is the Nokia G21. Meanwhile, the Nikon X20, X10, and other Nokia phone models can still be bought in the United Kingdom. The ban and the limited distribution of Nokia phones is the effect of VoiceAgeEVS LLC's lawsuit against HMD Global over its use of Enhanced Voice Services or EVS, according to Gizbot. Also Read: Nokia 4G on Moon is Happening; Lunar Rover to Carry Communication Through Space The audio coding standard is used with VoLTE, like when making calls over the LTE mobile network. The lawsuit states that HMD does not have the license to use the technology for Nokia smartphones. While the tech company has not said anything about how long the unavailability will last, it shared a statement with several German outlets. The statement reads that HMD is a defendant in a number of lawsuits filed by VoiceAgeEVS LLC or VAEVS in several jurisdictions, including Germany. HMD expressed their disappointment with completing the VoiceAge enforcement proceedings in Germany in December 2021 and have lodged a complaint. In the meantime, the tech company has ensured that none of the phones offered and distributed in Germany support EVS. Nokia G11 Launch Despite the ban in Europe, HMD still pushed for the launch of the new Nokia model, the G11. The phone made its debut without a formal announcement, and it was just added to the company's website, according to GSMArena. The Nokia G11 promises longer battery life and two OS updates. The phone has most of the hardware that the Nokia G21 has, but it comes with a downgraded main camera and a lighter body. The phone also has the Unisoc T60 chipset but downgrades it to 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. The G11 has a micro SD slot for 512GB storage. The three cameras on the back have a 13MP main snapper and a couple of 2MP shooters for macro and depth. The 8MP selfie shooter is on a waterdrop notch. The G11 has a 6.5" LCD with HD+ resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, and 180Hz touch rate. The highlight feature, a 5,050 mAh battery with 18W charging support, can give the phone longer battery life. However, the adapter included in the box is 10W, so you will need to get your own adapter if you wish to use the maximal charging speeds. Nokia G11 comes with a handset, and it has a 3-year security update and two major OS updates. The phone costs 159 or $180 and it is available in two colors, Ice Blue and Charcoal Gray. During the CES 2022, it was revealed that Nokia would release five more models within the next few months. Related Article: Nokia Alleges Oppo of Patent Infringement for Using Tech Without a License Agreement: Lawsuit This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A watchdog from the United Kingdom has discovered a major security flaw on the COVID Status app used by NHS Scotland. According to the watchdog, users of the app do not know how NHS uses their personal information. After the discovery, both the Scottish government and the NHS Scotland were reprimanded by the Information Commissioner's Office. The Information Commissioner's Office or ICO urged the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland to make the necessary changes to fix the issue. The ministers agreed with the ICO and added that the information needs to be clearer for users. NHS Scotland COVID App's Poor Security On Feb. 21, Scotland announced that COVID passports are no longer required to enter establishments. However, establishments and venues can still choose to keep the policy if they want to. Steve Wood, the ICO deputy commissioner, said that people need to share their data without any worry about their privacy. The law enables data sharing to protect public health, but public trust is important to make it work, according to BBC. Also Read: NHS COVID-19 App Sees 43% Decrease in the Number of Alerts Among UK Residents When the government brought in COVID status policy across the United Kingdom in 2021, they needed to be upfront with people about how their personal information was being used. Wood added that the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland were not clear about how the COVID app worked when it was launched. He said that the ICO requires both bodies to correct the issues. If nothing changes, the ICO will move forward with regulatory action. Concerns Over Personal Data The ICO published a guide in May 2021, setting out expectations around how organizations would create COVID-status certification schemes in line with data protection law, according to The Scotsman. However, the NHS did not follow the guidelines set by ICO. The app was launched just days before the mandatory status checks were rolled out in Scotland. The ICO had several concerns, as it plans to let the app share the pictures and passport details of its users with the software company providing the facial recognition technology behind it. The officer admitted that the guide was created to help the company improve the COVID app and its facial recognition software but eventually changed its mind because doing so would have been unlawful. The ICO advised that the COVID app should not be launched until the issues about non-compliance have been addressed. Because of this, the Scottish government and NHS Scotland stopped their plans to share personal data with the software company, according to Independent.Co. But the ICO stated that the app was launched as planned without addressing the concerns about compliance with data protection law. The office investigated both NHS Scotland and the Scottish government, and a warning was issued because it failed to explain to the users of the COVID Status app how their personal information will be used. It is not clear yet if there were any changes made to the app. The ICO stated that it made the ruling public because of the significant public interest in the issues raised. They believe that it was the effective way to make sure that the issues identified were addressed. Related Article: NHS COVID-19 App Draws Highest Number Ever of Users Asked to Self-Isolate This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Sophie Webster 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. techUK and SGTech begin international partnership to promote digital trade cooperation techUK and SGTech sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) promoting dialogue on regulatory cooperation in digital and tech issues techUK and SGTech, the tech industry associations in the UK and Singapore respectively, today announced a new cooperation agreement to facilitate industry-to-industry partnership between their tech ecosystems and foster commercial links in areas such as digital trade facilitation, cyber security, digital identities, AI, and emerging tech. On 25 February 2022, the UK and Singaporean Governments signed Digital Economy Agreement (UKSDEA). The UKSDEA aims to promote seamless end-to-end digital trade between Asia and Europe through common and interoperable digital systems, ensuring high standards in data protection to enable trusted data flows, and facilitating a trusted and secure digital environment for both companies and consumers between the two hi-tech and services hubs. Through the UKSDEA, the UK and Singapore will cooperate in promoting paperless trading and work together on new and emerging technologies. The trade deal is worth an estimated 9.4 billion according to Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Liz Truss. Against this backdrop, the MOU is a firm commitment for techUK and SGTech to strengthen tech and digital partnership between both countries by focusing on joint activities that promote commercial opportunities in areas of mutual interest as well as allowing greater interaction through dialogue on regulatory cooperation in digital and tech issues. techUK CEO Julian David and SGTech Executive Director Yean Cheong have met virtually this week to kick-off this bilateral cooperation. A roundtable session will follow in the coming months to discuss the key opportunities and concerns companies in the cybersecurity sector face. Through this initiative, techUK is committed to supporting its members in broadening commercial networks in overseas markets and in driving dialogue on digital regulatory cooperation. Julian David, techUK CEO, said: techUK is delighted to formalise an agreement with SGTech to support the flourishing of tech ecosystems in both the UK and Singapore and create opportunities for innovative businesses in tech and digitalisation. Our cooperation under this MoU will complement UKs first digital trade deal and strengthen bilateral cooperation on the key tenets detailed in the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement. We look forward to working with SGTech to drive regulatory cooperation on digital and tech issues and enhance industry exchanges in areas such as cyber security, digital trade facilitation and emerging tech between both countries. Yean Cheong, Executive Director of SGTech, said: We are pleased to ink this understanding with techUK, our first MOU with a partner outside of Asia. The UK has traditionally been a home to technological innovation and enterprise both local start-ups as well as global companies and we are excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from such industry players and leaders through techUK. Both SGTech and techUK have a shared mission to be strong industry pillars enabling greater digital transformation and tech innovation across companies such as innovative start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses. The partnership was welcomed by Government officials in both countries as a positive step forward to strengthen international industry connections in the digital economy post-Brexit. Kara Owen, British High Commissioner to Singapore said: I am delighted that SGTech and techUK have formalised their partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding. The UK and Singapore are two of the most innovative economies in the world and deepening ties enables us to further unlock the talent, creativity and technical know-how of our peoples. This partnership will encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing between our technology industries, complementing our first digital trade deal with Singapore. Natalie Black, Her Majestys Trade Commissioner to Asia Pacific said: The UK and Singapore have opened a new era of digital trade with the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, which we have now agreed in principle. The agreement between leading technology membership organisations techUK and SGTech is a fantastic next step to further strengthen industry connections in the digital economy. Its a great opportunity to deepen our cooperation in emerging technology, cyber security and digital standards, create new opportunities for businesses, and take our 16 billion trade relationship to the next level. If you would like to learn more about this partnership and stay up to date with our upcoming UK-Singapore engagements, please sign up for the UK-APAC Tech Forum. Washington: Russias biggest banks will be excluded from global financial systems, export controls will be used to damage key Moscow industries, and additional troops will be deployed to help Ukraine defend itself in the largest conflict Europe has faced since World War II. Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a multi-pronged assault that killed more than 150 people and injures hundreds and forced many others to take shelter as missiles struck their cities, US President Joe Biden condemned the move as a premeditated invasion and vowed that the world would hold Putin accountable. US president Joe Biden delivers his first remarks since Russias full scale invasion of Ukraine AP Putins aggression against Ukraine will end up costing Russia dearly, economically and strategically, Biden said in an address from the White House. We will make sure that Putin will be a pariah on the international stage. Warning that this was a dangerous moment for all of Europe and for freedom around the world, the President announced a new raft of measures that he said would devastate Russias economy and maximise the long-term impact on the country and its people. Among them are sanctions on four Russian banks that hold more than $1 trillion in assets, including Russias two largest lenders, Sberbank and VTB. Additional troops would be deployed to Germany to bolster NATOs defences - although none would be sent into Ukraine, which is not a member of the alliance. More Russian elites and their family members would also be targeted, he said, and the prospect that Putin himself could also be directly sanctioned has not been ruled out. And Russia-wide restrictions would be imposed on sensitive US technologies such as telecommunications, encryption security, and maritime technologies - a move that Biden said would strike a blow to Putins long-term ambitions and Russias ability to modernise its military or aerospace capabilities. Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences, he said. The Presidents announcement came after he spent over an hour discussing the unfolding crisis in Ukraine with G7 leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron of France, Japans Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Another summit with NATO will be convened tomorrow. It remains to be seen if the latest measures will put the brakes on Putins attack, which US officials view as a deliberate attempt to topple Ukraines western-leaning, democratically elected government. One key measure that has been considered by the White House - to cut Russia off from the SWIFT global banking system - did not form part of the latest sanctions, despite calls from officials such as Ukraines foreign affairs minister Dmytro Kuleba to ban them from the system. SWIFT is used by over 11,000 financial institutions around the world to send secure messages and payment orders. As there is no globally accepted alternative, removing Russia from the system would make it nearly impossible for financial institutions to send money in or out of the country, thereby hurting Russian companies and their foreign customers. Asked why it wasnt included, Biden said the financial sanctions outlined exceed SWIFT and that cutting off Russia from the global system is always an option - but that is not a position that the rest of Europe wishes to take. Cities, towns and villages across Ukraine have been bombarded by Russias military, forcing the nations President Volodymyr Zelensky to introduce martial law across as he urged his citizens to remain calm. Putins actions were the chilling fulfillment of predictions US national security officials had been making for weeks, even in the face of scepticism that an all-out incursion was imminent. As early as November, America was privately warned its allies in Europe that Putin had plans to invade Ukraine, sharing intel on how Russia was planning to double troop numbers and where was planning to position artillery as well as air, ground and sea forces. Moments after the first explosions were heard in Ukraine, Zelensky had phoned Joe Biden, urging his US counterpart to call on world leaders to speak out against Russias flagrant aggression and to stand with the people of Ukraine. Biden has already come under fire for his response, particularly from Republicans whe blamed him for not doing enough to deter Putin sooner. Theres no doubt that weakness leads to war, Congressman Brian Mast, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tweeted as Russian tanks rolled through Ukraine. US President Joe Biden ordered Army troops of the 82nd Airborne Division into eastern Europe as Vladimir Putin has amassed some 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border. AP Putin once said the collapse of the Soviet empire was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the past century for Russia. For America, President Biden may be the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of this century. Others, like Democrat Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, argued that pre-emptive sanctions may have been of little benefit. This is a guy at 69 years old whos got an obsession with recreating a greater Russia and weve been concerned for quite some time that the normal rules of the road would not constrain him, Warner told CNN. I dont believe preemptive sanctions would have changed anything. In fact preemptive sanctions might have split apart the NATO alliance. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here. In 1888, Emile Zola was a writer covered in glory. However, from the top of his 48 years, he is overweight, suffers from shortness of breath and has the impression of having missed his life. Zola grows tired of his wife Alexandrine, who lets herself go and with whom he cannot have a child. In this new episode of the Europe 1 Studio podcast "At the heart of history", Clementine Portier-Kaltenbach recounts the meeting of the famous novelist with the one who will upset the course of his existence: the young and pretty Jeanne Rozerot. Frente a la violacion a la soberania, territorio e integridad de Ucrania, el Peru rechaza el uso de la fuerza y se pronuncia a traves de la @CancilleriaPeru, invocando al respeto al Derecho Internacional. https://t.co/jCT4hEKut3 The Telluride Transfer Warehouse is zoned for commercial use, although it sits adjacent to a residential/commercial/gondola overlay. (Photo by Eva Thomas/Telluride Daily Planet) Every few years, the Hopkins County Regional Chamber of Commerce puts out a pamphlet to help make the move to Hopkins County easier. Chamber President Libby Spencer said the chamber normally releases a new one every two years, but because of COVID-19, they havent released one in four years. I think four years was a little too long, but we knew we couldnt gather in groups, and we thought it was too much of a risk, she said. The publication will be available digitally on the Chambers website, as well as in print. She said a lot of people still want paper in hand, but others want to be able to pull it up in their phone or computer. The nice thing about having it digitally is that the chamber will have the opportunity to update the digital version and edit it as needed. The hope is that the publication will be done around June, in time for Fourth Fest. She said the pamphlet should also pair nicely with the Chamber Magazine. When people are calling about Madisonville and wanting to come to town, we will have some information for them on how to relocate to Madisonville, said Spencer. That relocation guide will be easier for us to mail. It is smaller and more compact as people are researching our community. The guide will include information on the parks, medical services, apartment complexes, utility companies, insurance, and landlords who want to be publicized. It will have those things you might need if you are planning to move to our community, said Spencer. She said businesses should be expecting calls soon to see if they want to be part of the publication. For more information, call the Hopkins County Regional Chamber of Commerce at 270-821-3435. Hopkins County School District received three allotments of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds beginning in 2020 totaling around $23.3 million. HCS CFO and Director of Finance Eydie Tate explained that the purpose of the money is to prevent, prepare for and respond to the Coronavirus. Everyone in the state received these funds based off the Title 1 allocations, she said. The school received the first allotment of ESSER money through the CARES Act in May 2020, and they have until September 2022 to use it all. Tate said the district received a little over $1.3 million in ESSER funding and that has all been spent. She said 98% of the money was spent on technology for the schools. We bought 4,500 Chromebooks, document cameras for all of our teachers, and google licenses for all of our teachers, so they could go remote back in 2020, said Tate. The school district also bought outdoor wireless, so five schools in the district could work as hot spot locations for students who needed to download assignments. Less than 1% of the money was used to rent the Ballard Convention Center and tables, so students could spread out to take the ACT. It was very small, but something we did for the kids, said Tate. About 2% of the ESSER money was spent on sanitation, so purchasing hand sanitizer, PPE, plastic guards for all of the school secretarys desks, and temperature tablets. All of that was spent to prevent, prepare for and respond to Coronavirus directly, said Tate. The next second allotment of ESSER money was announced in January 2021 and needs to be used by September 2023. Tate said the school received $6,986,035 from that allotment, with 85% of the money required to be spent on direct services, which is student instructional support. There is a broad range of what they call direct services, and there is a whole charting guide that we have to go by to know if it is allowable or disallowable, she said. Of that 85%, 56% of that money was used to buy all new reading and math curricula for the elementary and middle schools. She said 32% of it went to salaries and benefits. What we have done with it is that Accelerate to Elevate was our summer learning loss program back in 2021, said Tate. They also provided two $500 COVID supplemental pay amounts for all the full-time employees in the district, and they are currently paying the staff to stay and work extra hours to make up for their lost planning periods. They are having to lose their planning periods to go cover classrooms for subs and those types of things, said Tate. About 12% of the 85% went to operating expenditures like security services, nursing services, testing materials, offering the ACT testing to sophomores, and purchasing more desks. These are expenditures we have all along, they are not new, but you can pick up some services that help all of these areas and support the prevent, prepare for and respond to COVID and reserve some general fund money, said Tate. We know these dollars are not going to be here forever. We are not getting a surplus of these ever again. We know we need to reserve some general fund dollars. Tate said there is still money left over in that 85% to offer a 2022 Summer Learning Loss Program or to help students in some other way. I do believe they are going to target and do some more specific instruction during summer school this year, she said. I think it will be a really good thing for our kids and target that learning loss. The other 15% of the second round of ESSER money went to non-direct services. She said 40% of that money went to the purchase of new air-conditioned buses. We havent paid for these yet, but we have budgeted for buses, she said. Those have been ordered. They have been board approved a while back. The school used 10% of that money to purchase the R-Zero Cleaning systems for each school, and 5% went to foodservice supplies. We have had to buy more carts, and we have had to buy more supplies like individually wrapped items instead of the buffet-style we used to have pre-COVID, said Tate. The school received notification of a third round of ESSER money in March 2021 through the American Rescue Plan, and they have until September 2024 to spend it. Tate said that allotment was the most federal grand dollars the district has received at $15 million. She said 20% of it has to be spent on learning loss, and the other 80% can be used on other allowable expenditures. Currently, we have only spent $17,000, so we have barely even made a dent, she said. The majority of that $17,000 went to co-curricular programs like Gifted and Talented, academic team, band, chorus, and those types of programs. They dont have a lot of fundraising monies, and they dont have a lot of support, said Tate. The rest of the money can be spent on school facility repairs and improvements to reduce the risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards, along with student health needs. It can be used on inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade projects to improve indoor air quality in school facilities. Other allowable expenditures include anything needed to maintain the operation of and continuity of services and continuing to employ existing staff. Tate said there is a lot of misinformation about how the ESSER money can be spent and the guidelines schools need to follow to receive the money. She said there is a myth on social media that says school districts will only get the ESSER money if they require masks. It is not true, said Tate. There have been school districts in Kentucky that have not worn masks and they are still receiving the money. As for how the money is spent, she said all the school districts, including Hopkins County, have to submit a project report to the Kentucky Department of Education, and they either approve it or not. As long as the project fits the ESSER purpose of preventing, preparing for, and responding to COVID, then the projects will get approved. We cant spend any of this money without approval from the state, she said. There has to be justification that supports the reason why you are using these monies to make a purchase. A lot of the projects that fall under ESSER funding tend to be reimbursements, so they will go ahead and start the project, then just get reimbursed for it. There is a federal guideline that says any purchase over $5,000 has to be approved before the purchase. The school buses are an example of that, and because air-conditioned buses help with improving air quality, it falls under ESSER funding. Mid-America Transplant's Logo. The company is an organ donation/transplant service ranging throughout Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri. Ada, OK (74820) Today Isolated thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread and strong this afternoon. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 73F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. Low 62F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. Ada, OK (74820) Today Cloudy early then strong thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 73F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. Low 62F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected. The government agency pointed out that this constitutes an act of aggression, according to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314 , by violating Ukraine's territorial integrity and national sovereignty. At the same time, Peru reiterates its call for an immediate resumption of consultations and negotiations for a diplomatic, peaceful, and negotiated solution, in accordance with the principles and obligations of the UN Charter , which are binding for all countries. James Finn writes for The Advocate as a Report For America corps member. Email him at JFinn@theadvocate.com or follow him on Twitter @RJamesFinn. To learn more about Report for America and to support our journalism, please click here. Water continues to stand around the Alliance refinery after Hurricane Ida in Belle Chasse, La. Industrial companies should brace for increasing pressure from investors and local governments to be more transparent about their greenhouse gas footprint, an IBM executive told Baton Rouge business leaders Friday. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate) Troy Wayman, president and CEO of One Acadiana, speaks during a press conference to promote the Acadiana Safe initiative, which aims to encourage practices that will help stop the spread of Covid-19 in Acadiana, Monday, July 20, 2020, at the Student Union on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, La. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size text-to-speech on some articles. We are triallingon some articles. Share your thoughts Vladimir Putins decision to launch an invasion of Ukraine sparked global debate about whether Russia should be expelled from a once obscure part of the global banking system, known as SWIFT. As Russian forces began their attack, Ukraines Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, made angry calls for Russia to be banned from SWIFT but world leaders appeared divided. Now they have agreed to act, with the US, Britain and the European Union announcing that seven Russian banks would be removed from SWIFT, as part of a wave of economic sanctions. We will keep working together to ensure Putin pays the price for his aggression, said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Those pushing for Russias removal from SWIFT have argued it will deal a major economic blow to Russia and its president, Putin. But what exactly is SWIFT, and why is a ban from the network seen as such a serious penalty? What is SWIFT? The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is a vital piece of the plumbing that connects the worlds banks. It is a messaging system that allows banks to move money quickly and securely, supporting trillions of dollars in flows of trade and investment. Based in Belgium, the company is a co-operative owned by financial institutions from around the world, which was founded in 1973 to replace the telex network (a network of teleprinter machines that sent messages). SWIFT says it connects more than 11,000 banks and other corporations from more than 200 countries. Advertisement Normally, payment infrastructure is one of the most unsexy parts of finance. Its something few of us notice or care about unless it messes up. However, SWIFT is making news because it could be a powerful financial weapon to use against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Loading It is seen as a particularly tough financial penalty because it sits at the heart of the banking system: restricting Russian banks access to global money flows would make it much harder for Russian businesses to export or import, or to finance themselves from overseas. SWIFT has highlighted its neutrality, saying it was set up for the collective benefit of its global community, and any decision to impose sanctions rests with government. In early March, SWIFT confirmed it was disconnecting the seven Russian banks. What difference does it make to not have SWIFT? The European Commission says the move is aimed at collectively ensuring the war in Ukraine is a strategic failure. Cutting banks off will stop them from conducting most of their financial transactions worldwide and effectively block Russian exports and imports, said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She said the move was part of a range of sanctions that would stop Putin from using his war chest. The ban is not blanket one, though, which would effectively cut Russia out of the global financial system. The seven banks being cut off are: Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya, Sovcombank, Vnesheconombank and VTB Bank. Advertisement Two major banks that play a key role in facilitating energy trade with Europe Sberbank and Gazprombank are not being kicked off SWIFT. In practice, a US lawyer told Reuters, getting kicked out of SWIFT doesnt make transactions impossible, it makes them much more difficult, and it bumps up transaction costs significantly. Loading You need a functioning banking system to have a functioning economy, an analyst explained. This goes some way toward undermining the Russian economy. The targeted approach does mean that Russia can continue to sell some gas to Europe, The New York Times reported. It also leaves room for further action later. Along with Boris Johnson, Australias Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, last week was strongly backing kicking Russia out of the system, saying it is all about ensuring they get cut off, and that is the price that is paid. A telex machine, which SWIFT replaced, in 1976. Credit:Fairfax Media Advertisement Why the initial hesitation in taking action? One reason some European nations are wary is because cutting Russia out of the world banking system may well come at a cost to their own economies. The European Commission says Russia is the EUs fifth-largest trading partner (the EUs biggest goods exports to Russia in 2020 were machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, and manufactured goods). The SWIFT ban on some banks could make at least some of this more expensive and difficult. Italy and Germany had particularly baulked at SWIFT action since it could hit them hard but as this recent move was announced, Germanys Baerbock said, after Russias shameless attack ... we are working hard on limiting the collateral damage of decoupling (Russia) from SWIFT so that it hits the right people. Loading Another fear attached to a total SWIFT ban was that Russia could find ways to get around it, falling back on their own system, which would make it harder for the US to keep tabs on payments. Russias central bank has developed its own alternative to SWIFT called the System for Transfer of Financial Messages, but it is nowhere near as large as the SWIFT network the Bank of Russias website says its system is used by about 400 banks. There are also concerns about the potential role that could be played by cryptocurrencies to get around any sanctions, at a time when Western central banks are already wary about the rise of crypto assets as an alternative to government-backed money. Has this been done before? Advertisement Han Shan, of course, is a convenient figure for such a strategy. Very little is known of his life beyond the account left incidentally in the 300 or so poems attributed to him. The extreme hermeticism of that life has become an ultra-Romantic paradigm. Beat writers, such as Jack Kerouac and Gary Snyder, were drawn to it. Although the book is in three sections it is built around a single sustained (though varying) image, that of the poet swimming almost every day across two summers at the Springs, a beach between Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff in Victoria. A frequent, if not constant, presence in this almost religious but also highly physical ritual is that of Han Shan, the legendary late Tang poet known as Cold Mountain. In books such as Four Lines East (2009) and Grass Hut Work (2016), Barry Hill has often attempted to enter cultures very different from his own. Cold Mountain and the Sea is another in the series in this case, Chinas Tang Dynasty. Han Shan on a south-facing Australian beach is a different, but no less interesting, matter. To an Australian poet in his maturity, Han Shan proves a sardonic and inspiring kind of mentor. The Chinese poet appears to recognise the Taoist and Buddhist elements in his companions thought while, at the same time, somewhat laughing at them as he is reputed to have done in his own time with the originals. Something of this can be felt at the end of Yesterday the Sea Was So: Still, you came out / as proud as old man seal / to be among his colony / the sea pouring off him / Dumb, Han Shan cackled. Get a grip on yourself. / Theres no future in happiness. / You know that. In quite a few poems Hill writes of himself in either the third person or (as above) in the second person, so creating a nice ambiguity between the two figures. In others, he employs the first person as in Sadness, which embodies a number, though certainly not all, of the books recurrent themes. Having first described a fisherman on the pier, the poem ends with how: Squid spend ink to dry on the planks /tragic calligraphy: the character for Poem / a Word beside Temple. / Still water remains the softest reminder / of the ends we meet. Mist was revered by Han Shan. Jordie Albiston does things that almost no one else does, and has done them (almost always) successfully. Credit: Though all poets of substance eventually become distinctive in their own way, Jordie Albiston is clearly one of the most distinctive in the country already. Ever since her second book, Botany Bay Document, she does things that almost no one else does, and has done them (almost always) successfully. There are currently 17 flood watch warnings in place, including for the upper Brisbane catchment area which has already experienced heavy rainfalls in the past few days. The Brisbane River at Gregor Creek is currently at 10.24 metres, above the 7.5m major flooding mark, and rising. Widespread rainfall totals of between 50 and 140 mm were recorded across the upper Brisbane River catchment in the 24 hours to 9am on Friday. Since then, further rainfall totals between 20 and 280 mm have been recorded. The wet weather has been caused by a trough over south-east Queensland which is forecast to deepen into a low over the Wide Bay and Burnett areas. This trough is expected to start moving into northeastern NSW on Sunday, producing more heavy rain and thunderstorms. SEQWater had ordered the release of water from Somerset and North Pine dams and was planning the same for Wivenhoe Dam - which normally protects the city from floods - late on Friday night. Federal Defence Minister Peter Dutton said he had authorised the Australian Defence Force to provide support to Queensland Police to assist with air evacuations from flood affected areas. Two helicopters have been tasked from Amberley and will join the effort, he said in a tweet. It is a dangerous situation unfolding, please take care on our roads. The downpour across the south-east was expected to continue over the weekend, but Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Superintendent James Haig told ABC Radio the weather bureau was unsure when it would end. More than a thousand calls for help were made on Friday, while State Disaster Co-ordinator Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said a rescue chopper had been tasked to help a group of people stranded on roofs in the Lockyer Valley. Severe weather was making rescue chopper flights difficult, while some commercial flights were also delayed. Rainfall had eased in the Lockyer Valley on Saturday morning but there was still widespread flooding. Earlier on Friday, RACQ LifeFlight rescued five people and their dog, after their property became surrounded by flooding in the Gympie area. The home was cut off in both directions, and the family was forced to drive to a safer spot up a hill near the house, where the helicopter rescued them. The intense rain was forecast to continue over parts of south-east Queensland on Friday night, through to Saturday and Sunday, tending mainly towards coastal areas from Saturday onwards. Six-hourly rainfall totals between 80 and 120 millimetres were likely, reaching up to 180 millimetres over areas east of Gympie to Jimboomba. Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan said the situation had reached the point where firefighters and SES volunteers would need to go house to house checking on the welfare of residents. We have seen water rescue incidents at a long list of locations including Dallarnil, Rocksberg, Tara, Wallaville, Cooroy, Anamoor Creek, Kagaru, Helidon, North Arm, Cooran and Esk to name a few. In the past 24 hours, the SES received 956 calls for help and the QFES swift water rescue teams had responded to 41 situations these included stranded people as well as checking flooded cars. There are several road closures as a result of flooding, including Upper Coomera Road at the Scenic Rim, where a temporary side track has been washed away. Credit:Scenic Rim Regional Council Disaster Management Several emergency alerts were issued in the Gympie, Moreton Bay, North Burnett, Noosa, Imbil, Toowoomba, Lockyer Valley and Cedar Pocket regions. Hundreds of roads were closed across the state, Transport Minister Mark Bailey said. Weve closed a 4.5-kilometre stretch of the Bruce Highway southbound at Caboolture due to flooding, and its expected to stay closed for 24 hours, he said. Russia has declared war on Ukraine and launched a major offensive from three sides in the biggest attack on a European state since World War II. On Thursday AEDT, just minutes after Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared on state television to announce the special military operation, explosions broke the pre-dawn quiet in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as well as its second-largest city, Kharkhiv, close to the Russian border in the north-east. Smoke and flames rise during shelling near Kyiv. Credit:Reuters At the time of writing, Russian forces had fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and military centres, landed troops on its south coast from the Black Sea and seized the shuttered Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as more troops spilled over the northern borders with Russia and Belarus. Many Ukrainian civilians and soldiers have already been killed, and Ukraine has vowed to fight to stop a new Iron Curtain falling in Europe, as a fresh wave of cyberattacks hit the country. Invading troops are now closing in on Kyiv. Many residents have taken shelter in metro stations deep underground, taking their sleeping bags and dogs with them, as explosions and gunfire ring out in the city above. Others have taken up arms. Meanwhile, Western leaders have been moving to send aid to Ukraine and unleash tougher sanctions on Russia, including freezing the assets of President Vladimir Putin himself. NATO countries are ramping up their air, land and sea forces in eastern Europe, and Russians have taken to streets back home to protest the war with their neighbour. Click here to read the full story. A former Moreland councillor, his wife and their adult daughter are accused of stealing ballot papers from voters and conspiring to fraudulently fill them in to rig an election result. Milad El-Halabi was in 2020 elected as one of four councillors in Morelands north-west ward, which covers suburbs in Melbournes north including Pascoe Vale, Glenroy and Hadfield. Milad El-Halabi is accused of rigging a council election. Credit:Facebook But he resigned from the council this month after he was charged by police for allegedly cheating in the poll. The 59-year-old has also had his ALP membership suspended and the party is considering cancelling it. Mr El-Halabi, wife Dianna El-Halabi, 51, and their daughter, Tania El-Halabi, 25, were charged by financial crime squad detectives three weeks ago. Their case went before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, but they were not required to face the online hearing as they had been charged on summons. A former army reservist who stormed an animal shelter and threatened a young woman with an imitation gun as he tried to retrieve his cat has been jailed for six years. An agitated Tony Wittman dressed in military fatigues carried imitation firearms, a tomahawk and a hunting knife when he cut open a fence at the Lost Dogs Home in Cranbourne West on the night of January 11 last year. The Lost Dogs Home in Cranbourne West. Wittman had been told by staff at the pound that day his cat could be there and was asked to return the next day, the County Court heard, but he couldnt wait and entered the grounds about 10.30pm. His plan, he later told police, was to break in, collect his cat and leave. But his arrival coincided with that of a staffer, who pulled up to begin her overnight shift. When Wittman approached her car, the woman assumed he was a police officer and asked what had happened. He raised his gun and said: If you do as I say and listen to me, I will not shoot you. Desde el pujante distrito de Puente Piedra entregamos 3567 titulos de vivienda. Activamos el Plan de Titulacion Masiva en el pais para que esta necesidad postergada le de tranquilidad a miles de familias. Mi compromiso con el pueblo es que vivan dignamente. Sigamos adelante. pic.twitter.com/kvzH1AsKHt Tania and Kevin Parkes, who have owned City News Kalgoorlie for more than six years, have described the overwhelming feeling of having won big at Lotto. The West Australian town established during the states gold rush in 1893 is now experiencing a new kind of gold rush after its syndicate of 250 locals netted more than $63 million in Thursday nights Powerball draw. Each winner takes home more than $250,000. Credit:Bloomberg/Supplied This is life-changing for so many people, Mrs Parkes told Nine News Perth. The ticket is $25,000 and obviously people cant afford that on their own, so we got 250 people in, who paid $100 each to try and keep it as affordable as possible. Outgoing competition tsar Rod Sims says the federal government must be prepared to force Facebook to the negotiating table with publishers, as the tech giant continues to refuse to strike commercial deals with multicultural broadcaster SBS and online publication The Conversation. Mr Sims said the platforms failure to negotiate with the two publishers undermined the integrity of the news media bargaining code and the option of forcing it to comply with the laws should be a key focus of Treasurys review of the code this year. ACCC chair Rod Sims, who is preparing to step down next month after 11 years, played a key role in developing the world first news media bargaining code laws. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen To me, it is inexplicable that Facebook hasnt done deals with SBS and The Conversation and I think the question of designation has to be a real one in the review of the code, Mr Sims said. They are exactly the sort of media entities that fit completely into the framework of the code and were uppermost in our minds of our companies that had to be dealt with. As chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Mr Sims led its efforts to develop the news media bargaining code, which was legislated by the Parliament in February last year. The effect of the code has been to force Meta, the owner of Facebook, and Google to strike content deals with many small and large publishers for the use of their content, which Mr Sims estimated was collectively worth about $200 million a year. For the past week, La Trobe Universitys sprawling Bundoora campus has been more alive with activity than perhaps any time in the past two years, as new and returning students populated the central agora during O-Week. But on Monday, the first day of semester one for 2022, Harry Ryan will begin his third year as a commerce student at La Trobe University much the same as the first two of the COVID-19 pandemic: learning remotely. La Trobe University commerce student Harry Ryan is perplexed by the universitys decision to persist with remote lectures in semester one. Credit:Jason South La Trobe has announced that following a safety risk assessment, all semester one lectures will be taught online. For Mr Ryan, who is hungry for a bigger taste of campus life after two years of remote learning, it is a frustrating and perplexing decision. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Even before Russia sent its troops into Ukraine this week it was softening the ground with waves of cyber attacks on banks and government websites. As the invasion began, internet disruptions hit Ukraines cities and a new variant of disc-wiping malware was discovered in the networks of financial, defence, aviation, and IT businesses across Ukraine. Russian disinformation was also running wild online, spreading false claims that the Ukrainian president had fled, or certain cities had fallen to sow chaos as its troops advanced over the borders. Now Ukraine has called on its own hacking underground to shore up critical infrastructure like power grids, as cyber activists around the globe look to target Kremlin websites with disruptive counter-strikes. By the third day of the invasion, Ukraines government announced it was mobilising an IT army to fight off Russian invaders online. Cyber attacks, when digital systems are compromised by external actors or hackers, can do more than inconvenience. They can unplug cities, scramble military communications and blind radar systems before youve even fired a shot. In Ukraine, which has long been used as a testing ground for Russias digital weapons, hacks linked back to Moscow have knocked out the lights during the dead of winter, shut down ATMs and trains, and even throttled major shipping firms when the 2017 NotPetya worm spread further than intended, out of Ukraine and into computer systems around the globe. This time experts warn a major cyber offensive inside Ukraine could again spill over the border into NATO countries, ratcheting up tensions. Russia may even be planning a separate wave of cyber attacks on Western countries enforcing tough new financial sanctions. Russian President Vladimir Putin presides over a state with advanced hacking capability and a willingness to use it. Credit:Jamie Brown, Getty Images How are cyber attacks part of war? The first act of major conflicts now usually play out in cyberspace, experts say. Just nine countries have nuclear weapons but most have state-sponsored hackers. Russia is widely considered to have some of the most advanced cyber capabilities in the world, and has launched some of the most brazen attacks in history, such as those that paralysed broadcasts of the 2018 Winter Olympics after Russias doping scandal and the recent SolarWinds breach which reached into Western government agencies, including in the US and Australia. Advertisement Running cyber campaigns alongside regular physical warfare is a common Kremlin tactic. NotPetya hit during fighting in Ukraines east with Russian-backed separatists in an earlier iteration of the war in Donbas. In the former Soviet republic of Georgia in 2008, cyber attacks seemed to strike towns just ahead of Russian soldiers arriving to back pro-Russian separatists there. What is considered the worlds first digital weapon was unleashed in 2009, a highly advanced computer worm known as Stuxnet, built by the US and Israel to damage an Iranian nuclear enrichment facility. An arms race has been under way ever since among security agencies looking to patch vulnerabilities faster than hackers and rival nation states can exploit them. But cyber weapons are still mostly deployed as short of war tools, in the grey zone between peace and war. They are cheap, effective and often difficult to trace back to the state behind them in comparison to boots on the ground, making retaliation complicated. Cars stream out of Kyiv on February 24, following missile strikes by Russian forces on Ukrainian territory. Credit:Getty Images Can a cyber attack be an act of war? Thats a thorny question, and one countries are still determining, according to international law expert and former Navy captain Professor Dale Stephens. While the Geneva Conventions and other treaties set out clear definitions for traditional warfare, the threshold for when cyber attacks cross the line and so justify a military response is often unclear. Some countries have kept it deliberately vague to keep enemies wary of crossing an invisible line and avoid the risk of defining their own offensive cyber operations as warlike. In 2009, when Estonias government websites were shut down and defaced in Russian cyber attacks dubbed Web War One, it went to NATO for help. There was even (brief) talk of invoking Article 5, which demands all other nations in the alliance defend one another from enemy assaults. Big hacks have triggered sanctions, but the world did not see a direct military retaliation to a cyber attack until 2019, when Israel attributed its decision to bomb a building in Gaza to Hamas hacking links. Advertisement Loading Still, in 2018, NATO said it could invoke Article 5 in the event of a serious cyber assault against an ally (the mode of retaliation depending on the severity.)In 2019, Australia solidified its own position. The gist is that when a cyber attack poses an imminent risk of damage equivalent to a traditional armed attack, such as significant loss of life or critical infrastructure, then a country should be able to defend itself. Thats generally the standard most countries accept as crossing the line, Stephens says. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posts video of himself and his team in Kyiv after false rumours that hed fled. We are defending Ukraine. Could cyber attacks get to that level beyond Ukraine? Its possible. If a major cyber attack did spill across Ukraines border into a NATO member state, that would test nations views on the right to self-defence, chair of the US Senate Intelligence Committee Mark Warner told NPR. It could even force them to come to Ukraines defence if serious enough. Cyber attacks dont recognise borders, Warner said. And if an attack in Ukraine also shut down Polish hospitals ... youre rapidly approaching what could be viewed as an Article 5 violation of NATO. We are in an uncharted territory. The disc-wiping bug detected this week in Ukrainian machines has already spread over the border to NATO members Lithuania and Latvia, but its smaller in scale, and only at organisations with a major presence in Ukraine, according to the company tracking the malware. And this appears to be accidental, not deliberate targeting. Advertisement Loading Russia has yet to unleash the full extent of its cyber weapons in Ukraine. Experts say it will likely escalate attacks as Ukrainians resist the invading force. And many have suggested that Russia might look to target the weaker links in NATO, as well as big targets such as the US, with cyber attacks in retaliation for Western sanctions, inflicting economic pain of its own. Meanwhile, Russia has already been hit by cyber counter-strikes itself. Cyber citizens around the world, including some in Russia who oppose their governments invasion of Ukraine, have been sharing resources in an effort to launch disruptive attacks against the Kremlin, such as denial-of-service attacks that crash websites by overwhelming them with traffic. The activist hacking group Anonymous has already targeted Russia with such attacks, briefly shutting down some of its government websites and Russian news agency Russia Today, which has been described by Western officials as Putins personal propaganda arm. The Kremlins official website was down again as the fourth day of the invasion began, and Ukrainian fighters continued to hold off invading forces attacking the capital, Kyiv. One of the Wests strongest weapons against Russias information war so far has been greater transparency than usual. Intelligence services in the US and the UK have been quick to attribute hacking in the weeks leading up to the attack on Russia and called out the Kremlins fake claims of Ukrainian violence and even a genocide against Russian speakers in the east. In recent days, Russia has moved to restrict Facebook and parts of the internet even further, decrying independent reports of Ukraine civilians killed and Russian missiles pounding cities in its assault on the country as fake news. After a plea from Ukraines government, billionaire Elon Musk says his Starlink satellite internet service is up and running in the besieged country. What does it mean for Australia? There are three scenarios where Australia could be hit with a cyber attack stemming from the Ukraine conflict, according to the director of the International Cyber Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Fergus Hanson. The first, and least likely, is if Russia turned its highest-level hacking tools directly on Australia. Advertisement Thats the most unlikely because itd be very obvious that Russia was doing it and itd invite more countries to band together in more offensive ways against Russias activities, Hanson says. The second scenario is if a major self-spreading hacking tool is deployed by Russia in Ukraine and gets out of hand, as NotPetya did. We could see that type of attack ... spreads globally, Hanson says. I think thats pretty likely. Loading Finally, there are sophisticated criminal hacking groups that operate with the tacit authorisation of the Kremlin as they run financial crimes online, locking up data and demanding ransoms for its return, for example (known as ransomware). They could be given the nod to step up malicious activities against particular countries that need to be punished in Russias view, Hanson says. Thats the most likely activity in my view. Australia is likely well down the list of countries that Russia is interested in, though. Ukraine, the United States and European NATO powers are all above it, in Hansons estimation. Still Australia, which is part of the Five Eyes military alliance, has been providing remote technical assistance and cyber training to Ukraine to bolster its digital defences. Even if Russia does not focus on Australia, security experts have warned our proximity to other contested territory in Asia and role in the new AUKUS security alliance between Australia, United Kingdom, and United States means other countries have a greater interest in cyber surveillance in Australia. Advertisement The nuclear power station accident, disclosed yesterday, is the most serious in the history of nuclear power generation, British experts believe. The full extent of the accident is still unknown. Soviet authorities reverted to silence today after the surprise admission that a reactor at Chernobyl, in the Ukraine; was damaged, causing casualties. A view of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station taken on May 9, 1986. Credit:TASS But a Swedish official said after receiving the Soviet request for advice that it was clear the reactors core had melted in part or even completely. The West German centre said it appeared from information given by the Soviet diplomat that a reactor had melted down and the blaze was out of control. The Soviet Union at first denied that there had been trouble, but the news agency, Tass, later reported the accident after radiation levels six times higher than normal were reported over Scandinavia and 600 workers were evacuated from a Swedish power station. The leakage has drifted more than 1600 kilometres over Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, but experts say the only danger to health would be in the immediate area of the accident. Scandinavian readings today showed a decline in radioactivity. The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna said it had been notified of the accident but given no details. It said it had no power to police reactors but could offer help in an emergency. Even from the scanty evidence available it is believed that the accident, involving a 1000 megawatt reactor, is of major proportions. The BBC news service said it was almost certainly the worst in history. Mr Jim Harding, former adviser to the chairman of the Californian Energy Commission, said the leak made the Three Mile Island affair look like a tea party. An aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear power reactor shows damage from the explosion and fire. Credit:Tass The US presidential Chief of Staff, Mr Donald Regan, on tour with Mr Reagan, is reported to have offered American help. Ringhals nuclear power plant, Sweden, measured 100 times the normal amount of caesium 137, and high iodine counts were made in central Sweden. Radiation levels in some areas of Finland were reported to be 10 times higher than normal. A British expert described the caesium level as alarming. Caesium has a half-life of more than 30 years and its presence would indicate high contamination in the area of the accident. Mr Peter Taylor, of the political ecology research group, said the release of caesium 137 would cause long-term, serious health damage. There is speculation that a large-scale evacuation is being carried out from Chernobyl. Bus services in Kiev are reported to have been disrupted because buses have been commandeered for the emergency in Chernobyl, 130 kilometres north. The BBC says the first reports of high radiation over Scandinavia came early on Sunday afternoon, indicating that the accident probably happened on Saturday morning. Loading A spokesman at the Danish nuclear laboratory at Riso said: It is difficult to say exactly what happened. We are looking at something very close to a meltdown. A Swedish nuclear inspector said the accident appeared to have been caused by the overheating of nuclear fuel. A considerable explosion would have been the result and could have led to a meltdown of the nuclear core of the reactor. Sweden first learned of the high radiation level when a worker at the Formark nuclear plant, about 90 kilometres north of Stockholm, set off an alarm while passing through a routine radiation check. Six hundred workers were evacuated, but tests showed there had been no leak from the plant. Sweden asked Moscow for an extensive report, but the Soviet atomic energy authorities at first told the Swedish embassy in Moscow they were unaware of any nuclear accident that could cause a leak to reach Sweden. The Swedish Energy Minister, Mrs Birgitta Dahl, said last night that Sweden was not satisfied with Soviet behavior. They should have notified us immediately, she said. We must demand higher safety standards in the Soviet Union. Mrs Dahl urged that all Soviet reactors be placed under international control, although adding that there was no danger to people in Sweden from the present leak. An Energy Ministry spokesman said that the rate of a few millirems an hour was not high enough to warrant the evacuation of Forsmark. A millirem has the same biological effect as one thousandth of a standard unit of X-ray. The British Radiological Protection Board said Britain would not be affected. The Tass report of the accident said: Measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of the accident. Aid is being given to those affected. A government inquiry had been set up, it added. The report was mentioned on Soviet television last night but did not appear in newspapers this morning. It referred to similar accidents in other countries, claiming it was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. Russian troops are holding hostages at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear facility as experts warn Ukraines crucial energy networks could be wielded as a strategic weapon to create chaos across Europe. Half of Ukraines electricity comes from four nuclear plants spread across the country, although the site of the 1986 nuclear accident is no longer an active energy producer. Experts do not believe Russia would try to damage the facilities on purpose due to the catastrophic radioactive fallout that could spread across Europe and into Russia. Chernobyl was the site of a huge nuclear disaster in 1986. Credit:AP Associate Professor Matthew Sussex, a Russian foreign and security policy expert at Australian National University, said Russia would not have to strike the nuclear reactors or fuel stores directly to cause a disaster even damaging the control set-up could lead to a reactor meltdown. Some Ukrainian reactors are quite old Soviet technology, and so they do need careful monitoring, he said. She said Russian President Vladimir Putin needed to answer for his actions. Its affecting everybody, she said. But perceptions about the conflict among people from the region including among Russians living in Russia are by no means homogenous. Alexey Muraviev, associate professor of national security and strategic studies at Curtin University, said many of those in Russia protesting against the conflict were members of the non-systemic opposition, including supporters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Loading But for the majority of the Russian public, I dont think they would see it [the invasion of Ukraine] as something negative, Professor Muraviev told The Age. Professor Muraviev, who moved to Australia from Russia about 30 years ago, said the public in his homeland had been subjected to a systematic pro-Russian media campaign. You cannot turn on Russian television without a talk show discussing the situation in Ukraine, he said. The Russians find themselves in this really carefully managed information space which presents Ukraine as not just anti-Russian but neo-Nazi. Professor Muraviev said Mr Putin was also keen to reanimate a nationalistic idea that no Russians living in Ukraine would be left behind. The majority of the Russians will go with this idea, unless this war becomes a protracted and bloody campaign, Professor Muraviev said. For many Russians, there is much emotion and symbolism linked the invasion. Many see it as reminiscent of the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. One Russian armoured column, for example, rumbled into Ukraine displaying the same banner Red Army soldiers hoisted over the Reichstag in Berlin in early May 1945, symbolising the defeat of the Third Reich. Dr Robert Lagerberg, convenor of Russian studies at the University of Melbourne, said there were mixed views among Russians. But I think a lot of people have been taken aback by this, he said. This is certainly not being received by unanimous joy, by any means. Broadly speaking, he said there may be a generational divide between Russians who support the war and younger people more likely opposed to the invasion. Shocked Russians still turned out in their thousands to decry their countrys invasion as emotional calls for protests grew on social media. Hundreds of posts flooded platforms, condemning Moscows most aggressive actions since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Tatyana Usmanova, an opposition activist in Moscow, wrote on Facebook that she thought she was dreaming when she awoke at 5.30am to news of the invasion she dubbed a disgrace that will be forever with us now. I want to ask Ukrainians for forgiveness. We didnt vote for those who unleashed the war, she said. As sirens blasted in Kyiv, Ukraines capital, and large explosions were heard there and in other cities, Russians were signing open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault, which Ukrainian forces reported had killed more than 40 soldiers and wounded dozens. Public opinion is in shock, people are in shock, political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said. One petition, started by a prominent human rights advocate, Lev Ponomavyov, garnered more than 289,000 signatures within a day. More than 250 journalists put their names on an open letter decrying the aggression. Another one was signed by some 250 scientists, while 194 municipal council members in Moscow and other cities signed a third. Im worried about the people very much, Im worried to tears, said Zoya Vorobey, a resident of Korolyov, a town outside Moscow, her voice cracking. Ive been watching television since this morning, every minute, to see if anything changes. Unfortunately, nothing, she said. Several Russian celebrities and public figures, including some working for state TV, spoke out against the attack. Yelena Kovalskaya, director of a state-funded Moscow theatre, announced on Facebook she was quitting her job, saying its impossible to work for a killer and get paid by him. Demonstrators protesting against Russias invasion of Ukraine are arrested in Saint Petersburg. Credit:AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky I know that right now many of you feel desperation, helplessness, shame over Vladimir Putins attack on the friendly nation of Ukraine. But I urge you not to despair, human rights activist Marina Litvinovich said in a video statement on Facebook on Thursday, calling for mass protests. We, the Russian people, are against the war Putin has unleashed. We dont support this war, it is being waged not on our behalf, Ms Litvinovich said. Loading But the authorities were having none of that. In Moscow and other cities, police moved swiftly to crack down on critical voices. Ms Litvinovich was detained outside her home shortly after posting the protest call. OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests, reported that 1702 people in 53 cities had been detained by Thursday evening, at least 940 of them in Moscow. Russias Investigative Committee issued a warning on Thursday afternoon reminding Russians that unauthorised protests were against the law. With AP YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling for an anti-war coalition. We defend our freedom, our land. We need effective international assistance. Discussed this with [President of Poland] Andrzej Duda. Appealed to the Bucharest Nine for defense aid, sanctions, pressure on the aggressor. Together we have to put Russia at the negotiating table. We need anti-war coalition, the Ukrainian president tweeted. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine following a request from the authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics for assistance in repelling Kievs military aggression, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in urgent address on Thursday, as quoted by TASS. He said that Moscow would seek the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, called upon the Ukrainian army to lay down weapons and warned there would follow a prompt response to attempts at foreign intervention from outside. Elena Kovalskaya, the most recent artistic director of the Meyerhold Theatre and Cultural Center, has resigned her post in protest over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "It is impossible to work for a murderer and get a salary from him," she wrote in a Facebook post. The Meyerhold Theatre is one of several state-run theaters in Russia, many of which were inherited from the Soviet Union (although the Meyerhold was established in 1999). The state provides almost all of the funding, with artistic staff and actors as employees on payroll. This particular theater is named for Vsevolod Meyerhold, the early Soviet experimental theater director and teacher, known for employing elaborate constructivist sets and a revolutionary actor training technique known as "biomechanics." Meyerhold was denounced by members of Joseph Stalin's government for promoting "bourgeois formalism," which was the term of choice for any avant-garde art that did not conform to the easily digestible "socialist realism" favored by the regime. Meyerhold was arrested, tortured, and subsequently executed by firing squad on February 2, 1940. Growth Energy Skor Discusses Biofuels Positive Impact on Sustainability, Climate-Smart Solutions at USDAs 98th Annual Ag Outlook Forum WASHINGTON, D.C. February 24, 2022; Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor participated in the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDAs) 98th Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum . Skor was a featured panelist in the plenary session titled, Growing Market Opportunities for Climate Smart, Sustainable Agriculture Systems. In her remarks, Skor discussed the vital role biofuels play in driving progress toward our nations climate goals: Ethanol is a premier climate and human health solution that is available today, compatible with our existing auto fleet, and affordable for all communities. Ethanol can also play an important role in emissions-heavy industries that are more difficult to decarbonize, including aviation. With todays technologies, farm-based feedstocks including ethanol and corn are the only sources of clean, renewable energy available in large enough volumes to meet our nations goals for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Skor also addressed how biofuels are the vehicle to bring agriculture into the national climate strategy: We are a key link between farmers and an ever-growing low-carbon economy. Ethanol has long been an economic driver for our rural economies. As biofuel producers drive down their carbon intensity to sell into these markets, farmers benefit in the form of premium prices for low-carbon commodities. We provide significant opportunities to identify and financially incentive climate smart agriculture. Finally, Skor called upon USDA to support climate-forward policies that expand the role of biofuels in our transportation mix and incentivize investments in earth-smart agriculture: These include a strong Renewable Fuel Standard, the accelerated nationwide use of higher blends like E15, and incentives for sustainable farming and carbon intensity reductions based on accurate carbon modeling. Ultimately, family farmers, biofuel producers, and other agricultural innovators who are reducing their carbon footprints and developing earth-friendly practices and technologies are key to solving the climate crisis. Joining Skor as panelists during the plenary session were David Allen, VP of Sustainability at PepsiCo Foods North America; Elena Rice, Chief Scientific Officer of Genus, PLC; Glenda Humiston, Vice President, Agriculture and Natural Resources at University of California; and Mike McCloskey, Co-Founder and CEO of Select Milk Producers. The forum, which has been hosted by USDA since 1923, serves as a unique platform to facilitate discussions on key issues and emerging topics impacting the agricultural industry. Read Skors remarks as prepared for delivery here. PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Auto Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia, owner and producer of the Philadelphia Auto Show, announces details on its 2022 event, which is set to return to the PA Convention Center from March 5-13. "Philadelphia, it's time to shift from idle to drive," said Kevin Mazzucola, executive director of the Auto Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia. "We're refueled, recharged and ready to welcome guests back to one of the City's most beloved events." Spanning more than a half-million square feet, the 2022 Philadelphia Auto Show display floor will include several new features as well as time-honored fan favorites. This year marks the 120th edition of the event. Highlights include: The e-Track: The show's first-ever multi-brand electric vehicle test track will be a key feature at this year's event. At the e-Track, consumers will be able to ride in select manufacturers' electric vehicles through an indoor track and experience the capabilities of their entries into this fast-growing automotive segment. The Showroom: Guests will again be invited to check out the latest and greatest developments from some of today's leading vehicle manufacturers in "The Showroom." Camp Jeep & Toyota Ride & Drive: Camp Jeep is back to give attendees the ultimate off-road driving experience indoors via a one-of-a-kind 30,000-square-foot track with an exhilarating hill climb. In addition, Toyota will once again offer guests the opportunity to get behind the wheel of several of its latest models via its outdoor Ride and Drive, located at 12th and Arch Streets. Back-in-the-Day Way: On Back-in-the-Day Way, located in the PA Convention Center's beautiful Grand Hall, guests will take a trip down memory lane and view vehicles from yesteryear thanks to the Antique Automobile Club of America and Classic Auto Mall. Exotics & More: Dozens of the world's most elegant vehicles will also be featured at this year's event. Always a crowd-pleaser, guests will be able to ooh and ahh all day long courtesy of F.C. Kerbeck, Maserati of the Main Line and McLaren Philadelphia. Custom Alley: Featured in Hall F of the PA Convention Center, Custom Alley will showcase a plethora of tricked-out rides, bikes and the latest in after-market excitement. Ticket Information: All tickets will be sold electronically this year on phillyautoshow.com. Ticket prices are $10-$16. Health and Safety Information: All guests are encouraged to visit phillyautoshow.com before their visit to check out the latest health and safety requirements in the City of Philadelphia. For more than a century, the Philadelphia Auto Show has been educating area consumers and supporting the local economy. It generates an annual economic impact of $50 million for the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. To learn more, visit phillyautoshow.com. Associate Editor Brent Addleman is an Associate Editor and a veteran journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He has served as editor of newspapers in Pennsylvania and Texas, and has also worked at newspapers in Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Kentucky. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and heads of government of the remaining member states of the Eurasian Economic Union met with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Nur-Sultan, the Armenian PMs Office reports. The President of Kazakhstan welcomed the heads of the delegations of the EAEU states, expressing hope that the session of the Eurasian Inter-governmental Council in Nur-Sultan will be held effectively. In his remarks the Armenian PM said that the Kazakh President has noted right that todays session, meeting coincide with the drastic escalation of the geopolitical situation. Its obvious that we are in a sensitive period, in sensitive geopolitical tectonic processes, and in this context, of course, the Eurasian Economic Union is an important format in order to develop the economies of our countries. Of course, its obvious that sanctions will have their effect on the economic environment in the Eurasian region, and in this sense, we need to discuss what operational decisions we must adopt in order for that negative consequences to be minimal and if possible, to bypass them, by taking respective steps. You were right, the results of 2021 for the Eurasian Economic Union are quite positive because last year was already a crisis year, but the overall volume of trade and economic ties within the EAEU, the trade turnover have increased, which is quite a positive signal for all of us, Nikol Pashinyan said. He emphasized that there is a potential to expand the Eurasian economic region. There are observer states, with which we are cooperating quite effectively. There is also a certain interest by other countries to intensify the ties with the Eurasian Economic Union. I think, this is, overall, a positive process and I hope that the Eurasian Economic Union, we all, will manage to carry out such a policy so that the EAEU is strengthened as an economic platform in the current situation and continues giving an impetus to the development of economies of our countries, Pashinyan noted. A graphic notes that a 2021 Toyota Prius is powered by hydrogen fuel at a display at the Denver Auto Show Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, at Elitch Gardens in downtown Denver, Colorado. This Is the Hardest College to Get Into in Louisiana YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Nur-Sultan on the sidelines of his working visit, the PMs Office said. I am very happy to see you, dear Mr. Prime Minister. The relations between Kazakhstan and Armenia are steadily developing. This year we mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations, its a very important year. An open dialogue at the highest levels has been established between us, the parliamentary and cultural-humanitarian ties are developing. You know that we have the warmest feelings towards Armenia and the Armenian people, I personally have a great respect to you and the Armenian people. I think I know the history of your people not so badly, I highly appreciate their achievements in culture and other areas. In practice, we are allies within the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union, therefore I think that these type of mutual relations between our countries are the most optimal ones. As for Kazakhstan, we will continue working on that direction, the President of Kazakhstan said. In his turn the Armenian PM said: Dear Mr. President, I am glad to meet you. This is our first face-to-face meeting this year, however, we talked by phone for many times. I am very happy that the normal life has been fully restored in Kazakhstan after the latest events. We are already discussing in the Eurasian Economic Union our further economic cooperation and the further development of the Eurasian economic space. I want to note that I am happy that finally the crisis mechanisms of the Collective Security Treaty Organization started to work. You know that it has been the priority of Armenias chairmanship. We always thought and continue to think that the CSTO rapid crisis response mechanisms must operate normally. Unfortunately, Armenia has been in a situation when we believed that this mechanism must work, however, it didnt take place, unfortunately. After that we became a chairing country in the CSTO and announced that it is one of our priorities. I am very happy that we managed to apply that mechanism when it was needed. I once again want to thank you for your warm words and hospitality. Various issues relating to the agenda of the Armenian-Kazakh relations, the integration processes were also discussed during the meeting. This Is the Hardest College to Get Into in New Hampshire New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (right), walking in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens on Sept. 2 with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (center) and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, has lifted a key COVID-19 restriction that will allow all New York hospitals to resume elective surgeries. This March 11, 2020 photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management shows the proposed route of the Keystone XL oil pipeline where it crosses into the U.S. from Canada in Phillips County, Mont. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf greets UPS employee Tom Wolfe on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, while he tours the construction site of the UPS Northeast Regional Hub in Middletown. Bush, Guzman attack each other during AG primary debate, buffered by elder statesmen in between This Is the Hardest College to Get Into in Texas Press Release February 25, 2022 De Lima dismayed over court's denial of her motion to participate in COMELEC's e-rally Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima expressed dismay over the rejection by the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 204 of her very urgent motion seeking to allow participation in the Commission on Election's (COMELEC) e-rally on Feb. 26. De Lima, who is seeking reelection, said disallowing her from taking part in the e-rally stripped her off of her right to communicate her platform to the Filipino public. "I wasn't asking for special treatment, hence, did not ask for permission to leave the premises of the PNP Custodial Center. Still, the court junked my motion to allow participation in COMELEC's e-rally through videoconferencing," she said. "Given my situation, I just wanted to avail of this opportunity to freely communicate my platform to the Filipino electorate," she added. Last Feb. 22, De Lima filed a Very Urgent Motion requesting that she be allowed to participate via videoconference call in the scheduled e-rally on Feb. 26, from 6 o'clock to 9:30 in the evening, as organized and provided for by the COMELEC. Feb. 26 is the first scheduled date of a series of e-rallies supposedly to be participated in by candidate De Lima. The e-rallies are being held by batches. Her request hinges on "provisions of law protecting a bona fide candidate's right, during the election period, to be free from any form of harassment and discrimination, and to the "equal opportunity for public service, including access to media time and space, and the equitable right to reply, for public information campaigns and fora among candidates." In an Order dated Feb. 25, the Muntinlupa RTC, Branch 204 denied De Lima's motion for the main reason that De Lima, on account of her current detention, cannot be accorded the same treatment given to other candidates. De Lima maintained that the foregoing e-rallies "are in accordance with the mandate of the COMELEC to ensure the holding of free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections through fair election practices under Republic Act No. 9006, including through the provision of COMELEC Space and Time." "As a bona fide and serious candidate, I just want to avail of every reasonable and lawful means under prevailing election laws and COMELEC rules and regulations to promote my re-election bid, as to compensate for my physical handicaps as a Person Deprived of Liberty (PDL). I therefore don't understand the further curtailment of my rights." De Lima, the most prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime, marked her fifth year in unjust detention last Feb. 24. De Lima has consistently and firmly asserted her innocence in the trumped-up charges filed against her. Due to lack of evidence, she was acquitted in one of these three cases on February 17, 2021. The two other cases are still pending. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message on the occasion of the 80th birth anniversary of People's Artist of Armenia Raisa Mkrtchyan, which, in particular, reads: Dear Mrs. Mkrtchyan, I warmly congratulate you on your 80th birthday. You are one of the unique representatives of Armenian pop music, whose special stylistic performances are an important part of our rich musical heritage. Your productive activity symbolizes an entire era. You are also an honored pedagogue, you have a significant contribution to the education and upbringing of the new generation. I am glad that you continue to successfully transfer your rich experience and knowledge to our young people. I wish you good health and inexhaustible energy in your future activities. Instant unlimited access to all of our E-Editions and content on thechronicleonline.com. The Chronicle E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) Rohnert Park, CA (94927) Today Abundant sunshine. High 77F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 46F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan met today with Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Armenia Bolat Imanbayev, the Office of the Secretary of the Security Council said. In his remarks during the meeting, the Ambassador highly appreciated the development dynamics of the trade-economic relations between Armenia and Kazakhstan, as well as the bilateral cultural and political cooperation. In this context Armen Grigoryan highlighted the uninterrupted implementation of the cooperation agenda within the CSTO and the EAEU. The sides also discussed other economic and political issues of bilateral interest and reaffirmed the bilateral readiness to further develop the relations. Towanda, PA (18848) Today Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 66F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low 47F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Oneonta, NY (13820) Today Rain. High 59F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 43F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky addressed the Russian President Vladimir Putin and offered to start negotiations over ending the military operations. Id like to once again address the President of the Russian Federation, Zelensky said in a video address published on social media. Military operations are taking place all over Ukraine. Lets sit around a negotiations table in order to stop the bloodshed, he said. The Ukrainian president also criticized European partners for what he described as extremely slow support. Melanie joined The Daily Times in the early 90s and has served as the Life section editor since 1993. A William Blount and UT alum, Melanie is generally the early arriver who turns on the lights in the newsroom. Follow Melanie Tucker 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 Click the image to the left and log in to get your exclusive reader perks. Professor Alexander Hill has taught history at the University of Calgary since 2004. He has PhD in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge and specializes in Soviet military and political history, with a particular emphasis on the period 1928-1945 and on Soviet Cold War involvement in Africa. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Meet Trooper! Trooper is 5-years-old. His favorite activities include sleeping, going on walks and sticking his head out of the car sunroof. T YEREVAN, 25 FEBUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 25 February, USD exchange rate up by 2.34 drams to 482.12 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.51 drams to 539.06 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.09 drams to 5.78 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.44 drams to 644.98 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price up by 633.11 drams to 30013.65 drams. Silver price up by 20.57 drams to 392.4 drams. Platinum price up by 237.09 drams to 17066.07 drams. In GradLife 601, well share the achievements and insights of WVU graduate students and faculty. Well discuss their experiences and how they came to be passionate about their research. Well also talk about life beyond the lab and academy. Follow GradLife 601 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 Forest City, NC (28043) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low 56F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Police release tear gas into a crowd during clashes at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) 14 Months After Jan. 6, First Trial Starts Feb. 28 in US District Court Guy Wesley Reffitt of Wylie, Texas, is accused of assaulting police, being armed at the US Capitol Final details worked out on Feb. 24 will allow jury selection to begin on Feb. 28 in the first criminal trial of the more than 750 people charged with crimes at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich will call 80 potential jurors in the District of Columbia trial of Guy Wesley Reffitt, 49, of Wylie, Texas. Reffitt is the first Jan. 6 defendant to go to trial, although many other defendants have accepted plea deals with reduced charges. Reffitt has been held in federal detention since his arrest on Jan. 16, 2021. Testimony could begin late on March 1 or early on March 2 once the 12 jurors and four alternates are seated. There will be limited public seating in the courtroom, with spectators asked to stay 6 feet apart due to the courts COVID-19 regulations. Guy Wesley Reffitt rinses his eyes after police doused him with pepper spray at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Reffitt is charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building while armed with a dangerous weapon, civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of U.S. Capitol Police officers, and obstruction of justice for allegedly threatening to shoot his children if they turned him in to the FBI. Prosecutors allege Reffitt carried a semiautomatic Smith & Wesson pistol onto Capitol grounds during the breach of the Capitol on Jan. 6. A major issue in the trial will be whether prosecutors can prove Reffitt had the weapon on him. Photos to be submitted in evidence show a holster under Reffitts jacket. Prosecutors also allege he charged a police line and had to be repelled with pepper spray, a pepper ball, and nonlethal projectiles. When Reffitt returned to his Texas home from Washington on Jan. 8, charging documents allege, he told his two children not to turn him in to the government or they would be traitors, and you know what happens to traitors, traitors get shot. He also said he would have to erase everything because the FBI was watching him, court papers allege. The trial is notable because Reffitt is among dozens of Jan. 6 defendants who have been held in jail for more than a year as they have awaited their day in court. Reffitt made repeated motions to be released on bond, but those were denied. Some defendants and attorneys in other cases have alleged that Jan. 6 inmates have been beaten, refused food, not allowed to speak with their attorneys, and stuck in solitary confinement for months at a time. Reffitt is the alleged author of a handwritten letter from the 1/6ers sent to a media outlet in May 2021, lamenting the countrys loss of liberties. The letter said Jan. 6 was about letting the nations leaders know they have transgressed much too far. When all the lies and hyperbole have been peeled away, the world will know the truth, the letter said. There was no insurrection, no conspiracy, no sinister plan and no reason to think otherwise. While our lawyers do our bidding and judges do their duties, we remain resolute, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the National Anthem, all in unison, loud and proud most every day, the letter said. All because we are us, we are you, we are all Americans, and in here, we have no labels. Semiautomatic Pistol or Just a Holster? Prosecutors and Reffitts defense attorney have exchanged motions in the case for months, arguing about witness testimony, the questions to be asked of potential jurors, and the instructions the jury will receive before they deliberate the case. One contentious issue is whether Reffitt was armed with a handgun while at the Capitol. During a search of Reffitts home in mid-January 2021, the FBI found a handgun and a rifle they allege Reffitt brought to Washington. They also found a Blackhawk Serpa CQC concealment holster, which he was allegedly wearing at the Capitol in videos obtained by the government. Prosecutors say this photo of Guy Wesley Reffitt shows a Blackhawk holster under his coat on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Reffitts defense attorney, William L. Welch III, objected to a prosecutors proposal to have FBI Special Agent Laird Hightower testify as a lay witness, offering his personal opinions on the type of holster Reffitt was wearing in Jan. 6 videos. Hightower, a former firearms trainer at the FBI, shouldnt be allowed to offer a laymans opinion on the holster because its based on his years of specialized training and experience at the FBI, Welch argued in court filings. Expert witnesses are subject to more scrutiny and a higher legal standard when testifying in federal court. Judge Friedrich ruled that Hightower will be allowed to offer lay testimony. Welch also moved to have count two of the indictments dismissed. That charge alleges Reffitt did corruptly obstruct, influence and impede an official proceeding, the certification of the Electoral College vote for president that was delayed by more than six hours by the incident. Judge Friedrich took the motion under advisement. Friedrich asked prosecutors to explain why the charging document and the U.S. attorneys proposed jury instructions made reference to then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris being at the Capitol during the incident. The Courts understanding is that the government has removed references to the vice president-elect in other indictments because the vice president-elect was not at the Capitol at the time, Friedrich said in a Feb. 16 hearing. Was the vice president-elect at the Capitol, and if not, why do the indictment and jury instructions reference the vice president-elect? The next day, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Jason Jolly signed a declaration for the court stating that Harris left the Capitol late in the morning on Jan. 6, hours before the first incursions of the building. References to Harris have since been removed from jury instructions. There is expected to be testimony at trial that Vice President Mike Pences motorcade was seen leaving the Capitol before 2 p.m. Guy Wesley Reffitt descending the West Terrace stairs at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. On the ledge at left is Derrick Vargo, who says a police officer pushed him off the 20-foot-high wall seconds later. (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Prosecutors plan to call 13 witnesses, including four current and former U.S. Capitol Police officials, three FBI agents, an FBI photographer, a Secret Service agent, the former counsel to the secretary of the U.S. Senate, Reffitts two children, and an informant from the Texas Three Percenters group who traveled with Reffitt to Washington from Texas. Reffitt was also a member of the Three Percenters, which the FBI calls an extremist group. That witness, described only as R.H. in court filings, was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony. Exhibits in the case will include various videos from the U.S. Capitol, 50 photographs from the search of Reffitts home, the firearms seized from the home, the Blackhawk holster, video of a Texas Three Percenters Zoom meeting, messages from the encrypted chat app Telegram taken from Reffitts iPhone, and data from the Life360 geolocation app on Reffitts phone. One of the photos in the original January 2021 charging document shows Reffitt on the stairs leading to the Lower West Terrace at the Capitol. The photo also shows Derrick Vargo, 32, who says he was pushed from the landing ledge by a police officer just seconds later. Vargo recently disclosed his identity as the victim of the push and fall, which caused injuries that required surgeries to repair. Judge Friedrich issued an order on Feb. 24 compelling officials at the District of Columbia Central Detention Facility to provide Reffitt a haircut. Welch said jail officials have not responded to his repeated requests that his client receive a haircut. Under federal rules, defendants held in pretrial detention have a right to a haircut in preparation for trial. Jan. 6 Arrests Top 750 More than 750 people arrested by the FBI have faced charges related to alleged actions at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. On Feb. 23, the FBI arrested Joshua Lee Hernandez, 28, of Memphis, Tennessee, on an indictment charging him with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, civil disorder, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and related offenses. Hernandez was identified as No. 27 on the FBIs Jan. 6 most-wanted list. The FBI also arrested a 63-year-old Michigan militia leader on charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police using a dangerous weapon or inflicting bodily injury, civil disorder, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and other charges. Prosecutors allege that Matthew Thomas Krol of Linden, Michigan, attacked a Metropolitan Police Department officer, stole his police baton, and used it to assault other officers. He also allegedly threw a water bottle at police officers, according to a criminal complaint. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Krol is the self-professed executive officer of the Genesee County Volunteer Militia. The FBI listed Krol as No. 291 on its Jan. 6 most-wanted list. Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger planes sit on the tarmac of Tokyo International Airport in Tokyo, Japan on Jan. 6, 2010. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images) Airline Industry Cancels Flights, Closes Airspace to Russia Citing Risks Amid Ukraine Invasion The airline industry has turned its attention to Russia, canceling flights to the country and closing airspace to Russian airlines amid its invasion of Ukraine. Japan Airlines canceled its Thursday evening flight from Haneda to Moscow and Friday flight from Moscow to Haneda, citing safety concerns. We will continue to monitor the situation in Russia and Ukraine and make decisions after confirming that there is no impact on safety, the airline said. Britain also closed its airspace to Russian airlines, including Aeroflot, Prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed. No aircraft on a scheduled service which is, owned, chartered or operated by a person connected with Russia, or which is registered in Russia will be allowed to enter into the United Kingdom airspace, Johnson said. A spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed to The Independent that it has suspended Aeroflots foreign carrier permit until further notice. This means that Aeroflot will not be permitted to operate flights to or from the United Kingdom until further notice. In response to the UKs decision, Russia has banned British airlines from landing at its airports and from crossing its airspace. Russias civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said: This measure was taken in accordance with the provisions of the Intergovernmental Air Services Agreement between Russia and the UK as a response to unfriendly decisions by the UK aviation authorities regarding the restriction on regular flights of aircraft owned, leased or operated by a person associated with Russia or registered in Russia. Meanwhile, Alaskas Anchorage Airport said carriers had started making inquiries about capacity in case routes over Russia are affected by the situation in Ukraine. An Emirates spokesperson told The National that the airline had made minor routing changes to Stockholm, Moscow, St. Petersburg and some of our U.S. flights which were impacted by the airspace closings over a portion of Russia and the whole of Ukraine. This may lead to slightly longer flight times, the airline said, adding that it was closely monitoring the situation and would take action if necessary. The announcements come as Russian troops have reportedly made their way into the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv after explosions rocked the city overnight. On Friday, Olexander Scherba, a Ukrainian diplomat who was the countrys ambassador to Austria 20142021 said that Russian special-ops groups were in Kyiv and that fighting was underway. At least 137 people had been killed and 316 were wounded since Russia launched its assault on the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said about two hours prior to the reported explosions in Kyiv. Meanwhile, Ukraine on Feb. 23 shut down its airspace for civilian flights following Russias invasion of the country, according to an update provided by the Ukraine State Air Traffic Services Enterprise. Ukraine cited a high risk to flight safety due to the use of weapons and military equipment. In particular, there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft. The presence and possible use of a wide range of ground and airborne warfare systems poses a HIGH risk for civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels, said the agency. Belarus, Moldova, and Russia are part of the affected countries. Aussie PM Lambasts Beijing for Lifting Trade Restrictions on Russia Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has criticised Beijing for lifting trade restrictions on Russia as the rest of the world imposes sanctions in response to its military operations in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in Australia has said Russia seeks to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine. At a time when the world was seeking to put additional sanctions on Russia, they [Beijing] have eased restrictions on trade of Russia wheat into China, Morrison told reporters on Feb. 25, citing a report in the South China Morning Post. And that is simply unacceptable. China seeks to play a positive role in world affairs. They say they seek peace. And I welcome those sentiments and I welcome their comments which talk about trying to get to a position where these violent acts can cease. But that said, you dont go and throw a lifeline to Russia in the middle of a period when its invading other countries, he said. Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 1, 2022. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images) This comes as Australia announced extended sanctions on people and entities responsible for the unprovoked and unacceptable aggression. This includes 300 members of the Russian Duma, who voted in favour of the military action in Ukraine, as well as extending sanctions to Belarus. There is no justification for this aggression, whose cost will be borne by innocent Ukrainians, Morrison and Payne said in their joint statement. Vladimir Putin has fabricated a feeble pretext on which to invade. Russias disinformation and propaganda has convinced no one. We call on Russia to cease its illegal and unprovoked actions, and to stop violating Ukraines independence. Russia must reverse its breach of international law and of the UN Charter, and withdraw its military from Ukraine, they said. Russia Seeks to Denazify Ukraine, Embassy Says Meanwhile, Russias embassy in Australia has maintained that its military operations came in response to requests for help by the leaders of the two breakaway Ukraine regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Russia has recognised as independent peoples republics. In a release on Feb. 15, the Russian embassy in Australia said the military operation was in accordance with Article 51 (Chapter VII) of the United Nations Charter. The purpose of this operation is to protect people who, for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kyiv regime. To this end, Russia will seek to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine. There is no objective to occupy Ukraine, the release stated. Right Sector militias gather outside the city hall prior to deploying on defensive positions on Feb. 24, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Pierre Crom/Getty Images) Russian Armed Forces are not targeting Ukrainian cities with missiles or artillery strikes. Military infrastructure, air defense facilities, military airfields, and aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being disabled with high-precision weapons. The decision to conduct the operation is not to hurt the interests of Ukraine or the Ukrainian people, but rather to defend our country from those who have taken Ukraine hostage and have been trying to use it against Russia and our people, the release said. The Epoch Times is unable to verify if Russian-marked forces have targeted civilian areas at the time of publication. Reuters has reported that Ukrainian officials in the country have confirmed 137 military personnel and civilians have been killed in the ongoing fighting. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Brussels that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had told him Russia had killed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians so far. Young pilgrims from around the world listen to a service at St Patrick's Cathedral to celebrate the arrival in Australia of young pilgrims for World Youth Day in Melbourne, Australia, on July 10, 2008. (William West/AFP via Getty Images) Australia Needs a Restoration of Freedoms, Not a Religious Discrimination Act Commentary Despite a commitment during the 2019 election campaign by the Morrison government to legislate for religious freedom, the Religious Discrimination Bill has just been shelved by the government. This occurred after Labor, and five Liberal MPs decided to vote for the repeal of all religious exemptions for faith-based educational institutions in relation to students. The prime minister then decided that too little parliamentary time remained to resolve these issues prior to the election, scheduled to be held in May 2022. The Morrison government argued that the Religious Discrimination Bill would ensure Australians are protected from discrimination on the basis of religious belief or activityjust as they are protected from discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race and disability. The Bill would thus fit into the familiar anti-discrimination architecture and not create a positive right to freedom of religion. If adopted, it would make it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of religious belief or activity in specified areas of public life. If enacted, the Bill would have given people affected by religious discrimination a right to complain to the federal Human Rights Commission as an alternative to the bodies established under state and territory law. The Commission would then evaluate the complaint and attempt to conciliate between the parties. Where a complaint could not be successfully conciliated, an individual would be able to apply to the Federal Court or Federal Circuit Court. The proposed law does not really change much. Except for New South Wales (NSW) and South Australia, discrimination based on religious belief is already prohibited. However, the government erroneously construed the debate as involving a right to discriminate on the grounds of religious beliefs. A statue representing Virgin Mary and Jesus is seen in the middle of an empty highway as part of the preventive measures against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 30, 2020. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo) The whole irony is that the present Bill not only protects people from discrimination based on their religious beliefs but also introduces new rights for non-believers, gay people, and transgender minorities. Prime Minister Scott Morrisons watered-down version of the legislation means that some faith-based schools with their own religious ethos could face discrimination charges in the future. Still, the Bill failed because amendments have been proposed to the Sexual Discrimination Act that would remove, from faith-based schools, exemptions presently found in the Sex Discrimination Act. The removal of the exemptions would force these schools to accept students regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. These amendments were, according to law professor Patrick Parkinson, targeted mainly at Christian schools and other faith-based organisations. However, as he also explains, they can also send a chilling message to religiously devout refugees and migrants from ethnic minorities, almost all of whom come from countries with conservative religious values. Religious schools play a key role in promoting the survival and continued development of the cultural, religious, and social identity of religious minorities. They can assist minorities with the enjoyment of religious culture, acting as positive measures of protection and for allowing the participation of religious minorities in decisions that affect these communities. Accordingly, the creation by a minority group of their own school, based on their specific religious convictions, should be encouraged and supported. Such schools would naturally expect students to adhere to the schools core principles and values. It is understood that the indispensable incidents to freedom of religion inevitably include the right to freedom of association. Freedom of association plays a vital role in promoting democratic pluralism and personal fulfilment by supporting cultural diversity and advancing the common good. Yet, as with any other organisation, including political parties and government bodies, the law must ensure that faith-based schools have the freedom to operate in a manner consistent with their core values and beliefs. Indeed, if the exemptions were to be removed from the Sex Discrimination Act, religious schools would not have any compelling reason to exist. Governments that support freedom of association for faith-based schools directly assist in the achievement of a more diverse and tolerant society. As noted by Kathleen Brady (pdf), autonomous religious groups and other voluntary associations play an essential role as spaces for retreat for the losers in democratic political processes, and by doing so, they help to maintain stability of majoritarian political systems. The Bill represented another failed attempt by the Morrison government to allow religious organisations to maintain their identity and ethos while prohibiting discrimination of religious people in public life. Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to the media to announce sanctions on top Russian officials following the invasion of eastern Ukraine during a press conference in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 23, 2022. (Steven Saphore/AFP via Getty Images) As a result, in nearly four years in office as the prime minister, Morrison has managed to achieve absolutely nothing in terms of protecting religious freedom. Instead, its failure may give ammunition to those who want to diminish religious freedom by removing the present exemptions from religious schools. As mentioned above, under the proposed legislation, religious organisations would be exempted from discrimination laws. However, writing for The Epoch Times, legal academic Rocco Loiacono criticises the government for approaching this matter from the perspective of discrimination rather than that of fundamental freedom. As he points out, any reform should not use the language of discrimination, but put Australia in line with its international human rights obligations to protect religious freedom, most notably in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), according to which everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. We wholeheartedly agree. In fact, the prime ministers government should take the opportunity to move the debate away from the misguided idea of discrimination to a broader and less divisive discussion about the restoration of fundamental freedoms. The Australian government should protect not only religious freedom but also freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of association, and the right to peaceful assembly. This may involve the enactment of a federal Restoration of Freedoms Act, which restores all these fundamental freedoms and does not suggest that religious freedom is an inferior or secondary right of the citizen. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Augusto Zimmermann Follow Augusto Zimmermann is professor and head of law at Sheridan Institute of Higher Education in Perth. He is also president of the Western Australian (WA) Legal Theory Association and served as a member of WA's law reform commission from 2012 to 2017. Zimmermann is an adjunct professor of the University of Notre Dame Australia, and has co-authored several books including COVID-19 Restrictions & Mandatory VaccinationA Rule-of-Law Perspective (Connor Court). An undated handout photo shows Australian resources giant Woodside's Cossack Pioneer oil production facility in the North West Shelf gas project, which produces a third of Australia's oil and half of its natural gas, off the northwest coast of Australia. (AFP via Getty Images) Australian State Bans Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration The New South Wales (NSW) government announced that it will stop support for all offshore exploration and mining around the states coastal waters for commercial purposes. Any offshore exploration or mining will be limited to tackling coastal erosion through beach renourishment, the Deputy Premier and Resources Minister Paul Toole said. NSW has some of the worlds most spectacular coastlines which support local industries and make them a great place to live and visit, and we want that to continue for future generations, Toole said on Feb. 23. While our coastline will be off-limits for commercial operators, exploration and the potential mining of sand will remain an option to address coastal erosion and restore sand to beaches, such as the work already being carried out at Newcastles Stockton Beach. The decision comes despite the federal governments decision in June 2021 to open up 80,000 square kilometres (30,000 square miles) of coastal waters for oil and gas exploration around Victoria, Tasmania, and Western Australia. A report in February by the consumer watchdog also warned that NSW, South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania will see demand for gas exceed available supply until there is additional supply from new sources. Safety at the Woodside-operated North West Shelf Gas Venture near Karratha in the north of Western Australia on Jun. 17, 2008. (Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images) The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) was disappointed and said exploration played a vital role in creating jobs and additional reliable energy supply that can keep gas and energy prices affordable. As a result, banning offshore commercial applications for resource exploration would hurt the states economic recovery, according to the oil and gas industry. Todays announcement is really short-sighted, APPEA Chief Executive Andrew McConville said. If the minister wanted to send a message that investment in the state isnt welcome, then this outcome has been achieved. A report found that the gas industry plays a substantive role in supporting the economy, with 1 in 46 working Australians being supported by the sector either directly or indirectly. The Greens Party welcomed the announcement, with its spokesman for healthy oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson calling the decision momentous. This win belongs to all those ocean-goers who have rallied hard on this matter for years in a bid to protect their local marine ecosystems and avoid irreversible changes to the Earths climate, he said. The Victorian Greens Party called on the states government to follow NSW to protect its coastline and marine life. It will also introduce a bill to state parliament to ban offshore mining. The Victorian Labor government previously introduced a moratorium for all onshore gas exploration and development in 2012 and lasted until 2020. In 2017, it permanently banned all fracking and coal seam gas extraction. Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks before a congressional panel in Washington on April 28, 2021. (Tom Williams/Pool via Reuters) Biden Nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court President Joe Biden has nominated U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Biden, a Democrat, announced the nomination on Feb. 25. If confirmed, Jackson will fill a seat that is set to be vacated by Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson, 51, was confirmed by the Senate in June 2021 to the post she now holds after being nominated by Biden. Before that, she was unanimously confirmed by the upper chamber to serve as a U.S. District Court judge in Washington. Biden in a statement called Jackson one of our nations brightest legal minds and said shell be an exceptional justice. Biden was scheduled to deliver remarks and introduce Jackson at 2 p.m. Eastern in Washington after meeting with NATO leaders and receiving the presidents daily brief. Biden restricted his search to black women, a choice supported by many Democrats but described as racist by Republicans. Biden conducted a rigorous process to identify Breyers replacement, according to the White House. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first black woman to serve on the nations highest court, the sixth woman, and Bidens first nominee. Democrats hold a thin majority in the 5050 Senate because Vice President Kamala Harris can cast tiebreaking votes as president of the body. But Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) suffered a stroke in January, leaving him unable to perform all of his duties. Without Lujan, Democrats would need at least one Republican to join them in voting for Jackson, or the Senate could wait until Lujan recovers and returns to the Senate. Democrats have said they want to move quickly to confirm Bidens nominee. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominee will happen in the coming weeks and that after the panel finishes its work, he would ask the Senate to immediately confirm Jackson. No Republicans have yet said theyll vote for the judge, and at least one who voted for her in the past indicated he would not this time. Jacksons nomination means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the top GOP member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. Graham, who supported Jackson in 2021, expressed his displeasure that the president didnt pick U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs, who hails from South Carolina. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the Senate must perform an exhaustive review of the nominee, calling it especially crucial as Americans families face major crises that connect directly to our legal system, such as skyrocketing violent crime and open borders. Jacksons nomination drew praise from some, including NARAL, a group that supports widespread access to abortions. We need a justice on the bench who will uphold reproductive freedom. This historic nomination is a chance to shape the Court for decades to come, the organization said on Twitter. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Jackson embodies President Bidens commitment to ensuring that the federal judiciary is representative of America as a whole. Breyer, 83, is the oldest justice on the Supreme Court. He was nominated by former President Bill Clinton. Breyer plans to step down in the summer, after the current term ends. U.S. President Joe Biden makes a statement from the East Room of the White House about Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Washington, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) Biden Takes Veiled Swipe at China in Criticizing Supporters of Russias Invasion U.S. President Joe Biden issued a veiled criticism against China on Thursday when he unveiled new sanctions on Russia, following Moscows all-out assault on Ukraine. Putin will be a pariah on the international stage. Any nation that countenances Russias naked aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association, Biden told reporters at the White House, without naming China. Bidens remarks came after China refused to denounce the Russian attack and rejected Moscows move as an invasion. Instead, the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reiterated Beijings call for all sides to exercise retrained and blamed Washington for hyping up war. Russias invasion of Ukrainethe biggest attack on a European state since World War IIhas left at least 137 dead and 316 wounded in Ukraine as of early Friday local time, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Putins actions betray his sinister vision for the future of our worldone where nations take what they want by force, Biden said. When asked if he was urging China to help isolate Russia, Biden said: Im not prepared to comment on that at the moment. One day before Russias invasion, U.S. State Department Ned Price, criticized China and Russia for seeking to create a new profoundly illiberal world order, with the current Russian aggression against Ukraine being a part of that. Price pointed to their joint statement released earlier this month as evidence. On Feb. 4, President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Following their meeting, the two leaders declared a no limits strategic partnership through the joint statement, while asserting that they would have no forbidden areas of cooperation. The statement also joins China in Russias opposition to the further enlargement of NATO. Also on Feb. 24, the Chinese foreign ministry announced that its top diplomat, Wang Yi, had spoken with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. According to the ministry, Wang said that the Ukraine issue had a complex and special history and reiterated that China understands what it called Russias legitimate concern on security. Wang also said that the Cold War mentality should be abandoned and called for talks. In recent years, Chinas state-run media and Chinese Communist Party officials have attacked the U.S. government and officials for having a Cold War mindset. For example, after the United States, the U.K., and Australia formed the AUKUS defense pact in 2021, the Chinese foreign ministry attacked the three nations for having an outdated Cold War zero-sum mentality. Following Russias invasion of Ukraine, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) issued a statement, highlighting the broader implications of Moscows action. We have entered a new era of authoritarian aggression, led by Russia and Chinas dictators, who are increasingly isolated and dangerous, driven by historical grievances, paranoid about their democratic neighbors, and willing to use military force and other aggressive actions to crush the citizens of such countries, Sullivan stated. These dangerous dictatorsVladimir Putin and Xi Jinpingare increasingly working together to achieve their aggressive goals. U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) questioned why Biden has so far decided only to sanction Russian individuals and entities. China and Russia are working together to undermine the U.S. We need to target them both, Banks wrote on Twitter. But Bidens sanctions only target Russia. China is still allowed to do business with sanctioned Russian banks. Why wont Biden stand up to China? Banks asked. Reuters contributed to this article. California Bill Introduced Prohibits Abuse of Secret No-Bid Contracts SACRAMENTOCalifornia State Senate Republican Minority Leader Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) recently introduced a bill to prohibit state departments from approving so-called no-bid contracts to companies that have made substantial donations to the governor within the previous 12 months, after Facebook, Google, Blue Shield, and other large companies reportedly contributed more than $200 million to Gov. Gavin Newsoms government efforts in 2021. Senate Bill (SB) 1367, introduced Feb. 18, seeks to address the perception of pay-to-play, according to Wilk, stemming from the governors increasing use of secretive no-bid contracting and the influx of behested payments, which are donations coordinated by elected officials for legislative or charitable purposes. During the pandemic, companies poured millions of dollars toward supporting the governors initiatives, including homelessness and a massive COVID-19 public safety campaign, according to a Los Angeles Times report in April 2021. SB 1367 specifically cracks down on awarding massive no-bid state contracts to companies that have made donations to charities on behalf of the governor, Wilk told The Epoch Times in a statement. The perception of pay-to-play in no-bid contracts erodes the publics trust. This bill is part of Wilks government accountability package, a series of bill proposals that seek to crack down, he says, on Californias alleged unethical government practices and to preserve public trust. Contracts, Wilk said, should be awarded on merit and not political connections. Under current state and local laws, companies applying for no-bid contracts dont face the pressure of competition or favoritism, whereas open-bid contracts allow for companies to compete to fill the vacancy. However, during the state of emergency announced in March 2020 due to COVID-19, Newsom was permitted to skip that process. There is no cap on behested paymentswhich are usually requested by elected officials and made by donors to charitable organizations that an elected official supports. Under California law, a payment made by a private entity or person for governmental, legislative, or charitable purposes at the request of a governmental official is not considered a gift or donation to that official. When payments equal $5,000 or more and are made at the behest of an elected official, they must disclose that amount to the public. But critics like Wilk say the practice has eroded the publics trust in the governments ability to discern potential conflicts of interest with donors. The Los Angeles Times reported in 2021 that over $43 million in behest payments were given to the governors office, equating to half a million from Youtube, $300,000 from TikTok, and $227,000 from Netflix. These donations were used for public health ads, and on behalf of the governor, Pfizer Inc. gave $250,000 to a nonprofit providing trailer shelters to families in need during the pandemic, according to the report. SB1367 and Wilks slew of other similar bills related to the states $1.7 billion no-bid contract with PerkinElmer for COVID-19 testing at the Valencia Branch Laboratory will be heard in committee in March. As this is not a sponsored bill, we are working on procuring support from government agencies and members of the California State Legislature, Wilks office said in an email. The Epoch Times reached out to Newsoms office but didnt hear back by press time. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the working visit to the Russian Federation, the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Suren Papikyan met on February 25 with the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Sergey Shoygu. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MOD Armenia, during the meeting, the sides exchanged opinions on international and regional security issues. A number of issues related to the Armenian-Russian bilateral and multilateral military cooperation were discussed. The parties praised the dynamics of the Armenian-Russian allied cooperation and the political dialogue, the role and efforts of the Russian Federation aimed at stabilizing the military-political situation in the region, as well as the effectiveness of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Artsakh. During the discussions, reference was made to the modernization of the Armenian Armed Forces and the process of reforms. At the end of the meeting, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan invited his Russian counterpart Shoygu to pay an official visit to Armenia. California Would Test for Drugs After Fatal Vehicle Collisions Under New Bill Law enforcement would be required to test for drug use after a fatal vehicle collision under a newly proposed California bill. Senate Bill 925, introduced by Sen. Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel), seeks to address the increased amount of fatally injured drivers who have tested positive for substances in their system following fatal accidents. It is becoming increasingly common for drivers involved in fatal collisions to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In 2021, 54.5 [percent] of fatally injured drivers in Orange County had at least one substance in their system, Bates said in a Feb. 23 statement. [E]xisting law only requires law enforcement to test for alcohol. Testing for drugs in fatal collisions allows us to more accurately understand the modern use of prescription and recreational drugs. In addition to testing for substances besides alcohol, the bill extends the required testing period from 24 to 48 hours after the incident, meaning if the victim dies more than 48 hours after the incident, the suspect responsible will not be tested. The bill is sponsored by the Orange County Sheriffs Department. Sheriff Don Barnes said the expanded testing can provide valuable information to lawmakers. The increases seen in driving under the influence of drugs is a major public safety concern, Barnes said in a statement. Policy makers need reliable data in order to correctly address the problem. Ensuring testing of all fatalities will be an important tool for keeping our roads safe. Currently, Orange and San Francisco are the only two counties that screen for drugs in victims of fatal collisions. Capitol Report (Feb. 24): Rep. Chabot: China Is Backing Russia How is the United States reacting to the biggest ground war in Europe since World War II? We bring you the latest on the ground and from President Joe Bidens latest announcement. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill and former President Donald Trump are warning that Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion will embolden China to attack Taiwan. On Thursday, Taiwan spotted nine Chinese warplanes in its air defense zone, just hours after Russia invaded Ukraine. A congressman is calling on Biden to have a clear action plan to warn China and defend Taiwan in the case of an attack. With Biden now serving as a wartime president, we take a look at his role in this crisis overseasand how the conflict will impact our economy. Most states have started to end their mask mandates. And the CDC may update its pandemic guidance soon. A trucker convoy starts its journey from California toward the nations capital. During a send-off rally, truckers set the record straight about who they are and what they hope to achieve. Trump hosts a GOP candidate forum at Mar-a-Lago. They discussed how to take back Congress in the midterm elections. Follow CapitolReport on social media: Twitter https://twitter.com/capitolreport Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CapitolReport/ Gettr https://gettr.com/user/capitolreport CCP Wants to Dominate the World: Rep. Perry Says Americas Adversary Is the CCP, Not the People of China U.S. lawmakers concerned about human rights in China, and their supporters, need to be exceedingly clear that their quarrel is with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and not with the people of China, said Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.). The many human rights abuses in China, involving myriad issues such as forced labor camps, concentration camps, organ harvesting, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings, are urgent issues that call for concerted action, but Perry said that all too often, China is identified as the culprit in discussions of these matters, rather than the CCP. I think you always have to make the distinction. We have no quarrel with the people of China who are yearning to breathe free, like so many other people around the globe. Our quarrel is with the Chinese Communist Party, and its adherents, and the things that they do to their citizens, and the things that they would like to impose on the rest of the globe. Thats the problem, Perry told EpochTVs China Insider program at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 25. People concerned about the situation in China have more options than they may realize. Everybody can do something, even if its just telling your neighbors, Did you know this is happening in China?' Perry said. So that if you have a choice between buying something thats made in China, or not; if you have a choice between supporting a candidate who supports the CCP, or nottheres where we make a million choices every single day. In the congressmans view, the American public has received a heavy volume of misinformation about China over the years, some of it emanating directly from the U.S. government, which has tended to paint the regime Beijing as a competitor in the marketplace rather than an adversary with a far more sinister plan for global dominance. The CCP wants to rule the world and dominate the world, he said. So its going to take a long time to undo 40 or 50 years of dogma and propaganda, not from the CCP exclusively, but from [the U.S. government] itself, Perry continued. Perry sees the current U.S. administrations approach to China as ill-advised. President Joe Biden, he said, has turned away from some of the tough policies of his predecessor, and the general tendency is to rely on the World Trade Organization (WTO) as an arbiter in disputes. But in Perrys view, such an approach betrays a lack of understanding of how the WTO works and is doomed to failure as long as Beijing has a vote at the WTO. Theyre going to continue to lie, theyre going to continue to abuse their privileges. China declares itself an emerging or developing nation, when theyve got the first or second-largest economy in the world. Theyre not a developing nation anymore, he said. And so the WTO cant be counted on, it must be America. Michael Washburn China Reporter Follow Michael Washburn is a New York-based reporter who covers China-related topics. He has a background in legal and financial journalism, and also writes about arts and culture. Additionally, he is the host of the weekly podcast Reading the Globe. His books include The Uprooted and Other Stories, When We're Grownups, and Stranger, Stranger. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies on Capitol Hill on Nov. 4, 2021. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters) CDC Under Fire for Not Publishing All COVID-19 Data It Collects A top U.S. agency is under fire for withholding some of the COVID-19 data it collects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed to The Epoch Times that it hasnt published some of the data it has collected on COVID-19 reinfections. The spokesperson said the agency dropped plans for publishing a paper based on the data given other response priorities and because part of the same data was already presented in a published manuscript. An agency representative told The New York Times that it has also withheld other information, including details on how COVID-19 vaccine booster doses have affected young people. The data hasnt been released or has been released slowly because it takes time to make sure that its accurate and actionable, the representative said, noting that there are fears that the information might be misinterpreted. Multiple experts say the CDC should make all data available. Dr. Robert Malone, who helped create the messenger RNA technology used in some of the vaccines, said the CDCs actions are a type of fraud. Withholding data, key data, is scientific fraud, Malone told The Epoch Times. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of medicine at Stanford University, said the CDC shouldnt withhold information in order to manipulate behavior. The agency should help Americans understand the data in context and provide guidance to improve the lives of all Americans, he wrote on Twitter. Paul Mango, a former official at the Department of Health and Human Services, said the CDCs role should be collecting and disseminating data, not analyzing it itself. The CDC just doesnt have the capacity to conduct research as quickly as the pandemic is moving, Mango told The Epoch Times. As one example, the Cleveland Clinic has been publishing papers since mid-2021 on the natural immunity that many of its employees enjoy after recovering from COVID-19. The CDC didnt publish a major study on the subject until January. I dont think theres anything more powerful than having 1,000 different people look at the datascientists, researcher, epidemiologistsand all interpret it. I hope they would interpret some of it differently, to tell you the truth. I think that would stimulate the right debate over things, Mango said. Mango, whose book on his time with Operation Warp Speed will be published soon, said the federal government would have done things differently if the role of natural immunity was better known in the wake of the COVID-19 vaccines being authorized. Instead, the government led efforts that resulted in many people who had the immunity getting some of the early doses, ahead of people who were more at risk. The CDC has been collecting data on so-called breakthrough infectionsCOVID-19 cases among the vaccinateda spokesperson told the NY Times, but the agency hasnt published the figures because people may interpret them as the vaccines not performing effectivelythe same reason given by Scottish health officials recently in halting the publication of some data. The continued collection surprised Jessica Malaty Rivera, an epidemiologist who helped run the COVID Tracking Project. We have been begging for that sort of granularity of data for two years, she told the NY Times, noting that an analysis of the data builds public trust, and it paints a much clearer picture of whats actually going on. On April 30, 2021, the CDC published data on breakthrough infections for the last time. The data show that at least 9,245 people had suffered breakthrough infections and that 132 of the patients had died. The numbers were reported by 46 U.S. states and territories but were described as a likely undercount because the reporting system is passive and doesnt require reporting, in addition to the jurisdictions that didnt report any data. The CDC kept reporting hospitalizations and deaths among the vaccinated, but it transitioned from publishing raw numbers in the fall of 2021 to reporting rates of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. As of Oct. 18, 2021, jurisdictions reported more than 30,200 hospitalizations and more than 10,800 deaths among the vaccinated. Breakthrough infections and reinfections are important to check because theyre barometers of how strong immunity is against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19. A CDC spokesperson told The Epoch Times that its holding unpublished data on reinfections that it received from the Emerging Infections Network, a group made up of roughly 3,000 medical professionals. The agency dropped plans for publishing a paper based on the data given other response priorities and because a part of the same data was already presented in a manuscript published in late 2021, the spokesperson said. The Emergency Operations Center at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on March 19, 2021. (Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images) More Nuanced The CDC didnt provide a response to the criticism by press time, but some experts say the agency is working under constraints and has already published a lot of data. The fact is that the CDC website and publications have extensive information, and many of the limitations reflect the reality of working in the U.S. health care and public health systems, Dr. Tom Frieden, a former CDC director whos now president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, told The Epoch Times in an email. The health care systems in the United States are largely non-standardized as a result of policy choices made in Washington, and the reality in the U.S. is that much of health policy and implementation is based on state policies, according to Frieden. Dr. Roger Klein, a health policy expert who has advised the CDC and other federal health agencies, said transparency is a good idea, but information conveyed by agencies needs to be accurate and put into proper context. You wouldnt publish a paper, for example, if somebody submits a paper with data and you dont think its reliable, Klein told The Epoch Times. Holding back incomplete datasets is appropriate, according to Peter Pitts, a former Food and Drug Administration associate commissioner. Science isnt useful when you dont have the whole picture, Pitts told The Epoch Times via email. However, many experts say the CDC has committed missteps during the pandemic. A widely-cited example is CDC officials and other federal officials saying early on that masks shouldnt be worn and werent able to prevent transmission of the CCP virus. The CDC has since advised all Americans aged 2 and older to don them, but that recommendation relies on studies criticized as shallow or incomplete. In one recent case, the agency published a study that relied on self-reporting and found no statistically significant benefit for wearing cloth masks, but still promoted the report as backing mask usage. There werent data to support certain recommendations and rather than saying, look, we dont have data to support this, but in our expert opinion, we feel that its the best course right now, they went ahead and presented ideas which were basically hypotheses as if they were based on empirical knowledge, based on having really strong underlying data, and those data werent there, Klein said. Estimates of risks and benefits from COVID-19 and vaccines are misleading, in part because of how the CDC has told medical examiners to list COVID-19 on death certificates, even if its not a confirmed cause of death and even if patients arent confirmed to have had the disease, according to Malone. That led to some deaths by car accidents and poisonings being classified as COVID-19 deaths. A CDC spokesperson said in an email that certifiers should not list COVID-19 unless it was the cause of or contributed significantly to death and that an analysis of certificates found that COVID-19 was the underlying cause, meaning that the disease initiated the causal pathway leading to death, in 91 percent of cases where certificates mention COVID-19. Pitts, now president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, said the CDC has inconsistently reported data. For instance, the CDC just recently reported metrics for people aged 18 to 49 who received a vaccine booster dose, but still havent released more detailed information on booster doses in young people. The agency recommends all Americans aged 12 and older get a booster regardless of prior infection or health status, advice that has drawn pushback. Mango believes that the CDC should move to release the data while emphasizing which numbers agency experts feel comfortable with and which numbers they dont. I understand the concern about, they dont want people to misinterpret it. But show them how you got the data, then they can determine whether or not they think those data have high integrity or not, he said. A police officer secures an area and gestures before a convoy of buses transporting delegates passes by ahead of the opening ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing on May 21, 2020. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images) China in 2022 One of the Least Free Countries in the World: Report China today ranks as one of the countries in the world with the very lowest levels of political freedom and freedom of expression, according to advocacy group Freedom Houses annual Freedom in the World report released on Feb. 24. On a list of 210 countries and territories ranked according to freedom of speech, the right to political participation, and equality before the law, China achieved a score of just 9 out of a possible 100, and the designation not free. Chinas score is lower than that given to Sudan, which enjoys a 10, and Iran, a 14, and is the same given to such states as Libya, Myanmar, and Azerbaijan. Just over a dozen countries had lower scores, including Syria (1), Turkmenistan (2), North Korea (3), Eritrea (3), Equatorial Guinea (5), the Central African Republic (7), and Saudi Arabia (7). Setting forth its reasons for Chinas ranking, Freedom House said that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule has grown increasingly repressive in the last few years. The CCP continues to tighten control over all aspects of life and governance, including the state bureaucracy, the media, online speech, religious practice, universities, businesses, and civil society associations, and it has undermined an earlier series of rule-of-law reforms, the report states. The report singles out for particular criticism the conduct of leader Xi Jinping. The CCP leader and state president, Xi Jinping, has consolidated personal power to a degree not seen in China for decades, it states. Human rights lawyers and activists continue to speak out, though at great personal cost. Political Realities Chinese citizens cannot run or vote in direct elections for national leadership spots, the report details. The CCPs National Congress elects the Party ruler for terms of five years. All government and CCP policies and practices follow Xi Jinpings dictates as leader and head of the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee. It is not surprising that Xi received a second five-year term as CCP general secretary at the 19th CCP congress in October 2017, and looks set to gain an unprecedented third term at the Partys next National Congress in the fall of 2022. The CCP takes full advantage of this top-down autocratic structure to monopolize all political activity, as the report puts it, and to squelch any real competition. The eight small non-communist parties in the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political advisory body to the CCP, must bow to CCP dictates if they wish to continue to exist. Citizens who have sought to establish genuinely independent political parties or advocated for democracy are nearly all in prison, under house arrest, or in exile, the report states, noting that CCP officials in 2021 held pro-democracy lawyers and activists in detention. Xu Zhiyong, founder of the New Citizens Movement, has been incarcerated since February 2020, under a formal indictment for subversion, the report notes. In the reports analysis, the absence of any kind of mechanism for organized political opposition within China has permitted the CCP to rule without interruption since defeating the Kuomintang nationalists in Chinas civil war in 1949. The autocratic authority of the CCP has enabled it to carry out policies in western China whose aim the report explicitly identifies as the reduction of ethnic minority populations. Examples include the detention of more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in internment and forced labor camps. The report also cites mounting reports of torture, sexual abuse, and forced sterilization suffered by Uyghurs inside and outside the camps. Freedom of Expression Consistent with the autocratic and repressive character detailed above, China has what the report calls one of the most restrictive media realms on the planet. The CCP also maintains a highly sophisticated system for censoring and repressing news reporting. Its tools in upholding this system include oversight of the accreditation of journalists, direct ownership of media organizations, and the imposition of severe penalties on anyone who dares to criticize the CCP or its officials. The CCP also issues directives to publications and websites concerning how to cover breaking news stories. Moreover, the CCPs management of the infrastructure of telecommunications facilitates the blocking of websites, the confiscation of smartphone apps from the market, and the deletion of social media posts and user accounts, the report details. Victims of online blocking in recent years include YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, the New York Times, and the British Broadcasting Corporation. The report cites figures from the Committee to Protect Journalists indicating that 50 journalists were in jail in China as of December, but is quick to stipulate that the actual number of people incarcerated for sharing information against the regimes wishes is much higher. China-Russia Alliance an Alarm Bell for the World: Australian Defence Minister Australias Defence Minister Peter Dutton has called out Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping who he said wields the power to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine but has chosen not to do that. The world stands as one to condemn the actions of President Putinexcept for the Chinese government, tragically, Dutton told Sky News Australia on Feb. 25. This alliance that Russia and China have entered into should be deeply disturbing to the rest of the world. Xis silence has made him stand out from world leaders who have publicly condemned Putins actions, Dutton said, despite the Chinese communist regime leader having the power and the relationship to exert pressure on Putin to pull back and to reconsider his military operations in Ukraine. The world should observe that very closely, Dutton said in similar comments to Nines Today program. This alliance between China and Russia really should be an alarm bell for the world. We need to stand united and the west needs to be as strong as we have been since at least the Cold War, he said. Both Dutton and Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie said there would many innocent victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie addresses media as Defence Minister Peter Dutton looks on in front of the Subiaco War Memorial in Perth, Australia, on April 19, 2021. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright) Vladimir Putin is blowing the filthy clouds of war across Europe, Hastie told Sky News Australia on Feb. 24. Innocent people will die at his foul hands and we condemn in the strongest possible terms today. Hastie said Prime Minister Scott Morrison had issued a warning against the rise of authoritarian powers back in 2020, in his Defence Strategic Update, and were seeing that come to bear today. Its a very dark day indeed, he said. Australia will not send troops to Ukraine and should its regime of sanctions fail to change Russias course, Hastie said Australia was just getting warmed up and could deploy offensive cyber capabilities. But most importantly, we condemn this corrupt and evil invasion of the Ukraine. And we affirm Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, he added. Meanwhile, in interviews Dutton said what was happening in Ukraine was a human tragedy and posed the question: The question is what more can the world do? There can be forces sent in and then you would be saying, why have we entered into a nuclear war?' he said. He warned there would be economic consequences for the rest of the world. Chinas Anti-Corruption Campaign Targeting Food System Reveals Food Shortage Crisis: Experts Chinas food system has recently been the target of the regimes anti-corruption campaign. Nearly 40 officials have been investigated and sacked in recent months, and the issue of food security has once again attracted attention. Analysts believe that targeting corruption in the food system has highlighted the serious problem of food shortages in China. On Feb. 21, the Sichuan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision issued a notice saying that Wang Qingnian, deputy director and second-level inspector of the provinces Grain and Material Reserve Bureau, was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and was under disciplinary review and investigation. Wang is the latest official in the food system to be taken down. The concentrated investigation of officials in the food system started from the special rectification initiated by Chinas Central Discipline Inspection Commission (CDIC) in August last year. The regime publicized 10 corruption cases in the food system last November. Among them, was Wu Xin, former director of the Shaanxi Provincial Food Bureau, who took bribes totalling more than 59.45 million yuan (about $ 9.41 million). Last year, the CDIC website released the top 10 anti-corruption words, includng granary rat, which means a daring and insatiable corrupt person working in the food system. Since the beginning of 2022, 27 officials in the food system of Zhejiang Province have been investigated. Regarding the CCPs campaign to combat corruption in the food system, Li Yuanhua, a former associate professor at Beijing Capital Normal University, told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times that corruption has a long history, and officials at all levels of the CCP are corrupt. Li believes, its not that corruption in the food system is more serious than other departments, but there is a real shortage of food at this time, and it is a problem for everyone. Thats why they focus on combating corruption in the food system. A young Chinese girl eats her meal next to a garbage bin in a village in Guizhou Province, southern China, on Feb. 7, 2017. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Li pointed out that Chinas food system has the usual grain reserves and war time grain reserves. According to previous public reports, whenever the CCP checks the grain reserves, there will be an accident in which the grain depot catches fire. Li said that the grain reserves were all secretly sold by officials, or the lesser quality grain was stored in the warehouse and passed off as first class grain but would not pass inspection. Chen Weijian, editor-in-chief of Beijing Spring and a senior media person currently living in New Zealand, told The Epoch Times that Beijings large-scale investigation of food system officials mainly shows that Chinas grain shortage is very serious. The area of arable land in mainland China is diminishing, the country depends on imports, and the quality of food is lacking. Chinas food supply is not self-sufficient at all. Regime leader Xi Jinping has expressed concern about the food supply issue. He emphasized at the Central Rural Work Conference at the end of December last year, The Chinese peoples rice bowls must be firmly in their own hands at all times, and the rice bowls mainly contain Chinese food. However, Anti-Corruption and Integrity Monthly under Legal Media Publishing Group of the CCP said bluntly on its website that this statement is difficult to achieve. At the same time, Chinas food imports continued to soar in recent years. Chinas soybean imports have grown to 100 million tons, accounting for 60 percent of global trade, revealed by Chinese state-owned food processing holding company COFCO last November. In the past 20 years, Chinas grain imports have increased from 5 percent of the global share to 22 percent, and soybean and grain imports are expected to continue to grow in the next 5 to 10 years. A vendor scoops corn at his stall in a market in Beijing on Dec. 2, 2009. Beijing has approved genetically modified strains of corn and rice. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images) Chen pointed out that the genetically modified food and grain imported to China cannot be cultivated for the next generation. China has to purchase seeds, which are basically controlled by foreign seed companies. The price is very high, which increases the cost of growing food for Chinese farmers, so fewer people want to grow food, and dependence on imports skyrockets. Chen believes that another important issue related to Chinas grain shortages is Chinas arable land area. He said that over the years, a large number of migrant workers have gone to the cities, large areas of rural land have been deserted, and farmers planting costs are high, all of which are caused by the CCPs rural policies. According to a report in CCP official media Guangming Daily on March 13, 2021 the area of degraded cultivated land accounted for as much as 40 percent of arable land. The Central Rural Work Conference at the end of December 2021 emphasized that 1.8 billion mu (3.2 million acres) of arable land must live up to its name. What is the area of arable land that deserves its name, Chen said that the actual area of arable land in China is still an unknown. As Chinas environmental destruction and urbanization continue, the area of arable land will continue to decrease, Chen said. Nowadays, there are large areas of developed real estate projects in the countryside, and the so-called new village houses are unoccupied. But the arable land they occupied has been completely destroyed and can never be restored. Luo Ya and Cheng Jing contributed to the report. Chinese Communist Party Sends Mixed Signals on Russia Sanctions The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending mixed signals about its commitment to uphold international sanctions against Russia, following the latters invasion of Ukraine. The CCP regime has enacted some sanctions and lifted others. Two of Chinas largest state-owned banks restricted financing for purchases of Russian commodities on Feb. 25, following an announcement of a number of sanctions by the United States and its allies in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The CCP appears to be taking measures to ease that hardship on Russia, however, and it is unclear how the CCP will respond to recent developments including the United States and allied sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin himself. Notably, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Bank of China both restricted financing of dollar-denominated purchases from Russia. Chinese importers of crude oil, of which Chine is the worlds largest purchaser, were paused as buyers await clarification of financing under the new situation. It appears that the CCP will continue its tightrope walk of strengthening ties with Russia while simultaneously falling short of drawing Western sanctions onto itself. To this end, the CCP announced that it was lifting all wheat-import restrictions on Russia. The move could undermine Western sanctions, providing the CCP with much-needed food relief and Russia with much-needed cash flow. Russia is the worlds largest producer of wheat and Ukraine is the fifth. Similarly, despite pleas from U.S. President Joe Biden to help ease rising gas prices, the CCP boosted its oil reserves and refused to release them to global markets. India, Japan, South Korea, and the UK worked to release some of their reserves to market to temper prices unseen since the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014. The CCPs mixed signals on sanctions come amid criticism that the Party is attempting to benefit from occupying a middle position between Moscow and Washington in the ongoing crisis. Though CCP leadership has maintained that they are neutral in the issue of Ukraine, they have refused to condemn Russias justifications for the war and have used the crisis as an opportunity to belittle the United States and NATO on the world stage, continuously blaming both for stoking Russian aggression against Ukraine. Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday that Ukraine was entitled to its sovereignty but that the United States and NATO had driven Russia to fear for its security. Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, on Thursday used the crisis to recall a 1999 incident in which a NATO bombing run in Yugoslavia resulted in the deaths of three Chinese journalists. NATO still owes the Chinese people a debt of blood, Hua said. Meanwhile, employees at a state-run media outlet were told not to publish any content that appeared critical of Russias invasion of Ukraine, according to an accidentally published internal memo from Horizon News, betraying a pro-Russian bias in the regimes foreign policy. Whoever publishes them will be held responsible, the memo stated. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki downplayed the CCPs ability to reduce the effect of sanctions during a press conference, saying that the CCP could not match all of the economic weight carried by the sanctions. In terms of what impact they can have, I mean, China only accounts for about 15 percent of the global economy, Psaki said on Feb. 24. If you look at G7 partners, in the U.S. and Europe, its about 50 percent, right? So, they cannot cover what the impact of the sanctions that have been announced in coordination with Europe wouldhow they would impact Russia. The statement underscored a more contentious issue, however, which is whether or not sanctions were an effective deterrent against Russia or, in a future conflict, against the CCP. Theres just no way the sanctions are going to work, said Richard Hass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, during a discussion on Twitter. That statement seemed to be reflected in a speech delivered by President Biden on Feb. 24 when, despite having touted sanctions as a deterrent against conflict in Ukraine, he admitted they would likely not end the conflict now that it was begun. No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening, Biden said. Lets have a conversation in another month or so to see if theyre working. Meanwhile, Chinas heavily-censored social media was inundated Friday with calls to stand with Putin and to forcibly annex Taiwan, reflecting the views of an increasingly nationalist popular culture among Chinese youth in the country. A statement from the Kremlin on Feb. 25 said that Xi held a phone call with Putin and expressed support for Russia. Xi underscored his respect for the actions of the Russian leadership in the current crisis, it said. Life is about the journey, not the destination. And Stanley Aryanto is really enjoying the view along the way. The avid award-winning photographer, 34, from Indonesia witnessed an astronomical event few could fathom: a night set in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, capturing green and purple dancing skies, the rare Neowise comet, and a stunning tapestry of Milky Way starsall at once strewn across a celestial panorama. The quest for the spectacle, he said, speaks to the meaning of life itself. Aryanto had quit his nine-to-five mechanical engineering job in West Australia to pick up his camera and capture the beauty of the world, traveling to fulfill his mission to hunt for the most elusive, extraordinary, and spectacular perspectives possible. This led him to the Canadian Rockies where he caught the panorama of a lifetime one starry night. But like many things in life, that journey began with a failure. In order to catch the comet, Aryanto had to find a perch high enough to spot the horizon. The first hike I did was to Tower of Babel, quite a popular one, by Moraine Lake, Aryanto told The Epoch Times. We got up there around sunset time, we saw the Neowise for about 10, 15 minutes before it got covered in clouds and that was it. He was slightly discontented. The photographer, who now lives in Bali, had chosen a nomadic lifestyle to pursue his photography and had been living at Lake Louise for a year and a half. At this time, he was leaving in 11 days, and time was running out for him accomplishing what hed come for. So, after learning from the weather report that the skies were to clear up around midnight, and locating a vantage point on Google Maps some three miles drive away at Tent Ridge in Kananaskis, he and a friend set out. Carrying 18 kilograms (40 pounds) of gear, he scaled the rocky summit amidst overcast skies. We got up there about half an hour to an hour before sunset, he said. The light made it through and lit up the clouds, so that was perfect, it was an awesome sunset. But if I want to see the Neowise, I sure hope the weather is right. The photographer set up a time-lapse camera and tripod. Upon gazing at the preview screen, though, he noticed a green glow across the horizon and at first, he thought the camera had malfunctioned. Until he realized: it was the aurora borealis. I was like, Wow, this is going to be a good night! he recalled. As the sky darkened, the faint glow of the Neowise comet appeared before themwhen the clouds suddenly disappeared, just as the forecast had predicted, and the glow of the aurora intensified. It was incredible, said Aryanto. Throughout the night, I was full of excitement, running back and forth, just happy, jumping around. Im just like, This is the best night of my life! And it literally was. Not only were the aurora borealis and comet Neowise populating the mountain silhouette panorama simultaneously, but the Milky Way then rose in the south for a phenomenal trifecta occurrence. Then, unbelievably, Aryanto sighted a rare dancing ribbon of green and purple above, an aurora-related phenomenon known by the acronym STEVE. The once-in-a-lifetime concurrence on the ridge that night was a trophy of adventure for Aryanto. He would have stayed till dawn except hed promised to leave with his friend, and so they departed at 3 a.m. Recalling the moment, the photographer said he still cant believe what transpired and has to pinch himself to make sure he isnt dreaming. As soon as we drove back, and Im getting back from the mountain, Im getting all these notifications, he said. From my friends, as well as from my apps, saying that, Aurora alert, and Im just like, Yep, I was there! As for Aryantos life lesson, he is compelled always to challenge himself to achieve his next picturemeanwhile reminding us that failure is not something to despise. It doesnt matter what the journeys like, as long as can do it, theres always a positive, he said. This is one example: if that photo that I got from Tower of Babel was bang on, I probably wont be looking that hard for the next opportunity. You got to trust the journey, you got to trust the struggle. Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Bright newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter An election worker makes a record of a ballot pickup on Nov. 3, 2020 in Vancouver, Washington. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images) County Officials Sue Over Alleged Destruction of Log Files in Election Computer System A group of county clerks and commissioners is suing Colorados Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, for her alleged role in the deleting and writing-over of electronic election records. Filed in Denver County District Court in November 2021, the suit has survived one motion to dismiss by Griswold and is facing another. The plaintiffs second amended complaint, filed on Jan. 10, 2022, asks the court to declare that Griswolds office deleted or destroyed electronic election records from the 2020 election. Election officials are required by Colorado law to preserve election records for 25 months. The local clerks contend that her alleged actions injured them in the performance of their statutory duties to ensure honest and fair elections. Griswolds office did not respond to a request for comment, but its second motion to dismiss asserts that computer log files do not meet the legal definition of election records. The tech website howtogeek.com says log files show all events and activities associated with the computer system or application that created them. Log files record when any changes are made in the system and by whom. Elbert County clerk Dallas Schroeder, a plaintiff in the case, has acknowledged that in July 2021 he made a forensic image of everything on his countys election server because, according to court pleadings, Schroeder had a reasonable belief that a scheduled update of the system, which was to be conducted in August by employees of the Secretary of State and the systems vendor, would erase records of the November 2020 election stored on the server. Schroeder and other local officials are asking the court to allow independent forensic audits to determine the extent of deleted or destroyed records, and whether such records can be reconstructed. The original complaint states the local election officials, to the extent possible, are seeking to determine whether the Colorado voting systems accurately recorded the votes of the people of Colorado in the 2020 election. Plaintiffs are also seeking an injunction to prevent Griswold from deleting or destroying election records in the future. In October 2021, the Colorado Secretary of States Office issued a new rule that bars local election officials from contracting with an independent, non-employee, cybersecurity expert to forensically audit or otherwise examine local election systems or equipment. Exhibit 8 of the plaintiffs brief contains a tweet from Griswold, in which she says of her action, My office just issued rules prohibiting sham election audits in the State of Colorado. We will not risk the states election security nor perpetuate The Big Lie. Fraudits have no place in Colorado. Holly Kasun, a spokesperson for attorney John Case, the plaintiffs lawyer, told The Epoch Times that Griswolds rule, made sure only the state can audit the state. Plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the rule exceeds Griswolds statutory authority. They argue it is an arbitrary, capricious, unwarranted, and abusive infringement on the prerogatives of local officials in the carrying out of their sworn duty. Oral arguments on Griswolds second motion to dismiss are scheduled for March 11. YEREVAN, 25 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. The President of Ukraine Vladymyr Zelenskyy released a video message in which he noted that he and the leadership of the government and the parliament are in Kyiv, ARMENPRESS reports Zelenskyy published the video message on his Telegram channel. "We are all here, we are defending our independence, our state, it will continue to be so," Zelenskyy said. Earlier, CNN had reported about Zelensky's departure from Kyiv. Ukrainian troops patrol in the town of Novoluhanske, eastern Ukraine, on Feb. 19, 2022. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images) Cruel for NATO to Leave Ukraine to Fend for Itself: Diplomacy Expert A diplomacy expert has lambasted the transatlantic defence bloc for leaving Ukraine to fend for itself and warned that the entire episode could undermine confidence in the global rules-based order. I thought it was morally repugnant for the west to encourage Ukraine to take on Russia without providing manpower or fundingalong with the idea that 100-200,000 Ukrainians have to die by themselves without help. I think its ridiculous, Joseph Siracusa, adjunct professor in international diplomacy at Curtin University, told The Epoch Times. I think theres something really wrong with NATO, which consists of 30 countries? To allow a near neighbour to go to battle with a Goliath, he added. They wouldnt give Ukraine air defence systems because they thought, number one, they couldnt handle it, and number two, it would fall into the wrong hands. So, the Russians control the sky and its just a matter of time before they break the place down. On Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to alleged threats from the Ukrainian government. Moscow then launched a multi-prong attack via land, sea, and air into the country. Currently, Reuters is reporting that there have been 137 Ukrainian defence personnel and civilians killed and hundreds of casualties have been reported, with the population either sheltering, taking up arms, or attempting to flee the major cities. The latest move comes after months of build-up from Russian forces along Ukrainian borders, which European and U.S. leaders have condemned. However, a desperate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 19, called for action from world leaders, warning that the European security architecture could not be repaired and needed to be replaced. It crashes again because of different things: selfishness, self-confidence, irresponsibility of states at the global level. As a result, we have crimes of some and indifference of others. Indifference that makes you an accomplice, he told the audience at the 58th Munich Security Conference. I hope no one thinks of Ukraine as a convenient and eternal buffer zone between the West and Russia. Since the invasion, multiple nations have imposed several tranches of sanctions against Russian banks, individual oligarchs and their families, and the company behind Nord Stream 2the major pipeline set to provide gas from Russia to Germany. Putin was not named in any sanctions. Siracusa noted that world leaders were attempting to create internal pressure on the Russian leader but were still pessimistic on the use of such measures. What NATO and the West were doing was to pretend that those sanctions were a deterrent. Sanctions are not a deterrent; they are a punishment. A deterrent by definition is fear and retaliation, and Putin and the rest of these guys had nothing to fear in terms of retaliation, he said. Regarding tensions on the other side of the world in the Indo-Pacific region involving Beijing, Siracusa said the Ukrainian saga could undermine confidence in regional alliances and that world leaders needed to step up. Maybe at the end of the day the 195 nations on earth are on their own? he said. The real lesson for defence planners is that if they think alliances are ironclad, or if they think theyre in the company of people who will come to their aidthe Ukraine situation will be a cautionary tale for countries like Australia on how far the West and the United States will go for an individual country. The Epoch Times has updated the article after it incorrectly reported that 167 Ukrainians had died. The correct number reported was 137 Ukrainians. The Epoch Times apologises for this error. Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin speaks to press at the emergency European Union summit in Brussels on Feb. 24, 2022. (John Thys/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Debate on NATO Membership Will Change After Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Finnish Official The debate over whether Finland should join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has shifted following Russian forces invading Ukraine, a top Finnish official said on Feb. 24. Finland is not currently facing an immediate military threat, but it is also now clear that the debate on NATO membership in Finland will change, Prime Minister Sanna Marin told a press conference Finnish broadcaster YLE reported. Finland is part of the European Union but not NATO, a bloc of 30 countries primarily in Europe. Sweden is in the same situation. They are two of just six union members who arent part of the bloc. The proposal to join NATO would require support from the public and Parliament, according to Marin. Supporters in Finland of joining NATO argue it would help guarantee protection against Russia, according to the Wilson Center. Opponents say joining NATO would impose a financial burden and require providing military support to NATO operations. Swedes who want to join NATO are also wary of Russia while those against NATO membership say joining could trigger a backlash from Russia. Leaders of both countries condemned Russias invasion as they joined an emergency European Union summit in Brussels on the matter. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told reporters that the country is not joining NATO for the time being despite Russias actions. In a situation like this it is important that Swedens long-standing security policy stays firm. That we are predictable and clear, Andersson said, according to AFP. Sweden has been alliance-free for an extremely long time. It has served Swedens interests well. Russian officials have opposed any new countries, including Ukraine, joining NATO, and became upset when NATO didnt rule out accepting Ukraine or other prospective members. Because Ukraine didnt become a member, NATO members are not obligated to send troops to help battle Russian forces. NATOs founding charter says an attack on one country is considered an attack on all members of the alliance. Sergiy Korsunky, a Ukrainian diplomat to Japan, told a briefing in Tokyo that the war would not have happened if Ukraine had gained NATO membership. For NATO now, we want the membership, he said, adding later that we believe that there is no country in the world which can protect itself by itself. James Heappey, the British armed forces minister, said in parliament around the same time that neither British nor NATO troops should play an active role in Ukraine because that could cause an unnecessary escalation. Report Exposes Deceptive Practices of Chinese Internet Trolls As more and more businesses and enterprises expand their customer base via online shopping platforms, ratings and reviews have become one major way consumers can determine the trustworthiness of a business. In China, the wangluo shuijun (internet trolls) was formed in response to that demand, with the goal of flooding the internet with fake reviews, comments, and ratings intended to boost sales. Recently, Han Dandong, a journalist from the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) state media, Legal Daily, went undercover in dozens of troll business groups and published his investigations in an article titled Unanimous and Consistent Positive Ratings in Online Shopping Could be Fake. According to Han, joining the trolls may be as simple as responding to a hiring notice posted by an administrator in any public messaging group on the Tencent messaging app QQ, without verification of identity. The novice trolls are then allowed access to a private messaging group where the new hire, and the thousands of other members, can choose from hundreds to thousands of tasks given by the administrators daily. These tasks, such as promoting or disparaging a product or business, oftentimes only require copying and pasting an existing template of commentary with little to no modification. Upon completing a task, the troll needs to send verifying screenshots in order to be paid from 0.50 yuan ($0.08) to 1.50 yuan ($0.24) per task. These organizations usually disguise themselves with names like Returning from the snow and Gathering together. Furthermore, to conceal sensitive content, a small portion of these messaging groups dismiss all participants upon completion of a particular task. In the process of advancing his trolling career, Han found that there are two categories of trolls in the lowest tiers of this industry: those with a focus on quantity, and those with a focus on quality, with the latter being paid more due to the complexity of the task. In the quality sector of trolling, training is provided to members by giving them a list of words and phrases commonly used by people in particular areas of expertise. On the other hand, in the quantity sector of trolling, tasks can be completed with no modification to the template. To further ones career in the troll business, however, requires trust from the clients and verification of identity, as the administrators accept orders directly from their clients. In addition to trolling, other methods to influence the perceptions of the common citizens exist, such as Cash for Thumb-ups, Information Redirection, Get Paid to Delete Posts, and many others. These practices have been used in China since the birth of e-commerce, and their influence extends outside the country as well. According to the Security Times, a Chinese state-owned financial newspaper, Amazon, the worlds largest e-commerce company, terminated over 50,000 Chinese stores on its platform in May 2021 for improper use of review functions, resulting in a loss of more than 100 billion yuan ($15.7 billion). Deceptive practices also drive up the operating costs of a business. For instance, Amazon invested over $700 million and 10,000 employees for brand protections in 2020, according to its 2020 Brand Protection Report. In a previous interview, Xia Yifan, a current affairs commentator, expressed his concern about the consequences of distrust between the Chinese People. Under the rule of the CCP, everything can be faked, officials can be bought off, and justice is often absent if consumers become victims. It can be seen that the level of trust between people is very low. This is caused by the CCPs system. The financial loss from the lack of trust is immeasurable, Xia told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times. In this handout photo provided by Disneyland Resort, guests are waved to by workers as they take in the sights and sounds of Main Street U.S.A. at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., on April 30, 2021. (Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images) Disneyland Hosts Job Fair With Signing Bonus on Friday ANAHEIM, Calif.Calling all Disney fans that have dreamed of working alongside Mickey MouseDisneyland in Anaheim, California, is heightening employment and hosting a job fair on Feb. 25 with positions offering a signing bonus, some up to $1,500. A job fair will be hosted at the Disneyland Hotel on Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for potential cast members to scoop out part-time and full-time positions in Disneys parks, hotels, and specialty operations. Disney is seeking theme park roles to cover security, food and beverage preparation, cashier, hotel operations, and beauty specialist operations. Positions that come with a $1,000 to $1,500 sign-on bonus include park busser, park custodial host and hostess, food preparation, dishwasher, hotel room attendants, massage therapists, and hairstylists. However, only cast members hired before April 2 will be eligible to receive the bonus, according to Disney Careers website. Once hired, eligible employees can take college-level courses and have their tuition completely paid by Disney through the Disney Aspire program with partner institutions, including Purdue University, the University of Arizona, and the University of Denver, according to the programs website. For interested candidates who are unable to attend the job fair in person, virtual interviews will be offered 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Shay Bell receives a vaccine at a pop up COVID vaccination booster clinic inside the stadium before the match between the Men's Indigenous All Stars and the Men's Maori All Stars at CommBank Stadium in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 12, 2022. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) Doctors Reluctant to Link Adverse Reactions to Jab: Personal Injury Lawyer Australians seeking compensation for adverse reactions after receiving the jab have complained of having their symptoms dismissed or not investigated by doctors, according to a personal injury lawyer. Clare Eves, national leader for Shine Lawyers medical negligence division, says the lack of proper post-vaccination care was one of several challenges hindering Australians from successfully making claims under the governments COVID-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme. Its a bit of a slow process, Eves told The Epoch Times. And its maybe a bit more involved than people were anticipating that it was going to be. The first hurdle really is, do you have one of the recognised covered conditions? she said. If you dont, then youre probably not going to be eligible. Weve had just under 350 inquiries about adverse outcomes, and they have been extremely varied, but most of them have a condition that has some ongoing impact, she added. Not many seem to fit within the criteria of the six categories. A person receiving a Covid-19 jab (PA) Under the program, individuals can make claims of A$1,000 or above for medical costs or lost earnings caused by an adverse reaction to an approved COVID-19 vaccine. These adverse events include anaphylactic reaction, thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (blood-clotting), myocarditis, pericarditis, capillary leak syndrome, demyelinating disorders including Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS), and Thrombocytopenia, including immune Thrombocytopenia. Eves revealed that over the past few months, she has encountered individuals complaining of deconditioning, headaches, fatigue, strokes, and seizureswhich fall outside the scheme. Services Australiathe government department responsible for the programtold The Epoch Times that the claim assessment process was complex and could also require independent medical verification. Further, there were many cases where additional information had to be obtained from claimants, a process which has seen some applications withdrawn. If found eligible, applicants will be given up to six months to accept an offer of compensation, therefore finalisation of claims may also take some time, the government department said. As of Feb. 9, 861 applications for compensation have been submitted, a far smaller number than the 10,000 Australians who registered their initial interest in November 2021. When you look at some of the criteria thats actually involved in the process, I dont think thats really surprising, Eves said, noting the red tape involved. Theres not many cardiac surgeons in a public hospital who are going to be filling out extensive 6-to-8-page forms (for a claim) for one of their public patients as a priority, she said, adding that getting the forms completed was not covered by the governments Medicare program and could end up being lengthy and expensive. I think people with smaller claims might just think its all a bit too intrusive and hard, she added. Eves did not rule out a class action saying in some cases, the duty of care owed to patients may have been breached. A St John Ambulance staff member takes the temperature of a client arriving at a COVID-19 Vaccination Centre in the CBD in Sydney, Australia, on July 19, 2021. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images) We have spoken with a number of people who have suffered symptoms consistent with an adverse outcome following the vaccine, so shortness of breath or a rapid heart rate, and their symptoms have been dismissed and not investigated, she said. It may be that the vaccine was contraindicated for that person, it wasnt administered properly by the practitioner, or theres an element of that complication that hasnt been managed which has worsened the condition, she added. As of Feb. 14, over 52.3 million doses have been administered in Australia. Many recipients of the hundreds of millions of vaccine doses in Australia and the United States have reported either brief or no reaction to the jab. However, a growing number of individuals have begun reporting severe reactions while struggling to get treatment. Erin Sullivan, a speech pathologist in Connecticut who received the Moderna jab on Jan. 6, 2021, told The Epoch Times she has suffered tingling in her limbs, severe fatigue, and other symptoms for over a year. While Dr. Danice Hertz, a retired gastroenterologist who received a Pfizer shot on Dec. 23, 2020, said she had experienced severe facial pain, chest constriction, tremors, twitching limbs, and tinnitus. I felt like someone was pouring acid on me, the Los Angeles resident said. Philip Burcham, associate professor in the School of Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Western Australia, said the number of side-effects from current COVID-19 jabsand extensive vaccine mandatesproves authorities have lowered the bar on what medicines are suitable for public use. Its as if weve shredded the toxicology handbook that guided the pharmaceutical innovation sector since the 60s thalidomide disaster and thrown its remains to the four winds, he wrote in The Epoch Times on Jan. 23. Experimental drugs that elicit such overt neurological symptoms as severe headaches during Phase 1 testing in healthy volunteers should promptly be sent to the trash can. Or at least back to the medicinal chemistry lab for a structural re-design. A federal grand jury has charged six men with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: Top row (L) Kaleb Franks, (C) Brandon Caserta, (R) Adam Dean Fox, and bottom row (L) Daniel Harris, (C) Barry Croft, and (R) Ty Garbin, in an indictment released Dec. 17, 2020. (Kent County Sheriff via AP File) DOJ Seeks to Keep Undercover Agents Anonymous in Whitmer Kidnapping Case Federal prosecutors in the Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping case have asked a judge to keep the names of two undercover FBI agents undisclosed and accused a defendants friend of offering a cash bounty for information about at least one of the agents. The U.S. government articulated its position on the issue on Feb. 24, in response to a Feb. 22 brief from defendant Barry Croft stating that the federal agents shouldnt be allowed to testify under false names. According to Croft, allowing them to testify under pseudonyms violates his constitutional rights. Croft and his co-defendants said they were entrapped by the 12-plus undercover informants and agents investigating them. Testifying under a false name would not allow for effective cross-examination and would deny Mr. Croft his right to confrontation. Despite the government alleging that it will provide counsel with any material that may go to credibility, this is not enough, Crofts attorney said in the filing. Counsel has a duty to independently investigate and counsels investigation may return different results than the information the government has offered to provide. Croft was particularly interested in two undercover federal agents he apparently had contact with during the runup to his October 2020 arrest: Red and Mark. According to Croft, Red wasnt merely a passive player in the investigation. Red generated promotional videos showing his purported abilities, which were pushed to the charged defendants in an attempt to interest them in purchasing his explosives, Croft said. When they didnt initially bite, Red offered that IOUs were an acceptable form of payment. Croft accused the Department of Justice of lacking any explanation as to why the undercover agents should be kept anonymous. Prosecutors responded on Feb. 24, accusing Croft of disclosing discovery material to his extremist associates. They also said the two agents in question were working undercover in other, unrelated anti-terrorism investigations. Those associates offered a cash bounty for the identity of informants and have publicly called for violent retaliation against the FBI, prosecutors said. The government requests the court permit undercover agents to testify using the pseudonyms by which they were known to the defendants. As evidence, prosecutors included a screenshot of someone saying that Croft had been arrested, offering a $1,000 reward for the name and location of the rat. They also cited numerous examples of Croft talking to reporters. Croft has demonstrated a desire to provide such information to the media and his associates, who will widely disseminate their identities in an attempt to harass them, tamper with, or undermine their testimony, prosecutors said. Public disclosure of the witnesses true names will have no bearing on defendants ability to prepare their defense or to cross-examine the witnesses. Prosecutors also argued that the undercover agents would still be testifying live in a public courtroom. The use of a pseudonym wont affect the jurys ability to observe and assess the agents demeanor and appearance at trial, they said. However, the government also requested that the court prohibit sketch artists and other observers at the trial from recording the undercover agents physical appearances. Prosecutors argued that the court already prohibits audio and video recording of its proceedings and that this further restriction wouldnt affect the defendants ability to cross-examine the agents. The measures proposed are narrowly tailored to protect the safety of the witnesses and the integrity of ongoing anti-terrorism investigations, prosecutors said. They impose minor, if any, burdens on the defendants right of confrontation. The trial is scheduled to start on March 8. A logo of Mercedes-Benz is seen outside a Mercedes-Benz car dealer, amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Brussels, on May 28, 2020. (Yves Herman/Reuters) Electric and Luxury Models Boost Mercedes-Benz Earnings BERLINMercedes-Benz will prioritize sales of top-end and electric vehicles in 2022 and deepen its relationship with chip producers, the carmaker said on Thursday, seeking more control over its supply chain amid an ongoing semiconductor shortage. The Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans division more than doubled its annual adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to 13.9 billion euros ($15.61 billion) from 6.8 billion euros last year even as unit sales fell 5 percent. Revenue from top-end vehicles lifted earnings, with top models bringing in 30 percent more than last year and revenue from electric passenger cars up 64 percent. Alongside the focus on cost efficiency and supply chain management, three strategic priorities stand out: scaling our electric offensive, accelerating our car software plans, and building out our luxury business, Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius said. The company will propose a dividend of 5 euros per share for the year, it said, a significant jump from last years 1.35. Around 0.7 euros of this will represent the Daimler Truck dividend, as the truckmaker will not make a separate payout this year, the company said. Mercedes-Benz, which changed its name from Daimler on Feb 1 this year, expects revenue to rise slightly this year compared with 2021 as supply chain bottlenecks ease but added it was too soon to predict an end to the global semiconductor shortage. The spin-off of the companys truck division Daimler Truck in December last year resulted in a one-time EBIT boost of 9.2 billion euros. By Victoria Waldersee Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his address to the nation at the Kremlin in Moscow on Feb. 21, 2022.(Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) EU to Freeze Putins Assets Over Ukraine Aggression The European Union has adopted a fresh round of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including freezing the overseas assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a top European official said. Latvias Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkevics, confirmed in a statement that the European Unions Foreign Affairs Council had adopted a second package of sanctions and that among them is an asset freeze targeting Lavrov and Putin. Inclusion of the two top Kremlin officials in the sanctions was separately confirmed by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, according to Russian news agency Tass. While neither Baerbock nor Rinkevics provided more details on the asset freeze, Bloomberg cited two senior EU officials as saying that the measures targeting Putin and Lavrov would not impact the duos ability to travel so as to keep the door open to diplomacy, at least symbolically. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov holds a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart following their meeting in Moscow on Oct. 6, 2021. (Kirill KudryavtsevI/POOL via Getty Images) The Latvian foreign minister also said that EU officials were readying a third package of sanctions against Russia, whose military forces streamed across Ukraines borders on Thursday in the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. As Russian tanks rolled deep into Ukraine on Thursday, EU leaders in Brussels raced to approve what the blocs foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described as the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented. Those sanctions include freezing Russian assets in the EU, cutting Russian banks access to European financial markets, and stifling the countrys trade and manufacturing with export controls. In a statement agreed at the summit, EU leaders said the new round of sanctions will impose massive and severe consequences on Russia for its action, accusing Russia of an unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Europe to act fast and forcefully in hitting Moscow with sanctions. You still can stop this aggression. You have to act swiftly, he said, adding that banning Russians from entering the EU, an oil embargo, and cutting Moscow off from the SWIFT global interbank payments system should all be on the table. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with his counterparts from Lithuania and Poland following their talks in Kyiv on Feb. 23, 2022. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images) A SWIFT ban would make it harder for Russian companies to get paid for goods they export to other countries. They would also find it more difficult to invest overseas or borrow from foreign lenders. But removing Russia from SWIFT would also make it harder for foreign buyers of Russian oil and gas to settle transactions, potentially driving energy prices higher. Western leaders are divided over excluding Russia from SWIFT, with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire saying on Friday that the move was possible, but only as a financial nuclear weapon of last resort. President Joe Biden said Thursday that the United States and its international allies have decided not to eject Russia from SWIFT, at least for now, with the measure remaining as a nuclear option in case the Ukraine situation escalates. Asked by reporters during a White House press conference whether personally sanctioning Putin was being considered, Biden said yes. Its not a bluff, its on the table, Biden said. Financier and activist Bill Browder, who lobbied Congress to pass the Magnitsky Act, a measure to punish Russian human rights violators, told The Independent that removing Russia from SWIFT would be the one thing that would really change Putins calculus. Browder on Friday reacted to news that Putin and Lavrov had been hit with an EU asset freeze. Unexpected news coming from the EU, but very welcome, he wrote on Twitter. Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their meeting on the sidelines of a BRICS summit, in Brasilia, Brazil, Nov. 13, 2019. (Sputnik/Ramil Sitdikov/Kremlin via Reuters) Even After Russias Invasion of Ukraine, a Marriage of Convenience Between Xi and Putin Wont Last Commentary The warm glow of Chinas support for Russias invasion of Ukraine and at the Beijing summit this month between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping was defined by both leaders as the acme of the SinoRussian relationship. At the summit, the leaders pledged to work together to address many issues. However, the flowery phrases, saccharine remarks, and modest agreement cant mask some unpleasant considerations regarding their partnership. The two leaders pledged that their cooperation has no limits and no forbidden areas of cooperation. As the Ukraine crisis heats up, the SinoRussian relationship seems stronger. But thats an illusion. Russia and China both seek to take advantage of their relationship without clearly defining its nature. In October 2019, Putin called it alliance-like, and in 2021, he toned that down by saying that unlike NATO countries, we are not creating any closed military alliance or any military bloc between Russia and China. There are no grounds for such a conversation. But Wang Wenbin, the spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, responded to Putins remarks by insisting the two countries are not allies but closer than allies, or better and more than allies, depending on who translates his comment. China is eager to elevate the relationsor at least create an impressionthat Russia and China have joined forces to counter the West led by the United States. The joint statement issued after Putins visit largely uses Chinas anti-America narratives, and Putin got new oil and gas deals with China worth an estimated $117.5 billion. The trade account will be settled with their own currencies. However, this doesnt mean Beijing and Moscow have formed a quasi-alliance of autocracies to contest for world dominance. In fact, the so-called SinoRussia comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership is no more than a well-calculated marriage of convenience, despite that Xi and Putin want to strengthen their relations to undermine Western democracy and the liberal world order. Its evident that Xi was unable to get Russia to commit to a solid alliance for mutual defense and assistance such as Mao Zedong did in 1950. Putin failed to secure Xis avowed support for Moscow in the Ukrainian standoff, even though China continues to help Russia by accusing the United States, without naming names, of NATOs endless expansion, and a Cold War mentality, which exacerbates tensions around Ukraine. People stand around a damaged structure caused by a rocket in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. Overnight, Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine, with explosions reported in multiple cities and far outside the restive eastern regions held by Russian-backed rebels. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images) Thats because Xi cant afford to risk losing the Wests invaluable markets. Chinas trade with its two largest trade partnersthe United States and the European Uniontopped $1.6 trillion in 2021. In the same year, China reported a nearly $400 billion trade surplus with the United States alone. Open hostility to the West will jeopardize Chinas much-needed revenues, and disrupt its strategic period of opportunity to get ready. Meanwhile, Putin holds his cards by avoiding the formation of a collective defense alliance with China, which the former Soviet Union did as well. However, that ended badly for the Soviets when Mao tried to replace Nikita Khrushchev to become the leader of the communist world. Putin knows that China can clearly discount or dismiss Russias interests if it needs to do so, with no adverse effects on Chinas power or global position. More importantly, Putin wants to profit from what the Chinese call the the SnipeClam Grapple (in the battle between the snipe and the clam, only the fisherman wins as he nets both) between the United States and China to restore Russias past glories. In a Putin op-ed published by Chinese state-run media Xinhua before his visit, he refrained from criticizing the United States but focused on working together with China to achieve stable economic growth. But Xis enticing deals make it hard for him to resist allowing himself to be used. Like Josef Stalin did to Mao, Xi wants to pull Putin into his grasp by establishing dependence upon China, so he can form an anti-U.S. alliance and acquire more advanced Russian military technology and weaponry to prepare for the final showdown with the United States. Putin wants to use Chinas money to rescue the Russian economy, and also have Xis support for his invasion of Ukraine, while not committing to a military alliance. Putin may think he can eat his cake and have it, too. But the move will cost him his ability to lean to the West. Year after year, Russias dependence on China will grow, and Xis hold on Putin will get tighter. Putins hostility to the West will ensure that theres no easy road back. In one of historys ironic twists, Russia has become Chinas foot soldier. A far cry from the Soviet Unions dominant position over China in the last century. Putin has set Russia on a course that may cost the countrys independence. He should know better that Xi is determined to avenge Chinas century of humiliation and shame and to fulfill the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation, which could include more than 5 million square kilometers of Chinese territory that had been ceded to Russiawhich the Soviet government promised to return but didnt. Xis nationalists are now demanding a recovery. China also continues to steal Russian military secrets from Moscow and infiltrate its elite through corruption, and a growing suspicion weakens the partnership. The Western economic and financial sanctions against Putin wont work unless China is also sanctioned. Even though the SinoRussian alliance is a marriage of convenience, theyre an axis of evil, particularly considering Putin secured Beijings economic support prior to the invasion. In the short term, the West must realize that any economic and financial sanctions against Putin wont work unless China is also sanctioned, considering Russia will definitely rely on China to overcome the Wests new sanctions. But in the long term, the West must prevent the marriage of convenience between China and Russia from turning into a genuine love affair. When the two countries form an alliance of autocracies, they can combine Chinas economic power with Russias military power, making them the most formidable enemy to democracies. The U.S. government should come up with a strategy to divide Russia and Chinanot through accommodating Russian aggression to Ukraine, but through meaningful economic assistance to disrupt the SinoRussia alliance and ensure that there are ample checks on Chinas power and influence in world politics. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Bradley A. Thayer Follow Bradley A. Thayer is a founding member of the Committee on the Present Danger: China and is the co-author of How China Sees the World: Han-Centrism and the Balance of Power in International Politics. West Virginia AG Hopes Supreme Court Will Curb EPA Authority Patrick Morrisey seeks to prevent EPA from becoming a 'central energy planning authority' West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey told The Epoch Times that he hopes the Supreme Court will use an upcoming case to rein in the far-reaching powers of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to shut down carbon dioxide-generating industries without regard to the economic well-being of those affected. The problem is that the EPA is trying to transform itself from an environmental regulator into a central energy planning authority, according to Morrisey, a Republican. He was referring to the case known as West Virginia v. EPA, court file 20-1530, which the Supreme Court will hear on Feb. 28. West Virginia is a major producer of coal, natural gas, and crude oil. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, West Virginia was fifth among U.S. states in energy production in 2019, accounting for 5 percent of the nations total. In 2020, it was the second-largest coal producer in the country, after Wyoming, accounting for 13 percent of total U.S. coal production. West Virginia and 18 other states are challenging the authority that the Clean Air Act provides the EPA. The challengers hope the high court will resolve whether the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to delegate regulatory authority to the EPA to limit so-called greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge comes years after the Supreme Court ruled 54 in Massachusetts v. EPA (2007) that the agency can regulate greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide as air pollutants under the act. In the decision, the court called climate change the most pressing environmental challenge of our time. Critics have long said the classification of carbon dioxide, the gas humans expel from their lungs when breathing, as a pollutant is absurd. Carbon dioxide is essential to life on the planet and is used in the process of photosynthesis, which spurs plant growth. But environmentalists claim human-created carbon dioxide contributes to climate change. In 2016, the Supreme Court halted the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which expanded controls over industry, then later, the deregulation-minded Trump administrations Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE Rule) eased controls on industry. But a Jan. 19, 2021, ruling (pdf) by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in American Lung Association v. EPA restored some of the agencys authority. A three-judge panel found that the ACE Rule was unlawful. Environmental Defense Fund senior attorney Ben Levitan hailed the ruling at the time. Its a really strong foundation for the BidenHarris EPA to restore crucial safeguards for Americans, Levitan told Bloomberg Law. Morrisey told The Epoch Times that after the Trump years of deregulation, the Biden administration is now moving us in the opposite direction. We want to make sure that on so many issues, that were able to take advantage of the abundant resources that our country possesses and utilize those resources responsibly. Thats what our goal is here in West Virginia, he said. And were hopeful that the cases that were advancing will allow our nation to retain that national security, that energy independence, that affordable pricing that is so critical to jobs and our economic future. Morrisey said is hoping for the Supreme Court case to provide clarity once and for all, to the EPA about the nature of their authoritywhat exactly are they allowed to regulate? How can they regulate? This has been going back and forth for many years, he said. We dont need to have another four-year ping pong on this. We need to bring certainty and clarity. Morrisey said his states court case isnt directly engaging Massachusetts v. EPA. The case is only ostensibly about climate change. There is always going to be room for debate on important questions, he said. And weve not made this about the science or the back-and-forth about climate change, because thats a debate for Congress to have. We believe that there is a narrow array of authority thats provided to the EPA in the area of carbon emissions. But the agency is trying to take that narrow authority and extrapolate it and try to transform the EPA from being an environmental regulator into a central energy planning authority, according to Morrisey. And it is something that that has to be stopped because the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals gave the EPA virtually unlimited authority to act, a virtual mandate to go much further than what the statute allows, he said. Morrisey said the case is so important because it gets to the fundamental question as to who gets to decide the major questions of the day in our society. Should major issues of the day be decided by Congress, or by an unelected bureaucracy that has no accountability to the American public? he said. If you have a very significant financial, political, or social question, its important to get the input and the involvement of everyone who is part of our constitutional system. Its a very important separation-of-powers question. We have to ensure that these bureaucrats dont get to make the major questions of the day without the constitutionally mandated involvement of the American people and their representatives. The doctrine from constitutional law is actually called the Major Questions Doctrine, according to Morrisey. When there is a matter of vast economic and political significance, a major question of the day, Congress needs to provide a clear statement to the federal agency before it can act on that major question, the doctrine states. Despite a narrow grant of authority to the EPA, we know through the Obama Clean Power Plan, and from the Biden administrations own agenda, that they want to run very far afield from the statutory authority they possess. The states solicitor general, Lindsay See, who will argue the case before the high court, is really wonderful, according to Morrisey. Weve been working very closely over the last few months on this issue, and shes been working on this issue the last five years, so I have great confidence in her, he said. And this is a really important case for the future of our country. 715 | April 29, 2022 17:31 Denmark becomes the first country to stop its Covid vaccination program 703 | April 29, 2022 16:07 A group of students who participated in the 44-day Artsakh War received support from the Armenian Relief Society 673 | April 29, 2022 15:20 Psychological seminar held in Stepanakert 673 | April 30, 2022 09:38 Azerbaijani officials should specify which territories they see in the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan - Grigoryan 635 | April 29, 2022 15:53 Armenian, Azerbaijani, Russian FMs' meeting to be held in Dushanbe 606 | April 29, 2022 15:00 Euro zone inflation hits record high of 7.5% 604 | April 30, 2022 12:01 Russian operation in Ukraine contributes to freeing world from Western oppression - Lavrov 589 | April 30, 2022 10:40 NATO doing everything to prevent political agreements between Russia and Ukraine Lavrov An American Airlines Boeing 737-800, equipped with radar altimeters that may conflict with telecom 5G technology, can be seen flying 500 feet above the ground while on final approach to land at LaGuardia Airport in New York, on Jan. 6, 2022. (Bryan Woolston/Reuters) FAA Issues 5G Warning for Boeing 737s but Says Practical Effects Are Limited WASHINGTONThe Federal Aviation Administration has warned that 5G wireless operations can interfere with radio altimeters in Boeing 737s, impeding a crews ability to safely fly or land, but FAA officials stressed the issue poses little practical effect for airlines. Despite dire-sounding language in the FAA airworthiness directive issued on Wednesday about potential effects on 737 landings, it does not apply to aircraft flying into areas where the 5G environment has been rendered safe for aviation, which the FAA said includes nearly all airports. The overwhelming majority of commercial airports have either established 5G wireless buffer zones around them or lack 5G operations altogether, meaning that planes landing there are protected from radio interference warned about in the FAA directive, agency officials said on Wednesday. The FAA said the directive posted on Wednesday for most of Boeings 737 aircraft is very similar to notices issued previously for 737 MAX aircraft, as well as 747, 757, 767, and 777 jetliners. However unlikely as a practical matter, Wednesdays directive warns that certain airplane systems may not properly function during approach, landings, and go-arounds due to interference with radio altimeters from wireless broadband operations in the 3.73.98 GHz frequency band (5G C-Band). This in turn could lead to increased flight crew workload while on approach with the flight director, autothrottle, or autopilot engaged, which could result in reduced ability of the flight crew to maintain safe flight and landing of the airplane, the directive said. The notice affects some 2,400 airplanes in the United States and about 8,300 worldwide, the FAA said. A Boeing spokesman said in a statement, We support the Airworthiness Directive, as it mandates the same guidance that Boeing provided to operators back in January. Telecommunications networks are rolling out next-generation 5G systems that the FAA has previously warned could impact sensitive airplane electronics such as radio altimeters. The Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NITA) have vowed to improve coordination on spectrum management after a dispute over 5G aviation. The spectrum was presented in January, but only after Verizon Communications and AT&T agreed to delay deploying 5G wireless towers near airports. By Susan Heavey The construction site of Russia's petrochemical holding Sibur's ZapSibNefteKhim plant on the outskirts of Tobolsk on Oct. 4, 2018. (Andrey Borodulin/AFP via Getty Images) Fake Environmentalism Fueled the Ukraine War Commentary Its tempting to laugh at Bidens climate czar and devoted private jet customer John Kerry who complained to BBC Arabic that the Ukraine War could distract the world from the climate change crisis and produce massive emissions that will negatively impact the globe. Only its actually tragicand not for the environment. The truth is that people like Kerry and many of his colleagues and predecessors who have been obsessed with the same supposedly imminent ecological disaster literally for decades now, are to blame as much as anyonewith the exception of Vladimir Putin, of coursefor the carnage in Ukraine. This environmental obsession obviously swept up our current president to such a degree that from the minute he was inaugurated he worked to reverse the American energy independence achieved under the Trump administration. He succeeded and then some in less than a year. Result: The United States imports oil to the tune of millions of dollars a day, including from Russia (even as it invades Ukraine). As Bloomberg reported last year, Russia provides more oil to the United States than any other country, except Canada. Around 20 million barrels per month. This makes the so-called sanctions a pathetic sideshowlaughable, really. As for most environmentalists, they are mostly moral narcissists signaling their own virtue. Few actually do much for their sainted environment other than buy a Tesla if they can afford one. Nevertheless, as Bjorn Lomborg wrote in the Financial Post: If the whole world follows through and gets to 140 million electric cars by 2030, the IEA [International Energy Agency] estimates that will reduce emissions by just 190 million tonnes of COa mere 0.4 percent of global emissions. In the words of Fatih Birol, head of IEA, If you think you can save the climate with electric cars, youre completely wrong. In reality, barring some miraculous discovery, the whole world will be running on gas and oil for years to come, unless the environmentalists let us use the more efficient nuclear. That oilpurchased by America, Germany, and many othersis fueling Russias attempt to reconstruct the old Soviet Union. Biden highlighted that in his speech, but he is greatly to blame. He could have announced he was turning on the American energy spigots again, but he didnt. As I write this, the stock market is up as it has been, somewhat surprisingly, in the midst of this invasion. Those in the know explain this as traders assuming the Federal Reserve will now have to restrain itself from raising rates. And there may be truth in that. But I have another theory: The traders are looking at the sanctions agreed to by NATO members, including the United States, and see them as weak and pointless. They take that as a signal that business as usual will not be interrupted. Russia will go on selling tons of oil to the United States and the rest of the world. Let the good times roll, Ukraine be damned. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Orange County Sheriff's Department begin the use of body cameras in Yorba Linda, Calif., Oct. 4, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Former Orange County Deputy Pleads Guilty to Stealing From Dead Victims SANTA ANA, Calif.A former Orange County Sheriffs Department deputy has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 120 days in jail for stealing the credit cards of dead victims he came across while on the job, according to court records obtained on Feb. 24. Steve Hortz, 43, of San Dimas, pleaded guilty on Feb. 22 to single felony counts of burglary and grand theft and single misdemeanor counts each of burglary, identity theft, and grand theft by embezzlement, according to court records. He was placed on two years of formal probation and must report to jail by June 3, according to court records. Hortz responded on Aug. 19, 2020, to a womans Yorba Linda home for a welfare check and found her dead inside, said Orange County District Attorneys Office Public Information Officer Kimberly Edds. While at the home, Hortz stole three credit cards and later used them to make thousands of dollars worth of unauthorized online purchases, though most of the purchases were declined. He was charged with those crimes in September. Hortz was previously indicted in 2020 on several charges stemming from a similar incident where he and two other Orange County sheriffs deputies responded on July 20, 2020, to a home on Via Angelina Drive in Yorba Linda to conduct another welfare check, Edds said. The man who owned the home was found dead inside from what was later determined to be natural causes. Following the welfare check, Hortz was recorded by surveillance cameras returning to the mans house several times, including once while on duty in uniform, to steal $27,000 worth of guns and other items, Edds said. The sheriffs department began an investigation after the probate attorney handling the mans estate reported that a law enforcement officer may have stolen items from the home. Hortz was arrested on Sept. 10, 2020, and resigned from the department in lieu of termination effective Sept. 30, 2020. Trucks and protesters block downtown streets near the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa on Feb. 15, 2022. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Freedom Convoy Donations From Genuine Public Support, Financial Intelligence Official Says Millions in donations that poured in for the Freedom Convoy appear to be from ordinary people who supported the cause rather than any nefarious activities such as money-laundering or terrorist financing, a senior Canadian financial intelligence official told a parliamentary committee. Donating to the movement was innocuous before it was rendered illegal by the invoking of the Emergencies Act, Barry MacKillop, deputy director of intelligence at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), told the House Finance Committee (FINA) on Feb. 24. I think that there were people around the world who were fed up with COVID, who were upset, and saw the demonstrations against COVID [mandates] and I believe that they just wanted to support the cause, MacKillop told FINA, which is studying the invocation of the Emergencies Act and related measures. It was their money, their own money. So it wasnt money that funded terrorism or that was in any way money laundering. MacKillop said that in FINTRACs discussions with payment service providers such as Stripe, it appeared that donations were coming from people who supported the cause before it was declared illegal. Some politicians have framed the Freedom Convoy and sympathizers that blocked Canadas borders in solidarity with the protest as extremists funded by malign foreign actors set on subverting Canadas sovereignty. These claims are yet to be substantiated. In justifying the federal governments invocation of the Emergencies Act, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Feb. 16 that the protests were driven by a very small, organized group, driven by an ideology to overthrow the government through whatever means they may wish to use. We have seen strong evidence that it was the intention of those who blockaded our ports-of-entry in a largely foreign-funded, targeted, and coordinated attack, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair Blair said on Feb. 16. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in the House of Commons on Feb. 17 that the convoy is a movement funded by foreign influence and that it feeds on disinformation. Its goal is to disrupt our democracy, he said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly linked the protests with Nazism and extremist movements. The fundraising aspect of the Freedom Convoy has been a core issue since early in the movement, as authorities attempted to stem the flow of millions of dollars going to the organizers. After GoFundMe removed the fundraiser for the Freedom Convoy under pressure from Canadian officials, convoy organizers turned to GiveSendGo. That crowdfunding platform was then targeted by an Ontario court to freeze the funds. GiveSendGo was then hacked, and some media outlets started publicly revealing the donors to the Freedom Convoy. When the Emergencies Act was invoked by the federal government on Feb. 14, officials noted the enacting of financial measures was key to taking down the movement. Those measures included subjecting crowdfunding platforms and online payment service providers to anti-money laundering and terrorism financing legislation, as well as freezing the bank accounts of protesters and their supporters without a court order. MacKillop said that a number of these entities started the process to register with FINTRAC, but with the revocation of the Act on Feb. 23, the process has been halted. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced on Feb. 14 when the Act was invoked that her government would seek to pass legislation to make the measures concerning crowdfunding platforms and payment service providers permanent. After registering with FINTRAC, financial entities have to submit to it suspicious transaction reports, large cash transaction reports, international electronic funds transfer reports, and large virtual currency transaction reports when thresholds are met. It was not the first time that MacKillops testimony before committee ran counter to general portrayal of the protest movement by the government as being linked to nefarious activities. Whats happening in Ottawa has not been, to my knowledge, identified as ideologically-motivated violent extremism, he said when testifying before the Public Safety Committee on Feb. 10. Ideologically-motivated violent extremism, or IMVE, is the term used by the Canadian government to classify extremism that is not religiously motivated, such as left-wing and right-wing extremism. MacKillop also said he had not seen a spike in suspicious transactions reporting in relation to fundraising for the protest movement. General Sir Patrick Sanders Named as New Head of British Army General Sir Patrick Sanders has been appointed the new head of the British Army. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who described him as an exceptional military leader, confirmed that the Queen has approved his new appointment as the Chief of the General Staff. Sir Patrick, 55, said he is deeply honoured by the appointment which will see him take over from General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith from June 2022. Sir Patrick noted his posting comes at such a pivotal time for the future of the British Army. He said: The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a stark reminder that the world is becoming increasingly dangerous and uncertain with war on land coming to Europe for the first time in decades. The British Army will play its part in defending the UK and our allies as we have for centuries. He was commissioned into The Royal Green Jackets in 1986 and spent his early career at Regimental Duty in Germany, Norway and the UK. He has commanded at company, battalion, brigade, and divisional level, including on operations in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. His staff appointments have all been in operational and strategic roles. These have included Brigade Chief of Staff, Directing Staff at the Joint Staff College and working as policy/military adviser for the Commander of Coalition Forces in Iraq in 2003 to 2004. Other roles have included time as the Chief of Defence Staffs Liaison Officer to the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as the Head Operations (Military) and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Operations) in the Ministry of Defence. He was promoted to General in May 2019 and went on to take over the Commander Joint Forces Command, where he managed the organisations move to Strategic Command. Wallace said, General Sanders takes up his new role at a critically important time for the British Army and at a pivotal time for the organisation and management of our land forces as we witness the unprovoked attack by Russian forces across sovereign Ukraine. I have every confidence in his leadership and I wish him well in this endeavour. He pointed out that as the current Commander of UK Strategic Command, Sir Patrick has played a key role in the developing and shaping of the UK Governments Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper by reflecting the new and emerging threats posed by cyber and greyzone warfare. He added that his leadership has reinforced how the UK Armed Forces must work across all sectors to ensure we meet the challenges of future conflicts in these regions. A makeshift camp set up for COVID-19 patients due to limited space inside is pictured outside the Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong on Feb. 18, 2022. (Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images) Hong Kong Projects Fiscal Deficit Amid COVID-19 Outbreak Hong Kong government spending will reach an all-time high this fiscal year, putting it into a budget deficit, its financial chief said Wednesday, as the city grapples with its most severe COVID outbreak. The city of 7.4 million people is experiencing its fifth wave of COVID-19 infections. Daily cases have reached record highs with 8,798 new cases being reported on Thursday. The government announced mandatory testing for all residents three times in March, as well as a ban on travel from numerous countries, school closures, and restaurant dining restrictions. Stricter rules may be enacted, causing greater harm to businesses and jobs. Economic activity, particularly in consumption-related sectors, will continue to be under intense pressure in the short term, financial secretary Paul Chan said on Wednesday in his annual budget speech delivered via video. The citys record spending of HK$807.3 billion ($103.45 billion) in the fiscal year 2022-2023 will outpace government revenue of HK$715.9 billion, resulting in a deficit in the new fiscal year starting April 1, Chan said. For the current fiscal year, Hong Kong posted a surplus of HK$18.9 billion; the outcome was large because of higher-than-expected revenue from land sales and taxes levied on property transactions. The economic performance in the first quarter is not optimistic, he said. The financial hubs economic growth will fall to between 2 percent and 3.5 percent in the calendar year 2022 from 6.4 percent last year, Chan predicted, assuming activity recovers in the second part of the year and infections are brought under control. In 2021, the economy recovered from a two-year slowdown caused by the U.S.-China trade war, domestic political upheaval, and the pandemic. Patients lie on hospital beds at a temporary holding area outside Caritas Medical Centre in Hong Kong, on Feb. 16, 2022. (Sung Pi-Lung/The Epoch Times) Zero-COVID Policy Hong Kong has stuck with Chinas zero-COVID policy, keeping itself greatly shut off from the rest of the world for two years. Chief executive Carrie Lam claimed to rule out a citywide lockdown last week, but when asked by reporters whether the citys March 27 chief executive election will be held, Lam said she cannot preclude any possibilities at this moment, given the severity and speed of this latest outbreak. The government has earmarked more than HK$170 billion worth of stimulation measures to support residents and small- to medium-sized businesses, Chan said on Wednesday, a day after authorities said to extend virus control measures to April 20. A range of businesses, including beauty salons, gyms, nightclubs, and theme parks have been ordered to shut under stricter new measures, while restaurants are banned from serving dine-in customers after 6 p.m. Chan is also planning to set aside HK$67.5 billion for pandemic-fighting measures, including HK$47.5 billion for mandatory universal testing, vaccines, and other COVID-19 control measures, while another HK$20 billion will be reserved for other potential anti-pandemic needs. Some commentators have questioned where the government will purchase medical supplies and expressed concern that the hard-earned money of Hong Kong residents will be transferred to the ruling Chinese Communist Party, as reported by Hong Kongs Epoch Times. Together with Chinese authorities, the Hong Kong administration has planned to construct a mega makeshift hospital to accommodate growing COVID-19 cases. Furthermore, in the fiscal year 2022-23, the expenditures of Hong Kongs six regular forces reporting to the Security Bureau will rise by 7 percent to 13 percent. The Police Force received the most money, HK$26.67 billion, a 13 percent increase over the previous year, followed by the Government Flying Service, Customs, and Fire Services. House Republicans: Why Did US Not Review China Acquisition of Canadian Critical Minerals Firm? A trio of House Republicans is challenging five top Biden administration Cabinet secretaries to explain why a company controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was able to buy Canadas Neo Lithium Corp. with no review by Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government. The Canadian mining company Neo Lithium Corp. has recently been acquired by Chinese state-owned firm Zijin Mining Group Ltd, the three House Republicans wrote in a Feb. 23 letter. This deal required review and consent from the Canadian government. The letter, authored by Reps. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), and Lance Gooden (R-Texas), was addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. The acquisition by the [CCP] of a Canadian critical mineral mining company with an existing lithium project in South America is highly concerning and raises a litany of questions regarding [U.S.] and Canadian understanding of the threat imposed by the Chinese Communist Party, the letter reads. The Canadian governments complicit approval also raises questions regarding the extent of cooperation with the United States in accordance with the Action Plan, including whether the United States government was aware or notified of the pending transaction. The action plan referred to in the letter is the U.S.Canada Joint Action Plan for Critical Minerals Cooperation (Action Plan), which was agreed to in January 2020 by then-President Donald Trump and Trudeau. The agreement was intended to ensure communication and cooperation between the two countries regarding expanded Critical Minerals mining, operations, and ownership. Critical Minerals are extremely scarce mineral resources such as lithium, platinum, and tellurium that are essential for high-technology products such as wind turbines, batteries for electric vehicles (EV), solar panels, computer displays, and cellphones, as well as in military applications. All five Cabinet secretaries addressed in the letter from the House trio have duties under the Action Plan. The secretaries are all appointees of President Joe Biden. The acquisition of Neo Lithium by a CCP-controlled company was completed last month, giving Zijin Mining Group Ltd. control of the 3Q lithium brine project in Argentina. Trudeaus government didnt conduct the review required by the Action Plan agreement with the United States. Just a year earlier, however, the Canadian government did conduct such a review and then rejected a proposed acquisition of an important critical mineral mine by another CCP-controlled firm. The GOP lawmakers said in their letter that at a minimum, the Action Plan is intended to spark collaboration for sharing information and analysis, and to promote overall coordination in the interest of securing the U.S.Canada supply chain for critical minerals. The lawmakers requested the Cabinet secretaries provide comprehensive briefings and materials on all Action Plan engagements, initiatives, dialogues, recommendations, and information generated by the U.S. government. Under the Action Plan, such documents arent considered public. The documents are supposed to be available to Congress, however, but havent been provided by the Biden administration. They also asked for copies of any notification or communication between the Canadian government and United States agencies regarding the Neo Lithium acquisition and sought a legal justification for the United States not conducting a formal review of the transaction and transcripts from Secretary Raimondos November meetings with Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. Champagne told the Canadian Parliament recently that officials saw no reason to block the acquisition. Champagne didnt address the related issue of Chinas use of slave labor in its acquisition of critical minerals, especially in the production of lithium batteries required for EVs. Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee defeated Republican efforts last year to bar the use of federal funds to purchase products made with slave labor. The most frequently mentioned country during debate on the GOP proposal was China because of its use of forced labor by millions of Muslim Uyghurs in such production. Also frequently mentioned was the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has most of the worlds cobalt, which is also required for EV batteries. China controls most of the cobalt mining in the Congo, as well as that of lithium. The Biden administration wants the United States to convert its public and private transportation systems from dependence on internal combustion power to electric power. Approval of the Republican proposal by the committee would have erected a major obstacle to achieving Bidens goal of half of all U.S. new vehicle purchases to be of EVs by 2030. After Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on the night of Feb. 23, 2022, hundreds of people protested in front of the Federal Building in Westwood on Feb. 24, 2022. (Alice Sun/The Epoch Times) Hundreds Gather in Westwood in Support of Ukraine, Condemn Russian Invasion WESTWOOD, Calif.Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Federal Building in Westwood on Feb. 24 to express their outrage after Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on the night of Feb. 23. The crowdmany were Ukrainian Americans and Russian Americanssang Ukraines national anthem and held signages that read Stop war in Ukraine, Support Ukraine, Im ashamed that Im Russian. Many of them have loved ones in Ukraine and are dearly concerned about their safety. One of the organizers of the protest, Mykhailo Lavrys, urged the crowd to ask their representatives to put more pressure on Russia. We need to push the government of the United States, the White House, and the senators to implement the most radical sanctions right now. There is no time to wait, Lavrys said to the protestors. Lavrys believed that the invasion of Ukraine is unjust and condemned the countries that did not impose sanctions against Russias action. After Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on the night of Feb. 23, 2022, hundreds of people protested in front of the Federal Building in Westwood on Feb. 24, 2022. (Alice Sun/The Epoch Times) Iryna Lopushenko, a Ukrainian international student studying at the University of CaliforniaLos Angeless law school, told The Epoch Times that all her family and friends are in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and she was worried that the war might get to them. Ukrainian people need your support, said Lopushenko. I knew about the attack before the media published it, because my sister called me and said that she woke up because of the sound of explosion in Kyiv. Kseniia Korniienko, a Ukrainian student at Santa Monica College, called upon world leaders to act, saying her parents in Kyiv have been hiding in the bathroom. I stand for my country! I cant see how my city is destroyed! Korniienko told The Epoch Times while sobbing. I am here to tell the world that this is not only the Ukrainian crisis. This is the worlds problem. If [other countries] do not sanction [Russia], we can face a very terrible outcome. After Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on the night of Feb. 23, 2022, hundreds of people protested in front of the Federal Building in Westwood on Feb. 24, 2022. (Alice Sun/The Epoch Times) Another Ukrainian from Kyiv, Dasha Korniienkonot related to Kseniiasaid she came to the United States nine months ago for a graduate program, and she originally planned to go back home after her study. We are angry. I need to go back [to Ukraine] but I dont know where to go back now, Korniienko told The Epoch Times. I beg you please dont give my native city away. Grisha Franguridi, a Russian from Moscow and one of the speakers at the demonstration, said thousands of millions of fellow Russians did not support the invasion, and he urged the international community to condemn Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia. I stand here ashamed of my country or my governments actions. I did not elect this president, Franguridi said. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, 137 people had been killed and 316 were wounded as of early Friday local time, ever since Russias invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, reported AFP. People in Kyiv are trying to evacuate as the capital has been the main target for Russian attacks, according to BBC. Parents in China understand the need to keep a close eye on their children: to prevent them from wandering off, as there is an ever-present risk of child abduction. Over there, the idea of children being stolen, sold, and enslaved is not an abstract notion or an isolated circumstanceits a day-to-day reality. In 1995, a girl from Chinas Sichuan Province was abducted and trafficked and not seen again. In January 2022, Beijingsanitized for the worlds eyesbraced to host the Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, in a village hundreds of miles away, a startling testament to Chinas brutal human-trafficking industry was being discovered. Is the woman found chained to the wall in a doorless shed and barely able to speak, the same girlnow grown upthat was abducted in Sichuan all those years ago? The discovery of the chained woman has triggered an outpour of anger, concern, and dissatisfaction with the system that the Chinese Communist Party is employingits utilities of surveillance and censorship used to suppress. What will be the ultimate outcome for this woman who has abruptly stirred Chinas collective conscience and who now represents a major inconvenience to the countrys ruling regime? Follow EpochTV on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EpochTVus Twitter: https://twitter.com/EpochTVus Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/EpochTV Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/epochtv Gab: https://gab.com/EpochTV Telegram: https://t.me/EpochTV Parler: https://parler.com/#/user/EpochTV Japan's new Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi arrives at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official residence in Tokyo, on Nov. 10, 2021. (Issei Kato/Reuters) Japan and China Trade Accusations Over Temporary Detention of Japanese Diplomat in Beijing Japan and China blamed each other for the recent detention of a Japanese diplomat in Beijing amid growing tensions between the two countries. On Feb. 23, Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had lodged a strong protest over the detention of one of its diplomats in Beijing and demanded an apology. It emphasized that the detention violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that guarantees the immunity of diplomats from civil and criminal jurisdiction of the host nation. The person of a diplomatic agent shall be inviolable, says Article 29 of the convention. He shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention. The receiving State shall treat him with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom, or dignity. The diplomat was seized while carrying out his legitimate duties, according to the ministry. The detention lasted several hours. On the same day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular press conference accused the Japanese diplomat of engaging in activities that were inconsistent with his capacity in China. She noted that diplomats have a duty to abide by laws and regulations of the host nation under the convention. However, the spokeswoman refused a request to specify the so-called inappropriate activities she was referring. On Feb. 22, Japans Vice Foreign Minister Takeshi Mori summoned Yang Yu, charge daffaires and Chinas interim ambassador in Tokyo, and demanded an apology from China over the incident. He also urged China to prevent recurrence of such situations. A Japanese ministry official who declined to be named said the diplomat was released later Monday, citing protocol, according to the Associate Press. There was no sign the diplomat was physically abused during the interrogation, the official said. The Epoch Times reached out to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing and Chinas Foreign Ministry for comment but neither agreed to discuss details. The relations between the two countries have cooled in the past years over disputed islands, especially after the Chinese communist regime brought a coast guard law into effect in February 2021, which gave the greenlight to use of force if deemed necessary. Additionally, Chinas human rights record and stepped-up efforts to intimidate Taiwan push Japan further away from the communist regime. As the nearest democracy to Taiwan, about 68 miles away, Japan is deeply concerned about its neighbors national security thanks to cultural and historical ties between the two countries. Chinas persistent displays of military might, including air incursions, have posed the biggest threat to the democratic, self-ruled island. Vials with a sticker reading, "COVID-19/Coronavirus vaccine/Injection only" and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed Johnson & Johnson logo in this illustration taken on Oct. 31, 2020. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters) Japan to Accept J&J COVID-19 Vaccine for Border Entry Next Month TOKYOJapan said on Thursday international travelers showing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson shot would be allowed in and be eligible for a shorter time in quarantine when border controls are eased next month. The J&J shot, which has not been approved in Japan, will join a list of three other shots that have been approved by regulators as sufficient for non-residents to enter, after a nearly two-year ban on such travelers. The other approved vaccines on a list that the foreign ministry released on Thursday are the ones developed by Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc., and Astrazeneca Plc. Vaccines developed by Chinese and Russian makers are not included. From March 1, authorities will raise the number of people allowed in to Japan to 5,000 a day, from 3,500, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters last week. The easing applies to students, workers, and other visa holders, but not to tourists for the time being. The quarantine period will be reduced to three days in some conditions, from seven, and it will be waived entirely depending on the travellers point of origin, and if they have had a booster shot. Former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng (L), Thomas Lane (C), and Tou Thao (R). (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP) Jury Convicts All 3 Officers in Second George Floyd Trial ST PAUL, MinnesotaThree former police officers, charged with violating George Floyds civil rights by not aiding him the day he was murdered by fellow officer Derek Chauvin, were convicted by a jury in federal court on Feb. 24. The trio, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao, all officers from the Minneapolis Police Department, were accused of having deprived Floyd of medical care on May 25, 2020. Together with Police Officer Derek Chauvin the trio was involved in the arrest of Floyd, during which Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyds neck for nine-and-a-half minutes while he lay prone in the street. Thao and Lane were also charged with failing to intervene with Chauvin, who was found guilty on three counts of murder and manslaughter on April 20, 2021. During the arrest, Thao worked crowd control while Kueng knelt on Floyds back and Lane held his legs. They were subsequently terminated from the department. All three testified in their own defenses. The jury deliberated for about two days and was able to review amateur video of the altercation, which was recorded by a bystander. Prosecutors attempted to prove the officers violated their training and chose to do nothing, whereas the defense countered Kueng and Lane were inexperienced rookies and their training was inadequate. Additionally, the defense contested Chauvin was the senior officer at the scene and therefore their clients deferred to him and his decisions. Lanes attorney said his client twice suggested to Chauvin they roll Floyd over onto his side so he could breathe but was overruled by Chauvin both times. When Judge Paul Magnuson charged the jury on Feb. 23, he defined reasonable force and said that if Chauvin had used unreasonable force, and that Thao and Kueng had a realistic opportunity to intervene and stop it, then they must find Floyd was indeed deprived of his constitutional right to be free from that force. This image from a video shows Minneapolis police officers Thomas Lane (L), and J. Alexander Kueng (R), escorting George Floyd (C), to a police vehicle outside Cup Foods in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. (Court TV via AP) The ordeal began when Floyd allegedly tried to use a counterfeit $20 bill and escalated when officers attempted to arrest him. Floyd was a 46-year-old black male and Chauvin is white. The amateur video went viral and kicked off a summer of racial riots throughout the country, with Minneapolis getting hit the hardest. The video also fueled the Defund the Police movement. The three defendants will stand trial again in June in state court, on charges alleging they aided and abetted murder and manslaughter. The Associated Press contributed to this report. LA Controller: Prop. HHH Problems Overshadow Progress A report by Los Angeles city controller found that 2016s Proposition HHHa $1.2 billion housing program aimed at creating 10,000 housing units for the homelessis moving at too slow a rate to successfully address homelessness in the city. In a Feb. 23 report, Controller Ron Galperin said the programs problems overshadow the progress. So far, the program has built 1,142 unitsor 16 percent of the intended numberin nearly six years, while 4,205 units are currently in construction and the remaining 1,880 are in pre-development. Although Los Angeles has made some progress with Proposition HHH, it hasnt been enough, Galperin said. The costs are too high and the pace is too slow to address the tragedy on our streets. Galperin said each housing unit cost an average of nearly $600,000 last yearup from $530,000 in 2020. Nearly 14 percent of units cost over $700,000, with the highest one coming in at $837,000. Galperin also said most projects take between three and six years to finish, and that over half the units will not be ready for occupancy for another two to four years. A homeless encampment sits in front of the Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch Library in Venice, Calif., on Feb. 18, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) This timeline is too slow, Galperin said, to keep up with the citys rapidly growing homeless population, which saw an approximate 40 percent increase from 28,464 people in 2016 (pdf) to 41,290 people in 2020. The controller also previously raised concerns about the programs cost and pace in his 2019 and 2020 reports on the program. In the previous reports, Galperin urged officials to speed up the projects timeline by shortening the review process and converting existing buildings to housing instead of building from scratch. He also advised the city to reallocate funds to lower-cost projects and focus investment on interim housing solutions over permanent housing creations. Since then, the city has implemented some of his recommendations; however, the city has not used Proposition HHH funds for interim housing and shelter as Galperin recommended. In this years report, Galperin doubled down on his previous recommendations, saying that the city has started implementing two of four major changes recommended in the controllers previous reports, but more urgency is needed now and in the future. My recommendations to improve HHH will make a difference now and should serve as a guide for future homeless housing programs, Galperin said. If the city doesnt learn from its mistakes, it risks repeating them. Angelenos, sheltered and unsheltered, cannot afford that to happen. Ann Sewill, general manager of the LAs Housing Department, reportedly said in response that Proposition HHH is only one part of the citys overall solution to address homelessness, according to the Los Angeles Times. Sewill said that the program is on track to meet its goals, and that the best thing to do is to complete the program and deliver more units to fulfill the commitment that the city made as part of the HHH promise. On the same day of the controllers report, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti touted Proposition HHHs progress. Lets be clear: Prop. HHH is producing more units than promised, at a lower cost than expected. There are already 1,200 units online providing critical housing and services. And HHH will deliver over 10,300 units of supportive and affordable housing by 2026, Garcetti wrote on Twitter. HHH has increased our production of supportive housing by almost 600 [percent] from 300 to 2,000 per year. I thank all of our partners for continuing to support our vision of housing all Angelenos in need. The 2022 homeless count is currently underway and results are expected in the coming months. LA Expects to Receive Tens of Millions of Dollars from Opioid Settlement LOS ANGELESLos Angeles expects to receive tens of millions of dollars from a $26 billion settlement announced Feb. 25 with Johnson & Johnson and three pharmaceutical distributors over claims they helped fuel the opioid crisis. The settlementwhich involves the pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergenneeds to be approved by the court, but California Attorney General Rob Bonta said it could begin providing funds to California and its cities and counties in the second quarter of 2022. California is slated to receive $2.05 billion to help fight the opioid crisis, and 85 percent of the funds will go to the states local communities to support treatment, recovery, harm reduction, and other strategies to address opioid addiction, according to Bontas office. Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said the city expects tens of millions of dollars from the settlement. My goal is that the tens of millions of dollars we expect from this settlement for our city will target the intersection between substance abuse disorder and homelessness, said Feuer. We sued because no corporation, no matter how powerful, should be allowed to get away with putting profits over peoples lives. Though no amount of money can ever replace the lives lost and families shattered by opioid addiction in Los Angeles, this substantial settlement will help prevent future devastation. The settlements negotiations were led by Bonta, along with the attorneys general of North Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The settlement is the second-largest multistate agreement in U.S. history, after the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Along with the $26 billion settlement, the distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen agreed to the following: establish a clearinghouse to provide state regulators and other distributors with data and analytics about where drugs are going and how often, which officials say will eliminate blind spots in the current systems used by distributors use data-driven systems to detect suspicious opioid orders from customer pharmacies report companies that show signs of diversion to state regulators and stop customer pharmacies ability to receive shipments prohibit the shipping of and report suspicious opioid orders prohibit sales staff from influencing decisions related to identifying suspicious opioid orders require senior corporate officials to engage in regular oversight of anti-diversion efforts The settlement also requires that Johnson & Johnson do the following: Police gather at the main south entrance of PlazAmericas Mall as an ambulance backs into the area to take a patient after a shooting in Houston on Feb. 23, 2022. (Michael Wyke/Houston Chronicle via AP) Man Fatally Shoots Texas Officer Working Security at Mall HOUSTONA Texas deputy constable working an off-duty security job at a Houston mall was fatally shot by a man who gained control of the officers own gun, police said. The suspect was shot by police and died at a hospital. Deputy Neil Adams was working a second job Thursday afternoon at PlazAmericas mall in Houston when he was shot by a man in 30s, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said. Authorities are still investigating what led to the altercation. Finner said the suspect ran to the malls food court where he was shot by two Houston police officers. The man, whose name has not been released, died later Thursday at a Houston hospital. Adams had worked as a deputy constable in nearby San Jacinto County, north of Houston. San Jacinto County Precinct 1 Constable Roy Rogers said Adams became an officer in 2012 and previously worked for the sheriffs department. Adams was the countys environmental officer, Rogers said. We lost one of our heroes. He was a good man, Rogers said. He worked hard to take care of his family, to take care of the constituents of our county. Adam C. Johnson totes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's podium at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Man Who Carried Nancy Pelosis Lectern on Jan. 6 Sentenced to 75 Days in Jail, $5,000 Fine The Florida man who said he broke the internet when photographed carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosis lectern at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced Friday to 75 days in jail, a $5,000 fine, and a year of supervised release. Adam Christian Johnson, 37, of Parrish, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Senior Judge Reggie B. Walton on one count of entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, a Class A federal misdemeanor. As part of a plea agreement, two other charges were dismissed. The stay-at-home father of five children will be allowed to serve the jail sentence at a facility nearest to his home so his children can visit, Judge Walton ruled. With credit for time served, Johnson faces another 60 days in jail. He was free on personal recognizance at the time of sentencing. I do consider this to be a very serious offense, the judge said at the Washington D.C. federal courthouse. Its one of the darkest days, I think unfortunately, that this country has ever suffered. Its a slippery slope from what happened on that day to what may happen the next time around. I just hope its not the case, but the precedent has been set. Suggested Bust of Washington as a Battering Ram Johnson attended President Donald J. Trumps speech at the Ellipse on Jan. 6. Prosecutors allege that Johnson ran to the Capitol when he heard rioters had breached police lines. Johnson was outside the entrance to the House of Representatives as rioters tried to break through the doors. On the other side of the barricaded door stood three plainclothes law enforcement officers with their handguns trained on the broken windows in the doors. He was undeterred by his fellow rioters attempts to break down the doors to the House Chamber, where Johnson believed members of Congress were still counting votes, prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum. Indeed, he stood by for over ten minutes watching their efforts and even encouraged them to use a bust of George Washington to smash the House doors open. Adam C. Johnson didnt leave the area of unrest at the entrance to the House of Representatives on Jan. 6 until a rioter sprayed police with a fire extinguisher, prosecutors said. (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Prosecutors said Johnson looked at a bronze bust of President George Washington near the doors and remarked that it would be a great battering ram. He did not commit any violent acts or damage property, but he did pick up Speaker Pelosis lectern near a spiral staircase, carried it into the Rotunda and posed for pictures. He left the lectern in the Capitol. He bragged that he broke the internet and was finally famous, presumably in reference to the photo of himself carrying the lectern that went viral, the governments sentencing memo said. A substantial aggravating factor in the case, prosecutors said, was the fact that Johnson deleted most of the content on his phone on Jan. 7. Johnson said he began receiving death threats at that time. Part of the motivation to delete information was out of fear for his life, he told Judge Walton. There were things there that happened that should never happen again, and I am ashamed to have been a part of it, Johnson said. Johnson denied the judges suggestion that if he had found the door to Pelosis office open, he would have harmed the Speaker. Ive been asked, What would you have (done) if you did find her, Jones said. I dont know, probably ask for a photo with her. At-Home Parenting Isnt Work? Prosecutors, noting Johnson is a stay-at-home dad whose wife works as a physician, wrote that their financial situation is so favorable that Johnson has not had to work for the past 11 years. Adam C. Johnson attended a Washington D.C. rally on Jan. 5, 2021, then posted this photo on Facebook under the heading, Riot! (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Defense attorney Dan Eckhart took umbrage at the notion stay-at-home parents dont work, or that Johnson is an entitled or privileged person and he hadnt worked for 11 years. Nothing could be farther from the truth, Eckhart said. Johnson was a nearly 4.0 grade-point-average student at the University of South Florida in pre-med studies. So Mr. Johnson decided to give everything up, gave up his whole career. Instead of going to med school, being a doctor, hes a stay-at-home dad. Judge Walton did not agree with the governments assessment. I respect a man who forsakes his career to raise his children. Ive no problem with that, he said. I think thats a great thing. Five boys, I know its a hard job. A lot of people think a parent staying at home taking care of kids is an easy job, the judge said. I know its not, so I commend you for that. However, as a father Johnson should have thought about what kind of example he set for his boys on Jan. 6, Judge Walton said. Its mind-boggling to me how somebody who has that responsibility and has what is purported the intellectual capacity you have, to find yourself coming all the way up here to Washington to do something like you did, Walton said. Johnson said he talked to his children about what occurred. The night I was taken into custody to serve my time in Pinellas (jail), I brought the boys downstairs and had a conversation about it, Johnson said. I told them, Im going to jail because I broke the law, I did something wrong. Prosecutorswho recommended Johnson serve 90 days in jailwrote they might have sought more time behind bars if not for Johnsons early and robust cooperation that weighed heavily in the governments determination of its sentencing recommendation. Mayoral Candidate Rick Caruso Endorsed by LAPD Union LOS ANGELESThe union representing officers at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on Feb. 24 announced its endorsement of real estate developer Rick Caruso for mayor of Los Angeles. The endorsement from the Los Angeles Police Protective League was given after Caruso earned the unanimous support of its member-based Political Action Committee and unanimous vote of its Board of Directors, according to the union. Caruso was the president of the civilian Los Angeles Police Commission from 2001 to 2003 after being appointed by former Mayor James K. Hahn. We are pleased to announce our unanimous vote to endorse Rick Caruso for mayor, said Lt. Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. We believe that the people of Los Angeles and the members of the LAPD agree: Our approach to public safety needs to change. Rick is not a typical politician and we believe that he can fix L.A. Rick Caruso attends the Let California Kids Hear Campaign at The Grove in Los Angeles on Aug. 12, 2019. (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Caruso) On Feb. 15, Caruso announced his public safety plan, which included adding 1,500 officers to the LAPDs force if elected mayor. The Los Angeles Police Departments current personnel number stands at 9,521 sworn members, 185 fewer than its authorized deployment for the fiscal year. An additional 1,500 officers would put the department at just over 11,000 officers, the number called for by mayoral candidate and LA City Councilman Joe Buscaino, who used to be an LAPD officer. City Attorney Mike Feuer has said as part of his campaign for mayor that the department should expand to at least 10,000 officers, and Rep. Karen Bass said that if elected mayor she would bring the department to its authorized levels of 9,700 officers by hiring civilian personnel to move desk officers to patrol. The LAPD is already seeking additional funding in the next fiscal year that would restore staffing levels to 9,800 sworn officers. The calls for more police from the candidates have been criticized by some community activists who have called for a vast scaling back of law enforcement in response to much-publicized incidents of police brutality, most notably the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Activists calling for a re-imagining of public safety have called attention to the LAPDs budget of $1.761 billion, which is higher than any other city department. Advocates for reducing police budgets call for the money to be invested into communities and programs that they argue prevent crime, including by addressing poverty and mental health issues. On his campaign website launched on Feb. 22, Caruso said he would increase the departments budget and said the idea to reduce police budgets makes no sense when you consider that murders are skyrocketing and L.A. is the most under-policed big city in America. Los Angeles had a nearly 12 percent year-over-year climb in homicides in 2021, bringing it to levels not seen since 2006. Violent crime increased 3.9 percent and property crimes rose by 4.2 percent. The number of people shot rose by 9 percent. Other major cities across the United States also experienced major increases in violent crime, and many of the cities had sharper increases than Los Angeles. Doctor breaks down the lingering effects of lockdowns, and how we can reverse the impacts When lockdowns began across the world due to the spread of COVID-19, mental health professionals quickly warned that, if prolonged, the shutdowns could do much damage to large portions of the population. Several studies have since proven the experts unfortunate predictions correct. To get out of this pandemic, we need to break this vicious cycle, said Dr. Yuhong Dong, an expert in antiviral drug development and infectious diseases and also Chief Scientific Officer of a Swiss biotech company. In the fight against the pandemic, we need to inform people of their own anti-viral immunity, which is the root of fighting against this pandemic. Only when we grasp this fundamental can we find the fundamental solution to the pandemic. In effect, physical inactivity, along with mental, emotional, and spiritual stagnation, has led to cellular inactivity and stagnation, compromising many peoples innate immunity. We spoke with Dr. Dong about the lingering effects of lockdownsand how people could reverse those impacts. Lockdown Impacts There are a number of studies that give us a snapshot of the physical impacts of the lockdowns on individuals health. In general, there was a decrease in physical activity that may have led to, especially among senior adults, worsening in physical function. A team from the University of Michigan conducted a nationally representative online survey of approximately 2,000 U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 years in early 2021 and found that: 36.9 percent reported reduced physical activity levels 35.1 percent reported reduced daily time spent on their feet since March 2020 37.1 percent reported lack of companionship 45.9 percent reported social isolation The worsened mobilities rates also increased the risk of falls and increased fear of falling, according to a study by the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Mental health has also been affected, and the toll on physical health that stems from it is not to be understated. US Census Bureau 2020 survey data found adults to be twice as likely to be depressed and anxious compared to before the pandemic, in 2019. Fear of the pandemic, government measures such as quarantines, lockdowns, and mask mandates have changed the way society functions, alienated people from each other, and caused changes in all aspects of work and life, resulting in widespread anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder in the population, especially among women and young people, Dr. Dong said. In a study published in The Lancet last October, more than 60 medical experts from the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, Japan, Russia, and South Africa, who were concerned about the long Covid mental health problems, analyzed the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and regions in 2020. They found that the global prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders has increased significantly due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The top half of the chart below shows major depression and the bottom half shows anxiety. The right side is male and the left side is female. The horizontal coordinates are age. It can be seen that females of the age between 20 and 50 had a greater increase in prevalence than males did, Dr. Dong said. The study showed an estimated 53.2 million cases of major depressive disorder, a 27.6 percent increase, and an estimated 76.2 million cases of anxiety disorder, an 25.6 percent increase. The graph below shows the growth of severe depression worldwide in 2020, the redder regions have a higher increase. It was also found that the increased prevalence of major depressive disorder was associated with two factors: 1) Covid infection rates and 2) reduced human mobility. The increase in anxiety disorders is similar, with the redder regions having a higher increase. The Growth of Depression We all have experienced negative emotions, such as unhappiness or sadness, which are so natural that people tend to treat them as part of their lives, seldom thinking about the reasons for them and rarely wanting to get rid of them. However, if these negative things accumulate for too long, or if they develop too seriously, they can lead to physical diseases and even induce serious consequences, Dr. Dong said. This is when unhappiness becomes depression. Depression is characterized by excessive or prolonged trapping in negative emotions and negative thinking that cannot be extricated. According to statistics, about one in five people suffer from depression at some point in their lives, Dr. Dong said. Prolonged lockdowns also had the effect of prolonging depression. Any spiritual phenomenon has a material interpretation. A spiritual phenomenon corresponds to the transmission of information between nerve cells. There are 14 billion nerve cells in the brain, twice as many as people on earth, and they make up a rich microcosm that is constantly communicating and transmitting messages to each other, Dr. Dong explained. Nerve cells communicate with each other via neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine, and so on. With depression, the behavior of these cells communication changes. Current medical research has found that people with depression do not produce enough serotonin and dopamine in their brains, and that the communication between their nerve cells is inadequate. The state of the nerve cells of depressed patients is like the state of our earthly people being locked down, lacking interpersonal communication, Dr. Dong explained. People with severe depression have a chronic lack of communication between nerve cells and low energy levels in their bodies, and their chronic illnesses tend to worsen. Therefore, negative emotions, which correspond to negative substances at the microscopic level, should not be ignored and should not accumulate. So once we have negative emotions, we should remove them, Dr. Dong said. There have been numerous immunological studies showing that if a person is in a state of chronic stress and depression, the release of stress hormones (cortisol) increases, which suppresses the function of immune cells (including phagocytes, natural killer cells, T cells) and inhibits their ability to fight viruses, Dr. Dong said. Depression also increases the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, leading to a state of chronic inflammation, which in turn can easily trigger or aggravate chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular disease and cancer) and lead to further deterioration of human health. The pandemic has also had a negative impact on the mental health of health care workers worldwide, with a much higher prevalence of mental health disorders among health care workers than the general population. They have increased irritability, anger, depression and instability, and a 13.5 percent prevalence of post-traumatic syndrome. The reduced physical activity and social isolation of pandemic-related lockdowns has turned into deterioration of physical function, reduced mobility, and an increase in psychological problems, according to Dr. Dong. All this adds up to reduced ability in these individuals to fight viral infections to begin with. People who exercise less and are depressed have a decrease in NK cell activity and a decrease in the ability of T and B lymphocytes to clear viruses, resulting in an overall decrease in the antiviral immunity of human immune cells, making people more susceptible to viral infections, she said. This has created a vicious cycle. With people being more susceptible to viral infections, the world has seen a prolonged period of non-recovery from the virus, and this resulted in many governments prolonging the use of lockdownswhich only further decreased peoples innate antiviral functions. It became, Dr. Dong said, a vicious cycle and prolonged pandemic. A better approach, in her view, would have been to increase awareness among the general public about how to enhance the human bodys own antiviral immunity, helping people eliminate stress and anxiety and depression, and education about nutrition, sleep, fitness, and mental health. We could enhance the antiviral immunity of the entire population, reduce the chance of virus infection, share successful experiences and strengthen interaction, establishing a virtuous cycle of reducing the infection rate and ending the outbreak, she said. There is no need to be afraid of an epidemic, Dr. Dong said. In fact, we often dont understand how the human body works and fights viruses. The human body has a complete set of immune defenses against viruses, from the outside to the inside, she said. Our Immune System The skin has blocking, purifying, and cleaning functions. When airborne viruses enter the organism through breathing, nasal hairs are stimulated to sneeze. By sneezing, mucus on the surface of the throat and tracheobronchial tubes adheres to the virus, and the virus is discharged from the body by coughing and spitting. The eye has a similar self-protection mechanism, Dr. Dong said. The mucous membrane [interferon]: When the virus enters the epithelial cells, the cells automatically activate the antiviral mechanism, mainly by producing interferon, the natural enemy of the virus, which prevents the replication of the virus. This substance has the ability to mobilize the cellular antiviral infection mechanism. Interferon acts as a commander, giving instructions and coordinating various cells and signaling pathways that work together to fight the virus. The innate immune cells are able to recognize external viruses, and they have a perfect scanning and detection mechanism, just like the FBIs face recognition technology, which is very sensitive. Once they scan, they know if it is a virus; its very powerful. Therefore, if the innate immunity is strong, a person will not be infected, she said. People with normal antiviral immunity are strong enough to block the spread of a virus, which is why many people are exposed to a large number of viruses for a long time without being infected, Dr. Dong said. But fear plays a powerful role in signaling to our cells how to act. Fear is a negative emotion that causes the secretion of stress hormones that suppress the function of immune cells, Dr. Dong explained. To end the negative cycle, people have to stop isolating, and refresh themselves. Art and Beauty Refreshment can come in myriad forms, but an expedient way is through seeing something bright and beautiful. Eighty percent of the information received by the human body comes from the eyes, Dr. Dong said. For example, when people see a beautiful painting or landscape, they cant help but smile. As modern research has proven, color and light are frequencies, wavelengths, and fields of energy particles. In fact, these energy particles that we see as the energy field of color can enter the human body, be absorbed by cells, tissues, organs, and cause changes in the energy of cells, tissues, and organs, Dr. Dong explained. One example of this effect is how when seeing red, people often become excited, and blue is often calming. There are also various colored light therapies that have made it onto the consumer market in recent times. Sound is also a wave, and each note has its own frequency, pitch, and wavelength, she said. The function of the ear is to convert the energy in sound into a form that can be perceived by ussound. There are also many frequencies that are not converted into sound and are not heard, but that exist in live performance. These frequencies can also be transmitted to our bodies; music resonates through the frequencies and links to our bodies. Dr. Dong explained that in traditional Chinese culture, there is a concept of five sounds corresponding to five organs, where the five tones on the pentatonic scale correspond to the five major internal organs of the heart, liver, lungs, kidney, spleen. The human body produces various frequencies as well, she added. The human body has a heart rate and rhythmic breathing rate. Gastrointestinal motility and autonomic discharge have a certain rhythm and frequency, she said. During a live performance filled with color and sound, the audience is in fact surrounded by the energy particles of that color, light, and sound. And a synchronized resonance occurs. This resonance can be from the outside to the inside, from the macro to the micro, so the skin, internal organs, and even cells are resonating. Recently, the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has created interest in doctors and audiences because of its potential health benefits. It has long been the only performing arts company to tour the world at such scale of several hundred global performances a year, via seven equal sized touring companies, and during this pandemic era that fact has come under a spotlight. Added to that, many holistic doctors have spoken highly of the therapeutic effects of seeing Shen Yun, a live performance of dance and music that is filled with color, universal values, and a message of compassion. Its the kind of performance that audience members often say leaves them in tears of joy and filled with hope. When a person is in tears, it is often related to the operation of the autonomic nervous system. Dr. Dong said. The autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for regulating unconscious behavior, is composed of two systems: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. The sympathetic nerve is responsible for coping with emergencies, putting the person in a state of tension and preparedness, like stepping on the gas pedal; the parasympathetic nerve is responsible for relaxation, such as the secretion of tears, like stepping on the brakes. This means that the parasympathetic nerves are excited and in a state of deep relaxation. That deep relaxation is the antithesis of chronic stress and depression. A beautiful performance can produce happy, relaxed, calm emotions in an audienceeffectively eliminating the long-term accumulation of stress, depression, and other negative emotions in the hearts of the audience, Dr. Dong said. And, like how negative emotions has a real physical impact on health, these positive emotions do too. It lifts the pressure on the white blood cells, natural killer cells, T cells and other immune cells that inhibit the function of these cells, thus enhancing the antiviral ability of the immune cells, Dr. Dong said. Music therapy is a form of healing that goes back to antiquity, and is still going strong today. There are nearly 80 universities which have music therapy majors, and more than 200 countries have music therapy associations. Research has found that music has at least three effects on people, Dr. Dong said. First, it stimulates the brain, helping people concentrate and work efficiently. Second, it can regulate mood; some insomniacs have found that listening to relaxing and soothing music aids sleep, and others find it helps with their depression. A fellow physician told me about a patient who took her child to watch Shen Yuns performance, after which his depression lifted, his demeanor changed, and even now, over a year later, he has not relapsed. And third, once stress and depression are relieved, the immune system comes back on. A study found that the salivary immunoglobulin IgA, a reliable marker of mucosal immunity and one of the important first lines of defense against viral infections, is particularly sensitive to music. After listening to relaxing music, the content of IgA increases significantly, Dr. Dong said. Color has an impact on immunity as well. In 1942, Russian scientist SV Krakov proved that red light consumes body energy and is related to stress, stimulating the sympathetic nervous system. Meanwhile, white and blue light preserves body energy, slows the heart rate, and increases intestinal and most glandular activity, stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, Dr. Dong said. Dr. C Norman Shealy in Missouri uses flashing bright lights and colored lights to treat pain and depression, and has shown that color and light therapy changes the neurochemicals in the patients brain, Dr. Dong said. And then there was the Harvard study which quantified on one level the power of compassion. Students were shown a 50-minute film of Mother Teresa performing acts of kindness, helping the sick and dying poor of Calcutta. The audiences immune function was enhanced and remained high for an hour afterwards. This effect happened even to those who did not like Mother Teresa, their brains subconsciously resonated with her good deeds and the power of compassion, Dr. Dong said. This is far from the only study proving a link between kindness and health benefits. A 2013 review published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry showed that oxytocin production increases when people do good deeds and adopt positive social behaviors, and oxytocin has been shown to promote immunity. According to a 2017 review in Frontiers in Immunology, oxytocin can reduce stress hormone release and improve antiviral capabilities, Dr. Dong said. Therefore, people who do good deeds for others and are kind to others will have increased levels of oxytocin in their bodies and increased antiviral immunity, which will help those kind people to better cope with the pandemic. The oxytocin in the body of those who witness the good deeds will also benefit. If a performance includes a story of acts of kindness towards others, it can help increase the audiences oxytocin levels, which in turn can boost immunity and stress resistance, Dr. Dong said. All this to say, we cannot discount the importance of the role our thoughts play. Not only a psychological phenomenon, thoughts are material; the role of thought is visible, tangible, and real. Thoughts affect the functions of various organs and cells in the body, and can even affect the expression of genes in cells, she said. The effect is far-reaching. A well known 2013 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people with different values in life showed different patterns of gene expression in their immune cells. For example, people who pursue human justice and eudaimonic happiness, seek greater value in life, and often do charity work have better levels of interferon expression, stronger antibodies, and reduced expression of inflammatory genes, all of which are beneficial in fighting viral infections, Dr. Dong explained. Meanwhile people with a hedonistic view of happiness, who focus on general materialistic enjoyment and think less about other things, have expression of genes in their immune cells which is very unfavorable to fight against viruses. Watching Shen Yun, audience members have reported cases of their pain, even chronic severe pain, completely disappearing. Dr. Dong reasoned this may be due to the release of endorphins and oxytocin while watching the performance. Others reported no longer having difficulty breathing. The air quality certainly didnt change, Dr. Dong said it was mainly due to, perhaps, the inflammation having been significantly reduced in the lungs. In the 1970s, UCLA professor of psychiatric and biobehavioral sciences Norman Cousins was diagnosed with a life threatening autoimmune disease with low chance of recovery. Cousins tailored himself to a holistic approach that included spirituality and laughing, prescribing himself comedy movies, eventually recovering from the disease, Dr. Dong said. Dr. Dong shared a similar experience she went through two decades ago. While she was conducting her doctoral research, she was tired, chronically anxious, and physically and mentally exhausted. Suddenly, she was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, a serious disease, and her chronic back pain got bad enough that she was prescribed strong analgesics to relieve the pain. Not wanting to become dependent on pain relievers, Dr. Dong tried to hold out for two days. My older sister came to visit meshes a very funny person and she told me a joke. I burst into laughter involuntarily, and suddenly, the long-standing pain suddenly disappeared without a trace, she said. And after that, there was no more pain. This was a big shock to me, Dr. Dong admitted. It turns out that the spirit and the material are very closely related. A vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is seen at a local clinic in Aschaffenburg, Germany, on Jan. 15, 2021. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters) Moderna Makes Case for 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Booster This Year, Shares Jump Moderna Inc. executives said on Thursday they believe a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot will be needed late this year due to waning protection from earlier doses, which could push up sales in the second half of 2022. Chief Executive Stephane Bancel stressed that the companys current sales projections for its Spikevax COVID-19 shot$19 billion in 2022, up from its prior estimate of $18.5 billiondoes not include any additional sales to the United States this year. What is not clear today is what will the U.S. government decide to do for 2022. Will it be a private market, or a mix of private and free vaccines, Bancel said. The company said it was in talks with countries for more vaccine orders this year. Moderna shares jumped 11 percent to $150.80 amid a fall in the broader markets on Thursday. The stock was down over 70 percent from its August peak over lackluster flu vaccine data and questions of long-term sustainability of COVID vaccine sales. However, the company sees a need for seasonal boosters to shore up immunity in people at high-risk of severe illness as the virus continues to circulate while putting less of a strain on healthcare systems. We do believe that we are transitioning into an endemic phase, marked by a period of stability in case counts, hospitalizations and death, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, said Modernas Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton. Moderna said it expects immunity, even with a booster shot, will decline after six to nine months. It hopes a seasonal booster will help generate virus-neutralizing antibodies for at least six months. While Moderna cited studies that showed neutralizing antibody levels wane nine months after a booster shot, other researchers believe protection from a third dose could be more durable, especially for younger, healthy people. U.S. health officials have said they are carefully monitoring the data and have not yet made a decision about whether a fourth shot will be necessary. Moderna said it was working on a new bivalent vaccine that combines a booster designed to tackle the now dominant Omicron variant of the virus with its original COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna sales soared to $18.5 billion in 2021 from $803 million in 2020, and the company said it would buy back $3 billion in stock. The COVID vaccine is its lone commercial product. As (Wall) Street struggles with where the pandemic is going, the next catalysts are Phase II flu data and COVID waves, said Jefferies analyst Michael Yee. By Manas Mishra and Michael Erman Moscow Bans UK Flights in Response to Britain Prohibiting All Russian Aircraft Amid Ukraine Invasion Russia has banned British flights from landing at its airports and from crossing its airspace after the United Kingdom closed its airspace to Russian airlines, including Aeroflot. Prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed that the UK has banned all aircraft on a scheduled service which is, owned, chartered or operated by a person connected with Russia, or which is registered in Russia from entering UK airspace on Thursday. The move came as part of Johnsons largest-ever package of sanctions against Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport of the UK, said on Twitter after the announcement that all Russian airlines schedules to enter the UK would be prohibited, adding that Putins heinous actions will not be ignored and that the UK government will never tolerate those who put peoples lives in danger. In a statement, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed that it has suspended Aeroflots foreign carrier permit until further notice. This means that Aeroflot will not be permitted to operate flights to or from the United Kingdom until further notice, the statement reads. In response to the move by the UK, Russias civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, said that it has banned all flights by UK airlines to the country, as well as transit flights, starting from Friday. This measure was taken in accordance with the provisions of the Intergovernmental Air Services Agreement between Russia and the UK as a response to unfriendly decisions by the UK aviation authorities regarding the restriction on regular flights of aircraft owned, leased or operated by a person associated with Russia or registered in Russia, Rosaviatsiya said. Yesterday, in accordance with the norms of international law, in order to discuss the issue of flights between the two countries, a proposal was sent to the British Aviation Authorities to hold consultations. This morning, a negative response was received from colleagues in the UK. This is the basis for the adoption by the Russian side of mirror measures in accordance with the provisions of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Air Services between Russia and the UK in order to comply with the principle of parity and equal rights for airlines, the civil aviation authority said. In a statement issued hours earlier, Rosaviatsiya had said that intergovernmental agreement on air service between Russia and the United Kingdom meant that Russia reserved the right to apply mirror measures. The civil aviation authority also noted that an Aeroflot flight, scheduled for February 25, 2022, had been canceled but no other flights appear to have been canceled as of yet. Defence secretary Ben Wallace called Russias decision retaliation for us yesterday banning Aeroflot from using and landing in the United Kingdom. Thats their tit for tat response, Wallace told ITVs Good Morning Britain. State-owned Aeroflot was founded in 1923 and is Russias national airline. Before the ban, the airline conducted daily flights between Moscow and London. For now, it is unclear what effects the flight ban will have on UK airlines, although they look likely to pay higher fuel costs while passengers can expect longer journey times on flights to countries in the far East, which would typically include a layover in Russia. Meanwhile, a number of other flight companies have canceled or changed their flight routes to Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. On Friday, Russian special-ops groups had reportedly made their way into the capital city of Kyiv, Olexander Scherba, a Ukrainian diplomat, said. Cayuga County's congressional delegation condemned the attack on Ukraine as Russian forces invaded the Eastern European country on Thursday. The military action is targeting several areas within Ukraine, including Kyiv, its capital. It's believed that Russian forces are planning to topple the governor and install a pro-Russian leader. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for the "unprovoked and immoral invasion of Ukraine." "No one should fall for Putin's lies," he said. "This is a reckless war of choice, and the choice was made by Putin and Putin only. We stand with the people of Ukraine and our NATO allies and partners." U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, also of New York, used similar language. She described the invasion as "unnecessary and unjustified" and worries that it will lead to suffering for Ukrainians. "The U.S. must lead the effort to hold Russia accountable," she said. "Together with our allies, the U.S. must impose crushing sanctions on Russia and strengthen the defenses of our NATO allies. The world must be united and resolute against this act of aggression." President Joe Biden announced economic sanctions targeting Russian elites and banks. He also said that more U.S. military servicemembers would be sent to Europe to defend NATO allies on the continent. U.S. Rep. John Katko joined his colleagues in panning the invasion "an assault on democracy" and "a violation of international law," he said and added that it shows Putin's "imperialistic ambitions." Katko, the ranking Republican member on the House Homeland Security Committee, urged the U.S. to hold Putin accountable for the attack. He supports the economic sanctions against Russia, but he is concerned that they won't be enough to stop the invasion. Another concern for Katko: cyber threats. He called for increased vigilance to protect against cyber attacks from Russia. "As we've seen in recent years, Russia won't hesitate to engage in destructive cyberattacks," Katko said. "As ranking member on the Committee on Homeland Security, I am in regular contact with the Department of Homeland Security, and specifically the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to ensure that Congress is providing any and all support necessary to protect against these threats." Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Multiple Los Angeles USPS Workers Plead Guilty to EDD Fraud A former United States Postal Service (USPS) clerk, who was charged with committing unemployment benefits fraud, was sentenced Feb. 24 to three years of probation, one year of home detention, and ordered to pay over $160,000 in restitution. Armand C. Legardy, 33, of Inglewood, California, obtained nine state Employment Development Department (EDD) debits cards from unidentified people that were issued for unemployment insurance benefits between August 2020 and February 2021, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. A discarded envelope containing EDD information sits in Irvine, Calif., on April 21, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The former USPS clerk, who worked out of the La Tijera Post Office on Crenshaw Boulevard, pled guilty to a federal count of use of unauthorized access devices, and acknowledged illegally using the nine EDD cards to purchase tens of thousands of dollars worth of postal money orders that were fraudulently obtained with false claims of COVID-related job losses. [He] saw that EDD checks were being returned as undelivered, Defense Attorney Meghan Blanco said, according to City News Service. Mr. Legardy understood that the checks were likely fraudulent and that they were returned after being delivered to fake or nonexistent addresses. Regrettably, he and others took a number of these checks from the returned mail pile Blanco stated. and as the government described in its papers, had others cash the checks for them. Less than three miles down the road at the Culver City Main Post Office, another USPS employee pleaded guilty to a similar charge. Christian J. James, 32, was charged last year with using at least eight EDD debit cards in other peoples names, causing a loss of more than $142,000, according to the California District Attorneys Office. Sentenced to probation, he was also ordered to pay $142,000 in restitution. A joint effort was made investigating the incidents by the USPS Office of the Inspector General, the United States Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the California Employment Development Department. EDDs website states that the department actively investigates cases of fraud, with the most recent recording listed in August of 2021 to the sentencing of an inmate in San Diego, who was ordered to pay over $23,000 back to the state after applying and collecting public aid while serving a prison sentence, claiming he was unemployed as a result of COVID. Trucks sit parked on Wellington St. near parliament as truckers and their supporters took part in a convoy to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Jan. 29, 2022. (Patrick Doyle/ Reuters) Nearly 40 Trucking Businesses Involved in Canadas Freedom Convoy Protests Have Been Shut Down The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) confirmed that it shut down nearly 40 businesses during its crackdown on Freedom Convoy protesters opposing COVID-19 mandates and restrictions. In an email to Global News on Feb. 23, Dakota Brasier, a spokesperson for Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney, said the ministry had issued 12 seizure orders to Ontario-based large truck operators which suspended them from being allowed to operate within Canada. The ministry also issued an order to seize all plates registered to them, Brasier said. Outside of Ontario, the ministry also issued 27 seizure orders to out-of-province large truck operators, which stopped them from operating any commercial motor vehicles in Ontario, Brasier said. The MTO would not reveal the name of the businesses that were issued with the seizure orders when asked to comment by Truck News. In an effort to preserve future police investigations into the illegal occupation in Ottawa, the ministry will not release the names of affected businesses at this time, a ministry spokesperson told the publication when asked. The Epoch Times has contacted an Ontario Ministry of Transportation spokesperson for comment. The confirmation from MTO regarding businesses being shut down came just hours after Ontario Premier Doug Ford lifted the provinces state of emergency. Ford declared the emergency on Feb. 11 to address the impact of the ongoing protests against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions by trucker conveys who arrived in Ottawa on Jan. 29. However, Fords office said in a statement on Feb. 23 that the emergency tools provided to law enforcement would still remain in place for now, as police continue to address ongoing activity on the ground. We remain grateful to all front-line officers and first responders that contributed to peacefully resolving the situation in Ottawa, Windsor, and in other parts of the province, the statement said. Also on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he was revoking the use of the Emergencies Act, which he originally invoked on Feb. 14 to deal with the protests and blockades, stating that the situation is no longer an emergency. Trudeau defended utilizing the act in the first place after he faced fierce criticism from opponents, including Canadian politician Mark Strahl, who claimed that the act had resulted in a single mom with a minimum wage job having her bank account frozen after donating $50 to the Freedom Convoy. Invocation of the act granted the federal government powers to freeze protesters and supporters bank accounts without a court order. Thousands gather around Parliament Hill in support of the Freedom Convoy truck protest in Ottawa on Feb. 5, 2022. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) Trudeau said invoking the act initially was the responsible and necessary thing to do and that there was evidence that individuals wanted to undermine and even harm Canadas democracy. However, prior to the Emergencies Act being invoked, Ambassador Bridge, the busiest Canada-U.S. border crossing which transports products between the two countries, had already reopened. Meanwhile, blockades at the border crossings in B.C. and Alberta had also ended shortly after Feb. 14, and the biggest protest still ongoing was in Ottawa, yet the government insisted it was still necessary to use the act because there was an ongoing threat that new protests or blockades might pop up again. After Trudeaus announcement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said that it was reaching out to financial institutions to unfreeze accounts. As of February 21, 2022, the RCMP has gone back to financial institutions with some updated information about certain entities whose status may have changed pertaining to the illegal protest activity, RCMP said in a statement. This new information can be assessed alongside all other information to help inform decisions to unfreeze certain accounts. In total, RCMP had frozen at least 206 accounts due to support of the Freedom Convoy, totaling $7.8 million, according to Isabelle Jacques, assistant deputy minister of finance. PHILADELPHIA, Pa.If anyone attended a live performance in China, chances are they wouldnt have seen anything like what Shen Yun Performing Arts puts on the stage. Not only is Shen Yun trying to revive the lost culture of China since the communist regime took power, but the company is unable to perform in China. Im glad that theyre here to show us what Chinese traditional culture is all about. Tracy Jentzsch Ive been to China before and I have never seen anything like this when I was [there]. So I think it was amazing and Im glad that theyre here to show us what Chinese traditional culture is all about, said Tracy Jentzsch, an administrator at the University of Delaware. I think thats wonderful. I think many people in the world dont know about traditional Chinese culture, she said. New York-based Shen Yun has been warmly welcomed at the Merriam Theater every season they tour. It was just really amazing. Weve waited for five years to see this production so we were really happy to learn that it was in Philadelphia, Jentzsch said. Shen Yun was conceived in 2006 by artists around the world who had the joint dream of presenting the beauty of Chinas 5,000 years of civilization to the world. Since then, Shen Yun has grown from one to seven companies that tour the world simultaneously. [The dancers] were all so very focused on what they were doing, and they just seemed so inspired to bring about the message that they were trying to portray and I guess that would really make them look inward and bring about the message they are trying to give to everyone, Jentzsch said. One aspect of the performance that struck her was the stories about how history impacts our future. She expressed that the stories about past lives and reincarnation and about finding a place within ones soul to really live out your dreams [is] what a lot of the performers were trying to show us. Shen Yuns dancers are trained in classical Chinese dancean ancient art form. While dance schools in China also teach this dance form, Shen Yun dancers are taught pure classical Chinese dance without the mingling of ballet or any other dance forms. It was amazing. It was breathtaking, it was beautiful, the dancers, everything was timed so perfectly and the music just took our breath away, said Jentzsch. We really loved all of it. The music was really moving for me, but I also loved the dance with the plum fairies, the women with the flowers and that was just so beautiful. The costumes and the dancing and the acrobatics, it was just amazing, she added. Many spectators think that the tumbling techniques displayed by Shen Yuns artists come from gymnastics or acrobatics, but these techniques actually all originate from classical Chinese dance. Reporting by NTD and Maria Han. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. New York Man Sentenced to 16 Months in Jail for Burning Police Car During 2020 Riots A New York man who was captured on drone footage lighting fire to a police car during the 2020 riots was sentenced to prison time on Feb. 24. Miguel Ramos, 21, of Rochester, was sentenced to 16 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles Siragusa, a Clinton nominee. Ramos, investigators said, was captured on video, including on footage from a drone, intentionally setting fire to a Rochester Police Department vehicle on May 30, 2020, during one the many riots that took place in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota. The vehicle was parked in the front loop outside the Public Safety Building in Rochester when Ramos and another man approached it in broad daylight and lit it on fire, according to the footage. Ramos pleaded guilty in 2021 to one count of rioting. Ramos admitted to lighting the police car on fire and to taking photographs of himself at the riot before sending the pictures to others in text messages and encouraging them to participate in the riot, according to court documents obtained by The Epoch Times. The defendant could have been sentenced to up to 5 years in prison and fined up to $250,000. Prosecutors recommended 24 months of prison time, based in part on the guilty plea, which they said permitted the government to avoid using resources to prepare for trial. Peter Pullano, an attorney representing Ramos, asked the court to impose the lowest possible sentence, asserting Ramos acknowledged his criminal act, is remorseful, and has cooperated with authorities. Pullano also said the court shouldnt fine Ramos because the man does not have the ability to pay any fine. The Defendant stands before this Court in more trouble than he has ever imagined possible. He has embarrassed himself and humiliated his family by being involved in this matter In fact, he had been warned by his family prior to going downtown. The time he has spent preparing for his sentence, has been a wake up call to the reality of where a life of drug dealing can lead. Accordingly, the Defendant has already experienced substantial rehabilitation and is dedicated to never again making the mistakes in judgment that lead to his becoming involved in the instant offense, the filing stated, with exhibits attached showing her was diagnosed with lead exposure and learning disabilities. Siragusa agreed not to fine Ramos. Apart from the prison sentence, Ramos was ordered to pay $4,287 in restitution to the city of Rochester. Police stop vehicles to heading north on state highway one at Warkworth in Auckland, New Zealand, on April 09, 2020. (Fiona Goodall/Getty Images) New Zealand High Court: Vaccine Mandate Not Demonstrably Justified, Breach of Rights Police and defence force staff challenge upheld The New Zealand High Court has upheld a challenge to a vaccine mandate for Police and Defence Force staff, stating that it was not a demonstrably justified breach of the Bill of Rights. Justice Francis Cooke was asked by a group of Police and Defence Force personnel to judicially review the vaccine mandate enacted under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act in December. The mandate required all Defence Force personnel and all Police constables, recruits, and authorized officers to receive two doses of the vaccine by March 1. But on Jan. 6, three unvaccinated staff who did not wish to receive the shots sought a judicial review of the mandate. They were supported by affidavits from 37 of their colleagues in the same position. The group claims that two rights of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 had been limited by the mandate: the right to refuse a medical treatment and the right to manifest religious beliefs. Part of the groups religious objections to the mandate were concerns over the fact that the Pfizer vaccine had at some point been tested on cells that had been derived from a human foetus. According to UCLA Health, COVID-19 vaccines do not contain aborted fetal cells but Johnson & Johnson did use fetal cell lines when developing and producing their vaccine, and Pfizer and Moderna used them to test their vaccines to ensure they work. The group claimed that requiring vaccination by such a vaccine was in conflict with the religious beliefs of some of the affected persons. Cooke, in a judgment (pdf) released on Friday in New Zealand, did not accept some of the applicants arguments but agreed that the mandate is not a reasonable limit on rights that can be demonstrably justified and set the order aside. I conclude that the Order does not involve a reasonable limit on the applicants rights that can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society and that it is unlawful, Cooke said. The order limits the right to be free to refuse medical treatment recognised by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (including because of its limitation on peoples right to remain employed), and it limits the right to manifest religious beliefs for those who decline to be vaccinated because the vaccine has been tested on cells derived from a human foetus which is contrary to their religious beliefs, Cooke said. Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Chambers speaks to members of the media during a press conference at the police headquarters on the ninth day of demonstrations against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions in Wellington, New Zealand, on Feb. 16, 2022. (Marty Melville/AFP via Getty Images) Police arrest people protesting against coronavirus mandates at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on Feb. 10, 2022. (Mark Mitchell/NZ Herald via AP) However, he pointed out the courts decision did not affect any other vaccine mandates or any internal vaccination policies of the police or Defence Force. In essence, the order mandating vaccinations for police and NZDF staff was imposed to ensure the continuity of the public services, and to promote public confidence in those services, rather than to stop the spread of COVID-19. Indeed health advice provided to the government was that further mandates were not required to restrict the spread of COVID-19. I am not satisfied that continuity of these services is materially advanced by the order, he said. Cooke also concluded that the mandate affected only a small number of personnel: just 164 unvaccinated personnel in a police workforce of nearly 15,700. For the New Zealand Defence workforce, the mandate affected 115 of its 15,480 staff. Moreover there is no evidence that this number is any different from the number that would have remained unvaccinated and employed had the matter simply been dealt with by the pre-existing internal vaccine policies applied by police and NZDF. Neither is there any hard evidence that this number of personnel materially effects the continuity of NZDF and police services, the judge wrote. The judge also said it was apparent, based on evidence, that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was highly transmissible and could affect a large number of New Zealanders including police or Defence temporarily but that the termination of jobs arising from the mandate was permanent. Vaccination has a significant beneficial effect in limiting serious illness, hospitalization, and death, including with the Omicron variant. But it was less effective in reducing infection and transmission of Omicron than had been the case with other variants of COVID-19, the judge wrote. However, Cooke stressed that his decision to set aside the order was not for the purposes of limiting the spread of COVID-19 but for the continuity of service of police and Defence. But the order made in the present case is nevertheless unlawful and is set aside, he wrote. The applicants were awarded costs. Associate Professor Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccinologist at the University of Auckland told Stuff NZ that she was disappointed with the decision and that it legally and morally undermines the mandates. Its really disappointing. These are temporary mandates. They are for the benefit of our whole community. Communities have always depended on our people cooperating and working together right through time since we camped outside the caves. Its an essential component of a successful society, Petousis-Harris said. This isnt working together. Right in the middle of a pandemic, its not in the spirit of trying to keep us all safe. Spokespersons for both Police and NZDF told The New Zealand Herald that terminations of staff who do not get vaccinated will be suspended while the decision is considered by the government. A New Zealand Defence Force spokesperson told The Epoch Times, As the judicial decision has only just been released, we will be taking time to consider it. We are communicating with staff about next steps. In the meantime terminations of employment will not proceed at this time, the spokesperson said. The Epoch Times has contacted New Zealand Police. Australian Chris Boshuizen, 90-year-old Star Trek actor William Shatner, and two other civilians blasts off on a Blue Origin flight on Oct. 13, 2021 in Texas. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Australia Looks to Send Next Astronaut Into Space The Australian government has injected more than $65 million ($US47 million) into the space industry to speed up the launch of Australian-made technologyand a home-grown astronautinto space. Chris Boshuizen was the last Australian astronaut to be sent into space in Oct. 2021. He was the third Australian to do so, following the footsteps of astronauts Paul Scully-Power and Andy Thomas. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that Australia is ready to aim high with its space aspirations. Australia is ready to launch and we are backing Australian companies and workers, Morrison said in a statement. The funding would create the need for new Australian jobs, cutting edge technologies and businesses to make Australia a leading destination for launching rockets. Any astronaut and any spacecraft has a team of thousands behind them, not to mention invaluable technology and research and carefully manufactured parts, he said. Thats why, since 2018, we have invested more than $800 million as part of our mission to triple the size of the sector to $12 billion and create up to 20,000 new jobs by 2030. Around half of the funding will go towards developing up to three launch sites across Australia. The other half will be given to the Australian Space Agency to secure spaceflights and services for the Australian space sector, allowing laboratory technology to go into space. The Australian Space Agencys headquarters is based in Adelaide, South Australia. (Australian Space Agency) South Australia Premier Steven Marshall said todays investment is a huge opportunity for South Australiathe home of the Australian Space Agency, the Space Discovery Centre, Mission Control, the Australian Space Park, and more than 90 space-related companies. South Australia is unequivocally the space statewe have already created nearly 1,600 space jobs in the state and todays announcement is going to see that number take off, he said. This sector is going gangbusters and its going to mean our young South Australians can have a rewarding career in the space sector right here without having to move interstate or overseas. Head of the Australian Space Agency, Enrico Palermo, said that Australia has a competitive advantage for space launches. We are already a desirable launch location thanks to a range of factors, including our unique geographic perspective and political stabilitythis investment will cement that reputation, he said. North Carolina Candidates Scramble for Seats After Last-Minute Redistricting With only three months before the 2022 election, some North Carolina politicians are struggling to choose their voters. The confusion springs from a last-minute redistricting by the states supreme court which has made several leaders reconsider which district they should run in. When Republicans turned in a congressional redistricting map on Feb. 17, the state supreme court argued that the map was unfair toward Democrats. On Feb. 23, a three-judge panel from the court substituted its own map. If the new map survives an appeal from the North Carolina GOP, it will likely gain Democrats two seats in North Carolina, shifting North Carolina from five Democratic districts and eight Republican districts to six Democratic districts, seven Republican districts, and one competitive district. But in the short-term, the new map makes it difficult for candidates to know what district they should be running in. 2022 is an important year for redistricting. After the release of 2020 census results was delayed for months by the pandemic, states across America are scrambling to organize redistricting, which plays a major role in determining which candidates get to go to Congress. The 2022 redistricting will likely help Republicans more than Democrats. Republicans will have the chance to redraw 187 congressional districts, while Democrats will have 75. An additional 167 seats will be redrawn by commissions or by bipartisan leaders. Readjusting House representative numbers for the census has given North Carolina an additional seat in Congress. Historically, North Carolina has often sent higher numbers of Republicans to Congress, although Democrats have about 13 percent more registered voters. In presidential elections, the last few elections were extremely close. For now, several candidates will have to figure out which district to run in by March 4. Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn originally announced plans to run in a neighboring district, but now he might remain in his home district. The new map also significantly reorganizes the old districts of Republican Reps. Dan Bishop and Richard Hudson. Hudson announced today that he will run for office in North Carolinas ninth congressional district. According to his campaign, he has previously represented eight of the districts nine counties. The new congressional district map created by North Carolina courts. (North Carolina General Assembly) I look forward to remaining Fort Braggs Congressman and again earning the support of the people of the new 9th District, Hudson said in a press release. Although The Epoch Times has contacted the Bishop campaign, it received no response by press time. Fifth District Democratic Party chair Charlie Wallin told The Epoch Times that he still doesnt know who the Democrats will run in his district. There will be a candidate file in the 5th, he said. They are waiting to see what the 5th is going to look like. As are many other candidates who are jumping back and forth. Both the newly-created 13th and 14th congressional districts have no incumbent, offering the chance for competitive primaries. The 13th district is likely to be close in the general election, too. The most recent rejected map is the second rejected by the North Carolina Supreme Court. It was a bipartisan redistricting map created because the original Republican map plan was also rejected. During its creation, North Carolina Republican and Democrat House members had equal access to the rooms with map-drawing computers. The court-appointed remedial map will give the Democrats an advantage in the 2022 election, but state representatives will have to redraw yet again in 2024. At least two of the State Supreme Courts Democratic judges are up for reelection, which might give North Carolina Republicans an upper hand in creating a redistricting map that will last until the next census. In the long-term, North Carolina voter registration trends suggest the state is growing more Republican. Ukrainian and Russian forces engage in heavy fighting, we look at President Joe Bidens announcement about Russias actions, and one country has avoided calling the attack an invasion: China. The battle for Ukraines capital city is underway. Russia claims its cut Kyiv off from the West. But Ukraine says its not giving up. Lawmakers are looking to send big help to Ukraine amid the crisis. An aid package is gaining bipartisan support. Thats as Ukraine calls for swift sanctions against Russia. Protesters are gathering across the globe to voice their opposition to Russias attack. So far, rallies have popped up in cities like Toronto, Paris, and Budapest. Here's what you need to know to take advantage of the benefits and avoid the pitfalls As a business owner, Im always looking for ways to do things smarter and more efficiently. As an attorney, Im always looking for ways to do things legally. These are the reasons why Im such a fan of legal tools for business owners. The right tools can help laypeople navigate the often complex landscape of creating businesses without incurring exorbitant legal costs. But legal tools are not all the same, and business owners who use them incorrectly or who fail to do their due diligence beforehand could find themselves in a world of hurt. From my years as a lawyer, Ive learned that no two individuals or businesses are exactly alike, and there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to setting up and running a business. Even the best legal tools are no substitute for good advice, but when combined with appropriate oversight from your attorney, these tools can provide a cost-effective vehicle for handling routine legal matters. So lets look at the kinds of legal tools that are out there and explore how best to use them. Helpful Information Information about setting up and operating businesses is always helpful, and these days it is abundantly available through online searches. Many law and business schools publish articles for the general public about the legal issues involved in owning and running businesses, and law firm blogs are an excellent resource for this type of information. Do-it-yourself legal guides, as well as self-help books are written in plain English, can provide valuable help as you navigate the legalities of starting and running your business. Basic information on forming and running businesses is also available through local bar associations and chambers of commerce. All of these resources can help you determine what forms and processes your business needs, but they are no substitute for individual, customized legal advice from your own lawyer. Related: The Legal Advice Mark Cuban Didnt Take Forms and Templates A quick Google search of legal templates will turn up dozens of sites that promise to give you exactly what you need. But choose wisely. Having a lot of forms without knowing how and when to use them is like having a loaded gun without any training. The chances of something going wrong are high. Failure to use the correct form or to understand the terms of your agreement could spell disaster for your business. Remember that under U.S. contract law, any error or ambiguity in an agreement will always be resolved in favor of the party who did not draft the agreement. Numerous companies offer forms and templates for all kinds of legal engagements, from real-estate transactions to estate planning to sales contracts. Before starting, it is important to select the appropriate state and the correct type of agreement or form. For artists, musicians, and other creative individuals, Id encourage exploring resources specifically targeted at content creators. This is a unique niche, and you will want to look for agreements that cover such markets as podcasts, social media, web series and live theater and that can address everything from talent management to production design to editing. Whatever service you sign up with, and whichever template you decide to use, make sure that it is reviewed by a legal professional before sending it off for the other partys signature. Its much easier to fix a problem beforehand than to try to undo something once the ink has dried on a contract. Related: 9 Common Legal Mistakes Small Business Owners Make Tools With Support The best approach, in my opinion, is to avail yourself of as much of the self-help and do-it-yourself toolbox as possible, but follow up with actual legal counsel. Several companies offer a more complete solution for business owners, with the convenience and economy of using online tools to draft your own agreements while also providing important legal support and advice through licensed attorneys in your state. These comprehensive services are similar to using do-it-yourself online tax tools while having access to tax experts who can answer questions and offer guidance before you file your returns. They can be a real bargain if you use them wisely. The bottom line for business owners is that when purchased from reputable companies and coupled with personalized legal advice, online legal tools can truly be a godsend for entrepreneurs. Conservative Party committees in central New York are coalescing behind Brandon Williams to be the party's nominee in the eight-county 22nd Congressional District. In a joint statement, local Conservative Party leaders said they met on Feb. 19 to interview Williams, R-Sennett, and two other Republicans Tim Ko, of DeWitt, and Mike Sigler, of Lansing running for Congress in the newly drawn district, which includes all of Onondaga and Tompkins counties and parts of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Ontario, Schuyler and Seneca counties. At the meeting, a straw poll was conducted and Williams was the winner. "Brandon is a uniquely and highly qualified candidate who will quickly become an influential member of the new Republican majority in Congress," said David Pappert, chairman of the Cayuga County Conservative Party. "Brandon's traditional, conservative values are the remedy for the 'woke' illness that has infected our politics. Pro-life by faith, and pro-2A by birth (born in Texas), let's go!" Because the 22nd district crosses county lines, the state Conservative Party will decide whether to endorse Williams or another candidate. The local Conservative Party leaders have forwarded their recommendation to the state party. Williams is a Navy veteran and co-founder of a California-based software company. He moved to Cayuga County with his wife, Stephanie, and they started a hazelnut tree farm to cultivate Burgundy truffles. He formally launched his campaign for Congress this week. He is seeking the Republican and Conservative nominations. The Conservative Party typically cross-endorses GOP candidates. While Williams could lock up the Conservative Party nomination, a primary is possible for the GOP nod. When Ko entered the race, he sought to compete against U.S. Rep. John Katko for the Republican line. But Katko, R-Camillus, announced in January that he will not run for reelection this year. Ko's entry was also before state legislators redrew the congressional district lines. The new district includes all of Tompkins County, where Sigler is a county legislator. Sigler announced his candidacy and highlighted a slew of endorsements from Cayuga County leaders, including former state Assemblyman Gary Finch and former county Republican Chairwoman Cherl Heary. But it's Williams who, with the Conservative Party's backing, has the inside track the GOP nomination. While it's possible that the parties could disagree, they usually back the same candidate. "Brandon is personable, knowledgeable, focused and capable of keeping this seat," said Bernard Ment, chairman of the Onondaga County Conservative Party. "Brandon can raise the money needed to win, and maintain the focus of the race on the critical issues affecting our district. He is the candidate that can unite the Conservative and Republican parties and, more importantly, the voters of the eight counties represented by the new congressional district." It won't be an easy contest for the GOP nominee. The newly drawn district has over 57,000 more Democrats than Republican voters. It is considered a pickup opportunity for Democrats who haven't won a Syracuse-area congressional race since 2012. Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Orange County DA Controversy Highlights California Crime Tensions Commentary As I have previously reported in The Epoch Times, the elections for California attorney general and the county district attorneys are going to be really nasty this year. That always happens when crime goes up. A race to look out for is Orange Countys district attorney. Four years ago, the election pitted longtime incumbent Tony Rackauckas against Todd Spitzer, who had been an assemblyman and OC supervisor. Spitzer contended Rackauckas had been around too long and botched several high-profile cases. Rackauckas said he had kept the county safe. Spitzer won. This time Spitzer is running for re-election in a highly different environment, contending he has kept OC safe while crime has soared in Los Angeles and San Francisco under lenient DAs. His opponent is attorney Pete Hardin, a former U.S. Marine and federal prosecutor who says Spitzer has not cleaned up Rackauckas mess. Spitzer accuses Hardin of being one of the soft-on-crime types. Another difference is, although this is a nonpartisan post, in 2018 both Rackauckas and Spitzer were Republicans. This time Hardin is a Democrat. Its unfortunate, but predictable, that race would become an issue. In this case, Spitzer is being accused of racism. The Orange County Register reported, The furor is partially centered around memos written by former Senior Assistant District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh concerning an Oct. 1 meeting to discuss whether to seek the death penalty in the case of a Black man accused of killing a White couple in Newport Beach. According to Baytiehs Dec. 3 memo, the group discussed defendant Jamon Buggs record of domestic violence. Spitzer inquired about the race of Buggs previous girlfriends. According to Baytiehs memo, he and prosecutor Eric Scarbrough told Spitzer the question was irrelevant and inappropriate to consider in a discussion on the death penalty. The memo said Spitzer disagreed and said he knows many black people who get themselves out of their bad circumstances and bad situations by only dating white women. In a Dec. 21 correction later penned by Baytieh, he amended the line to say Spitzer knows many black people who enhance their status by only dating white women. Spitzer contends the matter was taken entirely out of context. Its also disturbing Baytieh had to correct his notes on the conversation. How often do prosecutors notes get corrected? Does that affect cases outcome? Were there audio recordings? Another factor is the death penalty is moot in California as a reality, although it remains an election issue and technically still is part of the California Constitution. Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he wont allow any executions on his watch. No future governor is likely to change that. When this controversy came up, Spitzer dropped his call for the death penalty for Buggs, which angered the family of the victims. The reporting on the memo led Riverside County DA Mike Hestrin and San Diego DA Summer Stephan to take back their endorsements of Spitzer. The three are tied together because theyre running for re-election on similar planks opposing the soft-on-crime policies of Los Angeles County DA George Gascon. Gascon is facing a recall funded, according to LA Magazine, by some deep-pocketed Democratic donors and Hollywood grandees upset with L.A.s increase in crime. The recall just prompted Gascon to reverse himself on his weak sentencing request in a sexual assault case in which the perpetrator, 17 at the time of the attack, should have been charged as an adult. Spitzers own campaign focuses almost entirely on attacking his opponent for being a Gascon clone. One typical recent campaign missive began, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer slammed his woke opponent, Pete Hardin, for fundraising off of the same policies that just led to a light sentence for a convicted child molester in Los Angeles County. Its part of an inevitable national backlash against recent left-wing policies that includes the election of Republican Glenn Youngkin as governor in Democrat-dominated Virginia and the Feb. 15 recall of three left-wing Board of Education member even in San Francisco, which has just 7 percent Republican registration. For his part, Hardin wrote in a Feb. 19 op-ed in the Register of the Spitzer situation, The revelations arent just appalling, theyre disqualifying, as our system of justice must be colorblind to ensure integrity in prosecutions and the trust of the communities we serve. Its also disturbing Spitzer has been endorsed by the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, which relentlessly spewed lies about John Moorlach when he ran for supervisor a year ago, and for whose campaign I worked as an unpaid volunteer. Yet Spitzer also has been sensitive to reforms of police misconduct. The bottom line is most voters dont want to be conked on the head by a criminal. This is a repeat of the late 1960s and 1970s, when such tough-on-crime candidates as George Deukmejian and Ronald Reagan made their mark. The former became Californias attorney general, then governor. The latter became governor, then president. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A view of power lines during a Pacific Gas and Electric public safety power shutoff in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2019. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Orange County Power AuthorityPaving Easy Street With Your Cash Commentary A review of the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) identifies how the community is gamed and drained of millions of dollars in benefits, despite promises to save money for residents. OCPA is a local Community Choice Energy government agency that inserts itself into the energy supply chain as a competitor to Southern California Edison, claiming it can deliver higher volumes of clean energy at lower prices than the utility companies. Drain #1: OCPAs $22.6 million annual cash grab Irvine, Huntington Beach, and Buena Park recently enrolled in OCPAs 100 percent renewable product. According to pricing from Southern California Edison, the cities could have purchased the same 100 percent renewable content from the utility and collectively saved $21.7 million dollars per year. The average homeowner or renter will pay about $6.50 per month extra, and likely more by the time residential enrollments begin in many months. OCPAs fourth city member, Fullerton, remains in the programs mid-priced 69 percent renewable Smart Choice. Fullerton residents spend $900,000 per year extra to receive 31 percent less renewable energy. If OCPA loads unbundled renewable energy certificates (RECs) into its clean energy, this further devalues ratepayers expenditures, although it reduces OCPAs costs. Inexpensive system power is typically delivered when unbundled RECs show up. SoCal Edison crews replace power lines in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Oct. 25, 2019. (Christian Monterrosa/AP Photo) By choosing Edisons 100 percent Green Rate offering, the four cities would also have eliminated Edisons ongoing exit fees and $3 billion in OCPA contract liability. In a peculiar omission, OCPAs Proposed Rate Schedule fails to include any reference to Edisons competitive 100 percent Green Rate, which, if selected, could very likely unravel OCPAs (protected) business model. Tunnel-vision enrollment into the OCPA programs over-priced clean energy products is contrary to Irvine councilmember Tammy Kims Feb. 8 kudos for an agency devoid of the following attributes: Ratepayer equitythere is zero consideration for sweeping consumers into OCPAs highest-priced energy programs. Community Choice consultants have honed the enrollment and notification process, designing opt-out notices that are easily discarded by homeowners with junk mail. Community Choice programs control the opt-out process (one agency even bragged about its retention rate for opt-out requests). Asserting that consumers can easily exit from these programs is self-serving for an agency representing itself as a transparent advocate for the common person. Community outreachthere is zero education that facilitates transparent choice about 100 percent renewable energy programs; Reinvesting back into the communityone of OCPAs first steps was executing power contracts with European oil giant Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary Shell Energy. OCPA not only exports money out of California, it reinvests in the community by supporting a company that state and federal regulators have charged with gaming Californias energy market along with Enron. Drain #2: OCPA disregards $82 million (minimum) commitments per year Orange County Power Authority was originally sold on the basis of reducing energy prices by 5 to 9 percent compared to Edisons rates. Huntington Beachs OCPA Board representative Mike Posey fancied himself a champion of the taxpayers. Few people looked back. Who didnt want clean energy for an even lower price than Edisons? Giant wind turbines near Palm Springs, Calif. (David McNew/Getty Images) Then Posey introduced board motions in early January that reversed original commitments. First, prices for OCPAs default product, Basic Choice, no longer saved money, giving way to at parity (aka mirroring) pricing with Edison. To worsen matters, OCPAs consultants reported that achieving at parity pricing required off-loading costs from Basic Choice into the agencys pricey Smart Choice and 100 percent renewable products. To support the cost shuffle, OCPA needed ratepayers to buy its high-cost premium products. The second switch delivered by Poseys OCPA board motion involved city enrollments, which would now be default-enrolled into the agencys more expensive Smart Choice renewable product, along with metered customers within those cities. This instantly fulfilled the accounting schemes needed supply of subsidy-paying ratepayers. Amid OCPAs self-congratulations, hard questions remain. What happens when the economy tilts and premium-paying ratepayers flee to the lower-cost Basic Choice at parity programwho funds the subsidies? What happens then, when large numbers of consumers opt out of OCPA? In the meantime, OCPA engineered a coup. By upselling its member cities into premium-priced products, the agency achieved a total revenue swingor economic drain from the communityof $82 million to $101 million per year, depending on whether its original 5 or 9 percent now-lost savings is included. Drain #3: Steamrolling communities with fictitious price savings City of Lancaster and Town of Apple Valley: Both cities operate Community Choice Energy programs that launched amid promises to save consumers money compared to Southern California Edison. According to the comparative prices on Apple Valleys and Lancasters websites, prices are now so high that Edisons 100 percent renewable product costs less than lower-priced inferior products from both Community Choice agencies, save for Apple Valleys entry-level 35 percent renewable product at $1 less per month for an average home than Edisons 100 percent renewable product. Telling for OCPAs future, both agencies employ the same rate-setting consultant with whom OCPA recently executed a whopping $2.4 million contract. The downtown skyline is seen behind high tension towers in Los Angeles on Aug. 16, 2020. (Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images) Clean Power Alliance (formerly known as Los Angeles Community Choice Energy): Clean Power Alliance dwarfs all Community Choice Energy agencies. The agencys lowest-price Lean Power ranges from nearly $110 to more than $450 extra per year per household than Edisons renewable compliant default energy product. Clean Power Alliance originally launched as County of Los Angeles executives trumpeted savings of an estimated $20 million annually in utility bill payments and could achieve up to $140 million annual savings. To support its assertions, LA County commissioned a 1 1/2 page review of its 81-page Business Plan. Today, Clean Power Alliances current prices cost its aggregated communities more than $200 million extra per year compared to Edison. The Alliances record includes loading inexpensive certificates into its portfolio to mitigate high energy prices, representing those financial instruments as delivered clean energy to customers rather than the typical underlying dirty power. Drain #4: Benchmarkingregularly siphoning cash from your bank account OCPA says the new standard for its lowest-price product, Basic Choice, is to maintain parity with Edison. The practice is known as benchmarking. While Edison absorbs the public relations fallout as a disliked straw man for increasing prices, the Community Choice Energy agency skates by unnoticed. According to OCPAs consultant, its current prices are expected to remain close to Edisons after Edisons next price hike in late March. Ratepayers should expect OCPAs at parity prices to eventually exceed Edisons, as now occurs at many Community Choice Energy programs. Price hikes are inevitable as OCPA proponents come to terms with trying to eke a profit in a commodity market whose net margins are inherently tiny. OCPAs lack of delivered benefits is covered up with propaganda and city councils failures to scrutinize the agencys morphing record. OCPA is preparing to steamroll Orange County and pave easy street with your cash. Theres only one true Community Choiceopt out of OCPA. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Parents, teachers, and students protest mask and vaccine mandates in Temecula, Calif., on Feb. 22, 2022. (Courtesy of Stephanie Dawson) Parents, Teachers Protest Mandates as Unmasked Kids Left Out in the Rain and Cold A group of more than 100 parents, teachers and students criticized local school trustees at a recent Temecula Valley Unified School District board meeting in Temecula, Calif., over policies that allegedly forced dozens of unmasked students to study outside in the cold. Stephanie Dawson, a parent, blasted the board for sending unmasked children at Temecula Middle School to do their schoolwork outside in the rain on Feb. 22, with daytime temperatures dipping down into the low 50s. Dawson, who photographed the students, told The Epoch Times one of them secretly called her mom to let her know she was forced to do her schoolwork outdoors. The students were told they couldnt sit together, although some did huddle together in the rain, she said. Meanwhile, photographs and video show maskless students left out in the cold while socially distanced from each other. Students allegedly forced to sit outside in the cold at school in Temecula, Calif., on Feb. 22, 2022. (Courtesy of Stephanie Dawson) Since when is torturing our children a publicly accepted policy? Is this for the sake of public health, or is this punishment for their unwillingness to comply? Dawson asked the board. A group of parents led by Dawson served the school board with a notice of intent to file a claim against the districts insurance policy. The parents demanded that the board lift its mask and vaccine mandates, along with other demands including ceasing the exposure of children to concepts such as critical race theory and inappropriate sexual education. If these are not removed, and or halted within five days, we will proceed with filing a claim against your crime and liability policy for the codes of law that you are violating and for the violation of your oath of office, Dawson said. Dawson said the board members were clearly seen not wearing masks behind glass walls during the closed session portion of the meeting but wore them during open session. The Epoch Times also obtained photographs of the board members without the masks. It was nice to see you guys in here without masks today, Dawson said. Stephanie Dawson and her daughter, a high school student, at a school board meeting in Murrieta, Calif. (Brad Jones/The Epoch Times) Steve Campos, a teacher, presented a petition with more than 300 signatures of district staff who oppose the mask and vaccination mandates for staff and students. We understand that the vaccination may or may not be implemented, Campos said, as he handed over the petition. Campos accused the district of retaliating against those who spoke out against district policies. Retaliation and harassment are all too real in this district and is why very few staff ever speak out to address concerns, he said. Campos said he has heard reports that some students at Temecula Middle School who refused to wear masks were placed in a room where the lights were not even turned on. And today, a student posted a video of them shivering outside in the cold, he said. Tricia Werner, another parent, told the board one of her daughters is autistic and is forced to wear a mask at school despite vision problems and her glasses fogging up from wearing it. Children like mine are struggling to breathe and to see straight. They have anxiety related to not seeing the faces of their teachers and friends and have lost their right to a free and appropriate public education, she told the board. With the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admitting cloth masks have limited benefit, school policies are only adding insult to injury, she said. When does this end? Ill tell you when it ends: It ends when parents have had enough and when theyve seen their kids suffer enough, she said. Parents, teachers, and students gather at a school board meeting in Temecula, Calif., on Feb. 22, 2022. (Courtesy of Stephanie Dawson) Ricardo Salcedo, a teacher who works at Temecula Middle School, criticized the board members for failing parents, students, and employees despite promises to improve the district. He asked the board to show more empathy towards parents and students whose rights, he said, have been trampled. You hear the parents, but you ignore them. That is not greatness. That is called tyranny. Theres a difference, Salcedo said. He pointed out that enrollment at Temecula Middle School where he works has dropped from more than 1,300 students to under 1,000. Things are obviously not getting better when many Temecula parents are choosing to spend thousands of dollars on private education instead of sending their children to Temecula schools, Salcedo said. You can dismiss this as statewide declining enrollment, but meanwhile private schools are thriving, he said. Danny Gonzalez, another parent who is running for school board, said he watched in horror as one principal drafted an email to parents threatening to disenroll students who refuse to wear masks. Which one of you on this board authorized the policy of expelling students over this? he asked. Gonzalez accused school administrators of bullying kids and encouraging other students to join them. Parents, teachers, and students protest mask and vaccine mandates in Temecula, Calif., on Feb. 22, 2022. (Courtesy of Stephanie Dawson) Some of this coming directly from the admin staff themselves by yelling at students and threatening them, he said. We have watched as this school board and administrators parrot the talking points from their masters in Sacramento. What is the point of local control if you as a board are simply going to be puppets for the bureaucrats and wealthy politicians whose children are not affected by these decisions? he said. Francis Burns, a teacher at Thompson Middle School in Murrieta, Calif. which falls under the jurisdiction of neighboring Murrieta Valley Unified School District, criticized the board for not responding to the concerns of parents. Its amazing to me that Canadian truckers understand the gravity of this situation, he said, referring to the Freedom Convoy. Theyre doing something about it. And, Im wondering, do you understand? And, if so, why arent you doing anything about it? More than 150 people showed up in the Murrieta school board meeting earlier this month to protest mask and vaccine mandates. State Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) whose son attends school in the district spoke in support of the parents at that meeting. Earlier in the day, on Feb. 22, parents held a Mask-Off protest at a park near the school despite the inclement weather. Board members Adam Skumawitz, Barbara Brosch, Sandy Hinkson, Allison Barclay, and Steven Schwartz did not respond to inquiries on Feb. 23. Superintendent Jodi McClay said at the end of the meeting, after most people had left, that the public comments had been somewhat disheartening and laden with misinformation and disinformation. McClay did not respond to an inquiry on Feb. 23 about what specific information she suspected was erroneous. Ukrainian family walking along the road after crossing the border in Medyka, Poland, on Feb. 24, 2022, in a still from a video. (TVN via AP/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) Poland Prepares for Arrival of Ukraine Refugees Polands military increased its readiness level, and Lithuania and Moldova moved toward doing the same after Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling. The parliament in Poland, a nation on NATOs eastern flank which borders Ukraine and Belarus, strongly denounced Russias attack on Ukraine and vowed its support to Ukraine. Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee and border crossings increased from Ukraine to Poland, which has prepared centers for refugees. One unnamed couple with a child were crossing over to Poland and traveling to Cyprus after that. My husband told me that I am panicking and it wont happen and now its true and this is absolutely incredible, said the wife as the couple crossed the border. General Tomasz Praga, the Border Guard Commander in Chief, said the situation at the Polish border with Ukraine remained stable despite an increase in crossings and said Border Guards were prepared for a surge in traffic. General Tomasz Praga, Border Guard (L), and Minister of Internal Affairs Mariusz Kaminski talking to the press in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 24, 2022, in a still from a video. (TVN via AP/Screenshot via The Epoch Times) There are now 10,000 U.S. soldiers in Poland, more than half of which deployed in recent weeks amid the Russian threats. Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks during a press conference at the end of the second day of a European Union leaders meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on Oct. 22, 2021. (John Thys/AFP via Getty Images) Poland to Shut Its Airspace to Russian Airlines Amid Ukraine Crisis WARSAW, PolandRussian airlines will be banned from entering Polish airspace, Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday, a day after Russian forces moved against Ukraine with a multi-pronged invasion that has sent Western leaders scrambling to mount a response. I have ordered the preparation of a resolution of the council of ministers which will lead to the closure of the airspace over Poland to Russian airlines, Morawiecki wrote in a post on Twitter. Polish government spokesperson Piotr Muller later clarified in a statement that the ban would come into force on Friday at midnight. Michal Orzechowski, a Polish author and documentary filmmaker, said the move is more than just symbolic. The air corridor over Poland is a key transport pathway for the Kremlin and one of the most important air transit routes between Russia and Europe, Orzechowski said in an interview with The Epoch Times. Thats why the airspace blockade is more than just a gesture of symbolic significanceit also helps keep Russian aggression in check, he insisted. People gather in front of a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell allegedly hit, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images) With the move, Poland joins the UK, which on Friday banned Russian aircraft from entering British airspace, including over its territorial sea. Ive signed restrictions prohibiting all scheduled Russian airlines from entering UK airspace or touching down on British soil, British transport secretary Grant Shapps wrote on Twitter. Putins heinous actions will not be ignored, and we will never tolerate those who put peoples lives in danger. The airspace bans come as Russian forces on Thursday launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, with a flood of dramatic images on social media showing tanks rolling down highways, combat helicopters firing missiles, fireballs exploding, and plumes of black smoke. Black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuguyev near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images) Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the action a special military operation to knock out Ukraines military capacity and neutralize it as an alleged NATO-aligned threat to Moscow. He insists he has no intention of occupying the country and that civilians arent being targeted. Western leaders say Putins actions are a baseless large-scale invasion meant to effect regime change in Westward-looking Ukraine and a violation of international law. European leaders on Friday unanimously condemned Russian military action against Ukraine and adopted a package of tough sanctions. Today, the EU, the U.S., and other allies speak with one voice: stop the armed aggression, stop the bloodshed, stop Putins imperialism, Morawiecki wrote on Twitter, who earlier called for the fiercest possible sanctions. Our support for Ukraine must be real, he wrote in a separate post on Twitter. Ukrainian military vehicles move past Independence square in central Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images) Orzechowski told The Epoch Times that NATO could ramp up the effectiveness of its support to Ukraine by establishing a no-fly zone over the country. Its an idea that has been put forward by some British lawmakers but rejected by the countrys top leadership as tantamount to a declaration of war against Russia. To do a no-fly zone, I would have to put British fighter jets directly against Russian fighter jets, UK defence secretary Ben Wallace said, according to the Independent. NATO will have to effectively declare war on Russia, because thats what you would do, he continued, adding that if we were to directly attack Russian aircraft, we would have a war across Europe. Russia has imposed a retaliatory measure on British aircraft, banning them from entering Russian airspace. Thats their tit for tat response, Wallace told ITVs Good Morning Britain. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily press briefing in the White House on Feb. 25, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Psaki: Biden Administration to Personally Sanction Putin Over Ukraine Conflict The Biden administration will sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and other top officials in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday. Earlier, the European Union and the United Kingdom announced that they, too, would sanction Putin, Lavrov, and several top officials. Other world leaders who have been personally sanctioned by the U.S. include Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. As sanctioning a world leader is a rare step, Putin will likely see it as a provocation. However, as some media analysts noted, Putin does not hold significant wealth abroad. The presidents strong view and strong principle from the beginning of this conflict has been to take action in steps in alignment with our European partners and this is evidence of that, Psaki said Friday when asked about why the administration is now choosing to sanction Russias top leaders. The wreckage of a vehicle lies on a road after a skirmish between Ukrainian forces and a Russian raiding party in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Feb. 25, 2022. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images) A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told Russian state media outlets that relations between the West and Russia have approached the line that marks the point of no return. Ukraines Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, told reporters on Friday that sanctions against Putin would be the right thing to do. I was very happy to see the sanctions against major Russian banks. I was very happy to see their export controls, I was very happy to see the personal sanctions, she added. Previously, the United States announced sanctions against some of Russias largest banks, Russian sovereign debt, and elite members of Russian society. Analysts have noted that its not clear how much can be accomplished by the sanctions. On Thursday, President Joe Biden said Putins invasion of Ukraine has triggered a complete rupture in U.S.-Russia relations. Putin will be a pariah on the international stage, Biden remarked, adding that assault marked a dangerous moment for Europe and the rest of the world. But in January, Russia warned that it would cut ties entirely with the United States if Putin was sanctioned. It came as Russia started to amass more and more troops along its borders with Ukraine. People gather in front of a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell allegedly hit, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images) The imposition of sanctions against the head of state and against the head of Russia, I repeat once again, is an outrageous measure that is comparable to a break in relations, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at the time. On Friday, Putin released an address urging Ukraines military to overthrow their political leaders and negotiate peace, while Kyiv officials told citizens to defend the capital. The citys residents were told by the defense ministry to make Molotov cocktail bombs to repel the invaders, and on Friday evening witnesses reported hearing artillery rounds and intense gunfire from the western part of the city. President Volodymyr Zelensky filmed himself with aides on the streets of the capital, vowing to defend Ukraines independence. Some families cowered in shelters after Kyiv was pounded for a second night by Russian missiles. Others tried desperately to get on packed trains headed west, some of the hundreds of thousands who have left their homes to find safety, according to the United Nations aid chief. The Russian incursion started early Thursday, local time, after Putin announced that he would recognize the Donetsk and Lugansk separatist regions as independent at their leaders request, alleging that the invasion is the only option left. Reuters contributed to this report. Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin Wall on the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 23, 2022. (Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via Reuters) Putin Demands Ukrainians Disarm, Remove Leadership Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the Ukrainian military to seize power in their country and overthrow President Volodymyr Zelensky, while the Kremlin said Putin is willing to send a delegation to Belarus to meet with Kyiv officials. However, in a televised speech, Putin told the Ukrainian military that it would be easier for us to make a deal with you than with this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis, apparently referring to Ukraines government. I once again appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine: do not allow neo-Nazis and [Ukrainian nationalists] to use your children, wives, and elders as human shields, he said. Take power into your own hands, it will be easier for us to reach agreement. Putins comments came after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is willing to send a delegation to Minsk with Ukrainian officials to discuss a peace agreement. Earlier, Zelensky said Ukraine is not fearful to talk about neutral status before he made security guarantees. The comments came as Russian tanks and troops appeared to have entered parts of Kyiv, the capital, on Friday amid heavy fighting with Ukraines military forces. Ukraines Ministry of Defense wrote on social media that Russian troops were now in the Obolon district in northern Kyiv. It urged residents to manufacture Molotov cocktails to throw at Russian equipment. Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv. Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on social media, calling on the rest of the world to sever all ties with Russia. A senior U.S. Defense Department official told news outlets on Friday that Western intelligence believes Russia has faced more resistance than they had anticipated in Ukraine. We do assess that there is greater resistance by the Ukrainians than the Russians expected, the official said, adding that the command and control of Kyivs military are still intact. They are not moving on Kyiv as fast as what we believe they anticipated they would be able to do. That said, they continue to try to move on Kyiv. Russia, however, has not mobilized its full forces that are positioned around Ukraine, the official continued. No NATO country, including the United States, has sent troops to Ukraine. President Joe Biden said in a speech on Thursday that he will not deploy American forces in Ukraine. The move prompted Zelensky, in a late-night address, to say that he is frustrated with some European countries for not deploying their forces. When bombs fall on Kyiv, it happens in Europe, not just in Ukraine, he remarked. When missiles kill our people, they kill all Europeans. Around the same time, Zelensky said that he believes Russian forces were hunting him and his family, according to reports. Putin Invasion Shatters Illusion of International Order: Defence Expert Russias invasion of Ukraine has been a rude awakening for political leaders who thought the global rules-based order could be maintained through treaties and not armed force, according to a defence expert from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. The big thing that a whole lot of Western leaders and societies are having demonstrated to them is that were not living in some post-force world where wars just cant happen, Defence Director Michael Shoebridge told The Epoch Times. Armed force is a present and used tool of states, particularly of the two powerful authoritarian outfits led by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, he said. Armed force in their eyes is not some anachronism from history. Its an active tool to be used to pursue their goals. Shoebridge called it a crystallising moment for the democratic world, which should galvanise greater global action. The sanctions response is the first tangible indicator of a much larger collective response against this aggression. While its not sufficient to deter Putin, the unity of action is something that will carry on into the bigger responses beyond this immediate crisis, he said. He added that European nations would now be pushed to increase defence spending This is now not a political hypothetical. This is now a manifest reality that they need to rebuild European military power, and they need to do it faster at a greater scale. On Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to the alleged threat of nazism from the Ukrainian government before sending troops into the former Soviet country. For months, European, U.S., and NATO leaders have appealed for Putin to back down, yet Moscow still launched a multi-pronged attack via land, sea, and air into Ukraine from the east, south, and north. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported 137 casualties on early Feb. 25, while issuing a decree ordering the mobilisation of the population to defend the country. As a result, Ukrainian males aged 1860 are prohibited from leaving, according to an announcement from the State Border Guard Service. Meanwhile, Shoebridge said the invasion highlights the increasing division between Russia, China, and the rest of the world. Its not the democratic world against the authoritarian world. Its the democratic world and every state that actually acts in accordance with the United Nations Charter, he said. He noted however that it was harder for authoritarian regimes to form deep, close partnerships. But in a larger sense it complicates Chinas strategy in the Indo-Pacific, he added. This is joining European and Indo-Pacific security into one strategic system, where nations (in both regions) face a common challenge from the joint partnership of Russia and China. In a way, it brings more power to bear on Russia and China through the combination of European and Indo-Pacific powers And thats a net advantage for the powerful democratic world. Since the invasion began, multiple nations have imposed several tranches of sanctions against Russian banks, politicians, individual oligarchs and their families, and the company behind Nord Stream 2the major pipeline set to provide gas from Russia to Germany. Putin was not named in any sanctions in what could be an attempt to create internal pressure on the Russian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting via video conference with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (not seen) at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 28, 2021. (Alexy Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) Putin Is Using CCP to Achieve His Aggressive National Plans: Analyst As Russia invaded Ukraine, the world is also watching Chinas reaction to the crisis. A Chinese analyst believes that Russian President Vladimir Putins actions are part of a state plan that is beyond what Xi Jinping, leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was anticipating. Yuan Hongbing, the prominent Chinese legal expert in exile, said, Russia has its own national goals. Putin is just using Xi Jinping, he added, and Putin cant be tied to Xi Jinpings chariot. Putins National Strategy On Feb. 24 local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his special military operation in the Donbas region in southeast Ukraine. Earlier, on Feb. 21, Putin signed decrees recognizing the Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) and Luhansk Peoples Republic (LPR) in eastern Ukraine. The two republics declared their independence in 2014. Western countries immediately responded with sanctions on Russia, and Germany also suspended the certification process of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. After the invasion, Western leaders imposed even more severe sanctions, including what UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced were the largest ever set of sanctions against Russia. In an interview, analyst Yuan Hongbing told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times that he believes Putin is laying out his major national strategy. That is to restore Russian territory in the Soviet era. Belarus has shown its tendency to form a strategic alliance with the Russians, and Putin made it clear in his statement that Ukraine is an inalienable part of Russian history and culture, he said. He used the recent unrest in Kazakhstan as an example. Russia sent troops there, which signaled the current president of Kazakhstan has become a puppet of Russia to a considerable extent, Yuan said. Yuan believes that Putin will implement his national strategy in phases, and so far, Russia has taken a key step on the Russia-Ukraine issue. CCP-Russia Ties On Feb. 4, the opening day of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Putin and Xi announced a bilateral strategic cooperation and the importation of 100 million tons of crude oil via Kazakhstan within 10 years. Ukrainians demonstrate against the Russian invasion outside Downing Street in London, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) The total Russian gas flow to China will reach 48 billion cubic meters per year, Bloomberg reported. The new Russian oil and gas deals with China are worth an estimated $117.5 billion, to be paid in euros. Yuan said that Xi Jinping has been trying to please Russia, hoping to form an all-weather strategic alliance, and support for his agenda on Taiwan. The China-Russia trade agreement was Xis support to Putin to fight against possible economic sanctions from the West. The joint statement claimed that the new inter-state relations between Russia and China are superior to political and military alliances of the Cold War era, and Friendship between the two states has no limits, there are no forbidden areas of cooperation. Yuan said Russia has its own national target, its impossible to tie itself onto Xi Jinpings chariot. He cited two incidents wherein Russia has shown that it will work in its own interests, in conflict with the Chinese regimes. One, is that Russia, with seemingly close bilateral relations with China, is Indias main arms supplier despite the CCPs historical border conflict with India. The other, is in the South China Sea. Russia went ahead with an oil drilling project with Vietnam in the South China Sea, even though Beijing has claimed the South China Sea as its core interest. Yuan said, Its clear that Xi has been manipulated by Putin, to serve his Russian national goals. Its Xi Jinpings wishful thinking to expect Putins support on the military invasion of Taiwan. CCP Diplomatic Stupidity While the Western world condemns the invasion of Ukraine and imposes sanctions on Russia, the CCPs reaction is less than clear. In a press conference on Feb. 23, CCP Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was asked if China would impose similar sanctions on Russia. She responded that China would consistently oppose all illegal unilateral sanctions. She failed to answer the question directly, but did say that the U.S. sanctions on China have harmed the countrys interests. A day earlier, another spokesperson Wang Wenbin also evaded the question saying, the legitimate security concerns of any country should be respected, and China once again calls on all parties to exercise restraint. On Feb. 19, CCP Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and safeguarded and that applies equally to Ukraine. Yuan commented that Putin has put the CCP in an embarrassing situation when the Russian leader recognized and supported the independence of two republics in eastern Ukraine. That created a problem for the CCP on the issue of Taiwan, which the Chinese regime claims as part of its own territory. In general, the CCP has shown its diplomatic stupidity when dealing with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said, The entire CCP foreign policy is now at a state of loss. Yuan also does not believe the Biden administrations economic sanctions will be effective in stopping the invasion. The recent enhanced economic cooperation agreement between Russia and China has made it impossible for the United States to rely solely on economic sanctions to force Russia to abandon its national goals, Yuan contended. He said, All authoritarian regimes believe in the law of the jungle, in which only strength counts. Therefore, it will take strong countermeasures to stop the current international crisis when dealing with the CCP tyranny or an aggressive Russia. A group of Slavic people living in Taiwan display placards protesting Russias military invasion of Ukraine, in Taipei on Feb. 25, 2022. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) Mary Hong contributed to this report. Luo Ya Follow Luo Ya is a freelance contributor to The Epoch Times. Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on April 28, 2021. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Pool via Getty Images) Reactions to Bidens Supreme Court Nominee Split Along Partisan Lines Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Bidens nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, thanked God, Breyer, and her family on Feb. 25 during her introduction at the White House. Jackson is a former member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, a former federal district court judge, and, most recently, a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, one of the most influential federal benches. I must begin these very brief remarks by thanking God for delivering me to this point in my professional journey, Jackson said following Bidens introduction in a White House ceremony. My life has been blessed beyond measure, and I do know that one can only come this far by faith. Among those many blessings and indeed the first is that I was born in this great country, Jackson said. The United States of America is the greatest beacon of hope and democracy the world has ever known. I was also blessed from my earliest days with the support of a loving family. Jackson praised Breyer, for whom she had clerked as a young lawyer, saying he exemplified every day in every way that a Supreme Court Justice can perform at the highest level of skill and integrity, while also being guided by civility, grace, pragmatism, and generosity of spirit. Addressing Breyer, Jackson said, The members of the Senate will decide if I will fill your seat, but please know that I could never fill your shoes. In closing, Jackson noted that she shares the birthdate of the first black woman to serve on the federal judiciary, Judge Constance Baker Motley. We were born exactly 49 years to the day apart. Today, I proudly stand on Judge Motleys shoulders, sharing not only her birthday but her steadfast and courageous commitment to equal justice under law, Jackson said. Judge Jackson is an exceptionally qualified nominee as well as an historic nominee, and the Senate should move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation, the White House said in a statement announcing the nomination. In addition to being the first black woman on the High Court, Jackson would also be the first justice with prior experience as a public defender in the federal judiciary. Jacksons confirmation is by no means assured, as the Senate is evenly split, with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, and Vice President Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) holding the tie-breaker on the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) issued a statement praising Biden for undertaking a thoughtful, deliberate selection process, and promised that Senate Democrats will work to ensure a fair, timely, and expeditious processfair to the nominee, to the Senate, and to the American public. Jackson will be meeting with individual senators on both sides of the aisle in coming weeks prior to her first confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the panels chairman, called Jackson an extraordinary nominee and said the committee will move quickly to convene hearings on the nomination. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking GOP member of the committee, said he looks forward to meeting with Jackson, and to working with Senator Durbin to finalize the committees initial questionnaire and records request, as is customary in this process. Grassley added, however, that as ranking member, I have no intention of degrading the advice and consent role as Senate Democrats have in recent confirmations. I intend to show up and do the job that Iowans pay me to do. He was referring to the prolonged and bitter controversies surrounding President Donald Trumps nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The judiciary panels former Republican chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), said simply that he expects a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and added laconically that the Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated. Graham, along with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), voted to confirm Jackson to her present position on the appellate bench. Jackson also was praised by former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who is related to her by marriage. Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanjis intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal. Ryan wrote on Twitter. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Jackson one of the sharpest legal minds in a generation and said her nomination is a moment of great pride and patriotism for our nation, as Judge Jackson makes history as the first Black woman selected to serve on the highest court in the land. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) congratulated Jackson on being the nominee, but noted that he had opposed her confirmation to a lower federal court. I voted against confirming Judge Jackson to her current position less than a year ago, McConnell said. Since then, I understand that she has published a total of two opinions, both in the last few weeks, and that one of her prior rulings was just reversed by a unanimous panel of her present colleagues on the D.C. Circuit. I also understand Judge Jackson was the favored choice of far-left dark-money groups that have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the Court itself. The House Democratic Womens Caucus issued a statement saying Jackson is an exceptionally qualified judge with an unimpeachable character. Reactions in the legal advocacy and academic communities varied from enthusiastic to carefully cautious. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund praised Bidens choice, saying, Diversity on our nations highest court sends a powerful message to the country that our justice system is informed by a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, which is critical to ensuring the legitimacy of the Court in a multicultural nation. Alliance Defending Freedom General Counsel Kristen Waggoner said the conservative public interest law firm that specializes in religious freedom cases doesnt endorse judicial nominees. But she said that if confirmed, we pray that Judge Jackson will heed the magnitude of that concern and respect the limits of her judicial office, ruling according to the Constitution, and not legislating from the bench. Professor Josh Blackman of the South Texas College of Law told The Epoch Times he thinks she will likely get confirmed, but I do not know if she has the same ability as Justice Breyer to moderate the court and build bridges with Chief Justice John Roberts and the Courts moderates. David McIntosh, Club for Growth president and co-founder of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal scholarship group, told The Epoch Times that Jackson represents a radical left-wing jurisprudence. Its unfortunate that President Biden chose to play racial politics instead of simply selecting the person he thought was most qualified. It should come as no surprise that Biden picked a reliable radical who has a long record of political and judicial activism, including defending terrorists, letting violent criminals out on the streets, and supporting liberal labor unions, he said. Press Release February 25, 2022 Gordon urges multi-partisan contingency plan amid threats of an all-out war over Ukraine Senator Richard J. Gordon urges a multi-partisan contingency plan for the Philippine government amid the worsening situation over Ukraine with credible threats of an all-out war in Eastern Europe. "War in Eastern Europe over Ukraine is fraught with dangers. I urge the immediate formulation and announcement of a comprehensive plan to minimize the expected fallout of the likely war in Eastern Europe over Ukraine," Gordon stated. "The contingency plan must be multi-partisan given the required interrelated programs and activities that need to be coordinated. Inputs from both the Legislature and the Executive are critical. Consultation with our affected citizens, if practicable, is key," he added. Gordon stressed that there should be a logical plan for the overseas Filipino workers in Ukraine, as well as its neighboring countries including Turkey, Poland, and Belarus. In Ukraine alone, there are 380,000 OFWs that need to be evacuated immediately. "The social and economic fallout of an all-out war in Eastern Europe are huge and many. At the top of the list are the dangers that OFWs are facing. Funding assistance should be provided to our OFWs to smoothen their re-entry once they are evacuated. This requires additional funds from the national government budget on top what the POEA and OWAA have already," Gordon stressed. The risk of an all-out war in Eastern Europe was heightened following what United States Pres. Joe Biden said was the start of Russia's invasion as Russian troops entered two separatist jurisdictions in Eastern Ukraine. Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin called his order of incursion in Eastern Ukraine peacekeeping. In response, Biden announced new financial sanctions against Russia, ordering US financial institutions to cease dealing with Russia over its public debt, with more economic sanctions to be announced. Putin then ordered today attacks in the cities of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and Kharkiv, where explosions have been reported. The co-founder of a software company who lives in Cayuga County and a Tompkins County legislator are seeking the Republican nomination in the newly drawn 22nd Congressional District. Mike Sigler, of Lansing, and Brandon Williams, of Sennett, join Tim Ko, a DeWitt Republican, in the race to succeed outgoing U.S. Rep. John Katko on the GOP line. Katko, R-Camillus, announced in January that he will not run for reelection this year. Sigler is employed at Park Outdoor Advertising and has been a county lawmaker for 12 years. He also serves as chairman of the Tompkins County Republican Committee. He said Thursday that he has been endorsed by several Cayuga County leaders, including state Sen. Pam Helming, who represents part of Auburn and several towns in the county, and former state Assemblyman Gary Finch. Two former chairs of the Cayuga County Republican Committee, Cherl Heary and Roberta Massarini, are also supporting his campaign. "These folks know me. Some for years, others a short time," Sigler said. "We need to retain this seat in Congress because if we don't, there will be no way to reel in a president that's been failing." Democrats have an enrollment advantage in the 22nd district, which includes all of Onondaga and Tompkins counties and parts of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Ontario, Schuyler and Seneca counties. According to the state Board of Elections, there are 57,313 more Democrats than GOP voters in the new district. Sigler admits that it will be a tough race for a Republican in a blue district, but he's had success in Tompkins County, where Democrats have an enrollment edge. Sigler said Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won his legislative district by 40 points in 2016, but he won that same district as a Republican by six points. Williams is a Navy veteran whose family settled in central New York in 2010. He and his wife, Stephanie, opened a farm in the town of Sennett. In addition to his military service, he is the co-founder of CPLANE.ai, a software company in California. The Cayuga County Conservative Party has endorsed Williams for Congress. David Pappert, chairman of the committee, said Williams is "a uniquely and highly qualified candidate who will quickly become an influential member of the new Republican majority in Congress." Pappert continued, "Brandon's traditional, conservative values are the remedy for the 'woke' illness that has infected our politics." The three main planks of Williams' campaign are to address economic prosperity, what he perceives as the assault on civil liberties, and public safety. "We must have safe streets and a return to the rule of law in our country," Williams said. "The woke policies of New York City, Los Angeles, and Seattle have no place in our community or in our election rules. Re-fund the police and enforce the laws." Williams also wants to boost the economy in central New York, adding that he wants businesses and workers to prosper. He believes "generational prosperity" begins with education, specifically public schools that are "free from left-wing indoctrination." He also supports making community colleges affordable, trade schools, and efforts to encourage entrepreneurship. The three Republicans plan to circulate petitions to secure spots on the Republican primary ballot. The winner of the GOP primary will face the winner of what could be a seven-way Democratic primary between Francis Conole, Vanessa Fajans-Turner, Steven Holden, Sarah Klee Hood, Chol Majok, Josh Riley and Sam Roberts. The primary election is June 28. Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 6 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Russian construction worker speaks on a mobile phone during a ceremony marking the start of Nord Stream pipeline construction in Portovaya Bay some 170 kms (106 miles) north-west from St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 9, 2010. (Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo) Renewables Place Europes Electricity at the Mercy of Russia Analysis Countries in Europe that have shifted away from coal in favour of renewables are now vulnerable to electricity price shocks as Russiathe regions primary natural gas supplierbegins its invasion of Ukraine. Except for Poland, all countries in the European Union (EU) have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. To achieve this, the EU has begun phasing out coal power and accelerated the uptake of wind, which has soared nearly twenty-fold from 20 TWh (terawatt-hours) to 400 TWh over the last two decades. The EU has also begun to phase out nuclear energy over environmental concerns, putting more pressure on wind power to meet the regions carbon dioxide-free energy targets. But intermittent forms of power generation, such as wind and solar, depend entirely on weather and daylight, with power not guaranteed to meet the demand at all times. To combat this via the renewables route, energy storage is required, such as through batteries or big pumped hydro systems. Howeverunlike windthe uptake of energy storage has not kept up the same pace. This means that for periods when wind and solar output drops, Europe relies heavily on liquefied natural gas (LNG) to prop up capacity and, as a consequence, LNGs make-up of the electricity mix has doubled over the last 25 years. Nearly 40 percent of this natural gas comes from Russia, carried through four major corridorsNordstream through the Baltic Sea, TurkStream through Turkey, Yamal through Poland, and several through Ukraine. Uncertainty Around Russias Gas Intentions A spectre of uncertainty hovers over Europe, with some believing Russia would not dare to switch off the gas pipelines critical to the regions renewables-rich grid. CEO of French energy giant TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanne said he believes Russias interference with gas supply to Europe was highly unlikely. I am convinced the Russians dont want to use gas as a weapon in the dispute, Pouyanne said at the International Energy Week conference. Pouyanne added that LNG operations had not been affected by the conflict so far. Russias majority-state owned gas company Gazprom backed the sentiment, outlining that gas exports have continued without disturbance amid the conflict and are in line with Europes demand. But concerns are brewing that Russia retains the power to send shockwaves throughout Europes gas and electricity markets at the flick of a switch. In response to the invasion of Ukraine, Europe, the United States, and other countries around the world have slapped sanctions against Russia, which included halting the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline running parallel to its predecessor in the Baltic Sea. Former Russian President and Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitri Medvedev, told Europeans they could expect prices to double as a result of the suspension of Nord Stream 2. Welcome to the new world where Europeans will soon have to pay 2,000 euros per thousand cubic metres! Medvedev tweeted. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has issued an order to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Well. Welcome to the brave new world where Europeans are very soon going to pay 2.000 for 1.000 cubic meters of natural gas! Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) February 22, 2022 Europe and the United Kingdom had also just come off the back of an energy crisis in 2021, with gas and electricity prices skyrocketing after cold weather and a lack of wind forced the bloc to import more LNG for power and heating. During this time, Russia faced accusations of instigating price shocks by deliberately failing to meet heightened gas demand for gas, a claim that President Vladimir Putin has denied. Saad al-Kaabi, energy minister for Qatarone of the largest sources of Europes overseas gas importswarned that in the event of Russia sealing the flow of gas, no country would be capable of helping Europe fast enough to make up for the shortfall. Russia (provides) I think 30 to 40 percent of the supply to Europe. There is no single country that can replace that kind of volume, there isnt the capacity to do that from LNG, Kaabi told reporters at a gas conference in Doha. Most of the LNG are tied to long-term contracts and destinations that are very clear. So, to replace that sum of volume that quickly is almost impossible, he said. Republican Support for Trucker Protests Growing Support for the trucker convoy, which was designed to protest vaccine mandates imposed on truckers by the U.S. and Canadian governments, is growing among Republicans. In January, President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau each put rules in place requiring that truckers crossing international lines show proof of vaccination against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus. The move was extremely unpopular among truckers, and in Canada, hundreds of truckers formed a Freedom Convoy to protest the mandate in Ottawa, Canadas capital city. Trudeau demanded that they disperse; when they refused, Trudeau fled the capital. Later, Trudeau requested that parliament invoke the Canadian Emergencies Act. That law allowed Trudeau to declare the protest a national emergency and to unilaterally clamp down on it. Trudeau was criticized sharply for the move during the parliamentary session, but it was ultimately agreed to, and the protestors were forcibly driven out of the capital. Now, similar protests are planned for Washington, beginning next week, and several Republicans have indicated their support for the movement. On Feb. 17, Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) spearheaded a letter signed onto by 63 other House Republicans expressing support for the movement. In the letter, the signatories called for an end to the international trucker mandate. That mandate, Rosendale said, is not only impacting truck drivers, but it also hurts American agriculture, and countless other industries across our nation. He also wrote that amid supply chain issues that have left many shelves in American supermarkets bare, the mandate is even more objectionable. Trucking moves more than 70% of all freight in the United States, and policies that needlessly inhibit the industry exacerbate the supply chain breakdown that developed within your first year of office, the letter read. We strongly urge you to work with the Canadian government to lift these mandates before the American public suffers for it. On Twitter, Rosendale wrote: Today, I led 63 [House GOP] colleagues in support of the truckers protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and urging Joe Biden to work with Canada to lift the mandates on essential travel at the border. Truckers are the lifeblood of our nationthey deserve better. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), one of the letters signatories, wrote on Twitter: Proud to join [Rep. Rosendale] and my colleagues to stand with truckers here in the U.S. and in Canada to oppose COVID-19 vaccine mandates. I will always stand with those who are peacefully opposing these draconian, top-down vaccine mandates that the people dont need or want. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who was the second signatory of the letter just after Rosendale, went a step further in her condemnation of the U.S. and Canadian policies. Joe Biden and House Democrats vaccine mandates are authoritarian and unconstitutional, she wrote on Twitter. These truckers have the right to peacefully protest these authoritarian mandates. Separately on Twitter, Stefanik quoted the opening of the Declaration of Independence, tying the protests back to the revolutionary founding of America. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. She attached a video of several hundred Californians gathering to join the truckers. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has been an outspoken critic of all vaccine and mask mandates, said in a recent Twitter post that truckers work so hard to deliver food and critical supplies for all people and are now bravely taking a peaceful stand for our freedoms. Democrats are significantly less in favor of the movement. In her most recent weekly press conference, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) veered away from the topic but indicated that preparations were being made for the protest. In a statement, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) reported that she had been briefed by the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) ahead of the convoy, which she described as a threat. I thank [USCP] Chief [J. Thomas] Manger for spending so much time briefing me and for elaborating on the hard work he and USCP are doing, Norton said. Chief Manger is ensuring that USCP is coordinating with law enforcement partners, including the Secret Service and D.C. police, and the National Guard to address the trucker convoy and to ensure next weeks State of the Union address goes smoothly. Norton also reported that the USCP is considering reinstalling temporary fencing around the Capitol, but she said the information regarding threats changes hourly. Chief Manger assured me the fencing would only be used if necessary and taken down as soon as the threat had passed, Norton said. Most Democrats have, like Pelosi, stayed away from the topic, including Biden. However, most congressional Democrats have made it clear they back Bidens efforts to force Americans to get vaccinated against the CCP virus. On Feb. 22, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration, including the Department of Homeland Security, has been monitoring [the convoy] closely. In January, the Supreme Court struck down Bidens private sector vaccine mandate as unconstitutional. The mandate would have required employees at firms with more than 100 people to submit to vaccination or weekly testing. However, they left in place a mandate that required health care workers to get vaccinated. Other mandates, including the trucker mandate as well as a mandate for military service members, federal employees, and federal contractors, remain in place. For opponents to defeat the mandate, they will need to convince the president, a sizable portion of both chambers of Congress, or the Supreme Court to undo it. On Feb. 22, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) led Senate Republicans in introducing legislation to overturn the trucker mandate. However, such a legislative solution would be difficult to pass for the GOP minority. Republicans would need to convince Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has almost complete control over what comes to the Senate floor, to allow a vote on it. Then Republicans would need to win the support of their whole caucus and at least 10 Democrats to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold. In the House, the situation is much the same. Pelosi, like Schumer, decides what comes to the floor, so she would need to be on board with the bill for it to even receive a vote. It would also require a handful of Democrats to defect and join Republicans in voting for the bill. Overcoming these hurdles, the last challenge to a legislative end to the mandate is Biden himself. Even if Scotts bill or another similar bill made it through the House and Senate, it would still be subject to veto by the White House, which could only be overruled by the support of two-thirds of Congress. Another Supreme Court case would be an easier route for opponents of the mandate, but there are as yet no indications that the Supreme Court is planning to hear such a case. Zachary Steiber contributed to this report. Senate Minority Leader McConnell (R-Ky.) (C) speaks to reporters as other senators stand by, in Washington on Sept. 22, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Republicans Divided Over Proper Response to Russian Invasion of Ukraine News Analysis On Wednesday evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to begin an invasion of Ukraine. The invasion and the tensions leading up to it have put on full display divisions between the old guard of the Republican Party, who have called for a major U.S. response, and the new populist wing of the party, who have called for the United States to stay out of the conflict. Prior to President Donald Trumps 2016 campaign, Republicans were largely in favor of the United States role as an international peace-keeping force. Republicans largely supported several conflicts begun after the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the military action to repel Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991, the larger-scale invasion of Iraq in 2003 that ended in the execution of Saddam Hussein, and the Afghanistan War. In 2016, Trump sparked a new brand of right-wing populism that, in contrast to the GOP of the past, took toward a far more cautious attitude toward foreign conflict. During a Republican primary debate, Trump called President George W. Bushs Iraq War a tremendous disservice to humanity, saying that all it achieved was to leave the Middle East a total and complete mess. After he was elected, Trump did order scattered military actions but did not start any new wars. He also used his platform to challenge the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO), a remnant of the Cold War that has continued to receive massive amounts of U.S. funding long after the fall of the Warsaw Pact. Longtime members of the GOP made clear that they opposed this attitude toward foreign policy, which they said would undermine U.S. allies faith in the nation among other criticisms. In the weeks leading up to and following the invasion of Ukraine, many in the GOP old guard have called for debilitating sanctions on Russia, supplies and monetary assistance to Ukraine, and U.S. boots on the groundone lawmaker, Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), even suggested that the United States shouldnt rule out a nuclear first strike against Russia. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who voted in favor of the Iraq War and has maintained a strongly interventionist attitude toward foreign relations, called for massive sanctions on Russia, echoing the sentiments of many senators on both sides of the aisle. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), who served as President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly from 20142016, opined that the United States should send taxpayer funds to the Eastern European country. I believe that the administration should be actively arming Ukraine so it can defend itself, Turner said. They want to defend themselves. They should be given every opportunity to do so. Since 2014, when Russia moved forces into the Crimean peninsula after citizens in the region voted overwhelmingly to join Russia, Washington has sent more than $2 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. In December, Congress sent $300 million to Ukraine, with $75 million designated particularly for purchasing weapons. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), co-chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, seemed to indicate that he is in favor of sending ground troops to the region in coordination with other European allies. The United States should ensure a coordinated response to this unwarranted continued incursion on sovereign territory of Ukraine, Portman said. Another side of the Republican Party, generally younger, newer faces on the political scene, have called for the United States to stay out of the conflict. J.D. Vancewhose 2016 memoir Hillybilly Elegy is often considered a defining piece of literature in understanding the new American populismis running to replace Portman, who has announced his retirement. In an interview, Vance gave a significantly different answer on how the United States should respond to the Russian invasion. I gotta be honest with you, I dont really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another, said Vance. Im sick of Joe Biden focusing on the border of a country I dont care about while he lets the border of his own country become a total war zone. Candace Owens, a black conservative woman who has been pegged as a potential candidate for public office in the future, went a step further than Vance, blaming the crisis on the United States and NATO. I suggest every American who wants to know whats actually going on in Russia and Ukraine, read this transcript of Putins address. As Ive said for monthNATO (under direction from the United States) is violating previous agreements and expanding eastward. WE are at fault, Owens said in a Tuesday tweet. In a separate tweet, she added, If you think America has never been the aggressor in waryou are not pro-American you are pro-ignorance. Prior to the conflict, Putin often contended that war could be avoided by a U.S. promise not to pressure Ukraine into joining NATO. A NATO-allied Ukraine, in Putins view, would pose a serious risk to Russian national security by potentially allowing the United States and other NATO members to set up nuclear missile sites that could reach Moscow in minutes. Western leaders have refused the demands, contending that Russia should not be allowed to dictate who joins the Cold War-era alliance organization. Tucker Carlson, who has in recent years become a prime spokesman of the new populism, has expressed similar sentiments, demanding that leaders de-escalate the situation and keep the United States out of the conflict During a late January segment of his show Tucker Carlson Tonight, Carlson suggested, like Owens, that NATOs insistence on potential Ukrainian membership is to blame for the rising tensions. A bipartisan coalition of neocons in Washington has been recklessly stoking conflict between [Russia and Ukraine] for years now, Carlson said. Lawmakers like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) have not gone quite as far in their opposition to U.S. intervention, but they have called for de-escalation and said that any U.S. military activity should be preceded by a formal declaration of war. Though the president is required by the Constitution to receive a congressional declaration of war, Congress has not formally declared war since World War 2. Rather, it has passed less formal use-of-force authorizations, happily abdicating its authority over foreign policy, leaving it to the executive to make the tough callsand take the blame when things go awry. The divisions in the party over the proper response to Russias invasion of Ukraine indicates a substantial shift in GOP attitudes toward foreign policy. Before Trump, a few isolated Republican voicesnotably libertarians like former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), his son Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Justin Amash (I-Mich.), among othersdecried the United States post-Cold War foreign policy, but the sentiment was not an especially common one among GOP politicians and commentators. Now, the influence of Trump-like foreign policy on the right is growing, though many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle remain staunchly in favor of intervention in the Ukraine conflict and beyond. A general view shows an oil treatment plant in the Yarakta Oil Field, owned by Irkutsk Oil Company (INK), in Irkutsk Region, Russia, on March 10, 2019. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) Russia Selling Oil at Deep Discount Following Ukraine Invasion, Traders Wary of Sanctions Russias crude oil is being sold at record discount rates as the country faces tough sanctions from Western nations following its invasion of neighboring Ukraine, but traders have remained cautious and stepped back from buying the discounted fuel. Moscow is offering Urals crude oil at a discount of $11.60 per barrel below Dated Brent, the deepest such discount in 11 years according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Dated Brent is a marker for physical oil transactions. No bids were offered while a large tender for Urals crude ended up not getting sold. Trafigura Group and the trading arm of Lukoil PJSC were earlier offering Urals crude at a $6.30 per barrel discount. Russia-U.S. tensions over Ukraine have contributed to the collapse in Urals differentials, consultant Facts Global Energy wrote in a note. It seems that after many European refiners went on a Urals buying spree in December/January, those that have a choice are now shying away from Urals. Multiple oil traders, oil tanker companies, and shipbrokers have temporarily ceased their Russia-related activity. Countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and the EU region have all announced sanctions against Russia. More sanctions will possibly be announced in the coming days. Oil traders are choosing to avoid trading in Russian crude, fearful they might face the consequences of violating sanctions. Igho Sanomi, founder of energy trading company Taleveras, is expecting restrictions against Russia to be very deep, according to WSJ. Were expecting most European banks will pull out of financing any commodities from Russia. Letters of credit are being stopped, financing in general toward Russian commodities is being stopped, he said. One major refiner from Europe told the media outlet that though they are a big buyer of Urals crude, they stopped buying about a month back. Even if the United States does not impose any full-scale sanctions, European buyers will likely avoid Russian crude as long as tensions remain, according to oil analyst Alex Kavouris. I hear that refiners are stepping back from buying Urals, and many shipowners are saying they are unsure if they will call at Russian portsBlack Sea or Baltic, a European refinery buyer said to S&P Global. One trader from the Middle East told the agency that such extreme events do not happen very often. Upward pressure on Urals differentials also comes from the fear of possible disruption to shipping activity in the Black Sea. Some shipowners are said to be extremely cautious about traveling to terminals in the region. Freight rates from the Baltic Sea region have soared. The daily earnings of tankers carrying 100,000 tons of Urals crude oil from the Baltic Sea to Europe have soared by roughly 800 percent, indicating how very few shippers are willing to transport cargoes from Russia. While traders are shying away from Russian Urals, demand for crude oil from other parts of the world is rising, with places like the Middle East, West Africa, and Brazil standing to gain. Freight rates rose by 12 percent for cargoes from the Persian Gulf to the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday when compared to the day before. Smoke and flames rise over during the shelling near Kyiv, as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, on Feb. 26, 2022. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters) Russia-Ukraine (Feb. 25): Ukrainian President Says Russian Forces Will Assault Kyiv at Night Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that he believes Russian forces will attack the countrys capital of Kyiv overnight. I have to say frankly that this night will be harder than the day, he said in a pre-recorded video from an undisclosed location. This night, they are going to storm. All of us should understand what is awaiting us this night. We have to hold out. Ukraines destiny is being decided right now, he added. Earlier, Kyiv residents were told by the defense ministry to make petrol bombs to repel the invaders, and on Friday evening witnesses reported hearing artillery rounds and intense gunfire from the western part of the city. Zelensky filmed himself with aides on the streets of the capital, vowing to defend Ukraines independence. US Imposes Sanctions on Putin, Other Russian Leaders The United States imposed sanctions Friday on Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov for Russias invasion of Ukraine, the Treasury Department said. We are united with our international allies and partners to ensure Russia pays a severe economic and diplomatic price for its further invasion of Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in statement. If necessary, we are prepared to impose further costs on Russia for its appalling behavior on the world stage, she said. The Treasury Department also will impose full blocking sanctions on state-owned Russian Direct Investment Fund, a White House spokesperson said in a tweet on Friday. The fund is a financial entity functioning as a sovereign wealth fund and designed to attract capital into high-growth sectors. Read full story here Ukrainians Flee War, Seeking Safety Across Western Borders Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have crossed into neighboring countries to the west in search of safety. Those arriving were mostly women, children, and the elderly. Germanys foreign minister said Friday that the European Union will take in all people fleeing Ukraine due to the current conflict. We need to do everything to immediately take in the people who are now fleeing bombs, fleeing tanks, thats also what weve been preparing for in recent weeks, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Brussels. We will bring the people from Ukraine to safety. UK Prime Minister Vows Sanctions Against Putin Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain would introduce sanctions against Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to inflict maximum punishment for invading Ukraine, his Downing Street office said Friday. The comments from Johnson suggest that Western powers are acting in concert on unprecedented measures to try to force Putin to stop the invasion of Russias neighbor. In comments to NATO leaders, the UK leader pressed again for immediate action to exclude Russia from the SWIFT system of financial transactions. NATO to Send Response Units to Defend Allies NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that President Joe Biden and his counterparts have agreed to send parts of the organizations response force to help protect allies in the east over Russias invasion of Ukraine. Stoltenberg said the leaders decided to send parts of the NATO Response Force and elements of a quickly deployed spearhead unit. He did not say how many troops would be deployed, but confirmed that the move would involve land, sea, and air power. EU Commission President in Warsaw for Urgent Talks About Enhancing Eastern EU Regions Security European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in Warsaw for urgent talks with NATOs nine eastern flank members on how to enhance the regions security, following Russias invasion of Ukraine. The participants were also due to remotely join a NATO summit in Brussels. Polands President Andrzej Duda, hosting the talks between the so-called NATO Bucharest Nine, in his opening speech said that demons of a great war, unseen since 1945 have returned to Europe. NATOs eastern flank members fear Moscow could also target them. Czech Republic to Ban Russian Airlines The Czech Republics transport minister says his country has banned all Russian airlines from Czech airports, in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. Martin Kupka said Friday the ban covers all regular flights between Prague and Moscow and Prague and St. Petersburg, as well as charter flights. Russian planes will also be banned from landing at the western Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary, a popular destination for Russian tourists. The measure becomes effective at midnight. Additionally, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said his country will stop issuing visas for Russian citizens and will urge other European Union countries to do the same. Lithuania Retail Chains to Remove Russian Products From Shelves Major retail chains in Lithuania started to remove Russian and Belarusian products from shelves, a move joined by online shops and widely applauded by the public as a protest against Moscows decision to invade Ukraine. Maxima LT, the largest chain in the Baltic nations, said Friday the Russian goods it sells are mainly alcohol, dried products and candy, amounting to millions of euros in sales. Other retailers like drug stores and home suppliers made similar announcements. The Lithuanian postal service said it will not be distributing any more Russian periodicals. International companies such as IKEA are facing pressure to remove Russian-made goods from sale in the small Baltic country, which fears Russian aggression. Zelensky: I Am Target Number One, My Family is Number Two Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday morning addressed his country and said he is target number one and his family is target number two for Russian troops, while later saying that the Biden administration is watching from a distance as the invasion unfolds. I know that a lot of misinformation and rumors are being spread now, Zelensky said in a video, uploaded online. In particular, it is claimed that I have left Kyiv. I remain in the capital; I am staying with my people. My family is not a traitor, but a citizen of Ukraine. Zelensky added: According to our information, the enemy marked me as target number one. My family is the number two goal. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the Head of State. We have information that enemy sabotage groups have entered Kyiv. I am staying in the government quarter together with others. Read the full story here US and Allies Not Cutting Off Russia from SWIFT Payment System, Keep It as Nuclear Option President Joe Biden said Thursday the United States and its international allies have decided not to cut Russia off from the SWIFT international payments system as punishment for invading Ukraine, though the measure has been left on the table as a last resort in case the situation escalates. Biden told a press briefing on Feb. 24 that Russia would not be frozen out of SWIFT, the messaging system banks use to settle cross-border payments and that is a key mechanism for financing international trade. The president said the sanctions imposed on five Russian banks in response to the Ukraine invasion were at least as punishing as a SWIFT cutoff. It is always an option, Biden said of the ban. But right now, thats not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take. Bidens remarks came as Russian forces pressed forward with a multi-pronged invasion of Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin has called a special military operation to demilitarize and neutralize Ukraine as a claimed NATO-aligned threat. Western leaders have denounced Putins military action as a baseless act of aggression. Read the full story here Ukraine Citizens Told to Make Molotov Cocktails Residents in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, were told to make Molotov cocktails on Friday as they hid in makeshift shelters and subway stations, awaiting a Russian assault. Make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier! the Defense Ministry wrote on Twitter, while local authorities told people in the northwestern Obolon to stay off the streets due to active hostilities that were approaching. We ask citizens to inform about the movement of [Russian] equipment! Make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier! Peaceful residents be careful! Do not leave the house! the Defense Ministry wrote on Twitter, according to a translation Some residents took refuge in subway stations being used as air-raid shelters, or rushed to basements of apartments blocks or other buildings when air-raid warnings sounded. Russian Forces Killed 13 Ukrainian Soldiers Refusing to Leave Tiny Island More than a dozen Ukrainian soldiers were killed while defending a tiny island located in the Black Sea after they refused to surrender to Russians threatening to bomb them. Ukraine on Thursday lost contact with its forces on Zmiinyi (Snake) Islanda roughly 40-acre speck of land located south of the port of Odessaafter Russia conducted strikes from air and sea, Kyiv said. A Ukrainian official said 13 soldiers had been killed in the bombing and an audio clip has emerged that is purported to have captured an exchange between Ukrainian and Russian forces prior to the attack. This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you will be bombed, the Russians said, according to the audio obtained by local news agency Ukrainskaya Pravda. Read the full story here Russias Lavrov Says Moscow Wants Ukrainian People to Be Independent Russia wants the Ukrainian people to be independent and have the possibility to freely define their destiny, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. Lavrov said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was lying when he said he was ready to discuss the neutral status of Ukraine. Lavrov also said Russia will ensure the demilitarisation of Ukraine but sees no possibility of recognizing the current Ukrainian government as democratic. Explosions Heard in Kyiv, Official Says Enemy Aircraft Downed Explosions rocked Ukraines capital of Kyiv overnight while the countrys adviser to the interior minister has attributed the blasts to the downing of a Russian aircraft. Explosions were reported in Kyiv around 3 a.m. Friday local time. Olexander Scherba, a Ukrainian diplomat who was the countrys ambassador to Austria 20142021, said on Twitter that at least two heavy explosions occurred in Kyiv and that cruise ballistic missile had hit the city. He later posted a video of an explosion in the sky, captioned: Kyiv now A drone or plane hit? A missile intercepted? Adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram that Ukraines air force shot down a Russian plane or drone, after which crashed in the Darnitsky district. This was what accounted for the explosions seen in the skies above Kyiv, he said. Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba announced around 6 a.m. that the city endured horrific Russian rocket strikes. It was unclear whether the Russian aircraft was manned. Read the full story here Pentagon Chief Speaks to European Allies, Including Ukrainian Counterpart U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, and separately to 15 NATO allies late on Thursday. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a readout of the call between Austin and Reznikov that the two spoke about Russias unfounded and unprovoked war against Ukraine, and both expressed they would continue coordinating closely. Austin made clear that the United States support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering and that the United States will continue to provide defensive assistance to Ukraine. On Twitter, Austin said he had calls with 15 different NATO allies to express solidarity with the Ukrainian people and discuss a coordinated Allied response to Russias unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Specifically, Austin spoke individually with his counterparts from Canada and Turkey, and convened a virtual meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. He also joined a teleconference with his counterparts from the Bucharest Nine (B-9) CountriesBulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Austin said the United States has deployed an additional 15,000 forces in recent days and weeks and now has more than 90,000 U.S. service members in Europe, according to a Pentagon readout of the calls. Biden Takes Veiled Swipe at China U.S. President Joe Biden issued a veiled criticism against China on Thursday when he unveiled new sanctions on Russia, following Moscows all-out assault on Ukraine. Putin will be a pariah on the international stage. Any nation that countenances Russias naked aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association, Biden told reporters at the White House, without naming China. Bidens remarks came after China refused to denounce the Russian attack and rejected Moscows move as an invasion. Instead, the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reiterated Beijings call for all sides to exercise restraint and blamed Washington for hyping up war. Russias invasion of Ukrainethe biggest attack on a European state since World War IIhas left at least 137 dead and 316 wounded in Ukraine as of early Friday local time, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Putins actions betray his sinister vision for the future of our worldone where nations take what they want by force, Biden said. When asked if he was urging China to help isolate Russia, Biden said: Im not prepared to comment on that at the moment. Read the full story here Japan, New Zealand Announce Sanctions, Penalties on Russia Japan and New Zealand announced new sanctions and penalties against Russia on Friday, after the country began attacking multiple cities of Ukraine on Thursday. Japanwhich had, alongside Australia, already announced sanctions against Russia prior to the invasionlevied a new set of sanctions against Moscow. According to local reports, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the sanctions included visa suspensions for certain Russian individuals, as well as export controls, and the freezing of assets held by financial institutions. The latest asset freeze will target Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya, and Russias economic development bank VEB, and does not include Sberbank, Russias largest financial institution. Sberbank is on the U.S. sanctions list. New Zealand, which does not have an autonomous sanctions law, still moved to condemn Russias attack and invasion of Ukraine, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying that Russia will face the consequences for its flagrant disregard for international law. The country also imposed travel bans on Russian officials and others linked to the attack, imposed a blanket ban on exports to Russias military, and suspended consultations between Russias and New Zealands foreign ministries. South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced Thursday that it would join in unspecified multilateral economic sanctions on Russia, but will not take action unilaterally. A foreign ministry official who later briefed reporters mentioned export controls as part of possible international sanctions, reported Reuters. Of course some countries are considering unilateral sanctions including financial measures but we are not considering that, he said, adding that discussions are underway to finalize details. Australia Imposes More Sanctions on Russia Australia imposed more sanctions on Friday against Russia, targeting several of its elite citizens and lawmakers, and said it was unacceptable that the Chinese regime was easing trade restrictions with Moscow at a time when it invaded Ukraine. We will work along with our partners for a rolling wave of sanctions and continuing to ratchet up that pressure on Russia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said during a media conference. Morrison voiced concerns over the lack of strong response from China and criticized Beijing about reports it had eased trade curbs with Moscow by allowing imports of wheat from Russia. You dont go and throw a lifeline to Russia in the middle of a period when they are invading another country. That is simply unacceptable, he said. EU Leaders Agree on More Sanctions Against Russia European Union leaders put on a united front early on Friday after a six-hour meeting during which they agreed on a second package of economic and financial sanctions against Russia. The legal texts for the sanctions agreed were expected to be finalized overnight and to be submitted for approval to EU foreign affairs ministers during a meeting scheduled Friday afternoon. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraines invasion put into question Europes peace order and said the EU will hold the Kremlin accountable for its actions, saying sanctions will have a maximum impact on the Russian elite. Von der Leyen said the package, decided in concertation with Western allies, includes targeting 70 percent of the Russian banking market and key state-owned companies, including in defense. Read the full story here - Ukraine Orders General Mobilization, Announces 137 Dead Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree ordering a general mobilization of the population after Russia started attacking the country in the early hours of Thursday. The decree, on the presidential website, said the mobilization to ensure the defense of the state would be carried out within 90 days of the decree coming into force. The mobilization order applies to the territories of Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Chernihiv regions, and the city of Kyiv. Zelensky said early Friday local time that 137 people had been killed and 316 were wounded. Read the full story here Mimi Nguyen Ly, Frank Fang, Lorenz Duchamps, Tom Ozimek, Jack Phillips, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report. Click here for coverage from Feb. 24. Russian Forces Allegedly Killed 13 Ukrainian Soldiers Refusing to Leave Tiny Island Update: The Ukrainian Navy said in a statement that the 13 Ukrainian border guards who were awarded the title Hero of Ukraine after they were believed to have died while defending Zmiinyi (Snake) Island in the Black Sea from a Russian bomb attack are still alive. We are very happy to learn that our brothers are alive and well, the Ukrainian Navy said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page, noting that the border guards were taken captive by Russian occupiers on Snake Island. Previous story: More than a dozen Ukrainian soldiers were killed while defending a tiny island located in the Black Sea after they reportedly refused to surrender to Russians threatening to bomb them. Ukraine on Thursday lost contact with its forces on Zmiinyi (Snake) Islanda roughly 40-acre speck of land located south of the port of Odessaafter Russia conducted strikes from air and sea, Kyiv said. A Ukrainian official said 13 soldiers had been killed in the bombing and an audio clip has emerged that is purported to have captured an exchange between Ukrainian and Russian forces prior to the attack. This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you will be bombed, the Russians said, according to the audio obtained by local news agency Ukrainskaya Pravda. Russian warship, go [explicit] yourself, Ukrainian forces replied before Russia began the strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised in his address after the first day of Russia launching its assault on the country that he would posthumously honor the group of Ukrainian border guards killed in the bombardment. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with his counterparts from Lithuania and Poland following their talks in Kyiv on Feb. 23, 2022. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images) On our Zmiinyi Island, defending it to the last, all the border guards died heroically. But they did not give up. All of them will be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine, Zelensky said in comments on his website. On Friday, Russias defense ministry said 82 Ukrainian soldiers on the island had surrendered voluntarily as Russian paratroopers attempted to take control over the small island territorywhich has previously been the subject of a territorial dispute between the two countries. 82 Ukrainian soldiers in Zmiinyi island area lay down their arms and capitulated to Russian soldiers. Now they must sign a statement that they refuse to participate in military actions. Soon they will be returned to their families, spokesman Igor Konashenkov said, without mentioning that Russian troops carried out strikes and inflicted mass casualties. Russia began invading Ukraine early on Thursday with a series of missile strikes that mainly targeted government and military installations, on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, who announced a special military operation. People gather in front of a damaged residential building at Koshytsa Street, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where a military shell allegedly hit, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images) At least 137 people had been killed and 316 were wounded since Russia launched its assault on the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday. On Thursday, Zelensky said in a speech that Ukraine has been left alone to defend itself against the Russian invasion and that Russia attacked the entire territory of our state. And today our defenders have done a lot, Zelensky said. They defended almost the entire territory of Ukraine, which suffered direct blows. They regain the one [sic] that the enemy managed to occupy. Zelensky called everyone involved heroes in a video address on Friday, saying Russia is killing innocent people and turning peaceful cities into military targets, also stressing that Moscows actions will never be forgiven. Katabella Roberts and Reuters contributed to this report. From NTD News Sen. Inhofe Announces That He Will Retire at End of 2022 Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) has confirmed that he will retire at the end of 2022, confirming scattered reports that such an announcement was imminent. It is bittersweet, but with a clear heart, that Kay and I announce that at the end of the year, I will retire from the United States Senate, Inhofe, who will turn 88 in November, said in a statement posted on Twitter. Going into public service was never in my plan, Inhofe said. Then, one day, I needed a dock permit. I had to visit 27 government offices to get a single dock permit, and realized if we wanted the government to work for the people, not against the people, it was up to us to make a change. Inhofe, who started his career in the mid-1960s in the Oklahoma legislature, and eventually rose to the U.S. Senate in 1994, said, Throughout our years there has been one constantmaking the world safer and better for our 20 kids and grandkids and the next generation of Oklahomans. It is now time for that next generation of Oklahomans to have the opportunity to serve the state in the U.S. Senate. His imminent retirement, Inhofe insisted it is not the end of the road. I have work yet to do for Oklahomans over these next nine months, including passing the National Defense Authorization Act and holding the Biden administration accountable. Thank you to everyone who has trusted me with your vote over these many years. It has been an honor to serve you in the Senate. May God bless you and God bless Oklahoma. In a statement posted immediately following Inhofes retirement, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, When Senator Jim Inhofe retires, the Senate will lose one of its foremost experts on defense policy, and Oklahoma will lose one of its fiercest advocates. I am glad our friend will continue to serve with us through the end of this Congress. McConnell continued, from improving transportation infrastructure to harnessing abundant American energy, the fruits of Jims labors are recognizable across Oklahoma and across the country. But Jims legacy of consequential public service extends even beyond our borders, McConnell said of Inhofe, who has long served on the Senate Armed Forces Committee. His advocacy for his fellow veterans and for the men and women serving today in uniform has helped make America safer and our power more respected around the world. And his commitment to rock-solid conservative principles has helped improved accountability and efficiency at the Department of Defense on behalf of American taxpayers. McConnells statement concluded, while the Senate will miss one of its foremost experts on defense policy, I am glad our friend will continue to serve with us through the end of this Congress. In 2008 Inhofe worked with former Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) on a bill that would expand the GI Bill to increase servicemembers access to health care, therapy, and other benefits. Inhofe has long been controversial among Democrats for his position on climate change. While many Democrats have insisted that climate change is an immediate, civilizational threat, Inhofe has long held that the situation has been greatly exaggerated by climate activists. In May 2017, Inhofe led an effort urging President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement (pdf). In August 2017, Trump obliged, informing the United Nations that the United States would withdraw from the agreement. Immediately upon taking office, President Joe Biden reversed the withdrawal. Inhofe is the most recent in a series of GOP retirements announced for 2022. Also retiring on the GOP side are Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). Since he was reelected in 2020 to serve a six-year term, Inhofes retirement will kick off a special election. However in Oklahomawhich last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1990 and last elected a Democrat president in 1964Democrats are unlikely to be able to capitalize on the retirement to flip the seat. Because the announcement was just made official, it is not yet clear who will run to replace Inhofe, though many GOP contenders are likely to vie for the Republican nomination in the strongly-red state. Skepticism as a New Way of Life Commentary The 20202022 pandemic split parties and ideologues, separated friend from friend and family members from family members. Neighbors were dangerous, and strangers even more so: the invisible enemy stalking our lands overturned every other concern in life: The conflicts it spurred replaced bonds of affection with fear and hatred. More than ever, we need calm and level-headed thinkers, honest and willing to admit past errors, with eyes wide open for the corruption of industry or government itself. In other words, we need as little politics as humanly possible. As I wrote in a previous piece: we need people without a clear ideological position, and who can thus appeal to audiences across the political spectrum. Two sane figures recently attempted the impossible: to speak calmly to the other side, trying earnestly to explain what happenedKonstantin Kisin, of the popular show Triggernometry, and Columbia sociology professor Musa al-Gharbi. Kisin begins his monologue with Youre struggling to understand why some people are vaccine hesitant. Let me help you. He uses no study result, no appeal to the biological effect of the drug that has become the main symbol of the Covid conflict; no death rates or R 0 ; no projection of spread or what number of lives lockdowns may or may not have saved. Instead Kisin, for 13 spellbinding minutes, walks us through the many good reasons that people hadbefore and during Covidto distrust the elites in politics, business, and media. If this is a question of (dis)trusting the establishment (including the Science), you must ask what the establishment did to no longer deserve that trust. The tale begins years ago, with the Brexit vote and with the election of Donald Trump. Those events shocked the pompous leaders of the universities, the pollsters who confidently said it wouldnt happen, the media pundits who so convincingly described to us the madness of such prospects. For a brief moment after the unthinkable had happened, if you recall, there was an earnest desire for inclusivityfor inviting in the views that had gone overlooked in the other half of these countries. Outlets like the New York Times made an effort to portray conservative views and show the kinds of people who had long felt alienated and ostracized from civilized society. As despicable and difficult it was for their core audience to see, revealing perspectives and objections is better than silencing and hiding them. The efforts didnt last long and in 2019 and 2020, the monolithic thoughts that dominate these institutions willingly put their blinders ontighter and more aggressively than before. Kisins final minute is the most powerful thing in these disease-ridden past two years: The same people who told you Brexit would never happen; Trump would never win, and that when he did win, it was because of Russian collusion, then because of racism; that you must follow lockdown rules while they dont; that masks dont work and then that they do; that protests during lockdowns are a health intervention; that ransacking black communities in the name of fighting racism is mostly peaceful justice; that Jussie Smollett was the victim of a hate crime; that men are toxic; that theres an infinite number of genders; that Covid didnt come from a lab, and then that it probably did; that closing borders is racist, and then that its the most important thing to do; that the Hunter Biden story is Russian disinformation, and then that its not; that they would not take Trumps vaccine, and then that you must take the vaccine; that Governor Cuomo is a great Covid leader, and then that hes a granny killer and a sex pest; that the number of Covid deaths is one thing and then another; that hospitals are filled with Covid patients, and then that many of them caught Covid in hospital. These are the same people now telling you that the vaccines are safe, you must take it, and if you dont you will be a second-class citizen. Understand vaccine hesitancy now? Like Steve Carells character says in that glorious scene from The Big Short, Short everything that guy has touched. These guys have fooled us once too many times: we will not comply. The long-read for the British newspaper The Guardian by Musa al-Gharbi is even more important, partly because he speaks to his own side and partly because the piece runs in an outlet that has been heavily on the vaccine-cherishing train. Building bridges begins by showing those on your own side of the river what the land looks like on its far side. And al-Gharbi perfectly captured the mind of the current skeptic. He lists, bullet-point by bullet-point, the clear and sensible reasons why anyone would refuse to follow along. To most of his audience, these vaccines are fantastic miracles, life-saving devices, their impact ending the pandemic in one fell swoop: failure to comply with the directives of public health officials, writes al-Gharbi, has thus seemed insane to the audience he addressesprobably driven by some pathology or deficit. debates turn around identifying the primary malfunction of those people: Are they ignorant? Brainwashed? Stupid? Selfish and apathetic? All of the above? Left off the menu is the possibility that hesitancy and non-compliance may actually be reasonable responses to how experts and other elites have conducted themselves, both before and during the pandemic. The vaccines were developed too fast, without the long and rigorous testing regimes we usually apply to pharmaceuticals to ensure efficacy, correct dosage, the target demographics, safety, and observation of long-term harm (if those safeguards are optional and superfluous, why do we have them in normal times?). Both Biden and Harris vocally pushed against Trumps vaccine, but when the power of government passed into their hands, the tune was suddenly very different. Many people smelled a political rat. Dr. Fauci himself has engaged in noble lie after noble lie to get people to do what he says is crucial for them: if he lied about the masks and then the Wuhan lab financing and then herd-immunity targets, why should anyone believe that he hasnt lied about more things? That the advice his agency gives out is sound? That the science he says he represents is as all-encompassing and definitive as he and others deferring to him let on? Step by step, month by month, and variant by variant, writes al-Gharbi, the figures of vaccine efficacy kept dropping: the main benefit of vaccination has been revised down dramaticallyfrom outright preventing infections to reducing severe infectionseven as people are encouraged to get more and more shots in order to achieve that benefit. But the official advice remained, intensified even, as did the publics discourse. Somehow, the anger against the unvaccinated strengthened. This is not what we were promised when, in early 2020, we stoically and proudly began sacrificing aspects of our personal lives for the public good. On top of that al-Gharbi points to the billions that Big Pharma makes out of vaccinesa point that should weigh heavily on The Guardians readership. And harms stemming from vaccines cannot be pursued in court, as the U.S. government shielded the companies from liabilities in order to speed up the vaccine-creation process. Add misleading statistics, former MSNBC hosts losing their minds, modeling predictions gone haywire and it isnt hard to see why many people want to opt out. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, and the only tangible act of dissent that most people have is refusing a needle in their arm. In genuine scientific efforts, admits al-Gharbi, people are routinely wrongthats how the process works and how the sum knowledge of humanity improves. Instead, in the plague years we received spokespeople (and Trust the Science stans) [who] regularly concealed uncertainties, suppressed inconvenient information and squashed internal dissent in an ill-conceived effort to seem maximally authoritative. Rather than enhancing confidence among skeptics, these moves often made authorities seem incompetent or dishonest when they were forced to change their positions. There are few public officials who havent shunned the rules they themselves made, but of course we all shun the rulestheyre impossible to live under. The hypocrisy just looks so much worse when its the rulemaker himself or herself doing it. Al-Gharbis summarizing paragraph is almost as powerful as Kisins: In a world where the experts are regularly wrong but continue to project high levels of confidence even as they change their minds and update their policies, where elite narratives about the crisis often seem to be inappropriately colored by political and financial considerations, where those who share ones own background, values and interests do not seem to have a seat at the table in making the rulesand especially among populations that have a long history of neglect and mistreatment by the elite class (leading to high levels of pre-existing and well-founded mistrust even before the pandemic)it would actually be bizarre to unquestioningly believe and unwaveringly conform to elite guidance. This is the story that those skeptical of vaccines see: a dissonance between official words and reality that no amount of social ostracism or edicts from on high can eliminate. This is the story of a tribe of navel-gazing authoritarians imposing rules on the rest of us, rules that dont make sense, that are routinely flaunted by their proponents, and in aggregate dont achieve the goals theyre said to achieve. There is no reason to puzzle about the loss of trust and the rise of grave skepticism about elite plans for our lives. From the Brownstone Institute Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Standing Up to Putin Means Ditching Net-Zero Commentary Vladimir Putins inflammatory speech, in which he set out his aim to reconstitute the Russian empire and blamed Lenin for its demiseand his decision to back this up with a full-scale invasion of Ukrainesignals the return of geopolitics. Until now, Western leaders have been saying that the biggest threat to the world is climate change. Now comes Putin, armed with nuclear weapons, tanks, and thousands of troops declaring his intent to overthrow Europes post-Cold War order. The dilemma for the West: You cant win a geopolitical conflict lasting years or decades with an economy powered intermittently by wind turbines and solar panels. From the start of the Biden presidency, tensions existed within the administration between geopolitical realists, notably Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and climate hawks led by the presidents climate envoy, John Kerry, who saw friendly relations with China as an essential ingredient for any global deal on the environment. Although Blinkens position that Chinese expansionism is the biggest threat to the interests of the United States now has the upper hand, the administrations anti-fossil-fuel policies will progressively degrade Americas capacity to prevail against its geopolitical adversaries. Expanded pipeline infrastructure is critical to American energy security. One of the Biden administrations first actions was canceling the license for the Keystone XL pipeline. Thanks to inadequate infrastructure connecting New England to the rest of the country and the century-old Jones Actrequiring that all goods moving by water between American ports travel on ships built, owned, and manned by Americansthe winter of 2018 saw Russian liquefied natural gas being brought ashore in Boston Harbor. Currently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is mulling a climate disclosure rule. The intent is to strengthen the hand of Wall Street and woke institutional investors to impose, in effect, an embargo on investment in domestic oil and gas production. The logic appears to be that domestically produced oil and gas incurs climate risk, whereas imported energy from beyond Wall Streets writ does not. And in January, the Pentagon released a net-zero plan for the army, which would see it relying on an all-electric, non-tactical vehicle fleet by 2035. It could be even worse. If John Kerry and the climate hawks had their way, the United States would be like Europe. The European Union is a paper empire. Its power is bureaucratic, deriving from rules and regulations. It is institutionally incapable of thinking and acting geopolitically, because the EU is meant to be the exemplar of a post-geopolitical world in which national sovereignty is dissolved in a supra-national rules-based order. Net-zero and the U.N. climate process represent EU-style supranationalism at a global level. Climate neutrality is our European destiny, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said two years ago, when she announced the European Climate Law setting a legally binding target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The push for wind and solar power, which started in Germany with the Renewable Energy Act of 2000, means greater reliance on supplies of Russian natural gas to keep the lights on. Europes dependence on Russian gas is stark. At an EU meeting held last week to discuss possible sanctions against Moscow, Italys prime minister, Mario Draghi, pleaded that any measures should be concentrated on narrow sectors without including energy. This applies to Britain, too. When it comes to climate and energy, Britain (despite Brexit) remains functionally part of the EU, regardless of cost and the geostrategic consequences. In late 2019, Boris Johnson banned commercial fracking. Earlier this month, the British government ordered that concrete be poured into the countrys two exploratory shale wells and for them to be abandoned. The move was blasted by Cuadrilla Resources CEO Francis Egan, who pointed out that the Bowland Shale Formation could supply 50 years of current UK gas demand. The value of just 10 percent of the in-place British resource would be approximately 3.3 trillion pounds ($4.5 trillion), Egan wrote. The Soviet Union began supplying gas to western Europe in the 1960s. West German Chancellor Willy Brandt quickly saw a political opportunity to do business with Moscow based on his belief that Moscow held the key to German reunification (for the same reason, the East German communist regime strongly opposed the burgeoning Soviet-West German gas trade). Not once during the Cold War did Moscow renege on a gas contract. In this respect, Putin, who has a deep understanding of the gas industry, is different from his Soviet predecessors. As a result of the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia ended up with the gas and Ukraine the pipeline and transit feesa source of intense frustration to Putin. In 2009, the Russian gas company Gazprom temporarily cut off exports to Europe. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, like Nord Stream 1, takes the most direct route from Siberia to Europe, bypassing Ukraine. Credit the Biden administration for helping German Chancellor Olaf Scholz over the line in suspending Nord Stream 2but if Moscow controls Ukraine, Putin will have solved his Ukrainian transit problem by extinguishing Ukrainian independence. On the other hand, Germanys and the EUs net-zero policies will deepen their dependence on Putins goodwill as they increase their exposure to unreliable wind and solar, phase out coal, andin the case of Germany and Belgiumprematurely close their nuclear power stations. Strategically, thats a win for Putin. Geopolitical realism requires energy realism. It also demands realism about the prospects for net-zero. Last week, Alok Sharma, the British president of the U.N. COP 26 climate conference, maintained that net-zero remains alive, but admitted that the pulse is weak. Achieving this barely-alive objective requires global emissions to be cut in half by the end of this decade. Thats not going to happen. The basic math of the West vs. the rests greenhouse gas emissions means that what the West does has a diminishing effect on the trajectory of global emissions. In an age when Russia invades a sovereign state on a baseless pretext and denies its right to exist, its high time Western leaders got real. The West either understands what is at stake and plays by the rules of geopolitics or the West loses. The speed with which the West adjusts to this new reality will determine how much ground Russia and China can take. From RealClearWire Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Smoke and flame rise near a military building after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo) Taiwan Will Impose Sanctions on Russia Over Ukraine Invasion TAIPEI, TaiwanThe Taiwanese government on Feb. 25 announced that it will impose economic sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement issued on Friday, said the Russian invasion has jeopardized regional and global peace and stability and posed the most serious threat and challenge to the rules-based international order. In order to compel Russia to halt its military aggression against Ukraine, and to restart peaceful dialogue among all parties concerned as soon as possible, the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) announces it will join international economic sanctions against Russia, the ministry said. The ministry did not provide details on what sanctions Taiwan will slap on Russia. Taiwan will continue to coordinate closely with the United States and other like-minded countries to adopt appropriate measures in order to free Ukraine from the horrors of war, the ministry concluded. Australia, Canada, Japan, the European Union, the UK, and the United States have announced sanctions against Russia after Moscow launched what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a special military operation in Ukraine on Feb. 24. Taiwan was among U.S. allies named when the White House unveiled an unprecedented package of financial sanctions and export restrictions against Russia on Feb. 24. According to Daleep Singh, deputy national security adviser and deputy director of the National Economic Council in the White House, U.S. exports restrictions will hit several Russian sectors, including defense, aerospace, and maritime. Singh said the United States will impose exports bans by working in close coordination with the European Union, Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan. Taiwan is a major manufacturer of semiconductors, home to the worlds largest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC). Semiconductors are tiny chips that power everything from smartphones, computers, fighter jets, to missile systems. Following the Taiwan governments announcement, TSMC said in a statement that it complies with all applicable laws and regulations and is fully committed to complying with the new export control rules announced. The company also has a rigorous export control system in place, including a robust assessment and review process to ensure export control restrictions are followed, TSMC added. TSMC told Taiwans government-run Central News Agency that it is exporting almost nothing to Russia at the moment. In 2021, 65 percent of TSMC chips went to North America, followed by the Asia-Pacific region at 14 percent, China 10 percent, and Japan 5 percent. According to data from Taiwans Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan exported $1.318 billion worth of goods to Russia in 2021, while importing $5 billion Russian products. Currently, Taiwans trade with Russia accounts for only 0.76 percent of the islands total trade. Also on Friday, Taiwans Economic Minister Wang Mei-hua said that Taiwan will diversify its natural gas supplies after a contract with Russia expires in March. Currently, Taiwan is receiving international attention for more than just its semiconductor chips. Russias invasion of Ukraine has fueled speculation about the fate of Taiwan, whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would take a cue from Russia and invade the self-governing island soon. In October last year, Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed that reunification of Taiwan with China would definitely be realized. Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen told reporters on Friday that Taiwan and Ukraines situation are fundamentally different, with the former having the Taiwan Strait as a natural barrier. China and Taiwan are separated by the Taiwan Strait, which is about 80 miles wide at its narrowest point. The Taiwan militarys continuous improvement in its combat power, as well as the high attention paid to the region by friendly and allied countries give strong confidence in maintaining the islands security, she added. We must also consolidate our psychological defences, strengthen preventive cognitive warfare operations, and prevent foreign forces and local collaborators from using false information to create panic and affect the morale of Taiwanese society by using Ukraines turbulent situation, Tsai said. Taiwans defense ministry announced on Friday that the islands military forces continue to monitor military developments around the Taiwan Strait while maintaining high-level alert. It also said that the Taiwanese military is actively strengthing combat readiness, in order to respond to various possible emergencies. Reuters contributed to this article. Russian Navy's Marshal Nedelin-class missile range instrumentation ship No.331 is seen in a file photo. (Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/Handout via Reuters) Tanker Ship Hit by Missile Off Coast of Ukraine, Injuries Reported: Officials Moldovas national naval agency said that a ship in neutral waters of the Black Sea was struck by a missile, leaving two crew members seriously injured. The countrys Naval Agency said in a statement that its not clear what country fired at the Moldova-flagged Millennial Spirit on Friday. A fire broke out onboard the ship; the equipment and lifeboats were destroyed, the agency said in a statement. The ships crew left the ship equipped only with life jackets. Vadim Pavalachi, the head of the Moldovan naval agency, said that we just heard 10 minutes ago that all the crew were saved but two were seriously injured and are on the way to [the] hospital, reported UK media. Pavalachi said that the ship was a chemical tanker. The firm that operates the tanker is a Ukrainian legal entity, the agency added, and the crew members are Russian nationals. Ukrainian authorities carried out a rescue of the sailors, the Moldovan agency said. Ukrainian officials said that it was a Russian warship that shelled the Moldova-flagged ship, adding that Russian vessels also struck a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship near Odessa, Reuters reported. The ship flying the flag of Panama was heading to the Pivdennyi port (ex. Yuzhny) to load grain, Ukrainian shipping agent Stark Shipping said in a statement. There was a fire on the ship, the P&O STAR tug moved to the rescue. The situation is under control. The incident came more than a day after Russia mounted an invasion of Ukraine. Officials in Kyiv on Friday evening said they are fearful that Russia would invade the capital city. On Thursday, Turkish officials said the Turkey-flagged Yasa Jupiter cargo ship was hit by a bomb near Odessa. Upon information that the Marshall Islands-flagged Turkish-owned Yasa Jupiter ship was struck by a bomb off the coast of Odessa, it was learned that the ship has no request for help, is en route to Romanian waters, has no casualties, and is safe, the Turkish Maritime General Directorate wrote on Twitter. Earlier in the week, Kyiv called on Turkey, a member of NATO, to block the passage of Russian ships from entering the Black Seaa move that would certainly escalate tensions between Moscow and the bloc. Turkey will evaluate the requests and respond as soon as possible, Ukraines ambassador to Ankara, Vasyl Bodnar, told reporters, Reuters reported. We expect solidarity to be shown. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A person checks out in a Target store in Miami, Fla., on Sept. 28, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Target Ends Masking Requirement for Workers, Customers Customers and workers at most Target stores no longer have to wear masks. The Minnesota-based retailer updated its policies on Feb. 21, saying masks wont be required as long as local regulations dont force stores to require them. The health and safety of our guests and team members have been Targets top priority throughout the pandemic. As COVID-19 cases continue to decline across the country, Target will not require our U.S. team members or guests to wear masks, as local regulations allow, Target said in a statement. Well follow all state and local COVID-19 safety regulations and encourage our team members and guests to consult the latest public health guidance, get vaccinated and make decisions to keep themselves and their families safe, it added. Target has 1,926 stores in the United States and employs approximately 350,000 workers. It wasnt clear how many stores will still require masks due to local restrictions. The retailer in August 2021 imposed the masking requirements in all counties designated high risk for COVID-19 transmission by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some 82 percent of the country falls under that designation as of Feb. 25. Target will keep other safety and cleaning measures in place, including disinfecting, a company spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. Well also continue to provide our team with resources and benefits they need, including free medical-grade masks, COVID-19 tests, paid leave for team members with positive COVID-19 cases, and paid time and free Lyft rides to reduce barriers for team members to get their vaccines. Finally, well continue to monitor trends in COVID-19 cases, public health data and guidance from public health experts moving forward. As the external environment changes, we will reevaluate and evolve our COVID-19 response for our team, operations and guests as needed, the spokesperson said. Other large retailers have eased mask mandates in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations plunge across the country. Walmart and Sams Club workers were told in mid-February that they can stop wearing masks, provided theyre fully vaccinated and work in a store that is not located in a jurisdiction that requires masking. Workers who are employed in clinical care settings, such as pharmacies, are also still forced to don face coverings. Vaccinated workers can continue to wear masks, Walmart said in a memo. We support and respect an individuals choice to continue wearing one, company officials said. Customers are not required to wear masks. Amazon also said recently that masks would no longer be required for fully vaccinated employees, provided local regulations dont force masking indoors. Fully vaccinated means a person has received two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson jab. The masking guidance update came due to a sharp decline in COVID-19 cases across the country over the past weeks along with increasing vaccination rates across the country, an Amazon spokesperson told The Epoch Times, adding, This is a positive sign we can return to the path to normal operations. A slew of the states and counties that still forced people to mask in various settings have also totally withdrawn or partially withdrawn their masking mandates, citing the drop in COVID-19 metrics. Katabella Roberts contributed to this report. A woman holds a sign with a caricature of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a rally in support of the people of Ukraine in Vancouver, on Feb.24, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck) The Free World Must Rally: Ukrainian-Canadians Denounce Russian Attacks MONTREALYellow and blue flags flew in cities across Canada on Thursday as Ukrainian Canadians organized demonstrations to denounce Russias attack on Ukraine and urged Ottawa to act swiftly to defend their homeland. In Montreal, several dozen protesters gathered in front of McGill University, waving signs with messages ranging from I want to see my grandmother alive, to the more militaristic Arm Ukraine. Larysa Grynko, who came to Canada from Ukraine in 2011, was one of several who helped unfurl a large banner in Ukrainian blue and yellow. Her voice catching, she said she was devastated by the events. Words cannot describe the terror that we feel for families that stay in Ukraine, she said. Grynko said she had spoken to her family, and they were safe for now and had confidence in the Ukrainian army. She switched briefly to Ukrainian to deliver a tearful message that she said meant, Be safe and be strong. In English, she urged Canada not to discount the risk posed by Russian aggression. If Russia is not stopped in Ukraine, it will not stop in Ukraine, she said. It will go further, aggressing other countries. Several Canadian cities, including Calgary and Montreal, said they would fly the Ukrainian flag over municipal buildings. Demonstrations were also planned in Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton to denounce the Russian military strike. Olga Gogoleva, whos from the Siberian region of Russia, carried a sign at the Vancouver protest that read, I am Russian and I am against the war. Im here to support Ukrainian people, Gogoleva said where a crowd of about 200 demonstrators were rallying at the citys art gallery. Natalie Jatskevich, the head of the B.C. branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, said shes disappointed in the international response to the conflict. I think the world is a little bit slow in reacting, she said. Ukrainians are strong. We are not asking anybody to fight for us, but we need means to fight. We need defensive weapons and we need (them) now. Protester Sofiya Pylypenko moved to Canada 12 years ago but still has family in Kharkiv, Ukraine, just 40 kilometres from a Russian border. She said following Putins address Thursday, she began getting calls from family telling her tanks were coming in and explosions had started. She said its encouraging to see Ukraine step up to defend itself but hopes more support from other nations is coming. We shouldnt be fighting this alone, she said. Yaroslav Broda, vice-president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congresss Edmonton branch, said the rally in front of the Alberta legislature Thursday would be an opportunity for people from the community to come together and raise awareness about Russian aggression happening in Ukraine for years. This is about solidarity, because there is not much we can do being where we are, he said. Broda said he has aunts, uncles and cousins living outside the capital city of Kyiv. The 28-year-old said his cousins, who are about his age with children, have fled the area, but family members of his parents generation have decided to stay. He said the tensions with Russian had been intensifying and cooling off over the last decade and people on the ground were becoming desensitized to the conflict. Im sure there was a lot of head-shaking this morning, Broda said. They went to bed thinking it was just another day living next door to Russia, but now they have realized it has gone off. Michael Shwec, the head of the Quebec branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, said the whole world has a duty to rally behind Ukraine. He said a failure to act strongly in response to Russian aggression would send a signal to other authoritarian countries and could spell trouble for democracies across the world. There is no capitulation. There is no appeasement. It doesnt work, he said in a phone interview. Because if we dont do something now, there are other countries in this world that have very similar ambitions that (Russian President Vladimir Putin) has. Today, the free world must rally to the Ukrainians cause. Today, anyone who values human rights, democracy and liberty is a Ukrainian. Shwec called on Canada to respond with the strongest possible sanctions, as well as providing materiel support such as anti-aircraft weapons and naval defence systems. He said his organization will also be meeting with officials at the federal, provincial and municipal levels to discuss plans to resettle Ukrainian refugees who will be looking for a safe place to live. Dinara, a 24-year-old student from Russia, stood at the Montreal rally holding a small sign reading Russians against war in Ukraine. She said she wanted to show her support for her Ukrainian friends but also to protest the war on behalf of other Russians who dont dare to under Putins regime. They are not able to protest or do anything in Russia, so Im standing here for them to protest the government action, she said. Dinara, who did not want to give her last name because she worries about repercussions against family in Russia, said she believes most Russians oppose war. Were not supporting a war, were against the regime and thats the general sentiment I promise, she said. Its just that we cant express it back home. By Morgan Lowrie A group of Slavic people living in Taiwan display placards to protest against Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, in Taipei on Feb. 25, 2022. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) The US-led Post War World Is Over With Russias invasion of Ukraine underway, will Beijing move against Taiwan? Commentary Now that Russias conquest of Ukraine has begun, will communist Chinas invasion of Taiwan be next? Its not clear how Beijing will unify China, but it is already normalizing the idea by openly mentioning a Taiwan invasion in the media. Does this signal an invasion? It may, and sooner than later. And while its no secret that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) feels threatened by virtually everything, the existence of a free and prosperous Taiwan just offshore is a continuous threat to the Partys claim to legitimacy and indispensability for Chinas growth and development. Russia Doesnt Expect Much Pushback From NATO or US The bigger question is why does Russia now think it can invade Ukraine without any real pushback from the United States or NATO? That question also applies to China. Why does Beijing think it can essentially advertise a potential invasion of Taiwan without consequences from the United States? The broad answer to both questions is that the U.S.-dominated global order is rapidly fading. This decline in American power is not a question of capabilities. The United States still retains the preponderance of military and economic hegemony around the world. It is, however, a question of political will and intentions. Lets look at both situations for a moment, beginning with Russias move into Ukraine. Why is Russia invading Ukraine now? And just as important, why has the United States pushed so hard to expand NATOs influence to Ukraine? For one, the prospect of Ukraine being linked to NATO in any manner is unacceptable to Russia. Thats understandable. Russian President Vladimir Putin has no interest or benefit in having a historically anti-Russian military organization on his border. Such a development would certainly undermine Russias security posture as well as Putins support base in the Russian armed forces. For us its absolutely mandatory to ensure Ukraine never, ever becomes a member of NATO, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. That includes Putins demand that no strike weapons near Russias borders are deployed in Eastern and Central Europe, even as far west as the Baltic states. Essentially, Russias goal regarding NATO is for it to return to its pre-1997 membership and denuclearization of Europe. Finally, allowing NATO to expand up to Russias borderand that includes supplying defensive weapons to Ukraineundercuts the Russian leaders stated goal of reconstituting the Soviet Empire. The timing is likely related to a perceived weakness in U.S. President Joe Biden and division in Europe as it is to the weather. Ukraine: A Bridge Too Far for NATO As for the actions of the United States and NATO, whats the advantage of expanding further eastward? Ukraine is a bridge too far and not of great strategic value to the United States or even Western Europe. It would be politically and militarily disastrous for NATO to come to Ukraines defense. By overextending NATOs reach, it would add responsibilities that neither itnor the United States under its current leadershipis able or willing to meet. Whats more, once the United States explicitly stated that neither it nor NATO would respond militarily but only economically, the calculus in the region fundamentally changed. Moscow understood that military aggression would not be met with military pushback by the West. As a result, the credibility and unity of NATO and the United States is damaged with Russias invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. military exists to defend the country and its interest. NATO exists to defend its European members against Russian aggression. Its a lose-lose for NATO and the United States. Worse, with deep divisions among NATO membersespecially Germanyregarding the correct response to Russia, Putin is closer to realizing his goal of splitting the Western alliance. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb 24, 2022. Russias invasion of Ukraine is seen by the democratic alliance as a serious threat to the rules-based international order. (Virginia Mayo/AP Photo) These are a few of the reasons why Russia is invading. Not excusing it, but offering a rationale from Moscows perspective. Taiwan: A Bookend to Ukraine? As for Chinas intentions for Taiwan, it appears to be a bookend to Russias Ukraine strategy. Both Beijing and Moscow have broad and deep mutual geopolitical interests with regard to the United States. Both seek to eliminate American hegemony in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region. Just as Russia is actively trying to divide the United States and Europe with the Ukraine invasion, China seeks to eliminate the U.S.-Asia-Pacific security alliances. That effort may begin with eliminating Taiwans military and technological and political connections with the United States. It may well continue with the goal of destroying the American security arrangements, resulting in the end of American presence in the region. Not surprisingly, China and Russia are in close coordination in supporting each others geopolitical interests in Europe and Asia. For example, Russia has just agreed to sell China 100 million tons of coal. Meanwhile, China gave Russia diplomatic cover by refusing to blame Moscow for the Ukraine events, or even calling it an invasion. Whats more, both nations are actively trying to de-dollarize the global economy. Destroying American credibility in Europe and the Asian-Pacific region would make that much more likely to occur. Will China move on Taiwan in the coming days or weeks? It may depend on how the United States responds to Russia in the coming days. Or, it may not. As of this writing, Chinese war planes are once again penetrating Taiwans defensive airspace. It may be that Ukraine will serve as an example to Taiwan and they extend a hand of accommodation to Beijing. Whatever happens, it is becoming apparent that the U.S.-led global order is over. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. A tank moves along a field during joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus near Minsk on February 17, 2022. (MAXIM GUCHEK/BELTA/AFP via Getty Images) Top Republican Warns of What Putin Could Do to Get US Involved in Ukraine Conflict The top Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee said that after Russias invasion of Ukraine, the United States would have to get involved if NATO members were attacked. While the United States should not get involved directly, we do play a role here that is very important, said Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio). What were seeing is that Russia, under [Russian President Vladimir] Putins leadership, has invaded a validly elected democracy, an independent nation, violating international law, Turner told Fox News on Friday. Its a threat to Europe and a threat to our NATO allies and therefore to the United States. Putins attack on Thursday marks the second time Russia has invaded Ukraine in about eight years. Previously, Putin was sanctioned by the Obama administration when he annexed Crimea in 2014. The Russian leader has openly stated that his goal is to reunite the geographical territory of the Soviet Union, and we should believe him, Turner said, adding that whenever you have a leader of a nation violating international law and openly threatening the world with weapons of mass destruction, we are entering a very difficult and very dangerous time. Turner further asserted that Putin has been emboldened over what he said is the Biden administrations weakness during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as well as recent mixed messages to Ukraine itself. During a Thursday speech, President Joe Biden said he would impose new sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion. As for Putin, Biden told reporters: Hes going to test the resolve of the West to see if we stay together. And we will. White House deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh on Thursday stressed that the Biden administration valued closed coordination with allies and avoiding even the perception of hurting ordinary Russian citizens as they roll out sanctions. He declined to detail a circumstance in which Biden might approve cutting the Russians off from SWIFT or target Putin directly. When we consider which sanctions to apply, were not cowboys and cowgirls pressing a button to impose costs, Singh said. We follow a set of principles. We want the sanctions to be impactful enough to demonstrate our resolve, and to show that we have the capacity to deliver overwhelming costs to Russia. On Friday, Russian forces were seen inside sections of Kyiv as local officials stressed that Moscow likely will try to mount an attack on the capital city late Friday night or early Saturday. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Speaker of the Senate Leo Housakos speaks at a news conference in the Senate foyer on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 9, 2015. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick) Tory Senator Introduces Motion to Establish Registry Countering Foreign Interference in Canada A Conservative senator has introduced a motion to set up a registry for agents of foreign governments that he says is crucial for Canadas national security. Introduced on Feb. 24, Sen. Leo Housakos said Bill S-237 is needed to combat the growing threat of foreign interference in the country. It is critical that Canada takes concrete steps to curb the growing threat of foreign interference into our affairs & democracy. That is why, today, I introduced a motion calling for the establishment of a registry that identifies agents of foreign influence in Canada, Housakos said on Twitter. Bill S-237 aims to establish a Foreign Influence Registry and to amend the Criminal Code. The Act seeks to impose an obligation on individuals acting on behalf of a foreign principal to file a return when they undertake specific actions with respect to public office holders. These individuals could be fined or jailed should they fail to file a return as required or if they knowingly make any false statements in any return filed under the Act. The bill also seeks to increase sentencing for intimidation if an offender, acting on behalf of a foreign government, attempts to stop someone from doing anything they have a legal right to do, or to make them do anything unlawful. Housakoss bill echoes the sentiment of Bill C-282, a motion introduced by former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu who lost his seat in the B.C. riding of StevestonRichmond East in the 2021 federal election. Bill C-282, which received its first reading in the previous Parliament on April 13, 2021, is a private members bill that sought to increase transparency by compelling anyone working on behalf of a foreign entity to register as a foreign agent. We are all aware of the instances of foreign interference in Canada and the threat of further intimidation and corruption. For years, we have heard the dangers of such foreign interference, cautioned by Canadas National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Chiu said upon introducing the bill in the House of Commons. Beyond calls for action and attention, the government has suggested no other plan to counter interference operations. In a previous interview with The Epoch Times, Chiu said he has been a target of misinformation in previous election campaigns, but in 2021 it became exceptional due to an onslaught of social media posts, radio commentaries, and online articles in pro-Beijing media that portrayed him negatively. Many have attributed this to possible campaigns by pro-Beijing forces to slander him due to the bill he introduced. In August 2021, Public Safety Canada updated its threat assessment, saying that China and Russia, among other countries, routinely attempt to threaten and intimidate individuals around the world through various state entities and non-state proxies. These states may use a combination of their intelligence and security services as well as trusted agents to assist them in foreign interference activity on Canadian soil, the department said on its website. In January, Federal Court Justice Vanessa Rochester affirmed that the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO) engaged in espionage activities that are contrary to Canadas interest. Her ruling resulted from a case involving a former OCAO employee and his spouse seeking a judicial review of their applications to become permanent residents in Canada through sponsorship by their daughter, who is a naturalized citizen. Their applications were rejected after an officer from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deemed them inadmissible due to their ties to the Chinese agency. Given the evidence in the record that links OCAO to the activities described by the Officer, it was reasonable for the Officer to conclude that there were reasonable grounds to believe that OCAO had infiltrated overseas Chinese communities in Canada and other countries and engaged in covert action and intelligence gathering, Rochester said during the ruling. Consequently, I conclude that the Officer reasonably determined that such acts by OCAO fall within the definition of espionage. Then-President Donald Trump introduces Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during a homecoming campaign rally at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., on Nov. 26, 2019. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Tough on China: The Case for a Trump-DeSantis 2024 Ticket Commentary How can Republicans essentially guarantee victory in the next election? With a Donald Trump/Ron DeSantis partnership. The former running for president; the latter serving as his vice president. This is the opinion of Jason Miller, a man who worked closely with Trump during his time in office. Miller is correct. Right now, the Democratic Party looks extremely vulnerable, with even the staunchest of liberals turning their backs on the current president, Joe Biden. What would a Trump-DeSantis ticket mean for America? Also, what would a Trump-DeSantis ticket mean for U.S.-China relations? Both former President Trump and Florida Gov. DeSantis would defeat Biden in the 2024 election (should he seek reelection, of course), according to a Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll released in early February. Why should Trump and DeSantis team up? DeSantis is a young man. The 43-year-old Jacksonville native may very well be involved in the game of politics for the next three to four decades. He has plenty of time to become president. More importantly, hes a politician whos respected on both sides of the political aisle. Well spoken, educated, and capable, he has all the ingredients necessary to be a future president. A Trump-DeSantis partnership would excite the masses. Perhaps, more importantly, it would send a direct message to Beijing. A message that many Americans feel is long overdue. According to a 2021 Pew Research Center Survey, roughly nine-in-ten U.S. adults (89%) consider China a competitor or enemy, rather than a partner. A large number of respondents said they support taking a firmer approach to the bilateral relationship, whether by promoting human rights in China, getting tougher on China economically or limiting Chinese students studying abroad in the United States. Almost 50 percent of respondents said limiting Chinas power and influence should be a top foreign policy priority for the U.S., up from 32% in 2018. If America is to become great again, then the China problem must be addressed. A rising China is not compatible with a rising America. Fundamentally, the two countries are diametrically opposed; they stand for very different things, very different ideals. Communist China and the United States have very different views on how the world should look. We already know where Trump stands on China. In short, hes not a fan. What about DeSantis? Like Trump, DeSantis recognizes the dangers of a rising China. Last month, he tweeted the following: The Chinese Communist Party [CCP] steals Americas technology and is a threat to the semiconductor supply chain. He promised to invest funds to increase microchip and semiconductor manufacturing in Florida, to prevent the CCP from holding our supply chain hostage. Addressing the Dangers Biden has been heavily criticized of late. Some of the criticisms are entirely justifiable, especially when it comes to the ways in which he has dealt with China. According to Joshua Rovner, the John Goodwin Tower Professor of International Politics and National Security at Southern Methodist University, Biden doesnt appear to have any plan for countering China. This is simply unacceptable. The threat posed by the CCP is a real one. Action must be taken immediately. By 2030, Chinas economy looks likely to overtake Americas, according to British consultancy Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The writing is on the wall, and it reads as follows: Act now, or risk catastrophic failure. Prominent authors have spoken about a new cold war between China and the United States. Many argue that its occurring right now. But theres also a cold war occurring at home. After all, the very definition of a cold war is a a state of political hostility between countries characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare. Although the United States is one country, it appears to be dominated by very different people with very different visions. This is why other authors fear the eruption of a new civil war. The United States is extremely divided. The Republican Party represents the working class; the Democratic Party, meanwhile, appear to represent the Birkin class. By Birkin class, I am talking about the type of people who can afford to spend thousands of dollars on a Hermes Birkin bag, the type of people who find themselves far removed from everyday reality. By working class, I am referring to everyday people with everyday concerns; you know, the type of people who want to reduce crime rates in cities across the country; the type of people who are worried about indoctrination taking place in American schools; the type of people who are concerned about the rising cost of essential goods and services; the type of people who are worried about the threats posed by China. Although the Republican Party is not without its flaws, it certainly reflects the concerns of everyday people much more strongly than politicians on the left. A Trump-DeSantis ticket would send a strong message to America, and an even stronger message to China. To Make America Great Again, the two men should team up. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The European Union putting more financial pressure on Russia, as it attacks Ukraine. This time, the EU is going after Russian President Vladimir Putin. The conflict, pushing prices even higher, from the gas station to your local super market. We take a look at what could get even more expensive. And a landmark opioid settlement. J-and-J and three distributors finalize deals, clearing the way for billions of dollars to help fight the opioid crisis. Still to come, two Honda models being investigated for emergency braking issues. We have the details. And a giant Australian opal sells for six figures at an auction in Alaska. We have the family story that goes along with it. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer leaves his home ahead of the weekly Prime Ministers Questions session in the House of Commons in London, on Jan. 12, 2022. (Leon Neal/Getty Images) UK Labour MPs Withdraw From Anti-NATO Statement on Ukraine Crisis Eleven lawmakers from Britains main opposition Labour Party have withdrawn their names from a statement criticising NATO over the Ukraine crisis. The statement was issued on Feb. 18 by the Stop The War Coalition, a leftwing organisation that was initially launched to oppose U.S. military action in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. In the statement, the group accused the British government of aggressive posturing and said NATO should call a halt to its eastward expansion. It said it rejects the idea that NATO is a defensive alliance, as it said NATOs record in Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, and Libya over the last generation, not to mention the U.S.-British attack on Iraq, clearly proves otherwise. The group also criticised the British government for sending arms to Ukraine and deploying further troops to NATO allies in Eastern Europe, saying such moves serve no purpose other than inflaming tensions and indicating disdain for Russian concerns. The statement was signed by Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, Ian Lavery, Beth Winter, Zarah Sultana, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Apsana Begum, Mick Whitley, Tahir Ali, and Ian Mearns. But under pressure from the Labour leadership under Sir Keir Starmer, all 11 MPs have since withdrawn their names. A Labour spokesperson said: The small number of Labour MPs that signed the Stop The War statement have all now withdrawn their names. This shows Labour is under new management. With Keir Starmers leadership there will never be any confusion about whose side Labour is onBritain, NATO, freedom, and democracyand every Labour MP now understands that. However, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a far left politician, has not removed his name from the statement. (L-R) Labour MP Richard Burgon and former leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn attend a protest rally organised by the Stop The War Coalition calling on the UK government to recognise the war in Afghanistan as a catastrophe, at Parliament Square, in London, on Aug. 18, 2021. (Dan Kitwood /Getty Images) Corbyn currently sits as an independent MP, as his party whip was removed in October 2020 after he dismissed the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commissions (EHRC) investigation into allegations of antisemitism in the Labour Party as dramatically overstated. Corbyn has been a key member of the Stop The War Coalition and served as its chair from 2011 to 2015. But his successor Starmer has been critical of the organisation. Earlier this month, the Labour leader wrote in the Guardian that Stop The War activists were not benign voices for peace. At best they are naive, at worst they actively give succour to authoritarian leaders who directly threaten democracies. There is nothing progressive in showing solidarity with the aggressor when our allies need our solidarity andcruciallyour practical assistance now more than ever, he said. PA Media contributed to this report. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses for a photograph with British troops during a visit to Warszawska Brygada Pancerna military base in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 10, 2022. (Daniel Leal - Pool/Getty Images) UK On Guard Against Russian Conventional and Cyber Attacks: Minister The UK government is on guard against possible Russian attacks on British troops and is also bracing itself for cyber strikes, a defence minister has said. Addressing the House of Lords on Feb. 25, defence minister Baroness Goldie said the UK is ready to protest itself following Russias invasion of Ukraine, which started the day before. She said: While there is no indication at present that Russia intends to directly target British or NATO forces, we should expect their forces and proxies to launch cyber attacks and misinformation campaigns, seeking opportunities to embarrass the UK or NATO and to undermine our resolve. She said the government stands ready to protect our country against any threats, whether conventional or in cyberspace. However, Im afraid theres no disguising the fact that a dark new chapter has opened in our history, she added. Around 900 UK troops are stationed in Estonia under Operation Cabrit, the UKs contribution to NATOs Enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltic states, which some fear could also be targeted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. An additional battlegroup of 850 troops has also begun deploying to Estonia over the past week, and 350 Royal Marines have been sent to Poland to reinforce the light cavalry squadron stationed there. Goldie said 1,000 troops are on stand-by to deal with the exodus of people from Ukraine. In the House of Commons, defence minister James Heappey said the UK will send further armed forces to Estonia earlier than planned to reinforce the NATO ally in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine. He said the Royal Welsh battlegroup will be sent to Estonia to double up our force levels there. But Heappey emphasised that British and NATO troops should not, must not, play an active role in Ukraine. We must all be clear what the risk of miscalculation could be and how existential that could very quickly become if people miscalculate and things escalate unnecessarily, he said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Feb. 24 that the West will face consequences for standing with Ukraine against Russian aggression. He said the government will do everything possible to safeguard our own people from the repercussions for the cost of living. And, of course, we stand ready to protect our country from any threats including in cyberspace, he added. PA Media contributed to this report. Beijing (Gasgoo)- On February 25th, the board of BMW Brilliance announced that starting April 1st, 2022, Dr. Franz Decker, senior vice president of technology & manufacturing, will assume the position of president and CEO of BMW Brilliance after Dr. Johann Wieland. Dr. Franz Decker; photo credit: BMW Brilliance Starting the same day, Robert Kuessel, the automakers Dadong factory manager will take on as senior vice president of technology & manufacturing. Dr. Johann Wieland will return to Germany after his term ends. Dr. Franz Decker has been a member of BMW Group for 18 years and joined its Chinese joint venture, BMW Brilliance, in September 2016. In January 2020, Dr. Franz Decker was promoted to his current position, senior vice president of technology & manufacturing. Robert Kuessel, on the other hand, joined BMW Group in 2000, accumulating rich experience in the manufacturing, planning, and management fields in Germany, China, and the US. BMW Brilliance acknowledges Dr. Johann Wielands work as president and CEO. During the five and half years, Dr. Johann Wieland helped the company to double its production volume and performance records. Under his leadership, BMW Brilliance significantly expanded its Shenyang manufacturing base, creating over 6,500 new jobs, leading to BMW Groups annual sales hitting a record high in 2021. In 2021, BMW Group delivered a total of 846,200 vehicles in China, including BMW and MINI models, up 8.9% year on year. Ukraine Citizens Told to Make Molotov Cocktails Against Russian Tanks in Kyiv Streets Residents in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, were told to make Molotov cocktails on Friday as they hid in makeshift shelters and subway stations, awaiting a Russian assault. Make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier! the Defense Ministry wrote on Twitter, while local authorities told people in the northwestern Obolon to stay off the streets due to active hostilities that were approaching. We ask citizens to inform about the movement of [Russian] equipment! Make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier! Peaceful residents be careful! Do not leave the house! the Defense Ministry wrote on Twitter, according to a translation. Some residents took refuge in subway stations being used as air-raid shelters, or rushed to basements of apartments blocks or other buildings when air-raid warnings sounded. It comes as Russian forces were seen positioned in areas around Kyiv, according to video footage uploaded online. Military equipment was apparently seen in Obolon, located near the capital of 3 million, and alleged Russian troops were seen in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. The Epoch Times could not independently verify whether they were Russian troops. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with Russias government to hold talks, and with Western powers to act faster to cut off Russias economy and provide Ukraine military help. When bombs fall on Kyiv, it happens in Europe, not just in Ukraine, he said. When missiles kill our people, they kill all Europeans. Smoke and flame rise near a military building after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo) Right Sector militias gather outside the city hall prior to deploying on defensive positions in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Pierre Crom/Getty Images) Zelenskys whereabouts were kept secret after he told European leaders that he was Russias No. 1 target. He also offered to negotiate on one of Putins key demands: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining NATO. The Kremlin responded that Russia was ready to send a delegation to Belarus to discuss that, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested it was too late, saying Zelensky should have agreed to talks earlier on. Lavrov, in statements to CNN, claimed that nobody is going to attack the people of Ukraine, while saying that the military seeks no strikes on civilian infrastructure. Video footage uploaded in various parts of Ukraine, however, showed the apparent aftermath of military strikes on residential buildings. I will stress: read what Putin said. No strikes on civilian infrastructure, no strikes on the personnel of the Ukrainian army, on their dormitories, or other places not connected to the military facilities. The statistics that we have confirm this, the Kremlin top diplomat told the network. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ukraine Claims It Has Killed Nearly 3,000 Russian Troops About 2,800 Russian soldiers have been killed in the first 36 hours of Russias invasion, Ukraines Ministry of Defense claimed Friday. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said Friday that Russian troops also lost some 500 armored vehicles, 10 aircraft, and seven helicopters. If confirmed, it would mean that Russia has suffered more losses in fewer than 48 hours than the United States soldiers suffered during the 20-year-long invasion of Afghanistan. Russia has not released any casualty figures. The United Nations reported 25 civilians had been killed and 102 wounded, figures that were likely to be a significant under-estimate. None of the death or injury tolls could be independently verified. A senior Pentagon official who spoke on background with reporters Friday said the United States could not confirm the number of Russian soldiers killed. The wreckage of a vehicle lies on a road after a skirmish between Ukrainian forces and a Russian raiding party in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Feb. 25, 2022. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images) Smoke and flame rise near a military building after an apparent Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo) We cannot quantify what casualties either side has endured, other than to say that we certainly have seen reports of casualties in Ukraine, and we have no reason to dispute that. But in terms of quantifying them, I simply cant do that. And I believe well, well be able to do that, the senior defense official told reporters on Friday. Earlier Friday, Ukraines leadership made several urgent pleas for help, although Ukraine is not a member of NATO. This morning, we are defending our country alone. Just like yesterday, the most powerful country in the world looked on from a distance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, apparently referring to the Biden administration. Russia was hit with sanctions yesterday, but these are not enough to get these foreign troops off our soil. Only through solidarity and determination can this be achieved. An adviser to Zelenskiy said Ukraine was prepared for talks with Russia, including on staying neutral, one of Moscows pre-war demands. The Kremlin said it had offered talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk, but that Ukraine had proposed Warsaw instead and there was now a pause in contacts. Russia is one of the worlds biggest energy producers and Europes biggest gas supplier, and both it and Ukraine are among the top exporters of grain. The war and sanctions are expected to disrupt economies around the world. Reuters contributed to this report. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a news briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters) Ukraine Orders General Mobilization, Announces 137 Dead Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree ordering a general mobilization of the population after Russia started attacking the country in the early hours of Thursday. The decree, on the presidential website, said the mobilization to ensure the defence of the state would be carried out within 90 days of the decree coming into force. The mobilization order applies to the territories of Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Chernihiv regions, and the city of Kyiv. The country is also prohibiting Ukrainian males aged 1860 from leaving the country, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine announced. The head of Lviv regional customs, Daniil Menshikov, in an urgent message on Facebook, said the prohibition is due to the military state. Please do not create panic and do not try to cross the border on your own! Victory is upon us! Glory to Ukraine! he added. 137 Killed: Zelensky Zelensky said early Friday local time in a video address that 137 people had been killed and 316 were wounded, ever since Russias invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday. Among the deaths were 10 Ukrainian military officers, and border guards on the Zmiinyi Island in the Odesa region, which was taken over by Russians. Ukraines defence ministry has reported 800 casualties among Russian forces so far. It is not immediately clear whether the casualties refer entirely to deaths. The ministry reported that it has destroyed at least 30 tanks, seven aircraft, and six helicopters from Russia. Meanwhile, the United Nations confirmed that more than 100,000 people have been internally displaced in Ukraine. An adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office said Russian forces had captured the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant, just 90 km (60 miles) north of Kyiv. The plant is along the shortest route from the Ukrainian capital to Belarus, where Moscow has staged troops. Russias Defense Ministry announced it has destroyed scores of Ukrainian air bases, military facilities, and drones. Click here for live updates Night view of Kyiv as Kyivs mayor declared a curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Pierre Crom/Getty Images) The damage comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a Special Military Operation in Ukraine early Thursday, soon after which explosions were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa as well as several other cities across Ukraine. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new sanctions against Russian banks, oligarchs, and state companies. This is a premeditated attack, he said, adding, Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences. Jack Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report. Ukrainian Military Forces servicemen of the 92nd mechanized brigade use tanks, self-propelled guns and other armored vehicles to conduct live-fire exercises near the town of Chuguev, in Kharkiv region, on Feb. 10, 2022. (Sergey BOBOK / AFP via Getty Images) Ukrainian Military Blew Up Bridge Near Kyiv to Stop Russian Troop Advancement: Reports The Ukrainian military allegedly blew up multiple bridges outside of the capital city of Kyiv to stop Russian troops from advancing from Ivankiv, according to multiple reports. Ukraines Ministry of Interior Affairs said that Ukrainian armed forces blew up a bridge in Irpin, around 15 miles west of Kyiv, to prevent Russian forces from approaching the capital, NBC reported. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry also confirmed that troops exploded the bridge at Ivankiv, about 30 miles north of Kyiv, to prevent a Russian column of forces from advancing towards the capital according to CNN. The ministry said the Russian advance was stopped, CNN reports. Ukrinform reports that the Presidents Office confirmed reports that a column of Russian tanks broke through near Ivankiv and was heading to Kyiv from Vyshgorod. Tanks are coming. We are fighting. Fights are coming, the Presidents office said, according to Ukrinform. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine told Ukrinform that the convoy of tanks had been stopped after the Ukrainian military blew up the bridge near Kyiv. The bridge was blown up, we stopped them, the General Staff said. Images shared on social media taken by Ukrainian media appear to show a bridge blown up. The Epoch Times has been unable to verify the images. Reports regarding the bridge come as explosions rocked Kyiv overnight, having been reported in the city around 3 a.m. Friday local time. Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba announced around 6 a.m. that the city endured horrific Russian rocket strikes. Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany. Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Severe [sic] all ties. Kick Russia out of everywhete [sic], he wrote. Olexander Scherba, a Ukrainian diplomat who was the countrys ambassador to Austria 20142021, said on Twitter that at least two heavy explosions occurred in Kyiv and that Putins drone (or missile) fell on an apartment building in the city which had set it on fire. He later posted a video of an explosion in the sky, captioned: Kyiv now A drone or plane hit? A missile intercepted? Firefighters work on a fire on a building after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuguiv on Feb. 24, 2022, as Russian armed forces are trying to invade Ukraine from several directions. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images) Ukrainian troops patrol in the town of Novoluhanske, eastern Ukraine, on Feb. 19, 2022. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images) The countrys adviser to the Interior, minister Anton Gerashchenko, said on Telegram attributed the blasts to the downing of a Russian plane or drone which later crashed in the Darnitsky district. It was unclear whether the aircraft was manned. On Friday, Scherba said that Russian special-ops groups were in Kyiv and that fighting was underway. Multiple other videos shared on social media appeared to show Russian troops inside the capital city while reports said that fighting was taking place on the streets in one district of Kyiv. Russia began invading Ukraine early on Thursday with a series of missile strikes that mainly targeted government and military installations, on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, who announced a special military operation. At least 137 people had been killed and 316 were wounded since Russia launched its assault on the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said about two hours prior to the reported explosions in Kyiv. On Thursday, Zelensky said in a speech that Ukraine has been left alone to defend itself against the Russian invasion and that Russia attacked the entire territory of our state. And today our defenders have done a lot, Zelensky said. They defended almost the entire territory of Ukraine, which suffered direct blows. They regain the one [sic] that the enemy managed to occupy. No matter how many conversations I had with the leaders of different countries today, I heard a few things. The first is that we are supported. And I am grateful to each state that helps Ukraine concretely, not just in words, Zelensky said. But there is anotherwe are left alone in defense of our state. Who is ready to fight with us? HonestlyI do not see such. Who is ready to guarantee Ukraines accession to NATO? Honestly, everyone is afraid, the president said. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Thursday amid Russias military invasion, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a readout of the call. The two spoke about Russias unfounded and unprovoked war against Ukraine, according to Kirby. Secretary Austin made clear that the United States support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering and that the United States will continue to provide defensive assistance to Ukraine, Kirby said. Secretary Austin and Minister Reznikov committed to continuing their close coordination during this conflict that Russia alone has created. Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report. The Johnson & Johnson logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S. on May 29, 2019. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters) Vaccine Maker Johnson & Johnson Settles Huge Lawsuit Over Role in Opioid Crisis Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson on Friday agreed to a $26 billion settlement to thousands of claims by local and state governments of the alleged role that it and several others played in the U.S. opioid crisis. Distributors McKesson Corp, AmerisourceBergen Corp, and Cardinal Health Inc. joined in on the settlement, agreeing to pay $21 billion over 18 years. Johnson & Johnson said it would pay $5 billion over nine years. Billions of dollars are now going to flow to treatment, recovery, education, and abating this public health crisis, Paul Geller, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the Reuters news agency on Friday. Because of the money, there will be people alive next year who otherwise would have died, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein told the outlet. The deal aims to settle about 3,000 lawsuits that were filed by the state and local governments who had sought to hold the companies responsible for contributing to the opioid epidemic that has left likely hundreds of thousands of people dead in recent decades. Johnson & Johnson, which makes commonly used vaccines, also agreed to not resume selling prescription opioid drugs. The companies said they are not admitting wrongdoing and are continuing to defend themselves against claims that they helped cause the opioid crisis that was brought by entities that are not involved in the settlements. In a joint statement, the distributors called the implementation of the settlement a key milestone toward achieving broad resolution of governmental opioid claims and delivering meaningful relief to communities across the United States. All four companies continue to face claims in several other states, including Alabama, Oklahoma, Washington, and West Virginia. In a separate deal that also is included in the $26 billion, the four companies reached a $590 million settlement with the nations federally recognized Native American tribes. About $2 billion is being set aside for fees and expenses for the lawyers who have spent years working on the case. About 841,000 people have died since 1999 from a drug overdose, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its website. In recent years, the drug responsible for the most overdose deaths is fentanyl, an opioid. A report issued by the Congressional Research Service last year found that China has been a major source of U.S.-bound fentanyl and, more recently, precursors and production equipment. Other pharmaceutical manufacturers like Purdue Pharma and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. have also faced lawsuits for their alleged roles in the opioid crisis. The Epoch Times has contacted Johnson & Johnson for comment. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Who Is Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Bidens Supreme Court Nominee? News Analysis If shes confirmed by the U.S. Senate and becomes the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Courtand if her judicial track record so far is any guideKetanji Brown Jackson will probably be a reliable member of the high courts three-member liberal bloc. Jacksons arrival would maintain the current ideological alignment of the court, which is now made up of six conservativesthree of whom were appointed by then-President Donald Trumpand three liberals. Born Ketanji Onyika Brown, Jackson turns 52 on Sept. 14. She would replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, who will be 84 on Aug. 15. Jackson previously clerked at the Supreme Court for Breyer, who has sung her praises. Shes related by marriage to former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who ran for vice president in 2012 opposing the incumbent vice president at the time, current President Joe Biden. After hearing of the nomination, Ryan said wrote on Twitter that our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanjis intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal. Born in Washington, Jackson moved with her family to Florida when she was young. Her father was chief attorney for the Miami-Dade County School Board; her mother was principal at a public magnet school. She attended the same high school as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, where she was student body president and excelled in debate. She graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She was a reporter and researcher at Time magazine, worked at four elite law firms, and served in three federal judicial clerkships, as well as an attorney and commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission as it moved to reduce sentences for drug crimes. In an experience thats not typical for Supreme Court justices, Jackson worked for two years as a public defender, Amy Howe at SCOTUSblog reported. When The Washington Post reviewed cases that Jackson had handled as a federal defender, it reported that she won uncommon victories against the government that shortened or erased lengthy prison terms. Her experience as a public defender is a selling point for Democrats. Before Biden became president, only about 1 percent of federal appellate judges had previously done the kind of work Jackson has done, Joel Mathis at The Week reported. Jackson was one of the attorneys on a 2001 friend-of-the-court brief arguing in favor of a Massachusetts law that formed a floating buffer zone around pedestrians and automobiles nearing abortion clinics. A federal appeals court allowed the law to stand. Jackson is currently a judge on the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which has served as a kind of farm team for the high court. Eight other judges from the D.C. Circuit have gone on to the Supreme Court, among them the late Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The current Supreme Court justices to come from that court are Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, and Brett Kavanaugh, according to Ballotpedia. Biden nominated Jackson to the D.C. appellate court on April 19, 2021, and the U.S. Senate confirmed her on June 14, 2021, with a 5344 vote. She replaced Merrick Garland, who went on to become Bidens attorney general. Before that, Jackson was nominated by then-President Barack Obama to be a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was confirmed by senators on a voice vote, and served in that post from March 2013 until June 2021. While serving as a district court judge, Jackson found that parts of three of then-President Donald Trumps executive orders were in conflict with federal employees rights to collective bargaining. Her decision was unanimously reversed by the D.C. Circuit. In 2019, Jackson rejected Trump White House arguments that executive privilege shielded White House Counsel Don McGahn from a congressional subpoena in connection with special counsel Robert Muellers investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. Jackson wrote in a court opinion that Presidents are not kings and that for a presidents senior aides, absolute immunity from compelled congressional process simply does not exist. Trumps assertion that he could prevent top advisers from testifying is a proposition that cannot be squared with core constitutional values, and for this reason alone, it cannot be sustained, she added. Later, congressional investigators and McGahns attorneys cut a deal, and he agreed to be questioned in a closed-door session, according to a media outlets analysis. In the same court in 2019, Jackson temporarily prevented the Trump administration from moving forward with plans to enlarge a program that expedited the deportation of illegal aliens. Previously, the program had primarily been used to speed up removals of those who were detained shortly after illegally entering the country from Mexico. It bothered Jackson that the government seemed to not factor in how the expanded program would affect illegal immigrants and their families who had been residing in the country for as long as two years. There is no question in this Courts mind that an agency cannot possibly conduct reasoned, non-arbitrary decision making concerning policies that might impact real people and not take such real-life circumstances into account, Jackson wrote. The D.C. appeals court that she would later be elevated to overturned her decision, finding that the Homeland Security secretary had the authority to ramp up the program. Also in 2019, Jackson sided with the Trump administration, turning away environmentalists arguments that the administration, in its zeal to expand the border wall with Mexico, had failed to follow environmental laws before moving forward with construction. Soon after arriving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Jackson ruled in favor of government employee unions who were fighting a Trump-era regulation that gave government agencies the authority to make changes in the workplace. Its unclear when the Senate will take up Jacksons nomination. Breyer, who was appointed by then-President Bill Clinton in 1994, has said that hell retire at the end of the courts current term, which is expected to end in May or June. Why It Is Ethical to Resist the Biosecurity Surveillance State Commentary Peter Leithart over at the Theopolis Institute invited me to contribute to this Conversation, which begins with a lead article from theologian Doug Farrow, Whether There is a Moral Obligation to Disobey the Coercive Mandates, followed by several responses, including mine. With permission, Im reprinting here my piece, The Rising Biosecurity Surveillance Regime. Doug Farrow has written, in the form of a Medieval disputatio, a cogent and persuasive defense of civil disobedience in response to vaccine mandates and other unjustifiable COVID measures. For those familiar with my work over the past year, my full endorsement of his position will come as no surprise. Until recently, I had spent my entire 15-year career as a professor and director of the Medical Ethics Program at the University of CaliforniaIrvine School of Medicine. Last August, I challenged the University of Californias vaccine mandate in federal court on behalf of individuals, like me, who had infection-induced (natural) immunity. A few months later, and after twice rejecting my medical exemption request, the University fired me for alleged noncompliance with their vaccine mandate. It was clear then from more than 150 studies, and it is even more apparent today, that natural immunity to COVID is superior to vaccine-induced immunity, both in terms of efficacy and longevity. Indeed, during the most recent wave, efficacy against Omicron infection of the two-dose mRNA vaccines dropped to zero; a third-dose booster raised thatalbeit only temporarilyto 37 percent, still well below the 50 percent threshold required by the FDA for COVID vaccine approval. By contrast, natural immunity only saw a modest drop in efficacy against Omicron and remains well over the 50 percent threshold. Although vaccine efficacy against severe symptoms initially appeared promising, with time and new variants, it is now clear that these vaccines have failed to control the pandemic. Indeed, in some highly vaccinated regions, for example, the UK, Israel, and Ontario, we are now seeing negative vaccine efficacythat is, higher rates (not just total numbers) of infection among the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. The reasons for thiswhether antibody-dependent enhancement or original antigenic sinremain unclear, but the findings are now evident. Even prior to Omicron, we knew that none of the COVID vaccines provided sterilizing immunity, i.e., they did not prevent infection and transmission (in contrast, for example, to the measles vaccine). This empirical finding obviated the common good argument that one has a duty to get vaccinated for the sake of protecting others. Our one-size-fits-all mandates also failed to consider the most basic epidemiological facts about COVID, for example, that morbidity and mortality risks of the coronavirus to a healthy child or adolescent were a thousand-fold less than the risks to an elderly person. Our public health authorities over-promised and under-delivered with the vaccines, squandering public trust in the process. This came in the wake of other failed pandemic policies of 2020, including the failure of masks, social distancing, disinfecting surfaces, and most disastrously, harmful lockdown policies, to stop the spread of the virus. Despite all these aggressive mitigation measures, estimates suggest that more than 70 percent of all Americansvaccinated and unvaccinated includedhave nevertheless been infected with COVID. As I have been arguing for some time now, natural immunity remains our primary way out of the pandemic. Yet our public health authorities continue to deploy the dubious vaccinated versus unvaccinated distinction, rather than the more empirically defensible more immune versus less immune distinction. Medical Ethics Many of our pandemic policies cast aside foundational principles of medical ethics. During the initial lockdowns in 2020, hospitals sat empty for weeks, and hospital staff were sent home as we waited for an influx of COVID patients that didnt arrive until months later. Health care systems, spurred by perverse payment incentives from CMS, focused narrowly on a single disease: this biased our COVID hospitalization and death counts and effectively abandoned patients with other medical needs. The disastrous fruits of this myopia include an unprecedented 40 percent increase in all-cause mortality among working-age adults (18 to 64) last year, most of which wasnt attributable to COVID deaths. To put this number in context, actuaries tell us that a 10 percent rise in all-cause mortality represents a once-in-200-year catastrophe. The ethical principle of free and informed medical consentguaranteed by the Nuremberg Code, the Helsinki Declaration, the Belmont Report, and the Federal Common Rulewas abandoned when vaccine mandates required experimental EUA vaccines. Transparency, a central principle of public health ethics, was likewise abandoned. Along with several colleagues, I had to file a FOIA request to obtain the Pfizer vaccine clinical trial data from the FDA: the agency wanted 75 years to release data they reviewed in only 108 days (the judge has ordered the data release in 8 months). Thousands like me have lost our jobs for declining a novel injection whose safety and efficacy data remains hidden from independent scrutiny. The scientific method suffered under a repressive academic and social climate of censorship and the silencing of competing perspectives. This projected the false appearance of a scientific consensusa consensus often strongly influenced by economic and political interests. Social Isolation Versus Social Solidarity Our ruling class saw in COVID an opportunity to revolutionize how we relate to one another and how we exist in the world. Recall how the phrase the new normal emerged almost immediately in the earliest days of the pandemic. This public health crisis offered the ideal pretext for expanding exceptional state powers beyond all previous limits. Our government and public health authorities have still not defined the thresholds for what counts as a public health emergencythe supposed legal justification for burdensome COVID countermeasures (a military, not a medical, term), serious infringements on civil liberties, and censorship of dissenting voices. The assumption of emergency powers by both elected officials and unelected bureaucrats continues indefinitely, with little critical scrutiny and no appropriate checks and balances. The lockdowns of the past two years represented the first time in the history of pandemics that we quarantined healthy populations. Those who benefitted economically from lockdownsAmazon, for example, and professionals in the laptop class who could easily work from homelobbied for these untested measures. The working class bore the brunt of the lockdown burdens and saw massive transfers of their wealth upwards, mostly into the pockets of a few ultra-rich tech elites. Governments initiated these unproven and unprecedented measures with virtually no public debate and without due deliberation about the overall consequences. While the lockdowns failed to slow the spread of COVID, they did untold damage. The carnage included what Ive called The Other Pandemic: the lockdown mental health crisis, which gave us skyrocketing rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, addictions, and suicideespecially pronounced among the young. Prior to COVID, we had an opioid crisis, with 44,000 deaths per year in the United States from overdose in 2018; last year that number was 100,000. It turns out that people who are afraid, who are locked down, who are isolated for months behind computer screens are easier to control. A society grounded on social distancing is a contradictionit is a kind of anti-society. Paradoxically, under the stay-at-home orders, the highest form of civic participation was framed as nonparticipation. The specter of asymptomatic viral spreadwhich never had any scientific basisturned every fellow citizen into a potential threat to ones existence. It would be hard to devise a better method to destroy the fabric of society and to divide us. Biosecurity and Totalitarianism With vaccine mandates and passports, we are seeing the emergence of a new biosecurity surveillance regime designed and implemented by unelected technocrats. The unholy welding of digital technologies, public health, and police power is leading to unprecedented invasions on our privacy and intrusive methods of monitoring and authoritarian control. In this framework, citizens are no longer viewed as persons with inherent dignity, but as fungible elements of an undifferentiated mass, to be shaped by supposedly benevolent health and safety experts. I predict that if these trends do not meet more robust resistance in 2022, this new paradigm of governance will demand increasingly intrusive and burdensome interventions into the lives, and bodies, of individuals. The marriage of global public health with novel digital technologies of surveillance, personal data extraction, information flow, and social control now makes possible novel forms of domination unimaginable in the totalitarian regimes of the past. Whether we agree or disagree with this or that pandemic policy, this broader development should concern each of us. Farrow describes this perceptively when he sketches the systemic change otherwise unpalatable to the people introduced during the pandemic: That change is in the direction of what the World Economic Forum calls stakeholder capitalism, backed by biodigital convergence, universal surveillance, and technological control of a wide range of human activities, from reproduction to religion. Information exchange, like monetary exchange, is to be monitored and controlled. A social credit system is being devised in which conformity will be rewarded by inclusion and lack of conformity punished by exclusion. What is already operative in China, in other words, is advancing very rapidly in the West. To see and understand the emergence of this new normal, consider as instructive cautionary tales the prior regimes in which the pretext of public safety during an emergency paved the way for totalitarian systems. Anyone who draws a historical analogy to the Nazis is understandably met with the charge of alarmist hyperbole, so let me be clear: I am comparing neither the current nor the previous administrations to Hitlers totalitarian regime. Still, it remains a sobering, instructive, and undeniable fact that Nazi Germany was governed for virtually the entirety of its existence under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which allowed for the suspension of German law in times of emergency. Recall also the name of the group that carried out the infamous Reign of Terror during the French Revolution: the Committee of Public Safety. Vaccine passports are merely an early, though significant, step for the emerging biosecurity surveillance regime. As Farrow rightly observes, We are not dealing with a [pandemic] exit strategy at all, but rather with an entrance strategy for the new Lords of the World. Its not too early for firm resistance; indeed, with virtually no pushback, we have uncritically allowed unjust and harmful measures to advance while meeting no resistance. Our general goodwill and civic-mindedness are nullified by misplaced trust and self-protective timidity. Cowardice masquerades as civility. Consider the remarks of the great Soviet dissident, Alexander Solzhenitsyn: If only we had stood together against the common threat, we could easily have defeated it. So, why didnt we? We didnt love freedom enough. We hurried to submit. We submitted with pleasure! We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward. The hour is later than we think; twilight is near. Continued compliance with manifestly unjust and often absurd mandates will not return us to a normal functioning society. Every good-faith or selfless act of compliance on the part of citizens has only resulted in more illogical pandemic countermeasures that further erode our civil liberties, harm our overall health, and undermine human flourishing. There is a human right not enshrined in any constitution: the right to the truth. I would suggest that no right has been more systematically trammeled over the last two years than this one. Why, I ask, do our public health authorities acknowledge the truth only after the damage from the lie has already been doneonly, for example, after tens of thousands have lost their jobs due to coercive vaccine mandates that have not advanced public health? Who will hold our leaders accountable for this malfeasance? Doug Farrow knows the score, and he is correct: Nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience now constitute the right and just path forward. At the risk of ending on an apocalyptic note, I join Farrow in maintaining that firm resistance to the point of civil disobedience is not only permissible under the circumstances, but indeed required if we are to prevent this twilight from fading into night. This article was originally published on the authors Substack and reposted from the Brownstone Institute. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Wisconsin Restaurant Worker Says He Was Shot in the Face by Sisters Over Hamburger A Wisconsin restaurant worker has alleged that he was shot in the face during a dispute over a $3 hamburger order, saying he thought he was going to die. I do remember just laying on the ground and just bleeding out, said the server, Anthony Rodriguez, during interviews with local media this week. Rodriguez, who works at a George Webb location in Wauwatosa, said he believed he was going to die after he was struck by a bullet during a Jan. 30 incident. I was in so much shock I dont remember being in much pain, but I remember kind of internally freaking out and being very scared just telling myself, Wow, Im probably gonna die here,' Rodriguez said. Authorities previously identified two sisters, Breanta and Bryanna Johnson, as the suspects in the case. They said they werent going to pay, and I said, OK, Im going to take your food since youre not paying for it, Rodriguez told Fox6, adding that the hamburger cost $3. So I took it and threw it away. The server said that he was punched and slammed to the ground before a shot was fired at his head. The bullet went through my upper lip and took out my upper teeth and cracked my bottom teeth. Those will have to be replaced. Theres still big fragments in my throat from the bullet, Rodriguez said, adding that he hopes the suspects get the judgment that they deserve because it was brutal what they did. The Johnsons have since been charged with attempted homicide and are being held in jail on $100,000 bail. An airplane lifts off as viewed with the Theme Building in the foreground of Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, on Nov. 23, 2021. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Woman Was Jailed 13 Days on Warrant for Woman With Same Name, Lawsuit Alleges By Gregory Yee From Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELESA woman who alleges she was wrongfully arrested and jailed for 13 days last year on a warrant out of Texas for a woman who shares her name issuing police and the city of Los Angeles. According to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, Bethany K. Farber was waiting for a flight to Puerto Escondido, Mexico, on April 16 at Los Angeles International Airport when Transportation Security Administration agents detained her. The agents said that she had an arrest warrant for identity theft out of Texas and that she couldnt board her flight. Farber told the agents she didnt have a criminal record and had never been to Texas, but the agents continued to hold her in a room without food or water for more than two hours until airport police arrested her, according to the suit. Officers took her to Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, where Los Angeles police officers booked her, the lawsuit alleges. According to the suit, she was held 13 days. This was an experience that no one should go through, especially a law-abiding citizen, Farber said in a statement. You know this is why we have our [constitutional] amendments in place to protect us. We shouldnt be fearing law enforcement. The Los Angeles Police Department does not comment on pending litigation, said Sgt. Hector Guzman, a police spokesman. Authorities never asked Farber for her drivers license, date of birth, Social Security number or other identifying information, according to the suit, and failed to do the bare minimum to confirm her identity. Farber and this other woman had nothing in common besides their name, the lawsuit states. She is a young woman with long, blonde hair, while the other woman is older with short brown hair. If authorities had compared pictures of Farber and the woman with the Texas arrest warrant, they would have realized she should never have been arrested, the suit alleges. Farbers grandmother suffered a stress-induced stroke after finding out Farber had been jailed, according to the lawsuit, and died shortly after Farber was released from custody. Before Farbers arrest, her grandmother was a healthy and lively ninety year old woman, according to the suit. The two were very close, and Farber suffered extreme emotional distress, anxiety, and mental anguish when she found out her grandmother had a stroke. While she was jailed, the lawsuit alleges, Farber was stripped of her privacy, forced to share toilet paper and soap, had to use hot food to warm herself, and saw human feces thrown and smeared on walls. She suffered severe stress, anxiety, emotional injury and mental anguish due to her arrest and incarceration, the lawsuit stated. Farber believes that authorities were told by courts in Texas that theyd arrested the wrong person, but they continued to hold her in custody for three more days, according to the suit. The lawsuit alleges authorities violated her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure, and her 14th Amendment right to equal protection under the law. The LAPD, the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Airport Police and 100 unnamed individuals are listed as defendants. 2022 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Baolong Automotive Europe today announced having signed the Incentive Agreement with the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This milestone is a major move for Baolong Automotive on its mission to gain higher market share in Europe. Photo credit: Baolong We are encouraged by the Hungarian Incentive Program and the Individual Hungarian Government Decision to establish our new European Manufacturing Platform in Szigetszentmiklos (Hungary), says Zuqiu (Charles) Zhang, CEO at Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corporation. This investment is a consistent continuation of Baolongs European Growth Strategy after the foundation of the Joint Venture BH SENS and the acquisition of PEX Automotive Systems Kft. in 2018. We will turn the Szigetszentmiklos site into our European hub of our automotive sensor division. The greenfield investment aims to establish a production site of 7,500 sqm, office space of 2,100 sqm and storage area of 2,500 sqm. Additional expansion potential of about 3.750 sqm production space and 1.350 sqm office area is supporting the capacity requirements of Baolongs European Customers. The new facility is scheduled to be ready in early 2023. The new plant represents also an important milestone in Baolong Automotive CO2 Reduction Program. The installed photovoltaic panels will provide the electric power covering up to 50% of the current power consumption needs, and this ratio can be further scaled. The Baolong Group will establish the European base of its electro mobility strategy in Hungary, says Peter Szijjarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary. With the construction of the Szigetszentmiklos plant, the manufacturing of products related to the electrical and intelligent automotive industry in Europe will begin here. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NEW CANAAN A recent application for a 102-unit apartment complex on the corner of Weed and Elm Street has prompted residents to ask officials why the town does not currently have a moratorium for development under 8-30g affordable housing statutes, as it has in the past. Since Connecticut General Statute 8-30g allows developers to bypass local zoning regulations, towns such as New Canaan apply to the state for moratoriums after an affordable housing project is completed, since the town does not currently have 10% of its housing inventory deemed affordable. Because of a delay in the towns latest affordable housing development due to circumstances that officials say were out of the towns control, that moratorium was lapsed and the town has yet to file for an extension. The Canaan Parish project was delayed around a year by Connecticut state budget issues and COVID/supply chain issues, Housing Authority Chairman Scott Hobbs said Friday. Officials anticipated that the towns moratorium, received after building affordable housing at Millport Apartments, would remain in place through the construction and eventual completion of the first building of the new Canaan Parish last year. However, the moratorium received after the building of the Millport Apartments expired in June 2021, while the new building was not completed until the end of October. The search for someone to file a new moratorium application was undertaken while public notices alerted developers so they knew the timetable for these items, Hobbs said. Town officials asked State Sen. Will Haskell to step in and intervene with the state, since COVID-19 and supply chain issues were allegedly blamed for slowing the building, he said Thursday. Calling affordable housing a political third rail, the senator said that state officials told him they did not have the authority to grant such an extension and there was no leeway in the law. Since the state-level efforts failed, another moratorium application is being worked on now, Hobbs said. Since there are so few moratoriums awarded, nobody specializes in this, and it took the town a while to find someone who was interested. Though Haskell said he thinks affordable housing is important, the 8-30g statute, first passed into law in 1989, is not perfect and the state should reform the laws. After residents raised concerns about the development, local and state officials held a press conference to address the issue on Feb. 17. State Rep. Tom ODea said he was also asked to intervene with the state, so that we wouldnt have a lapse, since the circumstances for construction delays are not the towns fault. Sen. Ryan Fazio is seeking changes to the8-30g law, including a desire to include all types of affordable housing, not just types of affordable housing that meet all the complex labyrinth of rules that were created by the state, he said at the briefing in front of Canaan Parish while construction of the new affordable housing units was underway. Fazio wants housing to be deemed affordable regardless of the year it was built and whether it was built for town employees or as accessory dwelling units. What should matter is that were reaching our goals, not that we are acquiescing to all the complex regulations that were set, he said First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said it is unrealistic for the town to meet the states affordable housing goal of 10% of the towns housing units, which he estimated would be over 700 affordable units. According to the Connecticut Data Collaboration website, New Canaan has 7,625 total housing units. Once the 40 affordable units expected to be completed in November are done, the towns affordable housing inventory would sit at 213 units, or 2.8% of total housing units. That data may not include the market-rate housing units of the nearly 100-unit development, the Vue, Hobbs said Friday. The new construction proposed by developer Arnold Karp, who built the nearby Vue, would have 31 affordable housing units consistent with state statutes, but is not viewed favorably by residents. As of Friday afternoon, there were 2,419 signatures on a change.org petition and $51,520 raised via a GoFundMe page in an effort by residents to push back against the development. The town has two affordable housing developments, both updated in recent years. Residents have moved into the first of two new Canaan Parish affordable housing buildings at 186 Lakeview Ave. with another multi-story structure being constructed to add 40 more due to be complete in November. Nearby, Millport Apartments now houses 113 affordable units, across from the pond on Millport Avenue. If the only addition to the total housing number were the development on Weed Street, that inventory total would rise to 244 affordable housing units out of a total of 7,767 housing units in New Canaan, or 3.1%. ODea urged residents at the presser that he wouldnt direct the anger at the builders, but towars the state. Though he supports affordable housing, it needs to be accomplished in a thoughtful manner, he said. NORWALK Mayor Harry Rilling says the city is ready to provide support in the aftermath of Russias invasion of Ukraine, while a local college professor warns of the wars consequences. The Associated Press reported the three-pronged invasion began in the predawn hours Thursday with Russian troops and planes hitting cities with airstrikes or shelling. Civilians piled into trains and cars to flee and more than 40 people were killed. President Joe Biden vowed Thursday afternoon to place economic sanctions on Russia and said the country was ready to protect every inch of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Norwalk Community College Professor Steven Berizzi, who teaches history and political science, said the implication of Russias invasion in Ukraine is clear. The war is already a profound tragedy for the Ukrainian people, whose aspirations for peace in a democratic nation are in great peril, many lives are likely to be lost, and the war will almost certainly lead to a far-reaching humanitarian crisis for tens of thousands of refugees seeking safety in nearby countries, Berizzi said. Berizzi has lectured on U.S. and Soviet relations during the period between 1933 and 1947 for the colleges 14th History Symposium in 2017 whose theme was The Russian Revolution from Origin to Demise. Additionally, Berizzi said the economic sanctions on Russia that Biden discussed would not be enough to ward off the countys violence. The economic sanctions imposed on Russia by a broad coalition of allies and partners, while severe and appropriate, would not have deterred Russian aggression. The reason is grounded in Russia's reading of history, Berizzi said. They believe Ukraine is part of their once and future empire, and they are willing to go to war, which will involve killing Ukrainians, including non-combatants, even children and the elderly, to pursue their claims. That ignores the most Ukrainians' preference for independence and democracy, but history, even when it is falsified, can be a very powerful force. Norwalks mayor condemned Russias actions and said the city is ready to provide support where needed. Russias attack on the Ukraine is a despicable act of war and is totally unprovoked. Despite promises by Putin and the Russian ambassador to the U.S., that there were no plans to attack, they did just that, Rilling said. The NATO allies must implement immediate and severe sanctions that will affect the Russian economy to send a strong statement we are aligned with the Ukrainian people. While there is no Ukrainian society or church in Norwalk, surrounding municipalities have organizations where Ukrainians in the area congregate, including the Ukrainian American Club in Southport and various Ukrainian Christian churches in the region, including in Bridgeport and Stamford. My office stands ready to communicate with our federal delegates to provide support to our Ukrainian community in gathering updates on relatives in the war zone, Rilling said. Congregation Beth-El, a Jewish congregation on East Avenue, held a special Prayer for Peace in Ukraine vigil Thursday afternoon. The ceremony was described as global prayers for the well-being and safety of our brothers and sisters and all those in Ukraine under attack, according to a congregation statement. The ceremony was held virtually in partnership with the congregations sister community in Jerusalem. abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com For Dr. Sophia Wilson, Thursdays invasion of Ukraine by Russia was shocking but not surprising. Wilson, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, is a specialist in Ukrainian politics and Eastern European politics. She had been monitoring the situation closely in recent weeks as it became apparent that Russian President Vladimir Putin was gearing up for an invasion. Even for many people in Ukraine who had dealt with Russian aggression for eight years, it was shocking because hope remained that reason would prevail, but that optimism didnt materialize, Wilson said. At the same time, the West was very aware that all of the information provided by intelligence was that (an invasion might be imminent) and the West did not do anything to prevent that from happening. Wilson was a visiting scholar at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute in 2015 and taught a course there on Ukrainian politics in the summer 2017 and 2019 terms. Her research interests include revolutionary movements, human rights, and nation-building in the post-Soviet world. Her current book project is "The Ukrainian Revolution: Causes and the Nature of Social Mobilization," wherein she analyzes the causes of the Ukrainian Maidan revolution of 2013-14, and the interactions between state and society during the uprising. Her dissertation was titled "Human Rights and Law Enforcement in the Post-Soviet World," and her articles have appeared in the "Journal of Law and Courts," "Problems of Post-Communism" and "Post-Soviet Affairs." Still, watching the events unfold in Ukraine on Thursday was painful for Wilson. Its a full-scale invasion and a premeditated attack against a peaceful democracy by an autocratic, totalitarian leader who is purposefully providing lies to the people of Russia in order to justify it, Wilson said. Already at this point (as of 3:30 p.m. Thursday), 57 Ukrainians have died, and hundreds have been injured and airports are being destroyed. Its very hard to comprehend in its entirety. News sources have noted that Russia is mounting a full-bore campaign to justify its invasion of Ukraine, especially among the country's wealthy elite, as Western nations move to punish the Kremlin for attacking its neighbor. Putin believes that NATO and the West were using Ukraine, which he does not see as a legitimate state, to threaten Russia and topple his government. Even if you look at it as a possibility of an existential threat to Russia from NATO, the irony is that if NATO had wanted to attack, they could have easily done it without Ukraine because a number of countries on the border with Russia are members of NATO, Wilson said. Secondly, Ukraine is not a NATO member. The talk about NATO membership is a red herring and the Russian government knew that NATO was not a threat. Those countries that joined NATO were not forced to do so by America, as it is presented to the Russian audience. They rushed to join as soon as they got out of Soviet control which imposed totalitarian regimes on them for decades. Adding fuel to the fire, according to Wilson, is a torrent of misinformation being fed to the Russian public, along with severe consequences for those who choose to oppose Putin. Obviously, America was not going to invade Russia, but more than 60% of people in Russia believed that was a possibility, Wilson said. There is some very intense, Hitler-style propaganda that is promoted in Russia and lots of journalists have been killed and targeted. Today, people in Russia who are on the streets trying to protest are being detained immediately. There are a lot of people who oppose (the invasion of Ukraine), but unfortunately, many people believe the propaganda that the Russian government has been disseminating for the past eight years. As alarming as some reports were coming out of Ukraine on Thursday, Wilson realizes that the situation will likely be even worse for Ukrainian citizens in the coming weeks and months. I spoke to people in Ukraine today in the center of Kyiv and the Russian army hasnt made it there yet, but theyve made it to the airports, and they are trying to destroy all of the airports in the country," Wilson said. Theyre trying to target every single military defense base and theyve already taken over the Chernobyl station. From what weve been told, this is only the beginning. It seems that large-scale destruction of Ukraine is the goal. In addition to the human casualties, there is also the destruction of the Ukrainian economy and destruction of stability. There is much more than lives at stake because its a full-scale invasion from all sides. Wilson noted that some Ukrainians are preparing to fight, and some are sending their families to the borders, but there is practically nowhere in Ukraine they can run to. The Russian army is surrounding them from the Black Sea and by occupying the areas to the east, Wilson said. They have an army in Belarus, which was already occupied by Russia. They were welcomed by the autocratic ruler who had opposition at home. There were a number of protests in Belarus over the past couple of years and many of those people were detained, but now the Russian army is there, and they cannot stand against the authoritarian government. Wilson emphasized that for most Ukrainians, their fight is not against the Russian people, but against Putin. Eight years ago, Ukraine had a revolution against a president who was trying to increase authoritarianism, but people pushed back and said they wanted a democracy, Wilson said. There was a large banner in the center of Kyiv that said, we love Russians, but we hate Putin. Ukrainians just want freedom and democracy. Seventy percent of the Ukrainian population voted for a Russian-speaking, Jewish president (Volodymyr Zelensky). Half of the Ukrainian population speaks Russian, and they are free, while in Russia, Russians are not free. Those who stand up end up being shot or detained. Even one Facebook post against Putin will put you in prison for five years in Russia. Effects on the United States from Russias invasion of Ukraine will likely include rising gas prices, as well as the possibility of Russian cyberattacks hitting critical infrastructure and industries. But Wilson believes that the long-term effects, for the U.S. and other nations, will be much bigger. We can pretend that its just Ukraine and that it will not affect all of us, but we cant ignore the reality of civilians of an entire sovereign country being destroyed, Wilson said. We need to look at it critically and we need to think of what we can do and what we can do better to help them. Russia made it very clear that they were about to invade, but there is a lot of fear of fighting Russia. Just the idea of sacrificing a sovereign, democratic country, we need to think about the moral price that we are paying by turning our backs. Wilson feels that global security is undermined with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ive heard some comparisons to appeasement in 2014 when the West did not stand up and basically gave a green light to Russia to occupy Crimea, Wilson said. That was appeasement for Crimea because there was no war in Crimea. But now, if we want to draw comparisons with World War II, todays full-scale invasion of Ukraine is in many ways similar to Hitlers invasion of Poland. There is no more peace in Europe and there is no security to speak of. Wilson also feels that the sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and other nations are mostly ineffective. Being realistic, I feel that sanctions are our pretense that we are doing something, Wilson said. An entire package of sanctions might lower Russias GNP by just a few percentage points, but Putin is already sitting on a $600 billion war chest. Even if the sanctions affect some Russian people, it will not affect Putin. He doesnt care and he feeds on war and lies, and now he feeds on fascism. Its a totalitarian regime that announced that Ukraine is not a nation, and they cant rule themselves. He says they are a puppet of the West, and he needs to come in and rule Ukraine, but its an ultra-nationalist claim of superiority on which hes basing a full-scale invasion. Wilson said she cant help but wonder what could have been done, even recently, to keep Russia from invading Ukraine. Just two weeks ago, if we had offered military support to Ukraine, through NATO troops or other troops, I strongly believe that this invasion could have been prevented, Wilson said. But we said were too scared of Russia to do that, and the Ukrainian president is now appealing for an air defense system so his country can be defended better. I believe we need to step up our game. If were afraid to send troops, at least send some kind of military aid to protect Ukraine from this militaristic, imperialist invasion. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Mardi Gras time has arrived in the Metro East. Saturday marks the return of "Wordi Gras," Worden's 15th annual redneck take on Mardi Gras that has grown to attract bus groups and overnight campers to the village of about 1,000 people. The all-ages parade steps off at 3 p.m. complete with floats, candy and plenty of beads. For those entering floats in the parade please plan on lining up by no later than 2 p.m. Starting at 11 a.m., food and merchandise vendors along Wall Street will feature fare ranging from barbeque to Cajun delights. Live music is planned well into the night at The Yellow Dog Cafe and Bar and the Worden American Legion. The event is cash only, though ATM machines are available in the local bars. Outside alcohol is prohibited. At the legion, Kerry Lee is set to play from noon to 3 p.m. and PikN LikN from 4 to 8 p.m. At the Yellow Dog, Baywolfe takes the stage from 1 to 5 p.m. and The Cheers Band from 6 to 10 p.m. Granite City this year is also marking Mardi Gras with brand new events. The city's inaugural Mardi Gras parade is set for 1 p.m. followed by a Cajun Cookoff on Niedringhaus Avenue 2-5 p.m. with music by the American Originals. Kids can play games in Alligator Alley, guests can shop at local vendors, and a local bar crawl is planned 5-10 p.m. The parade begins at 29th & State Street. Floats then head westbound to 27th Street, turn left and then right onto Madison Avenue westbound to Niedringhaus Avenue, ending at Civic Park. A block party will start after the parade at 2 p.m. at Civic Park and surrounding streets. Local merchants will have booths set up along the streets. Pavia's Place and Tegan's Pub House will be set up for beverages and the Mexican Honorary Commission will be there with street tacos. Duke Bakery - Granite City will dish out dessert. For more information, email gcmardigras@gmail.com. Saturday also brings Mississippi Meanderings at 1 p.m. at the National Great Rivers Museum at Melvin Price Locks and Dam in Alton. The Mississippi River Water Trail will host Perry Whitaker who will discuss his Mississippi River speed paddling attempt last year. Other topics include jumping river carp and the creation of Cahokia. The event is limited to 50 people inside the museum, but will also be available via livestream on the internet. Pere Marquette State Park also has informative programs this weekend, with Bald Eagle Days set 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. All programs start at the park's visitor center at 8:30 a.m. with a short video presentation followed by an observational drive to view wintering bald eagles. Participants are urged to dress warmly and have a full tank of gas, binoculars, waterproof boots and snacks. For more information or reservations, call 618-786-3323, Ext. 1 for reservations. If you're looking for something a little warmer, consider St. Andrew's Book Fair Friday and Saturday at the Episcopal church at 406 Hillsboro Ave. in Edwardsville. The event will feature more than 20,000 used books as well as DVDs, CDs, vinyl records, jigsaw puzzles and games. Hours are 3-8 p.m. Friday, by reservation only, and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. For reservations visit https://www.standrews-edwardsville.com/ or call 618-656-1294. Three students in Coconino County have been named as candidates for the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Eleanor Pearce of Grand Canyon High School, Cemal Ozis of Basis Flagstaff and Jacob Taylor at Northland Preparatory Academy (NPA) were among the 89 nominees in Arizona and nearly 5,000 across the country. The scholars represent excellence in education and the promise of greatness in young people, the U.S. Department of Educations website says. The Presidential Scholars program was started in 1964 to recognize and honor some of our nations most distinguished graduating high school seniors. Around 650 semi-finalists will be announced in April, and the final student selections will be announced in May. As many as 161 students are named Presidential Scholars each year -- based on three categories of achievement: general academics, arts, and career and technical education. Applications for the program are by invitation only, meaning students cannot apply themselves or be nominated by their school. Coconino Countys nominees were selected in the academics category this year -- which is typically based on the top standardized test scores in seniors in each state. Jacob Taylor, a senior, was nominated because of his pretty good SAT score, he said. Im really proud of [it], but that really just came down to a whole bunch of studying and the support of people around me, he said. He hadnt been aware of the program before he was nominated, so when he got the email in January, I didnt know if it was real or not at first. ...It was really cool; I was super surprised. Taylor has spent his entire life in Flagstaff and started at NPA in seventh grade, studying at a school he says he really likes. He runs cross country and track for the NPA Spartans and plays guitar when he has free time, though he was quick to note its definitely not a legit thing. I think the main thing that I really like [about NPA] is classes are small and the teachers are all very approachable, he said. You really have the chance to cultivate relationships with your teachers that last all of your high school career and are really helpful in doing everything that you need. Taylors advice to other high school students (really, anybody in general, he said) is to go with the flow. This comes from a privileged standpoint of where I am now, but your grades really dont matter in the grand scheme of things. Just do what you really want to do, he said. His post-graduation plans hadnt been finalized yet, as he hadn't heard a response to most of his college applications. Its a little intimidating, of course," he said of being in his final semester of high school. "Im pretty confident that wherever I go, Ill be successful, but I dont know. It still hasnt really hit for me. I guess itll take until graduation to realize that this is it, so right now, Im still just riding the wave. Taylor's plans are likely to involve academic research, he said, adding it's what I want to do the most and what Im probably most passionate about. He was less sure about the specific field of research, though said he was most interested in international relations. Hes always loved math and recently got into politics through the internet, since NPA, like many high schools, doesnt have a dedicated political science course. Taylor did get to take an online political science course one summer, as a Stanford summer student. He is currently about halfway through a research project through his AP Research class at NPA, on the relationship between levels of democracy and a countrys competition. Essentially Im just correlating with a linear regression, correlating data from a couple years on a countrys democracy index score and their climate change performance index score -- which is just a couple ways to quantify democracy level and climate ambitions, he said. Taylor was still in the Presidential Scholars application process in mid-February. He said it was similar to college applications in that it requires a pretty big-time investment. He wasnt sure whether hed be a semifinalist. I like to be confident in myself in these sort of things, so Id like to say that well make it to the next round, but Im going up against pretty much the countrys best and brightest, which is a little intimidating, so Im not really sure, he said. Ozis, Flagstaff's other 2022 nominee, is a junior at Basis hell be graduating early, so he wont need to switch schools when his family moves across the country in the summer. He was also nominated for his SAT score and credited his community for its help throughout his school career. Im more 50-50 on it than [my parents], but I applied and it would be cool to get it, he said, adding that his college experience would be the same whether he was a finalist or not. ...It doesnt really matter one way or the other; I think itll be a cool experience either way. his father, Ike Ozis, said the achievement was as much about the educational community hed grown up in as an individual or familial achievement. The way I see it is he individually did a lot and accomplished a lot, but theres this community contribution. Hes had great teachers who really encouraged him. ...I really want his teachers to be proud and see that their hard work really paid off," he said. Ozis moved to Flagstaff when he was in fourth grade and switched from Knoles Elementary to Basis in sixth grade. He said theyd chosen the school because he wanted something more challenging, and that it was a good fit for him. Teachers the Ozises mentioned as being especially influential were Whitney Tapia and Michelle Beerling, his third- and fifth-grade teachers at Knoles, Gered Ryan, Latin teacher at Basis, and Neal Barnett, who teaches AP Economics and Government. Both said, however, that there were many other teachers they wanted to recognize for their role in Ozis education. His mother has accepted an academic position on the East Coast. Ike said the decision was a big step, partially outside our control, but for good reasons. Ozis said he was bummed about the move and early graduation for a while, though hes now excited about college. He plans to study biomedical engineering and has applied to schools like Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology. I always wanted to be an engineer, he said. I dont know why, I just never even thought about it. STEM classes have always been my favoritebut I wanted to do something that would really help people. Ozis also attributed his SAT score to his love of reading, even though hes better at math. I try and make time every weekend, he said. His preferred genre is fantasy,and he recommended "The Heroes" by Joe Abercrombie and "The Shadow of the Gods" by John Gwynne. Most of his free time is spent on martial arts, training three hours a night after school. He has been practicing Shaolin Kung Fu at Sacred Mountain Fighting and Healing Arts since eighth grade. Matthew Banks, his Sifu and the head instructor at the school, was another person who had been especially helpful, Ozis said. He said martial arts were very important in his life, providing both physical and community benefits. Ive gotten stronger and learned how to defend myself, became more aware, disciplined, he said. There are those kinds of benefits, but I like doing it, and the people there are awesome, theyre some of my best friends. When youre that devoted to something, you stick it out and there are other people that stick it out with you. It also led to his participation in the lion dance team, which performs at events like weddings and Chinese New Year celebrations. When asked his advice to other high school students, Ozis said to do what makes you happy. You can try to work within the system and try to get really good SAT scores, but I would only recommend doing that if you like what youre doing, he said. ...If you dont really like school, I would recommend find something you like in school and dedicate yourself to that, rather than trying to do really well on the SAT. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Salida, CO (81201) Today A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 53F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low near 35F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. There's plenty to check out this weekend in and around Billings. Here's a roundup of the events and happenings. 'Unforgiven' at Babcock Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Clint Eastwood's final western by watching the 1993 Best Picture winner on the big screen at the Babcock Theatre, 2810 Second Ave. N. Showings are Friday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 26 at 3 and 6 p.m. Tickets range from $6-$8 and available at ArtHouseBillings.com. Harry Potter Mysteries at Moss Mansion Hunt for clues after the Marauders Map is confiscated by Filch in this Harry Potter Mysteries series hosted at the Moss Mansion, 914 Division St. The event is Friday. Feb. 25 from 4-6 p.m. Tickets are available at MossMansion.com. Alcohol Inks 102 at Crooked Line Studio Learn how to manipulate alcohol inks with heat while adding shimmer and shine to your pieces. All supplies are included in this class taught by Tristina Sullivan at the Crooked Line Studio, 1206 24th St. W., on Saturday Feb. 26 from 10-11:30 a.m. Tickets are $40 and available at www.CrookedLineStudio.com. Mediterranean Cuisine class at YAM The Mediterranean Cuisine cooking class explores the flavors of Greece, Spain, Turkey and more with Chef Angela Lyle and Assistant Chef Tom Lund. The class is held at Yellowstone Art Museum on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tickets $55 for members and $65 for non-members. Register by calling 406-256-6804 or by emailing outreach@artmuseum.org. International Guitar Night tour at ABT The International Guitar Night is hosted by Lulo Reinhardt, who is joined by Luca Stricagnoli from Italy, Thu Le from Vietnam, and Jim Kimo from Hawaii. They will perform at the Alberta Bair Theater, 2801 Third Ave. N., on Saturday, Feb. 26 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at AlbertaBairTheater.org. 'Candyman' at the Babcock Theater The series was reinvigorated with 2021's revival, but it all started with Clive Barker's original nightmare, the Bernard Rose directed 1992 classic "Candyman," showing one night only at the Babcock, Saturday, Feb. 26 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $6-$8 and can be purchased at arthousebillings.com/candyman/ Erik Olson Quartet at Art House The Erik Olson Quartet will play the music of Miles Davis at the Art House Cinema and Pub, 109 N. 30th St., on Sunday, Feb. 27 from 7-9 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available online at www.ArtHouseBillings.com. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at ABT Roald Dahls version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The New Musical will be performed at the Alberta Bair Theater, 2801 Third Ave. N. The show is Wednesday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $45-$69 and are available at www.AlbertaBairTheater.org. 'The Batman' early screening at Babcock "The Batman" is the latest Bruce Wayne movie with Robert Pattinson in the lead role. An early screening will be available at the Babcock Theatre, 2810 Second Ave. N., on Thursday, March 3 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Tickets are $6-$8 at www.ArtHouseBillings.com/Batman. La Fee Verte performance at NOVA This play revolves around a struggling poet and his brother, a priest with a secret, who does not walk into a bar. Performances at the NOVA Center for the Performing Arts, 2317 Montana Ave., are March 4-6 and 11-13. Friday and Saturday viewings start at 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit www.NovaBillings.org. TobyMacs Hits Deep Tour at MetraPark TobyMac Hits Deep Tour is the unique idea of Christian Music Icon TobyMac. Hits Deep is designed to bring music to the people with a diverse lineup of artists who not only have hit songs on the radio, but songs that resonate with fans across the country. With nearly a decade of history, Hits Deep has become one of the largest annual events in the Christian music genre. The show is on Tuesday, March 8th starting at 7 p.m. at MetraPark, 308 Sixth Ave. N. Tickets start at $10 and are available at www.MetraPark.com. And more live music Panther Car and Epitome J will play at Kirks Grocery, 2920 Minnesota Ave., on Friday, Feb. 25 from 7-9 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be paid at the store or by Venmo @kirksgrocery. The Waiting, a Bozeman band that focuses on Tom Pettys music, will play at the Pub Station, 2502 First Ave. N., on Friday, Feb. 25 starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17 at PubStation.com. Wes Urbaniak and the Mountain Folk will perform at The Garage, 2123 First Ave. N., on Friday, Feb. 25 from 8-10 p.m. Tickets start at $7 and are available at ThirstyStreet.com/tickets. The Cimarron Band will play at the Elks Lodge, 934 Lewis Ave., on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 7-11 p.m. Renegades will perform an evening tribute to Rage Against the Machine at the Pub Station, 2502 First Ave. N., on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 7-11 p.m. Tickets are $20 at PubStation.com. Bad Produce brings groove music to Kirks Grocery, 2920 Minnesota Ave., on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 7-9 p.m. Pay $10 via Venmo to @kirksgrocery or pay in the store. Cimarron Band will be at the High High Saloon Friday, March 4 from 9 p.m. - 1:15 a.m. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Last years Womens Track at the REACH Conference drew strong reviews. It will be March 14-15 at Severns Valley in Elizabethtown. Instant unlimited access to all of our content on thenewsguard.com. The News Guard E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) A thirty-year-old man identified as Tambaya Usman has been paraded by the Niger State Police Command for killing his 28- year- old cousin, Umar Musa who he accused of having sexual intercourse with his wife in Jaguwa community in the Rafi local government area of Niger State. Tambaya Usman who confessed to have caught his 22-year-old wife Hajo Gambo Tambaya with his cousin many times having sexual intercourse on his matrimonial bed, revealed that he angrily cut the head of the deceased with a machete. According to him: I was angry that he was still sleeping with my wife even after he had been warned several times. When he was caught before, he apologised for the act and promised never to engage in such misdeed again but to my surprise, he did it again. I did not mean to kill him. I only wanted to injure him". DSP Abiodun Wasiu, the Niger police spokesman who confirmed the incident also disclosed that Tambaya was arrested by Police operatives attached to Kagara Division Niger police spokesman DSP Abiodun Wasiu confirmed the incident, informing Tambaya was arrested by Police operatives attached to Kagara Division. DSP Abiodun however assured that the suspect has been arraigned in court for prosecution. The world was warned about the coming of Putin's reign to restore the Russian Empire beyond the old Soviet Union. Though Russia is not as wealthy as the Western countries, Putin appealed to some Western greedy instincts by financing their business, giving and promising generous contracts inside Russia. While African countries do worse for greener pastures abroad, like Ajaokuta Steel, Putin does this to capture Western Democracy for the Russian Empire. All evidence pointing to the breaking of Western alliances were ignored, suppressed and used to elect governments hostile to the building base of Western Democracy: suppression of votes and election of parties with extremist minority votes. Historians and other experts that warned and knew of the consequences were called elitists that were out of touch with the common and working class. Autocracy in any country in the West or East, by any form, must be exposed. Consequently, emotional issues were capitalized to exploit the fears of the masses and vote against their own interests. Russia watched as their investment to destroy the European Union through Brexit and the election of the extreme wing of conservatives in the United States bore fruit. Indeed, Russia was kicked out of G-8 for their overbearing and authoritative tendencies in neighboring countries. Yet, the USA almost single handedly wanted Russia readmitted. Germany and other members of G-7 stood against it. The famous picture where leaders of the European Union sat down the President of the United States to educate and put him in his place, demonstrated more resolve than ideology. After losing the Presidential Election in the United States, some still support Putin over their own President. Tolerance in a democracy that could be treason in Russia. Russia underestimated the people of the United States, hoping more American soldiers would be withdrawn from Europe to reclaim Ukraine without objections. He never anticipated Biden would be elected the President. So he proceeded to reclaim Ukraine as planned under the hands-off policy of the previous American Administration. A complete miscalculation that United NATO and European Union than ever, reminding them of their creation in the first place. When the Truckers invaded the seat of Power in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, to protest the vaccine mandate, the world was surprised. Ninety percent of Canadian truckers were immunized against COVID-19 and the fringe group did not have the support of the Union or most Canadians. Yet, they claimed their protests were against the immunization mandate, and blocked the busiest bridge between Canada and the United States threatening a vital economic lifeline. Not in Canada, eh? They turned COVID-19 mandate into a political driving force to win elections as in the United States. More bullies from Western countries imitated the Canadian protests. Credit must be accorded to the people of goodwill in Canada that refused to be overwhelmed by these loud bullies. How can anyone expect any country so close to the United States, the most powerful country in the world, not be influenced by the Insurrection at Capitol Hill on January 6 that still divides them? It turned out the Canadian protests were funded by big political donors from the United States. The same Rebels without a Cause, except to overturn Western Democracy anyway they can; including help from Putin. They are so powerful, they elected President in the United States and Prime Minister in Britain. Russia accomplished both by supporting Brexit in the United Kingdom that shook the European Union. The United States had threatened financial suspension and troop withdrawal from NATO countries. Time is changing but conservatives hold on to the good old days of subjugation of the minorities and poor countries to make themselves richer. It is as unproductive in the United States, Russia, China as in any other country. You could have heard but not understood the echo of Russia when the former President of the United States wondered out loud that the USA had invaded other countries just like Russia. It is not a big deal to them but competition between world powers dominating weaker nations. China also joined them. We must not forget that China became a member of the Rich Countries Club and got admitted into the World Trade Organization to spite Russia. Indeed, it was Indira Gandhi the late Prime Minister of India that first cried out that developing countries are not looking for Aids but want equal trading partners. China got wealthy in the Rich Countries Club. The bottom line is, China is not going to jeopardize all their economic gains from Western Democracy just for Russia. Russia has miscalculated on how much the former United States Administration could have done for them. The danger for Russia's ambition to recapture the old Empire against economic sanctions from Western countries may increase dependency on China. It is not going to be free for Russia. China will demand it's pound of flesh back. If Russia does not want to rekindle the old adversarial relationship with China, it must pay. There are two ways for the richest countries to get wealthy. 1. Exploit the serfs in Europe or Africa's rich resources by using unfair dealings and disadvantageous relationships. 2. By exclusive trade within the World Trade Organization, the Rich Countries Club. They trade with one another on a fair and equal basis while developing countries are relegated to suppliers of raw materials where finished goods prices are dictated and dumped. Powerful countries' traditional way of getting rich is through exploitation of Africa. China has joined the rich countries exploiting the raw materials of Africa in return for finished goods and services. Even some African countries are renegotiating the terms of their agreement with their Western trading partners because China gives them a better deal. Therefore, Russian reliance on China may not be sustainable. Putin recklessly pushes ahead as if he had Trump in the second term. It has backfired on him, if anything, NATO is united than ever. There are more Western troops around Russia today than Putin wanted. They have alarmed other countries formerly in the Soviet Union and now in NATO like the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, three members of the former Warsaw Pact: Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, the seventh, Slovenia. Even Non-aligned countries such as Finland, Sweden and Switzerland may now join NATO. Farouk Martins Aresa @oomoaresa Leaders with the South Central Montana Regional Mental Health Center, a coalition of Eastern Montana counties providing mental health resources throughout the region, are frustrated. The Health Center's board chairman and its executive director met on Thursday with the three Yellowstone County commissioners and expressed their concerns about how the Billings-based Substance Abuse Connect has operated over the last six months. "No one seems to think we do any good," said Carl Seilstad, chairman of the Mental Health Center board. "But we treat a lot of patients and have had some real good outcomes." The Mental Health Center is a 13-county organization that includes Yellowstone County and provides public mental health and homeless services to the region. It's funding comes from the 13 counties using its services and representatives from each county sit on its board. Seilstad is a Fergus County commissioner. Substance Abuse Connect is a partnership of more than a dozen law enforcement, mental health and addiction recovery agencies in Yellowstone County designed to reduce crime and create more efficiency among service providers that assist those in mental health or substance abuse crisis or those at risk of crisis. It was formed in 2018. Rod Ostermiller, who was the U.S. Marshal for Montana until he retired last year, is now executive director of the MHC. He expressed concern about a perceived lack of transparency and accountability in regards to the tax dollars Substance Abuse Connect was shepherding to organizations and the way it conducts meetings. Substance Abuse Connect meetings are often called with only a few hours notice, which ends up excluding many of the partners. As a result, over the last 18 months, Ostermiller has attended only two meetings. "I don't think there was a lot of genuine effort in scheduling their meetings," he said. But at the center of the debate is funding. Substance Abuse Connect has been acting as the agency earmarking how funds from Yellowstone County's $1.3 million mill levy is used. The levy was passed by county voters in 2010 with language stipulating that the money must be used on mental health services that aid law enforcement. Substance Abuse has no authority to allocate county tax dollars; rather it makes recommendations to the county commission, which then approves or denies the requests. For much of the last decade, the county allocated that money to two places: the Community Crisis Center and the MHC, which used its portion to fund the HUB resource center in downtown Billings. Yellowstone County Commissioners Don Jones and Denis Pitman were unhappy with the setup, arguing there were little oversight or accountability with how the mill levy funds were being spent. In 2019, Pitman worked to move the HUB from its corner on North 27th Street and Sixth Street North to Minnesota Avenue, with the idea it could rent new space from the Montana Rescue Mission. That idea was shot down by the MHC board, which operated the HUB and owns the building. In 2020, county commissioners then reallocated a portion of the mill levy funding away from the Mental Health Center to other services in Billings, which forced the MHC to shut down the HUB. The building is currently for sale. Commissioners also reallocated away from the MHC a portion of the alcohol money it receives from the state for local treatment programs. In all, the MHC has lost over $250,000 in funding from Yellowstone County. Kristen Lundgren, director of Substance Abuse Connect, said the organization has a "net-zero" program with the goal of keeping in place those portions of the mill levy funding to the Crisis Center and MHC that the two organizations need. The Crisis Center, which traditionally received 85% of the mill levy dollars, requested $700,000. Lundgren said Ostermiller told Substance Abuse Connect that the MHC didn't need any. Ostermiller pushed back on that at Thursday's meeting, denying he ever said that. He then pointed to a meeting last year when Substance Abuse Connect offered the MHC $25,000. "It was kind of insulting to me, quite honestly," Ostermiller said. "That's how I've felt about this whole process." Lundgren apologized for the miscommunication and acknowledged Substance Abuse Connect needs to do better about scheduling its meeting well in advance. "I understand people can't operate on short notice," she said. "I do think we'll get better." She then pointed out that the majority of Substance Abuse Connect meetings are scheduled in advance. She then expressed her appreciation for the work done by the MHC. "We here at Substance Abuse Connect see the Mental Health Center as a tremendously important and valuable partner," she said. Both Ostermiller and Seilstad expressed appreciation and confidence in the work being done by Substance Abuse Connect and hoped communication would improve. Much of the frustration came to light last month when Seilstad sent a letter to Yellowstone County commissioners expressing his concerns about a lack of transparency and poor planning on the part of Substance Abuse Connect. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 2 Angry 9 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. It is not an exaggeration to say that when General Theophilus Danjuma, former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Defence on March 24, 2018 called on Nigerians to rise up and arm themselves against attacks from suspected herdsmen that were on rampage at the time, following the failure or inability of the Federal Government to defend the citizens, that not many Nigerians believed him. In fact, the same cynical reactions also trailed similar advice from other eminent Nigerians, particularly Professor Ben Nwabueze and Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State who gave their backings for Nigerians to arm themselves in the face of killings across the country. In a similar vein, Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), had on at least two occasions advised President Muhammadu Buhari to allow Nigerians bear fire arms in order to protect themselves, arguing that the state of insecurity in the country then had assumed a huge dimension and that communities and individuals need to defend themselves against attacks. Sagay, who at the time said the Federal Government was overwhelmed by various security challenges, such as Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and herdsmen attacks that were sporadically carried against the people from virtually all parts of the country contended that Nigerians should be allowed to defend themselves when attacked. We should all be armed so that anybody coming to attack you will know that he too has no chance of surviving. Communities should be armed; individuals should be armed. That is balance of terror, Sagay had said. Against the foregoing backdrop, it cannot be said to be a misnomer to opine in this context and elsewhere that the consolatory idiomatic expression that aptly finds interpretation in how bad the security situation of Nigerians has become; both at home and in Diaspora, is the one that says, Everyone for himself, and God for us all. For the sake of clarity, the idiom is used to describe a situation in which people do not help each other and each person has to take care of himself or herself. You might have wondered why this writer is sounding gloomy about the security situation in Nigeria, to the extent that he alluded to the fact that Nigerians in Diaspora are equally not safe. In fact, given the situation that Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine on Thursday, specifically on the 24th day of February, in the year 2022, urged citizens in Ukraine to remain calm, and take responsibility for their personal security and safety, the reason as to why this writer is sounding gloomy over security of Nigerians in this context cannot be farfetched. The warning which was contained in an Embassy notice jolted not few Nigerians, particularly as it was made public at a time when so many countries across the world were stepping up the evacuation of their citizens, convening their security councils and, in some cases, stockpiling relief resources. The notice was made public as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine with explosions heard across the country and its foreign minister warning concerning a full-scale invasion which was underway. The Embassy urges Nigerian nationals resident in Ukraine to remain calm but be very vigilant and be responsible for their personal security and safety. The notice partly reads, The Embassy wishes to add that should any of Nigerian nationals considers the situation as emotionally disturbing, such nationals may wish to temporary relocate to anywhere considered safe by private arrangements. They should, however, ensure that they do all the needful to validate all their resident documents for ease of return to the country when desired. In addition, in case of students seeking such temporary relocation, they are enjoined to seek proper clearance and guarantee from their respective institutions, authorities/agents on the way forward in respect to their studies during this period and/or thereafter. For those who still consider it appropriate to remain in the country, be assured that the embassy remains open for its consular duties and responsibilities at all times. It will always avail you of updates when necessary. Against the backdrop of the non-committal tone that the statement was considered to be inherent with, not few Nigerians have been commenting that the government has predilection to not protecting its citizen; both at home and in Diaspora. For instance, Mr. Mark Okunbor said, Our government has never being protective over her citizens in at home, not to talk of protecting her citizens in Diaspora. Weve have had instances where nationals of other countries where fast evacuating their citizens from crises-torn countries, only for Nigerian leaders to be thinking of what to do He added, How can a country that has been unable to protect her citizens at home protect those in Diaspora? Okunbor may not be wrong to say that the lives of Nigerians are not secured; both at home and abroad, particularly when analysed from the perspective of the fact that not few Nigerians were taken aback when they watched videos, yesterday being February 24, 2022, on how armed robbers roguishly attacked some reputable banks in Uromi, Edo State without intervention from the Police. Worrisome enough is that the operations lasted for hours as if Uromi was yet to have the presence of security agencies, particularly the Police. The videos, which trended on social media, conveyed footages of the armed robbers ferrying bags of money from the bank, and consequently loading them into the booths of exotic cars parked by the other side of the road with residents of the community seen scampering for safety as the attackers shot sporadically. Without any scintilla of exaggeration, what it is now is that the lives of Nigerians are not safe from Ukraine Down To Uromi. As it is, Calm Down seems to be the buzzword. Despite the fact that the federal government is planning a special flight operation to evacuate Nigerians from Ukraine amid the escalating crisis in the country, not few Nigerians can be said to be confident of that the government will quickly do that as Calm Down has been reverberating as the refrain since Russia and Ukraine started flexing muscles. Republican incumbent Jim Struzzi (above) faced strong competition as he went against fellow Republican John Ventre, Libertarian Joe Soloski and IUP student and Democrat Brian Doyle. CCSA updates home-grown COVID-19 vaccine developments BANGKOK: The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has updated the public on the progress of COVID-19 vaccine developments in Thailand. CoronavirusCOVID-19healthVaccine By National News Bureau of Thailand Friday 25 February 2022, 11:36AM Photo: NNT CCSA Spokesperson Taweesilp Visanuyothin has disclosed the progress of vaccines currently being developed in the country. The vaccines development revealed were the Chula-Cov19 vaccine and HXP-GPOVac, reports NNT. The Chula-Cov19 vaccine is an mRNA vaccine, is being developed by Chulalongkorn University. The vaccine, according to the developers, can be produced swiftly, does not require a large facility for production, and is more adaptable for storage and administration. Its development is currently in its second-phase clinical test and is expected to be registered in 2022. The HXP-GPOVac is an inactivated vaccine currently in development by The Government Pharmacy Organisation (GPO). Its development is currently in its second phase. The advantages of this vaccine are that the GPO facilities can produce it without needing reinvestment. Its development is also supported by Programme for Appropriate for Technology in Health (PATH), an international nonprofit organisation. Phase three of the vaccines development is expected to finish in the third quarter of this year. The CCSA said that there are currently 20 COVID-19 vaccines in the development pipeline in Thailand. Four vaccines are currently in clinical trials which are Chula-Cov19, HXP-GPOVac, Baiya SARS-CoV-2 Vax, and the Covigen vaccine. Phuket Stray Dog Shelter running short of food PHUKET: Phuket Stray Dog Shelter is running out of food and supplies needed to care for more than 1,000 dogs kept at the facility. animals By The Phuket News Friday 25 February 2022, 09:58AM The Phuket Stray Dog Shelter is in need of food for the more than 1,000 dogs kept at the facility. Photo: Phuket Stray Dog Shelter The Phuket Stray Dog Shelter is in need of food for the more than 1,000 dogs kept at the facility. Photo: Phuket Stray Dog Shelter The Phuket Stray Dog Shelter is in need of food for the more than 1,000 dogs kept at the facility. Photo: Phuket Stray Dog Shelter Tawan Chotiworananon, the manager of the Phuket Stray Dog Shelter, located in Thalang, said dry dog food was among the top essentials needed. We are facing a shortage of dog food and necessary equipment. This shelter takes care of about 1,000 dogs, which need to be fed about 250kg of pellets per day, he said. In addition, we need canned food for feeding sick dogs, as well as face masks, garbage bags and syringes, he added. We also need drinking water of any size, examination gloves (size M), and medicine and supplies for treating wounds, such as gauze, he added. Before we had a lot of donors and enough food for the dogs, but lately there have been fewer donors. I understand that many donors are facing problems and are affected by the COVID-19 situation, Mr Tawan said. Other essentials are ne to help keep the facility operating, Mr Tawan onted. We need sugar for making EM [Effective Microorganisms] probiotic water and a 60-litre tank for keeping dog excrement. We also need coconut-thresh brooms, water hoses and squeegees, toilet cleaner for disinfecting stall floors, large garbage bins and dishwashing liquid and sponges for washing food trays used by sick dogs, he said. BUDGET FAILINGS The facility was originally designated its own budget, but administrative changes later saw the Phuket Stray Dog Shelter funded by contributions from all 18 municipalities and tambon administration organisations (OrBorTor) on the island. Those contributions have not been forthcoming. Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong at a meeting at the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office on Tuesday (Feb 22) asked all local government organisations in Phuket to transfer their budget allocations to the Phuket Stray Dog Shelter promptly. Vice Governor Pichet pointed out that the shelter was set up in 2004, and for the past 20 years had served to accommodate stray dogs and nuisance dogs, alleviating the need for local municipalities to set up their own facilities. Phuket has integrated with all local government organisations to support the budget [for the shelter], but due to insufficient budget contributions we have been unable to manage and develop this shelter to be effective as a pet care facility according to international standards, he said. Currently, the Phuket Stray Dog Shelter is managed by the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office, but because the office doesnt have the budget to operate the facility, it has requested budget support from the 18 local government organisations that bring stray dogs to the shelter, V/Gov Pichet said. The meeting today is to expedite the budget contributions for the Phuket Stray Dog Shelter Project for the fiscal year 2022 from all 18 local government agencies in order to raise the funds so we can manage the facility in a way for the animals to have good health and well-being, he added. DONATIONS Phuket Stray Dog Shelter chief Mr Tawan invited people to make any donations of the items needed, but most urgently dog food. People who can donate, please donate to us and donors can call us every day or contact us through our Phuket Stray Dog Shelter Facebook page, he said. Mr Tawan added that donors can donate money directly to the shelter or the Phuket Livestock Office through the following account: Account Name: (Phuket Stray Dog Shelter Phuket Sustainable Development Foundation) A/c Number: 805-0-84926-0 Bank: Krung Thai Bank, Phuket branch. The shelter is open to receive donations every day, from 8:30am to 4:30pm. Mr Tawan can be contacted directly at 086-2772699. TAT pushes Phuket, Udon Thani travel boost PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is taking credit for creating a tourism campaign linking Phuket with Udon Thani and nearby provinces in Isan. tourismeconomics By The Phuket News Friday 25 February 2022, 03:46PM Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew and Udon Thani Governor Siam Sirimongkol yesterday held the press launch of the campaign, called Phuket, the whole island @ Udon Thani, in Udon Thani. Joining the event was Bhummitkitti Ruktaengam, President of the Phuket Tourist Association, along with a host of representatives from tourism and travel industry in Udon Thani. The aim of the campaign is to sell cross-regional travel tours between the two regions in Thailand in response to the policy of leading the countrys economic recovery through tourism, said a report of the launch by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket). The campaign involves more than 30 alliances between tour and hospitality operators agencies, the report said, to bring quality tourism products in Phuket to offer to business operators in Udon Thani and nearby provinces. The campaign is designed to stimulate cross-regional tourism marketing in line with domestic airline routes, the report added. At the event, Thapanee Kiatpaiboon, TAT Deputy Governor of Domestic Marketing, presented a guideline for integrating cooperation between the public and private sectors to stimulate the domestic tourist market from this April, the report added. According to the report, the TAT expects an increase in domestic travel of not less than 25% during the upcoming Songkran holidays in April. The report gave no indication of the base year or figure that the 25% increase claim was based on. The TAT continues to carry out 360-degree marketing activities, including adjusting tourism products to create an unforgettable experience, to target potential Thai tourists, in addition to promoting cross-regional travel weekday tours, promotion of tourism to the main destinations and secondary tourism locations, as well as community tourism, Faith and Belief Travel, Workation tourism, etc., the report said. The TAT will also carry out activities targeting tourists, including couples, family groups, the elderly and teenagers, together with travel agencies, hotels, accommodation operators, airlines, transport operators, shops, restaurants and tourism communities to revive Thailand while developing tourism towards sustainability, the report concluded. The report made no mention of the Level 4 COVID-19 alert currently in effect throughout the country, which asks all people to refrain from interprovincial travel. Southern Pines, NC (28387) Today Mostly cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low 61F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. News Community rallies behind Cooper Township fire victims jbenamati / Bill Woolworth A family of seven is homeless and lost all of their belongings in this structure fire in Cooper Township. The family was renting the residence and had no renters insurance. MORRISDALE The community is rallying for a local family who lost the home they were renting and all of their belongings following a structure fire that killed two dogs, one cat and resulted in a complete structural loss. The fire, which began around 3:13 p.m. on Tuesday, was at a two-story private residence located on the 4200-block of Kylertown Drifting Highway in Cooper Township. Firefighters remained on the scene for about four and a half hours. Responders who arrived first confirmed the two-story structure was well involved and requested a second alarm for additional manpower. Wind and rain hindered fire suppression efforts. The cause of the fire was still unknown as of Wednesday night. The structure and contents were a total loss. While the structure was insured, the tenants did not have renters insurance. The tenant was Dillon Clark and six additional family members, including four children. Cierra Clark, who identifies herself as a sister of the family, organized a fundraiser on GoFundMe. As of Thursday morning, the fundraiser raised $11,575. Animals Matter of Clearfield County, Inc. also reached out to the family to offer condolences, according to a social media post. The organization began raising funds, and two people ended up paying for the cremations in full. Donations will also be put towards urns and necklaces that will honor the animals. The family will receive any remaining funds as a check, the post stated. Grassflat Vol. Fire Co. was initially dispatched to the scene and they were assisted by Chester Hill Hose Co., Morris Township VFC, Winburne Fire Co., Houtzdale Fire Co., Lawrence Township VFC Station 6 (Hyde) and Station 7 (Glen Richey), Goshen Twp. VFC, Karthaus VFC, Snow Shoe VFC, Philipsburg Fire Department and Moshannon Valley EMS. As a current print subscriber, you receive 24/7 access to our website and online e-edition at no additional charge. All you have to do is activate your access. To activate digital access, you will need your account number. You can find your account number on any recent subscription notice or bill. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate RIDGEFIELD Representatives from the Ridgefield Arts Council and Economic & Community Development Commission want some of the towns American Rescue Plan monies allocated toward its arts and culture organizations. Of Ridgefields roughly $7.4 million federal stimulus, the groups are seeking 10 percent of the total or $740,000 to be distributed among 24 nonprofits to help cover COVID-related losses and expenses. Colleen Cash and Glori Norwitt, the new chairs of the RAC and ECDC, respectively, will attend the Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday, March 1, to state their case. They acknowledged that while the Connecticut Arts Alliance has recommended local municipalities reserve 1 percent of ARPA funding for arts and culture, The movement is bigger in our town, Norwitt said. She pointed to Ridgefields status as the first municipality in Connecticut with a state-designated cultural district, and the widespread efforts of local nonprofit leaders to keep the arts alive during the pandemic. While First Selectman Rudy Marconi has not yet seen the groups formal proposal, he believes the request is a good step forward given the considerable loss nonprofit organizations have experienced over the course of the pandemic. I dont have an issue with it, but it would have to be reviewed, he said. Many organizations including The Ridgefield Playhouse, A Contemporary Theatre of Connecticut, Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center and the Ridgefield Theater Barn pivoted to online platforms to engage patrons during lockdown and beyond. These programs attracted attention from all over the country, and even around the world. The pandemic led to a digital inflection point, and audiences have diversified because of that, Cash said. Digital programming brought eyeballs from outside of Ridgefield to Ridgefield. Norwitt argued that this exposure also reaps economic benefits. When people buy a ticket to anything, theyre also spending money (elsewhere) in the town, she said. According to a 2015 Americans for the Arts study, when someone attends a show or visits a museum in Fairfield County, they spend more than $34 per person, per event (beyond the cost of admission) at restaurants, shops and on lodging. Arts and culture drive our economy, and theyre a big part of why were a unique, special and wonderful community, Norwitt added. We have such a tight-knit expansive downtown area with so much to do. If you took that away, we would be a very different town. The chairs argued that the town must invest in its arts and culture organizations to ensure they not only survive, but thrive, Norwitt said. The town has largely used its ARPA monies toward COVID-19 related expenses, lost revenue and an infrastructure project, according to a recent analysis. With all uses considered, it has about $3 million left to spend. Cash encouraged residents who felt supported by the arts during the pandemic to show their support for the funding request at the March 1 meeting. This is a town that rallies around its cultural pillars and the opportunities they provide, she added. There is nothing more powerful than a testimonial (of) how the arts and culture in town supported someone in a tough time, or gave them joy. alyssa.seidman@hearstmediact.com Salem, MO (65560) Today Cloudy with occasional showers this afternoon. High near 65F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low around 55F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall near a half an inch. The ACLU of Montana filed a brief in federal court last week in support of Randall Menges, arguing a person whos had same-sex relations should not be required to register as a sex offender. The case follows Menges, now 46, who was convicted of having gay sex in Idaho in 1994 after he had consensual relations with two 16-year-old boys. He was 18 at the time. He was convicted under Idaho's Crimes Against Nature law, which bans anal and oral sex between consenting adults, according to the lawsuit initially filed by Menges against Attorney General Tim Fox in December 2020. After serving seven years in prison and being released on probation for the remainder of his sentence, Menges, now a Montana resident, was required to register as a sex offender in Idaho. When he moved to Montana in the mid-2000s, the requirement to register followed him across state lines, according to court documents. Last May, U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula ruled that Menges would not have to register as a sex offender, saying Montana has no rational basis for requiring Menges to register as a sex offender based off the Idaho conviction. Immediately following Judge Christensens ruling, Attorney General Austin Knudsen filed an appeal arguing the district courts ruling had far-reaching consequences. Specifically, the attorney general pointed to the potential of Montana facing lawsuits to challenge sex offender registration on a similar basis. Now, the ACLU is firing back at Knudsen. Anti-LGBTQ laws have been deemed unconstitutional both by the Montana Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court, said Alex Rate, ACLU of Montana Legal Director, in a news release. Appealing the District Court's well-reasoned decision demonstrates the lack of respect that Attorney General Knudsen has for the law and the citizens of this state and country. For the past 20 years, Mr. Menges has repeatedly been forced to pay the consequences for an unconstitutional conviction and it is time to end this man's persecution. The LAMBDA Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Center for HIV Law and Policy filed the brief along with the ACLU. They argue Knudsens appeal violates a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Lawrence v. Texas, that said laws barring anal sex are unconstitutional. The brief contends that Lawrence v. Texas foreshadowed the sex offender registration issue thats been at the forefront in Menges case. It acknowledged that the state-sponsored condemnation arising from the criminal prohibition of sodomy did not stop with criminal prosecution, but could be extended through sex offender registration requirements triggered by those convictions, the ACLU brief reads. By holding there was no constitutional basis for such state action, the Court sought to protect the core aspects of personal liberty guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. In a statement, Knudsen spokeswoman Emilee Cantrell said the ACLU is attempting to weaken Montanas sex offender registry law. Montana law is clear: anyone who is required to register as a sex offender in another state, must also register here. A challenge to a conviction requiring sex offender registration in another state belongs there, not in Montana. Sex offender registries are an important public safety tool, and ACLUs inserting itself into this case seems to be another step toward its goal of ending sex offender registries across the nation, Cantrell said. The ACLUs filing pushes back against this, saying Montana is trying to impose all constitutional responsibility onto Idaho, but Montana is liable for its own decisions. Ultimately, both states continuing intrusions on liberty for sodomy-only convictions are unjustifiable in light of Lawrence, the filing reads. On Feb. 14, a Senate bill was introduced into the Idaho State Legislature that seeks to repeal the Crimes Against Nature law. "It means the world to us that Lambda, the Center for HIV Law and Policy, and the ACLU of Montana are in full support of our challenge to this injustice. These are the groups that have been doing the important work for decades. That they weighed in here brings real experience and gravitas to the issues," said Menges' attorney, Matthew Strugar. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 THE SHORTHORN is accepting applications for summer & fall 2022 for: Writing and editing Photo and design Ad sales and marketing Web development Support staff Apply online & view job descriptions at: www.theshorthorn.com/jobs Current UTA students enrolled in at least six credit hours during the semester of employment and in good academic standing are eligible to apply for these paid positions. Some qualify for internship credit. 50 years ago, Led Zeppelin graced New Zealand with one of the greatest live shows the country had ever seen. As well as being one of the greatest live shows, it was also the loudest New Zealand had ever heard with reports the next day saying the sound could be heard 5 miles away from the stadium. "I remember thinking that the tower of black boxes either side of the stage must have been the packing crates for their gear" texted in a listener of The Sound while reminiscing the concert. "That was until Robert Plant said 'Good Evening' at a volume that left no doubt as to what they were". Now, 50 years on, we're able to re-live the concert thanks to a then 20-year-old photographer and Led Zeppelin fan, Lloyd Godman. Godman captured film footage across the night and until just a few years ago, that footage sat forgotten about in his shed. "I knew there was band stuff on it but I didn't know what, and it came back and it was the Zeppelin film" says Godman. Teaming up with an an American Led Zeppelin archivist, the footage was synced up with sound recordings from the same night and edited into the video below for us to enjoy for years to come. From an office in the Press Corps of the Indiana Statehouse, the journalism majors of Franklin College's Pulliam School of Journalism work alongside the best reporters in the state, digging into the behind-the-scenes stories of Indiana politics. We're a student newsroom, but our work doesn't sit on a professor's desk. We create daily content for this website and 35 professional media partners around the state. A warmer and wetter period appears to be in store for North Dakota during the first couple of weeks of March. That could be good news when it comes to the state's prolonged drought, and might provide a lift for ranchers hoping for a better and less-stressful 2022. The drought has persisted more than a year, though conditions in recent months have improved or remained stable. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map, released Thursday, shows almost no change from the previous week. A good chunk of Traill County and a small portion of neighboring Steele County in eastern North Dakota have moved out of any drought category -- likely due to recent snowstorms that have tracked through the Red River and James River valleys. There is no change in the western half of the state. Most of the region remains in moderate or severe drought, with much of the northwest still in extreme drought, the second-worst category. Most of Morton County is still in moderate drought. Burleigh County remains "abnormally dry," the weakest category. The capital city has received 29 inches of snow since Dec. 1, which is 3.7 inches above normal, according to National Weather Service data. The city gets 50.5 inches of snow in a typical winter. Precipitation outlooks from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicate an above-average chance for wet weather in North Dakota over the next couple of weeks. "This doesn't necessarily signal that a major storm is on the way, but that we could be heading into a pattern that is more favorable for precipitation across our area," the weather service said. A warmup also is on the way as arctic air that has blanketed the state for days moves out. After subzero high temperatures this week and wind chills in the minus 30s and 40s, weekend highs in the Bismarck area are forecast in the 30s above zero. The trend will continue into next week, with overnight lows dipping only into the teens. The U.S. Drought Monitor is a partnership of NOAA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center. Rancher update Drought last year -- when three-fourths of the state was in either extreme or exceptional drought during the summer -- prompted many ranchers to cull their herd or move livestock out of state for feeding, according to Julie Ellingson, vice president of the North Dakota Stockmens Association, the state's largest rancher group. North Dakota ranchers at the start of this year had 1.85 million cattle and calves, a 5% drop from the same time a year earlier, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. "These numbers come as little surprise, as the effects of extreme drought, pandemic disruptions, price volatility and tighter margins have kept numbers in check and the U.S. cattle industry firmly in the liquidation phase of this cattle cycle," Ellingson said. Adequate feed for cattle this winter remains a concern, especially with the bitter cold weather of recent weeks, she said. Federal officials plan to begin doling out drought disaster aid to ranchers in March. President Joe Biden in September signed off on $10 billion in assistance for agricultural producers impacted by weather disasters including drought in 2020 and 2021, with $750 million earmarked for ranchers stricken by drought last year. USDA plans to distribute at least half of the $750 million by the end of March. For more information, go to https://bit.ly/3olO8KQ. Reach Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today Overcast with rain showers at times. High near 16C. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 5C. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. EDWARDSVILLE Four people were charged Thursday relating to a pair of burglaries in Edwardsville and Highland in January and February. Andrew J. Walker, 38, of Marine, was charged Feb. 24 with two counts of burglary, both Class 2 felonies. Eric V. Rakers, 33, of Centralia; Amy S. Reagan, 44, and Stephen K. Knupp, both 44 of the same address in Pocahontas, were each charged with one count of burglary, a Class 2 felony. The cases were presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on Jan. 13 Walker, Rakers and Reagan entered a building on Illinois 143 in Edwardsville to commit theft; and on Feb. 19 Walker and Knupp entered a building on Illinois 160 in Highland, to commit theft. Bail was set at $50,000 each. Other property- or theft-related felony charges filed Feb. 24 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include: Rodney C. Kimes, 51, of Granite City, was charged with burglary, a Class 2 felony, and resisting a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor. The case was presented by the Glen Carbon Police Department. On Feb. 23 Kimes allegedly entered Sams Club in Glen Carbon to commit theft and then fled from a Glen Carbon police officer, hiding in his vehicle to avoid arrest. Bail was set at $50,000. Abigale D. Triplett, 26, of Asheville, North Carolina, was charged with offenses relating to a motor vehicle, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force. On Feb. 18 Triplett allegedly had a reported stolen 2014 Savanna U-Haul truck. Bail was set at $50,000. Shirley M. Clark, 61, of Pontoon Beach, was charged with retail theft over $300, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Glen Carbon Police Department. On Sept. 5 Clark allegedly took groceries, jewelry and household goods valued in excess of $300 from the Glen Carbon Walmart. Bail was set at $15,000. Leeann M. Randolph, 56, of Alton, was charged with retail theft over $300, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Alton Police Department. On Feb. 23 Randolph allegedly took tools and other merchandise valued in excess of $300 from the Alton Lowes Home Improvement Store. Bail was set at $25,000. EDWARDSVILLE The Madison County Historical Society has announced Norma Asadorian of Granite City, and Jeffrey Skoblow and William Krause, both of Edwardsville, have joined its board of directors. Asadorian is returning to the board after a short hiatus. Descended from Armenian immigrant ancestors who settled in the historic Lincoln Place neighborhood in Granite City, she is the founder and president of the Lincoln Place Heritage Association. Before her retirement in 2012, sdhe was an award-winning secondary school educator who, over her 37-year career, taught a variety of social studies courses. EDWARDSVILLE As international enrollment soars to a record high at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the Offices of International Admissions and International Affairs are leading efforts to welcome and help those individuals build community so they can reach their full potential. In spring 2022, SIUEs international student population grew to 684, up from 345 in spring 2021. According to Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Scott Belobradjic, EdD, the growth came primarily from an increase in international students from India, Nepal and Africa. Among the more than 250 new students who began their students in spring 2022 are exchange students, dual degree undergraduate students from China, and Global Undergraduate Exchange Program students. As part of its community-building activities, the Office of International Admissions, along with the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) program and the Office of the Provost, hosted an International Student Welcome on Tuesday, Feb. 8. Participants enjoyed a free shirt, cookies and other goodies, along with a chance to meet and take pictures with Eddie the Cougar. In addition to the great distances these students traveled to join SIUE, many of them had to delay their studies due to the pandemic, said Jim Monahan, director of Graduate and International Admissions. With students from more than 50 countries attending SIUE, international students make important contributions to the cultural fabric of the University and the diversity of thought represented on campus. Among the participants was graduate student Hamza Mohammad, of India, who is studying industrial engineering and aspires to work in supply chain management. I got a chance to attend some of the Admissions sessions about the university and interact with the professors. I knew then that this was where I wanted to attend, Mohammad shared. I also gained positive recommendations and feedback from friends about how accommodating the SIUE community is, especially to students. Lilibeth Langat, an exchange student from Kenya studying accounting in the School of Business, said, I like it here. I am enjoying the food and services already, while having a great time and making new friends. I am excited to get involved in some community activities. Chinedu Obuekwe, of Nigeria, a graduate student in the Department of Mass Communications, fell in love with the University because of how it promotes a culture of diversity and inclusion for foreign students. It is incredibly important to ensure our international students feel a sense of belonging at SIUE, said Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Denise Cobb, PhD. It was wonderful to see their smiling eyes above masks that demonstrated these students delight to be on campus. We always want to make students feel welcome and help support positive experiences at SIUE. CARROLLTON Authorities have released information about recent arrests in Greene County. Greene County Sheriff's Department Donald W. Johnson, 49, of Springfield was booked into Greene County Jail at 1:06 a.m. Tuesday on a St. Louis County, Missouri, warrant accusing him of possession of a controlled substance and a Greene County warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court. David B. Bennett, 27, of Macomb was booked into Greene County Jail at 11:53 p.m. Sunday on charges of endangering the life or health of a child, reckless driving, driving while license is suspended and speeding. Greenfield Police Dylan E. Miller, 30, of Jacksonville was booked into Greene County Jail at 11:03 p.m. Monday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, delivery of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Kelsey Jo Morris, 31, of Jacksonville was booked into Greene County Jail at 10:02 p.m. Monday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia. and bringing contraband into a penal institution. White Hall Police Daniel W. Stepp, 36, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday on a Greene County arrest warrant accusing him of attempted burglary, burglary, possession of methamphetamine, theft and criminal trespass to a residence. Daniel W. Stepp, 36, of White Hall was booked into Greene County Jail at 7:11 p.m. Monday on a charge of criminal trespass to a building. The litigation over the pipeline is over, but the fight continues." -- Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman, who has represented the Standing Rock Tribe on the yearslong Dakota Access Pipeline lawsuit, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal, which would have prolonged the court battle. q q q Thats another two Coal Creek Stations. -- North Dakota Transmission Authority Director John Weeda, comparing the anticipated electricity demand in western North Dakota over the next 15 years to the generating capacity of North Dakotas largest coal plant. q q q "We don't often get air loads that fly into Bismarck, North Dakota. We don't have this type of aircraft in North Dakota." -- National Guard Lt. Col. Patrick Flanagan, commander of the Bismarck-based 81st Civil Support Team, which flew to training in Alaska on a C-17 Globemaster that flew in from Mississippi. The C-17 is the largest transport plane in the Air Force. q q q "I suppose curriculum transparency is the next front in that culture war." -- Nick Archuleta, president of North Dakota United, which represents public school teachers, anticipating bills in the 2023 Legislature aimed at requiring schools to post all course materials online so parents can review them. q q q It has a lot of positive energy." -- Cedar Henry, of New Town, commenting on the calendar date as she married Russ Thomas in the Bismarck Municipal courtroom on Tuesday -- 2-22-22. q q q The short program was superb. It was perfection. -- Bismarck resident Bob Roesler, whose grandson, Timothy LeDuc and figure skating partner Ashley Cain-Gribble, finished in seventh place in the short program in the Winter Olympics. q q q "The convention went beautifully until the Senate endorsement." -- Karen Karls, chair of the Bismarck-area District 35 Republicans, detailing how the district endorsing convention devolved into confusion over voting procedures. q q q The vast majority of people think were doing a good job, and thats what I like to see. -- Bismarck Police Chief Dave Draovitch, on the results of the department's annual community survey. q q q Im from North Dakota originally, born and raised in Bismarck. I really love the state. I want to see it continue to grow and prosper, and Ive thought for many years that public service for the state would someday be in my future. -- Joe Heringer, a senior wealth manager at Bravera Wealth, after being named North Dakota's new land commissioner. q q q What we learned from studying our numbers over the past year is that the need for food assistance remains extremely high. -- Melissa Sobolik, CEO of the Great Plains Food Bank, which last year experienced the second-highest demand in its 39-year history. q q q I think the potential here is potentially huge. This could be a very important concept for the agricultural community going forward. -- Jim Blackburn, founder of Texas-based BCarbon, which is analyzing soil samples from state land in western North Dakota to better understand the potential for carbon storage in grasslands. q q q "'Significant financial interest' -- what's that? Who decides that? I bet how I view what is significant to me might be very different to what's significant to somebody who wants to see me fail." -- North Dakota Public Service Commission Chair Julie Fedorchak, commenting on confusion over proposed ethics rules for conflicts of interest. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 EDWARDSVILLE For Dr. Sophia Wilson, Thursdays invasion of Ukraine by Russia was shocking but not surprising. Wilson, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, is a specialist in Ukrainian politics and Eastern European politics. She had been monitoring the situation closely in recent weeks as it became apparent that Russian President Vladimir Putin was gearing up for an invasion. Even for many people in Ukraine who had dealt with Russian aggression for eight years, it was shocking because hope remained that reason would prevail, but that optimism didnt materialize, Wilson said. At the same time, the West was very aware that all of the information provided by intelligence was that (an invasion might be imminent) and the West did not do anything to prevent that from happening. Wilson was a visiting scholar at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute in 2015 and taught a course there on Ukrainian politics in the summer 2017 and 2019 terms. Her research interests include revolutionary movements, human rights, and nation-building in the post-Soviet world. Her current book project is "The Ukrainian Revolution: Causes and the Nature of Social Mobilization," wherein she analyzes the causes of the Ukrainian Maidan revolution of 2013-14, and the interactions between state and society during the uprising. Her dissertation was titled "Human Rights and Law Enforcement in the Post-Soviet World," and her articles have appeared in the "Journal of Law and Courts," "Problems of Post-Communism" and "Post-Soviet Affairs." Watching the events unfold in Ukraine on Thursday was painful for Wilson who couldn't help but wonder what could have been done, even recently, to keep Russia from invading Ukraine. Just two weeks ago, if we had offered military support to Ukraine, through NATO troops or other troops, I strongly believe that this invasion could have been prevented, Wilson said. But we said were too scared of Russia to do that, and the Ukrainian president is now appealing for an air defense system so his country can be defended better. I believe we need to step up our game," she said. "If were afraid to send troops, at least send some kind of military aid to protect Ukraine from this militaristic, imperialist invasion. Its a full-scale invasion and a premeditated attack against a peaceful democracy by an autocratic, totalitarian leader who is purposefully providing lies to the people of Russia in order to justify it, Wilson said. Its very hard to comprehend in its entirety. Wilson said Putin believes that NATO and the West were using Ukraine, which he does not see as a legitimate state, to threaten Russia and topple his government. Even if you look at it as a possibility of an existential threat to Russia from NATO, the irony is that if NATO had wanted to attack, they could have easily done it without Ukraine because a number of countries on the border with Russia are members of NATO, Wilson said. Secondly, Ukraine is not a NATO member," she said. "The talk about NATO membership is a red herring and the Russian government knew that NATO was not a threat. Those countries that joined NATO were not forced to do so by America, as it is presented to the Russian audience. They rushed to join as soon as they got out of Soviet control which imposed totalitarian regimes on them for decades. Adding fuel to the fire, according to Wilson, is a torrent of misinformation being fed to the Russian public, along with severe consequences for those who choose to oppose Putin. Obviously, America was not going to invade Russia. But more than 60% of people in Russia believed that was a possibility, Wilson said. There is some very intense, Hitler-style propaganda that is promoted in Russia and lots of journalists have been killed and targeted. Today, people in Russia who are on the streets trying to protest are being detained immediately," she said. "There are a lot of people who oppose (the invasion of Ukraine), but unfortunately, many people believe the propaganda that the Russian government has been disseminating for the past eight years. As alarming as some reports were coming out of Ukraine on Thursday, Wilson said the situation will likely be even worse for Ukrainian citizens in the coming weeks and months. I spoke to people in Ukraine today in the center of Kyiv and the Russian army hasnt made it there yet, but theyve made it to the airports, and they are trying to destroy all of the airports in the country," Wilson said. Theyre trying to target every single military defense base and theyve already taken over the Chernobyl station. From what weve been told, this is only the beginning," she said. "It seems that large-scale destruction of Ukraine is the goal. In addition to the human casualties, there is also the destruction of the Ukrainian economy and destruction of stability. There is much more than lives at stake because its a full-scale invasion from all sides. Wilson noted that some Ukrainians are preparing to fight, and some are sending their families to the borders, but there is practically nowhere in Ukraine they can run to. The Russian army is surrounding them from the Black Sea and by occupying the areas to the east, Wilson said. They have an army in Belarus, which was already occupied by Russia. They were welcomed by the autocratic ruler who had opposition at home. There were a number of protests in Belarus over the past couple of years and many of those people were detained, but now the Russian army is there, and they cannot stand against the authoritarian government. Wilson emphasized that, for most Ukrainians, the fight is not against the Russian people but against Putin. Eight years ago, Ukraine had a revolution against a president who was trying to increase authoritarianism, but people pushed back and said they wanted a democracy, Wilson said. There was a large banner in the center of Kyiv that said, We love Russians, but we hate Putin. Ukrainians just want freedom and democracy," she said. "Seventy percent of the Ukrainian population voted for a Russian-speaking, Jewish president (Volodymyr Zelensky). Half of the Ukrainian population speaks Russian, and they are free, while in Russia, Russians are not free. Those who stand up end up being shot or detained. Even one Facebook post against Putin will put you in prison for five years in Russia. Effects on the United States from Russias invasion of Ukraine will likely include rising gas prices, as well as the possibility of Russian cyberattacks hitting critical infrastructure and industries. But Wilson believes that the long-term effects, for the U.S. and other nations, will be much bigger. We can pretend that its just Ukraine and that it will not affect all of us, but we cant ignore the reality of civilians of an entire sovereign country being destroyed, Wilson said. We need to look at it critically and we need to think of what we can do and what we can do better to help them. Russia made it very clear that they were about to invade, but there is a lot of fear of fighting Russia," she said. "Just the idea of sacrificing a sovereign, democratic country, we need to think about the moral price that we are paying by turning our backs. Wilson feels that global security is undermined with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ive heard some comparisons to appeasement in 2014 when the West did not stand up and basically gave a green light to Russia to occupy Crimea, Wilson said. That was appeasement for Crimea because there was no war in Crimea. But now, if we want to draw comparisons with World War II, todays full-scale invasion of Ukraine is in many ways similar to Hitlers invasion of Poland. There is no more peace in Europe and there is no security to speak of. Wilson also believes the sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and other nations are mostly ineffective. Being realistic, I feel that sanctions are our pretense that we are doing something, Wilson said. An entire package of sanctions might lower Russias GNP by just a few percentage points, but Putin is already sitting on a $600 billion war chest. Even if the sanctions affect some Russian people, it will not affect Putin," she said. "He doesnt care and he feeds on war and lies, and now he feeds on fascism. Its a totalitarian regime that announced that Ukraine is not a nation, and they cant rule themselves. He says they are a puppet of the West, and he needs to come in and rule Ukraine, but its an ultra-nationalist claim of superiority on which hes basing a full-scale invasion. It might interest you to know that, as I write these words, Im in jail. Oh, its really not so bad. I still eat what and when I choose, stay up late and get up late and have ready access to Blue Sky, my last remaining feline. And Im still keeping regular hours at my Second Reading Book Shop. Im doing time in Facebook Jail, which is decidedly not to be compared with occupying a cell in Menard or Graham. I possess all my usual freedoms except one: I cant post on Facebook. This isnt my first incarceration. However, I regard it as my most unjust. Why? Because I was thrown into the can simply for telling the truth. On a thread whose participants were singing the praises of the late Rush Limbaugh to the heavens and discussing his legacy, yours truly had the audacity to post this remark: Rushs true legacy is his history of hate-mongering. His only authentic gift was his uncanny ability to manipulate ignorant, gullible white Americans. That 22-word comment brought me a six-day ban from Facebook participation because that social media giant flagged it as hate speech. Theres something surreal, even Orwellian, about labeling a denunciation of a hate-monger as hate speech. In addition to the ban, Facebook removed my post. Facebook gives users a chance to appeal their bans to an entity called the Oversight Board, which is an independent body not associated with Facebook. I chose to appeal my ban, which involved responding to several questions posed by this Oversight Board. The designation of my post as hate speech prompted the board to post a treatise for me to read on the importance of respecting marginalized groups. I responded: I agree that attacking groups that historically have been marginalized and suffered discrimination comprises hate speech. However, my post criticized WHITE Americans (of which I am one) who allowed themselves to be deceived and manipulated by the radio broadcasts of the late Rush Limbaugh. Surely we can all agree that white Americans are not one of the traditional targets of bigots and racists! Indeed, white Americans have traditionally been the ones who do the discriminating. Therefore, we can conclude that my comment did NOT denigrate any group that traditionally has suffered discrimination. I should also like to point out that my comment criticized hate-mongering; more specifically, it criticized the hate-mongering perpetrated by the late Rush Limbaugh. Don't you think it's rather nonsensical to condemn a comment that criticizes hate-mongering as hate speech???? That makes about as much sense as dismissing Dr. King's I Have A Dream speech as racist because it condemned racism. In response to the question why I had posted my comment, I replied: My comment was an attempt to place the career of the late Rush Limbaugh in its proper historical context. In my opinion, he does not deserve praise and admiration. The divisions that plague our nation today owe much to the radio broadcasts of Rush Limbaugh.... I refuse to apologize for that post. It was fact-based, rational and contains a degree of truth that almost anyone would be forced to acknowledge. In retrospect, I wish that I had bolstered my argument by citing How Rush Limbaugh Invented Donald Trump, which was published as The New Yorkers Daily Comment on Feb. 19, 2021. Hindsight is always 20/20. The next question was Does this content (i.e., my censored post) involve important social issues? I replied: "YES! I'm sure you will agree that the United States is polarized today to a degree unknown since the height of the Vietnam War. My post identified Limbaugh's career, which spanned decades, as instrumental in bringing about this polarization. Thoughtful, erudite persons will not dispute my contention because they know it's true. When asked, Is there anything else you think the board should know?, I replied: A post such as mine that is based in reality, acknowledged by thoughtful persons and substantiated by facts should NOT be mislabeled hate speech and censored. Yes, it really is that simple. Ill be released from jail long before the board reaches a decision. Still, I hope the board strikes down Facebook's labeling of my comment as hate speech. It will empower other Facebook users to post the truth about hate-mongering demagogues. ALTON Each week award-winning photographer John Badman of The Telegraph captures images of the Riverbend. Here is a sampling of his photographs from this week. They also appear in the weekend issue of The Telegraph. EDWARDSVILLE Brady Witcher received two life sentences Friday for the December 2019 murder of three people in Bethalto. During the sentencing hearing, three family members of the victims talked about the impact that Witchers crimes have had on their life but also talked about forgiveness and redemption. Witcher, 43, of Birmingham, Alabama, in January was found guilty of murder in the shooting deaths of Shari Yates, 59; her son, Andrew AJ Brooks, 30; and John McMillian, 32, capping a multi-state crime spree that ended with the capture of Witcher and his accomplice, Brittany McMillan, in a Hazelwood hotel room. The hearing today was truly moving, said Madison County States Attorney Tom Haine. Several family members of Shari, AJ, and John spoke directly to the unrepentant murderer of their loved ones with profound grace and strength, forgave him, and prayed for his redemption," Haine said. "Their extraordinary words moved everyone in the courtroom. They will continue to be in our prayers as they continue to heal. Circuit Judge Kyle Napp sentenced Witcher to natural life on the murder charge, and life for armed robbery. Prosecutors offered several victim impact statements. Teresa Ferguson, the mother of McMillian, said there is no way to describe the amount of pain weve suffered, and that Witcher deserves life in prison. I forgive you," she told him. "But I want you to know youve changed my life." Sara Chalberg, Yates oldest daughter, also gave emotional testimony. Im doing this because I want there to be a record of how much I loved my mom and brother, she said. She also talked about the experiences her children would not have with her mother and brother, and her concerns about helping her children process the insanity of Witchers actions. Chalberg described how one child has nightmares about someone breaking into their home and shooting them. She told how something once fell in their home and she found her other son huddled in a corner, afraid someone had broken in. You made a decision to kill three people for no reason, she said. Amber Higgins, another daughter, spoke at length about forgiveness, saying people think hes a monster and needs to be put to death. She, however, said she sees a human being who is hurting. Assistant Madison County States Attorney Lauren Maricle cited Witchers long history of criminal activity, including the fact that he was on supervised release for federal weapons charges when the crime spree and killings occurred. She said he didnt have to kill three people to steal a car, but he didnt hesitate and showed zero remorse. Napp, who called Witchers crimes gruesome and brutal, noted she had little leeway in sentencing him to natural life for the killings. On the armed robbery charge she sentence him to 30 years, but with a mandatory 25 years to life enhancement for using a firearm, she sentenced him to life. After the hearing, Maricle said she did not know the current status of the prosecution of Witcher in any other states. He faces multiple charges, including murder, in several states. In December, Brittany McMillan pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder for her role in the killings. She is serving a life sentence, the maximum sentence available under Illinois law. There is no relation between Brittany McMillan and John McMillian. Scranton, PA (18503) Today Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 67F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low 49F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Comparing Ukraine and Taiwan is like comparing apples to oranges Polly Zhang Putin taking back Ukraine is a realistic ambition, as the two countries have inseparable culture and past. Even their languages is mutually intelligible. However, Putin and the Chinese Communist Party have never been in the same camp. Putin is trying to lead Russia into a new era of democracy with American characteristics. There are far too many shady deals between Ukraine and Biden. The Bidens are terrified of these deals coming to light, and NATO will gladly sit on their hands over this. Taiwan is a dissimilar situation to Russia and Ukraine. Taiwan is the rightful owner of China. The question is not whether China should retake Taiwan, but rather if Taiwan will lead the world to exterminate the CCP. Taiwan is a democratic power recognized by the world. Theres absolutely no need to use Ukraine as a segue into Taiwan. China is just West Taiwan. It has long lost the trust of the world, and has few friends to help them survive. Xi will never rise to Putins prowess, and Putin will never see Xi as more than a short man with tall ambitions. Knox County's newest Magistrate Tina Roark poses with members of the Knox Count Fiscal Court following its meeting Wednesday. Roark was appointed to the position by Gov. Andy Beshear following the passing of her husband and Knox County Magistrate Stacey Roark. | Photo by Jarrod Mills Westerly, RI (02891) Today Showers this morning, becoming a steady rain during the afternoon hours. High 58F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 49F. Winds light and variable. Those who doubted that Boris Johnson's government would dare to declare economic and financial war on Vladimir Putin's barbarous regime have been proved wrong. Taking advantage of the City of London's status as a world-leading finance centre, and home to great swathes of the Putin regime's plutocracy, the Prime Minister has introduced sweeping measures to confiscate assets, limit trading in Russian shares, and close down the operations of Moscow-based banks, such as VTB, in parallel with the United States. But Britain has been unable to take the ultimate step of freezing Russia out of Swift (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications), the core payments and messaging system which connects more than 11,000 banks across the globe. Blow: Without the option of closing down Swift, bringing Vladimir Putin's Russia to its knees will be that much harder Britain is frustrated in this ambition by the failure of European Union countries to go along with a measure so radical. Such a step could have been decisive in bringing Russia's creaking natural resource-based economy to a shuddering halt. It is through the Swift system that Russian energy suppliers, such as Gazprom, and wheat producers are paid by Western consumers. Swift would also be the obvious vehicle by which London-quoted Evraz, in which Roman Abramovich holds a near 30 per cent stake, remits funding for capital investment and dividends to Russia. The reluctance of Germany and Italy in particular to close down the Swift system is almost certainly related to dependence on Russian natural gas. The EU would be fearful that Moscow would shut down the gas pipelines that channel their supplies if the main system by which they were paid was switched off. Such a move would bring businesses to a shuddering halt in both countries' industrial heartlands and leave domestic consumers across the Continent freezing in their homes. Britain is less vulnerable to Russia's energy weapon because just 5pc of our natural gas comes from Russia. However, both the British-based oil giants, BP and Shell, are deeply involved in Russian oil and gas exploration and production and could face retaliation by Moscow. Without the option of closing down Swift, bringing Russia to its knees will be that much harder. Moscow has rarely been better prepared to weather a commercial storm. Since the invasion of Crimea in 2014, Putin has focused on building up the resilience of Russia's financial systems. At the last count it was reckoned to hold up to $600billion (441billion) of foreign currency and gold reserves. Given this treasure chest and the fact that China is now a big buyer of Russian oil and gas and presumably will not rock the boat over the Ukraine barbarism denuding the Russian economy will be a very long job. Take Moscow's reaction to a run on the Russian currency, the rouble. Faced with the prospect of a collapse in its value, the Central Bank of Russia demonstrated a willingness to protect the rouble by investing some of its vast reserves in propping it up. Other sanctions will bite immediately. The controls on operations of the offshoots of Russia's biggest banks in London will hinder the country's ability to fund itself by selling bonds. That will, in turn, limit the Kremlin's ability to pay for government operations, including military deployments, which are hugely expensive. The best hope for the UK and other Western governments bent on curbing Putin's territorial ambitions is to punish his family, friends and the oligarchs who have benefited so richly from his corrupt regime. By targeting up to 100 super-rich individuals and Russian entities with assets in the UK, the Government will hope that they increase domestic pressure on Putin. But tracking down their wealth is tricky. Establishing ownership of the stolen riches is challenging, buried as it is in a host of ghost and dummy companies. It will require new legislation to force companies to identify owners who currently conceal themselves in faceless offshore vehicles. Earlier this week, the leak of secret documents from Credit Suisse demonstrated how easy it is for money launderers and autocrats to hide ill-gotten gains in mainland Europe. It took temporary closure of Swift access to help bring the extremist Islamic regime in Iran to the nuclear bargaining table. Anglo American managed to avoid the chaos that engulfed markets yesterday by unveiling a record set of results. The mining giant reported earnings for 2021 of 15.5billion, more than double the 7.3billion generated in the previous year, while revenues surged 63 per cent to 31.1billion. Its performance was boosted by high prices for commodities such as iron ore, a key ingredient in steelmaking and one of the companys core products, as suppliers struggled to keep pace with surging demand as the global economy recovered from its pandemic downturn. Dishing dividends: Anglo American reported earnings for 2021 of 15.5bn, more than double the 7.3bn generated in the previous year, while revenues surged 63% to 31.1bn As a result of the record-breaking performance, Anglo unveiled a 1.6billion final dividend for investors, taking its total payout for the year to 4.6billion. The shares inched up 1.8 per cent, or 62.5p, to 3595p as investors digested the figures. Anglos results are yet another reminder of how hot the mining industrys been over the last year, and demonstrates the cash generation and shareholder returns that a miner can deliver when commodity prices are plump, said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman. Miners are in a good spot right now and Anglo looks well set up to capitalise on evolving demand. Anglos bumper dividend followed a whopping 12.6billion payout from rival Rio Tinto (down 1.8 per cent, or 101p, at 5467p) earlier this week, the second-biggest in UK corporate history. Fellow blue-chip miners Glencore (down 1.2 per cent, or 5.1p, at 422.25p) and BHP (down 7 per cent, or 178p, at 2354.5p) have also handed out large sums to shareholders this year. Anglo wasnt the only FTSE 100 firm reporting bumper results yesterday, with British Gas-owner Centrica raking in a profit of 948million last year, up from 447million in 2020, as it cashed in on soaring energy costs. Stock Watch - Tremor International Tremor International climbed after delivering a record set of results. The advertising specialist reported a profit for 2021 of 55.5million, swinging from a 4.5million loss the previous year, while revenues surged 61 per cent to 255million. It also announced plans for a 56million share buyback. Looking ahead, the group flagged an ongoing resurgence in advertising demand as the economy recovered from the pandemic. Shares climbed 10.3 per cent, or 50p, to 534p. The group also benefited from customers using more gas in the first half of the year due to colder weather, while milder temperatures towards the end of the year had allowed it to sell some of its surplus gas and power as prices surged. The company repaid a 27million loan taken from the Government to furlough staff during the pandemic while boss Chris OShea agreed to waive his 1.1million bonus as UK households braced for a sharp rise in energy bills. Despite the profit jump, Centrica shares dropped 4.8 per cent, or 3.6p, to 72.16p. Russias invasion of Ukraine sent markets into meltdown, with the FTSE 100 plunging 3.9 per cent, or 291.17 points, to 7207.01, wiping out all of this years gains, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 tumbled 2.8 per cent, or 587.08 points, to 20,254.44. There were very few bright spots in the market. However, Howden Joinery gained 4.2 per cent, or 30.8p, to 761.6p after posting record full-year results. For 2021, pre-tax profit at the firm soared by 111 per cent to 390.3million while revenues jumped 35 per cent to 2.1billion as the pandemic sparked strong demand for new kitchens and bathrooms from consumers looking to improve their homes during lockdown. Advertising giant WPP swung back into profit as the advertising market bounced back from the pandemic. The group posted a pre-tax profit for last year of 951million compared to a 2.8billion loss in 2020 while revenues rose 6.7 per cent to 12.8billion. The shares fell 12.1 per cent, or 142.5p, to 1034p. Blue-chip gold miners without large exposure to Russia cashed in as prices of the yellow metal surged amid a rush to safer assets. Mexico-based Fresnillo jumped 4 per cent, or 27.6p, to 715.8p while Hochschild Mining, based in Peru, surged 13.8 per cent, or 14p, to 115.7p. Victorian Plumbing sank 8.4 per cent, or 6.9p, to an all-time low of 75.1p after warning rising costs will hit its profit margins. Roman Abramovich saw more than 300million slashed from his fortune yesterday as firms exposed to Russia bore the brunt of the stock market sell-off in London. Shares in FTSE 100 steelmaker Evraz where the billionaire holds a near-29 per cent stake tumbled another 30 per cent after Vladimir Putin ordered a full-blown invasion of Ukraine. The latest slump cost the 55-year-old oligarch 312million. Currency crash: The Russian rouble fell to a record low after Vladimir Putin unleashed his deadly assault on Ukraine And it took losses for the year so far to 72 per cent, reducing the value of Abramovichs stake by more than 1.8billion to 715million. Abramovich, who also owns Chelsea FC, is the largest shareholder in Evraz, which is based in London but has most of its operations in Russia. Evraz is just one of a number of stocks with links to Russia to have been hammered this year as investors pull out amid fears that sanctions could hit business. Fellow FTSE 100 blue-chip Polymetal International was down 38 per cent while in the FTSE 250 Ferrexpo sank more than 42 per cent and Petropavlovsk 27 per cent. A number of major Russian companies have secondary listings in London and do not feature in the main stock market indices. London-listed shares of Russias two biggest companies by market value, Sberbank and Gazprom, fell 72 per cent and 29 per cent respectively. At this point in time, people are saying get me out and get me out at any price, said Luis Saenz, at Russian investment company Sinara. The vast majority of people are expecting the next round of sanctions to be impactful on their ability to invest in Russian stocks. Rolls-Royce shares plunged as investors fretted about the departure of chief executive Warren East and the groups exposure to Russia. East said he will step down as boss by the end of this year having taken the reins in 2015 and battled through the Covid crisis. And as revealed by the Mail last month, Rolls confirmed it has kicked off the search for his successor. With war in Ukraine rattling financial markets, Rolls shares fell 13 per cent, or 15.32p, to 102.38p. Exit: Rolls Royce boss Warren East (pictured) said he will step down as boss by the end of this year having taken the reins in 2015 and battled through the Covid crisis Analysts described Easts departure as a huge blow for the company. But the plunge in its share price also came amid concerns about Rolls exposure to Russia. The engineer gets around a fifth of the titanium it uses for its jet engine rotor blades from Russia while its engines power some of the countrys commercial airliners. East, 60, said it has been sourcing titanium from other suppliers in recent months. Our assumption is that we wont be taking titanium from Russia for some time, he said. But its important aviation division could also be hit too particularly following sanctions on Russian airlines including Aeroflot. Foreign affairs committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said: The Russian people are still flying using planes with Rolls-Royce and General Electric engines. The money still needs to be transferred and the cost of transferring that money still has an effect on the Exchequer. East said the impact would probably be small on Rolls business. The company supplies engines for Aeroflot planes. He added: Sanctions are sanctions. I dont think well be servicing those engines any time soon. East made the comments as the FTSE 100 group returned to the black. It made a profit of 124million in 2021 having slumped to a 3billion loss in 2020 when it was hammered by lockdowns that grounded planes and brought international travel to a standstill for months at a time. Key component: Rolls-Royce gets around a fifth of the titanium it uses for its jet engine rotor blades from Russia while its engines power some of the countrys commercial airliner The company at that time made about half its income from servicing engines on big planes, but this now makes up around a third of its business. It has been making progress with plans to build a fleet of mini nuclear reactors, which has received government backing. Rolls owns 80 per cent of the firm in charge of the project. East steered the company through the worst of the pandemic by slashing 9,000 roles and raising fresh funds. It was the third restructuring Rolls had seen in the space of five years. He took over in 2015 after a string of profit warnings under his predecessor John Rishton. East said the task of leading the company had at times been scary but added he was leaving as the company was coming into the end of one phase and could move on. Even though the company returned to profit, its forecast for only a slight improvement in revenue next year disappointed investors. It made 11.2billion last year. Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said Rolls results had still been overshadowed by the news of Easts departure. He said: East was a key component in the turnaround plan seen at the beginning of his tenure, and has been at the forefront of this latest one. The last thing the business needs in choppy waters is for the captain of the ship to leave his post. Lloyds Bank has set aside another 600million to cover the cost of compensating victims of a fraud at the Reading branch of HBOS. The lender has now spent 1.2billion on clearing up the scandal, which it took responsibility for after buying HBOS in 2009. The HBOS Reading debacle occurred between 2003 and 2007, when six bankers and advisers milked millions of pounds from struggling business customers and used the cash to go on luxury holidays and pay for prostitutes. Compensation costs: Lloyds has now spent 1.2bn on clearing up the HBOS scandal, which it took responsibility for after buying the banking and insurance firm in 2009 Almost 200 business owners saw their livelihoods destroyed, and their total losses have been estimated at more than 1billion. The perpetrators were jailed in 2017. Lloyds launched a scheme to compensate victims, but a review by retired High Court judge Sir Ross Cranston found it had serious shortcomings as it paid out just over 100million. Since then, another former judge Sir David Foskett has been leading an independent panel which is reviewing all of the cases, and deciding what redress is actually due. As it revealed its 2021 results yesterday, Lloyds said the Foskett review was awarding much higher levels of compensation in the few cases it had assessed so far. Lloyds posted pre-tax profits of 6.9billion for 2021, missing forecasts but up from 1.2billion a year ago. It announced a dividend of 1.33p per share, bringing the total to 1.4billion for the year, and a 2billion share buyback. The bank also reinstated its bonus pot, which was axed last year, doling out 399million to top staff. A very small group of officials and policy wonks at that time, myself included, asked that same question, but we were drowned out. The most important, and sole, voice at the top of the Clinton administration asking that question was none other than the defense secretary, Bill Perry. Recalling that moment years later, Perry in 2016 told a conference of The Guardian newspaper: In the last few years, most of the blame can be pointed at the actions that Putin has taken. But in the early years I have to say that the United States deserves much of the blame. Our first action that really set us off in a bad direction was when NATO started to expand, bringing in Eastern European nations, some of them bordering Russia. At that time, we were working closely with Russia and they were beginning to get used to the idea that NATO could be a friend rather than an enemy but they were very uncomfortable about having NATO right up on their border and they made a strong appeal for us not to go ahead with that. On May 2, 1998, immediately after the Senate ratified NATO expansion, I called George Kennan, the architect of Americas successful containment of the Soviet Union. Having joined the State Department in 1926 and served as U.S. ambassador to Moscow in 1952, Kennan was arguably Americas greatest expert on Russia. Though 94 at the time and frail of voice, he was sharp of mind when I asked for his opinion of NATO expansion. I am going to share Kennans whole answer: I think it is the beginning of a new cold war. I think the Russians will gradually react quite adversely and it will affect their policies. I think it is a tragic mistake. There was no reason for this whatsoever. No one was threatening anybody else. This expansion would make the founding fathers of this country turn over in their graves. We have signed up to protect a whole series of countries, even though we have neither the resources nor the intention to do so in any serious way. [NATO expansion] was simply a lighthearted action by a Senate that has no real interest in foreign affairs. What bothers me is how superficial and ill informed the whole Senate debate was. I was particularly bothered by the references to Russia as a country dying to attack Western Europe. Dont people understand? Our differences in the Cold War were with the Soviet Communist regime. And now we are turning our backs on the very people who mounted the greatest bloodless revolution in history to remove that Soviet regime. And Russias democracy is as far advanced, if not farther, as any of these countries weve just signed up to defend from Russia. Of course there is going to be a bad reaction from Russia, and then [the NATO expanders] will say that we always told you that is how the Russians are but this is just wrong. British Airways owner IAG expects passenger capacity to grow to 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels and a return to profitability in 2022, after a collapse in capacity to just 36 per cent of the 2019 level led to a 2.97billion (2.48billion) net loss. It had warned in November that it was heading for a 2021 loss of about 3billion, hurt by pandemic restrictions for most of the year, an improvement on 2020's 4.39billion loss. London-listed Russian miner EVRAZ has warned investors about the potential impact of economic uncertainty and the risk of the imposition of sanctions, following the countrys invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. The group, which saw its share price fall by more than 25 per cent yesterday, turned a net profit of 3.1billion in 2021, up from 858million in the previous year. Global education group Pearson will launch a 350million share buyback after demand for assessment and qualification services enabled it to hit 2021 targets and set out medium-term growth goals. The British company posted 2021 adjusted operating profit in line with recently upgraded forecasts and said it saw stable growth ahead. >If you are using our app or a third-party site click here to read Business Live Pearson shareholders are in line for bumper payouts as the education group announced a 350million share buyback programme and hiked its dividend. The group, which supplies courseware and assessments in schools and colleges in the US, Britain and around the world, saw shares rise 12 per cent after it unveiled its annual results. Pearson's adjusted profit for 2021 - its preferred metrics - rose to 385million, from 313million in 2020, in line with its updated forecasts of 375million. However, pre-tax profit actually tumbled by roughly 56 per cent to 157million, once costs for a major restructuring are included. In demand: Pearson's assessment and qualification services as well as virtual learning Demand for its assessment and qualification services as well as virtual learning offset a decline in its higher education division, helping lift group sales 1 per cent higher to 3.43billion. Often the source of profit warnings, its higher education division posted a 5 per cent fall in underlying sales, with the decline set to continue this year, albeit at a slower pace, Pearson said. But its assessment and qualifications division saw underlying sales growth of 18 per cent, with virtual learning up 11 per cent and English language learning up 17 per cent. Chief executive Andy Bird said 2021 had been a year of 'strong progress' after the company endured a turbulent pandemic, with the group's financial performance 'ahead of expectations'. In light of the performance, the company said it would buy back 350million worth of its shares in order to return capital to shareholders, with the programme set to start 'as soon as is practicable'. It also proposed a final dividend of 14.2p, up from 13.5p the previous year, bringing 2021 full-year dividend to 20.5p, up from 19.5p. 'Pearson has been reorganised and refocused with a new purpose to "add life to a lifetime of learning" at the heart of everything we do,' Bird said. Under his leadership, Pearson has sought to broaden its approach beyond traditional education outlets, selling directly to consumers via its Pearson+ app and to businesses looking to train staff. In January this year, it struck a deal to buy digital certification company Credly in a bid to cash in on businesses looking to train and retain workers at a time when competition for talent is tough. Looking ahead, Pearson is 'confident of further revenue growth', with its priority being to build 'a company that is digital first'. Person shares were up 12 per cent at to 673p towards market close. They have risen since the start of 2022, but have fallen by around 12 per cent over the past year, remaining some 23 per cent below their pandemic peak of 870p in July 2021. Theresa May's former deputy has admitted ministers were wrong to allow the sale of Arm to go ahead. Tory MP Damian Green was a senior figure in May's Cabinet when the Cambridge-based chip designer was sold to Japanese conglomerate Softbank for 23billion in 2016. At the time, the prime minister was keen to show the UK was open for business post-Brexit and waved the deal through despite widespread concern. Wrong: Tory MP Damian Green was a senior figure in May's Cabinet when Arm was sold to Softbank in 2016 But Green, who was work and pensions secretary when the sale was approved before becoming deputy prime minister under May, has told the Mail: 'The deal was a mistake. At the time it was seen as a vote of confidence for inward investment post-Brexit. But in retrospect that was the wrong judgement.' The comments come amid an increasingly bitter row over Arm's future home as Softbank seeks to sell the company. Softbank founder Masayoshi Son is planning to list Arm on the stock market in New York. MPs, leading City figures and industry experts argued, however, that Arm should return to the stock market in London. The issue has been highlighted by the Mail's Back British Tech campaign. The row has sparked fresh anger over the sale to Softbank, which deprived the London Stock Exchange of its leading technology company. Then chancellor Philip Hammond insisted the deal would turn a 'great British company into a global phenomenon'. Anxious to promote the economy in the wake of the Brexit vote, he added: 'Britain is open for business and open for foreign investment.' But earlier this month he attempted to wash his hands of the deal. He told the Mail: 'I hardly had any role, it was my first week in office. I inherited the deal. I can't claim responsibility.' Having taken control of Arm in 2016, Son struck a deal to sell the company to US chip giant Nvidia for 30billion in 2020. But the deal collapsed this year under scrutiny from regulators around the world and he is now looking to list Arm on the stock market. Lord Vinson, 90, who co-founded the Centre for Policy Studies with Margaret Thatcher, said: 'Theresa May failed to find a reason to block the deal. Alongside Thatcher I was a free marketer but I still advocated a moral framework. It's not just about taking the money. Greed is not good. 'The Arm deal was a mistake, it was a national treasure.' BP is facing pressure from the Government to ditch its controversial stake in Russian energy group Rosneft. The oil major's chief executive Bernard Looney was yesterday summoned to a meeting with Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng amid growing unease about its Russian dealings. Rosneft which is backed by the Kremlin is providing fuel to Russia's troops as they wage war on neighbouring Ukraine. Pressure: BP's chief executive Bernard Looney was summoned to a meeting with Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng (pictured) A source familiar with the matter said Looney left the meeting 'with no doubt about the strength of the Business Secretary's concern about their commercial interests in Russia'. BP boasts a 19.75 per cent stake in Rosneft and Looney sits on the company's board alongside Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin, who is a close ally of Vladimir Putin. Also on the Rosneft board is chairman Gerhard Schroder, the former Chancellor of Germany, and ex-BP boss Bob Dudley. Their positions have attracted fierce criticism while BP has been urged to ditch its stake in Rosneft. Earlier this month, Looney said BP's strategy to 'avoid the politics' has served the company well around the world. However, he said the firm would comply with any Ukraine-related sanctions. Rosneft's largest shareholder is state-owned Rosneftegaz, with 40.4 per cent, followed by BP. Polymetal shares have fallen 43% this week All eyes will be on Polymetal International when the Anglo-Russian miner releases its full-year figures on Wednesday. The gold and silver mining group has committed to releasing the results as planned though in light of the conflict in Ukraine investors and analysts will be far more focused on the company's outlook than the cold hard numbers from 2021. Shares have fallen 50 per cent this year, including 43 per cent this week alone. Polymetal has sought to reassure its backers that its mines in Russia and Kazakhstan are continuing to operate as normal and that it has not been affected by the war or sanctions. It also said it is already contingency planning, selecting equipment suppliers and securing sales channels that will keep business running smoothly. Whether this will all still be the case in a few days' time is anybody's guess. Either way, Wednesday will be an unusual and extreme test of shareholders' mettle. In practical terms, investors will be keen to know what sort of costs might be added to the FTSE100 group's spending in 2022. In 2021 it was already grappling with higher costs. Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Covid absences and also an increase in capital expenditure has seen costs mount up.' Despite producing slightly more gold than the year before around 1.7million ounces falling precious metals prices have added more strain. While Polymetal and its peers benefited in 2020, when Covid chaos sent gold prices soaring, it is on the back foot compared with industrial metals miners whose materials are in high demand. Instant unlimited access to all of our content on tillamookheadlightherald.com. The Headlight Herald E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) Earlier this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbot published a letter urging the state's Family and Protective Services to investigate any reported instances of trans and gender non-conforming youth existing, or of adults loving and supporting their children who are trans and/or gender non-conforming. He is able to do this because, of August 2021, Texas law has designated pretty any method of addressing any sort of gender dysphoria as a criminal act of "child abuse." Greg Abbot has officially directed Family and Protective Services to begin investigating all trans children in Texas and prosecuting their parents as child abusers. He has also instructed all teachers, doctors, and caregivers to begin reporting any trans students they see. pic.twitter.com/AO4FdYNuym Meanwhile, Chuck Tingle, walking manifestation of unbridled optimism and acclaimed writer of such literary classics as Space Raptor Butt Invasion, Bigfoot Pirates Haunt My Balls, Pounded in the Butt By My Own Butt, Slammed In The Butthole By My Concept Of Linear Time, Pounded In The Butt By The Sentient Manifestation Of My Own Ignorant Climate Change Denial, and of course, the classic Pounded In The Butt By My Book "Pounded In The Butt By My Book 'Pounded In The Butt By My Book "Pounded In The Butt By My Book 'Pounded In The Butt By My Own Butt'"'", noticed that the web domain located any GovernorAbbott.com was curiously unused and thus available for sale. So Mr. Tingle bought the site, and turned it into a resource for trans charities pushing back against this absolutely inhumane act: Do you like saying you're for small government then building a hate based platform around exerting power over other people whose lives are none of your business? I do too! Do you claim to care about your community but waste funds on border wall projects that statistically don't work and are ethically abhorrent? I do too! Have you stared into the cosmic abyss and heard the moans of a thousand collapsing stars, shaking and drooling as time stretches into an endless gaping maw? Shal T'Chull Suggahall! If you're not frothing at the mouth with belligerent hatred and ignorant bigotry, then maybe supporting Gorg Abbott isn't for you! If something seems off about this website, it's possible you may actually be a decent human being! If you find yourself questioning the leadership of someone so committed to hatred, consider donating to these charities instead: Transgender Law Center Trans Lifeline Sylvia Rivera Law Project Barre, VT (05641) Today Cloudy with periods of rain. High 53F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional light rain...mainly this evening. Low 43F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. A Russian battleship radioed an order for 13 guards on tiny Snake Island in the Black Sea to surrender. The guards replied, "Russian warship, go fuck yourself!" They were the guards' final words before the Russians killed them all. This meme has been doing the rounds. It says "go fuck yourself". The defiant last words of 13 Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island in the Black Sea, after they were given an ultimatum by a Russian warship to surrender or die. pic.twitter.com/Hjik712JgF From The Washington Post: Throughout much of Thursday, a group of some 13 border guards had attempted to protect the island, Zelensky said in a televised address. All were killed and will be honored posthumously. The soldiers became a symbol of Ukraine's defiance and courage after news of their encounter with a Russian fleet made rounds across social media. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said Russian forces told the island's Ukrainian garrison to surrender "to avoid bloodshed," according to the audio he posted. The soldiers refused and a deadly artillery strike soon followed. How Does Your Newspaper Get to You? This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SCHENECTADY A week of bitter weather and wild winds made binge-watching an iconic TV series a tempting pastime. Congregation Gates of Heaven's Arnold Rotenberg, the synagogue's director of congregational Jewish living, hosted about two dozen "Star Trek" fans for a Zoom exploration of how Jewish culture shaped the 1966-69 series that became a pop culture phenomenon. "Star Trek" counted Martin Luther King Jr., Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and endless astronauts, astronomers and NASA engineers as fans. The series had a magical hold despite cardboard props and scripts that occasionally dipped into sermonizing. But it was a civil rights and feminist inspiration. Sure, the bosomy female officers wore silly micro-minis as a uniform. But they were greeting aliens on distant worlds, navigating the stars and collecting moon rocks right beside the men. "Star Trek" aired as Black Americans faced violent resistance all over the South for trying to vote and the Vietnam War had no end in sight. But the crew on the U.S.S. Enterprise showed Black, Asian American and white officers working together and forging friendships in a galaxy where war was an anomaly. As Rotenberg observed, many of the scriptwriters and the two lead actors were Jewish and their heritage helped shape many of the show's themes and its dream of a better future than the present turmoil. Here are some of the influences Rotenberg spotted with some supplemental research by a Trekkie attendee: 1. Leonard Nimoy, who played the Vulcan named Mr. Spock, and William Shatner, ship captain and ladies' man James T. Kirk, were both sons of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants and grew up in kosher homes where Yiddish was spoken. Nimoy was so fluent and savored the language so much, he appeared onstage in Yiddish theater productions. In a book that paid tribute to their friendship, Shatner said they both were confronted with anti-Semitic insults and slurs as children and teenagers. 2. Spock's Vulcan salute was a gesture Nimoy remembered from a Jewish prayer blessing he participated in as a child. In Congregation Berith Sholom on Third Street in Troy, visitors often ask to see the "Spock window." They are referring to a stained glass depiction of a pair of hands in what looks like the Vulcan salute but is actually that blessing. 3. "Star Trek" writers worried about how Jewish Enterprise crew members could get in-flight kosher meals. And rabbis actually debated this and concluded that food made in the spaceship's replicator is always kosher. Because the replicator fabricates all food from pure energy, everything, even a pork chop, would be kosher. LeoLamvaed.com is a popular site about how the Talmud and Jewish jurisprudence would answer questions posed by sci-fi novels, comics and fantasy fiction. He has a detailed posting on the replicator's kosher food: "The fact that the final product is designed to look and taste like a forbidden product (pork) does not make it actually forbidden. What matters is the origin of the item you are eating." There is no pig, he notes, only pure energy, producing a "Star Trek" pork chop. 4. "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry was not Jewish. He was a World War II veteran who would never forget the horrors of the Holocaust and fascism's creepy allure to some who feel desperate and marginalized. In the episode "Patterns of Force," a professor apparently the stupidest on Earth tries to unite an alien planet by introducing Nazism. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. It may sound preposterous. But the SS uniforms and plot about mass slaughter were too disturbing for Germany. The episode was banned from German TV until 1996. 5. Nimoy believed that "Star Trek" reflected "tikkun olam," the Jewish obligation to repair the world. Nightly news of Black Americans being beaten and killed for protesting racist barriers to jobs, education and voting made it clear how badly repairs were needed. In "Star Trek's" distant future, beautiful, brave, brainy Lt. Nyota Uhura a Black female officer was on the ship's bridge and a crucial officer on planetary missions. But the show was paying her less than the two male actors playing an ensign and a lieutenant commander until Nimoy demanded pay equity for her. In her autobiography, "Beyond Uhura," she recalls racist TV staffers who tried to conceal the volumes of fan mail she was getting. Finally, tired of seeing her lines cut, she decided to leave the role. Then she attended an NAACP convention where she met her self-described "No. 1 fan." It was King. He watched the show weekly with his family. She thanked him but explained she would be leaving it soon. "You cannot and you must not," King implored. "Don't you realize how important your presence, your character is? You have broken ground. For the first time, the world sees us as we should be seen, as equals, as intelligent people." King was in such constant danger, jailed, beaten, threatened by the FBI, often separated from his wife and children to confront crises, that it's comforting to imagine him relaxing with his family by the TV, wrapped in a future dream world where racism was no obstacle to friendship or happiness. Ulster Countys affordable housing stock continues to grow as officials announced on Thursday a plan to turn Kingston's former Elizabeth Manor Boarding House into supportive housing for up to 35 residents and vulnerable families. This project will provide quality housing for dozens of our most vulnerable residents and ensure this site doesn't become another casualty of the wave of gentrification that is displacing so many of our residents," Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said at a news conference Thursday. The purchase of 21 Elizabeth Street in Midtown Kingston is part of the 2021 Ulster County Housing Action Plan to create nearly 300 units of emergency, supportive and affordable housing for those most in need and for essential workers, seniors and young residents who are seeing home prices and rents skyrocket. The supportive housing at the former boarding house will serve formerly homeless, disabled and other vulnerable tenants, similar to the Quality Inn on Route 28 in the Town of Ulster, which will be renovated to provide 81 apartments alongside on-site social services. The county also plans to turn a former county jail into a new neighborhood of mixed income, intergenerational and workforce housing. On Wednesday, Ryan presented his 2022 State of the County Address and recommited to these affordable housing investments as the need for them has grown. During the pandemic weve seen an unprecedented surge in home prices in Ulster County, said Ryan to the Times Union: Hudson Valley. Weve been making progress on that, talking about where we should go from here. Even before the pandemic, Ulster County's housing market was out of reach for many residents. Between 2013 and 2019, single-family home prices in the county shot up by 17 percent. Median rents in Ulster County also rose by 16 percent since 2010, while the median household income of renters fell by 1 percent. The Elizabeth Manor Boarding House has remained vacant since November 2020 after a fire that displaced 37 residents. Ulster County is purchasing the building using $700,000 out of the $34 million in federal funding it received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to counteract the pandemic's negative economic impacts. An additional $100,000 in State and Municipal Facilities Grant funding through New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey will go toward the renovation, along with $500,000 in ARPA funds from the City of Kingston and county bonds. Downtime is the best time Make the most of your Hudson Valley weekend, every week with our newsletter. Having this supportive housing located right in Midtown Kingston is a major step forward in keeping families rooted in their community and connected to local-level assistance, said Hinchey in a news release. This shows the continued progress to address the countys needs and the urgency of the housing crisis, Ryan told the Times Union: Hudson Valley. Its a strong step by the county to preserve whats left of the housing stock for vulnerable residents. Additional housing projects are on the horizon, Ryan added. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBANY The Common Council is considering an overhaul of the citys approach to policing and public safety. Legislation introduced Thursday would reestablish a Department of Public Safety in the city. It would create a nine-member commission to oversee that department as well as the city police department and police practices. Common Council President Corey Ellis is pushing the legislation. Three council members, Derek Johnson, Owusu Anane and Tom Hoey, are sponsoring it since the council president cant introduce legislation. Some police representatives already see the idea, which also diverges from the mayor's ideas, as laden with ill will. Ellis said the proposal is meant to continue to push the ideas laid out in the citys Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative and respond to calls from city residents for systemic change. This is the start of how you do systemic change, he said. Its a starting point of looking at how we do public safety in a different way. Ellis stressed he wanted to differentiate between the ideas of policing and public safety. The commission would be in charge of establishing best public safety practices and be led by city residents, he said. Public safety isnt just about enforcing the law. Public safety is about looking at other issues as well, thats what I want people to understand, he said. The council would appoint five members, with the mayor appointing the remaining four. Commission members would serve staggered three-year terms. The commission would have the power to change existing police procedures as it saw fit and appoint a commissioner for the Department of Public Safety. The councils proposal conflicts with Mayor Kathy Sheehans idea to hire a part-time public safety commissioner who would be under her direction and oversee police and fire department disciplinary matters. Sheehans chief of staff did not respond to a request for comment on the proposal or if the city has interviewed any candidate for the public safety commissioner position. A key potential change would be giving the Department of Public Safety and its staff responsibility for handling calls for help, such as mental health and substance abuse issues. The public safety commission would also be able to decide whether unarmed staff members should be dispatched for other calls such as quality-of-life concerns, minor thefts, and any criminal matters where it is unlikely that the responders will encounter a violent situation, according to the legislation. Hoey, chair of the councils public safety committee, said the commission would be an independent body that could examine how the city approaches policing and recommend changes it saw as necessary. Hoey pointed to a possible discussion the commission could have on whether armed city police officers were needed for events like the Tulip Festival. Change is hard for everyone but either we change or we stagnate, he said. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. The legislation also lays the groundwork for crisis stabilization centers, overdose prevention sites and safe injection facilities, which would be run by service providers. It would also set the police departments hiring, recruiting, promotion and discipline policies. The legislation would ban current city employees, including police officers, and former police officers and relatives of city employees from serving on the commission. The members would receive a stipend for their work, but the legislation does not set an amount. Both of the citys police unions expressed opposition to the plan. PBA President Mike Delano, who represents officers and some detectives, said when he read the legislation, he detected animosity and grandstanding from the council. Delano said the union would challenge the legality of the law if necessary. Im starting to sense a trend where we legislate when we dont want to negotiate, he said of the council. Josiah Jones, president of the supervisors union, said he was frustrated because the department does partner with outside agencies to handle some of the issues described in the bill. These are all things that are going to continue to erode the numbers of our police department and make it very difficult for us to do our job, he said. There's a major, major concern for police officers that no matter what they do, no matter how they do it, it's going to be judged wrong. The council public safety committee will have several meetings to discuss the legislation, Hoey said. If the legislation passes the council and Sheehan signs it, it will still need to go before city voters for approval in November. David Shenhan Yang and Natasha Harris, assistant principals at Carter High School in Rialto, California, were charged with felony child abuse and failing to report child abuse. ABC News reports that they were told about multiple sexual assaults on campus but failed to pass on those allegations to authorities. A 17-year-old suspect was eventually charged with sexual battery. The Rialto Police Department said officers were investigating a claim in mid-February in which a 17-year-old had been reportedly sexually assaulting a girl for months. Officers later learned the victim had initially reported the sexual assault to both Harris and Yang three months prior to RPD's investigation back in November 2021. "My daughter is being kept out of school right now and these people are still here while my daughter is losing on her education, and they are trying to make it seem as if she is a liar," said the victim's mother Stephanie Olvera. "I'm the one that called police because they failed to do so." Another victim reported a separate sexual assault involving the same male student in September 2021, which authorities say Harris and Yang failed to report to law enforcement. Authorities said a third victim came forward this month who had not previously reported a sexual assault to school officials. Mandatory reporting has been the law since 1980 in California. These officials were not even born when teachers were first obliged to report allegations or suspicions of abuse to the authorities. When educators fail to report, they know they're risking everything: their reputations, their careers, their families, their homes, their freedom. Harris and Yang were dragged out of their offices by cops and perp-walked for the media. The charges could see them jailed for years. And yet they will eat all that rather than follow the lawwhich does not oblige them to believe or otherwise act on the allegations. Such is the level of resentment and indifference when a student complains about being abused. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBANY In 2017, FBI agents in Cincinnati investigating the theft of trade secrets stumbled across the website of a college in China that featured a link to a highly skilled engineer delivering a presentation. His name was Xiaoqing Zheng, the agents learned, and in 2012 he had been chosen for the Thousand Talents Program, a Chinese government program designed to recruit talented researchers to bring their skills to China. Except in this case, Zheng's skills were already employed at General Electric in Schenectady, close to the home in Niskayuna where Zheng and his wife, Hui Jin, have raised three children. The Cincinnati agents, working an unrelated case, notified GE security and fellow agents in Albany, setting the stage for an investigation into Zheng and his arrest in 2018. And now, Zheng, 59, is headed to trial in U.S. District Court accused of stealing GE trade secrets to benefit the Chinese government. Zheng is charged with 12 counts, including economic espionage; conspiracy to commit economic espionage; theft of trade secrets; and making a false statement. Jury selection in the case before U.S District Judge Mae D'Agostino is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, March 3 and March 4. Opening statements are expected to be delivered on March 7. At trial, federal prosecutors plan to show that Zheng belonged to the Thousand Talents Program at the time he allegedly stole the trade secrets. They plan to show jurors evidence that includes two hours of Zheng's interview with investigators. Two weeks before that interview, Zheng delivered remarks to the Communist Party secretary for Liaoyang Province, in northeastern China, at a signing ceremony in connection with an agreement involving a Zheng-managed business, according to evidence highlighted by prosecutors in court filings. Evidence includes exhibits showing the remarks, as well as an employment contract for Zheng and an institute in China. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Belliss, Emily Powers and Matthew Chang, a Washington, D.C.-based trial attorney, are prosecuting the case for U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman. Zheng is being represented by Latham defense attorney Kevin Luibrand. "We're going to dispute both the factual assertions by the government and the legal basis for the offenses," Luibrand told the Times Union. The case is one of a number in recent years in which defendants were charged with trying to steal trade secrets from GE and others, locally and nationally. Some local cases have ended with guilty pleas, prison sentences, probation and fines. In the months before Zheng was charged, the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy issued a report titled: How Chinas Economic Aggression Threatens the Technologies and Intellectual Property of the United States and the World." It noted that China was attempting to acquire intellectual property and technology to drive its future growth. Zheng, a Chinese-born U.S. citizen, earned bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in aeronautical propulsion and thermal engineering from Northwestern Polytechnic University in China. Zheng worked as a research scientist in the field of commercial seals for large-scale equipment for multiple companies, including GE, beginning in early 2008. At GE, court papers submitted by Luibrand show, Zheng obtained more than 35 patents and received awards. Prosecutors identified Zheng as one of the world's leading experts in turbine-sealing technology. Turbines generate power and can be used in various ways, including to provide thrust for airplanes. In 2014, GE had detected the movement by Zheng of thousands of electronic files from his GE-issued computer to a personal computer, prosecutors said. They said the company also learned that Zheng was encrypting hundreds of files by using a program Axcrypt that GE did not regularly use and, as a result, could not see through. Still, there was nothing in court records to indicate that GE suspected him of any wrongdoing. Also, that Zheng had business dealings in China was not a surprise to GE. In early 2016, Zheng provided the company a conflict disclosure form telling GE he had "brothers in China" who started a "small company in China" that was a "parts supplier for civil aviation engines." Zheng told GE the company was not yet operating but plans were in place to supply pipe joints based on his experience in another company before he joined GE. In turn, GE told Zheng that if the circumstances changed he needed to fill out another conflict disclosure form, according to court papers. Fast-forward to 2018, when the FBI and GE followed up the discovery by Cincinnati-based agents of Zheng's recorded July 1, 2016, presentation at the Jiangsu Province Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics College of Energy and Power Energy Engineering and that he had been chosen for the Thousand Talents Program. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. On June 11, 2018, GE's insider threat team clandestinely installed a software monitoring program on Zheng's computer. On July 5, 2018, the program revealed that Zheng had moved 40 encrypted files and hidden them under a digital photo of the sunset captioned: "Happy Fourth of July." And the program captured Zheng emailing the files to his personal email account, prosecutors stated in a pre-trial brief. It said Zheng flew to China where he remained until July 31, 2018. The FBI obtained search warrants for Zheng's home, email and a suitcase he brought back from China but had become lost in transit. The FBI would learn that Zheng owned a parts supply company, Nanjing Tianyi Aeronautical Technology, also known as the Tianyi Aviation Technology Company, in Nanjing, China. He was general manager of another company, Lioning Tianyi Aviation Technology. They learned that the first company was working on the same kind of advanced turbine sealing technology that Zheng had worked on for GE, the trial brief said. On Aug. 1, 2018, more than a dozen federal agents knocked on the door of Zheng's home on Cephalonia Drive just after 6 a.m. They seized evidence that included a desktop computer and iPhone that contained alleged trade secrets and text messages with a business associate, as well as with Zhaoxi Zhang, his nephew and alleged co-conspirator. Zhang, a Chinese citizen, was indicted but is believed to be in China. A superseding indictment alleged the future co-defendants exchanged encrypted text messages in 2016 about "leaders" and a "governor" in China being interested in Zheng's talents. Agents found other electronics, documents, business cards and publications, one of which detailed how accredited companies could get financial breaks such as tax cuts, cash rewards and loans for work on certain technologies important to the Chinese government. The agents also seized $50,000 $20,000 of which was hidden in a wall, the rest in a travel bag in a closet, prosecutors said. Agents interviewed Zheng over several hours in the house and later at the FBI field office on McCarty Avenue in Albany. By that point, they had placed Zheng in handcuffs. When they located his suitcase, it contained a passport showing Zheng's participation in the Thousand Talents Program. In an affidavit filed last year by Luibrand, Zheng said GE was experiencing production issues between 2017 and 2018. Zheng stated that the seal development area began to soften, which made him seek other opportunities to secure his job security at GE. He said GE encouraged him to find replacement seal suppliers in China to fulfill a GE need. Expected witnesses at the trial include Radhul Bidkar, a senior mechanical engineer at GE. He is expected to explain to the jury what a turbine is, how steam and gas turbines work, their role in generating electricity and why certain files related to turbine seal technology belong to GE, are valuable to GE and that their loss would cause the company harm. Another witness, James Mulvenon, an expert on the Chinese military and that nation's espionage practices, is expected to testify about Chinese government talent recruitment programs, the state of Chinas turbine technology and how the country would be aided from updated turbine-related infrastructure and its relationship with the companies. Diana L. Porter GLOVERSVILLE City firefighters said the owner of a Maple Avenue home managed to escape flames Friday afternoon but suffered burns and was airlifted to a Syracuse hospital for treatment. Gloversville and Johnstown Fire Departments were dispatched at 1:59 p.m. to 24 Maple Avenue. Several oxygen bottles were stored on the first floor near the origin of the fire and at least one container exploded. Fire Chief Thomas Groff said fortunately no firefighters were injured. TROY Chef Michael LoPorto, who served a term on the City Council and owned a popular downtown restaurant for decades, died Thursday after battling cancer, family, friends and city Democrats said. He was 70. LoPorto was long a familiar presence on Fourth Street holding court outside his restaurant, LoPorto Ristorante Caffe, known simply as LoPortos, when he wasnt inside cooking and chatting with patrons. He would usually be puffing a cigar. An Italian immigrant who arrived in the U.S. in the late 1960s with his brother Salvatore LoPorto from Sicily, LoPorto became an award-winning chef who cooked at Michael Anthony's in Lake George and at a four-star restaurant in San Francisco before opening his namesake restaurant in downtown Troy. He also operated two restaurants in Lake George, The Sign of the Tree at the Empire State Plaza in Albany and had a catering business. The restaurant website estimates he served more than a million customers. LoPorto would go from dealing with city power brokers to asking the homeless how they were and slipping them cash. "My best memory of him will always be his sense of concern for others less fortunate, down on their luck guys and families. For example, I can't begin to tell you all the Troy street people he fed or gave money to in the course of an evening out in front of his restaurant," said retired city Police Commissioner Anthony Magnetto. "He came across as brash but he was a truly sentimental person," said Clement "Chappy" Campana, who was part of a circle of friends that ate breakfast every Saturday with LoPorto and also served as council president with him on the City Council. LoPorto's presence whether it was downtown, at City Hall or pulling up a chair in his restaurant made him a noticed and appreciated part of city life. Michael was passionate about Troy and in many ways lent his talents and efforts in the betterment of our community. He was a larger-than-life figure whose passing leaves Troy a little less eclectic. I offer my condolences to his family and many friends whose company he dearly relished. He will be missed," Mayor Patrick Madden said. LoPorto, a Democrat, was elected to the City Council in 2009 as an at-large member. His campaign found him caught up in the Working Families Party primary ballot fraud investigation. LoPorto was indicted and tried twice. The first trial ended in a hung jury and he was acquitted at the second trial after taking the stand to deliver memorable testimony in his own defense. Five other Democrats pleaded guilty in the case. He became much more than a client. We became family. I loved him. He was larger than life. He was probably the funniest guy I ever met, said Cheryl Coleman, LoPortos defense attorney for the second trial. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. LoPortos testimony for that second trial was clear and without the profanity that often laced his speech whether he was gabbing on a street corner or speaking in conversation. Coleman said LoPortos appearance on the stand drove home to the jury that he didnt commit the fraud he was accused of doing. LoPorto opposed moving City Hall from its 1 Monument Square location. He also fought the creation of the Troy Downtown Business Improvement District with the additional taxes that it put on local businesses. LoPortos familiar presence was often missing in downtown Troy in the last few years as he fought cancer. He had received treatment in New York City and locally before he died Thursday. He had seen two remissions from cancer and helped his daughter Francesca LoPorto-Brandow battle cancer. She is in remission. "We went through cancer together. My dad was a great person. He was my best friend. He was a great father and an even greater grandfather," LoPorto-Brandow said. LoPorto saw his two grandsons every day. His giving nature, LoPorto-Brandow said, inspired her to give back to the community. His strong connections throughout Troy, she said, became apparent as tributes and condolences began pouring in within an hour of his death. "He went through this for years. He was a fighter," Campana said. "I lost a real good friend. We thought he would beat this." Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized. LoPorto is survived by his wife, Lena LoPorto, daughters Lidia LoPorto and LoPorto-Brandow with her husband, Zachary Brandow, grandsons Giovanni and Giuliano Brandow, and a large extended family. KINDERHOOK At first, Nivia was working four days a week doing food preparation for a bakery for $12 an hour. Then her schedule was cut down to three days a week, with fewer hours. Eventually, she was asked not to return to work at all. Losing her job during the coronavirus pandemic felt, at points, crippling to Nivia, who asked the Times Union not to publish her last name. Nivia, an undocumented immigrant, was grateful her husband only lost his job at the bakery for one week, but his income wasnt enough to cover the expenses that quickly added up in their household especially since the couple also has two children. She had come to the U.S. from Honduras seeking safety, but the pandemic and being undocumented quickly made it difficult for her to find support and prosper. Nivia is among many immigrants and people of color across New York state facing unemployment during the pandemic. A recent report published by the Immigration Research Initiative, a new think tank that branched off from the Latham-based research organization Fiscal Policy Institute, found that the unemployment gap between people of color particularly immigrants and white people reached an all-time high as the U.S. economy was devastated by the pandemic. We had the sense from what wed seen from groups we work with that immigrants had been more affected by unemployment in this recession than in previous recessions, said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the Albany-based IRI. Typically, immigrants have the same unemployment rate as U.S.-born people, and what we saw this time is immigrant unemployment spiking 4 percentage points above the U.S.-born population. The report found that during March 2021, the unemployment rate for immigrants in the state was 14.5 percent, compared to 10.2 percent for U.S.-born residents. Typically, the gap between the groups has hovered around 1 percent. During the 2008 recession, immigrants unemployment rate was slightly lower than that of U.S.-born residents. I think whats different this time is we have these new categories of thinking about the labor force during the pandemic, Kallick said. Immigrants are more likely to be in jobs that were newly recognized as being essential to the economy but they were also more likely to be in the jobs where there were disproportionate numbers of layoffs, like restaurants and hotels and nail salons. Where immigrants were less likely to be was in jobs that would allow them to work from home during the worst of the pandemic. Those trends stand true even more for undocumented immigrants, researchers said. I cant apply for one of those jobs, to be honest, because of my immigration status, Nivia said of remote job options through an interpreter. When you apply for those jobs online, the first thing theyre going to ask is for a Social Security number, and I just dont have one. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. The results of the study underscore the importance of establishing a social safety net for undocumented immigrants, advocates said. While American citizens and people with legal immigration status across the country received stimulus checks from the federal government and other social service benefits throughout the pandemic, undocumented immigrants such as Nivia had nothing to rely on when the pandemic upended their lives. The New York state Legislature passed a bill last year that designated $2.1 billion in COVID-19 relief for undocumented immigrants who are ineligible for other federal and state benefits because of their immigration status. But the funds were depleted within roughly two months of opening applications, leaving behind many undocumented workers including Nivia in need of the assistance. Now, state legislators and immigration advocates want to make the Excluded Workers Fund a permanent part of the state budget. The report also found unprecedented trends in unemployment among people of color: over 16 percent of Latinos were unemployed in March 2021, surpassing the unemployment rate of immigrants overall and hitting a higher unemployment rate than Black people, which was 13.4 percent, for the first time in history. The Asian-American/Pacific Islander community saw the highest jump in unemployment, from roughly 2 percent in 2019 to a striking 14 percent in 2021 also surpassing Black people, though just by 0.5 percentage points. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for white people was 9 percent. Racial disparities are deeply embedded in the labor market in New York as around the country, the result of decades of discrimination, Kallick said. Looking at the long-term unemployment trend shows an added layer of racial inequity resulting from the COVID pandemic. SARATOGA SPRINGS The city Public Safety commissioner says the police department practice of only promoting from within its nearly all-white ranks is discriminatory and will prohibit any person of color from rising to the top for at least the next 10 years. Speaking Wednesday to the citys Civil Service Commission, James Montagnino said that the city's civil service rules must be changed for the police and fire departments to make testing and hiring open and competitive. No person of color is allowed to sit for either the police chief or fire chiefs examinations, Montagnino said on Friday. The way the system is set up there is no open and competitive tests for promotion in either of the uniformed services. The reality that results from that is that it would be at least a decade for a person in either force to be able to take the test and be appointed to that position. Under U.S. Supreme Court law (Griggs v. Duke Power Company), I suggested there is evidence of discriminatory intent and therefore, there ought to be some change in the civil service law. There is only one Black person in the police department. The citys two new police hires are white. The seven recruits now at the police academy are also white. There are no people of color in the fire department. Montagnino said the change would require two votes on the three-person commission to change classifications for chief, assistant chief, lieutenants and sergeants, all of whom now are required to come from within the department. I would have no objection if there was a preference for promotion from within, Montagnino said. But the right thing to do is cast a wide net and make these promotions open and competitive. He also said that the police and fire departments should be a fair reflection of a cross-section of the community they serve. I cant imagine a valid reason for not making them open and competitive, the commissioner said. I understand the parochial mindset that says this is our town and we dont want any outsiders. But Saratoga has grown. Its probably the most cosmopolitan city between Albany and Montreal. Currently, the arithmetic is against a young African-American who shows up today to take the civil service test. It would take years before he could be anything but a patrol officer. Saratoga Springs police Chief Shane Crooks was unavailable for comment. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. There have been promises before in Saratoga Springs to diversify the police department. In 1987, during his campaign for public safety commissioner, Lewis Benton promised to increase minority representation. In 1992, he hired James Cook, a Black officer. But as soon has he was hired, a white man who was passed over for the job, Norman Boyea, filed a reverse discrimination complaint with the states Division of Human Rights against the city saying that Cook was hired over him because Cook was Black. Boyeas complaint was deemed unfounded and dismissed in court. However, Cook, who lives in Clifton Park, said the whole thing left a scar. He said the chief at the time never defended him and things at the department only got worse, including being sent on phantom calls and his trainer leaving him, then a rookie, alone on the night shift while his trainer went home to sleep. When Cook asked for a leave of absence, two years into the job, he was asked to resign immediately. He said he was stripped of his uniform, badge and gun at that moment. And though changing civil service laws and creating a civilian review board might help, he said an outsider cant change any police department. It must come from within. The people who are taking on these jobs of commissioner dont have the ability to change it, Cook said. The police are going to have to want to do it. And the police wont want to do it. No one can fully grasp what its like unless you are in there and you are Black. A proud gentleman flying on Southwest walked to the back of the plane and offered to show his penis to a flight attendant. When the crew member declined, the offended passenger urinated in a corner of the galley and then grew "very hostile" when asked to mop up his mess, according to a federal complaint. He became so belligerent, flight crew "feared for their safety as well as that of the flight," and one crew member said they "feared for their life." The plane flying from Dallas to Burbank was diverted to Albuquerque, and the 33-year-old man Samson Hardridge from Lancaster, California, was arrested. From The Washington Post: According to the complaint, Friday's incident began when passenger Samson Hardridge, 33, of Lancaster, Calif., got up during the flight to use the lavatory at the back of the plane. A flight attendant asked him to stand in the aisle because space was tight in the galley. At that point, according to the complaint, Hardridge had his hands in his pants and asked if the flight attendant wanted to see his genitals. The answer was no. Despite a reminder to stay in the aisle, he "proceeded to the aft galley door of the aircraft and began urinating in the corner of the aircraft," the complaint said. The flight attendant "felt as if Hardridge was going to attack" them as he yelled and threatened them, calling them profane names and invading their personal space. After learning of the behavior, the pilot diverted the flight to Albuquerque. The criminal complaint, written by FBI Special Agent Stacey Stout, said there is probable cause to believe that Hardridge interfered with flight crew members and attendants, a federal offense. In a statement, Southwest said that local police met the plane at the gate and removed the passenger and that the flight continued to its original destination of Burbank "a short time later." The U.S. attorney's office in New Mexico said Hardridge would stay in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Friday morning. If convicted, Hardridge could face up to 20 years in prison, according to The Washington Post. NORTH RIVER Bridie Farrell, a former speed skater and advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse, is ending her campaign for Congress. Farrell, a Democrat, hoped to unseat U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville. Farrell, 40, indicated in a tweet Friday the new district map prompted her decision. A statement posted to her campaign Facebook page reads in part, "New York's 21st district now has a 23-point Republican advantage instead of the eight-point margin it had when I launched my campaign. I no longer see a path to victory for a Democrat in this race." Farrell announced in July she was running. The remaining Democratic challengers in the race are Matt Putorti, an attorney who lives in Whitehall, and Matt Castelli, a former CIA officer. The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote. Farrell grew up in Saratoga Springs and competed nationally as a member of the U.S. speed skating team. She retired in 2006, but reemerged in 2013 to compete in the Sochi Olympic trials after revealing she had been sexually abused by an older speed skater, an Olympic silver medalist, when she was just 15. Farrell founded America Loves Kids, a nonprofit that advocates for survivors of child sexual abuse, and lobbied in New York for passage of the Child Victims Act, which was signed into law in 2019. ALBANY A campaign committee for former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to run television advertisements next week that will seek to restore his reputation following findings that he had sexually harassed or acted inappropriately with multiple women. A leaked version of the ad presents a 30-second narrative that the governor was wrongfully accused of misconduct by state Attorney General Letitia James. It attempts to make the "case" for Cuomo in the court of public opinion, while shifting focus to the decisions of multiple district attorneys not to pursue criminal cases against the former governor. Generally, the five district attorneys indicated they found the victims to be credible, and believed their allegations, but they indicated that state criminal procedure laws did not provide a sufficient justification to pursue a case against Cuomo. Cuomo resigned in August as he faced a likely impeachment trial and mounting scandals. He announced his resignation a week after James' office issued its report that sustained the claims of sexual harassment against Cuomo. The outside investigators who authored the report wrote that they found Cuomo "engaged in conduct constituting sexual harassment under federal and New York state law." The report found that Cuomo "sexually harassed a number of current and former" state employees. It also found the Executive Chamber fostered a toxic work environment that "contributed to the conditions that allowed the sexual harassment to occur and persist." The advertisement is paid by Friends of Andrew Cuomo and the buyer of the placement is Schule Media & Marketing, out of Arlington, Va., according to Medium Buying. Cuomo's campaign committee has $16.4 million in its account, as of last month. His team has said he has no intention on running for office, although Cuomo personally has not ruled it out. The Democratic primary is set for June. Here's a breakdown of the initial TV ad: "Case against Andrew Cuomo appears to be crumbling." District attorneys chose to not prosecute Cuomo based on the available evidence and the letter of the law. Generally, district attorneys said that the evidence of misconduct was viable, but the law, relative to the respective cases, was insufficient to pursue a case that could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. "Prosecutor says, unfortunately the filings in this matter are potentially defective.'" The Albany County district attorney's office cited a "potentially defective" criminal complaint that was filed against Cuomo by the county sheriff's office. The full quote from the filing by District Attorney David Soares to Albany City Court Judge Holly A. Trexler: "Unfortunately the filings in this matter are potentially defective in that the police-officer-complainant failed to include a sworn statement by the victim such that the people could proceed with a prosecution on these papers." But Sheriff Craig Apple had said that was a mistake on the district attorney's part, and that his investigator had included a copy of the alleged victim's statement. Soares told the court his office "found the complaining witness and her allegations credible and supported by the available evidence, (but) we have concluded that we would be unable to secure a conviction at a criminal trial, taking into account all the facts of this case." Soares also told the court his office also had "considered other potential criminal charges and concluded that none fit the allegations." "The New York State Attorney General may have turned a blind eye to crucial details." Cuomo's attorney, Rita Glavin, and his team have repeatedly pushed that James was "politically motivated" and that influenced what information her team gathered and what it reported. Glavin has drawn attention to certain redacted or withheld information from the attorney general's office, as well as leads that the investigators may not have followed up on. The critiques have also pointed to James' bid for governor after Cuomo resigned. James has since abandoned her short-lived gubernatorial run and is seeking reelection as attorney general. James has reiterated the report out of her office was credible and not politically motivated. Cuomo's attorney said he would file a complaint with a state Supreme Court attorney grievance committee targeting the actions of James and the attorneys who handled the investigation. The statement also hedges on taking a firm stance. It states that James "may have" not followed important details. It is not conclusive in what it is asserting to listeners. "According to the prosecutor, there was exculpatory evidence." Similar to the "potentially defective" filings, a letter by Soares to the Albany City Court stated that "exculpatory evidence," or evidence that could have been beneficial to Cuomo's defense, had been turned over to Glavin. In a footnote of Soares' letter, it refers to a transcript of the alleged victim's statements to the state attorney general's investigators that was provided to the defense "due to its exculpatory nature." The letter by Soares does not explain why the information may be beneficial to Cuomo. The potential exculpatory evidence did not appear to be why the case was not pursued. "It also created more questions about the politicization of the process." The vague statement lacks attribution. It rhetorically builds off the prior sound bite, suggesting that without certain evidence, it could lead someone to wonder whether politics influenced the attorney general's office or the Assembly, which issued a report based on an investigation that also sustained the allegations against Cuomo. The claims by Glavin and Cuomo that James was politically motivated has not been substantiated by people outside of the defense team. "Five counties have declined to press charges and this essentially ends the investigation against Cuomo with no charges filed. District attorneys in the counties of Albany, Manhattan, Westchester, Nassau and Oswego have not pursued charges against Cuomo. The prosecutors though did not say that the allegations were unfounded, just that they would not pursue criminal cases. "In no way should this decision be interpreted as casting doubt upon the character of credibility of Ms. (Virginia) Limmiatis, or how harmful the acts she experienced were," Oswego County District Attorney Gregory S. Oakes had said. "This investigation makes clear what victims, their advocates, police and prosecutors have said for years: The current sex offense statutes in New York fail to properly hold offenders accountable and fail to adequately protect victims." Oakes said the law should be "revised and reformed to reflect the lived experience of victims." "The within complaint is hereby dismissed." The statement is followed by the sound of a gavel. In January, Cuomo and Glavin, via Zoom, appeared in Albany City Court as a misdemeanor forcible touching charge filed against him in October was dismissed. Although the case was dropped, Soares, the Albany County district attorney, said his office found the allegations "credible and supported by the available evidence." Still, "We have concluded that we would be unable to secure a conviction at a criminal trial, taking into account all the facts of this case," Soares said in a letter to the court. Other potential criminal charges were considered, Soares said, but none fit the allegations, which could note a potential gap in the law related to the alleged incidents. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate ALBANY The potential resettlement of Ukrainian refugees in New York, home to the largest Ukraine population in the country, may be months away, according to state officials, but they said New York remains willing and ready to accept them once the federal government offers direction. "For decades, New York has proudly welcomed refugees from Ukraine and from across the globe," said Avi Small, a spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul. "We remain engaged with the Biden Administration as the situation in Ukraine evolves and are committed to supporting the Ukrainian community here in New York and elsewhere." Over the last five years about 1,000 refugees from Ukraine have come to New York, according to the governor's office. An additional 768 came through to the state in the decade prior. State officials are not aware of any federal requests yet for refugee resettlement, related to the new crisis. But the plans to resettle those who flee Ukraine remained in the backdrop Thursday as many lawmakers focused on condemning the attack ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces are expected to overwhelm Ukraine. In the near future, additional funding for refugee resettlement services may likely be needed in the U.S., lawmakers involved in refugee advocacy said. That programming most recently received a boost in aid following the need presented by the American military withdrawal in Afghanistan. Typically, refugee resettlement flows through the federal government and trickles down to state governments, opening a path for people to access resources that can help them obtain sustainable and safe housing, a quality job and educational resources. Federal programming lasts for 60 days. New York is home to about 140,000 Ukrainians, according to 2019 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which is ahead of California and Pennsylvania. About 1 million Ukrainians call the United States their home, according to the data. State Sen. Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, emphasized the importance of making sure the state's refugee resettlement programs are fully funded ahead of a likely influx of Ukrainians. He noted that often people make it to neighboring countries first, like in Poland in this case, and then apply for refugee status to come to the United States. "You won't see it tomorrow," Ryan said in an interview. "But more than likely you're going to see, if this crisis continues on its path, huge numbers of Ukrainian families just trying to get out as soon as possible." The state's programming, run through the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, recently was under the microscope as it ramped up its services for Afghanistan refugees following the U.S. pullout from the Middle Eastern nation. Following calls from lawmakers for additional funding, Hochul included $2 million for refugee resettlement services in her proposed budget this year. In prior years, the Legislature chose to fund the services in a supplemental, after-the-fact measure. The crisis in Ukraine and the continued resettlement of Afghanistan refugees are not the lone pressures on the services, Ryan said. Following four years of slowed processing of refugee requests under the administration of former President Donald J. Trump, he said, it has put pressure on the system now that those applications are being processed. Altogether, Ryan said, he and other lawmakers pushing for refugee resettlement services expect to ask for around $9 million to fully fund the state's program. The services offer refugees support following the initial 60 days that the federal government helps to prop up families arriving here. "The more services we can provide a family during their first year ... it just makes for a much quicker economic integration," Ryan said. "We've learned that just the federal funding isn't enough, because after 60 days of services you're on your own and that's really unrealistic." Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, D-Albany, noted that New York will be "open arms again as immigrants and refugees have been a strong foundation of our economy and population growth." Fahy agreed that additional funds would be helpful to meet the need of potential refugees from Ukraine. Population growth upstate over the last decade has been greatly influenced by the resettlement of refugees in cities like Albany, Buffalo, Utica, Rochester and Syracuse. Hochul noted the valued Ukrainians have brought to New York during a news conference Thursday in the Hudson Valley on the impending snowstorm. "We're proud of their diversity and what they bring to us," Hochul said. "We're concerned about those individuals and our support is with President Biden as he manages through this process." Westfield, PA (16950) Today Cloudy. Periods of rain this morning. High 63F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 43F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Minister Simon Coveney has told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov "don't bring Ireland" into their argument trying to justify an unjustifiable war. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov made comments in relation to Ireland during a press conference. "If in Ireland they prohibited the English language, what would the UK think about it?" Minister Lavrov said. Lavrov posed the scenario if Ireland was to suddenly prohibit the use of the English language, the UK wouldn't be impressed. When he was asked about the potential banning of the Russian language in Ukraine, he responded: "President Zelenskiy, when he demanded that those people who think themselves part of the Russian culture [he said] 'they should go away from Ukraine'. "For example, if in Ireland, if they prohibited English language, what would the UK think about it?" He also gave the example of Belgium and the French language. "I can't imagine that a law like that would last for more than a couple of days or even hours," he added. "But in the West, they only see it through the prism of their own egotistical interests," he said Dont bring Ireland into an argument trying to justify and unjustifiable war. Ireland/U.K. are an example of how 2 countries, with a difficult past, found a way to shape and sustain a peace process, guaranteeing an absence of violence. @dfatirl https://t.co/dQlSfckRPs Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) February 25, 2022 Minister Coveney however and said Ireland and the UK are an example of how two countries, with a difficult past, found a way to shape and sustain a peace process The Justice Minister has today (Friday February 25) lifted visa requirements for Ukranian nationals following the invasion of the country by Russia. The announcement was made earlier by the government, with Minister Helen McEntee stating, "I am appalled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We stand with the Ukrainian people and we will play our part in assisting them in their time of need." She confirmed the move will apply "to all Ukrainians" traveling to Ireland, as well as family members of Irish citizens and the family members of Ukrainian people who are resident in Ireland. I am appalled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We stand with the Ukrainian people and we will play our part in assisting them in their time of need. Thats why I am immediately lifting visa requirements between Ukraine and Ireland. This will apply to all Ukrainians. Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) February 25, 2022 The emergency measure removing the visa requirement takes immediate effect and ensures people travelling from Ukraine to Ireland may for the coming period do so without a visa. Those who travel to Ireland without a visa will have 90 days upon arrival to regularise their position, which will be kept under ongoing review. All Irish citizens in Ukraine are advised to shelter in a secure place. However, citizens should consider leaving if they judge it safe to do sohttps://t.co/NJJACwWrL9 The dedicated telephone line for emergency assistance for Irish citizens in Ukraine: + 353 1 6131700 Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) February 24, 2022 Minister McEntee said, "This measure will be kept under review and the Government will also work with colleagues on any further EU-wide measures that might assist those fleeing Ukraine." Ireland backs EU plans to freeze the assets of Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister, a Government minister has said. Speaking in Brussels as he attended a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Simon Coveney said he understands the EU plans to introduce an asset freeze on the Russian president and Sergei Lavrov. EU leaders agreed a fresh set of sanctions against Russia following an emergency summit in Brussels late on Thursday. Mr Coveney, the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, said his country also left open the possibility that the bloc might go further, suggesting Ireland would be open to harsher measures against Russia as war continues to rage in Ukraine. He condemned the horrific images from Ukraine, as capital Kyiv prepares for an all-out assault from Russian forces. He described them as the kind of images that I think most people on the continent of Europe felt were consigned to history. He added: We are seeing a full-scale war being waged on one of Europes largest countries by a nuclear superpower next door, and we need to respond to that as the European Union. We need to get very clear messages that this is completely unacceptable, is breaching international law, is a breach of the UN Charter and is a breach of a countrys sovereignty and right to exist within its own recognised international borders. I think for many countries, wed like to even go further than that package. Certainly from an Irish perspective, we think that the strongest possible act of sanctions needs to be agreed and if we can add to what we are agreeing today then we should, in a third round of sanctions within the next few days. I know that the decision has been, I think, made and agreed and we support it, to add the names of Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov to the sanctions list, in terms of asset freeze. Mr Coveney described such a move as absolutely appropriate. He said the actions by Mr Putin have caused a fundamental change to how Europe views security, but he stressed the immediate concern is supporting the people of Ukraine. Mr Coveney insisted the EU should be considering the strongest possible package of sanctions. He did not rule out following the lead of Poland, which has decided to ban Russian airlines from its airspace. What were agreeing today is what has been possible to agree across all EU countries. I think thats a big, big package, Mr Coveney said. We shouldnt underestimate the scale of that. I also think we should have a third round of sanctions ready to add, for example, the Swift payment system as part of that package, but I think we should be open to other proposals as well, absolutely, to lengthen the list in terms of people who are being targeted with asset freezes and travel bans. But if there are other suggestions coming from Poland and other countries, we should be open to that. Earlier, Mr Coveney had hit back at Mr Lavrov after he referenced the use of the English language in Ireland during a press conference on Ukraine. If in Ireland, if they prohibited English language, what would the UK think about it? Mr Lavrov said. Dont bring Ireland into an argument trying to justify and unjustifiable war. Ireland/U.K. are an example of how 2 countries, with a difficult past, found a way to shape and sustain a peace process, guaranteeing an absence of violence. @dfatirl https://t.co/dQlSfckRPs Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) February 25, 2022 Also offering the example of the use of French in Belgium, he added: I cant imagine that a law like that would last for more than a couple of days or even hours. Mr Coveney rubbished the comparison. In a strongly worded tweet, he said Russia should not try to use Ireland to justify an unjustifiable war. He said the Irish-British relationship is an example of two countries with a difficult past that found a way to shape and sustain a peace process, guaranteeing an absence of violence. Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheal Martin described the package of measures agreed to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine as comprehensive and predicted it would attack the countrys finance, industry, trade, energy and transport sectors. Mr Martin said the invasion by Russia was a gross violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. He admitted there will be a price to pay for European countries as a consequence of the sanctions. He also defended the decision not to remove Russia from the Swift network, an international financial system. People have different perspectives on the efficacy or value of Swift in itself, so I dont think we should singularly focus on Swift because the sanctions will hit hard at the industrial base, in terms of areas that will hurt the Russian economy, Mr Martin added. Over time these sanctions will have an impact. It wont halt what is happening. (1) Struck by the extraordinary courage of Ukrainian President @ZelenskyyUa who spoke at the #EUCO meeting last night. The sanctions adopted are the largest and most severe ever and they will hit the Russia economy hard.#WeStandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/M9ACRsITJQ Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) February 25, 2022 He also rejected claims that the EU held back in its package of measures. We havent held things back. The rationale and logic of President Putin that underpins this attack has nothing to do with Swift. What he is doing is reckless, irresponsible and morally wrong, he said. President Putin has decided on this course of action. It is appalling and immoral and putting people at risk. Europe has responded very strongly. In its totality it is very strong. To launch this brutal attack on the Ukrainian people, to attain some sort of historic ideal he (Putin) has in his head about restoration of empire, harking back to a bygone era. We have to take that on board, that that is the mentality and rationale underpinning this. He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to EU leaders during the emergency summit on Thursday. People were struck by the extraordinary courage of the Ukrainian president, Mr Martin added. It was a moment that caused considerable reflection afterwards, in terms of the political and existential plight that Ukraine is in right now and also the president himself, who said he was staying in Kyiv and really was pleading for any assistance that could be given. Today Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee confirmed her department has removed visa requirements between Ukraine and Ireland. She said this will help with the swift exit of both the Ukrainian family members of Irish citizens, and the family members of people from Ukraine who are resident in Ireland. It will apply as an emergency measure to all Ukrainians travelling to Ireland with immediate effect. Ms McEntee said the Irish Government will work with colleagues on any further EU-wide measures that might assist those fleeing Ukraine. Earlier, Irish Government minister Thomas Byrne insisted there is EU unity over the latest package of sanctions. Mr Byrne played down disagreements with the EU and said the latest package of measures are the broadest sanctions the European Union has ever imposed on anybody. On a conference call with EU leaders Thursday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned, "This might be the last time you see me alive," according to The Times of Israel. One of the leaders on the call, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, told his parliament today that Zelensky is now in hiding, somewhere in Kiev. "We were supposed to talk on the phone this morning, but he was no longer available." From Times of Israel: Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, who was also on last night's call, confirms Walla's [news site] report, telling the Swedish News Agency that "this may have been the last time we saw Zelensky." Earlier on Thursday, according to HuffPost, Zelensky had said in a video address that "the enemy has identified me as the number one target" while his family was the "number two target." And from The Washington Post: Of course not. However . . . While we might not confront direct attacks from Vlad and his gang of Russkies . . . Locals might still suffer some hard to predict collateral damage. Here's the word . . . "American computers could still be compromised in collateral damage from Russian attacks on Ukrainian systems, as they have been in the past. In 2017, for example, Russian military-intelligence hackers sent malware known as NotPetya into Ukrainian computer networks. As the infection spread, a small U.S. hospital system lost the use of every Windows machine in its arsenal, and dozens, if not hundreds, of other hospitals were hamstrung when a widely used transcription service for electronic medical records went down. Any company that does business in Ukraineand any person or business doing business with that companycould be vulnerable to this sort of collateral damage . . . No one really fully understands how the internet interconnects and operates together at some sort of macro level, so being able to map out all the possible permutations of how something might have an impact is essentially impossible ahead of time. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . What the Threat of Cyberwar Means for Americans Russians have elevated patriotic hacking to an "art form." Americans may feel the effects. Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sending troops over the border and shelling cities across the country. Already, dozens of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the assault, and millions more people in the region are now in mortal danger. US braces for Russian cyberattacks as Ukraine conflict escalates. Here's how that might play out The standoff between the United States and Russia over the conflict in Ukraine has so far mainly played out on diplomatic and economic fronts. White House knocks report on Biden being presented cyberattack options on Russia The White House is rejecting reports of cyberattack options to disrupt Russia's Ukraine invasion being presented to President Biden Joe Biden Biden has decided on Supreme Court nominee: reports Japan, Australia, New Zealand impose penalties on Russia following invasion into Ukraine Psaki on Cruz 'Peanuts' character comparison: 'Don't tell him I like Peppermint Patty' MORE . U.S. steels for Russian cyberwarfare following Ukraine invasion The Biden administration and Congress are steeling for cyberwarfare from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine and warning businesses to prepare for potential attacks. Why it matters: Russia's invasion was coupled with cyberattacks on Ukraine. American officials fear cyber-conflict could escalate if Russian President Vladimir Putin believes the U.S. Will Russia launch cyberattacks after the Ukraine invasion? NATO said last year that multiple low-scale attacks could create a reason to retaliate. Developing . . . This curious case is headed to the courthouse for further review. An accomplishment for our blog community . . . For the most part the local news TONES DOWN REPORTING IMPOSSIBLE PHYSICS that were put on blast on the night of the tragedy. Reality check . . . No, there's no way a smallish Honda SUV moved a 20 TON fire truck. Here's an overview . . . It will now be up to the Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker's office to determine if anyone will face charges in the case.Three people were killed in the crash, including Jennifer San Nicolas, the driver of the SUV that was part of a collision with the fire truck, Michael Elwood, a passenger in the SUV, and Tami Knight, a pedestrian. The crash happened near the intersection of Broadway Boulevard and Westport Road in December. A brick building partially collapsed because of the wreck. In the months following the crash, each of the victims families filed wrongful death lawsuits.A spokesman for the prosecutors office said it could take several weeks to review evidence in the case. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . KC police submit report on deadly crash involving firetruck to prosecutors KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City police have submitted their report on a deadly Westport crash involving a firetruck to the prosecutor's office. Sgt. Jake Becchina, spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department, said the department has submitted its report. The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office will determine if criminal charges should be filed. Kansas City police turn deadly KCFD-involved Westport crash over to prosecutors KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department has turned over the results of its investigation of a deadly crash involving a Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department last December in Westport. A police department spokesperson told KSHB 41 I-Team's Cameron Taylor Thursday the report into the crash that killed three people is now in the hands of the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Developing . . . Local reaction was, obviously, extremely anti-Putin following a Russian invasion of Ukraine. However . . . A few brave Republican elected leaders in Missouri were willing to go on record and denounce Prez Biden's handling of this drama. In the meantime . . . It remains to be seeing if Vlad really cares that he's now one of the few world leaders with an opinion rating lower than Prez Biden & Veep Kamala Harris. Accordingly, in this post we share a comprehensive TKC roundup of reactions, perspective and local links on the hot mess involving the whole wide world . . . Pro-Ukraine gathering to be held Saturday in Kansas City KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) --- A local organization will hosting a Pro-Ukrainian rally this weekend in Kansas City. The Stop Russian Aggression Demonstration will be held at fountain on Mill Creek Parkway on The Plaza. It begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday and is being put on by the Ukrainian Club of Kansas City. UMKC political science professor explains the reasons for U.S. involvement in Ukraine Why is Putin obsessed with Ukraine, and how does that involve the United States? What is the United States' responsibility in all of this, and why should we care? Experts say there are multiple reasons, starting with our involvement in NATO. Rep. Cleaver's Statement on Russian Invasion of Ukraine February 24, 2022 (Kansas City, MO) - Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) released the following statement after Russia began an unprovoked and unconscionable invasion of Ukraine. "Today, my heart and my prayers are with the proud people of Ukraine. Kansas, Missouri congressional leaders condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Congressional leaders from Kansas and Missouri on both sides of the political aisle condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called for additional sanctions against Russia after its unprovoked military invasion. "We must make crystal clear that Russia cannot intimidate or invade our allies and partners without significant consequences," Rep. Hawley: Biden 'emboldened' by 'shutting down' American energy 'He [Biden] shuts down American energy production and green lights Russian energy production,' the Missouri Republican said 'Is it any wonder, is it any wonder that Vladimir Putin feels emboldened to do whatever the heck it is he wants to do?' Hawley continued Upon taking office, Biden shut down U.S. Graves Condemns Russia's Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine February 24, 2022 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) released the following statement condemning Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of the independent republic of Ukraine... Russia invades Ukraine: Kansas, Missouri lawmakers react KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The world awoke to news that Russia's attack on Ukraine continued and forces were attempting to seize Chernobyl. Congress is putting forth a united front that the invasion will not be expected. "Russia's brutal assault on Ukraine and invasion of its territory must be met with strong American resolve. 'Our hearts are heavy': Prairie Village concerned for Ukrainian sister city amid Russia invasion KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Russian invasion of Ukraine is hitting close to home for Prairie Village. According to a city spokesperson, Prairie Village has a sister city relationship with Dolyna, Ukraine. For several years, the city has welcomed delegations of visitors and has sent Prairie Village representatives to Dolyna. Sean Penn is in Ukraine, working on a documentary Actor and filmmaker Sean Penn is in Ukraine, attending press conferences and meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russia begins its invasion of the European country, according to an official Facebook post and reports. 'It's our country. It's our nation': Ukrainian citizen with who studied in Kansas City talks about war KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) --- As war begins in Eastern Europe, people with connections to Ukraine in Kansas City are worried about their loved ones. KCTV5 spoke with a former exchange student from Ukraine who spent time in Kansas City. Thursday was the first time Brenda Poor has seen her former host daughter since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian professor visiting KU offers unique insight into invasion of Ukraine LAWRENCE, Kan. - Even though he's been predicting the Russian invasion of Ukraine for a while, Valery Dzutsati was still in shock Wednesday night. "Imagine you're in a crowd in a nice restaurant or something," the traveling professor from Russia, currently visiting the University of Kansas, said Thursday. Developing . . . According to court dox, she admitted to the horrific slaughter so it's probably okay if locals don't feel too sorry for her. As to be expected, everything involving her situation is filled with drama as she nearly missed her first court day. Here are the basics from today . . . Tasha Haefs, 35, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action on Feb. 16 after officers found her son, Karvel Stevens, dead in a home. Haefs appeared via WebEx for a bond review hearing where she waived it. Her next court appearance will be on April 15 for a case management conference. In the meantime, she is being held without bond and will undergo a mental health evaluation. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news linkss . . . Mother accused of murdering 6-year-old son appears in court KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A mother accused of murdering her 6-year-old son appeared in Jackson County Court on Thursday. KC mother accused of killing son refuses to show up for virtual hearing, then changes mind A Kansas City mother accused of killing her 6-year-old son refused to appear in a virtual hearing Thursday morning from the Jackson County Detention Center. Experts share advice on speaking to kids about death, grief KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City metro has seen multiple violent crimes involving children and teens in recent weeks. One of the most recent incidents involved the death of 6-year-old Karvel Stevens . The boy's mother, 35-year-old Tasha Haefs, was arrested and charged with murdering him and is being held without bond. Developing . . . Right now KCMO is dangerously close to RECORD BREAKING pace for homicide. Whenever TKC mentions this topic on Twitter we always get a few of the Mayor's friends writing nasty things and that's cool but it doesn't homicide victims back from the dead or help grieving families. One more time for the cheap seats . . . MAYOR Q'S RELATIONSHIP WITH KCPD HAS BEEN COMPLETELY DYSFUNCTIONAL AND YET ANOTHER BUDGET BATTLE PROVES IT!!! To try and repair his damaged reputation . . . The Mayor is offering officers pay raises as a kind of political bribe. Because this story has KCPD fingerprints all over it . . . We're guessing the kind gesture isn't working. And now, check the budget cut damage . . . Currently, the communications unit is severely understaffed. "We operate 24 hours a day, so we have to have people here so when others are off during the holidays, enjoying time with their families, a lot of our people are still here working," Tamara Bazzle, supervisor of police department communications, said. More than a dozen positions are currently vacant. More civilian jobs could be on the chopping block with proposed budget cuts to the department. From another part of this series . . . It seems that the current administration at city hall hates "the science" when it comes from police . . . In 2020, the Kansas City crime lab completed 12,000 reports. In 2021, just 10,000 reports were completed, primarily due to a lack of staff. Two thousand less lab reports a year means less facts for the criminal justice system, detectives, prosecutors, judges and juries. That has a ripple effect of being able to solve crimes, Kansas City Crime Lab director Kevin Winer said. Winer worries that fewer funds for the lab could compromise its ability to keep Kansas City safe with science. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . KMBC 9 Investigates the impact of possible budget cuts on KCPD When you think of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, images of uniformed officers with guns and badges may come to mind. But 30% of KCPD's workforce is made up of civilians, and hundreds of those jobs could be on the chopping block.KMBC 9 Investigates the impact of proposed budget cuts on jobs the department says it needs to function.It's the number everyone knows to call for help - 911. Potential Kansas City police budget cuts could affect department's crime lab There's been a lot of talk of potential budget cuts to the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. Some of those cuts would equal job losses to some of the civilian workers inside the department.KMBC 9 Investigates found civilian employees make up about 30% of the department's workforce right now. You decide . . . The embattled politico took a bit of time out to talk about focusing on local biz which has always had it tough . . . Mostly because of politicos. Here's part of her money line . . . I really think that what the pandemic did was, in some ways, highlighted the things that we should have been focusing on. I know a lot of businesses are really feeling this workforce pinch, Davids elected in 2018 to serve Kansas 3rd congressional district told Startland News. People are having a hard time finding folks to fill positions that was an issue in my first year [in Congress] but now were hearing about it a lot more. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . WATCH: Small biz struggles didn't begin with pandemic pinch, says Rep. Davids; solutions go beyond COVID relief The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exaggerated pain points that small business owners were already facing before the global health crisis, said U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids. Startland News sat down with the congresswoman to talk challenge facing businesses across Kansas City and beyond. Related reading . . . Kansas' only LGBT congressmember would lose her seat with GOP redistricting The only openly LGBTQ person ever elected to Congress from Kansas is at risk of losing her seat under a Republican redistricting plan that critics say would dilute the voting power of the state's minority populations. Kansas Democratic Representative Sharice Davids faces a difficult reelection path under the GOP's redistricting map that would split her Kansas City-based district with more rural and conservative areas. Developing . . . Our hot take . . . Your dad, EVERYBODY'S DAD says/said stuff that's much worse than this . . . On a semi-professional note, there's simply no reason to attempt levity in today's workplace wherein even one unguarded moment and/or misstatement could earn statewide negative headlines . . . Meanwhile, people who REALLY advocate for Native Americans might understand there are much more important battles to fight. Here's the offending line and more context . . . Its always fascinating, I had some cousins from California, they were petrified of tornadoes, Watson said. Theyd come visit us, you know, in the summer. Theyre like, Are we going to get killed by a tornado? Id say Dont worry about that, but you got to worry about the Indians raiding the town at any time. And they really thought that. KSNTs Capitol Bureau obtained video of the virtual conference Thursday that showed Commissioner Randy Watson make the remarks. The comments, which Native American legislators in the state said left them appalled, were made when the commissioner was telling a story about tornadoes in the state. Watson had changed the subject after thanking attendees for their work in improving the postsecondary effectiveness rate, which is a measurement towards high school graduation rate and student success. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Video: Education leader says 'Indians raid' Kansas towns TOPEKA (KSNT) - The Kansas Education Commissioner is facing calls to resign after a video showed he made a controversial comment about Native Americans during a meeting. KSNT's Capitol Bureau obtained video of the virtual conference Thursday that showed Commissioner Randy Watson make the remarks. Calls grow for Kansas ed leader to go over 'raiding' remark TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Gov. Laura Kelly and indigenous leaders on Thursday called on Kansas' top public school administrator to resign over an offensive public remark about Native Americans. Kelly was joined by three Native American lawmakers and the chair of one of Kansas' four Native American nations in demanding that Randy Watson step down as state education commissioner. Governor calls on Kansas education commissioner to resign over alleged racist comment WICHITA - Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has called on Education Commissioner Randy Watson to resign, following what she called a "derogatory and discriminatory" comment Watson made at a conference last week. Developing . . . Apropos for #TBT . . . Remember when the GOP didn't REALLY speak out against nasty allegations target the former Guv who resigned in disgrace. Now . . . MISSOURI GOP LEADERS & CANDIDATES CALL ERIC GREITENS A CREEPER IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS!!! Time may not heal all wounds, but in politics it's often good for a laugh. Here's a hot take, with our highlight, worth a peek . . . National Republicans have worried that if Greitens wins the nomination, he'd put the seat at risk in a general election. When asked how the Greitens of today is different to Missouri voters than he was in 2018, he wasn't specific Tuesday and instead said he'd seen "the enemy," pointing to Antifa, Black Lives Matter, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's office's prosecution of his case, liberal philanthropist George Soros, the mainstream media and Republican establishment leaders. Greitens claimed he'd been exonerated from the 2018 investigation. Greitens also described Tuesday as a "joyous" day, saying "God hands you pain that you don't want, and there's wisdom on the other side." But his Republican primary competitors are already trading jabs and casting doubt. "Its not conservative if you tie a woman up in your basement and assault her and to bring shame and disgrace on our state, and he did," said U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, now running for the open Senate seat. "Missouri deserves better." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . There's a protest planned tonight at KCPD HQ and some of the social media chatter has raised eyebrows amongst insiders. The basics . . . ACTIVISTS RELEASED HOME ADDRESS OF JACKSON COUNTY JUDGE IN SOCIAL MEDIA BLAST PROMOTING PROTEST AGAINST KCPD AFTER FORMER DETECTIVE CONVICTED IN DEADLY SHOOTING GRANTED APPEAL BOND!!! Fallout from decision in the manslaughter case involving Cameron Lamb was to be expected. Moreover, this might just be the start of community outcry considering that many insiders suggest a successful appeal is likely. In hopes to be fair with ALL sides and out of an abundance of caution, we're redacting the info and we're not linking to the post . . . Still here's proof that the sense of outrage in the community is, in fact, very real following a controversial and "unprecedented" court decision . . . Now, OF COURSE, we support everyone's right to protest . . . This weekend we expect Kansas City streets will be filled with locals angry about what's happening in Ukraine. This deadly police shooting aftermath topic hits home and speaks to worsening political divisions within KCMO. Moreover . . . Just as we fear escalation in Eastern Europe, there's reason to raise concern about a break down of communication in our own backyard. Insider threats and tough talk from "many sides" seldom help generate greater understanding. As always, it's our hope that cooler heads prevail and ALL residents of Kansas City can work toward making this town a safer place. Developing . . . Brevard, NC (28712) Today Sunshine and a few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. Low 53F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Four frightened teenage boys two Ukrainian, one Russian, one Belarusian sat together on Thursday inside a Bishop McCort Catholic High School office, worrying about their family and friends back home and trying to make sense of a war that had started only a few hours earlier. Stay up to date on COVID-19 Get Breaking News Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox. Sponsored By: Dorsett Automotive State, school and law-enforcement officials are launching a program meant to bring more officers of color into the Cheektowaga Police Department. This effort aims to get more Cheektowaga Central High School students from diverse backgrounds interested in a career in policing and to better prepare them to fulfill the stringent requirements to join the department. Cheektowaga students who take part in the program would graduate with credits toward a criminal justice degree from Hilbert College, a partner in the effort. Assemblywoman Monica Wallace, D-Lancaster, obtained $75,000 in state funds for the initiative, which could get underway next school year and serve as a pilot program for other communities. "To improve diversity and confidence in our police departments, we need new approaches that engage the next generation of officers," Wallace said at a news conference Thursday afternoon in the high school. Nationally and locally, diversity in police departments has lagged including on the 124-member Cheektowaga police force that has just one Black officer and one Latino officer. The program also seeks to boost the number of women in the department, which has 17 female officers, as well as to recruit more officers from low-income households. "As our community has become more diverse, the Cheektowaga Police Department has struggled to attract a more diverse candidate pool," Cheektowaga Police Chief Brian Gould said. The Buffalo News last year reported on the difficulties many police agencies in Erie and Niagara counties have in recruiting Black, Latino, Asian American and other officers of color. The level of minority officers in many departments is well below their representation in the communities they patrol. For example, Cheektowaga has 89,900 people, just under 82% are white, 12% are Black, about 3% are Latino and 2% are Asian, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. Police administrators have offered numerous reasons why they struggle to diversify their departments. They point to requirements that candidates live in the community where they would serve, score highly on a Civil Service exam and pass a physical fitness test as all being obstacles for recruits from underrepresented backgrounds. Gould said one previous diversity effort in Cheektowaga allowing candidates from other communities to take the exam on condition they move to the town within six months ended up bringing in a less-diverse pool of police recruits. Wallace and the other officials touting the initiative say it's vital to try to diversify the pipeline of future officers and to begin to do that as early as possible. That's why they're starting with Cheektowaga Central High School sophomores. The school district is even more diverse than the town as a whole, said Superintendent Steven L. Wright, with 48% of students white, 42% Black and 10% from other backgrounds. Beginning their sophomore year, students will have a chance to directly engage with Cheektowaga police; take elective classes in civics, forensics and other topics; and prepare to score well on a written police exam and pass the physical fitness test, said Principal Karin Cyganovich, who is working with Police Lt. Jeffrey Schmidt to develop the curriculum. If students continue to take the dual-enrollment courses through their senior years, they can graduate with up to 18 college credits. The credits can shave as much as one semester off an associate's or bachelor's degree at Hilbert College, said Martin Floss, a professor of criminal justice. They're also transferrable to other schools. Cheektowaga police must have 60 college credits, although military service can reduce the number required, Gould said. Buffalo's top cop retiring after career focused on getting along with the community Byron Lockwood, 63, retires at the end of this week and talked about his career. He has served as commissioner for the last four years, during which he focused growing relationships between the police and the public. It's important to get more officers of color in Cheektowaga and elsewhere because, Wallace and others said, research shows people are more likely to trust law enforcement when the police they encounter look more like them. This can mean more victims reporting crimes and more witnesses to crimes cooperating with police investigations, Wallace said. "When we improve trust in our police, everyone benefits," she said. The program awaits School Board approval and could start up as soon as this coming school year. Even the earliest participants in the program would be years away from earning their badges. They aren't eligible to take the Civil Service exam until they're 19 and can't join the department until they're 21. "This is a seed, and we're planting it," Gould said. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Mark Bennett has reported and analyzed news from the Wabash Valley and beyond since Larry Bird wore Sycamore blue. That role with the Tribune-Star has taken him from Rome to Alaska and many points in between, but Terre Haute suits him best. Follow Mark Bennett 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 Instant unlimited access to all of our content on triplicate.com. The Triplicate's E-Edition Newsletter emailed to you each week, the night before the paper hits the street! This subscription is for NEW or RENEWING online subscribers. (The charge will appear as "Country Media Inc." on your credit card statement) This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Eagle Scout Luke Strong has helped Connecticuts Beardsely Zoo get all of its ducks in a row or, at least hes helping to keep the birds well-covered. Strong decided to build a covered bridge over the duck pond at the zoos New England Farmyard habitat as his Eagle Scout service project. I thought it would be a good challenge, said Strong, a Trumbull High School junior, in a written comment. The service project is a way for Eagle Scouts to demonstrate leadership while benefiting the community. The zoos New England Farmyard showcases domestic species that are in danger of disappearing. The farmyard includes newly built barns, pastures, and enclosures for goats, cows, miniature horses, Guinea hogs, chickens, geese, and ducks. Strong raised about $2,000 for the project through a GoFundMe page, and the zoo also contributed funds. Strong worked on the project with an engineer, some of his fellow scouts and a group of union carpenters. The zoo associate curator Rob Tomas assisted with planning and construction. Strong conceived of the idea in early 2021 and started designing the bridge the following summer. It took almost a full year from conception of the idea in winter 2021 to designing the bridge in summer 2021. Building commenced in November. Strong has achieved his Eagle Scout rank due to the project. Were extremely pleased with the way the bridge turned out, Thomas wrote. It adds the right touch of historic New England charm to the farmyard. Every aspect of the project went very smoothly, and its a well-planned and well-built bridge. After months of fierce debate over the Covid-19 mask mandate, Williamsville residents now can look forward to an intense Village Board election this year. Two former village mayors have announced theyre running for a pair of board seats held by allies of Mayor Deb Rogers, who has drawn regional notice as a critic of virus-related restrictions. After mask fight, what comes next for Williamsville Mayor Deb Rogers? Elected officials past and present say it appears Rogers is trying to position herself for a run for higher office. Mary Lowther and Dan DeLano say theyre running because they have the experience to get the board refocused on issues that matter to village residents. Im not going to get sidetracked, the way they did, by social media politics, DeLano said. Thats the problem with an inexperienced board. Its impossible to predict how much of a factor Covid-19 rules will play in an election held in June. Williamsville Village Board decides to pay $300 fine for violating mask rule The board voted 3-2, with Trustees Eileen Torre and Christine L. Hunt and Deputy Mayor David F. Sherman giving approval to the resolution to pay the fine. Mayor Deb Rogers was joined by newly-appointed Trustee Matt Carson in voting no. I dont see it as a referendum on the mask and vaccination issue, said Deputy Mayor Dave Sherman, who hasnt decided whether to enter the race yet. If the incumbents do run, this will continue a recent trend of contested Williamsville elections that ended a long stretch of quiet village races. As recently as 2019, all four candidates for village office ran unopposed. But by 2020, three declared candidates sought a single Village Board seat in a special election. And last year, four candidates battled over two trustee posts. This year, the seats of Sherman and Trustee Matt Carson are on the ballot. Williamsville trustee blasts 'toxic' mayor in resignation letter Matthew Etu said he is resigning effective immediately because of a toxic and destructive environment created by Williamsville Mayor Deborah Rogers. Rogers appointed Sherman to fill a vacancy in 2021. She appointed Carson to take the place of Trustee Matthew Etu following his surprising resignation in early January. Etu, who also served as deputy mayor, blasted Rogers toxic conduct in his resignation letter. Rogers said she simply was advocating on behalf of village residents and business. The issue came to a head in January, when Erie County fined the village $300 after Rogers and others attending the Jan. 10 Village Board meeting did not wear face masks. The Village Board initially voted 3-2 to hire attorney Todd Aldinger to fight the fine, raising the prospect of hefty legal fees. Sherman later switched sides and joined two other trustees in voting to pay the fine. The village sent the money to the county on Feb. 1. Erie County fines Williamsville over village's refusal to enforce mask mandate County Executive Mark Poloncarz confirmed Tuesday that the village is the only local government to be formally sanctioned and fined $300 by the Erie County Health Department for actively and repeatedly flouting the mask-wearing rules. On Thursday, Lowther and DeLano jointly announced their campaigns for Village Board. Lowther was first woman to serve as mayor, from 2005 to 2011, and previously served as a village trustee. She now serves as village historian and president of the Williamsville Historical Society. DeLano served as trustee, deputy mayor and mayor before deciding not to seek re-election in 2019. He is now chair of the Village Tree Board. Lowther and DeLano said the race isnt personal because theyre running to serve on the board, no matter who ends up opposing them. I hate to see the village held up as a poster child for dysfunction, Lowther said, adding, Im running to make the village better, and thats the bottom line. Divisive debate over mask mandate roils Williamsville The debate over facts and freedom and rights and restrictions that has roiled the nation since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic has come to a one-square-mile community where complaining about traffic and parking used to rate as the biggest issue. They plan to run on the Community First ballot line, the same party to which Trustees Eileen Torre and Christine Hunt belong. Lowther and DeLano are running to serve out the last 12 months on the seats. Sherman and Carson say theyll decide soon whether to seek re-election. Sherman is the retired managing editor of the Bee Newspapers. Carson is an active village volunteer who works as an IT programmer for Life Storage. Both men welcomed the entry of Lowther and DeLano into the race, saying the village benefits when more people are engaged in elective politics. Sherman and Carson say theyre not sure how much the fight over pandemic-related mandates will affect the election, since the state and county are lifting restrictions. Im hopeful that masks and COVID wont be an issue in June, but I do think it has shown a lot of us how important it is to get involved in local politics, Carson said in an email. Im hoping for a strong voter turnout, which is a big win for the democratic process. About 800 votes were cast in the 2021 village election, and this years contest could well surpass that. Its also hard to say how much Rogers, who has generated fervent praise and criticism alike for her anti-mandate position, will loom over this race. I have no doubt that the prolonged COVID mandates will play a role in this race. Undoubtedly there are those candidates who are proponents of more government, not less, Rogers said in a text message. I shouldnt be a factor. Every candidate should be running on their own merits/platform. Many who spoke out at recent Village Board elections arent among the eligible voters living within Williamsvilles boundaries. Signed petitions from interested candidates are due May 17, though well likely know much sooner whos challenging Lowther and DeLano. Lowther and DeLano say they havent looked ahead to 2023, when both seats will be back on the ballot for full, four-year terms and the mayors post will be on the ballot, too. News Staff Reporter Harold McNeil contributed to this report. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. (BPT) - A significant majority of parents want to be home every night to tuck their children into bed (based on a OnePoll and Amazon Glow survey of 2,000 American parents*). Thats not always possible if you work long hours or are among the more than six million Americans who have a job that In Vuhledar, Donetsk region, Russian military shells hit a hospital, killing 4 and wounding 10 civilians. "In Vuhledar, Russian-occupation forces killed four and wounded ten civilians the occupiers shells hit a local hospital. Among the wounded 6 doctors. The shelling occurred at about 11:00. The condition of the wounded is of varying severity," Head of the Donetsk Military-Civil Regional Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko posted on Facebook. As reported, head of the aggressor country Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a special military operation in Donbas. At about 04:00, February 24, Russia attacked Ukraine and launched war. On the morning of February 24, the Verkhovna Rada approved a presidential decree on the imposition of martial law throughout Ukraine. ol Russian servicemen, who seized two vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, changed into the uniform of the Ukrainian military and were moving at high speed to the center of Kyiv from Obolon, have been neutralized. Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Anna Maliar announced this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports. "Update: Neutralized," she wrote, expanding her previous post. Earlier, Maliar said that Russian troops had seized two vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, changed into the uniform of the Ukrainian military and were moving at high speed to the center of Kyiv from Obolon. She also noted that a convoy of Russian military trucks was following them. As was reported earlier, the head of the aggressor country, Vladimir Putin, on February 24 announced the launch of a special military operation in the Donbas. Russia started a war against Ukraine at about 04:00 on February 24. Martial law has been imposed in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree introducing general mobilization across the country. op Members of both parties in the U.S. House of Representatives are discussing a resolution to exclude Russia from the UN Security Council. That's according to Axios, which obtained a copy of the document, Ukrinform reports. It says that the resolution calls for the UN to "take immediate procedural actions" to amend Article 23 of its charter to remove Russia as a permanent member of the Security Council. The document also argues Russia's invasion of Ukraine and support of breakaway republics "pose a direct threat to international peace and security" and "run contrary to its responsibilities and obligations as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council." According to the statement, the resolution is being led by Rep. Claudia Tenney, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in coordination with a House Democrat, according to Tenney's office. "It's obviously a tall effort to kick Russia off," Nick Stewart, Tenney's chief of staff, told Axios. "But, it's one diplomatic tool we have to up the pressure and increase the isolation." However, according to the media outlet, the possibility of such a resolution being adopted is unlikely due to the fact that all permanent members of the Security Council, including Russia, have to sign off on any amendments. "It's in a sense a messaging bill, but it also empowers our diplomatic counterparts," Stewart said. op President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky informed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson about the course of Ukraine's defense. Held talks with British PM Boris Johnson. Reported on the course of Ukraines defense and insidious attacks on Kyiv by the aggressor. Today Ukraine needs the support of partners more than ever. We demand effective counteraction to the Russian Federation. Sanctions must be further strengthened, Zelensky posted on Twitter. As reported, the United Kingdom banned Russian civilian aircraft from flying in its airspace. ol The Ukrainian military has shot down a Su-27 aircraft and captured the pilot. Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the head of the President's Office, said this at a briefing on Friday, February 25, Ukrinform reports. "There were several air strikes in the morning, including on Kyiv. Our air defense forces shot down at least two cruise missiles and a Su-27 aircraft. The pilot was taken prisoner and is being interrogated," he said. Arestovych also said that the enemy had launched air strikes on the Bila Tserkva airport, Vasylkiv and some other facilities. The exact data is currently being clarified. "The fact that the number of missiles is declining shows that the enemy simply lacks them," he said. As was reported earlier, Russia started a war against Ukraine on February 24. Early on February 24, the Verkhovna Rada approved a presidential decree imposing martial law throughout Ukraine. Estonia will send additional military assistance to Ukraine in the form of Javelin anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft ammunition, Minister of Defense of Estonia Kusti Salm announced. "We will provide additional military assistance to Ukraine. 25,000 packages of meals ready-to-eat, medical equipment, personal equipment, ammunition, an additional batch of Javelin missiles and anti-aircraft ammunition will be delivered," Salm said at a joint press conference of the Estonian Ministry of Defense and Defense Forces, ERR informs. Colonel Margo Grossberg, Commander of the Estonian Defense Intelligence Center, also gave an overview of the current situation in Ukraine, saying that "the resistance of the Ukrainians has been significant and good." It will be recalled that the first batch of Javelin anti-tank missiles donated by Estonia arrived in Ukraine on February 18. Earlier today, President of Estonia Alar Karis said that Russian president Vladimir Putin had underestimated Ukraine's resilience and that sanctions could force Putin to end the war. On February 24, Moscow attacked Ukraine and launched the war. Martial law has been imposed throughout Ukraine. ol The criminal actions of Russia, which started the war against Ukraine, as well as Belarus' complicity in this crime, entail responsibility to the entire international community. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at a press conference in Brussels on Friday following the extraordinary virtual summit of NATO heads of state and government, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "The Kremlin's objectives are not limited to Ukraine. Russia has demanded legally binding agreements to renounce further NATO enlargement. And to remove troops and infrastructure from Allies that joined after 1997. We are facing a new normal in European security. Where Russia openly contests the European security order. And uses force to pursue its objectives. The world will hold Russia and Belarus accountable for their actions. Russia as the aggressor. Belarus as the enabler," Stoltenberg said. He noted that in response to Russia's massive military build-up over the past months, NATO already strengthened our deterrence and defense. "Yesterday, NATO Allies activated our defense plans. And as a result, we are deploying elements of the NATO Response Force. On land, at sea, and in the air," he said. The United States, Canada and European Allies have deployed thousands of more troops to the eastern part of the Alliance. "We have over 100 jets at high alert operating in over 30 different locations and over 120 ships from the High North to the Mediterranean, including three strike carrier groups," the statement reads. Stoltenberg noted that the current security crisis has only strengthened the unity of the Allies in Europe and North America, and Allies are ready to defend "every inch" of the territory of each of the Allies. Photo: NATO The United States is joining the European Union in imposing direct sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. According to Ukrinform, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said this on Friday. She said U.S. President Joe Biden had made the decision after a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "In alignment with the decision by our European allies, the United States will join them in sanctioning President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov and members of the Russian national security team. I expect we'll have more specific details out later this afternoon," Psaki said. The EU and the UK also announced sanctions against Putin and Lavrov. op Your browser does not support the video tag. This story was published originally online Feb. 18 Like many Ukrainians living in Buffalo, Sophia Kenn worries about the 130,000 troops Russia amassed on the border of her homeland. "I am just praying that we are all going to be safe and have peace in the world," said Kenn, who emigrated to Buffalo 30 years ago from Ukraine. "We are all hoping. Nobody wants to have casualties on both sides." Kenn stays up late to monitor international news and the latest reports from Ukraine, where clocks are set seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. While many Americans worry about the effects of a war on combatants, civilians and its impact on Europe, local Ukrainians are absorbed knowing their ancestral home, where friends and family live, are under threat of attack by Russia at any time. They say the buildup of troops brings to mind Russia's invasion and annexation of the Crimean peninsula eight years ago. Like then, some residents are sending medical supplies to Ukraine as one way to demonstrate solidarity against the Russian threat. Several Ukrainians are planning to pick up medical supplies in Cleveland on March 19, which they'll repackage and send to medics to deal with potential casualties on the front, Yuri Hreshchyshyn said. Hreshchyshyn, who grew up in Buffalo, is president of the Buffalo chapter of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. He called the threat from Russia a prolonged one. "It's been a grind for the last eight years," Hreshchyshyn said. "I'm worried over the long term. Russia started this proxy war, put in combatants without Russian insignia in both cases and took territory. "I think the intent continues to if not outright take the country by force militarily to subvert it using all kinds of hybrid warfare techniques," he said. The U.S. government's response has been effective in standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin so far, Hreshchyshyn said. "I think President Biden has done a fairly good job in coalescing the nations of Europe and getting bipartisan support here," he said. Hreshchyshyn blames Putin not the Russian people for what's happening. "The Russian people are not our enemy," he said. "There are many families that consist of both Russian and Ukrainian roots even here in Buffalo." Alexandra Savka, who was born in Ukraine, gets emotional talking about the threat of war in her native country. Her mother, a brother and many cousins are there. "My heart is bleeding," Savka said. "I cannot sleep." Savka, who emigrated to Buffalo in 1994, at the age of 35, also stays up late talking to family members and getting the latest news. "They are very patriotic, but afraid for their future," Savka said. "They want to fight for freedom because they know they are doing the right thing and have to protect our land for future generations." Bohdan Cherniawski, a Canadian of Ukrainian descent living in Clarence, drew a parallel to World War II. "It's the largest buildup in Europe since World War II, and if there's a war there will be a massive loss of life," he said. Cherniawski has been mostly satisfied with the Biden administration's support for Ukraine. "America has to stand up for democracy if it's to mean anything," Cherniawski said. He communicates with an aunt and nephews and nieces in Ukraine through social media. "The closer to the Russians they live, the more worried they are," he said. Helen Cherniawski, Bohdan's wife and a native Buffalonian, compared what's happening to "a bad dream." She hopes Putin is just playing a cat-and-mouse game to see how many concessions he can obtain from the West before retreating. If he doesn't, Ukrainians are prepared to stand their ground, she said. "Knowing the scrappy Ukrainians as I do, they are not going to give up Ukraine without a fight," she said. Myron Deputat, who grew up in Buffalo, also hears concern in the voices of family and friends he speaks with in Ukraine. "Everyone is tense," Deputat said. "The situation is grave, obviously. Our leaders are the ones who, hopefully through diplomacy, can bring down the level of escalation." Deputat said the threat posed by Russia doesn't reflect what Russians or Ukrainians want. "I know Russians in Buffalo and abroad in their country and no one wants war," he said. "It's not in anyone's best interests." Mark Sommer covers preservation, development, the waterfront, culture and more. He's also a former arts editor at The News. The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have discussed Russia's latest decisions on Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader said this on Twitter, Ukrinform reports. "Had a phone conversation with Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Expressed gratitude for supporting Ukraine's position on the latest provocative decisions of Russia. Also thanked for the support of the initiative to hold a summit of permanent members of the UN Security Council with the participation of Ukraine, Turkey and Germany," Zelensky tweeted. Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 21 signed decrees recognizing the so-called "LPR" and "DPR." The agreements concluded between the quasi-republics and Russia envisage the provision of military assistance to them. Ukraine's international partners have condemned such a decision. In particular, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a decree blocking the property of certain individuals and banning certain agreements. In addition, Germany decided to halt the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. op | By Mary Therese Phelan The accolades continue for the multidisciplinary team that set up the SMC Campus Center COVID-19 joint vaccination site in 2021. The team received a University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Core Values Award for collaboration last year, and now its members have been honored by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. From left, Jonathan Bratt, Laura Cathcart, Hayley Markman, Christopher Stanton, Carin Morrell, Dana Rampolla, Jane Kirschling, Bruce Jarrell, Cherokee Layson-Wolf, Jill Morgan, Brian Coats, and Natalie Eddington. In a ceremony Feb. 22 outside the UMB Presidents Boardroom in the Saratoga Building, members of the UMB community who assisted in the clinics successful operation were presented with Governors Citations on behalf of Hogan, who was unable to attend. The clinic, established last year at the SMC Campus Center, was a joint effort among UMB, the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), and Faculty Physicians, Inc. (FPI). Faculty, staff, and students from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) and the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) helped to administer the shots, resulting in more than 40,000 COVID-19 vaccinations. It surely was a stressful thing to set up, said UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, who presided over the ceremony along with Jane M. Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of UMSON. Our partners from UMMC and FPI did a marvelous job. But the people who did the really spectacular job are in this room today, because we made something work that I think was very difficult to make work. A significant percentage of people receiving vaccines at the clinic were from West Baltimore, Jarrell said. UMB faculty, students, and staff also filed through to roll up their sleeves and get the shots. UMB also partnered with the Indian Health Service and Native American LifeLines of Baltimore to provide vaccines to the Native American community. At the time, UMBs site was the only clinic of its kind in the region, specially arranged to serve Native Americans from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. It was a wonderful procedure to watch, Jarrell said of the clinics operations. I just remember how the Elm Ballroom transitioned into this marvelous machine. Its just a remarkable achievement. And I think its fantastic that the governor actually recognized this with a set of citations, because that doesnt happen every day. Each recipient received a framed citation signed by Hogan, Lt. Gov. Boyd K. Rutherford, and Secretary of State John C. Wobensmith. It reads: Be it known: That on behalf of the citizens of this State, in recognition of your leadership at the University of Maryland, Baltimore community Mass Vaccination Site, which greatly impacted and improved thousands of lives, including Baltimore City residents, underserved communities and vulnerable populations; your tireless commitment to the health and safety of Marylanders, overcoming enormous adversity during the COVID-19 pandemic; and your dedication to improving the human condition through innovation, equity and integrity, we are pleased to confer upon you this Governors Citation. Kirschling, who served as the director of the clinic, also expressed her appreciation to all involved. To each and every one of you, a profound thank you, she said. It was a joy to work with all of you. Many of you I would not have met had we not had this opportunity. Youre now a part of this sort of network of folks who did something amazing. One of the honorees, Dana Rampolla, director of integrated marketing in the Office of Communications and Public Affairs, said teamwork was critical in getting the clinic up and running. Here at UMB, we pride ourselves on collaboration of all sorts, she said. And this was a prime example of that, because it took not only the emergency personnel, the people behind the scenes in the pharmacy, the doctors, the nurses, and those administering the vaccines, but it took all of the people just to get the clinic set up. It was truly a massive effort to have this available for Baltimore. Another citation recipient, Cherokee Layson-Wolf, PharmD, BCACP, FAPhA, associate professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, and associate dean of student affairs, UMSOP, echoed Rampollas remarks. It just goes to show what we can do as a campus when we come together and collaborate through various offices and schools, Layson-Wolf said. Im so proud of the opportunity for the School of Pharmacy to contribute materially to the clinic not just the faculty who were involved, but also all of our students stepping up, all of those hours and long days. And they did it without any sort of hesitation. In addition to Kirschling, Rampolla, and Layson-Wolf, the others who received Governors Citations are: Limits on political activities for employees, when using university resources UNCSA encourages all members of its community to engage in the fundamental individual rights of free expression and participation in the political process. University employment does not abridge those basic rights, but there are important limits on political activities during employment and when using university resources. The UNC System Office has provided a comprehensive explanation of those limits in its Reminders Regarding University Employment and Political Activities (PDF). I urge everyone to review the Reminders, UNCSA Free Expression and Political Activities Regulation 116, and UNC Board of Governors Policy 300.5.1, to ensure that your employment is not jeopardized, and the integrity of the institution is not eroded. Some of the most important statutory and policy limitations to be aware of include: No UNCSA employee may engage in political activity while on duty. You can discuss politics, but you cannot: Campaign for or against a candidate, political party, or partisan political group. Coerce, threaten, or offer preferential treatment to an employee or applicant to support or contribute to a candidate or political party. No EHRA employee may promise or confer preferential treatment or threaten detrimental treatment to any person to induce support for or opposition to a candidate, political office, or partisan political group. No employee may use their position to secure support for, or to oppose, any candidate or issue in an election involving candidates for office or party nominations. No employee may imply to others that the political opinions they express are endorsed by the university. No individual or group may use state or university funds, services (including mail and email service), supplies (including letterhead and postage), equipment (including telephones, computers, photocopiers, and fax machines), vehicles, or other university property to secure support for, or to oppose, any person or issue in any election. This last point is particularly important because it prohibits the use of UNCSA email to support or oppose any candidate or issue in an election. Every member of the UNCSA community has the right to freely express their views on any subject, including advocacy for or against candidates for public office, or issues of the day, provided that the activity complies with law and policy. Contact: David Harrison Feb. 18, 2022 Submit an announcement UNCSA to host Festival of North Carolina Dance Feb. 25-27 The School of Dance at UNCSA will once again host the Festival of North Carolina Dance on its Winston-Salem campus for 2022. More than 450 students from 31 schools, studios and companies across the state are expected to attend. The festival, which opens today and runs to Sunday, Feb. 27, will include three days of classes for students and professional development workshops for teachers and directors. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend the UNCSA Winter Dance performance, which runs Feb. 24-27 at the Stevens Center, and to audition for the UNCSA Summer Dance intensive. The Festival of North Carolina Dance has been a mainstay of our states vibrant dance community for many years, said School of Dance Dean Endalyn Taylor. We are happy to be able to return to in-person instruction this year and to make those all-important connections for the future. Photo: Wayne Reich The festival was conducted virtually in 2021 due to COVID-19. This year, in keeping with the universitys Community Health Standards, masks will be required for all participants while indoors. Im excited that we are back on campus this year, said UNCSA faculty member and Festival Director Dayna Fox. The enthusiasm from the participants is always palpable and promising. We have a stellar faculty for the festival, including UNCSA resident faculty, alumni and guest artists, Fox added. An alumna herself, Fox is also former director of the Preparatory Dance Program at UNCSA. Dance alumnus Robert Gosnell will be returning as festival co-director. Student classes at the festival will include ballet and contemporary technique, pointe and pre-pointe, creative movement, jazz, musical theater, and character dance. The professional development workshops include concepts in composition and choreography, dance injury prevention and recovery, and training young dancers. The festival will culminate with a gala performance of selected companies, chosen through an adjudication process, for festivalgoers and their families, Sunday evening, Feb. 27, at the Stevens Center. Dance companies participating this year include: Apex Studio One Dance Center; Asheville Center Stage Dance Studio, Terpsicorps Ballet Academy; Burlington Burlington Academy of Dance & Arts, Burlington Dance Center, Faith Christian Academy of Dance, Walkerdance Ballet Theatre; Chapel Hill Ballet School of Chapel Hill, Triangle Youth Ballet; Charlotte Baran Dance, Charlotte Cirque and Dance, Charlotte School of Ballet; Davidson Dance Davidson; Gastonia Gaston Dance Theatre; Greensboro Dance Project; Greenville Greenville Civic Ballet; Havelock The Center for the Performing Arts; Jacksonville Riverwalk Youth Ballet; Kinston Studio 86; Raleigh Carolina Civic Ballet, City Ballet Raleigh, North Carolina Dance Institute, Raleigh Dance Theatre, Stage Door Dance Productions; Statesville Statesville Dance and Performing Arts; and Wilmington Dance Theatre of DREAMS, Evolution Dance Complex, GAGA Studios, South East Dance Academy, Wilmington Conservatory of Fine Arts. Contact Media Relations Get the best news, performance and alumni stories from UNCSA. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERS Karen Bigg, of Chicago Recovery Alliance, holds safe smoking kits for drug use on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, in Chicago. She distributes them and other harm reduction tools, like clean syringes, to cut down on injury and disease among drug users. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/TNS) George Segarini served as the executive director of the Tuolumne County Chamber of Commerce for 17 years before retiring in 2013. Three former Minneapolis police officers have been convicted of violating George Floyds civil rights. Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were charged with depriving Floyd of his right to medical care when Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyds neck for 9 1/2 minutes as the 46-year-old Black man was handcuffed and facedown on the street on May 25, 2020. Thao and Lane were also charged with failing to intervene to stop Chauvin. The videotaped killing sparked protests in Minneapolis that spread around the globe as part of reckoning over racial injustice. Chauvin was convicted of murder last year in state court and pleaded guilty in December in the federal case. Kueng knelt on Floyds back, Lane held his legs and Thao kept bystanders back. Kueng and Lane both said they deferred to Chauvin as the senior officer at the scene. Thao testified that he relied on the other officers to care for Floyds medical needs as his attention was elsewhere. Conviction of a federal civil rights violation that results in death is punishable by life in prison or even death, but such sentences are extremely rare. February 25 2022 The Glasgow School of Art has been gifted three volumes of drawings by the family of the late architect and Royal Scottish Academy president Sir Anthony Wheeler. Drawn while a student of the school in the late 1940s the sketchbooks will be held in archives and collections alongside the John Keppie scholarship report, also illustrated by Wheeler, for the enjoyment of present and future students. The first volume, a review of 18th and 19th-century architecture around Perth, dates from 1948 and showcases Wheeler's understanding of historic styles which would later prove invaluable in his work with partner Frank Sproson on historic houses through the sixties and seventies. Formed in 1952 Wheeler & Sproson was responsible for preserving many historic villages in Fife such as The Gyles in Pittenweem. A later set of drawings focus on contemporary church design such as Le Raincy Church in Paris, which helped to seed an affinity for ecclesiastical architecture which reached its zenith at St Columba's Parish Church in Glenrothes. The final collection from 1949 includes a detailed study of cantilevers, led by a study of the Forth Bridge as well as London Underground Central Line stations and the then recently completed Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright. Presenting the works Wheelers daughter, Pamela Wheeler, said: I have been impressed with the wide range of archives available at GSA and my father would have been thrilled to know that a broad range of students could have the opportunity to access his work for many years to come. As chief assistant to the Glenrothes Development Corporation Wheeler was a pioneer of modernism, with notable examples of his work including the Hunter Building at Edinburgh College of Art, the Upper Langlee housing estate in Galashiels and the tourist centre in Stranraer, the town of his birth. Wheeler remained an active draughtsman and artist throughout his life, exhibiting with the Scottish Society of Architect artists until his death in 2013. (@FahadShabbir) Bogota, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2022 ) :At least 23 dissidents of the former FARC guerrilla group were killed during an operation by the Colombian armed forces along the Venezuelan border, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. The dissidents "died during military operations" carried out in the northern border department of Arauca, a narcotrafficking corridor that has seen fierce fighting between armed groups since the beginning of the year, a source in the ministry told AFP. Among the dead was a former leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), known as "Arturo." Five dissidents were additionally injured, the source said. "This operation forcefully dismantles the FARC dissident structure," said Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano, in a video published to social media. Colombia signed a peace agreement in 2016 with the FARC to end a decades-long battle, but some dissident members of the group have chosen not to recognize it. The defense minister said Arturo "took refuge in Venezuela and from there sought to reactivate the dissident groups to continue committing crimes." Former FARC dissidents, as well as members of Columbia's last active guerilla group known as the ELN, have set up bases in Venezuela, where Colombian authorities say they receive government backing -- an accusation Caracas denies. Another rebel group leader known as "Ernesto" was also killed in the operation, which adds to a recent string of successful military offensives. Last month, the president announced the "neutralization" of the rebel group leader known as "Jhonier," while in October of last year the drug kingpin known as "Otoniel" was captured. He is now awaiting extradition to the United States. Christchurch, New Zealand, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2022 ) :Sarel Erwee answered his captain's call with a maiden half-century as South Africa reached lunch at 80 without loss on day one of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday. Erwee was on 53 with captain Dean Elgar on 25. Elgar raised eyebrows when he elected to bat first, becoming the first captain in 11 Tests at Hagley Oval to win the toss and not bowl on the green-tinged surface. He said he wanted his batsmen to "front up" after a disappointing effort in the first Test on the same ground, when they managed innings of only 95 and 111 and were thrashed by an innings and 276 runs. Erwee, who had scores of 10 and nought in his debut Test, responded to the call with an assured innings which has so far included seven fours. He brought up his 50 in the final over before lunch with a four through point off Colin de Grandhomme. Elgar, who despatched the opening delivery of the Test from Tim Southee to the boundary, has also been untroubled apart from an edge in Southee's fourth over which fell short of first slip. (@FahadShabbir) Brussels, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2022 ) :France was speeding up its deployment of troops to bolster NATO's eastern flank in Romania after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday. Talking after an emergency summit with European Union leaders, Macron said he was "accelerating" the dispatch of forces. It is part of a broader push by NATO allies to reinforce their strength in the eastern members, with thousands of troops mobilised. Meanwhile, the United States said Thursday it was sending another 7,000 troops to Germany. NATO is looking to establish battle groups in the southeast of the alliance, including in Romania. France has offered to lead the new deployment in that country. (@ChaudhryMAli88) UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2022 ) :Reiterating his a plea for Russia to halt its military operations against Ukraine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that he was allocating $20 million for urgent humanitarian needs in the country. "Stop the military operation. Bring the troops back to Russia," the UN chief said while speaking to reporters at UN headquarters in New York on Thursday. He called the offensive wrong and unacceptable, but not irreversible. "It's not too late to save this generation from the scourge of war," Guterres said. Despite a sustained UN-led and international diplomatic push to avert military action in Ukraine, Russia's President Vladimir Putin did just that triggering a barrage of reactions, beginning with the UN secretary-general, condemning the move and appealing for peace. "All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations," he said, quoting the Charter. President Putin has said the assault is meant to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting the government for nearly eight years. The UN chief said, "Today I am announcing that we will immediately allocate $20 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet urgent needs" in Ukraine, and said that the UN and its humanitarian partners are "committed to staying and delivering, to support people in Ukraine in their time of need". He said that UN staff are working on "both sides of the contact line," providing lifesaving humanitarian relief to people in need, "regardless of who or where they are". "The protection of civilians must be priority number one", he stressed. The UN chief restated that international humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld, noting that the decisions of the coming days "will shape our world and directly affect the lives of millions upon millions of people". In his statement, General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid recalled that the Charter is based on the principle of sovereign equality and calls for Member States to settle their international disputes by peaceful means. "The ongoing military offensive by Russia in Ukraine is inconsistent with the principles of the Charter," he said, renewing his call to all Member States to uphold their obligations. "I call for an immediate ceasefire, de-escalation of tensions and a firm return to diplomacy and dialogue. The safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and its people is a priority and the need of the hour." Prior to the media briefing, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet issued a statement on the military attack. "Civilians in various parts of Ukraine were awoken by sounds of heavy bombardment and are terrified of further escalation, with many fleeing their homes," she said. "This military action clearly violates international law and puts at risk countless civilian lives. It must be immediately halted." Ms Bachelet reminded that States failing to take all reasonable measures to settle their international disputes by peaceful means "fall short of complying with their obligation to protect the right to life." Reports have emerged of military strikes near major cities with significant populations, including Kharkiv, Kramatorsk, Odesa, Mariupol and the capital, Kyiv, according yo the UN. "The protection of the civilian population must be a priority. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas should at all costs be avoided," underscored the High Commissioner. She called for the full respect of international humanitarian law, in particular the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their first additional protocol of 1977, as well as international human rights law. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission remains in the country and will continue to closely monitor and report on the situation. The UN human rights chief also warned of "an information war" under way. "It is particularly crucial at this time that we continue to closely monitor and attempt to verify reports of human rights violations, including civilian casualties, damage to civilian objects, including critical infrastructure, and other impact on human rights on the ground," she said. Meanwhile, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Osnat Lubrani, expressed the Organization's solidarity with the Ukrainian people. "As we try to understand the evolving situation in different parts of the country we are here to support the people exhausted by years of conflict and we are prepared to respond in case of any increase in humanitarian needs," she said in a statement. Ms Lubrani reminded that humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence are the four principles guiding humanitarian assistance. "Our aim is always to provide the most vulnerable civilians with critical humanitarian relief supplies and services, regardless of who or where they are," she assured. Also expressing its deep concern, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) called for respect of international humanitarian law notably the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols, "to ensure the prevention of damage to cultural heritage in all its forms". This includes the obligations under the Security Council Resolution 2222 on the protection of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in situations of conflict, to promote free, independent and impartial media as one of the essential foundations of a democratic society, and which can contribute to the protection of civilians. Finally, UNESCO also called for "restraint from attacks on, or harm to, children, teachers, education personnel or schools, and for the right to education to be upheld". At the same time, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) echoed the Secretary-General's appeal for an immediate ceasefire and called on all parties to respect their international obligations to protect children from harm, and to ensure that humanitarian actors can safely and quickly reach children in need. "UNICEF also calls on all parties to refrain from attacking essential infrastructure on which children depend - including water and sanitation systems, health facilities and schools," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell added. The World food Programme (WFP) expressed deep concern "for the impact of hostilities on the lives and livelihoods of civilians." "As the situation evolves, there is a need to ensure that affected communities have continued access to any humanitarian support they may require and that the safety of humanitarian staff on the ground is guaranteed," WFP Director of Emergencies Margot van der Velden said. Taking to social media, WFP chief David Beasly tweeted that "And just when you think it can't get any worse, the world wakes up to a conflict in Ukraine." He pointed out that the military action is likely to cause economic deterioration around the world especially for countries like Yemen, dependent on wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia. "prices will go up compounding an already terrible situation," he pointed out. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) drew attention to the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, saying that "Ukraine has informed the IAEA that 'unidentified armed forces' have taken control of all facilities of the State Specialized Enterprise Chornobyl NPP, located within the Exclusion Zone," adding that no casualties nor destruction had occurred at the industrial site. "It is of vital importance that the safe and secure operations of the nuclear facilities in that zone should not be affected or disrupted in any way," Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi expressed grave concern over the "fast-deteriorating situation and ongoing military action in Ukraine," and called on neighbouring countries to" to keep borders. (@FahadShabbir) KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2022 ) :Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has invited Netherlands top companies to establish waste-to-energy projects in Karachi and use latest technology to de-pollute Manchhar. This was disclosed in a meeting held between Ambassador of Netherlands Willem Wouter Plomp, Trade Advisor Hammad Raza, Trade Counsellor Yasir Farooqui and CM here Friday . CM Special Assistant on Investment Syed Qasim Naveed and Principal Secretary to CM Fayaz Jatoi attended the meeting. The ambassador told the chief minister that Netherlands companies were interested in investing and establishing `Waste-to-Energy' projects in Karachi. "We have one of the top companies in the world working in the waste to energy sector," he disclosed. CM said that over 11000 tons of waste was generated in the city and it could produce 200 MW energy. The chief minister directed Minister Energy Imtiaz Shaikh to meet with the team of Netherlands and finalize the modus operandi for the proposed project. Meanwhile, he also directed Special Assistant on Investment Syed Qasim Naveed to hold a separate meeting with the investors of the Netherlands so such a project could be moved forward. The Netherlands diplomat also offered investment and operation of a waste management project in the city. He said that the Netherlands companies have expertise in waste management and their expertise is known all over the world. At this the chief minister said that his special assistant on Investment would also discuss waste management projects with their team. The Chief Minister said that Manchhar Lake, located in his constituency, Sehwan, was one of the largest lakes of the world. He said that due to disposal of saline water and some other issues the entire lake has turned polluted. Hundreds of fishermen used to fish in the lake have become jobless. "If the lake is depolluted hundreds of fishermen would return to their jobs and its water could be used for drinking and irrigation purposes," Shah said. The ambassador told the chief minister that he would send experts to visit the lake and would give technical advice so that a project could be made to clean it.The meetings between the Netherlands investors and experts are being fixed with the concerned officers to finalize the project. Speakers at a virtual event hosted by the Embassy of Pakistan here highlighted Pakistan's rich civilizational heritage and cultural diversity, which had the potential of making the country a tourism heaven ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2022 ) :Speakers at a virtual event hosted by the Embassy of Pakistan here highlighted Pakistan's rich civilizational heritage and cultural diversity, which had the potential of making the country a tourism heaven. The virtual event, fourth episode of the Embassy's Webcast Series on tourism in Pakistan titled "A Journey through Pakistan's Heritage" was hosted in collaboration with the International Friendship Club, Washington DC. Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, Managing Director, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Aftab-ur-Rehman Rana, and renowned experts in archeology, history and architecture including Professor Jean Gardner, Dr Asma Ibrahim, Zain Mustafa and President International Friendship Club, Ms. Shaista Mahmood spoke on the occasion. The event was attended by a large number of representatives from the U.S. tourism sector including tour operators, travel agents, influencers and travel journalists as well as members of the Pakistani Diaspora, a press release issued by the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington on Friday. Ambassador Dr. Asad Majeed Khan, in his welcome remarks, said that the event was part of the Embassy's efforts to provide an opportunity to the people in U.S. to discover Pakistan's tourism potential. He said that in recent years, credible international magazines and organizations including British Backpacker Society, Cond Nast and Forbes have declared Pakistan as one of the top tourist destinations. He said that while during the pandemic virtual opportunities were helpful in introducing Pakistan as a hitherto undiscovered gem of tourism, the real beauty of Pakistan could only be experienced by visiting the country and enjoying its serene landscapes as well as the exemplary warmth and hospitality of the people of Pakistan. He hoped that with the improving pandemic situation and vastly improved security situation, more tourists will be able to travel to Pakistan. Ambassador Khan reiterated the commitment of the government to provide all possible facilitation to the tourists intending to visit Pakistan. He said that the government had eased visa regime in order to facilitate and attract tourism in the country. Visa on Arrival was being offered to the nationals of 51 countries and 191 countries of the world had been provided with online visa facility for Pakistan. The government was actively working to upgrade infrastructure and other facilities especially in key tourism centers in the country. Managing Director PTDC Aftab-ur-Rehman Rana made a detailed presentation on cultural heritage and tourism potential of Pakistan and the measures being taken to streamline tourism sector in the country. Jean Gardner, Professor Emerita of Earth History & Architecture / The New school observed that Pakistan had a heritage that was globally relevant. She invited foreign tourists, especially from the United States, to visit Pakistan and experience the breathtaking natural beauty of its land and the spellbinding richness of its cultural and archeological treasures. Dr Asma Ibrahim, Archeologist & Museologist urged the audience to venture beyond the well-known sites and explore the vast expanse of heritage spread all across Pakistan. Zain Mustafa, an Architect and Educationist by profession shared his experience of building bridges by introducing Pakistan's rich archeological and cultural heritage to audiences around the world. Ms. Shaista Mahmood, President IFC during her remarks highlighted the heritage sights throughout Pakistan all the way from the Northern Areas, the mountainous terrain of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to deserts and vast plains in the country. Ambassador Dr Asad Majeed Khan and MD PTDC assured the audience that Embassy of Pakistan Washington DC and PTDC would provide every possible facilitation to all those interested in visiting the country. The event concluded with a Q&A session during which the speakers provided additional details on various aspects of tourism sector in Pakistan. WASHINGTON (AP) Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who will be nominated for the Supreme Court by President Joe Biden on Friday, worked for seven years as a judge on the federal trial court in Washington, D.C., before Biden appointed her to the appeals court that meets in the same courthouse. Here are excerpts from some notable opinions: PRESIDENTIAL POWER In 2019, Jackson ruled on a dispute between Democrats who control the House of Representatives and the Trump administration over lawmakers' efforts to subpoena former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify to Congress. The Democrats wanted to question McGahn about former President Donald Trump's alleged efforts to obstruct special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump claimed that his close advisers, including McGahn, were completely shielded from having to appear before Congress. The argument was grounded in the contested notion that a president must be able to get frank advice from trusted advisers without fear that what was said would become public. Jackson rejected the argument in a 120-page opinion in November 2019 in which she declared that "Presidents are not kings" and that for a president's top aides "absolute immunity from compelled congressional process simply does not exist." In siding with House Democrats, Jackson wrote, "This means that they do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control. Rather, in this land of liberty, it is indisputable that current and former employees of the White House work for the People of the United States, and that they take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." The claim that Trump could completely forbid his senior advisers from testifying "is a proposition that cannot be squared with core constitutional values, and for this reason alone, it cannot be sustained." The administration appealed, and the case bounced around the D.C. Circuit through the end of Trump's presidency. Since then, the House and lawyers for McGahn reached an agreement under which McGahn answered questions in a closed-door session. --- IMMIGRATION In 2019, Jackson temporarily blocked the Trump administration's plan to expand fast-track deportations of people in the country illegally, no matter where they are arrested. The fast-tracked deportations had previously been largely limited to people arrested almost immediately after crossing the Mexican border. Jackson's ruling turned on whether the administration complied with the Administrative Procedure Act, a federal law aimed at forcing the executive branch to make reasoned, well-explained decisions when it adopts new policies. Jackson wrote that she was bothered by the seeming failure of the Homeland Security Department to take account of how the lives of people who have lived in the U.S. for up to two years, and their families, would be affected by the expanded deportation policy. "There is no question in this Court's mind that an agency cannot possibly conduct reasoned, non-arbitrary decision making concerning policies that might impact real people and not take such real life circumstances into account," she wrote. But the D.C. Circuit overruled Jackson, holding that Congress gave the Homeland Security secretary ample discretion to expand the speeded-up deportations without having to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act. In a 2019 opinion in a case over Trump's extensive efforts to expand the wall on the nation's border with Mexico, Jackson rejected environmental groups' arguments that the administration had improperly ignored environmental and other laws before authorizing the construction of new barriers. "This Court finds that Congress has spoken in no uncertain terms about the limits of judicial review when it comes to legal claims that challenge on non-constitutional grounds the DHS Secretary's authority to waive otherwise-applicable legal requirements with respect to the construction of border barriers," she wrote, citing a major immigration overhaul in 1996. Jackson wrote she also was bound to turn away constitutional challenges to the waiver because of an earlier district court opinion about the same provision of immigration law. --- UNIONS In her first opinion on the appeals court, Jackson sided with public sector labor unions who challenged a Trump-era rule that made it easier for government agencies to impose workplace changes. In 2020, the Federal Labor Relations Authority changed a rule that had been in place since the 1980s that required collective bargaining over changes to working conditions that had more than a minimal effect on employees. The FLRA voted to require negotiations with unions only for changes that had a "substantial impact." Siding with the unions, Jackson wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel. "The cursory policy statement that the FLRA issued to justify its choice to abandon thirty-five years of precedent promoting and applying the de minimis standard and to adopt the previously rejected substantial-impact test is arbitrary and capricious," she wrote at the end of an 18-page opinion. The appeals court that Jackson joined last year often deals with lawsuits like the one organized labor filed in this case. In a 2018 case also involving unions representing government workers, Jackson ruled against executive orders issued by Trump that the unions complained would weaken their negotiating position in violation of federal law. Jackson wrote that "it is undisputed that no such orders can operate to eviscerate the right to bargain collectively as envisioned in" federal labor law. "Viewed collectively," she wrote, "the challenged executive orders reflect a decidedly different policy choice; namely, the President's stated view that federal employees' right to engage in collective bargaining over the conditions of their employment" makes government less efficient and "should be rendered subordinate to the agencies' interest 'in developing efficient, effective, and cost-reducing collective bargaining agreements.'" The D.C. Circuit overruled Jackson, writing that she lacked jurisdiction over the unions' claims. The appeals court held that the unions should have pursued their claims in an administrative proceeding, not a federal lawsuit. *** MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2022) Australia on Friday followed the example of its Western partners - Canada, the United States, the European Union - by further expanding sanctions against Russia in the wake of its military operation in Ukraine, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. "Today, Australia will be imposing further sanctions on oligarchs whose economic weight is of strategic significance to Moscow. And over 300 members of the Russian Duma, their parliament, who voted to authorise the use of Russian troops in Ukraine to illegally invade Ukraine," Morrison told a press conference. Australia is also working with the United States to coordinate sanctions against Belarusian individuals and entities that allegedly had role in the operation, the prime minister added. He recalled previous sanctions imposed by Australia against Russia earlier this week, which target Russian defense officials, army commanders, members of the Russian Security Council, banks, entities involved in military production, among other subjects. "I also want to confirm that we have been working with NATO to ensure that we can provide non-lethal military equipment and medical supplies to support the people of Ukraine," Morrison noted. Western nations have increased sanctions pressure on Russia after it launched a military operation in Ukraine following help requests from the breakaway Donbas republics that have accused Kiev of intensified shootings in recent weeks. (@ChaudhryMAli88) BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2022) The European Union has made a political decision to impose additional sanctions on Russia over the latter's military operation in Ukraine, President of the European Council Charles Michel said on Friday. "We took a political decision to add an additional package of mass sanction which will be painful for the Russian regime," Michel said after the extraordinary EU Summit. "We also discussed support for the Ukrainian people and state to mobilize financing capacity and humanitarian support," he added. Five workers with the French medical charity MSF have been kidnapped in Cameroon's Far North, a region troubled by jihadist insurgents, MSF and a senior local official told AFP on Friday Yaound, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2022 ) :Five workers with the French medical charity MSF have been kidnapped in Cameroon's Far North, a region troubled by jihadist insurgents, MSF and a senior local official told AFP on Friday. Armed men in Fotokol, near the border with Nigeria, on Thursday entered a building used by MSF and "five members of our team were taken away," the charity said in an email. The five comprise three aid workers with Chadian, Senegalese and French-Ivorian nationalities, and two Cameroonian security guards, a local administrative official said. The Far North is a tongue of land that lies between Nigeria to the west and Chad to the east. It touches on the marshlands of the Lake Chad region, where Boko Haram jihadists and militants from the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) are notorious for attacks on troops and civilians. In September 2019, six Cameroonian soldiers were killed near Fotokol by suspected Boko Haram members. Last August, 26 Chadians were killed in the marshlands just on the other side of the border. But the local official cautioned that there was "no evidence" yet "to connect this incident to (jihadist) attacks." "We don't know if it was a simple robbery that went wrong. A safe was opened," he said. "The identity and the motives of those behind it are unclear." The army has launched a search for the five, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. Violence in the Lake Chad area began with the rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria in 2009. Since then, more than 36,000 people have died, most of them in Nigeria, and three million have fled their homes, according to UN figures. The attacks prompted countries in the region in 2015 to set up a joint anti-jihadist mission, the Multinational Mixed Force (MMF), gathering troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Six MMF troops -- four Nigerians and two Nigeriens -- died last December during a sweep in the marshlands in which 22 jihadists were also killed, according to the authorities. TBILISI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2022) Georgia will not join Western financial and economic sanctions against Russia as this will harm its national interests, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Friday. "We have studied the actions of partners ... I mean economic and financial sanctions. And I want to firmly note that Georgia, taking into account the national interests and interests of the people, does not plan to take part in financial and economic sanctions, as this will only harm our country and citizens. Therefore, as a person responsible for internal and foreign policy, I will act only on the basis of national interests," Garibashvili told reporters. The Russian military operation in Ukraine does not pose any danger to Georgia, Garibashvili noted, adding that the national and pragmatic policy of Tbilisi ensured peace and stability in the country. (@ChaudhryMAli88) TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2022) Japan is imposing new sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday. "In addition to the sanctions announced on February 23, our country is intensifying them in the following way: freezing capitals, ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens and entities, freezing assets of financial organizations, ban on the goods that may be used for military purposes," Kishida said at a press conference. (@ChaudhryMAli88) The Kremlin on Friday said President Vladimir Putin was ready to send a delegation to Belarus for talks with Ukraine, as Russian forces approached Kyiv on the second day of Moscow's invasion Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2022 ) :The Kremlin on Friday said President Vladimir Putin was ready to send a delegation to Belarus for talks with Ukraine, as Russian forces approached Kyiv on the second day of Moscow's invasion. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian leader was "ready" to send a high-level delegation "for talks with a Ukrainian delegation" to Belarusian capital Minsk, which has previously hosted rounds of peace talks over the Ukraine crisis. He said Putin's ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, told him that he would "create the conditions" for such a summit. Russia has thousands of troops stationed in Belarus, and Ukraine said it was being attacked from several sides -- including from Belarus. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had repeatedly called for talks with the Russian leader during a weeks-long diplomatic push in which Western countries tried to deter Putin from launching an attack. Hours before Putin announced he was sending troops to Ukraine, Zelensky said he tried to call the Kremlin chief but "there was no answer, only silence". As Russian troops closed in on Kyiv on Friday, Zelensky issued a new statement urging talks. "I would like to address the President of the Russian Federation once again. Fighting is going on all over Ukraine. Let's sit down at the negotiating table to stop the deaths of people," he said. Putin announced the start of a military operation against Ukraine in the hourly hours of Thursday, when Moscow was asleep. He did so after recognising two pro-Moscow separatist republics in eastern Ukraine as independent. The West has imposed a barrage of international sanctions on Moscow in response, but Ukraine has said it should do more. (@FahadShabbir) The United States is shipping more than 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Bangladesh, making the country the biggest recipient of Washington's global donations, the White House said Friday Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2022 ) :The United States is shipping more than 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Bangladesh, making the country the biggest recipient of Washington's global donations, the White House said Friday. "This is our single largest donation to date and will make Bangladesh our largest recipient of doses," a White House official told AFP. The latest batch amounts to 10,001,160 Pfizer doses, sent through Covax, the global distribution initiative co-led by public-private partnership Gavi. Divided into three separate shipments, the donated doses are all due to have arrived by next Monday, starting with an initial 3,187,504 doses on Friday, the official said. This comes after another 7.4 million doses were sent to Bangladesh just a month ago. Washington has pledged 1.1 billion shots to the rest of the world -- more than any other country -- and has already sent vaccines to countries ranging from Guatemala to Papua New Guinea. The US shots often cross paths with shipments from China and Russia in what has been dubbed "vaccine diplomacy," although the official insisted that the US contributions, by contrast, "do not come with strings attached."Bangladesh has recorded about 1.9 million Covid-19 cases and more than 29,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. New cases have dropped sharply as the the Omicron variant recedes. One of the world's poorest countries, Bangladesh has fully vaccinated 47 percent of its approximately 165 million people. (@FahadShabbir) An envoy from West Africa's regional bloc left Mali on Friday, officials said, after inconclusive talks with the military junta over restoring civilian rule in the fragile Sahel state Bamako, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Feb, 2022 ) :An envoy from West Africa's regional bloc left Mali on Friday, officials said, after inconclusive talks with the military junta over restoring civilian rule in the fragile Sahel state. Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, representing the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), landed in Mali the previous day to meet senior junta figures. The visit came amid pressure on the ruling army -- which seized power in 2020 -- to set a date for elections in Mali. An ECOWAS diplomat, who requested anonymity, told AFP that the delegation "did not leave with an election timetable." Representatives from the West Africa bloc are due to return to Mali in several weeks, the diplomat added, to resume talks. A Malian diplomat, who also declined to be named, said "it was not possible" to set an election date during the talks. Mali's junta has so far resisted international pressure to swiftly restore civilian rule, backing away from an earlier commitment to hold a vote by the end of February 2022. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2022) Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that he turned to the Bucharest Nine group, asking for defense assistance to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. "We defend our freedom, our land. We need effective international assistance. Discussed this with (Polish President) @AndrzejDuda. Appealed to the Bucharest Nine for defense aid, sanctions, pressure on the aggressor. Together we have to put at the negotiating table. We need anti-war coalition," he tweeted. (UroToday.com) The 2022 GU ASCO Annual meeting included a prostate cancer session highlighting work from Dr. Mark Boye and colleagues presenting results of their study assessing real-world health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and caregiver needs in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive (mHSPC) and metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men. When making treatment decisions, patient HRQoL and caregiver needs are important considerations, and as such, it is imperative to understand the impact that prostate cancer has on HRQoL. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of mHSPC and mCRPC on HRQoL and associated caregiver needs. Real-world data were drawn from the Prostate Cancer Disease Specific Programme, a point-in-time survey conducted in the United States of America and Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) between January August 2020. Physicians completed patient record forms for their next 8 consecutively consulting adult metastatic prostate cancer patients (4 mHSPC/4 mCRPC). Eligible patients were invited to complete a voluntary patient self-reported form on caregiver need and HRQoL including EuroQol 5-dimension 5-level (EQ-5D-5L), EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy General/Prostate (FACT-G/P) and Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) questionnaires. Higher scores indicate better HRQoL and more pain. There were 376 mHSPC and 331 mCRPC patients that completed patient self-reported forms. Demographics and clinical characteristics for mHSPC/mCRPC patients were: mean age 71.1/71.5 years, 77%/69% of patients had an ECOG performance status of 0-1, 82%/83% of patients were retired, and 42%/44% of patients had a caregiver. At data collection, mean HRQoL scores for mHSPC/mCRPC patients were: 66.4/63.4 (EQ-VAS), 0.76/0.72 (EQ-5D-5L), 66.2/62.9 (FACT-G) and 94.6/90.2 (FACT-P). Patients with mHSPC had FACT-P social, emotional, functional and physical well-being subscale scores of 18.2, 14.7, 13.6 and 19.7, respectively. These scores were 17.7, 14.0, 12.7 and 18.5 in mCRPC patients, respectively: Mean worst pain scores were mild (3.6/3.9 on BPI) for mHSPC/mCRPC patients: In terms of both non-professional and professional caregivers, mHSPC/mCRPC patients reported a mean of 31.6/28.9 care hours/week. Most caregivers were partners/spouses (in 89% of mHSPC and 82% of mCRPC patients) providing a mean of 29.0 and 27.7 care hours/week, respectively. The median number of caregiver hours per week reported for patients with mHSPC (a) and mCRPC (b) is as follows: Dr. Boye concluded his presentation of real-world HRQoL and caregiver needs in patients with mHSPC) and mCRPC with the following take-home messages: This study showed that HRQoL and well-being are impacted in both mHSPC and mCRPC patients and that there is a considerable time burden on caregivers Patients with mCRPC reported the lowest HRQoL scores and highest pain scores, suggesting that patients who are sicker may have greater disease burden These findings suggest an unmet need for HRQoL in patients with mHSPC and mCRPC, and also a need for greater caregiver support in these patients Presented by: Mark Boye, Eli Lilly and Company, Adelphi Real World, Bollington, United Kingdom Co-Authors: Amanda Ribbands, Andrea Leith, Emily Clayton, Jake Butcher, Sarah Rybowski Written by: Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc Urologic Oncologist, Assistant Professor of Urology, Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta University/Medical College of Georgia, @zklaassen_md on Twitter during the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary (ASCO GU) Cancers Symposium, Thursday Feb 17 Saturday Feb 19, 2022 New cardio equipment in the USF Campus Recreation Center allows users to convert their workout into electricity. USF is the first college or university in Florida to have 12 SportsArt ECO-POWR treadmills, ellipticals and indoor cycles. Each one-hour workout can power a desktop computer for at least two hours. Users can keep track of their progress through a digital leaderboard that displays real-time data on how much electricity students generate on the equipment. Its nice to see USF taking steps towards cleaner energy overall, said Parker Klay, fourth-year student and user of the SportsArt elliptical. We should have more of these. We have a very active student body and should take advantage of it. The machines are sleek and simple; no energy-consuming television monitors or motors that start the motions for you. As people power the machines, energy is produced and provided to the recreation center through a storage bank. The USF Department of Recreation and Wellness received support from the USF Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF) to purchase the equipment because the initiative aligned with USFs commitment to sustainability by reducing energy consumption to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Its a great student experience and chance for them to give back, USF Recreation and Wellness Director Jay Souza said. In the world of sustainability, these machines are pretty cool because its a tactile piece, and not only do you burn calories, but youre helping to offset our power consumption. Programming and energy-generating competitions using the new equipment are being planned. Depending on student feedback and further support from the SGEF, USFs other recreational locations could receive sustainable equipment in the future. African religious superiors of women congregations in Malawi have described as successful their recent AGM that took place at Msamba Pastoral Centre in Lilongwe, Malawi. Sr. Helen Kasaka, LSMI Nairobi, Kenya. Women religious superiors in Malawi have concluded their Annual General Assembly (AGM) under the auspices of the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA) with a resounding affirmation to embrace the Sisters Blended Value Project (SBVP). The development project aims at developing social entrepreneurial skills among religious sisters. Alleviating poverty in congregations Sr. Celestine Nasiali of the Oblates of the Assumption and coordinator of the Sisters Blended Value Project explained that consecrated women are taught about transforming their social ministries into social entrepreneurial activities. Through this Project, congregations can start their own social enterprises that not only express their charism but also leaves them with revenue to become selfsustaining. The Projects main goal is for sisters to launch and grow social enterprises, said Nasiali. The training aims to provide practical hands-on entrepreneurial skills to alleviate poverty among religious congregations in the ACWECA region. These projects should also benefit women and youth in the communities where the consecrated women work. Sr. Nasiali emphasised that the charism or identity of the congregation needs to be reflected in the project. The particular project embarked upon must contribute to the sustenance of members of the religious congregation while at the same time supporting the sustainability of the project itself. Of equal importance is that the social enterprise also positively impacts the community where the women religious exercise their apostolate. Reducing dependency on donor funding The Sisters Blended Value Project aims to reduce dependency on donor funding for programmes run by sisters. Successful local projects arising from the initiative should foster and enhance the dignity of religious women. In any case, donor funding is shrinking day by day, thus leaving the question of sustainability unaddressed, explained Sr Nasiali. Superior General of the Teresian Sisters, Sr. Agnes Jonas, thanked Sr Nasiali for her presentation and expressed her gratitude to the ACWECA staff for empowering religious women with social entrepreneurial skills. With this presentation, several sisters will no doubt venture into social entrepreneurship. It has also come as one of the resolutions during this annual ACWECA general meeting, said Sr Jonas. Expanding entrepreneurial skills For her part, Sr. Stivelia Macloud of the Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the only congregation in Malawi, implementing the Sisters Blended Value Project, shared experiences on how her congregation was faring with its social enterprises. Plans are underway to organise similar courses for other ACWECA member countries in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. ELIZABETH URBAN is News Editor for The Vidette. Urban can be contacted at emurba1@ilstu.edu. Follow Urban on Twitter at @eliizabethurban. IF YOU SUPPORT THE VIDETTE MISSION of providing a training laboratory for Illinois State University student journalists to learn and sharpen viable, valuable and marketable skills in all phases of digital media, please contribute to this most important cause. Thank you. MOSCOW (AP) Shocked Russians turned out by the thousands Thursday to decry their country's invasion of Ukraine as emotional calls for protests grew on social media. Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow. Hundreds of posts came pouring in condemning Moscow's most aggressive actions since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Vladimir Putin called the attack a "special military operation" to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine from "genocide" a false claim the U.S. had predicted would be a pretext for invasion, and which many Russians roundly rejected. Tatyana Usmanova, an opposition activist in Moscow, wrote on Facebook that she thought she was dreaming when she awoke at 5:30 a.m. to the news, which she called "a disgrace that will be forever with us now." "I want to ask Ukrainians for forgiveness. We didn't vote for those who unleashed the war," she said. As sirens blasted in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, and large explosions were heard there and in other cities, Russians were signing open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault, which the Ukrainian health minister said had killed at least 57 Ukrainians and wounded dozens more. "Public opinion is in shock, people are in shock," political analyst Abbas Gallyamov told The Associated Press. One petition, started by a prominent human rights advocate, Lev Ponomavyov, garnered over 150,000 signatures within several hours and more than 330,000 by the end of the day. More than 250 journalists put their names on an open letter decrying the aggression. Another one was signed by some 250 scientists, while 194 municipal council members in Moscow and other cities signed a third. "I'm worried about the people very much, I'm worried to tears," said Zoya Vorobey, a resident of Korolyov, a town outside Moscow, her voice cracking. "I've been watching television since this morning, every minute, to see if anything changes. Unfortunately, nothing." Several Russian celebrities and public figures, including some working for state TV, spoke out against the attack. Yelena Kovalskaya, director of a state-funded Moscow theater, announced on Facebook she was quitting her job, saying "it's impossible to work for a killer and get paid by him." "I know that right now many of you feel desperation, helplessness, shame over Vladimir Putin's attack on the friendly nation of Ukraine. But I urge you not to despair," human rights activist Marina Litvinovich said in a video statement on Facebook, calling for mass protests Thursday evening. "We, the Russian people, are against the war Putin has unleashed. We don't support this war, it is being waged not on our behalf," Litvinovich said. But the authorities were having none of that. In Moscow and other cities, they moved swiftly to crack down on critical voices. Litvinovich was detained outside of her residence shortly after posting the protest call. OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests, reported that 1,745 people in 54 cities had been detained by Thursday evening, at least 957 of them in Moscow. Russia's Investigative Committee issued a warning Thursday afternoon reminding Russians that unauthorized protests are against the law. Roskomnadzor, state communications and media watchdog, demanded that Russian media use "information and data they get only from official Russian sources." Some media reported that employees of certain state-funded companies were instructed not to comment publicly on the events in Ukraine. Human rights advocates warned of a new wave of repression on dissent. "There will be new (criminal) cases involving subverters, spies, treason, prosecution for antiwar protests, there will be detentions of journalists and bloggers, those who authored critical posts on social media, bans on investigations of the situation in the army and so on," prominent human rights advocate Pavel Chikov wrote on Facebook. "It is hard to say how big this new wave will be, given that everything has been suppressed already." Despite the pressure from the authorities, more than 1,000 people gathered in the center of Moscow Thursday evening, chanting "No to war!" as passing cars honked their horns. Hundreds also took to the streets in St. Petersburg and dozens in Yekaterinburg. "This is the most shameful and terrible day in my life. I even was not able to go to work. My country is an aggressor. I hate Putin. What else should be done to make people open their eyes?" Yekaterina Kuznetsova, 40-year-old engineer who joined the demonstration in St. Petersburg, told the AP. Russia's official line in the meantime remained intransigent. Speaker of the upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko charged that those who spoke out against the attack were only caring about their "momentary problems." State TV painted the attack in line with what Putin said in his televised address announcing it. Russia 1 TV host Olga Skabeyeva called it an effort "to protect people in Donbas from a Nazi regime" and said it was "without exaggeration, a crucial junction in history." ___ AP writer Kirill Zarubin contributed to this report from Korolyov, Russia. People living in three of the world's most biodiversity-rich nations in Southeast Asia strongly back efforts to protect 30% of the planet's land and oceans by 2030, according to a survey published on Thursday. The online poll of more than 3,000 people living in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines found that almost all - 96% in Malaysia, 98% in Indonesia and 95% in the Philippines - supported a proposed "30x30" nature protection goal. Just slightly lower numbers - 84% of Malaysians, 94% of Indonesians and 85% of Filipinos - wanted their governments to do so as well - something they have not yet done, found the researched conducted this month by polling company Vase.ai and commissioned by consultancy Atri Advisory. It asked questions about the central goal of a planned new global nature treaty that hopes to curb climate change and the loss of plant and animal species. Zakri Abdul Hamid, chairman of Atri Advisory and an advisor to the U.S.-based Campaign for Nature, which is calling on world leaders to back the pledge, said the poll results were "amazing and a breath of fresh air". Deforestation rates have fallen in recent years and "countries in SE Asia still have a high percentage of pristine forests in their territories," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Protecting those avoids "a series of negative impacts, including accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss," Hamid added. Improving protection of natural areas, such as parks, oceans, forests and wildernesses, is seen as vital to maintaining the ecosystems on which humans depend, and to limiting global warming to internationally agreed targets. The 30x30 goal is part of a draft global treaty to safeguard plants, animals and ecosystems, due to be finalised in May at the COP15 nature summit in the Chinese city of Kunming. A coalition of more than 80 countries have already backed the 30x30 pledge, and in-person negotiations on the nature treaty are due to resume next month in Geneva, Switzerland. "There is strong scientific evidence showing that the 30x30 target is the minimum amount of protections needed globally," said Hamid, urging countries to "strike a better balance between development and conservation". Southeast Asian nations cover just 3% of the Earth's surface but are home to three of the world's 17 "megadiverse" countries - Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines - identified by conservationists as being the richest in species. To date, Cambodia is the only nation in the region to have signed up to the 30x30 goal. "Southeast Asia is one of the few biodiversity hotspots in the world, but the region also happens to be the quietest in the Kunming process," said Li Shuo, a policy advisor at Greenpeace China and observer of the nature pact discussions. HOP ON BOARD The survey found that 80% of Malaysian respondents, 92% of Indonesians and 95% of Filipinos said they were either extremely or very concerned about the biodiversity crisis. In addition, 87% of Malaysian polled, 93% of Indonesians and 91% of Filipinos said they were highly or somewhat aware of talks on a global nature pact. Linda Krueger, director of biodiversity at The Nature Conservancy, said she believed the governments of the three nations polled wanted to see how the new pact comes together before committing to any one element. Developing nations often rely on their natural resources - such as palm oil, mining and timber - to bolster their economies, especially after being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. As well, vested interests of politicians can be a hindrance to conservation efforts, environmentalists said. A delay in Southeast Asian nations backing the 30x30 target could also be a tactic to secure more funding from richer countries to invest in nature, they added. But "Southeast Asian country support for the final agreement will be essential," Krueger said. "I hope and expect Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines will hop on board when the time is right," she added. Ukrainian and Russian forces engaged on the outskirts of Kyiv. Plus the European Union looks to impose sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and what has the past century taught about resisting authoritarian leaders? Many people are under the impression that the typical sex trafficker is a male, but research suggests that women comprise up to one-third of the human traffickers worldwide and 60 percent of the traffickers in Eastern Europe and Asia. Ironically, Nigerian women make up the majority of the African trafficking victims in Germany and Italy. On the next edition of Our Voices, well take an in-depth look at the sex trafficking in Nigeria and the role women play in the crime of using force, fraud or coercion to induce another individual to sell sex. Well also take you undercover in Africas most populous nation and to see what goes on behind scenes in the trafficking of women on the continent and abroad. Show more Show less ((PKG)) THE MAN BEHIND THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH ((TRT: 08:18)) ((Topic Banner: Black History Education)) ((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry)) ((Camera/Editor: June Soh)) ((Map: Ashburn, Virginia; Leesburg, Virginia)) ((Main character: 1 female)) ((NATS: Tiffney Laing)) Okay. Awesome. Well, thank you, guys, so much. Its going to be so much fun. I want you guys to just really get comfortable. Enjoy all the activities. Get to know each other. But I want you to just be relaxed and to have fun. Okay? ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) My name is Tiffney Laing and I'm the founder of Bevy and Dave. It used to be an educational toy company but now it's expanded and now it's a multimedia educational company. ((NATS: Tiffney Laing)) First, we're going to watch the very first Bevy & Dave film. ((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave)) ((NATS: Film/Song)) So, lets make a joyful noise as we celebrate your brilliance celebrate your greatness inside. ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) Carter G. Woodson. He was born in 1875 and he actually passed away in 1950. But during his time, he completely devoted himself to studying Black history and making sure that the world would have this information. ((NATS: Film)) Never forget Dr. Carter G. Woodson. ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) So, he was very devoted to that cause. And so, that's why he created Black History Week back in 1926. It was the first week. And then it expanded to Black History Month in 1976. ((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave)) ((NATS: Film)) Girl: Were on 9th Street Northwest, in Washington D.C. Ah, there it is. Boy: So cool. I cant wait to meet Dr. Woodson. Girl: Me too. Narrator: This building is best known as Dr. Woodsons office home. Its here that Dr. Woodson took on the heavy task of researching, recording and publishing Black history. ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) It wasn't just about publishing and getting the books out there. He literally went straight to the teachers and he would make books for them to use in the classroom to teach the children. And he would have questions at the end to make sure they understood the lesson. ((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave)) And he also created other things, like the Negro History Bulletin that would go out once a month to teachers for people to have to learn more detail about what they didn't know. ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) And so, what I love about him is he was not only brave and courageous, but he understood that it took just one person to make a difference. ((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave)) ((NATS: Film)) Good afternoon, Dr. Woodson. Hello, Mrs. Terrell. Mary Church Terrell was an educator, activist and the Co-founder of the National Association of Colored Women. Their slogan was, Lifting As We Climb. ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) He made Black history a collective effort where all the history was now put together in a way for people to consume it, to learn it and have an opportunity to learn more about the work of many Black people, not just one here or there, which is what was available at the time. Some people ask, Well, why Dr. Carter G. Woodson? Why him first? Because he's my personal inspiration. His mission was to save and publish Black history. And my mission is very similar. The difference is that I'm not just using books like he did. I'm using toys. I'm using film. I'm using games and any other medium that can get children to learn in a fun way. ((NATS)) ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) I enjoy doing presentations. So, when Im preparing for presentations, I do a few things. Obviously, Im packing what needs to go, the books, the toys, whatever needs to be, the film. But I also put the art and craft package together, so the children can have the opportunity to be more creative with the work, so they can write down what theyre learning, so they can expand upon their ideas. ((NATS: Tiffney Laing)) Okay, so you can sit anywhere you want. ((NATS: Film)) Between 1920 and 1960, this area was home to Black leaders in the arts, science, the military and many more. ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) When a young child is learning Black history, they need to learn things that are age appropriate. So clearly, if you're really young, you really don't need to learn about things that can be violent. But you can learn about things that are going to help you achieve more. So, if you're in kindergarten, right, if you're age five, you need to see these positive images. And you need to see the beauty of your heritage in a way that will spark you to feel a sense of pride. ((NATS: Tiffney Laing)) Thank you, guys, so much for your attention. So, Im going to ask you a couple of questions now. So, first question is, who did you meet in the film? Did you meet anybody in the film that you didn't know about before? ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) And as the child gets a little older, then they can start learning about the other things, right? Because now their mind can understand it more. ((NATS: Film)) ((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave)) That is the Howard Theatre, built in 1910. One can see a play, a musical performance or even a vaudeville show there. ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) Children love to watch films. They love visual stories. And so, we have to diversify how children learn, so we can really get the message to sink in. Because the key that I've learned about children is ((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave)) ((NATS: Film)) you have to repetitively give them the information. Why did I start preserving Negro history? Well, I received my doctorate degree in history from Harvard University in 1912. And it was there that I was truly set upon my path. One of my professors, Edward Chaney, told my class that the Negro had no history. I challenged him, arguing that no people lacked history. Ah, what did he say? He told me to prove him wrong. And so, I have. ((Tiffney Laing Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave)) I would like to share a quote by Dr. Carter G. Woodson that to me speaks a lot to his personality. He has many quotes but this one, it speaks to his personality but it shares to the work that he did and what I'm doing. Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and to make it better. That quote is very powerful because what its saying is that no matter where you are in life, no matter how your life begins, you have the power to change it and change the world. ((NATS: Tiffney Laing and children)) You must honor your life by being your best self. How you live your life is your legacy in the making. And just understand like its okay to not be perfect. Nobody is perfect. Its best just to be your, what? Self. Best what? Self. Exactly, best self. Thank you, guys, so much. You can take puzzles, if you want, home. Thank you so much for being here. ((NATS)) The British government has decided to expand a program allowing some Hong Kong residents to settle in the U.K., providing a potential lifeboat for thousands of young people seeking to escape increasingly repressive Chinese rule in the former British colony. The British Nationals Overseas, or BNO, plan that gives millions of Hong Kong residents the chance of British citizenship, was launched 13 months ago. The move came after the Chinese government imposed a national security law on Hong Kong, which critics say has restricted the city's freedoms. Previously, only Hong Kong residents born before 1997 when the city was handed back to China from Britain were eligible to apply for citizenship through the plan. But following a parliamentary meeting Thursday, British Immigration Minister Kevin Foster outlined in a written statement the changes, which are expected to go into effect in October. "It is right and important to address this, so the Government has made the decision to enable individuals aged 18 or over who were born on or after 1 July 1997 and who have at least one BN(O) parent to apply to the route independently of their BN(O) parent," part of the statement read. Approximately 5.4 million residents were eligible for the BNO plan prior to Thursday's amendment, with more than 100,000 applications received since January last year. Successful applicants can work and study in Britain for up to five years, after which they can apply for citizenship. But a campaign backed by senior British politicians and the last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, urged British lawmakers to open the plan to Hong Kong's younger residents. Britain-based Hong Kong Watch, a nonprofit organization monitoring human rights and freedoms, released a statement welcoming the news. "We are delighted that the Government has taken the bold and moral step to expand the BNO Visa for those brave young Hong Kongers who are not currently covered by the scheme. Benedict Rogers, Hong Kong Watch chief executive, praised the move. "This is a very significant development, which will provide a lifeline to many young Hong Kongers whose only option until now was applying for asylum. It sends a clear message that the U.K. will honor its responsibilities to Hong Kongers and that Hong Kongers are very welcome in the U.K.," he told VOA. The Hong Kong government Friday condemned the move, telling VOA in an email it deplores and opposes British Government's interference on Hong Kong affairs by providing holders of the British National (Overseas) (BN(O) passport or eligible for it a pathway to reside and obtain citizenship in the UK. China and the U.K. previously exchanged memoranda in which the UK clearly pledged not to confer the right of abode in the UK on holders of the BN(O) passport who are Chinese nationals in Hong Kong, the email from the Security Bureaus Press Office said. The measures taken by the British Government on the pretext of the National Security Law are purely made out of political maneuver. They not only seriously violate the UK's own pledge made in the British memorandum exchanged with the Chinese Government, but also seriously interfere in the affairs of the HKSAR, it said, referring to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The HKSAR Government urges the British Government to stop interfering in the affairs of the HKSAR and return to the normal tracks," it said. In 2019, Hong Kong saw widespread anti-government protests that sometimes turned violent as demonstrators opposed a controversial extradition bill and called for further freedoms. Many demonstrators were either students or in their 20s. Beijing responded by passing the national security law for Hong Kong in June 2020. It strictly prohibits acts deemed as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson then announced that his government was launching the BNO program to aid residents in the former British colony because the security legislation threatened Hong Kong's unique freedoms. China has not recognized the BNO passport for Hong Kong residents since Jan. 31, 2021. The lifeboat plan, however, has already contributed to thousands leaving, data suggest. According to data released by Hong Kong's Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong's population declined 1.2% by mid-2021, equating to approximately 89,200 people, the biggest decrease in Hong Kong's population in 60 years, Agence France-Presse reported. A government spokesperson has defended the decline, insisting the figures are due to a lack of new arrivals into the city. Joseph Cheng, a political analyst formerly of Hong Kong but now in New Zealand, said the amendment is a boost for younger Hong Kong residents. "This is going to be a major help to the young people in Hong Kong who want to emigrate, especially for those who do not have the wealth. The U.K. has been the most favored destination for Hong Kong people who plan to leave," he told VOA. "The exodus reflects the general disappointment with the government on the part of the Hong Kong society," Cheng added. An initial assessment by the British government previously estimated that by 2026, up to 300,000 could apply to emigrate via the BNO plan. As of Dec. 31, 2021, 103,900 applications had been received. Ernie, a 20-year-old student in Hong Kong, told VOA he would now consider applying for the plan. "I feel positive that the U.K. government is finally stepping up, helping the young adults in Hong Kong. [The] Hong Konger community in the U.K. is huge and growing. It would be easier for Hong Kong people to settle," he said. Ernie is considering moving to Britain because of health and political measures in Hong Kong. "[Hong Kong is] too strict in pandemic measures. [And the] political environment keeps evolving. The idea that a lot of people who you support three, four years ago, before any protest begin, are being prosecuted and jailed right now for whatever reason seems frightening," he said. Michael Mo, a former district councilor in Hong Kong who now resides in Britain, said many who emigrate will be students needing financial support for their studies. "The next step of the U.K. government, if they change the rules, should allow BNO visa holders to be treated as home fee students at universities. "Home fees are capped by the Government and generally lower than international fees," according to the House of Commons Library website. Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" agreement that would see the city enjoy a "high degree of autonomy" for 50 years. But critics have said Beijing has since broken this agreement by tightening its grip on the city's political and lawful affairs. Hong Kong's national security law has had a dramatic effect on the city. Street protests and slogans have been banned. Hundreds of dissidents have been arrested, including dozens of democratic lawmakers, and media outlets also have been forced to close. Separatists in northwest Cameroon have abducted ten teachers at a school for children with disabilities. Moki Edwin Kindzeka reports from Yaounde. In a video circulated on social media including WhatsApp in Cameroon, a group of ten teachers pleaded for their lives to armed anglophone separatists. The nine women and one man said they teach at a school for disabled children in Ngomham, a neighborhood in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroons North West region. Cameroons military Friday confirmed the separatists this week abducted the teachers and a rebel spokesman claimed responsibility. Capo Daniel, deputy defense chief of the rebel group Ambazonia Defense Forces, said they are punishing the teachers for not closing the government school. "We have asked for help to create alternative educational institutions to give our children the right of education, including the handicap Ambazonia children, he said. But what we cannot allow is Cameroon setting up schools within Ambazonia territory and anybody that collaborates with the Cameroonian government will be considered a traitor." The rebels have been fighting in the western regions since 2017 to carve out an independent state they call Ambazonia from Cameroons French-speaking majority. Theyve targeted government schools and offices; demanding authorities withdraw troops from the western regions. Cameroons government condemned the abductions, calling it the latest separatist attack on education. The Inclusive Government Bilingual Primary School Ngomham teaches scores of deaf, mute, and amputee children alongside several hundred others. Teachers Association of Cameroon President Valentine Tameh said the children are too scared to go to class since their teachers were abducted. "When a group of persons take upon themselves to continue harassing and molesting children and teachers with the effects that such unnecessary harassment causes, one can only say it is a sad thing, it is sorrowful," she said. We continue to emphasize that schools remain no-go areas and belligerents should stay clear of schools." Tameh said that since the separatist conflict began, rebels have killed or abducted at least 300 teachers in the English-speaking regions. The conflict erupted after 2016, when anglophone teachers and lawyers protested alleged discrimination at the hands of the French-speaking majority. Cameroons military responded with a crackdown and separatists took up arms claiming to protect civilians. Rights groups say both sides fighters have abused civilians during six-years of clashes. The United Nations says the fighting has left 3,500 people dead, 700,000 displaced, and 750,000 children deprived of education. It was among the most worrying developments on an already shocking day, as Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday: warfare at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, where radioactivity is still leaking from a nuclear disaster 36 years ago. Russian forces took control of the site after a fierce battle with the Ukrainian national guards protecting the decommissioned plant, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told The Associated Press. The condition of the plant's facilities, a confinement shelter and a repository for nuclear waste is unknown, he said. An official familiar with current assessments said Russian shelling hit a radioactive waste repository at Chernobyl, and an increase in radiation levels was reported. The increase could not be immediately corroborated. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a 2,600-square-kilometer (1,000-square-mile) zone of forest surrounding the shuttered plant, lies between the Belarus-Ukraine border and the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian officers fought to defend it, "so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated." He called it a "declaration of war against the whole of Europe." Podolyak said that after an "absolutely senseless attack ... it is impossible to say that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe." He warned that Russian authorities could blame Ukraine for damage to the site or stage provocations from there. Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashenko warned that any attack on the waste repository could send radioactive dust over "the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and countries of the EU." Russian officials, who have revealed little of their operations in Ukraine and not revealed their goals, did not publicly comment on the battle. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is following the situation in Ukraine "with grave concern" and appealed for maximum restraint to avoid any action that may put Ukraine's nuclear facilities at risk. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the IAEA's general director, said Ukraine has informed the Vienna-based agency that "unidentified armed forces" have taken control of all facilities at the plant and that there had been no casualties or destruction at the industrial site. Grossi said it is "of vital importance that the safe and secure operations of the nuclear facilities in that zone should not be affected or disrupted in any way.'' Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, said, "I can't imagine how it would be in Russia's interest to allow any facilities at Chernobyl to be damaged." In an interview, Lyman said he is most worried about spent fuel stored at the site, which has not been active since 2000. If the power to cooling pumps is disrupted or fuel-storage tanks are damaged, the results could be catastrophic, he said. Reactor No. 4 at the power plant exploded and caught fire deep in the night on April 26, 1986, shattering the building and spewing radioactive material high into the sky. Soviet authorities made the catastrophe even worse by failing to tell the public what had happened, angering European governments and the Soviet people. The 2 million residents of Kyiv weren't informed despite the fallout danger, and the world learned of the disaster only after heightened radiation was detected in Sweden. The building containing the exploded reactor was covered in 2017 by an enormous shelter aimed at containing radiation still leaking from the accident. Robots inside the shelter work to dismantle the destroyed reactor and gather up the radioactive waste. It's expected to take until 2064 to finish dismantling the reactors. Ukraine decided to use the deserted zone as the site for its centralized storage facility for spent fuel from the country's other remaining nuclear power plants. Germany's vice chancellor and economy minister, Robert Habeck, told The Associated Press that Russia would not need to obtain nuclear material from Chernobyl if it wanted to use it for any purpose, because it has enough such material of its own. Pakistan said Friday foreign ministers of six immediate neighbors of Afghanistan will gather in China next month to discuss economic and humanitarian upheavals facing the Taliban-ruled, conflict-torn country. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a news conference in Islamabad that his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, will also attend the Beijing-hosted two-day meeting starting March 30. Qureshi said the discussions would focus on ways to protect the Afghan people from the humanitarian crisis and prevent an economic meltdown in Afghanistan. "If there is, God forbid, an economic meltdown (in Afghanistan), its repercussions will hit not only Pakistan but other neighboring countries and the region at large," Qureshi cautioned. The gathering in China will be the third such dialogue among Afghanistan's neighbors, including China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, since the Taliban takeover of the country in August. Islamabad initiated and hosted the inaugural session of the process in September after the Taliban militarily seized power from the now-defunct Western-backed Afghan government and U.S.-led international forces withdrew from the country. Tehran hosted the second foreign ministers' meeting in late October. Trilateral on sideline A senior Pakistani Foreign Ministry official told VOA that Taliban leaders will be invited to the two-day discussions in China to allow them to directly share their assessment of the latest Afghan situation. The official, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media, said a trilateral dialogue involving Afghanistan, Pakistan and China will also be held on the sidelines of the meeting. He said Chinese and Pakistani officials are expected to discuss and propose economic connectivity projects to Taliban delegates under an ongoing mega-infrastructure development program China is funding in Pakistan. The official did not share further details. The program, known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is hailed as a flagship of Beijing's global Belt and Road Initiative. It has built roads, power plants and other infrastructure projects in Pakistan with Chinese investments over the past seven years. "The two sides are ready to discuss with Afghanistan the extension of CPEC to Afghanistan," read a joint statement issued at the end of wide-ranging bilateral talks President Xi Jinping hosted with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Beijing earlier this month. Taliban legitimacy When the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan six months ago, wide-ranging international sanctions dating back to the Islamist group's first time in power from 1996 to 2001 followed. Washington and other Western nations also suspended financial aid to Kabul and immediately froze billions of dollars in the Afghan central bank's assets, mostly held in the U.S. The restrictions have pushed the country's heavily aid-dependent economy to the brink of collapse, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where the United Nations estimates around 23 million people, or 55 percent of the population, face acute hunger. Foreign countries, including immediate neighbors, have not recognized the Taliban as the legitimate ruler of Afghanistan. The global community wants the hardline group to govern Afghanistan through a broad-based ruling system that represents all Afghan ethnicities, respects human rights, including women's rights to education and work, and disallows terrorists from using the country for cross-border attacks. Taliban leaders dismiss criticism of their government, saying it is representative of all Afghans, and women are being given access to education as well as work in accordance with Islamic Sharia law. They also claim no terrorist groups are being allowed to use the country for international attacks, assertions disputed by foreign officials and independent critics. The Taliban under the previous government had banned females from education and work and harbored the al-Qaida terrorist network blamed for orchestrating the September 2001 attacks on the United States. European Union leaders have announced what they called massive sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine during an emergency summit in Brussels that spilled into the early hours of Friday. The measures come amid reports of Russian troops moving ever closer to Ukraines capital, Kyiv. This is the European Unions second set of sanctions against Moscow in less than a week, along with those imposed by the United States and other Western powers. EU leaders say they will hit Russia in five areas: the financial, energy and transport sectors, as well as through export controls and visa policy. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the EUs executive arm, said they will have a maximum impact on Russias economy and its political elite. "This package includes financial sanctions that cut Russia's access to the most important capital markets, she said. We're now targeting 70% of the Russian banking market, but also key state-owned companies including the field of defense. Officials say the sanctions will freeze transactions from many Russian banks, ban sales of aircraft and spare aircraft parts and limit Russian access to key technologies, among other effects. The latest measures come as Europe faces its biggest security threat since World War II. It is already seeing the fallout as Ukrainians fleeing the conflict begin crossing the border into Romania, Hungary and Poland. President Emmanuel Macron of France, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said France would add its own sanctions to the package and warned war had again returned to Europe. Macron spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone Thursday. Speaking to reporters early Friday, he described the Russian leader as duplicitous in his conversations with him. Across Europe, people are taking to the streets to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Analysts like Marie Dumoulin, senior fellow for the European Council on Foreign Relations, believe the Ukraine crisis is helping to bring the sometimes fractious 27-member EU together. Putin is really helping the Europeans to be united, she said. If he had kept a sort of hybrid strategy, feeding uncertainty there may have been divisions. But with this all-out war, I dont think there will be much division within the EU. Skeptics, though, suggest EU sanctions may ultimately have a limited effect on Putin and his intentions when it comes to Ukraine. In the days since it became clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin was about to order a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many Republican politicians in the United States have taken the opportunity to suggest that if Donald Trump were still president, Putin would not have taken such a cataclysmic step. Its an argument that some experts on Russia policy agree with - just not for the reasons being put forward by critics of President Joe Biden, a Democrat. The dominant narrative among many in the GOP was articulated Wednesday by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who said on Fox News, If Donald Trump were president, none of this crap would be going on, because youve got to be strong. When youre weak is when everything falls apart. And Biden is weak, and Trump was strong. But Michael OHanlon, director of research at the Brookings Institution and the author of the book, Beyond NATO: A New Security Architecture for Eastern Europe, disagreed with the idea that Putin was somehow cowed by Trump. The only reason that Putin might not have wanted to do this, were Trump in office, wouldn't have been out of fear of Trump, OHanlon told VOA. It would have been affection for Trump, and not wanting to do this on the watch of his fellow strongman. While noting that Putin bears 100% of the moral responsibility for the conflict in Ukraine, OHanlon said that the roots of Putins security concerns about Russias neighbor and NATOs eastward expansion run very deep. They extend through the administrations of multiple U.S. presidents, during which time the alliance grew significantly and absorbed multiple states of the former Soviet Union. Trying to reduce Putins reasons for action to a change in U.S. administrations, he suggested, was at best an oversimplification. American is back American policymakers have had lots of indication, for a very long time, that Ukraine was a red line for Moscow, said Joshua Shifrinson, a fellow with the Woodrow Wilson Center and an associate professor of International Relations at Boston University. A number of events that exacerbated Russias concern about the country took place while Trump, not Biden, was president. In 2019, Ukraine amended its constitution to commit the country to ultimately becoming a member of NATO. When current president Volodymyr Zelenskyy took office that year, he laid out a plan meant to expedite the countrys efforts to join the alliance. Shifrinson said that it is just as possible to argue that Putin felt driven to act not by weakness on Bidens part but rather by his strong embrace of Americas NATO allies, a group that Trump tended to keep at arms length, and by signals early in his presidency that he was receptive to Ukraines desire to join the alliance. By proclaiming that America is back and signaling that maybe NATO membership was on the table, or could be on the table one day, it may have given Putin a sense that this has to be addressed sooner than later, Shifrinson said. However, he added, I want to be very clear that this is not to say that Biden caused Russian activities. This invasion is entirely Russias choice, and immoral and illegal. Afghanistan as driver Another narrative coming from many Republicans draws a straight line from the United States withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan last year to Putins decision to invade Ukraine this week. In a news conference in his home state of Kentucky Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, I think the precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August was a signal to Putin and maybe to Chinese President Xi as well that America was in retreat, that America could not be depended upon, and was an invitation to the autocrats in the world that maybe this was a good time to make a move. I definitely don't think it has anything to do with Afghanistan, said Jeffrey Edmonds, a research scientist with CNA, a national security think tank in Northern Virginia. The vast majority of the drivers, to my mind, happened over the course of the last two years. This included a lack of progress on talks related to Russias ongoing occupation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea, its support of breakaway enclaves in eastern Ukraine, and U.S. and NATO security assistance to Ukraine. Things of that nature suddenly culminated to the point where [Putin] also decided to throw in all the other grievances he's had for decades, and to go big on this thing at some point during the last year, Edmonds told VOA. Trump joins discussion Expert assessments aside, Trump himself has not missed the opportunity to agree that the invasion of Ukraine would not have taken place if he were president and to tie it to his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. On Wednesday night, after praising Putins decision to enter Ukraine as genius during remarks at his Florida mansion, Mar-a-Lago, Trump appeared on Fox News with the Russian assault underway. Trump was asked by host Laura Ingraham if he believed that a perception of weakness in Washington was the cause of the attack. "I think you are exactly right, Trump responded. Speaking of Putin, he said. He was going to be satisfied with peace, and now he sees the weakness and the incompetence and the stupidity of this administration, and as an American, I'm angry about it, and I'm saddened by it. And it all happened because of a rigged election. This would have never happened. A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Max Abrahms as a lecturer. He is a tenured professor. Three former Minneapolis police officers have been convicted of violating George Floyd's civil rights. Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were charged with depriving Floyd of his right to medical care when Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for 9 minutes as the 46-year-old Black man was handcuffed and face down on the street on May 25, 2020. Thao and Lane were also charged with failing to intervene to stop Chauvin. The videotaped killing sparked protests in Minneapolis that spread around the globe as part of reckoning over racial injustice. Chauvin was convicted of murder last year in state court and pleaded guilty in December in the federal case. Kueng knelt on Floyd's back, Lane held his legs and Thao kept bystanders back. Kueng and Lane both said they deferred to Chauvin as the senior officer at the scene. Thao testified that he relied on the other officers to care for Floyd's medical needs as his attention was elsewhere. Conviction of a federal civil rights violation that results in death is punishable by life in prison or even death, but such sentences are extremely rare. During the monthlong trial, prosecutors sought to show that the officers violated their training, including when they failed to move Floyd or give him CPR. Prosecutors argued that Floyd's condition was so serious that even bystanders without basic medical training could see he needed help. Lane, Kueng and Thao also face a separate trial in June on state charges alleging that they aided and abetted murder and manslaughter. Human Rights Watch says older people are often the forgotten victims in Africas conflict zones. The rights group issued a report Wednesday looking at abuses suffered by the elderly in 14 countries, mostly African nations, caught up in conflict, ranging from Mali to Ethiopia to Mozambique. Mary Malia, a 68-year-old South Sudanese woman and mother of five, says one evening in July 2016 a rebel group attacked her village in the eastern Equatorial state. "The time these people came, they came to our houses, beat us up and took everything we had. While beating us, they wanted to take me. But one of them asked, 'where do we take this old woman? Let us leave her here.' So they left me. After a while, I walked on foot to Uganda without anything on me," Malia said. The widow now lives in a refugee camp in northern Uganda. Malias story is all too common in the conflict zones of Africa, where older people often have little defense against gunmen who attack rural villages. A new Human Rights Watch report titled No One Is Spared details the situation. Bridget Sleap, a senior researcher on the rights of older people at Human Rights Watch, says the predicament of the elderly in conflict zones is often overlooked. We found that time and again older people were at risk of abuses during the armed conflict, including summary execution, arbitrary detentions and rape. The reality of the war is that no one is spared and that older people remain ignored and invisible victims, Sleap said. Investigators say both armed groups and the government forces they often fight are responsible for the abuses. Sleap says the attackers of older people often take advantage of their physical weakness and or unwillingness to leave their homes. Older people can be heightened or particular risk of abuse for a number of reasons. One of them is when they are unable to flee the fighting when it comes to their communities. Some choose to stay to protect their property or to protect their homes. Others are unable to run away, to escape the violence or sometimes they dont have family members to support and help them flee, Sleap said. Even if the elderly avoid physical injury, they can be left isolated and poor as family members flee and communities under attack disintegrate. HelpAge International, an organization that stands for the rights of older people, says older people in conflict zones can suffer severe stress, leading to depression and post-traumatic disorders. The groups Africa regional representative, Carole Agengo, says societies cannot forget their seniors when talking about how to cope with conflict. Older people must be included in the pre-conflict warning signs, in the pre-conflict arrangement, older people must be included in the discussion so that their interests are known to the community and also known to the warring parties it's possible during the conflict the harm that happens to older people could be minimized, Agengo said. Older people sometimes face difficulty in accessing humanitarian assistance in displacement camps. Human Rights Watch calls on humanitarian agencies to be inclusive of older populations and make sure to meet their needs. The security of civilians in Mali has improved in recent years, but the country must remain vigilant, according to human rights experts. Alioune Tine, who was appointed in 2018 by the United Nations Human Rights Council to assist the Malian government in protecting its citizens, visited the country February 8-17. During a video press conference on Tuesday, Tine noted an improvement in security in central and northern parts of the country. However, he also voiced concern about the withdrawal of international partners from Mali after France announced February 17 that its troops would leave because of tensions with the military government. Tine ended his remarks by calling for "more integrated security strategies focused on the protection of civilian populations and their fundamental human rights." The improved security situation coincides with a military offensive in the past few months by the Malian army. Some activists say that the offensive involved arbitrary arrests and disappearances among the Fulanis, an ethnic group that resides mostly in north and central Mali. Fulanis say they are often unfairly accused of being jihadists. Ibrahim Diallo is a member of two Fulani cultural organizations, Tabital Pulaaku and Pinal. He said that during a recent offensive in Niono, in Mali's Segou region, some Fulani youth fled when they saw the army, fearing they could be unfairly targeted. As they fled, Diallo said, they were fired upon. Diallo said he knows two people who were shot and has heard that they died, but has not seen the bodies. Aly Barry is a doctor from the Mopti region in central Mali and a member of a Fulani association. He said from Bamako via a messaging app that the Malian army's successful advances are "undeniable," but that actions have negatively impacted the human rights of civilians. Barry said a few dozen people were arrested February 20 in Niono, but he doesn't know if they are in prison or dead. Aguibou Bouare is president of the National Commission on Human Rights, a governmental organization that independently investigates human rights abuse accusations in Mali. Bouare confirmed that the security situation in the center and north of the country has improved, but said the commission has concerns about human rights abuses during the past few months of "ramping up" by the Malian army. He said his group is recording allegations of human rights violations that are attributed to the armed security forces during this period, and that the investigations are continuing. VOA reached a Malian army spokesman by phone, but he refused to comment on the incidents in Niono or elsewhere in the country. International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan on Friday expressed his concern over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said his court may investigate possible war crimes in the country. "I have been closely following recent developments in and around Ukraine with increasing concern," Khan said in a statement. "I remind all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine that my office may exercise its jurisdiction and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within Ukraine." Following the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the subsequent fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian government forces, Ukraine accepted ICC jurisdiction for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on its territory since February 2014. In December 2020, the office of the prosecutor announced it had reason to believe war crimes and other crimes were committed during the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The preliminary examination was closed, but a formal request to judges to open a full investigation has not been filed yet. Judges must agree before an investigation can be opened. In December last year, Khan said there was no update on the case when asked about progress of the examination. Russia is not a member of the ICC and has opposed the ICC case. However, the court can investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Ukraine regardless of the nationality of the alleged perpetrators. Nigeria's real estate market has been expanding rapidly, but so has the number of people in need of housing in Africa's most populous country. Nigeria's Central Bank says the country has a growing deficit of at least 22 million homes. Fashion designer Precious Nwajiaku moved to Abuja in late January in search of better opportunities. Without much money, she settled for a one-room apartment in a sandy village on the outskirts of Abuja. She said she paid $300 for one year's rent. For that budget, Nwajiaku said, the house does not even have basic comforts such as water and electricity. "You pay for water, there's no water inside, she said. As you can see there's no light, there's nothing, there's no good road." Nigerias real estate market grew by 3.85% in the second quarter of last year, its highest rate in six years. Experts say cities such as Lagos and Abuja have the kind of buildings and architecture that are in high demand. As demand for higher-priced real estate increases, though, access to affordable housing is more difficult for millions of citizens. Nigeria's housing disparity reflects the country's huge economic divide. The World Bank says 22 million people in Nigeria do not have the housing they need, the highest number in the world. For years Nigerian authorities have been pledging to address the issue but without much result. In 2019, government officials pledged to supply 1 million affordable houses each year to help meet the demand. Housing development advocate, Festus Adebayo said the housing programs are not keeping up with Nigerias population growth each year, though. "If Nigeria is producing to the rate of 5 million every year, how many units of houses has the government or private sector produced in a year? he said. Adebayo runs an advocacy campaign for affordable houses and hosts an annual gathering and housing show in Abuja. The show aims to bring government and industry together to address the lack of affordable housing. He said through the show, hundreds of citizens have been given suitable homes at affordable prices. He warned that housing gaps will worsen by the time Nigeria's population doubles to 400 million, as it is estimated to do by experts in 2050. Property developer Banji Adeyemo cites several factors for the high cost of building homes. "This is an era where foreign exchange has taken a new toll entirely and most of the construction materials have foreign input, he said. Governments needs to bring down the cost of land and it will reflect on the cost of production by developers for houses. Because other materials you don't have control over them." Nigerian lawmakers this month began considering a bill that calls for rent to be paid monthly instead of once a year to ease the financial burden on tenants. Experts say unless more houses are built, the gap will only widen, and millions will lack affordable shelter. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged an end to violence in Ukraine in a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Indian government. The call between the two leaders took place after Russian forces launched the invasion of Ukraine. The prime minister appealed for an immediate cessation of violence and called for concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue, the Indian government said in a statement late Thursday. It said that Modi had reiterated to the Russian leader his long-standing conviction that differences between Russia and the NATO group can only be resolved through honest and sincere dialogue. Earlier on Thursday, Igor Polikha, Ukraines envoy to India, urged New Delhi to intervene, saying he was asking and pleading for its support. India should fully assume its global role whenever a totalitarian regime commits aggression against a democratic state, he told reporters. So far, India has not condemned Russia for the military operation against Ukraine as it treads carefully in the unfolding crisis, which poses a diplomatic dilemma for New Delhi. While India and the United States have built close strategic ties, New Delhi also maintains a security relationship with Moscow, which still supplies India with the bulk of its military equipment. The situation is "complicated and evolving, and "no country saw it coming, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told a press briefing on Thursday. Meanwhile, India is stepping up efforts to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry said Thursday that teams of Indian officials have been sent to Ukraines borders with Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania to assist about 16,000 Indian nationals who are stranded. The issue of the safety of the Indian citizens, especially students, was raised by Modi during his phone call to Putin. The prime minister conveyed that New Delhi attaches the highest priority to their safe exit and return to India, according to Indias statement. Putin paid a high-profile visit to India in December 2021, during which both countries reaffirmed their partnership. Ethnic minority communities from Myanmar in the United States and elsewhere are pouring hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of dollars into a growing guerrilla war against the countrys year-old military regime. Rights groups say the junta has killed hundreds of civilians, arrested thousands and launched deadly attacks on whole villages in a bloody bid to take full control of the country since ousting a democratically elected government in February 2021. For some of the ill-armed, cash-strapped militias fighting back, friends and family living abroad are proving a wellspring of funds to keep them going. Without their support it would be very difficult for us, Timmy Htut, general secretary of the Chinland Joint Defense Committee, a planning body for armed rebel groups in western Myanmars Chin state, told VOA. Last years coup set off weeks of mass protests. When soldiers and police began shooting into the crowds, communities across Myanmar, galvanized by the bloodshed, started taking up arms and forming militias to resist and fight the new regime. Some of them teamed up with established ethnic rebel armies that have been fighting the military for autonomy along the countrys borderlands for decades. In Chin state, the eponymous homeland of Myanmars ethnic Chin, dozens of local militias have fused to form the Chinland Defense Force and allied with the Chin National Front, the areas main ethnic rebel army. They set up the Chinland Joint Defense Committee to coordinate their operations against the military. Timmy Htut said the Chin diaspora, spread across the globe by decades of persecution in majority ethnic Burman Myanmar, has been a critical lifeline for their cause. Most of the funds that we receive is from the people, our people who are already in the U.S. or [other] Western countries, and they are our ethnic people. They raise funds for us, and thats most of the money that we receive, he said. Most of the foreign funding comes from the United States, he said, adding the Chin communities in Britain, Malaysia and South Korea to the list of top donors. He would not tell VOA how much they were sending but said the CDF was spending it on the armed resistance to equip our soldiers and also for the cost of the training. Foreign reserves James Bawi Thang Bik, a community leader among the thousands of Chin who have resettled in Malaysia over many years as refugees, said Chin families there have sent the CDF more than $200,000 since April and were donating on a regular basis. He said the money goes both to the armed resistance and to helping the thousands of civilians in Chin, as elsewhere, who have been driven from their homes by the fighting. We send the money to the CDF, and then of course they spend some for the weapons and they spend for food to support the refugees, James Bawi Thang Bik said. He said the militias formed to defend our land and the life of our people. But this time they dont get any international support I mean like from another government. So, we decided that it is time for us to support each other and it is the time to recognize them as our own army. Because the Chin, weve wanted freedom and independence for many years, so this is going to be one of the best times and one of the best chances to go forward with what we want for our nation. A senior officer for of the U.S.-based CDF-Hakha Support Team of North America told VOA that his own group has sent the militia in the northern Chin state town of Hakha hundreds of thousands of dollars as well, with more to come. For example, if we are trying to support them, a gun in Chin state, like lets say an M-16, AK-47, it costs about $6,000 [and] ... ammo costs about $10. So, we are trying our best to support them as much as [we] can, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for the safety of family members back in Myanmar. Other Chin communities in the United States have set up their own groups to raise funds for militias affiliated with their particular tribes. The cost of war Min Zaw Oo, executive director of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security think tank, said militias in some other states where ethnic minorities dominate, including Kayin and Kayah in the east, have been tapping into their own communities abroad for funds. Myanmars so-called National Unity Government, a shadow state forged from lawmakers ousted by the coup and other groups opposed to the junta, has been running international fundraisers for the broader resistance effort as well, he added, and sharing some of the money with the militias it has formed formal alliances with. Taken together, Min Zaw Oo estimates that militias across Myanmar have raked in millions of dollars from abroad by now, supplementing the donations arriving from inside the country and what some of them earn by taxing local businesses. That is still only a sliver of the billions of dollars at the disposal of the junta, which, at an estimated 350,000 troops, commands one of the largest armed forces in the region. Even so, Min Zaw Oo said the foreign funds flowing to the resistance will ease one of the militias main handicaps, a dearth of weapons. The weapons prices [have] tripled compared to the pre-coup era, and the availability of weapons is also quite restricted because most of the weapons are so far coming from Thailand, he said. There are Thai smugglers, but they are not big smugglers they are not [moving] like thousands of weapons. There are many small smugglers. They try to bring weapons [from] Thailand to sell the opposition in Myanmar. Some of the ethnic rebel armies are helping to arm the militias they team up with themselves. Min Zaw Oo said a few are also selling to the militias to cash in on the rocketing prices. He said an M-16 in near-mint condition that cost anywhere from $5,500 to $8,500 just over a year ago on the local black market now goes for upwards of $22,000. Because these weapons prices [are] spiking, the international funds are quite important for the groups to survive, he said. More money, he added, means more weapons [and] explosives; a lot of them purchase explosives to set up IEDs, or improvised explosive devices. More than money Some of those resettled abroad are committing more than just money. Timmy Htut, James Bawi Thang Bik and the CDF-Hakha Support Team said some have also gone back to Myanmar to join the fight with the militias. They would not share numbers. James Bawi Thang Bik said some in Malaysia have approached his fundraising team seeking help with the trip but the team refused. He said he heard from their friends that they left anyway, using the same human smuggling networks that have helped refugees leave Myanmar to get them back in. Timmy Htut said a Chin refugee who resettled in the United States after defecting from the Myanmar military several years ago was now back in Myanmar passing on his old training to the new militias. The CDF-Hakha Support Team said some Chin have gone back from the United States as well. With the junta still able to draw on a massive budget and military, and an armed resistance growing more organized and ambitious by the month, analysts see no imminent end to Myanmars post-coup crisis. The senior officer with the CDF-Hakha Support Team said foreign funds would keep flowing to the militias for as long as it lasts. This revolution must be the last one in Burma, he said, calling Myanmar by its other name. We believe that this dictatorship must end, so we all are responsible. If we are in unity to fight against the dictatorship, the military regime in Burma, then we will surely overcome, so this fundraising will be until the end of this revolution. The junta claims to be fighting a legitimate counterinsurgency campaign and has labeled the militias terrorists. It says elections in 2020, which the militarys proxy party lost decisively, were riddled with fraud and that it ousted the government after its claims were ignored. The junta has provided no evidence to back up the claim. Local and international election observers say the poll largely reflected the peoples will. Nigerian authorities have announced a special flight operation to evacuate their citizens from Ukraine, following the Russian invasion Thursday. Thursday's announcement by Nigerian authorities followed distress calls made by Nigerian nationals in Ukraine, including students. Nigeria's foreign affairs ministry said it "has been reassured by the Nigerian Embassy in Ukraine of the safety of Nigerians in that country," and said measures were "being undertaken to keep them safe and facilitate the evacuation of those who wish to leave." Tobi Adeyemi, a Nigerian student in Ukraine's capital, said he heard explosions on Thursday. "Artilleries, bomb blasts and everything," he said. "It affected some civilian buildings ... across Ukraine. The situation now is that they're trying to come into Kyiv. At this point, everybody is stuck in Ukraine." There are 4,000 Nigerian students in Ukraine. Airports, train stations and taxis were shut down Thursday. Nigerian authorities promised to airlift residents wanting to leave once the airports reopen. But Abuja resident Christian Paul, who has a relative who traveled to Ukraine last week, is worried. "Whenever these powers of the world go to war, they come with their allies," Paul said. "The probability of bringing their allies into this situation is very high and that's why it gives me concern because you don't know how that can turn out. This is the same way World War II started." Russia assembled nearly 200,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine for the multipronged attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the invasion targeted military installations in Ukraine, but many fear there will be civilian casualties. This week, Nigerian lawmakers raised concern that citizens may be caught in the crossfire. Abuja resident Paul Enyim fears the consequences will be felt well beyond Ukraine. "The whole world is going to feel the heat. What is going to be the fate for Africa? How is business going to be?" he asked. This is the largest land invasion of a country in Europe since the end of World War II. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday approved an amended electoral law that will allow electronic transfer of vote results during the 2023 elections in a bid to improve transparency. Ballots in Nigeria have often been marred by electoral fraud claims and court challenges since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999. The bill allows the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to authorize electronic transmission of voting results and the electronic registration of voter identities to help prevent fraud. "There are salient and praiseworthy provisions that could positively revolutionize elections in Nigeria through the introduction of new technological innovations," Buhari said during the signing of the bill. "These innovations would guarantee the constitutional rights of citizens to vote and to do so effectively." A dispute over the electronic transfer of votes erupted in the senate last year during a debate over the law, when the ruling APC party said INEC could only manage the electronic ballot transfer with the national telecoms commission. That outraged the opposition, which said the move would undermine the independence of INEC. The senate later voted to allow INEC to decide. Buhari, who was first elected in 2015, had initially rejected the new law over its inclusion of primaries to choose candidates, claiming it would infringe on party bylaws and lead to insecurity during the polls. A former military ruler, he will step down after serving two four-year terms, and political leaders are already maneuvering for position before the February 2023 ballot. No clear candidate has emerged to replace Buhari, but the ruling APC party has several hopefuls, including influential former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu. The country's independent electoral commission INEC came under fire after Buhari's re-election in 2019 over claims the ballot was not free or transparent. The opposition challenged the results in court in part because of concerns over the legality of the electronic transfer of tallies. Buhari won 56 percent of the 2019 vote, but his rival Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) filed a challenge in the Supreme Court. Strange days out here on the internet. Dangerous days, too. Facebook groups have people drinking horse dewormer in anticipation of JFK Jrs resurrection, Instagrams filling kids up with eating disorders and suicidal ideations, while Twitter just peals along with that irate, mosquito-pitched whine you hear right just before everything goes red. Algorithmically-elected, engagement-optimized push notifications, suggestions, tips and tricks from the hottest thinkfluencers of the minute, pop, pop, popping up unbidden and inescapable, demanding the fealty of our screens as counted by our click throughs. But the internet today is not the internet of 13 halcyon years ago, in 2009. Nor is it now as it might be 13 years hence, in 2035. The societal divisions we currently face could deepen into outright catastrophe over the next decade because, remember kids, its only ever the worst day of your life so far. Then again, humanity might just buck its ingrained tendencies and come together to build a more robust, more resilient reimagining of todays internet. One that finally exemplifies the us that could be if you wasnt playin. What form those future public spaces eventually take is anybodys guess so Pew Research Center had some of the best-informed technologists in the industry give theirs. The PRC partnered with Elon Universitys Imagining the Internet Center in mid-summer of 2021 to survey 862 technology innovators, developers, business and policy leaders in a non-scientific canvassing. They were asked, looking ahead to 2035, will digital spaces and peoples use of them be changed in ways that significantly serve the public good? The results were mixed. Of those polled, 61 percent of respondents predicted that things will change for the better by 2035, though 18 percent of them argued that currently digital spaces are evolving in a mostly negative way (compared to just 10 percent who think its evolution is mostly positive). Story continues Their concerns centered around four thematic problems: Humans behave selfishly when not tethered by traditional societal norms; the rate of online advancement has confounded societys less tech-savvy members, making them more susceptible to malicious digital systems they dont fully understand; governments are increasingly ineffective at regulating the tech industry; and, as such, trolls, scammers and Nazis continue to run amok in digital public spaces. And though few of the respondents held much confidence in societys short term solutions, many remained hopeful that well get our collective act together and start acting like grown-ups on the internet by the middle of the next decade. Three cheers for low bars. A lack of real-life repercussions will continue to foster boorish behaviors online Harassment, cyberbullying, and doxxing are endemic to online interaction. For example, a 2019 report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that two-thirds of US online gamers have experienced "severe" harassment with more than half reporting having been been targeted based on their race, religion, ability, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity; and nearly 30 percent claiming they've been doxxed in an online game. Likewise celebrities, politicians, professional athletes and public figures even the unwilling ones are all seemingly fair game for the vitriol of online mobs. Toxicity is a human attribute, not an element inherent to digital life, Zizi Papacharissi, professor of political science and professor and head of communication at the University of Illinois-Chicago, told Pew surveyors. Unless we design spaces to explicitly prohibit/penalize and curate against toxicity, we will not see an improvement. Many tech companies have tried tackling the issue, albeit half-heartedly as reflected by the middling results their efforts have delivered to date. Riot Games debuted a Player Behavior team in 2012 to help mitigate toxic interactions in League of Legends, Tumblr recently launched a digital literacy campaign to stamp out cyberbullying, and Facebook continues to throw money, bots, and personal boundary bubbles at its community. And what have they to show for it? My strong sense is that the conditions and causes that underlie the multiple negative affordances and phenomena now so obvious and prevalent will not change substantially, Charles Ess, emeritus professor in the department of media and communication at the University of Oslo, told Pew. This is about human selfhood and identity as culturally and socially shaped, coupled with the ongoing, all but colonizing dominance of the US-based tech giants and their affiliates. Much of this rests on the largely unbridled capitalism favored and fostered by the United States. The progression of internet norms is occurring too rapidly for older generations to coherently process, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to bad actors Old man yells at cloud Transformation and innovation in digital spaces and digital life have often outpaced the understanding and analysis of their intended or unintended impact and hence have far surpassed efforts to rein in their less-savory consequences, Alexa Raad, chief purpose and policy officer at Human Security, told Pew Research. Rick Doner, a retired emeritus professor formerly at Emory University added, We now have a vicious cycle in which the digital innovations are undermining both the existing institutions and the potential for stronger institutions down the road. The effects of this can be seen in the blackbox problem, in which the decision-making processes of AIs and algorithms are obscured from the humans who built them. Wisconsins use of the Compas judicial sentencing software is one such example. One of the biggest challenges is that the systems and algorithms that control these digital spaces have largely become unintelligible, Ian OByrne, an assistant professor of Literacy Education at the College of Charleston, told Pew. For the most part, the decisions that are made in our apps and platforms are only fully understood by a handful of individuals. People have historically reacted poorly to the new normal of emerging technologies whether thats pummeling surveillance state dorks, or that believing 5G wireless caused the COVID-19 pandemic and mRNA-derived vaccines contain Gates-brand mind control chips, or convincing themselves that NFTs are anything but a ponzi scheme and that gap between the state of the art and the state of public opinion is where the tub-thumpers and hucksters thrive. We have ample evidence that significant numbers of humans are inherently susceptible to demagogs and sociopaths, Randall Gellens, director at Core Technology Consulting, told Pew Research. I see digital communications turbocharging those aspects of social interaction and human nature that are exploited by those who seek power and financial gain, such as groupthink, longing for simplicity and certainty, and wanting to be part of something big and important. Gellens points to the emergence of Zoombombing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as one such example. Additionally, we saw myriad self-proclaimed experts who did their own research and who are just asking questions set up shop throughout social media, peddling quack diagnoses and hoax remedies to the detriment of the general public. Better education, especially honest teaching of history and effective critical-thinking skills, could mitigate this to some degree, Gellens noted, but those who benefit from this will fight such education efforts, as they have, and I dont see how modern, pluralistic societies can summon the political courage to overcome this. Wherein Americas gerontocracy sets out to fix a series of tubes Ranking member U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Chair U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) take their seats before the start of a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Looking at the interactions between Americas elected representatives and the heads of various social media companies in recent years, Gellens prediction seems reasonable if not outright expectable. For example, hearings regarding Section 230 (which governs the liability social media companies face for their users posts) in October 2020 were little more than a partisan circus. Follow up hearings last April, without the CEOs in attendance, were only marginally more productive but neither event led to substantive changes in how social media companies operate or how the federal government regulates their actions. Laws and regulations might be tried, but these change much more slowly than digital technologies and business practices, Richard Barke, associate professor in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech, commented to Pew. Policies have always lagged technologies, but the speed of change is much greater now. Even when social media purveyors are caught dead to rights, theres precious little political inertia to do anything about it. This dissonance between technology and policy has raised concerns among Pew respondents that it may lead to the weaponization of data and accelerate Americas transition to a surveillance state. We are in a new kind of arms race we naively thought was over with the collapse of the Soviet Union. We are experiencing quantum leaps in AI/robotics capabilities, said David Barnhizer, professor of law emeritus and founder/director of an environmental law clinic. Its like trying to negotiate a mutually-assured-destruction model with several dozen nation-states holding weapons of mass destruction, added Sam Punnett, retired owner of FAD Research. Id guess many Western legislators arent even aware of the scope of the problem. Those in power have shown little interest in addressing these structural internet issues Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies remotely via videoconference in this screengrab made from video during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled, Between the digital world evolving faster than many of us can comfortably accommodate, the ineffectiveness of our elected officials in regulating it and the erosion of societal norms combating bad behavior, its little wonder why bad actors run rampant on todays internet. Theres very little downside to doing it, noted Chris Labash, associate teaching professor of information systems management at Carnegie Mellon. My fear is that negative evolution of the digital sphere may be more rapid, more widespread and more insidious than its potential positive evolution, he told Pew. We have seen, 2016 to present especially, how digital spaces act as cover and as a breeding ground for some of the most negative elements of society, not just in the US, but worldwide. Whether the bad actors are from terror organizations or simply from hate groups, these spaces have become digital roach holes that research suggests will only get larger, more numerous and more polarized and polarizing, he continued. That we will lose some of the worst and most extreme elements of society to these places is a given. Far more concerning is the number of less-thoughtful people who will become mesmerized and radicalized by these spaces and their denizens: people who, in a less digital world, might have had more willingness to consider alternate points of view. Countering this effect will take more than sending out good vibes into the ether, Labash argued. Nor will simply offering alternative spaces be enough, it will take strategies, incentives and dialogue that is expansive and persuasive to attract those people and subtly educate them in approaches to separate real and accurate inaccurate information from that which fuels mistrust, stupidity and hate. On the other hand, nothing says everything has to be terrible in 2035 either While the experts above raised a number of terrifying(ly salient) points, their predictions are in the minority of respondents to the Pew survey. The majority, as one would expect, had a much rosier outlook for the future of the internet, though not without some reservations of their own. Their overarching reactions followed the common theme that while we face significant challenges now, users, governments and companies will eventually step up to do what is necessary and socially right, even if done out of naked self interest. As Jenny L. Davis, a senior lecturer in sociology at the Australian National University, pointed out, By 2035, I expect platforms themselves to be better regulated internally. This will be motivated, indeed necessary, to sustain public support, commercial sponsorships and a degree of regulatory autonomy. We need to assume that in the coming 10 to 15 years, we will learn to harness digital spaces in better, less polarizing manners, Alf Rehn, professor of innovation, design and management at the University of Southern Denmark, added. In part, this will be due to the ability to use better AI driven for filtering and thus developing more-robust digital governance. There will of course always be those who would weaponize digital spaces, and the need to be vigilant isnt going to go away for a long while, he conceded. Better filtering tools will be met by more-advanced forms of cyberbullying and digital malfeasance, and better media literacy will be met by more elaborate fabrications so all we can do is hope that we can keep accentuating the positive. Social media companies, if properly motivated, could do much towards that goal, argued Internet Hall of Fame inductee and former CTO for the Federal Communications Commission, Henning Schulzrinne. Some subset of people will choose fact-based, civil and constructive spaces, others will be attracted to or guided to conspiratorial, hostile and destructive spaces, he replied to Pew. For quite a few people, Facebook is a perfectly nice way to discuss culture, hobbies, family events or ask questions about travel and even to, politely, disagree on matter politic. Other people are drawn to darker spaces defined by misinformation, hate and fear. All major platforms could make the nicer version the easier choice. The problem with these sorts of solutions is that they have to be implemented by the social media companies themselves, few of whom have traditionally shown much concern for anything aside from their bottom line. Issues of privacy, autonomy, net neutrality, surveillance, sovereignty, will continue to mark the lines on the battlefield between community advocates and academics on the one hand, and corporations wanting to make money on the other hand, Marcus Foth, professor of informatics at Queensland University of Technology, told Pew. Convincing these companies to act in the public good will be no easy feat, explained Chris Arkenberg, research manager at Deloittes Center for Technology Media and Communications. I do believe the largest social media services will continue spending to make their services more appealing to the masses and to avoid regulatory responses that could curb their growth and profitability, he said. They will look for ways to support public initiatives toward confronting global warming, advocating for diversity and equality and optimizing our civic infrastructure while supporting innovators of many stripes. But, in doing so, Arkenberg continued, social media services may have to reevaluate their business models in the face of content moderation at scale. Such changes could be led by the users themselves, countered Susan Price, human-centered design innovator at Firecat Studio. People are taking more and more notice of the ways social media has systematically disempowered them, and they are inventing and popularizing new ways to interact and publish content while exercising more control over their time, privacy, content data and content feeds, she said. The average internet user in 2035 will be more aware of the value of their attention and their content contributions due to platforms like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces that monetarily reward users for participation. Price envisions new platforms and apps touting fairer value propositions to set themselves apart from their competition and attract users. Privacy, malware and trolls will remain an ongoing battleground, she continued, human ingenuity and lack of coordination between nations suggests that these larger issues will be with us for a long time. When in doubt, make more rules Perhaps the most audacious suggestion put forth from the canvassed expert pool came from Barry Chudakov, founder and principal at Sertain Research. Digital spaces expand our notions of right and wrong; of acceptable and unworthy, he exclaimed. Rights that we have fought for and cherished will not disappear; they will continue to be fundamental to freedom and democracy. Public audiences have a significant role to play by expanding our notion of human rights to include integrities. Integrity the state of being whole and undivided is a fundamental new imperative in emerging digital spaces which can easily conflate real and fake, fact and artifact. As such, Chudakov has proposed a full conceptual framework for enacting more civil digital public spaces, a Bill of Integrities which would include Integrities of Speech, Identity, Transparency, Life and Exceptions. How we would enforce such a bill, whether through social norms or government policy, remains to be seen. But even though we dont currently have all (or really, any) of the solutions to the structural problems we currently face, these challenges are not insurmountable. The only way we will push our digital spaces in the right direction will be through deliberation, collective action and some form of shared governance, Erhardt Graeff, assistant professor of social and computer science at Olin College of Engineering, said. I am encouraged by the growing number of intellectuals, technologists and public servants now advocating for better digital spaces, realizing that these represent critical public infrastructure that ought to be designed for the public good. We need to continue strengthening our public conversation about what values we want in our technology, he continued, honoring the expertise and voices of non-technologists and non-elites; use regulation to address problems such as monopoly and surveillance capitalism; and, when we can, refuse to design or be subject to antidemocratic and oppressive digital spaces. Pope Francis went to the Russian Embassy on Friday to express his concern about the war, an extraordinary, hands-on papal gesture that came on the same day the Vatican announced he was canceling other upcoming events because of an acute flareup of knee pain. Usually popes receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican, and diplomatic protocol would have called for the Vatican foreign minister to summon the ambassador to him. For Francis, the Vatican head of state, to leave the city state and travel a short distance to the Russian embassy to the Holy See was a sign of his anger at Moscows invasion of Ukraine and his willingness to appeal personally for an end to it. Vatican officials said they knew of no such previous papal initiative. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the visit. The Holy See press office confirms that the pope went to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See on Via della Conciliazione, clearly to express his concern about the war. He was there for just over a half-hour. Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict and has urged the faithful to set next Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine. But he has refrained from publicly calling out Russia, presumably for fear of antagonizing the Russian Orthodox Church. Knee pain News of Francis' initiative came just after the Vatican announced he had canceled a scheduled Sunday visit to Florence and will not preside over Ash Wednesday commemorations next week because of a flareup of acute knee pain. The Vatican said the 85-year-old pope was canceling his participation in the events after his doctors prescribed a period of rest. The pope, has long suffered from sciatica nerve pain that makes him walk with a pronounced limp, has suffered for several weeks for what he has said was an inflamed ligament in his right knee. He has cited the pain in explaining his limited mobility recently and decision to remain seated during events that would otherwise see him stand. Francis had been due to travel to Florence for a half-day visit Sunday to address a meeting of Mediterranean bishops and mayors and to celebrate Mass. It would have been his first pastoral visit within Italy since the pandemic. He was to have presided over Ash Wednesday commemorations, including a short procession, at a church outside the Vatican in the Aventine neighborhood of Rome. Francis had called for the faithful to set aside Ash Wednesday, the start of the solemn Lenten season, to fast and pray for peace in Ukraine. The Argentine Jesuit enjoys generally good health, though he had 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his large intestine removed in July. Francis also had a part of one lung removed when he was a young man after a respiratory infection. Despite the knee pain, the Vatican released Francis itinerary for an April 2-3 visit to Malta, making clear he plans to go ahead with his agenda. Hundreds of Australians of Ukrainian descent joined those with Russian heritage to demonstrate against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in downtown Sydney on Friday. It was an act of solidarity many thousands of kilometers away from the conflict in Ukraine. Protesters held signs urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the killing. The Australian government has joined the international condemnation of the Russian attack. Prime Minister Scott Morrison also condemned China for undermining Western sanctions against Russia. In early February, Chinas president, Xi Jinping, and Putin agreed to boost trade ties. Australia insists the agreement was aimed at undermining the United States network of global alliances and any sanctions that it would impose on Russia. Morrison urged China to act responsibly. You don't go and throw a lifeline to Russia in the middle of a period when they are invading another country, he said. That is simply unacceptable from the reports that we have seen, and I would urge all nations to say this is not a time to be easing trade restrictions with Russia. We should all be doing the exact opposite. A Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson suggested Thursday the attack should not be called an "invasion" because Russia was only targeting Ukrainian military bases. Morrison had previously described Russian invaders as thugs and bullies. Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton has said that Chinas President Xi might be one of the few global leaders who could persuade his Russian counterpart to halt the invasion. The Australian government will send medical supplies, financial support and military equipment, but not weapons, to Ukraine to help its fight against Russia. The Russian embassy in the Australian capital, Canberra, has said sanctions imposed by Australia were xenophobic. In the days leading up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, some current and former Western officials began to question the sanity of Russian President Vladimir Putin. They pointed to what they perceived as changes in Putin's demeanor, his way of speaking about the crisis, as evidence something had changed and made the Russian leader all the more dangerous. U.S. President Joe Biden described one of Putin's speeches, recognizing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine as independent states, as "bizarre" and "twisted." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the same speech as "deeply disturbing." The former French ambassador to the U.S., Gerard Araud, went even further, tweeting that Putin's speech was "truly mind-boggling" and wondering if the Russian president had slipped into a "paranoid delirium in a parallel universe." Other observers called Putin "unhinged" and "disconnected from reality." That type of talk of a Putin who perhaps has lost touch with reality, though, stands in contrast to previous public assessments and private intelligence assessments of the long-time Russian leader, which have described the now 69-year-old as ruthless, cunning and dangerous, with an appetite for risk. "Most of my white hair came from my service in Russia over the years and in particular in dealing with Vladimir Putin's Russia," U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns told lawmakers last February, prior to his confirmation. Putin began his career as a foreign intelligence officer for the KGB, the former Russian secret police, and retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1990. He eventually transitioned into politics, and by 1998, he was leading Russia's domestic security service, the FSB. Just two years later, Putin was elected president. He has served as president ever since, with the exception of a four-year stint as the country's prime minister from 2008-12. "It's always a mistake to underestimate Putin's Russia," Burns added. Former U.S. intelligence officials likewise argue that writing off the Russian leader as a crackpot would be a tremendous miscalculation. "I have seen nothing to indicate that Vladimir Putin isn't anything but the same coldly calculating KGB operative he's always been," said Daniel Hoffman, a retired clandestine services officer and former chief of station with the CIA. "I don't think he's made any mistakes yet," Hoffman told VOA, noting Russia's successful military ventures in Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea and Syria. Instead, Hoffman and other former U.S. intelligence officials believe that Putin, buoyed by those outcomes, looked at the current state of the world and saw a chance to turn one of his long-held desires into reality. "Putin has never made a secret of his outlook," according to Mark Kelton, a former deputy director of the National Clandestine Service for Counterintelligence. "What has changed is Putin's sense that he now has the capacity to actualize his desire to bring those parts of Ukraine not seized in 2014 under Russian control," Kelton told VOA. Specifically, former intelligence officials point to what Putin likely sees as "perceived U.S. weakness," due to political divisions at home and the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which showed that neither Washington nor its Western allies had much of an inclination to deal with foreign conflicts. And then there is China, which while poised to be a long-term adversary, has for now aligned with Moscow over what Kelton called "mutual opposition to a common American enemy." According to some Russian observers, the convergence of the various trends may even be giving the former intelligence officer a bit of extra confidence. "The Putin I saw was exactly the Putin I expected to see," said Molly McKew, a former adviser to the Georgian president and national security council, told VOA. "He wants power and legacy for himself and for his vision of Russia." "He is more certain that there won't be costs he can't weather. He is more certain that there is not the will to stop him," she added. Yet not everyone is convinced Putin, as he has appeared on television in recent days, is the Putin of old. "I was surprised by the meandering but angry speech (Monday)," John Sipher, who once ran the CIA's Russia operations, told VOA. "I always assumed he was well informed. He was a former KGB officer and has a world-class intelligence service that certainly knows neither Ukraine nor the U.S. is planning to invade," Sipher said prior to the Russian invasion. "It really sounded like he believes this nonsense." Other Russia experts agree, there has been a change. "What was different this time was the ominous tone and barely concealed anger," said Seva Gunitsky, an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto. "This was a speech to threaten, not inspire," he told VOA. "He changes his posture and facial expression to sound more menacing." And that, according to some experts, could be indicative of a shift in Putin's behavior that could have wide-ranging implications. "Putin appears to be increasingly isolated from everyone except his inner circle, who are all members of the security services with aggressive and paranoid outlooks," Gunitsky said. David Szakonyi, a political scientist at George Washington University, agrees. "This happens to a lot of authoritarian leaders," he told VOA. "They stop trusting a lot of other perspectives. They tighten up. They get a little bit cautious in the way that they allow different points of view to enter their calculus." Another possibility, according to some former intelligence officials, is that for all his planning and for his confidence, Putin has felt genuinely frustrated. "Even though Putin initiated the crisis, some of the Western reaction has not worked out the way he may have anticipated," said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA officer who now teaches at Georgetown University. "That's enough to make anyone sound rather frantic and extreme even if his mind is still firing on all cylinders." Then too, some say Putin's behavior could be a well-thought-out act. "If people in the West start thinking that Putin has gone somewhat crazy, that can be a strategic advantage," Pillar told VOA. "Such an image might lead Western leaders, afraid of what this supposedly crazy guy might do next, to make enough concessions to start winding down the crisis on terms Russia can accept." Three correspondents from the Russian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a sister network of VOA, were detained in Moscow while covering a rally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The journalists were arrested despite one of them telling police repeatedly that he was a representative of the press. According to a video of the arrest that one of the journalists filmed and managed to transmit, he also tells the officer to stop using physical force against him. The nearly two-minute shaky video shows the journalist being escorted away after nightfall on Pushkinskaya Square and being placed into a police bus with more than 20 other people inside. According to the correspondents, they were to be taken to the Kuntsevo police station. RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said Russia, having launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine, "now seeks to deny its citizens access to any and all information that would expose the falsehoods it has used to justify the invasion." Fly noted that the RFE/RL journalists were arrested in Moscow while covering an anti-war rally, calling it "an inconvenient challenge to the Kremlin's narrative." He strongly condemned the detention of the RFE/RL journalists and called for their immediate release. There have been reports that employees from other media outlets have also been detained. The security force presence in the center of Moscow included a noticeable accumulation of special equipment and National Guard fighters. The arrests occurred after about 300-700 people had gathered near the monument to the writer Alexander Pushkin and chanted "No to war!" OVD-Info, a nonprofit that monitors police arrests nationwide, said more than 1,700 people were detained at anti-war protests in 53 Russian cities. More than 900 were arrested in Moscow, and more than 400 in St. Petersburg, the monitor said. The Telegram channel Baza reported that the Moscow Police received an order to suppress everything that could be considered a provocation, including Ukrainian flags and posters with inflammatory statements. Russian forces advancing on Kyiv and other key cities as part of a plan to decapitate Ukraines government appear to have lost some momentum, U.S. and Western officials warned Friday, as they and Moscow ramped up information operations to keep up with fighting on the ground. Explosions and gunfire continued to rock parts of the Ukrainian capital Friday, along with areas near Kharkhiv in the north and Kherson in the south, as Russian forces continued a slow march farther into Ukraine. A senior U.S. defense official, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss intelligence, said the Russian assault had unleashed a barrage of more than 200 ballistic and cruise missiles since the invasion began, most of them targeting the Ukrainian military. But the official said intelligence indicated the operation was not going as smoothly as Russian commanders had hoped. "The Russians have lost a little bit of their momentum, the official said. "They are not advancing as far or as fast as we believe they expected they would." The Russian advance on Kyiv, in particular, seems to have gotten bogged down. They're meeting more resistance than they expected, the U.S. official said, adding that Russian forces had yet to establish air superiority despite a numerical advantage and efforts to eliminate Ukrainian air defenses. Ukraines command and control is intact, the official, added. In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought to rally his nation, rejecting rumors that he had fled the city, and insisting he and other government officials are all here, defending our independence, our state. Russian claims Russian officials countered Friday that their forces had made solid progress in what they described as an effort to eliminate a terrorist threat. In one social media post, Russian Major General Igor Konashenkov said his country's forces had disabled more than 200 Ukrainian military facilities and dozens of air defense batteries and radar stations, while destroying a handful of Ukrainian combat planes, helicopters and military vehicles. Russias military also said Friday that it had taken control of the strategic Hostomel airport northwest of Kyiv. Russias claim was not immediately confirmed, but Ukrainian authorities reported heavy fighting there. On the ground in Ukraine Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, meanwhile, denounced what he called horrific rocket strikes on the city, some of which hit civilian areas. Separately, Kyiv's mayor, former world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitchko, said the city had gone into a defensive phase, and he warned that Russian saboteurs were on the loose. Western officials, despite praising Ukrainian forces, cautioned that the situation was fluid, and they noted that things could change rapidly, especially given that about two-thirds of the 190,000 Russian troops amassed along the Ukrainian border had yet to take part in the fighting. They also warned of Russian attempts to use disinformation to cloud the situation on the ground and scare Ukraines forces into submission. Our information indicates Russia is creating a disinformation campaign by publicizing false reports about the widespread surrender of Ukrainian troops, a U.S. official said Friday. "Our information also indicates that Russia plans to threaten killing the family members of Ukrainian soldiers if they do not surrender," the official added. VOA's Heather Murdock filed this report from Kyiv: The U.N. refugee agency warned Friday that the two-day assault by Russian forces already had forced more than 50,000 people to flee their homes. U.S. officials said many have been trying to make their way to the Polish border; they estimated tens of thousands of Ukrainians were on the move. NATO vowed Friday to continue to support Ukraines government and military, and it warned it had taken unprecedented action to keep Russia away from alliance members. We are deploying elements of the NATO Response Force on land, at sea and in the air to further strengthen our posture and to respond quickly to any contingency, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels following a virtual meeting of alliance heads of state. There must be no space for miscalculation or misunderstanding, he said of NATO's activating the 40,000-strong force for the first time. "We will do what it takes to protect and defend every ally and every inch of NATO territory. After meeting Friday with foreign ministry officials from the separatist-controlled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that Russia was "ready for talks at any moment" with Ukraine once Ukrainian forces "stop their resistance and lay down their arms. Ukraines Office of the President said earlier that it was ready to open negotiations with Russia to agree on neutral status, but it wanted security guarantees in return. We should stop this war, an adviser to the president said. In response to Ukraines offer, the Kremlin said Friday that Russia was ready to send a delegation to Belarus for talks with Ukrainian officials. At the United Nations, Security Council members planned to vote Friday on a resolution that would condemn Russia for invading Ukraine and reaffirm the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. It will also call on Russia to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw troops from Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden slapped another round of sanctions on Russia on Thursday, hours after the invasion, declaring at the White House after meeting virtually with leaders of the G-7 nations and NATO that "Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences." Biden said the new U.S. sanctions, which target Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors and also include export controls, will "squeeze Russia's access to finance and technology for strategic sectors of its economy and degrade its industrial capacity for years to come." NATO allies, including Britain and the European Union, also imposed more sanctions Thursday and the effects were felt almost immediately when global security prices plunged and commodity prices surged. Biden acknowledged that Americans would see higher gasoline prices. Calls for more sanctions For now, NATO allies are countering with harsh words and what they say are ever-harsher sanctions on the Russian leader and his inner circle. Sanctioning Putin's personal assets remains a possibility if warfare escalates further, said Biden, who added the invasion caused a "total rupture" in U.S.-Russia relations. European Union foreign ministers met Friday in Brussels to officially endorse the package of sanctions the bloc adopted on Thursday. The EU neared an agreement to freeze the assets of Putin and Lavrov, according to Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. EU leaders generally agreed, however, it was premature to impose a travel ban on Putin and Lavrov because negotiating channels need to be kept open. The United States and several allies had imposed a first tranche of sanctions Tuesday, after Putin declared the disputed eastern Ukraine regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states, much as he appropriated Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Biden rebuked Putin on Thursday for saying in recent weeks that he was interested in negotiating with the United States and its allies over his security concerns. Putin had repeatedly said the U.S.-led NATO military alliance, formed after World War II, posed a threat to Russia and he demanded that Ukraine be barred from joining the alliance. An International Criminal Court prosecutor warned Friday that the court might investigate whether Russia had committed any possible war crimes, following its invasion of Ukraine. "I remind all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine that my office may exercise its jurisdiction and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within Ukraine," ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement. The invasion This invasion is the biggest test of Europe's security since the end of World War II. In a pre-dawn television address from the Kremlin, Putin termed it a "special military operation" aimed at the "demilitarization and denazification" of its neighbor, once a Soviet republic but an independent country since 1991. The first volley struck at Ukrainian forces in the country's east early Thursday and was followed by rocket strikes at several airports. As night fell in Europe, Ukraine's Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said 57 Ukrainians had been killed and 169 wounded. According to U.S. officials, the Russian offensive, still in its initial phase, targeted Ukrainian defense positions with more than 160 short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and airstrikes from fixed-wing aircraft. More than half of all Americans, 52%, viewed the Russia-Ukraine conflict before Russias invasion as a critical threat to U.S. vital interests, a significant increase from 2015, when 44% thought it was a threat after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, according to a poll released Friday by Gallup. The poll was conducted February 1-17 before the Russian government recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk and deployed troops to those areas. As in 2015, roughly half of Democrats and Republicans said they were likely to see the conflict as a critical threat to U.S. vital interests. White House correspondent Anita Powell, Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb, U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer, State Department bureau chief Nike Ching, VOA refugee correspondent Heather Murdock and Jamie Dettmer in Ukraine contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. In offices near San Franciscos Golden Gate Bridge, thousands of miles away from the crisis in Ukraine, Andy Kurtzig has been preparing for Russian aggression for years. The chief executive of JustAnswer.com, a company that connects people with experts online for real-time advice, consulted the plan created by the firms crisis committee. More than one-third of the firms employees are in Ukraine, mainly in two cities, but they are also spread out across the country because of the pandemic. With the Russian invasion, the firms contingency plans are being put into action. Help for employees It has stocked up on cash and has moved some of its money to neighboring Poland to pay employees in case the Ukrainian banking system collapses or comes under cyberattacks. Employees have been getting up to speed on using alternative communication software, apps and satellite phones, even walkie-talkies, in case telecommunications systems buckle. Generators are at the ready, with landlords permissions secured, in case the power grid falters. And the company is paying to move some families to different parts of the country or out of the struggling nation altogether. But first things first. Ukrainian workers were given Thursday off and told to take the time they need to deal with the situation on the ground. "Focus on keeping yourself and your family safe," Kurtzig recalled telling his Ukrainian employees Wednesday night, California time, when Russian airstrikes were first reported around the country. And don't worry about us. Meetings canceled Just in case anyone would feel a sense of duty to work, even in a time of war, all meetings involving Ukrainian employees were also canceled, he said. Its common in Silicon Valley for giant tech companies and even smaller firms to have operations around the world, including in Ukraine, where the countrys education system has a good reputation for training people for careers in science, technology and engineering. But in many ways, JustAnswer is unique. The company hired its first Ukrainian in 2010, someone that an employee knew and recommended. Since then, its Ukrainian staff has grown to 270 people, including 87 people hired in 2021 alone. The company plans to hire 180 Ukrainians this year. Change in focus JustAnswers Ukrainian employees arent focused just on coding and fixing bugs the sort of work technology companies typically outsource outside the U.S., Kurtzig says. Ukrainians also work on the firms human resources, customer service, operations, user design and analytics teams. Our whole business is relying on our people in Ukraine across every department, said Kurtzig, who lived in Ukraine with his family in 2019. For years, the company has grappled with planning around Russias hostilities, including the 2014 Maidan popular uprising and crackdown and the Russian annexation of Crimea, formerly part of Ukraine. On the move As of Friday, 16 employees have relocated or are planning to, with six moving out of the country. The company has stocked up its offices with food and medicine in case they are needed for temporary shelter. Four employees are volunteering as part of the military mobilization, the company says. One employee, a paramedic, is going toward the conflict. She's going east to go help the troops, Kurtzig said, and to help with the casualties that are happening right now. Every Thursday, JustAnswer releases new code and improves its website. Those changes were canceled this week. South Korean officials reiterated Friday that they will implement U.S. and European sanctions on Russian exports but that Seoul will not impose its own. The sanctions were imposed this week in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. "As a responsible member of the international community, the Korean government will support and join [its] efforts, including economic sanctions, to curb [Russia's] armed invasion and resolve the situation peacefully, the foreign affairs ministry said Friday in a Twitter post. That echoed remarks made a day earlier by President Moon Jae-in, who argued for a resolution through dialogue and negotiation, not war. Semiconductors, electronics, and automobiles, South Korea's top exports to Russia, could all be affected by the latest export controls announced by the U.S. Commerce Department. They will require companies that use U.S.-origin technology in products, such as semiconductors, computers and aircraft parts, to receive Washington's approval before sending them to Russia. "Between our actions and those of our allies and partners, we estimate that we will cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports," U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday in announcing the new curbs. Although a few Asia-Pacific states, including Japan and Australia, have announced their own sanctions against Russia, South Korea said it has no plans to do the same, for now. "What we're saying is that we will naturally abide by the sanctions as they are issued by the U.S. and European nations," presidential spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said in a radio interview on Friday. "We also have to keep in mind that our trade relations with Russia are growing," he said. On Wednesday, a presidential official who spoke on condition of anonymity told reporters multiple options were on the table, and that Seoul's position could be adjusted depending on the duration of the crisis, its direction and other countries responses. Seouls position stands in contrast to that of Japan, which extended its sanctions Friday to include semiconductors and other high-tech goods, as well as a freeze on Russian banks assets. Previously, it had banned new travel permits for individuals from the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, after Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to recognize those Ukrainian territories earlier this week. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday characterized Russia's invasion as a "unilateral attempt to change the status quo ... with ramifications for the international order, not just in Europe but Asia and beyond." South Korea's response so far has largely been inward-looking -- setting up a government task force with affected businesses as well as around-the-clock monitoring of global risks, such as the price of oil and natural gas. Moon urged the full use of current nuclear power plants at an energy supply chain inspection meeting on Friday, marking an apparent reversal from his administration's hallmark nuclear phase-out policy. The global flow of LNG is expected to be disrupted by the crisis unfolding in Ukraine. 'Strategic Ambiguity' with a friendly disposition Russia is South Korea's 10th-largest trading partner, accounting for 1.6% of South Korea's exports and 2.8% of its imports, according to the Korea International Trade Association's 2021 data. The scale may pale in comparison to that of China and the United States, Seoul's two top trading partners, but the Russia relationship holds growth potential and plenty of amicable history, according to international relations professor Ahn Se Hyun at the University of Seoul. "Russia was instrumental in South Korea's joining of the United Nations in 1991," Ahn told VOA. "And unlike the nature of Russia's relationship with Japan since the Cold War, which is akin to that of enemies, South Korea's relationship with Russia has been one of strategic cooperation." Tokyo and Moscow have yet to agree to a post-World War II peace treaty, divided by an ongoing territorial dispute over a chain of islands between them. For South Korea, Russia holds significance not only in the past, but also for the future. "Since our trade reliance on China is so high, Russia offers an alternative to diversify; it can also serve as a springboard into the European market," Ahn said. Russia is also one of few countries that support the reunification of the two Koreas, he said. Implications for the Korean peninsula South Koreas top two presidential candidates, who are locked in a close race with 12 days until the vote, condemned Russia Thursday. While the liberal frontrunner, former provincial Governor Lee Jae-myung, said the Ukraine situation shows the importance of preserving peace, the leading conservative candidate, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, went a step further. In a statement, Yoon noted the situation facing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has made largely unsuccessful appeals for international help. "As a country that is surrounded by global powers, we need to draw a lesson for ourselves, Yoon said, underscoring Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in 1994 in exchange for security assurances from the U.S., U.K. and Russia, per the Budapest Memorandum. "Memoranda between nations can become mere scraps of paper under the weight of great-power politics," said Yoon, who has campaigned on a tougher posture against nuclear-armed North Korea. Hong Kongs fifth wave of coronavirus could see thousands of deaths, a new study said. Slammed by the city's fifth wave of COVID-19, Hong Kong is facing its worst health period since the pandemic began two years ago. It has forced the citys government to implement strict measures, including compulsory tests for all Hong Kong residents. February has seen thousands of new cases, mostly from the omicron variant. A new daily high of 10,010 infections was recorded Friday. A study by the University of Hong Kong considered the potential outcomes from the current wave of coronavirus cases. One of the worst scenarios outlined that if the hospitals were to be overburdened, Hong Kong could see 7,000 COVID-19-related deaths by the end of June. The infection fatality risk may increase by 50% when the health care system becomes overburdened, in which case the cumulative number of deaths could further increase to 4,231 6,993, the study said. But it also said deaths could be half that number, about 3,200 by mid-May, if health measures remained. 'Zero-COVID' plan Hong Kong had adopted a zero-COVID strategy, aligned with Beijing's effort to control the pandemic across China. It had some success, with authorities quickly clamping down on rare outbreaks by contact tracing, social restrictions, mass testing and quarantine. Fan Hung-ling, chairman of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, told the Chinese state's Global Times that the strategy was our countrys basic policy and wont change. Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the citys authorities to get the fifth wave under control. Xi is due to visit Hong Kong July 1, marking the 25th anniversary of the city's return to China from Britain. Last week, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam unveiled new measures for the city, including a requirement that residents have proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter various premises. On Wednesday, Lam also announced compulsory testing for all residents by March, with a goal of boosting the citys vaccination rate to 90%. Dr. David Owens, an honorary assistant clinical professor at Hong Kong University, had hoped for a different plan of action. I would have preferred we would have shifted all of our energies that would effectively [be focused on] things that would save lives," Owens told VOA. "That would be mitigation, to roll out vaccinations to the elderly and vulnerable. I have also argued we should move to rapid testing so we can break the transmission chains quickly." Need for home isolation Dr. Karen Grepin, associate professor at the University of Hong Kong's School of Public Health, responded to the mass strategy campaign. It is likely it will happen at a time very close to the peak of the outbreak and thus it will likely identify literally hundreds of thousands of cases, including likely many who are no longer infectious. It is unlikely that we will be able to isolate even a fraction of these cases, so unless it is coupled with a comprehensive home isolation strategy, it will have little impact on transmission, Grepin told VOA. According to data from the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, public hospitals are averaging an occupancy rate of 89%. One health worker at Hong Kongs United Christian Hospital, who chose to remain anonymous, admitted she was afraid of the pending testing program. Patients were crying," she said. "A male patient said he had not eaten for 12 hours. And another patient said he wanted to commit suicide. And I started to cry. I cannot offer any more for them. I am so afraid of the universal testing program. We dont have enough manpower for that. The government is so keen on a zero-COVID strategy. To me, it is a zero-medical staff strategy. The morale is worsened every day in the frontline. She described her jobs current conditions as like working in a market. It was so difficult to pass through the waiting hall," she said. "We have to shout out to search the patients. Patients in beds outdoors Last week, Hong Kongs Caritas Hospital saw dozens of patients lying in hospital beds outside in cold weather, waiting to be admitted. But occupancy is was at 102%, the Hospital Authority said. A nurse working at the hospital, who also chose to remain anonymous, said elderly patients have nowhere to turn. Patients are not severely sick from my ward, but [have a] lack of self-care ability. The virus is widely breaking out in elderly care homes and homes for disabilities. They cannot do self-isolation, as they are from the same care center. The staff [are] probably infected. Therefore, the patients literally have nowhere to go even if they turn negative, she told VOA. Hong Kong residents have also spoken to VOA about pandemic fatigue, venting their frustrations at the governments new health measures. And some expatriates are also looking to leave the city altogether. A Facebook group aimed at helping expatriates leave Hong Kong has already gained over 3,000 members, only days after being created. Singapore for some British citizen Niall Trimble, a job recruitment director at Ethos BeathChapman, an executive recruitment firm in Hong Kong, has decided to move elsewhere in Asia. I would say the reason for leaving is the lack of flexibility compared to other places on the COVID situation," he told VOA. "As a recruiter across technology and financial services I am already seeing a huge influx of candidates looking to move to Singapore and also clients looking to move operations to Singapore. Hong Kongs economy fell into a two-year recession in 2019 and 2020. But last year the city saw growth of 6.4% as coronavirus cases remained low. But Hong Kong has now recorded at least 84,000 cases, with 2022 alone seeing more infections than the last two years combined. Hong Kongs finance chief unveiled a budget of over $20 billion to cope with the outbreak, which will include an electronic spending voucher for each resident. Hong Kong authorities are set to loosen the strategy on rapid testing and allow home isolation for positive cases, the South China Morning Post reported Friday. Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war in a pre-dawn Thursday televised address, social media users living in countries near Ukraine began setting up online networks to support refugees. By Friday evening, at least 100,000 people had signed up to various groups on Facebook and other platforms, offering their homes, money and carpools to Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, mostly women and children, crossed into Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia as of Friday as Russian missiles pounded the capital of Kyiv and men of fighting age were told to remain. Malgorzata Krentowska was one of many Poles who joined a 3,500-member Facebook group, "Ukraine, I'm helping you!," to advertise an unused apartment in southern Poland. "My grandmother was born there in 1912, and my mother used to tell me Russian fairy tales which I still remember fondly," she wrote. "If anyone would like to stay there I can share the keys. There is cold running water and electricity." Another Facebook group, Aid to Ukraine, has gained close to 104,000 members since it was set up by Polish entrepreneur Marta Lisowska a day earlier. Lisowska told Reuters her mother's death had prompted her to help people, and she soon hoped to welcome refugees into her old flat in Gdansk, on the Baltic coast. Her friend Witold Wodzynski, who helps manage the group along with his wife, Sylwia, said Ukrainians had been positively surprised that so many Polish people wanted to help. Host a Sister, a network that helps members accommodate one another for free, added 10,000 new members in the last week, according to the group's Facebook page, as women from neighboring countries rushed to offer their homes. Meanwhile in Poznan, a 700-member group called "Kejterski Patrol" offered help to people fleeing with their dogs by temporarily housing and walking the animals. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Kyiv residents spoke to RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service as Russia's long-feared attack on Ukraine began in the early morning hours of February 24. Russian missiles hit cities across the country. Some Ukrainians are hoping to flee to safety, but others plan to stay at home. Career / Professional Development USI Internship and Career Fair All students are encouraged to attend the Internship and Career Fair to meet employers, explore career options and apply for jobs and internships. Students of all majors and grade levels are encouraged to attend the Internship and Career Fair. New students can use the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the format of career fairs. In the second and third years, students should plan to attend to meet with potential internship employers. Seniors can meet recruiters for full-time degree-related positions. Recruiters prefer meeting students in person. So students who attend career fairs will have greater odds of acquiring top internships or jobs. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is raising concerns about the lack of accountability in Sri Lanka after gross violations of human rights. In a report, Bachelet said human rights violations and abuses were continuing to spread throughout the country. She attributed that to the failure of the government to carry out necessary reforms to its legal, institutional and security sectors. The high commissioners spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, said the government had shown some willingness to initiate reforms. However, she said the steps taken so far have done little to address past human rights violations or redress the harm done to victims. Since the 1980s, an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 people from all ethnic and religious communities have disappeared. To this day, the fate of thousands of those who have gone missing remains unknown. Call for reparations, justice Shamdasani said the suffering of the families of the disappeared was immense and must be acknowledged by the government. She said that victims must receive reparations and that perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice. The reason why we are highlighting these issues is because we have very serious issues," she said. "I mean, the militarization, the ethno-religious nationalism, the continued lack of accountability. And you couple that with a pattern of surveillance and harassment of those who try to speak out civil society organizations, human rights defenders, journalists and it is a recipe for further human rights violations. Shamdasani said the Prevention of Terrorism Act amendment bill, which was presented to parliament on February 10, was an important initial step. We welcome the proposed increase of magistrates powers to visit places of detention, the speeding up of trials and the repeal of the section which imposes serious limitations on publications," she said. "However, other proposed amendments do comply fully with Sri Lankas international human rights obligations, and it leaves intact some of the most problematic provisions of the PTA, the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Shamdasani said the high commissioner had shared her concerns with the Sri Lankan government. She said the government had engaged constructively with her office and had made some relevant comments. The report will be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council, which begins a five-week session next week. The United States announced Friday that it would freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, following similar steps taken by the European Union and Britain, as nations around the world sought to tighten sanctions against Russias government over its invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury Department announced the action after EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels unanimously agreed to freeze the property and bank accounts of the top Russian officials. Britains government took the same action Friday, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss writing on Twitter, We will not stop inflicting economic pain on the Kremlin until Ukrainian sovereignty is restored. A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said the sanctions against Putin and Lavrov reflected the West's "absolute impotence" in foreign policy, according to the RIA news agency. World leaders are rarely the target of direct sanctions. The only other leaders currently under EU sanctions are Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to Agence France-Presse. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said the move was a unique step in history toward a country that has a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, but said it showed how united EU countries were in countering Russias actions. The EU sanctions against Putin and Lavrov are part of a broader sanctions package that targets Russian banks, oil refineries and the Russian defense industry. EU leaders agreed, however, it was premature to impose a travel ban on Putin and Lavrov because negotiating channels need to be kept open. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Friday for nations to cut Russia off from the SWIFT international bank transfer system "to inflict maximum pain." Ukraine has lobbied for a SWIFT ban on Russia, urging Europe to act more forcefully in imposing sanctions against Moscow. However, some European nations, including Germany, are hesitant to take that step. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Friday that the package of banking sanctions the EU has passed would hit Putin's government harder than excluding Russia from the SWIFT payments system. "The sword that looks hardest isn't always the cleverest one," she said, adding, the sharper sword at the moment is listing banks. Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said, The debate about SWIFT is not off the table. It will continue. In response to the sanctions, Russia has taken its own measures, including banning British flights over its territory, after Britain imposed a similar ban on Aeroflot flights. The United States and several allies had imposed a first tranche of sanctions Tuesday, after Putin declared the disputed eastern Ukraine regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states, much as he appropriated Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Biden added another round of sanctions on Russia on Thursday, hours after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, declaring at the White House after meeting virtually with leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations and NATO that "Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences." Biden said those U.S. sanctions, which target Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors and include export controls, would "squeeze Russia's access to finance and technology for strategic sectors of its economy and degrade its industrial capacity for years to come." Effects on markets NATO allies, including Britain and the European Union, also imposed more sanctions Thursday, and the effects were felt almost immediately when global security prices plunged and commodity prices surged. Biden acknowledged that Americans would see higher gasoline prices. More than half of all Americans, 52%, viewed the Russia-Ukraine conflict before Russias invasion as a critical threat to U.S. vital interests, a significant increase from 2015, when 44% thought it was a threat after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, according to a poll released Friday by Gallup. The poll was conducted from February 1-17 before the Russian government recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk and deployed troops to those areas. As in 2015, roughly half of Democrats and Republicans said they were likely to see the conflict as a critical threat to U.S. vital interests. Also Friday, an International Criminal Court prosecutor warned that the court might investigate whether Russia has committed any war crimes in its invasion of Ukraine. "I remind all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine that my office may exercise its jurisdiction and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within Ukraine," ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said Friday in a statement. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. U.S. financial regulators have fined the New York branch of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) more than $55 million for anti-money laundering violations and compliance deficiencies. The fines by the Federal Reserve Board and the New Yorks Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) led to a 7% drop in NBPs shares Friday. NBPs banking operations did not maintain an effective risk management program or controls sufficient to comply with anti-money laundering laws, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board said in a statement Thursday. Pakistani authorities have said the fines were agreed upon through a settlement with U.S. regulators and that there has been no willful misconduct at NBPs New York branch. Under the settlement the NBP will be required to offer a plan detailing enhancements to the policies and procedures of the Banks BSA/AML compliance program, its Suspicious Activity Monitoring and Reporting program, and its customer due diligence requirements, reads a NYDFS statement. The government of Pakistan owns more than 75% of the NBP. In June 2018, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-money laundering watchdog, put Pakistan in its grey-list because of concerns the country was not doing enough to counter money laundering and terrorism financing. The Pakistani government is expected to inform the FATF in February 2022 of its progress in tackling financial loopholes which benefit terrorist groups. Terrorism Concerns Pakistans military and intelligence services have long been accused of maintaining links with and using terrorist groups to further strategic objectives in neighboring India and Afghanistan. At the core of such money-laundering penalties lies serious concerns about repeated non-compliance with terrorism financing enabled by Pakistans state-owned entities, Javid Ahmad, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told VOA. Its a slap on the wrist, but Pakistan, like a corporation, has certain financial obligations to its elaborate network of militant shareholders, so it will find other creative ways like the use of cryptos to circumvent banks and stay semi-compliant with [the] AML regime, he added. Pakistani authorities deny any involvement with terrorism and contend that the country has suffered immensely from terrorist attacks over the last two decades. Pakistan made limited progress on the most difficult aspects of its 2015 National Action Plan to counter terrorism, specifically in its pledge to dismantle all terrorist organizations without delay or discrimination, the U.S. State Department said in its 2020 Country Report on Terrorism. Mohamed Abdi Gutale woke Thursday morning in Ukraine's capital to a state of heightened anxiety. "We heard two huge explosions," said Gutale, a 30-something Somali university student in Kyiv. "And according to government officials on the TV, the bombardment targeted government sites, not civilians." Within hours, Gutale was fleeing Kyiv aboard a train bound for a Ukrainian community near the western border with Poland, he told VOA's Somali Service in a phone interview. He carried a backpack and books and uncertainty about the future, including any further studies. Thousands of foreign students like Gutale are caught up in the crisis in Ukraine, where Russia sent invading forces early Thursday. The country had more than 76,500 international students as of 2020, Nigeria's Premium Times website reported, citing data from Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Sciences. VOA could not independently reach the ministry, its website or Ukraine's embassy in Washington to verify information. But Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website said the country has more than 240 universities, drawing international students from more than 150 countries every year. Africans account for at least a fifth of Ukraine's international students, the German news organization DW, or Deutsche Welle, reported. One of those students is Jovice Johnas, 22. She left north-central Tanzania's Mwanza region to pursue an engineering degree at the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, in Ukraine's second-largest city in the country's northeast. On Thursday, Johnas was hunkered down in the basement of an off-campus housing unit with roughly 70 other people at the university's instruction, she told VOA's Swahili Service. "It's an empty space, with no place to sleep, no water, no bathroom," Johnas said, noting that it has electricity, so she can charge her phone. She said she had just enough notice early Thursday to grab a change of clothing and some bottled water; friends have shared snacks of potato chips and chocolates. "Pray for us. We need peace," Johnas said when asked what message she had for the international community. She said that while she has been getting a good education in Ukraine, "a good country," she and other students "would like the government of Tanzania to help us, by any means, get out of the country." Leaving the conflict area has become difficult. Ukrainian authorities closed at least three of the country's airports to commercial traffic as of late Wednesday. Major roads and highways have been clogged with vehicles fleeing major cities, according to local reports. The National Union of Ghana Students on Wednesday issued a statement urging the federal government in Accra "to accelerate efforts in ensuring the safety of all Ghanaian students" in Ukraine and Russia. The student union asked that students be evacuated from Ukraine's eastern provinces, as well as from Russia, "as the country may pose an overall hostile environment to our students." On Thursday, Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a statement on social media that it would help facilitate Nigerians' evacuation as soon as airports have reopened. More than 4,000 Nigerians are studying in Ukraine, according to local news sources. The crisis in Ukraine also has gripped the attention of Augustin Vyukusenge, an African student in Russia. "People in shopping centers and on public transportation are calm but are following very closely the news on their mobile phones, and on mounted TV screens in metro stations but still very, very calm," said Vyukusenge, a Burundi native and doctoral student in communications at the Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics. Vyukusenge told VOA's Central Africa Service that the few Russians with whom he had spoken lately "are very supportive of their government's actions." However, he added, Russians "are very worried of the possibility that NATO could bring war on Russian territory. ... Not many of us believe that the war can reach up to Moscow. But if war became very serious, and countries in Europe join it through NATO, we would be very worried. For now, we hope it will stay on [the] Ukraine side." This report originated in VOA's Africa Division. It was compiled by Carol Guensburg, with contributions from Mohamed Olad Hassan of the Somali Service, Auriane Itangishaka of the Central Africa Service and Omary Kaseko of the Swahili Service. More than 60 Zimbabwean students living in Ukraine have appealed for help in evacuating them following a nationwide military operation in the country by Russians. Vincent Siziba, who is a student in Vinnytsia, about 263 kilometers south-west of the capital Kyiv, said most students want to leave the country as soon as possible. We want to leave this place and go to Poland where we will figure out what to do next. Our government has not yet contacted us. We are seeing messages on social media that the government wants us to go to get in touch with Embassy staff in Berlin. We need help right now, said Siziba. He said there were almost 300 students on social media groups created by Zimbabweans in Ukraine, which they were using to reach each other. There are a lot of Zimbabweans here in Vinnytsia who want to leave. The roads are now packed with vehicles right and with all the scary messages of bombings we are getting, indications are that there is war in this country. Its difficult to get to Poland using planes because the airspace is now restricted and travelling by road is also dangerous. We dont know what to do next. I believe that there are more than 300 students in our social media groups here in Ukraine. Another student Phillimon Chizororo, a five-year medical student at Vinnytsia National Medical University, said many Zimbabwean and other foreigners want to return home. A lot of students are thinking of going back to their respective countries but as for me Im just waiting. If the situation gets serious then I might go but as for right now I will be still around. I have plenty of food but the problem is that some banks are closed so my parents wont be able to send me money that will reach me in time. Thats the only problem. He said the Zimbabwean government has advised all students to go to Poland if the security situation deteriorates in Ukraine. We will just have to find transport to go to Poland and then from Poland we can buy tickets so that we can fly to Zimbabwe. In a Twitter message, Zimbabwes information ministry said students should contact Embassy staff in Berlin if they want to leave Ukraine. Russian security forces started bombarding Ukraine early Thursday with indications that they were launching missiles targeted at military installations and other strategic places. President Vladmir Putin claims that the Ukrainian government has been committing genocide in a region controlled by rebels since 2014. President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied any wrongdoing. Some Zimbabwean students at Vinniytsia in Ukraine say they are now stuck in that country after they were told by university authorities to shelter in place following the deteriorating security situation in the country. The students say some colleagues have left the campus and are on their way to Poland where they are expected to buy air tickets and return home. Laison Kyle Moyo, a fourth-year medical student at Vinniytsia National Medical University, told VOA Zimbabwe Service that local authorities have urged them to seek shelter due to fierce fighting between Russian and Ukranian security forces. We have received information that we must stay here in Vinnytsia where the situation has been calm all along. We are worried about whats going on. We havent seen any shellings or bombings but people are really worried about whats going to happen. Some students are also on their way to Poland but are stuck at the border due to traffic jams at the border post. We hope the situation will improve and the students will leave for Poland. Some Zimbabweans living in Berlin have teamed up to help stranded students in Berlin through providing transport from various parts of the country. Faith Chikomari, who is based in Germany, said, Yesterday we tried to contact the (Zimbabwe) Embassy after we heard about the news in Ukraine and how we were doing to help our people. We were told that there is nothing much we can offer them and the only thing they can offer them is a flight ticket to Zimbabwe. Im wondering how you can tell a 20 year-old to find his or her way to Poland when they are already panicking. So, what we have come up with is to organize something as citizens. Its not an organization or any political agenda. It is just citizens in Germany who have decided to come together to see how best we can help our people. My mobile number is already on Twitter. We have given it to people that will need help from us. They can call us so we can see how best we can help them. We managed to help some of them yesterday and we are waiting to hear from them if they have crossed over to Poland. She said they are hoping to help all Zimbabweans currently stuck in Ukraine where banks have been closed and transport operators are facing challenges in getting money for ferrying people. Indications are that more than 60 Zimbabwean students are in Poland doing different studies in various universities nationwide. Some of them claim that the Zimbabwean government is playing a critical role in ensuring that all of them are safe and those in need of help are assisted in going to Poland enroute home. The Zimbabwean government has promised to assist students in purchasing air tickets for a one-way ticket to Zimbabwe, which costs at least US$2,000 from Poland. At the same time, most of them believe that they may end up losing several years of education as they might now return to Ukraine if Russia topples the current government. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Prudence Tatenda Chinemo, a Zimbabwean student at Vinnytsia National Medical University, says the sitution is calm in the region despite clashes betwee Ukranian and Russian security forces in some parts of the country. (Video: Marvellous Mhlanga Nyahuye) Stowe, VT (05672) Today Cloudy with periods of rain. High 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low near 40F. Winds light and variable. Photo: Broadimage/Shutterstock Update, Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at 2:31 p.m.: Amanda Bynes is officially free from the conservatorship that presided over her life for nearly nine years. Bynes will now regain control over her finances and her day-to-day responsibilities, and she will be able to choose where to live. The decision comes after a tentative ruling on Monday in which the judge asserted that grounds for the establishment of a conservatorship of the person no longer exist. Bynes was not present in court on March 22, but her attorney told Variety earlier this week that they were looking forward to Amanda living a life as a private and normal citizen. Update, Wednesday, March 9, 2022, at 12:28 p.m.: Amanda Bynes is back on Instagram ahead of her March 22 court date, where she will seek to end her conservatorship. In an Instagram video posted March 8, the actress thanked her fans for their support. Whats up, Instagram, she told the camera. Amanda Bynes here. My court date is coming up in two weeks. I want to thank you all for your love and support. Peace out. She tagged @enews @people @usweekly in the caption. Bynes is backed by both of her parents to end her conservatorship, which has been tapering off over the course of nine years. Original story follows. Following the high-profile legal battle that successfully ended Britney Spearss conservatorship, Amanda Bynes has submitted filings to Ventura County Superior Court to terminate her own conservatorship. On Tuesday, February 22, court records show that Bynes filed a Capacity Declaration, a form used in California court conservatorship cases in which a physician attests to a subjects mental and cognitive capacity. The next day, Bynes filed a Petition for Termination of Conservatorship of Person and Estate, and the court scheduled a hearing for March 22. The actors parents, Lynn (why are they always named Lynn?) and Rick Bynes, first filed for conservatorship over Bynes in 2013 after she was put on an involuntary mental-health evaluation hold. In August 2013, Lynn was granted legal control over her daughters financial, personal, and medical affairs. People reported in 2017 that Lynn successfully petitioned the court to terminate the conservatorship, but it was reinstated after Bynes suffered a relapse in 2019. In February 2020, Lynn used her conservator status to prevent Byness marriage to her fiance, Paul Michael. The two announced on Instagram that they were having a baby, but a lawyer denied the claims. In September 2021, Byness attorney told Page Six that the status of Byness conservatorship is open day to day and it will terminate when it is no longer convenient for Amanda. Priyanka Chopra and her husband. Photo: Lia Toby/BFC/Getty Images for BFC Rosie ODonnell doesnt know who Priyanka Chopra is. Yes, Priyanka Chopra, the Bollywood leading actress who has transitioned into international Hollywood films such as The Matrix Resurrections and The White Tiger. Shes also a member of the Jonas wives, married to youngest JoBro Nick Jonas. With over 74 million followers on Instagram, she is known by most people. All except Rosie ODonnell, who made two strange TikToks documenting an awkward interaction between them at a Nobu restaurant. To set the scene: Rosie ODonnell says hello to Nick Jonas and his wife, Priyanka Chopra, at Nobu in Malibu. ODonnell tells Chopra that she is a fan of her father, which confuses Chopra. Chopra then asks her, Whos my father? to which ODonnell replies, Deepak Chopra. A.k.a. an alternative-medicine author, who is not Chopras father. Chopra then informs her that Chopra is a very common last name. Normally, interactions like this are buried deep down where no one else can ever hear of them, but ODonnell decided to embarrass herself multiple times to a larger audience. ODonnell tells the story of the awkward moment on TikTok, referring to Chopra as Chopra wife, not knowing her name for the story. Commenters quickly called out that not knowing Priyanka Chopras name even after the interaction was disrespectful. The next day, ODonnell took to TikTok again to apologize for not knowing her name. Shes apparently a very well-known actress and more famous than [Nick Jonas], people were saying, said ODonnell, So Im sure it felt weird to her to begin with. However, it seems that the only apology ODonnell gave was online. Priyanka posted a response to her Instagram Story. Ive never taken myself so seriously to think everyone would know who I am. But if u wanted to make a public apology for a very awkward private encounter, I think best to take the time to google my name before doing it or try to reach out directly. via @priyankachopra IG story pic.twitter.com/A7obnv4JUG PRIYANKA DAILY (@PriyankaDailyFC) February 24, 2022 Ive never taken myself so seriously to think everyone would know who I am, or my work for that matter. But if you wanted to make a public apology for a very awkward private encounter, I think probably best to take the time to google my name before doing it or even try to reach out directly, wrote Chopra. We ALL deserve to be respected for our unique individuality and not be referred to as someone or wife especially in a sincere apology. She concluded the statement with a final thought on her last name. PS - As Ive said before, not all Chopras are related to the great Deepak, just as not all Smiths are related to the legendary Will Smith. Maybe Rosie can talk to her brother Chris ODonnell about it instead of TikTok. Dang, doesnt it feel like Owen Hunt has been hanging out in that ravine for the longest time? I mean, not for real Greys Anatomy picks up right where it left off in December but doesnt it feel like its been forever? And honestly, by the end of No Time to Die, every character on this show has at least one moment when they look like they have been through it. Everyone is a hot mess at Grey Sloan Memorial except, perhaps for the first time in Greys Anatomy history, Meredith Grey and we are all exhausted. If youve been anxiously awaiting the resolution of that literal cliffhanger of a cliffhanger, we get answers right away. In the winter finale, Owen, Teddy, and Cormac were racing off to get a heart for Megan Hunts son, Farouk. It is dire! On the way back from picking up the transplant, their van driver has a stroke, and the car goes tumbling until it ends up teetering on the edge of a 100-foot cliff. Also dire! Teddy gets out with the heart and the two men have a real bro-off about which one of them is going to volunteer to die because theres no way that car isnt going down once one more person gets out. It ends up being Owen who will stay behind, but before Cormac crawls out, Owens like, NBD, but I did a little bitty euthanasia thing with Nathan and also promised three more vets Id do the same for them can you take care of that for me if I die today? Cormacs like, Cool, cool, cool, I gotta go. And he does. And the car tumbles down the ravine, leaving Owens status unknown. Now if you were tuning in for the big Owen Hunt rescue, I hope you also watched Station 19 because the entire thing happened on that hour of this weeks crossover event. A lot of it has to do with Ben Warren pulling Superman moves because he isnt processing his emotions, which is something that could trickle over into Greys at some point, so I just thought you should know. Anyway, if you want to watch Owen Hunt yelling out in pain for 20 minutes, you should watch Station 19. Maybe you are into that! I dont know your kink! So, yes, Owen is rescued. Hes alive and talking when they bring him into Grey Sloan, but he has suffered spinal injuries and some extensive damage to his left leg. You know what that means! Neurosurgeon Amelia Shepherd and orthopedic surgeon Atticus Lincoln have to work together to heal him! And thats going to be super-awkward because Link, so in love with Amelia even though she keeps crushing his heart, just saw the object of his affection making out with Kai, and he, like so many 12-year-old boys before him, is very, very mad about it. But Owen Hunt has bigger issues to deal with than the two people charged with saving his life arguing about who gaslighted whom he has to talk to Cormac and make sure hes cool with that thing he confessed to him while they were dangling off a cliff. Cormac is not cool with it. Cormac is having a rough time: He was out there just trying to make sure other people knew Megan, Owens sister, is not okay and then he ends up almost dying, and as hes grappling with that mindfuck, he is now burdened with the knowledge of what Owens up to. When Owen has him come to his bedside, he tells him to just forget what he told him in the car. Cormac cant just forget it. Yes, Nathan qualified for physician-assisted death, but the other three vets Owen has promised to help die with dignity dont legally qualify, which means what Owen is doing is technically a crime, and that means Cormac would be aiding and abetting. He is torn because he understands where Owen is coming from here, but if he doesnt report him, Cormac could go to prison; he could lose his medical license. He has his sons to think about. What makes it more confusing for Cormac, surely, is how close hes become with Megan. He finds her in the chapel, completely wrecked. No one has updated her on Farouk nor told her about the car accident with the heart, which just seems insane. Cormac makes her tell him her plan for living before he updates her. He knows what it is like to lose someone and want to die just to be with them, so he wants to make sure Megan has support. Its actually a very touching scene and Lordddd, I am so in on a Cormac-Megan romance but that seems unlikely knowing what is to come. You see, Farouks surgery is successful, and Owens surgery is successful, and that just leaves Cormac with his decision regarding whether to report Owen. He goes to see Bailey seemingly to tell her what he knows. But before he can get it out, Bailey starts going on and on about how Owen is a great doctor and great guy and how the Hunt family has been through so much. Who knew Bailey was such an Owen Hunt stan? Not me! In that moment, Cormac cant bring himself to most likely send Owen to prison or at the very least have him lose his license. Stuck in a terrible position, Cormac resigns. He tells Bailey hes taking his sons and moving back to Ireland because they just arent thriving here. Its for his family, he says. But we know! Is it possible this is one of the most rational decisions a doctor has ever made on this show? To see the drama and turmoil and insanity that takes place at Grey Sloan Memorial and just be like, You know what? Im outta here. And thus I guess were saying good-bye to a character full of untapped potential, and Owen Hunts path of destruction on this show continues! Speaking of, Teddy informs Owen post-surgery that Cormac has quit, and she is starting to suspect it has something to do with whatever happened between them after she got out of the car. She wants some answers. For now, Owen is in so much pain we get a close-up of him administering pain meds to himself (Is this the start of a new Owen problem?) that he isnt answering, and she isnt pushing it. FOR NOW. The other big cliffhanger the winter finale left us to ponder was that whole thing with Schmitt covered in blood in the OR. Remember, he was using the Webber Method to operate on a very nice podcaster, and instead of waiting for an attending to come in and assist with the most difficult part of the surgery, as Webber Method protocol dictates, Schmitt thinks he can handle it on his own, proceeds with the surgery, and cuts his way right into a bloodbath, killing the patient. Bailey immediately shuts down the Webber Method, infuriating Webber, who thinks the whole thing shouldnt be scrapped because of one surgeons hubris. He tries to pull rank on her as chief of chiefs, but Bailey will hear none of it. The two of them cant even look at each other by the end of the episode, which is really awkward when they are the only two people riding an elevator together. Meanwhile, Schmitt is unwell. He cant speak, and he cant tear himself away from the sink where he is scrubbing all the blood off his hands. Then hes just scrubbing his skin. And then its his own blood that is dripping into the sink. Youd think someone wouldve restrained him before he got to this point, but no. Its not until Bailey sends Jo in to check on Schmitt its been hours, right? and she sees his bloody hands that she gets reinforcements. He screams in pain as Jo, Helm, and Jordan (we need more of this man!) pull him away from the sink. He doesnt speak as they bandage his hands. He still cant when Nico finds him outside sitting on the ground. Nico sits next to him but cant find any words of comfort to give his boyfriend. This situation is alarming. So, uh, welcome back to Greys Anatomy everybody things are very dark here at the moment! The OR Board Both Amelia and Link are being dopes, and I hope they never interact with each other again save for Scout-related items. That hope is partly because they are infuriating and partly because Im much more interested in their respective budding relationships than I am in rehashing the complete implosion of their old one. Amelia gives Kai a little sneak peek at the mess that is her life and Kai still seems into her, so thats cool. Jo comforts the saddest boy Link by telling him hes good at his job and superhot, and they end up having sex, also cool. I do feel for Jo here because she is obviously in love with Link, and he obviously does not think their sex is about that. And what of David Hamilton, who was supposed to get the big Alzheimers surgery and instead had to go into emergency surgery for a bowel obstruction he was trying to hide? Hes mostly fine except now hes royally pissed off Meredith, who tells him that if he jeopardizes their work like this again, shell quit. Hey, this could be fun! Nick Marsh hops on a plane from Minnesota to visit Meredith after he hears about the shenanigans of the day. Meredith is very giggly about it all. Does just the mere mention of Cristina and Alex give you butterflies too? As Webber tells Meredith about what happened with Schmitt, she notes that theres no way she or Cristina or Alex wouldnt have done the same thing Schmitt did given that kind of power as a resident. She isnt wrong. Its so fun to see the husband-and-wife cardio dream team working together on a surgery, but if Winston and Maggie are headed toward some big faith (Winston) versus science (Maggie) debate on this show, thats going to be a hard pass. We already Japril-ed the hell out of this discussion!! Peter Dinklage and Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Cyrano. Photo: Peter Mountain/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. Cyrano is, technically speaking, Joe Wrights first musical film, but you could say hes been making musicals his entire career. Think back to the tribal-ritual-style dances of Pride and Prejudice; to the tireless, techno-inflected action scenes of Hanna; to the grand, balletic gestures and click-clack tempos of Anna Karenina. Even his Churchill-at-war drama The Darkest Hour has a ferocious, developing rhythm to it; the much-discussed scene in which Gary Oldmans Winston Churchill finds himself chatting up ordinary citizens on the London Underground is shot and cut like a show-stopping musical number, just without any singing. And so, as Cyrano begins, you sense a director fully in his element, able to weave in and out of bursts of song and snatches of dancerly movement without ever fully disappearing into the realm of the unreal. The movie sings even when nobodys singing: Characters speak as if guided by internal meters, and they move with brisk, purposeful precision. As a result, when they do burst into song and dance, it feels organic and natural, like everythings just tipped one slight degree into the fantastical. Cyrano is a delicate dream of a movie, the kind of film that feels like you might have merely imagined it light on the surface but long on subconscious impact. This is, of course, an adaptation of Edmond Rostands classic 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac, but the central conceit comes from Erica Schmidts 2018 stage musical Cyrano, written for her husband, Peter Dinklage. As the title character, Dinklage does not don the traditional huge fake nose; Cyranos inability to accept himself as an object of romantic love comes from his stature. Its a simple but startling change without that comical, surreal grace note of the nose, Cyrano immediately becomes a rawer, more relatable figure. That goes perfectly with the pictures practically anti-Broadway soundtrack of love songs by the National, with their galloping rhythms and breathless lyrics and unfiltered emotions. Cyrano is one of the most romantic movies ever made, but its not quite a traditional love story in that nobody really finds true love in it. Its all evasion, heartache, yearning. This is the romance of hidden thoughts and desires, of urges barely spoken (but often unabashedly sung), of a sweet pain we all secretly remember. Itll take you right back to high school and college and all those other places where you had your heart shattered into a million pieces. For Dinklage, losing the nose also accomplishes something more practical. He might be one of the most purely expressive actors of his generation, and his eyes and mouth and facial muscles do so much more without a giant phony proboscis to navigate around. In one early scene, Cyranos beloved Roxanne (Haley Bennett) coyly confides to him about someone shes fallen for. The moment comes straight out of Rostand, and its always been one of the works high points. But the range of emotions Dinklage runs through in just a few seconds is bewildering. Cyranos face goes from cautious enthusiasm to giddy delight to astonishing heartbreak, as he briefly believes Roxanne is talking about him. But no, shes talking about Christian de Neuvillette (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), a handsome new arrival in town and a fellow guardsman in Cyranos regiment. Roxanne falls for him the moment she spies him across a crowded theater, and he for her. Rostands Christian was rather dim, and the character has been a memorably comic one over the years. (The great 80s hunk Rick Rossovich had a grand old time playing him in the modern-day adaptation Roxanne, alongside Steve Martin.) In Schmidt and Wrights version, Christian is beautiful, fresh-faced, kind but hopelessly inarticulate when it comes to flowery prose and wooing. Together, he and Cyrano make a compelling but unlikely pair: the poet and the soldier, the cynic and the innocent. But this tale is not one of mere duplicity, of an embittered romantic writing letters to the unattainable beauty he secretly loves on behalf of a trusting hunk. Christian and Cyrano complete each other, and Roxanne essentially, tragically, wants them both. And Wright goes there. In one of the films several high points (during the song Every Letter) Cyrano-slash-Christians messages become sensuous objects, vessels for a spiritual threesome among the central characters, as Roxanne gently rubs the pieces of paper all over her body. The camera even makes sure to focus on the liquid qualities of ink on paper. Prurient, perhaps, but also just an incredibly seductive piece of cinema. The film woos us the way the two men try to woo Roxanne. Theres an unabashed freedom to Cyrano thats breathtaking, a fearlessness in the face of love in contrast, perhaps, to the main heros submerged longings. It doesnt stop there, however. Love in all its forms eventually comes into play. A climactic battle, shot on the side of a volcano, is prefaced by a devastating song (Heaven Is Wherever I Fall) in which various doomed soldiers write letters home to their loved ones to a wife, a parent, an unrequited paramour. Its a rather stunning emotional turn for the film to take, but in retrospect, its also a beautiful one. Because Cyrano, in the end, gives us an experience that goes from the carnal to the spiritual, suggesting that when we love somebody, whoever it might be and whoever we might be and whatever the nature of our love, we become a part of something greater. I can think of no idea more essential. You have permission to edit this collection. Edit Close Upon hearing her harrowing tales, one might think Beverly Smith and her family were in the cosmetic surgery business the way she speaks of recreating and attaching McTavishs ears, fingers and other parts. But Smith, 74, of Eau Claire, is nothing of the sort. The true story of this retired piano teachers affiliation with McTavish may seem stranger than fiction. McTavish, technically Model-N, is a manikin the spelling of the word indicates he was made for medical purposes and was created in 1947 by the Chase Hospital Doll company out of Rhode Island. The 5-foot-something gentleman, donning a felt hat and tweed sport coat, prodded Smith, simply by his presence, to give Chippewa Valley Technical College a call when she came across an article recently about the colleges newly acquired medical manikins used to teach students. When Theresa Meinen, CVTC simulation center coordinator, received Smiths invite to her home to view the medical marvel, Meinen was in. I just could not pass up this opportunity to see how far these manikins have come, Meinen said. Smith was so sweet over the phone. She really just wanted to share what she had with us. McTavish McTavishs AdventuresHaving been born in 1946, Smith was just a babe in her mothers arms when the family happened upon McTavish a name he was given by Smiths parents, but Smith said the names origin is unclear. Her uncle was the dean of the dental school at Washington University in St. Louis. Smiths other uncle had just gotten out of the Marines and was looking for a school to attend. The dean took the family on a tour of the campus, which included the basement of the medical building. My uncle pointed to the big stack of wooden crates they looked like caskets, to be honest and he said, Look at that. Its such a waste, Smith recalled of her parents telling the story. The wooden boxes were full of Chase medical manikins. They were ordered before the start of World War II to train nursing staff, but by 1947 they were obsolete, Smith said. They were just finishing up the war and those injuries were substantial, Smith said. People were coming back without limbs. These manikins just didnt cut it as far as training at that time. The dean asked the Smith family if they wanted one. The answer was a resounding Yes. And hes been a part of my family ever since, Smith said. I literally grew up with him, and when I went to college, he lived in my dorm room. McTavish was born in Rhode Island, adopted from Missouri, taken home to Tennessee, and moved to Florida, then Alabama, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado and finally Wisconsin. Smith keeps McTavish in a rocking chair in the basement of her split-level home. She said he is basically a brother to her because hes been around forever and I dont think of him as an object hes a part of the family, Smith said. After she read the article about the new medical simulators at CVTC, she wondered how much technology had changed. In short, it has changed a lot, Meinen and Smith agreed. The women met at Smiths home in early February so Meinen could meet McTavish and the women could talk about how far technology has come. McTavish has upper arms that are made for administering injections. He also has an opening on his stomach and one on his backside. Meinen guessed the openings might have been for gastrointestinal training, but she cant know for sure. Regardless, the technology is night and day. This was probably state-of-the-art in its day, Meinen said after examining McTavish. Now everything looks so real. There is the appearance of veins under the skin. We can program them to have a stroke or heart attack. They cry, they sweat, they cough, they sneeze. Theyre pretty spectacular. During their visit, Meinen showed photos of the new manikins to Smith, who was impressed by the advancements. I had no reference until I saw your photos, Smith said to Meinen. Obviously I knew in this length of time there are going to be major changes but this, theyre just amazing. Meinen said the best part is that students can learn on life-like manikins first and make mistakes before they try their skills on real patients. When students are in the hospital or when theyre practicing on real people, we dont let them make mistakes, Meinen said. We stop them. So they never see the consequences of a mistake. In the simulation lab you can let it play out. Thats how they learn. Think about those nurses and doctors back then, when McTavish was made, they didnt have an opportunity to learn like that. Thats how the medical community has become more skilled. Meinen and Smith plan to connect again in the fall when Meinen expects to host a CVTC Clinical Simulation Center open house for the community. Smith has agreed to bring McTavish to the open home to show the community, in person, how far medical technology has come. Until then, the dapper-looking McTavish will remain in his rocking chair with the Bible on his lap and a lifetime of memories in his manikin heart. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A local gun shop said there's really a number of ways to lock up your guns, from safes to lock boxes. If you can't afford those options, Project ChildSafe gives gun shops cable locks for free. Cable locks stop the gun from firing. A Columbus Community Hospital doctor isnt only a new provider at Columbus Psychiatry Clinic but she will be bringing in a different way to assess children. Tara Sjuts recently joined CCH and recently received approval from the Nebraska Department of Education to perform independent educational evaluations (IEE). She is the first provider at the clinic certified to perform such assessments. An IEE is an assessment that students can complete with a qualified administrator outside the school system to help formulate and improve existing educational plans. It (IEE) kind of builds on the skills that I used in my service for families on a regular basis, Sjuts said. So I conduct psychological evaluations with kids all the time. Most of the time, Im looking at things like ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and autism. They are the big questions that parents are wanting to learn a little bit more about. She added she received experience in conducting IEE evaluations during her previous work. Sjuts received her doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, before doing her post-doctoral training and working at the University of Nebraska Medical Centers Monroe-Myers Institute in Omaha. She worked in primary care serving families, kids and teenagers through therapy and assessment. She is an exceptional psychologist, Columbus Psychiatry Clinic Dr. Venkata Kolli said in a provided statement. She can now help families and educators understand what additional accommodations and services are needed to make children more successful. Sjuts said parents, children and schools - looking for special education accommodations for a student can allow the child to undertake an initial evaluation through the school district to see if the student needs special adjustments. If a student doesnt qualify or the parents dont agree on the recommended accommodations, they can seek an IEE as a second opinion, she added. Parents have a right through Nebraska Rule 51 to obtain an independent educational evaluation of their child, Sjuts said. When a child is evaluated (for something like) special education services, their eligibility to receive those extra services can impact their education, she said. Sjuts added such services could include more one-on-one time with a paraprofessional. It just depends on what their specific needs are, she said. So we dont necessarily have a one-size-fits-all approach to what services or accommodations kids need. It should be tailored to their specific skill area where they need to grow. CCH Director of Clinics Korie Whitmore said an IEE is a valuable tool for schools and parents. She added the assessment creates new understandings from a different standpoint. Tara comes to us with a considerable amount of experience in performing these kinds of evaluations and evaluating and treating children and families, Whitmore said. I think its important for us to have an expanded service in the psychiatry clinic and be able to offer it to parents. They wont have to travel outside our community to get these secondary evaluations. Sjuts said she takes a bit of a different approach at the clinic. It broadens the services that the clinic can provide, she said. I (practice) with a behavioral approach which means its very action-focused and a lot of problem-solving and figuring out how to make the environment works for kids. I have a very family-based approach. Andrew Kiser is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at andrew.kiser@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Peaceful protests and vigils held in Rome, Milan, Turin and Naples. Rallies and prayer vigils for peace in Ukraine were held in cities across Italy on Thursday night, with Ukrainians joined by Italians in demanding an end to Russia's war on Ukraine. In Rome the Colosseum was illuminated in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine's flag, in an initiative organised by Italy's culture ministry, with a prayer vigil for peace held in the S. Maria in Trastevere church. There was also a protest in front of the Russian embassy, organised by the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD), whose leader Enrico Letta said that "all of Italy" is with the Ukrainians "in this struggle that will not end until Ukraine is free from the Russian invader." Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri, who attended the rally, said the images of Russia's war on Ukraine are "scenes that Europe no longer wants to see and for which our strongest condemnation is needed. Gualtieri said that a candlelit procession will take place from the Campidoglio, Rome's city hall, to the Colosseum at 18.00 on Friday evening. In Milan about 1,000 people demonstrated in Piazza della Scala against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, holding a giant Ukrainian flag, reports newspaper Corriere della Sera. Earlier a small protest was held outside the city's Russian consulate with demonstrators carrying placards that read "Stop Putin", "Putin terrorista" and "No war". Ukrainian residents in Naples unfurled a 30m-long peace flag in the city centre and attended a prayer vigil at the Santuario della Beata Vergine del S. Rosario di Pompei cathedral, while last night landmarks in Turin, Genova and Florence were lit up in the colours of Ukraine's flag. On Wednesday Italian premier Mario Draghi expressed "full and unconditional solidarity" with the Ukrainian people of behalf of Italy, calling on Russian president Vladimir Putin to "put an end to the bloodshed". The Vatican's secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin, called for a "glimmer of conscience on the part of those who hold in their hands the fortunes of the world" to "spare the world from the folly and horrors of war". There are 250,000 Ukrainians registered as resident in Italy, reports newspaper La Stampa, however it is estimated that more than 400,000 Ukrainians are living in Italy, including those who have obtained Italian citizenship or who do not have residency papers. Cover photo Corriere della Sera Placeholder while article actions load As the U.S., the U.K. and the European Union impose new sanctions on Russia in response to its actions in Ukraine and consider increasing them, one idea under discussion involves cutting off access to a messaging system called SWIFT. Its so central to the international financial system that any such talk rattles bankers and diplomats alike. 1. What is SWIFT? Think of SWIFT, an acronym for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, as the Gmail of global banking. It delivers secure messages among more than 11,000 financial institutions and companies, in over 200 countries and territories. The message traffic -- 42 million a day on average last year -- includes orders and confirmations for payments, trades and currency exchanges. The member-owned cooperative, based just outside Brussels, was founded in 1973 to end reliance on the telex system. Advertisement 2. Why is losing SWIFT access such a big deal? A country cut off from SWIFT can suffer significant economic pain. Thats what happened to Iran in 2012, when its banks lost access as part of European Union sanctions targeting the countrys nuclear program and its sources of finance. (Many of the banks were reconnected in 2016 after the EU took them off its sanctions list.) When Western nations threatened Russias access to SWIFT in 2014, Alexei Kudrin, a onetime finance minister close to President Vladimir Putin, estimated that it could reduce Russias gross domestic product by 5% in a year. Cutting Russia off from SWIFT could have ramifications for other nations as well, since Russia is a key energy supplier to Europe and countries rely on the SWIFT system to pay for fuel. 3. Why the reluctance to cut Russia off from SWIFT? Advertisement U.S. President Joe Biden cited the lack of unity among European nations as a reason. Another is a fear among Western officials that banning countries from SWIFT would encourage other countries to develop alternative systems. Another concern is over collateral damage. Europe uses SWIFT to send payments for Russian natural gas it needs to heat its homes and power factories, meaning a ban could threaten supplies in the midst of the winter heating period, adding to an already heightened cost of living crisis in the region. Plus, any legitimate company doing legitimate business with Russia could find itself unable to collect payment if SWIFT is restricted, said Daniel Tannebaum, head of sanctions at Oliver Wyman in New York. 4. Is there an alternative to SWIFT? Not really, or at least not yet. Since 2014, the Bank of Russia has run its own financial messaging system for Russian and foreign banks. But that one has only about 400 users. The Peoples Bank of China in 2021 announced a joint venture with SWIFT that was seen in some quarters as an insurance policy against being cut off from the global financial system. Digital currencies and the underlying technology have also been touted as a threat to SWIFT for several years, but theyre nowhere close to replacing it. Advertisement 5. How secure is the SWIFT system? There have been multiple attempts to rob financial institutions through fraudulent messaging on SWIFT, some of them successful. The best known is when Bangladeshs central bank lost $81 million to hackers who breached it in 2016 and tricked the Federal Reserve Bank of New York into sending funds. SWIFT emphasized that its own network hadnt been breached, but it beefed up security in the wider industry with mandatory and advisory controls at member firms. 6. Who regulates SWIFT? Since it doesnt hold deposits, SWIFT isnt regulated the way a bank is. Its overseen by the National Bank of Belgium and representatives from the U.S. Federal Reserve System, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and other major central banks. Generally speaking, SWIFT would cut off access only if the European Union passed sanctions against a particular entity or country. SWIFT suspended certain Iranian lenders in 2018 after the U.S. imposed a new round of sanctions, although it says that was an isolated event that was taken in the interest of the stability and integrity of the wider global financial system. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article A series of unusual craters discovered in Wyoming may have been caused when an asteroid crashed into or near the Nebraska Panhandle 280 million years ago. This is the newest theory proposed by a team of German and American geologists studying the area. Their paper, "Secondary cratering on Earth: The Wyoming impact crater field," was published in the Geological Society of America bulletin on Feb. 11. The crater field consists of at least 31 small impact craters up to 230 feet in diameter, with at least 60 other structures awaiting confirmation. They were discovered around the Laramie Mountain Range to the southwest of Douglas, Wyoming. Research of the craters began in 2017. Researchers included impact specialist Thomas Kenkmann from the University of Freiburg in Germany and retired petroleum geologist Doug Cook from Colorado Springs. Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt also joined the expedition. Dr. Schmitt assisted me with getting field samples from crater SM-1, which I then sent to (Kenkmann) in Germany. After some time, we received the news that the Sheep Mountain craters were proven from the microscopic shock structures in quartz grains. This work was presented by Dr. Kenkmann at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston in March 2018, followed by three days of field work in Wyoming, Cook said in an email to the Star-Herald. This work uncovered additional craters. Originally, the team believed they were caused by pieces of a meteor breaking up in the atmosphere and falling to Earth. However, the craters were missing some of the materials commonly found in meteor break-ups. This, combined with the sheer number of craters across such a large area, led some of the geologists to reconsider this idea. Kenkmann and Cook now believe they were caused by ejecta, chunks of earth that were blasted away when an asteroid struck the planet. If the craters were caused by ejecta, they would be the first of their kind found on Earth. Such secondary craters are common on extraterrestrial bodies such as the Moon, Mars and Mercury, but have never before been positively identified on Earth. From the size of the ejected blocks and their velocities, we estimated that the primary impacting asteroid had a size of roughly 4-5 kilometers (2.5-3.1 miles) in diameter and formed a crater some 50-65 kilometers (31-40 miles) in diameter. Such an impact is really devastating, Kenkmann told the Star-Herald in an email. He said the impact would have triggered earthquakes, released thermal radiation and knocked down trees for hundreds of miles. Based on weak indications from existing data and calculating the trajectories of the craters, the team believed the primary impact happened somewhere around the state line between Nebraska and Wyoming. It would have likely landed near southeast Goshen County or western Banner County. The researchers said further work is necessary to determine the exact placement, or even the existence, of the primary crater. In the northern Denver Basin, the Permian beds are deeply buried, Kenkmann said. So it will be challenging to prove this crater that is also buried by several kilometers of sediments. One needs geophysical surveys (like) seismics, gravity and magnetics to detect potential circular anomalies that are characteristic for buried impact structures. Cook such endeavors will have to wait until COVID has subsided and the U.S. Geological Surveys Core Research Center in Denver reopens. We hope to get access to sample deep well data from some key wells in the presumed target area. Impact evidence from deep cores could seal the deal. Getting access to petroleum industry seismic images would also be helpful, he added. Kenkmann said he is planning another field campaign to collect more samples from the craters in April. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Placeholder while article actions load Vladimir Putin has done it. Ignoring near-universal condemnation, the Russian president has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, confirming the Wests worst fears. Its an abominable act of unprovoked aggression that threatens global security and stability. The worlds response must be swift and exacting. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Putins actions reflect a willful disregard for international law and the lives of innocent people. They violate the basic principles underpinning the international system: that sovereign nations have the right to chart their own destiny and that borders cannot be changed by force. While being mindful of the risks of military escalation with a nuclear superpower, the U.S. and its allies should now take immediate, coordinated steps to isolate Putin and exert pressure on Russias economy. Russias onslaught has been anticipated for months. Putin began to prepare the groundwork for escalation earlier this week with the recognition of two separatist self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine, and a televised meeting that ensured high-ranking officials shared responsibility. On Thursday, he finally slammed the door on a peaceful resolution. Russia, he told citizens in a pre-dawn speech, could not feel safe with the constant threat from Ukraine and a hardening of NATOs position. With its forces bearing down on Kyiv, the Kremlin says its objective is nothing less than the liberation of Ukraine. Advertisement After months of grappling with Putins strategic ambiguity and fretting over what would happen in the event of a minor incursion, the West now has the benefit of clarity. What, then, can the U.S. and its allies do to restrict Russias adventurism and protect civilians? The Wests military options are limited. Russian forces possess overwhelming superiority over their Ukrainian counterparts. At this point, increasing lethal aid to Ukraines military is unlikely to prevent Putins annexation of parts of the country. The U.S. and European governments should instead exploit their greatest strategic advantage over Putin their economic power and cut Russia off from the global financial system, with the aim of constraining Russias economy. In this regard, the actions already taken by the U.S., U.K. and E.U., while critical, will need to go much further. The U.S. sanctioned the company behind the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, and Berlin, long hesitant, halted the landmark project. Additional sanctions have been put on sovereign debt, as well as oligarchs, parliamentarians and government officials, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Advertisement On Thursday, the British government announced an asset freeze on all major Russian banks, blocked Russian companies from raising capital in U.K. markets, and imposed sanctions on some 100 members of the Russian elite. For his part, U.S. president Joe Biden sanctioned five major Russian banks holding $1 trillion in assets and moved to deprive Russia of the ability to import Western technology. If Putins offensive continues, the West should consider additional measures, including targeting Putins personal wealth. Russias vast currency reserves, along with high energy prices and the support of China, will allow Putin to withstand the first wave of penalties. Europes dependence on Russian energy, made more intense by Germanys shortsighted decision to close its nuclear plants, will likely threaten Western resolve. But the Russian economy is too small to sustain a war footing indefinitely. Though sanctions alone wont dislodge Russian forces from Ukraine, patient and unstinting application of economic pressure remains the Wests most potent weapon for deterring further Russian aggression. The West should be clear-eyed about the challenge it faces. Putin has exploited years of U.S. disengagement to sow chaos, divide NATO, and attempt to undo Europes post-Cold War order. Now hes attacked a democratic European nation, a country with which his own people have deep ties and little desire to fight. A faltering response by the U.S. and its allies will only embolden others, notably China, to also attempt to advance their interests by force. This is no moment for weakness. More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Russias Cyber Campaign of Chaos Should Fail: Parmy Olson Sanctions May Not Stop an Irrational Putin: Bobby Ghosh Vladimir Putin Is Playing With Fire in Ukraine: Clara Ferreira Marques Editorials are written by the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Russian gas is attractive to Europe because its usually cheap, easy to transport and almost always available. Some European Union countries depend on it because they are shutting coal plants, and Germany is even planning for the end of nuclear power. Russias dominance has been enhanced by the depletion of North Sea fields controlled by the U.K. and the Netherlands. Gazprom PJSC supplies about a third of all gas consumed in Europe and, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was on track to become even more important as the continent shrinks its own production. 1. How did Russia become so significant? With its vast Siberian fields, Russia has the worlds largest reserves of natural gas. It began exporting to Poland in the 1940s and laid pipelines in the 1960s to deliver fuel to and through satellite states of what was then the Soviet Union. Even at the height of the Cold War, deliveries were steady. But since the Soviet Union broke up, Russia and Ukraine have quarreled over pipelines through Ukrainian territory, prompting Russian authorities to find other routes. Advertisement 2. How vulnerable is Europe? A supply crunch in late 2021 provided a vivid insight into Europes reliance on gas flows from Russia. Storage tanks in the EU fell to their lowest seasonal level in more than a decade after longer-than-usual maintenance at Norwegian fields and Russia rebuilding its own inventories. Benchmark gas prices more than tripled in 2021. The EU vowed a decade ago to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, and continuing purchases by member nations have been a contentious issue within the economic bloc and caused rifts with the U.S. 3. What role does Ukraine play? About a third of Russian gas flowing to Europe passes through Ukraine. Even as the crisis in the region escalated into war, analysts said Russia, with a history of supply disruptions over price disputes, probably would strive to be seen as a reliable supplier. Gazproms shipments to Europe and Turkey were about 177 billion cubic meters in 2021, according to calculations by Bloomberg News and BCS Global Markets based on the companys data. When Ukraine and Russia reached a five-year gas transit deal in December 2019, assuring supplies until 2024, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the nation would earn at least $7 billion from transit fees. Advertisement 4. Has Russia disrupted the market in the past? In 2006 and 2009, disputes with Ukraine over pricing and siphoning of gas led to cutoffs of Russian supplies through the country. The second shutdown lasted almost two weeks in the dead of winter. Slovakia and some Balkan countries had to ration gas, shut factories and cut power supplies. Since then, the most vulnerable countries have raced to lay pipelines, connect grids and build terminals to import liquefied natural gas, a supercooled form of the fuel that can be shipped from as far as Qatar and the U.S. 5. What supply networks are there? Outside supplies, mostly from Russia, Norway and Algeria, account for about 80% of the gas the EU consumes. Some of the biggest economies are among the most exposed, with Germany importing 90% of its needs. Belgium, Spain and Portugal face the problem of low storage capacity, as does the U.K., which no longer is part of the bloc and closed its only big gas storage site. The continent has a mass of pipelines, including Yamal-Europe, which runs from Russia through Belarus and Poland before reaching Germany, and TAG, which takes Russian gas to Austria and Italy. Many cross several borders, creating plenty of possible choke points. Advertisement 6. What about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline? It was against this background that Nord Stream 2, a new Russian pipeline under the Baltic Sea to Germany, was completed in late 2021. But it has become entangled in politics and a lengthy regulatory process. There was strong opposition from the U.S., which imposed sanctions that delayed construction but didnt prevent its completion. Following the eruption of the Ukraine crisis, the process to grant the approval the link needs from German officials has been put on hold. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load In 2020, for the first time in 69 years, the U.S. exported more energy than it imported. The numbers for 2021 arent all in yet, but everything is pointing to an even bigger energy surplus. The long journey that began during the 1973 oil crisis with President Richard Nixons Project Independence and its goal of achieving self-sufficiency in energy would seem to have ended. Yet as Russia invades Ukraine, threatening disruption of global oil supplies, Americans arent exactly celebrating their energy independence. Instead, theyre fuming about high gasoline prices, with some even arguing that those prices are so high because President Joe Biden destroyed American energy independence. Its mostly Republicans who say that, but some Democratic lawmakers have been pushing the White House (so far without success) to curb oil and gas exports to bring prices down at home. Meanwhile, the U.S. and its allies are constrained by Russias oil and gas riches in their reactions to its assault on Ukraine. So maybe energy independence isnt all its cracked up to be. Or maybe being a net exporter of energy doesnt really make a country energy-independent. Advertisement Producing more energy than you consume does, to be sure, seem to be the standard definition of energy independence. For example, Eurostat, the European Unions statistical agency, has a metric called energy dependence that is simply net imports as a percentage of energy use. Malta was Europes most energy-dependent country in 2020, at 97.6%. Germany, a big importer of Russian natural gas, came in at 63.7%. Fifteen years ago, U.S. net energy imports amounted to 29.1% of energy consumption. Now, thanks mainly to the boom in domestic production of oil and natural gas enabled by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, theyre negative. But President Nixon, President Jimmy Carter and other advocates of energy independence through the decades have had more than just this simple accounting in mind. Nixon said in 1973 that he was concerned about the maintenance of our ability to play our independent role in international affairs. Carter worried in 1977 that the world was running out of petroleum, and that this would wreak economic havoc without concerted efforts to conserve energy and come up with new sources. Most talk of energy independence falls into those two baskets, which Ill define as: Freedom from foreign power. Advertisement Freedom from economic harm. Sometimes these two aims are compatible, sometimes they arent. Germany and other European nations would have a lot more freedom to maneuver on Ukraine if they werent so dependent on Russian natural gas, but without it they would have paid a lot more for energy over the past few decades. Countries with limited energy resources generally dont strive for self-sufficiency because they can achieve better economic results with imports being heavily dependent on fossil fuels from abroad certainly didnt thwart the economic rise of Japan and China. Countries with lots of energy resources generally dont strive for self-sufficiency either, because they can achieve better economic results by exporting. Its a balancing act, and the optimal level of dependence or independence is neither obvious nor constant over time. Then again, it does seem like Germanys 2011 decision to shut down all its nuclear power plants was a pretty clear (and clearly mistaken) step away from energy independence, reducing both its freedom from foreign power and its freedom from economic harm. Advertisement The U.S. is a unique case, having risen to global economic preeminence in the first half of the 20th century fueled almost entirely by domestic coal, oil and gas that was in turn virtually all consumed domestically. Monthly U.S. crude oil statistics are available all the way back to 1920,(1) and they tell the story nicely including the big post-World War II plot twist when domestic production stopped keeping up with demand. Now the U.S. is back to producing slightly more oil than it needs (as shown in the preceding chart, crude imports are still well higher than exports, but net exports of refined petroleum products more than cancel that out), yet isnt exactly independent of overseas oil exporters. As my fellow Bloomberg Opinion columnist Liam Denning explained recently, Gulf Coast oil refiners that are set up to handle heavy crude from Venezuela have been importing a lot of oil from Russia lately because U.S. sanctions dont allow them to import from Venezuela. More generally, oil prices are set on global markets that the U.S., as a major producer, can influence but not control. There is no observable link, for example, between movements in the U.S. petroleum trade balance and in the gasoline prices Americans pay. So no, gasoline prices arent high right now because Joe Biden destroyed American energy dependence. Theyre high mainly because the collapse in energy demand at the beginning of the pandemic caused oil producers around the world to cut back on pumping and investment. Then again, those prices may stay high because drillers are wary of increasing investment given (1) painful recent experience and (2) efforts by the Biden administration and other governments around the world to shift energy use away from fossil fuels. Advertisement It is these efforts to which Biden critics are referring with their talk of destroying energy independence, so that charge is not grabbed entirely out of thin air. But discouraging fossil fuel use in favor of renewables and other non-carbon-dioxide-emitting energy sources is arguably a step toward increased energy independence over the long haul. Burning fossil fuels imposes economic harms through global warming, while domestically generated wind and solar power have helped reduce the need for energy imports. Then again, the fracking boom of the past decade has done far more to reduce the U.S. need for energy imports, and decreased carbon-dioxide emissions as fracked natural gas supplanted coal in electricity generation while also increasing emissions of methane, another greenhouse gas, as a by-product of all the drilling. Energy independence is complicated! Its on the demand side that the concept is perhaps least fraught. If you can find ways to achieve your economic goals with less energy, you are by definition less energy-dependent. Since the the oil crises of the 1970s, the U.S. has through gains in efficiency and economic shifts found ways to generate a lot more gross domestic product per unit of energy consumed. If that numerator and denominator feel too abstract, heres another, closer-to-home way of looking at more or less the same phenomenon. Advertisement The share of U.S. consumer spending going to energy plumbed its all-time depths in the first few months of the pandemic, and while it has bounced back since its still lower than at any point before 1998 (and yes these statistics only go back to 1959 but I dont see how energys wallet share could ever have been lower, at least not if you count food for horses and time spent cutting wood as energy expenses). This is one big reason why, while a 50% nominal increase in gasoline prices in 1973 and 1974 helped spark a sharp recession, a similar rise over the past year has been accompanied by 5.5% real GDP growth. Thats a sort of energy independence, even if it doesnt quite feel like it as events overseas again make themselves felt at the gasoline pump. More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: Shock-and-Awe Sanctions Could Still Stop Putin: Javier Blas Advertisement Bidens Ukraine Response Is Mired in Oil: Liam Denning Russia Needs Cash More Than Europe Needs Its Gas: David Fickling Iranian Oil Is What Might Save American Motorists: Julian Lee (1) There areannual statisticsgoing back as far as 1859, but the numbers involved before 1920 are so small that they dont add much to the overall picture. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Justin Fox is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business. He was the editorial director of Harvard Business Review and wrote for Time, Fortune and American Banker. He is the author of The Myth of the Rational Market. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load On a day when the worlds eyes are rightly focused on a brazen challenge to the post-Cold War international order, Americans can rightly celebrate a domestic change that should make us proud: the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black female justice of the Supreme Court. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Historically, the first justices (Jewish, Black, female and so forth) have each made a very substantial impact on the court and its constitutional jurisprudence. Jackson now has the opportunity to join their ranks and craft a body of work that combines her characteristic intelligence, precision, judgment, pragmatism and warmth. She deserves to be on the court on the basis of her own remarkable accomplishments and talents. And her presence as a justice would make a crucial symbolic difference to the shaky legitimacy of the body. To begin with a disclosure, I met Judge Jackson, then Ketanji Brown, on my first day of college, which was also her first day. We lived in the same small dorm, and I can still recall in some detail the impression she made. Even among all the excited and ambitious teenagers, each eager to distinguish themselves in some way, she stood out. She was engaging, charismatic, confident and intellectually confident in a way that made her different from those of us who came across as if we had something to prove and were prepared to disagree with anything and anyone at the drop of a hat. Advertisement On top of all that, she had the quality of personal warmth that enabled her to make anyone she was speaking to feel as if they were special. She certainly made me feel that way. I would be astonished if she remembered meeting me that day. Thats because Im pretty sure she made everybody feel as if we were distinctive and unique and worth meeting. And I know she was the only person I met that day who made that impression on me. I mention this moment because it goes to the ways a Justice Jackson could distinctively contribute to the court and the country. On its own, no single appointment can change the balance of this particular court at this particular moment. Unless things change radically, Jacksons career as a justice would begin with her on the dissenting side of most of the major cases that will be heard. Yet over the long run, any justice has the option of building a body of opinions including dissents that can be incorporated into eventual impact and change in our constitutional jurisprudence. Jacksons professional preparation to be a justice was specifically focused on an important, complicated, vexed and now almost moribund institution, the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Created by Congress, and unmentioned in the Constitution, the commission is technically part of the judicial branch of government. It promulgates sentencing guidelines for federal courts that were originally intended to be binding but were held by the Supreme Court to be only suggestive in an important 2005 decision. Advertisement The judicial name most closely associated with the commission is Justice Stephen Breyer, whom Jackson clerked for and whom she would replace. But Jacksons close ties to the commission point up the influence of another mentor who has arguably been more directly influential in her career, Judge Patti Sarris, who chaired the commission from 2010 to 2017. Sarris has long served as a judge on the federal District Court in Massachusetts, and was chief judge of that court for years. Like Jackson, Sarris went to Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She is widely recognized throughout the federal judiciary as a legal thinker who can be trusted to make thoughtful, pragmatic and wise decisions on a wide range of issues. In all this, she is reminiscent of Jackson herself. Jackson clerked for Sarris straight out of law school, before spending a year as a clerk to appellate judge Bruce Selya, clerking for Breyer at the Supreme Court and serving time in private practice. Then she spent 2003-05 as special counsel to the sentencing commission. Those were complex and important years for the commission, during which its task rationalizing criminal sentencing was under intense criticism from left and right. And those years culminated in the Supreme Court striking down the idea that the guidelines were binding on federal judges. Jackson had a front-row seat. Advertisement Remarkably, she returned to the commission as its vice chair in 2009, just four years after working as a lawyer on staff. Jackson got the chance to work as an equal alongside Sarris, for whom she had been a law clerk. Serving on the commission then required balancing its remaining prestige with the practical need to make sure the guidelines still had meaning in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision. This was Jacksons breakthrough public service appointment, and it led to her being appointed to the federal District Court, again like Sarris. As a judge, she was liberal but also a pragmatic centrist once more like Sarris and Breyer. (Sarris and Breyer have also been colleagues, incidentally.) As a justice, Jackson would be able to combine her pragmatic liberalism with her distinct warmth and vision. Great first justices like Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day OConnor and Louis Brandeis managed to expand and shape the law in ways that were unquestionably connected to their distinct personal experiences and perspectives. They did not formally judge as Black or female or Jewish. They did interpret and apply the Constitution in the light of personal philosophies that were shaped by who they were. Advertisement Expect Jackson to do the same, if she is confirmed. Her experiences as an African-American woman and as someone who had an uncle imprisoned on a drug felony will matter as will her elite educational background and her career in which she worked as a federal public defender as well as a sentencing commission member and judge. Justices unique philosophies emerge from the interplay of intellect, belief, background and experience. Jackson should now have the chance to form her own. It is going to be important, for the court and the country. Related at Bloomberg Opinion: Every Supreme Court Nominee Deserves Firm Opposition: Ramesh Ponnuru Breyers Supreme Court Pragmatism Will Be Missed: Noah Feldman Conservative Justices Are Walking Into Their Own Trap: Noah Feldman Gorsuch Versus the Administrative State Is Really Heating Up: Noah Feldman Advertisement This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and host of the podcast Deep Background. He is a professor of law at Harvard University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter. His books include The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Kyivs residents have watched shells rain down on the city these past days as they did in 1941, then at the start of a brutal war in which Ukraine endured unthinkable suffering. As images circulate of families huddled in basements and in the citys subway for safety while rocket strikes light up the sky, its hard not to make the comparison. Except, this time, the threat is from the east. Its an imperfect parallel, but a vivid one for many Ukrainians that clashes starkly with Russian President Vladimir Putins outlandish claims to be denazifying Ukraine. Never mind his narrative glossing over inconvenient details like the Nazi-Soviet pact that 1941 is in fact a reason for invasion, an effort to avoid the errors of appeasement. We will not make this mistake the second time, he said in Thursdays televised speech. But its also a parallel which the Kremlin, even in its delusional state, would be unwise to dismiss. Blitzkrieg campaigns are appealing in the eye of planners but rarely turn out to be either painless or brief even for powerful nations with apparent military superiority. Russian forces may well overwhelm the Ukrainian capital, but maintaining that control in the face of a motivated defense force and hostile population, not to mention actually achieving Putins longer term aims of regime change and security, is a different matter altogether. Advertisement Its worth noting that Ukraine has already held back Russia more effectively than many thought it would. Its early days, but the Russian attack hasnt been surgical nor have particularly sophisticated tactics been on display. A battle outside Kyiv on Thursday saw Russian airborne troops attack an airport, only for the Ukrainian side to reportedly recapture it. Theres the question of numbers. Combat theory dictates that attackers need at least a three-to-one ratio to overwhelm defenders in the first instance, and that holds even in todays conflicts, with new technologies and autonomous systems, as Mick Ryan, strategist and retired major general in the Australian Army, told me. The estimated 190,000 Russian personnel in and around the border area, meanwhile, are facing a force of 205,000 active Ukrainian troops. Fighting on the ground, as Ryan points out, is always uncertain and unpredictable, and Moscow may have underestimated the difficulties ahead. Of course, Russia has more resources it can deploy. Western intelligence officials have warned Moscow plans to take control of the city with overwhelming force. As reported in Ukrainian media, the plan to capture Kyiv and seize the government with a cyberattack, airborne troops and saboteurs engaging in arson and looting, triggering a panic exit will be difficult to repel if numbers are sufficiently large. But thats at best a battle won, not triumph overall, let alone long-term success on Putins terms, which would involve securing Ukraines fealty to Russia. Advertisement Russias military is far better trained and equipped than when I was alongside them in Grozny over two decades ago. Moscow has spent heavily on overhauling its armed forces for this very moment. Commanding officers are prepared, as are the conscripts they lead. But Russians are attacking a neighbor with whom many may have family ties they are not, as the Ukrainians are, defending their livelihoods, homes, families or values that are high-minded but motivate, like democracy and freedom. But theres the more fundamental question of whether this victory as Putin sees it securing a friendly government, halting Ukraines westward drift is achievable at all with the current strategy. That seems doubtful, and in fact the Kremlin seems to be achieving the opposite. The Kremlin says it wants to liberate Ukraine, not occupy it. It wants to remove Ukraines president and replace him with a friendly alternative. But Ukraine, for all its troubles, is a democracy, not an autocracy. Its leadership cannot just be replaced by removing incumbent Volodymyr Zelenskiy. While Ukrainians were once overwhelmingly friendly toward Moscow, opinion polls suggest that is no longer the case. Keeping a pro-Russian alternative in place will be impossible without sustained force in other words, an occupation Russia can ill-afford. Moscow will have counted on Zelenskiys unpopularity, not the emergence of the comedian-turned-president as a wartime leader, with even opponents rallying behind him. He has plenty of detractors and has certainly stumbled through difficult moments in this crisis, but he has risen to the occasion. Having delivered rousing emotional speeches, he is vowing not to leave Kyiv, though he and his family are likely to be Moscows prime targets. Advertisement Finally, theres the question of time. Ukrainians will fight for as long as it takes, because they have little choice. They will receive financial and military support, even if the West is reluctant to put boots on the ground. Russia is not exactly fragile, but it has finite resources, an already stagnating economy now under assault from wide-ranging sanctions and a population that, despite official opinion polls, is in no way supportive of this war in its name. The elite are watching assets crumble. Putin may well take Kyiv. He will certainly achieve instability he already has. But can he turn Ukraine into a loyal neighbor and the buffer he needs? That seems far harder. More From Bloomberg Opinion: Why the Ukraine Crisis Will Not Stay in Ukraine: Hal Brands Shock-and-Awe Sanctions Could Still Stop Putin: Javier Blas Advertisement Russia Needs Cash More Than Europe Needs Its Gas: David Fickling This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Clara Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering commodities and environmental, social and governance issues. Previously, she was an associate editor for Reuters Breakingviews, and editor and correspondent for Reuters in Singapore, India, the U.K., Italy and Russia. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Before Russian forces launched the first missile at Ukraine, the online conflict was already underway. Russia is well-versed in the methods of spreading lies, most notably with the social media bots and trolls it used to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election, and its very justification for invasion is based on a disinformation campaign the need to protect civilians in separatist regions despite no evidence they were under attack. But the confusion is also being fueled by other actors in the U.S. and Europe, grubbily seeking to capitalize on the worlds attention. In just one example of what appeared to be coordinated disinformation from Moscow, Bill Blain, a U.K.-based market strategist with a popular newsletter, said Friday that hed been getting a flood of emails that purported to be from ex-U.S. servicemen, all with suspiciously similar comments assailing his critical comments about Russia. He found many of same comments sprinkled on other websites like ZeroHedge. Not terribly subtle, he noted in his newsletter. Misinformation is coming from outside Russia too. On TikTok for instance, a video of a parachuting soldier racked up 20 million views on Thursday with the top comment citing Russias invasion of Ukraine. In fact, the video was from 2016. Advertisement There are also dubious charitable efforts that have gone viral. One online fundraising campaign for Ukraine appeared to have raised more than $400,000 before it was taken down by Meta Platforms Inc.s Instagram this week. Its still unclear if the account behind it which is reportedly run by a 23-year-old man in Florida funneled the money to a legitimate non-governmental organization in Ukraine. On Facebook, the NGO said that the fundraiser was real. But Internet users in Ukraine have called out the campaign as a scam. That has muddied the waters for genuine fundraising efforts. One of the most popular this week, the Come Back Alive fundraiser for the Ukrainian military, was shut down on Thursday by Patreon Inc., after raising more than $250,000 from thousands of backers for the purchase of military gear. When asked about its removal, a Patreon spokesperson said it didnt allow campaigns aimed at purchasing war-fighting equipment, no matter the cause. The company said in a blog post on Friday that all remaining donations were being refunded. Big Tech companies are often criticized for not doing enough to uphold their policies, but the chaos in Ukraine underscores how those terms are now putting them between a rock and a hard place. Many Ukrainians, for example, were angered by Patreons move. Advertisement Its one of the main ways for Ukrainians to protect peaceful citizens from Russian attacks, said Orysia Khimiak, a former communications director for a Ukrainian tech startup who is now working with the countrys Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She added that Come Back Alive had been active on Patreon for eight years until this week, and that it was frustrating to see it taken down while other potentially fake fundraisers were percolating online. On Friday afternoon, Khimniak was taking refuge with her family in one of a number of bomb shelters dotted around Kyiv, which she and other citizens can find on an online map released by city authorities. Such tools are becoming critical now as residents try to keep safe. But the pace at which false online information is circulating online makes that increasingly difficult. Its the fog of war, but at high speed, says Renee DiResta, technical director of the Stanford Internet Observatory, who has studied online disinformation tactics from Russia and others for several years. After the spread of fake news around the U.S. elections and Covid-19 lockdowns, this time there is the added complexity of velocity. Events are unfolding extremely quickly, across multiple fronts. Advertisement Ukrainian cities have become hashtags on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and messaging apps like Telegram, offering dozens of opportunities for purveyors of false information, DiResta said. Her research team has been tracking how over the past weeks, pro-Kremlin propaganda spread on Telegram through fake accounts, many of them pushing the false narrative that President Joe Biden wants Russia to invade because it will solve Americas economic and political problems. Facebook, which has been criticized for neglecting harmful content in non-English speaking parts of the world, said it is beefing up its policing of content about Russia and Ukraine. A spokesman in Washington D.C. said Friday that native-speaking experts from across the company were helping to monitor the situation. The online giant with roughly 2 billion users faces an uphill battle, but it was also encouraging to see media firms like Sky News making a point to note in at least two tweets on Thursday that it had verified and located video footage of armored vehicles moving into Ukraine. It is more vital than ever for anyone reading about the conflict on social media to think carefully about anything they share. Humans suffer from an impulse to be the first to disseminate new information, but in situations of such fluidity and chaos, pausing is far more important. Social media users should demand a minimum standard of corroboration. Otherwise the grim reality of war becomes lost in the fog. Advertisement More From Bloomberg Opinion: Russias Cyber Campaign of Chaos Should Fail: Parmy Olson Ukraine Sees False Flags in Putins Game Plan: Andreas Kluth The U.S. Is Learning to Win the Information War: Hal Brands This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Parmy Olson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. She previously reported for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes and is the author of We Are Anonymous. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Evenly divided between the two major parties, the U.S. Senate has operated for more than a year under a power-sharing arrangement that gives Democrats a leg up (thanks to Vice President Kamala Harriss tie-breaking vote) but makes Republicans more than a silent minority. Thats the backdrop as the Senate weighs whether to confirm President Joe Bidens choice for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. Though Democrats expect their narrow advantage to be enough to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson, there are some wrinkles they have to consider, said Sarah Binder, a political science professor at George Washington University. 1. Can Republicans block the nomination? On their own, the Senates 50 Republicans probably cant stand in the way of confirmation, but they can slow the process down. They could, for instance, deny a quorum to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on the nomination and ultimately vote whether to send it to the full Senate. Senate rules dictate that committees need a majority to be physically present to recommend a nominee. The committee is evenly divided, with 11 members of each party, as a result of the power-sharing accord between Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican. Alan Frumin, who was Senate parliamentarian for nearly two decades, says if all 11 Republicans refuse to show up for the eventual vote, they could prevent the committee from ordering the nomination reported out of committee. Advertisement 2. Has this been tried before? Senate Republicans used the strategy in February to delay action by the Banking Committee on five Biden nominations to the Federal Reserve. The boycott by Republicans -- who oppose one of the nominees, Sarah Bloom Raskin -- forced a planned vote to be put off. Using the same tactic, Republicans stonewalled Bidens nomination of Dilawar Syed to be deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration. Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said a boycott is an extraordinary measure for extraordinarily bad nominations. The ranking Republican on the committee, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, said his intention is to show up and do the job that Iowans pay me to do. 3. Could Democrats work around a boycott? They certainly could try. If, say, Democrats voted to advance the nomination out of committee while Republicans were gone, Republicans could object on the floor that Senate rules werent followed. Even if the current parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, sides with Republicans that half the committee doesnt constitute a majority, a unified Democratic caucus and Harris could overrule her. James Wallner, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute and an expert on Senate rules, said he would expect Democrats to win the argument in the end. The nominees already on the floor at that point, and I suspect that it would be easily disposed of, where the Democrats do have the majority, he said. Advertisement 4. What happens if the Judiciary Committee ties? Senate rules dictate a committee must muster a majority to move a bill or nominee to the floor. Should the panel deadlock 11-11, Schumer as majority leader could move the nomination out of committee via an expedited discharge motion, which is voted on by the full Senate and requires only a simple majority. Republicans might then be expected to try to filibuster the nomination, or thwart its passage by demanding never-ending debate. But Schumer could move to cut off debate, which would work so long as Democrats suffer no defections. Two of Bidens nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit -- Holly Thomas and Jennifer Sung -- won Senate confirmation this way, after deadlocked votes in committee. The bottom line is that if a bare majority wants this to be done -- which they do want this to be done -- it will get done, said Matt Glassman, a senior fellow at Georgetown Universitys Government Affairs Institute. 5. Is a 50-50 tie on the Senate floor possible? Advertisement Possible, but not inevitable. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted to confirm Jackson to the D.C. Circuit last year. 6. Couldnt Harris break a tie? A vice president has never broken a tie on a Supreme Court nominee. Only in recent years have vice presidents -- Mike Pence in 2018, Harris in 2021 -- broken ties even on lower-court judicial nominations. Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe got criticized by both liberals and conservatives for questioning in 2020 whether the Constitution permits the vice president to break a tie on a Supreme Court appointment. He told Bloomberg Law in February that he didnt adequately consider the history of vice presidents breaking ties on executive nominations and may revisit his position if it comes up in the confirmation process. Advertisement 7. What if a Democratic senator is absent? This has been a heightened worry since Senator Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico suffered a stroke in late January. Barring complications, he is expected to return to the Capitol in March. Covid-19 infections are also a concern: Senator Brian Schatzs breakthrough infection forced Democrats to postpone consideration of voting-rights legislation in January. While the House permitted members to vote remotely during the pandemic, the Senate requires in-person attendance. One way around this would be for a Republican opposed to the nominee agreeing to pair with an absent supporter by voting present rather than no -- effectively canceling each other out. Murkowski did as much for a fellow Republican, Senator Steve Daines of Montana, when his daughters wedding conflicted with the confirmation vote for Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. Senator Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota, offered the same leeway to Lujan on final confirmation of Robert Califf as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2022 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Placeholder while article actions load Leader will bar foreign funds for civil society Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Tunisias President Kais Saied said Thursday that he will outlaw foreign funding for civil society organizations as he tries to remake the countrys politics after establishing one-man rule. Civil society organizations, including some that have had funding from Western democracies, have played a significant role in Tunisia since the 2011 revolution that introduced democracy. Non-governmental organizations must be prevented from accessing external funds . . . and we will do that, Saied said, adding that the change was needed to stop foreign interference in the country. Last summer Saied suspended the elected parliament and assumed executive power before brushing aside the constitution to say he will rule by decree during an interim period. Advertisement This month, he also moved against the countrys judiciary, seen as the last significant Tunisian institution of state still able to act as a check on his power, by dissolving the top judicial council. Reuters Court rejects house arrest for ex-president Hondurass Supreme Court of Justice on Thursday denied the appeal of former president Juan Orlando Hernandez to be held under house arrest during his extradition process. Hernandez was arrested Feb. 15 at the request of U.S. authorities. He faces charges of drug trafficking, using weapons for drug trafficking and conspiracy to use weapons in drug trafficking. A judge ruled Feb. 16 that Hernandez be held at a National Police special forces base in the capital pending the outcome of the extradition process. The judge handling his case denied his attorneys request for house arrest last week and scheduled a court session March 16 to hear evidence supporting the U.S. charges. Advertisement But his attorneys appealed, and Thursday the full Supreme Court of Justice convened and voted 14 to 1 to deny his appeal for home confinement. U.S. prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have accused Hernandez in recent years of funding his political rise with profits from drug traffickers in exchange for protecting their shipments. Hernandez has vehemently denied the accusations. He said traffickers he helped capture and extradite are seeking revenge by making up stories. Associated Press GiftOutline Gift Article Jamestown, site of the first permanent English settlement in North America, is seen last month, sandwiched between the James River and a swamp. (Julia Rendleman for The Post) Retropolis The Past, Rediscovered Darrel Parker died Sunday, 66 years after his wrongful conviction for killing his wife on a snowy December day in Lincoln. And 52 years after his parole from the State Penitentiary. And 31 years after receiving a pardon. And a decade after getting what hed fought for most of his adult life an apology from the state, and a formal admission of his innocence. "You never give up hope, you never give up hope," Parker, then 80, said during an emotional news conference at the Capitol. I tell people, Now I can die in peace. He was joined that day by then-Attorney General Jon Bruning, who announced the state was paying Parker $500,000 the maximum allowed by law and ending his wrongful conviction and imprisonment lawsuit. "It became crystal-clear that Mr. Parker is innocent," Bruning said. "This was the most important thing I could do as attorney general, to right this wrong." The moment marked a symbolic end to a saga that had started Dec. 14, 1955, inside the Parkers' small, city-owned house in Antelope Park. Parker, the citys first forester, returned home for lunch to find his wifes beaten, bound and strangled body. Nancy Parker had developed recipes for Goochs flour and noodles and hosted a cooking show on Channels 10/11. She had been addressing Christmas cards when he left for work that morning. Police picked up and released a well-known con. Then, days after Nancy Parker was buried, they interrogated Parker in a windowless room until he confessed. He recanted the next day, maintaining for the rest of his life hed been psychologically tortured, even drugged, to admit to a crime he didnt commit. The state would ultimately acknowledge that, but not before Parker spent 15 years in prison, argued his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, received parole in 1970 and a pardon in 1991. By then, hed remarried Ele and rebuilt his life in Moline, Illinois, working his way up to supervisor with the parks department, retiring from there, and taking a job with a law firm. He continued to try to clear his name. He hoped DNA testing would help, but he learned much of the evidence including hair and semen samples recovered from the crime scene had disappeared. His case got a boost in 2010, when Lincoln native and Colorado author David Strauss published Barbarous Souls, an investigation of the crime, Parkers conviction and his fight for exoneration. A year later, Lincoln attorneys Herb and Dan Friedman took up his case with a $500,000 lawsuit against the state under its then-recent wrongful conviction and imprisonment law. And a year after that, Nebraskas attorney general offered his apology. Parker accepted it. "It can't possibly make up for all those years," he said, adding: "I'm not bitter. I'm not built that way." Playing a role in clearing Parkers name was Dan Friedmans proudest moment in his legal career the most consequential accomplishment as a lawyer, he said Tuesday. To represent somebody who had been waiting 50 years for public justice and to know we brought the state of Nebraska to its knees and caused a wake-up moment, that was pretty humbling, he said. Friedman stayed in touch with his client, years after the case was over. So did Strauss, the Colorado author. The two became friends, and Strauss would take Parker on trips across the country to Parkers childhood home in northwestern Iowa, to watch the leaves turn in New England, to the Colorado mountains. Parker didnt dwell on the past, but Strauss could sense despite the exoneration and payment his friend remained haunted by the coerced confession that put him in prison for 15 years and cast a shadow over his name. It still bothered him, Im sure, up to the end, Strauss said Tuesday. On one of their trips, the two ended up in Lincoln. Parker asked Strauss to drive him to the penitentiary, where it all began in 1956. When they got there, he didnt recognize it. Reach the writer at 402-473-7254 or psalter@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSPeterSalter Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Trusted local news has never been more important, but providing the information you need, information that can change sometimes minute-by-minute, requires a partnership with you, our readers. Please consider making a contribution today to support this vital resource that you and countless others depend on. When Japan invaded Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941, Churchill was at Chequers, the country house of the Prime Minister. He immediately felt that the war was won. With America and the Soviet Union as allies, the Prime Minister knew that victory, one day, was certain, wrote historian Taylor Downing in the latest issue of Aspects of History magazine. Indeed, first were the setbacks in the Far East. The sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse by Japanese bombers flying out of what had been French Indochina. Besides, he must have felt guilty because he pressed ahead without their air escort to provide a sign of British naval might as a deterrent to the Japanese. Secondly, there were several terrestrial defeats.British, Indian and Australian forces in Malaya were soon completely outmanoeuvred, Downing explains. Partly because the Imperial forces were untrained for jungle warfare and "milked" of their best NCOs and officers to fight in the Middle East. Singapore fell in February, Rangoon -the capital of Burma, nowadays Myanmar- in March and Mandalay, also in Burma, in May. But the worst was Singapore, a real blow: 85,000 Imperial troops surrendered to a Japanese force of about 23,000. Thirdly, three German warships, the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen cheekily raced from Brest up the Channel to return to their Baltic base in broad light. Due to a series of blunders and appalling failures in communications, naval destroyers and the shore batteries at Dover along with the fleet air arm and RAF bombers failed to score a single hit. The press was up in arms, even the normally loyal Daily Mail. When his daughter Mary visited Downing Street for a lunch with her parents, she found her father in a state of depression. Papa is at a very low ebb, she wrote in her diary. Finally, when he was at he lowest point, he received even more bad news: Tobruk, the most important harbour in North Africa, also fell on 20th June. It had survived eigth monts of siege in 1941 but, as the author said, had fallen to Rommel in June in 1942 in a weekend. Churchill was overcome. On top of this, he was in a meeting with President Roosevelt in Washington when the news came. I did not attempot to hide from the President the shock I had received. It was a bitter moment. Defeat is one thing. Disgrace is another, he later wrote. As Taylor Downing recalled at the beginning of his article, in a democracy, military failures lead to political crisis. During the first six months of 1942 Churchill had to deal with hostile motions in the Commons: a motion of no confidence in January, a vote of censure in June. He survived both because, as the historian said, there was no a credible alternative military leader for the national war effort but then a serious political rival emerged: Stafford Cripps. He was -the historian assured- everything that Churchill was not: a teetotaller and an austere left winger who had been ambassador in Moscow. So, when he returned to England he was associated with the heroic Soviet resistance to invasion. On the other hand, he was a modern politician. He was the first to have a group of special advisors (or spin doctors) called the Crippery, who were adept at "getting their boss into de newspapers. The summer and early autumn of 1941 was a perilous time for Churchill, Downing insists, but everything changed with the victory at Alamein in October and November. The pendulum finally began to swing. It was in 1942 when the run of military debacles took Britain and its war leader to the brink. Then, at last, military events turned in his favour, he concluded. Taylor Downing is a historian, writer and broadcaster. He is the author of 1983: The World at the Brink and 1942: Britain at the Brink. / Written by Xavier Rius Edinburgh: Hackers are coming to Ukraines aid in an effort to target Russian government websites and officials with disruptive counter-attacks, according to six people involved in the activity. On Ukrainian internet forums on Friday, groups of Ukrainians who worked in the countrys technology sector shared information on how to launch distributed denial of service attacks, known as DDoS, and deploy malicious software targeted at Russian military officers and government officials. Some hackers from outside Ukraine have signed up to help, too. With cyber attacks on, and physical invasion of, their country by Russia this week, some Ukrainians are hitting back in cyber space. Credit:Getty Images In interviews with Bloomberg News, several Ukrainians with computer expertise said they had joined a group of cyber volunteers who plan to use cyber attacks to fight back against the Russian militarys invasion of the country. The makeshift hacker organisation was responding to a call from Ukraines government, which on Thursday asked for their help protecting the country from Russian troops, according to several of the organisers. Reuters previously reported the governments request for cyber-security assistance. It was reported Russian forces were approaching Kyiv, with the aim of toppling Zelensky and his government. Describing rocket attacks on Kyiv Friday morning as horrific, Ukraine foreign affairs minister drew comparisons to World War II. Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany, Kuleba tweeted. Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one. Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Sever all ties. Kick Russia out of everywhere. Zelensky signed a decree on the general mobilisation of the population, the Interfax Ukraine news agency said. Conscripts and reservists will be called up over the next 90 days to ensure the defence of the state, maintaining combat and mobilisation readiness, an entry on the Ukrainian presidencys website said. A woman walks past the debris in the aftermath of Russian shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine. Credit:AP He earlier called on Ukrainians to defend their country and said arms would be given to anyone prepared to fight. After Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war in a pre-dawn televised address on Thursday, explosions and gunfire were heard throughout the morning in Kyiv, a city of 3 million people. Missiles rained down on Ukrainian targets and authorities reported columns of troops pouring across Ukraines borders from Russia and Belarus to the north and east, and landing on the southern coasts from the Black Sea and Azov Sea. The assault brought a calamitous end to weeks of fruitless diplomatic efforts by Western leaders to avert war. Russian forces capture Chernobyl nuclear plant An adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office said Russian forces had captured the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, just 90km north of the capital. On Friday afternoon AEDT, the White House said it was outraged at reports Russia may have taken hostages at the facilities. Just before midnight, Kyiv time, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office said government forces had recaptured Hostomel airport in the metropolitan region, as a pitched battle was waged for the strategic location and Russian helicopters were seen in the skies. Protests in Russia - People are in shock Shocked Russians turned out by the thousands in Moscow and St Petersburg, with a smaller protest in Yekaterinburg, to decry their countrys invasion of Ukraine and emotional calls for protests grew on social media. Some 1702 people in 53 Russian cities were detained, at least 940 of them in Moscow. Hundreds of posts condemned Moscows most aggressive actions since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. As sirens blasted in Kyiv and large explosions were heard there and in other cities, Russians were writing no war signs and signing open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault. Public opinion is in shock, people are in shock, political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said. People take to the streets in St Petersburg, Russia, to protest their countrys actions in Ukraine. Credit:AP One petition, started by prominent human rights advocate Lev Ponomavyov, garnered 289,000 by the end of the day. More than 250 journalists, 250 scientists, and 194 municipal council members in Moscow and other cities signed separate open letters decrying the aggression were signed. Im worried about the people very much, Im worried to tears, said Zoya Vorobey, a resident of Korolyov, a town outside Moscow, her voice cracking. Several Russian celebrities and public figures, including some working for state TV, spoke out against the attack. Yelena Kovalskaya, director of a state-funded Moscow theatre, announced on Facebook she was quitting her job, saying its impossible to work for a killer and get paid by him. I know that right now many of you feel desperation, helplessness, shame over Vladimir Putins attack on the friendly nation of Ukraine. But I urge you not to despair, human rights activist Marina Litvinovich said in a video statement on Facebook, calling for mass protests. A detained demonstrator shows a No War! sign from a police bus in St. Petersburg, Russia. Credit:AP We, the Russian people, are against the war Putin has unleashed. We dont support this war, it is being waged not on our behalf, Litvinovich said. But the authorities were having none of that. In Moscow and other cities, they moved swiftly to crack down on critical voices. Litvinovich was detained outside her residence shortly after posting the protest call. Despite the pressure from the authorities, more than 1,000 people gathered in the center of Moscow Thursday evening, chanting No to war! as passing cars honked their horns. Hundreds also took to the streets in St. Petersburg and dozens in Yekaterinburg. Western leaders impose severe sanctions on Russia After a day of fighting, Putin told business people in Moscow he had no choice but to act, while Western leaders condemned the Russian leader and promised sweeping economic sanctions. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a package of severe sanctions against Russia on Thursday, targeting banks, members of President Vladimir Putins closest circle and the extremely wealthy who enjoy high-rolling London lifestyles. Loading Speaking to Parliament, Johnson said Putin would be condemned by the world and by history for his invasion, never able to cleanse the blood of Ukraine from his hands. This hideous and barbarous venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failure, he told parliament when announcing the new sanctions. For our part today the UK is announcing the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen. Russias Defence Ministry said it had destroyed 83 land-based Ukrainian targets and had achieved all its goals, according to Interfax news agency. Heavy exchanges of fire were also reported in the regions of Sumy and Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson in the south. The highway heading west out of Kyiv was choked with traffic across five lanes as residents fled, fearful of bombardments while stuck in their cars. People enter Romania after crossing from Ukraine into Sighetu Marmatiei. Credit:Getty Loading What we have heard today are not just missile blasts, fighting and the rumble of aircraft. This is the sound of a new Iron Curtain, which has come down and is closing Russia off from the civilised world, Zelensky said on Thursday. EU freezes assets Leaders of the 27-nation bloc lambasted Putin, one by one, as they arrived for an emergency summit in Brussels, with Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins describing him as a deluded autocrat creating misery for millions. The EU will freeze Russian assets in the bloc, halting banks access to European financial markets as part of what its foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, described as the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented. Leaders said it was a barbaric invasion. It will also target Russias trade, energy and transport, among other sectors, and impose export controls. But a sense of powerlessness to stop a war that Western leaders had seen coming could be felt even before the summit began. We were not successful enough, not decisive enough, to prevent Russia from this step, which is a tragedy for Ukraine, a tragedy for Europe and a tragedy for Russia itself, said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. There are differences within the EU over how far to go with sanctions, with countries that would face the harshest economic backlash keen to keep the most severe steps in reserve. Loading The details of the sanctions - including whether anything had been agreed on the SWIFT global interbank payments system - were not immediately known. Ukraine and the EUs ex-Soviet Baltic states say Russia should be cut off from the system, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, when asked about SWIFT, said: We need to keep sanctions ready for later times. US President Joe Biden also said the United States would not restrict access to SWIFT for now. An EU diplomat said Italy, Germany and Cyprus had been among those that preferred a step-by-step approach, while Central European and Baltic states - those closest to Russia - wanted a harder stance. We support the most serious package of sanctions against Russia, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said, wearing a tie with the Ukrainian flags yellow and blue colours. Russia needs to feel that the price of aggression is significant. Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region. Credit:AP Russias invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea threatens to disrupt exports of commodities such as grains and oilseeds from both countries, while the prospect of toughened sanctions against Russia could disrupt energy and metals supplies. Oil prices broke above $US100 a barrel on for the first time since 2014 and stock markets slumped globally on Thursday while Russias rouble hit a record low as the US dollar rallied after the invasion. MSCIs gauge of stocks across the globe was last down 2.1 per cent after touching its lowest level since March 2021. Europes stock markets tumbled with the STOXX 600 index falling more than 4 per cent, to its lowest since May 2021. It finished down more than 3 per cent. Loading Russia launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling, as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. Ukraines government pleaded for help as it said Russian tanks and troops rolled across the border in a full-scale war that could rewrite the geopolitical order. Putin ignored global condemnation and cascading new sanctions as he unleashed Moscows most aggressive action since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and chillingly referred to his countrys nuclear arsenal. He threatened any foreign country trying to interfere with consequences you have never seen. A path of evil Ukrainian officials said their forces were battling Russians on a series of fronts. Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and wont give up its freedom, Zelensky tweeted on Thursday. Later, he offered Russia an end to the hostilities. By 1939, parts of Czechoslovakia had already been carved off and taken over by Nazi Germany, which claimed that millions of ethnic Germans were being persecuted there. The previous September, European powers, seeking to avoid war, had acquiesced and done nothing. But six months later, German troops were massed on the Czech border, as Nazi leader Adolf Hitler railed and threatened the county with destruction. On March 15, 1939, the sickly Czech president, Emil Hacha, was in Hitlers study surrounded by the Fuhrers henchmen. Hitler was at his most intimidating, historian Ian Kershaw wrote in his 2000 biography of the Nazi leader. He launched into a violent tirade against the Czechs. The Nazis needed to take over Czechoslovakia to protect Germany. Hacha must agree or his country would be immediately attacked and Prague, its capital, bombed. Washington: President Joe Biden has selected the first black woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court in its 232-year history. The President formally nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to join the nations highest court on Saturday (AEDT), paving the way for a potential confirmation fight in Washingtons evenly split Senate. President Joe Biden speaks as he announces Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee. Credit:AP If approved by Congress, Jacksons elevation wont alter the balance of power on the Supreme Court bench, where conservatives will still make up six out of the nine sitting judges. However, the nomination will be Bidens first to a court whose conservative majority has the power to make sweeping changes in coming months, potentially winding back the constitutional right to abortion, expanding gun rights, or cutting federal regulatory power. 35/93 A woman holds Sofia, 4 year-old, in her arms after crossing the border from Ukraine at the Romanian-Ukrainian border, in Siret. Romania, which shares around 600 kilometres (372 miles) of borders with Ukraine to the north, is seeing an influx of refugees from the country as many flee Russia's attacks. Credit:Andreea Alexandru Salisbury, MD (21801) Today Cloudy early, then thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 81F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 57F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Wilmington, DE (19810) Today Rain showers this morning with overcast skies during the afternoon hours. High around 75F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly cloudy. Low near 55F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. On Oct. 26, 2018, Louisville Metro Polices SWAT unit burst into the West Chestnut Street home of Ashlea Burr and Mario Daugherty. The reason for the raid: A detective claimed he smelled marijuana coming from outside the home on separate occasions and believed someone was growing and selling marijuana inside, according to a search warrant. The incident was captured on police body camera and resulted in no charges. Hope Stations Black Girl Chronicles Learning Series began like many activities during the COVID-19 pandemic: virtually. This year, though, the event debuted in person, held from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the YWCA at 301 G St. in Carlisle. The series included workshops, vendors, round table sessions and other activities about topics and issues that Black women face, the flyer said. Hope Station Board President Stacie Crutchfield said four women planned the event through a fun and exciting process. She said last years virtual event came in the form of a podcast, and that it revealed the need for the event to have a meeting that could reach everyone. Crutchfield said events like this one are not common in Carlisle. Being a person of color I honestly dont feel like we have a voice out here, so this opened a door for a lot of folks, Crutchfield said. Workshops and speakers The Black Girl Chronicles Learning Series involved workshops about topics such as the strong Black woman narrative, parenting, financial literacy, exploring strategies to respond to microaggressions and more. There were three time slots for workshops throughout the day, each one hour long. During the three sessions, attendees could choose to attend one workshop from a variety of options. The workshops were led by Black female leaders, the event flyer said. The event also included lunch for attendees, when keynote speaker and HACC Vice President of College Advancement Linnie Carter joined virtually to share a message. Carter addressed a topics including self care, embracing sisterhood and using your voice. Dont let people erase your Blackness. ... I want you to embrace your Blackness, Carter said. You are more than enough. Carter called for attendees to use their voice to improve their communities and themselves. Vendors Thursdays learning series also gave attendees an opportunity to shop a variety of Black-owned businesses. Dyannas Designs & Novelties was among the vendors that participated. Owner Dyanna Crosson said she started her business two years ago. One day I was sitting in my room bored and I decided to do something to keep my hair protected while I sleep, so I decided to go on YouTube, look up some videos or something I could do and I came up with the bonnets, Crosson said. Crosson now sells her products through a Harrisburg store, online, via social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram and through pop-up shops. She said her favorite part of running the business is choosing prints to create products that are bright and crazy and full of color. When I make my bonnets, this is like my calm and my zen space, Crosson said. She said she also enjoys meeting and interacting with people and making them happy. Another vendor that attended the Black Girl Chronicles Learning Series was Grant Me Your Cake, a baked-goods business owned by Ebonie McNear. McNear referred to cooking and baking as a stress-reliever and said she began the hobby with her great-grandmother at age five. When she passed away, to keep the family together, to keep the traditions going, I just cooked, McNear said. Im also a cancer survivor and it helped me get through when I was going through it. McNear said her neighbors encouraged her to start the business and her son-in-law came up with the name. Shes done events, parties and weddings and her cakes are on sale at B&L Caribbean restaurant in Carlisle. I love supporting the community, McNear said. I love coming out and meeting other people that are going the same way Im going. Karen Stinson is an independent consultant for Paparazzi Accessories and brought her business, Dazzling for $5, to Thursdays event. Her display featured jewelry pieces, each for $5. Stinson said she became a consultant three years ago and that she loves the sisterhood that shes built with her clients. Its been amazing, Stinson said. We always say that its more than just jewelry, it is a connection. Other activities and perspectives Attendees had the opportunity to explore a variety of other activities at the Black Girl Chronicles Learning Series. The event featured networking opportunities, including a chance to connect with organizations in the recruitment process. Attendees could also check out a Girl Scout Gold Award project and participate in round table discussions about diverse subjects and issues. Monique Bryant traveled to Carlisle from Michigan to attend. I wanted to come and learn about some of the things going on in Carlisle, Bryant said. I thought this would be a great start. She said the different aspects the series offered were well needed in the community, especially by African-American women. I think it empowers us on a collective level and to know that you do have that support and those resources out there thats wonderful, Bryant said. Hope Station Executive Director Safronia Perry said she was pleased with the turnout. I had a young woman say to me Thank you for this, Ive never had this before, this is really great and that makes me feel good to know that people wanted this, Perry said. People felt like we needed this. Im happy. Hope Station will also host the annual Black Cultural Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Carlisle Masonic Temple at 1236 Holly Pike in Carlisle. Maddie Seiler is a news reporter for The Sentinel and cumberlink.com covering Carlisle and Newville. You can contact her at mseiler@cumberlink.com and follow her on Twitter at: @SeilerMadalyn Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Amanda Gilbert was arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 for a carjacking police say took place at Norton Hospital in downtown Louisville. (Source: Louisville Metro Corrections) FILE - This Aug. 29, 2018, file photo shows an arrangement of Oxycodone pills in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) HARRISBURG Friday was the first day for candidates for statewide office in Pennsylvania, including governor, U.S. Senate and Congress, to start gathering signatures from voters to get on ballots for the May 17 primary election. There are huge fields of candidates for Pennsylvanias open U.S. Senate seat and governors office, and the boundaries of the states new congressional districts are just two days old, sending would-be candidates scrambling to decide where to run. Candidates can circulate petitions through March 15, under a two-day-old court order by the state Supreme Court. For governor, the Republican primary field is thus-far double-digits deep. The GOP rivals are vying for the nomination to take on the presumed Democratic Party nominee, two-term state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, in Novembers general election. For U.S. Senate, both parties have competitive primary races. Meanwhile, 16 of Pennsylvanias 18 incumbents in the U.S. House are expected to run again, but this time in 17 districts, since the state is losing a seat because of relatively sluggish population growth. With two northern Pennsylvania districts being combined, Republican Reps. Fred Keller and Dan Meuser could face each other in the primary. Two Pittsburgh-area districts where incumbents are not running again will provide opportunities for newcomers. Guy Ciarrocchi, who stepped down as president and CEO of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry to run for governor, instead filed paperwork Wednesday to run for Congress. The Republican will seek his partys nomination to challenge second-term Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 You have permission to edit this image. Edit Close Weber State Celebrates Womens History with Month of Events February 28, 2022 OGDEN, Utah Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario will highlight Weber State Universitys Womens History Month celebrations in March, including a month-long poetry contest, and a discussion of toxic positivity. The theme for this years celebration is #BreakTheBias, and is focused around issues of gender inequality, discrimination and stereotypes. Every March, we celebrate Women's Herstory Month knowing there is still work to be done, said Paige Davies, Womens Center director. According to the Utah Women & Leadership Project, we know that single women and their households face the highest rate of poverty in Utah, that we have some of the highest wage gaps in the country and that one in two Utah women has been sexually assaulted in their lifetime. At the same time, we also know that our communities are buoyed by the strength, resiliency, and leadership of women. We know this to be true on our campus, in our communities, and in our families. Weber States events begin with a screening of the film Frame by Frame. The 2015 film follows four Afghan photojournalists who worked to build a free press after decades of war and an oppressive Taliban regime. The screening will take place March 1 at 12:30 p.m. in Elizabeth Hall Room 229. Members of the WSU community are welcome to attend the free event. On March 15, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and New York Times bestselling author, Lynsey Addario will make a virtual presentation to the WSU campus. The event is free but participants must register at this link. Addario has captured audiences with her compelling photographs and ability to personalize the most remote corners of the world. She will share stories about documenting life in Afghanistan under the Taliban and the daily reality of women in the Middle East. In 2010, Lynsey was named one of 20 women on Oprah Winfreys Power List for her Power of Bearing Witness and one of Glamour Magazines 20 women of the year in 2011. Without brave journalists like Lynsey Addario, stories of suffering and perseverance in war- torn nations would go untold beyond the borders of those countries, said Jean Reid Norman, WSU associate professor of emerging media and journalism. She provides a window into global cultures when they are most vulnerable, and she continues to tell the stories over time, providing a historical record that is irreplaceable. On March 30, the Womens Center will host the monthly Sister Circle event to tackle the issues common to women: toxic positivity and grind culture. Toxic positivity, where women feel they must be happy, combined with the daily grind of work, childcare and relationships often take a toll on a persons mental and physical health. This discussion will be held in Shepherd Union Room 321 from 2-4 p.m. Sister Circle is a monthly series of discussions that highlight different issues surrounding identity, empowerment and systemic oppression. We're excited to celebrate Women's Herstory Month with our campus partners, Davies said. The Women & Gender Studies Department, the Division of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, the Stewart Library, Student Involvement & Leadership, and the International Student & Scholar Center and others across campus are all contributing to the activities. On April 1 at 6 p.m., the Womens Center will host Take Back the Night, a march and rally to unite community members in the fight against sexual violence, domestic and dating violence, harassment and stalking. The march will begin at The Monarch (455 25th St., Ogden), after hearing from keynote speaker jo blake, WSU assistant professor of performing arts. Following the march, a speak-out will allow survivors and the community to share their experiences and messages of support. Take Back the Night events have been held on campuses and in communities around the globe for more than 30 years. For Davies the importance of womens history was summed up well by poet Rupi Kaur in her recent poem Legacy. I stand on the sacrifices of a million women before me thinking what can I do to make this mountain taller, so the women after me can see farther. For a complete calendar of Womens History Month events, visit this link. Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT A local man was sentenced Thursday to 40 years for strangling a 14-year-old boy to death. Diante Willoughby, 21, killed the boy because he was afraid he was going to disclose to others that Willoughby was gay, according to his attorney. Willoughby, who once hoped to become a police officer, initially tried to smother the boy with a bleach-soaked rag and then manually choked him, leaving the body in a wooded area of Oxford, according to States Attorney Joseph Corradino. A former police explorer, Willoughby had been working in loss prevention at a department store while he planned to train to be a police officer, Corradino said. This was a particularly egregious offense, indeed the way it was carried out shocks ones conscience, the prosecutor told Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo. Turning to the victims family, who were sobbing in the back of the courtroom, Willoughby apologized for what he had done. The moment before everything happened I was upset but I never intended to harm Jose and I hope that one day you can forgive me for what happened, he said. There was a large degree of calculation involved in this matter, the judge retorted. According to the investigation this was not a case of a knee-jerk reaction to somebody simply losing their cool and doing something they now regret. Willoughby had been charged with murder with special circumstances in the death of 14-year-old Jose Nunez, of Bridgeport, whose body was found in a wooded area of Oxford on July 29, 2020, one day after his mother reported him missing to police. The charge carries a penalty of life without the possibility of release. However, Willoughby agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of murder as the case was being prepared for trial. Corradino told the judge he agreed to a plea bargain after receiving a 70-page psychiatric report on Willoughby done by a Yale University psychiatrist. However, he said he was recommending Willoughby serve a 50-year prison term. Willoughbys lawyer, Public Defender Joseph Bruckmann, argued that the report showed that his client has a long history of mental illness. He said his client had been sexually assaulted at a young age and began hearing voices at age 10 telling him to be violent. He was hospitalized four times. He said Willoughby lost control after the victim threatened to expose him as being gay unless Willoughby paid him money. He saw a threat from the victim to his job which was the only good thing in his life, Bruckmann said. He urged the judge to impose a 25-year term. The day after the victims mother reported him missing to police, the arrest warrant affidavit states, a witness who identified themselves as a friend of Willoughby told police that Willoughby had admitted to them that he had killed a kid named Nunez and left the body in a remote location. The next day, police followed Willoughby from Bridgeport to a wooded section of Oxford. They watched as Willoughby got out of his car and met up with a woman who drove up. The two walked into the tall vegetation, remained there a short time and then returned to their cars and drove off, according to the affidavit. The report does not go into more detail about the woman. When officers searched the same area, they found Nunezs body, the affidavit states. Other officers, who had been tailing Willoughby, pulled him over and arrested him. In a video-recorded statement, Willoughby admitted to killing Nunez, but said he did so because he was also a victim in their encounters, the affidavit states. Willoughby stated that the juvenile victim has sent him sexually explicit photographs on his cell phone in the past and then tried to extort money from him on numerous occasions over the last six months, the affidavit states. He also stated that the victim had attempted to rob him with a BB gun. Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media A jury in New Haven found a former Meriden gang member guilty of murder Wednesday, the states Division of Criminal Justice announced. The verdict stems from an incident that took place the morning of June 21, 2020. Prosecutors said that Trevor Outlaw, 35, of Meriden, and an accomplice discovered a rival gang member, 24-year-old Giovanni Rodriguez, was at the Comfort Inn & Suites hotel on East Main Street, according to the state agency. AFP: Does China consider Russias action an invasion now? And if not, then what does China think the nature of this conflict actually is? Wang Wenbin: The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and upheld. The purposes and principles of the UN Charter should also be jointly upheld. This is a principle China always follows and a basic norm governing international relations that all countries should adhere to. At the same time, we recognize that the Ukraine issue has a complex and special historical context and understand Russias legitimate concerns on security issues. China maintains that all should discard the Cold War mentality and eventually put in place a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through dialogue and negotiation. ABC Spanish Daily Newspaper: In the light of the events that have taken place in Ukraine in the last 24 hours, has Chinas position changed at all? Wang Wenbin: Chinas position on the Ukraine issue is consistent. We call on all parties to exercise restraint and prevent further escalation of the situation. Global Times: Yesterday, the Global Times launched a joint letter demanding the US to return life-saving money to the Afghan people unconditionally. Do you have any comment on this? Wang Wenbin: I noted relevant reports. In just 24 hours, over 200,000 people signed the joint letter demanding the US to return the Afghan peoples assets unconditionally. This fully shows that the US robbery of Afghan assets has triggered strong indignation. The US is the culprit of the Afghan issue. It is reported that during the war in Afghanistan, more than 30,000 innocent civilians were killed by the US military or died of the war, and about 11 million people became refugees. The US withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in an irresponsible and hasty manner, leaving disaster and suffering to the innocent Afghan people, who are still facing a serious humanitarian crisis. With 22.8 million Afghans facing acute food insecurity and 3.2 million Afghan children under the age of five suffering from malnutrition, the country is facing an avalanche of hunger and poverty, according to the UN World Food Program. At this critical moment, instead of shouldering its due responsibility to help the Afghan people ease the humanitarian crisis, the US openly plundered the national assets of Afghanistan, further aggravating the suffering of the Afghan people. Such acts once again reveal that the rules-based international order touted by the US is in essence a set of rules and order to safeguard US hegemony and power. We call on the US side to immediately and completely unfreeze Afghanistans assets and lift unilateral sanctions on the country, unconditionally return the assets belonging to the Afghan people and take concrete actions to remedy the harm done to the Afghan people. Bloomberg: Will China recognize the Donetsk and the Lugansk Peoples Republics? Wang Wenbin: The Ukraine issue has complex historical context and realistic factors. Chinas position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and remains unchanged. We hope relevant parties, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, are committed to resolving differences through negotiation, addressing the legitimate concerns of all parties and avoiding further escalation of the situation. Reuters: How many Chinese nationals have been injured or killed as a result of this ongoing military conflict? Wang Wenbin: I havent heard of that so far. In order to proactively protect the safety of Chinese citizens in Ukraine under the current situation, the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine is working on the information registration of Chinese citizens in Ukraine to ensure that in case of emergency, it will be able to provide all necessary assistance to Chinese citizens there and make every effort to protect their safety. We are assessing all aspects of the situation and making appropriate arrangements accordingly. The Foreign Ministry and the Chinese diplomatic and consular missions in Ukraine once again remind Chinese citizens in Ukraine to pay close attention to the development of the situation on the ground, stay vigilant and take safety precautions. Do not travel to unstable areas so as to avoid accidents. Beijing Media Group: At the international symposium on the Afghan issue held the other day, Mr. Yue Xiaoyong, Special Envoy for Afghan Affairs of Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, talked about Chinas proposals and actions on helping Afghanistan achieve peace and reconstruction. Can you give us more details? What additional measures will China take to support and assist Afghanistan? Wang Wenbin: Afghanistan is now at the critical stage of moving from chaos to stability. The Afghan people are presented with a historic opportunity to take their future into their own hands and seek a development path suited to their national conditions. At the same time, they also face multiple challenges, including with regard to the humanitarian situation, economy, counter-terrorism and governance. To overcome these difficulties, they need more understanding and support from the international community. The Afghan interim government should also further demonstrate openness and inclusiveness, pursue moderate and prudent domestic and foreign policies, firmly combat and eliminate all terrorist organizations, live on friendly terms with other countries, and build a modern country that meets the expectations of the people and conforms to the trend of the times. Since the dramatic changes took place in Afghanistan, China has stayed in contact with relevant Afghan parties, provided urgent assistance to the Afghan people, actively promoted international coordination and helped Afghanistan maintain stability and prevent chaos. China will follow a friendly policy toward the entire Afghan people, respect Afghanistans sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and will not interfere in Afghanistans internal affairs. China will continue to help the Afghan people tide over the difficulties. China has already provided Afghanistan with nearly 300 million RMB in humanitarian assistance, including food, medicine, vaccines and winter supplies. We will continue to provide additional assistance based on what the Afghan people need most. China will offer strong support for Afghanistan to boost its self-reliant development capabilities. Last year, over a thousand tonnes of pine nuts from Afghanistan were sold out in China. We believe there will be more and more such popular stories of China-Afghanistan friendship. China will import more premium Afghan agricultural products to help the Afghan people increase incomes. Over the long term, we stand ready to enhance experience-sharing on state governance and connectivity building with Afghanistan. We will strive to synergize international forces in support of Afghanistans peace and reconstruction. China will work in close cooperation with regional countries and continue to convene meetings of Afghanistans neighboring countries foreign ministers to contribute its share to lasting peace and security in Afghanistan. At the same time, we will work for coordinated international action to help Afghanistan embark on a path of sound development. In a word, China will continue to stand firmly together with the Afghan people and help Afghanistan realize development transformation and integrate into the big family of the international community at an early date. BBC: Overnight, the US president said that any nation which countenances Russias aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association. And he didnt name any governments in particular. But whats the Chinese governments response to this comment? Wang Wenbin: The truly discredited countries are those that wantonly interfere in other countries internal affairs and wage wars in the name of democracy and human rights. MBC: The Chinese Embassy in Ukraine announced to the people that they can hold the Chinese flag when driving their cars. So Id like to know how it can be a way of protecting Chinese people from any possible attack or threat? How does that work? Wang Wenbin: The Chinese Embassy in Ukraine has issued relevant consular security alert. I want to reiterate that the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Embassy in Ukraine will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens in the country. In case of emergency, Chinese citizens in Ukraine can use the hotline of our Global Emergency Call Center for Consular Protection and Services and stay in contact with the Chinese embassy and consulate. Bloomberg: A few moments ago, you said Chinese nationals should avoid going to unstable areas. Is that an accurate description of the situation in Ukraine today? Wang Wenbin: I have already elaborated our the position on Ukraine. I wont repeat it. AFP: Last night, the EU imposed what it called severe sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Does China support these sanctions? And do you not think you risk damaging relations with your European partners by not coming out and explicitly condemning Russia? Wang Wenbin: What is the result of sanctions? I believe we are no stranger to that. The US has imposed sanctions on Russia for more than 100 times since 2011. Facts show that sanctions are never the fundamental or effective way to solve problems. They will only bring serious difficulties to the economy and peoples livelihood of relevant countries and regions. We hope relevant parties will think about it carefully and strive to solve the problem through dialogue and consultation. ABC Spanish Daily Newspaper: Does China believe that Russias military presence in Ukraine represents an interference in Ukraines domestic affairs? And also, does China still consider Ukraine a sovereign country? Wang Wenbin: Ukraine is for sure a sovereign country. Chinas position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and unchanged. TRT: Does China plan to lead a Security Council resolution or some other diplomatic initiative to prevent violence against civilians in Ukraine? Wang Wenbin: We will handle relevant issues based on Chinas consistent position and in keeping with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Reuters: What is Chinas response to Taiwan deciding to sanction Russia? Wang Wenbin: The Taiwan authorities wont let go of any opportunity to chase the clout and assert themselves in a grandstanding manner. Such attempts are doomed to fail. CRI: According to reports, the UK Home Office said on February 24 that under a new plan to be rolled out in October this year, individuals aged 18 or over who were born on or after 1 July 1997 and who have at least one BNO parent to apply to the route independently, referring to its visa program. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: The Chinese side has repeatedly stated its position on this issue. I need to stress that the historical context of its issue is very clear. Prior to Hong Kongs return, the British side explicitly committed not to grant BNO travel document holders the right of residence in the UK. However, over two decades after Hong Kongs return, some in the UK, clinging to their nostalgic colonial dream, persistently concocted and rolled out the so-called new BNO passport scheme, and kept expanding the eligibility for application for BNO visa, trying to turn a large number of Hong Kong citizens into second class British citizens. The UK acts fundamentally contravene its commitment in the relevant memorandum, blatantly meddle in Hong Kongs affairs, grossly interfere in Chinas domestic affairs, and violate international law and basic norms governing international relations. We deplore and reject them. China has announced its decision of no longer recognizing BNO passport as valid travel document and identification and reserving the right to take further measures. The British side shall bear all ensuing consequences. We urge the UK to grasp the overriding trend of history, give up the illusion of retaining colonial influence in Hong Kong, immediately mend its ways and stop meddling in Hong Kongs affairs in any means, otherwise it would only hurt itself. Attempts aimed at messing up Hong Kong and undermining its prosperity and stability will never succeed. Bloomberg: The UN Security Council is set to vote on a resolution condemning Moscow actions. Will China veto that resolution given its refusal so far to condemn Russia for its invasion? Wang Wenbin: As I said just now, China will handle relevant issues based on its consistent position and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. AFP: Australia has criticized what it calls Chinas lack of a strong response to the invasion of Ukraine. Its also said that Beijing is offering Russia a lifeline by easing restrictions on imports of Russian wheat. What is the foreign ministrys reaction to that Wang Wenbin: For some time, the Australian side, entrenched in the Cold War mentality and ideological bias, has time and again spread disinformation to smear and criticize China. Such irresponsible behavior is despicable. Chinas position on the Ukraine issue is consistent. At the same time, we conduct normal trade cooperation with Russia in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Phoenix TV: White House spokeswoman Psaki said on February 24 that This is really a moment for China, for any country, about what side of history they want to stand on here, urging China to pick a side. Do you have any response to this? Wang Wenbin: China always decides its position and policy based on the merits of the matter. We stand on the side of peace and justice. We always maintain that the Ukraine issue has a very complex historical context and all parties security concerns should be respected. All should completely discard the Cold War mentality, seek comprehensive resolution of Ukraine and other related issues through dialogue and negotiation, and eventually put in place a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism. For some time, China has actively promoted the political settlement process of the Ukraine issue. During a telephone conversation with French President Macron, President Xi Jinping stressed all relevant parties should adhere to the general direction of political settlement, make full use of multilateral platforms including the Normandy format, and seek a comprehensive resolution of the Ukraine issue through dialogue and consultation. Following the abrupt deterioration of the situation in Ukraine, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with the foreign ministers of Russia and the US by phone respectively, pointing out that any countrys legitimate security concerns should be respected and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be upheld. He also called on all parties to exercise restraint, de-escalate the situation and resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation. Going forward, China will continue to make its own effort to promote the political settlement of the Ukraine issue. Its practice stands in stark contrast to that of a certain country, who has created and shifted crisis to others, and reaped gains from it. I believe we will make a fair judgment as to which approach is more conducive to the security, stability and lasting peace in Europe. At present, the door to peacefully resolving the Ukraine issue is not fully closed. We hope parties concerned will remain calm and rational, stay committed to the principles of the UN Charter and peacefully resolve relevant issues through negotiation. China will continue to promote peace talks in its own manner, and welcomes and encourages all efforts for advancing diplomatic settlement. BBC: Ukraines leader has said that this is definitely an attempt by Russia to overthrow his government. Given these comments, whats Chinas message to the government of Ukraine? Wang Wenbin: We call on all sides to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation of the situation. AFP: My question relates to the call between Ministers Lavrov and Wang Yi. The Russian readout of that call says that the two ministers expressed the common opinion that the reason for the current crisis was Kievs refusal encouraged by the United States and its allies to implement the Minsk accords. The Chinese readout did not say whether Wang agreed with that position. Is the Russian statement accurate? Does China believe that Ukraine provoked this conflict in some way? Wang Wenbin: You may refer to the Chinese sides readout, which has already been released. China always respects all countries sovereignty and territorial integrity. That being said, we recognize the special historical complexities surrounding the Ukraine issue and understand Russias legitimate security concerns. We hold that the Cold War mentality should be completely discarded and efforts should be made to eventually forge a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in Europe. CCTV: The Chinese Embassy in Australia held a presentation ceremony of the Great Wall Commemorative Medal of the Ministry of Public Security of China yesterday. Ambassador Xiao Qian, who assumed his new post not long ago, awarded the gold medal and a commemorative certificate on behalf of the Government of China to the late NSWPF Senior Constable Kelly Foster who sadly lost her life trying to rescue a Chinese citizen in 2021. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: On February 24, the Chinese Embassy in Australia held a solemn presentation ceremony of the Great Wall Commemorative Medal of the Ministry of Public Security of China in honor and remembrance of the late NSWPF Senior Constable Kelly Foster who sadly lost her life trying to rescue a Chinese citizen in early 2021. The Great Wall Commemorative Medal was established by the Ministry of Public Security of China in December 2020, to be awarded especially to law enforcement officers from foreign countries who have made outstanding contributions towards protecting the safety of Chinese citizens. The Gold Great Wall Commemorative Medal for Senior Constable Kelly Foster, with the serial number of 0001, is the first one awarded globally. The light of humanity transcends race, culture and nationality. Ms. Kelly and the Chinese citizen in danger didnt know each other, but at the critical moment of life or death, Ms. Kelly made every effort to rescue the Chinese citizen until the very last moment. The Chinese people attach great importance to acts of friendship and kindness. Ms. Fosters heroic act will not be forgotten. What has happened is further proof of the unquestionable friendly sentiment between the two peoples. The two peoples shared wish is our command. I recall our remarks on the heroic act of Ms. Foster last year: the kindness and compassion of humanity shines brilliantly even in the harshest winter. It is Chinas hope that the light will continue to warm the two peoples and nourish the tree of friendship between China and Australia. Reuters: Is China prepared to increase purchases of Russian oil in response to US and EU sanctions? Wang Wenbin: I just stated Chinas position on sanctions on Russia. Sanctions are never effective means to solve any problem. We hope relevant sides will strive to resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation. I must also stress that we consistently oppose all illegal unilateral sanctions. We demand that relevant parties, in handling the Ukraine issue and relations with Russia, shall not harm the legitimate rights and interests of China and other parties. China and Russia conduct normal trade cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. BBC: You mentioned before the names of Chinese citizens in Ukraine are being collected by the embassy. Is that with a view to eventually getting those people out of Ukraine potentially? And also can you tell us a bit about the reports we heard of, that charter flights are being organized by the Chinese government to get Chinese citizens out of Ukraine? Wang Wenbin: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine have both released relevant security alerts and notices with clear instructions. You may refer to them. Reuters: The war over Ukraine is likely to cause prices for oil and other commodities to inflate. Is China worried about this? Is China prepared for this? Wang Wenbin: We already answered relevant questions yesterday. You may check the answer. AFP: Following on from my colleagues question about charter flights out of Ukraine. Does that mean that China has received guarantees in some way from Russia that the flights will be able to leave Ukraine, given that there is a no-fly zone in place over Ukraine at the moment? Wang Wenbin: You may check relevant notices issued by the Foreign Ministry and Chinas Embassy in Ukraine. Reuters: China has repeatedly called for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis. Unfortunately, Ukraine has been attacked by missiles and rocket strikes. Does this show the limit of the effectiveness of Chinas diplomatic efforts? Wang Wenbin: Under the current circumstances, the door to political resolution of the Ukraine issue is not completely shut. We hope relevant parties can remain calm and rational, stay committed to the principles of the UN Charter, and resolve relevant issues peacefully through negotiation. China will continue to facilitate peace talks in our own manner, and welcome all efforts dedicated to diplomatic resolution. AFP: Whats Chinas position on Belarus acting as a staging ground for the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Wang Wenbin: I just shared Chinas position on the Ukraine issue. Reuters: President Xi Jinping said when exchanging congratulatory message on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in January that China and Ukraine enjoy deepening political mutual trust. Where do China and Ukraine relations stand in the wake of this crisis? Wang Wenbin: China will continue to develop friendly and cooperative relations with Ukraine following the principle of mutual respect. BBC: I was just wondering that you mentioned that the door is not completely shut to a potential diplomatic solution. And I think many people would love to see that, but possibly wondering how it could happen. Might China offer itself as an intermediary between the two parties to bring about an end to the fighting? Wang Wenbin: We will continue to facilitate peace talks in our own way, and welcome all efforts that are committed to diplomatic solutions. Bismarck firefighters are looking to voters to pass a tax levy in hopes of securing much-needed funding for the Bismarck Fire Protection District. The tax would eliminate the need for fire tags for rural residents and free up city funds for use in other areas of municipal operations. The City of Bismarck will also ask voters on Tuesday to approve a proposition to change the position of city collector to an appointed position rather than an elected position. On Tuesday, Bismarck area voters will head to the polls, deciding whether a proposed tax of $0.30 per $100 assessed valuation of personal property and real estate should be adopted for the fire protection district. Currently, the area's fire services exist as three separate entities: the Bismarck City Fire Department, the Bismarck Rural Fire Protection Association, and the Bismarck Fire Protection District. The Bismarck City Fire Department is funded through the general revenue tax collected within the city limits. Bismarck Rural Fire Protection Association, which covers everything outside Bismarck city limits, is funded solely on annual fire tag sales and fundraising. The third entity, Bismarck Fire Protection District, was formed in August 2000 by voter approval, but a primary funding source has never been established by its residents. If the tax initiative is passed, both the Bismarck City Fire Department and the Bismarck Rural Fire Protection Association will dissolve. The Bismarck Fire Protection District would remain the sole operating entity serving district residents in and outside city limits. Bismarck Fire Chief John Colwell said that the 2000 ballot issue regarding the Bismarck Fire Protection District was divided into two questions. The first question asked voters if the Bismarck Fire Protection District should be formed, which they approved. The second question asked if the district should be funded, and that measure did not pass. "Since the formation of the district, they have attempted five additional times to secure tax funding, ranging anywhere from $0.32, up to $0.55 per $100 assessed evaluation," said Colwell. "Each one of those initiatives failed." The most recent tax proposal was in April 2012 for a $0.32 per $100 assessed valuation that failed by majority vote. "So we're going back again this year, in April, to hopefully succeed in passing a tax," he said. "This is the lowest tax rate that we have presented to our district to date." According to the State Tax Commission, residential property is assessed at 19% of its fair market value; agricultural/horticultural property is assessed at 12% of its productive or market value; and all other property, including commercial, is assessed at 32% of its fair market value. For perspective, the average home value in the area is $86,104, so the 19% assessed valuation would be $16,360. If passed, the proposed tax of $0.30 per $100 assessed valuation would cost the homeowner $49 annually. "The need is arising," the chief said. "Call volume is increasing. The cost to fund a fire department is greatly increasing." Just some of the rising costs include expenses for upgrading equipment, increasing fuel and insurance costs, and increasing costs for city operations. "We're just to the point that we need to be able to ensure we have reliable funding," Colwell explained. "Unfortunately, fire tag sales are just unreliable because nothing forces a resident to buy them. In the event that they have a fire and they don't have a fire tag, they could be potentially charged with a misdemeanor crime, as well as fined hundreds of dollars for that. But that still doesn't always mean people will buy their fire tag. "And the city [department's] funds are just out of general revenue," he added. "There isn't a set tax that goes straight toward fire protection services through the city." The chief also noted that funding the fire district as one entity through a tax would ensure that residents within the community pay for fire protection proportionally. "[The tax] also makes it fair for all the residents throughout our district," he explained. "Right now, fire tags are $55 apiece whether you own one acre or a hundred acres; Whether you have an 800 square foot home or an 8,000-square foot warehouse, it's $55. This way, everyone pays their fair share with the tax. Colwell said residents would have a say in how the fire district is operated if the tax is passed and the district becomes taxpayer-funded. "Being able to elect the board members, as well as being able to control any future tax increases, gives the public, our district, a voice and control of the department, as well," he said. The chief explained that the department would use the income generated by the tax for several improvements to keep firefighters safe and provide district residents with better fire protection services. Some of the plans include constructing a new primary fire station, as well as a substation to improve district coverage. The department would initiate annual testing of hoses, ladders, and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Other safety measures would include creating an apparatus and equipment replacement schedule. The income would ultimately help the department improve its ISO rating, potentially lowering insurance rates. Colwell said they believed the cost of the tax would be offset by savings in other areas. Rural residents would no longer have to purchase fire tags each year. City residents would see a slight increase in their annual tax costs; However, eliminating the city fire department would free up $40,000 annually, allowing that money to remain in the city's general fund for other departments. "Although it does cost the city residents a little bit more, in the long run, it's actually saving them by putting that money back into the city," the chief noted. Also on Tuesdays ballot, voters will decide whether to approve Proposition 1. Approving Prop 1 would allow the Bismarck Board of Aldermen to appoint a city collector. Currently, the job of city collector is an elected position within Bismarck. Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Migraines have baffled humankind at least as far back as the ancient Egyptians, who blamed the excruciating headaches, and their often-accompanying visual auras and nausea, on the supernatural. Now, in a development doctors are calling revolutionary, an international group of neurologists has deciphered the mystery of why people get migraines and, in doing so, has determined how to greatly reduce their frequency and severity. The discovery has revolutionized our treatment of migraine, said Dr. P. Christopher H. Gottschalk, a neurologist at Yale Medicine and assistant professor of neurology at the Yale School of Medicine. Im witnessing a change in the landscape, said Dr. Sandhya Mehla, a headache specialist and vascular neurologist with Hartford HealthCare Medical Group. I would say this is a milestone. The discovery, the fruit of 40 years of research, won four scientists in Sweden, Denmark and the United States the 2021 Brain Prize, the worlds most prestigious award in neurology. Its already leading to treatments that can significantly reduce migraine attacks as well as minimize any breakthrough headaches. The new class of drugs has the potential to change the lives of the 1 billion migraine sufferers around the globe. Linda Kelley-Dodds life has already been transformed. The Bristol resident started having headaches as a teenager, although, she said, It wasnt until I was in my 20s that I really noticed, this is a problem for me, this is really, truly a problem. Before becoming one of Gottschalks patients, Kelley-Dodd, 49, whos the costume project coordinator at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, experienced all the hallmarks of migraine. In addition to headaches, she had auras, nausea, smell sensitivity and, especially, light sensitivity, which forced her to wear sunglasses when she drove home at night because the headlights of oncoming cars were so painful. Her headaches varied. Sometimes they would range from just a low-grade headache to a full-on I-cant-deal-with-the-world-please-just-somebody-make-it-go-away. She carried an arsenal to help at least just tamp down the pain so I could semi-function and plowed through Excedrin Migraine for days at a time, jacking herself up on Coca-Cola, aspirin and ibuprofen. A year and a half ago, however, Kelley-Dodd started monoclonal antibody therapy, injecting herself once a month with a drug called Emgality. I cant talk about how amazing this drug is, she said. It has completely changed my life. Cause of Migraine Migraine, the scientists found, is the result of an interaction between the largest nerve in the head, called the trigeminal, and the meninges, the thin membrane surrounding the brain that senses pain. When fibers in the trigeminal nerve are activated, they emit powerful chemical signals that dilate blood vessels in the meninges. The meninges then becomes inflamed, triggering a migraine. What activates the trigeminal fibers is highly individualistic. In her essay, In Bed, Joan Didion, a lifelong migraineur, wrote, Almost anything can trigger a specific attack of migraine: stress, allergy, fatigue, an abrupt change in barometric pressure, a contretemps over a parking ticket. A flashing light. A fire drill. The researchers found that blocking those chemical signals, which they named calcitonin gene-related peptides (CGRP), can abort a migraine. This is what monoclonal antibodies, or CGRP antagonists, do. Mehla of the Hartford HealthCare Medical Group called the discovery a milestone because it led to the first medications that were specifically designed and tested only for migraine. In the past, she said, doctors have had to treat their patients with medications that were developed for other medical conditions. Migraine is in our genes, so it really cannot be cured, she said. But these new medications can greatly reduce their frequency. Another huge benefit, said Gottschalk, is that their side effects have been practically zero. The Migraine Personality Like tuberculosis, migraine has often been linked to personality. In the 1930s, New York neurologist Harold Wolff asserted that the condition was especially prominent among perfectionists, those driven by ambition, a theory that remained popular until the 1980s. And because one in three migraineurs are women, the disease has long been dismissed, or at least minimized, as just another psychosomatic condition of neurotic women. Its distressing, Gottschalk said when asked about migraines and gender bias. It was not that long ago, 50 years ago, that doctors who were specialists in headache were writing [that] clearly the migraine personality includes sexual frustration in women. Unbelievable! For a disease that has been part of the human condition for as long as migraines have, it may be surprising that it took so long to understand it. Gottschalk blames that not only on its association with womens supposed neuroses but also because migraine is one of those invisible diseases. Its not like diabetes, where your sugars way high, he said. Its not like high blood pressure where you can do a thing on your arm and show that theres a number thats higher than it should be. Its somehow ... mysterious or unsettling that theres not a clear source of the problem that people can identify. Insurance Coverage The CGRP receptor antagonists are, predictably, expensiveabout $500 a monthbut Mehla and Gottschalk are optimistic about their cost to patients in the longer term. I have to say its not as bleak as I was afraid it would be in the beginning, Gottschalk said, but its also not as good as it should be. The fact that [the medication is] FDA-approved specifically for migraine means that pretty much every commercial insurance has to approve at least one of these antibodies, and usually its more than one. Patients seeking monoclonal antibody treatment had to have tried several drugs in the past before an insurer approves the new regimen. Most of the patients that we see in the headache clinic are the ones who have tried something before, Mehla said. So, our patients usually meet the criteria if we are prescribing it. But [given the robust response], we can foresee that these medications will be covered much faster. Her Long Road Kelley-Dodds road to controlling her headaches may have been a bit atypical in that she was referred to Gottschalk for another ailment. And that it wasnt until she started getting treatment for the other ailment that she started getting treatment for her migraines. I went for years without proper treatment, she said, not knowing that there was even treatment. Today, Kelley-Dodd admits, its a little hard for her to remember everything she went through in her 20s and 30s. She laughs as she remembers thinking, This isnt actually the way a human should live, where I would just power through these headaches. You just have to power through. I think, truly, there isnt enough information out there for humans to understand that this truly is a disability, she said, and that it truly affects peoples lives. This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team ( c-hit.org ), a nonprofit news organization dedicated to health reporting. The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV. Les Yakymchuk didnt sleep Wednesday night in Athens, Ohio. Neither did his mother in Kyiv, Ukraine. Yakymchuk, a 29-year-old Ukrainian student at Ohio University, eventually connected with his mom over Facebook. Her neighborhood in Ukraines capital was not under attack, but sirens warning of possible bombing drove her to an underground parking garage for shelter. Information keeps changing every 10 minutes, the journalism student said of Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of his native land. Its hard to filter. Across the U.S., people with family and friends in Ukraine desperately sought to reach them. What had been a lingering threat turned quickly into a full-blown war Wednesday with Russia bombing major cities. Over Skype, Facebook, cell phone and every imaginable form of communication frantic people sought the fate of those they love. The feeling for folks like Yakymchuk is one of frustration for being absent, but also of foreboding. The last face-off with Russia in 2014 came in a small, isolated section in the eastern part of the nation. In the eight years since, Ukrainians knew they faced an attack, but learned to live with it. Now, said Yakymchuk, the bombing is everywhere. A surreal sense of uncertainty prevails, a kind of suspended animation. When Greg Stricharchuk reached family members Thursday, the news was mixed. Some of my family are very scared; others are seemingly calm, said the former American journalist who retired to Northumberland County Virginia. One relative worried because her son faced a call-up to defend his country with no military training. Its like volunteering to be murdered, Stricharchuk said. Yakymchuk said he has friends called into service who he can no longer reach. He busies himself explaining the geopolitics of Russia and Ukraine to classmates. He planned to drive to Cleveland for a Thursday night protest of the Russians invasion with Ukrainians in that city. Still, he said he has moments where he feels useless. Cheryl Reed, an ex-journalist who is married to Stricharchuk, spent time Wednesday and Thursday texting journalism students she taught as a Fulbright Scholar in Ukraine in 2016 and 2017. She found one working with CBS news. She expected that others might be working with foreign media translating for English-speaking journalists. When Reed lived in Ukraine as a Fulbright Scholar and in 2019-2020 when her husband was awarded a Fulbright, program officials encouraged participants and their families to have go bags filled with essentials so they could escape quickly if the Russians attacked. What may now be generally true just one day into the war is that almost no one will be going anywhere fast. Many people do not have cars, and buses and trains could be stymied by bombing damage. We had friends fleeing to western Ukraine, Stricharchuk said. In the last couple of days, everything collapses. You cant get train tickets. You cant get bus tickets. Theres been major cyber attacks on banks. Cheryl and I know from living [in Ukraine] you can only withdraw tiny amounts from an ATM. Everything now is conducted with cash. Ultimately, there will be food issues and money issues. But many people are just resigned to staying put. Available for Roku, Fire TV, AppleTV WFMZ+ STREAMING NEW WAY TO WATCH! Brand New App to watch all of WFMZ-TV News and Syndicated Programing 24/7 on your Streaming App enabled TV. She's back at the Palladium, oh yes she is! Dawn French will return for this year's Palladium pantomime, which is set to be Jack and The Beanstalk. French commented: "Roll up! Roll up! Much merriment and happiness and downright cheek and cheeks going to be happening onstage at The Palladium this Christmas with a brand spanky new Panto at last! We've waited two years to bring you Jack and The Beanstalk and I'm de-blimmin-lighted to be part of it. See you there folks!" Marking a return to the narratively-driven pantomimes after two years of Pantoland, the West End festive treat will run from 10 December to 15 January. Joining French in the show will be the usual Palladium cohort of Julian Clary, Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers and Gary Wilmot. Producer and director Michael Harrison said: "I'm thrilled to be welcoming Dawn French back to our panto, and can't wait to be working with Julian, Paul, Nigel and Gary on what promises to be our biggest show yet! Jack and The Beanstalk marks the return of a full-scale spectacle to our Palladium Christmas season, and we've been working on new designs for the show over the past two years. We'll be announcing more cast later in the year, and can't wait to be back with all the glitz and glamour we know our audiences love." Alongside Harrison, the creative team also includes choreographer Karen Bruce, set designer Mark Walters, costume designer Hugh Durrant, lighting designer Ben Cracknell and sound designer Gareth Owen. Composition and orchestrations are by Gary Hind. Four House of Delegates dealt a final blow to Charlottesvilles plans to raise the local sales tax in order to pay for the renovation and expansion of Buford Middle School. During a subcommittee meeting Friday, Republicans on the committee said they were sympathetic with communities school infrastructure needs, but they need to find other ways to help localities cover the cost of replacing or upgrading aging buildings. The bill from Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, wouldve allowed Charlottesville voters to decide in a referendum whether to raise the sales tax by up to 1%. The estimated $12 million a year from that increase would only go toward school construction projects. I represent an area that sends us here to hold back on taxes and they dont want us to become where weve got to put everything in a referendum, said Del. Kathy Byron, chairwoman of the subcommittee who represents parts of Bedford, Campbell and Franklin counties as well as part of Lynchburg. Without the sales tax increase, Charlottesville and other localities are looking at property tax hikes in order to pay for school construction projects. The Charlottesville School Board has worked for the last year on design plans for a renovated and expanded Buford Middle School, which would cost up to $75 million. This vote is a painful setback, but we will continue to explore every path forward to give our students the facilities that they deserve, the school division said on social media. Charlottesville United for Public Education, a group of parents and community members who support the overall reconfiguration project, said in a statement Friday afternoon that the fight isnt over. A high-quality education demands that we invest in learning environments that are healthy, safe, and encourage student success, the group wrote. Not supporting this legislation sends the message to students in Charlottesville and around the Commonwealth that their needs are not a priority. We are disappointed that school facilities in Charlottesville where the average building is 66 years old have been put on the backburner by the state once again. The group encouraged the City Council to work with the community and find new solutions to fund the project. Where there is a political will, there is a way to fund public education in the city, the group wrote. It will take some thinking outside the box, but we are counting on City Council to step up for a vision long-deferred in our community. A bill from the senate that wouldve given all localities the authority to seek a voter referendum also failed. The same subcommittee killed off similar bills from Del. Sally Hudson, D-Charlottesville, during a meeting last month. Since then, Charlottesville City Schools hired a lobbying firm to help get Deeds bill across the finish line. The division also rallied support from the community, encouraging individuals to email Dels. Roxanne Robinson and Chris Runion. Runion represents part of Albemarle County and did not return a request for comment on his vote. Unlike that meeting, there was more discussion about the bills, which had no public opposition and were backed by the Virginia School Boards Association, Virginia Education Association, Virginia Municipal League, and Virginia Association of Counties, among other groups. Byron said everyone has a different way to get a solution on funding school construction and mentioned the need for a broader approach. The statewide sales tax option was recommended by the bipartisan state commission on school construction and modernization that concluded its work last year. Byron added that the sales tax seemed counterproductive at a time when the General Assembly is giving teachers raises. But then to turn around, those same teachers are going to be taxed when they go in their community unless they go to another community to buy goods, said Byron, who supported a 2019 bill that allowed Halifax County to ask voters whether to raise the sales tax. Deeds said thats the way the world works. If we want nice things, we have to pay for them, he said. Del. Robert Orrock, R-Caroline, said he didnt like bifurcating the sales tax and would prefer that state assistance be based on the local composite index, the formula that determines state funding currently. With my in-laws living in Pittsylvania County, if they have a major purchase to make, they dont make it in Pittsylvania County, he said. They go to Campbell County, because that 1% differential in sales tax if its a major purchase does make a difference in their shopping. Pittsylvania County voters narrowly rejected the sales tax increase in November. Im not sure it has all the positives that most counties feel that it will bring to them, Orrock said of the sales tax increases. Halifax County, the first to use the sales tax approach, is moving forward on plans to build a new $109 million high school. Orrock added that the better answer was what the House of Delegates tried to do this year, a $2 billion school construction loan program that would require a 30% local match. Localities will compete for loans, and the decision would be based on local funding commitment, local ability to pay, and building conditions, according to a budget presentation. The senates budget includes $500 million in grants for school construction and renovation projects. The state considers Charlottesville to have a higher ability to pay based on the state funding formula, which would likely mean less state money through the loan program. Before the subcommittees vote on the Charlottesville bill, Mayor Lloyd Snook and councilor Juandiego Wade laid out the consequences of not getting the sales tax authority. To finance this whole project through other taxes, that will make it impossible in the next decade for us to, for example, buy a new fire truck or improve police and jail facilities and redevelop public housing the way we want to, Snook said. He said the city has been frugal, added that the city has a low real estate tax rate 95 cents per $100 of assessed value compared to other cities in Virginia. On the loan program, Snook said the major need for such funds is in other localities with fewer resources than Charlottesville. I think that rural voters and taxpayers would properly be outraged if a significant portion of those funds went to a place like Charlottesville, he said. We are asking for the ability to solve our problems ourselves with our resources without being a burden to the rest of the state. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues, Warsaw Organization: OSCE - Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Country: Poland City: Warsaw Office: OSCE Warsaw Closing date: Monday, 4 April 2022 Background: This position is open for secondment only and participating States are kindly reminded that all costs in relation to an assignment at the OSCE/ODiHR must be borne by their authorities. Candidates should, prior to applying, verify with their respective nominating authority to which extent financial remuneration and/or benefit packages will be offered. Seconded staff members in the OSCE Secretariat and Institutions are not entitled to a Board and Lodging Allowance payable by the Organization. The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, combating human trafficking, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities. All 57 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the OSCE responsible for the human dimension. ODIHR is active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rule of law. ODIHRs assistance projects and other activities are implemented in participating States in accordance with ODIHRs mandate. ODIHRs Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues is the focal unit of the OSCE charged specifically with numerous tasks under the framework of the 2003 Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti within the OSCE Area. The ODIHR Contact Point addresses issues either directly through its programmes and projects or by promoting policy frameworks and assisting participating States aiming to realize objectives of the Action Plan. It seeks to involve and empower Roma and Sinti themselves in all its activities. The CPRSI plays an active role in promoting action and involvement of the OSCE Institutions and Field Operations in realizing objectives of the Action Plan. It performs the role of catalyst for action and initiatives at international level that aim at better synergies and co-operation as regards realizing common objectives. It acts as a clearing house for all related initiatives, projects, reports or studies while increasingly issuing its own analysis and reports. In this regard, it seeks to strengthen relations and co-operation with the civil society and academic institutions involved in research and studies on Roma and Sinti. The report on the Status of Implementation of the Action Plan (2008) sets up a new threshold as regards the CPRSI reporting on implementation of objectives of the Action Plan and analysing emerging trends and challenges regarding Roma and Sinti in OSCE area. Tasks and responsibilities: Under the general supervision of the Senior Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues, Chief of the CPRSI, as the Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues, you will be responsible for contributing to the development and implementation of all programmatic activities and projects related to tasks assigned to CPRSI in the Action Plan and/or as stipulated under relevant Ministerial and Permanent Councils decisions related to Roma and Sinti through the following functions: Contributing to the management of programmatic and administrative aspects of the CPRSI and the co-ordination of the work portfolios of CPRSI staff members overall; Providing advice on all aspects and issues related to implementation of the Action Plan and subsequent MC Decisions on Roma and Sinti, in the form of reports and analyses, background materials or talking points for the Senior Adviser on Roma and Sinti Issues; represents the CPRSI in absence of the Senior Adviser; Enhancing the CPRSI capacity as clearing house and its ability to provide quality and timely expertise/advice to participating States, international organizations, Roma and Sinti organizations and civil society; Contributing to the development and management of all projects and activities related to implementation of CPRSIs yearly programmatic outline, both for Unified Budget and Extra-budgetary contributions (ExB), as well as of the tasks of DIHR CPRSI and the overall objectives of the Action Plan and/or as response to emerging trends /developments /crisis situations or incidents regarding Roma and Sinti communities; Maintaining communication and responding to all requests, calls, and proposals, after consultation with Senior Adviser, from participating States, international organizations and/or states bodies and institutions. For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, please see: http://www.osce.org/odihr Necessary Qualifications: First-level university degree in international relations, political science, social sciences or law; At least six years (full-time equivalent) of progressively growing professional experience at national and international levels in the Roma and Sinti related field (either in governmental office, civil society or in scientific research institution); Demonstrated understanding of issues related to human and minority rights and especially to Roma and Sinti; Familiarity with national Roma and Sinti politics and policies, regional and international initiatives related to Roma and Sinti; Excellent knowledge of the UN, CoE, EU and OSCE documents and programmes related to Roma and Sinti; Demonstrated experience in developing and managing programmes and projects in those areas; High level of initiative and sound judgement; Strong analytical and writing skills; c7tfJQn Dh7qKS Excellent organizational skills; Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, knowledge of Romani and/or some other OSCE language would be an asset; Computer literacy with practical experience with Microsoft applications. If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCEs online application link found under https://jobs.osce.org/vacancies. The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment, to offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration. Only those candidates who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted. Please note that vacancies in the OSCE are open for competition only amongst nationals of participating States, please see https://www.osce.org/participating-states. The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages the nomination of qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds. Candidates should be aware that OSCE officials shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner befitting the status of an international civil servant. This includes avoiding any action which may adversely reflect on the integrity, independence and impartiality of their position and function as officials of the OSCE. The OSCE is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. For more information on the values set out in OSCE Competency Model, please see https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model. Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process. Please apply to your relevant authorities well in advance of the deadline expiration to ensure timely processing of your application. Delayed nominations will not be considered. The OSCE can only process Secondment applications that have been nominated by participating States. For queries relating to your application, please refer to the respective delegation as listed here: https://www.osce.org/contacts/delegations. Additional Information Issued by: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Requisition ID: CON00000O Contract Type: International Secondment Grade: S Job Type: Seconded Number of posts: 1 Location: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Warsaw Posting Date: Feb 17, 2022 Closing Date: Apr 4, 2022 Employee Status: Fixed Term Schedule: Full-time Education Level: Bachelors Degree (First-level university degree or equivalent) Link to the organizations job posting: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1645130792355 Willmar, MN (56201) Today A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. High 61F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies. Low near 45F. Winds light and variable. Frustrated CenturyLink customers in areas with higher-than-normal occurrence of trouble might soon find relief after years of wrangling over poor phone service. CenturyLink/Lumen and Connect Holding say they will agree to increased oversight and make commitments to rehabbing their copper cables in at least four counties in Virginia if the State Corporation Commission allows control of telephone services to be transferred to Connect Holding. The Virginia State Corporation Commission held hearings Wednesday and Thursday as part of its efforts to determine whether to allow the transfer. Last year, Lumen Technologies, the parent company of CenturyLink, announced it was selling its incumbent local exchange carrier operations its physical mostly-copper telephone and DSL network and residential fiber broadband in Virginia and 19 other states to affiliates of Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, as Connect Holding. According to documents, Connect Holding will operate under the name Brightspeed. Many CenturyLink customers in Albemarle County, and across the state, have had long-standing issues with the companys phone and internet service, and with getting service issues in a timely and consistent manner. Across Central Virginia, many people have no other options except CenturyLink for phone and/or internet services. Margaret Snoddy, who lives in Buckingham County, said at the Wednesday hearing that she has had phone services from CenturyLink the 33 years shes lived in the county. In the last five years, she said there has been a significant deterioration in the service. At this point, the service is abysmal, both with the phone itself and the customer service line you are forced to call to report a problem, Snoddy said. The phone will just go totally dead ... I cannot receive calls nor can I make calls. This happens if its raining, cloudy or on a clear, sunny day. While some rural area residents are seeing companies place fiber cables for phone and internet services, many are still reliant on older, copper wires for their services, as companies say its not economically feasible for them to build out fiber to fewer customers in less dense rural areas. The SCC ultimately needs to approve the transfer of the telephone services under state code. As part of the sale, Lumen Technologies will transfer control of its Virginia local exchange carriers United Telephone and Central Telephone, which both do business as CenturyLink, to Connect Holding. As incumbent local exchange carriers, United Telephone and Central Telephone are carriers of last resort and have a continuing obligation to provide reasonably adequate service, John Farmer, Assistant Attorney General, said on Thursday. Farmer said the Office of the Attorney Generals Division of Consumer Counsel intervened in this SCC case out of the concern regarding ongoing service quality issues. All the testimony heard yesterday tends to show that CenturyLink is currently falling short in meeting that obligation, he said. It may well be, as stated in the joint petitioners testimony, that this transfer of control to Connect Holding is precisely what CenturyLink needs to make necessary improvements in its service. During the portion of the hearing on Wednesday, elected officials and residents from six counties spoke about issues they and their constituents have with CenturyLink phone and internet service. Randall Bartlett, who lives in Huntly, said his area had a phone service outage for 28 days in November. While this phone outage constituted a huge inconvenience, there was a much more serious threat to health and safety in our community, he said. Poignantly, on January 2, 2022, we had a major fire at our house. If the 28 day November outage had been in effect at that time, we would have lost everything. Nobody in the neighborhood could have helped us either because all the area phones were down. More than 200 comments from customers were also filed online or sent in by local elected officials. To try to get answers about the consistent phone and internet service issues, Albemarles Board of Supervisors supervisors had a work session in January with representatives of Lumen. They gave few answers to the board at that time, and its unclear if a response has been given yet to the county. As part of the SCC case, testimony was submitted from commission staff including Sheree L. King, an associate deputy director in the Division of Public Utility Regulation, who expressed concerns over the existing copper network. Staff has ongoing concerns with the quality of service generally and the condition of the copper network of both Central Telephone and United Telephone, she said in filed testimony. An absence of sustainable and proactive preventive maintenance plans and insufficient funds allocated for upgrading the copper infrastructure will result in continued degradation of reliable service to citizens living in the rural areas of the Commonwealth. The filed testimony from the companies has addressed improving the existing copper plant, she said, but these statements apply to the entire 20 state footprint of the sale. At this time, Virginia specific-information regarding copper improvements, investments, and maintenance is unknown, and staff has been advised that this information will not become available until after the transaction has closed, King said. Last week, Lumen and Connect Holding, along with other parties in their case, and SCC staff filed a joint stipulation to help resolve the issues raised by King and other SCC staff. The motion filed includes a settlement term sheet outlining what the companies will do. The settlement terms say that the company will continue to work to identify copper cables with a higher-than-normal occurrence of trouble, and that data will be used to choose which cables to rehabilitate or replace, thereby resulting in fewer future customer outages. Currently, the company is focusing on 78 copper cables and 3,600 working lines across four counties. A majority of those 52 cables and 2,486 working lines are in Albemarle. After the transfer, when receiving complaints of telephone outages or service affecting issues, United Telephone and Central Telephone must restore no less than 80% of phone service within 48 hours and no less than 95% within 96 hours (per calendar month on a statewide basis), the agreement says. However, complaints reported during severe storms would be excluded from those metrics. Reports of compliance must be made until the companies demonstrate compliance with the metrics for three consecutive months. If the commitments are not met, additional action by the Commission may be taken. The company must also report measurable and verifiable commitments regarding the plans for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of the copper network, to SCC staff after the sale. Annually for five years, it will need to report projects completed, projects started and a forecast of upcoming projects. SCC staff, Farmer and attorneys representing Centurylink/Lumen and Connect Holding all said Thursday that supported the joint stipulation. Staff submits the joint stipulation and term sheet if, adopted by the Commission, will assist the Commission in ensuring that customer complaints are timely addressed by their respective telephone companies and ensure that reasonably adequate retail service is provided in accordance with the statutory provisions applicable to these carriers under the Code of Virginia, said Raymond Doggett, who spoke on behalf of SCC staff. Ann Berkebile, a senior hearing examiner with the SCC, said she will now work to compile the record and make a recommendation to the Commission, who ultimately has the deciding authority. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A proposed bill could provide homeowners in some Connecticut municipalities a brief reprieve by allowing local officials to delay property revaluations up to one year. Connecticut property values have rebounded during the COVID-19 pandemic to levels not seen since the real estate boom of the mid-2000s, as high-rise dwellers in New York City have sought an escape to the town and country lifestyle. In some instances, that has cascaded into annual tax bills homeowners and businesses pay municipalities where they are located. Bridgeports grand list of property values jumped 23 percent last year, with owners having until earlier this week to file appeals. Democrats proposed the bill last week in the Connecticut General Assembly, where it will get an initial consideration in the Planning & Development Committee. The bill would allow municipalities to delay up to one year any initiation of revaluations through 2023. The municipality can vote on it, said state Rep. David Michel, D-Stamford. I believe in letting the cities decide on this, especially under the assumption that it can offer temporary relief for many, in the case that the reval would end up in an increase in property tax, which seems most likely for many homeowners. The committees co-chairs are Sen. Steve Cassano, D-4, a former Manchester mayor whose district includes Glastonbury and Bolton that are up for revaluations in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield. As part of his budget plan, Gov. Ned Lamont has proposed expanding Connecticuts property tax credit to $300 annually from its current level of $200, and ending a restriction that allowed only taxpayers with dependents or those age 65 and older to qualify. Property tax is pretty relentless you pay it in good times, you pay it in bad times, Lamont said this month when he announced the tax-credit expansion. It particularly hits the middle class hard, and were doing everything we can to mitigate that. Under Connecticut law, municipalities complete property revaluations every five years, with taxpayers able to challenge those findings to lower their property assessments. Stamford, Danbury, Middletown, Ansonia, Bethel, Guilford, Newtown, Orange, Redding, Ridgefield and Wilton are among those that have revaluations underway this year. Norwalk, Darien, New Canaan, Madison and Weston are scheduled next year for revaluations, which could be pushed back a year under the bill. For revaluations completed in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, Connecticut values totaled $392 billion spanning homes, autos, apartments, commercial buildings and other property subject to assessment for tax purposes. That was up $7.1 billion from the prior year. In 2020, Bridgeport saw the single-biggest jump in grand-list value, a 23 percent increase from 2019. Many Bridgeport taxpayers were vocal after seeing their bills go up on the heels of a 2016 revaluation. Includes prior reporting by Julia Bergman and Brian Lockhart. Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman Winchester, VA (22601) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High near 75F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low 51F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. In a unanimous vote, the Berryville Architectural Review Board on Wednesday recommended that the town give the owners of 112 Josephine St. (above) until Dec. 31, 2023, to renovate the boarded-up log cabin. Kathleen MacLean pumps her fist in the air excitedly. "Thats the first time Ive done it from memory," she explains. Its 10 days before the premiere of Frozen River and MacLean isnt relying on her script as she reads with her fellow actors, Robyn Slade and Krystle Pederson. On the half-assembled set in the high-ceilinged rehearsal hall, she and Slade run through the scene again, a light-hearted but possibly pivotal interaction between Wapam (MacLean) and Eilidh (Slade is the understudy for Mallory James), two friends, one Indigenous and one Scottish, who are bonding as they learn each others language. Clockwise from left: Playwrights Michaela Washburn, Joelle Peter and Carrie Costello. (Supplied) As Pederson, who plays Grandmother Moon, picks up the cranberries MacLean has been trying to aim at Slades mouth (extra tough considering everyone is masked), co-directors Anne Hodges and Tracey Nepinak have their heads together, conferring on ways to strengthen the scenes body language, while co-playwright Joelle Peters looks on from the corner. Theatre preview Click to Expand Frozen River Manitoba Theatre for Young People Opens Feb. 25, runs to March 6 Tickets at mtyp.ca or 204-942-8898 If that seems like a lot of "co-s", it is Frozen River, Manitoba Theatre for Young Peoples first indoor production in two years, is a testament to collaboration. It features two directors and three playwrights: Peters, Michaela Washburn and Carrie Costello worked together on the story of two 11-year-old girls who meet after being born under the same blood moon in different parts of the world. "I find working collaboratively a gift, to have other people to figure things out with," Costello, 45, says on a Zoom video call with Peters (Washburns internet connection from her location in North Bay, Ont., is too dicey to make the call). "And especially in this kind of work, because really, the conversations were having in the room trying to figure it out are often the same conversations that come out in the characters that were portraying. I really love it." Top row, from left: Carrie Costello, Julie Lumsden, Michaela Washburn; middle row: Anne Hodges, Krystle Pederson, Gwen Collins; bottom row: Joelle Peters, Tracey Nepinak. Peters, 27, agrees. Frozen River is the actor and playwrights first co-writing project and she calls it a treat to go back and forth working out the kinks of a draft. "It was really the highlight of my pandemic," says Peters, who was home at Walpole Island First Nation in south-western Ontario "with not a whole lot to do," at the time. In some ways, this kind of theatrical approach has been a long time coming, says MTYP artistic director Pablo Felices-Luna (who is also Costellos partner). "Its not the way that weve created theatre in the past, but it seems like the right way to create theatre now, especially when its these stories about people meeting who come from different walks of life, who come from different cultures," he says, seated in the sunny lobby of the MTYP building, which, too long dormant, buzzes with activity behind him. "So were trying to make sure that representation of voices is not just on the stage but also in our creative teams, our directors, our designers so that we can speak truthfully to what those issues are." Jay Havens designed the costumes. (Supplied) Frozen River which features stage design by Calgarys Andy Moro (The War Being Waged, PTE) and costumes by Jay Havens was originally intended to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the province and to open as part of Manitoba 150 celebrations. After moving to Manitoba, Costello, a history buff, was struck by how the province is at what she calls the epicentre of Indigenous issues in Canada. "I was interested in going back in the history and finding out how it went here, because its different from a lot of other places," she says. "The Indigenous people helped the settlers so much to survive, and then theres this turn at some point. "We were also interested in how the Scottish were displaced from their land and then came here and did the same thing, without any sort of parallel thinking." The Frozen River set was designed by Calgarys Andy Moro, whose work was last seen on MTYPs stage for The Mush Hole. (Supplied) Costello and Washburn, an Alberta-born Metis actor and playwright, had previously collaborated on another historical play for children, Water Under the Bridge, set during the War of 1812. Research for the project included trips to the Manitoba Archives, where there are ample resources books, maps, letters documenting settlers arrival in these lands. Information about the Indigenous people of the time is less likely to be written down, so the playwrights relied on knowledge-keepers and elders to help them flesh out their characters. "We learned what it would be like here at the The Forks, the meeting place, during the summer what things young people would be doing, would be learning, would have skills in," says Costello, adding that they also visited the Manitoba Indigenous Education Centre. "It was quite incredible the wealth of knowledge we got." As they worked out a first draft, they realized something was missing. The characters they had created had no way to remedy their broken promises in the past. To find reconciliation, they needed a contemporary counterpoint set in the present day, so they reached out to Peters. "We appreciated that Joelle is quite a bit younger than us and has quite a bit more knowledge of the current way you would say things," Costello says with a laugh. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kathleen MacLean as Okanawapacikew (left), Krystle Pederson as Grandmother Moon, and Mallory James as Eilidh star in Frozen River at MTYP. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) It was also important for the work to temper its serious message with enough levity and optimism to engage kids. "That was a big goal of mine, to try to bring a lot of moments of joy or humour, to sprinkle them throughout," Peters says. "We wanted to make sure that historical aspects were there and the teaching moments, but by the time I came along, it was like, OK, lets make sure theyre also smiling." Felices-Luna says that balance is something childrens theatre strives to achieve. "In the work that we do for young audiences, its always important not to shy away from the difficult conversations but we always want to leave a path into the light," he says. "We want to leave a way for people to feel that theres hope, that theres a way forward." MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kathleen MacLean as Okanawapacikew (left), Krystle Pederson as Grandmother Moon, and Mallory James as Eilidh during the dress rehearsal of Frozen River. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) And speaking of hope, as public health restrictions are lifted across the province, the artistic director is veritably glowing at the prospect of finally returning to the stage tonight after having to cancel this production in the past. Amazingly, the entire creative team has remained intact thoughout the process, despite the many challenges the pandemic has thrown its way. "There are some things we can work out with video conferencing, some things we can try to mock up while were in our little boxes, but a lot of theatre requires physical proximity," he says, pointing to the scene MacLean and Slade are working on. "They still havent quite nailed that hug, but theyll work it out this week. "But on the flip side, it has allowed us to work with artists from across the country; two of our playwrights are not living in Winnipeg, so there was that positive side to it. "Im just so excited to see this actually happen theres such love for this work." jill.wilson@winnipegfreepress.com If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more. Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project. The family of a retired air force pilot is upset he died of COVID-19 after being transferred from Winnipeg to a hospital near the Saskatchewan border. The family of a retired air force pilot is upset he died of COVID-19 after being transferred from Winnipeg to a hospital near the Saskatchewan border. Clarke Gehman, 84, died in the Reston Health Centre on Feb. 11. SUPPLIED Clarke Gehman died in the Reston Health Centre earlier this month. Three weeks earlier, hed been transferred from the Victoria General Hospital to the hospital in Russell, 340 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. After that, he was moved to Reston, 160 kilometres south of Russell. "We expected him to go in a year or two years, but he got COVID and he died two days later," said Gehmans son, Kirby, on Thursday. "We knew he was never going to live on his own again, but we didnt expect him to die now. "I want to be mad at the anti-vaxxers, but most appropriately the best place to put my frustration is at the government for not having sufficient places for patients when they had lots of advanced warning." SUPPLIED Clarke Gehman was a fighter pilot, and then a helicopter instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Force before retiring to become a civil aviation inspector with Transport Canada. Gehman was a fighter pilot, and then a helicopter instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Force before retiring to become a civil aviation inspector with Transport Canada. He married his wife, Elizabeth, in 1963, and they raised two sons. She died in 2020. Kirby said the family took Gehman to the Winnipeg hospital on Jan. 9, because he was having problems, and it was there they found out he had liver and kidney issues. The senior was waiting to be panelled to a personal care home when, because of the shortage of hospital beds due to the high number of cases of COVID, he was deemed stable enough to transfer to Russell. Kirby said his dad didnt have COVID in Winnipeg or Russell, but tested positive after he was transferred to Reston on Feb. 3. "We thought it sucks when they told us he would be transferred, but we knew theres not enough places for people to go to, and then we heard Russell. That was a shock. Then we heard they werent accepting visitors there." Kirby went to visit his dad after he was transferred to Reston, but two days later he got the call Gehman had tested positive for COVID. Then the family got a call on Feb. 11, saying Gehman was deteriorating quickly and they should travel to see him one last time. Kirby and one of his brothers drove there and their dad died that night. "(Talking to the media) has been more valuable than anything I could say to people who have made it clear they are not listening," he said. Ready, Pet, Go! Leesa Dahl looks at everything to do with our furry, fuzzy, feathered, fishy (and more!) pet friends. Arrives in your inbox each Monday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Talking to people who can vote is better." A Shared Health spokesman said they extend their condolences to the family and said they understood Southern had reached out to them. "We know that patient transfers to different sites can be unsettling and disruptive for both patients and their families.," he said. "However, the acute-care inter-regional transfer protocol continues to be necessary to ensure capacity remains available for both COVID and non-COVID patients in hospitals across the province." As of Thursday morning, 294 patients had been transferred to facilities elsewhere in the province, including seven patients in the last week. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca OTTAWA - A prominent organizer of the three-week convoy protest outside Parliament Hill that snarled traffic, shuttered businesses and plagued residents with near-constant honking has been denied bail. Police hold a line as they work to bring a protest, which started in opposition to mandatory COVID-19 vaccine mandates and grew into a broader anti-government demonstration and occupation, to an end, in Ottawa, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA - A prominent organizer of the three-week convoy protest outside Parliament Hill that snarled traffic, shuttered businesses and plagued residents with near-constant honking has been denied bail. Pat King was arrested last Friday and faces charges of mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to commit the offence of disobeying a court order and counselling to obstruct police. Justice of the Peace Andrew Seymour said he wasn't satisfied that King, if released, wouldn't commit offences similar to those he's accused of. In delivering his ruling, Seymour said the evidence submitted by the Crown "paints a portrait of an individual who has clear intention to continue his protest and is indifferent to the consequences." He also said that King need not be in Ottawa to commit further offences, pointing to the risk of King continuing to communicate with other protest leaders or his 354,000 Facebook followers. Seymour said he also lacked confidence in King's proposed surety, an Alberta woman who has known King for about four weeks and had come to Ottawa to be part of the convoy protest. Seymour said there was some evidence that Kerry Komix may have held an organizer role in the convoy, noting her link to a convoy crypto token aimed at raising funds for those encamped in the capital's core. Komix was either "firmly entrenched among the leaders" of the convoy, or could be "easily manipulated" by them, Seymour said. He said the court would be taking an unacceptable risk by releasing King to Komix's supervision. Seymour said a reasonable person could lose confidence in the administration of justice should King be released. "The offences were an attack on the rule of law that shook Ottawans' and Canadians' faith in institutions, such as government and the police, to protect them," Seymour said. "The alleged offences are extraordinarily serious and unprecedented." Barricades marking a secure perimeter in downtown Ottawa were still up Friday, although the footprint was smaller than it was earlier in the week after the police dispersed demonstrators that had blocked city streets. Police said the checkpoints will stay through the weekend with plans to intervene only in cases where people are taking part in illegal activity, such as blocking streets. King sat in a courtroom a few blocks from those checkpoints as Seymour delivered the ruling Friday afternoon. He wore a camouflage jacket over a grey hoodie and matching sweat pants. He shifted between hunching forward and leaning up against the wall behind him. At the end of the hearing, King flipped a bottle of water he had been sipping from during the afternoon session and snatched it out of the air. At his bail hearing earlier this week, the Crown played video of King making derogatory statements about different races and appearing pleased that a court order had been required earlier this month to quell the honking of protest trucks. The Crown asked earlier Friday to reopen the bail hearing so it could submit new evidence, but Seymour denied the request. Seymour also ordered King not to speak with other organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy, including Tamara Lich, Chris Barber, Daniel Bulford and Tyson George Billings. Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Barber was granted bail last week after being charged for his role in the protest in downtown Ottawa. Lich was denied bailed earlier this week. Billings had a bail hearing Friday, but the judge in the case said she was unlikely to provide a ruling by the end of day. A ruling may come Monday. Billings, 44, sat in the courtroom wearing a black hoodie with the word "Freedom" emblazoned on the chest. He is charged with mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to disobey a court order, obstruct police, and counselling to obstruct police. While Billings and King attended their hearings in person, the Crown attorneys and defence lawyers attended virtually. Those tuning in virtually were warned against broadcasting proceedings after Crown attorneys in each case said some people had been streaming the hearings, including on Facebook, which is illegal. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2022. UVa law professor Paul B. Stephan was attending a meeting at Leningrad State University in 1991 when a short, cocky man entered the seminar room and started to dominate the meeting. The man was a nobody in the international legal community, and yet he did not seem the least inhibited as he unabashedly took over the meeting. He was just intruding himself into the meeting, said Stephan. He was very assertive. Yet Stephan, who holds two chairs at UVa School of Law and has served as a former CIA analyst, couldnt place him, or figure out why he was there. Id been at that university many times, said Stephan, an expert on Soviet and post-Soviet legal systems, of the meeting at the university, one of Russias premier universities. This man had never been there. So Stephan was shocked and a bit taken aback. Stephan later met the interloper, whose name was Vladimir Putin. He was only recently back from several years in East Germany as a KGB agent and had returned to Leningrad State University. According to the website globalsecurity.org, Putin became assistant to the rector of Leningrad State University in charge of international relations. Putin took over and really dominated, recalled Stephan. But while Putin then and now lives up to his reputation as a strong man, its wrong to think of Putin as a crazed demagogue, Stephan said. I dont think hes a deranged demagogue, said Stephan. He is in touch with the desires of a large part of his people. Americans may have a difficult time understanding Russians loyalty to Putin, which is based not only in facts but also in spin and information control. Yet many Russians do love the president because they see him standing up to the West and standing up for Russia. We hear a different story from Russian liberals, of course, said Stephan. But the problem is that they are a tiny slice of the Russian political space no more than three percent. Experts around the globe are trying to figure out Putins goals for the invasion of Ukraine. While Stephan believes that Putin has pushed the limits of international law, Stephan says he thinks that Putin is most likely not trying annex Ukraine, as he did with Crimea in 2014. Instead, Putin is likely trying to re-orient Ukraine toward Russia and less toward Western thinking. They dont want to pay a large price. Theres no big push to annex Ukraine the way there was with Crimea, Stephan said. Crimea is the outlier. As an example of how differently the West views Russias actions, Stephan noted that former Russia president Mikhail Gorbachev supported the return of Crimea to Russia. Stephan said he believes it is impossible to know what might happen now that Putin has invaded Ukraine, noting that events can turn in unpredictable ways once an invasion has taken place. But he does not think that sanctions by the U.S. and other Western countries will have a great effect. Russia produces, by some accounts, about one-third of the worlds crude oil, and the U.S. imports more oil from Russia than it does from Saudi Arabia. With gas prices already rising in the U.S., the country may not be able to stomach higher gas prices that would go along with prolonged sanctions. Europeans nations who depend on Russias natural gas might be equally pressed to impose long-term sanctions, Stephan said. Banking sanctions could end up backfiring, too, because of how inextricably linked international banking has become. I just dont know, but I would be surprised if we see more from this than a chastened and reorganized Ukraine, said Stephan. That said, the situation is very dangerous, and there will be ramifications for years to come. REGINA - The Saskatchewan Party government, which has repeatedly said people need to "learn to live with COVID-19," is renewing its state of emergency. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks during the Saskatchewan Party convention in Saskatoon on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. Moe's government will be renewing its COVID-19 state of emergency -- even as plans move forward to lift all pandemic restrictions.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards REGINA - The Saskatchewan Party government, which has repeatedly said people need to "learn to live with COVID-19," is renewing its state of emergency. Premier Scott Moe signed an order-in-council on Wednesday to extend the emergency order "to address the COVID-19 public health emergency." The order will renew Monday, the same day Saskatchewan is to lift all remaining pandemic restrictions, including an indoor mask mandate and the requirement to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19. Saskatchewan's state of emergency order, which gives the government power to redirect health-care workers, was re-enacted in September during the Delta wave. It also gives the government broad authority to control travel within the province, to take control of the emergency response of a local authority and to require people to comply with any health orders. Moe has said the order will be used only to provide flexibility to move health-care workers where needed. "It's in place simply for that reason. It's not there for any other enforcement reasons," Moe said last week. A spokesperson for the premier's office said Thursday the order will remain in place until health-care staff no longer need to be redeployed. The latest data from the Ministry of Health shows COVID-19 hospitalizations have started to decline after peaking last week. As of Wednesday, there were 372 people in hospital with the infection, including 27 in intensive care. The province reported 37 new deaths between Feb. 13 and Feb. 19 and a weekly test positivity rate of 14.4 per cent. "You've got a government that's still admitting we're in the middle of a pandemic, admitting we're still in a health crisis, and is removing every single measure that could actually reduce that health crisis," NDP Opposition Leader Ryan Meili said Thursday. Meili took aim at the government for enforcing an order that he said targets health-care workers. "This is a premier who is perfectly willing to ignore collective bargaining and send workers wherever he wants to send them, but not do a single thing to protect them or the patients they're caring for," Meili said. "This is deeply hypocritical and irresponsible." Tracy Zambory, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, said the pandemic has been an extremely difficult time for nurses who haven't had a break since the pandemic began in March 2020. "It feels the health and wellness of registered nurses is not being taken into account here and that we're being forced to work where we're working," she said. Shelley Cook | Uplift A weekly review of funny, uplifting news in Winnipeg and around the globe that is delivered to your inbox each Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Having the emergency order in place signals health care is still in crisis in Saskatchewan, she said. Last week, another order-in-council was signed to approve nearly $113 million in unbudgeted funding for the Saskatchewan Health Authority following requests from the ministers of finance and health. The money, which includes $40 million for programs and services, is to go directly to the health authority. Zambory said she would like to see the province keep COVID-19 restrictions in place until the burden on hospitals and health facilities is reduced. "(Nurses) are burnt out. They are tired. If there is an emergency order in place, then we should have the other protections in place as well," she said. "Yet leadership of the province doesn't want to have anything in place to try to lessen the crisis we're in. And for registered nurses that does not compute." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2022. SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) Authorities are seeking a Southern California warehouse manager who is accused of stealing more than $1 million worth of COVID-19 tests from his employer's clinic. SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) Authorities are seeking a Southern California warehouse manager who is accused of stealing more than $1 million worth of COVID-19 tests from his employer's clinic. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Carlitos Peralta, 33, had access to his employer's shipping and delivery system, according to Santa Ana police. His employer has seven warehouses nationwide that are used to store and ship COVID-19 tests to customers that include clinics, pop-up testing sites, schools and hotels. Peralta diverted nearly 100 separate shipments from multiple warehouses to his home, police said. Police told the Southern California News Group that officers went to Peralta's home on Feb. 9 to arrest him following a tip from his employer about the thefts but he appears to be on the run. The police department asked the public Thursday to contact the agency with information about his whereabouts. The rerouting of the tests may have begun as far back as December, Cpl. Maria Lopez, a police spokesperson, told the Southern California News Group. Authorities would not say whether any of the tests have been recovered. Lopez said Peralta put down a coworker's name as the sender of one of the shipments that went to his home. That employee got a notification and was like, Wait, what? and thats how they started investigating, Lopez told the Southern California News Group. Olga Boika woke up Thursday morning fearing for the safety of her parents and brother who live in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine. TIM SMITH/THE BRANDON SUN St. Marys Ukrainian Catholic Church Rev. Father Yaroslav Strukhlyak has relatives in Ukraine. Olga Boika woke up Thursday morning fearing for the safety of her parents and brother who live in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine. The last 24 hours have generated immense concern for Boika, a teacher at Ecole New Era in Brandon, as well as for many other Westman families with Ukrainian ties. SUBMITTED Olga Boika welcomed her family to Brandon a few years ago, prior to the increased conflict between Russia and Ukraine. She is hopeful to have her family reunited in the future, should the situation worsen in her home country. "I went to work [Thursday] morning thinking I could do it and not think about what was going on back in Ukraine, but I couldnt," Boika said. "I went to school and everyone started to ask how are you and how are things going, and tears were just going down myself." Boika has been on the phone with her parents who live near the Ukraine-Belarus border, an entry point for the Russian military. Her parents said they heard the Ukrainian military destroying nearby bridges to slow Russian aggressors coming from Belarus. People near the capital Kyiv have been instructed to take shelter in subways. "They said, Olga, we heard that Russian troops are 50 kilometers from us," Boika said. "That keeps you so nervous, its hard to explain because we dont know [Russias] plans, what they will do to keep people who live in the area." Boika, who has lived in Brandon since 2010, stayed home to spend the day with her husband and children. She told the Sun her parents have open visas and could travel to Canada with her assistance but are not ready to leave behind the life they built over decades back home. TIM SMITH/THE BRANDON SUN Approximately 15 Brandonites, mostly Ukrainians with family and friends still in Ukraine, took part in a special prayer service on Thursday evening at St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church on Assiniboine Avenue, held in response to Russia invading Ukraine. "How can you imagine wed leave all this stuff behind for who, what will the Russian people do with our stuff?" Boika said. Boika learned her younger brother, who does not have a visa, could hear the sounds of gunfire in Chernihiv after she called him during the day. "Living right now in 2022, its hard to imagine that we have that situation in Ukraine," Boika said. "Probably when I was a child and I heard stories from the Second World War, I thought how horrible it was and how those people survived. We, of course, dont want that to happen anymore, but it seems like a reality which makes us feel unsafe." Boika instructed her parents to prepare their cellar with blankets, extension cords and a phone charger to be able to communicate with them. Her parents operate a small farm and greenhouse in the region and are able to have pigs and rabbits as livestock which they take to market. She explained how her family has been growing tulips to sell ahead of March 8, which is normally a big celebration of International Womens Day in Ukraine. "Thats all they have," Boika said. "They think they will defend it somehow." Much like Boika, Vasyl Marchuk, a Ukrainian Westman resident of 14 years, has been unable to rest. After contacting his parents who live in Ostroh, in northwestern Ukraine, Marchuk said the fear generated from the initial attacks will only favour the Russian military. "This is painful for everybody who has family in Ukraine," said Marchuk "Panic will play into the Russians hands. This is terrible news." His two brothers, parents and in-law relatives still live in Ukraine. Marchuk, the president of the Ukrainian Canadian Association in Brandon, said it is now time for other countries to help defend his place of birth and show resilience in the face of conflict. It is the reason why his parents are currently staying put. "They would like to stay in Ukraine because they believe other countries will help stand against Russian aggression. We will be hopeful for help from Europe and North America." At St. Marys Ukrainian Catholic Church, Rev. Father Yaroslav Strukhlyak prepares for a Thursday evening prayer service and asks for protection of Ukrainians from the Blessed Virgin Mary. He too has spoken with his parents who live in Ternopil, a city in western Ukraine, close to the Polish border. Strukhlyak said his family is remaining at home and are terrified to leave. "People didnt know what to do," Strukhlyak said. "The Russians are using missiles, they are trying to disconnect the airports, the government and military." Strukhlyak moved to Brandon in August 2021, after serving as a parish priest in Gilbert Plains, Grandview and Roblin. In the church, the reverend said all he can offer is a continued prayer as a sign of support, both spiritually, morally and if needed, materially. "Thats what we feel, we will pray for the protection of the people of Ukraine," Strukhlyak said. Strukhlyak welcomed several families and individuals who attended the evening service. The church, normally full of life, was a solemn place Thursday evening as the reverend offered prayers in both Ukrainian and English. Many Westman residents joined in song and showed their sympathies and support for loved ones in danger through prayer. Marchuk said he is worried Ukraine may not be the last stop for Putins attack and is urging the public to be wary of the conflict expanding west. "If only Ukraine stays and fights, it would better if we were all against this one regime," Marchuk said. "Today we have Ukraine, after it could be Poland or Germany. I can say Putin is crazy, he is not thinking." Dave Federowich helps run the Yednist School of Ukrainian Dance in Brandon. Federowich has taken part in organizing the Ukrainian Independence Day festivities in the city in 2019 and stays heavily involved in the cultural community. He said it is despicable to see an attack on his home country and believes Russia has been long motivated to reunite the two countries since the fall of the Soviet Union. "Theres always been that err of talk that Russia would one day want to do that after Ukraine declared independence in 1991." For Boika, she is hopeful the Canadian government will step up and recognize people like her younger brother, and other Ukrainian refugees in need. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "I would love to see Canada open for some people who need to escape from that horrible situation," Boika said. Marchuk said he was able to tune in to Russian media where a message of "throwing in the white flag," is being sent to Ukrainians nearby. He is encouraging Canadians to send financial support to Ukraine where possible and stay hopeful. "Dont panic, be strong and believe all will be alright," Marchuk said. "We [Ukrainians] are going to stay to the end, I wish I could go to my country and stay with them." jbernacki@brandonsun.com Twitter: @JosephBernacki TORONTO - Canadian businesses are at risk of being targeted for online attacks if Russia chooses to retaliate against government sanctions, a cybersecurity expert said Friday. Despite a down year a sign board displays the TSX's upbeat close on the final day of the year, in Toronto's financial district on Monday, Dec. 31, 2018. Canadian businesses in sectors like banking, energy and manufacturing could be the target of cyber attacks launched by Russia if the country chooses to retaliate against the sanctions placed on them. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn TORONTO - Canadian businesses are at risk of being targeted for online attacks if Russia chooses to retaliate against government sanctions, a cybersecurity expert said Friday. Karim Hijazi, founder and CEO of Texas-based cyberintelligence firm Prevailion, said that Canadian companies could be victims of bad actors trying to compromise critical infrastructure and government entities. This could be the likely approach because government, critical infrastructure and the private sector are so intertwined and subject to easy access, Hijazi said. "Theyre going to use that connectivity to get where they need to get," he said of potential Russian actions. Hijazi also noted that malware Russia would activate is already in Canada. "Theyve already installed the plumbing they need to do the damage," he said. A spokesperson from the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) said in an email that the federal government agency is watching for cyberthreats directed at financial, energy and telecommunications sectors. The CSE encourages all of Canadas critical infrastructure sectors to monitor increased cyberthreat activity. Many businesses have been vigilant and preparing for potential cyberthreats from Russia, according to Bob Gordon, strategic adviser with the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTX), created so private and public sector organizations collaborate and co-operate on cybersecurity risks and challenges. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "Weve been having discussions about this with our members for weeks starting back in January when there were lots of indications of cyberattacks," he said in an interview. Cyberattacks have been soaring since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted an increase in societal activity online. A ransomware incident crippled U.S.-based Colonial Pipeline Company in May 2021 while more recent Canada-specific events, include hits on Newfoundland and Labradors health-care networks and the Toronto Transit Commission. Concerns about Canada's ability to handle and prevent these sorts of attacks have been mounting even though businesses have been investing heavily in their cybersecurity systems, Gordon said. A survey conducted by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority last summer revealed that the private sector is not moving fast enough when it comes to cybersecurity investment. The federal government launched a cybersecurity innovation program last May with an investment of $80 million over four years. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2022. VANCOUVER - Canfor Corp. has signed a letter of intent to sell its forest tenure in the Mackenzie region of British Columbia to two First Nations. The corporate logo for forest products producer Canfor Corp. is shown. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO VANCOUVER - Canfor Corp. has signed a letter of intent to sell its forest tenure in the Mackenzie region of British Columbia to two First Nations. The Vancouver-based company says the sale of its rights to manage the forest and harvest timber to the McLeod Lake Indian Band and Tsay Keh Dene Nation is subject to approval from the provincial government. Canfor has also agreed to sell its Mackenzie site, plant and equipment to Peak Renewables. The combined price of the two agreements is $70 million. Canfor CEO Don Kayne said the company is pleased that the sale will allow the two First Nations to grow their leadership in the forest economy and advance stewardship values for the benefit of their communities. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Chief Johnny Pierre of the Tsay Keh Dene Nation said First Nations in B.C. have been relegated to marginal roles in the forest sector for far too long. "The letter of intent signed with Canfor has the potential to dramatically change this imbalance within the Mackenzie Timber Supply Area," he said in the news release. He added the agreement provides a path to the eventual transfer and subdivision of the forest tenure between the two First Nations. "This purchase represents an important opportunity for us to continue our work toward economic stability and prosperity for our members, communities and business partners, all while ensuring careful and responsible stewardship of our sacred environment in accordance with our Tse'khene laws, customs and traditional knowledge," added Chief Harley Chingee of the McLeod Lake Indian Band. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2022. Companies in this story: (TSX:CFP) TORONTO - CIBC's strategy of investing in its own growthhas led to increased revenue and earnings from loans, fees and capital markets in the first quarter that outpaced rising expenses, chief executive Victor Dodig said Friday. A CIBC sign is shown in the financial district in Toronto on August 22, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO - CIBC's strategy of investing in its own growthhas led to increased revenue and earnings from loans, fees and capital markets in the first quarter that outpaced rising expenses, chief executive Victor Dodig said Friday. The 11 per cent revenue growth reported for the quarter ending Jan. 31 was slightly ahead of the 10 per cent growth in expenses as CIBC continued to invest in technology and other client-focused investments to grow market share. "We have invested significant resources to enhance our banking capabilities, to grow market share and to streamline our cost base. I think you can see all of this in our results," Dodig said during a conference call with financial analysts to discuss the bank's first-quarter results. Just this week the bank announced it was investing in cloud-based banking platform Pollinate to bring its small and medium-sized digital business payments and banking system Tyl to Canada. In January the bank also struck a deal to use nCino Inc.'s cloud platform to streamline business banking. Dodig said the investments will not only help the bank grow but also better prepare it for a future where open banking -- which allows people to securely share their banking data with third-parties such as tech companies -- is the norm. To help boost personal banking, CIBC also invested to take over Costco's MasterCard portfolio last year, with existing clients expected to be switched over to CIBC-linked cards in March. While growth-related investments helped push up costs, chief financial officer Hratch Panossian said expenses were also up due to performance-based compensation, inflation, and increased activity including business development, offset by some efficiency improvements. He said that while the bank is focused on growth, it could also dial back spending if necessary. "We have the ability to manage the pace of investment in the face of a more challenging operating environment in order to work towards our positive operating leverage target." Overall CIBC reported a profit of $1.87 billion or $4.03 per diluted share for the quarter ended Jan. 31, up from $1.63 billion or $3.55 per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue totalled $5.50 billion for the quarter, up from $4.96 billion, while provisions for credit losses amounted to $75 million compared with $147 million in the same quarter last year. On an adjusted basis, CIBC says it earned $4.08 per diluted share for the quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $3.58 per diluted share a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $3.67 per share, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv. Scotiabank analyst Meny Grauman noted that trading revenue, up 75 per cent from the previous quarter, was 49 per cent higher than his expectations. Grauman said it was a key driver in beating his overall estimates, but said it would be a mistake to dismiss the results as simply a trading beat because the bank also posted 14 per cent loan growth, slightly positive operating leverage and positive results in its property and casualty business. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. When we dig into the results we see a lot to highlight beyond capital markets strength," he said in a note. CIBC also proposed a two-for-one stock split as it reported results Friday, subject to approval by shareholders at its annual meeting on April 7, as well as requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. Dodig said the stock split proposal comes after the bank has seen its share price appreciate significantly, with the bank's shares trading at around $160 a share in recent weeks compared with a little over $100 a share before the pandemic. "That makes now a good time to announce a split, which would make our shares more accessible to many retail investors," said Dodig. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2022. Companies in this story: (TSX:CM) TORONTO - Hudson's Bay is closing one of its two stores in downtown Toronto after 48 years. The Hudson's Bay Company sign in downtown Toronto, Wednesday July 16, 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld TORONTO - Hudson's Bay is closing one of its two stores in downtown Toronto after 48 years. The department store retailer says its Bloor Street location will close May 31, joining stores in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Dorval, Que., that have shuttered in recent years. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The retail complex and adjoining 35-storey office tower are owned by Brookfield Properties. HBC says the store's proximity just 2.5 kilometres from its flagship location on Queen Street allows the company to optimize its real estate portfolio. The company has 86 locations in seven Canadian provinces. Spokeswoman Tiffany Bourre says it will treat affected employees with "respect and fairness through this process." "All eligible associates will receive appropriate employment separation packages and transfer opportunities will be explored where feasible," she wrote in an email. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2022. As society and the economy begin to emerge from the pandemic, manufacturers are trying to get a jump on the tight labour market by reminding people that factories arent the grungy, dirty places they used to be. As society and the economy begin to emerge from the pandemic, manufacturers are trying to get a jump on the tight labour market by reminding people that factories arent the grungy, dirty places they used to be. A series of billboard ads that will start appearing soon will also appeal to childhood memories of building things like forts out of cardboard boxes. But the serious matter addressed by the campaign featuring the tag line "Youre Gonna Make It" is the fact that the tight labour market has left hundreds of Manitoba manufacturers with positions unfilled and order books that are growing. "A little while ago I heard of one company in Manitoba that was turning away as much as two-thirds of their new orders because they did not have the people to build the product," said Ron Koslowsky, the vice-president and Manitoba general manager of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME). "That is an extremely hard thing to do," he said. "You dont want to disappoint customers because they may not come back." The ads will include a QR code that will take job-seekers to a landing page where the "apply here" pages for hundreds of Manitoba manufacturers looking to fill positions right now can be found. Conviron, the Winnipeg company that is a global leader in specialized growth chambers for researchers and for agricultural and cannabis industry applications, has never been busier but its efforts to fill positions has never been harder. JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The shop floor at Conviron, a Winnipeg company that is a global leader in specialized growth chambers for researchers and for agricultural and cannabis industry applications. The company is seeking workers for many positions. Susan Sullivan, Convirons human resource manager, said the company just hired a few production workers but there are more positions that need filling. There are all sorts of reasons thats more challenging these days. She said Conviron has not experienced the effects of the "great resignation" but it has felt the competition for workers. "What we are seeing is the scenario where we hire someone or make an offer, it is accepted and then the person will end up not coming because they have another offer," she said. "We are seeing more of that than weve seen ever before." The company is in the process of negotiating a new contract with its internal employee association and its proposing increased entry wages and faster progress to higher rates. Jill Knaggs, CMEs senior marketing & communications leader, said the industry will need to fill 13,000 positions over the next four years. The industry already employs about 60,000 in Manitoba. In addition to supply chain.challenges the number one concern for CME members has been labour shortages. Knaggs said the current campaign was a rare chance for the industry to reach out to the broader community in a fun and creative way. "Virtually all of us have childhood memories of making thing with Tinker Toys or Lego building something creative from a cardboard box," she said. "We want to inspire people to think about manufacturing beyond some of the stereotypes that are out there." JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Susan Sullivan, Convirons human resource manager, is having a hard time finding workers. Vidir Solutions, the Arborg-based company that makes an assortment of specialized automated material handling units, is always looking for workers. It took its own unique approach to dealing with the problem by promoting employment for women. Carissa Rempel, the companys talent acquisition specialist said that in the last year alone it has increased the number of women in its workforce by 60 per cent. "Its been really successful," she said. "Overall in the last year we have seen 25 per cent increase in the number of women applying for positions and in some positions there has been a 100 per cent increase." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. She admitted that in the past Vidirs women workforce has been below the national average in manufacturing, which is about 27 per cent. "Weve definitely felt the labour shortage especially throughout all of last year, but were going to keep promoting women employment and hopefully push past the national average," she said. Vidir makes vertical storage and handling solutions that can be found in Home Depot, Disney amusement parks and even the White House. Rempel said its cool for employees to know the products they make are used in such well-known places and elsewhere in 45 countries. The CME campaign urges people to rediscover the joy of making things, reminding them that todays production facilities are not your parents factories. martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca Heightened market volatility drove up National Bank of Canada trading revenue and first quarter profits, its chief executive said Friday. Heightened market volatility drove up National Bank of Canada trading revenue and first quarter profits, its chief executive said Friday. "When you have heightened levels of volatility, often, it does drive more transactions, so we did see more trading activity with our clients during the first quarter," Laurent Ferreira said on an earnings call. The head office of the National Bank is seen Friday, April 21, 2017 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz National, along with other Big Six banks that have reported so far, surprised analysts to the upside especially on the amount of trading revenue they brought in during the quarter that ended Jan. 31. Ferreira said that the bank has however positioned itself defensively so that it doesn't get caught out by a swing in trading revenue in the other direction. "Are we immune? No. No one's immune. But the way we built the business is we want to make sure that through volatile times, we can keep growing our franchise." The bank reported trading revenues of $464 million for the quarter, up from $276 million the previous quarter and from $375 million from a year earlier. Barclays analyst John Aiken said that the trading revenue was a big boost for the bank, but that it reported positive gains across much of its operations. "National posted strong earnings, supported by growth in each of its segments. NA also benefited from strong trading revenues but saw continued volume growth, improved efficiency and a renewed strong performance from its international operations," he said in a note. Overall, the Montreal-based bank reported a first-quarter profit of $932 million, or $2.65 per diluted share, compared with $761 million or $2.14 per share a year earlier. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Revenue totalled $2.47 billion, up from $2.22 billion. On an adjusted basis, National Bank says it earned $2.65 per diluted share compared with an adjusted profit of $2.15 per diluted share a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $2.23 per share, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv. The quarter included a $2-million reversal of its provisions for credit losses compared with the $81 million it set aside for bad loans in the same quarter last year. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2022. Companies in this story: (TSX:NA) OTTAWA - As the Trudeau government trumpeted new sanctions against Russia's Vladimir Putin, desperate pleas from Ukrainian lawmakers for a no-fly zone to protect their civilians from Russian bombs went unanswered Friday by Canada and its NATO allies. A Ukrainian Army soldier inspects fragments of a downed aircraft in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. It was unclear what aircraft crashed and what brought it down amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Vadim Zamirovsky OTTAWA - As the Trudeau government trumpeted new sanctions against Russia's Vladimir Putin, desperate pleas from Ukrainian lawmakers for a no-fly zone to protect their civilians from Russian bombs went unanswered Friday by Canada and its NATO allies. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday Canada would sanction Putin, along with his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and other top Kremlin figures, holding them responsible for the "brutal, needless attack" on Ukraine. Trudeau also said Canada would support the removal of Russia from SWIFT, the digital payment and messaging network that connects thousands of banks worldwide, which he said would make it even harder for Putin to "finance his brutalities." The White House also moved ahead with targeting Putin, Lavrov and members of the Russian national security team with sanctions Friday following conversations between President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said cutting Russia off from SWIFT remains on the table. But the SWIFT option is fraught with difficulty because, as Canadian Sen. Ratna Omidvar pointed out, the "self-interest" of some European countries is preventing any co-ordinated action because some are too economically dependent on Russia, including for energy, to bring that economic hammer down on Putin. The incremental pressure by Canada, the United States and its European allies came in the face of a desperate and dramatic plea by Ukrainian lawmakers to come to their country's aid as their army and civilian defence forces were attempting to stave off the second day of the massive land, air and sea invasion by Russia. Russian forces are advancing on the capital of Kyiv, after invading the country on Thursday in a three-pronged attack that included ground forces, aerial bombardment and a maritime assault from the Sea of Azov in the fiercest fighting the European continent has witnessed since the Second World War. Ukrainian lawmakers exhorted Canada and its allies on Friday to impose a no-fly zone against Russian airstrikes and be prepared to fight on the ground to defend their common freedom. The MPs made the appeal over Zoom some from their homes, at least one from a bunker and one from a car parked on a darkened Kyiv street. Canada has about 3,400 troops on standby ready to deploy if needed, in addition to 460 additional troops pledged to NATO operations in Europe earlier this week. But Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko said that was simply not enough for her country to stand up to the third-largest military in the world, the largest in Europe and a nuclear power. "It should not be just Canadian troops. It should be joint forces of several NATO member states who are also allies of Ukraine," said Vasylenko, 34. "We need assistance to be able to wake up on Monday morning in an independent and free Ukraine. We have the power to withstand the Blitzkrieg attacks. But if it grows wider, and if their special units get to land, if they increase the airstrikes, then we're in trouble." Speaking from her darkened car through a pair of white earbuds, MP Yulia Klymenko added: "This is dramatic change of the geopolitical landscape. Because now, if we will lose, the democratic world will lose, basically." Klymenko, the 45-year-old chair of the Ukraine parliament's transport and infrastructure committee, explained that she was still on the street because, "I'm just coming back from the territorial defence. I brought them weapons and food. So, I just stopped in the car in the middle of the street. So, if (an) airstrike will happen, I will not able to shelter." Klymenko said Russian planes bombed an orphanage building but 50 children survived because they were able to move. Another lawmaker, Maria Ionova, 43, who at one point was balancing a young child on her lap, said a no-fly zone was needed to prevent Russian airstrikes that she said were targeting hospitals and a blood transfusion centre. Ionova said while many older Ukrainians and children would have to flee the country, many more would be staying behind to fight along side the "heroes" of Ukraine. "We destroyed a lot of tanks and armed vehicles and aircraft of the Russian Federation," said MP Yegor Chernev, a member of the Ukraine parliament's digital transformation committee. "Russia lost a lot of their soldiers. We are fighting, and we will continue to fight for our country, for our territory, for our nation." Ionova, a leading member of her parliament's foreign policy committee, said international humanitarian organizations were needed in Ukraine as more people are forced to flee their homes. Canada announced it will also match up to $10 million of donations to the Canadian Red Cross to aid relief efforts in Ukraine, which is seeing the most intense ground fighting in Europe since the Second World War after Russian strikes against Kyiv and other cities began Thursday. The head of Save the Children Canada also urged Canadians to donate funds as part a US$19-million global appeal to help the humanitarian efforts on the ground as the fighting continued across Ukraine. Danny Glenwright, the organization's president, said at least three children have been killed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is calling on both sides to cease their fighting. "We can certainly be supporting people in Ukraine right now. We should not look away from what we're seeing," Glenwright said in an interview. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "We know that any war is a war against children." Glenwright said his organization has verified the deaths of two children in shelling in eastern Ukraine, while a 17-year-old boy was killed in an attack on a village in the country's southern region. But he added the death toll of children is likely higher. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said its workers have verified 25 civilian deaths and 102 people injured from mostly shelling and airstrikes. Save the Children also said two teachers were reported killed when a missile struck a school in eastern Ukraine. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2022. With files from James McCarten in Washington, D.C. The real budget battle is about to begin, and its all about tax cuts. The House of Delegates and Senate adopted competing budgets on Thursday with few changes but plenty of political sparring over billions in proposed tax cuts that separate the spending plans and the money available for public services. The proposed two-year budgets are $3 billion apart. The Republican-controlled House followed the day one game plan of new Gov. Glenn Youngkin to carry out the promises of his gubernatorial campaign last fall, while the Democratic-run Senate drew a line over how much tax relief its willing to provide, while investing more in public education and other core services. Senate Finance Chair Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, said the Senate budget strikes a balance between the right amount of spending on restored or new services for the citizens of the commonwealth, and tax relief for those same individuals and businesses. The Senate approved the two-year, $166 billion spending plan by a 31-9 vote. Earlier, it voted 36-4 to adopt a revised budget for the current fiscal year, which will end on June 30, after rejecting a proposal by Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, to spend $70 million in state tax funds on a forensic audit of the 2020 presidential election in Virginia, which Democrat Joe Biden won by 10 percentage points over then-President Donald Trump. Six Republican senators backed the amendment, including two aspiring congressional candidates Sen. Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, who faces an eight-candidate primary for the 7th District GOP nomination in June, and Sen. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, whos in a three-way primary race in the 2nd District. Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, also supported Chases amendment. The Senate approved only one amendment to the current fiscal year budget, which McDougle proposed to accelerate the repeal of special Department of Labor and Industry regulations stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the House, the current fiscal year budget passed on a vote of 100-0, but that was the end of unanimity, as Democrats lodged almost three dozen objections to the proposed two-year budget, as well as a series of floor amendments. The Republican majority dismissed all of them most of them on 52-48 party-line votes. More than 20 Democrats ultimately supported the budget, which passed on a 74-25 vote. But the Democratic minority used the process to make political points about: the House budgets almost $5.5 billion in proposed tax relief, which excluded a refundable tax credit for low-income families; the best way for the state to help local school divisions repair or replace crumbling buildings, either through a loan-rebate program included in the budget to raise up to $2 billion, or grants to localities; the slashing of more than $102 million in aid to Richmond and two other cities for eliminating polluted overflows despite the governors pressure on them to accelerate the work; and the refusal to make public the results of calls to a tip line that Youngkin established for the public to report on teaching of divisive subjects that the governor has sought to ban in public schools. We have a tip line established with taxpayer funds ... things that we as a legislature ought to know about. Nobody can find out what they say, said Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax. House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, said publicizing the emails would defeat the purpose of a tip line, which is to ease fear of retribution by making the tips anonymous. Knight said Democrats attempt at shutting down the tip line through the budget could lead to an unprecedented prohibition on the power of the executive branch. But the core of Democratic objections centered on tax cuts specifically the doubling of the standard deduction for income tax filers at a cost of $2.1 billion over the first two years alone, coupled with the budget and finance committees refusal to support making 15% of the Earned Income Tax Credit refundable for working families that dont earn enough to use all of the credit to offset state taxes. Then-Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, had proposed the refundable credit in the budget he introduced in December and Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, had proposed the measure separately in legislation. The Republican-controlled committees rejected both. We are making a false choice, said Price, who argued that the refundable tax credit is the way to provide significant tax relief to working families. Knight argued that low-income families would benefit from the doubling of the standard deduction and the repeal of the state sales tax on groceries, as well as a proposal to roll back a 5-cent-per-gallon increase in the gas tax for 12 months. In introducing the House budget, he noted that the budget Northam proposed included more than $10 billion in new revenues. Given this unparalleled growth in revenues, we approached this budget intent on spending not just the money we have available, but based our spending choices on what actually is needed, Knight said. The Senate budget excludes the change in the standard deduction and the suspension of the gas tax increase, while partly repealing the 2.5% grocery tax and protecting the 1% that goes directly to local governments. Targeted tax relief for those who need it most is critical, but we must do so in a manner that does not threaten core services for years to come, former House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, said. At this unique moment, we have the ability to do so much more to reinvest in the future, Filler-Corn said. We owe it to Virginians, to our families, and to our children. That is what Virginia parents really want. Next week, the two bodies will appoint a conference committee to begin negotiating the wide differences between the two budgets before the assembly is scheduled to adjourn on March 12. mmartz@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6964 mleonor@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6254 Twitter: @MelLeonor_ Staff writers Patrick Wilson and Andrew Cain contributed to this report. HALIFAX - An RCMP review says that a county where the Nova Scotia mass shooting occurred had a shortage of officers needed to meet the force's policing standards in the year leading up to the 2020 rampage. RCMP officers prepare to take a person into custody at a gas station in Enfield, N.S. on Sunday April 19, 2020. An RCMP review says that a county where the Nova Scotia mass shooting occurred had a shortage of officers needed to meet the force's policing standards, in the year leading up to the rampage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tim Krochak HALIFAX - An RCMP review says that a county where the Nova Scotia mass shooting occurred had a shortage of officers needed to meet the force's policing standards in the year leading up to the 2020 rampage. According to the review, which was included in a 1,500-page study released this week at the public inquiry into the killings, the RCMP in Colchester County which includes three of the communities where killings took place would have benefited from six added officers in 2019. The executive summary of the report says having fewer officers than necessary affects the force's ability to carry out what the force refers to as "proactive policing." According to the report, "proactive policing" is time officers have available during a shift for "self-generated activities," such as community policing, and "to target problem areas and focus on initiatives to reduce crime." The review says when the amount of time available for this form of policing falls below about a third of the officer's hours, it harms "availability and visibility, as well as officer wellness." It also says this minimum standard was met in just 13 of 52 weeks of the year for front-line officers. The public inquiry underway will be delving into the issue of whether the RCMP response to the shooting of 22 people was adequate, and what lessons can be learned to improve rural policing. Next week, documents will be released examining how officers responded to the crisis in Portapique, N.S., as the gunman rampaged through the community in a replica RCMP vehicle while wearing an RCMP uniform. The commission will consider the force's efforts on the night of April 18 to contain the gunman, who managed to escape from the town through a field and continue his killings the next day before being shot dead by the RCMP. In the months after the killings, questions also arose over what measures local officers had taken to investigate citizen reports that the killer had abused his spouse and that he possessed illegal firearms in the years before the rampage. The review says the RCMP were responsible for policing in an area with a population of about 38,000 people, and the district had about 35 positions for officers to cover the area, including senior officers, school safety officers and court liaison officers. The review does show that, in general, front-line officers were available to respond to top priority calls when needed with officers available for immediate response in 96 per cent of top priority calls in 2019. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Marie Benoit, a councillor for Portapique where 13 of the 22 killings occurred said in an interview that the RCMP has forwarded the proposal for more officers to council, and it is being worked on by the municipality. RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Chris Marshall said the preliminary discussions about the review began in 2019 with the municipality of Colchester County. He said in an email the review recommended the existing number of officers be increased by six full-time equivalent positions. "This recommendation was put forward for consideration of council as there is a cost associated to this recommendation," he wrote in an email. Peter McLaughlin, a spokesman for the provincial Justice Department, said that under the provincial policing services agreement, the province and those municipalities that choose to contract the RCMP for policing services are responsible for 70 per cent of their policing costs, with Ottawa contributing the remainder. McLaughlin said the Colchester review was presented to council in September 2020, but council decided to put the process on hold while they hired an external consultant to look at the issue. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2022. OTTAWA A Canada Post policy that bars staff from wearing higher-quality masks continues to come under scrutiny, with a Winnipeg postal clerk arguing shes being pushed out of a job for having a medical condition. OTTAWA A Canada Post policy that bars staff from wearing higher-quality masks continues to come under scrutiny, with a Winnipeg postal clerk arguing shes being pushed out of a job for having a medical condition. "Im proud to work for Canada Post; its just that this situation has made it very difficult for me," Amber Mann told the Free Press. "Theres no accommodation." SUPPLIED Local postal clerk Amber Mann and her union say Canada Post is refusing to accommodate individual employees in its masking policy. The Crown corporation says its just trying to follow federal rules. Mann has worked at a postal depot adjacent to the Winnipeg airport since November 2017, sorting mail and scanning parcels. Months ago, she presented a doctors note about a respiratory issue, which convinced supervisors to let her wear a KN95 respirator, instead of the companys recent standard for only cloth or surgical masks. That policy came under national scrutiny last month after the Free Press reported on the Crown corporation sending home Winnipeg mail carrier Corey Gallagher, because he insisted on wearing a high-quality respirator. Gallagher had a pregnant, immunocompromised wife and a child too young to be vaccinated, and had been sent home, originally without pay, for not wearing a cloth mask. Since then, Canada Post has rolled out Level 2 medical masks, which resemble blue surgical masks but have thicker fabric. The agency updated its regulations Jan. 27, saying respirators like N95s and KN95s could only be used by staff who have had the fit tested by an expert, which was "not feasible" in large numbers, but would be done for tasks where two or more staff need to work in close quarters. That new policy has caused a hassle for Mann, who has been told to put the blue mask on top of the KN95 respirator that her union provided. Not only does that extra mask warp the respirator to create gaps for air to enter, it also leaves her dizzy and lightheaded when she lifts 20-plus-kilogram parcels. "When the seal wasnt intact, I was vulnerable," she said. Canada Post said Thursday that Service Canada stipulates postal staff must wear company-supplied masks, even if its on top of a respirator. "As a federal employer, we are legally required to ensure employees wear a company-supplied face covering," wrote spokeswoman Valerie Chartrand. Mann said instead of working out an accommodation, supervisors sent her home unpaid three times, and eventually proposed she go on short-term disability leave, which would involve a significant pay cut. "I dont want to be on disability; I want to be at work, but theyre forcing it upon me," said Mann, who had asked to work on less-strenuous tasks so she could keep both masks on. "The company policy is not about employee safety; its about compliance." Her union agrees. "Its petty," said Matthew Aitken, president of the local chapter of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. "Its just about a corporation having control over workers." The Crown corporation said its local supervisors have been co-ordinating with unions and staff. "While we make great efforts through our accommodation program, any solutions we reach must maintain our efforts to keep employees safe and meet or exceed our regulatory requirements, which are in place to protect all employees," Chartrand wrote. Canada Post would not say how many employee disputes have emerged since it updated its mask policy Jan. 27. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Aitken said Canada Post often provides individual accommodations for employees with various health issues, except for the mask rules, which he says are being inconsistently enforced on staff, amid a shortage of postal workers. "Just because a bunch of brainiacs in Ottawa came up with (the policy), it now has to apply across the entire country," he said. "Everybody knows it makes no sense, because its unsafe." Aitken argues the fit test only makes sense if respirators are being used to prevent employees from inhaling particulate matter as part of their job, and Canada Posts focus seems to be masks that limit staff from shedding the novel coronavirus. The unions view seems to be shared by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, an arms-length federal agency that advises on workplace policies but does not investigate them. "Canada Post should determine if the respirators are intended to be used as exhalation or inhalation protection. This will determine whether the respirators need a fit test or not," reads a Feb. 15 response to Winnipeg union members who asked the agency to weigh in. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Heritage protection for St. B police station The former St. Boniface police station will be protected by a heritage designation, despite its owners fear it could thwart development plans. On Thursday, Winnipeg council voted to add the building at 227 Provencher Blvd. to the citys list of historical resources. The designation will protect it against demolition and preserve its character-defining elements. The buildings owner opposed the listing, arguing it could hike the price and extend the timeline to create a proposed medical centre at the site. New apartment building for Osborne Village A six-storey building with 90 apartments and space for seven ground-floor businesses has been given the green light. On Thursday, council approved the project for the southwest corner of Osborne Street and Gertrude Avenue, a highly visible spot next to Confusion Corner. In a report, city staff predicted the new build would enhance the pedestrian experience and complement surrounding businesses. Diverse hiring encouraged for sewage upgrade Bidders for work on a massive sewage treatment plant upgrade will be rewarded for their efforts to employ diverse groups of local staff. On Thursday, council approved a call for the City of Winnipeg to add new requirements for all bidders on future contracts for the $1.854-billion north end sewage treatment plant upgrade. Companies will be asked to highlight any targets they set to train and/or employ Indigenous staff and other under-represented groups. They would also be asked to focus those efforts within the Manitoba market. Supporters expect the changes would help ensure contracts rely on a workforce that reflects the diversity of the city. City bans meeting and driving Winnipeg councillors are now forbidden from driving while remotely attending a council or committee meeting. On Thursday, council voted to require elected officials who attend meetings through an electronic device to do so from a city hall or home office or other similar suitable location approved by councils speaker or the committee chairperson. The new rules come after Coun. Matt Allard was called out for driving while remotely attending a council meeting in January. Allard has stressed he was not engaged in distracted driving, as he used a hands-free device, though other councillors questioned that. Councillors will also be required to leave their video feed on throughout meetings, while ensuring it displays a neutral, office setting or blurred background. Wellington Crescent project appealed City councils approval of a condo development at 514 Wellington Cres., which was adamantly opposed by some of its neighbours, will be appealed. The eight-unit, four-storey structure is set to pop up at the same site where a heritage mansion was demolished in 2020. City staff deem the project compatible with the area, noting it should maintain historic fencing, retain trees and is designed with residential heritage in mind. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. By contrast, the projects opponents believe it would clash with the character of the neighbourhood. The opponents have now signed up to appeal councils approval of a variance to allow the project. It will be heard March 3. Christmas tree still standing The 50-foot-tall Christmas tree in front of city hall may still be in place on St. Patricks Day. Recent extreme cold weather, along with a large amount of snow at the trees base, has delayed its removal so far, the city confirmed. It is expected that the tree will be taken down within the next month, when temperatures improve, spokesman Ken Allen said Friday in an emailed statement. While it may seem a little late to remove the December holiday decoration, Allen said the annual tree has been taken down in late February or early March before, depending on weather conditions. A man from Luhansk rang the buzzer at the import-export store on Selkirk Avenue that doubles as one-stop shop for Ukrainian items. A man from Luhansk rang the buzzer at the import-export store on Selkirk Avenue that doubles as one-stop shop for Ukrainian items. He popped in to Svitoch Ukrainian Export & Import Thursday to buy the light blue and yellow flag of his nation: a large one to hang from his window and smaller ones to fly on his car. Alexey, a 34-year-old who didnt want his last name published, said it was the least he could do. His family and friends live in fear because of the Russian militarys invasion of Ukraine. The eastern region he grew up in has been occupied since the conflict began in 2014, but now missiles and airstrikes have rained over much of the democratic nation as Russian ground troops move in. "In Luhansk right now, thankfully its quiet because its not where the war is they are pushing forces to the central part of Ukraine. My brother is in Kyiv and its scary, its dangerous," said Alexey, who moved to Winnipeg with his wife in 2018. Ruslan Zeleniuk, who has owned the Selkirk Avenue shop since 1993, sends goods and money from Canada to Ukraine and brings in cultural wares: pysanka Easter egg kits, traditional vyshyvanka shirts and ornately patterned headscarves stacked behind the till, among the other items in the cramped shop. Its walls are packed and lined with pictures of poet Taras Shevchenko and the Ukrainian coat-of-arms. He said learning about the invasion in his home country was awful. "Absolutely devastating, that they in the 21st century need to live in a barbaric situation like that. But at the same time, they are staying strong and all the people I spoke to they are staying still and will defend Ukraine to the last of their breath and last heartbeat," he said. Zeleniuk said Winnipeg Ukrainians have been "very much aware" of the chance of a full-scale invasion since the war began in 2014. It was expected, he said, but "no one cared about it that much," referring to western governments. Russia didnt want a portion of the former Soviet Union to be democratic, says Ruslan Zeleniuk, owner of Svitoch Ukrainian Export & Import on Selkirk Avenue. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press) "From day one, this has been the Russian Federation, which has always been so harsh to our Ukrainian people," he said, stooped over a case of jewelry. "They didnt want us to be free. They didnt want a portion of the former Soviet Union to be democratic. "Weve been waiting right until the very last minute to give Ukraine weapons to defend themselves and thats a big mistake." He wants the west to come down hard on Russia by expeling it from international organziations, severing diplomatic ties, imposing severe financial sanctions and supporting Ukraine with weapons and other military aid. Zeleniuk said theres uncertainty in the exporting business as the war ramps up. "People are worried. Right now, we dont really know how the services to Ukraine will be, to send stuff properly and deliver it," he said. "But, still, I want to encourage everyone to support the families back home in Ukraine I guarantee you we will ship that our first chance to do so." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The flags Alexey will fly are just part of the help the community is planning. Zeleniuk told him there are options to support the Ukrainian army and forces with cash, for example. "He came here to look for the (ways) to support Ukraine in this country and be a part of the actions and reactions to whatever we are living with," Zeleniuk said, having just welcomed him in the door. Zeleniuk is also president of MYLOSERDIA, a Winnipeg non-profit organization, which has shipped care packages and provided other assistance to Ukrainians since 2000. "We are always open for donations here at this address," he added. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @erik_pindera Three people were taken to hospital Thursday, after roughly 25 vehicles were involved in a pileup which shut down the Trans-Canada Highway in both directions between Virden and Brandon. Three people were taken to hospital Thursday, after roughly 25 vehicles were involved in a pileup which shut down the Trans-Canada Highway in both directions between Virden and Brandon. The crash happened in the ice-covered eastbound lanes, about halfway between Griswold and Alexander, just before 12 p.m. About 15 semi-trucks and up to 10 passenger vehicles were involved, the RCMP said. THE BRANDON SON About 45 minutes after the pileup, the entire stretch between Brandon and the boundary was shut in both directions. Three people were hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening. A STARS air ambulance crew was deployed but called back while en route to the scene in the Rural Municipality of Whitehead, a spokesman said. Photos taken by the RCMP show a totalled car with its air bags deployed, and several jackknifed tractor-trailers around it on a clear, sunny day. The side of a semi-trailer was torn open, cargo and other debris strewn across the highway. A number of vehicles ended up in snow-packed ditches, including a tractor-trailer that rolled onto its side. Dozens of vehicles were stuck in a traffic jam in the eastbound lanes. Sand was applied to the highway earlier in the morning, but lanes were still partly ice covered, according to Manitoba 511s highway conditions map. RCMP The extremely icy conditions caused several vehicles to go off the road on the Trans Canada Highway around Griswold in addition to the several vehicle collision. Stretches of the Trans-Canada Highway between Brandon and the Manitoba-Saskatchewan boundary have been alternating between open and closed since the area was hit by blizzards and freezing rain over the weekend. About two hours before the pileup, the eastbound lanes reopened between Virden and Highway 21, near Griswold, and the westbound lanes reopened from Virden to the provincial boundary. The closures were due to "poor ice winter driving conditions," according to Manitoba 511. About 45 minutes after the pileup, the entire stretch between Brandon and the boundary was shut in both directions for the same reason. TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SON Three people were hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening. "Everything has been ice-covered," RM of Whitehead councillor Trevor Tuttosi said of road and highway conditions in the aftermath of freezing rain and a cold snap. "Its all of southwestern Manitoba." RCMP assess weather and highway conditions, and make all decisions to close roads or highways due to unsafe conditions, according to the Manitoba 511 road and traveller information website. Manitoba Infrastructure works with the RCMP on road closures, and maintains the provincial highway system. Sand and/or chemicals are applied on ice-coated highways when needed and as weather conditions permit, according to the website. "Crews have been continuously applying sand/salt to this section of highway since the freezing rain this past weekend," a spokesperson for the province wrote in an email. "The decision to implement an emergent road closure is usually initiated by the RCMP." The Free Press asked the RCMP to comment on the decision to reopen the closed sections of the Trans-Canada on Thursday morning, but did not receive a response. TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SON Semi trailers rest in the median between the westbound and eastbound lanes of the Trans Canada Highway east of Griswold, Manitoba as other backed up vehicles wait to pass the scene of a major collision involving approximately two dozens vehicles on the highway. Meanwhile, tow trucks from as far away as Winnipeg a round trip of about 500 kilometres were heading to the crash site. The highway was likely to be closed for hours, RCMP said. A detour was in place. "Once (the scene) is cleared, then officers will determine if the highway is safe to reopen or will remain closed," RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Courchaine wrote in an email. "Icy conditions were a factor. It is too early at this point to determine what happened to cause the collision." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. She urged motorists to slow down and drive to the conditions. "The speed limit is for pristine road conditions. Also plan ahead of time, check Manitoba 511 to see if the road you plan on taking is open and what the road conditions are like," Courchaine wrote. "We want everyone to get to their destination safely." No one had been ticketed or charged, as of Thursday afternoon. chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching Manitobas COVID-19 proof-of-vaccine cards and corresponding scanner app will remain active even after the province lifts public health requirements March 1. Manitobas COVID-19 proof-of-vaccine cards and corresponding scanner app will remain active even after the province lifts public health requirements March 1. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The vaccine cards and verification app will stay active, the provincial government announced Thursday, so businesses and venues can continue to use them if they choose to do so. Some local businesses and performing arts venues have said they intend to keep checking proof of vaccination even after the province no longer requires it, because some customers and audiences want the requirement to remain. The province announced Feb. 11 proof-of-vaccine would no longer be required, but until Thursday it was unclear whether Manitoba would continue mailing out immunization cards and maintain its verification app. Health Minister Audrey Gordon said she wanted to assure businesses the provincial government would support them. "The QR code will still be available if business sectors want to require that at their place of business, and we will continue to talk to them about what their needs are around PPEs and around enforcement," Gordon said. "I will continue to have those discussions with my colleagues in justice and the other departments to ensure that the business sector is supported going forward." Scott Cairns doesnt remember being pulled out of the mangled wreck of his car or taken on a long ambulance ride to Winnipegs Health Sciences Centre. Scott Cairns doesnt remember being pulled out of the mangled wreck of his car or taken on a long ambulance ride to Winnipegs Health Sciences Centre. As he recovers at home from injuries suffered in a harrowing crash, a photo of his crumpled 2016 Honda Fit is the only thing filling in the blanks. What remained of Scott Cairns' vehicle after being hit by two different semis. (Supplied) It is coupled with thoughts of how the outcome could have been much worse. "Everything was crushed except for the front two seats. It was pretty smacked up," said the Winnipegger, who believes hes fortunate to have survived the multiple-vehicle collision. Cairns was driving through a blizzard on the Trans-Canada Highway at about noon last Friday when a tractor-trailer unit heading in the same direction crashed into the back of his car. Scott Cairns was driving through a blizzard on the Trans-Canada Highway at about noon last Friday when a semi heading in the same direction crashed into the back of his car. (Supplied) "I was going slow, and I guess the semi wasnt going so slow," he said. As his car spun around in the westbound lanes approaching Elie about 45 minutes west of Winnipeg it was broadsided on the drivers side by a second semi-trailer. Thats what a doctor told Cairns when he regained consciousness hours later at HSC. "I blacked out when it happened; the last thing I remember was driving along the highway, and the next memory was waking up in the hospital," he said. "Theres not even a blur of a memory. I wish I could remember something." He doesnt know who rescued him from the wreckage, and he doesnt remember undergoing a CT scan in hospital, where he was treated and monitored for about 12 hours before being sent home. Cairns, who does home-energy audits and also owns a computer repair and support business, described the weather as "terrible" as he drove to Portage la Prairie to visit a client. Cairns credits the design of his 2016 Honda Fit for saving his life. (Supplied) Visibility was so poor he was already thinking about turning around in Elie and returning home shortly before the collision. That day, police responded to multiple reports of crashes and vehicles in snow-packed ditches. Several highways were closed due to hazardous driving conditions. After the collision involving Cairns, the westbound lanes of the Trans-Canada were shut down for hours between Headingley and Portage la Prairie. Cairns said he was lucky to not have any broken bones, but he was banged up and is still in pain. Bruised ribs have made it difficult for him to breathe or sit down. Hes been forced to take time off work while he recovers. He credits the cars safety features including the airbags that deployed for his survival. The crash happened a few days before his 53rd birthday. "Its remarkable that I was able to (survive)," he said. "I guess its the way they designed the car." Cairns said his son was shocked when he saw the demolished car afterward. Cairns father also found it hard to believe his son made it out alive. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. No charges have been laid following the the collision, RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Courchaine said. Drivers in southern Manitoba faced extremely poor winter-driving conditions between Feb. 17 and 20 due to multiple blizzards and freezing rain. Snow- or ice-covered stretches of the Trans-Canada and other main routes were occasionally closed for driver safety. And the problems continued this week; at about noon Thursday more than two dozen vehicles were involved in a pileup in the eastbound lanes of the Trans-Canada between Griswold and Alexander in western Manitoba. The ice-coated highway was closed in both directions between Brandon and the Manitoba-Saskatchewan boundary for about 12 hours. chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching A visually impaired St. Vital man is considering filing a human rights complaint against the city over the state of its snow- and ice-packed sidewalks. A visually impaired St. Vital man is considering filing a human rights complaint against the city over the state of its snow- and ice-packed sidewalks. Raymond Slipetz, who lives alone, is legally blind and uses a cane to walk in the winter, said the citys refusal to clear sidewalks in a timely manner has affected his quality of life. Getting his groceries delivered and accessing a taxi are also difficult because the plowed snow blocks his driveway. "If youre in a wheelchair or youre in a situation where you need to use a cane or a walker, youre not going anywhere on the sidewalks," the 69-year-old told the Free Press Thursday. Slipetz said hes now considering making a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission on behalf of Winnipeggers with disabilities. He said theyve been denied their basic needs because the city doesnt make sidewalk clearing a priority. Raymond Slipetz, who is legally blind and uses a cane to walk in the winter, said the citys refusal to clear sidewalks in a timely manner has affected his quality of life. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press) "But the fact of the matter is that if youre in a wheelchair, use a walker or a cane, or are a legally blind person, you dont have any rights at all," he said. "You rely on what other people are willing to hand you down." The city has three priority levels for snow clearing. Typically, the priority level of a street and a nearby sidewalk are the same (for example, some sidewalks near schools get a higher priority than nearby streets). Priority is determined by several factors, including the amount and type of traffic. First and second priority streets and sidewalks are plowed after five centimetres of snow fall, while third priority streets and sidewalks are plowed after eight centimetres. City taking more time to clear residential streets Residential streets will likely continue to be plowed beyond end of the Friday evening parking ban, according to the citys streets maintenance manager. A parking ban has been underway for most of the week, affecting different residential zones in 12-hour intervals, and is set to end by 7 p.m. Friday. Michael Cantor said by that time, residential streets will likely be about 80 per cent complete and snow clearers will have to keep working past the parking ban. We come back and plow, Cantor said. click to read more Residential streets will likely continue to be plowed beyond end of the Friday evening parking ban, according to the citys streets maintenance manager. A parking ban has been underway for most of the week, affecting different residential zones in 12-hour intervals, and is set to end by 7 p.m. Friday. Michael Cantor said by that time, residential streets will likely be about 80 per cent complete and snow clearers will have to keep working past the parking ban. We come back and plow, Cantor said. When the contractors are finishing their third shift today at seven, they will continue for at least for 24 to 48 hours to plow deficiencies and re-plow until its complete. Were not leaving anything. Were just taking longer, thats it. Mayor Brian Bowman said he couldnt remember a winter with so much snow and asked Winnipeggers to be patient as snow clearing goes a lot slower than any of us would have liked. It is going to take some time to remove the snow from not just the streets, but from the curbs and sidewalks, and I would just urge everybody in the city right now to be really careful around the curbs that are out there clearing the streets, he said Thursday. There wont be any additional parking ban beyond whats already in place, but plows will continue to work around parked vehicles and in spaces between cars. Ive heard from one of our contractors that this is the most challenging plow he has ever encountered for the last 30 years, Cantor said. Close While corresponding streets and sidewalks are supposed to be cleared at the same time, that isnt happening. On Thursday afternoon, Priority 2 streets in the south end of Winnipeg were considered 100 per cent cleared, while their sidewalks and pathways were listed as nine per cent complete. "We start the same time, but sidewalks take much longer than streets," said Michael Cantor, Winnipegs manager of street maintenance. "Usually, youll see streets at 100 per cent after 24, 36 hours, while the sidewalk stays much longer. Although the policy states 36 hours, this year, it was very hard to meet those timelines." City policy also states that Priority 1 and 2 sidewalks should be fully cleared within 36 hours of a snowfall, while Priority 3 sidewalks should be plowed within five days. That hasnt happened this winter, Cantor acknowledged. "What limits us, usually, is the amount of equipment to finish our inventory within 36 hours. And with this long winter and cold temperatures, we have a lot of equipment that is down," he said, adding the city is also behind on clearing Priority 3 sidewalks because of excessive snowfall this winter. Cantor said his department is closely monitoring its sidewalk clearing this winter, with a report on snow clearing to be presented to the city in July to determine gaps in service. Slipetz says an ice-grip attachment on his cane helps him walk but if he didnt have it, it would be much more difficult. (Jessica Lee / Winnipeg Free Press) However, Cantor defended the citys response. "In other cities, they dont plow sidewalks of residential streets at all. Winnipeg has, I think, one of the best policies, we just sometimes struggle to facilitate it if we dont have the adequate resources to do that. And were working on it. But otherwise, the policy itself is a very good policy," he said. But Slipetz, who said hes reached out to the city with little to no response, said the citys priority system isnt working. "To me, its ridiculous that they would be following this old policy and not giving any consideration to those who are disabled," he said. Were in an area thats not of high income and it feels like that we have been ignored this winter. It just seems like roads and higher income areas seem to get priority. Elmwood resident Adam Johnston Elmwood resident Adam Johnston agrees. Johnston, who was hit by a car in October, said he finds it difficult to navigate the citys snowy sidewalks with his injuries. The need for accessible pathways is vital in lower income neighbourhoods where more people walk and take public transit, he said. "Were in an area thats not of high income and it feels like that we have been ignored this winter. It just seems like roads and higher income areas seem to get priority," he said. Johnston said he gets anxious about scaling the piles of snow that line city sidewalks. "Often Im jumping over snowbanks to walk on the street where its been cleared, where the cars go, and obviously thats not the greatest, but its often the only alternative," he said. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca When bombs began to fall on his home country of Ukraine on Wednesday night, Rev. Ihor Shved opened his North End church for midnight prayers. When bombs began to fall on his home country of Ukraine on Wednesday night, Rev. Ihor Shved opened his North End church for midnight prayers. "The whole nation is my family now (and) everyone who is wounded or killed is in my heart," said the Ukrainian-born Shved, priest of Sts. Vladimir and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral. "I just had two thoughts: to go online and see what was going on, and to go to the church and pray," Shved said. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rev. Ihor Shved led a small group in prayer for Ukraine at Sts. Vladimir & Olga Cathedral in Winnipeg. The McGregor Street cathedral was open for prayers again Thursday, with different people praying every 30 minutes. The vigil was livestreamed on the cathedrals Facebook page for Winnipeggers who didnt want to brave the cold, said Shved, who said some of his family members in Ukraine had tuned in. The cathedral scheduled a prayer service for 7 p.m. and the vigil might extend to Friday, said Shved. "For us, its important to be with God and to calm down because people are full of fears," said Shved of the reason to pray together at the cathedral.\ Im also praying for the Russian people to just show up and say they are against the war. Rev. Ihor Shved "Im also praying for the Russian people to just show up and say they are against the war." On Thursday afternoon, he led a group of three in prayer, speaking Ukrainian in low tones, facing the ornate Byzantine altar of gold as light shone through the stained-glass windows adorned with saints. Eventually, a parishioner took his place, singing toward the altar. Along with offering prayers for peace, Rev. Shved hopes to organize support for Winnipeggers who recently immigrated from Ukraine, offering them a place to meet, a listening ear, and whatever else they might need to cope with the news from their former home. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS For us, its important to be with God and to calm down because people are full of fears, said Rev. Ihor Shved of the reason to pray together at the cathedral. "We can support each other by being together," he said. Rev. Michael Kwiatkowski, chancellor of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg, said the Ukrainian Catholic church community will do what it does best: prayer and charity, as the conflict rages on. "People spent the night praying and trying to understand whats happening and hoping for the best, that things might turn out in a good way or in not such a destructive way," he said. Last month, Catholics all over the world dedicated a day to pray for peace in Ukraine, prompted by a call from Pope Francis. Rev. Mark Gnutel led two prayers services in Winnipeg on Jan. 26 and planned to participate in another Thursday evening at St. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church at 35 Marcie St. Gnutel said the service, also available by livestream, would offer parishioners the opportunity to pray together when they feel powerless about the situation in Ukraine. When times like this happen, when I have no control and theres nothing I can do to change the situation, all I can do is to give it to God." Rev. Mark Gnutel "When times like this happen, when I have no control and theres nothing I can do to change the situation, all I can do is to give it to God," said Gnutel. "To open myself to my own vulnerability and to my own weakness and completely surrender to the Almighty and pray for his mercy and for the atonement of my sins." An evening prayer schedule was set for Thursday night at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral on Main Street. Rev. Taras Udod, chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada, planned to lead a special service dedicated to St. Michael, considered the leader of saints and angels and the protector of warriors "for Gods holy truth." MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Mother and daughter parishioners Rose (left) and Diana Olynyk pray for Ukraine at St. Basils Ukrainian Catholic Church in Winnipeg. "We call on all people of goodwill (to ask) that peace comes to Ukraine as soon as possible and peace comes to all of the world," said Udod. At Saint Basils Ukrainian Catholic Church on Harcourt Street mid-day Thursday, Rose Olynyk and her daughter Diana heeded the call to pray for the Ukrainian nation. They crossed themselves and clasped their hands as they sat in the first pew. "The people of Ukraine, they need our prayers," Rose Olynyk said. brenda@suderman.com erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Erik Pindera Reporter Erik Pindera reports for the city desk, with a particular focus on crime and justice. Read full biography THOSE who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, observed philosopher George Santayana. In using state-sponsored force to quell the truckers protest in Ottawa, our leaders have forgotten the lessons of Canadian history. Opinion THOSE who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, observed philosopher George Santayana. In using state-sponsored force to quell the truckers protest in Ottawa, our leaders have forgotten the lessons of Canadian history. Between May 15 and June 26, 1919, 30,000 workers workers joined in a sympathetic general strike in Winnipeg for collective bargaining and improved wages. As the strike entered its fifth week, the federal government conducted the midnight arrests operation to decapitate the strikes leadership. The mass tie-up did not collapse, however, and pro-strike First World War veterans announced a silent march to protest the arrests and the governments failure to end the dispute. On Saturday June 21, two troops of North-West Mounted Police, 1,500 special police with clubs, more than 1,000 militia and Canadian Army vehicles with Lewis machine guns confronted a peaceful assembly of veterans, strikers and men and women bystanders in front of city hall. After the Mounties opened fire, the special police cordoned off Main Street and militia patrolled the downtown. The result: two dead, 94 arrested and dozens injured. Bloody Saturday broke the back of the strike. Seven arrested strike leaders were tried, found guilty of seditious conspiracy and imprisoned. However, once released, three became Manitoba MLAs, one served several terms as Winnipegs mayor during the Depression and two became longtime MPs and founders of the Co-operative Commonwealth Party (CCP). In essence, the government created martyrs. In 1935, the Depression was at its height. Many men had taken to riding the rails, criss-crossing Canada in a fruitless and frustrating search for work and food. To control the gangs of roving, restless and unemployed men, Conservative prime minister R.B. Bennett established work camps throughout the country. In April, 1,800 B.C. relief camp workers descended upon Vancouver to voice dissatisfaction and force the government to provide relief. B.C. premier Duff Pattiullo and mayor Gerald McGeer, however, refused responsibility for their welfare. As a result, on June 3 more than 1,300 men left Vancouver on board CPR boxcars, bound for the nations capital to demand work and wages. Their journey became known as the On-to-Ottawa Trek. The trekkers soon gained numbers, public sympathy and support, as well as front-page news coverage. Upon reaching Regina, however, they discovered Bennett had ordered the trains not to take them any further. Before the trek collapsed, a final rally was scheduled for Dominion Day in the citys Market Square. As speakers were addressing 400 trekkers and 1,000 holidaying citizens, Regina police provoked a riot and violence ensued in the square. Police opened fire into and above the crowd; RCMP officers used tear gas and fired revolvers. The crowd replied with sticks, stones and fists. Fighting soon spilled onto downtown streets, where it raged for six hours. The result: two dead, hundreds injured, 140 trekkers and citizens arrested and thousands of dollars in property damage. Following the confrontation, several trek leaders were charged with rioting and assault and were prosecuted. Bennetts government was discredited, however, and in the October 1935 election was soundly defeated. Eventually, several of the trekkers demands were met and the work camps dismantled. Once Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, law enforcement was given sweeping powers to quell the Freedom Convoy protest. Last weekend, a force of more than 2,000 Ottawa police, Ontario Provincial Police, Quebec Provincial Police and RCMP methodically cleared the downtown of protesters and removed vehicles. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The authorities employed police on horses and rooftops, armoured vehicles, tear-gas guns, assault rifles, pepper spray, riot batons, military greens and sonic devices. Protesters responded with shoves, taunts, prayers, a bicycle, copies of the Charter of Rights, smoke grenades, fireworks, and body armour. The result: 190 arrested, including protest organizers, some injured, more than 50 vehicles towed, 200 bank accounts worth $7.8 million frozen, and tens of millions of dollars in operational costs and lost revenue for Ottawa businesses. What lessons can be learned from the Freedom Convoy event? First, the federal government was woefully unprepared for its arrival in Ottawa and its impact on the country. Second, leadership was lacking at all levels of government, as Ottawas citizens were harassed and many businesses forced to close for 20 days. Third, refusing to end the protest through negotiation or mediation, but instead with overwhelming state-sponsored force, endangered democracy. Fourth, jailing protest leaders risks making them martyrs. And finally, as a result of its response, the Trudeau government might be discredited and defeated in the next election. Historical precedents do matter. Michael Dupuis is a historian and author of The Winnipeg General Strike: Ordinary Men And Women Under Extraordinary Circumstances and Bearing Witness: Journalists, Record Keepers and the 1917 Halifax Explosion. Prominent conservatives such as Fox News host Tucker Carlson have been making the case that Americans shouldnt care about what happens in Ukraine. Well see if they change their tune now that Russia has attacked Ukraine, but the larger point remains open for discussion: Should conservatives care about Russias invasion and the future of Ukraine? The answer is yes, from both a historical and an America First perspective. Americans have always understood that freedom at home is endangered by autocracy and dictatorship abroad. Our republic was the only large self-governing nation in the world when we gained independence. Even Britain, the mother of parliaments, was still at best an aristocratic republic with an extensive political role for its hereditary monarch. Our founders understood it was in Americas interest to keep these powerful forces far from our shores so that they would never be tempted to stamp out our flickering flame of freedom. That recognition led to a consistent policy that lasted decades. The United States wouldnt involve itself in European wars, but it would not tolerate those wars being used as cover to establish despotic power in the Americas. The famous Monroe Doctrine was the first tangible expression of this view. Laid out in 1823, it stated that the United States would oppose European attempts to expand colonies in the Western Hemisphere. This effectively placed the United States as the guarantor of security for the new republics in Latin America that had thrown off Spanish rule in the preceding decade. Far from being unconcerned with what happened thousands of miles away in a time without rapid communications, the United States understood that its security depended on keeping autocratic nations with imperial designs as far away as possible. Indeed, thats why the United States threatened to intervene in Mexicos civil war, forcing France to withdraw its military support for an emperor it imposed on our southern neighbor. Fast-forward to today. U.S. security still depends on keeping dictatorial regimes as far from American shores as possible. Moreover, technological advances mean those efforts now must take place in Europe and Asia, not just our own backyard. Tanks can cover hundreds of miles in a short period, and naval and air forces can launch assaults against the homeland from far away. That will inevitably draw the United States into faraway conflicts. If we waited until foreign dictators established outposts close to our borders, we would already be at the brink of collapse. Russia under Vladimir Putin has revealed itself to be such an imperial power. Its economy is tinysmaller than Germanysbut Putin has nevertheless devoted significant resources to building a military capable of exerting global power. He sent Russian troops to Syria to prop up that nations dictator, Bashar al-Assad, and supports Venezuelas repressive regime. Russia does not have a border dispute with Ukraine; it is committed to eliminating U.S. global supremacy and, by extension, the democratic order that hegemony sustains. This is why America First principles dictate widespread, intelligent global engagement. That does not require the United States to chase every will-o-the-wisp threat, nor does it require U.S. military engagement to beat down every potential enemy. Such wrong-headed thinking is what led us into 20 years of believing that Islamist terrorism was the primary threat to U.S security when the real threat was the growing economic and military strength of two autocratic regimes, China and Russia. It also led to the growing isolationist sentiment that too many America First adherents espouse. The United States still has a historical obligation to keep autocrats in their lands and reduce their ability to spread their influence and threaten us. Americas overseas alliances are the linchpin of our own security. The invasion of Ukraine, coupled with the effective Russian conquest of Belarus, means Russias military will again be stationed in strength on NATOs borders. Putins demand that NATO not station troops in its own member states indicates he will not stop with Ukraine. And his unprovoked war shows the lengths to which he will go to reach his goals. Putins invasion of Ukraine presents conservatives with what Ronald Reagan called a time for choosing. Conservatives should stand with our historical commitments and lead America into the coming global conflict, which we cannot safely avoid. Henry Olsen is a Washington Post columnist and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. As a child, I learned history through books and movies but lived it vicariously through the eyes of my father, gathering up all his where-were-you-whens with an insatiable hunger. Every time I learned about an event that had shaped the course of the world, my young mind did a hasty calculation and, having verified hed been alive at the time, Id ask him the question. As a child, I learned history through books and movies but lived it vicariously through the eyes of my father, gathering up all his where-were-you-whens with an insatiable hunger. Every time I learned about an event that had shaped the course of the world, my young mind did a hasty calculation and, having verified hed been alive at the time, Id ask him the question. Where was he on May 8, 1945, when news broke that Germany had made an unconditional surrender? He was young, almost too young to remember, except in fragmented pictures: the kitchen of his little house in small-town Michigan, the hem of his mothers dress, newscasters declaring victory on the radio, people running down the street in jubilation. Where was he on Nov. 22, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated? In a classroom at the American university where he was teaching, finishing up a lecture. He went home through stunned streets and yelled at the dog; my mother, seeing this, snapped back that the dog didnt do it, so he sat and wept and felt the world he knew fall apart. By the time I was eight years old, I had committed most of these stories to memory. None were dramatic. None of them had my father at the heart of what was the most violent or important or transforming. He was, like many folks in North America and all of those who are lucky, only a second-hand witness to the greatest machinations of geopolitical trauma. So was I. Born in Canada to a white American family, grown up through the 1980s and 90s, I was, like so many here, a child of an uncommon peace, one that was bought and paid for by the suffering of others. That was easy enough to forget or never even to know, outside of the where-were-we-when moments that cut into our lives mostly through television screens. Born in Canada to a white American family, grown up through the 1980s and 90s, I was, like so many here, a child of an uncommon peace, one that was bought and paid for by the suffering of others. Now we stand at one of those moments again, watching in real time the last agonal breath of that uncommon peace. Its all around us now, images of a war that, just hours before, even some experts thought probably wouldnt quite happen. Here is a livestream of Kyivs Maidan Square, empty as air-raid sirens whine and the dull booms of a devastating violence are heard from somewhere an airport? A military installation? beyond the cameras reach. Videos taken in deep subways of civilians huddling anxiously for safety. Videos of streets jammed with vehicles, filled with people fleeing Ukraines capital city. Videos from Kharkiv, where missiles struck civilian buildings, but also from Vladimir Putins hometown of St. Petersburg, where Russians take the streets in protest of their leaders war; some hope. SALWAN GEORGES / WASHINGTON POST A family rushes to load their car with their belongings as explosions are heard in the distance in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Theres too much of everything, now, and its hard to know what anything means, or even if its real. On TikTok, a video of a Russian soldier laughing as he parachutes from the sky goes viral: "Bro is recording an invasion," someone comments, but it turns out the video is actually from what appears to be a training exercise in August 2015. On Twitter, journalist Daniel Dale points out that there are videos circulating on social media that are taken from old wars, but labelled as belonging to the new. I start to doubt everything I see that doesnt come from journalists I trust. The video that said it was of Russian helicopters one shot down attacking an airport near Kyiv? Is that real? SERGEI GRITS / ASSOCIATED PRESS A woman and a girl walk to a shelter during Russian shelling outside Mariupol, Ukraine. Russia has launched a barrage of air and missile strikes on the country. I wonder if it was better when news from the front took days to arrive, or even, as communications technology grew through the 20th century, when it came within hours. Was it better when all the content we consumed was filtered, when we werent being bombarded with images of unknown provenance, when we didnt have a constant real-time view of the world? I wonder if it was better when news from the front took days to arrive, or even, as communications technology grew through the 20th century, when it came within hours. Once, someone made an observation that as traumatizing as 9/11 was to witness even from a safe distance, it would have been immeasurably worse now, with the ubiquity of cellphones and livestreams. We all would have seen things that could never be extricated from our minds. We all would have had eyes in the towers as they burned and, then, as they fell. CHRIS MCGRATH / GETTY IMAGES / TNS Cars sit at a standstill as people try to leave Kyiv, Ukraine. Nobody knows what will happen in the days or weeks or months to come. But if this invasion continues and escalates, then we will all see war in ways those of us who havent lived through one have never quite seen before. And war isnt something people are designed to endure in body or in spirit; even at a distance, we will need to take care of each other. That is especially true in Manitoba, where nearly one in six people identifies as Ukrainian-Canadian. Our communities are inextricably tied to those that are now facing an existential threat. If theres nothing we can do to stop the war, then all we can do is channel our worry into supporting all those who fear for their families, their hometowns, their friends. Our communities are inextricably tied to those that are now facing an existential threat. If theres nothing we can do to stop the war, then all we can do is channel our worry into supporting all those who fear for their families, their hometowns, their friends. That community is strong. It has survived many storms. Someday, it will tell the story of how this, too, was endured. And someday, maybe a little girl will ask me where-was-I-when the Russian bombs started falling on Ukraine, and I will say: I was nowhere. I was nobody. I was on my couch tapping out sentences to a column about something else entirely. Watching reruns of Mad Men, a show that was so self-consciously a vicarious window on history, and starting to fall asleep. Worried, I will tell her. I was worried. Worried about selling my condo. Worried about my mother in hospital. Worried about my job, my friends, my future, the appointment I had on Friday, the appointment Id just realized that Id forgotten to make for Thursday, the storage boxes I had to sort through and what would happen with the pandemic. Then, in an instant, someone I barely knew texted me to say "so World War Threes starting, huh." So I picked up my phone and watched as people fled Kyiv and soldiers seized airports and Ukraines president asked his people to take up weapons to fight the war. I watched until I didnt know which of my worries, if any, would still matter at all. melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Protesters at blockades in Ottawa, Winnipeg and at border crossings across Canada shouted Freedom! between blasts of their trucks horns. Protesters at blockades in Ottawa, Winnipeg and at border crossings across Canada shouted "Freedom!" between blasts of their trucks horns. The demonstrators, whose opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates quickly got lost in a cacophonous tangle of far right-wing and anarchist demands, shouted other words, too. And many of them were obscenities and threats directed at members of the media reporting on the blockades. The worst of the rabble resorted to intimidation tactics and other disgraceful acts, such as spitting on reporters and camera personnel. In so doing, the self-proclaimed guardians of Canadian democracy and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms revealed freedom of the press is one Charter guarantee they could wilfully and enthusiastically disregard. Members of the media faced plenty of obscenities and threats during the various protests. (Ted Shaffrey / The Associated Press files) The protesters expectorations amounted to violent eruptions of a long-dormant volcano. Not unlike data collected by scientists at geological hotspots, reporters who have experienced hostility and intimidation while doing their jobs have been warning that tremors of misinformed discontent might eventually explode in a fiery rage that would leave fissures and scars on Canadas politics and public discourse. Some of the recent early warnings emanated from the United States and former president Donald Trump, who during his campaigns of 2016 and 2020 would point out journalists at his rallies, accuse them of spreading "fake news" and declare them "enemies of the people," much to the approval of his rapt and agitated audience. Given the ubiquitousness of American influence on Canadian culture, there was little doubt Mr. Trumps toxic populism, like so many U.S. trends, would find its way north of the border. So it was no surprise his condemnatory rhetoric found an ideological foothold among extremists who in turn directed their version of anti-media venom at Canadian targets. Some began following and antagonizing politicians on the streets of Ottawa, such as a 2020 incident, which was posted on social media, in which NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was pursued by an individual who threatened to make a "citizens arrest" and tried to goad Mr. Singh into a fight. The vitriol continued during the 2021 federal election campaign, when right-wing protesters shouted down their favourite target, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and threw rocks at his campaign bus. Extremists of this ilk have also targeted media members behind the scenes, sending threatening emails and letters to journalists they disagree with many of whom are women and people of colour hurling abuse and menace with all the courage an anonymous message can muster. CP Signs bashing the government and media were prominently displayed in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files) The pent-up rage completely boiled over during the "Freedom Convoy" protests of vaccine mandates, whose misguided mob mentality was marked by displays of the Confederate flag, an antiquated American white-supremacy symbol that is completely irrelevant to current Canadian policy debate. Nazi swastikas were also among the emblems favoured by some who espoused freedom as their cause. When journalists arrived on scene to report on the protests, and on some protesters unlawful behaviour, many in the crowds grew confrontational. The offensive behaviours that followed, which were widely viewed on television and online, laid to rest any wistful notions that Canada remains an oasis of calm, order and civility in an increasingly hostile world. Canadians have fought for freedom around the globe, and this nations journalists have dutifully reported on such conflicts, often putting themselves in the line of fire. Some, such as Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang in Afghanistan in 2009, have even sacrified their lives. So its particularly disturbing when Canadians seeking "freedom" at home no matter how dubious their demands might be seek to interrupt and antagonize media reporting on events in a free country with tactics lifted straight from the authoritarian playbook. Manitobas COVID-19 school dashboard has been blank for the last two weeks but that does not mean students and school staffers have suddenly stopped contracting the virus. Manitobas COVID-19 school dashboard has been blank for the last two weeks but that does not mean students and school staffers have suddenly stopped contracting the virus. The virtual tables, which are updated on Tuesdays and Thursdays, have been adjusted throughout the pandemic to provide K-12 employees, families and members of the public with information about active and historic novel coronavirus caseloads. The province stopped entering information about student and staff cases on Feb. 10, but failed to inform the public about it on the dashboard website which has, in turn, prompted questions about whether the charts are broken. (The province briefly announced the change in one line at the bottom of a news release on Feb. 11.) "It was never quite accurate, but it was better than nothing and now we have nothing," said Lauren Hope, co-founder of the Safe September MB, a collective of parents, educators and community members who continue to advocate for enhanced COVID-19 protocols in schools. A public spreadsheet, which has been compiled by anonymous individuals who crowdsource school exposure letters via social media, has tracked more cases than the provinces dashboard at various points throughout both the 2020-21 and current school years. Between the mismatch and Manitobas changing definitions about school outbreaks, Hope said the dashboard only provided a rough outline of the true COVID-19 situation. The dashboard currently states that there have been nil student and staff cases, no schools with one or more cases, and zero K-12 buildings fully in remote learning throughout the last 14 days. It shows that a single community notification letter was issued in that timeframe. Another table showing the cumulative tally of cases throughout the 2021-22 school year is also mostly blank. On Feb. 1, the table showed at least 6,000 cases had been connected to schools since Labour Day. Hope said she doesnt understand why the province is lifting mandates at the same time as it is limiting the data that is made public to allow people to make informed decisions in the context of current COVID-19 cases and transmission. A provincial spokesperson indicated officials continue to report both the total number of entire schools in remote learning and community notification letters issued on a biweekly basis. "With the changes in public reporting, Feb. 10 was the last time that student and staff case data were included on the dashboard," they wrote in an email. Widespread reliance on rapid tests, increasingly limited PCR eligibility, and a halt in contact tracing have made the dashboard figures less reliable since the start of 2022. School divisions have relied on families and staff to self-report positive tests since in-person classes resumed in January and publish that data however they see fit. Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The Louis Riel School Division has launched its own dashboards to chart student and staff absenteeism related to COVID-19. The number of students absent from class because of either a personal positive test, they were showing symptoms, or were following public health directives to isolate because of an exposure peaked at 882 last month. Five per cent of the student population in the southeast Winnipeg division did not come to class for one of the above reasons on Jan. 21. Those figures had dropped to 105 and 0.8 per cent, respectively, on Wednesday. The province has alerted school leaders to notify officials when they start to see unusually high absenteeism rates or increased reports of positive cases in any community. If it is determined necessary, the province may initiate a local asymptomatic rapid testing surveillance program or temporarily move an individual class or school to remote learning. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @macintoshmaggie Two cases of the COVID-19 BA.2 variant have so far been detected in Manitoba. Two cases of the COVID-19 BA.2 variant have so far been detected in Manitoba. The variant is a sub-type of the Omicron variant, and early research shows it is more contagious than other Omicron strains, but more research needs to be conducted to understand how it could affect transmission and reinfection rates. Officials confirmed two cases have been found here after chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said during a news conference Thursday that there hasnt been "significant" BA.2 transmission. "We have not seen significant levels of transmission in Manitoba at this point. Theres suggestion that this is more transmissible than the original strain of Omicron, not seeing a lot of evidence regarding that its more severe, so were continuing to follow these numbers. Were still sequencing a significant proportion of our cases, we just havent seen a lot of BA.2 at this point," Roussin said. The first Manitoba case of BA.2 was confirmed Feb. 10 and the second was detected this week, the province said. A government spokesperson did not answer questions about what proportion of positive COVID-19 test results are being sequenced to check for BA.2 or other emerging variants of concern, or how the province can be confident in its efforts to track emerging variants when more accurate molecular-level PCR testing is so limited in Manitoba. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "The province has always had a robust system to detect variants utilizing samples from across the province to ensure that the introduction of a new variant is detected and communicated to public health," the spokesperson said. Only 1,428 PCR tests were conducted in Manitoba Wednesday, and the province doesnt plan to make the tests more widely available to the public. Rapid-test results arent included in official case counts, so sequencing a proportion of PCR test results is the only way for the province to track the presence of COVID-19 variants. Roussin said Thursday that the goal now is to test for "clinical purposes," which involves offering PCR tests to hospitalized patients and those at highest risk of severe infections. The World Health Organization has said BA.2 should still be considered a variant of concern. Transmission of BA.2 is growing, but overall, COVID-19 cases are still declining around the world. "WHO will continue to closely monitor the BA.2 lineage as part of Omicron and requests countries to continue to be vigilant, to monitor and report sequences, as well as to conduct independent and comparative analyses of the different Omicron sublineages," it said in a statement Tuesday. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden on Friday nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the first Black woman selected to serve on a court that once declared her race unworthy of citizenship and endorsed American segregation. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a U.S. Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, poses for a portrait, Friday, Feb., 18, 2022, in her office at the court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) WASHINGTON (AP) President Joe Biden on Friday nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the first Black woman selected to serve on a court that once declared her race unworthy of citizenship and endorsed American segregation. Introducing Jackson at the White House, Biden declared, I believe its time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation." With his nominee standing alongside, the president praised her as having a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people. He said, She strives to be fair, to get it right, to do justice. In Jackson, Biden delivered on a campaign promise to make the historic appointment and further diversify a court that was made up entirely of white men for almost two centuries. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a U.S. Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, poses for a portrait, Friday, Feb., 18, 2022, in her office at the court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) He also chose an attorney who would be the high court's first former public defender, though she possesses the elite legal background of other justices as well. Jackson would be the current courts second Black member Clarence Thomas, a conservative, is the other and just the third in history. She would replace liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who is retiring at the end of the term this summer, so she won't change the court's 6-3 conservative majority. Jackson would join the court as it weighs cutbacks to abortion rights and will be considering ending affirmative action in college admissions and restricting voting rights efforts to increase minority representation. She would be only the sixth woman to serve on the court, but she would join three others already there, including the first Latina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In brief remarks, Jackson thanked Biden, saying she was humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination." She highlighted her family's first-hand experience with the entirety of the legal system, as judges and lawyers, an uncle who was Miami's police chief and another who was imprisoned on drug charges. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a U.S. Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, poses for a portrait, Friday, Feb., 18, 2022, in her office at the court in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) She also spoke of the historic nature of her nomination, noting she shared a birthday with Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to be confirmed to the federal bench. If Im fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court United States, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans, she said. Jackson, 51, once worked as one of Breyers law clerks early in her legal career. She attended Harvard as an undergraduate and for law school, and served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the agency that develops federal sentencing policy, before becoming a federal judge in 2013. Her nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority by a razor-thin 50-50 margin with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker. Party leaders have promised swift but deliberate consideration. Friday's ceremony was attended only by White House staff, Jacksons family and news media, in part because the Senate is out of session this week. People familiar with the matter say President Joe Biden will nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson for a seat on the Supreme Court, replacing retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. (AP Graphic) Everyone wore masks because of the pandemic, Biden and Jackson removing theirs to speak. He bent to pull out a lectern step for her to stand on as she made her remarks. Her introduction came two years to the day after Biden, then struggling to capture the Democratic presidential nomination, pledged in a South Carolina debate to nominate a Black woman if presented with a vacancy. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said in a statement that the panel will begin immediately to move forward on consideration of an extraordinary nominee. Senators have set a tentative goal of confirmation by April 8, when they leave for a two-week spring recess. Hearings could start as soon as mid-March. That timeline could be complicated by a number of things, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the extended absence of Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, who suffered a stroke last month and is out for several weeks. Democrats would need Lujans vote to confirm Bidens pick if no Republicans support her. Once the nomination is sent to the Senate, it is up to the Senate Judiciary Committee to vet the nominee and hold confirmation hearings. After the committee approves a nomination, it goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks after President Joe Biden announced Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court in the Cross Hall of the White House, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, in Washington. Vice President Kamala Harris listens as right. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Biden and Senate Democrats are hoping for a bipartisan vote on the nomination, but its unclear if they will be able to win over any GOP senators after bitterly partisan confirmation battles under President Donald Trump. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of three Republicans who voted to confirm Jackson to the appeals court last year, had pushed Biden to nominate a different candidate from his home state, Judge J. Michelle Childs, who also was favored by home-state Rep. James Clyburn, a Biden ally. Graham said earlier this month his vote would be very problematic if it were anyone else, and he expressed disappointment in a tweet Friday. Previewing a likely Republican attack line, he and several others on the right said Biden was going with the choice of the radical left. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he looked forward to meeting with Jackson and "studying her record, legal views and judicial philosophy. But he noted he had voted against her a year ago. Biden has said he was interested in selecting a nominee in the mold of Breyer who could be a persuasive force with fellow justices. Although Breyers votes tended to put him to the left of center on an increasingly conservative court, he frequently saw the gray in situations that colleagues were more likely to find black or white. Justice Breyer the members of the Senate will decide if I fill your seat, Jackson said Friday, praising the retiring justice's civility, grace, pragmatism and generosity of spirit. But please know that I could never fill your shoes, she said. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, With her exceptional qualifications and record of evenhandedness, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be a justice who will uphold the Constitution and protect the rights of all Americans, including the voiceless and vulnerable. As part of his search process, Biden, a longtime chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also interviewed Childs and California Supreme Court Judge Leondra Kruger, according to a person familiar with the matter. He consulted with a range of legal experts and lawmakers in both parties and delved deeply into the finalists' legal writings. Jackson serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a position that Biden elevated her to last year from her previous job as a federal trial court judge. Three current justices Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts, the chief justice previously served on the same appeals court. Jackson was confirmed to that post on a 53-44 Senate vote, winning the backing of three Republicans: Graham, Maines Susan Collins and Alaskas Lisa Murkowski. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. In one of Jacksons most high-profile decisions, as a trial court judge she ordered former White House Counsel Don McGahn to appear before Congress. That was a setback to Trumps efforts to keep his top aides from testifying. The case was appealed, and a deal was ultimately reached for McGahns testimony. As an appeals court judge, she was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in December against Trumps effort to shield documents from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Miami. She has said that her parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, chose her name to express their pride in her familys African ancestry. They asked an aunt who was in the Peace Corps in Africa at the time to send a list of African girls names and they picked Ketanji Onyika, which they were told meant lovely one. Jackson traces her interest in the law to when she was in preschool and her father was in law school and they would sit together at the dining room table, she with coloring books and he with law books. Her father became an attorney for the county school board and her mother was a high school principal. A brother, nine years younger, served in the Army, including in Iraq, and is now a lawyer, too. ___ Associated Press writers Mark Sherman, Jessica Gresko and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. BRUSSELS (AP) U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts agreed Friday to send thousands of troops, backed by air and naval support, to protect allies near Russia and Ukraine in response to President Vladimir Putins decision to invade. BRUSSELS (AP) U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts agreed Friday to send thousands of troops, backed by air and naval support, to protect allies near Russia and Ukraine in response to President Vladimir Putins decision to invade. Speaking after chairing a NATO summit, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the 30-nation organization will send parts of the NATO Response Force and elements of a quickly deployable spearhead unit to the alliances eastern flank. Its the first time the force has been used to defend NATO allies. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg leaves the podium after addressing a media conference after a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. World leaders are getting over the shock of Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering his forces into separatist regions of Ukraine and they are focusing on producing as forceful a reaction as possible. Germany made the first big move Tuesday and took steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys) Stoltenberg did not say how many troops would be sent or where they might go, but he did confirm that the move would involve land, sea and air power. In response to Europes biggest security crisis in decades, Stoltenberg said, We are now deploying the NATO Response Force for the first time in a collective defense context. We speak about thousands of troops. We speak about air and maritime capabilities. There must be no space for miscalculation or misunderstanding. We will do what it takes to protect and defend every ally, and every inch of NATO territory, he said. The NRF can number up to 40,000 troops, but Stoltenberg said that NATO would not be deploying the entire force. Parts of a spearhead unit known in NATO jargon as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, which is currently led by France, will also be sent. The announcement came after NATO members, ranging from Russias neighbor Estonia in the north down around the west of conflict-hit Ukraine to Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast, triggered urgent consultations Thursday about their security amid concerns from the invasion. We will continue to take all measures and decisions required to ensure the security and defense of all allies," the leaders said in a statement. We will make all deployments necessary to ensure strong and credible deterrence and defense across the alliance, now and in the future. The worlds biggest security organization previously had around 5,000 troops stationed in the Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Poland, but has significantly beefed up its defenses over the past three months. Tanks uploaded on military truck platforms as a part of additional British troops and military equipment arrive at Estonia's NATO Battle Group base in Tapa, Estonia, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealing for help, NATO members ranging from Russias neighbor Estonia in the north down to Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast triggered urgent consultations about their security. (AP Photo/Sergei Stepanov) Germany said Friday that it plans to deploy troops and a Patriot anti-missile system to Slovakia, which is a member of NATO and one of the countries to have triggered the urgent consultations, as part of an enhanced vigilance activity battlegroup. NATOs Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, U.S. General Tod D. Wolters, said the new contributions represent a flexible, combat credible force that can be employed in multiple ways and we are utilizing fully their inherent agility. He also thanked the U.S. and Canada for recent commitments to deploy an extra 7,640 troops, including an armored brigade combat team, artillery units, a naval frigate, and surveillance aircraft. It was not immediately clear whether those troops were part of the NRF deployment. Some of NATOs 30 member countries are supplying arms, ammunition and other equipment to Ukraine, but NATO as an organization isnt. It wont launch any military action in support of Ukraine, which is a close partner but has no prospect of joining. The Baltic members, however, have said the West should urgently provide Ukrainian people with weapons, ammunition and any other kind of military support to defend itself as well as economic, financial and political assistance and support, humanitarian aid. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference after convening an online NATO leaders summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts will seek Friday to reassure member countries on the alliance's eastern flank that their security is guaranteed as Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine closes in on the capital Kyiv. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys) NATO began beefing up its defenses in northeastern Europe after Russia annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Recently, some members have also sent troops, aircraft and warships to the Black Sea region, near allies Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Short-term, NATO has also activated an emergency planning system to allow commanders to move forces more quickly. Surveillance aircraft have also begun patrols inside allied territory. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. As the leaders prepared for their virtual summit, pro-Ukraine demonstrators rallied outside NATOs headquarters in Brussels. Dozens of Ukrainians living in the Belgian capital chanted Putin, Terrorist, Close the Sky Down and Stop Putin, Stop War. We are fighting for the whole democratic world here. If we dont stop them in Ukraine, they will go next to the European Union. They will be at your door, said Artemii Sattarov, draped in a Ukrainian flag. That is why we are asking here to close the (airspace), to provide military help to Ukraine. ___ Video reporter Mark Carlson in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed. ___ Follow APs coverage of the Ukraine crisis at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. - A judge on Thursday ordered the parents of a 15-year-old boy charged with killing four students at his Michigan high school to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. FILE - This undated combination of photos provided by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office shows James Crumbley, left, and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of Ethan Crumbley, a teenager accused of killing four students in a shooting at Oxford High School, in Michigan. The couple face a key hearing to determine if they will face trial. Attorneys for the Crumbleys have asked a judge to consider a postponement so they can further prepare. But there was no decision from the judge ahead of the hearing Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (Oakland County Sheriff's Office via AP, File) ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. - A judge on Thursday ordered the parents of a 15-year-old boy charged with killing four students at his Michigan high school to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges. Rochester Hills District Court Judge Julie Nicholson said following Thursdays preliminary examination for Jennifer and James Crumbley that she found enough evidence to send their case to circuit court. They are charged with involuntary manslaughter and accused of making the gun used in the shooting available to the teen. The couple is also accused of failing to intervene when he showed signs of mental distress at home and at school. Ethan Crumbley is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, terrorism and gun charges in the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit. In addition to the four students slain, six other students and a teacher were wounded. The gun used in the shooting was given to Ethan Crumbley as an early Christmas present, prosecutors have said. The court finds that the deaths of the four victims could have been avoided if James and Jennifer Crumbley exercised ordinary care and diligence in the care of their son, Nicholson said. Nicholson said prosecutors showed Ethan Crumbley presented a danger to the community and that danger was apparent to an ordinary mind. Testimony showed that Ethan Crumbley was a troubled young man and his parents knew it, she said. But they purchased a gun which he believed was his, Nicholson added. The Crumbleys attorneys insisted the couple didnt know their son might plan an attack and didnt make the gun easy to find in their home, but Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said Thursday that Ethan Crumbley reached out to his parents for help. James Crumbley, father of Ethan Crumbley, a teenager accused of killing four students in a shooting at Oxford High School, appears in court for a preliminary examination on involuntary manslaughter charges in Rochester Hills, Mich., Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) And while no help was forthcoming, the coming trouble was foreseeable, she said. You're allowed to be a terrible parent, McDonald said. if that's all this was, we wouldn't be here. Ethan Crumbley's counselor at Oxford High School testified earlier Thursday that he told the teen's parents the morning of the shootings that he believed their son was a threat to himself and needed mental health support. I said as soon as possible, today if possible, Shawn Hopkins said. But, he testified, Jennifer Crumbley told him, Today was not an option because they had to return to work. I didnt want Ethan to be alone at home, Hopkins added. On the morning of the shooting, Ethans parents were summoned to the school and confronted with his drawings, which included a handgun and the words: The thoughts wont stop. Help me. Authorities said the parents refused to take him home after the 13-minute meeting. Hopkins testified that he provided Ethan's parents with a list of mental health support resources at that meeting and that as it was ending Jennifer Crumbley asked, Are we done? I wrote Ethan a pass back to class, Hopkins continued. I told him, I just want you to know I care about you. I dont remember them saying goodbye (to Ethan). Earlier Thursday, defense attorneys asked Oakland County sheriffs Detective Edward Wagrowski whether he thought Jennifer and James Crumbley were aware their son was planning the shooting. Videos and texts between Ethan and his friend, Brady, in August show Ethan with a gun and inviting Brady to a gun range, said Shannon Smith, Jennifer Crumbleys attorney. "The friend is saying things like Nice. Now pull the trigger. jk, jk, jk, Smith told Wagrowski, who explained that jk is shorthand for just kidding. "Ethan responds about how his dad left the gun out but Ethan knows gun safety so its no problem. And then he says: 'Now, its time to shoot up the school. JK JK JK JK,'" Smith said. This conversation existed between Ethan and his friend, but there is not any kind of conversation like this between Ethan and his mother or Ethan and his father? Smith asked, to which Wagorwski responded no. But prosecutors alluded to a disconnect between Ethan and his parents, including texts to his friend in which he talks about his dark side. In a text on April 5, 2021, Ethan writes: Now my mom thinks I take drugs. Like she thinks the reason why Im so mad and sad all the time is because I take drugs, and she doesnt worry about my mental health,' assistant prosecutor Marc Keast said. And then he writes: They make me feel like Im the problem.'" A day before the shooting, the school left a voicemail for Jennifer Crumbley informing her that a teacher was concerned that Ethan had been searching for ammunition online using his phone. A sheriff's office computer crimes investigator testified Feb. 8 at the couple's preliminary examination that she later asked her son in a text if he at least showed school officials a photo of the gun the parents gave Ethan as an early Christmas gift. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The Crumbleys remained jailed on $500,000 bond. The case against them is highly unusual because parents are rarely held criminally responsible for teens accused in mass school shootings. Last month, Ethan Crumbleys attorneys filed a notice of an insanity defense. He is lodged alone in a cell in the Oakland County Jail's clinic to keep him from seeing and hearing adult inmates. Defense attorneys want him moved to a juvenile facility, but prosecutors say he would pose a potential risk of harm to the safety of other juveniles. An Oakland County Circuit Court judge said during a hearing for Ethan Crumbley on Tuesday that he expected to have a ruling by early next week on whether the teen will remain in the adult jail or be transferred to the county's Children's Village. ___ Williams reported from West Bloomfield, Michigan. As the country of Ukraine endures the invasion of Russian military forces, its an anxiety citizens have lived with for decades that has finally become reality, according to a UW-La Crosse professor. Elizabeth Peacock, an associate professor of archaeology and anthropology, specializes in Eastern Europe and language and has lived and researched in Ukraine. Combined, she has spent roughly two years in the country, largely in the city of Lviv, spanning 2003-2016, which overlapped with the Orange Revolution and the annexation of Crimea. Through her research, Peacock also relies heavily on social media to stay connected with Ukrainians and has been communicating with friends, colleagues and other citizens as the attack continues. In some ways it is shocking and in other ways it feels like deja vu, Peacock told the Tribune in an interview. Peacock said that to many in Ukraine, Russia and Vladimir Putin have always been a force to be anxious and worried about, and that since Ukraine became independent in 1991, Russias significance has always lingered. One friend of Peacocks in Ukraine told her today, I dont believe Im living in a war. Were very worried but calm at the same time. Peacock added, its in their backyard. Peacock said, Its the sense that: Were worried, but he does this all the time. Were worried, but Russias always a threat. But now, hes here, and will anything that Europe does save us? She pointed to the fact that Ukraine means borderland, and that the country has long embodied that definition as a buffer zone between conflicts. There isnt a large Ukrainian community in the La Crosse region, Peacock said, but the implications and significance of the invasion will still certainly be felt in the area. We live in a global, interconnected world. What happens in such a place that seems so far away, affects all of us, whether the ripples are only felt in rising gas prices at the pump, or stock market swings due to new sanctions, she said in an email. We might feel relatively safe and are protected here in La Crosse, but the pandemic has shown us I hope just how connected we are. Not only that, but local military reservists may be called to join NATO forces in Eastern Europe, including a student of Peacocks. And refugees in the area, from recent Afghans to longtime Hmong residents, may commiserate with shared experiences of feeling powerless to protect themselves from more powerful outside forces, she said. Peacock said students have been asking and turning to her with questions about what is unfolding, and in a class Thursday they spent time discussing the crisis. I definitely had a few students in there who were concerned because they dont know anything about Ukraine, Peacock said. To put it into context, Peacock described that the city of Lviv on a map is similar to Chicago, and the countrys eastern regions would be like New York City. There are also tactics being used during the attack that Americans may be able to relate to, she said, specifically the use of misinformation, which includes false messages that Ukraine provoked the attack. This use of misinformation may complicate ways outside forces may be able to help. Peacock said reliable and vetted ways to help include the charity foundation Come Back Alive, which provides essential supplies for the Ukrainian Army, Peacock said, and other fundraisers can be found at sites.google.com/view/standwithukraine. Peacock urged that Russian people not be demonized because of the actions of Putin and his supporters, and she said that existing, complex tensions around loyalty and nationality will only continue. She specifically noted that language and dialect are already used as ways to discriminate in the Ukraine. Looking ahead, Peacock said that her biggest fear is a bloodbath, and she worries that international response may not be enough, specifically the most recent sanctions that have been announced. One thing we share as humans is the desire to make our own decisions, to be able to decide as we choose, what kind of world we wish to live in, Peacock said. The Ukrainian people have yet to be left alone to decide for themselves what kind of country they want to be. Rather, the Russian bear has been a constant threat, against which only the powers of Europe and the United States has any chance of protecting them, Peacock said. And now, that bear has attacked, openly and unapologetically. When Putin invaded Crimea, the West ultimately did nothing. Now, will our response be the same? Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sandra Burke, executive director of Winona Volunteer Services, recently shared about the personal and professional parts of her life when answering 10 questions for the Winona Daily News Get to Know series. To view the full video of her answering the questions, visit winonadailynews.com. Here are just a few of her answers: Q: What are some of your favorites in life? A: Well, I just love to travel, big trips, small trips, whatever trip I can plan. I love to just go somewhere and be somewhere else. I love it when my husband plays music with his brothers. The Burke Band is marvelous. And I also love just being with people who can make me laugh. Its something that I think is just very good for oneself and just makes me less serious, so I love to do that. And if I can be around a fire, love just sitting around the fireplace and hanging out with be it my husband or a group of friends. Q: Who inspires you the most and why? A: I dont think its just one person. I really get inspired, for instance, being around my staff wanting to do things better. How can we make Volunteer Services a better place to be? I get inspired by our clients, some individuals who just are struggling, but they have a positive outlook on life and they keep going and theyre just like, Hey, things are okay. I get inspired by the thank you notes that we receive from individuals to say, My mom really loves getting those meals from Volunteer Services. And so all of that together just helps me want to keep being better. Q: What made you want to work in your current position? A: When I applied for this position, it said director of Winona Volunteer Services, so I thought it was a volunteer resource center. And in my previous job over at Rape Crisis in Fayetteville, North Carolina, I worked with volunteers, got them trained. And I loved working with volunteers. So Im like, wow, this is great. I get to work with volunteers and direct them to community opportunities. Little did I know that it was also a food shelf, thrift store and coordinated assistance. And it turned out perfect. It couldnt have worked out any better had I really known what I was getting into. Q: Whats your favorite part of your job? A: Every day I come in and theres an opportunity to really make someones life better. It may be saying hello to a volunteer. It may be just talking with a staff member on a project. But its also the clients and the people that come here for services. And to know handing out some food or providing a voucher is going to make a difference in somebodys life, that keeps me coming in every day for the past 20 years. If your business or organizations leaders are interested in being involved in the weekly Get to Know series, reach out to rachel.mergen@lee.net for more details. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. JUNEAU A 42-year-old Beaver Dam man was found guilty on Wednesday to charges in connection to making over 70 phone calls to Dodge County Dispatch in a single day last summer. John Cowen pleaded no contest to a felony count of battery or threat to law enforcement and bail jumping along with misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer and unlawful phone use. Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Martin De Vries accepted the pleas and found Cowen guilty on all four counts. Additional charges against him were dismissed but read into the record. According to the criminal complaint, a communications officer contacted Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt on June 28 at 11:30 a.m. after getting a non-emergency phone call to the dispatch center where the caller said, I have a prediction this morning that one of your pigs is going to be shot. Law enforcement in the county were notified about the threat and found Cowen made the phone call on the same afternoon, according to the complaint. The phone call was reviewed and compared against another phone call placed to the Beaver Dam Police Department on the same day at 12:07 p.m. The caller asked for the police department and was told that the Dodge County Sheriffs Office answered the phone for the department. The caller hung up. The phone call came from a number linked to Cowen. Officers were placed and maintained surveillance at Cowens home and a detective for the Dodge County Sheriffs Office called Cowens number and left a voicemail. Cowen called police back hours later but denied having any involvement with the calls. According to the criminal complaint, Cowen denied having a gun. He said he had strong feelings against Beaver Dam Police administrators that had arrested him. He said he hated cops in general. A female crisis negotiator, that was not a police officer, was brought in to speak with Cowen. During the call, Cowen spent his time asking the negotiator inappropriate questions. He also made sexual comments about a Beaver Dam Police Officer. Cowen was told not to call the police unless there was an emergency. On the early morning hours of June 29, he called dispatch seven times. Dodge County Human Services were called in on June 29 and a crisis worker attempted to reach out to Cowen on June 30, but was unable to do so. Cowen allegedly made 69 lewd phone calls to dispatch between 6:44 p.m. June 29 and 3:22 am. June 30. Cowen was taken into custody on June 30 and tried to inappropriately touch the officer arresting him. According to the criminal complaint, he also harassed nurses at Marshfield Medical Center Beaver Dam after he was taken there for medical clearance. A sentencing hearing is scheduled on April 20. Follow Terri Pederson on Twitter @tlp53916 or contact her at 920-356-6760. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. JUNEAU A 40-year-old Horicon man was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday for possession of child pornography. Bryan Hartley was found guilty of three counts of possession of child pornography in November. Hartley appeared before Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Sciascia on Wednesday and was sentenced to three years of prison followed by three years of extended supervision. Viewing child pornography is a crime done in secret, but the damage to victims is public and ongoing, Dodge County Assistant District Attorney Yolanda Tienstra said, according to a press release from the Dodge County District Attorneys Office. This never-ending victimization is what merits a mandatory prison term. According to the criminal complaint, federal agencies received a report in February of 2020 about an upload of a child exploitation image that was distributed in the Beaver Dam area. Investigators were able to track Hartley as the subscriber of the IP address. Horicon Police Officers along with special agents from the Wisconsin Department of Justice spoke to Hartley. Hartley confirmed he lived alone. According to the criminal complaint, a laptop in the apartment had a thumb drive in it that contained child pornography. Follow Terri Pederson on Twitter @tlp53916 or contact her at 920-356-6760. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Gov. Tony Evers has signaled support for a bill that passed the Assembly late Thursday to fund a new juvenile prison to replace the states embattled Lincoln Hills facility. After initially indicating that the bill, which unanimously passed the Senate earlier this week, was unlikely to come before the Assembly before it adjourned for the session, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, announced Thursday that a vote would be held after former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who is running for governor, urged him to take it up. The amended version of the bill, which now includes language to allow for local site approval and to convert the Irma facility to an adult prison, passed the Assembly unanimously and heads back to the Senate for final approval. For years, Republicans playing politics have stood in the way of our work to close Lincoln Hills and get our kids closer to home safely and responsibly, Evers, a Democrat, tweeted Friday. This bipartisan bill is a step in the right direction lets find common ground and do whats right. Lets get this done. The bill would authorize nearly $42 million in borrowing to build a juvenile correctional facility to replace the Lincoln Hills facility, which in the last decade has faced reports of child neglect, violent outbursts from inmates, use of pepper spray to cause bodily harm and intimidation of witnesses. Bill author Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said the bill represents years of work and the amendments allowing for local input on the next facility, as well as using Lincoln Hills as an adult prison, make the final measure stronger. He said the Senate is likely to take up the bill in early March, before the chamber adjourns for the year. I see no reason why it wouldnt come back to us and we wouldnt concur with the amendments, he said. Vos said earlier this week the bill was unlikely to get a vote because it does not specify where the new Milwaukee County facility would be located, but changed his mind Thursday after Kleefisch, who served under former Gov. Scott Walker, sent Vos a letter asking him to hold a vote on the bill. The bipartisan bill comes nearly four years after Walker signed a measure authorizing the state to shut Lincoln Hills by January 2021 and replace it with smaller, more regional facilities. Evers in 2019 signed into law a bill extending the closure date to July 2021, a deadline he later said was unrealistic. We must finish the job that we started, Kleefisch wrote in the letter. Passing this bill to create an additional facility for juvenile offenders, along with the assurance that we keep the existing facility operational to house more adult offenders, is a step in the direction toward safer communities, she wrote. We need to lock up violent criminals. This is a good first step in doing that. Evers, who is seeking a second term this fall, has pledged to close Lincoln Hills School for Boys and the Copper Lake School for Girls in northern Wisconsin. He included in his two budget proposals plans to create replacement sites for Lincoln Hills, but each was rejected by legislative Republicans. Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake became the states primary prisons for juvenile offenders after Walker and the Republican Legislature in 2011 closed two other facilities in southeastern Wisconsin as a cost-saving measure. Several incidents of abuse have resulted in the state paying out millions of dollars in settlements. Ukrainian immigrants living in the Madison area are in a state of shock and worry over Russias invasion of their homeland, concerned about the fate of their families and country. Its absolutely surreal, said Ruslana Westerlund, who was born in Ukraine and moved to the U.S. in 1995 at age 22. I cant process it yet. Westerlund, of Cross Plains, counted nearly 30 family members back home whose lives have been on edge for the past several weeks. Their fears escalated Thursday morning, when Russia bombed several cities, including the capital, Kyiv, where Westerlunds nephew lives. He managed to escape to a nearby village and is staying in a shelter there for now, she said. Westerlund has also been in touch with her father, who heard rockets flying over his head that struck just over an hour away from his home in central Ukraine. Hes struggled to secure basic necessities, such as toilet paper, she said. The line at gas stations is five hours long and the Ukrainian government is rationing how much gas can be pumped. Westerlund encouraged Americans to call their U.S. senators and request aid for Ukraine and sanctions for Russia. She described the past 24 hours as an evening of crying, followed by a morning of crying. This is a nightmare, she said. This is a nightmare. But Westerlund also wants the world to know how independent and resilient her home country is, surviving centuries of invasion by different forces and the latest efforts by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian democracy has been a threat to Putin for many years, she said. So now hes sending in peacekeepers thats his word. His war is fought with lies. Thousands of Russians have protested their presidents decision to go to war. UW-Madison postdoctoral student Yulia Khalikova, who is from Russia, joined them from afar. She was one of about a dozen on campus Thursday chanting Save Ukraine and Stop Putin outside of Bascom Hall. I just thought, what can I do? she asked. If I were in Russia, I would go to the streets. Here, theres no Russian embassy, but at least its some sort of gesture. Anna Popovych, 37, also participated in the modest protest. She grew up in the Kyiv area before coming to UW-Madison for graduate studies in sociology. Popovych said her family is relatively safe because they are visiting others in Belarus. But she was concerned by her conversations with friends Wednesday evening, some of whom said they are hiding out in bomb shelters or subways and others who are evacuating to the western part of Ukraine. Its unbelievable, she said. I did not believe this would happen. After two storms systems hit southern Wisconsin this week, quiet and warmer weather is on the way, with highs breaking into the 30s this weekend, then the high 30s and upper 40s next week, according to forecasters. The National Weather Service said rough snow totals from the storm Thursday into Friday include 1 to 2 inches in La Crosse and Eau Claire, 2 to 3 inches in Madison and Green Bay, 3 inches in Janesville, 3 to 4 inches in Fond du Lac, 4 to 6 inches in Milwaukee and Kenosha, and 6 to 8 inches in Sheboygan. In Madison on Friday, look for scattered flurries before 11 a.m., mostly cloudy skies, a high near 25 and north winds at 5 to 10 miles per hour turning out of the west in the afternoon. After an overnight low around 9, Saturday should be sunny, with a high near 33 and southwest winds at 5 to 15 mph, gusting as high as 25 mph and producing wind chills of zero to 10. After a low overnight Saturday into Sunday around 21, Sundays forecast features sunny skies, a high near 34 and northwest winds at 5 to 10 mph. The Weather Service continues to forecast no chances for precipitation next week through Thursday. Skies over Madison should be mostly sunny Monday, partly sunny Tuesday, mostly sunny Wednesday, and partly sunny Thursday, with highs near 41, 37, 36 and 38, and lows Sunday night through Wednesday night around 16, 24, 22 and 19. 27 Storm Track meteorologist Max Tsaparis forecasts for Madison mostly quiet weather for the next week with flurries or light snow possible Tuesday evening and night, and flurries possible Thursday. Tsaparis said highs for Madison Friday through Thursday should be near 23, 35, 35, 45, 39, 39 and 35, and overnight lows around 7, 20, 14, 24, 22 and 22. Thursdays high in Madison was 22 at 4:58 p.m., 13 degrees below the normal high and 40 degrees below the record high of 62 for Feb. 24, set in 2002. Thursdays low in Madison was 12 at 12:43 a.m., 6 degrees below the normal low and 25 degrees above the record low of 13 below for Feb. 24, set in 1889. Officially, 0.08 inches of precipitation was recorded at the Dane County Regional Airport on Thursday, boosting Madisons February total to 0.38 inches, 0.9 inches below normal. The meteorological winter (December through February) precipitation total (rain plus snow converted to liquid) rose to 2.55 inches, 1.83 inches below normal. Madisons 2022 precipitation total rose to 0.86 inches, 1.89 inches below normal. Madisons record precipitation for Feb. 24 is 0.64 inches in 1892. The 1.8 inches of snow on Thursday boosted Madisons February total to 4.5 inches, 6.7 inches below normal. For meteorological winter, Madison has received 20.1 inches, 16.8 inches below normal. For the snow season (since July 1), Madison has received 20.7 inches, 19.8 inches below normal. Madisons record snowfall for Feb. 24 is 6 inches in 1938. Madisons official snow depth is 1 inch. Local Weather Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Exclusion of foreign nationals from legal profession goes to Constitutional Court Today, the Constitutional Court hears argument on section 24 of the Legal Practice Act which bars foreign nationals from admission as legal practitioners [UPDATE: Watch the full hearing on the Constitutional Court's YouTube channel here] The Constitutional Court is today set to hear argument in Rafoneke and Others v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others. The matter challenges the constitutionality of section 24(2) of the Legal Practice Act as it effectively prohibits foreign nationals from being admitted as legal practitioners in South Africa. As it stands, the Act only provides for South African citizens or permanent residents to be enrolled as a legal practitioner, conveyancer or notary. The Centre for Applied Legal Studies represents the International Law Students Association (ILSA) and intended to seek the Court's permission to intervene as a friend of the court in this matter. We sought to argue that section 24 of the Legal Practice Act, allowing foreign nationals to study law but barring them from being admitted as legal practitioners, is irrational and discriminatory. Further, we contend that admission as a legal practitioner does not equate with employment, and the bar to admission for foreign internationals infringes on fundamental freedoms of choice and academic freedom and the Constitution's promise of dignity and equality for all. In the main application, ILSA intended to show the disconnect and injustice in allowing South African institutions to accept and/or enroll foreign nationals who are then informed that they will be prohibited from practising the skills transferred in that very country. ILSA also sought to argue against the Xenophobic undertones which lie in some of the parties' arguments against foreign nationals being admitted as this goes to the core of CALS values in defending human rights. We have not proceeded with our application for admission as amicus curiae as we believe these arguments have been well canvased by the another amicus in the matter, namely the Pan African Bar Association of South Africa. While we have made written submissions we hope the Court will consider, we will not be participating in oral argument. It is our hope that the Court will arrive at a sensible and justified conclusion which does not perpetuate xenophobia or discrimination. "We strongly believe that the Act disregards the immense financial contributions of foreign internationals into the higher education sector in Universities," says Anesu Dera, attorney at CALS. "The wealth of knowledge invested by institutions of higher learning ought to translate into an investment for students broader contribution in society." Read more in our written submissions here. For inquiries, please contact: Drive through Scio and you will likely see red and white signs inscribed with the words "No Factory Chicken Farm in our community." Those signs are made by Christina Eastman, a fifth-generation farmer from Scio who lives up the road from where a future Foster Farms chicken site is planned, one of three proposed in the area. Linn County officials discussed the enterprises at the Tuesday, Feb. 22 Board of Commissioners meeting and again at a town hall with farmers Wednesday, Feb. 23 in Scio. Who's across the road The 38-acre site owned by Evergreen Ranch will house 16, 60-foot-by-600-foot poultry warehouses on Thomas Drive. Based on its permit filings with Linn County, the farm will raise as many as 4.5 million broiler chickens per year. If approved, the chicken farm will neighbor the Broken Dam swimming hole on Thomas Creek. It also will be situated about a half-mile from Lourdes Elementary School and Lourdes Catholic Church. The Evergreen Ranch site is one of three planned chicken farms around the mid-Willamette Valley. They include a Foster Farms contractor on Jefferson-Scio Road to the west and a Hiday Poultry Farms operation in Aumsville to the north in Marion County. All are in the permit-pulling stage. Eastman is among a number of mid-valley farmers who believe the chicken farms in the region will bring pollution, traffic and deep-pocketed investors bent on compromising the community's historic character. Tied hands On Tuesday, Eastman and other sympathetic activists aired their grievances to Linn County commissioners. Many say they fear the planned chicken farms could threaten wildlife and run neighboring water wells dry to feed their livestock. "They'll buy our water rights and do whatever they want because they don't have the love of the state," Eastman said. "This is our home, and I think it's the most beautiful in the state." Linn County commissioners made it clear on Tuesday that land use permits are not theirs to deny by law. "The law doesn't give us any place in the process," Linn County Commissioner Will Tucker said. "The best I can do is call and ask people to hold public meetings." Resistance online Opposition to mid-valley chicken factory farms went online last year when a Facebook group, Farmers Against Foster Farms, began making waves. Their website is a collage of maps, land permits and public records related to the three chicken farms still on the table. One of the minds behind the group is farmer Kendra Kimbirauskas. She raises goats, hogs, beef cattle and poultry with her husband in Scio, where she wants to take a stand against "big chicken." "We have got to insert ourselves in this conversation," Kimbirauskas said on Tuesday. "Otherwise, if we don't, we're not going to be able to put the genie back in the bottle." Farmers Against Foster Farms posts graphic renditions of their claims on their website. They include a so-called "smell zone" illustrating the 400-foot radius of noxious odors the farms are liable to emit. Neighbor wars For Eric Simon, a Brownsville chicken farmer developing the Jefferson-Scio Road site, his critics can get carried away. "It's absolutely ridiculous what they're saying to people," Simon said. "My closest neighbor is 1,400 feet away." Simon started in the business 20 years ago when his family was looking for ways to keep a roof over their heads. He also owns Ideal Ag Supply, a farm supply store in Brownsville. The 60-acre site will raise as many as 3.4 million chickens per year and house 12, 60-foot-by-600-foot poultry warehouses along a desolate span of Jefferson-Scio Road. Simon applied for a state permit in 2020, which requires him to secure the water rights he needs and mitigate biohazards. "We're working within the law," Simon said. "We've gone above and beyond what's required of us." Simon chose the location, he said, purposefully to avoid a neighbor war, not start one. He's engaged with Farmers Against Foster Farms on and offline with mixed success. Some folks, Simon said, just have questions. Others want to fight. Foster Farms has been sued in recent years by watchdog groups who have accused it of inhumane slaughtering methods and waste disposal. In 2020, a California farm workers union sued Foster Farms for nine deaths it attributed to workplace conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Simon acknowledged there are bad actors in his industry. He wants people to know it incentivizes good chicken farmers. "We get judged on our birds," Simon said. "The better their conditions, the more money I make." He hopes to break ground by this spring and hire five workers at the farm. Taking action More than 50 people showed up at Scio's ZCBJ Hall on Wednesday night to brainstorm ways to have their voices heard in Salem. Linn County Commissioner Sherrie Sprenger advised the audience to take up the issue with state agencies and, ultimately, their state legislators. "What works is facts," said Sprenger, a former state legislator representing Linn County. "Get your science, get your data, get a hydrologist to study the water." Using donations, Farmers Against Foster Farms hired an engineer to conduct a water study on the proposed chicken farms, according to Kimbirauskas. The study was submitted to the Oregon Department of Agriculture in October. Farmers Against Foster Farms will have their first meeting with members of the Oregon Senate to discuss chicken factory farms. The virtual informational session is tentatively scheduled with the Senate Natural Resources Committee at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 1. Editor's note: This article has been edited to identify Kendra Kimbirauskas as a farmer. 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. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 2 Sad 1 Angry 0 CNN's Julia Kesa and Ivana Kottasova in Kyiv and Josh Pennington, MJ Lee and Michael Callahan contributed reporting. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, Jim Sciutto, Katie Bo Lillis, Jonny Hallam, Joseph Ataman, Antonia Mortensen and Lindsay Isaac also contributed. RTHK: EU, Britain add Putin, Lavrov to sanctions lists The EU on Friday added Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to its sanctions list over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell confirmed. The step was agreed at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels held to formally adopt a broad package of sanctions on Russia that Borrell has called the "harshest" ever drawn up by the bloc. The package, approved by EU leaders in an overnight summit, hammers Russia's financial, energy and transport sectors, and curbs the ability of Russians to keep large amounts of cash in EU banks. It also expands the number of Russians on the EU's list of sanctioned individuals barred from entering the bloc's 27 countries and whose EU assets are blocked. Two EU officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Germany and Italy had resisted putting Putin and Lavrov on the EU's list. The only other leaders on it are Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But that reluctance faded on Friday as Russian forces kept up their pounding of several Ukrainian cities and tightened their noose on the capital Kyiv, as tens of thousands of Ukrainians fled their country. "We are hitting Putin's system where it has to be hit, not only economically and financially, but also at the heart of its power," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said as she arrived for the Brussels meeting. The UK government on Friday ordered all assets of Putin and Lavrov frozen. The Treasury issued a financial sanctions notice against the two men, adding them to a list of Russian oligarchs who have already had their property and bank accounts in the UK frozen. The West's response to Russia's assault on Ukraine has been coordinated between the EU, US, Canada and Britain. The EU's sanctions package - the second adopted this week as Russia's went from threats to full-on military assault - comes into effect once it is published in the bloc's Official Journal, expected to be late on Friday or on Saturday. The measures however stop short of kicking Russia out of the Swift messaging system used globally by banks to arrange transfers - a major tool that has been used to devastating effect against Iran. Around 300 Russian banks use Swift. "That question was considered. But we didn't get necessary unanimity on it," Borrell said. "So it's not in the package, but it's still on the table." Ukraine has lobbied fiercely for a Swift ban on Russia, but Germany and Italy - which rely on Swift to pay for Russian natural gas deliveries - are hesitant. That reluctance, too, appeared to be softening. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in Paris on Friday that for a possible next round of EU sanctions on Russia, "we should also look into instruments that go beyond even the latest sanctions package, that includes Swift". Borrell, however, said the focus now for the EU was to implement the latest sanctions, and a third packet should not be expected "in the next days or hours". (AFP) This story has been published on: 2022-02-25. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Spacewalk preparations and cancer research were among the activities scheduled aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The Expedition 66 crew also unpacked a U.S. cargo craft and explored using virtual reality while exercising. NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Kayla Barron began readying the U.S. Quest airlock and collecting tools ahead of a pair of spacewalks planned for mid-March. The duo also reviewed step-by-step spacewalk procedures on a computer using 3D graphics. NASA is continuing to set up the space station's truss structure for a third set of roll out solar arrays augmenting the orbiting lab's power system. Chari earlier partnered with ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer investigating how living in space affects visual function. NASA Flight Engineer Thomas Marshburn assisted the duo with the research in the morning before spending the afternoon troubleshooting components on the COLBERT treadmill. Maurer ended his day wearing virtual reality goggles while pedaling on an exercise cycle to learn how to improve the work out experience in space. A new cancer study started this week after arriving aboard the Cygnus space freighter on Monday. NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei set up the Life Science Glovebox on Wednesday and began observing tumor cells shipped inside a Cygnus science freezer. On Thursday, Vande Hei continued servicing those samples to better understand the onset and progression of cancer and potentially improve treatments on Earth. Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos was back on plasma physics research Thursday and also transferred cargo from Russia's ISS Progress 80 cargo craft. Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov inspected Russian station modules before exploring ways to maximize space exercise. The duo rounded out the day with eye scans using the Ultrasound 2 device with remote guidance from doctors on the ground. On-Orbit Status Report Payloads: Immersive Exercise: A crewmember gathered Immersive Exercise related hardware, performed a virtual reality (VR) headset calibration, ran the exercise session, filled out the questionnaire, and stowed items per the stowage notes. The Immersive Exercise project focuses on the development of a VR environment for biking sessions aboard the ISS. The VR equipment is interfaced with the current bicycle exerciser aboard the ISS, Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization (CEVIS), located in the United States "Destiny" Laboratory Module. MicroQuin 3D Tumor: MicroQuin 3D Tumor hardware was placed into the LSG (Life Science Glovebox) and Injections were performed on BioCells for Habitat B. Investigation of Key Signaling Cascades Involved in Tumorigenesis and Their Responsiveness to a New Therapeutic Using a 3D In Vitro Tumor Model (MicroQuin 3D Tumor) examines the effects of a drug on breast and prostate cancer cells. In microgravity, the cells can grow in a three-dimensional model, which makes it easier to characterize their structure, gene expression, and cell signaling and response to the drug. Results could provide new insight into the role of a protein in the cells that is targeted by the drug. Plasma Krystall-4 (PK-4): A crewmember swapped the data harddrives and initiated run #4. The gas supply valves were shut off and the video monitor was deinstalled. Plasma Krystall-4 (PK-4) is a scientific collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), performing research in the field of Complex Plasmas: low temperature gaseous mixtures composed of ionized gas, neutral gas, and micron-sized particles. The micro-particles become highly charged in the plasma and interact strongly with each other, which can lead to a self-organized structure of the micro-particles: so-called plasma crystals. Experiments in the facility aim to study Transport Properties, Thermodynamics, Kinetics and Statistical Physics, and Non-linear waves and Instabilities in the plasmas. Rodent Research-18 (RR-18): RR-18 activities were performed, and a Rodent habitat was restocked. Astronauts returning from space can experience eye problems, along with headaches and blurred vision. Scientists suspect environmental conditions during spaceflight lead to oxidative stress that adversely affects the eye structure and function. Space Flight Environment Induces Remodeling of Vascular Network and Glia-vascular Communication in Mouse Retina (Rodent Research-18) investigates how spaceflight affects visual function, examining changes in the vascular system of the retina, tissue remodeling and cell-cell interactions in mice. Systems: Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: In support of two EVAs scheduled for next month, the crew performed an Articulating Portable Foot Restraint (APFR) Tool Build. The APFR is a commonly used foot restraint tool that helps the astronauts stay in place while performing maintenance during spacewalks. It features a boot plate with toe loops to help secure the boot of an Extravehicular Mobility Suit (EMU). Today the crew wrapped a crowfoot tool in Kapton tape and completed a fit check on the pitch knob of the APFR. The crew also reviewed Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Software and unstowed hardware from the Airlock not needed for the upcoming EVAs. Treadmill 2 (T2) Isolator Inspection: As part of on-going troubleshooting on the T2 Rack, the crew rotated the rack from its overnight stow configuration and installed new isolators. Emergency Simulation On-Board Training (OBT): Today the crew reviewed Emergency OBT Simulator Functionality to make sure systems are functional and their training is fresh in case there is an emergency on the space station. Tomorrow, the crew will perform emergency response drills. Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations: The crew continued offloading science experiments, crew provisions, and hardware from the recently berthed Cygnus cargo vehicle. The Cygnus will remain at the space station until the end of May, and once it is offloaded, the crew will begin filling it with items for disposal. Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan: Today, the crew performed eye exams using ultrasound equipment. Eye exams are performed regularly on-board in order to monitor crewmembers eye health. Eyesight is one of the many aspects of the human body that is affected by long-duration stays in a microgravity environment. Dragon / LAB Space Station Computer (SSC) Swap: SSCs are the laptops used onboard by crew members onboard the ISS to access timelines and procedures and perform other tasks. Today, the crew moved SSC 10 from Dragon to LAB and moved SSC 20 from LAB to Dragon. SSCs are swapped regularly to ensure that International Procedures Viewer (IPV) backups are applied to SSCs remaining in Dragon for emergency situations. Completed Task List Activities: None Today's Ground Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. Four Bed CO2 Scrubber Flight Software Update Look Ahead Plan Friday, February 25 (GMT 56) Payloads: Cold Atom Lab MTL Leak Check (NASA) Colgate Skin Media Change and Preservation (NASA) EasyMotion Power Box Charge (ESA) MQ3D fixations HAB B (NASA) PK-4 Data HD Change and Pack for Return (ESA-joint) RR-18 Access Unit Clean (NASA) SABL-2 CO2 Controller Remove (NASA) Systems: Training for Emergency Response On-Board ISS Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain EVA Battery Operations Saturday, February 26 (GMT 57) Payloads: Astrobee perching Arm Install (NASA) Plant Hab-05 Media Transfer (NASA) SQuARES (NASA) Repository Urine Setup (NASA) Systems: Crew Off-Duty Sunday, February 27 (GMT 58) Payloads: Colgate Skin Media Change (NASA) Phospho-Aging Sample Inserts (NASA) Repository Urine and Blood Collect (NASA) SQuARES (NASA) Systems: Crew Off-Duty Today's Planned Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. Extravehicular Activity Articulating Portable Foot Restraint Tool Build Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations Cold Stowage Double Coldbag Icebrick Stow MicroQuin 3D Tumor Media Injection Ops, MELFI Sample Retrieve, SABL Insert Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT) Touching Event for the Touching Surfaces experiment Dragon Tablet Checkout Environmental Health System (EHS) - Coliform Water Sample Analysis 44 +/- 4 hours post processing Treadmill 2 (T2) Rack Rotate Rodent Research Habitat Restock Food Acceptability Survey Ultrasound 2 HRF Rack 2 Power On Eddy Current Meter Gather Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan LSG Primary Crew Restraint Unfold, Fold, Front Glove Swap Health Maintenance System (HMS) - ESA Nutritional Assessment SQuARES Flexible Daily Imagery Swap SSC (Station Support Computer) 10 and 20 Swap Wireless VR Headset Troubleshooting, Calibration and Items Retrieval for Immersive Exercise Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Software Review Food Physiology Crew Diet Briefing Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Airlock Unstow Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference Review Emergency OBT Simulator Functionality CCE Preparation Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. As readers of this page know, I have written several times over the past years to express my dismay on the low testing performance of students across the country, and especially in the Greater Albany Public School District. I continue to write because it is my hope that parents and other concerned citizens will contact our elected school board leaders before Monday, Feb. 28, when they have a continued hearing on their academic improvement plan of 2018-19 to urge them to adopt a publicized academic improvement plan that would lead to 100% of our students passing the state standardized tests in English and math with strategy and a timeline. It is an ambitious goal, but it is one that is vitally important to the future of our children, our community and our country. It is worth repeating that only 32% of our 11th-grade GAPS students passed the state math test in 2019. Further, in two of our elementary schools, only 17% of third-graders passed the state math test, and only 11% passed the English test. This is in spite of the fact that funding for schools has increased by an annual average of 18.49% for the past 16 years. There are also increases in new corporate taxes for schools, and there was extensive rescue funding last year. Everyone should agree that this low performance is unacceptable. Would you go to a doctor who was correct only 32% of the time? Would you buy a loaf of bread that was edible only 11% of the time? It should come as no surprise that business leaders are warning us that they are desperate for employees with skills in technology, engineering and math, and if those skills arent found in graduates of American schools, then they will be forced to look elsewhere. And, as studies have repeatedly shown, students who graduate with low basic skills not only have a tough time finding employment, they also are much more likely to face problems, such as drug and alcohol addiction and homelessness. The stated mission of GAPS is Building bridges to lifelong learning and brighter futures. If GAPS is to be true to that mission, then they must do whatever they can to ensure that every student graduates with a basic understanding of math, and the ability to read and comprehend. I am soon to be 94 years old. And it is my fondest hope that I will live long enough to see a time when I dont need to write any more letters bemoaning the quality of public-school education. Until that time comes, however, you can count on the fact that I will continue to raise my voice. I urge other concerned citizens to raise theirs, too. Mae Yih is a former state representative and former state senator whose lengthy political career began in Albany. She served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives and five terms in the Oregon Senate. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Rev. Mykhaylo Dosyak, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church at 394 Blackstone St., is counting on the power of prayer to help safeguard his family members in the Ukraine. Greenwood is a city and seat of Leflore County situated in the northwestern part of the US State of Mississippi. The city of Greenwood served as a center of cotton planter culture in the 19th century. It was also a site of major protests and conflicts throughout the 1960s as African Americans worked to achieve racial integration, voter registration, and access during the civil rights movement. Geography Of Greenwood Cypress tree swamp near Greenwood, Mississippi. Editorial credit: Rob Crandall / Shutterstock.com At an elevation of 40 m above sea level, Greenwood lies along the Yazoo River, at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region. The city is located about 154 km north of Jackson, the capital of the state of Mississippi, and 209 km south of the riverport of Memphis, Tennessee. According to the United States Census Bureau, Greenwood spans an area of 24.78 sq. km, of which 24 sq. km is occupied by land, and 0.78 sq. km is occupied by water. The Population Of Greenwood In 2020, the city of Greenwood was home to a population of 12,964 with a median age of 34 and a density of 424 people per sq. km. The city's population has decreased by -14.86% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 15,205 people in 2010. The majority of people in Greenwood are Black or African Americans. In fact, there were 2.92 times more Black or African American residents in the city than any other race or ethnicity in 2019. The largest ethnic groups in the city are Black or African Americans representing 73.1% of the citys population, followed by White, most of whom are non-Hispanic, at 25.52%. The minor ethnic groups in Greenwood are Asians at 0.76%, Hispanic White at 0.46%, and others at 0.19%. The Economy Of Greenwood The median household income in Greenwood is $26,965, which is less than the median annual income of $65,712 across the entire United States. Although the employment in Greenwood grew at a rate of 0.796% between 2018 and 2019, the city is currently experiencing a declining rate of -1.56% annually. The economy of Greenwood employs around 4,800 people in different industries. The largest industries in the city are Manufacturing, Health Care & Social Assistance, and Retail Trade. The highest paying ones are Administrative & Support & Waste Management, Wholesale Trade, and Finance & Insurance. Brief History Of Greenwood Little Zion M.B. Church near Greenwood, Mississippi. Editorial credit: Rob Crandall / Shutterstock.com The flood plain of the Mississippi River has always been rich in resources necessary for different vegetation and wildlife. The Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian nations settled in the Deltas marsh and swampland long before Europeans migrated to America. In 1830, Greenwood Leflore, the Choctaw Chief, signed the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, opening the swampland to European settlers. In the same year, John Williams built a trading post on the banks of the Yazoo River. It was known as Williams Landing and quickly blossomed. In 1844, the settlement was incorporated as Greenwood, named after the Choctaw chief Greenwood Leflore. The city had a strategic location in the heart of the Delta, helping it become a strong cotton market. It prospered as a shipping point to New Orleans, Memphis, and St. Louis, Missouri, until the latter part of the Civil War. An exterior view of the Tallahatchie Flats in Greenwood, Mississippi. Editorial credit: jmanaugh3 / Shutterstock.com However, the citys thriving economy did not last long. The cotton industry was severely diminished towards the end of the civil war and the following years of reconstruction. The citys economy was crippled and saw very little growth during these years. In the 1880s, the arrival of railroads saved the city with two lines running to downtown Greenwood, close to the Yazoo River. Once again, Greenwood was a prime shipping point for cotton. The city continued to prosper well into the 1940s as the Downtown Front Street bustled with cotton factors and other related businesses. Between 1962 and 1964, Greenwood was a center of protests and voter registration struggles during the Civil Rights Movement. Organizations like the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) were all active in the city. During the protests, hundreds were arrested, blacks were denied the right to vote, civil rights activists were subjected to repeated violence, and economic retaliation was used against African Americans who attempted to register to vote. Tourist Attractions In Greenwood Sightseeing opportunities in Greenwood are plentiful and diverse. Tourist attractions include historical places, museums and art galleries, National and State Parks, amusement parks, sporting events, and festivals. Visitors go to the Museum of the Mississippi Delta. The museum was formerly known as the Cottonlandia Museum. It offers a glimpse into the intricate past of the city. The museum introduces the history of Greenwood, starting with the Native Americans that lived in the area, and displays artifacts and furniture which was once belonged to Chief Greenwood LeFlore. Visitors also get to see an immense selection of agricultural relics such as plows and blacksmith tools, and other military artifacts from the Civil War. Former Louisville Metro Police officer Brett Hankison was released from jail February 23 after surrendering to authorities and posting bond, his attorney Stew Matthews told CNN. State police searching for man charged with murder in shooting death of former Kentucky lawmaker's daughter Wrexham committed to work with partners as North Wales councils readying themselves to take refugee families and children This article is old - Published: Friday, Feb 25th, 2022 Wrexham Council is ready to respond to any impacts arising from the Ukraine crisis, including helping refugees. Russian leader Vladimir Putin shocked the world yesterday when he launched an invasion of Ukraine in the early hours, in what First Minister Mark Drakeford said was a deeply sad day for people in Ukraine, and a deeply dangerous day for the whole of the world. Earlier today sister site North.Wales reported the comments of Conwys cabinet member for social care Cllr Cheryl Carlisle who said, Just to let my colleagues know that Ive just been in meeting with social care colleagues from across Wales, and the minister for social care, and we are already discussing the fact that we may need to accommodate refugees from the terrible situation in Ukraine One of the topics in the discussion was how are we going to help child refugees from the Ukraine if it comes to that. When there was the evacuation of Afghanistan, all councils and families did their best to take children and families. With Ukraine, we are readying ourselves in case we have to take refugee families and children, all 22 local authorities. With all councils in Wales mentioned, we asked Wrexham Council if they are readying for the scenario as indicated and if there was any detail available . Wrexham Council told us, Wrexham is committed to work with local and national partners to respond in a measured way to any impacts arising from the Ukraine crisis. Ukraine shrugged off predictions of war. Now it's a mad dash to leave Salwan Georges/The Washington Post Hundreds of people take shelter inside a downtown Kharkiv metro station as explosions are heard outside on Feb. 24. KYIV, Ukraine Outside the train station, the crush of people seeking to escape grew by the minute. The fortunate ones clutched tickets to what they prayed was a sanctuary from the unfolding war. The unfortunate had none. They all were pondering their place in a new Ukraine. They included three women, co-workers, who wanted to travel to the same village six hours away. As they stood despondently, a fighter jet streaked through the gray sky. All looked up at once. We fear its Russian, said Ludmila, 56. We hope its Ukrainian, said Larisa, 42. In an instant, millions of Ukrainian lives were upended Thursday by the sudden entry of Russian troops by land and sea, pushing through several borders, lobbing shells and firing missiles at cities and villages. It was an attack few Ukrainians anticipated would happen, certainly not on this scale. For weeks, their president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and his advisers downplayed the possibilities of a Russian assault, even chastising the U.S. and European countries for constantly warning that an attack would happen. There were no evacuation plans or other elements of a comprehensive strategy to keep Ukrainians safe and secure in the event Russian tanks rolled in. On Wednesday night, restaurants and bars had been crowded with well-dressed people hours before the attack. Many residents attended the opera or strolled with their families past Kyivs centuries-old cathedrals. Airplanes arriving in Ukraine were full. We never expected this at all, said Ludmila, referring to the Russian assault. She and her colleagues withheld their family names out of concern for their security. By Thursday, the fears of a nation could be seen in the long queues at ATMs, gas stations and grocery stores to stock up on food and necessities. The fears could be seen in the massive traffic jams of cars filled with families desperately trying to leave the city. And they could be seen at the bus station, where passengers carrying what little they could stuff in small suitcases waited in snaking lines. In the city of Kharkiv, Ukraines second largest and a mere 25 miles from the Russian border, hundreds of residents huddled together in underground metro stations. Russian artillery sporadically thundered above. Kharkiv was long considered a likely target for the Russians because of the citys proximity to the border and its majority Russian-speaking population. But some people were still confused by the sound of blasts in the morning. Inside one subway station, people lined the walls and sat along the stairwell. Trains sat on both sides of the platform with the doors open. People unrolled yoga mats and blankets on the floor. Children played games on phones while adults refreshed the latest news. Some people had strollers, suitcases and pets with them. Others had very few belongings. Oksana Nipogodneyeva, 46, said it was if she woke up in another reality. She expected to spend the night on the metro station floor with her mother and two daughters. The people who call us a brotherly country are committing these actions, she added. Its some kind of betrayal and you just cant understand it. The pounding of shelling continued after nightfall. The sound of a fighter jet overhead rang through the downtown area. Hundreds of miles away, at the border crossing with Poland, fleeing Ukrainians carried children on their shoulders and dragged suitcases. Many had walked for miles in search of safety. Some who had set out in vehicles grew frustrated by traffic that stretched for five miles back into Ukraine and abandoned them to continue on foot. Some said they woke up to the sound of rockets and decided it was finally time to flee. We didnt expect it to happen so fast, said Khrystyna Spilnyk, 22, who was walking to the border with her mother after leaving their car at the side of the road. We are stressed, confused. Officials in Poland have said that authorities are preparing for as many as 1 million Ukrainians fleeing into the country, already home to some 2 million Ukrainians. Ivan Yurochko, 24, an engineer, was leaving Ukraine on foot with nothing but a small backpack. I didnt have time to pack, he said. He planned to stay with colleagues in a town on the border. But his mother and other family members had chosen to remain behind. Many people dont have the financial means to leave, he explained. Sometimes I just have this emotional breakdown, just crying, he said. I dont know if Ill come back to Ukraine. At the train station in Kyiv, dozens of foreigners were frantically trying to purchase tickets. Many were students, including 15 Nepalis gathered near the main door who worried they would be stranded in Kyiv. South African Tony Desmond, 25, was trying to reach the city of Lviv in hopes of getting assistance from the U.S. Embassy, which had relocated to that city in the west of the country. This is not just ordinary war, said Desmond, a computer engineering student. This is Russia, its the biggest military power in the East and West. My biggest fear is I dont want to die. I want to find somewhere safe. Moroccan university students Ayman Elharchi, 21, and Hamza Mrita, 19, arrived in Kyiv early Thursday morning from Kharkiv. They hoped to continue on to Lviv, where they thought they might be safer from Russian aggression. But with very few tickets available and a mad rush at local stations, the pair was unsure how to depart Kyiv. They said theyre willing to take any option to leave the city and head west. Of course, our parents are very worried, Mrita said. If leaving is best for security, then we leave, he added. If staying is better, security is the priority. Security is wherever theres no war. By the time Kristina Masina arrived at the train station, she had already encountered the war. She had flow in from Germany in the early morning. Thats when Kyivs airport was attacked. She and her 5-year-old daughter raced out of the airport, along with hundreds of other passengers, she said. We were running at the speed of light, she said. Then we heard some explosions, some shelling. We were trying to run as far away from the airport as we could. It was really scary. Im talking about it now and Im all shaking. Now, they were at the station, trying to reach their home in the central town of Kirovograd. But there were no tickets, and so she was traveling to another town an hour away, then taking a bus or taxi, she hoped. A few steps away, Galina Nedopriadko was picking up her granddaughter. The 66-year-old had made up her mind: She would not flee the city. She had received military training when she was younger in Russia and now she wanted to help repel the Russians from her country. I can dress wounds, cook, Im ready for anything, said Nedopriadko, adding there was a military unit based near her home. To be honest, I dont have any weapons with me, I havent bought any yet, she added with a smile. Well, its OK, Ill strangle them with my bare hands! Ill rip them apart! By dusk, an eerie quiet had fallen over central parts of the capital. At a four-way traffic stop outside the historical Kyiv opera house, lanes typically crammed with cars were empty and silent. Only a handful of pedestrians passed by. Most appeared to be in a hurry. In the hip Podil neighborhood, a gas station was one of the few businesses open. It was rationing fuel, barely five gallons per customer. Employees handed out Ukrainian flags to the customers waiting in the long line. Gas prices were rising rapidly even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but with the current shock to the oil market, $4 a gallon gas is now likely to be widespread across the country in a matter of weeks if not sooner. Russia's invasion of its neighbor in Ukraine is the largest conventional military attack that's been seen since World War II, a senior US defense official said February 24 outlining US observations of the unfolding conflict. Britains Conservative government and opposition parties were unanimous in their bloodthirsty response to Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday chaired an early morning meeting of the governments emergency COBRA committee to coordinate the UK response, including agreeing a significant package of sanctions to be introduced immediately. Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the current situation on the Russian invasion of Ukraine from 10 Downing Street. 24/02/2022. (Picture by Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street/Flickr) In a televised address that morning Johnson said he had spoken to Ukraines President Zelenskyy to offer the continued support of the UK. He pledged a massive package of economic sanctions designed in time to hobble the Russian economy Our mission is clear; diplomatically politically, economically, and eventually, military, this hideous and barbaric venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failure. Ahead of Johnsons speech in parliament, 10 Downing Street and all Whitehall departments flew the Ukrainian flag and were lit up in its yellow and blue. In his 5pm speech, Johnson described Putin in terms used for those leaders killed in previous imperialist interventions: Iraqs Saddam Hussein and Libyas Muammar Gaddafi. Putin was a bloodstained aggressor who believes in imperial conquest, who was always determined to attack his neighbour, no matter what we did. The prime minister announced a 10-point sanctions package, saying, All major Russian banks will be excluded from the UK financial system and a full asset freeze is being imposed on VBT, Russias second-largest bank. Legislation will be passed next Tuesday prohibiting all Russian companies from raising finance on UK markets and the Russian state raising sovereign debt. New sanctions were levelled against more than 100 Russian individuals, entities and their subsidiaries, including Rostech, Russias largest defence company. Limits will be placed on the amount Russians can hold in British bank accounts, with asset freezes extended to around 100 more people. The Russian airline Aeroflot was banned with immediate effect from flying into the UK. The sanctions include the Intention to shut off Russias access to the SWIFT [global financial transactions] payment system. Nothing is off the table in the UKs militarist agenda. Earlier Thursday, Tory backbencher and former party leadership candidate David Davis tweeted, It is far too late to get boots on the ground but it is not too late to provide air support to the Ukrainian army which may neutralise Putins overwhelming armoured superiority. In Parliament two sets of MPs, Conservative and Labour, occupied either side of the chamber but stood as one party of war committed to militarism and imperialist conquest. Throughout the Ukraine crisis, Labour has declared itself the party of Nato and the most fervent opponent of Moscow. In January, the Labourlist blog published a joint article, International unity against Russian aggression is crucial and must continue, by Blairites David Lammy and John Healey, following their visit to Ukraine earlier that month. On Tuesday, party leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted that Johnson, who had already shipped 2,000 anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian government, send more weaponry. Yesterday he doubled down, saying the UK needed a clean break to the failed approach to handling Putin. That means doing all we can to help Ukraine defend herself by providing weapons, equipment and financial assistance as well as humanitarian support for Ukrainian people. Johnsonwhose government has been staggered for months by the partygate crisis, with his own premiership threatenedjumped to his feet in praise of Starmer declaring, I want to say how grateful I am to the right honourable gentleman for the terms in which he has just spoken and the robust support he is offering to the government and to the western alliance at a very difficult time. In his televised address, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that the UK population will suffer "economic pain" as a result of confrontation with Russia (source: screenshot-KeirStarmer/Twitter) Earlier Starmer gave a televised national address, flanked by two Union Jack flags as he insisted that the working class will be forced to pay the price for confronting Russia economically and militarily. We must prepare ourselves for difficulties herewe will see economic pain as we free Europe from dependence on Russian gas and clean our institutions from money stolen from the Russian people. But the British public have always been willing to make sacrifice to defend democracy on our continent and we will again. Labour MP Chris Bryant, a longstanding anti-Russian warmonger, tweeted that people with dual Russian and British nationality should be forced to choose one. In parliament, another Blairite, Liam Byrne demanded that every visa issued to a Russian dual national is now reviewed and where proximity to President Putin is proven that citizenship should be stripped away. Even the arch reactionary Johnson, after declaring we are doing that, had to state, not every Russian is a bad person. Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who identifies as a Labour left, said, I do hope that we will be offering all the support that we can to those people who are likely to be shunned by the fascist imperialist Putin regime. No opposition to war will be tolerated. Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, asked Johnson to look here, close to home at those who enable, who propagate the propaganda that is being used by Putin to undermine his own people and free people everywhere, and to update the Treason Act so that we can identify them and call them what they are: traitors. Labour is equally fervent in cracking down on opposition, no matter how timid. Yesterday it demanded that 11 of its MPs, members of the rump Socialist Campaign Group (SCG), immediately withdraw their names from a statement published February 16 by the Stop the War Coalition (STWC). The 11 committed the sin of backing the statements tame call that Britain should be advancing diplomatic proposals to defuse tension and seek a solution to the crisis over Ukraine rather than ratcheting it up. Less than an hour after their support for the STWC statement was criticised, all 11 caved in. These included John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor of party leader and fellow SCG member Jeremy Corbyn, his former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, and the SCGs chair Richard Burgon. The only MPs now listed on the STWC statement are two who sit as IndependentsCorbyn, who was booted out of the Parliamentary Labour Party over a year ago by Starmer, and Claudia Webbe, another former Labour MP. Clive Lewis, one of the majority of SCG members who refused to sign the STWC statement, declared in parliament his support for Johnsons anti-Russian measures, including providing more defensive capabilities to Ukraine. Lewis, a Royal Military Academy Sandhurst trained soldier who served in Afghanistan, politely asked of Johnson, if you agree that we must have an end to this by a negotiated settlement and not by military means. Johnson dismissed Lewis, replying, that opportunity has now gone. Im afraid hes [Putin] missed it. Hes chosen the path of overwhelming violence and destruction and Im afraid that puts us on a very, very different course and we have to accept that reality. The reality means an even more rapid escalation of militarism and imperialist violence. Even before Johnson appeared in parliament, Downing Street announced that the UK is stepping up its air policing contribution to Nato from RAF Akrotiri [on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus] and the UK. A government spokesman said, Two typhoons and a voyager for refuelling from the UK will support continuous Nato air policing over Polands border with Ukraine ... two typhoons and a voyager for refuelling from Akrotiri [will] also support continuous Nato air policing over Romania's border with Ukraine. Work at Eaton? Contact the WSWS to tell us what you think about the rejected contract proposal and the issues motivating your strike. Eaton workers on the picket line (Source: UAW 281/Facebook) Over 360 workers at the Eaton-Cobham Mission Systems manufacturing facility in Davenport, Iowa, are entering their second week on strike Friday. The workers, members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Locals 388 and 1191, voted by a near-unanimous 98 percent to reject a tentative agreement between the company and the union on February 17, beginning their walkout shortly after midnight the following day. According to IAM officials, it is possibly the first-ever strike at the site. The factory, which employs close to 850 union and nonunion workers, supplies the military and other aerospace companies with air-to-air refueling systems, fuel tanks and other specialized equipment. Cobham Mission Systems was purchased by Eaton, a multinational conglomerate with over 90,000 workers globally, just last year in a $2.8 billion deal. In a news release issued Saturday, a local IAM union official said workers voted down the three-year contract proposal after management made a contract offer with sub-standard wages, reduced health care benefits and decreased 401(k) retirement matching contributions. Kelly Jo Stoneburner, a worker with eight years at the plant, told the local Quad-City Times while on the picket line, We are here because the cold out here isnt as cold as the contract we were offered. We are focused on health care, retirement and wages. And we are standing together because thats the way we change things. In a statement shortly after the walkout began, the company wrote, We are disappointed that the union has elected to strike rather than continue to work under an extension and return to negotiations. Eaton reported over $19.8 billion in sales in 2021, up 10 percent from the previous year, while profits exceeded $2 billion, increasing nearly 50 percent from 2020. According to the IAM, the company has stated that it will not return to negotiations until March 1 or 2, in an apparent effort to wear down workers. Despite bitterly cold temperatures in the area in recent days, workers have been forced to go without burn barrels, tents or portable toilets, and police have reportedly removed workers heaters from the picket line. The IAM has claimed that Davenport city ordinances prohibit such basic necessities, despite them being used on picket lines by John Deere workers last fall. The strike at Eaton is the third to take place in the last six months in the Quad Cities, a once heavily industrialized region straddling Iowa and Illinois along the Mississippi River. It follows the KONE workers strike in September and, most significantly, the five-week strike by 10,000 John Deere workers in October and November. In addition to its historic role as the center of the farm equipment industry, the Quad Cities is a major site of production for the military. The Rock Island Arsenal, located in the middle of the Mississippi River, has become the largest employer in the area, following decades of deindustrialization by Deere, International Harvester, Caterpillar, J.I. Case and other heavy equipment manufacturers which once dominated the local economy. The Arsenal, the US Armys only foundry and one of the largest government-run manufacturing hubs, makes ordnance and equipment, including artillery, gun mounts, recoil mechanisms, small arms, aircraft weapons sub-systems, grenade launchers, weapons simulators, and a host of associated components, according to Wikipedia. With US imperialism and its NATO allies on the war path against Russia, Eaton workers face the danger that immense pressure will be brought to bear to shut down their strike in the name of national unity and preparations for military conflict. Inevitably, this would entail workers continuing to see their living standards decline while Eaton and its large investors reap super-profits supplying the US war machine. Such calculations are behind the aggressive efforts by the capitalist state to block strike action by 17,000 BNSF railroad workers. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Texas upheld a lower court injunction prohibiting strike action, work stoppages, picketing, slowdowns, sickouts or other self-help. Workers at the Berkshire Hathaway-owned railway had voted overwhelmingly to strike last month against the companys unilateral imposition of a punitive points-based attendance policy, which is designed to squeeze even more productivity out of already overworked rail workers. While workers at Eaton are looking to fight for their interests and have been encouraged by the courageous struggle at Deere last year, the IAM is undoubtedly looking to quickly reach an agreement on the companys terms behind the workers backs, just as the UAW did in betraying the Deere strike. The IAM has a long record of pushing through pro-corporate agreements just as treacherously as the UAW, isolating and sabotaging strikes most recently among Chicago mechanics last year and Bath Iron Works workers in Maine in 2020. For Eaton workers to achieve their demands for substantially higher wages and improved health care and retirement, it is necessary to take the conduct of the strike into their own hands through the formation of a rank-and-file strike committee. Such a committee would provide a means to link up with other sections of workers engaged in struggle, including oil refinery workers and BNSF rail workers, as part of a common fight for good-paying jobs, decent working conditions, fully paid for health care and retirement, and other rights of the working class. On the second anniversary of the fascist murders in Hanau, Germany, thousands participated in vigils, silent marches and demonstrations. Events were held in over 100 cities to denounce the state racism and right-wing extremism that had made the fascist attack possible and to finally demand answers. A state that doesnt protect, a police force that doesnt helpHanau is everywhere! a participant in Frankfurt wrote on her poster. Demonstration through Frankfurt am Main, February 19, 2022. The poster reads: Hanau was not an isolated case. (Photo credit: WSWS Media) Under the motto SayTheirNames, a nationwide movement has developed to ensure that the victims are not forgotten. The names of the nine young Hanau residents were Kaloyan Velkov (33), Fatih Saracoglu (34), Sedat Gurbuz (29), Vili Viorel Paun (22), Gokhan Gultekin (37), Mercedes Kierpacz (35), Ferhat Unvar (22), Hamza Kurtovic (22) and Said Nesar Hashemi (21). A racist known to the authorities murdered them on February 19, 2020 before driving home unhindered and shooting his mother and himself. The crime has still not been solved. Numerous questions arise about the events before, during and after these murders, which the state of Hesse has still not answered satisfactorily. Why was the murderer, a right-wing extremist known to the police, in possession of several weapons? Why was the 110 emergency number unreachable for a long time, and why were the families left in the dark for hours and days about the fate of their relatives? As is now known, on the night of the crime in Hanau, a unit of the Special Operations Command (SEK) of the Frankfurt police was in action, which was later disbanded in June 2021 because of right-wing extremist activity. Nevertheless, the Hanau murderer is officially considered a lone perpetrator. Even two years after all this, little has changed on the part of the state in its dealings with the victims families. On Saturday, the victims complained bitterly that the organisation of the central memorial service at Hanaus main cemetery had been planned over their heads and partly against them. The state of Hesse hosted a ceremony there with about 100 invited guests. Among them were Hesse state Premier Volker Bouffier (Christian Democratic Union, CDU), German Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (Social Democratic Party, SPD) and the Mayor of Hanau Claus Kaminsky (SPD). But few friends and supporters of the families were admitted. Emis Gurbuz, the mother of the murdered Sedat, was critical that the state of Hesse had appropriated the commemoration at the main cemetery and that the relatives were not allowed to have a say in who attended. Theyre taking everything away from us, she said. That I, as a mother, cannot decide who can attend the memorial servicethat decision has been taken away from us. Who gives them the right to do that? The 19 February Hanau Initiative, which had called for the commemorative actions, received over 19,000 followers on Twitter in a short time. The call to take to the streets against forgetting and concealment and against fear spread throughout Germany and beyond within a few days. Commemorative events took place in Berlin, Bonn, Bochum, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Erfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Freiburg, Fulda, Giessen, Gottingen, Halle, Hamburg, Hanover, Heidelberg, Kassel, Cologne, Munich, Nuremberg, Saarbrucken, Rostock, Vienna and Basel, to name just a few of the over 100 cities. In Hanau, hundreds gathered on Saturday evening at the two crime scenes, Heumarkt (city centre) and Kurt-Schumacher-Platz (Hanau-Kesselstadt). Among them were friends, colleagues and classmates of the victims and supporters of the families who did not want to leave them on their own. It could have happened to any one of us, one person said in Kesselstadt. On the window of the Arena Bar today is Ferhat Unvars sentence: We are only dead when we are forgotten. Banner of two Frankfurt participants calling for remembrance, justice, enlightenment, consequences at the demonstration on February 19, 2022. In Frankfurt, around 1,500 people took part in a procession that began under the Friedensbrucke, where a large black and white mural depicts the faces of those killed. On Friday evening, 700 participants spontaneously participated in a demonstration through the Gallus district. Many demanded that the state of Hesse, which has locked away the files concerning the three neo-Nazi NSU murderers for 30 years, finally provide a complete explanation. Hanau was not an isolated case was written on placards, as well as the demands: Remembrance, justice, clarification, consequences. The demonstrators chanted: Nazis murder, the state participatesthe NSU was not a trio. In Berlin, there were several commemorative events, including a minutes silence and light show at the Maxim Gorki Theatre, where the faces of the victims were projected onto the facade. Meanwhile, hundreds gathered for demonstrations and rallies in the Wedding, Kreuzberg and Treptow-Kopenick districts. A smaller but moving memorial service took place in Duisburg. A young woman, herself close to tears, read the account of Filip Goman, the father of Mercedes Kierpacz, who had been shot in a kiosk in Hanau-Kesselstadt. The crime could have been prevented! her father is convinced. Afterwards, a speaker stressed that Hanau was not an isolated case, but joined many right-wing murder attacks. The neo-Nazis were deeply involved in the state, and the cause of racism was capitalism, she said. In Saarbrucken, a commemoration at the Europa-Galerie was abruptly disrupted when a right-wing extremist unfurled an imperial German flag at the vigil and deliberately tried to provoke the participants. In Munich, it was the police themselves who brutally disrupted a memorial demonstration and rally. There, huge contingents of security officers had been assembled in the city because of the Munich Security Conference taking place at the same time. An absurdly large police contingent also occupied Munichs Konigsplatz, where the Hanau commemoration was taking place. Finally, the police used pepper spray and batons against participants who were demonstrating peacefully, and did not stop even after the rally had ended. Videos show police in full riot gear, wearing helmets with closed visors, tackling the youth and literally beating a group into the underground station. Inmates at Alexander Correctional Institution, a maximum security prison in Taylorsville, North Carolina, initiated a hunger strike this month in response to abuse and inadequate medical care. Alexander Correctional Institution (Photo: ncdps.org) The strike came to light nearly two weeks ago after family members of one of the inmates contacted the non-profit law firm, North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services. Elizabeth Thomas, executive director of the law firm, explained to WUNC North Carolina Public Radio that prisoners were striking because grievances are not being answered or are being delayed, sick calls are not being answered and prisoners arent seeing medical staff, the mail is being delayed, prisoners are infrequently allowed showers, cells are not being properly cleaned and prisoners arent being given cleaning supplies, prisoners are being retaliated against for filing [grievances], and prisoners are not being let out of their cells for recreation. The WUNC report was published on February 15. Department of Public Safety spokesperson John Bull told WUNC, [t]here is not a coordinated, single-issue hunger strike by offenders at Alexander. Instead, he claimed that two prisoners had separately declared that they were on a hunger strike. However, it is unclear how many prisoners are actually involved in the hunger strike because prison officials, who exercise tight control over the flow of information, have a vested interest in limiting what the public knows about the conditions inside the prisons, a situation that has been made worse by the pandemic. Kristie Puckett-Williams, manager for the Campaign For Smart Justice at the ACLU of North Carolina, told WUNC that it is even difficult to determine how common hunger strikes actually are. She said, [t]hey probably happen more often than what we hear about, and explained that when a demonstration of any kind happens inside of a prison, prison officials decide to lock down that prison, and that means theres very little information going in, and very little information coming out. According to Puckett-Williams, prison officials have intensified their mistreatment of prisoners during the pandemic. COVID has really given prison officials the cover that they needed to treat people inhumanly and to keep them in torturous conditions without fear of retribution, Puckett-Williams pointed out. Because they can claim that its due to COVID [and] that this needs to happen as a safety precaution. However, claims by prison officials that the spread of the virus is being controlled inside the prisons do not stand up to any scrutiny. The situation inside prisons is a magnified expression of the criminally negligent pandemic response of the entire US political establishment. Both Democrats and Republicans have conspired to force workers to endure endless infections and deaths, offering vaccination as the sole means by which workers can protect themselves. The partial or total abandonment of non-pharmaceutical interventions by the ruling class, including lockdowns, masking and social distancing, has had catastrophic consequences for the population. The total number of official US fatalities from the virus is approaching 1 million, and the number of people suffering from Long COVID is far higher. Nevertheless, in coordination with the Biden administration, state governments around the country have moved rapidly this year to end mask mandates and contact tracing and to curtail infection data collection. From the point of view of the ruling class, the American population must be forced to acclimate itself to unending mass death so that the large corporations can continue to extract surplus value from their labor. In workplaces throughout the country, the uncontrolled spread of the virus has led to staffing shortages, and jails and prisons have been no exception to this. Moreover, the impossibility of implementing any form of social distancing in these facilities has had catastrophic consequences. In North Carolina prisons alone, 9,500 prisoners have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic, and at least 47 have died. According to WCNC Charlotte, this amounts to an infection rate of 24 percent, which means that prisoners are four times as likely to become infected as the rest of the population. Jails and prisons throughout the state have been forced to release inmates early due to overcrowding, but social distancing inside their walls remains essentially impossible. The Mecklenburg County Sheriffs office, for instance, was forced to reduce its jail population after a state inspection found significant safety concerns around staffing shortages in late December. At the time, a quarter of the countys inmates were infected with the virus. Democratic Governor Roy Cooper has likewise released thousands of state prison inmates. However, these limited releases have largely been a face-saving measure in a situation that has been nothing short of catastrophic. Ben Finholt, director of the Just Sentencing Project for NC Prisoner Legal Services, told WUNC that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) is not releasing people in sufficient quantities. He insisted that they could let 8,000 people out right now, and get them out of prison and keep the other people who theyre keeping in prison safer, keep their own employees safer, but they have not chosen to do that. He also called DPSs handling of the pandemic cruel and unusual and disrespectful of the human rights of the people in their care. Instead of making any kind of meaningful attempt to stem the tide of infections in North Carolinas prisons, DPS has instead offered various incentives to incarcerated people to get booster shots, including extended television time, visits or time using electronic tablets in prisons where they are available. Prisoners who get booster shots are also prioritized for job assignments and program placements in work release programs. In essence, they are withholding programs, tools and activities that contribute to the basic wellness and sense of purpose for inmates, while simultaneously failing to protect them from COVID-19. Now that the ruling class has declared COVID-19 endemic and claimed that the pandemic is over, the situation in US prisons can be expected to worsen further. Case numbers may be declining temporarily, though official case numbers certainly represent a vast undercount of infections, but Governor Cooper, like Democratic governors around the country, has in coordination with the White House urged the easing of mask mandates throughout the state, particularly in the schools. The further relaxing of basic pandemic control measures will inevitably lead to another massive surge in infections in the coming weeks or months, unless the working class intervenes to stop it. The claim by the political representatives of the capitalist class that the population must learn to live with the virus is a lie. A campaign of mass testing, contact tracing, and quarantining and the universal provision of high-quality masks along with the shutdown of schools and non-essential production with full compensation for those affected must be put in place. If deployed on a world scale, such measures could end the pandemic within weeks. An integral part of this effort must be an adequate response to the dangers posed by uncontrolled infection in prisons and jails. Prison cells, cafeterias, and shared spaces must be properly ventilated and sanitized, and inmates must have access to adequate personal protective equipment. If prisoners do contract the virus their right to high-quality medical treatment must also be ensured. Where measures are taken to enforce social distancing, they must accommodate the needs of prisoners, including safe human interaction. Most importantly, those prisoners who are serving nonviolent sentences and test negative for the virus must be released immediately and provided with adequate financial support and housing. The struggle for safe education and against the governments herd immunity policy continues to come to a head. While students, parents and teachers are protesting in their tens of thousands against unsafe learning conditions, the federal and state governments have decided to lift the last safety measures and give the deadly coronavirus free rein in schools. School children crowd in a school center in the Hacheney district of Dortmund The numerous rallies by concerned parents in Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Bonn, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich, the petition under the hashtag #WirWerdenLaut (WereGettingLoud) that received almost 150,000 signatures in a very short time, and the strikes by students against mass infection are part of a growing international movement against the reckless policy of herd immunity. Under these conditions, the movement is faced with fundamental questions. Does it make fruitless appeals to the respective governments that are aggressively enforcing the herd immunity policy, or does it unite internationally and fight against the government? Against attempts of some initiators of the #WirWerdenLaut petition to create illusions in the governments, the IYSSE wrote in a statement on February 8: This appeal to those in power, like similar appeals in the past, will fall on deaf ears. The ruling parties have proven in the past two years that they put the profit interests of big business higher than the health and lives of the population. In Germany alone, more than 119,000 people have died from coronavirus and almost 11 million have been infected. The governments response to the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant is not to strengthen protective measures, but to further dismantle them. This warning has now come true in a dramatic way. In the midst of the worst coronavirus developments to date at schools and day-care centres, instead of responding to the students demands, the federal coalition government and all state administrations have decided to eliminate the last remaining protective measures. Even demands for the nationwide installation of air filters and the abolition of compulsory in-person teaching are met with open hostility by the governments. Schleswig-Holsteins Education Minister Karin Prien (Christian Democratic Union, CDU), who is also president of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK), is the most aggressive. She invited the Berlin student spokespersons Anjo Genow and Tobias Westphal, who are among the initiators of the #WirWerdenLaut petition, to a discussion on Tuesday which, contrary to an original announcement by Prien, took place behind closed doors and was intended to bring each other closer. We didnt go into the discussion with high expectations, Westphal, student spokesperson of the Johann-Gottfried-Herder-Gymnasium in Lichtenberg, said on Twitter. Ms. Prien asked us why so many young people did not get vaccinated, spoke of an endemic and spread the narrative of a completely harmless disease for pupils. At the same time, she kept questioning our statements and accusing us of lying. Denying the dangers COVID-19 poses to children, Prien had called the safety measures in schools the cause of a culture of fear, laughed at our perceptions and announced on the same day that she would lift the cohort regulations at the beginning of March. In the right-wing daily Die Welt, Prienwho had deactivated her Twitter account to no longer have to deal with critical students, parents and teacherssubsequently insulted her critics as psychopaths. Even before that, Prien was subjected to massive protests on Twitter after she served up the coronavirus deniers argument that the dozens of children who died from COVID-19 had died with and not from the virus. In fact, all child deaths are reviewed individually by the Robert Koch Institute and only included in the statistics if COVID-19 is determined to be the cause of death. In view of these open lies and the insulting behaviour towards the students, student spokesperson Westphal, like thousands of Twitter users, is demanding the resignation of the KMK president: A woman who glosses over the deaths of children and uses Q-Anon-style arguments should not be allowed to decide on the well-being of hundreds of thousands of young people throughout Germany. This is undoubtedly true, but it does not just concern Prien. The student spokespersons have already had similar experiences in talks with Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (Liberal Democratic Party, FDP) and Green Party leader Ricarda Lang. The herd immunity policy is enforced by all the establishment parties at federal and state level in order to secure the profits of banks and corporations. That is why government politicians and the right-wing media are reacting so hostilely to the recent protests. Parents and teachers who criticise the herd immunity policy on social media and take a stand against it are slandered as terrorists, threatened by neo-Nazis, and subjected to lawsuits by the authorities. Those who call out the deliberate infection of young people and society as a whole are vilified as conspiracy theorists. The deliberate infection of children is not a conspiracy theory but a political fact that is openly stated time and again by politicians and government advisers themselves. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (Social Democratic Party, SPD) has repeatedly made clear that from his departments point of view, the pandemic will continue for 10 years or even 30, 40 years. He thus expresses the fact that a serious fight against the pandemic is not profitable from a capitalist standpoint and that the ruling class has no intention whatsoever of ending the mass deaths through an internationally coordinated strategy. The ever-new emergence of further coronavirus variants and the deaths of millions of people are to be declared the normal state of society. This phenomenon is not limited to Germany. The herd immunity policy is enforced by almost all capitalist governments without any consideration. In many countries, death tolls are once again almost as high as at the previous peak in the winter of death 2020/21, and yet they continue to open up the economy. In Britain, even the obligation for people who are ill to isolate has now been abolished. This international lockstep of the herd immunity policy shows that it has its basis not in the parochialism of one politician or another, but in the capitalist system. To increase their profits and not to endanger production, those in power are prepared to walk over corpses. This is also shown in the aggressive warmongering against Russia, which is incessantly pushed forward by the NATO powers. Under these conditions, the movement against the pandemic must link up with the growing struggles of the working class against wage theft and mass sackings, and take on international forms. Therefore, the IYSSE calls for the building of independent safe education rank-and-file committees to oppose the federal and state governments, to coordinate internationally and to link up with rank-and-file committees in workplaces. In the February 8 statement we wrote: Instead of making appeals to the established parties, who make it clear day after day that our lives are worth nothing to them, students and teachers must organise independently in action committees for safe education, taking the fight into their own hands and immediately enforcing the safety measures mentioned in the petition. With school strikes and protests students must be the prelude to a full-scale rebellion of the entire working class against the infiltration. The only way to stop the endless contagion is the international struggle for Zero COVID, based on a socialist perspective and a movement of the international working class against capitalism: Instead of transferring billions to corporations and the super-rich, the number of teachers must be doubled and schools must become safe places of learning. In order to finance the necessary lockdownsfirst and foremost for schools and nonessential businessesincluding wage compensation, support for poor families, compensation for small businesses, etc., 100 percent of the pandemic profits must be taxed. A social system that walks over corpses for profits and destroys the health and future of entire generations must be abolished and replaced by a system that gives priority to life over profits. The struggle against the pandemic, like the struggle against social inequality and war, is at its core a struggle against capitalism and for socialism. We call on all students, teachers and parents to contact us to fight for this perspective. The newly launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has completed the second month of its six-month-long commissioning period, bringing the joint NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) telescope several steps closer to becoming a fully operational space-based astronomical observatory. The operators of the JWST imaged star HD 84406, located in the constellation Ursa Major, using each mirror segment individually during the first part of its alignment process. In doing so they produced this mosaic of 18 unfocused images of the same star as part of the months-long process to characterize each mirror segment and the primary mirror as a whole. Credit: NASA The JWST was launched on December 25 on an Ariane 5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. It has so far completed among the riskiest steps of its deployment, including unfolding its sunshield, unfolding its secondary mirror and primary mirror wings, and successfully entering its orbit at the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2). Each operation could only be attempted once, and if any had failed, the telescope would have been unusable. One of the highpoints of this process was the precision with which the JWST was launched on the Ariane 5. In order to reach and maintain its orbit at L2, a point of gravitational stability that is perpetually behind Earth relative to the Sun, 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) away, the spacecraft has a limited amount of onboard propellant, which ultimately caps the lifespan of the telescope. Pre-launch calculations estimated that the JWST would have enough fuel to last 10 years in such an orbit. These estimates were extended to around 20 years after the launch, Bill Ochs, the JWST project manager, said in a January press conference, thanks to the efforts of the Ariane 5 launch team to make the telescopes launch as perfect as possible. Now, the telescopes operators at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, are carefully aligning the JWSTs primary mirror. Unlike the single mirror which gathers light for the Hubble Space Telescope, the primary mirror on the JWST consists of 18 hexagonal gold-plated segments, a design originally developed in the 1930s by Italian astronomer Guido Horn dArturo. When properly aligned, the segments combine into a single mirror 6.5 meters in diameter, more than seven times the size of Hubbles mirror. This alignment process is achieved using 132 motors, seven for each segment and six for the secondary mirror. Each motor is designed to move the mirror segments, as well as change the curvature of each segment, in increments as small as 10 millionths of a millimeter. The motors at the same time represent 132 points of failure for the telescope, and the time that was taken to meticulously plan out every motion of these motors is one of the reasons that commissioning the JWST was designed to take several months. Such precision is necessary, however, if the JWST is to focus on targets further awayand thus further back in timethan even Hubble is capable of observing. The first phase of this alignment was completed on February 18, which involved ensuring that every segment located and imaged target star HD 84406. Full alignment and calibration are expected to take a further five months. A rendering of the JWST fully deployed. Credit: NASA One further major hurdle remains: The telescope must finish cooling. The JWST is designed to observe in the infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, wavelengths of light that are longer than those of visible light and associated with the heat emitted by matter. In order for the telescopes optics to clearly see infrared light from its targets, the infrared light emitted from the telescope itselfthe substructure, the mirrors, the electronicsmust be minimized. The first step was to deploy the sunshield, which consists of five layers of Kapton, a very thin and light polymer, coated with reflective metals. It reflects heat from the Sun, as well as that reflected from the Earth and Moon, creating a hot side of 110 degrees Celsius (230 degrees Fahrenheit) and, just six feet away, a cold side of 223 degrees Celsius (370 degrees Fahrenheit), where the telescope and its instruments live. The telescope itself, however, was not launched at -223 degrees Celsius but at about 27 degrees Celsius (about 80 degrees Fahrenheit, a typical tropical temperature on Earth) and has been passively cooling since the sunshield deployed. As a consequence, the entire structure of the telescope has been shrinking slightly, as most things do when they become colder. The JWST was designed for this, built ever so carefully larger than its final shape, and it must first completely settle into its final, cooled state before it can be fully operational. Once the JWST is ready for science operations, it will have many targets of study. One will be the Milky Ways central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, joining many other observatories including the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), as part of a decades-long effort to understand the colossal supermassive object at the heart of our galaxy. One of the many difficulties of studying Sagittarius A* is that from our vantage point on Earth, nearly half a galaxys worth of gas and dust lie in the optical path, not to mention the much denser and hotter material that makes up the galactic core. Sagittarius A* itself also flares up about once an hour, making it difficult to image. It is expected that the combined abilities of the EHT, which provided the first imagery of a black hole in 2019, and of the JWST, which is designed to view through clouds of gas and dust, will be able to much more accurately characterize the black hole. The JWST is also slated to join a survey of nearby galaxies involving the ground-based Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile and the Hubble Space Telescope. Astronomers are planning on using Webbs ability to view infrared wavelengths of lightcomplementing ALMAs capabilities to view microwave radiation and Hubbles ability to observe visible lightto observe through clouds of gas and dust in other galaxies and deepen humanitys body of knowledge about galactic formation. This work will also follow up on the extraordinary observations of the Spitzer Space Telescope (primary mission 2003-2009; Spitzer Warm Mission 2009-2020) and the Herschel Space Observatory (2009-2013), two of the most powerful infrared telescopes ever built. The findings of both those telescopes forced a reappraisal of our understanding of the Universe, including the importance of thermal radiation in stellar and galactic formation. While the JWST does not observe at the same wavelengths as its predecessors, designed as a complement and not a replacement, it will no doubt continue the trend of such discoveries when fully operational. After 13 hours of deliberation, the jury in the federal civil rights trial of the three former Minneapolis, Minnesota police officers who assisted Derek Chauvin in murdering George Floyd rendered a guilty verdict on all charges Thursday afternoon in the US District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota. Snow covers the outside of the Warren E. Burger Federal Building after former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao, and Thomas Lane were found guilty of depriving George Floyd of his right to medical care on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa) The jurymade up of 10 white and two Asian jurorsrejected the arguments advanced by defense attorneys for the three men that they deferred to Chauvin, were inexperienced, had poor training and were distracted by hostile bystanders as justification for their refusal to intervene and prevent the senior officer from continuing to kneel on Floyds neck and killing him on May 25, 2020. J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were each convicted on one count of willfully depriving George Floyd of his rights to medical care as the 46-year-old black man pleaded for help, called out multiple times for his mother and said he could not breathe before he was rendered unconscious and then died while Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine and a half minutes. Instead of coming to his rescue, Kueng knelt on his back, Lane held his legs and Thao repeatedly threatened outraged bystanders and told them to keep back. The jury also found Thao and Kueng guilty of not intervening to stop Chauvins murderous actions as Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on the street. Members of Floyds family were present and applauded the jurys verdict and said they hoped US District Judge Paul Magnuson would give the three former officers the maximum possible sentence. Philonise Floyd, Georges brother, said, Im starting to feel like I can breathe again. Judge Magnuson permitted the convicted men to be escorted out of the courtroom along with their attorneys by a US marshal and they were free on bond pending their sentencing for which a date has not been set. The judge also cited the upcoming trial in June on state charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in Floyds death as a reason for not taking them into custody. Chauvin, who was also indicted by the federal grand jury on May 6, 2021, along with the three others on civil rights crimes, pleaded guilty to the charges against him in a deal worked out by the US Justice Department that enables him to serve out his 25-year sentence in a federal instead of a state prison. The case of the Minneapolis policemen is believed by legal experts and civil rights activists to be the first time the federal government has charged officers for failing to intervene against a senior officer who was committing a crime by using excessive force. Christy E. Lopez, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, told the New York Times that the ruling forces the law enforcement agencies to move beyond the bad apple narrative. Lopez added, It shifts the entire narrative from misconduct being about just acts of commission to misconduct also being about acts of omission. During the one-month trial, the prosecution used video evidenceincluding the video captured by teenager Darnella Frazier that went viral on social media and sparked the mass movement against police brutality and murder that swept across the US and around the world for the next five monthsto review a second-by-second record of the murder. They brought in as witnesses doctors, other police officers, bystanders and paramedics who arrived on the scene after Floyd was killed. Much of the testimony focused on the training that the three men received by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). Inspector Katie Blackwell, who was previously in charge of training at the MPD, testified for three days about the training new officers receive about the use of force and their constitutional duty to intervene when they witness another officer using excessive force. The defense attorneys attacked these claims, saying that the duty to intervene obligation was not adequately reviewed and was barely mentioned in the training. The federal prosecutors also focused on the behavior of the bystanders as evidence of the criminality of the three officers. They asked, if a small crowd of average citizens could see that Floyd was dying in front of their eyes and in dire need of medical attention, then why couldnt the three men in uniform do the same? In her closing argument, prosecutor Manda Sertich said, You just need plain old common sense. And you just need plain old human decency. The federal guidelines for sentencing on a civil rights violation that results in death include life in prison or even death, but these sentences are extremely rare. The prosecutors are expected to seek sentences that are far less severe given that they recommended a sentence of 300 months, or 25 years, for Chauvin. The verdict in the federal trial further undermines the presentation of police violence as purely a racial matter of white versus black in American society. The three officers were of different racial backgrounds: Kueng, 28, is bi-racial with a black father and white mother; Lane, 38, is white; and Thao, 36, is from the large Hmong-American community in Minneapolis. Additionally, the majority white jury agreed with the US Justice Departments characterization of the murder of George Floyd by the officers and rejected the arguments presented about his treatment being justified because he was on drugs, had tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill and was physically threatening. The verdict in the St. Paul courtroom is also the third conviction of police officers in murders of African American men in recent months by juries that included white people. On April 21, 2021, Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd in a state trial with a jury that was half white and half black or multiracial and, on December 23, 2021, in a Hennepin County, Minnesota court, Kimberly Potter was found guilty of murdering 20-year-old Daunte Wright by a jury of eight white and two Asian people and one black person. Police violence and murder is the product of capitalism and is overwhelmingly directed against poor and working class people of all backgrounds across the country. While police violence is carried out disproportionately against blacks in the US, the largest number of victims are white. Thursdays convictions are the exception which proves the rule. In most cases of police killings, approximately 1,000 every year, the killer cops get away without facing any criminal charges. The structures of law enforcement and the criminal justice system arefrom the local police and jailhouse on up to the FBI and the US Bureau of Prisonsin place to protect the property of the ruling elite and maintain the exploitation of the working class for profit. Police brutality and excessive force can only be stopped through the political struggle of the entire working class against the social inequality that is inherent and growing within the capitalist system. On Wednesday, the Department of Justice revealed that at least three neo-Nazis pleaded guilty earlier this month to charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists as part of a plot targeting electrical substations in the United States. Animated by their desire to see President Donald Trump remain in power indefinitely, the three far-right plotters believed that by destroying power substations they could provoke a race war, which would give rise to a fascist ethno-state. The three men have been identified as Jackson Matthew Sawall, 22, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Christopher Brenner Cook, 20, of Columbus, Ohio; and Jonathan Allen Frost, 24, of Katy, Texas. All three face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The plot to provoke a racial civil war is part of a resurgence of fascistic activity in the US. From deadly attacks on left-wing protesters to the far-right Peoples Convoy, the growth of fascistic groups has been enabled by extensive financial and legal backing from sections of the ruling class and support from sympathetic police departments. According to plea agreements provided by the Department of Justice, the three men came to the attention of the FBI after a fourth man, an unnamed Canadian who has not been charged, crossed into the US via Detroit in 2019 to visit Christopher Cook. The Justice Department claims that the Canadian was found to be in possession of a rifle, a shotgun and a handgun, prompting a search of his vehicle by law enforcement. During the search, federal agents seized the Canadians cell phone and found multiple images of Nazi, white power and anti-LGBTQ propaganda. Federal agents determined that the Canadian was coming to the US to visit Cook, leading them to question Cook in his home. Cook told the agents that he had met the Canadian playing video games online. By October 2019, according to the plea agreement, Cook, Frost and Sawall had begun conspiring with the Canadian to blow up electrical substations throughout the US. In court papers, the agents admit that Cook, a teenager at the time, openly discussed his knowledge of the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen group, complaining that the group was mismanaged. In the course of the same interview, Cooks mother told the agents that she had recently forced Cook to remove three Nazi flags he had hanging in his room. Court documents allege that a government informant told the FBI that Cook was attempting to form an 18-member group that would shoot high-powered rifles at electrical substations throughout the US in an operation he called Lights Out. Details of the Lights Out plot were shared in an online group chat of the same name, whose participants included Cook, Frost, Sawall and others. The group originally intended the plan to be implemented by 2024. But as Trump began to lay the groundwork for his eventual coup attempt, claiming that the only way he could lose the 2020 election was through massive voter fraud, Cook pressured the group to step up its timeline, with the aim of implementing the terror plot in the event Joe Biden was declared the winner. The plea agreements note that Frost sought to provide several AR-47 rifles, which he had previously acquired and built himself, to members of the conspiracy. The group allegedly gathered in Columbus, Ohio, in February 2020. The documents state that Frost brought an AR-47 with no serial number to Cook for use in carrying out their plan. During the Columbus meet-up, the fascists purchased a can of spray paint and painted a swastika flag under a bridge, with the caption, Join the Front. Prior to March 2020, the three gathered materials and attempted to recruit younger people to their conspiracy. They shared fascist literature such as the book Siege, which calls on independent Nazi cells to carry out violent terrorist activities to start a race war. However, following the Columbus meeting, Sawall became frightened during a traffic stop and apparently tried to swallow a fentanyl necklace he was wearing. The necklace had been made by members of the group to show their allegiance to the plan and their determination not to be caught by the police. After Sawall survived his attempted suicide, he stopped communicating with Frost and Cook. The government claims Frost and Cook continued with the plan, meeting up with juvenile recruits in Texas during the spring and summer of 2020. By August 2020, FBI agents had searched the residences of Cook, Frost and Sawall. They claimed to have found various weapons, chemicals used for explosive devices and neo-Nazi literature. Red Ink Community Library, Providence Rhode Island (Credit: @RedInkPVD) In another recent example of neo-Nazi activity in the USand the virtual hands-off policy of police departments in relation to the far-rightmembers of the National Socialist Club-131 attempted to break into the Red Ink Community Library in Providence, Rhode Island, this past Monday and disrupt a reading of the Communist Manifesto . Despite the fact that one person said he was assaulted by one of the fascist attackers, no charges have been filed as of this writing. The assault left the person with a bloody lip, according to a report by Liberation News, the publication of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). The report noted that the neo-Nazis retreated and dispersed after only 15 minutes. It continued: The event organizers did not call the police, but the police did arrive, spoke casually with the remaining neo-Nazis and did not make any arrests. Jordan, a PSL member who was at the meeting, noted the support the community gave to attendees of the book reading once the fascists had surrounded the library. He said: It was great to hear our neighbors yelling, You dont live here, we dont want you here, get out The National Socialist Club-131 is well known to the police and the intelligence agencies. Last August, NSC-131 member Anthony Petrucelli was arrested for assault and battery for the 14th time. Earlier this year, NSC-131 member Andrew Hazelton was sentenced to five years in prison for possessing child pornography and soliciting sex from a 10-year-old. While members of the Providence community were outraged at the presence of violent Nazis outside the book store, the minority leader of the Rhode Island State House, Republican Rep. Blake Filippi, asked Wednesday on Twitter: Why do [Rhode Island] politicians and media give Commies a pass? Along similar lines as the refusal earlier this month of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to condemn Nazis, Filippi stated: The universal condemnation of Nazis and the apparent acceptance of Commies by politicians and media means the Commies are the clear and present danger. New Zealands Labour-Party led government has aligned itself with the United States and NATO, as they move relentlessly closer to a devastating war with Russia. Yesterday, Russian forces carried out a military intervention into Ukraine, including missile strikes and attacks on the countrys air force. Dozens of military and civilian deaths have been reported. The incursion was launched after President Vladimir Putin declared two breakaway Ukrainian states, Donetsk and Luhansk, independent and ordered troops to cross into the territories. For months, the US and its allies relentlessly sought to escalate tensions and provoke a Russian attack. Since the US-backed coup in 2014, which toppled a Russia-aligned government in Ukraine, the western imperialist powers have provided billions of dollars in weapons and training to Ukraines military and fascist paramilitary forces. The US has deployed thousands of troops into Eastern Europe, and President Biden has just announced that 7,000 reinforcements are being sent to Germany. New Zealand foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta (Screenshot: Youtube, NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade) Jacinda Arderns government in New Zealand is supporting the US build-up. On Tuesday, New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, currently visiting Europe, denounced the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk as a violation of international law designed to create a pretext for invasion. On Wednesday, she said the Russian ambassador in Wellington was called in to hear New Zealands strong opposition to the actions taken by Russia in recent days, and condemn what looks to be the beginning of a Russian invasion into Ukraine territory. Last night, Ardern and Mahuta released a statement denouncing what they called an unprovoked and unnecessary attack by Russia. They announced a travel ban on Russian government officials and the prohibition of exports to Russias military and security forces. Bilateral foreign ministry engagement has also been suspended. This morning, acting Foreign Minister David Parker told Radio NZ that these measures would have a limited impact on Russia. New Zealand exports $293 million worth of goods to Russia, mostly dairy products. By law, New Zealand cannot impose economic sanctions outside the United Nations. The main opposition National Partys foreign affairs spokesman Gerry Brownlee said travel bans were nonsense and the law had to change so that NZ could take more aggressive action. Before her departure, Mahuta had already indicated that Russias aggression towards Ukraine, would be the subject of her discussions in Europe. Her 11-day trip is primarily focussed on a European Union ministerial forum dealing with co-operation in the Indo-Pacific. This is code for the escalating US-led confrontation in the Indo-Pacific with China, which has been joined by NATO powers including the UK, France and Germany. Mahuta will travel to London to meet UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who has spearheaded the Tory governments warmongering against Moscow. Mahutas final stop will be Geneva where she will give a speech to the UN Human Rights Council, the first from a New Zealand foreign minister since the council was established in 2006. As the WSWS explained, the US-led war preparations against Russia have been long in the making. The aim of Washington and its imperialist allies is to dismember Russia, as a necessary step in preparation for war against China, and to establish neo-colonial control over the entire Eurasian landmass. The entire ruling elite in New Zealand supports the Labour Party-Greens coalition governments alignment with the intensifying war drive. At a parliamentary select committee hearing last week, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) secretary Chris Seed told MPs that Russia posed one of the most significant security challenges and risks to international peace and security, since the end of the Cold War. He added that war in Europe would be of no benefit to New Zealand. In fact, as a minor imperialist power, New Zealand has participated in wars for over a century, attaching itself to Britain and the US, in return for their support for NZs colonial dominance over parts of the South Pacific. A Defence Ministry strategic assessment released in December demanded a more aggressive military stance against China and Russia, which it accused of undermining the international rules-based systemi.e. the post-World War II rules established by Washington to enforce its global hegemony. It asserted New Zealands freedom to act anywhere in the Pacific where Chinese influence could be deemed a threat to its interests. New Zealands ambassador to Warsaw visited Ukraine on January 24 and met with Ukrainian officials, and last week Mahuta spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. According to MFAT, Mahuta acknowledged the warm relationship between the two countries, underpinned by our shared values, including our commitment to multilateralism, human rights, and the rules-based international order. In fact, the government in Kiev stems from a US-engineered coup in 2014, and is infested with fascists. Ukraines Ambassador to New Zealand, Kateryna Zelenko, told Stuff that New Zealands condemnation of Russias aggression was useful in showing that Ukraine had support in every corner of the world. Mahuta also received a telephone call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his recent trip to Fiji. According to the US State Department, the pair discussed both the collective challenges of the Indo-Pacific and their shared commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. A view is emerging in New Zealands foreign policy establishment that the country faces a diplomatic and military escalation on two frontsin both Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Commenting on Blinkens Pacific trip, Geoffrey Miller from Victoria University of Wellington wrote that from the US perspective, Ukraine, Russia and China are increasingly being interpreted as part of the same geopolitical jigsaw puzzle. While Miller claimed that the two-front theory oversimplifies matters, he conceded that it points to a potential World War Three. The Paris meeting of the Ministerial Forum for Co-operation in the Indo-Pacific, which Mahuta is attending, is being co-hosted by the European Union and France. Nina Obermaier, the EUs ambassador to New Zealand, told Newsroom the forum will deepen the EUs relationship with like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific. The EUs Indo-Pacific strategy, released last September, sets out plans for increased European positioning on the opposite side of the globe. The document notes the significant military build-up, including by China, with the regions share of global military spending increasing from 20 percent in 2009 to 28 percent in 2019. Amid deepening tensions, UK and EU navies, including from France and Germany, have repeatedly conducted provocative military exercises in the South China Sea and near Taiwan. Last October, the New Zealand naval frigate Te Kaha and an Air Force Orion joined the Bersama Gold 21 war games, alongside the UK Carrier Strike Group and allied forces in the South China Sea. A sustained barrage is underway from the New Zealand government, media and academics against both China and Russia, while the population is kept in the dark about the devastating consequences of war. Not one critical question has been asked by the corporate media about the facts and historical background surrounding the sharpening geo-political crisis. In a typical comment, Otago University professor Robert Patman told a webinar hosted by the Kaka that Putin was acting at complete variance with international law. Without condemning the aggressive actions of the US and NATO, he asked: Are we going to tolerate such wild west, might is right behaviour in the 21st century? This Sunday, at 10.00 a.m. New Zealand time, the WSWS is hosting an international online webinar, Fight COVID! Save Lives! Stop the drive to World War III! to elaborate a political program to mobilise the working class against war and the COVID-19 pandemic. We urge our readers to register and attend this critical event. While temporarily overshadowed by the crisis in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a deadly toll in country after country, with the two nuclear-armed countries on the brink of war, the United States and Russia, placing first and third in daily coronavirus deaths. Registered nurse Morgan Flynn prepares to enter a patients room in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, N.H., Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Like a century ago, when World War I and the influenza pandemic overlapped, working people around the world are once again facing the intersection of war and pandemic. World War I was the impetus for the emergence of the 1918 influenza virus that killed an estimated 50 million people and infected around 500 million or one-third of the population of the world at that time. By comparison, the war led to the loss of 20 million lives, military and civilian, less than half the death toll of the pandemic. A hundred years later, all the social and political contradictions that ignited that colossal war remain unresolved. In that regard, the COVID pandemic, which has infected 430 million people and killed 20 million in the last two years, has served as a trigger event for the chain reaction of events now focused on Ukraine. Even as that conflict escalates, the pandemic continues to infect and kill despite all efforts by major capitalist countries to dispense with tracking the figures, or even feigning concern. The current tally places the number of people with COVID-19 worldwide at more than 431 million and the number of reported COVID deaths at 5.94 million. The week beginning February 14, 2022, despite the decline in new cases, another 12.8 million infections were added to the list, and another 66,571 people needlessly died. The 7-day average of 1.7 million new COVID cases globally remains at pandemic highs, with the rate of decline already demonstrating a slowing. The 7-day average of daily deaths is just below 10,000 per day. Yesterday, 10,731 people died worldwide, led by the US with 2,440, then Brazil with 956 deaths, followed by Russia with 785. Notably, both the US and Russia hold the dubious distinction of having more than 1 million excess deaths during the pandemic. In Asia, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia are facing the peak of the current surge of infections. South Korea, in particular, which had kept the virus in check for two years, is now facing a massive wave of infections, with a record 171,452 new COVID cases on Tuesday. Around mid-January, cases were only at 3,000 per day. More than 1,500 people have died during the present wave, and approximately 5,400 of the 7,689 total deaths occurred in the last six months. In Japan, the epidemiologic curve of new cases has finally turned downwards. Recent COVID cases remain, on average, high at around 80,000 a day. The 7-day average in deaths continues to climb, surpassing 200 per day, doubling the highs set in February and June 2021. However, like his counterparts in the west, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said yesterday that the government is considering easing border restrictions as the country prepares to exit the sixth wave of the pandemic. Iceland, an island nation with 366,425 people, which had until recently demonstrated exemplary control over COVID infections, will be lifting all COVID restrictions today. The decision was confirmed through a statement published by Icelands Minister of Health, Willum or orsson. It reads, Thereby, all rules regarding limitations on social gatherings and school operations as well as the quarantine requirements for those infected by COVID-19 are removed. Additionally, no disease prevention measures will be in place at the border, regardless of whether individuals are vaccinated or unvaccinated. As a caveat, he wrote, We can truly rejoice at this turning-point, but nonetheless, I encourage people to be careful, practice personal infection prevention measures, and not interact with others if they notice symptoms. Since Christmas Eve of 2021, COVID cases jumped from under 23,000 to 115,000. The 7-day average in cases is at 2,600 per day, or approximately 0.7 percent of the population, per day. At the present rate, the entire population of Iceland will be infected in three months. Though the cumulative death toll is only 61, 24 people died during the current surge. The Ministry of Healths proclamation only puts into words what has been in effect for the last two months. This only underscores the critical fact that governments worldwide are rapidly changing their approach to the virus, considering it more like an endemic disease whatever the consequences. From the perspective of public health, it raises an important point: without a coordinated international strategy based on science, all future pandemic preparedness faces a similar calamitythe diktats of the markets will decide each time. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization convened this week to negotiate new rules for dealing with pandemics, with a target date of May 2024 for a treaty to be adopted by the UN health agencys 194 member countries, according to Reuters. At the center of these developments are efforts on Washingtons part to financialize the health agency by setting up a global pandemic prevention fund that the World Bank would host. With all eyes on the dangers posed by the evolving war front, cases of new COVID infections caused by the BA.2 sub-variant continue to climb slowly across the world. In the US, such cases are doubling each week, which are now above 4 percent. Globally, one in five cases is from BA.2. In 10 countries, the sub-variant is dominant, and more than 74 countries have reported its presence within their borders. Given the sub-variants higher infectivity, possibly higher virulence, and disparate genetic characteristics, there have been calls to give it a new Greek letter name to distinguish it from Omicron. However, the WHO technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution, which concurs that it is a variant of concern, recommends it remain classified as Omicron and be monitored as a distinct sub-lineage of Omicron by public health authorities. Despite the Japanese trial that showed BA.2 more virulent, recent small clinical studies from South Africa and Denmark suggest that the two sub-variants are equivalent to their virulence. Hospitalization numbers appear to be similar, and reinfections with BA.2 after Omicron infection have been confirmed, though uncommon. Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, told CNN, The situation that were seeing on the ground, and I get this from talking to a number of my colleagues who actually do the genomic surveillance, is BA.2 is kind of creeping up in terms of numbers, but its not the meteoric rise that we saw with BA.1. She further explained, Its so soon after the initial BA.1 peak that you have a lot of people who were either vaccinated or boosted [or] got Omicron, and so right now all of those people will have relatively high titers of antibodies, neutralizing antibodies that will protect against infection. Despite the plateaued case rates in South Africa, the current average COVID death rate there is over 200 per day and continues to climb. In Denmark, cases have finally turned, but the death rate continues to rise 10-fold from mid-November when Omicron debuted. In the US, on average, more than 2,000 daily COVID deaths were reported from January 12, 2022, to February 20, 2022. Only during last winters peak did the US see more days with such high death tolls. As President Vladimir Putin announced yesterday that Russia launched a special operation to protect the Peoples Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk from the Ukrainian military, the war threatens to rapidly spread across the Middle East and rest of the world. Yesterday, only hours after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Damascus, Israel launched multiple missile attacks on the city. They hit targets at 1:10 a.m., killing three Syrian government soldiers. Syrias state-owned SANA news agency reported: Air defense system confronted the missiles and downed most of them. The aggression caused some material damages. A paramedic treats an injured woman wounded by Israeli missile strikes at a hospital in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, November 20, 2019 (SANA via AP) Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syria since Washington and the other NATO powers launched their war for regime change in Syria in 2011. Tel Aviv has targeted positions it claims to belong to Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian forces, as well as Syrian government positions. Both Russia and Iran have provided militarily decisive support to the Assad government in the decade-long war instigated by NATO powers and their regional allies. While Moscow had largely been silent on earlier US-backed Israeli strikes on Syria, the February 9 strikes that killed one soldier and wounded five, provoked a strong condemnation from the Russian government. It described these attacks as illegal, adding: Russia strongly condemns the Israeli raids on Syria, and calls for an end to them. Syrian Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad announced on Wednesday that the aim of Russian Defense Minister Shoigus visit to Syria was to send a message to the whole world that Russia and Syria are strong, and that the battle that the two countries are waging for security and stability all over the world is one. Mikdad reaffirmed Syrias support for Russian President Putins decision to recognize the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk republics from Ukraine, before adding: the West is currently acting against Russia, in terms of hostile practices and campaigns aimed at offending it, similarly to what it did against Syria during the terrorist war. He also condemned US and Turkish military forces in his country as occupiers. Syrias other major ally, Iran, also blamed NATO for provoking the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called for a peaceful settlement. As Iran faces the threat of a US-led war and crippling US sanctions, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said yesterday: The Ukrainian crisis is rooted in NATO provocations. We do not see resorting to war as a solution. Establishing a ceasefire and focusing on a political and democratic solution is a necessity. In reality, however, military tensions have surged in the Middle East as the NATO powers made clear they would make no concessions to Russia. After Syrian and Russian fighter aircraft began joint patrols of the airspace along Syrias borders in mid-January, 15 Russian warships carried out naval exercises off the Syrian coast last week. Yesterday, Israeli activated air raid sirens after a drone crossed into Israeli airspace from Lebanon undetected by Israels Iron Dome air defense system. This war danger is the culmination of the devastating consequences of the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Russias military intervention in Ukraine plays into the hands of the US-NATO powers and increases the danger of a world war. Above all, however, these tensions are the product of 30 years of uninterrupted NATO imperialist wars in the Middle East and Central Asia and its reckless encirclement against Russia, made possible by the dissolution of the Soviet Union. NATO imperialist wars that caused millions of deaths and wounded in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria have relentlessly stoked the risk of a new world war. Thus, this month, US Lieutenant General Erik Kurilla, nominated to take over Central Command that oversees Middle East operations, told the Senate Armed Services Committee the Russia-Ukraine conflict could spill into Syria. Chinas increasing commercial influence in the Middle East is also seen as unacceptable by Washington. After signing a 25-year commercial and military treaty with Iran in 2020, Beijing recently included Syria into Chinas Belt and Road global industrial infrastructure project. Turkey lies at the heart of both the Ukrainian and Syrian conflicts immediately to its north and to its south, respectively. Having armed NATO-backed Islamist rebel militias in Syria but also having repeatedly invaded Syria to prevent US-backed Syrian Kurdish nationalist militias from establishing a state on its border, Turkey has played a bloody role in the Syrian war. Yesterday, lining up with its NATO allies, Ankara condemned Russias decision to recognize Donetsk and Lugansk and its special operation in Ukraine. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that his government found the military operation of Russia against Ukraine unacceptable and rejected it, adding: This step, which we consider contrary to international law, is a heavy blow to the peace, tranquility and stability of the region. A massive contradiction underlies Erdogans policy. Ankara supports NATOs Ukraine policy and its accelerating war drive against Russia, supplying Kiev with critical Bayraktar TB2 armed drones. It signed a military alliance with Ukraine in 2020. During Erdogans visit to Kiev in early February, a free trade agreement was signed, as well as a Turkish-Ukrainian military deal to jointly produce Bayraktar drones. However, Ankara also has critical military and economic ties with Moscow. Despite US objections, it purchased S-400 air defense systems from Kremlin. It supplies around one-third of its natural gas from Russia through direct pipelines. Russia is building the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in the southern Turkish city of Mersin. Turkey also imports more than 60 percent of its wheat from Russia. Referring to Ukraine and Russia, Erdogan said on Wednesday: We cannot give up on either. We have political, military and economic relations with Russia. We also have political, military and economic relations with Ukraine. But whatever Ankaras ties with Moscow, Ankara forms part of NATOs war drive against Russia and has supported Kiev in the conflict. Yesterday, Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar said: Turkey should not remain neutral in this conflict. He asked Ankara to close the Turkish straits to Russian ships. The 1936 Montreux Convention gives Turkey control of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits and regulates the passage of ships between the Mediterranean and Black seas. Bodnar also provocatively demanded that in order to prosecute war with Russia, Turkey should help Ukraine this year become a member of NATO within the context of the Madrid Summit. I am sure that if Ukraine is accepted into NATO then Ukraine will win and Russia will lose this war. These developments are a serious warning. A conflict could erupt if Turkey closed the straits to Russian vessels or clashed with Russian forces in Syria or the Black Sea. Moreover, it could lead to an all-out war between the NATO alliance and Russia, in accordance with NATOs Article 5, which states that an armed attack against one or more parties will be considered an attack against all of them. While the NATO powers, whose policy of mass infection during the COVID-19 pandemic has led the death of millions of people, provoke a war threatening the entire planet, there is mass popular opposition to war. Hundreds of thousands of tweets were sent yesterday in Turkey with the hashtags No to War and Stop the War. The only way out of the current danger of world war is to mobilize the deep opposition to war that exists and build a socialist anti-war movement within the international working class. Ukraine is in the grips of a full-scale war after Russia launched large-scale bombing raids early Thursday morning local time, in the biggest military operation by Russia since the Afghanistan war. Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) While it is not clear whether the Russian military has deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure, bombs have fallen on multiple residential complexes, killing and wounding civilians. Masses of people have sought refuge in bombing shelters and subway stations; others are desperately trying to flee the country. According to Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky, 137 people, including 10 officers, have been killed, and 316 have been wounded. The Russian Defense Ministry has published no casualty numbers. The Ukrainian army claims to have destroyed 7 Russian planes, 7 helicopters and over 30 tanks and to have killed at least 450 Russian soldiers. As of this writing, Russian troops are advancing on Kiev. Within hours after the beginning of the attack, the Russian army had taken Kievs airport and parts of south Ukraine. They have also taken the area around the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the site of the worlds worst nuclear disaster in 1986. Russias Black Sea Fleet has reportedly also launched attacks in the Black Sea south of Odessa. Reports of Russian ground troops invading from Belarus have been denied by both the Russian and Belarusian governments. The armed forces of the self-proclaimed Peoples Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (Luhansk), which were formed in the wake of the US-backed far-right coup in Kiev in February 2014 and recognized as independent by Putin on Monday, have joined the Russian army in fighting the Ukrainian military. The Pentagon claims that Russia dropped 160 missiles on Ukraine in the first day of the war. The Russian Defense Ministry declared on Thursday night that its goals for the day had been achieved, with over 80 military targets eliminated. In-fighting seems to be ongoing in almost every part of the country. The Ukrainian government has mobilized the entire population, announcing that everyone would be given weapons and announcing an amnesty for all those willing to fight. Far-right forces that have played a critical role in the 2014 coup and the war preparations over the past eight years have taken to arms, while former President Petro Poroshenko appears to have set up an independent military command center in Kiev to coordinate the capitals defense. Newsweek published an article on February 24, indicating that US officials were expecting Ukraine to fall within 96 hours. Sources close to the Zelensky government indicated that they were not counting on holding up much longer. NATO has rejected calls by the Ukrainian government to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, arguing that it would result in a direct confrontation with Russia. In the night to Friday, Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky stated, We dont fear talks with Russia. We dont fear speaking about security guarantees for our state. We dont fear speaking about a neutral status. But what kind of guarantees do we have for this [status] to be maintained? Which countries will give them [these guarantees] to us? We need to talk about the end of this invasion. We need to talk about a ceasefire. In response to Russias attack, the US and EU have announced far-reaching economic sanctions that target virtually the entire Russian banking sector and amount to all-out economic warfare. Russias stock exchange was closed for most of Thursday, and the ruble plunged to historical lows. Other regional currencies, including Ukraines Hryvnia and Kazakhstans Tenge have also collapsed. A run on the banks began across Russia with banks reportedly running out of dollars by the evening. Ordinary people, who often only make a few hundred dollars a month, saw their meager savings shrink dramatically within hours. On European markets, gas prices rose by 60 percent. In a clear indication that the Kremlins war against Ukraine will be accompanied by class war at home, Putins first step domestically after the beginning of the attack was to meet with the leaders of big business. Appealing to the oligarchs to understand his decision to go to war, he stated, I see the task on the part of the government as providing you with good conditions. To ensure more freedom. There can only be one answer [to the impact of the sanctions]: to provide more freedom for entrepreneurial activity. For the vast majority of the Russian population, which has been battered by skyrocketing food prices and a horrific surge in COVID-19 casesRussia reported over 130,000 new cases on Thursday as the pandemic has already claimed up to 1 million lives in the country of 142 millionthe outbreak of war has come as a complete shock. Putin gave his speech announcing the beginning of the war at 5:50 a.m. local time (9:50 p.m. EST), making it easier for the war mongerers in Washington to follow his moves than it was for ordinary people in Russia or Ukraine. The hashtag # (meaning no to war in Russian) was the number one trending hashtag in Russia on Twitter all day, with posts by many ordinary people and youth posting from Russia and Ukraine. One wrote, Im Russian. Im scared of what our president does. All my dreams about life fade as long as war escalates. No one ever asked me or any other citizen if we wanted it. Ukraine is not an enemy, and I scorn the idea of war. Another wrote, Why are we being taught throughout our childhood: You have to remember the war, so that the horrors of World War II, of the Great Patriotic War, wont be repeated. And where is this memory now? Yet another wrote, I dont know who is to blame but I think that the people are not to blame. People dont want war for territory. Dont drag the people into affairs by the government. Please stop this. A 15-year-old student wrote, I want my grandmother to be able to afford food and medication, for my brother to be able to earn money for the family. For my friends and relatives to be able to just go online, and that their houses wont be bombed. I want a future for my cousin who needs medication. I want peace. Some 2,000 people joined antiwar protests in Moscow, and several thousands joined a protest in St. Petersburg. Many smaller protests took place throughout the country. The Russian state has responded with a violent crackdown, reportedly arresting over 1,700 people. The pro-US liberal opposition has organized several of these demonstrations as it has launched an aggressive campaign against the Putin regime over the war. Alexei Navalny, who has long been built up by the US and Berlin as a pro-imperialist critic to the Putin regime, released a statement against the war while standing trial on Thursday. A large number of prominent politicians and public figures, including Ksenia Sobchak, who has longstanding ties to Russias oligarchy and Putin himself, and journalists from state-run media like Russia Today and Tass, have signed an appeal against the war. Workers must be warned: Far from representing a peace faction within the oligarchy, these layers speak for sections of the oligarchy and upper middle class that seek a direct integration of Russia into NATO and a dismemberment of Russia, in alliance with imperialism. Just like the Putin regime itself, they have emerged out of the decades-long reaction by the Stalinist bureaucracy against the October Revolution of 1917 and its violent suppression of the Trotskyist opposition to Stalinism. The bureaucracys dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 created the grounds for the decades-long imperialist encirclement of Russia and the escalating provocations by imperialism that have now provoked the Putin regime into this catastrophic war. Neither faction of the oligarchy that emerged from this counterrevolution has anything to offer to workers but war, austerity and repression. The struggle of workers in Russia, Ukraine and everywhere against this war must be based on the principles of revolutionary internationalism and irreconcilable opposition to both imperialism and all factions of the oligarchy in Russia and Ukraine. In its statement on the war, the International Committee of the Fourth International wrote: The ICFI calls for an immediate end to the war. In opposing the invasion of Ukraine, we denounce the policies of US/NATO imperialism, whose claims to be defending democracy and human rights are blood-drenched with hypocrisy. The overwhelming sentiment in the working class throughout the world is opposed to war. This opposition, however, must be developed as a conscious political movement for socialism. This means the building of the International Committee of the Fourth International and its affiliated Socialist Equality Parties in every country. Contact the WSWS to send in your statement on the conflict in Ukraine. Workers across the United States are responding with growing anxiety and apprehension to the outbreak of war in Ukraine, while voicing skepticism about the hysterical war propaganda being stoked by the Biden administration and the corporate media. Damaged radar arrays and other equipment is seen at Ukrainian military facility outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) In its statement released Thursday, Oppose the Putin governments invasion of Ukraine and US-NATO warmongering! For the unity of Russian and Ukrainian workers!, the International Committee of the Fourth International, which publishes the World Socialist Web Site, wrote, The public mood is not the same as it was in the 1990s. Masses of people have gone through the experience of the past three decades of unending war. The overwhelming sentiment in the working class throughout the world is opposed to war. This was reflected in discussions that the WSWS held on Thursday with workers, a selection of which we publish below. BNSF railway worker I think were headed towards a long drawn-out conflict in Europe. I feel for the people that live there. I think we should have listened more when Putin talked about demanding that Ukraine never join NATO. Other than how I feel about Putin personally, thats what we should have done diplomatically. I understand that he has legitimate gripes about that. Here in the United States, I just think with the attack on the working class and the income divide we have, I dont want to say its past a solution, but with the current governing principles of this country, and the bipartisan attack on the working class, in favor of corporations, I just feel likein our country, we are some of the least valuable workers in the world because of the wealth and the income gap. As a person that grew up under the Star-Spangled Banner and believing that you get out of your country what you put into it, its hard to believe that anymore. The idea that hard work makes you rich, thats BS. Clare, an Alabama educator I have absolutely no respect or any kind words for Putin, but I can say the same about Biden as well, because he egged this on. He turned his attention against his constituents and his own country to get involved in this. Now we have the whole world looking at us, pointing the finger at Putin. Biden says we wont be sending troops in but he has already mobilized troops across Europe, strategically around Russias borders. Thats an automatic indication that you are preparing for war. Russia might look at that and say, See? They do want war. The US has no businesses doing this. If Biden cannot take care of his own country, why is he getting involved in this? You cant just turn your attention away from the 900,000-plus citizens who have died of COVID. How can he tell other countries what to do? The US suddenly has money to mobilize troops, but it doesnt have money to take care of people during this pandemic? Governor Kay Ivey [in Alabama] said, We need to pray for people of Ukraine. Well, she needs to pray for people right here, after she turned a blind eye on teachers, students and parents here who got sick and died from the pandemic. Workers should continue to stand up for themselves, continue the fight to do whatever it takes to end this pandemic and mobilize against a war. In Russia, the workers are still facing the pandemic, they do not want war. In the US, the government will tell the working class it needs to prepare for war, but we are already treated terribly during non-wartime. If we continue to protest, well be looked at as unpatriotic. But there is a war right now at home that needs to be fought against the pandemic. And they are ignoring our voices. A trucker in southeast Michigan A lot of people are very skeptical of the lies about Russia, which is good, because you should always be skeptical of what the ruling class is telling you. You should also always be trying to see what is really going on. Its just such a hollow, rickety narrative that theyre trying to construct here. You cannot possibly look at it in good faith and think that they are telling you the truth. When they are pressed just the slightest bit and the reporter asks what evidence do you have, they say, We have the evidence, and thats all were going to say, and stop asking questions. Any sane person can look at that and say, Something is not right here. Its common knowledge now that the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were a lie. Nobody believes this narrative theyre trying to tell us. They have to make this thing up from scratch. There is not a lot left from the Cold War propaganda for them to grab onto, but it doesnt stop them from trying. In my generation, we were born around the time that the Soviet Union collapsed. So the communist bogeyman has not been around my whole life. The fact that they are willing to commit to this big lie now shows me that they are totally set on what they are going to do and how little they take into consideration the attitude and role of the American people. The pandemic made it clear that they dont care what the people want or what they are saying or whats in our best interest. If they want to go to war, then they are going to war. Nothing is going to stop them short of working class revolution. As crazy as it sounds, I didnt think anything could surpass the pandemic. But this is threatening to be an even more urgent issue with a nuclear holocaust possibly on the horizon. Nothing could be more important than opposing this war drive. We have seen their recklessness already, especially the United States. Who is the only country to ever use nuclear weapons? Its the United States. At that time Japan was already in the process of surrendering. It was pretty much like a show of force. We cant let nuclear war break out. It would be nice to believe that the ruling class is not crazy enough to actually take it that far. We cannot afford that comfort. Frankly, I dont have any faith in that point of view. I think it is a false sense of security to think that they would not provoke a nuclear war. Even if they think they will try to contain it, and it wont have to be a nuclear war, thats just an impossibility. An auto parts worker from Flint, Michigan Its just like with COVID, all they care about is the money. They say we need war. We have to provide guns and ammunition, everything, ships to get them over there, fuel, food for our soldiers. It all costs money. And somebody is making a bundle. Our schools get cut. We get cut. Our taxes go up. All because of war. They provoke these wars so that they can ask Congress to open up the funding. When it comes to providing supplies to fight the pandemic, they say they dont have the funding. But when it comes to war, all of a sudden, they have all the money they need. They dont have money to fight hunger, or homelessness. These army families get tied up in what the government is saying. Thats how they get us every time. Back in the Gulf War, with daddy Bush and little Bush, all the way back to Reagan, they lied to us many times. A lot of people are waking up to whats going on. I was speaking to a friend of mine, and I explained that everybody has his breaking point and you havent got to yours yet. Mine was losing my brother to COVID-19. I can accept some things, and some things I just cant accept. The way they are treating teachers and autoworkers, doctors and nurses, anybody that has to go to work, they are not getting a fair shake. Just like my brother, even though he had diabetes and they knew the plant was full of coronavirus. But people have to work because they wont be able to provide for their family if they dont. I can understand where a lot of other people are frustrated, scared, nervous, especially now that there is war time in the middle of the pandemic. Its very stressful. When I think about the political parties, I dont believe any of them anymore. They poisoned my daughter in the Flint water crisis. We still dont know the full impact of that. On Saturday, February 26, the World Socialist Web Site is hosting an international online webinar, Fight COVID and Save Lives! Stop the Drive to World War 3!, which will be addressed by leading members of the International Committee of the Fourth International. We call on all our readers throughout the world to register and make plans to attend this critical event. Weather Alert ...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers and locations in Indiana... White River at Edwardsport and Elliston. Wabash River at Montezuma. .Multiple rounds of rain over the last few days, including today, will lead to minor flooding along lower portions of the White River and upper portions on the Wabash River. Additional rainfall later this week should keep portions of the White and Wabash above flood stage through Saturday. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... 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/ind. This statement will be updated within the next 12 to 24 hours. && ...FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT TO SUNDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Wabash River at Montezuma. * WHEN...From late tonight to Sunday evening. * IMPACTS...At 18.0 feet, Montezuma agricultural levee is overtopped. Fourteen hundred acres of low bottomlands flood. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 10:45 AM EDT Tuesday the stage was 9.1 feet. - Forecast...The river will oscillate around flood stage with a maximum value of 16.4 feet early Saturday morning. - Flood stage is 14.0 feet. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood && Have any story ideas? You can send them to bmackey@waow.com A state of frozen disbelief is how Marina Dubrova and other Ukrainians living in Colorado are feeling following Wednesday nights Russian attacks on their homeland. Leaders in northeast Pa. and the Lehigh Valley released statements Thursday in reaction to the situation in Ukraine. Governor Tom Wolf condemned the invasion as "unprovoked and unjustified". "I urge democratic leaders across the globe to unite and respond decisively to this unjustified and unlawful attack," Wolf said. "Frances and I pray for the people of Ukraine, as well as the Pennsylvanians who have loved ones living in Ukraine." Bob Casey (D-PA) also offered prayers for Ukraine, while suggesting a need to "continue to strengthen the global alliance of democracies, including NATO, against authoritarianism." President Putins invasion of Ukraine is an aggressive escalation in his efforts to upend international order, undermine democracy and amass power at all costs," Casey said in a statement, citing the annexation of Crimea as one of several examples of Putin's aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere. Live updates: Biden details new Russian sanctions, 137 Ukrainians dead, hundreds more wounded: live updates Casey touted financial sanctions imposed by both the Biden administration and the international community. "The United States stands by the Ukrainian people and we will work with our allies to support their needs. Our first priority is the safety and security of the American people, especially American troops and Americans in Ukraine, but we will do all that we can to support the Ukrainian people in the face of President Putins unprovoked attack," Casey said. My thoughts and prayers are with the Ukrainian people as they face an unprovoked invasion and the consequences that will bring," he said. "From the dire impacts to their economy to the lives lost and families destroyed. Bishop of Scranton speaks out The Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, released a lengthy statement and call to prayer. "Like many of you, I am saddened and heartbroken by the humanitarian crisis that continues to unfold in Ukraine. Our world should be long past the need for anyone to wake up at 5 a.m. to the sound of explosions, rocket attacks and air raid sirens," the statement reads. Story continues "I ask you to join me in praying for peace, an immediate end to the Russian invasion and a respect for international law," Bambera continued, closing his statement with a call to prayer for the "more than 40 million innocent women, men and children" as well as the "victims of this conflict" in Ukraine. "On behalf of the clergy, deacons, consecrated religious and lay faithful of the Diocese of Scranton, I express our firm solidarity with Ukrainian Catholics and Ukrainians here in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania and in Ukraine itself. Now more than ever, our world is in need of healing and hope." The Bishop closed his statement by sharing a prayer "dear to the Ukrainian people," suggesting the faithful offer it on their behalf: "We fly to Your patronage, O Virgin Mother of God. Despise not our prayers in our needs, but deliver us from all dangers, since you alone are pure and blessed. O most glorious ever-Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ our God, accept our prayers and present them to Your Son and our God, that for the sake of you, He enlighten and save our souls," the prayer included reads. Bambera urged Catholics to mark the upcoming Ash Wednesday observance on March 2 as a "Day of Fasting for Peace." According to the statement, Catholic agencies, including the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia and the international Caritas confederation, have begun to collect donations to aid with the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, as people flee to escape Russian bombing and shelling. For a list of agencies, go to dioceseofscranton.org. Susan Wild releases statement Representative Susan Wild (PA-7) called Putin's actions "the most dangerous and far-reaching phase of his years-long effort to violate the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine." "Striking population centers across the country, Putin sent an unmistakable message: his goal is to engage in an illegal, full-fledged attack on the innocent men, women, and children of Ukraine and to destroy their democracy," Wild's statement reads. "This barbaric war of choice is designed to appeal to Putins domestic political base, but its costs will be immense and irreversible for Ukrainians, as well as for the everyday Russians forced to risk their lives in a war that should have never been waged." Wild, who described her district as having one of the "largest and most vibrant Ukrainian American communities in the United States," said she and the Greater Lehigh Valley community stood with Ukrainians. "I have seen firsthand the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian peoplewho, in the 20th century, experienced the crimes of Stalinism, Nazi occupation, and the subsequent totalitarianism of the Soviet Union, and somehow rose above this legacy of tragedy to form a proud, independent nation. "Time and again, Ukrainians have had to defend their freedom. For my Ukrainian American constituents, and for me, this latest threat to them is not an abstract discussion about geopolitics the lives of their relatives are at stake." Wild, who called Putin's invasion the most "severe threat to European security and stability since World War II," said the Biden Administration had been preparing for the recent developments over the past several weeks. "As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and its subcommittee tasked with overseeing U.S. relations with Europe, my focus now is on working to pass the strongest and most expansive package of targeted sanctions in recent history. Putin, his fellow oligarchs, and their families must pay the steepest possible financial and political costs for this catastrophic decision." "Together with our allies and partners, we will make sure that Putin comes to regret initiating this war," she said. "We will hold him accountable, and we will support the Ukrainian people as they defend their homeland against aggression." This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Leaders in northeast PA, Lehigh Valley release statements on Ukraine Britain's Political Director Richard Moore attends a working session during the Foreign ministers of G7 nations meeting in Dinard By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) -Spies in the United States and Britain scored an intelligence scoop by uncovering Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to order the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two, Britain's foreign spy chief said. Putin used an early morning address to the nation on Feb. 24 to order "a special military operation" against Ukraine just three days after recognising two Russian-backed rebel regions of Ukraine. For months, U.S. and British ministers and Western security sources had warned that Russia could invade Ukraine. They stepped up warnings that an invasion was imminent in the weeks and days ahead of Putin's declaration. Ahead of the Russian invasion, Moscow repeatedly dismissed those claims as anti-Russian hysteria or disinformation designed to tempt Putin into a war. "U.S. and UK intelligence communities uncovered Putin's plans for Ukraine," Richard Moore, the chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, said on Twitter. "We exposed his attempts to engineer 'false flag', fake attacks to justify his invasion," Moore said. "This attack was long planned, unprovoked, cruel aggression." Moore, though, did not give any sense of where the intelligence had come from. Such was the concern over Putin's intentions in recent weeks that snippets of U.S. and British intelligence were released into the public domain as part of an attempt to deter an invasion and caution allies about a possible war. U.S. and British intelligence including maps of the expected invasion's course, details on Russian military numbers, formations, intent and posture, and even dates for a possible invasion, were put into the public domain. Prime Minister Boris Johnson repeatedly cited intelligence when issuing warnings about Russia. Putin said he ordered "a special military operation" to protect people, including Russian citizens, subjected to "genocide" in Ukraine - an accusation the West calls baseless propaganda. Story continues Spies spoke of how Putin had changed in recent years. "Putin has gone through the looking glass," former MI6 chief Alex Younger told the BBC. "I think he has changed." "He is isolated, badly advised and in a state of a sort of messianic certainty, dangerously combined with a high degree of frustration," Younger said. WATCHING PUTIN CIA Director William Burns, a former ambassador to Moscow who speaks Russian, told the Wall Street Journal on Dec. 6 that he did not know if Putin, Russia's paramount leader since 1999, had made up his mind to invade. Burns said he had been sent to Moscow by President Joe Biden in November to convey directly to Putin the concerns about the military build up around Ukraine and to warn of economic sanctions if there was an invasion. "There are lots of things that are possible, as I have learned the hard way over the years in watching Vladimir Putin - most of my white hair came from the two tours that I spent in Russia, particularly when I was ambassador," Burns said. "It is always very difficult to gauge, you know, Putin's intent," Burns told the Journal. MI6, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and their eavesdropping partners - GCHQ and the NSA - have a mixed record on spying on the Soviet Union and then post-Soviet Russia, according to public records. In Soviet times, Moscow was extremely difficult for the CIA and MI6 to work in, and both agencies lacked sources for considerable periods. Moscow was able to steal nuclear secrets from the Manhattan Project and British intelligence was, for a time, riddled with KGB double agents. Few spies predicted the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, and spy agencies largely failed to foresee - or failed to escalate a warning to political leaders - about Putin's abrupt annexation of Crimea in 2014. The apparent prescience of British and American spies on Putin's invasion of Ukraine contrasts sharply with the faulty intelligence which was used to justify the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Before that war, President George W. Bush said that intelligence gathered by the United States and others left no doubt that Iraq was concealing what he intimated were weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons were found. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Hugh Lawson) On the heels of the pandemic, local blood centers are experiencing some of the most severe shortages ever, reflecting what the American Red Cross has termed a national blood crisis. Both the American Red Cross and Versiti have been struggling to meet demand for blood. Since the pandemic began there has been a 10% decline in the number of donors. Compounding that, staff shortages due to COVID-19 along with winter weather has led to numerous canceled blood drives, exacerbating the situation further. This is the worst that our agency has seen in more than a decade, said LaMar Holliday, regional communications director for the American Red Cross's Indiana Region. Typically the agency has about five days supply of blood on the shelves. As of earlier this week, the supply was down to less than a day, Holliday said. For subscribers: Sun King launched a craft beer boom in Indy. Now it's looking out of state. The situation is not much better at Versiti, the former Indiana Blood Center, said spokesperson Kristin Paltzer. After the American Red Cross declared a national blood shortage in January, the crunch eased somewhat. Currently Versiti has a one- to two-day supply of most blood types. Its kind of like two steps forward, three steps back, Paltzer said. As hospitals across the area try to reschedule non-urgent procedures postponed because of the omicron surge, the blood shortage can provide another sticking point. In an attempt to make up for lost time, Indiana University Health doctors assess daily which non-urgent procedures can now be scheduled, taking into account whether that procedure could require blood, said Dr. Christopher Weaver, IU Health chief clinical officer, earlier this week at a press conference about the state of COVID-19. Indiana: 'Getting better every week': IU Health hospitals try to return to normal after omicron We have a whole process where we anticipate that blood might be needed to evaluate ahead of time, he said. Make sure that we have the blood available, make sure that its the right use of the right thing to go forward with. Story continues Weaver echoed the blood centers calls for people who can to donate and to donate often. About half of first-time donors do not return for a second, Paltzer said. They may have donated spontaneously when they saw a blood mobile and may not take the time to schedule another donation. Because Versiti covers a five-state area Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana bad weather in any part of the region can have a ripple effect. Support local journalism with one of IndyStar's best deals of the year Theres a lot of ebb and flow for the blood supply, Paltzer said. But the numbers have been scarce since the beginning of the delta surge for the American Red Cross, which provides about 40% of the nations blood. Donating blood takes only one hour, Holliday said, but one donation alone can save up to three lives. He urged people who had made appointments that were cancelled to reschedule if at all possible. At least in the immediate future its still a dire need, he said. Its going to take some time to replenish that blood supply. For more information on donating blood, visit the American Red Cross or Versiti website. You can also call 800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Contact IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at shari.rudavsky@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter: @srudavsky. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Donate blood in Indianapolis: Centers report shortage Ketanji Brown Jackson Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Shutterstock Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson On Friday morning, the White House ended weeks if not months of speculation about who Joe Biden's first Supreme Court pick would be with confirmation that he is choosing 51-year-old Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. The president had promised since before being elected in 2020 that, if able, he would nominate the first Black woman to the high court. He reiterated that in January, when Justice Stephen Breyer said he would be retiring. "The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character experience and integrity," Biden, 79, said then. "And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It's long overdue in my view. I made that commitment during my campaign for president, and I will keep that commitment." For more on Ketanji Brown Jackson, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day. Explaining the choice of Jackson, currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, a White House official said on Friday that she was seen as "one of our nation's brightest legal minds." The official noted her career ranges from clerking for retiring Justice Breyer himself to serving as an appellate judge and on the U.S. Sentencing Commission as well as a federal public defender. Biden has made a point with his judicial nominees to draw from those with criminal defense experience. The White House official also highlighted Jackson's history of bipartisan support before the Senate, including being confirmed to the D.C. Circuit. That vote was 53-to-44, with yeses from Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. "I've experienced life in perhaps a different way than some of my colleagues because of who I am, and that might be valuable," Jackson said in her Senate hearing last year, discussing her background, per CNN. "I hope it would be valuable if I was confirmed to the circuit court." Story continues RELATED: Joe Biden Has Made His Historic Supreme Court Pick Ketanji Brown Jackson Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Shutterstock At Jackson's 2021 hearing in what is likely to repeat when she goes before the Senate this year some Republican lawmakers pressed her on being so closely tied, they felt, to the value of diversity. "What role does race play, Judge Jackson, in the kind of judge you have been and the kind of judge you will be?" Texas' John Cornyn asked her. "I'm looking at the arguments, the facts and the law," Jackson responded. "I'm methodically and intentionally setting aside personal views, any other inappropriate considerations and I would think that race would be the kind of thing that would be inappropriate to inject in my evaluation of a case." Still, she noted, a diversity of influences of life experience "would bring value." At that 2021 hearing, as in others, Jackson was supported by her surgeon husband, Patrick, according to CNN. They have two children: Leila and Talia. RELATED: Biden Interviews Supreme Court Nominee Finalists as He Seems to Narrow His List to 3 Perhaps mindful of the slim Democratic majority in the Senate ahead of November's midterms, the White House official on Friday urged a "fair and timely confirmation and hearing" for Jackson. She was born in Washington, D.C., but raised in Miami by school-teacher parents. She graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School and earned a cum laude distinction. She clerked for outgoing Justice Breyer for a term that began in 1999. Breyer has called her "brilliant" and praised her "common sense" and "thoughtfulness," according to SCOTUS Blog. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Ketanji Brown Jackson Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday. Jackson and her future husband met at Harvard, according to The New York Times. (While there, Jackson sampled her share of student life, too, including being in an improv group and taking a drama class where she shared a scene with ... Matt Damon.) She married Patrick, who was her "serious boyfriend," in 1996, the same year she graduated with her law degree, according to the Times. Jackson has said her time as a public defender informed her work as a trial judge because of how little her clients knew about the legal process. "I remember thinking very clearly that I felt like I didn't have enough of an idea of what really happened in criminal cases, I wanted to understand the system," she once said. On the District Court in D.C., Jackson recently joined an opinion that upheld the decision of a lower court ordering records from the Trump White House to be handed over to the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Supreme Court later turned down the former president's request to overturn that ruling. Queen Elizabeth II is still dealing with COVID symptoms. According to Buckingham Palace, the two virtual audiences that had previously been scheduled to take place today will now be rescheduled for a later date. The 95-year-old British monarch, who is believed to be triple vaccinated, is continuing with light duties. Yesterday, the Queen was well enough to have her weekly meeting with the British Prime Minister, speaking to Boris Johnson on the phone from Windsor Castle. The Palace announced on Sunday that the Queen had tested positive for COVID that morning and said that she was experiencing "mild cold-like" symptoms, and canceled virtual engagements on Tuesday. The Queen's positive test came after Prince Charles and Camilla both tested positive for COVID. T&C understands that several members of staff working at Windsor Castle have also tested positive. For other members of the Royal Family, it remains business as usual. Major royal tours were announced this morning to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee, including a weeklong tour of the Caribbean by Prince William and Kate Middleton. Prince Charles, who tested positive for COVID, resumed his royal duties last week alongside his sister Princess Anne. Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, undertook a solo trip to Copenhagen, where she promoted her work on early childhood education and met with Denmark's Queen Margrethe II and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. Prince William, meanwhile, handed out honors at Windsor Castle in an investiture ceremony. The next engagement tentatively scheduled for the Queen to attend in person is a reception for members of the diplomatic corps at Windsor Castle on March 2. You Might Also Like Seth Meyers is pretty sure no one could attack the U.S. better than U.S. citizens including Russia. During his monologue on Thursday night, Meyers took a moment to poke fun at the idea that Russia would attack the United States as a result of the sanctions President Biden put in place against the country due to its military action against Ukraine. After Biden imposed an initial round of sanctions against Russia, the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry warned, There should be no doubt that sanctions will receive a strong response. Come on, Meyers joked. You think you can attack us? This is America. We attack ourselves. We good. As he landed the punchline, Meyers made sure to put up an image of the Jan. 6 insurrection to drive his point home. You can watch his full commentary on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the video here and above. Elsewhere in his monologue, Meyers joked that Bidens actions against Russia are already having an effect. In the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, President Biden today announced the full scope of sanctions against Russia, including blocks on Russian banks that hold $1 trillion in assets, and their ability to business in dollars, euros, pounds and the yen, Meyers explained. Which explains why Russia just tried to buy a fighter jet with a picture of a bored ape. For those unaware, Bored Ape Yacht Club is a collection of NFTs depicting apes. Each one is wearing a unique outfit, but they always look bored. These NFTs have become popular with celebrities; Paris Hilton, Jimmy Fallon, and Justin Bieber are among the famous fans who each have one. Putting on his best Russian accent, Meyers then joked that a Bored Ape is good for one jet, no? By Trend A number of reforms are planned to be carried out in the State Tax Service under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy in the near future, Orkhan Nazarli, head of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, said at the conference entitled "Tax Reforms for Inclusive and Sustainable Development: Towards Voluntary Actions through Digital Transformation", Trend reports. Nazarli added that these reforms will strengthen the existing potential of the national tax system and maximally simplify the use of tax tools. We also plan to launch a new e-taxes website soon, Nazarli said. Additional tools will be created on this platform for efficient business, as well as for ensuring direct communication between businessmen and tax structures. A Taliban fighter stands in front of an old destroyed Soviet tank used during the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022 Hussein Malla/AP Photo A Taliban spokesman urged peace and restraint after Russia invaded Ukraine. The statement was similar to those of other countries, but at odds with the Taliban's own history. The group came to power in Afghanistan by defeating the last government militarily in 2021. The Taliban weighed in on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling for a peaceful resolution there despite owing their own status as rulers of Afghanistan to a campaign of force. The spokesperson for the group's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, tweeted a statement Friday. Abdul Qahar Balkhi (@QaharBalkhi) February 25, 2022 Using the group's term for Afghanistan the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan the statement said "all sides need to desist from taking positions that could intensify violence." The group said its foreign policy is to remain neutral. Urging both sides of the conflict to ensure the safety of Afghan students in Ukraine, it asked the two countries to "resolve the crisis through dialogue and peaceful means." This is not how the Taliban achieved its present dominance over Afghanistan, where it swept the country by force in 2021. After conquering most of the country, Taliban fighters forced the western-backed government to flee in August by advancing on the capital, Kabul. The group said it was concerned by the "real possibility of civilian casualties." 1,600 Afghan civilians died during the Taliban's insurgency in the first half of 2021, according to the BBC. That was on top of the vast numbers killed in fighting and bombings during the 20-year-long insurgency after the US-led invasion in 2001. While trying to project a turn towards moderation now it is in charge of Afghanistan, the Taliban have a brutal history and are responsible for decades of extrajudicial killings. Ukraine evacuated 370 Afghan refugees in August 2021, per UNHCR. Read the original article on Business Insider WASHINGTON President Joe Biden formally announced U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his choice for a seat on the Supreme Court at the White House on Friday, marking the first time in history a Black woman has been named to the nation's highest court. The nomination, Biden's first, set off a frenzy of activity in the Senate, where Democrats have said they hope to use their thin majority to move to a final vote by early April. If confirmed, Jackson would replace Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced he intends to retire in June. During her remarks at the White House, Jackson had special praise for retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, for whom she once clerked. "I could never fill your shoes," said Jackson as her husband and one of her two daughters looked on. The high court: What is the Supreme Court? Everything you need to know about the SCOTUS and its justices The process: Supreme Court confirmation: How the process for Ketanji Brown Jackson will unfold in the Senate She said Breyer exemplified every day in every way that a Supreme Court justice can perform at the highest level of skill and integrity, while also being guided by civility, grace, pragmatism, and generosity of spirit. Jackson, 51, serves on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. A former Breyer clerk, she was confirmed by the Senate last year for the appeals court. First Black woman: Biden to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court Pioneers: For Black women judges like Jackson, blazing a trail has meant scrutiny Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, with President Joe Biden, speaks after she was nominated for Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, February 25, 2022. Jackson hopes to inspire just as she was inspired Judge Jackson said that if confirmed she hopes to inspire future generations. Concluding her remarks, Jackson said, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans. Story continues - Dylan Wells Jackson references Judge Constance Baker Motley During her remarks Friday, Judge Jackson called attention to the first Black woman ever nominated to a federal court: Judge Constance Baker Motley. Motley, a civil rights icon, was nominated to the U.S. District court in New York by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. She was a protege of Thurgood Marshall before he became the first African American justice on the Supreme Court in 1967. More: For Black women judges like Jackson, blazing a trail has meant scrutiny, assumptions Jackson noted that she and Motley shared a birthday. "We were born exactly 49 years to the day apart," Motley said. "Today I proudly stand on Judge Motley shoulders, sharing not only her birthday, but also her steadfast and courageous commitment to equal justice under law." -- John Fritze Jackson notes one of her qualifications: being 'a working mom' First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff watched from seats in the White Houses Cross Hall alongside Jacksons husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, a Washington D.C. surgeon, and Leila Jackson, one of their two daughters. There were no other guests. Nearly 20 White House staff members looked on from the back of the room and a side staircase as a throng of reporters stood facing Jackson. Jacksons remarks were delayed by a few seconds after Biden struggled to retrieve a stepstool for her to stand on. See, presidents cant do much, Biden joked, then turned around and embraced his historic Supreme Court pick. Biden noted Jacksons credentials as a working mom, and in her remarks Jackson sought to assure her children: Please know that whatever titles I may hold or whatever job I may have, I will still be your mom. That will never change. Jackson thanks Biden - and God - for the nomination In thanking Biden for the nomination, Jackson consistently referenced her religious faith. "I must begin these very brief remarks by thanking God for delivering me to this point in my professional journey," Jackson said. "My life has been blessed beyond measure," she added. - Joey Garrison and David Jackson Jackson truly humbled by nomination Judge Jackson, speaking for the first time since Biden nominated to her to the Supreme Court, said her life has been blessed beyond measure. Jackson told the story of her values have been shaped by her family and she pointed to her faith as allowing her to reach this historic moment. Jackson said she is truly humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination. -- John Fritze AG Garland - a former high court nominee - calls Jackson 'outstanding' U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Supreme Court nominee himself, called Biden's choice "outstanding." I have known Judge Jackson since she served as a federal public defender. I also had the privilege to serve alongside Judge Jackson during her eight years as a district judge before she joined the D.C. Circuit, he said. I have witnessed firsthand her exceptional abilities as both a lawyer and a judge, her commitment to the rule of law and equal justice under law, and her generosity of spirit." Garland knows what it's like to be nominated to the high court, having been tapped in 2016 by President Obama to fill the seat left open by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Garland never got a hearing or a vote in the GOP-controlled Senate, which prevented him from serving on the Supreme Court. - Kevin Johnson Biden highlights Jacksons clerkship for Justice Breyer Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson clerked for retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, whose seat she will fill if confirmed by the Senate. Not only did she learn about being a judge from Justice Breyer himself, she saw the great rigor through which Justice Breyer approached his work, Biden said. He added, she learned from his willingness to work with colleagues with different viewpoints, critical qualities in my view for any Supreme Court justice. - Dylan Wells Biden consulted VP Harris, lawmakers on choice Biden said he consulted the advice of both Democratic and Republican members of Congress and thanked Vice President Kamala Harris for her help with the nomination process. I've been fortunate to have the advice of Vice President Harris, Biden said. Biden praised Harris as an exceptional lawyer, former Attorney General of California, and a former member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on Jacksons nomination before she proceeds to a full Senate vote. Biden lauded Jackson's credentials and said Jackson has a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people. - David Jackson and Dylan Wells Biden formally introduces Judge Jackson as SCOTUS nominee President Joe Biden and U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson have entered the Cross Hall of the White House, where the president is formally introducing her as his historic nominee to the Supreme Court. Today, as we watch freedom and liberty under attack abroad, I'm here to fulfill my responsibility under the Constitution to preserve freedom and liberty," Biden said. The announcement comes on the two-year anniversary of Bidens pledge to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in its 233-year history. -- John Fritze Biden references Russian invasion of Ukraine In introducing the new high nominee, Biden referred to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and drew a contrast to U.S. democracy. US President Joe Biden, with Vice President Kamala Harris (R), introduces his nominee for the US Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson (L), at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 25, 2022. "Today as we watch freedom and liberty under attack abroad, I'm here to fulfill my responsibilities under the Constitution to preserve freedom and liberty here in the United States of America," he said. - David Jackson Biden to introduce Jackson as SCOTUS nominee at 2 p.m. President Joe Biden will introduce Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his Supreme Court nominee in remarks at 2 p.m. EST from the White Houses Cross Hall. Jackson, a 51-year-old federal appeals court judge in Washington, D.C. is also expected to speak. The announcement comes during a challenging moment for the White House as Russia launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Biden vowed to announce his nominee before the end of February, allowing him to tout Jacksons credentials during Tuesdays State of the Union address. Jackson would make history as the first Black woman to serve on the nations highest court. The White House called Jackson an exceptionally qualified nominee as well as an historic nominee and urged the Senate to move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation. Joey Garrison I sought a nominee with the strongest credentials, record, character, and dedication to the rule of law. Thats why Im excited to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the United States Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/iGHLqqRAD0 President Biden (@POTUS) February 25, 2022 Manchin noncommittal about voting to confirm Jackson Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., a critical swing vote on many issues in the evenly divided Senate, was noncommittal about voting to confirm Bidens Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson. Just as I have done with previous Supreme Court nominees, I will evaluate Judge Jacksons record, legal qualifications and judicial philosophy to serve on the highest court in the land, Manchin said in a statement. I look forward to meeting with Judge Jackson before determining whether to provide my consent. A moderate Democrat, Manchin has bucked Biden on the presidents domestic spending agenda and passing a filibuster carve-out for voting rights. He has publicly praised another contender who Biden considered for the Supreme Court, federal judge Michelle Childs of South Carolina. Senator Joe Manchin Still, Manchin is widely expected to support Jacksons confirmation, having voted for Jackson last year when Biden nominated her to the U.S. district court in Washington D.C. Manchin has also expressed support for nominating a Black woman to the bench and has a record of supporting Supreme Court nominees of both parties. An exception was President Trumps nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, citing the rushed process ahead of the 2020 election. -- Joey Garrison Barack Obama: Ketanji Brown Jackson inspires young Black women Former President Barack Obama, the nation's first Black president, praised Jackson on Friday as a trailblazer who has "already inspired young Black women like my daughters to set their sights higher." "Her confirmation will help them believe they can be anything they want to be," Obama said. The former president nominated two justices to the Supreme Court both women Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor in 2009 and Elena Kagan a year later. Sotomayor is the nation's first Latina to sit on the high court. Obama also has a connection to Jackson: He nominated her to U.S. District court in 2009. Jackson was also reportedly on Obama's shortlist for the Supreme Court. Like Justice Breyer, Judge Jackson understands that the law isnt just about abstract theory, Obama said. Its about peoples lives. John Fritze Sen. Susan Collins praises Jacksons experience, credentials Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, praised Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an experienced federal judge with impressive academic and legal credentials in a statement about Bidens Supreme Court nominee. I will conduct a through vetting of Judge Jacksons nomination, Collins said. Collins was one of three Republican senators who voted for Jacksons confirmation last year as a D.C. federal circuit judge, along with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Graham criticized Jacksons nomination to the Supreme Court Friday. Collins, a moderate Republican who won reelection in 2020, voted for both of President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominees, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Joey Garrison Chuck Grassley, top Republican on Senate Judiciary, says 'I look forward' to meeting with Jackson Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said I look forward to meeting with Judge Jackson face to face on Capitol Hill in the coming days, and working with Senator (Dick) Durbin to finalize the committees initial questionnaire and records request, as is customary in this process. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is the chair of the committee. As I always have, Ill make my determination based on the experience, qualifications, temperament and judicial philosophy of the nominee, Grassley said, promising that Jackson will receive the most thorough and rigorous vetting. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, another member of the committee, said Ultimately I will be looking to see whether Judge Jackson will uphold the rule of law and call balls and strikes, or if she will legislate from the bench in pursuit of a specific agenda. Dylan Wells Former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan praises Jacksons character, integrity As Senate Republicans weigh their response to President Joe Bidens nominee to the Supreme Court, one influential former GOP leader Paul Ryan -- is praising Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson is related by marriage to Ryan, the former House speaker. Jackson's husband is the twin brother of Ryan's brother-in-law. The former Wisconsin lawmaker testified on Jackson's behalf when she was nominated to the federal district court in 2012. "Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family," Ryan tweeted on Friday. "Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal." John Fritze Mitch McConnell: Jackson is 'favored choice of far-left, dark-money groups' Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said The Senate must conduct a rigorous, exhaustive review of Judge Jacksons nomination as befits a lifetime appointment to our highest Court. McConnell noted that he voted against confirming Jackson to her current role when she faced a Senate vote last year. In the statement, McConnell framed Jackson as the favored choice of far-left dark-money groups that have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the Court itself. McConnell said he looks forward to meeting with Jackson in person, and studying her record, legal views, and judicial philosophy. Dylan Wells Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer: Jackson will get bipartisan support Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Bidens Supreme Court nominee, will garner bipartisan support during her upcoming confirmation process in the Senate. Jackson has been confirmed by the United States Senate on a bipartisan basis three times and I expect she will again earn bipartisan support in the Senate, Schumer said. As the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice in the Courts 232-year-history, she will inspire countless future generations of young Americans, he added. Before Jackson faces a full Senate vote, she must first clear the Senate Judiciary Committee. Schumer promised a prompt hearing, after which he said he would ask the Senate to move immediately to confirm her to the Supreme Court. Judge Jacksons achievements are well known to the Senate Judiciary Committee as we approved her to the D.C. Circuit less than a year ago with bipartisan support, said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the chair of the committee. Dylan Wells Lindsey Graham slams Jackson pick after pushing for different nominee Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., slammed Biden's nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, saying it "means the radical left has won President Biden over yet again." In the past, Graham broke party ranks and voted for Supreme Court nominees of President Barack Obama, including Associate Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. But his reaction suggests he wont support Jacksons confirmation as Biden seeks bipartisan support in the Senate. Graham, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, had lobbied publicly for U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs for the nomination, a candidate who was also supported by Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. Graham was one of three Republicans who voted for Jackson's confirmation to the D.C. Circuit last year. "The attacks by the Left on Judge Childs from South Carolina apparently worked," Graham wrote on Twitter. Joey Garrison Pick named on vow's anniversary There is a symmetry to the timing of Biden's announcement: Friday marked the two-year anniversary of his pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. Biden's campaign for the Democratic nomination was struggling in February 2020. Pete Buttigieg had narrowly captured the most delegates from the Iowa caucuses. Biden placed a disappointing fifth in New Hampshire. The future president announced his promise to choose an African American woman for the high court for the first time on the debate stage, four days before the South Carolina primary. "Everyone and no one's better than me and I'm no better than anyone else. The fact is, what we should be doing we talked about the Supreme Court," Biden said in response to a question about the biggest misconception voters had about him. "I'm looking forward to making sure there's a black woman on the Supreme Court, to make sure we in fact get every representation." President Joe Biden speaks about Ukraine in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, in Washington. The promise received little attention at the time. But Democrats said it resonated with Black voters there and probably contributed to his win in the state fueling his path to the nomination and the White House. It also helped secure a critical endorsement of South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, the No. 3 Democrat in the House. John Fritze Americans support diversity on court Biden's announcement marks the first time a Black woman has ever been named to the Supreme Court. If Jackson is confirmed, it will also be the first time two African Americans serve on the high court together. And the first time four women will occupy the nation's highest bench at the same time. A new USA TODAY/Suffolk poll shows that Americans broadly favor diversity on the court but disagree about how significant a factor it should be for presidents. A third of Americans say diversity on the high court should be "an important factor" for presidents to consider when choosing nominees while another 11% say it should be the main factor, according to the poll of 1,000 likely voters, conducted Feb. 15-20. Twenty-nine percent said diversity should be "just one of many factors" considered. Just more than two in 10 Americans said diversity shouldn't be a factor at all. Poll: Majority of Americans say diversity should be a factor for Supreme Court John Fritze Tricky timing for Biden on SCOTUS It was supposed to be a reset for the Biden administration, a historic celebration of the first Black woman ever to be nominated to the Supreme Court. But Russian President Vladimir Putin had other plans. Normally a Supreme Court nominee offers a White House a news cycle of solidly positive news. But the developing situation in Ukraine is likely to distract attention from Bidens pick, and some had speculated the president might even reschedule it. But White House officials stressed for days that the president wasnt going to move his timeline and he had already set a deadline: The end of February. Biden was interviewing candidates for the post even as the situation in Europe deteriorated. One timing advantage Biden still has and what may have driven the decision not to postpone: The State of the Union address on Tuesday. That high-profile address will give Biden a high-profile opportunity to tout his pick to two audiences: The nation, and the Senate, which now takes up the task of considering her confirmation. John Fritze This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ketanji Brown Jackson officially nominated to Supreme Court: updates The streets of several major cities across the globe transformed into seas of blue and yellow Ukrainian flags on Thursday. Protesters are demanding action from their local leaders regarding the Russian invasion into Ukraine, which has already claimed dozens of lives. In New York City, hundreds of protesters marched to and gathered at Times Square, the Russian Mission and United Nations buildings in support of Ukraine amid the Russian attacks. The city is home to the largest Ukrainian community in the U.S., with more than 150,000 Ukrainians residing across the region. PHOTO: People take part in a protest against Russia's military operation in Ukraine, in Times Square, in New York, Feb. 24, 2022. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters) In Washington, D.C., protesters marched to the White House, as well as to the Russian embassy, to demand action from President Joe Biden. According to Washington ABC affiliate WJLA, a demonstrator painted the word "murder" on the sidewalk in front of the embassy building. PHOTO: People take part in a vigil to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine in front of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 24, 2022. (Andrew Harnik/AP) Protests also took place in Chicago. In London, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office and the Russian Embassy carrying Ukrainian flags. Russians, Ukrainians and other protesters joined together in calls against the military invasion. PHOTO: People gather on Whitehall opposite Downing Street protesting the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, on Feb. 24, 2022, in London. (Martyn Wheatley/i-Images via Polaris) Berlin's most famous landmark, The Brandenburg Gate, was lit in the yellow and blue colors of Ukraine in support of the country under siege. Thousands also marched through the city's streets in support of Ukrainians. PHOTO: A banner is pictured in front of Brandenburg Gate lit up in the colours of Ukrainian flag during an anti-war protest in Berlin, Feb. 24, 2022. (Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters) In Paris, the City Hall was also lit up in support of Ukraine. Marches also took place throughout the city. PHOTO: People gather in front of the city hall in support of the Ukrainian people and to protest the invasion of Ukraine by Russia military operation, on Feb. 24, 2022, in Lyon, France. (Konrad K./SIPA via Shutterstock) In Moscow, anti-war protesters spoke out against their own country, as Russian military forces continued to lay siege to their neighboring country. More than a thousand protesters were arrested in a sign of the totalitarian nature of Russia's government. Protests also broke out in Saint Petersburg. PHOTO: People protest against the special military operation in Ukraine on Pushkin Square in Moscow, Feb. 24, 2022. (Emin Dzhafarov/Kommersant Photo via Polaris) PHOTO: People attend an anti-war protest, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a military operation in Ukraine, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Feb. 24, 2022. (Anton Vaganov/Reuters) Protests also took place in Spain, Lebanon, Austria, The Netherlands, Poland and more. PHOTO: People gather to protest against Russia's military operation in Ukraine, in Katowice, Poland, Feb. 24, 2022. (Grzegorz Celejewski/Agencja Wyborcza.pl via Reuters) PHOTO: Ukraine's players listen to their national anthem ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 qualifying game between Spain and Ukraine at Vista Alegre Pavilion in Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain, Feb. 24, 2022. (Rafa Alcaide/EPA via Shutterstock) PHOTO: Ukranian people living in Switzerland display posters as they stand around a huge Ukrainian national flag during a protest in Bern, Switzerland, Feb. 24, 2022. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters) PHOTO: A demonstration in support of Ukraine is held on Feb. 24, 2022, on the Wenceslas Square in Prague, Czech Republic. (Vit Simanek/CTK via ZUMA Press) PHOTO: Ukrainian nationals chant slogans against Russian President Vladimir Putin during a demonstration outside the Russian embassy in Beirut to denounce the Russian military operation against Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Marwan Naamani/Polaris) PHOTO: Demonstrators display a giant Ukrainian flag during a protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on Feb. 24, 2022, in front of the Russian Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia. (Raigo Pajula/AFP via Getty Images) PHOTO: People protest against Russia's military operation in Ukraine, outside the Russian Embassy in Riga, Latvia, Feb. 24, 2022. (Toms Kalnins/EPA via Shutterstock) PHOTO: People take part in a protest against Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Vilnius, Lithuania, Feb. 24, 2022. (Mindaugas Kulbis/AP) PHOTO: Syrian artists Aziz Asmar and Anis Hamdoun paint a mural to protest against Russia's military operation in Ukraine, in the rebel-held town of Binnish in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images) Protesters worldwide take to the streets against Russian aggression in Ukraine originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Russian President Vladimir and his now ex-wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva. Sergey Ponomarev/AP Russian president Vladimir Putin has at least two, possibly three, daughters he rarely talks about. He has two adult daughters with his ex-wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva: Maria, 36, and Katerina, 35. On April 6, 2022, the US and the UK put both on its sanctions list because of the war in Ukraine. See more stories on Insider's business page. The international community has been laser-focused on Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The 69-year-old leader has fought hard to prevent the media and the world from knowing much about his personal life. But five weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US applied sanctions to both women, barring them from the US financial system. Putin's carefully curated macho image he's often photographed riding horses, lifting weights, and posing shirtless has colored much of the public's understanding of him. He has also made a concerted effort to shield his children from the spotlight, prompting many to question whether he even has children at all. Putin has never publicly acknowledged his children, though media outlets have for years speculated and reported about the two daughters Putin had with his ex-wife, and even that a girlfriend may have had another daughter in 2015. One of them, Katerina Tikhonova, appears to be building a public profile, and was seen last year speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia the country's equivalent of Davos. But as with her earlier media appearances, nobody explicitly linked her with Putin. Here is what we know about the lives of Putin's secret kids. Pat Ralph contributed reporting to previous versions of this article. Putin had two daughters in his first marriage to former flight attendant Lyudmila Shkrebneva, to whom he was married for three decades until their divorce in 2013. AP Sources: Vladimir Putin, Reuters, Business Insider Their daughter's names are Maria and Katerina. Maria was born in Leningrad in 1985, and Katerina was born in Germany in 1986 when the family lived there during her father's time in the KGB. Story continues Maria and Katerina Putin, from their father's personal archive. Reuters Sources: Vladimir Putin, Reuters, Newsweek Both girls are named after their grandmothers. Maria's nickname is Masha and Katerina's nickname is Katya. Putin's father, Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin, and his mother, Maria Ivanovna Shelomova. Kremlin Masha and Katya are common Russian shortenings for Maria and Katerina. Sources: Vladimir Putin, Reuters, Newsweek When the family moved to Moscow in 1996, the girls attended a German-language school. The children were reportedly removed from school when Putin became acting president, and teachers educated them at home. Then-acting President Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila applaud during a concert after an award ceremony in Gudermes on January 1, 2000. REUTERS Source: Newsweek "Not all fathers are as loving with their children as he is," Lyudmila said in a quote on Putin's government website. "And he has always spoiled them, while I was the one who had to discipline them." Vesti.ru screengrab Source: Vladimir Putin Maria studied biology in college and went to medical school in Moscow, while Katerina majored in Asian Studies in college. Both girls attended university under false identities. Putin and wife Ludmila arrive at the airport in Rostock-Laage, Germany on June 6, 2007. Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images Sources: Reuters, Newsweek Maria, now 36, is a medical researcher and lives in Moscow with her Dutch husband, Jorrit Faassen. AP Sources: Reuters, Newsweek, Bloomberg Maria and Faassen reportedly have a child Putin told filmmaker Oliver Stone in 2017 that he was a grandfather. When Stone asked if he played with his grandchild, Putin replied, "Very seldom, unfortunately." "The Putin Interviews" was a four-part series that premiered on Showtime in May 2017. Showtime Sources: Reuters, The Independent, Bloomberg, Daily Mail Meanwhile, Katerina reportedly lives a high-flying life, living in lavish apartments and acquiring a fortune. Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a toast during an award ceremony in the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 28, 2017. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool Photo via AP Sources: Reuters, The Independent, Bloomberg, Daily Mail Katerina, now 35, is an accomplished acrobatic dancer and has a senior position at her alma mater, Moscow State University, heading a $1.7 billion startup incubator. Katerina Tikhonovna, daughter of Vladimir Putin, dancing. Jakub Dabrowski/Reuters Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg Katerina married Russian billionaire Kirill Shamalov in 2013. But the couple divorced in 2018, and the divorce case revealed they were worth $2 billion. Kirill Shamalov, the former husband of Putin's daughter Katerina Reuters/Kommersant Photo/Dmitry Dukhanin Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters, The Guardian There are no official current photos of the girls. For Katerina, we found the slightly varying first names "Katerina", "Katya", and "Yekaterina," and the last names "Putina," "Tikhonova," and "Shamalov." Katerina Tikhonova (L), daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, dances with Ivan Klimov during the World Cup Rock'n'Roll Acrobatic Competition in Krakow, Poland, on April 12, 2014. REUTERS/Jakub Dabrowski Sources: Reuters, Newsweek Finally, there are rumors that Putin has a third daughter with girlfriend and former Russian rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva. Putin greets rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabayeva during a meeting with candidates to the Russian Olympic team for Summer Olympics 2004 at the presidential residence in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow on March 10, 2004. REUTERS/Pool AS Source: New York Post But neither the child nor the relationship with Kabaeva have been confirmed. Putin smiles next to Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva during a meeting with the Russian Olympic team at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on November 4, 2004. REUTERS/ITAR-TASS/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE Source: Business Insider Putin has tried to shelter his children from the media, attempting to keep them out of politics so they can live normal lives. Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images Sources: Reuters, Business Insider Despite this, Katerina made her debut on Russian state TV as a biotechnology expert in December 2018. Katerina Tikhonova (R) on Rossiya 1 on December 7, 2018. Rossiya 1 Source: Business Insider Her appearance did not include comment on her being related to Putin. The link was briefly made public in the course of a dance competition, but later retracted. Katerina Tikhonova (L) and Vladimir Putin REUTERS Source: Reuters In June 2021, Katerina addressed a conference that is Russia's equivalent of Davos but nobody called her Putin's daughter, apparently out of fear of reprisal from the Kremlin. Katerina Tikhonova, deputy director of the Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems at Moscow State University, on screen taking part in a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia, on June 4, 2021. Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters Source: The Washington Post In late 2020, Putin announced Russia had completed its COVID-19 vaccine, although it had yet to complete clinical assessments. Putin said he gave the shot to one of his two daughters, but wouldn't specify which one. Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, on August 11, 2020. Sputnik/Aleksey Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS Sources: Business Insider, BBC, Politico Putin said his daughter's temperature decreased after getting two shots. "She has taken part in the experiment," he said, adding, "She's feeling well and has a high number of antibodies." Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo / AP Images Sources: Business Insider, BBC, Politico It was a rare acknowledgment for Putin, but one still shrouded in mystery. Russia's President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting of the Russian Security Council at Moscow's Kremlin. Alexei Nikolsky\TASS via Getty Images In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, prompting condemnation from around the world. Three weeks later an activist filmed himself inside what he said was a Biarritz apartment owned by Katerina's ex-husband, saying he wanted to host Ukrainian refugees there. An image showing an activist flying a Ukrainian flag from the balcony of a villa linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Biarritz, France. Russia Today Source: Insider, The Insider. In April, the US sanctioned Maria and Katerina, saying that they had "enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people." A statement said "This action cuts them off from the US financial system and freezes any assets they hold in the United States." Getty/Reuters The Wall Street Journal said that the EU could also sanction the two women. An EU spokesperson said the bloc is "currently discussing the proposals for further sanctions, including new listings of individuals and entities," but could not comment on who would be targeted by them. Source: The Wall Street Journal, The White House The US announcement also contained more details about their work. saying that it has close ties to the Kremlin. Tikhonova's work supports Russia's government and defense industry, while Vorontsova's genetics research programs are personally overseen by Putin, the White House said. The main building of the Moscow State University. As of 2021, Tikhonova was Deputy Director of its Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images Source: ABC News. The US said it believed the women are hiding assets for Putin, which was its rationale for sanctioning them. The Kremlin expressed confusion over the decision, suggesting it was anti-Russian. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images A senior official at the Biden administration said: "We believe that many of Putin's assets are hidden with family members and that's why we're targeting them." Putin's top spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin found the decision "difficult to understand" and framed it as part of a "rabid" western animosity towards Russia. Source: ABC News, Reuters. The UK quickly followed suit with a raft of sanctions on Maria and Katerina, among others in Putin's inner circle, aimed at hitting their "lavish lifestyles." The villa registered in the name of Kirill Shamalov, Katerina Tikhonova's ex-husband, in Biarritz, France. Gaizka Iroz/AFP via Getty Images Source: The Press Association. Read the original article on Business Insider Bel-Air signifies an evolution of culture in film, music, and messages by bringing signifies an evolution of culture in film, music, and messages by bringing The Fresh Prince into a time when hip-hop has evolved and the country is talking about race differently. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is one of the most beloved, canonized, safeguarded successful shows in television history because the cast and crew charismatically connected people with an idea the idea that a familys love could be redeeming and grant Will Smith a chance at a life even better than the one he already had. Its an incredibly inspiring story that touched the hearts of communities for six seasons. From music to fashion, handshakes to pickup lines, the Carlton dance to the auntie gang , The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was the culture. Peacock / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images When Will Smith moved to Bel-Air in the original 1990 series, he came with a chip on his shoulder that he expressed through comedy. NBC / Via media.giphy.com As the character Will Smith matured while dealing with love, loss, peer pressure, and the rejection of his father, most of those dramatic moments occurred sandwiched between carefully crafted jokes and studio audience laughs. Nonetheless, we witnessed a young Black mans story of maturity though its a fictional series through some of lifes toughest moments while laughing. What happens when the same narrative is told without the comfortable distance that comedy brings? How does that change the way audiences view Black men's experiences, emotions, and communication? Here are six reasons why you should be tuning in to the dramatic reimagining Bel-Air. 1. See the Fresh Prince through a new set of eyes. By October 2019, the Hollywood Reporter announced that Will Smith would be developing a series based on the trailer by Cooper. 2. Experience the soundtrack because its a whole vibe that can activate learning moments. The fact they started Bel Air off with first thing first RIP Uncle Phil. 06:56 AM - 21 Feb 2022 J. Cole opens the song with bars that make hip-hop heads everywhere stop whatever they are doing to let his words hit their heart. Nbc / NBCUniversal via Getty Images Another prominently known song on the playlist is Meek Mills Dreams and Nightmares, which is from his 2012 album of the same title. Music can also help clients identify emotions and reframe cognition, says the therapist Cendrine Robinson in HuffPost Black Voices. In an interview with the Fader , Meek Mill was asked about Robinsons research. The rapper replied, Thats what I make the music for, to be able to touch people. Even if you didnt come from the hood. You dont have to come from the streets. Story continues Bel-Airs soundtrack is worth listening to closely while watching the show because, in filmmaking, there are often messages behind music choices. On Bel-Air, the character Will Smith is in real danger which is a build from the original series where writers wrote a lighter version of the Philly gang's storyline. To me, its an intentional and relevant departure that is intriguing because it relates to the real-life experiences of people like Meek Mill and the youth Robinson engaged during the therapy program in Washington, DC. 3. Tap into the show's podcast too! Bel-Air stretches the original Fresh Prince script a lot so it gives space to add in little plot twists here and there. These filler in Wills background are good. So far nothing bad to say about this show yet. #BelAir 08:53 PM - 14 Feb 2022 4. To get to know the cast of Bel-Air and how their characters flip into fresh versions of themselves. Starring as Will Smith in the show is Jabari Banks, who happens to be from West Philadelphia, where the real Will Smith and the character are both from. Hollywood Life shares that this is Banks' first television role. The musical theater graduate found out that he got the part when he logged into a Zoom call and saw Will Smith looking at him from the other side of the screen. I didnt think it was real, Banks told the Associated Press. Jabari Banks is a great casting choice because he has the authentic twentysomething-West Philly experience that this dramatic series requires. Not to mention he as my grandmother would say favors a young Will Smith. I imagine that the young actor has had some opportunity to study Wills demeanor while working together on the show. Frazer Harrison / Getty Images Adrian Holmes is Phillip Uncle Phil Banks. He was born in North Wales, UK, has Barbadian roots, and grew up in Vancouver. Adrian comes into Bel-Air as a more seasoned actor with over 100 credits, including appearances in projects such as Elysium and Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles. Holmes has maybe even bigger shoes to fill than Jabari Banks because Uncle Phil is one of Hollywoods most protected characters due to the stellar performance of the late James Avery. Screenrant calls the new take on Uncle Phil dangerous because one of the storylines follows the patriarchs extralegal business dealings and influence on the criminal justice system. Peacock / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Hot Uncle Phil The gorgeous Cassandra Freeman hails from West Palm Beach, Florida, and has made appearances in Luke Cage and The Last O.G. Freeman gives us the third iteration of Vivian Aunt Viv Banks as she takes on the role after Janet Hubert and Daphne Reid did in the '90s. The writers delivered Freemans Aunt Viv as a soft yet powerful woman who has no trouble disciplining her son and nephew hoping to spare them from Uncle Phils upset. Jon Kopaloff / FilmMagic / Getty Wills mom is Aunt Vivs sister, which drives Vivian to fight to protect the young Philly kid hes her blood. And here lies the conflict between Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv on Bel-Air. Cassandra Freeman and Adrian Holmes portray an ultra-wealthy Black power couple amid a political campaign with a troublesome nephew coming between them. Its a far cry from the roles that James Avery, Janet Hubert, and Daphne Reid stepped into where Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv were most often on the same team railing against Will for his antics or whichever authority figure profiled and unfairly punished him. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air series from 1990 had an air of after school special whereas Bel-Air is giving more nighttime soap opera. Geoffrey is played by Jimmy Akingbola, who is from London. He played Ollie on Apple+s Ted Lasso and Valentine in the series In the Long Run alongside Idris Elba. Geoffrey is the Banks family house manager who was known for being a rather shady and quick-witted butler when Joseph Marcell played the role. Marcell often disrupted Wills antics and cleaned up the familys mess figuratively and literally. As The Fresh Prince series continued, Marcell's Goeffrey became one of Will's biggest champions. Akingbolas Geoffrey is less of the classical saucy butler than Joseph Marcell. He's more of a wise guardian to Will who acts as his employers confidant and fixer. Jon Kopaloff / FilmMagic / Getty "The original Geoffrey was the suave Roger Moore-type James Bond and in our version, hes more Jason Bourne. Hes got an edge and a swagger to him," says Akingbola. Akingbola told the Hollywood Reporter that when he got information about the role, casting directors were looking to cast the character as a man in his 50s, but they told him to ignore the age. After his producer session with Bel-Air director and executive producer Morgan Cooper, Akingbola felt he screwed up his chance at the part. "I just resigned myself to the fact Id messed up. I really wanted to come off the call. It was a massive audition I thought Id messed up. But apparently, they said I was their first choice," he said. Carlton Banks is played by Nigerian American actor Olly Sholotan, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Sholotans portrayal of Carlton is a young man who is manipulative and constantly on edge such as the way he controls his image at school by spreading lies and how tense he is in almost every interaction with Will. This is quite a change-up from Alfonso Ribeiros version of the role as a happy-go-lucky lovable, clueless guy whos always second fiddle to his cousin, Will. Sholotans Carlton doesnt have the relief of comedy to deal with the pressure of being a Banks or failing in romance. Bel-Airs Carlton lives in the world of drama where the stakes are high but you cant just laugh, so you stuff it all inside until you crack. In the first episode, Carlton attacks Will and shoves him into a pool. There's also Cartlon's need to fit in at school, so much so that Will confronts him about his white friends using the n-word so casually. It's quickly clear that Sholotan has range because Carlton's emotions switch up more than Chicago weather. Jon Kopaloff / FilmMagic / Getty CoCo Jones is the young actor from Columbia, South Carolina, who takes on Hilary Banks. Prior to joining the Bel-Air cast, at 12 years old, Jones won the third season of Radio Disneys Next Big Thing talent competition and, subsequently, she performed her debut single 'Stand Up' on the channels sketch comedy series So Random! Jones becomes Hilary Banks after Karyn Parsons portrayed the character in the 1990s as a beautiful, bubbly, fashionable airhead whose saving grace is that she matures into someone who becomes very caring. The Hilary that Jones brings is a highly intelligent, chic, young Black female entrepreneur with aspirations of being a professional chef. Hilary seeks independence as she struggles to make decisions that she thinks are best versus what her mom advises. Surely Hilarys independence is to be put to the test as the romantic part of her storyline continues to develop. Amy Sussman / WireImage / Getty Akira Akbar performs the role of Ashley Banks on the show, but some may have seen her in Captain Marvel or Good Trouble. Actor and producer Tatyana Ali originally played the role of Ashley on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Alis portrayal started out as Wills cute little cousin who admires his fresh flair and turns to him to help her get rid of a bully. Akbar maintains the sweetness of Ashley Banks that Tatyana Ali brought to the screen, but lets see how puberty and social media will cause her character to develop into someone more complex. Amy Sussman / WireImage / Getty Jazz is played by Jordan L. Jones, who has appearances in Snowfall and Rel prior to Bel-Air. Like Jazz, Jones is a Los Angeleno who hails from Inglewood instead of Compton, like the character. Jordan told Screenrant how he relates to Will and Jazz in different ways. While he brings 90% of himself to Jazz, Jordan also says he relates to Will. My mom took me out of public school, put me in private school. That was my first time, when I was younger, being a fish out of water. Honestly, I wasn't used to anybody else but Black people, he shares. DJ Jazzy Jeff played a version of himself as the original character in the 1990 series. On the show, Jazz becomes Wills local homeboy, whom he can relate to because Jazz is from the streets too. Jazz does things like spend his days wooing affection from Wills cousin Hilary and getting literally tossed out of the mansion by Uncle Phil. Jordans iteration of Jazz is actually so smooth that he lowkey doesnt have trouble catching Hilarys attention. He runs a record store where Ashley hangs, which seems like a good kick-off to the original series storyline that explores Ashleys and Tatyana Alis love for music. Jon Kopaloff / FilmMagic / Getty 5. So you get the vibes on Twitter of this soon-to-be cultural phenomenon. Like this post about Geoffrey being fine. They made Geoffrey a little too fine I fear #BelAir 08:36 PM - 17 Feb 2022 Or how Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil are walking Black Excellence. Aunt Viv & Uncle Phil Is just all types of #BlackExcellence And Fione! #BelAir 05:32 PM - 17 Feb 2022 6. To be the fan who grows with the artist they admire. When Will Smith took on his starring role in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he was likely hoping things would work out, but he could not have imagined more than 30 years later, the sitcom still impacts so many people. The fact that he's developing the reboot, not because some studio said, "Hey, this is a great 'intellectual property,'" but because a fan-made trailer got so much praise on the internet, is a testament to the way Will approaches his art. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smiths Westbrook Studios is responsible for developing Bel-Air. The casting choices show intentionality and authenticity when it comes to how the creators want the story told. The storylines stay true to the integrity of the original series while reflecting contemporary times. It is an artists job to challenge patterns, assumptions, and break new molds. My favorite artists are ones who stick to their good values while making me feel uncomfortable. Jon Kopaloff / FilmMagic / Getty Yes, I do love the moments when I cry laughing to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, like that time Will tossed Carlton into a wall like a rag doll when they were in a dance contest. How are you feeling about Bel-Air so far? Let me know in the comments section below! Make sure to head right here for more of BuzzFeed's Black History Month coverage. [Editors note: This gallery was originally published in February 2020 timed to Bongs historic Oscar wins for Parasite. It has since been updated with new selections.] Bong Joon Ho has long been one of South Koreas best filmmakers thanks to acclaimed movies such as Memories of Murder, Mother, and The Host, but it wasnt until 2019 that Bong become a worldwide cinema superstar. With Parasite, Bong vaulted himself permanently into the topmost echelon of the worlds best directors working today. Parasite world premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it made history as the first South Korean film to win the prestigious Palme dOr. The months that followed brought Bong to nearly all of awards seasons biggest festivals (Telluride, Toronto, NYFF) and ceremonies (Golden Globes, SAG Awards, DGA Awards, Critics Choice, etc.). Bongs incredible journey with Parasite culminated in six Oscar nominations and historic wins for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature. The drama is the first foreign-language movie to win Best Picture, and Bong is the first South Korean filmmaker to win Best Director. More from IndieWire With Bong now a household name across the world, it might be of interest to watch some of the films the South Korean auteur considers to be his personal favorites. Bong is a great director, but hes also an avid cinephile who loves talking about films and raising awareness for some of the best Asian filmmakers who came before him, including Kim Ki-young, Shohei Imamura, and Keisuke Kinoshita. Check out a handful of Bongs favorite movies in the list below. Story continues Best of IndieWire Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. A Southern Washington County man is charged with firing a gun over the heads of five people following a domestic dispute at his Chestnut Grove Road home early Monday, according to Washington County District Court records. John Allan Shaff, 56, was arrested after police deployed gas into his home. He is charged with five counts each of first-degree assault and reckless endangerment, six counts of second-degree assault and one count of using a firearm in a violent crime, court records show. District Court Judge Victoria J. Lobley ordered him to continue to be held without bail following a hearing Tuesday, court records show. In West Virginia: Numerous shell casings found along Winchester Avenue following shots fired call Thursday More: Hagerstown Police seek man in video in apparent targeted shooting that grazed victim Deputies responding to a reported domestic disturbance at Shaff's home just before 2 a.m. learned while they were en route that shots had been fired, according to the charging document filed against Shaff by the Washington County Sheriff's Office. They arrived to find a woman with bruises on her face and were told that Shaff had pushed her against a wall and hit her. She hit him in self-defense and got in a pickup truck to leave, the document states. As she was trying to leave, Shaff stood in front of the truck, then grabbed a mirror and was briefly dragged alongside. She turned around at the end of the driveway and came back because she was worried that he might have been hurt, the document states. She said four other people were standing around the truck when Shaff fired a shot toward them but above their heads from a doorway. He went back inside the home and another shot was heard, according to the document. The woman was able to reach him by phone and confirm that he was alive, but subsequent attempts to call him failed, the document states. Members of the Washington County Sheriff's Office Special Response Team announced their presence and asked numerous times for Shaff to come out. He eventually exited the home after gas was deployed, the document states. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Man charged with firing toward five people following domestic dispute Photo credit: Max Mumby/Indigo - Getty Images Known for being pretty private a lot of the time, its not often that Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, post anything personal on social media - but royal fans were delighted this week as yesterday, the couple did just that. In an exciting new update shared to Instagram Stories, the future king and queen consort revealed that they have a fantastic sounding trip in the works and its all a part of the Queens jubilee celebrations, which will be ongoing throughout the course of the next few months. Whilst many of us are dreaming of sunnier climes during the current cold snap (and post Storm Eunice), that dream is set to be a reality next month for the Cambridges, as theyll be jetting off to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Its alright for some, eh! In their new statement shared on social media - and signed off personally by the couple, no less - Prince William and Kate Middleton wrote: We are so excited to visit Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas next month as we mark The Queens Platinum Jubilee. They continued on to add, along with each countrys respective flag, We cant wait to meet people in all three countries, celebrate local cultures and understand more about innovative work being done across communities. Photo credit: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - Instagram The message was signed off with W&C, which of course stands for William and Catherine. The couple arent the only royals who are switching their surroundings up this year either, as recently Williams cousin, Princess Eugenie, has been spotted spending time in California - along with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who moved there after stepping down from their senior royal roles. Along with Eugenie's husband, Jack Brooksbank, the princess was recently seen enjoying a dinner out with the Sussexes over in Santa Barbara. Kate Middleton has also just spent time in Denmark, learning more about child development and having an absolutely first class time at a play centre, where she couldn't help but get stuck in to having a go on a mega slide. Story continues We already can't wait for the photos of this upcoming royal tour! You Might Also Like Ukraine is crowdfunding its military efforts against the Russian invasion. Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press The Ukraine government and the National Bank of Ukraine are asking for donations for its military. Nonprofits like Come Back Alive are also appealing for funds. Ukraine's 2021 defense budget was $3.9 billion, according to the US Congressional Research Service. Ukraine is crowdfunding to bolster its armed forces against the Russian invasion. In a tweet on Thursday, the official Twitter account of Ukraine called for donations and linked to Ukraine's official website. Collected funds will be used for the "logistical and medical support" of the Ukrainian armed forces, said the webpage, which is run by Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ukrainian Institution. The site is directing donors to wire funds to the State Treasury Service of Ukraine in Kyiv or the State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine. The country's central bank, the National Bank of Ukraine, has also set up a special account to raise funds for its armed forces. It said it's accepting donations in multiple currencies. The special account has received almost 300 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($10 million) in 24 hours, the central bank told Insider. "The central bank's decision comes after the Ukrainian government imposed martial law throughout Ukraine in response to armed aggression by Russia and the renewed threat to Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity," the central bank said in a post. Nonprofit organizations have also gotten involved. Among them is Kyiv-based nonprofit Come Back Alive, which said on its verified Facebook page that it raised 20.5 million hryvnia ($687,500) in one day. The nonprofit previously helped supply the Ukrainian military with vehicles and surveillance systems, according to Bloomberg, citing information on the organization's website. "You helped the military more yesterday than you did in 2021," Come Back Alive posted on Wednesday. The nonprofit did not state how much it collected in 2021. Story continues "Our accounting barely has time to calculate payments, and the 24/7 military department turns your charitable contributions into real aid at the forefront," the nonprofit continued. Some of Come Back Alive's donations were received in crypto. Blockchain and crypto analytics firm Elliptic estimated the nonprofit received almost $400,000 in donations in one day, the company's cofounder and chief scientist, Tom Robinson, said in a Twitter post. It's not the first time the Ukrainian military has been crowdfunded. In 2014, Ukrainian activists crowdfunded to support undersupplied soldiers fighting in the Crimea crisis when Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Ukraine's 2021 defense budget was 117.6 billion hryvnia ($3.9 billion,) according to the US Congressional Research Service. The country announced on Wednesday it is increasing defense spending by 26.5 billion hryvnia ($888.7 million) this year, according to national news agency Ukrinform. Come Back Alive did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Feb. 24WASHINGTON Northwest lawmakers in Congress joined in global condemnation of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the assault overnight. The offensive, which Putin launched under the pretext of protecting Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine, had killed scores of Ukrainian soldiers and dozens of civilians as of Thursday afternoon, according to Ukraine's ambassador in Washington. At the White House, President Joe Biden announced tougher sanctions in response to what Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho called "a premeditated and flagrant act of war." Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a key architect of additional sanctions, released a statement Wednesday night calling Putin's move "the actions of a desperate man whose only desire is to sow chaos in order to make himself look strong." "The people of Ukraine have prepared to take up arms and defend their sovereignty, and they should know the United States and freedom loving people around the world stand with them," Risch said. "Putin should recognize the territorial integrity of Ukraine and withdraw his position to the internationally recognized border between the two countries. The repercussions of this invasion will be painful and swift. The only way to avoid this reality is for Putin to reverse course, immediately." In a speech early Thursday, Putin claimed the goal of the invasion is not to occupy Ukraine but to "demilitarize and denazify" the country, a reference to the Kremlin's contention that the current Ukrainian government is run by neo-Nazis who are committing a "genocide" of Russian-speaking Ukrainians, claims Biden on Thursday called "outlandish and baseless." Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement, "The death and destruction of this conflict will lie solely at the feet of Vladimir Putin." Story continues "This conflict is totally fabricated but its human toll will be very real," Murray said. "Swift measures must be taken to inflict severe and devastating sanctions Russia must pay a crippling price for invading a sovereign democracy unprovoked. This is a time for our country and the world to stand united in strong support of Ukraine and firmly against Putin and his cronies." Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, one of dozens of members of the bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus, condemned "Putin's unprovoked and unlawful invasion of Ukraine" and repeated her call for Biden to ramp up U.S. energy production to reduce global dependence on Russia, a major oil and gas producer. "We must unite around our shared values of liberty and democracy in the face of his blatant power grab against the people of Ukraine and their nation's sovereignty," McMorris Rodgers said in a statement. "Freedom must prevail." Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, joined a bipartisan chorus in Congress calling for tougher sanctions on Russian banks and officials, saying in a statement Wednesday night, "I stand with the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Putin's relentless aggression." "Vladimir Putin and his regime have continued to prove they are little more than criminal thugs," Newhouse said in another statement Thursday, "and the international community must reject their delusional and alarming attempts at creating a new world order and work together to prevent any further loss of life in Ukraine." Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., asked Ukrainian Americans in Washington state to reach out to her office if they need help and called the Russian invasion "another very dark moment in the history of Europe." "Ukraine is a proud and sovereign nation," Cantwell said in a statement. "In the face of this reckless aggression, we must stand together with our NATO allies and respond with unequivocal and unified action." Of the more than 1 million people of Ukrainian ancestry living in the United States, nearly 56,000 live in Washington, according to 2019 data from the Census Bureau. Washington state's elected leaders also weighed in on Twitter, with Gov. Jay Inslee writing, "All Washingtonians should be outraged both by Russia's unprovoked and destructive attack on Ukraine, a peaceful nation that has embraced democracy." "This morning I am thinking of the thousands of Washingtonians with family in Ukraine," Lt. Gov. Denny Heck tweeted. Hilary Franz, Washington's commissioner of public lands, said the attack reminded her "of the interconnected nature of our world and the common bond of our humanity." The new round of sanctions Biden announced Thursday include restricting exports of critical goods to Russia and cutting off Russian elites, banks and state-owned business from the international financial system. Russia's stock market and the value of the Russian ruble both plunged Thursday in response to the invasion and anticipated sanctions. After Biden's announcement, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said in a statement Russia's actions "must swiftly be met with additional crushing economic sanctions." "The U.S. should not put American troops on the ground, but must continue to provide the lethal militaristic tools and technology necessary for Ukraine to defend itself against this barbaric regime," Crapo said. "My prayers for safety remain with the innocent people of Ukraine." In March 2019, Crapo led a delegation of lawmakers to Ukraine that also included Rep. Russ Fulcher, a Republican who represents North Idaho. In a phone call, Fulcher said the group visited the Donbas region in Ukraine's east, where Russian-backed separatists have controlled two breakaway regions since 2014, when Russia also forcibly annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea. One of the main purposes of the trip, Fulcher said, was to decide whether to recommend sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would carry Russian natural gas to Germany without passing through Ukraine, a project critics say would weaken Ukraine and give Russia more leverage over the European Union. Former President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom in December 2019, but they failed to stop the project and Biden waived the sanctions under pressure from European allies in May 2021. In a call with reporters late Thursday, Risch said he planned to resume work on legislation to sanction Russia as soon as he returns to the Capitol on Monday. His Democratic counterpart, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, had resisted the Idaho Republican's demands that a bipartisan sanctions bill halt the Nord Stream 2 project and include preemptive sanctions, but both of those points are moot now that Russia has invaded and Germany has stopped the pipeline in response. In a statement that called Putin's decision to invade Ukraine "the actions of a madman," Risch laid out the components of his proposal, which would impose sanctions not only on Russian banks and individuals but on those who do businesses with them. Biden has so far resisted those "secondary sanctions," but Risch said he was confident Republicans and Democrats will come together to impose even tougher sanctions on Russia when Congress returns to session next week. Orion Donovan-Smith's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor. An internet service provider has reported service outages or huge amounts of traffic overwhelming their network, as Russia continues its hostile march through the country, reported the WSJ. Internet provider Triolan stated there have been outages in its services in a number of areas including parts of the capital city Kyiv, but some services resumed in the capital city although minor damages still continue to hamper normal service. The Internet Outage Detection and Analysis (IODA) project at the Georgia Institute of Technology showed partial outages in several parts of Ukraine. The company connects the following locations Kharkiv and its surrounding region, Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Poltava, Odessa, Sumy, Rivne, Chuguiv, Brovary and Slobozhanske. The Ukrainian government has warned its citizens telecoms services will face heavy traffic with interruptions possible said a spokesperson for the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection. It was advised to use SMS messaging if calls are not connecting. Russia has been waging a cyber war as well as putting boots on the ground against Ukraine, with constant denial-of-service attacks against government, bank and digital services, according to Ukrainian cybersecurity experts. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into eastern Ukraine on Monday. Alexei Nikolsky/Associated Press The US will slap sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. Psaki also said the US will sanction Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. Russia previously warned that it would cut ties with the US if Putin was personally sanctioned. The US will sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday. It's a significant move of condemnation against one of the world's most powerful leaders and comes after the US, in coordination with its partners and allies, slapped two rounds of sanctions on Russia earlier this week. Russia began carrying out a brutal military assault on Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning, local time. US President Joe Biden's decision to sanction Putin personally is a rare step and follows the European Union and the UK announcing sanctions against the Russian leader. The only other world leaders who have been personally sanctioned by the US are Belarus' president Alexander Lukashenko and Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The US's initial two rounds of sanctions targeted key Russian oligarchs, banks, and financial institutions, and western countries also placed limits on their exports of high-tech goods to Russia including semiconductors and aerospace products. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier Friday that the UK will "imminently" introduce sanctions personally targeting Putin and the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. Both the EU and the UK also moved to freeze Putin's foreign-held assets, but The Guardian reported that it was a largely symbolic move given that Putin is unlikely to have a significant amount of wealth abroad. The White House, for its part, has been in touch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky throughout Russia's brutal invasion. And Biden spoke with the Ukrainian leader on Friday as his country strains to fend off Russia's attacks. Story continues The conversation came after Zelensky gave a video address in Kyiv early Friday morning, local time, in which he lambasted "the world's most powerful forces" for "watching from afar." Following their conversation, a tweet posted to Zelensky's official Twitter account hinted at a stronger US response. "Strengthening sanctions, concrete defense assistance and an anti-war coalition have just been discussed with @POTUS." the tweet said. "Grateful to [US] for the strong support to [Ukraine]!" Russia in January warned that it would cut off ties with the US if Putin was sanctioned. "The imposition of sanctions against the head of state and against the head of Russia, I repeat once again, is an outrageous measure that is comparable to a break in relations," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at the time. But lawmakers in Washington said that directly targeting Putin would send an important message to the world in terms of the gravity of the Russian leader's actions. "If Russia engaged in a conventional invasion of Ukraine, it shatters post World War II norms. This would be virtually unprecedented in the post-World War II world. And it needs to be treated as a serious, significant, and world-shattering breach of international norms," Sen. Chris Murphy, a top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Insider in January. On Thursday, Biden said Putin's invasion of Ukraine had induced a "complete rupture" in US-Russia relations. "Putin will be a pariah on the international stage," Biden said, adding that the invasion marked a "dangerous" moment for Europe and the world. Ukraine braced for Russia's invasion after Putin earlier this week signed a decree recognizing the independence of two Kremlin-backed separatist regions in Ukraine, a move that US officials warned would be used to create a false pretext for Russia to invade. Two days later, Putin did just that, announcing what he characterized as a "special military operation" in Ukraine. In the days since, cities across Ukraine have been inundated with air raids, missile attacks, and shelling, while Russian ground forces try to surge into the capital of Kyiv. As Russian forces made their way toward Kyiv, the Ukrainian government called on all citizens and "patriots" to take up arms in defense of the country, saying that only an ID was required and adding, "We give weapons to all patriots!" "We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country," Zelensky said in a tweet. "Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities." Read the original article on Business Insider Corrections & Clarifications: This story has been updated to reflect the correct age and spelling of Sofia Demianchuk. Thursday morning at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood, parishioners prayed as daylight filtered through stained glass modeled after the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv. The Very Rev. Serhiy Kovalchuk urged a crowd of dozens to send prayers for peace and safety to Ukraine. "God loves us," he said. "And God listens." Ukraine "is a peaceful nation," Kovalchuk added after the prayer service. "We just would like to have our own country. We would like to have our own choice." With prayers, calls for peace and protests outside Russian diplomatic facilities in Washington, D.C. and New York City, Ukrainian Americans across the U.S. spent the day after the start of a new war urging Russia to end the invasion that threatens their families, friends and ancestral homeland. They said news reports showing the damage and casualties were "hard to watch." RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: Biden details new Russian sanctions, says 'aggression cannot go unanswered.' Photos and videos from Ukraine showed injured residents, smoke pouring from buildings and rockets stuck in homes. Civil defense sirens wailed as long lines of cars slowly streamed out of the capital city of Kyiv. The attack crushed hopes for a diplomatic resolution, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy formally cut diplomatic ties with Russia. At the St. Nicholas Cathedral School, assistant principal Lisa Swytnyk said teachers held students who cried with worry about their families in Ukraine. The school allowed students to attend mass together as a way to support them. Swytnyk is worried, too, for her own family in western Ukraine. They are avoiding the country's large cities in an effort to keep safe, she said. "You feel so helpless," she said. "The helplessness is overwhelming." Story continues Paul Skomoroch, an eighth grader at St. Nicholas and the son of a Ukraine-born mother, said he's scared for his cousins who remain in the country. WILL US HELP UKRAINE IN WAR VS. RUSSIA? American troops bolster NATO in Europe "They don't feel safe," said Paul, who added many have told him they are packing up and ready to move if they must. Taras Slobodian, who braved freezing temperatures as he waved a Ukrainian flag in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood, said he may go in the other direction to rejoin siblings and grandparents in Ukraine. "I'll go back and help if I have to," he said. "I can't just stand by." In Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Ukrainian immigrant Olena Danylyuk said she was disturbed, saddened, and angered by the violence. Danylyuk, vice-chair of the Ukrainian American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan, said one of her sisters and her children have fled Kyiv and are hiding in a small town. Others are in the city of Lviv. She said they had not expected war today. "They woke up in total shock," Danylyuk said. IN MICHIGAN: Ukrainian Americans 'watch in horror' as Russia attacks Mykola Murskyj, chair of the Ukrainian American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan, urged all Americans to pray for the resolution of the "senseless violence" and for the safety of the Ukrainian people. In Los Angeles, Rev. Ihor Koshyk opened the doors of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church Thursday evening for a special service. About two dozen gathered in the small church, which is adorned with fragrant candles and colorful paintings of saints. We called our people for an evening vigil prayer so we could say a special prayer for Ukraine and for God's help, Koshyk said. Both he and his wife, Olga, who immigrated to the U.S. 20 years ago, said they were in a state of shock watching the invasion in real-time television. Friends and family of the couple who still live in the country went into hiding, they said, including some who were taking shelter in subway stations. Its an unreal feeling, Olga said, breaking into tears. You really dont understand how much your country and your home means to you until you see it being torn apart and you see your people being gunned down for no reason at all. Oksana Ivasiv, 71, stood outside St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York City, where she attached U.S. and Ukrainian flags to the metal grating outside the church doors. Im speechless, she said. I want to pray everything is going to be OK. Ivasiv, whose family is from eastern Ukraine, came to the United States in 1995. She has relatives in the country but had not heard from them as of Thursday morning. I knew (Putin) was going to come, she said, but I have no idea how far hes going to go. Although it has been more than two decades since she moved to the U.S., Ivasiv said, my heart is still with my country. 'UNJUSTIFIED ATTACK': Who are Russia's allies in the Ukraine conflict and what is their stance? God is watching, she added. And one day he will say enough. At the nearby New York branch of the Selfreliance Association of Ukrainian Americans, a credit union, Daria Rekucha, 78, said she regularly sends money and care packages to to her family in Ukraine. She hopes to continue sending during the invasion. "A lot of people are dying," she said. "This is very bad news." Brooklyn resident Sofia Demianchuk, 20, said she and her family also have tried sending money to relatives in Ukraine. They have also supported online fundraisers to aid Ukraine's defense, she said. Tom Birchard, an owner of Veselka, a popular East Village Ukrainian restaurant, said he has reached out to Ukrainian community leaders for guidance on where supporters can send donations for their war-torn nation. "People want to know they're giving to the places where it will do the most good," said Birchard. In the Midwest, Vlad Sazhen is a sophomore year exchange student from Ukraine studying aerospace engineering at the University of Missouri. His hometown, Kharkiv, where his girlfriend, parents and 8-year-old sister live, is roughly 25 miles from a border with Russia. Speaking before Russian military forces launched the attack, Sazhen said he's kept in touch with his family and girlfriend through video calls "all the time while they're not asleep. "They're nervous, but they're confident as well that the Ukrainian army will protect them," he said. Artem Agvanian, an 18-year-old college freshman in Rhode Island, said he and his family opted to speak Russian last summer during a visit to the part of eastern Ukraine where he grew up. Another, Viktor Meleta, a 41-year-old who works with robot technology, spoke Ukrainian when he lived in the country's western section. Languages aside, they are in agreement on Ukraine. Both said they want to do whatever they can to keep the crisis from being ignored a possibility Agvanian called "a threat of oblivion." In Springfield, Illinois, where Vlad Brodsky came after leaving Kyiv in 1994, the 69-year-old resident said he speaks with friends in Ukraine daily to keep up with news. "They have very good nervous systems," Brodsky said about his friends' reaction to the buildup of Russian troops before Wednesday's late-night invasion. "They have no panic. Some of them buy guns and if (the Russians) come, they will struggle with them. "They don't need my (analysis) about the situation. They're ready to struggle for their state, for their families, against the Russians," added Brodsky. There are more than 1 million Ukrainian Americans in the U.S., according to 2019 U.S. Census Bureau data. New York City, with an estimated 160,000, and Philadelphia, with roughly 60,000, are the metropolitan areas with the largest groups, the data show. Ukrainian Americans are finding support in their adopted homeland. Suzanne P. Clark, president and chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a statement called the Russian attack an "affront to our steadfast belief in a world where democratic countries, following the rule of law and the free enterprise system, can be free and prosper." Contributing: John Bacon and Christal Hayes, USA TODAY; Roger McKinney, Columbia Daily Tribune; Steven Spearie, The State Journal-Register; Mark Reynolds, The Providence Journal This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukrainian Americans express anger, sadness as Russia invades HELENA, Mont. A Montana man and former U.S. Marine has reached a plea agreement on a federal misdemeanor charge for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol as Congress was counting the Electoral College votes from the November 2020 presidential election. Andrew Cavanaugh of Belgrade pleaded guilty on Feb. 17 to demonstrating or picketing in a capitol building. He faces up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine when he is sentenced on June 10, court records said. The plea agreement calls for him to pay $500 in restitution toward the nearly $1.5 million in damages done to the U.S. Capitol that day. Three other charges will be dismissed under the agreement. Subscription sale: Get 6 months of unlimited access for just $1. Subscribe today! Cavanaugh was identified in Capitol riot images because he was wearing a hat with the name of his now-closed firearm academy Tactical Citizen. Cavanaugh entered the building at 2:23 p.m. and was in the Capitol Crypt at 2:34 p.m. before moving through the Rotunda and leaving, court records said. Once inside the Capitol, the defendant saw evidence of rioters altercations with law enforcement inside the building, court records said. The defendant knew he should not have gone inside and tried to exit quickly. This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Capitol rioter from Montana identified by Tactical Citizen hat EDGEWATER PARK - Police are seeking a man who stabbed one person and struck another with a vehicle during a dispute at a Wawa here. The incident occurred shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday outside a Wawa on southbound Route 130 at Bridgeboro Road, according to Edgewater Park police. The suspect stabbed one victim in the face after getting into a disagreement. He then entered his vehicle and intentionally drove into a second victim, according to a police account. Police are seeking this man in connection with a violent incident early Sunday outside a Wawa in Edgewater Park. The suspect fled in a dark sedan, believed to be a Buick Regal with Pennsylvania license plates. Police are seeking the driver of this vehicle in connection with a violent incident at a Wawa in Edgewater Park. The stabbing victim was treated at a hospital, then was released, police said. The person struck by the vehicle was hospitalized until Thursday at Cooper University Hospital, Camden. He was treated for leg and facial injuries, as well as for hemorrhaging on the brain, police said. Anyone with information is asked to contact Edgewater Park Police Lt. John Harris at 609-877-3290 or jharris@edgewaterpark-nj.com. Jim Walsh covers public safety, economic development and other beats for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Support local journalism with a subscription. This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: Victims stabbed, hit by vehicle outside a Wawa in Edgewater Park ORLANDO, Fla. As Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday, Republicans at CPAC, the annual gathering of the nations top conservatives, were mostly silent on the rapidly worsening situation in Eastern Europe. Instead, they wanted to talk about the U.S.-Mexico border. We are in the process of getting money from the legislature so that if Biden is dropping illegal aliens into Florida from the southern border, Im rerouting them to Delaware, said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom many see as a likely GOP candidate for president in 2024. DeSantis, Thursdays headliner, didnt mention Ukraine once during his 20-minute speech, which took place in a huge convention hall as President Joe Biden addressed the nation on sanctions to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin. But DeSantis talked plenty about woke culture and critical race theory, all red meat tossed out liberally to a hungry GOP base. He also complained that Biden hates Florida, a state he said represents freedom from coronavirus mandates. He is always criticizing us, always trying to take potshots at Florida. ... He doesnt like Florida and he doesnt like me because we stand up to him, said DeSantis, who didnt address his 2024 plans at the convention. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) didn't mention Ukraine at the Conservative Political Action Conference. (Photo: John Raoux/Associated Press) When Ukraine did come up, it was usually in comparison to undocumented immigration at the southern U.S. border, where former President Donald Trump directed national resources to building a fence. The focus on the border, even in the face of a more immediate and deadly crisis, shows that Republicans plan to make it an issue in the midterm elections. Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and radio host, told the audience that insecurity at the southern border is a bigger threat to the U.S. than Russian aggression in Europe. The southern border is a lot more important than the Ukraine border, Kirk said, calling Russias assault on Ukraine, the most violence that Europe has seen in decades, a dispute 5,000 miles away in cities we cant pronounce and places we cant find on a map. Story continues Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, speaking on a panel about the invasion at the U.S.-Mexico border, said Biden hasnt been effective on either that issue or Ukraine. Everybody is focused on the invasion of Ukraine, as they should be. Thats critical, he said. But as little as the administration has done to deter the invasion in Ukraine, theyve done even less to deter the invasion of the southern border. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, was one of the only major officeholders to address the crisis and it was just for a quick moment. Their foreign policy is a war zone, Blackburn said, referring to Democrats. Oh, how we pray for Ukraine and the people of Ukraine. Charlie Kirk, pictured with then-President Donald Trump in 2018, called Russia's invasion of Ukraine this week a dispute 5,000 miles away in cities we cant pronounce and places we cant find on a map. (Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) While Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sidestepped Ukraine altogether, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) blasted Biden on the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and blamed the president for projecting weakness on Russia. Now you look at whats happening in Ukraine. Talk about the weakness of Joe Biden, Hawley said. He comes to office and what does he do? He shuts down American energy production and greenlights Russian energy production. ... Is it any wonder that Vladimir Putin feels emboldened to do whatever the heck it is he wants to do? Other Republicans in Congress have piled on Biden for supposedly setting the stage for Russias actions with his domestic energy measures and his purported weakness on the world stage. On Thursday, Biden called Putin the aggressor in the war and pledged measures to punish Russia economically. The invasion of Ukraine killed at least 137 people in its first day. Russian forces also captured Chernobyl, the site of the deadly 1986 nuclear disaster. Trump, whos speaking at CPAC on Saturday, blamed Putins attack on supposed U.S. election fraud in 2020 one falsehood on top of another. He also praised Putin as smart and a genius in comments this week. He sees the weakness and stupidity of this administration, Trump said of Putin on Fox News Wednesday. It happened because of a rigged election. The conference did dedicate a panel Thursday to foreign policy. It featured K.T. McFarland, who served as deputy national security adviser in the early months of the Trump administration. McFarland said she was skeptical that Bidens Russia sanctions werent just a slap on the wrist and that he is doing enough to advance U.S. oil and gas interests. Forty-eight hours from now will determine what happens in Ukraine, McFarland said. CPAC continues through Sunday. Also on HuffPost This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... (Photo: CoffeeAndMilk via Getty Images) Slugging isnt new, but the uptickin articles and social media videos might make it seem like a recent phenomenon. The practice of slugging involves spreading a layer of an occlusive (typically a petroleum jelly like Vaseline, or a healing ointment like the popular ones made by Aquaphor or CeraVe) over the entire face while sleeping at night. It has a close cousin in the beauty routines of the mid-1900s, when women wore thick cold creams on their skin overnight to prevent wrinkles. Why try slugging? The benefits are twofold: Not only does it hold in all the moisture from the products you apply underneath, it also prevents dry air from further dehydrating skin. If you have severely dry skin that struggles to maintain hydration, slugging could be a great option to help prevent water loss, keeping skin moist and nourished, said Geeta Yadav, a board-certified dermatologist in Toronto. Its also great for those who have intentionally caused skin damage through in-office aesthetic treatments like peels and laser resurfacing treatments, or those who have unintentionally injured their skin with severe sunburn or through overexfoliation with an OTC or prescription retinoid, Yadav said. But not everyone is as big a proponent of slugging as the numerous positive TikToks might make you assume. Writer Jessica DeFino, who asks her readers to Please Stop Slugging, even points out that petroleum jellywhich is what Vaseline and similar occlusives are made of is a purified petrochemical, a fossil fuel and therefore a contributor to climate change. And just the idea of smearing Vaseline over your face might have you imagining the breakouts that will appear soon after. Plus, were all probably using too many products anyway, so is there any real benefit to adding another one? Will slugging make you break out? First, some good news: petrolatum is noncomedogenic, meaning it wont clog pores and cause breakouts. But theres a caveat. Depending on your skin type, it may still contribute to acne. Story continues Even though its not comedogenic, as an occlusive, it can trap oils or other comedogenic ingredients in the skin and could potentially contribute to breakouts, said Hadley King, board-certified dermatologist in New York City and a clinical instructor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medicine. This means that slugging is best for those with normal to dry skin types, or those experiencing irritation and eczema. King advises that those with combination or acne-prone skin skip it, but others may find it beneficial. For dry skin, particularly in a dry environment that will exacerbate transepidermal water loss and dryness of the skin, applying an occlusive like petrolatum can be very helpful, King said. Yadav likes to think of slugging as a factory reset for skin, giving skin the opportunity to heal itself. Think about how you help heal a wound on your skin, like a cut: You slather it in a product like Neosporin (which not only contains healing antibiotics, but petrolatum), then cover it to keep it protected. Slugging works similarly keeping the skin moist, then protecting that moisture with an occlusive formula, Yadav said. Whats the best product to use for slugging? While petroleum jelly alone is most often used, it might not actually be the best option. For slugging, the emphasis is on the occlusive, but ideally this still should be combined with humectants and emollients for optimal moisturizing results, King said. Like what, then? Occlusives are oils and waxes, which form an inert layer on the skin and physically block transepidermal water loss, King said. This includes petroleum, but also other substances like beeswax, mineral oil, silicones, lanolin and zinc oxide. Humectants include hyaluronic acid and glycerin, and emollients include cholesterol, squalene, fatty acids, fatty alcohols and ceramides. Yadav recommends using a product like SkinCeuticals Hydra Balm Moisturizing Ointment. In addition to containing petrolatum, it has rose hip oil and squalane for added moisture. I use it on my patients to help them heal after more intensive procedures, like deeper chemical peels and laser skin resurfacing, Yadav said. If youd prefer to avoid fossil fuel byproducts entirely but still want to try slugging, oils and thicker night creams are good alternatives to petrolatum, and can be used the same way. Heres how to do it (and how not to do it) Whatever you choose to use, make sure you start with clean skin. Then, follow up a thin layer of hydrating moisturizer before sealing it in with your chosen occlusive. Some suggest cleansing and going straight to the petrolatum-based product, but I disagree if your skin is very dry, the occlusive will seal in that dryness, Yadav said. Be cautious if youre using any topical prescription medications, since using an occlusive on top of them could increase their potency. Other strong ingredients, like AHAs, vitamin C and retinoids should be skipped, too. By sealing in ingredients that can irritate the skin, youre increasing the likelihood of sensitizing your complexion and diminishing the moisture barrier, Yadav said. Slugging might not be the best choice for every skin type, but for those with dry, irritated skin that needs some TLC, it can seal in hydration and help skin heal. HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change. This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated. Related... WARNING: This article contains descriptions of violence that may be disturbing to some readers. The suspect who allegedly stabbed a Burmese family, including a 6-year-old child, in 2020 at a Sams Club Warehouse in Midland, Texas, has pleaded guilty in court. Jose Gomez III, 21, pleaded guilty to three counts of committing a hate crime for attacking a family he believed to be of Chinese descent, according to the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday. Gomez is facing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for each count of offense. According to court documents, Gomez allegedly entered Sams Club on March 14, 2020, and followed the family around. He identified the family as a threat, claiming they came from the country who started spreading that disease around. Gomez reportedly looked for a serrated steak knife in the store and bent it so that the blade rested against his knuckles, sharp-edge facing outward. He then went back to the family to punch the father and cut his face in the process. Afterward, he found an 8-inch knife in the store and targeted the children, a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old. He slashed the older boys face open from the area near his right eye to the back of his head. A Sams Club employee was stabbed for trying to intervene. After being held down, Gomez reportedly shouted, Get out of America! He allegedly blamed the Asian family for the COVID-19 pandemic and said he intended on killing the 6-year-old boy but was stopped by the employee. Gomez was disarmed by an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent who was at Sams Club at the time of the attack, as NextShark previously reported. The Burmese father, identified in previous reports as Bawi Cung Nung, and his eldest son were taken to Midland Memorial Hospital in critical condition. Racially motivated hate crimes targeting the Asian American community are on the rise and have no place in our society today, said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. All people deserve to feel safe and secure living in their communities, regardless of race, color or national origin. The defendant violently and horrifically attacked an unsuspecting innocent family because of how they looked and where he thought they came from, said Ashley Chapman Hoff, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas. We will continue to vigorously enforce federal laws that protect civil rights and combat bias-motivated violence. In a statement, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Downey of the FBI El Paso Field Office encouraged victims and witnesses of hate crimes to reach out to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Featured Image via Jason Leung Story continues Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Asian American Couple Attacked and Spit on in NYC Fox News Host Spreads Outright Racist Lies About China and Coronavirus, Risking Violence Against Asians Suspect sought in unprovoked stabbing of 71-year-old Filipino man waiting for El Cajon trolley College Student Left With 5 Stitches After Random Attack in Brooklyn Former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko at a meeting of the Court of Appeal in Kiev, Ukraine on January 28, 2022. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Ukraine's former president took up a Kalashnikov rifle to fight alongside civilians. Petro Poroshenko told CNN that he is fighting with a "territorial defense" battalion. Meanwhile, Russian forces advanced on the capital city Kyiv on Friday. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko took up a rifle to fight alongside civilians as Russian forces advanced on the capital city of Kyiv on Friday. In an interview with CNN from the streets of Kyiv, Poroshenko flashed a short Kalashnikov rifle and said he has two machine guns as he prepares to fight with a "territorial defense" battalion. "Putin declared a war to the whole world, to every single person who is watching now," Poroshenko told CNN's John Berman. Kyiv was rocked early Friday by large explosions, though the number of people injured and extent of the damage is unclear. Last month, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said he was creating "territorial defense brigades" for volunteers with a military background. "If necessary, we are ready to defend our city," Klitschko said. Poroshenko said his unit doesn't have artillery, tanks, or an armed personnel carrier "because we launched this process just a couple days ago." Putin announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine early Thursday morning, local time. Minutes later, Russian troops began pushing their way into Ukraine via its northern, eastern, and southern borders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law shortly afterward and signed an order barring men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country during "the period of martial law." As Russian forces started making their way toward Kyiv, the Ukrainian government called on all citizens and "patriots" to take up arms in defense of the country. Story continues "All those who are ready to take up arms, join the ranks of the area defense forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We simplified procedures. Only your ID is needed. We give weapons to all patriots!" Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a tweet. By early Friday morning, local time, Russian forces had started encircling Kyiv. Multiple media outlets and people on the ground reported that loud explosions were heard over the Ukrainian capital as Russian soldiers entered the city. As they did, Ukrainians prepared to fight. One video posted to social media appeared to show firearms being delivered to anyone who wanted to fight. And according to The Kyiv Independent reporter Illia Ponomarenko, as of Friday afternoon local time, 18,000 rifles had been given to civilian defense forces on the streets of Kyiv. Read the original article on Business Insider Zimbabwean operator Econet Wireless and Botswanas Mascom have this week both announced 5G launches that are to begin in their countries' capital cities. In Zimbabwe, local news service The Herald reports that Econet Wireless has launched 5G mobile broadband technology in partnership with infrastructure suppliers Ericsson and ZTE. Not too surprisingly, given that Econet is Zimbabwes largest telecommunications company, this makes it the first mobile operator to offer the service in the country. The rollout will begin in Harare. Econet plans to roll out 5G to the rest of Zimbabwe during the course of the year. Reports link the announcement with the fact that the company has been allocated test spectrum for 5G technology services in multiple bands by the Postal and Telecommunications Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ). Its not clear therefore what this means for mass-market services or official spectrum allocation. That said, the announcement justified a launch event in Harare at which Econet chief executive Dr Douglas Mboweni said the rollout was an important milestone for the company and was a critical enabler for Zimbabwes drive towards a fully digital economy. POTRAZ director-general Dr Gift Machengete commended Econet for bringing 5G to the Zimbabwean market at a time when demand for data and telecom services remained very high. However, he added the telling point that for the country to enjoy the full benefits of 5G the telecommunications sector will require foreign currency support for network expansion and to procure critical core network software. Meanwhile neighbouring Botswana has celebrated a similar milestone with the news that Mascom Botswana has launched its first 5G services in the capital Gaborone. According to TeleGeography's CommsUpdate the operator plans to install 5G at 111 sites across the country by the end of the year. The countrys Minister of Transport and Communications Thulagano Segokgo highlighted Botswanas healthcare sector as one of several that stand to benefit from 5G. Ukrainian servicemen walk at fragments of a downed aircraft seen in in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. It was unclear what aicraft crashed and what brought it down amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine Russia is pressing its invasion of Ukraine to the outskirts of the capital after unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending in troops and tanks from three sides. As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to hold the world's attention, many in the U.S. are wondering how they can provide support to those whose lives have been upended by violence and conflict. Here, we've collected 9 worthy causes that are providing vital aid and services to the country's most vulnerable residents and refugees. Razom Emergency Response fund Named for the Ukrainian word for "together," the Razom Emergency Response fund works to accelerate funding to partner organizations with the goal of protecting Ukraine's path toward independence and democracy. It was formed in early 2014 to channel emergency aid during the country's Maidan protests, which claimed the lives of more than 100 civilians. Today, Razom partners with organizations and volunteers from all over the world. United Ukrainian American Relief Committee This non-profit organization was founded in 1944 to provide humanitarian aid to the thousands of Ukrainian refugees who emigrated to the U.S. during and after World War II. Today, it provides critical aid, immigration assistance, sustainable land programs, and education to Ukrainians in Ukraine, the U.S., Poland, Romania, Kazakhstan, Brazil and Argentina. UNICEF's Protect Children in Ukraine fund From its field offices in Kramatorsk, Mariupol, Luhansk and Donetsk, UNICEF's Ukraine-specific initiative aims to provide safe drinking water, healthcare, nutrition, education and protection to children living within the country. The fund also supports mobile child protection teams, which provide psychological care to children who have been traumatized by violence and instability. Doctors Without Borders Due to the Russian invasion, Doctors Without Borders announced on Friday that it has been forced to suspend its existing healthcare programs in Ukraine -- including HIV and tuberculosis care -- to focus on its emergency-preparedness response. The organization's teams in Belarus and Russia are preparing to provide humanitarian assistance both within Ukraine and to refugees seeking asylum abroad. Story continues Voices of Children Voices of Children is a Ukrainian nonprofit organization that aims to provide psychological and psychosocial assistance to children who have been traumatized by war and conflict. It also works to increase global awareness through its video storytelling series, which shares the personal stories of individual children living in conflict zones. CARE Ukraine Crisis Fund Operating in over 100 countries, CARE provides support for vulnerable populations around the world, with a special focus on women and girls. The organization's Ukraine Crisis Fund will help to provide Ukraine's women, girls, and elderly persons with food, water, hygiene kits, psychological support, and cash assistance. More: A new Cold War? Or WWIII? How experts see the invasion of Ukraine More: Maps show how and why Russia invaded Ukraine Red Cross Ukraine While the American Red Cross is not currently shipping blood overseas, Americans can donate money directly to the organization's Ukrainian branch, which is working within the country to collect blood, mobilize volunteers and provide emergency aid to those affected by violent conflict. UN Refugee Agency UNHCR is a global nonprofit organization which works to help protect the rights of people who have been displaced by violence, persecution and conflict. It is currently supporting families who have been forced to flee Ukraine by providing shelter, psychological support and access to child-friendly facilities. Support independent Ukrainian journalism Independent media is more vital than ever during times of war. Consider supporting one of Ukraine's independent English-language newspapers, such as The Kyiv Independent or Ukraine World, either via subscription or on Patreon. Lauren Wethington is a breaking news reporter. You can email her at LGilpin@freepress.com or find her on Twitter at @laurenelizw1. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 9 ways you can help Ukraine amid Russian invasion MADISON A new trial was ordered Thursday for a former Plover man convicted in Portage County of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl. The District IV Court of Appeals concluded that Shane A. Stroiks attorney failed to introduce evidence that the child victim had previously made similar allegations against two other individuals. One of the allegations had been investigated by the countys Child Protective Services agency. Had counsel conducted a reasonable investigation, the evidence would have been admissible at trial and, if pursued, there is a reasonable probability that the result of Stroiks trial would have been different, Appellate Judge Rachel Graham wrote in the 34-page opinion. According the opinion: In July 2016, a month after the alleged assault, the girl victims parents were going through a divorce. They noticed that her behavior had changed and she was acting defiantly. Her father had her talk to a social worker, and the girl said that Stroik, 35, had pulled down her underwear and touched her below the waist. The girl added more details about the alleged incident and said that Stroik was bald, although it is undisputed that he is not, according to the opinion. MORE: A man spent 113 days in jail because Wisconsin couldn't find him a public defender. A Supreme Court decision could force changes. MORE: Fired Stevens Point firefighter-paramedic wants court to give him his job back Police interviewed Stroik and the girls mother, and both said the girl had previously said a different individual had touched her inappropriately. The girls mother told police the individual had been investigated but nothing came of it. The girl had also previously alleged another person had repeated sexual contact with her but that person died in March 2016 and wasnt interviewed, according to the opinion. Stroiks trial attorney knew about the CPS investigation into the girls statements about the previously alleged sexual contact but did not attempt to introduce it as evidence at trial. Story continues In August 2016, Stroik was charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child under age 13. After several hearings and adjournments, the case was tried in April 2018. The videotaped interview the girl had with CPS was shown at trial, but when the then 7-year-old girl testified she couldnt clearly recall much about what Stroik had allegedly done to her. She unambiguously testified that another individual did some pretty bad things to her, according to the opinion. The jury found Stroik guilty, and in July 2018 Judge Robert Shannon sentenced him to five and a half years in prison followed by six years extended supervision. In a post-conviction motion, Stroiks attorney argued the prosecution failed to turn over the CPS report before trial, which violated his right to all evidence the state had against Stroik. Its uncertain if Shannon specifically addressed the states failure to turn over the CPS report before trial. However, he concluded that Stroiks attorney wasnt ineffective as his trial strategy was to blame one of the other individuals the girl had accused of having sexual contact with her. On appeal, Stroiks attorney claimed that had his trial attorney sought the CPS report it would have enhanced the trial attorneys strategy. The state argued on appeal the report would have been inadmissible at trial and that it doesnt conclusively establish the girl lied or had made a prior untruthful allegation. The appeals court disagreed. Instead, it stated conclusive proof is not required by statute. Also, the report would be admissible if it supports a reasonable persons finding that the girl had made prior untruthful allegations. As it turned out, the CPS report contained information that was material to Stroiks defense that she had been abused by someone she loved which confused her and caused her to make a false allegation against Stroik, according to the opinion. Stroik is currently incarcerated at Oshkosh Correctional Institution. Calls to his appellate and trial attorneys were not returned by deadline. SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Our subscribers make this coverage possible. Click to see the Stevens Point Journal's special offers at stevenspointjournal.com/subscribe and download our app on the App Store or Google Play. This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: New trial ordered for former Plover man convicted of sexual assault California woman jailed for 13 days after being mistaken for person with the same name, lawsuit says A California woman sued the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department and airport police claiming she was arrested and held in jail for almost two weeks before authorities realized they arrested the wrong person, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Tuesday. Bethany Farber was preparing to fly out of Los Angeles International Airport to Puerto Escondido, Mexico, in April 2021 when she was stopped by the Transportation Security Administration and told there was a warrant for her arrest in Texas, the lawsuit says. Farber reportedly told TSA agents that she had never visited Texas and that she was innocent. I asked them repeatedly to double-check, and they completely blew me off, Farber said. They said Nope, Bethany Farber, we have you. Police arrested her at the airport and took her into booking at a Los Angeles Police Department station, the lawsuit says. Authorities reportedly mistook Farber for a woman with the same name, who had a warrant for her arrest in Texas. The Bethany Farber police arrested is young, with long, blonde hair, opposed to other Farber, whose older with short and brown hair. The lawsuit alleges the two had nothing in common besides their name. Rodney Diggs, Farbers attorney, said the Bethany Farber that police meant to arrest already has a criminal history.Her fingerprints are in the database, he said. According to the federal lawsuit, police arrested the wrong Farber without checking her drivers license, date of birth, or any other identifying information. LAPD could have checked the fingerprints, her birthday, social security number, or even a photo. They did none of that, Diggs said. Farber was held in jail for 13 days in Lynwood Womens Jail in California before she was released. She said those days in jail caused her emotional distress, having to put warm food inside her sweatshirt to keep herself warm and witnessing other inmates throw feces and smear it across the wall. Story continues Bethany Farber pictured with her grandmother, Donna Emma Jaynes. A federal lawsuit filed Feb. 22 alleges Jaynes died from a stress-induced stroke after Farber was wrongly jailed for 13 days in a case of mistaken identity. The lawsuit also alleges the Los Angeles Police Department knew Farber was innocent for three days before she was released. Documents say the incident caused Farbers 90-year-old grandma to suffer a stress-induced stroke. She passed away shortly after Farber was released from jail. I believe I would have had more time with her if this situation didnt happen, she said. The Los Angeles Police Department and LAX police said they are unable to comment on pending litigation. The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office also declined to comment. Last month, a Nevada man sued the Las Vegas Metropolitan and Henderson police departments alleging he was unlawfully detained after police mistook him for another man with a similar name. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California woman sues Los Angeles alleging she was wrongly imprisoned In his 20-minute speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Ron DeSantis hit on everything from immigration and mob violence to critical race theory, the Bill of Rights and the peril of a biomedical security state. One thing the Florida governor who is a U.S. Navy veteran and former member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee did not mention on Thursday was Ukraine. It was a curious, but not entirely surprising, omission by one of the GOPs leading presidential prospects as the world watched the Russian invasion unfold in real time. DeSantis was hardly alone in avoiding the subject at CPAC, where Russias offensive just hours old drew only glancing interest at one of the partys most prominent gatherings of the year. Even in a country where conflicts abroad rarely animate the electorate, it was one of the starkest indicators in decades of how far foreign policy has fallen on the Republican agenda. No longer is the GOP the party whose president once told Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall. Today, said Ryan Horn, a longtime Republican strategist in the Midwest, Ronald Reagan is probably rolling around in his grave. In Washington, D.C., the GOPs governing class has largely responded to Russias aggression by calling for sanctions, such as President Joe Biden is imposing, while faulting the Democratic president for doing too little, or for not acting quickly enough framing that dovetailed with the partys long-running attempts to cast Biden as weak. But at CPAC, there was no sign Ukraine represented anything more important than that, despite its extraordinary geopolitical implications. As the conference opened, Russia was bombing Ukraine. Vladimir Putin, with a nuclear arsenal at his disposal, was warning the West that interference would result in consequences you have never seen. Dozens of people had been killed, and financial markets were reeling. Ukraine drew mention from some Republican politicians. Yet attendees heard more about banned books, Marxist leftists, Covid mandates and the fantasy that the 2020 election was rigged. It was a reminder that the economy and domestic culture wars are more likely to define the midterm and 2024 presidential election than fearsome conflict abroad. Story continues Jim McLaughlin, a veteran Republican pollster, said that in combination with the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan last year, Ukraine adds to the general overall feeling that this administration and this president look weak. Former Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis said that politically for Republicans, Its going to be a big deal for us. But as a stand-alone issue, its different. Of Ukraine, said Rory McShane, a Republican strategist, Its too complicated a situation to campaign on. The Republican approach to Ukraine is a reflection of the partys evolution, with the GOP divided in its assessment of the war and its vision of Americas role in the world. There are pro-sanction lawmakers. And then theres the America First set influential with base voters, such as Foxs Tucker Carlson and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, founder of the youth movement Turning Point USA. The U.S. southern border matters a lot more than the Ukrainian border, Kirk said to applause on Thursday, CPACs opening day. Im more worried about how the cartels are deliberately trying to infiltrate our country than a dispute 5,000 miles away in cities we cant pronounce, in places that most Americans cant find on a map. Former President Donald Trump, still the leader of the Republican Party, has failed to provide his followers a coherent direction. On Tuesday, he described Putin as genius and savvy. On Thursday night, he said only, If I were in Office, this deadly Ukraine situation would never have happened! Trump may offer more substantive remarks when he appears at CPAC on Saturday, though his record includes nothing to suggest he will chart a unifying course for the party. Trumps coziness with Putin during his presidency disturbed even some Republicans. Paul Ryan, then the Republican House speaker, said Trump must appreciate that Russia is not our ally after Trumps infamous joint press conference with Putin in 2018, where Trump suggested the U.S. was to blame for its tensions with Russia and declined to rebuke Putin for the countrys interference in the 2016 election. Still, Republicans are waiting for Trump to lay down a marker. In some ways, the GOP is more deferential to him than it was in 2018, and the risk of crossing him is extreme, with Trump intervening in primaries across the midterm electoral landscape and with the prospect that he may run again in 2024. If Trump offers any direction on Ukraine, Republicans will come under intense pressure to follow his lead. I think within the Republican Party theres a lot of people looking to see what Trump will say, said Bob Heckman, a Republican consultant who has worked on nine presidential campaigns. The only common denominator right now among Republicans is that its all Bidens fault What feeds it is the instinct to want to say that everything Biden is doing is wrong. So, if you want to make the argument that Biden has been feckless and weak, which I think is correct, then you have to be for some kind of strong response yourself. Yet the Trump wing of the party hasnt traditionally been for strong foreign responses, so I think everybodys trying to figure it out right now. He said, Were going to see whether or not people who understand foreign policy, like Pompeo, Nikki Haley and Mike Pence, to give you three names, whether they gain more respect from speaking intelligently on this, or whether they get marginalized. Chuck Hagel, the former Republican senator from Nebraska and defense secretary in the Obama administration, suggested Americans may not yet fully appreciate the significance of Russias war on Ukraine, unlike any foreign conflict since World War II. But over the course of what will be a tough time for the next few months, maybe longer, he said, theyll start to understand it, because consequences are going to back up in this country just like every other country. It will force people to come to their senses as far as realizing how important this day is in the world, he said. If that happens, the Republican electorate may demand a more cogent foreign policy vision from the partys leaders than Trump has offered so far. But if it doesnt, they may not have to do much more than echo him or, as DeSantis did on Thursday, say nothing at all. Foreign policy traditionally ranks low on the list of American voters concerns. Foreign policy rarely resonates with voters unless Americans are dying, said Whit Ayres, the longtime Republican pollster. Its usually overwhelmed by the economy, the pandemic, education, all these other domestic issues. That doesnt mean people arent paying attention. But when it comes to voting issues, domestic policy normally trumps foreign policy, unless Americans are dying overseas. Republicans expectation that voters will be consumed with concerns other than Ukraine was nowhere more evident than CPAC. During a rare session devoted to the conflict, Trumps former deputy national security adviser, K.T. McFarland, was discussing the price of oil and Putins ability to finance a war when Right Side Broadcasting Network cut away from its livestream of the event. It had an interview to air instead with John Schnatter, the founder of Papa Johns. Aerial Norwegian Gem Norwegian Cruise Line Michel Verdure/Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line Several cruise lines have removed stops in Russia and around the region from their itineraries amid the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. In a broad move, Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Oceania Cruises which are all part of parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings have each canceled stops in St. Petersburg, the cruise lines shared with Travel+Leisure. Guests on Regent Seven Seas, for example, who were slated to board cruises that stopped in the Russian city received a memo explaining the itinerary change. "Due to the escalated situation between Russia and Ukraine we have made the decision to modify the course of your upcoming voyage and will be removing St. Petersburg, Russia from the itinerary," the cruise line wrote in a letter to guests shared with T+L. "We are currently working to confirm a revised itinerary and will provide updates once we have more information." Regent Seven Seas will also remove the Solovetsky Islands, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, and Odessa, Ukraine, from its itineraries, USA Today reported. Representatives for Norwegian Cruise Line and Oceania Cruises told T+L the companies were also working to confirm replacement ports for St. Petersburg. "The safety and security of our guests, crew, and communities we visit is our top priority," the Norwegian spokesperson said. Norwegian Prima Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings In total, about 50 Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings company sailings anchor in St. Petersburg over the summer, Reuters reported. "It is disappointing because St. Petersburg is one of the crown jewels of the Scandinavia itineraries. But certainly, there are alternatives," Chief Executive Officer Frank Del Rio said on a post-earnings call, according to the wire service. Similarly, Viking Cruises canceled all 2022 departures on its Kyiv, Black Sea, and Bucharest itinerary. "Given recent events and the developing conflict in Ukraine, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all 2022 departures of our Kiev, Black Sea & Bucharest itinerary," a representative for the cruise line confirmed to T+L. "Guests and their travel advisors on impacted departures have been notified directly by Viking Customer Relations." Story continues Atlas Ocean Voyages has also dropped St. Petersburg from its trips, and instead added stops in Kotka and Mariehamn in Finland as well as a stop in Saaremaa, Estonia, the cruise line shared with T+L. "Atlas Ocean Voyages' top priority is the safety and comfort of our guests and crew," Alberto Aliberti, the president of Atlas Ocean Voyages, said in a statement provided to T+L. "With unrest in Eastern Europe, we have adjusted our voyages and replaced our Russia calls with equally exciting and charming destinations in Finland and Estonia. Guests will enjoy these unique and rarely visited destinations and immersive shore excursions to take in the rich cultures and breathtaking vistas of the Baltic." Russia first started its invasion of Ukraine early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, The Associated Press reported. By Friday, Russian troops were bearing down on Ukraine's capital of Kyiv. Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram. Arthur Watts, Kewanee, 1916. Possibly from the Emancipation Day celebration at Windmont Park. I absolutely love researching my Kewanee familys history. I traced one branch to some of the first French Huguenots in Lyon, France, in the 1530s. Another branch goes back in Sweden to the late 1500s. Dean Karau I found some of my paternal great-grandfathers German ancestors living in todays Poland in the late 1700s. My maternal grandparents ancestors were found in Poland and Croatia (although he was Serbian) in the early 1800s. Those various lines then made their way to Kewanee between 1855 and 1906. Arthur Watts - who arrived in Kewanee in 1901- and his descendants have not been as fortunate as I in finding ancestral roots. Through no fault of their own, they have been limited in how far back they can trace their family story. Why? Because Arthur was a former enslaved Black American who reportedly was bought and sold three times before gaining his freedom during the Civil War. Arthur and his ancestors, considered mere property by those who traded in human chattel, were denied the right to read, write, marry, own land, vote, and participate in all of those types of activities that would have created records and a trail to follow. Arthur and his family have no written record of his ancestors past upon which to rely. Fortunately, Arthurs family has a rich oral history to link themselves to the past. But while I can pinpoint specific villages in specific countries from where my ancestors came, Arthur and his family only have a continent which they can identify. A photo believed to be a young Arthur Watts. In 1619, long before Arthur Watts was born, the first enslaved persons arrived in what would become the United States. 150 years later, Thomas Jefferson, in an early draft of his Declaration of Independence, pointed to the British as the cause of that stain: [King George] has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. this piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the CHRISTIAN king of Great Britain. determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought & sold . . . . Story continues But Jefferson struck those sentiments from his final version of our most treasured founding document because of the vehement protest of others who would later sign the declaration. Moreover, many of our Founding Fathers owned slaves - Jefferson himself owned many, including ones as young as 12 working in his Monticello nail factory. While Britain abolished slavery in 1807, it took a civil war to end formal enslavement in the United States some 50 years later, only to be followed by Jim Crowism beginning still a decade and a half later, effectively replacing slavery with another caste system. Arthur Watts, right, Kewanee, 1916. Possibly from the Emancipation Day celebration at Windmont Park. Arthur Watts, like many others of those enslaved in the U.S., gained his freedom in the middle of the Civil War after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. But the stories surrounding Arthur Watts early life varied as the years passed. And there seem to be no stories of his ancestors. Family stories say that Arthur was born to a slave owner and an enslaved woman in 1837, although 20th century census records suggest that he may have been born as late as 1847. Family stories also say his mother was Silvie, her enslaved mate was Reuben, and their owner and Arthurs father was James Watts, all of whom lived in Randolph County, Missouri. But other records suggest the possibility that the slave owner and Arthurs father was Reuben Watts, who lived in an adjacent Missouri county. And no stories tell the history of Arthurs Black ancestors from the time before his birth. After he was freed, Arthur, like so many of the 4 million enslaved persons, had nothing to his name and only the limited skills he learned while enslaved. But those skills included tending the open cooking fires, a task he had managed since childhood. Arthur also had garnered recipes, including for sauces, learned through experimenting over the years. Arthur very likely continued working for his former owner, albeit as a freeman, at least for a while until he could strike out on his own. There also seems to be a dearth of stories about Arthur and his wife, Laura (nee Allhouse), who he married in the mid-1870s. They did continue to live in Missouri near where they had been enslaved, and had five children there. Laura (nee Allhouse) and Arthur Watts. But once Arthur and his family made it to Kewanee around 1901, there is an abundant history of their vibrant life in the growing city and economic engine of Henry County. Living in Wethersfield, Arthur farmed on his land just south of Division Street and Chautauqua Park in the Blish Addition. He also periodically worked in Kewanees factories. He, Laura and the children were active in the Second Baptist Church. They all eagerly participated in school and civic activities. But Arthur was best-known for his skills in cooking meat over an open fire - barbecuing. He learned to barbecue in slavery and continued honing his skills for the rest of his life. And those skills were unsurpassed. Arthur cooked for picnics, large or small. He cooked for church events, large or small. He cooked for celebrations of all varieties, large or small. Whenever there was an outdoor gathering of people where food would be served, there was a good chance that Arthur would be leading the cooking. By 1916, it was estimated that Arthur had been in charge of over 200 barbecues. His reputation continued to grow and was not confined to just Kewanee. Chef Eudell Watts (right) sprays the cooking meat with barbecue sauce. For instance, in 1919, Arthur led the preparation of a barbecue for a massive Fourth of July celebration in Neponset, serving an estimated 11,000 people. The Daily Star Courier called the day the greatest event in Neponset history, and proclaimed that [t]he greatest particular feature of the day was the barbecue, . . . one of the largest and most successful . . . ever held in this vicinity. Arthur Watts Sr. was in charge of the cooking pits[,] . . . a man who has for years been in charge of large barbecues . . . . Arthur passed on his barbecue skills and secret recipes to his children. In 1954 during the five-day Centennial celebration of Kewanees birth, Arthurs son, Eudell, led a crew of more than 300 volunteers all night and into the next day, endlessly turning the five tons of pork over and over on the two 150-foot-long grills to make sure it cooked evenly. Front page, July 5, 1919, Kewanee Daily Star Courier. Front page story in July 27, 1916, Kewanee Daily Star Courier. The Worlds Largest Free Pork Barbecue was the most popular event of the entire celebration. Eudell and his crew served over 30,000 diners. Today, Eudell Watts IV, Arthurs great-great-grandson, carries on Arthurs legacy, making and selling Old Arthurs Barbecue Sauce. Arthur Watts died in 1945. He began his life in servitude and ended his life in freedom. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. From 1619 until the end of the Civil War, those truths were not meant to apply to Black Americans. In fact, the concept of slavery was intentionally baked into our Constitution when written in 1789. While the Civil War was fought over slavery and the institution was formally abolished and amendments to the Constitution extended rights to Black Americans, in many areas of the country, Black Americans were still second-class citizens, or worse. It was not until the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s that the country began addressing the lasting legacy of slavery. Arthur Watts was born into slavery, with little knowledge of his past and little hope for his future. But after he gained his freedom, Arthur and Laura worked hard to create a present for their family and left them a legacy of which they could be proud. Arthur and Laura Watts and their progeny are truly Kewaneeans and Americans - of whom we all should be proud. (In an its a small world moment, I asked my former Minneapolis law partner, Adonis Neblett, to review and comment on my story. We discovered that an in-law of his wife is a descendant of Arthur Watts. I was subsequently able to talk to Arthurs great-grand-children - and former Kewaneeans - Cheryl Allen and Rodney Smith about Arthur and Kewanee. Cheryl remembers Arthur from when she was only four or five years old. He would gently reach out to hold her, but he had very large hands, and she sometimes feared she would get lost in them. However, Cheryl treasures those memories of Arthur.) This article originally appeared on Star Courier: Dean Karau: Kewanee's Arthur Watts lacked a past, forged family's future TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 24, 2022 / Forward Water Technologies Corp. (TSXV:FWTC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has filed its condensed consolidated unaudited interim financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2021. Copies of these financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis can be found on the Company's issuer profile at www.sedar.com . All financial information in this news release is reported in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Q2 Financial Highlights Total expenses were $2,060,397 for the three months ended December 31, 2021, an increase of 707% over same period in 2020, and $3,488,858 for the nine months ended December 31, 2021, 83% over the same period in 2020. The increase in the expense was largely due to expenses that were incurred in connection with the completion of a qualifying transaction with Forward Water Technologies Inc. ("FWTI") and the listing of the Company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange. Net loss and comprehensive loss was $1,938,856 for the three months ended December 31, 2021, compared to a loss of $336,553 for the same period in 2020. The net loss and comprehensive loss for the nine month period ended December 31, 2021 was $3,504,400 compared to a loss of $922,029 for the same period in 2020. Basic loss per share was $0.02 and $0.04 for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2021, respectively, compared to $0.05 and $0.02 for the same three and nine months in 2020. Operating Highlights and Recent Corporate Developments On October 20, 2021 the Company completed a qualifying transaction with FWTI (the "Transaction") The Transaction constituted a reverse acquisition in accordance with IFRS as the shareholders of FWTI took control of the Company as a result of the Transaction. On October 26, 2021, the Company's common shares were listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "FWTC". In connection with the Transaction, the Company completed a brokered private placement offering of an aggregate of 6,470,000 Subscription Receipts at a subscription price of $1.00 per Subscription Receipt for aggregate gross proceeds of $6,470,000. (see press release dated July 27, 2021) On February 3, 2022, the Company entered into a definitive agreement with Membracon (UK) Ltd. ("Membracon") to form a joint venture. The proposed joint venture will be resourced by both Membracon and the Company and will be responsible for delivery of the Company's proprietary forward osmosis processes and solutions within the United Kingdom and Ireland. On February 14, 2022, the Company signed a sales partnership agreement with Mabarex Inc ("Mabarex") providing laboratory, engineering, and system support. Mabarex will in turn identify commercial applications from its client base. Management Commentary Story continues "Forward Water Technologies has been seeing rapidly growing interest in various wastewater sectors by saving water from being permanently destroyed, and realizing large reductions in their operating expenses associated with legacy water solutions. Moreover, the Company is seeing the expansion of its business into the resource recovery sector where the concentration of natural occurring and process water streams improves the economic isolation of minerals such as lithium and other key metals, " said Howie Honeyman, CEO of the Company. Mr. Honeyman continued, "With the expansion of the sales team as well as working closely with various marketing platforms, the Company will be able to introduce the world actively and aggressively to its patented forward osmosis technology solution. The Company's proven trial runs plus initial funds raised concurrently with its go-public transaction, allows the Company to pursue its aggressive growth strategy and execute on its business plan." Summary of Financial Results Income Statement Balance Sheet Statement of Cash Flows About Forward Water Technologies Corp. Forward Water Technologies Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian company dedicated to saving the earth's water supply using its patented Forward Osmosis technology. The Company was founded by GreenCentre Canada, a leading technology innovation centre supported by the government of Canada. The Company's technology allows for the reduction of challenging waste streams simultaneously returning fresh water for re-use or surface release. The Company's mandate is to focus on the large-scale implementation of its technology in multiple sectors, including industrial wastewater, oil and gas, mining, agriculture and ultimately municipal water supply and re-use market sectors. For more information, please visit www.forwardwater.com . Contact Information For more information or interview requests, please contact: C. Howie Honeyman - Chief Executive Officer howie.honeyman@forwardwater.com 416-451-8155 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, the Company's plans to pursue its growth strategy and the impact of the expanded sales team. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the impacts from the coronavirus or other epidemics, general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; unanticipated operating events; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. SOURCE: Forward Water Technologies Corp. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/690388/Forward-Water-Technologies-Announces-Third-Quarter-2021-Financial-Results Ketanji Brown Jackson made history Friday as the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court, and famous figures from industries abound including politics, Hollywood, and more are celebrating the news. Following President Joe Biden's announcement that he would nominate Jackson, whom he called "one of our nation's brightest legal minds," to the Supreme Court, activist and Martin Luther King Jr. Center CEO Bernice King honored the milestone by calling Jackson a "brilliant, exceptional, pioneering" woman. Im proud to announce that I am nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court. Currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, she is one of our nations brightest legal minds and will be an exceptional Justice.https://t.co/iePvhz1YaA pic.twitter.com/Nzqv2AtN8h President Biden (@POTUS) February 25, 2022 "54 years after my father was assassinated. 57 years after Bloody Sunday. 2 years after Ahmaud Arbery. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson," King tweeted. "Our work continues, but this moment matters." A [brilliant, exceptional, pioneering] Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court. In my lifetime. 54 years after my father was assassinated. 57 years after Bloody Sunday. 2 years after Ahmaud Arbery. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Our work continues, but this moment matters. pic.twitter.com/geXUFx40oF Be A King (@BerniceKing) February 25, 2022 Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also lauded Jackson's credentials as "impeccable," and noted that "by all accounts she has the character & experience to serve honorably as an associate justice of the Supreme Court" while looking ahead to her confirmation. Story continues This is exciting. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's credentials are impeccable, and by all accounts she has the character & experience to serve honorably as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Looking forward to her hearing and to seeing her confirmed. https://t.co/JcyB02XUfw Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 25, 2022 Emmy-nominated comedian, actress, and Black Lady Sketch Show creator-writer Robin Thede tweeted a simple yet powerful descriptor for Jackson, writing: "Black Lady Justice!" alongside two applause emojis. Biden's announcement comes two years after he promised to nominate a Black woman to the court during his presidency, if elected. If confirmed, the 51-year-old will replace the retiring Justice Stephen G. Breyer after she served on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. Hillary Clinton / Ketanji Brown Jackson / Bernice King LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images; Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Shutterstock; Prince Williams/WireImage Hillary Clinton, Bernice King, more celebrate Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court nomination. See more notable reactions to Jackson's nomination below. Bold. Principled. Qualified. Dedicated to justice.@POTUS has met the moment w/ the historic nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson & we must have swift confirmation. https://t.co/FIAx1VztJf Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) February 25, 2022 Awesome nomination to #scotus of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. She is an amazing Judge and her last name is Jackson. Can't get better than that! https://t.co/Oin4hkLASS Tito Jackson (@titojackson) February 25, 2022 We are the Joshua generation. https://t.co/L7dE9vQ05i Keisha Lance Bottoms (@KeishaBottoms) February 25, 2022 Thrilled with todays SCOTUS appointment announcement! Judge Ketanji Brown Jacksons experience as a former public defender is historic, and she will add a much needed level of empathy and understanding to the high court. George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) February 25, 2022 God bless you Ketanji Brown Jackson rosanna arquette (@RoArquette) February 25, 2022 U.S. President Joe Biden has kept his promise to nominate the first Black woman in history to the Supreme Court of the United States. Today, he will announce his intention to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson. #Progress https://t.co/c7kCFgV3aR Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) February 25, 2022 Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is indisputably well qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. She currently serves as a federal appellate judge on the D.C. Circuit Court and before that spent eight years as a federal district judge on the D.C. District Court. Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) February 25, 2022 Huzzah! A superb history-making choice. She is destined to be a great justice. https://t.co/nDkARW4NwF Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) February 25, 2022 Hear more on all of today's must-see picks in EW's What to Watch podcast, hosted by Gerrad Hall. Related content: The Huawei Store in Store brings innovative products and technologies from Huawei to over 15 Canada Computers locations across Canada. TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, HUAWEI leading innovative technology company, establishes a new Canadian home in Canada Computers North York - for laptops, monitors, wearables, audio products, tablets and smart home devices. The opening of the first Canadian Store-in-Store location marks the beginning of retail expansion across Canada. HUAWEI store opening (CNW Group/Huawei Consumer Business Group) Huawei Stores offer an interactive shopping experience including consulting, sales, education, and ample space for the presentation and testing of the latest Huawei products. Fixtures will feature real sample devices allowing for a consumer connective experience to the product line-up and inter funtionalities between device categories. More Canadian retail locations will rapidly open over the next few weeks, with plans to introduce the global stand alone Huawei Experience Store in the future. From now until Spring, Huawei will open 15 new Canada Computers store in store locations in major Canadian markets from coast-to-coast. The new Huawei Store invites customers to experience for themselves the quality and diversity of the Huawei product range. "This is also a strong sign of our sustainable investment and our goal to strengthen the connection to the Canadian market," said Li Shilong, General Manager of Huawei Device BG Canada. "Huawei utilizes the power of digital solutions and technological innovations to improve and simplify life for our customers. With our new stores located across Canada, we can now respond even more closely to the individual needs and wishes of Canadians." "Canada Computers is happy to welcome Huawei Canada partnership from coast to coast, starting with our North York location. This partnership signifies our commitment to showcasing leading global technology to enhance our customer retail experience." said Gordon Chan, CEO of Canada Computers & Electronics. "With 31 years of business, we look forward to elevating our portfolio by developing strong relations to advocate for a sustainable future." Story continues Special opening goodies at the Grand Opening celebration Huawei celebrates the opening with a special one day sales promotion and contest for the first customers. On the day of the opening, an exciting competition awaits visitors in the store: all visitors will have the chance to win prizes such as the HUAWEI MateView GT, FreeBuds Lipstick, Watch GT 2e watch and Huawei Sound Joy speaker. Everyone will also receive up to 50% off on selected HUAWEI products. In harmony with Huawei's growing retail footprint, product releases advance with the latest 2022 MateBook laptop line-up now on display at Canada Computers. About Huawei Device BG Huawei's products and services are available in more than 170 countries and are used by a third of the world's population. Fourteen R&D centres have been set up in countries around the world, including Germany, Canada, Sweden, Russia, India and China. Huawei Consumer BG is one of Huawei's three business units and covers smartphones, PC and tablets, wearables and cloud services, etc. Huawei's global network is built on over 30 years of expertise in the telecom industry and is dedicated to delivering the latest technological advances to consumers around the world. For more information please visit: http://consumer.huawei.com/ca/ For regular updates on Huawei Device BG, follow us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huaweimobileCan Twitter: https://twitter.com/HuaweiMobileCan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huaweimobileCan About Canada Computers Founded in 1991, Canada Computers & Electronics is a retailer of personal computers, IT and components, as well as consumer electronics. Over its 30-year history, they continue to provide customers with the best products at the best value that the computer retail world can offer. With a strengthening customer base and ever-growing demand across students, professionals, and families alike, Canada Computers & Electronics is now a trailblazing force with more than 1,000 employees staffing 40 store locations across Canada. For more information please visit: https://www.canadacomputers.com Facebook Canada Computers | Instragram @CanadaComputers | Twitter CanadaComputers Logo (CNW Group/Huawei Consumer Business Group) SOURCE Huawei Consumer Business Group Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2022/25/c8612.html MTN Namibia has tapped Canadian firm NuRAN Wireless to deploy a minimum of 150 rural and suburban network sites over the next two years. The companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the deal contingent on them striking a definitive 10-year agreement within the next six months, reports CommsUpdate. If this is agreed, NuRAN Wireless will deploy 2G, 4G and 2G/4G combination sites under its network-as-a-service model under which NuRAN builds, operates and maintains cell sites for operators while managing the associated CAPEX, then offers connectivity on a paid-for basis to monetise the sites. Our strategy is to bring connectivity to all people throughout Namibia and specifically those less connected like the rural and suburban areas of the country, said MTN Namibia managing director Elia Tsouros. This is the beginning of an even greater infrastructure deployment in the country providing unprecedented communications services in Namibia. These projects will also create opportunities for local small businesses to partner with MTN as we continue to grow our footprint. The operator introduced TD-LTE mobile services in 2019. The service is currently active in Windhoek, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Ondangwa, Rehoboth, Oshakati, Okahandja and Otjiwarongo. The Polk County History Center will have a hat chat on Saturday with artist Robert Malone who is responsible for their "Grandeur & Grace" exhibit. The Polk County History Center has two events scheduled for Saturday to celebrate Black History Month. First will be the Grandeur & Grace Hat Chat at 11 a.m. The Grandeur & Grace exhibit is a collection of artworks by Polk County artist Ronald Malone. He was inspired to paint women wearing church hats after seeing a family out shopping one Sunday. Malone said he will be on hand during the event to speak about the portraits. 'Future generations will learn': Former reporter authors children's book about traveling to Ghana. 'We're going to lose the history': What happened to the Black communities of Polk County Were going to introduce the ladies who are featured in the portraits," said historic preservation manager Myrtice Young. "In addition, one of the hat ladies, Virginia Cummings Lane, is going to present a program on the history of hat wearing, hat etiquette and the types of hats. The exhibit opened Feb. 5 and is expected to remain for three months. Charles B. Warren, left, and Canter Brown Jr., pose with the newly published book, "From Slavery To Community Builder," in front of the L.B. Brown House in Bartow. Warren wrote the book, and Brown contributed the opening chapter. Warren will be at the Polk County History Center on Saturday for a book signing. After the hat chat, the history center will host a book signing with Charles B. Warren at 2 p.m. Warren authored From Slavery to Community Builder: The Story of Lawrence B. Brown and will be joined by Clifton Lewis, curator of the LB Brown House Museum. The pair will take turns reading passages from the book. Books will be available for sale on Saturday - paperbacks are $25 and hardcovers $35. 'He helped build Bartow': New book preserves record of L.B. Brown's extraordinary life Mr. Malones art with the hats and these beautiful ladies interprets history and we have the story of L.B. Brown and his contributions to culture, said Young. I think its intertwining art and history to tell the story of our culture and our humanity. I hope that everybody can take that away and have that wonderful feeling about how the intertwine. For more information about the events call 863-534-4386. The Polk County History Center is located at 100 E. Main Street in Bartow. Breanna A. Rittman writes news features for The Ledger. Send your feature ideas to BRittman@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk County History Center hosts two events on Saturday for Black History Month Bob and Mary Montgomery attend a Palm Beach Opera gala in 2007. Mrs. Montgomery died Feb. 9, 2022. Mary Montgomery, a discerning but generous patroness of the arts during her 60-plus years as a Palm Beach resident, died Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, after a long battle with dementia. She was 91 years old and the widow of late powerhouse attorney Robert Montgomery, who won an $11 billion judgment against Big Tobacco in a groundbreaking lawsuit. Born July 9, 1930 in Mobile, Alabama, Mary Le Merle McKenzie was the daughter of Roy William McKenzie and Mary Le Merle (nee Andrews) McKenzie. More Palm Beach obituaries: Emily DiMaggio, baseball widow and co-founder of Dana-Farber Discovery Ball, dies at 99 A truck as a concert hall?: Yes, and it rolls into the Four Arts on Sunday Palm Beach Society: A little this, a little that, and the not-so-terrible prospect a of a little downtime She was a co-ed at the University of Alabama when she met an upperclassman from Birmingham named Bob Montgomery, who would become her husband. After Mr. Montgomery's post-college military service was up, he decided to use his GI Bill to go to law school full time. His young wife worked as a secretary in a psychiatric hospital to keep them afloat. "Those were some tough times," Mr. Montgomery would say later in an interview. "But we managed." Mary Montgomery The couple moved to Palm Beach in the early 1960s and became active in charity, particularly those relating to arts and culture. The Palm Beach Opera was a particular favorite, receiving both financial and administrative support from the pair, both of whom served on the board. All of us at Palm Beach Opera are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mary Montgomery," said David Walker, general and artistic director of the Palm Beach Opera. "Mary, and her late husband Robert, were very involved and supportive of the opera for many years, with Robert having been the companys board chairman for 25 years, and Mary then joining the board after his passing in 2008. Mary also joined the board of the Palm Beach Opera Guild in 1984, and both she and Robert were very involved in the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition. Mary was also one of the founders and underwriters of the companys annual Opera at the Waterfront concerts. Story continues More Palm Beach obituaries: Lidia Goldner, co-owner of iconic Palm Beach restaurant Cafe LEurope, dies The Sistine Chapel frescoes, up close: Armory exhibit brings Michelangelo images to PB County Native tree-planting: Elementary students plant native tree in honor of Florida Arbor Day "The company couldnt be where it is today without the incredible, longtime support and leadership of both Robert and Mary, and we will forever miss Marys incredible charm, grace, wonderful spirit, commitment and passion for opera. Another favorite was the Armory Art Center, which was seeded through a generous gift from the Montgomerys. "Mary Montgomery and her husband, Robert, were the foundation in establishing the Armory Arts Center as a visual, art education, and exhibit space for the community," said Tom Pearson, CEO of the Armory Art Center. "She was a true patron of the armory and of the arts." Mrs. Montgomery was the mother of a son, who died in 1992, and a daughter, who survives her. Services were private. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Armory Art Center. Shannon Donnelly is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at sdonnelly@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Mary Montgomery, philanthropist and patroness of the arts, dies Nashville SC is trading center forward Daniel Rios to another MLS expansion team. Rios was traded to Charlotte FC, which expanded into MLS in 2022, in exchange for $350,000 in general allocation money. That price could rise $150,000 if the Mexico City native reaches certain performance metrics. Rios was under contract with Nashville through 2022, with a club option for 2023. Daniel is a legacy at our club as our first player signed and will be remembered fondly for that," general manager Mike Jacobs said in a statement Friday. "He is a part of the clubs history, and we wish him and his family the very best in this new opportunity in Charlotte. Nashville's forward depth can handle such a trade with CJ Sapong, Ake Loba and Teal Bunbury on the depth chart. Rios was Nashville's first MLS signing in December 2018 after he spent time with North Carolina FC in the USL and his hometown Chivas Guadalajara. But since Nashville's inaugural season in 2020 ankle injuries, among other ailments, have limited Rios to just 30 starts over two seasons, scoring five goals. Charlotte will benefit from Rios' arrival, given it has two center forwards albeit designated players on its depth chart, Karol Swiderski and Vinicius Mello. Rios, 27, offers Charlotte MLS experience and a traditional center forward that like to poach goals inside the 18-yard box. For stories about Nashville SC or Soccer in Tennessee, contact Drake Hills at DHills@gannett.com. Follow Drake on Twitter at @LiveLifeDrake. Connect with Drake on Instagram at @drakehillssoccer and on Facebook. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC trades Daniel Rios to Charlotte FC with depth at forward Nashville SC enters its third season in Major League Soccer with new opposition, new competitions and a new stadium. With that comes questions about what's ahead for what quickly has become a proven playoff contender in MLS. Nashville's 2022 season, now back in the Western Conference, kicks off Sunday at Seattle Sounders FC (7 p.m. MyTV30), starting a eight-game road stint and 18,000 miles of travel before Nashville SC Stadium's grand opening May 1 against the Philadelphia Union. On and off-the-field questions have been answered below. To participate in a future mailbag, reach out on Twitter to @LiveLifeDrake or write DHills@gannett.com. Questions have been lightly edited for clarity. How much of Daniel Rios should I be expecting this season and how do you see him fitting in to the new look offense? @JulioSalazar Decided to start with Thursday's news. Center forward Daniel Rios will fit into a new look offense, just not Nashville's. Nashville traded Rios, its first MLS signing in 2018, to expansion team Charlotte FC for up to $500,000 in general allocation money. For what was likely to be Nashville's third-string striker this season, making a half-a-million dollar return makes sense, especially without a first-choice right wingback. Alex Muyl, the preferred winger, is the current replacement for Canadian national team defender Alistair Johnston, who was traded to CF Montreal. Thursday's cash-in on Rios means more money to potentially snag U.S. men's national team member Shaq Moore, currently playing in Spain. Reports in January have linked Moore with a loan move to Nashville. Ake Loba, CJ Sapong, Randall Leal and Hany Mukhtar in the season opener? @JonathanLenzy That's doubtful, but possible. All four starting together makes the most sense in a 3-5-2 shape. Loba and CJ Sapong are your strikers. This front four also seems logical in a 4-2-3-1 shape, with Loba spelling Muyl as the starter at right wing. Story continues Nashville kept quiet during its preseason finale against Philadelphia on Feb. 18, to prevent tactics leaking to Seattle ahead of Sunday's match. It's unclear how Loba finished preseason, but coach Gary Smith said Nashville's club-record signing played his best 45 minutes in a Nashville jersey against Charlotte Feb. 8. Do you think Gary Smith will employ more aggressive tactics with Seattle having played a CONCACAF Champions League game just three days before the match? @RobbyAces Not aggressive, but well informed. Yes, Seattle is two matches into its season, playing in North America's premier club competition, most recently Thursday. But not only did it blow out F.C. Montagua of Honduras, 5-0, Thursday's Champions League match was at home. Nashville's got the film, but Seattle's got momentum and home-field advantage. Smith added: "I remember it being one of the toughest places that I've been to some years ago (with the Colorado Rapids) and it's certainly got tougher since I've been thereAlways a difficult (playing) surface and an exceptionally talented frontline to try and deal with." With so many away matches and long flights, whats the general plan for dealing with road trips this year? @JohnHaubenreich I'll let Gary answer this one. "We've got a plan in place for the type of journeys that we're going to undertake. They won't all be (travelling) two days prior to the game, depending on where we go of course. But we certainly want to try and offer the players the best possible opportunity to acclimate to the West Coast and a two hour time change. "Whilst we're going from weekend to weekend in the first batch of games, there's an awful lot to contend with for each player. And we'll have to look at their data as they come out of these games and the way that they've recovered." For stories about Nashville SC or Soccer in Tennessee, contact Drake Hills at DHills@gannett.com. Follow Drake on Twitter at @LiveLifeDrake. Connect with Drake on Instagram at @drakehillssoccer and on Facebook. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC schedule 2022: 18,000 miles of travel in first 8 games Anti-war protest in St Petersburg Peter KovalevTASS via Getty Images Thousands have swarmed the streets in cities across Russia in anti-war protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin's incursion into Ukraine. Locals first came together on Thursday with demonstrations as an emotional plea to halt their country's "full-scale attack" on Ukraine, where the death toll continues to rise. However, protesters were met with heavy police presence and arrests. Hours after the first missiles struck in Ukraine, the Investigative Committee of Russia released a statement Thursday warning citizens not to participate in "mass riots and rallies associated with the tense foreign policy situation," as it's "criminal" and will result in "serious legal consequences. Regardless, protests erupted. A local Russian news outlet shared videos as hundreds gathered with signs and chanted, "No to war!" Police used megaphones in an attempt to disperse crowds as local authorities were seen detaining protesters. RELATED: At Least 137 People Killed in First Day of Russia's Attack on Ukraine, Officials Say As of Friday, 1,844 people were detained across 60 Russian cities, with over 1,000 people detained in Moscow alone, according to OVD Info, a civil rights group that monitors rallies and arrests in Russia. Many Russians have also condemned their president's actions and requested a halt on the invasion through petitions shared online. One petition, created by prominent human rights advocate Lev Ponomavyov, had already amassed more than 330,000 signatures as of Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Tatyana Usmanova, an opposition activist in Moscow, wrote on Facebook that her country's invasion is a "shame that will forever be with us." "I want to ask for forgiveness from Ukrainians. We did not vote for those who started the war," she added. RELATED: What's at Stake in Russia-Ukraine Crisis: War, Economic Hardship and World Order 'Pulled at the Seams' Story continues Russia began an invasion of Ukraine earlier this week, according to the Ukraine government, with forces moving in from the north, east and south. The attack is still evolving but explosions and airstrikes have been reported, with threats mounting against the capital, Kyiv, a city of 2.8 million people. Numerous residents have been seen trying to flee. "We are facing a war and horror. What could be worse?" one 64-year-old woman living in Kyiv told the Associated Press. President Putin's aggression toward Ukraine has been widely condemned by the international community, including with economic sanctions and NATO troops massing in the region. Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the interest of so-called "peacekeeping." "The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces," American President Joe Biden said as the invasion appeared to begin in force this week. The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help. Russian troops launched an attack on Ukraine on Thursday, with explosions and setting off air raid sirens in Kyiv, among other cities, causing residents to flee. "As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history," a statement from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on Twitter reads. "[Russia] has embarked on a path of evil, but [Ukraine] is defending itself and won't give up its freedom no matter what Moscow thinks." Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine, saying the Ukrainians woke up to "the brutal, terrifying reality of war" in the "greatest threat to European stability since World War II." "Make no mistake, Russias attack on Ukraine is also an attack on democracy, on international law, on human rights and on freedom," Trudeau said. "Democracies and democratic leader everywhere must come together to defend these principals and stand firmly against authoritarianism." "Russia must immediately cease all hostile actions against Ukraine and withdraw all military and proxy forces from the country." In a public addrss, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that countries that interfere is Russia's actions will result in "consequences they have never seen." Second grade students wear masks while at school on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, at Harriet Thompson Elementary School in Grandview, Wash. You are the owner of this article. FILEIn this photo taken on Friday, March 12, 2021, a Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital sign is photographed near the emergency room along Tieton Drive in Yakima, Wash. Smoke rise from an air defence base in the aftermath of an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Russian troops have launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine. Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa as world leaders decried the start of Russian invasion that could cause massive casualties and topple Ukraine's democratically elected government. Submit An Obituary Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. Go to form With the Build Back Better legislation stalled in the Senate, President Joe Biden is now considering smaller bills that include important parts of the plan, such as one proposal to spend $110 billion to make pre-kindergarten available to all 3- and 4-year-olds. Helping children to overcome limitations based on their family finances or backgrounds is an appealing idea. Recent evidence, however, raises serious questions about whether more preschool improves kids lives over the long term. A number of studies show the positive effect of preschool on children during early elementary school, but many do not account for an important phenomenon: Children who start school behind their peers tend to catch up after several years. Therefore, we should question the assumption that if preschool-age children could simply spend more time in school, they will be better off. Lost time with parents during those early years plays too important a role in a childs development to ignore, and several key pieces of research appear to bear this out. These are difficult questions. Children from disadvantaged families appear to benefit more than most. But the problem with most empirical studies of pre-K programs is that parents who choose to enroll their children may do other things differently than parents who do not. Those other differences, rather than whether a child attended pre-K, could help explain differences in emotional and intellectual development. One thing we do know is that preschool does not necessarily improve kids long-run fortunes. A controlled study of children who attended state-supported preschool in Tennessee followed nearly 3,000 children through sixth grade. Because those who attended pre-K were randomly selected, their backgrounds were not systematically different from those who did not attend. Surprisingly, by sixth grade, students who had attended pre-K performed worse on standardized tests, had more disciplinary problems and were more likely to use special education services. While the quality of the specific program matters, the Tennessee program is considered as good as, or better than, most other state-funded programs. Its teachers are required to have a college degree and certification and are paid as well as public elementary school teachers. Similarly, other research shows evidence that extensive early day care can have harmful effects on child development. Like pre-K, day care means some children will spend fewer hours cared for by their parents. In 1997, Quebec began to subsidize full-time day care for all children younger than five. Subsequent research found evidence that the social development of many of these children, based on emotional and behavioral measures, had significantly deteriorated in Quebec, relative to the rest of Canada. Compared to older siblings who had been cared for at home, children who were in day care between the ages of 2 and 4 experienced significant increases in anxiety, hyperactivity and aggression. Later research found that the negative social and emotional outcomes persisted through childhood, into adolescence and young adulthood, and may have become stronger over time. Another important problem with the current proposal is that the rules to qualify for federal funding may lead to the exclusion of religious programs, which in many communities function as primary preschool options. To receive federal funding, faith-based organizations providing pre-K may be required to abide by Title 9 regulations, which could interfere with their ability to choose employees who share the same faith commitments. Such rules would likely discourage some pre-K programs from seeking federal funding. As a result, if Congress enacts legislation to pay for any child who attends a qualified preschool, faith-based schools may be unable to compete with those that are fully subsidized by the federal government. This proposal, and others like it, is a classic example of good intentions masking bad policy. Well-designed pre-K programs may be beneficial to children from disadvantaged backgrounds who are in need of resources they cannot receive at home. But with a pile of evidence showing that government-subsidized day care and pre-K programs can result in worse behavioral, emotional and educational outcomes for some children, spending billions of dollars that we dont have on the idea does not make sense. The election commission found it illegal that Fidesz MP Eszter Vitalyos gave out laptops purchased through a state programme at a school in her constituency of Szentendre during the official election campaign period. Fidesz parliamentary candidates have recently distributed laptops purchased by the state in several schools, Telex adds. Vitalyos, a state secretary at the Ministry of Human Resources, last week personally handed over 238 laptops bought with EU money at the Zsigmond Moricz secondary school in Szentendre. Vitalyos highlighted this nine times on her official Facebook page, and the event was also reported by state news agency MTI. Hungarys Reformed Church sent 800kg of food to Ukraine early on Thursday and launched a donation campaign to help residents affected by the war, the church said in a statement. Bishops Zoltan Balog and Karoly Fekete have assured the Reformed Church of Transcarpathia of their readiness to help, adding that they would pray for all people suffering from armed conflicts. The Baptist Charity said it was similarly ready to send aid and make preparations to help refugees arriving in western Ukraine. The charity said they had surveyed schools and social institutions in the region that could accommodate refugees, while a medical team was also put on alert. The Ecumenical Charity pledged to reinforce its centre in Berehove (Beregszasz) and set up further coordination facilities in Ukraine. Communications director Kristof Gancs said his organisation was prepared to supply food and medicines, and help families with special needs. The charity could also contribute to efforts aimed at accommodating refugees, he added. The United Hungarian Jewish Community (EMIH) assured Ukraines Jews of its support as Chief Rabbi Slomo Koves called Jewish leaders in Ukraine. Koves has offered accommodation to the Jewish community of Transcarpathia in Hungary for the long run, if necessary, and pledged financial support to Anatevka, a settlement built in 2015 for Jewish refugees from eastern Ukraine. The Federation of Jewish Communities in Hungary (Mazsihisz) has expressed its concern over Russias attack on Ukraine, adding it has begun preparations to help any potential refugees coming to Hungary. We sympathise with the citizens of Ukraine, especially the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia, and specifically our Jewish brothers and sisters there, Mazsihisz said. XpatLoop Media Partner Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about whats going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI. Units of the Hungarian Armed Forces are continuously arriving in the eastern part of the country, the armys chief said in Hajduhadhaz, in eastern Hungary, on Thursday. Inspecting units at the local military base, Lieutenant-General Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi told reporters that the troops are being regrouped for two reasons. First, they will assist police forces in managing a possible wave of migrants and providing humanitarian assistance, he said. Second, in the case of the worst-case scenario of armed groups drifting to Hungary, they will guarantee of the security of Hungarians, he added. MTI Photo: Zsolt Czegledi Hungary must stay out of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Viktor Orban has said. What matters most to us is the security of the Hungarian people, the prime minister said, adding this meant that sending either troops or military equipment to Ukraine was out of the question, though we will, of course, provide humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, Orban said Hungary condemned Russias attack on Ukraine. Together with our European Union and NATO allies, we condemn Russias military attack, Orban said, adding that he believed Europe would remain united on the issue and could adopt joint response measures, noting that EU leaders were holding an emergency summit to discuss the conflict in the evening. He also said that Hungary has deployed troops and police officers near the border with Ukraine. He added that Hungary could expect to receive an increasing number of Ukrainian refugees. We are prepared to provide care to them and well be capable of meeting this challenge quickly and effectively, he said. Orban said the government rejected proposals by the left-wing parties which he said endangered Hungarys energy and gas supply and threatened caps on household utility bills. MTI / PM's Press Office Photo: Zsoltan Fischer Fully 77% of Hungarians oppose the idea of Hungary, as a NATO member, sending soldiers and weapons to Ukraine, according to a Szazadveg Foundation survey conducted before the Russian military attack on Ukraine earlier today. Szazadveg cited Prime Minister Viktor Orban as saying that Hungary must stay out of the military conflict. It added, in turn, that Peter Marki-Zay, the left-liberal prime ministerial candidate, did not rule out the option of Hungary sending a military mission to Ukraine. According to the survey, 83% of respondents were concerned about the chance of a military conflict between Russia and Ukraine while 16% said the contrary. Fully 95% stressed the need to make every possible effort to prevent war between Russia and Ukraine while 4% said that Russia should be punished with every possible means, including military force. Szazadveg said that 77% of respondents disagreed with the proposal attributed to Marki-Zay while 19% agreed with it. Szazadveg said that 86% of pro-government respondents and 57% of those supporting the opposition were against the deployment of Hungarian soldiers and weapons in Ukraine. Survey (in Hungarian) available here Photo: courtesy of Szazadveg Since Thursday morning, at least 400-500 people with suitcases and other luggage have walked across the border from Ukraine to Hungary at Beregsurany, MTIs correspondent reported at the scene. Most people were arriving in groups of two or three, many waiting close to the border on the Hungarian side to be picked up by family or friends. Many were young couples carrying small children in their arms or pushing prams. A young man said there were long queues of cars on the Ukrainian side, most of them with Transcarpathian plates. He said he would stay with a relative living in Hungary, adding that he had been concerned that he may be conscripted into the Ukrainian army had he stayed in Ukraine. Another young man and his girlfriend said they had had plans to travel to the Netherlands. We did not know how long the borders would stay open and decided to leave immediately, they said. They also said they had seen long queues at ATMs because withdrawals were limited, adding that fuel sales at filling stations were also restricted. MTI has also received reports of many refugees crossing into Hungary on foot at Tiszabecs border station too. Russia attacked Ukraine with military force this morning, which led to a meeting of the National Security Operational Task Force. Together with our allies in the European Union and NATO, we condemn Russias military action. - announced Viktor Orban on Facebook. (Announcement on Facebook available here.) The Prime Minister added that an emergency meeting on the issue would be held in Brussels today. According to HVG, the extraordinary EU summit will begin at 8:00pm in the evening. I see European unity as sustainable, and we can resolve ourselves to take joint action. Hungary must remain out of this warring conflict. The security of Hungarians is the most important thing to us, so we have ruled out sending either soldiers or military equipment to Ukraine. - said Orban, who added that Hungary will naturally offer humanitarian aid. The Prime Minister did not forget to mention the governments utility price cut policy either. He said that they could not accept proposals by the left-wing that would endanger Hungarys gas and energy supply and the utility price cuts for Hungarian families. Orban also stated that Hungarian military and designated police units have been deployed to the Hungarian-Ukrainian border. We can expect an increase in the number of Ukrainian citizens coming to Hungary, presumably requesting refugee status. We are prepared to provide for them, and we will be able to face this challenge quickly and efficiently. - said the Prime Minister. MTI Photo: Szilard Koszticsak A quick stroll around the city centre is enough to see that Budapest is home to many an ambitious mural. The inner-city is heaving with bold designs splashed onto the sides of its larger buildings, bringing colour to otherwise blank facades or ornamenting walls recently-revealed by demolition. Although many of the artworks are relatively recent, murals in Budapest are not a modern phenomenon. During the communist era, public artworks such as murals and reliefs (images carved directly onto the stone or formed from concrete) were intended to inspire the proletariat, beautify identikit apartment blocks and idealise the regimes values. Over the years any large, blank space was seen as an opportunity to deliver a political message to the masses. While the regime is long gone, many of the works remain in various states of decline clinging onto buildings in the far-flung districts of Budapest. Socialist mural in Budapest - Relief from the communism Those adventurous enough to hop on the number 30 bus from Heroes Square and venture up to Ujpest will be rewarded by some of the best-preserved murals the capital has to offer. At Szent Laszlo ter (not the one in District X dont repeat my mistake) youll find a cluster of five superb works within a few hundred metres of each other perfect for a little urban photography outing. The designs were completed in 1958 to decorate a new housing estate in the area and feature traditional socialist themes of family, harvest and labour. Theyre curiously free of graffiti and vandalism too, in contrast with the scrawled democracy of central Budapests walls. This cluster is perfect for those seeking a bit of a treasure hunt. As well as the examples pictured, there are other artworks hiding behind bushes and trees just waiting to be discovered. Although theyre usually in pretty poor shape, theyre still well worth seeking out as historical curiosities. While many of the older murals around the city are falling prey to time and the elements, its robust concrete reliefs tend to age more gracefully. The HQ of the Mining, Energy and Industrial Workers Union (at 50 Varosligeti fasor near City Park) is a well-preserved example of this boxy, angular form. Created in 1949 at the height of the Socialist Realism movement, Istvan Tar shows workers eagerly toiling in heroic, idealised poses in contrast to the grim realities of occupied Hungary. The comrades both men and women are shown in an almost indistinguishable fashion, hammering home the values of community and collectivism over individuality. Designs like this were imported from the Soviet Union and served to further institutionalise communism within Hungary. They soon became part of the house style of the regime and can be seen in smaller pockets throughout Budapest. Not far from the Puskas Arena (in District XIV) you can find these two 1963 works decorating the side of a former Ministry of the Interior building built to house its employees. The two designs were the work of Andrea Michnay and Istvan Petrilla, and were chosen as part of a city-wide competition. Although the romanticised worker aesthetic is still present, these fading murals show broader aspects of utopia: a flock of cranes in front of a setting sun, families flying kites and playing together, all in the flat, hieroglyphic form often used in Socialist Realism art. The authorities were clearly keen to show that life under communism wasnt all work work work. I was lucky enough to see these two in the depths of winter when the bare-limbed trees didnt obscure them as much as they would in the spring its always interesting to see how the changing seasons affect how we perceive Budapests art and architecture. You can find Michnays work at 11 Gizella ut, while Petrillas can be found around the corner at 18 Szobranc utca. Finally, from the past to the future. Given the condition many of these historical murals are in, how should they be conserved for future generations if at all? One approach can be seen at 30 Jozsef utca in District VIII (close to the Harminckettesek tere stop on the 4/6 line). Janos Somogyis 1965 work, Women with Pigeons had practically disappeared through neglect and decay, but its now been reworked and refreshed by the Szines Varos Csoport (Colourful City Group). Based on the original design, the renewal enlarges and modernizes its deteriorated predecessor, in keeping with the inner-citys more recent designs (many of which are created by the same group). This approach has proved a little divisive, as the old mural has been completely obscured, but some feel its an interesting way to preserve the spirit of murals that are circling the drain in real terms. With other works from the era disappearing at an increasing rate, this may be the only way future generations get to experience the street art of mid-20th Century Hungary. Unlike the communist statues, which were relocated to Memento Park in the 90s, works like this either live or die in-situ. Itll be interesting to see how many of them will be around in ten years time or whether the city sheds this period in its artistic and social history by simply doing nothing. The way I see it? Visit them while you still can. Source: budapestflow.com - republished with permission The automated emergency braking systems on more than 1.7 million newer Hondas are being investigated by US auto safety regulators after reports that they can halt the vehicles for no reason. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has 278 complaints that the problem can happen in 2017 through 2019 CR-V SUVs and 2018 and 2019 Accord sedans. The agency announced the probe in documents posted Thursday on its website. In some cases, the owners complained of unexpected speed reductions that could cause increased vulnerability to rear collisions. Also read: BMW X4 bookings open in India, launch expected in March 2022 Agency documents say the inadvertent braking can occur without warning and randomly. In six cases, owners told the agency the problem caused collisions with minor injuries. The agency says it's opening the probe to determine how many vehicles are affected and how bad the problem is. The investigation could lead to a recall. A message was left early seeking comment from Honda. With inputs from AP Live TV #mute Amid the escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia, Air India will operate two flights to bring back stranded Indians. As per a statement by Tata-owned Air India, the air carrier will fly two charter flights, one each to Hungary and Romania on February 26 to evacuate Indians. Hundreds of Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine due to a Russian military offensive are moving to neighbouring countries like Romania, Poland, Hungary in anticipation to get out of the region. Earlier, the government of India confirmed that an evacuation drive to bring back stranded Indians from Ukraine in flights. The cost of the flights will be borne by the Indian Government. Following the announcement from the government, India's Ambassador said they will evacuate all Indian nationals from Ukraine, and assured Indian students holed up in this country, a day after Russia launched a massive military operation against it. Also read: Indian Govt to bear cost of evacuation flights for citizens Indian Ambassador to Ukraine Partha Satpathy also urged the students taking refuge in temporary shelters to be 'realistic about the situation and convey to friends and families that everything would just be fine.' "The government of India is completely seized with the matter. Every Indian will go back home. Planes are being lined up. Personnel is being lined up, but it's a warzone. We will have to work out the logistics and find the modalities to reach the West," Satpathy said while speaking to students who were holed up here. "We have to be realistic about the situation. So, convey to your friends wherever they are in Ukraine that things will be fine," he was seen telling anxious Indian nationals in a video shared by a student. The Indian government is making all possible efforts to evacuate Indians from Ukraine through its land border crossings with its neighbouring countries, Satpathy said. Government officials said Air India is also planning to operate two flights to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate some of the Indians. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday that there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and of them, nearly 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days. With inputs from PTI Live TV #mute In retaliation for the British embargo on Aeroflot flights, Russia's civil aviation authority has restricted UK flights to and over Russia. Rosaviatsiya said that all flights by the U.K. Carriers to Russia as well as transit flights are banned starting Friday. It said the measure was taken in response to the "unfriendly decisions" by the British authorities who banned flights to the U.K. By the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot as part of sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, Britain banned Aeroflot from its airspace, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced, stating the sanctions are in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. PM Johnson told parliament that Putin will never be able to cleanse the blood of Ukraine from his hands. Also read: Ukraine Crisis: Indian Govt to bear cost of evacuation flights for citizens In the 10-point sanctions package, the British government said it would impose an asset freeze on some major Russian banks, including state-owned VTB, its second-biggest bank, and stop major Russian companies from raising finance in Britain. Speaking to parliament, Johnson said Putin would be condemned by the world and by history for his invasion, never able to cleanse the "blood of Ukraine" from his hands. "This hideous and barbarous venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failure," he told parliament when announcing the new sanctions. With inputs from AP and Reuters Live TV #mute According to the reports, US intelligence has warned of a Russian plot to take an airport in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, fly in troops, and 'decapitate' the government. The news was reported by the Daily Mail. Anton Herashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine's Interior Minister, said that "Friday will be the war`s `hardest day` as Russia armour pushes down from Chernihiv - to the north-east of the capital - and Ivankiv - to the north-west - in an attempt to encircle Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelensky is still holed up", the report said. Ukrainian forces blew up several bridges leading to the capital in the early hours to try and slow down the assault. Also read: IndiGo to soon start connecting flights from THESE cities to strengthen regional connectivity The US warned tanks were fighting Ukrainian forces 20 miles from the city early Friday before clashes were reported in a northern district just a few hours later. The fighting appeared to be taking place in Obolon, with the ministry of defence urging residents to make Molotov cocktails to hurl at Russian tanks. Russian forces were also reported in nearby Vorzel, Bucha, Irpen districts. Once Kyiv is surrounded, US intelligence believes the plan will be for Russian special forces to move in and seize an airport - likely Sikorsky or Boryspil - which would then be used to fly in a much larger force of up to 10,000 paratroopers who would assault the capital, Daily Mail reported. The job of the paratroopers would be to enter the city, find Zelensky, his ministers, and parliamentarians, before forcing them to sign a peace deal handing control of the country back to Russia or a Moscow-backed puppet regime - effectively ending the war without Putin`s ground forces needing to complete the bloody and challenging task of seizing and occupying the whole country, Daily Mail reported. With inputs from IANS Live TV #mute The government of India has confirmed that a massive evacuation drive will be organised to bring back stranded Indians from Ukraine in flights. The cost of the flights will be borne by the Indian Government. It is not yet confirmed if the government will send private airlines like Air India or Indian Air Force to evacuate the citizens. As the war between Ukraine and Russia intensifies, Ukraine closed its airspace leaving thousands of Indian nationals stranded in the former USSR territory. While the government of India initiated an evacuation drive sending Air India flights to Kyiv, capital of Ukraine and announcing additional flights from Ukraine in the coming days, the air strikes by Russia prompted the Ukrainian govt to close its airspace. Also read: India plans air evacuation of its citizens through these alternate routes Now India is planning an evacuation of the Indian citizens by alternative routes. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that teams are being sent to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania to assist the evacuation of Indian nationals. Live TV #mute As the war between Ukraine and Russia intensifies, Ukraine has closed its airspace, stopping all international airlines to use its airspace for flight ops. While some India-based airlines, including Air India, operate flights to Europe and North America, these flight operations do not use the conflicted airspace over Ukraine much. Consequently, hardly any impact is expected to be witnessed on out-bound flights from India to Western Europe and North America. Besides, Air India will not operate its special flights to Kiev anymore after a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) was issued about the closure of airspace over Ukraine. Also read: India plans air evacuation of its citizens through these alternate routes According to industry sources, the airspace is closed for civilian traffic. The development assumes significance as many Indian students and professionals are stranded in Ukraine. The Indian Embassy has issued an advisory for students and citizens living in Ukraine, urging them not to move out and stay put wherever they are. The Embassy has also asked the students and citizens in Kiev to stay in touch with the Embassy via its official social media handles. Air India`s flight bound for Kiev from New Delhi on Thursday returned to the national capital`s IGI Airport after the NOTAM was announced at Kiev airport and airspace was closed over Ukraine. The flight had left Delhi at 7.30 a.m. only to return at 12.30 p.m. On Tuesday, the airline had operated the first of its special flights ferrying Indian citizens from Ukraine. Apart from Air India, other Indian operators were expected to start special flight services to Ukraine. Last week, the Centre had removed the restrictions on the number of flights and seats between India and Ukraine, evidently to facilitate the return of Indian students and professionals stranded in the east European nation due to the ongoing tensions with Russia. With inputs from IANS Live TV #mute New Delhi: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Friday said it has signed an agreement to buy Vodafone's 4.7 per cent stake in Indus Towers on the condition that the proceeds will be used for investment in Vodafone Idea and clearing dues of the mobile tower company. Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (VIL) has been unable to pay dues of Indus Towers, and both VIL and promoter Vodafone have proposed a payment plan to clear the outstanding amount by July 15. In the meantime, VIL has committed to pay the certain minimum amount each month to Indus Towers. "Bharti Airtel has...Entered into an agreement with Vodafone to buy 4.7% equity interest in Indus Towers on the principal condition that the amount paid shall be inducted by Vodafone as fresh equity in Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) and simultaneously remitted to Indus Towers to clear VIL's outstanding dues," Airtel said in a statement. The Sunil Mittal-led firm said the purchase would be at an attractive price representing a significant discount typically available for such large block transactions. "In addition, Airtel is also protected with a capped price which is lower than the price for the block of Indus shares sold by Vodafone on February 24, 2022. This shall be value accretive to Airtel and protect its existing significant shareholding in Indus Towers. Also Read: Bank of Baroda revises FD rates; check latest fixed deposit rates "Any such acquisition shall only be done when such proceeds are confirmed to be utilised by Vodafone to infuse as equity into VIL including any regulatory or shareholders' approval being fully obtained," Airtel said. Also Read: Bitcoin helping Russia evade financial sanctions, Putin may legalise crypto Live TV #mute By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. You can find out more by clicking this link Debt-ridden telecom firm Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) on Friday said its board will meet on March 3 to discuss the fundraising option. British telecom operator Vodafone Plc in a statement earlier stated that it will participate in VIL's fundraising process along with the Aditya Birla group. "A meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled to be held on Thursday March 3, 2022, inter-alia, to consider and evaluate any and all proposals for raising funds in one or more tranches by way of preferential allotment, private placement, including a qualified institutions placement or through any other permissible mode," VIL said in a regulatory filing. The company's trading window will remain close till 48 hours from the conclusion of the board meeting and open on March 6, the filing said. Live TV #mute New Delhi: Supreme Court, on Friday (February 25), asked the central government to clarify its stance on its position on Bitcoin. The apex court has asked the government whether bitcoin is legal or not. Recently, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during the Union Budget 2022 presentation, had announced that cryptocurrency investors will have to pay a 30 per cent tax on gains from virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies or NFTs. Budget 2022 proposed to introduce section 115BBH to introduce a tax on gains from virtual assets. However, Sitharaman has also recently clarified that taxing virtual assets doesnt mean that Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is legal in the country. In a conversation with Sudhir Chaudhary, Editor-in-Chief, Zee News, she reiterated that cryptocurrency or any digital assets should be inclusive as government backing is required for every currency to function in transparency. She also said that the explanation about crypto should be crystal clear. Meanwhile, the Indian government is currently working on a Bill to regulate cryptocurrency in India. The government had plans to introduce a bill on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin during the Winter Session of Parliament in November-December 2021 but did not introduce it. Also Read: Russia-Ukraine War: Bitcoin donations soar for Ukrainian army Moreover, the Reserve Bank of India is in favour of a complete ban on the speculative assets. Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Michael Patra, earlier this week, had said that cryptocurrencies hold no underlying value at all, and has also called them a threat to financial stability. Also Read: India has been focussing on 'aatmanirbharta' in its defence sector, says PM Modi Live TV #mute New Delhi: New mom Priyanka Chopra who welcomed her baby via surrogacy in January has now shared a glimpse of her and Nick's baby's lovely toys in an Instagram photo dump. In one of the pictures, from her photo dump, fans got a glimpse of a few toys kept on a desk drawer along with an idol of Lord Krishna. In another picture, Priyanka was seen wearing her husband Nick Jonas' yellow shirt and looking super cool in it. With the photos of the toys, fans wondered how her baby is doing, many even congratulated the starlet again for welcoming a new member into her and Nick's family. Check out her Instagram post: Recently, Priyanka made headlines after an American comedian Rosie O'Donnell issued an apology on Instagram to the actress for mistaking her identity when she first met her. However, Priyanka wasn't too pleased with her apology and had some advice on how to make a sincere apology. The comedian previously admitted that she had assumed Priyanka was a renowned author and alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra's daughter. However, after learning about her mistake, Donnell posted an apology video referring to Priyanka as the Chopra wife and someone Chopra. Reacting to Rosie's video, Priyanka wrote on her Instagram story, "We ALL deserve to be respected for our unique individuality and not be referred to as someone or wife especially in a sincere apology." On the personal front, earlier this year, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas in a surprise move, made an announcement about them welcoming a baby via surrogacy. New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday (February 25) addressed a webinar Aatmanirbharta in Defence - Call to Action' that research and development in technology is integral to self-reliance in the defence sector. Here are the top points made by the Defence Minister during the webinar: 1. Research and development in technology is integral to self-reliance in defence sector. Detailed deliberations were held for undertaking indigenous research and development through special purpose vehicle model. 2. I am confident that many projects will be undertaken by private industries for the design and development of military equipment and platform 3. I express my sincere gratitude towards our Prime Minister for his leadership and guidance in realising the goal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. His vision has been aptly reflected in this years budget announcements which have given further impetus to Atmanirbharta in Defence. 4. For promoting industry-led research and development (R&D) efforts, I would sanction at least five projects under Make-I during the financial year 2022-23. 5. I am sure that the Department has noted all the valuable suggestions received and deliberated during this webinar and has also drawn an action plan for time bound implementation of the budget announcements for Atmanirbharta in Defence. 6. Creating a Made in India brand also necessitates rigorous testing/trials of Indian products as per international standards. For meeting the wide ranging requirements of trial, testing and certification, the Government has decided to set up an independent nodal umbrella body. 7. We would create a monitoring mechanism under Director General-Acquisition, with representatives from all the three services to monitor the budget earmarked, specifically for private industry and startups, so that it is fully utilised. 8. Defence Ministry will reform the QA process, so that it is non-intrusive, prevention-based and free from the Inspector-Raj. We would come up with the IDEX-Prime to support projects, requiring support beyond Rs 1.5 crore up to Rs 10 crore. This would help our ever-growing startups in the defence sector. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday night held separate telephonic conversations with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, insisting that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward to defuse the Ukraine crisis. As Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine triggered widespread condemnation and fears of a wider conflict, India has been in touch with all parties concerned as part of overall global efforts to bring down the tensions. In his talks with Lavrov, Jaishankar conveyed to the Russian foreign minister that "dialogue and diplomacy" are the best way forward to defuse the crisis. "Just spoke to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia on the Ukraine developments. Underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward," the External Affairs Minister tweeted. Just spoke to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia on the Ukraine developments. Underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the best way forward. Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 24, 2022 Jaishankar is also understood to have apprised Lavrov of the importance India attached to the safe evacuation of around 16,000 Indians from Ukraine. In another tweet, Jaishankar said the discussion with Blinken was on the ongoing developments in Ukraine and its implications. "Appreciate the call from @SecBlinken. Discussed the ongoing developments in Ukraine and its implications," he said. The US State Department said Blinken spoke with Jaishankar to discuss Russia's "premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified" attack on Ukraine. "Secretary Blinken stressed the importance of a strong collective response to condemn Russia's invasion and call for an immediate withdrawal and ceasefire," it said. Jaishankar also spoke to EU High Representative for foreign affairs Josep Borrell and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on the evolving situation in Ukraine. "A telephonic discussion with UK Foreign Secretary @trussliz. Exchanged perspectives on the Ukrainian situation," he tweeted. Following the Russian attack on Ukraine, India underlined the need for dialogue among the key parties and said it will be more than happy to facilitate that engagement. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said at a media briefing on Thursday evening that India has been in "close touch" with all concerned including the US, Russia and the European Union as it has a "stake" in the region. "We have maintained that the parties need to talk to each other, parties need to be engaged and if there is anything that we can do to facilitate that engagement, we are more than happy to do. As we go along we will try and be as helpful as possible," Shringla said. On Western sanctions on Russia, the foreign secretary said certain unilateral sanctions were already existing and that some additional sanctions have now been imposed. "But this is an evolving situation as I said and we have to see what sort of impact these sanctions will have on our own interests. Clearly, we need to study this carefully because any sanction will have an impact on our existing relationship. I think it would only be correct to acknowledge that factor," he said. Live TV New Delhi: The war between Russia and Ukraine reached its second day as Moscow claimed it has tightened control over much of northern, eastern and northeastern Ukraine. As 40 hours have already passed since Russia began its military operations in Ukraine, what are the world's biggest superpowers doing? Zee News Editor-In-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary, in his show DNA, on Friday (February 25) questioned the silence of the world powers and organisations like NATO amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russias attack on Ukraine has exposed the US, Western countries and organizations like NATO, European Union and United Nations. All these western countries and superpowers can only give conferences and hold seminars on democracy and peace. However, all these designer countries and institutions are silent on the Ukraine crisis today. America calls itself the oldest democracy in the world, the United Nations talks about protecting the human rights of 800 million people of the world, NATO talks of peace and cooperation, the European Union describes itself as the champion of democracy, but what have all these countries and institutions done for Ukraine so far? These countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia, which are of little significance. NATOs great betrayal When the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, NATO promised Russia that if it terminates the Warsaw Pact, NATO, at any time in the future, will not include those countries of Eastern Europe in its military organization which were previously part of the Soviet Union. Whats Warsaw Pact? The Warsaw Pact, like NATO, was a military alliance of the Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe. Russia ended this pact after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 in the hope that NATO would also fulfill its promise, but NATO did not fulfill its promise. Rather, it included countries like Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Romania as a member of NATO, which were once part of the Soviet Union under the Warsaw Pact. Thus, NATO has only betrayed till date and these are the reasons at the root of the war that is taking place between Ukraine and Russia today. Similarly, in the year 2003, NATO promised Georgia that it would become its member in the future. NATO did not walk the talk, and relations between Russia and Georgia worsened, leading to a war in 2008. Now Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky can also be seen disenchanted with NATO countries and today he openly complained that these nations made big promises, but did not come to his countrys help. Like NATO, designer countries like the US and the UK also mislead the world in the name of democracy and peace. But whenever such conflicts have taken place, these countries have done nothing but turn their backs. If Ukraine had taken the right decision at the time of the Budapest Memorandum and not destroyed its nuclear weapons at the behest of America and Britain, then perhaps the current situation of war would have been different and Ukraine would have been able to confidently defend itself. Live TV Kyiv: The Russia-Ukraine conflict intensified on Friday, and back home, families and friends of Indian nationals - especially students - stuck in Ukraine began to panic and desperately seek help. Several state governments also appealed to the Centre to help their citizens who are stranded in the war-torn nation. In Ukraine, Indians were also obviously an anxious lot. Trying to calm them and their loved ones, India's Ambassador said in Kiyv on Friday that the Indian government will evacuate all Indian nationals from Ukraine. A day after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, Partha Satpathy, the Indian Ambassador to Ukraine, also urged the students taking refuge in temporary shelters to be "realistic about the situation and convey to friends and families that everything would just be fine." With Russia announcing a military operation in Ukraine, thousands of Indian students enrolled in Ukrainian higher education institutions, mostly studying medicine, are in a state of panic and pleading with authorities to ensure their safe return to India."The government of India is completely seized with the matter. Every Indian will go back home. Planes are being lined up. Personnel is being lined up, but it's a warzone. We will have to work out the logistics and find the modalities to reach the West," Satpathy said while speaking to students who were holed up here. "We have to be realistic about the situation. So, convey to your friends wherever they are in Ukraine that things will be fine," he was seen telling anxious Indian nationals in a video shared by a student. The Indian government is making all possible efforts to evacuate Indians from Ukraine through its land border crossings with its neighbouring countries, Satpathy said. Government officials said Air India is also planning to operate two flights to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate some of the Indians. "After coordinating with our embassies in the neighbouring countries, the Ministry of External Affairs and the government of India, the movement of vehicles has started. Through Romania, we will send our first batch of students," he explained. In an advisory, the embassy said Indian teams are being deputed at the Chop-Zahony check post on the Hungarian border as well as at Porubne-Stret on the Romanian border around Chernivtsi in Uzhhorod. "In this difficult situation, the embassy of India requests Indians to continue to remain strong, safe and alert. The embassy is also working round the clock to support the Indian community in Ukraine," it said. "The government of India and the embassy are working to establish evacuation routes from Romania and Hungary," it added. Meanwhile, Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, shared on Twitter the updated coordinates of MEA Teams assisting Indian nationals in Ukraine. Check the list here: Updated Coordinates of MEA Teams assisting Indian nationals in Ukraine https://t.co/yBtn5qtFux pic.twitter.com/hXn1pPO4D9 Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) February 25, 2022 Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday that there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and of them, nearly 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days. "My primary objective is to get you back to your parents, so that they feel relaxed and I don't keep getting phone calls. But all of you have to be cooperative and be realistic of the current situation," Satpathy added. (With PTI inputs) Live TV New Delhi: Demanding the safe return of their kin, the family members of Indians stranded in Ukraine staged a protest near the Embassy of the Russian Federation in central Delhi here on Friday (February 25), police said. According to police, around 15 to 20 people came near the Shanti Path around 5.15 pm, but they were not allowed to move ahead. They submitted an MoU at the Ministry of External Affairs and later dispersed from the area peacefully after an hour, a senior police officer said. The protesters were carrying placards mentioning -- 'We need peace for Ukraine as Indians are also there', 'Save students stuck in Ukraine' etc. About 16,000 Indians, mostly students, are stranded in Ukraine as Russia's invasion of the East European country entered its second day on Friday. Of the students, many studying medicine in Kharkiv and Kyiv, about 2,500 are from Gujarat and 2,320 from Kerala. Live TV New Delhi: Indian embassy in Ukraine on Friday (February 25) informed that it will be facilitating the movement of over 470 Indian students to the Porubne-Siret Border for further evacuation from Romania. "Today afternoon more than 470 students will exit Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret Border. We are moving Indians located at the border to neighbouring countries for onward evacuation. Efforts are underway to relocate Indians coming from the hinterland," tweeted the Indian embassy in Ukraine. Today afternoon more than 470 students will exit the Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret Border. We are moving Indians located at the border to neighbouring countries for onward evacuation. Efforts are underway to relocate Indians coming from the hinterland. pic.twitter.com/iLFTWHifpm India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) February 25, 2022 Meanwhile, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi informed that the first batch of evacuees from Ukraine has reached Romania via the Suceava border crossing. The first batch of evacuees from Ukraine reach Romania via Suceava border crossing. Our team at Suceava will now facilitate travel to Bucharest for their onward journey to India. pic.twitter.com/G8nz2jVHxD Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) February 25, 2022 The massive evacuation operation is being organized through the joint efforts of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Indian embassies in Ukraine, Hungary, Romania and Poland, said the Indian embassy in Ukraine in another tweet. Students wanting to cross border through Kpp Tysa may please fill the form -https://t.co/jmkFl3Nahn .Students and other stranded in Ukrain should follow advisory & alerts issued by @IndiainUkraine @MEAIndia @BshBudapest pic.twitter.com/TZO8Ku5urA Indian Embassy in Hungary (@IndiaInHungary) February 24, 2022 The government of India has already confirmed that a massive evacuation drive will be organised to bring back stranded Indians from Ukraine in flights. The cost of the flights will be borne by the Indian Government. It is not yet confirmed if the government will send private airlines like Air India or Indian Air Force to evacuate the citizens. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said on Thursday that there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine, out of which 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days. Russian forces began military operations in the eastern part of Ukraine on Thursday (February 24) in the biggest attack by one state on another in Europe since World War Two. Ukraine reported columns of troops pouring across its borders from Russia and Belarus and landing on the coast from the Black and Azov seas, and missiles rained down. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his aim was to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. Live TV New Delhi: A group of around 40 Indian medical students of Daynlo Halytsky Medical University, Lviv walked towards the Ukraine-Poland border for evacuation after they were dropped nearly 8 kms from the border point by the college bus. A student from the group informed ANI and shared the images. People from Ukraine are fleeing the war with Russia and heading towards the Central European countries viz. Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Thousands are waiting for hours at congested border crossings after Russia launched the invasion. Those who are fleeing the country are mostly women and children crossing as Ukraine restricted passage for men between 18 and 60 years old. Local media in Poland said some had waited 16-18 hours to cross into Medyka in southern Poland in freezing temperatures, reported Reuters. According to Reuters, Border authorities said, 29,000 people had entered Poland from Ukraine on Thursday (February 24), though it was unclear how many were war refugees and not foreigners going home. Meanwhile, The government of India has confirmed that a massive evacuation drive will be organised to bring back stranded Indians from Ukraine in flights. The cost of the flights will be borne by the Indian Government. (With agency inputs) Live TV NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the Karnataka government has appointed a Nodal Officer to facilitate the safe evacuation of its residents from the war-hit eastern European nation. Karnataka Govt has appointed a Nodal Officer to facilitate the safe movement of stranded people from Karnataka in Ukraine to their respective destinations. The Nodal Office will coordinate with MEA & Embassy of India, Kyiv & provide support for the evacuation of stranded people from the State, a state government order said. Karnataka Govt appoints a Nodal Officer to facilitate safe movement of stranded people from Karnataka in Ukraine to their respective destinations. The Nodal Office will coordinate with MEA & Embassy of India, Kyiv & provide support for evacuation of stranded people from the State pic.twitter.com/T3YjU8oXqr ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2022 India is focusing on evacuating its 16,000 nationals still stuck in Ukraine, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said late on Thursday, after Russian forces mounted a mass assault by land, air and sea on the former Soviet republic. Teams of Indian foreign ministry officials have been sent to Ukraine`s land borders with Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania to provide assistance to any fleeing Indian nationals, Shringla told a press briefing. Ukrainian forces were battling Russian invaders around nearly all of the country`s perimeter on Thursday as missiles rained down on cities including the capital Kyiv, in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. PM Modi speaks to Putin Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged an end to violence in Ukraine during a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an Indian government statement said on Thursday. Indian government advisories call on Indians to find shelter or if possible to attempt to leave the country by land, he said, after Ukraine shut its airspace and evacuation flights were suspended. IAF ready to airlift stranded Indians from Ukraine: MEA Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is ready to airlift nationals stranded in Ukraine, along with commercial aircraft, Shringla said on Thursday, adding India is in touch with both Russia and Ukraine as a "stakeholder". "Ministry of External Affairs is in touch with the Ministry of Defence. We have told them that we will need provisions for airlift. In that case, the IAF can go along with commercial aircraft... All options are on the table," said Shringla. He also said that India`s topmost priority is safety and security of Indian nationals and their evacuation. Live TV New Delhi: Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, currently in Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody, was on Friday (February 25) admitted to the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai for medical reasons, his office informed. "Hon. @nawabmalikncp saheb has been admitted to JJ hospital for medical reasons," Malik's office tweeted. An official told PTI that Malik has been admitted to the J J hospital.During the ED custody, Malik complained about some health issues to the central agency's personnel, following which he was hospitalised. Malik, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Minority Affairs Minister in the Maharashtra government, was arrested by the ED on February 23 in a money laundering case. Following his arrest, a Special PMLA court in Mumbai sent him to ED custody till March 3 in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of the underworld, fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Putting its weight behind Malik, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had rejected BJPs demand seeking Maliks resignation. There is no question of taking his resignation as he (Malik) has not committed anything wrong, senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal had said. (With agency inputs) Live TV Imphal: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh Friday reacted sharply to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh's promise to allow opening of shops selling IMFL in Manipur if BJP is returned to power in the coming state poll and demanded that it be withdrawn. Ramesh, the Congress observer for the north east state going to the poll from February 28, said that Biren Singh should apologize to the women of the state, its social activists and social action groups, who are staunchly against selling of liquor, for his statement. The chief minister had said at a meeting in East Imphal district on Thursday that if BJP returns to power in the state it will allow IMFL shops in Manipur, which is officially a dry state. Justifying his statement, he had said that some had died as a result of consuming poisonous country liquor and the BJP, if it is returned to power will allow the selling of IMFL from shops to "save" the people. Banned underground group Revolutionary People's Front had forced the closure of all foreign liquor shops from January 1, 1991. The state was declared a dry state after the passing of the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act, 1991, but exemption was given to SCs and ST communities, who are mostly settled in the hill areas of the state, to brew country-made liquor. In 2014 the then Congress government of O Ibobi Singh tried to lift the prohibition by passing a resolution in the Assembly but faced strong resistance from civil society groups, social activitists, women groups and militant outfits. The Select Committee of the Manipur Legislative Assembly had in August 2021 given its approval to The Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act, 1991 (2nd Amendment) and to allow the brewing of the high alcohol liquor for commercial export to other states. The Biren Singh government had then said that after the enforcement of the amended Act the exchequer will earn about Rs 400 crore as tax. Ramesh expressed "deep shock and disgust at the timing, manner and the nature of the CM statement" which will cause "grave damage in the society". He said, "Less than 48 hours before campaigning for the first phase of Manipur election ends, outgoing chief minister N Biren Singh has made an extraordinary statement, which is an insult to the people and the mothers of the state and a recipe for raising revenue by killing people". The first phase of Manipur Assembly election is slated for February 28 and the second and last one on March 5. He termed the chief minister's announcement on IMFL shops as "thoughtless and disastrous," he said there are more urgent priorities in Manipur like jobs for the youths, setting up of women's market for the mothers and farmers requirements. The Congress leader said the promise was not in the BJP poll manifesto for Manipur. "The BJP-led government has been unable to stop the flow of drugs from Myanmar and on top of it, it will now open IMFL shops." Keeping up his attack, Ramesh said Biren Singh "knows that he is losing and his government's exit is inevitable on 10th of March (date of counting of votes). That is the only reason I can think of why he made these extraordinary statements." Live TV Chandigarh: A Mohali court on Friday rejected Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia's regular bail plea, a day after he was remanded in judicial custody following his surrender before a court in connection with a drug case. Majithia was remanded in judicial custody for two weeks by the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Sandeep Kumar Singla. The Akali leader, who was on Thursday evening taken to a Patiala jail, had moved the bail plea, which was taken up by the Mohali court on Friday. "The court on Friday rejected the regular bail plea," said Arshdeep Singh Kaler, one of Majithia's counsels. "We will appeal before the High Court now," he said. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had earlier called the registration of the FIR against Majithia as "political vendetta" and said three DGPs and three Directors of Bureau of Investigation were changed and police officers were allegedly coerced to falsely implicate the leader. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case had questioned Majithia for over an hour in the court complex in Mohali on Thursday. The apex court had recently directed the Punjab Police not to arrest the former Punjab minister till February 23 so that he could undertake electioneering in the state. A Bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli had, however, directed Majithia to surrender before a trial court after the Punjab Assembly polls on February 20. It had also directed the trial court to hear and expeditiously decide Majithia's regular bail plea after his surrender in the case. The pre-arrest bail plea of Majithia, who was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on December 20 last year, was dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 24. Majithia, who is the SAD MLA and brother-in-law of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and brother of former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, contested the February 20 polls from the Amritsar East against Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu. The results of the Assembly elections will be announced on March 10. Majithia, 46, was booked under the NDPS Act on the basis of a 2018 probe report into a drug racket in the state. The 49-page FIR was registered by the state Crime Branch at its Mohali police station last year. Live TV By Urvashi Nautiyal New Delhi: India augmented efforts to evacuate its nationals, including students, stranded in Ukraine through Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romanias border crossings on Friday (February 25) amid Russian military operation in its neighbouring country. As the evacuation operation is on, students stuck in east Ukraine have appealed to the Indian government to provide them a vehicle as it is not possible for them to travel to west Ukraine bordering these countries. The students studying at Sumy State University said it will take 18-20 hours for them to reach western Ukraine by road, which is unsafe in the present circumstances. This comes in the backdrop of Russian troops entering the city of Sumy today. Jia, a student in Ukraine, her parents said that the children are in constant touch with the Indian embassy in Ukraine. It is a matter of relief for us that someone on foreign soil is giving courage to our children but the problem remains, the parents said. The map below shows the problem faced by students in east Ukraine, as Sumy is on one corner and the borders of Romania and Hungary on the other. Notably, the Indian embassy has asked its nationals to leave with the Indian flag on their vehicle and make arrangements to reach the designated border crossings. Meanwhile, Government officials have said Air India is planning to operate two flights to the Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate some of the Indians, PTI reported. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said on Thursday that there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine, out of which 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days. ALSO READ: Remain strong, safe and alert: India issues advisory for stranded nationals in Ukraine Live TV When Lacy Dean Farkash was 15 years old, her mom and dad, Larry and Nancy Dean, bought the Kountry Candy Store at 966 U.S. 231 in Alford. From the beginning, her dad made sure she understood his ultimate goal was to establish an empire for her to take over as an adult. At first, he got the usual teenagers eyeroll. But he always convinced her to work shifts at the business. In time, as her part continued in its establishment and growth, she also began to see it as her future just as her parents had. In 2008, she bought the business from them. Her father, pleased with that decision, kept after her to join the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, which she did, and to build a Facebook page and a website. He had the gift of gab but was not tech-savvy and had few social media skills, yet knew it was an important portal to a robust customer base. He lived to see her get that Facebook page going, and was thrilled about that, but he died in August of 2021 of COVID-19 before shed established the website. She had been reluctant to do that until she was sure she could handle what she anticipated would be a huge uptick in online orders once she put that in the stream. That assurance finally came a few weeks ago, and she had been right about that uptick. Once she established the kountrycandystore.com website, she was flooded with orders. And flowing in with that flood was more than just a trickle of evidence that she was beginning to fulfill a dream her father had for the business since he and her mother started it more than two decades ago: A winter season that didnt depend solely on the tumbleweed of traffic that runs up and down U.S. 231 in the coldest part of the year. The winter weather keeps most vacationers away from this primary route that runs through Jackson County and on to the beaches that lie on the south end of that corridor primarily in Bay and Gulf counties. Hed fought and won a long battle years ago for the right to place promotional signs along the right-of-way leading to the store in both directions. But that hadnt solved his winter fall-back problem. His daughter is the one who was able to handle that dilemma, as hed known she could. Her mom makes sure to tell her this often these days: Your daddy would be so proud of you. The websites establishment, Farkash said, has made a big difference already. Last Valentines Day season, shed prepped 20-30 orders for a dozen chocolate-covered strawberries. This year, with the website established, she sold 218 dozen-pack orders. Some of those went to New York and Kentucky and other states. Christmas 2021 was also a banner time. The previous Christmas, shed sold 20-30 Christmas trays of various sweet treats. But in 2021 she sold roughly 300. We were working doughnut hours, from 5 a.m. to whenever to get these orders completed, Farcash said. Sometimes we were leaving at 10 p.m. I was exhausted, but so excited. I have the best employees, Sibyl Parramore is one of the ones that help, and Cellest Walsingham. Theyre just with me all the way. Her husband, Johnathan Farkash, she added, has helped tremendously as she takes on the new influx of winter business. Hes an RN at a hospital on the coast but steps up for the family business and home responsibilities as well. He picks up the kids from school, he cooks, he cleans, he does the laundry. He had to take over a lot of the Mommy duties during this really busy time, she said. Hes also the one that remodeled the whole store after Hurricane Michael. Starla Deese, the operations manager for Registers sausage company, was following Kountry Candy on its Facebook page and, as she and Farkash got to know each other through that following, Deese offered to build her website. One of the things that had impressed her and propelled her to help, Farkash learned, was this act of kindness: Each month, Farkash donates an ice cream party to Cottondale schools for their Student of the Month celebration. The kids go to her shop on a bus to have their party. And web traffic continues to climb. Im shipping lots of chocolates, praline pecans, divinity, peanut butter balls, many things. This is looking like a big new stream, Farkash said. I promised my dad, give me a year (once social media is fully established) and we wont have a winter season any more. It wont be March to October when were busy ... itll be year round. He wanted the revenue to stay up like it is in spring and summer. Im going to achieve that, and also shipping all over, nationwide and then further, around the world. I think were getting there fast. We have not slowed down at all this year. Ive had to bring on the summer team early, five of them that would not normally be here by now, she said. Ive started doing free delivery to Panama City and Dothan ... I go right to their doors and Ive met some wonderful people. Most of the time, Ive already got reasons to go, so its easy to take 10 or 15 orders with me. The website, the Facebook page, all of that which my dad envisioned, is helping make all of that possible. The treats are all made in the stores kitchen, with customers in the store able to see them in the works. Farkash said thats an aspect of the business she enjoys expanding to the online crowd as well. To see us as the family that we truly are up there, me and my coworkers having a good time, it really shows people what we do as far as making their candy, letting them know when weve created new recipes, and it drives some people in physically to the store as well as generating online orders. The hurricane and then COVID, those things felt like they were destroying my business but weve survived and were thriving. Shes working on a couple of new ideas to pull the community in for some hands-on experience with the store next winter. It feels like a new idea comes every five seconds into my head ... my dad was like that, too. I put one of those ideas on Facebook to see how it would be received: I want to have a day where kids can come in and be Little Dippers, she explained. Theyd have aprons and hats and wed teach them to make candy. Hundreds of people were trying to set dates to come in and do that, with it just being an idea on the table at that point. It will be a winter thing well do, Im thinking maybe next year. Shes got another idea in the works, too. Were going to buy from very young entrepreneurs. I got that inspiration after I saw a little girl that does tumbler cups. Were going to not just buy, but show them how to sell and make money, help them market, she said. We want to mentor them and carry their products. Farkash thinks often these days of her fathers goal of building an empire for the family. It is one she has embraced. She has a son, eight-year-old Mason, and a 10-year-old daughter, Madison. They love the Kountry Candy store and theyre already learning to make milkshakes. One day she hopes theyll be running that empire. Thiruvananthapuram: "We were asked by the authorities to move to the bunkers in the university hostel at the earliest taking essential belongings. We have only limited storage of food and water with us. Network coverage may be lost anytime," a visibly anxious Arundhathi told a local television channel from Ukraine's capital Kyiv. The eastern European nation is facing a Russian onslaught since February 24. In her video call, the ordeal they were going through was very much visible as over 60 students could be seen sitting jam-packed on the floor holding their backpacks and essential articles in the congested bunker, where there was only very dim light. A medical student from Kerala in her early 20s said huge sounds of the explosion could be heard frequently in the wee hours and they were all concerned about their safety. Ashra, another student studying in a university located in central Ukraine said she and the other Indian students were very much worried as they had no clear guidance on what they should do and where they should stay. "There are 200-300 students from Kerala alone in our campus. We are not getting any clear guidance on what to do. Initially, we were asked to move to the bunker...When we packed our bags and reached there, our university head asked us to go back to our hostel room. So we came back. Movement is very risky these times," she said. The woman said according to the information they received, there had been no attack so far in their region. Swalika and Ameya, two professional students, were waiting to get an instruction from the authorities to shift to the nearest bunker. They said they were informed that water and power supply would be stopped any time. "We do not know how we could contact our families in Kerala if the mobile phones go out of charge. We are unable to withdraw money from ATMs and banks. Food storage is also very limited," the worried students added. Sreekesh, working in a private firm in Ukraine, said there were no street lights on the major roads in the place where he was staying and there was instruction to switch off the lights in apartments and houses. Ukraine army could be seen indulging in military exercises on the streets outside his apartment and we are safe as of now, he told a television channel. In the wake of the Russian offensive against Ukraine, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Thursday that India was making alternative arrangements for the safe evacuation of Indians stranded in the Eastern European nation as its airspace was closed. Amid concerns expressed by the near and dear ones of the people stranded in Ukraine, he said the Central government would ensure the safety of over 18,000 Indians including students stranded there and asked them to follow the instructions of the Indian Embassy in Kyiv. An Air India plane that took off for Kyiv in Ukraine on Thursday morning to bring back Indians from the eastern European nation returned to Delhi due to the closure of Ukrainian airspace amid the Russian military offensive. Live TV SRINAGAR: In a brief exchange of fire, the security forces managed to kill two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in an encounter in Jammau and Kashmirs Shopian district. Sharing more details, IGP Kashmir said, "Two terrorists have been killed in an encounter in Amshipora area of Shopian district in South Kashmir." He added, "their identification is being ascertained while search operation is on in the area." The Kashmir Zone Police also tweeted, 02 #terrorists killed. #Incriminating materials including arms & ammunition recovered. Search going on. Further details shall follow." Earlier security forces received a specific input about the presence of terrorists and launched a cordon and search operation in the area. A police officer who was monitoring the operation said, "On the human input gathered by Jammu and Kashmir Police a joint team of forces launched a search operation in village Amshipora. As the searching party cordoned the suspected spot, the hiding terrorists fired upon them, which was retaliated and the encounter started" This was the 16th anti-terror operation of this year and security have so far managed to kill 27 terrorists, including three top commanders and 8 Pakistani terrorists. Besides, the security forces have managed to arrest 14 active terrorists alive this year along with 23 terror associates. Live TV New Delhi: The Karnataka High Court on Friday (February 25) reserved its order on various petitions challenging the ban on Hijab in education institutions. The pre-University education board had released a circular stating that students can wear only the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious practices will be allowed in colleges. During the hearing on Tuesday (February 22), the Karnataka government told the High Court that there is no restriction on wearing Hijab in India with reasonable restrictions subject to institutional discipline and dismissed the charge that denial to wear the headscarf was a violation of Article 15 of the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination of every sort. Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat appearing for a petitioner told the Karnataka High Court on Thursday (February 24) that the government order is illegal. In his rejoinder arguments, senior Advocate Kamat submitted that the government order has to be quashed and if it goes, there is no restriction on the exercise of fundamental rights. The hijab protests in Karnataka began in January this year when some students of Government Girls PU college in the Udupi district of the state alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students claimed they were denied entry into the college for wearing hijab. (With agency inputs) Live TV New Delhi: CBI on Thursday arrested Anand Subramanian, former NSE Chief Strategic Advisor, in connection with alleged irregularities in National Stock Exchange. The CBI, which is probing the "yogi" fraud at the NSE, had questioned Subramanian, who has appointed to his position despite lack of experience and paid a hefty salary, but found him to be "evasive", on Monday. Subramanian, who was brought to the NSE by its then CEO and MD Chitra Ramkrishna, reportedly had access to the email ID on which the emails were sent to the "Himalayan yogi" with whom the classified informations was shared. Subramanian was made the Chief Strategic Advisor of NSE. He served at this post between 2013 and 2015 before being made Group Operations Officer and Advisor to the MD between 2015 and 2016, despite having no exposure to the capital market. The CBI had on February 19 grilled erstwhile NSE director Ravi Narain, who held the post before Ramkrishna. Earlier, it was said that Narain had fled to London and is living there. But the CBI source told IANS that Narain was in Delhi where his statement was recorded. Ramkrishna was questioned by the CBI in Mumbai last week, and asked her around 50 questions, including for how long she had been sending mails to the "yogi", was she given any cut for sharing classified information, if yes, where she invested this money. According to sources, she tried to play victim card, claiming she didn't know a lot of things. She also had claimed that she was innocent and somebody was trying to frame her. The CBI had already opened Look Out Circular against Ramkrishna, Subramanian, and Narain, as they were deemed to be at risk of flight. It had lodged an FIR against her on the basis of the SEBI's 192 page report, accusing her of leaking classified information to the yogi who lived in the Himalayas and is still to be found. On February 17, the Income Tax Department had conducted raids at the house of Ramkrishna in Mumbai and Chennai and said that they had recovered incriminating documents. With IANS Inputs Live TV #mute NEW DELHI: It was a revelling Thursday night for Bollywood stars as they attended Farhan Akhtar-Shibani Dandekar's wedding bash hosted by actor-filmmaker's good friend Ritesh Sidhwani at his Mumbai residence. The party was graced by the presence of the who's who of the tinsel town including Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Karisma Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D'Souza, Malaika Arora, Karisma Kapoor among others. Shah Rukh Khan's wife Gauri Khan and his children - Aryan and Suhana Khan. Shibani Dandekar's sister Anushka Dandekar was also spotted at the wedding bash looking absolutely hot and ravishing and social media has been flooded with her pictures. The actress-model stunned in a black thigh-high slit dress and left her fans drooling. Anusha looked gorgeous as she donned a black designer dress with a thigh-high slit and a pair of shimmery beige heels. The noted VJ left her long curly tresses open and went with nude makeup. While her fans were starstruck by her latest appearance, a section of people were not too pleased with her sartorial choice. They left some mean comments in the dropbox and age-shamed her. Some went a step ahead and drew comparisons between her and her ex Karan Kundrra's current girlfriend Tejasswi Prakash. For the unversed, Karan Kundrra and Anusha were in a relationship for three-and-a-half years before they headed for a split. Speaking of Farhan Akhtar and Shibani Dandekar, the duo tied the knot in an intimate but lavish wedding in Khandala on February 19. The wedding was an intimate affair and was attended by only close friends and family members. The wedding festivities kickstarted on February 17 with a mehendi ceremony, followed by a wedding on February 19 and a registered marriage on February 21. Live TV MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday (Feb 25) refused to grant any protection from arrest or coercive action to filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar in a case related to showing obscene scenes involving minors in a Marathi movie. The Mumbai police had earlier this week lodged an FIR against Manjrekar and other makers of the film "Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha", under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Manjrekar on Friday filed a petition in the High Court seeking for the case to be quashed and sought interim protection from arrest. A division bench headed by Justice SS Shinde, however, refused to pass any order and adjourned hearing in the petition to February 28. The recently released film allegedly contains sexually explicit content involving minors. The filmmaker's lawyer Shirish Gupte argued that the aim of the POCSO Act was to save and protect children, their body and mind. "In the film nothing has really happened to the boys. It is just a creation of art. The scenes shown in the trailer were never part of the film. And the trailer was removed from YouTube," Gupte said. He further told the court that the case did not require custodial interrogation. Assistant public prosecutors Madhvi Mhatre and Sangeeta Shinde opposed the petition and said, "An FIR has been lodged at Mahim police station. There are serious allegations against the accused under the POCSO Act." Hearing this, the bench said, "We cannot give a blanket protection." Live TV Mumbai: Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Friday dubbed the Russian military attack on Ukraine as "terrifying" and said it was difficult to understand how the situation has escalated to a "catastrophic point". Russian troops launched their anticipated attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to consequences they had "never seen". Chopra Jonas, who is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, took to Instagram and shared a news clipping of the Ukraine crisis. "The situation unfolding in Ukraine is terrifying. Innocent people living in fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, while trying to navigate the uncertainty of the immediate future," she wrote. The 39-year-old actor also attached a UNICEF donation link in her bio to help the children of Ukraine. "It's difficult to comprehend how in the modern world this could escalate to such a catastrophic point, but this is a consequential moment that will reverberate around the world. There are innocent lives living in this war zone. They are just like you and me. Here is more info at the link in my bio about how to assist the people of Ukraine," she added. Chopra Jonas is the latest Hindi film personality to show solidarity with Ukraine after filmmakers Onir, Rahul Dholakia, actor Tillotama Shome condemned Russia's special military operation, which President Vladimir Putin claimed was intended to protect civilians. Big explosions were heard before dawn in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa. New Delhi: The 11th installment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is going to be disbursed in the coming days. On January 1, PM Narendra Modi transferred the 10th Installment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme to lakhs of eligible farmers. However, for the 11th installment, the farmers need to complete PM-KISAN e-KYC process, without which they may face difficulty in getting the money. The official PM KISAN website says, "eKYC is MANDATORY for PMKISAN Registered Farmers. Pls. click eKYC option in Farmer Corner for Aadhar based OTP authentication and for Biometric authentication contact nearest CSC centres." If you are looking to complete the PM-KISAN e-KYC process, you can check out the step by step process below. - Visit the official PM Kisan website https://pmkisan.gov.in/ - In the right hand side, below the home page, you will see Farmers Corner - There is a box just below Farmers Corner that mentions e-kyc - Click the e-kyc - A page will open that facilitates Aadhar Ekyc - Now, you will have to enter your Aadhar number and then the Captcha code shown and click on the search button - After that, you will have to enter your mobile number linked to your Aadhar card and click on Get OTP button - The OTP will be sent to your registered mobile number - Punch in the OTP and click on the Submit For Authentication button - As soon as you click Submit For Auth button, your PM KISAN e-KYC will be successful The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme was launched by PM Modi in 2019. The Scheme aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions. Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs 6000 per year is released in three 4-monthly instalments of Rs 2000 each directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. In a financial year, PM Kisan installment is credited thrice through --Period 1 from April-July; Period 2 from August to November; and Period 3 from December to March. ln the beginning when the PM-KISAN Scheme was launched (February, 2019), its benefits were admissible only to Small & marginal Farmers' families, with combined landholding upto 2 hectare. The Scheme was later on revised in June 2019 and extended to all farmer families irrespective of the size of their landholdings. Live TV #mute CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday announced that the state government would bear the repatriation expenses of nearly 5000 students from the state, who are stuck in war-torn Ukraine. It may be noted that around 5,000 students from Tamil Nadu are pursuing professional courses in Ukraine. Of this, 916 students are said to have gotten in touch with the Tamil Nadu Government, as of Friday morning. The announcement regarding this comes a day after Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar for help. On Thursday evening, Stalin had sought help in urgently repatriating the students from Ukraine, adding that the state government had been receiving distress calls from the family members and parents of those stranded. Stalin added that the state government had opened a round-the-clock help desk and appointed a State Nodal Officer to coordinate with the Government of India, the families of the students and the respective district administration in Tamil Nadu. It was also requested that a nodal officer be nominated to coordinate with the Tamil Nadu Government, given the high number of students from the state. Live TV New Delhi: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has recently informed that it had banned the operations of 54 Chinese apps in India, including the popular gaming title Garena Free Fire. Several other apps that had connections with Chinese companies such as Tencent and Alibaba were also banned. Singapore has now raised concerns about the ban of technology group Sea Ltd, according to a report by Reuters. The development comes after the market cap of the New York-listed Southeast Asian company plummeted by about $16 billion in a single day. Investors are reportedly also worried that India might extend the ban to Seas e-commerce platform Shopee. The app was recently launched in the country by the Singaporean company. Reuters reported that Singapore had asked officials in India why the app was banned in a move that was largely focused to target Chinese apps, despite the fact that Sea is based out of Singapore. India is the largest market for Free Fire and one its premium versions, Free Fire MAX, according to the number of downloads. However, in terms of sales, India made up just 2.6% of Sea`s mobile-game net sales in 2021. Free Fire had emerged as the most downloaded mobile game worldwide for December 2021 with close to 24 million installs, which represented a 28.2 per cent increase from December 2020. Recently, China had also responded to the latest crackdown on Chinese apps. Beijing had expressed its concerns, saying it affected the interests of the Chinese companies, according to a report by Sputnik. Also Read: Google to discontinue Chrome's 'Lite Mode' on Android The Chinese Commerce Ministrys spokesperson Gao Feng said that the ban damages the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. Also Read: Siri gets new voice in iOS 15.4 beta Live TV #mute By Trend The World Bank (WB) will hold a seminar in Azerbaijans Baku city to explore the potential of artificial intelligence for tax administration in May 2021, Country Manager for World Bank in Azerbaijan Sarah Michael said at the conference entitled "Tax Reforms for Inclusive and Sustainable Development: Towards Voluntary Actions through Digital Transformation", Trend reports. Michael said that WB experts in artificial intelligence will talk about global innovations in tax systems. We would like to organize a seminar on taxation and high technologies, the country manager added. The seminars are important for our clients and these events will be effective for doing business. MONTGOMERY The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Alabama, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Enterprise Police Department, said Thursday that four Wiregrass residents were arrested on Wednesday, following federal indictments on unrelated gun charges. Everett Santell Hornsby, 40, of Enterprise was indicted on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Carneilrous Flucker, 30, of Daleville was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Alex Tyrone McNair, 48, of Enterprise was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm and being in possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Darrell Darnell Thomas, 39, of Enterprise was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The news release states that an indictment is merely an allegation that a crime has been committed. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Those individuals made their initial appearance in federal court in Montgomery on the same day they were arrested. If convicted, each is facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. These cases are part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN as part of the Departments renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorneys Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart thanked the Enterprise Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for investigating these cases, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Jones, Russell Duraski, Stephen Moulton, and Eric Counts are prosecuting the cases. San Francisco: Tech giant Google has announced that, with its upcoming Chrome 100 release, the company will discontinue the "Chrome Lite Mode" feature that has been available on Android for years. "Lite Mode" in Chrome for Android is a rebranded version of "Data Saver," which debuted on the platform several years ago as a tool for those with slow or limited data connections, reports 9To5Google. It is certainly a useful feature, but one that has become less necessary in recent years, the report said. In a help page post, Google this week confirmed that "Lite Mode" in Chrome will be going away with the v100 update which is scheduled to be released on March 29. "On March 29th, 2022, with the release of Chrome M100 to the stable channel, we will turn off Lite mode, a Chrome feature for Android that we introduced back in 2014 as Chrome Data Saver to help people use less mobile data on their phones and load web pages faster," Google was quoted as saying. Google explained that the reason for sunsetting the feature is the "decrease in cost" for cellular data plans, as well as other improvements Chrome has made to data usage. "In recent years we have seen a decrease in cost for mobile data in many countries, and we have shipped many improvements to Chrome to further minimise data usage and improve web page loading. Although Lite mode is going away, we remain committed to ensuring Chrome can deliver a fast webpage loading experience on mobile," the company said. Live TV #mute New Delhi: Cyberattacks against Ukrainian government websites and affiliated organisations added to the confusion of Russia's military assault on Thursday, including data-wiping malware activated a day earlier that cybersecurity researchers said infected hundreds of computers including in neighbouring Latvia and Lithuania. Researchers said the malware attack had apparently been in preparation for as much as three months. A distributed-denial-of-service attack that began last week and temporarily knocked government websites offline on Wednesday continued and there were sporadic internet outages across the country, said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis for the U.S. Network management firm Kentik Inc. Measures to blunt the DDoS attacks were having some success, however, as major government websites including those of the defence and interior ministries and the banking sites of Sberbank and Alfabank were reachable on Thursday despite the onslaught. U.S. And allied governments quickly blamed the denial-of-service attacks on Russia's GRU military intelligence agency after they began last week. Such attacks render websites unreachable by flooding them with junk data. Major Russian websites also came under a denial-of-service attack on Thursday, Madory said, possibly in retaliation for the similar DDoS attacks on Ukrainian websites. The sites of Russia's military (mil.Ru) and Kremlin (kremlin.Ru), hosted by the Russia State Internet Network, were unreachable or slow to load as a result. Madory said an entire block of internet domains that host kremlin.Ru sites was under attack. Ukraine's cybersecurity agency said cellular networks were saturated with voice calls, suggesting that people unable to complete them use text-messaging. Madory said Ukraine's internet was "under severe stress presently." The London-based Netblocks internet monitor said the eastern city of Kharkiv, near which Russians were reported attacking, appeared to be taking "the brunt of network and telecoms disruptions." Some cybersecurity experts said prior to the assault that it might be in the Kremlin's intelligence - and information war - interests not to try to take down Ukraine's internet during a military attack. Ukraine's cybersecurity service also published a list on its Telegram channel of known "active disinformation" channels to avoid. It was not clear how many networks were affected by the previously unseen data-wiping, which targeted organisations in the financial, defence, aviation and information technology industries, Symantec Threat Intelligence said in a blog post Thursday. ESET Research Labs said it detected it on "hundreds of machines in the country." ESET research chief Jean-Ian Boutin would not name the targets but said they were "large organisations." The researchers said it was too early to say who was responsible, but Ukrainian officials blamed Russia for a similar attack last month that damaged servers in at least two government networks. Officials have long expected cyberattacks to both precede and accompany any Russian military incursion. The combination of DDoS attacks, which bombard websites with junk traffic to render them unreachable, and malware infections hewed to Russia's playbook of wedding cyber operations with real-world aggression. Symantec said the "wiper" discovered on Wednesday had some similarities to malware deployed in the January attack, which was disguised as ransomware and activated during a diversionary headline-grabbing website defacement. Microsoft dubbed it WhisperGate. Symantec detected the new wiper at three organisations ? Ukrainian government contractors with offices in Latvia and Lithuania and a financial institution in Ukraine, said Vikram Thakur, its technical director. Both countries are NATO members. "The attackers have gone after these targets without much caring for where they may be physically located," he said. All three had "close affiliation with the government of Ukraine," said Thakur, saying Symantec believed the attacks were "highly targeted." He said roughly 50 computers at the financial outfit were affected, some with data wiped. NATO has classified crippling cyberattacks on its members as potentially capable of triggering an armed response but has been vague on the threshold and the "wiper" attack was likely far below it. Asked about the wiper attack on Wednesday, senior Ukrainian cyber defence official Victor Zhora had no comment. "Russia likely has been planning this for months, so it is hard to say how many organisations or agencies have been backdoored in preparation for these attacks," said Chester Wisniewski, principal research scientist at the cybersecurity firm Sophos. He guessed the Kremlin intended with the malware to "send the message that they have compromised a significant amount of Ukrainian infrastructure and these are just little morsels to show how ubiquitous their penetration is." Cyberattacks have been a key tool of Russian aggression in Ukraine since before 2014, when the Kremlin annexed Crimea and hackers tried to thwart elections. They were also used against Estonia in 2007 and Georgia in 2008. Their intent can be to sow panic, confuse and distract. Also Read: Motorola Edge 30 Pro with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor launched: Price, specs Distributed-denial-of-service attacks are among the least impactful because they don't entail network intrusion. Such attacks barrage websites with junk traffic so they become unreachable. Also Read: 7th Pay Commission: Interest free festive advance of Rs 10,000 for central govt employees before Holi? Live TV #mute New Delhi: As Russia invaded Ukraine, people started donating the Ukrainian army in cryptocurrencies to support them and in the past 24 hours, more than $400,000 worth Bitcoins have been donated to just one group. Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian NGO that raises crypto funds for the Ukrainian army, received more than $400,000 worth of digital tokens in the past day, according to data from blockchain and crypto analytics firm Elliptic. The average amount donated is around $1,000 to $2,000, and the group has received at least 317 individual donations in the past two days, reports Fortune. Pro-Ukraine groups and pro-crypto communities on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have also contributed. The surge of donations in cryptocurrencies signifies that digital assets have "emerged as an important alternative funding method, allowing international donors to bypass financial institutions that are blocking payments to these groups," according to Elliptic. Their analysis shows that hundreds of crypto-asset donations totalling several hundred thousand dollars have been made to these groups -- increasing by over 900 per cent in 2021. Elliptic has identified several cryptocurrency wallets used by these volunteer groups and NGOs, which have collectively received funds totalling just over $570,000 - much of it over the past year. The Ukrainian Cyber Alliance has received close to $100,000 in Bitcoin donations over the past year. Ukraine`s Ministry of Defence has also set up a designated bank account to accept donations for its troops in legal currencies. Also Read: T+1 settlement cycle kicks in from today on NSE, BSE: Heres how investors will benefit Cryptocurrency prices have plummeted in the past two weeks over fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and the market has lost $150 billion in value since Putin ordered a specific military strike against Ukraine. Also Read: India has been focussing on 'aatmanirbharta' in its defence sector, says PM Modi Live TV #mute New Delhi/Kiev: After blocking several researchers' accounts as Russia began a military strike against Ukraine on Thursday, Twitter has admitted it "mistakenly" removed a number of accounts sharing details about Russian military activity. Several researchers sharing Russia-Ukraine information found their Twitter accounts "unexpectedly" suspended since late Wednesday. Twitter's Head of Site Integrity, Yoel Roth, said in a tweet that the company's human moderation team made the mistake. "A small number of human errors as part of our work to proactively address manipulated media resulted in these incorrect enforcements. We're fixing the issue and reaching out directly to the affected folks," he posted. "We do not trigger automated enforcements based on report volume, ever, exactly because of how easily gamed that would be," Roth added. Earlier, Oliver Alexander, analysts with open-source intelligence (OSINT), said: "I am back again after having been locked out twice in 24 hours. First time for a post debunking the "foiled sabotage / gas attack" and second time for a post debunking the "Ukrainian attack into Russia". OSINT researcher Kyle Glen was also locked out of his account for 12 hours, according to tweets from Glen and a post shared by another OSINT organisation. Security analyst Oliver Alexander also claimed to have been locked out of his account twice in 24 hours, reports The Verge. A Twitter thread compiled by Nick Waters, an analyst at the pioneering OSINT organisation Bellingcat, listed more account suspensions. In an earlier statement, a Twitter spokesperson said that action had been taken against these accounts in error and was not part of a coordinated campaign. "We're closely investigating -- but mass reporting is not a factor here," said Roth. Live TV #mute Do you know that over 90% of cybercrimes across the world occur through the dark web? From human trafficking to the sale of illegal drugs, firearms and credit card details, everything is available in this 'dark' corner of the internet. According to a report, there were over 4,65,000 incidents of cyberattacks in 2020 and as a result of the growing number of data breaches, personal data has become easier to buy on the dark web in recent years. Let's have a closer look at the dark web. What is dark web? The Internet has seen many developments since it has come into existence and the dark web, which is made up of hidden sites, is also a part of that evolution. Sites on the dark web operate using encryption software that prevents unauthorized access to digital information. In simpler words, this encryption software lets dark web users stay anonymous and hide their locations. This would now give you a hint why the Dark Web is known to be the home to several illegal and criminal activities. How to access dark web? An Internet user can only use the dark web with the help of search engines designed specifically to unearth these hidden sites and one can't access it through standard web browsers like Google Chrome, Yahoo and Mozilla Firefox. The Dark Web uses what is called 'The Onion Router' (TOR), which is a hidden service protocol and creates a virtual private network (VPN). The 'TOR' servers are undetectable from search engines and let users remain anonymous. While the website addresses on the surface web, the part of the web that most people use, end with .com, .in, .org or .gov, the dark web addresses end with .onion. It is noteworthy that some dark web markets claim to have up to 10 lakh visitors each month. What all is available on dark web? It is said that "Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master" and it stands true in the context of today's Internet usage. While food, clothes, medicines, books and several other such items are easily available on the surface web, the dark web is used to get hold of illegal drugs, firearms, credit and debit card numbers, child pornography, and among other things. As per a 2016 report by Daniel Moore and Thomas Rid, researchers at King's College in London, dark web sites are most commonly used for crime. The researchers looked at 5,205 live websites, of which, some 1,547 hosted illicit material. ALSO READ | Data of over 1.5 billion Facebook users leaked on dark web Since the dark web is a part of the Internet that lies beyond the reach of search engines, the visitors in this black market mainly pay using cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin to stay anonymous. Is accessing dark web illegal? Surfing the dark web won't land you in jail but buying illegal drugs, firearms or downloading child pornography is forbidden by law. (Stay tuned with Zee News for more on the Dark Web Specials series) MOSCOW: Despite the threat of ''harshest sanctions'', enormous international pressure and appeals for peace, the Russian troops continued to invade Ukraine on Thursday and mounted an assault by land, sea and air in the biggest attack on a European state since the Second World War. Casting aside international condemnation and sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the United States and its NATO allies that any attempt to interfere would lead to severe consequences you have never seen. Addressing the Russian people in a televised address from Kremlin, Putin said, Whoever tries to hinder us, and even more so, to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia`s response will be immediate. And it will lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history." Reminding the West of Russias massive military power, the Russian president said, As for the military sphere, today, modern Russia, even after the collapse of the USSR and the loss of a significant part of its capacity, is one of the most powerful nuclear powers in the world and possesses certain advantages in some of the newest types of weaponry. In this regard, no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to defeat and horrible consequences for any potential aggressor. The Russian President also authorized a military operation in Ukraine that began soon after his address to the nation. Russia's Defence Ministry later on Thursday said its first day of the Ukraine invasion had achieved all its goals and that it had destroyed 83 land-based Ukrainian targets. Ukrainian police said Russia had carried out 203 attacks since the beginning of the day. Missiles rained down on Ukrainian targets and Kyiv reported columns of troops pouring across the borders with Russia and Belarus stretching from the north and east, and landing on the coasts from the Black Sea in the southwest and Azov Sea in the southeast. The assault also brought a calamitous end to weeks of fruitless diplomatic efforts by Western leaders to avert war, their worst fears about Putin's ambitions realised. US President Joe Biden called the Russian action an "unprovoked and unjustified attack" and announced "strong sanctions" and export curbs. Biden though ruled out sending US troops to defend Ukraine, but Washington has reinforced NATO allies in the region with extra troops and planes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin late Thursday, appealing for an "immediate cessation of violence". The Indian government ramped up efforts to evacuate Indians stranded in the country. Meanwhile, France`s Foreign Minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, when making threats about using nuclear weapons, needs to understand that NATO, too, is a nuclear alliance. However, he ruled out NATO-led military intervention to defend Ukraine. Asked whether Putin`s threat of "such consequences that you have never encountered in your history" was tantamount to threatening Russian use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said it was indeed understood as such. "Yes, I think that Vladimir Putin must also understand that the Atlantic alliance is a nuclear alliance. That is all I will say about this," Le Drian said on Thursday on French television TF1. Western leaders have threatened unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia, but none have argued for a NATO-led military intervention to defend Ukraine. Ukraine is not a NATO ally, and the alliance is not treaty-bound to protect it. Asked why NATO member states - which in past decades have intervened militarily in non-NATO countries such as Afghanistan, Libya and former Yugoslavia - are refusing to put soldiers on the ground in Ukraine, Le Drian said, "That is not what the Ukrainians are asking us". He said Ukraine is asking for humanitarian and financial help, as well as military equipment, which the West has provided and will continue to provide. Asked what weaponry NATO could provide, Le Drian said "they have made a list and we are studying that list in order to meet their requests as soon as possible". Asked whether Europe and NATO could continue to rule out a military response despite the presence of Russian soldiers in Ukraine and Putin`s threat of nuclear apocalypse, Le Drian said sanctions will be more efficient. "Strangling Russia economically and financially will, in the long run, be stronger than any intervention," the foreign minister said. Live TV Kyiv: Russian missiles pounded Kyiv on Friday, families cowered in shelters and authorities told residents to prepare Molotov cocktails to defend Ukraine's capital from an assault that the mayor said had already begun with saboteurs in the city. Air raid sirens wailed over the capital of three million people, where some residents sheltered in underground metro stations, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion that has shocked the world, reported Reuters. But Putin, say reports, is willing for talks, under certain conditions. Here are the top 10 developments from Ukraine-Russia conflict: - European Union agrees to freeze European assets linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov over Ukraine invasion, reports AFP. - Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation of high-ranking officials to Minsk to hold talks with Kiev-Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the Russian Embassy in India said. - Ukraine's Defence Ministry says more than 1,000 Russian soldiers were killed so far in Ukraine conflict, say Reuters. - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted that there had been heavy fighting with people killed at the entrance to the eastern cities of Chernihiv and Melitopol, as well as at Hostomel. - US officials believe Russia's initial aim is to topple Zelenskiy and "decapitate" his government. Zelenskiy said he knew he was "the number one target" but he would stay in Kyiv. An adviser to Zelenskiy said Ukraine was prepared for talks with Russia, including on staying neutral, one of Moscow`s pre-war demands. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called that offer a lie and said no talks could be held until the Ukrainian military lays down its arms. - After Moscow denied for months it was planning an invasion, news that Putin had ordered one has shocked Russians accustomed to viewing their ruler of 22 years as a cautious strategist. Many Russians have friends and family in Ukraine. Russian state media have relentlessly characterised Ukraine as a threat, but thousands of Russians protested on Thursday against the war. Hundreds were swiftly arrested. One pop star posted a video on Instagram opposing the war, and the head of a Moscow state-run theatre quit, saying she would not take her salary from a murderer. - The first batch of Indian students have left Chernivtsi for the Ukraine-Romania border. MEA Camp Offices are now operational in Lviv and Chernivtsi towns in western Ukraine. Additional Russian-speaking officials are being sent to these Camp Offices. - Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar said that he has received a call from Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister. ""He shared his assessment of the current situation. I emphasized that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the way out. We discussed the predicament of Indian nationals, including students. Appreciate his support for their safe return," Jaishankar said. - Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent. Popes usually receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican. For Francis to travel a short distance to the Russian embassy outside the Vatican walls was a sign of his strength of feeling about Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Vatican officials said they knew of no such previous papal initiative. - The UN Human rights office says it is receiving increasing reports of civilian casualties in Ukraine in the wake of Russia's military invasion. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani of the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says its staffers have so far verified at least 127 civilian casualties. They include 25 people killed and 102 injured, mostly from shelling and airstrikes. She cautioned Friday that the numbers are "very likely to be an underestimate." Live TV Kiev: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he is enemy Russias No. 1 target and the Russian forces are seeking to eliminate his family too. "The enemy marked me as target number one, and my family as target number two," Zelenskyy said during a televised address on Thursday. Zelenskyy's statement comes a day after the US told the United Nations' human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, that Russia has created a hit list of "identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps." Zelenskyy on Friday said that the sanctions imposed on Moscow are not enough to curtail Russian military operations against Ukraine and added that his forces are ''defending the country alone.'' Speaking after a reported Russian operation in the capital of Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the world was still just observing the events in Ukraine from a distance. "This morning, we are defending our country alone. Just like yesterday, the most powerful country in the world looked on from a distance," he said in a Facebook video, as quoted by CNN. "Russia was hit with sanctions yesterday, but these are not enough to get these foreign troops off our soil. Only through solidarity and determination can this be achieved," he added. Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia`s military operations in Ukraine. They have also imposed heavy sanctions on Russia.US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the US will introduce a new wave of sanctions against Russia in a broad effort to isolate Moscow from the global economy. The new package of sanctions aims to cut Russia off from the US financial markets and includes freezing the assets of four major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, the nation`s second-biggest bank. Hours after that, President of the European Council Charles Michel said that the EU has made a political decision to impose additional sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine. "We took a political decision to add an additional package of mass sanction which will be painful for the Russian regime," Michel said after the extraordinary EU Summit. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the new EU sanctions against Russia will hit 70 per cent of the Russian banking sector, key state-run corporations and deprive Russia of access to modern technologies. "First, this package includes financial sanctions that cut Russia`s access to the most important capital markets. We are now targeting 70% of the Russian banking market. But also, key state-owned companies including in the field of defence," von der Leyen said after the extraordinary EU Summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine`s breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations "to protect" the people in eastern Ukraine and "demilitarise" the country. Live TV Washington: President Joe Biden has warned that the US will intervene if Vladimir Putin moves into NATO countries, stressing that if his Russian counterpart is not stopped now, he will be emboldened. Biden, though, said he has no plans to talk to Putin but he spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and assured him that the US will provide humanitarian relief to ease the suffering of the people of Ukraine. "Well, if he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) did move to NATO countries, we will be involved. The only thing that I am convinced of is if we don't stop (him) now, he'll be emboldened. If we don't move against him now with these significant sanctions, he will be emboldened," Biden told reporters on Thursday at a White House news conference, where he also announced a series of tough sanctions against Russia. Responding to questions, the President said it is already a large conflict. "The way we're going assure it is not going to spiral into a larger conflict is by providing all the forces needed in the eastern European nations that are members of NATO. NATO is more united than it has ever been, and I have no plans to talk with Putin," he said. Amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US has deployed additional troops to defend its NATO allies, particularly in eastern Europe. Biden claimed Putin has much larger ambitions in Ukraine. "He wants to, in fact, re-establish the former Soviet Union. That's what this is about. And I think that his ambitions are completely contrary to the place where the rest of the world has arrived," he said. Biden said he spoke to Zelenskiy late last night and assured him that the US, together with its allies and partners in Europe, will support the Ukrainian people as they defend their country. "We will provide humanitarian relief to ease their suffering. In the early days of this conflict, Russia propaganda outlets will keep trying to hide the truth and claim success for its military operation against a made-up threat," he said. "We stand up for freedom. This is who we are," he added. The US has said it will not send troops to Ukraine to fight against Russian forces. Biden warned Russia against launching cyberattacks on US firms and infrastructure. "Let me also repeat the warning I made last week -- if Russia pursues cyberattacks against our companies, our critical infrastructure, we are prepared to respond. For months, we've been working closely with the private sector to harden our cyber defences, sharpen our ability to respond to Russia's cyberattacks as well," he said. To a query on banning Russia from the SWIFT financial system, Biden said the sanctions proposed by the US on all Russian banks are of equal or maybe more consequence than that. "It is always an option, but right now, that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take," he said. There is no doubt that when a major nuclear power attacks and invades another country that the world is going to respond, and markets can respond all over the world, he noted. Biden announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions target Russian banks, oligarchs, and high-tech sectors. Live TV Kyiv: A day after Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the Ukrainian military to seize power in their country. "I once again appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine: do not allow neo-Nazis and (Ukrainian radical nationalists) to use your children, wives and elders as human shields," Putin said at a televised meeting with Russia's security council. "Take power into your own hands, it will be easier for us to reach agreement." Putin added that Russian servicemen in Ukraine were acting "bravely, professionally and heroically," reported Reuters. Putin has said he is fighting 'terrorists' and 'neo-Nazis' in Ukraine. Calling upon the Ukrainian authorities, Putin told the Ukraine army to remove leadership in Kyiv. Earlier on Friday, Putin said that he was ready to hold "high-level negotiations" with Ukraine as he spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping who stressed that both Moscow and Kyiv should resolve the raging crisis through talks. Xi and Putin, regarded as allies and friends as China and Russia enlarged their strategic ties amid the strident US and EU push against them on a host of issues, held their talks on the phone around the same time as the Russian troops closed in on Kyiv, home to over three million people, with heavy bombardment raising fears of bloodshed. The Russian side is ready to hold "high-level negotiations" with the Ukrainian side, the official Chinese media here quoted Putin as telling Xi. Around the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday reiterated his call for Russian President Putin to hold talks and stop the conflict. "Fighting is going on all over Ukraine. Let's sit down at the negotiating table," Zelensky said, the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing a report from Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Xi, whose government stonewalled criticism in the last few days for not condemning the Russian "invasion" of Ukraine, sought to play the role of a peacemaker by saying that China supports Russia and Ukraine to solve the issue through negotiation, the state-run CGTN reported. Live TV School boards in Dothan and Houston County have approved their synced calendars for the 2022-2023 school year during board meetings earlier this week. Officials are anticipating the upcoming year to be the first normally-scheduled academic year since 2018-2019, the last school year before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted public education everywhere. Every year, calendar committees within each school system meet to address the needs of each district. This year, superintendents from area school districts collaborated on a plan where each system is out of school around the same time. Dothan City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dennis Coe said it was critical for these school systems to be on the same page so families and educators can better plan for time off due to students being out of school. While other school systems were a part of the collaboration process, Dothan City and Houston County Schools were the first to approve their similar calendars this week. Dale County and Henry County school systems are expected to follow suit. Both school systems have a start date of Aug. 9, a one-week fall break from Oct. 10-14, a one-week break for the Thanksgiving holiday from Nov. 21-25, and a one-week spring break from March 27-31. Dothan City Schools has 178 student days on its calendar with an 11-day winter break from Dec. 21 to Jan. 4. Its last student day is scheduled for May 26. Similarly, Houston County Schools scheduled 177 students days on its academic calendar with a 10-day break from Dec. 21 to Jan. 3. Students last day will be on May 25. The last two school years were delayed due to surges of COVID-19 cases locally and the 2018-2019 school year was cut short by over two months due uncertainties surrounding the virus. Though COVID-19 persists with more contagious strains of the virus, fears around the virus have waned as FDA-approved vaccinations and treatments have become widely available. School systems are also better prepared for staff shortages and high infection rates caused by the virus as they have adopted technology and equipment to allow most students to continue learning virtually outside of a classroom environment. 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 . New Delhi: One major justification given by Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine is the latters desire to join NATO. In January 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his US counterpart Joe Biden to let his country join the military alliance. Russia objected to it and demanded that the West give a legally binding guarantee that NATO will not hold any military activity in Ukraine. Incidentally, out of the 14 countries with which Russia shares a boundary, five are NATO members. These are Norway, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia the last three being former USSR states. The borders with Poland and Lithuania are through the tiny exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast. But if Putin takes over entire Ukraine as many fear, Russia will then additionally share huge borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, all of which are NATO members. Putin will have NATO/US troops on his doorsteps regardless. So why did the Russian President choose to invade Ukraine? Unification of Russia Russia and Ukraine have been involved in a low-intensity war for eight years now, with Moscow and separatists backed by it nibbling away bits and pieces of Ukrainian territory. The war started in February 2014 soon after pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was deposed. Ukraine was the second-most-populous and second-richest Soviet republic, and with the deepest cultural links to Russia. At present, it is also the second largest country in Europe in terms of area, and its overtures towards the West did not go down well with Putin, who considers Ukraine to be a part of Russia. Last year, hed written a long piece describing Russians and Ukrainians as one Russia, he said Ukraine is now merely a puppet of the West. Putin argued that if Ukraine joined NATO, the alliance might try to recapture Crimea. This time, however, Putin seems to have set his eyes far beyond Ukraine. He has demanded that NATO return to its pre-1997 borders, meaning vacating central and eastern Europe and the Baltics. For Putin, the current standoff is a chance to overturn what he sees as an unjust post-Cold War order. Geopolitical advantage Ukraine presents an opportunity for Russia to reassert its geopolitical relevance. Issues such as NATOs eastward expansion and an underlying sense that USSR lost the Cold War pinch Putin hard, according to experts. And keeping Ukraine away from NATO, even if by force, would be seen as a victory for Russia, while the West watched helplessly. But what unnerved Kremlin most was the slow creep of NATO arsenal into Ukraine. Since 2018, the US has sold hundreds of anti-tank Javelin missiles to Ukraine. Turkey has supplied Ukraine with the same armed drones that proved decisive in Azerbaijans victory over Armenia; in October 2021, Ukraine used such a drone to destroy rebel artillery in the Donbass, wrote The New Yorker journalist Joshua Yaffa. And these, apart from several military deals that Ukraine had sealed with NATO members. At a certain point, Russia came to fear that Ukraine, in its accumulation of NATO weapons, was becoming equivalent of an unofficial member state. Given that weaponry, what would keep NATO armies from establishing bases? And with bases in place, why couldnt they host NATO missiles, including nuclear ones, that would directly threaten Russia and undermine its deterrence capabilities? Yaffa added. Live TV MOSCOW: Russia on Thursday launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that opened with air and missile strikes on Ukrainian military facilities before troops and tanks rolled across the borders from the north, east and south. The Ukrainian military fought back on multiple fronts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address early on Friday that 137 people, both servicemen and civilians, have been killed and hundreds more wounded. A senior US Defence official said Russia may be intent on seizing Kyiv, the capital, and other key cities and ultimately installing a more friendly government. As Ukrainian forces fought back and civilians piled into trains and cars to flee, the US and European leaders rushed to punish Russia with strong financial sanctions. NATO moved to strengthen its eastern flank. Here are the things to know about the Russia-Ukraine conflict PUTIN MAKES HIS MOVE In a televised address as the attack began, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting for almost eight years. The US had predicted Putin would falsely claim that the rebel-held regions were under attack to justify an invasion. The Russian leader warned other countries that any attempt to interfere in Ukraine would lead to consequences you have never seen in history," a dark threat implying Russia was prepared to use its nuclear weapons. Putin accused the NATO allies of ignoring Russia's demands to block Ukraine from ever joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees. Putin said Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but plans to demilitarize it, a euphemism for destroying its armed forces. He urged Ukrainian servicemen to immediately put down arms and go home. Soon after his address, explosions were heard in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa. The Russian Defense Ministry said it had destroyed 83 Ukrainian military facilities. ZELENSKYY RESPONDS TO THE ATTACK Ukraine's President urged residents to remain calm and to stay at home and pleaded with world leaders to punish Putin with even more severe sanctions. He vowed that Ukraine will defend itself and ordered a full military mobilization. Ukraine's army stands at 250,000 servicemen with 140,000 reservists. The US said Russia had nearly 200,000 troops arrayed near Ukraine's borders before the invasion began. Zelenskyy said he has information that he's the No. 1 target for the invading Russians but he is determined to remain in Kyiv. AN UNEASY NIGHT IN KYIV By evening Thursday, many of the capital's residents took shelter deep underground in metro stations. People brought sleeping bags and blankets, dogs and crossword puzzles to pass an uneasy night in the makeshift bomb shelters. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko had called on the city's 3 million people to stay indoors unless they worked in critical sectors and said everyone should prepare go-bags with necessities such as medicine and documents. CHERNOBYL IN RUSSIAN HANDS Ukraine said it lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site after Ukrainian forces waged a fierce battle with Russian troops. A nuclear reactor at the plant 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv exploded in April 1986, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell. Alyona Shevtsova, an adviser to the commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces, wrote on Facebook that the staff had been taken hostage when Russian troops seized the facility. The White House press secretary expressed alarm, saying it could hamper efforts to maintain the nuclear facility. THE WEST REACTS World leaders decried an invasion that could cause massive casualties, topple Ukraine's democratically elected government and threaten the post-Cold War balance. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called Russia's attack a brutal act of war and said Moscow had shattered peace on the European continent. US President Joe Biden said Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering." The leaders of the Group of Seven called on the international community "to condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, and raise their voice against this blatant violation of the fundamental principles of international peace and security. The head of the UN Refugee agency urged neighbouring countries to keep their borders open for Ukrainians fleeing the fighting. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said his agency had stepped up its operations and capacity in both Ukraine and its neighbours. WORLD MARKETS FALL World stock markets plunged and oil prices soared over concerns that heating bills and food prices would skyrocket. Beyond its human toll, the conflict looks set to send prices spiralling even higher at gasoline pumps and grocery stores around the world. Russia and Ukraine are major producers not only of energy products but also grains and various other commodities. War could upend global supplies, as could sanctions brought by the United States and other allies. WEST SLAPS BIG SANCTIONS In announcing a new round of sanctions on Thursday, Biden said the US and its allies will block the assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs. The penalties fall in line with the White House's insistence that it would look to hit Russia's financial system and Putin's inner circle, while also imposing export controls that would aim to starve Russia's industries and military of U.S. Semiconductors and other high-tech products. New US sanctions also targeted the military and financial institutions of Belarus, which Russia is using as a staging ground for its troops moving into Ukraine from the north. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would aim to cut Russia off from the UK's financial market. The sanctions include freezing the assets of all major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, its second-biggest. Britain also plans to bar Russian companies and the Russian government from raising money on UK markets. Britain will ban the export of a wide range of high-tech products, including semiconductors, to Russia and bar its flagship airline, Aeroflot, from landing at UK airports. The European Union and other Western allies, including Australia, Japan and South Koreas, announced similar sanctions. OTHER REPERCUSSIONS FOR RUSSIANS UEFA will no longer host the Champions League final in St. Petersburg in May, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks. An extraordinary meeting of the UEFA executive committee will be held Friday. Valery Gergiev, a conductor who is close to Putin, will not lead the Vienna Philharmonic in a five-concert U.S. Tour that starts at Carnegie Hall on Friday. Milan's Teatro alla Scala sent a letter to Gergiev asking him to make a clear statement in favour of a peaceful resolution in Ukraine, or he would not be permitted to return for his next scheduled performance on March 5. PROTESTS IN RUSSIA Russians shocked by the invasion turned out by the thousands for street protests in Moscow and other cities. They signed open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault. One petition garnered 330,000 signatures by the end of the day. The crackdown was swift. Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow. State television was all in for the invasion, with one host calling it an effort to protect people in eastern Ukraine from a Nazi regime. EU BEEFS UP PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN BOSNIA The European Union-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia announced that it would double the number of its ground troops to prevent ripple effects from the conflict in Ukraine. The force described the step as a precautionary move. The deterioration of the security situation internationally has the potential to spread instability to the ethnically divided Balkan country, it said. A staunchly pro-Russian Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik, has for years advocated the separation of the semi-autonomous Bosnian Serb mini-state from the rest of the country. Last winter, with tacit support from Moscow, Dodik intensified his secessionist campaign, pledging to form an exclusively Serb army, judiciary and tax system. The EU force announced that four companies of its reserve forces from Austria, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia would deploy to Bosnia over the next two weeks to reinforce its 600-strong contingent already stationed in the country. The new deployments will total 500 troops. NATO'S EASTERN FLANK The countries on NATO's eastern flank, all under Soviet domination during the Cold War, are especially nervous. The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia wondered if they could be the Kremlin's next target. They all have received the first batches of U.S. Military troops and equipment as promised this week by Biden. Poles were also shaken. The parliament in Poland, which borders both Ukraine and Belarus, strongly denounced Russia's attack on Ukraine and vowed its support to Ukraine. US Ambassador Mark Brzezinski sought to assure Poland that it is safe. He noted there are now 10,000 US Soldiers in Poland. More than half were deployed in recent weeks in response to the Russian threats. Stoltenberg said, Make no mistake: We will defend every ally against any attack on every inch of NATO territory. CHINA'S SUPPORT FOR RUSSIA China's customs agency on Thursday approved imports of wheat from all regions of Russia, a move that could help to reduce the impact of possible sanctions imposed by West. Kyiv: Scared mothers, wailing children, people on cars and foot flocking the Ukraine borders visuals of desperate families seeking to escape the conflict are heart-wrenching. With Russian forces making a rapid advance, Ukrainians are trying to flee to neighbouring countries with whatever little belongings they could lay their hand on. I am from Kyiv. I travelled with my family to western Ukraine for vacation when it started. We decided to leave the country because its not clear what will happen. I have a lot of my relatives in Kyiv who are sitting in bomb shelters right now because there is bombing everywhere and people are scared, said a woman waiting along the Romania border. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a massive refugee crisis, with tens of thousands trying to escape to eastern and central European countries. Since 2014, the conflict in Eastern Ukraine has pushed people deeper into Ukrainian territory, but the fear of a complete conquest by Moscow this time is forcing them across the borders. The scale of the refugee crisis in Ukraine can be gauged from the fact that it accounts for a third of the 4.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Europe, according to UNHCR estimates. But these figures are bound to change drastically with the latest developments. Some reports say over one lakh people have already been displaced internally due to the Russian onslaught. Ukraine had earlier estimated that a full-fledged Russian invasion could force 3-5 million people to flee their homes. If the figure is anywhere close, it would dwarf the 2015-16 refugee crisis, which saw around one million refugees fleeing the Middle East into Europe. According to estimates, since the onset of the 2014 war, almost 5 lakh people have sought asylum in Russia to escape the conflict and another 2 lakh in Belarus. Ukrainians comprise over 80 per cent of the refugee population of Belarus. Ukraines neighbours are bracing for an influx of refugees and have already stationed troops and medical workers along the borders to deal with the situation. Poland says the situation is similar to the aftermath of Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014. By 2015, the number of Ukrainian immigrants to Poland had jumped from 2 lakh to over 8 lakh. Some estimates say as many as 2 million Ukrainians have migrated to Poland since 2014. Also Read: Putin to Ukrainian military - Remove leadership in Kyiv, take power into your own hands At present, thousands of people are pouring into Poland every day, even as the country is preparing to host up to one million refugees in view of the fresh crisis. Romania is anticipating migration in the hundreds of thousands, while Slovakia and the Czech Republic put estimated inflows in the tens of thousands. Czech Republic, though does not share a boundary with Ukraine, is already home to over 2.5 lakh Ukrainians. On the other hand, Romanian defence minister Vasile Dincu had earlier said they could receive up to 5 lakh refugees. The spill-over effect might also be felt by Western European countries such as UK, France and Germany. Live TV Washington: Russian and Ukrainian forces fought on Thursday for control of Chernobyl, the still radioactive site of the world`s worst nuclear accident and a factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union. "Our defenders are giving their lives so that the tragedy of 1986 will not be repeated," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted before the defunct nuclear power plant, scene of a deadly fire and explosion in 1986, was captured by Russian forces. But why would anyone want an inoperative power plant surrounded by miles of radioactive land? The answer is geography: Chernobyl sits on the shortest route from Belarus to Kyiv, Ukrainian`s capital, and so runs along a logical line of attack for the Russian forces invading Ukraine. In seizing Chernobyl, Western military analysts said Russia was simply using the fastest invasion route from Belarus, an ally of Moscow and a staging ground for Russian troops, to Kyiv. "It was the quickest way from A to B," said James Acton of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank. Jack Keane, a former chief of the U.S. Army staff, said Chernobyl "doesnt have any military significance" but sits on the shortest route from Belarus to Kyiv, the target of a Russian "decapitation" strategy to oust the Ukrainian government. Keane called the route one of four "axes" Russian forces used to invade Ukraine, including a second vector from Belarus, an advance south into the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, and a push north out of Russian-controlled Crimea to the city of Kherson. The combined offensives amounted to the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Taking Chernobyl was part of the plan, and a senior Ukrainian official said it was captured on Thursday by Russian forces, though a senior U.S. defense official said the United States could not confirm this. The fourth reactor at Chernobyl, 67 miles (108 km) north of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, exploded in April 1986 during a botched safety test, sending clouds of radiation billowing across much of Europe and reaching the eastern United States. The radioactive strontium, caesium and plutonium mainly affected Ukraine and neighboring Belarus, as well as parts of Russia and Europe. Estimates for the numbers of direct and indirect deaths from the disaster vary from the low thousands to as many as 93,000 extra cancer deaths worldwide. Soviet authorities initially sought to cover up the disaster and did not immediately admit to the explosion, tarnishing the image of reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his "glasnost" policies for greater openness in Soviet society. The catastrophe was widely seen as contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union just a few years later. Acton said Russia`s capture of Chernobyl on Thursday was not to protect it from further damage, saying Ukraine`s four active nuclear power plants present a greater risk than Chernobyl, which sits within a vast "exclusion zone" roughly the size of Luxembourg. A make-shift cover, or "sarcophagus," was built within six months of the disaster to cover the stricken reactor and protect the environment from radiation. In November 2016, a so-called "New Safe Confinement" was moved over the old sarcophagus. "Obviously an accident within Chernobyl would be a big issue. But precisely because of the exclusion zone, it probably wouldn`t impinge on Ukrainian civilians very much," Acton said. Ukraine`s four operational nuclear power plants are running safely and there has been no "destruction" at the remaining waste and other facilities at Chernobyl, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday, citing Ukraine`s nuclear regulator. Acton said Ukraine`s other reactors are not in exclusion zones and they contain nuclear fuel that is a lot more radioactive. "The risks of fighting around them are significantly higher." Live TV Beijing: Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a call on Friday (February 25) that Russia is willing to hold high level talks with Ukraine, China`s foreign ministry said. China has refused to call Russia`s action in Ukraine an "invasion" or criticise Moscow despite intensifying assaults from Russia`s military. Putin told Xi that the United States and NATO had long ignored Russia`s legitimate security concerns, repeatedly reneged on their commitments, and continued to expand military deployment eastward, challenging Russia`s strategic bottom line, according to a statement on the Chinese foreign ministry website. Russia is willing to conduct high-level negotiations with Ukraine, Putin was cited as saying. China has repeatedly called for the crisis to be resolved through dialogue. China supports Russia and Ukraine in resolving the issue through negotiation, Xi told Putin, according to the ministry. Xi also called for all sides to abandon a Cold War mentality, respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiation, according to the statement. Xi said China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, according to the statement. Live TV Kyiv (Ukraine): Missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital on Friday (February 25) as Russian forces pressed their advance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded with the international community to do more, saying sanctions announced so far were not enough. Air raid sirens wailed over the city of 3 million people, where some were sheltering in underground metro stations, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion that has shocked the world. A Ukrainian official said a Russian plane had been shot down and crashed into a building. A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces would enter areas just outside the capital, Kyiv, later on Friday and that Ukrainian troops were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered. An estimated 100,000 people fled as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities. Dozens have been reported killed. Russian troops seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advanced on the city from Belarus. US and Ukrainian officials say Russia aims to capture Kyiv and topple the government, which Putin regards as a puppet of the United States. Zelenskiy said he understood Russian troops were coming for him but vowed to stay in Kyiv. "(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target," Zelenskiy said in a video message. "My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state." "I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine." Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by Putin, in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Putin says Russia is carrying out "a special military operation" to stop the Ukrainian government from committing "genocide" - an accusation the West calls a baseless fabrication. He says Ukraine is an illegitimate state whose lands historically belong to Russia, a view which Ukrainians see as an attempt to erase their more than thousand-year history. Putin's full aims remain obscure. He has said he does not plan a military occupation, only to disarm Ukraine and remove its leaders. But having told Ukrainians their state is illegitimate, it is hard to see how he could simply impose a new leader and withdraw. Russia has floated no name of a figure it would regard as acceptable and none has come forward. Britain said Moscow`s aim was to conquer all of Ukraine, and its military had failed to meet its main objectives on the first day because it failed to anticipate Ukrainians would resist. "It's definitely our view that the Russians intend to invade the whole of Ukraine," Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky. "Contrary to great Russian claims - and indeed President Putin's sort of vision that somehow the Ukrainians would be liberated and would be flocking to his cause - he`s got that completely wrong, and the Russian army has failed to deliver, on day one, its main objective." Ukrainians were circulating an unverified recording on Friday of a Russian warship ordering Ukrainian troops at a Black Sea outpost to surrender. The Ukrainians reply: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself." Zelenskiy said the 13 men were killed by a Russian strike and would receive posthumous honours. Ukrainian forces downed an enemy aircraft over Kyiv early on Friday, which then crashed into a residential building and set it ablaze, said Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister. It was unclear whether the aircraft was manned or whether it could be a missile. Kyiv municipal authorities said at least eight people were injured when the object crashed into an apartment block. 'Horrific strikes' "Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter. "Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany." Authorities said intense fighting was underway in the city of Sumy in the northeast. A border post in the southeast had been hit by missiles, causing deaths and injuries among border guards, and air raid sirens sounded over the city of Lviv in the west of the country. Asked if he was worried about Zelenskiy's safety, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS: "To the best of my knowledge, President Zelenskiy remains in Ukraine at his post, and of course, we're concerned for the safety of all of our friends in Ukraine - government officials and others." Sanctions build A democratic nation of 44 million people, Ukraine voted for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and has recently stepped up efforts to join the NATO military alliance and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow. Western countries unveiled financial sanctions on Moscow billed as far stronger than earlier measures, including blacklisting its banks and banning technology imports. However, they stopped short of forcing Russia out of the SWIFT system for international bank payments, drawing strong words from Kyiv which says the most serious steps should be taken now. The UN Security Council will vote on Friday on a draft resolution that would condemn the invasion and require Moscow`s immediate withdrawal, though Moscow is certain to veto it. China, which signed a friendship treaty with Russia three weeks ago, has refused to describe Moscow`s actions as an invasion. Russia is one of the world`s biggest energy producers, and both it and Ukraine are among the top exporters of grain. War and sanctions will disrupt economies around the world. Oil and grain prices have soared. Share markets around the world, many of which plunged on Thursday at news of the outbreak of war, were mainly rebounding on Friday. Live TV Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said that at least 137 civilians and military personnel have been killed so far in the Russian invasion of his country. He called them "heroes" in a video address released early Friday in which he also said hundreds more have been wounded. Zelenskyy says that despite Russia's claim it is attacking only military targets, civilian sites also have been struck. In his words, "They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven." 137 dead after first day of fighting, reports AFP quoting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2022 The President said all border guards on Zmiinyi island in the Odesa region were killed on Thursday. Ukraine's border guard service earlier in the day reported that the island was taken by the Russians. Its capital, Kyiv has plunged into total chaos a day after Russian forces launched a military offensive against Ukraine. Terrified people have been queuing for hours to get fuel, food and medicine. Many left Kyiv to seek shelter in western Ukraine, building up kilometres-long traffic jams, Xinhua news agency reported. "We were not able to leave, there were terrible traffic jams... We saw people walking from Kyiv just along the highway, with children, animals, suitcases," 28-year-old Iryna told Xinhua. Iryna was forced to return to her home in Kyiv. "Today we will sleep in the dressing room, there are no windows there," Iryna said. Oksana, a 40-year-old manager, said she was hiding in an underground parking area after an air defence alarm in Kyiv. "I keep my bag at the door, I`m afraid that the attack on the city will continue," Oksana said. Oksana lives on the left bank of Kyiv. She said explosions were heard near her home the whole day. "Like all people in my country, I am scared," she added, crying. Earlier on Thursday, Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine. Despite the threat of harshest sanctions and enormous international pressure and appeal for peace, the Russian troops continued to invade Ukraine on Thursday mounted an assault by land, sea and air in the biggest attack on a European state since the Second World War. Casting aside international condemnation and sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States and its NATO allies that any attempt to interfere would lead to severe consequences you have never seen. Addressing the Russian people in a televised address, Putin had said, Whoever tries to hinder us, and even more so, to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia`s response will be immediate. And it will lead you to such consequences that you have never encountered in your history." Live TV New Delhi: US President Joe Biden on Thursday addressed the world for the first time post-Russia's all-in military operation to invade Ukraine and called his counterpart in Moscow an aggressor and tyrant. Threatening Moscow with additional economic and trade sanctions, so far US only major against the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden said Putin is an aggressor who chose war, the US will impose additional sanctions and export controls against Russia for invading Ukraine. Fresh US sanctions against Russia As per Bidens address, the US and its allies in Europe are blocking assets of four large Russian banks, imposing export controls, sanctioning oligarchs. The US President further added that the sanctions were designed to have a long-term impact on Russia and to minimize the impact on the United States and its allies adding that the steps would limit Russia`s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen. The sanctions include the dramatic expansion of the so-called Foreign Direct Product rule, forcing companies making high and low tech items overseas with US tools to seek a license from the United States before shipping to Russia. The rules also instruct the Commerce Department to deny almost all of those license requests. Biden said NATO would meet on Friday to map out further measures. He reiterated that the United States would not engage in war with Russia, but that it would meet its Article 5 commitments to defend NATO partners. The US leader also reiterated the possibility of sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin personally over Russia`s invasion of Ukraine. Military help by the US The United States is sending 7,000 troops to Germany to help reassure NATO allies who are part of a larger contingent that had already been put on alert earlier this year, a senior US defence official said. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the troops would be made up of an armored brigade combat team and would leave for Germany in the coming days. President Joe Biden referred to these troops in a speech earlier on Thursday. The reports came after Biden said that the US will not send its troops to Ukraine but will 'defend every inch of NATO territory'. "Our forces are not and will not be engaged in a conflict with Russia in Ukraine. Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine but to defend and reassure NATO allies," Biden said. G7 Meet President Joe Biden also announced that he met with his counterparts of other Group of Seven (G7) countries to discuss next moves they will take on Russia in response to Moscow`s military operation in the Donbas region. "This morning, I met with my G7 counterparts to discuss President Putins unjustified attack on Ukraine and we agreed to move forward on devastating packages of sanctions and other economic measures to hold Russia to account", Biden said in a tweet. Live TV A Dothan man alleging he has been bullied by Dothan law enforcement and city leaders for more than 26 years has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Dothan, the Dothan City Commission, and several police officers, for unspecified monetary damages. Samuel Albert Tew, 57, retained Montgomery attorney Julian McPhillips Jr. to represent him in court against the named defendants. The pair held a press conference in Montgomery on Thursday to recount Tews perspective of events that led to his decision to sue the city and its agents. Tew, a local paint contractor, notably lost a bid for Dothan City School Board chairman in 2017 to former Mayor Mike Schmitz and again in 2021 to Scott Childers. He described a saga that began in 1995 when he was terminated as a Dothan firefighter for accusing a coworker of selling guns out of a local fire station. Since then, Tews been arrested numerous times and involuntarily committed for psychiatric treatment in a local health facility because he was being targeted by local police, he said, claiming he is the victim of police brutality. In 2015, Tew was banned from the Dothan Civic Center administrative offices and city commission chambers for displaying strange and erratic behavior that concerned city employees and disrupting public commission meetings, City Attorney Len White said. He was later banned from all city municipal buildings and the entire Dothan Civic Center complex after alleged harassment against city officials and violating the first ban order. In one instance, he brought a compound crossbow to the city commission chambers during a public meeting, but Tew's attorneys challenge that statement made by White and Former Dothan Police Chief Steve Parrish. Steve Parrish told media at the time that employees did not feel safe around Tew, but Tew maintains he did nothing wrong and was only there to hold leaders accountable to their employees. He was arrested at the Dothan Opera House in 2017 for criminal trespassing for trying to attend a city commission meeting. During that police encounter, he accuses several Dothan police officers of using unnecessary brute force against him. Those officers Brian Tate, Scott Spivey, Taiwan Truitt, Devellus Butler, and Brian Goguen are named as defendants in Tews lawsuit. Tew says he suffered several injuries from his latest encounter with law enforcement, including broken bones in his arm, and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from the 26-year-long ordeal. He is suing the defendants in the case for unlawfully detaining him as he tried to enter city meetings, violating his First Amendment rights by banning him from attending those meetings, retaliating against him for using his First Amendment rights, and selective enforcement. Although the lawsuit does not specify the amount of damages the plaintiff is seeking, Tew told media during a news conference in 2021 that he was seeking restitution in the $2 million range for legal fees, medical bills, and lost retirement benefits and back-pay due to his alleged wrongful termination in 1995. Although White had not yet read the lawsuit on Thursday, he said that state and federal law do not require city government to allow people to continue to disrupt its proceedings and harass its employees and banning such individuals is legal and necessary. Court documents pertaining to the case had not been uploaded to the Alabama Middle District Courts online filing system on Thursday. 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 . Phan Van Su (R) is denied from buying molnupiravir at a drugstore in HCMC as he lacked the necessary documents to purchase the drug, February 24, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Le Cam Many people have been denied purchases of molnupiravir pills at drug stores in Ho Chi Minh City since they couldn't "satisfy requirements." Phan Van Su, 39, brought with him an image of a quarantine notice issued by medical authorities on his phone to buy the pills for his relatives at a drugstore in Thu Duc City on Thursday. Su showed the image to an employee of a Long Chau drugstore, but was denied his purchase. The employee said due to the limited number of molnupiravir pills, the drug would be prioritized for Covid-19 patients with either documents to confirm their infection, or a prescription. "I just want to buy a molnupiravir box to send to my relatives who caught Covid-19. I don't intend to hoard or resell it," Su said. Tran Thi Thanh Trang, 24, visited another Long Chau drugstore to purchase molnupiravir pills for her sister. She showed a prescription for the drug, but it lacked a doctors signature and the date for when the prescription was written. As she also lacked documents from local authorities to confirm Covid-19 infection, Trang was unable to buy the antiviral and had to resort to other drugs to treat symptoms like fever and coughing. "This morning my sister had medically declared herself to ward authorities, but she only received back a positive Covid-19 test and no document to confirm her infection. Therefore, I could not buy Covid-19 drugs for her," Trang said. A representative of the first Long Chau drugstore said the shop had been allocated five boxes of molnupiravir by its owner, FPT Long Chau Company, on Wednesday afternoon. Each box is sold at VND250,000 ($11). About 10 customers came to purchase them, but only one box was sold on Thursday morning as the buyer had a legitimate document to confirm Covid-19 infection, the representative said. The other Long Chau drugstore also sold only one molnupiravir box within the same period, despite having over 30 people come by to purchase the drug. "As molnupiravir has only recently been sold, many people aren't aware of how to use them, as well as the requirements to purchase them... The store would only sell molnupiravir when theres either a prescription or a document to confirm infection from local authorities," according to a representative at the store. Several pharmacists said many people lack documents to confirm their infections as local authorities are currently swamped and could not issue the documents in time. Many simply had inappropriate prescriptions. "They beg us to sell them the drugs, but we could not go against our policies. Its hard on us too," a pharmacist at a drugstore in Tan Binh District said. Molnupiravir pills produced in Vietnam would cost up to VND12,500 each, the national drug administration revealed Wednesday. Three companies: Boston Pharma, Mekophar Chemical Pharmaceutical and Stellapharm would produce the drug in Vietnam. Their products are the first Covid-19 antivirals approved in the country. Molnupiravir inhibits the replication of certain viruses by introducing errors in their viral RNA replication. It would result in "an accumulation of errors in the viral genome leading to inhibition of replication," also known as viral error catastrophe. The drug reduces viral load in the early stages of Covid-19, reducing risks of severe symptoms and death. Tourism industry insiders want the government to consider waiving visas for nationals of more countries as Vietnam fully reopens its borders to visitors next month. Luong Hoai Nam, member of the Tourism Advisory Board, speaking at a conference on Thursday, said the relaxation in the visa policy is necessary to attract more foreign tourists to the country. He suggested that the government should waive visas for visitors from the European Union, Australia and New Zealand. In the case of major tourism markets like China and the U.S., the government also needs to consider long-term visas of up to 10 years to attract visitors from there, he said. "Now it is difficult for us to attract foreign tourists unlike before the pandemic, and many tourists will refuse to return to Vietnam if the country requires a visa while many regional countries have relaxed visa polices." Before the pandemic, Vietnam did not require visas for travelers from 24 countries, compared to Thailand's 61, Singapore's 158, Malaysia's 155, and Indonesia's 169. Tran Dinh Thien, a member of the prime minister's economic advisory group, also said the government should waive visas for visitors from Vietnams major tourism markets to help the travel industry rebound quickly. Bui Minh Dang of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said some foreign carriers have sought to resume flights to tourist destinations in central Vietnam from next month and this is a positive sign for the travel industry. In the best case, the aviation industry expects to carry 42-43 million passengers this year, equivalent to 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, including around six million foreign tourists, he added. Vietnam has resumed commercial flights to 20 out of 28 countries and territories it normally flies to. Ha Van Sieu, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said Vietnam has received 9,000 foreign arrivals since November last year as the country partially reopened international tourism. This year, Vietnam has set a target of welcoming five to six million foreign tourists. In 2019, the year before the onset of the pandemic, the country welcomed a record of 18 million foreign tourists. From March 15, Vietnam will reopen inbound and outbound tourism under new normal conditions, with foreign tourists allowed to visit the country without booking tour packages. It is a gravely difficult and dangerous operating environment for journalists across the world, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya noted at the recent Global Conference for Media Freedom in Tallinn, Estonia. The danger Under Secretary Zeya spoke of was evident soon after. Heber Lopez Vasquez, who was reporting on corruption among local officials, was murdered in Mexico on February 10. Censorship, intimidation, imprisonment, and the closing of outlets for independent journalists around the globe also continue. Twenty-one countries from the Media Freedom Coalition recently expressed deep concern over Hong Kong and mainland PRC authorities attacks on independent media. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted from 2016-2021, approximately 85 percent of the global population saw press freedom decline in their country. That, he said, is more than a statistic its a blaring alarm. Press freedom is indispensable for keeping people informed, allowing them to hold their governments accountable, and bringing to the surface critical issues that otherwise may not get public attention. We also know what happens without a free press: corruption flourishes; unscrupulous leaders abuse their power; and peoples voices are silenced. Secretary Blinken said democracies must lead to protect media freedom online and offline. The United States launched several initiatives during the Summit for Democracy, such as the new Journalist Protection Program to give reporters assistance, including legal aid and training in digital and physical security. Another new initiative combats gender-based online harassment and abuse. The United States is also addressing the misuse of technologies to target journalists. Through the new Summit for Democracy Export Control and Human Rights Initiative, the United States, along with several other countries, is developing a voluntary code of conduct to use export controls to address the proliferation of technologies that can be used to abuse journalists and repress dissidents. Additionally, the Secretary highlighted the recommendations of the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom, which advises the Media Freedom Coalition and its partners on how to respond when journalists are targeted, and includes the recommendation of sanctions actions, similar to those the United States applied after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Secretary Blinken made clear that the United States will continue to support access to information and defend press freedom around the world. ELKO Artists are often great entrepreneurs, creating designs and offering services that others have never thought of. Susan Kole is one of those creative souls who has made a successful local business out of face painting. I first noticed her work at the Art in the Park. The next time I saw her was at the senior center Christmas Bazaar where she was an impressive color of green operating in full Grinch mode. The kids and parents loved it. Probably ten years ago, when my kids were really little, we would go to events, said Kole. I was a single mom, so I could never afford the face painting. We would go home and face paint there. Halloween is a really big thing, Kole said. I have made their costumes every year. The big piece of that would be the makeup. Then friends would notice and they would ask me to do their kids. Then I started playing with some of the more gory-type makeup. Then more friends would spread [the word.] Somebody asked me to face paint for their kids birthday party. That was pretty much the propellant that helped seal the deal of making this a business. Kole decided to start face painting professionally in 2019. She bought a top-of-the-line makeup kit and was set to go. Then, the pandemic hit. Things were really going well and then Covid hit and I had to instantly shut down, Kole said. It wasnt safe. She decided to wait things out and now business is really hopping. Kole works at events such as childrens birthday parties, Halloween and corporate venues. I get to do company picnic parties. She can also do teen parties where she creates realistic arm designs with washable paint. I have another product that only comes in black, but its a liquid tattoo stuff that when you put it on, it will last for three to seven days. Kole loves her work and has a whole set of original designs. She is constantly trying out other looks and often showcases them on her Facebook page. Kole has recently begun another venture with Matties Bar and Grill where she comes out for the night and offers face painting sessions to diners and their families. Her basic price list can be found on her Facebook page. When Kole works events, each session takes about five minutes or less. Perfect for children and busy moms. Kole uses professional face paint. It is water-activated paint so it washes off easily and is completely safe for skin. For special effects, such as Halloween, she often makes her own skin out of petroleum jelly and flour. I think it looks realistic. Kole has participated in online summits with the International Face Painting School for three years. They walk you through some of the different designs and techniques, she said. The goal is to make it look good very quickly. She often uses a one-stroke technique which allows her to load her brushes with multiple colors at a time. Her makeup kit is a cacophony of saturated colors, loaded in split-cakes and tucked in a handy tackle box, along with multiple brushes and other application tools. Kole said when she was a child rainbow was her favorite color. I believe it still is. Her eyebrows were done up as arched rainbows and her hair and earrings matched the look. Stunning. Cheeky Doodles will be at Hello Spring in the Igloo Recreation Center March 19 and 20. The event will host 55 family-friendly vendors. After that her event schedule is getting pretty full with opportunities throughout the spring and summer. You and your children can catch her at the Home Show, Lamoille Country Fair, Art in the Park and other events. Creating the West: Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. ELKO An Elko man accused of robbing a patron at a casino has been sentenced to prison. Breydon C. Sherman, 21, pleaded guilty to burglary of a business and was sentenced Feb. 18 by District Judge Mason Simons to 12 to 30 months. He was also ordered to pay $210 restitution to the victim. Police were called to the casino on Nov. 4 after a woman reported that a tall man had ripped a voucher out of her hand and ran out of the casino. Police watched surveillance video of the crime and found the suspect nearby about two hours later. Simons ordered Shermans sentence to be served consecutively to any previous sentences. According to Elko County Jail records, Sherman was arrested in June 2019 at Walmart for obtaining a dangerous drug by fraud or forgery. He was arrested again in June of 2021 for failure to appear in court after being released on $5,000 bail. Sherman pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to possess a false or altered prescription, and was given a suspended sentence of 180 days in jail. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 2 In the early hours of Thursday morning the Russian military launched a long-feared invasion of Ukraine, mounting an offensive by land, air and sea on its neighbour to the west. Key positions like the capital of Kyiv and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on the border with Belarus were targeted and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that 137 Ukrainians had died as a result of the Russian incursion. The aggression shown by Russian President Vladimir Putin was widely decried by Western powers and President Joe Biden gave a White House address on Thursday afternoon outlining the United States position. He unveiled a new round of economic sanctions to be levied on Russia but again reiterated that American soldiers would not be sent to help. Biden lays the blame squarely at Putins door In recent weeks and days there had been a concerted and predictable effort on the part of the Kremlin to pre-emptively justify the invasion of a sovereign nation. Putin had sought to emphasise historical links between Russia and Ukraine, and even suggested that Ukrainian military forces may be the first to strike. However the role of Russia as the sole aggressor has been plain to see and Biden spent the first section of his White House address saying exactly that. He told those gathered: The Russian militarys begun a brutal assault on the people of Ukraine. Without provocation, without justification, without necessity, this is a pre-mediated attack. Vladimir Putin has been planning this for months, as weve been saying all along. Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences, he added. New sanctions are on the way for Russia The US will not send troops to fight in Ukraine but will utilise economic sanctions to punish Russia and harm the Russian economy in the hope of dissuading, or even preventing, Putin from a prolonged campaign in Ukraine. Earlier this week he announced what he termed a first tranche of sanctions against Russia, but he promised to increase the pressure on Russian finances in his speech on Thursday. Today Im authorizing additional strong sanctions and new limitations on what can be exported to Russia. This is going to impose severe costs on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time, he promised. Weve cut off Russias largest bank. A bank that holds more than one third of Russias banking assets by itself. Cut it off from the US financial system. And today were also blocking four more major banks. He also promised further sanctions for a group of Russian elites and their family members, saying people who personally gained from the Kremlins policies... should share in the pain. Biden warns of threat of cyber attacks The Russian offensive into Ukraine will likely be fought on many fronts, with propaganda and economic measures major tools in Putins arsenal. Another area in which Russia may look to exert pressure on Ukraine and Western powers is in the area of cybersecurity, something that Russia has shown itself adept at. In recent years there have been numerous reports of Russian interference in American cyber systems but Biden promised swift retribution if the Kremlin took that path. If Russia pursues cyberattacks again our companies, our critical infrastructure, we are prepared to respond, Biden said. For months weve been working closely with the private sector to harden our cyber defenses, sharpen our ability to respond to Russian cyber attacks as well. I spoke last night to President Zelensky of Ukraine and I assured him that the United States together with our allies and partners in Europe will support the Ukrainian people as they defend their country. By Azernews By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijan Independence Museum has hosted an exhibition timed to the 30th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide. Some 18 works by People's Artist Khanlar Ahmadov were showcased as part of the exhibition. Public figures, culture and science representatives attended the event. The speakers noted that the Khojaly genocide is one of the most serious war crimes against humanity committed by the Armenian military against the peaceful Azerbaijani population. As a result of Armenia's unfounded territorial claims and aggressive policy, about 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory was under occupation for almost 30 years. A policy of ethnic cleansing was carried out, physical and moral terror was carried out against the Azerbaijani people, over one million people were expelled from their lands and became refugees and internally displaced persons. Armenia also carried out moral aggression and genocide against the religious, cultural and historical heritage of Azerbaijan. The Khojaly genocide, which is a tragedy of the 20th century, was the result of this aggressive and criminal policy of the Armenians. This tragedy, which occurred at the end of the 20th century, is one of the grave crimes directed not only against the Azerbaijani people, but also against all mankind. As a result of the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan's territorial integrity was restored. Restoration works are underway in the liberated territories. The exhibition "Punishment of Crime" aroused great interest among the museum visitors. Russia and Ukraine both used to be part of the Soviet Union before its dissolution. They are the two largest countries in Europe, sharing a mutual land border stretching 1,300 miles. Both share borders with NATO alliance members, some of which used to be in the Soviet sphere of influence. The alliance has voiced support for Ukraine and supplied the country with weapons in the face of Russian aggression. However, neither the US nor other members have said they will not get involved militarily. Condemnation of the Russian invasion has been nearly universal but not all countries have spoken out yet, some have even offered their support. One ex-Soviet republic, Belarus, is standing by Russia even offering to send troops into Ukraine if needed. Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, recently needed help from Russia to quell protests over an election he rigged to stay in power. Belarus shares a border with both Ukraine and Russia, some of whose troops invaded Ukraine from Belarussian territory to capture the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Heres a look at the 16 other countries that neighbor Russia and Ukraine and which side they support. European neighbors and NATO alliance members Founded after World War II, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was originally set up defend against potential aggression from Germany or the Soviet Union. The alliance took on its current name in 1949 when it expanded to include the United States, Canada and a number of Western European nations. The organization has now grown to include 30 nations, including six that were former Warsaw Pact members and three that were Soviet republics. Four of those nations, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, along with Norway abut the Russian Federation. Lithuania and Poland dont border the Russian mainland but instead a small territory on the Baltic coast squeezed between the two called Kaliningrad. President Vladimir Putin listed NATO expansion east toward Russia with the potential of Ukraine joining the alliance, something that is more a distant aspiration than a current reality, as part of his reasons for amassing troops along the two countries mutual border. That line of argument was absent from his announcement to begin the military operation for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine for its part shares borders with NATO members Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. As well as Moldova which is neutral, but has a breakaway province called Transnistria that is aligned with Russia which has had troops stationed there since 1990. So far, no troop movement or attacks on Ukraine are known to have been carried out from Transnistria according to the Moldovan government. Ukraine in total borders six officially recognized countries, all of which are in Europe. Russia has one other European neighbor, Finland, which is neutral by treaty that it signed with the Soviet Union in 1948, something President Vladimir Putin wanted to do with Ukraine. However, Russia extends over northern Asia and has the second longest land border in the world after China. Here are its other neighbors. The Caucasus Two former Soviet republics share a border with Russia in the Caucasus region, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, Azerbaijan cemented its alliance with Russia offering to coordinate gas supplies to Europe according to TASS a Russian news agency. Georgia on the other hand wants to join NATO and has had similar problems with Russian meddling as Ukraine. In 2008, Russia invaded its neighbor to enforce the peace between it and the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Another Russian-back separatist region of Georgia, Abkhazia joined in the fight on as well. Russias Asian neighbors Russias longest land border is with Kazakhstan, also a former Soviet republic. It recently asked Putin for help with an uprising that nearly toppled the government. Protests started after the government removed its price cap on liquefied petroleum gas which many Kazakhs use to power their cars. China, although a communist country, had until recently been an adversary of Russia. However over the years Chinas President Xi Jinping and Putin have developed a strong friendship. The two met weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine and Russia moved a large portion of its forces from the east to take part in the invasion. Mongolia, which is squeeze between the two giants, has had strong ties with Russia since Soviet times. And in the far east Russia has a small border with North Korea. The isolated nation has relied on help from Russia in international negotiations and in times of crisis. Russia shares maritime borders with the US off the coast of Alaska between the Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait and with Japan. Russian invasion of Ukraine: headlines - Evacuation of Mariupol postponed over accusations of Russia breaking a partial ceasefire that was meant to allow humanitarian corridors out of Mariupol and Volnovakha. - Ukraine President Zelenskyy condemns decision not to implement no-fly zone - Russia ready to "bomb cities into submission", intelligence official tells CNN - Ukraine can "absolutely" prevail over Russia - US secretary of state - Gas prices in US soar, however 80% of Americas says US should stop importing Russian oil even if that means higher prices at the pump What you need to know about the conflict - How can I support the refugees fleeing war in Ukraine? - China and Russia said their relationship had "no limits." Is the statement still true? - What would happen if Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant exploded? - Prolonged attack threatens the global supply of crops - Zelenskyy, Zelensky or Zelenskiy? Why spelling is important to Ukrainians - How long can Russia fight in Ukraine? Related news articles: NATO has confirmed that it will be making significant additional defensive deployments of forces to Eastern Europe to bolster the alliances defences against the threat of further Russian expansion. The statement came after a virtual summit of all 30 NATO leaders on Friday in response to continued Russian aggression in Ukraine, which has targeted the capital city of Kyiv repeatedly. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg described the situation unfolding as "the gravest threat to Euro-Atlantic security in decades. The statement read: "Russia has shattered peace in Europe. The people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom in the face of Russia's unprovoked invasion. We deplore the tragic loss of life, enormous human suffering and destruction." President Putins decision to attack Ukraine is a terrible strategic mistake, for which Russia will pay a severe price, both economically and politically, for years to come. However while there is a desire to support Ukrainians in the face of a powerful adversary, Ukraine is not a fully-fledged member of NATO and so not protected by the alliances military might. Troops will instead be sent to neighbouring countries and supplies and armaments sent to Ukraines military. Where will NATO troops be sent in Eastern Europe? The statement released on Friday did not outline exactly where the additional troops will be sent but did make clear that they will go to NATO countries in the region. On Thursday, Stoltenberg confirmed that NATO would provide more troops, telling a press conference in Brussels: "There will be more forces in the east of the alliance. The troops in question will come from the NATO Response Force (NRF), which is a multinational force comprised of troops, vehicles and equipment from the constituent nations to be used in conflicts all around the world. He refused to give specifics which parts of the 5,000-strong multinational force would be moved to Eastern Europe to act as a deterrent against Russia. In recent years troops from the United States, United Kingdom and Germany, amongst other NATO nations, have been stationed in the Baltic and Black Sea. The latest wave of troop movements will also see hundreds of fighter planes and warships placed on high alert "from the Barents Sea to the Mediterranean," Stoltenberg confirmed. "As long as Russia knows that an attack on a NATO ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance they will not attack because we are the strongest alliance in history," Stoltenberg said on Thursday. "That's the best way to prevent spillover from the tragedy, the heinous attack we see on Ukraine. The United States is to impose personal economic sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, after Russia launched an all-out invasion on Ukraine on Thursday. US joins EU, UK in hitting Putin, Lavrov with asset freeze White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced the move in a press briefing on Friday. It follows confirmation earlier in the day that the European Union is to hit Putin and Lavrov with a freeze on any assets they hold in the bloc. Following a telephone conversation President Biden held with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and in alignment with the decision by our European allies, the United States will join them in sanctioning President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov, and members of the Russian national security team, Psaki said. The step that we are doing in alignment with and in coordination with the Europeans sends a clear message about the strength of the opposition to the actions by President Putin and the direction in his leadership of the Russian military. Sanctions likely to include US travel ban, Psaki says Psaki said the Biden administration would reveal more specific details on the sanctions later on Friday. She told CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins that the package of penalties is expected to include a ban on Putin travelling to the US. "There are very limited examples of this being done, as you all know, but that is a standard part," Psaki said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had confirmed earlier on Friday that the United Kingdom is to join the EU in imposing an asset freeze on Putin and Lavrov. Borrell: Putin now in same company as Assad and Lukashenko It is not clear how much impact a foreign-assets freeze will have on Putin or Lavrov. Asked whether the pair have any assets in the EU or the UK, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, per The Guardian: I am not in the secrets of Mr Lavrov and Mr Putins wealth and it is not my duty. There are people who will take care of that. However, Borrell also said, per Reuters: Let me flag that the only leaders in the world that are sanctioned by the European Union are [Bashar al] Assad from Syria, [Aleksandr] Lukashenko from Belarus and now Putin from Russia. Direct sanctions follow second wave of US penalties for Russia On Thursday, President Biden announced that the US had adopted a second package of economic sanctions against Russia, following an initial tranche of measures earlier this week. The penalties target Russias largest financial institutions, several major state-owned enterprises, members of the Russian elite, and the countrys ability to import US technology. "Putin is the aggressor," Biden said. "Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences." Live coverage of the war in Ukraine You can follow the latest developments in Ukraine with our live-text coverage of Russia's invasion of the country. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L, front row) arives in Singapore (Photo: VNA) The President, his spouse and the high-level Vietnamese delegation were welcomed at the airport by Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung. During the visit, the Vietnamese President is scheduled to meet his Singaporean counterpart, hold talks with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and meet with Speaker of the Singaporean Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin. These high-level meetings aim to promote cooperation agreements signed by the two countries, discuss new joint programmes, and deepen the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership. Ministries, sectors and enterprises of the two countries will also exchange documents for bilateral collaboration in many fields including economy, trade, defence, information and communications, and science-technology. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc will also attend and speak at the Vietnam-Singapore Business Dialogue and receive many leading Singaporean companies. Forty nine years after establishing diplomatic relations and nine years following lifting their ties to a strategic partnership, Vietnam-Singapore trade hit 8.3 billion USD in 2021, and over 783 million USD in January 2022, up 23.3 percent and 6.8 percent year-on-year, respectively. Singapore is now one of the three biggest foreign investors in Vietnam with nearly 2,900 projects worth 66 billion USD in total./. Welcoming the Vietnamese delegation, PM Lee said the good outcomes of their State visit to Singapore and the significant cooperation achievements in the recent past will create a new impulse for the two countries strategic partnership. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that Vietnam always treasures and highly prioritises the unceasing reinforcement and development of its strategic partnership with Singapore. Both host and guest expressed their delight at the increasingly substantive and effective partnership in all fields, noting that political and diplomatic cooperation has become stronger and more fruitful while economic ties are now a bright spot in the region. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) meets with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the city state on February 25 (Photo: VNA) Despite adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade still reached 8.3 billion USD in 2021, up 23.3 percent from the previous year. Singapore now ranks first among ASEAN countries and second among the 140 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with its total registered FDI standing at 66 billion USD. The Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) model has become a symbol of successful cooperation between the two countries. Cooperation in other important aspects like defence - security, culture, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchange have also continued growing well, according to the leaders. Discussing major orientations for bilateral relations, they agreed to resume all-level mutual visits and meetings soon; step up security - defence collaboration; effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms, especially the ministerial meeting on economic connectivity; and promote the key cooperation areas under the bilateral Connectivity Framework Agreement, including investment, finance, ICT, education and training, transport, trade, and services. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and PM Lee also agreed to expand ties in innovation, digital transformation, digital economy, and green and sustainable development so as to elevate the Vietnam -Singapore economic connectivity to a digital-based one. Besides, the two countries will work together to develop VSIPs into hi-tech, smart, and environmentally friendly industrial parks, and to capitalise on benefits from the new-generation free trade agreements to which both are parties such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Applauding bilateral cooperation in COVID-19 combat, the leaders hailed their countries mutual recognition of each others vaccination certificates, which will facilitate bilateral travel and trading and greatly contribute to each side post-pandemic recovery and development. They noted with satisfaction their countries effective coordination at regional and international forums, concurring in the continued coordination to help maintain ASEANs solidarity and centrality. Both sides also showed their support for the blocs active role in assisting Myanmar to surmount the current crisis and promoting the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus reached at the ASEAN leaders meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, in April 2021. They also affirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea; not using or threatening to use force; peacefully solving disputes on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC); and negotiating to reach a substantive and effective Code of Conduct (COC) in the waters that matches international law, including the UNCLOS. On this occasion, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc conveyed PM Pham Minh Chinhs invitation to visit Vietnam to PM Lee. Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the exchange of five cooperation documents on defence, economy - trade, intellectual property, digital economy, and people-to-people ties signed by the countries government agencies. The deals are expected to create an important framework helping strengthen the Vietnam - Singapore strategic partnership./. Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that tuna export turnover reached nearly 88 million USD, up 108 percent compared with the same period last year. Vietnamese frozen tuna fillets remain the key export product, accounting for more than 66 percent of the total export value. Shipments of Vietnamese tuna products to eight major markets are on the rise, except for China. The US is still Vietnams largest importer, making up nearly 50 percent of the countrys total tuna export value in January. The country earned 44 million USD from the export of the product to the US in the month, an increase of 210 percent year-on-year. Photo: nongnghiep.vn Vietnams tuna exports to the EU also rose remarkably in the first month of this year. Notably, tuna sales to Netherlands and Lithuania soared by 243 percent and nearly 2,000 percent against the previous year, respectively. The export of the product to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) member countries also surged in January. For example, tuna exports to Canada and Peru increased by 26 percent and nearly 2,300 percent compared with the same period last year, respectively. However, tuna exports to Japan in the month dropped 17 percent year on year. All Vietnamese students win medals at int'l olympiad All the seven members of Vietnam joining the 18th International Zhautykov Olympiad on Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science brought home medals, including five gold and two bronzes. Vietnam ranked 2nd out of 170 teams participating in the 18th International Zhautykov Olympiad held by Kazakhstan. (Photo: VNA) They are students from the Hanoi University of Sciences High School for Gifted under the Vietnam National University (VNU) - Hanoi. With this result, Vietnam ranked 2nd out of the 170 participating teams, only after Romania. The competition was held online by Kazakhstan from February 15 to 23, with the participation of 1,200 candidates from 21 countries. Vietnam records over 78,700 new COVID-19 cases on Feb 25 Vietnam recorded 78,795 new infections of COVID-19, including 21 imported cases, in the past 24 hours to 4pm on February 25, up 9,655 cases from the previous day, according the Ministry of Health. A healthcare establishment for COVID-19 treatment (Photo: VNA) Hanoi continued to record the highest number of infections with 9,836 cases. The national tally reached 3,120,301, including 205 infections of Omicron. There are 3,235 patients in critical conditions, while an additional 78 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the total fatalities to 39,962. A total 15,835 patients were given the all-clear, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,355,619. As many as 187,683 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered on February 24, raising the total doses given so far in the country to 192,865,977 million. Tra fish export value predicted to top 1.6 billion USD in 2022 The Tra fish industry aims to earn 1.6 billion USD from tra fish export, and produce between 1.6 1.7 million tonnes of tra fish products in 2022, according to Nhu Van Can, head of the Aquaculture Department of the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Processing Tra fish for export (Photo: VNA) Speaking at a conference hosted by the ministry in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on February 25, Can said new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs) that Vietnam is a member have brought opportunities for Vietnam to promote tra fish exports to the EU and US markets. However, trade barriers and increasingly strict regulations in import markets require Vietnams tra fish exporters to make changes to their operations, he noted. According to To Thi Tuong Lan, deputy general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VSEP), prices of tra fish are forecast to increase by 5 percent this year compared to 2021. Meanwhile, good recovery has been seen in China, the US, member nations of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the European Union (EU), which are the biggest importers of Vietnamese tra fish, with respective growth rates of 31 percent, 23 percent, 13 percent and 6.6 percent. Prices of tra fish have increased very high since early this year, bringing an opportunity for farmers and businesses to continue to expand production. Lan, however, said that the aquaculture industry needs to build appropriate orientations for tra fish farming to ensure a balance between supply and demand, and a stability of price and profit. At the event, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien requested the Directorate of Fisheries to build projects and set tasks in order to improve the quality of young tra fish serving commercial farming. Seafood processing enterprises should also pay special heed to developing linkages with farming areas, and keeping a close watch on market situations, thus being ready to seize opportunities, Tien said. Last year, there were over 5,850 ha of Tra fish farming in the Mekong Delta, up 10 percent from 2020, with total output of 1.52 million tonnes, an increase of 1.63 percent./. Illustrative image. (Photo: VNA) The RoKs Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp (aT) has issued an international tender to purchase 27,791 tonnes of rice sourced from Vietnam. The rice includes non-glutinous brown long grain and long grain rice. The deadline for registration to participate in the tender is February 25. Businesses can submit documents directly to the aT or through its electronic bidding system at www.atbid.co.kr. They should deliver five bags of rice samples with 2kg each to the corporation. The RoK has applied a preferential tax rate of 5 percent for 408,700 tonnes of imported rice since 2020, the department said, adding that the tax rate applied for others is 513 percent. Particularly, the RoK committed to allocating 388,700 tonnes in line with the country-specific quota for five nations, namely the US, China, Thailand, Australia, and Vietnam. An international tender will be sought for the rest./. Speaker of the Parliament Tan expressed his delight at the fruitful outcomes of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc's talks and meeting with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob and PM Lee Hsien Loong. He congratulated Vietnam on the socio-economic achievements that the country has recorded in recent times despite COVID-19 impacts. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore Tan Chuan-Jin and other delegates take a photo at the Parliament Building of Singapore. (Photo: VNA) President Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to promote the strategic partnership with Singapore. He showed his pleasure with the two legislatures' close cooperation over the years, with substantive results of the online talks between Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore Tan Chuan-Jin in July last year. He informed the host that the Vietnamese NA has established the Vietnam-ASEAN Friendship Parliamentarians Group, with an aim of strengthening the exchange among Vietnamese NA deputies and their peers from ASEAN member countries, including Singapore, and contributing to promoting people-to-people exchange between the two countries. Both sides agreed to maintain and strengthen meetings and exchange of delegations at all levels through channels, including the parliament channel, while continuing to promote the role of the legislative bodies of both sides in bolstering bilateral relations, especially through the sharing of experience in institutional building and legal system completion, contributing to fostering bilateral economic connectivity and developing digital economy and digital society -areas of Singapores strength. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc proposed that both sides increase the sharing of experience in issuing legal policies to give timely support to the two governments in disease prevention and control and improvement of the investment and business environment, thus assisting the socio-economic recovery in the new normal. The two legislatures should consider the signing of a cooperation agreement to lay a foundation for the implementation of collaboration activities to match the strategic partnership between the two countries, he suggested. The Vietnamese State leader expressed his hope that the legislative body of Singapore will continue to support the maintaining of the ASEAN common stance on ensuring peace, security, aviation and maritime security, safety and freedom in the East Sea, as well as the settlement of disputes through peaceful measures on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). President Nguyen Xuan Phuc took the occasion to convey NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hues invitation to visit Vietnam to Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore Tan Chuan-Jin./. Minister Phan Van Giang, who is accompanying President Nguyen Xuan Phuc during a State visit to Singapore from February 24 to 26, said amid the complex and unpredictable developments in the international and regional situation, the countries strategic partnership has still been flourishing, with the increasingly enhanced political trust and cooperation in economy - trade, culture, education - training, and defence - security. Defence Ministers Phan Van Giang (L) and Ng Eng Hen at their meeting in Singapore on February 25 (Photo: VNA) Despite the complicated COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides have taken proactive and flexible moves to carry out cooperation activities; maintain strategic dialogue, consultation, information exchange, and training mechanisms; and support each other at the events held by their defence ministries, according to the Vietnamese minister. He also thanked the Singaporean Ministry of Defence and Minister Ng Eng Hen for backing Vietnams ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020. For his part, the Singaporean minister spoke highly of the Vietnamese delegations visit, especially the signing of the agreement on bilateral defence cooperation the same day, and acknowledged Vietnams support for his countrys initiatives in ASEAN. Both sides agreed on the cooperation orientations for the time ahead, with a focus on promoting coordination to carry out the signed agreement in an effective manner and enhancing ties between the militaries arms and services in an effective manner that matches each sides potential and demand. Minister Ng Eng Hen expressed his belief that on the basis of the defence cooperation deal, both sides will implement cooperation in multiple fields more practically. At the meeting, the two officials exchanged views on some international and regional issues of common concern, including the maintenance of ASEANs cooperation mechanisms and centrality. They agreed to maintain the blocs stance on regional security issues, including the peaceful settlement of sea-related disputes such as those in the East Sea on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and to promote the building of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea. Visiting the Changi Naval Base later the same day, Minister Giang recognised the outcomes of cooperation between the two countries naval forces as seen in information sharing, consultation, and exchange activities, expressing his hope for the continued fruitful ties in the time to come./. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov has said that the situation around Ukraine should be resolved peacefully and in line with international law, the ministry reported on February 24. Azimov made the remarks at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Councils special online meeting chaired by Poland. Azimov stressed that the current situation in Ukraine must be resolved peacefully and diplomatically in line with the norms and principles of international law, including the sovereignty of states, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, as well as the indivisibility of security in the OSCE area, the ministry said. The deputy minister underlined that the situation in and around Ukraine is a matter of serious concern and an urgent dialogue is needed to prevent the situation from deteriorating further. Noting that the escalation of the situation caused casualties, Azimov expressed condolences to the families and relatives of the victims. On February 24, Baku urged Azerbaijani citizens permanently and temporarily residing in Ukraine to avoid military concentration zones. In light of the situation in Ukraine, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry advised citizens not to travel to areas of military concentration (border areas in Ukraine's eastern region) and to avoid military facilities in the country. On February 25, the Foreign Ministry said that due to the closure of Ukraine's airspace, Azerbaijani citizens are currently unable to leave the country by air. In this regard, it recommended Azerbaijani citizens, who are in serious danger in Ukraine, to enter Moldova's territory by land through the border checkpoints of Ocnita and Palanca, which are located on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border. "Due to the current humanitarian situation, the Moldovan side will not require COVID-passports from Azerbaijani citizens wishing to cross the land border," the ministry added. Citizens with questions can contact the Azerbaijani embassy in Moldova by phone: +373 781 81 361, +373 789 91 849, +373 222 32 277, or by e-mail: [email protected], the statement added. The ministry also offered the citizens to contact the Azerbaijani embassy in Kyiv by phone: (+380 73) 5050000 and by e-mail: [email protected], the Honorary Consulate in Kharkiv - (+38057) 7000531 and via [email protected] for special cases. On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that in response to the appeal of the leaders of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Lugansk People's Republic" decided to conduct a special military operation in Eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities introduced martial law throughout the entire territory. Ukrainian media report explosions in a number of cities. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) is welcomed by his Singaporean counterpart Halimah Yacob on February 25 (Photo: VNA) Following is the full text of joint press statement. JOINT PRESS STATEMENT between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Singapore on Strengthening Strategic Partnership and Recovery Cooperation (24-26 February 2022) 1. At the invitation of Her Excellency Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore, His Excellency Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and Madam Tran Nguyet Thu made a State Visit to Singapore from 24 to 26 February 2022. President Nguyen Xuan Phucs State Visit demonstrates the strong mutual commitment to strengthening the Viet Nam - Singapore Strategic Partnership, and working closely to support each other to Recover Together from COVID-19. 2. During the visit, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc was accorded a ceremonial welcome and called on President Halimah Yacob who also hosted a State Banquet in President Nguyen Xuan Phucs honour. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc had bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, participated in the Singapore Viet Nam Business Dialogue and met with Singapore business leaders. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc will also have meetings with Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, visit the Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm, and lay a wreath at the monument Commemorative Marker of President Ho Chi Minh. On this occasion, leaders of several Vietnamese Ministries and Provinces who accompanied the President on the State Visit also had separate meetings with their counterparts. 3. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the exchange of a series of bilateral agreements, including the (a) renewal of the Defence Cooperation Agreement; (b) Memorandum of Understanding on Economic and Trade Cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore; (c) Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Information and Communications of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Communication and Information of Singapore for cooperation in the field of Digital Economy; (d) Memorandum of Understanding on the Cooperation Programme for 2022-2024 between the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and The People's Association; and (e) Implementation Workplan on Intellectual Property Cooperation, pursuant to the Memorandum of Bilateral Cooperation. On the sidelines of the State visit, 28 business MOUs were signed between Vietnams provinces and businesses with their counterparts. Strengthening the Singapore-Vietnam Strategic Partnership 4. President Halimah Yacob and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomed the excellent progress made in strengthening the Strategic Partnership between Viet Nam and Singapore. The Leaders reaffirmed the strong and substantive bilateral relationship, and reviewed our multi-faceted cooperation in areas including trade and investment, defence, education, finance, transport, agri-trade, intellectual property, technical assistance, and people-to-people ties. Both Leaders also noted the high-level engagements last year, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loongs meeting with Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam Pham Minh Chinh in April 2021. 5. The two sides committed to further deepening political and economic relations by sustaining regular high-level engagements, and strengthening existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the Connectivity Ministerial Meeting, which held its 15th meeting on 12 November 2021. The Leaders welcomed the agreement on economic and trade cooperation and MOU on digital economy cooperation, which would encourage cooperation in new fields including on regional and global supply chain connectivity, the digital economy, agri-trade, and capitalising on Singapores role as a regional hub for regional economic connectivity and development. Recognising the complementarities of both economies, the Leaders agreed to leverage common trade agreements to strengthen bilateral economic ties. 6. The Leaders noted with satisfaction the strong development in bilateral trade and investment cooperation despite pandemic-driven disruptions. Notably, Singapore has been Viet Nams largest source of foreign investment since 2020. Singapore is Viet Nams second largest cumulative foreign investor, and its largest ASEAN investor, with a total registered capital of 66 billion USD as of January 2022. The two sides acknowledged the 25th Anniversary of the first of the Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) and welcomed VSIPs to enhance cooperation and scale expansion in Viet Nam toward green, high-tech and innovative parks, and notable contributions to its development. 7. President Halimah Yacob and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc reaffirmed the longstanding bilateral cooperation in human resource development and welcomed the Singapore Cooperation Programmes milestone of reaching over 20,000 Vietnamese officials. They welcomed the signing of the Agreement on the Study Visit Programme and Executive Education Programme for Senior Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Officials (2021-2023) which was renewed for its fourth cycle in June 2021. Both sides noted the 20th Anniversary of the establishment of the Viet Nam-Singapore Training Centre, which was upgraded to the Viet Nam-Singapore Cooperation Centre in Ha Noi in 2018. Both sides were committed to strengthening educational cooperation, including the establishment of more school partnerships and cooperation and exchanges in the field of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship at the higher education level. 8. The Leaders acknowledged the good progress in defence and security cooperation, and welcomed the renewal of our agreement on bilateral defence cooperation, which would pave the way for regular dialogues, military-to-military exchanges, education and training, cooperation in military medicine, military intelligence, counter-terrorism, search and rescue, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. 9. The two sides emphasised the importance of cooperation in combatting transnational crimes such as terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking, economic crimes and cybercrimes. The two sides agreed to expedite efforts to conclude a MOU on cybersecurity cooperation. 10. The Leaders agreed to strengthen people-to-people ties including in the spheres of culture, youth, education and tourism. They welcomed the signing of the Letter of Intent between the Viet Nam-Singapore Friendship Association and the Singapore International Foundation and the signing of MOU between Viet Nam Singapore Friendship Association and Singapore Manufacturing Federation on promoting people-to-people exchanges and entrepreneurship cooperation of the two peoples; and looked forward to stepping up inter-cultural activity, including through the gradual resumption of tourism, and the expansion of education and research exchanges. Regional and International Developments 11. The two sides exchanged views on key regional and international developments. They emphasised the importance of strengthening ASEAN Centrality and unity, deepening regional economic integration including through digital transformation, and upholding rules-based multilateralism to promote peace and stability in the region. They committed to continually pursue close coordination and mutual support at international and regional fora, especially within ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms. 12. The Leaders reiterated ASEANs consistent position on the South China Sea and reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation and over-flight in and above the South China Sea, and peaceful resolution of disputes without resorting to threat or use of force, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which is of universal character and sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out. They underscored the importance of the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety, and to conduct substantive negotiations towards the conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, including 1982 UNCLOS. They emphasised the need to maintain and promote an environment conducive to the COC negotiations. They expressed support for meaningful activities to celebrate the 20th anniversary of DOC in conjunction with 40th anniversary of 1982 UNCLOS in 2022. 13. The Leaders expressed deep concern about the situation in Myanmar, including the lack of progress in the implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus. The two sides called on Myanmar to fully implement the Five-Point Consensus, including by facilitating the ASEAN Special Envoys visit to Myanmar to meet with all the parties concerned. The Leaders also reaffirmed the Chairs Statement of the ASEAN Leaders Meeting in Jakarta on 24 April 2021. The Leaders also called for Myanmar to avoid actions that would be inimical to eventual national reconciliation in Myanmar. Singapore and Viet Nam remained committed to supporting ASEANs efforts in alleviating the humanitarian situation in Myanmar. While reaffirming ASEANs principle of non-interference, the Leaders expressed support for ASEANs active role in assisting Myanmar, an integral part of ASEAN Family, to overcome the current crisis, and to return to normalcy. The Leaders also reaffirmed the decisions of the 38th and 39th ASEAN and Related Summits on the situation in Myanmar. Recovering Together and Emerging Stronger from COVID-19 14. President Halimah Yacob and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc discussed the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on both countries, reiterated the importance of equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, and welcomed the mutual provision of medical supplies and equipment between Singapore and Viet Nam since the beginning of the pandemic. 15. The two sides recognised the importance of closer cooperation to enable both countries to recover together, and emerge stronger from the pandemic, toward a robust, inclusive, and sustainable recovery. 16. Both sides also stressed the importance of keeping our partnership forward-looking and ambitious by expanding cooperation in new areas of mutual interest such as the digital economy and green economy - including renewable energy, carbon trading and services, low-carbon technologies, and green finance. The two Leaders also supported Infrastructure Asias role in facilitating sustainable infrastructure projects in Viet Nam. Restoring Safe Travel 17. They welcomed the progress made by the bilateral working group on COVID-19 public health and border measures, which was formed last year. This includes both sides agreement on the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates, which will facilitate the safe and early resumption of regular commercial travel between both countries. Stepping Up Cooperation in Digital Economy 18. In recognising the importance of digital transformation and Industry 4.0, both sides welcomed the signing of the MOU on Cooperation in the field of Digital Economy. The MOU will operationalise the Joint Working Group to implement concrete digital economy collaborations, with the objective of fostering bilateral and regional digital connectivity and interoperability. Such collaboration will support the growth of digital businesses and investments in innovation and technology, and improve mutual access to the broader ASEAN market and beyond. Enhancing Supply Chain Connectivity 19. To bolster mutual economic resilience, both sides expressed their commitment to ensuring supply chain connectivity and security. The Leaders agreed on the importance of creating a pro-business environment, and welcomed further mutually beneficial cooperation such as in infrastructure development and smart logistics. In addition, to facilitate market access in both countries and the region, both sides are working closely to better support businesses and the innovation ecosystem in leveraging their intangible assets and intellectual property to drive innovation and economic growth. 20. In this regard, the two Leaders welcomed the signing of the new bilateral Implementation Workplan on Intellectual Property cooperation, thus laying the ground for further discussions to finalise the details of the proposed launch of a pilot Collaborative Search and Examination (CS&E) programme. This pilot programme will further enhance connectivity and facilitate the entry of innovative products and services into our two countries. Building A Green Economy 21. Both Leaders underscored the importance of advancing environmental protection, climate action, and sustainable development to ensure the well-being of their people and the planet. Given the imperatives of climate action as underscored by COP26, Viet Nam welcomed Singapores interest to support its ongoing energy transition, including investments in low-carbon energy technologies such as Energy Storage Systems (ESS). Viet Nam also welcomed Singapores interest to develop renewable energy sources in the country, with a view to export part of the electricity to Singapore in the longer term. This can support the decarbonisation of power grids in both Viet Nam and Singapore, in line with broader regional decarbonization interests. 22. More broadly, the two sides also welcomed closer bilateral and regional cooperation in responding to transboundary challenges such as haze pollution, water quality, and climate change, and seizing opportunities through circular economy and low-carbon development. Conclusion 23. Both sides commended the strong and substantive development of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries, and agreed to bolster and future-proof cooperation ahead of key milestone anniversaries in 2023: the 50th year of diplomatic relations, and 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership. 24. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Madam Tran Nguyet Thu expressed appreciation for the warm hospitality and excellent arrangements accorded to the Vietnamese delegation, and invited President Halimah Yacob and Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee to make a State Visit to Viet Nam at a mutually convenient time, which President Halimah graciously accepted./. Delegates at the event (Photo: baoquocte.vn) Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Pham Viet Chien congratulated the Vietnamese community, Bangladeshi friends and guests on the New Year of the Tiger. He reviewed some outstanding achievements of Vietnam in 2021. The Ambassador highly appreciated the companionship and contributions of the Vietnamese community in Bangladesh; thanked agencies, organizations and friends of Bangladesh for support and cooperation in promoting the traditional friendship between the two countries in many fields over the past year; and expressed his hope that the Government, agencies, organizations and friends of Bangladesh would continue to support to promote the bilateral relations to continue to develop, creating conditions for the Vietnamese community to integrate into social life of Bangladesh, to be able to contribute more to the prosperity and development of not only Vietnam but also Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Bangladeshs National Assembly Faruk Khan expressed his impression of the unique culture, especially the tradition of celebrating the Lunar New Year of the Vietnamese people. He also spoke highly of the traditional friendship between the two countries, and noted his belief that they will reap more achievements in cooperation across spheres this year, towards the celebration of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2023. The homeland spring program not only created the warm atmosphere of the Lunar New Year Festival (Tet) for the Vietnamese community in Bangladesh, but also introduced and spread the Vietnamese cultural tradition to Bangladeshi and international friends. The program was reported on Bangladeshi Television./. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia. (Xinhua/Xie E) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia. "Today I am announcing that we will immediately allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet urgent needs," the UN chief told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. "We and our humanitarian partners are committed to staying and delivering, to support people in Ukraine in their time of need," said the secretary-general. He said that UN staff are working on both sides of the contact line, "always guided by the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, humanity and independence." "We are providing lifesaving humanitarian relief to people in need, regardless of who or where they are," he said. "The protection of civilians must be priority number one," noted the top UN official. "International humanitarian and human rights law must be upheld." United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia. (Xinhua/Xie E) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 24, 2022. Guterres announced Thursday that the world body will allocate 20 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to meet the urgent needs in Ukraine, which is in the midst of a military conflict with Russia. (Xinhua/Xie E) Editor: Zhang Zhou Uber stops working in Ukraine, Bolt and Uklon continue to work Uber stops working in Ukraine, Bolt and Uklon continue to work KYIV. Feb 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) The Uber service has stopped working in Ukraine, the company said in its app. "Uber rides are not available in this region at this time," a message to passengers in Kyiv reads. In Lviv, the application shows that there are no trips available. In Kharkiv and Odesa, a message is also displayed stating that trips in the region are not available. "Due to the growth of geopolitical tensions and recent events, we have decided to suspend the operation of the application. The safety of all application users is our top priority. We continue to monitor the circumstances and hope that this is a temporary situation," the company said. Taxi calling services Bolt and Uklon continue to work. Uber has been operating in Ukraine since 2016 and is present in nine cities. of Apple, the most valuable company in the world, Tim Cook expressed deep concern over the situation in Ukraine. "I am thinking of the people who are right now in harms way and joining all those calling for peace," he wrote on Twitter. The head of Apple said that the company is doing everything possible for its teams in Ukraine and will support local humanitarian efforts. The Millennium Spirit bunker with the flag of Moldova, 12 miles from the Pivdenny port, was hit by a Russian ship, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny has said. "The Millennium Spirit bunker vessel, the flag of Romania, 12 miles from the port of Pivdenny, was hit by a Russian ship. The circumstances are being investigated, there is no connection with the vessel," he said on Facebook. Later, Zaluzhny corrected the publication, specifying that the Bunkerer is a vessel under the flag of Moldova. Advisor to Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko said that Russian troops from the territory of Belarus entered the zone of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant (NPP). "Important information about the Russian invasion! The troops of the invaders from the territory of Belarus entered the zone of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. The National Guardsmen guarding the storage of unsafe radioactive waste are putting up stubborn resistance," he wrote on his Telegram channel. Gerashchenko stressed that "if a nuclear waste storage facility is destroyed as a result of enemy artillery strikes, then radioactive dust can cover the territories of Ukraine, Belarus and the EU countries!" The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that it is allocating EUR 200,000 in emergency assistance to Ukraine to support people who have been forced to leave their homes and to ensure effective cooperation between humanitarian organizations in identifying the needs of the Ukrainian population and providing assistance. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is providing EUR 100,000 to UNHCR, which plays a leading role in protecting refugees and assisting internally displaced persons, as well as providing housing and basic necessities. UNHCR is also one of the agencies responsible for protecting those in need. The remaining EUR 100,000 is being sent to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which plays a central role in responding to humanitarian crises," the Foreign Ministry said. Kyiv imposes curfew from 22:00 to 7:00, transport not to work at this time Klitschko In Kyiv, a curfew is introduced from 22:00 to 7:00, public transport will not work at this time, said mayor of the capital Vitali Klitschko. "Friends! Kyiv is introducing a curfew from today. It will operate from 22:00 to 7:00. This is a forced step, but in the current conditions of military aggression and martial law, necessary for the safety of the residents of the capital," he wrote on his Telegram channel. He added that public transport would not operate during the curfew. The Ukrainian army, border guards, police forces and special services have repelled Russian attacks, an operational pause is in effect, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said. "The Ukrainian army, border guards, police forces and special services suspended the attacks of the enemy. In the language of the conflict, this can be called an operational pause," Zelensky said in his evening video message on Thursday. By Azernews By Vugar Khalilov Azerbaijan has discovered a mass grave in its liberated Kojavand regions Edilli village, local media reported on February 24. Zaur Ismayilov, a member of the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Persons Working Group, said that the mass grave was discovered using collected statements and materials. Azerbaijani Presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev also tweeted about the mass grave of Azerbaijanis discovered in Edilli. "Mass grave site according to eyewitnesses account of former Azerbaijani POWs identified in ex-occupied Edilli village. Edilli was used as a concentration/torture camp for Azerbaijani POWs and captured civilians by Armenian forces. 4,000 Azerbaijanis still missing since the first Karabakh war", Hikmat Hajiyev wrote on Twitter. During its search, the commission discovered additional mass graves near the liberated cities of Aghdam, Fuzuli, Khojavand, and Shusha, Ismayilov said. "One of the mass graves is located in Edilli village of Khojavand region. According to preliminary data, the remains of 15-20 people were found there. The State Commission has data on several mass graves, GPRS coordinates are determined. As the territories are cleared of mines, the graves will be gradually discovered," he added. Ismayilova said that they had received information about a mass grave in the Fuzuli region's Ashaghi-Seyidahmadli village, where the remains of ten Azerbaijanis were discovered. He went on to say that the area had not been studied because of the mine threat. Meanwhile, foreign and local media representatives visited the mass grave site in Edilli village. Shamsi Shikhaliyev, a witness to the massacre, informed the visitors about the mass grave. On August 28, 1993, while on his way to Fuzuli to help his family with transportation, he was kidnapped by Armenians and held captive for 48 days, according to Shikhaliyev. He recalled that during the first Karabakh war (1988-1994), the bodies of Azerbaijani servicemen killed in Fuzuli were transported in trucks and buried in excavated holes in Edilli village. Shikhaliyev emphasized that the mass grave was discovered as a result of a site inspection by the working group of the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages, and Missing Persons of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Prior to the Khojaly genocide, Armenians committed the worst tragedy in the Khojavand region. The Garadaghli genocide was a stain on humanity, and terrible crimes were committed in the villages of Akhullu, Tug, Salaketin, and Edilli at the end of the twentieth century. The tragic days in Khojavand's villages started in 1988 when the Armenian separatist movement in Nagorno-Karabakh began. Garadaghli, Akhullu, Tug, Salaketin, and Edilli fought valiantly against the Armenian invaders for several years. During those years, hundreds of villagers were killed in unequal battles with Armenian armed forces. President Volodymyr Zelensky says that European leaders are not ready to provide specifics on Ukraine's entry into NATO. "No matter how many conversations I would have today with the leaders of different states. I have heard several things. I am grateful to every state that helps Ukraine by their deeds, and not just in words. But we remain alone in the defense of our state. Who is ready to fight with us? Honestly, I don't see them. Who is ready to give Ukraine a guarantee of joining NATO? Honestly, everyone is afraid," Zelensky said in his video message on Friday night. The President noted that today they heard that allegedly Russia wants to talk about the neutral status of Ukraine. "I tell all the partners of our country that now is an important moment, the fate of our country is being decided. I ask them if they are with us. They answer that they are with us, but they are not ready to take us with them to the Alliance. I asked 27 European leaders if Ukraine could join NATO, I asked directly - everyone is afraid, they do not answer. And we are not afraid, we are not afraid of anything," Zelensky said. Canada imposes sanctions on 'inner circle' of Russian president, 351 Russian lawmakers, 27 financial institutions - document Canada has announced additional anti-Russian sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, according to a document published on the Canadian government website. "The new amendments impose restrictions on 31 individuals who are key members of President Putin's inner circle, close contacts and family members of some individuals already sanctioned by Canada, and 27 key financial institutions," the Government of Canada said. "In addition, the amendments will include 351 members of the Russian State Duma who voted for the decision to recognize the independence of the so-called DNR [Donetsk People's Republic] and LNR [Luhansk People's Republic]," it said. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky remains in Kyiv, adviser to the head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podoliak said at a briefing on Friday in Kyiv. "The basic scenario of the Russian special operation is clear. The only goal is to enter Kyiv and destroy the leadership of Ukraine, personally Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky remains in Kyiv, he must show what the resilience of the Ukrainian people means," Podoliak said. Speaking about the economic situation, Podoliak said that commercial banks are closed, the state banking sector is working. "Mobile communications, energy, water, everything works as usual. All ports are closed, air traffic is closed. The availability of fuel is a problem, there are limits, there is a shortage of fuel. There are enough goods in stores. Pharmacies are working. All critical infrastructure facilities are taken under special security," he said. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had a conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, stressing that today Ukraine needs the defense support of partners more than ever. "Held talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Reported on the course of Ukraine's defense and insidious attacks on Kyiv by the aggressor. Today Ukraine needs the support of partners more than ever. We demand effective meassures to counteract to the Russian Federation. Sanctions must be further strengthened," he wrote in Twitter on Friday. In order to capture capital, enemy rushes in direction of Kozelets-Brovary, direction of Konotop-Nizhyn-Kyiv, Konotop lost, battles for Melitopol underway - AFU General Staff The enemy is trying to attack the capital and, for this purpose, rushes in Kozelets-Brovary direction and the Konotop-Nizhyn-Kyiv direction, the city of Konotop has been lost, according to the operational information of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "Now the enemy, having received a worthy rebuff from the defenders of Chernihiv, is trying to bypass the city and attack the capital. With the same purpose, an attack on Kyiv, regardless of losses, the enemy is rushing in the direction of Kozelets-Brovary and the direction of Konotop-Nizhyn-Kyiv. The city of Konotop has been lost," the Facebook post says. The General Staff reported that Russian Il-76s with paratroopers on board landed at the Belarusian airfield Gomel. "Because of the damage to the runway of the Gostomel airfield, the enemy decided to advance under its own power from the territory of Belarus in the direction of Gomel-Chernihiv-Kyiv," the report says. In Seversk area, units of the 1st separate brigade stopped the enemy along the Bilous River. "In the south, the enemy continues to carry out his plans of conquest, having reached the line of Kherson, Nova Kakhovka, Kakhovka in order to hold the dam of the North Crimean Canal to provide water to the temporarily occupied peninsula of Crimea. He is fighting for the Ukrainian city of Melitopol," the General Staff said. In the areas of Kharkiv and Valuyky, units from the defense forces continue to conduct defensive battles, stopped the enemy and entrenched themselves along a certain line. Some branches of Ukrposhta resume their operations. "Despite the difficult security situation associated with the attack of Russian invaders on our country, Ukrposhta decided to resume the work of some branches on February 25, where it can be done safely for both customers and employees," CEO of the state-owned company Igor Smelyansky said on his Facebook page. According to him, first of all, the work of branches in a limited mode will be focused on providing services to the most vulnerable segments of the population with pension payments and household goods, and it will also be possible to receive parcels. Most branches in Vinnytsia, Volyn, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Rivne, Khmelnytsky, Cherkasy and Chernivtsi regions work according to the usual schedule. Branches partially work in Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Poltava and Kharkiv regions. Branches in Kyiv, Luhansk, Sumy, Kherson and Chernihiv regions will not work until the situation stabilizes. "Meanwhile, the sky over Ukraine remains closed for air travel, but we have agreed with European partners to resume departures as soon as possible," Smelyansky said. Ukrposhta also stopped cooperation with the post offices of Russia and Belarus. Parcels and transfers to these countries are not accepted. Those parcels that were accepted before February 24 will be returned to the owners with payment as soon as the danger situation allows it. European Council president urges Putin to stop violence immediately: further package of sanctions being prepared President of the European Council Charles Michel spoke with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky about the ongoing aggression of the Russian Federation, that Europe supports Ukraine and will continue to help. "I spoke with President Zelensky as Kyiv is under continued attack by Russian forces. Call on Russian Kremlin to immediately stop the violence. Need to immediately mobilize the global community to protect international law," Michel wrote on Twitter. He said that "the senseless suffering and loss of civilian life must stop." "Europe stands with Ukraines people and will continue to provide support. Second wave of sanctions with massive and severe consequences politically agreed last night. Further package under urgent preparation," Michel said. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko is urging Kyiv residents to stay at home or hide as active fighting is underway in the city. "In connection with intense active hostilities, the city authorities appeal to residents, especially the Obolonsky district: please do not go outside, as it is dangerous. Please stay indoors - at home or in shelter. You can only go out if there is an air raid alarm ends or is just beginning," Klitschko said at an online briefing on Friday. He stressed that he is urging people not to leave the premises and residents of other districts of Kyiv. Klitschko urged the people of Kyiv to be careful and in case of detection of marks left by saboteurs to adjust fire, and to immediately report this to law enforcement agencies. Estonia will send more military aid to Ukraine in the form of Javelin anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft munitions, Defense Chancellor Kusti Salm has said. "We will provide additional military assistance to Ukraine. 25,000 packages of dry food, medical equipment, personal equipment, ammunition, an additional batch of Javelin missiles and anti-aircraft ammunition," Salm said at a press conference on Friday. This will be the second batch of anti-tank missiles for Ukraine. The first was sent in early February and was delivered to Ukraine before the Russian military operation. Estonia received Javelin missiles from the United States, bought some of them, received the other part as military aid. For their supply to third countries, it is necessary to obtain the permission of the country that owns this type of weapon. The United States gave Estonia such permission. Poland intends to close its airspace for Russian airlines, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said. "I have ordered the preparation of a Council of Ministers resolution that will lead to the closure of airspace for Russian airlines," Morawiecki tweeted on Friday. By Azernews By Sabina Mammadli Azerbaijani police seized a large number of Armenian-left explosive devices in liberated Khojavand region, local media has reported. The Khojavand region police department discovered 146 different types of shells, five different types of grenades, and 415 different caliber cartridges. The munitions were handed over to the appropriate authorities. Azerbaijan and Armenia resumed the second war after the latter started firing at Azerbaijani civilians and military positions starting September 27, 2020. The war ended on November 10 with the signing of a trilateral ceasefire deal by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders. The ceasefire agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw all its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it had occupied since the early 1990s. The European Union is going to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as part of a new package of sanctions against Russia, the Financial Times said, citing sources familiar with the situation. "The EU is preparing to freeze the assets of Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov under the sanctions package being pushed through on Friday," Financial Times said. At the same time, according to people familiar with the matter, Putin and Lavrov will not be subject to a travel ban. Estonia will send additional military assistance to Ukraine in the form of Javelin anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft ammunition, Secretary General of the Estonian Ministry of Defense Kusti Salm said, according to err.ee. "We are providing additional arms assistance to Ukraine. 25,000 packages of dry food, medical equipment, personal equipment, ammunition, additional javelin missiles and anti-aircraft munitions," Salm announced at a joint press conference with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The number of Russian troop casualities is more 1,000 as of today, according to the press service of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "Today, the number of losses from the occupation troops of the Russian Federation is more than 1,000. Russia has never had such a number of losses of servicemen during the fighting in any armed conflict that it has started. Russian mothers are sending their sons to certain death, because that the AFU are steadfastly holding the line and will defend their land from the occupier," the Facebook message reads. Russia is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for talks with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "As you know, Ukrainian President Zelensky said today he was ready to discuss neutral status for Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said originally that the operation was aimed at helping the LPR and the DPR, in particular, by means of the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. In fact, this is an integral element of neutral status," Peskov said. "In this context, in response to Zelensky's proposal, Vladimir Putin is ready to send a Russian delegation comprising representatives of the Defense Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the presidential administration to Minsk for talks with a Ukrainian delegation," he said. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden Magdalena Andersson for providing military-technical and humanitarian assistance. "Sweden provides military, technical and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Grateful to Swedish Prime Minister for her effective support. Building an anti-Putin coalition together!" he said on Twitter on Friday. The shelling by Russian troops of Okhtyrka in Sumy region threatens the critical infrastructure of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine has said. "The fact that the Russians are firing cruise missiles and "Hurricane" guided rockets poses a threat not only to the military and civilian population, but also is a huge threat to the critical infrastructure of Ukraine," Vadym Denysenko, an advisor to the Interior Minister, said in a videa message posted on Facebook on Friday. He recalled that the main gas pipelines of Ukraine are located in Okhtyrka. "This poses a threat in general to the existence of main gas pipelines in Ukraine," he said. Earlier, the head of the Sumy regional military administration Dmytro Zhyvitsky said that in Okhtyrka Russian troops fired at a residential area, bomb shelter and a kindergarten, where children were seriously injured. A missile fired by Russia attackers has hit a grain elevator in Ovrutsky district (Zhytomyr region), setting a gigantic amount of grain on fire, the Interior Ministry has said, citing an advisor to minister, Vadym Denysenko. "The Russians constantly tell fake stories that they do not shoot at civilian infrastructure... In Ovrutsky district, a rocket hit a grain elevator. And at this moment we can say that one of the largest elevators in the north of Ukraine is on fire, a huge amount of grain is burning there," Denysenko said on Friday in a video message posted on Facebook by the ministry's press service. Ukraine, in connection with the seizure of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant by Russian invaders, expects decisive action from international partners to ensure the common security of the European continent, the Energy Ministry has said. "The occupiers have been holding the personnel of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant for the second day already, not allowing rotation, as provided for by the technical safety rules. The capture of the plant and the conduct of any military operations there are fraught with a repetition of the second Chornobyl disaster, from which Europe is still recovering," the Ministry of Energy reported on Facebook on Friday. At the same time, the ministry said that all responsibility for nuclear and radiation safety, the state of facilities and the further development of the situation in the exclusion zone lies with the invaders - the military of the Russian Federation. "This is one of the most serious threats to Europe today, since any provocations by the invaders at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant during a hybrid war could turn into another planetary environmental disaster," the Ministry of Energy said. However, it indicated with reference to acting General Director of SSE Chornobyl NPP Valeriy Seidu that in the Exclusion Zone the new safe confinement over the Shelter facility, power units No. 1 and 2 the are taken control by invaders. Some four civilians have killed and more than 15 injured as a result of an air strike on civilians in Kyiv's Vyshhorodska district, the Kyiv City State Administration has said. "Unfortunately, there are also civilian casualties in Polesie, Maryanovka and Havrylivka. In Maryanivka in the Vyshgorodska district, enemy forces cynically launched an airstrike on civilians. As of now, we have information about four killed and more than 15 wounded. We express our sincere condolences to the families dead," the press service on Facebook quotes the words of the head of the Regional State Administration Oleksiy Kuleba. He noted that the number of victims among the civilian population of the region is being specified. In general, the situation in the Kyiv region is completely under control. Also, the Regional State Administration said the situation remains tense in Bucha, Hostomel and Irpen. "The Russian occupying troops have been trying to break through for the last 4 hours. In Bucha, Ukrainian soldiers managed to stop the movement of a column of military equipment. The enemy abandoned the equipment and retreated. At the entrance to Vyshhorodka, the forces of the National Guard of Ukraine, the National Police and the Territorial Defense courageously repelled the offensive of the Russian occupier," the message says. . It is calm in the Boryspil sector, where no hostilities have been reported. The national energy company Ukrenergo refutes fakes about plans to cut off electricity in Kyiv city and other regions of Ukraine. Ukrenergo officially declares that the power system of Ukraine is working stably. Restriction of power supply to consumers is not planned! Ukrainian consumers have and will have electricity!" the system operator said. As reported, on Thursday, Ukrenergo refuted the fake about the need to turn off all appliances at 23:30 in connection with the connection of the Ukrainian power grid to the European one. After the release of a refutation of these fakes, the company's website was subjected to DDoS attacks. By Trend Employees of Azerbaijans Honorary Consulate in Ukraines Kharkiv are working through various channels to clarify the number of compatriots living within ??the consulate, the Honorary Consul Afgan Salmanov said, Trend reports. According to Salmanov, the military-political situation in Ukraine has escalated, and hostilities are underway. He also noted that in the territories near Kharkiv, the country's second largest city, fighting is underway. The consulate continues its activities as usual and provides compatriots with possible assistance on various issues. Besides, the diplomat asked compatriots to contact the honorary consulate in Kharkiv in case of special circumstances via the phone number: (+38057) 7000531, or the email address: [email protected] Additional information will be provided depending on the development of the situation. The Heads of State and Government of NATO member countries issued a statement in which they called on Russia to immediately stop the war with Ukraine, withdraw all forces from its territory and turn off the path of aggression. The text of the statement was made public at the end of the extraordinary summit, which was held on Friday in video format. They said in the statement that they are here today to discuss the most serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security in decades. NATO condemns in the strongest terms Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine with the support of Belarus. We call on Russia to immediately cease its military action, withdraw all its forces from Ukraine and turn away from its chosen path of aggression. This long-planned attack on Ukraine, an independent, peaceful and democratic country, is brutal, completely unprovoked and unjustified, heads of state and government of NATO member countries said in the statement. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has temporarily stopped the export of blood products. "We are introducing a temporary halt to the export of blood products," Shmyhal said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday. According to him, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine will approve the volume of mandatory provision of the needs of the healthcare system with donated blood and blood products. The tactics of the Russian troops are reminiscent of terrorist methods, when residential areas and kindergartens are shelled, Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the President's Office, has said. "The tactics used today by the armed forces of the Russian Federation are no longer just military tactics. It partially resembles terrorist methods, when residential areas are shelled, and today there were even shelling of kindergartens," Podoliak at a briefing at the Office of the President of Ukraine on Friday evening. He added that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Police and the territorial self-defense forces are working well and are holding control over a large part of the Ukrainian territory that has been hit by the Russian Federation. "If we compare the military potentials of Ukraine and Russia, then we are holding on very effectively. Our enemies want to solve the key task to pinch Kyiv and the main cities of the east and south of the country. We feel their plans, and the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine especially understands this," he said. Podoliak also said that the most difficult situation is now in Kharkiv direction, in Sumy region and in the south of the country, where there are quite heavy battles between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Russian troops. He also said that according to preliminary data, more than a thousand servicemen of the aggressor country were killed this afternoon, which is a fairly large number. The authorities are calling on NATO, the United States and Europe to close the skies over Ukraine, impose an embargo on oil products from Russia and disconnect Russia from SWIFT, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said. "I want to appeal to our international partners. For every nation there are defining moments that then become part of the history books, moments when you must decide whether to swallow what the aggressor does or fight back. And now, in fact, it is that moment," Shmyhal said at a briefing on Friday in Kyiv. The prime minister said that the authorities call on all civilized countries to impose an embargo on oil products from Russia, to ban the entry of Russian citizens into your territory and disconnect the Russian Federation from SWIFT. In addition, the authorities are calling on NATO, the United States and Europe to close the skies over Ukraine. "This will not mean your military clash with Russia, it will mean that they stopped the war and descendants will remember you as heroes," Shmyhal said. The Lithuanian company Brolis Semiconductors has donated modern high-tech equipment to Ukraine, which will soon be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense has reported. "Lithuanian entrepreneurs also #StandWithUkraine by contributing to the military assistance. 'Brolis Semiconductors' decided to donate modern high-tech capabilities that soon will be handed over to Ukrainian Armed Forces together with a shipment of Lithuanian military assistance," the ministry said on Twitter on Friday. The Czech Republic has banned the landing of Russian aircraft at airports on its territory, Ukrainian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Yevhen Perebyinis said referring to the Minister of Transport of the Czech Republic. "Czech Minister of Transport Martin Kupka said that tonight from 00:00 hours the Czech Republic prohibits the landing of any Russian aircraft at its airports. The aggressor's isolation network is expanding. Thank you!" Perebyinis wrote on Twitter on Friday. Poland has handed over ammunition to Ukraine, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Baszczak has said. "The convoy with ammunition that we are transferring to Ukraine has already reached our neighbors. We support the Ukrainians, we are in solidarity and strongly oppose Russian aggression," Baszczak wrote on Twitter on Friday. By Vugar Khalilov Ukrainian ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladislav Kanevsky has said that his country is working on alternatives for the return of its citizens from Azerbaijan, Trend reported on February 25. Kanevsky made the remarks at the press conference in Baku. "The consular division of the embassy is also very actively involved in this issue. The main problem is that direct airlines cannot currently receive citizens, since the airspace is closed. Besides, the same problem exists through the territory of Georgia, through the Black Sea. There are certain options, routes that we are working on. This is a complex issue. We don't have a common border, but there are alternative routes and we are working on them," he underlined. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani ambassador to Moldova Gudsi Osmanov stated that the Azerbaijani embassy in Moldova along with the diaspora help Azerbaijani citizens to get from Ukraine to Moldova. Due to the fact that the airspace of Ukraine is closed, Azerbaijani citizens currently do not have the opportunity to leave Ukraine by air, Osmanov said. "In this regard, we emphasize that the citizens of Azerbaijan, who are in serious danger, can enter the territory of Moldova by land through the border checkpoints of Ocnita and Palanca, located on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border. Moldova, due to the current humanitarian situation, will not demand COVID-passports from Azerbaijani citizens, who wish to cross the land border," he added. The ambassador noted that the Moldovan government had created tent camps to accommodate those who arrived from Ukraine. There are also Azerbaijani citizens in those tent cities. Some of arriving Azerbaijani citizens are accommodated in dormitories. "The airspace of Moldova is closed for known reasons. Therefore, our citizens cannot leave Moldova. Due to the closed airspace, Azerbaijani citizens must go from Moldova to the territory of Romania, then to Bulgaria, and from there to Istanbul. As a second way, our citizens must go to Bucharest and then fly to Istanbul," Osmanov said. It should be noted that Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov told reporters that 199 Azerbaijani citizens left Ukraine through the Ukrainian-Moldovan border on February 24-25. Citizens with questions can contact the Azerbaijani embassy in Moldova by phone: +373 781 81 361, +373 789 91 849, +373 222 32 277, or by e-mail: [email protected], the statement added. The ministry also offered the citizens to contact the Azerbaijani embassy in Kyiv by phone: (+380 73) 5050000 and by e-mail: [email protected], the Honorary Consulate in Kharkiv - (+38057) 7000531 and via [email protected] for special cases. On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that in response to the appeal of the leaders of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Lugansk People's Republic" decided to conduct a special military operation in Eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities introduced martial law throughout the entire territory. Ukrainian media report explosions in a number of cities. By Trend Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed on Wednesday to hold their 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) during the week of 13 June in Geneva, the organization said, Trend reports citing Xinhua. According to a WTO press release, the decision was taken by the organization's General Council following the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions in the host country Switzerland. The exact dates of the meeting will be specified later. Dacio Castillo, ambassador of Honduras to the WTO and chair of the General Council, said that fixing the dates for the conference should provide impetus to the WTO's work and focus for the discussions. "Let us work together with the primary objective in mind that the Conference will provide the WTO, and us here in Geneva, with an opportunity to demonstrate that the WTO can deliver," Castillo said. "Let us make this count." MC12 was originally due to be held in June 2020 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The rescheduled meeting was set to be held between Nov. 30 and Dec. 3, 2021, but was postponed due to the Omicron variant COVID-19 outbreak, which led to the imposition of travel restrictions and quarantine requirements that would have prevented many ministers from reaching Geneva. The Ministerial Conference, which is attended by trade ministers and other senior officials from the organization's 164 members, is the WTO's highest decision-making body. Al-Azhar condemned Friday terrorist attack on a mosque in Afghanistans capital Kabul that left dozens of worshippers dead and injured. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended on Monday a celebration of Eid El-Fitr with the families of Egyptian Armed Forces and police personnel killed or injured in the countrys battle against terrorism. Egypts Ministry of Health and Population reported 1,832 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases since the outbreak began in February 2020 to 477,173. This comes as the number of daily coronavirus cases in the country, which spiked over the past two months and exceeded 2,000 cases in January, has continued to decline over the past several days. The ministry also recorded 38 coronavirus-related fatalities, bringing the total tally of deaths to 23,927. The daily report added that the total number of recoveries increased to 408,094 after 1,987 patients were discharged from hospitals nationwide in the past 24 hours. On Wednesday, Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, the acting health minister, told the weekly cabinet meeting that Egypt has received more than 142 million dose of Covid-19 vaccines from December 2020 to February 2022. Abdel-Ghaffar added that Egypt has administered 69 million doses in the mass vaccination campaign in the country so far. More than 29.8 million citizens are fully vaccinated to date and more than 39 million citizens have received their first dose, according to recent ministry figures. Over one million citizens have already received their third booster shooter. The country plans to vaccinate 70 percent of its eligible population, those who are older than 12 years old, by the second half of 2022. Search Keywords: Short link: Viewed from Paris, London and Washington, the events unfolding in Ukraine may seem like a new Cold War taking shape in Europe. From the Baltic countries, it looks much worse. To Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians _ particularly those old enough to have lived under Soviet control _ Russia's belligerence toward Ukraine has some worried that they could be the next target. The escalating tensions which preceded an attack Thursday brought back memories of mass deportations and oppression. ``My grandparents were sent away to Siberia. My father was persecuted by the KGB. Now I live in a free democratic country, but it seems that nothing can be taken for granted,'' said Jaunius Kazlauskas, a 50-year-old teacher in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital. Russia's attack on Ukraine sent shockwaves through the Baltic countries. Lithuania's president declared a state of emergency, and Latvia suspended the broadcast licenses of several Russian TV stations accused of spreading disinformation and propaganda. All three Baltic countries were seized and annexed by Josef Stalin during World War II before gaining independence again with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. They joined NATO in 2004, putting themselves under the military protection of the U.S. and its Western allies. Ukraine is not part of NATO. Along with Poland, also a NATO member, the small Baltic countries have been among the loudest advocates for powerful sanctions against Moscow and NATO reinforcements on the alliance's eastern flank. Baltic government leaders in recent weeks have shuttled to European capitals, warning that the West must make Russian President Vladimir Putin pay for attacking Ukraine, or else his tanks will keep rolling toward other parts of the former Soviet empire. ``The battle for Ukraine is a battle for Europe. If Putin is not stopped there, he will go further,'' Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis warned last week in a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Two days before the attack, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that some American forces deployed in Europe, including 800 infantry soldiers, F-35 fighters and Apache helicopters, would be moved to the three Baltic states, describing the step as purely defensive. The news was met with enthusiasm in the Baltic capitals. While the NATO treaty commits all allies to defend any member that comes under attack, the Baltic countries say it is imperative that NATO show resolve not just in words but with boots on the ground. ``Russia always measures the military might but also the will of countries to fight,'' said Janis Garisons, state secretary at Latvia's Defense Ministry. ``Once they see a weakness, they will exploit that weakness.'' While Putin hasn't publicly expressed any ambition to reassert Russian control over the Baltic countries, many Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians worry he wants to regain influence across all former republics of the Soviet Union, the collapse of which he once described as a tragedy for the Russian people. In his speech earlier this week setting the stage for Russia's military intervention, Putin said Ukraine is ``not just a neighboring country for us. It is an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space.'' Culturally and linguistically different, the Baltic countries don't have the same connection to Russian history and identity. However, they were ruled by Moscow for most of the past 200 years, first by the Russian Empire, then for almost 50 years following World War II by the Soviet Union. All three countries have ethnic Russian minorities; in Latvia and Estonia, they make up about one-quarter of the population. Though many of them are well integrated, tensions flared in 2007 when hundreds of ethnic Russians rioted against government plans to relocate a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn, Estonia's capital. Estonia suspected Russia of stoking the unrest and orchestrating cyberattacks that paralyzed government computer networks. ``When we hear Putin humiliating Ukraine, calling it an artificial state with no history, it reminds us of the same things that they have been repeating about all former Soviet republics for many years,'' said Nerijus Maliukevicius, a political analyst at Vilnius University. The Russian ``state propaganda machine is now working on unprecedented levels of intensity, and the message is not just about Ukraine,'' he added. Lithuania borders both Kaliningrad, a Russian region where the country's Baltic Sea fleet is based, and Belarus, the former Soviet republic where tens of thousands of Russian troops have been deployed for joint exercises. Belarus recently announced that the drills would continue because of the tensions in eastern Ukraine. ``It seems they are not going to leave,'' Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said before Russia launched its attack on Ukraine. ``But we must understand that numbers do not mean everything. There are technically very advanced troops on our side of the border. Their main task is deterrence _ and defense, if necessary.'' The Baltic countries have expressed strong support for Ukraine. Baltic leaders have traveled to Kyiv recently to show their solidarity and have sent both weapons and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Estonia, which celebrates its independence day on Thursday, is taking a strong stance in the conflict, but not because it fears for its security, said former President Kersti Kaljulaid, the first woman to hold that office. ``We are doing it because we find it is our moral obligation,'' she said. ``We very strongly feel that ... every nation should have the right to decide their future.'' While the Baltics are direct neighbors of Russia, she said other European countries should be equally worried about the crisis in Ukraine. ``Frankly speaking, I don't think it concerns the Baltics more,'' she said. ``If you look from Kyiv, it's the same distance to Berlin as Tallinn.'' Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt is keen on promoting cooperation with Kazahstan at the various levels, in a way that achieves mutual interests and contributes to attaining development and welfare for the peoples of the two countries, he added. During the call, the two leaders discussed a host of issues and exchanged viewpoints over a wide range of regional files along with ways of boosting bilateral ties, especially in the fields of health, agriculture, tourism and culture, said Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady. For his part, Kazakhstan's president hailed the close ties binding Egypt and his country, describing them as constructive. He also lauded Egypt's distinguished position and regional weight. Search Keywords: Short link: Russian forces moved to the outskirts of Ukraine's capital on Friday as U.S. officials warned that President Vladimir Putin may be intent on installing a new, more friendly government. The invasion began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations. They were quickly followed by a ground assault from the north, east and south in an attack that could rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. U.S. President Joe Biden was to meet Friday morning with fellow leaders of NATO governments in what the White House described as an "extraordinary virtual summit'' to discuss Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that his military will keep fighting back and he ordered a full mobilization. He said 137 people, both servicemen and civilians, have been killed and hundreds more wounded since the invasion began. Here are the things to know about the conflict over Ukraine and the security crisis in Eastern Europe: AN UNEASY NIGHT IN KYIV Fearing a Russian attack, many of the capital's residents took shelter deep underground in metro stations. People brought sleeping bags and blankets, dogs and crossword puzzles as they sought safety in the makeshift bomb shelters. In the early hours of the morning, several explosions were heard in different parts of the city. Air raid sirens also went off. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko had called on the city's 3 million people to stay indoors unless they worked in critical sectors and said everyone should prepare go-bags with necessities such as medicine and documents. Friday morning, Klitschko said at least three people were injured when a rocket hit a multi-story apartment building, starting a fire. "Just as yesterday, the military and civilians are equally under Russian attack,'' Zelensky said. The Ukrainian military on Friday morning reported significant fighting in the area of Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Kyiv, as Russian forces apparently tried to advance on the capital from the north. It said one bridge across a small river had been destroyed. Zelensky said he has information that he's the No. 1 target for the invading Russians but said he planned to remain in Kyiv. CHERNOBYL IN RUSSIAN HANDS Ukraine said it lost control of the Chernobyl nuclear site after Ukrainian forces waged a fierce battle with Russian troops. A nuclear reactor at the plant 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv exploded in April 1986, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell. Alyona Shevtsova, an adviser to the commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces, wrote on Facebook that the staff had been "taken hostage'' when Russian troops seized the facility. The White House press secretary expressed alarm, concerned that it could hamper efforts to maintain the nuclear facility. HOW HAS PUTIN JUSTIFIED THE INVASION? In a televised address as the attack began, Putin said it was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting for almost eight years. The U.S. had predicted Putin would falsely claim that the rebel-held regions were under attack to justify an invasion. He accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia's demands to prevent Ukraine from ever joining NATO and offer Moscow security guarantees. Putin said Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine but plans to "demilitarize'' it, a euphemism for destroying its armed forces. WHAT SANCTIONS ARE WESTERN POWERS IMPOSING? In announcing a new round of sanctions on Thursday, Biden said the U.S. and its allies will block the assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs. The penalties fall in line with the White House's insistence that it would look to hit Russia's financial system and Putin's inner circle, while also imposing export controls that would aim to starve Russia's industries and military of U.S. semiconductors and other high-tech products. New U.S. sanctions also targeted the military and financial institutions of Belarus, which Russia is using as a staging ground for its troops moving into Ukraine from the north. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would aim to cut Russia off from the U.K.'s financial market. The sanctions include freezing the assets of all major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, its second-biggest. Britain also plans to bar Russian companies and the Russian government from raising money on U.K. markets, ban the export of a wide range of high-tech products, including semiconductors, to Russia and bar its flagship airline, Aeroflot, from landing at U.K. airports. The European Union and other Western allies, including Australia, Japan and South Koreas, announced similar sanctions. OTHER REPERCUSSIONS FOR RUSSIANS UEFA will no longer host the Champions League final in St. Petersburg in May, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks. An extraordinary meeting of the UEFA executive committee will be held Friday. Valery Gergiev, a conductor who is close to Putin, will not lead the Vienna Philharmonic in a five-concert U.S. tour that starts at Carnegie Hall on Friday. Milan's Teatro alla Scala sent a letter to Gergiev asking him to make a clear statement in favor of a peaceful resolution in Ukraine or he would not be permitted to return for his next scheduled performance on March 5. PROTESTS IN RUSSIA Russians shocked by the invasion turned out by the thousands for street protests in Moscow and other cities. They signed open letters and online petitions demanding the Kremlin halt the assault. One petition garnered 330,000 signatures by the end of the day. The crackdown was swift. Some 1,745 people in 54 Russian cities were detained, at least 957 of them in Moscow. State television was all in for the invasion, with one host calling it an effort to protect people in eastern Ukraine from a "Nazi regime.'' CHINA'S SUPPORT FOR RUSSIA China's customs agency on Thursday approved imports of wheat from all regions of Russia, a move that could help to reduce the impact of possible Western sanctions. China's market is a growth area for other suppliers, but Beijing had barred imports until now from Russia's main wheat-growing areas due to concern about possible fungus and other contamination. Russia is one of the biggest wheat producers, but its exports would be vulnerable if its foreign markets blocked shipments in response to its attack on Ukraine. Thursday's announcement said Russia would "take all measures'' to prevent contamination by a wheat smut fungus and would suspend exports to China if it was found. Search Keywords: Short link: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that 137 civilians and military personnel have been killed so far in the Russian invasion of his country. In a video address released early Friday, Zelensky called them "heroes'' in which he also says hundreds more have been wounded. Zelenskyy said that despite Russia's claim it is attacking only military targets, civilian sites also have been struck. In his words: "They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven.'' The president says all border guards on Zmiinyi island in the Odesa region were killed Thursday. Ukraine's border guard service earlier in the day reported that the island was taken by the Russians. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt has appointed its highly-experienced economist Mahmoud Mohieldin, who has been serving as an executive director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as the countrys high-level champion for climate action at UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27). Egypt is scheduled to host COP27 in November in the Red Sea city of Sharm El-Sheikh with ambitious plans to support efforts to reduce emissions and provide funding for developing countries to deal with climate change. Mohieldin, 57, also UN special envoy on financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, will start his new duties immediately in accordance with the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action (MPGCA), read a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. Launched in November 2016 at COP22, the MPGCA seeks to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals under the leadership of high-level climate champions. In January, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Egypt will focus on meeting the obligations of the Paris Agreement and explore how the private sector and NGOs can play a role in financing green investments during COP27. Egypt has also vowed to work on achieving outcomes that reflect the international ambitions in the face of climate change by giving special importance to supporting developing countries, especially in Africa. Climate finance has been debated at every COP meeting since developed countries failed to meet their promise to mobilise $100 billion in climate finance annually by 2020 to help developing nations with mitigation and adaptation efforts. Mohieldins appointment as Egypts climate champion aims at enhancing the communication between the Egyptian presidency of COP27 and businesses, the private sector and international funding institutions working in the climate change-related fields, the ministrys statement said. In his new position, Mohieldin will be in charge of coordinating with Nigel Toppings, the UK's high-level champion for climate Action at COP26, and the UNFCCC secretariat to raise awareness of the climate change issue and the need to face it among non-governmental entities. This includes international organisations, funding institutions, international companies and other entities engaged in the international climate work, the ministry said. Mohieldin will also have the duty to mobilise international support from these entities in favour of global action to face climate action and implement the goals of Paris Agreement. This should ensure contribution to the efforts exerted by Egypt as the president of COP27, the ministry affirmed. Mohieldin will serve as Egypts climate champion at COP27 in addition to carrying out the duties of his current international posts, according to the ministry. The veteran Egyptian economist formerly served as Egypts minister of investment and international cooperation from 2004 to 2010. He also assumed several posts at international monetary and financial institutions, including as the World Bank Group's senior vice president for the 2030 Development Agenda. Search Keywords: Short link: By Trend According to preliminary data, today 137 Ukrainian military and civilians were killed, another 316 were injured, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said during his address posted on the Telegram channel, Trend reports. The President of Ukraine stressed that he did not leave Kyiv and, together with other representatives of the authorities, remains in the government quarter of Kyiv. "I stay in the government quarter along with everyone who is necessary for the work of the central government," he said. The President of Ukraine also noted that he was not afraid to discuss with Russia the issue of the neutral status of Ukraine. Egyptian citizens in Ukraines southern city of Odessa can return to Egypt through Romania, while those in western Ukrainian cities should head to the Polish border, the Egyptian embassy in Kyiv said on Friday. However, the embassy advised citizens in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv or eastern cities to stay at home or in shelters currently. Hundreds of Egyptian expats living or studying in Ukraine are waiting to be evacuated from the country soon, Ali Farouk, the head of Egyptian community in Ukraine, said in an interview with Ahram Online on Thursday. Around 6,000 Egyptian nationals live in Ukraine, with the majority being students, Khaled Mohamed, the head of the Youth Committee of the Egyptian Community in Ukraine, said in a phone interview with TEN TV satellite channel on Wednesday. Egyptian nationals in Ukraines southern city of Odessa can now head to Isaccea town in Romania and travel back to Egypt after entering Romania, the Egyptian embassy said on Friday. The embassy said Egyptians in Ukraine can contact the embassy at +40726164978 in case they face any trouble on the Romanian borders. Egyptian nationals in western Ukraine can head to the Polish borders, the embassy said, affirming that Polish authorities are allowing people of different nationalities to enter the country and return to their homelands within 15 days. The embassy urged Egyptians facing any trouble on the Ukrainian-Polish borders to contact the embassy via +48511538378. However, Egyptian nationals in Kyiv should not risk leaving amid the ongoing fighting around the city, the embassy said, ordering them to stay at home until the situation stabilises. Egyptian nationals in the eastern city of Kharkiv, which is one of the hot zones witnessing military actions, and other eastern cities should also continue to stay at home or in shelters, the embassy said, adding that negotiations are underway to secure a safe exit for them. Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday from the north, east and south, launching air and land attacks. The armed conflict has killed 137 Ukrainian civilians and military personnel so far, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as Russians reportedly took full control of vital parts of the country and are battling Ukrainian forces 30-50 kilometres from Kyiv. Thousands of Ukrainian citizens have fled to neighbouring European countries, including Romania, which lies southwest of Ukraine. There has been no reported casualties among Egyptian nationals in Ukraine since the Russian invasion started. Egypt has affirmed on Thursday evening the importance of upholding dialogue and diplomatic solutions, as well as endeavours that would hasten a political settlement to the Ukrainian crisis, according to a statement by the foreign ministry. In a separate statement, the ministry said the Egyptian embassy in Kyiv was following closely the latest developments to the Egyptian community currently in Ukraine and shared the mobile numbers of diplomats in the embassy, including the mobile number of Ambassador Ayman El-Gamal (+380932165877). The embassy can also be reached at: +380732009984 and +380634779436. On Thursday, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism asserted that all tourists from countries affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine are welcome to continue with their stay at Egyptian hotels until their safe return to their countries. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised fears that the armed conflict will impact the flow of Egyptian imports of wheat from both Russia and Ukraine. Egypt relies heavily on wheat imports from the two countries, importing around 50 percent of its wheat needs from Russia and 30 percent from Ukraine. the two countries Cairo fears that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will also impact the flow of tourists from the two countries to Egypt and put upward pressure on the price of wheat and other strategic commodities that the country relies on. The Egyptian government has vowed to work on diversifying the sources of wheat imports to include other countries rather than Russia and Ukraine. The government said it will also look for new tourism markets, as Russian and Ukrainian tourists made up a large share of tourists to Egypt. Tourism is a major source of income and foreign currency to Egypt. Search Keywords: Short link: In an attempt to transform the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) into Egypts first eco-friendly museum, several services are now being reviewed to make sure it meets the required standards for sustainability in its environmental, economic and cultural dimensions. The review comes within the framework of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities strategy for sustainable development as part of Egypts Vision 2030 to preserve the ecological balance and the sustainability of tourism and antiquities as well as encouraging the sector to develop in unison with the transition to a green economy and environmentally friendly practices. Major General Atef Moftah, the supervisor-general of the GEM project, explained that the museum is in the process of obtaining Egyptian Green Pyramid accreditation. To obtain the certificate of accreditation, he explained, the GEM has to meet a number of special requirements. These requirements include visitor services, transportation to the museum, ease of access, the creation of bike paths, parking lots, the use of electric cars, efficiency of water and energy consumption, especially in the museum's green landscape, as well as use of renewable energy sources. The accreditation is being conducted in collaboration with the National Centre for Housing and Building Research. Approving the museum as a green building also includes ways of managing it and the quality of the internal environment by improving its ventilation system and the use of natural ventilation and air circulation that must comply with the minimum required ventilation rates, Moftah pointed out. [After] accrediting the Green Pyramid certificate, the GEM would be the first green museum in Egypt, he asserted. Search Keywords: Short link: Hundreds of Egyptian expats living or studying in Ukraine are waiting to be evacuated from the country soon amid the unknown following the Russian invasion, Ali Farouk , the head of Egyptian community in Ukraine, told Ahram Online on Thursday. We are asking to speed up the evacuation of the Egyptians, including students, as their parents are in complete panic and want their children to return back, Farouk said. As Russia began an invasion of Ukraine on Thursday morning, the Ukrainian government closed the country's airspace to civilian flights temporarily. According to Farouk, there were 5,000 or 6,000 Egyptian nationals in Ukraine, including residents and students, but the number went down to 4,500 after the escalation between Russian and Ukraine in the past few weeks, There are about 2,000 Egyptian students studying in Ukraine, Farouk explained to Ahram Online. Many Egyptian are studying in Ukraines universities, especially medicine. Farouk added that the rest of the remaining 2,500 Egyptians live across the country with their families. Some are living in cities near the borders of Belarus while others are near Crimea, he said. Farouk said he hopes that after at least 48 hours things will be clearer as well as calmer and an evacuation route would be opened. Farouk expressed to Ahram Online his concern that there was a group of Egyptian students studying medicine in the city of Kharkiv, which is one of the hot zones witnessing military actions. Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, was hit by airstrikes on Thursday by the Russian Air Forces. So far, there have been no reported casualties among Egyptians in the country. Farouk said that fear and panic were felt by all people whether Ukrainians or foreign on Thursday morning after the start of the Russian invasion, but things calmed down throughout the day. Citizens went to petrol stations and supermarkets to get all their needs for fear of things escalating, he said, adding that there were traffic jams across the country as people began to rush from one city to another. Things calmed down relatively when the 7pm-10am curfew imposed by the Ukrainian government went into effect on Thursday evening as part of the state of emergency that was declared earlier in the day, Farouk added. A group of Egyptian students in Ukraine launched a hashtag #Egyptian_students_in_Ukraine that trended for several hours in Egypt as they asked the Egyptian government to evacuate them. Some of the students who shared the hashtag said they could not leave the country before an invasion because their universities rejected online learning. Stay alert - talk to embassy Earlier Thursday, Minister of Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs Nabila Makram held a video conference via Zoom with 60 Egyptians who are living in Ukraine, including students, to check on their affairs and their needs. According to the emigration ministry's statement, Makram urged Egyptians who are living in different cities to choose a point person in each city for regular communication with Ali Farouk, the head of the Egyptian community in Ukraine, and Khaled Mohamed, the representative of the ministry in the Egyptian students abroad dialogue, to ensure rapid transport if necessay and secure support to any Egyptian group that needs assistance in the upcoming hours inside the country. The minister also asked all members of the Egyptian community to ignore any messages or calls directing them to move from one city to another, and to follow only the instructions issued by the Egyptian embassy in Kiev until further notice. Earlier Thursday, the Egyptian embassy in Kiev urged Egyptian citizens in Ukraine to remain at home and to take measures to ensure their safety. The embassy has also shared the mobile numbers of diplomats in the embassy of Egypt to Kiev, including the mobile number of Ambassador Ayman El-Gamal (+380932165877). The embassy can also be contacted at: +380732009984 and +380634779436. Search Keywords: Short link: As Russian troops continued pressing their offensive Friday, intense fighting also raged in the country's east. Russian troops entered the city of Sumy near the border with Russia that sits on a highway leading to Kyiv from the east. The regional governor, Dmytro Zhivitsky, said Ukrainian forces fought Russian troops in the city overnight, but other Russian convoys kept rolling west toward the Ukrainian capital. "Military vehicles from Sumy are moving toward Kyiv,'' Zhivitsky said. "Much equipment has passed through and is heading directly to the west.'' Zhivitsky added that another northeastern city, Konotop, was also sieged. He urged residents of the region to fight the Russian forces. International Criminal Court The prosecutor of the says he is "closely following recent developments in and around Ukraine with increasing concern.'' Karim Khan issued a statement Friday on Twitter while on a visit to Bangladesh, where he is investigating crimes against Myanmar's Rohingya minority. Khan said he alerted "all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine'' that Ukraine has accepted the court's jurisdiction. That means "my office may exercise its jurisdiction over and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within the territory of Ukraine since 20 February 2014 onwards," Khan added. He said that "any person who commits such crimes, including by ordering, inciting or contributing in another manner to the commission of these crimes may be liable to prosecution before the Court.'' Statement of #ICC Prosecutor #KarimAAKhanQC, on the Situation in #Ukraine: While on mission in Bangladesh, I have been closely following recent developments in and around Ukraine with increasing concern." Read more pic.twitter.com/xMshqB8Fid Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) February 25, 2022 Khan added that because neither Russia nor Ukraine are member states of the court, his office does not have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression in the conflict. The International Criminal Court is the world's permanent war crimes court. It was set up in 2002 to prosecute atrocities in countries where local authorities are unable or unwilling to conduct trials. Kiev's Northwest Battle The Ukrainian military is reporting significant fighting northwest of the nation's capital as Russian forces apparently try to advance on Kiev from the north. The military said Friday morning a bridge across a river had been destroyed in the area of Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Kyiv. "The hardest day will be today. The enemy's plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv. Russian tanks burn perfectly when hit by our ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles),'' Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. Russia's invasion of Ukraine began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukrainian and U.S. officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. Chinese Disregard The Ukrainian ambassador to Japan is urging China to join international efforts to stop the Russian "massacre'' in his country amid Beijing's lack of criticism of Moscow's actions. "We would very much welcome that China exercises its connection with Russia and talks to Putin and explains to him that it is inappropriate in the 21st century to do this massacre in Europe,'' Ukrainian diplomat Sergiy Korsunsky told a news conference in Tokyo. China has not criticized Russia over its actions against Ukraine, and has joined in verbal attacks on Washington and its allies. "I do believe China can play a much more active role to work with Putin in a manner we expect civilized countries to do,'' he said. Korsunsky also asked support from the United States and its allies to provide anti-missile defence equipment to fight Russian cruise missile attacks. He said Ukraine wants to join NATO and called for its support in resolving the conflict. Explosions Before Dawn Explosions are being heard before dawn in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleads for international help. The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear, but the blasts came amid signs that the capital and largest Ukrainian city was increasingly threatened following a day of fighting that left more than 100 Ukrainians dead. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government had information that "subversive groups'' were encroaching on the city, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv "could well be under siege'' in what U.S. officials believe is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call Chinese Citizen's Evacuation China's Embassy in Ukraine says it is arranging evacuation flights for Chinese citizens. An embassy statement Friday says conditions in Ukraine have "deteriorated sharply'' but makes no mention of the Russian invasion. The embassy gave no details on where the evacuation flights would be leaving from. Nor did it say when the charter flights might happen, saying that scheduling will depend on the "flight safety situation.'' It says travellers should be packed and ready to react quickly once flight schedules are announced. Passengers must have a passport from China, Hong Kong or Macau or a "Taiwan compatriot card.'' The embassy earlier advised Chinese in Ukraine to stay home and to put a Chinese flag on their vehicles if they planned to travel long distances. European Sanctions European Union leaders are putting on a united front after a six-hour meeting during which they agreed on the second package of economic and financial sanctions on Russia. The EU Council president accuses Russia of using "fake pretexts and bad excuses'' for justifying its invasion of Ukraine and says sanctions will hurt the government, The legal texts for the sanctions agreed on are expected to be finalized overnight and be submitted for approval to EU foreign affairs ministers Friday. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says the package includes targeting 70% of the Russian banking market and key state-owned companies. She says Russia's energy sector also will be targeted ``by making it impossible for Russia to upgrade its refineries.'' And there will be a ban on sales of software, semiconductors and airliners to Russia. UN Condemns Russia The U.N. Security Council will vote Friday on a resolution that would condemn Russia's military aggression against Ukraine "in the strongest terms.'' It also would demand an immediate halt to Russia's invasion and the withdrawal of all Russian troops. A senior U.S. official says the Biden administration knows the measure will be vetoed by Russia, but believes it is very important to put the resolution to a vote to underscore Russia's international isolation. The official says the council vote will be followed by a resolution voted on quickly in the 193-member U.N. General Assembly where there are no vetoes. The final draft resolution, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, would reaffirm the council's commitment "to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.'' The council is scheduled to vote at 3 p.m. EST Friday. Ukrainian casualties Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 137 civilians and military personnel have been killed so far in the Russian invasion of his country. He calls them "heroes'' in a video address released early Friday in which he also says hundreds more have been wounded. Zelenskyy says that despite Russia's claim it is attacking only military targets, civilian sites also have been struck. In his words: "They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven.'' The president says all border guards on Zmiinyi island in the Odesa region were killed Thursday. Ukraine's border guard service earlier in the day reported that the island was taken by the Russians. Search Keywords: Short link: Ahram Online provided a live coverage on Friday in the second day of the unfolding Russian invasion of Ukraine and international reactions. (All times are GMT+2, Cairo Local Time) 21:00 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts have agreed to send parts of the organization's response force to help protect allies in the east following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Speaking after chairing a NATO summit in Brussels, Stoltenberg said the leaders decided to send parts of the NATO Response Force and elements of a quickly deployed spearhead unit. He did not say how many troops would be deployed, but confirmed that the move would involve land, sea and air power. The NRF can number up to 40,000 troops, but Stoltenberg said that NATO would not be deploying the entire force. Parts of a force known in NATO jargon as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), which is currently led by France, will also be sent. 20:20 Ukrainian President Zelensky told reporters under dark outside the presidential residence in the capital Kyiv: "I have not and will not leave the country." Zelensky's defiant words come as Ukrainian forces continue on Friday night to hold off pressing Russian troops only tens of kilometres outside the capital on the second day of the Russian invasion. 20:10 Russia's media regulator said Friday it was limiting access to Facebook, accusing the US tech giant of censorship and of violating the rights of Russian citizens. "In accordance with a decision from the General Prosecutor with regard to the social network Facebook, from February 25, Roskomnadzor is adopting measures to partially restrict access," to Facebook, media regulator Roskomnadzor said in a statement, without elaborating. 20:00 Egyptian citizens in Ukraines southern city of Odessa can return to Egypt through Romania, while those in western Ukrainian cities should head to the Polish border, the Egyptian embassy in Kyiv said on Friday. However, the embassy advised citizens in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv or eastern cities to stay at home or in shelters currently. Hundreds of Egyptian expats living or studying in Ukraine are waiting to be evacuated from the country soon, Ali Farouk, the head of Egyptian community in Ukraine, said in an interview with Ahram Online on Thursday. Around 6,000 Egyptian nationals live in Ukraine, with the majority being students, Khaled Mohamed, the head of the Youth Committee of the Egyptian Community in Ukraine, said in a phone interview with TEN TV satellite channel on Wednesday. All you need to know about Russia-Ukraine crisis impacts on Egypt 19:45 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged sports bodies Friday to cancel or move all events they plan to hold in Russia and Belarus, and stop using the countries' flags and national anthems. The request from the Olympic body came after UEFA moved the Champions League final from St. Petersburg to suburban Paris, and after the governing body of skiing and Formula One pulled upcoming races from Russia. Volleyball, shooting and hockey all have world championships scheduled to be held in Russia. Hockey is a favorite sport of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his home city of St. Petersburg is scheduled to host the worlds in May 2023. 18:45 The Ukrainian armed forces announced that they had inflicted heavy losses on the Russian side. The Defence Ministry said 2,800 Russian soldiers were "missing". It was not clear whether the Russian soldiers were killed, injured or captured. The ministry also estimated the destruction of about 80 tanks, more than 500 other military vehicles, 10 fighters and seven helicopters. Reserve soldiers of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces look at a vehicle containing the unseen bodies of Russian serviceman wearing Ukranian service uniform after members of a raiding party were shot during a skirmish in Kyiv on February 25, according to Ukrainian service personnel at the scene. AFP It is not clear the death toll between soldiers and civilians, and the two sides have provided conflicting information. Russia says it has not incurred any major losses. Ukraine said earlier that more than 1,000 Russian attackers had died. A woman walks as Ukrainian servicemen prepare to pick up the body of an Ukrainian man who was shot when a Russian armoured vehicle drove past him, on a sidewalk in the north of Kyiv on February 25. AFP 17:50 Britain and nine other northern European defence allies agreed in a call Friday that further sanctions were needed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said. The UK leader told the so-called Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) bloc -- which includes Baltic and Scandinavian states -- that the crisis "was a defining moment in European history". "The leaders agreed that more sanctions were needed, including focusing on (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin's inner circle, building on the measures that had already been agreed," his Downing Street office said following the call. Johnson told representatives from the nine JEF members that "the western world must keep the flame of freedom burning in Ukraine as Russian forces inflict horror on an innocent country and its people", it added. He also urged "more support must be given to Ukraine, as a matter of the greatest urgency" and that Putin's actions "could never be normalised, or his aggression against Ukraine ever accepted as a fait accompli". The JEF, set up in 2012, is made up of NATO members Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and non-members Finland and Sweden. It is focused on security in the "High North" region around the Arctic, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea area. (AFP) 17:40 Russia repeatedly accuses Ukraine of violating the 2015 Minsk II ceasfire agreement to end fighting between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatist rebels controlling a big swathe of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the Ukraine. Minsk II, which was signed on 12 February, 2015, was a result of a 16-hour talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin, then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, then-French President Francois Hollande and then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at the Belarusian capital Minsk. A previous Minsk I ceasefire deal collapsed within days of its signing on 5 September, 2014. Here are the main points of the Minsk II agreement: 1 Immediate and full bilateral ceasefire. 2 Withdrawal of all heavy weapons by both sides. 3 Effective monitoring and verification regime for the ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons. 4 Pardon and amnesty by banning any prosecution of figures involved in the Donetsk and Luhansk conflict. 5 Release of all hostages and other illegally detained people. 6 From day one of the withdrawal begin a dialogue on the holding of local elections. 7 Unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the needy, internationally supervised. 8 Restoration of full social and economic links with affected areas. 9 Full Ukrainian government control will be restored over the state border, throughout the conflict zone. 10 Withdrawal of all foreign armed groups, weapons and mercenaries from Ukrainian territory. 11 Constitutional reform in Ukraine, with adoption of a new constitution by the end of 2015. File Photo: Minsk II agreements were signed by Belarus' Alexander Lukashenko, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Germany's Angela Merkel, France's Francois Hollande and Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko In February 2015. 17:30 Ukraine's Defence Ministry said on Friday that more than 1,000 Russian servicemen had been killed so far in the Ukrainian conflict. "Russia has not suffered so many casualties during the fighting in any of its armed conflicts since its inception," the ministry said. (Reuters) 16:50 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the Ukrainian army to overthrow the country's leadership whom he described as "terrorists" and "a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis". Addressing the Ukrainian military in a televised address, he urged them to "take power in your own hands." "It seems like it will be easier for us to agree with you than this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis," he said, referring to leadership in Kyiv led by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish. Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via a video link in Moscow on February 25. AFP 15:40 The Russian military claims it has taken control of Hostomel airport just outside Kyiv, as Kremlin forces bear down on the Ukrainian capital. The claim could not be independently verified. Taking possession of the airport in Hostomel, which has a long runway allowing the landing of heavy-lift transport planes, would mean Russia can airlift troops directly to Kie's outskirts. Hostomel is just 7 kilometers (4 miles) northwest of the city. Ukrainian soldiers take positions in downtown Kyiv on Friday 25 February. AP 15:30 The EU is preparing to freeze the assets of Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov under a new sanctions package, according to four people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported. The EU foreign ministers hope to approve the sanctions package this afternoon, along with a number of measures against Russian banks and industry, the people told the FT. However, Putin and Lavrov will not be subject to a ban on travelling under the measures. 14:50 Chinese state TV says Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, said that Moscow is willing to negotiate with Ukraine, even as Moscow's forces invade its neighbor. The report Friday followed a Kremlin announcement that Putin's government was considering an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate non-aligned status for his country. Putin said Moscow ``is willing to conduct high-level negotiations with the Ukrainian side,'' China Central Television reported on its website. It gave no indication whether Putin said he was responding to Zelenskyy's offer or gave any details of what the two sides might negotiate. Russia complains that the United States and its allies ignored Moscow's ``legitimate security concerns'' by expanding the NATO military alliance eastward, closer to Russia's borders. Xi said China ``supports Russia and Ukraine resolving the problem through negotiations,'' CCTV said. 14:40 Turkey's foreign minister says officials are still assessing a request by Ukraine for Turkey to close to Russian shipping the straits at the entrance of the Black Sea. Mevlut Cavusoglu warned, however, that under a 1936 convention Ankara may not be able to deny total access to the Russian vessels. Ukraine on Thursday formally asked Turkey to close the Turkish Straits to Russian warships in line with the Montreux Convention which allows Turkey to restrict the passage of belligerent countries' warships during times of war. The convention stipulates however, that warships belonging to Black Sea coastal countries can return to their bases. ``If there is a demand for the ships of the warring countries to return to their bases, then (passage) must be allowed,'' Cavusoglu was quoted as telling Hurriyet newspaper in an interview. The minister said Turkish experts were assessing if the current situation amounted to ``a state of war.'' 14:30 Germany's president is appealing to Russian President Vladimir Putin to ``stop the madness of this war now.'' President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in Berlin on Friday said that ``we don't want enmity with the Russian people, quite the contrary, but this wrongdoing cannot go without a clear answer.'' Steinmeier, whose post is largely ceremonial but holds moral authority, said that Germany will do its part in deterring Putin from using force against its NATO allies. The president, who served twice as Germany's foreign minister, said that Putin ``should not underestimate the strength of democracies'' and Germans shouldn't either. He said it's good that people are going out to demonstrate, adding: ``The Russian president should not believe for a second that people in Germany and Europe simply accept this brutal violence.'' 14:25 Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent. Popes usually receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican. For Francis to travel a short distance to the Russian embassy outside the Vatican walls was a sign of his strength of feeling about Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Vatican officials said they knew of no such previous papal initiative. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the pontiff wanted ``clearly to express his concern about the war.'' Pope Francis was there for just over a half-hour, Bruni said. Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict and has urged the faithful to set next Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine. But he has refrained from publicly calling out Russia, presumably for fear of antagonizing the Russian Orthodox Church, with which he is trying to build stronger ties. 14:20 The U.N. human rights office says it is receiving increasing reports of civilian casualties in Ukraine in the wake of Russia's military invasion. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani of the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says its staffers have so far verified at least 127 civilian casualties. They include 25 people killed and 102 injured, mostly from shelling and airstrikes. She cautioned Friday that the numbers are ``very likely to be an underestimate.'' Shamdasani also said the rights office was ``disturbed by the multiple arbitrary arrests'' of demonstrators in Russia who on Thursday protested against the conflict. ``We understand more than 1,800 protesters were arrested,'' she said, before adding that it was unclear how many might have been released already. Meanwhile, spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo of the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said its latest update had that more than 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes in Ukraine. She said the agency's planning figures anticipated that ``up to 4 million people may flee to other countries if the situation escalates.'' 14:10 Latvia's defense minister is criticizing European nations for failing to cut Russia off from the global bank payments network and refusing to provide weapons to help Ukraine defend itself. Artis Pabriks' comments came after the U.S. and European Union stopped short of blocking Russia's access to the SWIFT payments system when they announced a new round of sanctions late Thursday. Pabriks also chided fellow EU nations that have refused to provide ``lethal aid'' to Ukraine, saying only the U.K., Greece, Poland and the Baltic states had done so. In an interview with the BBC on Friday, Pabriks suggested that many European leaders don't want to take these steps because they would cause economic hardship for their own countries. ``If you are really not ready yourself to spill blood, at least spill money now,'' he said. ``Do it now, because if you lose Ukraine all European geopolitics will change. . There will be much more pressure on Poland, much more pressure on the Baltics.'' The Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia fear they could be the Kremlin's next target. (AP) 14:00 Syrian President Bashar Assad is praising Russia's military incursion into Ukraine and denouncing what he calls western ``hysteria'' surrounding it. Assad spoke by phone Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. ``What is happening today is a correction of history and a restoration of balance which was lost in the world after the breakup of the Soviet Union,'' Assad said, according to state-run news agency SANA. He said confronting NATO expansionism is Russia's right. 13:55 The Kremlin says it will analyze the Ukrainian president's offer to discuss a non-aligned status for his country, as a Russian military invasion pushes closer to Kyiv. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to hold talks on the issue. Asked about Zelenskyy's offer, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday described it as "a move in a positive direction.'' He said in a conference call with reporters that "we paid attention to that, and now we need to analyze it.'' But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Zelenskyy "is simply lying'' when he offers to discuss non-aligned status for Ukraine. Lavrov said at a briefing that Zelenskyy "missed the opportunity'' to discuss a neutral status for Ukraine when Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed it. Putin says the West left him no option but to invade when it rejected Moscow's demand to keep Ukraine out of NATO. (AP) 13:50 A senior European Union official says the 27-nation bloc intends to slap further sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. EU Council president Charles Michel tweeted Friday: "Second wave of sanctions with massive and severe consequences politically agreed last night. The further package under urgent preparation.'' Michel announced the move after a call with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Michel said Kyiv "is under continued attack by Russian forces'' and called on Russia to immediately stop the violence. (AP) 13:40 Hungary has extended temporary legal protection to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, as countries in eastern Europe prepare for the arrival of refugees at their borders. Hungary, which borders Ukraine to the west, has in the past taken a firm stance against all forms of immigration. It has controversially refused to accept refugees and asylum seekers from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. But in a decree published late Thursday, Hungary's government announced that all Ukrainian citizens arriving from Ukraine, and all third-country nationals legally residing there, would be entitled to protection. The section applying to third-country nationals makes it possible for non-Ukrainians, for example, Belarussian refugees living in Ukraine, to receive protection in the European Union. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Hungary will play no part in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but that it would accept refugees arriving at its borders. 13:10 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed his solidarity with Ukraine in a telephone call with the country's leader. Johnson's Downing Street office said Friday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered an update on Russian military advances, including missile and artillery strikes. "The prime minister assured President Zelenskyy that the world is united in its horror at what Putin is doing,'' Johnson's office said in a statement. "He paid tribute to the bravery and heroism of the Ukrainian people in standing up to Russia's campaign of violence and expressed his deep condolences for those who have been killed.'' (AP) 13:00 The German government says it has suspended the granting of export credit and investment guarantees for business with Russia. The Economy Ministry said Friday that the granting of new export credit guarantees and investment guarantees for Russia was suspended on Thursday. The so-called Hermes credit export guarantees protect German companies from losses when exports aren't paid for. Investment guarantees are granted by the German government to protect direct investments by German companies from political risk in the countries where they are made. The Economy Ministry said that new export credit guarantees to the tune of 1.49 billion euros ($1.67 billion) were granted last year for business with Russia. New investment guarantees came in at a fraction of that amount, at 3.75 million euros ($4.2 million). (AP) 12:50 Poland's Border Guard says that some 29,000 people were cleared to enter through the country's land border with neighboring Ukraine on Thursday, the day Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. Before that, there were some 12,000 average daily entries from Ukraine into European Union and NATO member Poland, through land, sea and airport checkpoints, according to Border Guard statistics. Poland has lifted the requirement of COVID-19 quarantine or vaccination certificates for refugees from Ukraine. A number of reception centres with camp beds, soup kitchens and medical care have been organized in locations close to the border with Ukraine. A soldier serves soup to a Ukrainian woman in the building of the main railway station of Przemysl which has been turned into a temporary reception centre for refugees from Ukraine fleeing the conflict in their country, in eastern Poland on February 25. AFP 12:40 China is holding back from labelling Russia's attack on Ukraine as an invasion. At the same time, it is upholding the sanctity of territorial sovereignty, in a nod to its own insistence that Taiwan is part of China. "The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and maintained,'' China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Friday. "At the same time, we also see that the issue of Ukraine has its own complex and special historical merits, and we understand Russia's legitimate concerns on security issues,'' he added. Wang did not answer questions about whether China would recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, in Ukrainian territory claimed by Russia, as independent states. 12:35 Paris will host this season's football Champions League final after Saint Petersburg was stripped of the match due to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, European governing body UEFA announced. The showpiece occasion of the European club season will be played at the Stade de France on Saturday, May 28, European football's governing body said after holding an emergency meeting in response to the crisis. 12:30 Russia's civil aviation authority has banned U.K. flights to and over Russia in retaliation against the British government's ban on Aeroflot flights. Rosaviatsiya said that all flights by the U.K. carriers to Russia as well as transit flights are banned starting Friday. It said the measure was taken in response to the "unfriendly decisions'' by the British authorities who banned flights to the U.K. by the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot as part of sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 12:20 The Russian military claims it has destroyed 118 Ukrainian military assets since the beginning of its assault on its neighbour and as it pushes into the outskirts of Kyiv. The claim could not be independently verified and was not confirmed by Ukraine amid a flurry of claims and counterclaims by each side. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Friday that among the targets were 11 Ukrainian air bases, 13 command facilities, 36 air defence radars, 14 air defence missile systems, 5 warplanes, 18 tanks and warships. However, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace rejected Russian claims of success on the first day of its invasion of Ukraine, saying it had "failed to deliver'' on its day one objectives. Wallace told Sky News that the Western assessment is that Russia had failed to take its major objectives and is behind on its timetable for advance. "They've lost over 450 personnel,'' he said. 12:10 Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine, calling it "a deep cut in European history after the end of the Cold War.'' Germany's dpa news agency quoted Merkel saying Friday that there was "no justification for this blatant attack of international law. I condemn it in the sharpest possible manner.'' Merkel, who grew up in East Germany and speaks Russian, was heavily engaged in negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin throughout her 16 years in office, which ended in December. 12:05 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that 137 civilians and military personnel have been killed so far in the Russian invasion of his country. In a video address released early Friday, Zelensky called them "heroes'' in which he also says hundreds more have been wounded. Zelenskyy said that despite Russia's claim it is attacking only military targets, civilian sites also have been struck. In his words: "They're killing people and turning peaceful cities into military targets. It's foul and will never be forgiven.'' The president says all border guards on Zmiinyi island in the Odesa region were killed Thursday. (AFP) 12:00 Ukraine's nuclear energy regulatory agency says that higher than usual gamma radiation levels have been detected in the area near the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant, after it was seized by the Russian military. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate said Friday that higher gamma radiation levels have been detected in the Chernobyl zone, but didn't provide details of the increase. It attributed the rise to a "disturbance of the topsoil due to the movement of a large amount of heavy military equipment through the exclusion zone and the release of contaminated radioactive dust into the air.'' Ukrainian authorities said that Russia took the plant and its surrounding exclusion zone after a fierce battle Thursday. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Russian airborne troops were protecting the plant to prevent any possible "provocations.'' He insisted that radiation levels in the area have remained normal. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said it was told by Ukraine of the takeover, adding that there had been "no casualties or destruction at the industrial site.'' The 1986 disaster occurred when a nuclear reactor at the plant 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Kyiv exploded, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe. The damaged reactor was later covered by a protective shell to prevent leaks. 11:55 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday Moscow wants to "free Ukraine from oppression", as Russian invading forces approached. Lavrov's comments came during a meeting with representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People s Republics in Moscow on Friday morning. President Vladimir "Putin took the decision to conduct a special military operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine," Lavrov said. 11:50 The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he is "closely following recent developments in and around Ukraine with increasing concern.'' Karim Khan warned "all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine'' that Ukraine has accepted the court's jurisdiction. That means "my office may exercise its jurisdiction over and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within the territory of Ukraine since 20 February 2014 onwards, Khan said in a statement Friday. Statement of #ICC Prosecutor #KarimAAKhanQC, on the Situation in #Ukraine: While on mission in Bangladesh, I have been closely following recent developments in and around Ukraine with increasing concern." Read more pic.twitter.com/xMshqB8Fid Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) February 25, 2022 Khan adds that because neither Russia nor Ukraine is member state of the court, his office does not have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression in the conflict. The International Criminal Court is the world's permanent war crimes court. It was set up in 2002 to prosecute atrocities in countries where local authorities are unable or unwilling to conduct trials. 11:40 Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko said at least three people were injured when a rocket hit a multi-story apartment building in Ukraine's capital on Friday, starting a fire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russian military's claim it is not targeting civilian areas is "a lie.'' He said that military and civilian areas in Ukraine are both being hit by Russian attacks. Russia's invasion of Ukraine began early Thursday with a series of missile strikes, many on key government and military installations, quickly followed by a three-pronged ground assault. Ukrainian and U.S. officials said Russian forces were attacking from the east toward Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city; from the southern region of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014; and from Belarus to the north. 11:30 French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that France and its European allies have decided to "inflict very severe blows on Moscow,'' further sanctioning individuals and targeting finance, energy and other sectors. The legal texts for the sanctions will be finalized and submitted for approval to EU foreign ministers later Friday. Macron also said the EU has decided on economic aid for Ukraine in the amount of 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion). The French president also called the Belorussian government "an accomplice'' in Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, and said it will also be targeted. 11:20 As Russian troops continued pressing their offensive Friday, intense fighting also raged in the country's east. 11:15 Hundreds of Egyptian expats living or studying in Ukraine are waiting to be evacuated from the country soon amid the unknown following the Russian invasion, Ali Farouk , the head of Egyptian community in Ukraine, told Ahram Online on Thursday. 11:12 Russian troops entered the city of Sumy near the border with Russia that sits on a highway leading to Kyiv from the east. The regional governor, Dmytro Zhivitsky, said Ukrainian forces fought Russian troops in the city overnight, but other Russian convoys kept rolling west toward the Ukrainian capital. "Military vehicles from Sumy are moving toward Kyiv,'' Zhivitsky said. "Much equipment has passed through and is heading directly to the west.'' Zhivitsky added that another northeastern city, Konotop, was also sieged. He urged residents of the region to fight the Russian forces. (AP) 11:10 The Ukrainian military is reporting significant fighting northwest of the nation's capital as Russian forces apparently try to advance on Kyiv from the north. The military said Friday morning a bridge across a river had been destroyed in the area of Ivankiv, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of Kyiv. "The hardest day will be today. The enemy's plan is to break through with tank columns from the side of Ivankiv and Chernihiv to Kyiv. Russian tanks burn perfectly when hit by our ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles),'' Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. 11:00 The Ukrainian ambassador to Japan is urging China to join international efforts to stop the Russian "massacre'' in his country amid Beijing's lack of criticism of Moscow's actions. "We would very much welcome that China exercises its connection with Russia and talks to Putin and explains to him that it is inappropriate in the 21st century to do this massacre in Europe,'' Ukrainian diplomat Sergiy Korsunsky told a news conference in Tokyo. China has not criticized Russia over its actions against Ukraine, and has joined in verbal attacks on Washington and its allies. "I do believe China can play a much more active role to work with Putin in a manner we expect for civilized countries to do,'' he said. Korsunsky also asked support from the United States and its allies to provide anti-missile defense equipment to fight Russian cruise missile attacks. He said Ukraine wants to join NATO and called for its support in resolving the conflict. Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Holy Family of London Kenneth Nowakowski, centre, joins people taking part in a demonstration in support of Ukraine, outside Downing Street, central London, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. AP 10:30 Explosions are being heard before dawn in Kyiv as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleads for international help. The nature of the explosions was not immediately clear, but the blasts came amid signs that the capital and largest Ukrainian city was increasingly threatened following a day of fighting that left more than 100 Ukrainians dead. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government had information that "subversive groups'' were encroaching on the city, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Kyiv "could well be under siege'' in what U.S. officials believe is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on a phone call that Russian mechanized forces that entered from Belarus were about 20 miles from Kyiv, according to a person familiar with the call 10:00 European Union leaders are putting on a united front after a six-hour meeting during which they agreed on a second package of economic and financial sanctions on Russia. The EU Council president accuses Russia of using "fake pretexts and bad excuses'' for justifying its invasion of Ukraine and says sanctions will hurt the government, The legal texts for the sanctions agreed on are expected to be finalized overnight and be submitted for approval to EU foreign affairs ministers Friday. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says the package includes targeting 70% of the Russian banking market and key state-owned companies. She says Russia's energy sector also will be targeted "by making it impossible for Russia to upgrade its refineries.'' And there will be a ban on sales of software, semiconductors and airliners to Russia. 4:30 The U.N. Security Council will vote Friday on a resolution that would condemn Russia's military aggression against Ukraine "in the strongest terms.'' It also would demand an immediate halt to Russia's invasion and the withdrawal of all Russian troops. A senior U.S. official says the Biden administration knows the measure will be vetoed by Russia, but believes it is very important to put the resolution to a vote to underscore Russia's international isolation. The official says the council vote will be followed by a resolution voted on quickly in the 193-member U.N. General Assembly where there are no vetoes. The final draft resolution, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, would reaffirm the council's commitment "to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.'' The council is scheduled to vote at 3 p.m. EST Friday. * This report was compiled by Mohamed Hafez, Ezzat Sameh, and Haitham Nouri. * All photos by AFP and AP. Search Keywords: Short link: A growing sideline in Iraqs chronic conflicts is stolen oil. A courts ruling on KRGs energy activities has put that on the spot. Iraqs High Federal Court (HFC) last week ruled that the lucrative trade in crude oil and gas drilled from fields in the northern self-ruled Kurdish enclave of the country is illegal and ordered the federal government to review all contracts signed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) with foreign firms. The ruling rejected the oil and gas law passed by the KRG regulating the energy sector in the region as unconstitutional and demanded that the Kurdish authorities hand over their crude supplies to the federal Iraqi government. The landmark decision is expected to open a highly volatile chapter in Baghdads long-standing dispute with the KRG, which has cost the country dearly in terms of lost revenue and damage to its strategic oil industry. It will also underscore the plight unleashed by the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and raise questions as to what has happened to the countrys oil wealth, which has remained threatened by theft, fraud, smuggling, money laundering, and corruption. In post-invasion Iraq, hydrocarbon theft, in all its forms, became a significant threat not only to economic and social prosperity, but also to national stability and security. The HFC said that it had relied on several articles of the Iraqi Constitution in making its judgement, with these giving the federal government in Baghdad exclusive power to control the countrys national resources to the benefit of all the Iraqi people. In a 15-page document, the court ruled that a KRG oil and gas law passed in 2007 giving the regions Ministry of Natural Resources full authority over its oil resources was unconstitutional and should be annulled. The tribunal also recalled that a US court had ruled in favour of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil in a lawsuit it had filed against the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources in its verdict. In 2015, Iraqs government won a case in the US courts to block crude oil sales from the northern autonomous region. The present ruling obliges the KRG in Erbil to hand over all the production from the oil fields in areas under its control to the federal government and renders the production-sharing contracts that it has signed with foreign companies vulnerable to legal action by Baghdad. As expected, officials in Iraqi Kurdistan have dismissed the HFC judgement. Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani blasted it as completely political, and the KRG slammed it as unjust, unconstitutional, and violating the rights and constitutional authorities of the Kurdistan Region. In Baghdad, where hectic efforts are underway to form a new government amid much political wrangling, the court ruling has rattled Iraqs fragile political establishment, which has been generally reticent about the divisive issue. The government of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has mandated the federal Ministry of Oil to communicate and co-ordinate with the KRG, foreign firms, and foreign countries to manage this [oil] file in line with the constitution. Iraqs Kurdish President Barham Salih, who faces an uphill battle with Barzanis party for reelection, urged Baghdad and Erbil to resolve the dispute through serious and urgent dialogue. Reactions from Iraqi political and ethnic groups on the court ruling differed from group to group depending on their relationship with the Kurdish leadership, though most agreed that the decision could mark a watershed in Iraqs security. It is clear, however, that the courts decision could trigger an existential crisis and force a seismic shift in the balance of power in the country. Ever since the Iraqi Kurds started to focus on breaking away from the rest of Iraq, their key leverage has been oil. After the fall of Saddam Husseins regime in 2003, the Iraqi Kurds, who were given an autonomous region in the north, were quick to exploit the oil and gas assets that lie in the enclave and have been reluctant to give up the revenue they generate. The law to develop Iraqi Kurdistans own oil and gas industry independently of Baghdad in 2007 was a further effort by the Iraqi Kurds to wean their region away from the central government in Baghdad as they pursued outright independence from the rest of the country. The KRGs justification is that Baghdad has floated a constitutional article that stipulates that a new federal hydrocarbon law be enacted that would set new rules for sharing oil revenues. Under its unilateral measures, the KRG signed multi-billion dollar deals with international oil consortiums to develop fields in Iraqi Kurdistan. It also launched crude exports via a purpose-built pipeline running to loading terminals on Turkeys Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Iraq sits on top of the worlds fifth-largest oil reserves, and the KRG estimates that Iraqi Kurdistan may have 45 billion barrel of oil and some 25 cubic feet of gas in reserves. Yet, no one is sure how much the KRG produces and sells. A report by Deloitte, a leading global auditor, released by the KRG, stated that Erbil exported 77.35 million barrels of oil through the Kurdistan Export Pipeline during the first half of 2021, in addition to 3.95 million barrels produced and allocated to local refineries. The report said that during that period the KRG generated revenues of $4.1 billion from crude oil exports and that after making production and export payments it had retained net revenues from crude oil sales of $1.737 billion. What the report reveals is that most of the proceeds from the oil contracts go to foreign and local oil businesses owned by the Barzanis and their cronies. Given the historical context, the contours of hydrocarbon activities in Iraqi Kurdistan seem at first glance to be related to the ambiguity of the legal framework and regulations of the national energy industry. But a closer look shows they are a typical case of the spillover of insurgency or separatism when natural resources provide both the motive and the opportunity for conflicts and instability. Instead of trying to embed a national strategy such that both the KRG and the Baghdad government can benefit equally from the resources, the Kurdish leadership has resorted to advancing its independence agenda, raising the level of political instability and confrontation in Iraq. Moreover, the rentier model established in Iraqi Kurdistan after the US-invasion has produced an authoritarian regime, poor economic performance, and endemic corruption, which has created a political class of ruling families and cronies. It has made the Iraqi Kurdistan Region more vulnerable to a perpetual crisis with the federal government in Baghdad and a source of considerable controversy between the Kurdish parties and other ethnic groups in the region. While, the HFC has upped the ante regarding Iraqi Kurdistans illegal hydrocarbons sector, it has also underscored Iraqs larger oil problem. Since the US-invasion, reports have often surfaced about missing oil, other than that lost to corruption, smuggling, or just bad accounting. In the fallout from the subsequent US occupation, most of Iraqs factional leaders and militias have set their sights on the countrys lucrative oil business, competing with various rivals for power and for the foreign exchange generated by the countrys oil reserves. Reports have occasionally unveiled illicit hydrocarbons activity in many parts of the oil-rich south, including crude and refined oil products being stolen with relative ease and sold at a discount from market prices with little fear of punishment. In 2016 a Fairfax Media and Huffington Post investigation of Unaoil uncovered an extraordinary case of bribery and corruption in Iraqs oil industry by the Monaco-based company. The probe revealed how foreign oil companies had carved up Iraq through cultivating an astonishing web of influence in the upper echelons of Iraq, including the Oil Ministry, through bribes. Last year, President Salih said in a statement that an estimated $150 billion of stolen money had been smuggled out of Iraq in shady backroom deals since the US-led invasion in 2003. Other reports about Iraqs plundered wealth have put the figure much higher, with some estimating it at nearly one trillion dollars in lost revenues, the lions share having been siphoned off from the oil sector in both Iraqi Kurdistan and areas under the rule of the Baghdad government. *A version of this article appears in print in the 24 February, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: Korea's chronic trade deficit with Japan fell to the lowest level in 16 years last year due to a boycott here after Japan imposed export curbs on high-tech materials. According to the Korea Customs Service on Tuesday, Korea's trade deficit with Japan stood at US$19.16 billion last year, the lowest since 2003's $19.03 billion. Korea imported $47.57 billion worth of products from Japan, down 12.9 percent from the year before, accounting for 9.5 percent of Korea's total imports. Exports to Japan totaled $30.53 billion, down 6.9 percent. A Korea Customs Service staffer said, "Imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment dropped sharply following Japan's export ban, narrowing the trade deficit." Last July, Japan made it difficult for Korean businesses to import three key materials used to manufacture microchips. Meanwhile, Korea achieved a record trade surplus with Hong Kong last year of $30.14 billion as well as a $28.99 billion surplus with China and a $27.16 billion surplus with Vietnam. Russian police detained more than 1,300 anti-war protestors in 50 Russian cities Thursday, according to OVD-Info, an independent Russian human rights group. Anti-war rallies broke out after a military operation targeting Ukraine was announced. The human rights organization said most of the detentions, 660, were in Moscow. The group said arrests were also made in Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and other cities. By Trend Two powerful explosions took place in Ukraines Rivne city in the morning, Trend reports referring to UNIAN. Later, the police clarified that the Russian Armed Forces hit the runway of the city's civil airport twice. "The territory of the Rivne airport has been just subjected to missile strike! Serious damage wasnt inflicted," the citys mayor Alexander Tretyak said. Genres : Mystery and Thriller : Mystery and Thriller Running Time : 92 min. : 92 min. Directed by : Michael Sarnoski : Michael Sarnoski Starring : Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff Synopsis : A truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregon wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped. KYODO NEWS - Feb 25, 2022 - 12:15 | All, World U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced sweeping export restrictions and other new sanctions in response to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, delivering on an agreement reached by the Group of Seven countries to impose a "severe" punishment on Moscow. Speaking in Washington, Biden slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin for "choosing a war without a cause" and said the sanctions, imposed in lockstep with countries including Japan, will make the Russian president "a pariah on the international stage." According to the U.S. government, the export control measures will cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports, severely restricting the country's access to technologies and other items it needs to sustain "aggressive military capabilities." Washington is also severing the connection of Sberbank, Russia's largest financial institution, with the U.S. financial system. Any assets of Russia's second-largest financial institution, VTB Bank, linked with the U.S. financial system will be frozen. Biden made the announcement just hours after he met other G-7 leaders virtually to coordinate their response to the latest development in the crisis, which has sent shockwaves around the world and jolted financial markets. "We call on all partners and members of the international community to condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms...and raise their voice against this blatant violation of the fundamental principles of international peace and security," the G-7 leaders said in a statement issued the same day. "There is no justification for changing internationally recognized borders by force," they said, criticizing Putin for having "re-introduced war to the European continent." The G-7 -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union -- are bringing forward "severe and coordinated economic and financial sanctions," they said. The White House said the impact of the sanctions will be "significantly magnified" due to multilateral cooperation, as it welcomed commitments from Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan and Britain to "take similarly forceful actions to hold Russia accountable." Japan announced a new package of sanctions Friday including export controls on semiconductors and other products, a freeze on assets held by Russian financial institutions, and a suspension of visa issuance for certain Russian individuals and entities. Joint action to punish Russia was already seen earlier this week after the Kremlin, which has been massing troops near Ukraine for months, recognized on Monday two pro-Moscow separatist regions in eastern Ukraine as independent, setting the stage for the deployment of troops in the neighboring country for "peacekeeping" purposes. In the first round of sanctions, the United States targeted two major Russian state-owned financial institutions as well as five Kremlin-connected elite individuals and their families, and imposed restrictions on Russian sovereign debt. Tokyo's initial set of sanctions included a ban on the issuance and distribution of new Russian sovereign bonds in Japan. The United States is retaining the option of further sanctions, including against Putin himself and disconnecting Russia from the SWIFT international payment system, which could have a devastating impact on its economy. The Japanese government said Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had told the other members of the G-7 that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was "a challenge to the international order based on the rule of law" and called for responding "appropriately" so as not to leave "wrong lessons for other nations." "We confirmed the strong unity of the G-7" in dealing with the crisis, Kishida told reporters after the virtual meeting. The G-7 members, including this year's president Germany, had sought to persuade Putin to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. But Russia moved ahead with a large-scale attack on Ukraine on Thursday, asserting that its security has been under threat with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastward expansion and the possibility of Ukraine's membership in the alliance. The Ukraine crisis is seen as having broader implications beyond Europe, testing the G-7's resolve in preventing other countries from using force to alter the status quo. Japan and the United States are pushing for a "free and open" Indo-Pacific as China's military buildup and its assertive territorial claims have stoked concerns in the region. Beijing has not called Russia's attack on Ukraine an invasion. Tensions remain high between Taiwan and China, as Beijing considers the island a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland by force if necessary. Related coverage: Russia launches "full-scale invasion" of Ukraine, sparks int'l outcry Japan PM announces more sanctions on Russia after Ukraine invasion FOCUS: U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy overshadowed as Russian threat looms large By Miya Tanaka, KYODO NEWS - Feb 25, 2022 - 10:42 | All, World, Feature Over the past year, the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden has made clear its pivot to the Indo-Pacific region, singling out China as the "only competitor" potentially able to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday has underscored that the United States does not have the luxury of dealing only with the China challenge, while possibly complicating Biden's Indo-Pacific strategy that views Europe's engagement as a key part of the "collective capacity" Washington seeks to build in pushing back against Beijing. "The United States can't simply return to its previous business of focusing predominantly on China," Andrea Kendall-Taylor, an expert on security issues at the Center for a New American Security, told a recent congressional hearing as she spoke about the impact of the Ukraine crisis. Pursuing a "stable and predictable" relationship with Russia, the traditional U.S. rival, has been important for the Biden administration as it has stepped up its efforts to counter China's growing military assertiveness and economic clout. In February last year, the United States and Russia extended the last remaining treaty capping their nuclear arsenals, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. They have also launched "strategic stability" arms control talks agreed upon by Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June in Geneva. But with Russia facing increasing condemnation from the United States over an "unprovoked and unjustified" attack on its neighboring country, Biden has acknowledged "a complete rupture" in relations. Kendall-Taylor said Washington and its allies are now dealing with "a more brazen Russia" that uses or threatens military force to pursue objectives and that Moscow will maintain "the capacity to challenge U.S. national security interests for decades to come." "Of course, China is the most significant long-term challenge the U.S. faces, but it's not the only challenge. And so, Washington has to make strategic and budgetary decisions that reflect this reality," the expert of the Washington-based think tank added. As tensions over the situation in Ukraine mounted in February, a senior U.S. government official indicated that the Biden administration could continue its sustained engagement in the Indo-Pacific region while handling "immense pressures" elsewhere. In a sign that it has not taken its eyes off China, the administration announced the long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy that pledges to strengthen U.S. security and its economic role in the region, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken making a trip to the Asia-Pacific region to hold talks with its allies in the area. But some experts are doubtful whether Washington will be able to maintain the momentum that has been growing in Europe toward the Indo-Pacific region. In June, leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization warned that China's military ambitions pose "systemic challenges" to their alliance -- established in 1949 originally to defend against the threat posed by the Soviet Union -- and agreed to enhance ties with Japan and other Asia-Pacific nations to back the rules-based international order. But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier this month that Russia's aggressive activities are imposing "a new normal" on Europe and that it has decided to work on a "longer-term adjustment" to beef up its defense of the eastern part of the region. It is "unavoidable" that European countries will show renewed focus on their own defense, not just because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also considering the potential that Russia's saber-rattling tactics may continue, said Yoko Iwama, an international politics professor at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. Also in focus is how the Ukraine crisis will affect ties between China and Russia, which have already been drawn closer to each other amid criticism of their autocratic systems and poor human rights records. The two countries declared their friendship has "no limits" following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin on the opening day of the Beijing Winter Olympics in early February while offering support to each other's stance over Ukraine and Taiwan. Bonny Lin, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that if Russia significantly escalates the conflict in Ukraine and inflicts massive civilian casualties, China may back away from supporting Russia in Ukraine. But if the crisis leads to the two countries continuing to strengthen ties, there may be a need to take into consideration a "long-term possibility" of coordinated Russian military activity to support China in conflicts in Taiwan and in the East and South China seas, she said. "This does not necessarily mean Russia needs to engage in offensive operations to support the People's Republic of China," she said, adding, "Russia could do 'defense operations' close to its borders and that by itself would complicate U.S. and allies' calculations." China views Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island, as a renegade province awaiting reunification by force if necessary. It has also been pressing its territorial claims in its neighboring waters, such as through its repeated intrusions into Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Iwama, meanwhile, said the increasingly aggressive manner in which Russia has invaded Ukraine may have created a "slight chance" for China to distance itself from Russia. In that case, the international community should seize the moment and call on China to join moves to condemn Russia's aggression and to be less supportive in helping Russia soften the potential economic blow Moscow may suffer from the severe economic sanctions the United States and its allies are rolling out. If those efforts fail, she said, the Biden administration would likely need a substantial strategy for how to work with U.S. allies and partners to deter or contain China and Russia by viewing them as one "hostile bloc sitting in the middle of Eurasia" instead of trying to deal with them as two separate regions. "What is really necessary is a vision that connects all the American alliances and partners at the rim of Eurasia -- NATO, AUKUS the Quad and other partners," Iwama said, referring to a new Indo-Pacific security partnership between Australia, Britain and the United States and a group of four major Indo-Pacific democracies consisting of the United States, Japan, Australia and India. Related coverage: Russia launches "full-scale invasion" of Ukraine, sparks int'l outcry G-7 leaders rap Russian attack on Ukraine, vow "severe" sanctions China refrains from calling Russia's attack on Ukraine "invasion" Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with visiting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the ironclad friendship between China and Serbia when meeting with visiting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Beijing on Saturday. Xi said that the two countries enjoy high-level political mutual trust, and bilateral relations have withstood test and become even stronger, setting a model of international relations. The Serbian president has come to China to attend the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony. Hailing the leapfrog development of bilateral ties in recent years, Xi said that the two sides have implemented a number of cooperation projects covering multiple fields including infrastructure, energy and production capacity. He added that cooperation with Serbia is at the forefront of China's cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries. In the face of changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century, the two sides should view bilateral ties from the strategic and long-term perspective, maintain and develop their friendship, and firmly support each other's fundamental and long-term interests, Xi said. Xi noted that the Chinese side firmly supports the people of Serbia in pursuing a development path they have chosen independently. The two sides should seek greater synergy between development strategies, and continue advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, said Xi, adding the two should also work toward greater progress in cooperation projects including the Hungary-Serbia railway. Xi also said that the Chinese side will continue to provide support for Serbia's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, enhance vaccine co-production and cooperation in the resumption of work and production. In terms of multilateral international cooperation, Xi said China is willing to work jointly with Serbia in defending the international system with the United Nations (UN) at its core and the international order based on international law. The two countries should also speed up implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. Vucic said that Serbia is a true friend of China, and the Serbian side respects China and admires its leadership, adding that no matter what pressure or hardships lie ahead, the ironclad friendship between the two will stay strong. He also noted that on issues such as Xinjiang and Taiwan that involve China's core interests, the Serbian side will stand on the Chinese people's side as always. Vucic said that the Serbian side expects to further enhance cooperation with China in areas including trade, commerce, investment, and people-to-people exchanges. Vucic also expressed the hope for Xi to visit Serbia at an early date after the pandemic. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with visiting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's Foreign Ministry on Friday urged the United States to unconditionally return assets belonging to the Afghan people and take concrete actions to repair the damage caused to them. Global Times, an English-language Chinese newspaper, launched an online petition on Thursday, calling on the U.S. government to give back the "life-saving money" to people in Afghanistan. When asked to comment on the petition, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing that the petition received signatures from over 200,000 netizens within 24 hours. He said this proves that what the United States has done to Afghanistan is piracy, and it has enraged the public. Calling the United States the culprit of the Afghan issue, the spokesperson said more than 30,000 innocent civilians were killed during the Afghan war started by the United States and about 11 million people have become refugees. The irresponsible withdrawal of its forces by the United States has created a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, with 22.8 million people facing starvation and 3.2 million children under five suffering malnutrition, the spokesperson said, citing figures of the World Food Programme. At this critical moment, the United States did not shoulder its due responsibility to help the Afghan people alleviate their humanitarian crisis. Instead, it openly plundered the country's assets, further aggravating the suffering of the Afghan people, Wang said. He noted that the U.S. behavior has proved the essence of the so-called rules-based international order as touted by the United States is actually the order of power politics for the purpose of maintaining U.S. hegemony. "We call on the United States to immediately and completely lift the 'freeze' on Afghan assets in the United States and unilateral sanctions, unconditionally return assets belonging to the Afghan people, and take concrete actions to repair the damage caused to the Afghan people," Wang said. BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday held a telephone conversation with Josep Borrell, the European Union (EU)'s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. During their phone talks, Wang said that China-EU cooperation is the mainstream while competition and confrontation are not desirable, adding that the two sides should step up communication, enhance trust and dispel misgivings, and make joint preparations for this year's China-EU leaders' meeting in a bid to promote steady and sustainable development of China-EU relations. He also said that Lithuania's Taiwan-related issue is not an issue between China and Europe, but an issue between China and Lithuania, adding that it is not a trade issue, but a political one. Wang added that the EU side should urge Lithuania to return to the right track of the One-China principle as soon as possible. A girl holding a Kuwaiti flag celebrates the National Day in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) KUWAIT CITY, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Celebrations were held on Friday to mark Kuwait's National and Liberation Days, which are observed annually on Feb. 25 and 26. Residents in Kuwait City watched as fighter jets flew over the Kuwait Towers. To commemorate the day, Kuwait's Ministry of Defense held a show of military vehicles and equipment. In many parts of the country, citizens took part in various celebrations. Following a steady decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases, the country loosened restrictions on Feb. 14, allowing more activities to take place and the unvaccinated people to travel if they adhere to health regulations. Photo taken on Feb. 25, 2022 shows an airshow to celebrate the National Day in Kuwait City, Kuwait. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) The celebrations this year amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions have been warmly received by many residents. Originally, June 19 was designated as Kuwait's National Day, but due to the intense heat waves in June, the country chose to move it to Feb. 25. Photo taken on Feb. 25, 2022 shows an airshow to celebrate the National Day in Kuwait City, Kuwait. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua) Kuwait's Liberation Day is celebrated every year on Feb. 26. The holiday commemorates the liberation of Kuwait in 1991 after a seven-month Iraqi occupation. DUBLIN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Ireland's gross domestic product (GDP) had more than doubled over the past decade to 372.9 billion euros (419.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2020 from 167.4 billion euros in 2010, the country's Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Friday. By 2020, Ireland's economy had maintained a growth record for ten consecutive years, the CSO said in a report titled "Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020." Ireland was the only country among the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) that had a positive GDP growth rate in 2020, it said, adding that the Irish economy grew by 5.9 percent in that year in sharp contrast with a negative 5.9 percent GDP growth rate for the EU27. In 2020, Ireland's GDP ranked tenth in the EU, lagging behind Austria but overtaking Denmark, the CSO said quoting Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. In purchasing power standards, in 2020 Ireland had the second-highest GDP per capita in the EU after Luxembourg, it said. The CSO also said that Ireland's exports of goods and services accounted for 131.1 percent of its GDP in 2020, the second-highest in the EU27, again after Luxembourg, while its imports of goods and services were 108.8 percent of its GDP in that year, the third-highest in the EU. In the first three quarters of 2021, Ireland's GDP grew by approximately 14.5 percent year-on-year, according to the CSO. (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollar) LAGOS, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian police on Thursday confirmed two police officers and five civilians were shot dead in a suspected robbery attack in the country's southeastern state of Edo. A police spokesperson said that the gunmen attacked four banks and a police divisional headquarter in the town of Uromi. No arrests have been made so far, said the spokesperson, adding the armed robbers have reportedly retreated to an unknown hideout. Security sources told Xinhua that the gunmen stormed the town in several vehicles before attacking the four banks with dynamite. By Trend Georgia will not join the economic sanctions imposed on Russia, Georgias Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said, Trend reports via Georgian media. As Garibashvili told journalists, the decision was made taking into account the national interests of Georgia. During these years, among other issues, we have managed to de-escalate our tense relations with Russia, which was in line with Georgias national interests, and I will not make any decisions against them, the PM said. JAKARTA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least two persons were killed and dozens of others wounded as a 6.2-magnitude quake hit Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Friday, an official said. Head of the Operation Unit of Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency of West Sumatra Province, named only Jumaidi, told Xinhua by phone that the quake also destroyed buildings and houses. New Delhi: Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopaedia, removed the donation notice for its Indian users on Thursday. The development had sparked the paywall speculations. Several Indian users were bemused over the notice. In the appeal, which has been removed now, Wikipedia had urged the Indian users to donate money for the unlimited access. However, no such notice live on the Wikipedia homepage. To all our readers in India. It's a little awkward, so we'll get straight to the point: This Wednesday we humble ask you to defend Wikipedia's independence. We depend on donations averaging about Rs 1,000, but 98% of our readers don't give. If everyone reading this gave Rs 150, the price of a box of tea, we could keep Wikipedia thriving for years to come, the notice said. When we made Wikipedia a non-profit, people warned us we'd regret it. But if Wikipedia became commercial, it would be a great loss to the world. Wikipedia unites all of us who love knowledge: contributors, readers, and the donors who keep us thriving. The heart and soul of Wikipedia is a community of people working to bring you unlimited access to reliable, neutral information. Please take a minute to help us keep Wikipedia online and growing. Thank you, it further added. A free online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia runs on the donations given by its patrons. However, this is the first time that users in India have been targeted. A report by techcrunch.com said that the English version of the Wikipedia has more than six million articles. The six millionth article was created by a Canadian teacher named Rosie Step. She had created a page on Marie "Toofie" Lauder, a well-traveled and philanthropic 19th century writer. Wikipedia is available in around 12 languages. The English version of the website averages about 255 million pageviews a day. Last month, a Turkish court had lifted a ban on Wikipedia after almost three years. Turkey blocked Wikipedia in April 2017, accusing it of being part of a "smear campaign" against Ankara, after the website refused to remove content that allegedly portrayed Turkey as a country supporting the Islamic State group and terrorist organisations. Turkey was the only country in the world apart from China to entirely block access to the online encyclopedia. But its constitutional court ruled last month that the ban, in place since April 2017, violated freedom of expression. An Ankara judge gave the order on Wednesday for the ban to be lifted by the telecommunications watchdog. Users said the website was still inaccessible on Wednesday though it was expected to be gradually unblocked nationwide. Wikipedia declined to remove content from the community-generated site, citing its opposition to censorship. Last year, Wikipedia launched a social media campaign with the hashtag WeMissTurkey to press for the removal of the block. "We did not comply with the demand to remove the articles because we believed that the content in question was legally protected free expression and because we defend our volunteer editors' decisions about what information should be included on Wikipedia," said Samantha Lien, the communications manager for Wikimedia Foundation, which runs the website. New Delhi: Bihar Amin Exam Admit Card 2020 has been delayed as of now. According to the notification released by Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (BCECEB), the Bihar Amin Exam (CBT) has been postponed due to some unavoidable reasons. The notification further reads that the new Bihar Amin Exam Date 2020 will be released soon by the board. For more details, candidates need to visit the official website of BCECEB, i.e. bceceboard.bihar.gov.in. As the Bihar AMIN Exam 2020 has been postponed, the issue of Bihar Amin 2020 admit card is delayed till further notice. BCECEB Bihar Amin Exam 2020 Earlier, the Bihar Amin Exam (CBT) 2020 was scheduled to be conducted on February 15 and February 16, 2020. According to the notification released by the board, more than 1500 vacant posts are going to be filled through this competitive exam recruitment drive. Also Read: BCECEB Recruitment Notification Released For AMIN Posts, Apply At bceceboard.bihar.gov.in Earlier, class 12 passed candidates in the age group of 18 to 37 years were able to apply for the Amin posts. It is to note that selected candidates will get salary in the scale of Rs 5200 Rs 20200. For more details, candidates need to refer the notification released by the board at the time of application. BCECEB Bihar Amin Exam 2020 Pattern The Bihar AMIN Exam 2020 will be a computer-based test that will have two sections. The first section will have questions from Genral Hindi, General Awareness, General Science and Geo-politics. The Bihar Amin Exam 2020 second section will have questions from the subject of General Mathematics. The first and second sections will have questions of 50 marks and 25 marks respectively. A total of 75 questions will be asked in the exam and the time duration of the Bihar Amin Exam 2020 is 2 hours and 15 minutes. New Delhi: US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump are scheduled to visit India on February 24. Ahead of their two-day state visit, Indian government is leaving no stones unturned to welcome the US President. The Indian authorities are building a wall reportedly to hide the countrys poverty and shield Trump and his wife from the sight of slums when they visit Ahmedabad. According to news agency Reuters, locals seemed angry at the step even as their businesses were shut down due to the construction of the wall. The officials, however, claimed that the wall was being built for security reasons and not to hide the poverty of the country. "The government should spend in a way that it is beneficial for the poor. What is the point of spending thousands of rupees here in building a wall and hiring workers? We are poor people and we used to have business near here which is shut down (due to wall construction)," Reuters quoted a slum-dweller as saying. Also Read | India Offers US Dairy, Chicken Access In Bid For Elusive Trade Deal With Trump Trump, who has vowed to build a wall along the United States border with Maxico, will visit India on February 24-25 to reaffirm bilateral ties with India that have been pounded by trade disputes. This will be Trumps first state visit to as the US President to the worlds largest democracy. The visit is seen as an effort by both countries to reach a limited trade pact with lower tariffs. He is also scheduled to attend an event "Kem Chho Trump" ("How are you, Trump") along the lines of "Howdy Modi" spectacular hosted for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston last September. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday issued a letter of appreciation to the team members of Wuhan evacuation operations. According to news agency ANI, the letter would be handed over to the crew by Minister of State for Civil Aviation. Air India had conducted emergency evacuation operations from the Wuhan city in China. The death toll in Chinas novel coronavirus outbreak has spiked to 1,367 with 254 new fatalities, the highest for a single day, reported mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province while the confirmed cases of infection jumped to nearly 60,000, health officials said on Thursday. The Hubei province, the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus, reported a record 242 new deaths and nearly 15,000 fresh cases in a single day on Wednesday, the fastest jump in the daily count since the virus outbreak was first identified in December. The total deaths from the more than 2-month-old outbreak as reported on Thursday stood at 1,367, with the total number of confirmed cases mounting to 59,804, health officials were quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. Chinese health authorities on Thursday said that they received reports of 15,152 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 254 deaths on Wednesday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Among the deaths, 242 were in Hubei Province, according to Mi Feng, a spokesperson with the National Health Commission. The change in categorisation appeared to push forward the process to a doctors on-the-spot diagnosis rather than waiting for the results of laboratory tests, it said. Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, has reported 14,840 new coronavirus cases, including 13,332 clinically diagnosed cases on Wednesday, the local Health Commission said. The Hubei health commission said the adjustment in the calculation has been made to give those who have been clinically diagnosed with the timely standard treatment of confirmed cases, the report said. Until Tuesday, the virus outbreak has claimed 1,115 lives with 97 new fatalities reported mostly in the worst-affected Hubei province while the confirmed cases of infection jumped to 44,763, the state-run media reported. The number of confirmed cases abroad rose to 440 with one death so far in the Philippines. Japan reported the highest number of 203 cases with a majority of them from a cruise ship in which two Indian crew on board tested positive for the coronavirus. A 15-member team of specialists of World Health Organisation, (WHO) is currently in China assisting the local health officials in containing the virus. (With agency inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. On the intervening night of August 4-5, 2019, Omar Abdullah, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was put under house arrest. (Photo Credit: Mamata Banerjee/Twitter) New Delhi: The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday on a plea filed by Sara Abdullah Pilot challenging the detention of her brother and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah under the Public Safety Act. A bench, comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Indira Banerjee, said it would hear on March 2 Pilot's plea challenging Abdullah's detention. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for Pilot in the apex court. Pilot had on Monday approached the top court challenging her brother's detention under the Public Safety Act, saying the order was "manifestly illegal" and there was no question of him being a "threat to the maintenance of public order". At the outset, the bench asked Sibal as to "what are the grounds of detention". Sibal referred to the dossier handed over to Abdullah by Superintendent of Police and said the grounds of detention are already mentioned there. "Has any petition been filed in the Jammu and Kashmir high court by anybody on your behalf? Verify whether anything is pending there," the bench told Sibal. Sibal told the bench that nobody has filed anything in the high court on their behalf. After issuing notice, the bench said the matter will be heard after three weeks. Sibal urged the court that the matter be heard next week as it is a habeas corpus petition concerning liberty of an individual. When Sibal said that it would delay the matter, the bench said," you have waited for so long. Wait for 15 more days." "It can't be heard overnight," the bench said and posted the matter fore hearing on March 2. The plea has sought quashing of the February 5 order detaining Abdullah, former chief minister of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, under the PSA and also sought his production before the court. Pilot has said that exercise of powers by authorities under the CrPC to detain individuals, including political leaders, was "clearly mala fide to ensure that the opposition to the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution is silenced". For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The United States is India's second-largest trade partner after China, and bilateral goods and services trade climbed to a record $142.6 billion in 2018. (Photo Credit: Reuters) New Delhi/Washington : India has offered to partially open up its poultry and dairy markets in a bid for a limited trade deal during US President Donald Trump's first official visit to the country this month, people familiar with the protracted talks say. India, the world's largest milk-producing nation, has traditionally restricted dairy imports to protect the livelihoods of 80 million rural households involved in the industry. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to pull all the stops for the US president's February 24-25 visit, aimed at rebuilding bonds between the world's largest democracies. In 2019, Trump suspended India's special trade designation that dated back to 1970s, after Modi put price caps on medical devices, such as cardiac stents and knee implants, and introduced new data localization requirements and e-commerce restrictions. Trump's trip to India has raised hopes that he would restore some of the country's US trade preferences, in exchange for tariff reductions and other concessions. The United States is India's second-largest trade partner after China, and bilateral goods and services trade climbed to a record $142.6 billion in 2018. The United States had a $23.2 billion goods trade deficit in 2019 with India, its 9th largest trading partner in goods. India has offered to allow imports of US chicken legs, turkey and produce such as blueberries and cherries, Indian government sources said, and has offered to cut tariffs on chicken legs from 100% to 25%. US negotiators want that tariff cut to 10%. The Modi government is also offering to allow some access to India's dairy market, but with a 5% tariff and quotas, the sources said. But dairy imports would need a certificate they are not derived from animals that have consumed feeds that include internal organs, blood meal or tissues of ruminants. New Delhi has also offered to lower its 50% tariffs on very large motorcycles made by Harley-Davidson, a tax that was a particular irritant for Trump, who has labelled India the "tariff king." The change would be largely symbolic because few such motorcycles are sold in India. Trump will be feted in PM Modi's home state of Gujarat, then hold talks in New Delhi and attend a reception that the hosts have promised will be bigger than the one organised for former president Barack Obama in 2015. ENOUGH FOR LIGHTHIZER? But it is far from clear whether India's offers will be enough to satisfy US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who cancelled plans for a trip to India this week. Instead, he has held telephone talks with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. The US dairy industry remained sceptical on Thursday that a viable deal is at hand. "We're always looking for market access, but in terms of India, as of today I'm not aware of any real progress going on," said Michael Dykes, president of the International Dairy Foods Association and a member of USTR's agricultural trade policy advisory committee. Dykes said the US dairy industry was looking for access in viable commercial quantities. A USTR spokesman and India's trade ministry did not respond to requests for comment. PRIVACY LAW COMPLICATIONS A Parliament panel is reviewing a draft data privacy law that imposes stringent controls over cross-border data flows and gives the government powers to seek user data from companies. It is not clear whether it will be passed, or in what form, but the possibilities have unnerved US companies and could raise compliance requirements for Google, Amazon.com Inc, and Facebook. The draft law is not part of the trade discussions, Indian officials say, because the issue is too difficult to resolve at the same time. "The privacy and localisation piece will be raised independently and in concert with the trade discussions," said a Washington-based source with knowledge of the US administration's thinking. Trump on Tuesday was non-committal about sealing a trade deal before his visit. "If we can make the right deal, we'll do it," he told reporters. Two US sources said progress had been made on proposed alterations to the medical device price caps. India's new import tariffs on medical devices, walnuts, toys, electronics and other products on February 1 surprised US negotiators, however. The new tariffs were aimed at China, which also makes medical devices, according to an Indian government source. "We have to protect our market and our companies," the source said. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed Congress leader PL Punia for comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Nathuram Godse. Terming it cheap mentality, former chief minister and partys vice president Dr Raman Singh said that it is because of this attitude the grand old party faced a debacle in recently concluded Delhi Assembly elections. Singh said that it is unfortunate that the grand old party holds such a view for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been elected twice by the people of India. Punia had compared the prime minister with Godse saying he had bowed down and touched the steps of Parliament in 2014 the same way Godse did before assassinating Mahatma Gandhi. I stated BJP-RSS ideology. PM and govt are attacking the constitution. It was drafted by freedom fighters. But these are people who had burnt copies of the constitution, today they're bowing down. Godse had first touched Gandhi ji's feet and then shot him dead. Everyone knows this drama, the Congress leader had said. Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed Narendra Modi alleging that the prime minister believed in the same ideology as Mahatma Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse. Gandhis attack on Modi on a day coinciding with the 72nd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi drew a sharp response from BJP leader and union minister Pralhad Joshi who said there cannot be a more arrogant person than the Gandhi scion who once tore down the ordinance brought by his own government and slammed the then prime minister Manmohan Singh. Addressing thousands of party workers after leading the Save the Constitution march at Kalpetta in Kerala, the Wayanad MP also said Modi was making Indians to prove that they are citizens of the country. Referring to Godse, Gandhi said Modi shared the same ideology with him (Godse). Today, an ignorant man is trying to challenge Gandhis ideology. He is so full of hatred and anger that he cannot even understand what Indias strength is, he added. The ideology is same. Nathuram Godse and Narendra Modi, they believe in the same ideology. There is no difference except that Modi does not have the guts to say he believes in the ideology of Godse, the Congress leader said. Pralhad Joshi, who is the Parliamentary Affairs minister, claimed that leaders and chief ministers of Gandhis own party have to wait for long hours to meet him and he doesnt even bother to listen to them. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The SpiceJet on Friday announced that it would be suspending Delhi-Hong Kong flights from February 16 to 29, with the novel coronavirus outbreak killing nearly 1,500 people in China. IndiGo and Air India have already suspended all their flights between India and China. SpiceJet has decided to temporarily suspend its daily Delhi-Hong Kong passenger flight from February 16th to 29th, 2020," the budget carrier's spokesperson stated. This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Please refresh the page for the updated version. Keep reading News Nation for all latest updates. For other stories, click on english.newsnationtv.com For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: It was July 1954 when a smartly dressed man arrives at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Much like other passengers, he makes his way to customs. But whatever happened from this point onwards have left all puzzled and concerned. When questioned by the customs officers, the mysterious passenger said he was from Taured, also referred to as Taured Mystery. The mystery man claimed that it was the third time he was visiting Japan from his country. But, to the surprise of officers, they couldnt find any country named Taured. The primary language of the man, described as Caucasian looking with a beard, was French. However, she was purportedly speaking Japanese and many other languages as well. Officers were perplexed because they had never heard about any such country. The passport of the man was issued by of course the Taured. The passport looked authentic but the place was not recognized. Location of Taured The man was then given a map and asked to point out his country. He immediately man pointed to the area occupied by the Principality of Andorra. Andorra is at the border of France and Spain. The man said that his country has been in existence for 1000 years and was a little puzzled why his country was called Andorra on the map. The man argued with the customs officers for long and refused to give in. What Is The Mystery All About? He was also carrying currencies of different countries, probably because he had made several business trips. The mystery man shared other details like the company for which he was working and the hotel where he stayed. Officials find out that the company which he mentioned existed in Tokyo but not in Taured. Similarly, the hotel he mentioned did exist but hotel employees informed them that no such booking was made. This prompted officers to take the man in custody for further interrogation. Officers were suspicious that he might be some criminal and confiscated his documents and personal belongings. The officers put the mystery man in a nearby hotel whilst they conducted their investigation. Mystery Man Vanishes Amid Tight Security To ensure that the mystery man didnt escape, two guards were placed on the door. It must be mentioned that the hotel room in which he was staying only had one entry and exit point. But to everyones surprise, the man vanished the next morning. Not only that, but all his personal documents had also disappeared. A search was launched to find the man but in vain. The thing that was troubling investigating officers was that he was put up in a room high up in the multi-storey hotel building with no balcony. Unexplained Phenomena Some people argued that the mystery man was indeed from Taured but the country happens to be in another universe and somehow passed through a parallel dimension and ended up at Haneda Airport. Another theory is that the mystery man was a time traveller and had mistakenly landed at the airport. Above all this, there are people who claim that its just an elaborate internet hoax. For all the Latest Offbeat News News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad The special quarantine regime imposed in Azerbaijan to fight the spread of COVID-19 has been extended until 06:00 (GMT +4) on May 1, 2022. The relevant decision was adopted by the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers and signed by Prime Minister Ali Asadov. It should be noted that previously, the special quarantine regime in the country was extended until March 1, 2022. Azerbaijan confirmed its first COVID-19 case on February 28, 2020. The country introduced a special quarantine regime on March 25 and took a number of measures to fight COVID-19 in the country. The nationwide vaccination is free and on a voluntary basis and is in line with the Strategy of vaccination against COVID-19 in Azerbaijan for 2021-2022. The country started vaccinating citizens using Chinas Sinovac on January 18, Vaxzevria vaccine produced by AstraZeneca on May 3, Russias Sputnik V on May 18, and U.S-produced Pfizer on June 7. The country started offering COVID-19 vaccination to citizens aged over 18 from May 10. At the same time, as of August 9, Azerbaijan started issuing vaccination exemption certificates for citizens with contraindications to coronavirus vaccines approved for use in the country. Azerbaijan also has made a significant contribution to the strengthening of solidarity and cooperation against coronavirus at a global level. The country voluntarily made financial contributions to the World Health Organization in the amount of $10 million. In addition, Azerbaijan provided direct financial and humanitarian assistance to more than 30 countries over COVID-19 and donated more than 150,000 doses of the vaccine to four countries free of charge. Azerbaijan has registered 781,538 COVID-19 cases so far. Some 12,896,808 COVID-19 vaccines have been provided to the citizens to this date. The first dose of the vaccine was given to 5,293,008 citizens, the second one to 4,780,286, and the third dose to 2,623,773 citizens. New Delhi: Kafeel Khan, suspended Gorakhpur doctor has been slapped with the National Security Act (NSA) over his alleged inflammatory speech at the Aligarh Muslim University during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. Khan who presently is lodged at Mathura jail gave the speech last year on December 12. He, however, was granted bail on Monday but he has not been released yet. "We got to know on Friday morning that NSA has been slapped on Kafeel and now he will not be coming out of jail soon. This is simply unacceptable. He is being targeted at the behest of the state government," news agency IANS quoted Khans brother Adeel as saying. Khan allegedly made a provocative speech during the Open Talk in AMU campus during the protest and was then booked. An FIR was registered against him under section 153-A (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion) of IPC at the civil lines police station on December 13. ALSO READ | Gorakhpur Doctor Kafeel Khan Arrested For His Aligarh 'Hate Speech' The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been one the most talked about issues in the country for several weeks now. The passage of the contentious act created tensions in different parts of the country. Starting from Assam, Uttar Pradesh to New Delhi, violent protests erupted, culminating into huge damage of public properties. The Citizenship Act protests, which agitators tout as Anti-Muslim, spread far and wide and prohibitory orders (Section 144) and internet shutdowns have also become the order of the day. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) aims to amend the definition of illegal immigrant for Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist and Christian immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have lived in India without proper documents. According to the act those who have been living here will be granted fast track Indian citizenship in six years. So far 12 years of residence has been the standard eligibility requirement for naturalisation. Last September, Khan rose to news after 70 infants died at the BRD Medical College, reports suggested that a UP government inquiry has given a clean chit to Khan in the case. Dr Khan was suspended following the death of children in the hospital in August 2017. The government has maintained that the children died due to different illnesses, including Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and there was no shortage of oxygen. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Kolkata got its second Metro line on Thursday -- 36 years after the countrys first underground railway system came into being in the citywith the first phase of the East-West Metro being flagged off by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. The inaugural train zoomed off from Sector V station to traverse a 4.88-km distance to Salt Lake Stadium, as Goyal said that the entire 16.5-km stretch of the corridor - till Howrah Maidan - is likely to be completed in two years. "The entire stretch of the East-West Metro corridor, from Sector 5 to Howrah Maidan, is likely to be completed in two years, provided bottlenecks affecting the route are cleared through local support," he said, during his speech. Commercial services, connecting six overground stations - Sector V, Karunamoyee, Central Park, City Centre, Bengal Chemical and Salt Lake Stadium stations - will commence on Friday. The Kolkata Metro Under the Ministry of Railways is now all set to launch East-West Corridor Metro Services in Kolkata, West Bengal. The first phase of the East West Metro corridor connecting Sector V with Salt Lake Stadium in the city inaugurated today. #NewKolkataMetro pic.twitter.com/N2LOifjVSX Eastern Railway (@EasternRailway) February 13, 2020 Obliquely blaming the Trinamool Congress government for delay in completion of work on the East-West Metro corridor, Goyal said, "Though work on the project started in 2009, it was stalled from 2012 to 2015 on the pretext of route realignment." He said that his predecessor, Suresh Prabhu, had taken care of the realignment work, following which construction on the stretch resumed. Also Read | India's First Underwater Metro To Be Inaugurated Today, CM Mamata Banerjee's Name Missing From Invitation "The delay also caused cost escalation," Goyal said, adding that Rs 6,500 crore have so far been spent for the East-West Metro project. The TMC leadership, however, boycotted Thursdays inauguration, after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's name was found missing from the invitation card for the programme. Local MLA and minister in the Mamata Banerjee government, Sujit Bose, MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Bidhannagar Mayor Krishna Chakraborty, who were invited to the inauguration, skipped the event, in protest against the "insult meted out to the chief minister by not inviting her". The Metro project, scheduled to be completed by June 2021, had faced an unprecedented jolt last year, when a tunnel-boring machine hit an aquifer in Bowbazar area of the city, causing severe ground subsidence and damage to several buildings. The accident further delayed the completion of work by another year, with the authorities now eyeing a 2022 deadline. Goyal said that the first underground station of the Metro corridor - Phoolbagan - would be ready within three to four months and services will be extended by October. Also Read | This Valentine's Day, Plan A Romantic Proposal In Noidas Aqua Line Metro! Deets Inside "Other Metro railway projects in the city are also getting affected owing to land issues. They need more cooperation of the state government," he insisted. The five ongoing Metro railway projects in the city have been allotted a budgetary grant of Rs 1,542 crore for fiscal 2020-21. The East-West Metro corridor has received a grant of Rs 905 crorethe highest among the five projects currently underway in Kolkata. The New Garia-NSCBI Airport link, slated to be completed by June 2021, has been allotted Rs 328 crore, while the Noapara-Barasat line has received a grant of Rs 200 crore. Another 16.6-km Joka-BBD Bag route, connecting the south-eastern suburbs of Behala with the heart of the city, has been granted Rs 99 crore, and the Barrackpore-Baranagar and Dakshineswar stretch, covering a distance of 14.5 km, allotted Rs 10 crore. "I hope the projects will be completed at the earliest so that Metro becomes the most-preferred transport mode in Kolkata and in adjoining areas," the minister added. Union Minister Babul Supriyo, who also attended Thursdays inauguration, said the occasion would have been a happier one, had representatives of the state government graced it. Metro general manager Manoj Joshi said that the East-West Metro will carry a passenger load of 7 to 8 lakh daily, when the full stretch - from Sector V to Howrah Maidan - becomes operational. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Coronavirus in China: The death count in the outbreak has climbed to 1,631. (Photo Credit: IANS) New Delhi: The death count in Chinas novel coronavirus outbreak has climbed to 1,631 with 143 new fatalities reported from all over the country, national authorities announced on Saturday. Almost all the deaths are in Hubei Province which showed a sharp increase with new confirmed cases. There are now more than 67,535 confirmed cases across China, based on previously released figures from the government. Hubei Province, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, reported 2,420 new confirmed cases and 139 new deaths on Friday. The death count due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China has surpassed the toll from the SARS outbreak on the mainland and Hong Kong almost two decades ago. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), a disease in the same family as the new coronavirus, left nearly 774 people dead in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. More than 120 others died around the world. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the use of digital technology such as big data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing to better support epidemic monitoring and analysis, virus tracing, prevention and treatment, and resource allocation. His call came amid deployment of robots in hospitals in Wuhan treating the virus patients to supply and other materials. More than 580 cases have been confirmed outside mainland China and three deaths, one each in the Philippines and Hong Kong and now a Japanese woman in her 80s. Health officials are investigating how she got infected. Coronavirus: China opens new hospital China has opened a new hospital built in 10 days, infused cash into tumbling financial markets and further restricted people's movement in hopes of containing the rapidly spreading virus and its escalating impact. The virus was officially named COVID-19 at a conference in Geneva held by the World Health Organization, where the body's chief said countries had a chance of stopping its global spread. WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday that although 99 percent of cases are in China, where it remains much an emergency, it also holds a very grave threat for the rest of the world. China has struggled to contain the current virus despite having placed some 56 million people under effective lockdown in Hubei and its provincial capital, Wuhan. Other cities far from the epicentre have also taken measures to keep people indoors, limiting the number of individuals who can leave their home. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: AIMS ATMA 2020 Result has been declared. Candidates who appeared for the AIMS test need to visit the official website of Association of India Management Schools, i.e. atmaains.com to check and download the Management Aptitude Test Result. Alternatively, candidates can click on the below mentioned direct link to check and download the AIMS ATMA Result. Earlier, the AIMA ATMA Exam 2020 was held on February 9, 2020. AIMS ATMA 2020 Result According to the result data released by AIMS, Ankit Udit Thakker has secured the highest percentage of 99.98 percent. Further, Pranesh Naresh Bhavnani and Shubham Prakash Deora secured the second and third position as they secured 99.95 percent and 99.93c percent respectively. In order to check the AIMS ATMA 2020 Result, candidates need to follow the below mentioned steps: Also Read: GATE 2020 Answer Key Release Date And Time Confirmed, Get Details Here First, visit the official website of ATMA, i.e. atmaaims.com Then, navigate and click on the Result Data that is available under the Validate ATMA Result Click on the print result under exam notification to view the individual result A new page will open Follow the instructions and proceed Download and take a printout of the AIMA ATMA 2020 Result for future reference ATMA is a single window test that is held for shortlisting candidates for Post Graduate Management Programs such as PGDM, MBA and MCA. Candidates can click on the below mentioned direct links to check and download the AIMS ATMA 2020 Result. AIMS ATMA 2020 Result Direct Link Validate AIMS ATMA 2020 Result Direct Link New Delhi: The Chennai Police on Friday lathi-charged the protesters who had been demonstrating against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Four police personnela woman joint commissioner, two women constables and a sub-inspectorwere injured in stone pelting, the police said, even as reports emerged that some protesters were also hurt. The protesters accused the police of resorting to a lathicharge. Joint Commissioner P Vijayakumari sustained injuries on her head, the police said, adding that those wounded were admitted to a hospital. DMK President MK Stalin while reacting to the incident said: We condemn the Edappadi government's police crackdown on the night of February 14, in a deliberate attack on people who fought peacefully against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The detainees should be released and their cases be withdrawn. Some of the protesters were detained. Subsequently, more people gathered there demanding their release. As a result, security was beefed up in the area. Protesters subsequently called off the agitation, following talks with City Police Commissioner AK Viswanathan. Viswanathan held discussions with community elders and representatives of Muslim organisations, following which all those detained were released, the police said. An amicable decision was arrived at in the meeting with Muslim organisations and they have announced that the agitation will be withdrawn, a police officer said, adding that normalcy had returned to the area. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been one the most talked about issues in the country for several weeks now. The passage of the contentious act created tensions in different parts of the country. Starting from Assam, Uttar Pradesh to New Delhi, violent protests erupted, culminating into huge damage of public properties. The Citizenship Act protests, which agitators tout as Anti-Muslim, spread far and wide and prohibitory orders (Section 144) and internet shutdowns have also become the order of the day. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) aims to amend the definition of illegal immigrant for Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist and Christian immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have lived in India without proper documents. According to the act those who have been living here will be granted fast track Indian citizenship in six years. So far 12 years of residence has been the standard eligibility requirement for naturalisation. A large number of women have been holding a sit-in against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Shaheen Bagh in south east Delhi since mid-December. The protest, supported by people from different fields including politicians, Bollywood actors and academicians, has emerged as a symbol of anti-CAA agitation in the country. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. US-Iran Tensions: It was the first attack on the base since December 27, when a volley of around 30 rockets killed a US contractor there and unleashed a dramatic escalation. (Photo Credit: File Photo) New Delhi: In the latest attack on installations where American troops are deployed, rockets targeted an Iraqi airbase in the remote province of Kirkuk. The Katyusha rocket on Thursday night hit the K1 base at around 8:45pm local time (1745 GMT) and US military aircraft immediately began flying low over the area. It was the first attack on the base since December 27, when a volley of around 30 rockets killed a US contractor there and unleashed a dramatic escalation. Washington blamed the rockets on Kataeb Hezbollah, a hardline Iraqi military faction close to Iran, and conducted retaliatory strikes that killed 25 of the group's fighters. That death set off a series of dramatic developments, with the US carrying out strikes against a pro-Iran paramilitary group in Iraq as well as a convoy carrying top Iranian and Iraqi commanders outside Baghdad airport. Tehran launched ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing American and other coalition forces in retaliation for the US killing top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Qasem Soleimani, the popular head of the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm, was killed in a US drone strike outside Baghdad airport on Friday, ratcheting up tensions between the arch-foes. In outrage, Iraq's parliament voted to oust all foreign forces from the country, including around 5,200 US troops deployed to help local forces beat back remnants of the Islamic State group. Iraqi leaders privately want US troops to stay: Mike Pompeo After Iraq Parliaments vote, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged that Iraqi leaders have told him privately they support the US troop presence, despite public appeals for them to leave. This came after last week Iraqs parliament voted to expel the US military from the country. The lawmakers voted in favour of a resolution that mandates to end the presence of military of any other country in Iraq. With almost 5,000 US troops stationed in Iraq, the resolution seeks United States to withdraw its military. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: BPSC Assistant Final Re-Exam Result has been declared. Candidates who appeared for the BPSC Assistant Main Re Exam need to visit the official website of Bihar Public Service Commission, i.e. bpsc.bih.nic.in to check and download the BPSC Assistant Final result. Alternatively, candidates can click on the below mentioned direct link to check and download the BPSC Assistant Final Result 2018. The BPSC Assistant Final Exam Re Exam Result will open in the PDF format. BPSC Assistant Final Re-Exam Result It is to note that the BPSC Assistant Final Exam was conducted on February 1, 2020, and candidates who want to check the BPSC Assistant Re-Exam Final Result need to follow the below mentioned steps: Also Read: BSEB STET 2019 Result Declared, Check At biharboard.online First, visit the official website of BPSC, i.e. bpsc.bih.nic.in Then, click on the BPSC Assistant Final Result Link that is flashing at the top of the homepage A new page will open in the PDF format Download and take a printout of the BPSC Result that opens in the PDF format Candidates must note that the result is available in the order of merit and further divided between categories of application. A total of 577 candidates appeared for the exam out of which 1 candidate was not able to secure the passing marks in Hindi. Candidates can click on the below mentioned direct link to check and download the BPSC Assistant Final Re Exam Result. BPSC Assistant Final Re Exam Result Direct Link New Delhi: Petrol prices remained unchanged on Friday, February 14. However, diesel prices witnessed a marginal cut. According to the Indian Oil website, petrol rates are Rs 71.94 per litre in Delhi, Rs 77.60 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 74.58 per litre in Kolkata, and Rs 74.73 per litre in Chennai, respectively. On the other hand, the diesel prices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai remained at Rs 64.82, Rs 67.83, Rs 67.09, and Rs 68.40 per litre, respectively. In Noida, petrol is retailing at Rs 78.86 a litre, while diesel price is Rs 65.07 a litre. The price of petrol in Gurugram is Rs 72.04 a litre while diesel was selling at Rs 64.18 a litre. India is 84 per cent dependant on imports to meet its oil needs and any spike in global prices has a direct bearing on its economy. Not just imports but even domestic crude oilwhich forms the raw material for making petrol, diesel and other petroleum productsis priced according to international benchmarks. Middle East accounts for more than two-thirds of the countrys oil imports, with Iraq and Saudi Arabia being the top suppliers. Why Petrol, Diesel Prices Change Every Day? The fuel prices are in India are revised daily. Petrol and diesel prices are revised every day at 06:00 am to sync it with the variation in global oil prices. Oil marketing companies (OMC) review the global fuel prices and decide petrol and diesel daily. Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum release the new rates at 6 am every morning. Generally, when international crude oil prices gain, prices in India move higher. Other factors also impact the price of fuel like rupee to US dollar exchange rate, cost of crude oil, global cues, demand for fuel, and so on. Why Fuel Prices Differ In Every City? The price of fuel includes excise duty, value-added tax (VAT), and dealer commission. As VAT varies from state to state, the price of fuel is different in every city. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Dubai: Thirty-one people were killed in air strikes on Yemen Saturday, the United Nations said, the victims of an apparent Saudi-led retaliation after Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed to have shot down one of its jets. The Tornado aircraft came down Friday in northern Al-Jawf province during an operation to support government forces, a rare shooting down that prompted operations in the area by a Saudi-led military coalition fighting the rebels. The deadly violence follows an upsurge in fighting in northern Yemen between the warring parties that threatens to worsen the war-battered countrys humanitarian crisis. "Preliminary field reports indicate that on 15 February as many as 31 civilians were killed and 12 others injured in strikes that hit Al-Hayjah area... in Al-Jawf governorate," the office of the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen said in a statement. Lise Grande, the UN coordinator, denounced the "terrible strikes". "Under international humanitarian law, parties which resort to force are obligated to protect civilians," she said. "Five years into this conflict and belligerents are still failing to uphold this responsibility. Its shocking." The rebels reported multiple coalition air strikes in the area where the plane went down, adding that women and children were among the dead and wounded, according to rebel television station Al-Masirah. The coalition conceded the "possibility of collateral damage" during a "search and rescue operation" at the site of the jet crash, which left the fate of its crew uncertain. Without stating the cause of the crash, a coalition statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency said the crew, comprising two officers, ejected from the plane before it crashed but the rebels opened fire at them in violation of the international humanitarian law. The lives and wellbeing of the crew is the responsibility of the terrorist Huthi militia, the statement said, without specifying whether they had survived. The Huthi rebels released footage of what they called the launch of their advanced surface-to-air missile and the moment it struck the jet in the night sky, sending it crashing down in a ball of flames. "The downing of a Tornado in the sky above Al-Jawf is a major blow to the enemy and an indication of remarkable growth in Yemeni (rebel) air defence capabilities," Huthi spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam tweeted. The escalation follows fierce fighting around the Huthi-held capital Sanaa, with the rebels seen to be advancing on several fronts towards Al-Hazm, the regional capital of Al-Jawf. The province of Al-Jawf has been mostly controlled by the Huthis, but its capital remains in the hands of the Saudi-backed government. The downing of a coalition warplane marks a setback for a military alliance known for its air supremacy and signals the rebels increasingly potent military arsenal. "At the start of the conflict the Huthis were a ragtag militia," Fatima Abo Alasrar, a scholar at the Middle East Institute, told AFP. Today they have massively expanded their arsenal with the help of Iran and its proxy Hezbollah, Lebanons powerful Shiite movement. Huthi rebels now possess weapons bearing signs of Iranian origin, according to a UN report obtained by AFP earlier this month, in potential violation of a UN arms embargo. Some of the new weapons, which the rebels obtained last year, "have technical characteristics similar to arms manufactured in the Islamic Republic of Iran," said the report, compiled by a panel of UN experts tasked with monitoring the embargo. The panel did not say whether the weapons were delivered to the Huthis directly by the Iranian government, which has repeatedly denied sending them arms. The coalition intervened against the Huthis in 2015, in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians, and sparked what the United Nations calls the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. The coalition force has been widely criticised for the high civilian death toll from its bombing campaign, which has prompted some Western governments to cut arms deliveries to the countries taking part. On Wednesday, the coalition said it would put on trial military personnel suspected of being behind deadly air strikes on Yemeni civilians. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A day after five members of a family, 45-year-old Shambhu Chaudhary, his 40-year-old wife Sunita Chaudhary, two sons Shivam (18) and Sachin (15) and 12-year-old daughter Komal were found dead in their rented house in northeast Delhis Bhajanpura, the police have claimed to crack the case and arrested one person. The police said that the accused Prabhu Mishra, who is the maternal uncle of Shambhu, allegedly killed them over a money dispute. The shocking murder case came to light when neighbours alerted cops about a foul smell emanating from the victims house, that was locked from outside. The police broke into the house and recovered their bodies in decomposed state. While bodies of Shambhu and his wife Sunita were found inside their bedroom, the three children were found lying on the floor of another room. According to the police, they all had injury marks on their neck, arms and head. Also Read | Bengaluru: Jilted Lover Murders Landlady, Stabs Her Husband, Daughter, Later Hangs Self The police have also recovered a hammer and a blade from the house and suspect that these were the weapons used in the murder. However, it will be ascertained only after the autopsy if these were the weapons used in the crime. Shambu had moved to Delhi from Bihars Supol some 20 years ago and ran a juice shop. According to the relatives, he was earning well from the shop and had recently bought an e-rickshaw. His two sons, Shivam and Sachin were preparing for their board exams. While Shivam was appearing for class 12th, Sachin was in class 10th. His daughter Komal studied at a government school in the Bhajanpura. For all the Latest Crime News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. By Trend Four officials were detained during the operation in Absheron, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office told Trend. According to the message, a criminal case was initiated upon the corresponding articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code following the operational and search measures carried out in connection with the illegal actions of officials of the Absheron Territorial Department # 4 of the State Real Estate Registry Service under the Ministry of Economy. According to the message, as a result of the investigative measures, Aidash Mammadov, who worked in the specified organization as a specialist in the corresponding sector, and a specialist from another department, Mirhamid Aghayev, are suspected of embezzling the funds of individuals worth 12,000 manat ($7,058) from 2019 through 2022 who appealed for approval of schemes related to the corresponding land plots, issuance of technical passports and extracts in the Absheron region. Moreover, the investigative structures suspect Araz Hasanli, who worked as an expert in the corresponding department of this structure, and broker Nurlan Seyidov of embezzling the funds worth 53,700 manat ($31,588) and inciting people, who appealed for registration of documents for land plots in the Absheron region to give bribe to an official, the Prosecutor General's Office said. Aidash Mammadov, Mirhamid Aghayev, Araz Hasanli and Nurlan Seyidov were charged upon articles 178.2.1 (fraud committed by a group of people in collusion), 178.2. 2 (repeated fraud), 178.2.3 (fraud committed by a person by using the official position), 32.4, 312.2 (inciting an official to re-bribe for his deliberate illegal actions) and other articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code on the basis of the evidence on February 24, 2022, the message said. These individuals will be arrested upon the court decision. The investigative and operational measures are underway to reveal the circumstances relevant to the criminal case and other people involved in committing the crimes, the Prosecutor General's Office said. New Delhi: Mounting a fresh offensive against the BJP government on the first anniversary of the Pulwama terror attack, the Congress on Friday accused it of using the sacrifice of soldiers for electoral gains and asked who benefited the most from the strike. As Pulwama occupied the political centrestage, several Congress leaders, including former president Rahul Gandhi, raised questions on the inquiry into the attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel and why it was not being made public. Gandhi asked who was made accountable for the terror attack on a security convoy in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14 last year. Today as we remember our 40 CRPF martyrs in the #PulwamaAttack, let us ask: 1. Who benefitted the most from the attack? 2. What is the outcome of the inquiry into the attack? 3. Who in the BJP Govt has yet been held accountable for the security lapses that allowed the attack?" he posted on Twitter. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the entire nation paid homage to the martyrs of Pulwama and many questions remain. The CPI(M) also questioned the government about the inquiry report of the incident and demanded its accountability, while accusing the BJP of seeking for votes in the name of the CRPF personnel killed in the attack. Where is the Inquiry report one year on after the terror attack? Who has been held accountable for the loss of so many lives and the massive intelligence failure? CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury tweeted. On the first anniversary of the Pulwama terror arrack, we on, Khoj Khabar, will debate whether its right to do politics over the death of our soldiers. Khoj Khabar Live Updates: 21:53 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Modi government gave compensation and job to martyrs' family members," says RP Singh, BJP leader. 21:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "BJP made the Pulwama attack an election issue, says Dr. Fuad Haleem. 21:51 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "India and people are watching how the government is dictating," Ajay Verma, Congress leader. 21:50 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Congress works to break the morale of the army," says RP Singh, BJP leader. 21:50 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Why didn't the government give martyr status to the CRPF soldiers," says Ajay Verma. 21:44 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Why was the CRPF convoy not taken from the plane," says Dr Fuad Halim, CPIM leader. 21:42 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Salute to the government of India and the Indian Army for the Balakot strike," says Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Gupta. 21:41 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Pakistan used to think that India will not respond, but it is scared after the Balakot strike," says Ashwani Siwach. 21:39 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Jaish terrorists were involved in the Pulwama attack," says former head of Territorial Army Ashwani Siwach. 21:35 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "All the terrorists attacks took place from 2004 to 08 were planned from Delhi," says RSN Singh. 21:34 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "The terrorists had chosen the target after much thought," says RSN Singh. 21:33 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Communists are doing politics on the death of martyrsm" says RSN Singh, former RAW officer. 21:32 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "BJP made Pulwama only a matter of politics," says Dr. Fawad Haleem. 21:31 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "The government made Pulwama an issue in the elections. Did nothing for martyr's family, did nothing for justice: Dr. Fawad Haleem, CPIM leader. 21:30 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Congress does politics only on martyrdom of soldiers," says RP Singh. 21:27 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "Next time Rahul Gandhi will be sent to Balakot with a plane, so that the body can be counted," says BJP spokesperson RP Singh. 21:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In "When Pulwama was attacked, bodies were seen, but no body was found when there was an air strike in Balakot," says Congress spokersperson Ajay Verma. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Remembering Pulwama: India on Friday pays tribute to over 40 CRPF personnel who were killed last year on this day in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Jaish suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district that also left many critically wounded. The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group claimed responsibility for the attack that took place about 20 km from Srinagar. More than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir around 3.15 pm. Police later identified the suicide bomber as Adil Ahmed, who officials said joined the Jaish in 2018. He was driving a vehicle packed with tonnes of explosives on the wrong side of the road and hit the bus, in which 39-44 personnel were travelling. The powerful explosion, which reduced the bus to a mangled heap of iron, was heard many kilometres away, including in some parts of Srinagar adjoining Pulwama district. Body parts could be seen strewn around the area. Pulwama attack: The CRPF convoy The bus that was the focus of the attack belonged to the 76th battalion of the force. Over 20 people were also injured in the terror attack, which reduced the bus to a mangled heap of iron. Several other buses were damaged in the attack. The convoy started from Jammu around 3.30 am and was supposed to reach Srinagar before sunset. The number of personnel travelling back to the Valley was high as there was no movement on the highway for the last two to three days because of bad weather and other administrative reasons. Usually, about 1,000 personnel are part of a convoy but this time it was a total of 2,547 personnel. What PM Modi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and top officials after the attack, termed it despicable and asserted that the sacrifices of security personnel will not go in vain. (PTI Inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya once again asked the Indian banks to take back 100 per cent of the principal amount owed to them at the end of his three-day British High Court appeal on Thursday against an extradition order to India. The 64-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to an alleged Rs 9,000 crores in unpaid bank loans, said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are fighting over the same assets and not treating him reasonably in the process. I request the banks with folded hands, take 100 per cent of your principal back, immediately, he said outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The Enforcement Directorate attached the assets on the complaint by the banks that I was not paying them. I have not committed any offences under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) that the Enforcement Directorate should suo moto attach my assets, he said. I am saying, please banks take your money. The ED is saying no, we have a claim over these assets. So, the ED on the one side and the banks on the other are fighting over the same assets, he added. Asked about heading back to India, he noted: I should be where my family is, where my interests are. If the CBI and the ED are going to be reasonable, its a different story. What all they are doing to me for the last four years is totally unreasonable. Lord Justice Stephen Irwin and Justice Elisabeth Laing, the two-member bench presiding over the appeal, concluded hearing the arguments in the case and said they will be handing down their verdict at a later date after considering the oral as well as written submissions in the very dense case over the next few weeks. On a day of heated arguments between Mallyas barrister, Clare Montgomery, and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) counsel Mark Summers, arguing on behalf of the Indian government, both sides clashed over the prima facie case of fraud and deception against Mallya. We submit that he lied to get the loans, then did something with the money he wasnt supposed to and then refused to give back the money. All this could be perceived by a jury as patently dishonest conduct, said Summers. What they [Kingfisher Airlines] were saying [to the banks] about profitability going forward was knowingly wrong, he said, as he took the High Court through evidence to counter Mallyas lawyers claims that Westminster Magistrates Court Judge Emma Arbuthnot had fallen into error when she found a case to answer in the Indian courts against Mallya. Mallya, who remains on bail on an extradition warrant, is not required to attend the hearings but has been in court to observe the proceedings since the three-day appeal opened on Tuesday. A key defence to disprove a prima facie case of fraud and misrepresentation on his part has revolved around the fact that Kingfisher Airlines was the victim of economic misfortune alongside other Indian airlines. However, the CPS has argued that there is enough in the 32,000 pages of overall evidence to fulfil the [extradition] treaty obligations that there is a case to answer. There is not just a prima facie case but overwhelming evidence of dishonesty and given the volume and depth of evidence the District Judge [Arbuthnot] had before her, the judgment is comprehensive and detailed with the odd error but nothing that impacts the prima facie case, said Summers. At the start of the appeal, Mallyas counsel claimed Arbuthnot did not look at all of the evidence because if she had, she would not have fallen into the multiple errors that permeate her judgment. The High Court must establish if the magistrates court had in fact fallen short on a point of law in its verdict in favour of extradition. Representatives from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as well as the Indian High Commission in London have been present in court to take notes during the course of the appeal hearing. Mallya had received permission to appeal against his extradition order signed off by former UK home secretary Sajid Javid last February only on one ground, which challenges the Indian governments prima facie case against him of fraudulent intentions in acquiring bank loans. At the end of a year-long extradition trial at Westminster Magistrates Court in London in December 2018, Judge Arbuthnot had found ?clear evidence of dispersal and misapplication of the loan funds? and accepted a prima facie case of fraud and a conspiracy to launder money against Mallya, as presented by the CPS on behalf of the Indian government. Mallya remains on bail since his arrest on an extradition warrant in April 2017 involving a bond worth 650,000 pounds and other restrictions on his travel while he contests that ruling. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the request of Nirbhaya case death-row convict Vinay Sharma to peruse recommendation for rejection of his mercy plea. Sharma's counsel alleged in the court that the Delhi lieutenant governor and its home minister had not signed the recommendation for rejection of his mercy plea. However, a bench of Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna perused the record and said the LG and the home minister indeed signed the recommendation for rejection of his mercy petition. Sharma, through advocate AP singh, moved the apex court on Tuesday challenging the rejection of his mercy petition by the president. He claimed the "hurried rejection" was "mala fide" and violated the letter and spirit of the Constitution. Meanwhile, Supreme Court reserved order on the issue of rejection of Vinay Kumar Sharma's mercy petition by President Ram Nath Kovind. The bench is expected to pronounce the order at 2 pm on Friday. President Kovind had rejected Vinay's mercy petition on February 1. Eariler, the Supreme Court has deferred hearing to Friday the Centres plea seeking separate execution of the Nirbhaya case convicts. Hearing a plea filed by convict Mukesh, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked Nirbhaya case convicts to file counter replies by Friday on Centre and Delhi government's plea seeking separate execution. The Supreme Court on Thursday also appointed advocate Anjana Prakash as amicus curiae for convict Pawan Gupta, who had earlier claimed that he didnot have a lawyer to assist him. Pawan is the only one among the four convicts who has not yet filed a curative petition -- the last legal remedy available to a person which is decided in-chamber. He also has the option of filing a mercy plea. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: Scientists examining the genomes of West Africans have detected signs that a mysterious extinct human species interbred with our own species tens of thousands of years ago in Africa, the latest evidence of humankind's complicated genetic ancestry. The study indicated that present-day West Africans trace a substantial proportion, some 2% to 19%, of their genetic ancestry to an extinct human species - what the researchers called a "ghost population." "We estimate interbreeding occurred approximately 43,000 years ago, with large intervals of uncertainty," said University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) human genetics and computer science professor Sriram Sankararaman, who led the study published this week in the journal Science Advances. Homo sapiens first appeared a bit more than 300,000 years ago in Africa and later spread worldwide, encountering other human species in Eurasia that have since gone extinct including the Neanderthals and the lesser-known Denisovans. Previous genetic research showed that our species interbred with both the Neanderthals and Denisovans, with modern human populations outside of Africa still carrying DNA from both. But while there is an ample fossil record of the Neanderthals and a few fossils of Denisovans, the newly identified "ghost population" is more enigmatic. Asked what details are known about this population, Sankararaman said, "Not much at this stage." "We don't know where this population might have lived, whether it corresponds to known fossils, and what its ultimate fate was," Sankararaman added. Sankararaman said this extinct species seems to have diverged roughly 650,000 years ago from the evolutionary line that led to Homo sapiens, before the evolutionary split between the lineages that led to our species and to the Neanderthals. The researchers examined genomic data from hundreds of West Africans including the Yoruba people of Nigeria and Benin and the Mende people of Sierra Leone, and then compared that with Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes. They found DNA segments in the West Africans that could best be explained by ancestral interbreeding with an unknown member of the human family tree that led to what is called genetic "introgression." It is unclear if West Africans derived any genetic benefits from this long-ago gene flow. "We are beginning to learn more about the impact of DNA from archaic hominins on human biology," Sankararaman said, using a term referring to extinct human species. "We now know that both Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA was deleterious in general but there were some genes where this DNA had an adaptive impact. For example, altitude adaptation in Tibetans was likely facilitated by a Denisovan introgressed gene." For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. There are many shocking cases coming from all over the world. The case that has come to light now is related to the Karnataka Police. In fact, a former policeman has been arrested here, who committed the crime to treat his son suffering from cancer. According to the information received in this case, the police have given information about this on Wednesday. The arrested person has been identified as 61-year-old Nazir Ahmed Imran alias Pilakal Nazir, a native of Kerala. In this case, the police say that Nazir had worked as a policeman in Bahrain for nine years before coming to India. Nazir Ahmad Imran, 61, has reportedly been arrested for the second time in 14 years. In fact, after his son was diagnosed with cancer, Nazir became a professional car thief and he started arranging money for his son's treatment. The Ashoknagar police had also arrested Nazir in 2008, though he was released on bail at that time. Even after coming out of jail, he continued to commit a crime. Some time ago, the Byatarayanpura police station has made an arrest for picking up an SUV from a service centre. It is being told that he picked up the vehicle and made fake documents and sold them. This manhood-enhancing lizard is sold for more than 40 lakhs The biggest search on heart attack, an investigation will reveal whether or not Opposition in Kerala staged walkout over Lokayukta Amendment Act In the last few years, there have been many crises in the world and even now these crises do not seem to be able to end. Earlier we were all fighting corona and now there is an atmosphere of grief from the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin's order on Thursday, and about 137 people have been reported to have been killed in that attack so far. Let us tell you all that amidst all this, many Bollywood celebs are expressing concern. Many stars have expressed concern while keeping their point across on social media. Every annexation/withdrawal of troops that push a country back into the Dark Ages/new data privacy rules, everything thatll happen now will happen to further democracy and in national interest. (If people dont fight for freedom, well be glorified serfs again badhai) pic.twitter.com/WETvjQQdhZ RichaChadha (@RichaChadha) February 24, 2022 The list includes the name of people's messiah-turned-actor Sonu Sood, who has requested the Indian Embassy to evacuate Indians. Apart from him, the name of Javed Akhtar is also included, who always seems to have his opinion on serious issues. He said, "If the Russia-Ukraine war is about justice and fairness, there is a desire to protect the weak, why are all western powers completely indifferent to the Saudi-era bombings and atrocities on a small country like Yemen?" Apart from him, many other celebs including Richa Chadha, Swara Bhaskar have also expressed their feelings. Let us also tell you all that President Putin of Russia spoke of military action through a television speech. Yes, and during this time, the President made it clear that Ukraine is the root of this whole crisis. This famous actress returned from Ukraine just 2 days before the attack Hrithik went on a lunch date with Saba once again, photos went viral Sheetal Thakur arrives at in-laws' house, gets a grand welcome The number of electric two-wheelers in Nepal is increasing every day. There are more than just a handful of electric two-wheelers in Nepal right now. There are some reputed companies like NIU, Lvneng, Super SOCO, and Yadea offering various models of electric two-wheelers in Nepal currently. Along with them, there are also many other companies that are offering different segments of electric two-wheelers in Nepal. Two-wheelers are the most popular and common option for commuting in Nepal as they provide ease and flexibility to the riders. With the continuous increase in the petrol price and increase in import tax of engine vehicles, electric vehicles have come as favourable alternatives to the people. Switching to electric vehicles not only reduces pollution but also decreases the dependency on fuels, reduces servicing costs and avoids high vehicle tax. So if you are trying to switch to electric two-wheelers, we will help you with a comprehensive list of 56 models of electric two-wheelers from 15 brands that are available in Nepal at the moment. 1. NIU Photo: NIU NIU is one of the most well-known electric two-wheeler brands in Nepal. It has been offering premium scooters from its early days in Nepal. Currently, it is offering five different models of electric scooters in Nepal. NIU scooters have a fantastic build and offer very good features for the riders. They also offer a range from 60-140 km per charge depending upon the model. The models offered by NIU at the moment are: SN Model Price 1 N-Series Rs 254,000 2 Gova G3 Rs 255,000 3 MQi+ Rs 255,000 4 NQi Rs 310,000 (Glossy finish) Rs 315,000 (Matte finish) 5 N-GT Rs 398,888 6 NQiGT Rs 445,000 2. SuperSoco Photo: e-scooter.co SuperSoco offers some of the best electric scooters and probably the best electric bike in Nepal. Its CPx is probably one of the best looking scooters in the market right now. It also offers a solid build along with a striking design and plenty of useful features to the riders. It can provide a range from 56 km to 137 km depending on the models. SuperSoco also offers faster electric two-wheelers reaching up to a top speed of 95kmph, which is pretty rare in electric two-wheelers. Here are the models offered by SuperSoco right now in Nepal: SN Model Price 1 CU Mini Rs 179,900 2 CUx Rs 249,900 (Standard colour) Rs 259,900 (Luxury colours) 3 TSx Rs 285,900 (Single battery) Rs 369,000 (Double battery) 4 TC Rs 289,900 (Single battery) Rs 375,000 (Double battery) 5 TC Max Rs 489,900 6 CPx Rs 459,900 (Single battery) Rs 589,900 (Double battery) 3. Yadea Scooters Yadea is another brand that offers premium electric two-wheelers in the market. It too has a solid build and a bold design that separates it from the rest. It also offers plenty of useful features to the riders. With a max speed of 60kmph, it can provide a range of up to 80km on a full charge. The models offered by Yadea right now are: SN Model Price 1 S-like Rs 230,000 (Single battery) Rs 310,000 (Double battery 2 G5 Rs 330,000 3 C15 Rs 350,000 4. Lvneng Photo: Lvneng Nepal Lvneng is one of the very few companies to offer a variety of electric two-wheelers in Nepal. From a three-wheeled scooter for the elderly to power-performing scooters, it has everything. The electric scooters from Lvneng provide better range but the top speed is limited to 45kmph. Only its premium scooter LX06 max can achieve a top speed of 90kmph. Charging duration can range from four to six hours. Currently, Lveneng is offering: SN Model Price 1 LS01 Rs 229,000 2 LX01 Rs 249,000 3 LX02 Rs 249,000 4 LX04 Rs 209,000 5 LX05 Rs 295,000 6 LX05-D Rs 369,000 7 LX06 Max Rs 559,000 8 LX08 Rs 295,000 5. Doohan Kaliber Auto is the authorised distributor of Doohan e-scooters in Nepal. It is one of the very few companies to have an electric three-wheeler in Nepal. Doohan currently offers four electric vehicles, two of them being three-wheelers. Unlike Lvnengs three-wheeler that was solely for elderly and differently-abled people, the three-wheelers offered by Doohan are for daily commuting and can be used by anybody. The scooters from Doohan has a range from 70 to 100 km depending upon the battery on the scooter while it can achieve a top speed of up to 70kmph. Here are the models offered by Doohan: SN Model Price 1 iTank Rs 359,900 2 iTango Rs 289,900 3 E-Swan Rs 231,900 4 Uranus Rs 321,900 6. Hero Electrics Hero has made a comeback in Nepal with its latest release of three different electric two-wheeler models. Hero has a variety of electric two-wheelers in India, but only four models have made their way to Nepal. Hero scooters speed is limited up to 45kmph only. The upside to the limited speed on the scooter is that it has a range from 82km to 165 km. The charging time of the scooter can take from four to five hours. The three models offered by Hero electrics are: SN Model Price 1 Photon Rs 249,600 2 NYX Rs 284,600 3 Optima Rs 209,600 (Single battery) Rs 309,600 (Double battery) 7. Genius and Tail G Photo: geniusev.com Yomama E-motors is the authorised dealer of Genius electric bikes and Tail G scooters in Nepal. Previously, it offered four models of electric scooters and electric bikes here in Nepal. The two electric bikes had a maximum torque of 375nm, which is extremely high. The bikes could also achieve a top speed of up to 120kmph, which is rarely seen on electric two-wheelers. The bikes had a range of 100 km and would be fully charged in 4 hours. The two scooters offered by Yomama E-motors also shared similar specifications. With a range of 95km, the scooters can reach a top speed of 51kmph and get fully charged in five to hours. Currently, they are out of stock but will soon offer their products to the people. SN Model Price 1 Genius X46 Rs 426,000 2 Genius XY46 Rs 426,000 3 Tail G Tiger Rs 200,000 (Estimated) 4 Tail G Lion Rs 183,000 8. Pure EV Photo: pure ev Pure EV offers value for money electric two-wheelers. It currently offers only two models that share identical specifications differentiating only by the design. The scooters from Pure EV are well built and provide a range of up to 116km on a single charge while achieving a top speed of up to 60kmph. The currently offers: SN Model Price 1 Etrance Neo Rs 229,000 2 ePluto 7G Rs 249,000 9. Yatri Motorcycles Photo: yatri motorcycles Yatri Motorcycles made quite a headline when it was released last year as it offered the first electric two-wheelers that were made in Nepal itself. Yatri Motorcycles has a unique design that offers higher ground clearance and more power. The bikes have a range from 110km to 230 km on a single charge and have a fast-charging system that allows them to get an 80% charge in just 40 minutes. The bikes also offer quicker acceleration to the riders. Yatri currently offers: SN Model Price 1 Project One Rs 565,000 2 Project Zero Rs 1,949,000 10. Segway Segway E100. Photo: Segway Segway electric two-wheelers were recently launched in Nepal. I Hub Pvt Ltd, the authorised distributor of Segway scooters in Nepal, has launched two electric scooters and one electric go-cart at the moment. The scooter offers a range from 60 to 100 km on a single charge and takes from five to eight hours to get fully charged. The scooters can also achieve a top speed of up to 58kmph. Segway currently has: SN Model Price 1 E100 Rs 290,000 2 E125 Rs 390,000. 11. Luyuan Nepal Photo: Luyuan Luyuan electric two-wheelers are one of the new entrants in the Nepali market. Zero Emission Ride is the official distributor of the Chinese electric scooter brand in Nepal. Luyuan Nepal currently has three models and they differ a lot in terms of design. The scooters offer a mileage of up to 80km on a single charge and can be fully charged from three to eight hours depending on the model. Similarly, the scooters have a top speed of 60kmph. They also offer some interesting features like anti-puncture tyres, remote control and an anti-theft alarm system. The three models of Luyuan Nepal are: SN Model Price 1 INNO 7 Rs 173,700 2 MNK3 Rs 173,700 3 S30 Rs 254,700 12. Tunwal EV Photo: tunwal Tunwal EV is an Indian electric scooter that has made its way to Nepal not long ago. Tunwal EV provides one of the most affordable electric scooters on the market. The scooter is said to have a solid build, but design-wise, it looks like a typical old-gen scooter, nothing fancy just plain and simple. Tunwal scooters offer a top speed of 50kmph whereas the range is not specified. The four models offered by Tunwal EV are: SN Model Price 1 Storm Zx lead acid Rs 151,000 2 Storm Zx lithium Rs 215,000 3 Storm Zx single Lithium Rs 175,000 4 Lithin 2.0 Rs 151,000 13. Komaki EV Photo: komaki Komaki EV is an Indian brand of electric two-wheelers that has recently made its way here in Nepal. The retro-looking e-scooters have a lot to offer. These electric scooters from Komaki are power performers. They provide a range of up to 140km on a single charge while taking four to five hours to get fully charged. The scooters can also achieve a top speed of 85kmph. The power performance of the scooters is also equally matched by the different useful features. The scooters have features like re-gen braking, reverse assist, cruise control and mobile charging point to name a few. The two scooters offered by Komaki are: SN Model Price 1 SE Rs 295,000 2 Venice Rs 310,000 14. Terra Motors Photo: Terra Motors Terra Motors is currently offering only a single model here in Nepal. The Eco from Terra Motors is a sporty looking scooter that provides a range of up to 80km on a single charge but takes around 7-8 hours to get fully charged. The top speed this vehicle can achieve is 60kmph. The specs on the scooter may not be very pleasing when compared to others, but with the price range it comes, it is justifiable. The scooter also has features like a 3-speed function, hill assist and reverse gear. The price of Terra Motors Eco is Rs 165,000. 15. Okinawa Photo: okinawascooters Okinawa is yet another electric scooter that has set its foot in the Nepali market. Vicky Enterprises is the official distributor of Okinawa scooters in Nepal. The company has introduced six different electric scooters in the Nepali market. Okinawa scooters offer one of the best ranges in an electric scooter. The company claims with four to five hours of charge, the scooter offers a range from 170 to 200 km and can achieve a top speed of 75kmph. The six electric scooters offered from Okinawa are: AUGA group AUGA group, AB invites shareholders, investors, analysts, and other stakeholders to join the webinar scheduled on March 1 of 2022 at 4.00 PM (EET). The presentation will be held in English. During the webinar, Mindaugas Ambrasas, CFO of AUGA group will introduce the performance and unaudited financial results of the company for the 12 months of 2021. After the presentation participants of the webinar will have an opportunity to ask relevant questions. Due to limited webinar time, we encourage participants to send their questions before the webinar until February 28 to emilija.ivanauskaite@nasdaq.com . To join the webinar, please register via following link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3080214076772370956 You will be provided with the webinar link and instructions how to join successfully. When joining the webinar for the first time, you will be asked to download the plug-in which will take only a few seconds. In case plug-in cannot be downloaded, a web browser which enables attending the webinar, will open automatically. The webinar will be recorded and available online for everyone at the companys website on http://auga.lt/en/ and on Nasdaq Baltic youtube.com account. Contacts: Mindaugas Ambrasas, AUGA group, AB CFO Phone: +370 620 67296 Email: m.ambrasas@auga.lt CARLSBAD, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 24, 2022 / If you have only seen the headlines, you probably assume that Blockchain's hit singles "Bitcoin" and "Bored Ape" are the extent of its discography. And hey, we get it - FinTech is all the rage these days. Thankfully, however, much like Surf Rock in the 60s, Blockchain has much more to offer the world than daydreams of a blue ocean. Let's take a quick dive into the deep cuts and find out why Blockchain's most recent development in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) realizes its full potential. In early 2020, a company named Total Network Services (TNS) approached the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) with a concept called the Enhanced Mobile Equipment Identifier (E-MEID) . The "E-MEID" was based on the TIA's own "MEID," an industry standard and globally unique identification system used by millions of devices worldwide. Solely administered by the TIA, MEIDs are mainly composed of the manufacturer code and the equipment serial number. The number is permanently affixed to the device and used to facilitate mobile equipment identification and tracking. TNS' concept was to attach the MEID to a blockchain specifically designed to enhance supply chain security in ICT, an industry that has arguably the most to lose from a lack of verification. When an MEID is attached to a blockchain, a globally unique digital token, also known as an NFT, is created to represent any network-connected device on the planet. This token is an Enhanced-MEID and can record relevant device information in its metadata. When enhanced as such, the MEID documentation capabilities expand to include device hardware bill-of-material (BOM), software BOM, time-tagged geolocation data via Rypplzz's patented Interlife platform and software remediation activity. This additional capability can drastically improve hardware and software supply chain visibility, component provenance, and internal change management processes. Story continues TNS has partnered with multiple companies to pilot their patent-pending E-MEID, and as of today, the TIA has assigned two million MEIDs for the use case of E-MEIDs. Those two million assigned MEIDs are split between COMSovereign and ForwardEdge to enhance their many products and services: COMSovereign has combined a wide range of companies in the wireless industry, building a US-based, full-service 5G equipment provider. Their goal is to wean American companies off foreign suppliers and provide a bulwark against China's Huawei, accused of creating a conduit for the Chinese government spying with its 5G equipment. Their services include drone-based 5G wireless communications infrastructure and private 5G networks for various entities and agencies, such as first responders, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, all of which will utilize the E-MEID to bolster security and verification. ForwardEdge leverages adaptive real-time machine learning, 5G & blockchain DLT, robotic process automation, swarm intelligence, and game development to solve complex problems of social consequence. Two of their top products that will utilize E-MEID are Blaise and Gabriel. Blaise is a handheld device designed to detect pathogens on hard surfaces. Forward Edge has been working with Sam Houston State University to develop a device capable of detecting 32 different pathogens such as MRSA and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Gabriel can offer an enhanced solution to detect, block and report SMiShing attacks in 25 languages. With Purple Alerts, caregivers are notified in real-time when a loved one engages with a scammer by voice or text messaging. Gabriel underwent TruSight assessment and is now certified and eligible for integration with the world's leading financial institutions, such as JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. CEO of Total Network Services Thomas Carter on E-MEID, "Two million Enhanced MEIDs have been allocated, but this is just the tip of the iceberg for how far blockchain will go to secure the world's most vulnerable assets, and we're excited to be at the forefront of this new standard." Thomas Carter , Founder Chairman of Deal Box, Inc ; CEO of Total Network Services Corp "TNS" , on LinkedIn and Instagram . Learn more about E-MEID at www.emeid.io . TNS is an ecosystem of apps and technologies that enable the new blockchain economy. TNS sees the blockchain as a key component of creating a sustainable future for technology, commerce, and trade. TNS is achieving this by providing the infrastructure and technologies for the potential of the blockchain to be realized for the everyday user and enterprise entity. The Telecommunications Industry Association does not endorse TNS or the solutions it proposes. TIA is technology and vendor neutral. The MEID is managed by TIA and the "enhanced" aspects proposed by TNS are products and services that utilize the MEID but are not standardized by TIA engineering committees nor approved or marketed by TIA. For more information, please contact: Thomas Carter hello@tnscorp.io +1 (760) 260-8144 SOURCE: Total Network Services, Corp View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/689983/Blockchain-Takes-First-Historic-Steps-Toward-Securing-the-Telecommunication-Supply-Chain By Trend The team of doctors from one of the largest Turkey's hospitals, VM Medical Park Hospital, arrived in Azerbaijan, the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ASAN) told Trend. The team was composed of neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons, and pediatric hematologists. Doctors examined 20 war veterans who returned to Azerbaijan after successfully completing the treatment in Turkey and a child from a martyr's family. These doctors also performed the surgery on Azerbaijani veterans in Turkey. Since February 2021, on the basis of doctors' opinions, the YASHAT Foundation has been sending Azerbaijani veterans of the Second Karabakh War to Turkey for treatment. To date, 165 veterans have been operated on and treated in various hospitals in Turkey, out of which 119 returned to their homeland. Some 46 seriously wounded veterans are currently under treatment in Turkey. TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2022 /CNW/ - CIBC announced today it is donating $200,000 to three organizations focused on providing immediate humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine. CIBC logo (CNW Group/CIBC) "The people of Ukraine are in need of immediate support," said Victor Dodig, President and CEO of CIBC. "Due to the urgent nature of this situation, we are joining Canadians and people from around the world in supporting ongoing efforts to help provide Ukrainians with humanitarian aid." The donation includes: $100,000 to the UNICEF Canada Ukraine Appeal, which is focused on providing humanitarian aid to children and families and protecting children's rights, while responding to the vulnerabilities caused by the dual crises of conflict and COVID-19. $50,000 to Canadian Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal, which will enable the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to respond to humanitarian needs generated by the recent crisis in Ukraine. This includes supporting preparedness, immediate and ongoing relief efforts, long-term recovery, resiliency, and other critical humanitarian activities as needs arise. $50,000 to United Nations Refugee Agency Canada (UNHCR), which will help ensure that Ukrainians forced to flee their homes are sheltered and safe. Canadians can make a donation during this difficult time to the UNICEF Canada Ukraine Appeal, the Canadian Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal, and the United Nations Refugee Agency Canada. Funds will be used to enable these organizations to provide immediate and ongoing relief efforts, shelter and safety, long-term recovery, resiliency, and other critical humanitarian needs to Ukrainians of all ages. About CIBC CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with 11 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients. Across Personal and Small Business Banking, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, and Capital Markets businesses, CIBC offers a full range of advice, solutions and services through its leading digital banking network, and locations across Canada, in the United States and around the world. Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC can be found at www.cibc.com/ca/media-centre. Story continues SOURCE CIBC Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2022/25/c5380.html JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock On Feb. 24, the U.S. Department of Justice sued to stop UnitedHealth Groups $13 billion buyout of Change Healthcare, arguing that such a deal would reduce competition and innovation to the detriment of health insurance consumers. See: Legislative Win Could Lead to Government-Funded Healthcare in California by 2024 Find: HHS Awards $55 Million to Expand Virtual Healthcare at Community Health Centers The civil lawsuit, which was joined by the attorneys general of Minnesota and New York, puts at least a temporary stop to the merger, which was announced in Jan. 2021. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The suit alleges that such a large transaction involving the nations biggest health insurer (UnitedHealth, parent company of UnitedHealthcare) and a leading healthcare technology company (Change) would hurt competition in both commercial health insurance markets and the market for tech used by insurers to process claims and reduce health care costs. Quality health insurance should be accessible to all Americans, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press release. If Americas largest health insurer is permitted to acquire a major rival for critical health care claims technologies, it will undermine competition for health insurance and stifle innovation in the employer health insurance markets. The Justice Department is committed to challenging anticompetitive mergers, particularly those at the intersection of health care and data. Of particular concern is the fact that UnitedHealth and Change Healthcare offer competing software for processing healthcare claims and together serve 38 of the 40 top health insurers in the country, Reuters reported. A combined company would control at least three-quarters of that market. UnitedHealth would also gain access to important data at rivals Humana, Anthem, Aetna and Cigna. Unless the deal is blocked, United stands to see and potentially use its health insurance rivals competitively sensitive information for its own business purposes and control these competitors access to innovations in vital healthcare technology, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Departments Antitrust Division said in a statement. Story continues For its part, UnitedHealth said it plans to fight the lawsuit. The Departments deeply flawed position is based on highly speculative theories that do not reflect the realities of the healthcare system, the company said in a statement. We will defend our case vigorously. As Reuters noted, the lawsuit is part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to closely monitor antitrust issues. The administration has already derailed planned mergers between Aon PLC and Willis Towers Watson, and Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne. Healthcare was among the industries identified as an antitrust priority in a White House executive order issued last year. Learn: Save Money and Improve Heart Health by Cutting These 5 Bad Habits Explore: The Rise of Healthcare Stocks in 2021 Among the organizations that oppose the UnitedHealth-Change Healthcare deal is the American Hospital Association, which worries that such a merger would reduce competition for the sale of healthcare information technology services for hospitals. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: DOJ Sues to Block UnitedHealthcare From Acquiring Change Healthcare Inc. in Massive Merger TORRANCE, Calif., Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Honda Battle of the Bands (HBOB), the nation's premier showcase for Historically Black College and University (HBCU) marching bands and dance teams, announced its new four-part docuseries, Driving the Legacy of HBCUs, set to premiere on Saturday, February 26. The docuseries will explore various aspects of the HBCU experience, using performances, interviews and notable alumni to tell the HBCU story. The series also will highlight Honda's longstanding relationship with and support of the HBCU community. Honda will debut the first video in its four-part docuseries, 'Driving the Legacy of HBCUs,' on February 26, 2022. Entitled "Home," the video pays tribute to the founders of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and explores how these institutions have helped drive equality and justice. "This year, Honda Battle of the Bands will represent a broader look at HBCU life. 'Driving the Legacy' will enable us to share some new and exciting things about the HBCU experience that makes these institutions specialsomething Honda has known for more than 30 years," said Yvette Hunsicker, vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility and Inclusion & Diversity at AHM. "While there isn't an in-person event in 2022, we did not want another year to go by without the powerful spirit of HBOB." The first episode in the "Driving the Legacy" series will feature three schools that have a deep history with the HBOB program: Florida A&M University, North Carolina A&T State University and Prairie View A&M University. It will be hosted by Emmy and two-time NAACP Image Award-winning host, comedian, author and Prairie View alumna, Loni Love. "I am honored to partner with Honda in sharing the legacy these historic institutions have in developing some of the world's most influential and powerful leaders," said Love. "As a proud alumna of an HBCU, I personally know that the HBCU experience is unmatched. It's an environment where our culture is authentically celebrated and treasured." Each episode in the series will present a familiar topic embedded in HBCU culture. Episode 1, "Home," showcases the history of HBCUs and why they matter. Episode 2, "Band," reveals a deep dive of the marching bands and their importance to HBCUs and the community. Episode 3, "Culture," highlights the unique traditions and on campus experiences at HBCUs. Episode 4, "Unity," explores how HBCUs bring students together. Story continues The "Driving the Legacy" series will be available online, offering fans across the country and around the world the opportunity to experience HBCU campuses and culture from the convenience of their computers and mobile devices. The first video will launch Saturday, February 26 on www.hondabattleofthebands.com, with subsequent episodes to be released in May, June, and August. For updates, fans can follow the official HBOB social media channels: Honda and Historically Black Colleges and Universities For over 30 years, Honda has supported the success and dreams of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) students through initiatives including the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge and Honda Battle of the Bands. These programs provide unforgettable experiences and opportunities for HBCU students, including meeting and networking with peers from other HBCU schools. Honda has impacted the lives of more than 200,000 students and awarded over $14 million in grants in support of HBCU education programs and facilities improvements. To advance its leading investment in HBCUs, Honda is a member of the HBCU Partnership Challenge, a Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus initiative that brings together government, industry and HBCUs to create strategic, more sustainable HBCU partnerships. Honda also has partnered with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to provide annual scholarship funding to support HBCU students pursuing an education in engineering, supply chain management and manufacturing-related fields. About Honda Corporate Social Responsibility For more than 60 years in the U.S., Honda has been committed to making positive contributions to the communities where its customers and associates live and work. Honda's mission is to create products and services that improve lives while conducting business in a sustainable manner and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Accordingly, Honda believes in helping people reach their life's potential through its focus on the areas of education, the environment, mobility, traffic safety and community. Learn more at http://csr.honda.com/. Honda, the Power of Dreams (PRNewsfoto/Honda) Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-honda-docuseries-celebrates-the-legacy-of-historically-black-colleges-and-universities-301490417.html SOURCE Honda Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd. Hospital Capacity Management Solutions Market - Analysis, Outlook, Growth, Trends, Forecasts DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FMI, an ESOMAR-certified market research firm, states that the global hospital capacity management solutions market will reach U.S$ 1.08 Bn in 2022, growing at 4.9% y-o-y in 2022. Data Points Market Insights Market Value 2021 USD 1.03 Bn Market Value 2022 USD 1.08 Bn Market Value 2030 USD 1.58 Bn CAGR 2022-2030 4.9% Key Players The key players are AWAREPOINT CORPORATION, Care Logistics LLC., Cerner Corporation, Epic Systems Corporation, TeleTracking Technologies, Inc., Sonitor Technologies, Inc., STANLEY Healthcare, Allscripts, McKesson Corporation, Arcomed AG, Koninklijke Philips N.V., JVS Group, Infosys Limited, Neusoft Corporation, INFINITT Healthcare Co. Ltd Share of Top 5 Countries 64.7% Adoption of hospital capacity management solutions is seen amongst large patient care facilities for rendering a smooth workflow in terms of downtime as well as cost. This factor is expected to drive the hospital capacity management solutions market in the forecast period. Request for Report Sample - https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1013 Key Takeaways of Hospital Capacity Management Solutions Market Study RTLS (Real time locating system) accounted for around 34% of hospital capacity management solutions market in 2021 and is expected to continue with being top-seeded in the forecast period Cloud-based hospital capacity management solution contributed for around 3/5th of market value share in 2021 Cumulatively, North America and Europe contributed for more than 70% of the total share of the hospital capacity management solutions market in 2021 Countries such as Brazil, China, South Africa, and India are expected to are emerging as lucrative markets, but pale in comparison to US and Europe Expansive Prominence in the hospital capacity management solutions market Taking the expansive way of growth helps in strengthening the solutions and softwares portfolio; as e-Health has picked up pace looking at the accuracy and need for data management. Story continues STANLEY Healthcare, in May 2022, announced the assimilation of AeroScout Real-Time Location System (RTLS) with certification from Cisco DNA Spaces. The objective of this move is to table economic solution across the healthcare industry Allscripts has its 2bPrecise platform that takes in clinical information from the EHR preferred by client along with genomic/genetic data from the molecular labs, thereby giving a comprehendible patient record. This gives precise diagnoses at a faster rate. TeleTracking Technologies have their Capacity Management Suite with PreAdmitTracking with electronic bedboard to enable patient access as well as placement Precise, real-time navigation with the patient will boost the hospital capacity management solutions market. says the FMI Analyst. Speak to our Research Expert: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-1013 Scope of the Report Attribute Details Forecast Period 2015-2021 Historical Data Available for 2022-2030 Market Analysis USD Billion for Value Key Countries Covered US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Germany, U.K., France, Italy, Spain, BENELUX, Russia, Nordic, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, GCC Countries, South Africa, Turkey Key Segments Covered Product, Application, Delivery Mode and Region Key Companies Profiled Cerner Corporation Epic Systems Corporation TeleTracking Technologies, Inc. Sonitor Technologies, Inc. STANLEY Healthcare Allscripts McKesson Corporation Arcomed AG Koninklijke Philips N.V. JVS Group Infosys Limited Neusoft Corporation INFINITT Healthcare Co. Ltd AWAREPOINT CORPORATION Care Logistics LLC Report Coverage Market Forecast, Competition Intelligence, DROT Analysis, Market Dynamics and Challenges, Strategic Growth Initiatives Customization & Pricing Available upon Request Want more insights? Future Market Insights brings the comprehensive research report on forecasted revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2015 to 2030. The global hospital capacity management solutions market is segmented in detail to cover every aspect of the market and present a complete market intelligence approach to the reader. The study provide compelling insights on hospital capacity management solutions market on basis of product type (workflow management solution, asset management solution, bed management solution, quality patient care solution, real time locating system (RTLS), and event driven solutions { online registration solution, attendance management tools, event driven patient tracking, others}), application (standalone solutions, integrated solutions), delivery mode (on premise, cloud-based) across seven major regions Access MarketNgage: The On Demand, Subscription based platform from Future Market Insights. Sign Up for a 7 day free trial! 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About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in Dubai, and has delivery centers in the UK, U.S. and India. FMI's latest market research reports and industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously tracks emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers. Contact: Future Market Insights, 1602-6 Jumeirah Bay X2 Tower, Plot No: JLT-PH2-X2A, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com For Media Enquiries: press@futuremarketinsights.com Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/hospital-capacity-management-solutions-market Press Release Source: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/press-release/hospital-capacity-management-solutions-market Contract to support the DON Office of Financial Operations (FMO) WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Iberia Advisory announces today the recent award of a contract to support the DON's Operations Management Division of FMO. The three-year prime contract leverages Iberia's subject matter expertise in FMO programs. Iberia will provide data analytics and internal controls support for the following portfolio of financial management programs: Integrated Risk Management Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 Defense Finance and Accounting Service Bill Government Purchase Card and Travel Charge Card Barring Act Waiver and Contract Debt Deferment Military Banking "Iberia is honored to receive this award. Our team members have been working with FMO for several years and understand the intricacies of their programs, systems, and culture. We will utilize our institutional knowledge to provide strategic guidance and drive innovations across each of these FMO Operations Management Division programs," said Ryan Waguespack, President of Iberia. This contract represents Iberia's second contract with the DON FMO. The Operations Management Division of FMO provides operational and sustainment support of all Financial Improvement Audit Readiness related activities within the DON. In addition, they facilitate FMO's business success by ensuring an overarching alignment across Divisions by maintaining continuous communications, and providing acquisition management, budgeting and resources, and analytical support to its customers. About Iberia Advisory Iberia Advisory is a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and provider of financial management services to the Federal Government and Department of Defense (DoD). Iberia provides government consulting services in the areas of Financial Management & Audit Support; Program & Project Management; Advanced Analytics & Decision Support; Transformation & Strategy; and Change Management. To learn more, visit www.iberiaadvisory.com Story continues Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iberia-advisory-awarded-department-of-the-navy-don-financial-operations-remediation-support-contract-301490775.html SOURCE Iberia Advisory TORONTO, Feb. 24, 2022 /CNW/ - Meridian is responding to the rapidly escalating crisis in Ukraine with a donation of $50,000 to help affected people who will need humanitarian assistance and relief. Meridian Credit Union logo (CNW Group/Meridian Credit Union) The funds are being directed to the CUF-UCC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, a registered, non-profit charitable organization, launched by the Canada-Ukraine Foundation and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. Donations will be used to assist displaced persons and provide medical care, emergency shelter, and food security. "We are demonstrating our support and solidarity for the family and loved ones of Ukrainian-Canadians who are being impacted by rapidly unfolding events happening," says Jay-Ann Gilfoy, President & CEO of Meridian. "There are more than 1.3 million Ukrainian-Canadian residents across Canada. They are our neighbours, our colleagues, friends and extended family and community members and we want to help." The CUF-UCC Ukraine Humanitarian Foundation was identified to receive support after consulting with Ukrainian credit unions. About Meridian We acknowledge the land on which we operate is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. With more than 75 years of banking history, Meridian is Ontario's largest credit union, and second largest in Canada, helping to grow the lives of 365,000 Members. Meridian has $28.3 billion in assets under management (December 31, 2021) and delivers a full range of financial services online, by phone, by mobile and through a network of 89 branches across Ontario, and business banking services in 15 locations. Meridian cardholders also have access to over 43,000 surcharge-free ABMs in North America with THE EXCHANGE Network and the Allpoint Network in the US. For more information, please visit: meridiancu.ca, follow us on Twitter @MeridianCU or visit us on Facebook. Story continues SOURCE Meridian Credit Union Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2022/24/c5473.html (Getty Images) Meta has created a dedicated task force in order to fight misinformation about Russias invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have launched a full scale invasion with an attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv expected within the day. "The situation in Ukraine is devastating," the companys president of global affairs and the UKs former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said. "Weve established a Special Operations Center, staffed by experts and native speakers, to respond in real time to remove hate speech or content that incites violence or otherwise breaks our rules. The situation in Ukraine is devastating. Our teams at Meta have implemented a number of measures to keep our platforms and our users in the region as safe as we can. This is a fast moving situation and our teams remain on high alert. pic.twitter.com/8wFgx7muKG Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) February 25, 2022 "Were taking extensive steps to fight the spread of misinformation, and labelling content from state-controlled media and content that fact checkers have rated false. And our cybersecurity teams are monitoring closely for coordinated attempts to abuse our platform. The company, which owns Facebook and Twitter, also rolled out extra security to Ukrainian users letting them protect their accounts. Misinformation is already spreading across social media, such as a clip taken from a video game which amass millions of views as users falsely claimed it depicted real attacks. Another video, of a claimed Russian fighter jet being shot down, was actually from Libya over a decade ago. YouTube has also continued to host Russian propaganda channels, putting pressure on Google to step in. Metas reputation on protecting foreign users has been mixed. In August last year it brought in new security measures to protect its users in Afghanistan over concerns that the Taliban could use them to track opponents of the government, but in years past it had not been as effective admitting in 2018 that it did not do enough to curb hate speech in Myanmar that caused attacks on the Rohingya Muslims. The S&P Global logo is displayed on its offices in the financial district in New York LONDON (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine could cause a spate of credit rating downgrades S&P Global said on Friday, warning the global economy, and Europe especially, now faced a starkly different picture than expected this year. "As the situation continues to evolve, we will issue further reports that consider the credit implications and potentially take rating actions on a case-by-case basis," S&P said in a report. The precise impact of the sanctions on Russia and its banks was currently difficult to estimate it added, as more measures might still be taken. "The fallout on Russias export receipts, budget revenues, and the broader economy could be meaningful," S&P said. (Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) Russia is partially restricting access to Facebook. Telecom regulator Roskomnadzor says the move is in response to parent company Meta "restricting" the accounts of four Kremlin-owned media outlets. It said Meta was violating Russian law by doing so. Roskomnadzor demanded an explanation and told Meta to remove the measures on Thursday. After the company refused, officials decided to restrict access to Facebook, a move Roskomnadzor says is in accordance with the law. The watchdog claims to have recorded 23 cases of "such censorship of Russian media and Internet resources by Facebook" since October 2020 (per a Google Translate version of its announcement). The extent of these restrictions is not yet clear. Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs, said authorities told it to "stop the independent fact-checking and labelling of content posted on Facebook by four Russian state-owned media organizations. We refused. As a result, they have announced they will be restricting the use of our services." Ordinary Russians are using @Meta's apps to express themselves and organize for action. We want them to continue to make their voices heard, share whats happening, and organize through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. pic.twitter.com/FjTovgslCe Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) February 25, 2022 Clegg added that "Russians are using Meta's apps to express themselves and organize for action. We want them to continue to make their voices heard, share whats happening, and organize through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger." Reports suggest Russia tried to spread propaganda and misinformation for weeks in the lead up to its invasion of Ukraine. According to NBC News, experts expect the level of disinformation to increase significantly. As the invasion began on Thursday, Facebook enabled its "lock profile" tool in Ukraine to help residents protect their accounts. Twitter's Safety team, meanwhile, shared some tips in Ukrainian on how to keep accounts secure. Update 2/25 1:53PM ET: Added Nick Clegg's statement. By Trend A school will be built in Azerbaijans Shusha city in December 2022, Azerbaijani Minister of Education Emin Amrullayev said, Trend reports. The minister added that the construction of a school has been also launched in Aghdam city. The design work is underway in Jabrayil district while the work is underway to prepare for the construction in Fuzuli district, Amrullayev said. Ukraine Tensions People wave a huge Ukrainian national flag during an action in support of country in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. U.S. President Joe Biden announced the U.S. was ordering heavy financial sanctions against Russia, declaring that Moscow had flagrantly violated international law in what he called the "beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine." Credit - Andriy AndriyenkoAP On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine with tanks, rockets, and a slap to the face. The optics of the President of Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, announcing the invasion of a sovereign nation during an emergency meeting of its memberspresided over by Russias U.N. ambassador, no lesswere stark: the ultimate repudiation of the rules-based world order that the organization embodies. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked enough to call it the saddest moment in my tenure. Though as the bombardment of Ukrainian cities escalated alongside the testiness of exchanges inside the chamber, feelings shifted to outrage at the impotence of members calls for peace and dialogue. A Russian tank enters a region controlled by Moscow-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Nanna HeitmannMagnum Photos Read More: Heres What We Know So Far About Russias Assault on Ukraine At the exact time as we were gathered in the council seeking peace, Putin delivered a message of war in total disdain for the responsibility of this council, said U.S. permanent representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield. This is a grave emergency. It would be reductive to attribute these failings simply to Putins belligerence. Its been an open secret that global governing institutions have been broken for a long time, spotlighted by a series of recent crises that have received limp attention: the annexation of Crimea, the COVID-19 pandemic, the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, popular uprising in Kazakhstan, coup detat in Myanmar, and now, most drastic of all, invasion of Ukraine. Its the biggest crisis since World War II, in the [heart] of Europe, and will have huge consequences, former Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj told TIME on Thursday. It will require great effort to settle this issue and update the world order. Story continues People wave a huge Ukrainian national flag during an action in support of their country in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. Andriy AndriyenkoAP If, and how, this can happen is the big question. The West assumed that following the Cold War, the world had changed forever. But for a little over a decade, liberal democracies have lost their clout as nondemocracies have become increasingly successful economically. Now the old fissures have returned. It seems that the old Cold War tensions never really went away, former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva tells TIME. Its almost as if were back to a situation of war and potential flash points around the world. On Wednesday, the Biden Administration called out Beijing for its role underwriting this shift. Russia and [China] also want a world order, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. But this is an order that is and would be profoundly illiberal, an order that stands in contrast to the system that countries around the world have built in the last seven decades. But partial blame must also be placed on the hubris of the U.S., which never strengthened international institutions in those 70 years when it was the only dominant power. The Bretton Woods institutions set out global economic rules around which we still operate, including the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and others, in terms of trade, commerce, and sanctions for noncompliance. Up until recently, because of the wealth of America and the potency of developed European nations, the West largely called the shots. Read More: We Will Defend Ourselves. Photographs of Ukraine Under Attack Today, however, Washington finds itself unable to freely exert its will as a result of Beijings swelling economic and diplomatic clout. Tellingly, Chinese officials lead four of the 15 U.N. specialized agencies. In January, China was the only U.N. Security Council member to vote with Russia in a failed attempt to stop a U.S.-requested meeting regarding Moscows troop build-up at its border with Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia has stunningly co-opted the language of the U.N. Charter 2(4) regarding sovereignty and territorial integrity to justify its actions. So its sort of claiming the mantelpiece of international order, while fundamentally and quite dramatically undermining it, says Leslie Vinjamuri, dean of the Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs at Chatham House. The difference between Beijing and Moscow, says Rana Mitter, professor of the history and politics of modern China at Oxford University, is that the former wants to influence the international order to its own benefit from within, while the latter wants to tear it up entirely: Because of the kind of state that China wants to be, that is globalized in terms of its trading capacity but able to be as self-sufficient as possible at home, the international order actually suits it very well. That makes it arguably a larger challenge for the West than even the Cold War, when the West was up against a country that was in military terms a superpower, but economically weak. With China, all of a sudden were looking at a country that has the economic capability to take us all on, says Iain Duncan Smith, an MP and former leader of the U.K. Conservative Party. That means the rule-based order can be debauched, which is whats happening now. The United Nations security council gathers for an emergency meeting at the request of Ukraine over the threat of a full-scale invasion by Russia, in New York City on Feb. 23, 2022. David Dee DelgadoGetty Images Beijing supports international institutions and agreements aligned with its goals, such as the World Bank and the Paris climate pacts. But where Beijings interests diverge from established norms, especially human rights, it aims to corrupt those values and bring in alternative models. In fields where standards are yet to be established, like internet governance, Beijing works with Moscow and other illiberal nations to push standards that align with their interests. It can do so because those institutions in themselves are weak. The problem is that when we had a world order that was new and good, we never really stepped up in terms of getting the multilateral or international organizations to play a lead role, says Abhisit. Read More: Why Sanctions on Russia Wont Work Chinas ambivalence on Putins aggression against Ukraine spotlights the new normal. While calling for dialogue and negotiation on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi effectively gave his blessing to the invasion, telling his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on a call that the Chinese side understands Russias legitimate security concerns. Beijing thinks this ones probably going to bypass China, as it is a war between two European countries, says Mitter. And that the role of NATO and the United States is really whats at the heart of the dispute. Its wrong to think of inaction as completely new, though. In truth, the exceptional moments in U.N. history have been when consensus has been reached among the P5the officially recognized nuclear-weapons statesto stand up for the international order when one of them was involved. It just doesnt happen, says Vinjamuri. So this [kind of Ukraine situation] isnt really out of keeping; its built into the structure of the U.N. Much will depend on whether meaningful costs are inflicted on Putin. The U.S., E.U., U.K., Australia, Canada, and Japan have unveiled sanctions on Russian banks and wealthy cronies of Putin, while Germany halted certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia. However, China along with other Kremlin friends can likely compensate. Bilateral trade between China and Russia rose 33.6% year-on-year to some $140 billion in 2021. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss, among other things, the $2.5 billion Pakistan Stream gas pipeline, which Moscow wants to build between Karachi and Kasur, expressing bewilderment at arriving during so much excitement. Firefighters work on a building fire after bombings on the eastern Ukraine town of Chuhuiv on Feb. 24, 2022. Aris MessinisAFP/Getty Images So, is there any hope for the established world order? Rather than ripping up existing institutions, Abhisit says, there is a need to embolden them so that they can resolve these kinds of conflicts without it simply being left to the warring parties. The [Ukraine] situation has escalated due to pure mistrust, he says. Russia is uncomfortable with having NATO installed on its doorstep. Ukraine feels threatened. And the West is suspicious of Russian motives. A meaningful discussion about the expansion of NATO and the sovereignty of Ukraine by a neutral party might have led to a more desirable outcome, he adds. I dont pretend its easy, but I cant see that happening when its just being dealt with by the conflicting parties. Read More: The Russian Assault on Ukraine Poses Huge Risks for the Rest of Europe and the World Suzanne Nossel, CEO of Penn America and a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations under Barack Obama, has argued that states must be forced to go through a written public process every time they exercise a U.N. veto, so that their arguments become subject to the scrutiny of the international community, and that the U.N. General Assembly should be more empowered to act when the Security Council doesnt. Few would disagree that Wednesday was anything but a nadir for the U.N. and global governance writ large. The international system, the U.N., is not really effective, says Elbegdorj, who studied in Lviv, western Ukraine, for five years during the 1980s. Its just talking heads now, not really having any impact, and these forces [allied] with Putin know the situation. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's central bank on Friday said it was increasing the amount of cash it gives to banks to replenish ATM machines, the latest measure the regulator has taken in an effort to maintain financial stability after Russia invaded Ukraine. Demand for cash in Russia on Thursday stood at 111.3 billion roubles ($1.34 billion) and was the highest since March 2020, central bank data showed. Clients of some Russian banks under Western sanctions will no longer be able to use their cards abroad or with mobile payment systems from Apple and Google, the central bank said earlier, as it stepped up support for banks. ($1 = 82.9870 roubles) (Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Elon Musk isn't about to catch a hoped-for break from the SEC any time soon. Sources for The Wall Street Journal claim the SEC is investigating whether Musk and his brother Kimbal violated insider trading regulations with recent share sales. Officials are concerned Elon might have told Kimbal he planned to ask Twitter followers about selling Tesla stock, leading the brother to sell 88,500 shares just a day before the November 6th tweet. If so, the company chief might have broken rules barring employees from trading on undisclosed information. Kimbal Musk has frequently traded Tesla stock at regular intervals under a plan. He didn't on November 5th, according to an SEC filing. We've asked the SEC for comment. Tesla isn't available for comment as it disbanded its communications team sometime in 2020. Musk clearly isn't on friendly terms with the Commission, however, as he said a day earlier that he "will finish" a fight he believed the SEC started. If the report is accurate, the investigation will add more tension to a years-long feud. It began in 2018, when the SEC took action against Musk over tweets about taking the company private. While Musk agreed to a settlement that included approval requirements for any financially relevant social media posts, that wasn't the end of the fight between the two. The SEC has been looking into Musk's tweets over the past few years over concerns production-related tweets weren't approved, and just days ago subpoenaed Tesla for information on the EV maker's processes for honoring the 2018 settlement. Musk has publicly sparred with the SEC at the same time. This year, he accused the regulator of conducting a "harassment campaign" that unfairly singled him out and excluded the court from monitoring. The SEC denied the accusations. Whatever the truth behind those claims, it's safe to presume Musk won't welcome any new investigation with open arms. Editor's note: This article originally appeared on Engadget. A small herd of elk roaming the Richmond Lake area was ultimately shot by the South Dakota Department Game, Fish and Parks in December. Nick Cochran, GFP conservation officer for Brown County, confirmed that the elk were roaming the lake area and becoming a nuisance for more than one property owner, including a cattle farmer. While GFP would normally just wait for the elk to move out, Cochran said this situation was unique. The herd included a cow and her calf and three males. But the cow was bred in captivity, Cochran said. "The cow came from Wylie Park," he said. "They bought two new cow elk in March of 2021. One got away and took off. We could never find it." Initially, GFP was looking for the cow so it could be returned to Wylie. While it was spotted in numerous places, Cochran said, by the time GFP would respond, the elk had moved on. The cow was pregnant when it escaped. By fall, reports were being made by people who had seen a cow and calf. Soon, three bull elk who were roaming the area, and they eventually formed a herd with the cow and calf. "Elk are herd animals," Cochran said. "Just like cattle, if they smell or hear each other, they start running around together." While some residents enjoyed seeing the elk, he said, they were a nuisance for others. For instance, they would rub against trees on one property and damage cattle fence on another property. "Its never something we want to do," Cochran said of killing the herd. He noted that if a national park were nearby, GFP could have pushed them in that direction. That option, however, wasn't available. Because the cow was bred in captivity, Cochran said, concerns were raised within the GFP office about the potential for chronic wasting disease. So the elk were shot on Dec. 14, with the meat donated to local food pantries and Sportsmen Against Hunger. Chronic wasting disease is both transmissible and fatal for animals. Symptoms include drastic weight loss, stumbling, listlessness and other neurologic symptoms, according to the CDC. Story continues Cochran said that normally, Brown County might have reports of a single elk roaming through the area, so having three bull elk was unusual. Just what caused the increase in numbers is unknown, he said, but it could have been the persistent drought conditions pushing elk out of their normal territories. Since the Brown County area doesn't have the habitat to support elk, he said, normally they just pass through. It was unusual that they stuck around as long as they did. This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Small elk herd near Richmond eventually shot, meat donated Virginia ABC stores will return to normal business hours starting March 1. All stores will open by 10 a.m. every day, apart from some stores which regularly open later on Sundays. Store closing times vary by store and will remain the same. For roughly a month since Jan. 24, Virginia ABC stores were opening late at noon in response to COVID-19 and staffing issues. Those issues have now been resolved, according to Virginia ABC. With COVID-19 case numbers once again falling in Virginia, we are now able to return to our normal operating hours, Travis Hill, chief executive officer of Virginia ABC, said in a statement. We truly appreciate our retail teams dedication and flexibility throughout this pandemic, and we look forward to serving our customers with expanded hours soon. Mary Washington Healthcare is back to care as usual after a surge of COVID-19 patients pushed its hospitals into crisis mode last month. This omicron surge really was like a flash flood, and as quickly as it came up on us, it seems to be receding, so that is welcome news, said Dr. Mike McDermott, CEO of MWHC, during a virtual town hall Wednesday. Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center also has seen a steep decline in our inpatient COVID volume compared to December and January, said Susan Coleman, marketing director. While McDermott and Dr. Christopher Newman, chief medical officer at MWHC, were optimistic that the spring and summer might offer some return to normalcy, both wanted to remind people not to delay care for medical issues. In addition to seeing the decline in COVID patients, McDermott said health care teams at Mary Washington Hospital and Stafford Hospital also have seen a few patients with relatively more severe disease because they put off medical care. Examples include patients with stomach pain who eventually suffered a ruptured appendix, which resulted in greater complications and an increased risk for sepsis, McDermott said. Health workers also have seen people who had chest pain from a heart attack present with greater heart muscle damage and severity due to delayed treatment, he said. As new cases and hospitalizations from the virus drop throughout the nation, another aspect of COVIDs impact unfortunately continues to climb. Because there were so many people who died from the omicron variant in January, the Virginia Department of Health is continuing to process all the death certificates and is still reporting new deaths daily. Another 18 deaths have been added to the tally this week for the Rappahannock Area Health District, which includes Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford. Theyre among 115 local people and 2,223 Virginians whose virus-related deaths have been reported in February alone. The pattern may continue for another week or more, into early March. There were just so many, sadly, statewide, so its been taking some time to get them all reported, said Mary Chamberlin, public information officer for the local health district. As throughout the pandemic, the majority of deaths reported this week have been older people, age 60 and above. However, there also were two local people in their 50s and one woman in her 30s who died from the virus, according to state data. Since the pandemic began, 563 residents of the Rappahannock Area Health District and 18,440 Virginians have died from COVID-19, according to state data. However, as indicated by questions posted during MWHCs town hall, people are eager to resume activities and want to know their level of safety. For a vast majority of people in the country, that is probably OK, Newman said. If youre updated on your vaccines and have no significant health problems, it is probably safe for us to start gathering and doing things again. He also pointed out that between 3 percent and 7 percent of the nations populationpeople who are immunocompromiseddont have that luxury. That includes people undergoing chemotherapy and taking medicines for autoimmune diseases, transplant recipients, the elderly and those with chronic health problems. Because of their compromised conditions, their immune systems dont mount an adequate defense against COVID-19, even with vaccines, Newman said. They will need to protect themselves, Newman said. Likewise, he said children who fall into any of those categories or live with an adult who does will have to take similar precautions. Newman stressed that cloth masks wont cut it; instead, he recommends KN95 or KF94 masks because they provide a secure fit, have enough filtration and are more comfortable to wear than the medical grade N95 masks worn by health care professionals. In response to questions about local school systems loosening mask mandates, he said he believes its the right decision. For most children, its a very low-risk situation at this point, Newman said. We do need to take these opportunities when COVID is lower in prevalence to normalize a bit. On the topic of virus prevalence, health officials have stressed that people need to look at a number of indicators, including new case numbers, hospitalizations and an areas positivity rate, to determine how widespread COVID may be. The positivity rate, which measures the percentage of positive tests among all those taken, is a good example, McDermott said. It climbed to 45 percent in the Rappahannock Area Health District during the worst of omicron. While its shown a steep decline in recent weeks, its still above 10 percent, which is twice as high as health officials prefer. In the local health district, new cases are averaging 86 a day with about 55 people hospitalized in MWHC facilities and Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center. Thats compared to early January, when there were an average of 840 new cases a day and more than 200 people hospitalized. But all along, health officials have suggested COVID cases probably have been undercounted because not everyone who had the virus was tested. Early on, that was because there werent enough tests availableor because people had no symptoms of the disease. These days, as people receive their free test kits from the federal government or purchase them at neighborhood pharmacies, those who test positive may not be sharing the results with local health departments even though theyre encouraged to do so. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Drier air is moving into the neighborhood for the weekend. Gloomy conditions will improve significantly today (Friday). The stubborn cold air damming wedge (see graphic) extends all the way to the North CarolinaSouth Carolina border this morning. It will finally be squeegeed out of the Fredericksburg area by a cold front barging east across the Appalachian mountains. Sunshine and gusty west winds behind that boundary will bump temperatures quickly into the 50s by noon, with afternoon highs topping out in the upper 50s. Fredericksburgs sunset today occurs at 5:59, the final time this month that Solour sundips below the horizon before 6 p.m. The winds will turn around out of the north as evening arrives, ushering cooler air into the region. By dawn Saturday, local thermometers will dip below freezing, with some readings likely bottoming out in the upper 20s in colder spots. Saturday will turn out partly sunny, but a bit cooler than average for late February. Afternoon highs tomorrow will be in the upper 40s accompanied by light northerly winds. Clouds will hang around Saturday night into Sunday morning as a weak low pressure system moves off the southeastern U.S. coast. That storm will remain far enough from Fredericksburg to keep precipitation out of this area. Then, by midday Sunday, yet another cold front zooms through Fredericksburg, opening the door to more chilly air out of Canada. Temperatures Sunday afternoon will bump into the low 50s thanks to westerly winds and sunshine, but the cooler air mass will mean a much cooler entrance into the work week, with wind chills Monday morning dipping into the low 20s. Happy Friday! Nebraska Extension will host a price risk management workshop for cattle producers from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 16 at the Nielsen Center, 200 Anna Stalp Ave., in West Point. Cattle producers will learn strategies designed to reduce risk exposure to achieve a profitable outcome in uncertain times. Current issues facing the cattle industry will be discussed to help producers to make more informed decisions facing the industry. Topics will include managing drought risk with PRF insurance, managing price risk and strategies to achieve better profitability. The workshop is free and a meal will be provided courtesy of KTIC Radio, but registration is required by March 11. For more information, and to register, call Nebraska Extension in Cuming County at 402-372-6006. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Supporting our international community On behalf of Washington State University, we reaffirm our solidarity with and support of the international community in condemning the destructive attacks on Ukraine. Our thoughts are with our students, scholars, and everyone who has been impacted. The Office of International Programs, in collaboration with the Office of the Dean of Students, has been in regular contact with our Ukrainian students and scholars, offering online and in-person support and resources. Outreach has been on-going the past several weeks and has increased as the situation abroad evolves. These are stressful and uncertain times. WSU has many resources available for students, faculty, and staff looking for additional support. For our students: For our faculty and staff: We stand with our students, families, friends, and colleagues across the globe in the face of this unprovoked aggression. Kirk H. Schulz President Elizabeth S. Chilton Provost and Executive Vice President Asif Chaudhry U.S. Ambassador (Ret.) Vice President for International Programs Welcome to Gandhara's weekly newsletter. This briefing brings you the best of our reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan. If youre new to the newsletter or havent subscribed yet, you can do so here. Khans Kremlin trip overshadowed by Ukraine I write about how Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khans long-planned trip to Russia was overshadowed by President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, which began on the day Khan met with the autocratic leader. Islamabad had hyped the visit as part of its effort to chart a new course in foreign policy by adding Moscow to its allies by cultivating security cooperation on Afghanistan and attracting Kremlin investment for a vital gas pipeline. Pakistan is already a close partner of China even as its economy and military benefit from Western largess. "It remains an ill-timed visit, which is not necessarily going to get Pakistan into trouble. But the country will have less sympathy in the West," Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistan expert at the University of London, told me. Marvin Weinbaum, the Afghanistan and Pakistan studies director at the Middle East Institute, argued that despite Pakistan's quest for new alliances, it will remain dependent on relations with the West. For all that China can do for Pakistan, the country cannot succeed economically and perhaps strategically without also retaining its close ties with the West, he told me. Forced confessions under the Taliban Golnaz Esfandiari recapped Radio Azadis reporting about how the Taliban authorities are allegedly forcing women activists to confess on camera that their protests against the hard-line government were instigated by activists outside the country. This new tactic, which is widely employed by authoritarian regimes against critics and dissidents, follows months of Taliban crackdown on women activists who have challenged the Islamists on the streets, online, and even in protests at their homes. If you pay attention to the video, the mental state of the protesting women [shows] that theyre under pressure, Samira Hamidi, deputy regional director at Amnesty International, told us. Afghan beauty parlors take a hit I write about how Afghanistan's economic collapse after the Taliban takeover has destroyed the countrys once-thriving beauty salons. Business owners in Kabul and Herat told us how Taliban persecution and the economic crisis are keeping patrons away. "We women are terrified of the Taliban and worried about our future," Nida, a salon owner in Kabul, said. "Now, we often wait for just one customer to show up during an entire day," she added. Beauty parlors have lost more than 90 percent of their business since the Taliban seized Kabul in August. Flogging for alleged adultery We take you to Uruzgan, where the Taliban whipped a man for alleged adultery this week. The public punishment is part of a Taliban push to return to the draconian public penalties for alleged criminals that characterized its first stint in power from 1996 to 2001. "The accused was humiliated and I do not think he would be able to live a dignified life like anyone else in society after this," said Sultan Muhammad, an elderly resident of Uruzgan who witnessed the beating in the provincial capital. I hope you found this weeks newsletter useful, and I encourage you to forward it to your colleagues. If you havent subscribed yet, you can do so here. I encourage you to visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Yours, Abubakar Siddique Twitter: @sid_abu P.S.: You can always reach us at gandhara@rferl.org. International Maritime Industries (IMI), the largest shipyard in the Mena region, said it has signed an agreement with Columbia Ship Management (CSM) in bid to boost Saudi Arabia's capabilities in shipbuilding, ship repair and engineering excellence. The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) comes only six months after both companies agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding to explore opportunities in various areas within the maritime sector. IMI will work closely with CSM, a world-leading provider of ship management and maritime services, to support its vision of becoming a fully integrated global maritime facility. CSMs maritime service portfolio, engineering expertise and worldwide network of clients and partners will help support IMIs ongoing development. The partnership will be further enhanced by CSM acting as an official consultant for IMI in the areas of sensorisation technology for vessel performance optimisation, engineering solutions, vessel design, and newbuild planning and supervision. Moreover, CSM will actively promote IMIs modern set-up and technical capabilities to both existing clients of CSM as well as any market potentials the CSM Group gets aware of through its extensive global network CEO Dr Abdullah Al Ahmari said IMI has signed an agreement with CSM, a company that is committed to supporting our efforts of building a world-class, technologically advanced shipyard that will drive the development of the maritime industry in Saudi Arabia. The partnership enables us to leverage CSMs unique capabilities and expertise, therefore enhancing our offering to both partners and customers. We look forward to collaborating further with CSM and achieving more important milestones in the near future. Mark ONeil, CEO of CSM, said: We are delighted to be able to underline our commitment to the important Middle East and Saudi markets by further developing our excellent relationship with IMI through this new MOA." "IMI is a Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shipyard providing the most advanced and sustainable newbuilding, maintenance, repair and overhaul services for commercial vessels including VLCCs, Chemical Tankers, Bulk Carriers, Offshore Support Vessels and Offshore Jackup rigs. Together with IMI, we have a mutual interest in strengthening our collaboration in order to meet the ambitious targets set out by IMI in the Mena region." "CSM remains fully committed to the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, where our recently created ship management office offers the full Columbia Group service catalogue," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Eight members of polio vaccination teams were killed in separate attacks in Afghanistan, the United Nations said on February 24. "We are appalled by the brutality of these killings, across four separate locations," the UN said in a statement. "This senseless violence must stop immediately, and those responsible must be investigated and brought to justice. These attacks are a violation of international humanitarian law, the statement added. The UN said one person was killed in Takhar Province in the far north, and seven in neighboring Kunduz Province -- including four in the provincial capital, Kunduz city. They were engaged in house-to-house visits or on their way to begin campaigns, the UN said. Obaidullah Abidi, a spokesman for the Taliban police in Kunduz, told Radio Azadi that four women were among those killed. Matiullah Rohani, head of the Taliban's Information and Culture Department in Kunduz, said security forces are working to arrest the perpetrators. "Our security and intelligence agencies have launched an operation in connection with the incidents that took place today in Kunduz Province, and efforts are under way to apprehend the perpetrators, Rohani told Radio Azadi. The killings were the first since UNICEF and the World Health Organization launched a nationwide polio vaccine campaign in November aimed at reaching over 3 million children, with the backing of the Taliban. Polio teams were frequently targeted by insurgent groups in Afghanistan until the Taliban's takeover of the country last year, when the hard-line Islamist group said it wanted to work with the UN to stamp out the disease. Last year, several polio vaccinators were shot by unknown militants in eastern Nangarhar province. No group has claimed responsibility for the recent attacks. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not been eradicated, although Pakistan last month reported a year without a case for the first time in history. With reporting by AFP A few Colorado Springs City Council members expressed some skepticism Monday about a proposed rule that would limit the size of high water use Colorado Springs police arrested a man who allegedly pinned two officers between their vehicles and a pickup truck he was driving near a 7-Eleven Thursday afternoon. Police responded to a call around 4 p.m. Thursday on a report of an emotionally disturbed man, according to Colorado Springs Police Lt. Cari Graves, who reportedly brandished scissors and attempted to shoplift at a 7-Eleven on North Nevada Avenue, near Colorado College. The suspect, an adult male police wouldnt identify Thursday evening, was sitting in a pickup truck near the front of the store when officers contacted him. When they attempted to get him to turn the vehicle off and get out, Graves said, he allegedly put the vehicle in drive and ended up pinning the officers at some point between the truck and their cruiser, causing moderate injury. Several other officers quickly descended on the scene, and the man was arrested and is accused of two felony counts of assault on a peace officer, driving under the influence of drugs and menacing, Graves said. The officers who initially responded, as well as the suspect, who had minor injuries, were transported to the hospital, Graves said, adding that she though they were both going to be okay in the long run. Could have been a lot worse, she said. She said police were also investigating reports someone had threatened elementary school students waiting at a nearby bus stop, adding they hadnt confirmed the same suspect was involved. Khan was a popular name in Kolkata, known for his social initiatives and involvement in anti-CAA protests Sami Ahmad | TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles KOLKATA Seven days after social activist and student leader Anish Khan of Howrah districts Dakshin Khan Para died, the mystery around his death continues. Khan came into limelight for his anti-CAA speeches in Kolkata. Anishs family alleges that they are under pressure to withdraw their demand for a CBI enquiry. Anish, 28, had returned to his house after attending a jalsa (a religious gathering) in his neighbourhood around midnight, February 18. His father Salam Khan told the reporters that four men barged into his house referring to some case against Anish. One of them held him at gunpoint, while the three frisked Anish and took him upstairs in his under-construction house. After a few minutes the three returned and told the fourth person that the job was done. When the family searched for Anish, he was found dead in front of his house. Anishs family alleged that the local police were immediately informed but cops reached their house the next morning. Local police told Anishs family that no one from their station had gone to Anishs house. Anish wrote to the local police seeking protection in May last year, but it was not provided. Anish, who recently joined ISF- Indian Secular Front, was the youngest among six siblings. He was earlier a member of SFI. His last social media post was a song in Bangla and Hindi. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced to constitute an SIT comprising three senior IPS officers. After the initial probe, three policemen were suspended. On February 23, two policemen including the one suspended earlier were arrested in this case while the chief minister refused to hand over the case to the CBI. Talking to TwoCircles.net Anishs eldest brother Sabir Khan said that the family had no faith in local police as those who barged into their house and threw Anish to death were either from police or impersonating them. We want a CBI enquiry, said Sabir. Significantly Anishs family is getting support from various parties in their demand for a proper enquiry by organising protests and giving deputations. While no one is attributing the tragedy to Trinamool Congress, one of Anishs complaints to the local police against TMC is doing the rounds. Asif Iqbal Khan, a former engineering student of Aliah University, who studied with and knew Anish Khan very well, told TwoCircles.net that Anish wanted to organise a blood donation camp on May 22, 2021 but local TMC leaders had asked to cancel the event without explaining why. According to Anishs complaint, TMC workers barged into his house and threatened to kill him. Anish was an M.B.A. from Aliah University, Kolkata and was pursuing a course in journalism from Kalyani University. As a student leader he was quite popular at Aliah university. Abu Jafar Molla, the national general secretary of the Fraternity Movement told TwoCircles.net that Anish was found at every movement launched by different organisations. He was very vocal and spared none including TMC and Mamata. There were issues with local TMC leaders. Molla, too, demanded a judicial inquiry in this case. Sami Ahmad is a journalist based in Patna, Bihar. He tweets at @samipkb. After five months of nearly uninterrupted surges, Colorado's COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates have tumbled to their lowest levels since August and the vast majority of the state is projected to be immune to the virus' dominant strain. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, charging that Russian leader Vladimir Putin chose this war" and that his country will bear the consequences of his action. Retired U.S. Army Colonel Hlib Hayuk, left, and T.K. Kaltenbacher hold Ukrainian flags high as they cross Colfax Avenue after protesting with other gather at the Colorado State Capitol to show support for Ukraine on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, in Denver, Colo. While talking about his disappointment with President Joe Bidens reaction to Russia invading Ukraine, Hayuk said Sanctions just make us feel good. The world just witnessed the beginning of World War Four. The world just witnessed the beginning of an iron curtain. (Timothy Hurst/The Denver Gazette) (Timothy Hurst/The Denver Gazette) An 18-year-old man has been sentenced to over 30 years in prison in an April 2021 shooting in Security-Widefield that left a teenager dead. Kamrin Long, who according to court records pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder, was sentenced Wednesday to 36 years in prison by Fourth Judicial District Chief Judge William Bain. The sentence, Fourth Judicial District Attorneys Office spokesman Howard Black confirmed, was made as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. According to court records, Long was originally charged with first-degree murder, a count that was later amended, in the shooting that left 18-year-old Isaac Garcia dead. Garcias father, Jose Garcia, said his son's death came just before he was to graduate from Mesa Ridge High School. He was just so close to graduating, he said. Graduating high school was a really great accomplishment for him, and he was very proud of himself and he was looking forward to walking across the stage. That was taken from him, adding that the high school still handed his family Isaac Garcias diploma. El Paso County Sheriffs Office deputies were called to the 4800 block of Spokane Way just after 5 p.m. April 18, where they found Isaac Garcia suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest. According to an arrest affidavit filed for Long on April 19, Long told an individual unidentified in the affidavit to give his address to Isaac Garcia after that unidentified individual indicated he was "going to fade" Garcia. Garcia, according to the affidavit, indicated he had arrived at the address around 5 p.m. Surveillance video from neighbors showed an individual pulling up the driveway of the home and walking up just before a single gunshot was fired and the individual fell backward. Garcia was found by deputies and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries. When interviewed by detectives, Long confirmed he gave Garcia his address and had shot him in the driveway. In the affidavit, he does not offer a reason for the shooting. Black said in an email the unidentified individual was not charged due to "self defense." Jose Garcia said roughly 20 family members and friends gathered outside the courthouse and later at his home to support each other and break bread following the hearing. He said he and his family were satisfied with the sentence, that justice had been served, and that they also believed in forgiveness. Were Christians, we believe in what the Bible says about forgiveness through our support system, and the people that we had surrounding us, we were able to hold our faith much easier, he said, noting he still would have liked to hear from Long, who didnt speak at his sentencing. "I really wanted to hear from Kamrin, to hear his 'why' or at least him say that he regrets that it happened or that he's sorry," he said. Doesnt change anything, but it does matter." Construction to renovate the Colorado Springs City Auditorium, a 100-year-old building downtown, could begin at the start of 2023 and finish by the end of 2024, Chris Grundy, the project's manager, announced at a community meeting Thursday evening. The Colorado Springs Community Cultural Collective, a local nonprofit aimed at funding the $53 million project, hosted its third community meeting to announce updates on the project and discuss community feedback. "We think this is an opportunity to do something really special for this community," said Bob Cope, the city's economic development director. During the meeting, the collective discussed the findings of their online survey of 450 residents. Respondents voiced concerns and interest in preserving the building's historical accuracy, aesthetics and access to parking, as well as promoting sustainability and equity within the auditorium. The collective plans to preserve the buildings exterior while "reinventing" the interior of the building to include a revamped auditorium with collapsible staggered seating, rehearsal studios and offices for nonprofits, as well as a cafe and black box, among other renovations, said Chris Wineman, the project's architect. The updates would also include maintenance, safety improvements and make the facility compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. "The truth is we're building a building around these others while preserving it," said Jeff Finn, the head of construction. "And so it is extremely difficult to do so." If the city and the collective complete phase two of the memorandum of understanding, which dictates the collective secure funding for the project, among other stipulations, then the collective will take ownership of the building. "Worst-case scenario if for some reason the facility wasn't sustainable, it would come back to the city and presumably with $50 million worth of improvements," Cope said. "So we think that we are really minimizing that risk to the city." The nonprofit committed to raising $53 million, but more precise cost estimates would be determined in coming months, said Linda Weise, president and CEO of the collective. "This is not the fly by the seat of your pants," Weise said. "This is actually the best practices of many, many cultural organizations across our country, and I'm really proud to tell you that they're all watching us make history here in Colorado Springs for this building." Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct number of completed online surveys. Cole Finegan is the United States attorney for the District of Colorado. Three anti-abortion bills, sponsored by conservatives in the House Republican caucus, all met the same fate in hearings that started Wednesday afternoon and stretched into the early morning hours of Thursday. All three failed on party-line votes. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate recently announced the appointment of Winnebago County Auditor Karla Weiss to his new 11-member, bipartisan Auditor Advisory Group. The auditors will work with Secretary Pates office to assist in the administration of the 2022 elections. I am honored to serve on Secretary Pates advisory group with this amazing assembly of auditors from across the state," Weiss said. "Elections are one of the most important responsibilities of my office. I am looking forward to collaborating with this group, reviewing elections. The 11 members represent urban and rural counties, offering unique perspectives from various areas of the state. Overseeing elections in Iowa requires a team effort from all 99 counties, and these 11 auditors are recognized by their peers as leaders who will help ensure clean, smooth elections across the state, Secretary Pate said. I value their insight and will listen to their input. Together, we will share ideas and best practices for the upcoming primary and general elections. The members of Secretary Pates Auditors Advisory Group and the counties they represent include: Amanda Harlan, Monroe; Amanda Waske, Ringgold; Carol Robertson, Mills; Jamie Fitzgerald, Polk; Jennifer Garms, Clayton; Karla Weiss, Winnebago; Melissa Wellhausen, Page; Rhonda Deters, Grundy; Ryan Dokter, Sioux; Sue Lloyd, Buena Vista; and Whitney Hein, Jones. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A few weeks ago, a silver lab by the name of Tess was captured by Mason City Animal Control. Officer Dave Houser had spent the last several months fielding calls from residents about a dog living in a wooded area in southeast Mason City. And despite the best efforts of Houser and members of the neighborhood, Tess had been able to evade capture throughout this winter. Despite a ligament injury in her leg, Tess thrived in her wooded home. When surveying the area, Houser found old pizza boxes, garbage bags, and cracker boxes that Tess had foraged for food. There was even a stuffed toy fox she had left on one of her trails in the area. The DNR had trail cameras set up in the area Tess was living in, and after Houser looked through the footage, they found her home in a large cement culvert. Houser set up a large live trap near her home, and two days later, she was caught and brought into the Humane Society of North Iowa (HSNI). Sybil Soukup, Executive Director of HSNI was grateful for all the hard work Houser did to capture Tess. Not every city has Animal Control Officers, and even those that do dont often find officers who go to the lengths Dave Houser did to bring Tess here. said Soukup. Soukup and other caretakers at HSNI were worried initially that Tess would have difficulty readjusting to life with humans, but were pleasantly surprised upon receiving her. Nobodys been able to lay hands on this dog for months. So we were very worried about her ability to be able to be around humans We were kind of expecting her to be a little bit wild. Not at all shes just been the biggest sweetheart. She just wants to cuddle with people and be loved. said Soukup. Tess has been spending time in the front of the shelter with the HSNI employees, getting treats and pets as she makes her rounds throughout the lobby. After experiencing Tesss ease in returning to human companionship, it was obvious to Soukup that Tess had been somebodys pet at some point. We went through all the (missing animal reports) we had on file, and nothing, said Soukup. They put her online for a few weeks, and nobody claimed her, So we dont really know what her story is. But at this point, were ready to write her a new ending. But as of Friday, Tess has finally returned to her owners, the McDonough family. According to a post by HSNI, Tess went missing from her home in rural Nora Springs after being frightened by fireworks last July. After showing up at every sighting of Tess for two months, the McDonoughs had given up on getting Tess back. HSNI shared a video on Thursday calling for donations for Tess's surgery, and it made it's way to Nicci McDonough. They have no idea how she ended up living at least 10 miles from home, according to HSNI: "It was an emotional reunion for everyone, including Tess who had missed 'her boy' Decker (McDonough) terribly." Rae Burnette is a GA and Crime & Courts Reporter at the Globe Gazette. You can reach her by phone at 641.421.0523 or at Rae.Burnette@GlobeGazette.com Love 11 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Re: Environmentalists who are concerned with the status of sharks should [ #permalink Environmentalists who are concerned with the status of sharks should not worry. Shark attacks on humans are on the rise, which is a sure sign that the shark population is also growing. Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument above? A. Marine biologists who study sharks have noticed that schools of sharks are steadily growing. B. Most of the shark attacks are perpetrated by Great White sharks. C. Many of the attacks are taking place in secluded waters where humans are not commonly found. D. Overfishing has reduced the regular food supply for sharks, causing them to search out new sources of food. E. Rogue sharks continue to attack humans in shallow waters. I feel the answer is C. If the number of people commonly found on the secluded waters is less then the no. of attacks is less so the shark population is also not growing. Moreover, if the humans available for the sharks is less then the food availability is less so the population will not grow but survive. In D when they start searching for alternate sources they may find humans. This supports the premise attacks on humans are on the rise so it is supporting the statement that more attacks may be possible. Dating back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites, the holiday grew into its present form in heavily Roman Catholic countries. Here's a brief history. Two men were injured after a fight escalated into gunfire early Friday morning at the Pilot Travel Center in Danville, authorities reported. At about 12:50 a.m., officers with the Danville Police Department responded to multiple 911 calls to the gas station located on River Pointe Drive, a news release stated. After arriving, police found shell casings, a broken glass door and blood, however all involved were gone from the scene, police said. Minutes later, Marlowe Malik Cobbs, 26, of Danville, arrived at the emergency department of Sovah Health-Danville suffering from gunshot wounds to the lower torso. Authorities were then notified of a call from Alonzo Morris III, 34, of Pittsylvania County, who had made it back to his home. The investigation has revealed the gentlemen knew each other through a mutual acquaintance, which was the basis for the animosity when they came upon each other, police wrote in a Friday morning news release. A verbal interaction occurred then an assault that ended with Alonzo Morris III suffering a wound to his head and multiple shots being fired in front of the main entrance to the business. Police said Cobbs was hit and went into the establishment before leaving the scene and heading for the hospital. Two firearms were recovered during the investigation, and it appears each of the gentlemen had a firearm during the incident, police wrote in the release. Morris was treated for a head wound at the local hospital and released. Police arrested and charged him with aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and shooting into an occupied building. As of Friday morning, he was being held in Danville City Jail. Cobbs was treated at Sovah Health-Danville and then transported to an unnamed medical facility for further treatment. He has been charged with malicious wounding also, police said. Employees and customers were in and around the business at the time of this incident, but thankfully no one else was injured and the only property damaged was the building itself, police wrote in the release. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Danville Police Department by calling patrol at 434-799-6510, investigations at 434-799-6508, 911, Crime Stoppers at 434-793-0000, through social media or using the crime tips app CARE. Information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case will be eligible for a cash reward. HIGH POINT With every explosion in her beloved, besieged Ukraine, Shannon Newby feels her heart shatter into a few more pieces. Since Wednesday night, the 44-year-old High Point woman has watched in horror as Russia launched a large-scale military offensive against Ukraine, the country where Newby has adopted six children, all of them with Down syndrome, since 2017. "It breaks my heart, because I have six children from Ukraine," Newby said Thursday. "I've walked those streets and I remember all those places. They've attacked the airport at Kyiv, and I brought every one of my adopted babies home through that airport. It's just devastating to see what's happening there." Newby's children 5-year-old Nicholas and Elizabeth, 4-year-old Sophia, Emma and Hayden, and 3-year-old Madeline are too young to understand what's happening in their homeland, but Newby said she maintains contact with three sets of birth parents in Ukraine, and the news from them is bleak. "Everything is bad in my country," Emma's birth mother wrote overnight in a brief note to Newby. "We have bad news. I think you know trouble came to my country and to my city. Pray and pray." Nicholas' birth mother communicated that her father Nicholas' grandfather and her husband were preparing to fight, and they sent her out of the country so she would be safe. "You literally have fathers and grandfathers going to war," Newby said. "My 5-year-old son's grandfather is going to war, and he's in his 60s. It just blows my mind. These people, we consider them extended family, and there's nothing I can do to help them it's a very helpless feeling. You want to think it's all a dream, or a nightmare, but it's actually a reality." Newby first came to love the Ukrainian people through her grandmother, the late Nova Dennis of Thomasville, who served as a missionary in Ukraine in the 1990s. That love grew as a teenager, when her family hosted eight members of a Ukrainian choir visiting the United States. It was in 2017 that Newby began adopting children from orphanages in Ukraine. Each time she adopted, she spent several weeks at a time in the country, walking the streets and adapting to the Ukrainian lifestyle, but now she fears Ukraine will never be the same. "The Ukraine that I knew doesn't really exist anymore," she said. "The whole world changed for Ukraine in hours, and now it's so hard to look at places you've walked and things you've experienced, knowing they're not safe anymore. We always felt safe there, but it's not like that now. And it's sad, because my children may never get to see their homeland." As she watches the latest developments in Ukraine, Newby fears not only for her extended family, but for the many children still living in orphanages there. All she can do, she said, is watch and pray. "No one knows what's going to unfold in the next five minutes, much less the next two weeks," she said. "It's just a really difficult situation to watch." NEW YORK (AP) A lawyer for a woman who accused former President Donald Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s and then filed a defamation lawsuit against him said Tuesday she will not seek to depose Trump prior to trial because it would cause unnecessary delay, but added that a DNA sample was still being sought. Attorney Roberta Kaplan first made the revelation in Manhattan federal court during a pretrial hearing before explaining the decision to reporters outside the court as her client, E. Jean Carroll, stood by her side. A deposition, Kaplan said, would "inevitably result in an inordinate amount of delay." "We want the case to go forward," she said. Attorney Alina Habba, who represented Trump at the hearing, said outside court that she had not previously heard that Carroll's lawyers did not want a deposition, a proceeding in which lawyers in civil cases question likely witnesses under oath prior to trial. "It's surprising," Habba said. As for a DNA sample, Habba said: "None has been demanded." Kaplan, though, said the DNA sample had been requested after the case was first filed in state court, and the demand still exists after it was moved to federal court. She said she would be "more than perfectly happy" to wait to interview Trump at trial, which she estimated could occur in as little as six months, after some near-term legal obstacles are cleared. The Associated Press generally does not identify people alleging sexual assault, but Carroll has consented to being named in the media. She told reporters outside court that she was looking forward to the trial on behalf of all women "who have been grabbed and groped, assaulted and raped by men in power and are silenced." "And we are looking to bring justice, at least in this one case, against a powerful man," she said. Carroll said she would "never settle, never." "This is about principle. It's about a powerful man assaulting and raping a woman and then getting away with it. That's not right," she said. Carroll in a June 2019 book said Trump raped her in the mid-1990s in an upscale Manhattan department store. The book excerpt prompted Trump to deny the allegations and question Carroll's credibility and motivations in a statement from his White House press office, comments in an Oval Office interview and statements to the media as he boarded a helicopter for Camp David. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule eventually on Trump's request that the United States take his place as the defendant in the lawsuit. The U.S. Justice Department has asserted that Trump cannot be held personally liable for "crude and disrespectful" remarks he made about Carroll because his remarks were made as he was carrying out his duties as president. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presided over Tuesday's hearing, ruled last October that Trump cannot use a law protecting federal employees from being sued individually for things they do within the scope of their employment. He also has rejected a request by Trump's attorneys that the progression of the lawsuit, including depositions, be delayed until the 2nd Circuit rules on whether Trump can be replaced as the defendant. On Tuesday, the judge seemed to have little patience for arguments by Trump's lawyers saying that Trump should be able to countersue Carroll under a law sometimes used to challenge defamation lawsuits that unfairly make claims. "I question whether you have the right to do what you want to do," he said, noting that the lawyers were seeking to countersue more than a year after the case was filed. *** A federal lawsuit filed Monday contends a fired Raleigh police detective and others conspired to fabricate heroin trafficking offenses that led to an illegal raid, excessive force and the false imprisonment of 10 Black women and children. The 32-page civil complaint filed in the U.S. Eastern District of North Carolina is the latest action involving former detective Omar Abdullah and confidential informant Dennis Williams. The suit also names as defendants the city of Raleigh, the fired detectives police colleagues and his supervisor. Abdullah and Williams working together sent about a dozen Black men to jail on trafficking charges from Nov. 29, 2019, to May 21, 2020, for drugs that repeatedly turned out to be fake, according to court documents. Some of those men and their families filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in April, which the city of Raleigh quickly settled for $2 million in September. The new lawsuit involves families who say Raleigh police entered their apartments unannounced wearing tactical gear, pointing assault rifles at and detaining innocent women and children as young as 12, including a partially paralyzed youth. This action seeks damages on behalf of plaintiffs for the loss of liberty, extraordinary emotional pain and suffering and injuries to their person that plaintiffs were forced to endure as a consequence of defendants decidedly wrongful actions, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs include Yolanda Irving, a mother of five who drives a Wake County bus for special needs children, and her three children, who were home the day police searched the house. Other plaintiffs include Irvings neighbor Kenya Walton, her four children and another teen, who were all detained as part of the search on Irvings apartment, according to interviews and the lawsuit. The plaintiffs ask in the lawsuit for an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages. I never got an apology After police raided the apartments, Abdullah provided a search warrant to Irving that had the right address but a picture of an apartment door that was not hers. Abdullah left offering no apology, she said. I never got an apology. I never got anything from the Raleigh Police Department, Irving, 45, told The News & Observer, earlier this year as she unsuccessfully sought the release of police video of the raid. You have my kids scared. I am petrified. And you are going to tell me I could do whatever? No, no, no, she said. On top of that, you are running behind my son with a gun. I could have lost him. The Raleigh Police Department did not respond Tuesday morning to questions from The N&O about the federal complaint and related allegations. Complicated history The police raid was a result of an investigation led by Abdullah involving Williams, who was suspended as a confidential informant the day after the raid. The raid followed months of investigations in which Williams claimed he bought heroin but that tested negative for control substances, according to the lawsuit. RPD officers ... informed Abdullah on numerous occasions that the alleged drugs were not heroin but brown sugar or some other substance, plaintiffs allege in the lawsuit. Officers reported the scheme to Abdullahs supervisor, Sgt. William Rolfe, who never intervened, the plaintiffs allege in the lawsuit. Two officers have indicated that Abdullah was never stopped or disciplined because he was Muslim and had previously accused a supervisor of discrimination, according to the lawsuit. Sgt. Rolfe was afraid of also being accused of discrimination, plaintiffs allege in the lawsuit. Allegations against Raleigh, officers The lawsuit alleges unlawful entry and search, unlawful arrest and seizure, fabrication of evidence and false imprisonment. It also alleges a failure to train and supervise officers, failure to monitor the confidential informant program and take other steps to implement policies and practices that prevent conduct that violates the constitutional right of individuals. The plaintiffs are being represented by a mix of attorneys, including lawyers from Emancipate NC, a racial justice nonprofit. Abdullah was fired at the end of October. Attorneys and others involved in the Abdullah cases have criticized Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman for not charging him with any crimes. Freeman says the case is still under investigation. Williams faces five counts of obstruction of justice. DURHAM Neshama Littman says the parties of Duke students in her Tuscaloosa-Lakewood neighborhood are hurting the quality of life. Five houses on her street, rented by Duke University students in the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, have been hosting parties with hundreds of people. I watched someone stumble into my yard and (urinate) on my bushes, and when my neighbor said something to them they shouted obscenities at her, Littman recalled. Residents say loud music goes on day and night. Partygoers block traffic. The block is littered with red Solo cups. And people drive away under the influence of drugs and alcohol. More than 260 people in the neighborhood have now petitioned the Durham City Council to take action and enforce ordinances that would stop the fraternitys house parties from getting too wild. The parties have been taking place for years, residents say. Susan Sewell recalled a 2008 party where a slip-and-slide was built and everyone was out with drunkenness all around. People are getting so drunk that theyre passing out in someones driveway down the road or throwing up, Sewell said. Its dangerous and unpleasant for the neighbors. Since 2010, police have been called to the five houses more than 150 times for noise complaints or disturbances. Sewell and others have also contacted Duke University over the years, but the school disaffiliated itself with the Greek organization. We expect all Duke students to be respectful neighbors and good citizens in the community, Michael Schoenfeld, Dukes vice president for Public Affairs and Government Relations, said in a statement. Students who live off-campus must observe local laws and ordinances just like any other resident, and we will hold individuals responsible for conduct that violates university policies. In a statement, the Alpha Delta Phi national office wrote it does not own, lease or manage property in Durham. While some chapter members may be among students renting private homes, we encourage neighbors to take concerns to the properties owner. Littman received a text from an unidentified member of Alpha Delta Phi apologizing after a recent party quickly got out of hand. We struggled to manage people and are so sorry for the unacceptable conduct of some people who showed up and (are) very sorry about the noise levels, the text read. However, we have been talking over the past few days and realize now that we are not able to effectively manage a party in this area. We have communicated to our fraternity that we will not be using our residence to host backyard parties anymore. Sewell said the main message the neighborhood association is trying to convey is that residents do not want unsafe parties in the community. We are absolutely fine with Duke students living in our neighborhood, she said, but we dont want huge, dangerous parties. In an exclusive interview carried out by ANHA with Hamdan Ebid, Co-chair of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, on the position of the Damascus government towards the recognition given to Lohansk and Donetsk labelling at the same time the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria as a separatist project. Co-chair of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria said: the Damascus government is not interested in a political solution to the Syrian crisis. This is very clear from the onset of the crisis. It brought in regional powers to repress protests and fight Syrians and labelling them time and again as terrorists and separatists''. Hamdan Ebid said that the ''Damascus government claimed time and again that is was a legitimate government but it was revealed that its decision and sovereignty are usurped. It mortgaged all economic sources of the country to such powers under bargains, but in reality it has sold Syria''. Co-chair of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria indicated to the ''hostility embraced by the Damascus government to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria though the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spared no efforts in fighting the terrorist groups of ISIS and other groups supported by Turkish occupation state but in spite of all this the Damascus government labels the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria as a terrorist one''. To the wonder of Hamdan Ebid the Damascus government recognised both separatist lohansk and Donetsk republics at time the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has never sought separation rather it has always sought a national solution to the crisis that may end the struggle and preserves the integral unity of Syria''. Co-chair of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria noted that the decision by the Damascus government was an appeasement to the Russian Federation though no international recognition is received. '' the Syrian government recognises two separatist states and does not embrace dialogue with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and accuses it of separation, ignoring all calls of a national dialogue within Syria and based in a constitution agreed by all''. According to the Co-chair of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria the Syrian government is not interested in ant political solution rather it embraces military options in the same way Russia did in Ukraine''. Hamdan Ebid denounced the statement made by Syrian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faial Meqdad on separation and demographic change alleged by Meqdad. Hamdan said '' we are all Syrian and we do not seek separation, they make such statement to avoid dialogue. Regarding the demographic change Hamdan said they had never displaced locals on the contrast there are many people from areas held by the Syrian government live in areas under the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria''. Hamdan Ebid concluded by reiterating'' we are Syrian, patriotic, they push us to separation, we have never been separatists. We want a unified Syria''. L..A ANHA Sweida's people went out in a protest pause in front of the Ain Al-Zaman headquarters, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the protesters made a statement in which they demanded the following: 1- A civil state without partisan, sectarian or ethnic discrimination. 2- Opening the corruption file and holding corrupt officials accountable. 3- Returning the looted money to the state treasury. 4- Cancellation the smart card and secure all the rights of the Syrian citizen in accordance with the constitution. 5- Cancellation of security approvals for real estate sales and agencies. 6- Cancellation of customs duties. 7- Raising the purchasing power and controlling prices. 8- Disclose the fate of the detainees. 9- Supporting farmers to enable them to invest their lands. 10- preventing spread of the phenomenon of exotic drugs in the society. It is worth noting that the Sweida Governorate has witnessed, since the beginning of this February, several protests against the Damascus government . A.K ANHA Ryan Cooney said he felt like it was time for something different, when after 11 years teaching at Capital High School he left his position as the advanced placement government teacher and took a job at the district's Project For Alternative Learning. Cooney still teaches government today, and after four years at PAL he has been named the Montana World Affairs Council's Global Educator of the Year. "I loved my job at CHS, but I was looking for something different and a fellow teacher encouraged me to check it (PAL) out," Cooney said. "Here you get to build relationships with students in a way that you just don't get to at CHS. Here, emotional well-being of students comes first." Cooney said he was honored to be named the Global Educator of the Year. However, he credits his students more than himself. Cooney said the kids he works with on a daily basis genuinely care about what is going on in the world, and while teaching them can be a challenge, they have a thirst for knowledge. "It was such a cool honor. There are so many great teachers in this state," Cooney said. "And I still have a long way to go. I'm constantly evolving. I have so much left to learn. But it does make me feel good about what I'm doing. Especially in tough times like now, where teachers are burning out and leaving the profession in record numbers." Along with the award, Cooney received a $500 scholarship to purchase supplies that 12 PAL students will take with them to the annual Academic World Quest three-day competition starting Feb. 28 in Missoula. At that conference, Cooney will be presented with the Global Educator of the Year award. The winners of the competition will take a trip to the national competition in Washington, D.C. later this year. Cooney said he is taking three teams of students and they are feeling confident about the competition this year. "They (Montana World Affairs Council) do so much to allow teachers like me to connect globally and help my students experience new things," Cooney said. "This conference brings the world to Montana. It makes kids more interested in what is happening." Cooney said he is of the opinion that as we all go through life, we will inevitably encounter those who are different. His teaching method aims to expose students to different types of people early on, which he said can lead to a greater respect for those who are different. Cooney said he tries to ask his students to remember what they discussed in class when speaking to those who are different. Cooney's class has a golden rule: They are all friends. Cooney's goal is to force his students to look past their differences and see each other as people. He said they have so much empathy and understanding that it often takes him aback and makes him think that the adults of the world could learn a lot from observing these kids. Cooney said the students approach the lessons from a place of such genuine curiosity that there is no malice in them. "'Trust the students' is my overarching philosophy. If you treat these kids like human beings and empower them with knowledge, then they will engage with seriousness," Cooney said. "They should never be afraid of espousing their views in my classroom because they will be treated with respect." Part of that is never shying away from or sugarcoating topics, according to Cooney. He said you have to treat the students like humans who are genuinely curious about the world around them. That means engaging them in earnest conversation about various world affairs topics, including the problems of the world. It's those kinds of important world topics that will ultimately be on the table for discussion and competition at the upcoming Academic World Question competition. Cooney said he loved his job at CHS, but since moving to PAL he has come to love it there even more. He said kids often come to PAL largely broken, but end up loving the program and growing. "These students live our mantra and the transformation you see in them when they come to PAL is night and day," Cooney said. "It's that buy-in they have that makes the difference." Cooney said he thinks there are many things that PAL does that the rest of schools could learn from. Cooney said the traditional idea of education with a teacher standing at the head of a classroom lecturing with a white board is an outdated model, and he believes engaging in discussion with his students is far more effective. Cooney said he hopes to engage his students in such a way that what they discuss in school stays in their minds while out in the world. Cooney said he has often had students come back to him and tell him how things they discussed in class were brought up at the dinner table at home, and the student was able to actively engage in that discussion in a respectful and confident manner. "If a student is going home and having a conversation with their family at the dinner table about something they learned in school," Cooney said, "that is an absolute win. They are talking about school outside of school." Love 32 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A Montana National Guard spokesman on Thursday said officials are monitoring the ongoing situation in Ukraine, however, at this time there are no changes to its readiness status or Force Protection Condition and no impacts to its operations. Maj. Ryan Finnegan, state public affairs officer, said the Force Protection Condition, known as FPCON, has five levels. We are currently at Bravo which is in the middle, he said in an email. There has been no change to this level due to the Ukraine situation. We are standing by for any changes that may be ordered by higher headquarters or as the situation develops, Finnegan said. Finnegan said Montana now has about 520 troops overseas. About 40 are in Europe and the rest are in the Central Command area of operations in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. The Montana National Guard, which originally formed in 1867, has about 3,300 members, Finnegan said. It is a component of the U.S. Army and the U.S. National Guard. Nationwide, it makes up nearly half of the U.S. Army's available combat forces and about one-third of its support organization. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to attack Ukraine early Thursday after weeks of failed diplomacy and a massive military buildup. He said it was to liberate and protect the Russia-backed separatist eastern region of Ukraine. President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. will impose severe economic sanctions on Russia over what he described as an unprovoked and unjustified attack. The Pentagon announced the deployment of 7,000 additional U.S. service members to Europe, an effort to shore up defenses around NATOs eastern flank countries along Russias western border. This story contains information from the Associated Press. Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Last summer, Montana created a list of more than a dozen upgrades for its state prison facilities to protect inmates and staffers from COVID-19 infections, all of which would be paid for with nearly $2.5 million in federal COVID relief money. But the money, part of $700 million in aid to states to detect and mitigate COVIDs spread in prisons, jails and other confinement facilities, sat untouched as of mid-February. Not a single project has begun despite the omicron surge that led to a new outbreak of COVID cases among Montana State Prison inmates in January. That delay has left weak points within Montanas secure facilities. The holdup is the result of concerns that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised after reviewing the spending plan submitted by the state Nov. 8. The states budget included only Montana Department of Corrections facilities, with no information on how the state would help county jails or other community confinement facilities, according to documents that KHN obtained through a public records request to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. The federal agency also raised concerns about some of the states budget items, among them $100,000 for a generator at the Montana State Prison, $39,000 for an emergency response vehicle, and $9,736 for specialty bacteria and germ-resistant paint, according to the documents. Despite those concerns, CDC officials rated the states plan as good and noted in its Dec. 22 response that the proposal was detailed and thorough. Montana officials submitted a revised proposal Feb. 4 that scrapped the plan for germ-resistant paint and offered justifications for the generator and new vehicle. They are awaiting CDC approval before beginning any of the projects. Its our standard practice to not spend money until a work plan and budget is approved by the federal agency granting the funds, said Jon Ebelt, a spokesperson for the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. The money comes through the American Rescue Plan Act aid and was distributed by the CDC to states and territories to make prisons, jails, juvenile and other facilities in which people are incarcerated safer during the pandemic. States have until 2024 to spend the money, but criminal justice reform advocates say people in confinement shouldnt have to wait for the aid to go to use. This country seems to be allergic to distributing it to people who are vulnerable, said Wanda Bertram, a spokesperson for the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative, a research and advocacy group that has tracked how state prison systems have responded to COVID. Its senseless to give people until 2024 to spend money thats designated for a pandemic that was supposed to be over last year. States were authorized in August to start spending the money, even without final approval of their budgets, if they followed guidelines, CDC spokesperson Jade Fulce said. About $114 million of the $700 million had been spent as of Feb. 4. States may have their own restrictions that prevent them from using the money immediately, Fulce said. Colorado, which received $11.7 million, is still lining up the contracts and personnel needed to begin spending the money, state Joint Information Center spokesperson Brian Spencer said. Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokesperson Greg Stahl said the state is waiting for state lawmakers authorization to spend its share. And like Montana, Texas is waiting for the CDC to approve its spending plan before it taps into its $75.9 million share, said Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services. Once COVID is present in packed communal settings like jails and prisons, stopping its spread is difficult. People who are incarcerated disproportionately have chronic health problems, leaving some more susceptible to a dangerous infection. All of that has contributed to an increase in the death toll within the nations prisons during the pandemic, with deaths rising 46% from 2019 to 2020, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Justice. In January, at the peak of Montanas omicron surge, 95 inmates in the state prison system tested positive for COVID, compared with seven the month before, according to state corrections officials. Overall, 1,182 state inmates across seven facilities had contracted COVID during the pandemic as of Feb. 22, and six had died from the virus, according to state data. That does not include outbreaks in county-run jails. State officials hope the federal aid can be used for lasting improvements, including new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to circulate and purify air both for the laundry facility at Montana Correctional Enterprises, where inmates train and study, and for the Montana State Prisons infirmary. Inmates reside and staff work in the infirmary without properly functioning ventilation, state officials wrote in their plan, adding that this increases both groups risk of contracting COVID. State officials also want to install a $100,000 generator at the Montana State Prison. That request led the CDC to question whether buying a generator was consistent with the COVID-prevention purpose of the grant. Are power outages frequent? Will the described generator only be utilized for screening purposes or for additional, non-COVID related purposes? the unsigned CDC comment said. State officials defended the request in their Feb. 4 revised proposal. Without the ability to provide uninterrupted power and delivery of needed medical treatments, poor patient outcomes may occur, it said. The state also proposed buying 90 tablet computers, 30 that inmates could use to report COVID symptoms and 60 for educating inmates about how to prevent the virus spread. Additionally, state officials want to create an electronic health records system and buy three transport vehicles where inmates can isolate as theyre transferred for treatment, plus an additional emergency transport vehicle. The state dropped its plan to buy 100 gallons of germ-resistant paint for medical areas after the CDC said it was unclear whether that fell within the scope of the aid. Experts have been skeptical of the paints value in responding to COVID, since the virus primarily spreads through particles and droplets in the air, not via surfaces. One of the rules tethered to the money is that recipients must help facilities implement COVID testing programs for residents, staff members and visitors. Montana officials proposed hiring five additional nurses and two administrative staffers to screen, test and educate state correctional employees and inmates. The CDC responded that while the state offered a clear plan for the money, some of the aid had to support local governments in making places like jails and police lockups safer. The recipient needs to clearly state how confinement facilities that are not operated by the State Department of Corrections will be included, CDC officials wrote. Montana Department of Corrections spokesperson Alexandria Klapmeier said the department is following CDC guidelines for managing COVID but, when asked, did not directly answer whether department officials are concerned about safety issues within facilities while the projects are on hold. The department is hopeful these projects will be approved by the CDC to provide us with more tools to offer the best care possible to the inmates under DOC supervision, Klapmeier said. KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A recent lawsuit in Montana District Court has brought confusion and now hopefully some clarity on what is and is not allowed for hunting wolves. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in response to a lawsuit from two wildlife advocacy groups argues that its removal of language from Montanas wolf hunting regulations prohibiting hunting wolves from aircraft was justified because state law does not specifically bar hunting wolves from the air. But according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and subsequently acknowledged by FWP, a federal law prohibits shooting wildlife from aircraft, although comes with some exceptions. On this episode, Tom Kuglin walks us through the lead up to a consensus among both federal and state officials that wolves may not be hunted from aircraft for recreational purposes. This podcast from the Montana State News Bureau is created in partnership across five newsrooms the Billings Gazette, the Helena Independent Record, the Missoulian, the Montana Standard and the Ravalli-Republic. You can support this podcast and our efforts by subscribing. Visit any of these newspapers websites, and click on the Become a Member button at the top of the home page. We appreciate your support of local journalism. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The term The Montana Way of Life is used by politicians, stating that they are protecting the Montanans Way of Life. Attacking their opponent for holding contrary views. Often said but rarely defined. Montana is a second chance state. From the territorial days on, almost everyone who came to Montana was seeking a second chance to make it good. It is the story of Clark, Daly and Heinze. Not only the top mining barons, but almost all of the miners who worked also came from somewhere else. Thus Montana attracted legions of workers coming to Montana for a second chance. It was not just mining. Our state was settled mostly by foreigners, willing to work in hopes of proving up on a homestead. It was an opportunity to obtain title to land, something they could not otherwise accomplish, a second chance. The result was that by the beginning of the 20th century most Montanas citizens were either themselves foreign born, were children of parents who were foreign born or were descendants of tribal people. This singular fact has indeed produced defined characteristics of what it means to be a Montanan. A willingness to do hard work, nothing was free. Everything came from hard work. And tenacity. You cant live on the open plains in the winter, be it in a buffalo hide tepee or a dirt dugout, without tenacity. There are other characteristics too. Loyalty to the common good; support for others without any self-aggrandizement. Working together teaches humility, you simply cant do things alone. It teaches respect for the skills, abilities and shortcomings of others and of your own. Tolerance, decency, integrity, self discipline, self restraint and selflessness. These are the Montana values everyone talks about. Look at the record of Congressional Rosendale. He says he is working to protect Montana values. He fully supports bans on abortion and refuses to consider a womans right to control her own body. He opposes any increase in taxes for the wealthy. He opposes expansion of Social Security and Medicare. He opposes increased spending to promote economic growth. He opposes expanded funding for renewable energy. He opposes any gun-control legislation. He opposes federal regulation of greenhouse gases. He continues in efforts to repeal the American Cares Act. He is opposed paid leave to workers during a health emergency. He supports building a wall along the Mexican border and returning all 11 million undocumented immigrants to their country of origin, even those brought to America as children. He opposes allowing Afghanistan refugees coming into the United States even though vetted, those who worked for American forces in Afghanistan. Virtually every Congressional proposal which seeks to address and alleviate harm from the pandemic, from climate change, he opposes. Which of those Montana values he contends will he defend? An award for hard work by individuals? No, especially if it increases taxes of corporations. Tolerance of others? Absolutely not. Rosendale only favors those whose skin is as white as his. Decency, integrity, self discipline and selflessness? Nope. By his votes, he turns his back totally on those values also. And humility, this sense that we are not alone and we must help those impoverished, disadvantaged by circumstances beyond their control. These are not propositions he is ready to support. And finally loyalty. Look at his record. He voted against establishing a commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol, against emergency spending to respond to the attack, even against honoring those Capitol and DC police who responded to the Capitol attack. This is the record of a person sworn to defend and protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This is a record of a person who even voted against certifying the election results in various states, asserting that this was due to fraud; an allegation totally unsupported by any evidence. None of these actions show loyalty to the country. Matt Rosendale says he will defend the Montana values and way of life. But his voting record, his public statements and commitments demonstrate exactly the opposite. Lets vow to assure that this Congressman is a one-termer. Ron Waterman Helena Love 16 Funny 4 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 DECATUR Barbie will be in Decatur ready to read to the young people of Central Illinois this weekend. Tickets are $15 per child, or $25 for two, which will provide a guest with bagels, a book, a photo opportunity with the iconic character and story time. Girls from ages 4 to 8 years are invited to attend the event. Youll get all kinds of treats, Owens said. The kids should have a great time. If You Go WHAT: Books and Bagels with Barbie WHEN: 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26 WHERE: Decatur Public Library, 130 N. Franklin St. TICKETS: $15 per child; $25 for two children ON THE WEB: www.theimageuniversity.com Owens is a small business owner and an image consultant. Im a character motivator in the form of Barbie, she said. I want to make sure that we are moving back from the old tradition of outwardly kind of looks. The two women have a lot in common, Owens said. Shes a businesswoman and has a thousand jobs, she said. Since she began taking on the character less than a year ago, Owens has had multiple appearances, with the goal of inspiring girls to make them proud of who they are, she said. Another focus is to promote reading. She has partnered with the Community Foundation of Macon County, United Way and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. We want to continue the love for learning, Owens said. Owens was employed with Decatur Public Schools, before moving to Champaign a year ago. But I wanted to give back to Decatur first, she said about introducing Barbie to Central Illinois. Future outings for Barbie include Mommy and Me programs and visits to local childrens hospitals and wards. I would like to come in and just uplift those pediatric patients, Owens said. Just to put a smile on their faces. During the librarys event, Barbie will be highlighting African American authors, in honor of Black History month. In the months to come Im looking to do more things, Owens said. But Barbie has been highly requested, so were going to stick with this for a while. Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. FORSYTH A Forsyth group home resident has died from injuries she received last month from the man authorities say attacked her and two other residents. According to a Macon County Sheriff's Office sworn statement filed Friday, Lynn Umphreyes, 58, was pronounced dead at Springfield Memorial Hospital on Feb. 16 after being "stomped on" and punched in the face and head during an attack on Jan. 26. Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said Umphreyes suffered blunt force trauma to her head and succumbed to her injuries. An autopsy report is still being processed. An employee of the group home said she witnessed Hagood walk up to the bedroom of one of the victims and pick her up in the air and "slam her" back down on the hardwood floor. Hagood disregarded the employee when she asked him to stop and then approached Umphreyes to pick her up in the air and do the same, the witness said. The witness said she saw Hagood "stomp on" and "punch" Umphreyes about the face and head before she ran out of the group home while still on the phone with 911. Hagood made no comments before or during the incident and had been on suicide watch for the past couple of weeks, the witness said. The sworn statement said Hagood is diagnosed with mild intellectual disabilities, schizoaffective disorders, autistic disorder, anxiety, constipation and bi-polar disorder. Hagood was later transported to an area hospital for involuntary admission where authorities collected clothing that had blood on it. According to the affidavit, Hagood told a doctor that came into the room while police were collecting his clothing, that the reason why he tried to kill three people was that he was "angry" and had "prayed to Satan" that morning. Hagood went on to tell the doctor of a plan he had to kill himself, said that he is a "sociopath" and made a statement about killing his mother because she believed in God. During a previous hearing related to charges of attempted murder, the court accepted a mental health evaluation that stipulated Hagood was in no condition to participate in court proceedings. Bond on a new preliminary charge of murder was set Friday at $2 million, meaning he must post $200,000 to be released. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. DECATUR Its about 5,400 miles between Decatur and the Ukraine. But for those who know and love the country, like Millikin University professor Laura Dean, it feels as close as her fondest memories as she watches the beleaguered country fight for its life in the face of Russian aggression. Dean lived there for a year between 2012 and 2013 while doing dissertation research on human trafficking. She developed a deep affection for Ukraine and its people and a lasting respect for their culture and passion to live in freedom. The people were very welcoming and invited us into their homes, said Dean, 41, an associate professor of political science. And its so unbelievably heartbreaking to watch what is happening to them now. Unable to sleep as TV images of Russian bombs falling invaded her living room, Dean was up at 5 a.m. Thursday trying to satisfy the desire to do something in the face of overwhelming tragedy. So she attached a small Ukrainian blue and yellow flag to the plinth of the Abraham Lincoln statue on campus and, below the flag, hurriedly wrote a message in colored markers on a piece of cardboard: Peace in Ukraine. Stop Russian Aggression. One of her online postings added: If you are at Millikin today and walk past the Lincoln statue on campus spare a thought for Ukrainians fighting for democracy. These are the same things Lincoln stood for She also posted on social media the web address of an organization helping displaced people. The professor hopes their misery will end soon and that Russian President Vladimir Putin will eventually see sense and leave the Ukrainian people alone. But Dean said the messages and posts she is seeing from friends in Ukraine give little room for hope. She lived in a city called Kharkiv in the east of the country, about 30 miles from the Russian border. There is a city park webcam on the Kharkiv Facebook page normally used to promote tourism. Now it shows the live feed of Russian bombs coming down, said the professor. And knowing exactly where those bombs are hitting, watching that happen, is just surreal. She also sees posts and images from terrified residents of Kharkiv who have taken cover in the citys underground subway system. I can tell what metro station they are in as they post videos saying Please, lets have peace. They dont know what is going to happen. That fear of the unknown goes even deeper for Liana Creamer of Decatur. Born in Ukraine, with her friends and family including a son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter still there, Creamer is understandably worried about the Russian invasion of the country. Her granddaughter is an American citizen who was born in Champaign while her son was studying at the University of Illinois. Creamer has been in the United States for eight years after marrying an American citizen and is a student at Richland Community College. They told me they heard a lot of noises like bombs, they saw rockets fly above their car, Creamer said. They are still there and they saw it. They are not safe at all. The airports are under attack so leaving the country by air is impossible, she said, and the family is trying to get out by car, but progress is slow because so many people have the same idea, and police are stopping cars to check documents. Country roads are better than main routes because the Russian army is targeting main roads. I want people to know Ukraine needs help, she said. The world won't stop Putin now and it could be a third world war. I don't know how they can stop him but I am crying and praying for them. For her students watching the Ukrainian people fight for their freedom, Dean said it's a life lesson in the clash of ideas as democracy confronts the dark forces that seek to destroy it. And the professor, who has also lived in Russia, does not believe the vast majority of the Russian people, who have suffered their own blood-soaked history of war and repression, want any part of the aggression against Ukraine. No Russian I am friends with on social media wants this war, she added. And while it is illegal to protest in Russia, I see there are people there getting out and saying We dont want this to happen. Valerie Wells contributed to this report. Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Members of both parties in Illinois congressional delegation on Thursday overwhelmingly denounced Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine with one notable exception. Freshman U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, a Republican who has embraced the far-right elements of the national GOP and is backed for reelection by former President Donald Trump, issued a statement that neither condemned Putins actions nor backed U.S.-led sanctions to his regime. Instead, she praised Trump for using a peace through strength strategy and achieving energy independence during his tenure in the White House as she delivered a litany of what she considered national security failures of Democratic President Joe Biden and radical leftists in Congress. She also warned that gas prices are about to skyrocket even higher. None of this would be happening if President Trump was still in the White House, Millers statement concluded. I will continue to pray that God watches over the people of Ukraine. Millers statement was in stark contrast to the reactions from the rest of the delegation, including the four other Illinois Republicans in the House. Miller, of Downstate Oakland, is seeking a second term against five-term Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville in the June 28 primary in the redrawn 13th congressional district. Davis issued a strong denunciation of Putins actions and backed a strong U.S. response. On Twitter, Davis said he joined the free world in strongly condemning Russias unprovoked invasion, and added that the Ukrainian people need our prayers and they need our support through tough sanctions on Russia. Thugs like Putin only respond to strength. Now is the time for severe economic consequences, Davis tweeted. Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro also took to Twitter, saying Putins invasion must be met with decisive action from the U.S. & our global partners. We must send the message that we stand firm with the Ukrainian people and on the side of peace, Bost tweeted. The world is watching. Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood of Peoria, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he condemned Putins unprovoked and unjustified attacks against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. The world is witness again to the true evil of Putin, who alone has chosen a path of bloodshed in Ukraine, he said in a statement. America and the free world must stand with Ukraine by enacting the strongest possible economic sanctions, crippling Russias ability to make war and punishing Putins regime and his oligarchs on the international stage. Retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Channahon, an outspoken critic of Trump and the former presidents dealings with Putin, said on Twitter that the Russian president once again showed himself for who he really is. From poisoning countless political opponents & his assassination of (liberal Russian politician Boris) Nemtsov, to the brutal air strikes murdering thousands of Syrian citizens, we have seen who Putin is & the impunity of his barbaric attacks on the world. He must be held accountable, Kinzinger tweeted. The states 13 House and two Senate Democrats were unified in their criticism of Putin and backed a strong response from Biden. Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. North Side and northwest suburban Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, a House Intelligence Committee member and co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, said, Russias unprovoked attack on Ukraine begins a war of choice entirely of President Putins making, despite months of intense diplomacy. The price that Ukrainians will pay for that choice is unfathomable. As I have for months, I will continue to call for appropriate repercussions for Russias invasion, and if necessary, I will press the administration and our allies to take broader, harsher action, Quigley said in a statement. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. Senate and the states senior senator, said Putins actions were a dire threat to the established international order and must be resolutely deterred. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran, said any blood spilled and human suffering caused by the invasion rest solely on Putins hands. Our nation, our NATO allies and all countries who value human rights, sovereignty and the rule of law must hold him and his cronies fully, painfully and immediately accountable, she said. Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville noted in a statement that while the U.S. has no treaty-level obligation to defend Ukraine, we have a special moral duty to assist Ukraine because of its decision to give up its nuclear weapons at the end of the Cold War in return for international assurances of its territorial integrity. The people of Illinois stand on the side of democracy, he said, and with the people of Ukraine. 2022 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 8 A Letter to Young Voters Who has time for politics, right? I know you feel overwhelmed by school, the pandemic, relationships, parent expectations, etc. Hey, I was there once too, though admittedly, minus the pandemic. Still, I was a teenager during the Vietnam War, which put me in danger of being drafted according to the lottery system. My point is that life is never without worry; times are never easy and never will be. And while you might think it better to ignore the worlds problems, assuming things will turn out just fine is not really working out, is it? Allow me to ask you a few questions that may offer some points to ponder. Do you ever feel like the people in charge arent interested in the health of your planet? Have you ever wondered why? Does it seem like they are more interested in power and money than in protecting your future? Does that make you wish someone would do something about it? Have you thought recently about the American promise? You know, the one that says all Americans are endowed with inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? When was the last time you took a gander at the Declaration of Independence, or the Constitution, which begins by talking about the common good, not good for only a few, but for everyone? Have you realized how special that American promise is? It is indeed extraordinary, and you should learn to appreciate Americas greatness, not by wearing a gaudy cap trumpeting its greatness or waving a flag, but by thoughtfully showing reverence for its ideals. Read the documents above and then ask yourself if you think the marginalized in America are allowed to embrace those ideals. Do you think your generation could do a better job making these ideals available for everyone? Did you realize that there are countries whose governments subvert truth, revising their historical narrative to cover up past indiscretions, as in China where it is unlawful to speak of Tiananmen Square? Look it up. Then ask yourself if youre OK with your parents supporting the banning of your school librarys objectionable books simply because they describe American white privilege and systemic racism, both well-documented historical truths. Do you think you should have a say in that? Do you ever feel that the Black Lives Matter movement is somehow anti-American or a threat to your way of life? If so, perhaps you should inform yourself about Americas long history of Black oppression, and then, reread the documents mentioned. Next, take time to ask yourself if the racial biases you absorbed from friends and family are valid ones. Your parents and friends dont know everything! Have you ever considered that although African-Americans are a minority in your country, Blacks are actually part of an overall majority of humans on the globe? Does that give you a different perspective regarding the way we treat them? Do you think racism can be overcome? Do you think it needs to be? Why or why not, and how does your opinion align with the American promise of equality? Finally, do you think this world is a zero sum game? That is, do you think that the less someone else gets, the more you will get? Or conversely, do you think lifting all people up would be good for everyone? Who do you think should decide that? Todays ineffective leaders, or the leaders of your generation? Why bother with all these questions? you may ask. After all, youll say, whats the use? Its hopeless to try changing things, right? I posit that you wont know until you get away from your algorithm-driven iPhones and read the local newspaper. That will prepare you to vote on the issues at hand and possibly make a difference. If you dont become informed and involved, youre doomed to have a future no better than our present one. None of us wants that. We need you to get involved. The way things are going right now, you may be our last hope. Randy Reyman is a Decatur resident. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 7 Correction: An earlier version of this letter incorrectly described that police officers were murdered on Jan. 6. This version has been corrected. Republican politicians claim theyd do a much better job of supporting the police than Democrats. Where were they when police were brutalized during the Jan. 6 insurrection incited by Trump? Where were they during the rise in violence police have had to deal with because of Trumps support for right-wing terrorist organizations? Where were they when police or members of their family were being infected by the virus because Trump played down the threat and failed to act? They were supporting Trump answers all three. Where were they when the police were risking their lives rushing to the scenes of mass shootings? They were supporting the right for most people to own an AR-15 or similar weapon. Where were they when police or their families were suffering the conditions exacerbated by climate change, such as hurricanes, floods, and fires? They were supporting the fossil fuel companies most responsible for climate change. Where were they while police or their families were struggling to make ends meet because of policies supporting the upward redistribution of wealth and power? They were supporting the war on labor unions that began during the Regan presidency and continues to this day; Citizens United and similar laws that allow corporations and the wealthy to control many of our politicians, including the entire Republican Party; insurance company profits instead of improved Medicare-for-all are just a few examples. Where were they while police or their families were suffering long-term unemployment, foreclosures, homelessness, underwater mortgages, lost savings, deferred or denied retirements, and educations cut short during the Great Recession that began in 2008? They were supporting the big banks most responsible for the recession. Ron Adams, Decatur Love 146 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 59 New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Isolated thunderstorms during the morning, then windy this afternoon with overcast skies. High around 90F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Cloudy skies this evening followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms overnight. Low 72F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%. BRISTOL, Va. A budget item directing the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to assist with the Bristol Virginia landfill may not be the cavalry many are hoping for, but it opens the door for the state agency to become more involved. On Wednesday the Virginia House of Delegates approved House Bill 29, its version of the states biennium budget. On page 200, Item 1H on item 376 introduced by Del. Israel OQuinn, R-Bristol specifies DEQ shall provide technical assistance to the city of Bristol in resolving ongoing health, environmental and quality of life issues with its landfill and to facilitate a long-term plan for the operational status of the landfill, following the completion of the mitigation efforts. The landfill language is included in both HB 29 and HB 30, which will keep the language in effect for two more years, starting July 1, OQuinn said. This language is very important as it directs DEQ to provide technical assistance to the city of Bristol on all matters related to the city-owned landfill, OQuinn said. This language formalizes DEQs role in providing technical input. Matching language is included in SB 29 and SB 30, which finally passed the Senate Thursday 31-9. In addition to this legislative item, Sen. Pillion and I have also met with both the new DEQ director and the Secretary of Natural Resources. Director (Michael) Rolband has already visited the landfill site at our request, while Secretary (Andrew) Wheeler has agreed to do the same once the General Assembly session adjourns, OQuinn said. Theyre committed to assisting the city with this very complicated problem thats negatively affecting local residents. Mayor Anthony Farnum said city leaders appreciate the efforts of Southwest Virginia lawmakers. Its good that different levels of government understand this is a big issue that is affecting everyone not just the city of Bristol but both Bristols. DEQ, state legislators, City Council, everyone understands this is a big issue that needs to be addressed as quickly as possible, Farnum said. We have taken steps to correct it, but having additional help will certainly be welcome. Pastor Sam Weddington of Bristol, Tenn., a co-founder of the HOPE for Bristol citizens group, also welcomes the assistance. Any help we can receive from the state is very welcome, and absolutely critical. To that end, I have been encouraged by VADEQ Director Rolband's interest in our landfill problem and his diligence in seeking solutions for the residents of both Bristols, Weddington said. That said, conditions at the landfill are in a critical state and we will need every possible support to make remediation happen. I hope we will also hear similar news from Washington and the EPA, and that representatives like (Congressman) Morgan Griffith will work tirelessly to make that happen. City officials posted Tuesday on the city website they had met with Rolband and another DEQ official last Friday to discuss the history, odor issues and potential solutions moving forward, but didnt mention the newly appointed director came and visited the landfill. The verbiage in the state budget does not specify a dollar amount since officials have no idea what the total cost might be, OQuinn said. It does, however, specify DEQ shall (not may) provide technical assistance to the city regarding ongoing health, environmental and quality of life issues stemming from the operations of the citys landfill. To date the city has spent, or committed to spend about $3.5 million to mitigate problems with its landfill. On Jan. 4, city leaders appealed to lawmakers, state and federal officials asking that agencies including DEQ and the Environmental Protection Agency take more active roles in helping the city resolve its problems. Earlier this month, DEQ launched a web portal that includes copies of past state and federal reports, mitigation plans and a link to report odor complaints through the city of Bristol Virginias website. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BRISTOL, Tenn. Bristol Tennessee School Superintendent Annette Tudor said she is pleased the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act (TISA) presented by Gov. Bill Lee and Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn on Thursday accounts for the needs of students first. What I like a lot about this funding model is the recognition that it really does cost more to educate some students than others, Tutor said. It doesnt cost the same to educate all students. Students have significant needs for a variety of reasons, or some schools have more needs for a variety of reasons than another school would have. Tudor also said she is glad to see input she and her fellow Tennessee school superintendents gave during numerous work sessions together is reflected in the act. They really did listen to that feedback based on what Im seeing and what I heard in the press conference today. So thats encouraging, she said. During the press conference announcing the TISA, Gov. Lee said that unlike the current Basic Education Program (BEP), the entirety of TISA fits in a single folder. For Tudor, the simplification and transparency of the school funding formula proposed in the TISA is essential, not just for school staff, but also as a way for parents to understand how their kids education is being funded. I think its simple for folks to understand, she said. The BEP is way, way too complicated to understand, and it was hard to really even figure out how much are we spending per student. How much does it cost to provide those services? This should really make that much easier to do. Another aspect of TISA that Tudor believes will have a significant impact on Bristol, Tennesee schools is the funding TISA assigns to salaries, which would allow schools in Tennessee to offer individuals such as teachers, nurses, counselors and principals an appropriate wage, as well as give them the recognition they deserve for their work. Were all trying to come up with strategies to recruit teachers to the profession, number one, but then once we have them here, retain them, and obviously compensation is a huge part of that, Tudor said. I think that the additional dollars that the state is investing in compensation and salaries for teachers will certainly help to recognize that hard work and elevate the notoriety, the respect that our teachers deserve. The TISA still has a lot of steps to go through including several committees, the Tennessee House, and the Senate before it can be signed into law. However, Tudor believes she and her fellow superintendents cannot let their guard down. She said she will continue to advocate TISA to local officials about the different aspects of the act she believes are important to the Bristol, Tennessee community. Our jobs as superintendents across the state is to continue to follow this and ensure that were reaching out to our local legislators to advocate for the things that we think are most important in the bill so that they dont get pulled, Tudor said. So, I dont think the work is done by any means. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. " " Members of the Black Panther Party demonstrate outside the Criminal Courts Building one month after 21 Panthers were charged with plotting to dynamite city stores, a police station and a railroad right-of-way, New York City. Jack Manning/New York Times Co./Getty Images "[Huey Newton said], 'You know, the nature of a panther I looked it up... If you push it into a corner that panther is going to try to move left or right to get you to get out of the way. But if you keep pushing it back into that corner sooner or later that panther is going to come out of that corner and try to wipe out who keeps oppressing it in that corner.' I says, 'Wow, Huey, That's just like black people we're pushed in a corner.'" That's how Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale described how the Black Panther Party got its name [source: Oakland Museum of California]. Advertisement The Black Panther Party was founded in 1966 by Merritt College students Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in Oakland, California [source: Duncan]. The pair was frustrated by persisting racial inequalities in police treatment, housing, education, health care and other fundamental areas. But a big part of their platform was self-defense defending themselves (and other African Americans) from the police and other people who might want to hurt them. Newton and Seale thought the non-violent civil rights movement championed by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was moving too slowly, and they identified instead with the more radical ideologies put forth by leaders like Malcolm X. Indeed, the original name of the group was the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense [source: Oakland Museum of California]. The organization eventually spread to chapters in 48 states and a number of other countries, including South Africa, Japan and England [source: Duncan]. Party leaders developed a specific Ten Point Program that outlined the organization's concerns and demands. Equal opportunity for employment at a fair wage, financial reparations for the enslavement of millions of African Americans, and access to decent housing, education and health care were among the issues listed. They also called for the release of Black and oppressed prison inmates because, in the words of the program manifesto, "We believe that the many Black and poor oppressed people now held in United States prisons and jails have not received fair and impartial trials under a racist and fascist judicial system and should be free from incarceration." The party began to elicit attention by conducting armed patrols of Oakland's poor neighborhoods, which was perfectly legal thanks to a loophole Newton discovered in state law that permitted loaded weapons to be carried openly. So, Panthers walked the streets, witnessing arrests and other police interactions in an effort to discourage brutality [source: Blake]. Not surprisingly, this tactic inspired fearful politicians to change the law, post haste, all the while driving more attention to the Panthers and their cause. " " The Cape Florida Lighthouse at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne, Florida, off the coast of Miami, stands at the site of one of the major launch points of the Underground Saltwater Railroad. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) When we hear the term "Underground Railroad," we usually think of the network of secret overland routes traversed by fugitive slaves escaping north into Ohio and across the border into Canada. In early 19th century America, the Underground Railroad launched a freedom movement that brought people of varying religions and races together in a unified fight against the horror and injustice of chattel slavery. But did you know there was a Southern version of the Underground Railroad as well? "There is a Southern Underground Railroad that is little known, not just to the average American, but also to many students of U.S. history," says Dr. Paul George, resident historian at HistoryMiami Museum, in an email interview. In the early 1800s, enslaved Black people in Florida and other regions of the deep South were hundreds of miles from border states like Maryland and Kentucky and thousands of miles away from the "promised land" of British Canada, making their options and odds for a successful escape close to zero. "The Saltwater Underground Railroad headed south into Spanish Florida a region which was really off the grid and close to other areas outside of the U.S. which might be havens for fugitive slaves," says George. Believed to have operated between 1821 and 1861, the Saltwater Underground Railroad refers to the coastal escape route followed by fugitive slaves into the British-controlled Bahamas. Fugitives from Southern slave states sought refuge on South Florida's beaches. "An underground from Georgia and Alabama, maybe South Carolina too, extended into Spanish Florida," says George. From there, some paid for their passage on Bahamian vessels, while others made their way across the perilous Atlantic in dugout canoes and small boats. Once out to sea, under cover of night, they faced unimaginable unknowns: unpredictable weather and storms, recapture by slave hunters, assault by pirates, and unfathomably deep, dark waters. Advertisement Why Escape To the Bahamas? Situated 150 miles (241 kilometers) off the coast of Key Biscayne in Miami, Florida, the Bahamas were a viable destination for several reasons. For one, in 1825 the British government decreed that anyone who relocated to British territory was free, regardless of their prior status. And in 1834, slavery was abolished in all British territories, including the Bahamas. Secondly, most of its inhabitants were Black, making it possible for resistance movements on the islands to take hold. Free Blacks in the British Bahamas could get married, own land and pursue an education basic human rights that were inconceivable for enslaved human beings in the antebellum South. And because the population was mainly Black, it was easy for fugitive slaves to assimilate into a diverse community of native Bahamians, made up of Bahamian descendants of African slaves, Africans and maroons, also called "Black Seminoles," who were runaways from the deep South and Gulf coast who sought refuge with the Seminole Indians in Florida. " " The sign at Bill Baggs State Park on Key Biscayne, Florida, commemorating the Underground Saltwater Railroad. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) "They settled into neighborhoods alongside families of earlier fugitives," says George. "Many of their descendants still reside there. Maritime people, as well as farmers." Between 1821 and 1837, in the early years after the U.S. acquired Florida from Spain in 1819, hundreds of maroons fled to Andros Island in the Bahamas. The U.S. paid off Spain's debt to landowners who'd lost their slaves, aka "property," and began a 40-year campaign to locate and capture formerly enslaved Africans who had escaped to Spanish Florida in order to avoid plantation slavery, as well as to force the Seminoles onto reservations west of the Mississippi on the Trail of Tears. In 1526 the Spanish had brought the first enslaved Africans to what would later become America's Southern shores nearly 100 years before the British colonized North America. "Slaves had been in Spanish Florida since the late 16th century. They labored in the fields and groves," says George. In an effort to destabilize British colonies farther north, Spain began offering asylum to fugitive slaves in 1693, but only if they converted to Catholicism and did four years of military service. That enticing policy made Spanish Florida into a haven for fugitive slaves and led to the birth of the first sanctioned free black settlement Fort Mose in what would ultimately become the United States. "There was, near St. Augustine, Fort Mose, a community of ex-slaves, who likely provided assistance to fugitives from points north," says George. "Ultimately, the fugitives ended up at the Cape Florida Lighthouse, awaiting evacuation to the Bahamas by abolitionists or boat captains. Andros Island was a favorite refuge of these fugitives." Advertisement Florida Becomes a U.S. Territory in 1821 But with the ratification of the Onis-Adams Treaty in 1821, Florida effectively became a U.S. territory that allowed slavery, spurring Black Floridians to make their way through palmetto fields, dense marshy flats, mangrove forests, swamps with jutting aerial roots, and other harsh terrain, to the beaches of southern Florida where they could hopefully secure safe passage to freedom in the Bahamas. "Miami was likely the main escape point of the Saltwater Underground Railroad, more specifically Key Biscayne on the bay and ocean, seven miles southeast of Miami. With the Cape Florida lighthouse up by 1825, it was all over for that main escape route of the Saltwater Underground Railroad," says George. "We tend to view history from a British vantage point. Thus, all things Spanish Florida at the time were overlooked. Ironically, the Saltwater Underground Railroad ends on the tip of Key Biscayne about where the lighthouse stands today." Here is an introduction to a series called the "Saltwater Underground Railroad Experience: Retracing Pathways to Freedom:" Historians estimate that by the 1830s as many as 6,000 enslaved people had escaped to the Bahamian islands. Today there are two designated National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom sites in Florida: Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas and Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne. Now That's Interesting If the first attempt to plant a colony on American soil hadn't collapsed, the first permanent settlement founded by non-indigenous people would not have been European it would have been African. Advertisement Originally Published: Jul 22, 2020 The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman. Nebraska Division is offering six college scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,500. New this year is the expansion of offering the scholarships to graduate students and applicants who are employed by a Nebraska Midwest Dairy checkoff contributor. Scholarship levels include: Full-time undergraduate and graduate students with minimum second year enrollment at an accredited college. Preference will be given to those pursuing a career within and/or supporting the dairy industry. Scholarship levels include one (1) $1,500 and two (2) $1,000 awards. Full-time undergraduate and graduate students at an accredited college. Scholarship level includes three (3) $500 awards. Additional scholarship eligibility includes: Applicant must contribute to Midwest Dairy checkoff as of January 1 of the current calendar year by one of the following: Applicant, or applicants parents/guardians/grandparents/sibling, must own a dairy farm located in the state of Nebraska. Applicant must be employed on a dairy farm located in the state of Nebraska and be recommended by the producer employer. Former recipients of the scholarship may re-apply in subsequent years, providing they remain eligible. The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman. Registration is now open for the Holstein Association USA 2022 Judges Conferences. Individuals interested in attending can pick from two conference options in 2022. The first conference will be held in conjunction with the Northeast Spring National Holstein Show at the Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg, New York. The judges conference will start at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 1, 2022. A second conference will be held in conjunction with the Southern Spring National Holstein Show on Thursday, April 7, 2022. The conference will start at 1:30 p.m. and will held at the Payne County Expo Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Interested participants can register for the conference of their choice on the Holstein Association USA website with a credit card. The pre-registration fee is $50 and late registrants and walk-ins will pay a $100 fee. Pre-registration will close two weeks before the conference, on March 18 for the New York conference and March 24 for the Oklahoma conference. Individuals currently on the Holstein Association USA Judges List must attend and receive a satisfactory rating at a Holstein Association USA Judges Conference every five years. Those interested in applying for the list in the future must attend and receive a satisfactory rating at a Holstein Association USA Judges Conference before submitting an application. Participants must be 22 years old by the day of the conference to attend. To register online, visit www.holsteinusa.com/shows/judges_preregister.html. For more information contact Jodi Hoynoski at 800.952.5200 ext. 4261 or by email. The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman. Ive got a calver, doc. I hear these words from the other end of the line as I roll over and see that the clock reads 2 a.m. As I ask questions more to wake myself up than to gather information I realize Im going to have to leave the comfort of my warm covers. I tell the farmer that I am on my way, as I start to put on layers to venture out into the cold. The drive is groggy, trying to stay awake between sips of cold, stale coffee left in the truck from the day before. As I pull up, the farmer comes out of the house to meet me and we gather all of my supplies and trek into the barn. I am thankful to be out of the wind, but it is still cold enough inside the barn to feel my breath crystallize in my nose. Lying in the corner is a docile heifer with only one of the calfs feet sticking out. We get her into the squeeze chute, and I confirm that the calf has one leg back. It's a big calf, but I am able to get the other leg pulled up and safely deliver the calf." As cattle producers, I know you have all had experiences similar to this. You should never hesitate to contact your veterinarian if needed, but I am going to pass on some things that I have learned to help you feel more comfortable with calving assistance. When to Intervene During Calving You should provide assistance immediately if you notice an abnormal presentation of the calf (AKA back feet, only one leg, etc.) or when there is no progress after 30 minutes for a cow or 60 minutes for a heifer. Performing an Obstetrical Examination After determining its time to intervene, the obstetrical examination is the next step. Proper restraint during examination is crucial. I have done my fair share of calving assistance from the end of a rope, and there is a much higher likelihood of getting hurt or losing the calf without proper restraint. Picture this: getting the calf halfway out, and the heifer decides to jump up and spin from side to side as fast as she can. A squeeze chute or a commercial calving pen is well worth the investment. During the examination, use plenty of lubrication and stay as clean as possible. You are checking for complete dilation of the cervix and presentation of the calf. If the cervix is not dilated, you will feel a tight ring of tissue about wrist to mid-forearm deep. Normal calf presentation is both front legs with the head between them. If you are unsure which legs are coming, check the joints. The first two joints of the front legs flex the same way, but the first two joints of the back legs flex the opposite way. Navigating Common Malpresentations Malpresentations of the calf will require manipulations to allow delivery. If you get nothing else from this article, please remember this: Do not be afraid to push the calf back in! If there is too much bulk in the birth canal, then it is nearly impossible to safely manipulate and get the legs pulled up. Leg back: Push the calf deeper into the uterus to get the head out of the birth canal. When the cow strains against you, the calfs head will want to pop right back into the pelvis, so I often turn the head to the side. Find the leg that is back and pull on the knee joint so you can get to the hoof. You must cup the hoof with your hand as you pull the leg into the pelvis, so the foot doesnt poke through the uterus. With bigger calves, oftentimes you must push back on the shoulder or knee with one arm while the hand that is cupping the hoof is pulling it into the birth canal. When both legs are in the pelvis, straighten the head and deliver the calf. Head back: If the shoulders are engaged in the birth canal, push the calf back to get the head turned. The easiest way to grip the head is by the nostrils or to hook the cheek. In my experience, a good percentage of calves that present this way are too big to be delivered safely, so if you are unable to keep the head engaged in the pelvis when you start pulling, the calf likely needs to be delivered by Cesarean. Backwards: A backwards calf is one that is presented with back feet coming out. You can pull calves this way, but you have to pull them fast so they dont inhale fluid or asphyxiate. I always use a mechanical calf puller for backwards calves to ensure as fast a delivery as possible. Make sure the tail is tucked down between the back legs before pulling. Breech: A breech presentation is when the calf is coming tail first and both back legs are down. These can be exceptionally difficult to get the back legs up; I would advise seeking the help of your veterinarian for these. If you must try this on your own, you have to get the calf pushed forward out of the birth canal. Then, with one hand you need to push the hock or the rump forward while your other hand cups the foot and flexes the leg into the pelvis. The fun part is having to do it again for the other leg. Once you have the calf coming the right way, it is time for delivery! Stay tuned for Part 2, where we will discuss safely pulling and delivering a calf. Refer back to my last piece, "3 Tips to Keep in Mind This Calving Season," for best practices to consider. Continue learning and readying for calving season, at ValleyVet.com. About the author: Valley Vet Supply Technical Service Veterinarian, Tony Hawkins, DVM, attended Kansas State Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine, where he placed focus on mixed-animal practice. Before joining the Technical Service veterinarian team at Valley Vet Supply, Dr. Hawkins practiced veterinary medicine in Marysville, Kansas, where he was greatly involved in cattle health, including processing, obstetrical work, and servicing the local sale barn. He also is treasured by the community for his care of horses and pets, through wellness appointments and surgery. About Valley Vet Supply Valley Vet Supply was founded in 1985 by veterinarians to provide customers with the very best animal health solutions. Building on over half a century of experience in veterinary medicine, Valley Vet Supply serves equine, pet and livestock owners with thousands of products and medications hand-selected by Valley Vet Supply Technical Service veterinarians and team of industry professionals. With an in-house pharmacy that is licensed in all 50 states, and verified through the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), Valley Vet Supply is the dedicated source for all things horse, livestock and pet. For more information, please visit ValleyVet.com. Friday, Feb. 25 The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination. Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846. Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Old Courthouse Theatre presents Nana Does Vegas by Katherine DiSavino. Nana has taken a gamble and moved to Las Vegas, where she and her sidekick Vera are working as seamstresses for the hottest show in Las Vegas. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.octconcord.com or at the door 45 minutes prior to the show starting. Saturday, Feb. 26 The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products. Old Courthouse Theatre presents Nana Does Vegas by Katherine DiSavino. Nana has taken a gamble and moved to Las Vegas, where she and her sidekick Vera are working as seamstresses for the hottest show in Las Vegas. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.octconcord.com or at the door 45 minutes prior to the show starting. Hot Dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union St. S., are offered on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Currently takeout only. Call-in orders are welcomed at 704-782-1785. Sunday, Feb. 27 Old Courthouse Theatre presents Nana Does Vegas by Katherine DiSavino. Nana has taken a gamble and moved to Las Vegas, where she and her sidekick Vera are working as seamstresses for the hottest show in Las Vegas. Showtime is 2:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.octconcord.com or at the door 45 minutes prior to the show starting. Monday, Feb. 28 The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination. Wednesday, March 2 The Cabarrus Senior Center Photo Club is alive and clicking away. If you like taking photos, come join us on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 1:30-3 p.m. at the Cabarrus Senior Center, 331 Corban Ave. SE, Concord, and share your photographic creativity. Whether you are a seasoned photographer or strictly amateur, all are welcome. Friday, March 4 The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination. Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846. Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 5 The Eastern Cabarrus Historical Society will hold its Spring Yard Sale from 8 a.m. to noon at the museum, 1100 N. Main St., Mount Pleasant. Reserve a space by calling 704-436-6612. Spaces are $15 each and free for ECHS members. The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products. Sunday, March 13 The Piedmont Prime Time Community Band is presenting a spring concert titled American Cameos at 4 p.m. at Kannapolis Middle School, 1000 Virginia Dare St. The band consists of community members of all ages from the local area. This will be the first concert directed by Chris White, who is also the band director at Hickory Ridge High School. Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. Wednesday, March 16 The Cabarrus Senior Center Photo Club is alive and clicking away. If you like taking photos, come join us on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 1:30-3 p.m. at the Cabarrus Senior Center, 331 Corban Ave. SE, Concord, and share your photographic creativity. Whether you are a seasoned photographer or strictly amateur, all are welcome. Friday, March 18 The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination. Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846. Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 19 The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products. Monday, March 21 The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination. Friday, March 25 The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination. Heavenly Hot Dogs at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church, 301 Mount Olivet Road, will be offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free delivery for orders of more than $15, and takeout is available. Homemade desserts and chicken noodle soup are available. For more information, visit www.mtochurch.com or call 704-782-8846. Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 26 The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products. Hot Dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union St. S., are offered on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Currently takeout only. Call-in orders are welcomed at 704-782-1785. Monday, March 28 The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination. Tuesday, March 29 Vietnam War 50th Commemoration Ceremony Honoring Vietnam War Veterans will be held at American Legion Post 51 on 165 Wilshire Ave. SW in Concord. The program, which includes a social gathering and refreshments, will last from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The program is sponsored by the Cabarrus Black Boys Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution and The Cabarrus Veterans Coalition. To RSVP, call 703-371-6850 by March 15. Tuesday, March 29 A Memorial Service at Vietnam Veterans Park will be open to the public at 2 p.m. The park is at 760 Orphanage Road. in Concord. An RSVP is not required. Got news or events? Does your community group or nonprofit agency have an upcoming event that would be of interest to the public? Email it to mplemmons@independenttribune.com. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Vladimir Putin told the world in the lead-up to Thursdays attacks on Ukraine that his operation aims to denazify Ukraine, a country with a Jewish president who lost relatives in the Holocaust and who heads a Western-backed, democratically elected government. The Holocaust, World War II and Nazism have been important tools for Putin in his bid to legitimize Russias moves in Ukraine, but historians see their use as disinformation and a cynical ploy to further the Russian leaders aims. Israel has proceeded cautiously, seeking not to jeopardize its security ties with the Kremlin, despite what it considers the sacred memory of the 6 million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust. Here's a closer look at how the ghosts of the past are shaping today's conflict: The war that defines Russia World War II, in which the Soviet Union lost an estimated 27 million people, is a linchpin of Russias national identity. In today's Russia, officials bristle at any questioning of the USSRs role. Some historians say this has been coupled with an attempt by Russia at retooling certain historical truths from the war. They say Russia has tried to magnify the Soviet role in defeating the Nazis while playing down any collaboration by Soviet citizens in the persecution of Jews. On Ukraine, Russia has tried to link the country to Nazism, particularly those who have led it since a pro-Russian leadership was toppled in 2014. This goes back to 1941 when Ukraine, at the time part of the Soviet Union, was occupied by Nazi Germany. Some Ukrainian nationalists welcomed the Nazi occupiers, in part as a way to challenge their Soviet opponents, according to Yad Vashem, Israels Holocaust memorial. Historians say that, like in other countries, there was also collaboration. Some of Ukraines politicians since 2014 have sought to glorify nationalist fighters from the era, focusing on their opposition to Soviet rule rather than their collaboration and documented crimes against Jews, as well as Poles living in Ukraine. But making the leap from that to claiming Ukraines current government is a Nazi state does not reflect the reality of its politics, including the landslide election of a Jewish president and the aim of many Ukrainians to strengthen the countrys democracy, reduce corruption and move closer to the West. In terms of all of the sort of constituent parts of Nazism, none of that is in play in Ukraine. Territorial ambitions. State-sponsored terrorism. Rampant antisemitism. Bigotry. A dictatorship. None of those are in play. So this is just total fiction, said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, a history professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. What's more, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish and has said that three of his grandfather's brothers were killed by German occupiers while his grandfather survived the war. That hasn't stopped Russian officials from comparing Zelenskyy to Jews who were forced to collaborate with the Nazis during the Holocaust. Holocaust distortion Putin's attempts to stretch history for political motives is part of a trend seen in other countries as well. Most prominently is Poland, where authorities are advancing a nationalist narrative at odds with mainstream scholarship, including through a 2018 law that regulates Holocaust speech. The legislation sought to fight back against claims that Poland, a victim of Nazi Germany, bore responsibility for the Holocaust. The law angered Israel, where many felt it was an attempt to whitewash the fact that some Poles did kill Jews during the German occupation during World War II. Yad Vashem also came out against the legislation. Havi Dreifuss, a historian at Tel Aviv University and Yad Vashem, said the world was now dealing with both Holocaust denial and Holocaust distortion, where countries or institutions were bringing forth their own interpretations of history that were damaging to the commemoration of the Holocaust. Whoever deals with the period of the Holocaust must first and foremost be committed to the complex reality that occurred then and not with wars over memory that exist today, she said. Israeli interests The Holocaust is central to Israel's national identity. The country comes to a two-minute standstill on its Holocaust remembrance day. Schoolchildren, trade groups and soldiers makes regular trips to Yad Vashem's museum. Stories of the last cohort of Holocaust survivors constantly make the news. Israel has butted heads with certain countries, like Poland, over the memory of the Holocaust. But Israel has appeared more reticent to challenge Putin and his narrative, according to some observers, because of its current security interests. Israel relies on coordination with Russia to allow it to strike targets in Syria, which it says are often weapons caches destined for Israel's enemies. Israel came under fire from historians in 2020 after a speech by Putin and a separate video presentation at a meeting of world leaders in Jerusalem to commemorate the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, which they said skewed toward his narrative and away from the historical facts. Israel was conspicuously muted in its criticism of Russia in the lead-up to the attacks on Ukraine. Commentator Raviv Drucker wrote in the daily Haaretz that Israel was on the wrong side of history with its response, which initially sought to support Ukraine while not rattling Russia. On Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid condemned Russias attacks as a grave violation of the international order. But Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stopped short of issuing a public condemnation of Russias attack. Vera Michlin-Shapir, a former official at Israels National Security Council and the author of Fluid Russia, a book about the country's national identity, said that Israel's regional security concerns were of greater interest than challenging Russia on its narrative. Russia can provide weapons systems to our worst enemies and therefore Israel is proceeding very cautiously you could say too cautiously because there is an issue here that is at the heart of Israels security, she said. 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Accepts: American Express Cash Check Discover Financing Options MasterCard Visa CHICAGO - Chicago residents will be able to apply to participate in the citys $500-per-month basic income pilot program in April, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Thursday. The City Council passed a $31.5 million basic income program as part of Lightfoots $16.7 billion budget. Lightfoot administration officials are in the process of hiring an outside company to run the program, which aims to provide 5,000 low-income households with the monthly cash payments for 12 months something the mayor has touted as one of the largest programs of its kind nationwide. Applicants must be over 18, live in the city, have experienced economic hardship due to COVID-19 and be below 250% of the federal poverty level. That means a household of three cant have an income higher than $57,575 to be eligible, for instance. More information is on the citys website, including a signup for those who want to be alerted when the applications, at: chicago.gov/cashpilot. In April, the city will also open applications for a $4.8 million program offering one-time $500 payments to domestic workers. In addition, the city also has established a $10.7 million fund offering one-time $500 payments to people who are ineligible for federal relief, including undocumented immigrants. And Lightfoots administration will launch another pilot program, allowing low-income motorists to pay off old tickets without interest or other penalties. That program, called the Clear Path Relief pilot, will open on April 1. The city is also introducing a fix-it option for expired city sticker or license plate violations, where individuals can purchase the required stickers within 30 days of the violation without having to pay the penalty. Todays announcement is all about supporting our residents who are still struggling to make ends meet, Lightfoot said in a statement. Our innovative, monthly cash assistance program will help to stabilize and ensure the wellbeing of residents that have been struggling both before and during the pandemic. Lightfoot cast the announcements as part of a broader anti-poverty agenda, but shes faced criticism for her efforts as well. The mayor initially opposed efforts by Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, to implement a basic income cash program, for example, but introduced her plan as part of last years budget. As a candidate, Lightfoot campaigned against the citys system of fines and fees, frequently criticizing the city for balancing its budget on the backs of taxpayers using regressive penalties on tickets. Within months of taking office in 2019, the mayor shepherded through the City Council a series of reforms to the citys fines-and-fees system that ended the practice of suspending the drivers licenses of people who havent paid parking tickets, reduced vehicle sticker penalties and created a six-month payment plan to give those with ticket debt more time to pay. But she introduced a plan in 2020 to start ticketing drivers going as little as 6 mph over the speed limit, a move that drew criticism from activists who called it a cash grab. The mayor said its meant to boost public safety. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD Carbondale city manager Gary Williams was under no illusions that the 2020 U.S. census count would be good for his community, one of a handful of Illinois college towns devastated by steep enrollment drops this past decade. Williams had expected the city, home to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, to drop from its 2010 population of 25,902 to somewhere below 25,000. But its 2020 count of 21,857 a decline of more than 4,000 was "definitely lower than we expected," he acknowledged. "We were not expected to fall this low," Williams said. "And we don't think that that's an accurate reflection of our population." A mix of enrollment decline at higher education institutions in their communities and the untimely clearing out of students during the COVID-19 pandemic have left these communities bracing for lasting impacts, ranging from greater strain on budgets to the potential loss of "Home Rule" status. Many believe their communities were shortchanged by the census, especially with how students were counted. Some plan to challenge the results while others say it would likely not result in substantial change. This is the first story in an occasional Lee Enterprises series examining the 2020 U.S. Census count and its impact on downstate Illinois. 'Eerily close' All but 14 of Illinois 102 counties experienced population decline this past decade, but the distribution was uneven, with eight counties in populous northeastern Illinois (Cook County, the five suburban collar counties and exurban Grundy and Kendall counties) combining for nearly 149,000 in population growth. But the rest of the state combined to lose nearly 167,000 people, creating a net loss of more than 18,000 residents and making Illinois just one of three states to lose population this decade. Looking a layer even deeper, there was perhaps no collection of downstate communities harder hit than college towns, particularly those where "directional" universities are located. In Charleston, home of Eastern Illinois University, the population dropped from 21,838 to 17,286, a more than one-fifth decrease. Macomb, home of Western Illinois University, saw a similar drop, going from 19,288 in 2010 to 15,051 in 2020. DeKalb, home of Northern Illinois University, went from 43,862 to 40,290, about an 8% decline. Those are declines of 4,552, 4,237 and 3,572, respectively. Combine that with Carbondale's 4,045 drop and the total drop is 16,406. From this perspective, these four communities account for more than 90% of the state's population decline over the previous decade. And the raw population drop in each community is eerily close, said Macomb Mayor Mike Inman. "I think that we can draw a direct connection between all of our declines in population to the pandemic and the way the census bureau conducted it," Inman said. "We knew we were going to be down anyway. Unfortunately, that's been the trend for all of the directional institutions." Other college towns have fared better. Both Bloomington and Normal, home of Illinois State University, registered modest population growth last decade. Champaign and Urbana, which share the state's flagship university, saw a net increase in population with the former's robust growth offsetting the latter's loss. In the case of Bloomington-Normal, a more diversified economy that includes longstanding major employers like State Farm and Country Financial as well as encouraging upstarts like Rivian has helped insulate the Twin Cities from issues that plague other college towns. "With the continued increase in development, real estate growth and projects that are bringing jobs to town, its not a surprise that people continue to move to Bloomington," city spokeswoman Katherine Murphy told The Pantagraph in August 2021. In Champaign-Urbana, the continued growth of the University of Illinois, which recorded its largest enrollment ever last year at 56,299, has fueled the overall growth of the region. "It's a little bit of a different environment for us versus the big institution 40 miles up the road," said Charleston city manager Scott Smith. Indeed, in communities heavily dependent on universities experiencing an enrollment decline as well a pandemic-induced reduction in the time students spend on campus, are struggling. Smith estimated that Charleston's population decline would cost the city about $900,000 annually from the local government distributive fund, which is the share of state income tax revenue shared with cities and counties. The amount given to each local government depends on size. Though federal COVID-19 stimulus funds and better-than-expected revenues have temporarily flushed the city's coffers with cash, Smith said the city's census number will have a more lasting, negative impact. "We're gonna have to find new revenue streams, we're gonna have to be creative," he said. "We're gonna have to cut some corners, we're gonna have to cut expenses. We have to cut personnel. Who knows?" In Macomb, Inman said they have been "making budgetary adjustments for years in anticipation" of population drop, such as reducing the city's workforce through attrition. He estimates about an annual $500,000 to $700,000 hit to the city's budget. But even the best-laid plans will have to be adjusted as the city predicted a population of around 16,000, which ended up being about 1,000 off the census count. Bill Nicklas, city manager of DeKalb, estimated an annual loss from state income tax, motor fuel tax and other shared revenues could be $1.9 million annually. "In economic terms, population is an important factor for municipal revenue forecasting," he said. Williams, the Carbondale city manager, said the city would lose about $800,000 in shared tax revenue with the population loss. But that's not even the "biggest consequence," he said. The Southern Illinois city is in danger of losing its "Home Rule" status, which is granted automatically to municipalities with a population greater than 25,000. Those under that threshold must receive it through a referendum. "Home Rule" essentially grants municipalities much broader authority to impose taxes and regulations. If Carbondale voters fail to approve "Home Rule" at the ballot this November, the city could be cut off from key revenue sources such as local taxes on food and beverage, liquor and cigarettes. But even more importantly, it would take away key regulatory powers, such as the ability to require rental property owners to register with the city and making their units available for inspection once every three years. "In a college town, we're 70% rental," he said. "So you could probably imagine how important it is to us. If we lose 'Home Rule,' we would not be able to have that same style of special program." Special Census? In a sense, the 2020 U.S. Census came at the worst possible time for college towns. Census Day is officially April 1, with respondents expected to tell the government where they are living as of that day. With COVID-induced shutdowns commencing in mid-March, most college students were not on campus. To help offset this, the U.S. Census Bureau in March 2020 first allowed universities to partake in its Group Quarters Operation, which allowed all students living in university-owned housing to be automatically counted. With classes switching to online and students returning to live with their parents, the bureau in June 2020 asked all colleges and universities to provide a full roster of students living off-campus. Still, officials in college towns across American believe many student fell through the cracks. An Associated Press review of several college towns last October found that census totals were well below previous estimates. This has leaders in these towns, including those in Illinois, questioning whether to challenge the results by requesting a special census. A special census, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is "a basic enumeration" conducted by the agency "at the request of a governmental unit." Basically, it allows governments the chance at a do-over if they felt the previous census did not capture an accurate count. It can be done by census tract, meaning that areas with a disproportionate amount of students can be recounted. The U.S. Census Bureau is not expected to start conducting special censuses until 2023. Whether or not cities take advantage of the option is still an open question. Inman said Macomb has already done the "initial analysis" and plans to have a special census conducted. "We may not be the first community through the door, but I don't want to be the 700th," Inman said. "So we want to have our ducks in a row ready to hand them a packet saying 'here's what we need, tell us what it's going to cost.'" The city has experience with such endeavors a special census in 2014 found the city's population more than 2,000 higher than the 2010 count. Inman said this made the $95,000 investment to have the count done worth it. He said they plan to identify census tracts known to have high numbers of college students for recounting. Though it won't make up the total population loss, Inman estimated that the city could recover $150,000 to $300,000 per year in revenue if the population is closer to what they had projected. Williams, in Carbondale, said they're "still considering it." "I think it's a real uphill battle to get any changes made to the census," he said. "So at this time, we're just going to have to weigh all the pros and cons." In Charleston, Smith was less sure. "It's a gamble," he said, suggesting that a special census could be costly and may not yield the gains the city seeks. "The reality of it is the number is the number and that's what we're going to have to live with and work from." "We didn't think that it was going to be that big of a decline or dip, but 17,286 is the new number and that's what's going to be on the sign out front, so to speak," Smith said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 February is Black History Month. However, Black History also includes LGBTQ+ persons. Here are a few notable black LGTBQ+ persons: Gladys Bentley (1907-1960) She was a gender-bending performer during the Harlem Renaissance. Donning a top hat and tuxedo, Bentley would sing blues in Harlem establishments. She was Harlems most famous lesbian and among the best known Black entertainers in the U.S. Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) A gay civil rights activist best known for being a key adviser to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He organized the 1963 March on Washington. James Baldwin (1924-1987) A writer and social critic best known for his 1955 collection of essays, Notes of a Native Son, and his groundbreaking 1956 novel, Giovannis Room, which depicts themes of homosexuality and bi-sexuality. Martha P. Johnson (1945-1992) Who was a transgender woman and an outspoken transgender rights activist. She is reported to be one of the central figures of the historic Stonewall Uprising of 1969. Ron Oden (born 1950) Made history when he was elected Mayor of Palm Springs, California, becoming the first openly gay African American man elected mayor of an American city. Phil Wilson (born 1960) A prominent African American HIV/AIDS activist. Wilson founded the Black Aids Institute in 1968, inspired by the death of his partner from an HIV related illness and Wilsons own HIV diagnosis. Andrea Jenkins (born 1961) Became the first openly transgender Black woman elected to public office in the U.S. when she was elected to a seat on the Minneapolis City Council in 2017. Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1995) was a closeted lesbian best known as playwright for A Raisin in the Sun. Alvin Ailey (1931-1989) a gay choreographer who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in 1958. It was one of the most prominent dance companies globally. Andre Lorde (1934-1992) A self-described Black, lesbian, feminist, mother, poet warrior, who made lasting contributions in the fields of feminist theory, critical racial studies, and queer theory. Ernestine Eckstein (1941-1992) Leader in the New York chapter of Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian civil and political rights organization in the U.S. Barbara Jordan (1936-1996) A closeted lesbian who was a civil rights leader. She was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate in 1966 and the first African American woman elected to Congress. Willi Ninja (1961-2006) was a dancer, choreographer and the Grandfather of Vogue, the dance style he helped propel to the national stage. This is only a short list of LGBTQ+ African Americans. Unfortunately, their contributions often go unnoticed simply because they are LGBTQ+. We are fortunate to have the African American Historical and Genealogical Society here in Decatur, which promotes Black History. Unfortunately, African American LGBTQ+ persons sometimes get lost in the process. Although not in Decatur, there is an organization in Champaign called The National Association of Black and White Men Together (NABWMT). The name is misleading because it is a gay multi-cultural organization dedicated to anti-racism. They engage in education, political, cultural and social activities to address racism, sexism, homophobia, HIV/AIDS discrimination and other inequalities. For anyone interested in NABWMT, email Sebastian Brown: brownsebasian6@gmail.com. In a nutshell, Black History cannot be divorced from Black LGBTQ+ history. Mark Schleeter is President of Decatur PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Q: In the Sherwood Forest area people routinely stand in their front yard for hours using these excessively loud leaf blowers nonstop. Are there any ordinances that can stop this kind of behavior? I notice in Chapel Hill they have a noise ordinance and you can only use leaf blowers and tractors and lawnmowers on certain days during certain times? A.H. Answer: A spokesperson for the Winston-Salem Police Department said that they handle noise complaints under the Citys noise ordinance which incorporates, at least in part, the Countys noise ordinance. Except for sound coming from radios, speakers and the like, and unless you are operating a leaf blower between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., the standard under both ordinances is subjective to be a violation the noise must disturb or frighten people or be detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of an individual and the peace and dignity of the county (city). Accordingly, a police officer cannot be the witness/victim in a noise case involving a leaf blower, but can assist a citizen in responding to the magistrates office to make a complaint. Officers will first encourage neighbors to try to work together to solve the problem and will suggest neighborhood mediation if such a program is available. Talk with your city council member if you want to try to change the ordinance. Q: I would like an update on the progress of the renovation of the pool and pool house at Long Creek Park. Are we going to get to swim there this year? K.C. Answer: William Royston, the director of the Winston-Salem Recreation and Parks Department gave us an update on the pools status. It looks like youll be able to swim there this summer. Updated completion date is now May. The contractor had serious supply-chain issues but now have the materials they were waiting on so they can move forward. Well have to make sure that the Forsyth County Health Department reviews and approves all permits associated with getting the facility open. Our goal is to have the pool ready for opening this summer. Thank youThank you to Raphael Allen. Mr. Allen paid for my daughter and my breakfast at Cagneys Kitchen on Cloverdale Avenue on Monday. We were so surprised and delighted. We thanked him and promised that we will pay it forward. D.C. Pet oxygen mask fundraiserFur-Ever Friends of NC is raising $10,000 to buy two sets of pet oxygen masks for each fire truck in Forsyth County. The new masks will replace masks that were purchased in 2008, that over time have degraded from use. There are three ways to give: go to fureverfriendsnc.org/donate; Go Fund Me: Pet Oxygen Mask Donation Program; or send a check to P.O. Box 15742, Winston-Salem, NC 27113. All proceeds will benefit Fur-Ever Friends goal to purchase pet oxygen masks. Fur-Ever Friends of NC is a 501 (3) organization registered in the state of NC. Email: AskSAM@wsjournal.com Write: Ask SAM, 418 N. Marshall St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Forsyth County heads into spring budget calculations with strong revenues, and good news from the federal government on how it can spend some of the COVID-19 stimulus funds coming to the county. Meeting at the Forsyth County Government Center in a winter work session, members of the county board of commissioners learned that revenues from sales-tax proceeds would total $5 million over budget by the end of the year, even if revenues from that source are flat for the rest of the fiscal year. Property-tax revenues are expected to increase about $4.3 million in the coming fiscal year, commissioners were told. And while labor shortages will be a challenge, commissioners learned that they can devote more money than originally estimated from COVID-19 stimulus funds to offset government costs that include salaries. The county is allocated $74.3 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, which was passed by Congress in March of 2021 to provide a boost to the economy to make up for the impacts of COVID-19. Under initial calculations, county finance officers figured that the county could use $18.2 million of that money for government operations, using a formula that calculates the impact of COVID-19 on revenues. On Thursday, Lee Plunkett, the countys assistant chief financial officer, told commissioners that more recent guidance allows the county to claim another $8.9 for county operations from the $74 million total. Plunkett said the plan is to use the $8.9 million for payroll costs in the current year, which will allow the county to shift the same amount of money from the general fund for other projects. County Manager Dudley Watts has talked about using COVID-19 funds to make money available for transformative projects in the community. Plunkett said the $8.9 million can go towards a reserve for community transformation that board members can consider as they decide how to spend ARPA funds. Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt told commissioners on Monday that her fear is that ARPA money would cause permanent increases in county spending. Officials told Whisenhunt that any of the extra spending would have to be approved by commissioners. Teacher supplements Meanwhile, look for school spending on supplements to be a point of conversation when county and school officials sit down to talk about the annual county appropriation to the schools. With revenue from sales taxes coming in stronger than expected, commissioners are concerned that excess revenues will pile up from the portion of sales tax proceeds that are used to pay for teacher supplements. Voters in 2020 approved a quarter-cent increase in the sales tax so that the money could be used to boost teacher supplements. And the money is making a difference: the school system jumped from 17th place to 8th place between 2020 and 2021, and could jump to 6th or even 5th place this year. While higher sales tax revenues could increase supplements more, some commissioners said that it would be risky for the system to spend all the money in a given year, since sales tax revenues are variable. If you have $4 million left over, you dont turn around and give it all out, Commissioner Don Martin said. You put some in a reserve to make up for those cases where it does not come in. Commissioner Richard Linville suggested putting restrictions on the sales tax revenue to keep it from being spent for any purpose other than supplements. Although the school system has been funded according to a formula in recent years, commissioners plan to make their appropriation this year based on the specific requests from the school board. Vacancies Meanwhile, county officials are concerned about employee turnover, as they think about putting together the budget for the coming year. In recent years, annual employee turnover has ranged between 350 and 450 positions, but if the current trend continues, officials say, this years total could almost reach 600. The county is working on an employee compensation study as one way to figure out how to stem the tide. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. John Washinsky of Clemmons fears for the safety of his family and friends in Ukraine after learning of Russias invasion, he said. Some of his relatives live near the airport in Lviv, a western Ukrainian city. His family members are safe for the moment, said Washinsky, who sells Ukrainian arts and crafts from his online business, known as All Things Ukrainian. They are staying at home, and no missiles have been fired there, which they are worried about, said Washinsky, whose Ukrainian maternal and paternal grandfathers immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century. Washinsky has exchanged Facebook messages with his relatives in western Ukraine, he said. Russias main aim is to take over Kyiv, and insert (its) own government, Washinsky said. Its basically a land grab. I would like everybody to pray for Ukraine. Vasyl Taras of Greensboro, a native of Ukraine, says he was shocked and outraged by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The question in my head is why, said Taras, an associate professor in the Department of Management at UNC Greensboro. Its not of any strategic advantage to Russia, and it will not improve the lives of the people in Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday that his countrys military forces were invading Ukraine to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine. Taras said he spoke with his parents by phone Thursday. His parents, his brother, his sister and her family live in the western Ukraine city of Rivne, Taras said. So far, his relatives are safe, but my brother woke up to the sound of Russian rockets, Taras said. The Russian military forces are initially targeting Ukrainian military bases, which brings some level of safety for Ukrainian civilians, Taras said. He pointed to the Russian soldiers who are near the countrys capital of Kyiv. Most Ukrainian young men, including some of his relatives, are signing up to serve in the Ukrainian military, Taras said. Pretty much everyone that I know who are younger is ready to fight, Taras said. People will not sit and do nothing. Taras appreciates that the United States provided military equipment to Ukraine before the Russian invasion, he said. Taras hoped that Putin would negotiate with western countries and NATO before he decided to invade Ukraine, Taras said. He predicted that the Ukrainian economy would suffer in the wake of the Russian invasion. C. William Walldorf Jr., an associate professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University, said that the Russian invasion into Ukraine is unfortunate and tragic. Ukraine as a fully autonomous, democratic state is now history, at least for the foreseeable future, Walldorf said. While more nimble diplomacy on all sides might have helped prevent this, Putin asked for a lot, showed few signs of bending and had very strong interests in moving Ukraine away from the West. Given that, the Biden/NATO response to try to dissuade Putins actions (was) about all the United States could have done here, especially given the fact that Ukraine is not a NATO ally, and we have few interests in defending it by force. Americans should care about the Russian invasion of Ukraine because of the pain this will inflict on the Ukrainian people and the setback this will be for democratic government in Ukraine, Walldorf said. Furthermore, we should care because more U.S. soldiers will likely be stationed in East-Central European NATO states in what will be now be a heavily fortified dividing line (similar to the Cold War) between East and West. President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the United States will deploy an additional 7,000 U.S. troops to Germany to bolster NATO after the Russian invasion. That will inevitably mean added tension with Russia and also detract from strategic completion with China in the Pacific, Walldorf said. Susan Rupp, an associate history professor at Wake Forest University, described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a terrible development. I cant be sure of Putins longer term goals save for a desire to restore Russias imperial presence, perhaps encouraged by the fact that he now is apparently surrounded by toadies and yes-men who are unlikely to raise concerns about the possibility of these actions only isolating Russia, weakening its economy, and strengthening European/NATO resolve, the very issue he seems to have been preoccupied by, Rupp said. I certainly didnt think hed actually launch a full-scale invasion, thinking he might stop short with annexation of Donetsk and Luhansk, but clearly I was completely mistaken on that score, Rupp said. Its difficult to persuade Americans that these developments should be of concern for them, Rupp said. But in an era of rising authoritarianism and declining democracy, the precedent set here of an unprovoked invasion of a democratic country (whatever the political problems Ukraine might have) should concern us all. Biden ordered broad new sanctions targeting Russia Thursday after its invasion of Ukraine, declaring that Putin chose this war and his country will bear the consequences. Thomas Pegelow Kaplan, a history professor at Appalachian State University, said he was surprised by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Its unsettling in so many ways, said Kaplan, the director of ASUs Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies. Everyone should be worried. Eastern European countries that made up the former Soviet bloc or were part of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics might be especially worried about Putins next move, Kaplan said. Kaplan pointed to the U.S. troops in Poland and in the Baltic countries next to Russia. If Ukraine was to fall, then you have Russian troops on the border of Poland, Kaplan said. Todd McFall, an assistant teaching professor in WFUs Department of Economics, said that U.S. residents will feel the pain of increased prices consumer items such as gas, food, lumber for construction projects and toys because of increased prices for barrels of oil worldwide. Everything we buy is affected by the price of petroleum, McFall said. 336-727-7299 @jhintonWSJ The Associated Press contributed to this story. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Texas rabbi who hurled a chair at a gunman so he and other hostages could escape last month will likely be the next rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem. The congregation of Temple Emanuel voted unanimously Thursday night to enter into contract negotiations with Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker to be the synagogues next rabbi, Temple Emanuel said Friday in a statement. Cytron-Walker serves as the rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. He credited past security training for his ability to free himself and his congregants from their captor on Jan. 15. Cytron-Walker told CBS Mornings in late January that he had let the gunman into the building because the man appeared to need shelter. He said the man was not threatening or suspicious at first. But later Cytron-Walker heard a gun click as he was praying. Authorities identified the hostage-taker as British national Malik Faisal Akram, 44, who was fatally shot by the FBI after the last three hostages ran out of the synagogue. Cytron-Walker would replace Rabbi Mark Cohn, who is leaving Temple Emanuel on June 30. Cohn will move to Massachusetts and live with his wife, Rabbi Amy Wallk, who is the rabbi at Temple Beth El in Springfield, Mass, Temple Emanuel said. We are excited to begin a new chapter at Temple Emanuel, said Hilary Kosloske, Temple Emanuels president. We are confident that, as the Temple Emanuel community prepares to say goodbye to Rabbi Mark Cohn, we are equally prepared to say hello to our new rabbi, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker. Cytron-Walker drew international attention for his calm and heroic leadership during the hostage event Jan. 15 at Congregation Beth Israel and for his powerful voice promoting healing, preparedness, and faith in the days and weeks that followed, Temple Emanuel said. Congregation Beth Israel and the Colleyville (Texas) community will always be remembered with love, Cytron-Walker said. And I am honored, grateful, and excited to join the Temple Emanuel family as their next rabbi. Im looking forward to forming deep relationships through service to this vibrant, compassionate congregation. Cytron-Walker has served as the rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel since 2006, and he is the temples first full-time rabbi, Temple Emanuel said. Cytron-Walker was raised in Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1998. Cytron-Walker attended Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion at its Jerusalem and Cincinnati campuses, receiving his rabbinical ordination in 2006 and a masters degree in Hebrew Letters in 2005. At Congregation Beth Israel, he has worked to build an engaged and vibrant Jewish community, led interfaith efforts and helped his congregation pursue Tikkun Olam, the Jewish belief in the need to perform acts of social justice and heal the world, Temple Emanuel said. He is married to Adena Cytron-Walker, and the couple has two daughters. Temple Emanuels search committee was led by retired Judge William Reingold, the temples executive vice president for administration and its incoming president. Our entire committee worked tirelessly to find the best possible candidates, Reingold said. When we first interviewed Rabbi Charlie last year, we were immediately struck by his warmth and humor, his intellect and his ability to speak about Jewish values and education. He exceeded our expectations in every way. The events of Jan. 15, while tragic, only solidified our belief that he was the right choice to be our next rabbi. The hiring process for rabbis is controlled by the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Rabbis interested in moving to another synagogue must submit their names to the CCAR, which then makes this list available to temples seeking to hire a new rabbi. Temple Emanuels board began its search for a new rabbi in the summer of 2021. The search committee interviewed Cytron-Walker several times by Zoom in 2021, and then he and his family visited Winston-Salem in early February. Temple Emanuel of Winston-Salem is very fortunate to have a future leader like my colleague, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, Cohn said. Not only does he have a proven record of community-building and strength of supporting the Jewish people, he is a kind and loving soul whom the world had a chance to see in the hardest of circumstances. He has shown himself beyond capable to lead and be a mensch at the same time. With about 280 families, Temple Emanuel is a Jewish home for worship, study and gathering in Winston-Salem. We are a reform congregation, and we strive to cultivate an inclusive Jewish life through education, engagement, and spiritual purpose, Temple Emanuel said. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. RALEIGH North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed legislation Thursday that would allow K-12 students with their parents permission to opt out of mask-wearing mandates in school that a dwindling number of districts still have in place for COVID-19, questioning its efficacy for public health. The legislation was approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly last week as the Democratic governor held a news conference encouraging boards of education to end broad indoor mask requirements amid falling COVID-19 transmission rates and rising vaccination numbers. Republicans who advanced the bill said the opt-out measure was needed to affirm the rights of parents to make health-related decisions for their children and lamented the obstacles masks have caused for learning and social formation in classrooms. But Cooper, in his veto message, said a 2021 law that left mask-mandate decisions to local school boards received bipartisan support, and that is still the right course. Passing laws for political purposes that encourage people to pick and choose which health rules they want to follow is dangerous and could tie the hands of public health officials in the future, he added. It was not immediately clear whether Republicans in charge of the legislation would try to override the veto. The Senate and House had approved the measure with slight veto-proof margins, with help from a handful of Democrats. Statements about the veto by House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate education committee chairwoman Deanna Ballard did not specifically mention an override attempt. Actions speak louder than words, and the governor should do more than encourage schools to lift their mask mandates, said Moore, a Cleveland County Republican. Return this decision back to parents. The issue is becoming increasingly moot for now as the omicron variant has lost steam and Cooper made his appeal to local governments to end indoor mask requirements. At least 95 of the states 115 school district s have now approved some mask-optional policy, according to the North Carolina School Boards Association. Masks are still required on school buses, in keeping with federal rules. The Wake County and Charlotte-Mecklenburg school boards voted separately this week to adopt optional masking starting March 7 the date that new K-12 school guidelines from Cooper administration health officials encouraging the end of mandates take effect. The vetoed measure also would have made clear that unmasked students cant be treated differently than those with face coverings. And monthly school board votes on face mask policies required through the 2021 law also would have been repealed. The legislature has not overridden a Cooper veto since December 2018, when the GOP held veto-proof majorities. He has issued 43 vetoes since early 2019, according to General Assembly data. An Altavista, Virginia woman pleaded guilty Thursday to two of three charges against her in a road-rage incident last year that resulted in one death. Jessica Nicole Warren, 24, was charged with involuntary manslaughter; reckless driving and endangerment of life, limb and property; and failure to report an accident after the incident Jan. 23, 2021. Paul McAndrews, Campbell County, Virginia's Commonwealth Attorney, said a witness reported seeing two vehicles driving recklessly down U.S. 29 in what appeared to be an instance of road rage, jockeying positions aggressively, throwing objects at one another from the moving vehicles and flashing high beams. Finally, one vehicle, in which Warren was the passenger, jerked toward the other vehicle and ran it off the road. This second vehicle flipped over, and the driver, Lorenzo Pryor, was ejected. The driver died, but the passengers survived. After causing the wreck, the vehicle in which Warren was riding left the scene. In a Facebook message about the incident, obtained by law enforcement and presented in court by McAndrews on Thursday, Warren wrote in part: I showed him what road rage was. Warren admitted to deliberate road rage, according to McAndrews, and accepted responsibility for the resulting death, saying it was she who jerked the steering wheel, causing the vehicle she was in to strike the other vehicle. Warren pleaded guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter, plus the charge of reckless driving and endangerment of life, limb and property. The third charge, of failure to report an accident, was dropped. Her sentencing is scheduled for March 14 in Campbell County Circuit Court. Even though its a continent away, learning that Russia has acted on its threats and attacked Ukraine, that casualties are already beginning to mount, is incredibly disturbing. Many wonder how far this will go and how it will affect us. And many of us, of course, are concerned for the safety of the Ukrainian people, especially their children. The nation is not strong enough to defend itself indefinitely. As we write, more than 50, including many civilians, have been killed as Russia deploys missiles, tanks, infantry and jets to multiple Ukrainian cities. It seems surreal a modern nation trying to annex another countrys territory through violent means. But its also disturbing to learn that theres a vocal contingency in the U.S. that sides with the aggressor nation. Russian President Vladimir Putin, a corrupt and murderous dictator, has chosen to start an unprovoked, large-scale military action one that will lead to death and destruction even in the face of continued efforts from many nations to work with him to achieve a diplomatic solution to his grievances. And some unbalanced Americans approve. Trying to justify or even tolerate his cause is shameful. Fortunately, President Bidens response to Putins threat has been unwavering. He has supported Ukraine with military equipment. He has imposed heavy sanctions on Russia and its wealthy citizens. Perhaps most importantly, he has united the free world in condemning the incursion and re-energized our NATO allies to stand firm against Russia. Bidens transparency as he informed the American people of the Russian threat is also a plus. The intelligence he shared with the public has proved to be accurate Putin has done exactly what Biden said hed do, despite Putins blatant obfuscation. In the meantime, Putin has been pushing a propaganda war in addition to his military attack, claiming to be acting on his nations defense against an aggressive Western world order. He should save it. We know better. No one has maneuvered a tank onto Russian territory. Unfortunately, those pushing Russian misinformation include a handful of Republican officials like Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who says that Biden should abandon Ukraine to Russia and focus on China instead. This is perhaps not the smart criticism he thinks. It feeds into the narrative that Republicans are finding less and less worth in defending Americas historic democratic values. Whatever historical data Bidens critics think theyve mined, or non sequitur comparisons to, say, the U.S. border with Mexico, this is still an unprovoked military attack on a friendly nation, and for everyone who believes in personal responsibility, it wasnt Bidens decision it was Putins. Comparisons abound, as they will, with Bidens predecessor, who often seemed to cow to Putin while in office infamously siding with Putin against our own intelligence officials and continues to praise him now for his genius in attacking Ukraine. Were not the first to note that his continued fealty to Putin is hardly in keeping with the spirit of his boastful slogan, America First if, indeed, we should take those words at face value and not sense something darker underneath them. Thankfully, most Americans know better. Most Americans, including most Republicans in Congress, support Ukraines decision to set its own course, free from Russian influence. Most Americans still dislike bullies like Putin, whose attack likely springs from desperation at his diminished role on the world stage rather than any sort of concern for Russian-speaking Ukrainians. What can we do to help Ukraine? First of all, we can reject the Russian propaganda that will be proliferating on social media. We can appreciate and guard our own democracy by fighting for free and fair elections. We can donate to the Red Cross and United Help Ukraine, which provide food and medical supplies to those who are displaced by the Russian invasion. And those who pray can pray. Theres a lot to dislike about the world right now. And there should be much to dislike, domestically, because of radical politicians who stir Americans against each other for political gain. There seems to be no limit to their desire for division. Theres a lot to keep us doom-scrolling on our phones. So before things become too intense yet once again, lets all take some time this weekend take some time every day to appreciate the good things that abound: our loved ones, our prosperity, the privileges of living in a great country. Store it up. Were in for a bumpy ride. 'Parade' is dazzling On a Friday evening this teacher usually likes to go home and take a load off, but last week I decided to attend Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance's opening night of "Parade," knowing that some of my former students were in the cast. As an advocate for the arts, I was absolutely blown away by the talent of all those involved with this production! The cast and their storytelling was breathtaking, the music gave me goosebumps and the heartfelt efforts of the entire crew were made evident throughout this moving and heart-wrenching performance. As a teacher and a lifelong lover of history, I'll admit that while I was being dazzled by the amazingly gifted ensemble, I felt a sense of guilt. I realized that I had never learned about the events referenced in this musical until hearing about this very production and finally watching the story unfold before my eyes. Not only was I disheartened by my own ignorance in regard to the historical context of the show, but my heart ached a bit, seeing the sprinkling of empty seats in the audience as well. This theater company, and more importantly this story, deserves to have a full audience, and I can't recommend this show enough. Please go support the arts in our city and see "Parade" at Theatre Alliance before it's too late! Alysha Christian Winston-Salem For more information, go to www.theatrealliance.ws the editor The party of ... Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, whom you used to publish, just wrote a very compelling column about an issue you've written about before: how Republican officials are now embracing violence by defending violent acts (There Republicans go again, siding with thugs, Feb. 17). The latest example concerns Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastians request for the Department of Justice to create a no-fly list that would include the names of people who have committed acts of violence against airline personnel. They include two people who tried to open emergency doors while in flight. Eight Republican senators have objected to such a list, claiming it would equate these people with terrorists. On both issues, Rubin writes, Republicans are quick to say that, of course, they are not defending violence. But then what are they doing? The no-fly list is not for people who simply grumble about mask-wearing. And the FBI is not investigating parents who make speeches about nonexistent critical race theory being taught in school curriculums nationwide. Republican politicians are trying to muddy the waters, portraying violence as legitimate political discourse while denying theyre doing so. Why? To add the votes of people who think violence is acceptable to their base. The Republican Party is no longer the party of law and order. Nor is it a pro-life party. I don't know what it is, except the party of violent temper tantrums. Hank Boles Winston-Salem Stunted growth The banning of books is absurd. For one, we mustnt shield our children from the world around them. We must teach them how to interact and gain knowledge from it. This does not mean we should engulf them head-first into the horrors of our world but instead, gently walk them down a path of understanding. This world has many facets, and taking hold of our childrens educational steering wheels will eventually lead them off a cliff of misunderstanding and stagnation. And two, book banning is done in autocratic and repressive nations, not freely democratic ones. Learning about racism, prejudice and hatred can teach them how to find love within the madness. Arresting their development will not only stunt their growth; it will also halt societal progress. We mustnt be afraid of the past, or of things we dont understand. Fear propels us into spiteful ignorance and erects prejudicial inclinations. Troy Chavez Winston-Salem It was seemingly a typical Wednesday a day off for executive chef Rachel McGill, who was running errands in the noon hour before she planned to return home to work on the new menu at Dish. As she waited in the drive-thru line at a bank, she got a Facebook message from a friend congratulating her on receiving a James Beard Foundation award. She thought it was a joke, then another message came her way. And then another. And another. "I was entirely taken aback," said the 33-year-old Lincoln native, who finished her banking, then found a parking space near the Railyard. One Google search confirmed the news. McGill, a self-taught chef whose first restaurant job was grilling burgers and steaks at Jack's Bar, is one of 20 Midwest Region semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef honor. According to Zoe Olson, executive director of the Nebraska Hospitality Association, McGill is the first Lincoln chef to be honored by the James Beard Foundation, which is considered the cooking industry's gold standard. "I dont think Ive wiped the smile off my face for the last 24 hours or so," she said. "This is something that weve been working toward for the last five or six years at least. This is one of my big bucket list dreams to be on this list and have the national recognition." She instinctively drove a few blocks to Dish, 1100 O St., where she celebrated with her wife and restaurant co-owner, Marypat Heineman, and the kitchen staff. "I felt some relief and some excitement," McGill said. "And then your mind just kind of runs and then you start to think, 'Well, what does this mean? Are we going to get busy? What other sort of national recognition can come from this? What will this mean moving forward?'" That might have been answered hours later when a handful of patrons self-described "James Beard enthusiasts" made the trip from Omaha to taste McGill's food. "Well definitely start to see more business, especially like the guests who showed up (Wednesday) because of the announcement," Heineman said. "Well see more of that than we realize." The award is big, Olson says. The majority of tourism dollars coming into Nebraska are spent on food. "This puts Nebraska on a national map," Olson said. "(Dish) is now a place to go when they visit our state. "Rachel deserves this. Her food is fabulous." The award came about organically and rather mysteriously. McGill and Heineman filled out an application in October, but they heard nothing from the New York-based organization, which presents annual awards recognizing culinary chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the U.S. It's possible that a James Beard panelist may have unknowingly walked into Dish, ordered a meal and thought enough of McGill's cooking to put her on the list of semifinalists. "It feels amazing to be able to serve food that is recognized on this scale and to know that Rachels hard work is being recognized," Heineman said. "Shes a natural, but it hasnt come easy." Maybe that's the best way to describe McGill's culinary talents. Natural. The Lincoln native always had an interest in art. She did some drawing and painted some. She even dabbled in photography but never found a medium that completely scratched her creative itch. "And then I found that I could actually melt, mold and make these things that taste really good but also look really neat," she said. "What I get to do now is create art on a plate that people really enjoy eating." McGill's food had been described as artistic pleasing to both the eye and the palate. That it's being recognized on a bigger stage only bolsters her passion for her craft. "This is ultimately a dream come true," she said. "This is something I have been working toward for my whole career. Its a resume builder. Its a career builder. It really is that next step to have more doors open up." Reach the writer at 402-473-7391 or psangimino@journalstar.com. On Twitter @psangimino Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. OMAHA Three days before the Russian bombs begin to fall, the lights of the Ukrainian Catholic Church chapel flip on. The Rev. Petro Kozar opens his arms to the congregation to begin the Sunday morning service. He takes a censer of incense. He swings it and it clangs. The smoke symbolizes the congregations prayers rising to heaven. The 24 people in the pews sing a hymn in Ukrainian. Older congregants, some who have been here nearly every Sunday since the church was founded by people fleeing Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, know every word. The service continues with prayers for peace in English and Ukrainian, but no mention of the topic on everyones mind: the looming possibility that Vladimir Putin would invade these Nebraskans homeland. At services end, the Right Rev. Archimandrite Ivan Krotec finally addresses it to the congregation: Let us continue to pray for Ukraine, he says. We dont know what is going to happen, but we believe God is stronger. The congregation of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Church, located just south of downtown Omaha, continues to watch developments in Ukraine, including Wednesdays invasion by Russia, with a mix of anger, sadness and growing dread. The elders in this community immigrated as children to the United States after the horrors of World War II. Some were taken by the Nazis to do forced labor in Germany. Then they watched Stalin and now Putin ravage their homeland. Putin has always wanted Ukraine. He wants the former Soviet Union, said Daria Blazauskas, 83, whose memories of a Nazi labor camp are still vivid eight decades later. If he gets Ukraine, hes going after the Baltic (States) next. The church also consists of their children, who work to keep older traditions alive. In the chatter after the service, its easy to pick out the accents of more recent immigrants, also wrestling with dread. It just looks like a game of wise people right now, said Iuliia Grytsyk, 34, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, who moved to the United States as a student 15 years ago and is now a U.S. citizen. Something is trying to prove something to someone else and innocent citizens have to suffer. Olesia Repichowskyj, 88, recites the lines from an old Ukrainian poet: Ukraine will rise again and blow away the gloom of servitude. She talks about how Ukraine was controlled by Czarist Russia for centuries. About her childhood in Soviet-controlled Ukraine, where a man-made famine killed a third of her village. She explains how her village church was shuttered and turned into a granary under Stalin. The priest disappeared. We didnt know if he was shipped to Siberia or if he was killed, she said. And she can tell you about how members of her family were hauled to Nazi Germany in a boxcar with straw lining the floor. She was separated from them and forced to work on farms. Rather than return to the Soviet Union, the reunited family immigrated to the U.S. She married and moved to Omaha in 1964 when her husband took a job with Leo Daly, the architectural and engineering firm. To her, Ukraines current troubles are part of a long history of Russia trying to dominate the country, which has good soil and warm-water Black Sea ports long coveted by Russian leaders. They need that good soil, she said. They need a place where they can grow food so they can feed themselves. Putin wants to rebuild the Soviet Union. And it isnt just Ukraine that he wants. Tyler White, director of the University of Nebraska-Lincolns National Security Program, said that Ukraine has long been subject to Russian whims and has never gotten anything good out of the deal. Ukraine, briefly independent after World War I, was soon conquered by the new Soviet Union. In the 1930s, the country was ravaged by the so-called Holodomor, a famine that started after Stalin attempted to collectivize agriculture. It led to 4 million deaths. At the dawn of the Cold War, the allies allowed Ukrainians to immigrate to several countries, including the United States. Blazauskas was 12 when her family boarded a bus and crossed the Missouri River on a July 1950 night. She saw the lights of Omaha for the first time. For me, as a child, I looked and thought, Oh! Its Christmas! she said. The Ukrainian Catholics purchased their current house of worship, which features a small golden dome topped by a cross, at 16th and Martha streets in 1951. They remodeled, paid off the mortgage, and dug the basement where people gather after services today. It is one of two Ukrainian Catholic Churches in Nebraska. The other: St. George in Lincoln's Belmont neighborhood. The early generation of Ukrainian immigrants in Omaha raised children who scattered across the city but often return to the old neighborhood on Sunday mornings. Orest Lechnowsky, 54, grew up in the church co-founded by his father. He remembers a childhood of traditional foods, embroidered Ukrainian clothes, Ukrainian poetry and spectacularly dyed Easter eggs. Weve pretty much been immersed in it for our whole lives, he said. David Woloszyn, 39, is studying to be a church deacon. He has a tattoo on his right forearm that says: Ukrainian Pride. The sad thing is we will fight for our independence again, Woloszyn said. The sad thing is there is going to be a lot of innocent blood shed. After the fall of the Soviet Union, many congregants visited their relatives in Ukraine for the first time. Lechnowsky first went back with his father in the 1990s. It was very emotional. My dad was from a small village in the Carpathian Mountains, he said. They were still farming with 19th-century equipment. Everything was horse-drawn or human-powered. No one had cars. Lechnowsky has been back several times. Family and friends in Ukraine have now evacuated their children from the country or moved them as far west in Ukraine as possible, where its presumed to be safer. More and more people are joining territorial defense units, taking training on the weekends, he said. There have been dramatic increases in the purchase of firearms and ammunition I think there is a determination to defend their homes. In the Omaha church, nearly everyone knows this fact: After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukraine had the third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. It gave them up. The accord signed by the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom assured Ukraine that its borders would be respected. In 1996, the last of its nuclear weapons left the country. Its hard to imagine Putin invading Ukraine if the country still had those weapons, UNL's White said. In 2014, Russian troops took control of the Crimean Region, and annexed it. Since then, violence between the Ukrainian Military and pro-Russian separatist forces has killed more than 14,000 people. That bloodshed appears to have served as a precursor for an all-out Russian invasion, which began Wednesday evening. By Thursday afternoon in Omaha, the invasion had killed dozens of Ukrainian soldiers and wounded many more. The Russians appeared to be in control of the Chernobyl nuclear site, and had pushed into the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Putin is planning this game to try to invigorate Russia as an international power player. He doesnt have a very strong hand at home. This military adventurism is a very good way of distracting the people at home, White said. This is less about what the Russian people want and its a lot more about what Putin wants. Everyone at the church criticizes Putin. On Sunday, no one at the church was cheering for war. No one suggested that U.S. troops be sent to Ukraine. We are all made in the image and likeness of God. All the Slavic people, whether it be from Belarus, Ukraine, or Russia, we all descended from the same heavenly father, Woloszyn said. Were brothers. The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter. The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter. Learn more at flatwaterfreepress.org. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A 21-year-old Lincoln man received prison time Thursday for punching his 3-month-old daughter in the face twice, frustrated that she wouldn't stop crying. Malcom Lofton pleaded no contest to felony child abuse causing serious injuries. On Jan. 14, 2021, staff at a Lincoln hospital alerted police of potential child abuse after the girl's mother brought her in with a head injury. She told investigators she returned home to find her daughter injured after she was left in the care of her father, Lofton. The baby was admitted for injuries to her face and head, which included bleeding on the brain. In a police interview, Lofton admitted he was frustrated that she wouldn't stop crying, picked her up and shook her. When she kept crying, his anger grew and he punched her twice in the face as she laid in her crib, according to court records. Police arrested Lofton, and he's been in jail since. Lancaster County District Judge Ryan Post sentenced him Thursday to 14 to 20 years in prison. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Whether Sen. Adam Morfeld can be on the May 10 primary ballot as a candidate for Lancaster County Attorney will likely come down to a judges definition of actively practicing law. Attorneys debated just how strictly it should be defined before Lancaster County District Judge Kevin McManaman on Thursday in a lawsuit appealing a decision by the county election commissioner. The state GOP had filed an objection with the election commissioner arguing that Morfeld doesnt meet the statutory requirements that he has actively practiced law for at least the last two years. Election Commissioner Dave Shively denied the objection and said Morfeld could be on the ballot. At issue is whether Morfelds work as executive director of his nonprofit Civic Nebraska, as co-chair of a group trying to get the issue of medical marijuana on the ballot and as a member of the Legislatures Judiciary Committee constitutes actively practicing law. Morfelds attorney, Andre Barry, argued that it should be liberally defined one of his definitions came from the dictionary and that the GOP couldnt overcome the high bar set to remove someone from the ballot. The applicants are asking the court to enter an order here that would prevent voters in Lancaster County from voting for the person they ... desire as their choice, Barry said. And the Nebraska Constitution sets an extremely high bar to make such a request. And with good reason. GOP Attorney David Lopez said the court should look to attorney practice and bar admission rules enacted by the Supreme Court, which lists various ways attorneys are substantially engaged in the practice of law. Those include working in a private law practice, as an attorney offering legal counsel to a corporation or other entity, as an attorney for government departments, as a judge or related positions or as a law school teacher. None of those, Lopez said, apply to Morfeld. Based on those rules, an attorney from another state with similar experience as Morfelds could not be admitted to the Nebraska bar, he said, so it makes no sense that those rules not apply to a candidate for chief county prosecutor. Theres a true imbalance." Lopez also argued that to be practicing law a lawyer must have a client and Morfeld doesn't because he's offering advice to his nonprofit, which he leads, and to a ballot initiative he sponsors. Even if he did offer advice at some point, it was fleeting and not continuous, as the statute requires, he said. Barry disagreed, saying the statute which was enacted before the Supreme Court rules were written requires the court to look at the plain meaning and then see if all the Supreme Court rules, not just those mentioned by Lopez, confirm that, and they do. The rules Lopez referred to talk about being substantially engaged in the practice of law, not actively, Barry said, and the two have different meanings. Thats just not the question before us, he said. The question is was Mr. Morfeld actively using his law license to practice law. That could be to give legal advice, it could be direction on litigation. It could be innumerable things, as the dictionary definition points out. Barry noted that managing partners in a law firm might not actively litigate cases, but they give legal advice to other lawyers in the firm, which constitutes practicing law. Lopez said using such a vague definition renders the statutory requirement toothless, which wasnt what the Legislature intended. The judge denied a request by Lopez to offer additional evidence at Thursday's hearing and call Morfeld to testify, so Lopez introduced a number of exhibits in case of an appeal. McManaman said hed try to have a decision by Wednesday, which would offer time for either side to appeal. State law requires a decision reversing the election commissioner's finding by March 16. Morfeld is challenging incumbent Pat Condon, a Republican and longtime deputy county attorney appointed to replace Joe Kelly when he became U.S. Attorney for Nebraska. Reach the writer at 402-473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSreist Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A 34-year-old Lincoln man is in jail after he allegedly choked his 21-year-old girlfriend until she became unconscious before throwing her down a flight of stairs and holding a knife to her neck, according to police. The woman told police that William Smith had accused her of cheating on him when she arrived at their home near 31st and Holdrege streets Thursday evening, Police Sgt. Chris Vigil said. After Smith assaulted the woman in front of children in the home, Vigil said Smith forced the woman and one child into a car, driving to a house near 22nd and Orchard streets. There, Smith slashed a vehicle tire and assaulted a 24-year-old man, Vigil said, as the woman drove back to their residence on Holdrege and gathered her other children and belongings. Vigil said the woman then drove around Lincoln before she flagged down a Nebraska State Patrol trooper near 19th and O streets and asked for help. Lincoln Police investigated and arrested Smith on suspicion of second-degree domestic assault, strangulation, use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony and three counts of child abuse. He was taken to the Lancaster County Jail. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A 47-year-old Lincoln man Thursday was sentenced to 11 to 13 years in prison for two charges of third-degree sexual assault of a child and attempted possession of child pornography. Jeffrey Schmitz pleaded guilty to all three counts. In January 2014, a woman told Lincoln police her 10-year-old daughter said Schmitz had touched her inappropriately multiple times two to three years earlier, according to the affidavit. The woman said Schmitz was a friend of the family. In April 2021, another girl came forward alleging that Schmitz had touched her inappropriately, too, while she was age 5 to 7, according to the affidavit. That same month, Omegle, an online chat website, reported to the Nebraska State Patrol that a user displayed child pornography during an online videoconference session, according to a separate arrest affidavit. Troopers traced the IP address to Schmitz's residence. They searched and found roughly 2,000 images and videos containing child pornography. Schmitz will have to register as a convicted sex offender as part of Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen's sentence. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Abilene, KS (67410) Today Showers this morning, becoming a steady rain during the afternoon hours. High 57F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Rain early...then remaining cloudy with thundershowers developing overnight. Low 51F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. "This is something that weve been working toward for the last five or six years at least. This is one of my big bucket list dreams -- to be on this list and have the national recognition," said Rachel McGill, a self-taught chef. Darrel Parker died Sunday, 66 years after his wrongful conviction for killing his wife on a snowy December day in Lincoln. And 52 years after his parole from the State Penitentiary. And 31 years after receiving a pardon. And a decade after getting what hed fought for most of his adult life an apology from the state, and a formal admission of his innocence. "You never give up hope, you never give up hope," Parker, then 80, said during an emotional news conference at the Capitol. I tell people, Now I can die in peace. He was joined that day by then-Attorney General Jon Bruning, who announced the state was paying Parker $500,000 the maximum allowed by law and ending his wrongful conviction and imprisonment lawsuit. "It became crystal-clear that Mr. Parker is innocent," Bruning said. "This was the most important thing I could do as attorney general, to right this wrong." The moment marked a symbolic end to a saga that had started Dec. 14, 1955, inside the Parkers' small, city-owned house in Antelope Park. Parker, the citys first forester, returned home for lunch to find his wifes beaten, bound and strangled body. Nancy Parker had developed recipes for Goochs flour and noodles and hosted a cooking show on Channels 10/11. She had been addressing Christmas cards when he left for work that morning. Police picked up and released a well-known con. Then, days after Nancy Parker was buried, they interrogated Parker in a windowless room until he confessed. He recanted the next day, maintaining for the rest of his life hed been psychologically tortured, even drugged, to admit to a crime he didnt commit. The state would ultimately acknowledge that, but not before Parker spent 15 years in prison, argued his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, received parole in 1970 and a pardon in 1991. By then, hed remarried Ele and rebuilt his life in Moline, Illinois, working his way up to supervisor with the parks department, retiring from there, and taking a job with a law firm. He continued to try to clear his name. He hoped DNA testing would help, but he learned much of the evidence including hair and semen samples recovered from the crime scene had disappeared. His case got a boost in 2010, when Lincoln native and Colorado author David Strauss published Barbarous Souls, an investigation of the crime, Parkers conviction and his fight for exoneration. A year later, Lincoln attorneys Herb and Dan Friedman took up his case with a $500,000 lawsuit against the state under its then-recent wrongful conviction and imprisonment law. And a year after that, Nebraskas attorney general offered his apology. Parker accepted it. "It can't possibly make up for all those years," he said, adding: "I'm not bitter. I'm not built that way." Playing a role in clearing Parkers name was Dan Friedmans proudest moment in his legal career the most consequential accomplishment as a lawyer, he said Tuesday. To represent somebody who had been waiting 50 years for public justice and to know we brought the state of Nebraska to its knees and caused a wake-up moment, that was pretty humbling, he said. Friedman stayed in touch with his client, years after the case was over. So did Strauss, the Colorado author. The two became friends, and Strauss would take Parker on trips across the country to Parkers childhood home in Iowa, to watch the leaves turn in New England, to the Colorado mountains. Parker didnt dwell on the past, but Strauss could sense despite the exoneration and payment his friend remained haunted by the coerced confession that put him in prison for 15 years and cast a shadow over his name. It still bothered him, Im sure, up to the end, Strauss said Tuesday. On one of their trips, the two ended up in Lincoln. Parker asked Strauss to drive him to the penitentiary, where it all began in 1956. When they got there, he didnt recognize it. Reach the writer at 402-473-7254 or psalter@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSPeterSalter Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. KEARNEY Five Kearney men have been arrested on federal warrants for a series of arsons at Walmart stores in the South. Jeffrey Sikes, 40; Sean Bottorff, 37; Michael Bottorff, 21; Quinton Olson, 21; and Alexander Olson, 23, are each charged in U.S. District Court in Alabama with conspiracy to maliciously destroy by fire. Sikes and Alexander Olson face additional charges of malicious destruction by fire. According to the 13-page indictment, the men conspired to set fires to damage and destroy Walmart stores and the property within them. The fires were allegedly set to force Walmart to meet demands related to interstate and foreign commerce, which was set forth in the mens manifesto. The indictment details arsons at a Walmart in Mobile, Alabama, on May 27, 2021, a store in Tillmans Corner, Alabama, on May 28, and at stores in Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, on June 4. According to the indictment, participants used accelerants such as lighter fluid to set racks of clothing and other materials on fire. It also cites in-store security camera footage and cellphone data used to identify the participants movements. Some of the cellphone data included a burner phone used to take photos of a six-page manifesto titled Declaration of War and Demands for the People, which the indictment says was supposedly written by a group called The Veterans Order. Sikes has been wanted in Nebraska on a federal warrant since 2018 for failing to appear for a sentencing hearing for wire fraud. In the Alabama incidents, court records say, Sikes was using the alias of Kenneth Allen while living in Gulf Shores. Sean Bottorff, also known as Sean McFarland, is Sikes brother-in-law and disappeared at the same time as Sikes, along with his wife and an unrelated adult woman, neither of whom is named in the indictment. Michael Bottorff is Sean Bottorffs stepson, according to records. The indictment says that at the time of the fires, the five defendants and three adult females lived in a rental house in Lillian, an unincorporated community in Alabama. The Kearney men were advised of the charges against them at an arraignment hearing Thursday in Alabama federal court, and each man declared his intent to plead not guilty to all charges. Magistrate Judge Sonja F. Bivens set a detention hearing to determine the conditions under which any of them may be released pending trial. The men are being held at the Clarke County Jail in Grove Hill, Alabama. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Ray Loftus was five years into his 10-year plan to transform an old farmhouse into his familys dream home south of Mead. Then, in 2015, Loftus told the Legislatures Executive Board on Thursday, the ethanol plant a half-mile away from the home Loftus bought with his wife, Emily, resumed operations. Thats when the smell became horrific, he said during a hearing to create a special legislative committee to investigate the states response to AltEn, the plant that processed pesticide-treated seed to produce ethanol. The same year AltEn began producing ethanol, leaving behind solid and liquid byproducts with high concentrations of ag chemicals, Emily gave birth to the couples first child. He was born healthy and everything, the 51-year-old military veteran told lawmakers. When we got home, he started having respiratory issues. The couple later welcomed a daughter in 2019, as complaints made by residents of Mead against the biofuel plant began to pile up at the offices of the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy. Loftus said he was unaware of the danger posed by living in the shadow of AltEn until early in 2021, however, putting his trust in state and federal environmental regulators to protect residents like himself. Late last summer, after speaking with doctors and public health experts, the Loftus family came to a decision. They couldnt say it was safe for our kids to live there without a lot more data, Loftus said. Less than 10 days after that, we put an offer in on a house in Papillion, and we moved 19 days later. Thursdays hearing centered on a proposal (LR159) from Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue to create a special legislative committee charged with examining AltEns operations, as well as the Department of Environment and Energys attempts to regulate the plant. Blood introduced the resolution late in the 2021 legislative session that ended six days early, which Sen. Dan Hughes of Venango said didnt leave enough time for it to be heard by the Executive Board. Nine months later, cleanup of AltEns facility has begun, led by six companies that formerly supplied the ethanol plant with discarded seed. But Blood, who is running for governor as a Democrat, said there were still questions that needed to be answered. This disaster unfolded while Nebraska agencies failed to act, Blood told the Executive Board. She said the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture were too permissive in allowing AltEn to continue operating, even after problems at the plant began to emerge. State officials issued dozens of letters to AltEn ordering it to comply with regulations, Blood said, but didnt follow up with action, leaving the Kansas-owned company to continue operating unabated. AltEns upper management has done nothing but thumb its nose at NDEE, Blood said. Why has this long-term behavior been tolerated? Jim Macy, director of the Department of Environment and Energy, opposed Bloods resolution and defended the departments actions, arguing it had been transparent in its response to the crisis at AltEn and had used the regulatory options available to it. Macy said an interim study (LR152) introduced by Sen. Bruce Bostelman of Brainard, whose legislative district includes Mead, looked at what further authority was needed by the department to respond to environmental emergencies. That study led to a bill (LB1102) from Bostelman that advanced from the Natural Resources Committee which he leads as chairman and onto the floor for debate by the full Legislature. Macy declined to answer questions about ongoing action against AltEn, citing pending litigation, but said the department would continue monitoring the cleanup activities being done by the AltEn Facility Response Group, a coalition of the six former seed suppliers. Senators on the Executive Board asked Macy why the department has not asked for AltEn to be declared a Superfund site, which would provide federal funding and technical expertise to help remediate the facility. Omaha Sen. Tony Vargas said he believed the state should explore that option so any federal assistance would be ready if the facility response group ends its involvement. We should be over-exhausting our options, Vargas said. Macy called the Superfund designation another tool available to the state, if these other things do not work. While Loftus and Stan Keiser, whose pond 6 miles downstream of AltEn caught contaminated stormwater from the plant for years, spoke in support of creating a special committee, other residents of Mead said it was unnecessary. Bill Thorson, the village board chairman, said adding another committee would cost time and money, and called the idea a political issue not in the best interest of the people. And Jody Weible, who helped bring attention to the potential pesticide contamination spreading from AltEn, said she felt it was best to move forward with the cleanup and not create a committee to look backward. I would like to get past the finger pointing and get to a resolution of the problem, Weible said. Janece Mollhoff, who lives downstream from AltEn in Ashland, said the proposed committee could answer some big questions that remain. Lawmakers should have a better understanding of the environmental regulatory process, Mollhoff testified, including how long it takes between when the Department of Environment and Energy issues a warning letter and when action is taken. She also said the public deserves to know what gaps remain in state law that could allow future companies to pollute the environment. Its not surprising that bad actors would locate in Nebraska when they can see a pattern of lax enforcement of regulations, Mollhoff said. The Saunders County Board of Supervisors urged the Executive Board to create a special committee, saying the states lawsuit does not go far enough to ameliorate the damage done, Chairman David Lutton wrote in a Feb. 22 letter. The Executive Board did not take any action on LR159 on Thursday. Loftus said moving from Mead to Papillion, away from what doctors and public health experts believe is the source of his sons respiratory issues, has been an adjustment. He and Emily looked forward to raising their family in small-town Nebraska but were now trying to figure out what do with the property. I would like to know if anybody here would like to buy my dream house in the country, Loftus asked. It sits on 2 acres and is full of kids play equipment. Just dont breathe, though. Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine under several pretexts reminds me of Adolf Hitlers rationale for invading and annexing Sudetenland in 1938 and his invasion of Czechoslovakia and Poland a year later. Then, as now, the excuse was that German-speaking people (then) and Russian-speaking people (now) wanted to be part of Germany (then) and Mother Russia (now). In both cases the excuses for invasion, occupation and murder were just that excuses. Some commentators say there has been nothing like Putins invasion of Ukraine since World War II. There are dwindling numbers of people alive who lived through that period and witnessed the evil of Nazi brutality and genocide. Ronald Reagan lived through that era. This is why he coined the phrase evil empire to describe the Soviet Union. Its one thing to read about evil in history books, but it is quite another to have witnessed it. One need only listen to Holocaust survivors for a powerful lesson in how deep human depravity can sink if it is not opposed. One of the definitions of evil is The force in nature that governs and gives rise to wickedness and sin. In our age of moral relativity where nearly everything is tolerated and justified except people who oppose the new societal norms who speaks of wickedness and sin? Its getting harder to find preachers known for sermons on the subject. Albert Einstein, who was German and Jewish, and who lived through that dark period of mass slaughter, was right when he observed: The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who dont do anything about it. As with a serious disease, early detection is the best path to treatment and a possible cure. Though there is no immediate cure for evil, free nations can control its spread. Its worth revisiting Reagans evil empire speech to the British House of Commons on June 8, 1982. Reagans observations about evil were profound. While his references were to the Soviet Union and repressive regimes everywhere, his words equally apply to that regimes ideological heir, Vladimir Putin and other dictators. Reagan said: If history teaches anything, it teaches self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly. This was British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlains folly when he declared peace in our time after meeting with Adolf Hitler in Munich and believing Hitlers promise not to seize more territory. While Reagans policy of peace through strength worked, he told the Commons that military power was only part of the mix: Our military strength is a prerequisite to peace, but let it be clear we maintain this strength in the hope it will never be used, for the ultimate determinant in the struggle that's now going on in the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas, a trial of spiritual resolve, the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish, the ideals to which we are dedicated. World War II came about in part, said Reagan, because the West allowed dictators to underestimate us. Now we see the reverse. The Biden administration is underestimating our enemies and projecting weakness. Learn that lesson and the world becomes a safer place. Failure to learn it produces what we are witnessing in Ukraine and may soon see in Taiwan, not to mention in an Iran equipped with nuclear weapons and a religious rationale for using them. Cal Thomas writes for Tribune Content Agency. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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 ALUM JEREMIAH BAKER ON DESIGNING FOR TECH, ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE, AND THE RED THREAD OF AN ARTCENTER EDUCATION Alumnus, former ArtCenter faculty member and industrial designer Jeremiah Baker (08 Product Design) has shipped multiple products for several of the worlds leading consumer electronics brands. At Logitech, Baker worked as lead designer for the top-performing Ultimate Ears Boom line of speakers. At Samsung, he helped launch Level, the companys first premium audio line. And most recently, at Google, he was instrumental in designing the future of wearable tech. Hes also been the recipient of multiple awards, including a CES Innovation Award, a GOOD Design Award, and multiple iF (International Forum) Design Awards. Baker has also started his own company, Normal Objects, a collaborative and diverse collective of creatives designed to level the playing field. The company, which Baker refers to as "the underdog in the wholesale designer objects industry," is dedicated to small-batch production of enduring and limited objects that offer timeless originals for a minimalist lifestyle. By any measure of accomplishment, Bakers career since graduating from ArtCenter has been successful. Yet, as an African American working in industrial design for the tech sector, he describes the journey as rewarding but lonely. I have more than twelve years tenure in the space, and have had many career successes, says Baker. And yet, at times, I still feel remarkably invisible. We recently sat down virtually with Baker to ask him about his time at ArtCenter, how he ended up designing tech products, and the importance of advocating for change in industrial design. Five Kearney, Nebraska, men, have been arrested on federal Alabama warrants for a series of arsons at Walmart stores in the South. Jeffrey Sikes, 40; Sean Bottorff, 37; Michael Bottorff, 21; Quinton Olson, 21; and Alexander Olson, 23, are each charged in U.S. Federal District Court in Alabama with conspiracy to maliciously destroy by fire. Sikes and Alexander Olson face additional charges of malicious destruction by fire. According to the 13-page indictment, before May 27 and through June 11, the men conspired to set fires to damage and destroy Walmart stores and the property within them. The fires were allegedly set to force Walmart Inc. to meet demands related to interstate and foreign commerce, which was set forth in the mens manifesto titled, The Walmart Manifesto. The indictment also details arsons at a Walmart in Mobile on May 27, 2021, a store in Tillmans Corner, Alabama, on May 28, 2021, and at stores in Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi, on June 4, 2021. According to the indictment, various participants including at least one woman used accelerants such as lighter fluid to set racks of clothing and other materials on fire. It also cites in-store security camera footage and cellphone data to identify the participants movements. Some of cellphone data included a burner phone used to take photos of a six-page manifesto titled Declaration of War and Demands for the People, which the indictment says was supposedly written by a group called The Veterans Order. Sikes has been wanted in Nebraska on a federal warrant since 2018 for failing to appear for a sentencing hearing for wire fraud. In the Alabama incidents court records say Sikes was using the alias of Kenneth Allen while living in Gulf Shores. Sean Bottorff , also known as Sean McFarland is Sikes brother-in-law, disappeared at the same time as Sikes, along with his wife and an unrelated adult female, neither of whom is named in the indictment. Michael Bottorff is Sean Bottorffs stepson, according to records. The indictment says that at the time of the fires, the five defendants and three adult females lived in a rental house in Lillian, an unincorporated community in Alabama. The Kearney men were advised of the charges against them at an arraignment hearing Thursday in Alabama federal court, and each man declared his intent to plead not guilty to all charges. Magistrate Judge Sonja F. Bivens set a detention hearing for Wednesday to determine the conditions under which any of them may be released pending trial. The men are being held at the Clarke County Jail in Grove Hill, Alabama. After each man declared he had little to no money or other assets, Bivens said each qualified for a court-appointed defense attorney and individual lawyers were assigned, news outlets reported. The Associated Press contributed to this article. @HubChic On Monday, Feb. 14, at approximately 10:20 a.m. Officers with the Kearney Police were called to Graham Tire at 5708 2nd Ave. regarding the theft of tires from a fenced and secured area. Graham Tire employees reported the theft of approximately 163 truck tires valued at over $100,000. Security cameras showed the tires being loaded into a Penske rental truck. With the help of Penske Truck Rental and the Colorado State Patrol, the rental truck was located in the area of Grizzly Creek Rest area near Rifle, Colorado on Tuesday, February 15 at approximately 4:00 p.m. mountain time. Inside the rental truck were three occupants, 27-year-old Brooke Racker, 39-year-old Jeremy Galbraith and 34-year-old Erwin Ramos, all from Ogden, Utah. Kearney Police Department Officers and Colorado State Patrol worked together and obtained a search warrant for the vehicle. The stolen tires from Graham Tire were located inside the rental truck. Felony arrest warrants are pending for the above-mentioned suspects. The Colorado State Patrol (C.S.P.) assisted in the investigation. In addition to being arrested on federal charges connecting him to Walmart fires in the South, Jeffrey Sikes was wanted on a federal Nebraska warrant for failing to appear in court. In 2017, Sikes, now 40, was convicted in U.S. Federal District Court in Lincoln for one count of federal wire fraud for defrauding a real estate developer of more than $800,000. Earlier, he pleaded guilty to the charge in exchange for the dismissal of 18 other similar charges that included alleged frauds involving other victims from the Kearney area. Sikes and four other Kearney, Nebraska, men were arrested Thursday in connection to several fires set at Walmart stores. Sikes was scheduled to be sentenced in January 2018, but failed to appear for his hearing, and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest. Between April 1, 2013, and July 1, 2014, Sikes devised a scheme to defraud and obtain money and property under false pretenses. Sikes, under the business name of Vanguard Nebraska LLC, contacted representatives of a partnership about leasing commercial property it owned in Lincoln. Sikes represented to the partnership that he intended to establish laboratory space in Lincoln for use in research and development. Sikes proposed the partnership provide a $750,000 loan for improvements to the leased property. In exchange, Vanguard would guarantee all amounts it owed under the lease agreement and promissory note. Sikes knowingly provided the partnership with a fraudulent balance sheet supposedly representing Vanguards 2010-2013 cash flow as well as other fraudulent forms, said Steven Russell, a U.S. attorney at the time of Sikes plea. On June 19, 2013, Sikes and the partnership executed the lease agreement. Once the partnerships total contributions equaled $750,000, Vanguard was to be responsible for all remaining construction expenses. As part of the scheme, Russell said, Vanguard made ADC, a Delaware corporation controlled by Sikes, the general contractor for the construction project. Sikes provided false invoices and billing statements to the partnership representing bills payable to subcontractors for work performed or materials provided related to the construction costs for the commercial property, Russell said. Sikes then provided instructions for the payment of the false invoices from an escrow account with funds provided by the partnership. The instructions would be sent by Sikes or others at his request, either personally or through ADC. The funds were wire transferred to accounts controlled by Sikes. The disbursed funds from the false invoices then were converted to Sikes own use, Russell said. On July 30, 2013, construction invoices for $207,377 were submitted, and Sikes later admitted knowing the invoices were false. Sikes admitted the money was paid via wire transfer to ADA through a Lincoln bank. Sikes faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the conviction, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release after prison. Its unclear how soon Sikes could appear in federal court in Nebraska for sentencing. @HubChic Pastor Ronald John Mathias Tobin TOMAHPastor Ronald John Mathias Tobin, aged 70, went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, February 15, 2022. He was born on February 21, 1951, at Michael Reese Hospital, growing up on the South side of Chicago. He met his future bride, Patricia Joy Dalton in UW-Whitewater, where together they attended an illusion show evangelic presentation on campus. On that day, October 27, 1970, they got saved, and later joined Calvary Baptist Church in Jefferson, WI, where they grew in their faith, and where Ron was called to preach. Ron began his Biblical training at Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown. He continued his higher education obtaining his Masters of Theology from Bethany University of Dothan, AL and PhD of Ministry from Louisiana Baptist University in 2005. Pastor Tobin began his ministry in an inner-city mission work in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. They were there for three years. He became a fulltime pastor at Berean Baptist Church in Tomahawk, WI in the Summer of 1981, building the church work for seven years until God called him on June 12, 1988 to Tomah Baptist Church where he pastored for the last 34 years. As the church grew, Pastor Tobin helped relocate the church from Council Street to Hollister Ave., breaking ground in 1991. Throughout the years, he labored tirelessly, and poured his heart and soul into his congregation. Pastor Tobin had a passion for fishing for fish as well as for souls, and he placed a great emphasis on discipleship. His book, Everyone A Ministry, speaks his mission that all the members of the church should discover how to use their own gifts and talents to develop their ministry for the Lord and share the Gospel. To support his vision, he founded Tomah Baptist Academy (PreK-12th grade) and the Masters Institute, where college level Bible courses were taught. Ron Tobin was a prolific writer of poetry, stories, several published ministry-related books and booklets. His romantic spirit shone through his passionate love for his beloved wife, Pat of fifty years, and he remained a fiercely devoted family man, keeping his family a priority no matter how busy his work became. He raised his children to serve the Lord with all their heart. He was a doting grandfather who entertained his grandchildren with exciting missionary stories, which he made up on the spot. He is survived by his wife, Patricia; his children: Heather (Colden) Hershey, and Jennifer (Les) Hill; daughter-in-law; brother-in-law; sister-in-law; grandchildren; nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his son, Jaeson. Funeral services will be held this Saturday, February 19, 2022, 10:30 a.m. at Tomah Baptist Church, 1701 Hollister Avenue, Tomah. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery following the service. Viewing will be 4 -8:00 p.m. on Friday and from 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. In lieu of flowers, friends are asked to make a donation to the Tomah Baptist Academy scholarship fund. Online condolences can be offered by visiting www.sonnenburgfamilyfh.com Livestream viewing of the service can be seen on the Tomah BaptistChurch Facebook Page: Facebook.com//TomahBaptistChurch La Crosse area and state leaders are responding in the hours after Russian military forces began invading Ukraine early Thursday morning. U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse My prayers are with the people of Ukraine as they face an unprovoked attack from Russian military forces. This week Im in London for meetings with officials from the UK government and members of the British Parliament about this aggression, focusing on coordination of sanctions. Now is the time for the United States and our allies to stand united in condemning Putins unjustified actions towards Ukraine and hold Russia accountable. I couldnt be more pleased with the level of cooperation and coordination that we are receiving from our British and European allies. Kind is the chair of the British American Parliamentary Group (BAPG) and has had meetings at Number 10 Downing Street, the British Treasury and Trade offices, and with members of Parliament at Westminster, his statement said. Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin Putin has violated international law, invading a sovereign and democratic nation that wants peace and independence. Putins aggression has been met with sanctions, and his violent attack against Ukraine should be met with stronger sanctions, including a full set of punishing financial, technology and military sanctions. I stand with the Ukrainian people and I believe we need to continue standing strong with our European allies and NATO by providing them the support they need to hold Putin accountable for the largest invasion of Europe since World War II. Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson Weakness tempts tyrants and totalitarians to seek more power. People who only want to live in peace suffer the consequences. Ultimately, there is only one group of people responsible for the tragedies unfolding Vladimir Putin and his cronies. They have stolen wealth from the Russian people, destabilized and done great harm to their European neighbors, and now theyve crossed another line that will yield untold horrors. Europe must act with strength and resolve to prevent risking a wider conflict, and the U.S. must support our NATO allies and freedom loving people in this moment of extreme peril. Deb McGrath, D-Menominee, candidate for Wisconsins 3rd Congressional District, former Army Captain and retired CIA Officer Last night, I watched unjustified Russian aggression against an independent nation, Ukraine. I served in National Security positions for 25 years, many of which were spent in Central Europe. I know the importance of diplomatic, economic, intelligence and military support to our allies, in support of democracies and freedom world-wide. My prayers are with those who stand in united response to protect a sovereign nations borders. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, candidate for Wisconsins 3rd Congressional District, former Navy SEAL The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a flagrant violation of international law and must be met with the imposition of the harshest sanctions by the international community. As we condemn this Russian aggression, we must also demonstrate our unwavering support for the NATO alliance by bolstering our military presence in our allied countries. It must be explicitly clear to Russia that we stand united and will enact Article V immediately if attacked. We do not seek war, but will meet any aggression to our alliance, and we will respond with overwhelming force. In order to remove Russias ability to fund this and future military adventurism, we must immediately increase domestic energy production and provide the required resources to our allies to remove their dependence on Russian energy. To be clear, we are in this place as an international community due to the Biden administrations abdication of leadership on the world stage and weakness demonstrated by abandoning Americans in Afghanistan. We must show strength now to stop this tragedy and deter other bad actors around the world from committing acts of expansionism. This is a developing story and may be updated with more responses from leaders. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. There had been rumblings of an invasion, but as Olena Belka played with her young nephews on Wednesday it was peaceful in her native Ukraine. President Biden for days had been expressing his concern about the plans of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had about 150,000 troops lined up near the border of Ukraine and was thought to be readying an attack on Feb. 16. But the Ukrainian government, Belka said, indicated there was no reason to panic, and days went by without violence. (Leaders said) Stay calm, theyre not going to attack, there are going to be severe sanctions to stop Russia from moving forward on Ukraine. Do not worry about it. People werent expecting it, recalls Belka. So people were not ready and they did not leave. Belkas plane from Odessa, Ukraine, had just landed in Chicago, where she was awaiting transport back to La Crosse, her home city for the past decade, when she heard from her brother. He said, Youre so lucky you left they started, Belka says. I thought he was joking. Then I saw a message from my mother about the explosion. That was a very shocking moment for me. As soon as I left, around 5 a.m. (Ukraine time) they started to bomb the strategic spots in Odessa, and one of them was the airport. That was where I was. Her family, Belka says, is essentially trapped in Odessa, as martial law has been imposed and gasoline and money withdrawals have been capped. They cant go anywhere they cant physically get there, Belka says of neighboring countries offering refuge. Belkas brother, a former officer, has been mobilized and is expected to be called to duty Saturday, which will leave his wife with their two young sons alone. They had planned to flee to Podolsk, but that city also was attacked. I dont think there is really now a safe spot in Ukraine, honestly, Belka says. Her family lives in the Black Sea port, which is also where Belka, 34, owns several properties. Belka is reaching out to U.S. government officials in hopes of flying back to help her family and hopefully bring them to the states. If (Russia) keeps mobilizing, this war will (hurt a lot of people), Belka says. They dont understand the culture is a bear. You poke the bear the bear was sleeping, until you poked it. It is a different world. They dont respect the law. I grew up in Ukraine, I remember times when I lived with mafia (influence). It is a completely different values and appreciations that men in power choose to follow. Some 137 Ukrainians have already died in the past two days, and hundreds more have been wounded. This is just the beginning, Belka says. She is fearful of an outcome similar to 2014 Annexation of Crimea. There are very, very aggressive politics, kind of closer to communist politics. The U.S. and allies on Thursday announced sweeping financial sanctions and stringent export controls which target Russias 10 largest financial institutions, with a White House statement noting, The scale of Putins aggression and the threat it poses to the international order require a resolute response, and we will continue imposing severe costs if he does not change course. Biden had discussed sanctions against Russia in January, prior to actual attack. I think United States promised severe sanctions, including possibility to apply sanctions against Putin personally and cut SWIFT (banking system), and they backed off from them. What Im trying to understand is why United States is not imposing what theyre supposed to impose on Putin, that will truly hurt him. And it will hurt the United States and Europe as well. Theres no doubt. But reducing purchasing power on gas and oil, cutting all the financial resources right now theyre bombing and Russia is pumping gas through Ukraine to Europe, Belka says. To help with skyrocketing oil prices, some U.S. officials are calling on Biden to releasing oil from the strategic petroleum reserve. Everything happening in Ukraine, including the threat to the life of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is absolutely surreal, Belka says. While media Thursday morning reported the possibility of talks between Zelenskyy and Putin, Belka says it is like Comparing a bear with a flower can you compare it? (Putin) is not going to stop war if Ukraine keeps resisting. How much are Russia and Ukraine willing to lose carrying the pride? As terrible as it sounds, I think we should ask Russians, What do you want? Lets sit down and figure out what exactly you want to stop killing our brothers and sisters. If we do not do that in a couple of days, there will be so many victims. Belka expresses gratitude for Poland, Romania and other European countries opening their arms to those fleeing the turmoil in Ukraine. Says Belka, Theyre pretty fast in setting up refugee camps and helping us to recover from that, at least with their kindness, if there is none in Ukraine right now. Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Maryland lawmakers voted Friday to rescind a statewide emergency regulation that had mandated the use of face masks in schools since August. The General Assemblys joint administrative, executive and legislative review committee gave the final approval in a 17-1 vote Friday to lift the mandate at the request of the State Board of Education and Maryland Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury. Local counties and school boards may shift to a mask-optional policy as early as Tuesday, or continue to maintain masking until a later date. Advertisement We cant mask our kids forever, Choudhury said after citing the availability of vaccines, rapid testing and improving health metrics. This is the time to do it. The State Board of Education voted Tuesday to rescind the regulation, which recently was expanded to include offramps that would allow school systems to lift masking requirements if they reached specific health metrics. Advertisement Several groups join together outside the State Department of Education office, to protest masking in schools. (Kim Hairston / Baltimore Sun) Less than an hour after the hearing adjourned, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated masking guidelines that say healthy people, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks in counties where the coronavirus poses a low or medium threat to hospitals. At least four school systems Anne Arundel, Frederick, Howard and Montgomery already have qualified to lift their masking requirements under the state regulations new offramps, Maryland State Department of Education officials said this week. Face coverings are optional in Anne Arundel, Carroll and Frederick county schools; Howard County schools announced that they would make masks optional next week. Baltimore County school leaders said masks will become optional on Tues. March 1, according to a tweet from the school system. The countys transmission levels are currently low, according to the CDC. Baltimore City schools will continue to rely on guidance from the Baltimore City Health Department and local health professionals in considering changes to universal masking policies, a representative said Tuesday. Ahead of the lawmakers vote Friday, students, parents, grandparents and education activists testified both in favor of and against reversing the mandate. Disability Rights Maryland attorney Megan Jones told lawmakers that repealing the mandate puts some children with disabilities at greater health risk while the pandemic persists. The organization opposed the mandates withdrawal and said it is necessary to prevent discrimination. Rescinding it will create an unsafe environment for many Maryland students and will exclude some students with disabilities from attending schools, Jones said. Advertisement The Evening Sun Daily Get your evening news in your e-mail inbox. Get all the top news and sports from the baltimoresun.com. > A number of parents who testified came from Carroll County, where the school board has repeatedly challenged the states authority to require masks in schools and earlier this month filed a lawsuit over the matter against the Maryland State Department of Education. Carroll County mother Kit Hart, whose children attend Catholic school, told lawmakers that she believes some parents are beholden to the most fearful among us. She helped organize a rally Tuesday outside of the State Board of Education meeting during which members considered lifting the mandate. We need to get back to families being in charge of decisions for their children and local authorities making decisions for their communities, she said this week. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan joined his partys legislative leadership earlier this month in calling for the mandate and its offramps to be rescinded, citing the availability of vaccines and recent improving health metrics. Following the vote, Hogan took to Twitter to claim the decision as an important victory for students and parents. Meanwhile, other states around the country including Connecticut, Delaware and Massachusetts are moving toward optional masking as the worst wave of the pandemic brought on by the highly contagious omicron variant appears to ease. Advertisement Maryland surpassed 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases Friday in the approximately two years since the pandemic began. Gov. Tony Evers has signaled support for a bill that passed the Assembly late Thursday to fund a new juvenile prison to replace the states embattled Lincoln Hills facility. After initially indicating that the bill, which unanimously passed the Senate earlier this week, was unlikely to come before the Assembly before it adjourned for the session, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, announced Thursday that a vote would be held after former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who is running for governor, urged him to take it up. The amended version of the bill, which now includes language to allow for local site approval and to convert the Irma facility to an adult prison, passed the Assembly unanimously and heads back to the Senate for final approval. For years, Republicans playing politics have stood in the way of our work to close Lincoln Hills and get our kids closer to home safely and responsibly, Evers, a Democrat, tweeted Friday. This bipartisan bill is a step in the right direction lets find common ground and do whats right. Lets get this done. The bill would authorize nearly $42 million in borrowing to build a juvenile correctional facility to replace the Lincoln Hills facility, which in the last decade has faced reports of child neglect, violent outbursts from inmates, use of pepper spray to cause bodily harm and intimidation of witnesses. Bill author Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said the bill represents years of work and the amendments allowing for local input on the next facility, as well as using Lincoln Hills as an adult prison, make the final measure stronger. He said the Senate is likely to take up the bill in early March, before the chamber adjourns for the year. I see no reason why it wouldnt come back to us and we wouldnt concur with the amendments, he said. Vos said earlier this week the bill was unlikely to get a vote because it does not specify where the new Milwaukee County facility would be located, but changed his mind Thursday after Kleefisch, who served under former Gov. Scott Walker, sent Vos a letter asking him to hold a vote on the bill. The bipartisan bill comes nearly four years after Walker signed a measure authorizing the state to shut Lincoln Hills by January 2021 and replace it with smaller, more regional facilities. Evers in 2019 signed into law a bill extending the closure date to July 2021, a deadline he later said was unrealistic. We must finish the job that we started, Kleefisch wrote in the letter. Passing this bill to create an additional facility for juvenile offenders, along with the assurance that we keep the existing facility operational to house more adult offenders, is a step in the direction toward safer communities, she wrote. We need to lock up violent criminals. This is a good first step in doing that. Evers, who is seeking a second term this fall, has pledged to close Lincoln Hills School for Boys and the Copper Lake School for Girls in northern Wisconsin. He included in his two budget proposals plans to create replacement sites for Lincoln Hills, but each was rejected by legislative Republicans. Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake became the states primary prisons for juvenile offenders after Walker and the Republican Legislature in 2011 closed two other facilities in southeastern Wisconsin as a cost-saving measure. Several incidents of abuse have resulted in the state paying out millions of dollars in settlements. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Madison and Dane County will get nearly $21 million to invest in local initiatives to boost disadvantaged communities, including the final capital funding piece for the long-sought Madison Public Market on the East Side, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced Thursday. The funding is part of Evers program that uses federal COVID-19 relief funds. The city is getting $6 million, including $2 million for the Bayview Foundations $52 million redevelopment of its diverse, international, low-income community at the corner of West Washington Avenue and Regent Street Downtown, and $4 million for the $16.5 million Public Market to be forged from a city-owned building at 200 N. First St. The county will receive $14.8 million, including $5 million toward supporting entrepreneurs through the Urban League of Greater Madisons $25.5 million Black Business Hub that will rise at the Village on Park mall on the South Side; $5 million toward expanding economic and other opportunities through the coming $38 million Center for Black Excellence and Culture on the South Side; and $4.8 million to help Centro Hispano build new facilities on the South Side. With this funding, we will be breaking ground this year in November, said Madison Public Market Foundation board member Anne Reynolds. Theres been so much uncertainty over the past two years, but now we finally have some certainty. Its really exciting. The markets financing piece is now locked in, said Matt Wachter, city planning, community and economic director. The city can now pursue a construction contract, contracts with the operator, the Madison Public Market Foundation, and seek other final approvals for the project, he said. Bayviews redevelopment includes a four-story, 48-unit apartment building now under construction, a three-story, 25-unit apartment building and eight, two-story townhouses with a total of 57 units on 4.6 acres. The idea is to move current residents into new buildings as theyre built and then demolish the older ones. On Wednesday, Bayview announced it has exceeded its $4 million capital campaign goal and will extend the campaign in the hope of raising an additional $2 million to increase the long-term stability of programs and operations essential to the organizations continued success and to offset the significant increase in construction costs due to the pandemic. The capital campaign will continue, foundation executive director Alexis London said. A portion of the new state grant will go toward that, and a portion will go to housing costs that are not a part of the capital campaign, she said. Bayview residents were significantly affected by the pandemic; these funds will strengthen our community for years to come, she said. With the $5 million in state money, The Center for Black Excellence and Culture has now raised $17 million of its $36 million capital campaign in six months, said the Rev. Alex Gee, the centers CEO and founder. The Center is a first-of-its-kind Black-inspired, Black-designed and Black-led multimillion-dollar project in Madison and is poised to open its doors at 655 W. Badger Road in late 2023. The building will be a three-level, 65,000-square-foot destination for cultural, health, business, arts and community development. The Urban League has now raised nearly $17.5 million for its $25.5 million Black Business Hub, and with Thursdays announcement the nonprofit now has sufficient funds to begin construction in the next week or two, with fundraising to continue, officials said. Centro Hispano, now located at 810 Badger Road, is looking to create new facilities that can better support its mission, Wachter said. The city has already purchased a property at 833 Hughes Place to combine with city-owned properties at 837 Hughes Place and 2405 Cypress Way to help create new facilities on the block, he said. Targeted aid The grants come from $250 million Evers allocated to local municipalities, counties, tribes and nonprofit health care organizations for projects meant to boost disadvantaged communities. I am glad to award these funds to help local leaders and community-based organizations working together to continue to serve and bolster their neighborhoods, ensuring they dont just recover but thrive, Evers said Thursday. Recently, Evers announced $9 million for Beloit, $15 million for Milwaukee and $10.5 million for Milwaukee County. In total, $200 million is for a Neighborhood Investment Fund grant program and another $50 million is for a Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Investment grant program. Both programs are using money from federal COVID-19 funds, over which Evers has sole discretion as governor a point of contention in the Legislature. Currently, the governor has sole discretion over how federal funds are spent, but there has been a growing push among legislative Republicans seeking more control over how the executive office doles out federal funds primarily in recent years as the federal government pumped billions of stimulus dollars into the state to help address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, the Republican-led Assembly approved a constitutional amendment, SJR 84/AJR 112, to give lawmakers final say over how the governor spends federal funds allocated to the state. Evers would not be able to veto that proposal. Evers has vetoed several efforts in recent years by Republicans seeking control over federal funds. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In another escalation of the conflict, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the military would call up reservists and assess how many others would be eligible to join them. Get the latest. Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv Friday as Russian forces pressed on with a full-scale invasion that resulted in the deaths of more than 100 Ukrainians in the first full day of fighting and could eventually rewrite the global post-Cold War security order. After using airstrikes on cities and military bases, Russian military units moved swiftly to take on Ukraine's seat of government and its largest city in what U.S. officials suspect is a brazen attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to dismantle the government and replace it with his own regime. Ukrainian leaders pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee, and hotels in Kyiv were being evacuated amid early indications of an assault. Ukrainian forces braced for more attacks after enduring for hours a Russian barrage of land- and sea-based missiles, an assault that one senior U.S. defense official described as the first salvo in a likely multi-phase invasion aimed at seizing key population centers and decapitating Ukraine's government. In unleashing the largest ground war in Europe since World War II, Putin ignored global condemnation and cascading new sanctions. With a chilling reference to his countrys nuclear arsenal, he threatened any country trying to interfere with consequences you have never seen, as a once-hoped for diplomatic resolution now appeared impossible. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A prominent builder of Lancaster city apartments recently acquired another city property but says it is too early to share any possible redeve The word reentry implies a transition. And whether its a rocket returning to the earths atmosphere, someone rejoining an organization or a person coming back to a place theyve left, theres a process involved. For the Donegal Substance Abuse Alliance the Mount Joy-based addiction support organization reentry means the process of attaining sobriety and returning to ones life before substance use. The alliance was awarded a grant in July 2021 from the Pennsylvania Commission of Crime and Delinquency for $75,000 annually to implement the Rec-Cap program. The program, a guided multifaceted approach to recovery, was initially set to be introduced in the Lancaster County Prison, but COVID-19 restrictions have put that aspect of it on hold. The program operates from the Mount Joy facility as well as an office in the Adult Probation and Parole building on King Street in Lancaster. Reentry can mean a lot of different things, said Scott Theurer, a member of Lancaster County Recovery Alliance and consultant with the Donegal Substance Abuse Alliance. Yes, it can be people leaving the prison, but it can also be people leaving a recovery house and trying to get back into the community at large. It could be people in probation that are trying to rebuild. Tools in the tool bag The Rec-Cap program stands for Recovery Capital. Its focus is to provide those seeking sobriety with a peer support specialist to help them stay on track and meet their goals. Peer support specialists also share resources from groups the alliance is partnering with, such as PA Career Link Lancaster County, Lancaster Works, Tenfold and the United Way of Lancaster County. Recovery capital is the stuff that helps people remain stable in recovery, Theurer said. So, if you look at it as tools in the tool bag, its things like a job, education, overall physical, mental, spiritual health, satisfying legal obligations, family relations, but most importantly its what they call human capital which is your ability to deal with life on lifes terms. Its coping skills. Just being effective with dealing with life only youre doing it sober, so you have to relearn how to do that. The program, which has 37 current participants, helps people in their recovery journey with one-on-one peer support, family support and a digital application that helps track progress and can even recommend the nearest recovery meeting using its GPS function. The recovery process is often associated with support group meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. And while those groups obviously can play a big part in recovery, Theurer stressed that each persons recovery journey is different and an individual approach can be useful. Approaches need to be diverse and flexible. Its essential. If you try to cookie-cutter your way through recovery, I think it leaves you more vulnerable than successful, he said. Theurer said the group is open to anyone serious about recovery, but they are targeting vulnerable groups who are at a higher risk of overdosing or relapsing. Not everybody is initially successful in early recovery, Theurer said. It can be very difficult at times and a lot of times when you relapse you get disqualified from a lot of the programs. You can get thrown out of your outpatient provider or you can get thrown out of your recovery house for using. So this program is really trying to close those gaps and trying to keep folks that experience that stuff moving forward so it doesnt get worse. Della Hewitt, of Lancaster Township, is one person interested in participating in the Rec-Cap program, and said she is talking to representatives at the DSAA to get involved. Hewitt said shes struggled for decades with substance use and lost her father and her son to issues related to substance use. Ive been an addict for at least 30 years. Ive overdosed seven times. Its destroyed my life. I keep trying to get on the right path, Hewitt said. After my son died, a part of me died with him. Im working on getting some grief counseling now. Hewitt said she is now six months sober. She said one of her goals is to someday be able to speak to junior high kids about her experiences with substance use. Ive wanted to do that since my son died, but I never had enough clean time to even pursue that, Hewitt said. I think I have my life on the right path this time. A bridge from prison The Rec-Cap program is designed to benefit people like Hewitt who are working on their recovery, but the program will be essential for people battling substance use disorder who are being released from the Lancaster County Prison. Thats an aspect of the program that Theurer is particularly excited about starting once COVID-19 restrictions make it possible. Theurer said the plan is for specialists to go into the prison and connect with candidates and work with them as they approach their release date. When theyre released we will literally meet them when they come out of the door on their release date, Theurer said. If you want to go get a job, youve got probation requirements, you have legal requirements, you want to take a shot at trying to get some career enhancement its hard to do all that stuff when you can barely get out of bed in the morning because youre dealing with anxiety and depression you dont understand. Thats why peer support is so effective. Joe Shiffer, the deputy warden of inmate services at Lancaster County Prison, is excited about the bridge the Rec-Cap program could provide. When they leave the institution, theyre faced with a lot of choices and a lot of pressures. You want to separate yourself from the old people, places and things and some of them cant for whatever reason and its a challenge for them, Shiffer said. These folks have to make a decision hundreds and hundreds of times not to use again So to have that support in the community is a tremendous opportunity. As someone working in the prison, Shiffer sees firsthand the toll that substance use disorder takes on the community. It is a crisis, I believe strongly. It destroys their lives, their families, their children, their friends theres nothing good about it. Thats why we work so hard to put these programs in place. Even for people that have put together some sober time while in prison, staying sober after reentry can be difficult, Theurer said. The initial space of time can be very difficult and I think people are often caught off guard and are surprised by how difficult it is, Theurer said. Your body is healing, your brain is healing and that can be a significant barrier if the right support isnt in place. It can feel very strange. If you or someone you know wants to get involved with the DSAA Rec-Cap program, call 717-492-4596 or email dsasquared@gmail.com. President Joe Biden on Friday nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, which would make her the first Black woman selected to serve on the high court. The federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Miami but also has a close connection to Baltimore. Advertisement Her brother, Ketajh Brown, served with the Baltimore Police Department from October 2001 through May 2008 and was last assigned to the Eastern District, police spokesman Det. Donny Moses confirmed. Brown is now a corporate attorney in Chicago, at the K&L Gates law firm. He did not respond to requests for comment. Advertisement Jackson spoke of her brother in remarks after her nomination at the White House on Friday. I am so proud of all that hes accomplished, she said. As a police officer and detective, she said, he worked on some of the toughest streets in the inner city of Baltimore. Jackson previously mentioned her younger brothers career path, which included working as an undercover police officer in a drug sting unit in Baltimore, in responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee questions when she was a nominee for the Court of Appeals seat. She said her brother also served in the Maryland Army National Guard, where he trained to be an infantry officer, and led two battalions during two tours of duty in Iraq and the Sinai Peninsula. Jackson has cited her and her brothers upbringing as a reason they were drawn to public service professions. Both her parents were educators, and her father later went to law school and then served as the chief legal counsel to the Miami-Dade County School Board. Given this family background, there was no question that I would gravitate toward public service at some point in my legal career, she wrote. Jackson did not respond to a request for comment from The Baltimore Sun. Richard B. Rosenthal, an appeals attorney in Florida, said he is a close family friend of the Browns, and knew both Jackson and her brother since childhood. Advertisement She has seen the justice system from a lot of different angles that very few judges have had. It has added to her natural ability to hear everyone out, he said. Breaking News Alerts As it happens Be informed of breaking news as it happens and notified about other don't-miss content with our free news alerts. > Jackson also has spoken of her uncle, who she has said is serving a life sentence for a cocaine conviction. Shes had all of these access points with the criminal justice system, Rosenthal said. Jackson would be the current courts second Black justice Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative, is the other and just the third in history. She also would be only the sixth woman to serve on the court, and her confirmation would mean that for the first time four women would sit together on the nine-member court. The current court includes three women, one of whom is the courts first Latina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Advertisement Jackson would join the liberal minority of a conservative-dominated court that is weighing cutbacks to abortion rights and will be considering ending affirmative action in college admissions and restricting voting rights efforts to increase minority representation. Biden is filling the seat that will be vacated by Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who is retiring at the end of the term this summer. Researchers at Franklin & Marshall College who have been disabling landmines around Ukraine are facing uncertainty about their work as the country becomes a war zone. Since 2015, a team of researchers led by Franklin & Marshall professors Tim Bechtel and Fronefield Crawford have been working to demine parts of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have tried to separate themselves and declare independence from Ukraine. The Franklin & Marshall professors have been conducting this work alongside researchers in Ukraine, Italy and Jordan, with funding through NATOs Science for Peace and Security program. Eastern Ukraine is one of the worlds most contaminated areas by landmines, with more than two million people each year exposed to the deadly explosives. Approximately 70% of families in this part of Ukraine are struggling to go about their daily lives to avoid them, whether it be going to get food, school, home, hospital or crossing the contact line, according to a report published in April 2021 from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The so-called contact line is the area that separates the Ukrainian-controlled areas and the non-governmental areas led by separatists, where many landmines still exist today, Bechtel said. Bechtel said hed been finishing a report due to the NATO program with his colleagues in Kharkiv, Ukraine, just hours before the Russian invasion began. At the time, his Ukrainian colleagues were uncertain if their country would be invaded and what that may look like. Before 6 a.m. in Ukraine on Thursday, Russian forces invaded the country on three fronts. Bechtel and Crawford work with their international colleagues as well as with F&M students to create teams of robots that survey areas of eastern Ukraine to be able to identify landmines that may be hidden beneath the surface or disguised as trash, Bechtel said. This work to remove landmines is intended to make eastern Ukraine more safe for its residents. In 2020 alone, at least 55 people were injured and 15 were killed by landmines or other explosives left over from war, according to the U.N. report. The group of researchers began detecting landmines shortly after Russia tried to annex Crimea in southern Ukraine. I find it ironic that our work on humanitarian demining to make Ukraine safe has been stalled by another conflict, Bechtel said. Its pretty terrible that in trying to clean up from ongoing border conflicts, theres now a much larger conflict thats stopping the work so we have more of a mess to clean up later. Bechtel said researchers in Lancaster, Italy and Jordan all plan to continue their work. For now, he said his colleagues in Ukraine are all safe and leaving Kharkiv in hopes of getting away from any war zone. Were all very concerned about them, Bechtel added. Amer Al Fayadh struggled to find housing and a job when he resettled in the United States from Iraq with his parents and four siblings in 2010. Even though he could speak English and despite his professional work experience, Al Fayadh said he was told his college degree in production engineering was worth nothing and he was better off looking for jobs in another field. Imagine if I didnt speak English, said Al Fayadh, 40, who lives in Columbia with his wife and four children. When there is a language barrier, you cant access resources, and it is very difficult to fit into a new country. Ive met a lot of immigrants who are dealing with a similar situation. A lot of them cant reclaim their careers or get help when they come to the U.S. because of the language. Al Fayadh contacted the United Way of Lancaster County in 2021 about creating a program that offers language services to non-English speakers. In January, the nonprofit agency partnered with Al Fayadhs company Communication Essentials to launch the Lancaster Language Justice Initiative with the goal of supporting local efforts to advance language access and equity. This was Amers idea, and UWLC partnered because for us this is an equity issue, said Aiza Ashraf, the local United Ways director of equity. Our vision is to create an equitable Lancaster County where every individual has an opportunity to succeed, because thats the only way an entire community will thrive and prosper. A certified Arabic interpreter and a licensed trainer of interpreters, Al Fayadh founded his company in 2020. Based in Lancaster Township, the company offers translation and interpretation services through a team of contractors who provide services in more than 150 languages. We are committed to provide this service to the community, and we want to be a resource to the community, Al Fayadh said of his business. Lancaster Language Justice Initiative According to the Lancaster Language Justice Initiative programs website, language justice refers to everyones right to communicate in the language they feel most comfortable. Communication can be fraught with challenges and misunderstandings, Ashraf said. These issues are intensified when individuals are not able to use their preferred language. Identifying resources, understanding options, filling out forms, and navigating systems can be complicated even more for someone who speaks another language. The local United Way and Communication Essentials recently announced it was awarding five grants through the initiative program to support efforts to advance language access and equality. The grants are in the form of training and technical assistance, and translation and/or interpretation services valued at up to $5,000. Grants were awarded to Lancaster city, the Lancaster Bar Association, the Lancaster Recreation Commission, the Library System of Lancaster County, and the Literacy & Learning Success Centers of Lancaster-Lebanon. The Lancaster Language Justice Initiative program is sponsored in part by $9,000 from the Walters Trust, an endowment from Arthur and Selma Walters to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lancaster, which supports local nonprofits. According to a press release from the United Way of Lancaster County, then grants will provide one or more of the following activities based on the needs of each recipient: Asses a language access plan Help establish accessibility procedures and best practices Identify language needs and/or prioritize the documents for transition Identify board members, staff or community volunteers who could potentially serve as internal interpreters/translators and cultural advisors. We are providing the training as part of our commitment to this community. Our service will have a value of up to $5,000, and it will be customized to each organizations need, Al Fayadh said. We will work with these organizations through the end of 2022 to help build a foundation for their services. By the numbers Lancaster city 58,039: Population 20,256: Number of people who speak a language other than English at home (35% of the citys population) 9,460: Number of people who speak English less than very well (16% of the citys population) 16,773: Number of people who speak Spanish at home (29% of the citys population) Lancaster County 552,984: Population 87,371: Number of people who speak a language other than English at home (16% of the countys population) 34,838: Number of people who speak English less than very well (6% of the countys population) 38,708: Number of people who speak Spanish at home (7% of the countys population) Pennsylvania 13,002,700: Population 1,521,315: Number of people who speak a language other than English at home (12% of the states population) 559,116: Number of people who speak English less than very well (4% of the states population) 650,135: Number of people who speak Spanish at home (5% of the states population) Source: U.S. Census | American Community Survey Pennsylvanias two U.S. senators will ultimately vote to confirm or reject President Joe Bidens nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. A simple majority vote of the 100 senators is all that is required to confirm a nominee for a lifetime appointment. Here are the Pennsylvania lawmakers first comments regarding the nomination: Bob Casey (D): Jackson has spent her career fighting for a more equitable and just America and will carry that vision on the Supreme Court. She comes to this position with a breadth of experience and an unwavering dedication to the law. I am honored to support her nomination. This is a historic nomination and will bring us one step closer in having our institutions better reflect the diversity of our nation. Judge Jackson has been confirmed by the Senate with bipartisan support three times and I look forward to working with my colleagues on a fair and timely confirmation process. Pat Toomey (R): I look forward to meeting with Ketanji Brown Jackson and thoroughly vetting her record to carefully consider her nomination to the nations highest court. Only the most qualified jurists who will diligently serve as neutral umpires of the lawnot as unelected legislators with preferred policy outcomesmerit confirmation to serve as guardians of the Constitution and arbiters of our laws on the Supreme Court. When: Elizabethtown Borough Council meeting, Feb. 17. What happened: by a vote of 5 to 1, council passed a resolution eliminating the 15-mile residency requirement for borough police officers. With the department finding it increasingly difficult to hire officers, council hopes this will increase the talent pool. Council member Thomas Shaud opposed the motion with no comment. Quotable: The policing model has changed. We have much better mutual aid capability with other departments, council President J. Marc Hershey said. Almost nobody has a residency requirement anymore. This will help us stay competitive, council member Jeff McCloud added. Audit: Accountants from Trout CPA delivered the results of a clean audit for the year 2021 and said the borough had made sound choices in handling the challenges presented by the pandemic as well as $600,000 so far in federal assistance provided by the American Rescue Plan. Capital projects: Borough Manager Rebecca Denlinger informed council of several grants between $200,000 and $300,000 the borough would be applying for to help fund a number of upcoming capital projects. Funds from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and the Department of Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will be sought for watershed restoration and greenways plans, as well as the replacement of the Fun Fort at Elizabethtown Park. Most of the grants require 15% in matching funds from the borough. Whats next: Council meets next at 7 p.m. March 3. Only one Harford County public school, Harford Technical High School, is on the states weekly COVID-19 outbreak list released Wednesday. School-based cases of the coronavirus dropped from 66 new cases last week to 17 this week. As of Thursday, the district dashboard is reporting 465 students in isolation and 356 in quarantine, as well as 117 staff in isolation and 42 in quarantine. All of these numbers are down compared to those from last week. Advertisement In the past seven days, Edgewood Middle School had the most new students in isolation with 18, while Homestead/Wakefield Elementary School and Halls Cross Road Elementary School had the second most with 12. Halls Cross Elementary School has the most new students in quarantine in the district. Advertisement The Aegis: Top stories Weekdays Daily highlights from Harford County's number one source for local news. > For the dashboard, isolation occurs when a person is diagnosed with COVID-19 infection or is symptomatic and awaiting test results. A person is placed in quarantine due to close contact with someone infected with COVID-19 in the school or reported from outside of the school. Harford County Public Schools cannot provide any information on the districts outbreak history, but their COVID-19 numbers are closely correlated to the countys numbers, according to Jillian Lader, the school systems manager of communications. Infections have decreased throughout the county, thanks to the county health departments effort to get residents vaccinated and tested, especially young children, according to Ronya Nassar, spokesperson for the Harford County Health Department. We appreciate the precautions that county residents took to protect themselves when the Omicron surge occurred, such as getting their booster, Nassar said. During the surge, the health department offered COVID-19 vaccine and booster doses to residents five days a week and set up clinics for 5- to 11-year-olds in the schools. The Maryland State Board of Education voted Tuesday to rescind the statewide mask mandate, and county public schools will discuss the shifting masking policy at Mondays board meeting. While awaiting the [Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review] decision, we will be having extensive conversations this week with our health officers, Lader said. We are aware of the concerns on both sides of this topic. Ahmaud Arberys hometown hopes for change after convictions The white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery as he ran on a residential street remained free for more than two months, with police and prosecutors appearing to accept their story that the young Black man was a fleeing criminal who turned and attacked before being fatally shot. Two years after Arbery fell dead on Feb. 23, 2020, the trio responsible for the deadly pursuit has seen its version of events rejected in court. After two trials held a few months apart, the three men have been convicted not only of murder, but also of federal hate crimes. Amid a national reckoning over racial injustice in the criminal legal system, the back-to-back guilty verdicts have bolstered Arberys family and local activists who initially feared the killing just outside the Georgia port city of Brunswick might go unpunished. ADVERTISEMENT It shows that theres hope for our justice system, said the Rev. John Perry, who was president of the Brunswick NAACP chapter when Arbery was killed. I dont think its an absolute game changer. Activists are hoping for a similar outcome in Minneapolis, where jurors started deliberating Wednesday in the federal trial of three fired police officers charged with violating George Floyds civil rights. Floyd, a Black man, died on May 25, 2020, when then-officer Derek Chauvin pinned him to the ground and pressed a knee to his neck for what authorities say was 9 1/2 minutes. Arberys mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, attended an event honoring her son on the second anniversary of his death Wednesday in Atlanta, where state lawmakers passed a resolution declaring Feb. 23 Ahmaud Arbery Day in Georgia. When we hear the name of Ahmaud Arbery, we will now hear and think of change, Cooper-Jones told those in attendance. About 50 supporters joined one of Arberys aunts, Thea Brooks, Wednesday evening in a procession through the Satilla Shores subdivision where Arbery was killed less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from his home. They chanted, I run with Maud! _ a phrase that became the familys rallying cry after his death. Shanesha Sallins walked toward the back of the group. Her mother and Arberys mother worked together, she said, and Arbery often jogged past her home nearby. ADVERTISEMENT I just hope this is a lesson for a lot of Southerners, Sallins said of the legal convictions, though shes unsure whether they signal lasting change. Its a start. But once the lights turn off and everybody goes back to their normal lives, the systems still broken. Arbery had enrolled at a technical college and was preparing to study to become an electrician, like his uncles, when he was killed at age 25. His parents stopped short of calling the hate crime verdicts delivered by a jury Tuesday a victory, noting the convictions wont bring back their son. Still, many in Brunswick and surrounding Glynn County, a community of nearly 85,000 where Black residents make up 26% of the population, saw the trials over Arberys killing as a test of the justice system as well as an opportunity to confront what they saw as blatant racism. Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and used a pickup truck to chase Arbery after spotting him run past their home on a Sunday afternoon. A neighbor, William Roddie Bryan joined the pursuit in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery with a shotgun. Despite the mens suspicions that Arbery was a criminal, investigators found no evidence he had stolen anything or committed other crimes in the neighborhood. Travis McMichael testified at the murder trial that he opened fire in self-defense after Arbery attacked with his fists. Evidence in the weeklong hate crimes trial included roughly two dozen text messages and social media posts in which the men used racist slurs and otherwise disparaged Black people. Bryan mocked the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and reacted bitterly upon learning his daughter was dating a Black man. Travis McMichael complained that Black people ruin everything and commented on a video showing a Black man playing a prank on a white person: Id kill that f_-ing n__r. Travis Riddle owns a Brunswick soul food restaurant where a framed photo of the sheriff arresting Greg McMichael in May 2020 hangs on the wall. Riddle, who is Black, said he hopes exposing the racism espoused by the McMichaels and Bryan will make others who are like-minded hesitant to share their views. Theres other people who think what they did was right, but with the outcome of this case, theyre going to suppress those thoughts and those actions, Riddle said. Brunswick has shown them twice were not with this. The legal fights arent over. Former District Attorney Jackie Johnson, ousted in 2020 by voters who blamed her for the delayed arrests in the Arbery case, was indicted last year on misconduct charges alleging she used her office to protect the McMichaels. Greg McMichael had worked for Johnson as an investigator and left her a phone message after the shooting. Johnson has denied wrongdoing, insisting she immediately handed the case to an outside prosecutor. Her case is pending in Glynn County Superior Court. There was a major collapse in our system that allowed a young mans life to be robbed, said Perry, the former NAACP leader. Our system failed to make an arrest. Responsibility lies somewhere, and I think this investigation is an honest attempt to find out where the breakdown happened. Brunswick activists have also pushed for reforms to the Glynn County Police Department. Its investigation into Arberys death languished until May 2020, when the graphic video of the shooting leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case. County commissioners last summer hired the departments first Black police chief after agreeing to a national search. A Better Glynn, a local group formed after Arberys death to promote racial and socioeconomic justice, had pressed officials to search for candidates outside Georgia. The group is still urging commissioners to create a citizen review board for the police department, a proposal thats seen no action over the past year. Were not necessarily going to be out here changing a lot of hearts, said Elijah Bobby Henderson, one of the groups founders, but were going to change a lot of policies. ___ City posts white desegregation story on Black History Month A South Carolina city is apologizing for a social media post promoting Black History Month that focused on the white mayors experience as a high schooler during desegregation. The city of Greenville deleted the post by Tuesday night after it drew criticism online. ADVERTISEMENT The post included a high school yearbook photo of Knox White, and pulled a quote the mayor had given for a documentary, recalling his experience as a teenager during the integration of Greenville High School in 1970, WYFF-TV reported. (hash)BlackHistoryMonth feature from (at)mayorknoxwhite a student at Greenville High School during the school districts integration in Feb of 1970s. Integration was court ordered in Jan 1970. The district was given less than a month to design a plan to redraw attendance lines, the post said, and then quoted White as saying: A good number of my friends just disappeared. They were sent to another school. The citys critics included SouthernGrl, whose Wednesday tweet referred to the U.S. Supreme Courts 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling urging that schools be desegregated with all deliberate speed. A better story to tell would be why Greenville had to be forced to integrate via court order in the 70s when Brown v BOE was decided in 54. Instead you chose to see the forced integration through the eyes of a wealthy white boy who lost some friends..seriously, this is AWFUL! the tweet said. The post was in poor taste, said Greenville communications director Beth Brotherton, who produced the documentary. ADVERTISEMENT I take full responsibility for not recognizing how insensitive it is to tell a story about a painful chapter in lives of African Americans, through the eyes of a White person, she said. The post was deleted because it was in poor taste and does not represent the Greenville I know and love. Face Masks Will Remain Mandatory in L.A. County Courthouses Face masks will remain mandatory in all Los Angeles County courthouses despite the county easing an indoor mask mandate as of tomorrow for those vaccinated against COVID-19, court officials said today. All people over 2 years old and regardless of vaccination status will continue to be required to wear face masks over their nose and mouth while in a courthouse, according to the court. While there are hopeful signs that the winter surge has subsided with a decrease in Omicron cases, test positivity and hospitalizations, the court will remain vigilant in providing safe access to justice in the nations largest trial court, Presiding Judge Eric C. Taylor said in a statement. ADVERTISEMENT When you come to our courthouses, you must wear a face mask. However, the court does not require the public to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test to access justice. Court employees and judicial officers are included in the order. Court officials urged people with disabilities that preclude them from wearing face masks to seek an accommodation under California Rules of Court in advance of their court appearance or appointment. It has been a busy 72 hours in the City of Los Angeles and particularly in Los Angeles 10th Council District. On Tuesday, February 22, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to appoint Herb Wesson as the interim council member representing the 10th Council District. The district had not had a voting member on the council since Mark Ridley-Thomas was suspended following a federal indictment on bribery charges. However, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the appointment and reinstate Ridley-Thomas to the seat he was elected to the year before. Prior to Wessons unanimous appointment, 11th Council District representative Mike Bonin had introduced a motion to delay the appointment. This motion failed, leaving Council President Nury Martinezs original motion to appoint Wesson as interim councilman to be voted on and ultimately, unanimously approved by the full council. The council also passed a motion to have a study to determine the cost of a special election to fill Ridley-Thomas suspended seat, which the results of the study will be brought back before the council at a later date. Then, on Thursday, February 24, SCLC-SC and Pastor William Smart, the organizations president, had their day in court. The judge ruled that the council was within their rights to suspend Ridley-Thomas and that he could not assume the council seat. The other part of the lawsuit called into question whether or not Wesson could be appointed as the interim councilmember to ensure that the residents of the 10thDistrict could and would have adequate representation while Ridley-Thomas addressed his personal legal issues. Ridley-Thomas has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has vowed to vigorously fight the indictment. Wesson, who served as city council president as well as the represented the 10thDistrict, was not eligible to seek re-election in 2020 because of term limits. But, it is unclear whether or not he was eligible to be appointed as the interim councilmember. The judge has allowed both SCLC-SC and the city make additional arguments and will make a final ruling on March 17. However, Wesson, who has already been sworn into the position, is not allowed to participate in City Council meetings until the judge makes a final ruling. Once again, the 10th Council District is left without a voice or a vote on the 15-member Los Angeles City Council. Los Angeles County Seeks Public Feedback On Homeless Initiative Budget The Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, which is partially funded through Measure H, is seeking public comment today on its $556.4 million draft spending plan for fiscal year 2022-23. The budget is 5.5% more than the $527.1 million approved for the current fiscal year, and it includes $465.6 million from Measure H, a quarter- cent sales tax approved by Los Angeles County voters in 2017. The tax funds a 10-year campaign to combat the countys homelessness crisis. The drafts recommendations include more than $143 million for services for permanent supportive housing, more than $125 million to improve the emergency shelter system, $40.15 million to expand a countywide outreach system, $8 million for homeless prevention for families, more than $11 million for homeless prevention for individuals, $3.62 million for subsidized housing for unhoused disabled individuals, nearly $65 million for rapid rehousing, nearly $14 million to facilitate federal housing subsidies and more than $37 million for interim housing for people exiting institutions. ADVERTISEMENT According to the countys most recent count of its unhoused population, there were 66,433 people experiencing homelessness in January 2020, up from 58,936 in 2019. Results of the 2022 count, which is underway this week, are expected to be made public by LAHSA over the summer. The Homeless Initiative was created by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2015. The board worked the following year with community and government partners on 47 strategies to address the homelessness crisis. Measure H, which provides an estimated $355 million per year or 10 years, helps fund the initiative. County residents can submit written public comment on the draft through May 10 by going to bit.ly/3pdwN70. On March 9, people can provide verbal public comment during a virtual hearing. Officials said the feedback will help inform the final budget, which the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider in May. A presentation on the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative recommendations, and a comparison to the current fiscal year, is available at bit.ly/3hePnr7. Russia launched an attack by air, land and sea from several directions against neighboring Ukraine Thursday. Explosions and gunfire were heard throughout the country including the capital city of Kyiv. The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, said his city is effectively surrounded. Ukraines military chief said Ukrainian troops were fighting the Russian army near the Hostomel airbase 7 kilometers northwest of Kyiv. In the south, he said fighting was going on near Henichesk, Skadovsk and Chaplynka. Another Ukrainian official said Russian troops captured the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The plant was the location of the worlds worst nuclear accident when a nuclear reactor exploded in April 1986, sending radioactive waste across Europe. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement that its ground forces have moved into Ukraine from Crimea. The ministry added that it has destroyed a total of 83 Ukrainian military facilities. In a television address from the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned other countries not to intervene in what he called a special military operation. And he said they would face "consequences they have never seen." Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on all Ukrainians to defend the country. He said arms would be given to anyone prepared to fight. He asked world leaders for help, saying that if you dont help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door. World reactions The United States and its Western allies quickly condemned the invasion. American President Joe Biden said Thursday from the White House, "Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences. Biden announced more sanctions that he said would hurt the Russian economy. They targeted four more Russian banks with $1 trillion in assets, high-tech and military industries, and business leaders. The allies, however, did not enforce some of the most severe sanctions such as a limit on Russias energy exports or banning Russia from the SWIFT payment system. The system permits transfers of money from bank to bank around the world. Several European nations that were once under the former Soviet Unions orbit also condemned Russias actions. Poland called for the "fiercest possible sanctions" against Russia. Czech President Milos Zeman called Putin a "madman." And Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has close ties with Putin, also condemned Russias actions. China, however, did not call the Russian offensive an invasion. A foreign ministry spokesman said the crisis in Ukraine has a complex history and China understands what it called Russia's "legitimate concerns" on security. From the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked Putin to Stop the military operation. Bring the troops back to Russia. He said the world body was freeing up $20 million for urgent humanitarian needs in Ukraine. The U.N. said several thousand Ukrainians have already crossed into neighboring countries, mainly Moldova and Romania. And an estimated 100,000 have fled their homes. Im Jonathan Evans. Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English based on reporting from VOA News, Associated Press and Reuters. ________________________________________________________________ Words in this Story consequence n. something that happens as a result of a particular action sanction n. an action that is taken to force a country to obey international laws assets n. something that is owned by a country legitimate adj. fair or reasonable Linn County officials want these additional details before they hand the lot over. LEXINGTON A redevelopment plan to allow Fat Dogs Travel Center to add diesel pumps and expand their Lexington location was approved by the Lexington Community Development Agency during their meeting on Monday, Feb. 21. The project calls for an expansion south of the current Fat Dogs location, to where the former Gable View Inn use to be before it was demolished. High volume diesel pumps will be added to serve the, significant semi-truck market, according to Wilkinson Development, the owners of Fat Dogs. As a part of the plan, the current building will be remodeled and expanded to provide a new restaurant and travel center. A new canopy, underground piping and new pumps will be installed. Space will be created to the west of the pumps to allow for around 10 semi parking spots. Clarine Erickoff, Chief of Operations with Wilkinson Development, said once upgraded, the new facility will be similar to the North Platte Fat Dogs location, which hosts a Hardys restaurant and the Ogallala site, home to a Subway. Erickoff said it is Wilkinsons number one priority is to be able to provide diesel fuel at their locations. The expanding of the store will add 6,480 square feet to the location, making the total coverage after development 13,820 square feet. Five full time jobs plan to be added after expansion. Development of the project is anticipated to start in May or June 2022. City Manager Joe Pepplitsch said Wilkinson Development has requested tax increment financing (TIF) assistance in the amount of $700,000, which would go to covering demolition, concrete and pipe and architecture costs. The total cost of the project will be around $5,348,500.00. Pepplitsch said if the CDA approves the plan, it will go before the Lexington Planning Commission and they will forward their opinion to the city council for the final decision. The Planning Commission had previously approved a subdivision submitted by Wilkinson Development in December 2021, regarding the property. Community Development Agency (CDA) member Seth McFarland noted the necessity of a project like this, but expressed his concern at the amount of semi-truck traffic that could be turning off of Plum Creek Parkway (Highway 283) and if the existing turn lane could accommodate the volume. Erickoff noted Wilkinson Development owns the former Sonic location, just to the south of the lot where the diesel pumps would be added. Access from this location could help alleviate turning traffic off of the parkway. She did note there wasnt any mention of this property in the plan because Wilkinson is involved in a lawsuit with the location since 2019 and will be heard before the Nebraska Supreme Court soon. Erickoff said they have the property deed in hand; they just cant do anything with the property yet. Pepplitsch said the project is a straightforward one and the former Gable View Inn property is, in need of assistance. The CDA approved the redevelopment plan. The next item the CDA considered was a purchase option for Lots 16 and 17 in the Greater Lexington Addition. Pepplitsch said lots in question are south of Commerce Road, east of Eilers Machine & Welding, both are each four acres. Hamilton Builders, LLC, has expressed interest in created self-storage units on the lots. According to the Nebraska Secretary of State site, Hamilton Builders is registered to Jodi Hamilton of North Platte. The initial plan is to add 150-200 storage units on the east lot first and then possibly create storage for larger items, recreational vehicles as an example, on the west lot in the future. The area would be paved and fenced in, with only one gate for access. The purchase price for the property is $67,500.00, according to the option agreement. It was noted the Lexington area is underserved regarding self-storage units. The CDA approved the purchase option. During the roundtable discussion, Pepplitsch said the CDA would meet again in March, there will be more items coming before the agency regarding the Fat Dogs project, likely more storage units and some housing items in the future. The Baltimore City States Attorneys Office has cleared two police officers of wrongdoing after they both shot and injured people in separate incidents last year. The shootings, in May and August, were two of eight police shootings in the city in 2021, according to a Baltimore Sun database. Five were deadly. Advertisement One of the shootings occurred on The Block after officers saw a group of people fighting, police said. The other was in East Baltimore and happened after a suspect hit the officer with a car, police said. The states attorney notified the Baltimore Police Department of the decision not to charge the officers in December, said Zy Richardson, a spokeswoman for Baltimore States Attorney Marilyn Mosby and her office. The reports were released publicly Feb. 7, the only ones published so far about police shootings from 2021. Advertisement Richardson said the reports are complicated and, as a result, often take a long time to complete. Maryland law requires prosecutors to issue official decisions outlining why they chose not to charge a police officer with a crime when they use deadly force. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 A police investigator examines the scene near Baltimore and Holiday Streets following a police shooting that took place around 1:30 a.m. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun) Each case undergoes an exhaustive and detailed investigation led by the Police Integrity Unit with consultation from Mosby and the executive team, Richardson wrote in a statement. Richardson said each decision is treated similarly to other cases and requires thorough legal analysis. University of Baltimore School of Law Professor Amy Dillard, who studies police use of force, said the legal process is more thorough for law enforcement than normal people. The idea that it would take six, eight, nine months for someone to decide whether to charge you for a crime is absurd for civilians, Dillard said. We have a different criminal process for police officers. [ Long after police shoot people, findings are slow to emerge from Baltimore States Attorneys Office, records show ] In both of the shootings, it was determined the officers acted in self-defense and were justified in their use of force, the review by Mosbys office concluded. One incident happened on The Block in August when a group of police went to break up a fight at Baltimore and Holliday streets downtown. Officer Alexandros Haziminas, who has been on the force since 2014, told investigators he thought he heard gunfire and saw a man pointing a handgun at a group of people. Advertisement According to the states attorneys report, the man, later identified as Terrance Hillman, saw Haziminas and started running away. Haziminas followed and Hillman turned to point a gun at him when Haziminas shot him three times, the report says. Breaking News Alerts As it happens Be informed of breaking news as it happens and notified about other don't-miss content with our free news alerts. > Police recovered a gun from the scene and later arrested Hillman on gun charges. His case is pending in Baltimore Circuit Court, according to online court records. Haziminas has been a defendant in two separate federal lawsuits accusing him of brutality, according to records in U.S. District Court. In one suit, filed in 2019, a man is alleging Haziminas choke-slammed him during a night out at Power Plant Live!; it is still pending in federal court. The other was dismissed in April 2019 after the plaintiff failed to respond. Haziminas has a base salary of $79,964, but nearly doubled his pay in 2021 with about $72,020 in overtime, according to city salary data. Including overtime, Haziminas has made more than $122,000 annually every year since 2018. In the other police shooting, officers approached a parked SUV in the 2200 block of E. Biddle St. with guns drawn last May after noticing it matched the description of a vehicle stolen in an armed robbery earlier that day, according to the states attorneys report. The driver, Corey Dixon, drove off when one officer tried to open the drivers side door, police video shows. Dixon ran into another officer, Thomas Smith, who was yelling for Dixon to stop. Smith shot into the car twice, hitting Dixon in the hand and shoulder, according to the states attorneys report. Advertisement Smith has worked for the police department since July 2020 and has a salary of $55,117, according to a city salary database. Dixon crashed the car and ran off before being arrested minutes later. Police arrested him on assault charges and a traffic violation, and his case is pending in Circuit Court. LOS ANGELES, Calif. A Lexington native appeared on national television, singing during a Valentines Day event on the Kelly Clarkson Show. Gabby Mills was born and raised in Lexington, she was involved in cheerleading and dance during her time at Lexington High School and graduated in 2016. Mills said she first went to college at the University of Nebraska Kearney. I wanted to stay active in college, and I didnt want to try a sport. I enjoy cheerleading, and Im a dancer, Mills told the Clipper-Herald in 2016 about why she auditioned as a cheerleader. Mills said a highlight of high school was when the Liberty Belles placed second in Class B for its kick-line routine at the state cheer and dance competition in 2015. After a couple years at UNK, Mills wanted to attend a school that was completely focused on music and so she enrolled in the Los Angeles College of Music and was accepted. She moved to California in 2018, Mills said the transition from small town Nebraska, to the second largest city in the United States, took some getting used to. Mills said when she moved she thought she knew how to drive, it turns out Californians have a driving style all of their own. City life offers its own learning curves, fast paced right up until the moment the traffic backs up. She said everything takes a little bit longer; running errands may be a whole day affair. Mills is pursuing a singing and song-writing career on the West Coast and has been involved with many music projects, singing back-up for several bands, including the Goo Goo Dolls, performing with her own band and always writing her own music. Asked how she ended up performing on national television, Mills said, social media. A producer of the Kelly Clarkson Show found her Instagram account and reached out to her, asking if she would be interested auditioning for the show. Mills jumped at the chance and had about a week to prepare. After several auditions, she was told she had been chosen to perform on the show. Kelly Clarkson, a Fort Worth, Texas native, found her fame when she won the first season of American Idol in 2002, leading to a record deal with RCA. Trying to reinvent her image, Clarkson shifted to pop rock for a second studio album, supported by four US top-ten singles: "Breakaway", "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", and "Because of You. Breakaway sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won two Grammy Awards. Since 2019, Clarkson has hosted her town talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, the show will take over the timeslot of The Ellen DeGeneres Show on the ten NBC-owned stations that carry both programs, after Ellen ends in 2022. Mills appeared on a lighthearted Valentines Day themed segment called, Blind Date. Much like the show, The Voice, Mills and another woman had to compete against one another as a gentleman judge listened to their singing. Mills said the man had appeared on another competing segment on the show, but wasnt chosen, but he was able to return for this segment. She said they only had a short time to write their lyrics based off of a little information they knew about the individual and then had to preform it. Mills ended up winning the segment and was able to chat with the gentleman after the show. Kelly Clarkson also met with Mills, who said she hopes to have her back on the show. Mills said it was fun meeting Clarkson and hopes she can return to the show. Of the experience, Mills said she had a fun time, but noted it took getting used to having so many cameras focused on her. In the meantime, Mills continues to peruse her musical career, when speaking with Shoutout LA, she said, My motto for the past two years has been saying yes, meaning every opportunity thats thrown my way, every chance I have to make myself better, Im going to say yes and just do itMy advice to anyone who is scared to take that risk that theyve been debating about is, do it, the best experiences and opportunities await right outside your comfort zone. LEXINGTON Three Lexington police officers, a Dawson County Sheriffs deputy and a Lexington firefighter were all honored for their effort to rescue an elderly woman from a burning home in January. Deputy Chad Byrne, Dawson County Sheriffs Office; Investigator Michael Baker, Officer Luke Pinkelman, Officer Kareem McDougall, Lexington Police Department; and Michael Boling, EMT, Lexington Volunteer Fire Department, were all honored for their efforts the morning of Jan. 6, 2021. At 11:56 a.m., the Lexington Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to Oregon Trail in southwest Lexington for the report of smoke coming from a home. The law enforcement officers arrived on scene and actively searched the perimeter of the residents, looking for individuals inside the residence. Around the backside of the house, Deputy Byrne called out that he could see feet near the back patio door. Officer Pinkelman used his police baton to break out the patio door glass. Byrne was able to get inside the threshold of the door and grabbed the elderly womans ankles and dragged her outward toward the other officers, where they all lifted the woman out of the doorway and onto the ground. The woman was carried by the group around the house and to the opposite side walk. Investigator Baker and firefighter Boling then initiated CPR when the woman had stopped breathing. Priority Medical Transport then took the woman to Lexington Regional Health Center. The woman later died due to her injuries. I feel they did everything in their power to rescue the woman, Lexington Police Chief Tracy Wolf wrote. All four men were recognized with certificates from the Emergency Health Systems, part of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, for their efforts to save the woman. They also received pins in the shape of Nebraska with Code Save written on them. The certificate and pins were presented to the men at the Lexington Fire Hall on Friday, Feb. 25. If not for Jane Does courage, former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, R-Lewiston, a man who stands convicted of raping her and now faces spending the rest of his life in prison would no doubt be on his way toward securing a second term representing this area in the Legislature. WASHINGTON President Joe Biden on Friday nominated federal appeals court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the first Black woman selected to serve on a court that once declared her race unworthy of citizenship and endorsed American segregation. Introducing Jackson at the White House, Biden declared, I believe its time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation. Advertisement With his nominee standing alongside, the president praised her as having a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people. He said, She strives to be fair, to get it right, to do justice. In Jackson, Biden delivered on a campaign promise to make the historic appointment and further diversify a court that was made up entirely of white men for almost two centuries. Advertisement He also chose an attorney who would be the high courts first former public defender, though she possesses the elite legal background of other justices as well. Jackson would be the current courts second Black member Clarence Thomas, a conservative, is the other and just the third in history. She would replace liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who is retiring at the end of the term this summer, so she wont change the courts 6-3 conservative majority. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks after President Joe Biden announced Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court in the Cross Hall of the White House, Feb. 25, 2022, in Washington. (Carolyn Kaster/AP) Jackson would join the court as it weighs cutbacks to abortion rights and will be considering ending affirmative action in college admissions and restricting voting rights efforts to increase minority representation. She would be only the sixth woman to serve on the court, but she would join three others already there, including the first Latina, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. In brief remarks, Jackson thanked Biden, saying she was humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination. She highlighted her familys first-hand experience with the entirety of the legal system, as judges and lawyers, an uncle who was Miamis police chief and another who was imprisoned on drug charges. She also spoke of the historic nature of her nomination, noting she shared a birthday with Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to be confirmed to the federal bench. If Im fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court United States, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans, she said. Jackson, 51, once worked as one of Breyers law clerks early in her legal career. She attended Harvard as an undergraduate and for law school, and served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the agency that develops federal sentencing policy, before becoming a federal judge in 2013. Advertisement Her nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority by a razor-thin 50-50 margin with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker. Party leaders have promised swift but deliberate consideration. Fridays ceremony was attended only by White House staff, Jacksons family and news media, in part because the Senate is out of session this week. Everyone wore masks because of the pandemic, Biden and Jackson removing theirs to speak. He bent to pull out a lectern step for her to stand on as she made her remarks. Her introduction came two years to the day after Biden, then struggling to capture the Democratic presidential nomination, pledged in a South Carolina debate to nominate a Black woman if presented with a vacancy. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said in a statement that the panel will begin immediately to move forward on consideration of an extraordinary nominee. Senators have set a tentative goal of confirmation by April 8, when they leave for a two-week spring recess. Hearings could start as soon as mid-March. That timeline could be complicated by a number of things, including Russias invasion of Ukraine and the extended absence of Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, who suffered a stroke last month and is out for several weeks. Democrats would need Lujans vote to confirm Bidens pick if no Republicans support her. Advertisement Once the nomination is sent to the Senate, it is up to the Senate Judiciary Committee to vet the nominee and hold confirmation hearings. After the committee approves a nomination, it goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. Biden and Senate Democrats are hoping for a bipartisan vote on the nomination, but its unclear if they will be able to win over any GOP senators after bitterly partisan confirmation battles under President Donald Trump. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of three Republicans who voted to confirm Jackson to the appeals court last year, had pushed Biden to nominate a different candidate from his home state, Judge J. Michelle Childs, who also was favored by home-state Rep. James Clyburn, a Biden ally. Graham said earlier this month his vote would be very problematic if it were anyone else, and he expressed disappointment in a tweet Friday. Previewing a likely Republican attack line, he and several others on the right said Biden was going with the choice of the radical left. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he looked forward to meeting with Jackson and studying her record, legal views and judicial philosophy. But he noted he had voted against her a year ago. Biden has said he was interested in selecting a nominee in the mold of Breyer who could be a persuasive force with fellow justices. Although Breyers votes tended to put him to the left of center on an increasingly conservative court, he frequently saw the gray in situations that colleagues were more likely to find black or white. Justice Breyer the members of the Senate will decide if I fill your seat, Jackson said Friday, praising the retiring justices civility, grace, pragmatism and generosity of spirit. Advertisement But please know that I could never fill your shoes, she said. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, With her exceptional qualifications and record of evenhandedness, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be a justice who will uphold the Constitution and protect the rights of all Americans, including the voiceless and vulnerable. As part of his search process, Biden, a longtime chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also interviewed Childs and California Supreme Court Judge Leondra Kruger, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, saying all three interviews took place on Feb. 14. As part of his process, Biden also consulted with a range of legal experts and lawmakers in both parties and delved deeply into the finalists legal writings. Biden called Jackson late Thursday to inform her that she was his choice, Psaki said, and he informed Democratic congressional leaders Friday morning. Breaking News Alerts As it happens Be informed of breaking news as it happens and notified about other don't-miss content with our free news alerts. > Jackson serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a position that Biden elevated her to last year from her previous job as a federal trial court judge. Three current justices Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts, the chief justice previously served on the same appeals court. Jackson was confirmed to that post on a 53-44 Senate vote, winning the backing of three Republicans: Graham, Maines Susan Collins and Alaskas Lisa Murkowski. Advertisement In one of Jacksons most high-profile decisions, as a trial court judge she ordered former White House Counsel Don McGahn to appear before Congress. That was a setback to Trumps efforts to keep his top aides from testifying. The case was appealed, and a deal was ultimately reached for McGahns testimony. As an appeals court judge, she was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in December against Trumps effort to shield documents from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Miami. She has said that her parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, chose her name to express their pride in her familys African ancestry. They asked an aunt who was in the Peace Corps in Africa at the time to send a list of African girls names and they picked Ketanji Onyika, which they were told meant lovely one. Jackson traces her interest in the law to when she was in preschool and her father was in law school and they would sit together at the dining room table, she with coloring books and he with law books. Her father became an attorney for the county school board and her mother was a high school principal. A brother, nine years younger, served in the Army, including in Iraq, and is now a lawyer, too. Associated Press writers Mark Sherman, Jessica Gresko and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. If we make a direct analogy, it would seem to suggest that the occurrence of remarkable events, and how often we experience them in our lives, may depend on whether we allow or resist the flow. Only in this case, its not a flow of electrons were talking about ... CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. Local featured Light of the Pines reapplying for permit; Ashby modifies stance on facility JOEL ANDREWS/ The Lufkin Daily News Jenny Nielsen, right, founder and chief executive officer of Light of the Pines a for-profit facility that aims to provide a safe place for adolescent girls in the foster care system who have been victims of sex trafficking details the facilitys struggles while executive director Sonya Brookins listens. Ashby The bedrooms, classrooms and common areas of the Light of the Pines, a for-profit facility that aims to provide a safe place for adolescent girls in the foster care system who have been victims of sex trafficking, are now empty. The facility was recently denied its full permit by the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, and the residents were moved out by the end of January. Jenny Nielsen, founder and chief executive officer of Light of the Pines, withdrew the application to operate and is now in the process of reapplying for a full permit from DHHS. The facility originally accepted its first resident in January 2021 while awaiting approval of the full application and continued growing from there, said Brandi Barnett, treatment director and therapist. The staff worked with the girls, hearing their stories and learning how they could better serve the girls. How our programming helped fit their needs, working with them academically, therapeutically, Barnett said. Just trying our best not to give up on them. Theyve been given up on and pushed around, and we wanted to be a place that was different for them. Light of the Pines provided the girls with an education and a place to live. The girls attended online school via iSchool Virtual Academy, and Jenny said the facility wanted to start working with Trinity Charter Schools. The facility never wanted to enroll the girls in public school because the girls need a personalized approach to education, she said. When we called to set that up with (Trinity) because they service residential treatment centers they said, Have you reached out to your local school district? We said no, she said. Jenny and her husband, Chase Nielsen, had previously thought about opening in Huntington but ultimately did not due to a lack of support from the community she said she thinks people already had a bad image for residential treatment centers. People took a very small bit of information that we were going to work with girls 14 to 17 in the foster care system and completely twisted it, changed it and blew it up, she said. It was changed into that we were bringing in young sex offenders that had abused kids. I dont even know. People didnt understand what it was. Before Trinity Charter School would work with Light of the Pines, it needed to confirm that the local school district did not want to provide services, Jenny said. They had a phone conversation with Diboll ISD superintendent Vicki Thomas, explained to her who they were and asked if the district wanted to work with them, she said. They said they werent able to, and we were like, Thats fine. And they were like, Let us look into some options and well give you a call back, she said. It was just a 20-minute phone call, and we tried to schedule another meeting, but it kept getting pushed back. The Nielsens were instructed from the beginning to keep everything quiet because they did not want to broadcast what the girls had been through, so they did not tell Thomas about Trinity Charter School, Nielsen said. We didnt want traffic through here, so we kept it quiet because we dealt with human trafficking, she said. Not in a sneaky way, but in a private manner. At that point, it was almost time for the facility to be reviewed for its permanent license, and the Nielsens were told they would need to hold a public hearing, Jenny said. The couple was told they would not need a public hearing when they were given their temporary permit, Nielsen said. If we had done something we werent supposed to, the state wouldnt have given us a permit to operate, she said. At that hearing, which took place in late November 2021, a number of representatives from Diboll ISD, including Thomas, assistant superintendent of special programs Shanna Powers, licensed professional counselor Shawna Neal, Diboll High School principal Shelia Stephens, Diboll Junior High principal Jason Bollich and Diboll ISD Police chief David Garza spoke against the facility receiving a full permit. Diboll Mayor Trey Wilkerson also spoke against the facility receiving its license. Linda Parker read a letter from Rep. Trent Ashby, sharing his concerns about the facility. After Ashby expressed his concerns, the state intervened and made the decision that Light of the Pines would not be getting its full license, executive director Sonya Brookins said. However, she said the facility was given the option to withdraw its application. No one came out to see this facility, no one came out to interview the girls, no one came out to see their grades, no one came out to see therapy notes, no one came out to see anything, she said. Ashby has since modified his stance. Last November, leading up to the public hearing conducted by Texas Health and Human Services, my office heard from well over 100 constituents opposing the facility and zero in support, Ashby said. As the state representative, I felt compelled to submit a letter to HHS expressing the views of the overwhelming number of constituents that contacted my office at that time. In January, the applicant invited me to tour the facility for the first time and I have heard from a growing number of constituents in support of the facility since that time. Should the applicant decide to reapply, I will not be taking a position and wish them well. The agency, which is solely responsible for approving or denying the application, will ultimately make the decision based on the merits of the application and community feedback in accordance with the authority prescribed to HHS under the law. When the girls learned Light of the Pines was denied its license, they were upset because their voices were not heard, Barnett said. Theyve been kept silent for so long, and they came here and found their voice, she said. They were silenced yet again because adults making decisions over their lives didnt come to talk to them and made decisions that impacted their future. Every person who works at Light of the Pines wants to continue providing this care for the girls, as it really helped them, Barnett said. In the foster care system, there are certain levels of care assigned to the children who need them, Barnett said. Some of the girls that came to them needed higher levels of care, and through the facility, had their levels reduced, she said. I think every girl that came here benefited from being here, she said. It shows they put in the work, the effort to get themselves in a better place. After Light of the Pines completes the process of reapplying, it will hold another public hearing that will take place at the facility and it will provide more information so the community can have a better understanding of what they do, Brookins said. Those who were opposed will be specifically invited I think what people cant see and dont know produces fear, she said. I hope at the next public hearing, people will come with open ears and an open heart. Lauren Montelbano, a vegan chef in Madison, was honored to join two other accomplished chefs at the Dane County Farmers Market last fall, even if, at first, she didnt know she would be facing off against them in a competition. The chefs were tasked with picking ingredients for a dish to prepare for the PBS Wisconsin show Wisconsin Foodie, which will air at 7 p.m. March 10. The program will also stream online at pbswisconsin.org. The cooking event was pitched to Montelbano as a celebration of all of the bounty that is available in Wisconsin via the farmers market, she said. That sounded like great fun to me. Thats my jam, tons of fruits and veggies there. Then, we didnt find out until closer to the day of, that it was actually going to be a contest. The competition was stiff. Her competitors were Gregory Leon, chef/owner of Milwaukees Amilinda restaurant, who was named a semifinalist Wednesday in the category of Best Chef: Midwest for a 2022 James Beard Award; and Tarik Moody, the digital director and DJ at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee. Moody also co-hosts a food segment called This Bites. Montelbano was, for three years, the chef at Surya Cafe and now runs her own personal-chef catering and meal service program, the Vibrant Veg, renting kitchen space from the owners of A Pig in a Fur Coat on Williamson Street. She has 25 to 30 customers and makes 120 to 140 meals a week, she said. Surya, the vegetarian restaurant in Fitchburg, is now primarily a meal service program. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Surya also had a cafe at Garver Feed Mill. The food made by the three chefs for Wisconsin Foodie was judged by Luke Zahm, the shows host, and LEtoile chef/co-owner Tory Miller. Zahm, who, with his wife, owns Driftless Cafe in Viroqua, was a Best Chef: Midwest semifinalist in 2017. He stepped away as executive chef when he took the television job. We gave everybody $60 and 60 minutes to shop, and prepare a dish that represented them as a chef, but also reflected on the Dane County Farmers Market, Zahm said. The chefs then had 60 minutes to create their dish. Zahm, who is accustomed to a much smaller market in Viroqua, said it was a thrill to be at the high-energy market on Capitol Square in September, with the huge crowds and the many impressive farmers. And to be able to walk around the market with Tory Miller is like walking around the market with Jesus, he said, because everybody there is just out of their mind to see Tory and being a groupie for that, it was so, so fun. Montelbano didnt want to spoil the show by commenting on how she fared, but said she enjoyed cooking with Leon and Moody in the LEtoile kitchen. They were both great, she said. There was really no competitive spirit between any of us. It was just good fun. What they cooked was up to them, but Montelbano said she made a main dish. We all made different things, but they were all stand-alone dishes that all ended up being vegetable forward. I think by accident all of us made vegetarian or vegan dishes. That worked out well for her, she said, because it can sometimes seem unfair as a vegan chef to be judged against the rest of the world, and all of the things that everybody else can eat. Sometimes that cannot bode well. Moody did a mushroom dish, shrimp of the woods, in a Korean soul food style, which Zahm said had him dredging the mushrooms in corn starch and frying them, and then making a really, really amazing sweet and sour sauce. When he and Tory Miller were walking around the market, there was natural magic and chemistry there, Zahm said, because, obviously, Tory (who used to have the Asian-focused restaurant Sujeo) really loves Korean soul food. Leon is a quiet chef, Zahm said, but as he watched him walking around the market, he could tell Leon had something in mind that he was building, and it was definitely going to be built to his strengths. Zahm said Leons dish had some very specific twists, including something Zahm said he had never seen executed: a chef putting mashed potatoes in an aioli to give it more consistency, which Zahm said is common in Spanish and Portuguese food. He really brought a lot of funk to the table, he said. All three contestants cooked up really delicious, delicious meals. Zahm said he got a kick out of how Montelbano approached the market, maximizing every cent of her allowance. She went, and she had like four bags of produce and she bought herself some flowers, he said. It was really representative of Laurens cooking and her own personality. Her dish, with beans and a tamari base, had a lot going on, a lot of big flavors, Zahm said. It was very active and vibrant, which is definitely in her wheelhouse as a chef. She always brings the good energy and it really translated on the plate. Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The widow of a 23-year veteran of the Kenosha County Sheriffs Department whose husband died of COVID-19 late last year is fighting to have his death classified as occurring in the line of duty. Cpl. Christopher Basina, who was a supervisor at the Kenosha County Detention Center, 4777 88th Ave., died Oct. 8. Basina, 55, was the first member of the department to die of the virus during the pandemic. Attorney Kevin Martin of the Oak Creek-based Martin Law Office, S.C., is representing Cheryl Basina, Christopher Basinas wife of nearly three decades and the administrator of his estate. We have filed a notice of claim, which is a precursor to the civil suit, Martin said. Notice of claim served Martin said there are much-needed statutory provisions for wage continuation and health insurance benefits available to the spouse of someone who died in the line of duty, among other things. Martin said Cheryl Basinas attorneys reached out to the county prior to filing the notice of claim and received a response through the countys workers compensation carrier stating that because the physician who they consulted with was not provided enough information, they could not conclude that Christopher Basinas death was in the line of duty. The physician offered a report stating that she (the physician) does not have enough information in order to determine whether the exposure occurred while he was at work, Martin said. Therefore, she concluded that she was not able to determine whether it occurred at work. Rather than providing the work comp carriers infectious disease physician with the information that she was requesting, they (the county) just concluded that his exposure was not in the line of duty. Martin continued: When the physician you retain is asking for more information in order to arrive at a decision, why not provide that physician with the information he or she is asking for? Cases at facility had increased According to the notice of claim, served on Feb. 2, there was an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases both with the staff and inmates at the detention center when Christopher Basina was working there. Among his duties, according to Martin, Basina was responsible for conducting roll call, rounding to each dorm, talking with guards and inmates, performing administrative tasks and administering nasal COVID-testing swabs to inmates. Such tasks resulted in Basina being exposed for more than 15 minutes to individuals infected with COVID-19 in close proximity. Basina was required to wear a KN95 mask at work, but the inmates were not, according to Martin. Basina worked 12-hour days at the Kenosha County Detention Center on Sept. 10, 11, 12, 15 and 16 in 2021. He tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 20 after coming down with symptoms on Sept 19, according to the notice of claim served to the county earlier this month. He died less than three weeks later. Basinas primary care physician authored a letter stating he died from complications associated with the coronavirus as a result of workplace exposure. Martin said that whether or not Basina was vaccinated probably had no impact on his exposure ... (and also) had little impact with regard to his ability to acquire the infection. In other words, his vaccination status should not be a factor in any claims. Because it happened in the workplace, we do not look to the employee to determine whether the employee was at fault, Martin said. Thats not the work-comp system. Martin said under state law, the county has 120 days from the date it was served to respond. Exceptional hardship Martin said Cheryl Basina is facing exceptional financial hardship. She now has to pay for COBRA benefits in order to keep her health insurance coverage, Martin said. Dealing with the loss of your husband is difficult enough. Dealing with the loss of your husband who was just doing his job on behalf of the county is even harder. To have the county turn its back on you in a way that can cause you financial hardship is just throwing salt on the wound. Martin said Cheryl Basina prefers to to have all communications go through him at the moment. Martin also said that under Wisconsin statutes, the county must continue to pay health insurance premiums for the surviving spouse of an officer who dies in the line of duty. Jailers under direction of a sheriff are considered law enforcement officers. Under the Protecting Americas First Responders Act of 2020, passed by the U.S. Congress and cited in the notice, a general presumption that COVID-19 or related complications suffered by a public safety officer constitutes a personal injury sustained in the line of duty. County responds Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser said that he is only vaguely familiar with the matter and said he cant comment at this time. Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth could not be reached for comment. Kenosha County deeply feels the loss of Corrections Corporal Chris Basina, a long-time and respected employee, and we offer our condolences to his family and loved ones who are understandably grieving, Kenosha Corporation Counsel Joseph Cardamone III said in an emailed statement. Cardamone said there has not yet been a final determination on whether the death was in the line of duty. The county was only recently served with a notice of circumstances, generally a step taken prior to the filing of a claim, Cardamone said. The notice will be reviewed under the appropriate process so that in the event a claim is filed, it can be appropriately and fairly evaluated and addressed. In response to a question about whether details into the investigation were provided to the infectious disease expert who could help determine cause, Cardamone replied: It is my understanding that the countys third-party workers compensation administrator provided all relevant and available information to medical experts evaluating this case. Kenosha County Supervisor Zach Rodriguez has drafted a resolution to recognize Basinas death as in the line of duty. More than 100 student teachers signed early contracts Thursday that signaled their intent to join the Madison School District as full-time staff once they complete their degrees. The inaugural signing event took place as Madison and school districts across the state are being pushed to the brink of a crisis due to extreme staffing difficulties brought on by COVID-19. Madison School District officials hope the new event, which they plan to continue each year, will help bolster the workforce after it was decimated by the pandemic. The number of emergency licenses issued to staff members across the state nearly tripled from 1,126 in the 2012-13 school year to 3,016 in the 2019-20 school year, and then increased another 30% to 3,942 last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. An emergency license allows a teacher or staff member to work outside of the subject or grade level in which they were previously licensed to teach in an effort to fill a vacancy. The student teachers most of whom attend college at UW-Madison, with some from Edgewood College, UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Whitewater, University of Chicago, University of Kentucky and University of Minnesota will be given another contract to sign with their school assignment once they complete their graduation requirements and an interview process with the district. For the past two years weve been going through the pandemic, this has been dubbed as the Great Resignation era, Superintendent Carlton Jenkins said. Faced with the present and looming staffing crisis, the district administrative team shifted its focus to retaining current student teachers to help fill vacancies. As a student teacher, they already know our mission, they know our vision and our children, he said. This is just a part of it, its an event it isnt the whole journey, its just the start. Terriun Green, a current student teacher at East High School who also graduated from the school before going to college, said he hopes to be assigned to the school to teach history and social studies the two subjects hes majoring in at UW-Stevens Point. Its been really cool to come back and see all of my old teachers, he said. Im pretty hyped to get in the classroom. ... High school students are fun to teach because you can really mold them into adults. The Madison School District currently has 85 unfilled teacher positions, a number that could increase ahead of the 2022-23 school year depending on retirements, resignations and staffing assignments at each building. Mike Jones, president of local teachers union Madison Teachers Inc., said he expects the number of resignations at the end of the 2021-22 school year to be much higher than in previous years due to pandemic-related burnout among staff members. At the start of January, 36 out of the districts 52 schools experienced an absence rate of at least six staff members each day due to illness or child care needs, which caused staff to give up class preparation time to help cover teacher absences. Nationally, the ratio of hires to job openings in the education sector has reached new lows as the 2021-22 school year started, and currently stands at 0.57 hires for every open position, according to the National Education Association. Jones expressed the unions support for the districts initiative to help curb the staffing crisis in Madisons schools, and a lot of the mentors and supervising teachers of the student teachers are MTI members. Theyre like, I have this talented, young student teacher, theres a position opening up, what if I could help them get in there? he said. This is how you not only sustain a workforce but grow it, when you respect and honor your employees. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. UW-Madison junior Jessica Melnik is unsettled by sexual assault victims waiting weeks or months for counseling services. Last October, for example, several students told her that a campus counselor wouldnt be able to see them until the spring semester. Melnik and others in a student group promoting sexual assault prevention are pushing for more of UW-Madisons resources to go toward counseling services that will reduce wait times and better serve victims. They argue in a letter delivered to administrators last month that the universitys victim services are underfunded and understaffed compared with other Big Ten schools. The student group known as PAVE, which stands for Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment, points to Michigan State University as an example of what UW-Madison could aspire to in serving victims. MSUs Center for Survivors includes 23 employees, a 24-hour hotline and an online crisis chat function. At UW-Madison, victims may turn to Survivor Services, a unit within University Health Services, or UHS, that is staffed by roughly a dozen employees, according to UHS mental health director Sarah Nolan. Some of the staff split their work responsibilities between Survivor Services and other areas of UHS. Its not enough, Melnik said. More than a quarter of UW-Madisons roughly 15,000 undergraduate women who participated in national surveys in 2015 and 2019 said they had experienced some form of nonconsensual sexual contact since entering college, though most of them dont report it or seek out campus resources. PAVEs campaign comes a year after UW-Madison saw fewer reports of sexual misconduct last year, likely because there were fewer students on campus in 2020-21 due to COVID-19, according to a first-of-its-kind UW-Madison report intended to increase awareness and transparency about how the university responds to complaints. At the same time, campus counseling services have been in much higher demand. On top of that, universities were forced to pivot in the way they provided mental health services. More staff UHS recently beefed up staffing based on clinical demand, Nolan said. Two of Survivor Services four full-time counselors started in December. UW-Madison also hired its first victims advocates last year. The advocates, one of whom is full time and another who is part time, assisted 44 students last semester in securing academic or workplace accommodations, accompanying them to legal appointments and connecting them to resources. Advocacy appointments are available on a same-day or next-day basis. Students reaching out for a mental health appointment with Survivor Services typically have had an initial appointment, where someone assesses their needs and refers them for specific services, within a week, Nolan said. Students are set up with individual counseling within a week or two after the first meeting. A victims account UW-Madisons timeline for counseling services doesnt square with what Melnik hears, or what one victim contacted independently of Melnik said she experienced last year. The students struggle began in December 2020, the same month the student testified in court for a restraining order against her abuser. She learned the UHS therapist she had been seeing had left the university. The student whom the Wisconsin State Journal is not identifying because it does not name victims of sexual assault without their consent had a couple of sessions last spring semester with someone enrolled in the universitys counseling psychology training clinic. It was better than nothing, she said, but the psychologist-in-training wasnt too helpful. A few weeks before the fall 2021 semester started, the student tried Survivor Services again. It took about a month but the student landed a September appointment where the employee, according to the students account, suggested she seek care outside of the campus setting. I think her reasoning was that by seeing someone in the community, I could have access to someone even after I graduated, the student recalled, noting she had several semesters left so post-graduation care was not a pressing concern for her. But I also got the sense that UHS was just overwhelmed and they were trying to encourage as many people as they could to seek care outside the university. The employee offered to help find a provider who would accept the students health insurance. But the student said her subsequent calls and emails to the employee went unanswered. PAVE has sometimes filled the gap by connecting victims to a community provider that would accept their insurance, Melnik said. The victim said she called Survivor Services four more times in October to schedule an appointment and finally landed a date. But then she got a cancellation call. The counselor wasnt available and UHS rescheduled, she said. Then it was canceled again and rescheduled for a second time. In November, when the appointment assessing the students needs took place, the student said she was told Survivor Services was full and UHS would reach out when a spot opens up. The barriers survivors face in accessing mental health care are unacceptable, she said. Survivors who need services are pushed from person to person only to be told months later they cannot receive services. Highest priority Nolan said providing mental health for all students, especially victims, is among the highest of priorities for UHS. It is, of course, troubling to hear about any student not getting their needs met, especially when a student is reaching out for support in a time of distress, she said in a statement. Additional staff hired last semester has led to reduced wait times and increased availability of providers, Nolan said. She encouraged students to continue reaching out to UHS for support. The student said she finally saw a counselor in the last week of January 2022. She has been attending appointments every two weeks since then. Need help? For individual counseling appointments through University Health Services, email survivorservices@uhs.wisc.edu or call 608-265-5600 (select option 2) to book an appointment. For help, call the Rape Crisis Center: 608-265-5600 extension 3, or 608-251-7273 after hours. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Russians love of country drives them to extreme sacrifice We double crossed Russia in 1990 on limiting NATO expansion east in exchange for Germany unification. And we fomented a revolt and a coup in 2014 to replace the Ukraine president as a prelude to continuing NATO expansion east. Mr. Putin had no intention of taking Crimea and eastern Ukraine before we deposed an elected president to push NATO east. President Barack Obama was as clueless about Russian history with invasions then as President Joe Biden is now. The apparatchiks that populate Washington are moving us toward a nuclear confrontation of our making. We were duped into massive expenditures of blood and treasure in Vietnam and multiple wars in the Middle East, all of which resulted in our defeat and retreat. Russia defeated the Mongols, Swedes, French and Germans when they invaded Mother Russia. PMr. utin will not accept another potential invader with NATO bases in Ukraine, 300 miles from Moscow. While Russians have had an intense disdain for their rulers, their love of country drives them to extreme sacrifice. This time around the results can be cataclysmic. Charles Campbell, Woodstock Advertisement Imagine Trumps Ukraine role if he were still president Lets just imagine for a moment that Mr. Trump and his devotees had succeeded in their attempt to overturn the election, and stop the steal. Thank God for Mike Pence! The U.S. wouldve ultimately become Vladimir Putins allies and wouldve been partners in Mr. Putins bid for world domination. That is, until Mr. Putin didnt need us anymore. After all, Mr. Trump was, and probably remains, one of Mr. Putins biggest fans, and he remains in Mr. Putins pocket. There would have been U.S. troops right now in Ukraine helping the Russians to take it over. Eventually, this madness wouldve spread to Europe and the rest of the world. That would be, until China wouldve stopped the aggression once and for all for all. If that happened, there would be no more free press. For that matter, there would be no human beings left on earth to read any newspaper. All of you U.S. Senate and all other conservative Donald Trump stooges in states and cities, its time to open your eyes and see whom you have pledged your loyalties to. Do you think the U.S., led by King Donald wouldve helped to stop the steal in Ukraine? I dont think so. Do we really want Donald Trump back in office in 2024? All of his stooges are paving the road with their voter suppression tactics and are continuing to keep the big lie alive as we speak. Advertisement George Hammerbacher, Baltimore Should have shown our muscle When Ukraine falls, how many crocodile tears will we cry? What defense will we try to claim when our inaction fails to protect another democracy? When will we (USA) realize the red line has been breached and words have used up their punch? The other NATO members certainly bear a responsibility. But, USA is the top dog and should have shown our muscle. Leon Bridges, Baltimore Russia learned an important lesson in 2014 In 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea. The United States and Europe issued sanctions against Russia. They failed to stop Vladimir Putin. Our punitive actions had no effect. Russia learned an important lesson. Well give speeches, issue sanctions and hold summits but nothing will be changed. So whats to stop Russia now? Further, whats to stop China from taking Taiwan and Hong Kong? What will we do? Will we issue more sanctions? But then again, Ukraine is not a member of NATO, nor is Taiwan or Hong Kong. Hence, our obligation isnt declared. But, what happens when Belarus (a proxy of Russia) goes into Latvia or Lithuania, both NATO countries? Then what? Thats when the " rubber hits the road in this " Brave New World. What will the Brave New World look like in 10 years? Jim Mundy, Ellicott City Who will the modern Republican Party stand with? Having read some world history beyond that taught in school, I am not surprised that Vladimir Putin, seeking to go down in Russian history books as a great leader of the Fatherland, has invaded Ukraine. Even going so far as to rattle his nuclear weapons saber, which places the world, including Russia, in mortal danger. Historically Russia has always sought to dominate its Eastern European neighbors. So I am not surprised. What I will be interested in seeing is the reaction of the modern conservative Republican Party to this act of aggression. Since the aftermath of World War II, the Republican Party has blamed Franklin Roosevelt for having ceded to Communist Russia and Stalin the Eastern European countries after that war. In fact, William Buckley, one of, if not the founder of the modern conservative Republican Party, consistently made this claim against Roosevelt and the Democrats. It was one of the tenets on which the modern Republican Party was founded. So here we are today. Russia has invaded its Eastern native Ukraine, our former Republican President is Mr. Putins best American friend and champion, and the money hungry Fox News owner Rupert Murdock and his likeminded news anchors are championing Mr. Putins strong actions. Advertisement So who will the modern Republican Party stand with? The World, or the nuclear saber rattling invader of Ukraine? I will be waiting to see which way they decide to twist. Joseph Costa, Baltimore Align with Russian people and overthrow Putin As we watch Putin invade Ukraine, it seems to me we must all (except possibly Donald Trump) be aware by now that this man is the epitome of evil and must be permanently removed from power, or just permanently removed, period. But I think we are largely ignoring our greatest weapon to assist us in this goal: the Russian people. It is inconceivable to think that the average Russian citizen would support Mr. Putins actions, knowing that the consequences could escalate into a war that could threaten to annihilate all civilization on the Earth. Though I have seen one TV news piece showing Russians on the streets of Moscow in vocal opposition, as well as a couple of newspaper columnists writing the same, I believe President Biden and all our NATO allies need to appeal directly to all Russian citizens to rise up and overthrow Mr. Putin, and offer them our unconditional aid in doing so, including the use of American military forces. Because this is what it will come to, when Mr. Putin does not stop with Ukraine. Yes, including the blood of our own young Americans, in the defense of the principles of a free society that we all hold dear. And they can have my 64-year old blood as well, if I can be of any use. Advertisement Back in the 1970s, while the Cold War still dragged on and the threat of nuclear war with the USSR still hung over us daily, I had the great fortune to meet and socialize with a group of Russians. They were some of the nicest, most fun-loving folks I have ever met. Indeed, this impression persists in me nearly 50 years later, to this day. Especially when I was born and raised in a culture to hate those Commies. That day with the Russians taught me not to judge by what you hear about a person, but rather by what is in their hearts. Cmon President Biden, lets make the Russian people are allies, and sweep Mr. Putin out with the rest of the garbage! Robert Mills, Millers Island Madison and Dane County will get nearly $21 million to invest in local initiatives to boost disadvantaged communities, including the final capital funding piece for the long-sought Madison Public Market on the East Side, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced Thursday. The funding is part of Evers program that uses federal COVID-19 relief funds. The city is getting $6 million, including $2 million for the Bayview Foundations $52 million redevelopment of its diverse, international, low-income community at the corner of West Washington Avenue and Regent Street Downtown, and $4 million for the $16.5 million Public Market to be forged from a city-owned building at 200 N. First St. The county will receive $14.8 million, including $5 million toward supporting entrepreneurs through the Urban League of Greater Madisons $25.5 million Black Business Hub that will rise at the Village on Park mall on the South Side; $5 million toward expanding economic and other opportunities through the coming $38 million Center for Black Excellence and Culture on the South Side; and $4.8 million to help Centro Hispano build new facilities on the South Side. With this funding, we will be breaking ground this year in November, said Madison Public Market Foundation board member Anne Reynolds. Theres been so much uncertainty over the past two years, but now we finally have some certainty. Its really exciting. The markets financing piece is now locked in, said Matt Wachter, city planning, community and economic director. The city can now pursue a construction contract, contracts with the operator, the Madison Public Market Foundation, and seek other final approvals for the project, he said. Bayviews redevelopment includes a four-story, 48-unit apartment building now under construction, a three-story, 25-unit apartment building and eight, two-story townhouses with a total of 57 units on 4.6 acres. The idea is to move current residents into new buildings as theyre built and then demolish the older ones. On Wednesday, Bayview announced it has exceeded its $4 million capital campaign goal and will extend the campaign in the hope of raising an additional $2 million to increase the long-term stability of programs and operations essential to the organizations continued success and to offset the significant increase in construction costs due to the pandemic. The capital campaign will continue, foundation executive director Alexis London said. A portion of the new state grant will go toward that, and a portion will go to housing costs that are not a part of the capital campaign, she said. Bayview residents were significantly affected by the pandemic; these funds will strengthen our community for years to come, she said. With the $5 million in state money, The Center for Black Excellence and Culture has now raised $17 million of its $36 million capital campaign in six months, said the Rev. Alex Gee, the centers CEO and founder. The Center is a first-of-its-kind Black-inspired, Black-designed and Black-led multimillion-dollar project in Madison and is poised to open its doors at 655 W. Badger Road in late 2023. The building will be a three-level, 65,000-square-foot destination for cultural, health, business, arts and community development. The Urban League has now raised nearly $17.5 million for its $25.5 million Black Business Hub, and with Thursdays announcement the nonprofit now has sufficient funds to begin construction in the next week or two, with fundraising to continue, officials said. Centro Hispano, now located at 810 Badger Road, is looking to create new facilities that can better support its mission, Wachter said. The city has already purchased a property at 833 Hughes Place to combine with city-owned properties at 837 Hughes Place and 2405 Cypress Way to help create new facilities on the block, he said. Targeted aid The grants come from $250 million Evers allocated to local municipalities, counties, tribes and nonprofit health care organizations for projects meant to boost disadvantaged communities. I am glad to award these funds to help local leaders and community-based organizations working together to continue to serve and bolster their neighborhoods, ensuring they dont just recover but thrive, Evers said Thursday. Recently, Evers announced $9 million for Beloit, $15 million for Milwaukee and $10.5 million for Milwaukee County. In total, $200 million is for a Neighborhood Investment Fund grant program and another $50 million is for a Healthcare Infrastructure Capital Investment grant program. Both programs are using money from federal COVID-19 funds, over which Evers has sole discretion as governor a point of contention in the Legislature. Currently, the governor has sole discretion over how federal funds are spent, but there has been a growing push among legislative Republicans seeking more control over how the executive office doles out federal funds primarily in recent years as the federal government pumped billions of stimulus dollars into the state to help address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, the Republican-led Assembly approved a constitutional amendment, SJR 84/AJR 112, to give lawmakers final say over how the governor spends federal funds allocated to the state. Evers would not be able to veto that proposal. Evers has vetoed several efforts in recent years by Republicans seeking control over federal funds. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Republican-controlled Legislature sent a package of election and voting bills to Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday in an attempt to mollify backers of former President Donald Trump who falsely believe the 2020 election was stolen from him. Also, after meeting in closed caucus for several hours, Republicans scheduled a late-night vote to authorize $42 million to fund a new juvenile correctional facility in Milwaukee County to replace the states embattled Lincoln Hills facility near Irma. The bill doesnt specify a location but would make construction contingent upon approval from local government officials in whatever jurisdiction ultimately hosts the facility. The existing facility in Irma would be converted to an adult institution. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, announced that Republicans agreed to take up an amended bill that unanimously passed the Senate earlier this week. Republicans also brought forth an amended bill to give election clerks whistleblower protections to also allow election officials to begin counting absentee ballots the day before Election Day, a measure local clerks have pushed for to help address the massive number of ballots that must be counted after polls close. Democratic lawmakers accused Republicans of inserting poison pills into the measures, and both were slated to pass along party lines as of Thursdays print deadline. Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said the governor would need to review the late-night proposals before commenting. Republicans argue the fast-tracked bills are in response to deficiencies identified by a nonpartisan audit and a review by a conservative group. But the proposals go far beyond those recommendations and would change how votes are cast and elections are run in the battleground state. Thats why Evers, a Democrat facing reelection in November, has all but promised to veto them all. Republicans dont have the votes to override his vetoes. Any bill that makes it more difficult to vote I will veto, Evers said Thursday. If those bills dont fit that category, then Ill look at them. The Senate passed the bills on Tuesday, and the Assembly sent them to Evers on what will likely be its last day in session this year. Call for confidence Vos insisted the bills were about addressing identified problems with the 2020 election and attempting to guarantee that people have confidence in the election and the results that happen going forward. We are focused on the future, Vos said. We are not looking backward about decertifying, or overturning, or doing anything with 2020. All of the Republican-authored bills were introduced after President Joe Bidens narrow victory of nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin in 2020. Trump and his backers falsely claimed the election was stolen, even though lawsuits, recounts and multiple reviews found no evidence to back up allegations of widespread fraud. Republicans are still obsessing over and relitigating the 2020 general election, said Democratic Rep. Mark Spreitzer, prior to debate. Instead of putting forward solutions ... Republicans just want to be punitive and make it harder for people to vote. He accused Republicans of continuing to try to placate a far-right extremist base. The Wisconsin proposals are part of a nationwide Republican effort to reshape elections following Bidens victory over Trump. For the voters Republicans are attempting to get around Evers with three constitutional amendments that he cant veto. All of the amendments would need to be approved in a statewide vote no sooner than 2023. One amendment the Assembly passed Thursday would prohibit the use of private grants or donations to help run elections in the state. That addresses a Republican complaint about grant money that came to Wisconsin in 2020 from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which is funded by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. The states five largest cities received $8.8 million, but more than 200 communities in Wisconsin received funding as part of $350 million given out nationally. Another amendment passed by the Assembly would say only U.S. citizens can vote. The state Constitution currently doesnt allow noncitizens to vote, and Republicans say theyre trying to make it clear that it cant happen. Federal law already requires U.S. citizenship to vote in national elections. The third amendment would put the states voter ID requirement into the Constitution. More details The bills passed on Thursday would: Prohibit anyone other than the voter, an immediate family member or a legal guardian from returning an absentee ballot. Bar election clerks from filling in any missing information on a voters absentee ballot envelope. Require voters to provide a copy of a photo ID every time they request an absentee ballot. Under current law, voters only have to show an ID the first time they request an absentee ballot. Give the Legislature control over guidance delivered to local election clerks by the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. Limit who can identify as indefinitely confined, a status that allows for absentee ballots for those who cant get to the polls due to age, illness or disability. Require the state to conduct checks to ensure that registered voters are United States citizens. Jail for shoplifters Judges would be required to sentence habitual shoplifters to at least 180 days behind bars under a Republican-authored bill the state Assembly sent to Evers on Thursday. Under current Wisconsin law, the severity of a shoplifting offense varies from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on the value of the merchandise stolen. Punishments vary from nine months to 10 years behind bars. Under the bill, judges would be required to sentence anyone convicted of a third or subsequent shoplifting offense within five years to at least 180 days behind bars. The bills chief sponsors, Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, and Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, argue mandatory sentences would deter shoplifters and send a strong anti-crime message. Opponents, including the state public defenders office and the Wisconsin Counties Association, counter that the legislation would do little to deter crime and lead to overcrowded jails. The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday. Term limits in DC Republicans on Thursday also approved calling a convention of the states to amend the U.S. Constitution with congressional term limits. The Assembly passed a resolution calling for the convention. The Senate passed the resolution early Wednesday. The resolution does not say how many terms U.S. representatives and senators should be allowed to serve. Wisconsin is now the fifth state to call for such a convention. It takes 34 states to force such a proceeding. Only Florida, Alabama, Missouri and West Virginia have passed a resolution calling for a convention on a term limit amendment, according to U.S. Term Limits. Wisconsin is one of 17 states that has passed a broader resolution calling a for a separate convention of states to amend the Constitution with term limits, a balanced budget requirement and limitations on the governors powers. State Journal reporter Mitchell Schmidt and the Associated Press contributed to this report. The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider whether a constitutional amendment that sought to enhance the rights of crime victims in Wisconsin was properly put before voters before it was enacted last year. The case focuses on a measure known as Marsys Law, which was promoted by a California billionaire and supported by crime victims who say it makes their rights just as strong as those of the accused by enshrining them in the Wisconsin Constitution. In May 2019, the measure was approved in largely bipartisan votes by the Legislature and put on the April 2020 ballot. The constitutional amendment was passed by about 75% of Wisconsin voters but later challenged by the Wisconsin Justice Initiative, along with attorneys Jacqueline Boynton, Jerome Buting and Craig Johnson and now-retired state Sen. Fred Risser, who disputed the validity of the question put to voters. A Dane County judge ruled in late 2020 that the statewide ballot question was improperly worded when it was presented to voters and that it inadequately spelled out the effect the amendment would have on the rights of people accused of crimes. Circuit Judge Frank Remington ruled in the case brought by the Wisconsin Justice Initiative that had the question been broken into two parts one addressing greater rights for victims and another on the diminishment of the rights of the accused voters would have been better informed about the overall impact. About a year later, a three-judge panel of the state District 3 Court of Appeals asked that the state Supreme Court bypass the appeals court and decide the case, citing its statewide importance, the novelty of some of the questions the appeal asks and the lack of significant legal authority on other questions. If Marsys Law is found to be invalid, the panel wrote, the Legislature might want to resubmit a proper ballot question to voters. It also said resolving the issues presented would be in the best interests of the proponents of Marsys Law. The law was named after Marsalee (Marsy) Ann Nicholas, a University of California Santa Barbara student who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. Just a week after the murder, Marsys mother, Marcella, was confronted by her daughters murderer at a local market. She hadnt been told he had been released on bail just days after Marsys murder. Henry Nicholas III is Marsys brother, and the billionaire founder of the Marsys Law national campaign. Supporters of Marsys Law say it simply gives alleged victims the same rights as those of the accused. Some rights for victims are already delineated in the Wisconsin Constitution, and others are outlined in statute, which carries less weight. Opponents say it could undermine the rights of defendants, who are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Ultimately, Marsys Law added 16 new rights for victims while eliminating reference to a fair trial for the defendant. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. With COVID-19 infections abating, state officials announced Friday that employees and visitors would no longer be required to wear face coverings inside some state buildings beginning Tuesday, and that the weekly COVID-19 testing program for unvaccinated executive branch employees will end March 13. Workers in the departments of Corrections, Health Services and Veterans Affairs, and those working in congregate facilities, such as prisons, will be required to wear masks until at least April 1, according to updated guidance issued Friday by the state Division of Personnel Management. Quarantine rules for those who test positive for COVID-19 are not changing. While the Department of Corrections will continue requiring masks until at least April, the department announced Friday the recent drop in COVID-19 cases prompted it to resume in-person visitation for inmates. Dane County on Feb. 14 announced that its indoor mask mandate would be allowed to expire at the end of this month, while the Madison School District on Wednesday said its requirement would remain until at least the end of spring break, or April 1, but that beginning Tuesday, students and staff could go unmasked outdoors on school property. The majority of other school districts in Dane County will loosen or drop their requirements entirely as of Tuesday. UW-Madison announced on Feb. 16 that it will lift its mask mandate when spring break starts March 12. The seven-day average for positive COVID-19 tests in Dane County has dropped from as high as 22% in early January to less than 5% as of Thursday, according to Public Health Madison and Dane County. Hospitalizations due to the virus are also down 19% over the last two weeks, while nearly 80% of residents have been vaccinated and more than 69% of those older than 12 have had their boosters. In guidance updated Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leaves the decision on whether to wear a mask in Dane County up to your personal preference, informed by your personal level of risk. Under a new three-tier risk-rating system, which the agency calls Covid-19 Community Levels, Dane is considered low risk, the least dangerous. The system is based on hospital bed use and admissions and number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. Its a significant shift from the CDCs previous mask guidance, issued Jan. 21. Under that guidance and its method for calculating risk, Dane County was deemed to be at a high level of risk as late as early Friday afternoon, and masks indoors were recommended. In announcing the partial end of the state buildings mask mandate, the Division of Personnel Management noted that positive COVID-19 tests and test rates are at levels not seen since last summer, and that more than 77% of Wisconsin state employees have completed their COVID-19 vaccination series. State quarantine rules will continue to require that anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 stay home for five days. They can return to work after that if they are symptom-free but must wear masks around others for an additional five days. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Roughly 150 Wisconsin National Guard troops are currently stationed in eastern Europe but have not received any orders to mobilize as a result of Russias invasion of Ukraine. The soldiers, who are from the 107th, a company based in Sparta and Viroqua, have been in eastern Europe since May, when they were deployed to support NATO as part of a scheduled rotation, Wisconsin National Guard spokesperson Joe Trovato said. President Joe Biden has said he will not send U.S. soldiers to help support Ukraine as the country defends itself during a full-scale attack from Russia. The Biden administration is considering moving U.S. troops already in Europe further east to support allies. Trovato said the Wisconsin soldiers were originally spread out between Romania, Lithuania and Poland but are now mostly consolidated in Poland. The group is expected to return sometime in the spring. To protect operational security we cannot discuss exact timelines or exact troop locations, Trovato said. The guard said the mission is the first overseas deployment for the 107th since the Gulf War in 1990. For the last nearly two years, the 107th has been largely focused on supporting the states pandemic response and local law enforcements response to civil unrest. Gov. Tony Evers said in May that the goal of their deployment was to strengthen our military partnerships and ensure that we maintain all the liberties and freedoms we enjoy as Americans. EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct that the mission is the first overseas deployment for the 107th since the Gulf War in 1990. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Ukrainian immigrants living in the Madison area are in a state of shock and worry over Russias invasion of their homeland, concerned about the fate of their families and country. Its absolutely surreal, said Ruslana Westerlund, who was born in Ukraine and moved to the U.S. in 1995 at age 22. I cant process it yet. Westerlund, of Cross Plains, counted nearly 30 family members back home whose lives have been on edge for the past several weeks. Their fears escalated Thursday morning, when Russia bombed several cities, including the capital, Kyiv, where Westerlunds nephew lives. He managed to escape to a nearby village and is staying in a shelter there for now, she said. Westerlund has also been in touch with her father, who heard rockets flying over his head that struck just over an hour away from his home in central Ukraine. Hes struggled to secure basic necessities, such as toilet paper, she said. The line at gas stations is five hours long and the Ukrainian government is rationing how much gas can be pumped. Westerlund encouraged Americans to call their U.S. senators and request aid for Ukraine and sanctions for Russia. She described the past 24 hours as an evening of crying, followed by a morning of crying. This is a nightmare, she said. This is a nightmare. But Westerlund also wants the world to know how independent and resilient her home country is, surviving centuries of invasion by different forces and the latest efforts by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian democracy has been a threat to Putin for many years, she said. So now hes sending in peacekeepers thats his word. His war is fought with lies. Thousands of Russians have protested their presidents decision to go to war. UW-Madison postdoctoral student Yulia Khalikova, who is from Russia, joined them from afar. She was one of about a dozen on campus Thursday chanting Save Ukraine and Stop Putin outside of Bascom Hall. I just thought, what can I do? she asked. If I were in Russia, I would go to the streets. Here, theres no Russian embassy, but at least its some sort of gesture. Anna Popovych, 37, also participated in the modest protest. She grew up in the Kyiv area before coming to UW-Madison for graduate studies in sociology. Popovych said her family is relatively safe because they are visiting others in Belarus. But she was concerned by her conversations with friends Wednesday evening, some of whom said they are hiding out in bomb shelters or subways and others who are evacuating to the western part of Ukraine. Its unbelievable, she said. I did not believe this would happen. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Several cities in Dane County and the surrounding area have declared snow emergencies ahead of a winter storm that is expected to bring at least a few inches of snow to most of Wisconsin. The cities of Sun Prairie, Beloit, Stoughton and Lodi have declared snow emergencies so far. The declarations affect parking along city streets. From 8 p.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday in Sun Prairie, there will be no parking on city streets. Violators can be ticketed $50 and might get their cars towed. Cars can be parked in city parking lots, park parking lots and on Merchant Square, Sun Prairie said. In Stoughton, residents will need to follow even/odd parking rules between midnight and 8 a.m. For example, Thursday night, residents should park on the side of the street with odd-numbered addresses because it will be Feb. 25 at midnight. In Lodi, vehicles cannot be parked on any public street or alley from midnight to 7 a.m. or until the snow removal operations have been completed, the city said. The emergency is in effect until 5 p.m. Friday for Lodi. Beloit's snow emergency will be effect from 3 p.m. Thursday to 3 p.m. Friday, the city said. Vehicles are not allowed to park or stand on city streets during that time. Residents need to move their cars from the streets to a driveway or an approved off-site parking lot, Beloit said. Those lots can be found online at go.madison.com/beloit-snow. At least 2 to 3 inches of light, fluffy snow will fall on most locations, with 4 inches or more close to the lake and 5 to 6 inches in some spots due to lake enhancement, meteorologist Chris Stumpf said. Expected snow totals include 3 to 5 inches for Kenosha and Milwaukee, 3 to 4 inches for Sheboygan, 2 to 3 inches on a line from Platteville through Madison to Green Bay, 1 to 2 inches in La Crosse and Wausau, and 2 to 3 inches in Eau Claire. State Journal reporter Jeff Richgels contributed to this report. Local Weather Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BOISE The House on Thursday approved legislation that would bar Idaho officials from releasing where they obtain the drugs used in lethal injection executions. The House voted 38-30 to send the measure to the Senate. The Idaho Department of Correction has long tried to keep details about where and how it obtains lethal injection drugs secret, but the bill from Caldwell Republican Rep. Greg Chaney would make that secrecy part of state law. Chaney said the legislation is needed because death penalty critics use the information to publicly shame companies that provide the drugs. He said some drug suppliers have refused to sell to Idaho without a promise of anonymity. Chaney said courts have upheld Idahos death penalty, but a new strategy has emerged in fighting the death penalty, and that is to name and shame the providers and the participants in that process. He said not keeping such information secret would essentially end the death penalty in Idaho. He said the proposed law allows disclosing the qualifications of those involved in carrying out executions, but not their identity. He said the Idaho Constitution allows lethal injection, the current method, and a firing squad as appropriate means of execution. Firing squad, in theory, could be brought back, but our current protocols are the result of years and years of litigation on both state and federal questions, and we are in a place where our procedures are absolutely defensible, he said. The National Conference of State Legislatures said 27 states, the federal government and the U.S. military authorize capital punishment. The group on its website says that 22 states have expanded confidentiality laws to make secret some aspects of executions. That includes sources of drugs and identities of participants. Increasing difficulty in sourcing execution drugs has led states to enact or expand confidentiality laws specific to capital punishment, the group says on its website. Democratic Rep. Colin Nash argued against the bill. The government shouldnt have the right to kill people using secret means, methods, practices and chemicals, he said. To do that in a constitutional manner, I just dont trust them to do that. The suitability and origin of lethal injection drugs are frequently called into legal question when states are planning executions. Ineffective drugs can lead to botched executions, violating the U.S. Constitutions Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Idahos prison officials have long said they fear they wont be able to obtain drugs for future executions if their suppliers believe they could be exposed. Major pharmaceutical companies have refused to sell medications to states if they think they will be used for executions, forcing some states to look for more novel sources, including compounding pharmacies and drugs from other countries such as India. In 2020, the Idaho Supreme Court ordered the state Department of Correction to turn over information about where officials obtained lethal injection drugs used in recent executions in response to a public records lawsuit. In that case, the state had to release the identity of a drug supplier who was no longer in the business of supplying the drugs. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 President Joe Biden, with Vice President Kamala Harris, signs an executive order reopening enrollment in the federal Affordable Care Act last year. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images). (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) Dont ignore Affordable Care Acts lifesaving benefits I wondered a few things while reading Nina Owcharenko Schaefers recent commentary (How the left undermines employer-base health coverage, Feb. 18). Does she have a plan for health coverage for the more than 25 million Americans who work part-time? Certainly some of those folks want to work full-time, but their employer has limited their hours to avoid providing health care coverage. Advertisement Has she ever worked at a company where health care coverage was reduced, while copays and deductibles increased? Has she talked to a person just starting in his or her career who is frustrated by the lack of full-time positions in a chosen field and is working two or three part-time gigs to make ends meet? That same person may have lost a good-paying full-time job thanks to a merger or executive decision that its time for the company to do more with less. Advertisement I give The Heritage Foundation senior researcher credit for pointing out some flaws with employer-based health care. She mentioned these can include advantages for highly compensated employees and an inability to accommodate a changing labor force. Those are two mighty big issues in a nation where income disparity keeps expanding and the labor market is undergoing huge changes thanks to a two-year pandemic. Does the Affordable Care Act have its flaws? Yes. But I have grown tired of people who continually bash it while neglecting the benefits it provides to millions of Americans who otherwise would be without insurance. Greg Pearson, Perry Hall Single-payer health coverage is the key to cutting health care costs Nina Owcharenko Schaefer praises employers who enroll their employees in high deductible health insurance plans combined with individual savings accounts, noting that such plans have grown from 3% in 2006 to 40% in 2021. (How the left undermines employer-base health coverage, Feb. 18.) She claims that these plans are among the innovative strategies being tested by employers to control costs and improve outcomes. High deductible plans are clearly one way to control employers costs, since these plans generally come with lower premiums. But the costs are passed along to employees, who must meet the high deductibles every year generally thousands of dollars out of pocket before they can begin to receive any benefits. High deductible plans can be financially devastating when someone is faced with a health crisis. High deductible plans in no way improve health outcomes, since they are barriers to care. Adults in poor health go without health care due to cost barriers at twice the rate of healthier adults, and one of the main barriers for people with insurance is a high deductible. The key to reducing health care costs is for the U.S. to move to a Medicare for All, single-payer system. And Medicare for All would improve outcomes by providing comprehensive health care coverage to everyone living in the U.S. In the U.S. we have hundreds of private insurance companies, Medicaid programs that vary from state to state, and a complex mix of public and private Medicare plans, reimbursing doctors and hospitals for health care. Advertisement Instead of our multiple public and private payers, Medicare for All would be a single, public payer. A streamlined reimbursement program would reduce overhead, which comprises more than 20% of our total health care spending, and it would allow for more standardized price and rate setting, which would reduce costs and improve transparency. Instead of trying to reduce costs by leaving more and more people without insurance or with inadequate insurance, we can control health care costs by covering everyone, and streamlining reimbursement for health services through a single payer system. Medicare for All would be a win-win. Kristy Fogle and Jackie MacMillan The writers are, respectively, founder of the Maryland Progressive Healthcare Coalition and a volunteer there. Guilty of wanting to eliminate employer-based coverage As a supporter of Improved Medicare for All, I plead guilty to wanting to eliminate employer-based coverage (How the left undermines employer-based health coverage by Nina Owcharenko Schaefer). My preferred legislation would cover everyone, unleash creativity, save almost all individuals money and strengthen the doctor-patient relationship. Under Improved Medicare for All, everyone, regardless of age, income or employment status would be guaranteed all medically necessary services from cradle to grave. This pandemic has shown how millions of people can lose their health coverage when businesses close or downsize. Advertisement Uncoupling health insurance from a job unleashes entrepreneurial undertakings and promotes innovation. While Medicare pays less than 3% of its budget on administration, profit-driven insurance companies spend as much as 30%. Medicare for All would allow the government to negotiate drug prices. Savings from these items, coupled with modest progressive new taxes, would fund the program. Premiums, deductibles and co-payments would be eliminated and Physicians for a National Health Program estimates that 95% of all households would save money. Medicare for All allows patients and their medical providers to make decisions free of insurance company interference or network limitations. Patients can choose their doctors, including keeping their present caregivers. Since paperwork for billing would be greatly reduced, doctors could spend more time practicing their profession. Since at least 1998, the percentage of people covered by employer-based health insurance has been steadily declining. Its time for Medicare for All. Richard Bruning, Baltimore BOISE Idahos Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Risch on Thursday said he wants crippling sanctions against Russia and urged Congress to take up a bill to impose massive economic consequences. Risch, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, in a Thursday statement outlined details to a congressional bill he co-sponsored to impose sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he called a madman. The bill which is co-sponsored by 38 other Republicans, including Idaho U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo is designed to provide the critical support Ukraine needs to defend itself and deter Russian aggression today, while imposing real costs on the Kremlin for its ongoing and potential future aggression against Ukraine. Diplomacy has failed, Risch said. Those of us who called for more definitive action from the Biden administration and our allies have unfortunately been proven right. We cannot afford to wait any longer, we must take more decisive action. What sanctions on Russia would Rischs bill impose? Rischs congressional bill was first proposed earlier this month, with the intent of imposing costs on Russia for potential future aggression on Ukraine. Rischs public statement has now shifted to Putins declaration of war against the country. The bill would impose economic sanctions on Russia, including sanctioning major Russian banks and imposing secondary sanctions on banks that continue business with sanctioned Russian banks. The bill would also call for providing $500 million in foreign military aid to Ukraine, including providing $100 million for emergency lethal assistance and doubling the funding for U.S. military exercises in Europe. As of 2018, the United States spent about $685 million on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) common funding, which includes the costs of some operations, training and exercises, joint facilities, NATO headquarters and staff. The people of Ukraine have prepared to take up arms and defend their sovereignty, and they should know the United States and freedom-loving people around the world stand with them, Risch said in a statement on Wednesday. We support them and the rightful Ukrainian government that supports the aspirations of the Ukrainian people. In support of Ukraine, the bill also intends to expedite congressional review of arms sales and security assistance to Ukraine and create a resistance fund to help Ukraine resist any further attempts from Russia to occupy further Ukrainian territory. President Biden announces plans for major sanctions Democratic President Joe Biden on Thursday afternoon, announced intentions to impose major sanctions on Russia that will have long-term impacts. We have purposefully designed these sanctions to maximize the long-term impact on Russia and to minimize the impact on the United States and our allies, Biden said in his address. Biden directed an additional 7,000 troops to deploy in Germany to help assist bolster NATOs defense as Russia continues its invasion into Ukraine. Crapo, who co-sponsored Rischs bill, also released a statement on Twitter on Thursday afternoon. Russias premeditated attacks on Ukraine must swiftly be met with crushing economic sanctions, and the U.S. should not put American troops on the ground, Crapos statement reads. The U.S. must continue to provide the lethal militaristic tools and technology necessary for Ukraine to defend itself against this barbaric regime. My prayers for safety remain with the innocent people of Ukraine. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A week after Lemuel Thedford Spencer and Ruth Catherine Wallace met, they eloped. That was 70 years and two children, four grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren ago. The Bassett couples family shared the fabled story of that whirlwind romance at a dinner party celebrating their anniversary. Thedford Spencer and the former Ruth Wallace met at County Line Church of God of Prophecy in Patrick Springs on Sunday, Feb. 10, 1952. They were introduced by his sister, Edna. He was in the Army and was on furlough. That Monday after church they went on their first date a double date with his youngest brother, Cecil, and Ruths close friend Garnett. They had their first solo date on Tuesday. Wednesday they attended church together, and he asked her to marry him that night. She said yes. Wallace was living with a Dougherty family in Patrick Springs. Spencer told her he would pick her up on Saturday at 5 p.m., and if she changed her mind, just dont come out of the house. He would wait just a few minutes, then turn around and leave. As he pulled up on Saturday, she came out the door with her shoes in her hand. It was cold and sleeting. They drove to South Carolina despite the sleet coming down so heavy that the windshield wipers froze up. The groom-to-be continued driving by hanging his head out the window. Thats determination. When they arrived in South Carolina, they had no clue where to go. They stopped at a grocery store to ask. A man came up to them and said, Yall are here to get married, arent you? He told them he knew the judge and that they were supposed to spend the night in South Carolina when getting married. They had not known about that rule, so they had not prepared for an overnight stay. The man told them that it was OK and that he would take care of matters for them. They all drove to see the judge. Their new acquaintance went inside, then came out, saying, hes ready for you. They had a double ceremony with another couple they did not know. When it was over, they returned the man to the store, never even having learned his name. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer still say he was angel put there just for them. The newlyweds returned to Virginia that night. They spent a little time together before Thedford had to return to Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was in Kentucky for a little over a week when he was notified he would be moved to Fort Lewis, Washington. Once he was in Washington for about a month, he sent for his bride. There was a problem with her ticket and flight, and she did not get there the night her husband was expecting her. She arrived in Washington the next day, but her luggage didnt it had been mixed up with the bag of someone else also named Spencer. Once the matter of the luggage was straightened out, someone with the airline helped her contact her husband. That flight out to be with him turned out to be the only time in her life she ever flew. They lived in Washington for a few months when he was notified in early November that he would be going overseas to serve in the Korean War. He had to get her home to Virginia before he was to deploy, but the couple only had $80 to do it on. They went to the grocery store, bought enough food for sandwiches to eat on the way and slept in their car. They made it to Virginia with a few dollars left. By that time Ruth was 3 months pregnant with their daughter Vickie. Vickie was around 14 months old when he returned from the war, finished with his time in the Army. Their other daughter, Brenda, came along about 9 months later. A cause to celebrate The Spencers family threw them a party on Feb. 19 at the Patrick Henry Volunteer Fire Department. It was attended by family and friends from County Line Church of God of Prophecy the same church where they met and still attend. Mr. Spencer has one sibling still living, said his granddaughter, Jennifer West Jones: Ilene Graham, who turned 96 on Monday. Jones is the daughter of Vickie West, who lives beside her parents in Bassett; Brenda, their second daughter, is now Brenda Stone of Raleigh, N.C. Mrs. Spencer also has one living sibling, Lewis Wallace of Alabama, Jones said. The Spencers niece Esther, daughter of Mr. Spencers sister Edna who introduced them, also came to the party. The Spencers have lived in Bassett for most of their marriage; they lived in Nevada when their daughters were small. Mr. Spencer is retired from J.D. Bassett. Mrs. Spencer has always been at home, Jones said. She babysat generations of children around our way. She is known as Nannie Ruth to most everyone. Thanks to the civilian services of a resident goat, Virginia's Henry County Sheriffs Office got their man. Capt. Scott Barker with the Henry County Sheriffs Office told the Bulletin that it was a goat who helped two deputies flush out the person they were chasing on Feb. 13. Deputy David Parnell was investigating a domestic assault in the Fieldale area of Henry County, Barker said. At the point where Deputy Parnell explains to the suspect hes under arrest, the suspect flees on foot. Barker said Parnell chased the fleeing person through a fence line and across a field. A goat from the property joined Deputy Parnell in the chase, said Barker. When Deputy Parnell and the goat reached the next fence line of the field, the goat continued through the fence in front of Deputy Parnell and entered a wooded area. After the goat took over the lead in the chase, Parnell halted to survey the situation and watched the goat chase the man into the woods. The goat and the deputy on the other side flushed the man out of the woods, and Parnell took the man into custody. The goat was returned to its owner by Deputy Parnell once the incident was resolved, Barker said. Asked if the goat might be recognized by the department for its outstanding citizenship and contribution to the prevention of crime, Barker said: Thats about all I know at this point. Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-638-8801, Ext. 2360. Follow him @billdwyatt. In a phone call, on Thursday, to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed that NATOs expansion was a serious threat to the regions security and stability, according to the semi-official Nour News. NATOs expansion eastward creates tension and is a serious threat to the stability and security of independent states in various areas, Raisi was quoted saying following Russias military attack on Ukraine. I hope what is happening will benefit peoples and the entire region, he said. The US State Department has approved Kuwaits request for US design and construction expertise for its Defense ministry complex valued at $1 billion, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) reports. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), MEMO notes, indicated in a press release that the State Department made a determination approving the potential foreign military sale to the government of Kuwait of design and construction of the Kuwait ministry of defense headquarters complex and related equipment. The Government of Kuwait has requested the design, construction, and associated procurement. This includes provisions for all physical building and infrastructure construction costs, DSCA added. The congress has 30 days to raise an objection. The project includes over 20 facilities, including the main headquarters for both civilian and military leadership. The approval, DSCA stressed, is in line with the US foreign policy and national security objectives helping to improve the infrastructure of a Major Non-NATO ally (MNNA). The Gulf country designated an MNNA in 2004. The project, according to Al Monitor, is part of Washingtons attempts to curb growing Chinese influence in the Gulf, with Kuwait being the first country to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Beijing over its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Olfa Hamdi, the former Chief Executive Officer of Tunisias national carrier and leader of newly created Tunisian political party The Third Republic has called on authorities to investigate leaders of the countrys mighty workers union UGTT for corruption. Hamdi launched the political movement Thursday arguing that Tunisia is a rich country and must become a powerful country. Our project is essentially political The State does not give importance to its artists and sportsmen. They do not find enough to live on We prioritize political debates while the people are buried by waste Our country is rich. We must become an agricultural power capable of imposing ourselves on the international markets. We must start an agricultural revolution We want to make sure that the Tunisian passport is ranked among the top fifty in the world, she said. Hamdi also seized the opportunity to lay into the UGTT that it behaves like a political party and should be investigated for corruption. Tunisias leader Kais Saied since July 25 has made the fight against corruption a major goal of his administration. Hamdi, appointed on Jan. 07 last year as TunisAir CEO but sacked on Feb. 22 the same year, blamed the UGTT for her removal despite positive results at the head of the ailing airline. She claimed during the inauguration of her party that she was fired because she refused to transfer some amount of money from the airline coffers to an account controlled by the union. This is a trade union organization, not a political party We must not use masks and pretexts to do politics We will do politics differently We must no longer accept the lack of red lines The safety of citizens and their standard of living is a red line! Their education is a red line! The education of our children comes first! The principle of fighting corruption must apply to all, including the UGTT! she stipulated. Ulemas (theologians) from several African countries have commended King Mohammed VI for his religious leadership in the continent and for his stewardship in promoting Afro-African cooperation. This came during the international symposium on interreligious dialogue co-organized, from February 23 to 25 in Abidjan, by the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulemas and the Superior Council of Imams, Mosques and Islamic Affairs of Cote dIvoire (COSIM). The Kings religious leadership was highlighted as a bulwark against extremism in the continent and his development initiatives were hailed as serving Afro-African cooperation. A worthy son of Africa, His Majesty King Mohammed VI favors Afro-African cooperation in his development offensives. The Ivorian people can testify to this, said COSIM President, Cheikhoul Aima Ousmane Diakite, in a speech before the symposium. Ousmane Diakite expressed heartfelt thanks to the King, the Commander of the Faithful, for the creation of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulemas and for having authorized the opening of sections of the foundation in several African countries, including in Cote dIvoire. Speaking of the choice of Cote dIvoire to host the international symposium on interreligious dialogue, he noted that as in most African countries, there already exists here an informal tradition of interreligious dialogue, through the peaceful coexistence of communities of different beliefs. It is the dialogue of life where women and men, in their religious diversity, share their pains and their joys on a daily basis. In the street, at work, at school, everyone recognizes the other as his fellow man, despite the difference in belief. Noting, however, that the existence of this informal tradition of dialogue suffers from shortcomings, he argued that the holding of this international symposium will allow participants to refine, over three days, national strategies. Without a doubt, at the end of the exchanges, the participants will make religion a leaven of the history of our different peoples, he noted. For his part, Cheikh Ndiaye Salehou, President of the Central African Republic section of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulemas, expressed in a speech on behalf of the Ulemas of the Foundation, his sincere thanks and his immense gratitude to Amir Al-Mouminine, King Mohammed VI, for his action to protect common religious constants in Africa, through the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulemas. This foundation has always advocated the paths of unity in Africa and contributed to the integration of the values of peace and coexistence of an Islam of the middle way, opposed to any attempt to spread the values of hatred and extremism, he said. In the opinion of Cheikh Ndiaye Salehou, Africa, this great continent, bastion of languages, of diverse cultures and of a centuries-old history, needs more than ever today to establish a constructive dialogue, a preamble to rapprochement and to the cooperation of peoples, turning its back on dissension by returning to the pure sources of religion. Only this culture of dialogue and exchange is able to put an end to the excesses and extremisms which inevitably lead to resentment and violence, he insisted. The action of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulemas is underpinned by the directives of its founder, King Mohammed VI, who constantly encourages the preservation of common religious constants, as well as openness to other religions and other civilizations, with the aim of establishing a platform for communication and exchange, hindering the paths of divergence and confrontation. Placed under the theme The eternal message of religions, the Abidjan symposium, is meant to support the sustainability of peace in Africa through interfaith dialogue as well as the continuity of the eternal message of religions on peace in the world, in addition to opening channels for exchange and dialogue between Muslims and Christians. The event is bringing together researchers and experts from all African backgrounds of Muslim and Christian faith, and more than 600 participants, including presidents and members of the 34 sections of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulemas. This three-day symposium will highlight by the adoption of the Abidjan Peace Declaration. Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Sidie Mohamed Tunis, commended, during a visit to Dakhla Thursday, the efforts made by Morocco, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, to improve further the already high standard of living of the inhabitants of the southern provinces and to ensure stability in the region. The standard of living of the population of the southern provinces is clearly on the rise, said Mr. Tunis, who is leading a large delegation from the ECOWAS parliament. The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament also welcomed the momentum of socio-economic development in Dakhla and Laayoune, saying he was impressed by the projects carried out in these two cities of the Moroccan Sahara. In the next five years, Dakhla will become a very big city, thanks to the implementation of all these ongoing development projects, he pointed out, adding that this visit enabled the ECOWAS parliamentary delegation to be aware of the situation in the southern provinces. During his talks with local elected representatives, Mr. Tunis highlighted the economic and social development experienced by Morocco, while praising the Kingdoms strategy carried out in particular in its southern regions. This visit allowed the members of the ECOWAS delegation to see first-hand the socio-economic development in the Moroccan Sahara and to get informed about the reality in the southern provinces. They were also informed about the development effort undertaken by Morocco to make of the southern provinces a gateway to Africa and secure a win-win economic integration with the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as on the investment opportunities offered by the Moroccan southern provinces. The delegations visit was marked by the signing by the House of Advisors (upper house) and the ECOWAS parliament of the Laayoune Declaration. The Laayoune Declaration, signed on Wednesday, commends the important role played by Morocco under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, in major regional issues. The document praises Moroccos key role in managing challenges related to migration, food security, health, energy security, and sustainable development. The declaration also commends the role the West African group plays in reinforcing the process of the regional and continental integration and development, stressing the importance of south-south cooperation as a key factor in facing the challenges and stakes posed at the international and regional levels, and as a mechanism to launch a structural transformation of the economies of the regions countries, and lay the foundations for strong and sustainable growth. The proposed Lake Elkhorn Stream Restoration project in Columbia will not restore the stream (Columbia needs stream restoration project, Feb. 17). Weve seen time and time again, officials dub work with bulldozers and backhoes to clear forests and alter stream channels as restoration when at best its a temporary erosion fix. This project is another example. Streamside forests are the lifeblood of our waterways: They provide habitat to animals, filter out pollutants and cool waterways. Yes, there are many eroded stream banks in our urban and suburban communities. However, the fix for erosion and improving water quality is outside the stream channels and upland where parking lots, roadways and rooftops generate the polluted runoff problem. By not addressing this source, were placing short term bandages that exacerbate the problem, cost millions of dollars, and clear precious streamside forests. Advertisement The Columbia Associations proposed Lake Elkhorn project, currently under review by regulatory agencies, continues this madness. Columbia was developed prior to stormwater management regulations. At Lake Elkhorn, an in-line dam backs up the stream to slow water flow. This practice was common decades ago, but now it leaves the community searching for a solution to costly maintenance dredging from sediment buildup behind the dam. Unfortunately, the Lake Elkhorn Stream Restoration project will do nothing to address the dam, the costly dredging, nor the polluted runoff from outside the stream channel that is flowing at unnatural speeds due to a failure to control stormwater upstream with green infrastructure or other solutions. According to the permit application, this project would harm up to 20 acres of forested wetlands. Thats more forested wetland impacts than when the state constructed the Intercounty Connector highway. As if this was not bad enough, this project is a stream mitigation bank, meaning it would count as compensation for future environmental harm and open the door for five other miles of streams throughout Maryland to be altered. Advertisement We encourage the regulatory agencies, the Maryland Department of the Environment and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to deny the permits for this project because it will cause more harm than good. Rob Schnabel, Annapolis, and Sue Bannister, Columbia The writers are, respectively, a Maryland restoration biologist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and a Phelps Luck resident and member of Protect Our Stream Long Reach. Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter. Seven Heads of state are meeting since Thursday in Kinshasa to assess the implementation of an agreement on peace, security and cooperation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the African Great Lakes region signed nine years ago in Addis Ababa. This is their tenth summit, following the one held in 2018 in Kampala. Around their Congolese host Felix Tshisekedi, Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Joao Lourenco of Angola, Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville, Faustin Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic and Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi are present in the DRC capital. According to a regional diplomat, the seven leaders should condemn actors who provide support in terms of supplies, logistics, human resources (to the negative forces) or who shield the leaders of the negative forces from prosecution. The Heads of state are also expected to take note of military operations against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels by the Congolese and Ugandan armies, and to commend the DRC and the United Nations Mission (Monusco) for notable efforts in the fight against armed groups in eastern Congo. In the sub-region, the seven Heads of state are expected to welcome the improvement in relations between Rwanda and Uganda, as well as between Rwanda and Burundi after periods of tension. The fight against impunity is also on the agenda. Burundi has agreed to host the eleventh summit to be held in 2023. A Commission set up early February by the military junta that seized power a month ago in Burkina Faso has proposed a 30-month transition before a return to constitutional order. In a report, the commission proposes 30 months of transition headed by junta leader Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, as well as the establishment of a small government and legislative body, not exceeding 20 and 50 members respectively, a military source said. The announcement was confirmed by a source close to the presidency. The report, a draft charter and agenda for the transition, was presented Wednesday to the head of the junta, but its content has not been made public. It will have to be submitted to the military hierarchy and the countrys living forces parties, unions and civil society organizations before any validation, the source close to the presidency said, confirming the proposal for a 30-month transition period before general and inclusive elections are held. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which suspended Burkina Faso from the organization on January 28 because of the coup, had asked the new authorities to present a reasonable timetable for the return to constitutional order. In handing over her report to Damiba, who was inaugurated president and head of state on February 16 by the Constitutional Council, Mariame Ouattara, chairwoman of the commission, explained that she had been inspired by the directives given by the junta. These directives concern the restoration of territorial integrity, the consolidation of peace for the return of internally displaced persons, good governance and the return to a new constitutional order. Seven suspects appeared in court in Bissau on Thursday in a 980 kg drug seizure case, almost all of which has disappeared since the major catch in November, according to the director of the judicial police. Last November, 980 kg were seized by the police, but 975 kg have simply disappeared into thin air. It is presumed that it was elements of the security and defense forces who seized this quantity of cocaine, Domingos Monteiro, the director of the judicial police, told the press on Thursday. A police officer was arrested and implicated in this case, said Monteiro without further details. Meanwhile, according to a judicial source, a total of nine suspects were to appear Thursday in the seizure case, but only seven of them were present in the trial. The fate of the other two suspects had not been specified on Thursday. Instability and poverty have encouraged drug traffickers in the West African country, a former Portuguese colony, who are protected by senior military officers. In September 2019, a record seizure of about two tons of cocaine had taken place in the north of the country. Twelve suspects, three Colombians, one Mexican, one Malian, and seven Bissau-Guineans had been arrested. On February 1, Guinea-Bissau was the scene of the umpteenth coup de force in its troubled history since independence from Portugal in 1974. The Palace of Government, the seat of the ministries, was attacked that day by armed men while the president and members of the government were holding a council of ministers. The president was unharmed after hours of gunfire that left 11 people dead, according to the government. The four soldiers of the French army operating under the banner of the UN arrested three days ago in the Central African Republic and accused on social networks of having wanted to assassinate the Head of state have been released, the UN announced Thursday. The four Minusca staff members arrested at Bangui airport have just been released, announced Minusca chief Mankeur Ndiaye on Twitter. The information was confirmed by the French embassy in Bangui on Twitter, without further details. But immediately, photographs of their arsenal well laid out on the ground as well as their identity papers had, like a video of their arrest, been widely circulated on private accounts on social networks, some accusing them of having wanted to assassinate President Faustin Archange Touadera who had just landed in Bangui. The UN and France, which regularly accuses the government in Bangui of being complicit in an anti-French disinformation campaign led by Moscow, denounced a gross manipulation, yet the Bangui prosecutors office opened a regular investigation the next day to shed light on the facts. Satellite imagery of Africa. Credit: Public Domain A regional corner of Africa is a hotspot for cases of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, prompting researchers to call for targeted health support rather than a national response. The new research, published today in BMJ Global Health, found a high prevalence of all three infectious diseases in the Gambela region, a regional center located in western Ethiopia that borders South Sudan. Lead author Dr. Kefyalew Alene, from the Curtin School of Population Health and the Telethon Kids Institute, said it was concerning to find one region reporting large numbers of all three diseases. "Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis and malaria are the three most serious infectious diseases in the world, causing high morbidity and mortality rates especially in low and middle-income countries," Dr. Alene said. "This study identified that the Ethiopian region of Gambela, which is home to more than 330,000 people, was a hotspot for high cases of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. The high prevalence of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in this region may be due to inadequate case management and weaker health systems along the border." The study found the Gambela region was characterized by low healthcare access, low socioeconomic index, and high temperatures and rainfall. Dr. Alene said the study suggested the need for more targeted health services to deal with the spate of cases concentrated to one part of Africa. "This highlights that targeting health services at a local level would be more effective than a nation-wide service response," Dr. Alene said. "These findings can guide policymakers in Ethiopia to design geographically targeted and integrated disease control programs to achieve maximum impact in addressing the high prevalence of cases." The research was co-authored by other experts from Curtin and the Telethon Kids Institute, as well as Ethiopia's University of Gondar and the National TB Control Program. The full paper is titled "Spatial co-distribution of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in Ethiopia." Explore further Diet, malaria and substance use linked to Pacific preterm births More information: "Spatial co-distribution of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in Ethiopia," BMJ Global Health (2022). Journal information: BMJ Global Health "Spatial co-distribution of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in Ethiopia,"(2022). dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007599 A shopper waring a proactive mask as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus selects fruit at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. The majority of healthy Americans, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks under new U.S. guidelines released Friday, Feb. 25. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined a new set of measures for communities where COVID-19 is easing its grip, with less of a focus on positive test results and more on what's happening at hospitals. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke Most Americans live in places where healthy people, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks under new U.S. guidelines released Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined the new set of measures for communities where COVID-19 is easing its grip, with less of a focus on positive test results and more on what's happening at hospitals. The new system greatly changes the look of the CDC's risk map and puts more than 70% of the U.S. population in counties where the coronavirus is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals. Those are the people who can stop wearing masks, the agency said. The agency is still advising people, including schoolchildren, to wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high. That's the situation in about 37% of U.S. counties, where about 28% of Americans live. The new recommendations do not change the requirement to wear masks on public transportation and indoors in airports, train stations and bus stations. The CDC guidelines for other indoor spaces aren't binding, meaning cities and institutions even in areas of low risk may set their own rules. And the agency says people with COVID-19 symptoms or who test positive shouldn't stop wearing masks. But with protection from immunity risingboth from vaccination and infectionthe overall risk of severe disease is now generally lower, the CDC said. "Anybody is certainly welcome to wear a mask at any time if they feel safer wearing a mask," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a news briefing. "We want to make sure our hospitals are OK and people are not coming in with severe disease. ... Anyone can go to the CDC website, find out the volume of disease in their community and make that decision." Some states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey, are at low to medium risk while others such as West Virginia, Kentucky, Florida and Arizona still have wide areas at high levels of concern. CDC's previous transmission-prevention guidance to communities focused on two measuresthe rate of new COVID-19 cases and the percentage of positive test results over the previous week. Based on those measures, agency officials advised people to wear masks indoors in counties where spread of the virus was deemed substantial or high. As of this week, more than 3,000 of the nation's more than 3,200 countiesgreater than 95%were listed as having substantial or high transmission under those measures. That guidance has increasingly been ignored, however, with states, cities, counties and school districts across the U.S. announcing plans to drop mask mandates amid declining COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. With many Americans already taking off their masks, the CDC's shift won't make much practical difference for now, said Andrew Noymer, a public health professor at the University of California, Irvine. But it will help when the next wave of infectiona likelihood in the fall or winterstarts threatening hospital capacity again, he said. "There will be more waves of COVID. And so I think it makes sense to give people a break from masking," Noymer said. "If we have continual masking orders, they might become a total joke by the time we really need them again." The CDC is offering a color-coded mapwith counties designated as orange, yellow or greento help guide local officials and residents. In green counties, local officials can drop any indoor masking rules. Yellow means people at high risk for severe disease should be cautious. Orange designates places where the CDC suggests masking should be universal. How a county comes to be designated green, yellow or orange will depend on its rate of new COVID-19 hospital admissions, the share of staffed hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients and the rate of new cases in the community. Taking hospital data into account has turned some countiessuch as Boulder County, Coloradofrom high risk to low. Mask requirements already have ended in most of the U.S. in recent weeks. Los Angeles on Friday began allowing people to remove their masks while indoors if they are vaccinated, and indoor mask mandates in Washington state and Oregon will be lifted in late March. In a sign of the political divisions over masks, Florida's governor on Thursday announced new recommendations called "Buck the CDC" that actually discourage mask wearing. In Pennsylvania, acting health secretary Keara Klinepeter urged "patience and grace" for people who choose to continue masking in public, including those with weakened immune systems. She said she'll keep wearing a mask because she's pregnant. State health officials are generally pleased with the new guidance and "excited with how this is being rolled out," said Dr. Marcus Plescia of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. "This is the way we need to go. I think this is taking us forward with a new direction going on in the pandemic," Plescia said. "But we're still focusing on safety. We're still focusing on preventing death and illness." The CDC said the new system will be useful in predicting future surges and urged communities with wastewater surveillance systems to use that data too. "If or when new variants emerge or the virus surges, we have more ways to protect ourselves and our communities than ever before," Walensky said. Explore further Keep wearing masks a while longer, CDC director says 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A sign requiring masks as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus is posted on a store front in Philadelphia, on Feb. 16, 2022. The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter, meaning most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday will announce a change to the metrics it uses to determine whether to recommend face coverings, shifting from looking at COVID-19 case counts to a more holistic view of risk from the coronavirus to a community. Under current guidelines, masks are recommended for people residing in communities of substantial or high transmissionroughly 95% of U.S. counties, according to the latest data. The new metrics will still consider caseloads, but also take into account hospitalizations and local hospital capacity, which have been markedly improved during the emergence of the omicron variant. That strain is highly transmissible, but indications are that it is less severe than earlier strains, particularly for people who are fully vaccinated and boosted. Under the new guidelines, the vast majority of Americans will no longer live in areas where indoor masking in public is recommended, based on current data. The new policy comes as the Biden administration moves to shift its focus to preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19, rather than all instances of infection, as part of a strategy adjustment for a new "phase" in the response as the virus becomes endemic. The two people familiar with the change spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the CDC's action before the announcement. The change comes as nearly all U.S. states that had put in place indoor mask-wearing mandates for the winter omicron surge are letting them lapse as cases have precipitously dropped nationwide. Some have eliminated the mandates entirely, while others have kept mask-wearing requirements in place for schools and medical facilities. It was not immediately clear how the new CDC guidance would affect U.S. federal mandates requiring face coverings on public transportation. The CDC's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, has said a change has been in the works. "We must consider hospital capacity as an additional important barometer. Our hospitals need to be able to take care of people with heart attacks and strokes. Our emergency departments can't be so overwhelmed that patients with emergent issues have to wait in line," she said during a White House briefing last week. However, she declined to give a specific day when the CDC would announce a change. CDC officials on Thursday refused to confirm a release date. "At @CDCgov, we have been analyzing our #COVID19 data and shifting our focus to preventing the most severe outcomes and minimizing healthcare strain," Walensky tweeted Thursday night, offering no details on Friday's announcement. Explore further Keep wearing masks a while longer, CDC director says 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A team of researchers working at Israel's Sheba Medical Center has found evidence that suggests a fourth COVID vaccination or second booster shot may not be necessary for most people because it does not add significant protection. In their paper posted on the medRxiv preprint server, the team describes comparing people who were given a second booster shot with people who were not. As the pandemic has progressed, medical researchers have worked hard to develop vaccines to keep people from getting sick and therapies to help those afflicted. As a result, vaccines were developed by several companies that proved to prevent serious infections. Booster shots of the same vaccines were then found to provide protection again months later as immune response to the vaccines waned. Since that time, many people have wondered if they will need another booster shot as protection from the first booster starts to wane. In this new effort, the researchers sought to find the answer. It was not a coincidence that the researchers were working in Israelit is one of the few countries that has not waited to find out if a fourth shot is needed. Officials there have begun making second boosters available to those who want them. To determine the efficacy of second booster shots, the researchers recruited 1,000 healthcare workers who were fully vaccinated and who had received a booster shot. Two-hundred seventy-four received a second booster; the rest served as a control group. The researchers then measured antibody levels for all of the subjects. They found that while the second booster did increase protection slightly, it was not by enough to justify its useat least at this time. They also found that the second booster did not activate T cells. They suggest their results should not frighten people, however; they believe that most people are still adequately protected from their first three shots. Still, they do suggest that older people and those at risk for other reasons get a second booster if they can. Though such people were not included in the study, the researchers assume that any increase in protection for people more at risk is reason to get the shot. Explore further COVID boosters keep older Americans out of hospitals: CDC More information: Gili Regev-Yochay et al, 4th Dose COVID mRNA Vaccines' Immunogenicity & Efficacy Against Omicron VOC (2022). Gili Regev-Yochay et al, 4th Dose COVID mRNA Vaccines' Immunogenicity & Efficacy Against Omicron VOC (2022). DOI: 10.1101/2022.02.15.22270948 Provided by Science X Network 2022 Science X Network Singapore's health minister says Singapore is moving closer towards normalcy. Rivals Singapore and Hong Kong have become pandemic polar opposites, the former opting to live with the coronavirus and reopen to the world while the latter doubles down on zero-Covid and its international isolation. For decades the two cities have jostled to be Asia's premier international business hub, offering low taxes, dependable legal systems and seamless global connections. Both adopted strict suppression tactics when the pandemic emerged, closing borders to keep infections low within their densely populated territories. Now they present competing visions as they manage the highly transmissible Omicron variantwith Hong Kong floundering under soaring infections while Singapore offers a pandemic exit strategy. In the heart of Singapore's financial district, analyst Camille Chautard sipped a coffee on a bench at Raffles Place during the busy lunchtime rush hour. "Now that it seems the new variant is less deadly, or at least the infections are less severe, it's probably a good time for Singapore to lead the way in the region and open up," she told AFP. Earlier this week, health minister Ong Ye Kung said Singapore was moving closer towards normalcy, noting that "Omicron poses less of a risk". Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam had a starkly different message. Hong Kong has announced compulsory testing for all 7.4 million residents and the tightest social distancing rules to date. Announcing compulsory testing for all 7.4 million residents, the tightest social distancing rules to date and plans to isolate all those infected, she said the city must "win the war". "(Singapore) is miles ahead of Hong Kong in terms of dealing with these waves and especially mitigating the impact of the pandemic," Karen Grepin, a public health expert at the University of Hong Kong, told AFP. Openings vs closures The differences were clear on the streets this week. In Singapore, children are back in class, residents are free to gather in hawker centres or enjoy post-work drinks, and people fly in and out for business or pleasure. For Hong Kongers, in-person classes are suspended, businesses like bars and gyms remain closed, restaurants are only allowed to serve takeout in the evening, and international travel is increasingly impossible and involves lengthy quarantines. "Zoom calls cannot replace the people-to-people connection...so (easing workplace restrictions) definitely helps," Singaporean businessman Vaibhav Dabhade told AFP. In Singapore residents are free to gather in hawker centres or enjoy post-work drinks. "I believe that we still have an opportunity to open more, but so far the approach has been fantastic." Such upbeat commentary is hard to come by in Hong Kong. "The government's current zero-Covid policy seems to go against the trend," lamented a 39-year-old telecommunications worker surnamed Wong as he finished submitting to a Covid test outside a shopping mall in Sha Tin district. "Every country around the world is living with the virus," he added, describing the mass testing orders as a "waste". Politics vs health Hong Kong and Singapore are currently reporting thousands of infections per day and experts say the outbreak in both cities won't peak until sometime in March. But as Hong Kong's healthcare and isolation system collapses, Singapore has so far avoided such a fate. The city decided last fall to transition away from zero-Covid after realising it was not sustainable to isolate and hospitalise all the infected, Grepin said. Only around 61 percent of Hong Kongers aged 70 or above have received at least one dose of vaccine, despite ample supplies. "We can't constantly live in that sphere, and I think Singapore is much better off because they recognised this early on," she said. One key difference is the vaccination rate among the elderly. Around 95 percent of Singaporeans aged 70 or above have received at least one dose of vaccine, while the figure in Hong Kong is 61 percent despite ample supplies. That severely limits Hong Kong's ability to transition to living with the virus. But there is another reason the city's hands are tiedChina. Over the last six months Beijing has increasingly called the shots, ordering Hong Kong to stick to zero-Covid and decrying mitigation as a failed "Western" strategy. Last week Chinese president Xi Jinping ordered Hong Kong to take "all necessary measures" to get the epidemic under control, reinforcing the reality that Hong Kong's post-pandemic future depends on Beijing. "The decision to maintain a zero-Covid strategy after the advent of safe, effective vaccines is primarily a political decision as opposed to a public health decision," Grepin said. For Hong Kongers, businesses like bars and gyms remain closed, and restaurants are only allowed to serve takeout in the evening. Travel vs isolation Singapore's approach has also come in for criticism, with some complaining about ever-changing, confusing restrictions. And while the city's borders are slowly opening through quarantine-free travel with a number of countries, curbs are still tighter than in most Western countries, causing frustration for some foreign residents. But compared to Hong Kong, which dubs itself "Asia's World City", travel ease is night and day. Singapore's most recent data showed around 400,000 air passenger arrivals in December, while Hong Kong saw just 27,000 passengers in that same period. "The longer (Hong Kong) endures the relatively restrictive mobility patterns compared to other hubs, the harder it will be to maintain its dominant position," Standard Chartered chief executive Bill Winters warned in a Financial Times report. Even established mega-chains headquartered in Hong Kong are feeling the stingJames Riley, chief executive of the Mandarin Oriental hotel giant, told the FT most of their executive team were now working outside the city. Singapore's approach has also come in for criticism, with some complaining about ever-changing, confusing restrictions. "As a base from which to run a business, it's very, very poor today," Riley said. In a January survey, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong asked member companies which city represented the "greatest competitive threat". Eighty percent answered Singapore. 2022 AFP At least 5.2 million children worldwide have lost a parent or caregiver due to COVID-19, with adolescents worst affected. This infographic illustrates updates to global estimates of COVID-19 related orphanhood. Credit: The Lancet The number of children estimated to have experienced the death of a parent or caregiver as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has surged to more than 5.2 million globally, according to a new modeling study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal. Estimates of the numbers of children affected by COVID-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death nearly doubled in the six months from 1 May 2021 through 31 October 2021, compared with the amount after the first 14 months of the pandemic (March 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021). Globally, the new study suggests that two out of three children orphaned from COVID-19 are adolescents aged 10 to 17 years. Additionally, in line with evidence that COVID-19 deaths disproportionally affect men, three out of four children worldwide who experienced the death of a parent during the pandemic lost their fathers. Overall, children who experience the loss of a caregiver have an increased risk of poverty, exploitation and sexual violence or abuse, HIV infection, mental health challenges and severe distress, and in some contexts, increased vulnerability to gang involvement and violent extremism. The researchers call for evidence-based programs for children experiencing orphanhood to be urgently incorporated into pandemic response efforts, including programs that support economic strengthening, enhanced community and family support, and programs that avoid placing children in institutional care. The findings can aid national responses tailored to age and circumstances of affected children. "We estimate that for every person reported to have died as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, one child is left orphaned or loses a caregiver. That is the equivalent of one child every six seconds facing a heightened risk of lifelong adversity unless given appropriate support in time. Thus, support for orphaned children must be immediately integrated into every national COVID-19 response plan. Such support should focus on three core components: preventing caregiver death through equitable COVID-19 vaccine coverage, containment, and treatment; preparing families that are safe and nurturing to support affected children (such as through kinship care, foster care, and adoption); and protecting children using evidence-based strategies to reduce risks of poverty, childhood adversity, and violence. These strategies will help save lives now and put the programmatic and financial infrastructure in place on a global scale to secure a better future for children and families around the world," says lead author Dr. Susan Hillis, who completed this work during her tenure at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Juliette Unwin, lead author from Imperial College London (UK), adds, "sadly, as high as our estimates of orphanhood and caregiver deaths are, they are likely to be underestimates, and we expect these numbers to grow as more global data on COVID-19 deaths becomes available. For example, WHO estimates accurate data for COVID-19 deaths in Africa are limited, and the real estimates are likely to be 10 times higher than what is currently being reported. Consequently, these under-reported deaths mean that COVID-19-related orphanhood and caregiver loss is also drastically underestimated. Real-time updated data suggests the true totals reached 6.7 million children as of January 2022. While our current study looked at estimates through October 2021, the pandemic is still raging worldwide, which means COVID-19 related orphanhood will also continue to surge." Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were an estimated 140 million orphaned children worldwide. COVID-19's impact on orphanhood was first revealed in a study published in July 2021, which estimated that 1.5 million children had experienced the death of a parent or caregiver between March 2020 and April 2021 as a result of COVID-19. The new study increases this estimate to more than 2.7 million children for the same time period, by re-calculating the figures from updated COVID-19 death figures along with excess mortality data to account for indirect deaths associated with the pandemic (July 2021 estimates: 1,562,000 children vs latest estimates: 2,737,300 children). Using the same methodology, the researchers extended their analysis to 31 October 2021, analyzing mortality and fertility data from countries that accounted for the largest proportion of COVID-19 deaths and using mathematical modeling to extrapolate their findings for global estimates. This approach has previously shown a strong correlation between the ratio of orphanhood to deaths and total fertility rate. As before, the team estimated the loss of caregiver grandparents using United Nations household composition data for the proportion of adults aged over 60 years co-residing with children under 18 years, with or without a parent. These proportions were multiplied by COVID-19 associated deaths in the relevant age group to estimate the number of children affected, conservatively estimating that one death resulted in only one child experiencing caregiver death. For the entire 20-month period of the study, the team estimates a minimum of 3,367,000 children were orphaned worldwide, experiencing the loss of a parent. A further 1,833,300 children were affected by the death of a grandparent or older adult caregiver living in their own home. Overall, the number of children affected by the death of a caregiver due to COVID-19 exceeded the number of reported COVID-19 deaths (5.2 million children compared to 5 million COVID-19 deaths). "It took 10 years for 5 million children to be orphaned by HIV/AIDS, whereas the same number of children have been orphaned by COVID-19 in just two years. These figures do not account for the latest wave of the omicron COVID-19 variant, which may push the true toll even higher. We need to act swiftly to identify the children behind these numbers, so they can be given the support they need to thrive," says senior author Prof Lorraine Sherr from University College London (UK). The number of children affected in the 20 countries studied ranged from 2,400 in Germany to more than 1.9 million in India. Calculations of estimated orphanhood cases per capita showed the highest rates were in Peru and South Africa, with 8 and 7 out of every 1000 children affected, respectively. In all countries, children were more likely to have lost a father than a mother, with more than three times as many children experiencing the death of a father than losing a mother (76.5% or 2,581,300/3,374,900 of children lost fathers as compared to 23.5% or 793,600/3,374,900 who lost mothers). The researchers also calculated the ages of children who lost a parent in each of the countries studied, by estimating yearly fertility contributions separately to obtain the average number of children for every year of age between birth and 17 years. Mathematical modeling was again used to extrapolate these findings for all countries in the world that had reported COVID-19 deaths up to 31 October 2021. Adolescents accounted for a far greater proportion of those orphaned (Ages 10-17 years represented 63.6% or 2,146,700/3,374,900 of orphaned children) than younger children in all countries. (Ages 5-9 years: 21.8%, 736,800/3,374,900; ages 0-4 years: 14.6%, 491,300/3,374,900). "The global health community must build upon the two decades experience supporting vulnerable children through the HIV/AIDS epidemic to offer that same support for children experiencing loss due to COVID-19. Losing a parent or grandparent is a distressing experience for any child, however, the specific needs and vulnerabilities of orphanhood vary dramatically with age and developmental stage. We know that different age groups benefit from tailored, evidence-based support packages that include strengthening family-based and community support networks, and economic support while avoiding placing children in institutional care wherever possible. Our findings show the urgent need to invest in response plans focused on children at greatest risk and in the locations most affected. We have seen that timely, responsive, and supportive intervention transforms damage into lifelong dividends. Hesitation is a luxury we cannot afford," says study author Prof Chris Desmond of University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). The authors note some limitations. Most notably, their estimates are generated by mathematical modeling and cannot measure actual numbers of children affected by a parent or caregiver's death. They say future pandemic responses should include surveillance systems to monitor the numbers of children affected for every parental and caregiver death, in order to track needs for services and provide referral platforms that help point families towards appropriate support. They also note that their analysis is based on the best available data, but many countries do not have robust reporting systems for deaths or fertility. However, by using a stable COVID-19 infection fatality ratio, they say it is unlikely this limitation substantially biased their results. Writing in a linked Comment, lead author Dr. Michael Goodman of the University of Texas Medical Branch (U.S.), who was not involved in the study, says, "[The] modeling represents an ongoing attempt to hit a moving targetheart-wrenching and unavoidably incomplete. Beyond updating earlier estimates, the authors add value through describing orphanhood 'by time, person, and place'. In doing so, they draw attention to the importance of dynamic, multilevel systems in shaping the crisis. Orphanhood increases a range of economic, social, educational, and health risks. To best protect children, we must consider the individual, family, community, national, and global factors that affect their wellbeing, and how these can be integrated into an adaptive response COVID-19 orphanhood confronts us at a time nearing resource exhaustion across multiple systems. The consequences of orphanhood linger throughout the course of a lifetime, affecting the futures of families, communities, and societies. We determine how long our communities will suffer the effects of COVID-19 by urgently determining the quality and force of our concern for orphaned young people." As part of this work, the authors developed a real-time COVID-19 calculator, providing ongoing updated estimates of COVID-19-associated orphanhood and death of caregivers for every country in the world. The authors have also developed an updated evidence-based strategy for action as described in the paper, which can be found in a policy report authored by the Global Reference Group for Children Affected by COVID: "Joint Estimates and Action. Children: The hidden pandemic, February 2022updated interim estimates." More information: H Juliette T Unwin et al, Global, regional, and national minimum estimates of children affected by COVID-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death, by age and family circumstance up to Oct 31, 2021: an updated modelling study, The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health (2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2352-4642(22)00005-0 , H Juliette T Unwin et al, Global, regional, and national minimum estimates of children affected by COVID-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death, by age and family circumstance up to Oct 31, 2021: an updated modelling study,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2352-4642(22)00005-0 , www.thelancet.com/journals/lan (22)00005-0/fulltext This letter is responding to the recent article about the upcoming retirement of Maryland Public Defender Paul DeWolfe (Maryland Public Defender Paul DeWolfe to retire this summer, Feb. 11). As the public defender Mr. DeWolfe succeeded, I am compelled to note several clarifications to the article. As correctly noted, I was indeed fired from my position by two members of what was then a three-member oversight board, attorneys T. Wray McCurdy and Margaret Mead. The third member opposed my firing. The article claims I was fired for refusing to enact cutbacks and change. The article fails to elaborate on those cutbacks. Without any basis given, the board members demanded that I fire the Baltimore County district public defender, that I fire all agency social workers, that I disband the Capital Defense Division (when Maryland still had the death penalty) and that I disband the Juvenile Protection Division (JPD) that I created to assist trial attorneys. Ironically, the article notes how Mr. DeWolfe has bolstered the offices ranks of social workers, prevented defendants from being sentenced to death before capital punishment was abolished and created litigation support divisions for trial attorneys. Had I not refused to fire social workers, Mr. DeWolfe would have no ranks to bolster; had I not refused to disband the Capital Defense Division, Mr. DeWolfe would be unable to tout preventing death sentences; and had I not refused to disband the JPD there would be no support division to assist juvenile trial attorneys. Most ironic of all, which demonstrates the phoniness of the reasons Mr. McCurdy and Ms. Mead gave for firing me, is that Mr. DeWolfe was not made to implement a single one of the cutbacks demanded of me. The Capital Defense Division continued on, the JPD is still running, and the agency has increased the number of social workers. Advertisement Mr. McCurdy is quoted in the article foolishly giving kudos to Mr. DeWolfe for changing the agency from a group of distinct entities county by county into a large law firm. The agency continues to this day to be a group of distinct, county by county entities that report to the Public Defender. It was concern over my firing that caused Sen. Brian Frosh to order a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee requiring Mr. McCurdy and Ms. Mead to testify. That hearing led to significant changes to the Public Defender Statute. No longer can the public defender be fired for any reason at all. Today, the public defender may only be fired for cause. The size of the board has also been expanded from 3 to 13 members, making firing more difficult. Mr. DeWolfe enjoyed these benefits, as will his successor. I did not. Advertisement I applaud Mr. DeWolfe for all that he has done to assist the agency and its clients. I write only to correct the distinct impression left by the article that my tenure with the office was unproductive and that my firing was justified. It was not. Nancy S. Forster, Towson Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter. The 19th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is a hybrid event. Seating is limited; it is highly recommended to purchase tickets in advance at bigskyfilmfest.org/festival/tickets. Door sales are not guaranteed to viewers who arrive without a ticket. All tickets are good for in-person or online screenings. Short films are available online through Thursday, March 3. Feature films will be available to view online for four days, beginning the day after the films last in-person screening. Special events Its Pitch Day at Doc Shop! Filmmakers representing 10 prospective documentary projects make their case for funding and other support in front of a panel of industry heavyweights. Free and open to the public, registration required. More info on the BSDFF webpage under the DOCSHOP tab. Missoula Public Library, 10 a.m.4 p.m. Reciprocity Project seven short films from Indigenous filmmakers, created in collaboration with the Reciprocity Project, a multimedia platform that invites learning from time-honored and current Indigenous ways of being. Featuring a live musical performance from Jennifer Kreisburg, a contributor to many of the films scores. Wilma, 6 p.m. Standup comedy plus short film! Comedian Mo Welch performs set, followed by screening of Dad Jokes Mo Welch sets out to see her dad for the first time in almost 20 years, but not without shedding all of her dad jokes on the way. World Premiere. Roxy, 9:15 p.m. Films One Road to Quartzite A ragtag group of crust punks, libertarians, snowbirds and elderly folks become unlikely neighbors during their annual pilgrimage to a temporary long-term camping community in Quartzsite, Arizona. Steeped in rural folklore and full of a diverse and quirky set of characters, this is a beautiful, poetic, observational portrait of people trying to live outside of the constraints of American society, or to simply escape the winter. World Premiere. Wilma, 1 p.m. Montana State MFA Shorts 12 short films (all under 10 minutes) from students of MSUs Science & Natural History Filmmaking program. Wilma, 3:30 p.m. Schoolhouse Docs continue. Films curated especially for school-age kids. Roxy, 4 p.m. Midwives Two midwives, one Buddhist and one Muslim, defy strict ethnic divisions to work side by side in a makeshift clinic in western Myanmar, providing medical services to the Rohingya of Rakhine State. Over five years we witness their struggles, hopes and dreams amid an environment of ever-increasing chaos and violence. Northwest Premiere. Roxy, 6:15 p.m. Tigre Gente Bolivias Madidi National Park is the most biodiverse region on earth. As jaguars are found dead in the park, a Bolivian park ranger and a young Hong Kong journalist risk their lives to investigate a new, deadly jaguar trade thats sweeping South America. Northwest Premiere. Wilma, 9 p.m. Filmmakers in attendance Q&A following film screening One Road to Quartzite Ryan Maxey, director. Wilma, 1 p.m. MSU Shorts MFA filmmakers present. Wilma, 3:30 p.m. Seeds, The Legacy of the Land Fernando Valencia, director; Cristobal Camarena Gonzalez Rubio, producer. Schoolhouse Docs. Roxy, 4 p.m. Ocean Reveries Eric Foster, Director of Photography. World Premiere. Where is my Darling? Adam Finney, director. North American Premiere. Anchored Out Clara Mokri, Katie Bernstein, directors. Montana Premiere. Shorts Block 12. ZACC, 5:30 p.m. Reciprocity Project Princess Daazhraii Johnson, Alisha Carlson, Brit Hensel, Flor Palmar, Brianna Smith, Christopher Newell, Roger Paul, Lauren Stevens, Jeremy Dennis, Justyn Ah Chong, filmmakers; Taylor Hensel, Adam Mazo, Kavita Pillay, Tracy Rector, producers. Wilma, 6 p.m. West Country Rowan Ings, director. North American Premiere. No Soy Oscar Jon Ayon, director. Montana Premiere. Shorts Block 13. ZACC, 8 p.m. Tigre Gente Elizabeth Unger, director. Wilma, 9 p.m. Dad Jokes Mo Welch, co-director, subject. Roxy, 9:15 p.m. DocShop continues! Panels and workshops all week at the Missoula Public Library. Free and open to the public. Check bigskyfilmfest.org/docshop for schedules and seat reservations. Festival HQ: ZACC, 216 W. Main St. Purchase tickets, passes and merchandise. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 FRIDAY, Feb. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to announce Friday that most Americans can shed their masks in indoor public settings, as the agency changes how it measures the threat of coronavirus in local communities. Until now, case counts have been the primary metric used to determine whether mask-wearing was recommended. That meant that roughly 95% of U.S. counties fell into that category. But the new guidelines are expected to weigh hospitalizations and local hospital capacity, which have improved greatly since the Omicron variant first surfaced in the United States last December, two officials familiar with the process told the Associated Press. The highly contagious variant has been less severe than earlier versions of the virus, particularly for people who are fully vaccinated and boosted. Under the new guidelines, most Americans will likely no longer live in areas where indoor masking in public is advised. The federal change comes as nearly all U.S. states are letting local mask mandates lapse as COVID-19 cases drop nationwide. Some have eliminated the mandates entirely, while others have kept mask-wearing requirements in place for schools and medical facilities, the AP reported. Meanwhile, many companies have already shifted to requiring only proof of vaccination for workers, but masks are still mandatory while using public transportation, including flying on airplanes, The New York Times reported. Those rules are set to expire on March 18, but a flight attendants union is urging the Biden administration to extend the requirement until more Americans are vaccinated. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has said a change on mask guidance has been in the works for some time. We must consider hospital capacity as an additional important barometer. Our hospitals need to be able to take care of people with heart attacks and strokes. Our emergency departments cant be so overwhelmed that patients with emergent issues have to wait in line, she noted during a White House briefing last week, the AP said. The White House has been eager for the CDC to provide an update on its indoor mask recommendation, although it doesn't want to appear to be pressuring the agency, NBC News has reported. Walensky has also said mask policies should be made at the local level, based on factors such as vaccination rates and hospitalization. Still, some states and local communities are shifting their strategies as more vaccines and new COVID-19 treatments have become available and the country moves toward a "new normal." Recent polls have demonstrated that the publics patience with COVID restrictions is fraying. Nearly half of Americans surveyed thought the nation should learn to live with the pandemic and get back to normal, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov survey. And a poll from Monmouth University found that roughly 70 percent of Americans believe its time we accept COVID is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives." More information Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more on masks. SOURCE: Associated Press; The New York Times; NBC News You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. FRIDAY, Feb. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- You've just delivered your second or third child, and you're ready to close the door on any future pregnancies. Does it matter whether you choose to use an IUD or have your tubes tied? It turns out that IUDs are nearly as effective as having your tubes tied in preventing unwanted pregnancies and cause fewer side effects, a new study finds. It challenges the widely held belief that having your tubes tied (tubal ligation) -- which requires surgery and is permanent -- is more effective than an IUD, which is easily removed. "Tubal ligation is really no longer the gold standard for pregnancy prevention," said study first author Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. She and her colleagues examined claims data from more than 83,000 Medi-Cal recipients who received either a tubal ligation or an IUD between 2008 and 2014, to see how many became pregnant within a year. Pregnancy rates were 2.6% for those who had tubal ligations, 2.4% for those with levonorgestrel (hormonal) IUDs and 2.9% for those with copper IUDs, according to the study. Compared to women who had their tubes tied, those with IUDs were less likely to get infections or have procedure-related complications, and more than six months later had less pelvic, abdominal and genitourinary pain. "Tubal ligation is permanent and regrets following these procedures are hard, especially when coverage of infertility treatment is limited, as it is for Medicaid clients," Schwarz said in a university news release. Since IUDs are at least as effective as tubal ligation, patients "should be encouraged to try an IUD before going to the operating room for a permanent procedure," Schwarz suggested. The study is the first rigorous assessment of how long-term birth control methods perform in the real world, according to the researchers. "Women are told the chance of pregnancy with these contraceptives is 1 in 1,000 but we found much higher rates of pregnancy," Schwarz noted. "This real-world data is really important for clinical decision-making." The findings were published Feb. 23 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. More information There's more on birth control at the U.S. Office on Women's Health. SOURCE: University of California, San Francisco, news release, Feb. 23, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. FRIDAY, Feb. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A massive genetic family tree traces the ancestry of all people today. The researchers who created it said it shows how individuals worldwide are related to one another and reveals key events in human evolution, including the migration out of Africa. "Essentially, we are reconstructing the genomes of our ancestors and using them to form a vast network of relationships," said study leader Anthony Wilder Wohns. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. "We can then estimate when and where these ancestors lived. The power of our approach is that it makes very few assumptions about the underlying data and can also include both modern and ancient DNA samples," Wohns explained. Wohns did the mapping work as part of his doctoral studies at the University of Oxford's Big Data Institute in the United Kingdom. The massive family tree was made using a new method that combines genetic data from multiple sources a method the authors said could have wide-ranging uses in medical research, such as identifying genetic predictors of disease risk. Their findings were published Feb. 24 in the journal Science. "We have basically built a huge family tree, a genealogy for all of humanity that models as exactly as we can the history that generated all the genetic variation we find in humans today," said Yan Wong, an evolutionary geneticist at the Big Data Institute and one of the principal authors. "This genealogy allows us to see how every person's genetic sequence relates to every other, along all the points of the genome." Using modern and ancient human genomes from eight databases, the researchers included 3,609 individual genome sequences from 215 populations. The ancient genomes, from samples collected worldwide, ranged in age from thousands to more than 100,000 years old. From that, the research team came up with a human family tree that includes nearly 27 million common ancestors and where they lived. The investigators plan to continue to incorporate genetic data as it becomes available in order to make this genealogical map even more comprehensive. "This study is laying the groundwork for the next generation of DNA sequencing. As the quality of genome sequences from modern and ancient DNA samples improves, the trees will become even more accurate and we will eventually be able to generate a single, unified map that explains the descent of all the human genetic variation we see today," Wong said in an Oxford news release. Though humans are the focus of this study, "the method is valid for most living things from orangutans to bacteria," Wohns noted. "It could be particularly beneficial in medical genetics, in separating out true associations between genetic regions and diseases from spurious connections arising from our shared ancestral history," he added. More information For more on human evolution, go to the U.K.'s Natural History Museum. SOURCE: Oxford University, news release, Feb. 24, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. FRIDAY, Feb. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Science could be well on its way to a cure for type 1 diabetes, as researchers hone transplant therapies designed to restore patients' ability to produce their own insulin, experts say. At least one patient a 64-year-old Ohio man named Brian Shelton can now automatically control his insulin and blood sugar levels without the need for medication, following a transplant of experimental pancreatic stem cells. Shelton's therapy isn't a perfect cure. He must take a heavy dose of immune-suppressing drugs to keep his body from rejecting the transplant, and those drugs pose their own health hazards. But the therapy created by Vertex Pharmaceuticals could provide immediate relief to thousands who are lined up for a pancreas transplant because their type 1 diabetes has progressed to the point where it's life-threatening, said Sanjoy Dutta, chief scientific officer for JDRF International. Some of these folks are suffering hypoglycemic shock and landing in an emergency room multiple times a month, while others have developed resistance to the insulin shots or other diabetes medications that have helped keep them alive. "Today, there are probably 5,000 to 10,000 people or more cued up for pancreatic or islet transplantation, but they're not going to get it because there's not enough supply," Dutta said. Researchers next plan to test Shelton's first-generation cure on 17 people, to start gathering short- and long-term data on safety and effectiveness, said Dr. Yogish Kudva, a type 1 diabetes researcher with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "The first goal is to do this at multiple centers. They've only reported one patient at this point," he said. "They want to do 17 people and probably have the same approach in all 17." Vertex and other pharmaceutical companies are also surging forward to the next generation, looking at ways to further improve these stem cell therapies so they would require less immune suppression or even none at all, Dutta and Kudva said. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's immune system turns against the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, called beta cells. When enough beta cells have been destroyed, diabetic symptoms appear and can become severe in short order. Thus, these stem cell transplants have to overcome not only the autoimmune disorder that caused type 1 diabetes, but also the immune response that causes the body to try to reject transplants as foreign invaders. Two approaches under investigation involve coating the transplanted cells in a capsule that protects them from the immune system, experts said. These capsules would allow nutrients and oxygen to come in and feed the cells, but prevent larger immune system cells from attacking the transplants, Dutta and Kudva said. Unfortunately, a clinical trial by the pharmaceutical company ViaCyte involving fully encapsulated cells planted just under the skin did not prove successful, Kudva said. A second approach by ViaCyte using partially encapsulated cells also didn't go well, Kudva said. Insulin production didn't become strong enough to provide benefit to the patients, who also needed immune-suppressing drugs to protect their now-vulnerable transplants. "If you read the two papers, they did very little in terms of changing people's insulin and changing people's life," Kudva said of the ViaCyte trials. Companies haven't given up on the capsule approach, however. ViaCyte continues to tinker with its method, and Vertex has said that it plans to file an application with federal regulators this year to test its own encapsulated implant. But ViaCyte is investigating a third way to protect the stem cell transplants gene editing that would help the new beta cells evade detection by the immune system. "You take the insulin-producing beta cells and you tinker with about seven, eight or nine genes," Dutta said. "Tinkering with the genes will not compromise insulin production in any way, but it will render the cells cloaked or camouflaged from the immune system. You cheat the immune system to think these cells are not foreign." ViaCyte plans to start a clinical trial of a gene-edited stem cell therapy for type 1 diabetes by the end of the year, according to a statement from Aaron Kowalski, chief executive officer of JDRF. It is "feverishly" supporting all three approaches to a cure, Dutta said. "We have significant funding in the third bucket of gene editing and gene modification, because that's where the future lies," he said. "Which one will get to the finish line first, we don't know. Which one will be the safest, we don't know. Which one will be attainable for adult humans, we don't know." It could be at least three to four years maybe longer before enough is known about the first-generation stem cell therapy to know whether it works long-term, much less make it available to the public, Kudva said. "It's going to be some years before we know where we are with this work, honestly speaking," he said. "The first [patient] is good, but it was one. We have to do more. It's going to take a little while here before we actually know." More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about type 1 diabetes. SOURCES: Sanjoy Dutta, PhD, chief scientific officer, JDRF International (formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), New York City; Yogish Kudva, MBBS, type 1 diabetes researcher, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; Aaron Kowalski, PhD, chief executive officer, JDRF, statement, Nov. 29, 2021 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. Maryland Senate Democrats rallied Thursday in support of creating a statewide paid family and medical leave program, with Senate President Bill Ferguson vowing that legislation to create the program is going to pass this year. The show of support adds political momentum to a proposal thats drawn support from progressives in past years but stalled in the Maryland General Assembly in recent years over concerns about how to fund it. Advertisement House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones previously listed passing a paid family and medical leave program among her top priorities for this years legislative session. Current proposals would provide Maryland workers with 12 weeks of paid leave to recover from illness, have children, care for sick family members or prepare for a close relatives military deployment. Businesses and workers would generally split the cost of the program, with both chipping in each paycheck to a state-run fund to pay out benefits. Advertisement Benefits would pay a percentage of a workers wages while on leave, with the exact amount tied to a workers average previous earnings. Benefits would be capped at $1,000 a week. Sen. Antonio Hayes, a Baltimore Democrat, stands with fellow Maryland Senate Democrats in support of legislation he is sponsoring to create a paid family and medical leave program in the state during a news conference Thursday in Annapolis. (Brian Witte/AP) The idea enjoys broad support in Maryland, at least in theory, with several polls showing strong support from voters as well as most Democratic lawmakers who hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. But disputes over how to divide the cost of paid leave benefits for millions of Maryland workers have derailed previous efforts to pass a program. Business groups have expressed concern over shouldering new taxes while worker advocates say putting too much of the tax burden on workers would make the program unfair and unaffordable. Michael Ricci, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, expressed concerns about the proposed programs. Ricci said Hogan supports helping working families but he will not consider costly proposals that hurt the smallest businesses, especially the mom and pop establishments. Maryland Policy & Politics Weekdays Keep up to date with Maryland politics, elections and important decisions made by federal, state and local government officials. > Sen. Antonio Hayes, a Baltimore Democrat sponsoring one of the proposals, said Thursday that workers in Maryland are currently stuck with an inadequate patchwork of existing programs or employer benefits to navigate difficult family or health crises. Single parents in particular have experienced an economic and physical strain. Many are forced to choose to work and pay for basic needs or to take leave to nurse ill family members, but with the threat of losing their jobs, said Sen. Joanne Benson, a Prince Georges County Democrat who is co-sponsoring the legislation with Hayes. Resident Lisa Barkan spoke of how fortunate she was to be able to take time off from work when her young son Alex was ill with a rare liver disease. The time enabled her to care for him and be with him when he died at 2 1/2. No one, no one, should ever have to choose between having a job and taking care of themselves or their loved ones, said Barkan, who attended the event with an advocacy group. I cannot imagine losing any of that time and no one should. Advertisement Del. C.T. Wilson, a Charles County Democrat sponsoring legislation to create a program, said Thursday that he welcomes the public display of support from Democratic senators, but still expects difficult negotiations over the details before any program is passed. Im hoping we can come to an agreement about what an equitable split [of the cost] is, said Wilson, the chair of the House Economic Matters Committee. I am confident that well get this ball moving this year but Im not willing to bastardize our goals so that we can get just any old thing. If we make something that the employee cant afford, whats the point of doing this? The Associated Press contributed to this article. FRIDAY, Feb. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Headphones have a much greater impact on listeners than external speakers because they put voices "inside your head," a new study explains. "Headphones produce a phenomenon called in-head localization, which makes the speaker sound as if they're inside your head," said study co-author On Amir, a professor of marketing at the University of California, San Diego. "Consequently, listeners perceive the communicators as closer both physically and socially. As a result, listeners perceive the communicator as warmer, they feel and behave more empathically toward them and they are more easily persuaded by them," Amir explained in a university news release. The findings could have significant implications for training programs, remote work and advertising, according to the researchers. In a series of experiments and surveys involving more than 4,000 people, the investigators found that headphones have a much stronger effect than external speakers on listeners' perceptions, judgments and behaviors. The findings scheduled to be published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes could make a mark in a number of areas, including remote work and workplace training, the researchers suggested. "Organizations may consider this research when designing their trainings or webinars," said study author Juliana Schroeder, associate professor of management, at the University of California, Berkeley. "For example, managers might encourage employees to listen to safety trainings or webinars using headphones, which may more effectively change their attitudes and behaviors, compared to listening via speakers." Companies could send employees headphones to encourage their use in phone conversations, which could increase collaboration, especially in the era of remote work, Amir added. Headphones may also cultivate a more loyal and engaged audience for on-air personalities, the researchers said. "Clearly, our research suggests that influencers, bloggers and podcasters want to try to make sure that people listen by headphones because that creates that attachment," Amir said. "Our research proposes that it is not only what or whom people hear that influences their judgments, decisions and behaviors, but also how they hear the message." More information For advice on safe headphone use, go to Harvard Health. SOURCE: University of California, San Diego, news release, Feb. 23, 2022 You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Originally published on consumer.healthday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. As the world watches the invasion of Ukraine by Putins Russia, we are reminded that U.S. global posture and foreign policy decisions have profound consequences for the future of world security and peace. As a Russian nationalist, Putin has frequently lamented the fall of the Soviet Union. He has also pursued a policy of restoring the Russian empire. For Putin, Ukraine has always been an integral part of Russia. The arrival of Russian forces in Ukraine is, therefore, from Putins perspective not an act of aggression against a sovereign state but an act of reclaiming a Russian province that should have never gained its independence. The Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, Moscows military intervention in Syria, the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, and Russias recent military intervention in Kazakhstan, clearly demonstrate that Putin is willing to use military force to protect what he sees as Russias sphere of influence. Putin, a former KGB agent, was humiliated by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of Russian power in eastern Europe. Former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as former members of the Warsaw Pact, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania have all joined NATO and with it, they have received guarantees of collective protection against any future attack by Russia. These countries have also become members of the European Union. When Ukraine decided to follow the model set by its neighbors and sign an association agreement with the European Union in late 2013, Putin drew a red line. Had it been signed, that agreement would have resulted in a free-trade deal between the European Union and Ukraine, which would have allowed Ukraine to divorce its largest trading partner, Russia. Worse, it would have removed Ukraine as a buffer state, making the European Union the immediate neighbor of Russia. Russias encroachment on Ukrainian sovereignty began with its occupation of Crimea in FebruaryMarch 2014. President Obamas response to Russias invasion of Crimea was economic sanctions, which did not leave any major impact on the Russian economy and the corrupt Russian political establishment surrounding Putin. Obama believed that because of its geography and economic ties, Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, fell under the Russian sphere of influence, and that the country was to be dominated by Russia no matter what Washington did. More recently, the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan sent the wrong signal to Moscow and Beijing, creating the impression that the United States was retreating from key strategic regions in the world and abandoning its role as the sole global superpower. Although the Biden administration forecasted Putins moves correctly, it failed to respond to aggressive moves by Moscow, squandering several opportunities to implement policies that could have prevented Putin from encroaching on the sovereignty of the Ukrainian state. In March 2021 when Russia initiated its latest campaign against Ukraine, the Biden administration was busy planning a hasty pullout from Afghanistan so that the president would be able to celebrate the end of American involvement in that country on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. As a new Cold War commences, President Biden has to respond assertively to the threat posed by Moscow with a set of devastating economic sanctions backed by a strong political resolve, which would reassure Americas allies of Washingtons commitment to the security of Europe. The failure to do so would only encourage other world powers such as China to adopt aggressive policies and threaten the security of countries such as Taiwan. Mehrdad Kia is director of the Central & Southwest Asian Studies Center and professor of history at the University of Montana. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 6 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 1 Secretary of the Interior Deb Haalands Feb. 7 oped in USA Today touts gray wolf recovery as a conservation success story, but implicitly speaks volumes as to why decades of gray wolf recovery actions have been a dismal failure. She embraces wolves important role in maintaining healthy biodiverse ecosystems, the use of best available science, her deep respect for the existence and spiritual values of wolves, and her commitment to ensuring that wolves have the conservation they need to survive and thrive in the wild based on science and law. Yet Secretary Haalands proclamation that gray wolves have been successfully recovered is unsupported by facts on the ground, where wolf recovery efforts, overall, have been substantially insufficient. On Feb. 10, a federal court agreed with our view and ordered that gray wolves be returned to the list of threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This is good news for wolves everywhere except the Northern Rocky Mountain (NRM) region, which includes all of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, eastern portions of Washington and Oregon, and northern Utah. This is where the most heinous wolf slaughtering, including the killing of 23 wolves from Yellowstone National Park, has been occurring. The brutal killing of wolves in the NRM region is exempt from this court ruling because those wolves were delisted by congressional legislation in 2011. A letter from Congressmen DeFazio, Grijalva, and Beyer sent to Secretary Haaland on Valentines Day also shares our view. The letter expresses grave concern for the wolves in the NRM and repeats a prior request that the secretary issue an emergency relisting of NRM wolves. To understand how we got in this mess, it helps to understand how efforts to recover gray wolves have been flawed from the day they were placed on the endangered species list in 1974. The first major flaw is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) failure to develop a range-wide recovery plan as required under Section 4 of the ESA. Rather, recovery plans were developed for only two gray wolf subspecies the Eastern Timber Wolf in the western Great Lakes region, and NRM wolves. Recovery plans for these two regions were approved over three decades ago and have not been updated in the past 30 years wolf science has proliferated in that time. A second major flaw in gray wolf recovery planning was to establish extremely low bars for meeting delisting criteria. The FWS typically bases recovery criteria on minimum viable populations for preventing extinction. For example, the NRM recovery plan delisting criteria called for just 30 breeding pairs and at least 300 wolves for the entire NRM region. These criteria are insufficient for long-term recovery and persistence of gray wolves in the 6-state region. When the Trump administration delisted gray wolves in January 2021, less than 1% of the historical population had been restored across less than 15% percent of historic range. A third major flaw is the FWSs failure to recover gray wolves at ecologically effective population levels and distributions throughout significant portions of their historic range as required by the ESA. The ESA establishes two primary purposes: The first is to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved; and the second is to provide a program for the conservation of such endangered species and threatened species Contrary to the secretarys acknowledgement of the importance of intact ecosystems, the FWS has never embraced the ecosystem conservation objective of the ESA. Wolves are apex or keystone species in their ecosystems. They exert top down effects that enhance biological diversity and general ecological health and stability. Minimally viable populations for ensuring only survival and demographic persistence are insufficient for restoring the ecological roles of keystone species and vital evolutionary processes. Whats the point of recovery, if it falls short of restoring the ecological function and evolutionary potential of the species? It seems equivalent to establishing a wild zoo or safari park. It appears that Secretary Haalands science advisors are not up to speed on the best available science or the requirements of the ESA or are politically biased. Case in point: President Bidens recently confirmed choice for director of the FWS is a non-scientist, a violation of federal law requiring relevant scientific credentials for the position. Secretary Haaland must muster the courage to issue an emergency 240-day relisting of NRM gray wolves followed by an expedited range-wide recovery plan developed by independent scientists. False claims of recovery success are not preventing the heinous slaughter of wolves by the states. David Parsons is a retired wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where he served as the Mexican gray wolf recovery coordinator. He is currently the carnivore conservation biologist for the nonprofit organization, The Rewilding Institute. Michelle Lute is the national carnivore conservation manager for the national nonprofit organization, Project Coyote, whose mission is to promote compassionate coexistence between humans and wildlife. She is a scientist and advocate with over 15 years of advancing wildlife conservation across four continents. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 5 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 When Montana Republicans tell you they are fighting for your rights and freedoms, theyre speaking out of both sides of their mouths. While presenting themselves to Montanans as champions of our rights and liberty, they have been hard at work chipping away at the very rights they pretend to hold so dear. They are undermining the independence of our judicial system, rolling back our right to privacy, interfering in our health care decisions, taking away local control for our childrens education, and weakening Montanans right to vote. Montana is the only state with a right to a clean and healthy environment, but the GOP endeavors to destroy our outdoor heritage by weakening water quality standards and selling off our wildlife and open lands to wealthy out-of-staters. All of these rights make Montana the Last Best Place and they are all guaranteed in Montanas Constitution. This begs the question: why are the Republicans working so hard to dismantle it? But dont take my word for it. Just this month, Republican state Rep. John Fuller wrote that democracy is a methodology of government that has failed as miserably as socialism. Republican state Rep. Derek Skees has repeatedly called Montanas Constitution a socialist rag and stated that it should be thrown out. State Supreme Court Justice Jim Rice, a former Republican legislator himself, called the actions of Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen before the court destructive to our democratic system of government. And while they continue their crusade against Montanas Constitution, Republicans are also failing to step up and solve the problems actually facing our state. Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan to lower costs for Montana families and help businesses recover after these tough years. U.S. Sen. Jon Testers Infrastructure and Jobs Law is delivering critical investments in Montana highways, bridges, and high-speed internet. And as our kids face a new epidemic of mental health issues, Democrats have fought tooth and nail to protect funding for our mental health services. When the Gianforte administration tried to change the elk hunting rules to benefit out-of-state millionaire trophy hunters, Democratic legislators partnered with public land stakeholders to ensure the voices of Montana hunters were heard and our outdoor heritage was protected for generations to come. Our communities are struggling and Republicans refuse to act. Republicans are sitting on 85 percent of the resources they should be investing in our future. As housing prices skyrocket, Republicans are holding back millions of federal dollars meant for emergency rental and homeowner assistance. Republicans are lying, telling you they cut your taxes when they just gave handouts to millionaires while most folks got pennies all while killing Democratic proposals to cut property taxes and expand tax credits for working families. In fact, they wouldnt even give those bills votes on the floor. These unprecedented times have brought unprecedented challenges to our state. Montana Democrats know that to face those problems, we have to be bold, put our money where our mouth is, and fight to keep Montana the Last Best Place. We know that Montana cannot become a playground where the rich and elite take their vacations or build their sixth homes while the people who actually live and work here increasingly struggle to get by but thats exactly what Rosendale, Daines, Gianforte, Skees, Hertz, Manzella, and Knudsen and the rest of them want. We know that our kids deserve good schools and a shot at a bright future, not just to become pawns for billionaire-backed Republicans. The rights enshrined in the Montana Constitution are not only worth defending, but the very thing that has made Montana great. Montana Democrats will always fight for our rights. Robyn Driscoll is chair of the Montana Democratic Party. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 11 Funny 5 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 " " "Finally close the wage gap!" is written on a banner at an Equal Pay Day event at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. Equal Pay Day is worldwide and is intended to draw attention to the wage gap between women and men. Paul Zinken/picture alliance via Getty Images Would you work three months every year for free? If you're an American woman, you just might. Every March or April, one Tuesday is dubbed Equal Pay Day by the National Committee on Pay Equity (a coalition of groups working toward equal pay for all sexes and races). This 24-hour period symbolizes the gender pay gap, showing how far into the next calendar year women must work to earn the same amount of money as men. Similar days are also commemorated across the world. The National Committee on Pay Equity has been holding an Equal Pay Day in the U.S. since 1996, but the issue of gender-based pay differences has been around long before that [source: National Committee on Pay Equity]. Advertisement While comprehensive data on gender inequities in pay wasn't collected until 1950, research shows women were earning a mere 30 cents per dollar compared to men during America's early years, when its economy was largely driven by agriculture. During the Industrial Revolution (1820 to 1850) women fared better, netting 50 percent of the wages men took home; by the early 20th century, that rate inched up to 56 percent (i.e., women earned 56 cents for every dollar men earned). Despite the fact that Congress mandated equal pay for equal work in 1963, the wage gap remained at 60 percent for years. In the 1980s it began to climb again, rising to around 70 percent by 1990. But some 30 years later (the latest available statistics are for 2020), the gap had only nudged up to 83 cents per dollar, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This is only slightly better than 2015, when the gap was around 80 cents per dollar. Economists say one-third to one-half of the gender pay gap may be explained by differences in education, experience and the number of hours worked. But the reason for the remainder is a bit of a mystery, although many say it's due to gender discrimination. To put the pay gap in perspective, consider this: In 2019, a typical 25-year-old woman employed full-time earned $5,000 less per year than her male counterpart. If that gap persists until those employees hit age 65, she would have lost out on more than $406,000 compared to the man, an astonishing figure. The gender gap is even steeper for women of color. In 2020, according to census data, white non-Hispanic women working full-time, year-round earned median annual incomes that were 79 percent of what their white, non-Hispanic, male counterparts scored. For African American women, the figure dipped to 64 percent; for Hispanic females, it was a dismal 57 percent. (While these discrepancies are big, the gaps are less than they were five years ago.) As far as Asian women were concerned, the American Association of University Women, which compiles these stats using census data, wrote, "It is not possible to compare this year's pay gap between Asian women and white, non-Hispanic men with last year's due to limitations in this year's data collection" because of COVID-19. However, in 2017, Asian women earned about 85 percent of what white males did, higher than even white women. Women of color are so far down in the wage gap, the American Association of University Women pegged "Equal Pay Day" for African American women as happening in September and in December for Latinas in 2022. " " Protesters in Berlin's Paris Square hold signs for Russia to be cut off from SWIFT after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022. Paul Zinken/picture alliance via Getty Images UPDATE: On Feb. 26, 2022, the Biden Administration announced that the U.S., European nations and Canada had reached an agreement to disconnect select Russian banks from the SWIFT system. In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden and other European world powers announced sweeping sanctions against Russia, including: freezing several Russian banks' assets in the U.S. financial system restricting the ability of Russia's largest institution, Sberbank, to make transactions in dollars banning Russian government-owned banks and businesses from selling their debt on U.S. markets imposing personal financial and travel bans on more than a dozen billionaire oligarchs with ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin freezing foreign assets of Putin, his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and the defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, in the EU, U.S. and U.K. banning Russian airlines and private jets from U.K. and EU airspace But the Biden administration and European allies had held off on one measure that many were calling for them to take against Russia and Putin. They hadn't yet cut off Russian banks from SWIFT, a system that banks use to communicate with one another across the world, until Saturday, Feb. 26. That's when the U.S., European nations and Canada reached an agreement to disconnect select Russian banks from the SWIFT system. "We commit to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system," the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States said in a joint statement. "This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally." Removing Russian banks from SWIFT is just one more restrictive economic measure world powers are taking to hold Russia accountable to "ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin," the statement said. But what is SWIFT, anyway? And how potent of a weapon is it in punishing Russian aggression? Advertisement What Is SWIFT? SWIFT, an acronym for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, is a global system that banks use to send electronic transaction information and other sorts of messages to other institutions. The system was developed by a group of European banks in the 1960s to replace the slower, less secure method of sending messages over telephone and telegraph lines between teleprinters, according to this 2012 article published in the journal Business History. The system, headquartered in Belgium, was created in 1973, and within four years, 518 institutions in 22 countries were connected to its messaging services. Since then, SWIFT has expanded to more than 11,000 institutions in 200 countries and territories across the world. The system transmits 8.4 billion messages each year. That volume and widespread usage makes it easy to understand why a recent Bloomberg article called it "the Gmail of global banking." "The SWIFT system is a way for banks and financial institutions to communicate with each other to manage cross-border payments," says Erin Lockwood, an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine. "It's part of the infrastructure of global finance. Sometimes it gets conflated with global payments systems, but it's not the actual channel through which capital flows. It's more akin to a secure messaging service." SWIFT assigns each financial institution a unique code that it uses in international transactions, as this Investopedia article explains. Basically, if a customer at an American bank in New York wants to send money to someone in Italy, the sender provides the recipient's account number at an Italian bank, plus that bank's SWIFT code. The American bank then sends a message to the Italian bank that a payment is on the way. Once the Italian bank gets that message, it clears the transaction and credits the money to the recipient's account. "Ever move money from one bank to another? The backend of your transaction relies on a message being sent between financial institutions," explains Richard Goldberg, a former National Security Council official who is now a senior adviser at the Washington, D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "The transfer of money is completed in seconds thanks to 1s and 0s being sent across the SWIFT system. It's become the backbone of global financial transactions." " " People queue outside a branch of Russian state-owned bank Sberbank in Prague to withdraw their savings and close their accounts Feb. 25, 2022. The bank, which was sanctioned by the U.S. after Russia invaded Ukraine, will close all its branches in the Czech Republic. MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images Advertisement Using SWIFT for Sanctions SWIFT has been used to for sanctions in the past. In 2012 to 2016, Iranian banks were disconnected from the system, as part of an array of restrictions to pressure Iran to curb its nuclear program. In 2017, SWIFT also cut off North Korean banks. When Iran was cut off from SWIFT in 2012, it took a major hit in lost revenue from oil exports, and experts say that being cut off from the SWIFT system would be a major hindrance to the Russian financial sector. "SWIFT is how banks communicate and transact," Benjamin A. Jansen, an assistant professor of finance, in Middle Tennessee State University's Jones College of Business, explains via email. "So if Russia is cut off from SWIFT, then businesses and people there will face significant economic consequences by being unable to transact funds as they normally would, especially given how dependent the Russian economy is on exports." "It would be a big deal to deny Russia's banks access to this service," Lockwood says. "Indeed, it was the threat of doing so after the 2014 Russian invasion of Crimea that led Russia to pursue efforts to develop its own alternative to SWIFT, but uptake of that system has been very, very slow and there are very few users. SWIFT really is the dominant financial communications network, and it's very difficult to dislodge a dominant infrastructure." The SWIFT system is owned by financial institutions across the world and overseen by the G-10 central banks, which include Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Sweden. The U.S., and the European Central Bank have a say as well, according to SWIFT's website. Some European countries Germany, in particular had been reluctant to disconnect Russia from SWIFT, because of the collateral damage that it might cause to their own economies. "The flipside of the damage that cutting off SWIFT would inflict on the Russian economy is the damage it would do to Russia's counterparties to the transactions being arranged, confirmed and negotiated via SWIFT, most importantly European states heavily dependent on Russian exports, especially in the energy sector," Lockwood says. "Limiting Russian banks' access to SWIFT would also hinder the ability for payments for these goods and services to be efficiently communicated and executed." However, Germany changed its position on Saturday and joined other European leaders in banning Russia from SWIFT. "We are urgently working on how to limit the collateral damage of decoupling from SWIFT in such a way that it affects the right people," Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement. "What we need is a targeted and functional restriction of SWIFT." Now That's Interesting In recent years, some have predicted that blockchain technology distributed ledgers such as those used by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies might disrupt SWIFT's dominance over bank communication. Advertisement Originally Published: Feb 25, 2022 US Vice President Kamala Harris says the threat of a full scale Russian attack on Ukraine remains. (Feb. 23) Vice President Kamala Harris has canceled her scheduled trip to Louisiana Friday in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the White House confirmed late Thursday. Harris and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo had been scheduled to arrive in Lafayette and from there travel to Sunset, a small town in St. Landry Parish, to highlight investments in high-speed internet. They were to have been joined by Gov. John Bel Edwards. The vice president has delayed her trip to Louisiana, which is a wise and understandable decision given the state of affairs with Ukraine," Edwards said in a statement. "I am praying for the president and the vice president and their advisors and our military leaders at this time, that they may act with strength and resolve in response to this escalating conflict. I look forward to welcoming her to our great state at a more appropriate time. I am holding the people of Ukraine in my prayers and in my heart, as their safety and sovereignty is threatened. The Ukrainians deserve to know peace and I hope all Louisianans will join me in praying that this peace comes swiftly. No one knows precisely what the coming weeks and months will bring, but I am also praying for the members of our American military and their families, who always stand ready to defend freedom alongside our allies. More: Here's why Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to Louisiana Friday Read this: Could Acadiana win $30 million federal grant to build rural, high-speed internet? Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Vice President Kamala Harris postpones trip to Louisiana A look at some of today's top stories, the weather forecast and a peek back in history. It was supposed to cost taxpayers $150,000, but the Arizona Senate's review of the 2020 has grown to more than $4 million. And costs are still adding up. Cold temperature and winds are expected in Phoenix as a cold front will bring rain Wednesday and snow to northern Arizona. At Mexican restaurants in Glendale, taste foods from Michoacan, Jalisco, Sinaloa and Sonora, like al pastor tacos, huaraches and raspados. Today, you can expect it to be rainy and breezy, with a high near 57 degrees. A slight chance of showers at night, with a low near 39 degrees. Get the full forecast here. Today in history On this date in 1540, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado set out from Mexico in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola. His expedition was the first to explore what is now Arizona, and his men were the first Europeans to visit the Hopi Villages and to see the Grand Canyon. In 1931, 15 convicts escaped form the State Prison at Florence. In 1942, the first shelling of the U.S. mainland during World War II occurred as a Japanese submarine fired on an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California, causing little damage. In 1945, during World War II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi, where they raised two American flags (the second flag-raising was captured in the iconic Associated Press photograph.) In 2011, in a major policy reversal, the Obama administration said it would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ Briefing: How election audit costs went from $150K to over $4M